"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
"You attribute good nature to me that I don't possess." Fitoria rebuked him.
"Sure." Naofumi gave up for now.
...
Everyone gathered up with tired faces, but full smiles at having defeated a wave without the other three cardinal heroes. They never felt stronger and it only got better. They gained a staggering 6 levels from the wave, taking them to 46, Naofumi went from 56 to 59, and both Melty and Eclair were level 40. Meaning they'd also receive class upgrades in a bit. Right after Naofumi and Monti sampled some monsters.
Monti took a bite of the hydra and gained a slight elemental resistance to all traditional elements. He could not sample the other boss as it was just rock. (And yes, he tried eating a rock.)
Naofumi gained shields for the two basic enemies, but the stone hands alone didn't grant anything.
.
[Blue Serpent Shield]
+2 mdef, +3 poison resistance
[Ability: Coil lll] skills and spells used from a defensive position are 15% more effective.
.
[Skin Walker Shield ll]
+1 def, +1 mdef
[Ability: Persona ll] The effects of worn equipment is increased by 10%..
.
The bosses were the real prize though.
.
[Fire Hydra Shield]
+1 def, +1 mdef, +3 fire resistance
.
Naofumi gained a hydra head shield for each element. They were all identical, except their coloring and what elemental resistance they gave.
.
[Hydra Shield]
+2 mag, +3 def, +3 mdef
[Ability: Regeneration] While you are not in combat and haven't engaged in combat for 5 minutes, regain 1 lost Hp every 6 seconds.
.
The healing head gave a different kind of shield.
.
[Deep Hydragar Shield] (locked: Higher level required)
+10 Hp, +10 Sp, +10 Mp, +2 mag, +1 def, +1 mdef, +1 agi
[Ability: Overwhelm] Your skills and spells are 3% stronger for each other skill or spell you have in effect at the time, to a maximum of 8.
[Ability: Regeneration ll] Increase [Regeneration] to regaining 1 lost Hp every 4 seconds.
[Unique Ability: Hook] Grab onto something within 24 meters.
.
[Living Stone Shield]
+10 Hp
[Ability: Vitality] Gain 5% stats while at full Hp.
.
These were nice and having a shield he still can't use seemed crazy in both good and bad ways. He immediately swapped to the [Hydra Shield] and went to Fitoria. He was waiting for her to teleport them, but she stood there with her arms crossed, seemingly disappointed.
"What?" Naofumi asked dumbly.
"Hurry up." Fitoria said.
"Hurry up? I'm done." Naofumi confirmed.
"I see a lot of bodies." Fitoria countered.
"Wha-Yeah, and?" Naofumi argued.
"Absorb them. Now." Fitoria demanded.
"But I already unlocked everything. Why?" Naofumi questioned.
"I don't remember why, just do it." Fitoria informed him.
"Don't remember? There's a lot I still don't know about her. Just how long has she been alive?" Naofumi thought sadly.
He relented and they all spent nearly an hour and a half gathering the bodies for Naofumi to absorb. Once that was finished, Fitoria wordlessly moved them back to the same dragon hourglass from before.
"I'll allow these two to class upgrade before we return to my realm." Fitoria informed.
Melty went first and, to no one's surprise she took a class that only a few bloodlines could choose, [Monarch]. Its ability was more symbolic than actually useful. It gave her spells the ability to not be countered, or more accurately, made it exceedingly hard to counter. Normally, the real benefit to the class was a much higher stat increase upon attaining it, but doubled stats from Filo was better still. Eclair was next, but before she walked forward, she turned to Filo and bowed slightly.
"Would you please allow me to use that power of yours, while I class upgrade?" She asked formally.
Too formally. Filo was confused.
"Um, sure. Filo guesses..." Filo answered.
Eclair clarified. "I only ask because like you said before, I am not your friend. I can't just expect to use you to my advantage withou-"
"Oh! Did Filo hurt your feelings? Sorry, sorry. You're Filo's friend now, don't cry." Filo said, quickly patting Eclair's head while she was still bowing.
Everyone tried to hold in their laughter, most managed, Teal did not. Eclair just allowed the misunderstanding to play out and went to the hourglass. She chose [knight], unsurprisingly. This gave her the ability to have the weight of her armor or weapon weigh zero to her. With doubled stats, that wasn't the best option to most, but Eclair used heavy armor while relying on her movement. So, nothing was better in her eyes.
...
Fitoria's hidden kingdom
...
They returned uneventfully. The wave was short, but tiring. Naofumi had just enough 'super dino soup' for them, but not for the hoard of socialist KFC natives. Naofumi began cooking as everyone was talking about how confident they felt now or about the cool things they could do. Naofumi really appreciated the lighter atmosphere that they all lacked only a few days ago. He wish he didn't, but he'd need to ruin the mood.
"Remember that this is still going to be hard. They have three heroes that are still higher level. You each might be a little stronger than the greater lords, but maybe not, depending on level. They also have the best weapons and armor money can buy for their level. Many, many years of experience too. They also have us beat in numbers. Even if we only count people level 30 or higher, they have 6 times as many as we do? More?"
Everyone's mood fell off a cliff.
Naofumi tried to save it a bit. "Be happy that we're stronger than before, but not satisfied."
They understood what he meant. After all, Monti used his [Electrocution] skill on Itsuki for the full duration and it only took 20% of his Hp. Now it'd be like 41-43% and that was using everything he had. Itsuki was also the lowest level and least armored of the three. Taking the heroes down would be a tall order to fill alone, not counting party members, lords and church members to deal with. They were looking at dozens of class upgraded enemies to fight.
"Indeed. You may spend the time between now and then here. I hope you will use it wisely." Fitoria offered, but somehow also warning them.
"...Fitoria? Would you allow me to use your transporting abilities again?" Naofumi asked sheepishly.
"To fight the waves? Gain strength? Or just survive?" Fitoria asked, not caring which one of the three it was.
"All three, actually."
Fitoria perked up at that. "Oh?" She was interested.
"We have some unfinished business with a surviving wave boss. It's EXP just sitting there and you love when I do my job, right?" Naofumi offered.
"Do you know where it is located?"
"Last seen and likely holding up in, yeah."
"Then that is fine..., but first food... You must be starving." Fitoria wanted Naofumi's cooking, now.
"Already on it..." Naofumi eased her mind and stomach.
Naofumi had one more thing they could do that would definitely help, but it was... just wrong.
"..."
"...Leon, Liviccic, you two mind coming here for a bit?" Naofumi called.
They both began to make their way over, Liviccic was crying tears of anguish as Sophia was giving Teal details that were never meant to be shared. Filo wanted to see what Leon was getting that she wasn't, but Raphtalia stopped her. Once they came over, Naofumi told them to sit down with him, telling them it was more than a few words.
"What I'm about to say is not set in stone, okay? This is merely one option we have, just one. I'd never suggest something like this under normal circumstances. I would never want to put you in this kind of position, Leon..." Naofumi prefaced the topic.
Leon and Liviccic were both concerned. Leon gestured him to continue. Naofumi didn't look like he was going to like saying this.
"Leon, we need as much fire power as possible to win and there is something more that can be done... Liviccic told us before that his undead are better based on three factors; that they were undead before, that they died from a curse, and that skeletons are more efficient..."
"Yeah...?" Leon didn't see where he was going with this.
"Leon... would you be okay with Liviccic using Gaelion's remains?" Naofumi finally asked.
Naofumi thought Leon would act in one of two ways. He thought Leon would flat out refuse or begrudgingly agree. He did neither.
"P-Please don't ask that..." Leon whispered as tears were already swelling up.
"Shit." Naofumi scrambled to move to Leon and grab him before he started crying very loudly. He wrapped his arms around him, pulling Leon into him.
"Shhh, it's okay. We won't. We won't. Shhh, it won't happen." He kept saying while stroking his head.
The family saw Leon crying and went to rush over, but Naofumi motioned them to stay where they were. He caused it, he would deal with it. Leon stayed there and cried himself to sleep. Naofumi held Leon against him the rest of the night. Preparing the food one handed, feeling like a bastard, it'd been a while since he felt that.
The family ate their meal, but wanted to know what happened to Leon. Naofumi confessed and they all had mixed reactions. They weren't mad at Naofumi, but they were worried about Leon.
Leon woke up later that night. He was still being held by Naofumi. Next to Naofumi was Raphtalia, then Monti, then Teal, in that order.
"Then where is-" Leon answered his own question. Filo was next to him, then Melty.
"Next to me, the fuck!?" Leon was not amused.
He slipped free of the others and snagged some food from the still warm pot over the recently dead fire. He ate it quietly, not wanting to think about what happened.
"So, the crying lizard stirs?" Fitoria asked.
Leon looked to her, sitting against a tree, watching him. He said nothing and kept eating.
"Nothing to say? Did you finally get it all out of your system?" Fitoria asked in a mocking manner.
"..."
Fitoria was surprised he didn't react. She heard what it was that upset him and she had some news that would get him to cooperate.
"You have Gaelion's shard within you, right? That was the other shard they mentioned."
"..." He didn't respond and took another bite.
"If so, take solace knowing he's not completely dead."
Leon stopped eating and turned to her.
"That get your attention? It's odd I know more about dragons than you do. Dragon emperor shards are important and have several uses and properties. A pure dragon with a dragon emperor shard can become a dragon emperor. When that happens one of those shard truly becomes their own. When that happens, their soul dwells there." Fitoria explained.
Leon sat his food down, listening closer.
Fitoria continued. "That means that when you class upgraded, one of those shards was probably overwritten with your own soul. I'd imagine it would be the newer one. It was probably empty since that thing wasn't a dragon. Which means..."
"Gaelion's alive... in me?" Leon asked.
"He isn't alive, but he's not completely dead." Fitoria clarified.
"What's the difference?" Leon questioned.
"He will never walk this world on his own again. If you learn how, you could commune with him, possibly even let him speak through you." Fitoria explained.
"How." Leon wasn't asking.
"Answer me first. Why aren't they enough?" Fitoria pointed to the family.
"They are more than enough." Leon said, trying not to shout.
"Then why care? You have a family, you never met him. The other children don't concern themselves with lineage."
"It's not for me. Gaelion was also raising a demi-human child. We're trying to track her down and free her. She is family to me. She shared a nest with me and even when they stole her away, she never revealed where my egg was... She loved Gaelion and I couldn't imagine ever facing her if I let that happen to her father."
"Did I hear 'her father', not 'our father'?"
"I'm Leon Iwatani. That's who I am and all I ever want to be."
"Then ignore the body if you have the spirit. If this girl can hear her father one more time, she can get over the body."
"B-But it's not my call. He isn't my father, he's hers..."
"She suffered while keeping quiet about you. She obviously understands sacrifice for the sake of family. You aren't going to do it because it means nothing, you're going to do it because it means less than them." She finished pointing to the family.
To that, Leon had no answer. Surely she would understand and if he could let her hear Gaelion's parting words at the least...
"Teach me how to ask Gaelion his opinion on the matter." Leon offered a compromise.
"No. Choose." Fitoria's face was stone, her voice like ice.
"I...I-I...choose them." Leon managed, trying not to cry.
"Good... I will teach you tomorrow, maybe the day after, depends on my number of errands." Fitoria stood and walked away.
"I would never help a dragon. I'm simply tricking the lizard into helping his hero more." Fitoria reasoned/lied to herself.
Leon finished his food and went to return to bed, but didn't want to sleep next to Filo. Naofumi's arm moved for him to retake his spot. He had been awake at some point, maybe the whole time. Leon lowered himself into his previous sleeping spot, then Naofumi placed his arm back down. They were quiet a moment.
"...I'm sorry, Leon." Naofumi softly whispered.
"I'm sorry, too. Go ahead and do it." Leon whispered back.
[Tenth condition for Fami*y Crest series have been unlocked]
They then went back to sleep and it was almost nice, until Filo shifted and laid her arm on Leon's head. Then there was war.
...
The following morning
...
Naofumi and Leon woke up early and talked it over with Liviccic. Liviccic was apprehensive himself. Once Leon explained the emperor shard thing to him, he was more okay with it.
"Good. I honestly didn't want to do anything to upset you." Liviccic promised.
"It's fine. It's just some bones. He had a good life and met a good death." Leon finished.
"Okay, then-" Liviccic went to say something.
"But if you want to use it past the battle, it'll cost you." Leon finished with a smile.
"Dammit! A money-grubbing father has raised an equally money-grubbing son." Liviccic complained lightly.
Naofumi handed Liviccic three dozen Sp potions, which was nearly all of what he had. Sophia was finally asked for hair for Naofumi as he realized that he never asked.
.
[Greater Spider Shield]
+2 sp, +1 def
[Ability: Climbing Up lll] improves your ability to climb greatly.
.
[White Widow Shield]
+3 sp, +8 poison resistance
[Ability: Subtle Poison] Your poisons are harder to detect.
.
[Spiderweb Shield]
+4 sp, +1 mdef
[Unique Ability: Reel] After using [Hook], activate this to pull you and the target together.
.
[Spider Queen Shield]
+8 sp, +2 def, +2 mdef
[Ability: Latch Plus] Double the power of [Latch].
[Ability: Backup Plan] You may remove a buff you have placed to protect that person greatly for a short time.
.
After that, Liviccic and Sophia gave their goodbyes to the others and left with Fitoria for Mirso village. They'd then go to Briarhaven, then Fitoria would leave them there and return.
With time on their hands, Naofumi decided to work on the plant monsters that would need to be farmed for the next step in his plan to make stat upgrade items. Raphtalia and Eclair decided to train, Eclair had a lot to teach Raphtalia, but knew from her fight with Idol that Raphtalia was more than worth teaching.
The kids decided there was only one way they could see who had the best upgrades, a game of ball. Melty wanted to play too, but she was warned to not expect a normal game. Naofumi made them all place their mana into the ball again to let it increase to their new level of power first. What followed was a brutal war of titans. Melty was level 40 and doubled stats too, but she was quickly dissuaded from competing alone and teamed up with Filo. The others didn't mind, Leon even accused Filo of needing the help.
Hours later, Naofumi had prepared his latest volley of test seeds. Raphtalia and Eclair had ended their first training in heavy fatigue. The kids concluded their games with Monti winning, he didn't hold back. They were also rather worn out.
Raphtalia and Monti weren't planning on it, but wound up with their heads in Naofumi's lap, fast asleep. As Naofumi patted their heads and rubbed their animal ears, their tails swung in delight.
"Blood be damned, these two are related." Naofumi thought to himself as he kept at it.
Filo and Melty went to explore the ruins, Teal checked out the local plants and Leon stayed close to their camp. There were too many filolials away from camp, he'd end up fighting them.
...
Briarhaven
...
Silvius had most of the men ready. He and the other upper staff were going to have to lead the men without their lord. It wasn't ideal. This would be the perfect time to take the reins and solidify himself as their lord all the more. However, they could not wait any longer. If they left within the hour, they'd arrive on the appointed day comfortably. As he made his way to the front with the other upper staff, a light appeared near the gate. Many knights turned to the source with suspicion, only to see Liviccic and Sophia with another undead person covered in heavy clothes, Fitoria behind them next to her cart.
"Sorry for any delays. The shield hero and Princess Melty are safe for the moment. Our attack on my father's enemies will begin in earnest right now." Liviccic announced in place of a greeting.
The men were relieved to see their lord. Even those that didn't like him saw his power before against Boris and how he struck the bow hero to the ground and so knew he was strong. Liviccic was calling the Skull Captain and Soul Eater to his side from his manor, they'd be here soon. The upper staff went to his side.
"What happened, my lord? I'm afraid we've received few details." One asked.
"Lord Idol Rabier was one of the traitors. He was slain by Raphtalia, the shield hero's sworn sword, in single combat. Idol's forces were taken down to roughly half their power and scattered without leadership. They will not be joining the fight. Further, Sophia and I have received class upgrades thanks to Fitoria, queen of all filolial the world over." He finished, gesturing to Fitoria.
She did not care for the attention or praise.
"If you no longer need me, I must return to my domain." Fitoria said.
"That will be all, thank you for everything." Sophia answered, her and Liviccic bowing.
In the next moment, Fitoria and her cart were gone.
Briarhaven left in full force for the battlefield soon after. They had four days to meet Balmus and the others in the field. Liviccic was imagining the death toll even at the lowest end.
Even in victory, four days from now was to be an awful day full of grief.
...
Fitoria's hidden kingdom
...
Fitoria returned to her domain to see another meal being made. She was pleased. Most of the party was accounted for except Teal and Leon. She quickly spotted Leon under a tree, concentrating. He was attempting one of two things, either of which he wasn't ready for. Teal was not in the immediate area. Fitoria moved at high speeds and found her over a strange body of water. Teal had the good sense not to just touch it, but she really looked like she wanted to.
"Get away from that." Fitoria warned.
Teal did just as she said.
"What is this? It's not water and I'm getting this weird feeling..." Teal couldn't even guess what it was.
"It is something that hopefully will never be necessary. No one here, including myself, has the ability to use it properly, so it remains here." Fitoria said.
"Is it a weapon? An ingredient?" Teal had a lot of guesses.
"...It is a lesson." Fitoria answered, only leaving more questions.
Teal had the good sense to give up and return to the others, Fitoria followed soon after.
They once again endured feeding all of Fitoria's flock. Naofumi complained that they would run out of food soon. At those words, Fitoria told her flock to hunt their own food like they did before Naofumi. They looked devastated, but also didn't dare defy her.
After the meal, they went over the rest of the day's plan. Putting down a dog, long overdue. They would all go, but only three of them were going to fight it. However, if it turned out to be tougher than they assumed, they'd all step in. Fitoria thought it better to simply overwhelm the foe, but killing this enemy was about more than eliminating a threat. It was about doing right by the fallen, finishing what they started, and continuing to be the people they wanted to be.
...
Heavy mountain pass
...
They arrived on the mountain Naofumi instructed. He was so amazed that Fitoria could just go places, be anywhere. There was so much about her he wanted to learn before they left for the battle. It might be the last time they ever speak.
"Do you sense it, Monti?"
"...Yeah, faintly..." Monti answered as he looked around. "A tiny bit of it seems to be all over the place. Did it receive an injury and bleed all around the mountain?"
"..."
The all spread out. Melty stayed with Filo, Teal rode on Leon high above. It was Naofumi that found it.
"Enemy detected this way..." Naofumi announced.
They scouted the area and it was obvious. There was a cave nearby, heavy damage near it. Red stains around the entrance. Naofumi did what he could to peer into the cave from a distance. Unable to know its level, they all approached, but with the three who wanted to fight it the most up front.
Those being Raphtalia, Monti, and Eclair.
They didn't even get to enter the cave before they heard something large stir. Heavy breathing and lumbering steps soon followed. The moment Naofumi caught a glimpse of it, he used [Inspect]. It was level 49. A commendable number, considering it was probably less than half that level when it came to this world. Level wasn't everything, though. It was likely strong for its level as a wave boss.
As it came into full view, they took in the full sight of the creature. It was larger than Monti's full form, though not as large as Leon was now. It had heavily matted hair from its own dried blood. While its three large heads were certainly a distinct feature, it was no longer the most standout feature of the creature. That would have to be the many weapons that adorned its back and side. Swords, spears, daggers, one axe and dozens of arrows stuck to the beast, making it look unkillable.
Those three didn't seem to think so as they took their positions. Raphtalia, front left. Eclair, front right. Monti, center back. They advanced slowly on the beast while most of the others were motioned by Naofumi to fall back. Fitoria decided to voice her displeasure.
"Why not just overwhelm the beast?"
"Those three want a piece more, for one. Honestly though, I think it's important that we all face challenges. This is a source of trauma for Raphtalia and Eclair's first chance to test out her class upgrade... I will intervene against their wishes if something goes wrong." Naofumi shared.
The beast saw their approach and roared in anger. With the cave behind it and the high mountain surrounding it, the roar echoed and felt almost like an act of nature in its intensity. In response, Monti roared back, using [Fear] as he did so. His roar was about the same in intensity, but with the added effects of the skill, the Cerberus stopped moving forward entirely.
One head checked behind it, seemingly confirming its inability to escape. Whatever ferocity the beast possessed before had increased further, as it began to feel it was cornered. It began to foam at the mouths as it lunged forward at the three in front of him.
This did the creature no favors, as it had no way to reach them unchallenged. The three moved forward, engaging in a brief exchange demonstrating their strategy. If a head came for either Raphtalia or Eclair in the front, Monti stabbed the beast's snout. If it tried to use its front paws, then Raphtalia or Eclair slashed at the claws. The creature was strong, but possessed little defense when compared to their attack.
Little by little, and with perfect form, the fight went near predictably for nearly 5 minutes. In that time, each of the Cerberus' heads had at least 10 stab wounds, courtesy of Monti. The paws were even worse, claws were cut off, entire toes with them when unlucky. They only needed to dodge when it used magic, that being in the form of long, narrow metal rode that it manifested in a scatter shot method. The beast hurt even to stand at this point. Their strategy was safe, but as the fight dragged on and the already wounded beast became more and more bloodied, their attitudes changed.
"We came here to kill it, not torture it. Let's end this." Raphtalia said as she moved backwards and began chanting a spell.
Monti and Eclair agreed. Eclair changed stances, from a one-handed low stance to a two-handed overhead stance. Monti activated [Overdrive], having not used magic so far in this fight. Lastly, Raphtalia finished her chant and placed [Zweite Holy] on her blade. From here, they aimed to finish the fight.
Monti leapt forward and shot his tail through the snout of the beast's left most head, piercing the lower jaw and pinning it to the ground. As soon as he did, the rest of his body moved to keep the other two heads at bay. Raphtalia and Eclair raced off to their targets just as the first head hit the ground. Raphtalia towards the downed head on the left, Eclair to the front leg of the opposing side. Eclair came up and sliced through the leg to the bone, but no further. This was fine, however, as her target was the muscles that kept the leg upright. On the other side, Raphtalia had no such problem cutting through the bone of the creature's neck. She came down on the beast with a single strike in a heavy overhead fashion, the holy element undermining the monster's defenses as she took the head off in one blow.
With this, all three of them moved on to the next one. Monti pulled his tail out and leapt up, before using his wings to shoot him back down to the ground again. His tail now repeating itself with the right most head. Eclair and Raphtalia ran past one another as they switch sides. Eclair repeated what she did before, cutting the leg muscles to cripple the beast. Raphtalia repeated her actions as well, severing the second head.
With both front legs crippled, the beast collapsed forward. The loss of limbs and accompanying blood loss seemed to be enough for the beast to grow tired and begin to succumb to mortality. The monster whimpered lowly between breaths. Monti didn't need to act further, as Raphtalia and Eclair walked toward the last remaining head. They wore frowns as they did so. They cut through the last head together, killing the beast.
As the others came down towards them, Naofumi noticed their expressions.
"Not what you imagined?" Naofumi questioned.
Raphtalia looked at the beast one last time. "...I had built this thing up in my head to be so much. Not just power, but wrathful and infallible... Yet that was a rather pathetic death. It's Hp was only at 60% from the start. I never imagined it was barely managing to cling to life out here... I thought... I don't know what I thought." Raphtalia stopped thinking out loud.
"That it was supposed to be more than a monster? That it couldn't be affected by such things? That killing it should have been this great heroic act... Certainly, killing it was best. It killed anything that crossed its path..." Raphtalia thought to herself.
"Indeed. It was our right and duty to slay it, but I wish it was able to carry itself with more... something... as we did our job." Eclair agreed.
Neither could say what it was about the fight that was so unsatisfying, but at the end of it all, their satisfaction wasn't the most important thing.
Leon went inside to check the cave for valuables, Teal decided to tag along. Raphtalia and Eclair checked the beast, looking at the many weapons impaled into it, seeing if any were worth retrieving. Filo and Fitoria stayed in the back, both finding the fight boring and dragging on too long. Lastly, Naofumi and Monti went for a sample.
.
[Cerberus Shield]
+3 def, +3 mdef, +3 agi
[Ability: Dritte Shield] Allows the use of a third shield ability at the same time.
[Ability: Weaponbane ll] Unnatural weapons deal 10% less damage to you.
[Ability: Security] You can allow anyone to bypass your defensive skills.
.
Monti took a bite only to stop suddenly. The boost from this creature wasn't the same as a single stat increase. It felt like one of the boosts that fixed a problem. His head felt weird and he called for his father to explain what he had gained. A moment later, Naofumi had no idea.
"You gained no stats, but also no ability... Do you feel a change?" Naofumi questioned.
"Yeah... my head is weird... I think I'm thinking too much?" Monti had no idea.
They stayed about an hour. Naofumi absorbed the rest of the beast before Fitoria could order him to. They searched the cave and the surroundings and found nothing of value, other than a single sword from the creature's back.. Eclair declared it useless, but Leon pointed out the materials used were valuable.
Wanting to think of something to take from this venture, Naofumi checked his item drop menu. When he did, he saw that the Tyrant Rex had left them nothing, but the hydra, stone head and Cerberus wave bosses had all left them goodies.
The hydra dropped staves, one for each head. Naofumi thought getting all of them was quite lucky, but perhaps they dropped together, as a set. Perhaps he could use the fire one as a better base for an improved staff for Leon later?
The stone head dropped a stone mask that seals the user's spells and skills and grants them +25% stats across the board. That would surely have its uses at some point.
Lastly, the Cerberus dropped a sword. Naofumi wondered if it only dropped a sword because it had weapons stuck in it now, recalling games he played where such creatures did seem to follow that idea. The sword was rather strong, stronger than Raphtalia's own sword by just a bit. It had an effect that said every third hit was a critical.
After a little more discussion, they headed back to Fitoria's domain. They had three days to prepare themselves. Physically and mentally... for war.
.
[Author's Notes]
Question: If any pair in the party were to form a familiar/shikigami (excluding Naofumi and Raphtalia, obviously), who would you want it to be?
Fitoria vaguely remembered one of the power-up methods. When the methods are discussed later, he may put two and two together.
Fitoria actually offering a dragon help, even if it is paired with insults and only in service to a cardinal hero.
Only a single condition remains until Naofumi obtains a new shield series.
I gave Raphtalia her full satisfaction with Idol, but I can't just have everything be the way they want. Here, Raphtalia found the architect of her nightmares to be rather pathetic and its death unsatisfying.
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