Chapter 15 - Newtype Girl
Day 23
Lowee - Entremets
At Entremets, the party met with Financier, who had a map on her, as well as a few detail-oriented lists. "These are all our monster-infested dungeons. Are you sure you'll be fine? They're very formidable."
"Yep, no worries. This is how we like it! Nothing's gonna stand a chance against all three of us lovely ladies and the badass Monster Hunter!"
"Thank you for that lovely endorsement Neptune, but please don't get ahead of yourself." Soren told her.
"Yes, overly confident people like you tend to trigger death pretty quick, due to their Leeroy Jenkins-type of thinking. However, you seem like you're okay with it." Financier informed Neptune, though she looked uncertain for a moment there.
"Oh, pshh! Death flag! I'll snap it in half and toss it in a recycle bin, because I'm environmentally conscious!" Neptune scoffed, waving her hand.
"Hearing her say that makes me wonder if travelling with her is a good idea." Soren muttered.
"You're only saying that now?" IF looked at Soren incredulously, before she said, "But seriously, I doubt she's going to get us all killed or something of that sort."
"Fufu, a recycle bin, eh?" Financier looked a bit amused at Neptune's attitude. "How modern of you. Anyhow, good luck monster hunting."
When Financier left the party with the monster data, Soren asked, "Alright, so where should we hit first?"
The girls looked at the map before IF suggested, "How about this tower? It looks like a good place to start looking for some monsters."
"…Pardon me, you there. I heard you talking about monster hunting. Have you heard of Overlord Momus?"
The four looked to see Conversation approaching them. Compa replied to her question, "An Overlord…? Yes, we've heard about something like that back in Lastation."
"As I thought. These monsters are Overlord Momus' loyal vassals. You will face judgement if you defeat them."
"So…you're telling us not to fight them? I don't know if we can manage that!"
"That's unfortunate. You must think you're saving the world by fighting them… This world is already hopeless. Other monster hunters have already fallen to them…" Conversation shook her head. "As a servant to a goddess, I should never utter such things. However, even the goddesses are not absolute. You're efforts will go to waste. You're all still young. Don't risk your lives doing this."
Hearing all this made the party frown as Compa found Conversation's words hard to understand. "Wh-Why are you saying all this to us?-! We're trying to do more than sit and wait! We could probably beat that Overlord, too!"
"…Impossible. The Overlord is so strong, even the original goddess was barely able to seal him away. The current goddesses had no choice but to escape to this world and get away from danger when his seal broke. All of the goddesses, except one, came down to their lands at once. That should be enough proof. They stood no chance against the Overlord, ran away, and let Celestia get ravaged."
Soren couldn't help but frown at those words, and Conversation noticed. "You don't believe my words? I saw it myself. The messenger's punishment by the Overlord's hand. It was horrible. You, too, will eventually…"
There was a moment of silence until Neptune said. "I betcha that messenger was like mid-boss level. We can't save the world if we're scared of a weakling like that!"
"And there goes Neptune, not phased one bit." Soren smirked.
IF sighed as she looked at her cellphone. "Yeah, but thanks for story time. Seriously, how could an Overlord like that really exist? You have to stop playing RPGs so much."
Conversation sighed and walked away saying, "Don't say I didn't warn you…"
When the Evangelist was out of sight, Compa couldn't help but say, "Still, hearing that Evangelist's story kinda makes sense when you think about it. It would explain why Planeptune hasn't seen Lady Purple Heart."
"Hmm, something doesn't sound right though…" Soren folded his arms and adopted a thinking pose.
"What would that be Ren?" Neptune asked.
"That story sounded a bit too detailed, like she got it from the goddess herself. If it's true, then why does she know about it? It sounds like something the goddesses would keep to themselves, so as to not induce panic. Even if Lady White Heart was pressed, she doesn't seem to be the type to spill everything."
"Okay, as much as we can talk about it, it really won't get us anywhere at the moment. Let's just focus on what we do best. I still find it hard to believe her story." IF spoke up before pointing the location of a tower on the map. "We should start here. That girl mentioned that a strong monster's prowling the ground floor recently."
The others seemed to agree with nods as Soren said, "Alright then, to this tower we go."
Lowee - Bruagga Tower
"So, what exactly are we looking for?"
"A Hot Dog, so to speak."
"We're looking for food? I didn't know food can turn into monsters!"
"It's not food Nep! The Sanctified don't know what the name of the monster is, so they just gave it that name due to it looking like a dog on fire from the color of it's fur."
The four were traversing the ground floor of the dungeon, running into monsters every so often. However, the strength of the monsters…
"Hey, how come these monsters are kinda weak? One good hit, and they crumble like a house of cards. I'm starting to think this strong monster isn't so strong."
"Well, we'll find out when we find it, won't we?" IF asked as she gave a roundhouse kick to a plant-looking monster.
Eventually, the four found the Hot Dog, which was prowling around the stairs to the next floor, like it was guarding it. When the Hot Dog spotted them, it instantly went on the offensive, leaping straight at Soren.
"Argh, get off you damn mutt!"
Despite the attempted clawing, Soren managed to kick it off him, sending it flying. When it landed in a heap, the girls instantly pounced on it, stabbing it with their weapons. That killed off the Hot Dog in an instant as Soren took the time to recover.
"You alright Ren?" IF called out.
"Yeah, it didn't hurt me. Took me by surprise, but didn't hurt me."
Compa looked around as she pulled her syringe out of the dead monster. "Eww… This was the monster Ms. Chamberlain told us about, but of course we didn't find anything. Should we ask again, or go up to the second floor?"
"Let's head back. This was a total bummer." Neptune sighed.
The party turned to leave when a voice called out to them. "…Hold it."
Everyone turned to see Blanc in HDD form, and Neptune couldn't help but look impressed. "Whoa, sweet! Lowee has some totally tubular people! She kinda…doesn't…match this land's theme, though."
"Does that really matter Nep-Nep?"
That's when Blanc informed them, "…The outsiders can stay out of this. Neptune's all I need."
"You're after Nep too?-! First that white-haired girl from Lastation, now this. Jeez, how does she attract stalkers? You can't make us go away that easily!" IF shouted, blades bared.
"Lastation…? Heh, so she lost against Neptune? Figures…" Blanc muttered with a smirk.
"That's right. The four of us are as one. We're a party!" Compa shouted, agreeing with IF.
"No offense Compa, but that sounded kinda lame, even if it's true." Soren commented.
"Yep! Four as one. What now, eh? You still wanna fight?" Neptune taunted, blade pointed at Blanc.
Blanc frowned as everyone got into a fighting stance as she pulled out her axe and her Processor Units formed. "…You're involving them? You've got no sense of… Ugh, no matter. I'll take all of you on if it means defeating Neptune!"
In that instant, Neptune transformed just as Blanc charged at her. The axe strike was blocked by Neptune's blade just in time. "A little impatient, are we?"
"Shut up! I always hated that form of yours! I'll bring you down to size!"
Blanc backed off, but was forced to dodge an attack from Soren, who shouted, "You forget about us?"
"Tch, I'll make sure all of you are beaten thoroughly!" Blanc retaliated with a swing that Soren blocked, but the power behind it sent him flying back.
Compa and IF joined the fray, the former providing covering fire as IF got close. She made a lunge, which Blanc dodged, but that was followed up by an attack from Neptune. One has to admit, even outnumbered, Blanc was putting up quite the fight.
About five minutes later, the fight was coming to an end, which by the way, would've looked much better in a videogame or anime than a fic, and Blanc was being worn down. That's when Neptune shouted, "Time to end this!"
Blanc raised her axe to block, but a quick strike from IF knocked the weapon away, leaving Blanc open for Neptune's finisher.
A boot to the head.
*THUD*
"OOOWWW!"
*CRASH*
Betcha you were all expecting Neptune Break huh? Hahaha…
Anyway, Blanc was down for the count, and she had trouble getting back up as Neptune pointed her sword at her. "It's over."
"Ugh…I screwed up? No. I just haven't gotten my full powers back." Blanc shook her head to get rid of the stars and gave Neptune a look before she retreated. "…Bye."
Before anyone could say anything, Blanc was long gone, leaving the party by themselves. Soren sighed and said, "Well, that was odd."
Neptune gave a frown as she looked at the spot where Blanc stood before. "Why was she after me? I don't understand. I don't recall ever meeting her before."
"Well, you are an amnesiac. That Ms. Newtype might be an old acquaintance." Compa suggested.
"Like that girl from Lastation?" IF raised an eyebrow. "Still, I wouldn't be shocked if you've pissed off a few people in the past before you lost your memory. Like the Lastation and Lowee Newtypes."
"What do you think happened then?" Soren asked.
"Well, she was probably running away from those Newtypes, got caught and then buried in the ground. Yeah, makes sense to me."
"Not to mention that that girl seems to know the one from Lastation."
"But, what sort of people would do such a thing? She was stuck in the ground like a spear. So, shouldn't they be satisfied by now?" Compa wondered.
"Compa, there are some strange people out in the world. Who knows what they're thinking."
"But Soren, it's very rude of her to keep holding a grudge. She's like…like…a Nep-Nep addict!"
"A Nep-Nep addict?" Soren looked like he had trouble wrapping his mind around such a concept when IF's voice snapped him out of it.
"Ugh, look, let's head back to the inn for now. This day's already gotten weird."
Lowee - inn
"Well, today sure was interesting."
"Define 'interesting' Ren."
"You really want me to answer that, If?"
The party was busy relaxing in their room after their encounter with Blanc. IF was at the computer, looking for info about the monsters around Lowee when Soren spoke. Neptune gave a sneeze, while Compa asked, "Well, that dungeon was a bust. Should we go back to the Basilicom for more info?"
"We'll hold off on that for now. We'll save going back to the Basilicom as a last resort if we don't find anything." IF told her.
Soren was silent for a minute before he said, "You know, we've encountered girls who know Neptune on Lastation and Lowee. You think there's a chance we'll find someone who has an issue with Neptune on Leanbox?"
Neptune gave a sneeze saying, "Psh, I think you jinxed it Ren, achoo!"
"Nep-Nep, are you alright? You sound like you're coming down with something."
"No worries Compa. Someone's probably talking about me. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna get sick or something." Neptune blew her nose with a tissue as she sat on the bed confidently.
Day 25
Lowee - inn
"Compaaaaa, I'm feeling icky-sticky. Can you check my temperature and stuff?"
It was just the party's luck that Neptune caught something and was now sick. Then again, her sleeping habits weren't the best, as Compa put it best.
"Oh, you may have a cold. It's because you never use the covers when you sleep, especially with Lowee's colder environment. You should be more careful about that!" That's when Compa started taking out medicine bottles and putting them on the table. "Hold on a minute and I'll make you some good medicine."
Meanwhile, Soren and IF were busy doing their own things when the former asked, "So, I take it we're not going to be doing anything for today?"
"Not until Nep gets better. And that won't be for a few days at the very least." IF replied, "Oh well, we can use that time for info gathering around town."
A bit later, Compa finished mixing just as Neptune cried out from her bed. "Are ya done yet?"
Compa looked at the concoction that looked more like off colored slime than medicine with confusion. "Huh? Why…? It's not working…"
Soren was by Neptune's bed, watching over her with a bowl of water and a spare cloth, the other on Neptune's forehead. "That, does not look good in the slightest."
Seeing what happened, IF stepped up and offered, "Let me handle this. Sometimes, beginner's luck works."
"No! I want to help Nep-Nep!"
"But you're not doing it right… Come on…"
Seeing Compa and IF argue, Soren shouted, "Can't you two work together or something?"
All of a sudden, a young girl burst into the room shouting, "I can't watch any longer! Let Gust take care of it!"
Everyone except Neptune jumped in surprise at Gust's appearance, that Compa squeaked, "Huh? Wh-Who're…?"
"I am Gust." Gust introduced herself, "I help with medicine mixing."
IF stepped back while Compa looked over Gust's shoulder while giving Neptune concerned looks. The party watched as Gust took what was left of the ingredients and started mixing. "Mix Potion A and Potion B, then add powder…"
*Boom*
"Agh!" Compa got so shocked that she actually jumped back.
"Okay, what the heck was that?" Soren looked over with an incredulous look on his face, while Neptune just mumbled something incoherently.
IF however, breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "…I'm glad I stood back. What was that minor explosion? Is it done?"
"…Synthesis failure." Gust reported.
"I wouldn't drink anything that resulted from an explosion, even if it was successful." Soren muttered, shaking his head.
"Explosion is reaction caused by old ingredients." Gust informed the party, "Wait here. Gust make good medicine using her own ingredients."
When Gust left the room, Soren and IF looked at Compa as the former asked, "…Old ingredients?"
"I swear they were still good! I only got them about two months ago!"
"…That's not good Compa." IF looked at the bottle Gust left behind, seeing the black soot near the bottleneck. Both she and Soren shivered at it, remembering the explosion.
A few minutes later, Gust returned with a bottle full of proper medicine, holding it out to them. "…There."
"Thank you." Compa took the bottle from Gust, but she found it strange that she still had her hand out. "Um…what's this? Do you want me to shake your hand…?"
As Compa gave the bottle to IF, Gust replied with a twinkle in her eye. "For ingredients and labour."
"What? You charge?-!"
"Oh yes. Valuable ingredients." Then Gust added, "I won't charge labour this time."
Soren came to the rescue and abruptly asked, "How much?"
"A thousand credits."
Reaching for his pocket, Soren took out his wallet and pulled out the amount before giving it to Gust. "Here you go."
"Thank you very much. Gust hopes your friend gets better soon." With that done, Gust left the party by themselves looking happy.
IF looked over after giving Neptune the medicine. "…She must be pretty strict with money."
"This was an…unexpected expense." Compa sighed.
"…I'll keep this to myself. No need to waste the party's money." Soren relented.
"…Thank you Soren."
Later, Gust came by again to check on Neptune, who was sleeping soundly. IF followed in after her as Gust asked, "Friend okay?"
"Yes, she's sleeping soundly right now, thanks to your medicine." Compa replied, "So, Gust, was it? What do you do?"
"Gust traveling alone while selling synthesized items to various customers. It very good job." Gust told everyone.
"Wow, really? You're so young but such a hard worker. I'm one impressed nurse-in-training."
"Heh, you flatterer."
"But isn't it a bit dangerous for you to be by yourself?" Soren spoke up, "I mean, the monsters keep increasing, and people are starting to travel in pairs lately."
"Oh, I fight monsters with magic." Gust pulled out an extendable staff and conjured a fireball above it. "Gust also an accomplished mage from Mystic Academy."
"Mystic Academy…the prestigious magic academy on Lowee? You must be a genius to have graduated at your age." IF commented, looking impressed.
"Gust both mage and alchemist. Tell Gust if any items needed. Gust will make for cheap."
"Really? Then, please tell us if you need any ingredients." For a moment, IF and Soren thought there were sparkles in Compa's eyes when she said that, but it was gone when they blinked. "We'll go gather them for you."
"You will? Gathering is challenge, especially with monster increase. That is wonderful!"
"Gust, you're our friend now."
"Yes. Friends!"
"…Looks like those two are hitting it off pretty well." Soren commented to IF.
"Yeah, they seem to be getting along." That's when IF looked around slightly. "I haven't seen Nep around. Did either of you let her off her leash or something?"
"Oh, she's still in her bed." Compa pointed to Neptune sleeping under the covers. "She's in a deep sleep after taking the medicine."
"No wonder it's so peaceful."
"Don't you mean quiet?" Soren asked.
"That too."