Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Trap Creation Lv. 4] [Humanize Lv. 7]

“Buuuuuuh.”

Nothing beats a warm bath.

How long has it been now? Oh right, I’m six months now. It has been six months…

It took me six months to find an outdoor water source! Can you believe that? Besides that underwater lake with the orcs, I have been super unlucky with finding lakes and ponds in this forest.

How does the wildlife even survive here with this lack of water? Then again, I’m a prime example of someone who could. Rains are frequent enough and fruits are large and numerous enough to satisfy me.

Keeping myself hydrated hasn’t been that problematic, despite my complaints, but it has caused me trouble for another reason.

I mentioned it during the first few days of my second life; that I had no access to clean water, so my personal hygiene suffered.

I only got to solve that problem with storing and using the lake water for short showers, but that got very inconvenient after a certain point.

That would be the time I got my [Humanization] up to the fifth level. With the return of my hair, also came the return of hair maintenance.

Sleeping on the ground, fighting monsters and the weather has had their effects on them. They’ve become tangled, dirty and just unbearably itchy.

With my newly made comb, Saori has helped me take care of the tangles, but they remained filthy as the water I can use for showering has to be rationed otherwise we’ll run out. Who knows when the next rain will come. I want to be spoiled like everybody else, but I gotta be real here.

[“The area is cleared, Hestia.”] Popping out of the forests, Saori reported that she has killed all surrounding monsters. From the trail of bodies she’s carrying with her, I guessed that there was quite a lot.

“C-Could you please not look at me that much.” I said bashfully, covering my body with my arms.

I was having my first warm bath since forever. Yes, I meant that. When I cleaned myself in the underwater lake, I forgot to heat the cold water up.

By inserting fire inside a [Air Shield], I was able to heat the water up by keeping the protected flame underwater. The water easily heated up, as I only needed to fuel it with my mana to keep it alive.

Also, it goes without saying that bathing demands me to be naked.

[“What are you so embarrassed for, Hestia?”] Saori said, with one brow lifted up. [“I have seen you naked often enough to consider it normal. Nobody is here beside us."]

Saori, in her own humanized form, dismissed my embarrassment with a shake of her hand. I know she’s telling the truth, but, urghh. Having scales covering up my skin was enough for me to consider myself “clothed”.

If Saori hadn’t pointed that fact out, I’d probably still run around like a freak.

All that forgotten shame came back to me now as paranoia, as I couldn’t shake off the feeling somebody is peeking. My experience with the garms has thought me to be wary, but bathing for the first time in months has caused my vigilance to reach an all-time high.

Just a warning to anybody attempting to peek. I can probably maul or burn you to death, so take care, please.

Ignoring my reddened face, Saori walked over to me, took my soaked hair out of the water and inspected them. [“The grime and most of the excessive oils are gone. The natural shine of your hair has returned, and it looks healthy despite our lack of hair products.”]

She then began sniffing my hair, without giving any comments on it.

In my unease, I started to make some childish noises to signal her that this was making me uncomfortable. It didn’t help though, as she just continued inspecting my hair, in silence.

“…Guck…”

Why are you not saying anything? Wait wait, does my hair smell that bad? No no, that can’t be right, right?

[“…Extracting some water before the bath was a wise decision. I would still evaluate this as a success.”] Saori forced out those words, but it can’t be denied that I reek like…no, no! I don’t smell. I don’t smell. Stop the self-deprecation, Hestia!

Noticing that I was covering my tomato colored face, Saori took it as a signal to stop and began undressing. After taking off the experimental mana-weaved dress she's wearing, she submerged herself into the water.

“Wruuuuuu.” Like me, she gave a moan filled with relief and relaxation, letting the warm water heal both her body and mind.

We stayed there, relaxed and fulfilled, until the sun started to go down. Neither of us talked one bit but both of us appreciated this rare moment of silence.

I dried us with my [Aerokinesis] and [Pyrokinesis] created a hairdryer and we redressed afterward.

“Ok, Saori. We have some time until sunset, so let’s try to find the forest’s exit.” I said with renewed vigor.

[“Understood, Hestia.”]

Our plan was to get out of the forest, so we had to make sure to do some exploring to fulfill our daily quota.

As we were about to go, something unexpected happened.

“Ow!”

[“Hestia?!”]

…My muscles starting aching.

*******************

Urgh.

“You really don’t have to carry me around, Saori. I’m fine with walking on my own.” I mumbled while laying my head on Saori’s shoulder.

[“Let me please take responsibility, Hestia.”] Saori ignored my suggestion and continued walking forwards with me on her back. [“You’ve been pushing yourself so much for me lately, that it makes me look selfish. Sigh, we should slow down with all the fighting.”]

Upon waking up this morning, my body underwent a change; in that my [Humanize Lv. 7] has aged my body to that of a ten-year-old. Not only have I grown taller, but it seems most of my scales have disappeared with the transformation, exceptions to this were my wings, tail, hands, and feet.

They still looked incredibly armored and scary, which fulfilled my need to look cool. I was quite happy about this until I realized after the bath that my body started to ache.

[Absolute Pain Tolerance] prevents me from flinching when I receive damage, however, as I can still register the pain, it still is annoying for me.

I technically could continue walking without being slowed down, but it will become mentally stressful if I push myself.

Saori offered to rest for the day, but I declined it. It’s annoying but I don’t want our day to be wasted just because I’m experiencing growing pains, of all things.

As a compromise, Saori suggested to carry me on her back. That is how I ended up being carried.

“It is rather annoying that I have to experience this again. At least my dragon form isn’t affected by this.” I suggested to travel as a dragon, but Saori rejected that. I think her reason was to pamper me a bit, her way to apologize for neglecting my health.

We have been performing operation “Make Saori an Assassin” quite frequently, so maybe this is fatigue? Our synergy also needed work, so we’ve been fighting far too much together.

[“I personally find it rather adorable that this is even possible. Our human-like bodies are very authentic.”] She was clearly enjoying giving me a ride, with that gentle smile on her face.

"You wouldn't like this if you were in my shoes."

Her body, instead of being reset to that of a kid’s, is now that of an 18-year-old. She’s also incredibly tall; I’m quite sure she’s taller than the average woman. Jealousy was a natural feeling when your friend, who was reborn four months after you, got an adult's body while you are stuck in a mere child’s.

“Urgh, I hate being stuck in a kid’s body.”

With the sound of my [Aerokinesis] stereo, we continued moving through the forest, hoping to find the exit today.

Normally, our trips would end with me climbing up a tree and checking our location at sunset. We would then set up camp, eat dinner, and then go to sleep; but it seems today would be different.

What stood beyond a group of trees, was a canyon. This deep gorge was massive and separated our side from, possibly, our ticket out of this place.

“We finally made it out…” I said it meekly, but my elation was undeniable. I saw this sight for the first time three months ago, and we’ve finally reached our goal.

[“That might be true, but we have no way to overcome this large gap. Or, has your wing healed enough for us to fly over?”]

Oh shoot, she’s correct.

With the current state of my wings, I couldn’t even carry myself up into the sky, not to mention Saori. The canyon is too wide for me to consider using [Wind Blast] to boost us over.

["We can either attempt to traverse the canyon or find an alternative route over it, for example, a bridge."] Saori gave out suggestions to overcome our newest challenge.

“Uhhh, yeah, traversing might be for the best.” I decided on the former option.

I have spent enough time in this forest. Life is about change, and I believe the time for change has come. Even if a village or town doesn’t exist on the other side of this canyon, I still want to know what is on that side.

Honestly, this has been an amazing day. We had a chance to soak in warm water and we just found the exit out of this place.

I can’t describe this day as anything else but a…

“Ahhhhhhhhhh! Hishta! Tealishom, il hishte!”

Huh?

[“There seems to be somebody down there. Somebody quite small though.”] Saori reported.

Squinting my eyes, I looked down to confirm who was shouting.

There at the bottom of the canyon, a small body with glittering, butterfly-looking wings attached to her back was floating or flying, away from a cave.

Wait, could it be?!

“That’s a fairy!” I yelled out in pure delight.

[“Hestia, your enthusiasm is nice, but you are shouting next to my ear.”] Saori gave me a reproachful look, still holding a slight grudge at my eardrum-destroying shout.

“Oops, sorry. Huh? Why is she looking our way now? Did she hear us?” I pointed my finger at the fairy, directing Saori’s gaze away from me.

At the same time I said that, from the inside of the mountain, a group of large, weapon-wielding humanoids came out.

Looking at their appearance, they were significantly larger than the fairy, and I believe they would even dwarf us in our current humanized form. They had bodies similar to a gorilla's, with blue-colored skin, and fur covering it. Prominent are also their pair of tusks, easily dwarfing the ones those orcs, I once encountered, had.

They were equipped from head to toe with armor and each had a weapon and a shield. Even without using [Identify], I can guess that they had high-quality equipment. From the scratches and traces of bloodstains, I can only hazard a guess of how often they were used.

Troll A massive muscular monster that possesses astounding levels of natural regeneration. Possessing both high strength and defenses, with a generous amount of intelligence, these monsters are not foes an inexperienced combatant can triumph over. Their regeneration rate will deteriorate when in contact with fire. Rank C

Four trolls came out of the cave, all chasing after the fairy. However, according to my skills, there should still be another troll inside the cave.

“Watch out behind you!” I shouted out to warn the fairy, as my [Prediction] switched my focus towards the attack from that very same fifth troll. However, it seems this fairy couldn’t understand me, as she just stood there, confused.

Ah scheiße, she can’t understand english!

While I was flustered by my mistake, a ball of water came flying out of the mountain cave, struck the fairy and sent her tumbling down onto the earth. She recovered from the fall, but it seems she can’t fly up anymore, probably due to her wet wings.

“Hishta! Plearsiz, il histe! Sullas il phat, plearsiz!”

[“Hestia, I believe she is calling out for help. What do you want to do?”]

Well, it would be quite weird, if she were to joke around when five trolls are coming to kill her!

I kept my sarcastic remark to myself, as I contemplated the situation. I admit I don't have a real sense of duty to go down there and rescue her.

Not only will it take some time to scale the canyon, but those trolls are no joke. Their individual stats are lower than the wyverns, but what they lacked in natural strength, they make up for their equipment and that one troll mage in the back.

Now, I have nothing against taking the spotlight in a fight, but this fight will be a two vs. five without a way for Saori to hide her presence.

We’ve been hunting monsters together, but we never fought against a strong opponent, besides the wyverns. We’ve been able to develop some synergy, but will it be enough to win here?

As trolls are weak to fire, I clearly have an advantage as a fire elemental dragon, so I am confident in my ability to duel one or two trolls. The problem is that I have to restrict my usage when two friendlies are there.

[“If you cannot decide, then I would suggest we leave her.”] Something completely out of nowhere came out of Saori’s mouth. I was stunned speechless, expecting this to be a joke or something.

[“I will be frank with you, Hestia.”] She turned her head around and spoke in a tone, more serious than she usually used. She had a deep frown and her bestial eyes were demanding me to take her words seriously. [“This is not a fight that I believe we should participate in. Not only am I aware that I will not be able to contribute much in this fight, but I do not think it is wise to challenge all five of them by yourself, especially with that mage at the rear. I do not wish for you to jump in there and act like a hero, despite how much power you have.”]

I could feel her concern through the [Telepathy]. [“I apologize. I know it’s hypocritical, but I do not wish for you to endanger yourself, especially for a stranger’s sake.”]

Saori…I-I really didn’t expect you to say those things.

From my impression, Saori can act quite intimidating with her speaking mannerism and boldness, however, I know that there is a good person behind that façade, albeit she is a bit distant towards strangers as I have learned in my first week with her.

She’s a filial person, who carries a strong sense of professionalism, considering that she expects others to commit 100% of their effort into whatever task they are doing.

Honestly, I was a bit worried that she would be too serious about being my retainer, but our relationship has barely changed. The only differences are that she’s taking care of me more carefully.

Making me clothes, taking care of my appearance, making sure that I stay healthy; she’s even forcing me to eat more greens! Packing my steaks full of mushrooms, fruits, and other stuff, which wasn’t too bad.

Honestly, I took care of her when she was just born, helped her become strong; and now she's repaying her debt back ten-fold. She's doing so much for me despite not being the best fighter.

She’s my friend now. A true friend that I would fully trust…and this friend is now telling me to abandon somebody.

Saori having finished telling me what she wanted me to do, was now staring at me with sorrow-filled eyes. I dunno if she’s trying to tuck a few heartstrings and persuade me that way or…no, I’m overthinking this. Her emotions are pure, driven by her own experiences and values. It’s not fake.

I couldn’t say anything. What would be my response in this situation? Run away and let the fairy die, or charge in and risk my life. It’s not like I can’t understand why Saori wants me to choose the selfish, but smart, decision. I also would prioritize her safety over a stranger, she’s more precious to me.

There is also the fact that our chances aren’t perfect. Compared to the wyvern fight, the battleground is unfavorable to fight in and we are heavily outnumbered.

Saori was rightfully worried. Survival is the most important part of the Belzac forest…but that doesn’t sit right with me! Especially, when somebody is finally asking for help in this godforsaken forest!

Identify!

Fairy's status board Profile: Name: Tasianna Marina Silverpond Level: 31 Race: Fairy Age: 87 Years Job: Mage Status: Health: 283/472 Mana: 1626/1751 Strength: 42 Intelligence: 698 Vitality: 36 Wisdom: 467 Agility: 451 Stamina: 215/312 Effects: None Skill: Magic skills and related

[Fairy Magic]

[Arcane Mind Lv. 6]

[Water Magic Lv. 6]

[Wind Magic Lv. 2]

[Chant Revocation Lv. 4]

[Mental Warfare Lv. 2]

Senses and Movement skills

[Concentration Lv. 4]

[Stealth Lv. 1]

[Prediction Lv. 1]

[Enhanced Enemy Sense Lv. 2]

[Night Vision Lv. 2]

[Evasion Lv. 3]

[Acrobatic Lv. 3]

Resistances

[Physical Resistance Lv. 3]

[Pain Resistance Lv. 3]

[Fire Resistance Lv. 1]

[Water Resistance Lv. 4]

[Earth Resistance Lv. 1]

[Wind Resistance Lv. 2]

[Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 1]

Stat growths and related

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv.´4]

[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 3]

[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 1]

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 3]

[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 2]

Others

[Identify Lv. 1]

[Royal Etiquette Lv. 4]

[Telepathy]

Spell List: Custom Spells:

[Create Water]

[Greater Create Water]

Water Spells:

[Water Ball]

[Water Wall]

[Water Bolt]

[Cleanse]

[Protective Water]

[Droplet Torrent]

Wind Spells:

[Wind Bullet]

[Wind Cutter]

“Kryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Jumping off Saori’s back, I roared to attract the attention of everybody in the vicinity. "Sorry, but let me talk to her first!" Saori could only stay silent, looking a bit gloomy that I decided on the morally correct choice.

[“Can you hear me, Miss Fairy?”] Having established a connection, I called the fairy out.

[“Huh?! Telepathy?!”] A high-pitched voice resounded through my head, confirming that the fairy has heard me.

[“There’s no time for explanations, so just answer my question. Do you need our help?”] That sounded a bit too forceful, but we were not in a situation to be polite.

[“I-I…please help me! These trolls are planning to use me to fuel their mana batteries! I beg you to help me, please! I don’t have much to offer, but if it is in the realm of possibility, I shall do my best to repay you!”]

Finally, somebody is asking for help instead of trying to kill me!

"I think you will be really mad about this, Saori, but will you still help me?" With determination, I turned to Saori and our eyes met.

Closing her eyes, Saori let out a resigned sigh. Once reopened, she answered in exasperation. [“…You have a very bad habit of dragging others into your schemes, Hestia. This reminds me of the bear fight.”]

“That’s pretty passive-aggressive of you, considering the situation. Anyways, what’s your answer? I’m itching to jump in already!” I spat out a blunt response.

["I don't know how much support I can give but I do owe you my life. We're companions for long enough now, so of course, I'll stand with you. Watashi wa anata o anzen ni tamochimasu, Hestia Oujo-sama.”] (I will keep you safe, Princess Hestia.)

“That’s the spirit, Saori!” ... But please take care of yourself, and not just me? I am capable of healing, but I don’t have a resurrect spell yet. I kept this statement to myself. There was no need to spoil the mood by being a realist here.

All that matters, is that I can finally do a good deed to offset all the shit that I’ve done until now!

Flame Spear!

Having thought of a plan, I shot out a spell at a troll that was approaching the fairy, blasting him away. The troll recovered quickly from my attack, showing only some signs of damage as his armor absorbed most of the damage.

Dragonewt Scale Armor Metal armor reinforced by the scales of dragonewts. The scales provide protection against fire and wind elemental magic. High resistance against slash attacks Skill [Fire Resistance Lv. 5] [Wind Resistance Lv. 5] [Physical Resistance Lv. 6] Fire Wyvern Shield A metal shield reinforced by the scales of wyverns. The scales provide high protection against fire elemental magic Skill [Fire Resistance Lv. 8] [Physical Resistance Lv. 8]

For our pre-battle preparations, I had my parallel minds cast all my buff skills and then transferred all of them onto Saori, using [Synergist’s Oath]. Saori glowed iridescent for just a moment, now buffed by all my stat improvement spells. At [Synergist’s Oath] current level, it wasn’t at max efficiency, but she still had her stats improved.

For the last part of our preparation, I threw two cups of venom to Saori.

“Pretty strong, but there’s not a lot. Be careful with it.” Saori nodded to my nonchalant statement.

We then transformed back into our monster forms, now fully ready to rescue a fairy and hunt down some strong trolls.

Standing on the edge of the cliff, I looked down at the trolls, who were know glaring at me with cautious respect.

Letting my mana surge, seven red-colored magical circles appeared on my right wing and manifested [Inferno Blast] with each one, readying them before shooting.

I connected myself to everybody in the area using [Telepathy] and announced. [“Now…I hope everybody loves fireworks~”]

Hestia's status board Profile: Name: Hestia Atsuko Level: 16 Race: Young Spark Inferno Dragon Age: 6 Months Status: Health: 4502/4502 (+741) Mana: 15561/15561 (+2073) Strength: 2251 (+409) Intelligence: 3637 (+710) Vitality: 1167 (+181) Wisdom: 1374 (+249) Agility: 4250 (+669) Stamina: 2266/2266 (+419) Effects: [Damaged Mana Paths [Left Wing] (Minor)] Skill Points: 7300 (+3500) Unique Skill:

[Spark Fire Dragon Lv. 8] (+1)

[Spark Fire’s Fire Boost]

[Spark Flame Veil]

Skill: Magic skills and related

[Lava Magic Lv. 1]

[Holy Magic Lv. 10]

[Holy Amp]

[Holy Magic Efficiency]

[Sacred Magic Lv. 4] (+2)

[Fire Magic Lv. 10]

[Fire Amp]

[Fire Magic Efficiency]

[Inferno Magic Lv. 4]

[Earth Magic Lv. 10]

[Earth Amp]

[Earth Magic Efficiency]

[Terra Magic Lv. 1]

[Wind Magic Lv. 8] (+1)

[Wind Amp]

[Wind Magic Efficiency]

[Synergist’s Oath Lv. 1] (New)

[Space-Time Magic Lv. 4]

[Space-Time Magic Efficiency]

[Draconic Magics]

[Draconic Barrier Lv. 2]

[Silent Casting Lv. 6]

[Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 5]

[Mental Stability Lv. 2]

[Mental Warfare Lv. 2]

Physical skills and related

[Unarmed Technique Lv. 4]

[Draconic Claws Lv. 4] (+2)

[Draconic Roar Lv. 2] (+1)

[Draconic Fangs Lv. 2] (+1)

[Sundering Enhancement Lv. 4] (+2)

[Piercing Enhancement Lv. 2]

[Crushing Enhancement Lv. 1]

Senses and Movement skills

[Stealth Lv. 9] (+1)

[Accuracy Correction Lv. 6] (+1)

[Prediction Lv. 6]

[Danger Perception Lv. 1]

[Probability Correction Lv. 2] (+1)

[Detection Sensor Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Auditory Sense Lv. 2] (+1)

[Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Vision Lv. 5] (+1)

[Tracking Lv. 2]

[Night Vision Lv. 8] (+1)

[Presence Killer Lv. 7] (+1)

[Evasion Lv. 10]

[Acrobatic Lv. 9]

[Terrain Maneuvering Lv. 2]

Resistances

[Physical Super-Resistance Lv. 1]

[Absolute Pain Tolerance]

[Abnormal Status Nullification]

[Holy Resistance Lv. 4]

[Inferno Resistance Lv. 1]

[Terra Resistance Lv. 1]

[Wind Resistance Lv. 2]

[Water Resistance Lv. 1]

Stat growths and related

[Health Recovery Lv. 4]

[Stamina Recovery Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 6]

[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 8]

[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 4] (+2)

[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 7]

[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 7]

[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Stamina Capacity Lv. 4]

Others

[Singing Lv. 5] (+1)

[Dancing Lv. 3] (+1)

[Poison Creation Lv. 3]

[Trap Creation Lv. 4] (+1)

[Identity Blocker Lv. 2] (+1)

[Identify Lv. 10]

[Noble Aura Lv. 2] (+1)

[Battle Mind Lv. 5] (+1)

[Royal Etiquette Lv. 2]

[Leadership Lv. 2] (+1)

[Cooking Lv. 7]

[Dismantle Lv. 7]

[Thought Acceleration Lv. 2] (+1)

[Parallel Thoughts Lv. 6]

[Humanize Lv. 7] (+1)

[Pyrokinesis]

[Aerokinesis]

[Telepathy]

Ability List:

[Flame Blast]

[Spark Claws]

[Spark Flame]

[Spark Fire Breath]

[Spark Fang]

[Spark Inferno Blast]

Spell List: Custom spells:

[Imperial Hellfire]

Lava spells:

[Lava Ball]

Holy spells:

[Minor Heal]

[Cure]

[Modest Heal]

[Smite]

[Light]

[Holy Protection]

[Holy Strength]

[Purify]

[Sacred Smite]

[Sacred Veil]

[Sacred Field]

[Banishment Beam]

Fire spells:

[Fire]

[Firebolt]

[Imbue Fire]

[Fire Ball]

[Strengthening Flames]

[Flame Spear]

[Petal Flame]

[Flame Explosion]

[Inferno Blast]

[Blazing Twister]

[Inferno Beam]

[Scorching Sun]

Earth spells:

[Earth Wall]

[Rock Blast]

[Earth Strike]

[Rock Bullet]

[Sturdy Earth]

[Earth Spears]

[Earth Crash]

[Earthen Shackles]

[Terra Wall]

Wind spells:

[Wind Bullet]

[Wind Cutter]

[Air Shield]

[Wind Slash]

[Swift Winds]

[Wind Blast]

Space-Time spells:

[Haste]

[Storage Magic]

[Warp Point: Entry]

The Light spells:

[Shine]

[Sanctuary]

Titles:

[The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] [Otherworldly Reincarnator] [Princess] (New)