Part Forty-Four

“Haaaah, okay, I think I’ve got everything. There’s enough supplies here to last me half a year even if I don’t ration them. I’ve got extra changes of clothes, as well as toiletries and other sundry items. And I’ve stocked up on survival gear as well, so I’ll be fine no matter what the System throws at me. I just hope I’m ready."

I sighed to myself thinking about how much effort it took to get everything around. More supply shortages were starting to appear, making it harder to get certain things. Most of what I wanted had been available, but the prices had jumped in the last month. And even though I’d gotten everything, the number of hoops I’d had to jump through to do it was just downright annoying.

*…*

“Oh, just shut up. It’s not weird to talk to myself out loud. It’s a perfectly natural way to help organize information in my head. Besides, it’s not like you’re a good conversation partner. Heck, you’re a ball of floating Miasma. Not exactly normal.”

*…*

“Uh-huh. Jeez, talk about petulant.”

It was extremely unfortunate that I only had my familiar to talk with. While the damn thing had gotten much more talkative since I left the others, most of its comments were extremely sarcastic. I wonder where it could’ve learned that?

With everything gathered, all that remained was to head towards my destination. To be honest, the way the System informed you where your Trial would be was extremely infuriating. When I first made the selection, I’d been given a set of coordinates, which just so happened to point somewhere I never thought I’d return to, but after that, a highly irritating pinging sensation began going off in my head, like sonar that kept getting a hit. If I followed the sensation, it would surely lead me where I needed to go, but that didn’t change how annoying it was.

Guess I’ll go to sleep then, I’ve got a big day tomorrow. Heh, and people say you can’t go home again…

***

Paris, France. Hotel room rented out by a certain group of mercenaries……

[Alicia’s POV]

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…So, is this all you’re going to do?”

“…Ku.”

“Haaaah, now I understand why Michael says you’re a pain in the butt.”

“…Kuuuuuu…”

Regis had been utterly despondent ever since Michael left, and he would barely react to anything she or anyone else did. Even food didn’t seem to cheer him up at all. He just sat there, eyes closed and pouting up a storm.

Alicia had been surprised by how easy it had been to smuggle Regis around. The fact of the matter was that since Regis possessed an ability to sneak into shadows, it was all too easy for him to avoid being detected, such as by airport staff. And while all that should’ve come as a shock to them, they’d already had their suspicions about the little fox, so no one was really surprised by it.

Haaaah, whatever. I’ll just let him sit there and sulk for now. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is. And besides, he’ll cheer up on his own anyway. Probably.

While Michael may have been on his way to undertake an extremely dangerous, but potentially profitable, Dungeon, the rest of the group had to think of a way to occupy themselves for however long he’d be gone. They’d already decided to take a week off, though it was almost up, meaning they’d need to get moving soon. Unfortunately, all four of them had their own worries to deal with, which could potentially cause a slight delay in their plans.

Apparently, whatever family trouble the twins had dealt with before had flared up again, causing the two of them to have to deal with it immediately. In fact, that was the reason they were in Paris, though Alicia wasn’t complaining. She’d always wanted to see the city, and had gotten her fill of tourism over the last few days. Though it might’ve been more enjoyable if she’d had someone to accompany her.

Kalia had spent that time holed up in her room, though she was at least being productive. She was experimenting with the changes that had happened to her Mana, and trying to get her head around it. As an aside, Michael had copied all the spells he had access to in his Grimoire for Kalia, so she had ample opportunity to practice.

And while Alicia herself didn’t have any particular issues cropping up, she had kept herself busy besides just sightseeing. She’d already learned a Wind Magic spell, though it would probably only be something she used if threatened personally. Imbuing it didn’t really help increase an arrow’s firepower.

Her main concern right now was what to do next. Learning a fourth type of Elemental Magic would probably help give her that push she needed with Imbuement, but she wasn’t sure what to go with. Metal Magic was right out since it was diametrically opposed to Lightning Magic, and she couldn’t imagine Earth Magic would work either. And Water Magic was just as dubious. That left either Ice or Magma Magic, a decision that was probably harder than it needed to be.

Sighing to herself, Alicia once again checked the descriptions for both zeroth grade spells.

0th Grade Magma Magic Spell [Liquefy] – A Magma Magic Spell that liquefies rock, turning it into lava. Extremely simple to cast, but also loses effect just as quickly.

0th Grade Ice Magic Spell [Freeze] – An Ice Magic spell that creates a frigid breeze. Very easy to cast, though the affected area isn’t very large.

Those were her two options, though she could probably both. Actually, wouldn’t that be even better? Magma Magic would be great for Golems, while Ice Magic would probably be useful against more fluid enemies, though I’ve yet to see anything like that. Hm, actually, I could turn both into extremely effective ways to deal with living monsters as well, especially ones that wear armor. Heheheheh, alright, guess I’ll learn both.

***

[Kalia’s POV]

Status

Race: Human

Alignment: Magic

Archetype: Abomination

Age: 24

State: Healthy

Titles: Magic Prodigy, Beginner Mage, Razor’s Edge, Esoteric, Violator, Affront to Nature,

Rank: D

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Healing Magic Rank C, Blessing Magic Rank E, Survival Instinct, Abyss Magic Rank F,

Authorities: Arcane Grimoire,

Unique Skill: Yin Yang

Equipment: Rearguard's Circlet, Healer’s Robes, Rearguard’s Leggings, Ring of Mana Control, Aries Pendant, Gold Fleece Bracelet, Whitewood Staff,

……there has to be some way to get rid of it, right? I know no one can normally see my Status, but there have to be Skills or items that let you do so. If anyone finds something like that and checks mine, what are they going to think when they see the word Abomination!?

Kalia’s fears were both fair and unwarranted. While she had no way of knowing this, the Abomination Archetype wasn’t all that uncommon amongst other dimensions. Granted, it was usually only possessed by those who were considered rather… extreme, or by a certain kind of criminal, but just having it wasn’t cause for alarm.

The term Abomination was usually used to refer to beings who existed in direct opposition to the Laws of Reality, beings whose very existence was blasphemy. In that sense, Kalia now being able to use both Life and Dark Magic while still being a mortal was certainly worthy of being labeled an Abomination, though it was nowhere near those rare creatures who were somehow half-Undead, something considered just as bad as becoming a Fiend.

Now all that said, there were beings who would hunt her down if they ever learnt what she could do, but there wouldn’t be a problem so long as she didn’t spread it around. In fact, being able to use both would be an extreme advantage in the long run. The Titles she’d gotten were a good sign of that.

Violator – A Title given to those capable of controlling both Life and Death. Gives bonuses to Life and Dark Magics, as well as making it easier to commit Taboo Acts.

Esoteric – A Title given to mortal beings whose mana synchronizes with their body, changing their Alignment towards Magic. Also boosts the rate at which the holder's mana pool grows, as well as reducing the amount of mana needed to cast spells.

Magic-Alignment – Changes the relation of mana to your body. Magic-Aligned beings have higher resistance towards all forms of magic, but are more drastically affected when their mana reserves run low, possibly even resulting in death.

Haaaah, guess I’ll give up on it for now since it doesn’t look like there’s any chance of my mana returning to normal anytime soon. Stupid Unique Skill.

Yin Yang – Unique Skill. After a strange reaction to foreign mana, your mana's natural properties have shifted, becoming a near-impossible blend of the Life and Dark attributes. Due to this, your affinity with both the Life and Dark branches has been massively raised, but your affinity with the Elemental, Focus, Enhancement, and Reality branches have fallen just as much.

Truth be told, no matter how much her Mana had changed overnight, it would ordinarily go back to the way it was supposed to be. However, with the acquisition of her Unique Skill, it was doubtful her Mana would return to its natural state, at least not without outside interference. Essentially, it was the World System itself that was allowing this to occur.

Kind of ironic, don’t you think?

***

[Gwen's POV]

Status

Race: Human

Age: 25

State: Healthy

Titles: Razor’s Edge,

Rank: D

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Survival Instinct, Impale Rank D, Shield Bash Rank E,

Equipment Skills: Iron Skin,

Equipment: Raider's Helmet, Steel-Shell Armor, Raider’s Gauntlets, Raider’s Sabatons, Iron Buckler, Bracelet of Steel Skin, Needleblade Lance,

“Is this good?”

While she’d certainly grown over the last month, she was unable to decide whether it was as good as she was expecting, especially since she knew what her brother’s Status was like. Though, comparing herself to that was just doing herself a disservice. She’d only had a month of growth. She certain wasn’t going to reach that level so quickly without nearly killing herself.

As it was, she was just barely outperforming the pawns Finnél had brought to the Siege Dungeon. Though since she actually had good equipment compared to them, she was probably a little stronger then they had been. Another month of training would see her hit C-Rank, and she’d soon Awaken, so her growth would only accelerate from here. But since she was surrounded by people who were not only talented, but also had a six-month head start on her, she was beginning to develop an inferiority complex. Though it wouldn’t be until later, when she began interacting with other groups, that she’d realize this.

Fortunately, Gwyn came back at that moment, breaking Gwen from her brooding. Since she knew what he’d left to do, his returning meant that he’d finally resolved the problem. Ordinarily, she’d simply ignore him right now, but since he’d gone to see their older brother, she felt like she should ask about what happened.

“Finally got the dumbass’s mess cleaned up?” Though she did so in a typically Gwen-like fashion.

“…As much as I can. Hopefully he’ll stay clean this time. There’s only so many times I can do this.”

“It’s surprisin' that they didn’t kick him out while we were gone, doin' somethin' like that. He should be grateful to not only you, but those people as well. I know I wouldn’t put up with him.”

“Well, it’s understandable after what happened to him. Seeing your best friends and wife ripped apart by monsters would impact anyone.”

“Yeah, but you saw things too, and I don’t see you ranting and raving like a lunatic.”

“…It is what it is Gwen. I’m sure he’ll come back to his senses eventually.”

“Maybe, maybe not. No skin off my back either way. I think we’ve got bigger problems right now.”

“Mn, I suppose we do. With Michael gone, we’re now lacking in combat potential. While we can still fight, I’d prefer to have a little more security just in case, especially after what we experienced the last few weeks.”

“Yeah, that guy may have a few screws loose, but he's a skilled fighter. That Demon thing would’ve been a lot harder to kill without him there.”

“Exactly what I was thinking. But it just so happens that there’s a place where mercenaries are beginning to gather.”

“Australia, right? You and Michael were talkin' about that before. Somethin' about how they were gonna structure somethin' or other. I didn’t pay much attention.”

“Haaaah, it wouldn’t hurt to take an interest in these things.”

“Eh, I just didn’t care then. Figured it had nothin' to do with me.”

“…At least you’re consistent. Anyway, with that in mind, I was thinking of suggesting we head there in search of work and potential allies. Temporarily aligning with another group will give us more options on what to do next. We may even meet someone that they already know.”

“Fine with me. Just don’t try to pull anythin’ funny.”

“Whatever could you be getting at, dear sister?”

“Nothin'. Nothin’ at all. Just happen to know how you think, that’s all.”