Chazon awoke to the rays of the rising sun the next morning, feeling the most rested he's ever been. No nightmares had plagued him, trying to drag him deeper into despair. He got up and looked out the window, deeply appreciating the colors in the morning sky. I missed this kind of view. You really do take things like this for granted until it's been forcibly taken away.

Shaking his head, he got dressed in some regular clothes he had purchased some time ago while him and Rino were preparing for the first wave. It was, admittedly, a random thing to buy so close to a dangerous time, but he didn't care.

Exiting the guest room into the kitchen area, he surmised that nobody else was up and about. He looked at the cooking areas and remembered one of the few things he learned and cared to remember about during his "Despair Phase": how good of a cook he had become thanks to various spears he had unlocked. He checked the larders and there were plenty of cooking ingredients in them, which put a smile on his face. Let's see how good I can do with actual cooking utensils rather than just sticks, a pot, and a fire.

Noting how many eggs Damalus seems to have stocked up on, Chazon opted to go with three-egg omelets for everyone in the house. I know what I like, but I should double-check what everyone else wants. I don't want to cook something into these that they don't like.

"Ah! You're an early riser as well, lad!" Damalus had entered the kitchen to see Chazon had pilfered his larders for various ingredients. "Are you volunteering to make breakfast?"

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." Chazon shot the apothecary a half-smirk, which made him snort in laughter. "Anyways, I noted the abnormal amount of eggs you stocked up on, so I decided to make an egg-based dish for everyone. Out of curiosity, what do you and Rino like?"

"I'll like my breakfast however it hits the plate. Rino will as well but she has a preference for vegetables; she seems to get that from her late mother. As for your comment on my egg levels… I couldn't help it when a trader offered me a lot of eggs in exchange for some of my medicine; apparently the poor lass had sickly parents."

Chazon smiled at him as he mixed an assortment of cooked ingredients into Damalus' omelet. "You apothecaries really are unsung heroes, aren't you?" That got a hearty chuckle.

"Mmm… that smells good." Rino had just entered the kitchen herself and beheld some wondrous smells permeating the house.

"Ah, perfect timing, Rino. Could you see if our demi-human girls are awake and ask what they like? I'd like to make their breakfast as tasty as possible."

She nodded at that and headed upstairs. Damalus sat down and Chazon brought him his fully cooked omelet, which he looked at curiously. "What kind of dish is this, Chazon-sama? It almost looks like a blanket of cooked eggs with bits of other food in it."

"In my world, we refer to that as an omelet, specifically a three-egg omelet. At its most basic, all it amounts to is beaten eggs grilled in a frying pan and folded over once it's halfway finished. What makes them special is that you can mix all kinds of food into them to give it more flavor and nutritional value. Cheese, meat, and vegetables tend to be the most common, though I've seen some people mix mushrooms into theirs."

Damalus took a bite and his eyes widened. "This is delicious! A great harmony of flavors to please the taste buds!"

Chazon chuckled. "Thank you for the praise. Hopefully all the girls will like theirs."

"I'm sure we will, Chazon-kun!" Rino had come downstairs with two sleepy demi-human girls. The kitsune was unsteady on her legs, so Rino was holding her hand and making sure she could walk properly. "To answer your question, Rifana-chan likes meat of any kind while the kitsune isn't picky."

We really should ask for her name; it's kind of awkward to keep referring to her as "the kitsune", especially after she's cured of her illness. Making a note to ask later, Chazon finished up Rino's omelet and gave it to her while preparing two more for the little girls.

When they got their omelets, they looked at it curiously before taking a bite. As soon as they did, their tails started wagging fiercely as their eyes lit up, much to the amusement of everyone else. This is how it should be for them. Chazon cooked his own and took a bite. Either I'm improving, or using a proper kitchen to cook really makes a difference.

After Rino gathered the dishes to wash them, Chazon motioned towards the kitsune. "I'm remiss to admit this, but I never asked for your name before."

There was a moment of silence before she deflated, ears folded against her head. "I… forgot my name…"

Rino almost dropped a plate over it while Damalus was stunned. "You forgot your own name, lass? What happened to you?"

"It's just… all of my previous owners never bothered to use my name; opting to give me derogatory names or just calling me "slave girl". Between many beatings, never being called by name, and the illness taking hold of me… I guess even I forgot who I was."

Chazon clenched his fist tightly under the table, pitch black veins creeping into his vision. I swear to god, whoever thinks of abusing innocent girls like this just for being a different race- He immediately calmed himself down and the veins recede. I can't let hatred take over like despair did. I can't lose myself like that again.

Shaking his head, He beckons the kitsune and brings her onto his lap. "If you forgot your name… then is it alright if we give you a new one until you remember?"

She stares at him, wide-eyed with surprise. "You want to give me a new name?"

"Yes… and one fitting of you, unlike what your abusive slave owners of your past thought." He thought for a moment before remembering something from his old world that gave him the perfect name. "How about… Kardia?"

Rino tilted her head in confusion. "What made you choose that name, Chazon-kun?"

He smiles at everyone as he hugs the newly dubbed Kardia. "Because… in another language in my world, it means "heart". She has held onto life for so long despite the abuse and illness, I felt it was a fitting name."

"I… I love it!" There were tears of joy in Kardia's eyes as she smiled at him, tail wagging behind her. "Kardia… that's my name!"

Even Rifana couldn't stop the smile on her face. Chazon-sama… I wonder if the Shield Hero of the past treated us like you are now: with unconditional compassion.

Chazon, now having the issue of Kardia's name out of the way, decided to ask the 50 gold question to the two demis as she rejoined Rifana. "Now… while I did purchase you two from a slave trader, I have zero intention of ever making you two slaves. This begs one question: what would you like to do with your freedom?"

Both Rifana and Kardia weren't expecting such a heavy question as they gave him worried looks. He quickly decided to add, "This isn't me saying I won't take care of you, but I won't always be there for you because of my duties as the Spear Hero. Though I do have full confidence in Damalus' abilities as a father to raise you two properly."

That got a chuckle out of Damalus. "Way to throw me under the carriage there, Chazon-sama. Though, I do appreciate the praise."

That got a snort out of the spear hero before clearing his throat. "Anyways, even if you don't want to be raised by me, I'm sure we can find some good-hearted people to care for you. The people of Lerno will treat you with kindness, I can promise you that."

The two demis looked at each other and thought about it for a bit before looking back at Chazon with determined eyes. "We want to be your slaves!"

One could hear a pin drop in the deafening silence that followed. Rino spoke up first, "But… Chazon-kun purchased you so you don't have to be slaves anymore. Why are you suddenly wanting to-"

Rifana shook her head. "I know what being a slave is like… but I also know that Chazon-sama won't treat us like our previous owners did. You showed affection towards me, even though you had known me for literal minutes."

Kardia nodded at that. "You cured me with Yggdrasil's Drought and even gave me a new name when I couldn't remember my old one. I owe you my life and so much more!"

"Kardia, I didn't do all that to hold it over you." Chazon let out a small sigh. "I wanted to save you with all my heart, even when I was in the cold depths of despair at the time."

"All the more reason to do so, Chazon-sama. Besides… We want to be proof to our fellow demis that not just the Shield Hero is kind and compassionate to our race. We want to show the world just how kind the Spear Hero is as well."

You girls… Shaking his head and remembering a certain other demi-human he knows, he crosses his arms. "Just to clear this up, becoming my slaves basically amounts to becoming my party members and traveling with me. That also means you'll be fighting the waves whenever they appear. As such, I wish to ask you one final question: are you two absolutely sure?"

Rino noticed that Chazon was putting the two younger girls through the same question as she went through. Chazon-kun really wants his potential party members to know what they're getting into.

Rifana and Kardia looked at each other and nodded while Rifana spoke up. "We are absolutely sure. I personally know what it's like to lose my home to the waves and my deepest wish is to help save others from that pain."

Rino noted that Rifana mentioned losing her home in the waves. "Rifana-chan, I want to derail the conversation to ask you something. Did you live in the Seaetto region in the past?"

Rifana looked at Rino with surprise as she nodded. "Yes… I lived there with many other demi-humans before the wave struk. I remember that a blond-haired adventurer had gone out of her way to try and save as many of us as possible, even saving one of my best friends from drowning, before dying to the boss of the wave. We went so far as to call her the "Unofficial Shield Hero" due to how brave she was."

"That was my mother." Rino smiled softly. "I became an adventurer so that I could follow in her footsteps. That's what led me to joining Chazon-kun's party." I may not ever fully live up to your legacy, mama, but I'm proud to call you my mom no matter what.

"So that's why your smile felt so… familiar." Rifana held Rino's hand, gratitude in her eyes. "She saved so many of us… I'm glad I was able to at least thank her family for all that she has done. She even inspired Raphtalia, the self-same best friend who almost drowned, into being our inspiration to keep going forward."

"Hang on, Raphtalia is your best friend?" Chazon noted with wide eyes like Rino's. Rifana nodded and he smiled at her. "Two birds of a feather indeed."

"Wait… you two met Raphtalia-chan?!" When the duo nodded, tears of relief began welling up in Rifana's eyes. "Thank goodness… she's still alive, even after everything that has happened to us." Kardia gave her a pat on the shoulder with a reassuring smile.

"It would interest you to know that she's part of the current shield hero's party… technically she's his slave, but he's treated her with nothing but kindness ever since getting her." Chazon chose not to mince words there, though he knew Rifana would understand.

That got a small laugh out of the weasel. "Of course she is… but I'm still glad to hear she's doing good." She dries her tears and looks at Chazon with more determination in her eyes. "That only makes me want to join you even more, Chazon-sama. I wish to reunite with Raphtalia-chan more than ever."

Chazon, seeing that both girls weren't going to be swayed, sighed. "Alright. We'll see if Beloukas is still in town so we can get your crests. I don't plan on staying in Lerno forever, so we'll need to get you girls prepared for travel and fighting. Getting levels under your belts wouldn't hurt either."

Damalus noted the last thing Chazon said. "I should ask you, lad. Are you aware of what demi-humans go through when they level up?" Chazon shook his head at that. "Well… let's just say they mature a LOT quicker once they are higher leveled. That's one of the reasons why Melomarc treats them like monsters."

Chazon remembered a certain tanuki girl and snorted in laughter. That explains why she grew up into a young teenager in such a short amount of time. Judging by her mentality, their mental states also grow up to be more mature… in some ways.

After getting ready, Chazon and Rino left with their duo of demi-human girls, following Chazon to where he last saw Beloukas' tent. Along the way a lot of villagers cooed at two girls since both of them were clinging onto Chazon's arms, though Rifana was also holding Rino's hand.

"Are you the Spear Hero, perchance?" An adventurer with black hair called out to them. She had some light-plate armor on and a pair of dual blades on her hips as she bowed. "My name is Xia, a small-time adventurer. I wanted to meet you, sir spear hero."

Chazon immediately connected the dots and realized that this was the Shadow from last night in adventurer guise. Deciding not to blow her cover, he pretended not to know her. "Nice to meet you, Xia. My name is Chazon and the girls with me are Rino, Rifana, and Kardia. What can I help you with?"

"Xia" smiled a little bit at hearing that the kitsune had gotten a new name. "Oh, just wanted to greet you. I've heard a lot about you in this village and wanted to see for myself if all the praise is warranted. I'm happy to see that it is."

"If you say so." Chazon rolled his eyes in amusement as the girls all giggled around him. "Anyways, I see you're also a dual blade user. How much training have you gotten with them?"

Xia pretended to be surprised. "I've gotten a good amount of official training with these so I'm confident in my technique. Why do you ask?"

Chazon looks at Rino, who realized what he was getting at and nodded in agreement. "My companion here also uses dual blades, but she is entirely self-taught. As such, if you are willing to train her properly, I would be eternally grateful."

"Ah, so that's why. I've never taught anyone myself, but I'm always willing to try if it means there are more dual blade users in the world. I won't take any money. Meeting you and training her is payment enough."

Rino let out a sigh of relief. "So when do we start?"

"We can start right now if you wish. We just need two pairs of practice blades and we can begin your lessons. We can always get them from the trading square that's currently set up."

Rino looked at Chazon who nodded. "I wasn't planning on doing too much today anyways, so go get your training. I'll take care of the girls for you in the meantime." Rino nodded at that and followed the adventurer to the Aetheryte Square.

Eventually, the trio found Beloukas' tent and entered it. Both Rifana and Kardia shuddered at being back here, which made Chazon squeeze their hands softly. "Don't worry, I'll be with you the entire time." Both of them eased up at that.

Beloukas noted some people approaching his temporary desk near the back and realized who it was. "Ah, Sir Spear Hero! Returned with the girls to have them branded after all?"

Chazon didn't like the tone he was using, but did his best to keep a neutral tone. "I gave them a choice and they chose to become my slaves. Do not take it out of context and just… get whatever it is you need to create slave crests."

"Ah, but of course. It is never my interest to question the customer!" Beloukas retreated briefly before coming back with some wells of ink. "I'll need your blood to complete the contract, but the rest you can leave to me."

Chazon pricked his finger and gave the slave trader the required amount of blood. Rifana was up first and she noticeably flinched at his approach with a brush, which he noticed. "Rifana, you still have time to-"

"N-no. I made up my mind."

That got a sigh out of the Spear Hero. "If that is what you wish. Here, hold my hand and squeeze it if it gets painful." Rifana calmed down and gave him a grateful smile as she grabbed his hand.

Beloukas set about drawing the crest onto her chest alongside the ink that contained Chazon's blood. There was a noticeable sizzle, but Rifana didn't clench her hand. "This is a first in my career as a slave trader. Normally what happens is that the crest will shock the slave until they fully submit to their new owner, yet that didn't happen despite you two only knowing each other for a short period of time! I've only seen it on other time, but the tanooki girl had been the hero's slave for a long while and she willingly re-branded herself after losing it somehow."

Raphtalia… I guess that's your way of showing Naofumi that you trust him. Chazon noted that Rifana appeared in his party list as a "contract" member, though other than the different classification from "companion", nothing else was different. He made sure to give Rifana a pat for being a brave girl.

The same process was performed on Kardia and she didn't need to squeeze Chazon's hand either. Beloukas finally noted how healthy the kitsune had become. "You heroes never cease to amaze me. You walked out of here the other day with her on death's door, yet here she is healthy, albeit a bit feeble."

"Never underestimate what a hero's determination can do." While both girls admired their slave brands for the first time in their lives, Chazon decided to buy some of the ink Beloukas used and had his spear absorb it.

Slave User's Spear II

Equip bonus: Slave growth correction (low), Slave stat manipulation (low)

Went right to the second level, huh? I'll have to look into what these mean, but if it helps Rifana and Kardia grow better then it's a good thing I got this now while they are level 1.

Beloukas remembered something as he put his tools away. "Ah, that's right! You never answered my question a few days ago, Sir Spear Hero. I offer another service if you're interested in it."

Chazon looked over at him with a flat look. "It better not be anything akin to your main business."

"No no, nothing of that sort. I offer a monster egg lottery service to those interested in raising their own monsters. 100 silver per egg is the cost if you wish to take a gamble."

Chazon noted what he was pointing towards a row of egg-like objects on display. "Judging by the name, it's akin to buying a random egg and seeing what hatches, correct?"

That got a grin out of Beloukas. "You are certainly wise, Sir Spear Hero. Indeed and the monsters range from Caterpilands to Filolials to-"

"I'll take a filolial egg, guaranteed." Chazon didn't even hesitate as soon as fiolials were one of the possible outcomes, much to everyone's surprise.

"Oh? I haven't even gotten to the part where one possibly could get a dragon from this service!"

"Yeah, dragons are cool and all, but I'd much prefer a filolial above all else." Kardia and Rifana started giggling at their new master; they never expected the Spear Hero to be a big fan of filolials.

Beloukas found amusement in that as well. "Well… normally guaranteeing a particular monster would cost a premium, but because you have shown me two amazing things today and the fact that filolials are the most common result, I'll waive the premium for your first filolial egg. The rest you'll have to pay."

Chazon thought about it for a minute before making his mind up. "Then I'll take two. A filolial egg and a random egg."

"Splendid! That will be 200 silvers!"

Chazon noted that he still had about 64 silver left after paying the slave trader. Maybe I am a bit reckless in spending on things like this, but the way I see it, the more the merrier. This should help take a good amount of pressure off Rino, since she was my only party member up to this point.

"Er… Chazon-sama? Are you sure that's wise?" Rifana spoke up, uncertain if her slave crest will act up in questioning her new master. "What happens if you get two gluttonous monsters?" She was surprised when her slave crest remained inert.

"I suppose you haven't been in this village long enough to know the method behind my madness. I'll show you what I mean once we're done here." Kardia and Rifana looked at each other in confusion.

Beloukas had Chazon donate even more blood to seal the monster seal pact on the first egg he brought out. "I guarantee that this is a filolial egg. As for your other egg, take a pick at what's left!"

Chazon thought for a moment before kneeling down to his two girls. "Why don't you two pick out my second egg?"

"R-really? You'll let us?" Kardia gasped out, not expecting to be included in important decisions.

"This monster will become part of our party depending on what it hatches into. I'd like for you two to be involved in the decisions I make down the road starting today. I don't want to be a "master" who only considers his own opinions, but instead a "leader" who takes his party member's opinions and needs into question."

"Chazon-sama… we won't let you down!" Both girls approached the remaining eggs and discussed between themselves which one to pick.

I do feel kind of bad that Rino never got a say in any of this, but… I'll make it up to her someday. Besides, hopefully the queen's Shadow is teaching her properly.

"We've decided on this one, Chazon-sama!" Rifana held out an egg that the two agreed on.

"Then that's the one we'll get." After binding the seal to his blood, Chazon received two incubators for the eggs. When the trio left, both demi-human girls were each carrying an incubator with Chazon giving them proud pets on the head, which made them wag their tails.

After dropping by the Aetheryte Square and offloading some more materials for more silvers, he inquired to the two what they wanted their roles to be in the party. Chazon served as the jack-of-all-trades adaptable one while Rino served as a fast-attacking melee magic user with a side role of healer.

Rifana had to think on it for a bit, but Kardia immediately wished to be a pure magic caster. Chazon checked her stats and noted that she was already on her way to becoming one; her MAG was highest, MDEF and AGI were pretty good, while ATK and DEF were abysmal which is fitting considering that she was sickly up until recently. She stated that her pain tolerance was always pretty low, even despite all the abuse she received during her time as a slave, so she mentioned focusing exclusively on MAG and AGI.

Chazon noted that, with Slave stat manipulation, he can modify the stat growths of the two girls within a limited capacity; he can only raise or lower a stat growth rate so much. As such, he lowered Kardia's ATK and DEF growths as much as possible while respectively raising her MAG and AGI growths, leaving MDEF alone for the time being.

Not long after Chazon finished with Kardia did Rifana decide on what role she wanted to be. "I want to be like the shield hero!"

Neither him nor Kardia was expecting that; she seemed pretty girly all things considered, yet she wanted to be a defender in a similar vein to the shield hero. "Are you certain, Rifana?"

"Yes. I know that it probably wouldn't have changed anything if I was a defender in my village, but I still want to honor the Shield Hero by becoming your shield, Chazon-sama. Besides, we can't expect you to defend all of us in tight situations, so I feel rounding out our party with someone who can defend would provide us with an advantage."

Chazon crossed his arms while conceding that Rifana was correct; he was only one person and if the monsters that hatched turned out to be attackers as well, he'd be the only person capable of defending otherwise. "If that is what you wish. Do note that you might be capable of more than just defending depending on your magic affinities. Even if I were to mimic your stats the Shield Hero's to a T, you might not have the same elemental affinities."

"I know. But I still want to try."

"Honestly, having a speedy defender who can double as a back-up magic attacker could prove immensely helpful. While I mentioned roles, I'd rather be dynamic in our roles rather than static; Kardia could be a potent healer on top of being a good magic attacker for example." Chazon went into Rifana's stats and noted that while she definitely had the AGI and MAG for what she wanted, Her defenses weren't the greatest as well as her ATK; she would have made just as good a dedicated magic user as Kardia, but he made due. He lowered her ATK as much as possible and some of her MAG while evenly sprinkling what he could over her defenses.

Closing his status magic for now, he nods at the two. "I think we'll hold off on getting you girls proper armor for the time being since you'll just outgrow it eventually anyways. Did you want to carry a dagger for the time being until you girls mature into the roles you want?"

They both nodded; it would be a good way to get used to fighting as well. Chazon still had all of his BioPlant seeds from his experimentation earlier, but he'll use them for power leveling the girls once they are adjusted.

Bringing up his status magic map and noting that Rino was outside of town at the moment, he decided to head that way. "By the way, I mentioned that I wasn't worried about hatching two gluttons from the eggs, right? Look at those trees at the outskirts."

They both saw them, but Rifana couldn't tell what was hanging in them. Kardia made the correlation quickly. "Those are fruits! Countless red fruits are in those trees."

"Yup. And they seem to regrow by the hour, so this village will never run out of food. Though…" Chazon suddenly had an idea for a third BioFruit variant that the village could grow. I'll wait until we chat with Rino before I run off to do that.

As they walked, Chazon noted something sticking out of Rifana's pocket. "Rifana, was that the thing you were clutching when I bought you?"

She queaked and almost dropped her incubator before nodding. "It's a scrap of the flag of my village before it was destroyed… both by the waves and the knights that we thought were going to help us…"

Either that senile old king or the church sent those knights and I could honestly believe both. "May I see it?"

Rifana hesitated a bit before realizing that she should've trusted him with it from the beginning and gave it to him. He could make out the corner of a shield with what was left. You guys really did believe in the Shield Hero… He nods at her. "Let's take this to a tailor and have it remade at some point."

"R-really?! Even though… you're the Spear Hero?"

"Why would I care about that? It's clear the mark of the Shield Hero is important to you and yours and I want to honor that." Rifana buried her head into his side, tears of gratitude leaking from her eyes as he patted her and Kardia.

Turns out Rino had taken to the training exceptionally fast. "This girl was very rough around the edges, but showed a lot of potential. I might need more time with her, but I hope to refine her edges and turn her into a deadly dual blade user.

If everything Rino has done up to this point is "very rough" I shudder to think just how much better she can get. Chazon remembered just how gracefully she was dodging the Mutated Mauler and how quickly she was attacking during openings.

Rino noted what the two demi-humans were holding. "Chazon-kun, did you pick up some monster eggs as well? I hope you didn't spend too much on them…"

"Sorry, but I figured the more members of our party we had, the better. Plus, I wanted a filolial so I couldn't resist." Rino couldn't help but laugh at that.

The Shadow "Xia" stood by and watched the Spear Hero's party interact with each other. Full glad to see that the low self-confidence hero from before is gone for the most part. He started out officially alone and now he's surrounded by people who love him.

"I suppose it begs the question: do you girls want to wait until the eggs hatch before we start leveling, or do you want a head start?"

Kardia knew that she needed magic if she wanted to be useful, but because she didn't know her affinities she had to wait. Even so, "Perhaps getting us a head-start will allow us to be more efficient when we start leveling the monsters that hatch. I won't be able to use magic for the time being anyways, so I'd rather be prepared for anything."

"Then perhaps now would be a good time to start putting your lessons to use, Rino-sama." Xia noted as she took the wooden training swords from her. "I can teach you the motions all day, but using them in combat is the best way for it to stick."

"Right!" as if on cue, a porcupine attempted to attack her, only for her to even more gracefully dodge out of the way. Within a split second, the monster was cut into shreds with a precision that comes from a well-trained warrior, causing the two demis to level up to 3 in one kill. "How's that?"

"You are a quick study indeed."

Chazon quickly realized something. "Because of how high leveled we are, you two might experience some… rapid growing pains. Rino and I will be there for you, but it'll be up to you two to endure it as we level you up." He got a round of nods at that.

Xia remembered something. "I recall there being an affinity tester among the traders that came to Lerno. Take the two to her once you're done leveling for the day to check their affinities; the sooner you can get Kardia-tan to cast spells the better."

"Thank you. I have my own business to take care of as well before the sun goes down, so let's keep going like this."

Thanks to Chazon modifying the exp distribution to favor the newest party members, the two had reached level 10 before they returned to the village. They found the affinity tester and discovered some interesting things.

Rifana had both wind and lightning affinities. While most weasel demi-humans had one or the other, she had both at the same time and they seemed to co-exist in perfect harmony. Rino noted that, in line with Rifana wanting to become a defender, she can use wind spells to increase her speed to better defend her allies while lightning magic can be used to paralyze enemies.

Kardia had a strong affinity to fire magic, but the magic tester seemed… hesitant to say it, as if there was something off about her affinity. "The affinities swirl entirely in my crystal ball normally, but her fire affinity seems to only take up a fraction of the space… I've never seen that before."

Chazon crossed his arms in contemplation. "Does it mean anything if it does that?"

"Not that I know of. Regardless, even if her strongest affinity is fire, she can learn spells of other affinities, though they won't be as potent. You said she wanted to be a magic caster, correct? If you already know some spells, you can teach her them without the need of a magic grimoire."

Kardia beamed at that with her tail wagging. "So if Chazon-sama and Rino-sama already know spells, I can use those?" the tester nodded and she cheered. "I can get started then!"

Rino smiled at the excited kitsune. "Chazon-kun and I have light, dark, and healing affinities between us, so you'll be learning those. We only have one spell for each affinity, but it's a good starting point." She pets Rifana on the head. "Sorry, Rifana-chan, but looks like you'll have to wait before you can cast spells."

"It's fine. I'd much rather get defender training first before branching out."

Chazon nodded at that. "I'll teach you my Faust Shadow Bolt spell later, Kardia. There's something I want to do quickly. Rino, be sure to get these two home safely if you choose to do anything else." He got a nod at that and he rushed off to the fields, six BioPlant seeds already in his hand.

When Rifana and Kardia mentioned getting gluttonous monsters that could eat a lot, Chazon got the idea of making a third BioFruit variant. Thanks to his farming bonuses being high enough, he could manipulate its attributes to what he wanted: sacrifice a lot of growth speed in exchange for a fruit that was extremely nutritionally dense and very filling. He chose purple for the color this time since he could actually see what color he can choose.

On his way out, he decided to try eating a Yellow BioFruit. Not only was it much tastier than the Red BioFruit, but it was a lot easier to eat as well, though its appearance looked like a banana bunch… if all the bananas were fused together into one fruit.

When Chazon got home, he realized that he shot himself in the foot with that morning's breakfast. Damalus did his best to cook dinner for everyone, but even he agreed that it wasn't as tasty as Chazon's cooking. Looks like I'm stuck with all of the cooking now.

Another thing was how hungry both demi's were; apparently leveling them up gave them an appetite to match. Chazon made sure to tell them that they have to eat Red BioFruits if they wanted more since it's a VERY plentiful food item.

As Chazon was cooking breakfast the next morning, Rino had come back downstairs in a giggling fit and it didn't take long to find out why. Both demis had come down stairs with pained looks on their faces; their bodies had grown up overnight and they were still getting growth-spurt after-shocks.

Damalus wasn't as amused. "Rino, need I tell everyone of the time you ripped one of your dresses even though i kept telling you that you were too big for it ?"

"P-PAPA!" Everyone got a laugh out of that as Rino indignantly went tomato red in embarrassment.

Chazon noted that both girls were already growing up nicely, though they were far from done. "Did you girls want to hold off on leveling for today? I need to oversee the construction of the arena and Rino still has dual blade lessons."

"Maybe that… would be a good idea until we're done with our current growth spurt." Kardia admitted as she winced, voice sounding a bit more mature. "Though, would it be possible to have you teach me your Faust Shadow Bolt spell whenever you find time, Chazon-sama?"

"Certainly. For now, both of you can relax and stave off your growing pains. I don't know what level you need to be before you stop growing, but I'll hazard that level 18 is your last growth spurt."

"Er, Chazon-kun? I've noticed that my hair has been getting a bit long lately, so I'm going to cut it before meeting with Xia."

Chazon nodded before being overcome with curiosity. As Damalus cut his daughter's hair, Chazon used his spear as a make-shift vacuum and sucked up all her hair.

Human Spear I

Equip bonus: Human party member stat boost (low)

That's interesting. I wonder if absorbing Rifana's hair and Kardia's hair will unlock stat-boosting spears for their races as well.

There was a loud bang as Rifana tripped up the stairs, which startled Damalus so much he accidentally cut Rino with the scissors. Rino and Kardia were quick with the healing spells, so it didn't do too much damage as Rifana sheepishly admitted that she's still not used to a bigger body.

Chazon sighed in relief at that, but noted the spear reacting to Rino's blood the same way it reacted to her cut hair. He scooped some up onto his finger and dripped it onto the jewel.

Companion Spear I

Equip bonus: Companion growth correction (low)

"That is… certainly a way to unlock a new spear." Chazon stated flatly as he shook his head. Even though she's level thirty, better late than never I suppose. Going back to his original line of thought he turned to his two demi-human party members. "Did you girls want a haircut as well?"

The result was him unlocking both the Kitsune Spear and the Weasel Spear for minor stat boosts for both of them, all while they looked a lot fresher and happier than before. It's something and I'll take what I can manage; they need all the help they can get.

Glenn had already mapped out a good spot for the arena to be constructed: further downstream from the village but close enough that it's only a half-hour walk for most people. Chazon was able to use his special status magic to create an arena similar to the one found in Monster Hunter: World. A pit in the center with a high elevation ledge while surrounded on all sides to keep any monsters from trying to escape. Cannons and ballista will be put on the ledges in case any adventurers feel the need to use them to gain an edge.

After unloading plenty of BioPlant wood to get them started, he taught Kardia how to cast Faust Shadow Bolt when she arrived. She quickly picked it up, though he raised an eyebrow at her chant. "As the source of thy power, I the Spear Hero's companion command thee. Decipher the laws of nature and strike my target with a bolt of shadow. Faust Shadow Bolt!"

"You didn't need to lengthen your chant just to include me… unless I missed the part where the longer your chant is, the more powerful it becomes."

Kardia shrugged. "Something to ask when we meet a magic master. We already know that, without perfect mastery over your magic, simply calling the spell's name doesn't produce as strong a result as a chanted one."

"True. Regardless, You have a few spells under your belt now. I'll probably take you and Rifana out tomorrow to have you practice against the lower leveled monsters around here."

Kardia thought of something. "Have you gotten Rifana-chan a shield for her to use?"

He shook his head. "Not yet, but we can go pick one out for her since we've got time and money. Not many people carry shields in this country thanks to… certain people and faiths, but we'll finagle something."

Thankfully, they found a magic iron shield for Rifana to use, which Chazon stored in his equipment inventory. He noted that he got Dual Mutated Mauler Blades in his inventory as well. I know Rino is attached to her current set, but I'll see if she wants these.

He talked to Elena before returning home for the day and she mentioned that while her time here has been very productive, all of the merchants have to pack up and leave by tomorrow. "Can't stay here forever after all, though I'll do my best to ensure that you'll always have a way to earn money during your travels. Trading may be slow because of the waves, but we can't let that get to us."

"Hear, hear, Elena. I wish you luck in your own endeavors." she nodded at that and headed back to her own tent.

The rest of the day passed quietly outside of Rino noticeably becoming a lot nimbler on her feet and Rifana getting her first shield. Damalus mentioned that Chazon should find a spear master to teach him as well, something the Spear Hero didn't deny. If I'm to keep growing stronger, I'll need proper techniques. Whether I can find one in Melomarc that'll teach me despite my choice of party members is another story, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. There's still about 2 months to go before the wave.