Is it wrong to want to be a hero in the dark age

by Mystic Otaku 22

Lately I've been wanting to write my own fanfiction just to try it out as an inspiring writer. Then it hit me, it's been stated that if Bell became an adventurer during the dark age of Orairo he'd be cooked. So what if the dark age had its own hero, so I made my own OC and I hopefully did a good job at not making him overpowered.

8. Shopping Day

Today Craiku and I have finally returned to the dungeon, two weeks had passed since my encounter with the girls and the kid Sora. My Excelia had increased since then, and I had ventured much deeper into the dungeon. However, the deeper I went, the more aggressive the monsters became as they tried to kill me. At this moment, we were back on floor 7 as we're not permitted to go deeper than this due to our equipment being trashed.

"Finally back to smashing monster heads" Craiku said eagerly pounding his fists together,

"Don't drop your guard down here Craiku, you're strong but a single mistake can ruin everything" he nods at me.

"I think I can even take care of the killer ants without a weapon now"

I pinch his cheek, "Don't get any ideas ok, I like you better when you're alive"

"Yes sir" I released him and soon the two of us were surrounded by monsters upon monsters, Killer Ants Kobolds even some War Shadows which are another type of newbie killer.

"Hiyah" or at least it's supposed to be but Craiku with a single swing of his spear took it out with pure ease but I haven't been able to kill one by myself yet.

"Clover I think you're strong enough to kill a War Shadow by yourself, I know you can do it, perhaps you can fight two at a time." He said looking back at me.

A killer ant tried to bite him while he wasn't looking but he heard and blocked it with his spear and punched it in the jaw causing it to release his weapon.

I leaped backward to avoid an attack from a War Shadow, to evade but I wasn't fast enough, it cut my shoulder. I glanced at the blood oozing from the wound but chose to ignore it as I barely dodged another monster's attack.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I didn't have trouble with the monsters on this floor; the problem was their sheer numbers, as they tried to overwhelm me. However, I didn't want to dwell on it too much so I drew my knife and weaved under its knife like claws and drove it into its magic stone and killed it in a single strike. Then, I turned and drew my crossbow and shot it at a Killer Ant that was about to attack me.

"Nice Clover you're getting better and better, too cool" there was a dungeon lizard crawling above his head and it dropped down. He back flipped out of the way and he raised his leg and brought it down on top of its head and completely shattered its skull and blood sprayed everywhere.

"Ambush me once, shame on you, do it twice, shame on me"! He stood there proudly, he usually drops his guard whenever he gets too relaxed so perhaps he's finally getting the hang of it. Another Ant swipes at him but he dodged it and he flipped it and judo slammed the ant into the ground and he punched it in its spectrum killing it.

We were going to end the day as another productive one in the dungeon, and although I wanted to find a clue about the Evils but I promised Shakti we wouldn't go looking for trouble, it would be better if I became strong enough to fight at least one of their upper ranked members. I heard that Craiku's evil sister was just an opening act. There's more powerful people leading the Evils, and I'm not just talking about that level 2 Craiku held his own against.

There's a level 3 general and I heard their leader and a few others are top class adventurers. If we ever ran into them we wouldn't stand a chance. We can't keep expecting them to only send low level soldiers. "Welp let's go home for dinner" Craiku tornado kicked a Killer Ant in the head stabbed it in the face before he turned around and pouts, "Nooo way I wanna fight even more,"

I kneeled down, "What did I say about overworking yourself?" I asked as he grumbled at me before he responded.

"It could become torture to your body instead of training and we should use all the rest time we can get because we're always on guard I know I know, I just don't feel as tired as I used to at the end of the day, I was taught the only effective training is training that wears you out" he explained

"True but training super intensely constantly during the dark age could leave you worn out and vulnerable for when you need to fight on short notice besides you don't need to be burnt out in order for you to be improving. If you get better you just get better. I mean you didn't grow a ton in terms of status when traveling but I think it helped you improve your combat abilities a large amount."

Craiku stroked his chin, "You seem to speak from personal experience"

"I do, but let's go home, or else Adree will sneak in your bed for a-" he dashes off before I finish my sentence.

"I refuse to let her go in my room and sleep in my bed, my bed is mine and mine alone and no one else can have it"! He cheers, pumping his fist in the air.

I should just say that whenever he refuses to go home.

We were about to leave the seventh floor when suddenly a voice cried out in terror.

"Why are there so many ants,"!?

Craiku's face tensed up as he immediately gave chase to the voice that cried out and I immediately lost track of him.

Ugh this kid's too fast!

---

Craiku's POV

I know it's reckless to run off on my own but hearing a cry for help always makes me feel like I'd regret it if I didn't immediately push myself to do something.

I ran down the stairs leading to the 8th floor and I searched around for the person calling out, "Hello, is anyone down here"? I called out in a panic

"Yes over please hurry I think it's about to release it's pheromones"! It cried out.

I drew my spear knowing this floor had stronger monsters and ran as fast as I could.

It didn't take me long to locate the person. She was a short green-haired girl wearing glasses who was fighting for her life against a bunch of Killer Ant and it seemed they were starting to overwhelm her too much. And I noticed that there was someone who was unconscious laying behind her and from the way she was standing, it seemed like she was trying to protect her.

I extended my hand and shot a stone cannon ball at the Killer Ant trying to attack her and leaped off a wall, pushing myself with all my might toward the person who was experiencing great distress.

"Take this"! I brought my spear down on it's neck and decapitated a Killer Ant that was about to approach her. I landed on my feet with my back to her and quickly began to kill several monsters while assisting her.

Her green eyes looked at me with surprise and relief; she seemed about to speak to me but had to stop when another ant tried to pierce her, but I blocked it with my free hand. "No way you overgrown insect" but I started to waver and it's claws hit my forearm a little bit leaving three claw marks.

"Oh no I'm sorry this is all my fault" she said, but I laughed in an attempt to reassure her.

"This paper cut, nah I've had way worse" I said before I used my blast spell to push it away with a small gust of wind before I cut it's arm off and blasted it directly with a fireball setting it on fire before I kicked it in it's back and stabbed it directly in the magic stone.

"Woah you're really strong"

"Allow me to assist you, I have enough mind energy for one last spell just keep fighting and round up most of them in one place, I probably should have mentioned this but this floor's monsters are slightly more powerful than the ones from the previous 7, that's why you were caught by surprise by that Ant just now weren't you" she explained she took out a wand.

I punched an ant in the face, "Hey I'm over here a big tasty kid ripe for dinner, come and get it and I promise there's enough for everyone", I said hoping they'd take the bait and they did, but I failed to realize that I was dealing with at least 15 Killer Ants.

"O great spirit let the fairies guide the smoldering flames and put all that stand in it's way to rest–Flare Wave"

She unleashed a wave of fire and I moved out of the way as fast as I could and the flames started to burn up the remaining killer ants. "Kiiii"

"Woah that was incredible you really made burnt toast out of those bug bites" I said excitedly.

She blushes slightly before her face tensed up, "Oh no I missed three of them" she said as I saw three of them approach me"

"Not a problem, I got this" I charged towards the first time hitting it with a collar bone strike and struck upwards and cut it's arm. I blew it away with a blast and I jumped onto the wall and pushed off and unloaded the flying sidekick to its spectrum while in mid air and we crashed into the wall with blood pouring everywhere.

The second one tried swiping at me but unlike before I didn't let my guard down and dodge every single one and struck downward cutting off it's arm. "Cross the body strike" I strike it across the body before I blasted it straight into a pile of rocks and I jumped into the air and lifted my spear above my head and struck down, but I noticed that it was starting to crack, then it completely shattered into metal pieces and all that remained was the bottom half of it.

That really made me mad, "You stupid insect, THAT'S THE FIRST WEAPON SHAKTI EVER GAVE ME!!"

I blasted it with a point blank stone cannon ball and broke its shell then I punched it numerous times in the skull as blood sprayed everywhere. "I'll kill you for ruining my favorite weapon. I'll never ever forgive you for this." I slammed it against the wall and ripped out its magic stone with my bare hands.

By the time I was done I had remembered that I was supposed to be helping that girl and I felt extremely guilty for getting angry like that.

"You shouldn't have done that" she told me.

"I know I'm sorry"

"No I mean expend so much energy on that ant, there's still one left" the last one raised it's claws above my head but an arrow hits it's head multiple times and a grappling rope tied itself around it and it was pulled by someone.

I looked in the direction of the ant and a knife was driven into it's chest and it fell dead on the ground and I saw the face of my archer friend and big brother Clover

"Clover, as usual your cool tricks never cease to amaze me" I said running up to him, but he started pinching my cheeks very hard.

"Ow ow ow Clover that hurts" I cried in pain,

"Don't run off into uncharted territory by yourself it could have gotten you killed or ambushed, I understand you can't ignore a cry for help but if you're gonna do something like this don't go it alone because your well being matters to me too" He said.

I felt really bad for scaring him like that, he probably extremely stressed and worried for me, "Oh don't make that face, I'll let it slide since you seemed to have saved some lives but I will be informing the captain about this"

No no she's definitely gonna kill me!

"But let's talk about that matter later, for now we have two fellow adventures in need of assistance, or should I say three because you're covered in blood"

"Don't worry Clover, it's not my blood, well most of it isn't." His face turned pale, but he immediately directed his attention to the green haired elf and her unconscious friend.

I looked at my broken sword in disgust. "Aw man, this spear broke so easily," I sighed before tossing it to the ground.

We got a better look at the unconscious one who this girl was trying to protect and she had blonde hair pointy ears meaning she's an elf like her and she was wearing a green mask over her mouth and nose kinda like me…wait a minute…this is Leon!

"Leon! Oh no speak to me Leon"! I cried out,

"Relax Craiku she's fine, just unconscious, but would you mind explaining how she got this way, she doesn't look too injured" he claimed

"We were taking a peak of this floor to get a better idea of how strong the monsters down here are, but we ended up getting way in over our heads and Leon tried to make sure I made it out alive so she used every last ounce of mind energy she had left and caused herself a mind zero" she said as I took a potion out and handed it to her.

"No I can't, you got hurt trying to help me, you should take it" she said as she touched my hand briefly before she recoiled.

"Please, I don't mind, I can just use my magic to heal myself, I'd do it for both of us but I know elves aren't particularly fond of random people touching them" I said once again offering her the potion.

"No way I'm not accepting this item. If it wasn't for you then the both of us probably would have died on the spot, so thank you so much" she smiled at me and grabbed both my hands before bowing to me.

I smiled reassuringly, even though she wouldn't see it, before saying, "Don't worry; I'm glad I arrived in time," I told her, but she started looking at me strangely before she got a surprised look.

"Oh yeah I remember you now" she stated in surprise as Clover as tending to Leon's wounds,

"You do because this is the first time I've ever seen you"

"Yeah you're the one who was fighting with that Evilus werewolf woman with the purple fire magic. And I remember you using a powerful ice spell that ended the battle, that was truly amazing, I just didn't recognize you with that mask on" she said excitedly.

"Ok that should do it, Craiku a little healing magic if you don't mind, Leon doesn't mind you touching her, just don't touch her anywhere you're not supposed to" I playfully shoved him aside as I kneeled down to her to begin my incantation.

"Respond to the contract, holy sea. Follow my order and heal the wounds, give and bestow strength to those who have fallen and give them the strength to rise again- Light Heal"!

A golden light envelopes Leon as I heal her wounds and they start to disappear and heal themselves before the light gives out. "Now all we need to do is wait until she wakes up, you're too sm-, I mean not big enough to carry her and if she woke up while I carried her I'd get the crap beaten out of me"

We rest her on her stomach in the recovery position, and I turned to the other elven girl, "Thanks for healing her, seriously I don't have any healing magic to use and even if I did I'm one spell away from a mind zero, but I should formally introduce myself to the person who saved our lives" she bows.

"I'm Celty Srowa of the Astrea Familia it's nice to officially meet you, what's your name, I mean I think I know what your name is but I don't like to assume names" she said awkwardly.

"I'm Craiku Tojo of Genesha Familia's police force, this is my buddy Clover, but that's a surprise, I had no idea there were other members, I thought it was just Leon Alise Kaguya and Lyra. There's five of you"? He pondered.

"Well actually there's 13 of us in total, but you probably only thought that because we were split up in different sections of the city. But I definitely seen you before, but do you mind telling me how you're capable of casting spells like that" she asked.

"Uh like what exactly because my silent spells aren't particularly powerful. It's kinda like swift strike magic but a little different"

"No, those spells are a type of magic developed by the Elves for use without a falna. It requires the user to undergo training and rituals and use a long chant systematized during the ancient times. It has more than twelve verses to its chant and its power is weak compared to magic used by those with a falna but it's still incredibly rare for anyone to use these days since everyone is relying on acquired magic now"

She said eagerly, "Oh so you know about this kind of magic" I asked, but she made an annoyed look.

"I'm an elf of course I know about the magic developed by my own race" my face flushed red in response.

"Oh sorry I didn't mean to come off as arrogant, but I never seen a human using this kind of magic before, I thought it was only accessible to elves so I was pretty shocked when I saw you using it against Dark Blaze, which is what people are calling that werewolf these days from what I heard" she told me excitedly.

"Ugh…what hit me-" before I could respond, we heard Leon's groans as she got back up, "Oh no Celty, I'm so sorry this was all my fault I shouldn't have come down here, it was a hot headed move on my part and I will accept your resentment towards me" she said on her hands and knees but then she noticed me and Clover.

"Craiku…Clover, you're here, does that mean you two helped us" she asked.

The two of us nod and she bows her head in gratitude, "Leon it's ok, I have no hard feelings towards you, I promise you that I don't hate you. So please let's keep this a secret between elves…and these two"

We did a zipping motion with our hands and threw away the key to show we wouldn't say anything about it.

"No I can't lie to Alise like this, it would be wrong to keep something this important from her," Clover collected the crystals from the ants we killed and gave them to Leon and Celty. On our way out of the dungeon, Celty told Leon about how I was fighting for them which was embarrassing to hear from someone else.

"I can't express my gratitude enough, if there's anything you ever need, I'll be there for you,"

Celty finally accepted the potion but poured the rest of it on my forearm healing it.

Soon the four of us parted ways with each other and we went to the guild hall and cashed in our earnings.

Still that elf girl was kind of cute, but she's a little bit…extreme for me to handle.

"13 members, not as big as our clan but that's a lot bigger than I thought, but that's good news for us because we'll need all the help we can get. Perhaps we should ask them to party up with us so we could have an easier time conquering the dungeon" Clover comments.

"But sorry for pinching your cheeks earlier, I got worried and overreacted, I just didn't want anything to happen to you, I know you're strong but the dungeon is unpredictable and this city is even more unpredictable." He said as we placed the money in separate sacs.

"That's okay Clover, I'm sorry I ran off by myself like that, I shouldn't have been so hasty, I'll do better next time" he pats me on the head.

"Great now let's go home before you have your bed stolen by a crazy girl"

---

Narrator

Craiku and Clover came through the front door, "We're home, and look at the spoils we made" Clover said, putting it on the table, and they marched right past Shakti, who had gotten home not too long ago.

"You boys stop right where you are, I need to have a talk with both of you" she said like an angry parent. Uh oh, I think she found out about my late night snacking.

"Alise came by earlier today and she was apologizing to me for you guys getting dragged down to the 8th floor" as soon as she said that their faces turned white.

"Tell me everything that happened and spare no details" she said sternly.

Clover explained how they heard Celty screaming and how Craiku dashed off so fast that Clover couldn't stop or catch up with him in time before he got out of his field of vision and how Craiku struggled with the floor 8 monsters and even broke his spear.

Craiku presented his broken spear with tears running down his face, "You gave me such a nice weapon and I went ahead and broke it…I'm sorry Shakti I'm really sorry for breaking it"

Shakti was surprised he was crying about a spear, it was simply a beginners weapon and wasn't even a high quality item so she thought he'd break it eventually. Frankly it's a miracle he didn't break it sooner, she just couldn't understand why he was crying and felt so terrible about it.

"Ok ok take some deep breaths and relax I'm not angry with you," she got on one knee and placed her arm around him as he followed her instruction. Soon he was calm enough to talk clearly and she took out tissue to wipe his face.

"Craiku, I know that spear meant a lot to you and I appreciate that you have so much sentimental attachment to something I gave you but I'm not upset because you broke it. Adventurers break weapons all the time, this spear is not even the same one I have so much sentimental attachment to something I gave you but I'm not upset because you broke it. Adventurers break weapons all the time, this spear is not even the same one I had the day I met you" he titled his head in confusion.

"You're not gonna yell at me for being careless with my things"

"You're more careful than a lot of people I know, but I don't like how you charged into floor 8 by yourself, I understand you were trying to help those elves and I acknowledge you did more good than harm, but you could have seriously gotten hurt, in fact you did, look at your sleeve, I know a former wound when I see it" he lifted his left arm and saw the tears from when the killer ant slashes him earlier.

"I know, Clover said the same thing" her face lights up and she glanced at the archer,

"Oh really now, Mr reckless actually had the nerve to scold someone for being reckless, that's a first" she said as she showed a smug grin that wasn't characteristic for her to have in most cases.

"Well I'm only reckless when I need to take risks, if other people are involved I'm not gonna get careless" he explained.

"I'm only teasing Clover, very responsible on you, but you better not backtrack, hit the showers, I need to have a little discussion with our Snow Prince" his face was red with anger.

Adree was completely baffled by her sisters behavior, Sis is actually making jokes, I think she's been replaced with an imposter, or perhaps I don't know her as well as I thought. She peaked from outside the door.

Clover left the room and kept his mouth shut about Adree's eves dropping. "Now Craiku, I know you're a good kid and I'm glad you're so dedicated to saving people and defending the innocent. But I can't have you making reckless choices like that on a whim, it could end up getting you killed and if that ever happened…what would I tell your dad, and Clover and Adree would be devastated…and I don't want to lose you either" a wave of guilt overtook him.

"That being said I know unexpected things like this are inevitable even if we remove the Evilus from the equation. I will not ground you from the dungeon, however I don't think your little duo with Clover is gonna cut it anymore, as much as I like him he's honestly only versatile with his creativity, in terms of status you have him pretty much beaten, even Adree's stronger than him" Craiku made a confused look.

"Wait…Adree is stronger than Clover…as in our Adree, your little sister Adree…no offense but I find that hard to believe" he said dismissively. Adree puffed her cheeks outside the room.

"Is it because she's a girl"

"Oh no I know plenty of strong girls, you included, but well, Adree never trains and Clover's been working himself to the bone since the day he got here. You think that she could beat Clover in a fight"

He asked, "Oh yeah, I know she looks innocent but she's much tougher than she looks, she probably could have beaten Dark Blaze if not for her cursed flames," she explained.

"Why do you think I'm sexist?" he asked, catching her off guard.

"Craiku where'd you learn that word from"

"Papa,"

"Blabbermouth, I was only kidding, but believe it or not, haven't you ever wondered why you couldn't break free from her grip" he blushes deeply.

"That's right, with that being said, I'm telling you that because I'm gonna leave her in charge of the Genesha Familia- so I can take you shopping for new equipment because…this isn't it" he looks at himself in the mirror.

"I think it looks amazing, I have that worn out warrior vibe like an ancient hero" he said doing a flamboyant pose.

"Yeah…we're going to the shopping district tomorrow and we're retiring that outfit" he slumped over. "Aw man, so long my old equipment I hardly knew you, or technically, I hardly used you" he said as he stood there dramatically.

"Wanna say goodbye to your shoes next"

"Well since you asked-" she playfully strangles him. "Ok ok I kid I kid"

Shakti noticed that Adree is peaking in on them.

"So Craiku what do you think about Adree over all" she asked.

"I think she's a wonderful person, sure she tries sneaking in my bed and hugs me too much but whenever I have a bad day I just need a hug she's their for me. I love how she is so energetic even though everyone else is doom and gloom half the time. I'd put up with all her random hugs for what it's worth, at least she's not as bad as Alise-"

"Tokun you really mean that, I never thought you thought so highly of me" she bursts into the room and hugged him from behind and her breasts were pressed against his back. The boobies of doom have returned.

His face flushed red, "Adree let me go now let me go I take it back I can't stand you"

"Too late, I know what you think of me now which means I'm gonna be twice as affectionate with you" Adree was cuddling with him before she caught her sister staring at her and her cheeks flushed pink.

"Uh Sis…I'm in trouble for evs dropping again am I"? She nodded,

"Don't put me on dishwashing, please please I'll do anything"

"No, this is the fourth private conversation you've ever dropped on, let's not forget the other two times, I never seen Clover look so red" Shakti said scolding her.

"I apologized ten times, I know I shouldn't know about-" Craiku covered her mouth, "Nor should I, as his best friend I will respect his privacy, I think I'm gonna join him in the bath house" he said as he left the room.

"Wait I was gonna ask you if you wanted to form a party for the dungeon"

"We'll discuss it in the morning I promise". He went into the bathhouse to wash himself up with Clover.

"It's just not fair sis, I'm the only one who hasn't had a chance to spend time with him one on one, you have your spear training with him Clover is his roommate but he avoids me every chance he gets" she said expressing her frustrations.

"If you feel that way then I guess I have no choice but to assign you the most important task tomorrow"

---

Star Gardens

The Astrea familia stood for justice, equality, and peace. They were the harbingers of hope for the populace, and yet what was that justice remained a debate even in their own familia, with each member of their family harbouring their own definition.

Alize had her own definition. It was to smile when few could and give hope when everything seemed lost. That was her definition of justice, and that was what she aspired to do as the captain of Astrea familia.

They live in a quiet little neighborhood in the northern part of Orario. This was where the members of Astrea Familia called home—Stardust

Garden. It was an elegant white mansion, but by no means extravagant. When they entered the lobby, a far east beauty with a fan in front of her face closed it up and looked at her elven ally.

"You moron!!"

This anger belonged to the vice captain of Astrea Familia Kaguya, who was currently in the middle of scolding Ryu.

"Moron?" She said in a confused daze like a dazed puppy.

"After everything we went through just a couple of weeks ago you're still as brainless as you were the day you got here! What kind of idiot goes to the right floor with their basic abilities barely above the H rank!?" She said while glaring at her with her fox like eyes.

"You nearly got yourself killed, put Celty in danger and even dragged the Snow Prince into your screw up, if he hadn't been there you two wouldn't be here right now. If you want to go get yourself killed go ahead but don't drag anyone else down with you, trash pixie"!

"You oblivious, tunnel-visioned, mindless little fairy! How dare you bring shame to the Familia, you child!"

"I—I wasn't the only one who did something reckless, you went charging after the Evilus general during our last battle and got your forearm shattered which completely broke the formation because you underestimated their strength. It was a dwarf for cry out loud and you thought tanking it's attack head on was a good idea and you're supposed to be the vice captain"!

Her eyes widened with shock and anger, "You've done it now you trash pixie"

"Stop calling me that"! She started attacking Kaguya with a bunch of punches and kicks which the far east princess effortlessly blocked with perfect technique and counters, sending her flying onto the couch.

"At least I can back up what I said, but you can't back up anything, you're not on my level, not even close"

"That's enough, everyone, fighting amongst ourselves isn't productive"

Said a gentle voice, both of them stopped in their tracks immediately after they heard that voice.

It was clear to all who saw her that this was a woman of grace, warmth, and compassion. Such was the purity and dignity with which she composed herself. Long walnut hair flowed down her shoulders, and her eyes were a deep blue, like a sea of stars, with a fascinating clarity even more striking than Ryu's.

Her smooth yet supple skin was wrapped in a pure white robe that had never seen a stain in its life, and she moved and spoke with perfect modesty. The only feature that might tempt a man to sin was the deep ravine that ran between her breasts.

The word goddess was invented for women like her. Such was her beauty, her

grace, her magnificence.

She was Astrea, patron deity of Astrea Familia and goddess of justice.

"Lady Astrea!"

Upon seeing her divine mistress, Alize let out a cry of elation. The captain of the familia was so full of love and respect that she looked like a little girl

running into the arms of her mother. Afterward, the other members of the familia walked through the door, one at a time.

"What is going on here, why is Leon being choked by Kaguya" she asked as the elven girl was released.

"Oh they were just having a small disagreement no biggie" said Alise,

"A little disagreement, Kaguya was going to kill her, be more proactive you silly captain" Lyra said out of frustration.

"Does this have something to do with what happened with your trip with Celty in the dungeon today?" She asked like a concerned mother.

"Yes, I made some not so smart choices today"

"Not so smart, ha, understatement if I ever heard one," said Kaguya in response to Ryu.

The elf glares at her vice captain, "Kaguya I think that's enough, we shouldn't put each other down for our shortcomings, with that being said I'd like to hear from the both of you what happened and why you wandered down to the 8th floor" asked the goddess.

Ryu and Celty go into great detail about their adventures in the dungeon, and the reasoning Ryu gave was pretty shocking.

"You did it for strength, I'm not sure if I follow" Lyra comments.

"You saw what happened against the Evils, especially that darn werewolf, I was completely helpless to do anything about it, I could barely save Mr Tojo from that monster. I had one job and I couldn't even last a few minutes before I was at death's door." She said with a guilt ridden look on her face.

"Well I'm the one who suggested that we take a look at the floor 8 monsters, I wanted to further understand why they had stronger versions of them on that floor compared to all the others. So please don't put all the blame on her, it was my fault too " Celty confessed.

Kaguya slammed her hand on the table, "And what makes you think you two were ready to go to such a dangerous floor Leon's abilities just hit the H rank" she asked.

"Well her abilities may be in H but I'm rank E, at least in terms of magic that is, I thought if we could work together we'd be able to handle at least 5 of them but we were passing paraded and Leon got messed up pretty badly. We would have been killed if the Silent Magician and Clover didn't show up" the young elf explains.

Astrea closed her eyes then stood up, "Everyone except for Alise Leon and Celty I ask for privacy, go take a bath in the meantime" said Astrea. Most of them obey without question mainly because they were tired from a long day of patrolling the city.

There was an awkward silence in the air, and the two elves looked like children who were about to get into major trouble with their parents.

I really messed up this time, but Kaguya didn't have to be so nasty about it.

The silence was broken by Alise, "Leon, I understand you're in a hurry to get stronger, all of us are, but what use is trying to gather more excela in the dungeon if you end up dead" she asked.

"I'm sorry Alise, I didn't mean to disappoint you. I'm deeply ashamed of myself for being so reckless" she said in dogza position. She had only been in Orairo for over a month and she only had her blessing for a short time. Although she's skilled with a sword she's the least experienced and weakest member of the Familia.

But the captain kneeled down and took her hand, just as she had done on the day they met, "Leon, true I am not happy with the choices that you made, but I'm not disappointed in you. I'm disappointed in your judgement. But I'm not angry at you, so please stand up so we can talk about this like adults"

She climbed to her feet, "Adults, Alise we're not grown ups we're barely even teens" Leon explained.

"I'm an adult at heart. But anyway-" she lost her carefree expression and dawned a more serious look.

"You two have to understand that we're currently living in an era where it's very easy to die. And I understand Kaguya's words were way harsher than they should have been. But she's not entirely wrong, situations like that could end up dragging more people into it which could potentially result in more casualties which is what we're trying to avoid". She spoke not as a carefree girl but as a wise older sister that was fitting for her role as captain.

Alise isn't too hard on them since she understands that they are the youngest of all of them with Celty being even younger than Leon is. "I know you're better than this and I don't think you'll make a reckless decision like that again right"! Both of them nodded their heads.

Then their goddess spoke up, "I'm not angry with you two either, however…I don't feel good about Genesha's children getting caught up with no compensation. And you did say that the mage you've been telling me about broken his spear today right"

Both of them nodded, "I feel really guilty about it, he looked so sad when he broke his weapon, he seems like a nice boy so I feel terrible. I should march over there and apologize at once" Celty said standing up and trying to walk out the door. But Alise snatched them up.

"No way, too late for that we can do it first thing in the morning, for now I think it's time we take our baths, you two are going with me" both elves blush.

"Alise no way that's indecent" Ryu protests.

"Consider it your punishment for being reckless in the dungeon today, and I get to finally bathe with my two elves, care to join us Lady Astrea" the enthusiastic redhead asked.

"I wouldn't mind, but I sense that the others will have a riot if you did such a thing, it's not like how it was when it was just you and I Alise, besides I already washed up for the day" she was slightly disappointed but ultimately understanding. She ran into the bathhouse with both elves who were powerless to do anything about it.

Craiku's POV

Today I'm taking a day off from the dungeon and patrolling the city for bad guys. I don't normally do this but I don't really have a choice. Yesterday I broke my spear in the dungeon trying to save some elves. Leon was one of them and I think the other one was called Celty. I'm embarrassed to say that I completely lost it and attacked them like a maniac.

I don't regret it because it helped me get the job done. I guess I should get better equipment, I have been saving a fraction of the money we've been making for myself but never got around to spending any of it.

I decided to wear my far east clothes that I used to wear during martial arts training, I forgot how much I enjoyed wearing them. No training today, the only condition I was given is that I don't push myself too hard today.

I asked Clover if he wanted to join us today to get some new stuff, but he refused. "But why Clover, this is a great opportunity to get better gear for ourselves" I asked him.

"Don't worry, I have it under control, but I usually like to craft my own stuff. I have a special someone who taught me a thing or two about crafting weapons." He said as my eyes widened.

"You're a blacksmith"

"Not exactly but I can create certain items, I'll be working on that today."

I went downstairs to meet up with Shakti so we can go weapons shopping together, and she was standing by the door when I got there. But she had a very strange look on her face.

"Morning Shakti, ready to get some weapons so I can knock some more monster heads" I said enthusiastically.

"Uh yeah about that…I'm really sorry" she said bowing her head and clapping her hands together.

"Please don't be upset with me but I totally messed up, I forgot I was meeting with the other Familiar captains at the guild hall together so I can't go with you today, sorry" when she said that, I felt like a bucket of cold water was dumped on me. But I can tell she's feeling very bad.

"It's okay, your meeting is more important than my feelings, we can go another time" I was about to go upstairs but she grabbed my hand.

"Wait, I know you wanted to spend time with me but we are together a lot, but you're important to me too. So I arranged for someone else to take you weapons shopping today and I worked out exactly what you should get so she doesn't try changing it" she explained waving her arms around.

"Why would she try to change it, I'm the one paying for it, see" I hugged up my sack of money.

"Well you see, please don't be mad, I know she can be a bit of a nag when it comes to-" before she finished her sentence two arms snuck up behind me and grabbed me and I felt two soft pillows of happiness pressed against my neck.

Boobies!

"Good morning Tokun, I'm ready for our date," as soon as I was released I saw the culprit. Her happy innocent face was impossible not to be mad at…wait what did she mean by date!?

"Adree I'm not in the mood for your little teasing games. I have to get more equipment if I'm gonna continue my-, I mean our mission to eliminate the Evils, I suggest starting with the Rudra Familia's members. They don't seem to be that tough" I said.

"What do you think I'm here for, sis can't take you so I'm taking you instead" she said with a gleeful grin, but my blood ran cold and I grabbed Shakti's hands and we went into a corner to talk about why this is a bad idea.

"Shakti with all due respect, this has to be the worst idea"! I explained.

"Craiku please give her a chance, if I didn't think it'd be good for you I wouldn't have suggested it, besides I thought you liked Adree" she said with confusion on her face.

"I do like her, she's a really kind girl I'm happy to be friends with, but she's a little much for me, she's always hugging me out of nowhere sneaks into my bed at night and, I have weird thoughts about her that she would be angry with me about". She made a skeptical look.

"It's because you keep getting squished up with her breasts isn't it" my face is very hot right now.

"Well you are a growing boy so you are gonna be attracted to older women and girls you encounter, but is that all you're worried about" she asked me as I immediately changed the subject.

"She also gets mad at me when I get violent with my enemies, which I don't understand, they're evil, I'm not saying that I wanna murder every criminal I meet but it feels like she thinks I'm a monster for hating my enemies, how could I not hate someone who thinks hurting innocent people is okay"? I vent.

She shook her head, "It's not that, it's not that at all, it's just…I know this May sound patronizing but you're still very young and taking a life at your age could negatively affect you. I know you want to be a hero and you have done some incredible things already which I'm proud of you for. But killing a person isn't the same as killing a monster. I don't have any right getting peachy about it since…I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. But please at least for now try to understand where she's coming from." She pleads me.

To be honest, I haven't really thought about the possibility of killing one of the Evilus soldiers, my goal isn't to wipe out the people that I don't like, but to keep the defenseless people safe from them.

I don't think I've killed anyone yet, and the thought of it does kinda scare me a bit. "Ok I'll trust her judgement, and I trust you too, I promise I won't kill anyone, just mess em up real bad".

She sighed, "It's a start, but enough of that, you got a little date" my face was completely red and I shoved her with full force only for her to pick me up with one arm and place me next to Adree who was wearing her usual clothes.

"I know I can be a little annoying but I got your back, let's enjoy our shopping trip together, okay Tokun" she said, extending her hand to me.

"Uh, yeah okay, let's have fun together" I took her hand and we walked outside.

Neutral Narrator

"Hold on shouldn't I have a substitute weapon in case something happens"

"Tokun you're being too paranoid, besides I'm around so you're in safe hands, unless you think I'm weak, I'm actually much stronger than Clover you know" she said with a mad face.

Oh no, she heard what I said, I didn't mean to be rude.

"I-I'm sorry it's just I've rarely seen you fighting and you never trained with us before. All you've ever taught me is how to not hit your enemies as hard as you could" I said.

"Do you think I'm a violent person" I asked.

"What no no no not at all…however you do get carried away during fights a lot" she said as he puffs his cheeks.

"So Tokun, I realized that despite being in the same house as you for over a month that I don't really know you that well, so what do you typically do for fun" she asked.

"I train," he bluntly answered. She was a little put off by his immediate response.

"Uh other than that"

"Nothing really just train go to the dungeon fight bad guys and that's really all I do for fun, although I do occasionally play cards with Clover, even though that jerk face is a massive cheater cheater pumpkin eater" he said stomping his foot finally showing his age.

Adree giggled at this, "Perhaps you just need to get better at the game, we can't be good at everything, and you two look like you have to regardless, I wish I could play with you guys sometime". His face perks up at her with confusion.

"Sure if you want to play you can totally join us," she looked elated,

"Really because I was starting to feel like you didn't like me very much"

"Why would you think that,"? He asked her.

"Well I'm always nagging you and you never try to hang out with me and you seem to like Clover way more than you like me" she said looking like a kicked puppy.

"Well it's just easier for me to bond with Clover, we love a lot of the same things were both new to Orairo and likes to fight just as much as I do. Besides I feel like I have an older brother because of him" he said, but he noticed her sad look.

"But we have to have something in common or something one of us can learn to enjoy, but I have other reasons for avoiding you…the main reason being my bed"

She chuckled nervously and tried to change the subject.

"Oh, what was life like outside Orario? Did you grow up in any major cities or villages? Or were you more secluded? Like a mountain man that did harsh training in the freezing temperatures and kept on doing karate until sunset."

Craiku, despite feeling awkward, liked Ardee's energy and decided to match it.

"Yes and no, I did do very intense training but not as intense as you're probably imagining, the training I did was actually a lot more mundane. It started as soon as my dad and aunt discovered that I had successfully performed an incantation I read from one of her old scrolls. Life for the first few years was actually very peaceful,it was just me my mom my dad and…uh well you know…her, but I used to visit my aunt a lot when dad would take us outside of the far east to see her she's really nice you'd love her" he said with a bright smile.

"What kind of training did you do,"?

"Well dad tried to teach me how to use a sword since he's a knight but I never had a talent or mindset for it, plus my mom didn't want me learning how to use sharp objects so we did it in secret. But it wasn't making much progress. With my aunt I just practiced memorizing the Incantations by heart and improving my mind energy. When mages cast spells it takes magical energy and mind energy, the magical energy is what you have from within the magical energy that you're born with. And the mind energy is what you use to concentrate that magical power to cast spells." He explained, he spoke very clearly and fluently that was unfitting for a kid his age.

"Wait your parents gave you your blessing at such a young age"

He shook his head, "What no no no I didn't get that till last year, I was casting spells since I was four years old. I thought I explained that to you that one time" he said stroking his chin.

"Oooh that's why I haven't seen anything in your spell slots, so you're capable of magic even without falna, that's super cool Tokun" she said causing him to blush.

"Eh, I'm not any more special than anyone else, anyone can do it with enough practice. Although I tried to teach my friends how to do it, none of them could cast spells successfully and most of them passed out. I recently started giving Clover lessons but he said spells just weren't his thing."

Adree stares at him, so Tokun already had magic by himself, interesting.

"How many have you memorized?" she asked.

"Despite studying them since I was 4, I only memorized 3 so far but I have performed five. The three that I can do off the top of my head are the Kuros Anemos, Twist Tornado, and Light Heal. I only recently started studying the others because I had to get my spell scrolls replaced. Felt so guilty asking Auntie for new ones but she was really understanding" he said with a look of shame.

"What happened to the old ones"?

"The day Dianna betrayed me she burned them right in front of me, mom just let her do it" he said with a somber expression.

"Oh no I'm sorry she did that to you, it's a good thing your aunt was able to help you get another set, but if you ask me I think she was just jealous of your magical abilities, I say that because I'm honestly a little jealous myself." She said smiling at him.

"Really, don't you think my magic is at least a little scary, I'm not gonna lie I can cause some massive damage, I don't see myself as all powerful but I've done some very careless things with it" he rubbed his shoulder with his other hand and tried hiding his face with his mask but Adree stopped him.

"I know all about your past, but I don't think any less of you because of it, you're very young so naturally you made some reckless decisions, even I have done some careless things myself. But I think you're being a jerk to yourself for being ashamed of what magical gifts you have. If you truly want to bring the dark age to an end you have to do it with everything you got".

She pointed out, "A jerk to myself, is that possible"

"Yup, if you feel bad about what you did, that means you're responsible enough to manage your magical abilities. If you want me to help you perfect your spell casting then I can assist you,".

"Hold on, you'd do that, how"?

"Just leave it to me, but we'll worry about that tomorrow, but what about your karate skills, I don't believe you have to be one thing and one thing only, but I found it kinda weird that you mainly use karate when you possess such great magic" she confessed.

"You're not the first person to tell me that, even I have to admit a mage practicing Karate so intensely was weird even for me. But one day while I was out with my parents I saw this dojo full of kids learning how to fight and it looked so cool. I don't know how many times I begged them to let me join. I even tried to clean their room for them…but I ended up making a bigger mess in the process which annoyed them enough to give it a chance."

Craiku, despite being more talented with magic, really liked martial arts, and after the first day of his class he was exhausted from the training session. He looked like he wanted to collapse, his mom thought he'd quit, but he turned out to be elated by what they did and with enough push back from his father his mother reluctantly accepted his request and he ended up in the karate class for 4 years straight. He started getting really good at it, to the point his father thought he was ready to fight monsters on the surface which he struggled with at first but after overcoming his fear he was more than enough for them. His first kill was a goblin that he took out by punching it in the magic stone several times.

"Ooh that's why you were so good at fighting the monsters the first time we took you to the dungeon, I didn't know it was possible to get that strong without falna" Adree said with sparkling eyes.

"Eh there are things that you can't do without a blessing but we're actually more capable than most people would believe. Although my magic helped a little the first few times, I ended up killing so many monsters that I could rarely find any after a while. It did help me improve my sparring skills. I kicked so much butt that I thought I was the strongest, but the universe as usual set me straight when the higher ups were asked to spare against me and I got my butt kicked pretty badly. I remember being a huge sore loser, it embarrasses me knowing that I acted like such a brat" he admitted.

"No one likes to lose, but I see you've learned from your experience, but you can honestly still act like a sore loser sometimes" Adree teased.

"What was that" he yelled,

"When Clover beat you, you used every excuse in the book"

He blushes as she giggled like a girl teasing her crush,

"Oh I'm just messing with you, sorry for being mean, I just couldn't resist, but I think you're pretty strong, and in most cases you seem to have fun even if you lose the fight, why are you so hard on yourself, you were a lot younger back then, and your still really young now, did someone call you a sore loser"? She asked.

"You did"

"Tokun you know what I meant"

He sighed, "Yeah my mom kinda did, in her defense I did throw a small temper tantrum when I wasn't winning and she yelled at me and sent me to my room. After that her and Dad had a small argument about how she handled the situation. Dad sat down with me and explained the importance of being a good sport and why it's okay to lose sometimes. I did understand at first but I started to get it after a few days. But I still didn't want to play any board games with mama involved, but she apparently started to notice and apologized for losing her temper with me and I said I was sorry for acting like that. Then we played another board game and I decided not to try so hard to win the game and just go with the flow which wasn't easy. Dad ended up winning the first round and the second round I finally got my first win on everyone…and I then learned that I was a pretty terrible winner" he said as he chuckled.

"You rubbed it in their faces didn't you"

"Yup I sure did even that stupid werewolf, she looked like she wanted to kill me, which I didn't take seriously at the time, but before she said anything she was reminded that she was teasing me the whole time she was winning. Which was probably why I had a meltdown" he admitted.

"Tokun you sound more like a kid who was learning about sportsmanship then a brat, I threw temper tantrums when I lost games too. It's a normal kid thing." She explained.

"Then why'd mom get so mad"?

"Sounds like…I don't mean to insult your mother but seems like she had a lot of personal issues to work out. But enough about that, so how strong were you?"

"Dad said that I had the strength of a grizzly bear which I thought was an exaggeration until I actually saw one while we were camping when it tried to steal our food"

"Did you wrestle the bear?"

"The bears in that mountain were no match for my mighty strength. Put it in a headlock and it gave up, but I felt kinda bad for it so I shared some food with it when dad wasn't looking…at least I thought he wasn't until he lectured me about feeding wild animals."

"So all the kids in your dojo were stronger than actual bears without falna, no way. Now I'm more confident you're going to beat the Evils, not that I'm a fan of violence but I know force is needed at certain points." She claimed.

"So where are you taking me," he asked.

"You'll see"

Adree brought him to a workshop and he was mesmerized by the weapons on the wall and the anvil placed in front of the fire. "So this is where weapons come from," he said showing his age which he rarely does, "Cool, think I could maybe touch one, just for a tiny bit-" he reached out for one, but Adree quickly stopped him, "No absolutely not, Smith's are very particularly about their craft and I don't think that the person who made these weapons would appreciate you putting your sticky fingers on them"

"I do n

A woman with tan skin wearing an eye patch with a katana ready for battle enters the forge, but she lowers her weapon upon seeing who it was. "Oh, hi there Shakti, sorry about that, I thought you were those Evilus thugs trying to rob me. My lock broke the other day and I have been a little paranoid about them breaking the in here" she said with a towel over her silly black hair. taken shelter

in. She had a dark complexion and short black hair. Her body was curvaceous in a way that not even Shakti could match, and her voluptuous breasts were just peeking out from her top as she started to undress. "I have to meet up with the goddess, too…What a disaster." But most distinctive of all was the jet-black eye patch over her left eye. Human…No, a half? Craiku was trying to figure out what race she was, but he embarrassingly got distracted by her large breasts, Holy cow those are some massive boobies, I think she's a little bigger than Adree, no no no that's rude to think. ,as he was analyzing her, she eventually noticed him. "Oh sorry little guy, I didn't notice you there, you're so small that it's hard to notice you" "I'm not that small I'm going through a massive growth spurt right now" but said defensively. "Hahahahah sorry sorry but you are a shota after all being small is like your whole thing" "I am not a shota…. Adree what's a shota"? She cringes slightly,

"Wait, black silky hair, blue eyes brown skin, tiny, oh yeah this is the kid you've been fussing about, he's Ging's offspring right, he's the spinning image of him" he stood there open mouthed, "You know papa" "Yup, befriended him back when he first came out of retirement, and I contracted with him, and making a contract with him has to be the biggest mistake of my life"! She shouts, "Eh," "That moron went head first into a dragon's mouth with his Mythril blades thinking it could absorb the flames when I've told him countless times that there's a limit to these things. Guy becomes level 5 and all of a sudden he's a big shot, in the two months he's been here I already had to rebuild his swords from scratch four times over" Craiku recoiled immediately after hearing that about his father.

"The worst part is I can't even be angry with him, he gives me such a warm smile every time I see him it makes it hard to yell at him. Especially since he only did that to protect his comrades. Ugh and I thought Gareth was a headache" she pants from her rant. "Are you done?" "Yeah, I'm sorry about slandering your dad, but he should really be more careful with his life and more importantly my stuff. I like crafting weapons but even I get tired of it from time to time. So what brings you here to my forge ""

Craiku's spear has seen better days and he's been improving rapidly, I fear it may not longer be a weapon worthy of him. I humbly request you make him a spear and some light armor of the highest quality for a rookie adventurer to have ""Oh, uh that's a tall order, especially for such a little guy" Craiku grunt's angrily at her. "Ok I'll do it for a price," Craiku throws his sack of money on the table, "I'm afraid that's not gonna cover it, but I'll be willing to accept it, if I could get a hug from you" Craiku recoiled immediately, "No way I'm not a plushie"

"Aww your so cute when you're shy just a little hug, it's a small price to pay for the captain of the forging Familia to get you some high quality gear, without the proper equipment it won't matter how much stronger you are, you'll be overwhelmed by someone who's more prepared than you" He nodded slowly. "Craiku she's not going to give up anytime soon so please get it over with," he puffed his cheeks, "30 seconds"

"A minute and a half, we have ourselves a deal" she wrapped her arms around him and pressed his head against her chest and he was being suffocated by her large breasts.

Her boobies are hugging my face, I'm in between the two mountains of happiness, Grandpa I'm living your dr ... .no no no don't let that perverted old man corrupt your mind, but they are pretty warm and soft and relaxing. In spite of his resistance, he was his grandfather's grandson.

He was released from her grasp and he was gasping for air, "Why…do people…keep hugging me"!? He yelled in frustration.

"Can't blame me, you're such a cutie pie that I'd be shocked if people did pass up a chance to hug you. Almost makes me feel bad for hearing you up and allowing you to go back to the dungeon." She said.

"I'm not cute at all I'm cool and mysterious, not cute cool and mysterious, isn't that right Adree" he said looking at her confidence would agree with him on that.

"Hmph I don't know, I think you're super duper cute Tokun it's a sweet little thing, just like Leon" he was crushed and sat in the corner. Adree handed her the list of things Shakti specifically requested for him and a few others. But Adree seemed displeased with Craiku's order.

"Sis is okay with him having that, oh well. We appreciate you as always Tsubaki" said Adree.

They left the forge a little while later and spent the day patrolling the city but Craiku was upset about being treated like a stuffed animal again. "Tokun what's wrong with being cute and cuddled by everyone?" She asked.

"The beloved part I like but the cute part I can't stand. I don't understand why but I always hated it when people say I'm cute and hug me, but I don't feel that way when you do it, only slightly annoyed" he said as they heard a loud growling noise.

"Oh no, looks like someone's getting hungry, am I right?" He blushes and remains quiet.

"Yup you definitely need to eat, we've been walking quite a while, let's find something to eat".

They buy two potato snacks from a food stand, and sit down in central park together.

Evil

"Hmph well my prized werewolf was sent to the prison city Keim-batsu…and the one who brought her down was just some kid,"

"He put the well being of a bunch of strangers over his family are you sure he's the good guy? I knew I should have been the one to recruit him."

"No matter, it's a minor inconvenience ."

"I should get some payback for Ms D, probably by chopping off his head."

"Isn't that a little much?"

"He knowingly stepped into this war zone. If he's not strong enough, he'll just be another casualty."

The door opened, and another figure walked in.

"Look alive, you two. Plan to get that useless slave back along with many new ones is just underway, but can you do the job"?

---

Date

Craiku finished eating his potato snack and Adree was currently taking him to a different store, "Where are we going Adree? I don't need anything else, well except maybe some books."

Her ears perk up, "Say what kind of books do you like to read"

"Eh nothing much just spell books, but I occasionally read about ancient heroes like that Argonaut guy, I like him even though he's a clown"

Ardee shrieked in excitement, causing passerby's to look at her.

"You like the Argonaut too?! That's my favorite story! What's your favorite part? Mines where he and the princess take down the Minotaur."

Craiku was a little taken aback by her enthusiasm.

"You don't think it's a old fairy tale and it's for babies"

"Of course not I love love love hero tales, I had no idea that you were interested in this type of stuff too, they always make my heart go a flutter"

Craiku laughed awkwardly, wow I can't tell who's the escort anymore.

"Eh I think the ending is good but I personally prefer the parts where he's making lots of friends with people and earning their respect. Especially his little sister Feena who's my favorite character by the way. She honestly doesn't get enough credit for half the nonsense she has to put up with." He claimed.

"That and you both don't need falna to do magic" she pointed out.

"Oh yeah I never thought about it like that, still, I wonder how strong they truly were. How could someone with no falna kill a Minotaur? It doesn't make sense, it's so cool but still baffles me. I asked Dad about it and all he said was…'Tokun miracles can't be explained' and then told me to go to sleep"

She chuckled, "I agree, don't think about it too much, especially since you're kinda unusually powerful yourself" his face was full of confusion.

"Uh what was that last part you said"

"Let's go get you a new wand" she pulled him across the shopping district.

"Adree I'm capable of walking without you holding my hand"

"I can't allow you to get lost under any circumstances, besides kinda feels like we're on a date when we hold hands like this" his face flushed red again as the steam rose from his face.

"D-Date"

The two vigilantes had arrived at a shady-looking shop located off a side street branching from Northwest Main Street, after many turns, a descent down a staircase, and a warped wooden door.

The shop itself was decently spacious, but a bit dim. Magic-stone lamps designed to look like fireballs hung from the ceiling. The shelves built into the

walls housed jars filled with snakes, frogs, scorpions, and other off-putting insects. Something seemed to be simmering in a black cauldron in the back of

the shop, judging from the red steam rising from it.

"Bleh, who thought it was a good idea to put insects in jars,"? Craiku said, tapping the jars.

"Hello Ms Lenora"

"Adree I'm glad you're here, sorry for taking so long, the stock market has been a bit of an issue for me as of late"

"I completely understand, those smugglers are giving plenty of store owners a hard time. But is that custom made wand that I asked you for here"

She lifted it up and displayed it to her and her eyes sparkled. It was crafted by wood from the trees grown in the car east. With a silver outline, and at the tip was a special blue gemstone. The head of the wand that Lenora presented her was equipped with four azure magic crystals.

Craiku at the same time was looking through the store and was astonished by the type of items it had

rows upon rows of short staves and long wooden staffs, said to be a

mag e's heart and soul, lined one o f the walls o f this shop, which was already

filled with many mysterious and questionable items. Looking around to see if there was anything else important, Craiku happened to catch a glimpse of a

strange book on a shelf high above the counter.

"Umm… is that a grimoire?!"

"Ahh, well spotted, child. That it is."

Craiku blinked hieyes in disbelief as the shop owner slowly nodded. Incredibly thick, the book cover was littered with unusual letters and insignias. The rare grimoire held a miracle within its pages: the ability to force a reader to learn a Magic spell. Out of all the people in the world, it was possible to

count the few who were able to make them.

"You do not seriously expect me to believe that you created it, Lenoa?"

"Ee-hee-hee-hee, oh no no. I'm not that powerful of a mage. I found it at during a trip." Lenoa's response suggested that she wasn't divulging the whole story.

A well-made grimoire not only taught its reader new Magic, it could also increase the magic slots in their Status. The absolute maximum number of slots

was three; there was no way to add a fourth. However, those with two slots would gain a third, and those with one would gain a second. This one item could dramatically increase an adventurer 's Magic ability instantaneously. For that reason, a single grimoire was valued more than even top-of-the-line weapons. This particular one was up for sale but had had its price reassigned several

times as the older ones were crossed out and written over. Even so, the enormous figure on the price tag sent shivers up Craiku's spine.

"Are you interested in buying it?" she asked eagerly.

"No thanks I can do magic on my own, I don't really need it besides it's too expensive for us"

Adree presented him the wand and his eyes lit up, "Cool, it's even better than the last one, I'm super jealous you get to use such a cool looking wand" but she places it in his hands much to his confusion.

"What,"

"It's for you to use, surprise…I already ordered and paid for it weeks ago, I knew you'd reject it if I offered to buy it for you so I got it for you without your permission or consent" she said with a wink.

"Adree no way I can't accept this, I'd feel bad"

"Please keep it, I know I can't stop you from your goal to wipe out the Evil's, and while I don't want to encourage you into battle, I want you to know that I support you fighting for a good cause. Besides I always thought it was weird that you didn't have any kind of staff, but I knew that another staff on top of your spear would be too much to carry so I did the next best thing"

All of a sudden tears ran down his face as he started crying on the spot and dropped to his knees, "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me, I don't know how I could possibly thank you for this…I truly appreciate it…and I don't understand why I'm crying…I'm just so happy you actually did this for me"!

She kneeled down and hugged him, "Of course, what are friends for,"

They left the store after thanking Feena, and he dried his tears, "I don't know what came over me, it's just when you gave this to me, it kinda just, hit me."

"Doesn't your dad give you nice things every once in awhile"

"Well he usually does but we've been traveling for so long that he rarely has a chance to, he feels really bad about it half the time. But seriously I don't know how I'm gonna repay you for doing something so nice for me." She smiled and spread her arms out much to his disapproval.

"Pretty pretty please," he reluctantly accepted and she hugged him,

"You don't have to repay me at all, I'm your friend and friends look out for each other, but we're a Familia now and there's no condition for receiving something nice." She said softly.

"Perhaps we could go to the dungeon real quick to-"

"Please be patient, Tokun." He frowned.

He was suddenly scooped up by two arms from behind, "Adree no more hugs for now" he said, but then he realized she was standing right in front of him.

"Tokun, I don't think I can be in two places at once" his face turned pale. Oh no don't tell me.

"Finally found you my little brother, I've been hoping I'd run into you again" she said as she rubbed her cheek against him. If I get hugged by one more person I'm gonna lose my mind.

"Alise, I thought we came here to make amends not make him even angrier" said an elven girl standing right next to her. She released him and he hid behind Adree.

"Ahhh now I have regained my power. The power of snuggles is a truly wonderful thing, I should do it more often wouldn't you say Leon"

Craiku's face mask was pulled over his face, "Far enough, oh hi Adree nice to see you again" said Alise.

"Haven't seen you since the…uh you know fire hazard. Patrolling the city again as usual"?

"Yup I'm a never ending seeker of justice and heroism, but, I have no time for tomfoolery today, I'm here to formally thank Craiku for saving Leon and Celty yesterday and apologize for his equipment getting damaged"

Craiku's ears perk up, "Don't worry about it, Shakti said it was gonna break eventually, surprised that Dianna didn't destroy it during our fight last month. Check out this new wand Adree got me" he said showing it off.

"Cool it suits you, I think you could have given Fenna a run for her money" Alise said.

"Alise you've read Argonaut too" she asked.

"Who hasn't, I just love the story, I can't understand why but I feel like I can really connect with his character" she said.

Craiku shot her a glance. "Geez I wonder why" he said sarcastically.

"So gonna kick some monster butt tomorrow with your new gear"? Alise asked.

"I wanna but apparently Clover isn't considered enough help so I have to get extra allies for the dungeon and form a party. But everyone else has patrol and I know no one outside of our clan that's ready and available dungeon diving, I can handle the monsters fine with just me and Clover. Especially since I got more firepower…ka boom" he said playfully waving his wand.

KABOOM

An explosion rang out, causing debree. Alise and Adree grabbed both Ryu and Craiku when they saw the debris heading toward them.

"You two okay" Alise asked.

They turned back around and saw multiple Evilus members killing whoever was around indiscriminately. Those injured or those who tried to run were cut down like animals.

Craiku clenched his fists as his eyes glowed bright, and he immediately got up, "Leave them alone"! He raised his wand which began to glow along with his eyes.

"Fireball"

He shot the large ball of fire and watched as it collided with a solder's stomach.

The figure was sent flying back from the sheer force of the blow and was knocked out of the fight.

The other members of Evilus stopped what they were doing, surprised at seeing one of their own taken out so quickly.

"Who the hell ar-"

Craiku didn't even let the ma finish before his fist met his face as he was sent five blocks back.

"Stay back Leon we've got this"

Craiku uppercutted him in the gut before grabbing his wrist shifting his hips and lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the ground with enough force to crack it.

He threw the man aside before grabbing a woman's wrist who held a dagger that she attempted to cut him down with and twisted her wrist and forced her to drop it before he brutally punched her in the face knocking her out.

"Run away everyone, it's not safe here right now"! He yelled as everyone listened to his plea without thinking twice.

"Thanks kid we owe you one"

"Thank me by staying alive," he shouts out.

"Hey I know you, you're the little punk that took down Dianna" said another soldier.

"And I'm coming after you next" he reached behind his back but he remembered that he didn't have his spear on him"

"Not so tough without your spear, unarmed children are the best ones to kill" he said gleefully as he drove two swords at his chest.

"Back off you big bullies" the two swords were blocked and Ardee was quickly able to dispatch two members with a quick slash of her sword. The two fell, blood spurting from their chests, yet they were not dead.

Ryu and Alise were not sidelined. However, as once they got their bearings, they jumped into the fight.

Craiku was standing there open mouthed at Adree's swift sword strikes, "No way, Adree, you saved me" he said as his face was slightly red.

"Of course, that's what friends do remember they look out for each other, but don't assume that I'm weaker than Clover or I'll get you too" she said helping him up.

"Let's go Leon"

"Yes Alise"

Alise drew her rapier and Leon wields a standard long sword and the two began to clash blades with the Evils.

Alise's rapier parried a spear away from her before closing the distance and kicking the leg out from under the woman before stabbing her numerous times before she knocked her out with the flat end of her sword.

Ryu swung her long sword at her opponent who was a single dwarf. He raised his hammer and brought it down with her barely able to get out of the way before she was struck.

"I will not lose, not this time" she drove her sword forwards stabbing him in the shoulder before she gave two swift kicks to his stomach. But she was immediately overwhelmed and got hit by the hammer and crashed into the cart.

"Leon"! Alise cried before she was forced to dodge another incoming strike from an elf warrior in black wielding a spear. "Unfortunately my kin must be cut down, but this is an era of where such is the norm. She said as she struck Alise across the street,"

Ouch, she's a lot stronger than she looks, I gotta get serious.

She got up and raced towards her at full speed and slashed her across the street snapping her spear in half. She immediately went to Ryuu's aid and dragged her out of the way before she sidekicked the dwarf to give them breathing room.

"Are you okay" she asked with a smile,

"I'm sorry about that, I'm just not good enough, I always have to be saved" she said with regret in her eyes.

"You did your best, you'll get there eventually, but perhaps you should prioritize using your healing abilities to assist the civilians, give them a chance to survive this mess" Ryu nods and drank a potion before she got back up.

The dwarf immediately charges towards them and Alise was ready to defend her ally, "Oh no you don't"!

Three fireballs hit him spontaneously and he was sent staggering back from the sheer force of the fireballs. "You, little boy, you're making a mistake, I'll make you dead" both of them saw him running towards him as he picked up a metal poll that was the power half of the spear Alise destroyed earlier.

The dwarf attempts to punch him but he dodged and blocked at the same time before he uppercutted him in the jaw before he unloaded four blasts of wind upon him then he put his wand away and leaped against the wall and pushed off raising the metal poll.

"This is it"! He did a cross the body strike again the dwarf's head and he was sent flying into the streets and slide across the floor and Craiku lands on the ground with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Tokun wasn't that a bit overkill," Adree asked.

"No way, I didn't hit him that hard," he said, but he heard a cracking sound before the pole in his hands shattered into pieces.

"Yikes, that never happened before" he said.

Wow, he doesn't know his own strength.

Ryu held a child in her arms as she healed them with her magic. "It hurts it really hurts"

"Please try to hang on just a little bit longer it'll be over soon" she said in an attempt to reassure her.

"Because both of you are about to die, said a another woman with a knife, but she was stopped by Alise and knocked out swiftly.

The two looked over to see Bell finishing up as he jumped over a woman.

His legs shot to his sides as he kicked two men in the head before elbowing the woman in the back of the head.

All three collapsed unconscious as Craiku swiftly took them down.

"Ones running away," a civilian called out.

Craiku turned on his heel and immediately gave chase.

"Craiku, wait," Alise Ryu and Ardee called out.

But were blocked when another explosion went off and more Evilus goons.

"It's about time someone put you on ice" he said as he once again drew his new wand Adree got for him.

He was determined to bring this man to justice and had no intention of letting him escape.

"Arctic spirits that envelop our forests with frost, here my name. Respond to the contract, let snow rain! Follow my order and provide divine protection. Let's put them into an eternal winter slumber with no chance of resurrection–Kuros Anemos"!! A burst of arctic wind expanded as they rushed towards him and he was completely encased in ice as an icy wind hit him and he was frozen solid.

Then he did a backflip and kicked him across the street, shattering the ice as he pointed his wand at his face and the criminal paralyzed with fear.

"Surrender before I blast your face off" he raised his hands and dropped his weapons.

"See, was it really that hard to stop resisting? Now hands behind your back, I know you're full of dirty tricks and I won't take any risks, now tell me why you're doing this" he said angrily.

"Look kid it's nothing personal, I got nothing against you like that crazy bitch of a sister who tried burning the place down, but business has to thrive somehow. Since you got rid of Jura we've had a shortage of candidates so we came to…persuade a few" he said.

"That's nonsense, I know you want to turn them into slaves, Jura tried to do that to me, but luckily I was more than enough to kick his butt. Now run along, there's a jail cell with your name on-" suddenly his body went numb as he felt something piercing his shoulder and he collapsed on his face. What happened to me, I can't move!?

Another woman stepped out of the shadows, "He really fell for it, hook line and sinker, after all this time we finally caught one that'll fetch us a good price" she said as she picked him up by the arm.

"Who are you, what did you do to me"!? He said trying with all his might to move his arms and legs but it was no use.

"Tch, you heroes are gonna get yourselves killed for falling for stupid traps like this, I can't believe Dianna was beaten by someone as naive as you. You were able to perform such a spell, I like that"

He struggles to move, "Release me at once," she shook her head.

"Perhaps we could work something out. Now I can tell you didn't like your sister anymore than I did, but with her out of the way there's a new spot on the team for you. Evil must be a family thing, so I have a proposition for you…join the Evils in our quest to conquer Orairo and I'll get you the antidote so you can regain movement in your body. And we won't sell you. With your magical abilities we could conquer Orairo in no time"

"Hmph let me think about it for a second" she grins, desperate people always sell out others to save their ski- she felt heat on her hand and screamed in agony as she dropped him. He had summoned a fireball while she held him by the hand.

"You really think I'd ever join you, after all the lives you have ended the people you've killed. Dianna isn't family anymore and there's not an evil bone in my body. I'd rather be a slave treated like dirt than ever become one of you" she kicked him across the street and stepped on his chest over and over again.

"Then I will step on you like the worthless pile of dirt you are, I can't believe you actually had the nerve to burn me after I gave you a chance to be a part of something greater, you think you can stop us. You're just a weak little boy"! Craiku's eyes glowed as he laid on his back.

Crash!

The woman was bashed into the ground.

"Hands off my little brother you witch" Her eyes were full of anger and rage as she landed in front of Craiku.

"You, Astrea's little fireball" she threw a bunch of sharp needles at her and she blocked every single one.

The woman's face turned red with anger, "Tch you got lucky this time you brat, one of these days you'll get what you deserve for daring to cross us" she yelled running off.

"Alise"? He said weakly.

"Running off by yourself is a bad habit of yours. This is the second time we've had to rescue you" she said as she carried him in her arms.

"I'm sorry, I just got so mad when he tried to kill people and run away, I had no idea it was a trap,"

"The Evils are constantly doing shady things like this, you should never travel alone in this city" she explained.

Civilians were injured, and it was their job to secure the area before Airmid and her team of doctors arrived.

Craiku was given an antidote for the poison that paralyzed him and quickly regained movement in his body.

"That's better" he said as he got up.

Craiku looked at Adree expecting her to yell at him for being careless but she simply hugged him and he cried again.

"I'm sorry I was careless"

"I know you are, but please try to break the habit of running off by yourself. Not everyone is able to keep up with you."

"I was so terrified, I felt so helpless when I got paralyzed, I hated it, I hated it so much," he said as she comforted him, as their shopping trip ended in a disaster.

As he was receiving medical attention, he was being watched by another man on the roof standing and he had a little girl by his side.

"Daddy, I think I wanna play with him," she said with a sinister smile.

"Hmph very well my dear but remember our deal, I expect you'll make the most of it"

"Sure thing, that's what makes it thrilling"

---

Mystic Otaku here, and thank you for reading till the end. I didn't know how long I'd made it until I was just getting ready to publish it. I don't have too much to say other than that I'm finally starting to get some ideas for villains to make for my fanfiction that aren't bland evil bad guys. Not nuanced just, fun to watch. Well until we meet again my lovely readers.