Really, I feel like I'm cheating right now.
After exploring the surroundings in search of a village or any kind of settlement, we ended up taking refuge in some abandoned ruins as it quickly rained after fighting our way through a horde of monsters.
But as we fought against them... Well, to be more exact, Artoria and I fought while Merlin spent her time cheering on us. Even though it was quite easy to deal with them, it was quite annoying as her screams only attracted more monsters to us. But honestly, Artoria surprised me a bit. Despite her young age, she is quite good at handling a sword, even better than our village's militiamen. Ector really did train her well.
Well, even if she was good, I wanted her to become stronger faster so I ended up using some credits to buy [Talent Sharing] for, as the name suggests, share one of my talents being [Martial Talent].
Ever since, Artoria slowly became a beast and Merlin and I were surprised how fast she grew stronger in the span of a day. Heck, after explaining how to increase her performance by infusing her sword and body with Magical Energy, which she had in droves because of her Magic Core, and instantly expelling it. In other words, I wanted to recreate her Mana Burst skill for her to use which she only took an hour to master.
But we decided to seal that skill away from now because she kept destroying the swords Merlin created for her to use.
Still, when I captured her, she was only listed as tier three by the Catalog, but now she's tier five. It took me at least a year for me to reach that tier. It makes me wonder how strong she'll become once we finish our journey in this world. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if we finished Artoria's journey in only a few years unlike her canon counterpart who spent ten before becoming Britain's king.
"Now that I think about it, how long are we going to stay in this world, Kay?" Merlin asked me as we both watched a campfire, her head reposed against my shoulder. Meanwhile, Artoria was taking a nap, her head resting on my thighs, while holding my hand in hers, not letting them go even in her sleep.
"Well, originally, I planned to stay here for at least a month."
"A month? But didn't you say you would only travel for a few days or a few weeks?"
"Yeah, the thing is that time between this world and ours is dilated. One week spent here is equivalent to one day in ours."
"I see, it's quite convenient. We could train Artoria here for months and only a few weeks would have passed in our world. And seeing how fast she progressed under your wings, I could even start the king selection earlier than planned if everything goes well."
She must be talking about that trial with Caliburn, the sword in the stone. Can it really be called a selection though when the result is already decided? Well, not that I care though. I could use the opportunity to add another sword to my collection.
"But we shouldn't stay in this world for too long. Although she can still impersonate a man by cross-dressing, Artoria is still a growing girl. Unless you know a spell that stops her growth, it won't be long before she won't be able to hide her gender anymore."
"You say it as if you knew she would grow up to be a beauty."
"Of course she will. Can't you see how adorable she is? It should be obvious to anybody that she'll become gorgeous as an adult."
"Is that so?" Merlin said, snapping her fingers which caused Artoria's body to glow a pink hue that quickly faded.
"Here, it's done so you won't have to worry about her growing now." I nodded as I glanced at Artoria, feeling a bit guilty for her.
Although I feel a little bad for her, not allowing to grow normally. I don't think people of that era would appreciate having a female king, especially knights. I'm sure that many of them hold their pride highly, so I highly doubt they would accept serving under Artoria's banner if it was known she was a woman. It would be great if I were wrong on that matter… Well, if she decides to reveal her gender, I can use [Body Tune-Up] anytime to cancel Merlin's spell and make her grow until she reaches her natural height, which I think is closer to her appearance as a Lancer Servant...
Yeah, she'll be a real beauty, that's for sure. Now I'm getting a little worried that she'll have more suitors than enemies after her.
"Hey, don't you think I deserve a little reward?" Merlin asked me, snapping me out of my thoughts, causing me to turn to her to see her looking at me with a coy expression that made my heart skip a beat. I was so used to seeing her with a smug look on her face, that kind of expression took me a bit by surprise in a good way.
Not saying anything, I hugged Merlin with my free hand, placing it on her waist, before I slowly brought my lips to hers, which she received enthusiastically. But the moment I felt her tongue lick my lips, I quickly withdrew, much to her displeasure.
"Sorry, but if you want to continue, you'll have to wait until tonight." I whispered to her, earning me a bonk on my head from Merlin who pouted.
"You're pretty horrible playing with a maiden's heart like that, you know?"
"Have you forgotten that Artoria is just here?" I whispered, glancing at said girl who was still sleeping peacefully, a bit of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"It's fine, she's a deep sleeper. It's not like she'll hear anything."
"I don't believe hearing will be the last thing she'll do..." I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself if we continue. I guess it was a mistake on my part for kissing her in the first place... but I don't regret it though.
"Well, if we can't do it, then how about you tell me more about this world and the origin of your abilities?"
"If it's just that, sure. Where should I begin…"
A long time ago, before this world came to be, a dragon came to this dimension from another, and decided to create a new world here, basing it on the one he left behind. The building blocks of matter, the fundamentals of ecology, and people's appearances, for example.
And so, the dragon, who will then be known as the Omnipotent, became the creator god of this world.
However, in the process, he was split into two halves, one with the power of creation and the other wielding the power of destruction and regeneration.
The one wielding the power of creation would be known as the Astral God, the one who fashioned the stars, left creating a stagnant world beyond the sky, being unable to destroy anything.
Meanwhile, the one wielding the power of destruction and regeneration would be known as the Sky God stayed behind in the Sky World on which we stand, making it undergo a cycle of destruction and regeneration all the way up to the present day.
But just as those two gods were one to begin with, they attempted to reunite with each other to become whole again, both halves fighting proxy wars using the citizens of both worlds as their pawns.
"And… this is how the world was created, I think."
"So, that dragon came from another dimension... That's quite something. And what about your abilities? You said they originated from this world, right?" I nodded at Merlin's question before I turned my gaze to the campfire.
"It's only speculation, but I believe that my powers are related to the Omnipotent, or rather, to his power."
"They are?"
"As I said, there is only speculation, even though I don't quite understand it well."
In the game, there were only a few details about Seofon's power or his backstory, his whole story being a complete mystery.
"At the very edge of this world and the Astral world, there is a place called the Boundary which is said to be where the Omnipotent split into his two halves, but also where the husk of his original body remains and, along with it, his eternal power. I know that a part of my powers is deeply linked to that power as I can draw it directly from the Boundary, even if I'm in another dimension."
I've tried it once in the past and succeeded in drawing that eternal power, so it's not really a lie. However, I couldn't control it very well and nearly ended up losing control because of it. Honestly, I was really lucky or else, I might have destroyed a mountain by accident.
"As for my other abilities... Do you remember what my mindscape looked like when you entered my dream last night?"
"Oh yes, it looked like a sea of stars, with the cosmos and an ocean of water below. You're telling me that your abilities are linked to that plane?"
"At least, it's what I believe. Ever since I was young, even before I met you, I could always see this sea of stars, be it in my dreams or by focusing my mind inside me. And it is from this place that I received my powers."
Or at least, a part of them.
"So you wanted to come into this world to learn more about your powers and train?"
"Something like that."
Although the main reason I came was because of my mission, I won't deny that I'm also interested in learning more about Bahamut and the border itself, but that's not really a priority.
"Hmm…"
I blinked when I heard Artoria moan, causing me to look down at her to see her wake up.
"Good morning, princess. How was your nap?"
"I feel like something outrageous happened while I was sleeping… Did something happen?"
"Not really, I was just telling Merlin a little story… and you're drooling by the way." I said, making Artoria blush as she quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve which made Merlin and I chuckle.
"Looks like the rain has stopped so how about we go get a town now?" I said as I made my way out of the ruins, but stopped short when I felt Merlin's hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, can we go that way? I would like to see what's beyond that path." She said pointing in a certain direction in the forest where I could sense the presence of a powerful being among the trees.
"You can't be serious..."
"Really serious! Artoria, you're with me, right?" Merlin exclaimed herself with a wide smile before she pounced on Artoria who was blinked in surprise, seemingly still tired.
"Eh? Me? Oh, yes?"
"Alright, two to one, the majority wins, so let's go!"
And so, without wasting time, Merlin started to run, dragging a confused Artoria with her in the direction of the forest.
Why do I feel like my days will all be like this from now on?
As we walked deeper into the forest, making our way through some monsters once more, we eventually reached what seems to be the center of the forest where a giant tree towered over the others, which is also the location where I felt the powerful being was.
"There is nothing here..." Artoria said as she looked at our surroundings while I shrugged, wanting nothing more but to leave this forest.
"Alright, you're satisfied now, Merlin?" I asked the succubus who tilted her head, observing the giant tree for a moment before she let out a sigh and nodded her head.
"Alright, then let's go. I don't think any of us would like to camp outside tonight, especially when none of us have camping tools on us."
When the girls nodded, I started to walk away before feeling a shiver go down my spin, prompting me to create spirit swords and take a fighting stance, surprising Artoria while Merlin started smiling, seemingly excited.
Ignoring the urge to bonk her head, I immediately approached the girls to protect them in case something bad happened and I widened my eyes when I saw the giant tree glow in a bright light.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know... Just stay on your guard, Artoria."
And as we all watched the tree with caution, we were all surprised to see a giant woman coming out from it.
"Is that... a divine beast?"
"She's huge..."
Merlin and Artoria muttered under their breaths as they looked at the giant being, feeling her power, while I could only stare in shock as I recognized her.
"The Primal Star Beast Beast Yggdrasil..."