"Please, come this way," a nun said, leading Clara and Hol through the hallway of the church.
"Did you know that the holy springs we use to wash away the worst curses are said to have been made by all three heroes a long time ago? The farming hero broke apart the land while the container hero brought the water. Then the cooking hero blessed the waters with a blessing that made it what it is today!" the nun explained, looking at Clara and Hol with a bright smile.
The two didn't respond, leaving the nun hanging. Clara was scrolling through her screen and swapping out weapon forms, while Hol was glancing at Clara out of the corner of his eyes. She hadn't said a word since they talked in the other room and the guild was written all over Hol's face.
Out of all the bonuses I have left to master, none of them are skills. I'm still only level 42 so the unobtanium knives are locked, as well as the sand knife. I could master the vengeful spirit knife for the extra agility, but I need to level up more and get better knives. Speaking of better knives.
"Hol," Clara finally spoke up, turning to the older hero.
"Yes?" he asked, quickly turning to face Clara.
"Did you get the boss materials for this wave?" she asked, ignoring his concerned expression.
"Ah, no. I'll get in contact with the queen to get us some," he murmured. Another awkward silence befell the two heroes.
"Here we are!" the nun said, breaking the silence. "Please, don't hesitate to ask!"
She opened up the door ahead of them and a wave of wet air hit Clara's face. Up ahead she saw a beautiful natural spring flowing into a pool of water. The water itself was crystal clear and seemed to be giving off a light glow. On the bottom, she saw multicolored rocks that formed a pattern identical to the one on her and Hol's gown.
The double doors closed behind them and they were left to stand in front of the pool of water.
Clara made the first move and dipped her foot into the pool.
"AGH!" she yelled, as she felt a burning sensation erupt from her foot. The water touching her bubbled and darkened as if absorbing the darkness from the bandages.
"I'm sorry. It's the effects of my cu-"
Clara ignored him and hissed as she dipped her foot into the pool again. A loud hissing and bubbling noise erupted from the water. The water under her foot turned darker, but the black water soon disappeared as fresh water continued to pour into the pool.
"Careful! It's gonna hurt pretty badly if you just go in there all at once!" Hol exclaimed, grabbing Clara's shoulder. She shrugged him off and continued her descent into the water. She gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out. Hol waited for a bit before he walked into the water. Clara walked to the other side of the pool and leaned against the side. Finally, she swapped her weapon for the vengeful spirit knife and closed her eyes.
They continued to sit there for a few more minutes before Hol decided to break the silence.
"I'm sorry for what I did," he began. Clara didn't open her eyes, but Hol could tell that she heard him. "I shouldn't have attacked you like that. Or say what I said."
"…all you've done so far is stay back and whine! You can barely cook or fight, so what use are you?!"
"You're just a burden to everyone!"
"I'll summon someone else myself!"
Clara shuddered as the memory made its way back into her head.
"You were only here for a little more than a week. Me and… Ellis, we had months to prepare, train, and hone our skills," Hol continued, glancing at Clara every now and then.
"I don't expect you to be on our level for a while. I'll do my best to help you however I can," he finished.
Clara opened her eyes and looked at Hol. He rubbed the back of his neck as he waited for a response. She swam up to him and cupped her hands together. Hol looked at her in confusion until he saw some mana gather in her palms and a sphere began to form. However, before it could fully form, the sphere burst and dissipated into the air.
"Can you help me with casting magic? I have been trying to form one star, but it keeps breaking before I can cast the spell," Clara said, lowering her hands into the water. Hol gently pushed Clata's hands together and held them in place.
"Close your eyes for a moment," he whispered. Clara took a deep breath and did as instructed. She felt a mix of her and Hol's mana slowly gather in her hands. As the mana continued to flow, something warm and light slowly formed in her hands.
Clara opened her eyes and saw a small ball of light in her hands. Its light was dim, barely lighting up her hands, but for her, this was a huge step.
"This is….?"
"First spell, the light orb. The only spell that can be done with 1 star. Its only purpose is to light up the area, so it isn't used much in combat. I might have brute forced your mana to form it, but… it should give you a general idea," he explained as Clara moved the orb in her hands. She pushed a bit more mana into it and saw the intensity of the light increase, and its weight decrease.
"Why didn't he start with this?" Clara questioned, tossing the orb into the air.
"I think Ellis would have wanted you to figure it out on your own. It would help you get a better grasp on how to cast it later on," Hol explained. "This method is faster in the short run as it helps your body learn the spell through practice. Since we're short on time, I think this method is better."
"When is the next wave?" Clara inquired, looking at the timer. The two wave timers told her that they wouldn't have to face another way for a little over two weeks, but she remembered being told that there was another hourglass she had to register at.
"Three days. I can register you and handle it myself if you need time to recover," he said, checking the corner of his vision for the timer.
"Actually, is it ok if I try to handle the wave this time?" she asked, dispelling the glowing orb. Hol looked at her in confusion.
"Are you sure? I mean, even if these are the starting waves, many soldiers right now are still having trouble keeping up with the monsters. You're still new here and under-leveled," Hol tried to confirm.
"I can handle it. I'll have to fight high-tier waves eventually, so I might as well get used to the normal waves, right?"
"But you're still under-leveled! An average village knight is around level 40 with training, and most knights in the army are level 60 and above!" Hol protested.
"I'm level 42, so I should be fine," she assured him.
"You don't have the training!" he fired back.
"I have equip bonuses, 4 upgrade methods, and several different forms to choose from," Clara countered.
"Upgrade methods you barely used!" he insisted.
"My level link is passive, and my cooking level is at 21. I can power up my skills by repeatedly using them," she tried to reason.
"Yeah, but you only have so much SP you can use! Or do you plan on chugging soul-healing water every 3 uses?"
Clara thought for a moment as an idea came to mind.
"Yin Yang islands. If you can teleport me there, I can recover SP much faster and use skills a bunch," Clara replied. Hol let out a heavy sigh and nodded.
"Fine. But I will kill any and all monsters that run too close to a nearby village. If I see you in danger I will also step in. We don't know if that guy will return the next wave or not, so we need to be on the lookout for that," Hol relented. Clara smiled weakly and looked back at her hands. She forced her mana to gather once again and after a few seconds a glowing orb formed on her palm.
"Alright. Then let's prepare the best we can," Clara said, crushing the orb in her fist.
==}—
"Hey, kiddo. You're back earlier than I expected," Goron exclaimed when Clara walked into the kitchen.
"I see news travel fast," she grumbled.
"Yeah. Sorry about what happened to-
"Anyways, let's get started!" Clara interrupted, washing her hands. The other chefs looked at her, some with worry, others with pity.
"Hey! If you have time to stand around and stare, you have time to caramelize the damn onions! GET TO WORK!" he yelled at the chefs. They turned back to the food and didn't seem to pay Clara any attention. She opened up the status of the soul eater dagger and equipped it.
Soul Eater Cleaver
abilities unlocked equip bonus: +5 SP, "Chain Bind"
equip effect: soul eat, sp recovery (small)
mastery level: 27
Its stats increased during the wave as the mastery bonus rose, and it was currently her strongest weapon form. She debated whether she should raise its mastery level now, or unlock the bonuses of another weapon form and wait for the second wave boss materials.
As she was debating and chopping onions, a notification popped up, telling her that the mastery level rose to 28.
So the mastery doesn't evolve only when I use the weapon in combat. That's good to keep in mind.
"Faster! Faster! Don't doze off into space!" Goron yelled at everyone. Clara noticed that several people were taking quick glances in her direction, making Clara frown.
Please, just stop staring.
"Alright, that's the last of them. Everyone is free to go. Tio and Larisa, clean up the place!" Goron commanded, shooing Clara out of the kitchen.
"But what about clean-up and the cooking session?" Clara questioned. Goron shook his head.
"Go take a break. Travel around the ship or take an extra nap or something," he grumbled.
"But-" she began, but he cut her off.
"Go," he said firmly.
"Ok," she mumbled. I have to do a few more things anyways.
==}—
*knock* *knock*
"Hol, if you're there to apologize, don't bother. I'm not resowing your shirt, that thing is way beyond repair!" Laura yelled from behind the door.
"Hey Laura, it's me," Clara replied. "Can I come in?"
"Ah, wait, wait for a second!" Laura yelled back. A rustling noise was heard from the room before the door opened up. Laura looked at Clara with a bit of concern on her expression. "Hey, so… how are you hanging?"
"I'm fine," Clara replied, walking into the room. "I wanted to ask you if you could make me some new clothes. I don't have a lot to begin with and the ones you gave me burned down in the recent wave."
Clara put the burnt uniform she was given onto the nearest table.
"Are you sure you're fine though? I mean… a lot has happened. I can understand if you need some time to recov-"
"I'm fine. How soon can I get a new uniform? As nice as the clothes I borrowed from the church are, I could definitely use a better uniform," Clara interrupted, looking at the different materials on the wall.
"Clara, don't you… nevermind. I can get a similar outfit done by tomorrow morning. Anything else you need?" Laura asked, letting out a heavy sigh. She sat behind a sewing machine and pulled out a few rolls of fabric.
"I actually wanted to ask you if you knew what happened to Hol and how you managed to stop him," Clara replied, sitting down next to Laura. The tailor looked at her in surprise and took off her glasses.
"Have you tried asking him?" she wondered.
"I… I don't think either of us wants to talk about it," she mumbled. Laura thought for a moment as she racked her brain for an answer.
"A while ago, when Ellis was still freshly summoned, I remember hearing them talk about the weapon forms they had gotten. This was after Hol's rampage, and Hol explained that it was called a 'Curse Series'. He didn't explain too much about it, but he warned Ellis to never use it, and that, while it was strong, it had a strong backlash as well," she finally replied.
"Curse series? I guess I'll keep it in mind," Clara replied, opening her status. She searched around her weapons help manual, but nothing with that name showed up.
Weird. I guess it doesn't show up until I unlock it.
"But how were you able to overpower him? I mean, it sounds like it's strong, and Hol is over-leveled," Clara inquired. "And what the heck is a pacifier in this world?"
"That's actually the reason I was able to overpower him. I'm a member of the Pacifiers, and our job is to keep the heroes in check. We have weapons like these needles that can nullify the weapon's powers. Equip bonuses and the stats of the weapon," she explained, tapping two needles together. The small glowing blue crystals on their ends shimmered in the sunlight coming from the window.
"Doesn't that mean that Hol can get drunk more easily if you negate his resistance bonuses?" Clara questioned, pointing to one of the needles.
"Yep. Don't tell him tho, or the captain might kill me for not doing it earlier," she laughed, putting the needles back into her hair.
"Yeah, they would," Clara smiled.
A heavy silence landed upon them and Laura looked down at the fabric in her hands. She let out a sigh and gripped the fabric tighter.
"He wasn't always an alcoholic, you know?"
"Hol used to be sober? Hard to imagine," Clara mumbled.
"Hah, yeah. If you look at him now it seems like a wild idea. But he used to be the best of the best back in the day," she reminisced.
"You mean when he was first summoned?"
"Ha ha, nah. Back then he was still a greenhorn. It took him a while to figure out how his weapon worked. But he was sent out with a small party given by the queen herself to power up his weapon."
"Wait wait wait. When was this? Why was he summoned? And how long was Elora the queen? I mean, she looks around my age!"
Laura paused for a moment and pulled out her tablet. A picture of a woman, who looked like Elora but way older, with a golden crown on her head popped up on screen.
"This is Elora's mother. She was the queen during the time Hol was summoned. At that time this man started to fight everyone left and right," she said, bringing up a wanted poster. The man on it had a smug look on his face, his eyes hidden by his black hair and he had a scar on his left side that seemed to go up to his eye.
"This man is Dazel. He showed up one day and started calling himself 'the one chosen by god' and taking over land by force. We tried to send some forces to deal with him, but his followers were also crazy strong. And soon his army was impossible to ignore. So the queen decided to try to ask the vassal farming tool for help and ordered a ritual."
"And that's when Hol was summoned?" Clara concluded. Laura nodded and showed her a picture of Hol surrounded by 5 other people. They seem to be returning from a trip, and two of them were holding a large dragon head.
"He was given a party to level up and strengthen his weapon. And soon they were taking out the crazed minions left and right. Unfortunately…" Laura paused before continuing.
"What happened?"
"One of Dazel's closest followers showed up. As a result, Hol lost his entire party," she answered, tossing her tablet to the side.
"Oh. So this isn't the first time he lost someone," Clara mumbled, looking down at her feet.
"He managed to defeat the follower, but that was also the day we all found out how scary a hero can be. By the time he was done, everything around him was on fire."
"So how did you stop him last time?"
"I didn't. Some witnesses reported that after he killed the follower, he turned around and mumbled something as if he was talking to someone, before collapsing. That was also the incident that got me assigned to keep an eye on him."
"As in, you were at his party?"
"I was. I heard a lot about him, but he was never the same again after his first party passed away. In my whole time as his party member, I haven't seen him smile as much as he did with his old team. This was also when he started drinking a lot. Barely a day passed when he wasn't holding a bottle of alcohol in his hands."
"But where was Ellis during this? Why wasn't he summoned?" Clara asked, now at the edge of her seat.
"His weapon was in the hands of one of the followers. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve it soon after and summon Ellis. That was when Hol changed again."
Laura smiled as she remembered those days.
"Hol took a liking to Ellis pretty quickly. Whether it was because they were from the same world, or both vassals, I don't know. But ever since Ellis showed up, Hol stopped drinking entirely and helped Ellis grind as much as he could. He taught him every tip and trick in the manual and with his help, Ellis quickly became a powerhouse."
"Sounds like the two were pretty close," Clara thought sadly.
"Oh they were, but not nearly as close as Ellis and Elora. Back when her mother was alive, Elora was a huge troublemaker. She would always cause random incidents whether it was a prank on some important noble, or sneaking out and getting into trouble. It got so bad that her mother had to assign Ellis to guard Elora 24/7."
"But didn't Hol train Ellis to help him with… Dizel was it?"
"Dazel. And Hol was the one who suggested this. I suppose he just didn't want someone from his world to die in front of him," Laura mumbled.
"I suppose Elora didn't like that?" Clara said quickly to change the subject.
"You're right, that girl was not happy. She tried to shake Ellis off with all kinds of traps, tricks, and even sleeping gas. However, he was soon able to predict her tricks and easily bypass them. I guess resistance bonuses help as well."
"Soon enough, the two actually got along. Though they also started making pranks and causing mischief together, it wasn't nearly as often or destructive as before. Elora taught Ellis things about this world, and he taught her the patience to help her learn to become a proper heir to the throne. Though they did force Hol to go through a booby-trapped house to get to them that one time."
"They pulled a Home Alone?" Clara asked, but Laura just looked at her in confusion. "Nevermind. Continue!"
"Well, Hol was slowly pushing Dazel and his people into a corner, so they pulled a desperate move. Dazel personally went into the castle and… killed Elora's mother," Laura said. "That was the second time Hol went on a rampage, but this time the knights had to subdue them. I supported them from the sidelines by stopping his weapon from working and didn't have to get involved personally."
She trembled at the memory and glanced over at her battle outfit on the chair next to her.
"So that's why Elora is so young for a queen," Clara thought.
"Unfortunately. But Dazel was defeated, and his followers lost their powers. Elora became the queen and Ellis and Hol worked for her ever since," Laura finished.
"But when did Hol start drinking again? I thought he quit after Ellis was summoned."
"For a while, yes. But soon Ellis got his own friends and party members, and he still hung around with Elora a lot. While Hol decided to cash in his deeds and live a lazy life, only occasionally going out for missions if Ellis was busy. They had a falling out and Hol soon returned to his drinking ways. It wasn't as bad as before, but it is still pretty bad. The two of them actually reconnected just as the timer to the waves started," Laura explained.
"Huh. Looking at them it would seem like nothing ever happened. They looked pretty close," Clara replied.
"I thought so too. But I guess that's what best friends are like. You can just continue talking after months like nothing ever happened."
"I didn't know their history was that sad. So many people died," Clara muttered. Laura shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked around.
"You know, those two never even knew I was a pacifier. I was just told to keep an eye on them and only step in if things went to sh- if worst comes to worst."
"So neither of them knew that you were…?"
"Other than the queen and the rest of my people, no one here knew. But I guess with our fight earlier the cat is out of the bag," Laura shrugged.
"But why was your identity hidden for so long? I mean, won't people find out eventually?"
"Well, if I showed up and told Hol 'hey, I can nullify your weapon at any point' then he would have tried to find countermeasures to beat me and I wouldn't be able to knock him out if he went rogue. But since he never knew about it in the first place, my attack was way more effective," Laura explained.
"I guess that makes sense. But you're also pretty strong. And you were really fast. You beat Hol and he was apparently wielding some dangerous cursed weapon!" Clara exclaimed.
"Well, the knights helped out from afar too, so it wasn't all on me," Laura pointed out.
"True. But you were still fast and strong! You were like a ninja, or an assassin!" the younger hero exclaimed with stars in her eyes.
"That's actually the specialty of the warriors who are born on Sky Island. Assassination and ambushes are our thing. As well as sneaking around and stalking people I guess. But if we're comparing warriors, we have the smallest numbers but we're also considered the best of the best," Laura smiled, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Please, teach me how to fight," Clara asked, cupping her hands together. Laura looked at her, but the image of a bleeding, crying, and trembling girl came to her mind. She shook her head. Laura looked back at the girl in front of her, still awaiting her answer.
"Are you sure? Pacifier training is one of the most brutal out there."
"But it's also one of the best options. You seem to rely a lot on power and agility, and my stats seem to lean heavily into those two stats! And you said your warriors were the beat of the best!" she pointed out.
"I suppose. Well, our ways are definitely better than most. I suppose it would fit best for you. But I'm telling you, it's pretty brutal. Once you start I won't hold back," Laura warned.
"I'm ready!"
==}—
"Mercy! Please!" Clara yelled, dropping onto the floor. Laura picked her up and set her next to a punching bag.
"Clara, we only did some basic stretches and 20 laps around the room. You can't be dying already," Laura exclaimed, setting Clara onto her feet. Clara instantly collapsed back onto the ground.
"Please, just give me a minute break," she cried out, still gasping for air. Laura looked at her for a second before smiling.
"I'll tell you about my adventures with Hol if y-"
"I'm up!" Clara cut her off and stumbled to her feet. "What's next?"
"Huh… alright then, let's continue!" she said with excitement in her voice. Clara started to wonder if listening to other people's history was worth the physical torture.
==}—
"Alright, I think that should be good for today. I can tell you the story tomorrow," Laura said, clasping her hands together. Clara didn't have enough air in her lungs to reply, so she instead crashed onto the ground again and began to crawl towards the door.
"Was it really that hard? I did make it a bit easier on you since its your first time."
"THAT WAS A BIT EASIER?!" What the f*ck did the full course on her island look like? How jacked were these people?!
"Well, yeah. Usually basic stamina training was about three or four times this," Laura thought out loud, making Clara tremble in fear of the future.
"You were right. That was brutal. I think this was a great lesson but I should really g-"
"Don't even think about quitting. I told you I won't hold back if you accept!" Laura said, smiling cruelly as she grabbed Clara's shoulder.
"O-o-of course. I-I'l show up t-tomorrow morning as well," Clara stuttered.
Maybe I can hide at the queen's place for now?
Laura gripped Clarams shoulder tighter until it started to hurt.
"I hope you do. Did you know we're trained to track down people from the other side of the world with nothing more than their shoe?"
Laura's smile dropped and her eyes seemed to stare right into Clara's soul, making the girl shiver.
"R-r-right," Clara winced. "I-I'll see you t-tomorrow."
"Alright, rest up!" Laura excmailed, smiling again. Clara quickly stumbled her way out of the room as fast as her numb legs would allow her before Laura changed her mind.