Prince Raucar had just exited his father's room. He was angry, and sad, a swirl of emotions from sitting next to his dying father for days. His father lived another day, but it was worse each time. Part of him wanted his father to pass just because he was suffering so much. But the idea was also too painful to agree to. Nothing was right, there were no good answers, and the future wasn't very bright for him.
Just as he turned to head towards his own room, he saw Navarre approaching.
"What's this? Why are you here?" The Prince asked, turning to face him fully. Had Raucar found a target for all his awful feelings?
Navarre was visibly nervous, a slightly pale face and sweating made it obvious. "I-I did as you instructed, or at least I tried to…" He began.
"So the Evergreen sees that the bastard is of no use and gave him the boot?" The prince wanted so good news.
"N-Not exactly…" and with those words, Raucar's mood was decided.
"...Then let us be exact. What did happen?" The prince asked, tension building in the darkly lit hallway.
Navarre could not meet the Prince's gaze. "He found my attempts to slander Alder to be adversarial. He removed me from his party very quickly…" He told him.
The prince looked like he wanted to explode. "So you're so incompetent that you went for the throat right away? You were supposed to travel with him for more than a week. You had plenty of time to convince the Evergreen to drop that bastard!" Raucar fought between yelling and stifling his volume for his sleeping father close by.
"I-I can try again! I can-!" Navarre wanted another chance. This was his only chance of moving up in the world.
"No! …You're useless. I'll make sure to put someone like you in whatever position has the least importance when I'm king. Enjoy shoveling shit in some tiny village." Raucar dropped his anger and the issue. Navarre was useless and so would not be relied on further.
"But I… If you gave me another chance…" Navarre kept trying to beg.
"Then what? What will you do?" Prince Raucar asked plainly. His answer? Silence.
"Exactly. Nothing. Dismissed." Raucous said, walking passed Navarre without looking him in the eye.
Navarre did not leave immediately. Instead, he thought about how he could fix things. How he could rise up in the world.
…
Mr. Nakaya would very much like to tell everyone that he didn't go to bed that night until he read his help menu… all of his help menu… He'd very much like to say that…
But see, it wasn't his fault! He started looking through the help menu as he promised. He read a few things, like how his weapon could slowly automatically craft medicine, as long as he had the right tech skill and ingredients. And that led him down a rabbit hole of discovering what tech skills are. Do you know what tech skills are? No? Then you can't yell at Botan! He was educating himself!
That said, he did read another power-up method.
[Topiary]
[By sacrificing levels, you may increase the growth rate of a given stat based on the amount of EXP those levels took to earn. You may choose how many levels to lose and which stat receives the bonus. This power-up method can be used on others with their consent.]
That was certainly a great method in the long term, however, it was useless to him currently. It would be really useful later on.
"Whenever I hit the level cap… When is the level cap?"
[Level Cap]
[The level cap of a given person is limited to 25. This limit is raised while a title is equipped]
"Uh, okay? I heard about it a little but… What the hell is a title?"
[Titles]
[Titles are names or monikers gained by achieving something. Becoming skilled in anything to a particular degree can come with a title. Slaying incredible monsters and becoming well known by a certain name can also grant such a title. Titles increase the level cap of those that bear them as well as augment the stats of the title holder (almost always positively). How high it raises its bearer's level cap and stats depends on the nature of the title. The general rule is that the harder a title is to obtain, the more it benefits its holder. Someone can swap their title at the Dragon Hourglass. Heroes cannot remove their title.]
Botan thought about this. He remembered someone asking what titles he had managed to gain before, during his short trip to the Ivory Company's Mosden branch. He thought about this and before he knew it, he was waking up the following morning. Meaning… He did not read his last power-up method.
It's not his fault. I swear.
The following morning he attempted to quickly meet the others at the east gate like he told them, but he noticed they had huge traveling packs. Botan realized that he'd be gone a week and wouldn't be able to sleep in inns either. He quietly said goodbye to even more of his dwindling finances. He rushed to gather the supplies he lacked and met up with the party at the east gate. Originally, Botan would have arrived 20 minutes early, but now he was arriving 20 minutes late.
Seeing the looks he received, he went to make excuses. "Sorry about being late, uh-"
"You're fine. You arrived before and left. Got everything you need now?" Cole said then asked.
Botan blinked a few times then shared a look with Selene.
"Cole may act like a wallflower, but he's more like a momma bird." Selene said in a serious tone.
"No, I am not." Cole was having none of it.
"Uh-huh." Selene affirmed in the most frustrating way.
Botan smiled as Selene did everything she could to get under Cole's skin.
"Resume your daily Cole torture on the road, please." Alder told her.
Botan was worried that everyone would be deferring to him and he's glad that doesn't seem to be the case. He'd been in the leadership of online guilds and local hobby clubs, but never as the sole person at the helm. It just wasn't his style. With Alder there, things would go smoother.
"Um, what traveling formation do you wish us to use?" Freona asked.
Botan just turned to Alder instead of answering himself. "Seriously? 'Traveling Formation'? Does it really matter?" Botan thought.
"I've already considered this. Given we will be traveling a notable ways away from the capital, we must assume one of the surrounding nations may attempt to intercept and… acquire you." Alder answered Botan's confused look.
"Oh, so I'm a kidnap target? Neato! Just what I needed. Not like I have too much going on or anything. Wait…" Botan thought of something. "Even if I am abducted, I'll teleport to the wave either way, right?" He asked.
"Hmm, I suppose you would." Alder just realized this.
"Then if anything happens, don't risk your lives." Botan told them. "If some idiot tries to kidnap me, they can't keep me… There isn't a way to forcibly deregister me to the hourglass, is there?" Botan just thought to ask while explaining.
"No magic can impede the power and abilities of the heroes." Alder said firmly.
"Then nothing to worry about." Botan said with a smile.
That was supposed to be reassuring, but after seeing how little concern Botan had, Alder, Freona, and Cole shared a look. "Jackknight Rabbit Formation." Alder told them with a deadpan look and a monotone voice.
"Oi." Botan didn't like being dismissed like this.
"Agreed." They both replied. Cole mirrored Alder's expression and voice.
"Oi!" "Misk!" Botan felt more insulted and Myskel was there to support him.
"When we stop to rest… I seriously need to give that thing a tummy rub…" Selene's eyes stared at Myskel like prey, causing Myskel to tuck her face under Botan's chin to hide.
Botan already knew what would happen, but he was annoyed to find that the formation they were using placed him in near the rear and center. Before he could complain Alder thought it fair to justify himself.
"Of those here, You and Cole are our ranged fighters. This formation makes the most sense."
"Yeah, yeah. Now let us hope I don't accidentally laser you instead of the target." Botan said in annoyance.
And he wasn't lying. Aiming was okay for close range, but Botan still wasn't confident in hitting far-off targets. If he missed, he wouldn't just be down MP or SP but his skill would be on cooldown as well. He had only three ranged attack skills and was still learning magical options. "I'll need 6-7 ranged attack skills and a cheap ranged spell before I can afford to mix any shots…" He thought.
They traveled most of the day, stopping for a break three times. Botan was not okay with the sleeping arrangements. He bought a sleeping bag and a pillow, but it was cold dirt as opposed to the nice soft bed at the inn. Botan promised himself that he'd never complain about that cheap place again. If Myskel wasn't their to cheer him up he'd have cried himself to sleep.
He would have complained to the others, but Cole had it worst of all. Selene slept next to him each night and took a lot of her armor off. Let's just say that she was a fine woman and both Botan and Alder could practically see Cole struggling with never taking even the slightest look at her. Botan assumed she was doing this on purpose to Cole as some sort of evil torture, which wasn't entirely untrue.
During that time they were stopped with monster attacks on the road 5 times. Botan came to understand that this was probably normal for Mosden, but terrible overall. They were using a road that led directly to the capital of the country they were less than a day away from, and yet the monsters attacked in groups 5 times in a single day.
"How do non-combatants deal with this? Is there even really such a thing as a non-combatant in a place like Mosden?" Botan thought.
Among those fights were mostly monsters he had faced before. [Bumping Tops], [Tackle Tops], [Jackknife Rabbits], [Jackknight Rabbits], [Psuedo-pedes], and more. Despite the encounters they made great time and Botan got to know his party over the next few days. Each time they went to take a break Freona would make mindful suggestions as to who should be assigned what tasks. Of course, they never suggested Botan do anything, but that didn't sit right with him. He would pull his own weight.
However, after three days they found two new monsters fighting over food near the road. They both seemed to agree to put their fight on hold after seeing the humans approach. Botan didn't miss the chance to use a [Scrying Marble] on both of them, having never seen one of them and never getting the chance for the other.
[Batoidian Cloud]
[Level: 26]
The first was a creature Botan had seen before. More specifically, it was the first monster he had ever seen after only being in this world for minutes. It was a large white stingray that he saw flying high above. It seemed to move sluggishly, which seemed odd to Botan given his memory of them gliding gracefully through the air.
[Fluted Raptor]
[Level: 14]
A large bird similar in size to an ostrich or emu. It had a long beak that didn't curve downwards like most birds. Instead, its beak was long, straight, and narrow. Similar to a woodpecker beak. The monster had large, expressive green eyes that made Botan feel creepy. It had long and thick legs ending in twisted talons. That looked like the main means of attacking.
Botan aimed at the bird with his holy flower extended out. [Spring: Seed Strike]
Botan tried using a skill to attack the enemy he thought may escape. The bird leapt into the air and moved its left leg to place the lower part horizontally, then it grabbed its left with its right. It was now unnaturally suspended in the air, sitting on its own leg like it was a phantom branch.
"What?" Botan hadn't seen that before.
"Allow me, Evergreen." Freona said, charging forward.
What followed was something that made Botan's head spin. The bird could jump higher and suspend itself again, effectively granting it an infinite latter. Freona ran in and jumped high in the air. It was an impressive leap, but Botan thought she was off the mark quite a bit. Suddenly Freona's staff stopped in the air but still spun to let her use this new vantage point to throw herself toward the enemy.
What followed was a short cat-and-mouse game where Freona used her staff like a freestyle gymnast bar to maneuver wherever she wanted in the air. She managed to chase down the bird in less than a minute even though it was capable of doing something similar itself. When she did catch it, she pinned its legs with her staff and the pair plummeted violently to the ground. Freona placed the monster under her, so she was fine after the crash.
"How did you do that?" Botan asked.
Instead of answering him right away, Freona pulled out a knife and began cutting the dead [Fluted Raptor]. She showed something to Botan as she explained. "These monsters, [Fluted Raptors], have hollow bones like most other birds. However, see this design?" Freona showed the inside of an exposed bone. There were crude spikes pointing inward, and hundreds of small protrusions throughout the bone.
"Shape determines what you can and cannot do." Botan understood why she was showing this to him, quoting Tia.
"Precisely. My staff is also hollow with similar spikes on the inside. With it, I can create an axis for the staff to spin on." Freona demonstrated this again but showed a different use. She spun the staff in front of her. Instead of spinning the staff along the shaft like she had been, she spun it longways from the center of the staff. Doing that gave her a spinning shield that suspended itself in front of her.
"That's super cool!" "Mysk!" Botan and Myskel's eyes were full of sparkles.
"Gyak!" They were pulled from their conversation by the dying gasp of the other creature.
Botan was kicking himself for forgetting there was another monster. No matter how hard he tried he could not kick this habit of getting too engrossed into something.
"Huh?" Botan just realized they just now killed it. "Was it hard to beat?"
"No. [Batoidian Clouds] are very often used as tamed monsters. So much so that seeing one has a good chance of being owned." Cole began explaining.
"Yeah, so after we made sure it had no symbol or collar on it, we smashed it up real good!" Selene finished explaining bombastically.
Botan looked at the creature. "Do people fly them?"
"Yeah. You saw that it was a higher level but still struggled against the other much lower-level monster, right?" Alder asked and Botan nodded. "[Batoidian Cloud] stay in the sky for days and only come down when they are exhausted. They're pretty weak on the ground and if found tend to die. They usually have to wait for a [Malstorm] to retake the sky. But with a human partner to use magic to provide updrafts for them, they can fly whenever they want. Removing their biggest weakness. Humans can ride them easily. Overall they are one of the more common tamed monsters." Alder told him.
"Is telling the Evergreen all that really necessary?" Cole asked Alder.
Alder answered by pointing at Botan, now excitedly adding the information to a page of his journal. "The little nerd likes useless stuff like that." Alder joked.
Before Botan could even look up, Myskel had already taken one of his pens and thrown it at Alder. It hit him uneventfully as the two locked eyes.
"Nice shot, Myskel." Botan praised his pet with a pet. "Mysk~!" It gloated at Alder. He in turn stared daggers at the little monster.
Selene slid over and put up one finger to Myskel which she placed her claw up to give a high five, which she accepted. "I don't know a lot of useless information, but Freona reads a lot so she probably has a lot of noise to say at you." She told Botan.
Botan looked at Freona, and then they both turned to Cole. "I am not their target and I intend to keep it that way." He said waving them off.
Selene turned to Cole. "Feeling left out? I can fix that!" She ran at him and he started fleeing.
While Selene chased Cole with glee, Botan got to work dissecting and then absorbing these new monsters.
.
[Fluted Raptor Flower Unlocked]
[Fluted Raptor Beak Branch Unlocked]
[Fluted Raptor Wing Flower Unlocked]
[Fluted Raptor Leg Stem Unlocked]
[Fluted Raptor Talon Flower Unlocked]
[Fluted Raptor Eye Flower Unlocked]
[Batoidian Cloud Flower Unlocked]
[Batoidian Cloud Stinger Vine Unlocked]
[Batoidian Cloud Fin Flower Unlocked]
[Batoidian Cloud Float Meat Flower]
.
He received 6 forms from the [Fluted Raptor] but only 4 forms from a monster that was of a higher level. Botan couldn't tell if he dissected the [Batoidian Cloud] poorly or if this was just the way it was.
Of the 10 weapon forms, 3 had abilities he might consider useful.
.
[Fluted Raptor Beak Branch]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Skill: Alert
.
After testing it out, using [Alert] sent a notification to all party members that he was in trouble. He wasn't sure if there was a distance limit, but it would certainly come in handy.
.
[Batoidian Cloud Stinger Vine Unlocked]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Skill: Snapsting Crack
.
[Snapsting Crack] was a physical attack that caused a vine to rapidly grow out, and stab a target then whipped in such a way to violently pull the tip out and strike the wound like a whip. It wasn't a long-range move and wasn't his strongest attack, but it was probably great for intercepting an approaching enemy.
.
[Batoidian Cloud Fin Flower Unlocked]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Spd + 9, Glide +
.
While he couldn't really test it here, [Glide +] likely just improved the [Glide] skill of his [Dandelion Tuft Glider].
.
They were a lot of fun and it made Botan a lot more comfortable. He'd never would have had that depressing episode under the tree with people like this around. Their time together was welcome and when they finally reached their destination Botan felt bad that their time together was nearly half over.
"Once we deal with the wave, I have to travel somewhere else and be alone again…" Botan thought.
"Mysk~!" Myskel seemingly reading his mind or maybe just feeling his mood, rubbed her head on the bottom of his chin.
"That's right. Not alone. And maybe in the next place, we could find another long-term party member. Maybe that dark genius guy will want to travel with the Evergreen?" Botan corrected his thinking.
They had found a [Whistlewood Tree] early into the fifth day, just a bit sooner than they expected. This was thanks to Cole's excellent scouting talents, but he just kept saying 'All I did was look'.
Just approaching the tree made Botan feel with wonder as it sat nearly alone atop a slumped hill. The consistent shifting breeze caused a chaotic but peaceful melody from the tree as the wind passed through the natural holes and hollow sections of the tree.
"How much do we need?" Selene asked.
"Not much, but we should take more. This wood is excellent for making woodwind instruments. We could sell some."
"Then leave it to us, Freona." Cole called Freona to help him.
Selene tried to make herself useful, waving to and approaching the pair. "Huh? You two can just watch me do it. My halberd is definitely long enough to-"
"The wood would break faster than it would be cut by that large weapon." Cole said, now standing atop Freona's staff and carefully sawing a branch with one of his bladed chakrams.
Selene eyed Freona a moment and approached again. "Well then, I can help hold you up. Give Freona a break and-"
"The staff is perfectly stationary and she isn't supporting my weight in the slightest. This is ideal." Cole said in his normal monotone voice, finishing the removal of the first branch and handing it to Freona.
Serene's normally happy-go-lucky face was changing to one of frustration. Freona offered a way for her to help. "You could hold these branches for us?" She said in an unsure manner.
"No need. Two full branches will be enough." Cole interrupted. Freona just gave Selene a look that said 'sorry' while Selene looked more upset.
Botan accidentally said his thoughts out loud. "It's okay Selene, I'm rooting for you."
Selene's face snapped back unnaturally. "What exactly are you implying?"
"Ah, just that… that Cole… That you will… … Nothing." Botan crumbled under the look she gave off. If he wasn't the Evergreen, she'd have probably hit him already.
"Take as much as you two can carry." Alder said to Botan and Cole. "You two fight in the back, so it has the best chance of returning to town intact if one of you carries it. Remember we still need to buy some sort of monster material that belongs to a monster level 50 or higher." Alder advised.
After absorbing enough branches to satisfy his blooming requirements and seeing he now only needed one more 'heart of a coward' from all the monsters they fought on the way here, Botan felt like he made the right choice. As soon as He and Cole were loaded up on [Whistlewood Branches] they broke for lunch. During that time, Botan found a good spot to draw the [Whistlewood Tree] from.
About 10 minutes into the drawing Myskel and Cole perked up, soon followed by Alder, then Freona, and then lastly Selene. Botan seemed to be the only one not to notice.
Alder spoke up. "Botan! We need to leave before-"
He was interrupted by the appearance of six people. Three wore suits of armor of a sort, two men, and one woman. The greaves, armguards, helmets, and the area around their wastes were overly decorative and quite flashy in design. But their upper arms and upper legs had no armor to speak of. What caught Botan's attention was their breastplate. Simple, slim, solid, and having been shaped like the chest of a well-toned man. "These three look very similar to Roman soldiers… No. Greek. Greek Hoplites." Botan thought.
Two of the others wear lighter armor and what appeared to be tunics, a man and a woman. Both carried spears and crossbows. They seemed to carry little, but that was also concerning.
Lastly was a smiling man. He was a bit older with a ragged beard grown out a bit. His hair was dark and greasy, matted from sweat. He wore armor similar to the first three but wore something over top of it. Similar to a robe, but not quite a toga.
The man leaned down with his arms to his hips, looking at Botan as he spoke. "Standout blue eyes and carrying a flower weapon. So you are the Evergreen? How auspicious that we found you first." The man said cheerfully, teeth showing in a wide grin.
Botan didn't move or react that much. He still had an easy way out if things got bad. "The first? Who else is looking for me?"
"Hahaha! And not one to panic. I like that." The man stomped his foot as he laughed. "See here. 10 teams were hired to find you and make sure you are safely rescued. We all got some pay already, but the team that actually rescues you claims a big prize." The man freely offered information.
Botan thought about how he said that. "Huh? 'Rescue'? I'm sorry if there was some kind of misinformation, but I am allowed to go wherever I want. I'm not kept on a leash." Botan told him, still drawing in his journal.
Alder and the others were in a stance to fight but hadn't pulled out their weapons yet. They were willing but also afraid.
"I guess that makes sense why you're out here in the middle of nowhere, hahaha!" His cheerful demeanor dampened a little as he spoke next. "I am acting on the behest of the Emperor of Eld, Vasileios Eldnoir. He wishes to meet you and assist you in dealing with the waves." The man said.
Botan still did not look at the man, just kept drawing. "Well, I have a wave in Mosden in about a week. After that, I'm going to Ventus. Eld seemed like the next logical step after that. The Arden Republic will be last." Botan spoke matter-of-factly. Laying out what will happen, not what he'd like to happen.
The mercenaries started picking up on Botan's demeanor. Everyone else was ready to fight yet he didn't seem stressed at all. They started wondering just how strong the Evergreen was already.
"Say, uh… What level are ye at?" The once jolly man asked uncertainly.
"High enough." That was all Botan said.
There was a pause. Botan finished his skitch. It turned out pretty good. He sat it to the side for a moment and stood, turning to face them.
"Instead of doing something silly, why not go back and explain that you personally convinced me to visit Eld before Arden? Not ideal, but it'd be praiseworthy." Botan suggested to the man, offering a hand to him.
The man didn't take his hand, instead, his hand met his chin as he thought for a moment. "Well, you seem reasonable…, but I was given an unreasonable task." The man pulls a cloth at his side revealing an ornate leaf blade sword. "I won't ask again." he warned.
Botan had more to say but the man looked like he wouldn't let him finish talking. Botan had no choice. Currently level 31, he was one level away from being able to use [Grass Reaper's Scytheflower].
"Then Eld goes last." Botan told the man.
That goading was like a shot fired to start the race. Everyone began moving towards each other. Cole and Alder ran in together as Alder pulled out his weapons, a pair of nunchucks. He spun them to gather a blue energy as he came to clash with another. Cole seemed to come in unarmed and caught the man's spear with both his hands. Only afterward did the man see Cole's chakram coming towards his face. Cole had thrown them, then outrun them for this maneuver.
Alder's attack was going to be blocked by another's sword, but they had to cover from their side from Selene running at them with her weapon pulled back, clearly intending to push all the enemies back at once. Freona was about 3 meters off the ground ready to disrupt whatever enemy action she felt was most key.
Alder's foe thought better than blocking his spell and pulled back to dodge the attack before closing the distance. "Big mistake." Alder said, as he struck his weapons together and the gathered blue energy shot in the direction the handles were pointing to, the man who thought he dodged it.
[Colliding Pistol]!
Botan and the leader looked at one another a moment more. Botan quickly pointed his holy flower at the man.
[Spring: Seed Stri-]!
Botan's skill was misdirected by the mercenary reflexively swatting the holy flower away, making the skill hit the ground. "Got to be more clever than that." The man warned.
The man closed the small gap between the two and kept attacking Botan's weapon to control where it was. Botan had been in fights before, but not a battle between himself and another human. You don't just take turns. Your opponent will not give you a chance to breathe and will not stop a winning advance for no reason. Botan was being pushed back, but he had several options. All of which should be new information to his opponent.
"If possible, I'd like to reveal as few skills and spells as possible… but I'd rather show everything than lose." Botan thought.
Botan felt he had to start somewhere, and that was with a recent skill he hadn't used yet.
[Snapsting Crack]!
A vine grew out and stabbed the man's exposed upper arm, causing him to take a half-step backward. Then the skill finished by pulling the vine taut and cracking it like a whip. This made the man finish taking a full step back. The man looked annoyed, maybe a bit angered, but he didn't look impressed. Botan wasn't looking for satisfaction, he was looking for distance.
He once again pointed his Holy Flower at the enemy and used a skill.
[Sunray]!
The man did not look very nimble, but he moved almost entirely out of the way of the attack immediately. He crouched down low and rushed Botan under the skill. His back took a grazed shot to his back, leaving a burning line through his armor.
"Fuck'n brat!" The man cursed in pain. Botan was put off guard by how the man mostly dodged his attack while still approaching him. It made him hesitate in retreating to maintain distance. The grizzled mercenary's hand shot out and found itself wrapped tightly around Botan's wrist and the holy flower.
"Uhm!" With a strong grunt, the man lifted Botan over his shoulder, half-turned, and planted him face-first into the dirt. Botan spat blood. The man threw him around like he was still a child.
"Now settle down." the man warned. He never let go of Botan's arms, placing it behind his back, completing the pin. Myskel tried attacking the man's armored hand, but she was still too low of a level to get through such quality armor.
"God damn! I… I can't move! Then try this!" Botan had no time to think tactically. He needed to get away.
[S-Spin]!
Botan's weapon spun violently, cutting the man's hand through his armor and making him let go. Botan threw himself on his back as opposed to his stomach and looked at the man.
"Deep end it is." Botan thought aloud. [Boom Bloom]! Botan activated his strongest skill. He'd need to wait for it to charge up but he had a way to make sure it hit.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party was having it just as roughly. Cole could match them in speed, Selene could match them in strength, and Freona focused on disruptive support well enough… but their enemies were just too much. Only Alder could consistently come out of their short skirmishes ahead. They were going to be overwhelmed in a 4 versus 5 match, but how many spells Alder knew saved them.
Alder spun his weapons in an odd rhythm, after a moment he shared a look with Selene. She acted immediately. Just as two enemies attempted to attack Alder from two sides, Selene used her halberd as a spear and thrust it at one of them. They abandoned their attack on Alder to dodge the attack, but Selene kept lunging forward. It seemed to them that she was unaware of what she was doing.
[Gate of the Moon]!
For a moment it looked like Selene's attack skewerd Alder!
"W-What the hell…?" The other man who was attacking Alder looked down to see Selene's weapon buried into his chest.
The man looked up a bit to find the answer. Selene did attack Alder. She knew the spell Alder was using and acted accordingly. [Gate of the Moon] creates two small portals on the flat surface of two or more spinning objects as long as it is done in the right rhythm. Selene's attack went through the portal Alder held out to his left and exited out the right side.
The enemy was struck by a heavy blow and without knowing it was coming. If not for the impressive breastplate the man wore, he'd be dead right now. Even still, he would not recover in this battle. Making their battle a proper 4 versus 4 as they continued.
Botan's head was spinning, but Myskel was doing an odd wiggling motion that caused her to glow. This seemed to begin slowly healing her partner.
The mercenary leader was taking more damage than he would have liked. He figured that Botan wasn't going to be much trouble. Evergreen or not, his armor was complete trash. He was with Mosden knights who were notoriously weak and couldn't have been in this world for more than three weeks. It all came down to Botan's advantages as a hero. Without those, this fight would have already been over.
The leader wanted to be cautious but knew giving Botan room to breathe and collect himself was a bad idea. He charged Botan as a barely visible force was coating his body.
"This is…" Botan didn't know the name or effect, but the man's charge was a spell and was going to hurt like hell. He was already thinking of a weapon form for his holy flower to turn into, but fired another [Spring: Seed Strike] right as the cooldown for the skill ended and right before the weapon changed form.
The man swatted the skill away, shattering his left arm's armor in that brief interaction with Botan's skill. Luckily Botan didn't use that skill for damage but as a distraction. Botan finished switching to his [Leaf Flower] weapon form. The moment he did, he used [Thrust C (small)].
[Aegis Impact]!
The large man slammed into Botan with his left shoulder, activating Botan's counter-skill. The spike on the weapon form glowed briefly then a stab wound appeared on the man's left arm. Unfortunately, Botan was still sent flying, slamming into a tree behind him. The air was knocked out of him and he began gasping for air as he did his best to get back on his feet. Meanwhile, the man stood firm. The wound was an issue, but he was confident in his victory again.
Meanwhile, the others were battered and bruised much the same as Botan was. While they thought themselves fortunate to have taken out one of their enemies, the same happened to them. Seeing Freona was an issue, they determined that taking one of Cole's attacks in exchange for felling her was a good trade. Two moderate wounds were the price, but what they bought was a clean punch to Freona's head. A downward strike that made her head bounce off a rock as her body went limp.
Her party feared the worst and tried to intensify but to little effect. Alder remained their best hope. While roughly equal to any one of the enemies, he remained untouched. His mother trained him to be an excellent dancer and it was showing.
At one point a woman used her spear to bait one of Alder's weapons to knock her strike away, which he did. What came next was her hand forming an odd shape, grouping together two groups of two fingers and her thumb to form the visual of a claw. As she threw her hand at Alder, energy surrounded her hand and formed the shape of a bird's claw.
[Predator's Talon]!
But again Alder was a step ahead. He mimicked her movements and looked like he was going to use the same spell. The odd thing was that his movements matched her completely. He was not following her lead, he matched her timing. As the two went to clash, the spell faded.
[Thwart]
Their hands simply collided and no further magic was felt.
"Shit! You can counter magic?" the man was not expecting that.
"Can he counter magic? You are talking to the son of Tia, The Queen of Dance. Of course, he can!" Selene boasted on Alder's behalf.
Another man seemed to get raddled by that. "Seriously!? This is more trouble than the silver they gave us."
The woman whose spell was countered wasn't buying it. "It's lies. As if that oh-so-important bastard would just be galavanting around the wilderness."
Alder just sighed at her stupidity. "You do realize that we are with the Evergreen, remember? Why wouldn't I be guarding him?" He asked her.
The woman went to refute his words, but nothing came out. Given that Tia can't afford to leave the capital and Botan can't afford to stay, sending her son to guard Botan's back seemed logical. At this point, the enemy started noticing that Alder was unharmed after a fair bit of fighting. They shared a look. They would focus on Alder completely and take down the person they believed to be their greatest threat.
Back with Botan, he was retreating. He knew a tree was behind him so he ran to his left, never taking an eye off the man pursuing him. He couldn't escape but luckily that wasn't his goal. He was only doing this to gain a few seconds. The man reached Botan and went for a stabbing motion at his leg. It seemed that Botan made himself a credible threat and the kid gloves were coming off.
But the man waited too long to get serious. "Now!"
[Sprout Slash]!
Botan's weapon instantly transformed into the [Grass Blade]. The initial speed granted by the skill, the instant transformation, and the speed boost this weapon form gave ever since blooming grew the speed gap between the pair. Botan knocked the man's weapon aside and pointed the tip at him.
"Too late." Botan said smirking.
Boom!
[Boom Bloom] had finished charging and struck the man directly. Seeing nothing but smoke, Botan went to turn towards the other but something came through the smoke. The man's fist met Botan's face and rocked his whole world. Botan was thrown about 12 meters away and spun so much that he was too disorientated to know which way was up. Botan looked at the man stumbling through the smoke left by his skill.
"[Boom Bloom] would have won the fight, but [Grass Blade] has shit Magic attack. I gave up half my hitting power because I thought guaranteeing it landed was more important. After what it did to the Grass Reaper, I thought of it as an instant win button. That's why I wasn't panicking… But now…"
Botan was hurt, but this mercenary captain was way more hurt. While Botan felt he was about to lose, if he looked at things rationally, he was in the lead. He still had plenty of SP, but the problem was that all his offensive skills were on cooldown.
The man started to move his arms, moving them back and forth in the air as if directing a tidal wave or something similar.
"What the hell is he…? Shit!" Botan felt something weird beneath his left foot and quickly dodge to his right.
[Stone Trap]! The man finished a spell that made two large rocks rupture from the earth and collide with one another, crushing the weak and trapping the strong.
"How the hell did you dodge that? Fast little bastard." The man questioned Botan before dismissing the matter.
But Botan also asked that same question. "How did I sense the magic? I thought you could only sense magic within yourself" This thought gave him a solution to his problem.
Botan wanted to retreat fully but caught sight of Alder and the others fighting like crazy. He thought briefly, then began walking towards his opponent.
"If I can't use skills…"
"Finally grown a pair!?" The man bellowed. He took a charging stance and went to use [Aegis Impact] again.
"Then I'll have to start using spells."
Botan began to spin as Tia taught him. He still didn't know all the starting paths and he hadn't been using magic as much as he should have, relying on skills far more. Still, he had felt a specifically strong path he could go down if he began with the first path he was taught.
"I am a mage after all."
Botan stuck his leg out in the final rotation before making contact with his opponent's spell. Botan didn't use the spell yet, he was still only using magically enhanced might. Something akin to a not-fully-formed spell. Botan knew he had the man beaten in magic attack. He'd beat someone double his level in magic attack. After a moment the attacks canceled each other but neither were done there.
The man briefly tried attacking Botan again but Myskel's claw began to glow blue before she stretched out, striking at him. While he wouldn't have the time to rebuild magic into his leg to fight continuously with the man normally, Myskel now offered Botan the leeway needed to restart the spell and go at it again. Botan landed a few hits as the fight turned in his favor but the majority of his kicks were spent defending himself from his opponent's attacks. Once Botan had a moment to swap his weapon form to something with more magic power, he knew he'd win.
He was ready to use his spell. He leapt about two meters in the air before he began to fall back down. His right leg high above, ready to deliver one hell of an axe kick. As it began to come down, a force began to manifest a large axe head made of magic under Botan's right leg.
"W-Wait!" The man only understood he lost now, and only just began to weigh whatever silver he was paid and promised to be lighter than his life.
[Executioner's Axe]!
The man tried to block the attack. The magical blade formed by the spell cut his own in half, sliced his armguard clean, cleaved right through his arm, and went about an inch into the man's breastplate.
He was surprised at how well the fight went once he just tried magic. He couldn't tell how much of that was due to the man already taking heavy damage and how much of it was Tia's teachings paying off. Botan almost wanted to question what their breastplates were made of, but was brought back to reality when he saw the man he just attacked. Botan reflexively threw up.
"Oh god! He's dead! I-I just wanted to beat him! What the hell!? I'm a murderer! I wasn't thinking! I wasn't thinking!" Botan fell back in shock.
Seeing what happened caused a fuss among the remaining mercenaries. "Holy shit… The boss is…"
"We're out of here!" Another took this as a signal to retreat.
Alder thought for a moment. "On one hand, we should kill them. They are a threat. They said multiple teams were sent and if one of them ran across another team, they could point them right at us… But we've already got what we've came for and will be returning to the capital, where it is safe." Alder also took a glace at Botan, who seemed really shaken up. "And protecting and helping Botan must be made a priority." Alder decided.
"Let the able-bodied enemies retreat, secure the others." Alder told Cole and Selene.
The two remaining able-bodied enemies did as all mercenaries did, and ran away from a lost battle. Cole nodded, knowing what he meant. Alder went over to Botan while Cole 'discovered' that each of the mercenaries that were beaten were dead. Selene went to Freona and checked her head injury.
"Mysk? …Mysk!" Myskel tried nudging Botan a bit since he looked out of it, but the moment she did, she felt a few tears fall on her head and tried apologizing. The tears were few but they weren't stopping.
Alder came up and put a hand on Botan's shoulder. "It was him or us. He'd have killed everyone but you so we couldn't let anyone know until you were beyond our borders." Alder tried logical talking.
"Why didn't he let me finish talking? Had I been given the chance to explain that I'd just be teleported back…" Botan was in shock and went back to the beginning of the fight.
"But you couldn't, because he wouldn't let you. Unknown as it was, that too was his choice." Alder applied more logic.
"But I killed him. I literally murdered someone!" Botan was now shouting.
Seeing Botan not taking to logic, he tried being more emotional. "...You spoke about your world a little. From what I gathered, it's a peaceful place. It's comforting to know that such a place exists where boys can grow to be men without having to surrender this part of their hearts but… Botan… Here, in this world, it isn't like that."
"But why does it-?" Botan just wanted to reject an absolutist idea as Alder presented it.
"I killed my first man when I was 12. I was basically the same as you are now. Only I had my mother to comfort me and you have to settle for me, sorry. I know it's going to take time for you to deal with this, however it is you choose to do so…, but Freona is seriously hurt, and we need to leave." Alder instead tried to give Botan something else to focus on.
"What about those mercenaries?" Botan asked.
"All dead." Alder answered.
Botan's eyes snapped open. Not at Alder's words themself, but at what they meant. He immediately shot a glace at Cole, and Alder realized he'd been caught. Alder didn't check the mercenaries himself, but somehow knew they were all dead? After asking Cole to check to see if they were dead because he didn't know their condition? Yeah, Botan caught his slip-up, even as he was now.
He looked down, depressed, but there was Myskel looking back up at him in concern.
"They'd have dragged me to who knows where… and dumped her somewhere along the way. They'd have killed Alder, taking something irreplaceable from Tia. And the others… I'd… I'd rather it be the mercenaries than Alder, Myskel, and the others." Botan wasn't over it, far from it. But they had to help Freona and leave before more people came.
"...We have to go. Someone snitched." Botan realized and said aloud.
It was now Alder's turn to look shocked. "You're right. They just so happen to find us in the middle of nowhere at our destination." He narrated his thoughts.
"And they knew my eye color despite not being from Mosden. That's pretty fast news." Botan added.
Alder removed his arm from Botan's shoulder and held it out to him. "Then we get moving?" Alder offered.
Botan went to take his hand but turned to the man he killed. "After we help Freona, but before we leave… we should pilfer." Botan suggested.
"Way ahead of you." Cole chimed in. "These idiots were carrying their whole commission on them. 50 silver each."
"Count coins later, Cole. Freona is hurt." Selene chided him, but with none of the fun in her voice she usually had. Hearing her tone, everyone gathered around Freona.
"Know any healing spells?" Selene asked Alder.
"None that won't get me slapped." He answered.
"Excuse me?" Botan asked.
"Motion magic, remember? Healing is done through massage." Alder answered while looking away in embarrassment.
"Kinky." "Then allow me a more PG solution. Myskel." Botan softly grabbed Myskel and put her on Freona's head. She seemed to hate the idea of being on someone else, or maybe just not being on Botan in general.
"Please help her." Botan requested.
Myskel paused. Her nice partner just asked her to help and Freona had been really nice to her as well. She didn't like the idea of using her abilities for anyone else, but Myskel decided this was still technically for Botan, so it wasn't cheating. She began to wiggle her body as it began to glow.
"What is that?" Cole asked.
"She started using it when I got hurt. It's a healing ability." He answered.
"A monster that can heal someone else is quite the find." That was rare praise and even rarer emotion in Cole's voice.
"I dub this spell, [Curing Cuddle]." Botan announced.
Selene loved the name, but disapproving looks from Alder and Cole told a different story.
"I think it's cute." Freona said as she regained consciousness.
They all moved closer to check on her. They asked her several questions to make sure she wasn't too hurt. Once Myskel was done, Freona placed her back on Botan's neck as a way of thanks.
"Does she have any other useful spells?" Cole asked.
"She has a magic-infused claw attack… oh, I'll call it [Mysklaw]. What do you guys think?" Botan asked them excitedly.
Their replies were judgemental stares.
Shifting the tone to a lighter one was welcome. They robbed the mercenaries of their coin, the leader had one of those rare healing potions Botan was so curious about, and they even stole one of their breastplates at Botan's request, then buried them. Botan had been making sure to carry his own weight, but he selfishly asked them to deal with the bodies without him. As they did, he just stared at the tree they came there for.
He just wasn't ready to face this.
They left right after that. It took them a little less time to return than they originally thought, even with the battle, partially helped by finding the target early in the 5th day, and partially because Botan was getting a little more used to sleeping outside. Everyone else seemed to have no issue sleeping outside, though Cole had trouble dealing with Selene each night. Botan got even less sleep on the way back, remembering what he did to that mercenary leader, to a fellow human.
Botan tried dealing with it as best he could, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't happy to be back in a town with beds. It commanded most of his thoughts as they entered the capital's gates.
"Mysk~!" Myskel had counted that it had been more than 30 seconds since she was patted and needed this rectified.
Botan looked down at Myskel. It was nine days in total of travel. In that time Myskel had eaten so much. Had they not had monsters for her to eat, Botan was scared she would have starved. But even since this morning she has quieted considerably. She still wanted sweet things, but she no longer seemed to eat her own body weight 5 times over each day. And Botan had a good idea why she was no longer eating like that.
She was now fully grown. Her head and claws grew a little, but her tail just kept growing and growing. She could now wrap her tail around his neck twice or waist once easily. She was like a living scarf that you could pet. What wasn't to love?
"And it's all thanks to the flower weapon forms. Her growth, level, and stats are all looking great. Her level is now 18, while I'm 32." He couldn't know how high her stats were when comparing them to his own, so he had to ask the others. "Her stats are all above average. She even has two abilities. Not to mention she is the cutest damned thing ever. I was really lucky to have found you." He thought.
Between her growth rates, her healing ability, and the fact her stats were all further boosted from touching him thanks to his passive skill, [Contact Comrade], she was actually approaching Freona in hitting power, despite her level.
Returning to town was a blessing and a curse. Botan needed to find monster materials from a monster that was level 50 or higher, he needed to acquire his dancing clothes from that mean old lady, then sneak it over to Willow's Whetstone to attach the armor as needed. Botan felt bad about lying to the old woman, but he needed that armor.
Cole departed from the group as soon as they entered the gate. Selene and Freona made sure to pet Myskel goodbye first, then they soon joined Cole. Alder asked them to give a full report to the prince. It seemed odd that Alder wouldn't be the one to report such important news, but Alder soon answered his questioning look.
"I want to check up on my mother. Tell me if you need anything." Alder told Botan. The two nodded at one another and parted ways with no other words between them.
Botan had a full party for ten days but suddenly found some time that was just going to be Myskel and him.
Botan had two packs full of [Whistlewood] and thought of where to sell it. That took him to Lore & Ledgers pretty quickly. Professor Hemlock saw Botan through the glass in front of the shop and waved him in.
"Back from a long trip, yes? Anything you'd be selling?" The professor greeted.
Botan smirked. "Like you wouldn't believe." Botan emptied all the monster parts he already knew Professor Hemlock would want. While he started separating everything and counting it up, he asked, "Any chance you need [Whistlewood]?"
"No. Such materials are good for windchimes, woodwind instruments, and such". Hemlock explained without looking up from the items.
During their conversation, Professor Hemlock suggested that Botan try the dancing woman's shop. Apparently, [Whistlewood] combined with [Malmetal] made fluted staves that were preferred by dancers. Botan spoke with the man for a bit, but really needed to get going.
He made his stop by the dancing shop as fast as he could. She asked him to try on the outfit she made the moment he entered the building. He did so without any argument, but the dancing outfit was a little thin for his liking. Without anything overtop of it, it definitely followed his curves too strictly. It left little to the imagination. However, Botan had to admit that the material was really flexible and strong. He felt like his range of movement was greater in something like this. It was like he was naked, but without the whole 'being arrested for public indecency' thing.
When she was done yelling at him for one thing or another, Botan was able to get a word in to offer her all the [Whistlewood] as payment. She agreed to buy it, but the materials would not cover the full cost of the outfit. He paid the difference and did his best to escape.
Embarrassed by what he was wearing, he raced to Willow's Whetstone to take this thing off and have him attach the armor to it as they agreed. Will let him change in the forging area and took the outfit. He had finished most of the pieces already, but Botan had a surprise.
"I also have this." Botan showed him the Eld armor. Will knew what it was instantly.
"That's quality stuff. This armor would be good for someone as high as level 45, no, 50. Where in the world did you get this?" Willow asked.
"Off of some Eld mercenaries that thought violence was going to solve all their problems." Botan answered.
"I mean, they have no problems now." Willow joked.
Botan didn't laugh. He was reminded of what Alder said about killing a man when he was 12 years old. Now Willow was making fun of some poor man who died in the middle of nowhere and was buried in an unmarked grave with three others. Botan wondered if he would get used to this kind of thing… and if he'd even want to.
Willow offered to hold onto the armor for Botan, but he didn't want to buy it. "Just don't like the thought of selling something in my shop that I didn't make."
"Should I use it?" Botan asked.
"It's a solid piece, better than the one I'll have for you, sorry to say. That said, this one is pretty mobile, but the one I am making for you is even more mobile, especially around the waist. So you pick." Willow told him.
Botan considered them. "Better defense might seem like an easy choice… but… Had I have been wearing this when fighting that man, would it have helped at all? He never hit me in the chest. Not only that, but mobility won me the fight because of magic."
"I'd prefer the mobility. I only won the fight with the crew we got this off of because of magic." Botan decided.
"Already thrashing Eldian mercenaries? They really weren't blowing smoke with everything they say about the Evergreen." Will said, sitting the armor to the side.
Will took note of what work was still needed. "After fitting everything on, I just have a few smaller pieces to make for the arms and it'll be done." Will said. That would take a day at least. After that, his list of things to do shrank a lot.
He looked at his [Grass Reaper's Scytheflower]. More specifically, how close it was to blooming.
[Cultivation Menu]
[Subject: Grass Reaper's Scytheflower]
[Necessary materials for Cultivation are as followed]
[50 lbs of Malmetal] [Completed]
[7 hearts of the cowardly] [Completed]
[11 Branches of a Whistlewood Tree] [Completed]
[5 unripe seeds of a Top Tree] [Completed]
[Any materials from a monster level 50 or higher]
He only needed one more material. The best places to ask were the castle and the Ivory Company. Without even really considering, Botan began going towards the castle. He'd try the Ivory Company, but not as his first choice.
Botan thought it'd be hard to enter the castle right now, but he was let in without effort, even with many others being turned away. Moreover, while they let him in and there were several guards, once inside, there didn't seem to be much of anyone. Botan only walked so far before he stopped. "The king is dying and everything is revolving around that right now. This is important, but… I have all day. I'll wait until someone passes by."
Botan went up to the enormous tree that dwarfed even the castle and sat at its base. He looked through his bag, and his menus, and played with Myskel a bit. After a while, Botan went to shift his body to get more comfortable and felt a branch poking him in the shoulder. Without really thinking about it, Botan grabbed the branch and broke it off. The moment he touched the tree, he received a message.
[Weapon copy system activated]
[Warning: Weapon copy system has been terminated by ?]
Botan just stared at the message a moment, then stared at the tree. The once beautiful tree seemed a lot more intimidating now. He couldn't place why. Either way, this made him want to go somewhere else. As he got up to leave, he remembered he had the branch of the tree in his hand. His Holy Flower's gen began to glow. He wordlessly fed the materials to the weapon.
He received two messages.
[Weapon form failed to unlock. Weapon form locked by ?]
The other was an update from is power-up method sub-menu.
[Any materials from a monster level 50 or higher] [Completed]
Botan wanted to run. "This damned tree is a monster over level 50!? If this thing fell over it'd destroy half the town! If this thing punched me I would be emancipated from life!"
He left the courtyard and the castle entirely. He made it nearly to Tia and Alder's home before stopping to do something extremely important.
[All cultivation materials offered!]
[Subject: Grass Reaper's Scytheflower has bloomed into its true form!]
.
[Grass Reaper's Scytheflower] (Bloomed)
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: +15 Spd +10 Mag, Skill: Sickle Throw (Medium)
Special Equip Effect: Bonus: Plantsbane (Medium)
.
And just like that, Botan's initial preparations for the wave were done. He had a day left to prepare, then he'd need to see what kind of threat he was summoned to face in the first place. But first, Botan smelled Tia's cooking and had a thousand things to tell and ask her.
.
[Otherworld Index]
Today we will be covering another powerful group that acts on behalf of a government without officially being part of that government. No, not the Ivory Company. This time we are talking about "The Champions of the Golden Sea". These mercenaries gained their name from the land their founders hailed from, commonly called The Golden Sea. It is a region within the Eld Empire that is primarily used for farmland. The richness of the soil and the talent of the farmers meant that whenever the wheat was nearing time to be harvested, it would make the whole countryside look like a sea of gold.
While the mercenary company came from humble roots, it is only spoken about in that manner when convenient currently. The Champions of the Golden Sea are currently the largest paramilitary group in the world with more than 10000 members. Which makes it larger than Mosden's own military in its entirety. Much of that is bloat, as success has lowered their standards for individual talent. Their standards for equipment, however, remain high. Most members wear higher-end armor, carry custom-made weapons, and carry rare magic items. In fact, The Champions of the Golden Sea are one of the Dark Genius' greatest customers.
In theory, if Eld ever went to war, The Champions of the Golden Sea would follow and make their army the largest…
But that isn't what would happen. Those more keenly aware know that The Champions of the Golden Sea are not conscripted soldiers. If the Emperor were to ask or even demand they march under his banner, they would ask for an amount of money that only someone like the Emperor of Eld could afford. At that point, the Emperor either has to spend a fortune or lose a lot of face. Or even worse, possibly need to subjugate The Champions of the Golden Sea even as war is happening. Those well-versed in politics could therefore see if and when the empire plans to go to war with a simple indication. To avoid the worst result, the Emperor would successfully gain The Champions of the Golden Sea before declaring war. That meant that whenever The Champions of the Golden Sea acted directly on behave of the Emperor, they were already aligned and war was already in motion…
.
[Author's notes]
A lot happened in this chapter. We saw Botan act with a full party for the first time. It was not perfect and a degree of separation was definitely felt, but this would be important for later. Botan had fought and killed his first fellow person. He is keeping himself preoccupied, but it will get to him. Botan now has a much, much stronger weapon form. Will it be enough to deal with the wave and wave boss that he is set to face? Where will the fight take place? Who will be in danger? The wave will be featured next chapter! I've set up as much as I could and refuse to drag my feet anymore!
