Change of Fates (rewrite)

by Ventanus

The rewrite of my Change of Fates story, since there are many things I d like to change or wished I wrote differently. Bell will have three partners here. (third one cant be taken in the pull-down menu, so I take Lefiya since she is very important even when not Bell s lover here) Rating MA again.

7. To the sea!

Author`s Note: Hello everyone, thanks again for the Reviews.

First things first since it was asked. The timeline.

In the original story, there were seven years between the Dark Times and the start of MS. Here it will be nine years, but the major plot stuff will basically get pushed two years backwards. So a few characters will be a bit older.

Currently we are at the five-years mark, so its four years until Bell will travel to Orario. Since the attack of the Juggernaut only happened weeks after the dark times ended, not two years.

So the age for a few characters, so that everyone knows where we´re currently at. Also a few lvl infos.

Bell had started with eight years (in original he would´ve been seven, and he is the only one where I changed the age), currently he became thirteen.

Lefiya was seven, but she is only two months younger than Bell, current age twelf (so in story time, roughly one and a half months away from turning thirteen.)

Tiona was ten, currently fifteen. (I toned down Tiona´s and Tione´s lvl for the story, mostly to make it a bit easier to let her work with Bell)

Ardee fifteen, now twenty. (Lvl 3, close to four)

Haruhime was nine, is now fourteen. (Lvl 1)

So yeah, Bell is younger than his three lovers. With Ardee being the most mature one (don´t dare to say oldest).

Ryu fourteen, currently nineteen. (Lvl 4, very close to five)

Alise sixteen, currently twenty-one. (Fresh 5)

Kaguya was seventeen, now twenty-two. (4, close to five)

Lyra was sixteen, now twenty-one. (Lvl 4)

Ais was nine, now fourteen. (LvL 4, on the way to five)

Zard was forty-five, now fifty. (LvL 7, duh!)

Alfia was ********, now ********. (for some reason I can´t write down her age without feeling a chill running down my spine.) (Lvl 7, but with cheat strength)

I want to thank for the constructive critics, pointing out the mistakes I made when I put Zard into the already written parts, and Bell´s age jumping around. I fixed it about Bell´s age, will soon look into the he / she mistakes in Zard´s cases.

I can´t answer most of the Reviews, otherwise I would spoil the story. But I will say this, Albert´s sword will be an important plot point later (of course having something to do with Ais).

Short thanks to Erebus and Riftpowers again, I get a lot of ideas thanks to your Reviews and direct messages.

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WARNING!: Readers be adviced, a part of this chapter features a very dark theme, attempted suicide. It has something to do with the character´s...well character, and is important for the story later. It will not be the character´s only try, but the only one written.

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Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

The air shook, sparks flew and shot around, and the sound of a hammer hitting metal filled the room.

It was loud, extremely loud.

So loud that Astrea covered her ears with her hands, standing at the entrance of the room, not daring to go closer, so that the sparks wouldn´t hit her dress.

The hammer came down once again, and again, and again.

The movement was rhythmic where before it had been frantic, fearful, and filled with anger. With enormous power and at the same time smooth grace, the hammer struck the small piece of metal again and again.

With each blow, the piece of metal glowed a little more. Not the natural reddish glow of heat, it was something else.

"It i* r*a*y ***ina**ng!"

"WHAT?!"

A figure stood next to Astrea, clad in a black robe from head to toe. The only thing visible were two gauntlets with a bronze color. Due to the sheer sound of the work, Astrea couldn´t understand what the figure said.

The hammer fell down one last time, and now the piece of metal glowed slightly in a golden light.

Carefully, the hammer got put to the side, and a scarred hand let go of the handle. Three scars disfigured the hand to a certain degree. But Astrea´s child refused to let the scars get removed with magic. It would always remind her of her failure, what she failed to protect.

Noin.

Celty.

Ryana.

"Asta, is it...done?"

The cute dwarf looked up, nodding.

"I´m finished, Lady Astrea. Mr. Fels."

"You have my thanks, child of justice."

Fels´ voice always sounded weird, Astrea still wasn´t used to this figure, but Ouranos personally had asked her to help Fels with his request.

She still would like to know how Fels even figured out or noticed the change in Asta.

The dwarf got up from her chair, looking at the anvil in front of her, taking tongs to pick up the piece of metal...it was a rune. Asta looked exhausted and sweated heavily, but...she smiled slightly.

Asta didn´t smile for four years after the incident, blaming herself for not protecting her friends back then. Even Astrea couldn´t say which one of her children had cried the most after the incident. Secretly she believed it was Kaguya, hidden in her room, where no one could see her tears. Alise didn´t cry much after they got her back, hiding her emotions inside her.

Only Astrea knew how often this dam broke and Alise cried in her arms.

Astrea walked towards Asta and gently put a hand on her head.

"You did well, Asta. Are you satisfied with your work?"

"I am, but please be careful, Lady Astrea. I´m all dirty and sweaty."

"I don´t mind that."

Fels slowly came forward. "May I?"

"It´s yours now, Mr. Fels."

Asta raised the rune with the tongs and put it on Fels´ gauntlets.

"I can feel the energy in it...so fascinating. Not even I can produce something like that."

Astrea couldn´t put a finger on it...did Fels sound jealous, excited, disappointed? It was hard to say.

"I will make good use of it."

"Just be careful, don´t break it. Or else..."

Asta looked around, the inside of the room, her personal forge, was scorched.

"I will. When will you be able to make another one?"

"It will take a few weeks. When I recover in a few days, I will first make some for my familia."

"I understand, I thank you, Asta Knox. Your payment, as usual."

Fels put a bag on the ground, whatever was inside, clanked, it sounded like metal.

"Is it pure?"

"Of course! What do you take me for?!"

The dwarf smiled wryly. "I´m sorry."

Astrea sighed. "Please don´t get agitated so easily, young man."

"I´m over eight hundred years old! I don´t get agitated, only excited!"

"Is that so?"

Fels carefully put the glowing rune in a special box that was lined with velvet. "I take my leave now, Astrea familia. And, I will talk to Royman."

Since he had the rune and paid for it, Fels took his leave quickly...as always.

Asta exhaled loudly and got up to clean up her forge. The small building to built in the corner of the large garden, so that Asta would have a room to work.

Ever since she got a new ability, the dwarf had changed.

Self-hatred, survivor's guilt, fear of loss, heartbreak, and many other negative emotions had plagued Asta. She, the shield of her familia, had failed. Three of her closest friends had died before her eyes...slaughtered. And she hadn't done anything...couldn't do anything. Even when she tried to attack the monster with her weapon...it didn't work. Her great shield...useless...had protected no one.

Asta had often hated herself, and cried tears of anger. It should have hit her, she was the shield...not her friends...

She had sworn an oath to herself and in front of Astrea. Dwarves didn´t take oaths lightly, she would follow this oath until she died.

She would do absolutely everything to protect her familia. To be the shield. This oath got engraved so deep in her heart, that her soul reacted to it.

While Asta couldn´t use magic spells, since she didn´t have even a single slot, she received a skill and an ability.

The skill, while powerful, was actually the weaker of the two things.

Anchor Howl.

Asta could unleash a loud howl in the dungeon, and she did that often. Monsters would get agitated by this howl, forced to attack her, and charge at her. The monsters would often even stop to attack her friends and charge at her instead. When Asta howled in the special way, her familia acted fast to make sure she wouldn´t get overwhelmed.

Kaguya, as the acting captain in the dungeon since Alise was still banished from it, had fiercely scolded Asta more than one time, for throwing herself into danger like that.

But Asta´s oath and heart were like orichalcum.

She would protect those dear to her. It was also a reason why she wore truly massive armor.

And the reason why she got her ability.

This ability was one of the Astrea familia´s most protected secrets. The only outsiders who knew about it were Fels and Ouranos. Ouranos had asked Astrea through a message delivered by Fels to come and talk to him. Explaining that Fels needed help with his experiments and research. Since it was for the protection of Orario, Astrea normally would agree when Asta gave her an okay. But since something else was important to her too, she had demanded two separate compensations.

Alise´s ban should get lifted when Asta finished this specific rune, and Fels would pay Asta in general for her work, by giving her adamantite and orichalcum.

And what Asta could do was worth the payment.

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Enigma

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The ability that Asta received was called Enigma. With this, she was able to create items of great effect and strength.

But unlike the two other people who had the same ability. Fels and Asfi al Andromeda, Asta couldn´t produce real magic items. For her it worked in a different way, how she called it...the dwarven way.

Dwarves didn´t like or heavily despised magic for many centuries. It could fail and injure people they cared for. Only against monsters, it was seen as something good.

And while Asta couldn´t use magic, as most dwarves couldn´t, she could do something else with her mind power.

It took a while for her to learn it, but Asta did her best to improve beyond what a mere warrior with heavy armor, a big shield, and a mighty weapon could do. Just like many other dwarves, she had a hand for smithing, and was quite good at it.

But aside from repairing her equipment and a few of her familia, Asta wasn´t even close to being as good as someone like Tsubaki Colbrande.

And she didn´t have the mastersmith ability.

Instead...she had something that was part of Enigma.

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Enigma (Runesmith)

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Astrea had read the description in divine runes, explaining to Asta what it did. Asta could forge small pieces of special metal, like gold, adamantite, or orichalcum into runes. Almost all runes were those that dwarves used, but Astrea had shown her how some divine runes would look like for certain words.

Each word or name represented the effect of the rune. The effects were passive, some stronger than others. To forge such a rune consumed Asta´s mental strength and a lot of her stamina. That was why, strangely, her magic status grew, even when she wasn´t able to use any kind of magic. But the more she worked on her rune smithing, the stronger the magic status got. So at first, she would do her best to bury herself in work when it wasn´t time to patrol or fight in the dungeon.

After they got to know it, the new members all swore to never speak of this ability to anyone outside of the Stardust Garden. The first runes that Asta forged were pretty weak, but it was like that for every person who created magic items.

The strength of each rune would depend on the material that Asta used, and if she would forge a lower rune, which would be made in dwarven style, or a greater rune, which would use the form of a divine rune. A greater rune consumed so much of her stamina and strength and took so long to make, that she would have to work on it each day for many hours, over a whole week. Leaving her weak and defenseless.

Also, Asta could only forge a finished rune into metal objects. So a weapon like Ryu´s finished sword, which now had the name "Alf´s Justitia", was out of the question. But maybe for her shoulder guards or bracers, these were made of metal after all. Ryu told her when Asta would say it was time to try it, she would immediately hand her the armor parts since she absolutely trusted Asta with her life, and that Asta was able to protect this life, which meant a lot to the dwarf.

The others were the same, Asta should just say when she was ready to try, and they would hand their metal equipment to her.

The rune´s names just came to Asta.

Fury, would increase the attack power of the user, based on their strength or dexterity. Up to ten percent.

Farsight, would increase the accuracy of range weapons, some bows or crossbows used metal parts, so Asta would try it.

Searing Heat, would increase the attack power of the user, for fire-based attacks, by up to fifteen percent.

Alise was happy about this and wanted to try it when Asta was ready. Asta had cried when Astrea told her about it, maybe with more firepower, Ryana would´ve survived...

Awakened Steel, would increase the armor-piercing abilities of a weapon, by up to ten percent.

Iron, would increase the defensive abilities of an armor piece or the equipment it got combined with.

And other names. Some of them would increase the resistance to certain elements when embedded in armor. Like fire, or even poison.

Kaguya especially was interested in the poison resistance. Maybe...if she would let Asta hammer it in her metal arm...maybe...maybe this rune would nullify the poison in her body? Giving her the chance to find love and even dream of children later? The only other option for Kaguya would be to travel back to the Far East for a while, to get it from her clan. But she never wanted to go back there again...

Asta couldn´t tell if it would work like that, but she told Kaguya that she still had to work on the ability. And she would NEVER dare to try it on the body of her dear friend without having it mastered completely.

Also, she had to try it on cheaper weapons first, since there was a chance to destroy the weapon when she tried to forge the rune into it. Like with every skill or magic, she had to train it.

In her dreams, Asta saw blurry runes at the edge of her vision, not truly visible to her, maybe she would later get other ideas from that.

One rune was different from the others since it had an active trigger.

Energy.

It was the rune she forged for Fels. If someone held this rune in their hands and focussed on it, they could pour their mental strength into the rune, charging it. Later if they were to cast a magic spell, they could start to drain the rune, instead of using their mental strength. The capacity of this rune depended heavily on the material and if it was a greater rune. What Fels planned to do with the rune, Asta didn´t know. But he asked for more runes in the future.

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"Asta, how are you feeling."

"Tired..."

"I mean aside from that."

Asta went to her workbench, there was a large pitcher there, filled with a special beer. This beer didn´t contain alcohol and had a few other things in it. For generations, dwarves used this special beer while they did heavy labor. She took the pitcher, put it on her lips, and drank.

There wasn´t one familia member, including Astrea, who wasn´t extremely flabbergasted how easily Asta...and other dwarves...could drink such an amount. Asta emptied the pitcher and wiped her lips with her forearm.

"Puha!"

Astrea chuckled. "You know, I always wonder just where all this liquid goes."

"I guess it is one of the mysteries of us dwarves?" Asta smiled.

Astrea was so glad to see this...it had taken over four years for Asta to smile again. The first time happened when they returned from a dungeon trip, not one of the others got hurt, Asta had protected them properly.

The cute dwarf swayed slightly, and Astrea knew she was exhausted.

"Asta."

"Hm?"

"You´re doing good. You really do. You protect everyone in the city and the dungeon, no one got seriously hurt for years."

"That´s all I ever wanted."

"You should forgive yourself for what happened, I told Alise the same...and the others. It wasn´t your fault."

Asta smiled wryly. "The pain never goes away, Lady Astrea."

"I know, it is the same for me."

"I will protect the others, it is my duty, my oath...all that I have. I can´t lose another one of them..."

Even when Asta was dirty and sweaty, Astrea still hugged her precious follower. "Just don´t die while you do this...I couldn´t bear with this."

"I promise."

"Good. Now come, you need to be cleaned, and I can now use a bath too."

"Alright."

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"Oww! Oww! Oww! It hurts! It hurts! Oww! Oww! Oww! My skull is creaking!"

"You were the chosen one, Lunor! You were supposed to stop the muscle brains, not join them!"

"I´m not a muscle brain! Owwwww!"

"Is that sooooo?..."

"I´m sorry! I´m sorry, Maryuu!"

Lunor was currently struggling in Maryuu´s iron grip, the familia´s "big sister" had quite a menacing smile on her lips.

Maryuu let go of Lunor, who slumped to the ground, holding her head. She couldn´t believe how strong Maryuu could be.

"Hah...and here I thought Anya would be the problem child with how carefree she is. But when it comes to fighting, she is so much like her spear."

To get compared to Anya and lose against her...devastated Lunor.

Three other girls were currently slumping on the grass in the garden, all of them amazons.

"Owie..." Tiona rubbed her head.

"Ungh..." Tione didn´t look better.

"Mar...that hurt..." Iska sniffed.

"Do you four know how worried you always get me when you charge in like that, not caring for anything, and leave it to me and Ardee to heal you?! How much of a musclebrain can you all be?!"

Neze, who sat close by, couldn´t help but chuckle. No one of them talked back to Maryuu. Since she was the head cook, she could easily punish them by taking away their desserts. During the last Expedition, Maryuu finally snapped when the four didn´t listen again. She could understand why Iska, Tiona and Tione had problems, due to their Amazonian blood. But she had hoped Lunor would be different...but she wasn´t.

It was quite amusing to see when Maryuu was so strict and punished the "younger siblings". Somehow, an order came to be, without anyone intending it to happen. All of them knew that Iska was in every way except blood relation Maryuu´s little sister. When Tiona and Tione joined, Iska was the one who helped them the most in the beginning, since it was easier for them to talk with another Amazon. She easily slipped into the role of a big sister for both young amazons.

And it was known that Tione was the big twin, not because of her chest size...how Neze believed in the beginning, but because she was a few minutes older than Tiona.

So while Ryu was the familia´s "little one", except for the younger members, Tiona became something like the youngest sibling in a way. For her, it had been easier than for Tione to fit into the familia.

The two main reasons for that were Ardee, who quickly became a very good friend to Tiona, and Iska. For Ardee, the reason was obvious, they shared the same hobby and could spend hours talking about it.

But for Iska, it had a more emotional meaning. Tione was often teasing her little sister, to be a literal little sister, while she puffed up her own, pretty sizable, chest.

Kaguya made it worse when she said in the dungeon, Ryu, Chloe, and Tiona would form a special fighting squad.

Calling them...team "True Justice".

At first, no one understood what she meant, but when they got it, all three got quite agitated.

It was Iska who then found a way to help first Tiona, then Chloe, and in the end even Ryu followed her advice. With her fashion skills, Iska made a new chest band for Tiona, together with a few ornaments. This made Tiona´s chest look quite a bit bigger than it actually was! Making the slender Amazon very happy!

Chloe also went with her advice, but not too much, or it would destroy her overall look. Plus, she vehemently stated that she had an amazing butt!

Ryu got a bit embarrassed about Iska´s tips, but she didn´t have to do that much, since for an elf, Ryu´s chest was quite well-developed. Also, the others had to agree on that part, Ryu´s strongest point was her thighs anyway.

"Heh, bet you will soon enough charm some guy with these thighs."

Ryu was ashamed and too embarrassed to answer, this was nothing she intended to do!

"Leon, I can give you a few tips to increase the look of your thighs even more. Enhance your strong point!"

"I don´t want that!"

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Lunor slowly got up to her feet. "I´m sorry, I got too excited again...I didn´t know it could be so much fun to fight in the dungeon. Plus, that minotaur looked at me menacingly!"

"It is a monster, they look at everyone like that!"

Maryuu sighed. "Really, you´re all such a handful..."

Neze grinned. "Problems with your little sisters, Maryuu?"

"You should give a hand too, Neze!"

"Hey, I´m busy with my own "little sisters" to look after."

"As if your little sisters give you trouble at all!"

Anya and Chloe didn´t become Neze´s little sisters like Iska was for Maryuu, or Tiona and Tione had become for Iska...and Maryuu. But it was a term also used for those who helped the new members.

As a fellow beast person, even when she was a werewolf, Neze had helped Anya and Chloe a lot. Chloe didn´t have much trouble fitting into the familia, she loved spending time with Iska, to enhance her outfit and beauty. And Anya was quite the easy-to-go person, aside from that, she never made trouble in the dungeon. At first, she was a bit too careful, but now she fought with great skill, it was her goal after all to get stronger and help her brother in the future.

"Can´t argue with that, they´re such good girls."

It sounded a bit strange since Neze was only a year older than them. Neze looked down, chuckling. Anya was next to her, sleeping on the grass, not caring at all about anything that happened around them.

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Nya?

Chloe was currently busy cleaning the rooftop of the Stardust Garden, someone had to do it, and today was her turn. She didn´t have a problem with it, it was nice and warm up here, but a movement caught her attention.

In the corner of her eye, she had seen a swift movement for a second. Normally that movement would be too fast, but thanks to a "skill" she got, she could catch such a scheme.

"Justice Vision" and "Insight"

"Justice Vision" enhanced Chloe´s perception, especially of things that belonged to her interests.

And "Insight" let her recall what she had just seen. It made it easier for her to spot some things and make sure she saw it correctly.

Like...

Nya?!

In that split second, Chloe caught a glimpse of THE butt. The most nyautiful of all butts she had ever seen! Oh, just how would it feel to touch this butt? Grope it, fondle it, bite into it! And she finally knew who this butt belonged to!

Anya´s big brother!

Nyufufufu.

No matter how fast Allen Fromel moved, when Chloe caught a glimpse of his butt, Justice Sight would slow down time for her. In the dungeon, for monster attacks, this was an incredible help.

But when it came to butts...Chloe truly thanked the gods for this gift.

So even when he was only visible for a second, for Chloe it felt like easily ten seconds passed. She saw every swing, the up and down of his body, and Chloe licked her lips. It was the same phenomenon that some men had when they saw a woman with big breasts running, only that it was much more intense for Chloe.

She got a bit red.

Hanyaaa~~~Oh no...he´s hot!

Chloe bit her lower lip, Allen Fromel was just too hot!

While she normally liked them younger, and smaller...something the others should never know, Chloe also had a thing for bad boys...and softies! She knew why Allen was here, Syr had explained it to her in secret, he sometimes looked over Anya, to make sure she was safe.

A slightly petite body. Yet muscular. A nyautiful butt. A bad boy. And a huge softie!

Allen Fromel was everything Chloe would love in a man!

And even his smell, sometimes she caught a glimpse of it, it was similar to Anya, but he smelled just so good!

Insight reacted.

N-Nyaaaaa~~~

Chloe saw everything again. In the dungeon, it was also just a tiny moment. But right now...she saw Allen in slow-motion again.

What a feast, such eye candy. Nyufufufu

She had to ask Anya if Allen was still single! Syr had already encouraged her, telling her that she might secretly be Allen´s type since she was a bit smaller than him.

Chloe couldn´t know that, but her interest in Allen gave Syr an idea. Maybe, just maybe, if she could manage to get some of her high executives interested in some of her friends, they would leave this destructive path.

Of course, she loved the attention she got, and all her precious followers belonged to her, but at the same time, they also imprisoned her in a way. And it would be truly a sight to see what Allen might look like if he were in love.

As for the others...

Making her friends happy could also be quite fulfilling...

When Chloe would ask Anya if her brother was still single, the sheer expression of devastation on Anya´s face, realizing that Chloe had her eyes on Allen...would be quite funny to see.

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The life of the Astrea familia continued, due to Asta´s work, Alise would get her punishment released earlier than intended, but since it was a secret punishment, and they needed to get her stronger as well, it would only benefit the guild.

Due to their survival, some things changed for other people as well, if they knew about it or not.

Some people even got in trouble, but it would change a lot for them.

"Stay. Down. Last warning."

Alise had her right boot on the chest of an adventurer, pressing him down to the ground. Flames still flickered around her feet, slightly hurting the adventurer. Others came out of her hands, and the wings from her back. Even her eyes gleamed slightly, showing her anger.

When she got agitated and fought against a strong criminal, Alise sometimes forgot herself a bit, becoming the Angel of Justice.

The one she was currently pressing down, wasn´t a criminal like Evilus had them.

It was a drunk adventurer, belonging to the Loki familia. One that had caused quite a ruckus.

"Ungh!"

He glared at her, but Alise didn´t flinch. The adventurer wasn´t weak, a fresh level four. But with her fresh level five, Alise had overpowered him. Due to being drunk, he also wasn´t in the best fighting condition.

"If you dare to get up, you will leave me no choice but to arrest you, is that what you want?"

The werewolf under her boot growled but didn´t try to get up.

Quick steps were heard, and soon a few adventurers from Loki familia arrived.

The dwarf Gareth, the vice-captain, and the blond sword girl.

Alise´s flames died out, but she kept standing there until the Loki familia was next to her.

Gareth grit his teeth, leaned down and grabbed Bete´s shoulder. Alise took her boot away when the dwarf pulled Bete up.

"What did you do again, punk?!"

"Leave me alone, old man!"

"I´m gonna smack you if I have to!"

"Try it!"

When Bete looked at Riveria and Ais, he closed his mouth.

Riveria sighed. "What happened here, Ms. Lovell?"

"He got drunk and into a fight at a bar, damaging quite a lot and causing a ruckus. I was on my patrol when I heard this."

"And you intervened."

"Obviously."

"Hah...I´m sorry this happened. We will see that we keep him under control. Will you press charges?"

Alise looked at Bete, then at Riveria and Gareth, and she sighed. "No, not this time. But if he can´t keep himself under control, and this happens again, you leave me no choice. Shakti and her familia won´t be very forgiving too."

"I thank you, Ms. Lovell. Bete has his own problems."

Riveria lowered her voice. "We recently had losses in the dungeon...Bete doesn´t take these things lightly."

Alise looked sad. "My condolences..."

"Thank you."

"I heard about Vidar familia, too understand pain. But this isn´t the right way."

Alise saw the pain in Bete´s eyes when she pushed him down. A very familiar pain, she had looked exactly the same when she snapped.

"But I have to follow the laws, as the captain of my familia. If he gets caught fighting again because he was drunk, it might lead to jail. Not my decision though."

Gareth nodded. "We will take care of that."

Alise looked at Bete a last time. "I can understand you, but don´t do it like that. If you want to blow off some steam, go all out until you can´t stand anymore, I will gladly take you on in a sparring match if your familia doesn´t have time."

"Tsk."

Before the Loki familia left, Alise said one last thing.

"I too know how it feels like to lose someone you care about, we all know. But drowning this pain in alcohol or rage will destroy you. It nearly destroyed me."

"Mh.."

Bete followed the two leaders of his familia, Ais looked from the side at him.

Out of all the stares, he could bear with her the least. Ais meant a lot to Bete, watching her growing stronger, was one of the little joys he had. In the past he had compared her to his deceased sister, then his childhood friend, then...someone from the Vidar familia. Ais was in a way an anchor for him, since she tried so desperately to get stronger, just like him. With her, he wasn´t afraid to lose her, since Ais wasn´t weak.

"Bete."

Ais spoke in her usual tone.

"Mh?"

"I don´t like you when you´re drunk."

He knew that Ais had trouble bringing out her feelings and what she thought with words, her whole familia knew it.

"Good to know..."

Since he would get in serious trouble if he drowned his pain in alcohol again and got in a fight, Bete had to change. If he wanted to or not.

"So please don´t do it again."

"Won´t..."

Ais nodded. "I like Bete more like this."

"Is that so?"

"If you feel angry...we can train?"

She looked up at Riveria, to see if she did well. Riveria tried her best to teach Ais how to interact with people better. The adult elf nodded, and smiled slightly, not visible to the others.

Good job, Ais.

Ais wasn´t very close to most members of her familia, she had her own troubles. Due to a changed fate, not having close contact with two Amazon twins and a certain elf, she would grow closer to other people. Maybe a promising Novice, and the cat girl who was always at his side?

Or maybe even that werewolf?

Riveria would try to convince Ais, that having close friends in a familia would be good for her.

And this would work wonders for this werewolf too, maybe healing a few of his emotional scars.

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The survival and presence of the Astrea familia would change the lives of a few people, but they couldn´t be everywhere and see everything...

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"*Hic* *Hic* *Hic*..."

A girl stood alone in her room, tears rolled endlessly down her cheeks. She didn´t have words or screams anymore, she just couldn´t bear with it anymore.

What happened to her?

To her body.

Getting defiled.

Having her virginity taken from her at the age of fourteen...not even counting as a young adult by this country´s laws...but her owner didn´t care about that.

She balanced on a chair, tying a rope to a pillar in the room, making sure it would hold her body weight...

Nothing in this cruel world could give her comfort anymore...not after "that" happened...

When the guy...her first "customer"...was finally done, stood up, thanked her for her time, closed his pants, and left. She had looked down at herself and had thrown up when she saw the white substance on her crotch.

I never should´ve been born...mother...I´m sorry that you died, giving your life for something so worthless like me...

After she finished tying the sling, she smiled.

The smile didn´t reach her eyes...now everything would end.

After she put her head through the sling and closed it around her neck, there was only one thing left to do.

Right then, the door opened.

"Haruhime, I-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

A brown-skinned shadow dashed with mad speed into the room, arriving at Haruhime before she could move the chair away. Aisha jumped up, and cut the rope with her bare hand, pulling Haruhime towards her.

"You stupid girl, what are you trying to do?!"

"Unhand me! Let me go!"

"Were you just trying to kill yourself?!"

Haruhime´s face contorted. "LET ME END IT!"

"Like hell, I will!"

Haruhime´s eyes spoke of pure pain, nothing else, but her lower lip trembled. She had no chance against Aisha´s superior strength.

"You stupid girl, why didn´t you come to me?!"

"What would it change?!"

As an Amazon, Aisha couldn´t understand Haruhime´s problems with this place.

More tears streamed down Haruhime´s cheeks.

"Stupid girl..."

Aisha pulled the struggling Haruhime into a hug, after ripping the sling into pieces. Haruhime tried her best to break free, but after a while, she just sunk into Aisha´s hug and cried her heart out. Cried so loud and long that it caught the attention of another Amazon.

Lena peeked into the room, seeing Aisha holding the crying Haruhime. This sight made her feel bad for her...for the first time in the young amazon´s life. As an Amazon, as someone who lived in this place, she had seen girls like Haruhime, it pained her heart.

She slowly came closer, Aisha saw her but didn´t shake her head.

Lena gently got on her knees behind Haruhime and hugged her too. "Haru-Haru..."

Aisha was glad she came just in time...if she came only a few minutes later...

From this evening onwards, Aisha and Lena would keep an eye on Haruhime and take care of her. When they thought she would be fine and used to this life, they would make the biggest mistake of their life, and only did it one time.

They told Ishtar that Haruhime was fine now...

And after having another customer...Haruhime had a mental breakdown...trying this again.

Both would never forget the sight of Haruhime in the shower, crouching on the ground, crying and screaming while she scrubbed herself, especially her crotch, without end, throwing up again and again.

From that night onwards, Aisha and Lena would make sure that Haruhime never served another customer, taking care of them in her place. Since they feared they wouldn´t be able to stop Haruhime on a third attempt.

Her intense self-despise, self-hatred, disgust, and feeling filthy and dirtied, would engrave itself into Haruhime´s soul, leaving an emotional scar.

Leading to a very different development in the magic she would get, following her desire to cleanse herself, to burn away any impurity.

But also making her deeply afraid of men. Whenever Haruhime had to even talk to a man who came to the brothel, she would start to shake and shiver from intense fear, often blacking out. Leaving the brothel with no choice, Haruhime also wouldn´t work at the counter anymore but take care of the house.

And go into the dungeon with the Ishtar familia, forcing her to learn how to fight.

At least, since Lena would try her best because she felt so bad for Haruhime, she would receive her beloved books, and other things that Lena brought her to distract her. Aisha would be the same, their care for Haruhime made the two amazons quite soft when it came to her.

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While the life in Orario continued, the life in the small village would soon change.

Three weeks after his 13th birthday, Bell, Alfia, Zard, and Zeus would travel to the sea. To have some fun. Since no carriages moved in this direction, they had to walk. And since they weren´t in a hurry, they would walk normally. It would be the first time for Bell to go to the sea.

But since there was always a chance to encounter monsters, even something as weak as a goblin, Zard had a long talk with Alfia and insisted on teaching Bell how to use his father´s sword.

Which he had named "Askalon".

It was named after the sword that a man in the past used to slay a dragon. Since Bell swore to himself and his family, that he would one day finish what the familias started, it was a fitting name.

And maybe at the same time, he would have the chance to save a damsel in distress from the evil dragon!

Bell´s status grew more during the three weeks of intense training. He had requested this, and while Alfia was not happy to see her thirteen-years son fight with a sword, she had to admit that he had enormous talent and learned very fast. So that Bell had someone to spar, Alfia would use Tempest, but only the dull part. Since if she would use the cutting edge, there was a chance to hurt Bell...and destroy Askalon.

He got better at paying attention to his surroundings. Not once did he trip over grass. For the first days, Alfia had strictly ordered only to use a certain area, where there was nothing he could trip over. Since tripping with Askalon in his hand would be too dangerous.

When he trained with Zard, he would use his enormous sword. Bell couldn´t even lift this thing! And Zard parried him so easily with this, no matter how fast Bell attacked.

He wondered aloud why he wasn´t able to get close.

Zard had laughed loudly. "What do you expect, Bell? You´re level one, I´m level seven. Even when your status has grown quite a bit, I´m more than six levels above you."

"I guess you´re right."

"But you´re doing very well. Your father, Maxim, and the others would´ve been proud to call you one of us."

Bell beamed all over his face when he heard that.

At least the Zeus familia would acknowledge him. When it came to Hera familia, Alfia wouldn´t be so sure. She would be more afraid that Bell would be too cute for his own good. If he had been born earlier, Alfia might have had her hands full to shoo away all the other women of the familia, who would most likely try to lure Bell towards them with candies and other things...

Unknown to them, since Zeus didn´t get an update letter from Hermes, in these three weeks, Ryu Lyon managed to level up to five. Beating Kaguya by four weeks.

And what Ryu got with her level-up, would make her very emotional. A skill, and her third magic spell.

And an alias that sounded cool, but was VERY embarrassing for an elf...especially one that wasn´t a high elf, but the gods insisted on it.

Aeola Ventus.

Goddess of Wind...

The first try was "Our elven bride!"

But Astrea declined with a menacing smile. It was Freya who made the suggestion of Ryu´s alias, the other gods just loved it. And judging from her smirk, Freya liked how flustered Astrea got from this little blasphemy.

Ryu would hide in her room, hiding her face in shame, since her familia teased her a LOT for that.

And when they all heard what Ryu´s new magic spell "Astrea Record" could do, every single one of the older members, and Ardee, reacted in the same way.

Every. Single. One.

""""""""Awwwwwwwwww!""""""""""

All of them taught their little ones something important in the past, and now their little one would be able to follow their teachings.

At the same time, this magic spell would be another one of the Astrea familia´s great secrets. If Ryu learned to master it, she might´ve become the most versatile adventurer in all of Orario. The spell allowed her to use the magic spells of her older familia members, those that she knew for years.

Which would lead to something special.

Alise grinned in a certain way. "We will work you to the bone now, little one!"

"Don´t call me that!"

"Fine, Leon."

"Mmmh..."

She vanished more and more in a group hug from the older members. The younger ones were quite touched by the scene, even when Filvis was embarrassed to see such openly shown affection. Especially in a group!

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When the preparations for the trip were done, and they waited for Alfia and Zard to be in good health, Zeus talked to someone in the village, to keep an eye on the house while they would be away.

And then, the day to go to the sea came.

Traveling towards the sea would take three to four days. Bell was really excited to sleep in a tent. They had two tents with more than enough room for two people. Of course, Bell would share a tent with Alfia. She was used to sleeping next to Zard while they traveled. But there was no way she would miss the chance to sleep next to her super cute son!

Plus...it was secretly quite amusing for Alfia that Zard and Zeus had slight troubles in the tent with their massive bodies.

It wasn´t necessary to let one of them keep guard at night. Their perception was enhanced enough to notice any danger that might come close. Also, monsters could to a certain degree sense the strength of Alfia and Zard, so they got scared away.

While they traveled, Bell asked a lot of things, which was to be expected.

"Did the sea change after you defeated the Leviathan?"

"Do you mean the behavior of monsters?"

"Mhm."

"We can´t say for everywhere, but Melen still has to be careful with aquatic monsters."

Zeus stroked his beard. "Most likely, other strong aquatic monsters now reign in certain areas, since the Leviathan ruled everywhere. Thankfully they are far outside in the sea, only the smaller and weaker ones come close to the shores. This also prevents countries from going to war with each other, by invading the other nation with ships. Since a large number of moving ships would attract the bigger monsters. Like the Kraken."

"It exists?!" Bell looked excited.

"Kraken are a general form of aquatic monsters. Some are bigger than others. And one stands above all the others, the father or mother of this type of monster."

"Woah..."

"But it is far weaker than the Leviathan."

"What happened to the Leviathan´s body?"

"It got dragged to Melen, the skeleton was used to create a seal for the entrance to the dungeon in the sea. Even the remains scare weaker monsters away."

"There was a second entrance to the dungeon?"

"Yes. And thanks to your Mom and her familia, it is now sealed. So only the weakest aquatic monsters attack the fishermen in Melen. Which is a blessing, since monsters from the outside are far weaker."

"Hehe, that makes Mom even cooler."

Bell smiled at Alfia, whose cheeks got only slightly red. Being praised by Bell was one of her few weak spots.

Then he looked at Zard. "What happened after you slew the Behemoth?"

"Its body collapsed, too big to get moved. And since the Miasma was still in the air, everyone left. Sadly my true sword remained there. The Miasma of the corpse created what we now know as the black desert."

"What did the Behemoth do while it was alive?"

"Trampling around, destroying entire villages and towns."

"Oh..."

"Yes, it was a hard time. Most fortress cities or towns were surrounded by large and thick walls. Being able to repel all attacks from normal monsters. But the Behemoth was an unstoppable force. Brute strength, the Miasma, and a thick, scaly hide. It wasn´t called the King of the Lands for nothing."

"And to think you slew it...you´re a hero, Uncle Zard."

"I wouldn´t call myself that."

Zeus snorted. "Nonsense. All of you were heroes, including Hera´s girls. It still ticks me off that people said we failed the three great quests, instead of finishing two out of three..."

Zard shrugged his shoulders. "I´m with you there, old man."

Bell looked upset. "It´s not nice that they called it a failure. I mean a monster like the Behemoth, destroying entire cities, finally slain...and people don´t cheer and celebrate it."

"Oh, they did, they surely did. At least the people who would be affected by it. But Orario´s citizens were different. They counted on us to protect them, and bring peace to the world. And when we, the strongest, couldn´t do it. They got scared, and in their fear, they blamed us."

Alfia snorted. "And just look how weak they are compared to us. Orario doesn´t even have a single level seven!"

Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Actually they do now. I got a letter and an update about Orario´s situation. Freya´s captain managed to level up to seven. And now he uses most of his time to train like a madman."

Alfia rolled her eyes. "Wow...one level seven...weaklings. Loki and Freya are like dogs chasing a cart. They don´t even know what to do when they catch it. They wanted to stand at the top, so they did it. And now? They make nothing out of it, disgusting."

Bell looked like he was in thought. "Mom, how was it when you started to get stronger? Did your familia already have a level seven or above?"

"Of course they did, our familias ruled Orario for a thousand years."

"Then maybe, you can only compare Loki familia and Freya familia to your familias in the very beginning? They are weaker, as you said, so they can´t fight as easily as you did in the dungeon."

"That might be true, but keep in mind, Bell. We went down to floors that were completely unexplored. After they kicked us out of Orario, they took what we had, all of our notes."

Zeus smirked. "And from what my informant wrote me, Loki´s children only recently went past the 50th floor..."

"Hah!" It was rare to hear Alfia laugh, even when it was only a mean laugh.

Zard sighed. "Only 50th? Oh, man... Maybe this is our fault, we kept too much danger away from them."

"Hm..."

"Bell?"

"I do wonder...why were Uncle Maxim, the Empress, and all the others so much stronger? It can´t be just more experience. Could it maybe be, that they got born stronger, to fight the big threats?"

Zeus stroked his beard again. "You mean like in your stories, when people like Argonaut or Dim got blessed by spirits?"

"Like that, yes."

"An interesting point, I never thought about that. But not one of my boys had the blessing of a spirit."

Zeus looked at Alfia.

She shook her head. "Neither one of us."

Zeus looked up at the sky. "Maybe it was one of the guys above? Who knows. In any case, in each generation, there are a few people who have the potential to become heroes. And sure as Hades, you´re one of them, Bell."

"Do you really think so?!"

"Of course I do. You have courage, the dream, and the willpower. These are the most important things to have in the beginning."

Then he looked at Alfia and Zard. "And you have the strongest and best teachers one could wish for. In a way, you remind me of Heracles, Bell."

"Is that why I got this magic spell?"

"Well, you do love heroic stories, no doubt. And since you have a slightly similar start, and you admire the twelve trials, that could be the reason why you got this as the first spell."

"But it is hard to control."

Zard grinned and ruffled Bell´s hair. "But you will surely master it, since your Mom and I will help you."

"Hehe~~"

"Zard...take your hand off Bell...right now.."

"Hm?"

Alfia "glared". "It is my turn to pat his head and ruffle his hair."

Zard laughed. "Alright, alright, Mommy."

"Pff, you can´t tease me with that word."

When Zard moved a bit away from Bell, Alfia gently stroked his hair and pulled him closer.

"Mom, I can´t walk like that..."

"Take it as training. You have the will to continue walking."

"Mmmh..."

"Don´t tell me you get embarrassed from that..." She looked sad.

"Of course not!"

Alfia still had a very hard time, that Bell had technically started to become a teenager.

.

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The days went by quickly, since Bell had a blessing, and Zeus was a god, they could walk far longer than a normal person could.

And when they finally saw it.

"Woah!~~"

Bell´s eyes sparkled, the sea was sheer endless!

"So big...so wide...how deep is it?"

Zeus shook his head. "Not even we can say it, maybe thousands of meters in some places?"

"Woah..."

"Makes you feel small, hm?"

"Yes."

Currently, they were north of the Beol mountains, on the southern outskirts of Rakia.

"And...is it safe to swim in there?"

"If you only go a few meters in, it should be. But we have to be careful. Even when most monsters will be scared by your Mom."

Alfia shot "that" glare at Zeus.

"Heh, try again, young lady. I got "that" glare from Hera, you´re nothing compared to her."

While they continued to walk...there were no villages close by, but a town in the distance, Bell thought about something.

"Grandpa?"

"Mh?"

"What is Grandma Hera like?"

Alfia almost choked when Bell called Hera "Grandma".

"At times very kind, scary at other times."

"Hm...I would like to meet her one day."

"Why that?"

"To thank her for blessing Mama, so that she had more time."

"Hm, maybe one day you will meet her."

Secretly, Zeus and Alfia hoped this would never happen. Who could say what Hera would do? Maybe claim Bell for herself, force him into her familia? Take revenge on Zeus? Or maybe it would go the other way around, that Bell would soften Hera´s heart, if she saw Meteria in him, like Alfia did.

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They found a spot close to the sea, where it was pretty nice to set up their camp. It was easy to get firewood nearby, and with small hills surrounding the area, they were safe from the wind.

After the camp was set up, Zeus and Bell would leave the camp for a while, to walk along the shore. They would be back in two hours or so, neither Alfia nor Zard saw the need to accompany them. Bell had Askalon on his back and was already pretty good at using his lightning magic. Also, Zeus carried Tempest, and since a god wasn´t weak either, there shouldn´t be any trouble.

In any case, Alfia decided to use the chance when Zeus was out of the camp, to relax. They had a simple beach lounger, made by Zeus before they went on the trip. Alfia lay down on it, wearing her bikini, which she would only wear when Zeus wasn´t around. A normal swimsuit felt somehow suffocating for her.

Zard carried some supplies. "I will start to prepare dinner."

"Mmmh! Mmmmh!"

He turned around when he heard a noise from Alfia. She didn´t look up, just pointed at her shoulders and back.

"What?"

"Mmmmmh!"

"I have something to do, you know?"

"Mmmmmmmmmh!"

"Hah, you sure are a demanding and spoiled young lady, you know that?"

"Mh."

Zard crouched down next to the beach lounger.

"I´m going to open your top, is that alright?"

"Mh."

He didn´t feel anything when he opened the top, now her whole back was bare. Zard felt a poke from the side, Alfia held a bottle in her hand.

"Really? Suncream-massage oil? What am I, your servant?"

"Mmmmh!"

He sighed. "Fine, have your will, young lady."

By himself, he wondered if he spoiled her a bit too much in the past. Maybe.

Alfia only let Zard touch her body for a massage since she didn´t sense any lewd feelings from him. And sadly, Bell just didn´t have the strength to let her enjoy a good massage.

And while Zeus had the strength, she would NEVER let him touch her like that, or risk opening her top, even when she lay on her belly.

Also, Alfia tended to make some noises when Zard massaged her, and Bell shouldn´t hear these noises. It wasn´t moaning, but for Alfia it was always unpleasant to make noises she didn´t intend to. But when Zard massaged her stiff body parts, it just felt too good.

"Hah...bliss..."

"Does your feet hurt?"

"No, my shoulders and calves are stiff."

"Alright, on it."

"Hah~~"

"You know, you could at least thank me, young lady?"

"Thank you...old man."

"Pff."

Zard kept massaging her for as long as she desired.

"Is there something you want to eat today?"

"Fish, and grilled vegetables."

"Alright."

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When Zeus and Bell returned, both could only gasp. Alfia sat there in her usual clothes, but she was glowing! GLOWING! She looked so relaxed and refreshed, smiled slightly in a calm way, it let her surely look beautiful.

"Mom, Uncle Zard, we found some mussels!"

Zard smiled. "Wonderful! They will make a good addition to today´s dinner. Old man, Bell, I need you two to go fishing."

"Alright!"

Zeus decided not to make a comment on Alfia´s appearance, she deserved this peace as well, and he knew how she would react to his teasing.

By himself, he was glad.

Not lovers, but the best partners they could wish for. That´s nice in its own way.

The dinner was wonderful, all of them sat together until late at night, looking at the sea, while the moon moved up.

While Alfia changed into her pajamas inside the tent, Bell looked up at the full moon.

At the same time, a young elf sat in her favorite high place on a gigantic ship, looking up at the same moon.

On the next day, they would have their land expedition. Apparently, there was a small town nearby, which had reported to problem with aquatic monsters and others from the inland.

Lefiya did not look forward to this expedition...

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Inside the main office of the gigantic ship, originally known as Hringhorni, but now known as Maritime Academic Institutions Special District...or shortened to School District, the owner of the office looked up when he heard a knock at the door.

"It´s open."

He hoped it wouldn´t be Idun again before land expeditions started, he needed a bit more peace of mind.

The one who came inside, was a tall, handsome man, with blond hair and golden eyes. Which made him look a bit similar to a certain girl in Orario, without both of them being related in any way.

"Ah, Leon."

"Lord Baldr, good morning."

"How are the preparations for the expedition going?"

"Everything is prepared and ready."

"And the students?"

"Eager to go on the expedition. Except..."

"Lefiya Viridis, right?"

"Yes. She still has trouble fitting in with other students. And is scared to go on an expedition."

"She is still young, only almost thirteen. And the last expedition was hard for her."

"For us all."

Baldr nodded.

Leon looked determined. "It will not happen this time. More teachers and experienced students will go and keep an eye on them from the distance."

"Lefiya needs to learn about life in the open world, just like every other student. And it would be cruel towards her if we let her live sheltered, if she understands this or not."

"Also, she has enormous potential. In theoretical classes and combat training, she isn´t bad at all. Only in melee combat. But her magic makes her second to none if she learns how to handle it right."

"And if she would be able to develop concurrent chanting."

"Indeed."

Both looked out of the window of the main tower. In the distance they could actually see Lefiya, sitting far below them on her favorite spot.

"Did she manage to find at least one friend?"

"I think the closest that comes to it is Alisa Larghast. Given more time and Alisa´s countless efforts, I´m sure she will get through to Lefiya. Alise thinks of her as a friend, but Lefiya is too withdrawn at the moment."

"And the other students?"

"Most behave neutral towards her. The only trouble she has is with Luke Fowl, who recently joined."

"Ah, our "young hero"."

They knew it was Luke´s dream and wish to become a hero. But not for himself, the people needed a hero, and since Orario didn´t seem to care for the rest of the world, he wanted to become a hero that the people of the lands needed.

"You are putting them and Luke´s partner in a squad?"

"Yes, it should help them to get along better."

"Good, maybe it will help Lefiya to get out of her shell, and soften up Lu-"

They got interrupted when a loud sound echoed all over the School District. It was an immense signal horn, ordering everyone to pay attention.

The titanic speakers of the School District came to life.

"Starting slow down procedure. Repeat. Starting slow down procedure."

The School District always had to slow down hours before they would arrive at their destination. Otherwise, they would create massive waves, crashing onto the shore. When they arrived in Melen, they had to slow down even earlier, otherwise, they wouldn´t fit through the gap that marked the point where Lake Logoss ended and the open sea started.

"The students will get nervous now."

"Most likely."

"I will go then and talk with the other teachers."

"Until later, Leon."

When Leon was about to leave the office, after he opened the door, he stepped to the side.

"After you, Milady."

"Eheheh~~ You´re as knightly as always, Leon!"

Baldr went stiff when he heard the voice. Leon went outside, Baldr turned around and was greeted by a very cheerful smile.

"I wish you a wonderful Tahoaru, headmaster!"

"Idun, how may I help you?"

"There´s just soooomething I would like to discuss!"

"Alright..."

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Hours later, the students got brought to the shore with smaller boats, while the repair crews swarmed the outside of the ship, to make notes on what had to get repaired when they would arrive in Melen in three weeks. The ship would remain at its position for a week, during this time, the expedition would take place.

Each member of every squad carried backpacks with supplies necessary for camping and surviving in the wild. They had to make their way on their own, moving towards the town, where they would get instructions.

Their main goal was to exterminate as many monsters as possible, those that came from the sea and the inland.

And they would camp outside.

"Oy, Viridis. Don´t hold us back again."

"Hey, leave Lefiya alone, she´s doing her best, right, Lefiya?"

"Mh."

Lefiya clutched her staff, she was scared about facing monsters. Feared freezing again at the wrong moment, that it might bring her squad into danger.

As usual, Luke took the role of the leader and vanguard, his partner and childhood friend Natalinoe Cladfield, walked in the middle, while Lefiya and Alisa formed the rearguard. Alise should´ve been the leader in Lefiya´s opinion, since she was the oldest.

The oldest...Alisa was fifteen, Luke and Natalione fourteen. Lefiya with her almost thirteen years was the youngest. Still, due to that, Alisa had the most experience and wasn´t as hotblooded as Luke could be. He wasn´t really a hotblood or angry, but he intended to protect his party and threw himself in danger when necessary.

This behavior was what scared Lefiya...it had led to the death of the other student during the last expedition.

"Lefiya, when monsters charge at us, I will protect you, so that you can cast your magic, alright?"

"Mh."

"Luke and Nana take the front anyway, so trust in us, like we will trust you, alright?"

"Okay..."

"I will not promise you that nothing will happen to us, Lady Idun forbids us to "raise deathflags", as she calls it. But if it gets too dangerous, we will flee immediately."

"Understood."

Lefiya looked over her shoulder, and a teacher followed them at a wide distance. The teacher wouldn´t do anything, except the situation got too dangerous.

But the main focus for them was to act on their own, enhance their teamwork, and get experience. So only if the situation got really desperate, a teacher would intervene.

Everything will be alright...everything will be alright...

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.

"Hiiiii!"

"Lefiya! Move back! We need to fall back!"

"I can´t! Alisa, there are more coming from behind!"

"What?!"

The sea was alive, at least it looked like it. Horde after horde of crab-type monsters crawled out of it, foam came out of their maws, and their claws clicked furiously. It happened only moments after a large horde of monsters from the inland came from the other side, Goblins and Kobolds.

Their job was to investigate the monster attacks and deal with them so that the town would be safe.

The great irony was, that none of them would ever find out why the monsters came from the inland towards the sea.

They were fleeing...

Fleeing from a "monster", a dragoness, who made her "nest" in a village further away. It frightened the monsters, and let them flee into different territories. And since they came close to the shore, the aquatic monsters got enraged and fought for their territory.

So basically, all the students of the Education District got just caught in the middle of a war for territory. This didn´t mean that the monsters would ignore the mortals, they were a delicious treat after all.

While the monsters weren´t that strong, there were many! Sheer endless numbers! Inside the dungeon, the number of each horde would surpass a monster train!

There were so many monsters, that they couldn´t escape, they were everywhere! Even other squads, further away, got caught in the fight. The teachers themself had problems getting through such a mass, and attacking the monsters also made them more furious and aggressive.

Lefiya did her best, but Leon was too generous about her skills. She was lousy in melee combat! What made it worse, were her nerves. She couldn´t focus on her magic, Alisa got slowly driven backward, and there was the actual danger of them getting separated.

Alisa shouted loudly. "Luke! Nana! We need to fall back!"

"If you see a way, tell me! They are endless!"

Time slowed down for Lefiya, just as Luke ended his answer, a trio of kobolds jumped up and in her direction, each of them holding a wooden club probably ripped out of trees.

I won´t make it in time...

Would it end here? Like that?

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"THUNDERBOLT!"

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Her vision became blue. Actinic blue. A blue of such an intense and beautiful color that Lefiya had never seen before. The movement was too fast to be seen for real. In one moment the Kobolds jumped, in the next they got pierced by the lightning bolt. No one could evade such a spell, it was beyond fast.

Huh?!

The problem was, that it blinded her slightly. She staggered back, Alisa at her side.

With a fierce roar, someone came from the side. Her eyes went wide.

It was a boy around her age. With white hair, red eyes...not wearing any armor, just swinging a sword. And while the sword looked simple, he cleaved the monsters in half like it was nothing!

Then he stopped, raised his left hand, and shouted.

"Thunderbolt!"

Another lightning bolt shot out and pierced a few Goblins.

The next thing she felt, something massive flew past behind her. When Lefiya looked over her shoulder, she saw an enormous amount of Goblins and Kobolds flying through the air, many cleaved in half. That massive object hit the ground, a big greatsword.

"Bell! Watch your surroundings and your footwork!"

"Hay!"

A tall, sturdy man appeared, walking in the direction of the sword. The monsters cowered and fled away from him.

The squad finally managed to close their line, while the boy fought against single monsters that came at him.

But the number was still insane.

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"That´s enough for a first trial..."

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Lefiya´s ears twitched. She heard a female voice behind her, a calm voice that sounded like it demanded...silence.

It was a beautiful woman in normal clothes, having ash-colored hair.

"You all, don´t move, stay still."

The tall man came to her side, followed by the boy.

"Listen to what she says! Stay still!"

""""Wha-""""

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"Ataraxia."

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Lefiya´s hair stood on end as a wave of sheer magic power washed over her and the others, so strong that she and Nana trembled.

It came from the woman! Never in her short life had Lefiya felt something like that! Not even from the strongest magic teachers in the District!

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"Gospel."

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A magic circle appeared around the group, bigger than Lefiya had ever seen. The woman didn´t even raise her hands, she just stood there...with closed eyes.

A shiver ran down Lefiya´s spine.

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"Satanas Verion."

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She didn´t shout or yell, she spoke softly.

In every direction, except for that of their approaching teacher, smashed something into the monsters.

Exploding and evaporating them.

With a single spell, the woman had obliterated more than a hundred monsters.

Then she raised her hand in the direction of the crab monsters that were further away.

"Gospel."

And another direction.

"Gospel."

And again...

"Gospel."

With each magic spell that she fired...it looked like some invisible blocks, did she destroy more and more monsters.

The monsters shrieked loudly and fled, Lefiya broke down to her knees, shivering from the immense magical power.

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"Ataraxia."

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Lefiya exhaled when the magic power vanished...but something left her feeling a bit numb now.

A hand appeared in her field of vision, she looked up.

It was the boy, he showed her a worried expression.

"Are you alright?"

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Author´s Note2: The decision about Haruhime wasn´t an easy one and it was hard to write that part. She will need some good friends and maybe her personal hero to overcome her trauma.