Man, I think I went overboard with this chapter.

Ah, who am I kidding? This is perfect! Hello, dear readers. CrossVipeR316 here with the latest chapter of Gamer Emblem Awakening. This chapter…had a lot more content than I thought it would have. Still, I like how it turned out.

Now, onto some reviews.

Firem78910: The Urvan axe could work, though pulling it out would earn Jack a few raised eyebrows, since that axe is pretty much legendary in Awakening. Not that he hasn't gotten raised eyebrows already. As for the Master sword; that's a no-go. It is, in fact, a living weapon. Don't believe me? Check the Skyward sword lore.

Naga Mada: Who said anything about using Outrealm gates? The Grimleal are the bad guys who dab in dark magic, remember? Their methods are way less ethical than an Outrealm gate.

ShadowPheonix34: No, not with the build I have decided for Jack. His element is decided in this chapter, and it's not lightning. I've decided to reserve the lightning specialization for Robin instead, since that's the element I associate with her the most. That means Morgan will get some lightning related abilities as well (kid takes after canon parent A LOT).

warrior of six blades: Good eye on predicting Jack's relationship with the 2nd-gen Shepherds. His conversation with Lucina was just a little taste of what's to come. As for Cordelia… While I do plan to foster a little friendship between her and Jack, that's as far as I'm taking their relationship. I've got something different planned for the girl. And no, that doesn't involve a threesome with Robin added to the mix. As hot as some people find those to be, threesomes aren't my cup of tea.

Kyrin Fireheart: Oh, so that's what Maribelle refers to. Wow… Her insults are nastier than I thought. I think I'm finally starting to understand how Brady takes after her. His burns are just as sick as his beloved mother's. They're just held back by fewer layers of sophistication.

Ruberforumfree: I have some of that planned for a future chapter – but not until they become a couple! And I will place an explicit warning when we get to the (relatively) heavy stuff.

dcoon: Obviously, the main pairing will be Jack and Robin. Another pairing will be revealed in this chapter. Aside from those pairings, I've placed hints of the other ones here and there since the fourth chapter of this fic. Some are subtle, while some are obvious. As a general rule of thumb, I won't reveal a pairing definitely until the characters themselves announce their relationship. That's all the info I'm giving out.

Guest reviewer, Sep 24th: That is indeed what Zephiel's weapon does. And while it does do a few things that I have in mind for Jack's future go-to weapon, it's not the one I have in mind. To be fair, though, you're closer to the truth than you might think. As for the class change, it's gonna happen off-screen.

TheGamer: While Jack could store Traced weapons in his bag, it would be counterproductive. Traced weapons only exist so long as Jack sustains them with mana, or else they disperse. Since he can't Meditate in combat, this could hamper his MPR and run the risk of emptying his MP pool before the fight is over. So, no. Jack won't store any Traced weapons in his bag. Though I do applaud the idea.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Garon certainly has the track record to make the list. However, I'm a bit iffy in his case due to him being mind-controlled. It puts into question which actions were even his own. Still, the fact that no one picks up on the truth unless you play Revelations means he was so in-character that he acted like a puppet without anyone being any the wiser. That would mean he's that much of a tyrant on a normal day. Yup, he definitely makes the list.
And feel free to copy the ideas in your own fics. Like I say in the copyright disclaimer: I only own the plot of this fic and the two OC:s. Anything else is pretty much free game. It's not like I owned any of the other concepts to begin with.

TheOrangeLord: I do plan on having some characters from other worlds get a brief cameo in the future, but I'm not sure how much yet. Also, Palutena's bow is definitely within the realm of possible weapons for jack to Trace. It won't be his go-to weapon, but I can already see how he'll use it. Thanks for the tip.

Copyright disclaimer: I only own the plot of this fic. For a full copyright disclaimer, please read chapter 1.

I don't like fighting, but I know when it's necessary. – Nowi


Chapter 8: Must…protecc…loli dragon… Dark dunes in the blazing hot desert!

Knowing how deep in trouble Emmeryn is back at the capital had Chrom push us towards Ferox at record pace. Not that I fault him. With Gangrel heading for Ylisstol with his elite troops, it's only a matter of time before the capital falls.

We're about a day's march away from the Feroxi capital when we finally make camp for the night. As badly as Chrom wants to reach Flavia and share the news, even he realizes the folly of marching through the harsh Feroxi climate at night.

"There we go." I tell the squirrel as the little critter secures the note I gave it. "Make sure this message reaches Lucina as fast as possible, Haku."

The albino squirrel nods before racing off into the foliage. That note basically holds the info of what happened back at Breakneck pass. In all the time I've played Awakening, I've never figured out how Ylisse's future princess dropped off the radar so suddenly until she joins up after chapter 13. Hopefully, the squirrels find her much faster than I would on my own.

"Man-spawn."

I turn around to find Panne approaching me with a serious expression (then again, she always looks serious in the beginning).

"Hm? Did you need something… Panne, was it?" I ask curiously.

The taguel regards me in silence for a while.

"You…are not like the others, are you?" she finally asks.

I tilt my head sideways in confusion. "Well, that depends on how you put it." I answer. "How do you think I'm different?"

"Your scent." Panne replies as she gets uncomfortably close. Uh, how about some personal space, Panne?

"Huh? What's up with the way I smell?"

"I have met enough man-spawn to be able to discern them by scent. While it does vary among your kin, every human I have met holds something common in the way they smell." Panne sniffs me (getting kind of awkward here, girl). "I always find a hint of soil in their scent. But you… You lack that."

I back away from the taguel carefully. "So… what exactly does that tell you?"

She narrows her eyes. "Man-spawn, tell me the truth. You are not from these lands, are you?"

Surprise runs through my body like a shock. Panne found out about that just by smelling me?! Well, the cat's halfway out of the bag at this point.

"You're right, I'm not." I admit. "I come from a far away land, one where only a few of my kin would carry the smell of soil. As your nose told you, I'm not one of them."

"How can this be?" Panne asks perplexed. "Do not misunderstand. I hold no trust for you humans, but there is something intriguing about you."

I scratch my head while trying to think up an explanation that won't sound too crazy.

"Well, long story short, the place where I come from is very different from the lands you call "home". Where I come from, humans have progressed so far, we sometimes have difficulty knowing what to do during the day. I'm one of those humans. I mostly stayed inside when growing up. I think your sense of smell managed to catch on to the consequences of staying away from the outside for such a long time. The only way to gain the smell of soil on your scent that I can think of is by being outside. But since I stayed inside for most of my life before traveling, I haven't had time to catch as much of that scent as most humans here have."

Panne ponders my words for a while.

"What a strange tale you tell me, man-spawn. And yet, it explains why I smell no soil on you."

The taguel turns to leave, much to my surprise.

"Hey, where are you going?" I ask her.

Panne turns her head towards me. "You gave me the answers I sought. My curiosity has been sated. I no longer have any reason to be near you. Like I said before; I hold no trust for humans. I do not wish to be near you anymore than necessary."

With those words, Panne walks off into the forest. Yeesh. Talk about getting the cold shoulder.

Your relationship with Panne has improved!

Wait, seriously? That counted as growing closer to her? That was just…weird.


As I return to camp, I catch Vaike taking over for night watch after Sully.

"So, sparring ring at mornin'?" I hear Vaike ask.

"Sure thing." Sully answers with a grin. "Prepare for a beatdown."

Vaike grins back. "Ain't gonna let ya throw me around this time, Sully! You're on!"

With that, the Fighter walks to his shift.

"What was that all about?" I ask Sully as I approach her.

"Muh? Oh, it's just a thing that Vaike and I have had runnin' for a while now." the Cavalier explains. "Vaike challenges me for a duel, I beat him into the ground, we talk for a bit, and we're done." A smile blooms on her face. "Don't tell 'im I said this, but Vaike's startin' to become a man that I respect. That's no small feat."

"Wow… How often does this guy get into spars?" I muse. It amazes me how often Vaike spars. First Sully, then Chrom. Lon'qu has also mentioned being challenged by the blond Fighter from time to time. No wonder Vaike went so crazy during the last battle. He's gotten a lot of experience from Naga knows how many spars within the last few weeks.

"Vaike may complain about losin' a lot, but I can tell he enjoys it." Sully adds. "And frankly, it's kinda scary how fast he's improvin'."

"Well, that means he's becoming a reliable ally in battle, right?" I reply.

Sully nods. "D-mn straight. I might even go as far as say I trust him to have my back. Again, don't tell 'im I said that."

"My lips are sealed." I assure the Cavalier.

Sully chuckles. "Good. Keep it that way, or else." Then she stretches her arms into the air with a yawn. "Ooh. I'm not one for beauty sleep or cr-p like that, but I need some serious shut-eye after that shift. How 'bout you, Jack?"

I scratch my cheek. "Yeah, I might need to get back to my tent too. We're heading out early tomorrow, right?"

Sully nods. "Yeah. Captain Chrom's been on pins an' needles ever since the exalt returned to the capital. We'd better shake a leg first thing in the mornin' to get back to Ferox."

"Sounds like a plan. See you in the morning." With that, we head to our respective tents.

Ah, my tent. Not the most luxurious of sleeping arrangements, seeing as I'm limited to a humble bedroll, a lantern and whatever small knickknacks I could find that fits in here. Not that it's really an issue, thanks to my bag. For all its simplicity, though, it's a cozy place. Plenty of space to move around in. I could probably fit a small desk in here together with my bedroll and still have room to move around freely. How all of that space can be rolled up into a roll of cloth roughly two-thirds of my height and equal my width, I'll probably never figure out.

On a side note, it took some learning before I managed to set it up properly. Let's just say, the first few times landed me in some embarrassing situations. The Shepherds still occasionally laugh about it like it's some inside joke. Not cool, guys.

Well, I'm in my tent, but I'm not gonna sleep. It's night training time!


Timeskip

Due to constant strenuous activity, STR goes up by 3!
Due to prolonged exhausting activity, VIT goes up by 2!
Due to training several complex maneuvers, DEX goes up by 2!

A new skill has become available due to your high vitality! You gained "Iron body"!

Iron body, Lvl MAX, Passive
There's being tough, and then there's being so resilient that you can just pat some dust off your shoulder after taking a hit. The amount of resilience that you've built up has reached a point where you don't even get hurt from minor attacks. So long as the enemy can't surpass this wall, you stand untouchable.
Reduces all damage taken from physical attacks by a certain value. This value is equal to the sum of your STR and VIT stats. If the value is higher than the damage inflicted, you take no damage at all. Note: This value increases in the same manner as your other stats when using Reinforcement.


Yeah, now that's a training session I like to call fruitful! My VIT stat finally passed the 50-mark last night, and my hard work has payed off with this new skill!

After a quick breakfast the following morning, we cleared our campsite and were back on the road in record time. Chrom and Lissa have tension pretty much written all over their faces as we travel the road. The one who's the worst off by a longshot, however, is Cordelia. She's putting up a strong front, but anyone who looks a bit closer can see how much of an emotional wreck she is on the inside. Dulled, downcast eyes, unsteady gait, hardly responds whenever Sumia tries to cheer her up. Sigh. If only there was a way to get the spark back in her eyes…

We finally make it to Flavia's residence. Chrom relayed the news as fast as he could, only to get stopped cold in his tracks upon hearing that Flaiva needs time to organize the army. With nothing better to do, we're forced to wait until the feroxi can mobilize so we can bring the beatdown on Gangrel.

"Hyah!" *Thwack! Thwack, thwack!*

Which means we've basically got nothing to do.

"Yah!" *Thwack, clack, whoosh, thwack!*

Which, in turn, meant that Lon'qu challenged me to a spar. To mix things up for a change (and to keep my promise to the Myrmidon) I picked a staff for this spar instead of a wooden sword.

Things are working quite well, all things considered. I have the advantage in reach thanks to my weapon of choice, but the difference in experience evens it out.

Our spar ends with Lon'qu swinging his training sword at my side while I land a blow on his right shoulder.

We both back off, panting and sweaty.

"You need to train to swing your weapon faster, or else you will never be able to use it to its full potential." Lon'qu comments while rubbing his aching shoulder. "Nevertheless, I can tell you've built a solid foundation for your spear wielding. You may even be better with a polearm than during our first battle."

I grin while rubbing my side with a wince. "I'll take that as a compliment. And don't worry. I feel comfortable using polearms now, so I'll definitely train in using them."

Lon'qu nods.

He's not gonna say anything else? Might need to push a bit.

"Well, I can tell you've gotten better with a sword." I comment. "I don't remember you swinging your sword that well during our first fight. You've improved as well, Lon'qu."

"I do spend a lot of time honing my skill with the blade." Lon'qu replies. "Although, I simply cannot seem to make any progress on a technique that I have attempted for a while now."

That piques my interest. "Oh? Care to share?"

Lon'qu lifts up his training sword and studies it closely. "It's a legendary skill among swordsmen known as "Astra". Whenever it is performed, it is as though the swordsman swings five times in the time normally needed to swing once. I have tried mastering this technique for a long time, but it keeps eluding me."

If I remember correctly, you need to become a Swordmaster in order to learn that skill.

I smile with a shrug. "Well, if anyone can master it, I'd bet it'll be you."

Lon'qu looks at me with some surprise showing in his eyes.

I smirk. "I already told you back when we first met that I could tell that you're strong. That hasn't changed. And if Khan Basilio himself states that you have the makings of a khan, that speaks volumes of your potential."

Lon'qu smiles. "I'm surprised you would express that much faith in me."

I smile back. "Hey, there wouldn't be any point in having you as my rival if I didn't believe in you growing stronger. And even if we didn't have this rivalry, I still consider you reliable enough to always have my back whenever we fight the enemy."

"Then it is only fair that I put just as much faith in you." Lon'qu replies. "I can tell that you've improved in several areas since we first met. Even now, you're catching up to my swordsmanship. If there is anyone who I trust to have my back in battle, it's you, Jack."

I offer my fist to the Myrmidon with a grin. "It's settled, then. When in battle, we have each other's backs. Outside of battle, we'll keep pushing each other to grow as strong as we can."

Lon'qu returns the fist-bump smiling. "That is an agreement I'll gladly accept."

Your relationship with Lon'qu has improved! Your relationship with Lon'qu is now "Allies"!


Apparently, trying to get healed from the bruises from the spar was an idea that Maribelle was very much against. She said, and I quote; "I will not spend my precious time patching up whatever little bruise you sustained on yourself just because you cannot bear a little pain from an exercise of your own volition!"

Yeesh. Stingy. I mean, how much does it take to heal a few bruises? Bah! I'll just have to suck it up and let them heal on their own. An hour of Meditation should do the trick.

As I idly rub my bruise, I run into Cordelia.

"Oh. Hey, Cordelia. How are you holding up?" I ask the Pegasus Knight.

Cordelia seems a bit startled before steeling herself. "Ah. I'm fine, Jack. Just taking some time to relax before practice."

Judging by the slightly downcast eyes, I can tell she's hiding something. And I think I know what.

"Is it still weighing heavy on you? The memory of your knight-sisters, I mean."

Cordelia looks at me in slight surprise before sagging visibly and looking to the side. "Am I- Is it that obvious?"

I shake my head. "Look, it's probably not my business to pry, but I can tell that the memory's still bothering you. I won't fault you for it. Take the time you need to mourn them. If you don't do it now, you may never find the time, and that will only haunt you for the rest of your life."

Cordelia scowls at me with a tear appearing in the corner of her eye.

"But I can't just spend my days sulking! Everyone is working hard to prepare fighting Plegia. If I don't get ready to fight too, then what good am I for the Shepherds?!"

"There's a big difference between letting go of your past and running away from it, Cordelia." I reply. "Trying to stay strong in front of your comrades to avoid worrying them will only hurt us in the end. That's what running from your past will do. And ironically, those who run away will only end up getting chased by their past until it catches up."

I place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "On the other hand, letting go of your past means that you make peace with it. Accept that what happened, happened. Facing your past hurts – it always does. But the sooner you face the pain, the less it will chain you down. That's why mourning your loved ones is so important."

Cordelia's expression softens upon hearing my explanation. She places a hand on top of mine.

"But… Won't moving on mean that I abandon the memories of them?"

I smile. "No. It just means you grow as a person. Your past with your knight-sisters is a vital part of who you are today. Never forget that, and never forget them." Then my face grows serious again. "Remember, you always have a choice. You can either live in the past, or make peace with it and let it help you grow."

Cordelia smiles as the tear finally escapes her eye. "Thank you, Jack." Then, much to my surprise, she pulls me into a hug. "Thank you so much for your kind words."

I awkwardly return the hug. "Um… You're welcome?"

As we separate, Cordelia regards me curiously.

"I never expected to hear someone so close to my age say the things you did. How did you acquire such wisdom?"

A few lessons in counseling and, surprisingly, video games and animé.

"I…had the fortune of growing up with very wise people. People who were also kind enough to help me through painful and struggling times of my own."

The Pegasus knight smiles again. "Then you're blessed indeed to have grown up with such wonderful people. I'll try making peace with my past, no matter how long it takes."

I smile back. "Take as much time as you need, Cordelia. And don't worry. You're not alone – not as long as you're with us. We'll help you through the pain."

At this moment, I notice a certain prince approach us, courtesy to Mind's eye. A mischievous thought enters my mind upon realizing who I'm talking to.

"Well, see you later." I tell Cordelia before walking past her – right as Chrom rounds the corner.

"Why, hello, Chrom!" I greet the prince enthusiastically. "Just the man I was looking for! See, Cordelia wanted to talk with you, but she couldn't find you. I just agreed to help her searching, but here you are!"

Chrom looks at me, baffled at my sudden enthusiasm. Nonetheless, he nods and regards the Pegasus knight standing behind me.

I turn around to see Cordelia's face morphed into a mix of surprise, joy, awkwardness and terror, complete with a blush that matches her hair color.

I send her a wink before leaving the two of them with a wave over my shoulder.

"Well, I'm off. Remember, Cordelia; take as much time as you need."

Your relationship with Cordelia has improved! Your relationship with Cordelia is now "Trusted"!

I don't care what canon says about these two never being able to get married. I may see any Awakening related media through some very selective views, but I always feel the developers are constantly teasing us with a potential Chrom-delia ship that simply never sets sail. Well, the canon can screw itself on that matter! I want to see these two together. And if I have to pull a few strings… Well, no one can complain if their marriage ends up a happy one, right? I hope Sumia finds an alternate special someone, though.


I put down two buckets of water on the table in front of Robin.

"All right. Time for your first lesson in performing the Rasengan." I tell her with a grin.

Robin looks at the buckets with a sceptic expression.

"Jack, how are a pair of buckets going to help me learn your technique?"

"Well, when you break it down, the Rasengan is essentially an extremely complex mana channeling exercise that's been weaponized. What I'm going to teach you is how to perform the various parts of this exercise. How well they will mesh together when you apply them in combat will be up to you." I explain.

I pick up a bucket and sit down beside the Tactician.

"The Rasengan can basically be broken down into three steps. To use it, you need to perform all three steps at the same time. We'll begin by you learning one step at a time. Step one is rotating your mana."

To demonstrate, I channel my mana in a way that makes the water in the bucket form a mini whirlpool. Robin looks down at the moving liquid curiously.

"That's it? I'm just going to rotate the water using my mana?" she asks.

"Well, that's how you'll start learning the first step. Grab the other bucket and try for yourself."

Robin nods and takes the other bucket.

"Now I want you to close your eyes. Imagine your mana like a needle thin thread. Now, take one end of that thread and guide it. The rest of the thread should follow naturally. Guide the thread in a circular motion. Make sure it rotates in a steady rhythm. Keep it up. There, now you can open your eyes."

As Robin opens her eyes, she sees the water in her bucket swirl in a mini whirlpool.

"Well, that was easy." Robin comments with a smile.

I give her a knowing smile in return. "Considering your skill at channeling mana, I agree – on this level on step one. Now it gets trickier." I show her my bucket again. This time, I add another direction, making the whirlpool swirl at two different angles simultaneously.

"This time, I want you to add another stream of mana. This stream is meant to rotate in the same direction as the first you made. However, you must make both streams rotate at different angles at the same time without either of them breaking."

Robin nods before looking down in her own bucket and focusing. She's having markedly less success with this one.

"Nngh… This is much harder than the last one." she eventually says.

"That's the real challenge of step one." I comment. "It's one thing to rotate your mana in a single direction continuously. To do so with two or more requires the ability to split your attention between each stream of mana until you can manage several different angles at the same time as easily as breathing."

I show her my bucket for one last demonstration. "Once you master this step, you'll be able to do something like this."

Robin looks down to see the water in my bucket swirl in a vaguely spherical shape, with some water occasionally breaking the form, only to quickly return to the round shape.

The sight leaves her in awe. "Wow…"

"It's one thing trying to withstand mana that rotates in one direction. It's an entirely different story when the mana rotates in more directions than you can count. That's the secret behind the Rasengan's penetrative ability." I explain. "The rotation is the foundation of this technique. Mastering it is crucial."

Robin looks up from my bucket with a determined expression.

"I'll master this step before you know it, Jack. Count on it."

I smile at her determination.

"All right. I'll take your word for it. Just don't put too much time on it at the expense on the other areas you practice in. And whatever you do, don't push yourself too hard. It was bad enough that you missed out on supper once because you fell asleep in the middle of your studies."

Robin smiles back. "I know. I'll be careful. Thank you for taking care of me when I fell asleep, by the way."

My mind registers the last sentence just as I'm about to rise from the table. The result? I end up bashing my knee under the tabletop in surprise.

"Ow! Wait, you knew it was me?!" I ask her bewildered as I rub my knee.

"I knew it was someone." Robin explains. "I just didn't know who. The way you reacted to what I said pretty much confirmed my suspicions."

That sly fox.

"When did you notice? I thought you slept through the whole thing."

"I woke up when you pulled the boots off my feet before tucking me into bed. At first, I thought that was it." A gentle smile forms on her face. "Imagine my surprise when you came in some time later and left some food on my nightstand. And you even brushed a lock of hair out of my face. That's the sweetest thing anyone has done for me. Well, as far as I can remember, that is."

I feel my face heat up as the truth settles in. This means she basically noticed everything I did. Ah, s-it. This feels awkward.

"Uh… W-well, let that be a lesson for you." I manage to force out as I turn to the doorway and make my way there with somewhat robotic movement. "Just- Just don't expect me to do it every time you fall asleep. Not that I'd mi- I mean, I won't always be there! Uh, what I'm trying to say is, uh, remember to get enough sleep!"

Robin's laughter at my actions follows me as I walk through the corridors. That laughter simultaneously makes me happy and makes me want to crawl up in a hole somewhere and hope the ground swallows me whole. That woman seems to know exactly how to knock me off-kilter. Merciful Naga, what is WRONG with me?!

Your relationship with Robin has improved!

Not helping, Game!


"Yah!" *Fwoom!*

I exit Flavia's residence to see Miriel practicing fire magic on a training dummy. Looks like she's taking a more direct approach to prepare for battle this time around.

In fact, finding her here may be the perfect opportunity to check off something that been topping my bucket list for some time now.

"Hello, Miriel." I greet the Mage.

Miriel looks away from the training dummy that she just charred with her latest Fire spell.

"Hello, Jack." she greets back.

"How's spell training coming along?" I ask her.

Miriel adjusts her glasses. "Progress has been acceptable. The efficacy at which I can cast spells has increased significantly during these past few weeks. That only applies in theory, however. In a battle, casting spells at full power while staying aware of the enemy has proven to be difficult."

I nod as I slowly process what she just said. So, what she's saying is that it's one thing casting magic on a training dummy, but applying that success in a real fight is a lot harder. Sounds reasonable.

"Well, I guess the battle part can be solved with combat experience." I reply after some thought. "I know it worked for me."

Miriel nods. "That is the conclusion I myself reached after some discussion with Ricken. Though, knowing you, you did not begin a conversation with me for the sole purpose of checking on my progress at using magic."

It honestly scares me how fast she can observe this kind of stuff. I shudder at the thought of what would happen if she learned Observe. She'd have a field day on everything around her.

I nod. "You're right, I wasn't. You see, I've considered trying my hand on magic as well."

Miriel raises an eyebrow. "I was not aware you had interest in the arcane arts. While I have observed that you have abilities that are magical in nature, you have yet to battle in a way that suggests that you use spells per se."

"That's the thing." I reply. "I've been thinking hard on how I want to build my fighting style, and I realized integrating some magic into it will be an important step. That's why I came to see you, since you have the deepest understanding of magic out of all the Shepherds."

Miriel nods. "I see. While I do not consider myself a master at magic by any means, I consider myself competent enough to at least teach you the basics. Since you have already displayed aptitude in channeling mana, we can go to casting spells immediately."

Sweet! "So, how are we gonna do this?" I ask with a grin.

The Mage reaches into her robes and pulls out a green tome, which she hands to me. "I happen to have a spare Wind tome with me. I generally use it to conduct experiments, though it sees little use in battle."


Wind, Tome, Common
The most basic of all wind-element tomes. Aspiring mages often practice with these tomes due to the simplicity of basic wind magic and the relative ease of manufacturing these tomes. While not the most effective instrument in battle, it always provides a reliable fallback, should all else fail.
Passively increases damage dealt from wind-element magic by 5 %. The cost for all wind-element spells is reduced by 2 %. Requirement to wield: None


How interesting. As I read through the Observe log, I notice that there's something in here that I expected, but didn't find.

"There's something that I've been wondering for a long time, Miriel. Whenever I see anyone cast a spell, they always seem to need a tome to cast it. Is holding a tome necessary to cast spells?"

"No." the Mage answers. "However, the pages in a spell tome are written with ink that has spirit dust mixed in it. Channeling mana through the tome not only makes it easier to cast spells from that very element, you also need less mana due to spirit dust having the ability to absorb ambient mana. More advanced tomes have a higher concentration of spirit dust mixed in the ink. The higher the concentration, the more skill is required to channel mana through the tome properly."

I scratch my head at the information. "That sounds very complicated. Does that mean apprentices should never touch any high-level tomes?"

Miriel scowls. "Under absolutely no circumstances! Many may find magic fascinating, but they forget the forces involved in casting it. A practitioner attempting to use a tome too advanced would end up channeling too much mana through the tome, resulting in the spell going out of control. The results could be disastrous!"

I gulp at the implications. Guess there's a point in tome ranks after all. It also explains why no one would, say, place the Valflame tome in the hands of an amateur. Poor guy would probably reduce himself to cinders in his first attempt to cast fire magic from it.

"This tome should give us a measure of your aptitude in casting spells." Miriel explains. "Try channeling some mana through the tome and aim your hand at one of the training dummies on the other side of the courtyard."

I nod and face the training dummies. Like with how I learned the Mana soles skill, I try with as little mana as I can at first, and steadily increase the output. After some experimenting, I feel something. I become aware of the mana flowing through the tome in my left hand. While my mana normally feels…bland…it now feels…light. Like it could move with a freedom I never thought possible.

"It seems to work." Miriel comments. "Now, strike!"

"Wind!" I shout as I take aim at a training dummy.

*Fwoosh!*

A ball of compressed air saturated in mana flies from my hand and hits the training dummy with a dull impact.


A new skill has been created due to a special action! You gained "Wind mastery"!

Wind mastery, Lvl 1 [0.0 %], Passive
Air bending, wind-style jutsus, aeromancy, call it whatever the heck you want. Air is the element of freedom. It surrounds all living beings (above sea level) and travels where nothing else reaches. Many take it for granted because of its constant presence, never realizing the implications. Those who master the element of wind become legends in their own right, performing stunning feats with just skill and the very air they breathe. A wind master is never out of their element, making them dangerous to fight just about anywhere.
Passively increases damage dealt with wind-element magic by 5 %. The cost of all wind-element skills is reduced by 5 %.
Mastered spells: Wind


Wow… This feels…strange. I know I'm constantly surrounded by air, but it feels like it's only now that I'm aware of that very fact.

"It would seem you succeeded in learning wind magic." Miriel observes from my side.

I look at my right hand for a while before clenching it. Yes. This is exactly what I need to become stronger. Now to find ways to integrate the wind element in my fighting style.

"Thanks, Miriel." I answer the Mage with a smile. "This should help me immensely."

Miriel nods. "Short as it was, I found it…satisfying to have a student. I wish you the best of fortune in trying to learn the arcane arts, should you wish to pursue it."

I really wish I had a better way of thanking her than just words. I mean, she helped me learn the element I need to expand my skillset, so it's only fair I give her something that-

Wait… I DO have something for her.

I rummage around in my bag a bit before finding what I was looking for.

"Say, want to trade tomes?" I ask Miriel as I show her a red tome.

Miriel gives the tome a curious look.

"An Elfire tome. Where did you get this?" the Mage asks.

"Remember when we fought off those assassins back in Ylisstol? Their leader dropped it after we defeated him. I think you'll make better use of it than I do." I explain.

Miriel accepts the red tome with a smile. "Why, thank you. I do believe I am capable of using it effectively at my current skill level. This should help me significantly in future battles. I originally planned to let you keep the Wind tome, should you learn how to cast wind magic, though I see no harm in swapping tomes with you."

I return the smile. "Great! Well, I'm gonna go practice somewhere else. Good luck on your own practice."

Your relationship with Miriel has improved!


I'm currently sitting in the room I was provided for the duration of our stay here. Now that I'm alone, I can address something that I've been carrying on me for quite some time; the skill book I received when I first cleared the Bokoblin ID. According to the cover, it grants the skill "Soul drain". Sounds a bit morbid, but it might come in handy.


A new skill has become available by consuming a skill book! You gained "Soul drain"!

Soul drain, Lvl 1 [0.0 %], Active, Cost: 20 MP per second
A skill that lets the caster drain the life force of their target through direct contact. There is no defense against this technique, other than keeping your distance. There are few things as agonizing as the feeling of having you soul drained out of your body, so expect anyone afflicted with this skill to fight back.
Base damage: 100 % of the caster's INT. Restores HP equal to half the damage dealt. Element: none. Can only be used through direct contact. If the target is killed by use of this skill, the caster can rip their soul out of the body, allowing the caster to view that target's memories.


Ripping the souls of my enemies out of their bodies? This skill…sounds brutal. Still, I won't deny that it could work wonders in a fight. It seems to basically function like a close-range Nosferatu spell, except it has no element. Hm… Wonder if I can infuse this skill with some wind magic down the line. Better practice the basic skills first though. With that, I get ready for my nightly training.

Speaking of infusing wind into my current skills; there is a skill that I've been thinking about for some time now. I have a very varied skillset compared to most other characters in this world. Yet, for all my diversity, Lucina showed me that there is one aspect that I've yet to cover; movement. I need a high-speed movement skill. That's one of the reasons why I chose wind as my element (which Miriel was kind enough to help me with). If there is one element that allows for improved movement, it's wind.

I stand on the plains of my UBW and contemplate how I'm supposed to do this, as my clones are busy practicing various skills, mainly Wind mastery. I know how the wave dash works from a theoretical standpoint, but I'm not sure if I can move my body that way. Future-me may have figured something out, but I'm not Future-me. I need something…simpler. Something that works with my current skillset.

Well, the most movement-based skill I have right now is Mana soles, so that might be a good starting point. Let's see… Mana soles works in that I make a disc of mana under my feet to spread my weight over a wider area. I wonder… Can I use that disk for more than just that? What if I, say, used it as a platform, or any kind of solid surface?

I perform Mana soles to experiment. While I think I can run and jump pretty well, I'm not that confident in calling it high-speed level unless Reinforcement is involved. That means I have to add that into the mix as well. Much to my pleasant surprise, I find that I can indeed use the disc as a solid foothold to jump. Some more experimenting allows me to even kick off these discs while they're angled in such a way that I push forward much better. Now to add wind magic to the pu- Whoa!

I barely manage to stop myself before I run into a clone who's practicing swordplay with Guts's Dragon slayer. That thing's dangerous, man!


A new skill has been created through a special action! You gained "Gale step"!


Ha! Just the skill I wanted! That should round up the new skills I want for now. Let's get training!


Timeskip

The following few days passed with nothing of note happening. Everyone spent their free time practicing or sparring to prepare for battle. Well, Cordelia spent most of her time mourning her fallen knight-sisters. As down as she was when we arrived, she seemed to improve markedly. That, more than anything, seemed to lift everyone's morale a bit.

As for me, my days involved sparring with Lon'qu and enduring Frederick's fanatical fitness hours, while my nights were mainly spent practicing my new element and the skills that go with it.

It's been about five days since we arrived, and still no sign of us getting ready to march.

I just finished my latest spar with Lon'qu when I notice Chrom, Lissa and Sumia stand outside Flavia's audience hall. Lissa looks like she's on pins and needles, Chrom looks like he's somewhere else entirely, and Sumia looks between the two siblings in concern.

"B-but she's safe inside the castle, right?" Lissa asks seemingly everyone and no one at the same time with a worried voice. "Phila and the others will protect her! And Khan Flavia is assembling her best troops as we speak. We'll make it back home in time. I know we will!"

Silence is the only answer Chrom gives her.

Lissa scowls. "Chrom? Say something! Say, "Yes, of course we will!""

Chrom finally reacts to his sister trying to reach him. "…I'm sorry, Lissa. What?"

"Ugh, fine! Never mind!" the princess huffs. "Let me know when you get out of your own head for a second!"

Chrom stares at the ground in a mixture of anxiety and shame. Poor guy must be more worried for Emmeryn than anyone else – including Lissa.

That's when Sumia approaches the prince with a determined expression.

"Snap out of it, Captain!"

*Pow!*

Ouch! That's one mean right hook she's packing! Doesn't help that she's wearing metal gauntlets, either.

The blow almost floors Chrom. Instead, he remains standing with a swollen cheek.

"OW! …What the h-ll was that for?!" Chrom shouts.

Sumia gets startled by Chrom's outburst. "Oh no! …Did I do it wrong? Captain Phila says sometimes a good slap will break someone out of their doldrums."

Lissa facepalms at her explanation. "Sumia, when you slap someone, you do it with an open palm. You just punched Chrom in the face!"

Sumia's face turns an interesting shade of red as she finds the ground very interesting. "Um… It's the thought that counts?" she replies uncertainly. Girl, had Chrom been anyone else, you would've probably been arrested for assaulting royalty. Thank Naga Chrom is Chrom.

Chrom winces as he rubs his swollen cheek. "Gods, that seriously hurt…"

Flavia enters the scene laughing. "Ha ha! What's wrong, my dear prince? Sometimes love hurts! You're lucky to have strong women like these, and not just dainty flowers about." Then her face grows serious. "In any case, I have good news and bad news."

Chrom faces the reigning khan with a hopeful face.

"*Sigh* Might as well hear the bad news first."

"I've hit a snag in mobilizing my troops." Flavia explains. "Raimi's brigade is stuck north of here trying to drive off some bandits. I can't march into battle without my most trusted captain."

Lissa's eyes widen at the news. "What?! Are you having bandit troubles here too?"

"Just about every country has trouble with bandits." Flavia replies with a scowl. "These ones, however, are an especially worrisome bunch. They're led by two fearsome berserkers that call themselves "the twins". They and their band of underlings have plagued eastern Ferox for months. I've sent what troops I could spare in the hopes of rooting them out and get rid of them for good, but they always manage to give my men the slip. Or worse, they kill the soldiers and then keep on pillaging."

"So, you're telling me you can't mobilize all of your troops until these "twins" are brought to justice?" Chrom asks.

"Or put to the sword, whichever you prefer." Flavia adds. "Honestly, I don't really care, so long as I get rid of them. Those are the good news. If I can get Raimi back among my soldiers, I'm good to go."


Quest alert:
Side quest: Rooting out the twins (part 1)
Flavia's all ready to kick some Plegian butt – almost. The last of the troops she wants to bring are still busy fighting a group of bandits led by fearsome twin Berserkers. If they go, Flavia can assemble the last of her troops. Why not lend her a hand? You've got some experience fighting bandits already.
Objectives: Defeat Victor
Rewards: Increased standing with Regna Ferox, Increased closeness with Chrom, Increased closeness with Lissa, 3 000 EXP, 3 000 gold
Bonus objective: ?
Bonus rewards: ?, 300 EXP, 300 gold
Failure: Flavia will need more time to assemble her troops, resulting in you having to wait longer. Decreased standing with Regna Ferox. Decreased closeness with Chrom. Decreased closeness with Lissa.


Well, why not?

"Then why don't we help?" I ask.

Everyone turns to me with surprised expressions.

"Jack?" Chrom asks surprised. "When did you get here?"

I shrug. "A bit before Sumia clocked you in the face."

Said Pegasus knight tries to look as inconspicuous as possible.

"Anyway, care to elaborate on what you said, Jack?" Flavia asks.

"It's simple." I reply. "You can't assemble the rest of your troops because those bandits are giving you trouble, right, Khan Flavia? Well, if those bandits are the only problem stopping you, then we should find the best way to handle them. We haven't had much to do since arriving here, aside from getting ready for war. We might as well lend your troops a hand, so they can finish up quicker. That means we can go back to the capital with reinforcements faster too." I glance at Chrom. "That is, if it's acceptable for you, Captain?"

Chrom smiles in response. "Jack, that's brilliant! I can tell some of the Shepherds have been itching for some action during our stay here. We can help Khan Flavia with her bandit problem and let off some stress in the process."

The prince turns to the khan. "Well, what say you, Khan Flavia?"

Flavia grins happily. "Hah! Do you even need to ask? Of course I accept. Do with them as you wish, so long as you get rid of them. I'll keep my end of the bargain and have my troops ready afterwards. Count on it!"

There's finally a fire in Chrom's eyes again. "All right. Then we head out to face these "twins" and rid Ferox of their banditry. Everyone, gather the Shepherds!"

Half an hour later, we're all gathered outside Flavia's residence and ready to set out, save for our Pegasus Knights.

"What's taking Sumia and Cordelia so long?" Chrom mutters for himself impatiently.

"Sorry for the delay, Captain!" we hear Sumia shout as she runs up to us – with no pegasus in tow.

This is quickly picked up by everyone.

"Sumia? Where's your pegasus?" Chrom asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Her left wing got wounded during a training exercise a few days ago." Sumia explains sadly. "She needs about one more day before it's fully recovered. I'm sorry, Captain, but I have to stay and tend to her."

Chrom smiles at her reassuringly. "Don't worry. Your pegasus takes precedence. We'll handle the bandits and get back before you know it. Just make sure her wing heals properly."

Sumia brightens up before she settles on a determined expression. "Thank you, Captain! I'll make sure she's ready to fly again by the time you return."

Chrom nods before getting contemplative. "Still, this means we won't have anyone watching the skies for this mission. Jack, I trust you to scout the area ahead thoroughly as we advance."

I'm about to answer when someone else beats me to it.

"Captain Chrom, wait!"

We turn our heads in the direction Sumia came from to notice Cordelia in full combat gear and her pegasus by her side.

"Cordelia?" Chrom asks surprised.

"Whew. Looks like I made it in time." the red-headed Pegasus Knight pants as she reaches us.

"Wait, you're going with us?" Lissa asks.

Cordelia nods. "Yes. I'll be your eye in the sky in Sumia's place."

"Are you sure about this, Cordelia?" Chrom asks uneasily. "Last time we talked, the…you know…"

The Pegasus Knight nods. "Yes, the memories still weigh heavily on me, but I can't let them keep me on the ground forever. If I want to be part of the Shepherds, as well as continue the legacy my knight-sisters entrusted me with, I have to pull my weight."

Sumia looks down in…shame?

"I didn't want her to go, but she insisted." Then she turns to her fellow Pegasus Knight. "Please, Cordelia. You don't have to force yourself for my sake."

Cordelia shakes her head with determination practically burning in her eyes. "I appreciate your concern, Sumia, but I have to do this. If I don't stand up and fight now, I'll never be able to take to the skies again. I can't feel sorry for myself forever." Then she smiles at me. "Besides, I'm not doing this alone. I have comrades backing me up."

I give her a thumbs-up and a grin. Looks like her spark is finally returning. That's when an idea pops up in my head.

"Well, Sumia brings up a good point. Don't push yourself on our behalf. This'll be the first time you fight since you joined us. Take baby steps, Cordelia." I smile wryly. "In fact, I think you'd be safest fighting alongside Chrom for this mission."

Cordelia's cheeks turn red at my response. "W-what?! M-me…with the Captain?"

I shrug. "Why not? I've fought alongside Chrom before, so I know that he's a reliable partner. Besides, something tells me you two will make a good team." I turn to Chrom for confirmation. "That is, if you agree, Captain."

Chrom puts his hand on his chin for a moment before he nods. "That sounds like a sensible plan." Then he smiles at Cordelia. "All right, Cordelia. You can count on me to have your back, just like I'll be counting on you."

Cordelia's face lights up with a smile to match her blush. "Oh gods, yes! Ah- I mean, yes, sir!"

Duuude… Girl's got it at least as bad for the prince as Sumia. Speaking of Sumia, I notice her expression show something akin to…betrayal, I think.

Sigh. This is the only reason why I feel bad about going with this. I know how much Sumia likes Chrom, but I'm aware how much the prince means for Cordelia too. In the end, I want Cordelia to be the one with him, no matter what canon says.

Dang it, Sumia, you need to broaden your horizons! You're a Pegasus Knight, for crying out loud! You, if anyone, should have the broader perspective!


A few hours of marching later, we come upon a merchant holding a wounded soldier.

"Blast… It seems all hope is lost." the merchant sighs in a resigned voice. "Still, hold fast. I'll treat your wounds…"

"Ngh… It's t-too late…" the soldier groans.

"What's happened here?!" Chrom shouts as he runs up to the pair. Lissa and Maribelle are right behind him with their staves at the ready.

"Nothing but death ahead, travelers." the merchant replies. "I'd turn back if I were you… Whatever your business here, it will have to wait."

Chrom places a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Just tell us what happened."

"Bandits have blocked the road ahead." the merchant explains. "They're demanding a king's ransom in illicit tolls for all who wish to pass."

Chrom scowls. "They think to profiteer on refugees? Despicable."

"Our caravan's livelihood is at stake." the merchant sighs. "We'll do no business in this country now…"

"The flow of goods must be secured, milord, or the people are likely to starve." Frederick remarks.

"Then we'll secure it." Chrom replies. Then he turns to the merchant. "You and your caravan can wait here. We'll let you know when it's safe."

"There, all done." Lissa speaks up pleased.

Our attention turns to the Cleric and Maribelle, as well as the soldier being back up on his feet.

"Thank you." the soldier sighs relieved. "For a minute, I thought I was a goner."

"You're a soldier under Captain Raimi's command, aren't you?" Chrom asks. At the soldier confirming it, Chrom asks. "May we see her? We're here on behalf of Khan Flavia to help her with a certain bandit problem. Judging by what the merchant told us, I'd say we found a trail."

"I-I'm afraid we don't have time." the soldier tells us. "I was sent by Captain Raimi to scout the area when some of the twins' underlings got the better of me and almost killed me. Right as I was about to pass out, I heard them talking about raiding one of the nearby villages."

Robin's eyes widen before they set in a determined scowl. "He's right, we don't have time to see Raimi, Chrom. If we go to her now, the village could be razed to the ground before we can stop the bandits."

Chrom nods in agreement. "All right. Lead the way. Shepherds! We're moving out! Prepare for battle!"


We've taken cover in a forest not far from the village the soldier told us about. Everyone's preparing their weapons and gear for the incoming battle. Me? I'm waiting for my informant.

"Jack, we need to move out soon." Chrom reminds me. "We can't afford to wait much longer."

"And you don't need to." I answer with a smirk as I hear some bushes rustling. A squirrel with white fur on top of his head jumps out of the foliage and lands before me. After letting the little animal feast on a nut, I crouch down to address him.

"Jiraiya, report."

The squirrel swallows the last of the nut before he begins his report.

"You've got your work cut out for you, Jack. There's a sizable group of bandits to the south, with a few more approaching from the mountains in the east. They've set their sights on the village up north, on the other side of the river. If you want to stop them, you have to move fast. Their leader looks ridiculous, but I can tell he's strong, so you need to be careful too."

The squirrel waggles his eyebrows. "Incidentally, I noticed a cute redhead standing outside the village. I think she's actually trying to protect it from the bandits, though I think she wouldn't mind some help. Who knows? If you help her out, you might find yourself a hot-"

*Whack!*

Jiraiya holds his head in pain as I dismiss the Tree branch that I Traced on a moment's notice. "Finish that sentence, and I'll rat out your secret to Tsunade." I tell Jiraiya with a bored, yet threatening, voice.

"I'll be good!" the squirrel squeaks fearfully before he darts back into the foliage.

I stand back up with a sigh. I swear, those squirrels are nutcases in more ways than one. I turn to address our Tactician.

"Alright, Robin, here's what we're up against."

As I relay the information I got from Jiraiya, Robin nods occasionally while being deep in thought.

"I have a plan." she eventually says. "Jack, how fast can you run?"

I smirk at her question. "I could use some more practice, but right now, I could probably keep up with Cordelia's pegasus."

The Pegasus Knight looks at me in shock. "What?! How would that even be possible? Humans can hardly keep pace with an ordinary horse, let alone a pegasus."

I activate Gale step and run a few circles around the Shepherds before I stop with a grin. "You're telling me."

Everyone present gape at my movement speed.

"Holy crow, Jack! Since when can you do that?!" Lissa asks, being the first to recover from her shock.

"Since a few days ago." I reply. "I decided to experiment a little with the snow-walking trick and my new wind magic, and presto! Now I can run really fast!"

Robin shakes her head to regain her composure. "Uh, all right. This… This could give us an important edge in future battles." It's not long before she slips back into strategy mode. "You know where the village is. Head there and help the mysterious woman protect it. Chrom, Cordelia, Frederick, Maribelle and Ricken. Follow Jack's lead. The rest of you, you're with me. We'll attack the bandits approaching from the south and stop them from even coming near the village."

Chrom nods at the battle plan before he gets on Cordelia's pegasus (much to her apparent joy and embarrassment) and draws Falchion.

"All right, you have your orders. Shepherds, move out!"

BGM: Freeze!, Paper Mario music

At Chrom's signal, I let Gale step loose and dash off at break neck speeds with snow flying into the air in my wake. I faintly hear the others call for me to slow down.

There's only one problem with that… I haven't figured out how to do anything other than dash and stop with this skill yet!

"Ride faster!" I shout behind me, hoping against all odds that they heard my unreasonable plea.

I soon come up against a few bandits resting close to the bridge going over the stream in the area. Deciding to simply wing it, I spin up a Rasengan and take aim at the closest one.

"Incoming!" *Boom!*

All my momentum from my high-speed charge was put into that one attack. The result? Uh, I think the bandit flew somewhere beyond the forest over the yonder. Well, at least I managed to stop.

The remaining bandits look at me in shock. Then they look at the spot where their buddy was slacking off right beside them until a second ago. Back to me. Then they grab their weapons and charge me. I draw my Windcleaver in response and jump back while unleashing a few windblades. I manage to kill a Mage during my retreat, but his two Myrmidon allies make it through the barrage. I'm about to engage them when a shadow flies over my head.

"I got this!" *Shink!*

"We're not done yet!" *Shing!*

Cordelia and Chrom just caught up with me and felled the two Myrmidons with a head-on assault.

Chrom scowls at me as he turns my way. "Jack, we told you to slow down!"

I scratch the back of my head. "Sorry, Chrom. Haven't figured out how to do that just yet with my new technique." That's when the others finally catch up as well, with Ricken hitching a ride on L'Arachel.

The prince sighs. "Well, this just got more complicated."

I shake my head. "Look, I can't control my speed yet, but I still have enough control to decide where to go. The village shouldn't be far from here. I can run ahead while Cordelia keeps an eye on me. The rest of you guys should be able to follow her lead."

"That's a risky plan." Cordelia protests. "There's bound to be more bandits along the way."

"They won't be a problem if they don't see me coming." I reply smirking. "Trust me, I've got this." I then turn serious. "I understand your concern, but we're pressed for time here. We need to reach that village as fast as possible, and that means I can't afford to slow down."

Chrom looks a bit pensive before he nods. "You're right. Just… Just be careful, all right?"

I nod back. "Will do, Captain." I turn to Cordelia. "Keep your eyes trained on me. I'll clear a path for the others."

Thanks to my mini-map, I know exactly where to find that village. I set myself in that direction.

"Here I go!" *Fwoosh!*

Now, running straight into a forest at break-neck speeds would normally be a recipe for disaster. That is, if I did do this the normal way. As I approach the tree line, I activate Mind's eye, giving me the perfect view of the approaching forest. I can see where every tree grows, where every snag lays on the ground, and most importantly, where every bandit hides within my range. Between my omnidirectional "sight", quick adjustments with Reinforcements and liberal use of the tree trunks, I practically zip and bounce between the trees like a hyperactive human-sized squirrel as I traverse the forest. And since the bandits inside don't catch on to me until I'm practically right on top of them, that means I have the perfect opportunity for sneak attacking them. It's a blessing, really, seeing as they have Archers hiding among the trees. Can't have those around if Cordelia wants to spot me from the sky.

*Shing! Shing! Shr-Boom!*

I mainly try to carve a path through the woods for Frederick and Maribelle to ride through smoothly. Doesn't mean I can't off a few bandits while I'm at it.

"Hyah!" *Whoosh! SHING!*

I unleash a particularly hard swing and launch a big windblade that cleaves a wide berth of trees in front of me all the way to the exit of the woods. As I pass the tree line, the village finally comes into view. I speed ahead and notice fighting happening in front of the village. A lone redhead fends off three bandits simultaneously, though it looks like she's taken a few hits, judging from her pained expression and the tears in her outfit. To make matters worse, a few bandits try to sneak around the fighting with their sights on the defenseless village instead. What do I choose? Help the brave lady or protect the village?

Who am I kidding?! Shadow clones for the win!

*Poof, poof, poof!*

"Protect the village! I'll help her!" I command my clones. They give a quick affirmative before rushing off to intercept the bandits.

With the village handled, I set my sights on the fight outside it. Time to even the numbers.

*Shink!* "Guah!"

The Barbarian cries out as I ram my Windcleaver through his back with the speed of an arrow. Before anyone can react to my sudden entrance, I kick the bandit off my sword and slash him clean across the back. He's dead before he hits the ground.

The bandits quickly back off upon finally realizing what just happened. That lets me sidle up by the redhead. You guessed it, it's an Anna.

"Am I late for the party?" I ask while keeping an eye on the bandits.

Anna smiles at me gratefully. "You're just in time, cutie. Thanks for the save. …That was a freebie, right?"

I roll my eyes at her question. Leave it to the Annas to think of money and favors even when their lives are on the line.

"Take it whichever way you want." I reply. "I'm mainly here to get rid of these bandits and make sure you don't get yourself killed for protecting the village."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you! Now I get why my cousin back in Ylisstol spoke so fondly of you."

"I'd think you were twins, had you not said that."

"Yeah, me and my relatives get that a lot."

You don't say, girl…

The Myrmidons charge us with their swords ready for…horizontal slashes! Anna jumps over the left one while I crouch under the right. My adversary put way too much commitment into that attack, giving me the perfect opening for a rising slash. He barely has time to take a step back before I land and finish him with a slash across the chest. Man, after all those spars with Lon'qu, fighting swordsmen at this level barely qualifies as a warm-up.

Anna parries and dodges the slashes of her opponent a few times before she rushes in, baits a slash, and then flips her sword in a reverse grip. A clean strike across the Myrmidon's neck leaves him bleeding out on the ground.

"Whew. I can handle a few bandits just fine, but these guys just keep coming." Anna sighs. "I'm running low on supplies as it is with all the hits I've taken. Please tell me you've got some Vulneraries."

I smile as I notice a familiar Pegasus Knight pass the tree line.

"Better. I've got reinforcements coming in. And one of them happens to be a Troubadour."

Maribelle and Frederick clear the woods not long after. We're soon gathered in front of the village with Maribelle healing Anna's wounds. Boy, were the Shepherds surprised upon discovering that the Anna here is merely the cousin to the Anna running the smithy in Ylisstol.

"Thanks for the help, sweetie." Anna says happily to Maribelle as the last wounds heal up.

"That should clear things up for the vicinity of this village, correct?" Frederick asks.

I shake my head. "Not quite, Frederick. I heard that more bandits are on their way from the mountains in the east. They're fewer than the ones approaching from the south, but Robin and the others should have those covered."

Chrom gazes towards the mountains with narrowed eyes. "Do you think we can intercept them?"

I mull the question over in my head. "Maybe if we're fast enough. Me and Cordelia would obviously be the first ones to reach them. Frederick and Ricken can provide back-up when they catch up. Though it would be risky if any bandits from the south manage to slip away and head for the village."

"Leave those to me, then." Anna suggests. She places a hand on her flexing biceps with a smile. "Thanks to you guys, I'm good to go for another fight – though I'd prefer not fighting at all."

"And I need to tend to any refugees in the village who are injured." Maribelle adds.

"Uh, sorry guys, but could I stay in the village?" Ricken asks. We look at him surprised.

"It's just… I don't want to leave Maribelle alone." the young Mage explains.

Maribelle places a hand on his shoulder and smirks confidently. "Come now, Ricken. I may not be a frontline fighter, but I am far from defenseless. I can handle a ruffian or two just fine."

The fact that she singlehandedly beat four trained soldiers into the ground wielding nothing but her parasol and her own body reinforces that point. Ricken looks down on the ground and bites his lip before he nods.

"Stay safe, Maribelle." He tells the Troubadour before he gets on Frederick's horse.

"That's what I should be telling you." Maribelle mutters before heading into the village.

Chrom climbs back up on Cordelia's pegasus. "All right. Let's go stop those bandits. If we're fast enough, we should make it back in time to help Robin and the others."

We all nod before I start running, with Cordelia taking to the skies and Frederick setting off not far behind.


We spot the bandits from the other side of a bridge, just as they clear the mountains. First order of business: kill the Archer!

*Shing!*

I slide to a top behind the bandit. The other bandits stare at me in confusion before they cry out in horror as the head of their Archer buddy slides off his neck from a clean cut. I turn around and point my Windcleaver at them.

"Next."

Their mistake, however, was turning around and focusing on me. That left their backs open for Cordelia and Chrom to crash down on them from behind in a brutal dual strike. Try as they might to recover from the attack and regroup, they only get a little time to struggle between the three of us before Fredrick barrels in full force with Ricken cleaning up with his newly taught lightning magic.

I calmly sheathe my sword behind my back. "That's the last of those bandits. All that's left are the ones coming from the south."

"Then we'd better hurry and be done with them." Chrom replies.


Quest alert:
Side quest: Rooting out the twins (part 1)
After a hectic battle in the snow, the bandits have been pushed back from the Feroxi settlements. Flavia can finally mobilize the rest of her troops and get ready to fight Plegia. Though one question keeps bugging you. Only one of the twins were defeated. Where did the other one go?
Objective: Defeat Victor
Objective cleared!
Rewards: Your standing with Regna Ferox has increased! Your relationship with Chrom has improved! Your relationship with Lissa has improved! You gain 3000 EXP! You gain 3000 gold!
Bonus objective: Don't let Anna die.
Bonus rewards: The prices in shops managed by an Anna is permanently reduced by 2 %! You gain 300 EXP! You gain 300 gold!

BGM ends

Due to continuous strenuous activity, STR increases by 2!
Due to maneuvering through a dense obstacle area at high speed, DEX increases by 4!

Your relationship with Lissa is now "Trusted"!


"I don't think that'll be necessary." I tell the prince with a smile.

The others look at me in surprise.

"How can you tell?" Ricken finally asks.

I walk in the direction of the village. "Just a hunch."


Our return to the village is met with the other Shepherds waiting for us. My companions send me suspicious looks that I answer with a smile and no words. Hey, a hunch is a hunch.

"A thousand thanks, good sir." the merchant from earlier says while bowing to Chrom. "I'd feared our goods would spoil before reaching market. I'm certain the townsfolk will be happier for the fresh food as well."

"It seems you've done a kindness to my fellow merchants." Anna comments as she approaches the prince. "The name's Anna. Some folks like to call me the Secret Seller. Next time we meet, I'll be sure to cut you an extra-special deal."

Chrom rubs his chin in thought. "…Secret Seller? That sounds…familiar."

Anna gives him a teasing smile. "I'd tell you more, but then it wouldn't be much of a secret, now would it? Heck, you've already caught on a little, since you know my cousin living in the capital of Ylisse. Well, until next time."

With that, Anna sets off to Naga-knows-where, probably for her next business.

Chrom scratches his head. "I honestly can't wrap my head around that woman and her family."

I nod sagely. "Took the words out of my mouth, Chrom. Seeing just one of them leaves me confused. I know about family resemblance, but theirs is just ridiculous."

I glance to the side and notice Robin discuss with the soldier Lissa and Maribelle saved earlier. They seem to have reached an agreement of sorts, judging by him nodding.

"All right. I'll return to camp to let Captain Raimi hear the news. We should return to Khan Flavia soon."

The soldier sets off, leaving just us Shepherds and the village.

"It would seem our business here is finished." Frederick notes. "Well, milord? Shall we return to Kahn Flavia?"

Chrom nods. "Yes, let's."


We've barely made it back into Flavia's residence when we're met with Basilio running up to us.

"Chrom! Good gods, I've been looking for you everywhere!" the bald khan exclaims.

"Is something wrong?" Chrom asks.

"Our scouts have returned." Basilio explains. "Dark news, I'm afraid… Ylisstol…has fallen."

The news sends a wave of shock among our group.

"The plegians captured your exalt and retreated back across their lines. Gangrel has declared she's to be publicly executed within the moon."

Chrom looks like someone stabbed him in the gut. "E-executed?!"

Lissa begins to sway on her feet. "Ooooh…"

Good thing Maribelle's there to catch her. "Lissa? Darling! Stay with me!"

Flavia snarls. "The dastard's not even trying to be subtle anymore."

"I agree. It's an obvious trap." Robin adds scowling.

Basilio shakes his head. "The Mad King knew our scouts would relay this information back. It's clearly a provocation – a hot brand to the buttocks! We should consider our options carefully before jumping to any-"

"Shepherds! We march to Plegia!" Chrom orders without hesitation.

Basilio sighs. "*Ahem* Well, that would be ONE option, yes… But perhaps we've seen enough royalty waltzing into traps for one war already, eh?"

"I don't care if it's a trap, Basilio." Chrom answers. "He's going to murder my sister!"

"Peace, Chrom." Flavia interjects. "Breathe a moment. No one's suggesting we don't act. We're simply saying we should act wisely. We'll need guts and wits in equal measure if we're to save your sister."

That's when Robin steps up with a determined expression. "The khans are right. I'll think of something, Chrom. I promise."

Chrom takes a few breaths before calming down. "…All right, Robin. I leave it to you to formulate our strategy."

"Are you certain you're up to the task, Robin?" Flavia asks seriously. "It won't be easy. You hold the exalt's life in one hand, and all of ours in the other."

Robin chews her lip for a moment before matching the intensity of Flavia's expression. "A responsibility I do not take lightly. But I am equal to the challenge."

Flavia laughs at hearing her response. "Ha ha! You've got stones, at least. I like that!"

"No hesitation, no mincing words… She's either a genius or a fool!" Basilio muses. Then he grins broadly. "I suppose we'll find out once we march. Hold on to your tassets, ylisseans. We've an exalt to save!"


Not even ten minutes later, Robin's turned Flavia's audience hall into a veritable war room, complete with a massive oaken desk as a war table and a map of the continent sitting on it. That's when I get shooed out from the hall along with every other Shepherd aside from Chrom and Frederick. Robin wants to concentrate, and she'll only let the highest ranked people discuss plans with her. Guess I don't rank high enough.

While we're waiting for our Tactician to finalize her strategy, the rest of us prepare for marching. It's mostly checking our weapons and supplies at this point, since we just got back from a mission. Sumia soon meets up with us. Since she was here when Basilio's scouts returned, she already knows the dreadful news. It's a good thing her pegasus has made a full recovery. She's ready for action.

I call a squirrel to me while waiting for Robin to get ready. The little critter soon lands in front of me, accepting the nut I give her. Then I hand her a note with a short, simple message.

We're headed for Plegia. Make haste and be there. – Jack

"Shizune, deliver this note to Lucina as fast as you can." I order the squirrel.

Shizune accepts the note without protest. "If speed is important, I should pass it on to Minato. He is the fastest member of our clan."

I nod. "That's good. We're in a race against time. Hurry!"

Shizune nods before she vanishes among the threes growing around Flavia's residence.

Next up would be modifying my stats. As good as I am now, I think it's high time I boosted my stats with some points. I've built up quite a horde since my adventure in this world started. Seeing as the battles will only get worse, now would be a good time to give myself a fast power boost. My base stats in VIT, INT and WIS are all over 50, so it's probably good if STR and DEX caught up to them and I got the bonus skills that are bound to come as they reach that level.

The game does not disappoint.


A new skill has become available due to your high strength! You gained "Bro, do U lift?"!

A new skill has become available due to your high dexterity! You gained "Monkey moves"!


Now I'm pretty much ready to march at a moment's notice, but there's something I need to address before then. Since the battles are bound to get fiercer from this point onwards, the Shepherds will need all the help they can get on the frontlines. That means me acting as the scout might not cut it anymore. I need a replacement, and I know just the person to ask. It takes some searching, but I eventually find him sitting on a bench and chewing on some candy.

"Hey, Gaius? Do you have a moment?" I ask the Thief.

Gaius looks up from his position and nods before he moves a bit to the side to let me sit.

"So, what's up, Buttercup?"

"You're good at sneaking around and gathering information, right?" I ask.

Gaius gives me confident smirk. "The best there is. I can get in just about anywhere, get anything from valuables to information, and get out before anyone notices me." Then he regards me quizzically. "Why'd you ask? Need dirt on someone?"

I shake my head. "No. I come with a proposition."

"Go on, I'm listening."

"As you may already know, I've acted as the scout for this army since before you joined us."

The Thief nods. "Yeah, I noticed. You've got a strange way of gathering info. Seriously, who uses squirrels for that?"

"You'd be surprised what they can find out." I answer with a deadpan expression. "Anyway, as good as I may be, I think I'm going to be needed elsewhere in the future. The coming battles may be the hardest we've ever fought. The others will need all the help they can get on the frontlines. I want to help them, but I can't do that while leaving my post empty."

Gaius nods in understanding. "And so, you came to me."

"Exactly. You're probably the one who would fit in the best as the new scout for the Shepherds. You said it yourself. You know how to get in, get what you need, and get out before anyone notices you."

Gaius looks up to the ceiling in thought while he idly pops another sweet in his mouth. I don't know what the guy uses to prevent himself from getting rotted teeth due to his sugar intake, but whatever it is he's using, I want some of it.

"I admit, I much prefer sneaking around and staying unseen over fighting in the open." he eventually replies. "Still, I can tell it's a dangerous job, since you're the one currently with it."

I nod at his observation. "You're right, it is. You're on your own while sneaking behind enemy lines to gather intel. If anything happens to you, we might not even notice until it's too late. What's more, the info you relay to Robin could be the difference between a brilliant strategy or a disastrous one."

Gauis nods with a pensive look. "Yeah, I figured as much."

"All right, I'll do it." he eventually says.

I look at him surprised. "You will?"

The Thief shrugs. "We both know I'm pretty much cut out for this kind of job, so there's no point in beating around the bush." Then he smiles at me. "Besides, I've gotta pull my weight in this army at some point, right? Might as well be when I'm good at it."

"Thanks, Gaius." I reply with a relieved sigh. "That's a huge weight off my chest."

Gaius shrugs again. "Happy to help. You owe me a favor for putting me in this spot, though."

"Don't you even start with me on those favors." I reply scowling. "I helped you find a place in the army where you fit in, and you help me get some space to help the others. I'd say it's a fair trade."

The ginger-head waves his arm dismissively. "Yeah, whatever. See you around, Buttercup."

Your relationship with Gaius has improved!

Sigh. I suppose that conversation went as well as it could.


Timeskip: The next day

"Are we there yet?" Vaike asks out loud.

"No!" is the collective response – for about the 20th time.

The sun blazes down on me from high above. There's sand as far as my sight reaches. If it wasn't for Mana soles, walking through this terrain would be a nightmare.

As things stand, it's merely a freakin' pain in the neck!

"Ugh… This desert is ridiculously hot…" I groan as I wipe some sweat off my brow.

"Oh, just bear with it, Jack." Robin replies exasperated from my right.

Maribelle passes me with her parasol raised. "And this is why you never mock the parasol." she states with a haughty smirk. I try to come up with a retort, only to find that I have none.

Robin's final strategy is the very reason while we're marching with Flavia's troops straight through the Plegian desert in the first place. Because the area is so deserted (literally), the chance of Plegian soldiers patrolling this area is slim. We would've taken the high road further up north, near the Feroxi border, if we weren't so pressed for time. Instead, Basilio marches that path with his troops, since they know the terrain much better and can give any Plegian patrols the slip in the mountains. The plan is for our two armies to meet up north of the capital of Plegia, where we'll launch a surprise attack and rescue Emmeryn before Gangrel can get his entire army mobilized.

Robin's surprisingly adept in navigating this giant sandbox. Guess some of that Plegian geography managed to stay intact when she lost her memories. Good thing it remained, or else we'd run the risk of getting lost. I mean, I can't even differentiate this dune on my left from the dune we passed five minutes ago!

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Vaike, ask that one more time, and I'll dunk your head in a water barrel!" Sully shouts from further back.

That makes the Fighter perk up. "Really?! Sully, you're a life saver!"

The rest of us roll our eyes. Good grief… I can't wait for nightfall. At least I can handle cold much better than this blasted heat.

It's close to sunset when we decide to stop for a respite. Everyone huddles behind the carriages for whatever shade they can get in the setting sun.

"I'd like to believe it's our cunning that got us this far without being spotted…" Chrom muses. "But we've seen far too little of the Plegian Guard. Where are they? Whatever trap Gangrel has planned, he is in no hurry to spring it."

I look at the prince curiously. "Wait, you mean to tell me Gangrel would send soldiers here, right in the middle of the desert?"

Chrom nods. "I wouldn't put it past him."

Frederick approaches us with Gaius in tow.

"Milord, Gaius has returned to report."

The Great Knight steps to the side and lets the Thief through.

"Looks like there's something going down further south of here, Blue." Gaius reports. "Not sure what it is, but it doesn't look pretty."

Chrom narrows his eyes. "All right. Get everyone ready to move."

"These desert sands are certain to bog down our units, milord." Frederick interjects. "Only mages and fliers will likely be able to proceed unhindered."

The prince nods. "Good point. I'll keep it in mind. Robin, let's discuss strategy."


It's eventually decided that only a few of us will go into battle. Obviously, our Mages and Pegasus Knights are picked first. Chrom needs to be there to lead us, as does Robin. Lissa and I tag along, since we can travel over the desert sand with no problem. Gaius joins in, since he knows the layout of the area the most. And I had Lon'qu included as well, mostly since I trust him to have my back. Curiously enough, Ricken managed to convince Robin to take Maribelle along. Ricken's apparently good enough at mana channeling that he can help L'Arachel traverse the sand with little difficulty. This, of course, means that the young Mage has to stay with Maribelle at all times.

We arrive at the place Gaius indicated and come upon a…hectic scene. Nowi's panting with her hands on her knees after she just cleared a sand dune. Then Gregor comes hot on her heels.

"Wait, I say! Why you no comprehending, wee one!"

"AUGH! GET AWAY! Everyone just leave me ALONE!" the young manakete screams.

That scream triggers something within me. I suddenly get this strong urge to just…run up to Nowi and protect her from any possible harm.

"Please, be keeping down with the voice!" the Mercenary begs. "You give away position! Very bad!"

"My throat is dry, my shoes are full of sand, and some big weirdo is trying to KILL ME!"

"Oy, you break Gregor's heart! Why you treat like villain?" the Mercenary protests.

That's when Chrom steps up on top of the dune we've been hiding behind.

"You there! Fiend! Keep your hands off that maiden!" the prince shouts at Gregor. Huh. Guess I'm not the only one getting the urge to protect Nowi.

The Mercenary takes note of us and turns in our direction. "Who is fiend?" Then he points at himself. "…You mean Gregor? No, friend! You have idea wrong!"

"Yeah, right!" Lissa fires back. "…Creep!"

Gregor sighs tiredly. "This day has been nothing but insults and punches to groin. And all for doing good deed! …Listen, friend. Gregor only want to-"

"Gotcha, you slippery scamp! Prepare for a dose of Grima's wrath." we hear someone shout further down south. Is that what I think it is?


Grimleal priest Lvl 26 Class: Dark Mage
A high-ranking member of a cult that worships the fell dragon Grima. These members typically practice dark magic in accordance to the sinister nature of the cult. For the same reason, they rarely show even a shred of compassion to anyone, caring only to fulfill the designs of their master at any and all costs. Are not to be confused with staff wielding Priests. That would just be insulting.

AN: As far as I can remember, the Grimleal have no members of the Priest/Cleric or War monk/War cleric classes. Guess those people have too much of a moral code and compassion to side with the sinister bad guys. Case in point: Libra.


Gregor's head whips towards the Dark Mage before he flinches.

"Oy, this is most terrible! Do you see now? They make with the catching of us!"

By "they" he means the two dozen or so figures who seemingly pop up out of nowhere among the dunes. A quick sweep with Observe tells me that, yes, they're all Grimleal. Great…

"Why are you all after the girl?" Chrom asks scowling.

"All? What is "all"? Gregor is not one of "all"!" the Mercenary replies while waving his hands placatingly. "Look close! Maybe you not see from so far? Gregor have innocent baby-face!"

Everyone present (Nowi included) regard him with the same expression:

-_- …

"Yeah… Not sure "innocent baby" is how I'd describe it…" Robin eventually states.

Gregor throws his hands in the air in exasperation. "Bah! Never be minding! Gregor is not enemy! You must believe!"

Chrom pinches the bridge of his nose. "…This is making my head hurt. We'll sort him out later. Right now, we need to protect the girl."

Nowi looks at us hopeful. "Y-you're going to help me?"

"We'll do everything in our power to keep you safe." Chrom replies. "Just hold on until we can reach you, and we'll drive them off!"


Quest alert:
Main quest: Sinister sands, sinister figures
On your way to Plegia, you stumble upon a little girl who's being chased by a big lug and a group of evil looking figures. Protect that girl! Strike first, ask questions later.
Objectives: Defeat all Grimleal members
Rewards: 8 000 EXP, 8 000 gold
Bonus objective: ?
Bonus rewards: 3 000 EXP, 3 000 gold
Failure: You die. Any questions? Thought so.


BGM: Divine beast Vah Naboris battle, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild music

I dismiss the quest alert with barely a thought as I race across the desert with my Windcleaver drawn. Between Mana soles and Gale step, I have all the mobility I need to get just about anywhere smoothly. As I close in on Nowi, however, a pair of Barbarians block my path.

*Clang!*

"Out of my way!" I shout as we clash.

I break off from our clash and attempt to race around them, only to be forced to a stop by a Dark Mage flinging Thunder spells at me. Drat! I'm getting bogged down here!

"What a cupcake!" *Shing!*

Nice sneak attack, Gaius! That Dark Mage won't get in my way anymore.

"Chrom! I'm going on ahead!" I shout to the prince.

Chrom nods in affirmative before he proceeds to decimate a Cavalier.

I finally spot an opening for me to rush through enemy lines straight to Nowi and Gregor. Wait, I'm not the only one! Incoming Myrmidon!

"Watch out!"

Nowi looks in the direction I indicate to notice the Myrmidon running at her with his sword drawn. Her eyes widen in horror.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

And right before our eyes, Nowi's enveloped in an ethereal flower of energy radiating from a stone around her neck. Huh. Dragonstones are smaller than I thought.

As the petals unravel, they reveal the manakete in her dragon form. The Myrmidon tries to stab her, only to bounce back in shock as the scales on Nowi's wings deflect the attack. Before the Myrmidon can retake his stance, Nowi takes a deep breath and launches an azure ball at him. The ball explodes in a violent blaze, burning the Myrmidon to a crisp in a matter of seconds.

"What in blazes?! The girl is a dragon!" Robin exclaims.

"By the gods, she's a manakete…" Chrom adds. "I never thought I'd see one."

I ignore whatever they say afterwards as I finally reach the transformed manakete and the Mercenary.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask Nowi.

The green dragon is enveloped in the same ethereal flower once more before it reveals that Nowi reverted to her child-like form.

"I- I think I'm fine for now." the manakete answers shakily. Whether from being chased by an evil cult or because she just fried a man alive, I don't know.

I sidle up to her and get in a stance. "Who are those people anyway?" I ask as I eye the approaching grimleal.

"Bad news." Gregor answers. "Gregor find wee girl in prison of theirs. They mumbling about strange ritual. Can only mean bad news for wee girl, no?"

Nowi grabs my clothes. "I'm scared."

I place my free arm around her protectively. "Stay close to me. I'll protect you, even if it costs me my life." I smile down at her reassuringly. "Besides, I have friends who will help me do just that."

At that moment, a Dark Mage crests a nearby dune with a manic grin and a Flux spell at the ready. He might've normally been a threat to either me or Nowi in this situation, due to his sudden appearance. There's a flaw in his approach, however.

*Shing!* "Guaah!"

You have to get past my man Lon'qu first.

I direct a thumbs-up to the Myrmidon. "Perfect timing, Lon'qu! I could use some extra help in protecting the girl."

The Myrmidon slides down the dune and regards the newcomers. He looks a bit uncomfortable around Nowi, but he seems to handle it well.

"Will you even be able to fight while protecting her?" Lon'qu eventually asks.

I scratch my head. He probably speaks from experience, and he honestly brings up a good point.

"I could probably handle myself against an enemy or two, and the girl here could pull her weight as well, what with the dragon transformation and everything. That being said, I doubt she'd prefer fighting at all – at least as things stand."

I look down to Nowi and see her nod in confirmation. Those frightened eyes…with tears threatening to spill out any second…

Must…protecc…

"And how do you suppose to protect her if you're too busy to fight?" Lon'qu asks, breaking me out of my stupor.

I indicate Gregor. "How about teaming up with the big guy over there? Something tells me you two could work well together." In-game support convos, that is.

"You hire Gregor?" the Mercenary asks.

"As good as Lon'qu is in a fight – and believe me, I know from personal experience how good he is – he's still only one man. It'll be a lot safer if he had a partner in battle. But, well, I think the little one-" Here I indicate Nowi. "-has my hands tied down at the moment. You're the only one available that seems even remotely trustworthy."

The Mercenary thumps his chest proudly. "Friend make good choice. Gregor very reliable. In fact, this one count as freebie as acting of nice will. But next time, pay in full."

I grin at his answer. "It's a deal!"

"You seem awfully quick to trust a stranger." Lon'qu mutters.

"Do you have any better ideas at the moment? 'Cause if you do, I'd like to hear them." I reply.

Lon'qu takes a look around. The others are occupied with their own battles. Then he looks back at the four of us. He nods before approaching Gregor.

"Don't slow me down." he says before he keeps walking.

Gregor looks at the Myrmidon's back in surprise. "Oy! No need for the rudeness! Gregor is old, but not slow!"

"Let's go too." I hear Nowi say.

"Huh? Didn't you just say you're scared?" I ask surprised.

Nowi looks up at me determined. "I am, but I can't run from them forever. I don't like fighting, but I know when it's necessary."

Hates fighting, but knows it's necessary sometimes. It's times like these when I'm reminded about her real age.

I nod. "Alright. Let's go. Just make sure you stay close to me."

Nowi winks. "I can do one better."

The flower returns, transforming her into a dragon again.

"I'll fly around and cover you from above." the manakete suggests.

I hold my chin in contemplation. Nowi could provide some powerful cover fire. So long as I keep track of where the grimleal come from, we should be able to handle this safely.

"Alright. Sounds like a plan." I reply. I regard the sword wielding duo. "Ready when you are."

They both nod before we head south. The quickest way to end this threat is by removing their leader. That means that Grimleal priest has to go.

We crest another sand dune and find said leader with half a dozen underlings around him.

"Ha ha! You dare defy Grima, god of annihilation?" the Grimleal priest shouts arrogantly.

I point my Windcleaver at him. "You should check your facts next time you try to make a threat. Grima's a dragon, not a god."

The priest grits his teeth angrily. "You… You dare blaspheme our master?! Kill them! Kill them all!"

BGM ends

Me and Lon'qu get ready for combat when Gregor steps up in front of us.

"What are you doing?" I ask the Mercenary.

BGM: Middle age attack, Naruto Shippuden: Road to ninja OST

Gregor turns to us with a confident smirk. "Gregor show what made of. Good demonstration for future job, yes?"

A Myrmidon runs towards him with his Killing Edge drawn. Gregor draws his Steel Sword and crouches in a stance. As the Myrmidon gets in range and stabs, Gregor deflects the blow with surprising ease and elbows the Myrmidon in the face. Before the Grimleal swordsman can recover, Gregor slashes him across the chest, steps in to make up for the backwards stumble, and finishes his opponent off with a clean stab through the heart.

Two Dark Mages begin casting spells at him, only for the Mercenary to show a surprising amount of mobility as he jumps and flips around the sand like a pro.

"We should help him." Lon'qu tells us before he rushes into the fray.

I glance at Nowi. "Shall we?"

The dragon nods before she takes to the skies.

I rush in with Gale step and overtake Lon'qu about halfway to the Dark Mages. One of them tries to intercept me with a Flux spell. I respond by angling my feet to the left and make a hairpin turn out of the line of fire. Before he can react to my sudden change in direction, I'm already on him with my Windcleaver. Right, diagonal, rising slash, kick him in the chest aaand stab!

*Shink!* Dead.

His fellow mage prepares a spell to avenge his comrade, only to be forced to abandon it as Lon'qu reaches him and starts slashing. It's only thanks to his ability to travel over sand unhindered that the Dark Mage can barely stay out of Lon'qu's reach.

I'd like to help him – were it not for the two Barbarians double teaming me. These guys are surprisingly in sync. When one ends his swing, the other begins his. Alright, if I'm fighting two opponents, I might as well use two weapons!

I jump back from a clash and concentrate mana in my left hand.

"Trace…on!"

The mana disperses to reveal a copy of Minato's Hiraishin kunai. Just as the Barbarians close in on me, I throw the Traced kunai between their heads.

*Flash!*

I snatch the kunai out of the air as I reappear and send a windblade against the back of one of them. The attack hits full force, but he's still standing. They turn around in confusion as they try to puzzle out how I got behind them. Smirking, I use their moment of confusion to rush in and start my counteroffensive. Having an extra weapon in hand and one of the Barbarians injured makes it easier for me to keep up with them.

*Clang!*

Our weapons lock together in a three-way power struggle. I push a little before I break off and throw the Hiraishin kunai between the Barbarians' heads again. They react quickly and turn around in anticipation of my next teleportation.

Except, I don't teleport this time.

"Sike!" *Shing!*

That's one Barbarian down. Now for the other one. Since it's one-on-one now, I have no problems tearing him down.

"Over here!"

I throw a quick glance into the air and notice Nowi flying above, ready for action. Alright, time for some tag team.

A rising slash leaves the Barbarian's guard wide open. I throw my Windcleaver into the air and rush in to deliver a series of jabs in his face to stun him. Then I grab his right arm and shoulder, pivot and wind up for a throw.

"Coming your way!"

I throw the Barbarian straight towards Nowi. The dragon flips in mid-air and slams her tail on the Barbarian. He barely has time to reach the ground before he's hit by a ball of azure dragon fire. Yeah, he dead.

Nowi descends back to the ground and reverts to her human form. As the petals disperse, she raises her fists triumphantly into the air.

"Nowi wins!"

I catch my Windcleaver as it comes back down and throw her a thumbs-up. At the same time, Lon'qu dives into a roll and ducks beneath his opponent's Fire spell. The Myrmidon gets up from his roll in perfect range and finishes off the Dark Mage with a clean strike across the chest. That leaves one last threat: the leader.

Nah, Gregor's got him handled. The grimleal tries to catch him in a Nosferatu spell, but Gregor's too quick for him. Despite being 40-something years old, the guy dodges the dark magic with the grace of a panther. Duck, strike, roll, strike, side hop, strike again. A surprise backhand stuns the Dark Mage and puts a stop to his frantic casting. Gregor rushes in.

"Your jigging is up!"

The Mercenary delivers a devastating three-slash combo on the Dark mage, throws his sword into the air, jumps up after it, catches the sword on the way down and finishes the Grimleal priest with a vicious downward strike.

BGM ends

Blood gushes out from the Dark Mage's wounds as he stumbles back. He's breathing heavily, but breathing nonetheless. He lifts his head with a defiant expression and pulls out what looks like a ceremonial dagger.

"This is not over, heretics! Witness the terror of the Grimleal!"

The Grimleal priest raises the dagger into the air as a blood red rune circle appears underneath him.

"Glory to Master Grima!"

To our shock, he plunges the dagger into his own chest and drags it along his body. His blood spurts like a fountain as he collapses on top of the now glowing rune circle.

Cr-p! I've read enough stories to know the gist of blood rituals! Whatever spell he cast at the expense of his life has to be a powerful one.

"Be careful! That spell might be connected to a blood sacrifice!" I shout to my companions.

We tense in preparation for what comes next. A faint rumbling emanates from the rune circle.

A big muscular hand rises from the circle and slams down on the ground for purchase. It's soon joined by another one. With a heave, they lift and throw something big into the air.

I finally get a good look at what came out of the portal as it lands.


White-maned Lynel Lvl 46


Oh…s-it… You have GOT to be kidding me! That last spell was a summoning spell! And of all the places for it to connect, it connects to Hyrule?! How did the Grimleal even pull that spell off?!

The mighty beast glares at us as it draws its weapon – a Savage Lynel Crusher. This is bad! If any of them get hit by that, they might die! I have to stop any clash between them and this beast!

I rush in with Gale step and deliver a strike to the Lynel's flank before I jump off its back. The beast turns to me and growls menacingly. Seeing as I'm quite far away, it replaces the giant club on its back and reaches for its bow – only to grab air. The Lynel turns and looks at its back in confusion as it searches for its bow.

You got a Savage Lynel Bow!

"Hey, big guy! Looking for this?" I shout at the Lynel. I lift my hand and show the missing bow. Yeah, I snatched it before I jumped off its back earlier.

The Lynel growls before it unleashes a full-blown roar.

"You want it back?" I ask tauntingly as I wave the Savage Lynel Bow. "Then try to catch me!"

I turn around and activate Gale step to run away from the Lynel. Predictably, the beast follows me.

"You'll never catch me alive!" I shout behind me as I try to get as far away from the other Shepherds as possible. I have to, or else they'll risk drawing the Lynel's ire. They may be good, but I doubt they're capable of fighting a White-maned Lynel without suffering major casualties. Unlike me, that is.

A wise person on the internet once commented that there are four kinds of BotW players:
1. Those who can't kill Lynels.
2. Those who can kill Lynels.
3. Those who major in killing Lynels.
4. Those who do crazy s-it while killing Lynels.

Before my death, I belonged in the third category. In fact, Lynel hunting was my favorite pastime.


We've been on this merry chase for a few minutes now. This should be far enough. I turn around and stop, as does the Lynel. The beast looks positively pissed after I stole its bow.

"Come on. Draw your weapon." I tell the mighty beast while I put the bow on my back.

The Lynel does so and rears back on its hindlegs to bring down the crusher in a devastating blow. In response, I concentrate mana along my left arm.

"Trace on!"

The mana disperses to reveal Captain America's vibranium shield. Sure, I could've Traced the Hylian shield to make this look a little more appropriate, but, come on! You can't go wrong with vibranium!

I brace myself as the Savage Lynel Crusher comes down. Focus… Gotta time this perfectly…

Now!

*Ping!*

Ha! Now that's how you parry a Lynel attack! Lynels may be big. They may hit like a truck. They may have resilience for days and super-armor on some of their attacks. They may have a versatile and down-right deadly arsenal of weapons. But they all share a fatal weakness; their attacks are so telegraphed, you can pretty much always tell what they're about to do. And because of that, you can time your parries and dodges with ease once you learn the timing.

The Lynel backs off in shock after I managed to parry its attack with my shield. The brief opening is big enough for me to pull the bow from my back, nock one of the shock arrows that I stole along with the bow and line up for an easy headshot.

*Brzt!*

The beast goes down on a knee from the single shot turned triple headshot (Did I mention I love the Savage Lynel Bow?). With it down, I swap the bow for my Windcleaver and lay it on thick while the beast is dazed.

*Shing! Shing, shing shing shing!*

I manage quite a few slashes before the Lynel gets up again.

"RAAAHR!"

Uh, this is bad. Out of all attacks a Lynel can throw my way, there's one that I never learned how to parry; the one where it roars and slams its weapon into the ground to create a giant explosion – meaning, the attack it's about to do now. I usually counter that one with an enhanced Stasis rune or simply hide behind Daruk's protection. The problem? I neither have a Shiekah slate, nor have I freed Daruk's soul from his imprisonment (assuming Link hasn't done it himself already). I basically have no defense against what's coming at me!

Alright. If I don't have any such defense, I guess I simply have to make one. I jump a few paces back and clap my hands together. Please work…

Step 1: Understand the material composition. I slap my hands on the sand below and Trace it.

Step 2: Deconstruct the matter. The Lynel rears back on its hindlegs and raises its massive Crusher into the air. Come on! Come on! Wait, I can feel the sand break apart under my hands!

Step 3: Reconstruct the matter in the shape you want. The club comes down!

*Brrzt* *BOOM!*

A wave of heat washes over me. Though it's only hot enough to make me sweat a little. I open my eyes to see a wall of densely packed sand right in front of me. Mind's eye shows the Lynel on the other side, confused over the sudden appearance of the sand wall that's partially turned into glass from the immense heat of the blast wave.


A new skill has been created due to a special action! You gained "Alchemic transmutation"!


Yes! Yes! I did it! I pulled off a transmutation! Eat your hearts out, Elrick brothers! Or, well, at least Edward. Alphonse might not have a heart if his soul's still stuck in the armor.

The Lynel regains its bearings quickly and gallops around my sand wall before it rushes me with the Crusher at its side. Trying a direct approach again, eh? You never learn.

*Ping!*

Another perfectly timed parry stops the Lynel's charge in its tracks. Hey, big guy! Rasengan fastball in your face!

*Boom!*

That's another clean headshot on the massive beast, making it go down on a knee again. While I could tear into the Lynel with my Windcleaver again, I want to try something more exploitable. While it's still down, I grab on and swing myself onto its back.

The Lynel immediately starts bucking around in an attempt to throw me off. It's now that I realize that I mounted this beast without any suitable weapon to attack its back. My Windcleaver's too long to be used effectively at this range. And the Lynel's thrashing is too wild for me to Trace a weapon while still staying on its back. I need a more direct approach. Such as literally grabbing the beast by the horns. Soul drain, it's time for your debut!

As the Lynel feels its lifeforce being sucked out from its horns, it's bucking intensifies.

Heeeelp! Somebody sto-o-op this thi-i-i-i-iiing!

I'm hanging on to the Lynel's horns for dear life while draining it of as much HP as I can. For a creature having it's lifeforce sucked out, it sure has plenty of stamina!

Wait, why am I suddenly suspended in the air? Uh, looks like the Lynel managed to reach behind itself and grab hold of the back of my clothes. The beast rears up on its hindlegs again while it pryies me off its horns. Wait! Nononono-

*Wham!* "Gueh!"

Oow! Right after prying me off its horns, the big guy slammed me into the ground full force, knocking the breath out of my lungs. I manage to regain some of my bearings to see the Lynel stare down at me menacingly and CLUUUB!

*THOOM!*

The Lynel lifts its Crusher back up, only to tilt its head in confusion at the lack of blood and intestines that usually accompany squashing someone under a massive overhead swing.

Man, of all the things I could shapeshift into using Mimicry, a fly was nowhere near the top of the list. Seems I stand (or rather, hover) corrected. Having the small size and crazy reflexes of a fly helped a ton in dodging that swing. And, whoa… Seeing the world from these many eyes simultaneously is a weird experience.

While the Lynel is still busy trying to puzzle out where I went, I fly above the beast in preparation of my next attack. While I could repeat my previous approaches of headshot into a frontal combo or attacking from a mounted position, I don't do enough damage to finish this fight quickly. Worst case scenario: the Lynel figures out how I fight and mixes up its attack patterns.

I have to end it with this attack. And I know exactly how. I ascend as high as I can in my tiny fly form before I revert back to a human.

"Trace on!"

Mana coalesces into a massive shape under my hands. The weapon I'm going to use for my final attack is…unconventional. In fact, it's so unconventional that I need to Mimic the mannerisms of a specific character in order to use this weapon to its fullest effect.

"RODOH ROLLAH DAAA!"

*KA-BRAM!*

That's right! My weapon of choice is a massive steamroller! Using a combination of gravity and Telekinesis, I pushed the massive construct right on top of the unsuspecting Lynel. My fists rain down the Traced machine with increasing intensity as I sound my battle cry.

"Muda! Muda muda muda muda muda mudamudamudamudamudamudamudamudaMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA (Why have I not run out of breath yet?!) MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAAAA!"

A manic grin spreads across my face as I rear back my fist for one final punch.

"Be crushed!" *Krang!*

Right after I land the final punch, I use Gale step to get away from my Traced steamroller quickly. Some 300 or so paces should do nicely. See, I didn't Trace any ordinary steamroller. First, the fact that we're fighting on sand means the blow softens significantly if I just tried to crush the Lynel. Second, I don't even know how what a steamroller looks like on the inside.

Instead, I merely Traced a hollow steel shell in the shape of a steamroller. The insides are packed with TNT. And my last punch triggered the detonation mechanism. Please notice me, Deidara-senpai.

*KA-BOOM!*

I smirk and give a mock applause as I channel Dio for one final line.

"I applaud your efforts – a little bit."


64 hits! ULTRAAA COMBOOO!

White-maned Lynel has been obliterated! You gain 6 900 EXP! You gain 4 600 gold!

You got a Savage Lynel Crusher!
You got Lynel horn x 2!
You got Lynel hoof x 1!
You got Lynel guts x 1!

Due to continuous strenuous activity, STR increases by 2!
Due to prolonged exhausting activity, VIT increases by 2!
Due to plenty of quick maneuvering, DEX increases by 1!

A new skill has been created due to a special action! You gained "Rodoh rollah da!"!

Quest alert:
Main quest: Sinister sands, sinister figures
A hectic run across the sands allowed you to reach Nowi and Gregor in their hour of need. The Grimleal may seem like bunch of crazy cultists at first, but they're clearly not messing around. The rituals they can conduct may spell major trouble in the future. Before you can concern yourself with that, however, you have other pressing matters to attend to first. The exalt is waiting in the Plegian capital.
Objectives: Defeat all Grimleal members
Rewards: You gain 8 000 EXP! You gain 8 000 gold!
Bonus objective: Don't let the White-maned Lynel attack the Shepherds.
Bonus rewards: You gain 3 000 EXP! You gain 3 000 gold!

You have leveled up!


Oh, wow, that's a lot of alerts! Let's see here. I rush back to the epicenter of where the explosion went off. The intense heat of having that much TNT detonate at the same time created a crater made of glass. I find my prizes lying at the bottom. I'm honestly surprised anything left from the Lynel made it out of the explosion intact, much less the body parts I find here. Well, I honestly have no clue about what to do with this stuff just yet, but who knows? Those horns might be good material for crafting a weapon in the future, provided I can find someone who can work them as materials. Well, they go into my bag regardless. There's no way I'm leaving precious stuff like Lynel parts lying out in the open.

As for the Savage Lynel Crusher… Hrmf! Man, this thing's heavy! Way too heavy for me to use effectively. Well, I might as well keep it too. Someone might be able to use it in the future. Same goes for the Savage Lynel Bow. It was fun to use, but archery's not really my style.

Phew. That should be everything. Now to get back to the others. They might be worried about me running off to fight a giant, to them unknown, beast all on my own.

Looks like everyone's gathered by the time I return.

"This is just the worst. Day. EVER!" Nowi shouts while sobbing.

Gregor tries to comfort the little manakete. "Ho, now, wee one! Do not make with the crying of tears. The evil people are now dead people. This is good, no?"

Looks like his attempt had the desired effect, judging by Nowi's bright smile.

"You're… You're right. Th-thank you. And…I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier."

Oh man… There's a strong urge rising within me and I can't hold it back any longer!

*Glomp!* "Kyaaah! I can't take it anymore! You're so adorable!" I shout as I embrace Nowi and rub my cheek against her head affectionally.

Did I mention I love children? 'Cause I do. A lot. No, not in that way, you freaks! I was referring to a sort-of parental/elder sibling way! Sheesh…

"Jack?!" Robin exclaims in surprise at my sudden entrance.

I pause in my affectionate cheek rubbing to look up from my kneeling position at the Tactician.

"Oh, hi, Robin. Looks like you guys took care of the rest of those guys while I was away. Nice work."

"Ugh… Get OFF me!" Nowi shouts while pushing my face away from her.

"But I wanna hug you!" I cry back in protest.

"Well, I'm not in the mood! Let me go, you creep!"

I lie down in a fetal position a bit away from Nowi with a depression cloud over my head.

"Creep… She called me a creep…" I repeat over and over in a hollow voice while drawing circles in the sand.

"Friend is always like this?" Gregor asks.

"Beats me." Sully answers. "H-ll, this is the first time any of us see him like this."

"Um, are you okay, Jack?" I hear Sumia ask.

I turn around in my fetal position with mock tears threatening to leave my eyes.

"No, I am NOT okay!" I point at Nowi. "How can you possibly be okay, when all you want to do is show some affection to an adorable child, only for her to reject you and call you a creep?!"

Sumia crouches down and pats my head gently. "Um… There, there?"

"Sumia! Hug me!" I shout as I lunge for the Pegasus Knight with tears streaming down my face in waterfalls.

*Whack!*

Ow! Not you too, Lissa!

"Get your head out of whatever ditch it fell into, Jack! We still need to save Emm!" the princess reprimands me.

I cross my arms and turn away from the others with a huff.

"Sure! Whatever! Everyone just shoot down every attempt I make at showing that I actually have a soft side! See if I care!"

"It's not that we don't want you to, Jack. It's just… Well, none of us have seen you act like this before, let alone with so much emotion. So please forgive us for acting a bit…rashly." Robin tries to console me. "And, to be fair, we don't have much time before Gangrel plans to execute Emmeryn."

I wave off the Tactician. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. We're on a tight schedule and all that. We're done here, right? Let's go, then."

Chrom approaches Gregor. "Say, um…Gregor, was it? Gregor, do you mind looking after her? We need to press on."

Gregor rubs his chin in thought. "Mmm… Gregor is mercenary, yes? Maybe you hire Gregor instead. True, Gregor just finish killing former employers, but still very reliable! So long as you not try to hurt little girl, Gregor will not hurt you. Also, Gregor need steady income… Many angry former employers."

"You're a sellsword?" Chrom asks.

The Mercenary grins. "Yes! Very swell sword! Cost performance very high. You have Gregor's word."

Chrom shrugs. "Sure, why not? You're hired."

"But! But what about me?!" Nowi shouts. "I WON'T go back on the auction block!"

"Wait. You've been sold?" Lissa asks baffled. "Like a…like a slave?!"

"To men more despicable than you can possibly imagine." Nowi replies with tears almost spilling from her eyes. "They made me transform for them… They drank and laughed and called out tricks…"

Lissa recoils in shock. "What kind of scumbags buy and sell a little girl?! Even if she CAN turn into a dragon…"

"She may be little, milady, but not nearly so young as you might think." Frederick interjects. "Manaketes live a very long time."

"Really?" Lissa asks curiously. "…How old are you?"

Nowi frowns and puts a finger on her lip. "Oh, I dunno. …A thousand…something?" Her frown turns into a bright smile. "But look! No wrinkles!"

"The dragonkin are said to be more resilient than men." Frederick explains after we resume our march. "Nowi would make a strong ally. Besides, we cannot risk her falling back into the hands of the Grimleal."

"Beg pardon, but who are the Grimleal?" Robin asks.

"Followers of the fell dragon, Grima." Frederick replies ominously. "The selfsame dragon the first exalt defeated a thousand years ago. Even today there are some who yearn for the fiend's return."

"I…see." is all Robin has to say.

"Well, shall we get some rest?" Flavia asks. "We're almost to the Plegian capital. We'll need all our strength, soon enough…"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!"


Night has fallen by the time we make camp. The giant skeleton of Grima that surrounds castle Plegia can be seen in the distance. In choosing this place, we're close to where the execution is set to take place, while still staying out of sight from any sentry patrolling the capital walls.

Right now, I'm on guard together with Frederick. I volunteered to this for a specific purpose.

"Say, Frederick?"

"Yes, Jack?"

"There's something I want to show you."

I walk behind a tent, pull out the Savage Lynel Crusher from my bag and drag it back into view of the Great Knight.

"Hrg! I found this after I defeated a dangerous beast earlier today." I grunt while moving the massive club. "Hng! It might be a powerful weapon – if I could even swing it. Rgh! But it's too heavy for me."

I take moment to catch my breath after I finally reach Frederick.

"But you might be strong enough to swing this thing. Want to give it a try?"

Frederick picks up the Savage Lynel Crusher and inspects it carefully.

"Hm… What a curious design. This is unlike any weapon I have ever seen." the Great Knight muses. Then he gives it a few test swings – with only one hand! The heck?! I know Frederick's strong, but he's swinging that thing like it's a practice weapon!

He nods in approval. "A bit unbalanced, but the swings certainly have weight behind them."

I gape at the Great Knight for a bit longer before I nod dumbly.

"Um, glad to hear it. Feel free to keep it if you want to."

Frederick raises an eyebrow. "You would give me this weapon willingly?"

"Like I said; it's way too heavy for me. I figured it would take someone ridiculously strong to wield that weapon, and you were the first one to come to mind. Looks like I made the right call."

Frederick smiles at me. "I am honored that you think of me that way. Very well, I accept this weapon. My thanks."

Then the Great Knight turns serious. "I heard from Lon'qu that you lured away a massive creature after you had defeated the Grimleal. This weapon would not happen to come from that very beast, would it?"

I nod. "I does."

Frederick frowns. "I know for a fact that such a beast is not native to these lands, yet from what I heard, you seemed to know exactly what you were doing when luring it away. Jack, what was that beast?"

"A beast that I pray none of you have to face alone until you've become legendary warriors in your own right." I answer in a no-nonsense tone. "That beast…came straight out of one of the stories I read as a child."

"Do explain."

"It's known as a Lynel. A horse-like creature with immense strength and resilience. And, from what I saw of it earlier today, capable of wielding deadly weapons. According to the books I read, few ever see these creatures and live to tell the tale."

"Yet you managed to defeat it." Frederick points out.

"That's because the Lynels are revealed to possess a fatal weakness; they are so confident in their fighting that reading their attacks is very easy. So long as you learn how to counter their attacks, fighting them becomes manageable. Until you do, your life constantly hangs in the balance." I grin at the Great Knight. "I've read those story books so many times that I've practically memorized how they fight."

Frederick raises an eyebrow at my answer. "I find it hard to believe those Grimleal summoned a creature from a fairytale, vicious as it may have been."

I shake my head. "Believe me, Frederick. I was in disbelief too when I recognized the Lynel. But I quickly realized that I was the only one among us familiar with those beasts. That's why I lured it away; so I could fight it without risking the rest of you getting dragged in."

"That was very reckless of you, Jack." the Great Knight reprimands me. "And yet, you prevailed in the end. I do hope you would let us fight alongside you in the future, should more of them appear. No one should fight alone. That is why milord and I formed the Shepherds; to band together with others in protecting the people of Ylisse."

I bite my lip. Frederick has a point, but fighting a Lynel? "I'll consider it, but if it happens, you have to follow my lead, no matter what happens. The slightest mistake could end your life when fighting a Lynel. Remember that."

Frederick nods. "I will. As do I hope you do."


I return to the camp right as my shift ends. I throw Ricken and Gregor a quick greeting as they move to take the next shift. I notice Nowi sitting by the fire at the center of camp. I move to sit on the other side of the log she's on. The young manakete spares me a glance before she returns her attention to the camp fire.

Um, this feels a bit awkward. I'm still a bit sore about the whole "creep" episode.

I clear my throat, hoping to find something, anything, to start a conversation with her.

"So… How are you holding up, Nowi?" I eventually ask.

Nowi keeps her eyes trained on the flame and shrugs.

"Good, all things considered." she answers. "You were kind enough to take me in when I had nowhere else to go. It's much better than when I-" The manakete shudders. "-when they kept selling me around as a slave."

Yeah, can't argue with that.

"Is that why you reacted the way you did earlier today when I hugged you?"

"A little bit." Nowi admits. "Some of the less savory men actually tried things with me before they would sell me off. You hugging me like that…reminds me of what could have almost happened."

I wince at hearing her answer. Drat. I f-cked up big time there. Still, there's something odd in how she worded it.

"Wait, almost happened?"

"It fortunately never got that far. Anytime anyone of them would try, someone else entered the room, forcing them to stop before things got out of hand."

"I…I see…"

Nowi finally looks up from the camp fire and really looks at me.

"So, why did you hug me like that anyway?"

I scratch the back of my head. "Well, I love children. Whenever I see a child, I get this urge to try and help the little one in any way I can, be it protecting them from harm, provide comfort when they feel lonely or simply be there for them. You may be the oldest person I've ever met, but you're still a child by manakete standards, right?"

Nowi nods. "Yeah. In fact, I just came of age a few decades ago." The manakete looks a bit remorseful. "And…I'm sorry for calling you a creep, Jack. Had I known how much you love children, I might have accepted your hug."

I smile at the young manakete. "Well, the important part is that you understand." I stretch out my hand to her. "So, wanna start over?"

Nowi looks at my hand before she smiles back at me. "I'd love to."

As we shake hands, I reintroduce myself. "My name is Jack. I like milk, children and my comrades among the Shepherds. I dislike traitors and when innocents get hurt. My dream is to settle down one day and help nurture the future generation."

Nowi picks up when I'm done. "My name is Nowi. I like playing with others and sleeping in. I dislike fighting, waking up early in the morning and when people treat others like their playthings. My dream for the future…" the manakete's face scrunches up in thought. "Actually, I haven't thought of that. I guess I want to see the world before I decide on what I want to do."

I shrug. "I'd say that's a reasonable plan. You manaketes live for a long time. Chances are you have plenty of time to figure that out."

Nowi nods before she turns somber. "You know, Jack, you might be the first one in this army to approach me like this. Everyone else just treats me like they're too busy with something else. You just took some time to sit down and stay with me."

I rub Nowi on the head affectionally, making her pout as I mess up her hair.

"Like I said; I love children. There are few times I feel I do something more meaningful than when I spend time with a child. I guess you could add raising a child of my own on the list of my dreams."

Nowi gets her hair back in place and smiles. "You're going to be a great parent someday. I can tell."

Then she sidles closer to me. At my raised eyebrow, she elaborates.

"Well, I won't mind as much anymore if you hug me. Not when I know that you genuinely love children. Also, I have felt a bit lonely lately."

I smile down at her affectionally and wrap an arm around her to pull her closer.

"You know…" I begin. "Whenever I'm with you, it feels like I'm with the little sister I never had. Even if you are somewhere around 50 times my age."

Nowi giggles. "And with the way you're acting around me, I feel like you're the big brother I never had. Even if you're a lot younger than I am."

"Thank you." I reply. "Family means a lot to me, you know. Hearing you say that makes me happy."

"When doesn't it mean a lot?" Nowi retorts. "And, well, I'm just happy there's someone taking their time to just stay with me."

Nowi then slips out of my one-armed hug, much to my confusion.

"Well, wonderful as this was, I won't keep you any longer. You still want to spend time with your mate before going to sleep, right?"

I raise an eyebrow at the manakete. "Mate?"

"You know, the silver-haired woman with the big black coat."

"Oh, you mean Robin?" I wave off the thought. "Nah, she's just my friend. And a student of sorts since a while back."

Nowi tilts her head to the side in confusion. "Really? Because any time I see you look at each other, it almost looks like two mates interacting. I'm usually good at picking up on this kind of stuff, you know? Comes with living for over a thousand years."

I shake my head with a smile as I get up and look to find Robin. Me and Robin, a couple? Sure, we're kinda close, but not that close. Right?

Your relationship with Nowi has advanced! Your relationship with Nowi is now "Trusted"!


As I walk among the tents, I spy Chrom and Cordelia chat outside the prince's tent. Cordelia smiles brightly as she turns and leaves, probably to head to her own tent. Chrom smiles as he stares at the Pegasus Knight for a while longer before going into his tent. Well, those two seem to progress faster than I thought. And all it took was to set up the redhead for a single conversation.

"Jack, there you are."

I turn in the direction of the voice to find Maribelle approaching me.

"Hello, Maribelle. Did you need something?" I ask the Troubadour.

"Jack, you have a good rapport with Ricken, do you not?" Maribelle asks.

I scratch my head at her question. "Well, depends on how you define "good". We're on friendly terms, at the very least. Why do you ask? Is something the matter with him?"

Maribelle bites her lip before she looks me in the eyes. "Well, I do not find anything alarming about him per se. In fact, he has shown an admirable amount of dedication and drive these last few days, both in his studies and in his training."

I nod. "Sounds like he's doing well. So, what's the issue?"

"While I find no fault in his new work ethic, I am concerned about his reasons for adopting it. Ever since our first battle against Plegian soldiers in this war, Ricken has hardly ever left my side whenever a battle breaks out."

Come to think of it, the little Mage has seemed oddly insistent on being close to Maribelle whenever we fight.

"Wait, when you say "hardly ever left your side", does that mean…"

"If he isn't standing next to me, it is either because he received strict orders to be elsewhere – which he only obeys with great reluctance – or because he… How do you common folk word it? Ah, yes. He hitches a ride on my dear L'Arachel and refuses to dismount until the battle is over. Surprisingly, L'Arachel does not seem to mind."

"Huh… Sounds to me like he's gotten awfully protective of you ever since we rescued you from those plegians." I comment.

Maribelle shakes her head. "You don't even know half of it. During our last battle earlier today, Ricken not only jumped up on L'Arachel immediately, he blasted any enemy within twenty paces from me with his magic. And he did it to the point that it became excessive. Casting magic in the way he did it will exhaust his mana quickly. If this keeps up, he could end up hurting himself in the long run."

I think I see where this is going. Still, I need to check something first.

"Did you try talking with him about this?" I ask.

"I did." the Troubadour sighs. "But whenever I bring up the issue, he just dodges it. I'm flattered that he goes through such lengths to keep me safe – I really am. But I do not want him to hurt himself for my sake. That is why I came to ask for your counsel, Jack. I believe you are among those who have the best rapport with Ricken. If anyone could help him understand the folly of his actions, it may be you."

I rub my chin as I try to figure out how to word my next response.

"Hmm… Well, maybe we should try to look at this from Ricken's point of view. The fact that he's protective of you is obvious at this point. Maribelle, have you considered where this protectiveness stems from?"

The Troubadour rubs her temples. "I've tried, but I fail to see any reasonable cause…"

"Well, consider this. Before I joined Ricken in rescuing you from the plegians, he acted all on his own. Not only did he set out for the western border after the rest of us had already left the capital, he managed to overtake us on the way there and climbed the mountains, behind enemy lines, with the sole mission of rescuing you. It was only when he decided to finally take a break that I found him. By then, he had already figured out where to find you. Again, he did it all on his own, with no expectations of getting any help from the rest of us."

Maribelle looks at me in shock. "What?! He never told me any of that!"

I nod. "Guess he thought letting you know would only burden you. From what you've told me, it's obvious Ricken cares for you. Now put that into the context of his recent actions."

Maribelle's eyes slowly widen as the implications sink in.

"I'm only speculating at this point…" I explain. "…but I think Ricken cares for you far more than you're aware of. Heck, he might not be fully aware of it himself. Simply put, I think you mean the world to him, Maribelle. It only makes sense that he would go through such lengths to protect you if you mean that much to him."

Maribelle's face turns red at my conjecture. "He- Ricken feels like that…for me…?"

I shrug. "Like I said, it's only conjecture and guesswork. I may be wrong, but the only way to find out is if you personally breach the subject with him."

The Troubadour tightens the hold on her parasol. "Jack, do you even realize the implications of your own words? If what you said is true, then it can only mean that Ricken- He…"

"Loves you?" I answer in her place. "I'd say there's a distinct possibility. Which is why it's important that you bring it up with him. Of course, that's a choice I leave up to you. I know better than trying to pry in your private affairs."

Maribelle bites her lip with a pensive look before she looks me in the eyes with a determined expression. "I will do just that when the opportunity presents itself." The blonde curtsies. "Thank you, Jack. This conversation has been most enlightening. I bid you good night."

"You're welcome Maribelle. Here's to hope that conversation with Ricken goes well."

With that, Maribelle leaves.

Your relationship with Maribelle has advanced! Your relationship with Maribelle is now "Trusted"!


I eventually find our Tactician in another part of the camp with a familiar looking bucket in hand.

"Hi, Robin." I greet the Tactician.

Robin looks up from the bucket and smiles upon seeing me.

"Hello, Jack. I was just about to go look for you."

I raise my eyebrow at that. "Oh? What for?"

Robin shows me the bucket. "Watch this."

Robin furrows her eyebrows in concentration. The water in the bucket starts to move. It starts as a small whirlpool. Then it rotates in another direction. Then two more. Robin soon has all the water in the bucket swirl in a vaguely spherical shape, just like how I demonstrated for her a few days ago.

I grin at seeing her progress. "Congratulations, Robin! You've mastered the first step of the Rasengan!"

Robin drops her concentration and releases the breath she's been holding. I notice a little sweat on her brow, most likely from the intense amount of focus that went into rotating the water in multiple direction.

"Thank you, Jack. It took a lot of work, but I finally did it."

"I'll say. I believed in you, and you not only met my expectations – you surpassed them. I honestly didn't expect you to learn it this quickly."

Robin's smile grows upon hearing my praise. "Well, part of how I learned it so quickly was by using some of the tricks I've picked up while practicing other forms of magic. After a few days of training, I realized that the motions you showed me are very similar to how the air moves in a basic wind spell. I just had to channel my mana in a similar fashion."

"I'm impressed. That's some clever problem solving you displayed there." I admit. "Well, seeing as you've cleared step one, I'd say you're ready for step two. The bucket, please."

Robin hands me the bucket. I place it on top of my right hand.

"The second step of the Rasengan is power." I explain. "While the rotation allows the Rasengan to penetrate just about any defense, there's no point in such a motion unless there's sufficient power behind it. The second step is learning how to concentrate your power within the sphere and release all of it at once. That's the secret behind the Rasengan's explosive force."

Robin nods in understanding. "All right. How do I do that, then?"

I concentrate mana right where the water is. "Like this." As more mana is concentrated into the water, I start to compress it to make it fit in the bucket. As I compress the mana, the water gets compressed as well, which visibly lowers the water level in the bucket. Robin looks at the compressed water curiously.

"It may not look like it, but I've concentrated a lot of mana into the water in the bucket right now. I'm not sure on the exact amount, but it's at least a hundred times the amount of mana I used to perform the first step."

Robin looks up at me in shock. "A- a hundred?!"

"Yep. Now, what do you suppose happens if I release all of this compressed mana at once?"

Robin looks back into the water as if the liquid will give her the answer. I smirk and take a few steps back.

"This happens."

*Splash!*

All the water flies up from the bucket as the mana within bursts free. It reaches the apex of its ascent after a few seconds before it falls back down. The water splashes everywhere.

Robin gives a surprised yelp as some of the water hits at her. She glares at me with water dripping from her hair.

"Very funny, mister." the Tactician mutters irritably.

I grin in response. "It sure was. And, hey, it would've gotten worse if I just let it loose while you were still staring into the bucket. You could've gotten all the water in your face if that happened."

Robin holds her glare for a few more seconds before she sighs. "I suppose you're right. So, that's my next lesson, huh? Learning how to shoot water out of a bucket while holding it still?"

"Essentially. The point of this exercise is to concentrate a large amount of mana into a tiny space before you let all of it out in a single direction. You've already seen what that can result in." I, of course, refer to the time I imbedded Validar into a wall.

Robin nods with a contemplative look. "So it looks small, but it's packed with a lot of power."

"Exactly. The more mana you channel into the water, the more you have to concentrate it to stop it from escaping. When you've built up enough mana, you release it all at once. How high the water flies shows how much mana you put into it."

Robin accepts the now empty bucket. "Hm… I might need a new source of water before I try this exercise. I can't use the water that we brought here. I'd risk using it all up in trying to master this new exercise."

"Wasn't there an oasis nearby the road before we stopped to make camp?"

The Tactician nods. "Yeah, I believe there was one. Though that was at least an hour before we made camp."

I smile at her concern. "Oh, that won't be a problem."

*Poof!*

A Shadow clone appears by my side.

"You know what to do." I tell the clone. He nods before he takes an empty water barrel from our supply and rushes off into the desert with Gale step.

Robin looks at me quizzically. "What was that?"

"I can channel my mana to essentially make a copy of myself. My copy will get you some water to practice with from that oasis."

Robin smiles upon hearing this. "Whoa. I had no idea you could even use mana like that. And you're doing it for my sake."

I smile back. "Well, what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't even help my student practice under somewhat reasonable conditions?" My face turns serious after that. "On a more serious note, I've decided to join you on the frontlines."

"Really?" Robin asks surprised.

"Yeah. I've already spoken with Gaius. He's agreed to take my place as the new scout. If there's anyone who can get that job done, I have faith that it's him."

Robin nods in understanding. "Well, that's good and all, but why? Why do you want to fight on the frontlines now?"

"Well, first off, there wasn't anyone else who could pick up the role of scout among the Shepherds before Gaius. Seeing as I probably fit the role best, I took that role. But I'm also aware that the battles ahead will be much harder than any we've fought before. If we want to save Emmeryn and win this war, you'll need all the aid you can get."

"I hope you understand what this means, Jack." Robin answers after processing my words. "The frontline is a hectic place. You could die in an instant if you let your guard down even the slightest."

"Which is why I want to be there. So I can keep an eye on you."

"Huh? Me?"

I nod. "I've noticed something ever since we started marching. Leading an army of this size is tiring, isn't it?"

Robin bites her lip while she averts her eyes. "Is it that obvious?"

I shake my head. "I doubt it. No one else among the Shepherds have commented on it, so I think they've yet to notice the signs. But I've noticed that you seem to lack some of the energy you had before we joined the Shepherds."

Robin grabs her left sleeve with her right hand. "It's just… I knew leading an entire army was a heavy responsibility, but I had no idea just how heavy it is. It's not just leading everyone when a battle breaks out. A lot of a tactician's work is preparing for an upcoming battle. For me, most battles are decided before they even start. A poorly prepared army almost always loses. That's why I have to keep track of so much. Troop movements, battle terrain, the size of the opposing army in comparison to our own, army morale, keeping stock of the convoy… The list just goes on."

I nod in understanding. "And that's why I want to stay close to you. I can tell being the tactician of such a big army weighs heavily on you. I want to support you in any way I can, even if it's just watching your back in battle. It's not just because you have such an important role here, it's also because I worry for you personally, Robin."

The Tactician smiles at me. "Thank you, Jack. Knowing that you want to support me this much is a huge relief for me. Just make sure to watch yourself as well. There's no point in helping me unless you do that."

I smile back. "You know I will. Honestly, I think I've reached a level where I can mostly handle myself without any big issue. Besides, that's what friends do, right? Help each other, that is."

"You consider me a friend?"

I scratch the back of my head. "Yeah. I think I have ever since the day we met. I told you before that you give me this strange feeling that I can trust you with my life. The only way it has changed since that day is that it's grown stronger. That's why I consider you a friend, Robin, probably one of my dearest."

"I'm honored that you think of me that way, Jack. And truthfully, I feel something along those lines myself. You always seem to be there for me, no matter what happens. Even if we're not busy fighting a battle, having you nearby feels like I always have someone I can share my troubles with. I feel…safer with you around."

"And I'd be honored to keep it that way." I stretch my fist towards Robin. "I'll support you every step of the way, Robin. Not just as a fellow Shepherd, but also as your friend."

Robin accepts the fist bump. "And I'll do the same for you, Jack." Dang, I could spend all day looking at that smile.

…Where the heck did that thought come from?...

Your relationship with Robin has advanced! Your relationship with Robin is now "Friends"!

The bond you've nurtured has given birth to a new ability! You can now perform the Union strike "Final gambit" with Robin!

"Union strikes" have been unlocked in the menu!


Quest alert
Side quest: Expanding possibilities
It took some time, but you've finally unlocked every feature in the menu. You have all the basic tools for playing the game at your disposal now. Make the most of them and enjoy!
Objective: Unlock all functions in the menu
Objective cleared!
Rewards: You gain 2 000 EXP! You gain 1 000 gold!


I'm currently inside the UBW Meditating while processing everything that's happened during this march. We've pretty much crossed the Plegian desert in record time and managed to pick up Nowi and Gregor in the process. What's concerning, however, was what that grimleal did in his dying moments. He used his own blood to summon a monster from the land of Hyrule. He wasn't even the head honcho of the sinister cult, and he could perform a ritual like that. It would've been one thing if he summoned, say, a few Bokoblins or even Moblins. But a Lynel? And a white-maned one at that? If the Grimleal can summon creatures that powerful, fighting them in the future will be a lot more dangerous than I originally anticipated. I have to step up my training until then. I hope I can inspire the other Shepherds to do the same, even if I can't exactly explain that the Grimleal can summon creatures from a different world.

On a different note, it's high time I had a look at my newest menu screen.


Union strikes, Menu screen
Bonds are built on trust, and that allows you to fight alongside your allies in ways that strangers wouldn't even consider. As animé as it sounds, you pretty much attack using the power of friendship. Team up with one of your buddies and unleash hell on your enemies while looking awesome.
To perform a Union strike with an ally, your relationship must at least be "Friends". Each Union strike has a cost of 1 000 MP and can only be performed once per battle.
Available Union strikes:
Robin:
Final gambit


A team-attack, huh? Interesting… Most interesting.


Timeskip: Sunrise at the next day

Due to constant strenuous activity, STR goes up by 2!
Due to prolonged exhausting activity, VIT goes up by 2!
Due to training several complex maneuvers, DEX goes up by 2!

I exit my tent at dawn to see most of the other Shepherds already up and about. Knowing that Emmeryn's execution is scheduled only a few hours ahead of now, tension in camp is high. Everyone's either checking their equipment or helping someone else with it. Except for Stahl. He's already in full battle gear…while sharing breakfast with Panne? The taguel looks about as wary as always, but she's not rejecting him. How curious…

The sound of a loud yawn draws my attention to Lissa's tent. The princess yawns while dragging a sleepy Nowi with her. Nowi and Gregor joining up mid-march was unexpected, so we had to adjust sleeping arrangements on the fly. It was decided that Lissa shares her tent with the manakete while Lon'qu shares his tent with the Mercenary.

By the way, Nowi looks freakin' ADORABLE with her hair in a messy bedhead! Must…resist…urge to hug her…

"Has anyone seen Robin?" we hear Chrom ask.

Everyone looks among themselves while shaking their heads.

"I believe she is still in her tent, Captain." Miriel eventually answers. "Seeing as she is the tactician of this army, it is reasonable to assume she turned in late and is still asleep."

"I'll go get her." I volunteer and head for the Tactician's tent.

I reach it soon enough.

"Robin? Are you in there?"

No answer. I lift the flap of her tent.

"I'm coming in."

I enter the tent to find the Tactician asleep. But something's wrong. Instead of the peaceful expression she usually has when sleeping, she looks uneasy. A nightmare? Wait, this is one of those instances when her connection with Grima gets through to her!

Robin suddenly wakes with a start. She's panting with a sheen of sweat on her brow. I'm at her side in a moment.

"Robin! Are you okay?"

The Tactician looks around bewildered before she calms down upon seeing me.

"Wha- Jack? Where- How-"

I place a hand on her shoulder. "Easy there. You're still in your tent, in case you're wondering."

Robin places a hand on her forehead. "Was that…a dream?"

"You might want to put those thoughts aside for now. Everyone's ready to march, but we can't start without our master tactician."

Robin takes a deep breath and calms down.

"I- You're right. Give me a few minutes, and I'll be ready."

I nod and turn to leave.

"I'll wait outside your tent."

While waiting for Robin to get ready, I run a last check on myself as well.

Gear? Check.

Windcleaver? Check.

HP and MP? Both at maximum.

Supplies? One of the villagers back in Ferox were kind enough to give me a Concoction before we returned to Flavia's residence. That will do.

All right. I'm all set for the rescue mission. Let's do this!

To be continued


Preview of the next chapter:

*Tharja approaches with a sway on her hips*

Nowi: Hey, it's the lady with the boingy bits!

Jack: Nowi! Not in front of the children!

Nowi: But I'm a child.

Jack: That only makes it worse!

Sully: Knock it off, you two! It's go time!

*Libra rushes to the courtyard while cutting down plegains*

Libra: Your Grace! I am coming for you!

Chrom: Somebody help her out before she gets hurt!

Libra: I am a man!

Shepherds: SAY WHAT?!

Next time on Gamer Emblem awakening:

Naga save the exalt! Stop that execution!

Jack: It's time to wreck plegians and chew bubblegum. And I'm all out of gum.


Omake: Hands off the little girl!

The Grimleal priest raises his dagger into the air.

"Glory to Master Grima!"

To everyone's shock, he plunges the dagger into his own chest and drags it along his body. His blood spurts like a fountain as he collapses on top of the now glowing rune circle.

The roaring noise of an engine emanates from the rune circle before something big and black flies out of it. As it comes to a stop, it reveals a mini-van with the letters F, B and I on its side.

Jack looks at the vehicle. Then he looks at Nowi. Vehicle. Nowi.

"Ah, cr-p. We're screwed."

The doors on the back burst open as several heavily armed officers rush out and point their firearms everywhere.

"FBI! Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!"

Jack immediately complies, much to the confusion of his companions.

"Why friend drop weapon?" Gregor asks. "Strange people, but look harmless."

"Gregor, put down your sword now!" Jack warns the Mercenary. "Same goes for you, Lon'qu. Do not test their patience!"

One officer runs up to Gregor and points his gun at the Mercenary.

"I said: drop your weapon and hands in the air!"

"Gregor not understand why friend do this. Also, friend holds strange object."

The officer points his gun at a nearby palm tree and fires a warning shot. "This is your last warning."

Gregor gulps and drops his sword immediately. "Gregor is good!"

A female officer places a coat on Nowi's shoulder and leads her away gently.

"Sh… It's going to be alright. They won't hurt you anymore."

The manakete protests. "Hey, let go of me! Jack, what's going on here?!"

Another officer turns to Jack.

"Seems like you're the leader. Explain yourself, now!"

"She's of legal age, Officer! I swear!" Jack shouts.

The officer turns to his colleague. "How old is she?"

Nowi puts a finger on her lip. "Um… A thousand…something."

Jack facepalms. "Naga d-mn it, Nowi."

The officers point their weapons at Jack. "You are hereby under arrest." Cue citing of Miranda rights.

Thus began the first ever cross-dimensional case the FBI has ever handled.


New skills

Iron body, Lvl MAX, Passive
There's being tough, and then there's being so resilient that you can just pat some dust off your shoulder after taking a hit. The amount of resilience that you've built up has reached a point where you don't even get hurt from minor attacks. So long as the enemy can't surpass this wall, you stand untouchable.
Reduces all damage taken from physical attacks by a certain value. This value is equal to the sum of your STR and VIT stats. If the value is higher than the damage inflicted, you take no damage at all. Note: This value increases in the same manner as your other stats when using Reinforcement.

Wind mastery, Lvl 17 [23.6 %], Passive
Air bending, wind-style jutsus, aeromancy, call it whatever the heck you want. Air is the element of freedom. It surrounds all living beings (above sea level) and travels where nothing else reaches. Many take it for granted because of its constant presence, never realizing the implications. Those who master the element of wind become legends in their own right, performing feats with just skill and the very air they breathe. A wind master is never out of their element, making them dangerous to fight just about anywhere.
Passively increases damage dealt with wind-element magic by 85 %. The cost of all wind-element skills is reduced by 7 %.
Mastered spells:
Wind
Gale step

Soul drain, Lvl 2 [11.0 %], Active, Cost: 20 MP per second
A skill that lets the caster drain the life force of their target through direct contact. There is no defense against this technique, other than keeping your distance. There are few things as agonizing as the feeling of having you soul drained out of your body, so expect anyone afflicted with this skill to fight back.
Base damage: 105 % of the caster's INT. Restores HP equal to half the damage dealt. Element: none. This skill ignores all defenses. Can only be used through direct contact. If the target is killed by use of this skill, the caster can rip their soul out of the body, allowing the caster to view that target's memories.

Gale step, Lvl 13 [21.8 %], Active, Cost: 14 MP per step
A skill created by combining two separate skills with the element of wind. By creating a platform of mana to place the feet on, the caster can kick off these solid footholds with wind-elemental mana to quickly accelerate in that direction. The higher the skill level, the longer the maximum distance the caster can travel in a single step. Can also be used in mid-air.
Element: Wind. Maximum distance per step: 11 meters.

Bro, do U lift?, Lvl MAX, Passive
Muscle head or not, there's no denying that your strength is the real deal. The raw power behind your muscles allows you to hit harder than before and even lift heavy objects with significantly increased ease. Time to show off at the gym!
Increases all melee attack damage by 15 %.

Monkey moves, Lvl MAX, Passive
Monkeys are known to be agile little critters, and occasionally real jerks. You may not be a monkey, but you too are now agile (and possess the potential to be a real jerk). Your ability to move your body has gained grace and efficiency most acrobats would kill for. It not only looks awesome, you can actually apply it in combat as well.
Increases maximum movement speed by 15 %. Decreases the hit-rate of all incoming attacks by 5 %.

Rodoh rollah da!, Lvl 1 [0.0 %], Active, Cost: 400 MP
One of the signature moves of the undead Stand user, Dio Brando. A massive steamroller is pulled out of…nowhere… and slammed on top of the user's victim. The victim is then further crushed by repeatedly punching the steamroller in typical JoJo's fashion. The ultimate technique for literally steamrolling the competition and reminding them of the futility of their resistance. This particular variant comes with a massive explosion at the end. Clear the area before detonation or suffer the consequences.
Base damage: Steamroller: 4 000 + 100 % of the user's STR. Punches: 100 % of the user's STR per hit (62 hit combo). Explosion: 6 000. Note: the explosion deals fire-elemental damage.

Alchemic transmutation, Lvl MAX, Active, Cost: Varies
Nothing can be gained without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. This is the law of equivalent exchange, the fundamental principle of all alchemy. Your understanding of how matter is built and how it works is now at your fingertips. Thus, you can also reconstruct matter as you see fit, so long as the amount remains constant. Just make sure no one tries to entice you with a red stone. That only leads to trouble.
Allows the caster to freely manipulate any matter they touch. The cost of this skill is proportional to the mass of the matter manipulated.


Jack's encyclopedic corner

Banana, Consumable, Uncommon
A yellow fruit that normally grows in warm climates. Its sweet taste and soft texture makes it popular both as a snack and an ingredient in desserts. It's packed with calories, so eating one is a great way to recover stamina after some hard exercise. Just make sure it doesn't come from a giant pile belonging to a gorilla wearing a red necktie. For real. He'll punch the freakin' moon at you.
Restores 120 HP.

Hiraishin kunai, Dagger, Base damage: 32, Very rare
The signature weapon of the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. This variant of kunai has three prongs instead of the standard one. While sharp, its main purpose is not cutting or stabbing; it's to make sure it sticks to a surface as easily as possible. The handle has a jutsu formula that is keyed to Minato's signature jutsu, the Flying Raijin. By using the kunai as beacons, Minato could lock on to one and teleport to its location in an instant. This single jutsu allowed Minato to singlehandedly defeat an entire platoon of enemy ninjas (with some liberal help in spreading the kunai first) and earned him the title of the fastest man alive.
Available skills when wielded: Flying Raijin

Dragonstone, Stone, Base damage: 68, Rare
A stone with the power of a manakete sealed within. By tapping into the stone's power, a manakete can transform into a powerful dragon with the ability to incinerate even the strongest foes. Using the stone's power too much can have fatal consequences, however, as staying in dragon form is very draining. If overused, the manakete ends up using their own life force to further power the transformation, thus shortening their own life span.
Passively increases STR, VIT, INT and WIS by 20 %.

Trickster, Class
Despite their seemingly impractical choice of garb, these agile units are more dangerous in battle than they look. Not only are they skilled at sword wielding, they are masters of acrobatics, capable of moving around the battlefield in ways others would find inconceivable. To top it all off, they are surprisingly adept in magic as well. In fact, that's their main gimmick; the element of surprise. And lock picking. Can't forget about the lock picking.
Passively increases movement speed by 10 %. Attack damage and attack speed increases by 5 % when wielding a sword. Magic of any element except light and darkness deals 5 % more damage. Maximum HP decreases by 5 %. Damage taken from any physical attack increases by 10 %.


You thought it was Jack who defeated the Lynel.

*Rips off face to reveal that it's a mask*

Dio: But it was me: Dio!

*Bang!*

*The real CrossVipeR316 lowers a still-smoking silver magnum*

Yare yare, daze. This guy just doesn't know how to stay down! I'd better drag him back to his coffin and seal it real tight. Wonder if Minato can help me with an eight-trigrams seal…

That's right, people. I'm pairing Chrom with Cordelia in this fic! Of all the Awakening fanfics I've read (to be fair, it's not that many), only one of them has the prince marry our favorite red-headed Pegasus Knight.
IMO, for all the potential the Chrom-delia ship has, it doesn't get nearly as much attention as it deserves. As a fan of the series, I think it's high time there's a new instance in which this long-awaited ship sets sail. You may disagree. You may hate me. You may flame me. But you will NEVER make me change my stance on this matter. Cordelia will get her beloved Prince Badass-and-Charming in this fic. And I won't make it just because I think it's cool. I honestly think Chrom and Cordelia would make a great couple, as well as great parents for their respective canon children. Cordelia would make a great mother for Lucina, due to both of them being hard-working and caring towards others. Heck, look up their support conversation in Warriors! And if there's one man who can teach Severa about growing through hardship, as part of her father supports, it's Chrom. He'd better act fast though, lest Severa empty the royal coffers in her constant shopping sprees.

With the addition of the wind element, the foundation for Jack's full skillset is finally in place. And if you think I chose wind for the sole purpose of the Rasenshuriken, think again. Fiction has weaponized wind in a wide variety of ways, from offensive and defensive to supportive and, of course, movement based. There's a LOT of stuff you can do with wind mastery, more than I could cover in this fic.

As for the Union strikes, these are a mechanic that I decided to add as another way for Jack to team up with various characters in Awakening. They will act similarly to Sora's limit breaks in KH2 or the team ultimate jutsus from the Naruto Shippuden UNS games. Jack won't perform a Union strike with every character, since he won't grow close to everyone. He will, however, perform a Union strike with every 2nd-gen Shepherd as part of his interaction with them.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to relocate to one of my secret hideouts. One reader called the authorities after reading Jack's scenes with Nowi and misunderstanding the whole situation. If it hasn't been stated clearly enough, I imagine Jack to act as sort of a brother figure for the young manakete, since she's still a child for all intents and purposes. SOMEBODY has to give her a childhood until Cherche comes around!

I can already hear the sirens in the distance. Gotta go! Don't forget to rate and review!

VipeR out.