Sarutahiko Familia Premise Chapter 14

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter! More dungeon crawling for Bell’s Party as they continue their preparations to enter the Thirteenth Floor. At the same time, decisions are being made by others, both friendly and not. A certain Deity’s eyes have been drawn to Bell and his incredible feats. What will that mean for the monstrous talent that Bell represents within Orario?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 14 – Preparation, Decisions, and Plots

The Twelfth Floor was the same as always, fog like morning mist hung in the air and the grassy ground was interspersed with the dead trees. Traveling through the area was Bell’s Party, once more on the hunt to grow stronger before they attempted to enter the Middle Floors for the first time.

“Gii!”

“Gee!”

“Giihi!”

A trio of Imps glided out of the mist on their small wings, aiming straight at the three Adventurers.

The lead Imp only saw a flash of Bell’s chokuto before its head went flying.

The Imp on the left got two senbon through its eyes and fell to the ground dead.

“Hyah!” Welf bisected the Imp coming his way with a single swing of his greatsword.

“That was easy.” Lili said with a little smile as she pulled out her knife to start harvesting the Magic Stones from the three Imps.

Welf grinned as he rested his sword on his shoulder. “Yep! We’re definitely becoming experienced with this Floor!”

“We’re just getting started today, so I’m sure we’ll have harder fights later.” Bell said, a grin on his lips as he checked the area with his Kanchi Skill. “There’s a group of Monsters in that direction just over one-hundred meters away.” He pointed off to his right.

Lili stood up from the last Imp, all three Magic Stones safely secured in her mid-sized backpack. “Lili is ready to go.” She’d also managed to retrieve her two senbon, that always made her happy since not losing weapons meant more money the Familia didn’t have to spend to replace them.

The Party swiftly moved through the mist towards their next quarry.

“How many Monsters are in this group, Bell?” Welf asked as they jogged across the grassy ground.

“Six.” Bell replied as they got closer and closer to the Monsters.

Just as the three Adventurers rushed through the mist, ready to attack the six Monsters (three Orcs and three Hard Armoreds), the grounds cracked all around the area and exploded upwards. From the rain of dirt and debris, dozens of Monsters emerged all at once: Imps, Hard Armoreds, Orcs, and Silverbacks.

“A Monster Party!” Lili exclaimed at the sudden Dungeon Gimmick.

“Raaagh!”

“Buuhiii!”

“Owwaah!”

“Gii!”

The roaring and shrieking of the Monsters was loud and both Lili and Welf readied their weapons.

Bell, however was already concurrent casting, a skill he’d mastered rather easily over time (in comparison to most magic users). “Earthly God’s mastery, Gogyō… Ka!” Moving his hands swiftly through six signs, Bell inhaled deeply before exhaled a massive fireball into the large group of Monsters.

BOOM

The fireball engulfed nearly half of the Monsters before it exploded, burning all of them to death in mere seconds.

“Hot!” Welf called out as the flames scattered through the air for a moment. That didn’t stop him from bringing his greatsword down in a powerful overhead strike that split an Orc’s head in half.

Six senbon took out three Imps, the small Monsters falling to the ground dead with the steel needles sticking out of their heads. Lili aimed her bowgun and unleashed three quick shots into an Orc’s face, one in each eye to blind it and a third straight through the forehead and into the brain. The Orc staggered a step before falling face first and crashing into the ground. “Got them!” Lili had a grin on her face at taking down the four Monsters closest to her.

Bell nearly blurred through the smoke and dying flames to reach a still living Hard Armored. The large, armadillo-like Monster roared and tried to swipe at Bell with its claws. Bell weaved around the claws and his chokuto flashed out to slice through the Hard Armored’s neck, unleashing a fountain of blood from the Monster. Before the first Monster could collapse to the ground, Bell had already lopped off the head of an injured Silverback, pivoted to the left to avoid a lunging Imp, cut the small Monster in half, ducked beneath a grab from an Orc and cut its left leg off, making the Orc collapse on top of another Hard Armored. With the Hard Armored’s head still exposed from beneath the fallen Orc, Bell stabbed straight through its head to kill it.

“Hyah!” Welf nearly bisected another Orc with a strong swing of his greatsword before pulling it back with his strength and pivoted into a full swing (like Bell had shown him) to take off a Silverback’s reaching arm.

“Raauuugghh!” The Silverback howled as its severed arm went flying through the air.

Wellf silenced the injured Monster by lopping off its head cleanly. “Come on!” He challenged the remaining Monsters. He charged two Imps that leapt at him and blocked their claws with the flat side of his sword before knocking them back. A stomp on the ground to set his footing and Welf’s blade nearly tore the two Imps in half at their waists. The grass was covered in blood from the two corpses, but it didn’t really register to Welf as he checked the state of the battle.

“That’s the last one!” Lili said, standing on top of a dead Hard Armored that was foaming at the mouth, clearly having died to Lili’s poisoned weapons.

“Great work, you two!” Bell praised Lili and Welf with a smile. The majority of the Monsters had been killed by him and his massive fireball, but everyone had slain a good number from the surprise Monster Party.

Welf looked at the dead Monsters strewn about the area. “Not too bad, huh?”

Lili noticed Welf’s left hand was bloody and hopped down from her Hard Armored kill to approach him. “Did you injure your hand, Mr. Welf?”

“It’s no big deal.” Welf waved it off, even as Lili took his hand and looked at the injury. “The skin of my palm tore a bit when my blade hit the tough scales of a Hard Armored. I’ve had worse in the forge.”

“Let Lili…” Lili turned Welf’s hand over so it was palm up and held it steady with her left hand. “Sage’s mystical palm. Shōsen.” A soft green light enveloped Lili’s right hand as she held it over Welf’s injured palm.

Welf blinked as the pain in his hand disappeared, along with his torn skin. “You can heal, Little Lili?”

Lili smiled as she finished healing Welf. “It’s Lili’s new spell.” She answered simply without going into details. The soft green light faded and Lili let Welf’s hand go. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Welf clenched and unclenched his left hand a few times. “Good as new. Thanks, Little Lili!” He smiled at the Prum.

“No worries, Lili is just doing what she can for the Party.” Lili returned the smile before looking over at the large number of dead Monsters. “Speaking of which…” She pulled out her knife and quickly moved over to start gathering the slain Monsters into a large pile before she started harvesting them one by one.

Bell chuckled as Lili was in ‘work mode’, swiftly opening up one Monster after another and removing their Magic Stones, occasionally stopping for a moment to cheer and collect a Drop Item. “She really holds our Party together, doesn’t she?”

Welf couldn’t help but chuckle and agree. “Yeah, she’s already a great Supporter, but not only is she hardworking, now she can even heal.” He nudged bell jokingly with his elbow. “We’ll have to be vigilant so that nobody tries to poach Little Lili from us.”

The two men both knew that was impossible and shared a chuckle over it before taking up guard positions and watching Lili’s back as she worked.

-Twilight Manor ~ Loki’s Office-

“You got all of this for that suspicious Quest, Ais-tan?!” Loki questioned, looking between the loot that Ais had brought back and the young woman.

It was to be expected though, given that there were three Grimoires on the desk, along with a Unicorn Horn, various gemstones and jewels, exquisite rings of gold and silver, and even a large amount of the highest denomination Valis coins.

“Yes.” Ais answered with a nod.

“Wooo~” Gareth whistled at everything. “Whoever this mysterious Mage is…they certainly have access to a large amount of resources.”

Riveria looked over the Grimoires, able to tell they were real by sight alone. “And there were three other Grimoires for the Hermes Familia’s payment as well?” She asked Ais, jade eyes meeting gold.

Ais nodded again. “Yes…the exact same reward was in both lockers.”

“Six Grimoires, two Unicorn Horns, and this many valuable gemstones and rings…” Finn hummed thoughtfully, his mind clearly puzzling over the immense rewards given by this unknown Mage. “The fact that they sent you to deal with this ‘Plant’ that took over a Pantry to produce more of the Flower Monsters is incredibly suspicious as well.”

“I’m more concerned about these ‘Creatures’…” Loki said with her red eyes open and sharp. “A mix of Mortal and Monster, going against the very nature of the world.” The Goddess was clearly unnerved by what Ais had reported of the redhaired Tamer and the not-so-dead Olivas Act. “There’s truly something unknown going on in the depths of the Dungeon… Floor Fifty-Nine is where the redhead Tamer told you to go, Ais-tan?”

“Yes…” Ais confirmed, her eyes showing her desire to reach the Fifty-Ninth Floor to find the Tamer woman again.

Riveria, Finn, and Gareth all shared a look for a moment.

“Then we now what the plan for our next expedition will be.” Finn said with a confident grin.

Gareth chuckled. “We were already looking to move into unexplored Floors; this just gives us more incentive!”

Riveria noticed how Ais was occasionally glancing at the three Grimoires on the desk. “Ais… Do you want to use these Grimoires?”

That got Loki, Gareth, and Finn’s attention quickly.

Ais looked at Riveria for a long moment before her eyes moved over to the three books again. “…yes.”

“Everything here is yours, Ais-tan.” Loki said with a smile, happy that Ais was opening up, stating her wants and desires openly as opposed to keeping everything to herself. ‘Even if it’s because of Sarutahiko’s boy… I can’t say that I’m not grateful.’

“Um…” Ais actually looked cutely nervous, shifting in place slightly. “…I don’t mind, giving the normal percentage.”

Gareth snorted out a laugh. “You don’t have to do that, lass.” This wasn’t a Quest taken by the Familia; therefore the Familia didn’t actually have a claim on a percentage of the reward.

“We appreciate your offer, Ais.” Finn gave the young woman a smile. “But it’s not necessary.” Sure, even ten percent of the value of this reward would be a large boon to preparing for their next expedition, but there were rules and guidelines in place about things like this.

Loki stood up from her chair and nearly launched herself over her desk, her arms spread wide to hug Ais. “Such a devoted child you are, Ais-tan!”

Ais shifted to the side and let Loki fly past her, slamming onto the floor at full speed.

“Guh!” Loki hacked out, having slammed onto the floor harshly.

“Just…” Ais moved to the desk and took the three Grimoires into her arms, and after a moment to look over the other parts of her reward, she took the stacks of Valis coins, putting them back into the canvas bag that Lulune had given her to carry all of it. “…this is enough for me.”

Riveria smiled at Ais, seeing how much was left on the desk. “This is far more than the normal percentage given to the Familia, Ais. Are you sure?”

Ais nodded once. “I’m sure.”

“Alright,” Finn said with a lopsided smile, rubbing the back of his head. “The Familia will accept it and use the new funds to prepare for the next expedition.” He gave Ais a short bow. “You have my thanks, and the thanks of the entire Familia for your generosity.”

“We won’t be in the red for a good while thanks to you, lass.” Gareth smiled at Ais like a fond uncle.

Riveria caught Ais’s gaze. “If you need any help, I will always be available.” She offered simply. It was clear that she meant for helping Ais to use the Grimoires or to help her understand and learn how to use any new magic that she might gain from the books.

“Thank you, Riveria.” Ais smiled softly at Riveria, getting a beautiful smile back from the High Elf that had become like a surrogate mother over the years.

Ais gave a short bow to the Finn, Gareth, Riveria, and Loki as the Goddess got back to her feet. She left the office an made sure to shut the door behind her.

“Well… We’ve got some selling to do.” Gareth said, looking over the gemstones, rings, and the unicorn horn. “These gemstones are certainly going to bring in tens of millions of Valis, at least.”

Finn agreed with a nod. “Even a single unicorn horn is worth millions of Valis…”

“These rings are definitely worth a pretty Valis or two~” Loki grinned as she picked up a golden ring inlaid with diamonds. “We won’t need to take out any loans this time around!”

-Ais’s Bedroom-

Ais placed two of the Grimoires into the back of a small cabinet in her room to keep them safe. Holding the third Grimoire in her hands, she moved to her bed and sat down. The Grimoire she was holding wasn’t that different from any other book, a simple leather cover in a dark green color. The only notable thing was the magic circle in black that was on the front and back covers. The complex circle, with smaller circles and symbols within, wasn’t something that Ais could understand, but she knew the appearance of a Grimoire didn’t have any affect on what the book would do.

Taking a deep breath, Ais opened the Grimoire to the first page and began to read.

The text on the book began to waver, almost like a heat haze, nearly startling Ais. “What…?” She blinked as the text began to swirl and merge together. That’s when she heard the voice in her head.

“If you desire, answer. If you desire, break. If you desire, focus.” The text merged more and began to form an image.

‘This book…it’s drawing me in…’ Ais slowly felt her mind waver under the strange book’s effect.

“A terrible mirror of truth lies before you.” The voice spoke and the last thing that Ais saw was the image of her own face looking back at her from the book. “Now, here I am you and you are me. Let’s begin…” Ais lost consciousness to the real world.

“What is Magic to me?”

‘A mysterious power, strength… Something that is hard to explain.’ Ais replied, holding her hands out in her mind, as if she was trying to hold something in her palms.

“What does Magic mean to me?”

‘Power. A great power that will let me protect those I care about.’ Ais answered, almost surprising herself at how easily the answer came to her.

“What kind of thing is Magic to me?”

‘Wind. Strong, fast, unstoppable… But gentle, like my mother, a breeze that soothes and makes others smile.’ Ais imagined her palms filling with a swirling breeze.

“What do you seek in Magic?”

‘To become stronger, to protect those who mean the most to me… To finally take back my mother!’ Ais expressed her truest desires without hesitation. Silhouettes of specific people appearing in her mind.

“Is that all?”

‘If I can… I want to be like mother; strong, kind, someone that makes everything better…’ Ais admitted that she didn’t only want strength in her life, not any more… She’d found other things, people that she loved, who loved her regardless of her strength.

“Contradictory, so childish.” Ais got the distinct image of her face from the book looking amused at her answers. “But that too is us…”

“…Ais?” A voice called out to her. “Ais. Ais, wake up, come on.”

Ais slowly blinked her eyes open and saw Tiona looking down at her. “Tiona…?”

Tiona beamed brightly at Ais now that she was awake. “Ais! You’re awake!”

“I…fell asleep?” Ais slowly sat up, noticing the used Grimoire lying on the bed next to her.

“You missed lunch, so I came to find you!” Tiona said with a smile. “Are you okay?” The concern in her voice matched the look in Tiona’s green eyes.

Ais took a second to check herself over mentally. “I’m fine…”

“Great!” Tiona hugged Ais warmly. “Are you hungry? We can still get some food from the cafeteria!”

“Okay…” Ais blushed as her stomach growled audibly.

Tiona laughed brightly, making Ais smile reflexively, even through her slight embarrassment.

-Pleasure District ~ Belit Babili-

In the main chamber of the large towering building, Goddess Ishtar took a light drag from her long kiseru pipe. With a little sigh, she exhaled the wispy smoke into the air and watched it disappear. “Just a bit longer and we’ll finally have the last materials…again.” She grimaced at what one of her ‘children’ had done to the previous material for the plan that she’d made to gain more power for her Familia. “Once I can tear that bitch down from her throne, I’ll ascend to the place that I should be at.” Ishtar said with a vindictive smile.

“My Lady,” A man spoke up from beyond the door of the main chamber.

“Enter, Tammuz.” Ishtar bade the Vice Captain of her Familia to enter.

The door opened and Tammuz Belili, a man of darker complexion with short, dark brown hair and matching eyes, entered, revealing his shirtless body and the simple loose beige pants that he wore, going barefoot like most in the Ishtar Familia did. He was rather handsome, which was one of the main reasons that Ishtar had taken him into her Familia. He was also a Level 4 Adventurer, making him very useful for whatever Ishtar wanted done.

Tammuz bowed to Ishtar before approaching his Goddess as she sat on her throne-like chair. “Goddess, I’ve brought the information that you requested.” He held out a few papers to Ishtar.

“Very good.” Ishtar smirked as she took the papers and began to look them over, her smoky, sensual gaze reading over the words. “There’s still time to wait for the final materials.” That was annoying, but there was nothing to be done about it. She flipped to the next paper. “The next ‘shipment’ to Melen has been scheduled, I see.” Ishtar let out a little sniff of disdain. If those remnants of Evilus didn’t have something she wanted, a new ‘tool’ for her to use against Freya Familia, she’d have never agreed to work with Thanatos and his lackeys. Taking her mind off of that ‘business agreement’ she moved to the next paper in her hands. “Ah, yes, the young man.” She smirked at a picture of Bell was near the top of the paper. He truly was rather handsome. “Such talent and power really is too good for such a small Familia.” Reading down the paper she noted that Bell was still taking his Party into the Dungeon regularly and that he hadn’t done anything else ‘out of the ordinary’ that had somehow slipped past the general notice of Orario. “Keep an eye on him. I’ll slowly tempt him to my side…” Ishtar told Tammuz, lightly licking her lips at the thought of ensnaring such a rare man like Bell. ‘It has been a while, and he’s supposedly in a multi-partner relationship already. I’m sure he’d be able to grant a night of passion.’ It would supremely piss off Phryne if Ishtar kept Bell for herself, but Ishtar wasn’t one to share if she took a liking to a male. ‘However, if he’s a disappointment, I can at least use him as ‘treat’ to motivate the others.’

“It will be done, my Lady.” Tammuz said with a deeper bow. Seeing Ishtar wave him away, Tammuz stood to his full height and left the room.

As the Goddess of Beauty continued to scheme and plot, a lone Renard in one of the Far Eastern-styled brothels in the Pleasure District looked up at the moon from the window of her room.

‘How much longer will I be able to look up at the moon like this?’ The Renard woman wondered as she felt some relief that she hadn’t had a customer tonight. She’d embarrassed the brothel by passing out, nearly foaming at the mouth, with her last client. The man had been freaked out and then disgusted, claiming the brothel was trying to cheat him out of his money. That situation had blown over as a much more experience courtesan had taken care of the man for the rest of the night for the price that he’d already paid.

The brothel matron couldn’t do much to punish the Renard woman, though. She was not only a member of Ishtar Familia, but there were strict orders NOT to harm her beyond a slap. While the brothel matron didn’t know why, she also knew better than to ask. Since the incident, the Renard girl had been placed in her room instead of out in the front, significantly lowering the number of people that even knew she was there, and in turn, reducing her customers to zero.

‘I wonder if this is how the princesses in the Heroic Tales felt while waiting for their Hero to save them?’ The Renard wondered to herself, her beautiful green eyes gazing at the moon again. Her golden blonde fox ears flicked once as she heard the sound of a customer and a courtesan moving in the hallway, passing her door on their way to the other woman’s room. ‘Not that I’m deserving of a Hero saving me…’ Her fluffy golden-furred fox tail lay limply on the floor as she grew despondent.

-Floating Bridge Mansion-

Lili sat with her yukata around her waist and one of the wide sleeves held over her breasts. Behind her, Sarutahiko was updating her Status as they did almost every night.

“I see that you’ve all decided to prepare a bit longer before entering the Middle Floors.” Sarutahiko said as he finished watching Lili’s Excelia for the day.

“Yes, Lord Sarutahiko. It’s better to be ready.” Lili replied as she thought about everything that she’d heard about the Middle Floors in her years as a Supporter. “Lili wants to get plenty of practice with her new magic especially, since it could be necessary in the Middle Floors.” Being able to heal injuries while traversing larger and deeper Floors was a powerful ability for a Supporter, and Lili planned to support Bell to the best of her abilities.

Sarutahiko nodded once as he finished the Status Update and placed a blank paper on Lili’s back. “Practice and experience are invaluable traits to have, Liliruca. It is far better to take your time and prepare, than it is to rush in without thinking.” Copying the Status Update over, Sarutahiko handed the paper to Lili while locking up her Falna again.

Lili accepted the paper with a soft smile. “I think so too, Lord Sarutahiko.”

-Status-

Liliruca Arde

Level 1

Strength – G 275 > G 297

Endurance – G 276 > F 300

Dexterity – E 484 > D 509

Agility – C 627 > C 652

Magic – C 611 > C 638

-Magic-

Cinder Ella – Incantation: “Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight.” Transformation Magic that enables the user to transform into anything around their size.

Shōsen – Incantation: “Sage’s mystical palm.” Healing Magic that surrounds the hands and can heal both internal and external wounds of the user or others. Can also help relieve afflictions like poison. The magic energy surrounding the hands can take on razor-sharp cutting properties instead of healing by chanting Mesu.

-Skills-

Artel Assist – When the user is carrying a certain amount of weight, this Skill will help compensate in abilities. The amount compensated depends on the weight.

Storage Scroll – Allows the user to store non-living objects in scrolls. The scroll’s script must be written with ink that is mixed with the user’s blood.

-Status-

“Endurance and Dexterity both went up a rank!” Lili smiled brightly at seeing her improvement. Her Strength stat was also close to reaching the ‘F’ Rank as well, which she could’ve never imagined reaching before joining the Sarutahiko Familia.

“Indeed,” Sarutahiko chuckled lightly. “You’re constant drive to improve will naturally result in growth.”

Lili couldn’t help but feel warm and happy when Sarutahiko praised her like a proud grandfather. “Maybe Lili will be able to Level Up one day.”

Sarutahiko gently patted Lili’s head. “I know you will one day, Liliruca.”

“Thank you.” Lili smiled at Sarutahiko over her shoulder. She burned the update with the nearby candle and then pulled her yukata back on properly. “Good night, Lord Sarutahiko.”

“Good night, Liliruca.” Sarutahiko bid Lili a good night as she left his room.

The sliding door didn’t even close before Bell walked in and closed it behind him.

“Welcome, Bell.” Sarutahiko smiled at his Familia’s Captain. “Sit, sit. Let’s see how you’ve improved.”

Bell turned and then sat down on the cushion in front of Sarutahiko. He shrugged off his jinbei top and left his bare back exposed to his God. “We’ve all been working hard in the Dungeon, Lord Sarutahiko. As long as I can keep growing, then I can keep helping the others grow as well.” Helping others was something that Bell felt was truly heroic, after all.

Sarutahiko let a drop of his blood fall onto Bell’s back. “Offering positive guidance to others is a good thing, to be sure.” As a Deity of Guidance, Sarutahiko was always thrilled that Bell truly took after him. As the familiar blue-white glow appeared and Bell’s Falna rose up from his skin, the elder God began the update by starting to watch Bell’s Excelia.

It didn’t take long for the update to be complete, as nothing new had manifested in Bell’s Falna. With a blank paper and a swipe of his fingertip, the numbers were copied over and Sarutahiko handed the paper to Bell.

“Thank you.” Bell took the paper and immediately checked his stats.

-Status-

Bell Cranel

Level 2

Strength – H 197 > G 238

Endurance – H 192 > G 234

Dexterity – G 201 > G 245

Agility – H 196 > G 240

Magic – G 209 > G 252

-Magic-

Gogyō (Five Elements) – Incantation: “Earthly God’s mastery.” This Magic allows the user to use five different elemental Magics by using the appropriate word modifier: Sui for Water Magic, Do for Earth Magic, Fū for Wind Magic, Rai for Lightning Magic, and Ka for Fire Magic.

Kokushin (Black Needle) – Incantation: “Disrupt.” This Magic allows the user to create a black material in the shape of needles, batons, or rods at the cost of Mind.

-Skills-

Fugō (Sign) – Allows the user to change the form of a spell by making different signs with their hands.

Shihyō (Paragon/Teacher/Model/Leader) – Removes limits of growth. Rate of growth increases in proportion to the user’s efforts to improve. Growth of others increases when instructing them.

Kanchi (Sensing) – Allows the user to sense living things within a certain range of themselves and distinguish between Monster and Non-Monster. The range increases based on the Magic stat. Active Trigger.

-Developmental Ability-

Martial Mastery – I (Massively increases all Basic Abilities, greatly enhances perception and reaction time.)

-Status-

Bell nodded at the paper with a small smile. “Everything is at ‘G’ Rank now.” It was great to see that his growth hadn’t slowed down as much as he thought it might have…yet.

“Once your Party is ready, I’m sure that you’ll make your way through the Middle Floors with little trouble, Bell.” Sarutahiko said with a warm smile and absolute belief in his ‘children’.

“I’ll do my best, Lord Sarutahiko.” Bell said while burning his Status update with the nearby candle.

The two parted as Bell headed for his and Lili’s bedroom. Sarutahiko, meanwhile, thought about the growing strength of his Familia and could only smile fondly as he poured himself a small saucer of sake. “I do believe that we’ll be reunited sooner than either of us thought, my darling Uzume.” He sipped his sake while immersing himself in memories of his beautiful wife.

-Twilight Manor-

Knock Knock

The two knocks on her door got Loki’s attention and made her smile.

“Come in, Ais-tan!” Loki knew who had come to see her tonight.

Ais opened the door and stepped into Loki’s room. She gently closed the door behind her and walked towards Loki.

“Here for a Status Update, right?” Loki grinned brightly. “I’m surprised you wait this long!”

“Mm.” Ais hummed a little. “I was spending time with Lefiya, Tiona, and Tione.”

Loki hopped over to her bed and moved a stool to the edge. “Sit, sit!” She patted the top of the stool. “Let’s see if that Grimoire worked for you!”

Ais turned her back to Loki and pulled the straps of her dress off her shoulders, one at a time, carefully covering her breasts with one arm. With her back exposed to Loki, Ais sat on the stool, ready for her update.

“Ah, so beautiful…” Loki cooed as Ais moved her long hair over her shoulder so that Loki could access her bare back. “Sarutahiko’s boy is do lucky!” She had crocodile tears while covering her eyes with her left arm dramatically.

“Must you…?” Ais asked, looking over her shoulder at Loki.

Loki lifted her arm and shot a grin at Ais. “Every now and then, Ais-tan~” With her fun had, for the moment, Loki pricked her finger with a needle and let the single drop of blood fall onto Ais’s skin. The Falna appeared on Ais’s back, as if rising up from her skin. The blue-white light glowed and Loki barely had any Excelia to watch. ‘Where are you?’ She looked for the new magic that should’ve manifested in Ais’s Falna. ‘Don’t tell me it failed!’ It was rare, and usually only happened in odd cases requiring a very specialized experience for the person in question, but a Grimoire failing was a small disaster given how much they cost. ‘Ah hah! There you are!’ Loki cheered in her mind as she saw the new magic within the Falna. Translating it into hieroglyphs, Loki observed the spell and tilted her head slightly in surprise. Writing the new magic in, Loki placed a blank paper on Ais’s back and copied the update with a twirl of her fingertip. “A bit interesting, Ais-tan.”

“Hm?” Ais looked at Loki curiously as she accepted the paper. She looked near the bottom of the paper quickly and discovered her new magic.

-Status-

Ais Wallenstein

Level 6

Strength – I 5 > I 10

Endurance – I 3 > I 8

Dexterity – I 8 > I 15

Agility – I 7 > I 14

Magic – I 10 > I 16

-Magic-

Ariel – Incantation: “Tempest.” Wind Enchantment Magic

Aero Sana – Incantation: “Purify, gentle breeze of life.” Wind Element Magic that heals and purifies those that are touched by the user’s wind.

-Skills-

Avenger – Heavily increases the user's attack power against Monsters, massively increases the user's attack power against Dragon Type Monsters. Effect rises based on the user's hate.

Sky Theatre – Allows the user flight and full aerial mobility while using Wind Magic. Protective wind will surround allies in range.

-Developmental Abilities-

Hunter – G (Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained Excelia from.)

Abnormal Resistance – G (Negates the effect of abnormalities such as poison and paralysis.)

Swordsman – H (Improves all Basic Abilities by a large amount when wielding a sword.)

Spirit Healing – I (Automatic Mind regeneration. The Ability begins regenerating Mind at a small rate after Magic use.)

-Status-

“Healing Magic?” Ais blinked once at her new spell.

Loki leaned backwards, supporting her upper body with her arms behind her on the bed. “Yep! Didn’t expect that from you, Ais-tan. But it says ‘heals and purifies’ so it might be healing and treatment magic, letting you remove things like poison and stuff too. You’ll have to try it out to know for sure though.”

Ais stood up, barely keeping her arm covering her breasts. “Purify, gentle breeze of life. Aero Sana.” She cast her new magic, wanting to know how it worked. A gentle breeze of light green wind swirled around Ais. It was soothing, not too cold and not too warm, just right. But Ais felt her eyes tear up slightly as she experienced something that she hadn’t since she was a little girl. ‘Mother?’ The gentle embrace of the breeze reminded her of being held by her mother when she was a little girl: warm, safe, and with a soothing feeling that everything was going to be okay.

The gentle breeze stopped and Ais gently wiped the small tears from the corners of her eyes, a gentle smile on her lips. She put the top of her dress back on carefully, making sure to keep her breasts covered. Once she was covered properly, she turned to Loki with the same gentle smile.

“Are you okay, Ais-tan?” Loki asked, seeing the slight shine of tears in Ais’s golden gaze.

“I’m…happy.” Ais said after a second. “Thank you.”

Loki gave Ais a soft smile of her own. “Must be a nice spell.”

Ais nodded once. “It is.”

Ais burned her Status Update and left Loki’s room, nearly floating as the feeling from her new spell had brought her a feeling that she’d been missing for so long that she’d nearly forgotten it. For once, thinking about her mother didn’t inevitably lead to the horrible loss from that day so long ago. But the happy memories of being with her mother, being held, reading books…the good times filled her mind, rather than being completely overshadowed by the loss.

That night, Ais fell asleep with a soft smile on her lips. Happy dreams graced her slumber as well, her mother’s beautiful smile and her father’s warm words and strong presence. A wonderful night of sleep all born from remembering a feeling that had nearly been lost even from her memories.

-End Chapter-

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Back on the grind and both Bell and Lili are still growing well!

Unfortunately, Ishtar is plotting against Bell…or is it for Bell? The Goddess of Beauty is targeting Bell regardless! Will Bell manage to keep out of Ishtar’s clutches?

What about this sweet Renard that’s trapped in a brothel in the Pleasure District? Will a Hero come to save her, even if she doesn’t believe that she’s worthy of such a thing?

Ais takes the three Grimoires of her reward, along with the Valis coins, for herself while giving the rest to her Familia. The large windfall should make preparing for their next expedition go much more smoothly; especially since their new target is the Fifty-Ninth Floor!

But Ais actually USES one of the Grimoires right away and gains a second spell! Healing magic is NOT what Ais or Loki expected…but changes in Ais’s heart and bringing down the wall separating herself from others have made the young woman realize that strength isn’t the only thing she wants in life.

Love is a wonderful thing that can truly change lives for the better.

As Bell, Lili, and Welf prepare to head into the Middle Levels, just how far will they get? Being stronger and with Bell’s monstrous talent, will the three-man Party fall victim to a Pass Parade, or to the Dungeon’s tricks?

Keep reading to find out!

Let me know what you thought!

Until next time, later!