.
.
'Morning' in the dungeon had came. Alise sat up, frowning at the lack of her body pillow. She crept out of her tent and made her way to the center of the campsite. Some time during the night, she felt her pillow sever itself from her grip leaving her feeling mildly cold. Under one of the nearby trees, she saw the sleeping form of Bell. He was comfortably snuggled into his sleeping bag and peacefully in the dream world. Lion was nowhere to be seen so the redhead presumed that she was patrolling the area.
No one else was awake by then so she quietly made her way to the river to wash up as to not wake any of them up. She knelt down, scooping up water and splashing her face with it. Alise closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath then slapping her cheeks a few times and looking at her reflection in the water before putting on her signature smile.
"Okay! Today's going to be another good day!" Finishing up her daily routine, nodding as she returned to camp.
As the redhead began preparing breakfast, the rabbit began to stir awake.
"Mnn..." His rubellite eyes fluttered open, meeting his captain's emerald orbs. "Nnn...Alise..?"
...He looks so cute right now...
Pushing those thoughts aside, she greeted him as he sat up. "Morning, did you sleep well?"
"*Yawn* Good mornin.. and yes I had a good sleep. How about you?"
Her hands found their way to her hips as she gave him a toothy grin. "Yup! I feel so ready to kick some Amphisbaena butt!"
"That's good." Bell smiled back.
"Mhm! Go get washed up, breakfast will be ready soon." He nodded as he rolled up his sleeping bag. "Oh right, could you see if you can find Lion and tell her to head back? Thanks!"
As he made his way over to the river, he met the elf along the way. She was dressed in her usual shirt, gloves, cloak, shorts and boots. Though her mask was down and around her neck.
Ryuu greeted him as he nodded back. "Alise asked for you to head back, she's also making breakfast right now." Bell waved as he walked away.
By the time he returned, the others were just about starting to get up. Alise and Ryuu were packing up their tent while Kaguya and Lyra went to freshen up for the morning. Finishing breakfast and cleaning up camp, the Astraea familia gathered around their pallum strategist.
"Okay now that we're all refreshed, listen up." Lyra declared. "On our way up, Bell will take point with me and Lion in the middle. You two will stay at the back to conserve your energy."
The four nodded along.
"As you all know, the Amphisbaena is ranked by the guild as a level 5 monster that has level 6 capabilities in the water. Since we can't freeze the lake over or anything, we'll bring it over to the shore. While Alise and Kaguya are fighting the Amphisbaena, us three-" Pointing to herself and looking to Ryuu and Bell. "-Will keep monsters off of you so that you can focus entirely on the boss."
"Sounds like a plan. Time to get our level-ups!" The captain beamed.
"Alright then, let's go!"
.
In a handful of hours, we arrived at the foot of the 28th floor. There was a large group of adventurers gathered around the lake, waiting for the twin-headed dragon to emerge from the waters. Standing behind them was a large man wearing an eyepatch over one of his eyes, he wore a brown vest and in his right hand was a large battle axe which was firmly planted into the ground.
"It looks like the Rivira adventurers were planning to take it down." Kaguya nee-chan stated as we walked over to the large party.
The man turned to face us. "You guys are..Astraea familia?" He looked us up and down, as if sizing us up. "You guys want in or something?"
"Kinda, would you leave it to us Mr Bors?" Alise nodded.
"Well if we get the magic stone then I don't see why not." Bors crossed his arms and nodded along.
It looks like he was trying to get some valis out of this. Lyra probably won't be too big of a fan since we aren't that financially stable but I guess it's a fair price to pay, not that i'm making that decision though. The magic stones from our mini-expedition should be able to cover it...hopefully. As we locked eyes for a moment, it was as if I could hear Bors gulp as he took a step back.
"A-actually, nevermind it's alright. You guys can have it."
We didn't get a chance to reply as he ran off, rallying the adventurers with him and heading back up. It took me a moment to realize why he left in a hurry and I groaned in defeat.
"Hoh...this could be useful..." Lyra smirked.
"Kh- Please don't weaponize my reputation..." I flinched.
She chuckled patting me on the small of my back. "Haha don't let it get to you, it'll get better with time."
"Indeed. He just does not know you as we do." Kaguya stated.
We got set up on the shore, preparing for the Amphisbaena to spawn.
"Any time now..." Lyra muttered.
As if in response to Lyra's comment, a large wave erupted outwards from the center of the lake, pushing the water up onto the surrounding terrain.
A pair of dragon heads emerged from the waterfall at the end of the lake, sending tremors throughout the room in the process. Both heads had crystals protruding from the back that stretched from its crown all the way to its conjoined body, the only difference being the light green crystals on its right head where the left had an icy blue.
Its right head had emerald crystals a very slight purplish tint to its skin and a similarly purple fin gradually shrinking as it closed into its body. The left head had blue crystals. Where it's other head had a purple fin, it had similarly colored blue crystals sprouting along its neck. The spine of the monster rex had crystals there too.
The Amphisbaena roared in life to its mother, sending water flying everywhere, cascading like rain. Although the Amphisbaena did not have any abilities to summon or call upon other monsters, a horde of them emerged from the several tunnels leading into the boss room. Voltimeria, Blue crabs, Merman and Kelpies were just a few of the many which appeared. Even a Carbuncle which was as rare a monster as a Vouvire or Unicorn were, had spawned as well.
"Lion, Bell hurry up!" Lyra called out. Ryuu dashed forwards and began cleaving through the spawns of the dungeon.
I looked to Alise and Kaguya, "Good luck." smiling. The former nodded as I dashed after to Lyra and Ryuu, joining the elf and pallum as we began to thin down the hordes.
.
"Kaguya you ready?" The redhead asked, drawing her beloved sword.
"As ready as i'll ever be, captain."
Alise declared. "Let's go!" The far-eastern woman nodded.
The dragon roared, unleashing waves of blue flames at the duo. "UUUUOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Agaris Alvesynth!"
Alise ran as scarlet-red flames engulfed her body, before converging on her legs and hands. She slashed indiscriminately along its neck, leaving small gashes and cuts along the hide of the Amphisbaena. Alise continuously changed her angle of attack by focusing the flames at her feet to move faster and faster, striking at it in a relentless assault.
Kaguya ran along the glade, leaping at the right head and drawing her katana in a swift motion, "Haa!" leaving a long cut along its neck as gravity pulled her down. The majority of the dragon's body was submerged under the lake, its heads being the only thing that stayed above water.
What made the Amphisbaena such a fearsome floor boss to fight against was not only its physical capabilities, but its red mist and napalm. Each monster rex had some kind of specialized abilities, the Goliath with its Howl, or Udaeus with its spike and Spartoi summoning.
The Amphisbaena's right head was capable of spewing a red mist that nullified magic, irregardless of whatever it was and its left head was able to spew blue napalm that could burn even the water.
Had Alise been hit by the mist, her fire magic would be dispelled and she would be sent flying into the boiling river. The napalm not only burned the ground, it also boiled the water, causing the boss room to steam from the residual heat of the napalm making it incredibly uncomfortable to fight in. It was the equivalent to fighting in a massive sauna where the heat only kept rising.
Their bout had continued for another half hour. The dragon was greatly injured, cuts and gashes ran across its scales. It-he, knew that he wouldn't win a battle of attrition. The woman in flames attacked relentlessly, in a constantly differing pattern. When his attention was focused on trying to burn the red haired woman, the black haired woman would strike at his skin.
The Amphisbaena roared, as its heads violently swung around, releasing its napalm across the shore. The red-haired woman stopped midair and pulled the black-haired woman out of the way of the cobalt flames. In the next moment, it dove down into the boiling lake, sending scalding water and other aquatic type monsters flooding onto the shore and terrain around.
"Darn." Kaguya grimaced as the cleaved through a Raider Fish.
Being preoccupied with dealing with the new...well maybe not so new batch of monsters, the Amphisbaena was granted a chance to flee. Its massive form began to ascend the Great fall, looking to escape its encroaching death.
The chime of bells ran through their ears as they turned to the source of the noise. The rabbit leapt high into the air and outstretched his palm to the colossal waterfall, as the monster rex ascended it.
"-JUPITER!"
.
"Good luck." I smiled, before joining up with Lyra and Ryuu and we began to deal with the monsters. Ryuu danced across the battlefield, concurrently chanting as she stabbed and sliced.
Concurrent chanting was no easy skill to pick up. It was considered by mages to be the pinnacle of magic. It was highly valued, even among high-ranked familias. When casting spells, the person would have to have perfect concentration as to not cause an Ignis Fatuus, an event in which an incomplete spell explodes on its user. Concurrent chanting was effectively the same as fighting while 'defusing a bomb', which was what Lyra had described it to be akin to.
"Luminous Wind!"
Orbs of green blades swept through a large group of Merman, dropping magic stones in its wake.
I backflipped over a Kelpie which rushed at me, landing behind it and running Vesta through its back as it bursted into ash. As the nearby walls cracked, a new group of Blue Crabs began to emerge from the dungeon's womb. I fired off a few shots of Jupiter from my open palm at the new flock and darted between them, avoiding the strikes of their pincers.
Glancing over to Lyra, I noticed that she stood on a ledge...baiting the monsters? The pallum had this maniacal grin over her face as she cackled madly, while chucking her homemade grenades into the hordes and eradicating the monsters. A part of my mind felt uncomfortable hearing the noises but I didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts as more monsters rushed at me.
"MUAHAHAHAHA! *BOOM*"
The area below her was littered with magic stones. The few monsters that did manage to survive were swiftly disposed of by the pallum. She leaned back and threw one of her chakram as if a boomerang as it sliced through a group of Raider Fish that jumped out of the rushing river. The weapon glided through the air at unusual angles as Lyra jumped up to fish it out of the air.
...Oh so that's how it's used...
I felt the hairs on my arm stand up as a large wave came crashing in and flooding the tunnel.
"JUMP!"
The pallum and elf reacted quickly and dodged the scalding wave. I was directly in range of the tide so I jumped up and stabbed Vesta into the adjacent wall, using the 280,000,000 valis magic-conductive sword as a makeshift grip, dangling as the flood passed below me and flushed the remaining monsters away. I released Vesta from the stone wall and made my way over to Lyra and Ryuu.
"Are you guys alright?"
"Neither of us were hit." Ryuu shook her head.
"That's good." I replied.
"Ah! The Amphisbaena! It's running away!" Lyra blurted out, pointing at the twin headed dragon. Ryuu and I turned to the Great Fall, watching as a pair of heads ascended the vertical river.
Understanding the situation, I started chanting Argonaut and rushed over to the lake, counting the amount of seconds It was charged for. The sound of bells flooded my ears as the white and blue particles converged at my left palm.
...One...Four...Seven...Fifteen!...
"JUPITER!"
.
A blinding streak of actinic blue thunder roared from his outstretched hand. The thunder crashed into the rocks around the waterfall, sending boulders crashing down on the Amphisbaena. The dragon roared in pain as the massive rocks came tumbling down onto it, forcing it to fall back into the river at the base of the 27th floor. Its flippers flailed in the air as large form crashed into the lake like a meteorite, once more sending monsters flying into the air along with another large splash.
Lyra and Ryuu came out of the tunnel soon after Bell. The three began clashing blades with the remaining party of monsters that stood in between the redhead and black-haired woman.
"Alise, Kaguya leave it to us!"
"We'll handle it here, so get going captain!" Lyra commanded.
The redhead nodded to the pink-haired pallum, "Thanks!" before turning to the far-eastern noble next to her. "Kaguya, let's strike now!"
"Right." She responded. "I'll take the right head, you take the left."
"Got it!"
Alise ran ahead of Kaguya, the black-haired woman stood with her katana hung down and began channeling her magical energy into her blade.
With each step she took forward, the Scarlet Harnel accelerated ever more.
She focused more and more magical energy to her feet and blade, tempering the ground beneath her feet with the residual heat.
Once she got close enough to the Amphisbaena, Alise crouched down low, before vaulting for the Amphisbaena's head as a massive torrent of red flames erupted from the soles of her feet, giving her enough speed and momentum to match that of a mid level 5.
The staggered dragon was but a second too late to react as her flaming sword was ran through its left eye. "UUURRROOOOOO!!!" It cried as it swung its left head around in pain, unleashing its blue napalm across the battlefield in an attempt to remove the scarlet woman from its head.
Yet, Alise held strong, thrusting her blade deeper into its skull. And with one word, scarlet-red flames burst from the other side of the Amphisbaena's blue head, out of its right eye.
"ARVELIA!"
The incapacitated left head of the dragon exploded in flames and dropped dead into the lake below, as the redhead freed her sword from its smouldering remains, jumping away.
While Alise was holding the monster rex off, Kaguya was preparing for her own strike. She bent her knees, firmly planting her feet onto the ground. The far-eastern woman's left palm was outstretched, the back of the tip of her katana resting slightly above her index finger and thumb. Her right arm was bent, so that the back of her right palm was by her cheek and the blade of her katana facing upwards.
"Effulgence of the midnight sun. Cradle of the moon.-"
"Hey Bell!" The pallum called out to the rabbit. Bell jumped back to Lyra as she handed him one of her bombs. Before he thought of asking what he was supposed to do with it, his eyes widened understanding what she wanted him to do. Bell quickly took ahold of the orange sphere, handing Lyra his jet-black sword before throwing the explosive at the Amphisbaena as hard as he could.
The bomb flew right into the Amphisbaena's mouth, as it was about to spew its mist onto the far-eastern woman.
*BOOM*
There was a faint orange light coming from inside its neck as the bomb exploded, orange flames and smoke billowing out of its mouth. The dragon was temporarily stunned, giving the far-eastern noble enough time to channel her magic.
"-Celestial maiden, may a fraction of your wisdom converge upon this blade. Iai no tachi:-"
Kaguya quickly closed the distance between herself and the dragon, as she sprung for its neck.
"-Gokou!"
Five ethereal white blades of light encroached around the neck of the Amphisbaena as she swung her katana down. In the blink of an eye, the remaining head of the dragon was severed. The blades moved at such high speeds, it was as if time had stopped, and there were five other of herself preforming the cut.
The monster rex bursted into ash, leaving behind a large magic stone in its place. Lyra mentally frowned, not seeing any Amphisbaena drop item. The pallium wondered if his luck skill had some sort of cooldown or conditions to be activated but that was a thought for another time.
"Did we really just-" Alise asked rhetorically, a bright smile displacing her serious expression.
"Yes, we did." Kaguya replied.
"Haaah... I'm pooped." Slumping down with her back to a rock.
The other three jogged over after clearing up the remaining monsters and collecting the magic stones. Thanks to their party being only a group of five, they had managed to collect quite a large haul. Normally it wouldn't be possible for two level fours to take down a monster rex on their own but both Alise and Kaguya had many years worth of experience fighting the 27th floor monster rex and had memorized its attack patterns so the pair knew what it could and couldn't do..
"Good job you two." The elf commended.
"Congratulations Alise, Big sister." Bell congratulated.
"Ah save that for when we level up little rabbit." Kaguya groaned in exhaustion.
"I'm sure we could all use a good break after this." The pallum commented.
"Before that, we should head back up."
"Yes. Can you two walk?" Bell asked.
Kaguya rose to her feet. "I'll manage, though I can't say the same for our idiot captain." Shooting a glance at the redhead who sat tiredly on the ground.
"I pushed my legs a bit far and they feel numb now..." She chuckled.
It would have been amazing if she hadn't felt even the slightest bit of exhaustion, having had her fire-enchant magic active for over half an hour and constantly using it to create explosions at her feet.
Adventurers with elemental-based enchant magic were known to be powerful, but what wasn't commonly known was the strain it placed onto the user's body. The duration an enchant could be held up for was greatly dependent on the element. For Bell, keeping Regulus active for too long would make his limbs stiff and Alise's Agaris Alvesynth made her limbs tire quickly.
"Hmm...the Amphisbaena magic stone is a little too big to bring up to the surface so let's pawn it off at Rivira." Lyra suggested. Bell swore there were valis symbols in her irises as she said that... "For our formation heading up, Kaguya, could you take point?" The aforementioned nodded. "Me and Lion will be carrying the magic stone...so that leaves Bell and Alise."
"Then could you carry me, Bell?" Alise asked.
The rabbit choked as he flushed red. "Eh? B-but then i'll have to t-touch you."
Alise tilted her head at him in confusion. "Of course you will, silly. How else would you carry me? I don't really mind."
"I-i do mind!" He retorted, embarrassed.
The redhead fake cried, looking up to the rabbit with tears at the corners of her eyes. "*Hic* So you would leave me to die here, eaten by monsters *hic* unable to even defend myself or run away...you let me down Bell!"
He knew that Alise meant no harm by her words but felt an odd sense of guilt at what she said at the end. "W-what about Kaguya then? I can be the vanguard."
"Hey. My back hurts enough, I don't need extra baggage." The far-eastern noble glared.
"How rude! I don't weigh that much!"
Bell gulped, pushing pass his embarrassment and accepting what he had to do and crouching down in front of Alise with his back towards her. He couldn't see it as he looked down at the ground, but the redhead had a teasing grin on her face. "...G-get on."
"But you're wearing a backpack, and even if you take it off and wear it in front, my chest plate will dig into your back." She poked his back few times.
"Argh- Fine!" Bell picked her up from the underside of her knees with his right arm and his left supporting her back. He looked away from her, but the redhead saw how red his ears were and decided to tease the rabbit a little more.
She put her arms around his neck and lightly blew into his ear. "Thank you, my hero~"
"...L-lets just get going! G-goddess must be worried about us." Covering up his embarrassment. Not that he would say it out loud, but even though she still had her armor equipped, her skin felt incredibly soft.
...Wait what in goddess's name am I thinking!?
The redhead decided to leave it there and just relaxed in his arms.
"Now that you two are done with your flirting, let us go." Kaguya commented, as Bell returned to becoming a stuttering mess.
.
On their journey up, Lyra and Ryuu went to Rivira to exchange the Amphisbaena magic stone. The pallum managed to haggle the price up and pawn it off at 23 million valis. She was also going to sell some of the drop items there but was dragged away by Ryuu who felt pity for the shop owner who was going to lose all his money for entering a monetary exchange with Lyra.
During that brief timeframe, Alise somehow managed to fall asleep in Bell's arms. The redhead just looked so comfortable sleeping that Bell couldn't bring himself to wake her up...and it wasn't as if he could remove her tight hold either. A part of his mind felt pity for Ryuu who had to deal with being his captain's body pillow every so often.
"...You really did a good job, Alise." He muttered quietly. She had this silly grin on her face as she slept. Maybe she was having a good dream?
They hadn't encountered many monsters on the way up as they followed the main route. In a couple of hours, they ascended the wide spiraling stairway, soon coming out from the entrance of Babel. The party got many stares...especially a certain white-haired rabbit.
...Alise, please wake up soon. I don't like these looks i'm getting!
They had returned home as the midday sun glared down onto them.
"Lady Astraea?"
The brunette was standing outside the gates, a warm smile coming to her face as the party returned.
"Welcome home, everyone." She smiled.
"We're home." Ryuu nodded.
"Have you been waiting for us?" Lyra asked.
"How fortunate we are, to have the pleasure of being greeted by our goddess upon returning home."
The goddess pouted slightly at that. "Mouh, don't speak like that Kaguya. Now what would you like to have first, a meal? Or maybe a bath?"
"-Or are you perhaps an option?" Kaguya smirked.
"W-what are you saying B-big sister!?"
"Oh my, just what are you imagining you dirty-minded rabbit? Is Alise not enough for you?" Glancing at the sleeping redhead in his arms. The goddess did want to ask why Alise was not on her own feet but was answered a moment later, by an oddly specific explanation from the rabbit.
His face and ears burned. "I-i can't do anything about it! She was the one who couldn't walk after using her magic so much and felt tired t-then fell asleep while we were making our way up!" Bell tried to hold his hands up in front of him which only made Alise make her hug even tighter.
"...Mnn..shtop moving so much..." She mumbled.
The albino's face turned even redder as steam started exiting from his ears.
...Oh so that's why...
"-And that's the story, Lady Astraea." Kaguya turned to the brunette, who nodded understandingly.
Lyra looked to Ryuu in exhaustion. "You getting a feeling of déjà vu?"
"...Somehow, yes." The elf pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Well anyways, I'd like to take a long relaxing bath first. Oh and after that, could you update me and our captain's status? I believe we are eligible for leveling up." She smirked.
Astraea's eyes widened momentarily, before frowning slightly at her vice-captain. "...You and Alise didn't fight a very strong monster...did you?"
"It's kind of a long story so we'll tell you later."
Looks like it was going to be a long afternoon. The group nodded, soon separating after entering the mansion. Bell was finally freed of the redhead's hold after some time by Ryuu who dragged the captain off to the bath along with Kaguya and Lyra.
Astraea was in her room reading a novel she had recently bought. It was a story about a self proclaimed 'hard-boiled' detective solving strange cases with a teenage boy that had memory loss. The goddess was snapped out of her trance as she heard a knock on the door.
"The door's open."
"Excuse us-" Alise and Kaguya entered the room, the latter closing the door behind her as they entered.
"Are you two here to get your status's updated?"
"Mhm!" Alise nodded. The three women turned to the door after hearing another group of knocks. The sequence repeated itself as the pallum entered with the rabbit and elf in tow.
"Yes. I see you three are here for the same reason." Kaguya replied, looking at the albino, elf and pallum.
Astraea looked slightly overwhelmed. "Who wants to go first?"
The party looked at each other, then at the rabbit.
"Oh don't mind me, you guys can go ahead." Holding his hands up.
There was this odd pressure in the room as they looked back at each other. Though none of them used hand to hand combat, they all dropped down into different stances.
"There's only one way to decide..." Lyra squinted.
"Indeed."
Bell looked at the goddess quizzically, the brunette merely shrugging in response.
"I won't hold back this time..." Alise grinned.
"Neither will I!" Ryuu added.
The four women all had a serious look on their respective faces, as their gaze darted between each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.
"Then let's begin!"
.
""""Rock, Paper, Scissors!""""
.
It was eventually decided that Alise would go first, followed by Kaguya, Ryuu, Lyra and lastly Bell. The latter four exited their goddess's room, leaving Alise and Astraea alone. The brunette motioned for the redhead to sit down on a chair, to which she did and took her shirt off.
Astraea pricked her finger with a needle, the divine ichor falling onto her child's back. She watched as the runes shifted, the memories of her falna responding and showing the goddess of her captain's adventures.
...Wow you really did work hard...
"Congratulations, Alise. You are now our second first class adventurer."
She smiled brightly. "Really?! Yay! As expected of my amazing self! I'll now only grow stronger!" Bobbing her body left and right in joy.
The goddess chuckled. "Ehe, im happy that you are so excited but please stop moving around so much." The redhead stopped squirming after getting a light chop over the head. "It looks like you have a choice of two developmental abilities: Swordsman and Chain attack."
"Hmm... Both are good options for my fighting style but I think i'll go with Chain attack." Astraea nodded in response.
Name : Alise Lovell
Familia : Astraea
Alias : Scarlet Harnel
Level : 4-5
Str : A 846 - A 853 - I 0
End : C 601 - C 609 - I 0
Dex : B 747 - B 752 - I 0
Agi : B 751 - B 756 - I 0
Mag : S 913 - S 917 - I 0
Magic :
Agaris Alvesynth : Fire enchant magic. Coats user's hands and legs in flames. Can be used to enchant weapons and produce explosions.
Chant : Arga, Arvana, Arvelia.
Skills :
Lubrude Bequia : Raises strength by a large amount in combat. Raises Endurance and Dexterity by a large amount in the face of adversity. Raises Agility and Magic by a large amount when fighting against a powerful opponent. When all three conditions are met, further increases Strength, Agility, and Magic in slight proportion to duration.
Batleate Asyrath : Increases effects of skills when fighting in close combat, also increases effects of magic when used.
Developmental Abilities :
Hunter - G
Abnormal Resistance - H
Fire Flash - H
Chain Attack - I
.
Alise smiled happily as Astraea handed her the paper. The redhead then exited the room, telling the far-eastern noble that it was her turn. Kaguya sat down and unfurled the top of her kimono as the goddess dropped her blood onto her back.
"Congratulations Kaguya, you can also level up. Though you have only one choice of a developmental ability which is Quickdraw."
The far-eastern woman chuckled in response. "Hoh.. Is that so? How fitting."
"I've never heard of this development ability, have you?"
"Not at all. But I believe it is self explanatory."
Astraea giggled to herself. "It is very fitting for you, my vice-captain."
Kaguya tried her hardest not to show her happiness on her face. Unnoticed to the far-eastern noble, the corners of her lips raised ever-so slightly. Astraea smiled at her reaction and handed her the sheet of paper.
.
Name : Gojouno Kaguya
Familia : Astraea
Alias : Yamato Rindou
Level : 4-5
Str : C 693 - C 698 - I 0
End : E 446 - E 451 - I 0
Dex : S 912 - S 916 - I 0
Agi : B 756 - B 764 - I 0
Mag : B 721 - B 724 - I 0
Magic :
Gokou : Creates five blades of light that move at the same time as the user makes a slash with their sword.
Chant : Effulgence of the midnight sun. Cradle of the moon. Celestial maiden, may a fraction of your wisdom converge upon this blade.
Shikai : Coats weapon in condensed dark elemental magic. Upon slashing, condensed magic will be released in the form of a slash. Magic can be sustained if user keeps pouring in magical energy.
Chant : Scatter. Petals of lycoris. Seed of old: the flower of passing.
Skills :
Kaina Blood : Dexterity increases in proportion to damage taken. Once a certain amount of damage is taken, user will have increased Agility and Endurance.
Tekiheni : Makes user's presence harder to detect. Does not differentiate between allies and enemies. [Passive]
Developmental Abilities :
Abnormal Resistance - G
Night Fight - G
Quickdraw - I
Name : Ryuu Lion
Familia : Astraea
Alias : Gale
Level : 4
Str : E 486 - E 488
End : F 349 - F 352
Dex : B 784 - B 786
Agi : A 882 - A 888
Mag : B 712 - B 717
Magic :
Luminous Wind : Area of effect, wind and light element magic. Creates 47 orbs of stardust that can be used to cover a large area. May also be kept on hand. Orbs can be detonated using the spell key : Luvia.
Chant : In the sky of a now distant forest. Infinite stars scattered across the endless night sky. Respond to my foolish voice, give me now divine protection of starfire. Give the mercy of light to the one who forsook you. Come, wandering wind, the wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster anything, faster than all. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy.
Noah Heal : Healing magic that restores stamina. Requires certain amount of mind to heal wounds. Effect is stronger in forested areas.
Chant : The song of a now distant forest. The nostalgic song of life. Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you
Skills :
Fairy Serenade : Increases effects of magic. Effect rises at night.
Mind Load : Increases Strength stat by channelling mind.
Aero Mana : Increases attack power in proportion to the speed of user while running.
Developmental Abilities :
Hunter - G
Abnormal Resistance - G
Magic Resistance - I
Name : Lyra
Familia : Astraea
Alias : Thrail
Level : 3
Str : F 325 - F 326
End : G 291 - G 293
Dex : C601 - C 607
Agi : D 519 - D 521
Mag : E 448 - 451
Magic :
Musu Main : Locates enemies in a certain area.
Chant : Cunning trailer, unveil the uncharted lands.
Wingus Smite : [Passive] Circular objects thrown will return to user.
Skills :
Ratts Phil : Increases strength when throwing small objects.
Agile Salt : Increases speed when running from larger enemies.
Developmental Abilities :
Abnormal Resistance - I
Name : Bell Cranel
Familia : Astraea
Alias : Astrapi
Level : 5
Str : G 238 - 239
End : G 253 - 254
Dex : F 302 - F 303
Agi : F 393 - F 394
Mag : F 371 - F 372
Magic :
Jupiter: Swift-strike Lightning magic. Launches bolts of thunder at the enemy.
Regulus: Lightning enchant magic. Coats user in blue electricity, increasing movement speed and strength. Passive: Weak stun effect through physical contact with user.
Skills :
Liaris Freese: Precocious maturation. Continued desire results in continued growth. Stronger desire results in stronger growth.
Current status : [Inactive.]
Argonaut : The Heroes' strike. Empowerment of any active action. Empowerment scales off of time charged.
Current limit : [5 minutes.]
Elegy of Lost Legacy : Coats user in magic-resistant armor. Large consumption of mind, consumption increases in proportion to length of time casted.
Temporarily grants user 'Mage' Development ability and spell : Satanas Vesta.
Chant :
Entruster of wills, Entruster of dreams. Rest, for your legend has been told. Gluttonous king, Gluttonous warrior. Rest. Silent maiden, Silent sage. Rest. Bearer of wills, Bearer of dreams. Rise, for your time hath come. Hypocritical Hero, Foolish hero. Rise. For the grand bell tolls a new dawn. Rise. For the vessel of heroes has sailed. Rise, prophesied hero, for your legend hath begun.
Satanas Vesta : Produces waves of flames. Chant : Opera
Flames may be exploded using the spell key : Chorus
Developmental abilities :
Luck - F
Abnormal resistance - G
Swordsman - H
Chain attack - I
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Bell took the paper and processed it, wide eyed. "So this is what normal growth is like..."
"Are you disappointed?" Astraea tilted her head.
The rabbit turned to face his goddess. "No, not at all. Back in my old familia, I was already three levels above everyone else...well except for Emma, she was level three. I just don't want to run ahead of everyone else anymore." He smiled in memory.
The goddess looked like she was going to say something, but was not given a chance to expand further on his statement as the rabbit slipped his black shirt back on and hopped off of the chair.
"Ok. It's starting to get a late so i'll get started on dinner." He sighed, stretching his shoulders.
"Ah, i'll help you with that." Astraea stood up from the side of her bed.
"Are you sure? I don't mind working on my own."
"Of course. You must be tired from your long dive in the dungeon."
"...Well if you're sure then, thank you." He nodded.
The rabbit held the door open for his goddess, exiting the room after her. She giggled lightly at his actions, much to Bell's confusion.
"Goddess?"
"Kukuku... No it's nothing. So what should we make for dinner?" Astraea asked.
Bell crossed his arms, looking at the roof as they walked to the kitchen.
"Hmmm... Goddess, do you know what Alise and Kaguya's favorite foods are?"
"There are quite a few those girls like, especially Alise...should I name all of them?"
He turned back to the goddess, eyes glistening as he smiled brightly. "Huhuhu... Uncle drilled all sorts of dishes into my head so i'm confident I can make whatever it is!" Bell spoke with pride.
"If that's the case then..." She began to recount the several dishes to him as they made their way to the kitchen.
.
.
Astraea had decided to make the announcement that their familia now had three first-class adventurers at dinner time. Although Lyra and Ryuu hadn't been told specifically that their captain and vice-captain had leveled up, judging from how happy Alise acted and unnaturally Kaguya was acting, they could more or less guess the news. Bell had been told by the goddess beforehand so they could throw a small party for the two.
A fragrance of spice emanated from the kitchen, stretching through the large manor.
*Sniff sniff*
Alise was in the living room, tending to her armor. As the smell ensnared her nose, the captain immediately and literally dropped what she was doing, her silver armor falling onto the wooden floorboards with a resounding thud, and dashed to the source of the smell. At the source, she found Bell and Astraea in the kitchen wearing a cream colored apron, his black sleeves rolled up to his forearms.
"Oh, hi captai-" Putting down a ladle and turning to the redhead. "-Eep!"
Alise quickly closed the distance between them and firmly planted either of her hands on his shoulders, drawing a squeal from the rabbit. "B-bell! I-is that what I think it is?!"
"Y-yes, dinner will be ready soon."
"Haaaahhhh! I can't wait!" The redhead beamed.
"Ehe, I'll go call everyone." The goddess untied her apron and left the kitchen, leaving the rabbit and captain alone.
Alise eyed the silver pot with starry eyes and drooled slightly.
"It's a bit early but would you like to try it?"
"Yes! Yes!" Bouncing up and down like an excited child.
Bell chuckled lightly, taking the lid of the pot off and scooping up the golden brown sauce in a spoon. Alise dove in like a hawk, taking the spoon into her mouth with closed eyes. The rabbit was about to pull his hand back but the redhead grabbed his wrist, keeping the spoon in her mouth as she licked it clean and swallowed it all up. He didn't know why but something about seeing that made him really embarrassed for some reason...
"W-what do you think? Is it too spicy?... The other pot has sweet curry." Placing the spoon down after his hand was freed.
Alise took a deep breath, sweat rolling down her forehead as she unbuttoned the top button of her shirt. "Bell Cranel." Steam bellowed from her shoulders- Wait steam!? Her jade irises regarded his rubellite pair. The rabbit gulped loudly, waiting for her answer. "This is absolutely perfect." Giving him a smirk and thumbs up.
He sighed in relief. "That's good then. I honestly wasn't sure if I added too much spice, Goddess said that you liked just about anything spicy so I just made curry."
"Did you make this for me!? Thank you so much Bell!" She hugged him happily.
...She smells nice... Wait what am I thinking!?...
Bell's face flushed red. "A-alise y-your steaming! Your body is literally steaming!" The redhead grinned more and tightened her embrace. In the seconds following, Bell's body went limp as his eyes rolled back with steam similarly bellowing from his head. "Gufaw!"
"Bell? Bellllllll!" She cradled his body. "Don't die! I still need you to make more spicy food for me!" Alise started shaking his body back and forth.
After a few minutes of nonstop shaking and Alise weeping, the rabbit returned to the world of the living.
"Wh- Where am I? What happened? Last thing I remember was feeling something soft then hearing mom call out to me from across the river..." Frantically looking left and right.
From the doorway, Ryuu stood watching the...performance, with a confused gaze. "...Alise, Bell, I was told that it's dinner time and I came to ask my assistance was needed but what are you two doing..?"
"Ah sorry. I'll bring the food out in a moment." Getting back up to his feet.
"Is there anything I can help out with?" The elf asked.
"Me too!" Alise added.
"Well..then, Ryuu could you take that pot out? And Alise could you go set the table? I can handle the rest." Pointing to one of the two pots on the stove. Ryuu nodded, picking the pot up and leaving the kitchen. Alise followed after her with a bundle of cutlery and mugs.
As the dining hall filled with the other members, Astraea stood up from the head of the table, getting the attention of all her children. "Everyone, I have an important announcement to make." She motioned for Alise and Kaguya, who sat on either side of her, to stand up. The brunette cleared her voice and smiled proudly. "Our familia now officially has three first-class adventurers."
"Eh? Alise and Kaguya leveled up!?"
"Congratulations."
"Grats'!"
"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Thanks everyone!" Alise grinned.
After a round of congratulations ran around the dinner table and a toast, they began to eat. What they all didn't know, was why there was a lid on top of all their bowls, and the two pots in the center of the table. Aside from their bowls and the two pots, there was also a small bowl of soup on each of their plates along with lots of different dishes on the dinner table ranging from fishes to vegetables.
"By the way, what's in the two pots?" Iska asked.
Bell smirked, reaching for the lids of the two pots, opening to reveal golden-brown broth with various vegetables like carrots and potatoes coated in the sauce. The strong aroma tinged the noses of the women as it stretched through the room.
"Curry?"
"Yes, since we're celebrating Alise and Kaguya's level-ups, I thought it would be nice to make their favorite foods." Alise nodded to Bell's words, satisfied. Some of the women looked a bit iffy at the pots, which Bell caught on to. "Oh don't worry, this pot is sweet curry and the other one is spicy since I know not everyone can handle spicy food. It's supposed to be eaten with what's in your bowls."
Maryuu took the lid off of her bowl. "Then this is..."
"...Udon!?" Kaguya's eyes widened.
Bell smiled from across the table to the far-eastern noble, who had adopted the role of 'Big-sister'. "Yes, this is a congratulations from me and goddess. She said that you like Udon...right?"
"But how? Last time I checked, they never sold this at the market." The noble turned to her little brother.
"Yes, they don't. Goddess and I made it on our own earlier... Is it not to your liking?"
Astraea held her hands up as she shook her head. "Bell did most of the cooking and preparing, I just helped out a little."
The black-haired woman held her sleeve over her mouth, in an attempt to cover the smile on her face. "No, not at all. Thank you Bell, and Lady Astraea." Internally, she was withholding the urge to give him a headpat.
Alise raised her glass along with the other members. "Then once again-"
"Cheers!"
The night went on merrily, Alise happily, and proudly, explaining how her and Kaguya's fight with the Amphisbaena went down with...articulated motions with her hands. The rabbit was once again praised for his, although unexpected, talent in the culinary world.
"House-husbands...that's kinda hot..." Neze's nose bled.
Lyra shot a glance to the werewolf. "What happened about Lady Astraea?"
"What about Lady Astraea?" Tilting her head.
"...Nothing." The pallum closed her eyes, taking a sip from her mug.
"-And then I heard the bells ringing as Bell jumped from out from a cave and shouted 'It's bellin' time!'. Bell's bells belled so hard that the Amphisbaena was pinned by the some large rocks from his bells. Truly one of the bells of all time." The redhead recalled, nodding in inaccuracy.
"Hey I never said that!" Bell shot back.
"How many times did she say 'Bell' in that one sentence?" Noin narrowed her eyes.
"Six. But Alise is having fun so don't worry about it." Ryuu replied stoically, slurping up the noodles.
"Lion, i know i was the one who asked but why were you counting?"
"Don't worry about it."
Astraea giggled into her palm. "Oh that's right, everyone I have another announcement to make."
The chatter died down as they turned to their goddess, waiting for her words. Alise, Kaguya, Bell and Ryuu all hadn't heard anything else worthy of note. Lyra had a knowing look on her face as she nodded when Astraea looked at her for confirmation.
"I know you all have been working very hard as of late so I thought it would be good for us to take a small vacation to Melen."
.
.
A man took a sip from a bottle of alcohol before placing it back on the floor next to his feet. The salty coastal breeze washed into the corridor as he turned to the footsteps from down the hallway, seeing one of his accomplice's walk up to him with a girl behind him.
"She a new product?"
The other man nodded. "Yeah, those Ishtar chicks'll pay good money for this one."
"That so? Well you know where to put 'er." He waved away as the other man and girl passed by. He looked over his shoulder, eyeing the retreating form of the girl. She had blonde hair and two sharp, furred ears. A tail that turned white along the ends drooping down. He may not have gotten a good look as she passed by, but the girl also had green eyes.
...A renard huh? Guess we'll be makin' good valis with this one...
"...I wonder if there be a hero to save me..." She muttered to herself.
.
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Author's notes:
That's another chapter done. I've noticed that my upload schedule is more or less just once every two weeks now but anyways, sorry if the Amphisbaena fight was underwhelming. After watching the fight from s4 a few times, the fight was more or less just chalked up to:
1: dodge napalm.
2: dont get hit by the dragon.
Logically speaking, the room should be steaming and the water boiling from the napalm so I added that detail in myself. Compared to floor bosses like Udaeus or the Goliath, Amphisbaena really doesn't have a lot going for it since its more or less kind of like a turret of sorts. The Amphisbaena fight wasn't really the focus of the chapter anyways, but I definitely need to get better at writing fight sequences lol.
Since Kaguya and Lyra had skills and magic that weren't explained or named, i took the liberty of putting in my own ideas on it. And yes, if any of you caught on, Kaguyas 'Shikai' is literally just a getsuga tenshou because why the hell not.
I know i asked this before on chapter 5 but what do y'all think about having time skips? Unless i speed up the timeline of the story, some of the arcs coming up really can't be written without a time skip, both from a lack of content and also that all the characters would be too weak.
Thank you for reading as always.