After getting back into the grind the next morning we kept meeting a simply ludicrous amount of random encounters. Aside from getting a bag full of gunk, materials, and entrails. I somehow ended up with an even more beefy and extremely grotesque shield. This chimeran buckler now gave people gazing upon the surface a miniscule chance of outright fainting, or just get really, really queasy due a seriously malodorous odor. "You know, mistress. I swear the freaky shield is enjoying the compliment." Said the little raccoon girl.

"It is a magical artifact that gets better through feeding, I would expect nothing less."

"An idea occurred to me though. You should get a more thematically fitting disguise so people will recognize your deeds."

"Excellent thinking number one. What do you suggest?"

"Cut your black hair shorter, make it a smidge more messy, don a green tunic, and call yourself something fancy like Naofumi. Right now you remind me of a dull potato whenever you use the disguise spell. Which is hardly heroic, good for building a reputation, besides the shield sticks out like a zit."

"I will consider your interesting proposition. By the way could you promise me that you'll never betray me?

"Yes."

"Really, really?"

"Yes?"

"Just like that?"

"Yes, why do you keep asking?" She almost shouted.

"All good things come in three, and there is power in promises kept."

"Ominous."

Did she just do a little skip and a twhirl when I agreed to look and adapt a more heroic veneer?

I decided to disguise myself somewhat akin to her suggestion when we eventually wandered into a rustic town with people mulling about. One generic looking villager came wandering over to greet us with a bright smile.

"Hello there traveler, welcome to Lute, our humble Hamlet."

"Hello there my good man, I'm but a humble traveler, is there a trader around here"?

"Yes there is right over this way." Said the man merrily ushering is over to a more fanciful looking building, clearly ignoring Raphina.

"Here you go, don't be a stranger."

We stepped through the door, triggering the bell on the way in. A fellow with serious sideburns waddled over to the counter.

"I'm Jack, what can I do for you?" He wondered, smelling slightly of lavender.

"I am Naofumi, and I have something that might interest you." With that said I pulled out the ornate tree. "What else do you keep in there and what in the world is that?

It is a festive tree with decorations signifying a holiday from another land."

"While it is novel and looks lovely, I have no idea who would want this, even if it has an enchanted internal light source. I will give you 70 silver."

"That sounds a bit stingy."

"Take it or leave it, the local mine is out of commission and I can not risk spending more with the only source of income closed."

"Overrun with ugly monsters I presume?"

"Are you a soothsayer or something?"

"Not at all, monster mashing is my second profession, and it either that, a cave in, or no more ore to be found."

"Fair enough, I have not heard back from the guild, so just walk outside take a left and follow the paved path towards the hillside."

"We will do just that, now little girl let us be on our way. We have a quest to do."

She looked at me strangely before asking. "We are leaving so soon?"

"Indeed, we need the experience and the loot."

Mines are much the same across worlds it seems, a home in the wall held up with wooden beams at regular intervals, and lined with extinguished torches. The oppressive darkness dispersed to the blue glow of plasma. I took the time to gather some mining gear to feed my artifact. A rope, a pickaxe, and a torch.

"The Swiss Army would be proud."

Raphina looked at me confused and I replied with a shrug. In essence I could mine mineral outcrops extremely fast and did through walls as well. The last time I tried my hand at that was when I tried to escape from jail and nearly broke my back. The torch effect turned out to be very redundant, since there was a lot lot of unlit ones at the wall.

"Is it me or is this mine excessively long?" Pointedly asked the little girl.

"You are quite right. Where are all the monsters?"

I should not have tempted fate. From a deep dark corner a multi headed hound emerged. Big, round, and yellow eyes pierced the darkness. Raphina froze and began to dry heave. My bell began to shoot. Spent casings thudded against the floor, bullets struck true, barely denting the beast's massive health bar. I barely managed to deflect the retaliatory blow before the idle head took a chunk of my health bar. I shield bashed the fanged foe, pushing it off me, before bellowing orders to the raccoon.

"Snap out of it, let not your parents go unavenged."

She slapped her cheeks hard and snapped out of her stupor with a throaty scream, before she lobbed a massive boulder right into a gaping maw, disabling at least one head. But the mangy mutt had one more. I gathered my will and cast a ball of ice into the center face. Fangs snapped and spittle flew, staggering the mutt. Raphtalia began yelling as loud as a kid can before charging straight ahead with her sword pointing forward. The sharp blade effortlessly slipped into the hall between the two heads. Only one third health bar was left. The fiend was not done yet and with a wicked head snap the boulder flew free. It vanished before it could hit my furry, instantly returning to her hand.

The bell kept up the relentless hailstorm, but the pelt was just too thick to do much. I changed into the plasma buckler and ran into the fray. The beast took the blow head on, but I had a plan. Quite simple really, plasma is hot, fur is flammable, and the hound is a shaggy one. I held my ground and grinded the shield against the right face, until it cried out in pain and began to smolder.

Raphina saw an opening and slid under a thashing claw, positioning her perfectly underneath the belly of the beast. Then she jammed sharp steel into the soft tissue and twisted. Crimson liquids and entrails spilled out, she quickly scrambled away before she was squashed by the sheer bulk of the beast.

While she was sitting catatonic on the floor, I began skinning the hound hide and other such materials until. It was a very time consuming process but the materials were of high quality. A snarky disembodied voice called out again. "Two heads are better than one." The curious artefact got yet another function. This one is surprisingly useful. It improves my perception and alertness by a lot, making ambushing us exceedingly difficult, and it has a bite to it as well.

It was only after the fight I found out about the ability to leap in front of an ally by expanding a bit of stamina, which made me realize that I really need to figure out this overy intricate skill system, one that seemingly creates those on a whim.

"Now that we have had our fill of battle and flayed our foe, we should shake off some adrenaline and clean out this place."

Raphina slowly got to her feet drenched in blood. "If you say so, could we have a bath afterwards?"

"Excellent idea."

A while later we had combed through the cave and grabbed everything not nailed down, which was disappointingly little outside of unrefined iron ore. A common place material that boosted my defensive capabilities. Which reminded me that I needed to enchant Raphinas sword somehow to increase damage output. That beast took way too much punishment to my liking.

"Let us head into town and present them with the predator's paw, as proof. Then collect the rewards and sleep in a bed for once. It is very good for our potential."

The raccoon girl nodded in agreement.

My ears perked up when the distinct sound of something falling fast came from above. I pulled the girl into a hug and rised my shield high. Mere moments later something struck with the force of an accelerated brick, nearly breaking my arm from the impact. Along with the strike, came a resounding boom that nearly snapped the surrounding trees in twain.

"Blaze forward like a protecting comet." A deep narrative voice called out from the shield.

"What was that?" Cried Raphina out, clearly as confused as me.

"I think we were hit by a meteorite."

"Say that again."

"Falling rock from far above the clouds. You know a shooting star."

"Okay, did you get your wish though?"

"I suppose so. I can dash forwards like a star towards a target to intercept a strike, or protect an ally."

"That is so cool, now could we get a bath now?"

"Sure, do you hear the sound of a nearby brook?"

"Over to the left a small distance from us."

"Fantastic, lead the way "

After that little discussion, I had to pull myself out of the muck, in a blasted patch of badly scorched trees, smoldering branches, and mayhem. A high velocity burning rock is nothing to be trifled with after all. My geedy shield had absorbed most, if not all the debris from the natural disaster.

Raphinas hearing was certainly something else, there was indeed a stream a bit further away from the impact site. Just wide and deep enough to wade into and lay down. I unequipped my gear and laid down on the river bed. The shallow water allowed my head to stay above the surface. After a bit of struggle, the little girl eventually followed suit.

"That overall is way too small for you. Did you have a freak growth spurt when I was not looking?"

"Demi humans do that when earning an insane amount of levels."

"You better not get an hearth attack when reaching ninety."

"That's not how experience works you dummy."

"Strangely convenient and weird."

"Says the short person."

"Hey, leave my stature out of this. I am a stranger in these lands."

"How does it work where you are from then?"

"Simple, you do actions and get better, by killing, traveling, weird wishes, quaffing strange liquids. The usual adventure stuff really."

"Next you'll be telling me that you eat random meals found in a back alley."

"Those are the best, most of the time."

"Eesh."

"Anyways, I'm cold and my dainty skin is looking like a prune."

"Okay then."

"Water is wet and you're sure to make a splash." Said the shield on the way out and I now had a water shield, which really looked more akin to a translucent jellyfish. With it came a noticeable increase in resistances and a bit of passive healing, on top of that I could use it as an emergency water supply.

Between us and the road I spotted a balloon minding its own lofty business, seemingly unaware of its surroundings. Which suited me just fine. I signaled for Raphina to stay still, and to stay silent, while I prepared to test out my new skill.

In the blink of an eye I was sent flying into the dumb beast and brought it along with me, until I struck a tree, sandwiching the creature between the wood and the shield. My target could not move a single centimeter, neither could I safely disengage. A few moments later the raccoon girl caught up to us and punctured the soft membrane, causing the monster to pop.

"That was wicked fast, one moment you stood still, the next you went, whosh, twack, and smack!"

"That was quite the rush indeed."

"Certainly makes stabbing the pesky critters much easier."

"I have a sneaking suspicion that we are going to need these esoteric abilities in the near future."

Njål #zaceron signing out. You can find me on YouTube and twitch.