The first thing I did after leaving Gilbert's house was go back to my clearing. Funny how it felt like I spent more ti there than in the kingdom itself.
Next, I saw the rewards I earned from the stream for the mission in Kitsu.
It hadn't been anything comparable to HOTD, but still a useful reward.
Around three hundred thousand SP for saving Tanjuro and another hundred thousand SP for getting the Kamado family to move.
About the "bond," Tanjuro had the highest "bond," which was eighty-seven percent. The rest of the Kamado family was in the seventy to eighty range.
I thought I might earn another Pylon, but I guess that was wishful thinking; the required ninety percent seed more complicated to acquire than I thought.
Finally, since I hadn't killed any oni, the extermination missions were empty, but I got a bonus for saving Tanjuro's life: an extra reward beyond SP, a Nichirin.
Even though I wasn't a big fan of katanas, an extra weapon was always welco, especially one effective against creatures of the night/oni/demons.
It was also a good reward because I managed to use the Analyze: Item on the sword, learning how it had been constructed and the forging process.
Interestingly, when I touched the Nichirin, it gained a dull red color, as if the color was "off," missing sothing to fully ignite.
The only theory that ca to mind about why the sword was like this was that it didn't have the Demon Slayer Mark, but why it needed the mark to "activate" the sword I didn't know.
I ended up tossing the Nichirin into the inventory and started preparing so inks I wanted to use for the Humvee's Mystic Symbols, but stopped halfway when I had a better idea.
I would need a lot of gel to create the ink, and since the ink I wanted to use was mostly tallic, I would need a lot of gray gel...
Gel that I knew where to get.
-//-
[Sli Dungeon - Modes:
Classic Mode: Unlocked (100%) - Phantom Copy: Enabled
Expert Mode: Unlocked
Master Mode: Locked
Story Mode: Unlocked (WARNING!! HIGH DIFFICULTY - STREAM ONLY)]
-//-
Honestly, I didn't know whether to be scared or not by the warning of the "Story Mode" still existing even though I was much stronger than before, but I ended up ignoring it for now.
With a thought, my armor was on my body, and I had Houtengeki in hand.
"Let's see how I compare to my early days in Terraria..." Without hesitation, I clicked on "Classic Mode."
Monts later, I wasn't in my clearing anymore, but inside the dungeon.
"Here we go..."
[...]
POV: Helena Oakwood.
"Repeat the prophecy for ," I said, taking a sip of tea, trying and failing to alleviate my headache. "The vision too, if possible. Describe it again with as much detail as you can rember."
I didn't even want to look at myself in the mirror; I must look terrible with the dark circles from lack of sleep... fatigue was killing too...
"Do you hate by any chance?" I heard Alalia's voice echoing from the bed where she was lying. "Would you ask a person with trauma to keep retelling their trauma over and over again?" Her voice was sowhat dry, as if she were wondering how I could do that.
"If that trauma is the doom of a vision that is my kingdom in ruins and destroyed, then yes!" were the words I wanted to say, but they ca out of the mouth of another person in the room, Charlotte.
The Princess didn't look well either; she seed tired, as if she hadn't slept and eaten well for days. Which, given our situation, was probably true.
I couldn't bla her, as I was in the sa state. It had been four days since Alalia had had this prophecy and vision; since then, I couldn't rest for a single second.
The fact that my daughter was in the damn city surrounded by the largest mana storm ever also didn't help...
I had to restrain myself from screaming in frustration. Luckily, Alalia's voice stopped before I could.
"You two are an! Evil! Monsters!" Alalia scread as she flailed her arms and legs like a child throwing a tantrum. The pout on her face was just like a child's too.
Even with this, after this little tantrum, Alalia took a deep breath and put on a serious face. The Dryad could pretend, but she was just as worried as the two of us.
Without hesitation, Alalia began reciting the words that had stressed out for four days, her voice seeming to echo from all sides.
~
"In the darkest night, where fear never passes..."
"A shadow rises, bringing disaster..."
"The skies weep in red, and death spreads..."
"In flas, the kingdom burns..."
"In blood, the ground floods..."
~
I had to physically restrain myself from trembling and running out of the room.
I felt like I was being watched, as if sothing evil were looking at and could attack at any second...
"Damn... What a shitty feeling..." I heard Charlotte mutter. I didn't reprimand her for her lack of manners or language, after all, I felt the sa way.
I tried to ignore the bad feeling I was experiencing and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I failed at both.
In the anti, I could see that Alalia seed to tremble and shrink in bed, pulling the covers up over her small body like a child trying to hide from sothing.
Still, I could see that her eyes glowed slightly with mockery, seeing my state and Charlotte's state, as if to say: You made like this, suffer with !
Of course, before completely covering her head, hiding.
It took about a minute for the horrible feeling in the room to dissipate, and I, along with Charlotte, could breathe normally and return to normal.
Alalia took longer, about five minutes, but eventually erged from under the covers, partially at least, leaving her whole body still under the covers and only her head poking out.
"You don't need to describe the vision again," I sighed as I spoke. "I know how it affects you; it was unfair of to ask you that... More than I already had."
The Dryad shook her head in disagreent.
"I'll speak. It's good for us to keep the image fresh, to try to find details..." she hesitated before continuing. "Just... Open the window, let the Sun in..."
I did as she asked, walking to the window and pulling back the curtains, allowing the sunlight to illuminate the room.
This seed to dispel the remaining bad on that lingered in the room.
Alalia nodded before sighing and began recounting the vision she had, still not erging from under the covers.
"It was dark, very dark, not just night, but the barrier... The barrier seed tainted... As if sothing was covering it..." The barrier we had built to surround the kingdom in case of ergency.
"It was unsettling, frightening, even the barrier couldn't fully block the presence coming from outside the kingdom..." Alalia shivered slightly before continuing.
"I couldn't feel things properly in the vision, but whatever was out there, it was evil, totally malignant... As if all 'it' wanted was death..."
I raised my hand, stopping Alalia as she was trembling again, and handed her a drink. After a few minutes, when she cald down, Alalia resud her narration.
"I felt weak in the vision, powerless, for so reason, or else I could have helped..." She seed bitter. "...We had no way to fight against it, you..." She pointed at . "Were keeping the barrier up along with the old man..."
I heard Charlotte snort in the background at how Alalia referred to Hirael, after all, Hirael may be old, being one hundred and fifty years old, but Alalia was much older than him.
"... The rest of the precious gem-ranked fighters were on missions or had disappeared for so reason..." Traitors... A trap.
The Guild's traitors had sent our best fighters on fake missions, and those who remained were probably traitors...
She hesitated again, but after taking a deep breath, she continued.
"The platinum-ranked contractors weren't enough. Chacha also couldn't leave the barrier room since she was the only one protecting you." She pointed at again. "And the old man, sothing about not being able to trust anyone in the kingdom..."
Traitors again! Why hadn't we, from the vision, done anything about the traitors?! How many were there?
"...The last thing I saw before the vision changed... Was the barrier breaking... Then... Nothing..." She stopped talking for a few seconds before continuing.
"We're in a carriage in this other vision... The carriage was moving quickly, without stopping or daring to slow down... It was pulled by the old man's summoned horses..." She trembled slightly again, once more, but continued. "Sothing was chasing us, that evil thing that was outside the kingdom..."
"Did you see what it was? Or did soone see and say it out loud?" I heard Charlotte's voice ask. "Who's in the carriage?" I asked.
Alalia hesitated and closed her eyes, as if thinking and concentrating, but sighed and shook her head.
"I couldn't see what it was, and no one dared to look. There was a barrier protecting the carriage, protecting from the presence of that... 'thing...'" She sighed and took a sip of tea before continuing.
"It was as if just the existence of 'it,' just the sight of that 'thing' affected everyone, hence the barrier..." She closed her eyes again, this ti, frowning as she concentrated.
"There were few people in the carriage..." Alalia then began listing the people.
"I, you..." She pointed at , without opening her eyes. "ChaCha..." She pointed at Charlotte. "Little lissa was there too..." She shuddered, and I knew why.
"She had no arm, and looked bad... on the brink of death. Her not-boyfriend, as she likes to call him, was nowhere to be found..." It wasn't hard to figure out why.
I felt my hands clench in anger and helplessness... My daughter, my dear little daughter almost dead...
"And Dylan?" I asked quickly. "Was he there?" As I feared, Alalia shook her head, denying...
I had to hold back the tears that threatened to escape... This wasn't going to happen, I wouldn't allow it! Nobody would touch my babies!
"Who... Who else?" I heard Charlotte's voice behind ; I didn't need to turn around to know that she too was holding back tears.
"A two-tailed fox woman, whom I had never seen before... She seed sad, sothing about not seeing her father for almost two months and not being able to say goodbye..." Alalia sighed before continuing.
"The Old Man was there too... but he looked tired, as if he could faint at any second... Everyone seed like that..." Alalia hesitated, furrowing her brow even more, as if searching for sothing, soone.
She seed to be unsuccessful, as she opened her eyes, which looked sad, tired, but mostly, fearful.
"No one else, just these people... Everyone else had been left behind..." In the realm... "Sorry... I have nothing else..." She sighed; I could see that there were small drops in the corners of her eyes.
"Don't bla yourself," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "You're the reason we can try to react." Without Alalia's visions, I fear the realm would have fallen long ago...
The atmosphere in the room had beco somber, as if we were at a funeral... Which could very well be true, since, according to Alalia's estimates, this vision was of a near future, one or two months at most...
"One thing!" Alalia seed to rember sothing important. "Before the vision ended, you said sothing, Heleninha." She closed her eyes, as if to rember the words correctly, and began to speak.
"You had said that: If we had knowledge of the traitors, the realm wouldn't have fallen so easily... How strange?" She seed confused, just like Charlotte and .
What did that an? We had knowledge of the traitors; my baby had warned about the information Devas had found...
Charlotte and I had already started cleaning the realm of them; we had arrested and interrogated several, and Hariel was currently hunting them with our most trusted n. How could this still happen?!
How did we not know about them in this vision?!
My thoughts were interrupted by soone knocking on the door, followed by a voice.
"Mom? Can I co in? I have sothing I want to talk to you about." It was Dylan.
The mont his voice sounded, I looked at Alalia and Charlotte.
Dylan was not aware of Alalia, and Charlotte and I looked terrible.
"One mont, son!" I shouted to Dylan and started fixing my face. Charlotte did the sa, and Alalia, without hesitation, disappeared into the floor.
A few minutes later, I gave Dylan permission to enter the room.
He bowed, greeting Charlotte formally, before giving a small hug to the Princess when she said that if he continued, she would spread his embarrassing stories in the kingdom's newspapers for everyone to see.
After a brief hug from , he sat down and began to speak.
"I want to know what's going on." He said without beating around the bush. "What's so serious that you can't send anyone to help lissa?" He looked serious as he spoke.
It was the first ti I saw my son with such a serious look, as if he were on a mission... He wasn't thinking of rescuing lissa himself, was he?
I hesitated to tell the truth. Dylan was not aware of Alalia, explaining her existence was sothing I didn't want to do, let alone explaining her visions.
"The realm is in trouble... to say the least..." Charlotte began speaking on my behalf, with the last part whispered in a way that only I could hear because I was sitting next to her.
"What trouble? Are they the traitors Devas discovered? Or is it sothing else?" Dylan asked quickly and in succession.
Before I could answer, I saw the plants in the pots behind Dylan move, the branches moving abnormally until they ford the words: Ask him about Devas!
Devas? What did she want to know about him?... Actually...
"So difficulties at a confidential level." I said in my Duchess voice, making Dylan briefly shrink before straightening up, looking at in the eyes in a serious way.
He seed ready to argue with , sothing he had never done before, but before he could, I stopped him with my next words.
"But... even though I can't tell you what's happening in the realm, I can tell you what's happening in WinterHord..." I saw that my son seed happy with these words, great!
If I couldn't prevent the fall of the realm, at least I could save my children by sending them away...
WinterHord might be having the biggest mana storm ever, but it was still sothing that, if treated in the right way, wasn't dangerous, after all, it was just snow...
Now, I just needed Devas to accompany Dylan; that would be perfect!
[...]
POV: Devas Asura.
I had gotten stronger, I knew that, but comparing the difference with sothing that was challenging for before put things into perspective.
I had gotten much stronger.
The dungeon had been a walk in the park; I literally walked through the entire dungeon without a care, calmly killing the slis.
Interestingly, as the na suggested, they were phantom, Phantom Copy.
They were still gray, but they were translucent, like Phantom, and much dumber than regular gray slis.
They didn't seem to have the instinct they had before; they just seed to move chanically, like programd bots. They weren't real either, as the mont I killed them, they just vanished into thin air!
They left no bodies, items, nothing! They even had their acidity; I was afraid that Houtengeki might be damaged, but they couldn't even do that...
It had been a disappointnt, I won't lie. Not even the mimic existed in this version of the dungeon; the room where it should have been was empty!
After having two disappointnts, I finished clearing the slis from the dungeon and went to the boss room, where the Mother Sli was.
Upon opening the door, I instantly realized that things were different.
The chains that held the Mother Sli were nonexistent, and the Mother Sli itself was loose, in the middle of the room, standing still, not moving.
As I entered the room, the Mother Sli seed to "activate" and jumped toward without hesitation.
The Phantom Copy was as fast as the original Mother Sli, which for my current self was as slow as a snail.
I drew a common iron sword from the inventory and took a step to the side; the mont the Mother Sli got close, I raised my arm and cut with the sword.
So, calmly, the Mother Sli was split in two, its core destroyed, and its body disappearing into thin air...
There was no battle, no fight; I just killed it. The enemy that I had previously defeated using a cruel tactic, an enemy that could have easily killed before, didn't even manage to touch ...
I had truly gotten stronger.
I sighed as I saw that the iron sword was intact; not even the Mother Sli had the corrosion it had before; I could have used Houtengeki if I wanted.
After killing the dungeon boss, the sa completion window appeared, asking if I wanted to exit and receive the rewards.
I didn't hesitate to press yes, returning to the clearing.
Collecting the rewards, they were completely inferior to the rewards from the first clear.
There were no other sli hook or another double jump tattoo or potions, just sli cores and gel. Twenty sli cores and two liters of gel, to be more specific.
"And there goes my potion farm..." At least I had the cores and the gel; both of which I could throw into the matrix and turn into "Artificial Sapphires" to feed the Heart Valve.
I looked at the (CHAT) after sighing one last ti for the loss of my potion farm and read the ssages.
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: It's disappointing that you couldn't get the potions, but look on the bright side! You have infinite gel now! Enjoy and put so in your hair, pull it back, it should look more stylish! (Iron Man stylist emote).
[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]: Don't do that! Your hair like that is much prettier! Don't change! (Little Red Riding Hood holding a stop sign emote)
[(MOD)Jarvis]: I tid it, Devas, it gave a total of 12 minutes, 23 seconds, and 26 milliseconds for you to complete the dungeon in classic mode. (Robot butler with a clock emote)
[AsuraLady]: I agree with Ruby, your hair like that is prettier! If you want to let it grow, I wouldn't be against it either! (Little lion with a pink mane smiling emote)
[BestToadSannin]: Listen to the girl there, Devas, let your hair grow, I can give you so tips if you want! (Frog with long spiked white hair emote).
[TohsakaHeiress]: Ignoring the stylists, do you think the dungeon creates the cores and gel using mana, or just takes them from sowhere else? (Chibi Rin writing on paper emote)
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: Long hair is a xianxia protagonist thing! Let your hair grow and you'll find out that young masters will start appearing quickly! (Generic guy saying "You're courting death!" emote)
Twelve minutes for a complete clear with going at a walking pace... It was a good ti; if I were running at full speed, I could probably clear the dungeon in less than three minutes, maybe less.
The problem was the curves, as I couldn't turn quickly to avoid hitting... Speaking of which, I could use the dungeon as a training track... That way, I could farm cores and train my speed at the sa ti...
Alright, I know what I would do in my free ti now...
"I'm not letting my hair grow, it's easier to take care of this way." I ruthlessly crushed the dreams of the (CHAT) people.
I had already let my hair grow in my adolescence, but it was too much trouble to take care of; with it short, it was simple and practical.
Besides the fact that letting my hair grow would only hinder in battles; I wasn't like Jiraiya, who had a jutsu that could turn his hair into a weapon; it would just be a weakness.
Speaking of Jiraiya, I asked about his and the others' disappearance from NARUTO in the last few days; the answer was expected, but unwelco: War.
The third ninja war had started, making Jiraiya and Minato have little free ti; as a consequence, their summonings too.
I warned Jiraiya and Minato to be careful and, above all, to be careful with the children Minato took care of as Jonin sensei.
I may or may not have dropped so hints to not let Obito die and keep an eye on the Uchiha here and there, but that had nothing to do with anything.
Stretching before going into expert mode dungeon, I responded to Rin.
"If I were to guess, the dungeon, or the stream in this case, creates the cores and gel using mana." Probably transmutation, or so kind of First Magic with a discount. "Matter transmutation, or molecular based on mana, I'd guess."
Theoretically, I could do it myself; I just needed to know the molecular composition of what I wanted to transmute and have a way to make my mana transmute or copy that composition.
Theoretically, it was easy; in practice? I had no idea how to start.
I didn't rule out the possibility that the stream was just creating the cores out of nowhere, disregarding all laws and rules or pulling them from another reality, but it was less likely than the first options.
After finishing the classic mode of the dungeon a few more tis, I thought about trying the expert mode, but I ended up concluding that it was better not to.
I felt that the difficulty was not as simple as addition, but rather sothing exponential. It was better for to have corrosion and acid-resistant armor before trying my luck in this second level.
Well, it was sothing simple to do, as it was just sothing resistant to corrosion and acid; I should be able to make such armor in a few hours.
Looking at my inventory, I saw that I had a large amount of gray sli gel, so I started preparing the dyes I wanted.
The first dye was sothing I wanted not to paint the Mystical Symbols, but rather, the Humvee as a whole, sothing that would give the Humvee a better resonance with the Mystical Symbols.
After a few minutes of brainstorming with Snape and the folks from the (CHAT), I ended up coming up with a dye that I thought would be right.
-//-
[tallic Dye (Scarlet Ore - Kitsu)]
Type: Material
Rarity: Orange
Description: A dye made from a ore from another world.
Materials:
Gray sli gel (122 ml per cauldron)
Green sli gel (32 ml per cauldron)
Scarlet Ore - Kitsu: (238 grams per cauldron)
[…]
-//-
With the dye ready, I left more of it being prepared and started painting the Humvee.
It took about two hours to finish painting the exterior and the bottom of the car and another hour to paint the interior, but it was worth it.
The dye had acquired a reddish-gray, matte color that gave the car a look I liked and that wasn't flashy.
I touched the car a few tis thinking it could change color like Nichirin, but fortunately, that hadn't happened... Or unfortunately, since that could give so kind of special property to the Humvee.
With this part finished, I left painting the Mystical Symbols for later; first, I started modifying the Humvee's engine, or rather, Stark started.
"Solder this part here and then that one! No! Not like that!" I heard Cactus-Stark's voice shouting from behind . "DS, I have to tell you, as a chanic, you're a great strear..."
I didn't know if I felt offended or not, I ended up deciding to ignore it and continued following Stark's instructions as best as I could.
Only after five hours, when the sky had already turned dark, did I finish the modifications to the Humvee. I only realized I was building an arc reactor after it was already done.
"Why?" I asked, wiping soot from my face. "Isn't this your greatest creation? Why offer it to for free like this?" I said, looking at Cactus-Stark.
"For no special reason," Cactus-Stark said calmly. "I just don't want one of my few friends to die because he was dumb enough not to be able to build a car properly."
Before I could respond, Cactus-Stark's hologram had disappeared, leaving alone in the clearing...
I couldn't help the smile that had appeared on my face and laughed lightly as I turned around.
"You asshole, since when is not being able to build a cold fusion reactor considered being dumb?" I said aloud to the stream, receiving several middle finger emotes from Stark.
With the engine part finished, as I was about to start painting the Mystical Symbols, I received a "Call" from Dylan.
"What happened?" I asked after tapping the EcoMirror twice. "I thought you were only going to call tomorrow or the day after, did you find sothing?" I asked the guide.
"About what's happening in the kingdom, no, it's confidential, my mother's words." I heard Dylan's voice echoing from the EcoMirror.
"Confidential?" I murmured, what could be confidential that the Duchess couldn't, or rather, didn't want to tell her own son?
"Yes, unfortunately, sothing only the royalty, or in this case, the Princess and her confidants know." The guide's voice sounded bitter for a mont before he sighed and returned to normal.
"But I received so information from WinterHord. Basically, the city is now in the center of the mana storm, preventing the residents from leaving due to the danger that creating an exit would bring." Dylan explained.
"And the entrance? Is it possible? Or is the only option to wait for the storm to pass?" I don't think the people of WinterHord have enough food to survive until the storm passes.
"It's possible, but it's a bit risky, since the entrance window would be small, sothing around a few seconds, it would take soone or sothing very fast for it to happen..." Dylan said, leaving the sentence open.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was talking about.
"The Humvee... You want to get in there, don't you?" I asked. The Humvee was fast, Dylan had already seen the speed of the car; comparing it to the ans of transportation in Terraria was ridiculous.
Well, at least the ones I knew. I was sure there was sothing like a magical carriage or sothing that was faster than the Humvee.
"It's my sister, Devas, I need at least to try to help her..." I heard Dylan's voice echoing, getting lower as he continued the sentence.
"Does your mother even know that you're planning this? Or do you plan to run away again?" I asked, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the idea.
"She knows, actually, it was her who ca up with the idea, saying that, with the information you got about the traitors, few people were truly trustworthy, and these people are currently unable to leave the realm..." Dylan explained calmly, with a slight hope in his voice.
"So it would be left with you, who is surely reliable, and ? Why ? Why this trust?" I asked, after all, Dylan might have a high level of trust in , but that didn't an Helena should.
Of course, this is if I ignore the Dryad who, for so reason, thought I was her "hero"...
"Frankly, I don't know. I trust you, but I don't know why my mother seems to trust you, or why the Princess, Charlotte, also seems to have that trust." The Dryad was certainly the reason for this trust...
What did that thing want with ?...
"I know I'm asking a lot, asking for sothing dangerous, but you're the only person I can count on now, Devas, I can't leave my sister there, in that place..." I heard the guide's voice murmur, it was basically a plea for help.
"Dylan..." Just as I was about to ask for more information to decide whether to accept or not, my choice was basically thrown out the window by the ssage the stream sent.
-//-
[Ergency Mission (Worldwide) - (Chain Mission - Part 2)]
Mission Na: What's happening in Jille Village? (Completed!)
Mission Na (New!): What's happening in WinterHord?
Description: A massive mana storm is surrounding WinterHord, investigate the reason for such an event and return to Terraria quickly! (Priority!)
Reward: Life Crystal (3), Mana Crystal (3), ???, ???, ???, ???
[..]
Secondary Objective: Return to Terraria in less than three months! (Top Priority!) / Reward: ???
Secondary Objective: Keep Dylan Oakwood alive! / Reward: ???
Secondary Objective: Keep lissa Oakwood alive! / Reward: ???
Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???
Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???
Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???
Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???
-//-
I widened my eyes with the mission prompt and sighed. Was it too much to ask to paint my little car in peace, wasn't it?...
"Dylan, I want as much information as possible about WinterHord, residents, guards, fighters, everything! All routes there, whatever information you can get about this place, I want it." I practically ordered the guide.
If the town's baker cheated on his wife with soone, I wanted to know!
The guide took a few seconds to respond, and his voice sounded incredulous, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"So... does this an we're going?" He asked hesitantly.
"Yes, we're going. Start preparing things, let Gilbert know too, we'll et tomorrow, we should leave in less than a week, I just need to finish the preparations on my end..." I ended the call right after that and went back to working on the Humvee.
"Let's speed things up... Damn, I just wanted to paint my car in peace!" I muttered to myself.
It was obvious that sothing was happening, especially since the stream had literally put the secondary mission: Return to Terraria in less than three months as top priority!
Shit was about to hit the fan; I just didn't know from where, or why. All I could do was protect myself...
Before continuing to paint the Mystic Symbols on the Humvee, I took sothing from the inventory: a Life Crystal.
-//-
[Life Crystal]
Type: Material/Consumable
Rarity: Amber
Use: Increases vitality by 10% when consud.
Description: A source of pure vitality from the very planet itself, crystallized for consumption without consequences.
Ways to consu: Eating, absorbing vitality, ritual.
~ A breath of life from the core of the planet ~
-//-
There was a reason I hesitated to use Life and Mana Crystals: they increased vitality and mana by a percentage...
I had received this Life Crystal as a reward when I finished the mission in HOTD, and the description was the sa, a ten percent increase in vitality...
But if I compare my current self with my self from that ti, ten percent of my current self's vitality could very well be all the vitality I had before.
As for mana, the comparison was even worse. If I had about a thousand tis more mana than before, it was little...
What would happen then if I didn't use these crystals now, but a year from now? How much more could I gain? Of course, I was sure there was a limit, but still, was it worth waiting... That is, until now.
Sothing was about to happen, in three months to be exact, as it was the date the stream had given ...
Was it worth waiting until the limit? Until the last second? What if sothing happened and I couldn't use the crystals? These were the doubts I always had when I thought about using them...
"To hell with it... I'll use them before going to WinterHord..." At least one of each, the other I would save...
Tossing the Life Crystal into the inventory, I sighed and finally went back to working on the Humvee.
"Five days... No, three..." In three days, I could finish all the Mystic Symbols and Runes I wanted to put on the car.
[...]
POV: Gilbert Jheut
"It's late, boy, what do you want?" I asked, opening the door to talk to Dylan.
"Don't tell you ca here to court my daughter?! I'll only allow that if you can beat in a fight, don't think it'll be easy!" I lightly tapped my biceps as I teased.
"I may be old, but I can still teach so lessons to the young ones!... Well, so of them." Devas was a completely different story.
The Oakwood kid might not have noticed, or like my daughter, noticed little, but Devas had gotten stronger... Much stronger.
I've always been good at discerning things like that, how strong my opponent is, what their strengths and weaknesses are, it's what kept alive all these years.
So, I knew Devas had gotten strong... If the him from before, who fought against the goblin army, was strong, at a level near a platinum-ranked adventurer, his current self was a different story...
The only person I could compare him to was the Duchess of Symbols in her youth, and even then, I didn't know who was more dangerous between the two...
What did that guy eat to achieve this? Could he share a bit with my old bones?
"What?! No! Have you been drinking, old man?!" The Oakwood kid's denial shout snapped out of my thoughts.
"You're lucky my daughter is in her shop... If she heard you saying that, I don't even want to imagine what would happen..." I joked, laughing as I walked to the living room.
Well... I joked in parts, just like Dylan would if Robyn heard him saying sothing like that in front of her.
"So, what's the visit about then? Found sothing?" I asked as I poured coffee for both of us.
"Yes, not about the kingdom, but about WinterHord." The Oakwood kid went on to explain the recent events, leading up to the current point.
"So, Devas accepted then... How much ti did he say?" I asked.
"Less than a week, he's probably finishing preparing the Humvee, as he told before." Humvee?... Oh, right, that monstrosity he drove.
I didn't even want to imagine how absurd that thing would get, if it were like the owner, it would be sothing to watch...
"Alright... What do you need?... Actually, I'm coming too." I declared.
From what the Oakwood kid had explained to , the things happening in the kingdom were serious, and WinterHord was probably just the beginning, it was better for to get back in shape...
"Are you sure? Don't you think you're too old for this?" The Oakwood kid asked with a raised eyebrow. "And your back, is it better?"
"I'm good as new, kid! Dozens of dicinal baths heal anything!" I hadn't returned to youth, but I was much better than before.
"So, what are the preparations on your side?" I asked after a few seconds. "Will it be just the three of us or anyone else?"
"Just the three of us, from what I know, unless Devas decides to call soone trustworthy..." The Oakwood kid hesitated before sighing and asking. "And Robyn, she'll want to go, you know, won't she?"
"Tsk..." I clicked my tongue.
It was true, the Oakwood kid and Devas may have known my daughter for a short ti, but it was easy to distinguish what her personality was like.
The mont she found out I was going, she would jump on board without thinking, especially after the Jille fiasco...
"Four people then." I murmured... "We'll need preparations, armor, weapons, supplies..." I began listing.
"How long did the Duchess say was expected for this mission?" A mission from the Duchess, who would have thought I would do sothing like that one day, especially in my old age...
"Three months, at least, that's what my mother said..." The Oakwood kid explained. "But if I were to guess, it shouldn't take that long... Two months at most, maybe even less."
"Hmm..." I humd lightly. "Alright, still, it's a long journey..." Funny, the last ti I planned such a trip for a mission, Robyn hadn't even been born, and here I was now, doing the sa years later.
After a few minutes of conversation, I bid farewell to the Oakwood kid. A few minutes after he left, Robyn arrived ho.
"I'm going on a mission in a week, daughter," I told Robyn, who was reading on the couch, causing her eyes to widen.
"Have you gone crazy? Are you finally senile?" How rude, I wasn't that old.
After explaining what the Oakwood kid and I had talked about, her response was as expected.
"I'm going with you, got it, old man?" She exclaid.
"Fine," I simply said.
"Heard well? Don't even try to-." She blinked in confusion, finally processing my words. "You said fine?"
"Yes, fine, you can co."
"Are you running a fever? Ate sothing spoiled?" My daughter asked , making scoff.
"It's just easier to give you permission and let you co than to worry about you following us from afar." I explained while laughing, dodging a pillow she had thrown at .
Honestly, I wouldn't have let Robyn co if it were any other occasion.
As strong as she might be compared to an ordinary person, she wasn't a contractor, and even with her animals that could protect her, it would still be dangerous...
But with Devas there, I guess it's acceptable...
In fact, as absurd as the Oakwood kid's claim that it would only take a month to complete this mission sounded, I agreed with him.
With a gem-ranked contractor on our side, that ti was acceptable, as absurd as it seed...
"Just don't stare at Devas for too long, if you like him, just say it!" I joked while dodging more pillows being thrown at .
"I don't like him!"
"Your blushing face says otherwise, daughter..."
It was good to savor monts like this, monts of peace...
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Yay! This chapter was supposed to be out yesterday, I'm just a fool, forgive !
Well, let's get to the chapter!
Devas got stronger, who expected that?!
The Humvee begins to take shape, an engine with the Arc reactor (even though it's one of the early versions) and completely painted with Mystic Symbols!
Alalia had a vision while Devas was in Kitsu... Why could that be? A vision that has so chronological errors?...
Well, the ergency mission (Worldwide) is finally advancing, and WinterHord is right there!
Oh, the second level of Devas's dungeon, he must enter it, so hold on.
Finally, Gilbert, Dylan, and Robyn will accompany Devas on this mission. What will happen? No spoilers!
Well, that's it, a good night to everyone, and happy reading!
PS: Interestingly, telling that (PSS) is wrong, that it should be (PPS), yes, but in my country, both forms are correct, it's just the "informal" way of writing.
PSS (PPS): Comnt what you think, I like reading comnts and respond to those I can, just don't ask things that would be a direct spoiler, use more... broad questions.
PPPS (PSSS): What do you think Alalia's vision/prophecy is? And what do you think will happen in WinterHord?
PSSSS (PPPPS): Devas didn't forget about the Crystals, he just had a reason not to use them!
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