Chapter 32 – Montage

Kuromo had a growth spurt. It was a little surprising, but not entirely. He just reached level 30 yesterday and had more than eaten his weight in dead monsters. Now he was about the size of a pony, though not quite as bulky. That wasn't counting his wings and tail. Reina could probably ride him, given both his and her sizes, though her armor might add just a bit too much.

Given how people can adjust their stat growth every 10 levels at a Dragon Hourglass, it was almost intuitive he would get a bit of a growth spurt then. That did bring up something Reina wished she could do. All four of her party members couldn't optimize their stat growth. There was no way they could have done so in Keston after what happened, but they should be able to in Lespax after the Wave.

If Grim's message was received properly, the Cleaver Hero would be in Keston's next Wave and be able to bring them to Hascain's after. Hopefully, that's what would happen. Without the contract for Cutting Edge, Reina couldn't teleport them to Savia. She remembered how long it took to get to Lespax from there, and that was with a nipeigh and cart.

In the meantime, they'd be able to travel around a bit. There were plenty of other countries to visit, each also containing spirit locations. Worst case scenario, they could go back to Gathana and use the Adamantine Gate again. They'd probably need to bring mages and priests from Lespax unless they wanted to ask the Gromnar for help again. Reina didn't know what the situation in the city was now, despite clearing the plague. She also didn't think the king would want to dispatch mages there, since she recalled Lespax and Gathana weren't entirely on good terms. As for the Gromnar in the village…who could say?

After observing Kuromo's growth and freeing herself from Maria's grip, they had breakfast in the main room of the mansion. Maria had mentioned that the spell would persist as long as the talisman was inside the mansion. If it wasn't, it would need to be attached to her, just like for maintaining any other spell.

When they exited the mansion, there was no sign of anyone else snooping around. They continued moving west, slaying any monsters that got in their way. The toads weren't worth all that much XP, and the owls were only a little bit more. The boars were worth the most out of the three giant animals they encountered.

During one standoff with a giant toad, Reina wanted to test out one of her new skills.

"Forge Spirit! Second Spirit!" Reina summoned two spirits at once.

With the cost of the different Forge abilities reduced, she added a few more to both of them, but they were mostly the same as they were for the Wave. What mattered right now was how she could use them in combat.

The zombie spirit was strong and durable, so she could have it engage first to draw the attention of the giant toad. The insect spirit was fast and agile, so it could dance around the toad while the zombie followed up. If she had them flank the toad, it would have to choose between avoiding heavy hits or numerous hits.

All that was putting the cart before the horse. If Reina didn't exert more control over the two forged spirits directly, they would only follow her command in broad strokes. To make the most of their presence, she would have to direct them both at once. The problem was…that was a lot to manage.

The two spirits approached the toad on opposite sides, ready to strike. The toad looked to the flaming zombie, seeing it as the greater threat. The insect moved into position behind it and Reina had it strike out with a bite.

The toad didn't even need to move. The mandibles of the spirit sunk into the ground next to it. Startled, it leapt far away and began to flee.

"This is a lot harder than I thought." Reina said, dismissing her spirits.

"You're much better off with only one." Grim noted.

"That's because directly controlling just one is much easier." Reina countered. "I'm splitting my focus between the two of them."

It was the same as controlling one while also participating in the fight herself. When she was first starting out, she could command her spirit to circle around an enemy and attack it, allowing her to do the same at the front. She didn't need to control its movements, but it also wouldn't really defend itself unless she gave it a nudge. Trying to switch between two was even harder, since both were outside her own movements.

That said nothing of using Spirit Eyes. The field of view that ability granted was enormous, but it was also overloading. It was like having eyes in the back of her head. She could see all around her, but she'd get confused which way was forward. That was nothing compared to activating Absolute Senses and all the additional information that would provide, even if it effectively slowed down time.

Of course, if she just ordered her spirits to attack, that giant toad would have been dead in seconds. But that wasn't the point, was it? Finding a balance between the two methods would be good, but the end goal was total control.

"I think you would benefit from training with me as well." Grim told her.

"Yeah…" Reina reluctantly agreed. She couldn't deny that, but she saw the results of that training with Vyrdrun. She'd be in for a bit of pain.

"We'll start the same way I did with Vyrdrun. Can you change your weapon into something more suitable for personal combat?" He asked.

Reina could and did, changing it to the Crimson Blade Ceremonial Sword.

"Perfect." Grim nodded. "Show me what you can do and we'll go from there."

And show him she did.

Her opponents were more giant toads, along with forest dolls. Grim got to watch her perform her masterful handling of the sword. That was to say, she swung it mostly like a bat at the monsters. The dolls died in a single hit, the toads taking two or three, all thanks to the high damage of her weapon and power up methods. The toads didn't have that high of attack, but they were a little sturdy.

Finding monsters wasn't difficult. An ability of her armor, blind-sense, let her know the location of monsters around her, out to about 60 feet. Pouring MP into her armor doubled the distance. It wasn't nearly as good as seeing them herself, since she couldn't tell which direction they faced or how they positioned themselves, but it would help against ambushes. Of course, if something was sufficiently hidden in the environment, like being buried in mud or hidden underwater, Reina wouldn't be able to sense them.

After fighting several more monsters, Grim gave his assessment. "You've been here a little over a month, right? It shows."

"Thanks." Reina wiped the sweat from her head.

"That wasn't a compliment." Grim sighed.

Reina didn't think it would be, but she kind of hoped it was.

"Like Vyrdrun, you don't have any real technique. You mostly use your spirit to attack while surveying the battle, controlling it as needed. Without it, the abilities you possess lean mostly toward support, both in weapon skills and magic. Without a larger stock of abilities, you'll need to work on swordsmanship to contribute in battle."

He wasn't exactly wrong. Outside of Deft Strike—which required at least one created but unsummoned spirit to use—Reina only had Piercing Shot. It could still be used without the Radiant Cross Ceremonial Crossbow equipped, the skill taking the form of an energy bolt that shot from her extended hand.

Where he was wrong was that she didn't only have a proper weapon to contribute. "I can still use magic." She pointed out.

"Barely." Grim crossed his arms. Again, it was a weak argument from her and she knew it. "I suggest splitting your time between training with me and training with Maria. That should give you a wide range of options."

Reina had to agree. While gaining more levels and strengthening her spirits with further abilities was good, she knew not to put all her eggs in a single basket. The last Wave was a perfect example of why that wouldn't be advisable. If she lost both spirits, she'd have to work with what she had left.

"To make the best use of our time, I can train Vyrdrun while you train with Maria. While you train with me, the others can hunt nearby monsters for XP and the power up methods you mentioned. We can travel in between training sessions to keep a safe distance from the capital while also keeping XP gains consistent with more monsters."

Grim really knew what he was doing.

"You've done stuff like this before, haven't you?" Reina ventured.

"I spent a few grueling years with my master." He replied with a tired look. "What I'll be putting you through won't be nearly as bad, especially since we'll have proper shelter while we're out here."

Reina could only guess what his time with the Cleaver Hero was like. It wasn't pleasant, if Vyrdrun's bruises were any indication.

"How'd you get to be the Cleaver Hero's apprentice anyway?" Reina thought to ask. "Is your family very prestigious?"

Grim gave a grunted laugh at that. "Not in the least. I was born a commoner."

"You were?" Reina asked.

He nodded. "My father was a serf, but my mother was a commoner, and so I was as well. One day, I was in the nearby town with my mother and younger brother while the Cleaver Hero was there. She was seeking an apprentice and held an event in the square. All the noble boys lined up to be chosen, each with their parents offering gifts or other forms of compensation. Master turned down their offers and tested each boy, all failing miserably.

"I was already aiming to join the village guards to become stronger, but this sounded like a better way. When I told Master to test me, the nobles just scoffed. But not her. She immediately tested me and I passed. After giving my mother a gold coin to help with the loss of having another set of hands around, she took me around the country and trained me.

"It wasn't until a couple years later that I returned home. Duke Balta, whose vast lands included my home of Faena Village, pushed for me to become a noble and gave me ownership of the village. Having a man trained by a hero under him was a large boon. I continued to govern the village for several years, under his tutelage, and here we are now." Grim concluded his story.

"An inspirational story, from commoner to noble." Reina had to admit, she didn't think that would've been the case at all. The way he made nobles in Hascain sound, it didn't seem like they'd like a commoner rising up to their station. He said he wasn't good at magic, so that certainly didn't help him any, given how apparently most nobles there were mages.

"What was the test?" Reina asked. Grim hadn't mentioned what it was.

"She punched me in the stomach." He replied easily. "It lifted me about a foot off the ground, but I was able to stay standing afterward."

Reina stood there, mouth open slightly. "And…how old were you at the time?"

"Twelve years."

"Twelve—!" Reina's mouth dropped further. "And the other boys? Also that young?"

"Some older." Grim shrugged with a smirk. "I still remember some of those brats puking from the experience. Though, I did cough blood for a few days after."

"Is she crazy!?" Reina yelled. Whoever heard of testing young boys by beating them up?

Grim just shrugged again, indifferent to whatever disrespect was shown toward his master.

"I can't say I'm looking forward to meeting her." Reina admitted. She wasn't looking forward to Hascain in general, what with their use of serfdom.

"She can be a bit overwhelming, but there's no better ally to have than her." Grim said.

"I suppose…" Reina would need to meet the woman in question before she could say for sure. At the very least, she didn't seem to hold the same views on commoners that nobles likely did.

"Anyway, I suggest we start on your training." Grim said. "There's less than a week before Lespax's Wave, right?"

"Yeah, five days…oh, right!" She only had so much time to become a better fighter. That said, there was something else she was curious about, and wasn't at all using it as an excuse to put off training from a person whose master thought a good test for a 12-year-old boy was a punch to the stomach.

"What's wrong with Lespax?" Reina asked. "You asked why Maria was okay with that country before." With the amazing spell Maria cast and today's hunting, she'd nearly forgotten.

"Women don't hold positions of power." Maria jumped into the conversation. "That's more toward nobles, but it does trickle down into commoners."

"What are you talking about?" Reina turned to her. "There were shop owners that were women."

"Which were more likely owned by their husbands." Maria countered. "The men go out and work while the women tend to the home. I mean, that's how it is in a lot of places, but it's much more encouraged in Lespax."

"What about adventurers?" Reina tried again.

Maria gave her a small smile. "What about adventurers, Boss? They come from all around and work for themselves first and foremost."

It surprised Reina that she really could have missed such an important detail. Thinking about it, all the knights that went with them to the Wave were men, while about a quarter of the templars in Keston's Wave were women. It varied from church to church, but the point remained.

"I guess…" Reina started to explain her thoughts, but it was admittedly naïve. There was no perfect country. While she might have thought of Lespax as the 'good' country—compared to Keston and Hascain, at least—everyone had their own issues.

"Thinking more about it, perhaps I was mistaken before." Grim said. "As an adventurer, Maria should be fine in Lespax. A commoner mage isn't viewed positively in Hascain, especially not a wizard. It makes the nobles look bad by comparison. A woman adventurer in Lespax probably has a much easier time. And, of course, there's the issue of the shaman."

"Right. Because shamans can undo the spells of mages, which make up the nobility there." Reina understood completely. Just because the empire didn't like Gromnar didn't mean those that opposed the empire would like Gromnar by default.

"Being in a hero's party will no doubt make things better, and if you didn't notice anything in Lespax, then I'm in no position to argue." Grim conceded.

That must have been why Maria didn't mention anything. Reina was already concerned about Vyrdrun getting in fine, so Maria didn't want to add to her worries. That bit of information about Lespax was definitely something Reina would have remembered Maria saying.

"Now then." Grim hefted his cleaver from his back. He turned it around so the blunt side was facing forward. "I believe we should begin training."

Reina could only gulp nervously. Her questions had only delayed the inevitable, though that was of course not the plan at all.

~Forging Legends~

They went ahead with the plan Grim outlined for them. Grim relentlessly trained Reina in sword fighting. She removed all the bonuses from her sword so she wouldn't hurt him too badly on accident, though she needn't have worried about that at all. She couldn't land so much as a single hit on the man, though he got in plenty on her. Healing Touch was used quite often.

In the meantime, Maria, Vyrdrun, and Kuromo hunted monsters in the area, being sure to remain in range to share XP. Most of the monsters were ones they already encountered in the forest before, with the addition of a new doll type, the mud doll. It just gave more stats, but it also unlocked a template.

Advanced Doll Template unlocked!
Traits: Construct, fire vulnerability (small), cold resistance (high), electric resistance (small), defense up (small), attack up (small), agility up (small), magic resistance (medium)

It was a far cry from the first doll template she got. She was able to test it out during one of her breaks. Where the first template made her spirit shorter than her, this new one made it taller than Maria. Calling it a doll didn't do it justice. Normal dolls were almost goofy looking. This template made it look more like the golems she'd seen around. The fact that it had magic resistance added to that.

She swapped out the insect template for this one, making it an all-around spirit.

Her time with Maria was far less painful, but also felt less productive. She followed her instructions as best she could, entering into her own mind to try and construct a spell. Reina did so in smaller bursts, telling Maria all she could remember and checking on her progress. There didn't seem to be much. Being away from a spirit's location didn't help matters.

Vyrdrun's training was bearing more fruit. During one of her waking periods, Reina heard them. With a snap, the enchanted metal broke, landing Vyrdrun on the ground facing the sky.

"You're lucky your weapon is the way it is." Grim said as Vyrdrun stood back up, reshaping his metal into another spear. "Now, again!"

The next day was filled with pain as well. Grim trained Reina in the morning, they traveled further west, Reina got instruction from Maria, they traveled a little more, and then they rested for the day.

Levels continued to rise, but at a much slower pace. That didn't stop Kuromo from continuing his growth. Just as before, he would eat more than his weight in food, and both days, he grew even larger. By the end of the second day of training, he was much bigger than a horse and could easily carry Reina and her armor, possibly another passenger as well. It seemed all the growth from his levels really started to catch up with him.

At the start of the third day, he was even bigger. Reina didn't even hesitate to climb on and go for a short ride after leaving the mansion. They found a small clearing for him to launch into the air and they took flight. After two days of being bruised and battered by Grim and losing hours in what felt like minutes with Maria's lessons, Reina felt she earned a small break from the routine.

"AAAAHHH!" What she failed to realize was that flying through the air was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.

Kuromo soared through the sky, gaining speed as he descended and banked around in the air. It was like being on a rollercoaster, only much faster and with no safety harness. All Reina could do was desperately hold onto his scales and scream for her life.

"TAKE US DOWN! TAKE US DOWN!" It didn't take more than a minute for Reina to be done with the flight. Kuromo, however, had other ideas. He continued to weave through the air while Reina begged him to let her down.

There was the option of using the monster seal placed on him to force him down, but Reina declined to use it. For starters, she really didn't want to compel someone like that, even if it was a monster. Kuromo as able to think for himself. Also, and much more practical, she didn't want to shock him while mid-flight.

After about five minutes of panic-inducing flying, Kuromo finally had enough and set them down. He stood proud, his wings flared out and his chest puffed up. It was his first real flight, outside of occasionally hovering in the air. Reina, on the other hand, jumped from his back and hugged the ground. The emotional reunion with earth would have been more heartfelt if she didn't then vomit all over it. Maria made sure her braided hair didn't fall in any of it.

"You need…a saddle…" Reina breathed out, one hand on the ground to prop her up. She wasn't one to get motion sickness, but that was way too much.

"Gau!" Kuromo turned his nose up at that.

"Don't you…take that tone…with me…" It was hard for her to get the words out.

"There, there." Maria simply rubbed her back. It was over armor, but the sentiment was appreciated.

"I suppose training will have to wait for a little while today." Grim assessed. He walked over to Kuromo and stood in front of him, staring up at his face. "Be more careful with her in the future."

"Gau." Kuromo practically grunted in response as he met Grim's stare.

The two kept their eyes locked, neither one back down. Kuromo let out a low growl as he lowered his head slightly. Grim didn't move an inch, only narrowing his eyes.

"Gau…" Kuromo was the first to look away. He slowly walked over to Reina turned around as he sat, letting his tail rest against her side. Reina could see his expression from her position on the ground. There was a sense of pride there, though it seemed tempered.

"How'd you do that?" Reina asked, finally feeling a little better.

Grim walked over to her. "Dragons are nobles of the monster world, and I know how to handle nobles."

He looked up at the dragon again, causing Kuromo to shift his head ever so slightly to the side. With that, he headed back to the edge of the clearing.

"He's gotten a bit of an attitude on him lately, hasn't he?" Reina asked aloud.

"A little, I suppose." Maria said.

"I wonder what caused it." Reina said, standing up.

"Oh, well, who can say? Maybe he just doesn't like having your training interrupted." Maria offered.

"Huh?" Reina looked over her shoulder. "I was talking about Kuromo."

"Gau!" Kuromo let out, not changing where he was looking.

"O-Oh…" Maria gave a nervous laugh. "Well, he is still growing. Maybe it's his rebellious phase."

"Hm." Reina looked up at her dragon. "Is that it? Or are you upset about something?"

"Gau." His response wasn't helpful.

Reina strode in front of him, craning her neck back to see his face. "Look at me."

The dragon continued looking off to the side, but eventually shifted his eyes down.

"Are you upset with me?" Reina asked.

Kuromo didn't respond.

There was one thing that might be making him upset. He had plenty of food and she knew he thoroughly enjoyed eating the monsters. At night, he would sleep on the bed with her and Maria, though the past two days only his head was wrapped in her arms since he'd gotten so big. It could have been the reduced physical contact due to his size, but Reina thought it was something bigger.

"Look…" Reina scratched the back of her head. "It's been in the back of my mind for a little bit, but…my armor…"

The words caused Kuromo to move his head slightly.

"You can probably already tell, huh? The scales…came from your mother." Reina said, lowering her arm. "I don't know how you feel about it, but it can't be good. I didn't kill her, if that was something you thought about. She died of a cursed wound in an underwater cave. I don't know if you care at all, but the people who killed her might have died of a plague. Or, maybe the people who hired them did, I don't know."

Reina didn't have all the information on the conflict. Whether it was the knights of the city or adventurers who were hired, she couldn't say. She leaned toward the latter, since the wound came from a cursed weapon and that didn't seem like something a knight would use. The Gromnar chief, Gralin, didn't specify.

"I don't know if you realized it later or have just been holding it in, but I didn't even consider how you'd feel about it." Reina admitted. It wasn't until Grim reminded her that dragons were intelligent that these thoughts began to surface. "If it really bothers you, I can use my old armor. I'm sorry I didn't think about any of this before—"

"Gau!" Kuromo shouted, lowering his head below Reina's. He nudged it forward, bumping into Reina's chest with his snout.

"Is that…are you okay with it?" Reina asked, trying to figure out her dragon.

"Gau." Kuromo lifted his head and rested it on top of Reina's. While most of him was covered in hard scales, his upper neck was softer.

Reina smiled. "Alright, I guess you weren't—waitwaitWAIT!" Before she could move out of the way, Kuromo pushed down on her, knocking her flat on her back. He let his head lay on her chest as he completely settled himself to the ground. He then moved forward, setting his chest on Reina's while his head curled around them.

The two remaining spectators to this spectacle stood there watching. Maria was the only one to laugh.

"I think you were reading too much into it, Boss." Maria said with a smile. "Like I said: rebellious phase. Dragons can have them too, I guess."

Kuromo just brought his head close to Maria and snorted, blowing air into her face.

Maria just chuckled. "And I guess he still doesn't like me being so close to his new mama."

"Help…me…" Reina let out, her vision partially obscured from Kuromo's mass.

"I think he wants to bond with you for a bit." Maria said as she turned.

"Maria!" Reina's pleas fell on deaf ears as Maria walked off to join Grim. She looked to Vyrdrun, who sat himself on the ground next to them.

~Forging Legends~

It didn't take too long for Kuromo to have his fill of skinship. Reina liked to think her petting his sides helped, but she simply didn't know. After about 10 minutes, she was finally allowed up.

The rest of the day went by similar to the last two. With Grim, they changed things up a little. Reina had her forged spirit use its Magic Blade to duel with him. It seemed the ability gave a bit of intuition to the spirit on how to use it properly, so Reina was able to observe a little as they clashed.

The same thing as before happened, of course. Whatever techniques were imparted into that ability couldn't match up to the man who trained with a hero for years. Still, it wasn't all bad. The pain just came in larger amounts but all at once when the spirit was rarely destroyed.

Reina's time with Maria wasn't better, seeing as she still couldn't really grasp what she was doing. Maria assured her she was making progress, but it just didn't feel like it.

The sun fell to the horizon once again and they made for 'camp'. Maria cast her mansion spell again, though Vyrdrun had been hiding it in a small stone hut. Aside from giving them space in case they were somehow found, it also protected the portal entrance from violet rain. Should it come into contact with the portal, the rain would eat away at the spell and immediately expose them to it.

Inside, Reina and Maria were doing what they what they had been the past two nights.

"Cups 4." Reina set the card on the table. She picked up the next card from the deck. "Dragon 7. Yeah, I'm ending my turn."

She collected the four cards in the middle and set them in front of her, organizing them.

"Oh, the Fool!" Maria said with a smile, setting the card down in the middle. "I'll take that dragon card you got there, Boss."

"Yeah, yeah." Reina rested her chin on her hand as Maria did just that, setting it in the middle on top of the Fool card.

Maria picked up the next card from the deck and her smile fell. "…Dragon 4…"

It was Reina's turn to smile. "Serves you right."

The three cards in the middle were set off to the side, gone from the game.

The two of them had taken to playing the game Meru had given them. Somnium had pretty simple rules. There were 10 suits, each with a number from 3 to 7. The goal is to have the most points, tallied up from the highest of each suit they had. On their turn, a person will draw cards until they choose to stop—where they collect all the cards in the middle—or they draw a suit already in the middle—which meant all the cards there were discarded. The 3 Fool cards let them take the highest card of whichever suit they wanted from their opponent, and the Death card meant they discarded what's in the middle.

Maria was a talented wizard, but Reina had two things she didn't: a large experience playing games, and luck. The second one was up to interpretation, given everything she went through here, but she felt like she's come out on top; for now, at least.

Reina had taken to the game pretty easily, though Maria was very slowly catching up. The wizard played a little too greedily. In the last game, she got two '7' cards, but decided to draw another and ended up losing them both. Vyrdrun had only played a few times, saying it wasn't really for him.

Grim, on the other hand, was a much more even match for Reina. Somnium was apparently quite popular among the nobility of Hascain, competing with chess of all things. He wasn't really fond of either, mostly because other nobles played it, but the latter was more due to not liking it. A game more about memorizing board positions rather than real strategy, he claimed.

Reina could only wonder if Derdir and his family were based somewhere in Hascain, or if Lola had picked up the game while doing something there.

By the end of this game, Reina had won with 60 points while Maria had 43.

Maria let out a sigh. "I'll win eventually, Boss."

"Sure you will~." Reina teased. Outside of one of the first few games as practice, Reina had won 22 out of 26 times. She wanted to keep riding that high. "Want to play again?"

Her opponent shook her head. "I think I'll turn in for the night, Boss." She stood from her seat, reaching over to trail her hand along Reina's arm. "Don't worry about waking me when you come to bed."

With a smile, Maria walked off to their room. Outside of enlarging a few doors for Kuromo to fit through, Maria hadn't made any changes to her spell. Making the bed sturdier for the dragon to sleep on wasn't really doable, as that was more functional than decorative and Kuromo weighed much more than before.

As Reina gathered up the cards, she watched Maria disappear behind the door.

Kuromo wasn't the only one who had a change in demeanor. Reina couldn't really place it, but something was off with Maria. It started the first day of training. Most of their interactions were the same, but there was one obvious difference. Maria didn't have that same singsong tone she often used.

Reina had asked her about it while they practiced magic that day, but Maria said it was nothing to worry about. She might have had little experience with relationships, but Reina knew it wasn't nothing. Still, if Maria didn't want to talk about it, she couldn't force the topic. She just hoped that, whatever it was, Maria would tell her soon.

Author's Notes:

Mentioned Somnium again. Partly because they had it to play and I would never, ever neglect to use a detail I used previously. Never. Also, been playing it a little in the Civ4 mod. Went down a rabbit hole to find a mod of the mod that played well (talking about the AI, which wasn't good in the original mod). Finally settled on Extramodmod, which is a mod of a mod of the original mod that incorporates another mod. You don't know the depths I'll go to play Civ4 with magic and skeletons and demons. Spent hours finding a few and figuring out how to get them working.

But enough about my gaming preferences. This chapter was a bit of a montage, as the title indicated. Honestly, I did slightly forget where the dragon corpse came from (didn't really connect in my head), so I decided to address that here. Though, that did allow me to segue into Reina noticing Maria's change, so it all worked out.

Next chapter will have a neat little occurrence in it.