Chapter 9: Cave Expedition
"Oh my, this is a truly remarkable find." Belokaus looked under a blanket covering a shaking cage and beamed with joy.
"I've heard a few rumors of their existence since the waves started, but I didn't think they were true. Take it to the rare creature section."
"Is that section also for Sakura?"
"AGH!" Startled, the slave trader turned around, only to see Naofumi.
"Oh, it's just you, shield hero. Sorry if the child wasn't satisfactory. If you're here to exchange, I have plenty of adults in the back as a replacement. Around 34, to be specific.
"How the hell did you find so many so fast?"
"Trade secret; I can teach you how for some silver." The slave trader stroked his mustache as he awaited an answer.
"Would have been helpful before, but I've decided to keep her. Now I need you to track down and find two others from her village; their names are Keel and Rifana." Naofumi leaned down to the slave trader and started to whisper. "Rifana is possibly dead, so that's just a confirmation."
"I see, my men, have tracked down and captured many children, so this shall be an easy task. Estimated time of success should be around 2 weeks."
"Is that truly your fastest?"
"Sadly, yes. The travel does take some time, even if my communication network is superb."
"Then I'll be back by then. And don't disappoint me."
"On it right away sir shield."
/~/
Naofumi left the tent with Raphtalia and started to head back to the inn.
"Did you have to be so mean?"
"It's a slave trader; I'm pretty sure we can agree that most forms of respect are thrown out the window. And just so you know, I'm keeping the slave crest on. Mostly for stat-boosting purposes."
"Stat boost?"
"A shield ability of mine. That should put you above most in terms of ability."
"So I'll be stronger than Sakura?"
"Let's not get crazy here."
Raphtalia beamed with happiness. "Speaking of Sakura, there she is." Raphtalia pointed out.
"What?" Looking over to where Raphtalia was, Sakura slid into the alleyway, knocking over a couple of trash cans in the process.
"Hey, didn't I tell you to watch the trash cans last time?"
"This isn't about that. How dare you go behind Sakura's back and… oh, she's still here, never mind." Sakura smiled.
"The hell are you doing here? I'm pretty sure dressmaking doesn't take 30 minutes."
"Sakura knows something went wrong, and she needs you to follow her to the magic shop."
"What did you do?"
"It's not Sakura's fault this time… probably?"
"Ugh." Naofumi groaned. Picking up Raphtalia, he tossed her into Sakura's feathers and hopped on Himself.
"I just want things to be simple."
Running through the castle town once more, Sakura reached the magic shop in under a minute and tried to head inside. Only to get stuck between the door frame due to forgetting about her larger size.
With a puff of smoke, she returns to her human form and quickly covers herself with an oversized cloak before attempting the door once again, this time succeeding.
"We're here!" Sakura sang.
"Great, now mind telling me what happened?" Naofumi asked.
"See for yourself." The witch replied, gesturing to the shattered jewel on the countertop.
"You just got a human form; how did you break something so fast?"
"No need to worry; it wasn't her fault. The crystal was on its last leg anyway."
"Oh, alright then." Naofumi quickly puts his coin pouch away and walks over to the counter.
"So is it possible we can get another one of these gems? I need it quickly.
"There are plenty in a cave around here." The store's resident witch points her wand at a map she pulled out. "The only problem is that there are many monsters in that place, and I prefer not to go alone."
"So you want us to help you out?"
"If that's okay with you. I would usually go myself. But the influx of monsters from the wave has really messed with the natural monster population."
"Is this the only option?" Naofumi asked.
"Unless you want to wait for my next shipment in about… three weeks." The witch smiled.
"Fuck it. Plan A it is."
/~/
Before they set off, Naofumi uses his remaining silvers to buy three grimoires for all of them to read. The witch felt generous and gave them a discount as thanks for the help and even unlocked their magical affinities for them via crystal ball.
Sakura had a wind affinity, a common trait among most filolials. Of course, none of them could actually cast spells, so Sakura was unique in that aspect. Raphtalia, in comparison to Sakura's one affinity, had two. Light and Dark. The witch even stated she had the ability to learn illusion magic, something that caught the girl's interest quickly.
Last up was Naofumi, who was rather disappointed with his results. Another avenue of possible ways to attack was gone, now that his affinities were support and healing. Whoever made the shield wanted him to be a support and a support only. Even if it meant taking away its users' best chance at dealing some damage.
After checking their affinities, they gathered everything they could before setting off on Sakura. Although they did have to stop a few times to give Raphtalia some rest from the motion, they made quick timing due to Sakura's impressive speed, making them on time anyway.
"Is this the place, witch lady?" Sakura asked.
It was a cave with a wide entrance, poorly illuminated from the previous expeditions that came.
"Indeed. The crystals we need are inside." The witch nodded.
"Then let's not waste any time."
Naofumi got off Sakura. But the second he did, a large iguana monster came out and went on the attack. He raised his shield, ready to defend against its jaw. But Sakura got in the way and stepped on its snout before it could even open.
"Sakura wonders if this tastes any good." Sakura pondered as she kicked the monster back inside.
121 EXP
"Not the time. Raphtalia, Witch. Stay behind me and more carefully. Sakura, stay by my side and be ready to strike at a moment's notice."
"I can give some magical support from the rear. Just be sure not to be in the blast radius when I cast." The witch chuckled.
"Good enough for me. Alright everyone, let's move."
/~/
As Naofumi expected. The monsters inside were pretty tough. He could block them with no problem, but it would take a few hits for the group to kill them, not to mention that they attacked in groups. It took some time to find all of them. Even Raphtalia was getting in on the action, employing some hit-and-run tactics. Though she was still unable to handle the sight of blood, she did her best to keep her lunch in this time.
After some time, and killed what seemed to be about twenty of these reptilians. They suddenly became quiet. Too quiet for Naofumi's liking. That was until he heard a faint voice reverberate throughout the cave.
"Sakura should have left when she had the chance."
"Hmm?" Naofumi looked over at Sakura, only to find her looking around confused as well.
"He's not the real shield hero. He's a fake, a criminal." Another voice mocked. This time being Raphtalia's.
What the hell is going on?
"I promised I would get stronger; you can't!" Raphtalia yelled out.
Naofumi turned around, but the party all stood still. All of them stared down at the floor, muttering every form of insult and defamation they could think of.
"Something's not right. What's causing this?" Naofumi searched around the room but found himself in a dark box as the group approached him. That was until the room around him shattered, bringing him back into the real world.
"What was that?" Naofumi asked.
"Voice Gengar's. They copy the voices of those around you and use them to throw you off guard. It also seemed like something blinded us." The witch threw another fireball, hitting one of the bats in the air.
"They made Raph cry. I'm killing them all! [Fast Tornado!]" Cupping her hands together, a tornado blasted forward, catching all the bats midair and crashing them into the wall.
Since when could she do that? Naofumi pondered.
"Oh my. We might have a prodigy in our midst. [Fast Eruption!]"
While they were disoriented. A blue circle appeared below them, followed by an eruption of azure flames that burnt them all to a crisp.
"Watch it with the fire. I could have used some of that." Naofumi grumbled.
"Apologies. Here, you can use this." The witch tossed him another bat. Even though I was pretty fried. The shield found it acceptable enough for a new form.
Voice Gengar Shield Conditions Met
Equip Bonus: Special effect: megaphone
"Great, now I can yell at people more efficiently," Naofumi grumbled.
"Master." Raphtalia called out.
"Remember our talk from earlier, and keep going," Naofumi answered bluntly. This was, however, enough to get Raphtalia back into a fighting mood.
As they continued onward, the threat became less and less frequent, often a bad sign. The only thing they encountered was the thing that assisted the voice Gengars earlier, a rat that blinded them with illusions. With the witch here, however, their illusions were swiftly broken, and the rats were quickly disposed of with the combined effort of Sakura and Raphtalia. Sadly, however, the rats gave no interest in the ability to speak of when absorbed.
That was the last group they encountered before finally finding the crystals they needed. The only issue was there was a monster that took up residence inside. It was a lion-like creature, with the tail of a cobra. As soon as they entered its line of sight, it let out a mighty roar and rushed at the group.
"This one looks tough. Move with caution."
Naofumi stepped in front of the group and raised his shield, blocking against the Nue with a grunt.
This thing hits hard. Also that tail.
"Kya!"
"Sakura, wait!"
"Eh!?" At his command, Sakura stopped her attack and good thing she did. She was just out of range from the Nue's tail, its snake attempting to take a bite. Naofumi ran forward, grabbing onto the Nue's tail. The monster attempted to pull away, but Naofumi held firm, preventing it from running. With its options limited, it went on the attack, biting down on Naofumi's shoulder.
"Ugh."
"Master!" Raphtalia cried out.
"Attack now." Using his other arm, Naofumi painfully wrapped it under the Nue's neck and held it in place. With an opening, Raphtalia ran forward, stabbing it in the neck.
"I got it!"
Raphtalia celebrated her achievement, but the Nue was far from amused. With a growl, it slapped the tanuki away and began shaking, attempting to throw Naofumi off.
"Sakura!"
"On it, master!" Stripping out of her dress in a flash, Sakura transformed into her queen state and rushed forward. Letting go of its tail, Naofumi quickly pried the jaws of the Nue off of him and rolled away, just in time, as Sakura came in and kicked the Nue into the wall.
"[Zweite Fire Blast!]"
Naofumi didn't even notice, but the witch quickly chanted a spell. As Sakura jumped away, a ball of azure flames was unleashed from the witch's wand, exploding as it crashed into the Nue. When the smoke cleared, the Nue was planted firmly into the wall, burned and bruised all over.
"Did that do it? I didn't see any exp.
"Sakura isn't sure." Sakura poked it a few times, only to hop back as the Nue sprung back to life.
"Nope, still alive!"
The Nue continued his assault, slashing at Sakura with its claws. But the attacks never reached her; Naofumi was there and took the hits for her with his shield. The Nue jabbed its tail at Naofumi, but it was caught by the hero.
Being in a similar scenario, Naofumi knew better and tossed the tail aside, opting to catch the Nue by its jaws as it attempted a similar tactic. But with its tail free, it took another at Naofumi, only for it to be cut off by Raphtalia, long before it could reach him.
"Nice work, Talia!"
Sakura leaped in, carrying Raph away before she could be hit again. She then reverted to her human form and swiped Raphtalia's weapon away.
"I want to try this now." Sakura grinned.
"Sakura. Your clothes!" Raphtalia warned.
"Oh my. How immodest." The witch chuckled.
"Who cares!" Leaping onto the Nue's back, she drove the dagger deep into its head. With a roar, the Nue thrashed violently, knocking away both its attackers, but Sakura leaped off the wall, transforming and kicking the Nue into the ground.
"Witch!" Naofumi called.
"Already on it!"
"As the source of thy power, I order thee."
"[Fast Wind Cutter!]"
Leaping back into the air, Sakura blasted the Nue with blades of wind, cutting into its flesh.
"Let the true way combust, and reveal the limitless power of fire." The witch stepped back, a blue circle appearing in front of her wand.
"Talia, together!"
"Right!" Sakura ripped the dagger out of the Nue's head and slid it over to the tanuki. Grabbing it off the ground, Raphtalia ran beside Sakura and drove her dagger into the Nue's chest as Sakura held it down.
The new thrashed around, trying to throw the two off. But under the support of Sakura, Raphtalia held firm and pushed it in even further.
"Sakura! The wall!"
"Understood.
Leaping into the air, Naofumi did a double take just to confirm what he saw. Defying every law of reality he knew of, Sakura landed midair, prepping herself for the next attack.
"[Fast Wind Step!]"
How does she know that? Naofumi grumbled.
Sakura left off the wind itself and crashed into the Nue, carrying it into the nearby wall. The Nue attempted to fight back, but its strength was completely spent.
"Let's end things, shall we? [Dreifach Flash Flare]"
A small light escaped from the witch's wand, transforming from a speck of light into a raging flame that burned through the ground it traveled. Leaping out of the way at the last second, Sakura shielded herself from the head, as the shockwave from the explosion blasted her back towards Naofumi. The latter of whom didn't even attempt to catch the flying bird and allowed Hero to crash into the ground.
"Mean." Sakura spat.
EXP: 325
Level Up!
"Yay, we did…" Raphtalia cheered for a moment, only to realize what she'd done. The corpse of the Nue was too much to handle, and she promptly lost her lunch.
She must have been full of adrenaline. She didn't even realize it. Naofumi grunted as he grabbed onto his shoulder.
"You should consider getting a pair of armor. Shield hero or not, you're still susceptible to damage." The witch handed Naofumi a potion. When he drank it, he felt the pain in his shoulder vanish, as the wound quickly patched itself up.
This thing is pretty potent. I need a way to replicate this. Naofumi thought as he cut into the Nue.
Nue Shield Conditions Met
Equip bonus: Defense 3, Lightning Resistance,
Special Effect: Night Terror, Lightning Shield (medium)
"I should be able to wield this one soon."
"New shield?" Sakura asked.
"Yep. But I'll worry about it later. Let's grab as much as we can and go."
"Good idea. You brought a pickaxe?" The witch asked.
The room went silent, followed by a collective groan from Naofumi and Sakura.
"Great. So how are we supposed to harvest this?" Naofumi asked.
"I could try kicking it. Would that work?" Sakura pondered.
"Well. I'm pretty sure there's no special way to extract it. So maybe." The witch answered.
"I'm going for it!" Sakura walked over to the ore and gave it a light tap. At first, Naofumi was going to yell at her for messing around, but the kick seemed to have enough force and split a chunk of it in half.
"Ahh. This is more than enough. Excellent timing as well. Once we get back, we can have everything done by the end of the day."
"Perfect. Now there's one last thing we need to do."
Walking over to the Nue, Naofumi picked it up and effortlessly hoisted its body over his back.
"What do you plan on doing with that?" Raphtalia asked.
"Selling it. What do you say, witch? You keep the crystal, and we keep the monster?" Naofumi bargained.
"Make it five chunks."
"Deal."
/~/
Monster Vendors Stand
The monster vendor sat at his stand with a stack of balloon rubber on the table. Letting out a yawn, he rested his head on his hands as he waited for another adventurer to arrive. That was until a pink blur passed by, followed by the Nue's corpse crashing into his stand. Fearing for his life, the vendor quickly ran away. But his path was blocked, as he bumped into a massive pink bird, with the shield hero on top.
"Hello, friend. How much are you willing to pay for this one?
Level Report
Raphtalia: 3 12 16
Sakura: 20 23 25
Naofumi: 21 24 27
(Original, level after monsters, levels after Nue)
A/N: Sakura with a knife. A funny yet terrifying thought. At least this version isn't a full yandere.
Thanks for Reading
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