Chapter 5: Limerick are rhymes too
"Shadows of night, awaken and shriek. Grab them all and snap them like a leek. [Star Shadow Grasp.]"
Neila chanted and raised her hands. The shadows of the snakes they were fighting rose up, and coiled around their owners.
As they were then held in place as the shadows grew in size and pulled, slowly splitting them apart.
"She just ripped a snake in half using their own shadow… where the hell did she learn that from?"
"It's about time I wash my hair again. Let's hope mommy has the shampoo for my tail as well." Neila thought.
"For a blind kid she's pretty violent." Flores muttered as he impaled a snake with his flag.
The creatures they were fighting were called Obese Fangs. Fat snakes that ate debris and garbage. They would also shoot some of it back if they ever felt threatened.
Flores didn't even need to use my attack order to kill them, but he did anyway. With his arm, he had to play it safe so he doesn't overshoot the time limit.
/~/
2 hours earlier
"I never learned how to make flesh, so we'll have to stick with the materials from the common world." Yomiko said as she mixed potions in a cauldron.
"Wouldn't that be an upgrade? Why not have a metal arm over a fleshy one?"
"Because it can only appear once you pour your mana into it. And unlike me. the Morale tools don't have a passive mana absorption high enough to make use of something like that."
"So I'll still be armless?"
"Yep. You can mitigate that armlessness for a moment. But don't expect it to be active at all any time soon."
"Damn." Flores sighed. "Alright. What are my options?"
"Specifically. Elements that can interact with objects. Not to mention, easy to gather.
Yomiko put a few items on the table. Rocks, Metals and even a cup of water was one of the options.
"I see. What about paper?"
"W-what?" Yomiko flushed.
"S-sorry. Is that something traumatic?"
"N-no. I just wasn't expecting it. Aside from writing and origami. No one has ever fiund a use for paper outside of those boundaries."
"Well you pinned Lizen to the wall."
"Still stuck by the way!" Lizen shouted. Being ignored by everyone in the room.
"Surely you found a use for its utility."
"I mean. Yeah I have. By-"
"Then give me the paper. It'll be much easier to learn from someone who actually is one." Flores chuckled. "Yomiko?"
"What the hell are you thinking Yomiko. He just wants a paper arm, not you. But wouldn't that technically mean he wants a piece of you. Hell. Hell, he gave you a name. Of course he wants you!"
"Yomiko!" Flores yelled. Snapping Yomiko out of her thoughts.
"Huh, what?… oh right. "[Melodia!]" As Yomiko played, Flores could feel something. Much like his life force awakening, he felt his mana, and how it flowed through the body.
"What is this?"
"Melodia. It allows me to manipulate the flow of mana in an area. Right now, I'm using it to focus."
"I thought your weapon was the metronome?" Flores asked. It would be easy to confirm since most metronomes looked like metronomes. But whatever Yomiko had looked like an electric keyboard.
"This synthesizer has a metronome built inside. The weapon finds it acceptable, so who gives a fuck. Magic of the world and hero as one. Let this blunder be undone. Magic weave to the Material below, spread throughout and let mana flow. Life force fuel the spell of this one, gather new life and gain new tons. Connect yourself to this heroes scrape, let the power of paper take any shape. [Universe Construct Bind]"
The liquid inside the cauldron leaped out and attacked itself to a piece in the room. As the paper glowed, it released a blinding light as it attached itself to Flores arm.
"There we go."
"… is that it?"
"Yep!" Yomiko exclaimed.
Flores looked over to his arm. It now had a white paper covering it, but not much else to truly call it magical.
"Uh… thanks?"
"No problem. Now try funneling mana into it." Yomiko ordered as she started to play some music.
"Oh. So what do I do?"
"It's similar to casting spells. You need to tell the paper what form it should take."
"Okay then. Arm." Flores held out his missing arm… nothing happened.
"Okay let me rephrase that. Will the paper to form an arm."
"The hell does that mean?"
"It's similar to ki. Just do it like you do that."
"It can't be that easy."
/~/
Surprisingly. It was that easy. It took plenty of attempts, but not as many as he first expected. The only issue is that he would end up running through his mana because he's putting too much energy into it. As of now, he's focusing on finding the right amount of mana to funnel in so it doesn't disperse mid battle.
"Duck." Lizen did a star connection and summoned a translucent arrow. Flores however just lost in thought, and didn't have enough time to duck.
"Damn it Flores, [Homing]." Forming more stars in the shape of a rotated T. Lizen made the arrow curve midair and struck the snake.
"Man magic is so cool."
"There goes the last of them." Lizen praised.
"Yay. Encounter cleared!" Neila cheered. Flores was confused as to why Lizen would allow her to join the party. But she was a master of magic and level 78, three times stronger than him. So in a way, she was a much more valuable teammate.
"We're making good timing. If we keep on this path we'll make it in 7 hours."
"Would be faster if we had horses."
"On paper, not the girl by the way. It's a smart decision. But it's a decision that'll quickly get you killed out here." Lizen took out a wooden disc and started to carve some symbols into it.
"What, no mounts allowed or something?"
"Somewhat. This is the reason we never take a type of equine into this place."
Lizen handed Flores a telescope and pointed at a location. Being already zoomed in, he focused on the area and found a bunch of horses.
"Aww a nice horse family. There's a mommy, a daddy and… wait does it have wings?" Doing a double take, Flores looked again and saw that they do indeed has a pair of wings.
"So pegasi exist here as well? Get an alicorn and I can recreate the plot of my little pony."
"Your observation is spot on. That wings horse is-"
"Don't bother. I know what a pegasus is."
"Skipping the descriptions then. The pegasi and unicorn, has a disdain for humans who ride their kin. Even through their long-standing turf wars. Any human in this forest that was found on a horse, pony, or even a mule was attacked."
"The hell… good thing you guys figured it out before someone got killed."
"I wasn't there for it. But Mihare claimed that they sent a very detailed letter along with a severely injured dude."
"They can write!?"
"So the legends says." Lizen chuckled.
"Wow… who knew horses could be so ruthless."
"They have very powerful kicks. It was only a manner of time before they fought back."
Flag of the Obese Fang
Abilities Locked Equip Bonus: Agility 2
"An obese snake giving agility. Oh, the irony."
"Speaking of absorbing. How did the orc materials go?"
/~/
"Hey Lizen, mind if I ask something?"
"I told you already. Pa- Yomiko, will be in charge of your magic and skill training."
"I not asking you for magic training, just an explanation. You utilized that prism and stars for your casting while everyone else has to rhyme. Why is that the case?"
"Techniques from another world. I learned it from the cooking and prism heroes worlds a while back."
"There are other worlds!?" Flores asked dumbfounded
"Indeed. Worlds that are different from ours, but are going through the same struggle as we are. I traveled to many of them before."
"I mean it was only a thought. But more worlds existing just like this one sounds pretty awesome. Mind sharing stories about other worlds you've traveled to?"
"Hmm. Each world is different from our own in some way. Different land masses, structures, technology, and of course magic. My favorite thing do was finding out how they utilize their mana."
Lizen demonstrated his ramblings by summoning a small light, while walking on up a tree.
In the cooking world. they harness the stars in order to cast magic. For the Prism, they make connections to the spirits. Others can use it to heighten their abilities. Inscribing words on a disc, and finally dance or as they say, "Movement." That was the weirdest one I've learned. Especially when you see the strip clubs"
"He definitely muttered that last part. I'll ask him about it later." Flores thought.
"What about this world then? I'm still in the dark about a lot of stuff, so I really want to know as much as I can."
"We'll if it's something to pass the time, I'll indulge my fair hero."
"Please… never do that again."
"Fine. If it'll get you to shut up. I'll give you a short crash course on rhyme magic. Sugar Plum. Mind giving a demonstration."
"Okay, Daddy. Shadows of change, listen to the blind. Ascend from below and form chains that bind. [Star shadow chains!]"
Much like the snakes. The shadow of tree rose up and assumed the form of chains. The chains then went on to wrap around it's owner.
"Nice job." Lizen praised as he ruffled Neila's hair. "Now Flores. What did you get from that chant?"
"Guess the chains that bind part. Pretty obvious really."
"Correct. By describing the spell's desired effect, you're able to control how the spell is formed and acts. That is one out of the five main requirements for a rhyme magic spell to work."
"Five?!"
"Yes. Now watch again."
Lightning of change, if you're so kind. Ascend from above and form chains that bind. [Star lighting chains!]"
Flores noticed that he used a similar chant. But instead of the shadows leaping up, it was a bolt of lightning that fell from the sky. Much like before, it wrapped itself around the tree after transforming into chains.
"I got it. You said lightning this time. That changed the element used correct?"
"Yes and no. I did say lightning, but if I were to say shadow, it wouldn't have worked." Lizen explained.
"Why is that?"
"That leads to our third require attunement. Everyone in the world is born with a certain attunement from birth.
"Attunement?"
"Yeah! Mommy can move along the shadows!" Neila exclaimed.
"That's more of an advanced technique for those who achieved erudition. A better example would be those that are attuned to fire having a minor heat resistance. Or a lightning user may be able to sense where lightning may strike. Monsters also have this. A good example is the Bundrill. They have an earth affinity, allowing them to drill through the earth with their ears that are fluffy."
"You don't say."
T"he more I learn about this place, the more I learn I know nothing about this place. I still have no idea who this exclusive "mommy" is."
"My menu says I have a light attunement. What do they get?"
"You can conduct photosynthesis."
"...Explain Immediately."
"It'll be funnier if I didn't, but sure. Out of the list of attunements. There are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Light and Shadow. Fire users have a better heat regulation. Water users have a faster swimming speed and can hold their breath for a longer time than usual.
Wind users have a spatial awareness like no other. Even the slightest movements would be on their internal radar. Earth Users can take more hits, and have a higher defense than most. Lightning Users like yours truly are naturally fast. Light users regain mana quicker in the sunlight, and shadow users have night vision. Unfortunately. That didn't translate over to little miss can't see over here." Lizen teased.
"Daddy!" Neila Whined.
"Okay this is a lot to take in." Flores muttered as he wrote on his arm.
"So if I got this correct. You need to say the element that you want the spell to be, describe its effect, all while making it rhyme?"
"Pretty much. But that's not all. There's also thing that will ultimately make or break the spell. That being the number of lines. Two lines would equal a star-level spell. Four lines for a planet, and Six for a galaxy. You can maximize the filler in between those lines, but each rule must be fulfilled. Not to mention, the hard part is that each second sentence must rhyme with the end of the previous sentence. Final example."
"Lightning so grace this is my plan, Gather electricity from this land. Haze and faze into a maze, bounce and refract into several rays. Dance of light and static extrude, attack my foe and show them they're screwed. [Galaxy Static Rays!]"
7 beams of light blasted from Lizen's hand and ricocheted off of anything they came into contact too. They bounced for a while before they finally disappeared.
"There. I call upon the element in the first line. Described its effects in the second. Did 6 lines for a galaxy-level spell, and made it rhyme. There are hundreds, if not thousands of ways to construct a rhyme magic spell. That's not even mentioning the advanced stuff like limericks, chorus, and second verse."
"Wow. That is so needlessly complicated."
"Magic is a slut. Don't repeat that last part, sugar plum."
"I'm already used to it." Neila pouted.
"Wow. She really has gotten used to her father's annoying side." Flores thought as he looked at the chuckling Lizen.
"…Hey. Sorry for my outburst earlier. I took out my anger on y'all for no reason, and I was an ass for that."
"You brought up some valid points, You brought up some valid points. No need to apologize."
Flores smiled before getting punched on the head. Even with the archer holding back, it knocked Flores into the ground, and gave him a huge knot on his head.
"God Dammit. What was that for!"
"Mind the child, please. I don't need her screaming profanities yet."
"Neila, your father is bullying me!"
"Nonsense, he just tripped on a branch."
"Don't lie to me, daddy."
"Whaaaat, nooo I would never."
"Daddy's a terrible liar."
"Agh. How could you turn my own daughter against me Flores."
"You deserve it!"
/~/
"I smell the target, he's just ahead."
"Come on brother, let's block their tread."
Two blurs fall from the sky and crash into the ground. The terrain in front of them was destroyed with a dust cloud settling into the area. When the dust subsided. There were two kids blocking Flores path. Both of them wearing a black shinobi garb that covered their face.
"What in th-."
Just in an instant, one of the shinobi dashed toward Flores and swung a fist at his face. As he tried to raise his hands to block, his shadow rose up and did the blocking itself.
"Thank You Neila!"
Picking up from his daughters assist. Lizen the grabbed the girl by the arm and tossed her into the air. He readied his bow, but lowered it as he seemed to lost the will to fight.
"Earth of the world hear my command, manipulate the rocks and stones of this land. Field of earth rise to the sky, give my sister a platform to fly. [Planet Earth Pillar!]" The other shinobi slammed the ground. The earth started to rise and form itself into a pillar. This allowing the shinobi Lizen to just threw to jump up, and fly right at him.
"[Wild Winds: Rock Fist!"] The shinobi's arms grew in size and busted through the sleeves of their clothing. Their arms alongside their growth also developed into a stone-like substance. Flores was panicking and immediately swapped to his ken'bitch flag. Lizen however did nothing but chuckled at the attack.
"Bite-sized, earth magic. I know who they are." Lizen sighed as he took a step forward and stood his ground. Flores felt a faint energy emanating from him but he couldn't tell what it was. "watch closely Flores, this is something you also need to learn."
"Got it."
"Blade of lightning static and shriek. Summon yourself as I continue to speak. [Star Lightning Blade!]"
Dropping his bow. A sword manifested in his hands. Taking out a disc, he placed it on the hilt of the sword and spun it, summoning more lightning. [Wild Winds: Starward Featherfall!]"
When the girl was about to hit Lizen, he teleported leaving along a purple trail. Reappearing above her. He hit the dog with an overhead strike before teleported once again. The next slash came from the side, then from above. He did it again, and again, attacking from every possible direction.
"4/10, too easy to counter." The electric trails of Lizen's attack all converged on the shinobi and shot her into the sky. The lightning crashed down seconds later, creating another crater where the shinobi laid.
"That deals with her. As for you." Lizen looked over to the next one and started to slowly walk towards him. The shinobi seemed to have gotten nervous and tried to run, but Lizen caught up to him in an instant."
"You're not escaping either."
/~/
"The twin Inu of Stone." When they captured the two shinobi. Flores was shocked to see that they were similar to Neila in terms of mutations. Instead of wings however. They had dog ears, and white fluffy hair.
"H-hi Lizen."
Lizen punched both of them on the head. "Care to explain why you two attacked us!" Lizen exclaimed.
"Ow. That really was a pain."
"You had it easy, I was almost slain."
The girl dog was still electrified after the fight. Her fur stood tall like someone who just touched plasma ball.
"Hold on, Lizen, you know these two?"
"Yeah, they-."
"Ooh, I got it!" Neila tackle hugged them to the ground.
"They are Aunt Shiku and Uncle Leo!"
"Uncle and aunt?… but they're so tiny?"
"Hey, don't insult our size!"
"Any more words and I'll knock you to the ski-." Before she could finish, both of them were hit on the head once again.
"Shut up and explain already!"
"Oww, fine. It was a mission given by the chief."
"Find and deal with a certain thief."
"Bring them alive."
"And be back by five."
"Those were the order, to keep it brief." Both Inu said in unison.
"My turn to question then. If you're after a thief, why attack me then? Also, since you seem to know Lizen, why attack him as well?"
"Well you see, that's the odd thing."
"We attacked you based on the evidence we string."
"What?" Flores asked.
"The assailant entered hours ago."
"And when he escaped, he certainly wasn't slow."
"The assailant in this case."
"For some reason had your face."
"That's why we almost came to blows."
"...Alright before we continue, do you two always have to speak in rhymes?" Flores complained.
"No," Leo responded.
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Shiku added.
"... Lizen, explain immediately."
"Don't be bothered by the limericks. The alchemist that made them tried to increase their magic. And as a cost, a good majority of their sentences come out as rhymes. But the limerick dogs aren't the odd thing here, someone is posing as Flores?"
"That's correct."
"But that's impossible, news of his summoning hasn't even gone public yet."
"Really?"
"Yes. We only told a few people of your true origins. Damn, I'll bring this up to Mihare once we return home. Now then." Lizen cracked his knuckles. "Care to explain your reasoning for attacking me?"
"Umm, well you see. We couldn't confirm whether you were an illusion or not so..."
"Wrong answer."