Chapter 4: A Reunion
After returning to the campsite, Tomori went full commando and cleaned himself by the river.
"If I was back home, people would start recording me right now. But there's no one staring at me… Right?" As he thought of that, he splashed the river water onto himself quickly and got fully clothed. As all of the clothes that he buys get dirty, he wears his clothes back from his world.
"Oh, you're already done, Tomori-sama?" Ivaran said to him. "And the clothes that you're wearing…"
"Yeah, it's my old clothes. The one's from my world."
"I see…" It's the first time Ivaran has seen someone wearing Adidas. Since he doesn't know anything about fashion, he just threw the idea out the window.
"Okay then," Tomori brings out a new cloak from his inventory and wears it. "Let's meet up with Vadge."
"Welcome!", Vadge said as both Tomori and Ivaran entered his shop. "Oh, it's you guys. I always wondered why you like to go to my shop so much?" Vadge asked Tomori.
"Don't know. But I rather hang out here than other places. This is the only place I can get a piece of mind." Tomori replied.
Vadge saw that Tomori's facial reaction had changed. It's like he has been his old self. And he also saw that Ivaran has changed a bit as well.
"What happened to both of them that they became like this?" Vadge doesn't think that it's a bad thing, but he wondered how they changed. But then he saw the shield that Ivaran carried on his back. "Hey, elf kid. Mind letting me look at the shield on your back."
Ivaran then looked at his master. He gave a nod and headed to the counter. Ivaran pulled his shield and handed it to Vadge. He then quickly inspected the shield.
"This is…"
"What is it?" Tomori asked him.
"This shield here is made out of pure Mithril. Not only that, it seems like this shield is from a few centuries ago."
"How can you know the shield age?"
"Blacksmith instinct."
"Right…" Tomori pulled out the original Sword of Absorver and the Armor of Absorver from his inventory and put them on the counter. "How about these then?"
"Hmm…" He takes a quick look at the sword and armor. "Yep, it's the same."
"Is that so…"
"And you didn't come here to show me this, right?" Vadge said to Tomori.
"Yeah. Actually, it's about this…" Tomori brings out his worn-out Prototype Armor from his inventory and places it onto the counter. "I wanted this to get fixed. Can you do that?"
"Hmm… Can't do, Blade Lad." Vadge doesn't even look at the armor.
"Why not?"
"It doesn't take a skill to know that this armor is beyond repairable. And besides, why is this armor covered with blood?" Vadge asked.
"Well, it's a long story."
"Shorten it then."
Both Tomori and Ivaran started explaining what happened to both of them while they were in the cave.
"I see. And you're telling me that you're level 71, just after four days you were being summoned?"
"Yeah?" Tomori doesn't know how to answer it without making it sound bizarre.
"And this elf kid here is level 40?"
"Yes." Ivaran replied to him.
" Sigh* I think you're actually the strongest Cardinal Hero as of now." Vadge said as he slapped his forehead.
"I think so too." Tomori doesn't know if this is actually a good thing or not. If he becomes stronger, the church will throw anything they have at him. This is not a good thing as it can dangered Ivaran's life. "So, anything you can do for the armor?" Tomori changed the topic.
"Nope. But I can craft new armor based on it."
"Really?" Tomori said.
"Yeah. You just need to bring some materials for that."
"I see…" Tomori's eyes are beaming with excitement. "A custom made armor… This is going to be fun!"
"What materials did you have in your arsenal?"
Tomori brings out all of his materials that he thinks can make an armor to the ground. "Can you check which ones are the best for strong armor?"
"Hmm…" Vadge went through the piles of materials to check all of them. "What kind of stats do you want it to be focused on?"
"Oh, actually, I want you to craft two sets of armor for both of us. Of course, it will be based on the Prototype Armor." Tomori then started scratching his chin. "Let's see… You can make my armor the same as the old one. For Ivaran, you can just make it super defensive. Just make sure the armor isn't heavy. Or he will become an immovable fortress."
"Okay…" Vadge then started picking the materials one by one. He picks up the Ore Lizard skin, the minotaur's skin, Horned Rabbit fur, some monster bones, etc. "There's one problem, Blade Lad. Some of these materials won't work with each other well. You need some ore above Light Metal for it."
"I see…" Then Tomori's look at the sword and armor at the counter. "Can't you melt those and fused them with the armor?"
"Are you sure about it? This kind of stuff is considered to be an artifact, you know?"
"Nah, what's the point of it if I can't use it?"
"If it's what you think, then I'll use it." Vadge put the materials that he had picked for the new armors besides the sword and armor.
"How much does it cost?" Tomori asked.
"Hmm… Deducting the material cost, it will be 1000 silver."
"Uh…" Tomori has around 300 silver left on his pouch. He needs around 700 silver left to pay for the cost.
Vadge saw his disturbed reaction. " Sigh* You can pay me later if you have the money. "
"Really?"
"Yeah. But make sure you will pay, or else…"
"Okay. Thank you so much." Tomori slightly bowed to him. "So when will the armor be done?"
"I could say around two weeks or more. These are complex materials that I'm handling right now. So it's logical that it will take time. But I'll try my best to quickly finish them."
"Got it." Tomori then turns to Ivaran. "Let's go make some coins while Vadge is making the armor."
"Yes!" Ivaran said to Tomori enthusiastically. Both of them left the weapon shop.
" Sigh* The Blade Lad always comes out with something special every time he gets here. Stay safe, both of you…" Vadge takes all of the materials and carries them to the back of his shop.
"Pope," A Shadow appeared in front of him. "The sorcerer's son has been killed and there's no sightings of the Eclipse Minotaur in the cave."
"Hmm…" The pope looked at the window inside the church. "The Blade Demon is getting stronger the more traps that we prepared for him. This is not good. If he's getting stronger than the heroes, then there's no hope to stop him."
"So what should we do now?" The Shadow asked.
"We wait. We can't do anything to attract a demi-human country. We need to find an opportunity, or an excuse so that we can eliminate the Blade Demon."
"Report states that the Projectile Hero and her companions have been digging into the church information since yesterday. And the Magic Hero is helping her out. What should we do?"
"If they support the Blade Demon, then eliminate them if you have the chance to. A god with a demon as their companion is unacceptable."
"As you wish." The Shadow disappeared from his sight.
"The divine judgement will fall onto the people who serve the Blade Demon." The pope said with a smile on his face.
10 days after they left the weapon shop, Tomori and Ivaran had to venture further to other towns and villages to get some coins and to level up.
Ribbit*
Both of them are fighting a frog monster right now. And due to Ivaran's level cap, Tomori always reset Ivaran's level to 25 after he can't gain any EXP. He did also reduce his own level to 50 every time due to the EXP gap of level 70 being oddly higher.
Ribbit*
The frog let out his tongue and attacked Tomori. But Ivaran came in clutch and repelled the attack with his Shield of Absorver.
"Thanks, Ivaran!" Tomori said to him. Due to his armor being made, he instead wears a leather chestplate.
"No problem!" He replied back.
Ivaran now has fully grown to make his combat capability. He is taller than Tomori, his voice changed and his baggy clothes also perfectly fit him now.
"Time to finish this off! Shine Blade!" Tomori activated a skill that temporarily blind all the targets surrounding him. Ivaran raised his shield so that he isn't affected by the skill. " Element Transmission! Element Slash!"
Tomori uses the special effect of his weapon to borrow the attribute of Ivaran's magic affinity. Ivaran's magic affinity is Light and Dark. He knew this because Ivaran had told him. He chose the Light attribute as it's strong against the frog monster.
"Hah!" The Sword of Absorver glowed and Tomori released a Light attribute energy slash towards the frog monster.
Level Up!
Ivaran Level Up!
"Okay, we're done with this." Tomori then goes to the frog monster corpse and absorbs its body. "Good work back then, Ivaran. You're a natural born shielder."
"No, it's because of how precise you're when battling monsters that I can swiftly defend and block their attack, Tomori-sama." Ivaran said.
"No need to humble yourself, Ivaran. You have improved yourself tremendously for the past few days. You deserve the praise."
"If you said that, then I would gladly receive it." Ivaran said while smiling.
" Sigh* Even though he's an adult on the outside, he's still a lousy teenager on the inside." Tomori thought to himself.
"What should we do now, Tomori-sama?" Ivaran asked.
"Hmm…" Tomori looks at the skies. "Nothing, I guess."
They had been grinding non stop for the past 10 days. They also had required more than enough money to pay for the armor. And their stats now are pretty much high to the point that Tomori thinks it isn't even possible.
"Ivaran's stats are so high that it is scary. If my calculations are correct, Ivaran's stats is 0.75 times higher due to the Slave User II Sword and the method. And his overall stats are catching up to mine. And he's level 40 max. Imagine if his level is 100. If he's a fighter, these monsters would turn into dust the moment Ivaran hits them."
"Nothing? Surely there's something that we can do." Ivaran said.
"Yeah, you're right." Tomori thinks about something that he hasn't done. "Oh yeah, magic. I haven't done anything related to magic."
"That's it! Instead of idling around, how about we learn magic?" Ivaran proposed.
"But you can learn magic, right?"
"I only learn a few spells to protect myself. I still haven't mastered the grimoire yet."
"I see. Well then, I'm interested in magic myself. I guess it doesn't hurt to try learning magic. How about we return to Castle Town and head to the magic shop?"
"That's a great idea, Tomori-sama."
Tomori use Transport Blade to teleport him and Ivaran near the weapon shop.
"And if I'm right, the magic shop would be here…" Tomori said as he walked through the streets while Ivaran followed him. "I think this is the place."
Both of them stand in front of a shop that looks like an old library.
"Should we go inside?" Ivaran asked.
"Yeah, let's go."
They climbed the stairs and Tomori went to turn the door handle. But the door handle started rattling and then opened by itself. Tomori looks at the person who opened the door.
It was a girl with black hair and eyes. She's wearing a white dress, grey pants and a green cloak. Not only that, she has a staff that has a green gemstone to its tip. That's right. It was the Magic Hero herself, Akira Sato.
"…"
"…"
Both of them stared at each other until Ivaran spoke up.
"Um… Tomori-sama, who's this lady in front of you?"
"Tomori-sama?" Akira said while tilting her head.
"Gotta go fast!" Tomori shouted as he pushed Ivaran down through the stairs.
"Woah! What's wrong, Tomori-sama?!" Ivaran said while he was being pushed. But Tomori doesn't reply to him.
"Wait! Tomori! I wanted to talk to you about something!" Akira said loudly.
Then, Tomori stopped pushing Ivaran and turned to Akira. He looked her straight into the eyes.
"Hmm… According to my Tomorizz's sense, she doesn't seem to plan anything against me." Tomori then gets closer to the stairs. "What do you want to talk about?" He said to her.
"A lot of things! It's better if you went inside here so that he could talk about it."
Tomori then looks at Ivaran, and turns his head back to Akira. "I guess it's okay. Akira doesn't seem to be the type to trap someone, I think." Tomori then motioned Ivaran to follow him. Both of them went inside the magic shop.
"Oh, Akira-chan." There's a witch who came back from the back of her shop. "Why did I hear someone shouting back then?"
"It's nothing. By the way," Akira moves to the side so that the witch can clearly see both Tomori and Ivaran. "This is-"
"The Blade Hero, Tomori Tanaka and his companion, Ivaran, isn't it?" The witch said. It surprised both Tomori and Akira. "I've already heard a lot about both of you from Vadge. When I heard the news about you, I wasn't going to believe it until I saw the culprit myself. And from what I see, you don't seem to be someone who would do such things to a girl."
"Is that so…" Tomori said. "I didn't expect the magic shop owner to be acquainted with Vadge."
"Putting things aside," Akira turned to face Tomori. "We have a lot of discussion to make."
"Yeah…" Tomori then looked at his surroundings and saw Akira's group. There's two guys and one girl. "I think this is the perfect timing for an introduction, am I right?"
"Oh yeah! Here's my team," She then went closer to her group. "Here's Emil Siantus. He's really knowledgeable about magic." He was a guy who's a few centimetres taller than Akira. He has light blue hair and eyes.
"He has a last name. Is he a noble or something?"
Akira then moved to another party member. "This is Rylon. He's one of the rookie knights." He's a normal guy with knight armor.
"And lastly," She moved to her last party member. "This is Mizune. She's pretty skilled at both fighting and magic." She's a girl with brown hair and blue eyes. She's wearing a dark blue kunoichi outfit.
"Wait a minute… Have I seen her somewhere?" Tomori remembered seeing Mizune's attire as almost the same as one of the ninjas that helped him. She noticed that he's looking at her. She diverted her face away from him. "I will interrogate her later."
Then, Rylon gets closer to him and pat Tomori's shoulder. "Don't get so stiff, Blade Hero! We ain't gonna eat you or anything."
"Akira-sama believed that you aren't guilty in the first place. If she thinks that, then I would also believe her." Emil said.
"Is that so…" Tomori said. "Well then, once again, I'm the Blade Hero, Tomori Tanaka. And this is my companion, Ivaran."
"Pleasure to meet you all." Ivaran said while slightly bowing.
"Pleasure to meet you too!" Rylon said. He then turned to Mizune. "What's wrong, Mizune? I thought that you really wanted to meet the Blade Hero so much?"
"Oh, it's just… I get nervous. That's all." The kunoichi said.
"Really? That doesn't seem to be the case when you meet with Miss Akira."
"Yeah. I remembered you furiously shook her hand to the point that we almost believed that her hands would come off." Emil butt into their conversation.
"That time and this time is different!" Mizune retorted.
"If I think about it, they all looked the same age as Akira. Which means that for almost two weeks, she had been hanging out with people that are her age." Tomori thought that she might be lucky to have a companion that she can vibe with.
"Ehem," Tomori clears his throat. "So what do you want to talk about, Akira?"
"Everything. Tell me everything that you do after we leave on day two."
Tomori then proceeded to explain everything. About how he almost died, the princess, how he almost died part 2, etc. He doesn't include how he got Ivaran as she might be opposed to the idea that he has a slave.
"I see… I didn't know that you would face all of that." Akira sympathises with him.
"Eh, don't worry about it. Those deadly encounters are what make both me and Ivaran strong." Tomori said.
"But I can't believe the country's religion is trying to kill you."
"It's because their religion saw me as a demon. All I can do now is to wait for the queen to return. If I get away from this country, they will surely be chasing after me."
"Hmm…" Akira started thinking. "Emil, do you know anything about the church?"
"Yes." He replied. "The Church of The Shaft and Projectile worshipped both Shaft Hero and Projectile Hero. The religion existed centuries ago. The largest population who has this religion is in this country, Welle. That's all I know."
"You are not a part of the church?" Tomori asked.
"No, me, Rylon and Mizune come from a family that isn't part of the church." Emil explained to him.
"I see." Tomori thought that it was a good thing.
"Can't we report what happened to you to the king?" Akira said.
"Do you think he will believe me? And even if we tried, the church will somehow do something that will not make him believe me. All that we can do now is to play the waiting game." Tomori said.
"Hmm… Now that we're done with that, are both of you here to learn about magic?" Akira asked.
"Not Ivaran thought. He can use a couple spells himself. He just hasn't fully finished the whole grimoire. As for me, yeah. I come here to consult with a professional about magic and things that related to it."
"Is that so? Then you come to the perfect place. The owner has been helping me with my magic training. How about you get started with checking your magic affinity first?" Akira suggested.
"Yeah, can I start with that?" Tomori asked the witch.
"Yes, please place your hands on this Crystal Orb." The witch said. The Crystal Orb is on the shop's counter.
Tomori went to the counter and placed his hands onto the Crystal Orb. The witch then place her hands on top of Tomori's hands and started chanting something.
Glow*
The Crystal Orb started glowing blue.
"Blue… Either Water or Lightning."
Glow*
The Crystal Orb then glows red.
"Red? Does that mean I have both Water and Fire magic affinity?"
Crack*
The Crystal Orb started cracking.
"Huh?"
A huge crack started appearing on the orb. Then, it split into two.
"Eh?!!! What the hell just happened?!" Tomori wondered as he looked at the witch. There's also a couple of gasp noises from Akira's group. "What just happened?"
"Hmm… If the Crystal Orb cracked, it means that the person has a high potential in magic. But it's the first time in my life that I saw a Crystal Orb split into two in my life." The witch said.
"So, what are my magic affinities?"
"It's Lighting and Support. But it's the first time I see a Lightning affinity this strong. It's three times stronger than your average Lightning affinity."
"Wait, is that a Char reverence?" Tomori thought to himself. "But why did the orb glow red?"
"I didn't know. Maybe it has something to do with how strong your Lightning magic is."
"But that can't be it. My magic stats are not that high."
"May you tell me what your magic stats are?" The witch asked.
Tomori tells the witch how low his magic stats are. Then, all of the people in the room started gasping.
"I didn't know that it was that low." The witch said.
"It's like Emil situation." Rylon said.
"Hey, don't say that!" The blue haired boy retorted.
"What do you mean by that?" Tomori asked.
"Emil's stats are… pretty low. You could say that his stats are below average for a normal human." Mizune answered him.
"What?" This is the first time Tomori heard that there's a person whose stats are below average human. "So he just stayed back with Akira while both of you fight monsters?" Tomori said to Rylon and Mizune.
"Well…" Mizune seems hesitant to answer.
"It's true." Rylon just doesn't give a sh*t about it. "If he stayed in the front, he would just get jumped by monsters. So he supports us in the back with Miss Akira while the two of us fight monsters."
"I see…" Tomori said. "A fighter, assassin and two mages in a single party… Seems pretty unbalanced to me."
"But Emil knows a lot of spells. Not only that, he's also smart." Akira said.
"I'm flattered by your praise, Akira-sama. But it doesn't change the fact that I don't contribute much as both Rylon and Mizune." Emil said while looking down to the floor.
"Don't say that. You contribute as much as them." Akira said to him.
"Yeah bro. Don't feel bad about it." Rylon joined Akira to make him feel good about it.
"Other than combat, you helped us with your intelligence. Be proud of it." Mizune joined them as well.
"You guys…" Emil is getting sentimental.
"Ugh, teenagers." Tomori thought to himself. "Not to break the moment, but can I try to cast spells?"
"Do you understand the concept of mana, Blade Hero?" The witch asked.
"Partly. I've asked Ivaran about it. I can feel the tingle a bit. But not that much."
"I see. It might be better if you use a Magic Gemstone to assist you."
"Great. What's a Magic Gemstone?"
"It's a gem that can help you feel the mana." Akira said while handing him a gem. "Here, you can use this one."
"Thanks." Tomori takes the gem. "What spell should I try first?"
"Before you do that, do you know the type of magic that exists?" The witch asked him.
"Yeah, Low-class and High-class. There's also Combination Magic and Ritual Magic."
"It seems like you did your research, Tomori." Akira said to him.
"Nah, I just asked Ivaran." Tomori said. "It's a weird thing that he knows about magic but still got caught and sold as a slave. Maybe it's an elf genetic thing that makes them know about magic at a surface level."
"That's right. And for starters, you should try to cast a Low-class spell of Lightning, the basic Lightning spell." The witch said.
"This world is too simple. Even the basic spell of Lightning is called Lightning."
Tomori held the gem in his left hand and started gripping it. He then tries to imagine himself casting a spell. He also remembered the way that Ivaran cast a spell. Then, a text of words appeared in his mind.
"As the source of power, hear my words and ignite a spark of lightning on my palm!"
The gem started glowing.
" Low Light-Argh!"
Boom*
The gemstone on his left hand exploded. Tomori knelt to the floor as he grumbled in pain.
"Tomori-sama!" Ivaran gets close to him and casts healing spells on him.
"Tomori, are you okay?" Akira asked.
"Not so much." Tomori didn't want to be more sarcastic as he knew that she was really worried about him. "If I didn't equip the Sword of Absorver, my left hand would be gone by now."
Sword of Absorver [Awakened[6[IV[Great] Ability Unlocked:
Skill: Reflect Blade
Special Effect: Element Transmission, Magic Unison, Element Slash (Strong), Magic Attack Up (Strong), Magic Defense Up (Extra Strong), MP Recovery (Medium), HP Recovery (Low)
Mastery Level: 100
Weapon Synthesis: Long Rope
Item Enchantment Level 15: SP 25%
Eclipse Minotaur Spirit Counter: MATK 100, MDEF 100
Status Enchantment: 100 MDEF
"It seems like your magic is too strong for you to handle. I suggest you train yourself so that you can handle your own magic power." The witch suggested to him.
"What's the point if my magic is strong if I can't use it?" Tomori thought to himself. "Well then, if that's the case, I want to buy grimoires on Lightning, Light and Dark magic."
"Okay, wait here a moment." The witch then goes to the shelf full of books.
"So, where are you going next?" Tomori asked Akira.
"Oh, someone has requested the guild to send a potion straight to their home." She replied.
"Really? Can I see the potion?"
"Sorry, I can't. It's an expensive potion. It would be bad if something bad happened to it."
"I see. What's the potion name then?"
"It's the Elixir of Yggdrasill."
" Elixir of Yggdrasill…" Even Tomori knows if the word 'Elixir' and 'Yggdrasill' is in the same sentence, it would be a powerful potion. "Where are you sending it?"
"The village is called Miohus."
"Really? Me and Ivaran just visited the village an hour ago."
"Huh? Isn't the village a few hours away from here?"
"I used a teleportation skill."
"What?! Teleportation skill?! Aren't you supposed to be level 50 to unlock that?!" Akira said loudly.
"Here's the fun part, I already reached level 50. You know, I got a lot of EXP when I almost died twice." Tomori had to thank the church for making him stronger.
" Sigh* I'm struggling to reach level 30 and you just went above level 50 that easily?"
"Hey, I have to suffer to get to that level. And also, We grinded for almost 12 hours a day. Not only that, we also decrease our levels a bit so that we can still gain EXP and a few stats."
"Seems like there's a lot of things that I have to do if I want to be the same strength as you."
"Don't worry, the wave will be in around a week. You still have time. But you need to know your limit. Or you will end up having to crack your back like an old man."
"Wait, do you have a back problem?"
"Yeah, I'm not an athletic guy. This is what you have to face when you're an adult."
"You make it sound like it isn't fun."
"You will know it if you get older."
"Okay, here's your grimoires." The witch said as she put down three grimoires with different colors on the counter. Tomori takes it and stores it inside his inventory.
"Hey, would you mind if I teleported you guys there?" Tomori said to Akira. "We're planning to stay there tonight as we haven't finished venturing the forest near the village."
The villagers at Miohus doesn't know that Tomori is the Blade Hero, so he can easily go in and out of there without getting glares.
"Hmm… What do you guys think?" Akira asked her group.
"Fine by me." Rylon said.
"If it can help us to complete the quest faster, then I wouldn't mind it." Emil said.
"I don't mind it." Mizune said.
"Okay then." Tomori sent a party invitation to Akira. She immediately accepted it.
"Alright then, should we-"
"Hold for a moment, Blade Hero." Emil said. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah?"
"Is Ivaran here… Your slave?"
Akira and Rylon are shocked to hear this.
"Can I ask how you know about it?" Tomori asked.
"There's a symbol of the slave mark next to his name on the status magic." Emil replied.
"I see…" Tomori didn't think that someone could know about it from that. "Yeah, he's my slave. And slavery is legalized in this country, right? I don't think I'm causing any trouble."
"What?! Slavery is legal here?!" Akira said.
"I'm not surprised you didn't know that. I think it's better for us to not continue this conversation."
"Why did you have a slave in the first place?" Akira asked him.
"I'm not in the right mind at that moment. And besides, I think it's better for him to stay with me rather than in cages, counting every second before he goes insane."
"He's right." Ivaran said. "If Tomori-sama didn't buy me back then, I wouldn't be the person I am today. Rather, I'm grateful that he bought me. He doesn't even activate the Slave Mark even once."
"It's not like I'm going to use it in the first place. I had other methods to punish naughty people. Luckily, you didn't act up. Which reminds me of the time when you were in the middle of your growth spurt. I remembered chasing you around the forest to make you drink the 'bitter' medicine. Only for you to ram into a tree then pass out for almost three hours. Which gives me the chance to stuff the medicine into your mouth."
"Tomori-sama! Please don't talk about it!" Ivaran said to him. He clearly didn't like that moment.
"I mean, it's the first time that you really act your age. The medicine doesn't even taste that bad, you know. You're just being a drama queen about it."
"Please… I don't want to be reminded about it."
Akira looks at their conversation. She instantly knew that their relationship goes beyond master-slave relationships. But she doesn't know how to feel knowing that this country has legalized slavery. Akira decided to speak up, but Tomori spoke first.
"I know what you're going to say. The king might help against the slavery, but the nobles who own slaves won't sit lightly about it. Am I right, Emil?"
"Yes… Even if Akira-sama has the authority as a hero, she wouldn't be able to demolish the slavery here. The people of this country have despised demi-humans since the war around two decades ago. They wouldn't care less about their well being in this country."
"The war? I'm gonna dig that up later."
"But there might be something that we can do."
"Yes, there's. But I suggest that we wait until the queen arrives. She might be able to do something." Tomori said.
"Tomori-dono is right, Akira-dono. I also suggest that you wait for the queen's return. As for now, we need to stay down." Mizune said to support Tomori's statement.
"Seems like I'm right, she's one of these so-called 'Queen's Shadow'."
" Sigh* If both of you say that, then I'll stay down." Akira has finally calmed down.
"Okay, I'm going to send all of us to the forest near the village. Did you guys forget anything?"
"No."
"Nothing.
"Not at all."
"I'm ready to go."
"Great. Transport Blade!" Tomori choose all of them to teleport with him to the forest.
"So this is teleportation skill…" Akira said as she looked around her surroundings.
"It has a cooldown though. That's the only not fun part about it." Tomori said. "The village is that way. But be careful. Monsters might jump at you at any moment." He pointed to a direction.
"Got it."
"And I don't want to be bossy with your group, but for safety, I suggest we get into positions. In case we get jumped by monsters."
"I think that's a great idea. Are you okay about this?" Akira asked her group. They show no sign of disagreement.
"All right then. Ivaran, you take the lead. Rylon, you and I will cover Ivaran's side. For Akira and Emil, I wanted you guys to be our support. And Mizune, I wanted you to watch out for both of them if we're out of range to protect them. Are we clear?" All of them nodded. "All right, let's get going then.
All of them got into positions and started moving. Even though Tomori doesn't show it, he's clearly excited about having enough people to do his RPG strats.
"I guess this is what would happen if I had more party members. But Ivaran is enough for me."
They continue to move inside the forest, until Ivaran senses something moving.
"Tomori-sama…"
"Yeah…" He senses it as well. Apparently, Mizune also senses it.
"Is there something wrong?" Akira asked
"Yeah. Ivaran, you know what to do, right?" Tomori said to him.
He nodded and prepared himself to cast a spell.
As the source of power, hear my words and dispel their illusions!"
" Low Anti-Illusion!"
A gleaming light comes out from his shield. The Shield of Absorver increased his spells efficiency.
Crackle*
The trees around them started changing looks.
"A darker version of Illusion Dryad, huh?" Tomori said as he pulled out his sword. The others all prepared their weapons to fight.
Akira then started chanting.
"As the source of power, hear my words and increase my companions strength!"
" All Low Strength Up III!"
Tomori then felt his ATK stats went up. "She used the Magic Rank method on her spell. If only there's a method called Skill Rank or something similar to the method." Too bad that this world doesn't have that method.
Then, Emil also cast a spell.
" All Low Guard Up!"
Tomori felt his DEF stats increased, but not as much as his ATK. "I guess this is the difference between normal folks and the heroes."
Ivaran then went close to one of the tree monsters and bash his shield to it. Tomori then follows him and jump above his shoulders.
" Strike Edge!"
Tomori horizontally slash the tree monsters like butter. "One hit from a low level skill? The stat boost is really helpful. And I didn't get any EXP. Seems like the restriction is true."
Rylon hit one of the tree monsters, but it pushed him back. "Damn, these guys are higher level than us!" The tree monsters tried to attack him, bit Ivaran managed to slip in between them and block the attack. "Thanks, elf bro!"
"Elf bro?" Little did Rylon know, Ivaran is younger than him.
" Erst Slash!" Tomori slash the tree monster that Ivaran held with his shield, instantly killing him.
"I knew the heroes were strong, but I didn't expect you to kill the monster instantly." Rylon said.
"I'm a hero specialized in close quarter combat. Of course I'm strong in terms of physical attack." Tomori then turns around and looks at Akira, Emil and Mizune.
" Sunlight Beam!" Akira's staff gemstone releases a bright yellow beam, hitting one of the three monsters that surrounds them. It doesn't instantly kill them, but it does a lot of damage.
" Low Shadow Spear!" Mizune casts a spell that summons spikes made out of shadow under a few tree monsters. It does a ton of damage to them.
" Low Wind Blow!" Emil casts a spell that lets out a blow of wind from his palm. It hits the tree monsters that had been hit by the shadow spears, but it doesn't do enough damage to kill it.
" Low Wind Arrow II!" Akira casts a spell that summons arrows made out of wind to finish off the tree monsters. "I don't gain any EXP from this. It must be because Tomori and I are near each other."
" Comet Slash!" Tomori instantly turns the tree monsters around him into dust. "Now this is too OP."
"Tomori-sama!" Ivaran said as he's blocking a tree monster.
" Blade Throw!" Tomori threw his sword at the monster. The body of the monsters shattered to the ground as the sword hit it.
"Sir Tomori, the monster's numbers are increasing!" Rylon said to him.
"Okay! Follow me!" Tomori then gets closer to Akira, Emil and Mizune.
" Erst Blast!" Akira activated her skill and blasted the monster in front of her. "Is it me or the monster's number increasing?"
"I think you're correct, Akira-dono." Mizune replied as she slash a tree monster with her dagger.
"What should we do now?" Emil said as he cast spells at the group of the tree monsters.
" Demolition Slash!" Tomori slash the monster in front of him. He then gets near them. " Demolition Edge!" He slash all of the tree monsters that surround them, instantly killing them.
"Couldn't you do that from the beginning?" Akira said to him.
"This kind of skill takes a lot of SP. I need to use them wisely." He replied to her. Ivaran and Rylon arrived at their side. "Okay, now that everyone's here, I have a plan to kill all of these monsters, but I need someone to cast a magic barrier around us."
"I can do it." Reika said.
"Okay, do it now."
" Low Wind Barrier II." A green barrier appears around them.
"Okay, now we have to wait. Can you hold the barrier up for around five minutes?"
"I'll try, but what plan do you have in mind?" She asked.
"I wanted the monster to get into the proximity of my skill. And not only that, I wanted to use a Combination Skill on them."
"Combination Skill? The skill that combines with magic?"
"Yeah. My sword here has an ability called Magic Unison, which increases the effect of Combination Skill." Tomori explained. "Aside from Ivaran, which one of you guys can cast Light magic?"
"I can." Rylon said. "Emil can too. He has mastered every basic spell from every magic affinity."
"Yes, he's correct." Emil said.
"I see. And I already know that you can use Dark magic, Mizune." Tomori turns to her.
"Yes. My magic affinity is Water and Shadow, Tomori-dono."
"Alright then, Ivaran and Rylon, you cast Light magic. Emil and Mizune, you cast Dark magic. On my signal, you guys must simultaneously cast the spell when I said so. Akira, can I get another ATK boost?" Tomori asked her.
"Sure. Low Strength Up I!" Tomori's ATK stats increased.
After five minutes, a lot of the darker Illusion Dryad surrounded the barrier.
"Tomori, do whatever you want to do now. I can't hold the barrier any longer." Akira said to him.
"Okay, on count from three… two… one… Now!"
" Low Shine!" " Low Shadow!" The four of them cast the spells.
Tomori then sees an option for Combination Skill on his status menu. He accepted it and the spells fuse with his sword blade.
"Combination Skill! Eclipse Hundred Blades!" Tomori used 100% of his EP into the skill. Tomori thrust his sword to the ground. Then, a Yin-Yang symbol appears on the ground. White translucent swords spawned on the Yin side, while black translucent swords spawned on the Yang side.
The swords rise to the sky and fall to all of the tree monsters.
Crack* Crackle*
There's a lot of sounds that came from the monster. In under a minute, all of the monsters had been wiped out.
"Oh wow…" They all see the surroundings that filled with the monster corpse.
Tomori pulled his sword from the ground and put it at his left waist. "That seems like it. Let's absorb them." He said to Akira.
"Oh, yeah." Even though it's a Combination Skill with the help of four people, Akira still can't believe how far the gap is between her and Tomori in terms of strength and battle IQ. "I wondered if Reika and Tadashi were as strong as him."
Due to her status as the Magic Hero, her physical stats are below average, meaning that she's the opposite of Tomori, whose magic stats are below average.
Akira thinks that if the Blade Hero and Magic Hero fought in one on one battle, it would end up in a draw. But if Tomori and Akira fight as they are now, Akira would lose as Tomori is definitely winning in terms of close quarters combat.
Sure, she has skills and spells that can keep him away from her. But as she saw him fight in front of her, she knew that he had a plan to counter it.
"Wait, why am I thinking about this? It's not like I'm going to fight him or anything. Maybe I should focus on becoming stronger so that I have the strength to defeat the wave. And in turn, will help to get me home quicker."
"Hello, Earth to Akira, you copy?" Tomori called her. He has taken the quarter of the monster's crops.
"Oh, yeah. Wait a sec." She then went to absorb the corpse.
After they finish absorbing the monster's corpse, they continue their journey to Miohus Village.
" Sigh* We finally arrived here…" Rylon said as he lay down flat on the ground in front of the entrance to the village.
"Hey, stand up. You're going to get your armor dirty." Mizune said to him.
"But I'm tired… Aren't you tired as well?"
"Not that much. Maybe your stamina is weak."
"Hey, I fought a lot of those monsters."
"But look at Ivaran-dono. He takes a lot of hits from those monsters and he isn't tired at all."
"You can't compare him to me. I'm just an average human."
"Guys, stop your little quarrel here. I'm going to pay for the entrance fee." Tomori said as he walked to the guards.
"You don't have to." Akira said to him.
"I've caused a lot of trouble by teleporting you guys to the forest and getting jumped by those monsters. It's the least I can do." Tomori walked to the guards and paid the fee for all of them.
"For a guy that looks intimidating, he's actually really kind. But his face is so scary when he was accused for attempt rape." Akira then looks at Ivaran. "I guess he's somehow involved in making Tomori like this."
"Hmm? Is there anything wrong?" Ivaran said.
"Nothing. By the way, how old are you, Ivaran?" Akira asked.
"Oh, I'm 13 years old." He replied.
"What?! He's almost as tall as Tadashi, and he's four years younger than me?" Akira thought to herself. Emil saw the confusion on her face. So he explained to him about how demi-humans' appearance changes to suit their combat capability as they level up. "Wow, different worlds really have different rules than usual."
"Hey, I've paid for the fee. Let's get inside." Tomori said to them.
All of them walked inside the village. Tomori saw that this village is more developed because it has almost everything that Castle Town has.
Akira then looks at the parchment paper. "The house is this way."
"Wait, you can read this country's language?" Tomori asked her.
"Not much, but I can read a few letters."
Tomori has always been grinding for the past few days that he didn't reconsider learning the country language. "Ivaran, do you know how to read?"
"Yes. My parents had taught me before."
"Great. Can you teach me later?"
"Of course."
"Thanks a bunch! I knew I could rely on you." This is the first time Tomori had someone else that he can rely on except his aunt.
As they walked through the direction, they all arrived at the house.
"So, do you guys want to wait outside?" Akira asked.
"Can I follow you? I really wanted to see the potion effect in action." Tomori said.
"Is there anyone else who wants to join?" They all shake their heads.
"Okay then." Both of them go to the door and Akira knocks on the door.
Knock* Knock*
Few seconds later, a pregnant woman in her mid 30's answered the door. "Hi, how can I help you?"
"We come here to bring a potion to the requestor." Akira said.
"Are you guys from the Guild?"
"Yes."
"I see. Please come inside." The woman invited them into her house. "This way."
Both of them follow the woman through the house. Then, she stopped at a room with an old woman in her 60's lying on the bed with a man in his mid 30's and a young girl.
"Dear, the potion you ordered has arrived." The woman said to her husband.
Akira brought the potion out from her inventory and showed it to him.
"I see… Can you bring the potion here?" The man asked.
"Wait a sec, mister. Before we handed over the potion, can me and the girl here have a moment for ourselves? We wouldn't take long."
"Ah yes, you can."
Tomori didn't expect him to reply like that. He dragged Akira out of the room so that they can talk without anyone hearing.
"What do you want to talk about?" Akira asked.
"Can you see the condition of the old lady lying in the bed?" He said.
"Yeah. She doesn't look that good. But I think this potion could help her."
"Do you have an equip bonus called Medicine Efficiency Up on one of your weapons?"
"Yeah. I have a Medicine Efficiency Up (Low) on one of my weapons."
"And I have both Medicine Efficiency Up (Low) and Medicine Efficiency Up (Medium). I think it's better for me to give her the potion directly."
"Yeah, you're right." Akira handed over the potion to him. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?"
"Maybe it's weird coming from me, but why do you look so eager to help someone?"
"Ah… A great person has told me that if you had the ability to help someone in front of you, then you should help them. No matter how broken you are, no matter how depressed you are, if you can help, then you should help."
"That sounds really like a great person."
"She is. She's the reason that I'm still living to this day."
"Is that person… Your girlfriend?" Akira felt weird out asking this to him
"What? No. She's my aunt. If you don't know, both of my parents died when I was 5. Due to my other family members being too busy to take care of me, she's the one who decided to take care of me. At that time, she's still in university. But she still took care of me for 16 years straight. After losing both of my parents at a young age, I saw her… As some sort of hero to me. Through her, I learned so many amazing things in this cruel and cold-hearted world. I can't pay her back enough."
"So you wanted to go home because of her?"
"Yeah. Can't leave an unpaid debt to a person."
"But… How about Ivaran then? Are you going to leave him alone?"
"Hmm…" The thought of leaving Ivaran alone hasn't crossed his mind. Sure, the waves might be longer than a few years. But if Ivaran has nowhere to go after he goes home, then this would trouble him as Ivaran has been helping him. "I'll think about that later. The waves aren't going to end in a few years after all."
"Yeah… You're right. I'm sorry if you had any trouble answering my questions."
"No need to. You asked them, I just answered. Come on, we have a senior citizen to cure."
Both of them then returned to the room.
"What are you guys discussing?" The man asked.
"Nothing much. Can please move aside? Due to her condition, I think it's better for me to give the potion to her myself."
"Oh, right." The man moved away from the bed.
Tomori goes near the bed and lift the head of the older woman using his right hand. Tomori opened up the potion and let the older women swallow it. The equip bonuses activated as his sword is glowing red. The older women also envelope in glowing light. Colors started appearing on her pale skin. She even looked healthier than before.
"Oh, thank you so much." The older women said to him.
Tomori just gave her a nod.
"Mother, you can speak already?!" The man said.
"It seems like it. I felt healthier than before. As if I return to my youthful days."
"Is that so…" The mas said in relief.
"Granny, are you going okay?" The little girl asked.
"Yes, I am. Granny will become healthy in a few weeks. Don't worry about it." The older women said to her granddaughter.
"Really?"
"Yes, my dear."
The little girl let out a happy noise. Then, she pulled Tomori's cloak a bit. "Thank you for helping my granny."
Tomori just reply with a smile on his face. He then get to Akira's side.
"Thank you so much for helping my mother-in-law." The woman said while bowing.
"Don't need to. We're just doing our job." Akira said.
"Even so, you had helped my mother. I can't thank enough for that." The man said while handing Akira a partchment paper. "This is the proof that you had completed the quest."
"Okay. We will take our leave." Both of them then left the house.
"Tomori…" Akira said.
"Yeah?"
"It's not a game, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Everything around us is real. Humans, animals, plants, monsters, it's all real."
"Talking about game, I haven't met Reika yet for the past week. I heard that some of her party members left."
"Really? Do you know what she's up to?"
"She told me that she's going to investigate the church. But I haven't heard any from her since."
"You reckon she's in danger or something?"
"I don't think so. The church basically worshipped her."
"Yeah, but curiosity killed the cat. And you should really be careful as well. Even though the church is neutral about the Magic Hero, you could still be a target if you poke your nose too much."
"I'll take that to the heart."
Both of them arrived at the place where their party members is waiting.
"Seems like both of you already finished." Ivaran said.
"Yeah, so where are you going next?" Tomori asked Akira.
"We're going to the weapon shop in this village. I heard from Vadge-san that the shop owner is his old friend. And not only that, his shop also has a lot of magical weapons." She said.
"I didn't know that there's a weapon shop here." Tomori thought to himself. "So you wanna buy some weapons from him?"
"Yeah. Do you wanted to tag along with us?"
"Absolutely." Tomori isn't going to miss a chance to go to another weapon shop. And not only that, the shop owner is an old friend of Vadge. And if he's a friend of Vadge, then he's definitely a good person.
"Great. I think the shop is around that way." All of them then headed towards to the weapon shop in Miohus Village.
"Hmm… I think here it is." Akira said a she stopped at a shop.
"Hmm… The shop is a little bit bigger than Vadge's one. I guess this is the advantage of having the freedom to build your own shop anywhere you wanted."
All of them then went inside the shop.
"Oh, welcome!" They were greeted by a middle aged dwarf wearing a bandana.
"First demi-human, then elf, and now dwaft? My Isekai fantasy wet dream is almost complete. Now I need to see a dragon up front."
"Hold on a damn second!" The dwarf said. All of them stopped when he said that. He then left his counter and get closer to them. "Hmm… A staff with a green gemstone on its tip… A sword with a red gemstone on the middle of the guard… A Half-elf boy? I guess he's a man right now."
"Do you heard about us from Vadge?" Tomori asked him.
"Yeah. That guy said that one of heroes is coming to my shop. But he didn't said who is it. And I'm surprised to see that the magnificent Magic Hero herself would come to my shop!" The dwarf said with excitement. "And he also mentioned that the Blade Hero and his Half-elf companion is going to find my shop one day. And I guess this is the time, eh?"
"Yeah…" Tomori didn't know what to say.
"My name is Terrionvel. But you can call me Terry." Terry said to them. "Anyways. I assumed that you wanted to copy my weapons. You can copy any weapons that you like in this shop, Magic Hero. Of course, it will be free."
"Really? Are you really fine with it?" Akira asked.
"Yes, anything for the Magic Hero."
"Does that apply to me as well?" Tomori asked.
"No, you have to pay half the price for every weapon that you wanted to copy." Terry said straight to Tomori's face.
"How come that Akira get copy her weapons for free while I had to pay half to copy a weapon?"
"It's because you're not the Magic Hero."
"It clears to me that what are you doing now is blantant favoritism."
"I don't care. You pay half price for every weapon that you wanted to copy."
Tomori take it back. This guy here's definitely not a good person. "If he isn't giving Akira free weapons, I wouldn't mind it. But he did anyways."
"I think it's better if you and the half-elf leave this shop. In fact, it's better if you didn't come in the first place."
Veins started popping from Tomori's forehead and neck. "This son of the-"
"Tomori-sama, please calm yourself down." Ivaran whispered to him.
Sigh*
Tomori calmed himself down. The veins started disappearing.
"But why would you wouldn't want Tomori and his friend here, Terry-san?" Akira said.
"It's because they aren't worthy of my weapons. We dwarfs only crafted our equipments only for it to use by a suitable wielder. And I find you very unsuitable for my weapons."
"What?! Are you even selling weapons in the first place?" Tomori said.
"Yes, and clearly you aren't worthy of my craft. Even the half-elf here has the qualities for my weapons." He pointed to Ivaran.
"Urgh…" Now Tomori change his mind about coming here. "Well, if that's the case then I wouldn't do anything. Can you finish your business quick, Akira? I need to share some monster parts with you."
"Okay…" Now Akira is getting confused by this situation. "Can you show me all of your staffs?" She asked Terry.
"Oh, sure thing. Wait here for a moment." Terry went to the back of his shop.
" Sigh* Now I wonder if I should get mad or not?" Tomori said.
"It seems like Terry-san is a picky about the ones who is able to use his weapon." Akira said.
"To me, he looks like a grumpy grandpa who doesn't want anyone to touch his stuff." Rylon said.
"You know, I was thinking the same thing." Tomori said.
"Seems like we got the same mindset." Both of them then brofisted each other.
"Well, the down side of it is that Tomori-san wouldn't be able to copy any of his weapons unless he proven himself to be someone suitable to hold the weapons that he crafted." Emil said.
"Eh, I'll do that later if I'm really desperate for his weapons." Tomori said.
"Alright, here's your staffs, Magic Hero." Terry carried a bunch of staffs to the counter. "Copy as many as you wanted."
Akira then started copy the staffs. Few minutes later, she finished copied all of them. Terry brings back the staffs to the back of his shop and return back with a crate full of something like a large cap made out from various materials.
"What's this?" Akira asked.
"It's accessories for your weapon, Magic Hero. And not only that, I also had a information about something called 'Power Up Method' for the legendary weapons." Terry said.
Tomori eyebrows is raised when he heard about the Power Up Method.
"Can Tomori listen as well?" Akira asked Terry.
"He maybe not a suitable wielder for my craft, but he's still a Hero nonetheless. He deserves to knows it." When he heard Terry said that, he get closer to the counter. "From what I heard, the method of one of the Seven Progression Heroes, the Harpoon Hero, is called Accessory Attachment."
"Seven Progression Heroes? Are those the Vassal Heroes?"
"The normal legendary weapon has said to be able to improve the ability of their skill or add a new effect using an accessories. But with this method, you can increase the weapons stats and also further improve the ability of their skills or add an improved new effect. Not only that, the accessories that was attached to the weapon while the heroes knowing this method will make the accessories wouldn't able to exhausted even if you use the ability for a long period of time." Terry continued.
Tomori then piece together the information that he received and started believing it.
Beep*
A new section appears on his methods menu.
Vassal Heroes:
Harpoon Power-Up Method:
Accessory Attachment:
By attaching an accessory to a weapon form, the weapon form will have a significant stat boost and an upgraded skill or an upgraded special effect. The accessory attached to the weapon form cannot be destroyed.
"It appears on my methods menu. How about you?" Tomori asked Akira.
"Same. Thanks for the information, Terry-san." Akira said to him.
"Anything for you, Magic Hero."
"Yup, blantant favoritism."
"Is it ok if Tomori picked one of these accessories for himself?" Akira asked.
"Hmm…" Terry is thinking about it. "Well… Since the accessories doesn't count as a weapon, his poor performance wouldn't be blame on the accessory. I guess it's fine if he pick one of them."
"Should I be happy that he let me have one of these accessories or should I be mad that he thinks so lowly of me?" Either way, it's free stuff to Tomori.
Both of them search for a accessory that they like on the crate. But then a set of accessory caught Tomori's eye. He picked it up and open his status to check its name.
Thousand Eyes Ornament
Quality: Excellent
It looks like a huge black metal caps with an red iris painted on it. "If I'm guessing right, it should go here." Tomori put the accessory on the both sides of the exposed side of the gemstone on his sword. Then, he heard a beep.
Beep*
He opens his sword status to see what changes.
Sword of Absorver [Awakened[6[IV[Great] Ability Unlocked:
Skill: Reflect Blade
Special Effect: Element Transmission, Magic Unison, Element Slash (Strong), Magic Attack Up (Strong), Magic Defense Up (Extra Strong), MP Recovery (Medium), HP Recovery (Low)
Mastery Level: 100
Accessory Equip Effect: Thousand Blades
Weapon Synthesis: Long Rope
Item Enchantment Level 15: SP 25%
Eclipse Minotaur Spirit Counter: MATK 100, MDEF 100
Status Enchantment: 100 MDEF
"The stats increased a little bit. And there's a section that said Thousand Blades. Is it an upgraded skill of Hundred Blades? If that's the case, then my range just got even larger."
"You already picked up an accessory? Akira asked.
"Yeah, you?"
"Same. I got a upgraded skill of a skill that I haven't unlocked yet."
"Now that's confusing. Are you done here?" Tomori said.
"Yeah. Thank you, Terry-san. For helping both me and Tomori." She said to the dwarf.
"Your welcome, Magic Hero. If you ever need a magical weapons, you know where to go."
"So this is what it really felt like to be discriminated by a minority…" Tomori thought as he and the others went out from the shop.
" Sigh* What does Vadge see in that Blade Hero? Sure, he got the spirit. But I no way I would let him touch my weapons as of him now." Terry then carried the crate to the back of his shop.
Hero Profile: Magic Hero
Name: Akira Sato
Age: 17 years old
Gender: Female
Height: 158 cm
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Brown
Likes: Romance stories, studying, animals
Dislike: Rats, scary looking stuff, things that are tiring
This is the last update about the weapon status menu:
Weapon Name [Awakening[Smelting[Weapon Evolution[Quality Up] Ability Locked:
Skill:
Equip Bonus:
Special Effect:
Special Equip Effect:
Mastery Level:
Accessory Equip Effect:
Weapon Synthesis:
Item Enchantment Level:
Spirit Counter:
Status Enchantment: