《Mother Nature》 Chapter 0 (Prologue) Hello fellow Internet users, this is my first story I had ever written. I may not be perfect at writing it, so feel free to criticize (but not too harsh :p) so that I can improve on my writing. I hope that you guys can bear it with me. With that being said, here''s the prologue.
Chapter 0(Prologue) The skies are blue like the ocean. The number of clouds are enough to be counted with two hands. The birds chirping in the air was music to the ears. Kagumiya Kakuto was sitting below a tree, with his back pressed against the trunk, relaxing while playing his MMORPG on his laptop. "Dammit, just 3000 more HP, stupid boss" He is currently playing the world''s most famous MMORPG, Sigurd Online. There were many races to choose from, ranging from humans to demons, elves and dwarves. But he specifically chose [Spriggan] as his race. Every weapon, every cosmetic he had was nature-like due to his tastes for green. Since young, he loved nature. The texture of leaves, the smell of flowers, the sounds that critters make. He loved them all. One of his dreams was to visit the biggest botanic gardens on earth. But because his family was poor, they could not go out for events, not even mentioning buying tickets to go there. On the way to his primary school and back was the only time for him to enjoy the scenery of greens outside. Of course, if he had free time, he would go there and glance at them whenever he could. That is, IF he had free time. His parents wanted him to become a doctor and earn more money, so that they would be able to live fulfilling lives. Since Kakuto was a naive person, he did his best to become one by studying day in and day out twenty-four seven. However, what he didn''t know was that his parents kept quiet about having money and pretended to be poor in front of Kakuto, as they wanted to use the money for themselves. Only the bare necessities for living were given to him. One day, while he was on his way to primary school, he spotted an old lady who was crossing the road. Due to his kind nature(see what I did there?Very Happy), he went to help the old lady on impulse. "My my, thank you boy for helping me cross the road" "I-It was nothing, I just did it on a whim" "Aww, don''t say that. Here, let granny reward you with this, although it''s not much" "I-I don''t need money, it was just my act of kindness" He was starting to get embarrassed, as his cheeks are flushed with red. "Aww don''t worry, it''s not money I''m giving you" She then placed a seed on Kakuto''s hand. "Eh?" "Then, see you next time, boy!" Kakuto was speechless. Why did she give him a seed? Was it because she herself did not have any money on her, but she wanted to offer something? Before he could say anything, the granny was gone. "What am I going to do with this seed? Can this even grow into something useful?" As he was processing the information gathered in his brain, he suddenly remembered, "Crap, I''ll be late if I stayed here any longer!¡± Putting the seed in his pocket, he ran to school. Upon arriving home, he took the seed out from his pocket. "Now what to do with this? Should I just plant it somewhere? I just hope it will grow something nice" Because there was nothing he could use as a pot, he took a degraded bowl he found somewhere in the kitchen and scooped out some dirt from the outside, placing the seed in before watering the bowl. With this it was done, he thought. As the day turned to night, he looked at the bowl from time to time, hoping that it would grow someday and sprout something for his family to enjoy. The next day, he woke up to find the plant had grown into a miniature tree, making it look like a bonsai. However, what surprised him the most was not the time it took for it to grow, but was the leaves of the tree. "M-Money..." Yes, the tree''s leaves were notes of 1 yen. He was so shocked that he let out a gasp. With this, his family would not be poor again, he had thought. As days went by, the value of the leaves increased each passing day, the first day being 1 yen, the second day being 10 yen and so on so forth, until one day, all the leaves on the tree were worth at least a billion yen. Because Kakuto''s parents never taught him anything about the bad people in society, he trusted everyone who he seemed as friendly, not even thinking about their ulterior motives. Kakuto willingly told his parents about the money tree, and they had the same reaction as Kakuto when he first saw it. They cried tears of joy, and Kakuto thought it was because they did not have to be poor any more. But, it was just an act. His parents stopped working, he stopped going to school and spent the money by plucking the tree''s leaves on whatever they desired, which for some reason kept growing. The stronger the desire for money, the faster the leaves regenerate. They moved to a new mansion, got himself a new laptop and started to play games which his friends had recommended him to play. That way, he could still keep in touch with them even when he was not at school. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Thanks to the money tree, his life had changed greatly for the better. At least he had thought so. A few years later on a certain day, he thought of a brilliant idea. If there were more of these money trees, wouldn''t his family then be rich enough to by anything? From cars to islands and the like. Thus using the money he got from the money tree, he searched for information about the seed. He bought information from brokers, went to every website available, scanned if his money or not, he did not care, but after all his efforts, still could not find the origins of the seed. Just as he was about to give up, a certain stranger had emailed to him through his laptop. "I have information on what you are looking for. There is a 0% chance of finding this seed, because the seed is called the [desire seed]. This seed grants a wish to whoever the one who had planted it desired. I do not know what you desired for, but if you are looking for more, sadly there is only one which exists in this world, and it''s in your backyard." Kakuto wanted to know how did the sender of this email knew all of this. Nevertheless, he continued reading. "If you want to know why I know all of this, it''s simple, I''m the one who gave it to you." It seemed that the person who sent the email and the person who gave the seed to him was the same person. "Wait wait wait, that granny???" He was shocked, but snapped out of it after a while. Because of this, he decided to make do with his money tree to achieve one of his dreams. He spent money on plants to plant in his garden, to make a haven in his own backyard. He hired a professional gardener to take care of the plants, as he did not know the procedures of taking care of each and every plant. Thus, his daily routine would be to play games, get a new plant, learn how to take care of it, and the cycle continues. Thanks to the internet, he was able to increase his knowledge of how the world works, especially the dark side of it. Thanks to this, he has started to suspect his parents for hiding something. He confronted them about the matter, however they denied it immediately. Thus raised his suspicions even more. He finally decided to kick them out of the house, forbidding them to come back. After a few years, he became a shut-in with only just his beautiful garden, filled with all different species of plants. From the hibiscus flower all the way to the intricate design of the bonsai tree, even those that bear fruits. Thus, leading to the current situation. *Boom* "What was that?" Kakuto was weary that that sound came from inside the house, as both his parents were out spending the money from the money tree. *Boom* "What is that sound?" As Kakuto was about to stand up, *CRASH* "WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING!?" He ran into the house through the backdoor, to spot three men dressed in suits at the entrance, with the front door broken down. One of the men stepped forward. "We are an organization which had been searching for the [desire seed]. Because we had gathered critical information from a certain someone, we found out that you are in possession of it. Kindly hand it over to us and we will not do anything else" Was this a joke? Kakuto thought so. "Why should I give it to you?" "That''s confidential" "What do you mean confidential? Anyway, no, I''m not giving away my money tree. After I had money I was happy to even be able to afford luxurious food. There is no way I am giving away my lifesaver! No, my beloved!" "I see...then," The man pulled out a knife from his suit and stabbed Kakuto in the heart. "We will take it by force." Kakuto spat out a huge amount of blood. "T-this....c-can''t......be......" The man pulled the knife out, splattering blood everywhere. Kakuto dropped to the floor, with his life wavering away from his eyes. He had difficulty breathing, having his entire life flash through his eyes before he finally succumbed to the cold, lifeless afterlife. His pulse was gone by the time a minute passed. "Now that''s over, let''s go get the..." Before the three men could do anything, three spikes pierced the hearts of the men. "Wh-h-at..h-happ-penn-ed..." When the three of them were dealing with Kakuto, the tree swayed unnaturally. When Kakuto''s pulse became flat, the tree automatically pierced the men''s hearts with its sharp branches. The three men died on the spot. The tree began to uproot itself, forming two plump legs with its roots. It walked towards the house and shrunk to the size of a normal human being. It was a nude woman figure with beautiful facial features and a nice body, but the only thing unnatural was that she was made of wood. She walked towards where Kakuto was. She had an expressionless face, however she shed a tear after looking at Kakuto''s current state. Then, she squat down and placed her right hand on his heart. The area around Kakuto''s heart was slowly being filled up with wood, including the inside. After a few minutes, the wound was gone, and his pulse was stable. However, in the process, the wooden girl had vanished into thin air, leaving behind a wooden tear. Chapter 1 (Reincarnation) Chapter 1 Reincarnation -Kakuto- "Where...is this...place..." Kakuto had woken up in a strange room. The bed he was lying on was more comfortable than any bed he had ever slept on. Was it cotton? Or was it feathers? He looked around the room he was in. It was fully white, not a speck of dust was visible to the human eye. The room contained the bed he was sitting on, a white table and two white chairs. Even though there were no signs of any light source in the room, it was still bright enough to see for unknown reasons. He suddenly remembered. "I was stabbed...my heart!" He immediately checked the area around his heart to find the wound inflicted on his chest area. "Gone..." "Mmu..." He heard an unusual voice. Looking down, he noticed someone was laying their head on his left arm. From the looks of the hair, Kakuto assumed the gender of the person to be female. Her hair was light green. They were long and silky, with a nice scent coming from it. The girl slowly rose her head and made eye contact with Kakuto. Tears started to run down her eyes. "I''m so glad you are alive, boy!" Huh? Boy? "Are you perhaps..." Before he could finish his sentence, the girl embraced him with her small petite arms. *Wahhh*(SFX) The girl cried on his shoulders. Being the gentleman he was, Kakuto let the girl cry on him while keeping a poker face. Eh? Who is this girl? I''m sure that she called me ''boy'' just now, so was she the granny? No way, she looks like she is in her twenties, so that''s impossible. "Ah, *sob* I''m so glad *sob* that you are *sob* alive..." The girl spoke something while sobbing at the same time. "Who are you?" "Ah, *sob* sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." The girl stood up and backed away from Kakuto by one step. "My name is Aria. I am the goddess of another world, Ayashi." Kakuto was shocked to find that she was a goddess. As he was an atheist, he did not believe that she was one of them. But, he did not retort by saying "I don''t believe that you are a god." He decided to test her to see if what she had claimed to be was the truth. "Can you tell me the reason that I am here? Actually, what is this place?" "This is a room which I had created." Kakuto was surprised by her statement. Plus, she had said it casually, deepening the reliability of her claim of being a goddess. "I see. Can you tell me what had happened to me in detail?" If she was really a goddess, she would have known what had happened to him. "Ah, before I talk about that, let me explain the current situation at hand."
There were four goddesses in the world of Ayashi. The first, was Aria, the goddess of nature. The second, was Nebula, the goddess of water. The third, was Arsies, the goddess of fire. The fourth, was Levi, the goddess of wind. The four of them were once humans, and were chosen to become the previous goddesses'' successors. Although the gods of this world had a very long lifespan, it was not infinite, thus the role had to be changed every millennium. The four were so called the [Order of the Goddesses]. They were to govern over Ayashi and maintain the current state of it. However, the war between the humans and demons, especially the battle between the Hero and the Demon Lord, had led Ayashi to ruin, transforming the once peaceful and lively Ayashi into a barren wasteland. Only a few countries were able to survive the disaster that was brought upon them. Only 1% of the planet had remained habitable. Because the state of Ayashi corresponds to the power of the goddesses, they only had enough power to defend themselves and transfer to other worlds. Anything other than that was impossible.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. After investigation, the four goddesses had found the main cause of the battle between the Hero and the Demon Lord, the [desire seed]. It was made by the power of the first [Order of the Goddesses] as a gift to their creator, however it was lost in the process of its creation. It was then long forgotten by the world, until now. It had the power to grant any wish to the person who planted it. The Demon Lord wanted to use its power to rule over Ayashi, but the Hero did not want that to happen. Thus, the two began a conflict which had resulted in the war. Because of this, the four goddesses had decided that the [desire seed] was too dangerous for it to exist in Ayashi. Because many entities from other worlds may have heard of it, they wanted to find the [desire seed] as well for purposes like the Demon King. They decided to give the seed to someone who was worthy enough to use its power. While searching for the right candidate, the four had to go against many forces from the outside world, be it other gods, devils and the like. After a thousand years, they had stumbled upon a boy named Kakuto. He was the only person they had encountered who loved nature so much and with his kind attitude and calm personality, he was the perfect person to hold the [desire seed]. Thus, Aria, the oldest of the four goddesses, went to earth to give him the seed. As a small test, she transformed into an old granny and pretended to cross the road, but was having trouble doing so. When Kakuto saw her, without hesitation, he immediately ran up to her and offered to help her cross the road. She was touched by this kind of act, as she had researched the behaviour of Earth''s inhabitants, and had concluded them to be selfish and greedy. Thus, she gave him the seed without any doubts. (How gullible...) As time had gone by, the four of them spectated the life of Kakuto. They were happy that they made the right decision of giving him the seed However, they were surprised that there was an organization that knew about the [desire seed]. They were shocked to see them kill Kakuto so easily. Arsies was mad at them and wanted to send divine punishment to the organization. Levi grew depressed from Kakuto''s death. Nebula was expressionless, but traces of worth were stirring in her heart. Aria cried over flowingly, sympathizing with his cruel fate. Then, something unexpected happened. The tree that was planted with the [desire seed] had killed the men. The tree then went into the house by transforming itself into a humanoid figure. That figure touched Kakuto''s heart and disappeared without a trace. The four goddesses did not know what had happened to the figure. But they were sure that Kakuto was breathing again. They heaved a sigh of relief. They were glad that Kakuto was safe and sound. However, that was not the case. Kakuto was found on the floor unconscious by his parents. They were devastated at what had happened in their own home. The three men''s dead bodies were found beside Kakuto and were retrieved by the police, which Kakuto''s parents called for investigation. He was sent to a nearby hospital and was hooked up to a life support, because they wanted him to owe them a favour. That way, they will be able to take the money tree from him. The goddesses were relieved that his life was saved. However, when Kakuto woke up, they could not feel the same usual feeling from Kakuto. The Kakuto now was expressionless. There was no sign of communication between anyone who interacted with him, not even with his parents. Hostility against was also not detected. He just stood there, staring at nothing, without blinking. It''s was like he became a doll. This was when the goddesses knew that something was wrong. Thus, the most intelligent of the four, Nebula, came up with a theory. Kakuto''s soul was not present in his body, but rather it was taken over by the [desire seed]. It would explain the reason of why he was in his current state. This caused more worries in the goddesses'' minds. However, only Aria was calm and collected. Because of the power as a goddess, she had the title of [Soul Seeker]. The goddesses'' titles do not follow the condition of Ayashi, so they were able to use them however they wished. All the four goddesses had their own titles. Nebula had [Sea of Knowledge], which increases her intelligence. Arsies had [Warlord King], which amplifies her physical and magical attacks. Levi had [Speed Breaker], which allows control over her speed. Aria''s [Soul Seeker] allowed her to freely interact with souls, thus she was able to drag Kakuto''s soul into her world. She was able to identify souls like how a computer was able to identify a product''s serial number of the billions of it produced, so finding his soul was easy. Then, she created a sub-space room, sacrificing some of her power so that Kakuto would be able to interact with her. "Because of that, while waiting for you to wake up, I fell unconscious on your hand, ehehe..." "So, following your explanation, you are able to communicate with me because of your title?" "Yes, which is why only I am able to talk to you now" "That explains why the other three are not here. So, your names are Aria, Nebula, Arsies and Levi right?" "Yes...?" "I see..." Kakuto was trying very hard to keep a poker face while laughing at the initials of their names. "Anyway, changing the subject, we contacted the god of your world and apologized to him as we had brought your soul here without permission. Also, we are now investigating together with him about the organization." "Why are you telling me this?" "Because the [desire seed] is involved in it as well. Since we gave you the seed, you are a key factor in this investigation, especially because of the actions of the [desire seed] after your death. Do you remember the desire you had when you planted it?" When Kakuto was planting the seed, he thought of treating it like it was alive, like someone who would accompany him through his youth. When young he always thought that his parents were always engaged with their work, as they struggled to earn money. Thus, interaction with his parents was very little. He always wanted someone who would not leave him alone, someone who would protect him, someone who would love him. Thus, he said to the seed, "I will love you and protect you with my all, so love me and protect me as well." "I see, that explains why the [desire seed] had kept your body alive." "I see, it protected my body huh. So, moving on straight to the point, what am I supposed to do now?" "Because both of our situations are in dire straits, I would like to offer a proposal." "Ok, tell me" "Our power is synced with Ayashi''s condition, so if Ayashi is fully rejuvenated, we will have enough power to be able to send you back to your world. Of course, we will provide our divine protection and skills. Your skills would just be our titles, but with the same effect." "That would just make me a cheat huh..." "Well, you are going to save Ayashi, so it is common sense for you to have this much power." "Are you sure this much is common sense? Poor common sense-chan..." "Common sense-chan?" Aria tilted her head. "Ah, ignore what I said" "So...is this proposal a deal?" Kakuto thought about it for a while. "If I went back, would I be able to meet my Lucy-chan?" "Lucy...chan?" "It''s the plants name" Aria had found Kakuto weird, but she kept it to herself. "I see, well you are able to, but..." "Ok, I accept." "Alright then, because I have the [Soul Seeker] title, since you had become a spirit without a body once, I will be able to communicate with you if you pray to one of my shrines in Ayashi." "Ok then." Arias hands start to light up in a bright light. "Kakuto, we are grateful for you to take up this task of rejuvenating Ayashi, we wish you the best of luck in doing so. Now go, our saviour..." Kakuto was then surrounded by a bright light, and slowly his body dissipated into nothing. Kakuto was successfully transported to Ayashi. Aria heaved a sigh of relief. "With this, Ayashi will be saved..." A blue box suddenly appeared besideAria.
Kakuto has been reincarnated as ''Yggdrasil''
"Eh?" Chapter 2 (New World)
Chapter 2 New World -Kakuto- Everything was black. What is this. I tried to move my arms and legs, but I can''t seem to move them. Opening my eyes was also to no avail. Well, that''s expected since I had just reincarnated. Usually babies are not able to move their limbs well, so that must be the cause. Hmm, since I am in the body of a baby right now, let''s do things that I can do as a baby. Well, I cannot do anything physical, so I should recollect my thoughts on what Aria had told me. If I am sure, Aria had said that I am reincarnated into this world, Ayashi. Since she had mentioned that if I was able to rejuvenate Ayashi, I would be able to go back to Earth and meet Lucy-chan. I''m really worried about Lucy-chan. I wonder if she is able to take care of herself. Although since she was able to kill the three men who murdered me, I think there would be no problems on protecting herself. Although, since she is protecting my body, isn''t she just protecting me? But if she has to protect me, she herself would be in danger, so she had to protect herself... I think I should stop there.
Anyway, I am sure that Aria said that I received the goddesses'' titles as skills. I wan to take a look at my status. Since this is another world, would this be just like the light novels I had read online before? If so, there should be the [Appraisal] skill right? Let''s try it out. I invoked [Appraisal] in my mind, with the target being me.
Kagumina Kakuto Race: Yggdrasil (sapling)
Skills: [Soul Seeker] | [Sea of Knowledge] | [Warlord King] | [Speed Breaker] Titles: {Reincarnated} | {Future Saviour of Ayashi}
Eh? Nani? Race is Yggdrasil? I''m not human? Well, this was unexpected. There was the situation where I thought of what I would be reincarnated as when I was in the room with Aria. When worse comes to worst, I thought that I would be reincarnated as a slime or goblin. I did not expect to become a tree. What''s more, a tree from ancient myths. I should''ve asked Aria what I was going to be reincarnated as. I want to smash my head against a wall for not doing so. Do I even have a head to smash? I think I should appraise this race for a bit.
Race: Yggdrasil The most powerful and holy tree in Ayashi. Only one exists in every millennium.
I see, so I am the most powerful tree in Ayashi, that''s not bad. My mood has become better. Only one exists? Wouldn''t that mean that I''m alone? Well, not that I don''t like being alone or anything... Since I became a hikikomori, I was comfortable being alone. My lack of communication with my parents was also why I became one. Even though I did not talk that much with my friends from school, I still chat with them though Sigurd Online. Anyway, further inspecting the race, it says that I''m now a sapling. Well, it''s obvious since I was just reincarnated. Now, let''s see what do my skills do.
[Soul Seeker] Allows the interaction between spirits and souls
[Sea of knowledge] Increases the intelligence of the holder of this skill
[Warlord King] Amplifies the attack power and defence of the holder of this skill
[Speed Breaker] Allows the holder of this skill to control their own speed
This is actually quite overpowered. I''m sorry, common sense-chan, best regards from now on.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Moving on, these titles, looks like they will grant certain effects.
{Reincarnated} Understand the language of Ayashi
{Future Saviour of Ayashi} Grants humanoid form to the user. Active for 1 hour per day.
Forgive me, common sense-chan. Now that I have seen all my skills and titles, should I try to do something about this situation? Well, I don''t even know where I am, so that''s a problem. I need to know where am I. That''s when I focused my eyes on a certain title, although trees don''t have them.
{Future Saviour of Ayashi} Grants humanoid form to the user. Active for 1 hour per day
With this, wouldn''t I be able to know my surroundings? I can also probably move from place to place with this. Thus, with that, I tried thinking of transforming into a human form. The black that I see all around me turned white in an instant. The white gradually became black again. Huh? Didn''t I transform into a humanoid form? What''s does this mean!? I should stop questioning myself. Yeah, let''s do that. Sigh, I slapped my cheeks as a form of waking my pitiful self up. Ouch, that''s a little painful. . .. ... I slapped myself? I can feel the tingling sense of pain on my cheeks. Does that mean the transformation was successful? Then why I can''t see anything? And then it hit me. I really want to hit myself, oh wait, I just did. I slowly opened my eyelids, starting from the left, then the right. Just like a baby, I am not used to this humanoid body. A bright light surged into my eye sockets. I blinked a few times to get used to the light. Taking a look around my surroundings, I can see that I am on top of a rather large hill. The grass was light green, but with a different texture than the usual grass. It was a little edgy on the sides and has a wonderful scent. The flowers growing alongside it was a species I had never seen before. But it had a close resemblance to a morning glory. The feel of the flower was also different. It was smoother, just like silk. Behind the hill was a cliff, I do not want to look there as I had a phobia of heights. I went on a school trip for rock climbing once, and I never want to experience that again. Looks like this humanoid form has all the functions of a normal human being. I was relieved by this, since I don''t think that I would be able to keep my sanity if I had to stay as a tree forever. But the biggest problem is this. I had two soft squishy fats on my chest. Don''t tell me, is that... I held my hand with my hands and vigorously shook my head. This can''t be happening. I was already surprised enough to be reincarnated as a tree. Are you telling me that that is not enough to lose my sanity!? Why do I have breasts!? Why does this keep happening to me!!!??? *Kakuto''s mind has broke down. Please stand by*
Calm down Kakuto, calm down. You are not a tree now, so you can breathe. Do your breathing exercises. In, out, in, out. Ah, that''s better. Ok, now the issue at hand. It seems that my gender has changed into a female. I had also checked down there, but it really looks like my thing is gone. Just poofed, vanished into thin air. I better take a good look at myself, the anxiety within me just keeps building up. I glanced around for something I could use to look at myself. I saw a lake at the bottom of the hill. I can use the reflection to look at myself. I slowly trotted down the hill. Due to my phobia of heights, I could not walk down properly. I had to look towards the hill and trot backwards slowly. I arrived at the bottom of the lake after half an hour. How I could calculate the time taken for me to travel, I do not know. It could be because I always pay attention to unnecessary details. Chibi Loli. That was the first thing that came to mind when I looked at myself in the lake. She had glistening green hair with a hair clip in the shape of a leaf holding up her bangs. Her face had big green eyes, a small nose and petite lips. Her ears were pointy, but not too long like an elf. Her skin was smooth and glossy. Her hands were small, but enough to not look malnutritioned. Her dress was a plain one piece embroidered by flowers and leaves. Her breast size was around A- to B+, perfect for one who graduated from kindergarten. This lovely girl in the reflection is probably me. Of all the types of women figures available, why this? I''m gonna have weird uncle''s stalking me. I don''t want that, please. In the worse case a certain bear might pop out of nowhere and seize me. Well, if that happens, I can just punch them to oblivion. *Ding* A sound of a bell resounded from somewhere. Was it from my head? Suddenly, a box appeared before me.
To Kakuto I am really sorry! I forgot to set your race and gender! I was too hasty in sending you to Ayashi that I did not do so. I just hope that you won''t hate me for the current body you have now. Other than that, i must tell you how to receive our divine protection. To do so, one has to visit our shrines respectively to receive each of our divine protection, although they can have only one divine protection. However, for you, you can have all of our divine protection, and we will increase its power as our apology. And, as compensation for the body you have now, I''ll send you a skill that will be handy for you in the future. I hope that you won''t be mad and don''t visit my shrine because of this. I''ll be waiting. Aria
......... What is this. An apology? Hmm, I think that she apologises too much though. Well, I understand her reasons at least for giving me a body like this, it can''t be helped. I''ll just give her an earful when I meet her again. Still, to receive better divine protection when I visit their shrine, looks like I need to find civilization soon. Hold on, what''s this? Another new skill? Wow, please let this skill not be as broken as I think it will be. I invoked [Appraisal] on myself.
Kagumina Kakuto Race: Yggdrasil ( Sapling)
Skills: [Soul Seeker] | [Sea of Knowledge] | [Warlord King] | [Speed Breaker] | [Clairvoyance] Titles: {Reincarnated} {Future Saviour of Ayashi}
Well, certainly there is a new skill there, let''s check it out.
[Clairvoyance] Allows the user to freely look around 360 degrees.
Wow, this skill is certainly useful. I think I should try it out now. *Beep**Beep**Beep* What is this annoying sound? It suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Is this a warning that my time in the humanoid form has been used up!? It''s been an hour already? Time passes by too quickly. Wasn''t I supposed to be good at paying attention to unnecessary detail? Not..good...I..feel...dizzy..... Chapter 3 (First Steps) Chapter 3 First steps -Kakuto- Ugh... My head... I feel like I just had a hangover... How long has it been since I was unconscious? Is this the effect of using my humanoid form for an hour straight? I should remember to not use it for too long. With that said, where was I? Oh yeah, the [Clairvoyance] skill. I wanted to try using it, but...it looks like I have reverted back into my original form, since I can''t see anything. Sigh, just when I decided that I want to try out my new skill... Eh? Wouldn''t this be the perfect opportunity to do so, since I am unable to see anything in my current form? I tried to invoke [Clairvoyance] with my mind. Ooh, suddenly the view of my surroundings had appeared. Looks like the way I see things is from a bird''s eye view. I can see in all directions, it was a bit weird though. At least I can now finally see what I look like when I am in my ''Tree'' form. ... TINY! Was what I want to retort, but speaking logically, I was just reincarnated not too long ago, so it would make sense that my form was small. Does this have any relation to my human size, I do not know. Anyway, shouldn''t I be a sapling? I''m way too small to be one. Even a normal sized tree''s sapling is larger than this by twofold. My leaves were golden for some reason, but with this I don''t think I can be classified as a normal tree would I? Well, enough of my looks. There are more pressing matters at hand, like how the lake has been dried up. The water level of the lake somehow vanished, and I have a feeling that it is because of me. By using [Clairvoyance], I can see that half of my roots have reached out into the lake. I don''t think that''s a good sign. Oh well, I leave it to the weather to fill it up again, sorry lake-san. But, what is cause of this? I know that it''s my fault, but what did I even do? You can''t justify a criminal when he does not know what he has done right? Right? Maybe it has to do with the consequence of using up the humanoid form for an hour straight. I''m going to have serious consequences if I stay humanoid for an hour. Since this is another world, would levelling up make me stronger? I don''t even know if I can level up. Back to the topic at hand, I think that using the humanoid form for too long would cause that to happen. It''s scary if I think about it. I will die if I use up the time in my humanoid form and if I''m not close to a large water source. I could have died if I did not come into proximity of this large lake. Looks like luck was on my side during that time. Now, since my time as a humanoid has been used up, let''s just rest for today~ Not. I should use my time wisely. First I''ll take a look at how I can use my skills. I will never know when an enemy will appear, thus I will have to prepare myself when the time comes.
Kagumina Kakuto Race: Yggdrasil (Sapling 79/100)
Skills: [Soul Seeker] | [Sea of Knowledge] | [Warlord King] | [Speed Breaker] | [Clairvoyance] | [Underwater] | [Bite] | [Poison Fang] | [Barrier] Titles: {Reincarnated} {Future Saviour of Ayashi} {Destroyer of Gumashi Lake}
Ooh, looks like there are new words?If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ... Teh, Destroyer of Gumashi Lake!? What the hell is this!? And what''s with the new skills!? Did I kill a lot of fishes by sucking the lake dry? Poor fishies. Oh wait, by the looks of it, those fishes might not be ordinary, since I received new skills. Thank god. But, how did I even get those skills? It is not like I have a skill that steals other skills right? Looks like I need to investigate myself further. I appraised my race, Yggdrasil again.
Yggdrasil The most powerful and holy tree in Ayashi. Only one exists in every millennium. Race skills have been unlocked due to the increase in experience points. Race skills: [Assimilation]
Ooh, more words appeared. Is it because I am level 79? Wait, was that level thing there in the first place? Race skills? It must be because I killed a ton of those monsters. Let''s see what does this skill do.
[Assimilation] Absorbs any living thing that has become deceased, as long as the body is not decayed. Skills from the deceased are absorbed into one of your own.
Gomenasai, common sense. Don''t die on me. This skill is actually overpowered. What have you done Aria? You had created a monster. Moving on, I am now level 79. If my gaming sense is still working, by killing those fishe...erm fish-like monsters, I would receive experience points which allows me to level up. Would I rank up from a sapling if I killed more monsters until my level reaches 100? In that case, I should migrate away from this place, as there are no signs of life in this place anymore. However, I don''t think I will be able to move far from here considering my time limit. It looks like I will have to slowly get out of this place bit by bit and hunt for other monsters. With the current skills at hand, I can apparently use [Sea of Knowledge] to gather and store information on any monster I see, something similar to a monster glossary. When I killed the fish-like monsters, my glossary was updated for unknown reasons. Is [Assimilation] connected with [Sea of Knowledge]? It probably is, otherwise there is no explanation for receiving data on the monsters I killed. This is the glossary currently.
Barrier Fish A fish which generates a barrier around it to protect itself. Skills: [Underwater] | [Barrier]
Kremlin A small sea creature the size of a pebble, mostly harmless unless provoked. Skills: [Underwater] | [Bite]
Poison Puffer A blowfish which attacks and defends with its poison fangs, which can grow on any part of its body. Skills: [Underwater] | [Poison Fang]
Yabai. If I were attacked by any of these, I''m sure I''ll be dead in an instant. Why? Because I hate pain. My immunity to pain is near to zero. I remembered the time when I stubbed my toe on the dining table and I had stayed in bed because I almost fainted from the pain. *Ahem*, moving on. I realised that [Warlord King] and [Speed Breaker] can be used together in combat. With [Speed Breaker], I can move behind the enemy''s blind spot. At the same time, with [Warlord King], I can punch or kick them away. Although I have not tested this method of fighting yet, I am confident with my skills. It may be because of my athletical body. When I was young, I loved to move about. Since I loved nature from young, going outdoors to play with other people was the meta. Although I only ever played with one person, as the town I lived in was quite rural. However, I moved away with my parents because we can''t afford the expensive rent anymore, at least the me at that time thought so. It was the last time I saw that person. Maybe that was their intention, so that I would not be distracted from ''studying'' so that I can ''become a doctor''. That person always played with me whenever I was in the playground. Although that person was stronger in brain power, that person still enjoyed the time with me. Such good memories. Putting my life story aside, I can''t seem to find a good use for [Soul Seeker]. What am I supposed to do with this? It''s not like I can find a soul or spirit to talk to right? Hang on, what about the monsters which I killed? Maybe I can talk to one of them. I invoked [Soul Seeker] in my mind. Suddenly, many white balls appeared floating above the lake. Wow, so this is what [Soul Seeker] does. I guess that those white balls are the souls of the monsters I killed. On second thought, I do not feel like talking to them, since I''m the one responsible for their deaths. Hmm? There is a blue one among them. Looks like it''s different from the rest. Let''s try talking to it.
"Can you hear me, Kakuto?" In the 82nd ward of Koumai Hospital, Professor Kugarashi is currently attending to Kagumina Kakuto. After a week has passed since the incident in Kakuto''s home, he was hospitalized and received therapy from multiple doctors, as his current mental condition was labelled as unstable. Doctors had diagnosed him to be in a state of shock due to the sudden intruders and the fact that he had killed them, causing mental trauma. Of course, because they have no idea that a tree would kill the men, he was a criminal suspect and the police had been on standby until he recovers from his illness for trial, as they had thought he was the one who had killed them. However, Professor Kugarashi had other opinions. What if there was a foreign entity which had caused this to happen? The killer should not have been him, as he did not have any tools he could have used to kill the men in the first place. The doctors were annoyed at her attitude towards Kakuto. Thus, it was decided that she would take care of Kakuto until he was able to communicate properly. Kakuto''s parents were not worried about him, but rather they were shocked that the money tree has somehow disappeared from the garden. They suspected Kakuto had something to do with it, and wanted to demand it''s whereabouts from him. However, Professor Kugarashi had kept declining their request to see Kakuto, as he was not in a good condition for interrogation. "As usual, no reaction huh." It has been a month since the incident, and Kakuto''s condition has only improved minutely. The things she noticed about Kakuto was that he only drank water and ate food with sugar. Anything other than that was looking at the sun directly and sleeping whenever the sun was not exposed on his body The only thing that changed was Kakuto glancing a few times at Professor Kugarashi. She thought it was sign that Kakuto was starting to return to normal, thus it had motivated her to do her best in bringing Kakuto back from his current state. Besides, it is what a childhood friend would do for someone she had loved. "Kakuto, please come back." Chapter 4 (The Dragon and the Girl) Chapter 4 The Dragon and the Girl -#- My name is Victoria Ducharica Ban Vol. I am a water dragon, and I am the sole retainer of water goddess Nebula-sama. When I first met her, I was just at a young age of 300 years old. I still remembered the first time I saw her. She was a human, just like the others. However, she was different in a sort of way. Her face was above average among the other woman I have met before. She had deep blue hair which grew down to her waist. Her small body was fragile-looking, but at the same time showed that she had a healthy body. She, was given to me as a sacrifice from the humans, in exchange for not harming them. I felt pity for her. I roared to signal the villagers who offered her to leave.The forest shook as I did so. One by one, they left in fear, leaving only me and the girl behind. Although normally the girls offered to me screamed and panicked in my presence, this little girl here is not even the slightest bit scared, at least that is what it says on her face. Thinking about her weirdness, I asked her this. "Are you scared, little girl?" She tilted her head and looked at me in puzzlement. "Dragon-san, you can talk?" "I don''t usually do so, but because you intrigue me, I spoke to you." "I see. Ne, dragon-san, am I going to die?" This kid...I see, she had resolved herself to her fate. "Yes, you are going to become my offering." The girl stood up and spread her hands wide towards me and said, "Okay then, dragon-san. Eat me while I am still whole!" This, what is with this girl!? "Hey, you are going to die you know? How could you accept your fate so easily like that?" She looked down and said in a sad tone, "I do not have a father. My mother died when I was four due to sickness. I was then adopted by my aunt, but she and her two sons were always treating me poorly. I was shunned by the villagers for being a good-for-nothing. That''s why, if I can be useful as an offering, I''ll gladly accept this fate of mine." Oh god, this child, such a poor thing. I don''t think I will be able to eat her anymore with such a sad past... "Dragon-san, are you crying?" Eh? I am? "It''s just my eyes sweating, don''t mind it." "Hehe, dragon-san is funny~" She laughed wholeheartedly, ignoring the current situation she was in. Arrgh, she''s too cute to be eaten! Damn, now I lost my appetite. "Sigh, little girl, I''ll make an exception for you. I won''t eat you, so you are free to go back to the village." "No!" Huh? "No! Don''t wanna!" What is this kid thinking? "If you don''t go back now, I''ll change my mind and eat you you know?" "I rather stay here and get eaten by you than go back to the village! The village is more scary than you!" Seriously, what did the village do to her!? Arrgh, now I''m pissed off. "Little girl, get on my back." "Why, dragon-san?" "I''m going to give your village a bit of punishment. So, I need you to tell me where you live." "O-Okay..." I bend my body down so that she was able to climb on top of me. "Hold on tight." I flapped my wings, once, twice, and took off into the skies from the forest. "Wahhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, not with fear, but with excitement. I went to the village and asked her where does she live. She pointed at a particularly large house in the village. I landed at the back of the house. There was a shed with no door right in the house''s garden. There was a similar scent as the little girl coming from it. Oi oi, don''t tell me... I pulled the shed out with my claws, to reveal a bed made of bundled hay, clothes with holes in them and a half-eaten apple, rotting away. This is terrible. Just plain terrible. "Ahh! Dragon-san! Don''t destroy my home!" She beat my back with her small fists. That''s it. I can''t take this anymore. I walked to the house which was beside the now broken shed. Swinging my claws sideways into the house, I destroyed the top half of it, revealing a family of four. They had shocked faces, like the other villagers when they see me. Oh, the father lost consciousness. What a whimp. No wonder his family treats this girl like that.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "What the! Why is there a dragon here!" "Mama, is that a real dragon!" "Aah, look! Nebu is on the dragon''s back!" "What!? I thought we sent her as an offering!? This is outrageous! Nebula! Come down here from that dragon! You are going to receive punishment for destroying my house!" It''s like my intimidation has faded away... What is wrong with this family!? "*Sniff* Yes aunt..." This lowlife trash, I''m gonna kill you! I roared at the top of my lungs towards the family''s faces. The two kids fainted. Looks like their fathers trait of fainting is in their blood. Only the woman was left standing, but with wobbly legs and a fearful expression. I lifted my claws up, wanting to crush her tiny body into even tinier pieces. Just as I was about to swing down, "Stop! Dragon-san!" The little girl jumped from my back and stood in front of the woman, with her arms stretched out. "Don''t kill aunty!" I was speechless at her actions. "Move little girl, or you will get caught up in this attack!" "No!" This girl... she''s annoying. I feel like hitting her as well, but I can''t just do that when I said I wouldn''t eat her. "Stupid girl, get out if my sight!" The woman kicked the little girl''s back, her face hit the ground with a loud thump. You just earned your death wish, woman. I slashed my claws downward at the woman. "I said STOP!!!" Suddenly, a bright light flashed from the little girl. What''s this? I can''t move my claws down. When the light has dimmed down, a water barrier is surrounding the girl and the woman. A blue box appeared in front of the two of us.
Nebula Ditrupina has been selected to be the successor of the water goddess.
What is this! This is the first time I seen this happen!! Selected to become a successor of the water goddess!? As I was being speechless about it, the barrier subsided, and the little girl fell to her knees. This girl, she is lucky to have met me this early. Why? When I was born, I was told by a voice in my mind. "In the next few centuries, a successor of the water goddess will be selected by fate. You, as their retainer, will serve that person until your life ends. If she seemed to be unworthy to be a goddess, you have the permission to do whatever you want to her. Until then, you may leave freely as you wish." That was the mission entrusted to me by the previous water goddess-sama. I picked up the girl with my claws as gently as possible and place her on my back. I looked at the woman, who had pissed her pants in terror, and growled deeply at her. Aah, she finally dropped dead. I flew back to the forest to where I came from, destroying the village''s houses along the way.
After travelling a far distance from the village, I went into cave I found on the side of a mountain. I gathered some soft grass along the way here for the little girl to sleep on. I sat next to her and curled around her, as if I was her parent. After knowing that she was a successor of the water goddess, I feel like this is what I should do as her retainer. After half a day, she woke up sleepily. "Muu, huh? Where am I?" "You are in a cave in a mountain." "Where''s the village?" "You are far from it, as I don''t want to expose you to any more danger." "I see, so that dream was true." "Hmm? Dream? What are you talking about?" "When I was unconscious, a person visited me. She called herself the ''Water Goddess'' or something." This, I have to listen. "Tell me more about this dream." "Okay. She said that you are my retainer and will take care of me like a parent, so I do not need to return to the village. She also said that you will teach me how to use my powers wisely and learn the ways of the gods." As expected of the water goddess, she gave such demanding instructions, well I can''t fault it as it was unexpected. Goddesses are not able to choose their successors. But rather, fate plays a role in it. A successor has the goddess''s power hidden in them and will not show unless that person experiences something life changing, was what the water goddess-sama when I was born told me. "I see. Well, best regards from now on, since you will start living with me. Speaking of which, we never introduced ourselves yet huh. I amVictoria Ducharica Ban Vol." "I amNebula Ditrupina. Please take care of me." She bowed her head towards me while holding her hands in a grasp. Aww... SO CUTE!!!
In the span of twenty years, I took care of her and taught her the ways of using the goddess''s power. Nebula was timid and worried about using her powers, but after a while she got used to it. As expected of a genius. She had mentioned she had got a skill called the [Sea of Knowledge]. Because I am not a human, I was unable to appraise her skill. But, at least she told me what was the gist of it. It basically increased her intelligence by a tremendous amount. This was the reason she was able to finish her training as a water goddess in a span of twenty years. According to the water goddess-sama, she took 50 years of training to become a full fledged water goddess. As a retainer, I was happy that she was able to learn this quickly. "With that, you have finished the training of the ways of the water goddess," so I declared. A blue box appeared beside us.
Nebula Ditrupina has been promoted from Water Goddess''s Successor to Water Goddess.
"We have finally done the training, huh..." Nebula was not a little girl anymore. She has become a glamorous beauty which topples the standards of this world. Her height grew to about the average height of a human woman. Since I am a female, I understand that height plays a major role in beauty. The only thing that didn''t change was her chest, which stayed the same from young, although she doesn''t mind it. When I asked her about it, she said, "You are the only one I care about, so my looks don''t matter. Don''t tell me, you like them bigger? Mhm..." She cast her eyes down while holding her chest. After twenty years, she''s still cute! I wish that this moment would last forever.... However, it was just the calm before the storm.
Attention to all goddesses. The demon king has started a war with the other races. To minimize casualties, please stop the Demon King''s army from advancing into the other races'' territory.
What is this. I never heard anything about a war! This is bad. If Nebula were to go out and fight now, no doubt she would die in the battlefield. "Nebula, you know what this means right?" "Umu. I have to go fend off the Demon King''s army... but it''s for the sake of Ayashi''s peace." She had anxiety building up inside her, although she doesn''t show it. "Don''t worry, I''ll be by your side. A retainer should do as much as this." "Thank you, Vickie-san." Ugh... I still can''t get used to that nickname. "Well then, let''s go" Unlike the first time we met where I have to lower myself down for her to ride me, she jumped to my back straight from the ground. I flew towards the sound of marching soldiers could be heard.
When we arrived at the scene, tons of demon soldiers wearing red armour are marching towards the human continent. At the same time, the human army was on standby at the border, preparing for the onslaught of the demon army. I went to the human''s side first and landed in front of the human army. Nebula jumped from my back and walked towards them. At first, they were shocked after seeing me and readied their weapons. But after Nebula walked towards them, they had a puzzled look on their faces "I am the water goddess Nebula! I would like to speak with your commander!" She shouted in a tone that wasn''t like her. A man in his thirties came out of the hoard of humans. "I am the commander of the human army, Regolas Widesheen. We are honoured to be in the presence of water goddess-sama." All the troops bend down on their knees and bowed their heads at her. "Please lift your heads. I will be going to the demon continent to persuade them to stop advancing. If that doesn''t work, I''ll try to stop them somehow. If I am somehow unable to hold them back, please stop them at all costs." "YES, WATER GODDESS-SAMA!" All the soldiers shouted in unison. "Okay then, Vickie-san, let''s go." She hopped onto my back, and we headed towards the demon continent.
Arriving there, we stopped in front of the demon army. Nebula stood on my back, like a Dragon Knight. "My name is the water goddess Nebula! Stop your advance towards the human continent right this instant!" Looks like the training for speaking like a goddess has helped her communicate with a commanding tone. Suddenly, a blast of heat was shot in our direction. "Watch out, Nebula!" I shielded her from the attack. Oww, it hurts. I guess I''m not compatible with fire. "Gagahahaha! What is a girl doing here!" A huge man who was three meters in height walked out of the army. He bad bulging muscles and three horns on his head. His face was disgustingly manly and had red skin. He was topless with trouser-like pants, showing off his eight-pack. "I plan to stop you from invading the human continent! As the role of the water goddess, I forbid anyone to be killed!" "Gagahahaha! What is with this girl? Water goddess? Ha! Such a joke!" This fella, he''s starting to piss me off. "If you want to stop us, you have to defeat me first! For having the honour to battle me, I will tell you my name! I am the Demon King''s four great generals, Ravaglia!" He started to emit a red battle aura around him. This is bad, this person is of another level. The battle aura around him is dangerous. If she were to battle against him right now, she will lose for sure. "Nebula, let me take over from here. You are still too inexperienced in fighting to face this monster." "A-As you say, Vickie-san." I stepped forward to confront Ravaglia. "Sorry to interrupt, but I deem that you are unworthy to battle water goddess-sama. Thus, I will be your opponent." "As you say then, dragon!" The fight between dragon and demon general started. Chapter 5 (Dragon vs Demon General, Ice Queen) Chapter 5 Dragon vs Demon General, Ice Queen -Victoria- Ravaglia threw three fireballs at me. I created a water barrier, shielding myself from the attacks. All three were extinguished when they hit the barrier. But at the same time, Ravaglia charged towards me at a breath-taking speed. I dodged his right hook towards my head by ducking and swung my claws at him. He caught my claws with one hand. This guy, he''s on par with my strength? I released a water breath at him, which was a sharp pin-pointed jet of water, with the ability to cut anything in this path. But, he jumped backwards at the last second, barely avoiding my attack. The forest behind him was destroyed, leaving a long road in the dense pack of trees. His left leg was grazed. Ha, this should slow him down. "Gagahahaha! You are more interesting than I thought!" He then summoned two fireballs on his hands. Wait, they changed to swords? Also, white coloured? "Time to get serious!" He threw himself forward with the power of his kick in the ground. Nittoryu? "Take this!" I clashed his sword with my claws, however, my claws were cut off cleanly. "GGGAAAAWWWRRR!!!!" That hurts, dammit! My claws had a burning sensation, as if fire was directly applied to it. I retreated back a few steps and flew into the sky. "Hah? What are you gonna do now? It''s useless you know?" He threw one of the swords at me, hitting the base of my left wing. Itte, this burning sensation. I circled around him a bit and came with a nose dive towards Ravaglia. I generated a water barrier in front of me as I dived, creating a miniature meteor. My barrier clashed against his twin fire swords. But, my barrier started to boil in mere seconds and quickly turned to vapour, removing my protection. Crap, If I don''t change direction... I turned my body in an awkward matter to avoid the twin swords. It sliced off my left wing and cut my left cheek. It hurts, but I have to endure this. I unleashed another water breath, but he jumped to my back before I could notice his movements. "Now, die you dragon!¡± He stabbed my back, the place where Nebula always sits. "GGGGGGAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!" IT REEALLY HURTS!!!!! But, just as within my expectations. I unleashed my strongest attack. Come forth! [Water Shredding Destruction]! A burst of water appeared around me as thin, sharp blades, slicing and dicing everything around me. Of course, Nebula put up a water barrier when she noticed I was going to use this skill. "Gaaaghh!" Ravaglia groaned in pain. He had cuts all around his body. "Not, yet!" It was then that I felt my heart had burst. Huh? What is this feeling? It''s so hot. I looked down to find a flame appearing from my chest. This...I am defeated? "Hahaha, that''ll teach you to mess with me." Ravaglia jumped down from my back, shaking the ground. I looked at Nebula with the strength I could muster. She had tears falling from her eyes. To her, I spoke the final words I thought of. "I''m...sorry......Nebula........." I tumbled down into a nearby lake, splashing the water everywhere. I let out my last breath, swallowing the lake''s water. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Victoria died.
-#- "Vickie...san?" Nebula was horrified at the scene shown to her. The fight against the demon general had ended in his victory. It was a reality that she couldn''t accept. When she saw Victoria tumbled into a roll and dropped into the lake, it was when she realised, she had lost everything. The one that picked her up, the one that took care of her, the one that trained her, the one that she admired, the one she loved, the one she would never leave from her side. She, the one Nebula regarded as her mother, had died in front of her eyes. Her mind started to cloud with confusion and had lost any sense of reason. "Ah..ahh...ahhhhhhhh!" Her mind finally broke and she dropped to the floor, holding her head with her hands. "Now that that''s over with, time to kill this little girl! Gagahahaha!" Ravaglia looked towards Nebula with killing intent. "...ver...give..." "Huh? What''s that Missy? You gotta speak up!" "I''ll never forgive you!!!" A bright blue light shined around her. "Wh-what is this!" "You will pay, for killing Victoria!"
Ice Queen mode activated
A huge number of water balls appeared around Nebula and shaped themselves into spikes. The spikes slowly turned into ice, creating icicles. One by one, the icicles flew towards Ravaglia. "Very interesting, young lady!" He dodged almost all the icicles, but a few grazed his body, creating more wounds. Some ice froze the wounds on him, but he ignored it as he focused on Nebula. "Gagahahaha! This is fun!" Ravaglia sidestepped to Nebula''s side and threw a left punch, but Nebula caught his fist with her hand. "Wha..." Water flowed from Nebula''s right hand onto Ravaglia''s left hand, covering his entire arm. And then... His left arm turned to ice. "YAAAOOWWW!!" Ravaglia screamed in pain and reflectively retreated backwards. However, because Nebula was holding his fist with an iron grip, his left hand was torn off at the elbow. "Ha..ha..ha..You sure are formidable, Missy." "Shut up." Nebula increased her grip strength, crushing Ravaglia''s torn off arm into small bits. "Oi oi oi, don''t do that to my arm!" "Why do you care if you are going to die anyway?" She stared at Ravaglia with cold eyes. "Hey ojou-chan, you are getting scary you know?" Her face was ghastly pale like a ghost. Accompanied with her current face, she looked like a vengeful spirit. "This is your end" "What? Gagahahaha! What makes you say that!" "I have no obligation to tell you. You want your arm back right? Here, have it back." The shards of ice, which was previously Ravaglia''s arm, shot towards him. "Gufu!?" The glass shards pierced through his body, like bullets through paper. But, the ice stayed in Ravaglia, freezing him from within. "What..did..you..do!?" Ravaglia was half in pain, and half wanting to know how did she attacked him. "Since you are going to die, I''ll tell you anyway. It''s not like the secret of my attack will get exposed. I first sent icicles at you so that some ice from it will enter your body through the wounds. Then, I froze and broke your arm, which has your blood in it. Because everyone''s blood is different, they can be distinguished, and thus I set the ice shards to return to their formal body. When the ice shards came into contact with you, the ice from the icicles on the outside and the glass shards on the inside came into contact. Thus, it will freeze your entire body altogether, oh, you have already frozen huh." By the time Nebula''s explanation was finished, Ravaglia had turned into a lump of ice. Nebula walked away from him and looked at the remaining soldiers. "Do you still want to continue?" The demon soldiers ran away from the sight of an existence which would extinguish their lives when provoked. They will forever remember in their hearts to never mess with the Ice Queen.
It''s been a thousand years since I have been in this lake huh. Although I had died, my soul still lingers in this lake. In this span of a thousand years, many things had happened to the lake I am currently in, mostly terrain changes. There grew a hill next to the pond and the grass was greener than before. Although I am only able to see what was going on around the lake, I was able to remember everything I saw. I remembered Nebula''s battle with Ravaglia after I had died. She turned from the cute girl I was fond with into a ruthless killing machine. What did I do wrong in her upbringing to make her become like this? The main reason would be that she has grown too attached to me I guess. Due to my death, it must have caused her mental trauma for her to change her personality. I see, she must have done so to protect her weak heart. But, in terms of power, she was overpowered. She defeated Ravaglia, which I was barely able to kill. She then chased off the other demon soldiers. Within a few minutes, the area around the lake has become empty with no sign of the enemy. She came to the lake which I resided in, and reverted back to her original personality. I could not hear her voice, but she was crying non-stop. I felt bad. I must have been an important existence for her. I tried moving my soul towards her. Looks like I could only move within the vicinity of the lake. When I reached in front of her, I tried to communicate with her. Even if it was futile, I still tried to do so. (Don''t worry, Nebula. I will always be watching you from now on.) As soon as I finished saying what I thought of as parting words, she wiped her face with her sleeves and walked away. I hope that she would live happily. Oh, she came back, holding a flower. She placed the flower in front of where I tumbled down, and prayed. She has grown into a mature girl. After her silent prayer, she left to the forest. There was a glimmer, and from there, other girls appeared from it. Nebula went into the glimmer with the other three. They must be the other goddess-samas. I wished her the best of luck in the war with the Demon King. When the war ended, Nebula started to visit this lake once every ten years to give her prayers. This had touched my heart. I wouldn''t mind if this had continued until she dies. However, something unexpected happened. The lake suddenly dried up in an instant overnight. I was shocked to see the waterless earth bowl, which was once the lake. I looked around to see what was the cause. And at one of the lake''s banks, was a small golden sapling. It''s roots had grown into the lake, until the bottom. Was it this tree''s doing? I have never seen this species of tree before. All of a sudden, I felt a similar feeling as when I was born. "Hello? Soul-san?" That was the beginning of how I met the future saviour of Ayashi. Chapter 6 (Meeting with the Dragon) Chapter 6 Meeting with the Dragon -Kakuto- "Hello? Soul-san?" I tried talking to the blue soul. "Who dares to wake me from my slumber?" It looks like I can communicate with this fella. "Erm, may I know who are you?" "That is my line. But rather, what are you? I don''t see anyone here." "Oh, I am the tree which is right beside this lake''s bank." "Don''t tell me... you are the golden tree?" "Yes, I am" "EEEEHHHHH!!??" I didn''t know souls can be this loud. "What are you, really?" "Well then allow me to introduce myself. I am Kagumina Kakuto." "Hmph. Since you already introduced yourself, allow me to do so as well. I am Victoria Ducharica Ban Vol." ... It''s the first time I''ve seen a tsundere. Of all types of people to meet be a tsundere, a soul? Really? However,what''s with that name, it''s too long. "Erm, can I call you Vickie-san instead? Your name is too long to pronounce." The soul suddenly jerked from side to side. "D-D-Don''t c-call m-m-me by t-t-that name!" Seriously, what''s with this tsundere. Did it fell in love with me at first sight? Hey, don''t take my chastity away from me. I still don''t know how you look like when you are alive, how can I accept to be betrothed to this soul! Well, I do admit it''s cute, but still. Oh wait, that''s impossible, since I am a tree. Unless it''s into that sort of thing... Nonono, I''m starting to go off-rail. Get back on the correct train of thought, Kakuto. "Why not?" "J-Just please don''t call me by that name." Ehehe, time to tease this little soul. "Okay then, Vickie-chan~" Ooh, the soul shook even more. "V-V-V-Vick-k-kie...c-c-c-c-chan?" This little soul started to glow red. Hehe, this is fun. "That''s even worse!" Vickie-chan suddenly grew in size. Wow, this is something you don''t see everyday. "Ok ok, I''m sorry. I was mean." "Hmph, you better know when to stop with the teasing." "Say, what were you before you became a soul?" "Before that, tell me something first. How are you able to talk to me? Aren''t you supposed to be a tree?" "Well, there are special circumstances. If I were to reveal that to you, I need to know your identity first." "I know how to keep secrets, don''t worry. But since you said so, I might as well" What''s with this soul, so simple-minded. "I am a water dragon, the sole retainer of Water Goddess Nebula-sama." "Eeh...you are a dragon? That''s unusual. You are a retainer of Nebula?" "What''s with that impolite way of saying her name? Say it properly!" "E-Eh? Okay, so you are a retainer of Nebula-sama?" "Yes, I am. I was fated to be her retainer since I was born. Now, that''s enough about me, now it''s your turn." This souls self-important attitude is irritating...And the information she give is too little! I guess it should be okay to reveal my race and [Soul Seeker], right? "I am a race known as Yggdrasil. I have a ski..." "EEEEHHHHH!!!!!" Oh my god, stop. Just stop with the shouting.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "Y-Y-Yggrasil!? I''m sorry for being so rude to you, Kakuto! No, Kakuto-sama!!!" The small little ball did a little bow. Kawai~ But... "Erm, why are you bowing to me?" "I heard from the previous Water Goddess-sama that the Yggdrasil race is equal to the Goddesses-samas themselves! She said that they are able to bring life to Ayashi, which is the source of their power. Thus, they are regarded as the highest existence in Ayashi along with the Goddess-samas" This, I had never heard of this before. I appraised my race again.
Yggdrasil The most powerful and holy tree in Ayashi. Only one exists in every millennium. Race skills have been unlocked due to the increase in experience points. Race skills: [Assimilation]
Hmm, looks like there''s no information on that. Maybe the information will increase when I level up some more? Well, I am not sure whether Victoria''s information is correct in the first place, but that''s just a baseless assumption. "Err, you can lift your head. I don''t feel comfortable when you are talking formally." "I can''t just do that! I had been rude to someone of an equal standing of a goddess, so please accept this apology!" How stubborn is this tsundere? "Ah fine, I accept your apology. By the way, you said you are the retainer of Nebula right?" I suppose I can call her without honorifics, since she''s of equal standing as me? I just hope that I won''t receive divine punishment. "Yes, that''s right." Since this guy has already died, I don''t think it can tell other people anything. "I am actually also acquainted with Nebula." Not that saw her before though. Hold on, since Aria sent me a letter before, won''t Nebula be able to do the same? Also since she used [Soul Seeker] to talk to me, won''t the reverse also be possible? I should try that later. "Y-Y-You are a-a-aquainted w-w-w-with Nebula-sama!?" Victoria''s stuttering is cute though. "Yeah. To tell you the truth, I came from another world. But Nebula and the other goddesses had pitied the way I die, so they decided to reincarnate me, with a deal that I have to rejuvenate Ayashi back to how it originally was." Since this person is aquaintedwith Nebula, I manipulated the story a little, maybe just to get her on my side. "Rejuvenate... Ayashi?" "Yeah, rejuvenate Ayashi." "What happened to Ayashi! Tell me!" The first thing she took note of was Ayashi, and not me? *Kusu* "Calm down Victoria, calm down. They said that 99% of Ayashi was labelled as inhabitable due to the battle between the Hero and the Demon King. So, it''s my job to bring it back to its former glory. I don''t know how, but if I am somehow able to do so, I will be able to go back to my original world." I think I said too much, but who cares, is not like this soul can tell secrets to others. "Haa...ok then. By the way, you said that you are from another world right?" "Yeah." Is she surprised? "I''m not surprised by that though." Eh? She''s not? "I met the hero once when he came with Nebula here, and he was a reincarnated person as well." Ehhhhhh......... Someone already stole my surprise, I am actually from another world'' spotlight huh. That sucks. Well, I still have more surprises up my sleeve. "Well, do you want to know how I''m talking to you?" "You have the same power as the green haired goddess-sama, right?" ... Why does my surprises keep failing... "They came to this lake and prayed to me many times. When they pray, I can hear what they are thinking, although the opposite does not work. However, only the green haired goddess-sama was able to talk to me normally. So I assume you have the same power as her." Sigh, my spotlight got stolen again... "By the way, since you have the same power as her, are you able to take me with you?" "Take you...with me?" "Yeah. Since the green haired Goddess-sama is able to do that, I thought that maybe you are able to as well." Really? This is something I also did not know. I appraised my [Soul Seeker] skill.
[Soul Seeker] Allows the interaction between spirits and souls. If the soul gives you it''s permission, you are able to take the soul along as your companion. Ethereal form can be granted to the soul.
Ooh, new words! I think the description increases every time I level up, since the description has been updated. I wonder how it will look like when I am at the maximum level? Hmm, I will be able to bring them along huh...I wonder if Victoria here would become a bother. No way~ But rather, I''m more interested in the ethereal form. Will I be able to see Victoria in her formal dragon form? That would be cool. I want to bring her along now. "Y-Yes, I think I can bring you along." "Thank you Kakuto-sama! I want to see what has happened to Ayashi with my own eyes!" "Please stop with the sama, I can''t take it, just like how you can''t take being called Vickie-san." "A-Alright. Then, is Kakuto-san fine?" "That''s fine I guess. By the way, I think that if I were to bring you along with me, I can only do so tomorrow." "Why is that?" When I appraised myself, I saw this.
Kagumina Kakuto Race: Yggdrasil ( Sapling 79/100)
Skills: [Soul Seeker] | [Sea of Knowledge] | [Warlord King] | [Speed Breaker] | [Clairvoyance] | [Underwater] | [Bite] | [Poison Fang] | [Barrier] Titles: {Reincarnated} {Future Saviour of Ayashi} {Destroyer of Gumashi Lake}
When I appraised my name,
Kagumina Kakuto HP : 79/79 MP: 1/79
Apparently, HP stands for health and MP stands for mana. Looks like my HP and MP are equivalent to my level. When I used the humanoid form, I was level zero, so my HP and MP was probably 1, thus I only had an hour. But now,
{Future Saviour of Ayashi} Grants humanoid form to the user when MP is at least above half the maximum MP. Active for 80 hours maximum before cooldown. An hour uses 1 MP. Cooldown time reduces when near a source of water.
My time for travelling has increased. Thank you cheat powers, banzai! *Ahem* It looks like the time I can stay as a humanoid will increase as I level up. I can now stay as a humanoid for at least more than three days straight. Getting back to the topic... "My MP is currently very low due to certain reasons. It should be replenished fully by tomorrow." "I see, then bring me along when it replenishes. Since using this skill requires MP, you should go and sleep." Whoops, I forgot that this skill requires MP to talk. "I see. Okay then, see you tomorrow~" "I''ll be waiting then" I revoked the [Soul Seeker] skill. I still had many things to check out with appraisal, but I feel that I should rest to replenish my MP. Since it''s currently midnight, I should sleep. Do trees even sleep? Chapter 7 (Traveling with a new companion) Chapter 7 Traveling with a new companion -Kakuto- *Yawn* Mornin~ Looks like I was tired without even noticing, since I slept like a log. . . . Ok, I''ll show myself out now.
I invoked [Soul Seeker] and spoke to Victoria-san. "Yo, morning." "I see that you awake. It must be nice to be able to sleep..." "What do you mean?" "We souls are unable to sleep unless we pass on to the afterlife." Ah, that makes sense. "Although, if a soul becomes agitated due to being unable to sleep, it becomes a ghost. I saw many monsters whom people have killed and did not send an offering for them to pass on. Some stay as a soul, as they are patient enough. Usually they were once monsters with long-lived." Well, to be honest, no one prays for monsters. "Is it the same for you?" "Don''t put me with those puny creatures! We dragons are high-ranked species! Although the necessary procedures for me to pass on has been completed, I chose to stay here for certain reasons." "Hey, your attitude has changed." "Of course. After I thought about yesterday, I decided to talk to you normally." "Wait, you mean that tsundere mode was an act?" "Tsundere?" "Aah, forget what I said." Eeehhh... I did not know her acting skills were this good. "Hohoh, so that way of speaking is tsundere huh... I''ll keep that in mind. Anyway, I am now ready to travel with you, so you have my permission to bring me along" "Alright. Although this is my first time doing this, don''t blame me if something goes wrong." "Of course, Kakuto-sama." Eek! "I told you to don''t call me that!" "Ehehe, payback for yesterday~" Damn, I don''t think I can tease this woman anymore. I somehow understand how to bring her along with me, according to instructions from blue box-kun. First, I gather mana into my leaves. Then, I direct the mana in the leaves towards Victoria-san. "Ooh! I''m slowly getting out of the lake!" She glowed brilliantly, slowly but steadily coming towards me. She landed on one of my leaves and infused into it. The process was done after the glowing had dimmed down. There was an imprint of a blue dragon on the golden leaf. I now should be in possession of Victoria-san. "With this, you can talk to me whenever you want. You don''t have to use your skill to talk to me, since I''m a part of you." Now that''s convenient, since I have to use mana to invoke [Soul Seeker]. "I heard from the green-haired Goddess that it took her quite a lot of Mana to be able to talk to me. You must have an absurd amount of Mana." Really? Let''s check that out for a while. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Kagumina Kakuto HP: 79/79 MP 78/79
I don''t think so though. I only used 1 MP so far, so I don''t think this skill uses that much mana... "I only used 1 MP." "......You are such a cheat." To be honest, I quite like this cheat, or else I can''t talk to Victoria-san like this. "You have the same opinion as me huh. Anyway, what should we do now?" "Right now, we are in the demon continent. I suggest we go to a settlement. Where do you want to go? Since I am a part of you now, I''ll go wherever you wish. Actually, can you even go anywhere? You are a tree right?" Hmm... It''s got to be the human continent, right? Since I was a human once, I can sympathize with them. Also, with my humanoid form, I can communicate with them better, compared other types of fantasy-like races. "Hello? Kakuto-san?" But first I would need to find my way there. I suppose Victoria-san would know how to go there, since she has lived for quite long. "K-a-k-u-t-o-s-a-m-a?" Eek! Not that again! "Stop calling me that!" "I tried calling you, but you didn''t hear. I thought you were dead or something." Hey, don''t tell a tree to die okay... you will be the sole cause of global warming. Although I don''t think this world will encounter that problem. "O-Okay, I decided to go to the human continent. Do you know the way there?" "Yes. It''s that way, towards your left. Walk straight and should find a bridge connecting to the human continent. So, how are you going to move?" "It''s simple." I turned into my humanoid form. "Eh? What did you do!?" "I just turned into a humanoid form, is there something strange?" "You are just full of surprises..." Yes! Finally! I surprised her! While celebrating in my heart, I walked towards the direction indicated by Victoria-san. "I''m surprised that you are female." That''s what you are surprised at!?
"What...happened...here..." Nebula had just came to the lake to pray for her long-cherished Victoria. However, what she found there was a horrific scene. The lake, which was once full of water, has dried up completely. All the lake''s inhabitants had been killed. Although shocked, she calmed down quickly. "[Waterfall]" She placed her hand, palm out, towards the now empty lake and invoked a skill. A gush of water appeared from her hand, filling the lake. After a few minutes, the lake was completely full. "Looks like we are going to have a little talk, Kakuto-san." Her eyes sharpened.
*Achoo!* *Sniff* Looks like someone is talking bad about me again. I had been walking for three hours in the same direction, and along the way, what I saw was shocking. The grass was a dead-yellow colour. The trees only had their trunks remaining. There was no sign of any living thing, other than monsters that are able to live in this condition. For some reason, those monsters avoided me. I wonder why? Other than that, I noticed something even more interesting. When I walked along the path, the surrounding plants slowly began to change back to its original colour. The yellow grass turned green in an instant and the trees grew back their leaves. So this is what the race Yggdrasil can do. Am I supposed to travel the entire planet of Ayashi then? Sounds fun. It will just be like the journey to the west. "This is the first time I seen this. The plants are coming back to life." Soon after, flowers started to bloom. "Awah...So pretty..." "Ah, I wish I could just smell them..." "You can though." "Huh? How?" "Here." I granted Victoria-san an ethereal body. The leaf containing Victoria-san shined and a blue light appeared out of it. A figure of a lovely girl appeared out of the ball of blue light. She has blue, long hair, tied in a ponytail. She had the same stature as me. Her face was similar to mine, but beauty-wise, she was trans-dimensional. "Eh?" This is me?" She looked at her hands, palms and all. She then looked at me while tilting her head. "Kakuto-san, is this...?" "Yup, that''s your body in human form." "I see, then," She hugged me. E-Eeeeeeehhh!!!??? "You are so cute, Kakuto!!!" Ugh...I don''t think saying that with such a boyish name sounds nice. "Erm, I think you should call me Mina, it sounds better." Taking the word mina from Kagumina, I randomly said a girlish name. "Alright, Mina-chan!" Fueeee!? What''s this fuzzy feeling!? She tightly embraced me for quite a while. "Sorry, I just had to do that since I saw your humanoid form." "Well, I don''t mind it." It''s my first time getting hugged by a girl. Aah, I never felt like this before! "Why are you blushing, Mina-chan?" Eh? I am? "We are both girls you know? By the way, I don''t swing like that, okay?" "U-umu." Damn it, why do I have to be a girl? Not that I don''t like it though... "Besides, why can you touch me? I thought you are ethereal?" "Hmm, it looks like I can only touch you, other than that..." She crouched and tried to touch a flower growing from the grass, but it passed through her arms. "Looks like I cannot touch anything else." "Okay..." Can she pass through walls if she is like this? I started to think about what she could do with that power. "Aah, you''re blushing again." Damn it! Stop thinking dirty thoughts! After walking for a while with Victoria-san in tow, we reached the bridge. "Over the bridge is the human continent huh..." "Yes. We should reach there in an hour when we cross this bridge." How do I say this...It''s so long! A normal bridge shouldn''t be more than 3 kilometres. This is obviously more than that! "This looks more like a highway..." "Highway? What''s that?" "Oh, it''s just a very long bridge for vehicles to cross in my world." "Vehicles? What''s that?" Heh, she surprisingly does not know much about this, even though she met the hero. "I''ll tell you more when we find a suitable place to rest." *BOOM* What was that? An explosion? A cloud of dust was coming in our direction. "Victoria-san, cover your mouth!" "I don''t have to though, since I''m ethereal." Oh. I covered my mouth to prevent dust from entering my internal organs. Do I have organs in the first place? I''m too scared to know. I do not want to dissect myself. After the dust cleared, I can clearly see a figure standing in front of the bridge. "Yo, Kakuto. You and I are going to have a little talk..." Eeeekkk! Scary! What''s with that tone? "N-Nebula-sama..." The one who was blocking Kakuto''s only way to the human continent, was Victoria''s beloved master, Nebula Ditrupina. Announcements, and a depressed waffle This is not a chapter, just some stuff I want to say. I know that my novel has problems here and there, so I''m currently trying my best to fix it. So far here are changes to the chapters. Chapter 0 (Prologue): Huge change. Wording has changed. Fixed grammar mistakes. Added a few more content that may change the plot. Chapter 1: Wording has changed. Fixed grammar mistakes. Added a few new content that may change the plot. Combined with chapter 1.5. Chapter 2: Wording has changed. Fixed grammar mistakes. Added a few new content that may change the plot. Combined with chapter 2.5. Chapter 3: Rephrased some sentences. Fixed grammar mistakes.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Chapter 4: Added some description to Ravaglia. Added a few more lines. Fixed grammar. Chapter 5: Rephrased some sentences. Fixed grammar mistakes. Chapter 6: Rephrased some sentences. Fixed grammar mistakes. Chapter 7: Rephrased some sentences. Fixed some grammar. I feel quite disheartened that my novel had started off quite badly, with many grammar mistakes and some plotholes. Maybe I''m just anxious that you guys will stop reading my novel and give a bad rating. Currently, I am very depressed due to stuff irl, so that may have affected my writing, although I may appear cheerful when I comment and stuff. I just want to write and share my ideas for you guys to enjoy, since I am happy when you guys enjoy it. Also, having a low rating would leave a bad taste for me. Although it''s not your fault that I''m depressed, is just that I want to tell somebody about it. Thanks for reading this, it means a lot to me. I would appreciate it if you guys are able to pinpoint out my mistakes through pm, as I want to make this story as enjoyable as possible. In other news, I''m happy that this novel has reached more than a 100 followers! Thanks a lot! Will we be able to reach 200? Also, a new cover is coming up! So stay tuned for it! Peace out. Chapter 8 (Pinch?) Chapter 8 Pinch? "Victoria-san, go and hide behind the bush over there for a little, do not interfere until I tell you to do so. She doesn''t know that you are in this form now. If I told her that, she may not harm us." "Alright." There may be other options I could choose from which is safer, but in this spur of a moment, this was a decision I made to ensure Victoria''s safety, as a goddess''s power may be able to inflict damage to an ethereal being. "Erm, I assume that you are Nebula?" "Yes, I am." Ugh, it''s kind of hard to talk to her with this much killing intent. "Could you lower your bloodlust, just a little? It''s a little hard to talk to you if you are like that." "No" I am surprised at Nebula''s retort. "Why should I lower my bloodlust towards an enemy?" "Mina, be careful. Nebula has two personalities. This one''s when she snaps." Victoria-san shouted towards me from the bush she hid behind. A goddess with two personalities... I have heard of gods that have two or more heads with different personalities, but this is a first. A goddess with two in the same body, everyone I meet gets weirder and weirder. From the looks of it, she is on the verge of being hostile towards me. I have to deal with this as calmly as possible. I don''t like violence, so let''s try to negotiate with her. I''m sure she would understand, since she''s a goddess. "I''m sorry if I had offended you in any way, but I don''t think I had done anything wrong. I don''t like violence, so I wish to sort this out peacefully." "Liar." Huh? What does she mean? "Erm, I''m sorry, what?" "You, who had defiled Vickie-san''s resting place, is considered a murderer to me." I see. Looks like she misunderstood what I did at the lake. I got to clear this up fast, or else something unnecessary might happen. Although genociding the monsters in it does not count, right? "I''m sorry, but I think you misunderstood. Sure, I did dry up the lake, but that doesn''t mean I defiled her resting pla-" "Shut up, liar." An icicle shot pass my face. That was dangerous. This Goddess... Why does she not listen to my reasons? At least a decent goddess will know how to listen to what I have to say and reconsider my retort. Does that mean... "You are a stubborn Goddess?" *Piku* A vein popped on her forehead. This is bad, I think I provoked her. I regretted what I had said just now, as a barrage of icicles was shot towards my direction. Looks like I have no choice but to defend myself. I used [Speed Breaker] to evade the incoming icicles being shot at me. One by one, the icicles hit the ground behind me, freezing whatever they touched. By the time the barrage was over, the road had become an ice rink. Yabai. I would die if I got hit by one of those icicles. I ran towards Nebula at breakneck speed. Since she is a goddess, I assumed she is physically and defensively strong. Thus, I dove into her left flank in a blink of an eye and karate chopped the back of her neck, as I don''t want to harm her. However, she smiled creepily when I was made contact with her neck. Water suddenly flowed from her skin onto my right hand. Although for some reason, the water is absorbed into my hands in an instant. Even though I found that weird, that was not the priority. She was in a daze, thus I used this chance to jab her abdomen with my left fist, along with [Warlord King].This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. *Gufu!?* She made a gasp due to the pain inflicted on her abdomen and was plummeted backwards onto the bridge. As she struggled to stand up, she spoke, "H-how..." Hmm? What did she say? "How did you do that!" What do you mean? "I don''t understand what are you trying to imply." "How did the water I made disappeared from your arm! And how did you penetrate my water armour!" "I myself also do not know what had happened. Can we stop fighting please? I do not wish to resort to violence." I quickly changed the subject to try to decrease her hostility. But, it was for naught. "Shut up, murderer! I will never forgive you for ruining the place Vickie-san rests in!" As she shouted her true thoughts, with tears running down her cheeks, huge waves formed from the ocean under the bridge. It created a giant wave the size of a 5 storey building, and was heading towards us. Crap, if this comes any closer, Victoria-san will also get caught up in it as well. What should I do... If only I had enough power to remove this tsunami, tsunami...water? ... If I was sure, when I was at the lake, it became dried and barren when I absorbed its water. Also, during the fight, I somehow absorbed the water which was flowing on my right arm. And she said something about penetrating her water armour. If my theory is correct, does that mean I am able to absorb water indefinitely? Well, it''s all or nothing. As the huge waves passed through Nebula, I stood in front of the wave, with both my hands out facing it. The wave suddenly shrunk as it made contact with my hands and disappeared in moments. This confirms my theory that I, the race of Yggdrasil, am able to absorb water as a race trait. Because I did not see anything to do with absorbing water in my skill lists, both normal and race skills, I concluded it to be a racial trait.Just like how elves have excellent eyesight and dwarves are masters at blacksmithing, I figured the race Yggdrasil at least has one special trait. And now, I had confirmed it. So basically, isn''t this goddess''s water attacks useless against me? Although if she uses ice attacks, I may have a problem. But so far, using long range icicle attacks is a cinch for me to dodge. I should still not let my guard down. However, as I went to confront Nebula in the case of another attack, she was on her knees, crying. "*sniff* s-stop...it...j-just*sniff* st-top dis-sturbing *hik* Vick-kie anym-morre..." Her personality had switched back to normal huh. I kind of understand her actions after thinking about it. If someone you are acquainted with destroys a grave of someone dear to you, wouldn''t you be angry as well? Especially because they have betrayed your trust? She was also once a human, and humans have something that separates them from animals and other-worldly beings, that isemotions. Thus, to comfort her, I called out to Victoria-san, who witnessed everything while hiding behind the bush. "Nebula." Victoria-san called out to her. "*Sniff* huh?" When Nebula saw a person she never saw before, her guard had dropped. Taking this chance, Victoria-san ran towards her and, Hugged her. "Eh?" "Don''t say anything, Nebula." Nebula was confused at what was happening. A little girl ran up to a stranger and hugged her, was a scene you would not see normally. However, that is if that person was a stranger. A sudden realisation had hit Nebula in the face. "Vic...kie...san...?" "Yes, it''s me." "You...are... alive?" "Sort of, yeah." "*Sniff* I thought... you... died..." Tears started to well up in her eyes again. "I''m here, right? You don''t have to hold it back anymore." "Uu...uwahhhhh!" She started crying, as Victoria-san kept hugging her. "There there, cry all you want, I''m here now." This would be a touching scene, if the roles weren''t reversed. Honestly, weird things just keep happening to me. I wonder why. Speaking of hugging, Victoria-san really likes to hug people. It could be because she was a dragon before and was impossible for her to hug anybody. Hold on. I understand that she is able to hug me. But she is able to touch Nebula? I thought she was ethereal? I have to find this out later, it now, I leave the two of them alone for a while. I''m not so dense as to ruin the touching reunion of mother and daughter, sort of.
"I''m sorry, Kakuto. I thought that you had defiled Vickie-san''s resting place intentionally, however I was in the wrong. I should not have jumped into conclusions." "As long as you understand, it''s fine." After her reunion with Victoria-san, she explained what had really happened at the lake to Nebula, while hiding my powers. Although the goddesses know what skills I have other than the skills I obtained from the monsters I killed, they do not know about the racial trait and the racial skill. I plan to keep at least these two a secret from everyone. "As a goddess, this is not enough as an apology to you, who is of the same rank as us. Thus, I will grant you one of my skills. I do not need it anymore, so feel free to take it." She held my hand and closed her eyes. The place where our hands connected started glowing blue.
The skill[Water Manipulation] has been added to Kakuto''s skill list.
Ooh, blue box-kun appeared again. [Water Manipulation]? Does it do what I think it does? Let''s appraise this.
[Water Manipulation] Allows the user to freely control water.
Hey, isn''t this skill important for the water goddess? "If you are wondering why I gave this skill to you, it''s because I have the higher tier version of it, which allows me to turn water into ice." I see, then that makes sense. I accepted her compensation for her apology. "If there is anything you need, please feel free to call me through my shrine in the city." "Alright." Nebula turned to Victoria-san. "Vickie-san, please allow me to meet you again, as have to return to the [Order of the Goddess]." "Sure, anytime." "Then with that, I hope that we will see each other again." After her little speech, a glimmer appeared behind her and she entered it. After a while, the glimmer disappeared and she was gone. "Aah, now that she''s returned to them, what do you want to do, Mina-chan?" Eugh, for some reason, when she says my girl name like that, I become embarrassed. But at least it''s better than Kakuto in this form. "Of course, towards the human continent!" And so, me and Victoria strolled across the bridge, towards the human continent, not knowing of the major role I would play there. Chapter 9 (First Steps 2) Chapter 9 First Steps 2 -Kakuto/Mina- Currently, me and Victoria-san are on the bridge connecting the demon continent to the human continent, and are on our way towards the human continent. However, I asked Victoria-san to hold on for a while before we set off, as I wanted to take note of the new things that I acquired. After the battle with Nebula, my level has gone up considerably. Perhaps killing monsters isn''t the only way to gain levels. I checked my status with [Appraisal].
Kagumina Kakuto Race: Yggdrasil (Sapling 98/100)
Skills: [Soul Seeker] | [Sea of Knowledge] | [Warlord King] | [Speed Breaker] | [Clairvoyance] | [Underwater] | [Bite] | [Poison Fang] | [Barrier] | [Water Manipulation] Titles: {Reincarnated} {Future Saviour of Ayashi} {Destroyer of Gumashi Lake} {Collector of Souls} {Friend of the Water Goddess}
Looks like there are a few new skills updated into my status, including those from the monsters I killed in the lake. Let''s check them out with [Appraisal]. First off, the new skills.
[Underwater] Creates a thin film of air around the users breathing organs to prevent water from entering. Air is supplied via magic from the surface of the water source to the user.
[Bite] The victim attacked by this skill slowly bleeds. Reduction of victim''s health per second is decided by user.
[Poison Fang] Poison enters the victim''s circulatory system after being attacked by this skill. Causes paralysis for 5 minutes and health reduced is decided by user.
[Barrier] Generates an invincible forcefield around the user. Range of barrier is decided by the user. Barrier does not affect the user''s movement. Maneuveringin water is possible.
I think I have to praise my good luck again for not encountering these monsters. Thank you, luck-san. Next up, the new titles.
{Destroyer of Gumashi Lake} You monster
{Collector of Souls} Allows you to use the skills of the souls you collected. Current souls collected: Victoria Ducharica Ban Vol (Dragon) Skills: [Water Manipulation] | [Ice Manipulation] | [Water Breath] | [Ice Breath] | [Water Defense] | [Water Shredding Destruction]
{Friend of the Water Goddess} Gives instant excess to the current location of the Water Goddess by magic portal. Consent of the Water Goddess is needed. Anyone the user and the Water Goddess deems as an ally is able to pass through the portal.
... I have no idea how to feel about this. What is with these title descriptions!? Okay, first of all, what is with the {Destroyer of Gumashi Lake}''s description!? I''m a monster? Those things in the lake are monsters too! Is this irony? Looks like this world is able to screw with me as well. You better watch out, Ayashi. And then, the other two is just too overpowered! I can collect souls and use their skills? From my perspective, this is just too much of a cheat. Really, I could of use these in the fight against Nebula. Actually, come to think of it, I only received these skills after I defeated Nebula, so this regret is pointless. Plus the other title, with this I can just teleport to wherever Nebula is! Although this is a good thing for Victoria-san, imagine what can be done with this. I can send an entire army through the portal and use it for war! Not that I can though, as it needs Nebula''s consent. Wait, then isn''t it unexploitable? Looks like I did not think that through. Anyway, time to check whether the description of my race has increased after gaining more levels.
Yggdrasil The most powerful and holy tree in Ayashi. Only one exists in every millennium. The racial traits of this race are the Absorption of water to convert into experience points for levelling. Race skills have been unlocked due to the increase in level. Race skills: [Assimilation]
My theory was correct then. I am able to absorb water as a racial trait. However, converts them into experience points huh. No wonder I gain an abundance of levels when I exhausted Gumashi Lake. Since I am two levels away from the maximum level, should I try to absorb the seawater? I told Victoria-san to come with me to where the ocean was at the start of the bridge of the demon continent. After stepping on the sandy beach, I place my hand in the seawater to absorb it, however, nothing happened. No seawater was absorbed into my hand. Is it because seawater is not purely water itself? Wait, I see small whirlpools on top of my hand. From this, I can deduce that I can purify the seawater to absorb it, like a filter. But, it seems that it will take too long for me to absorb enough water to level up. I noted the size of Gumashi Lake and the tsunami Nebula created, putting them together with the levels I got from them along with the monsters and the fight from Nebula, I concluded it as so. At this rate, it would take an entire day to level up.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Thus, I shall stop here and continue with verifying other things. I appraised my name to check for any updates on it.
Kagumina Kakuto HP : 79/79 MP: 68/79
Statistics: Strength: 895 Defence: 889 Stamina: 1216 Speed: 456
Ooh, looks like statistics are added. Every game should have this, although this is not a game. ... Hahaha. Why am I so overpowered!? At least give me a weakness or something! If this continues on, I''m going to go nuts! Hold on, what if the stats don''t correspond to the health and mana points, since they are in different blue box-kuns. Maybe I should compare these stats with Victoria-san''s. That way I can roughly figure out the standards of this world''s statistics. I called Victoria-san here so that I can appraise her. "Ehehe, be gentle, it''s my first time~" Ignoring her tease, I invoked [Appraisal] on her name, as looking at other things on her status would just be rude.
Victoria Ducharica Ban Vol HP: - MP: -
Statistics: Strength: - Defence: - Stamina: - Speed: -
Eh? What does this mean? Is it because Victoria-san is not in her original body? Hmm, this means that the current human form can''t be used to check her statistics huh. Okay, let''s try something I''ve been wanting to try since I got her into my possession. I changed her body form from a human into a dragon. "Uwahahahah!" Victoria-san grew ten times the size of me, towering the trees of the forest. She had blue scales, two magnificent horns on her head and the facial structures of a menacing dragon. "What is the meaning of this?¡± "Sorry for not telling you in advance, but I want to check if I can appraise your stats when you are in dragon form, since it''s blank when you are in human form." "I don''t think there will be any change, as I had died. I''m only here because my soul belongs to you, so seeing my statistics would give nil in return." Hmm, that seems to be so. "Aah, it''s been so long since I am in this form. I kind of miss this body. Thanks, Mina" Victoria-san stretched her limbs and wings into the horizon, passing through the forest trees like a ghost. Oh wait, she is one. Speaking of passing through stuff, now would be the perfect time to ask. "Say, how were you able to touch Nebula if you can''t touch anything?" She stopped her stretching midway, making her look like one of those dragon statues in a pose I had at home before. "...I actually never thought of that." I touched Victoria-san''s dragon body. It felt smooth like my fingernails but warm like a blanket. Didn''t Nebula sit on this magnificent body for her entire time with Victoria-san? I''m jealous. Back to the topic, why was Victoria-san able to touch Nebula when she can''t touch anything? Is it that she can only touch living things? I need to test this out when I have the chance. With that, the checking of my stats has come to a conclusion. Basically, I''m overpowered. Like, there is almost nothing that can stop me at all. Maybe not emotionally and psychologically, but in terms of combat, yeah. With this new-found powers, I will use them wisely and rejuvenate Ayashi, so I can meet with my dear Lucy-chan. Now, onwards to the human continent! Hold up, since I can touch Victoria-san in dragon form, would I be able to ride her? "Hey Victoria-san, are you able to fly?" "Hmm, let me try." One, two, her wings slowly flapped, but no wind was generated. However, she flew in the sky like how a normal dragon would. "Looks like it''s possible." "Do you mind if I ride you?" "I told you, I''m not into those sorts of things." This dragon... "I''m just kidding, get on." I am a 100% sure that this dragon will be the end of my chastity. I jumped onto her back while she was flying in mid-air. Thus, we headed off towards where the bridge was, towards the human continent.
"Ku...ga...ra...shi?" "Yes, it''s me, Kakuto." Professor Kugarashi is in the process of giving Kakuto rehab. After a few months of rehab, Kakuto was able to speak, but slowly, one character at a time.His mind was as if it had reverted back into a child-like state. But, it seems that some memories were retained. "You...are...Kugarashi?" Professor Kugarashi opened her eyes wide in shock, as it was the first time he had said her name fully in these few months of rehab. "Yes, yes! It''s me, Kugarashi! The child you played with when you were young! Do you remember me?" She was on the verge of tears when Kakuto was trying to remember her. Kakuto''s eyes suddenly grew wide, but shrunk back to normal. "I...see......You...Kakuto''s...friend..." Her tears felled from her eyes like a dam had opened from them. "But...I...not...Kakuto." "Huh?" Professor Kugarashi did not think of anything for a few seconds. Suddenly, Kakuto reached out forProfessor Kugarashi, hugging her to his chest. "Eh? W-what''s going on Kakuto!?" A glass shattering could be heard and three dull sounds could be heard.Professor Kugarashi closed her eyes and covered her ears on hearing the ridiculously loud noises. "What is happening!?" Professor Kugarashi was confused at events that are happening around her. "I...protect... Kugarashi." She looked up to find Kakuto looking at her back with a heroic face. But what shocked her the most was there were tree branches growing out of Kakuto''s back. "What..are..you..." Professor Kugarashi could not find an appropriate description of this situation, and said thus words. Kakuto''s hand reached out to where the glass shattered, and his hand turned into a wooden branch, splitting into two as it grew out of the window. Two screams of agony could be heard when his hand stopped growing. When his hand retracted back,Professor Kugarashi was horrified to find two hearts through Kakuto''s index and middle finger. He threw the hearts out of the window with a flick of his wrist. "Come...with...me...or...you...in...danger." He stood up from his bed and walked towards the hospital corridor. Professor Kugarashi did not know what was going on, but she willingly followed Kakuto out of the ward. "Where are we going, Kakuto?" "You...will...see..." The two of them, ignoring the stares of the patients and doctors around, walked to the stairs and went up towards the roof. On the way up,Professor Kugarashi could hear screams of many people coming from the lower floors, including those which she had seen before as patients. She was able to remember every detail of the patient she met, thus was why she knew who screamed. But, knowing something was amiss, she did not dare to go down to look for them, as she placed her life over others. When they reached the roof, Kakuto stood in the middle of the building, along withProfessor Kugarashi. "With...this...you...safe..." Kakuto placed his hand onProfessor Kugarashi''s chest. Although she was flat, she didn''t mind Kakuto touching her, as it was one of her desires. However, she felt a different feeling, not one of love, but one of insecurity. Because, the one in front of her was not Kakuto. A white light shimmered aroundProfessor Kugarashi. "E-eh? What''s happening!?" "With...this...go...find...Kakuto." "W-wait! Who are you!" "Me?...I''m... Lucy...chan." By the time Kakuto said his, or rather her real name,Professor Kugarashi had vanished from this world. "Now...time...to...protect...Kakuto." She transformed Kakuto''s body to look more feminine, his chest enlarged, his hips grew wider and his height shrunk. When the transformation finished, Kakuto body was now a female. Kakuto, now known as Lucy, faced the entrance of the roof, where ten men in black suits were pointing 22. Calibres at her. "I...will...protect...Kakuto." Gunfire resounded on the rooftop of Koumai Hospital. Chapter 10 (Encounter and a Dark Past) Chapter 10 Encounter and a dark past "This place is the same as the demon continent huh." The road to the human city was almost the same as the road in the demon continent. The only difference between the two was the number of withered trees and grass, with the human continent having significantly more. However, the quantity of monsters here were more when compared to the demon continent. To make up for that, they looked considerably weaker. Maybe it was due to the habitat they lived in. Sure, they were strong enough to survive in this type of habitat, but the demon continent was harsher and with the less abundance of withered plants, the monsters there had to survive in that type of environment. Comparing the two, if the human continent was a landfill, the demon continent would be a desert. Although I did not notice beforehand, Victoria-san was able to control the transparency of her body, making her really look like a ghost. Oh wait, she is one. She can change herself to become opaque like every normal living thing, or transparent like glass. She could also be translucent, which makes it easy to know where she is while being able to see through her. This way, I could look at the ground without leaning outwards while she was flying in the air. Even though I had a phobia of heights, this does not affect me for some reason. It could be because of Victoria-san''s company with me and that I could fully trust her. While having thoughts like that, Victoria-san asked me, "What do you want to do at the human city?" "Well, first of all I would like to know if an adventurers'' guild exists there." If there was, I would be excited. I mean, come on, this is another world. When it comes to other worlds, there has to be the classic adventurers'' guild right? I would first enter and have the template scene of a couple of hooligans picking on me, then I''ll show them my strength. After that, I will hunt for many high tier monsters and my rank will skip, making me a high class adventurer! Except that will never happen. Why do I say so? With Ayashi''s current state, a thriving adventurers'' guild is an impossible scenario. The main attribute of the adventurers'' guild are the quests they give. From my past knowledge about light novels, there are three types of quests. Gathering, escort and subjugation. Firstly, for gathering quests, in Ayashi''s current state, the number of naturally grown plants able to be harvested should be able to be counted with two hands. Thus, this makes gathering quests quite hard to earn a profit from. Secondly, for escort quests, because of the limited places that you can call liveable in Ayashi, it would be common sense to not head out of the city other than during emergencies. Therefore, escort quests will only appear when a disaster strikes, such as pandemics and the like. Lastly, for subjugation quests, it is unlikely that any village would submit a request for subjugation. With Ayashi being 99% infertile for anything to grow, the number of villages still existing are small. Even if the village is alive and well, they should have enough fertile land and protection against monsters and the harsh environment. With that, any subjugation quest would be non-existent Any other jobs an adventurer could do can be done by any other citizen. Thus, I conclude that the chances of even finding an adventurers'' guild are almost to none. "After the war, I myself do not know of the current state of affairs, so I am unable to answer that. However, you should be able to obtain information there as to what had happened to Ayashi." This was also the second reason of why I want to visit the human''s city. They may have the records of the war a thousand years ago. From there, I can figure out why has the planet has been reduced to its current state. Because the goddesses are basically humans with a huge amount of power and responsibility, they are certain to make some flaws in their investigation. As I can tell from the fight with Nebula and Victoria-san''s past, their mindset stays the same throughout these hundred years. How was I able to know about Victoria-san''s past? When Victoria-san came into my possession, she was allowed to share her memories with me, so that I would be able to understand her better. Apparently she said she didn''t mind me reading her memories, as she had trusted me with all of her life, although she already died once. This was also how I got to sympathize with Nebula. Unfortunately, I could not do the opposite, which was her reading my memories instead. With that being said, they are bound to give inaccurate data of what had happened. Thus, I decided to find out the real truth behind the incident, if there was one. Although the goddesses said that I have to rejuvenate Ayashi, it does not mean that reviving every single plant was the way to do so. I had realized after pondering for a while at the bridge. Rejuvenating may not mean revive the plants, but the land itself. A plausible scenario is that the plants may have taken the nutrients from the ground, decreasing Ayashi''s nutrients day by day and storing it into the [desire seed]. Since the [desire seed] was made by the first [Order of the Goddess], it was entirely possible that they were the main culprits for Ayashi''s current state. The reasons for doing so are unknown to me. The hero and demon Lord could have noticed this, and caused a war as a pretext with a cover-up story of why they did so. If this was true, then something really suspicious was going on. However, this theory was groundless and very less likely to be true, as I did not have any sort of proof for it. If this was true, there should be hidden records somewhere in the city. Alternatively, I could go to the demon Continent''s city to find out, but I don''t think that I would want to go there, if the Goddesses story was true about the demons starting the war. While I was thinking of such elaborate thoughts, Victoria-san informed me, "There are some people down there." Really? I looked through Victoria-san''s body to take a peek at the ground. There were a pair of girls surrounded by wolf-like monsters. If this had been a template ''carriage surrounded by bandits'' scenario, I would probably immediately rescue them, as it usually was royalty or nobles in the said carriage. Then in exchange for saving their lives, I would gain excess to some royal library that may exist in the city, but requires permission from influential people. However, something has interested me when I take a closer look at the pair. One was small with short pointy ears. The other one was a young woman with cat ears. "We''re saving them." "Are you serious, Mina?" "Yes. It''s a loli elf and a neko girl. Who wouldn''t want to save them!" I shouted my inner desires of a man as I declared my rescue. "Sigh, fine, but don''t let them become a burden to us." "Don''t worry, I''ll take responsibility. Besides, we might find useful information from them." Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Victoria-san nose-dived towards the demi-human duo.
-Cat Girl- "Kaa-san, *hic* I''m scared..." "Don''t worry Hana, I''ll protect you no matter what." How did this happen? We were supposed to find a valuable material which grows around here in this kind of environment, however, I did not know it was able to attract monsters! When we picked up the [Witherless Rose], suddenly ten or more [Giant Wolves] showed up. We ran as fast as we could, turned corners, jumped ledges, but they were as agile as us. We were surrounded by the pack in the end. Thus, we arrived in this situation. This is really bad. If I were to die here, I rather protect Hana with my life. As I was hanging by a thread, I recalled my entire life until this moment.
I was born in a cat sith village. I did not know when it happened, but I was sold off to a slave trader. I was too young at the time to understand such things. The only thing I remembered in that village was the time I spent with my parents. They gave me the name Machi. I do not know my surname. Maybe it was for the best, because my parents were abused by the village as a form of discrimination. The reason for that was that our family had a bloodline of Grey tails. Grey tails are scorned by the village for bringing bad luck. Maybe they sold me off to protect me from the village. With that thought, I deeply thanked my parents in my heart. However, all was for naught. I was labelled as a slave when they placed a hot iron behind me, scorching a mark on my back. It was horrible. The pain I felt when it happened made me pass out. When I woke up, I was suddenly noted by the slave merchant that I had been purchased by a Noble. I followed him to his mansion and said that I was going to live here from now on. I was happy at first, as I had a place to stay, but that was just false hope. He was very arrogant and abusive. The many things he did to me was dreadful. He punished me for the slightest mistakes I made. He punched me for dressing up improperly by just one speck of dust. He used me as a tool for his pleasure when his wife was not around, although he still kept his moral standards by not taking my chastity. The only saving grace about the place was his wife, Risha. She was the second daughter of a poor noble of a low status. She was the same as me, had loving parents who cared for her. But they were assassinated one day by unknown people. Her aunt took her in, but treated her horribly in the house. She was then arranged to be married with the Noble. Despite her fate, she was kind-hearted and graceful and endured through all of it. At times when he was with his wife, her treatment was the same as me. This made me furious. I felt like wrangling his neck. But, Risha said to not worry about her. Although she had suffered a lot because of him, she was unable to retaliate against him. Because he was of a high status, she had to listen to his every order. Knowing this, I continued to serve the man, enduring whatever abuse that was thrown at me, for the sake of reducing the abuse he gave to Risha. However, a decade worth of suffering later, when I was in my early twenties, he did something which I could not forgive him for. He got me pregnant.
The moment I noticed I was carrying a baby inside of me, my emotions were at the limit. Without even getting Risha''s permission, he got me, who was lower than a mistress, pregnant? Wouldn''t she be heartbroken? We cat siths are very sensitive to family, so if someone cheats on their spouse, we will never forgive that person. For the sake of Risha, I will end his miserable life. I did not care about getting into trouble, killing him was the first priority. On a day when he was very busy and went straight to bed when night fell, it was then that I took my chance. When he was sleeping on his bed, I snuck into his room and strangled him. When he woke up and noticed what I was doing, he started to hit me frantically with a blue face. With the claws I have hidden from him since the first time he bought me, I scratched his neck with a slash as he bled from the wound. I tore his body part by part with my claws as he screamed in pain. Each splatter of blood painted the room scarlet. Bits and pieces of his flesh were strewn across the carpet. The bed turned into a pool of red. By the time he was limbless, he had an expression that was about to meet his misery. The life in his eyes slowly faded away. When he has no signs of life left in him, I left his room and went to change my clothes which have been bathed in blood. Next, I went to Risha''s room and informed her that I had killed the Noble in a calm tone. Because I regarded her as a friend, I had no hesitation to tell her what I had done. As expected, she was as still as a statue when I told her the deed I had done. With this, I would be labelled as a criminal. As I was about to leave to escape the country, I was suddenly hugged by her. Risha cried on my shoulder, saying thank you to me over and over to me. She didn''t even consider his well-being. However, she told me that she really did not care about him one single bit. Really, just how screwed up was this Noble? Who cares, he''s dead anyway. Rather than standing up for him, she chose to side with me. I was a little touched by her. Risha''s then made the resolution to follow me whenever I go, even going as far as abandoning her noble status to follow me. She was fed up with the nobility of this city and how they treated people of lower status. She even wanted to kill them herself for the horrible things they had done, but lacked the power and resolve to do so. Thus, we escaped the Noble''s mansion and left the city in the middle of the night, where night watch was lax. The next day, I was labelled as a criminal in the city and Risha was found missing. The rumours of me killing the Noble and kidnapping his wife had spread very quickly, so while speeding up our pace, we travelled towards the city, Rakusha. Risha didn''t look like it, but she was trained by a good instructor of hand-to-hand combat when her parents were still around, so she was able to defend me against the monsters that attacked us. Luckily, the monsters we encountered were little. Strangely, my belly felt bigger while we were in the way there.
When we arrived, we quickly settled in an inn and rested ourselves. The baby in my belly was growing extraordinary fast. Normally, it would take a week for a cat sith''s baby to be born. But the baby in my belly was growing so quickly that it looked like I was being inflated like a balloon. By the time we were on the inn''s bed, I was about to give birth. Because Risha did not have any experience in nursing, she panicked. But I calmly gave her instructions on what to do, as I was taught my parents before. It could be because my mother had really emphasized on it, that I remembered how to prepare for giving birth. Every push was hard, a pain worse than the burn mark on my back keeps assaulting me. In the end, I succeeded in giving birth. Thus, a baby girl was born. She had big eyes, a cute face which resembles me and nothing like the Noble and was crying in a soft voice. However, the weird thing was that she had short, pointy ears. This was very shocking. I, a cat sith, had given birth to a half-elf. I do not know how this had happened. Was the Noble secretly an elf, or was he not the father, I was unsure. But, no matter what race she was, she was still my daughter. I, made an oath to raise her and protect her as my own, my dear sweetheart, my Hana. Chapter 11 (Mother and Daughter) . Chapter 11 Mother and Daughter -Machi- After the birth of Hana, Risha and I decided to first register at the adventurers'' guild to earn a stable income. We are going to need it to take care of Hana. Demi-humans have higher stamina and strength compared to ordinary humans, thus I was able to move about even though I just gave birth. When we went to the adventures'' guild, Hana was with us. Because the danger of rough adventurers exist, I did not want to risk ourselves getting harmed by them. The fact that I was a demi-human was hidden from them as well, my ears covered properly with a hood and my tail tucked in. I do not know of the city''s level of discrimination against demi-humans. Resisting them would also reveal my race, that was why Risha came along with me as my protection. But leaving Hana back at the inn by herself was also a no go, so we had no choice but to bring her along. Of course, we hid her ears as well. But, as expected, one of them showed up and stood in front of us when we entered the guild. "Hey hey, this is not a place for mothers like you! Two of them? Their man must be lucky!" I endured their insult, as I did not want to cause trouble. But, Risha stood up against them in my stead. "Huh? Did you say something, rotten garbage?" She cracked her knuckles with a *pika-pika*. Along with intimidating aura around her, you could tell that she was angry. "Hahaha, you? Do you think you can do something about this?" Five or so men surrounded us swiftly, welding their weapons against us. As Risha was getting ready to fight, a lady in her late twenties suddenly stepped into the ring. "Stop! You are not allowed to harm innocent civilians! They are not adventurers, so if you do something to them, you will be arrested!" So says the lady. From her tone, she must be the guild''s staff. "Don''t worry, we will be registering today. I want to teach these brainless smuts a lesson anyway." The men scowled at us, probably angry at Risha''s insult. "A-ah. If that''s the case, then after registering, you are free to do whatever you wish to them. We guild staff members cannot interfere with argumentsbetween adventurers. Although you are supposed to take a test of strength to see if you are able to register, if you are able to defeat these people, you are automatically registered." "Alright then, time to deal with those hooligans." Crosses appeared on the men''s foreheads. "We''ll kill you!" Risha stepped forward in her combat stance. The first man swung his sword downwards at Risha. She dodged its trajectory, as it was easy to read his movements. She went behind him and punched the side of his neck, and then thrusting him into the ground with a left hook. Another two men rushed at her. The first with a club aimed for her legs, while the other with a spear aimed for her shoulders. They probably tried to do so to slow her movements. But, she used their heads as a boost and jumped into mid-air. After doing a spin, she landed on the first man''s right flank and grabbed his head, throwing his entire body across the guild. As.the second man was about to pierce her with his spear, she grab hold of the end pointing towards her and pulled on the spear. The man tripped forward and Risha gave a spectacular punch to his face. "A-amazing." "That nee-chan can fight!" "Whoo! I''m rooting for you!" That was the reaction of the peanut gallery. However, the supposed leader of this troupe was about to play dirty. His subordinate went to fight against Risha, while he came at me. Luckily, I was still able to fight a bit, although I only could use my right hand, as the other hand was holding Hana. I swiftly dodged every attack he threw at me with his gauntlets. However, his face had a wicked smile when we went near Risha. His subordinate suddenly swapped his attention to me and aimed at Hana. This is bad! Very bad! If an attack hits Hana, Even though she was just born... *Clang* What was that sound? When I turned to look at the source of the sound, I saw an unbelievable sight. Hana was protected by a golden barrier. The rapier the man was holding disintegrated into nothing. This child, what is she? Both the leader and the man were astonished at what has transpired before them. But, Risha was able to react quicker than them. She threw a fist at the man''s throat and kicked the leader''s crotch. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Both of them landed with a thud on the ground, the man gasping for air and the leader curled up into a ball, squealing. "With this, do we pass?" "Y-Yes. I hereby confirm your registration to the adventurers''s guild." After that, we headed straight back to the inn.
"Machi, I saw what had happened. What was that?" Risha questioned me with curiosity. "I do not know as well. But, it appears that there is more to Hana than meets the eye." Questioning Hana now would be dumb, so we decided to ask her when she becomes older. Both of us took turns to take care of Hana, alternating each day between earning money at the adventurers'' guild and babysitting Hana. Hana was a very intelligent girl. She learned the language of the world in just a month, is able to do arithmetic and can remember everything she sees. When she was able to speak, she spoke the language fluently for the first time, although she did say some gibberish at times. I still remembered her frequent phrase "Na-ru-hou-dou", although I do not know what it means. She explained about her powers to us all of a sudden. We did not know why she did so, but we listened attentively. Apparently, she has the ability to cancel all attacks on her by using a barrier. However, she is unable to attack back. She could only protect herself like that for 10 seconds. Sharing the barrier with others was not possible. With this, I understood what had happened at the adventurers'' guild at that time. She treated both of us like parents, but Risha was treated mostly like a father, mostly because of her attitude and behaviour. She goes to the adventurers'' guild to earn money in the day, and comes back at night to take care of us. It was a touching sight to see her dedication. We three lived happily as a family. I wished that things could stay like this forever. But, things took a dark turn. When Hana turned eleven, Risha was struck down with a fever. We thought that she would get better if she rested. But, the fever persisted. A week, two weeks, a month passed, but her condition kept getting worse. I called in multiple doctors with the money we raised, but they did not know the cause for her illness, as it was the first time this had happened in a century. I was heartbroken to hear that they were unable to cure her disease. She now looks frail and dried up, like an old granny. It was too painful to watch her suffer. Just as I was about to give up, one particular doctor had found the cure for it after a ton of research. A [Witherless Rose] was needed to compile the medicine, so I went with Hana to the outskirts of the city to find it. Which was what had led both of us into this situation. As the wolf bore it''s fangs at us, I stood in front of Hana, shielding her from the wolf. As the wolf charged at me, I was prepared to kill it with my claws. But, something unexpected happened. A single girl fell from the sky and landed on the wolf, burying it into the ground with a *boom*.
-Kakuto/Mina- Victoria-san turned transparent when we were heading down towards the two girls. Using [Warlord King], I landed upright on the wolf which was about to attack the girls. Whoops I think I used too much power, as the wolf sunk into the ground, not moving an inch. "Don''t worry, I''ll take it from here." I said some cool one liner towards the two girls. Ahh, I really feel like a hero. Wait, shouldn''t it be heroine? Meh, who cares about my gender now. I focused on the other wolves around me. Two charged at me at the same time. With [Speed Breaker], I transitioned behindtheir backs and threw punches at them. It was a one hit KO. When the other wolves saw what I did, they started to group up and faced me in numbers. You think just outnumbering me will do the trick? I kicked the ground, sending cracks in the earth towards the pack of wolves. By the time they noticed, the surrounding ground had become unstable and they lost their footing. I then reached my palms out and used Victoria-san''s skill, [Water Breath] at them. Although it was supposed to come out of my mouth, I could use it from my hands. Yeah, using it with my mouth does not look good for a maiden. The group of wolves were annihilated by the palm blast of [Water Breath], leaving no traces of life remaining, although their souls are still there. I prayed to them to send them to the afterlife and offered a strand of my hair to them. Apparently, my hair has magical properties. They are probably because of my racial trait, but I didn''t level up enough to be able to read its description. I only noticed it when my hair moved when it sensed enemies. Victoria-san explained that it probably reacts to magic power within the enemy. The stronger the enemy, the wilder my hair dances on my head. Come to think of it, my hair was dancing freely when I was fighting with Nebula huh. When I fought the wolves, my hair did not move an inch, so that meant I was powerful enough to defeat them. My hair should be enough of an offering for them. I wasn''t worried about it, as it would just grow back. Now then, "Who...are you?" I think it''s time to introduce myself. Chapter 12 ( Death and Life) Chapter 12 Death and Life -Kakuto/Mina- Facing the two ladies, I introduced myself. "Me? I''m just a mere traveller." Looking at their faces of disbelief and retort, I guess that bluff didn''t work huh. "Is what I wanted to say, but you two seem to have a lot of questions about me. If that is so, would you kindly guide me to the nearest city?" The cat woman nodded silently, while the elf girl tilted her head in curiosity. And so, the fou-ehm, three of us went to the human city. Along the way, I asked the cat woman some questions. "I know this is sudden, but would you mind telling me your names? Of course, I''ll tell mine as well." "Harr..I''m Machi. I don''t have a surname. This little elf here is Hana, also without surname." Heeh, this is the first time I heard someone without a surname in this world. Well, usually aristocrats have them, so it should be uncommon for a commoner to have a surname. I should not reveal my true name then. Thus, I used my alias. "My name is Mina, also without a surname. Pleased to meet you." I bowed slightly while lifting my dress in courtesy. "S-same here, Mina-sama" She did the same actions as me, however clumsily. The elf girl was snickering for some reason, but she bowed as well afterwards. Did they realise my identity was fake? Hopefully not. Although they may mistake me for a noble, I am not fine with that, as I may get into trouble when the time comes. "I''m not a noble, you know? I''m just an ordinary traveller." Their faces say otherwise. I don''t think I can clear this misunderstanding for now. I can do it later when we are near the city, so let''s focus in another topic. "Although it''s late, thank you very much for saving us from the Giant Wolves, Mina-sama. Hana and I are in your debt." Machi-san bowed again, with elegance this time. Hana followed. Ugh. I can''t stand this pressure of being of higher standing. I wasn''t born of a high status and wealth, so this is quite uncomfortable. "Umm, can you call me anything else but sama? It''s a little uncomfortable for me." "I see. Then, is Mina-san alright?" "I suppose so." "Alright then, Mina-san." Suddenly, Hana burst out laughing. What was that about? By the way, Victoria-san stayed transparent and silent the entire time while I was conversing with the two. "So, what are you doing in this kind of place?" "Ah, we were going to collect a special plant, which is this." Machi-san showed both Victoria-san and I a red plant I have never seen before. It had red petals the shape of a bowl. The stalk was red till the point of mistaking it for a red ribbon. The centre had reddish pollens on it. The entire flower was red, basically. "This is called the [Witherless Rose]. The doctor said that it was a plant which can cure a certain type of disease. Luckily, one of the traits this plant has is that it is unable to wither in any condition." "So, what are you going to do with it?" "Ah." Her face turned from peaceful to one in horror in a split-second. "Crap, we need to get to the city, quick!"This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Huh? What is Machi-san going on about? "There''s no time to explain, quickly! We have to go!" Machi-san stuffed the plant into a bag she''s carrying and pulled both me and Hana by the hand and began to briskly walk. The walk became a run. The run became a dash. "H-hold on, Machi-san. I think I have a better idea." Machi-san tilted her head after we stopped. Hana was panting, but trying to pretend she''s fine. She''s a good girl, but I don''t think Hana will last much longer. I whispered to Victoria-san. "Can you pretend to be my summoned beast? Just slowly turn opaque when I say a chant." "I get what you mean, alright." At least Victoria-san understands. "Buy me something at the city later." Of course... I placed my two hands palms out towards where Victoria-san is, and started a chant I made up on a whim. "With the power thee hold, I summon thee, my partner and loyal servant. Come, Victoria!" With a sparkling effect and a bright light, Victoria-san was ''summoned''. The two girls had their jaws dropped to the ground, rubbing their eyes to dispel the illusion in front of them. "Is...that...A real dragon, Mina-san?" "Aah yes, she''s my summoned beast." While the two are still in shock, I asked Victoria-san, "Man, that was a flashy entrance. You don''t have to go that far." "I didn''t." Eh? "W-what do you mean?" "I just made myself more opaque, nothing more." That''s strange, it should only have been a dragon slowly taking shape. Unless... No way. "Victoria-san, can you try touching something?" "Uhm. Wait, I can touch the grass!?" Victoria-san roared in astonishment. The other two had to cover their ears. "I think I really had summoned you..." "What are you, really." "Well, at least you are now like when you''re still alive." "Yeah, I can touch the ground too." Floating in the air all the time must be weird to Victoria-san, since she does not have that kind of movement function when she was alive. "We should investigate this when we find somewhere to stay." "Agreed." "For now, we have to transport these two." I encouraged them to board Victoria-san, but they seem hesitant. "Don''t worry, she won''t bite." They are as still as statues, and won''t listen to a single thing I said. Sigh, I don''t think there is much choice. I grabbed them both by the waist. "Ffuueeeeeee!!?¡± The both of them screamed when I jumped onto Victoria-san''s back while I carried them like luggage. With [Warlord King], it''s easy carrying those two, despite my size. "Okay, show us the way." Machi-san came back to reality and pointed at our destination. "Alright, go Victoria!" Forgive me for not using san. Thus, we flew towards the human city at a rapid pace.
-Risha- Where is this place? Oh yeah, I am in my room. Why am I here? I can''t think straight. My memory is becoming hazy. A weird person is standing next to me. Who is he? Why is he in our house? "G...e...t...o...u...t..." He started mumbling something. He looked disappointed and angry. He reached his hands towards me. Breathing became very difficult, I don''t know why. It''s probably the disease. I cannot breathe a single breath. I''m being choked to death. Is this how death feels like? It is unpleasant. Please end this. Some one...
What is this? I can see the room clearly. A 360 view of the room, showed the man strangling my neck. Who is this bastard, get off of me! Eh?, I can''t move? What the hell is this!? Why can''t I move!? Help!!! No one can hear me. Is this because, I died? It must be. I have a sort of red glow around my field of vision. Is this also because I became a soul? Aah, he''s writing something on a piece of paper. He placed it on the nearby desk. What does it say? I tried to move myself again. Hmm, looks like the trick is to think of where to go, and I will somehow float there. I glanced at the note.
To Machi-dono and Hana-dono I am deeply in regret that Risha-dono has died from riverdrop disease. The strain was too much for her and she passed away, however she gave me her last words before she died. "I love you a lot, Machi and Hana. I cherish you both with the bottom if my heart. Machi, when I''m gone, please take care of Hana." I have placed an advanced letter for the payment of the treatment for Risha when you were out collecting the [Witherless Rose]. Sincerely, Doctor U.V. Rai
What a bunch of bullcrap. He killed me for god''s sake! This is outrageous! Extortion! If I ever see that man next time, I will kill him! Not that I can do anything in my current state though. I don''t think I can really do anything here. Should I try moving out of here first of all? I floated towards the door, and through it I go. I can somehow travel through objects. That''s convenient. I tried to go through the window, but I can''t. I keep hitting an invisible wall. Am I going to stay here in this house forever? NOOOOO!!!
-Kakuto/Mina- We finally arrived at the human city. When I was chatting with Machi-san along the way there, I got some information from her. The human city was called Rakusha. It has a population of a hundred thousand, which was half of the Ayashi''s population. It was the biggest city in the human continent, with the second being Marita, with a population of twenty-five thousand. There are no more settlements in the human continent, other than a few lingering tribes here and there. Marita was very discriminative against demi-humans and allowed the use of slaves. I don''t want to go there, ever. However, Rakusha was totally different. They accept demi-humans, treat everyone equally, regardless of status and have banned slave trade. And also, apparently an adventurers'' guild exists. All my effort of thinking why an adventurers'' guild cannot exist in Ayashi went to the gutter. *Kusu* I want to acquire more information, but now we have reached Rakusha. And, it seems trouble has already started brewing. "Fire!! There''s a fire in the west district!!!" Looks like things are about to get complicated. Chapter 13 (Baby) Chapter 13 Baby -Kakuto/Mina- The four of us landed a little far fromthe city''s entrance, so that we do not attract attention. The shouts we heard when we were in the sky were clearly audible on ground. I ''desummoned'' Victoria-san so that we won''t be adding to the chaos in the city, although she just became a ghost again. She turned fully transparent this time to make it seem like she disappeared due to the desummoning. We gave chase towards the city afterwards to find out the main cause for the panic.
"What''s going on?" Machi was confused as to what had happened before her eyes. Hana had about the same expression, but only more clueless than the former. People were rushing out like a stampede. The men shouting, the women crying, the children brought along, clueless. "If I am sure, there were people shouting at the entrance that there was a fire in the west district." "That''s where Risha is...Mina, we have to hurry!" "O-okay. But, aren''t we supposed to pay something like a fee to pass?" "Don''t worry, they give free excess to adventures like me. I can somehow persuade them that you are in my party, just that you have to make sure to register later." "Alright then, I''ll register later." I''ll get to become an adventurer huh... Wait, what did she just say?" "Err, Machi, did you say that you are an adventurer?" "Yeah?" "Does that mean that there is an adventurers'' guild!?" "Y-yeah...?" Are you kidding me...my theory was wrong? Sigh, this is what i get for jumping into conclusions. I have to stop this bad habit of mine. "Nevermind, forget what I had just said. You have to give that flower to someone right?" "Yes, follow me, quickly." We ran towards the entrance of the city. We were stopped by a guard at the entrance. He looked scary and distressed. "Madam, what are you doing here! There is a fire in the west district, so you need to evacuate!" "I am the adventurer Machi, and this is my party. We had heard that there was a fire somewhere in the city, so my party and I decided to help out in evacuating the citizens, and if possible save the ones still trapped in there." Nice improvise, Machi-san! "I see, alright then, you and your party may pass. Please help us evacuate the citizens." The guard did a 90 degree bow towards us, but because we are short of time, we ran towards Machi''s direction when he did so. I should apologize to him when I meet him again. After a short distance of about a kilometre, we had reached the west district. A giant fireball. Oh that''s was enough to describe the view of the current state of the place. A single living thing could not be seen, not to mention humans. There may be survivors in blind spots though, but it''s just a matter of time before they die from burning. It is just their luck that I''m here. Why? I have the [Soul Seeker] skill, so I can track them down in this fiery mess. I invoked [Soul Seeker] and several red and black balls appeared. I wonder do the colours signify anything... I''ll figure that out later.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. However, if I look closer, the black balls are disappearing, part by part the ball withers away like sand. That''s not a good sign. "Machi-san, go ahead to where your house is, there are some people who have not escaped from the fire yet." "I understand. Then," Machi-san and Hana went off towards their house at a quick pace. On the way here, Machi-san did mention that her house was secluded from other houses, so I should be able to find them with [Soul Seeker] later. Although, why was her house secluded? I have so many questions, not only about Machi-san and Hana, but about this world itself. What is the [Desire Seed]? Why did the first [Order of the Goddesses] create it? Why did they give the seed to me? If anything, I have to visit a shrine to get my answers. All the more I should clean this mess up a fast as possible. There is a group of four balls in a rather small house, three were red and one was black and withering. I should not waste any more time. Using Victoria-san''s [Water Shield], I protected the four of the balls from the fire. A dome of water covered the area around the four balls, including me. The fire is slowly put out. This must be the effect of the [Water Shield]. Apparently Victoria-san is not wary of it, but her [Water Shield] is able to regenerate health. Perhaps because she was a dragon at that time, so she does not know about it. Even without looking at its statistics with [Appraisal], it knew it was so when the three balls turned from red to white. I entered the shield of water and went into the small, black, charcoal-smelling house.
"Uwahhhhh!!!" As I entered, I heard a crying voice of a baby coming from inside. I was greeted with a ventablack room, with creaking sounds of burnt wood and the smell of roasted furniture. I looked to a corner of a room, to find a woman protecting a basket. However, that woman was burnt to a crisp. There were the three balls that I saw in the basket. They belonged to a cat and it''s young, and a baby, wrapped in a silk blanket. The woman was probably this baby''s mother. This is just horrible. I don''t think this baby will be able to survive on its own. My guilty conscience is acting up. If only I had been here sooner... Alright, I''m going to take responsibility in taking care of this baby. I invoked [Soul Seeker] and another ball other than the three white balls appeared. It was dark blue in colour, almost the same as Victoria-san. Maybe the colour blue signifies the soul becoming a spirit capable of going into the afterlife. I tried talking to the soul. "Umm, hello? Are you this baby''s mother?" . .. ... "A...ugh...Did...I...die?" "I''m sorry, but yes." "I see. The fire got the better of me. Who are you by the way? And why can you talk to me?" "I''m sort of a special existence, so yeah. You can think of me as someone who can talk with spirits. My name is Mina" "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mina-sama. I am Karen, this girls mother." Girl? "So this baby is a she?" "Yes." Geez, all baby faces, they look the same, regardless of gender. "Am I able to take care of this baby? I promise to raise her and protect her to the end." "May I hear your reason for doing so?" "She just looks familiar to me." "I see. Well then, you have my gratitude." "By the way, I am able to reincarnate you into another life in this world. Would you like that?" "I appreciate it." When I was on the way to the city with the others, I checked out if some of my skills got updated. The [Assimilation] race skill was one of them.
[Soul Seeker] Allows the interaction between spirits and souls. If the soul gives you it''s permission, you are able to take the soul along as your companion. Ethereal form can be granted to the soul. However, if the host of the soul is not strong enough, the soul will automatically be sent into another life in this world.
This basically means that only strong people will be able to follow me. Citizens and the like will just reincarnate. Considering that Karen is a normal human, I don''t think she will be able to come along with me. However, she accepted that fate. So, I will honour her request. I absorbed her soul with the same method as when I absorbed Victoria-san. The ball slowly is pulled, but to my left hand this time. She entered my palm and came out of my right hand a second after.
Skill acquired: [Chore Master]
The ball shot towards the sky, disappearing from my sight after entering the grey clouds. I wish you a happy life, Karen.
I got a skill from Karen through [Assimilation]. I guess this shows that even if they reincarnate, I can still get their skills. Although expected of a mother, but really? Chore Master? Aren''t I now the perfect candidate for a loli maid? Would be nice to try being one though... No no no, come back, my train of thought. This is not how a guy should act. Oh wait, I''m a girl now. Did my thinking process change as well when I swapped gender? I hope not. After satisfying myself with my own comedy, I walked to the side of the basket. Picking up the basket, I had a closer look at the baby. She has defined features. Her face was small and plump, as expected of a baby. Her eyes her large, but closed, probably due to how a baby usually sleeps more than adults. But, the main feature, was that she has black hair. The people living in this city, I have seen many vibrant colours of hair like red, green blue and the like. However, this is the first time I seen one with black hair. Pulling back the blanket covering her head exposed the rest of it. Short black hair. "This is..." The baby suddenly woke up. "Gu..gu...ga....gu?" My heart is melting. Stop. Please. I''m weak to babies. Stop. Stop! Don''t look me with that face! Aah, she tilted her head with the same expression. Kwueeeee! So cute! I might die of sugar overdose! Can trees die of sugar overdose? I don''t think that''s possible, so screw you diabetes! I can eat all the sweets I want now! *Ahem* I went back my usual calm mode. Anyway, this baby, she looks awfully familiar to me, I wonder... . . . No way. It can''t be. Wait, it''s should be possible, since I had reincarnated as well. I have a gut feeling, with my experience with many light novels and such, this baby, is a reincarnated person. Chapter 14 (Enemy) Chapter 14 Enemy Damn, this is not the time to be caught by this baby''s trance. I invoked [Soul Seeker] and tried to search for Machi-san and Hana. They are located quite a distance from here. With [Speed Breaker] I should be able to make it there in a few minutes though. Although I''m worried if the air resistance will affect the baby, I''ll just cover her face with the blanket again. While holding the basket, I dashed towards the two, ignoring the scenery of blazing red around me. Although I secretly told Victoria-san to go with them in case anything happens, I''m still worried. Please be safe, Machi-san, Hana-chan. -Machi- After parting with Mina, Hana and I sprinted towards where our house was. The route there was almost unrecognisable. The roads and alleyways were painted charcoal black and the crackling sound of fire was heard all around us. With the anxiety building inside me, I ran faster, pulling Hana''s hand along. We reached our house after turning here and there through the complex alleyways of the slums. Our house was only big enough for three to four people to live in, however the fire engulfing the building was larger than the other buildings. At the entrance, I cast as much [Water Ball] as I could to put out the fire, but it was not enough. "Ris-sha, uguu..." Mina started crying. Please stop that Mina, if not I''m going to cry as well... No. I will never accept this. If there is a very small chance that Risha is alive, even by a hair strand, I will grasp it. I got to save Risha, even at the cost of my life! I soaked myself in water with [Water Ball]. "Mina, stay here. I will go and find Risha." "Mama, d-dont go..." Hana pleaded for me to stay with her. I knelt down and kissed her forehead. "I promise that I will be back, so stay here, okay?" "Un..." "I love you, Hana." I separated from Hana and braced myself, entering the building. Even though the fire was intense, the smoke coming out from the fire was too intoxicating. I covered my mouth with a wet handkerchief. Advancing to the living room, I saw the furniture burnt to ashes, the kitchen was destroyed and the walls were collapsing one after another. I hurried up the stairs, invoking [Water Ball] along the way to clear a path. However, I slowly started to feel dizzy. It seems that I used up too much mana. I rushed towards Risha''s room while staggering. Her door was blocked from the inside. There is no time to lose. Kicking open the door while it smashed to pieces, I shouted, "Risha! Are you alright!?" There was no answer, becausethe answer to that was on the bed. She was sleeping peacefully, with her usual face. But something was wrong. She was not breathing. "This, it can''t be..." I saw a note on the desk beside her. I picked it up to read it. "N-no, no, aahh..ahhhhhhhh!!!!!" -Risha- Machi dropped her knees onto the floor. I felt really bad for her, since I died and all. I really want to kill that bastard now. How dare he made my Machi cry! But I can''t even chase after him, not to mention killing. When I was living with Machi and Hana, I was always being supported by them. My only use was for earning income. Whenever I am with Hana, I could not take care of her as a proper mother.(1) I am always taken care of by Machi when I came back from work. My only use is to earn income to support my family. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Of all times to be useless, why now!? Will Machi forgive me for dying? Hana too, will she miss me when I am not around any more? *Creak* What''s that? The ceiling? It started to crack. Machi is just under it. You can''t be serious. The ceiling fell apart, bringing the roof down towards her. Machi!!! *CRASH* Huh? What happened? There is a bright light at where Machi was. At a closer glance, I could see Hana holding her hands up, shielding the debris from reaching Machi. "Wha, Hana!?" Machi was surprised as well. "Mama, don''t die! Please!" Hana shouted with all her heart. It was pleasing tohear that, but her face was getting cramped. "Sorry Hana, give me a second!" Machi punched the debris out, reducing the stress on the shield Hana generated. Soon after, all debris was free from clogging Hana''s shield. "It''s fine now, Hana." "Un." Hana lost consciousness and fell onto Machi''s hands. At the same time, the shield disappeared. Thank you, Hana, from the bottom of my heart. But, a sudden knife was thrown at Machi. However, she was able to react quickly and caught the knife in her hands. "As expected of the adventurers'' guild''s famous Risha''s wife, you are as strong as they say, but not mentally. Kyahahahah!" Who is this guy? I sense a sudden irritation within me. I looked up at the roof to find a man in a lab coat. Isn''t that the bastard who killed me!? "I thought I can finally kill you, the last Cat Sith, with my own hands, but that pesky brat just had to interfere, rather, what was that power?" "You are the one that treated Risha, right?" "Yes, it was me. Although I killed her though. Kyahahahah!" This guy''s laugh is annoying. I want to beat him up into pieces, but I can''t, since I''m dead. Machi''s face became black. It''s the first time I saw her like this. "Since I can''t kill you by the ''letter bait'' method, I''ll just deal with you right here and now! Kyahahahah! Maybe I''ll kill that brat too in the process!" "Die." The moment Machi said that, she suddenly grew a few centimetres, her fingernails suddenly became sharp claws, her teeth grew bigger and sharper, like canines. This was a special trait of the Cat Siths, which make them so dangerous, to the point of driving them into extinction. When I came home on a particular day, some thieves broke into our house. But, they were all killed and ripped to shreds by Machi, who transformed herself into this figure. After eating them, piece by piece to get rid of the evidence, she lost consciousness at the entrance. It was lucky that I was there. Whenever she transforms, it seems that she loses control of herself and attacks anyone indiscriminately and eats them after they die. When she woke up, I discussed with her about her trait, to never use it unless she gained full control over it. But, it''s too late now. A bloodbath was about to ensue. Chapter 15 (Monster) Chapter 15 Monster When was the last time I felt this way? Ooh, that''s right,When I was at home cooking alone with Hana. While we were making dinner, I heard a loud ''bam'' sound resounding in the kitchen. Even Hana was able to pick up the sound. I knew it came from the entrance, Thanks to my ear''s perception of hearing. I went to check while I told Hana to stay put. When I got there, I saw three men dressed shadily, with black suits and masks. "Hey, there''s still people living in this damn house! How are we going to make a base here!" One of the men shouted loud enough for both me and Hana to hear. Base? Well where we lived probably looked like a villain''s headquarters so it would make sense for these type of people to show up. The largest of the three came to a decision. "No choice huh. Kill her." The other two men walked up to me briskly. One of them went behind and grabbed my arms and the other pulled out a knife. Usually in this type of situation, one would be screaming for help. However, I am unusually calm. I could not help but laugh at this predicament. "Hooh, you want to kill me, you say?" "Wh-what? Obviously!" "Then..." I overthrew the man holding my shoulders onto the floor, slamming him into the other man. "Come and kill me then." "Oww, the hell is wrong with this woman!" "Wait! Look closer! Those ears!" "Yeah, so? It''s just a stinking beastkin. A filthy Cat Sith as well." "Don''t you know, boss!? She''s Machi! The famous Risha''s partner!" "So?" "Huh?" "She won''t be able to attack us with our ''Shield'', right?" "Err, but didn''t she just..." "Our ''Shield'' will be able to protect us, right ?" "O-oh! Yeah!" What''s with these dumbasses. "Stop with your gibberish and come at me." "Alright, let me get my ''Shield'' up first." The large man took out an unusually large coat. It had the same colour as my fur. It also smelled similar to me. Wait. Don''t tell me... "You bastard!" "Ooh, you know what this is? Good, I took quite a while to make this, you know? This fur is quite rare to find. I went to a village and found people with this material, so then I decided to kill them and used the fur to make this coat. Nice huh?" "Sh-shut up." "Huh? What''s that? I can''t hear you! Hahahaha!" Anger was welling up inside me. The reason was obvious. "Before I kill you people, I will ask one question." "What is it? I don''t have all day. Since you are going to die anyway, I''ll grant your wish." "Where is that village located?" "Hmph. In the Southwest of the captia---¡± Before he finished his sentence, I pierced his stomach with my claws, pulling out his innards. Guts were spilling out of his chest, blood sprayed everywhere on the floor. "Ah, is that so. Thanks for the information. Now die." Then large man was breathing heavily and staggered a little, before he dropped to the ground, landing in his own pool of blood. I took the coat away with my clean hand and placed it on a coat hanger, far from where the other two men are, who were stuck in place due to what was happening. "B-boss?" "Oi, boss! You okay!?" The two went up to the large man to confirm his safety. "Now, you will regret ever coming into this house." "HHHEEEEEKKKKK!!!!" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Those screams were the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I saw Risha holding me in her arms. In a drowsy voice, I spoke: "R-Risha, what happened? What did I do? Did I do something bad?" "Shhh, it''s alright. You don''t have to remember for now." "Y-yeah. You''re right." After we settled down, Risha, Hana and I sat in a circle in the living room. "Okay, I will now properly explain what has happened, according to what I got from Hana." Aah, Hana was watching huh. "When you were about to kill the two men, you turned into a hideous monster. Not even Hana was able to make eye contact with you. After you killed the two men, you are up the three dead bodies. You collapsed on the ground afterwards." W-what? That''s terrible. "I have no idea what has happened to you. I will try to find somebody to help you wit-¡± "Stop. Don''t say that. I''ll be able to take care if it myself." Since it is a trait of the Cat Siths. "Alright, I''ll trust you. However, promise me one thing. Always call for my help when you are in trouble. I''ll be there in a second, so never try to become ''that'' ever again." "Okay then Risha. I will swear to never transform into ''that''." I wished that I could have protected that promise forever. "Please, mama, don''t become that monster again!" "Sorry, Hana." I held her in my arms and embraced her. I''m sorry Risha, Hana, but I am going to break your promise. "Wa-!" The doctor flinched at the sudden transformation of Machi. He had thought that she only had enough power to defend herself, thus he stood at a distance from her to attack with his scalpels. However, this unexpected change caused him to step back a few times. What is this monster. The phrase kept repeating in his head multiple times. Suddenly, he lost sight of her in just a few seconds. She had disappeared from her original position. He had no time to wonder where she had gone, for a fist came from below him, knocking his jaw out. The force was enough to twist his neck apart, but he activated a device he had prepared just in case. [Armour of Life] Many metal strips encased the doctor, concentrating on the point of impact on his jaw to minimize the damage. But, the impact was so large that most of the metal strips were shattered. The force propelled him to the distant roofs of the slums. The monster followed by jumping roof to roof. Every step the monster took destroyed a part of the roofs of the slums. The doctor finally landed into a worn-down building several meters away from their house. "Ouch... That hurt. Luckily I activated my other gadget." A yellow marble he took out from his pocket disintegrated into thin air. "I can''t afford to be careless now-" As soon as he said that, his felt a blow to his left side. Although the armour tried to protect the doctor, the angle and force of the punch caved the metal strips inwards, piercing his skin and breaking his ribcage. Landing on the wall after the impact, the doctor coughed a ton of blood. "D-damn you, damn beastkin!" As he said his final words, a claw touched the right side of his face, pushing its hand closer and closer to the left, dislocating his neck. At least that was what he thought had happened. A black shadow suddenly appeared on the ground, engulfing him by so sinking him into the floor. The monster was surprised at the sudden appearance of the black shadow. It tried to attack the shadow, but it disappeared entirely when the monster swung her claw. As the monster was about to lose consciousness, "Is that you, Machi?" The monster turned its head vigorously, exposing its horrible teeth and sharp eyes towards two figures. "Please, save Mama!" Theperson with a smaller stature cried while begging the other persona. "Don''t worry, I will bring her back." Chapter 15.5 (What Kakuto/Mina was doing) Chapter 15.5 What Kakuto/Mina was doing -Kakuto/Mina- I rushed to the slums where I saw the giant flameball. This must be where Machi and Hana are. However, I can see four souls. Two of them are Machi and Hana. The other two are foreign to me. One of them is white, but with a red aura around it. Could this be the one Machi was looking for? The other is white as well, however I can feel a disgusting aura from that soul. It was enough to make me vomit blood. Do I have blood? I still don''t dare to find out though. I. Hate. Pain. Reaching the house on flames, I entered the house. Using [Water Manipulation], I extinguished the flames in the house as I treaded carefully. I can absorb water from the air through forceful condensation of water vapour. Such a convinient skill. I dampened the cloth covering the baby with a little water to protect her from the fire. She struggled a little bit, probably because the sudden sensation of water suddenly being poured onto her. But, she quickly settled down afterwards. I head a sudden explosion from the second floor. I got to hurry. Walking up the burning stairs at a quick pace while dodging the debris falling from the roof, I made it to the second floor. Entering the room where I located the souls in, what I saw was Hana crying and a large hole in the building. I walked towards Hana while carrying the sleeping baby. She sleeps suprisingly fast huh, what''s more in this kind of situation.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Don''t tell me she''s going to be the airhead type. I placed my hand on Hana''s shoulder. "Hana, I''m here. Can you please tell me what happened?" "*sniff*umu*sniff*.......M-Miina-san?" Aah, she finally noticed me. "Yes, I''m here. Can you tell me what happened?" "Okay." Alright, I roughly know the situation thanks to Hana. In order to get to where Machi is, I''ll need to jump on the roofs of the slums, to reduce travelling time. I grabbed Hana by her waist. "W-wha...!" "You''re coming too, i assume?" "U-umu." I can tell from her eyes that wants to follow me, was what I like to say, but thanks to [Soul Seeker] I know her true feelings. Well, before I go, there''s one more thing I have to do. [You''re coming too, am I right?] [What!? You can see me?] [Yes. I''ll explain later. I can guess that you are related to Machi and Hana right?] [Err, yeah...] [Okay then, follow me.] The soul with a red aura bobbed up and down non-stop. I leaped from building to building while holding on the the two. "Umm, Mina, may I ask, who is that baby?" "Aah, a mother entrusted to me her baby before she passed." "Um...I''m sorry." "It''s nothing to apologise for, since it''s not your fault." She''s cute!!! Please be my daughter! I want to pat her on the head, but since I''m currently in the air, that would not be possible. I''ll just pat her when I''m finished with this then. We arrived at the location of a big impact in the side of another building. There was a guy cursing at Machi...? Who is this huge beast? This is Machi right? They have the same soul as well. She looks terrifying. The fur on her apparently covered her areas by some coincidence. I bet any guy who saw this would curse the god who put fur on her. Wait, wouldn''t that actually be a good idea... But suddenly, a black shadow engulfed him entirely, swallowing him into the ground. What the hell was that? Aah, Machi suddenly turned to look at us. "Please, save Mama!" *Gulp* Oi oi Hana, aren''t you giving me quite a little big responsibility here? Okay, how ]am I going to calm Machi down without injuring her... Crap, she''s coming here! "Hana! Hold this baby and protect her!" "B-but..." "No buts! Hurry, or you guys may get injured!" "O-okay!!" I passed the baby to Hana and she put up her forcefield. To be honest, I checked her status when I met them for the first time, and she had this skill.
[Protector] Grants in invincible shield to the holder of this skill. This skill is the highest quality out of all other defence skills. The shield can be freely manipulated as the user desires, but the damage done on the shield reduces the energy of the user proportionately.
With this knowledge, I know that she will be able to protect the baby no matter what, although I''m worried about her stamina. Now, let''s get ready for battle shall we? Chapter 16 (Cat and Tree) Chapter 16 Cat and Tree The tension in between the two was extreme. I was to the point where any normal person could feel chills down their spines. The werewolf, who was once known as Machi, was growling loudly at the person before her. The mentioned person had beautiful glossy green hair, large green eyes, pointy ears and the height of a child. She could be easily mistaken for an elf, however little did anyone know her real identity. She walked slowly towards Machi with a steady pace. Machi started to walk up to her as well with the same pace. Both stopped at a meter between them. The little girl looked above her head to see Machi towering her in every aspect. "From up close, she looks kind of scary." The face of the monster grew worse with her eyebrows creasing and her teeth exposed, leaving a trail of drool running down her sides of her face. "Lets try fighting with this then." The little girl jumped towards the werewolf and touched the saliva dripping down Machi''s face. She could not react to the sonic-fast actions of the little girl and just stood there in shock. However, she recovered as soon as the little girl swiped the drool off her face. Getting ready to punch by drawing her right fist backwards, her left leg was tangled by something wet and hard. Ignoring this, the right punch succeeded in reaching the little girl, but she dodged it barely while having a confident face. Throwing left and right jabs while being stuck in place, she continued to rampage at the little girl. But the little girl somehow knew all the movements of Machi, dodging every single punch and fist coming into contact with her at a speed impossible to humans. Machi tried to pull her leg out while fighting the little girl , but it didn''t budge an inch. Irritated, she looked down to see her leg was caught by a translucent line. The line was connected to...nowhere. It had somehow disappeared into thin air while tracing the other end of the line. The line looked like a chain being stuck to a wall, but the wall is now the the surrounding air. Baffled by this, her confusion reduced her accuracy while fighting the little girl. Seeing her chance, she caught Machi''s left arm and jumped behind her large back along with it. Pinning her hairy hand to her back, Machi felt discomfort and irritation from the little girl''s actions. Multiple veins can be seen on the monster''s forehead, releasing a loud roar from her large throat.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. She tried to move her left hand, but it wouldn''t budge as well. Her left hand had the same sensation as her left leg. Machi realised that the same thing that happened on her left leg has happened on her left hand. Being stuck in both places, she let out a wolf''s cry of anger. The little girl proceeded to do the same thing to her right limbs, but the monster did something unexpected. Machi used her claw to tear her leg apart. Thick red blood flowed out of her left leg, flooding the floor with crimson colours. "Tch!" The little girl made a difficult face as she did not expect this outcome. The werewolf twisted around and grabbed the little girl with her right hand. Applying pressure into her grip, the little girl struggled to get out of her grasp. However, cracking sounds could be heard from the little girl, as she screamed louder than the werewolf. Her face went from relaxed to agony. Red blood was coughed out of the little girl''s mouth. "D-damn, my health, it''s reducing fast." The little girl panicked at her current situation. She had only tried to do crazy stunts like this according to the mangas and light novels she read. She analysed over a hundred fighting styles and ways to counter someone''s attacks who are stronger than her. But, she did not know of a way to counter someone who purposely injured themselves and still be equally powerful in attacking. The way to escape from a death grip twice the size of you was also not included. Due to this, her train of thought was disturbed and got distracted. Due to this, she was in this predicament. Adding the fact that she was inexperienced in fighting, she did not know the way to handle her skill well. Is my life, this second chance, going to end like this? What happened to the promise of saving Ayashi? What will happen to the world if I am not here to save it? These thought went to Mina''s mind before she died a second time. The death of Kakuto, or as he was known of Mina, did not happen here. "Hiyah!" Another girl of the same stature activated her shield on Mina. The monster was surprised at her glowing fist. The girl inside paused to think of what had happened and saw that the other little girl with similar features had saved her. However, because of that, the little girl and the baby she was carrying was unprotected. Mina was terrified of the fact that the shield around the little girl was lost and the both of them exposed to the danger in front of them. "Stop protecting me! Protect yourselves!" "No! I don''t want Mina to die!" These words took Mina aback. "This girl, she''s stubborn." Mina wanted to do something about this, but slowly, she realised she did not had to do anything at all. As to why, Machi had stopped moving. She was stuck in a predicament she made herself. Her left leg was cut off, so she is unable to walk properly. Her left arm was pinned tightly to her back, reducing her sense of balance. Her right hand was holding the shield, containing Mina inside. Thus, she was unable to move from her location. If she let go of the shield, the little girl would be able to cancel it and Mina would be able to attack. If she stood here like this, soon she would be rendered unconscious due to the lost of blood. Because of this, the werewolf was making an irritated face and howled at the little girl and the baby. The baby suddenly woke up and after seeing the giant monster in front of her, a loud crying could be heard. But, the cry was louder and higher-pitched than the roar of Machi and the scream of Mina. Hana had to cover her ears, so she accidentally dropped the baby onto the ground. The baby''s crying grew louder and louder until a pitch which was deadly to the ears of a beast was created. "AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" The werewolf screeched at the inaudible high-pitched cry and covered her ears in agony, releasing Mina from her grip. Seeing the chance that would not come by again, Mina signalled to Hana to release the shield. Hana had thought of the same thing, and decided to release the shield containing Mina. After the shield has dissipated, Mina landed on the ground, however she dropped to the floor instead. The bones which Machi cracked had rendered her body useless. "AHHHH!!!" The screams from Mina added to the eardrum-piercing cry of the baby added to the damage to the werewolf, crippling her to the ground. "RROOOOAAARRRRR!!!" Trying to drown out the death pitch coming from the two did not help, thus it was a futile struggle. Everyone was in a stalemate. No one was able to attack nor defend. The endless cycle has caused the surrounding people to notice their presence, but not one was able to get close. The surrounding guards who noticed the situation were also unable to enter. The cry of the baby prevented the monster from attacking or defending. The crippled Mina, who hated pain the most, screamed at a tone where human ears could not stand. None were able to destroy this vicious cycle. That was until the fourth party entered. Chapter 17 (Saviour(?)) Chapter 17 Soulmate A sudden burst of red light and air exploded right in the middle of the endless screeches. The figure who appeared was a tall, stock figure with crimson hair. Shoulder-length hair, large red pupils and a small, round chin, she walked towards the beast from behind. "Don''t worry Machi, it will be over soon." The monster noticed her presence, and swung itshand, which is holding Hana, at the woman behind it. The woman skilfully ducked and grabbed itsarm, swinging herself into the air with the momentum. Landing on the shoulders of the monster, the tall woman placed both her hands on the monster''s head. "[Soporify]" Heat gathered around the monster''s head, creating a heatwave around its skull. "ARRUUGGhHhh....uuuug..h..hh.." The woman took the girl in the beast''s arms and carried her down. The girl had a very confused face, while on a verge of tears. The beast titled sideways and slammed its body to the ground. The woman walked away from the girl towards the screaming girl. "Now then..." Cracking her knuckles, she formed a fist and faced Mina. "Shut your crap!" A smack on the back of Mina''s neck rendered her unconscious, stopping her endless screams. Mina dropped to the floor the same way as the beast did. "Well, now that''s settled..." The woman turned to look at Hana. "I''m back, Hana." "U-uuua-uaaahhhhh!" A dam broke through Hana''s eyes, as she ran towards the woman, hugging her as tight as she could. "It''s okay, I''m here." "I-I *sniff* t-thought you *sniff* died......" "I''ll explain everything later, for now, we need to get out of here, and fast. Look, the guards are here." Hana looked towards the open roof which the beast broke through. They were near the hole, so they are able to see the peanut gallery down below at a good angle. Most of them had shocked faces, some surprised. But the thing they have in common, they would remember the fight between the girl and beast forever in their minds. The city''s guards were charging towards the scene in a distance, which would not be beneficial for the two of them. "Come, lets go Hana." "Y-yes, but how are we going to carry them?" "Ah, don''t worry, let me handle this." The woman held Mina over her shoulder and grabbed the unconscious beast with one hand. When one from our world sees this, they would question the laws of physics after spectating this miracle. "H-how..." "As I said, everything can be explained later. For now, we have to get somewhere private. I know the perfect place, so don''t worry." "O-okay." "Stay very still, or else this might fail. Okay?" "Huh?" "No. 4, we''re ready!" A giant blue magic circle suddenly expanded and appeared right below both of them. Amidst Hana''s surprise, the magic circle shone a great blue light and covered their entire body. The peanut gallery made a lot of noise when thus happened. As the light faded, the main figures responsible for all of this we''re unable to be found. When the guards arrived, they could not decipher what has happened. A particular guard stood out from the crowd, wearing red gaudy armour. "Everyone, it''s the Guard Captain!" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Wooo!" "Yeah!" The peanut gallery was thrilled to have the guard captain here, and thus cheered for him. "Tch!" However, he put on an irritated expression, not due to the noisy peanut gallery, but something else, which he felt was more important. -Kakuto/Mina- How long was I passed out for? I can''t move my legs, or arms. I sense a d¨¦j¨¤ vu here. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids aren''t moving, are they? Looks like I''ve turned back into a tree. Well, firstly I have to see what is going on around me, thus I activated [Clairvoyance]. Im in some kind of white sparkly room, and apparently I''m on a bed. The room was filled with expensive-looking decorations like vases, mirrors and a sparkling tabletop. The bed frame has curtains around it with the front exposed to the entrance. The entrance has a double door, the size of two floors. The bed was soft and clean, looks to be washed regularly. I feel bad for the people who wash this, since I dirtied it with my roots. Hang on, my roots are exposed, and they are very clean. Aren''t I going to die from the lack of water? Let me check my status.
Kagumina Kakuto Race: Yggdrasil (Sapling-I 2/100)
HP:103/103 MP:10/103 Strength:908 Defence:924 Stamina: 1465 Speed:501
Did I level up from a sapling? My statistics seemed to have increased. I''ll look through all my new skills later, since there''s more important matters at hand. I roughly know what had happened based on the events that happened before, but where is this place? *knock**knock**knock* Hey, isn''t this bad? I''m going to be exposed as a tree lying on a bed! The door opened slowly, creaking at every push. I looked intensely at the incoming guest, to reveal a maid. A MAID! The frills on her dress, the apron on the front, the contrast of black and white, the high stockings, the young and fresh face of a bishoujo, it''s the perfect maid! I feel like I''m in Japan all over again! Well, at least the Akihabara part of it. "Eh! Why is there a tree here?" Oh no, she found me. Why did I get distracted? I don''t think I can transform in this situation, since my MP is quite limited. "Did Risha prank me again? Sigh, that woman always likes to tease me." Hey, did she just say Risha? "Looks like I have to call Chris here. If I were to hurt this tree anyhow, the lord will be mad." The maid walked out of the room at a quick pace. Who''s this Chris? And lord? Am I in some noble''s room? What is happening!!!??? I have to get out of here, fast. Who knows what they are going to do with me. Aah, my MP... I have no choice. I transformed into my human form, and stood up from my bed, only to fall over. Eh? I really can''t move my legs. "It seems you are awake, Mina." "Sigh, this is an unsightly display, Mina." "Mina!" Huh? What are these girls doing here? Chapter 18 (Explanation 1) Chapter 18 Royalty -Kakuto/Mina- "Who are you?" Hana looked at me with a frightened face. "I''m Mina?" "What is this boy doing here?" Victoria answered nonchalantly. Eh? What does she mean? "Seriously, who are you? You''re not Mina, right?" "But, I am! I am Mina! What are you guys talking about!?" "Mina isn''t a boy, you know." Eh? I''m a boy? Really? Did my gender somehow changed back? My hair was shorter than before. I touched my ears, they were the same saize, but still pointy. I looked down at my hands, to see that they are a little bit bigger than before, same for my legs. I did not have any bust on my chest. I felt my ''thing'' there. My size didn''t change at all, so I should be a shota now. Did I really change back into a boy? I somehow felt glad about it. Damn, does that mean I will have to explain to them about my identity? Maybe Victoria is just messing with me, but looking at her expression, it looks like she has no idea as well. Hang on, did I really change gender by coincidence? Or is there a reason for it? I got a feeling it might be a new skill. Let''s check.
{Future Saviour of Ayashi} Grants humanoid form to the user when MP is at least above half the maximum MP. Active for 80 hours maximum before cooldown. An hour uses 1 MP. Cooldown time reduces when near a source of water. Allows gender change.
So this is the cause. Does that mean I can change my gender whenever I want? Nice! I better clear the misunderstanding first of all.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I activated the title, and hair hair suddenly grew to my waist, my bone structure changed, I grew two small plumps on my chest and my ''thing'' disappeared. Although I feel glad that my manhood is back, It''s weird that I can get it back whenever I want. Then would I be able to have the best of both worlds? Stop it brain, stop it. Don''t think of unnecessary thoughts right now. "Is that really you, Mina?" Victoria questioned me. "Yes, it''s me, who else do you think it is?" She walked towards me, while I was still on the floor, unable to move. She hugged me. "Wha-!" "I''m glad you are safe, Mina. But it seems that your chest grew, huh. I''m jealous." She tried to fondle my chest, but Hana stepped in and stopped her. "No! Don''t tease Mina!" Victoria stood back in surprise. "She''s mine!" Eh? Hana hugged me the same way as Victoria did. What is happening!? "Eh, no fair. I want to hug Mina as well." Victoria sulked, but with that kind of ''I-want-to-tease-them-more'' face, I don''t want to think of what she might do to us. "Ahem, it seems that you have a lot to explain, Mina, or should I say, Kakuto?" Ah, I forgot about her. "Okay, I''ll explain everything, but you will also have to explain everything as well, Risha." "Fine.
When Kakuto was at Machi''s house and was on the way to find Machi, he spotted the soul with a red aura staying static beside Hana. He concluded that that soul was a special existence, and decided to talk to it. Activating [Soul Seeker], he spoke to the soul. "Umm, hello?" "Wha-! You can speak to me?" "Yes, apparently. May I know your name?" "Err, I''m Risha?" "Okay Risha, I''ll be blunt. Are you related to the girl over here?" "Yes, I am." "Do you know who Machi is?" "Yes, I live with her, so of course I know her!" "You do? Then it makes things easier. Do you mind telling me about her current situation?" "Yes." After Risha explained to Mina about Machi and her transformation skill, "Okay, I got the jist of it." "Please save her! I beg you!" "Okay, I promise. Say, I am able to send you to be reincarnated, do you want me to do so?" "Hmm, I don''t really want to, as I want to look after my family, even if I am in this state." "Well then, let me ask you a question. Are you strong?" "Yes." "Good. Then I should be able to bring you along." "Really?" "You filled the conditions for me to be able to bring you along, although as a familiar. I am able to grant you a body to protect your family. Will you accept?" "Gladly." Mina then reached out her hands towards the soul, bring it closer to her. The soul was sucked and disappeared into her hands. A leaf with a red fire insignia appeared on Mina''s dress. "Now you are my familiar, so you should be able to follow me." "Okay." Mina then took Hana by piggybacking and took off towards where Machi went.
-Kakuto/Mina- "And that''s the elaborated story of how I met Risha." "That was a very blunt way of talking, dosen''t sound like you at all." Victoria said with a sarcastic tone. Affterwards, I talked about my past life before I came to this world, what happened to me and my duty that I have to do. "And as for my sudden gender change, apparently I can now become a male as well." "Ooooh." All the girls stared at me with sparkling eyes. W-what is this? Why do I feel something bad is going to happen? "CHANGE TO A GUY, PLEASE!" Eeeeh?