Sword and Shield

Build Up 2

The Cal Mira archipelago, in virtue of the Activation Event, seemed to be bursting at the seams with people. Every second people – adventurers, soldiers and mercs – left the main isle to the surrounding islands through the use of a small fleet of boats. Gladiator Slaves, young demi-humans, the companions of Hero's and the Holy Heroes themselves were amongst that number as well.

And Shirou was to command a few of such squads into battle.

Six small boats sailed abreast to each other as they headed towards the southern island, carrying with them six squads of Gladiator Slaves and young demi-humans. Excluding Shirou himself and one other person, that tallied up to 36 people.

And who was that other person, you may ask?

"Oh, my. So that's where we will be fighting, little Shirou?"

Sat beside Shirou at the head of the central boat, Sadeena reclined back in her seat, the very picture of ease in spite of the fact that she had been reset to Level 1.

"Yes," Shirou nodded. "We might have to find a little out of the way spot to Level because we are with so many people, though."

"Can't go stealing the kills of all the others Leveling near the starting areas," Sadeena agreed. As the compatriots of the Holy Heroes, they couldn't go around engendering a bad reputation for themselves. As much as some people might say that appearances shouldn't matter, it unquestionably did.

"Like discussed, we will go to an area that is as deserted as possible and attract as many monsters to us as we can," Shirou said. As he said that, he idly tapped a device hidden away in his ever present bag.

"Yup," Sadeena loudly popped the p at the end. "I'd like to add something to that plan, though. Can we make sure we are next to the sea when we do this?"

At this request, Shirou raised a brow. Sadeena's only response was a grin.

They arrived at the southern island a short while later. Like they had expected, the starting areas were crawling with people. They moved away from there and at Sadeena's request, they hugged the coastline as they did so, making sure to remain close to the sea.

After half an hour walk, the hustle and bustle of the starting areas had long since faded. It was then that a monster suddenly appeared from the underbrush.

[Violet Blob Lv: 28]

Like the name implied, the monster was a blob of slime with a deep purple color while it had two burning red pinpricks for eyes. It burbled and without pause the monster launched itself at large group of Gladiator Slaves and demi-humans.

Unfortunately for said monster, it targeted Shirou first.

CHING!

The Violet Blob was cut into two with a single swing of Shirou's sword. Two now harmless pieces of slime splattered on the ground.

[+180 EXP]

Shirou blinked. "Even trash mobs like this give so much EXP?" the fact that he was grouped up with such a large batch of people and he received so much EXP regardless really spoke volumes.

Many mutters of agreement were uttered from behind him. Even Sadeena looked mildly surprised at the numbers.

They traveled for a little while longer until they found a good spot. They were still on the beach, with a tree line of tropical palm trees a little distance inland while the sea was to their back. The water splashed onto the shore and the white sand almost seemed to glitter.

"Everyone, get ready."

At Shirou's call everyone took on the formation they had decided on their way to the island. The Gladiator Slaves moved forward, creating a semicircle as they drew their weapons. The demi-human children moved into the center, becoming a protected core. Shirou stepped out in front of the group while Sadeena moved to the side, separating herself.

That done, Shirou reached into his bag and pulled out the device he had been playing with earlier. On first appearances, it looked like an incendiary bomb, but it was a little larger and had a subtly different color. Without another word, he chugged the device forward.

Falling to the ground, the device exploded, releasing a bombastic sound that made one's ears ring as a shockwave roiled outwards. However, there was no accompanying shrapnel or fire, only a dark red smoke that quickly spread out towards the dense tree line of palm trees in the distance thanks to the wind coming from the sea.

As soon as that happened, things fell silent, though there was now a notable rising tension. After all, the loud explosion and the dark red smoke which was made out of certain spices and pheromones was bound to attract…attention of the monstrous kind.

Like expected and planned, a minute later, rustling could be heard coming from the tree line. As if in a coordinated move, over a dozen monsters suddenly appeared, emerging from the shrubbery. A good chunk of them were the previously encountered Violet Blob, but there were also a few new monsters in the mix.

[Magenta Frog Lv: 31]

Frogs the size of lions with their slimy skin a tad lighter shade of purple compared to the Violet Blobs warbled and croaked as they advanced.

[Yellow Beetle Lv: 26]

Several stark yellow beetles every bit as large as a big dog with a massive outward facing horn skittered forwards. Their mandibles clacked audibly as they approached.

[Cactus Worm Lv: 29]

The last variety of monster that came slithering out of the tree line were large winding worms every bit as green as the surrounding foliage. Spikes decorated their backs in a haphazard pattern, obviously meant as natural weapons.

At first, there were only a dozen or so opponents, but the monsters kept coming until well over a hundred had appeared. And more were still coming.

We might have underestimated the effectiveness of this Monster Bait, Shirou grumbled inwardly. It was a concoction Naofumi had made en masse before coming to the Cal Mira archipelago for obvious reasons. The combination of a loud noise and the spices and pheromones that were released at the same time were guaranteed to draw any monsters that might be in the vicinity, but he hadn't expected that over a hundred monsters would come rushing in all at once.

Was that because of Naofumi's skill at compounding aided by the Legendary Shield, the fact that there was an over abundance of monsters because of the Activation Event, or a combination of both?

No matter. There was a large crowd of pissed off monsters approaching. He could ponder this inane topic later after he had taken care of them.

But as Shirou readied his sword, Sadeena called out to him.

"Leave this to me, little Shirou! I'm going to show all of you a neat little trick!"

"Sadeena, I don't think-" Shirou started to say. Having been reset to Level 1 and not yet having learned Hengen Musou, he couldn't see how leaving the approaching monsters to her would end on a good note.

Sadeena didn't wait for his reaction, however. Full of confidence, she acted decisively.

"I, the miko priestess, command the heavens and the earth! Transect the way of the universe and rejoin it again to expel the pus from within! Dragon Vein! As the source of your power, the miko priestess implores you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Let the sea rage at our joined command!"

"Tidal Surge!"

Behind them, the sea seamed to retreat from the beach, as if low tide had all of a sudden set in. However, that was only temporary. Almost as if the sea itself had only been winding back for sucker punch, the saltwater rushed back and swelled, swelled and swelled some more. In startingly little time, a twelve meter tall wave of raging water was looming over the beach.

The Gladiator Slaves and the young demi-humans, being the first in the wave's path, looked horrified as the shadow cast by the wave fell over them. There was no time for them to react.

Luckily, they didn't need to.

In a movement that defined the word unnatural, the bottom part of the humongous wave lost all momentum and dropped harmlessly back into the sea. The vast majority of the upper part of the wave continued on, however, sailing over the Gladiator Slaves, demi-humans and a shocked looking Shirou.

The monsters never stood a chance. What seemed like an Olympic pool sized amount of water came down on the onrushing monsters with a thunderous noise. Well over a hundred monsters were swallowed up and consequently torn apart and drowned by the violently raging water as they were carried back into tree line.

[EXP: 210] [EXP: 280] [EXP: 180] [EXP: 240] [EXP: 310] [EXP: 360] [EXP: 330] [EXP: 290] EXP: 210] EXP: 280]…

The notifications continued to fire off for well over several minutes. Obviously, there had been way more monsters converging on them from the depths of the forest. The trees of said tropical forest had been flattened and washed away, the denizens within having suffered a similar fate.

As the water ebbed away again and the thunderous noise came to an end, several new notifications popped up in their field of vision.

Shirou Lv: 67

Sadeena Lv: 12

Shirou gained two whole Levels. Sadeena, as did the Gladiator Slaves and their demi-humans charges, jumped a flat twelve Levels all at once.

"…The hell?"

Everyone turned to look at Sadeena, flabbergasted. If it wasn't for the fact that their jaws were hinged to their faces, quite a few of said jaws would have fallen down into the sand.

Sadeena took the looks directed at her with aplomb and struck a pose.

"Well? Did you little ones like my little trick?"

"Sadeena, how the fuck did you do that?"

Shirou didn't often curse, but he was so dumbfounded that his usual control slipped. He was staring at Sadeena unabashedly in uncomprehending disbelief.

Sadeena flicked her hair over her shoulder and fell into a lecturing pose, taking on a wholly different demeanor compared to her usual. "It's called the Way of the Dragon Vein: a class of magic that is completely separate from the ritual magic most people use. Instead of drawing on your own magic, the Way of the Dragon Vein makes use of the energy in your surroundings. As such, unlike basically anything else, the strength of this kind of magic isn't based on your own Stats, but on the power of the surrounding environment and your own skill at reading and manipulating the magic of said environment."

"…And the sea…" Shirou mumbled.

"Has a lot of power to give to those with the skill to do so. Gold star for little Shirou!" Sadeena smiled. "No matter how low your Level, if you're competent in the use of the Way of the Dragon Vein and with the correct preparations, you'll always be able to cause quite a bite of havoc. Teehee!"

With that said, Sadeena sauntered off.

"Now, I do believe we have exhausted the use of this spot for Leveling. Let's continue on to the next area!"

Still dumbfounded and feeling as if the control of this expedition had all of a sudden been stripped away from him, Shirou silently followed after her. The Gladiator Slaves and the other demi-humans fell into step behind him as they continued on their Leveling spree.


Their participation in the Activation Event was off to a good start. The increased EXP gain of the Activation Event, the boost that all companions of Heroes got to said EXP on top of that and the Monster Bait that drew in a ton of monsters. With the Heroes and those party members of theirs that hadn't been reset to Level 1 leading the way, all of that combined had been enough for everyone that was Level 1 to reach Level 40 within just two days.

Unfortunately, that also brought their Leveling spree to a grinding halt.

And not only because everyone had hit the Level cap.

"Ugh," Keel groaned, a pained look of absolute misery on his face. He was laid out on his bed in the hotel they were staying at, face flushed and transpiring with sweat. "So hungry."

Standing over him, Raphtalia dapped away the sweat on his brow with a rag. She cleaned said rag in a bucket of ice cold water, after which she folded it up and laid the cool rag on Keel's forehead in an attempt to help cool him off. "Here, eat up," she said as took a large piece of meat from a nearby tray and held it in front of the ailing demi-human.

In spite of his pitiful state, Keel took the meat and ravenously tore into it.

Raphtalia stood up and scanned the room. All told, there were six beds in this room, all of which were occupied by a demi-human child in similar straits to Keel: laid out in bed, face flushed and sweating even as they wolved down an ungodly amount of food in record time.

At least one Gladiator Slave was near said children's beds, tending to them at all times. The same scene was playing out across several dozen rooms in this hotel.

It was to be expected, really. When she and Shirou had initially gone through their accelerated Level bound aging, while rapid compared to most, had still been gradual compared to how fast Keel, Wyndia and the others had Leveled here on the Cal Mira archipelago. Her and Shirou's growth had been spread out over several weeks. Keel, Wyndia and the others had jumped all the way to Level 40 almost at once, and their bodies were growing like mad as a result.

Keel was ten years old, but he seemed to have aged two years in less than a day.

Naturally, this was bound to be painful. If it wasn't for the painkillers that Naofumi had made and that had been mixed into the food being constantly supplied to the demi-humans, it would have been much, much worse.

With a few whispered words of support, Raphtalia turned and left the room. Out in the hallway she ran almost immediately into Rishia.

"Raphtalia," the green haired girl greeted, carrying her own tray piled high with food. "How are things?"

"I've just finished my round. I'm going to take a quick breather and then check up on the worst cases," Raphtalia answered. "You?"

"I'm almost done," Rishia said, then shook her head. "I knew from my readings that demi-humans grow rapidly when they Level as children, but this is just ridiculous."

"These are rather peculiar circumstances," Raphtalia reminded her. "At the rate they are growing, Keel and the others might be full on adults in another two or three days."

They continued their idle conversation a little while longer before going their separate ways. Rishia continued on her round while Raphtalia head straight for the courtyard.

Said courtyard was jampacked with people. A long table was at the very center with cooking appliances spread all over it. Standing behind said table, Naofumi and Shirou were in the midst of a horde of Gladiator Slaves bringing and taking away ingredients, cooking up a storm all the while. All of it was going so quickly and smoothly in a constant stream that it gave off the feeling of a conveyer belt. A conveyer belt of cooking.

And that conveyer belt was definitely needed in order to supply all the demi-humans with the food intake needed.

"Hey, Raphtalia. How is it going?"

"Raphtalia."

Blinking, Raphtalia turned around to see the Hakuko siblings emerging from the hotel, carrying empty trays in their hands as they returned from their own rounds.

"I'm fine. A little exhausted, though," Raphtalia sighed.

"Same," Fohl grunted.

"Annoyed that we are still stuck as children while everyone else is growing up as we speak," was Atla's dry response.

Blinking yet again, Raphtalia's eyes widened as she realized for the first time that unlike every other demi-human, that the Hakuko siblings hadn't been growing at all, even though they were of a higher Level than all the others.

"We have been over this, Atla," Fohl rolled his eyes. "We as Hakuko have a higher Level cap of 60 before we have to Class-Up-"

"A Level cap we reached the other day," Atla grumbled. Naturally, the siblings had been taking advantage of Activation Event like everyone else.

"And a higher max Level of 120," Fohl continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "As a tradeoff, we start growing later and more slowly. After we have had our Class-Up and we have Leveled some more, I'm certain we'll start growing."

"Getting your Class-Ups shouldn't be that far off," Raphtalia offered. "After all the others have finished growing, we'll be going back to Castle Town in Melromarc for just that reason."

Fohl groaned loudly. "Teleporting everyone back and forth is going to be pain, won't it?"

Every single demi-human, Gladiator Slave and companion of a Hero that had been reset to Level 1 had hit their Level caps. In order to progress further, they would need to Class-Up, and since Cal Mira lacked its own Dragon Hourglass, they had to return to Melromarc proper to do so. That amounted to a little over 300 hundred people having to be teleported back and forth for their Class-Ups.

That was going to take a whole day, at least.

"So long as I can Class-Up and start growing, I'm fine with however long it takes," Atla stated.

Raphtalia and Fohl nodded. Both of them could agree with that statement.

"After all, Shirou-sama has been refusing to let me sleep in his bed. Once I'm fully grown, he won't have any reason to deny my anymore," a bright smile broke out on Atla's face.

"..!"

Raphtalia's face erupted with an atomic blush while Fohl blanched and went as pale as a ghost.

"What!?" he cried.

He would most definitely never agree with that statement! Not now! Not ever!

"I have been sneaking into his room every night for a solid week, but he always turns me away," Atla pouted.

"How!? When!?" Fohl gaped at his sister.

"Like I said, every night. By the way, you sleep like a rock, Onii-sama. I never had any trouble sneaking out of our shared room. You might want to work on that."

Fohl's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. After a moment, his eyes hardened.

"That does it! I won't allow you to Class-Up! You'll remain my cute little sister and you won't be getting into anyone else's bed anytime so-"

Poke!

Without losing her smile or turning in his direction, Atla's pointer finger speared Fohl's chest. The elder brother promptly doubled over, heaving.

"Raphtalia…help…" Fohl managed to choke out.

"Uhm, I don't think I should get involved with this. It's none of my business," Raphtalia managed to say as her blush hadn't abated one bit.

"Ah, Shirou-sama!"

All of a sudden, the crowd of Gladiator Slaves around Naofumi and Shirou had thinned enough for both of them to become visible. With a skip in her step, Atla made a beeline for Shirou, leaving a blushing Raphtalia and heaving Fohl in her wake.


As expected three days later the demi-humans had finished their Level bound growth spurts. Naturally, this came as a relief to everyone, but two surprising facts became rapidly apparent.

When Shirou and Raphtalia had gone through the same process, they had stopped aging when both looked about twenty years old. Keel, Wyndia and all the others, however, had stopped aging when they hit about seventeen years old, just on the cusp but not quite attaining full adulthood. The question what made up the difference was shared around, but unfortunately no one knew a definite answer.

"What do you mean I am not a boy!?"

The other surprising fact, however, took precedence.

Keel was sitting on a bed, wide eyed and having a bit of an identity crisis.

"Well, yeah, boys don't have breasts," Naofumi stated drily, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the distinct lumps now visible on the now teenaged Keel's chest. Said lumps weren't all that big but definitely there. Naofumi was uncomfortable and trying not to show it.

Keel for his – her? – part could do little but stare uncomprehendingly into the distance. Sans several thin straps of cloth wrapped around her chest and a pair of lose shorts, Keel wasn't wearing anything else. And though her face could be called androgenous to an extent, her figure was unmistakably that of a woman.

"Really, why did you think you were a boy in the first place?" Naofumi sighed.

"I can answer that one," Sadeena broke in. Most of the Shield Hero's party were in the room. There was no mistaking the hint of amusement on her face. "It's mostly the fault of Keel's father. He didn't know how to broach the topic of gender to Keel, since Keel has always wanted to be a 'brave man of the sea' like her father, but since she is a girl…Well, he just told her being a 'brave man of the sea' was a state of mind and left it at that. His wife gave him quite a talking to after that, but since she apparently didn't step in to correct this misunderstanding, I guess she is just as guilty."

Everyone took a moment to digest that. Keel merely lowered her head at the mention of her deceased parents.

"…Sadeena, would you..?"

"I'll bring her up to speed on what she needs to know," Sadeena nodded at Naofumi's implied request.

"…This is going to be awkward, isn't it?" Keel said.

"Most definitely," Sadeena chortled. "It could be worse, though. Would you have liked me to explain what a period is when you are already on your first period?"

At that sentence, everyone but Sadeena and a blushing Keel legged it out of the room. None of them wanted to be a part of that awkwardness.

"Okay, so that happened," out in the hallway, Shirou broke the silence with a cough.

"Sadeena is handling it. I'd put it out of your mind if I were you. That's what I am going to do," Naofumi rolled his eyes.

A blushing Rishia spoke up, "Now that is over and done with, I guess our plans for today are still going ahead?"

"Naturally."

Now that the demi-humans had finished growing, it was time for everyone to get a Class-Up. It was going to be slog to teleport everyone back and forth between Cal Mira and the Dragon Hourglass back in Melromarc, but it had to be done if they wanted to progress further.

"We'll start with all the party members of the Heroes," Raphtalia reminded them all. "So that they can get back to Leveling as quickly as possible. Everyone else will come after."

"…I'd again like to request for Atla to not get a Class-Up," Fohl said with a forced smile.

"Denied/Denied," Naofumi and Atla said in unison.

"You're not keeping me out of Shirou-sama's bed, Onii-sama!" Atla added immediately after.

Fohl's brow twitched violently, Rishia clenched her fists and Shirou's face became every bit as red as his hair used to be. Everyone else's reactions sans the Shield Hero's varied between incredulousness and abject amusement.

Naofumi rolled his eyes again and, for his part, had this to say, "No matter what the reason, we're not handicapping a powerful fighter like Atla. As far as I'm concerned, as long as everyone is careful to prevent a pregnancy, I don't give a damn what anyone get's up to in their private time."

"Do you hear that, Shirou-sama? We have got permission! At first I just intended to sleep in your bed, but this is so much better!"

At those words, everyone turned to look at a brightly smiling Atla.

"She certainly doesn't do subtle, does she?" for once, even Elrasla looked befuddled.

"…" not trusting his voice, Shirou remained silent and let his blush speak for him.

"For the love of god, help me as a brother to prevent this! " Fohl looked to be on the verge of despair.

In a moment of rare sympathy, Naofumi patted him tenderly on the head.

"Good luck. With a sister like Atla, you're going to need it."


Shortly after, a constant stream of teleportation's between Cal Mira and the Dragon Hourglass back in Melromarc commenced. The direct party members of the Heroes were the first to go, receiving a Class-Up and being sent back to Cal Mira in short order. Everything on that end had gone smoothly except for one predictable scene.

"I'm not letting you Class-Up, Atla!"

WHAM!

"…No longer targeting just his pressure points, huh?"

"If my fingers aren't enough to drive the point home, I'll have to use my fists, no?"

"Fair enough. You'll get to Class-Up first, Atla. Fohl won't up and try and anything stupid again if you've already Classed-Up."

"I say yes to that."

The end result was that all the party members of the Heroes had returned to Cal Mira before the others had come back or had even left for Melromarc proper.

"That went a lot quicker than I had expected," Rishia said.

"That's easy for us to say," Sadeena chortled. "Little Naofumi, little Ren and little Filo will be busy for the entire day, if not longer."

Naofumi and Ren had to teleport everyone back and forth, while Filo had to be present at the Dragon Hourglass in order for everyone to get the all-important Blessing of Fitoria, the Blessing that would maximize their Stat gain and future potential. Luckily, Melty had taken the opportunity to join Filo and keep her company, so the Filolial Queen wasn't bored out of her mind at least.

"Now what?" Ivan asked.

"What do you mean? We can finally go out and grind for Levels again," Garett grinned.

"Personally, I'm dying to find out how strong we are now," Isaac admitted,

"I can agree to that," Mia nodded.

After all, with their Stat growth adjusted thanks to the Companion Series and with the Blessing empowered Class-Up maximizing their gains, they were an order of magnitude more powerful than they were before they'd had their Level reset. And this was taking into account that their Level before their reset had been higher than their Level now.

"Me too," Atla punched her fist into her other palm.

Beside her, Fohl looked grouchy and remained sullenly silent. The bruise he had gained earlier from Atla's strike had long since healed thanks to his accessory's enchantment of [Health Regeneration (high)]. It did little to heal his bruised pride, however.

"From this point onward, we no longer need to lead the others into battle," Shirou added.

Those others being the Gladiator Slaves and the young demi-humans. Now that they had Classed-Up, most monsters on Cal Mira weren't much of threat anymore.

"In other words, we can maximize our EXP gain," Raphtalia said. Her hand closed around the hilt of her sword in a clear sign of eagerness.

Elrasla cackled. "Let's go already! I can barely wait!"

"We'll the take the southern island," Isaac said. Garett, Mia and Ivan nodded along with that decision.

"Then we will go to the eastern island," Shirou responded.

Sadeena chortled. "Sounds like a plan. Still, I won't be joining you," at the looks she got, she went on to explain. "I prefer Leveling in the ocean. It's where I will be the most effective."

"Sakamata like Sadeena are indeed said to be unrivaled in the sea," Elrasla snorted.

"That, and EXP rates start to drop if there are more than 6 members in a party," Sadeena added.

With Isaac, Garett, Mia and Ivan going to one island, that left Shirou, Raphtalia, Elrasla, Rishia, Atla and Fohl to go to another. Filo, Naofumi and Ren were still back in Melromarc. If Sadeena were to join them, there would be 7 of them and they wouldn't be as efficient with Leveling as they could be. Sadeena could still join Isaac and his group, but she didn't seem keen on that.

"Fair enough. Does anyone have a problem with that?" Shirou asked.

No one objected.

"Do please be careful, Sadeena-onee-san," Raphtalia sighed.

"You have no need to worry about me, little Raphtalia," Sadeena chortled again.


Not even half an hour later a small boat approached the eastern island. It carried with it a good chunk of the Shield Hero's party.

"Everyone agreed on the formation?"

"Yes. Shirou and Elrasla will be in the front. Atla and Fohl will be in the center. And Rishia and I will be in the back," Raphtalia answered.

It was a standard formation. Shirou and Elrasla were the frontline DPS (damage per second), in charge of doing as much damage as possible. Atla and Fohl were the center, the flexible core of their formation that would either add to their assault or protect the backline if needed. And Rishia and Raphtalia were the back, the one's who would support everyone else with their magic.

With the sound of wood grinding up against sand, their boat came ashore.

"Here we are. Let's go."

Just like previous times, the completely bypassed the starting areas which were already chockfull with people trying to raise their Levels. Unlike what Shirou and Sadeena had done, however, instead of remaining close to the sea, this time they made a beeline towards the interior of the island.

Most people who came to Cal Mira remained near the starting areas close to where the majority were to come ashore. The deeper one went, the stronger and more numerous monsters were said to become. And that's why most people out of safety concerns preferred to remain near the starting areas. As such, as they went deeper and deeper into the tropical woods, the sound of people grew dimmer by the second.

In return, the sound of monsters stalking in the undergrowth became louder, which was exactly what they wanted. The ears of Shirou, Atla, Raphtalia and Fohl were twitching constantly. In spite of the obvious presence of monsters, however, said monsters didn't seem keen on attacking them, yet.

Something that, if they had their way, would change soon.

After another fifteen minutes of walking, they stumbled onto a large clearing in the forest.

"Perfect. Let's do it here."

No one objected. They made for the very center of the clearing. All of them took a single spherical device from their bags: Monster Bait. On an unspoken signal, they all chugged said Monster Bait into every corner of the clearing.

BA-BOOM!

Several bombastic explosions rocked the clearing, causing the surrounding trees, their branches and leaves to sway dangerously in the resulting shockwaves. The following dark red smoke released by the explosions spread out, drifting into the woods in every direction. The desired reaction was not long in coming. Mass movement could be heard from every direction, as of yet still masked by the surrounding trees. This was underscored by the rapidly closing sounds of monstrous roars, deep warbles and inhuman screeches.

"Zweite Power! Zweite Guard! Zweite Agility!" Rishia quickly layered enhancement magic on them all.

The next second, as if rehearsed, monsters came bursting out of the woods from every direction. The usual suspects that they had encountered before made up the main bulk of enemies: Magenta Frogs, Violet Blobs, Yellow Beetles and Cactus Worms.

There was a new adversary among the number of enemies, however.

[Karma Dog Familiar Lv: 46]

Like the name stated explicitly, this new monster was a dog, one that was about the same size and shape of a large golden retriever. Unlike the standard golden fur, the Karma Dog Familiars were instead covered by pure black feathers. A long whip-like tail and a single horn protruding from their foreheads finished the look of a demonic beast.

Their weren't a lot of them, but these Karma Dog Familiars were clearly the most powerful opponents present.

"Like we planned!" Shirou directed. "Let's do this!"

"Zweite Earth Raise!" Rishia casted.

With a loud grinding noise, a large portion of earth underneath her and Raphtalia's feet rose up in the form of a cube. Now, the backline had a higher vantage point and had put more distance in between themselves and their opponents.

"Trace, on!"

Eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested around Shirou, which he immediately took control of with Living Sword Poltergeist.

"Ya-hah!" with a spirited battle cry and a battle hungry grin, Elrasla led with her fist and dove head on into the nearest congregation of monsters. Shirou chose another cluster of monsters and descended on them in a quiet, steel-lined fury.

Elrasla was like a diabolical cross between pinwheel and a dervish, rapidly jumping between monsters and lashing out with all her limbs in a devastating display. Her Defence ignoring strikes killed on contact. Violet Blobs exploded, Cactus Worms were severed in two, the exoskeletons of the Yellow Beetles were pulverized and the skulls of the Magenta Frogs were caved in.

Shirou's assault was just as ruthless. With gladiuses orbiting rapidly around him in crisscrossing patterns, he ran headlong into a charging mass of Magenta Frogs and Cactus Worms. Before proper contact was even made, the gladiuses made mincemeat of the monsters in question, slicing in deep, gouging out deep wounds and slicing of limbs. Those that survived long enough to get up close and personal with Shirou were unceremoniously torn into bloody chunks.

As the frontline, they did their duty and slaughtered as many opponents as quickly as possible.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Bullet!"

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Flying Tiger Kick!"

Rapidly circling the raised platform in the center of the clearing, Atla and Fohl launched dozens upon dozens of hard to perceive ripples and paper thin cutting crescents of Life Force, warding away the monsters from the backline. In most respects, it was overkill, because even though their main job was to ensure that Raphtalia and Rishia could do their support role to full effect, their Defence ignoring attacks would kill more often than not.

"All Zweite Mirage. All Zweite Illusion," Raphtalia whispered.

Shirou, Elrasla, Atla and Fohl shimmered, then all seemed to split into multiple copies. The charge of the monstrous horde faltered as their number of opponents all of a sudden more than quadrupled. A second, more subtle change was layered onto the clearing itself, the eyes of the monsters no longer quite perceiving reality how it really was.

"Zweite Thunderbolt!"

A coruscating thunderbolt struck one of the Karma Dog Familiars that had faltered in its charge, making it screech. Rishia's pointer finger smoked from the spell she had just used.

Having completely eviscerated his section of monsters, Shirou sought to quickly increase his kill count. The Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses orbiting him shot up high before they all came down in an arc and in a wide spread. The eight blades buried themselves in the ground all over the clearing, right in the middle of the thickest concentrations of monsters.

"Exploding Sword!"

And then all eight of the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses promptly exploded.

A combination of fire, shrapnel and shockwaves tore through the horde of monsters, devastating their ranks. Moreover, the explosions combined with Raphtalia's illusions had completely wrecked any kind of internal cohesion or accurate grasp of the situation the monsters might have had.

In other words, they had become easy pickings.

Shirou and Elrasla did not hesitate. Swords, fists and legs struck again and again, reaping a bloody toll. Techniques and spells came from the center and the backline, joining their assault and increasing the carnage.

"All Zweite Grow Heal!"

Green magical energy suffused the party, restoring any lost stamina. No one appeared to be flagging at all just yet, but Rishia had both the times and the means to ensure that everyone would remain at peak performance, so she did so.

The battle dragged on. The spices and pheromones released by the Monster Bait that they had used was potent stuff. More monsters arrived in a constant stream, only to be swiftly overwhelmed and torn apart as the overpowered party members of the Shield Hero used everything in their arsenal to farm EXP as quickly and as much as possible.

An indeterminate amount of time later…

"…Hah," a satisfied sigh escaped Elrasla. "What a rush."

Eventually, the battle did run to a close. By the end of it, the clearing was an absolute mess with craters dotting the ground, blood and guts being spilled everywhere as monster corpses littered the ground several bodies thick in most places, and a healthy amount of fire covered the ground in streaks. Quite a few trees that had the good fortune to not be uprooted during the fighting were similarly on fire.

"Does everyone have their Item Box gems on hand?" Shirou asked.

Everyone took out said gem from their bags.

"Good. Let's gather all the loot and move onto the next area."

They did exactly that. The corpses of the monsters dematerialized and were sucked away into the Item Box gems, stored away for later use. Making sure to put out the surrounding fires, the party was quick to continue on, leaving behind a wrecked clearing.

As they went on, they went deeper and deeper into the islands interior, towards the mountain at the very center. Intermediately, they would use the Monster Bait to draw hordes of enemies towards them. Employing the same tactics used in the first battle, they would butcher said enemies and continue on. As they went deeper into the island, however, the Levels of the monsters were increasing. Moreover, more and more Karma Dog Familiars were starting to show up. It didn't take long for the main bulk of enemies to be made up of Karma Dog Familiars.

None of them minded, however. The higher the Level, the more EXP they would get. And the Karma Dog Familiars gave the most out of any monster they had encountered so far, with even the weakest of them granting more than a 1000 EXP when killed.

Though the battles went smoothly, said battles were numerous, as were the number of enemies encountered. As such, by the time they reached the base of the mountain in the center of the island, the sky had taken on an orange hue as the time of day had reached well into the afternoon.

At the base of said mountain, they found something rather unexpected.

"What's that? It looks weird," Fohl commented.

"Kind of reminds me of Stonehenge," Shirou responded.

"Stonehenge?" Raphtalia blinked.

"Don't worry about it. It's a landmark back in my world," Shirou waved it off.

In large open area at the base of the mountain there was an odd structure. Like Shirou had said, it resembled Stonehenge. Immensely large blocks of stone hewn into rectangular shapes were piled up in a circular configuration. However, much like Stonehenge, the structure was a ruin, with the signs of wear and tear being abundant: cracks in the rocks, vines crawling all over it, while some pieces of the structure had long since collapsed completely.

"Does your Stonehenge also have a black sphere like that, lad?" Elrasla asked.

"Stonehenge doesn't have anything that ominous," was Shirou's answer.

In the center of the circular structure a glassy black sphere floated, mysterious and silent. It was about the size of an elephant's head. More important than the sphere's appearance, however, was the feeling it exuded. The black sphere somehow reminded them all of the cracks in the sky during a Wave of Calamity.

"…I say we attack this thing and destroy it," Atla opinionated. "It can't be anything good."

Before anyone could respond to that suggestion, the black sphere rippled and warped in shape. Everyone jumped back.

It was a wise decision.

[Karma Dog Lv: 62]

Somehow, the black sphere had spawned a monster. It had the same general shape of the Karma Dog Familiars they had fought so far. However, there were notable differences. Instead of just one horn sprouting straight from its head, it instead had two curved horns that were noticeably thicker. On top of that, the Karma Dog boasted wings, large black pinions that were spread out wide on either side. Oh, and it was huge, every bit as large as the Boss Monsters they had encountered during Waves.

"I guess this is the island's Boss, then," Rishia commented. Magical energy was already gathering in her hands for a quick spell.

ROAR!

The Karma Dog Boss Monsters gave an ear splitting screech, its clawed feet digging deep into the soil for purchase. It used that purchase to bulrush them, it's maw filled with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth wide open in order to take a chunk out of them.

In spite of its large size, the Karma Dog was deceptively fast. It was on them in a flash. Moreover, for most people, the elephant sized murderous/demonic dog would have been absolutely terrifying.

"Ya-hah!"

Yelp!

All it did for Elrasla, however, was really get her blood pumping in rabid excitement. Grinning madly, she met the charge of the Karma Dog head on, jumping and delivering a devastating straight kick to the Boss Monster's large skull, right in between its eyes. The Karma Dog let out a loud, pitiful yelp, it's charge coming to an abrupt halt as it was met by an awesome opposing force. The ground underneath its clawed feet shattered.

Not wasting the opportunity, the rest onloaded on the temporarily halted Boss Monster. Techniques and spells loaded with Life Force pounded the creature, making it screech in pain as it stumbled back in agony.

ROAR!

The Karma Dog Boss Monster gave another loud roar. In response, the black sphere rippled, disgorging half a dozen Karma Dog Familiars. Said Karma Dog Familiars rushed in quickly to engage, however…

"Trace, on. Living Sword Poltergeist!"

SQUELCH-BOOM!

Eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses once again manifested around Shirou. With their customary unnatural grace and speed, the gladiuses snapped forwards and rocketed towards the Karma Dog Familiars. Before they could join the battle proper, the gladiuses buried themselves hilt deep into the blindsided monsters.

"Exploding Sword!"

And then said gladiuses promptly detonated, ripping the Karma Dog Familiars apart in a shower of gore.

ROAR!

Seeing its familiars get butchered like that obviously didn't sit well with the Karma Dog Boss Monster, so it gave another loud roar, summoning another half a dozen Karma Dog Familiars.

SQUELCH-BOOM!

Only for said new set of familiars to experience the same fate as the first.

ROAR!

Another set of familiars were promptly summoned.

The party shared a look.

On an unspoken agreement, Elrasla, Fohl, Atla, Rishia and Raphtalia focused on the Karma Dog Boss Monster. They harassed it, struck it, sliced into its flesh with steel, magic and Life Force, but held back enough so that they didn't run the risk of killing it any time soon.

Shirou, in return, focused on the Karma Dog Familiars that were being constantly summoned by the increasingly desperate Boss Monster. The combination of Projecting Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses into existence, taking control of them with Living Sword Poltergeist and then detonating said gladiuses with Exploding Sword after they had pierced a monster's flesh was devastating and universally fatal to the Karma Dog Familiars. Those few familiars that managed to close the distance he dealt with personally.

In ten minutes of continued fighting, well over a hundred Karma Dog Familiars found their deaths this way. And if they had their way, the battle wouldn't come to an end anytime soon, either.

An exploit. That's what you would call this in videogame terms. By continuing the battle, injuring and harassing the Karma Dog Boss Monster, it would continue to summon evermore of its familiars, only for said familiars to be slain as if they were wooden refuse on a conveyor belt heading into a raging inferno.

In a way, it was a mind bogglingly boring exercise, but undoubtedly effective in the extreme. The amount of EXP and loot they were farming this way was beyond anything that they could have hoped for.

Working together, they managed to drag out the 'battle' for well over an hour before the Karma Dog Boss Monster finally expired. Said Boss Monster collapsed, dead, both its body and pride thoroughly destroyed beyond any hope of recovery.

As soon as that happened, the familiars stopped appearing from the black sphere. The 'battle' had finally come to a close.

"…"

In unison, they all checked their Status Menus, looking at their Level and Stats. Disbelieving chuckles and bemused shakes of the head were shared around. Rishia was the odd one out. Her expression became pinched, annoyance palpable on her face.

They quickly collected the loot with their Item Box gems. Then, they called it a day.


"…Holy crap," Naofumi said in his affirmation of disbelief.

At the moment, Naofumi's entire party found themselves in his room back in the hotel. They had gathered here to discuss the day's events and progress.

The end of the day had long since come and gone, with it having become dark out. He, Ren and Filo were the last to return from Melromarc after everyone in their burgeoning army had received their Class-Up. As expected, it had taken the entire day to finish the job. And now they were finally back in the massive hotel they were staying at in Cal Mira.

And what did he find when he returned?

Looking in his Status Menu, he saw the Levels and Stats of both himself and all his party members. His and Filo's Levels and Stats were the same they had been this morning, but everyone else's?

Shirou Lv: 79

Raphtalia Lv: 78

Elrasla Lv: 78

Atla Lv: 74

Fohl Lv: 75

Sadeena Lv: 72

Rishia Lv: 69

Their Levels and Stats had jumped ahead by a country mile. To be sure this was a positive development, but said development momentarily left the Shield Hero flummoxed.

Sadeena chuckled. "We all had a rather productive day. Though, I have to admit that Shirou's group clearly made the most of it. Maybe I should have stuck with you guys anyway…"

"Speak for yourself," Rishia sighed. "My Level has increased a lot," considering she was one of the party members who had her Level reset, that was an understatement. "But I'm not exactly happy with my progress. I suppose I should have expected it, though…"

Pursing his lips, Naofumi checked Rishia's status in his Menu. Back when she had first joined his party, in spite of the fact that she had been Level 51 one at the time, her Stats had been downright atrocious, comparable to someone of Level 15. At the time, she didn't have the benefit of the Stat growth adjustment ability of the Legendary Weapons and Itsuki had forced her to take a Class-Up that didn't suit her at all, which somewhat explained her low Stats.

Now, however, she had received the benefit of higher Stat growth. Moreover, earlier today she also received Fitoria's Blessing during her Class-Up, maximizing her Stat gain and future potential. But in spite of all that her Stats weren't anywhere close to the others in his party. Her Stats now more closely resembled what you would expect from someone at Level 69, but still far lower of what you would expect from a Hero's companion.

It was still a massive improvement compared to before. But, like Rishia had said, she hadn't improved as much as she would have hoped.

"How strange," Naofumi mused as he continued to look at Rishia's status.

"I've always had low Stat growth," Rishia admitted, a slightly bitter edge to her voice.

Shirou tapped his chin. "There is also something else I noticed that I found strange," as everyone turned to look at him, he explained. "Rishia hit Level 69 relatively early today. By all accounts, she should have Leveled up further by now."

Rishia's eyes became unfocused as she called up her Menu. She frowned. "For some reason, I need a lot more EXP to reach Level 70 then I did for Level 69 or any Level before that," like two dozen times more EXP. "I'm pretty close, though. I think I just need a few more battles to reach Level 70…"

Elrasla cocked her head. "I think Rishia might just be a late bloomer," she said. "I have never seen it before, but I have heard that some people need to reach some kind of threshold before their Stats will truly start to grow. Considering what I heard here tonight, I'd be willing to bet that once Rishia hits Level 70 that her Stat growth will increase substantially."

"…That would be nice," Rishia said, not quite allowing herself to hope that was indeed true.

"Filo would like to go out Leveling tomorrow as soon as possible!" Filo broke in, stamping one of her bare feet. "I don't like being the lowest Level out of all of us!"

"Then you better work hard tomorrow, Filo," Atla responded with a competitive edge.

"Filo will!"

The banter/conversation continued for a little while longer, but as everyone had just finished a long and exhausting day, it didn't take long for everyone to call it a night.


Tomorrow, like discussed, they once again went out to Level. This time, the grounds around the hotel was crawling with people. Their entire burgeoning army set out, fresh from having their Level cap removed and eager to grow even further.

"See you later, Shield Bro! Raphtalia! Everyone!"

Keel seemed to have rebounded remarkably quickly from her identity crisis yesterday. She waved back at them energetically as she and her squad went out to Level.

"Later everyone! H'aanit! Linde!"

A borderline adult Wyndia joined Keel, who she was on the same squad with, at waving them goodbye as they set off. From the side, H'aanit together with Linde headed out on their own, waving back at them over her shoulder.

It didn't take long before the majority of the burgeoning army to disperse. All that was left were the two Holy Heroes of the Shield and Sword and their full parties.

"Another day, another chance to Level," Ren stretched, clearly eager to get back into the swing of things.

"Any preference on which island you want to go to?" Naofumi asked.

"I think my party wanted to head to the western island today?" Ren stated/asked, looking over his shoulder at Isaac, Garett, Ivan and Mia. He got a series of nods in return.

"If everyone doesn't mind, I'll go Leveling out in the sea again," Sadeena quickly added.

"We went to the eastern island yesterday, and since we will be splitting up today," Shirou began. "How about one half of our party goes to the southern island and the other to the northern island?"

Naturally, with the entire party of the Shield Hero together again, if they went as one large group they would receive a hit to their EXP gain. With Sadeena going out on her own they would still be with eight people. They had already decided last night that they would be splitting up today. Similarly, they had already decided who would be teaming up with who.

"I don't suppose anyone has a preference?"

Shakes of the head were shared around at the Shield Hero's question.

"Then I, Raphtalia, Filo and Elrasla will go to the southern island," Naofumi decided.

Shirou nodded. That mean that he, Rishia, Atla and Fohl would go to the northern island. That suited him just fine.


Not even an hour later the party consisting of Shirou, Rishia, Atla and Fohl were traversing the woods of the northern island. Like usual, they had bypassed the starting areas and were heading deep into the island's interior.

Though they had yet to find a good spot to use their Monster Bait, they still enjoyed a steady stream of monsters that pounced out of the undergrowth to challenge them.

Of course, Atla would pick up the presence of said monsters well in advance. Shirou had a small flock of Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses orbiting around him at all times. With Atla's advance warning, the moment these monsters pounced, they would be met with a gladius burying itself deep into their bodies, after which said gladius would promptly explode and rip them to shreds.

Living Sword Poltergeist and Exploding Sword. Shirou had to admit, he had become rather partial to this combination.

"I'm bored," Atla sighed.

Because Shirou killed any monster the moment that it appeared, the others didn't have much of anything to do up to this point. For a battle junky like Atla, it was a major letdown.

"So long as you are bored during a battle and you don't let your guard down, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

"…I suppose you are right, Shirou-sama," Atla stated in a voice that made it readily apparent that she didn't agree. At all.

Fohl snorted and Rishia had to hold back a giggle.

"I'm sure your boredom won't last long, Atla. The moment we find a good spot…" Rishia said.

"This excursion can truly get underway," Fohl grinned. Though he wasn't a battle junky like Atla, Fohl could still enjoy a good scrap like most any other Hakuko.

And as luck would have it, they did find a good spot not much later. The forest opened up as the sound of rushing water reached their ears. They had found a river that cut through the forest. The tree line on either side of the river was removed quite far away from the rushing water, giving them the open space that they needed.

"Perfect. Everyone ready?"

"Always, Shirou-sama!" Atla's countenance had brightened immediately.

Fohl and Rishia echoed that sentiment. They prepared themselves for battle. Rishia was quick to deploy a deluge of enhancement magic on them all.

BOOM!

The Monster Bait that Shirou had thrown towards the tree line on their side of the riverbank detonated with the customary bombastic sound.

"Zweite Wind Blow!"

Using wind magic, Rishia forced the dark red smoke made out of certain spices and pheromones into the direction of the forest on their side of the river. Though the river was wide enough that they probably didn't need to worry about being attacked from behind, it was better to be save rather than sorry. With a little luck, now they would hopefully only attract monsters on their side of the river.

Like previous times, it wasn't long for the Monster Bait to attract a horde. And amongst said horde was a new enemy.

[Karma Rabbit Familiar Lv: 51]

Though smaller than the Karma Dog Familiar that they had fought yesterday, the Karma Rabbit Familiar was still a rather vicious looking monster. Like one would expect, it had the general shape of a rabbit, though quite large compared to normal rabbits. Sharp fangs poked out of its mouth and its huge claws dug into the soil. It's eyes were far too wide to be normal. Moreover, said eyes were stark wide, lacking any iris or pupil, giving the rabbit-like monster a rather disconcerting appearance.

"A familiar, just like yesterday," Fohl commented.

"I would reckon this island has its own Boss too, then?" Rishia offered.

"I certainly hope so," Atla grinned.

And then the time for commentary was over. With a series of roars and screeches, the horde of monsters rushed towards them.

As the frontline DPS Shirou was quick to rush in and meet the monstrous horde in turn, four gladiuses trailing behind each shoulder like metallic wings. Over said shoulders came hard to perceive ripples and cutting crescents of Life Force as the center, Atla and Fohl, aided in the assault. From the backline, a large Fireball left Rishia's outstretched hand. It went up and came down like an artillery shell in the midst of the monsters, detonating explosively.

With that, the first true battle of the day was joined.

That said, much like yesterday, the battle could not in any way be described as difficult. Though they were with a smaller party now, that didn't change the fact that, compared to the monsters on Cal Mira, that they were overpowered based on nothing more than their Level and Stats. Especially now that they had Leveled up even further yesterday.

Only Rishia was the odd one out in that regard, and she still enjoyed a rather large advantage in Stats in comparison to the local monsters. It was a moot point anyway, because Atla and Fohl, as the center of their formation, made sure no monster could get close to Rishia. Said green haired girl had all the room in the world to bombard the monsters with her Life Force empowered spells.

The only reason why the battle dragged on a little was because monsters kept streaming in, drawn in by the Monster Bait. The moment the area had exhausted its supply of monsters, however, the battle came to an abrupt end.

"Hah," Shirou led out a deep breath and lowered his sword. "Good job everyone. Let's collect the loot and continue on."

Monster corpses in their dozens were dematerialized, stored away in their Item Box gems. With that, they continued on, crossing the river and heading deeper into the island's interior.

From that point onward, their journey progressed much like it had yesterday. Periodically using their Monster Bait at opportune locations, they moved from battle to battle, slowly but surely heading towards their destinations.

And at the end of that journey the same thing as yesterday was waiting for them.

A Stonehenge like structure, the signs of wear and tear blindingly obvious. In the center a large glassy black sphere floated, silent and ominous.

"Everyone, get ready," Shirou said. A new set of Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested around him. With a sharp noise, the gladiuses snapped forward to point their tips at the black sphere.

With no warning, the black sphere suddenly rippled and warped.

[Karma Rabbit Lv: 64]

Like expected, the Boss Monster of this island was a rabbit. It resembled the familiars that they had fought in their dozens on their way here, only it was every bit as big as the Karma Dog that they had fought yesterday. Moreover, the Karma Rabbit was rippling with taut muscles, almost to the point of being bloated. Even its large ears seemed to have biceps in them and it seemed it could move said ears like it were arms. Sharps fangs, wicked claws and wide whited-out eyes finished its menacing look.

The Karma Rabbit Boss Monster gave a menacing growl. In response, the black sphere disgorged half a dozen Karma Rabbit Familiars.

"Just like yesterday," Fohl grinned.

"Let's make the most of it!" Atla cheered.

Rishia didn't say anything. Instead, icy blue magical energy gathered in her hands. A mere moment later and a shotgun blast of sharp icy shrapnel bombarded both the Boss Monsters and its familiars.

With that, the battle was joined.

AWHOOO!

The Boss Monster gave a howl of both rage and pain, a sound that honestly didn't fit its appearance. It rushed to meet them, its familiars following in its wake.

Shirou met it head on.

CLANG-CRUNCH!

The Karma Rabbit Boss Monster brought one of its massive muscle covered arms down on Shirou in a devastating overhead blow. The demi-human caught the blow on the flat-side of his sword, his free hand bracing the weapon on its other side. The ground underneath his feet cratered with a loud sound, but Shirou's knees didn't bend, nor was any strain visible on his face.

With its first attack foiled, the Karma Rabbit followed up, its oddly muscular ears rearing back in a display that felt anatomically wrong somehow.

Shirou didn't give it the chance to. Flexing his strength, he forced his sword blocking the Karma Rabbit's massive arm up and away. The Boss Monster, absolutely rippling with muscle and more than three times his weight at least, let out a cry of surprise as it was overpowered. It stumbled back, its ponderous steps making the earth rumble a little.

SQUELCH!

One of the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses shot forward like a rocket and buried itself hilt deep in the Karma Rabbit's right arm. Before it could even vocalize its pain-

"Exploding Sword!"

BOOM!

The Karma Rabbit's howl was swallowed up by the explosion. Once the smoke cleared, it revealed the Boss Monster laying on its side in the dirt, its right arm having been blown clean off.

"Hey, Shirou! Dammit! Don't kill it too quickly!" Fohl yelled.

He, Atla and Rishia were focusing on the Karma Rabbit Familiars. They had already finished off two batches of them. A third batch of the familiars had just emerged from the black sphere.

"I'll try!"

Honestly, it was more difficult than he would have liked. The difference between Shirou and the Boss Monster in both Stats and ability was too great. A single attack from him had physically crippled the Karma Rabbit. Moreover, the health bar over its head, that thing usually forgotten in the heat of combat, had dropped from green into orange, more than half of its health gone.

In spite of its terrible injury, the Karma Rabbit was already trying to force itself back onto its feet. Shirou's mind raced. He knew that if he and the Boss Monster were to clash head-on again, that the Karma Rabbit would not last long, even if he held back as much as possible. He needed to do something to prevent said head-on clash from occurring.

All of a sudden, a devious idea came to him. Anyone looking at him could almost see the light bulb appear over his head.

Two other Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses shot forwards and upwards. Once they were above their target, the gladiuses rapidly spun until their tips were aimed back down towards the ground. They then shot downwards and-

SQUELCH-SQUELCH!

AWHOOO!

-Punched through the thick meat and bones of the Karma Rabbit's hind legs, making the Boss Monster screech in pain once more. The gladiuses were now driven deep into the monster's flesh and had similarly buried themselves into the ground underneath the creature, nailing the Boss Monster to the earth.

The Karma Rabbit dug its claws into the soil, trying to pull itself free in spite of the terrible harm it were to do to itself if it actually could do that. But it couldn't. It was stuck in place.

"Nice one, Shirou-sama!" Atla called. Life Force covering her fist in the form of roaring tiger, she struck one of the Karma Rabbit Familiars. The monster went flying, its body swelling grotesquely and exploding in a shower of gore midflight.

As its subordinates were being slaughtered, but unable the move, the Karma Rabbit Boss Monster arced up and gave another unholy howl. In response, the ground around it developed sharp spikes.

WHAM!

However, before it could do whatever it intended to do, Shirou brought the hilt of his sword down on the Boss Monster's skull. The head was smashed down so hard that it rebounded from the soil like a bouncy ball. The Karma Rabbit collapsed, alive but concussed, no longer in any state to fight back.

Shirou kept his eyes on the Boss Monster, making sure that it didn't go anywhere or try and pull a fast one on them.

The others kept busy with slaughtering the constantly being replenished force of familiars. And only a little while later…

"Yes," Rishia hissed as the notification for a Level up appeared in the corner of her view. She had finally reached Level 70.

The battle would continue after that. Once or twice, the Karma Rabbit Boss Monster would try and rouse itself, only for Shirou to bash it over the head again. In the meantime, the familiars that were constantly being summoned were like lambs to the slaughter. Rishia, Fohl and Atla were putting them to proverbial sword almost as fast as they appeared.

Unfortunately, even with Shirou not actively trying to kill the Boss Monster, it's injuries were such that it would eventually expire from blood loss. Which is exactly what happened, as the Karma Rabbit died about an hour and a half later. After that, the last batch of Karma Rabbit Familiars were eviscerated in short order and the glassy black sphere finally fell silent.

"…"

As soon as that happened, Rishia was quick to check her Status Menu. Her eyes widened. A disbelieving giggle escaped her.

Raising their eyebrows at said giggle, the others were equally as quick to call up their Status Menu as well. Much like Naofumi, they could see the Levels and Stats of everyone that was in their party. And what they saw was rather surprising.

Rishia Lv: 76

It was the Stats listed under her name and Level that drew all their attention, however.

Fohl's eyes darted around as he tried to make sense of the numbers. "Holy crap. It's like every time that Rishia Leveled up just now she gained like four Levels at once."

With that sudden change having occurred as soon as she reached Level 70, Rishia had just gained the equivalent Stat growth an ordinary person would get from 28 Level-ups in just 7. To put it mildly, it was an absurd growth rate.

"And the fact that Level 70 took so long to get, but the Levels after that came so quickly," Shirou said as he pondered out loud. "Must mean that for Rishia Levels after Level 70 take substantially less EXP than before."

"In other words, Elrasla was right about Rishia being a late bloomer," Atla snorted.

Rishia had continued to giggle, not quite believing this sudden change of fortune. No, this was not just fortune. This was a result of all her hard work. Now, as she would continue to Level up, she would truly become the equal to everyone else in the retinue of the Holy Heroes.

"Well," she eventually said, a bright smile on her face. "I'm certainly happy she was right."

"Congratulations," Shirou gave her a thumbs up.

A blush colored Rishia's face. Atla growled underneath her breath.

With that done, they collected the loot and called it a day.


Naofumi and Ren were sat at a large and expensive looking table in a side room of their hotel. Their eyes were unfocused and darting around as they were looking through their Menus. To be more exact, they were looking through their Item Boxes.

"Ever fought any Wyverns?"

"Nope. Have you encountered any Feral Werewolves?"

"Can't say that I have."

As they talked, pieces of monster parts manifested from their Legendary Weapons, which they then exchanged and let the other Legendary Weapon absorb. They were exchanging materials that the other didn't have in order for them both to unlock more Weapon Forms. As they had been on their separate journeys both had plenty of materials that the other didn't have.

More often then not they had more then enough materials to master a given Weapon Form at once as well. This was providing a nice boast to their overall Stats.

"We should really have done this sooner," Naofumi said, still nose deep in his Item Box.

"I'll say," Ren agreed. "…Do you think Motoyasu would get in on this if we asked?"

As the Spear Hero had traveled his own path as well, he was bound to have materials that both the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero lacked.

"Honestly? No, I don't think he would."

"Me neither," Ren groaned. "Oh, well. We can still visit Itsuki later. If what you have told me is true, it's not like he would refuse if we asked him to share his materials with us."

Naofumi raised a brow. He hadn't even thought about tapping the Bow Hero's Item Box of gathered materials.

"Good idea," the Shield Hero nodded. "…Now that we are on the topic of Heroes anyway, you wouldn't happen to know what Motoyasu has been up to lately, do you?"

"We know that he is here in Cal Mira, power Leveling like the rest of us with his party," Ren shrugged. "The last I heard he had been hitting on girls in a local bar. Apparently caused a bit of a scene too, but nothing too dramatic."

"Same old same old, huh?" Naofumi sighed.

The Spear Hero did consider himself a ladies man. Naofumi supposed it was good that Motoyasu was still up to his old antics, in spite of the drastically changed situation. It proved that the Spear Hero could be rather resilient. On the other hand, it also underscored the fact that Motoyasu wasn't likely to admit fault any time soon, either.

"But that does bring up this question: what are we going to do moving forward?" Ren asked, all of a sudden becoming much more serious. "It's not like going out to Level on Cal Mira is such a good use of our time anymore."

Naofumi grimaced.

An unfortunate fact about Cal Mira and the Activation Event had become apparent. Once you hit Level 80, the EXP rates drop like a rock. No one of the archipelago's inhabitants knew why this happened. And amongst their own number nobody could figure it out, either.

Oh, sure. You could still Level up once you hit Level 80, but it would require a disproportionate amount of time and effort in order to do so. Honestly, once you hit Level 80, it almost felt like as if the rules of the Activation Event had inverted itself, lowering EXP gain as much as it had been elevated before.

In short, once you hit Level 80, you were better off farming EXP somewhere else.

It really sucked, Naofumi found. He had been hoping to get himself, Ren and their core parties all the way to the max Level of a 100. Unfortunately, it had become readily apparent that wouldn't be happening in the remaining time of the Activation Event. They would have to do the final stretch the old fashioned way now that everyone from the Shield Hero's and Sword Hero's parties – Naofumi, Ren and Filo included – had reached Level 80.

Speaking of which…

"You wouldn't happen to know a good place to go out and Level past this point?" Naofumi asked. "You know, from that game you played before being summoned?"

Ren tapped his chin, a deep look of thought on his face. "I theoretically know a few places we could use, but…" he sighed. "It has become rather apparent that the game that I played and this world don't quite line up. Oh, sure, the basic framework is more or less identical, but the differences behind the scenes are so radical that I can't be quite sure of anything anymore."

"Still, it shouldn't do any harm to check out the places you think might be useful," Naofumi insisted.

"True," Ren nodded, then pursed his lips. "When we go and visit Itsuki for his materials, we should also ask him for good spots to Level up past Level 80. Together with his game knowledge and mine, we should be able to draw up a chart of places we can check out."

"Sounds like a plan," Naofumi said as he leaned back into his seat, pleased.

However, in that moment, a curious change overcame the Hero of the Sword. His thoughtful expression shifted into a troubled one. It looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words.

"…Something wrong?" Naofumi raised a brow.

"No. Yes. Okay, I'm going to be blunt: I don't know," Ren sighed.

Naofumi's brow raised even higher. The Sword Hero was acting rather atypically.

Ren ran a hand through his raven hair in a show of worry. "All this talk about game knowledge has brought something to mind I have been worrying about for quite a while now. Because of the whole civil war fiasco, I had kind of placed this issue on the backburner. On top of that, if my game knowledge on this topic is correct, bringing it up with the leaders and governments of this world would not go well. But now that we're alone, we should be able to discus it safely, at least."

Frowning, Naofumi leaned forwards in his seat. This sounded serious.

"Ever heard of the Guardian Beasts? More specifically, about the Spirit Tortoise?"

The Shield Hero clenched his fists as his expression grew serious. He did know about the Guardian Beasts and the Spirit Tortoise, in fact. In what felt like a lifetime ago, Fitoria had informed them about the Guardian Beasts and the potential threat they might pose in the future.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Naofumi sighed.

"…What I'm worried about might not even happen, with my game knowledge being suspect," Ren said, shaking his head. "But if it does play out, then no, you're not going to like it. No one will."

Ensconced within the depths of their hotel, the two Holy Heroes discussed the topic at length. By the end of it, both of them were left with a heavy feeling and the knowledge that, even if what Ren feared would not come to pass, that they would have to act on it anyhow.

Plans were in the making…


In spite of the fact that the Holy Heroes and their core parties had exhausted Cal Mira's usefulness in regards to Leveling up, didn't mean that they had up and left immediately. The members of their burgeoning army had yet to reach Level 80 after all, so they could still reap the full benefits of it.

That said, all their time was no longer solely devoted to Leveling up.

As the average of the army was now Level 60 combined with the fact that the Activation Event would be ongoing for another two weeks, there was plenty of time for everyone to reach Level 80. As such, it was decided that they would open up another avenue for everyone to get stronger. Something that they would do each day before setting out to Level.

"Good. You just need to put a bit more force behind it."

Training. Weapon training, to be precise.

Naturally, the Gladiator Slaves were old hands in their weapon of choice. Be it a sword, a spear, a bow, a knife or something more esoteric, they at the very least knew enough to give the recently grown up demi-humans pointers. For those that didn't prefer to fight with their bare fists, said demi-humans had picked any given weapon that struck their fancy.

By the way, said weapons were by and large Drop Items generated by the Legendary Weapons from the obscene amount of loot that the burgeoning army had collected during the Activation Event.

"""Ya-hah! Ya-hah! Ya-hah!"""

In the early morning hours of the day, the expansive field of grass beside the hotel where they were staying was chockfull with people. Lined up into large square formations, the demi-humans were going through basic drills: how to swing a sword, how to stab with a spear, how to slash with a knife, etc. The only odd ones out in this regard were those who had chosen to pick up a bow. They were sequestered off a little ways away, firing at targets set up in advance on the far end of the field.

Gladiator Slaves were constantly circling around the formations of demi-humans, offering advice, giving pointers and generally keeping an eye on their training. However, it was not the Gladiator Slaves who were the main instructors. They were the help, nothing more.

"Adjust your grip a little. Like this, see? Widen your stance. Good, just like that. Now, swing!"

Keel brought down her sword in an overhead swing. It looked a little stiff, but the swing was technically correct and definitely swift and powerful.

"Thanks, big bro Shirou!"

Shirou nodded at Keel and was quick to move on.

Ever since Shirou had set foot in this world, he had recorded thousands upon thousands of weapons of all kinds. The vast majority of which were wielded by adventures, mercenaries, soldiers, etc. Though most of these weapons themselves weren't in anyway anything special, all these weapons at the very least carried with them the memories, experience and skills of their wielders. All of which became his on sight.

To keep a long story short, in virtue of his talent, Shirou was at the very least above average with basically every variety of weapon. And more often or not, he went far beyond above average and right into being excellent with a given weapon.

Shirou continued to drift from formation to formation, disseminating advice and in general leading the exercises. If and when a Gladiator Slave had trouble conveying a certain concept or notion, they would call on him to assist and teach a struggling demi-human, a task he always succeeded at without fail.

To use an analogy, the Gladiator Slaves were the mechanism teaching the demi-humans about weapon usage, while Shirou was both the command unit and the grease that allowed said mechanism to function and function smoothly at that.

Eventually, Shirou ended up at the sequestered group of would be archers. This group contained both Atla and Wyndia.

"Shirou," H'aanit greeted. She was aiding in teaching the art of the bow. Linde was curled up into a ball in the grass beside the huntress, vast asleep. "Aren things going as thee woulden liken?"

"So far so good," Shirou said with an easy shrug of his shoulders. "With the current progress, I'm pretty sure no one runs the risk of pocking out their own eyes with their own weapon anymore."

"That is'en indeed an important milestone to reachen," H'aanit nodded, faint amusement on her face.

"And here?" Shirou asked in turn. "Everything going smoothly?"

"Aye," H'aanit said. "There haven been no incidents so far and progress is'en being made. Young Atla has'en clearly been trained in the art of the bow before. Her aim is'en good and her stance is'en solid. Young Wyndia has'en proven to be'en a quick study. She has already begun hitting the target more often than not. And the others aren similarly showing promise."

"Good to hear," Shirou said. "Weapon training will continue for another two hours. After that, we'll sent everyone back out to Level."

"Everyone who can still'en Level, I presume?" H'aanit raised a brow.

"Naturally," Shirou nodded. "Those who have hit Level 80 will be busy training in other disciplines."

Magic. Hengen Musou. Crafting. Weapon training. The Sword Hero, the Shield Hero and the majority of their core parties were already doing so, in fact. Shirou was the odd one out, as he was needed to help train the young demi-humans in weapon usage. As soon as he was done here, however, he would join them.

He was looking forwards to training the entire day away…


Later that day, as the sun had gone down long ago, Shirou could be found sitting at a table in the corner of an openair bar illuminated by many lit torches, wondering how it was that he had ended up there. As he sat there, he blinked to himself as he recalled the series of events that had led him here.

Like intended, he had joined the others in training. He himself had focused on further integrating Hengen Musou into his fight style and refining his swordsmanship. This had been broken up with the occasional spars with his party members.

This had continued until the sun had well and truly set. Usually, they would train a little more and then retire. At this point, Naofumi would go potion crafting, Shirou himself would either craft accessories or forge weapons, while everyone else did their own thing.

But something had changed since then. A new member had joined their party.

"Come on, everyone! We are on Cal Mira, the famous resort archipelago! The night life around here is supposed to be incredible! It would be such a waste if we spent our time here purely Leveling and training!"

Sadeena. Provocative, teasing and fun loving Sadeena had come knocking. At first, not everyone had been keen on going (Naofumi, Shirou and Isaac), but a good chunk had been receptive (Elrasla, Filo, Atla, Garett, Ivan and Ren), while everyone else had been ambivalent. With almost half of them already set on going out, it didn't take long to cajole the rest to come along.

The Sakamata had grinned triumphantly as soon as she got her way. That done, she had led them straight to this bar. It was clear she had scouted out this place beforehand just for this occasion. And that's how Shirou, despite not having had any plans on doing so, found himself sat a large round table together with the entirety of Shield Hero's and Sword Hero's parties in the dead of night at an openair bar.

"Here we are! The all-important drinks!"

Sadeena came marching up to table, balancing two large trays, one in each hand. Both trays were loaded with glasses and canteens, filled to the brim with many kinds of different alcohol. There were also a few snacks mixed in there as well, but those snacks might have well been in afterthought compared to the many beverages.

With aplomb, Sadeena placed the trays on the table and sat down between Elrasla and Raphtalia, right across from Naofumi.

"Dig in everyone! Don't be shy!" taking her own words to heart, Sadeena swiped one of the largest canteens from the trays and took a healthy swig from it.

"…I never had much experience with alcohol before," Ren admitted. He looked curiously over the assorted drinks.

"You haven't, Ren-sama?" Mia blinked.

"If his world is anything like mine," Naofumi spoke up for the Sword Hero. "It would be illegal for anyone under 18 years old to drink alcohol."

"Really?" Elrasla raised a brow. "How strict and boring you twos worlds must be! You'd be hard-pressed to find a 12 year old in these parts who have never had a taste of hard liquor before!"

"Stick your hands up if you have never had alcohol in your life!" Sadeena chortled.

Only a few hands went up: Shirou, Raphtalia, Filo, Atla and Fohl. It wasn't a surprising outcome. Ren had said that he hadn't had much experience with alcohol, but not that he had no experience. On the other hand, while some of them looked quite a bit older, those who had raised their hands were young in age and had been in circumstances that getting their hands on alcohol wasn't really possible.

"Well, now's your chance!" Garett chuckled as he plucked his own canteen from one of the trays. "Today is the day we weed out – excuse me, ladies – the boys from the men! Drink up!"

With that said, Garett started chugging. Most others followed suit, reaching for the trays and selecting a drink that caught their fancy, with only Naofumi, Shirou and surprisingly enough Fohl seeming to be in no hurry to grab a drink.

Shirou, for his part, gave both Atla, Filo and Raphtalia the side eye as they pulled one of the drinks towards them. Raphtalia would probably be alright, being an adult in all the ways that matter, but Filo and Atla on the other hand…Well, seeing them with alcohol in their hands rankled his sensibilities as a man from a much more, ahem, modern world.

But this wasn't his world. Much like Elrasla had said, you'd be hard-pressed to find a twelve year old in this world that had never had the taste of alcohol before. It would probably be alright. Besides, Shirou found himself slightly curious how everyone's personality and mannerisms might change with a few drinks in their system.

"You three are in no hurry to drink, I see. What are you? Chicken?" Sadeena chuckled good naturedly. She was already in the midst of downing her second drink.

At that, Shirou shrugged to himself and picked a random drink from the tray. It wouldn't hurt to be a little social. Besides, he admittedly was a little curious about the taste and effects of alcohol, himself.

"I don't think me and Atla both getting drunk is a good idea," Fohl stated seriously. "Someone needs to make sure that Atla doesn't get out of hand."

"Sadeena is right. You are chicken," Atla murmured into her drink. She had already taken a few sips and seemed to enjoy it. "What? Scared that your little sister will outdrink you? Shame. What kind of older brother are you?"

At that, Fohl's brow twitched violently. Growling underneath his breath, he yanked one of the drinks form the trays and started drinking. No one, especially not Atla, gets to question his qualifications as an older brother. If that means getting drunk, then so be it!

"Yuck," in the meantime, Filo had taken her first tentative lick – yes, lick – from her drink, only for her to stick out her tongue in disgust. The taste of alcohol didn't suit the Filolial Queen, it seemed.

Rishia, for her part, was taking slow and measured sips from her own drink. One look at her and you could tell that, while she didn't mind alcohol, she wasn't the biggest fan either.

At this point, everyone was drinking or had attempted to drink, except for the Hero of the Shield. More than a few eyebrows were raised at Naofumi.

"Not a fan of alcohol?" Ivan found himself asking, raising his own canteen with a flourish.

"That's surprising. I had assumed that Shield Hero-sama was made of sterner stuff," Isaac chuckled to himself.

"Maybe a little too stern," Naofumi responded dryly. "I have had alcohol before, but I have never been drunk in my life."

"Really?" at that, Sadeena leaned forwards with a glimmer in her eyes.

Raphtalia choked into her drink. Her face went pale.

"No matter how much I drink, I never seem to get drunk," Naofumi shrugged.

"Let's stress test it, then!" Sadeena chortled. She took a few drinks from the tray and placed them in front of the Shield Hero. "You against me! Whoever loses their balance first or throws up loses!"

"Naofumi-sama, don't!" Raphtalia yelped. "Never get into a drinking contest with Sadeena-onee-san!"

"What? Why not?" Naofumi cocked his head and blinked.

"I-It simply isn't a smart idea," Raphtalia faltered, a flush of embarrassment working itself onto her face.

"Come on, little Raphtalia. It will be fun!" Sadeena continued to chortle.

"No way! Naofumi-sama, for the love of god, you must not try and outdrink Sadeena-onee-san!" Raphtalia insisted hotly, getting really fired up for some reason.

And that's how, for the first time in a very long while, a fun night of relaxation began.

Shirou had the suspicion that, in one way or the other, that this was going to be a night to remember.


About an hour and a half later, Shirou would end up being proven right on his suspicions. Still sipping from his drink, the demi-human looked around at the unfolding scene around him.

It could charitably be called chaos.

The night had progressed quickly and conversation had been had aplenty as alcohol had been imbibed in amounts beyond what some might have been able to handle. As a matter of fact, more than a few had not been able to handle it.

"Garett! Stop slurring your words, you bum!" Mia scolded.

Still sat at the table, the Sword Hero's party was getting rowdy. Only Ren and Mia, who had both held back on the alcohol, were still perfectly fine. Isaac, Ivan and Garett were all red faced from the alcohol, with Garett being the worst off.

"I-I'm – hic – fine," Garett managed to get out through his hiccups, even as he leaned heavily on the table. "I – hic – haven't had – hic – too much."

"That's Garett for you," Isaac was more composed, but he too had an odd look in his eyes. "Speaks the loudest game but is the most lightweight of all drinkers! Hehehe."

"No, I – hic – am not!"

"Yes, you are!" Isaac and Ivan singsonged back at him in unison.

Garett gave them a flippant rude gesture back with such force that he almost toppled out of his chair. Isaac and Ivan chortled. Mia looked embarrassed. Ren's shoulders were shaking, face hidden in his drink, desperately trying to not burst out laughing.

Yes, the party of the Sword Hero had gotten rowdy on account of alcohol. But, to be fair, the party of the Shield Hero was much, much worse.

Those that remained, that is. Filo was no longer at their table. Not interested in the alcohol, she had gravitated over to the musicians in the corner of the bar, livening up the place with their music. She had joined in with the music, singing along as if was the most natural thing to do. At first, the musicians had been nervous, but quickly felt their trepidation fall away as Filo perfectly matched their rhythm and style. Now, the music filtering through the bar was noticeably of a higher quality.

Atla and Fohl were also gone. In spite of what Atla had said earlier, she had proven to be a lightweight too, which honestly hadn't been surprising. Neither had it been surprising when-

"Shirou-sama! I want to cuddle!"

-red faced, she had tried to jump into his lap.

"I won't let you, Atla!"

Neither had it been surprising when an equally red faced Fohl had tackled his sister in an attempt to prevent exactly that. The two siblings had been left struggling on the ground.

"You can cuddle your big brother instead!"

"Let go of me, Onii-sama!"

"Not happening!"

This had continued for a while, providing an entertaining show to go along with their food and drinks. After that somehow, Shirou was not quite sure how, the Hakuko siblings had decided that they were going to 'settle' the argument about Atla sitting in his lap with an impromptu duel at the nearest beach.

Without waiting for anyone else's input on the matter, the siblings had run off. Rishia had volunteered to go along and keep an eye on them, so she was gone too.

Shirou would have much preferred if they had simply asked what his opinion on all this was.

From the Shield Hero's party, that just left Shirou, Naofumi, Raphtalia, Elrasla and Sadeena sitting at their table. In spite of Raphtalia's vehement protests, Sadeena had been able cajole Naofumi into a drinking contest. They all had been drinking rather heavily at this point, with Naofumi and Sadeena imbibing by far the most. There was a marked difference between the two, however.

"You really are strong, little Naofumi!" Sadeena slammed down yet another empty canteen, flushed and leaning heavily on the table. In contrast to Garett, however, her speech wasn't slurred at all, nor was she hiccupping.

The Shield Hero shrugged, slamming down his own freshly drained canteen. Cool as a cucumber, there was no indication on Naofumi's face or his mannerisms that he had been drinking at all.

Raphtalia was brooding as she drank, annoyed that she hadn't been able to prevent the drinking contest. She had also imbibed a lot of alcohol at this point, and it was having an effect no doubt: her face was red and had settled into an expression that just screamed 'fuck you.' In other words, Raphtalia's facial expression right now matched that of Naofumi's default facial expression.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Elrasla egged them on, having drunk more than enough herself.

The night continued on from that point. Sadeena and Naofumi would continue their drinking contest, but anyone with half a brain could tell who was going to win. Sadeena was adamant on not giving up, but as her speech began to slur while Naofumi just continued to look disinterested, the winner was clear.

Raphtalia, at this point, was no longer at their table. Some drunk idiot had bumped into her chair and this somehow had dragged her into an arm wrestling competition going on in another part of the bar. Even now, Raphtalia was slamming down arms and taking wins one after the other. Men twice her bulk left the bar in a steady stream, shamefaced.

The Sword Hero's party would similarly continue on. Isaac and Ivan were now giggling hysterically in unison to themselves to some joke only they could hear. Garett had for all intents and purposes passed out in his seat at this point. Even Ren was starting to lose it. Only Mia was still completely with it and she seemed bemused by the scene developing around her.

At this point, Shirou looked at his drink, frowning. To be honest, he'd had quite a bit of alcohol himself, but it didn't seem to be having much of an effect. As a matter of fact, he didn't feel different at all.

Maybe my healing factor is cancelling out the alcohol? he wondered. That was possible, he supposed, but all his party members had accessories that gave them Health Regeneration. If Shirou's healing factor made it so that he couldn't get drunk, shouldn't that mean that none of them should have gotten drunk? Food for thought, I suppose.

With that thought on his mind, he placed down his drink and stood up. No one seemed to notice as he did so and moved to take a seat at the bar.

This had been a new experience for Shirou, and he'd had quite a bit of fun. He was sure he was going to look back on this night fondly in the future. However, now that everyone was more or less 'engaged,' for a lack of better term, his old habit of always being productive was pulling at him.

His hand dipped into the bag that was always on his person. The tools for accessory crafting emerged and were placed on the bar.

At this point, it had gotten late enough that the bar was considerably more empty than it had been at the start of the night. There were still quite a few people, but there was enough space for him to work. Even the bartender only gave him a glance before deciding not to interfere.

A cloth was placed on the bar, his tools laid out neatly on it. The materials he was going to work on were placed next to said tools: Oreikul Ore, a lazurite gem and – oddly enough – a horn from the Karma Dog that they had defeated in combat. These were all some of the highest quality materials that they had attained from their journey here on Cal Mira, and he was sure that he could make something quite useful out of them.

Without another word, he started working. Time lost all meaning and the raucous noise of the bar fell into the background as he became absorbed in his crafting.

As such, it was only when he finished giving shape to the accessory in question, close but not quite having completed it, that he finally noticed that someone had sat down right beside him.

Shirou's eyes darted left.

A woman with light blue hair leaned on the bar with her forearms, her gaze zeroed in on the accessory taking shape in his hands: a stunning bracelet, its deep blue jewel that had been cut into perfection glinting brilliantly in the flickering torchlight.

The woman in question reminded him of Raphtalia, in a way. Kind and serious, but also determined and focused. At the moment, all of said focus was on the accessory he was making with almost childlike wonder and happiness.

"This jewel is so happy, I can barely find the words," the woman said. Where those tears at the edges of her eyes? "Master craftsman, you have a gift. You must continue polishing it, no matter what!"

Shirou coughed. True, he knew he had incredible skill, but it wasn't all on his own merit. Much like how he had jumpstarted his skill in forging weapons by Tracing the tools of dozens of blacksmiths, he had done the same with the tools of accessory crafters. It had propelled his skills in accessory crafting forward by so many years in knowledge, skill and experience that he couldn't really describe accurately just how much it had improved said skills.

And he did not regret taking the shortcut, because it would allow him to all the better aid his party and other people in general. But being praised for his skill in accessory crafting when he hadn't really earned it made him feel strange.

"T-thank you," Shirou nonetheless said, if for no other reason to be polite.

"I have yet to introduce myself, haven't I? My apologies, that was rude of me," the woman said and sat up straight. Even then, however, her eyes didn't leave the accessory in his hands.

"No insult taken," he said with a smile. "I'm Shirou."

"Master craftsman Shirou-sama," the woman said with such genuine respect that Shirou felt a little uncomfortable. "My name is Therese Alexandrite. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Same," Shirou nodded back. "Is there something I can help you with, miss?"

"If you could, I would be most grateful," at those words, Therese finally looked away from the accessory and looked him in the eyes. Her next words made her own eyes glimmer all the more strongly with excitement.

"Master craftsman, would you be willing to make me an accessory on commission?"


Here is the next chapter. Not much to comment on, though I did enjoy writing everyone getting stronger and the 'slice of life' scenes at the end.

Please tell me what you guys think in the reviews. Stay tuned until the next chapter!