Chapter 13 – Armor Up

It took another day to reach the capital. According to that traveling merchant, there should be one more day before the Wave. Reina would need to register to the Dragon Hourglass to get the exact time, according to her help menu.

As they approached the open city gates, they were stopped by a pair of nervous-looking guards. At the very least, they didn't point their spears at Vyrdrun.

"What is your purpose here, Giant?" One of them asked.

"That's right." Reina thought to herself. "The empire countries hate Gromnar, but they're still really strong people and live outside of human society. Countries out here being more friendly didn't translate to being trustful, let alone wanting them walking the streets of the capital. People would still be wary of them."

To his question, Reina spoke up from her seat. "I'm the Spirit Forger, and these two are in my party. We're here to register at the Dragon Hourglass and fight in the Wave."

The guard instantly turned to her. "The Spirit Forger?" His skepticism was understandable. She knew she didn't exactly look the part of a hero. She showed off her weapon and changed its form. "Ah!"

There was a small flurry of activity as the guard called for a runner to inform the king of her arrival. Maria told her to expect this, though Reina wouldn't have felt it out of place to begin with.

"We can prepare an escort to the castle for you, Spirit Forger." The guard offered.

"That's alright." Reina declined. "We'll be going to the Dragon Hourglass first."

Maria had been here previously and knew the way.

The guards stood aside and allowed all of them entry.

Reina already started comparing this city to the capital of Savia. She could see the towers of the castle in the distance, though this one wasn't on a plateau. The colors were a bit different and the signs she saw on shops had different lettering. She couldn't read any of it anyway, but the writing was different enough to notice.

"Huh. I guess I can't really see that much difference between the two castle towns. I didn't look too closely at Savia's capital, huh?" She realized. After all, she was still awestruck to be brought to a whole other world at the time.

As they neared the Dragon Hourglass, she did spot something of note. There were a dozen golems—or what she assumed to be golems—positioned around a small fort. They weren't that big, about as tall as Vyrdrun, and either wielded a large sword or a thick spear.

Reina and Maria hopped off the cart and approached the gate with Vyrdrun. The guards stationed there also looked up warily at the Gromnar, but a quick presentation of Reina's weapon got her immediate results.

"Please, right this way, Spirit Forger!" One guard said as he led the three into the fort.

There really wasn't much of anything to the fort. The 'walls' were thick enough to function as hallways, evidenced from the doors on the sides of the gatehouse and the stairs in the courtyard leading up to the walls. There were probably living quarters for the guards, but this place seemed more designed to keep out the unwanted rather than something to weather a large assault. That's what the city walls were for, and the castle.

The Dragon Hourglass itself sat in the large, open courtyard in the center of the small fort. It was almost as tall as the walls, made of gold and filled with red sand. Most of the sand was already in the bottom of it.

"Alright, so do I just walk up to it and…oh!" Her unasked question was answered as a beam of light shot out from the top of it and into her totem. A timer appeared in her vision.

25:23

She watched as one of the numbers changed a few seconds later. "It looks like we have just over a day before the Wave." She told her party.

"Hm~. I was hoping there'd be more time." Maria commented.

"Yeah." Reina agreed. They didn't fight monsters all that much on the ride here, mostly weak ones that got too close. Maria was the only one to gain a level in the past eight days, and that was because she was the lowest level and the one killing the monsters. There simply wasn't enough strong monsters. Reina had gained two levels after the bandits…

"Well, Vyrdrun and I can still take care of our class corrections." Maria stepped forward and waved Vyrdrun toward the hourglass.

Reina's help menu touched on it, but Maria explained it in more detail before. Non-heroes could slightly adjust their stat growth every 10 levels. It basically moved the growth from one stat to another, though there seemed to be a small pool of 'free' growth rate points they could add in. It wasn't such a difference that they could reduce their growth in every other stat to zero so only one stat increased, but it would help steer them to whatever goal they had in mind.

"Another nice thing about traveling with you!" Maria gave her a wink. "Only knights and trustworthy adventurers get to use this, and adventurers have to pay."

"Makes sense." Reina nodded. It wasn't a good idea to let just anyone optimize their stat growth.

A thought occurred to Reina. She was able to reveal weapon forms from a variety of objects, including some absorbed weapons. The sand in the hourglass certainly looked special.

"Could I take some of the sand for my weapon?" She asked a nearby guard.

She and the other guard next to her exchanged looks. "Well…I suppose it should be alright for the Spirit Forger…"

With a nod, the other guard stepped forward and pulled out a small bag. He took some of the sand from the hourglass and offered it to Reina, who poured it into her weapon's gem.

Dragon Hourglass Sand Amulet level not met.

Whatever this weapon gave her was probably pretty good. It wasn't available at level 26, leaving her to wonder what would be the requirement.

"Well, I guess we should meet with the king next." Reina said. She really hoped this royal leader was better than the last one.

~Forging Legends~

"Welcome, Spirit Forger!" The voice of the king boom throughout his throne room as the party of three entered. Knights stood at attention on the sides leading up to the throne itself, and a few well-dressed men and women stood close by as well.

He was an older man, somewhere in his seventies, though his energy was that of someone around half his age. Long gray hair went down past his shoulders, an ornate circlet around his head. When one hears the word 'king', they imagine flowing robes, rings on every finger, and maybe a golden scepter of some kind. This one had on a sleeveless vest that showed off his arms, though the vest was clearly well made. At one point, Reina was certain he had large, powerful muscles, but time had taken its toll on him.

"I thank you for coming to my kingdom." The king said with a nod. "How should I address you and your comrades?"

Reina gave a short bow. "My name is Reina Suzuki. This is Vyrdrun and Maria…"

She realized she didn't know Maria's family name, or if she even had one. If you weren't a noble or prosperous merchant, you likely didn't have a family name to go by. Commoners mostly used the name of the place they were born, similar to Gromnar using their tribe name, though Reina didn't know that either.

"Just 'Maria', Your Grace." Maria gave the king a bow as well.

"King Tarik Lespax." The man on the throne said proudly. "I look forward to working with you, Spirit Forger Reina."

Tarik's eyes moved over to Vyrdrun. They didn't seem to hold any hostility in them, perhaps curiosity. The knights at the castle gates let Vyrdrun through without issue when Reina said he was in her party, so she hoped the king held him in a similar regard.

He quickly thumped his chest with his right hand, continuing to look at Vyrdrun. The Gromnar, on the other hand, tilted his head to the side.

"Not a local Gromnar I take it?" Tarik asked with a smile.

Vyrdrun shook his head. "Barad Galegal."

"That far east? You've traveled far." Tarik had a note of mirth in his voice.

Barad Galegal was one of the places Reina remembered from her study sessions with Maria. It was the country east of Savia, separated by a strait that was only a few miles wide at its shortest. She didn't know that's where he was from, and found it strange that was the path he chose. Then again, he would have had to pass through a lot more old empire territory if he went north first before going west.

She really needed to learn more about him. Maria too, for that matter.

"Well, if you're here to fight the Wave, you're more than welcome in my country." King Tarik said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Reina said happily. It was good to see Vyrdrun's race wasn't going to be a problem.

"From what I understand, the next Wave is in about one day." Tarik said. "Adventurers have already assembled at the guildhall to discuss the Wave, and my knights are ready. As a hero, you may take people with you to the Wave, correct?"

"That's right." Reina nodded. In addition to having her own party, there were also Battle Formations she could make under her. Those parties wouldn't share XP with each other or her own, but they were all still in the same 'party', for lack of a better word.

"Then I shall assign a squadron to fight with you during the Wave." The king said. "Additionally, I can supply you with knights and worthy adventurers to travel with you afterward."

"Ah…" Reina's mouth twisted a bit. "I'm sorry, but I can't accept anyone like that in my party."

"Oh?" Tarik raised an eyebrow.

Reina decided the best explanation was the truth. "When I was summoned in Savia, the prince had adventurers ready to fight with me. It turned out they were actually nobles. I only found that out after the city was attacked by the Demon Lord and they said they'd rather run away with the prince than help the people."

It wasn't the whole truth. Reina knew fighting the Demon Lord would have been suicide. It also wasn't lost on here that she hadn't really gotten to know her party at all back then, so she could shoulder some of the blame.

The king, on the other hand, clicked his tongue softly as he leaned on his armrest. "Typical. I shouldn't be surprised, given that he summoned a hero to a country without a Dragon Hourglass for you to register with."

"Sire…" One of the advisors spoke softly.

"That said," Tarik gave his advisor a glance, "I understand your position. Kings and queens don't live as long as I have by being careless."

His position was a dangerous one, given that assassins would probably be a constant concern. Reina was quite thankful her understood.

Tarik continued. "So long as you take those willing to the Wave to fight, I'll be satisfied."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Reina said.

"Truthfully, I'd like to punish Savia for this transgression, but I suppose they've suffered enough." Tarik said, causing Reina to wince. It wasn't like she didn't understand how he felt, since apparently there wasn't a hero here for the last Wave.

"Sire." The same advisor spoke up a little louder.

"Even a slight against the other former imperial countries would be nice. What would be great is if you didn't travel to either of the Dragon Hourglasses in those domains—"

"Sire!" The advisor all but yelled at that.

"—But I know the foolishness of that. The Three Great Heroes must fight in the Waves to protect the world. All of the Waves. No matter how deserving, I can't suggest doing otherwise."

"Wait, what?" Reina spoke up. "I thought I just had to register to one Dragon Hourglass to fight in the Waves."

King Tarik sat in silence for a moment before sliding his hand over his eyes. "You were told nothing." After running his fingers through his gray hair, he sat back up properly in his throne. "My scholars informed me that the heroes must register to each hourglass to fight in their corresponding Waves. As I recall, the Wave in Hascain is due in a little over one week, while the one in Keston is in two."

Reina stood there wide-eyed. She knew roughly where both of those countries were. Keston was to the north-east of Savia while Hascain was to the south-east. It would take about the same amount of time to reach either of those places from Savia as it did traveling to Lespax, assuming she didn't travel by ship. She'd miss both of their next Waves for sure, and probably the one after for at least one of them.

She almost wanted to be mad at Maria for not telling her, but that wouldn't be fair at all. Maria was smart and knew a lot of things, but Reina couldn't expect her to know everything, especially about someone who could only be summoned in dire circumstances. The same was true about things of legend, like these Waves of Destruction were.

"Do not worry." Tarik clearly saw the distress on her face. "There is a way to travel quickly, though it is not used by many people."

That was a relief to hear. Reina didn't want people to die because she couldn't get there in time.

"There are devices known as Adamantine Gates set up in former imperial territories. They were used to transport troops quickly for expansion and control. There are six in total, and one is a little over a week's travel north of here if you go by ship part of the way." Tarik explained. "Both sides of the gate need to be operated to allow travel and they require a vast amount of magic to use. Fortunately, as the Spirit Forger, I have no doubt they'll let you use it."

"I see." Reina held her chin in thought. In that case, she wouldn't be able to reach Hascain in time for their next Wave, but she'd only miss one instead of potentially three. A thought occurred to her. "Is there one of these gates in Savia?"

"There is." Tarik nodded. "I suspect the prince might have had you go through it to reach the other two hourglasses at some point."

That was possible, but not likely. No one said anything about the hourglasses or Waves before. What's more concerning, now that Reina new about these gates, is the question of how the Demon Lord seemed to appear out of nowhere in Savia. Someone must have used it to let him and his monsters through.

Well, it was that, or the Demon Lord could use a Gate spell like the first mage Reina saw in this world. Magic and Demon Lords go hand-in-hand, if his daughter was any indication.

"I'll also give you a writ of passage for a ship to take you free of charge." Tarik added.

"Thank you." Reina said, smiling. The Demon Lord was a thought for later.

The king smiled back, though somewhat mischievously. "Well, it's the least I can do for the Spirit Forger, especially since she doesn't seem to understand bartering that well. I was told you registered to our hourglass before coming to meet with me."

Reina couldn't say anything to that. That would have been a good bargaining chip, though she couldn't see herself using it.

Tarik simply waved his hand. "And, as I can see your armor is in none-too-good condition, I'll give you a few vouchers to get upgraded equipment from the blacksmiths in town, as well as potions. I can't have you falling in what must be your first Wave, especially since you must have rushed here to make it in time. I would be a poor host to allow that."

Once more, he hit the nail on the head. If they weren't traveling, they were resting for the day. Barely any time to gain levels, too.

Reina was very thankful this king was so accommodating.

~Forging Legends~

The market district was as lively as Reina thought it'd be. With the Wave coming in just a day, people were busy preparing. They had a guide with them, showing off some of the best places to get gear. They already got potions, mostly MP ones since Reina didn't have a recipe for those. Maria got a staff at a magic shop, since she'd lost her old one before meeting Reina and Vyrdrun in the forest. The only thing left was armor and weapons.

"This is one of the best blacksmiths in the city." Their guide said, gesturing to a building. It had an open side attachment for the forge, where two blacksmiths were hard at work making their wares. Many pieces were on display for anyone wanting to buy.

Reina approached with Vyrdrun and Maria. One blacksmith noticed them and stopped his work.

"Howdy. What're you lookin' for?" He asked, resting his hand on his workbench.

"Armor for me, armor and a spear for Vyrdrun if you have anything for Gromnar, and…I'm not sure what for Maria." Reina told the man.

"Hmm." The blacksmith looked Maria up and down. "You're a mage, I take it? What level?"

"Twenty-four." Maria said with a wink.

"Well, I might have somethin', though that depends on if you don't mind losing a bit of magic power."

Maria shook her head. "Have to keep that as high as I can."

"Then there's nothin' I can get you for your level." The blacksmith said with a sigh. He looked over at Vyrdrun. "As for the giant, I have a few lances that could work, but the armor will be a bit lackluster. I only have a few old ones that were sold to me a while back."

Reina could understand that. It wasn't as if there were any Gromnar walking the streets here, so he wouldn't have a bunch made and ready to go.

"That is fine." Vyrdrun told him, seeming to understand what he said.

"As for you…" The blacksmith turned back to Reina. "What's your level and fightin' style?"

"Twenty-six, and I don't really have a set one." Reina pulled out her totem, transforming it once again.

"The Spirit Forger!" The blacksmith shouted.

"What?" The other blacksmith, who had his back to them until this point, immediately turned around. "The Spirit Forger? Here?"

"Ah, Boss—" The first blacksmith was cut off as the second one came up and started shooing him away.

"Go on, get! Fit the Gromnar with whatever he needs. I'll be selling to the Spirit Forger here." The boss blacksmith said, actually pushing his employee along.

"Alright, alright!" He said, stepping away. "Right this way, sir."

With a gesture, Vyrdrun followed the man to another part of the open forge. That just left Reina and Maria with the boss. He leaned on the workbench with both hands.

"Glad to see you made it out of Savia, what with the whole 'Demon Lord' thing going on there." He said with a toothy grin.

"Yeah, uh, I guess word's been getting around about that." She replied a bit sheepishly.

"Name's Baric." The man held out his hand, which Reina opted to shake.

"Reina Suzuki."

Baric kept up his smile. "I'm looking forward to working with you, lad!"

Reina let out a deep sigh. "I'm a woman…"

"You are?" Baric asked, looking her up and down and earning a glare from her. "Well, we'll need to get you something that shows that, huh? Especially if you're going to wear your hair like that."

"Huh?" Reina stared in confusion as Baric went to the back and started rummaging around. She turned to Maria for help.

"Oh, right!" Maria snapped her fingers. "In the Keston Empire, men with long hair tend to braid it behind their heads like you do. That's especially true with shorter men. It's not widely used outside of old imperial territories, but it's well-known enough."

Reina could feel her eye twitch. "And the reason you didn't tell me before was…?"

"I didn't think it mattered." Maria answered with a shrug. "If that was your style, I didn't want to change it. Besides, it makes you look dashing~!"

"Of course." Reina pinched the bridge of her nose. Not a moment later, she felt arms wrap around her chest and pull her close. Her head was sandwiched between the lumps of fat Maria insisted on showing off.

"My own little hero, so dashing and strong~!" Her voice sang out.

Meanwhile, Reina didn't feel the immediate need to distance herself from her flirty wizard. "I'm becoming numb to this and I really don't want to be."

"Alright, I've got just the thing for you. Perfect for someone your level." Baric returned, placing an armor set on the workbench.

Reina looked at the armor in abject horror.

"Absolutely not!" "It's perfect!"

She and Maria yelled at the same time.

The armor was certainly armor, from a certain point of view. The lower half was like what she saw guards in Savia often wearing, those bronze or iron skirts like the ancient Greeks or Romans. Based on the shine of it and what one of her weapon forms was, she guessed it was made out of caskalt. For her size, it would go down just above her knees. The top, on the other hand…

"How is that even armor!?" Reina yelled at the blacksmith.

The 'armor' covered her chest and nothing more. Even then, if she was the size of Maria, she'd be exposing quite a bit of skin. A silvery fabric went down the back and sides, but there was nothing to cover her stomach. Her neck would also be exposed, but the same was true with her chainmail, so she didn't have as much to say there.

"It's enchanted." Baric said with a grin. "Take a look."

Reluctantly, Reina examined its stats.

Mirror Bend Armor
defense up (small), agility up (small), deflection (small), dispersion (5%), magic absorption (tiny), mana brand, automatic recovery function

She didn't want to agree with the burly man, but she was finding it hard not to do so. Most of the effects spoke for themselves, but a few brought up some questions.

"What's dispersion? And mana brand?" She decided to entertain the idea of using this armor.

Baric smirked. "Dispersion negates damage done to you and reflects it to all enemies in range. And that's not spread out; every enemy takes the same amount of damage that's negated, though it does taper off the further away they are. Mana brand lets you put MP into the armor or weapon to increase its effects or allow certain effects to function, the former in this case. It's not something you need to keep focusing on, so you can switch it on and off as you please."

Begrudgingly, that did sound really good. Reina had three spells to her name, and none were that usable in combat at the moment. Cutting Edge was a possibility, but only against high-defense enemies and with a single weapon form she had. The only ability her forged spirit had that used MP was Healing Touch, and that wasn't very efficient. Maria had healing magic, too. Reina wasn't using her MP for much.

As for the dispersion…that was simply too good to pass up. She had the armor from the bandits in her item drops—since they had it on them when they died, it counted as such—but barely any of it was as good as her current armor. The ones that were better were also far too big for her.

"Well, I guess I can wear a shirt under the armor." Reina said, though Baric shook his head.

"Other armor, even clothing, interferes with the effects. The most you could wear is a heavy cloak overtop of it."

"Of course." Reina sighed.

"Come on, Boss, it'll look good on you~!" Maria gave her a squeeze. "And I'm curious what the rest of you looks like~. You're so prudish when it comes to washing."

"We have spells for that!" Reina blushed as she retorted. Both of them used Prestidigitation for exactly that. Neither of them had to bathe in any rivers, especially since Maria's version could make them smell like fruit.

"So, do I have your business?" Baric asked. "I can guarantee you won't find better armor for your level."

"He's right, you know." Maria added on. "Some of those effects I've only seen on armor for people at least 10 levels higher at a minimum."

"Ugh, fine…" Reina relented. It was good armor, no matter what she could say about it. The stat bonuses were much better than anything she had.

"Great!" Baric shot them another toothy smile. "Now, as for the cost…"

In response, Reina pulled out one of the vouchers the king gave them.

"Oh-ho! Well, someone just lost a good amount of geld." Baric laughed as he took the voucher.

Reina could believe it. Armor that repaired itself, absorbed magic, returned damage, and—if her understanding about deflection was right—kept uncovered parts of her body safer, it would certainly cost a lot.

"I have an area you can change inside." Baric jabbed a thumb at the building next to the forge.

"Right." Reina took the armor and did what she had to do.

It didn't take long to see how everything went together. It also didn't take long for Reina to work up the nerve to put it all on. Once she was finished, she looked down to see just how much she was exposing herself. She wasn't pleased. Not one bit. Not even a small amount.

…Maybe only a little. She was sure she'd never tell Maria that.

Reina went back out, only to get suggestive looks from the wizard in question. She leaned on the workbench, staff in hand, and gave Reina a wink while licking her lips.

"Why are you like this?" Reina deadpanned.

"You love it!" Maria responded.

"Looks good, lassie." Baric gave an approving nod.

"It is indeed some fine equipment." The tall man nodded as well, crossing his armored arms over his chest plate.

"I-It looks good, Miss." The nervous boy next to him kept his hat pulled down low.

The compliments helped slightly, though this was still something she never thought she'd wear. The few times she went to a pool, she always wore a one-piece suit and never…

"…Wait a minute." It took a moment for Reina to realize a problem here.

"Who are you?" She directed her question to the newcomers.

"They are Alister and Galen." Maria answered, pointing to the tall man and then the boy. "They heard you're the Spirit Forger and want to join us when we fight in the Wave tomorrow."

Reina looked over the pair. Alister was pretty tall, looking to be about in the middle between Maria and Vyrdrun, seven feet or so. His plate armor covered his arms, chest, and legs and shined like he was paladin, if paladins wore red armor. The blond hair on his head went just below his ears and was complimented by his goatee and long mustache, which he began to twirl.

Galen, on the other hand, was maybe an inch taller than her. His black pants, blue tunic-robe and wooden staff taller than him made him out to be a wizard. The black hat threw that off a little, but Maria had a similar one and called herself a wizard, so who was she to say otherwise? Despite keeping the hat pulled down, she long, dark brown hair was easy to spot past his shoulders.

"Well, we were going to the guildhall next to find volunteers anyway." Reina admitted. "I suppose it doesn't hurt to find willing people early."

"Most excellent!" Alister proclaimed, patting the much shorter Galen on his back. "This is good, Master."

Galen quickly spun to him and frantically waved his empty hand. "I-I told you n-not to call me that around people!"

Reina looked between the pair, before settling a glare on Galen. "Is he your slave?"

"N-N-No! Nothing like that!" Galen sputtered, flailing his hand at Reina instead.

Alister just gave a loud, hearty laugh. "Well, from a certain view—"

"Alister, stop! You know we don't see you like that!" Galen pleaded.

"Yes, yes." Alister's hand rested on Galen's head, pushing down his pointed hat slightly.

"Right…" Reina let out a breath. "Sorry. I've been learning things about this world lately. Some of it's been a bit distasteful."

"N-No worries, Spirit Forger." Galen said, peeking from beneath his hat.

"Just Reina, please."

"Okay…Miss Reina?" Galen offered, getting another sigh and nod from Reina.

"That's fine, I guess." Since they were already finding adventurers, she supposed it was time to head out. "Where's Vyrdrun?"

"Here." The voice came from right behind her, making her jump forward.

"Don't do that!" Reina held a hand to her chest. How he was able to move silently while being that large was a mystery.

Looking at him, she could see what the blacksmith was talking about. The armor was made of hide, though she didn't know the monster. It covered his chest and draped over his biceps, the dark brown fur somewhat clashing with the lighter pelt around his waist. Bands of caskalt covered his chest area, providing additional defense. In his hand was a steel lance as tall as him and it didn't look half bad. She suspected the king would be receiving quite the bill from Baric.

"Looking good, handsome!" Maria said with a wink.

"Hm." Vyrdrun simply grunted in response as he observed the newcomers.

"A Gromnar, eh?" Alister looked him up and down in turn. "I've fought both with and against a few of your kind in my time. I much prefer having you as an ally."

"I would think so." Vyrdrun said.

"At least he doesn't sound angry." Reina looked between the two. Alister seemed pleased while Vyrdrun was…neutral, as always.

"Is that everything you need before we leave, Spirit Forger?" The guide who brought them there asked as he stepped forward.

"Oh, uh, yes." Reina gestured with her arm.

The man began to lead the now-larger group away. It wouldn't take too long, according to him. Reina walked right behind him, Maria and Vyrdrun on her left, with the former continuing to give Reina predatory looks. Reina ignored it and looked to her right, seeing Galen with Alister a step behind and to the side.

Deciding this was an opportunity to speak with people she'd be working with, she started a chat with Galen.

"So, how long have you been an adventurer?" She asked.

"O-Oh!" Galen looked at her wide-eyed. "Um, not long. I mean, I'm not really an adventurer."

"You're not?" Reina asked. "Did you just start? And what level are you two?"

"U-Um…" Galen seemed to huddle closer to himself.

"Master isn't good at talking with new people." Alister added helpfully.

"Alister, please!" Galen looked up at the towering man.

"Oh, no, I get it." Reina offered with a smile. It was somewhat nice to see this nervousness from someone else besides her, even if she was never this bad. "Whenever you're ready."

"O-Okay." Galen took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Well, I'm level 25, but Alister is level 41."

"Oh, nice." Reina looked over at Alister for a moment. "We're all in our mid-twenties, so that'll really help."

Galen seemed to blush at that, though he quickly covered his head again. "T-Thank you, Spirit…um, Miss Reina."

Alister gave a beaming smile at his master.

"Still, I'm surprised your level is so high, especially if you're not an adventurer." Reina continued. "You're so young, too."

"Alister fights monsters for us. And I'm not that young." Galen murmured that last part.

"You're not?" Reina asked.

Galen shook his head. "I'm 17."

"Ah…" Reina turned her head forward again. "So, this is what it's like from the other side."

It was only a few minutes later until they reached the guildhall. Just like King Tarik said, Reina saw dozens of people talking with one another. She didn't hear any specifics as they passed, but the Wave was clearly the topic.

"We actually have two more that want to join you." Galen spoke up. "Let me see if I can…oh, there they—Alister!"

"I'll be right back." The fully armored man quickened his pace, Galen following after him.

"Alister, wait, I'm sure it's nothing!" Galen's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Alister only sped up.

"What's up with him?" Reina asked, only for Maria to point where the man was walking.

Reina jogged after them, wanting to see what her soon-to-be-temporary-comrades were up to. She saw Alister striding to what looked to be some sort of outdoor restaurant. Barely able to see past the man, Reina curved to the side a bit. A pair of men were standing next to a table, one of them leaning on it and speaking to a woman. No, there were two women sitting at the table, though the face of the one she could see had a bored expression. They wore hats similar to Galen's, so they might have been in the same party as him and Alister.

Any other analysis was put on hold as Alister grabbed the arm of the leaning man and pulled him up, lifting his feet off the ground.

"What the hell—" The man's retort was cut short as he looked at Alister.

"What do you think you're doing?" The venom his voice could kill a lesser man, something his now-captive was seeing for himself.

"Hey, put him down!" The man's companion yelled, drawing his sword.

"Bad idea." The bored woman said, slowly reaching her hand down.

"I won't tell you again!" The man with the sword lifted it up. "Let him go, or I'll—"

He froze in place, now that a knife was at his throat.

"You and your friend should leave, just like we said you should." The once-bored woman had a sweet smile on her face as she threatened the man, leaning on him from behind. "Alister, won't you let the poor guy go?"

"Hmph." Alister did as he was asked, dropping the man on his ass. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran off, the other one doing the same when the woman pulled back her knife.

"Seriously." She sighed, replacing the blade into her boot before standing again. "I know we're alluring, but still!"

"Ara~. But now they've made poor Alister all jealous." The other woman hummed out. When she turned her head, Reina could see a motherly smile on her face.

"I wasn't jealous…I just didn't want to see you hurt." Alister's response nearly made Reina do a double-take. His tone was almost the opposite of how he was acting not just a few minutes ago.

"Such a nice man~. Hm?" The woman cooed before looking at Reina. "Can we help you~?"

"Sister, this is the Spirit Forger, Reina." Galen introduced her first.

With that little conflict out of the way, Reina could see the similarities between Galen and his sister, the same with the woman who had the knife. All three shared the same dark brown hair. The standing one had clothing similar to Galen, but her shirt was red instead of blue. The sitting sister wore a simple black robe from top to bottom, keeping the same hat as the others. Instead of boots like her siblings, her feet were covered in lighter shoes, almost like thin slippers.

"Ara~! So this is the Spirit Forger?" The older of the two clapped her hands and turned in her seat to face Reina.

"Ah, yes." Reina nodded in response. The rest of her party just came up behind her.

"It's nice to meet you, Reina." The woman said, keeping her warm smile on. "I see you've already met our little brother and our jealous bodyguard."

Alister turned his head to the side as he twirled his mustache. The woman gave a light laugh, covering her lips.

"We should introduce ourselves as well." The woman tipped her hat slightly. "My name is Crescent, and this is our sister, Molly."

~Forging Legends~

The day was nearing its end. She didn't want to stop here, but her army had been marching for long enough. It was only about an hour more until they reached the capital, but letting the enemy know they were there wasn't wise.

That's why she found herself in her command tent, going over plans with the lords she'd assembled. They didn't know what to expect, but that was about to change. A shimmer just revealed himself and kneeled to the assembled leaders.

"Report!" The woman barked.

"My queen, the city is filled with walking corpses." The shimmer responded. "They are slow and clumsy, but their numbers aren't to be ignored. By my estimate—"

"The population of my capital." The queen finished his sentence with a hiss.

"Not nearly so many, but close, my queen." The shimmer said. "I saw many corpses too mangled to be used for such profane magic."

"Hm." The queen tapped her finger against the table. "The city gates?"

"Open, my queen. I saw no other defenders in the city or manning the walls. The castle, however, is closed off. Spectral undead were there, ones able to detect my presence, so I was unable to investigate further."

"Our elites will handle them." The queen nodded. Those knights were the ones with magic-infused weapons. "Then there's no news about my son?"

The shimmer shook his head. "I could not verify the status of Prince Johan."

The queen clicked her tongue. "And still no word from my husband either. At this point, it's safe to assume both are dead."

It was an idea that stayed in the back of her mind these past few weeks, ever since she got word that her capital was attacked. Communication with her husband, the king, also stopped after receiving a report about the existence of this Demon Lord.

"Anything else to report?" The queen asked, receiving a shake from the shimmer in response. "Very well. I'm removing you from this attack. With the king and prince presumed dead, you should know what your next task is."

"Yes, my queen." The shimmer stood and turned to leave, his body flickering before disappearing.

"It's as we feared." One of the assembled lords let out. "Knowing all this, should we proceed with the attack?"

"And let the dead roam about my country!?" The queen snapped at the lord, making him jump back. "If I can't even take back my own capital, let alone allow what my fool son let come to pass, then I won't be queen for long. It is our duty to purge the monsters our former countrymen have become. I'll hear no argument about it!"

The queen returned her gaze to the table, where a map of the capital was spread out.

"We will take back my city, we will rebuild, and this Demon Lord will know the error of crossing me. Come tomorrow, the capital will be free of the living dead. So says your queen!"

"So says our queen!" The assembled lord yelled in response, some slamming their armored fists against their chests.

The queen clenched her fists on the table. "I've lost three children before their time, all from some conflict or another. Demon Lord, you will know a mother's wrath!"

Author's Notes

Oh yeah, it's all coming together.

On one side, we have the witches the Demon Lord talked with earlier now meeting Reina. On another, we have a none-too-please queen about to reconquer her city.

I'm having fun teasing Reina with Maria. The lines just write themselves. And, of course, I need more fan service. Nothing too grand this time. The outfit Reina got isn't all that skimpy or anything, but definitely not something she's used to wearing. I'm also giving an excuse for why she's wearing it, aside from some of the neat effects. I'm talking about the deflection thing. It's basically like the Deflection Bonus from D&D 3rd edition and Pathfinder. I see it as an invisible force that pushes attacks off their mark slightly, so that's what I'm going with here.

This chapter was a bit longer than normal, but that's fine. I'm still shooting for around 4.5k for each chapter. A little longer won't hurt.

Next chapter is the Wave, and maybe a little more.