《Loli Saga》 Chapter 1 Gaia is a group of islands isolated from the rest of the world by a wall of stone magically enchanted to prevent anyone from entering, but allowing those inside to freely pass through. My friend Vally ¨C short for Dragon Lord Valvoga ¨C said it¡¯s powered by the remains of a goddess so most can¡¯t force their way in. Of course there are those who can, it¡¯s just that Gaia is way too little. Conquering it won¡¯t be worth the trouble of clashing against a goddess¡¯ might. I don¡¯t share the opinion though. I¡¯m willing to take the risk for a chance to meet humans, demons, elves, or whatever¡¯s on the other side. I¡¯m tired of dragons that challenge me on sight, beastmen that are in heat almost all year round, and old timers that try to set me up with their young ones even when I¡¯m clearly from a different race. Okay fine, I don¡¯t really hate them. I enjoy their company even though it often results in a headache. I just want to know how my life will turn out with people from other races, especially with the humans. You see despite how I may look, I was once a human, and one who originates from a world called Earth. Before I was transported to this world I was an ordinary boy named Amano Shun. I had a loving family, friends that I could trust, and a fun-filled life. However that was all taken away from me when a certain goddess deemed a class of first year middle school students worthy of becoming heroes for her world. Worse, she separated me from the rest simply because I could turn into a snow woman ¨C ahem, so maybe I¡¯m not so ordinary after all, but you get the point. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, I turned into a devil with the exact same appearance as my snow woman form. Not only did I lose my human form, I also lost the gender I truly see myself as. From that point onward I was permanently a woman. Oh, did I forget to mention that I no longer grew? I pretty much stayed as a twelve year old girl physically regardless of how much time passed. I¡¯ve literally been here for years yet I still look the same as before, minus the long hair. Anyway, I¡¯m no longer a man. But was that the end? Nope! I was sent to a place brimming with monsters that could kill me a hundred times with a single hit! The weakest I could find was a level 94 goblin. It was jacked as hell, as tall as me, and had a complete set of high-class equipment. How that qualifies as just [Goblin Warrior] was beyond me, and he was the least of my problems back then. I had to make the most of what I had, plan ahead using my pitiful head, and hope I was a protagonist with a thick plot armor. I kept facing monsters way above my level until I caught up, attract a stronger monster, and repeat the whole process again. My time revolved around that hellish cycle and it only stopped once I killed the big bad of the place, crowning myself the overlord of Dread Lands ¨C one of the five main areas at least. With my new position, valuable information finally reached my ears. One is that the continent is divided into four, each belonging to a race except for Dread Lands. My territory was on the south, dryads were at the west, dragons were at the north, and beastmen were at the east. The first two were connected to Dread Lands. The last one could only be accessed by crossing the domain of the overgrown lizards. When I first heard about that I thought I¡¯d never see what a cat girl looks like in real life. But then I somehow got involved with the dragons and managed to befriend them. Since then I could freely enter their territory. I even get to ride some of them. It was fun as hell! Dragons are prideful and battle-hungry beings. But since I was considered an equal to the Dragon Lord I never received any boastful remarks, just tons of challenges. It was fun at first but got tiring fast. There were also the old timers who were scheming to have their sons sleep with me in hopes of getting a strong heir. The old coots from the beastmen race were no different. The adults were even worse... haaa, they don¡¯t know what it means to be ¡°subtle¡±. They¡¯d probably hump me in broad daylight if I didn¡¯t have the strength to fight. Well not really, but it was close to that. It didn¡¯t help that they truly looked like beasts. Beastmen in anime are fakes! True beastmen look like animals walking on two feet... I¡¯ve been lied to and that further solidified my thoughts of rejecting all advances. If I had to marry someone, it¡¯d be the Dragon Lord. The guy has a decent personality and majority of my knowledge comes from him. He even taught me six different languages which he thought I might need, an example being the language used by most of the beastmen tribes. On a second thought, he¡¯s too big for me so I think I¡¯ll go with a diff- screw that! I¡¯ll stick to women or stay single for the rest of my life!Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Now that I think about it, my appearance led to the start of a peaceful relationship between the two races. They weren¡¯t at war. But before, the dragons and the beastmen would kill each other on sight. Now both can stay in one place and laugh at the same joke. I should¡¯ve visited the dryads too. It would¡¯ve been nice if they were part of the fun. Unfortunately I never returned to my domain after I got chummy with Vally, and the territory of the dryads was on the other side of Dread Lands. As for my territory, I bet someone took my position after the first year I was gone. After all, the place is full of dangerous monsters eager to prove they are the best. It¡¯s so chaotic there that none of the three main races would dare conquer it. Upon finding the entrance to Gaia ¨C something that seemed like a cave opening ¨C I turned around and gave one last look at the place I¡¯ll soon be leaving. The grassland spanned as far as my eyes could see, but I knew that beyond that, the fools I came to know would be looking in my direction, watching a similar scene ¨C the thought made me reconsider my decision a little. I could meet humans and other similar races, but would that be better than staying with those who already treat me as their friend? As irritating as they might be, they accept me. And I know that behind the idiotic looks they often wear in my presence, they care about me. Will I truly find more happiness without them? I wasn¡¯t sure, but one thing was certain. Even if I can¡¯t return to my world, even if I never see my parents and friends, I can still live my life to the fullest and die with a smile with those fools. Not that I¡¯d die any time soon. I¡¯m a full-blooded devil. I repeat, a devil, not a demon. I can¡¯t die from old age. Like Vally, I can live forever unless someone manages to kill me. My glance turned into a long stare as I waited for someone to come stop me. One person ¨C that was all I needed to drop my plan and return. But instead of dragons or beastmen coming to persuade me, all I got was a presence approaching me from behind. More precisely, there was someone passing through the entrance and I just happen to be standing in front of it. I looked back shortly, my eyes ready to check the person¡¯s stats. It has become a habit of mine, and I can¡¯t say it¡¯s a bad thing. For one, it¡¯s never wrong to know a person¡¯s level, especially if the person can potentially become my enemy in the future. A black-haired man in clothes fit for travel came out. A sword was hanged by his waist, but what took my attention was something else entirely. Sure he looked Asian and that alone should blow my mind away, but it wasn¡¯t that. What surprised me was his name.
BASIC INFORMATION
NAME Hayato Kirishima RACE Human
TITLE The Blazing Hero LEVEL 214
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Out of all my classmates, Kirishima Hayato is the one I¡¯ll never forget. We¡¯ve been friends for as long as I can remember. He¡¯s also one of the few normal people who interacted with my snow woman form. He never found out it was me, but he did know my other form wasn¡¯t human. I did use it to save him from a mischievous nine-tailed fox after all. Anyway, long story short, he¡¯s my best friend and I¡¯m glad to know that he¡¯s still alive. I was thinking of a way to introduce myself when he uttered the name ¡°K-Kaguya?¡± That was the name I used whenever I appeared as a snow woman. And frankly, I¡¯m surprised he can still remember that. I only showed him my other form two more times after I saved him so I was sure he already forgot. Oh well, this makes things easier, ¡°long time no see, Hayato.¡± ¡°No way, it¡¯s really you?! How did you get- why are you here, Kaguya?! You shouldn¡¯t be here!¡± ¡°Ouch,¡± I faked a wince. ¡°I never thought being hated would hurt this much.¡± ¡°N-No, that¡¯s now what I- I don¡¯t hate you! It¡¯s just... the outside world is dangerous! You could¡¯ve been killed and I wouldn¡¯t even know we''re in the same world.¡± He was grimacing pretty badly for someone he only met for a few times. While that makes me happy, this isn¡¯t the time to brood. We should be celebrating! ¡°Hey, hey, let¡¯s not think about what could¡¯ve happened and focus on what did. I¡¯m here and I¡¯ll appreciate it if you welcome me in a better mood. Now throw that silly look away and show me your best smile. You haven¡¯t forgotten how to smile have you?¡± It didn¡¯t take long for me to realize ¡®Kaguya¡¯ was supposed to be a sweet and gentle girl, not a talkative brat. Hayato was surprised by my action as expected. It was no problem if I said it as Shun, but as Kaguya, it just didn¡¯t fit the image I made for her. Luckily my friend didn¡¯t dig deeper into the subject. ¡°You¡¯re right, sorry about that.¡± Finally wearing a nice expression, he told me ¡°it¡¯s good to see you again, Kaguya.¡± ¡°It''s good to see you too, Hayato.¡± Chapter 2 In contrary to the stories I¡¯ve been told, the legendary Wall of Gaia offered no resistance. I passed through the seemingly endless tunnel connecting the outside world and Gaia without trouble. There was no invisible barrier to prevent me from taking the first step or were there guardians to hunt me down once I force my way in. There was just silence, one brought upon a secret I had to reveal. If I didn¡¯t tell my friend who I truly was, he would stubbornly roam the world in search of a man who no longer exists. Before that we talked about our past experiences. I told him my misadventures from the land of monsters to the land of miserable fools, while he told me about our class¡¯ role to seek and eliminate the source of shades ¨C hideous beasts that spawn randomly all over Gaia. The source turned out to be the same goddess protecting Gaia, and the one who summoned us was the goddess¡¯ good heart; I doubt that though. She did send me away for a stupid reason after all. The fight lasted for nine years, and by the end of it only four out of the original thirty students survived ¨C five if I include myself. The goddess was defeated and turned into a self-sustaining array to keep the wall¡¯s defenses running. As for the so-called ¡®good heart¡¯, she was resurrected as a high spirit and married the former prince of Tokyo Middle School, Kaname Tojo, who then proceeded to marry the two remaining girls of our class. The land prospered afterward, but Hayato wasn¡¯t satisfied with the results. I was still missing so he confronted the ¡®good heart¡¯ named Akasha. While the false saint pinned her crime on a non-existent foreign power, she gave him a head¡¯s up to where I might be. He then went on a journey to find me and you know the rest. After I proved that I was indeed Amano Shun, Hayato asked for some time to accept the truth and hasn¡¯t said a word since. He just ran back to Gaia, and I followed behind him wondering if that was the right thing to do. Perhaps I should¡¯ve stayed quiet and accompanied him to the outside world. I didn¡¯t plan to hide it forever. I just didn¡¯t want to ruin our reunion because of a secret I could¡¯ve told him at a later date. But I guess it¡¯s too late for regrets. I can only hope he forgives me before the day ends so we can talk about nonsensical stuff like in the past. ¡°Hey, Shun- no, Lucina. Why did you save me back then?¡± he asked out of the blue. I stared at him for a while before saying ¡°shouldn¡¯t it be clear to you now that you know everything? You¡¯re my friend, why wouldn¡¯t I save you?¡± I also have a grudge on that damn fox. He teases me whenever he¡¯s around. He also spouts bullshit like being my fianc¨¦ or whatnot in the supernatural world. Didn¡¯t he know how much trouble that causes me? I¡¯m a half-breed while he¡¯s a pure-blood and a royalty at that. Even if no one has the guts to mess with the Eternal Witch of Frost and the Grand Elder of the Onmy¨­ji Council, there were young ladies and youkai extremists who weren¡¯t happy with our supposed relationship and made my life a living hell. I¡¯m just exaggerating of course, but that doesn¡¯t make their actions any less irritating. It was already hard balancing my youkai and human life and they just had to add to my problems. If I could, I would¡¯ve frozen their annoying lives for the rest of eternity. Hayato looked at the starry night sky with a blank expression. Wind blew past us as I waited for his response, carrying specks of sand from the vast desert we found ourselves in after leaving the tunnel. ¡°I see,¡± a smile made its way to his face. ¡°I know I already said this, but thank you for saving me, Lucina.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. I could tell there was something else in his mind. However his words were sincere so I decided to let it go and sent him a smile of my own. ¡°No problem. That aside, you¡¯re finally talking to me. Does that mean you forgive me for keeping a secret?¡± ¡°Forgive you for what secret?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Even a guy ignorant to the supernatural like me can guess that the secrecy of your true identity means life and death. I¡¯ll never take it against you for hiding it from me. I also feel bad that you risked having your identity known to help me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s surprisingly... mature of you.¡± He always projected himself as an adult so I should¡¯ve expected that from him. His eyes widened at the word ¡°mature, huh?¡± He went into deep thought, and then said ¡°thanks, Lucina, I nearly acted on impulse. I shouldn¡¯t rush. I should work on my wish slowly without complicating the other party. It¡¯s clear what I should do, but I guess the frustration is starting to affect to me.¡± ¡°Care to explain what you¡¯re talking about?¡± cause I don¡¯t get it. What aren¡¯t you rushing? Who¡¯s the other party? None of it makes sense at all! ¡°It¡¯s nothing you need to know at the moment. I let you keep a secret for years. I believe it should be fine for me to keep one myself for a year or two.¡± It is, if you didn¡¯t get me this curious. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t ask.¡± I heaved a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m just happy the worst didn¡¯t happen. It wouldn¡¯t be cool to have you hate me first day into our reunion, Hayato.¡± ¡°Trust me. That will never happen.¡± His eyes told me that he meant each and every word. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that,¡± and with that out of the way it was time to revert to my usual self. ¡°Where do we go now, captain? Is there a city nearby? Does it have a sweets shop? It¡¯s been forever since I got my hands on anything sweet. I need sugar!¡± ¡°I remember Galfort City having a sweets shop, but that¡¯s around two weeks away by foot even if we keep our current pace. Sorry, Lucina, it looks like you¡¯ll have to endure for a while.¡± ¡°Pshhh, two weeks, that¡¯s nothing to me!¡± I let a few seconds pass before dramatically kneeling on the ground. ¡°Who am I kidding, I can¡¯t wait that long! I¡¯ll die of old age before that! I need my sweets and I need them now! Someone, anyone, help me!¡± It was a bit later when a brilliant idea came to mind, ¡°I know!¡± I turned to Hayato and suggested ¡°how about I carry you all the way to Galthot City? With my speed we¡¯ll be there in a flash.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Galfort and no, you won¡¯t be c-¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that. It¡¯ll be fun! You can even choose between piggyback and princess carry. Heck, I can even carry you over my shoulder. It¡¯ll be a great experience! Let¡¯s do it, Hayato!¡± ¡°No way,¡± he said as he started running again. I followed him shortly saying ¡°this is a one time offer, dude. You won¡¯t get this chance in the future even if you beg me so I suggest taking the offer. I¡¯ll even give you discount for future products.¡± ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t like your product.¡± ¡°Okay fine, but don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. You only have yourself to blame.¡± ¡°Trust me, Lucina,¡± he smirked. ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± It was refreshing to chat with my closest friend so I kept bringing up random and trivial topics until it was time to rest. With a spell, he gathered sand in one place and transformed them into a room of stone. It was big enough for the both of us so I didn¡¯t bother creating my own through ice magic. Laying down the floor, I began recalling the events that occurred since I became a devil. I went through a lot, lost many things, and gained others in return. But despite all the changes, I still feel comfortable in the presence of my first and best friend. ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± contained all of my emotions. Those were the words I didn¡¯t know I wanted to say, and I finally managed to say them. My parents weren¡¯t there to hear it, but one of the people important to me did and that was more than enough for me. All that¡¯s left was to hear the magic words. ¡°Welcome back, Lucina¡± thank you, Hayato... Chapter 3 ¡°Aren¡¯t you bothered by the heat?¡± Hayato asked out of the blue. I devoured what was left of the fruit in my hand and said ¡°no, why do you- right, I was a snow woman in the past. Well, I¡¯m a devil now so I don¡¯t really mind the temperature. Even if I do, I can simply cast frost aura over my body to keep myself cool.¡± My tummy wasn¡¯t satisfied yet so I stimulated the black ring with a white gem on my index finger using magical energy. It glowed for a split second, and then a heart-shaped purple fruit appeared out of thin air. To those who may not know, the black ring is a magical artifact that allows one to store items in a pocket dimension. I didn¡¯t summon an ¡°Abyss Apple¡±. I pulled one out of the ¡°Interspatial Ring¡± which contains all of my belongings. ¡°Is that so,¡± Hayato has one as well. But unlike mine, his was plain silver. Furthermore, his can only carry a large room¡¯s worth of items while mine can hide an entire city. Not that I should be comparing the two. It¡¯s unfair given the fact that mine is a gift from the dragon lord himself. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say my interspatial ring is one of the best in the world. I wonder why Vally gave this to me. He says it¡¯s his ¡°insurance for the future¡±, but I still don¡¯t get it. I just know it can¡¯t be anything bad. I would¡¯ve lost my life long ago if he wanted me dead. More than that, he¡¯s always been good to me. He¡¯s a nice guy for sure. ¡°Say, Hayato, what will you do now? You¡¯ve already succeeded in finding me. Is there anything else you need to work on? Tell me, I¡¯ll try my best to help.¡± I took a bite from the fruit as I waited for his answer. He went into deep thought, only to shake his head a minute later. ¡°I have nothing in mind at the moment. What about you? Do you have anything planned here in Gaia?¡± ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s just say I wish to see what Gaia has to offer. What sort of life will I have here? What types of people will I meet? What kind of joy will I discover? I want to know them all.¡± And if it doesn¡¯t look too good for me, I¡¯ll go back to the outside world. ¡°What about sweets?¡± ¡°Of course that¡¯s a given, you silly. I exist to consume everything that has sugar! As the saying goes, what¡¯s the point of producing all the candies when they don¡¯t end up in the great Lucina¡¯s belly?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he deadpanned. ¡°A wise man also said a candy a day keeps the cute doctor at bay.¡± ¡°I wonder who that wise man is.¡± ¡°Do you want to know?¡± I grinned from ear to ear. ¡°I''ll tell you if you buy the full version.¡± ... Monsters in the desert usually turn tail the moment they sense me, but of course there are exceptions to every rule. Take that huge ass snake for example. It came from beneath the sea of sand, and though it hesitated when it became aware of my presence it continued with its act. It popped out in front of us, sand spewing everywhere from the force of its sudden entrance.
BASIC INFORMATION
NAME - RACE Agaran Desert Wyrm
TITLE - LEVEL 162
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Hayato erected a wind barrier almost instantly in response, saving us the trouble of dusting off our clothes. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of this. You stay back,¡± he said as he brandished his weapon. Magical energy flowed out of his hand and covered the crimson blade of his sword as I jumped back, soon turning into bright orange flames with heat I could feel from a distance.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! With a burning sword in hand, Hayato jumped dozens of meters from the ground and sliced through the gray scales of the colossal snake¡¯s neck. However, the snake leaned its head to the direction of the sword¡¯s trajectory and twisted its body once it was away from danger, slamming the tip of its tail to the man in midair. To escape, Hayato kicked the tail at the last moment, propelling himself away from it. And as he descended, he generated flames on his sword again ¨C this time they were dark yellow and were way hotter. Once he reached the ground he shot an arc of flames with a wave of his sword. In a blink of an eye, the projectile bridged the gap between him and his target, and easily cleaved through the monster¡¯s neck. Silence pervaded the air. Only the whistling of the wind could be heard as the hunter and the hunted stared at each other. After that the snake¡¯s head slowly separated from the rest of its body, falling to the ground with a loud thud and causing a cloud of sand to form. Expecting that from the start, Hayato quickly cast a wind barrier to block the incoming dust. ¡°Perfect! Ten out of ten!¡± I announced as my friend sheathed his sword. He tried to hide it, but I could tell he used quite a bit of his stamina from the short exchange. ¡°Actually no, it¡¯s only a seven out of ten. Why didn¡¯t you yell the name of your attack? It would¡¯ve been much cooler that way. Just imagine if you shouted Volcanic Slash or Ifrit''s Wrath!¡± ¡°What am I, an anime character?¡± ¡°Who knows? You could even be a character in a fantasy novel. That would make me one as well, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be the protagonist. Hmm, I wonder what the title would be ¨C Lucina¡¯s Bizarre Adventure?¡± ¡°How about Loli Saga?¡± I froze at his suggestion, and then smiled with my eyes closed. ¡°And why would that be? Care to explain why a story about me would be called Loli Saga, my dear Ha-ya-to?¡± He calmly approached, placing his right hand on top of my head and his left on top of his. He moved them away shortly and set them parallel to each other without changing the elevation, showing the difference between our heights to be more than one head. ¡°This, this is the reason.¡± ¡°Uhuhu, it looks like a certain someone is eager to lose his life.¡± I threatened in a gentle voice. He smirked evilly and called me ¡°shorty,¡± before running away. Catching him wasn¡¯t a problem obviously, but for the sake of entertainment I followed him at a slightly slower speed. It was enough to keep him within my sight, but not enough to actually reach him. ¡°Who are you calling shorty?!¡± Our little play went on for a while before the both of us burst out laughing. On a serious note though; I don¡¯t hate my size or gender. I may complain about them occasionally, but deep down I''ve already accepted them. They''re a part of me, rejecting them won''t get me anywhere. The rest of the monsters had enough brain cells to avoid me so the rest of the day went by rather peacefully. The same could be said for the next few days if I don''t include the hiccups here and there. Overall, I believe it was a great experience. ¡°Would you mind if I call you Lucy?¡± ¡°Uh... go ahead,¡± anything is fine as long as you¡¯re not making fun of me. ¡°If you want, you can even call me Christopher Columbus.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll stick with Lucy.¡± I was about to spout more nonsense when a body of water entered my sight. ¡°Hey, isn''t that an oasis?¡± A lake surrounded by greeneries in the middle of a desert, ¡°it is indeed.¡± Hearing Hayato¡¯s confirmation, I immediately ran towards the place. ¡°Hell yeah, it¡¯s time to go for a swim!¡± It wouldn¡¯t be the first time I¡¯d be playing in water in this world. But it felt like it would be special with my best friend there to have fun with me. To make sure nothing goes wrong, I fully released my magical energy and marked the oasis as my territory. It''s a neat trick I learned from the beastmen. Now only those who have the courage to face me head on will dare approach. ¡°What was that?¡± Hayato asked, most likely due to the technique I just used. ¡°It¡¯s nothing grand, just a countermeasure.¡± I assured him, ¡°now forget about that and get ready to party!¡± and dived head first into the warm lake. I preferred colder pools so I poked my head out of the water a few seconds in, and asked ¡°how do you want the pool, hot or cold?¡± With a short pause, he told me ¡°it¡¯s your call. I don¡¯t plan to swim anyway.¡± ¡°What?! There¡¯s a good pool right here and you¡¯re not going to swim? Are you even human?¡± ¡°What does that have to do with being human?¡± ¡°Everything! Don¡¯t you know that we evolved from fishes? It¡¯s in our blood to dip in water!¡± ¡°I remember it being monk-¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s for stupid people! Fools originated from apes, but us intelligent men came from fishes so hurry up and get your ass here!¡± He didn¡¯t seem convinced so, ¡°you leave me with no other choice.¡± I jumped out of water, grabbed Hayato by the hand, and dragged him to where we truly belong. I moved faster than he could comprehend so he stared blankly into space until he snapped back to reality, and noticed the toothy grin I was giving him, ¡°oops, my hand slipped?¡± He wasn¡¯t amused at all. With a grim look on his face which sent chills down my spine, he came closer. ¡°I-It was a joke...¡± He started cracking his knuckles. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, okay?¡± He smiled with his eyes closed and I knew it was over from there. ¡°What was it that you said? I think it was - you leave me with no other choice.¡± ¡°AAAAAHHH!¡± Like that, we were temporarily side-tracked from our journey. ... Somewhere in the Wall of Gaia, a being of the old awoke from its deep slumber. It was mistakenly dragged into the miniature world made by the vile goddess Akasha and turned into a weapon against invading deities. And now its service was needed once again. Whether it liked it or not, it had to fight for the woman it abhors. With a visible frown, it opened its crystal blue eyes and walked towards the edge of its prison ¨C a cave within the Wall of Gaia overlooking the desert of Agaran. It stared at the direction where the powerful energy it felt earlier came from, and wondered how the deity managed to travel that far before the curse of servitude on its soul was triggered. Well in the end it didn¡¯t matter, the curse would force it to move just like it did in the past. It could only hope that the deity this time was strong enough to put an end to its life and free it from the curse. Heaving a sigh, it jumped out of the cave and flapped its white feathery wings, pushing itself above the clouds. Chapter 3.1 The ten year old Kirishima Hayato was only a few dozen steps away from his family¡¯s campsite. He could even see the tents from where he was standing, yet he somehow failed to return ¨C a dozen, a hundred, a thousand, he took god knows how many steps and yet the place remained ever-so distant. As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, his mind wandered for a split second and the next thing he knew, he was in the middle of nowhere with a white wolf larger than an adult man staring at him. The said wolf had a pair of golden eyes, nine swaying tails, and three orbs of blue flames circling around its massive body. Seeing the giant predator, he followed his instinct and ran away as fast as he could. But it was a futile attempt. He managed to last longer than expected, but only because the wolf didn''t immediately go for the kill. It followed a meter or two behind, watching him struggle to keep his life in amusement. Once it was done playing, it smashed one of its tails onto his body, flinging him towards a tree. The impact didn''t kill him, but it severely injured his body. Some of his bones were broken and a few of his organs were starting to bleed out. His body screamed in agony, his eyes on the verge of tears as he tried to endure the pain. But it was too much for even a trained man to handle, what more forachild like him? Blood continuously ran down his lips, all four of his limbs were numb, and his mind couldn¡¯t form coherent thoughts. The only thing left for him to do was watch thesource of his suffering approach, most likely to feast on his flesh. ''Mother... Father... Hana... Shun...'' ¡°Enough,¡± a gentle yet anger-filled voice echoed throughout the forest, stopping the wolf inits tracks. However he fell unconscious before he could see who it was that spoke. ... Hayato¡¯s recollection was interrupted when Lucy¡¯s magical energy spiked all of a sudden. He wanted to ask what his friend was up to, but the girl was already gone from her initial position. He felt a collision of two powerful forces shortly. And when he turned to look, he saw Lucy standing meters away from the oasis, staring into the distance while wielding two purple-bladed short swords, each emitting a sinister aura.
EQUIPMENT
NAME Void Sword [L] RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores defense below phantasm class +Active Skill [Reality Slash] +Passive Skill [Void Cut] +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 9999/9999
DESCRIPTION A sword forged by the Mysterious Blacksmith from the remains of the God of Darkness. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
EQUIPMENT
NAME Void Sword [R] RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores defense below phantasm class +Active Skill [Abyss Walk] +Passive Skill [Void Cut] +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 9999/9999
DESCRIPTION A sword forged by the Mysterious Blacksmith from the remains of the God of Darkness. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
¡°Go on without me! I¡¯ll follow you later!¡± his friend yelled without looking back as metallic plates manifested on her white and blue dress. It was soon followed by a pair of black greaves which latched onto her lower legs and feet, and silver gauntlets that covered her arms from elbow to hand.
EQUIPMENT
NAME Divine Garb of CelestineUnauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Raises effect of water-based techniques by 100% +Ignores magical attacks below phantasm class +Ignores physical attacks below mythical class +Raises user¡¯s magic by 40% +Heals user by 20% of max mana per hour +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 9999/9999
DESCRIPTION A garb woven by a mortal to confess his love for the Goddess of Water. Despite the consequences, the goddess accepted the man''s gift and always kept it close to herself, ultimately leading to her death. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
EQUIPMENT
NAME Godspeed Greaves RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores magical attacks below phantasm class +Ignores physical attacks below mythical class +Raises user¡¯s agility by 30% +Active Skill [Godspeed] +Active Skill [Air Step] +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 9999/9999
DESCRIPTION A pair of greaves made by the Goddess of Wind by sacrificing millions of her own followers. It was later sealed in another realm due to its questionable creation. However it was stolen during the God Wars. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
EQUIPMENT
NAME Titan Gauntlets RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores physical attacks below phantasm class +Ignores magical attacks below mythical class +Raises user¡¯s strength by 30% +Active Skill [Titan Strength] +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 9999/9999
DESCRIPTION A pair of gauntlets forged by the Mysterious Blacksmith from the remains of the God of Stone. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
Finally realizing a fight was about to break out, he unsheathed his sword with the intention of helping. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t what Lucy wanted. ¡°Go!¡± she ordered with an expression that left no space for rebuttal as accessories adorned her ears and a pure white tiara settled atop her light blue hair, just between the black horns that emphasized her current race.
EQUIPMENT
NAME Earrings of Solomon RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores magical attacks below phantasm class +Raises user¡¯s magic by 100% +Heals user by 50% of max mana per hour +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 999/999
DESCRIPTION A pair of earrings made by Emperor Solomon to help his son rule over the Empire of Magic. It was lost during the God Wars. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
EQUIPMENT
NAME Heavenly Tiara RANK Phantasm
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores magical attacks below phantasm class +Active Skill [Healing Light] +Active Skill [Judgment Light] +Passive Skill [Auto-Repair] +Passive Skill [Resize] DURABILITY 999/999
DESCRIPTION A tiara favored by the Goddess of Light. Soul Bound: Glacial Empress Lucina
He wanted to do something, but from the looks of it the enemy this time was beyond his capabilities. Stubbornly staying might only hold his friend back, or even endanger the both of them, so he faced the other way around. ¡°You better catch up to me before the day ends.¡± ¡°I will, I promise.¡± Lucyshot him a smile beforecompletely disappearing from her spot. Not long after, strong gusts of wind slammed onto his back, and the land began to tremble. Surprised by the intensity of the clash, he peeked back to look for the two opposing forces. But all he found was an empty desert that was constantly shaking from a match that was happening farther than his eyes could see. Not that he needed to see them to be convinced. It was clear as day that he had no place in their battlefield. If their attacks were strong enough that he could feel them, he could only imagine the state of the area where they were fighting. Even he, a hero,didn''t have the confidence to set foot on such a place. He hated it. He hated how weak he was. He hated not being able to fight for her. But there was nothing he could do at the moment. Helacked the power to make a change. Clenching his fists, he ran away as fast as he could. Once again, ¡°Kaguya¡± was protecting him. His years of experience as a hero meant nothing in the face of true power. But he wouldn''t let that stop him from growing. He would use the frustration to become much stronger. He would make the most out of his emotion, be they positive or negative, to reach his goal. ¡®One day I¡¯ll be able to fight by your side without being a burden. And when that time comes, I¡¯ll openly pursue your affection. I''ll tell you what I''ve always wanted to tell you, Kagu- no, Lucina, the woman I love.¡¯ On that day a certain individual achieved a breakthrough with his flames, but not a single creature in Agaran Desert lived to tell the tale.
SKILL
NAME Fire Magic (S) > Fire Manipulation (A) TYPE Ability > Trait
RANK Rare > Legendary LEVEL ???/100 > 1/250
DESCRIPTION You are now one with the flames. You can create them on a whim and shape them by your will through magic and life energy.
Chapter 4
WARNING
You have killed a guardian. As punishment, you will no longer receive experience points, lose access to your skills, and have 90% of your stats sealed for an indefinite amount of time.
I saw an unpleasant message when I woke up, and then I remembered how I suddenly lost consciousness after killing the colossal owl that came out of nowhere. The owl in question was still sprawled lifelessly on the ground, ice forming around its corpse from the sheer temperature of the now frozen desert. The owl ¨C Ultima I think was its name ¨C was no pushover so I had to go all out, and the result was a realm of frost. Ice spans as far as the eyes could see and deeper than one could ever imagine. Unfortunately, it seems I won¡¯t be making such scenery again anytime soon. The warning aside, I could feel the drop in my strength. I truly became weaker. To verify the truth, I called for my status screen. I mentally clicked expand to check my current stats and skills. To my surprise however ¨C more like rage ¨C I couldn¡¯t access the skill information. ¡°...¡±
BASIC INFORMATION
NAME Lucina RACE Devil
TITLE The Glacial Empress LEVEL 70*
CHARACTER STATS
HEALTH 100% MANA 100%
CONDITION [Healthy], [Sealed]
STRENGTH 26(+8) AGILITY 33(+10) VITALITY 30
MAGIC 91(+127) SPECIAL 36 RESISTANCE 71
[EXPAND]
¡°Tsk,¡± I wonder who made the system. Why in hell should I be punished when the so-called guardian was the one who attacked me first?! This is bullshit! Maybe the system isn¡¯t mine, but my level, my skills, my power; everything is the product of my own efforts, not anyone else¡¯s! No one, and I mean no one, has the right to take them away from me! As much as I wanted to scream my lungs out, I knew it wouldn¡¯t help me so I forcefully calmed myself down. Luckily I was experienced in keeping my emotions in check. It only took me a few seconds to stabilize myself. The anger was still there of course, but it wouldn¡¯t distract me from the more important things. Now let¡¯s see... I still benefit from the equipment bonus so I think my gears are still soul bound to me. The question is ¨C canI still use their active skills? To test, I grabbed the swords which I dropped when I fainted, and then swung the sword on my left hand while channeling the skill I wished to use. An arc of transparent energy shot out in response, the space around it twisting as it sailed through the air. I also channeled the skill on the other sword and I successfully teleported for a short distance. Good, looks like I can still use both [Reality Slash] and [Abyss Walk].The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I did the same for the other active skills except for [Judgment Light] since I didn¡¯t have a target. As for [Healing Light], I simply sliced a finger off and let the skill do its job. Even if it failed, the finger would regenerate on its own due to my race. After that I tried the skills I had before; those I often used at least. And from my little experiments I found out I could use most of them to some extent. It was clearly harder, but I could make them work somehow since I knew how they operate. I didn¡¯t need a skill to visualize an element. I didn¡¯t need a skill to manipulate magical energy. I didn¡¯t need a skill to cast spells. Only the [Trait] types were unusable. They¡¯re like esper abilities. Regardless of a person¡¯s knowledge, he can¡¯t use one if he doesn¡¯t have one. Last on the list was my interspatial ring. And I¡¯m happy to say that it still works as intended. Sure, it was harder to examine what was inside due to having a lesser mana pool. But overall it was still the same. ¡°I can still get my daily dose of abyss apple,¡± I sighed in relief as I pulled out one of the said fruits. The heart shaped apple vanished as quickly as it appeared, and with it a chunk of the negative emotion in my heart. ¡°Yosh,¡± finally in a decent mood, I took a random sword from my interspatial ring. I dropped it shortly and used the direction where the pommel was pointing as my guide. ¡°So that¡¯s where Hayato went.¡±I stored the weapon back afterward.
BASIC INFORMATION
NAME Twisted Thorn RANK Legendary
SPECIAL EFFECT(S) +Ignores defense below legendary class +Passive Skill [Unholy Might] +Passive Skill [Grim Touch] DURABILITY 947/1500
DESCRIPTION A cursed sword used by Fiore to kill her sister and become an elder of the Dryads. Fiore later threw it away in Dread Lands.
I¡¯ve never gotten lost with this technique. Yeah, I may take a few detours every now and then, but in the end I always reach my destination. I¡¯m positive I¡¯ll find my friend. I better hurry it up though. I walked towards the monster¡¯s corpse while staring at the sky. ¡°The sun is already down. Hayato will kill me if I stay here any longer.¡± Iheld back my hatred towards the owl that caused the loss of my power, andstoredits body into the ring as I activated [Godspeed] to catch up to a certain someone. I wasn¡¯t afraid of the enemies I might encounter. My current levelwas low, but fighting those stronger than me has always been my specialty. I wouldn¡¯t lose so easily, and I could always run away if things get a little too tough. Besides, I have cheat-like gears in my arsenal. The equipment bonus alone puts me at around the early or mid 100s in terms of raw power. Add the skills and I doubt anyone below level 300 would be a challenge to me. Rather than fear or worry, I¡¯m more frustrated and annoyed. But life goes on.Unless I get the chance, I¡¯ll have these emotions stay at the back of my mind. And unfortunately for the real culprit behind my seal, I remember my grudges well. ¡°Okay, enough of that ¨C think positively!¡± And like that, I searched for Hayato. I met aggressive monsters along the way, but what bothered me the most was the fact that two sun downs went by before I found a trace of who I was looking for. By the time I reunited with Hayato, the guy had the same expression as my father when I broke an old bonsai tree. It onlygot worse when I told him about my little ¡®level issue¡¯. But I could feel genuine worry from him so instead of looking down like a kicked puppy, I smiled the entire time and got scolded because of it. ¡°Hey, are you listening?!¡± ¡°I am, father. I know my mistake and I¡¯m willing to receive punishment.¡± I not-so-seriously said. ¡°Oh, will you now?¡± He asked, his lips curving into a wicked smile. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll give you one. I hope you won¡¯t regret this later.¡± ¡°A-Actually, I was just joking. Punishment is so old school, who does that nowadays? We¡¯re people of themodern era! We only discipline the naughtiest of the naughty. Am I naughty? Nope, I¡¯m just a poor old boy!¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re naughty enough,¡± he said as he cracked his knuckles, and then his fingers began wriggling in a very strange and dangerous way. Seeing him approach with a nasty expression, I stepped back. ¡°I-I¡¯m warning you, I¡¯ll retaliate!¡± My threat fell unto deaf ears. I could only watch as the friend I consider a family did the unspeakable to my body... ¡°AAAAAHHH!¡± ¡°Shtaph!¡± don¡¯t stretch my cheeks any further! I¡¯m not a rubber band! You¡¯ll disfigure my face forever! ... ¡°Leave, get out of my sight before I kill you where you stand,¡± I threatened the bastard in white and red yukata as I held the unconscious Hayato in my arms. I wanted to freeze the prince of the fox demons, but the supernatural world was already in a delicate state. Now wouldn¡¯t be a good time to harma royalty.¡°I said leave, Kyoya!¡± ¡°Are you really going to fight me for that guy?¡± Kyoya asked with a blank face instead of his trademark grin. ¡°We¡¯re special, Kaguya. You¡¯re special. That human doesn¡¯t have the right to stay with you.¡± ¡°And who gave you the right to decide who has the right to stay with me?¡± I scowled at the most annoying fox in the world. ¡°I am not a doll, Kyoya. I can decide for myself. And I¡¯m telling you now, I enjoy being with him so get lost!¡± He looked straight into my eyes for a while and sighed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be a good boy and leave. But do remember that you can¡¯t stay in the mundane world forever. You¡¯re the one and only daughter of the Eternal Witch of Frost and the Grand Elder of the Onmy¨­ji Council. You¡¯re destined for greatness on the other side. There¡¯s no place for a weak human in the future that awaits you. For your sake, throw him out of your life before you grow too attached. It will only hurt you.¡± His body was engulfed by flames, and then in the next second he disappeared. With him finally gone, I turned to check on my friend. I already cancelled whatever illusion the damned fox placed on him, but his face was still pale. He would no doubt recover with time. But having him suffer any longer, especially with me being the cause ofhis pain, wasn¡¯t acceptable. Heaving a sigh, I closed my eyes and relied on a talent I didn¡¯t wish to reveal until I was sure I had everything perfected. Only mother knows about this, but I don¡¯t really have much of a choice do I? Haaa, I guess this is my punishment for getting Hayato involved. Let¡¯s just hope he doesn¡¯t wake up until I¡¯m done... okay, here goes! ¡°Kono kawa no nagareru ga gotuku. Odayaka ni neiro ga kikoeru. Fuku kaze ga hoho o nadete yuku. Natsukashii omoide ga nijimu. Haruka naru sora wa. Mune o saku yo ni-¡± ... ¡°It¡¯s Yume to Hazakura,¡± I nearly stumbled when something I wanted to forget was mentioned. ¡°Hmm, what was that?¡± Is that an anime or a manga?A fantasy novel maybe? ¡°Yume to Hazakura,¡± who told you to repeat it?! ¡°That¡¯s the name of the song you were singing when we first met.¡± With no way out, I fell on all fours yelling ¡°why did you have to remind me?!¡± I don¡¯t sing! I can¡¯t sing! I never sang! What you heard was a part of Kyoya''s illusion! ¡°Why are you acting like- don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have confidence in your voice.¡± Yes, I don¡¯t. ¡°Haaa, I sound like damn a potato...¡± Now let¡¯s move on to a different topic.