Author Note: Wanted to give everyone a heads-up that my last normal chapter for the year will be today. I will be busy with holiday events with my family and as such won’t be posting again till 1/2. That said, I will have a special holiday side story chapter that will be released on Christmas Day. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
—Cole POV—
“You aren’t suggesting we need to get close to the lava right?”, Naofumi inquired looking back at his party, “Won’t Senko, Raphtaila, and Aria’s fur combust if we get too close?”
“My fur won’t burn that easily.”, Aria giggled, “Cole knows firsthand how durable it is.”
“Yes I do…anyways, all of us don’t need to get close to the lava. I will search around for the same pinhole-sized portal we found Cis in. It shouldn’t be too difficult now that I know what I am looking for.”, I chuckled giving Aria a look to tell her not to bring that up right now.
Offering to help me look, Cis attempted to use her wings to fly but quickly found out she was still too weak to get airborne. Telling her to just focus on recovering for now, I walked off the plateau making footholds for myself in the air with Telekinesis. As I drew near the approximate location, several lava spouts rose up abruptly from below me. Casually side-stepping the attack, as I didn’t want my handmade clothing to melt, I glanced downwards to see a large Dragon crawling out of the lava flow.
Watching the lava fall off like water on its red scales, the large creatures roared at me as it took up a defensive posture. Having dealt with both intelligent and wild Dragons before, I knew this one was of the latter variety. Since we didn’t have to treat this one with any civility, this was a perfect opportunity for me to put Naofumi to the test. Since he would run into opponents stronger than himself in combat in the future, giving him this experience now with me here was the best option.
“Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise, didn’t think we’d get into a scrap today!”, I laughed loudly.
“A scrap!? Are we looking at the same monster here!!”, Naofumi shouted at me, “You are crazy, we are basically a Level 1 team right now!!”
Looking back at him, I gave him a shrug and told him to get ready for a fight. Launching myself backward, a volley of Electric Rockets appeared from where I once was and flew down on the Dragon. Hearing a chain of explosions as the rockets hit their target, the Dragon roared out in anger as it glared at us. Unable to move for a short time, thanks to the electricity arcing all over its body, I took the opportunity to tell Naofumi my goal.
“I…I don’t want to die!”, Raphtalia pleaded gripping Naofumi’s cloak tightly.
“Don’t be afraid of that, Cole won’t let any serious harm come to you.”, Celestial giggled with a smile as she patted Raphtalia’s head, “Cole has a very unique way of pushing people to their limits.”
“Listen Naofumi, all of us are going to fight this thing together. Unlike what you did yesterday with Senko, today’s lesson is on planning ahead and reacting to things on the fly.”, I stated, “Real life isn’t like a book or video game, nothing is set in stone till it actually happens. In this scenario, your team goes on an escort quest but has the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with a monster much stronger than you were anticipating. What would you do?”
“Probably retreat and hide till it passes.”, Naofumi answered honestly.
Chuckling at his answer, it was the same answer a lot of Heroes I met gave me. There were a few that would say they’d charge head first into a fight, and those ones I let get themselves killed. I only cared about training those that could understand the strength difference between themselves and their opponents. Few things were worse than training someone up, only to have them throw their lives away because they overestimated themselves in combat.
“That is an option, but a monster like this Dragon isn’t going to give up the search. If it doesn’t find you, it will keep increasing the search radius till it finds other people…then those people will shoulder its rage.”, I warned him, “No, the correct option is to kill it through any means necessary. Lay traps, use the terrain to your advantage, and taunt your foe into making a slip-up. Fighting an opponent head-on isn’t the only option available to you, always remember that.”
Taking a moment to examine the situation, he looked around the area for options. Giving him a few moments to figure something out, an idea popped into his head as the Dragon began to move normally again. Watching it unfurl its wings, he snapped his finger as the idea came to him
“The first thing we should do is eliminate its ability to fly!”, Naofumi told me, “Once it’s on the ground, we don’t have to worry about it dive-bombing us.”
“Bingo, one of a Dragon’s strengths is its ability to strafe opponents with aerial attacks. Taking away that advantage opens up many options for you to take it down.”, I agreed, “Fortunately their wings are one of the more vulnerable places on the beast. The thin membrane is easily torn apart even with stone arrows, and once a few tears are made it can’t fly. In the event it does, the Dragon will fall out of the sky within minutes of being in the air.”
Watching the creature leap into the sky, I called down a massive bolt of lightning on it. Slamming into it, the beast let out screams of pain as it crashed to the ground in a heap. Teleporting us closer to the Dragon, I told Naofumi to think on the fly now that the Dragon was unable to be airborne. Sizing up his opponent, Naofumi suggested trying to suffocate it using one of his shields to create a bubble around its head.
“Now that is the spirit!”, I told him with a grin, “I will line it up, you knock it down! The rest of you keep an eye on the surrounding area, powerful monsters like this Dragon usually have subordinate monsters nearby. They usually keep pests away, but when their leader is threatened they will come to their aid.”
“Roger that!”, my wives said ready to fight.
“Got it!”, Senko stated with a nod.
“Un…understood!”, Raphtalia meekly studdered still terrified of dealing with the Dragon.
Dashing forwards at high speed, I generated several afterimages of myself to throw the Dragon off. Picking itself up as I approached, the Dragon let off a stream of fire trying to encompass the area in front of it to stop my advance. Creating footholds in the air again, I crossed the gap between us almost instantly. Launching a spinning kick straight into its face, the monster slid across the still-cooling lava rock as it tried to stop itself from falling over.
Blasting it with several Smoke Rockets, aimed at its face, I wanted to obscure its point of view to make it easier for Naofumi. Glancing back over towards the others, a small pack of Dragonoid monsters had entered the battlefield. Running around the group looking for an opening, they seemed intelligent enough to know my wives weren’t pushovers.
“We don’t have time to play today.”, Aria giggled as dozens of small purple flames appeared on her tails, “Fox Fire!”
Watching them slam into the first few monsters, they were engulfed in flames within seconds. Seeing their comrades writhing around in pain, the others barely dodged her attack before rushing toward the group. The monsters must have thought she’d need a moment to recover, but that was far from the truth. Bombarding them with another Fox Fire, Celestial and Esmeralda used their WInd Magic to bolster the attack’s speed leaving the creatures with no time to dodge.
The front row of Dragonoids tanked the initial bombardment allowing those behind them to use their dying bodies as launching pads. Leaping over the magical attacks, they went in for the kill. Sliding in front of the group, Desmina and Shera used their Fire Magic to create a wall of white-hot fire. Vaporizing the monsters instantly, my wives gave each other high-fives to celebrate their victory.
“Alright Naofumi, time to wrap this up!”, I shouted at him using my Light powers to cut the Dragon’s tendons with a laser, “He’s all yours!”
Watching the Dragon attempt to use another breath attack, Naofumi took the opportunity to strike. Waiting for the fire to start trickling out of its mouth, he made his move at exactly the right time.
“Shield Prison!”, he yelled creating the prison around the Dragon’s Head.
For a moment it looked like nothing was going to happen, but we watched the dragon’s body contort unnaturally as the air in its body was sucked into the Shield Prison. The rapidly heated air quickly cooled off the moment the oxygen was removed causing all the air in its lungs to be sucked out and collapsing them in the process.
Watching the beast fall to the ground, the Shield Prison disappeared a few seconds later but the damage was already done. Unable to inflate its lungs again, the Dragon thrashed around violently as its last few moments on this world came to an end. Waiting till it gave up the ghost before approaching, Naofumi stood there dumbfounded that we actually killed it.
“We…we did it!?”, he said still not able to accept he’d suffocated the creature.
“Yes, we did!”, I chuckled patting him on the shoulder, “I told you things would be alright!”
Telling him to review his stats while I broke down the Dragon, I heard him shout out in utter shock that he was now Level 56. Reminding him that the Dragon was a very powerful monster, it wasn’t that surprising to hear he jumped forty levels in one fight. Suggesting that his party and he review their stats tonight, I told him to make preparations to have Senko and Raphtalia Class-Up tomorrow.
“Class-Up?”, he inquired, “What is a Class-Up?”
“Yes, unlike the Heroes, normally people of this world are limited to Level 40. The way they get around that is to Class Up which gives them new skills and abilities, increases the Level Cap, and also increases their base stats.”, I informed him.
“I see…”, he said glancing over to them, “They already hit the max then, well damn…they didn’t get the full benefit I did.”
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”, I laughed, “It’s good experience either way, what’s important is that you take this experience and use it in the future. No matter what anyone tells you, there will always be someone out there stronger, faster, and smarter than you. Always approach a battle with some level of hesitation, the moment you don’t…you may end up burying one or more of your party members.”
Watching me break down the Dragon in a few minutes with Durandal, he asked how we would split up the body. Tossing him a scale before deciding on anything, I told him to put it into his Shield. Doing as I asked, the scale merged with the weapon and unlocked several new shields for him.
“Nice!”, he stated with a pleased smile.
“As for splitting the parts, all I am after is the meat. Two of my kids have a Christmas Play tomorrow night, and I could use the meat to cook a nice dinner for them.”, I informed him, “How about I take two-thirds of the meat, and you have everything else?”
“Are you serious!?”, Senko gasped, “The Dragon’s scales, bones, and magic crystal are worth a fortune!”
“Of course I am sure, I have been alive for over four hundred years…I have plenty of money so I am happy with just getting the meat.”, I assured her, “We have more money than we know what to do with at this point.”
Accepting my offering, I tossed the meat into my storage and put the remaining items in a Magic Bag that I tossed to Naofumi. Telling him to guard that well, I stated that the storage capacity of that bag was close to fifty cubic miles. Nodding his head rapidly, he made sure that it was securely attached to his belt before asking how we would proceed from here.
“I want to knock out this location and two more before calling it a day.”, I said motioning to where the portal should be, “Let’s get going, and see what goods we can find.”
—3rd Person POV—
Having sat up all night, the King of Melromarc was torn on what to do with his daughter. On one hand, he loved her dearly as she was his first child, but on the other hand, he couldn’t forgive her for taking his only son from him. Unable to come to a decision, he had stayed up all night thinking about everything he had learned.
‘She is confined to her room, for now, I will have to discuss her punishment with my wife. I know she will lecture me for moving forward with the summonings.’, he thought accepting that he would have to be punished for his actions, ‘While I can’t decide what to do with Malty…I am absolutely certain of what needs to be done with the Church. They have crossed the line by having my son killed, and they will pay dearly for it. I have listened to their poisoned-laced words long enough, it’s time to act!’
Leaving his room, the King headed to War Room and summoned his most loyal officers to him. Having fought alongside these men in combat before marrying his wife, he knew they were faithful, trustworthy individuals. Waiting for all of them to arrive, he sat them down to go over his plans for usurping the Church’s authority in one fell swoop.
Author Note: Wanted to give everyone a heads-up that my last normal chapter for the year will be today. I will be busy with holiday events with my family and as such won’t be posting again till 1/2. That said, I will have a special holiday side story chapter that will be released on Christmas Day. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
—Cole POV—
“You aren’t suggesting we need to get close to the lava right?”, Naofumi inquired looking back at his party, “Won’t Senko, Raphtaila, and Aria’s fur combust if we get too close?”
“My fur won’t burn that easily.”, Aria giggled, “Cole knows firsthand how durable it is.”
“Yes I do…anyways, all of us don’t need to get close to the lava. I will search around for the same pinhole-sized portal we found Cis in. It shouldn’t be too difficult now that I know what I am looking for.”, I chuckled giving Aria a look to tell her not to bring that up right now.
Offering to help me look, Cis attempted to use her wings to fly but quickly found out she was still too weak to get airborne. Telling her to just focus on recovering for now, I walked off the plateau making footholds for myself in the air with Telekinesis. As I drew near the approximate location, several lava spouts rose up abruptly from below me. Casually side-stepping the attack, as I didn’t want my handmade clothing to melt, I glanced downwards to see a large Dragon crawling out of the lava flow.
Watching the lava fall off like water on its red scales, the large creatures roared at me as it took up a defensive posture. Having dealt with both intelligent and wild Dragons before, I knew this one was of the latter variety. Since we didn’t have to treat this one with any civility, this was a perfect opportunity for me to put Naofumi to the test. Since he would run into opponents stronger than himself in combat in the future, giving him this experience now with me here was the best option.
“Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise, didn’t think we’d get into a scrap today!”, I laughed loudly.
“A scrap!? Are we looking at the same monster here!!”, Naofumi shouted at me, “You are crazy, we are basically a Level 1 team right now!!”
Looking back at him, I gave him a shrug and told him to get ready for a fight. Launching myself backward, a volley of Electric Rockets appeared from where I once was and flew down on the Dragon. Hearing a chain of explosions as the rockets hit their target, the Dragon roared out in anger as it glared at us. Unable to move for a short time, thanks to the electricity arcing all over its body, I took the opportunity to tell Naofumi my goal.
“I…I don’t want to die!”, Raphtalia pleaded gripping Naofumi’s cloak tightly.
“Don’t be afraid of that, Cole won’t let any serious harm come to you.”, Celestial giggled with a smile as she patted Raphtalia’s head, “Cole has a very unique way of pushing people to their limits.”
“Listen Naofumi, all of us are going to fight this thing together. Unlike what you did yesterday with Senko, today’s lesson is on planning ahead and reacting to things on the fly.”, I stated, “Real life isn’t like a book or video game, nothing is set in stone till it actually happens. In this scenario, your team goes on an escort quest but has the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with a monster much stronger than you were anticipating. What would you do?”
“Probably retreat and hide till it passes.”, Naofumi answered honestly.
Chuckling at his answer, it was the same answer a lot of Heroes I met gave me. There were a few that would say they’d charge head first into a fight, and those ones I let get themselves killed. I only cared about training those that could understand the strength difference between themselves and their opponents. Few things were worse than training someone up, only to have them throw their lives away because they overestimated themselves in combat.
“That is an option, but a monster like this Dragon isn’t going to give up the search. If it doesn’t find you, it will keep increasing the search radius till it finds other people…then those people will shoulder its rage.”, I warned him, “No, the correct option is to kill it through any means necessary. Lay traps, use the terrain to your advantage, and taunt your foe into making a slip-up. Fighting an opponent head-on isn’t the only option available to you, always remember that.”
Taking a moment to examine the situation, he looked around the area for options. Giving him a few moments to figure something out, an idea popped into his head as the Dragon began to move normally again. Watching it unfurl its wings, he snapped his finger as the idea came to him
“The first thing we should do is eliminate its ability to fly!”, Naofumi told me, “Once it’s on the ground, we don’t have to worry about it dive-bombing us.”
“Bingo, one of a Dragon’s strengths is its ability to strafe opponents with aerial attacks. Taking away that advantage opens up many options for you to take it down.”, I agreed, “Fortunately their wings are one of the more vulnerable places on the beast. The thin membrane is easily torn apart even with stone arrows, and once a few tears are made it can’t fly. In the event it does, the Dragon will fall out of the sky within minutes of being in the air.”
Watching the creature leap into the sky, I called down a massive bolt of lightning on it. Slamming into it, the beast let out screams of pain as it crashed to the ground in a heap. Teleporting us closer to the Dragon, I told Naofumi to think on the fly now that the Dragon was unable to be airborne. Sizing up his opponent, Naofumi suggested trying to suffocate it using one of his shields to create a bubble around its head.
“Now that is the spirit!”, I told him with a grin, “I will line it up, you knock it down! The rest of you keep an eye on the surrounding area, powerful monsters like this Dragon usually have subordinate monsters nearby. They usually keep pests away, but when their leader is threatened they will come to their aid.”
“Roger that!”, my wives said ready to fight.
“Got it!”, Senko stated with a nod.
“Un…understood!”, Raphtalia meekly studdered still terrified of dealing with the Dragon.
Dashing forwards at high speed, I generated several afterimages of myself to throw the Dragon off. Picking itself up as I approached, the Dragon let off a stream of fire trying to encompass the area in front of it to stop my advance. Creating footholds in the air again, I crossed the gap between us almost instantly. Launching a spinning kick straight into its face, the monster slid across the still-cooling lava rock as it tried to stop itself from falling over.
Blasting it with several Smoke Rockets, aimed at its face, I wanted to obscure its point of view to make it easier for Naofumi. Glancing back over towards the others, a small pack of Dragonoid monsters had entered the battlefield. Running around the group looking for an opening, they seemed intelligent enough to know my wives weren’t pushovers.
“We don’t have time to play today.”, Aria giggled as dozens of small purple flames appeared on her tails, “Fox Fire!”
Watching them slam into the first few monsters, they were engulfed in flames within seconds. Seeing their comrades writhing around in pain, the others barely dodged her attack before rushing toward the group. The monsters must have thought she’d need a moment to recover, but that was far from the truth. Bombarding them with another Fox Fire, Celestial and Esmeralda used their WInd Magic to bolster the attack’s speed leaving the creatures with no time to dodge.
The front row of Dragonoids tanked the initial bombardment allowing those behind them to use their dying bodies as launching pads. Leaping over the magical attacks, they went in for the kill. Sliding in front of the group, Desmina and Shera used their Fire Magic to create a wall of white-hot fire. Vaporizing the monsters instantly, my wives gave each other high-fives to celebrate their victory.
“Alright Naofumi, time to wrap this up!”, I shouted at him using my Light powers to cut the Dragon’s tendons with a laser, “He’s all yours!”
Watching the Dragon attempt to use another breath attack, Naofumi took the opportunity to strike. Waiting for the fire to start trickling out of its mouth, he made his move at exactly the right time.
“Shield Prison!”, he yelled creating the prison around the Dragon’s Head.
For a moment it looked like nothing was going to happen, but we watched the dragon’s body contort unnaturally as the air in its body was sucked into the Shield Prison. The rapidly heated air quickly cooled off the moment the oxygen was removed causing all the air in its lungs to be sucked out and collapsing them in the process.
Watching the beast fall to the ground, the Shield Prison disappeared a few seconds later but the damage was already done. Unable to inflate its lungs again, the Dragon thrashed around violently as its last few moments on this world came to an end. Waiting till it gave up the ghost before approaching, Naofumi stood there dumbfounded that we actually killed it.
“We…we did it!?”, he said still not able to accept he’d suffocated the creature.
“Yes, we did!”, I chuckled patting him on the shoulder, “I told you things would be alright!”
Telling him to review his stats while I broke down the Dragon, I heard him shout out in utter shock that he was now Level 56. Reminding him that the Dragon was a very powerful monster, it wasn’t that surprising to hear he jumped forty levels in one fight. Suggesting that his party and he review their stats tonight, I told him to make preparations to have Senko and Raphtalia Class-Up tomorrow.
“Class-Up?”, he inquired, “What is a Class-Up?”
“Yes, unlike the Heroes, normally people of this world are limited to Level 40. The way they get around that is to Class Up which gives them new skills and abilities, increases the Level Cap, and also increases their base stats.”, I informed him.
“I see…”, he said glancing over to them, “They already hit the max then, well damn…they didn’t get the full benefit I did.”
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.”, I laughed, “It’s good experience either way, what’s important is that you take this experience and use it in the future. No matter what anyone tells you, there will always be someone out there stronger, faster, and smarter than you. Always approach a battle with some level of hesitation, the moment you don’t…you may end up burying one or more of your party members.”
Watching me break down the Dragon in a few minutes with Durandal, he asked how we would split up the body. Tossing him a scale before deciding on anything, I told him to put it into his Shield. Doing as I asked, the scale merged with the weapon and unlocked several new shields for him.
“Nice!”, he stated with a pleased smile.
“As for splitting the parts, all I am after is the meat. Two of my kids have a Christmas Play tomorrow night, and I could use the meat to cook a nice dinner for them.”, I informed him, “How about I take two-thirds of the meat, and you have everything else?”
“Are you serious!?”, Senko gasped, “The Dragon’s scales, bones, and magic crystal are worth a fortune!”
“Of course I am sure, I have been alive for over four hundred years…I have plenty of money so I am happy with just getting the meat.”, I assured her, “We have more money than we know what to do with at this point.”
Accepting my offering, I tossed the meat into my storage and put the remaining items in a Magic Bag that I tossed to Naofumi. Telling him to guard that well, I stated that the storage capacity of that bag was close to fifty cubic miles. Nodding his head rapidly, he made sure that it was securely attached to his belt before asking how we would proceed from here.
“I want to knock out this location and two more before calling it a day.”, I said motioning to where the portal should be, “Let’s get going, and see what goods we can find.”
—3rd Person POV—
Having sat up all night, the King of Melromarc was torn on what to do with his daughter. On one hand, he loved her dearly as she was his first child, but on the other hand, he couldn’t forgive her for taking his only son from him. Unable to come to a decision, he had stayed up all night thinking about everything he had learned.
‘She is confined to her room, for now, I will have to discuss her punishment with my wife. I know she will lecture me for moving forward with the summonings.’, he thought accepting that he would have to be punished for his actions, ‘While I can’t decide what to do with Malty…I am absolutely certain of what needs to be done with the Church. They have crossed the line by having my son killed, and they will pay dearly for it. I have listened to their poisoned-laced words long enough, it’s time to act!’
Leaving his room, the King headed to War Room and summoned his most loyal officers to him. Having fought alongside these men in combat before marrying his wife, he knew they were faithful, trustworthy individuals. Waiting for all of them to arrive, he sat them down to go over his plans for usurping the Church’s authority in one fell swoop.
