Well this one certainly took a while! Sorry about the wait folks, blame my yard for growing a forest! (Seriously, bamboo shoots out of nowhere)

Uh….. I was gonna say something else… Ah it'll come to me later! WAIT! Oh yeah, Oops All Berries! This is kinda in refference to Captain Crunch cereal from that time they had the Oops All Berries boxes. In this case, it's taking the Heroes and giving them the same Weapon.

The consensus currently being that they all get summoned with the Shield… This can change however, (I think it's three for Shield, one for Bow? I don't know, I'll look at the Reviews layer…)

OWARD!~

I had awoken to a weight upon me, River having grown rapidly over night. Her now massive feathers gleamed like the night sky, spots of white decorated her as if stars. I then looked to my right, I had noticed Fera had her arms wrapped around my own as she slept. It seemed as neither Fera nor River had wished to move, so then who was I to deny them this?

"Oi! Laddie!" Bargram called out, "Rise and… oi, lad. You notice the giant black bird on top of you, right?"

"Do not worry, Bargram. It is only River," I replied calmly as I placed my free hand upon River's wing that felt soft as moth down yet firm to the touch.

"That? You're saying that giant bird is your little bird!?" He shouted, "Then…" He soon rushed out, no doubt to see if his own avian had grown similarly.

Master… he's too loud…

"Mister Hollow…" I heard Wyndia whine as she slumped into the room, "Mister Gram was being loud…"

I told you so…

As if to drive their point across, River chirped in displeasure as she attempted to regain her comfort atop my body. Showing that her mask had become larger, it's smoothed edges now refined, and her pointed beak as sharp as the Nail I wielded.

"Hey Hollow!" Naofumi called out as he entered the room, Wyndia having crawled onto River's back in an attempt to wrap herself in feathers, "Oh… uh… is that…"

"Yes, I believe the giant Filorial atop my body is River," I replied, said avian chirping in growing displeasure as she craned her head to glare at Naofumi.

"Huh… you had her for a while, so I guess it makes sense she'd… grow," He whispered rather unsure of his words, "Anyway, I'm gonna go hunt monsters in the forest. You know the drill."

"Stay away to ensure our Weapons do not interfere with one another, yes I remember well our handicap…"

Saying no more, the Shell Bearer waved as he left. Though the question remained… do I lie here with my party?

Yes

*Chirp*

"Sleepy…"

A less than productive day then…

"Laddie!" Bargram shouted excitedly as he flagged me down once I had been allowed to stretch my limbs, "Laddie you'll never believe this! He's grown, he has!"

"Your Filorial?" I asked as he led me to the barn.

"Aye, look at that…" He slowly gestured to a blue feathered avian the size of most of the other Filiorials alongside him, yet Bargram's seemed… special. The avian's sharp eyes shimmered like the greenest emeralds, the orbs hiding a grand intelligence. Its orange beak looked sharp and strong and made it appear as if they were constantly smiling, "Ah… a right fine lad, Eustice is."

"Eustice?" The giant smiled sadly as he placed a hand atop his Filorial's head whilst also gripping my shoulder.

"I was a father once…" He replied, "Boy about your size… twice your width and weight in muscle…" A tear rolled down his cheek as he sniffed, Eustice quickly craning his head to comfort Bargram, "My pride and joy that boy. Left the nest when he said the time was right… bid me and the missus our goodbyes as he made his way to Faubley…"

"What occurred?"

"Faubley occurred… it's a death sentence for people like us," He replied bitterly, "They either drain you of every last coin you've earned… or they drain you of every last drop you've got."

This man… gone was the smiling and worried giant of our party. For this moment… all that stood next to me was… a broken shell.

Wiping his tears along his avian's neck, Bargram gasped and grit his teeth, "Bah… that's enough out of this useless fossil… Shield Boy left a while ago if you're heading out."

"The mines are my destination," I stated before placing my own hand upon his shoulder, "Will you be alright?"

Smiling, he closed his eyes and shook his head, "Aye… I'll be fine. Though, if you can spare it, I'll need a bit of gold to-" I wasted no time in dropping three gilded giant bees at his feet as he sighed, "Thanks, lad. I'll try not to spend it all once."

My Master. You did not return to bed.

Fera's voice was bitter and chastising as she followed me, River not far behind as she craned her head to peck at my crown…

"I must apologise, but our development superseded our need for rest," I stated calmly.

You weren't forced into a cage match with the Sisters of Battle. Yes, partner mine… I know. Be thankful you only fought them as they are and not as they were. A shiver ran down Fera's spine at the thought of fighting all four Siblings of Battle at once.

"Mister Hollow…" Wyndia whined, "I wanna go back to bed…"

Partner mine… please return with Wyndia so she may sleep. Unfortunately, our growth supersedes our need for rest.

Despite the sarcasm, I knew Fera meant well. She also had a point… If Wyndia was to be strong enough to fight the waves, she needed to train adequately.

Though, the deeper we travelled the earthen caves of the mine, we had come across neither bug nor beast.

"I fear there may be nothing to test us," I stated sadly.

Then we mine for ore at the very least. Ore? Yes. Light Metal.

Reviewing my Nails, I was reminded of a certain blade fit with a pickaxe,

[Digger's Blade Rank: 1/25

Damage: 15

Debuff: Speed Decreased by 10%

Passive: Rare item chance 2%

Active: Ignore 5% armor]

The elongated and wide shovel like blade sat upon the head of a pickaxe. Although, It's lengthy wooden handle made me wonder if I was to strike with the blade, or with the pick. I had been shaken from my musings as Wyndia sneezed rather loudly, sniffling as she rubbed her nose.

"Baahhh~ It's so musty~" She whined as she buried herself in River's wings. River had… purred… as she ruffled her moth like wings. Unfortunately, I could not bask in this moment longer as the ground beneath us began to groan and rumble.

Wyndia had quickly sat up, a bandana fixed tightly around her mouth as she readied her whip. Fera had almost immediately stood at attention, Nail poised.

As for myself, I awaited whatever wicked beast had sought to disturb us… as an armored insect no larger than Fera's calf had crawled from the earth.

Master, look again… Aga- No. This bug…

"Mister Hollow? Is something wrong?" Wyndia asked as she hopped off of Wyndia, the two walking up to the mindless bug, "What is it?"

Dead… Lo, It was. River took it upon herself to pierce the bug's carapace and devour it whole.

"River! Don't just eat the bugs! You don't know if they're clean or not!" Wyndia shouted, only to flinch as the earth rumbled once more.

Reacting quickly, Wyndia whipped the floor and pulled, a silver bodied bug wrapped in her whip as River moved to devour this one as well. Soon, eight more bugs began to crawl from the earth, their cries echoing across the cave and reverberating further down. The caves soon began to quake once more as if to alert whatever lay dormant within.

The angry sounds of skittering echoed loudly, a cacophony of Tiktiks and Crawlids threatening to drown out all other sound within the world as the swarm covered the hallways every surface.

Those creatures… Yes, partner mine, they are bugs from the Nest… from my home…

Before any of us could react, River let loose a warcry as she crushed, bisected, pierced, and devoured as many of her prey as possible, however… there had been just so many she could slay. It hadn't mattered how many fell when it seemed ten more took the places of the fallen. As Fera dashed into the fray, bolts of lightning followed her Nail.

Soon, the joined front brought fear into these bugs. Ironically, their fear only increased the rate at which these bugs sought to escape past us… and so the faster they skittered, the faster they perished. The many bugs proved no more a challenge than an everyday Balloon, but it was their sheer number which gave us some pause as they emerged from the black of the seemingly endless tunnel.

Thankfully, as River, Fera, and I served as vanguard, constantly slicing, crushing, and electrocuting the many insects, Wyndia had strength enough to pick off the few stragglers that escaped us. The many bodies that lay scattered before her had not only been a testament to the quality of Earhart's work, but to the will and skill already present in the child.

Gaelion… if you can see her… I may only hope that whatever is left of you can be proud of the daughter you have so diligently raised.

"Please… tell me… it's over…" Wyndia gasped out as she collapsed, River stabbing a stray Tiktik with her beak before devouring the bug.

I believe now would be the time to collect their corpses. Yes… I do believe so.

I had quickly taken a Crawlid, it's limp body oozing its innards over my hand as I fed my Nail… yet…

[Incompatible Object! Would you like to continue to storage? Y/N]

Incompatible object? Would the denizens of the Nest not form a Weapon? Query… Regardless, I continued my collection, finding quite a number of gilded Crawlids and Tiktiks. Much like their unarmored kin, the Tiktiks held the same message… save for one.

[Light Metal Blade Unlocked!]

Light Metal? Had one devoured the ore? All in all, our haul consisted of one hundred and eighty nine Crawlids, one hundred sixty three Tiktiks, eighty nine Gilded Crawlids, and ninety nine Gilded Tiktiks.

River had devoured an approximate seventy Crawlids and thirty nine Tiktiks.

"Come, we should rest."

"Mister Hollow!~" Wyndia whined, "I'm tired~ Carry me!" She soon raised her arms up, grabbing hold of my neck as I lift her into my own. Despite the late start… we had been quite productive.

It was not long until we left the crowded and suffocating caverns of Lute's mine. Wyndia had soon fallen to sleep as we returned to the village, yet her ears began to flicker. Closer still, and we had been privy to a rather strange sight…

The Needle Bearer had been launched skyward before falling back onto the world like a rag doll. Why does it feel as if Naofumi is involved in some way?

"Ah? Sword Hero!" A villager shouted, "Hurry! It's the Shield and Spear Heroes!" The villagers soon cleared a path, Naofumi saddled upon his Filorial. The avian had grown similarly to our own and had a similar fierceness in their eyes.

"Oh no… no no no!" Malty shouted as she stomped her foot, "Leave, Sword Demon! No one invited you!"

"Wha? Hollow's here too?" Motoyasu asked weakly from atop his own mount, a dragon kin I believe.

"Stay out of this, Hollow," Naofumi declared as his Filorial huffed, "This is between me and Motoyasu!"

"We too must ask that you refrain from interfering, Sword Hero," A stranger in a cloak asked of me, accompanied as well by a similarly garbed stranger.

"If Mein is involved, I must-"

"Do nothing, Sword Hero," The robed one stated firmly, "I understand that you are a prince in your land. What good would it do to instigate war between our kingdoms?"

"My kingdom is gone, and I am no prince," I replied coldly, "And so I tell you this, should any of Malty's troops interfere…" I drew my Rather Imperfect Nail, it's blade singing through the wind, "Then they forfeit their lives."

Enraged, Malty marched up to me only to be held back by the robed ones. Thankfully, for her sake, Malty's guards understood my message clearly and retreated in spite of her anger.

"Yeah! Well… I don't need to cheat to beat any of you!" Motoyasu cried out, "I can win fair and square!"

"So you admit to your princess's wrongdoing?" A robed one asked, Motoyasu growling as he stared ahead.

"Whoever makes three rounds around the village's perimeter first, wins!" The village elder declared, "Then…"

"BEGIN!"

As the elder brought his arm down, Naofumi's mount had left Motoyasu in the dust with a burst of speed. The Needle Bearer's own mount did its best to run, but the Filorial had proven far more agile than the degraded half dragon.

"That poor thing…" Wyndia whispered, "Tyrella aren't meant for racing, especially against Filiorials! If the Spear Hero pushes his dragon too far, they might die!"

"Can someone silence that mangy mutt's incessant barking!?" Malty shouted, quickly quieting down herself as the tip of my Nail reached her throat, "Or… or it can keep yapping…" The soldiers by her side were far too fearful to truly act, their hands shaking upon their blades.

"Look!" Raphtalia shouted, "Naofumi's coming up to make a pass!" Lo, the Shell Bearer'ss mount had quickly passed us by as the Needle Bearer's Tyrella stomped along, a worried look upon Motoyasu's sweating face.

Malty growled through grit teeth before shouting, "Do something! He's going to lose!" The soldier by her side moved to cast a spell, but took one look at me before deciding he still wished to keep his head. It was not long before Naofumi had made a second pass… Motoyasu's Tyrella stomping upon the path with much more difficulty then before.

"Come on! Move!" The Needle Bearer shouted as he whipped the reigns of his beast, "We're going to lose! Do you really want to be remembered as the dragon who lost to some dumb bird!?" The Tyrella roared in frustration, throwing its head about wildly in desperation.

"Stop! Stop it please!" Wyndia shouted, "You're hurting him!" Her declaration caused the Needle Bearer to shout in frustration equal to his mount as he allowed the dragon to rest Wyndia quickly rushing forward to tend to the exhausted dragon.

Motoyasu however was not in agreement as he attempted to shoo Wyndia away, "Wh- hey kid! You really shouldn't-" Of course, she paid him now mind as she wrapped her whip around his waist and threw him off to the side, torrential winds whipping about her weapon.

"Lord Motoyasu!" Malty shouted as she rushed to the fallen Hero's side, "This race is a farce! How can you allow this Demi-human filth to attack a Cardinal Hero!?"

"The Spear Hero has lost fairly," The robed human stated, "As such, you and the Spear Hero have no right to usurp this land."

Continuing to growl like a wild animal, Malty unsheathes her blade to strike at Wyndia. However before I could reach her to cut her down myself, the robed humans had her constrained. As they left with the screaming princess, the soldiers had taken Motoyasu and helped him back up, the Needle Bearer apologising to Wyndia and thanking her for tending to the tired Tyrella.

So some people can change.