Martel stirred from his sleep as the sunlight broke through the window. It was a sensation that almost felt foreign to him as he needed little sleep and often awoke before sunrise. He was about to stretch but found that his body could not move at all. His breathing was labored, something was blocking his face, and the pressure on his chest slightly increased with each exhale. Perturbed, Martel opened his eyes only to find nothing but skin. Thankfully he could still breathe thanks to his nose being in a valley.

“Master… So warm.” Echidna mumbled in her sleep, stimulated by his slight movement.

Martel’s eyebrow twitched when he played back information recorded from his SRIN. In her sleep, Echidna had managed to wrap all of his body, excluding his head, with her long tail. The fact that she had done so in her sleep, along with the fact that he completely took no notice, irked him tremendously. He was tired, but it seemed his curse had acted up. However, this also relieved him as he was most concerned about Echidna’s psyche. After a quick check, he was happy to find that her Soul was 93% normal, drastically different from before. Of course, a side effect of this meant that she probably had some affection for him, which seemed likely given that it appeared his curse had activated. However, he couldn’t think more about it as the pressure across his body slowly increased.

“Echidna, wake up. You are crushing me.” He barely managed to say.

“Ha? Master?” She groggily and subconsciously asked as she stirred from her slumber. She blinked twice before taking the situation and froze. Then, a clear blush appeared on her cheeks as she quickly unwound his body. “I’m very sorry, Master, I don’t know what happened.” She said with a slight stammer and looked away, unable to look him in the eyes.

“That’s okay. Is it a sleeping habit?”

“I think it’s because you are so warm, but I can’t say for certain. After all, I’ve never slept with anyone before. You are my first.”

“Don’t say something so misleading!” He said before he gave her back an annoyed poke, which she immediately flinched and reeled from subconsciously. “Oh, sorry,” Martel said in response, clear that she had a subconscious reaction to having her back touched due to her past.

“No. It’s my fault. Thank you for healing my back.” Echidna replied gratefully, but with a hint of shame for her reaction. “It may take a little time, but I’m confident I can overcome my past and let Master touch me freely.” She continued with a slight tone that betrayed that she gave the sentence an underlying meaning.

“Once again, don’t say something so misleading.” Martel quickly replied, a little flustered. Of course, he wasn’t flustered but pretending. At first, he had done so to not provoke other women easily with the added benefit of grinding the Acting Skill in the Expertise System. Of course, he could also tell that Echidna was intentionally teasing him, and seemed to enjoy getting such a response, given she continued with a teasing smile.

“Master, I belong to you. You can do anything you want to my body. Anything. Did you know that female Lamia’s are desired for their unique muscular structure? I even practice the sacred exercises passed down from the heroes to Lamias.”

“What exercise would that be?”

“Kegels.”

Martel facepalmed as he wondered if the prior heroes had done more harm than good to this world. “Enough nonsense. We are going to have a group meeting this afternoon. I need you and the other newcomers to complete some tasks beforehand.”

“Oh, all right.” She replied, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Don’t look so down. Think of today as the first day of your new life.”

“Okay.” She replied. As Martel got up and began to exit the room, Echidna spoke again in a quiet and earnest voice. “Master, thank you for everything.”

...

In the afternoon, Martel stood in a large room along with the seated members of his party. “Did everyone complete their assignments for today?… Very good. We have several things to do today, including the introduction of everyone’s abilities. I also want everyone to talk about the stats they intend to improve when they level up. Then we will work on individual training and teamwork building over the next couple of days. Firstly, can someone tell me why I am focusing on training instead of leveling?”

Kogane quickly raised her hand, and Martel finally acquiesced, but no one else seemed to answer. “We are training because it is currently the most efficient for our situation. The amount of experience gained is based upon creature Stats compared with ours. By maximizing our abilities that are not reflected in Stats, like Ki, we can maximize XP and safety. Additionally, there is a considerable lack of creatures to fight due to overhunting which makes leveling hard and slow.”

“That is correct. I could easily find appropriate monsters for us to fight compared to others, but that would be very dangerous with our current party’s lack of fighting experience. Now we are going to go over everyone’s abilities, fighting styles, and planned growth. Before that, I feel it is pertinent to set the chain of command. When it comes to command, I’m referring to whose orders to listen to on the battlefield. It is important to quickly follow such orders on the battlefield as hesitation can be the difference between life and death. Rio, do you have any leadership experience, or do you feel qualified to be in such a position?”

Rio nodded. “My specialty is healing and buffs, so I was often spectating in the rear guard. Because of this, I would get a good view of the entire battlefield, so it did happen.”

“Very well. I will be primarily in control, but if the situation becomes hectic and I cannot take full control of the party, you can take over. Hestia, you are third in line.”

“Sir? I don’t particularly have leadership experience.”

“I know, but I feel you are the most appropriate. Your life experience and education are among the best here for such a position. Rio and I will help you. Tonight, I would prefer if the rest of you talked amongst yourself to feel who would be appropriate to lead in the instance where all three of us are absent. Now, we will go over our introductions, starting with myself.

“I will be in the middle of the group and be all-around support, as well as the rearguard defense as necessary with the help of my Shield Soul Armament. My main focus will be ensuring your teamwork works flawlessly, preferably even without my interference. I will be fully committing to SPR and MAG to maximize my magic capabilities for my Stat allocation. To a lesser extent, I plan to split the remainder of my points between the rest, excluding STR and DEX, as I feel they are less important for my fighting style. I will use the shield. Hestia, you are next.”

Hestia nodded. “I will be on the front lines using my Talent: Taunt, to focus the attention of foes upon me. I will then effectively take their attacks with my shield and Talent, Walking Fortress, which increases my defensive capabilities. I will also use my Ki and Mana Barrier to help absorb damage. While I may not do much offensively, I fight with the longsword and utilize my Soul Armament that deals retaliatory damage to close enemies. My mobility isn’t great, but that weakness can be rectified as needed, thanks to Cynthia. Because of my Talents, I plan to focus on my WIL, SPR, and CON, supplemented by my VIT and SPR to increase my durability. Given that Walking Fortress extremely weakens my offensive magic, I plan to focus on my STR as it will be my primary means of attack.”

“Very good. Put on your shield.” Martel said as he tossed her wooden longsword while Kuroka appeared in his hand as a dulled longsword. “Now, attack me once, and I will do the same after.” He continued when she was ready.

Hestia obliged, and Martel cleanly blocked her attack with his shield. Then, he returned the attack, and it seemed Hestia would block just as he did. However, everyone, especially Hestia, was dumbfounded by his strike. With a simple rotation of his arm, Martel’s sword went over the top of her shield at a weird angle and stopped only a few short inches from her eyes.

“What do you think I just did?” Martel asked the frozen Hestia.

“Sir, are you holding the sword funny?”

“I only slightly changed my grip by placing my thumb on the flat of the hilt. This grip is designed to avoid shields by allowing the wielder to attack at strange angles. I will teach you some drills so you can more effectively fight others who use shields as well as be aware and prepared for something similar.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Next is Kogane.”

“Okay!” Kogane happily said as she sprung up in a little golden ethereal fox appeared in her arms. “I will be in the rear and focus on attack magic. My Soul Armament enhances all my abilities or can be used for recon and potentially controlling an enemy. For my stats, I will increase my SPR and MAG because my Soul Armament bonus improves them significantly, and I am magic-focused. My soul Armament also improves my AWR, so probably focus on that to help my recon ability. It also seems like my Soul Armament can possess others more easily when I have significantly more WIL than them, so that’s also important. I’m not sure about the rest.”

“We can figure it out later, and you can save your points for now,” Martel replied. “Rio.”

“My turn already? Well, I guess I should introduce my Soul Armament and Talent.” She said as a little white ethereal fox appeared in her arms.

Soul Armament

Holy Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit (Heaven-9, Sentient)

A Soul Armament in the form of a Nine-Tailed Fox.

It can act as an avatar and share senses

It can become corporeal and physically attack

It can possess and control others

It can possess the owner and enhance all aspects

WIL, SPR, MAG +50%

Illusion Affinity and Resistance +50%

Holy Affinity +50%

Talent

Holy Saint LVL 5 (Max)

Buffs and healing magic are 50%(10%*LVL) more potent, cost 25%(5%*LVL) less, and last 50%(10%*LVL) longer if it has a duration.

Martel couldn’t help but be surprised as he checked Rio’s Soul Armament. He already knew her Talent, which made him ecstatic, but he was surprised how similar it was to Kogane’s. The potential reason for this was because he had never had a beast awaken a Soul Armament before. This could just be a natural result given that the Soul Armament was also their race. However, he couldn’t be completely sure as there were too many variables. The most shocking factor was that the creation of Soul Armaments had no chance of failure, which he could no longer attribute to coincidence. Although it was an educated guess, it seemed that Miyuki’s world, where he had obtained the method to awaken Soul Armaments, suppressed their creation. Without the suppression, the technique seemed to truly shine.

Rio smiled as she gently petted the little fox in her arms. “I will be in the rearguard focusing on buffing and healing everyone. I’m not particularly good at close combat, but if I have to.” She began before her body began to morph and change until she became a beautiful nine-tailed fox about the size of a pony. “Unfortunately, my body is too weak to become larger. At my peak, I was comparable to dragons in size, though my strength is significantly worse.”

As Rio was speaking, a mischievous light flashed in Kogane’s eyes. “Hup!”

“Oof, Kogane, I haven’t fully recovered.” Rio admonished Kogane as she had jumped on her back and was giving her a big hug.

“Mama never transformed before. You’re so pretty. I want to transform too.”

There were several quiet praises as Rio was truly a magnificent beast.

“Hubby, can you turn around so I can change back?”

“Why?”

Rio tilted her head with a playful expression in her eyes as Kogane slipped off her back. “Well, if you insist.”

After a couple of seconds, and it was clear that Rio’s clothing had been destroyed in the transformation, Martel turned around.

As Rio slipped on another robe, she continued. “For my Stats, the same as Kogane excluding AWR. I will probably spread the rest out to help compensate for any weaknesses that come to light.”

“Improving your AWR might not be a bad idea if you plan to take an observational role. Next are Laelynn and Rose.”

Laelynn smiled and quickly bounded up, stunning Martel with a feat of antigravity. “I go in the middle, and I use earth and nature control magic. When it comes to my nature magic, I can use my Harp Soul Armament. Normally, when you cast nature magic, the effect is set and difficult to manipulate. However, when I play on my harp, I can further grow or manipulate any plants I create. Rose can also manipulate those plants so I can focus on my earth magic or increase my nature magic. I know I’m going to focus on my SPR, MAG, and maybe VIT and WIL, but I’m not sure.”

“We will find out. You can save your points in the meantime. Rose?”

“Master, I thought you would never ask. Well, you see…”

Racial Trait

Dryads can naturally control the nature around them. Taking a certain amount of time, they can integrate with the nature around them. They can utilize it for basic senses and controlling it like body parts. Effectiveness is based upon the plants in question. The amount they can integrate and control at once is dependent upon their WIL. Such areas are typically referred to as ‘Dryad Groves.’

Dryads can grow any plant life so long as they consume at least one seed, assuming the plant does not supersede their strength. Growth can be accelerated with mana or appropriate energy.

Dryads also have several other natural abilities assisting agriculture.

Soul Armament

Hypno-Flower (Saint-5)

A thorny flower with vines.

With mana, the flower will release pollen that will cause illusions when inhaled or sufficient physical contact. The User completely controls the illusions. Alternatively, the pollen can be delivered via the thorns on the vines controlled by the User. The veins can also double as a method of constriction. Resistance is based on CON, WIL, and Illusion Resistance.

Increases Nature and Illusion Affinity and Resistance by 30%.

“All right, what about your Stats?” Martel said to finally interrupt Rose’s excessively detailed explanation.

“SPR, MAG, and WIL. I’m not sure what else, I was thinking-”

“We will figure it out later. By the way, I have a bunch of seeds for you.” Martel interrupted as he handed her a space bag.

“Thank you, Master. But what about the most important seeds? I feel it’s imperative for me to get them so that I can-”

“Okay, just tell me what you need, and I’ll give them to you,” Martel replied as he rubbed his forehead. Thankfully, Rose didn’t talk all the time. She just wouldn’t stop without a prompt after she started. Otherwise, Martel felt he would have a constant headache.

“Okay, Master, then I will help myself.” She said before reaching for his belt.

“Rose, what are you doing? Stop that!” Laelynn said as she quickly pulled Rose back, being the closest.

“What am I doing? I’m getting Master’s seeds. Master’s seeds are the most important because they can help me create another dryad, which a dryad can’t do without a male master.”

Rio coughed as she covered Kogane’s ears. “Rose, do you know what making another dryad entails?”

“Yes, Master needs to plant his seeds in my flower box.” She replied stoically, pointing at her stomach.

Most of the girls began to blush and look away. If not because they already knew that Rose contained a substantial amount of knowledge but no wisdom or common sense, their reactions would probably have been worse.

“Don’t worry, Master. I know other male masters like doing it.” Rose continued, completely unable to read the room. “It’s really hard to plant, however. It may take several dozen or even a hundred attempts, but I know we will eventually succeed.”

Martel coughed with an ever so slightly embarrassed expression that wasn’t completely fake. “Well, Rose, that will take a lot of time. We’ll talk about it again in the future. Crystal, how about you?” He asked to change the subject.

“Me?” Crystal asked in a look of shock before her embarrassed expression turned a little bashful.

Martel’s face was covered in black lines. “About the topic at hand.”

“Oh, yes. I am a mid-fighter. I’m behind the frontline fighters opportunistically attacking any enemies that are attracted or distracted by them or to help the rearguard if they are attacked. My weapon of choice is the hammer.” Crystal said as she drew a weapon.

“So you’ve decided to switch to the warhammer?” Martel asked.

Crystal nodded. “My previous hammer had too much surface area to be used effectively. I’m not completely certain, but it seems that my Soul Armament, when integrated with the Warhammer, even affects the hook part.”

“That will be extremely useful. How about your Stats?”

“I will be focusing on my STR and AWR as they will be useful both in fighting and smithing. I was also thinking about focusing on my AGL, COM, and SPR to help my defensive abilities, but nothing is set in stone.”

“Good. Cali, how about you?”

Cali pointed at Crystal. “Same. SPR, MAG, DEX, WIL, AGL.”

“Short to the point. Aracne?”

Arachne didn’t reply immediately as her eight eyes blinked at him. “My race and Soul Armament makes me efficient at assassination, recon, and infiltration. In combat, it depends on the terrain. If the terrain is open, I will be focused on constraining enemies with my webs while also fulfilling a similar role to Crystal and Cali. In terrains like large buildings and forests, I will take on more of an ambush role. My weapons are these special retractable daggers that Patriarch had fashioned for my legs. I can also use normal daggers and a shortbow with my hands. All of my weapons are also coated with my poison. My focus will be on STL, AGL, DEX, and MAG to help my fighting style when it comes to Stats. I will also improve my SPR and CON to a lesser extent to assist with my poison.”

“Excellent. Parenelle?”

The little green goblin queen, who was physically built more similar to a gnome, gave a look of slight embarrassment. “I’m not particularly good at combat, but take on more of a supporting role. I can use the alchemist fire and grenades to do little damage and crowd control. Because potions are limited, I will also be carrying a potion reserve so if you need more during a fight, ask me for them. I’m not particularly good at any type of magic, but I can do a little of everything. I will most likely be focusing on creating barriers to make up for our defenses, especially against projectiles. Otherwise, I’ll be using my Soul Armament to assist someone.”

“Are you finally willing to show your Soul Armament?” Martel asked as she had yet to tell him. She wanted to run some tests, and he respected her privacy.

Parenelle nodded as she extended her hand and her Soul Armament appeared within her grasp. Her Soul Armament, along with her Talent, thoroughly dumbfounded Martel.

Soul Armament

Philosopher’s Stone (Heaven-7)

The Philosopher’s Stone can help the User:

Distinguish the material composition of an object.

Assist in the alchemical process success rate and result.

Assist in overall upgrading of an item.

Temporarily increase the quality of a whole singular item (like a set of armor, not just individual parts).

All Affinities and Resistances +12%

Talent

Assembly Line LVL 5 (Max)

After a set process is done manually, the User can repeat it automatically, achieving the same result with those circumstances. The automation process is less taxing on the User. If the process consists of variables, the automated process can respond accordingly if it was previously done manually, by user intervention, or attempted to be done correctly automatically.

The automatic correction’s success rate depends on User INT, WIS, DEX, and/or AGL as applicable.

Alternatively, the User can set up a workstation to automatically complete the process. However, the finished product is completed significantly slower and can never be better. It is often worse than if done manually.

Speed, efficiency, quality, and success rate improve with LVL. LVL increases at a higher rate if done manually.

Martel couldn’t help but swallow when he thought of her Soul Armament and Talent’s combination possibilities. Unfortunately, alchemists were rarely involved with the creation of potions, even though they were similar fields. Essentially, both alchemists and apothecaries used raw materials and magic to create a new item. Alchemists were more involved with the improvement of metals, chemical engineering, mechanisms, etc. Apothecaries focused on potions and medical knowledge. Gnomes and halflings further exacerbated this divide between alchemists and apothecaries. The race’s cultures promoted them respectively and had a rivalry between them. In Parenelle’s case, her knowledge is completely imparted to her by her mother, a gnomish alchemist. This meant she had no knowledge of potions and an inherent dislike towards learning of them. Of course, Martel thought perhaps he could talk her into processing the raw materials. However, production was not as important as combat at the moment.

“Being able to improve Hestia’s armor or Arachne’s daggers could be quite helpful in a pinch. Does it have a range?”

“It can only affect something it touches. Catch.” Perenelle said as she threw the stone to him.

Martel caught the stone, paused for a moment before he touched it to his shield. The stone seemed to melt before it integrated into the shield, which promptly began to glow. Martel checked his status and found that the shield had been enhanced. After switching to a couple of elemental shield forms, he found that this improvement had been all around. “Can an enemy use this?”

“No. I can dismiss it at any time because it uses my mana, and it returns to me automatically when I do.”

“Excellent. How about your Stats?”

“SPR and MAG to help with my magic. I will also improve my AWR, DEX, and AGL to help with my alchemy and occasional fights.

That sounds good, but you might want to split your AGL with WIL. Asuka, your turn.”

“Yay! It’s finally my turn.” A little red bird, the size of a swallow, said as she flew up to him. “Big brother, let me borrow your head... So comfy.” Asuka said as she settled in. “I’m responsible for aerial recon and bombardment. That… That’s about it.” She continued becoming slightly disheartened.

Martel gave a slight frown. “Still no luck with your Soul Armament?”

“No, it doesn’t want to come out.”

“It doesn’t want to awaken, you can still sense something, and it shows no sign of failure. Maybe it has something to do with the issue of your race?”

“What’s wrong with her race?” Kogane asked. Several others perked up their ears as Asuka’s race had not yet been revealed.

Martel gave a wry smile. “That’s because her race displays as an ‘Error.’ I’m not sure exactly why this is the case, but I can hazard a guess based on the other information.”

Race: error

Racial Magic

Vermillion Flame: A versatile fire particularly known for its color and comparatively destructive nature.

Racial Trait

Flame Absorption: can consume external fire and convert it into MP. Damage is still taken normally.

Fire Affinity and Resistance *+90%

“A vermilion bird!?” Rio couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Is something wrong?” Martel asked, seeing her unusual reaction expression.

Rio took a couple of seconds to compose herself before she began to explain. “Beasts have inherent hierarchies of strength-based upon their race. One of two restrictions will typically be placed upon a certain race that becomes stricter with increased inherent strength, reproductive difficulty, and strength limitation. An example of the latter would be my race. Even though we are called nine-tailed foxes, we are not guaranteed to grow all nine tails as each increases our strength. There are several factors, including bloodline purity and training, that contribute to this. However, a nine-tailed fox may never even reach six tails, much less nine. Vermilion birds do not have this restriction. Even though the strength between them can vary, their strength can even rival a pure nine-tailed fox. Of course, this means that their numbers are extremely limited, which is why I was so surprised. If not for my bloodline inheritance, I would not have even known that they existed.”

“So you are saying that Asuka is special.” He said as he gently patted the little bird.

“Yep, Yep! My parents said that I’m very special!” Asuka chirped.

“Well, we’ll give it some time and see if we can fix it. What about your Stats?”

“MAG and SPR for my fire. I think improving my VIT because it and SPR will help me absorb fire. I’m thinking about splitting the rest between my AGL, AWR, and DEX.”

“That sounds like a good plan. Cynthia, your turn.”