One. Week. Later...
It was now early September of the calendar year, S1199. Only three months remained until the dawn of the next century was at hand. Summer was coming to a close, and the fall colors were now in full bloom.
This change of scenery didn't seem to stop a sole figure, who was clad in a dark cloak which obscured their appearance, as they quickly dashed through what appeared to be forest after forest, after having crossed a border from one country to another.
This cloaked figure didn't seem to be alone either. A cute and fluffy silvery-white six-tailed fox could be seen accompanying the cloaked figure. Even though it wasn't a long passage of time, a new tail appeared nonetheless. It used to be five, but now, it is six. Every so often, this fox would shoot out balls of ice from their mouth. Presently, the path before the two was littered with monsters going to and fro.
The cloaked figure was moving swiftly, and the fox didn't fall behind. In fact, it seemed the fox was even quicker than the cloaked figure. To all the monsters before the two, it was nothing but free experience points. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Every time a monster fell, the figure would glance at a blue screen appear before them, causing a smile to appear on their lips. Of course, this cloaked figure was me. And the six-tailed fox beside me was Tamamo. She was one-shotting monsters left and right as easily as I was. She certainly has grown a considerable amount ever since Tamamo was created by Roselia. Apart from shooting out balls of ice from her mouth, Tamamo would also launch out icy breaths, freezing multiple monsters at once. One after another, the monsters fell.
As for me, all it would take is one swing of my Glistening Moonlight, and a monster would perish. More Gamer Notifications arrived, causing the smile on my lips to grow wider. As the saying goes, the grind doesn't stop!
[Ding! The latest battle is now over.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Party, [The Very Best Like No One Ever Was], has felled x3 Goldcider, x2 Gordi Schnarr, x10 Greedy Reaper.]
[Ding! Total Enemies Defeated: 15.]
[Ding! Monsters have been felled with higher levels!]
[Ding! Total EXP rewarded: 13,635.]
[Ding! A Tactical Bonus of 4.5x has been applied!]
[Ding! All Party Members have received a Total of 61,360 EXP!]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has Leveled Up! 84 -> 85 (11,360/748,000).]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Familiar, Tamamo, has Leveled up! 84 -> 85. (11,360/748,000).]
"Display Stat Preview.", I uttered, even though I didn't actually need to say that to pull up my Status. I just felt like doing so, haha!
[STAT PREVIEW]
Name: Naoto von Auslese
Age: 13
Level: 85 (11,360/730,800)
Total EXP: 20,451,200
Occupation: Noble
Title: Friend of the Vermillion Knight
[BASE STATS (with Blessings)]
HP: 40,000/40,000
EP: 27,500/27,500
STR: 4000 DEF: 3300
ATS: 3500 ADF: 1800
DEX: 300 SPD: 335
[BOOSTED STATS]
HP: 103,300/103,000
EP: 42,500/42,500
STR: 9999 DEF: 5450
ATS: 5850 ADF: 2750
DEX: 375 SPD: 420
DMG: 15,000
ADMG: 5850
Final RES: -50%
Final ARES: -50%
Attack Damage Bonus: +250%
Arts Damage Bonus: +100%
Skill Power +185%
Craft/Spell Rank: +1
Crit Rate: +30%
Fire Efficacy: -200%
Water Efficacy: -100%
Combat Orbment: Enigma II (Locked)
Quartz: Cannot be slotted
Master Quartz: Second Genesis
Total Spells Learned: 16
Total Skills Learned: 9
Total Crafts Learned: 6
Total Combination Crafts Learned: 1
Total S-Crafts Learned: 1
Equipment Slots:
Weapon: Glistening Moonlight
Armor: Phoenix Robe
Boots: Vermillion-Clad Boots
Accessory 1: Tears of the Vermillion
Accessory 2: Adamantine Guard
(A/N: I think I like the preview more than the previous one.)
'I really have come a long way, haven't I? I'm still fifteen levels off, but with a week's worth of grinding, I managed to jump from Level 81 to 85.', I mused, seeing my current progress. I had no need to use A Witch's Friend+, which makes my ATS and EP soar. I actually like that. If I want to lean toward a physical strength build that I have currently equipped, I can use Friend of a Vermillion knight for that, or A Witch's Friend+ when I want to rely on Arts and Spells more. I had the latter equipped during the night raid on the Reinford Group.
While there was one point to go over, I didn't talk about it yet. Instead, I looked back at the cute fox beside me. "You definitely haven't been slouching during the time we haven't seen each other, Tama."
"Heehee. I know, right? Your Master really put me through the wringer when I stayed in Eryn. She even had me prep that forbidden incantation again. I even took on that entire Saint-Gral alone!", Tamamo said, speaking the human tongue. Hearing that caused me to pause.
"Right...This is something I'm going to have to get used to. You speaking, that is.", I said.
"Hmph. It's about time you noticed it too, Master. Well, I say that, buttt it was supposed to be a surprise. Me and my big fat mouth...", Tamamo said, and sighed.
"Haha. As the saying goes, you reap what you sow, Tama. I know Familiars can achieve a variety of feats. You sure worked hard.", I said, truly feeling happy for Tamamo. "And it's not like Master would put you in that place for no reason. The sole purpose it has is to strengthen you."
"I know, I know. Rose did it with the best interest at heart. The reward she gave me allowed me to learn the human tongue. I can hold all the conversations I can now with you, Master!", Tamamo happily said. In response, her six tails thumped on the grass beneath us. "Still, while it has been a week or so since THAT happened, was it really alright for us to vanish into the shadows again? Wouldn't this upset your family back at Grancel Castle? I'm going to miss that bed..."
"Of course that's the most important thing you can think of at a time like this.", I retorted.
"I'm joking, Master. Still, you likely caused a whole bunch of trouble for General Morgan again. You vanished after those doctors checked your scar at St. Ursula.", Tamamo said.
"True. And while that might be the case for General Morgan, do not forget that isn't the only title I hold. Right now, we're in Erebonia. I am Phoenix, the Jaeger Captain assigned to Zephyr. I was considering using Duke Phoenix, but that might draw unwanted attention.", I responded.
"Yeah. I can see how that can go.", Tamamo said with a cute nod of her head. "At the very least, you didn't keep your family completely in the dark this time around. That would have been a lot worse than how it went last time."
"You sure are right about that, Tama. I told them about the decision I've reached, and they respected it. Angie was especially interested, and actually showed an intent to become a Bracer. Kloe's going to continue her swordsmanship under Julia's guidance, while Ennea is returning to her duties in Ouroboros so she can be with the Gralsritter. We're all going our separate ways for now. I gave Ennea an additional task too.", I said, explaining the situation.
That's right, I explained my goals to my family and friends a week ago before I paid St. Ursula in Crossbell State a visit so they could check on the injuries I received during my fight with the One of Swords. I had wanted to go on another journey to continue Leveling Up. I still need to meet the requirements to begin the Vermillion Trials, and they were all in agreement. And since I presented that plan to them, they stepped forth and presented what they wanted to do.
And so, coming back to the present, Angelica has been wandering to the Bracer Guild more often and was looking to take the Bracer Exam within the next year or two. Kloe has left Grancel City altogether, and is actively training with Julia at Leiston Fortress. Ennea, like I said, got picked up in secret by the Glorious, and is now continuing her business with the Gralsritter.
As for the extra task I gave Ennea, I tasked her in secrecy to let the Gralsritter protect Kloe and Angelica during my absence. They don't need to know about this part. I doubt they will face any life-threatening events during this passage of time. That won't happen until the Liber Ark rises up into the sky above Valleria Lake during Sky. That won't happen for another couple of years.
With everyone having an understanding of our goals at hand, this allowed me to dive into the shadows once more. I wanted to train and grow more, and Level Up in the proces. As far as Crow and the Azure Trials go, they should begin soon. Perhaps in one to two years. I figured I could spend this time strengthening my foundations. Both the Hundred-Form Military Combat I earned from Father, and the swordsmanship I received from the Sword Fox. I'm also interested in improving my archery. I haven't really dabbled in it, and figured this new journey could help with that. Right now, I know I am not the strongest person out there. I am not going to let those Stats I presently have dictate how my life goes. You have to be ready for everything that gets thrown at you. Fighting the One Of Swords made me open my eyes to just how wide Zemuria is.
Plus with the rapid advancement of Orbal Technology, every city is going to go through rapid changes in the next coming decades. Much quicker to what was happening in my previous life. By the time Daybreak begins, it already treads upon the realm of virtual reality. Could you imagine full-blown virtual reality games while at the same time both mechs and magic exist? That's the kind of world Zemuria is, haha! It has a wide variety to work with!
And with all of that said, that is why it is where I am now.
To be specific, Tamamo and I had recently passed through Titus Gate undetected, thanks to knowing several incantations Roselia taught me years prior. I didn't have to use my Spells. In these situations, you'd often see Emma take off her glasses and use her eyes to render a person's mind vulnerable and still, making them become dazed. We didn't have to go that far. We simply masked our appearances with a simple reflect incantation, allowing us to pass by undetected. I had all my things stored in Inventory so no radars went off as far as orbal energy went.
After passing through Titus Gate, it led us into Southern Erebonia. The large forests around the left would eventually take you to the destroyed village of Hamel, but that isn't where we were at. We went beyond that, eventually finding ourselves in the Sutherland Region. From there we went east, and soon reached the outskirts of Ebel Highway. If we went the opposite direction, you would eventually wind up at Saint-Arkh, which is where one of the Five Great Houses resided. Once upon a time it also served as a temporary capital city while the Dark Dragon ran rampant in Heimdallr.
As much as I wanted to introduce myself to another one of the Great Houses, now isn't the time for that. Our destination was to the east. Ebel Highway. We were already finding monsters unique to its area after finishing that latest battle.
With us well on the road now, I looked at Tamamo once again. We had explored southern Erebonia to our hearts' content this last week or so before finally deciding to move onto our destination.
"It's still pretty early in the day, but we should reach Legram before sundown.", I said. That's right, we were heading to Legram!
"Got it. It's good to know where we are heading, at least.", Tamamo replied.
However, something caused us to come to a sudden halt. A brief flash of a lime-green light flashed inside my cloak. Before we did anything, a little tiny figure flew out of it. I almost forgot about you...
"Master, I have detected a water source nearby. It is recommended you restock on supplies.", The tiny figure said.
This was the very same tiny pixie-like figure that made their appearance, sleeping above my newly-acquired Enigma II after opening it up the first time. She? had light green hair, just like KeA. Was it appropriate to call her that? It was clear this figure was a sentient AI. I have no idea how she came into existence, but if it's anything as my Stat Preview says, this holo is related to the Second Genesis.
And now, the Second Genesis converted itself into a unique Master Quartz that locked the entire device. I can't even slot Quartz into it right now! Because of that, I'm missing out on some effects I had gotten used to using with my clash against the One of Swords.
I haven't the time to look into what all this unique Master Quartz can do, but knowing its origin, it's anything but simple. To put it plainly, Geneses are the founding devices that drive all the orbments and machinery we see today. It was a set of eight, personally designed by none other than Professor Epstein. That's all about what I know about them, anyway. If I want to learn more about the Geneses, I'll probably use Vermillion Eyes to peer into the future. Daybreak doesn't start until S1207-S1208 so I still have a few years before I can use it safely.
Each year needs 10k EP a pop. If I equip A Witch's Friend+ title, I could potentially do it. And I may end up doing that once we're done with our travels.
And want the kicker? It would seem this holo already knows her name. She introduced herself to us as KeA.
You know, the very same Zero Child that Lloyd adopts during Zero/Azure? I'm talking about that KeA. I have no idea how or why her creation came into existence. It's not like I can question it right now. I'm sure it will answer itself as time moves on. There were some clear differences that this holo wasn't KeA herself, like her pointy ears and pixie-like wings.
"I forgot you were a thing...", Tamamo uttered, her voice containing a hint of scorn. "Just so you know, I will always be Master's favorite!"
Hearing that, the little holo just turned to look back at me, face full of confusion.
"Master, what's a "favorite"?", AI KeA asked.
"Don't you dare start corrupting KeA now, Tama. She's a newborn holo. As much as I'm still in disbelief that having such technology present, they say seeing is believing. And I'm believing it quite hard right now.", I said, looking at AI KeA. Even though a week had passed like this, such a feat in technology still amazes me. "Whoever tampered with the Enigma II knew what they were doing."
As I said that, I saw Tamamo lick one of her paws.
"I hear you, I hear you, Master. All of a sudden, I saw Tamamo's ears perk up, causing her to become alarmed. Our joking mood ended there. Sadly before Tamamo could say anything, AI KeA spoke first.
"Master, I detect more monsters coming in at 5'o'clock. Ten...No, twenty this time?"
What's better than having one source of detection? Not two, but three! Vermillion Eyes, Tamamo's ears, and now AI KeA's detection just by existing as an AI. How cool is that?
One after another, mushroom monsters began to wiggle out of the nearby shrubs, while a powerful quake caused our feet to leap off the ground with each passing step. It was a giant mushroom that seemed to be leading the rest of these mushroom monsters.
"Now then Tama, KeA, why don't we level up some more?", I said, grinning as I held onto my Glistening Moonlight.
"Hehe, just what I'd like to hear~", Tamamo said, letting her Mana congeal around her mouth, ready to launch a spell at a moment's notice. As for AI KeA, she just fluttered around us, not moving.
"...Master, what does "Level Up" mean?"
"Now that is an excellent question, KeA. Why don't I start..."