《Dialu Ammirosa》


 1 — Arrival — From Michael

    Michael


    ¡°Are you ready, Luna?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°Yes, Dad! Let¡¯s go! I want to play!¡± Luna exclaimed, bursting with excitement.


    Chuckling at her enthusiasm, he told her, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get your helmet on, then.¡±


    Making sure it was turned on, he asked her, ¡°Can you see?¡± It was a VR helmet with cameras built in so the wearer could see the world around them, even with their vision fully obstructed by the helmet.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± she replied as she looked around the room. It should look exactly the same, but the fact that she wasn¡¯t looking at it directly made it novel.


    Ahh, my daughter is so cute.


    Luna quickly grew bored of looking at the familiar room, and said, ¡°Dad, hurry up! Let¡¯s play already!¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± he replied. ¡°Lay down on the bed while I get my helmet on. The game doesn¡¯t work if you aren¡¯t laying down.¡±


    The girl immediately ran to the bed and laid down, then became instantly frustrated by how boring waiting for her dad was.


    Michael grabbed his matching helmet and put it on. The helmet¡¯s cameras were good, but not perfect. The room looked the same, but there was a slight fuzziness to the image quality from the cameras. Few games implemented them anyway, so that wasn¡¯t a big deal. The quality was already quite high for something that would hardly be used.


    He laid down on the other side of the bed, then grabbed a controller to select the game they were going to play.


    It was one that Michael had spent quite a bit of time in up until last year, and then dropped it because of a significant change to his life at the time. He had still logged in occasionally, but simply didn¡¯t have the time or desire for it most days.


    This VR game, like many others of the past five years, had an actual ¡°dive¡± functionality to them. It didn¡¯t perfectly emulate the senses, but it was possible to walk around the world in the game just as you would with your real body.


    In reality, your body was simply comfortably laying somewhere. There were a plethora of sensors and safety mechanisms that made sure to detect any potential harm that may come to the body, either in real life or from stress in a game.


    Michael went through the menu and selected Torneltha. It was a fantasy game with a lot of stereotypical elements to it, but that was one of the reasons it was popular; it was a familiar setting but with new technology. Its odd development cycle had also drawn attention to it, as it almost seemed as if, out of nowhere, hundreds of people had all had the exact same idea and the drive to make it real.


    The other reasons it was popular were the absolutely absurd amount of detail and realism in the game. Thankfully, the game had parental settings, meaning Michael would be able to casually walk around a fantasy city with his six-year-old daughter, and any of the bloodier or more adult aspects would automatically be hidden away. He had already walked around the game world to test it out, and was satisfied that it was something fun and harmless he could do with Luna.


    A bright blue color filled their vision as they logged in, with small specks of multicolored light fading in and out of existence all around them. Though everything was such a vivid shade of blue, it wasn¡¯t painful to look at. Michael felt a small hand grab his own.


    ¡°Dad, where are we? Is this the game?¡± Luna questioned.


    Her confusion was completely understandable, as they were in a mostly blue space, with only a couch. This was the VR version of a computer desktop.


    He explained, ¡°We¡¯re not quite there yet. First, we have to create your character. Then we can play.¡±


    Michael sent an invite to Amber, and only a minute later, she popped into existence right next to them on the couch. Her character was an elf with tan skin and vibrant, copper hair with red streaks throughout. She sometimes referred to herself as a ¡°volcanic elf¡± because she used [Earth] magic with a [Heat] modifier.


    Torneltha¡¯s magic system made it so you could only use one element, but you were allowed to apply a modifier to it, allowing you to cast spells with that modifier much more easily than any spells without it. Being able to heat up earth until it melted and turned into lava was why Amber called herself that.


    ¡°Hiya!¡± Amber exclaimed.


    ¡°Wh-Who are you?!¡± Luna asked in surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯m your dad¡¯s friend, Amber. I¡¯ve met you a few times, but I look different in the game.¡±


    Amber was a friend Michael had made at work. They''d both had an interest in games and eventually started to play with each other. Despite the roughness of the past year, they still found time to play on occasion, though it hadn¡¯t been very often.


    ¡°Ohh!¡± Luna looked at her with sparkling eyes. ¡°You look so cool now!¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­ I don¡¯t look cool in real life?¡± Amber fake-pouted.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°No no no, you¡¯re really cool in real life! Even cooler than Dad!¡±


    ¡°Wha-!?¡± Michael said. ¡°So I¡¯m not cool?¡±


    ¡°No! Your nose is big and I always want to poke it.¡±


    Well, she does poke my nose a lot¡­


    Amber snorted in amusement. ¡°Yeah! Sometimes I think a plane is about to land, but then it turns out it was just his nose.¡±


    Michael retorted, ¡°Okay, you two. Don¡¯t make me turn this plane around.¡±


    She chortled and changed the subject. ¡°So did you show her some of the options? There¡¯s kind of a lot to go through.¡±


    ¡°I did that yesterday. She hasn¡¯t made a decision yet, though, so we¡¯ll be going through things right now.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± she nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get started, then.¡±


    He opened his UI as an example for Luna to learn how to open hers, then showed her how to begin character creation. A copy of Luna appeared in front of them.


    ¡°Whoa! It¡¯s me!¡± she yelled.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Michael said. He reached into her menu and pressed various buttons to show how she could change things. Luna¡¯s duplicate flashed through a few different species and hairstyles as he and Amber explained what was going on.


    Luna was excited to get started and began pressing every single thing she could, just to see what would happen.


    The two adults patiently explained some things about how the system worked and what changes she was making, but mostly just let her have fun. Eventually, she started to get bored and wanted to begin playing already.


    ¡°Do you know which species you want to play as?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°Umm¡­¡± Luna looked between her dad and Amber. Unlike Amber, he was currently here as his real self, not his avatar. ¡°Elf!¡±


    ¡°Good choice!¡± Amber praised her. ¡°Much better than the weird snake guy your dad plays as.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Weird snake guy¡¯?¡± Luna repeated, looking at him with her head tilted.


    He chuckled. ¡°Yes, I play a ¡®weird snake guy¡¯, just like the weird elf girl told you.¡±


    ¡°Rude!¡± Amber said.


    ¡°I want to see!¡± Luna exclaimed.


    Michael flipped through his menu and made his avatar appear next to Luna¡¯s. As Amber had said, it was a snake man; specifically, a snakekin. That meant his avatar had snakelike scales and slitted pupils.


    I think it¡¯s interesting. You¡¯d think more people would play as them, but I guess they don¡¯t have as much appeal.


    ¡°That¡¯s so weird!¡± his daughter said.


    Amber laughed at her reaction, and Michael just ignored both of them.


    He hadn¡¯t changed his avatar¡¯s appearance from his real one at all, but the game still gave a correction to the appearances of all the players. He was going to be very careful about how Luna played these kinds of games, because he didn¡¯t want her getting self-esteem issues regarding her appearance in real life.


    ¡°So what do you think?¡± Michael asked. ¡°Do you want to be an awesome snake?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She violently shook her head. ¡°Elf!¡±


    He smiled and rubbed her head. ¡°Okay. Elf it is.¡±


    Luna had only decided on the species she would play as, however, and still had a lot of options to go through. Having made that first decision, her interest in the character creation process was renewed, and she was having fun going through everything again. She was having difficulty pinning down what she wanted, however, and was growing frustrated.


    ¡°You said you wanted to make snow to play in, right?¡± Michael asked her, remembering what she had said last night. Luna loved playing in the snow, and the day she went snow tubing with her mom was one of her favorite memories.


    Michael tried not to think about how they wouldn¡¯t be making any new memories with Mia anymore. He was still grieving her.


    ¡°Yeah! I love snow!¡± Luna replied.


    With a direction in mind, they went to work making her character look like someone who used ice. This game¡¯s magic system was also partially tied to appearance. Hair, eye, lip, and fingernail colors were all dictated by the element and modifier chosen.


    Amber had bright, coppery orange as her main color, which meant she used [Earth] element magic. And the yellow streaks running through her hair meant she had the [Heat] modifier. When it came to the eyes, the element color would be the base, with the modifier providing little streaks in the irises. The lip color was almost exclusively the element color, and the fingernail color could kind of vary.


    Michael¡¯s snakekin character used [Wind] element magic with the [Cutting] modifier. That meant his main color was green, and the accents were silver. The colors on an avatar could be to be darker or lighter, or a different hue, but someone with wind magic would only ever be able to have green hair.


    Luna was having a lot of fun changing up her look, and she eventually settled on a few things. There was no ice magic in the game, which meant, to create snow, she would have to be a [Water] mage with the [Cold] modifier.


    The [Water] element meant her avatar could only have blue hair, and Luna had pushed it all the way to the lightest possible shade of blue the game would allow. It was quite pale, but was still visibly blue.


    The [Cold] modifier was white in color, leaving her avatar with light blue and white colors, which did indeed look quite icy. There was still enough blue in the eyes and lips for them to be visible.


    ¡°Very cool-looking,¡± Amber commented.


    ¡°Literally,¡± Michael added.


    ¡°Yes, that was the pun I just made.¡±


    ¡°I enhanced it by pointing it out.¡±


    ¡°¡­Uh-huh.¡±


    Luna interrupted, ¡°What will it look like when I¡¯m older? Will I still look cool?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± her dad replied.


    A person¡¯s avatar, if below the age of adulthood, could only match their real body¡¯s age in appearance. However, during the character creation process, the game did have a way to temporarily age up the avatar to see how it would look in the future. However, it did not have an option to view them side-by-side.


    For that reason, Michael opened up his own character editor and changed everything until it exactly matched Luna¡¯s profile, but as an adult. The result was a pretty woman with a fierce expression and light skin, with pale blue and white colors. He wasn¡¯t going to save any of these changes, as this was just to show his daughter what her avatar would look like all grown up.


    Might be interesting to play like that for a bit¡­ No way I¡¯m going to do it, though. I chose not to do that when I first started, too.


    ¡°Ohhh! I love it so much!¡± Luna shouted. Despite how much she loved it, she continued playing around with the settings.


    She has some specific look in mind, it seems.


    At first, he copied all her changes onto his own avatar, but quickly stopped, as that grew tedious. He was content to just sit back and let her have fun while he and his friend made comments. Once she was finally finished, a cute girl was standing next to a woman with similar, yet distinctly different looks.


    The adult¡¯s expression looks kind of fierce in comparison. And Luna¡¯s character looks super cute. Not that she isn¡¯t already super cute, her avatar is just a different kind of cute.


    Amber said, ¡°I like the current design of your avatar more than the other one, Mike.¡±


    He rolled his eyes. ¡°You would.¡±


    ¡°So what do you think?¡± Amber asked the young girl. ¡°I think it looks very cool and cute.¡±


    Michael added, ¡°Yes, she is very cool and cute! Pretty, too. And so is her character.¡±


    ¡°Aww, thank you!¡± Amber replied.


    ¡°No no, I was talking about this cute one right here,¡± he retorted, ruffling his daughter¡¯s hair again. The girl was basking in the compliments and attention she was receiving.


    Then the world went black.

 2 — Arrival — Identity

    <div>


    Michael


    The sound of people groaning and shuffling around filled Michael¡¯s ears. His consciousness felt fuzzy as he gradually began to wake up.


    I can¡¯t get comfortable. Why is my bed so hard and bumpy¡­?


    As he struggled to find a sleeping position that didn¡¯t hurt, he gradually realized that all the groaning wasn¡¯t just a podcast left on or something. It was coming from real people, including himself.


    Why did I sleep in a room with so many people? I did that in college once. Had enough of drinking after that. There¡¯s no way I would¡¯ve gotten drunk again, though, especially not after¡­


    The fogginess in his head was fading, and he was finally clearheaded enough to remember Luna. His eyes shot open and he bolted upright.


    Looking around, he found himself in a vast room, dimly lit and made entirely of stone. There were stone pillars throughout, which were lined with glowing stones, as were the walls. What looked to be at least a few thousand people were all rolling around in pain on the rocky ground, with only a handful of them having woken up like he did.


    As most of them weren¡¯t human, he realized they were all probably other players, or at least NPCs. The ones who had managed to get up already were looking around, just as bewildered as he was.


    How did I get into the game? We never actually started playing¡­ And VR isn¡¯t advanced enough to simulate this kind of pain. What the hell¡¯s going on here?


    He looked around and saw Luna, or rather, the avatar she had created. She was in pain just like he had been only a moment ago. He reached out to wake her up, but stopped.


    What¡¯s with my hand? It¡¯s not mine or even my avatar¡¯s.


    He looked at the rest of his body, and what he saw was light skin, pale blue hair, and even breasts.


    ¡°What the hell¡­?¡± he muttered in an unfamiliar voice, one that was higher and softer than it should¡¯ve been.


    But I didn¡¯t actually create this character?! Doing that even costs money and I wouldn¡¯t have wasted money on something like that!


    Luna let out another pained groan. Michael then tried to log them out, but the UI wouldn¡¯t pop up.


    Oh, come on, now what?


    He sighed.


    Luna first, everything else later.


    He reached out again with his foreign hand and gently shook his daughter.


    ¡°Luna. Sweetie, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡±


    The girl only groaned again in response. Having to wait, Michael then looked around the room more carefully and spotted Amber lying not too far away from him.


    Shaking Amber¡¯s shoulder this time, he said, ¡°Amber. Wake up. I need your help.¡±


    His friend groaned in pain, and he groaned in frustration. He shook her again.


    ¡°Amber! Please wake up!¡±


    Slowly, her eyes opened.


    ¡°Huh¡­?¡± she muttered as she looked at him confusedly.


    ¡°Amber, I¡¯m Michael. I don¡¯t know what happened, but somehow I¡¯m logged in as this character I didn¡¯t actually create, I can¡¯t log us out, and we¡¯re in this weird place full of people who are in pain.¡±


    She looked around, taking in the bizarre sight as her consciousness caught up to reality. ¡°Michael¡­?¡± she finally said.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Luna? Oh, right here. Um¡­¡± Amber tried all the mental, physical, and oral commands to open the UI, but nothing at all worked for her, either. ¡°Okay, this is strange and concerning, but let¡¯s help Luna, first.¡±


    They moved to either side of Luna and tried shaking her again. It took a while, but she did eventually wake up. The girl looked between the two of them.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Amber? And¡­¡± Luna clearly recognized Michael¡¯s temporarily-altered avatar, but had no idea it was him in that body.


    Michael showed a small smile that he wasn¡¯t actually feeling. ¡°Hey, sweetie. You remember creating your character, and then your dad changed his to show you how yours would look in the future, right?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m your dad. Somehow, I¡¯m now playing as that character. I look like this, but it¡¯s me in here.¡±


    I¡¯m pretty sure she understands that people¡¯s appearances can be drastically different in VR, so I hope she can accept this¡­


    ¡°You¡¯re Dad?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me, sweetie.¡±


    Her eyes started watering as she wrapped her arms around him.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re not Mom, but I miss her.¡±


    He held her close and gently rubbed her back. ¡°Yeah, I miss her, too.¡±


    This is awful. I guess I am technically a female parent at the moment, though.


    After a while, Amber asked, ¡°Mike, are you doing okay?¡±


    ¡°About as much as I can be, I suppose,¡± he responded. He noted that the number of awake people had now reached the hundreds while they had been sitting there. Those other people were trying to wake up the others around them and discussing with each to figure out what was going on. No one had approached them yet, though.


    ¡°I mean your body. It all feels completely real now, right? You¡¯re not experiencing any gender dysphoria?¡±


    He frowned and paid attention to all the sensations he could feel. ¡°¡­I¡¯m not sure? I like my real body, and while I don¡¯t want to be in this one, I don¡¯t seem to be having that feeling of wrongness I¡¯ve heard about. It feels weird, but not exactly wrong. I¡¯m not really sure why that¡¯s the case.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well, as long as you¡¯re not feeling bad. Keep an eye on it, though, and tell me if you start to feel that way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I will. Have you noticed anything about yourself that feels off?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°It feels pretty much just like my real body.¡± She touched her pointy ears. ¡°Except for these, but longer ears aren¡¯t that big of a deal. I don¡¯t have any major physical changes to deal with.¡±


    A small orc man and a muscular tigerkin woman walked up to them. The orc had blond hair with purple streaks, indicating [Light] element magic with a modifier for applying buffs and debuffs, which was referred to as the [State] modifier. The tigerkin had green hair with deep red streaks, indicating [Wind] element magic and the [Impact] modifier, which allowed her to hit things harder. Like everyone else in the cavernous space they were in, they were wearing nothing but shoddy tunics.


    ¡°Are you three okay?¡± the orc asked.


    Amber replied, ¡°Feeling better after waking up, but thoroughly confused and concerned.¡±


    The tigerkin sighed. ¡°Same with everyone else so far. No one knows what¡¯s going on. If you¡¯re not waiting for anyone else to wake up, we could head to the larger group that¡¯s forming if you like?¡±


    Michael shared a look with his friend and looked down at his daughter, who was just turning her head toward whoever was speaking while still holding onto him.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go,¡± he replied.


    She nodded. ¡°I¡¯m Sarah, and this is Victor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Michael, and this is my daughter, Luna.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Michael¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Huh? ¡­Oh, I¡¯m not used to this, sorry. My avatar was actually a snakekin man, but somehow I ended up like this instead.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Victor asked, concerned.


    He explained to them how his current appearance was just supposed to be an example for his daughter in the character creation process.


    ¡°That¡¯s rough. Are you doing alright? Like, any discomfort or anything?¡±


    Michael then repeated what he had said to Amber, about how it feels unfamiliar, yet still normal somehow.


    Sarah replied, ¡°My cousin is trans and I¡¯ve seen her go through a lot, so it¡¯s good that there don¡¯t seem to be any major problems like that right now.


    |


    ¡°But, uh¡­ because this game allowed for so much freedom in character creation, there were a lot of trans people who loved it. That then resulted in a bunch of transphobes playing just so they could try to find and harass them.


    |


    ¡°So, just for now, I think that introducing yourself with that name could be bad, at least until you know you can trust someone.¡±


    He scowled.


    I really don¡¯t want to deal with this shit. But they¡¯re right. I¡¯ve never personally experienced harassment like that, but I¡¯ve seen it happen.


    Sighing, he said, ¡°Michelle, then. It¡¯s not too different, I guess.¡± He knelt back down to his daughter¡¯s level. ¡°Luna, sweetie?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, uh¡­ Dad?¡±


    ¡°Until we log out, I need you to call me ¡®Mom¡¯, okay? Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Okay, um¡­ Mom!¡±


    He closed his eyes. This is way too surreal. We need to get back to reality.


    ¡°Um¡­ M-Mom?¡± Luna asked, confused over whether she was referring to me correctly.


    ¡°Sorry, sweetie. Just keep calling me Mom for now, okay?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m Amber,¡± his friend added, now that the two of them were sorted out.


    The five of them walked toward the large group, avoiding the squirming people on the ground along the way. Luna was holding her dad¡¯s hand and sticking close to him.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s okay?¡± Amber asked him.


    ¡°Not really sure, but for now, I don¡¯t know what kinds of attitudes the other players might have. I¡¯d rather deal with as little hostility as possible in this situation,¡± he said.


    ¡°I understand that much, but you looked kind of pained back there.¡±


    ¡°¡­It felt wrong, in the sense that I¡¯m not the one who should be called that. It¡¯s also strange because this isn¡¯t my identity.¡±


    |


    Before Amber could comment on that, he added, ¡°But it¡¯s not gender identity stuff. I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m not feeling bothered. Like, this doesn¡¯t feel normal, but I¡¯m not like screaming to get out of my skin or anything.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Okay, then. But please tell me if there is anything like that.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I will. I¡¯ll need your help if that happens. Not that you aren¡¯t already being helpful.¡±


    ¡°I want to help, too!¡± Luna interrupted.


    He smiled at her. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be counting on you.¡±


    ¡°What do you need help with? I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    The four adults all laughed a little at Luna¡¯s adorableness.


    Amber told her, ¡°Your¡­ mother, just wants someone to keep an eye on her. If it looks like she¡¯s hurt or not feeling well, could you come and tell me?¡±


    ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll keep you safe, M-Mom!¡±


    He hugged her. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be counting you, sweetie.¡±

 3 — Arrival — Trapped

    <div>


    Michael


    As more people woke up, they began gathering into multiple groups. There were far too many of them to form a single one.


    Earth mages were creating stone benches in circles for everyone to sit on as they discussed the situation.


    Sarah and Victor went back out to find more people, after Michael, Luna, and Amber joined one of the groups. The people who were already gathered gave them a rundown of what they knew so far.


    First, the bodies everyone has now are the ones they had in the game, appearing exactly as they were the moment the incident happened. Some players had been in the middle of a fight and had injuries. Thankfully, people who could heal managed to take care of everyone before anyone died.


    For Michael, this meant that because his character had been an elf woman when it occurred, that¡¯s what he ended up here as.


    I¡¯m glad I wasn¡¯t playing around and making a joke character or anything like that at least¡­


    Second, there is no UI at all. Not even one person has been able to access it so far.


    Third, everything feels real now, and small tests people performed concluded that everyone¡¯s bodies now experience sensations just as they would in reality.


    Fourth, everyone only has basic clothes. Michael hadn¡¯t actually considered that one beyond the initial observation, but it means no one has any of their gear from the game.


    Fifth, everyone still has access to their magic, but using it causes an actual physical sensation now. People who used magic more in the game are having an easier time casting spells and are capable of more.


    Michael and Amber both did quick tests and found the feeling similar to when their blood was pumping after exercise, though they weren¡¯t left physically tired or anything.


    Michael also realized that he would have to approach magic differently, as he was using [Water] now, not [Wind]. Something he noted was that he still had the mana pool of his actual avatar, so it wasn¡¯t as if he had to restart from scratch.


    Sixth, everyone experienced the exact same thing. They had all just been playing the game when they suddenly lost consciousness, then woke up in pain in this room. After comparing stories, the only thing they had in common was that they had all been playing on the same server.


    And the seventh and final point, was that they couldn¡¯t find a way out of this room yet. There were no exits at all. The structure also seemed enchanted, as earth mages were unable to get very far into the stone in any direction. It seemed that magic of any element or modifier was entirely unable to do anything.


    Faint lines in the shape of a massive doorway were discovered along one wall, but nobody had been able to do anything there so far.


    As the players continued to wake up, coordinated escape attempts began. People tried everything they could on any surface, but no progress had been made so far.


    And then¡­ something terrifying happened. They had to build a bathroom. Something that was most definitely not a necessity in the game.


    ¡°Michelle, you¡¯ll be okay, alright?¡± Amber comforted him. She and Luna were both looking at him with concern.


    ¡°I-I know, but¡­¡± he began, "that isn¡¯t something I ever wanted to experience.¡±


    ¡°It''ll probably feel strange, but it¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be getting harmed or anything.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡±


    ¡°And you actually have an advantage.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You have water magic now. So you can, you know, easily wash yourself with that. And you can probably just whisk away all the moisture when you¡¯re done, too.¡±


    He splashed some water on his arm, then concentrated on grabbing it with his magic and pulling it off. Just like Amber had suggested, he was able to do it. He also tried evaporating it, but wasn¡¯t sure how to go about doing that and didn¡¯t get any results there.


    Amber said, ¡°There, see? I actually really wish I had that much right now. I don¡¯t like the idea of making toilet paper out of rocks.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess that is a positive for me. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You can do it, Mom!¡± Luna cheered. From the look on her face, she didn¡¯t understand his concerns, but had been worried about him.


    He laughed a little at her enthusiasm. ¡°Oh, Luna. Yeah, I¡¯ll be able to do this.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Amber


    Over the next several hours, everyone else had finally awoken. There were already plenty of people doing their hardest to escape, so Amber was fine with remaining seated. She felt she was needed here rather than attacking a wall.


    She was worried about her friend and his daughter. Everyone was inexplicably forced into this strange and stressful situation, but Michael was in a drastically different body than his own. And much to hers and his confusion, he wasn¡¯t feeling any discomfort.


    She had some theories about that, but she wouldn¡¯t voice them here. She had known him for several years now, and he had never really shown any signs of gender dysphoria in the past. She wasn¡¯t going to rule out him being trans or anything just yet, but for now, they had bigger worries.


    While numerous people attempted everything from brute force to subtle strategy to escape the room, Amber remained here. Together with Michael, they worked on distracting Luna.


    An easy way to do that was to practice magic. It felt different now, and using it extensively would result in actual physical exhaustion rather than just an empty gauge on the UI and a low stamina debuff like before.


    In Michael¡¯s case, he had to learn how to use water magic more effectively. Because it was fluid, it wasn¡¯t too far off from wind in some ways, so that part wasn¡¯t too hard. But his previous modifier was for cutting things, and his current one results in ice.


    So Michael began learning how to use ice with Luna, though in her case, she has to learn magic from scratch.


    As for the bathroom, Michael managed just fine. He came out of the makeshift room scowling a little, but didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Mom, when can we log out? I want to go home,¡± Luna said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know. But I promise you we¡¯ll log out the very second we get the chance, okay?¡± Michael replied.


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    More hours passed, and Luna was now sleeping against Michael, despite all the noise going on. With nothing else for the two adults to do, they talked about their hobbies outside of gaming.


    They had been friends for years now, so they already knew a lot of each other¡¯s interests, but hadn¡¯t been able to spend as much time with each other this past year, so this was as good an opportunity as any to catch up.


    Amber talked about recent cosplays she¡¯d done, and the details of the costumes and all the careful crafting that had gone into them.


    Michael talked about his plans for the various motorcycle parts in his garage, as well as the work he¡¯d done to create, repair, and customize things how he wanted.


    It¡¯s nice to finally catch up with him, though I really wish it was under better circumstances.


    It was yet another hour later that the lines on the wall began to glow, and a real doorway was forming. People practically stampeded it, but then those in its immediate vicinity began collapsing.


    A paralysis debuff¡­ A strong one, too, considering how powerful some of those people must¡¯ve been.


    The stampede halted as people considered their options. Some tried long-range attacks from outside the debuff''s range, but they were all deflected by a barrier.


    The door opened, and a well-dressed, middle-aged man with red hair stepped through, followed by several subordinates.


    With his arms behind his back, he spoke loudly, ¡°Ah, good to see all of you awake! Here¡¯s what¡¯s in store for your future: You obey us, and we don¡¯t kill you.¡±


    He spoke in a language that no one in the room had ever heard before, yet somehow, everyone understood it perfectly.


    He snapped his fingers, and the subordinates pulled several carts forward. He reached into one and pulled out a metal collar.


    Holding it high so everyone could see, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in one hour. I expect every single one of these to be around your necks. For every collar that remains vacant, one hundred of you will be killed.¡±


    He briskly turned around and left the room with all his subordinates behind him. The doors shut and returned to their sealed state.


    A moment of silence passed before the cavern erupted into a cacophony of panicked yelling and shouting. Luna held tightly onto her dad, who held her in return.


    The paralyzed people began standing back up, and other than some minor aftereffects, they remained unharmed. They looked like crap, though.


    Whatever those guys used must¡¯ve on them been pretty nasty to leave an aftereffect like that.


    As everyone bickered and argued, desperately coming up with answers and solutions, Michael said, ¡°Amber! Can you hold onto Luna for a minute?¡±


    ¡°What!? Why?! Where are you going?!¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere, but I¡¯m going to get up and yell some things.¡±


    ¡°What? Why are you¡­? No, you must have something in mind. Okay.¡±


    Looking at his daughter, he told her, ¡°Luna, I¡¯m not going anywhere, but I need to get up. But I¡¯ll still be right here, okay?¡±


    ¡°O-Okay¡­ M-Mom,¡± the young girl stuttered.


    With Luna safely in Amber''s arms, Michael stood up on the bench. As loudly as he could, he shouted, ¡°HEY! IF THEY WANTED TO COLLAR US, THEN WHY WOULD THEY WAIT FOR US TO WAKE UP?!


    |


    ¡°IF THEY COULD PARALYZE EVERY ONE OF US SO EASILY, THEN WHY DIDN¡¯T THEY DO IT?!


    |


    ¡°IF THEY REALLY WANTED TO THREATEN US, THEY WOULD¡¯VE BROUGHT MORE PEOPLE AND DONE SOME ACTUAL DAMAGE! THEY¡¯RE BLUFFING!¡±


    The whole place was in such chaos that only a small amount of people heard him yell, but it was enough. Those words soon began to spread. He stared angrily from atop the bench, and once he saw people beginning to settle down slightly, he returned to his seat.


    Michael glanced nervously at Luna, worried he might¡¯ve scared her.


    ¡°Mom, that was cool!¡± Luna exclaimed.


    ¡°It was?¡± he asked in surprise.


    ¡°Yeah! I want to yell at people just like you!¡±


    He facepalmed while chuckling exasperatedly. ¡°Luna¡­ Only if it¡¯s necessary, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± she nodded eagerly.


    Despite the situation, Amber still managed to joke with her friend, ¡°Yes, you were very cool, Michelle.¡±


    Seems like he¡¯s doing alright, all things considered. I hope he doesn¡¯t break down or something later. Well, if he does, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.


    As they would find out in the coming minutes, Michael hadn¡¯t been the only one who had noticed those oddities. There were other observations that people had made as well, and various theories and plans were forming.


    Earth mages were called up to construct walls around the door. And though they were only able to dig around half a meter deep, they constructed pitfalls as well. There wasn¡¯t a lot of time, but they began reinforcing the walls and building more of them. Amber left to go help for a bit, leaving Michael and Luna on the bench.


    In the little time they had, rudimentary strategies were formed. No one had any weapons or armor at all, meaning they would have to rely entirely on magic and physical strength. Fortunately, some of the players here were powerful enough to pull off some rather nasty spells if needed.


    About half an hour after the mysterious people left, the room began sporadically rumbling, causing dust to fall from the ceiling. The tension that had only slightly calmed down a few minutes ago was now even stronger. Their only exit was currently sealed, and they had no idea what might be waiting for them on the other side.

 4 — Arrival — Bodies

    <div>


    Michael


    ¡°Mommy, I want to go home,¡± Luna pleaded.


    This hurts so much. She even said ¡°Mommy¡± instead of ¡°Mom¡±. ¡­Not that that was normal in the first place. We need to get home.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get out of here, sweetie. As soon as we can. Is there anything you want to do when we get home?¡± he asked his scared daughter.


    ¡°Umm¡­ I want ice cream! Blue moon flavor!¡±


    ¡°You got it, Luna. We¡¯ll go out for some blue moon later.¡±


    It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had ice cream. That sounds pretty good, actually.


    ¡°Yaaay! I love you, Mom!¡±


    Looks like I successfully distracted her.


    Despite the rumbling of the dark cave they were in, the promise of ice cream had helped to relieve some of her tension. The situation was still abysmal, but Michael was just glad that Luna wasn¡¯t panicking.


    And I¡¯m definitely ready to go back to being her dad.


    The rumbling noises grew louder as time went on. It was two hours after the man¡¯s deadline that he barged into the room, only to be met with a fortified wall going all the way from the floor to the ceiling.


    A light mage on the players¡¯ side set off a series of yellow flashes to indicate that the man had returned, and everyone in the cavern went dead silent. There was only a single, small opening in the wall, and a wind mage was using it to carry sound through.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this!?¡± the man screeched, his voice echoing throughout the cavern. ¡°Do you think we won¡¯t kill you for your disobedience!? Three, no, five hundred of you will die for this! Sarrent, take down this miserable wall!¡±


    One of the subordinates, presumably Sarrent, replied, ¡°Leader, we don¡¯t have the manpower for that right now! The enemy is coming! There are thousands of them here, and the paralyzation tool is- FUCK, THEY¡¯RE LISTENING!¡±


    A series of red flashes went off this time, indicating that they had noticed the use of wind magic and to prepare for battle.


    Michael and Amber both stood in front of Luna, ready to fight off anyone who might come through. Like the thousands of others trapped in the room with them, they were looking at the entrance and ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Loud bangs began to resound from the other side of the wall, but with so many earth mages constantly reinforcing it, the bad people weren¡¯t having an easy time of it. Only a few minutes later, the noises stopped. A signal of yellow flashes went off again.


    What could that mean? Do they suddenly want to talk?


    A new voice echoed throughout the cavern this time. ¡°To the Praexoent forces hiding behind the wall, surrender now and the Kingdom will be lenient with your sentencing.¡±


    Someone from the players¡¯ side yelled back, ¡°Wait, wait! We¡¯re not with those guys! They abducted us! We all just woke up here like twelve hours ago and have no idea what¡¯s going on! If we take down the wall, can you promise not to attack immediately?¡±


    ¡°That remains to be seen. If you are telling the truth, we will help you get taken care of.¡±


    Rather than the wall being taken down by the people who constructed it, a wide window was opened up instead so this new person could look at us.


    ¡°So many!¡± one of them murmured.


    The new voice spoke up again,¡± Are you using wind magic to carry the sound throughout the entire space, or just part of it?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°The entire space,¡± our apparent negotiator replied.


    ¡°Then, to everyone here, we will take care of you.¡±


    Finally, we¡¯ll get to see sunlight again. These new guys seem at least a bit better than the other ones.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next several hours were unpleasant for one main reason: Bodies. There were bodies everywhere, and several people retched at the sight and smell.


    The fact that so many people were so put off by seeing real bodies did help convince these new people¡ªwho turned out to be soldiers of the neighboring Kingdom¡ªthat we weren¡¯t with the ones they¡¯d killed.


    Michael carried Luna on his back and had her keep her eyes closed, but wasn''t anything he could do about the stench. But she had the good idea of plugging her nose with water, which he quickly copied. It didn¡¯t eliminate the smell entirely, but it helped. Amber then used her earth magic to plug her nose with a bit of dirt, and many people began copying the trick.


    Once they were as far away from the bodies as they could be, thanks to many of the soldiers and even some from the player group helping to get them out and away, Michael finally decided that this wasn¡¯t the world of Torneltha as they knew it.


    Mimicking such awful things in this level of visceral and disgusting detail just wasn¡¯t possible yet. The game and the technology behind it were both incredible, but not that incredible. This was, somehow, a real world.


    But this was, in fact, the world of Torneltha, just not the game version of it. The country that had been mentioned, Praexoent, was from the game, but they had been portrayed as being incredibly righteous and benevolent.


    What a fucking farce.


    This also meant that Michael was now actually a woman. This new reality had turned him into a character he technically hadn¡¯t even created.


    Once the bodies were dealt with and everything was cleaned up as much as it could be, a task which was significantly expedited by magic, some of the soldiers began organizing rudimentary places for everyone to sleep and get food.


    The number of people originally from the Empire had totaled around 1,000 in number, but with most of them dead and the few survivors imprisoned, that left the roughly 2,000 Kingdom soldiers to fill up the space.


    A small consolation here is that nobody seems to hate anyone else because of their species, so it doesn¡¯t seem like there will be any problems just because of looking like an elf.


    The base itself was arranged sort of like a very small and tight community. Much of it was underground, and the whole thing was entirely utilitarian in design.


    There was a large stock of basic ingredients that their abductors had prepared as a food supply for them. It wasn¡¯t great, but at least it was edible.


    It¡¯s no bowl of blue moon ice cream, though.


    The stress and confusion of the whole day had left many people both physically and mentally exhausted. Despite the rough sleeping conditions, many were out in an instant.


    Michael and Luna slept huddled up together, which they had done in the past. It was a habit they had fallen into after Mia¡¯s death, and they had no other family besides each other.


    They only had some rough blankets to lay on and cover themselves with, but they found out from the soldiers that earth mages could soften the soil beneath them to make it more comfortable. This wouldn¡¯t be viable during the colder months, but during summer like this, it was fine.


    The soldiers hadn¡¯t anticipated having to suddenly take care of several thousand people, which meant that the blankets were from their abductors as well. They''d obviously had no intentions of properly taking care of the people they had taken.


    ¡°Hey, Amber?¡± Michael quietly called out to his friend who was bundled up next to them.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± she asked.


    ¡°How are you doing? I don¡¯t think I asked you.¡±


    ¡°You were focused on your girl and personal situation, I understand,¡± she said, looking at the sleeping forming Luna snuggled up against him. ¡°You still checked in with me earlier, though, even if you didn¡¯t use that exact phrasing. But to answer your question, not so great.


    |


    ¡°In the game, I had a couple other people I played with regularly, but I know they weren¡¯t logged in when we were taken. I¡¯m happy about that, because it means they don¡¯t have to deal with this. I do wish I could see them, though.


    |


    ¡°But in the real world¡­ on Earth, I guess¡­ I was finally building up a life for myself. I told you before how I had to move far away from my family and basically start over from nothing.


    |


    ¡°And now¡­ all that work I did might be useless. Will we be able to get back? If we do, will we still be elves? I¡¯m just so sick of having everything ripped away from me again and again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± he comforted. ¡°My situation is weird, and I might¡¯ve been distant since losing Mia, but I still want to be your friend.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to disregard you like that. But I don¡¯t think you were distant. You had less free time for your life and your hobbies, but we still talked and hung out when we could.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. It¡¯s been in the back of my mind for a long time that I need to talk to people more, but it¡¯s been hard to find the time.¡±


    ¡°You were doing fine. But what about right now? With your body being¡­ You know¡­?¡±


    ¡°It still feels the same as when I woke up. Unfamiliar, but not wrong exactly. Even the different name and pronouns are like that. It¡¯s like I¡¯m some weird alternate version of myself. I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but it¡¯s got me seriously concerned.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out. I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Goodnight, Michael,¡± she told him. They were far enough away from other people that she could say his real name.


    ¡°Goodnight, Amber.¡±

 5 — What They Did — Grouch

    <div>


    Michael


    Waking up the next morning was rough. Even with Amber¡¯s earth magic to make the ground softer, it was still hard and uncomfortable compared to the mattress he was used to. He then had a mini panic attack when he saw his body, and then he remembered all the corpses he had seen yesterday. He ended up just sitting on the ground and holding his head for a while.


    Fortunately, Luna¡¯s habit of going back to sleep for a little bit longer after he had woken up continued even in a place like this. With Amber¡¯s help, he was able to collect himself by the time his daughter was fully awake.


    After a bland breakfast, they found out the situation. Some of the people from Earth had talked with the soldiers all through the night to figure out as much as they could.


    People from the temple in the neighboring kingdom had received an oracle a couple weeks ago about the Praexoent Empire enacting a strange ritual. It had apparently taken weeks for them to pull off, though the players only experienced the end result of it, which was their mass abduction.


    The gods themselves got involved, and managed to temporarily delay that last part from completing for long enough that the soldiers were able to arrive and deal with everyone at the base, however. And because the researchers didn''t want to get caught up in their own ritual, they had sealed it off in an isolated area underground.


    The news was somehow both better and worse than Michael had thought it would be. They had been helped out by actual gods, but that in itself was also terrifying.


    After going through the documents and materials in the base they were in, it was revealed that the Empire had discovered the existence of other worlds centuries ago, and have been doing experiments related to that ever since.


    According to the soldiers, the Empire has always been incredibly ambitious and eager to wage war. So if they are to be believed, then the game version of the Empire was all just propaganda to indoctrinate the players before they even arrived.


    It¡¯s impossible to use magic to manipulate minds, but because Earth had no mana whatsoever, that meant there was nothing to interfere with what would normally have been impossible. That still didn¡¯t mean the Empire could just control people to do whatever they wanted, however.


    What they did was influence people on Earth into creating the game. People would create a form of attachment to the game¡ªtheir characters¡ªwould grow their power and skills, and all of that would then be transferred over.


    In the real version of Torneltha, they prepared tons and tons of ingredients that would form into living, breathing people. Those ingredients formed into the characters the players had designed, and the experience and familiarity with the game turned into real mana they could actually use.


    The Empire had planned to spend much longer doing all this in order to make a massive army and enslave them, but the Kingdom¡¯s advancement in the ongoing war forced them to rush the project. They only got one server''s worth of people instead of every single player who was logged in at the time.


    They may have been doing experiments for centuries, but it was only in the few decades that they ramped it up, as enough discoveries had been made to make their plans possible.


    So when the Empire then took the next step of abducting people, it was extreme enough that the gods were able to notice it. The damage had already been done, but the gods put up a barrier between worlds to prevent it from happening a second time, and alerted the Kingdom about this hidden research facility.


    Part of the ritual included putting information of numerous languages into the players'' heads while they were between worlds, and there was another part that helped people with non-human anatomy adjust to their different bodies.


    There were some Awakened players among them who benefited the most from that, but the ritual had nothing to do with anyone''s gender identity, meaning Michael''s mind hadn''t been altered.


    I can¡¯t even imagine if I had been an Awakened player instead, though. Suddenly going from being a human in one world to an animal in another sounds like a nightmare.


    Michael awkwardly asked one of the soldiers if magic to change one¡¯s sex existed, and was disappointed to learn that it didn¡¯t.


    And according to an oracle someone had received in the middle of the night, it was impossible to return everyone home. The space between worlds had been heavily damaged by the Empire, and had thus been sealed off by the gods.


    The final piece of news was that the soldiers were going to start taking all the former players to Elsanth, a city in their kingdom. They didn¡¯t have the manpower or resources to bring everyone at once, and Elsanth wasn¡¯t very big, so they were going to do it in groups of 100.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Michael was sitting by himself in the grass outside. Luna and Amber were nearby, but still far enough away so he could be alone for a bit.


    He had formed a mirror made of ice and had been staring into it for some time now. Emotionlessly, he muttered to his reflection, ¡°So, this is Michelle. Ice elf, widow, and mother of one.¡±


    He stared for a while longer, then huffed angrily and chucked his mirror into the distance. He heard it shatter, but had already stopped looking by then.


    After stewing in his anger for a while longer, a voice behind him asked, ¡°How are you holding up?¡±


    Michael turned around and saw Sarah, the tigerkin woman from yesterday. ¡°Oh, Sarah. I¡¯m¡­ doing pretty shit, I suppose. This whole situation is just so horrifying and appalling.


    |


    ¡°This body feels normal, and that normality feels wrong. Those assholes took us from home and fucked with our bodies. I know that everyone else here is just as furious as I am and also wants to go home, but I¡¯m just stuck in my rage. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sitting here alone, so I can cool off.¡±


    Sarah sat down next to him. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m absolutely furious, too. I have my family and friends. No kids or anything like that, but still people I care about. I have my career as an author that I was actually making a living off of.


    |


    ¡°Torneltha was just a game that I played for maybe a few hours a week. It hasn¡¯t hit me that this is real yet. I¡¯ll probably be a sobbing mess by tomorrow.¡±


    Michael nodded solemnly, and after a few minutes of silence, asked, ¡°Why did you decide to talk to me?¡±


    ¡°I remembered your situation and figured you probably haven¡¯t told many people about it. Your¡­ wife(?) over there is distracting your daughter, so I decided to take the opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Amber is my friend and coworker.¡±


    ¡°Oh. So¡­¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t have a wife anymore. She was my only family besides Luna, but she was killed by a drunk driver last year. Even worse, the bastard who did it was a cop, so they let him off easy.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s really awful.¡±


    He sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Sorry if that was too much complaining. I¡¯m just a whole lot of negative emotions right now, and I¡¯m trying hard to not snap at people.


    |


    ¡°Oh¡­ You know what, saying it out loud did help a bit, actually. I would¡¯ve talked with Amber about the sex change thing, but I didn¡¯t want to worry Luna and I don¡¯t have anyone else here I trust to watch over her, so I wasn¡¯t going to separate them so I could talk to her alone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad I could help. Would you want to travel together when we leave this place? The only person I know here is Victor, but I get the feeling that he¡¯s going to just go off on his own somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯d be fine with that, but let¡¯s talk with Amber about it first. Where is Victor, anyway?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°He was a support player in the game, so he decided to go and do more support stuff now. It hasn¡¯t even been a day, but he seems to be thriving somehow. Though, I think part of that might just be him distracting himself.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Well, let¡¯s go chat with Amber.¡±


    Seeing them approaching, Amber asked, ¡°Hey. Are you doing any better?¡±


    ¡°Hi, Mom!¡± Luna jumped up and hugged him, then went back to playing with her water magic.


    ¡°Hey, Luna,¡± Michael said. Replying to Amber, he said, ¡°Somewhat. Sarah knows my situation, so she was able to talk with me about it. Well, more like I just ranted a little, but she listened.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± Amber said. ¡°Thank you, Sarah. She was becoming a curmudgeon.¡±


    He quirked an eyebrow at her. ¡°I was not becoming a curmudgeon. I was becoming a grump.¡±


    ¡°No, not a grump. A sourpuss, perhaps.¡±


    ¡°A grouch!¡± Sarah interjected with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Ah, another woman who understands the finer things in life.¡±


    Michael remarked, ¡°Making fun of me is one of the finer things, is it?¡±


    ¡°Of course! And I have to find other things to make fun of now that your colossal schnoz isn¡¯t on your face anymore.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Colossal schnoz¡¯?¡± Sarah questioned.


    Michael explained, ¡°I had a massive nose; like a mountain turned on its side and attached to my face.¡±


    That got her laughing. When she calmed down, she asked the question she had originally meant to when she came over with Michael. ¡°Oh yeah, so, I was wondering if I could travel with the three of you to Elsanth? Victor will probably go with someone else, leaving me by myself, and I¡¯d be more comfortable if I had someone I could trust.¡±


    Amber asked, ¡°Oh? Why us? You probably talked with other people more than with us, right?¡±


    ¡°I did, but that first conversation I had with you makes me think you¡¯re probably decent people. Given how chill you were about the topic of trans people, I thought you might be okay with someone aroace traveling with you.


    |


    ¡°We have no idea how accurate this world is to the game yet, and I would just be more comfortable around someone else who was queer, or at least okay with queer people.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That makes sense. I¡¯m gay, by the way.¡±


    Thinking out loud to himself, Michael wondered, ¡°Do I count as queer now?¡±


    Amber replied, ¡°Given the situation with your body, I¡¯d say yeah, probably.¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh. It¡¯s kind of weird, how normal it feels. The weirder part is that I suddenly have a new label attached to me.¡±


    The two women both shrugged, used to dealing with labels.


    ¡°So I guess I count as trans then, too, if¡­ if this really is my new normal.¡±


    Amber said, ¡°It¡¯s definitely an odd case, but I¡¯d say why not? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re legally required to experience dysphoria and medically transition to count as trans.¡±


    Turning to Michael, Sarah asked, ¡°Since we¡¯re talking about this stuff and there¡¯s no one else in earshot right now, are you still okay with your name and pronouns? You can change them whenever you want.¡±


    He had to think about it for a minute before replying, ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine? I don¡¯t mean that in like a ¡®just passively accepting it¡¯ kind of way. It¡¯s more like it genuinely feels fine, but my brain is feeling whiplash from the difference and hasn¡¯t caught up to reality yet.


    |


    ¡°The part where I¡¯m confused is that the ritual apparently only adjusted for non-human anatomies, like tails and other stuff, but not gender identities. So that leaves me with a whole bunch of questions about myself.¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve got plenty of time, and you can talk to us about it whenever,¡± Amber replied.


    ¡°So you¡¯re okay with me coming with you?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°Yeah! Given what you said about wanting to hang out with other queer people, I totally agree. And you seem nice so far.¡±


    Sarah smiled, and the three adults all sat down.


    So, I guess I really am Michelle now. That¡¯s not going to feel real for a looong time.

 6 — What They Did — Gifts

    <div>


    Michelle


    There was nothing to do. All the temporary living spaces had been set up, and making food and keeping the place clean didn¡¯t require the help of all 4,763 people from Earth working together.


    And all the books and research that their abductors had had were confiscated due to the dangerous rituals within. Even though the gods permanently prevented the ritual from ever being carried out a second time, it was still something they didn¡¯t want to trust a bunch of random strangers with.


    All the people who originally inhabited the base had either been killed or captured. And because the soldiers had their own things going on and didn¡¯t have entertaining the Earthlings as one of their priorities, that left everyone without anything interesting to occupy themselves with. People began playing games with their magic because they lacked everything else.


    Some of the other players had already confirmed that other than the Empire¡¯s own portrayal of themselves in the game, most of the other information about the world was generally okay. It was off in a lot of ways, but it was passable on a minimum level.


    That¡¯s something we¡¯ll have to work on, though. It¡¯d be bad to not know about the world. And I¡¯ll have to think about where Luna should go to school, too.


    Some of the soldiers had left on that first day to gather a ton of supplies for everyone; mostly clothes and basic necessities. Torneltha mainly only had carriages for transportation, however, so it was going to be some time before everyone had something, even with magically-enhanced horses and other creatures.


    It was on their fourth day of boredom that someone the Kingdom had brought finished creating small statues of the gods and sanctifying them. The gods needed them as a sort of focus to help maintain the massive barrier they had created.


    The room the statues had been created in was going to act as a temporary temple for a while. Apparently, the gods were going to be helping them out directly, as well. Turning a place like this into a temple would¡¯ve ordinarily been out of the question, but this was a unique situation.


    So just like that, everyone was lining up outside the statue room to meet the gods. They were going to be meeting everyone individually.


    They were going to give people Gifts, which worked by somehow feeling out what a person wanted and giving them a magic ability related to that. The gods couldn¡¯t read minds or anything, but they could see things about a person that weren¡¯t visible to the naked eye.


    That strange perception ability also extended to seeing what kind of person someone was. So if the gods thought someone didn¡¯t deserve a Gift, then they wouldn¡¯t get one. That was the only consequence for failing their judgment, however.


    Not receiving a Gift just meant they thought that that person should reconsider their behavior and actions. And because every meeting with them would be private, no one would know whether or not someone had received a Gift.


    I always wondered why players couldn¡¯t receive Gifts, and I guess this is why. I had thought it was simply too much for the devs to implement something unique for every player, but it might¡¯ve been because it was impossible for a Gift not given by the gods to be carried over into the real Torneltha.


    Amber was the first of their group of four to step through the door, and when she came out, she was smiling. She briefly mentioned that her Gift was related to her cosplaying, but refused to say anything more than that just yet.


    Michelle and Luna were next. All of the kids, what few there were, had to go through the door with an adult. She grabbed her daughter¡¯s hand and they walked through the doorway together.


    It¡¯s a shame the few other kids here are all so much older than her, otherwise she might¡¯ve had a friend or two for as long as we¡¯re stuck in this gloomy research base.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Stepping through the doorway, Michelle wasn¡¯t really sure what to expect from meeting actual gods. Except for the seven statues of said gods arranged in a semicircle, the room was otherwise pretty ordinary. Marks remained on the walls and floor in places where furniture had previously been placed.


    The statues had a tangible aura to them, like a faint, warm hug to her very being. She already knew that the gods kept themselves hidden until the door was closed in an effort to keep people from crowding the room to try to catch a glimpse of them.


    Michelle nervously shut the door behind them, and the seven gods appeared unceremoniously. There was one for each of the six elements; air, water, earth, fire, light, and shadow, and the seventh god was referred to as the Goddess of the Cycle, the caretaker of life and death, of creation and destruction.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The Goddess of the Cycle only appeared as a silhouette of light in the vague shape of a person. Despite the brightness of her light, it didn¡¯t hurt to look at her. She had apparently chosen to stop appearing directly long ago, as the mortal versions of her species grew arrogant, thinking that they were better than everyone else just because the being at the top happened to match them in appearance.


    The others were visible and of varying species. Though, unlike mortals, they each had a rainbowy sheen to them. Though they were each limited to a single element, they possessed every single modifier all at once.


    ¡°Hello, Michael and Luna,¡± the Goddess of the Cycle said.


    Michelle may have somewhat accepted her new identity, but she was still thinking of herself as Michael, which is why that name was spoken instead.


    It suddenly occurred to Michelle that she didn¡¯t know any of their names, or if they even had names at all.


    ¡°Um¡­ Hi,¡± she awkwardly replied. ¡°¡­I have no idea how to act in this situation, sorry.¡±


    Why didn¡¯t anybody tell me if I was supposed to put my hands together and bow or something!?


    ¡°Hi!¡± Luna said, calmly waving at them.


    The Goddess replied, ¡°Your behavior is fine. I am sincerely sorry about what happened to both of you, along with everyone else involved. By the time we realized what was happening, it was too late to prevent it. We could only mitigate the damage and do our best to help you.¡±


    ¡°I thought it might be like that,¡± Michelle replied, recounting all the information she had heard in the past few days. ¡°I asked some of the soldiers, but is there really no way for me to change my body?¡±


    ¡°There is not,¡± the God of Light, an elf, replied. ¡°It is possible something like that may be developed in the future, but when or if that might be, is something we do not know.¡±


    She nodded, already expecting a similar answer. ¡°Okay. Luna, is there anything you want to ask them?¡±


    She simply shook her head.


    Being near them is making her much calmer than normal.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s it, then,¡± Michelle said to them.


    The Goddess of Water, a foxkin, shared glances with her fellow deities, then looked back to the two mortals. ¡°We have conferred and decided on the Gifts you will receive. As you are both of the water element, it is my duty to bestow them.¡±


    The Goddess held out her hands, and two orbs of water formed above them. The orbs gently floated away from her and into Michelle and Luna¡¯s chests. They both felt a faint feeling of water flowing throughout their bodies.


    Michelle was suddenly aware of a new ability she had, something she knew how to do on an instinctual level.


    Smiling wide, she told them, ¡°Thank you so much for this! I really love it!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Luna exclaimed. ¡°I want to pet a dog!¡±


    Michelle laughed, ¡°What? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I can make an ice animal now!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s amazing, sweetie! I can¡¯t wait to see!¡± she looked back at the Goddess of Water and the rest of the pantheon. ¡°Thank you, all of you. I really appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Come on, Mom, let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°You need to thank them first, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± The young girl abruptly turned around, and before her mom could stop her, ran to the Goddess of Water and wrapped her in a sudden and tight hug. ¡°Thank you, water goddess lady!¡±


    Then she ran back to Michelle, who had become stiff and was trying to pull her by her hand back through the doorway.


    ¡°U-Um! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± she called to them.


    The Goddess of Water chuckled in amusement. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said.


    Before she knew it, Michelle was back on the other side of the door. She was still a bit shocked, but managed to get out of the way of the line of people.


    The door would be locked for a brief period of time between each visit, so Sarah took the opportunity to ask, ¡°Are you okay? Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, yes,¡± she awkwardly responded, still struggling to catch up with reality. ¡°It went well. There was a surprise at the end, but I¡¯ll tell you about it later. Looks like you¡¯re up.¡±


    She found where Amber was waiting and stiffly walked over to her.


    Her friend commented, ¡°Clearly something happened in there. Is it okay to talk about?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Luna just decided to tackle hug the goddess, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Wh-What!? Luna!¡±


    ¡°Was that bad?¡± the girl asked.


    Michelle told her, ¡°Not everyone wants to suddenly be hugged, especially if it¡¯s by someone they don¡¯t know. It turned out alright this time, but please keep that in mind in the future, okay? If you''re unsure, just ask."


    She nodded. ¡°Okay, Mom.¡±


    Still not used to being called that. But having even the gods tell me that I¡¯m stuck like this actually helped a little bit. With no way back, my only remaining choice is forward.


    ¡°So, did you ask them?¡± Amber asked.


    Michelle nodded, ¡°I did. There¡¯s no way for me to change my body.¡±


    ¡°Really? None at all?¡±


    ¡°I was told that someone might develop a way to do that in the future, but they didn¡¯t know when or even if that would happen.


    |


    ¡°Unlike what we¡¯ve heard about gods back home, these ones are neither omniscient nor omnipotent. That¡¯s what people say about them, anyway, and that¡¯s also the impression I got. That doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re just above-average mortals, though.¡±


    ¡°So if even the gods don¡¯t know everything, then¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to hold out hope. They might not be omniscient, but they still know a lot more than probably anyone else I could talk to about it.¡±


    ¡°How are you feeling about that?¡±


    ¡°Strangely, kind of better? Like, I might not be entirely clear on what my gender identity is anymore, but since I don¡¯t have an easy way of going back to how I was before, if any way at all, it¡¯s a lot easier to just focus on other things?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good, then?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Mhmm. Anyway, you mentioned something about a cosplay Gift?¡±


    She smiled and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not going to start playing around with it until we¡¯re all somewhere no one can watch, but it allows me to alter weapons and armor in complex ways.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what amazing things you make now that you can create real fantasy items.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s going to be awesome! Now tell me, what did you get?¡±


    Michelle grinned. ¡°I can make a working motorcycle made out of ice.¡±


    ¡°A fantasy motorcycle? Now that¡¯s just ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s ridiculous?¡± Sarah asked, joining the conversation.


    ¡°Michelle here can make a motorcycle now,¡± Amber explained to her.


    Michelle rolled her eyes. ¡°And Amber can now cosplay, but for real.¡±


    They began walking to their shared little space¡ªthree tents outside with earthen walls surrounding them¡ªas Luna had been fidgeting relentlessly while she waited to play with her Gift.


    As soon as they were away from everyone else, Michelle said, ¡°Okay, Luna. Let¡¯s see what you can do.¡±

 7 — What They Did — Puppies and Wheels

    <div>


    Sarah


    The tigerkin woman and her three new elven friends sat around a table made of stone, on chairs also made of stone, courtesy of Amber. The stone walls surrounding their little camp were high enough that no one could see over them without using magic, though the exceptions were anyone with wings.


    Sarah watched in fascination as Luna used her Gift for the first time.


    The girl had her hands held out, and streams of water came out of them and formed into the shape of a small dog sitting on the table. It looked to be a shiba inu. The water turned into frosted ice as the form finalized, and when it was finished, it happily ran up to her just like an ordinary dog would.


    ¡°Is it real?¡± Michelle asked.


    Having to take care of a dog suddenly will make traveling more difficult. We already know we¡¯re going to head through at least the Kingdom, which is quite the distance by itself.


    Luna smiled as she happily pet the animal. ¡°The Gift I have feels like it only looks like a dog, but isn¡¯t one for real.¡±


    Aww, this is adorable. And that''s a relief.


    They each took turns petting the dog, which didn¡¯t feel cold at all, even to herself and Amber, who didn¡¯t have [Cold] modifiers.


    It even feels soft¡­ Amazing.


    ¡°So what was it that gave you such a strange reaction when you were done?¡± Sarah asked Michelle.


    Looking at her happy daughter, she said, ¡°My little girl suddenly tackled the goddess in a hug right before leaving.¡±


    ¡°O-Oh¡­ That would do it. It seems like it turned out okay, though?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°The goddess said it was fine, and she even seemed amused. Still, I think I just about had a heart attack in there.¡±


    With that explained, Sarah asked, ¡°So what did everyone get again? My gift is basically an advanced version of my [Impact] modifier. I can hit things with a lot of force, but much more precisely now.¡±


    Gesturing to her distracted daughter, Michelle said, ¡°Hers is to create an animal out of ice, apparently even replicating its behavior. Mine allows me to create a motorcycle. I¡¯ll start playing with it in a bit.¡±


    Amber said, ¡°My Gift allows me to alter weapons and armor, and I think I can probably do some real precise work with it. It¡¯s a shame I don¡¯t have anything to practice it with, though.¡±


    Michelle suggested, ¡°You know how a lot of games have armor slots that you can even put crappy clothes in? Maybe your Gift could still work on what you¡¯ve got now?¡±


    Her eyes opened wide. ¡°Oh! Let me see!¡± She closed them and focused. Slowly, the tear on her left sleeve closed itself. She looked at it happily. ¡°Okay, so I interpreted it wrong. It¡¯s like¡­ things intended to be worn. And I can¡¯t make things stronger, I can only modify their shape, I think.


    |


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Only weapons still count, though, for the other aspect of my Gift. I¡¯m pretty sure about that one. So that means I can¡¯t just modify whatever I want.¡±


    Sarah commented, ¡°It¡¯s already wild that you can manipulate things outside your element in any way.¡±


    She nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah, the gods did me a real favor, didn¡¯t they? We¡¯ll save a lot on repairs, though it would probably be a bad idea to rely solely on my Gift. From what I understand, most people get things within their element, though.¡± Looking at Michelle, she asked, ¡°Unless your motorcycle is made of more than just ice?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± Michelle said. She got out of her seat and moved to a spot with enough room. She held out her hands the same way Luna had earlier. Water streamed from her hands and formed into a motorcycle made of frosted ice.


    She immediately began circling around it and modifying it, getting lost in her own little world. The other two adults watched as Michelle got rid of everything unnecessary for a fantasy motorcycle that was powered by magic and not gasoline.


    She got rid of the gas tank, the exhaust pipe, the now-pointless headlight¡ªas it couldn¡¯t emit any light¡ªthe license plate, the turn signals, and various other bits. She also experimented with changing the look from frosted to clear, but changed it back to frosted pretty quickly.


    She sighed sadly.


    ¡°You back with us?¡± Amber asked her friend.


    ¡°Hm? Oh, sorry. I got really into it.¡±


    ¡°I could tell. You seem disappointed, though.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that nearly all the things that make it a motorcycle are useless. Now it¡¯s just a block of ice in the shape of one that I propel with my mana.


    |


    ¡°It¡¯s still cool, but I can¡¯t help but lament that there isn¡¯t anything to disassemble and play around with. There isn¡¯t even any challenge in changing how it looks.¡±


    ¡°Michelle, you¡¯re looking at it entirely the wrong way. It¡¯s a magic motorcycle. Don¡¯t limit it to the design of an Earth one. I saw you change the shape so that all those parts were gone, but would could you add to it instead? What could you alter?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­!¡± She looked back at it with new eyes.


    Amber grabbed Michelle¡¯s arm to keep her from wandering off. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re excited, but stay with us in reality for a bit.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Luna¡¯s puppy suddenly vanished. ¡°Aww, I couldn¡¯t keep it out anymore. I¡¯m tired.¡±


    Michelle rubbed her head. ¡°You just have to practice a bit. The more you use magic, the longer you¡¯ll be able to keep it out.¡±


    ¡°Really? I want it here all the time!¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be able to do that soon.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait. I want to pet so many animals.¡±


    It¡¯s amazing that Michelle manages to look so caring despite the default angry expression she usually has. Though, I think that¡¯s just her avatar, not her actual expression.


    Michelle sat back down at the table, and Luna moved into her lap and made herself comfortable, where her mom hugged her from behind.


    ¡°Well, I guess that just leaves me,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I have the [Impact] modifier, and my Gift enhances that. Uh, Michelle, can you make a few blocks of ice for me to demonstrate with?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± she replied, forming several large cubes of ice on the table.


    Sarah grabbed one and said, ¡°This is with just the modifier.¡± She crushed it, and it burst into a lot of smaller chunks.


    She grabbed another, and said, ¡°And this is with the Gift added.¡± She crushed it again, but focused on using her new ability as well. It crushed the cube quite finely, practically turning it into a powder.


    Amber excitedly said, ¡°That¡¯s really cool! The two of you can make so many snow cones now!¡±


    Sarah snorted. ¡°Finally, my goal in life shall be fulfilled.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yep! Everyone needs a yummy cone.¡±


    Getting back on topic, she said, ¡°Mine doesn¡¯t seem as flashy as everyone else¡¯s, but I think it could have some interesting uses, even outside of fighting monsters.¡±


    ¡°I think so, too,¡± Michelle agreed. ¡°If you¡¯re interested in alchemy, there are a lot of ingredients that need to be ground up super finely. If you improve that skill, you could probably do that easily. And maybe other things in general that are difficult to turn into powder.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an idea. I did think alchemy was interesting, but I never really bothered with it considering how little I actually played the game.¡±


    The four of them spent the rest of the day playing with their Gifts. Because they didn¡¯t want to show them off, and just in case the soldiers thought that they might make good additions to their army, they didn¡¯t do anything with them outside of their little camp.


    The three adults struggled with that, as they each wanted to dive into their Gifts on a much deeper level. And Luna was also struggling, but that was because she couldn¡¯t fuel her Gift for long enough to have a pet to play with at all times.


    At least this is fun. And distracts me from thinking about everyone I can¡¯t see anymore¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Michelle


    It was a week after their arrival that a group of soldiers returned to the base with several carriages¡ªpulled by some rather gnarly-looking monster horses¡ªloaded up with supplies. It was mostly food and clothing, and the then empty carriages would be used to transport the first group of 100 out into the world.


    The new supplies didn¡¯t seem like much, but having something else to wear beyond the single tunic they¡¯d started out with was an immense relief to everyone. There was also salt and herbs that gave their bland meals a dramatic improvement in taste.


    The new clothing items included flimsy shoes, underthings, pants, and various other bits of fabric, though all of it was of the cheapest quality possible. Amber¡¯s Gift was a literal godsend for repairing their clothes and making everything fit better.


    From Amber¡¯s experiments, she had determined that it was impossible for her to create material from nothing, and neither could she change a material from one thing into another. She could only alter what was already there.


    Also, the more difficult it was to work with a material, the more difficult it was for her to alter it. Clothes were easy, but if she had a knife or something to work with, it would require more effort.


    She attempted altering things that weren¡¯t weapons or armor, just in case her interpretation of her Gift was wrong, but it wasn¡¯t. She also tried seeing if any random thing that could be used as a weapon could be altered with her Gift, but it didn¡¯t work. It had to be something that was specifically made to be a weapon.


    They did several experiments with magic to see how they could get them to work together. Amber created a bathtub, Luna filled it with water, and then Amber heated the tub to make the water warm. They were also able to create a shower, but that required a constant flow of water from Michelle, so they didn¡¯t bother with it.


    The mother/daughter pair created blocks of ice, and Sarah would then circulate a breeze to create rudimentary air conditioning. Amber was the only one who didn¡¯t need it, as her [Heat] modifier meant the warmth of the summer sun was nothing to her.


    There were many more results, such as Sarah being able to soften the ground they slept on beyond what Amber could manage, but nothing else had been very significant so far.


    At least in the winter months, Luna and I will be perfectly fine.


    Michelle was desperate to drive her motorcycle around already, but wasn¡¯t comfortable with showing it off here. In its normal state, it could only carry one passenger, but she had discovered that she could put a sidecar on both sides. Like Luna¡¯s animals, the ice of her motorcycle didn¡¯t feel cold at all. She was quite glad about that, as she didn¡¯t want her passengers constantly freezing and getting cold.


    The sidecars were even large enough to fit two people each, meaning, altogether, Michelle could transport five people, or carry a lot of luggage. And from what she had seen of the carriages of this world so far, her motorcycle would be much faster.


    It took some experimenting, but Michell managed to make the seats squishy and actually comfortable to sit on. She had to make a flexible film of ice that contained water within it. She wasn¡¯t sure if it would be feasible with regular ice, but her Gift is what had made it possible.


    She attempted making other vehicles with her Gift, but found that she could only make motorcycles. Thinking about it, she wondered if that might actually be an advantage. A car is one big shape, but because she has a motorcycle with two sidecars, she has three separate pieces that she can manipulate to conform to the terrain as she drives.


    I¡¯m not limited to keeping the design rigid, after all, but actually managing that will take some practice. The roads in this world aren¡¯t paved, and we might even be off-road sometimes, so that will be for the best, I think.


    Michelle thought about gear for herself to wear as she drove, but creating durable clothing out of ice proved to be impossible for her.


    At least for now, anyway.


    Finally, she made the interesting discovery that if she had all three sections covered in canopies, then everyone was able to talk to each other just fine, despite the separation.


    As for Luna, her presence alone and seeing her playing with her ice animal was a source of healing for each of them. She could create any animal she wanted, and could even alter its size.


    A larger animal took more mana to maintain, while a smaller one was more cost-effective, and could even fit in a pocket if she made it small enough.


    Even though Michelle was still adjusting to her new body, she was actually glad to an extent that she matched Luna. In such a messed up situation, it was a source of comfort for both of them to be elves with ice magic. If she had been brought over here in her snakekin avatar, it wouldn¡¯t be immediately obvious to anyone that they were related, and they wouldn¡¯t have had the same magic to play around with.


    The soldiers apparently had plans for the base once everyone from Earth was gone, but that didn¡¯t make them rush to get everyone out. Currently, this was a pretty unimportant location in their war efforts.


    So I guess we''re just stuck here for a while, then... Great.

 8 — A City Worth Leaving — First Steps

    Four months later¡­


    Michelle


    The carriages ferrying out Earthlings had arrived on a regular schedule since the very first one had arrived, with them coming every five days or so. They usually had some supplies to minorly improve our situation, and the level of comfort in the base further improved as the number of people dwindled.


    It had been an absolutely agonizing wait for their turn to leave the base. They ended up being in the 23rd group to leave, which was about halfway through the total number. The calendar wasn¡¯t exactly the same as Earth¡¯s, but the amount of time they had spent in the base equated to roughly four whole months of just¡­ waiting.


    Michelle had attempted to play the ¡°Won¡¯t someone think of the children!¡± card, but there were thousands of other people who also wanted to leave the base just as badly as they did, and she hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to get her group a ride out so early.


    Although she did have her motorcycle, she still didn¡¯t know her limitations with it. Not to mention that they would be woefully underequipped if they just left the base on their own. Everyone received a small amount of supplies when they left the base in a carriage.


    During the several-month-long wait, she had experienced having a period several times. It had been unpleasant for her, but not fatal or anything so extreme. Michelle realized she was probably lucky hers weren¡¯t worse. She had been a bit moody during her first one, but that was more because she was once again coming to terms with her new body.


    I''m so lucky Amber and Sarah were both there to help me.


    At long, long last, the four of them boarded a carriage for Elsanth. In a small way, they had actually been fortunate by having to wait for so long. Everyone who was left was allowed to take all the supplies with them that they¡¯d already been given. This meant that the longer someone remained at the base, the better their starter kit was.


    It still wasn¡¯t much, but they had each been given a small bag to carry a few changes of clothes, blankets food, and some other supplies. Everyone was also given a beat-up leather breastplate and a knife.


    The necessity of having to wear armor and prepare a weapon was another reason they had been reluctant to leave the base on their own, as they didn¡¯t have those things. Stone knives made with Amber¡¯s magic would only get them so far.


    Even Luna was given a knife, though Michelle didn¡¯t allow her to carry it. However, given that they were in a war zone and there were real, actual monsters in this world, she begrudgingly began showing her how to use it. She would only hand it over to her in an emergency, though.


    It was only a few days by carriage to get to Elsanth, but the threat of monsters had kept nearly everyone from leaving on their own. And even with the game¡¯s sheer level of detail in survival skills, most people from Earth still weren¡¯t confident enough to survive in the wild.


    When monsters showed up during their trip, they couldn¡¯t do anything but watch as the soldiers killed them. They didn¡¯t want any of the Earthlings messing up their work, anyway.


    Michelle, Amber, and Sarah all remembered seeing those very monsters in the game, and could also tell that their appearance and behavior generally matched what she knew.


    Luna cried when she monster get pierced by a soldier who had created earth spikes underneath it. She held her ice bunny tighter in her arms and leaned against Michelle, who did her best to comfort her daughter.


    I hate that this is my new normal. I hate that Luna will likely face a monster herself one day. I hate the fact that the game¡¯s realistic survival and monster-handling systems were actually just the Empire secretly training us. I hate all of this.


    The Earthlings who''d already left had sent messages back confirming what the soldiers at the base had been telling them; which was that it''ll be virtually impossible for everyone to get a job in Elsanth, or even any of the other cities in the Kingdom. Not even their Gifts are likely to help matters.


    What awaited them in Elsanth was likely to not exactly be pleasant, but they were hoping it would be better than waiting around indefinitely in a research base.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On their second night of traveling, after they were all safe in their camp and Luna was asleep, Michelle quietly said to her friend, ¡°Amber¡­ I think I might have to seriously teach Luna how to hunt and take apart monsters and stuff.


    |


    ¡°Obviously, those aren¡¯t things I want to do, but I think keeping those things hidden from her will only hinder her as she gets older.¡±


    Amber frowned and looked at the young girl¡¯s sleeping face. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about that, too. If we had grown up in this world, then we would¡¯ve had some history and credibility, but instead, we¡¯re all just a bunch of untrustworthy strangers summoned by the enemy.


    |


    "We can''t get jobs other than monster slaying in this part of the world where people know of us. That sentiment might die out the farther away from here we get, though.¡±


    Michelle nodded solemnly. ¡°I hope so. We''ll probably have little choice but to work as monster slayers for some time.


    Stolen novel; please report.|


    "On Earth, there are many examples of kids going out to hunt at incredibly young ages, even in modern times when it¡¯s unnecessary. I¡¯ve always abhorred the idea of hunting for sport, but that¡¯s not what this is.


    |


    ¡°If I don¡¯t teach Luna these things, things might actually turn out horribly for her. Especially since some level of combat capability is expected from pretty much everyone in this world, no matter who they are or where they''re from."


    Amber added, ¡°And schools in this world even teach monster slaying lessons as part of the mandatory curriculum. Monsters are just so prevalent that something like that is necessary.¡±


    "Yeah," Michell sighed. "I guess I just have to accept that this is going to happen no matter what. The only thing I can do is prepare her as best I can for it.¡±


    Amber placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You won¡¯t be alone, you know? You have me and Sarah to help you. And our Gifts. That¡¯s something most people don¡¯t have.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Speaking of, I might finally get a chance to drive my new motorcycle for the first time. Having the ability to just hop on it at any given moment but not take it anywhere has made me so restless.¡±


    She smirked. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed. And I might finally get to do something other than repairing and adjusting shoddy clothes.¡±


    ¡°You did sharpen our knives yesterday. I very much appreciate that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m excited to really dig into the meat of my Gift, too. I should create some ridiculous armor for myself so that people who want to cosplay as me have to put in some serious effort.¡±


    Michelle snorted.


    ¡°Mom¡­?¡± Luna sleepily asked.


    ¡°Sorry, sweetie. Go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    She watched as her daughter fell back into unconsciousness.


    ¡°Probably a good idea for us to sleep, too,¡± Amber said.


    ¡°Yeah. Thank you, Amber.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. Goodnight.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Night.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It was around noon the next day when they finally arrived in Elsanth. It was a small city, as they were already aware. Most of the buildings were made of stone, with a few wooden ones throughout. The walls surrounding the city were also made entirely of stone. Enchantments and magic tools glowed here and there, creating interesting mini light shows. Anything interesting the city had was completely ruined by the residents glaring and spitting at them as they walked past, however.


    Among their provisions, they each had been given a small pouch containing several coins, though that meager amount of money wouldn¡¯t get them very far. They knew where they wanted to eventually travel to, but they barely had enough money to even leave Elsanth, let alone go somewhere a great distance away.


    Their planned journey would take them through several countries, meaning they would have to exchange currency in each one, possibly even multiple times in a single country.


    The army that had been taking care of them had arranged for three nights in an inn for free. The food wasn¡¯t free, however, and would come out of the money they were given. Luna had received a share of money as well, which meant their group had slightly more to work with, as she didn¡¯t eat as much as an adult.


    With only a few days to work with and meager savings to get them by, they had to act quickly to secure income for themselves.


    That meant they would have to register as slayers. The people of this city clearly hated the regular deliveries of foreigners it had been receiving, and seemed utterly sick of all the new people from Earth showing up all the time. They weren''t going to hire any of them.


    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t anyone at all that Michelle trusted to take care of Luna, which meant she was left with the unfortunate decision of either bringing her with them when they went to kill a monster, or leaving behind one of the adults to stay with her, making the others¡¯ odds of success drop drastically.


    Their first order of business was to see what armor and weapons they could get within their budget. The cheap breastplates and knives they each had could hardly even be called a bare minimum.


    The people of Elsanth were obviously used to all the Earthlings passing through, as they were directed to an armory before they could barely even get a word out.


    They had no idea whether or not any of the things on display were actually worth their price, but with Amber¡¯s ability to repair damage on the used and worn-out items, they could afford to buy more cheaply than most.


    Going by the way the shopkeeper scowled at their cheap purchase and refusal to pay for repairs, he was apparently making a killing by showing off his worst crap to Earthlings, and selling it and repairs to them for presumably exorbitant prices.


    Because it was normal in this world for kids to do dangerous things¡ªwith a parent, usually¡ªthey were even able to get armor for Luna without Amber having to resize something.


    Trying to gouge us to repair this heavily-used and obviously cheap armor¡­


    The armor even had stains, which she tried not to think about. Though, it at least seemed to have been cleaned pretty well.


    They also picked up a weapon for everyone. Michelle got a sword, which had been her weapon in the game. Luna got a shortsword, which meant Michelle could teach her what she knew. And Amber and Sarah received a bow and a hammer respectively. They also picked up a couple healing potions, which left the group with scant money remaining.


    They next headed for the Slayer¡¯s Guild to see what was available. They planned to start working the following morning, however, after Amber had already fixed up their gear.


    The people at the Guild were also used to all the strangers passing through, and the staff had prepared a written explanation for them beforehand so they wouldn¡¯t have to repeat the same answers to the same questions a million times.


    With their supplies purchased and the Guild¡¯s explanation in hand, they headed for their inn. The room they had been given was cramped, and had two beds with hardly any space at all between them. Michelle and Luna would take one bed, and Amber and Sarah would take the other.


    They sat in their room to look through the information the Guild had given them, which was a bunch of rules, as well as answers to numerous questions the previous people from Earth must¡¯ve been asking.


    To everyone¡¯s dismay, some of the information in the packet they had received was about how bandits are actually real in this world, and in those situations, it¡¯s expected for those defending against an attack to just kill them instead of capturing them. Many places will even give people fines for causing trouble to the guards by bringing captured bandits.


    Few people are ever imprisoned. The people who became bandits in the first place had usually done something pretty bad to end up rejected by society like that.


    Michelle looked down at Luna, who was sitting in her lap. To the others, she told them, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I could do it. I can¡¯t help but think about what their lives are like, what reasons are motivating them. What if they¡¯re just doing their best for their kids?¡±


    Sarah looked at her sternly. ¡°You might not have a choice when the time comes.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Michelle resolved herself for a day that she hoped would never come.


    With everything else sorted out for the day, everyone put on their armor so Amber could make sure everything was sized correctly. She made sure all the armor and weapons were in as good of condition as she could get them, then they went to sleep for the night.

 9 — A City Worth Leaving — Flimsy Walls

    Content warning:


    Bit of gore in this chapter. It¡¯s pretty minor, I think.


    Michelle


    Just as they had expected, the Guild was packed the following morning. Jobs were posted whenever they came in, not just in the morning, but the more daylight you had to work with, the better.


    Because of how crowded it was, Sarah left by herself to get a job for them, while the other three waited. As they stood there, many of the people from Earth were discussing things with each other, but were passing by Michelle''s group.


    They were talking about strategies and equipment, especially because the Earthlings were forced to limit the sizes of their groups. The more people that were in a group, the less money each person would earn per job, as the pay didn''t increase along with the group size.


    ¡°You seem disappointed?¡± Amber asked her.


    ¡°I thought people would be more talkative with us, but they seem to be avoiding us for some reason.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably that scary look you¡¯re giving everyone.¡±


    ¡°How am I being scary?¡±


    ¡°Mom, what job are we doing?¡± Luna suddenly asked for the third time.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find out when Sarah gets back, so it should be soon,¡± Michelle told her. Everyone had been incredibly bored back at the base, so being literally anywhere else after all this time was beyond exciting. Luna had been hit the hardest, and was practically vibrating from the anticipation of finally getting to do something.


    Michelle internally sighed, seeing her daughter all geared up in leather armor and with a shortsword on her hip.


    It would ordinarily be cute, like wearing a costume, but it just fills me with a sense of dread instead.


    There were even a few other kids at the Guild¡ªones who were residents of the city¡ªwhich only exacerbated what she was feeling.


    They did have a plan, however. During fights, Luna would be kept on the motorcycle, with the canopy up. They had tested its durability and found that it was pretty solid. Michelle didn¡¯t even have to be touching it to repair any damage that occurred, though it couldn¡¯t be moved without actually sitting in the driver¡¯s seat.


    They would always try to keep someone close to Luna; most likely Amber, as she was their ranged fighter. And they had also explained to Luna that her Gift could be used for defense as well. She could not only keep an animal out full-time now, but in its current form of a wolf, it also had fangs and claws.


    Michelle was really lamenting that the few good connections with other Earthlings they¡¯d been able to make hadn¡¯t lasted. Those people had either left in earlier groups or were still at the base, waiting for their turns to leave. Anyone she might¡¯ve even considered as a potential person to watch Luna wasn¡¯t available.


    The job Sarah had gotten for them was to hunt a deer. It sounded like a relatively simple task, but animals in this world were mostly omnivorous, and people were a good source of meat and mana, which improved health in general when consumed. But the same was true for the monsters as well, which is why people ate them.


    Because most monsters that managed to eat a person were killed pretty quickly, that meant the chance of eating a monster that had eaten a person was actually pretty low. And people also avoided eating that meat, but would still take whatever they could use from the monsters otherwise.


    And it¡¯s not like that was a waste of food, either, as monsters reproduced quickly. Monsters were so abundant that people weren¡¯t lacking for meat in their diets, and keeping livestock was a rare practice.


    In fact, at least in this part of the world, food was rather abundant. The space needed for farming was much smaller here because magic and enchanted farming equipment sped things up.


    Their main issue regarding the mission, beyond killing the monsters themselves, would be transporting the carcasses. Everyone was physically enhanced by nature of simply possessing mana, but that was still a ton of weight to lug around.


    There were various means they could use to get the job done, but all of them were currently out of their budget. That pretty much left Michelle¡¯s motorcycle as their only option. None of them, not even Michelle, were sure about how feasible it would be.


    With everyone as prepared as they could be, they set out. Michelle wasn¡¯t going to use her motorcycle in view of the city because she still wasn¡¯t sure how valuable it might be to other people, and also because it used her mana as fuel. So the less she drove it, the less mana she spent.


    We just have to do this for long enough to settle down somewhere and get Luna into school. And me, Amber, and Sarah can start with the creative jobs we want to do. This is only temporary.


    Michelle and the others each reminded themselves that they weren''t going to kill monsters for a living forever. They just had to get away from here, first.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The nearby forest surrounded about two-thirds of the city, but had been cut down to a certain extent to make it difficult for monsters to easily approach the walls without being spotted. It was still close, though, and didn¡¯t take very long to walk to.


    The forest had a much wider variety of plants than any of them were used to seeing in one place, and more than a few of them had colors that weren¡¯t just the typical green. Some types of plants could even come in various colors. One might be green, and then the next one of the same plant they saw might be red.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    We have a whole new ecosystem to learn. And yet ,some plants are similar to the ones we know. Hell, this world even has monster versions of horses and rabbits and a lot of other things.


    All the knowledge they had obtained from the game, other Earthlings, and some helpful soldiers at the base all combined, resulting in them generally knowing what they should be doing as they moved forward.


    There were plenty of signs that they knew to look out for, and they did find some after a while. As the four of them trekked through the forest, they didn¡¯t need a break like she had thought they would. It came as a surprise to them, who hadn¡¯t gone outside the base and only done general exercise and training there.


    Being magically stronger has its perks. Even though I was fit back home, I still would¡¯ve been completely winded by now.


    A few hours after leaving the safety of Elsanth¡¯s walls, the group came across a group of monster rabbits. The visible differences between them and the regular rabbits they were familiar with were that these ones were larger, rougher-looking, and had claws.


    Amber nocked an arrow and drew her bow. It would be her first time using her archery skills in this world. The bow she had purchased yesterday wasn''t great, but Amber''s Gift at least gave her confidence that it was unlikely to break.


    I hope the small amount of practice we were able to get in with our weapons will be enough. They really didn¡¯t give us any time at all to ease into things.


    She let the arrow fly, but missed by several centimeters. The rabbits immediately bolted into the foliage.


    She scowled. ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°That was pretty good,¡± Sarah told her. ¡°That was literally the first attempt any of us have made, and you got really close!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just nervous about failing. And feeling a little guilty about missing, because this is necessary for us.¡±


    Michelle asked everyone, ¡°Should we take a break now? We¡¯ve already been walking around for a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Sarah replied.


    Luna had been good this entire time, not making a lot of noise or trying to play around. She understood she needed to be serious right now.


    She¡¯s such a good girl.


    With everyone in agreement, they decided to take their break in the clearing the rabbits had just vacated. Amber retrieved her arrow, then set up earthen walls in a large circle around them, then chairs and a table for them to sit on.


    Casually making walls and furniture wasn¡¯t a big deal for her, as her large mana pool had carried over from the game. Out of the four of them, hers was the largest. The walls weren''t super sturdy, but would still provide at least some degree of cover and protection.


    Michelle¡¯s capability with magic was also rather high, as she had played the game quite a bit before Mia¡¯s death. Despite having to suddenly switch from wind magic in the game to water magic in this new world, she had been able to make the adjustment during the previous four months they had spent just waiting to leave.


    Their mana pools were all also bolstered by practicing with the Gifts every day, as those also required mana and control to use.


    And having so much mana also means having a much longer life, which is weird to think about.


    The four of them sat at the table Amber had made, and Luna¡¯s ice wolf hopped into her lap, which was adorable. Michelle made ice cups filled with water for everyone, and they all took the opportunity to snack.


    Amber had left slits in the wall so they could keep an eye on their surroundings, and Michelle had filled them with clear ice. Her magical ice was much stronger than natural ice as long as she kept supplying mana to it, so this helped prevent anything from attacking through the gaps.


    Reaching over to rub Luna¡¯s head, then the wolf¡¯s, she asked, ¡°Since you¡¯ve been keeping it as a wolf for so long, have you given it a name?¡±


    Many of Luna¡¯s previous animals had been given names, but none of them had been permanent. Eventually, she had used so many names that she had just started calling all her animals Icy for simplicity¡¯s sake.


    ¡°Umm¡­ Diamond!¡± she happily replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty name. Why Diamond?¡±


    ¡°Because she¡¯s pretty!¡±


    Michelle chuckled amusedly, ¡°Yes, she is.¡±


    Sarah asked everyone, ¡°Should we change up our strategy? We¡¯ve only seen small monsters so far.¡±


    Amber replied, ¡°We¡¯re not as good at tracking or being quiet as we need to be, yet. And other general forest knowledge, too, I suppose. I¡¯m not sure what we would be able to improve by making a sudden decision right now.¡±


    Michelle reminded them, ¡°Sitting still in a forest like this is also akin to acting as bait. I¡¯m not keen on that, but we¡¯re not making progress otherwise, and we¡¯re all still keeping an eye on our surroundings.


    They sat for a little longer before deciding to get moving again. It was as Michelle stood up and could see over a particular section of the wall that she spotted it at the same time as it spotted her. It was huge, and its antlers looked vicious enough to shred straight through a tree.


    ¡°Monster!¡± she yelled, immediately stepping in front of Luna and pulling out her sword. She formed her motorcycle for Luna to get into, then enclosed it once her daughter was in the seat.


    Everyone else also jumped up and spotted it, already charging at them. Amber created some spikes sticking out of the ground aimed at where she thought the deer would break through.


    As it got closer to the wall, Michelle could tell that it was at least twice as large as a regular deer from Earth.


    Are we seriously going to fight that thing?!


    Unfortunately, they had no choice but to fight it. They already knew that the others from Earth had failed to get safer jobs. In this part of the world, they¡¯re all unwanted, and they don¡¯t have the requisite supplies to safely travel to another city. Many of them are also lacking in the survival and combat skills required.


    If the four of them died here in this forest, it would only make the locals happy that there were fewer Earthlings to tolerate.


    No, I can¡¯t fail here! I need to kill this fucking thing for Luna¡¯s sake!


    She had no idea if anyone else was panicking like she was, but she yelled, ¡°We can do this!¡± Her shout had been more for herself than the others.


    The deer¡¯s momentum was increased by running downhill and using wind magic to accelerate itself. It finally burst through the wall, and while some of Amber¡¯s spikes did impale it slightly, they didn¡¯t go in very deep.


    Amber fired an arrow at its chest, and Michelle aimed shards of ice at it, specifically, its head. Sarah was almost exclusively a close-combat fighter, so she couldn¡¯t do much just yet, but she was ready to step in.


    It¡¯s up to me and Sarah to deal with it when it gets closer.


    The deer simply lowered its head and continued its charge, now with its massive antlers pointed right at them.


    Michelle created a massive blast of water that hit its head, causing it to stumble slightly, and Sarah took that opportunity to swing her enormous hammer into its neck, using her wind magic to increase its speed, and her Gift to further destroy where the blow connected. A sickening, wet crunch rang out, and it fell to the ground, dead.


    The three women were panting from the adrenaline, and once Michelle finally realized that the fight was over, she turned around to check on Luna, but was interrupted.


    She didn¡¯t have any time to think, so she could only create a simple wall of ice between her and the approaching monster wolf. Her wall hadn¡¯t entirely formed when the monster''s jaws slammed into it, shattering it.


    Michelle stumbled backward from the surprise, and Amber managed to stab its neck with a dagger during its brief moment of disorientation, knocking it down in the process. It managed to get back up, but was choking on its own blood. Michelle swung her sword through its neck, ending it for good.


    While having a large mana pool will make a person¡¯s body more durable, that isn''t the same thing as being invulnerable. Michelle could¡¯ve been seriously injured just now. Monsters had mana enhancing their bodies, too, after all.


    I almost died just now¡­

 10 — A City Worth Leaving — Diamond Beginnings

    Michelle


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Amber asked worriedly.


    Michelle exhaustedly nodded. ¡°Yeah. Uninjured but shaken.¡±


    Sarah said, ¡°It got in when we were finishing up with the deer and were distracted.¡±


    Instead of continuing to talk with them, Michelle went to check on her daughter.


    ¡°M-Mommy! That was so s-scary!¡± Luna cried. Michelle got in the sidecar with her and put the canopy back up to muffle the noise.


    Michelle held her close and rubbed her back. ¡°It was. But they¡­ are dead now. We killed them. They won¡¯t be coming back.¡±


    She hadn¡¯t planned on saying that at first, but decided to go with it, as she felt that anything less than the truth right now might cause more harm in the long run. Real monsters attacked them, and were killed.


    As Luna began to calm down, Michelle decided to help with dressing the carcasses, mostly so they could get the hell out of there sooner. She also needed to make sure she knew how to do it correctly. The three adults worked on their gruesome task, while comparing their knowledge and skills of everything they already knew about how to do it.


    I¡¯m so thankful for Diamond¡¯s existence right now. Luna would be having a much more difficult time without her to hold onto. Maybe the goddess predicted this?


    It was disgusting and messy. They all had the same idea to coat their hands with their respective magics to make it slightly easier. Because of how hot the carcasses were, Amber and Michelle dealt with the warmer parts, as Amber wasn¡¯t affected by the heat and Michelle could cool her hands down.


    In a way, the sudden appearance of the wolf was actually beneficial. They would make a bit more money today, sure, but more importantly, they had learned that they really needed to keep a better eye on their surroundings and to not let their guard down. They hadn''t even been given a chance to fall into a pattern of bad habits.


    With everything set up for transport, they packed everything into the bags they had prepared beforehand for this very purpose.


    ¡°Guess it¡¯s finally time to see what my ice-cycle can do,¡± Michelle quipped.


    Amber sighed. ¡°Really, Michelle? A pun?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous that you didn¡¯t come up with it.¡±


    ¡°No, I came up with it months ago, but I knew it was bad, so I threw it out.¡±


    ¡°You missed your opportunity, then.¡±


    Because her magic motorcycle didn¡¯t need all the machinery that a mundane one did, that left plenty of room for storing things within the body. The back, front, and side could all hold things, and the sidecars added even more storage space.


    Luna sat in front of Michelle, and Amber and Sarah sat in one of the sidecars, their belongings were all stored away, and all the meat and materials from the monsters had been stored in the other sidecar.


    Michelle slowly poured her mana into the vehicle, causing it to inch forward. She was transporting much more weight than in her tests at the base, so it required more mana this time. She kept adding more and more until a decent speed was achieved.


    She had to go by sight and feel to figure out how to adjust the flexibility and rigidity of the pieces connecting the three sections. It was tedious work, and maneuvering was awkward because of how dense the forest was in a lot of places. There was no convenient road for her to use.


    Amber helped a great deal by evening out the terrain as they moved, and Michelle added her own ice to the ground to help things even more.


    Despite the slow going, progress was still being made. Michelle got better at driving it, and Luna put in some ice to cool the air around them so she would have something to do.


    Even though the motorcycle was made of ice, it didn¡¯t feel cold at all unless Michelle willed it to. She did do that where all the monster parts were stored, though.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    They had stopped on the way back a couple times because of other people coming into sight. They were still incredibly wary of revealing their Gifts, but it was after the second group went by¡ªa group of locals¡ªthat Michelle realized she had been excessively cautious all this time.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The group did look at the motorcycle a little strangely, but didn¡¯t really care all that much about it and moved on pretty quickly.


    She hung her head. ¡°So it turns out that I¡¯ve been way too careful, and that this isn¡¯t some coveted thing that tons of people will want.¡± She sighed. ¡°I should¡¯ve realized that when I saw other people using their Gifts here.¡±


    Amber shrugged. ¡°It turned out okay, didn¡¯t it? That means you can finally openly use it. I¡¯m still a bit wary about revealing my Gift, though, but we¡¯ll deal with that when we have to.¡±


    Sarah comforted, ¡°It¡¯s still good to be careful, though. It turned out okay, but given our situation, I think it was the right call to be wary.


    Michelle chuckled exasperatedly. ¡°Yeah. Anyway, let¡¯s get moving again.¡±


    They loaded all the supplies a third time, and Michelle drove until they reached a distance that was near the gate before dispelling the motorcycle. Once again, they received slightly odd looks, but no one really cared. From the conversations they could overhear as they passed people, it sounded like some were even wondering if it was a Gift or not.


    I don''t have to fear people wanting me to transport things and people around for them, at least. And I guess previous Earthlings might¡¯ve shown off their Gifts a lot more.


    They handed their haul to a clerk, who commented, ¡°Seems you didn¡¯t die out there. That¡¯s more than I can say for a lot of you.¡± He eyed their armor as he said that.


    ¡°The stains¡­¡± Sarah muttered in shock and disgust.


    Michelle shivered, and tried to keep her mind off of it.


    Giving some advice, the clerk told them, ¡°Your dressing job was passable, but learn from someone else when you can.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Returning to their room at the inn, Michelle instantly collapsed onto the bed.


    ¡°You okay?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°Driving the motorcycle around took a ton of energy from me. I¡¯ll need to increase my mana pool a lot before I can just use it whenever I want.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Well, you should get up before your armor starts digging into you.¡±


    I don¡¯t want to get up.


    She sighed and pushed herself back to an upright position. ¡°Yeah. I need to eat and wash all this sweat off, too.¡±


    Sarah said, ¡°We have a bit of free time now, so I¡¯m going to gather information from a bookstore. Maybe ask around, if I can find someone willing to talk to me.¡±


    ¡°Not going to change out of your armor?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°Not really comfortable walking around this city without armor on, to be honest.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, good point. I¡¯ll go with you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she smiled.


    ¡°Mom?¡± Luna hesitantly asked me.


    ¡°What is it, sweetie?¡± the older ice elf replied.


    ¡°Um¡­ Can you¡­ teach me how to sword fight?¡±


    ¡°I was going to start tonight. But why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t want to be scared like that again.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Luna. I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Mom. I love you.¡±


    She smiled and hugged her. ¡°I love you, too, sweetie.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After that first night, the four of them fell into a routine over the next month.


    Prepare for a mission, both mentally and physically.


    Fight something, while being as careful as possible and learning what they can along the way.


    Motorcycle back to the city.


    Gather more information and supplies.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant for any of them, but they were doing well enough for themselves, which is more than they could say for a lot of the other Earthlings.


    Michelle taught Luna what she knew about swordsmanship. She knew it could be better, but she was confident in having at least a decent level of proficiency with the sword, given how much she had played the game in the past and the amount of effort she had put into actually properly learning it.


    It had become quite clear to them the longer they remained here why the residents hated Earthlings so much. Every five or so days, a fresh batch of them would arrive and cause a ruckus. They went around to the same places, asking the same questions, and tried their hardest to get more out of the shops and to avoid having to kill monsters for real.


    And many of them weren''t considering the culture in Elsanth at all, and did and said a lot of rude things. And the desperation many of them were feeling also led to many bad decisions being made.


    It was sobering to realize just how many of them had already died. And with so many of them also becoming homeless, it meant that many had had to resort to stealing, because no one wanted to hire them or have anything to do with them. Even though the residents did understand the situation, all the Earthlings still came off as ignorant and obnoxious.


    It was a vicious system that threw all of them out into the world with no real way to prepare for it.


    Luna had also asked the devastating question of if she could help them fight monsters. It was hard, but Michelle relented that she eventually could, but after they were in a different city. She wanted more time to prepare her daughter, better equipment, and to also get away from all these people who hated them.


    Once they finally settle down somewhere, Michelle planned to also get sword lessons for both of them. She knew that her own skills needed improvement as well.


    Michelle had an idea of how Luna could help in the meantime, so she suggested that she could have Diamond join the fight while Luna remained safe. As a wolf, it had fangs and claws that it could fight with.


    Using mana to keep Diamond out for as long as possible, as well as increasing the wolf¡¯s size and having it fight, would also have the additional bonus of helping to increase the capacity of Luna¡¯s mana pool. She could still only make one animal at a time, though, which seemed to be a limitation of the Gift.


    Michelle also gave Luna a goal. Once she could keep Diamond out full-time, even when she was asleep, then she didn¡¯t have to put her away when out in public anymore. Tamed beasts do exist, but Michelle was worried about Luna suddenly becoming the subject of attention if Diamond suddenly vanished and her mana was depleted.


    She had given herself a similar goal with her motorcycle. Just keeping it out took some mana, but not much, at least not in comparison to her total mana pool. But she had already achieved it, as it was just a stationary object when not in use, unlike Luna¡¯s Gift. The animals she created even mimicked breathing.


    Diamond actually turned out to be an invaluable tool for teaching Luna how to fight. Even though the wolf was made entirely out of ice that Luna had produced herself, she still didn¡¯t want to see it get injured.


    That meant she had to consider when and where Diamond should be in order to work with everyone else, get an attack in, and escape from danger. When Luna eventually faces a monster directly one day, she¡¯ll already have had experience in that kind of thinking.


    Ideally, that day will never come¡­

 11 — A City Worth Leaving — To Michelle

    <div>


    Michelle


    Before the group finally left Elsanth, there was one last thing Michelle needed to take care of, which was to have Luna kill something small.


    In this new world they¡¯d found themselves in, traveling between cities and towns meant facing danger and acquiring food by killing monsters as you went. Very few people would travel from one place to another and only eat travel-ready meals the whole way.


    The other aspect was survival. They were merely a group of four, and one of them was only a young girl. If she couldn¡¯t handle killing a monster under controlled conditions, then she would do even worse should a situation arise where someone can¡¯t help her quickly enough.


    Elsanth was an unforgiving place for them to stay, and Michelle had decided on a destination for them anyway, and the others had already agreed that it sounded nice.


    ¡°How are you feeling, Luna?¡± Michelle asked her.


    It was obvious that the girl was nervous, but was trying to hide it. The locals loudly complained about all the awful idiots passing through their town, and that included Luna. Even to a little girl, they would call her things like an obnoxious, useless, waste of space, just because she was from Earth.


    And they even had the gall to call me a bad parent for bringing her to this world. As if I knew this would happen!


    ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± she lied.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you¡¯re nervous or scared. I¡¯ll be here to support you, and so will the others. We¡¯ll help you get through this.¡±


    ¡°B-But¡­ What if I can¡¯t do it? What will happen to me?¡±


    I¡¯m so mad at those people for making her think she¡¯s useless.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you fail. We¡¯ll still be with you, and we¡¯ll help you succeed. I¡¯ll always love you no matter what, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ I can do it¡­¡±


    She still seemed scared, more of failure to kill a monster than monsters themselves, but she was feeling a little better than before.


    ¡°That¡¯s my girl,¡± Michelle told her. She gave her one more hug before they began walking toward the forest.


    They didn¡¯t go very deep, as they only had to find something small. It wasn¡¯t even an hour later that they came across a group of four monster rabbits. Even though they were monsters, they still had some sense of self-preservation, and wouldn''t risk attacking four beings that were so much larger than themselves, so it was necessary to take them by surprise.


    They carefully sneaked toward the rabbits, and once they were close enough, Amber created earthen walls on the back and left sides of them, and Michelle created ice ones on the front and right sides.


    The ice walls Michelle had trapped them with were frosted, so the rabbits couldn¡¯t see the group approaching them. But they knew something was going on, and were panicking. Thunking and splashing noises could be heard, sounding like two or three of them had earth magic, and at least one of them had water magic.


    Weaker monsters like these rarely ever had modifiers, so more complex types of magic weren¡¯t something they would often have to worry about. Though, unlike people, modifiers on monsters didn¡¯t produce obvious coloration patterns that indicated what type of magic they had, so it was important to always be careful.


    As soon as they reached the walls they had made, Michelle and Amber created ice and earth to hold them down. Catching them was tricky because of how fast they could be, but it didn¡¯t take very long.


    With all four of the rabbits captured, the two women entered their containment area and killed three of them. The last one would be for Luna. She wasn¡¯t going to fight it, just kill it. Michelle made sure it was entirely restrained and couldn''t see them coming. It was desperately flinging bits of dirt in every direction, but the attacks were weak, not solid or even aimed at anything.


    Fuck, this feels horrible.


    ¡°Luna, take out your sword,¡± Michelle commanded.


    The young elf girl did so, holding it just like Michelle had taught her to. The look on her face was incredibly tense.


    While still keeping an eye on the rabbit, Michelle put a hand on her daughter¡¯s stiff shoulder. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, Luna.¡±


    The girl was trembling slightly as she stepped forward. She stared at the rabbit for several seconds, then, completely forgetting everything she had learned about how to hold a sword, lifted it up high and slammed it down as hard as she could. Dirt and a small amount of blood sprayed out, but it was a surprisingly clean cut.


    ¡°I¡­ I did it¡­¡± Luna muttered.


    ¡°Yes, sweetie, you did,¡± her mom said, hugging her. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you."


    She hugged her back and quietly replied, ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡±


    Luna seemed to be a combination of shocked, happy, and a bit uncomfortable.


    She¡¯s not crying, so maybe I¡¯ve underestimated her? She¡¯s already seen several monsters killed by this point, so it¡¯s not like this is completely foreign. Is she just trying to be like me?


    Deciding to get moving, she asked Luna, ¡°Would you like to try taking it apart?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ I want to help.¡±


    While Amber and Sarah worked on the other three rabbits, Michelle walked Luna through the process.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    It wasn¡¯t even noon when they made it back to the city. Since that was the case, they decided that they would leave today instead of tomorrow. They had already bought everything they reasonably could in preparation for this, but still ended up buying some last-minute things on their way out.


    The last-minute purchases included another set of sewing needles, one more blanket, and a bit of preserved food. Everything else, they had already prepared. They would hunt and forage for additional food as they went.


    Since there was a little spare money, they also picked up some blank books; partially because they might need to write or draw something, but also because Sarah had been itching to get back into writing.


    They already had other blank books set aside for the purpose of teaching Luna. In the absence of a school, the three adults had taken to teaching her what they knew. When it came to history, geography, and anything else related to this world, they made sure to not rely on their game knowledge at all, and double-checked everything as much as they could before teaching it to her.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    They estimated it would take about a week to get to their first stop, a city in the southern direction. There was actually one that was closer to Elsanth than that one, but that one was to the north, away from their destination.


    Once they were outside the walls, they all got into their seats aboard Michelle¡¯s ice motorcycle, and at long last, put Elsanth behind them for good.


    There was room for all their belongings, and Michelle and Luna would take turns supplying ice for a compartment meant specifically for keeping food fresh.


    Michelle could comfortably drive for about three hours before needing to stop. That was a good point to stop at anyway, so everyone could take a break from all that sitting and stretch their legs.


    They could even travel a bit further just by walking, to further give them a break from sitting. Unlike on Earth, they wouldn¡¯t be leaving a vehicle behind when they did this.


    Michelle wouldn¡¯t completely drain her mana before stopping, as she needed to be able to help fight off anything that attacked. If she had been driving on a straight, flat road, she could go on longer, but she had been adding bits of ice onto the road where necessary to make it a smoother ride.


    It was a goal of hers to eventually be able to make a road made entirely of ice underneath the motorcycle at all times, as that would make driving so much easier. She already gave all the road ice she made a rough and bumpy texture for traction, and being able to have perfect traction at all times would help greatly.


    She also didn¡¯t want to leave a big trail of ice wherever she went, so she was making it vanish behind her. If she simply cut off her magical connection to it, then it would become ordinary ice that would remain there until it melted.


    As their journey finally began, Michelle found that she couldn¡¯t keep her motorcycle out as much as she thought she could, so they spent a bit more than half the time walking as a result.


    Even if it meant that it would take longer to get to their first stop, everyone still greatly appreciated not having to walk the entire way. Being able to cool the air inside the motorcycle was something everyone was glad for, even if Amber didn¡¯t mind the heat. The weather would begin cooling down soon as winter approached, though.


    Everyone played with their magic a bit as they moved, an act which most people couldn¡¯t do, as they didn¡¯t have the mana to spare for playing around like that. Most people also didn''t feel the need to increase their mana pools so much, as they didn''t travel extensively. They were still careful about how much mana they spent, however.


    At night, the three adults each took a turn on watch for around two hours. Their camp was stone walls surrounding three stone tents. Carefully placed gaps allowed them to see what was on the other side of the walls.


    Something about Torneltha that everyone could appreciate was the incredibly fresh air and gorgeous starry sky. Nature here was vast and mostly untouched. Trees as tall as skyscrapers could be seen regularly, and it was easy to feel small compared to the expansiveness of the world around them.


    Torneltha also had little to no pollution from what they knew so far. Neither the research base nor Elsanth had had any problems. Magical waste disposal and ventilation kept things clean.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The group was currently taking a break. The adults were sitting in the shade of a giant tree while Luna played with a giant-sized Diamond nearby, though nowhere near as large as the tree, of course.


    Diamond could become as big as a car if Luna put a lot of her mana into it. Right now, the wolf was big enough to ride, but making it large enough for two riders and maintaining that size was still too much for her.


    I want to ride it, too! Luna, your mom has an incredible need to ride upon the back of a giant wolf.


    Michelle¡¯s mind came to an abrupt, screeching halt. She felt the need to look at her hands for some reason, and just stared at them as she tried to process what had just occurred.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°I just¡­ just now, I thought of myself as Luna¡¯s mom. Her mom. It¡¯s gradually shifted over the past several months from dad to parent, and just now, it was mom. And I just¡­ Ugh!


    |


    ¡°For a brief moment, that¡¯s who I actually was, and it felt totally and completely normal! But then I noticed the slight change in word choice, and now I¡¯m freaking out!¡±


    Taking a long breath to calm herself down a little, she continued, ¡°At this point, I want it to actually be normal for me already, to not think about it every single time something like this comes up.


    |


    ¡°And it also kind of feels like I¡¯m making a big deal out of nothing? Like, it¡¯s a word. My personality, my interests, my habits, none of those have changed much, I don¡¯t think. I¡¯m still the same, but I¡¯m also not.¡±


    After Michelle¡¯s rant concluded, Sarah spoke up, ¡°A word can have a lot of power, you know? Why do you think trans people choose pronouns and new names for themselves? It¡¯s because just one word can be deeply affecting.


    |


    ¡°So I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird for you to freak out over that.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Yeah, I get that, but actually experiencing the change is something else. I still don¡¯t really know how to feel about what happened to me, but I guess I can finally conclude that I¡¯m probably genderfluid or something.


    |


    ¡°Like, I was perfectly happy with my body before, but this one never felt wrong, either. So I guess it¡¯s like my gender matches my vessel? Or maybe I just never cared as much as I thought I did?"


    Amber said, ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s been like for you, but I¡¯m happy you¡¯re figuring things out.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Sarah agreed. ¡°And hey, at least you don¡¯t have a tail that you keep accidentally closing doors on. Or sitting on. Or having to clean. I even have to brush and wash this thing!¡± she finished, her tiger tail twitching irritatedly as she complained about it.


    Michelle replied, ¡°Sure, but I still bump my boobs into stuff sometimes. These things are sensitive! I bump my hips, too. I¡¯m actually glad to be wearing armor a lot of the time, because I would keep damaging myself otherwise.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fair, but at least you get armor! They don¡¯t have tail armor in our price range!¡¯


    Amber joined in, ¡°I¡¯m working on it! Creating armor from scratch is hard, but once I¡¯ve got it basically made, I can use my Gift to rework it into something that works better.¡±


    ¡°How does creating real tail armor compare with making something similar for cosplay?¡±


    ¡°Entirely different, since I have to keep in mind that it¡¯s real limb. That means taking into account its weight, flexibility, how it will be used, and making sure the fur won¡¯t get pinched and pulled.


    |


    ¡°Can¡¯t help you though, Michelle. Or maybe wearing fantasy boob armor would help you be more aware of them?¡±


    Michelle retorted, "No thanks, I don''t need mental damage on top of physical damage."


    Amber huffed in fake irritation.


    Seeing Luna bouncing around on Diamond¡¯s back as she ran around, Michelle yelled, ¡°Luna! Try creating a saddle! You¡¯ll be able to hold on better!¡±


    ¡°Okay, Mom, I will!¡± she yelled back.


    Sarah commented, ¡°That¡¯ll tire her out quickly. That¡¯s a lot of magic for a kid to use.¡±


    Michelle replied, ¡°If she can grow her mana pool just by playing around, it will only be beneficial. The kids of this world have a head start on her.¡±


    Amber said, ¡°I think she¡¯s already surpassed them, though? Other kids don¡¯t play around with magic as much as Luna does because it¡¯s not a novelty to them. And she hasn¡¯t had much else to do for the past five months. Having a Gift helps, too.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Michelle said sadly. ¡°In a city where we aren¡¯t obviously Earthlings and when we have some money or even just a little time to spare, I really need to take her out for something fun. I also need to get her some decent clothes. I know she¡¯ll like that.¡±


    ¡°You too, for that matter.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I mean that you shouldn¡¯t forget to take care of yourself. You¡¯re right to focus on Luna, but you can¡¯t completely ignore your own well-being.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she nodded. ¡°I haven¡¯t actually thought about getting, like, just regular clothing yet. What¡¯s the jeans and t-shirt equivalent in this world?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want more variety? New world, new body and all.¡±


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll work myself up to it.¡±


    ¡°Well, from what I¡¯ve seen so far, clothes don¡¯t seem to be as gendered as they were on Earth. The sheer variety in body types and anatomy probably plays a part in that.


    |


    ¡°Torneltha¡¯s equivalent of ¡®jeans and a t-shirt¡¯ as you put it, would probably be a loose tunic, pants, and boots. Comfy clothes, basically. Though I¡¯m sure preferences will be different depending on what region we¡¯re in.


    |


    ¡°But there were plenty of people wearing things that were more fashionable or showed off the body.¡±


    ¡°I should really pay attention more¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but we¡¯ve all been sort of busy. And I had an interest in it.¡±


    ¡°Right. Well, now that we¡¯re finally moving on to whatever the hell the rest of our lives will be, we can actually start doing stuff again soon.


    |


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too difficult to get blacksmithing training.¡±


    ¡°Me too. I can¡¯t wait to create real fantasy armor!¡±


    Turning to Sarah, Michelle asked, ¡°Did you think about what you want to do yet?¡±


    Sarah nodded, ¡°I did. Someone mentioned alchemy several months ago, and I¡¯ve been considering it ever since. I want to try that and enchanting. The two fields are really intertwined, but there seem to be plenty who specialize in one or the other. Learning those things would mean I could help you create enchanted armor."


    Amber exclaimed, ¡°Yes! That sounds awesome, Sarah!¡±


    Michelle laughed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get moving again. Can¡¯t craft anything here, after all.¡±

 12 — Awareness — Curiosity

    Seven weeks later¡­


    Michelle


    At both the Praexoent Empire¡¯s research base and at Elsanth, the group had researched as much as they could to decide where they wanted to live, seeing as how there was no way to go back to their previous lives on Earth.


    The nearest city to Elsanth had been Iklos to the north. Many of the other Earthlings had headed there in an attempt to escape the harsh treatment they''d had to endure in Elsanth.


    But that wouldn¡¯t have been enough, because all the surrounding cities also wanted nothing to do with anyone from Earth. The bias against them had spread.


    With the idea of staying in this country a bad one, and the nearby Empire also no good, that meant they should just leave this Kingdom altogether.


    They spent weeks researching, and what they finally settled on was the Nibuolos Queendom, in the distant southeast. Reaching it would take a long time, but that was fine with them. They didn¡¯t have any ties to anywhere currently, so they decided to go out of their way to settle down somewhere nice since there wasn¡¯t even anything they would be leaving behind.


    The first major requirement they had when making that decision was that the education system was good. They wanted to send Luna to a good school, after all.


    After that, was basically going to school for the rest of them as well. Michelle and Amber wanted to learn blacksmithing, and Sarah wanted to learn alchemy. Nibuolos had people who could teach them.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The four of them were currently in their third city away from Elsanth. By now, people didn¡¯t immediately identify them as Earthlings on sight alone. This was partially because they had improved their armor and clothes a bit since then, and also just because of the distance from that city.


    Their armor and weapons had been replaced with better versions. While still cheap, they no longer were the bottom-of-the-barrel garbage they had been stuck with before. Amber¡¯s ability to repair everything and adjust their size was still invaluable, though the others had made sure they could still take care of things on their own without her help.


    It was an important skill to have, especially for Michelle, because she wanted to become a blacksmith. It was relevant for Sarah, as well, though, because her future enchanting work would require her to be a part of the production process.


    In the three months that they had been out in the world and killing monsters for a living, they had actually settled into a routine, and could now manage their time better and go about it more effectively.


    To get more money, they had also begun taking jobs that weren¡¯t just the easiest ones. They still needed to improve their gear and pay for travel supplies.


    These more difficult jobs generally required them to hunt something more dangerous or even just investigate an area. They were much more in-depth than the usual jobs they took.


    Today, they were on one such job.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    They spent much of their time these days in forests. Now that they had figured out how to actually watch out for danger¡ªas they had had no choice but to learn quickly¡ªwalking through the forest could even be enjoyable to an extent.


    But right now, they had their task to focus on, so they did not pay attention to any of the things about nature that they liked.


    The four of them were currently tracking a large lizard monster. Diamond was practically a fifth member of their group by now, as Luna had stopped changing its form and name.


    The wolf, even though it was only made of Luna¡¯s magic, had real intelligence in the way it behaved. It was even capable of making smaller decisions without any input from her.


    The job only required them to investigate the monster, but they could also kill it if they thought it was doable for them. Their task was to find out as much as they could about it without endangering themselves too much. They were trying to find out where it currently is, where it lives, what it eats, what its habits are, and so on.


    Winter had recently arrived, making tracks much easier to follow through the snow, though with a monster of this size, that hardly mattered. They still had to find them in the first place, though.


    Unlike how Amber had been in the summer, it was Michelle and Luna this time who didn¡¯t mind the temperature. They were still properly protected, but they didn¡¯t need any additional layers to keep themselves warm. The cold was natural to them.


    Sarah, on the other hand, was suffering a bit, as she could neither endure the cold so easily nor generate heat the way Amber could. However, as a tigerkin, cold temperatures weren¡¯t as bad for Sarah as they would¡¯ve been had she still been human. And her hair and the fur on her tail and ears had become all fluffy, much to everyone else¡¯s amusement.


    It also looks pretty cute.


    Another change the snow had brought was that Michelle¡¯s motorcycle currently had a wider design with treads on its wheels, but that wasn¡¯t relevant at the moment.


    What was relevant was that Michelle and Luna could easily move snow out of the way, as it was ice, and Amber could melt it by heating the ground below, so their movement wasn¡¯t particularly hindered. When they took a break earlier, she had even made lava for the first time in a while, which had been interesting to see in the middle of winter.


    Right now, all they knew of the monster was its general location, and an estimate of its size based on the tracks someone had reported seeing.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    They had left the city early, and it was after noon when they finally found the beast¡¯s tracks. Other monsters had attacked them a couple times on their way here, as was typical of a forest.


    Sarah was the first one to notice the tracks they were looking for. The prints showed five long claws on each foot, and there was an undulating line between the prints where its tail had dragged along the ground.


    Sarah frowned. ¡°It looks like it has big spikes on the end of its tail.¡±


    ¡°Any ideas for how we should deal with it if we fight it?¡± Michelle asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be busy dealing with its claws and whatever magic it has, so I think for this one, Diamond should constantly run around to distract it.


    |


    ¡°From the tracks, we can tell that this thing is pretty big, so we wouldn¡¯t be able to focus on it as uniformly as we usually do. We¡¯ll be able to deal with its attacks better if we¡¯re a bit more spaced out. It¡¯s too big for us to only focus on its front or another part.¡±


    They didn¡¯t normally deal with monsters this large, so their usual tactic of staying close to each other wouldn¡¯t work out as well this time.


    It sounds counterintuitive to spread out when facing a larger threat, but if the monster is allowed to focus on everyone in a single area, it will likely overwhelm them. But they have to be careful to not spread out too much as well, because then it could crush them individually.


    They need to find a balance between spacing themselves out to split its focus, but also staying close enough to defend and help each other if need be.


    They continued following the lizard''s trail, and when the tracks started to look more recent, they stopped to rest up and have a snack. They reviewed their strategy again, then carefully crept forward.


    They soon found it resting in a clearing of its own making. They couldn¡¯t tell what element it used yet, but it was obvious that it had a [Heat] modifier. There was no snow where it had chosen to lay down, and everything around it was dried out and crumbling away. The air was even rippling slightly with heat waves.


    That meant Amber¡¯s magic would have to rely on her element only, as fighting it with heat would be pointless. But if its element turns out to be earth magic, then Amber will have an even harder time.


    It¡¯s annoying that having mana makes it so I can¡¯t just mess with the water inside its body or something.


    In addition to making the body stronger and more resilient in general, having mana also meant having an inherent resistance to magical interference within the body.


    Michelle, Amber, and Sarah all shared a look to decide if they wanted to go after it or not. They were all in agreement, but made sure to check on Luna before finalizing their decision.


    This will be a decent amount of money.


    Michelle whispered to Luna, ¡°Can you focus on cooling us down during the fight? It will be a huge help.¡±


    Luna nodded eagerly, happy to have something to do. It would also genuinely be useful to prevent their non-heat-resistant members from overheating. She knows that big stuff like this is still far beyond her current capabilities.


    ¡°Thank you, sweetie. Just spread water along the ground and make it as cold as you can, okay?¡±


    They got as close as they dared to, and once they were ready, Amber launched the first attack. It was half a dozen earth spikes, aimed straight down above its neck.


    Both monsters and people, if familiar enough with magic, can sense when it is being used. The lizard detected Amber¡¯s spell and, in an instant, whipped itself sideways and out of the way. Only one of the spikes even touched it, and that was only just a graze.


    Damn. No sneak attack here.


    It stood up to its full height and stared them down. It was around four meters tall and at least three times as long. The monster bared its fangs and hissed angrily.


    Amber began firing arrows at its eyes, while Diamond ran around its feet, occasionally slashing with its claws. Luna had increased the wolf¡¯s size for the fight, and she had also spread cold water out like her mom had asked her to, though it was rapidly evaporating.


    Sarah burst forward in a flash of wind and was about to slam her hammer into its foot, but it dodged at the last second. She narrowly avoided being sliced by its claws.


    Michelle used that distraction to go for its other front leg with her sword, but that was actually a diversion for her real attack, which was a powerful water jet aimed at its throat from below, which should be strong enough to be the same as someone punching a person in the same spot.


    The surroundings began to darken as the heat rapidly became stiflingly hot.


    ¡°Shadow magic!¡± Michelle shouted, activating her light magic tool by pouring mana into it. Amber and Sarah did the same, and Luna was smart enough to not activate her own, making her less likely to be targeted.


    Michelle and Luna were both working to counter the heat, but they would have to finish this quickly before anyone faltered. Michelle kept an eye on Sarah to help keep her cool. Amber''s magic meant she had no problems with this level of heat.


    The monster lizard growled in annoyance at its failure to cut off their vision. Diamond ran at it, and Amber used her earth magic to constantly mess with the monster''s footing. She had already landed several arrows in it, but none of them had pierced anything vital.


    It slashed at Diamond, flinging her sideways and taking a large chunk out of her body.


    ¡°DIAMOND!¡± Luna yelled from within the enclosed motorcycle seat.


    Sarah used that moment to brutally slam its shoulder with her hammer, utterly shredding it and gouging out a chunk of its flesh.


    It roared in pain, and the darkness briefly increased in intensity, decreasing the visibility their tools provided. It spun itself sideways to attack Michelle and Sarah with its tail. Sarah¡¯s wind magic allowed her to dodge out of the way in time, but Michelle couldn¡¯t move that fast.


    Rather than creating a wall of ice between her and the incoming spikes, she created a ramp to angle the attack upward instead, and ducked behind her creation. Amber also created an earthen barrier to help her.


    Michelle was lucky enough to not receive any damage from the spikes, but was blown off to the side with chunks of ice and earth digging into her skin. The force of the attack also left her heavily bruised and with some fractured bones.


    She shakily took out her pouch of healing potion and chugged it, which forced all the foreign material out and repaired the damage.


    Damn it, that was an expensive potion, too.


    Luna had seen her mom and the others take damage before, and knew she didn¡¯t have to worry about them immediately, so she hadn¡¯t yelled out like when Diamond was struck.


    During its attack on Michelle, Amber had landed an arrow in its eye, causing it to reel back in pain. As it was recovering from that, Sarah crushed its other eye with her hammer.


    It began thrashing around and roaring in pain and rage, but without its vision, its attacks were unable to reach them. Michelle and Amber both created numerous spikes and slammed them into it.


    Sarah managed to get its other shoulder at that moment, and with both front legs disabled, Michelle was able to swing her sword into its neck. Her strike didn¡¯t go all the way through, but it was enough to end it.


    The darkness faded as everyone panted heavily from the exertion and heat. After making sure there were no other surprises, Michelle dispelled her motorcycle, allowing Luna to run to her wolf.


    ¡°Diamond!¡± she cried out, holding it. It had been shredded nearly into two separate pieces, and one of its legs was entirely gone.


    Even though it¡¯s made entirely of ice, this is still hard to look at.


    Diamond was still alive, though, or at least simulating being alive. Luna began pouring her magic into the wolf, but much of her mana was gone because of the fight.


    Michelle supplemented it by replacing the missing pieces of Diamond¡¯s body with her own ice, though the shape wasn¡¯t nearly as refined as what Luna¡¯s Gift could make. Luna then just focused on restoring Diamond using that instead of entirely regenerating everything that was missing.


    This feels different. Because I¡¯m supplying my own mana to her Gift, I think? It¡¯s working, though.


    After Diamond was fully back to normal¡ªand held tightly by Luna, they took a break. As if nothing had happened, the wolf was looking at each of them with great interest.


    After sufficient rest, they cut off the lizard¡¯s claws and left the rest behind. They were its most valuable parts, and most of the reward money would come from confirming their successful kill of the monster anyway.


    We should¡¯ve just reported our findings instead of fighting it. We were cocky. I can¡¯t believe this kind of thing is normal for us now. It¡¯s kind of exciting in a way, but I can¡¯t wait to have a regular life again.

 13 — Awareness — Annoyance

    <div>


    Four weeks later¡­


    Sarah


    Amber and Michelle were sitting together inside a nearby dome of ice of the latter¡¯s making, meant to prevent the loud noises bring produced within it from escaping. Unfortunately, Michelle was absolutely horrible at playing the flute, causing high-pitched squeals to ring out, and also causing Sarah to be unable to focus.


    Michelle had begun learning to play the instrument just as something different to do while they were resting, but her ability to play it was abysmal. Amber was beside her, doing her best to teach the disaster sitting next to her, but the ice elf had proven impervious to musical learning.


    They had originally called it her bubble bowl because of its shape, but there was nothing sweet or victorious about what was going on within. The name had quickly been changed to the scream dome.


    I envy her, despite how poorly it¡¯s going. I haven¡¯t been able to get anything started.


    Michelle had gained a new creative outlet that could easily be shared, while Sarah was stuck trying to figure out how to write a story she would not only enjoy writing, but that people from this world would enjoy.


    I know it¡¯s not that simple. Just as the music tastes on Torneltha and Earth are drastically different, so too is the same for the stories people enjoy reading.


    The group had been taking breaks in the towns and cities they stopped in before setting off to the next one, and it was in an inn a few weeks ago that some musicians were playing. The instruments weren¡¯t exactly like any of the ones Sarah was aware of from Earth, not even historical ones, but the sounds they produced were still recognizable as music.


    Michelle was then struck with the desire to break out of her routine, so she borrowed a flute to study its design, even passing water through it to better understand its structure. She then began experimenting to make a flute out of ice so she wouldn¡¯t have to bother with actually taking care of an instrument, not even having to store it somewhere when not in use.


    Amber had played the flute in high school, which is another reason Michelle had chosen it. Though Amber wasn¡¯t exactly an expert on the instrument herself, her knowledge was at least enough to give Michelle a start.


    Ugh, I¡¯m paying way too much attention to her right now. I¡¯ve got the biggest writer¡¯s block of my life, and I choose to blame the entire world for it. How is it that I am literally in a fantasy world with magic and monsters, but am so utterly lacking inspiration?


    Sarah had already read numerous books from this world, and there were a few things she had noticed. With monsters and aristocracy so prevalent, those topics were the subject of many books. A lot of common stories also revolved around great heroes and epic journeys.


    I have yet to see anything that''s not about some powerful figure. Real or fictitious, it doesn¡¯t matter, everything¡¯s about larger-than-life people.


    But regular people are what I like to write about, and I haven¡¯t had enough time yet to actually stay in one place and properly learn what life is like for regular people here. And will I even enjoy writing about that kind of life? I have no idea.


    A muffled screech rang out from the scream dome. Despite how harsh the noise was, Sarah still snickered from amusement. Diamond, who happened to be running by, stopped to give Sarah a cute little head tilt.


    Luna can easily remake Diamond, and almost losing her made Luna develop her Gift further, it seems. It would¡¯ve just run past before, but now she can make it react to specific things. It¡¯s cute.


    Ugh, that reminds me, I haven¡¯t been able to do much with my Gift yet.


    Though Sarah¡¯s Gift had proven invaluable in battle, outside of it, there didn¡¯t seem to be much use.


    Amber¡¯s Gift helped with repairing their gear, and it should also be able to help when creating things, though she hadn¡¯t had a lot of opportunities for that yet. She was working on it, however.


    Michelle¡¯s Gift allowed them to travel at a rapid speed, and as she grew her mana pool and refined her control, that speed only increased.


    Luna¡¯s Gift was the only one of the four¡¯s that had a lot of combat utility. Outside of combat, it basically filled in for having a friend to play with, which was also invaluable. Everyone else also enjoyed having what was basically a pet. Diamond brought comfort to all four of them.


    Sarah groaned, flopped onto her back, and began muttering to herself.


    ¡°Can¡¯t do anything right now. Can¡¯t write because I don¡¯t know the people of this world well enough. Can¡¯t even attempt to learn alchemy or enchanting because we don¡¯t actually live anywhere yet, as only reading books can¡¯t fill in for practical experience. And I can¡¯t even use my Gift for much beyond just fighting monsters.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    It¡¯s times like these that I would chat with my cousin for inspiration. Hope you¡¯re doing okay without me, Jess.


    Well, we¡¯re about halfway to Nibuolos right now, so it¡¯s just a while longer until I can start actually doing things.


    She was frustrated. So frustrated that she almost even wanted to join Michelle in torturing an animal in the scream dome.


    I wonder how much dirt Amber has stuffed in her ears right now?


    Countless ideas of what to write about had gone through her head since her arrival in Torneltha. She even considered writing evil and stupid characters based on people who had wronged her throughout her life, as she would even be able to include their real names with no legal repercussions, but quickly dismissed it. She would rather leave those people in the past.


    A more realistic idea was to try writing little vignettes. That way, she wouldn¡¯t have to go into a lot of detail. She knew wouldn''t gain satisfaction from writing like that, however, so she dismissed the thought.


    Another squeak rang out from the scream dome.


    Maybe I should write about the shrieking of an anguished flute as it gets revenge on its abusive player.


    As Sarah lay on the ground, she noticed her tail twitching along with her thoughts. She no longer minded having it, though she did wish it wouldn¡¯t broadcast her emotions so easily.


    Though, I guess it is nice to have something soft, warm, and furry to play with. Even if that thing is attached to me.


    An unexpected challenge of having a tail was the way she had to sit down, having to be careful to not crush her extra limb in some awkward position. She was quite relieved when after Michelle redesigned her motorcycle¡¯s seats to have grooves in the backrests that her tail could easily fit into.


    The tail actually did help her with her balance, too, which was a benefit of having one that she hadn''t expected to ever experience. It helps her make sharp adjustments when she¡¯s running at high speed. And because she bolsters her speed with her wind magic, it¡¯s even more important.


    I wonder if Victor¡¯s okay¡­


    Her orcish friend from the game had been among the first to leave the research base, and she had neither seen nor heard anything about him in Elsanth or any of the other cities they stopped in.


    He¡¯s probably been having a lot of fun, wherever he is. Especially because gay people are much more common here, so he can flirt with as many guys as he wants to.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Sarah had been brainstorming in one of her blank books when the two elven women stepped out of the scream dome.


    Oh, thank god.


    ¡°No need to look that relieved,¡± Michelle said to her.


    ¡°Ah, sorry. No offense, but¡­¡± Sarah started.


    ¡°I was channeling my inner banshee?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Are your ears okay? Both of you?¡±


    The two elves shared a look, then started laughing.


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    Amber pointed out, ¡°You didn¡¯t notice the difference?¡±


    ¡°No? What do you mean?¡±


    Michelle explained, ¡°I¡¯m definitely bad at it, but there¡¯s no way anyone could¡¯ve made that many horrible noises by accident.¡±


    ¡°What? So you were just¡­ being annoying?¡±


    She and Amber both laughed proudly. ¡°Yes!¡±


    Sarah buried her face in her hands. ¡°The two of you are so dumb, oh my god.¡±


    Now that I think about it, it was only today that the noises were that terrible.


    Looking them in the eyes, Sarah stated, ¡°I¡¯m going to create some characters based on you, and they¡¯re both going to be idiots.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, I can¡¯t wait!¡± Michelle exclaimed.


    ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to like the idea!¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we?¡± Amber wondered.


    Sarah groaned. Luna, who had been playing with magic with Diamond, came over now that her mom was no longer busy.


    ¡°Can I be a character, too?¡± the girl excitedly asked.


    Great, now I have to make my pretend threat real, and I have to do it in a friendly way.


    Michelle seemed to be able to read her thoughts, because she was trying not to laugh.


    Ignoring the idiot, she told Luna, ¡°Of course!¡±


    ¡°Yes! I want to be, um, a knight!¡±


    Michelle picked up Luna and hugged her. ¡°You¡¯re already a knight, Luna! You have armor, a sword, and even a mighty steed!¡±


    Said mighty steed began pawing at Michelle¡¯s leg. Diamond was currently only the size of a puppy instead of her ridable size, so it was adorable.


    ¡°Oh! Put me down! I want to go do knight stuff!¡±


    ¡°¡¯Knight stuff¡¯?¡± Michelle repeated.


    She set her daughter down, who ran off without answering her. Luna formed a fake sword made of ice in her hand to play with, a habit Michelle had gotten her into for training both her magic and swordsmanship simultaneously.


    Too bad Michelle can¡¯t make a real sword out of ice. She said she¡¯ll probably be able to do it eventually, meaning Luna would also be able to do it.


    Michelle was about to call out to Luna to remind her to not run too far away from the camp, but she didn¡¯t have to, because her daughter had stopped within a reasonable distance.


    Luna used to pretend that Diamond was a monster to fight against in the past, but had stopped doing that a while ago. Now, they either fought imaginary opponents together or attacked self-made targets of ice.


    Michelle sighed forlornly. Amber gave her a side hug and said, ¡°She¡¯ll be in school soon. Then she won¡¯t have as strong a focus on just monster stuff.¡±


    Returning the hug, she replied, ¡°I know. We¡¯re nearly there. It¡¯s not much longer until we can all start doing other things.¡±


    Deciding to change the subject, Sarah asked, ¡°So, what does everyone want for lunch?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    She had nearly fallen asleep when she was struck by a sudden realization.


    Why is it always when I¡¯m nearly asleep? Where¡¯s my ideas book?


    She had to dig through her things for a couple minutes before finally finding it.


    I don¡¯t like the idea necessarily, but it¡¯s where I should start.


    It was an incredibly simple idea, and she had previously discarded it for being too obvious. It was to write about adjusting to a new home after being forced to leave and dealing with a drastically different culture.


    It¡¯s way too on the nose, but that¡¯s fine. This is just for practice and study. I can use my actual experiences for this, and it also gives me more motivation to learn more about the people here.


    Sarah didn¡¯t think it would be interesting to read at all, but she desperately needed somewhere to start with her writing, and this was as good a place as any.


    I¡¯ll make sure to challenge myself as much as possible with this. It doesn¡¯t have to turn out good, I just have to learn a lot doing it.

 14 — Awareness — Intelligence

    Two weeks later¡­


    Luna


    She thought her new life in this world was kind of boring. The first several months were the worst, when they had just been stuck in one place with nothing at all to do.


    That improved once they began traveling. She got to learn how to use a sword from Mom, and they practiced magic a lot together, too. She also could finally learn more now that they could get books more easily.


    The monsters had been scary for her at first, but now they just seemed normal. They were still scary, but a kind of normal scary.


    Luna loved playing with Diamond, and was always having lots of fun with her, except for that one day with the lizard. When she first got Diamond from the nice fox lady, she could change her into any animal she wished. Then she kept her as a wolf for a long time, and now she can¡¯t change her form anymore.


    But Diamond is happy that way, so it¡¯s good!


    Still, there wasn¡¯t a whole lot for her to do. Mom had told her it would get better soon, but that was still a few months away. Then they could finally stop moving all the time and stay in one place.


    Luna was immensely excited about that, and couldn¡¯t wait to go back to school. She had liked school back home. Other kids said they hated it, which she didn¡¯t really understand.


    Mom was happier now. She had seemed really sad and worried all the time when they first got here, but now she¡¯s back to normal.


    Except she¡¯s my mom and not my dad. I miss Dad, but Mom is good, too. She still acts the same, so it¡¯s only the outside that changed. I still miss my other mom, though.


    Mom had been playing chess and checkers with Luna recently as something to do. The board and all the pieces were made of ice. They also had cards and a few other things to play with. Diamond would sit there and watch closely as they played, which was really cute.


    I also have Diamond to play with, but I don¡¯t see her as some toy or only just my magic. She doesn¡¯t feel like it, either. But I still need something new to do! I am so booored!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    They were currently staying in yet another city, in a little bit nicer of an inn than what they usually stayed in. Mom had told her that the reason they never stayed for very long in one place was because she wanted to get her into school sooner. She didn¡¯t like constantly traveling all the time, but if it was for school, she could wait.


    I wonder what monster we¡¯ll hunt today?


    Luna had begun putting her armor on when Mom called out to her, ¡°We¡¯re not taking a job today, sweetie, so there¡¯s no need for any of that.¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t? Why not?¡± Luna questioned confusedly.


    She just smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in a little bit, but for now, get dressed.¡±


    Her hand reached for her breastplate again before remembering that she didn¡¯t need it today for some reason. None of them had very many regular clothes, but they had at least gotten rid of the rags they had worn back at the base. The feeling of wearing something normal again after all this time felt foreign to her.


    They sat down for breakfast, and once that was done, they headed out.


    Mom looked at her. ¡°Luna, you¡¯ve mentioned before about being bored. We¡¯re moving as fast as we can, and you¡¯ve been really patient, so today is a day to do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Whatever I want?¡± she asked.


    She nodded. ¡°Mhmm! We could get some yummy food, find a performance somewhere, browse the shops¡­ Is there anything that comes to mind?¡±


    They hadn¡¯t had a fun day like this in a long time, and it took her a while to get into that mindset.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Um, clothes? I do want more of those.¡±


    She didn¡¯t know what to ask for. She didn¡¯t know this city. And even though she was adjusting to life on Torneltha, she couldn¡¯t help but think about things as if she were still on Earth.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Mom smiled and grabbed her hand. ¡°You got it. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    They¡¯d been walking for a few minutes when Luna noticed that it was just herself, Mom, and Diamond.


    ¡°Where¡¯d Amber and Sarah go?¡± Luna asked.


    ¡°We¡¯ll meet up with them later. For now, it¡¯s just us.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡±


    Luna was holding hands with Mom, and she wished she could hold hands with Diamond, too.


    Everyone in the group would sometimes go out on their own to do something when they were in a city, but this was the first time in a while that it was just the three of them together.


    Mom wasn¡¯t any more familiar with the shops here than Luna was, so they spent some time just walking.


    She spotted a display mannequin in a window that was wearing a dress that was a really pretty red color with black accents.


    ¡°Mom! I want that one!¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°Okay, sweetie.¡±


    Entering the store, Mom paid for the dress. While an assistant took Luna¡¯s measurements, she saw Mom give more money to the clerk. Once the measurements were taken, the three of them sat in a waiting area for them to finish.


    The way higher-end clothing stores worked in this world was that they had several examples displayed on mannequins, and would make your clothes for you after you picked something out and they took your measurements.


    Luna hadn¡¯t seen very many of these stores, however, because they mostly went to the ones that sold things secondhand.


    ¡°We have to wait for them to make it?¡± Luna asked.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Mom replied. ¡°Unlike back home, custom stuff can be made pretty quickly here. They use earth magic to control needles to get it done fast. It takes a lot of skill to be able to do that.¡±


    ¡°So there¡¯s sewing magic? That¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just used to Amber adjusting things for you all the time. She¡¯s totally a cheater when it comes to clothes. Without her, we¡¯d be spending a ton more time repairing everything.¡±


    Michelle was actually able to make a needle of ice and do the same thing, though her sewing skill wasn¡¯t even close to that of a professional, or even Amber¡¯s.


    Amber could be a professional, too! Those costumes she used to make were really good.


    It was a while later that the assistant came over with Luna¡¯s new dress. ¡­And something extra.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± the young girl asked.


    ¡°This is for your wolf,¡± the assistant replied She held up it for them to see. It looked like a scarf, made of the same red and black fabric as the dress.


    She gasped. ¡°Diamond, we can match!¡±


    Mom grabbed her hand again. ¡°Come on, sweetie. Let¡¯s get back to the inn so you and Diamond can change.¡±


    They rushed back to their room. Luna had to drag Mom with her because she wasn¡¯t walking fast enough, and Diamond ran around them as they moved.


    Luna hurriedly changed into her dress. She checked her reflection in the mirror, and saw herself wearing the nicest thing she¡¯d worn in a really long time.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing, Mom! Thank you so much!¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you forgetting someone?¡±


    She gasped at her failure. ¡°Diamond, I¡¯m so sorry!¡±


    Luna rushed to put the matching scarf on Diamond, who spun in a circle and wagged her tail once it was on. The wolf then nudged their hands.


    Mom spoke up, ¡°Well, let¡¯s head back out. There¡¯s plenty of daylight left, after all.¡±


    The three of them walked around more and stopped at a stall to get a snack. It was a vegetable and meat thing she hadn¡¯t ever seen before, but it tasted delicious. Luna asked for more, but Mom said it would ruin her lunch.


    ¡°Can I get a new sword? And new armor?¡± Luna asked.


    ¡°The things Amber made for everyone are already the best we can get our hands on at the moment, sweetie.¡±


    ¡°Aww,¡± she said, looking longingly at all the weapons for sale.


    ¡°We can look for a little bit, but we can¡¯t get anything.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Everything looks so cool!


    Luna was eventually pulled away, because they were bothering the girl running the shop.


    They explored the town for a little longer, and once it was finally lunchtime, they headed back to the inn.


    ¡°Aw, we¡¯re just having inn food for lunch?¡±


    Mom smirked at her. ¡°You said just this morning that you like this inn¡¯s food.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s not all this other food!¡± she exclaimed. The scents from the stalls could still be smelled even though they were no longer in sight.


    ¡°That food is more expensive. Besides, the others are waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What for?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± she answered cryptically.


    What¡¯s up with Mom today? She¡¯s acting weird.


    They made it back to the inn, and after a brief stop to get four meals sent to their room, they headed up the stairs. The other half of their group was already there, playing a card game as they waited.


    Amber exclaimed, ¡°Luna! You look so pretty! Diamond, too!¡±


    ¡°Ehehe~.¡±


    After lunch was over, Amber grabbed a box that had been sitting out of view behind one of the beds.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Luna asked.


    Amber smiled and removed the lid, revealing something amazing.


    ¡°Is that a cake!?¡± she yelled.


    Everyone laughed at her reaction, which embarrassed her.


    Sarah explained, ¡°Not quite. This is the closest we could find, but it is a frosted pastry like a cake.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I want to eat it! I haven¡¯t had anything sweet in ten million years!¡±


    Mom smiled. ¡°Of course, but there¡¯s one last thing that has to be taken care of before we can eat it.¡±


    Luna could only watch in horror as Mom created a barrier of ice around them.


    ¡°Mom, no¡­ Why this¡­? Please don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Wh-What!? Luna, I¡¯m not going to play the flute! Calm down!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± she asked hopefully.


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not that bad, am I?¡±


    She averted her eyes, and the elf and tigerkin across the table began laughing hysterically.


    Mom sighed and forcefully changed the subject. ¡°No, it¡¯s going to get noisy for a different reason.¡±


    In unison, everyone began singing Happy Birthday.


    The young girl was stunned. She had completely forgotten about this.


    When the song was finished and the ice barrier dispelled, Luna asked, ¡°Is it really my birthday? How can you tell?¡±


    Mom explained, ¡°We¡¯re actually a bit late because we had to wait for a good opportunity. And the calendar is also different here, but we counted out the days, and this is as close as we could make it.


    ¡°Luna, you¡¯ve been so good through all of this. It¡¯s just a couple more months until we make it, and then days like today can happen more often. I love you so much, sweetie. Happy seventh birthday.¡±


    She hugged her. ¡°I love you, too, Mom. Thank you for the cake. Oh yeah, Amber, Mom said you¡¯re a cheater!¡±


    Mom facepalmed. After she explained why she had said that, they then spent the rest of the day playing games. There was only enough cake for everyone to have a single slice, but Mom gave her some of hers.

 15 — Awareness — Happiness

    <div>


    Six weeks later¡­


    Amber


    It was only a few weeks after the birthday party that something they¡¯d all been fearing finally happened. They were attacked. Not by monsters, but by people.


    It was a group of eight who thought they had the advantage against their group of four, and had sneaked up on them in the middle of the night. Ordinarily, they would¡¯ve been right.


    But the three adults of the Earth group had started out with more mana than the average person, and had been practicing and developing their skills every single day since their arrival. Not only did they now possess even more mana, but they also had a magic wolf on their side that could increase to massive proportions.


    The fight was over quickly, and Amber, Michelle, and Sarah¡­ did what they had to. The three adults of the group had killed six of them, and Diamond had gotten one with her claws.


    Even though Elsanth had been unpleasant for them, they had learned back then that in this world, the policy for dealing with bandits is the same nearly everywhere; to just kill them and move on.


    In every place they¡¯ve stopped in so far, there were posters and descriptions of criminals to watch out for, people who had become bandits because of some crime, and now lived in the wild because they had nowhere else to go.


    The eighth and final bandit who attacked them understood that as well, and just surrendered and waited for one of them to kill him and be done with it. That only made it even worse for the Earthlings.


    Defending against an attack is one thing, but killing an enemy that¡¯s already given up is something else entirely. He even got angry at them for dragging it out. The whole situation was entirely unfathomable to them.


    There were no authorities who would take him. Prisons were only for aristocratic criminals and people who had committed monstrous acts that a lot of people would seek justice for. They didn¡¯t want to kill him. His group had only even been after their supplies, and nothing else.


    Seeing that they weren¡¯t making a move, the man ran toward Luna. He never even made it to her as Michelle rushed forward and killed their final attacker.


    In actuality, he likely wanted nothing to do with Luna at all, but knew they would finally kill him if he went after the girl. He wanted them to kill him because dying to another person was a much better fate than being mauled by monsters alone in the wild.


    None of them knew how to handle such a mentality, how to deal with death so casually. Michelle, more than any of the others, had experienced more death throughout her life than the others, and those experiences had taught her that life is sacred. And now she had taken a life herself.


    Once they recovered enough to move, that¡¯s just what they did. They just left the bandits there.


    The four of them had seen corpses on their very first day in this world, but this was the first time they had ever killed anyone else themselves.


    Witnessing the aftermath of somebody else¡¯s fight and causing that aftermath yourself were two entirely different things. It felt like the last flimsy barrier between their old lives and their new ones had finally been broken.


    The group¡¯s mood plummeted afterward, and had hardly gotten better since then.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Amber had just been staring off into space when Michelle sat next to her in the grass. The ground around her was dry, as she had melted all the snow around her with her magic.


    ¡°Hey,¡± her friend said.


    ¡°Hi,¡± she responded.


    They both remained silent for several minutes. Eventually, Michelle began talking about what was on her mind, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking, we¡¯ve all become miserable because of what happened, which is entirely understandable.


    ¡°But we¡¯re not going to get any help from anyone. There are no therapists here. There are no support groups. Even if we talked about it with someone, the reaction would basically be, ¡®Isn¡¯t it normal to kill bandits?¡¯.


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it should be normal, not at all. But we can¡¯t go on like this forever. We have to start moving on.¡±


    Amber considered Michelle¡¯s words. ¡°I get it, and I even agree. I just don¡¯t know how to do it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve lost many people throughout my life. Because of that, I¡¯ve learned to appreciate the time I still have with the people beside me. And to not hold back if I feel like I should be doing something.


    ¡°I think that all of this¡­¡± she gestured before her, meaning the world in general. ¡°¡­is a part of that, but in a different way.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°Even after we make it to Nibuolos, we¡¯re still going to be working as monster slayers for a while. Even if we stop altogether, we¡¯re likely to fight against other people again one day, especially if we decide we don¡¯t want to spend our entire lives in one city.


    ¡°And there¡¯s also blacksmithing that we both want to get into. We both already knew what weapons are for, but now we truly comprehend it. That point has been made incredibly clear.


    ¡°So what I¡¯m dancing around here is, I like you. And I don¡¯t want to waste my time thinking about the people who¡¯ve wronged me and all the other messed up things in life when you¡¯re right here.


    ¡°I already accepted months ago that I¡¯m Michelle now, but I was afraid to truly commit to it. Some remaining, defiant part of my mind has been holding me back from doing anything besides focusing on Luna.


    ¡°But I¡¯m done with holding myself back. I¡¯ll actually live as Michelle from now on, rather than just existing. I like you, and I want to go out with you.¡±


    I¡¯ve been wondering how she feels about me. Though I guess I was also afraid to act on what I felt. Afraid of how she might take it and if she even was interested in dating after Mia¡¯s death.


    My family pushed me away for being gay, so I¡¯ve never lost anyone the way she has. But thinking about it happening¡­ I see her point.


    Amber finally replied, ¡°I¡¯ve been mentally stuck since I realized we couldn¡¯t go back to Earth. I had only just begun really building up a new life for myself when it was all ripped away from me.


    ¡°But you¡¯ve been helping me deal with that all this time. I¡¯ve been thinking about you for a few months now, but I was afraid of how things might change.


    ¡°And why the heck did I say all that when I could¡¯ve just said, ¡®I like you, too.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Pfft! So that¡¯s a yes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a yes.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    She rolled her eyes and put her arm around her, and she did the same.


    ¡°Thank you for all the stuff you said. You should probably tell Sarah, too. Might help.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I plan to. I¡¯ve been spending all my time with Luna so far, making sure she¡¯s okay, but now that I¡¯ve actually started processing things, I¡¯ll tell her, too. Could we stay like this for a bit, though?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± she replied, resting her head on Michelle¡¯s shoulder, who then rested hers on Amber¡¯s.


    She asked her new girlfriend, ¡°So what does committing to being Michelle mean exactly?¡±


    ¡°Just that I won¡¯t hold onto who I used to be anymore. I¡¯m not going to deny myself experiences because of being afraid of a potential future of losing myself. I don¡¯t actually think that will happen, but irrational fears can make you do stupid things.¡±


    ¡°I see. What kinds of experiences?¡±


    ¡°Dating you, for one thing. Beyond that? No idea.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I guess an obvious one would be wearing more feminine clothes?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll probably try stuff like that. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll bother with makeup, though.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t bother with makeup, either. I much prefer armor.¡±


    ¡°You do like women in armor, so I¡¯ve already got that covered, at least.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°That you do. Speaking of, I¡¯ve been neglecting everyone¡¯s gear somewhat, only doing minimum repairs. I should probably fix that.¡±


    I can¡¯t wait to see her wearing something I¡¯ve designed.


    As she examined every piece of her own armor, she asked, ¡°Hey, would you mind if we started sleeping next to each other again? We only did that for a while at the base, and then everyone had enough blankets and we had our own sleeping spaces after that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that, but are you sure? You remember how much Luna squirms and kicks in her sleep, right?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a really easy solution for that; you sleep in the middle instead of her. That way, we can both share you, and only you will wake up with bruises!¡±


    Michelle gasped dramatically. ¡°I¡¯ve been sacrificed!¡±


    Sarah walked over and sat down with them. ¡°You two seem to be in a good mood. What¡¯s up?¡±


    Michelle repeated everything she had said to Amber.


    ¡°I guess you have a point. It¡¯s pretty heavy stuff, but we can¡¯t carry on like this.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Could you grab Luna? We should all have a talk with her.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing.¡±


    After Sarah left, Amber asked, ¡°How should we tell them about us?¡±


    Michelle shrugged. ¡°Just say it? No need to make a big deal out of it. It¡¯s not like we¡¯d be able to hide it for very long anyway.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. Once the heavy stuff is out of the way, let¡¯s tell them.¡±


    Sarah soon returned with the young elf and wolf, who had been doing their own thing nearby. Luna sat next to Michelle, and the two hugged each other. Diamond squeezed herself between them to join, too.


    The three adults then explained everything they had been talking about. Michelle had already told some of this to Luna, but this was the first time they¡¯d been able to have a proper conversation about it.


    Sarah shook her head. ¡°It should¡¯ve occurred to me sooner that we should act as a support group for each other. These past few weeks have been rough¡­¡±


    Amber commented, ¡°None of us could¡¯ve been prepared for what happened, but we¡¯re here now, and know to help each other through this kind of thing.¡±


    She nodded in response.


    What followed was several hours of just talking. At first, it was about the night with the bandits, but it gradually became more lighthearted as it progressed. They had needed the release from the mental burdens they¡¯d been carrying.


    After several hours, everyone was feeling relaxed and in a good mood for the first time in far too long. It wasn¡¯t as if what had happened that night had gone away, but they could actually begin processing it now.


    ¡°I feel so relieved,¡± Sarah said. ¡°If we can do this kind of thing in the future, I feel like we¡¯ll be able to handle all kinds of problems.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Michelle responded. ¡°By the way, Amber and I are dating now.¡±


    Amber remarked, ¡°You said that in the most sudden and nonchalant way possible.¡±


    ¡°Congrats,¡± Sarah said, smiling. ¡°I was wondering if you two would get together.¡±


    Diamond got up and licked Michelle¡¯s cheek, the Amber¡¯s.


    Sarah laughed. ¡°Diamond kissed you before you could kiss each other! Good job, Diamond.¡±


    Amber shrugged. ¡°Eh, I can appreciate a wolf kissie.¡±


    Michelle nodded. ¡°Mhmm, mhmm.¡±


    Amber then kissed Michelle on the cheek Diamond had left untouched. She was surprised, and retaliated with the same move.


    Sarah coughed to get their attention. ¡°Since we¡¯re more or less doing better mentally, we should take the rest of the day to go through all our stuff and just relax a little more and de-stress for this final stretch of the journey. We¡¯re so close now.¡±


    Michelle gave a relieved sigh. ¡°Aaah, I can¡¯t wait. What a tumultuous year it¡¯s been.¡±


    ¡°Has it really been that long?¡± Amber asked.


    I haven¡¯t been counting, but it feels like longer.


    ¡°Sounds about right,¡± Sarah agreed, then started calculating. ¡°Ten months, two weeks, and three days.¡±


    Amber groaned, ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t want to think about all the things I would¡¯ve done in that time had I not ended up here.¡±


    ¡°Same,¡± she grimaced.


    Amber went back to her task of fixing up everyone¡¯s gear before the day was done.


    Looks like nobody was maintaining things properly, though I can¡¯t really blame them for it. This ability really is convenient.

 16 — Awareness — Sapience

    <div>


    Three weeks later¡­


    Diamond


    Everyone had been able to more or less recover from the incident with the bandits six weeks prior. Now that they were all focused on being there for each other, everyone was moving forward. Luna didn¡¯t mind Michelle and Amber dating each other, and actually didn¡¯t even question it.


    It was during a rest break that Amber finally completed the prototype of a special project she¡¯d been working on.


    ¡°Diamond, can you come here?¡± she called to the wolf.


    She grabbed the armor pieces she had made and carefully put them on, using her Gift to make some adjustments as she put everything together.


    They actually would¡¯ve bought armor for Diamond a long time ago, but her variable size made that a non-option for premade items, and custom items were out of their price range.


    ¡°First fit looks okay. Could you shrink a bit?¡±


    The wolf shrank, and the straps in the armor pulled the pieces only a little closer together, but it wasn¡¯t enough to prevent everything from becoming loose.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to make armor to adjust for a smaller size anytime soon, but this is already a good start. Can you slowly increase your size? I¡¯ll tell you when to stop.¡±


    Diamond did as she was asked to, and the armor pieces spread out, creating gaps that expanded as her size increased. The straps kept everything secure, however, but they didn¡¯t seem to be too tight or on the verge of snapping just yet.


    Amber muttered to herself, ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll need to work on some kind of durable fabric to put between the pieces. It won¡¯t be ideal, but it¡¯ll still be better than having completely unprotected areas like this. Or maybe an underlayer that slides out from the first¡­? Yeah, that sounds better, but it will require more than double the materials here¡­¡±


    Diamond continued her gradual increase in size until she was told, ¡°Okay, stop. It looks like twice your usual size is the limit of what I can currently create. Any larger than that, and it will start ripping apart. As for putting it on and removing it without any assistance, you might be able to do it just by shrinking in and out of it?


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s still just the very first version, but now you have your own armor!¡±


    Diamond¡¯s tail wagged as she felt immense happiness from receiving the gift and being thought of so much. Her emotions became so much that something in her¡­ came free, something that had been building up for a long time. Her mind and body went through a significant change.


    She instinctively felt that she was capable of something new that she had never done before. She couldn¡¯t use her mouth to speak the way the others could, but with her mind¡­


    ¡°Thank¡­ you¡­!¡± she mentally said, feeling proud of speaking her first ever words. It was an odd sensation, like suddenly having an extra limb that she already knew how to use. Her voice was more of a magical projection than an actual sound, but it still came out as an ordinary voice.


    The elf dropped the piece of leather she¡¯d been holding and stared agape at her.


    ¡°Did you just¡­ talk¡­?¡± Amber asked, flabbergasted.


    ¡°Y-Yes! I can talk now! Hello!¡±


    She stared for many more seconds before finally processing the situation and breaking into a wide smile. She yelled, ¡°Hey, everyone! You have to come over here! Something really awesome just happened!¡±


    It didn¡¯t take very long for the other three to gather.


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Amber? Was Diamond¡¯s armor a big success?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°Kind of, but that¡¯s not what this is about.¡± Turning back to Diamond, she asked, ¡°Do you think you can do it again?¡±


    The wolf was nervous. It was her first time speaking with everyone, but she still managed to speak up. ¡°H-Hello! I can talk now!¡±


    Everyone was stunned just like Amber had been, but it wasn¡¯t long before Luna wrapped her in a tight hug. ¡°Diamond, this is amazing! This is so cool!¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Yes! I¡¯m really happy!¡±


    Sarah said, ¡°Congrats, Diamond! Though, I do wonder how this happened.¡±


    ¡°It started on that day with the giant lizard, where I got hurt. I wasn¡¯t me yet, but everything around me just started becoming more and more clear.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the goddess has something to do with this?¡± Amber asked.


    Michelle shrugged uncertainly. ¡°Maybe? But let¡¯s focus on what we can figure out right now instead of that. We¡¯ll go to a temple in Efrinteu when we can. We¡¯re already in Nibuolos, and it¡¯s only a few more days before we¡¯re there. Meeting any of the gods is incredibly unlikely though, and it¡¯s already amazing that it happened even once.¡±


    Diamond announced, ¡°I am so truly happy to meet everyone! And Mom, I am not a steed!¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Mom tilted her head in confusion.


    ¡°Some months ago, you called me a steed. I¡¯m not just something for riding. I don¡¯t mind giving rides, but I am so much more than that!¡±


    She blinked. ¡°I¡­ Uh, you are definitely so much more than just a steed, I get that, and I¡¯m sorry I said it. Um¡­ You called me Mom?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Luna¡¯s mom, so you¡¯re my mom, too?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ I need to¡­ sit down¡­¡± she murmured, doing just as she said.


    Diamond nudged her with her nose. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom. I didn¡¯t mean to make you upset.¡±


    She shook her head slightly and breathed out. ¡°I¡¯m not upset, just¡­ really surprised. But I¡¯m genuinely happy you¡¯re here, Diamond. Welcome to the family.¡± She finished by pulling the wolf in for a hug.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Diamond wriggled out of the hug and licked Mom¡¯s face.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Once everyone had calmed down, Sarah said, ¡°We need to figure out what else has changed about Diamond. Is she just like the Awakened we know of, or is she still a part of Luna¡¯s Gift? And if so, what happens if she runs out of mana?¡±


    She froze. That¡¯s terrifying to think about.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the Gift stuff, first.¡± Mom suggested. ¡°Luna, can you tell if there are any changes to your Gift?¡±


    Luna was very excited to have a sister, and was wrapped around her. Diamond licked her cheek, causing her to giggle.


    Her sister put a finger to her lip and said, ¡°Umm¡­ It¡¯s like¡­ not as much as before. That connection I had with Diamond isn¡¯t there anymore. I can still make animals like before, but they won¡¯t be as smart as Diamond is? There¡¯s something different now. I don¡¯t think I can make another sister.¡±


    ¡°Could you make an animal for us? We might learn something from it.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Luna put her hands forward and created a rabbit.


    It¡¯s strange. I have memories of having numerous different forms before remaining as a wolf, but there were no thoughts or emotions whatsoever in any of my actions.


    Mom looked between Diamond and the rabbit with an analytical gaze. ¡°It somehow seems to have even less life than when Luna first received her Gift. And thinking back, Diamond¡¯s behavior really did change a lot over the past few months.¡±


    Diamond asked Luna, ¡°Does it feel like I¡¯m still a part of your Gift?¡±


    ¡°No. I can feel it with the rabbit, but you¡¯re not there anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Michelle considered. She then looked carefully at the wolf and also rested a hand on her. ¡°Diamond, you¡¯re not made of ice anymore!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not?!¡± she asked in alarm, looking at her paws.


    They spent the next several hours asking questions and seeing what they could figure out. They still had no idea how it had happened, but Diamond was now an Awakened, a more animal-like person.


    Amber said, ¡°Diamond, Awakened always have two abilities given to them automatically. One is your broadcast telepathy, which broadcasts your voice around you. If people don¡¯t see your mouth not moving, they probably won¡¯t even know it¡¯s not telepathy they¡¯re hearing.


    ¡°The other ability Awakened have is Astral Hands. Have you tried that yet?¡±


    Diamond thought, and realized that she did indeed have that ability as well. She used it, and two human-like hands made entirely of water appeared floating in front of her.


    Amber held one to examine it. Despite it being made entirely of water, her hand didn¡¯t get wet at all. Diamond was also able to feel Amber¡¯s hand touching her Astral one.


    ¡°This is amazing!¡± Diamond shouted. ¡°Putting my armor on will be easier now, too!¡±


    Amber chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I guess that problem is solved.¡±


    ¡°What does ¡®Awakened¡¯ mean exactly?¡± she wondered.


    Sarah explained, ¡°It refers to anyone who isn¡¯t bipedal, such as yourself. The term itself is inaccurate, though. A long time ago, it meant, ¡®monster that is awakened to intelligence¡¯, but they are people, not monsters, so it¡¯s incorrect.


    ¡°People understand that now, but the term has been in use for so long that it¡¯s just remained in people¡¯s vocabularies. Unfortunately, there doesn¡¯t seem to be a better alternative.¡±


    That¡¯s kind of annoying, but I¡¯m glad to know that.


    ¡°We should probably eat lunch,¡± Mom said. ¡°Any requests for your first ever meal, Diamond?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Diamond devoured the food she¡¯d been given. She had no idea what food was good, as she had never eaten anything before, so everyone worked together to make the best dish they could with what they had available.


    ¡°FOOD IS SO GOOD! I LOVE FOOD! AND THEY SAID THIS FOOD IS ONLY OKAY!? FOOD EVEN MORE DELICIOUS THAN THIS EXISTS!!!¡± she yelled as she ate. With her telepathy ability, she didn¡¯t have to worry about not being understood as she talked and ate simultaneously.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After a hectic lunch, another quirk the group realized about Diamond is that she could speak every language that had been included in the ritual that had brought them to this world, even though she hadn''t even existed yet.


    Their best guess was that she knew them because she originated from Luna¡¯s spell, so that language knowledge somehow carried over. But the weird part was that Diamond seemed to be better with them than Luna was, and no one was really sure why. Regardless, it was a good thing for her to know them.


    It would also be a great help during school, which Diamond would also be enrolled in. Luna became extremely excited at having someone to go to school with.


    Mom was also happy about it, because it meant Luna wouldn¡¯t be going alone, like she had thought she would.


    Ahh, I¡¯m so happy! Everything is so exciting!

 17 — Lessons Under Watchful Eyes — The Diagnosis

    <div>


    Michelle


    The group of five¡ªpreviously only a group of four, just a week ago¡ªlooked up at the massive walls before them. They were finally, at long last, at Efrinteu, the capital city of Nibuolos.


    Remembering where I was in life only a year ago is so incredibly strange. Everything still feels unreal.


    It was also difficult to fathom the sheer amount of time she had spent just driving. Nearly seven whole months of constantly driving, always moving, only stopping to give themselves an occasional break.


    Torneltha is a massive world in comparison to the size of Earth. Michelle knew from experience that it was possible to drive across the US in about a week, and that was with much more downtime. On top of that, she didn¡¯t have any road laws she had to follow here, so her top speed had been well beyond what would¡¯ve been legal back home.


    I guess this is going to be our new home now.


    The sheer scale of Efrinteu¡¯s walls before them could not be understated. Their color was a nice, brick red, and people could be seen patrolling along the top. There were also aerial patrols being carried out by avian-kin, flight-capable Awakened, and people with flight-capable tamed beasts.


    Walls this monolithic were actually normal for cities of this size. The more people there were in one place, the more monsters would attack it. And this was the capital as well, so it warranted such defensive measures.


    It seemed counterintuitive for Michelle to want to bring her daughters to a place with even more monsters, but this city had good people and could offer them a good education. The other cities they''d visited in the country of Nibuolos so far had already confirmed this.


    I wonder if part of the reason we chose a large city is because we each lived in one before? I doubt it will be quite the same, though, but that¡¯s fine.


    Another reason for choosing a large city was that she was still working as a slayer. Having more monsters in one place meant she wouldn¡¯t have to travel as far. There would be plenty of work here.


    They passed through the gateway to see the bustling streets hidden by the walls. Michelle smiled as everyone looked around, and Diamond especially was quite happy to properly experience a city for the first time, though she was also slightly overwhelmed. Michelle rubbed her second daughter¡¯s head, making her tail wag.


    Their first stop was, as usual, to find an inn to sleep in. They got a room with two beds just like they had been doing so far, but the sleeping arrangement would be different this time. Michelle and Amber would take one, and Luna, Diamond, and Sarah would take the other. They had confirmed that the wolf could still change her size at will, so she wouldn¡¯t take up too much space in the bed.


    Though now Sarah will have to deal with the girls¡¯ bizarre and sometimes painful sleeping habits.


    Michelle chuckled at the thought. She wouldn¡¯t be woken up in the middle of the night by a headbutt to the stomach or a foot to her face for a while. And Diamond wandered in her sleep just as much as Luna did, so that would only add to the bruises. She never scratched anyone in her sleep, though, which was good.


    The buildings they passed were mostly made of red and white bricks with wood framing, looking similar to Mexican architecture, though with more curves, and a very slight resemblance to buildings of the late middle ages. Many of the buildings had gardens on the roofs.


    Nearly every door they could see was made of magically reinforced stained glass, heavily decorated in geometric patterns with symbols representing what was within. Due to the proximity to the gate, most of the buildings in this area were inns.


    The group stepped into a nice-looking inn and got a room for the five of them. Thankfully, cheap but decent inns were abundant, as accommodating slayers could be a matter of life and death for a city.


    I wonder if anyone else from Earth made it so far away yet? There were a couple thousand who left the base before us, and I know I wasn¡¯t the only one with some kind of travel-related Gift.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The five of them explored some of the city over the next week, but mostly looked at schools. They all seemed to be about the same in terms of quality of education, so it then became a matter of if they could accept the girls. Both of them were pretty much fine with any of them.


    They weren¡¯t limited by proximity to a house, as they didn¡¯t have a home yet. They did look at what houses here were like, but would worry about getting one after deciding on a school.


    Generally, kids would be accepted into a school without issue after talking with the parents for a bit. That¡¯s what the three adults of the group did after taking a quick tour.


    While the girls were busy taking placement tests, Michelle, Amber, and Sarah went to talk with the head of the school. They entered the office, where a fuzzy, gnome woman was waiting for them.


    ¡°¡­H-Hi, I am School Head Escilla. Michelle, Amber, and Sarah, correct? You are their parents?¡±


    Why does she seem a little nervous?


    It wasn¡¯t unusual of Escilla to ask that, as parentage in Torneltha could involve several people of different species all being biological parents to the same child. The parents could even be of the same sex. The process involved a kind of specially-prepared magic receptacle. Any mixed-species children would usually have the appearance of one species, but with some traits of all the involved parents.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s us,¡± Michelle replied. Even though she hadn''t been dating Amber for very long and had only met Sarah a year ago, they had both become irreplaceable to her. She had already known Amber for several years, anyway.


    ¡°I-I see¡­¡±


    Why is she nervous? And why is Amber amused?


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Michelle asked, getting worried.


    Amber snorted and stifled a laugh.


    ¡°Ah, yes! I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡±


    Her girlfriend placated the school head, ¡°My love here just looks evil, but I assure you, she¡¯s perfectly nice.¡±


    Michelle gaped at her in confusion.


    What the hell is she talking about? Since when do I look evil?


    Amber whispered to her, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be aware of it, so I¡¯ll tell you after we¡¯re done here.¡±


    Escilla looked slightly relieved by Amber¡¯s words. ¡°Do either Luna or Diamond need any special accommodations?¡±


    ¡°No, they should be fine,¡± Michelle replied.


    They continued talking for a while longer, and one thing that Michelle took note of was that while the school did have some food for the students, parents were expected to provide their meals for the most part.


    So I¡¯ll be making school lunches again. It actually feels nostalgic. Good thing our current inn has a public kitchen we can use.


    They would also need to go shopping for school supplies in addition to more clothes for Luna.


    By the end of the meeting, Escilla seemed to have finally relaxed.


    ¡°I see no issues with your girls going to this school,¡± the woman said.


    ¡°Thank you. And sorry for scaring you,¡± she apologized.


    Escilla gave a slight, awkward laugh. ¡°Yes, you seemed¡­ angry.¡±


    After leaving the room, the turned to her girlfriend. ¡°Okay, Amber, what the hell was that all about? I look evil? What?¡±


    Amber laughed and shook her head, which Sarah also did. ¡°Let¡¯s go to a bathroom first. I¡¯ll tell you there.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­?¡±


    After finding one, Amber made her stand in front of a mirror.


    ¡°Now tell me, what do you see?¡± her girlfriend demanded.


    Yep. Still an elf woman with pale blue hair.


    ¡°Myself?¡±


    ¡°And what expression are you making?¡±


    She looked again.


    ¡°My normal expression? What are you getting at?¡±


    Amber sighed exasperatedly and cupped Michelle¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Michelle, love, you have resting bitch face. Like, really intense resting bitch face.¡±


    ¡°W-Wait, are you serious?¡±


    ¡°She is,¡± Sarah confirmed. ¡°And when you were being friendly with Escilla, your smile looked really sinister.¡±


    Michelle stared at her reflection again and really paid attention this time.


    ¡­Wait, it¡¯s real!? I look like I¡¯m furiously scheming to kill someone!


    ¡°Really, how did you not know?¡± Amber wondered incredulously. ¡°It¡¯s been an entire year!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t interact with people very much this past year because we never stayed in one place very long, and we didn¡¯t really try to make any friends after leaving the base. But what about when we were at the base? No one said anything then!¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Everyone there was miserable and angry? You fit right in.¡±


    She could only hang her head at the incredible revelation that she could terrify people with only a glance, and had possibly been doing it all this time.


    Amber added, ¡°Not sure if this will comfort you, but I think it¡¯s super hot? You look like a villainess.¡±


    Michelle could only laugh helplessly at her own obliviousness. ¡°I even remember you saying before that evil women are really hot¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s true!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can agree with that. But honestly, how did I never realize?¡±


    Sarah chimed in, ¡°Well, to be fair, you were avoiding your reflection for a long time, and it¡¯s only recently that you fully accepted yourself. And as you mentioned, we haven¡¯t had much interaction with people this past year.¡±


    ¡°Is Luna going to turn out like this?¡± she wondered.


    Amber replied, ¡°Maybe a little bit? But from what I can tell, the changes she made to her avatar way back when pretty much got rid of all of that. Oh, now that I think about it, maybe Luna was trying to make a mean-looking character at first? If so, she completely nailed it.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, and I¡¯m not going to ask her about it. I don¡¯t want to give her the impression that my horrible RBF is her fault. At least both of you and the girls can tell what expression I¡¯m actually making.¡±


    After coming to terms with her face situation, she gave Amber a kiss. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go wait for them.¡±


    Before, my face stood out because I had a massive nose. Now, it stands out because I look like I¡¯m intensely contemplating violent revenge. I¡¯m not sure which situation is better. I didn¡¯t hate my old face and I don¡¯t hate my new one, but man, life sure did get weird for me.


    There was a small area with benches that they sat on while waiting. After several minutes, Luna and Diamond come running down the hallway.


    ¡°¡°Mom!¡±¡± they yelled in unison.


    Michelle hugged them both. ¡°Hey, girls. How¡¯d you do?¡±


    They both handed her a sheet of paper with their test results on them.


    Luna Meadows:


    Geography ¡ª 3


    History ¡ª 2


    Language ¡ª 5


    Magic ¡ª 5


    Mathematics ¡ª 3


    Diamond Meadows:


    Geography ¡ª 2


    History ¡ª 2


    Language ¡ª 6


    Magic ¡ª 3


    Mathematics ¡ª 2


    Grades here went up to 10, and Michelle was pleasantly surprised to see that their grades weren''t below average for 7-year-old kids. They were both exceptional in Language because of the weird magic things that had happened, and Luna¡¯s Magic grade was at 5 because of using her Gift so much. While she did have a lot of mana for her age, her control was still lacking, at least in comparison to an adult.


    Just because they knew several languages as a result of the ritual, which seemed to have carried over into Diamond, that didn¡¯t mean they knew how to actually use those languages. There was a difference between knowing what a word means when you hear it and being able to use it in conversation.


    I think their Language grades will probably reach the top in no time, though. And I¡¯m relieved that Diamond was learning alongside Luna all this time, otherwise, she would¡¯ve had to catch up.


    The school did also have other classes that weren¡¯t based purely on information or utility, but those would come later.


    Diamond¡¯s ears went back, ¡°Teacher Pronil said we won¡¯t have the same schedules. Our classes won¡¯t all be together¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be alright,¡± Michelle comforted her. ¡°Other kids aren¡¯t so bad.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    Luna rubbed Diamond¡¯s back. ¡°School is really fun! You¡¯ll see. Mom, when do we start?¡±


    ¡°A week from now,¡± Michelle said. ¡°We have to get some school supplies for both of you, and we can finally get you some more clothes, too.¡±


    Suddenly standing with her head held high, Diamond announced, ¡°I don¡¯t need clothes! I can just be naked!¡±


    Why is she so smug about that?


    They had been saving up money all this time for today. Anything the girls might need, they should be able to afford with no problems. Though the addition of a second child was completely unexpected, they should still have enough.


    We won¡¯t be taking so many slaying jobs together after this week. To think that killing monsters would become a family bonding activity¡­


    With the presence of monsters in the vicinity of the city, they should be able to complete any jobs they take before school gets out. Michelle also confirmed that some students stay at school for a while after classes end because their parents are working, meaning they have a little leeway in when they get back.

 18 — Lessons Under Watchful Eyes — First Days

    <div>


    Michelle


    The day after enrollment, the group started looking at houses. The school they had chosen for the girls had been partially based on what the homes in its vicinity were like, but they wanted to get a much better idea of what they would need to do to actually live in one of them.


    Fortunately, a house could be paid for in installments, but that still required a certain amount of money. It would be some time yet before they could afford to live in one of these houses, but having a goal was good.


    While Amber and Sarah went to start looking at places they could get apprenticeships, Michelle and her daughters went to a temple.


    Like Michelle had been expecting, however, they were unable to talk to any of the gods. As a priestess explained to them, the gods are aspects of mana that cover the entire world, so for them to manifest and talk with every single person who wanted to do so was simply impossible.


    Put like that, it¡¯s amazing that they stayed in one place for long enough to meet with all of us Earthlings.


    Diamond was looking down after they left.


    Michelle patted her. ¡°We¡¯ll figure out it one day, sweetie. The important thing is that you¡¯re doing okay.¡±


    She replied, ¡°Yeah, but I wanted to meet them! I¡¯m the only one of us who hasn¡¯t. I¡¯m the only one without a Gift, too¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re also the only one of us who can change her size at will, and you¡¯re good at sneaking because of that. That¡¯s far more amazing than anything I could do when I was born, which was just poop and cry.¡±


    She snickered, which, coming from a wolf, came out as more of a strong huff. ¡°So I¡¯m more amazing than Mom?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re an incredible girl.¡±


    Luna added, ¡°Yeah! Sis is the coolest!¡±


    Diamond gave both of them a lick on their hands as thanks.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The following day was for shopping. The school supplies were easy enough to take care of, and they even had backpacks that fit Awakened anatomy.


    The part that had Michelle a little nervous was clothes shopping, because they weren¡¯t going to buy clothes only for Luna. Everyone was going to get something.


    Despite her anxiety over it, it turned out to not be a big deal at all. She ended up with a few tunics, comfy pants, and a comfy pair of boots, entirely unlike what she had used for fighting life-or-death battles out in the wilderness.


    She also decided to try on a dress for the very first time, which had the others excited. Michelle felt a little lost, though, not just because it was her first time wearing something like that, but because she couldn¡¯t even rely on her knowledge of Earth¡¯s fashion to help her figure out what might be good or not.


    What she ended up with was a simple design that flared out slightly as it went lower, and was entirely in dark blue. Amber just about died from seeing it, which made Michelle feel obligated to buy it.


    Amber¡¯s choices for herself were similar to Michelle¡¯s safe choices, though she didn¡¯t focus as strongly on comfort as her girlfriend had. Sarah¡¯s were much more form-fitting.


    Luna chose a wide variety, with most of her things being blue, because she wanted to match with Diamond¡¯s fur, which was also a light blue color. It had actually darkened ever so slightly after she was born, though, and it had taken them a while to even notice It. Even after pointing out that their hair and fur colors were already incredibly similar, Luna didn¡¯t change her mind.


    As for Diamond, she wanted books. She had no idea what her interests were yet and she felt like she had to catch up to Luna, so she was very interested in reading. She did also get a new scarf and a bracelet, though.


    As Sarah was the one who had read the most books since arriving in this world, she did most of the work in helping Diamond find things to read.


    With their shopping done, they spent the remaining days before the girls started school looking for places to work, but otherwise just relaxing. An entire year¡¯s worth of effort had led to them being here to start their new lives, and the relief they all felt was palpable.


    Michelle and Amber both managed to find blacksmithing apprenticeships, though at different smithies, and Amber also found one for alchemy.


    Businesses here were much more likely to take people in and teach them things, but that didn¡¯t mean they had lax standards. Anyone they thought wasn¡¯t doing well enough would be kicked out.


    The three women were all up to the challenge, though, and were eager to get started.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Diamond


    The wolf and her elven sister were being led to the edge of the school¡¯s property. As excited as she had been to start school, Diamond was suddenly quite nervous about it.


    Her sister comforted, ¡°School is really fun, sis! You¡¯ll see.¡±


    Mom added, ¡°Just try it and see what it¡¯s like.¡±


    ¡°I will, Mom,¡± Diamond replied. She was never going to run away from this, but it was still an entirely new experience for her. She had heard about what it was like to go to school from everyone, and had even seen some of the building last week, but she didn¡¯t know what classes and other kids were like, and she had never been separated from her family before.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    They reached the school. Amber and Sarah had also come to see them off on their first day, but the three adults would soon begin taking turns on who dropped them off and who picked them up.


    Diamond reluctantly parted from her mom and the others, waved goodbye, and walked to the entrance with Luna. She had been glad for her sister coming with her this far, but they wouldn¡¯t be in the same classrooms, and she then had another sad separation, though from Luna this time.


    Using her Astral Hands to open the door, she entered her first ever class alone.


    ¡°Hello there. Diamond, yes?¡± a dryad man asked.


    Diamond nodded, but didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you take a seat for now, and we¡¯ll introduce you to everyone once class starts.¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes¡­¡± she stuttered.


    I want to go home¡­


    ¡°Hi! Who are you?¡± someone asked excitedly. Diamond turned her head to see a harpy girl standing next to her. She was distinguishable as a harpy not just by the wings on her back, but by her talons, sharp fingernails, and sharp teeth.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m Diamond¡­¡± she stuttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m Tiala!¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± she managed, a little thrown off by the girl¡¯s intense excitement.


    ¡°Are you a new student?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, today¡¯s my first day.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    As Diamond struggled to keep up with how fast the girl talked, another student came up to them. The wolf was glad another person showed up, because she didn¡¯t know how to handle this situation, but she was also nervous that another person showed up, because that meant being in yet another situation she didn¡¯t know how to handle.


    ¡°Hi, who are you?¡± the dragon asked. Like Diamond, the dragon girl before her was also an Awakened.


    ¡°I¡¯m Diamond,¡± she said again.


    She was a little thrown off by the dragon girl, too, but that was because Diamond remembered the giant lizard that had injured her before she was fully born.


    The dragon girl and that lizard were drastically different in every possible way, however, so Diamond quickly got over that aspect of things. It was still dealing with new people that was making her uncomfortable.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Diamond. I am Izara.¡±


    She¡¯s much easier to deal with than Tiala.


    There were a few other students Diamond had to struggle with suddenly meeting, and she was immensely relieved once class finally started.


    Her relief was cut short when the teacher suddenly asked her to introduce herself; asking for her name, age, and a hobby she had. She reluctantly sat up straighter, placing her forepaws on the desk to raise herself higher.


    ¡°My name is Diamond. I¡¯m seven years old. I like books.¡±


    Nobody would understand if she went around saying she was only a few weeks old, so it had been decided for her to lie about her age. None of her family had ever heard of anyone else being born the way she was.


    The teacher spoke, ¡°Diamond, could you repeat that? You spoke rather quietly.¡±


    The beleaguered wolf cringed. With great effort, she managed to say it a second time, loud enough for everyone to hear.


    ¡°Thank you, Diamond. Izara, would you mind helping her until she gets caught up to where we are?¡±


    The teacher had planned ahead and assigned Diamond to a desk with an empty one beside her. The dragon girl sat in it and smiled at her.


    The lesson finally began, and Diamond was glad she didn¡¯t have to focus on socializing beyond whispering questions to Izara.


    The teacher ended class a little early, which meant all the students could finally talk to the new girl. Despite how nervous and uncomfortable she was, she was also happy to meet new people, and was feeling a conflicted mixture of wanting to talk more, but not having the nerve to initiate conversation herself.


    She was also deeply missing everyone in her family, but wouldn¡¯t be able to reunite with any of them until lunchtime with Luna.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Luna


    The young elf girl was ecstatic to finally be in school again. She understood why it had been so long since her last day of school back on Earth, but that hadn¡¯t made the wait any easier.


    Still, she had remained patient, and had seen that her mom and the others were trying her best, so there just wasn¡¯t anything else they could''ve done.


    What made her even happier than finally going to school again was that her Gift had suddenly turned into a real person, her sister. She had someone she could go to school with! Or so she had thought, but they ended up in different classrooms. However, Luna knew that Diamond would also do her best and that they would see each other again during lunch.


    Her first three classes of the day had all been fun because of all the other kids she got to meet, but it was too soon for her to tell who was going to be a good friend or not. There were already so many candidates.


    The differences between her old school and her new one mostly came down to the fact that everything here was done with enchantments and magic instead of electricity, and the number of humans in the school was only a small fraction.


    Luna wasn¡¯t even one of them anymore, though she didn¡¯t feel any different than she did then.


    Except for the better hearing, I think¡­


    It had been explained to her by Mom and Amber, and she had understood what they were saying, but she just couldn¡¯t figure out what ¡°precise hearing¡± was supposed to mean.


    Making sure she had copied everything she needed from the lightboard¡ªlike a whiteboard, but is written on with light pens, and can even display images¡ªshe packed up her things and walked outside with her lunch in hand where she had agreed to meet up with her sister.


    She had only just turned the corner when she heard, ¡°LUNA!¡±, and her wolf sister jumped on her and licked her face.


    She laughed and hugged her sister before gently pushing her off. ¡°Sis, has it been good so far?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ hard¡­ There are so many people, but they¡¯re nice? I think?¡±


    Luna rubbed the wolf¡¯s head, imitating their mom. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. Now come on! Let¡¯s eat!¡±


    Though some other kids joined them for lunch, Diamond was able to handle being around them much better because Luna was right there beside her.


    She¡¯ll be okay.


    Language class really clicked with Luna because of the ritual she¡¯d unwillingly undergone the previous year. With a teacher explaining the words and the text, it all just snapped into place in an instant for her. This wasn¡¯t a new feeling for her, though, as her family had all been teaching her throughout their travels.


    Her last lesson of the day was Magic. After the teacher had her introduce herself, she also asked Luna to demonstrate what she could do, and was impressed with both her power and control, which were excellent for her age.


    The teacher then used Luna¡¯s demonstration to begin going into detail about ways the [Water] element and [Cold] modifier could both be used, whether someone had just one of those or both, as Luna did.


    As the lesson went into various ways to increase precision and reduce mana wastage¡ªmostly as a review for Luna¡ªa girl sat next to her.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Nipha. You said your name is Luna, right?¡± she asked. From the horns, spaded tail, and purple skin, Luna could tell she was a demon.


    She nodded, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Luna. I¡¯m happy to have someone else who¡¯s ahead in magic like myself. We can practice with each other!¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Luna nodded again, eagerly this time.


    The lesson eventually came to an end, and so too did the school day. Luna met up again with her sister and they walked back to the entrance together along with the many other students.


    The two girls found Mom waiting for them by herself, still a little sooty from the first day of her apprenticeship, despite having cleaned herself off already.


    They ran up to her. ¡°Hey, girls! How was your first day?¡±


    ¡°I loved it!¡± Luna exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to be back!¡±


    Diamond was more reserved. ¡°It was¡­ okay. There were so many new people. It was hard¡­¡±


    Mom hugged the poor wolf. ¡°It will get easier as you get used to it. If it¡¯s still difficult after a while, we can figure something out, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay, Mom.¡±


    The three of them returned to the inn they were still staying at. A while later, Amber and Sarah both returned from their apprenticeships as well, and the five of them held a celebration together. Coincidentally, it was also only a couple days ago that they finally passed the one-year mark of how long they had lived in this world.

 19 — Lessons Under Watchful Eyes — Motivations

    One month later¡­


    Sarah


    As the days passed, everyone began settling into things. Sarah¡¯s alchemy training was even more interesting than she had thought it would be, and she found she rather enjoyed it.


    The types of ingredients used in both potions and enchantments were endless. It wasn¡¯t just about having the right ingredients, either; applying the correct ratios in the correct ways was equally important.


    Both alchemists and enchanters often worked with the same tools and materials, but how those things were used was entirely different. An alchemist would use their knowledge and skills to create potions, and an enchanter would use theirs to apply magical effects to items. Because of the overlap, many people did both.


    The profession of an enchanter also further branched out into a magic tool craftsman, which was someone who specialized in enchanting things for daily life, and also worked to invent tools and improve what already existed.


    Another aspect of all of that was that the nature of mana itself was something that was always slowly changing. A practice that is common today might be irrelevant in a century because the same methods no longer produce the same result. People had to always refine their skills and broaden their knowledge to keep up.


    Though Sarah did still enjoy writing and had no intention of stopping, she found that the complex nature of her alchemy work really suited her, and not just because of her Gift. She had initially thought that it would just be good for powderizing ingredients, but was beginning to realize that she could mix things in precise ways with it as well, something her coworkers were envious of.


    It didn¡¯t just save time; it allowed Sarah to feel what she was doing to her concoction directly. Everyone else had to rely solely on their tools, which wasn¡¯t a bad thing, but it meant they always needed to keep a careful eye on things and properly manage their tools. It was important for her to learn how the basics were done, as well as how and why people used specific tools, so she didn¡¯t use it very often yet.


    Amber and Michelle were both having just as much fun in their blacksmithing apprenticeships, and had been eagerly comparing notes and experiences every single night. One of them had mentioned at their apprenticeship the nature of their girlfriend¡¯s magic, and was then told to train with her.


    So Amber would melt stone into lava and do her best to melt Michelle¡¯s ice, and Michelle would create ice and try to freeze Amber¡¯s lava. They were basically the perfect people to train their magic control with, having to always fight against the other magic. It wasn¡¯t just about power, but applying their spells in ways that would cause the other¡¯s to fail.


    Another thing all three of them were learning was about how businesses were run here. It was encouraged for them to learn this as part of their training.


    This got them thinking about what they should do after their apprenticeships were done. They each had ideas for projects they wanted to work on, but if they all worked at different places, making them would prove difficult.


    If they started their own store, then that problem would be solved, though it also meant they would have to run a business, which came with an endless amount of difficulties. Sarah had taken writing commissions in the past, and Amber had taken her own commissions for creating cosplay pieces, but that still wasn¡¯t the same thing as actually owning and operating a business.


    Diamond and Luna had both settled into school, as well. Luna had practically melded into the classes there as if she had been there before. Diamond was doing much better than she had on her first day, but was still shy and nowhere near as social as her sister.


    The five of them soon began looking for a more permanent place to live. The houses near the school were still out of their budget, but they could afford something smaller, like an apartment.


    Although Sarah had become quite close friends with all of them over the past year, she had wondered if it made sense for her to share a living space with them. Though Amber and Michelle had only been dating for a few months, they had still been friends with each other for many years before that. Sarah had only met them after they all ended up here.


    But the couple went looking for three-bedroom apartments without even a second thought. One for them, one for the girls, and one for Sarah. She was quite touched that they saw her as a member of the family and not just a friend.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    They then shopped for secondhand furniture and other necessities. They couldn¡¯t fully furnish the whole apartment just yet, but they still needed to get the essentials. For now, their beds were just thin, roll-up mattresses laid on the floor. They were still thick enough to be comfortable, though, especially after having spent so much of the past year camping and sleeping on even thinner material.


    Sarah drifted off to sleep, thinking about all the good changes to her life recently. She still felt an ache in her heart from being separated from those she cared about on Earth, but her friends here had been immeasurably comforting and supportive of her all this time.


    I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done without them¡­


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Amber


    Two elves were currently lying on their shared mattress, sweaty and somewhat out of breath.


    ¡°Mana really improves your stamina, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Amber commented amazedly.


    ¡°For sure, that was wild,¡± Michelle replied. ¡°Is the device still working?¡±


    Amber pushed herself up to look at the innocuous cube on the floor next to them, still glowing a faint green color. ¡°It¡¯s still glowing, so yeah.¡±


    The cube was designed to prevent sound from escaping its range, but sound from outside its range could still be heard, meaning it would let sound in, but not out.


    ¡°Good,¡± Michelle replied simply.


    I¡¯m pretty sure someone would¡¯ve come knocking earlier if it hadn¡¯t been. Especially when I realized elf ears have so much more to nibble on!


    From her raised position, Amber could get a good look at her girlfriend¡¯s body in the dimly lit bedroom.


    ¡°You know, I knew you had muscles, but they were always hidden beneath armor and clothes before. I might have to make some adjustments to your armor to make them more visible¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not have my gear turn into a bikini armor situation,¡± Michelle retorted.


    ¡°What if it did, but only in private?¡± Amber jokingly asked.


    ¡°¡­F-Fine.¡±


    ¡°That was a surprisingly adorable reaction! ¡­Wait, you¡¯re serious?!¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Y-Yeah? But I can¡¯t be the only one to wear weird stuff!¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± she fervently finalized. She had gone back to laying done, now with her head on her amazing girlfriend¡¯s bare chest.


    She agreed! Ohh, there¡¯s so much I want to see her put on! And take off!


    Amber got lost in her fantasies about all the sexy fun that awaited her in the future.


    ¡°Can you not drool on my boobs?¡± Michelle asked with an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Sorry. No, wait. I¡¯m not sorry, I¡¯m motivated! And that expression you made just now was incredible!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°One eyebrow up with that smirk and annoyed glare combined with your face that just naturally looks evil and menacing? I¡¯m ready to go again!¡±


    Michelle chuckled exasperatedly. ¡°You¡¯re insatiable. But I¡¯ve still got plenty of energy, myself. Now, you made a mess on my chest, and I expect you to clean it up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ? ? ?


    Elsewhere, in a lavish and tastefully-decorated office, a woman was still sitting at her desk, despite the late hour. She tried to avoid nights like this, but sometimes, there was simply too much work to be done.


    As she was reading through yet another document, there was a knock at the door.


    ¡°Enter,¡± she announced.


    A person wearing bland clothing to appear forgettable came through the door. The overworked woman behind the desk recognized them as one of her investigators, one who had requested more time on their assignment due to some surprises.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re back. How did it go?¡±


    ¡°It went well,¡± the investigator replied. ¡°I¡¯m here to give my report on the people you asked me to look into. Your information about their strangeness was more correct than I ever would¡¯ve guessed, which is why it took me a while.¡±


    The investigator handed over a written report, which would be read through later. The woman would still get a brief summary from them now, however.


    ¡°What did you find out?¡± she asked.


    ¡°They are a group of five who were victims of the Praexoent Empire incident last year, which I pieced together from conversations they had.¡±


    Yep, that matches what I already heard about them.


    ¡°Really now? That¡¯s quite the distance. Was it a Gift that allowed them to make it here in that amount of time?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The woman known as Michelle has a Gift that allows her to create a vehicle of some sort. Given the unusual design, it¡¯s likely based on something from her world.¡±


    ¡°I see. What do you make of them?¡±


    ¡°They are a group of ordinary people caught up in a horrific event, but are making the best of it. The three adults have begun apprenticeships, and the children have both been enrolled in school. Six days ago, they all got an apartment together. They apparently hope to eventually open a store related to the blacksmithing and alchemy skills they are learning.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing what people can adapt to¡­ Do you see them as a threat at all?¡±


    ¡°The adults have large mana pools, but that¡¯s hardly anything special. Their combat capability is in the average range, from what I saw during one of their training sessions at the Slayer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡°As for dangerous non-combat skills, I didn¡¯t notice any. They¡¯re too clueless and new to everything to have made even a passable attempt at hiding some sort of scheme, if that was even what they had been up to.


    ¡°It¡¯s been nothing but mundane activities since the day they arrived. The information I got on their activities before their arrival here indicated more of the same.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything of note to mention?¡±


    ¡°Michelle appears incensed at first glance, but that¡¯s just how her face is.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± the woman blinked, not expecting an answer like that. ¡°Why tell me that?¡±


    ¡°If you ever see her in person, you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    Hmm¡­ Perhaps I should do that.


    ¡°Is there anything else immediately relevant?¡±


    ¡°No. All other details are in my written report.¡±


    ¡°Good, thank you. I¡¯ll have you keep an eye on them for a while longer yet, however.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Her safety is paramount, after all.¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Indeed.¡±

 20 — Coming Together — The Wolf of the Fox

    <div>


    Roumazi


    She felt a faint ripple of mana in the distance. It was a natural occurrence, though a rare one. However, the previous one had occurred only seven months ago. Experiencing two in such a short span of time was even more rare.


    Regardless, she flew to the source, though she didn¡¯t find anything out of place, except for the aftereffects of the ripple.


    With a mental push, the undulations returned to their normal, undisturbed flow. She was about to move to a large source of water nearby to realign the flow of mana there and make sure nothing was either building up or depleting, when a voice called out to her behind.


    ¡°Roumazi! Hey! Why didn¡¯t you tell us you had a kid?¡±


    She turned around to see her brother, Jorzem, an avian Awakened with iridescent copper feathers.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she asked confusedly. She was a foxkin woman with iridescent blue hair.


    He looked at her, dumbfounded. ¡°Your kid? You know, those smaller versions of regular-sized people? Mortals make them all the time!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m well aware of what a kid is, Jorzem.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m asking when you had one.¡±


    ¡°Could you explain why you suddenly think that?¡±


    ¡°I was passing through Efrinteu when I happened to feel a familiar mana pattern, though much weaker and mixed with another. That was your mana pattern, and that could only mean you had a kid.¡±


    Seriously, what is he talking about?


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll take a look.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Anyway, tell us about it sometime. The last time one of us had a kid was millennia ago!¡±


    Her brother flew off to continue his work, leaving Roumazi by herself and a bit baffled. She created another incorporeal body and began flying it to Efrinteu, while the original resumed its own work. They were two bodies controlled by the same mind, and when in an incorporeal state, she could fly just by willing herself in a specific direction.


    The landscape blurred as she flew at a rapid pace, and upon arriving above the city, she was shocked to discover that Jorzem was correct.


    I can really feel my own mana down there!? What is this?!


    She descended into a discreet location and manifested a corporeal body. She also subdued her divine aura and give this body the [State] modifier.


    She followed the trail, and was led to a school. An elven woman with a stern expression was waiting outside with several other parents. Now that Roumazi was close, she could sense that this woman¡¯s mana matched the one that was mixed with her own.


    Ah! I remember her now. Her cute daughter hugged me. She¡¯s gained a significant increase in mana since then, which makes sense considering how much she must¡¯ve used her Gift to get here.


    ¡°Michael?¡± she asked, walking up to her. ¡°No, it feels different now. Michelle?¡±


    ¡°Wh-What? Who are you?!¡± the woman asked.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Roumazi apologized. She halted the water vapor in the air surrounding them to muffle their conversation. Infusing her voice with her divine aura, she stated, ¡°I¡¯m incognito right now, so please try not to panic. I¡¯m the Goddess of Water.¡±


    ¡°Godd-!?¡± the elf exclaimed, but interrupted herself. She took a breath, then somewhat calmly asked, ¡°Goddess?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. I, um, heard you had a second child somehow?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes. We wanted to ask you about that,¡± Michelle answered, looking a bit in disbelief and trying to not freak out.


    So she doesn¡¯t know what happened, either¡­


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I recognize you from last time?¡±


    The goddess answered, ¡°This avatar only has the [State] modifier, meaning my appearance isn¡¯t so iridescent like back then. And you¡¯d be surprised how easily people overlook me when I¡¯m not radiating divinity.


    ¡°Anyway, this isn¡¯t a good place to do it, but I would like to privately discuss what happened to try to figure it out. Bring anyone you trust with you, of course.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah. Okay. Ah, they¡¯re coming out now.¡± She had been keeping an eye on the students leaving, and spotted her daughters exiting the front door.


    So that wolf is my child. My daughter¡­ She looks like she¡¯s doing well. She then noticed the young elf girl walking alongside her. Oh, I¡¯m beginning to understand how this happened.


    Turning to the goddess, Michelle asked, ¡°Uh, should I just say you¡¯re a friend or something? How do I explain who you are?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That works. My name is Roumazi.¡±


    Michelle blinked. ¡°Right¡­ Okay.¡±


    The elf¡¯s surprise was understandable, considering that the gods had stopped giving out their names a long time ago. People had misused them.


    The goddess dispelled her barrier. Michelle had been too distracted to even notice that the surrounding sounds had been cut off.


    The girls came running up to the, and Michelle hugged them both, though a bit stiffly. ¡°Hey, girls. How was your day?¡±


    Diamond, noticing her mom¡¯s somewhat off-kilter behavior, asked, ¡°Mom, are you okay?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Roumazi here is a friend I made recently, and she showed up out of nowhere just now, really surprising me.¡±


    Roumazi smiled and waved at them. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±


    As they walked to where Michelle and the girls live, the elf talked about what she and the others she¡¯s with have been up to since arriving in the city a couple months ago. Roumazi listened attentively, as Michelle is Diamond¡¯s other mother, after all. The goddess couldn¡¯t help but frequently glance at Diamond, getting a confused look from her in return.


    Roumazi looked around the apartment to get a feel for how they were living.


    Seems decent. This is pretty good for not having been in the city for very long.


    Sarah had just gotten home only a few minutes ago, and had been in her bedroom. She came out upon hearing others arrive home.


    ¡°Sarah, this is Roumazi. There¡¯s something I need to talk with her privately about. Would you mind taking the girls out for a while? I¡¯ll fill you in on everything when you get back.¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure,¡± the tigerkin replied, bewildered. ¡°Come on, girls. Let¡¯s go walk around the market for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Bye, Mom!¡± the girls both called out as they left.


    Michelle absentmindedly made tea while they waited for Amber. She was relieved when her girlfriend stepped through the door not too long later.


    ¡°Hey, hon. Who¡¯s this?¡± Amber asked, joining them at the table.


    In her goddess voice, Roumazi introduced herself, ¡°Hello again, Amber. I am Roumazi, the Goddess of Water.¡±


    Her mouth dropped open and stayed there until Michelle placed her hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°What is this about?¡± Amber stiffly asked.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s about Diamond.¡± Looking between both of them, she asks, ¡°Could you explain your side of things of how she came to be?¡±


    Michelle explained how Luna had been using her Gift, how Diamond had been hurt badly by a monster one day, and how Michelle supplemented her own ice to restore her, as Luna¡¯s mana was lacking at the time. Diamond gradually became more intelligent over time from then on, and during the happy moment of receiving her armor, she became fully sapient.


    Ah¡­ Yep. This is my fault.


    Roumazi said, ¡°Yes¡­ I understand how this happened now. I¡¯m not displeased in the slightest that she was born, but I must apologize. Due to my oversight¡­ Michelle¡­ I am Diamond¡¯s other parent. I am so sorry this happened. I had no idea this was even a possibility.¡±


    Michelle blinked. ¡°What¡­? What do you mean? How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t realize it at the time, but when Luna hugged me that day, the tiniest little shred of my mana attached itself to the Gift I had just given her, as that connection between us hadn¡¯t entirely closed yet.


    ¡°Because of all the gods being in one place, it overpowered any other mana patterns, so I didn¡¯t notice it was there. It¡¯s not something that would¡¯ve even been possible in the first place were I not a god.


    ¡°Months later, when Diamond was injured, Luna¡¯s spell acted as a receptacle for both your mana and my own, which had remained with her. In addition to all the mana involved, Luna was also willing Diamond to live, which was another important part of how it happened. That desire for life is a vital aspect of how magical births happen.


    ¡°And with the base level of intelligence her Gift has and Luna¡¯s focus on integrating your ice, it all combined into what I would describe as a spark. The ritual that gave you knowledge of several languages, Michelle, was also passed onto her. And I think the reason she is better than Luna with them is simply because she has a knack for languages.


    ¡°Time passed, and that spark grew brighter and hotter until the right powerful emotion came along to fully ignite it into a flame, her soul.


    ¡°Luna¡¯s Gift basically acted the same as the kind of receptacle people use to have children without someone getting pregnant. And now that my bit of mana that had been attached to her Gift has been used up, it¡¯s impossible for it to happen a second time.¡±


    The two elves were silent for a long time before Amber finally muttered, ¡°So Diamond came to be because one of her parents is a goddess¡­¡±


    "I apologize for not being aware of her existence until today. But I wish to be here for her now that I know."


    ¡°So what now?¡± Michelle asked. ¡°What happens next? If you want to be a part of her life, how do you do that and god stuff at the same time? And what does this mean for Diamond? Will she have divine powers or anything like that?¡±


    ¡°I can be in multiple places at once without any problems. As for what to do now, I want to be a part of her life. I¡¯m aware of how uncomfortable and awkward this must be for you, but I hope I can prove to you that my being involved won¡¯t be an issue for anyone.


    ¡°And no, she does not have any kind of divine powers. She is just as mortal as yourself.¡±


    Michelle pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°If you were literally anyone else, it would be worse, but I already know that all the gods of this world have good reputations, and not just in a ¡®blind faith¡¯ kind of way. And you helped us out so much when we first arrived in this world.


    ¡°Does your¡­ avatar¡­ need to eat, sleep, or do anything mortals need to do? And where do you keep it when you¡¯re not using it?¡±


    ¡°This body is functionally mortal. It requires rest, regular meals, cleaning, everything. I can just make and unmake it at will. I still exist with or without the body, and it¡¯s just something we gods can make whenever we need to do so.¡±


    Amber asked, ¡°So do you plan to ¡®make and unmake¡¯ your body whenever you want to spend time with Diamond?¡±


    Roumazi shook her head. ¡°No, I plan to have this body here full-time.¡±


    Michelle asked, ¡°Then where are you currently living? And what are you doing, uh, for a living, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Nowhere and nothing, as of yet. I arrived in Efrinteu only five or so minutes before running into you.¡±


    Amber chimed in, ¡°We¡¯ll still want to talk about all this with Sarah when she gets back.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll leave now, but please discuss it with her.¡± She formed two small cubes of ice and set them on the table. ¡°These cubes won¡¯t melt. After your discussion, break one, and I¡¯ll know to come back then. Leave the other so I can easily find my way back.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you just be able to find Diamond, like before?¡±


    ¡°When you cast a spell, you can feel where it is because of your connection with your own mana. The same is true for gods. I can sense Diamond¡¯s presence, but this way is much more precise.¡±


    Roumazi could also maintain the spell indefinitely, and distance from it wasn¡¯t a problem for her, either.


    The couple gave the goddess awkward goodbyes, and she then left to explore the city her daughter lived. While she did know where it was on the map, she didn¡¯t know what it was like in detail.


    She wandered for several hours, taking in all the homes and businesses nearby, and also taking a look at the school. She also considered what she should do for money and a place to live.


    I can see why they traveled so far to settle down here. It¡¯s a nice city.


    Finally, her connection to one of the cubes vanished, and she made her way back to the building from earlier. She received awkward greetings as she reentered the apartment. Diamond and Luna both greeted her as well. They were both sitting at the table with drawing supplies.


    She was then led into one of the bedrooms, where a soundproofing device was activated. There was no furniture to sit on, however, so they settled on the floor.


    Michelle spoke, "This situation is bizarre, but we already have an understanding of you to an extent from looking into who you are as a person, not as a goddess. Not to mention how you and your siblings gave all several thousand of us from Earth a chance to live in the first place.


    "We''ve talked about it a lot, and have come to a decision. This situation is bizarre, but for Diamond''s sake, we''ve decided to invite you to live here with us. She has so many questions that only you can answer, and I know she''ll really appreciate your presence in her life, even if you choose to live elsewhere."


    Her eyes opened wide. ¡°R-Really? Just like that?¡±


    She chuckled exasperatedly. ¡°If you were some random person, this would not have even been considered. You¡¯ve even refrained from revealing your identity to Diamond just yet and gave us time to figure things out on our own, so we can tell how considerate you are."


    Sarah added, ¡°You would be sharing a room with me, by the way. Space is a bit limited here.¡±


    Amber joined in, ¡°Conveniently, we have a spare mattress, since the girls just share one instead of sleeping separately.¡±


    Michelle said finally, ¡°It isn¡¯t much, as we¡¯re still only just getting our lives sorted out, but there¡¯s room for you here if you want it.¡±


    Roumazi exclaimed, ¡°This is so much more than I ever could¡¯ve hoped for! Is it alright if I hug you?¡±


    The goddess and three mortals shared a hug. It started out a bit stiff, but Roumazi¡¯s sheer exaltation quickly shattered that.


    I¡¯ll make sure everyone is happy!

 21 — Coming Together — 400% Increase

    Diamond


    ¡°Sis.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Sis!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Diamond!¡±


    ¡°Huh? Sorry, I was distracted. What is it?¡± Diamond asked.


    Luna replied, ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at a blank sheet of paper for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She looked in the direction of Mom¡¯s bedroom. The door was still closed. Amber and Sarah were in there, too, and so was that foxkin lady.


    ¡°It¡¯ll turn out okay,¡± Luna reassured her, though she seemed a little unsure herself.


    ¡°But they¡¯ve been acting weird all day!¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°Sometimes that happens when they have to do adult stuff I think?¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just ask them when they come out!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay¡­¡±


    They remained sitting at the table, but neither was able to focus.


    Who is Roumazi? She showed up out of nowhere and now everyone¡¯s acting weird.


    A while later, the four women finally stepped out of the room. Roumazi seemed kind of anxious. They all sat down at the table with them.


    Mom started, ¡°Girls, this is Roumazi, who you briefly met earlier. I¡¯m sorry we¡¯ve been busy all night, but we had to talk about some important things."


    She looked at her second daughter. ¡°Diamond, she has answers about your birth.¡±


    Diamond stood up, placing her forepaws on the table. ¡°Really?! I¡¯ve been worried! I know I wasn¡¯t born normally, but I¡¯m not weird, am I?!¡±


    Roumazi looked guilty, and Michelle gestured for her to explain. She began speaking, and an aura of warmth and comfort emanated from her words, ¡°Hello, Diamond. And hello again, Luna. I¡¯m happy to see you¡¯re doing well after all this time. My name is Roumazi, but most people know me as the Goddess of Water.


    ¡°And no, Diamond, you aren¡¯t weird,¡± she ended with a slight smile.


    ¡°Goddess!?¡± Luna exclaimed, jumping up from her seat as well.


    Diamond looked between her sister and the foxkin woman. ¡°You¡¯re really a goddess? I¡¯ve never felt anything like that before. It felt familiar¡­¡±


    The girls sat back down. It was a stroke of luck that the table and chair set had come with six chairs, so all of them could be seated. Roumazi was seated next to Diamond.


    ¡°Yes, I am a goddess,¡± she began. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say that I only just found out about you today, but there are some things I must explain¡­¡±


    The goddess then went into a rehearsed explanation of what had happened, leaving the two girls dumbfounded.


    Diamond looked at Roumazi with awe. ¡°You¡¯re my mom¡­¡± She looked at Mom. ¡°My other mom, I mean.¡± Mom giggled.


    Finally getting answers to her questions and her unease being blown away, on top of gaining another mom, Diamond was ecstatic. She jumped off her chair and spun around in a circle. ¡°Aaaaah! This is so cool!¡±


    The wolf stopped spinning, and with her tail wagging dangerously fast, excitedly asked, ¡°Oh, does this mean I get a Gift, too?¡±


    Smiling at her daughter¡¯s happiness, Roumazi replied, ¡°With that remaining bit of my mana you had, you gave yourself a Gift; the ability to change your size. You considered it important, so it became a part of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Her ears flattened. ¡°So I had a Gift this whole time¡­¡±


    Seeing Diamond¡¯s drooping figure, Michelle spoke, ¡°We have something else to tell you, Diamond.¡±


    She perked back up. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Roumazi is going to be living here with us from now on.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡±


    The goddess laughed, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be using Sarah¡¯s room.¡±


    The wolf hopped back onto her seat and gave Roumazi a lick, ¡°I¡¯m glad!¡±


    Roumazi lifted her hands in Diamond¡¯s direction, but stopped. She looked at Michelle, who nodded urgingly at her. Roumazi resumed her movement and finally hugged her daughter for the first time.


    Diamond hadn¡¯t felt this happy since the day she was born. This is nice. I¡¯m so glad I know what happened back then.


    ¡°Hey, Mom?¡± Diamond asked. Michelle and Roumazi both looked at her. ¡°Uh, I mean, um¡­ Mom? No, wait¡­¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Michelle chuckled and provided, ¡°It¡¯s Mom Michelle or Mom Roumazi. That¡¯s how people here do it when it¡¯s relevant.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Wait, should I be calling them Mom Amber and Mom Sarah, too?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Michelle looked between her girlfriend and friend, and ended up shrugging.


    Amber said, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine? I hadn¡¯t actually thought about that kind of thing¡­¡±


    Sarah shrugged, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it, but I¡¯m not against it.¡±


    The wolf girl yelled, ¡°Yay!¡±


    Luna looked around the table at everyone. ¡°Should I be calling all of you Mom, too?¡±


    Michelle replied, ¡°You don¡¯t have to if you¡¯re not comfortable with that.¡±


    She looked at her sister whose tail was still wagging rapidly as she happily happily sat there with Roumazi¡¯s arm around her. ¡°I-I guess I¡¯ll try it¡­¡±


    Diamond abruptly asked, ¡°Oh yeah, Mom Roumazi, can you help me with my homework? I couldn¡¯t focus on it earlier¡­¡±


    The foxkin woman smiled. ¡°Of course.¡±


    Sarah chimed in, ¡°Before that, we should eat. It¡¯s getting late and we haven¡¯t had dinner yet.¡±


    Yay! I have four moms now!


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Five weeks later¡­


    Amber


    Living with an actual goddess turned out to be rather underwhelming. Her duties as a deity hardly ever came up in regular conversation, and other than her masterful use of magic, nothing else really stood out.


    Once she learned that they wanted to eventually open a store of their own, Roumazi also began taking alchemy and enchanting lessons. She had actually learned the craft before, but that had been centuries ago, so her knowledge was somewhat out of date. She was rapidly catching up, however, and would just get an ordinary job until everyone else was also ready.


    I still just can¡¯t wrap my head around the fact that a divine being can be so normal¡­


    The other big change was that both Diamond and Luna called her and Sarah ¡°Mom¡± now. Neither of them had been expecting that to happen, but it also made it clear that they had all really become a family in their time here.


    Amber wasn¡¯t just the person Michelle was dating, and Sarah wasn¡¯t just a friend. They all cared deeply about each other.


    Roumazi¡¯s addition to their pool of income also then eliminated any remaining worries over money they might¡¯ve had. The amount of money an apprentice made wasn¡¯t high, but unlike on Earth, they could actually afford to live on what they were paid for entry-level work.


    Still, even with the extra money, they decided to hold off on looking at houses for now. Starting a business would change their living requirements quite a bit.


    All four of them were flying through their apprenticeships as well. They weren¡¯t required to stay for several years before being allowed to complete them, they just had to keep at it until they were deemed ready.


    Amber was motivated to turn her cosplay hobby into a job again, and while still on Earth, she had studied actual armor and weapons to help improve her skills.


    Michelle had enjoyed making custom parts for her motorcycles, and was excited to get back into making intricate things out of metal again.


    There was no way Sarah could¡¯ve had any experience with alchemy or enchanting on Earth, but she was intelligent, and had plenty of chemical knowledge to start out with from her avid reading. And her experience with helping her cousin with electronics projects would actually translate somewhat into enchanting, or at least the thought process would. The enhanced sense of smell she had as a beastkin also gave her an extra edge.


    Roumazi¡¯s previous experience and mastery of her magic helped her catch up quickly. She also helped the others with the knowledge and skills she had, and helped them train their magic as well.


    And Amber and Michelle had another advantage; their hearing. Elves naturally have incredibly precise hearing, able to pick out the sources of sounds and minute differences between two similar sounds with much more accuracy than non-elves.


    When it comes to hitting and grinding metal and monster materials, they can hear the differences much better than their coworkers can.


    It¡¯s because of this ability that many elves naturally have a knack for music. Michelle had never touched an instrument before the flute, but she had been picking it up quite quickly for a novice.


    It¡¯s honestly a bit of a shame that Michelle dropped her flute lessons, though. Despite all jokes to the contrary, she was actually starting to get the hang of it. But she has other, much stronger interests, and Luna¡¯s reaction during her birthday party might¡¯ve traumatized her a bit.


    All four of them and the girls also trained with their weapons and magic with combat in mind, which was normal for a kid to learn in this world. Roumazi¡¯s weapon of choice turned out to be a spear. That¡¯s when the others learned that a well-crafted weapon imbued with mana will always be stronger than the same weapon made entirely of the user¡¯s magic, meaning Michelle''s idea of making a sword entirely of her ice wouldn''t be the awesome thing she''d hoped it would.


    They did practice sessions every morning, but the actual training at the Slayer¡¯s Guild happened once a week. They also decided they would get into the habit of occasionally taking a slaying job. Partially for the experience, partially for the extra money, and partially as practice for when they might eventually go out to get their own ingredients and materials from time to time.


    Everyone was also motivated further by the fact that they had a goddess living with them, and wanted to prove that they wouldn¡¯t be bad people to spend time with and that they wouldn¡¯t be bad parents. Roumazi actually had to tell them to calm down, because they were pushing themselves too hard.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Despite how early it was to begin planning out future projects, Amber just couldn¡¯t help herself. She was sitting at the table sketching out various designs, using her experience and books to guide her.


    It was an interesting challenge, because she had to account for actual usage, but she also wasn¡¯t limited to historical types of armor and weaponry like what Earth had. The existence of magic allowed for many exciting things. There was also the fact that no one on Earth had ever fought a monster before, which meant their armor was specifically designed for fighting other humans.


    Roumazi happened to walk by the table and picked up some of the drawings to look at. ¡°Your design sense is fascinating. Though I¡¯m surprised none of your ideas for Michelle include a whip as a weapon, given the way you two joke about it.¡±


    ¡°What, like a riding crop?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°Or that,¡± she smirked.


    ¡°O-Oh, you meant¡­ But yeah, now that you mention it, I would love to see her use a whip in combat. She would look amazing. I¡¯ll ask her when she gets back.¡±


    Earlier, Michelle and Sarah had gone out somewhere together, both to get groceries and just to hang out with each other.


    When they eventually returned, Amber asked, ¡°Michelle, how would you feel about using a whip?¡±


    ¡°What, like a riding crop?¡± Michelle asked.


    She and Roumazi both snorted. ¡°No, like an actual whip.¡±


    ¡°Oh, uh, I already use a sword, though?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but think of how hot you would look!¡±


    She giggled. ¡°You make a compelling argument, but I¡¯ll stick with my sword.¡±


    Sarah suggested, ¡°What about combining them? A whip sword. I¡¯ve seen plenty of games with one.¡±


    The two elves shared a look. Michelle rushed to help put away the groceries, then sat next to her girlfriend to get to work on the design. The individual parts would require some precise crafting. Sarah and Roumazi both joined in as well to work out how to enchant it so that it could easily retract into its sword shape.


    Michelle said, ¡°Alright, I know we¡¯re definitely going to try to make this, so¡­ I guess I¡¯ll need to learn the whip as well in the meantime.¡±


    Amber hugged her, ¡°I am so ready to see you in action!¡±


    ¡°You always are,¡± she responded, giving her a kiss.

 22 — Coming Together — Facing Monsters

    <div>


    Michelle


    Despite all the previous day¡¯s excitement for creating a whip sword and other fantasy stuff, Michelle instead wanted to spend today working on a problem she had been thinking about for a long time. She was sitting in her bedroom looking at her motorcycle, trying to find a solution.


    Yeah, I¡¯m not going to figure anything out by myself.


    She stuck her head through the doorway. ¡°Roumazi, could you help me with something?¡± she called.


    ¡°Sure,¡± the foxkin goddess replied, deactivating the music crystal she¡¯d been listening to, which was just music someone had recorded onto a gem.


    They had actually bought a few to listen to something as they traveled across the continent, but there were only so many times you could listen to the same music on repeat before you just preferred silence.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Roumazi asked, glancing at the bike.


    Michelle answered, ¡°So I know it¡¯s impossible for someone to control another person¡¯s spell, but I¡¯m wondering if the same applies to Gifts.¡±


    ¡°It still applies, yes. No one else will be able to drive your bike.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. But we¡¯ve been talking about enchantments so much lately that I¡¯ve been wondering if it¡¯s possible to somehow integrate them into the bike.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I have seen many similar cases to what you¡¯re hoping for, but in those instances, the effect was much, much smaller than operating an entire vehicle.


    ¡°Besides the complexity, there are two other major problems I can think of right now. One, if it does work, then that still only means someone else can drive the bike, not fuel it. That much you will always have to do yourself, no matter what. And two, the enchantment would need to rest securely inside the bike without being disturbed. That means you would have to form the bike around it the exact same way every single time.¡±


    Michelle gave a wide smile. ¡°So you¡¯re saying it¡¯s not impossible.¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°No, though I don¡¯t know how it would be done. It sounds like a fun project, however.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking that the enchantment could rest inside a frame to make it easier to form the bike around, and because I don¡¯t want to carry around a huge, bulky frame whenever I want to let someone else use the bike, it should also be collapsible and relatively lightweight.¡±


    ¡°This will probably take quite a lot of time to develop, I hope you¡¯re aware.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Michelle nodded. ¡°There¡¯s no time limit, this is just something I want to do.¡±


    ¡°Does this mean you want to get into enchanting as well?¡±


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯ll definitely help out with it, but I think I¡¯d prefer to focus on creating the frame and all the pieces needed to make sure the enchantment stays intact while driving and while folded up somewhere.¡±


    Roumazi smiled. ¡°This sounds fun. Let¡¯s start with getting measurements and creating a list of everything you both need and want from it.¡±


    ¡°Yes! Thank you! I¡¯ve mentioned the idea to the others before, but that was a long time ago. Couldn¡¯t really focus on it back then.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Amber


    Today was her turn to pick up the girls from school. She hadn¡¯t been waiting for very long when they came running up to her, with two other girls in tow.


    ¡°Hi, Mom!¡± Luna exclaimed.


    ¡°Hey, Mom,¡± Diamond said, more subdued.


    Going to be a while before I''m used to being called that... I wonder if this is how Michelle felt?


    ¡°Hey, girls. Who are your friends?¡± Amber asked, looking at the demon and dragon girls standing beside them. The demon¡¯s colors were black with silver streaks, indicating [Shadow] magic with the [Cutting] modifier, and the dragon¡¯s scales were brown with gold ones interspersed, indicating that she has [Earth] magic with the [Compaction] modifier.


    Luna gestured to the demon, ¡°This is Nipha!¡±


    Diamond used one of her astral hands to make the same gesture, but toward the dragon instead. ¡°This is Izara.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you both,¡± Amber said. She had heard of both of them before, but this was her first time seeing either of them.


    Luna handed Amber a piece of paper and summarized it. ¡°The school has this camping practice thing coming up next month, and we¡¯re going to be in a group together.¡±


    Nipha explained, ¡°Many parents volunteer as chaperones, but it¡¯s not required.¡±


    Diamond asked, ¡°Mom, can they come over?¡±


    Amber replied, ¡°If their parents tell me it¡¯s okay, then yeah. It wouldn¡¯t be overnight, though.¡±


    Nipha and Izara both walked off to find their parents. Nipha came back less than a minute later with a fairy woman following close behind. Though their species wasn¡¯t the same, the family resemblance was still there.


    ¡°Hello, I am Senava, Nipha¡¯s mother. Would it be alright if we stayed over for a few hours?¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Yeah, of course,¡± Amber nodded. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°Likewise.¡±


    After chatting idly for a few minutes, Izara showed up with a larger dragon and a deer Awakened.


    The deer spoke, ¡°Greetings. I am Maren, and this is Phealtis, my husband. You are Amber, correct?¡±


    Amber nodded, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°I would like to go with you to see where you live, but will leave after that. One of us will come to pick up Izara before dinnertime. How does that sound?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    The impromptu group of eight headed back to their apartment. Amber had been a little worried that they would be judged for living in a relatively poorer place, but it was fine. It¡¯s not as if it was falling apart or full of mold or anything. Just in case, she explained that they hadn¡¯t lived here for very long yet, and were each taking apprenticeships.


    Now that Izara¡¯s parents knew where they lived, they greeted the others who were all home as well, then left, saying they would pick their daughter up later.


    The girls went to their bedroom with their friends, leaving the five adults behind.


    I¡¯m glad their room is actually furnished now and has things to do in it.


    ¡°So what brought you to Efrinteu?¡± Senava asked, having already been introduced to everyone.


    Michelle answered, ¡°We were looking into various locations to settle down, and this seemed like a good place. The priority was on the girls¡¯ education, but plenty of other things are good here, as well.¡±


    Senava smiled. ¡°Yes, I agree that it''s quite nice here. Have you had time to really explore the city yet?¡±


    Roumazi answered, ¡°We¡¯ve been exploring here and there, but we¡¯d be happy if you had any recommendations for interesting things to see or do.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing! I¡¯ve got plenty of places that me and my wives like to sneak off to, either for a date or to do something fun with Nipha.¡±


    They spent the next several hours chatting, and Senava asked if she and Nipha could stay for dinner, which was agreed to. Izara asked the same of her mom when she showed up, but she said no, and she reluctantly went home.


    Because they didn¡¯t have enough seats at the table for all eight people in the apartment, dinner was made for the girls first, then the adults. As Senava and Nipha got ready to leave, they were invited to come again sometime.


    After their first ever guests left, Luna was looking happy.


    Sarah asked her, ¡°What¡¯s got you in such a good mood?¡±


    ¡°Nipha said she¡¯s envious of me because I have four moms and she only has three. She¡¯s better than me at magic, but I¡¯m better than her at moms!¡±


    Luna¡¯s absurd statement got everyone laughing, and the night ended on a good note.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Sarah


    ¡°Alright, students, raise your hand if you¡¯ve camped before,¡± a teacher called to her particular group of kids.


    Sarah watched as Luna, Diamond, and several others each raised a hand. Over half the group had spent some time outside the walls, it seemed.


    Wait, I suppose I don¡¯t need to think of them as Luna and Diamond, but my daughters, right? Really, how in the world did I end up being such good friends with someone that I¡¯m now another parent. Well, I wouldn¡¯t be here if I was against that, though.


    ¡°Are you ready for a thrilling night?¡± Senava jokingly asked beside her.


    ¡°It should be fun for them. No stress in simulated camping, except for the training exercise part of things.¡±


    ¡°True. We¡¯ve taken Nipha out a couple times already, so she already has an idea of how to go about doing this. It¡¯s so annoying whenever something attacks in the middle of the night.¡±


    Sarah grimaced. ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Wasn¡¯t just monsters that attacked us¡­


    ¡°Bad experience?¡±


    ¡°¡­Bandits.¡±


    Senava nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve had that happen a couple times myself. You all seem okay, though?¡±


    ¡°There were no serious injuries, but it was rough mentally.¡±


    Sarah looked at her girls and thought about what they had both experienced. They seemed okay now, but she couldn¡¯t help but worry about the long term.


    Senava gave her a considering look. She changed the subject, ¡°Izara looks a little lost, being the only one of them who hasn¡¯t gone out.¡±


    The teacher had let the students separate into their individual groups now, and was busy helping the less-experienced ones. The chaperones weren¡¯t needed yet.


    ¡°She has three friends she can ask questions to, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll learn a lot. Actually¡­¡±


    Sarah walked over. ¡°Hey, girls.¡±


    She got two ¡°Hi, Mom!¡±s in response, and two polite greetings.


    ¡°I know you two are experienced in this, and I hear Nipha has some experience as well, but it¡¯s important for Izara to learn about this, too. Remember how we had you help us out when we camped?¡±


    ¡°Ooh, okay!¡± Luna replied.


    ¡°Sorry, Iz,¡± Diamond said.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Nipha also apologized.


    The group quickly switched to explaining things to Izara and doing things as a group.


    Sarah and the others had each learned from the game the basics of how camping while preparing for monsters works here, and then plenty more on top of that during their long journey southeast.


    It¡¯s good that we were doing things correctly. Would¡¯ve been a bit embarrassing to have spent all that time doing things the wrong way and have it come to light here.


    She and Senava then separated and went around assisting groups that needed help, now that they had had some time to do things on their own. Their job was to chaperone all the kids in this area, not just the ones they knew.


    Part of this camping exercise was to simulate attacks. Given her girls¡¯ past experience of having people attack them, Sarah made sure that she would be the one to act as the monster for their group.


    The kids were all going to be sleeping normally without taking guard duties, as they were still quite young, so the simulated attack would be relatively early in the night, and would be done in unison with all the others.


    Now that night had fallen and all the kids who couldn¡¯t help but keep chatting had finally gone to sleep, or at least quieted down, it was time.


    After the signal, Sarah growled¡ªa noise which came naturally to her as a tigerkin¡ªand used her wind magic to carry the sound into the girls¡¯ tent.


    She ran toward them, not at full speed, and sent gusts of wind their way. She could hear the sounds of others making similar ruckuses around her.


    Of the four, Nipha was the only one who managed to immediately respond, and darkened the area with her shadow magic while also sending blades of shadow her way. Izara was too surprised to act and didn''t know what to do, and Luna and Diamond were both frozen.


    As Sarah approached while dodging or deflecting shadow blades¡ªshe has good dark vision and can sense the mana in the attacks¡ªshe was relieved when her two girls managed to break out of their stupor and throw ice her way.


    In Luna¡¯s case, she also made a lion with her Gift and sent it to attack her. Diamond did increase her size somewhat, but still maintained her distance. It was only when Sarah was practically right on them that Izara finally realized what she should be doing and threw an earth spell her way.


    Sarah stopped. This wasn¡¯t meant to be a combat training session in any way, only a demonstration of how dangerous camping could be in this world.


    Though they do get some training from the school later on, as well¡­


    She grabbed the ice lion¡¯s forepaws as it attacked her and used her magically-enhanced body to fling it behind her.


    She stopped moving and held up her hands to show that the simulated attack was over. ¡°Okay, girls. It¡¯s done. You did well.¡±


    ¡°I-It¡¯s done?¡± Luna timidly questioned.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry about the surprise, but this is for all the students to learn about the dangers of the outside world.¡±


    Please don¡¯t hate me.


    Luna shuffled forward and wrapped her arms around Sarah¡¯s torso.


    Oh, thank goddess.


    Sarah knelt down to hug both Luna and Diamond at the same time.


    After helping return the camp to normal and promising that there were no more surprises, she left for the area where all the chaperones reported to the teacher. Fortunately, this kind of thing wasn¡¯t graded.


    ¡°How¡¯d they do?¡± Senava asked once they could finally catch up again.


    Sarah repeated everything she had just told the teacher to Senava, including how well Nipha did.


    She smiled. ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡±


    With everything finally concluded, it was at last time for the adults to go to bed as well. Sarah lay in her bed thinking about her other family members and feeling somewhat lonely. Amber and Michelle had been planning to go for it tonight.


    I wonder how Roumazi responded?

 23 — Coming Together — Orbiting

    At the same time as the camping exercise¡­


    Michelle


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Amber mouthed.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Michelle mouthed resolutely.


    Something had been on their minds lately, and today was the perfect opportunity for it. Though unplanned, Sarah and the girls being gone for the night meant they could focus entirely on tonight.


    The couple walked to the living area, where their goddess friend and fellow parent was reading a book.


    ¡°Roumazi, want to go out with us tonight?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to make tonight a date night for just the two of you?¡± she responded.


    ¡°We want to spend time with you,¡± Michelle replied.


    She smiled and shut her book. ¡°Alright. What do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Last time Senava was here, she recommended a place with good music and food. And they have games for people to play as they eat.¡±


    Senava and Nipha had come over twice more since their first visit, and they also got to meet one of Senava''s wives, who had a more serious attitude than her, though wasn¡¯t unfriendly.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right,¡± Roumazi recalled. ¡°That sounds fun.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± the two elves said.


    The three women walked to a restaurant that was busy, though they didn¡¯t have to wait for too long to get a table. The food here was mostly fish dishes, which made sense, considering its proximity to the large river running through the middle of the city. The smell of spices filled the air, as this region had a wide variety to choose from.


    Multicolored crystals lit the whole place in a kaleidoscopic rainbow pattern, and a band was performing in the corner. The music sounded somewhat modern, though none of the instruments were electronic. The band was using some prerecorded elements from a music crystal, though, as well as some enchantments to distort the sounds in interesting ways.


    ¡°Missing your flute?¡± Roumazi asked, noticing Michelle looking at the band.


    Michelle chuckled. ¡°No. It was fun, but I prefer what I¡¯m doing now.¡±


    ¡°I still wish I could¡¯ve heard it. Luna told me it was an excellent monster deterrent.¡±


    Amber said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad. We were just playing around one day making horrible noises out of boredom and Luna latched onto that.¡±


    Michelle said, ¡°I prefer the sounds of metal, anyway. Like, blacksmithing stuff, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± the foxkin tilted her head.


    Amber explained, ¡°Metal was also a type of music where we came from. Uh, I can''t think of anything to compare it to, so I don¡¯t really know how to describe it other than that there were a lot of intense sounds. A lot of yelling, too, I think? Wasn¡¯t really my thing.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t mine either,¡± Michelle agreed.


    I miss music streaming.


    ¡°I see,¡± Roumazi said. ¡°Well, shall we play a game? It looks like there are plenty to choose from.¡±


    There was a list of games and their rules in a well-worn book next to them. To play one, they had to activate an enchantment on the table, and the crystal above them would project the board below. There were also gems set into the book that could be removed which acted as pieces, along with some dice.


    None of them knew any of the games, so they chose one solely on the basis of how interesting it looked at a glance. They weren¡¯t here to seriously play a game, so that was fine. They took their turns casually, mostly talking instead of playing as they waited for their food.


    Amber and Roumazi both got some mildly alcoholic drinks, while Michelle went with a kind of slightly spicy juice.


    After their food arrived, the game board was deactivated while saving their locations on the board, and the lighting above them went back to the rainbow pattern from earlier. It had been laid out so that people could keep playing even with food and drinks on the table, but they weren¡¯t interested in that tonight.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Maybe we should get some more games for at home, though.


    ¡°Should we establish a game night or something?¡± Michelle asked.


    Amber smiled. ¡°I like the sound of that. There¡¯s a part of my brain that still hasn¡¯t adjusted to not having video games available. Board and card games and stuff aren¡¯t quite the same, but that¡¯s fine.¡±


    Roumazi already knew what video games were, both from the things she¡¯d heard after moving in, and from back at the research base when meeting the thousands of players.


    After eating, they did resume their game, but it was often several minutes between them taking turns. They were more interested in just talking, after all.


    Eventually, Roumazi smiled at both of them and asked, ¡°So, are you ever going to ask me, or will I be the one to do it?¡±


    The two elves at the table shared a look and laughed exasperatedly. Amber spoke, ¡°We were planning on doing it after we left here, but I guess we already know the answer.


    ¡°Roumazi, I don¡¯t know how it would work between gods and mortals, but we¡¯ve already discussed it, and we would both like to go out with you.¡±


    ¡°It would work just like any other relationship, and I get the feeling that¡¯s what you¡¯re hoping for.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Michelle said, as she and Amber both nodded.


    We even know from her that the gods don¡¯t really get involved with each other. We¡¯re unlikely to ever see them again, even after they find out about Diamond.


    She smiled widely, ¡°Then my answer is yes.¡± Grabbing both their hands, she asked them, ¡°So shall we continue our date?¡±


    She said yes! Somehow, we way overthought how to ask out a literal goddess.


    The new throuple left the restaurant and went for what Michelle and Amber had decided on for the next stop if Roumazi had said yes. They boarded one of the small carriages that only transported people to other parts of the city and set off.


    The building they were heading for was massive, but because it was on the other end of the city, they hadn¡¯t visited it yet. It was a giant mechanical model of Torneltha¡¯s solar system, an orrery so large that they could walk around inside of it, and even take slow rides inside the planetary bodies themselves. Large windows to the outside provided great views of the city as well, with the castle and arena standing out the most among the skyline.


    Even with the gentle recorded music playing in the background, it was still a much quieter destination than the restaurant had been with its live music.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to come back here with the girls,¡± Amber commented.


    ¡°For sure,¡± Michelle agreed. ¡°Diamond especially will love this.¡±


    Their new foxkin girlfriend asked, ¡°Did you ever do anything like this with Luna?¡±


    ¡°I suppose this is like a combination of a planetarium and a ferris wheel; a planetarium being a big building that they would project astronomical images onto the inside of, and a ferris wheel being a large, slow-moving ride that went up quite high.


    ¡°We never did the former, but we did do the latter. I¡¯m glad there are places like this in this world, too. Can¡¯t wait to see more new things.¡±


    After sharing their first kisses with Roumazi, they remained in the orrery until the stars were visible before eventually heading home. It would be several hours before they finally went to sleep, however.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The three of them were awoken the following morning by the sound of the front door opening. After stretching and some quick morning kisses, they got dressed.


    Their two daughters ran up to them and they all shared hugs.


    Seeing the three all leaving the same bedroom, Sarah smirked. ¡°Looks like it went well, then.¡±


    They all smiled.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Amber said.


    Though Sarah was smiling, she looked a little sad.


    ¡°Is something wrong, Sarah?¡± Michelle asked.


    The tigerkin sighed. ¡°I had a couple people on Earth I could get close to without them expecting any romance or anything from me, but I haven¡¯t had that since then. Seeing all of you get together has just made me miss them again.¡±


    Michelle looked at her girlfriends. ¡°You just mean like snuggling and stuff?¡±


    ¡°Basically, yeah. I still like physical contact and closeness with other people, just nothing beyond that.¡±


    Amber provided, ¡°You could¡¯ve just asked us, though?¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re in a relationship.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but we know you wouldn¡¯t want the same thing that we have.¡±


    ¡°What, so it¡¯s just¡­ fine?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± Roumazi asked.


    ¡°I¡­ Wait. So, cuddling and snuggling and stuff with me would be fine. And you¡¯re all okay with that? Even knowing I¡¯m aroace and don¡¯t want anything besides close friendship? No romance or anything beyond that?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Roumazi looked at the other two Earthlings to see if she was missing something, but she wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°You mean¡­ All this time, I could¡¯ve¡­¡± Sarah vigorously facepalmed and groaned. Seeing that everyone was confused, she explained, ¡°I¡¯m used to people always wanting more from me or no longer being okay with that level of closeness with me once they enter a relationship with someone. It never occurred to me just how amazing you three are that you would still be fine with me.¡±


    Michelle said, ¡°Well, I think the only answer to that is for all of us to share a big hug.¡±


    All of them, including Luna and Diamond, got together in a hug for Sarah, who was feeling overwhelmed, but incredibly happy.


    After parting, Roumazi asked Sarah, ¡°So how¡¯d our girls do?¡±


    The now much happier tigerkin replied, ¡°They had no problems setting up camp. They froze up at first during the simulated attack, but still did okay in the end. Nipha responded right away, and Izara only just managed something right at the last moment.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s good. A lot of kids at that age wouldn¡¯t even be at that level yet.¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking of training them more?¡± Michelle asked.


    She shook her head. ¡°No. They¡¯re already at a good point, and the school can handle most of it going forward. It will be a while before the next event like that. They¡¯re free to just be kids.


    ¡°Well, I still want to do weapon and magic practice with them, and the occasional slaying job like we¡¯ve already been doing, but I don¡¯t want to push them excessively.¡±


    Amber agreed, ¡°Yeah, even with what happened before we arrived in Efrinteu, they were doing well, all things considered. I¡¯m glad they were able to do something.¡±


    Michelle interjected, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m starving. What do you want for breakfast? We can talk about any training stuff after.¡±


    Sarah, Luna, and Diamond had already eaten back at the camp, so the remaining three all shared the kitchen together to make their food.

 24 — Fusion — Pendants

    Two years later¡­


    Michelle


    While the girls, now nine years old, were in their room, Michelle, Sarah, and Roumazi were all sitting on the couch, waiting for Amber.


    Sarah and Roumazi were at opposite ends of the couch, while Michelle was laying across it. Her head was in Sarah¡¯s lap, and her legs were in Roumazi¡¯s.


    Since Sarah¡¯s misconception was resolved two years ago, they had all become much closer. In Sarah¡¯s case, she often slept in the same bed as them, but not on nights when the others were going to have sex. And they would sometimes join her in her bed as well, though just to cuddle and sleep.


    Roumazi was listening to music, though she used her magic to muffle the sound, Sarah was reading a book, and Michelle was looking at descriptions of potential houses they might move into.


    It¡¯s nearly time to finally leave this apartment. A little more space will definitely be nice. It¡¯s a bit cramped for six people.


    The apartment door finally opened, and Amber strode through it, beaming brightly.


    She held up a sheet of paper. ¡°I got it!¡±


    The other three got up and hugged her, and the girls also came out from the bedroom to congratulate her as well.


    What Amber had received was a certification that she had learned everything the apprenticeship had to offer. There was still more to learn and skills to hone, but the basics and plenty more had been thoroughly mastered. She was the last one to receive hers.


    It was possible for someone to simply take a certification test whenever they wanted. People moving from one place to another would often have to do that if the distance was far enough. But not even Roumazi with her previous alchemy experience would¡¯ve passed her test right away. She was still the first of the four to do so, however.


    Roumazi proclaimed, ¡°We need to celebrate!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The family of six went to the same restaurant where their much more intimate relationship with Roumazi began at. Walking through the door, they saw four familiar faces just ahead of them.


    ¡°Nipha!¡± Luna yelled and ran toward her.


    ¡°Luna!¡± the demon girl yelled back, and the two collided in a hug.


    With Nipha were her three mothers, Senava, Malorei, and Rayna, who were a fairy, a demon, and a gnoll, respectively. They had all met many times over the past couple years.


    Michelle, Amber, and Sarah even eventually revealed that they were from Earth, as they didn¡¯t feel the need to keep their past a secret from their friends. It had also been difficult to avoid talking about their lives prior to arriving in Nibuolos without revealing anything, and they decided that it probably wouldn¡¯t be a problem this far away from where they were originally summoned. It turned out that they weren¡¯t very surprised by the revelation.


    ¡°Oh, hello,¡± Malorei greeted. ¡°It¡¯s nice running into you like this.¡±


    Amber nodded, ¡°It is. We¡¯re celebrating tonight. I finally got my certification, too!¡±


    ¡°Oh, congratulations!¡± they said.


    Rayna retorted, ¡°¡¯Finally¡¯, you say. Most people take four or five years. And from what you described of your previous home, magic and monster materials add so much more to learn on top of everything else.¡±


    ¡°We were all very motivated,¡± Sarah said.


    She chuckled. ¡°That seems to be the case. Would you like to eat together? I understand if you would prefer to celebrate as a family instead.¡±


    After some quick glances between them, Roumazi replied, ¡°We¡¯d love to. And I think Luna and Diamond would be quite upset if we didn¡¯t.¡±


    The girls were already having fun just talking with each other. Though Diamond was also friends with Nipha, she just didn¡¯t quite click with the girl on the same level that Luna did.


    A member of the staff pushed two tables together for all of them to sit at, as there wasn¡¯t any one table that could seat ten people.


    ¡°So what are your plans now that you¡¯re all certified?¡± Senava asked. ¡°I know you plan to open your own shop, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard any specifics.¡±


    Michelle replied, ¡°We¡¯ve been looking into places that have a home and a workshop on the same property. We still don''t know if that''s what we''ll end up with, but that''s what we''re thinking about right now."


    Amber happily added, ¡°I want to design a lot of interesting pieces. Utility will always take priority, but I want to integrate aesthetics into our products. I feel that that¡¯s a severely lacking element to most people¡¯s equipment.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Rayna smiled, ¡°Sounds interesting. I look forward to seeing what you produce.¡±


    It should be fun designing things again. Though I only ever did graphic design, unlike Amber and her cosplay. She¡¯ll be taking the lead in that, but I¡¯m more interested in the technical side of things anyway.


    The two families of six and four chatted away into the night, but eventually had to go home. Rayna even mentioned that she still had paperwork to catch up on before going to bed.


    After the girls had fallen asleep, which had happened pretty much the second they laid down, Sarah nervously approached the others.


    ¡°So¡­¡± she began, then chewed her lip as she found her words. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking. I really appreciate and care for all of you. And love you three, in a non-romantic way, but what I feel for you is still really deep, and¡­


    ¡°Ugh, I meant to plan this out more¡­ A-Anyway, um¡­ Will you marry me?¡±


    Michelle, Amber, and Roumazi were all stunned by the suddenness of the proposal.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Michelle was the first to respond, as her mouth broke into a smile.


    The two others were brought out of their stupor by Michelle¡¯s reply.


    Amber gave a hearty, ¡°Yes! I would love to!¡±


    Grinning like the others, Roumazi said, ¡°Of course.¡±


    The four of them wrapped each other in a tight, blissful, and warm hug.


    ¡°Should we go tomorrow?¡± Roumazi asked.


    Sarah replied, ¡°None of us are working tomorrow, so I think we should. Unlike on Earth, there aren¡¯t big ceremonies here except for prominent people.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next day, the whole family went to the officiator. Luna and Diamond had been ecstatic upon hearing about their marriage, but Luna was disappointed that there wasn¡¯t going to be a big wedding. Still, she was quite happy for her moms.


    They entered a small, white building, heavily decorated with stones of various colors, representing the pendants most married people wore.


    A man with black wings in tight-fitting red clothes sat behind a desk. Upon seeing them enter, he asked, ¡°Hello, what can I do for you?¡±


    Sarah stepped forward. Gesturing to the other three adults, she replied, ¡°The four of us are getting married.¡±


    He smiled and nodded. ¡°There is some paperwork for each of you to fill out, but it doesn¡¯t take very long. Are you getting pendants made?¡±


    ¡°We are.¡±


    ¡°Then, seeing as there are four of you, that process will likely take a couple hours. If you don¡¯t have enough time for that right now, you can come back later.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll do all of it now.¡±


    Okay, this is kind of underwhelming. But I don¡¯t hate how small this is, either.


    The paperwork was just some standard, basic questions, but the one that made all of them stop was the question asking if they would like to change their names or leave them as is, as they hadn¡¯t actually discussed that.


    Roumazi didn¡¯t actually have a last name, but had given a generic one for previous paperwork she¡¯d dealt with. The remaining three were Michelle Meadows, Amber Bowman, and Sarah Woods.


    I guess there won¡¯t be any more jokes about Amber being born to be an archer.


    Thinking back to how they were here today because Luna had initially wanted to play with snow in a video game, Michelle suggested, ¡°How about Snow?¡±


    Amber gave her a flat look. ¡°Then my name would be Amber Snow. No thanks.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I completely missed that. Sorry.¡±


    Roumazi suggested, ¡°How about we use Woods? Sarah¡¯s the one who asked us, after all.¡±


    ¡°I-If you¡¯re fine with that¡­¡± Sarah stuttered, blushing heavily.


    ¡°I like it,¡± Michelle said.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Amber added.


    ¡°I also like it!¡± Luna chimed in.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s good,¡± Diamond added.


    Roumazi looked at Sarah. ¡°It seems we¡¯re all in agreement.¡±


    Sarah nodded slightly. ¡°This is the most embarrassing but also happiest thing I¡¯ve ever done.¡±


    I guess if she was used to being isolated from people in the past, then this would be pretty intense for her¡­


    With the paperwork filled out, they were led to a different room in the back part of the building. An orc craftsman who was working on jewelry was focusing intensely on his task.


    The man from the front desk spoke, ¡°Jereth, four guests for you.¡±


    Jereth nodded, ¡°One minute.¡±


    The clerk went back to his desk, and Jereth finally looked up, having finished whatever minute detail he was working on.


    ¡°Four of you, eh? Congratulations!¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± they all replied.


    He nodded, then began a practiced explanation, ¡°Right, so the way this works is that I use an enchantment to capture a three-dimensional portrait of you. That gets recorded into a small gem, and then your mana is imprinted into it as well.


    ¡°The enchantment in the gem will then be able to produce a holographic likeness of you whenever it is activated, and each gem will match the colors of the person whose bust is recorded in it.


    ¡°The gems are then set into a silver pendant for you to wear around your neck.¡±


    Roumazi went first, as she was the calmest of the four of them. She was asked to keep a gentle smile while the portrait was recorded. That part took a few minutes, then making sure the portrait was recorded properly took another few.


    Roumazi then pushed her mana into a device that would transfer it into the three gems, one for Michelle, Amber, and Sarah each. Jereth tested them after they were completed, and a half-size hologram of Roumazi appeared every time.


    The entire hologram matched Roumazi¡¯s blue, and the purple from her avatar''s [State] modifier was imbued in key places throughout.


    It took about twenty minutes for the entire process to be completed, and the end result was a beautiful dichromatic portrait of her in three separate gems.


    Amber went next, and after that was Michelle.


    Before they could begin however, he spoke to her, ¡°I understand you may be nervous, but if you take a deep breath and relax yourself, it will turn out just fine.¡±


    Understanding what the jeweler was getting at, she replied, ¡°I¡¯m not nervous, this is just my default expression.¡±


    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°That glare is your default expression?¡±


    She glared for real, and the man actually flinched and let out a tiny squeak. Michelle could only sit there embarrassedly while the others tried not to laugh.


    Jereth coughed. ¡°My apologies.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s continue?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± he agreed, though he did check with the others to confirm that Michelle really was showing a gentle smile.


    Given what happened with Michelle, Sarah was able to relax enough for her own portrait. They then had to wait while he set the twelve gems into four pendants.


    Each pendant had three gems arranged in a triangle formation in it when he was done with them. None of them had any particular desire for them to be in a particular order, so Jereth mixed it up for them so that no two pendants had the same person¡¯s portrait in the same position in the triangle.


    ¡°Thank you, Jereth. They¡¯re lovely,¡± Sarah complimented.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± he said. Smiling, he added, ¡°Your paperwork will have already been submitted by now, meaning everything in the city with your name on it should already be updated. Congratulations, once again.¡±


    Magical recordkeeping is so much faster...


    They all thanked Jereth one more time, then left the building, each of them feeling overwhelmingly happy with each other and the small pendants they each now had.

 25 — Fusion — Stupid Flowers

    Sarah


    Over the next couple months, they spent much of their free time searching for a new place to live. They had initially been looking at houses and potential business locations separately, but were pleasantly surprised to find themselves on the shortlist for properties that contained both.


    Because they had proven themselves as talented people by getting their certifications quickly, meaning they were vouched for; and because they would be starting out with four employees, two on the smithing side and two on the alchemy and enchanting side, that meant that despite their short history within the city, people had high hopes for them.


    Established craftspeople looking to start their own business would still take priority over them, but unlike other newcomers, they actually had an opportunity to get a place like that.


    Through sheer luck, they got one of those homes. A coworker informed them of it. Their relatives who owned the place were retiring. The Woods family still had to convince the retiring people to sell to them instead of just anyone, but they managed it.


    They then spent a couple weeks renovating it to both update everything and to change things to their liking. With magic, the reconstruction happened much more quickly.


    The house was larger than their apartment had been, and they would even be able to have guests over without people bumping into each other all the time.


    It fits into the aesthetic of Efrinteu as well, both inside and out. There were three bedrooms upstairs, as everyone had decided they liked the previous sleeping arrangements. The ground floor contained a large bath which they planned to use frequently, and there was also a conversation pit. It was completely lined with fluffy cushions, and they had already spent a lot of time snuggling in it, as well as some naps.


    Between the house and their future business was a yard. It wasn¡¯t massive like what a suburban American home would have, however. They planned to use their roof as a gardening plot for growing vegetables and other foods, as well as a hangout space; and the garden on the ground level would be for growing ingredients that could be used in their work.


    None of us have ever owned a yard before because we all hated them, but they''re an actual necessity here. We¡¯ll actually be using it regularly, possibly even daily.


    The business building on the other end of the rectangular property was divided into three sections; the storefront, the alchemy section, and the smithing section.


    The reason for the division was to not disturb each other¡¯s work, but both sides could easily interact with the other. Besides a door, there was also a large window that could be opened when one side needed to talk, and had a soundproofing enchantment on it when it was shut, just as the walls did.


    They had debated over what to call their business, but ended up taking the first syllable of each of their names, then combining them into the way that they thought sounded the most interesting.


    It seemed nonsensical, but other signs depicting potions, swords, armor, and such would indicate what the place was. Many businesses here actually had unusual names that didn¡¯t say anything about what the business did, because those signs were there as well.


    Because the first syllable of Diamond¡¯s name had that spelling¡ªat least in English it did¡ªeveryone ended up pronouncing the first part as ¡°dee-ah-loo¡±. Sarah couldn¡¯t help but stare in awe at the finalized name of their store.


    Dialu Ammirosa¡­ I feel like I¡¯m a part of something truly incredible here.


    They also needed to finalize their maker¡¯s mark, the symbol that would go onto everything they sold. Logos were more Amber and Michelle¡¯s thing, having been graphic designers back on Earth, but everyone still sat down together to help come up with ideas, and they compared their drawings at the end.


    ¡°So let¡¯s see what we¡¯ve got,¡± Sarah said, organizing everyone¡¯s papers into a stack.


    ¡°Among the animal suggestions, there''s a tiger, a fox, a wolf, and various monsters,¡± she said laying them out.


    ¡°For plants, we¡¯ve got a couple trees, but I don¡¯t know what kind they are. But as for flowers, there¡¯s a lily and a water lily.¡±


    Sarah looked at Amber and Michelle, who she knew had suggested them. ¡°This is a different world, remember, and flowers won¡¯t mean the same things here. And that¡¯s assuming those flowers even exist here at all. That doesn¡¯t mean we still couldn¡¯t use one of these, though.¡±


    Before either of them could say anything, Roumazi spoke up, ¡°Eternity and prosperity are the most common meanings associated with both of them.¡±


    ¡°Ah. That answers that, then.¡± Looking through the stack of small papers again, she continued, ¡°We¡¯ve also got all of our weapons; bow, hammer, whip, claw, spear, and sword. Some of these drawings also have a little potion bottle included in them.¡±


    She skipped the next two drawings, keeping as neutral an expression as she possibly could.


    ¡°And finally, a diamond.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡± the wolf girl tilted her head, as Sarah was looking at her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Sarah put the drawing in front of her. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty gem, and what you were named after. This doodle doesn¡¯t really do it justice, though.¡±


    Roumazi made a perfect diamond shape out of her ice and placed it in front of her daughter. ¡°It looks like this.¡± She had learned the meaning of Diamond''s name shortly after joining the family.


    ¡°Oh! I like it!¡± Diamond said. ¡°But why didn¡¯t I know what it meant?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an English word,¡± Sarah answered. ¡°You know a lot of languages, but that isn¡¯t one of them.¡± The ritual that had imparted knowledge of numerous languages only included ones from this world, after all.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Roumazi wrapped her arm around the wolf. ¡°I don¡¯t know that language, either,¡± she comforted.


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Nope.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay then,¡± Diamond said, feeling much better with the knowledge that the actual goddess at the table, one of her moms, also didn¡¯t know that language. Similar conversations had come up in the past, but this was probably the first time they had directly addressed it.


    We just speak the local language most of the time, so this wouldn¡¯t have come up before, at least not directly.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Amber asked. ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t miss one?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Sarah replied, directly meeting her gaze.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sure you missed one,¡± Michelle joined.


    Sarah sighed. ¡°Fine.¡± She laid out the two drawings she had skipped over.


    Michelle and Amber both began laughing. Sarah was the only other person at the table who understood what was going on, while others just looked confused.


    She desperately maintained a straight face. I can¡¯t laugh. It¡¯s too stupid. If I laugh, they win.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would draw Wario of all things in a place like this, Amber,¡± Michelle said.


    ¡°Says the woman who drew Garfield,¡± Amber retorted.


    ¡°Garfield is the superior being of the two!¡±


    ¡°Wario literally uses a motorcycle! How are you not on his side?¡±


    ¡°My cat has his own kart racer! What does Wario have? No one cares! No one cares.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lie and you know it! Stop defending a character you don¡¯t care about! You don¡¯t even like lasagna! That¡¯s Garfield¡¯s defining character trait!¡±


    ¡°When¡¯s the last time you played a Wario game, huh? Even in Smash, you never chose him!¡±


    The two elves would occasionally bicker about something incredibly stupid just for fun, and everyone was used to it already. They obviously didn''t even agree with the points they were making.


    Sarah looked at Roumazi, ¡°We married these idiots.¡±


    The foxkin chuckled, ¡°We did.¡±


    Interrupting their ¡°argument¡± before she accidentally laughed at their humor, Sarah spoke, ¡°Moving on, I like the flowers and the diamond.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Michelle replied, instantly rejoining the regular conversation as if nothing had happened. ¡°As tempting as the diamond design is, I prefer the flowers. I drew the lily, but I think I like the water lily more.¡±


    ¡°That one was mine,¡± Amber said, also responding completely normally. ¡°And I think the water lily will be more interesting for the holographic logo idea we have. We can animate it so that it blooms. And it¡¯s a more interesting shape in my opinion.¡±


    The idea she was talking about was that on their regular products, they would just put a stamp of their logo; and on their custom products, the logo would have an enchantment that would show a hologram when activated, similar to their pendants.


    ¡°I like the water lily, too,¡± Luna said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Diamond agreed.


    With everyone in agreement, they now had the name and logo of their store.


    Now we have to make our first batch of standard weapons and armors.


    They still need to sell regular items just to make sure they had something people would actually buy.


    The four of them had been saving up these past few years for this day, and had even taken extra work here and there. Michelle even took some delivery jobs to nearby cities because her Gift allowed for rapid transport. Even though moving that fast meant it was unlikely for anything to catch her, she still always went with at least one other person.


    It also allowed her to practice something else she had been working on regarding her motorcycle, which was to create a road entirely of ice beneath her. She had recently achieved something even more ridiculous than just that, however.


    Thinking of how snowmobiles could drive across water, she began making her ice road higher and higher, and eventually, her road wasn¡¯t touching the ground at all.


    The day she came home after driving in the sky for the first time, she had been incredibly giddy and needed to show everyone.


    That really was a fun day. H er mana pool really has increased by a ridiculous amount to be able to pull that off casually.


    Sarah was certainly excited about finally opening their own store, just like all the others were, but she had a much more personal reason for feeling that way.


    She had managed to write two books so far during her time in this world, but because fiction here was all about heroic tales and grand adventures, every publisher she spoke to had turned her away.


    Her first story was about a baker just trying to become better at baking and his various interactions with customers and the people around him.


    Her second story was about a girl who had no idea what she wanted to do with her life and struggled to figure things out.


    Both stories were incredibly different from what people were familiar with here, and as a result, she was left with the only option of self-publishing.


    She even had to include a disclaimer at the beginning of both books, saying, ¡°This story and all its characters are entirely fictional.¡±


    Every publisher she met had been confused when they began reading, and thought Sarah had just written about some random person¡¯s life.


    It was disheartening, but she wasn¡¯t going to stop writing. And her family had all helped to print and put together the copies for sale.


    That had been a tedious task, and the printers here required someone with earth magic to create plates with all the text and images on them, which Amber did.


    While there were public printers available for use, printing several copies of an entire book would¡¯ve been astronomically expensive, so it was either do things this way or write everything by hand. Because this world''s printing technology was lacking, the cost went up for all the plates that would have to be made.


    As Sarah had done bookbinding in the past, she led the family in putting them all together. None of the others had ever done it before, so it was new and fun for each of them.


    They looked entirely like ordinary books by the time they were done. The only magical thing about them was that they were printed paper that glows slightly in a gentle blue color when someone puts their mana into it, which was common here. It came from an ingredient mixed into the paper itself during its production.


    Expensive versions of books often have glowing paper that changes to different colors depending on the mood of the scene, and maybe even a few other small enchantments within the book, but those are unnecessary and difficult to pull off without a proper printing setup. Only the most popular of books get that kind of treatment.


    I suppose it¡¯s kind of sad that I have to start my writing career all over again under these circumstances, but I do quite like alchemy, so it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m suffering by doing that instead.

 26 — Fusion — The Corner of Dubious Wares

    <div>


    Amber


    With their store ready to go, everyone then spent an entire month creating their first stock. What they created was almost entirely regular items, though they did create at least a few interesting ones. The most important part of that was getting all the raw materials to craft into those items in the first place, as well as establishing a regular supply.


    They didn¡¯t know how well things were going to go, but they had researched and prepared as much as they could beforehand, and not just their crafting techniques.


    Businesses in this part of the world maintain a relationship with each other that is simultaneously cooperative and competitive. They even held regular meetings with each other to learn from and help each other.


    Part of their teachings included business acumen, especially once their teachers learned of their intention to start their own store. Everyone also studied outside of their apprenticeships as well.


    I really can¡¯t wait to get to making fun stuff, but all the standard, boring items have to come first. I¡¯m still amazed by how quickly paperwork moves here, so at least that stuff isn¡¯t anywhere near as stressful as I thought it would be.


    But before they finally had their grand opening in a couple days, they were going to have one more celebration. They had already celebrated their apprenticeships ending, and their marriage had also led to a couple fun nights at home, but they wanted to have one last fun night before things got busy.


    It was a marriage congratulations/housewarming/business grand opening celebration all in one. They didn¡¯t want it to be an even bigger event than it was already going to become, so they limited it to their favorite throuple and their daughter; as well as Izara.


    The Woods family had learned over the past couple years that Izara¡¯s parents, while not bad people, weren¡¯t exactly sociable. They had no interest in coming.


    ¡°Thank you for coming,¡± Amber said as all the guests entered their new home. Izara had been picked up by them along the way.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Senava replied, looking around the house. It was their guests¡¯ first time here, after all.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice,¡± Malorei said. ¡°I like how you laid everything out.¡±


    Sarah replied, ¡°There¡¯s actually room for the six of us to walk around now.¡±


    Rayna smiled. ¡°Indeed. Perhaps we¡¯ll be coming over more often?¡± The gnoll handed a box to Michelle. ¡°Some side dishes for tonight and a heavy blanket for your new conversation pit.¡±


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯ll definitely be using that. Thank you,¡± Michelle said. ¡°And now that we have the room, having you over more frequently wouldn¡¯t be bad. If you can get away from work that is.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll manage.¡±


    The Woods family had wondered about what kind of home their friends lived in, but because one of them did some kind of important government work, they couldn¡¯t have guests so easily.


    But that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m glad we get to see more of them now. And they always bring some food with them, so it¡¯s not like we¡¯re feeding them for free.


    Due to the limited space of the apartment they¡¯d had, Nipha would usually show up with only one of her mothers.


    ¡°So~¡± Senava began. ¡°We haven¡¯t really had a chance to talk since we ran into each other at the restaurant. I¡¯m curious about what pushed you to get married!¡±


    ¡°Ah, it was Sarah,¡± Michelle said. ¡°She proposed that very night, actually.¡±


    ¡°Ohh~,¡± she said, looking at the blushing tigerkin. Looking at everyone, she said, ¡°Well, congratulations to all of you. May your marriage be prosperous and eternal.¡±


    ¡°Was that a joke based on our logo?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I also meant it.¡±


    She smiled, ¡°Well, thank you.¡±


    As all the adults sat at the table, with Roumazi getting everyone drinks and the girls diving into the conversation pit, Malorei said, ¡°So I read your first book, Sarah. It was well-written, but I must admit, I don¡¯t quite understand the appeal of it. I likely would¡¯ve dismissed it entirely had I not known about your otherworldly perspective on matters.¡±


    Sarah nodded, ¡°That¡¯s fine. In this world, where very real danger lurks just outside the walls and everyone being able to fight on some level is expected because of that, stories of heroism and valor hold a lot of value.


    ¡°I¡¯m not disregarding that at all, however. The stories people tell here are important, but I simply enjoy the mundane more than the fantastical, at least when it comes to my own writing. I¡¯ve just always preferred much smaller stories about average people.¡±


    Malorei smiled. ¡°Well, I do hope your stories get some attention. On that note, self-published works tend to be much more sloppily put together. I was quite impressed by the quality of the book itself.¡±


    Roumazi said, ¡°Yes, she had some experience in bookbinding. Putting them together was an enjoyable task that we worked on together.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°So I was thinking that if you¡¯d like for more people to experiment with writing different kinds of stories, then perhaps selling a book with instructions on how to do that could help.¡±


    Sarah shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s an interesting idea, but the main issue lies with the cost of printing. Had I not had access to my wife¡¯s excellent earth magic, it wouldn¡¯t have been feasible for me.


    ¡°That¡¯s why most self-published people can only sell handwritten copies of their writing, which adds significantly more time and effort with each copy produced.


    ¡°The only way I can see this issue being resolved is if someone invents a much cheaper and more user-friendly method of printing.


    ¡°I will consider that idea, though. More people writing would make me happy.¡±


    Roumazi added, ¡°Because the nature of mana itself is ever-changing, that means the complex enchantments to produce such printers haven¡¯t been reached many times throughout history.


    ¡°But as mana and physics shifted, those printers had to either change with the nature of the world, or fade away. Obviously, they failed to change in time.


    ¡°Good enchantments like that can be difficult to hold onto as the world changes how they function. On top of that, it¡¯s likely that they were too tied up in ownership disputes and who has the rights to do what with them, that they became useless before someone was able to update the technology.¡±


    Rayna chuckled and shook her head. ¡°It always amazes me whenever you mention something that was ancient history, and then when I look into it myself, it turns out you were correct.


    ¡°I¡¯m not doubting your intelligence or knowledge. It¡¯s just that you know obscure information about a lot of topics and it takes me by surprise every time.¡±


    Yeah, Roumazi¡¯s literally as old as the world itself. Once again, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m married to an actual goddess. And my formerly-male best friend. And my other best friend who isn¡¯t even interested in romance or sex at all. Ahh, my life is weird, but I wouldn¡¯t change any of it.


    The foxkin simply smiled. Their guests knew Roumazi was from this world, and had simply been told that she joined the family a couple years ago, which was true.


    ¡°Another thing,¡± Malorei began, ¡°Besides the unusual content, the writing style is also different from the writers of this region, and possibly anywhere else, as well. People may question your origin.¡±


    Michelle replied, ¡°We don¡¯t really talk about our origin because it¡¯s difficult to bring up, but we aren¡¯t exactly trying to keep it a secret anymore, either. We would¡¯ve changed our names if that was what we wanted.


    "The other people we''ve talked to about it don''t really care as much. They don''t have the same opinions as the people in the Kingdom did.¡±


    Rayna questioned, ¡°Have you met anyone else from Earth since leaving that place?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Michelle shook her head. ¡°Well, there were some in the cities we visited near the base, especially Elsanth, but once we were out of that area, we didn¡¯t run into anyone we recognized anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hm. Well, let¡¯s move on to something else. How about you tell us what designs you¡¯ve come up with so far?¡±


    Yes! I could talk about this all day.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    A few days passed, and the store they¡¯d been working toward finally had its first ever day of business.


    There were plenty of other smithies in the city, including those that also had alchemists in their employ, but demand for more was still enough that they could at least be confident about selling a minimum amount.


    They knew not to underprice what they sold, but they were also aware that some people here had been in business for entire centuries. All they could do was to continue improving their skills until they, too, became one of the mainstays of Efrinteu.


    Like most other buildings in the area, the store part of the building had a stone base that then led into wood as it went up. The door had art of a sword and potion on it so people knew what kind of business it was, and a sign reading Dialu Ammirosa with a water lily on either side hung across the facade.


    Typical things that you might find in a store like this rested on shelves and racks. Spears, bows, arrows, swords, axes, shields, and so on for the weapons most people used.


    Premade pieces and sets of armor that were adjustable to a certain extent were placed on a few stands. Like the weapons, they were made of various materials going beyond just metal. Monster hide, bone, scales, claws, and other parts from slain magical creatures were among them.


    Some of the weapons and armor also had enchantments imbued into them, but people generally preferred to ask for those to be done on an item of their choosing instead of that. But having them out served as a demonstration and reminder that this store had alchemists in its employ.


    In another section was the potions. Resistance to heat, enhance strength, dark vision, water breathing, regeneration, light vision, steel skin, and numerous other effects were among those for sale. There were also a few magic tools, such as one that produced light and another that produced water. Not everyone had a water mage with them, after all.


    And finally, a special corner of the store was dedicated to their specially designed items. A leather breastplate with filigree stamped into it. A cuirass with accent colors on the edges. A sword with an etched hilt. A knife with a pattern in the metal.


    All those and more were in that corner. Because the usual people who bought weapons and armor only cared about utility, they heavily reeled themselves back on making too many items with unusual designs; the cuirass being a good example of that.


    I¡¯m just glad that magic makes all this stuff much faster and easier to produce than it would¡¯ve been otherwise. It¡¯s not even that much more expensive.


    One issue that people would have to get over is the misconception that anything with designs on it was a piece only for show, not for actual use. There was precedent for that, but they hoped to change that sentiment.


    Using a crystal imbued with wind magic that resonated with a matching one elsewhere in the city, music was being played throughout the entire building. There were only a few different ¡°stations¡± to choose from, but the fact that this was something they even had at all was much appreciated.


    A few people from their various apprenticeships also stopped by to check out the store, but didn¡¯t buy anything. Michelle¡¯s mentor even showed up and wished them well with their experimental products.


    Amber was the one currently sitting at the counter, working on smaller pieces and details that she could do while up here and not in the workshop in the other part of the building.


    Three copies of both of Sarah¡¯s books sat right on the counter where people couldn¡¯t miss them, but other than a handful of people taking a peek at them, not one was sold. A few more were stored elsewhere, but they decided to not have a big stack of books out. This wasn¡¯t even a bookstore.


    People will start buying her books eventually. Same with our stuff.


    Roumazi switched places with Amber after a while, and then later, Sarah, then Michelle. They would all take turns based on what work needed to be done.


    Their first day of business eventually came to a close. Overall, they did okay, but none of the things they really wanted to sell made it off the shelves.


    Just have to keep at it. It was only the first day. We¡¯ll convince people that you can kill monsters and look fabulous while doing it.

 27 — Fusion — Breaking a Few Rules

    <div>


    Michelle


    ¡°Oh, looks like I¡¯m winning this round,¡± Amber said smugly.


    ¡°As if. Obviously, I¡¯m in the lead here,¡± Michelle retorted.


    ¡°No, I know you can feel it. Your magic is getting pushed back.¡±


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s exactly what you are feeling.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh, sure.¡±


    Michelle smiled. What is she talking about? She knows I¡¯m in the lead today.


    The two elves were sitting on the ground in the garden, in the small empty area they used for training their magic against each other. There wasn¡¯t a lot of spare room for moving around extensively, but just sitting on the ground for a task like this was still fine. Whenever they trained with their weapons, they always went to the Slayer¡¯s Guild¡¯s training area anyway.


    Michelle and Amber had begun this particular training exercise shortly after beginning their apprenticeships. Michelle created ice while Amber created lava, and Michelle tried to freeze the lava while Amber tried to melt the ice.


    It was an excellent method of training control over their magic. Whenever one of them was doing better than the other, the one who was winning would be able to feel that the other¡¯s magic was receding. And currently, they were both feeling that sensation, though neither was aware of that fact yet.


    The two of them kept pushing their magic more and more, and they both finally realized something was off. The realization came too late, however, as the swirling mass of ice and lava began to blend together.


    They both let go of their magic in surprise and backed away.


    ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± Amber questioned.


    ¡°I have no idea,¡± Michelle replied.


    On the ground was a puddle of lava, having turned a blue color and now emanating a wave of hot coldness over their surroundings.


    ¡°Keep an eye on it,¡± Amber said, then ran to the back door and stuck her head into the house. ¡°Roumazi! We need you for something! Come outside!¡±


    Their wife stepped out a minute later and saw the glowing blue puddle on the ground. ¡°Oh my¡­¡± Her surprised expression morphed into a wide smile. ¡°You¡¯ve achieved fusion!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s fusion?¡± Michelle asked.


    ¡°A rare phenomenon that occurs when two people are so in sync with each other and the other¡¯s magic that their spells combine.


    ¡°Not many ever achieve this, even when specifically attempting to do so. It requires a high degree of control and power in the spells, and the people performing it must also know each other quite well.¡±


    ¡°Uh, how do we prevent it from both burning and freezing everything? Because it¡¯s somehow doing that.¡±


    The puddle was small, but had spread enough to begin affecting the plants nearby.


    I feel like I could do something about it, but I¡¯m afraid to screw things up here.


    ¡°After a fusion spell has been created, both people can control it individually or together. While controlling it, you should be able to manipulate even the magic that was not originally yours.


    ¡°Although half the spell is [Earth] and [Heat], you should be able to control those parts of it, Michelle. And the same is true for you, Amber, though with [Water] and [Cold].¡±


    Michelle and Amber both put a hand forward and willed the spell to go away, and it vanished, leaving a scorched and frozen mark on the dirt.


    ¡°Okay, this is seriously so cool,¡± Amber said, ¡°But how does that work? Why was it cold if part of the spell was my [Heat]?¡±


    Michelle asked, ¡°And why was it still lava if part of it was [Water]?¡±


    Roumazi explained, ¡°Fusion spells, in a way, break reality. They defy the laws of mana and physics as we know them.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°The result of your particular fusion is earth that flows like water, yet remains solid. Water that is solid¡ªor at least as solid as lava¡ªyet remains liquid. And simultaneously hot enough to melt and cold enough to freeze.¡±


    ¡°This is awesome!¡± Michelle exclaimed. ¡°Let¡¯s try again!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Amber exclaimed back.


    Now that they had a better idea of what the hell had just happened, they were ready to experiment.


    Roumazi grabbed both their arms. ¡°Sorry, but we have to open the store soon.¡± She looked genuinely apologetic.


    Both elves groaned in despair.


    I just want to play with my new toy! Can I pretend to be sick? Why did this have to happen at the start of this work week instead of the end?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The end of the work day couldn¡¯t come fast enough for any of them. Sarah and the girls also wanted to see it. Though there had been times in the weeks since opening when business had been quite slow, it had never actually felt as slow as it did today.


    The six of them all stood in the garden around the scorch mark from the morning, and Michelle and Amber focused on combining their magic this time rather than trying to outdo each other.


    Their two spells of ice and lava mixed into each other and once again created a ball of frozen lava. Sarah, Luna, and Diamond all had to back away from it as the magic began to affect them. They were uninjured, but they had definitely felt the [Heat] and [Cold] aspects of the fusion spell. Michelle and Amber remained unaffected by the parts of the spell that they would otherwise have been affected by.


    ¡°Moms, that¡¯s so cool,¡± Luna said, awed.


    ¡°This is fusion¡­?¡± Diamond muttered, also awed.


    Sarah asked, ¡°Roumazi, are there fusion enchantments?¡±


    ¡°Yes and no,¡± the foxkin replied. ¡°It is possible to put a fusion spell into an enchantment, but that enchantment will only work for the people who can cast the fusion spell in the first place. Not even I could use it.¡±


    Making the spell vanish, Michelle asked, ¡°Wait, we could put this in our weapons?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°You could. The materials required to hold that level of enchantment would be pricey, however, and the procedures to imbue them properly, complex.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s put my motorcycle thing on hold and focus on this.¡±


    Amber asked, ¡°It might be difficult to put it in my arrows if it requires that much..."


    ¡°Maybe in your dagger?¡± Roumazi suggested.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± she began, then shrugged. ¡°Oh well, we''ll figure it out. Love,¡± she said to Michelle, ¡°You need to make a decision about which weapon it¡¯ll go into; whip, sword, or whip sword.¡±


    ¡°Well, obviously, the whip sword,¡± Michelle said. ¡°We¡¯ve already got a feasible design for all the pieces of it, so now we just have to incorporate a different enchantment into it than our original plan.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± Sarah said, ¡°making a fusion-enchanted weapon, especially something as unique as a whip sword, would make for a great advertisement.¡±


    "It would!" Amber said, then gasped. "Oh! That big tournament that''s happening in five months? Let''s enter that!"


    There was a large fighting tournament held in this city every five years, and they would be experiencing their first one five months from now.


    Giggling, Roumazi replied, ¡°We¡¯ll need to finish weapons and armor for all four of us then. We¡¯ll have around five weeks for each of us.¡±


    ¡°What? Mom Roumazi, why can¡¯t we enter?¡± Luna asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s adults only, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ¡°Aww¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more interested in watching than actually participating,¡± Diamond said.


    Michelle reminded Luna, ¡°You¡¯re almost old enough to enter the interschool tournaments. Wasn¡¯t Nipha just telling you about that recently?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! Ugh, I still have to wait, though!¡± the elf girl groaned.


    She put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Not too much longer, Luna.¡±


    She had nearly rubbed Luna¡¯s head out of habit, but her daughter now became irritated whenever she did that.


    Maybe that means she¡¯s growing up? Well, she¡¯s still cute, so it¡¯s fine. Diamond¡¯s default size is also getting bigger, now that I think about it. I¡¯ve also noticed she¡¯s growing at the same rate a human would and not how quickly a wild wolf might.


    ¡°Well, come on, let¡¯s get started!¡± Amber exclaimed.


    Michelle and Amber then put their effort into further refining the whip sword design, while Amber and Roumazi began planning how they would imbue the fusion magic into the weapon and what they would need to make it happen.


    The whip sword needed numerous small sections with even smaller sections within each of those other ones that would allow it to extend and flex properly. Additionally, they needed to make sure those internal sections were also bladed for when they slid out, and the entire contraption needed to stand up to the kind of abuse it would be put under on top of that.


    They already had enchantments planned to increase its durability, as well as another that would allow it to return to its sword form when activated.


    And now we have to integrate some kind of legendary fusion magic into it as well. This might just be the coolest thing I ever do.


    Everyone¡¯s armor and weapon designs had pretty much been finalized for many months already. They had just been waiting until they had their own workshop to really get working on things. Another way they were saving on costs was by hunting their own ingredients and materials whenever possible. There were plenty of craftspeople who did that, so doing it actually wasn¡¯t all that unusual.


    Michelle¡¯s motorcycle allowed for rapid transport to their destinations, especially since she could drive it in the sky now, and with Roumazi acting as the group¡¯s healer, they didn¡¯t have to worry about injuries quite as much.


    Roumazi made sure to limit herself to mortal capabilities most of the time, however. Everyone would improve more if she wasn¡¯t doing every single thing for them and didn¡¯t heal every minor injury someone received. Still, her magic and spearmanship were both excellent, and her role as healer gave them more peace of mind than having to rely solely on potions did.


    Amber and Sarah¡¯s Gifts had both proven invaluable in the crafting process. Amber was able to make minute adjustments where needed, and Sarah was able to powderize materials finely and rapidly. For some potions and enchantments, precise measurements and intricately-laid enchantment patterns greatly benefited from having such finely-ground material to work with.

 28 — Names — Advertising

    Roumazi


    The arena hosting the tournament held regular events throughout the year, but the massive tournament of skilled fighters from several countries only occurred once every five years. It was an event that drew in large swaths of people, and businesses across the city prepared for the influx of customers.


    The tournament would begin soon, and that meant having to take care of the preliminary rounds first. The singles tournament would be held before the teams one, and Michelle had been nominated by the family to participate.


    Besides having the flashiest weapon of all of them, her face also stood out the most, though only when she didn¡¯t have her helmet on, of course. Michelle didn''t mind, and was eager to show off her awesome whip sword as well, so it worked out.


    Not many spectators came for the preliminaries, as the real show would come later. It was mostly family and friends of the participants in the stands. That was true for Michelle as well, with the rest of the Woods family, and Senava, watching. Nipha was currently sick with something, so she wasn¡¯t here with her mom, much to Luna¡¯s disappointment.


    Those two really did become best friends, didn¡¯t they? It¡¯s a shame Izara was busy, too.


    Though the tournament did have protections in place to ensure no serious or even fatal injuries occurred, the arena would still get heavily damaged and dirtied after every fight. The protections weren¡¯t something a person could just carry around wherever they wanted, though. They were powered by a massive device underground.


    The group had already sat through the first three rounds of the preliminaries, which did not have Michelle in them, and were now waiting for the cleanup to be completed before round four could begin.


    Senava asked the others, ¡°So you really don¡¯t want to give me any hints about what Michelle¡¯s going to show off during the tournament?¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± Amber replied. ¡°And she¡¯s going to keep it hidden until the very end if she can help it.¡±


    ¡°I remember you talking about a whip sword thing some time ago, but that¡¯s not the surprise?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Well, okay, her weapon is a surprise, but it¡¯s not the surprise. You already know about her weapon and armor.¡±


    Their fairy friend pouted, ¡°Fine. I guess I¡¯ll just wait like everyone else. Well, I¡¯ve got a surprise for you, then. I heard a rumor that the Goddess of Water is married now.¡±


    Oh?


    Amber coughed, Sarah jerkily turned her head, and the girls were too distracted to have heard the comment.


    Senava grinned. ¡°It¡¯s true, apparently. Some priests at a temple a few countries away were there when she appeared to discuss mana fluctuations and monster migration patterns. They were supposedly too distracted by the pendant around her neck to even answer her at first.¡±


    Roumazi chuckled. They certainly were.


    ¡°That''s¡­ certainly something,¡± Amber managed to get out.


    Senava looked quite satisfied at having thrown them off. ¡°It is! You hear about that kind of thing in stories, but someone actually got together with a goddess! I wonder what kind of person they are?¡±


    I¡¯m sitting right next to her. I truly am invisible without my aura.


    ¡°Probably someone very loving, for even a goddess to take notice,¡± Roumazi supplied, enjoying her wives¡¯ reactions out of the corner of her eye.


    ¡°I bet. Oh! Fourth round¡¯s about to start, and¡­ Yep! Michelle¡¯s in this one. She really stands out, doesn¡¯t she?¡±


    The preliminary rounds worked by putting a group of fifty people in the arena at a time, and based on the total number of participants this time, they would select two winners from every group, resulting in 20 people in total.


    Then the main tournament would have an additional four people who didn¡¯t have to go through the preliminary rounds, and everyone would then fight one-on-one battles with each other. And finally, a scoring system was in place to give the fighters specific rankings in the final results.


    Among the crowd of people in the arena, of various species and sexes, Michelle¡¯s deep blue armor was unique. They chose the blue color to match her ice theme, but she didn¡¯t want it to be white or pale blue like her natural coloring, so they went with the idea of black ice.


    It had a dress shape to it, but as utility came first, it didn¡¯t flow like a dress would, nor did it have the same kind of length. There were subtle patterns made with rivets and lines along the entire set.


    The overall effect wasn¡¯t extreme or costume-like, but it still stood out enough compared to everyone else that they likely thought she was a rich moron just playing around.


    ¡°A lot of people are looking at her,¡± Sarah commented.


    ¡°She looks like an easy target,¡± Senava supplied.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°She does?¡± Diamond asked, now paying attention.


    ¡°It¡¯s because armor with aesthetic designs on it is typically seen as something only for show. They don¡¯t know her, but her armor makes them think she¡¯s an idiot.¡±


    ¡°But she¡¯s not!¡± Luna yelled.


    Senava smiled. ¡°I know she¡¯s not, but they don¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    The fifty fighters were made to spread to the edges of the arena in even spacing. The entire thing was shaped like a circle, so there were no corners to hide in. It was also entirely flat, so there were no terrain advantages, either.


    An orb of light floating above the fighting area flashed blue three times, then red, signaling the beginning of the fight.


    The people near Michelle went for her first, only to be surprised by how easily she deflected their attacks with magic and sliced and stabbed them with her sword. The enchantments on the arena prevented them from causing any life-threatening injuries, but they were out of the fight, left with cuts and bruises. Having taken fatal damage, a paralyzation tool then took effect on them, and a red haze surrounded them indicating they had lost.


    Michelle had trained quite a bit with her weapon and magic, and definitely had more power and skill than the average person. The same was true for the others.


    Most of them, she doesn¡¯t have to take seriously. They¡¯re taken out in an instant. She¡¯s still being careful, though, which is good.


    Half of all the fighters were already incapacitated, and Michelle hadn¡¯t even used the whip function of her sword. By now, those remaining had recognized her as a threat and had begun taking her seriously.


    As the numbers dwindled, Michelle began having to put in much more effort to take out her competitors. It then turned into a long, drawn-out battle between the remaining five, her included.


    She¡¯s even deliberately taking a few hits to show that her armor is the real deal. Impressive.


    Strikes from weapons came at each other as they all bounced around opponents, and magic of various elements and effects flew threw the air.


    The numbers went from five, to four, to three, and then finally, to two. Michelle was one of them, and the match was called.


    Her helmet retracted into a flat, hood-like form, revealing her sweaty face and her hair in a single braid, and she was also panting.


    Amber audibly gasped, causing the others to laugh.


    I certainly agree, though.


    Michelle and her remaining competitor shook hands and chatted briefly. She then waved to her family and went to an area for washing up.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m excited for the team battles if you¡¯re all as good as her,¡± Senava commented.


    ¡°We do train together frequently,¡± Roumazi said. She wouldn¡¯t be going all out in the tournament, however.


    Partway through the fifth round, Michelle came back, looking refreshed. She didn¡¯t have anywhere to store her armor, so she had put it back on, and was using her magic to keep herself cool. She didn¡¯t need the cooling enchantments that many other armors had, so that meant she could put a different one in instead.


    She gave quick kisses to Amber and Roumazi, and hugs to Sarah, Diamond, and Luna.


    ¡°What, nothing for me?¡± Senava pouted.


    Michelle gave the fairy woman a patronizing pat on the head.


    ¡°Rude. You didn¡¯t even take off your gauntlet.¡±


    ¡°Go get pampered by your wives, not me.¡±


    She groaned, ¡°Ugh, I want to, Michelle, but they¡¯re both busy today! I¡¯m in a pamper drought!¡±


    I believe the others would use the word ¡°thirsty¡± here.


    ¡°¡­My condolences.¡±


    ¡°Well, I should probably head home anyway. Now I can show Nipha how it went.¡±


    ¡°You recorded it?¡± Sarah asked.


    She nodded, ¡°I did. She wanted to see it.¡±


    Senava had recorded Michelle¡¯s fight onto a crystal that could play it back by projecting the image and sound, something which Amber had done as well.


    ¡°Will Nipha be okay tomorrow?¡± Luna asked hopefully.


    Senava shrugged. ¡°She was already recovering, but we¡¯ll see.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The following day, the real tournament began. All the matches would be spread across three days. And then would repeat again for the teams tournament, which they would be participating in together.


    They had watched several matches already, with a few of them being quite impressive before Michelle¡¯s finally came up.


    Unlike the preliminaries, these matches actually had a commentator, and a large display floating above the arena projected an up-close image of the fight.


    ¡°Up next is Goreth Mirbam, representing Trenor Tamer¡¯s Best! Everything a monster tamer needs, and affordable for even beginner tamers!¡±


    Goreth stepped out of a doorway. He was a large man wearing durable leather armor, more so than even many metals, and was dual-wielding swords. The crowd cheered as the man nodded sternly. Regardless of whether or not he was actually a monster tamer like the business he was representing, monsters weren¡¯t allowed in the tournament; a fact that had been debated for many years.


    ¡°Facing off against him is Michelle Woods! She is representing Dialu Ammirosa! Armor and weapons created with both practicality and aesthetics in mind!¡±


    Michelle stepped out of the opposite doorway. She did a small bow and activated the logo enchantment, causing a holographic water lily to briefly bloom in the family colors.


    Her expression looks more fierce than usual. She¡¯s probably really nervous about the crowd.


    The stands were indeed quite full today. As her wife strode forward, some in the audience laughed, some were confused, and a much smaller amount of people cheered for her than for any of the previous contestants.


    Both of them walked to the indicated starting locations. The commentator remained silent for a minute so people could place their bets. Very few were being put on Michelle.


    Lots of people are going to lose money today.


    While they waited, Goreth smiled and waved, while Michelle just stood there looking angry.


    ¡°Fighters! Get ready!¡±


    Goreth and Michelle both had helmets that rested flatly on their backs when not in use, and they both activated the enchantments within to put them back on and readied their weapons.


    The light overhead flashed blue three times, now with a bell sound, then it flashed red, and a loud drumbeat rang out.


    They both charged forward. Goreth created a cloud of darkness¡ªwhich the arena¡¯s enchantments could see through, so the fight was still visible on the screen¡ªand Michelle dodged a swing from him.


    She¡¯s skilled enough to sense movements within magic of only that caliber.


    The commentator stated similar findings for all to hear.


    She deflected a swing from Goreth¡¯s other sword and spun viciously, her blade cutting through his tough armor and into his skin.


    It wasn¡¯t enough to put him out of the fight, however, and Michelle then created spikes of ice from both behind and in front of him.


    He rapidly swung his blades through many of them, and only noticed at the last second the large chunk of ice that had formed overhead. He desperately leaped forward, and right into Michelle¡¯s blade.


    What would otherwise have been a fatal stab wound to the heart instead became nothing more than a cut and a nasty bruise thanks to the local enchantments. He fell to the ground, magically paralyzed. His injuries would be taken care of by a healer soon.


    And just like that, Michelle¡¯s first match was over. She received no injuries and left a lot of people with lighter wallets.

 29 — Names — Grace

    Michelle


    Her first match had gone well, all things considered. People were upset about losing money, but she would prove that she was worth betting on in the coming matches.


    Today would be her only match, but if she made it through all the way to the end, she would have two matches both tomorrow and the day after.


    Those who were participating in the tournament weren¡¯t allowed to watch from the stands. That was just fine with Michelle, however, as her armor and face stood out in a crowd.


    It¡¯s a shame our equipment can only be repaired after all the matches are done for the day. Otherwise, I could have my wives with me between matches tomorrow.


    That rule also meant that if someone¡¯s armor or weapon was destroyed in their next match tomorrow, then they would just have to fight like that in the following one. The same was true for the final day as well.


    The other fighters in the waiting area were now giving her more appraising looks rather than the ridiculing ones from before, though many were still skeptical.


    They just have to see me fight for real. I hardly used any of my tricks against Goreth. A better opponent for me will also showcase that this armor can take a beating.


    After half the matches were done, there was an intermission with live music and dancers, then the remaining matches were held.


    Having seen all the matches and some of what her competition was capable of, Michelle met up with her family.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The second day went similarly to the first when Michelle stepped out for her first match. She was also embarrassed again by acting as a walking advertisement. She reminded herself that the others would also experience the same thing when they fought as a team.


    Her opponent this time was an angel woman using fire magic. Armor for wings was nearly impossible to produce, so winged people usually compensated with barrier-producing enchantments.


    She has [Fire] and the [State] modifier¡­ That modifier is going to be troublesome. The red and purple combination makes her feathers look gorgeous, though.


    Having that modifier meant the angel would be able to heal and buff herself, and apply debuffs to Michelle whenever the fire contacted her. The size of her mana pool would allow her to naturally resist them to an extent, but not entirely.


    My armor should take the brunt of it. But this''ll be hard. And I don¡¯t have as much experience with aerial combat as I would like.


    There were no rules stating that people couldn¡¯t use their wings in a fight. Plenty of monsters were capable of flight, so tournaments didn¡¯t prevent anyone from doing that in a match.


    There are plenty of ways to bring down a flying enemy, though.


    Michelle¡¯s smirk was hidden by her helmet. Those who were capable enough with their magic didn¡¯t need wings to fly.


    The signal light flashed. Blue. Blue. Blue. Red.


    The angel woman, Nomi, took flight immediately and shot lances of flame around Michelle to limit her movement.


    ¡°Nomi¡¯s flames are surrounding Michelle from all sides! Where will the elf run?!¡± the commentator¡¯s voice rang out.


    Michelle ran forward and upward, creating a foothold of ice beneath each step, and using more ice around her body to further lift and stabilize herself.


    ¡°Michelle is running on ice midair! Nomi¡¯s wings aren¡¯t the advantage she was expecting!¡±


    Undeterred, Nomi continued blasting flames at Michelle, with all the missed shots hitting the barrier that protected the spectators.


    Michelle fired back in turn with her ice and it became a battle of shooting each other¡¯s attacks down as they drew closer.


    Nomi was wielding a lance, and despite its cumbersome size, her speed wasn¡¯t hindered at all. The angel repeatedly attempted to pierce Michelle, and she in turn used her sword to deflect those attacks and try to reach her.


    Enough of Nomi¡¯s flames were hitting Michelle that she was growing weaker from the debuffs, so she decided to gamble. During an attack from the lance that was swinging into her sideways rather than trying to pierce her, Michelle intentionally let it hit her.


    ¡°Oh, and Michelle takes a hit! She''s falling! Is this the end for her?¡±


    Oof, that hit much harder than I thought it would.


    Undeterred, Michelle changed her sword into its whip form and cracked it forward, wrapping it around Nomi¡¯s leg. Using ice to reorient herself midair, Michelle went into a large spinning motion that slammed the surprised angel into the ground while also shredding her greave.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°And Michelle used an unusual weapon to turn the situation around! Nomi went crashing down instead! What an upset!¡±


    The angel wasn¡¯t out yet, however, so Michelle threw more ice spikes at her, and that finally caused enough damage to end the fight.


    Michelle landed and retracted her weapon into its sword form and resheathed it.


    ¡°Michelle wins! It looks like Dialu Ammirosa¡¯s work isn¡¯t just boastful bragging, after all!¡±


    Oh shit! Thanks for the extra boost, commentator guy!


    During the fight, her armor had been scorched, stabbed repeatedly when Michelle wasn¡¯t able to deflect an attack in time, and received that heavy impact at the end.


    Unlike her previous match, the crowd went wild this time. Michelle retracted her helmet and bowed again, unable to stop herself from smiling a little.


    Since they were currently in the second round of matches, the commentator now interviewed the losers of every match.


    ¡°Nomi, what did you think of your match with Michelle?¡±


    Panting, she replied, ¡°She¡¯s tougher than I expected. Even had I known what to expect beforehand, I¡¯m not sure I could¡¯ve won.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not mad about her weapon¡¯s sudden change?¡± he asked, fishing for drama.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s normal to keep things hidden in a fight. I¡¯d appreciate it if she stopped glaring at me, though.¡±


    The commentator stepped over to Michelle, who had been walking back to the waiting area. ¡°Did Nomi do something to offend you, Michelle?¡±


    ¡°No, this is just my neutral expression. This,¡± she made herself look actually angry, ¡°is what my glare looks like.¡±


    The commentator flinched and yelped, just as Jereth had. ¡°I-I see.¡±


    The audience laughed at the commentator while Michelle walked away. The angel¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°I stand corrected. Sorry, Michelle.¡±


    Michelle smiled and gave her a thumbs up before vanishing through the doorway.


    I just know Amber¡¯s going to watch the recording of that moment just now over and over again.


    Back in the waiting room, Michelle sat down, now aware of the beating she took in the fight. She had bruises everywhere, and that last impact, in particular, had really gotten her. A healer walked over and took care of it.


    A woman slid onto the seat next to her. ¡°So that¡¯s why you suddenly took up the whip a couple years ago. What an interesting weapon.¡±


    ¡°Oh hey, Worra.¡± She was a lamia friend they often saw at the Guild. ¡°Yeah, it took a lot of effort to not only make the thing, but to also be able to wield it.¡±


    She hissed amusedly, ¡°I¡¯ll bet. Can I see it?¡±


    ¡°In the arena, sure.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Fair. Let¡¯s hope I get to fight you.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Amber


    ¡°Ahh, that was incredible!¡± Amber exclaimed.


    ¡°The match or the glare?¡± Sarah asked flatly.


    ¡°The glare, obviously! The match, too, of course. Ahh¡­¡± she drifted off, replaying the moment in her head.


    ¡°Down, girl. Save it for at home.¡±


    Amber pouted, then laughed. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m really looking forward to the team battles now. It looks so fun to be down there.¡±


    Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m saying that. I never got into fights as a kid. Not frequently, anyway.


    They waited through several more matches, this time with Malorei and Nipha, although Senava was gone now. The matches were providing good research material and Amber was getting a lot of ideas as a result.


    I¡¯m so glad I brought a sketchbook with me. I wonder what ideas Michelle is getting from fighting them directly?


    When it was finally their wife¡¯s second match of the day, Amber put her book away. She wasn¡¯t going to miss even a second of it.


    The commentator¡¯s voice reverberated throughout the arena. Michelle was introduced first this time, and her opponent was a kobold named Onne, a diminutive, furry lizard person.


    Sarah commented, ¡°A small opponent like that is going to be interesting.¡±


    Malorei added, ¡°Michelle is probably going to get a lot of use out of her sword whip¡¯s second form this time.¡±


    ¡°Especially with him being a wind mage. A small and fast target like that, I wouldn¡¯t want to fight him solo.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s lucky he isn¡¯t an Awakened opponent. An intelligent person with such a different body shape than hers would likely be outside of her experience.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve trained with some Awakened before, but you¡¯re right. That would be more difficult.¡±


    Michelle has a minor advantage against this guy, though. Her character in the game used the same [Wind] magic and [Cutting] modifier, so she has an idea about how he¡¯ll fight. Magic is different between the game and reality, but the basics should still be there.


    The light flashed red, and Onne shot upward. Like Michelle, he was not limited to just two dimensions.


    The kobold and the elf began bouncing around each other midair like pinballs. Onne¡¯s weapons were only his claws, but he was highly skilled with them, and got in some nasty gouges in Michelle¡¯s armor.


    Unlike Onne¡¯s bouncing around, Michelle was moving dextrously and acrobatically through the air, which she had to do to compensate for his speed. The use of Gifts in the tournament was not forbidden, but her motorcycle was not suited for such rapid and precise movement.


    ¡°Mom Michelle is dancing!¡± Diamond commented.


    Amber had to agree. Her movements were fluid and graceful, and her whip cracks reminded Amber of ribbons she had seen people dancing with on Earth, although much faster, deadlier, and shinier, because it was made of metal.


    Amber was once again reminded of just how much the existence of mana could increase a person¡¯s physical capabilities, even their reaction time.


    Michelle was fighting much more defensively this time, and was creating spiked barriers around herself that would get destroyed by sharp blades of wind. She would then use those moments to try to slice him, and occasionally used a wide swing of her whip. Like Michelle, Onne was also getting several cuts and gouges in his armor.


    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s leading him,¡± Roumazi said.


    ¡°How so?¡± Malorei asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s deliberately structuring her barriers so that he attacks in specific ways. Onne knows that, but he needs to end this battle fast before he runs out of stamina, so he has no choice but to go along with it.¡±


    Michelle then suddenly made all her shields vanish. She wanted to end it with a direct attack rather than by tiring him out. Doing it that way would¡¯ve been fine, but part of participating in a tournament was providing a show.


    And it serves as a better advertisement for us, too!


    Onne didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and threw wind blades forward while also slicing with his claws. Michelle aimed her sword and several ice spikes at him.


    She had predicted an attack aimed at her neck, so she blocked it with her free arm and a small ice barrier, which proved to be the correct move. Her arm took the wind blade and Onne¡¯s claws pierced through her breastplate, but had been knocked off-target enough to not count as a fatal wound.


    Onne¡¯s stomach took Michelle¡¯s sword slash, and the damage was enough that he lost. He fell to the ground, and Michelle created a pile of snow beneath him just before he landed. She then elegantly slid down a ramp of ice she made, finally returning to the ground.


    The crowd roared. Her fight had been an incredible demonstration of skill, and her acrobatics throughout were smooth.


    She had, in just a few matches, changed people¡¯s opinion of her from doubt to awe.


    That¡¯s right! Everyone should be in awe of how amazing my wife is!


    ¡°That was certainly impressive,¡± Malorei said. ¡°Were her skills the surprise you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°Oh, just you wait,¡± Amber teased.

 30 — Names — Citywide Seduction

    <div>


    Roumazi


    Upon reuniting at the end of the second day, everyone congratulated Michelle on her victories. Amber and Michelle then worked on repairing all the damage to the armor and sword, with as much help as the rest of the family could provide.


    When they were done, Michelle fell asleep almost instantly. Though her wounds had been entirely healed, she was still fatigued. Not even stamina potions or Roumazi¡¯s magic could fix that. She still had plenty of time to sleep, however.


    If we have to do repairs like this on all our equipment during the teams tournament, time might get a bit tight¡­


    And on the third day, the rest of the family was once again in the stands while Michelle was in the waiting area. Nipha was here as well, with her mother Rayna, who was making a rare appearance by herself.


    Izara also finally got to show up, having had to meet other family members during the past several days. The other girls were excitedly recounting to her everything that had happened so far. Official recordings would be made available later by the tournament staff, and the dragon girl would be able to watch it all then.


    Poor girl. At least she got to see the last day. She¡¯ll be here for the team matches, too.


    They only had to watch one other match before Michelle¡¯s came up.


    ¡°For this match, we have The Shredding Sickle, Worra Vrouhlint, representing Erskrix & Goest! Quality enchanted armors you can trust! In business for over three centuries!¡±


    It¡¯ll be interesting to see how Worra fights when she¡¯s serious. She even has a title.


    ¡°Next is Michelle Woods, representing Dialu Ammirosa! Armor and weapons created with both practicality and aesthetics in mind!¡±


    ¡°Moms, it¡¯s Worra!¡± Luna said.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Erskrix & Goest where Mom Michelle apprenticed?¡± Diamond asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Roumazi confirmed. ¡°Though Worra is not a blacksmith. She was paid to represent them.¡±


    ¡°Is it strange for a blacksmith to enter a tournament like this?¡± Izara questioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s not unusual,¡± Rayna said. ¡°Though most participants are slayers as their profession. Of the twenty-four entrants, three or four of them are craftspeople of some kind, I believe.¡±


    The betting window closed, and the commentator spoke, ¡°Fighters! Get ready!¡±


    I see that Michelle¡¯s odds of winning are much higher compared to the first time. Good.


    The light flashed red, and Michelle immediately dodged sideways as Worra fired a blast of earthen shrapnel at her. Michelle also created a shield to block the rest. The projectiles were fast and durable enough that they could cause a lot of damage quickly.


    Worra had [Earth] magic with the [Pulverization] modifier. Essentially, she could make grenades that only exploded in the direction she wanted them to. Her colors were brown with gray accents.


    Michelle cracked her whip forward, but Worra was ready for it, and blocked the strike with her buckler. She wielded a chain sickle in her other hand.


    ¡°Their weapons could easily get tangled up in each other, and they both know it,¡± Sarah said.


    Yes, they¡¯re both being quite careful with their strikes, mostly relying on magic.


    The fight then once again took to the air. Just as Michelle was creating footholds of ice to run on, Worra was generating earth to slither on.


    The stalemate lasted for several minutes as neither of them could gain a good advantage over the other. Michelle was good at dodging and blocking the shrapnel coming her way, and the same was true for Worra with Michelle¡¯s ice spikes.


    Michelle abruptly swung her whip sideways, and a trail of molten blue flew out, causing Worra to scramble out of the way. The whip sword was now glowing in the same color.


    The crowd¡¯s enthusiasm picked back up because of something different happening.


    The commentator yelled out, ¡°What is this!? Michelle is a water mage, but that¡¯s clearly not water!? That can only mean¡­ Everyone, we are witnessing fusion magic!¡±


    Michelle cracked her whip forward several times, attempting to drive the lamia into a contained location, but despite Worra¡¯s size, she was quite agile.


    The ice-lava fusion flowed mostly like water, but Michelle couldn¡¯t maneuver it quickly enough to hit her opponent.


    Michelle was struck by shrapnel repeatedly as she desperately tried to deal serious damage to Worra. The lamia¡¯s relentless attacks had left Michelle¡¯s armor pockmarked everywhere.


    But Worra was beginning to feel her injuries just as Michelle was, as she simultaneously received burning and freezing damage from the fusion magic, and cuts and gouges from the whip sword.


    Worra slithered around as Michelle danced around her, being careful to not be struck by the woman¡¯s tail. One of her first lessons in real combat had been to not disregard the tail.


    Michelle¡¯s smooth movements resulted in her getting a nice cut in with her whip, but then much of the shrapnel from Worra¡¯s previous attacks all lifted off the ground to pelt her from every direction, a move the lamia had never shown before.


    With her options being to either cocoon herself in ice or make a last desperate attack, Michelle chose the latter. She concentrated everything she had on making the biggest blast of lava ice she could.


    Worra screamed furiously as her armor was melted and shattered by the magic, and her flesh beneath hardly fared any better. The damage Michelle had taken proved to be too much for her to handle, however, and she fell to the ground, magically paralyzed.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Worra wins! What an incredible display of power and skill from both of them!¡±


    The crowd roared its loudest yet.


    Michelle is certainly skilled, but her experience in real combat was lacking in comparison to Worra, and that was the main reason for her loss.


    The paralyzation debuff on Michelle vanished, and a healer ran into the arena to take care of her wounds.


    As she staggered to her feet, the commentator questioned, ¡°Michelle, that was fusion magic! What kind was it?¡±


    ¡°Ice and lava,¡± the weary elf replied. The retracting function of her helmet had been damaged and was no longer working properly, so she moved it back manually.


    ¡°Astounding. Now, your beautiful armor, unique weapon, scary good looks, elegant maneuvering, and even fusion magic have garnered you many fans, am I right?¡± he asked that last part to the audience, who cheered in response.


    Michelle could actually hear some people shouting things like ¡°I love you!¡± and ¡°Michelle, please marry me!¡±.


    That blush she has right now isn¡¯t from all the exertion.


    From beside Roumazi, Amber said, ¡°What is she doing? She¡¯s seducing the whole city!¡±


    Continuing, the commentator asked, ¡°So I¡¯m sure your many fans are dying to know, are you single?¡±


    Her smirk was visible on the large projection. ¡°I¡¯m married.¡±


    Many groans of disappointment were heard, causing Michelle to chuckle, despite her embarrassment from her sudden popularity.


    ¡°Ah, but perhaps they can hold out hope for you to take a second spouse?¡±


    This guy is rude.


    Michelle smirked again, even wider this time. With her looks, the expression was downright malicious, but from the noise the audience was making, many people were definitely into it. ¡°I am not interested in taking a fourth spouse, no.¡±


    ¡°Then perhaps you have a sister?¡± he asked jokingly.


    Michelle was clearly getting annoyed with the guy by this point. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Well, there you have it, everyone! Lady Iceflame Heartbreaker has no room in her heart for you, nor is there anyone else like her! But you can see more of her in the teams tournament, as she and her teammates have just been seeded!¡±


    Michelle¡¯s head jerkily turned in the direction of the commentator, who had already escaped. The crowd chanted her new title as she walked away, defeated both physically and emotionally.


    The adults of the Woods family were laughing at the unfortunate nickname their wife had just been given, Amber especially. They knew Michelle could take the inevitable teasing, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have found it so funny.


    I think that guy was getting revenge on her for startling him in front of everyone yesterday. What a jerk. She¡¯s not the only one with a title at least.


    Rayna had been laughing, too, but eventually commented, ¡°Fusion magic, huh? I have to admit, my expectations for the surprise were absolutely surpassed.¡±


    ¡°Our Lady knows how to impress,¡± Amber joked.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Amber had picked up recordings of Michelle¡¯s matches after the tournament was done, which had been difficult, as hers specifically were in high demand. Her final ranking came out to seventh place.


    There was a break day between the singles tournament and the teams one, and they intended to just spend it resting, mostly for Michelle¡¯s sake.


    Roumazi had been rearranging things in the store for a bit with the anticipation of new customers after the tournament was over, when she noticed someone pacing outside.


    She locked eyes with him and he knocked on the door.


    Roumazi sighed and walked up to it but didn¡¯t open it. ¡°We¡¯re closed. Please come back after the tournament is over.¡±


    ¡°Ah, yeah, I know that, but I was wondering if you know someone named Sarah? My name is Victor. I was friends with her years ago.¡±


    ¡°If I run into someone with that name, I¡¯ll let you know.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thank you. I¡¯m staying at the Lion Eyes Inn, if you meet her.¡±


    Let¡¯s see what this is about, then.


    Roumazi went back to the house to find her wife, and found her giving Michelle a massage in the conversation pit.


    ¡°Sarah, do you know someone named Victor?¡±


    She blinked. ¡°Uh, I was friends with a guy with that name some years ago, why?¡±


    ¡°An orc man named Victor just came to the store looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?!¡± she jumped up. ¡°Where is he? Is he still here?¡±


    ¡°He said he¡¯s at the Lion Eyes Inn. Should we go?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Would it be alright if I just rested here?¡± Michelle asked.


    Roumazi knelt beside her and gave her a kiss. ¡°Of course, love. Where¡¯s Amber?¡±


    ¡°At her desk, drawing up new ideas.¡±


    Roumazi went to find her remaining wife. ¡°Amber, a friend of Sarah¡¯s showed up just a bit ago and is going back to his inn now. An orc man named Victor.¡±


    ¡°Victor¡­?¡± she wondered. ¡°Oh! I remember that guy now. Hardly spoke to him before he disappeared into the world. Are we going to meet him?¡±


    ¡°Sarah wants to. Michelle is staying here.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll go with.¡±


    The three women left for the Lion Eyes Inn, and found Victor sitting at a table with four other men. Victor and Sarah¡¯s eyes met, and given that Roumazi and Amber were there, too, the four of them then sat at a table that was miraculously unoccupied despite how much traffic the city was currently experiencing.


    ¡°Heya, Vic,¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°Hi, Sarah,¡± he returned. ¡°I need to apologize before anything else. I was basically running away from the fact that we ended up in this world, and ended up leaving you behind. It was really awful of me to do that, and I am so sorry I did that.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, Victor. It hurt. But I can also understand making stupid decisions given the situation we were in, so I¡¯m not too upset about it now.¡±


    He sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°What have you been up to since leaving the base?¡±


    He shrugged, ¡°Pretty much just constant traveling? It¡¯s a lot of fun for the most part. How about you? I thought you were aroace?¡± he pointed at her marriage pendant.


    She nodded. ¡°I am. It¡¯s basically¡­ they¡¯re so important to me that I decided to marry them, even if it isn¡¯t in the same way most people do it. How¡¯d you find me by the way?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nice. I¡¯m happy you found people like that. I came to enter the teams tournament and caught yesterday¡¯s matches. I recognized Michelle and her new last name. Is she coming, too?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s resting right now.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. What she did out there was wild. Oh, sorry. I was caught up in the reunion and didn¡¯t greet either of you,¡± he said, looking at Roumazi and Amber. ¡°I¡¯m Victor, as I already told you,¡± he gestured to Roumazi. ¡°Sarah and I frequently played the game together.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Roumazi,¡± the foxkin greeted.


    ¡°I¡¯m Amber. We actually met back at the research base. It¡¯s nice to see you again, though we didn¡¯t really get to talk much before,¡± Amber said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he nodded, now remembering his scant conversations with her in the past. ¡°Hey, how about I use something from your store in the tournament? Believe me, I am immensely frustrated by how bland everyone¡¯s gear looks no matter where I go. I intend to pay for it, of course.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Sarah smiled. ¡°Buy my books, too. Maybe you can convince someone to read them.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, I remember reading your stuff online. It really wouldn¡¯t fit in here. I¡¯ll do that, too.¡±


    The four of them returned to the store, and Victor chose a pair of bracers to replace his beat up ones. He also picked up a copy of both of Sarah¡¯s books, which had still never been sold until now.


    Given that he was a friend, they decided to go to the house for a while. Victor was a bit surprised by their second daughter, who was a wolf, but just decided not to question it. He was also surprised to hear that Michelle is genderfluid, and was glad things had worked out for her.


    He also gave them the news that the Praexoent Empire had finally fallen recently, which they were all relieved about, as they had been victims of its government¡¯s experiments. They hoped the ordinary people who lived there would be okay, though. From what they knew, it was mainly just the government that was bad.


    Victor eventually had to return to his teammates to discuss strategies, so he got up to leave.


    ¡°Next time we see each other might be in the arena,¡± he said.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°We won¡¯t hold back.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d be mad if you did.¡±


    ¡°Feel free to stop by whenever you¡¯re in Efrinteu, alright?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s nice to know I have a friend out there I can visit whenever I¡¯m in the area.¡±


    They said their goodbyes just as Senava came up to the door, though without Nipha today.


    She received a summary of who that was, but she also left soon after. She just wanted to check in with them, but would otherwise let them rest and prepare without her being there to cause a distraction.


    I¡¯m glad Sarah and Victor met again. She seems quite happy knowing he¡¯s alive and well.


    Roumazi gave her favorite tigerkin a tight hug, who reciprocated.

 31 — Names — A Meeting of Aristocrats

    Luna


    Her moms had unexpectedly been given a second free day as a result of being seeded, meaning they didn¡¯t have to go through the preliminary round. Though the later matches of the singles tournament had had better fighters, Mom Michelle¡¯s final fight had by far been the flashiest.


    Her fusion magic, acrobatic ability, combat prowess, and unique weapon had all been on full display against Worra, and she had worn her beautiful armor while doing it. Mom Amber told Luna that a lot of people were just as interested in Mom Michelle outside of combat, but she didn¡¯t really get it.


    I hope I get a cool name like Lady Iceflame Heartbreaker one day!


    Mom Michelle found it embarrassing for some reason, but she ended up leaning into it when they went out as a family yesterday. She signed autographs, and some people had even run off to buy photo crystals to take pictures with her.


    Luna was once again sitting in the stands, with her Sister, Diamond; her best friend, Nipha; and Diamond¡¯s best friend, Izara. Nipha¡¯s moms, Senava and Malorei, with both there as well.


    They had already watched several matches, and they were all impressive, but Luna just wanted to see her parents.


    ¡°Why are my moms last? Shouldn¡¯t they be first?¡± Luna complained.


    Malorei explained, ¡°Michelle is the person the audience wants to see the most, so the tournament specifically arranged things so people have to wait, and to build anticipation for when they do show up.¡±


    Senava added, ¡°And to let the other competitors shine, as well. The audience might lose interest in the other teams if the one they want to see comes out right away.¡±


    She groaned, ¡°That¡¯s annoying. I just want to see them already!¡±


    Diamond asked, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the teams have the same number of people?¡±


    Malorei once again explained things, ¡°Not everyone works in the same size groups. The tournament does have a minimum of three and a maximum of five, however.


    ¡°That can still make things uneven, but it can also be easier for a team to coordinate with fewer people. It all comes down to how skilled they are in the end. Larger groups generally win, but that is not always the case.¡±


    Finally, it was the end of the first round. The commentator announced, ¡°For the last match of the day, we have the team Red Blades, representing Harkath¡¯s Eatery! Eat, eat, EAT to your heart¡¯s content!¡±


    Several people laughed at the goofy slogan, but had done its job of getting their attention.


    ¡°Facing against them, we have team Dialu Ammirosa, representing their store of the same name! Armor and weapons created with both practicality and aesthetics in mind!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s about time!¡± Luna yelled as Diamond¡¯s tail wagged.


    The crowd roared as the four women stepped out. Mom Michelle smiled slightly and gave a single, calm wave, which the audience ate right up. Mom Amber and Mom Sarah both looked stiff, while Mom Roumazi looked entirely calm.


    Amber¡¯s armor was a deep red, similar to Michelle¡¯s deep blue. Sarah¡¯s was brown, but wasn¡¯t plain, as it had been stylized, and Roumazi¡¯s was a faded purple color, and its design was simple, yet sleek, and it greatly suited her calm demeanor.


    Mom Roumazi had told her daughters that she would limit her capabilities to the same level as the others, so she wasn¡¯t going to overpower all the opponents by herself.


    The fight began, and the team of four moms handily defeated the other team of five. The audience was disappointed that it was over so quickly, but that was good for sales, as it meant more people would come back tomorrow for the more intense battles.


    It also proved to everyone that Mom Michelle wasn¡¯t alone in having designed armor and being good at combat. Victor had shown off his armbands during his match as well, just as he had promised to do. He couldn¡¯t activate the logo, though, or else he might lose his team¡¯s sponsorship.


    The moms¡¯ second and third matches were much more difficult for them, and they really displayed what the other team members were capable of.


    Mom Amber¡¯s arrows contained fusion magic, and she also had additional arrows made of her own earth magic, allowing her to recall them and even slightly alter their trajectory mid-flight, though her aim was already excellent. She couldn''t control the fusion arrows the same way because they had to be made of special materials so they could be enchanted with the magic in the first place.


    Mom Roumazi¡¯s decision-making of who to give buffs and debuffs to, and what effects she should give and when, was perfect. Her water attacks and skill with her spear were also great.


    Mom Sarah¡¯s hammer strikes hit hard, and her wind-enhanced speed made her a nasty opponent to deal with. Her Gift also made each blow even worse for everyone who was struck.


    They actually did end up facing Victor and his team, which had been their second match. They put up a good fight, and Victor¡¯s Gift of physical illusions had been troublesome to deal with.


    In the end, they were defeated at the same point in the tournament that Mom Michelle had been in the singles one. Their final ranking was sixth, though, one place higher, due to the overall scoring being different.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The audience liked the whole team, though much of the focus was still on Michelle. After she confirmed that they were, in fact, the three spouses she had mentioned, the audience liked them more.


    ¡°I wonder if I can be like them, too,¡± Luna said. She was sitting next to Nipha in the conversation pit watching the recordings, while Diamond and Izara were in their shared bedroom. Luna¡¯s and Nipha¡¯s moms, all seven of them together, were in the large bath that their new home had.


    ¡°Do you want to be a slayer when you grow up?¡±


    ¡°Maybe? I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m really into crafting things like my moms are.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I want to do either.¡±


    ¡°What is it your moms do again?¡±


    ¡°Government stuff,¡± Nipha evaded.


    ¡°Right,¡± Luna said, used to that answer.


    ¡°But I want to see more than just this city, so I think I want to travel when I¡¯m older. I¡¯ve been out a few times, but not anywhere far.¡±


    ¡°That sounds fun! Last time I traveled it was all about coming straight here, so I didn¡¯t get to see very much.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that, then!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± she emphatically agreed.


    In the recording, they watched as Mom Sarah¡¯s hammer slammed into a guy from behind, sending him flying.


    Luna groaned suddenly, ¡°Oh no, I hope no one expects me to be as good as them once the interschool tournaments start!¡±


    Nipha giggled. ¡°No one will expect you to be on the same level as an adult. But the two of us are top of the magic class, so I think we¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    She felt relieved. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true. I can do anything as long as you¡¯re with me.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s win!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Sarah


    Seven women were crowded into a single bathtub, pushing the limits of its capacity. Though the tub was quite large, leg room had still become quite limited.


    Sarah couldn''t help but notice Senava''s wings in this situation. She hadn¡¯t really thought about how the woman''s fairy wings worked before, but they were both flexible and durable.


    She¡¯s actually sitting on her wings. It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s causing her any pain or anything. Barriers still provide better protection for wings than armor, but if that wasn¡¯t the case, what materials would I have to use that could bend that way and still properly protect the wings?


    ¡°Are your girls going to enter the school tournaments?¡± Rayna asked.


    ¡°Luna wants to, but Diamond also joining is unlikely,¡± Sarah replied, her thoughts returning to the conversation.


    ¡°I suppose that means Nipha will be teaming up with her, then. Those two are inseparable.¡±


    ¡°They really are,¡± Michelle chuckled.


    Rayna frowned as she considered her thoughts. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s about time I tell you something.¡±


    They watched as the gnoll activated, or deactivated, an enchantment in her bracelet. The light shimmered around her, and her appearance changed. She was still a gnoll, but her fur pattern and coloring were different, and there were additional subtle changes to her face.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± Amber started. She and the others clearly recognized Rayna''s new appearance.


    Senava and Malorei followed their wife¡¯s lead and did the same.


    Rayna spoke, ¡°I am Chaentris Elley Wirzanthus, Queen of Nibuolos. I apologize for hiding it, but I hope you can understand why.¡±


    ¡°So that explains the enchantments. I just thought you were using light magic as makeup all this time,¡± Roumazi commented.


    ¡°Y-You could sense it? Just how good is your magic perception!?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°It¡¯s excellent. I chose not to pry, of course. Though I¡¯m curious about your name? Rayna seems like your preferred one.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°It is. It¡¯s a name I chose it several years ago and only use it with close friends.¡±


    So that explains why Roumazi never sensed that she was hiding it.


    Malorei said, ¡°We would prefer it if you continued using our casual names with us.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what does this mean for Luna? Her best friend is a secret princess!¡± Michelle interjected.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done our best to raise Nipha normally, even enrolling her in a regular school rather than one that would cater to noble biases. Our hope is that she grows into a caring and understanding woman, and we will continue to work toward that goal.¡±


    ¡°And what about as she gets older and has to start taking on princess duties? How will Luna be involved with that?¡±


    ¡°Michelle, this country elects its monarchs, remember,¡± Sarah reminded. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re thinking is probably incorrect. Earth¡¯s monarchies functioned in entirely different ways as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That¡¯s right¡­¡±


    Rayna said, ¡°We are making sure Nipha receives a good education and grows up well in case she does indeed want to follow in our footsteps, but she is still free to choose.


    ¡°Of course, if she does decide to become Queen, she will have to earn her place on the throne. The position can¡¯t simply be handed over to her.¡±


    ¡°Why befriend us?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°Because our daughters became friends. And we found you to be good company. I admit that I looked into you when Nipha started talking about her unusual new friend, so I already had an idea of who you were.


    "I promise it wasn''t like deep spying or anything so invasive. I was initially wondering about some of the odd things Luna had said to Nipha, and when I looked into her, I found out it was because she''s from Earth. I couldn''t help but be curious, and I also just wanted to make sure Nipha was safe."


    Michelle said, ¡°I guess I can understand that. If Luna befriended someone from so far away and who was involved in such a messed up experiment, I might get a little worried, too¡­


    "Have you secretly been helping our business? It seems like things have been going way too well for a new store. Even if we haven¡¯t sold much of our interesting stuff yet.¡±


    The gnoll smiled slightly. ¡°When you were looking at new places to live and potential store locations, this one came up. I delayed the paperwork, just for a day or two, to give you time to talk to the sellers personally.


    ¡°It was still up to you to make it in time and convince the previous owners to sell to you instead of just letting someone else buy it, but you managed to do so. That slight delay is the only help you received from me. Your success is your own, and I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve been successful in a different location as well.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s still a lot, though. I love this house and our workshop.¡±


    It really is a nice home. I¡¯m glad we got it.


    ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re still friends?¡± Amber asked. ¡°Does anything really change here? And are we going to tell the girls?¡±


    Rayna replied, ¡°We would like to remain friends, and we are hoping nothing changes between us. I just felt that it was no longer necessary to keep this secret. And we will respect your decision about what to say to them,¡± Malorei said.


    The two elves and two beastkin had a quick discussion, and decided it would be okay. They had already been friends with these people for years, after all, and the four young girls in the other part of the house were all good.


    Rayna leaned back against the tub wall and exhaled heavily, looking more relaxed than they had ever seen her. ¡°It¡¯s so good to finally say that. And to have friends who aren¡¯t politicians or aristocrats.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? We have our very own Lady right here!¡± Amber pointed to Michelle, who rolled her eyes and chuckled.


    ¡°Ah yes, Lady Iceflame Heartbreaker. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.¡±


    Rayna¡¯s been doing quite a good job in supporting regular people and developing the city. Never thought I actually wouldn¡¯t mind being so close with someone in the government.


    The whole group eventually left the bathtub and went to tell the girls the news. They were all surprised, but like with the adults, their relationship didn¡¯t actually change all that much. Like her mom, Nipha was also quite relieved to no longer have to keep her identity a secret.

 32 — Chaotic Echoes — Hearts Overflowing, Heads Empty

    <div>


    Five years later¡­


    Roumazi


    ¡°You need to stop selling this drivel,¡± a man spat, holding one of Sarah¡¯s books as if it reeked.


    ¡°We can sell what we want,¡± Roumazi replied.


    Why are there always idiots?


    ¡°That¡¯s a terrible way of doing business,¡± he retorted, slamming the book down on the counter.


    ¡°That¡¯ll be 16 faohrs for your purchase.¡±


    ¡°What, you expect me to buy it?¡± he demanded incredulously.


    ¡°Since you went so far as to damage it, then yes. You just bought it.¡±


    ¡°Hah! No way I would buy this garbage! I¡¯m never coming here again, either!¡±


    Roumazi held him in place with her water. ¡°That¡¯ll be 16 faohrs for your purchase,¡± she repeated.


    ¡°You can¡¯t keep me here!¡±


    ¡°I am perfectly within my rights to do so. And I will do so. Pay what you owe and get out. Or I can call the guards. Your choice.¡±


    There were a couple other customers in the store, but they mostly just ignored the belligerent man. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t getting any help from anyone, he slammed the money on the counter and stormed away, leaving the book behind.


    ¡°Keep to your promise of never coming back!¡± she called after him, getting a rude gesture in response.


    Roumazi went back to her project of laying out mana-conductive patterns to be applied to products later.


    ¡°Travelers, eh?¡± the next customer called.


    ¡°Travelers,¡± she agreed. The man was clearly someone who had come to Efrinteu to see the tournament last month, and still hadn¡¯t left.


    In the seven years that they had been in business now, Sarah¡¯s books had started to get some attention. Most of it was negative, however. After having entered two tournaments, Sarah¡¯s books had now been purchased several times, though not in significant quantities.


    Reviews complained about how boring and pointless they were, and that nobody wanted to read something so mundane. But complaining about her books was actually working against them, because now people would sometimes buy a copy just to see what was so bad about it. Not every review was bad, though, and some people had even come back for another story.


    Still, it¡¯s progress. And Sarah was prepared to deal with backlash anyway.


    But the biggest problem was the people who would come in just to harass them. They were easily dealt with, however. Nearly everyone who bothered to cause trouble wasn¡¯t even from the city, anyway. The people who actually lived here didn¡¯t want to be known as someone who harassed small stores.


    The books weren¡¯t the only things gaining some attention, as other people wanted to stand out more with their equipment as well. Sales of their more artful items were still much lower in comparison to the rest, but they were gradually picking up.


    While she worked on her enchanting project, Roumazi¡¯s other body was convening with the other gods. The seven of them had been dealing with unusual mana fluctuations for nearly a decade now, and they were finally able to confirm that powerful monsters were disappearing as well.


    They had determined the cause to be the aftermath of the incident that had brought Roumazi¡¯s family to this world in the first place. As she discussed with her siblings, they came to the conclusion of how to stop it and came up with a few methods, but one particular method would be the fastest by far. They offered the job to Roumazi.


    She sighed, thinking of her family. This is going to be a difficult conversation.


    When they closed the store for the day, the goddess sat at the dining table with everyone. Steeling herself, she spoke, ¡°Everyone¡­ A way to Earth has opened up.¡±


    ¡°What? You mean¡­ You¡¯re saying we can go back?¡± Sarah asked.


    She nodded. ¡°The aftermath of the Empire¡¯s experiment has been causing problems since the day it happened. They opened a rift between the two worlds, but we completely sealed it off nine years ago.


    ¡°However, it was only sealed off on this side. It essentially created a mana vacuum on Earth, where mana from this world is being pulled into that one. Places with high concentrations of ambient mana in this world are getting hit the hardest, and the monsters that live in those locations end up being pulled through.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t fully realize what was going on until recently. I promise I wasn¡¯t hiding this from you or anything.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°So what¡¯s going to be done about it?¡± Michelle asked.


    ¡°One of us gods has to go to Earth and seal it off from that side as well, then return to this world, closing the barrier entirely on our way back. That will solve the problem for good.


    ¡°My siblings offered the task to me because of my connection with all of you.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± she sighed and shook her head. ¡°We all have lives here now¡­ I don¡¯t want to go back anymore. Would our bodies stay the same as they are now if we went with you?¡±


    That¡¯s a relief. I don¡¯t know what I would do if they wanted to live there again.


    She nodded. ¡°They would stay the same. None of you would revert to your original appearances.¡±


    ¡°Even less of a reason for us to go back then,¡± Amber said. ¡°There¡¯s not even one human among us.¡±


    ¡°How are they dealing with the monsters?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°I would imagine it¡¯s quite difficult for them,¡± Roumazi replied. ¡°Attacks imbued with mana would be needed, and if no one there has any mana¡­¡±


    ¡°So we need to go help them, then?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t have to do anything. One of my siblings can go instead of me.¡±


    ¡°How long will it take for you to finish the barrier?¡±


    ¡°Only a day or two I think.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ Should we go?¡± Michelle asked everyone, her eyes lingering on Luna.


    ¡°I want to go. I want to see where you came from,¡± Diamond said.


    She smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much we¡¯d be able to do there in a single day, but that¡¯s a good reason.¡±


    I can¡¯t deny that I¡¯m curious about it myself.


    ¡°I need to go, too,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I¡¯ve always hoped that my cousin was doing okay without me, and now I can finally see her again.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so we¡¯re definitely going, then.¡±


    Everyone was in agreement.


    Amber spoke softly, ¡°Sarah¡­¡±


    The tigerkin exhaled. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would stay on Earth, not unless Jess really needed me. Or¡­ I don¡¯t know. Fuck, this is hard to think about. Could she come back with us if she wanted to?¡±


    Roumazi nodded. ¡°That should be fine. And she would develop magic naturally from exposure to ambient mana as well, if she did come.¡±


    Luna comforted, ¡°Mom Sarah, we already know we¡¯re going, so just figure it out when you get there?¡±


    Sarah smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right, Luna.¡± Turning to her divine wife, she asked, ¡±So how do we get there, when do we leave, what do we need to do, and so on?¡±


    The foxkin nodded. ¡°Probably just some basic supplies for a couple days are all we would need, food-wise. We might have to fight some monsters, so our gear, as well.


    ¡°And it¡¯s best if we take care of it as soon as possible. The problem will only become exponentially worse the longer we wait, so we won¡¯t even have any time to notify any of the other Earthlings in this world. We haven¡¯t been tracking their locations or anything like that, either, so we don¡¯t know where pretty much any of them currently are.


    ¡°We¡¯ll head to a specific place with high mana density and go through a rift in the barrier there, where it¡¯s already been weakened and had a monster pulled through it at some point in the past. More monsters might go through the rifts the longer we wait.


    ¡°So, should we leave right now?¡± Michelle asked.


    ¡°How about we leave in the morning? You¡¯ll all be fully rested and it gives us time to prepare everything.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll put a sign on the door so people know we aren¡¯t open for at least a couple days.¡±


    ¡°What about Nipha? What should I tell her?¡± Luna asked.


    Luna and Nipha, now both 15 years old, were still as close as they had ever been. All seven parents involved were helpless as to how oblivious their two daughters were in regard to their own feelings for each other.


    Diamond is a different story, though. She takes after Sarah more than anyone else. As long as she¡¯s happy, it¡¯s fine.


    ¡°You could just say it was a family emergency?¡± Sarah suggested.


    ¡°I should tell them the truth,¡± Roumazi said. ¡°My true nature has been kept secret from them all this time, but it was also hardly ever relevant.


    ¡°Historically, revealing ourselves to rulers hasn¡¯t gone well, as they suddenly start getting ideas that all their actions are sanctioned by us. I believe I can trust Rayna, however.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Luna ran to her room to grab a message crystal. The crystal could send an image to another one, though the range wasn¡¯t very far in comparison to a cellphone. At most, its reach went as far as the town nearest the city from here.


    She ran back and scribbled a note. ¡°Family emergency thing came up. Need to talk to you and your moms.¡± She used the crystal¡¯s capture function and sent the image to Nipha¡¯s crystal.


    Nipha¡¯s response was projected above the crystal, ¡°On our way.¡±


    Rayna at least was surely busy just now, but she dropped it for us without hesitation. That makes me feel better about telling her who I am.


    When the royal family finally stepped through the door, they all sat down pretty quickly. Despite there being enough seats at the table for all of them, Nipha instead made a beeline straight for Luna¡¯s lap. Everyone resisted the urge to facepalm at how they both really thought they were just friends.


    ¡°So what¡¯s going on? What happened?¡± Rayna asked.


    Using her divine aura around her family for the first time in years, Roumazi spoke, ¡°First, I need to give a proper introduction. I am the Goddess of Water.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­?¡±


    ¡°G-Goddess¡­?¡± Senava stuttered.


    She retracted her aura and allowed the revelation to sink in.


    Michelle supplied, ¡°It¡¯s true. She¡¯s actually the Goddess of Water.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ She¡¯s Roumazi! Your wife!¡±


    ¡°I am also both of those things,¡± Roumazi smiled.


    Rayna just barely managed to get herself together. ¡°U-Um, so, there was something about an emergency?¡±


    The goddess nodded, ¡°The former Praexoent Empire¡¯s experiment from nine years ago caused aftereffects that myself and my siblings have been dealing with all this time.


    ¡°The end result of that is that we need to briefly go to Earth for a day or two to completely sever the connection between the two worlds, after which we will return here.


    ¡°So it¡¯s less of an emergency and more that we¡¯re just going to be gone for a bit. But I felt that it was time to explain who I was.¡±


    She looked seriously at Rayna. ¡°I trust that you will not betray my decision to share this with you.¡±


    She hastily nodded. ¡°O-Of course!¡±


    To no one in particular, Senava said, ¡°No wonder you handled our real identities so easily. You had an even bigger surprise for us in store.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going away?¡± Nipha asked Luna, looking sad and worried.


    Luna returned the look. ¡°Just for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Can I come with?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Rayna stated. ¡°This isn¡¯t a camping exercise. You¡¯ll just have to spend time with Luna when she gets back.¡±


    ¡°Aww¡­ Fine.¡± Nipha kissed Luna¡¯s forehead. ¡°Come back to me soon, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will!¡± Luna kissed her on the cheek. The two idiots then just sat there smiling at each other.


    Michelle facepalmed and Senava began coughing, having taken an unfortunately-timed sip of water. Everyone else had varying degrees of exhaustion on their faces.


    We keep telling them to just talk to each other already, so why are they so oblivious!? Diamond¡¯s the same age, but she looks just as tired as the rest of us!

 33 — Chaotic Echoes — Behemothic

    <div>


    ? ? ?


    ¡°As you can see, the monster has already shredded through the walls, and is currently in the north district. The nearest team of mages arrived fifteen minutes ago, while rescue operations were enacted the very moment rift activity was detected.¡±


    The helicopter flying overhead had a good view of the damage, and someone was censoring the live footage wherever necessary.


    ¡°The rift became active again forty-seven minutes ago, letting a Class 2 Behemoth through. It has only been three weeks since the previous monster incursion, with the time between each one getting shorter on average. The issue is only exacerbated by the ever-dwindling number of mages on hand.¡±


    The camera was focused on a group of six people running around the monster and firing magic of various elements toward it. They had clearly been trained as a team, but the monster was overwhelmingly more powerful than them.


    ¡°Rescue drones have airlifted out-¡° The reporter aboard the helicopter held a finger to her ear, as the camera panned and zoomed in to focus on a spot in the distance. ¡°I¡¯m getting word that the rift is opening again! This marks the first time that a single rift will have produced two monsters so quickly!¡±


    Something came through the rift, something much smaller than the Behemoth, and it made a line straight for its location.


    ¡°Something came through! It looks like¡­ a vehicle?¡±


    The vehicle reached the monster in only a minute, then vanished, though its occupants remained.


    ¡°Yes! It was, in fact, a vehicle, and it then disappeared! It was carrying five people and what looks to be a wolf, though it is working with them to fight the Behemoth.¡±


    The ensuing fight was filmed, and once again censored whenever a large amount of the Behemoth¡¯s blood was spilled.


    ¡°All of them seem to be using weapons with magical effects, something nobody has been able to achieve with such effectiveness yet. The wolf massively increased in size and a sword wielder is riding its back. Another large animal appeared out of nowhere¡ªthis one seems to be a bird¡ªthough the bird is not wearing armor like the wolf is.


    ¡°Our mages have fallen back while the mysterious people take it down. Wherever it is that monsters come from, it seems there are humans there, too.¡±


    The fight came to an end as the five people and two animals took the Behemoth down in record time. The bird vanished, and they all gathered into one spot, apparently waiting for someone to talk to them while they looked around curiously.


    The reporter ordered the pilot to land, and she and her camera operator rushed to the mystery people before the military could come in and secret them away.


    When she arrived, she was astonished to see three elves and two people with animal ears, and that the wolf¡¯s fur was blue.


    The one with tiger ears spoke up, ¡°Uh, hello. We came from another world to solve the monster problem? In a couple days, no monsters will ever come from the other side again.¡±


    Gathering herself while enduring the scent of blood coming from the corpse a good distance away, she asked, ¡°Who are all of you? Can you explain what¡¯s going on?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Sure. Um¡­ I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll believe this, but we were all originally from Earth. We were abducted¡­¡± she thought for a moment, as she had to think about Earth¡¯s calendar for the first time in several years, ¡°¡­nine years ago now. Four of us were originally humans, except for Roumazi and Diamond, who are from that other world in the first place. They started out as a foxkin and a wolf.¡±


    ¡°You were abducted nine years ago? That¡¯s when the incursions began. Do you know what the game Torneltha really is? Everything is linked to that.¡±


    The tigerkin blinked, ¡°Yeah. So, and I know this is going to sound completely absurd, and hopefully the giant monster behind me will help to convince you, but Torneltha is actually a real world.


    ¡°A particular group of people from there were doing inter-world experiments for several centuries. That culminated in them manipulating people to create the game in this world, and they then abducted thousands of players of the game, using their character data to change their bodies to match their characters, with all their magic from the game included.


    ¡°They had intended to have us be¡­ slave soldiers¡­¡± she grimaced, ¡°but the neighboring kingdom was able to intervene before things got that far.


    ¡°The government that was running those experiments was taken down in a war, and a barrier was put up to prevent those kinds of experiments from ever happening again.


    ¡°It only worked one-way though, so monsters from that world came here. Roumazi has the ability to establish a barrier on this side as well, which is what she¡¯s already doing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s utterly¡­¡± the reporter started, but chose to leave it. She had no idea if any of that was true, but there was convincing evidence right in front of her. She also didn¡¯t want to antagonize such overwhelmingly powerful people. ¡°So you¡¯re originally from Earth, then? Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m Sarah Woods, originally from Toronto. Roumazi and Diamond are from that other world, as I mentioned before, so they don¡¯t know English.¡±


    The tan elf spoke up next, ¡°I¡¯m Amber Woods, formerly Amber Bowman, from Minneapolis.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The angry elf with sharp eyes followed after her, ¡°Michelle Woods, also from Minneapolis. I was previously Michael Meadows, but due to some shenanigans with the game¡¯s character editor, I got turned into a woman on the other side. I ended up realizing I¡¯m genderfluid though, so it turned out okay.


    ¡°And this is-¡±


    ¡°I can introduce myself, Mom,¡± the girl interrupted. ¡°I was¡­ previously, Luna Meadows, but am now Luna Woods.¡±


    Her English was much more stilted than the others, which made sense if she hadn¡¯t been an in English-speaking country since she was young.


    ¡°The names you mentioned¡­ Your magic is even the same¡­¡± The reporter looked baffled, but decided to also drop this topic for now. ¡°You all have the last name Woods? What¡¯s that about?¡±


    Amber smiled, ¡°Yup! We¡¯re all married to each other. Luna and Diamond are our daughters, of course.¡±


    The reporter heard a voice coming from the wolf¡¯s direction and the others were conversing while looking at it. The reporter spoke to the camera, ¡°It¡­ appears that the wolf is talking somehow. ¡®Telepathy¡¯, I believe is the term. I can hear it, and it sounds like a girl¡¯s voice.¡±


    She held a finger to her ear, ¡°I¡¯ve just received word that the readings from all rifts across the entire world are beginning to weaken.¡±


    It was at that point that the interview was cut off by the arrival of a group of soldiers.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Michelle


    The six of them had been taken to a building to wait for the arrival of a specific group of people, though they weren¡¯t told who.


    Michelle sighed. ¡°I guess I should¡¯ve expected this kind of welcome. We probably won¡¯t get to actually see or do anything.¡±


    Diamond said, ¡°I¡¯m happy to see it, though! Even if it¡¯s only a glimpse of how you might¡¯ve lived before.¡±


    ¡°Likewise,¡± Roumazi added.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad they didn¡¯t take our weapons,¡± Amber interjected. ¡°I hate to think about what the government might do to them while our eyes were off them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s lucky that we landed in the States. We could¡¯ve ended up anywhere, maybe even the ocean,¡± Sarah said.


    Roumazi explained, ¡°You¡¯ve drawn maps of this world for me before, so I aimed for the continent with this shape.¡±


    Thank goddess for that.


    ¡°Oh. Thank you. If we had ended up somewhere where none of us knew the language, that would¡¯ve been difficult to deal with.¡±


    Several hours later, the door finally opened again. The first one through it was a person with a familiar face and a behemothic nose, but none of them had expected to ever see it again.


    ¡°Wh-What..?¡± Michelle stuttered.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know,¡± Michael replied. He looked older, fitter, and he had blue and white hair.


    Michael stepped through, and a woman with Amber¡¯s previous human appearance followed after. She also had the same hair that her game character had had.


    ¡°Me too!?¡± Amber Woods exclaimed.


    After Amber Bowman stepped through, so too did another Sarah, another Luna, and one last person they didn¡¯t know. All five of them had magic, going by their hair, though they all retained their original human appearances.


    What the fuck is going on?! Why are there other versions of us?!


    After the doppelgangers, six men in military suits came through.


    ¡°Oooooh, so that¡¯s what happened,¡± Roumazi said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a small mystery among us gods why all of you were in so much pain when you first arrived on Torneltha. We had wondered how the Empire ripped souls from one world and brought them to another.


    ¡°But it turns out they didn¡¯t, because they literally couldn¡¯t. They instead ripped everyone¡¯s souls in half, which reduced them enough to make the trip.


    ¡°The two halves of everyone¡¯s souls then fully regenerated, and the end result was two separate, but complete, versions of you. One on Torneltha and one on Earth.


    ¡°Earth was then touched by magic because of that incident, and all the versions of the players who remained on Earth gained the magic their characters possessed.¡±


    While the Torneltha side gaped at Roumazi in shock, one of the military men coughed, ¡°Could you repeat that in English?¡±


    After the explanation, leaving everyone in the room shocked, another of them asked, ¡°So there are other Earthlings in that world? Are they coming here, too?¡±


    Between Sarah, Amber, and Michelle, Sarah was the best of the three of them at having serious conversations, so she had become the unofficial spokesperson of their group. ¡°The total number of people taken from Earth was nearly 5,000 if I remember correctly.


    ¡°As for where all of them have ended up all these years later, we have no idea. Victor Gardner visits us at our house occasionally, but mostly travels around. He¡¯s mentioned running into a couple others, but we haven¡¯t met them.


    ¡°And no, no one else will be coming. Once the barrier between worlds is taken care of, we¡¯ll be returning. There¡¯s something I need to know, though. Um¡­ other me¡­ is Jess okay?¡±


    The human Sarah looked surprised. ¡°You might just actually be an alternate me. Yes, Jess is fine. She¡¯s been living well overall. She has two boyfriends currently.¡±


    Tigerkin Sarah sighed in relief. ¡°I¡¯m glad. I was worried all this time after I disappeared, but¡­ you were still here for her.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I need to know, though.¡±


    The people from the military were at least understanding of how bizarre this situation was, and chose to let everyone just talk and get the weirdness out of the way, at least as much as that could be done, anyway.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Tigerkin Sarah asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with the marriage thing?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, they¡¯re such super best friends with me that I proposed? It¡¯s platonic for me, though.¡±


    Human Sarah snorted. ¡°Okay. Yeah, I can actually believe that.¡±


    ¡°Genderfluid?¡± Michael questioned, looking at his alternate self who didn¡¯t even remotely resemble him.


    Michelle laughed nervously, ¡°Ahaha, well, you¡¯re not really supposed to just tell someone else what their gender is, but I can¡¯t deny what I said.


    ¡°I mean, I remember back when I was playing with the character creator the very first time, I seriously considered playing as a woman before opting not to. So maybe focus on moments like that and figure out how you feel?¡±


    ¡°You almost picked something other than your snakekin guy?¡± Amber Woods questioned her wife.


    ¡°Yeah, but I chickened out in the end. That entire week of indecision is why it took so long for me to start playing the game with you.¡±


    ¡°Aww, that¡¯s adorable. Glad you figured things out, love.¡±


    ¡°That!¡± Amber Bowman pointed at her counterpart. ¡°You¡¯re all flirty with each other! You¡¯re seriously married to three other women!?¡±


    Amber Woods smiled. ¡°Hell yeah I am! Also, I¡¯m a blacksmith now! I make fantasy swords and armor and stuff, but it¡¯s all real. We made everything we¡¯re wearing now!¡±


    Amber Bowman groaned and flopped onto the table. ¡°There¡¯s an alternate me who¡¯s been living out my wildest sword lesbian fantasies. What the heeeeeck¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, with me apparently,¡± Michael retorted.


    ¡°Just look at other you, though!¡± she gestured at Michelle. ¡°How could I resist?¡±


    Michelle and Amber Woods both laughed.


    Amber Woods wrapped her arms around one of Michelle¡¯s. ¡°She¡¯s mine.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re breaking my heart, me.¡±


    ¡°I am Mrs. Heartbreaker, after all.¡±


    Michelle snorted.


    ¡°Um¡­ What about me?¡± a new voice interrupted. It belonged to the fifth mage who had arrived with the Earth group. ¡°What¡¯s my other self doing?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name and what was your character?¡± Sarah asked.


    ¡°Adam Johnson. I played a human.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I have no idea who you are.¡±


    ¡°Me neither,¡± said Michelle.


    ¡°I don¡¯t either,¡± added Amber Woods.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s living his best life. He probably has three wives, too,¡± Adam confidently replied.


    Uh-huh. I¡¯m sure he does, buddy.

 34 — Chaotic Echoes — Six Plus Three

    <div>


    Sarah


    After several hours of both sides discussing details¡ªonce they finally got back on track, of course¡ªthey were then brought to a hotel. They were given six hotel rooms, despite them saying they only needed one big one. Not really caring for their hosts, they went to a double room, pushed the beds together, and all slept in there instead.


    The next morning, human Sarah told tigerkin Sarah, ¡°I called Jess last night and booked her a flight here. Given that all the rifts are rapidly closing and you¡¯re an important guest, she should be here in just an hour or so.¡±


    ¡°Thank you so much. Even nine years later, I still miss her.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°I would, too. I¡¯m glad you were able to find good people otherwise, though. You¡¯re doing much better than I am with that, actually.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I definitely got lucky, there. They¡¯re all amazing. So, I¡¯m curious, are you friends with Michael and Earth Amber, like I am with Michelle and my Amber?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No. I¡¯ve met them a couple times, but I was put in a different team.¡±


    All the mages on Earth had been conscripted to fight the monsters that were appearing, as mundane weapons of any kind had little effect due to the lacking mana. They had so few mages available that even Luna had to join the fights.


    The poor girl. She hasn¡¯t had a childhood.


    ¡°What about that guy Adam? Why was he at the meeting last night?¡± Tigerkin Sarah asked her counterpart.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s a super bootlicker chud, so government-types like having him around as security,¡± the human replied, grimacing.


    I¡¯m so glad he hardly got a chance to speak last night, then.


    ¡°Gross.¡±


    ¡°Gross,¡± the human agreed. ¡°So, before Jess gets here, tell me what kinds of books you¡¯ve written! I want to know how such an experience shaped your writing!¡±


    ¡°You have to do the same for me, though! Did you ever finish that draft I had about the musician guy?¡±


    ¡°I did!¡±


    The two Sarahs had a productive and densely-packed hour and a half before a familiar girl entered the hotel dining room.


    Jess¡­


    Sarah stood up and walked toward her, her eyes watering. She reached out to hug her, but stopped herself.


    I¡¯m not the Sarah she knows¡­


    Jess stepped forward and hugged her instead, and Sarah reciprocated and cried into her cousin¡¯s brightly-dyed hair.


    ¡°I missed you so much¡­¡± Sarah said.


    ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Jess replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m so happy I got to see you again.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what you¡¯ve been through. Let¡¯s sit down and catch up?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Luna


    ¡°So, what is your life like?¡± E-Luna asked. That was what Luna had begun calling her in her head. The ¡®E¡¯ stood for ¡®Earth¡¯.


    They hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to talk the night before, as it had mostly been a meeting and discussing lots of boring details.


    ¡°Well, I go to school, hang out with my sister and friends, compete in tournaments¡ªlike, fighting tournaments¡ªand help my moms out with the store and small projects in the workshop.¡±


    E-Luna angrily shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s such fucking bullshit. All do is go to school, fight monsters, go to school, be a test subject to see how magic is affecting my development, fight monsters, act as some kind of fucking government mascot or some shit, fight more monsters¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s all I fucking do! I hardly ever get to fucking live! I¡¯m at a different school practically every fucking week! Dad and Amber help, but¡­ God, it¡¯s just not fair¡­¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m really sorry? It¡¯s not like I had it entirely great either. At least at first, anyway.


    ¡°I woke up in another world, my¡­ dad¡­ was changed and was struggling with her new body at first, we were trapped in a cave, those guys tried to enslave us, then another army showed up and killed them, so there were bodies everywhere¡­Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°And then we were stuck at that awful research base for several months just unable to do anything at all. When we were finally thrown out into the world, the locals despised everyone from Earth, and we were struggling to survive.


    ¡°We eventually made it out, though, and Mom Michelle, Mom Amber, and Mom Sarah then began this really long journey to our new home.


    ¡°There were lots of monster fights along the way, and even bandits at one point. One of them even tried to take me hostage, but my moms killed them.


    ¡°We eventually made it, though, and Diamond and Mom Roumazi entered our lives, which was great. Then I started school, and¡­ yeah. Things picked up from there. But that entire first year at least was complete shit.¡±


    E-Luna stared at her and sighed. ¡°Sorry. I don¡¯t really get to just sit and talk with other people my age very often, and because you¡¯re an alternate version of me, I sort of unloaded on you. My therapist helps, but¡­ there¡¯s only so much she can do.


    ¡°Wait, they killed some people¡­?¡±


    Luna nodded. ¡°Yeah. They were trying to kill us, so my moms were left with no choice, and we were all feeling horrible for a while afterward.¡±


    ¡°Huh. Well, sounds like they deserved it. So what do people our age normally do over there? You mentioned a fighting tournament? What about dating? People always talk about romance and stuff, but I¡¯ve never even had the chance to think about it.¡±


    ¡°U-Um¡­ Well, there is someone I like¡­ She never responds to my advances, though¡­¡±


    ¡°Sounds like a dense idiot.¡±


    ¡°M-Maybe¡­ But I still love her! Um, yeah! The tournament! So it¡¯s like, we use our weapons and magic and stuff, and it¡¯s really cool!¡±


    E-Luna shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s unfair that your magic is so much stronger than ours.¡±


    They had learned from Roumazi last night that all the mages on Earth were drastically weaker than they otherwise would¡¯ve been as a result of Earth having no ambient mana to naturally absorb.


    ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°I guess not. I saw that footage against the Behemoth. You were awesome!¡±


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯m still nowhere near as impressive as my moms, though, but I¡¯ve learned that they¡¯re kind of outliers. In the last tournament they entered, they placed fifth, which is really amazing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Michelle


    The two elves and their Earth counterparts, as well as Roumazi and Diamond, were all sitting at another table.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you found three people to marry,¡± Michael commented to Michelle.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe it, either. What about you? Have you seen anyone?¡±


    He sighed. ¡°No one. Though I¡¯m beginning to think maybe I should¡¯ve made at least a little time for myself.¡±


    Amber Woods said, ¡°I mean, it sounds like you were pretty busy¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Bowman here did date a couple women, though.¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Bowman confirmed. ¡°The monster stuff kept me pretty busy, too, so I didn¡¯t have a lot of time. The government also likes to parade me around to pretend they actually support gay people, which just makes it even harder.¡±


    ¡°Yikes,¡± Woods said.


    Michelle asked Roumazi, ¡°We talked a little bit about bringing Sarah¡¯s cousin home with us if she wanted to come, but what about our counterparts?¡±


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s a good idea, then I¡¯ll trust you. I get a good feeling from them, too,¡± the goddess replied. She was mostly making conversation with Diamond, since they were unfortunately excluded in this situation.


    Language barriers can be harsh¡­ I¡¯ll definitely make it up to them later.


    ¡°What if you came back with us?¡± Michelle asked their doppelgangers.


    Bowman jumped up, ¡°THAT SOUNDS AMAZING. YES.¡±


    Michael looked hopeful but less sure than Bowman did.


    ¡°What would we do? Where would we live?¡± he asked.


    Woods replied, ¡°We have a house we could build additional bedrooms onto. You could work with us in our workshop. You wouldn¡¯t have the languages shoved into our heads like we did, but we have a good friend who could find you a good teacher.


    And no one would really care that you¡¯re from Earth. We moved far, far away from where we initially showed up, and the people around us are pretty great. The ones who know are basically like, ¡®Eh, that¡¯s neat, I guess.¡¯¡±


    Michael looked at where his daughter and her elven counterpart were talking in a different part of the dining room. The entire hotel had been cleared out for the group from Torneltha, except for some staff members.


    ¡°But you said monsters aren¡¯t going to show up anymore? If that¡¯s true, then we could finally start a life here.¡±


    ¡°You could,¡± Michelle nodded. ¡°I only have an idea of how you¡¯ve lived all these years. You know better than I do whether or not you would be happier here or with us.¡±


    He nodded absently. The two Lunas joined the group. ¡°Moms, could we take E-Luna back with us?¡±


    Michelle raised an eyebrow. ¡°¡¯E-Luna¡¯? Anyway, I would be fine with that, but it¡¯s up to Michael.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to go, Luna?¡± Michael asked the human Luna.


    She nodded resolutely. ¡°I¡¯m sick of this place. Sick of everything. Even if monsters won''t show up anymore, I¡¯ll still be stuck doing¡­ I don¡¯t know what. And being the only mage my age when people can actually come up and talk to me sounds like a nightmare. And I hate being famous for being the only little kid that had to join the fight.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°I guess we¡¯re moving, then.¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Bowman held her hand up for a high five, which she made everyone reciprocate.


    E-Luna then added, ¡°And I guess start calling me Elana. It¡¯s better than E-Luna.¡±


    Michelle replied, ¡°Make sure you¡¯re happy with that name choice. I initially chose Michelle just because it was the feminine version of Michael. While I did end up liking it, it was kind of a half-assed decision on my part.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Elana¡¯s fine. It¡¯s close enough, but also different.¡±


    Huh. That¡¯s basically what my thought process was back then.


    Bowman tapped her chin, ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess I can¡¯t really call myself Amber when I¡¯ll be living with another Amber who is basically my twin sister. Elizabeth! That¡¯ll be my first name now instead of my middle name. Just call me Liz.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Sarah


    The tigerkin spent many hours catching up with her cousin after such a long time, but sadly, they both had lives to get back to.


    Sarah gave Jess another tearful hug. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you a lot, Jess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, too,¡± her cousin replied. ¡°You¡¯re just as much my cousin as the other Sarah.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m so happy I get to actually say goodbye this time. Both of you are sure you don¡¯t want to come with?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy here,¡± Jess replied. ¡°But I have to admit it does sound like fun.¡±


    ¡°Likewise,¡± human Sarah said. ¡°If there are no more monsters, then I can focus on writing again. Your home sounds fun, but I also choose to stay.¡±


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s a good thing,¡± tigerkin Sarah said. ¡°Someone needs to keep this one in check,¡± she bapped Jess¡¯ cheek with her tail.


    ¡°It¡¯s a full-time job,¡± human Sarah said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a full-time job,¡± tigerkin Sarah nodded sagely.


    ¡°Hey!¡± said full-time job exclaimed.

 35 — Chaotic Echoes — Uncle

    <div>


    Amber


    Liz, Michael, and Elana kept it secret that were planning to leave Earth, because they knew people would probably try to stop them. They scheduled social media posts to appear after they were already gone where they vented numerous complaints about how they were treated up until now.


    After Sarah¡¯s cousin and Earth counterpart left, the remaining nine then walked around a bit, with an armed escort, of course. The entire world already knew about them and were trying to get close.


    They had lunch at a rather ordinary restaurant, but Amber, Michelle, and Sarah all got to eat something nostalgic. They had also requested blue moon ice cream for Luna, but she was disappointed by its taste, unlike when she was little.


    Roumazi had had to answer an endless amount of questions the previous night, even down to details like how there were humans in both worlds.


    That turned out to be because once a world has developed enough mana, it then shoots off its collected mana to become a new world somewhere else. Earth had actually come from Torneltha, and the imprint of the mana meant the creatures and species would develop similarly.


    Earth turned out to be a dud world, though, entirely devoid of mana until nine years ago. Humans can survive with practically no mana whatsoever, which is why they developed while no other species of people did.


    But that will change in the future now. According to Roumazi¡¯s estimation, most of Earth¡¯s population will have mana within sixty years, and animals will begin to change and develop as well. Other kinds of people might come into existence again, but she couldn¡¯t say for sure.


    People¡¯s lifespans can even lengthen, potentially indefinitely. Having a lot of mana was the reason for that, which is why the Torneltha counterparts looked younger. Acquiring more mana can even reverse old age.


    The biggest shock came when Roumazi revealed who she really is to the others, as she didn¡¯t want to lie to them. Everyone also talked about like how they were friends with the Queen, and how they had killed bandits in the past.


    Liz, Michael, and Elana each chose to still come with.


    They also heard from Michael that the bastard who killed Mia was imprisoned for life now. Michael, as one of the few mages on Earth, was known to many people. When the world learned of what had happened to his wife and how the person who killed her was walking around free, they sought justice.


    I¡¯m glad he¡¯s locked away, but that doesn¡¯t erase all the pain and grief he caused. Mia was my friend, too.


    The group from Torneltha was upset that they didn¡¯t get to do anything fun on Earth, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. The whole situation was a mess and having soldiers, paparazzi, and reporters dog their every step was highly unpleasant.


    We¡¯re kind of famous at home, but other than the occasional autograph or selfie, we¡¯re otherwise left alone.


    After the nine of them entered the same hotel room, Michelle formed her motorcycle.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to ask about this!¡± Michael exclaimed, immediately examining it in detail, causing the others to laugh.


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until we¡¯re home, bro,¡± Michelle said.


    It¡¯s amazing that Michelle and I both have twin siblings and a niece now. She and Michael would be fraternal twins, though.


    Roumazi helped by making an extension that attached to the back so the three additional people had somewhere to sit. They didn¡¯t have any luggage they particularly cared about, so they weren¡¯t bringing anything.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home,¡± Roumazi said.


    The goddess activated her magic, and the surroundings warped into iridescent shades of blue. Michelle drove forward, and after a few moments, they were back on Torneltha for good.


    She then began driving in the sky back to Efrinteu, and spared a glance for her passengers in the back, who were excited.


    ¡°Thanks again for the bike, love,¡± Michelle told Roumazi, who was hugging her from behind.


    She giggled, ¡°Of course.¡±


    Several hours later, they landed on the outskirts of the city. The aerial guards really don''t appreciate it when people try to enter from above, which Michelle had learned by accident once.


    As they walked through the streets, Amber, Sarah, and Michelle were giving their new family members a quick tour.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Michelle was stopped by someone who came up to her and excitedly asked for a picture with her. She obliged with one where she was smiling and another where she was showing her famous glare.


    ¡°Why did that person just take a selfie with Michelle?¡± Liz asked.


    ¡°Oh, did we not mention that?¡± Amber questioned.


    ¡°No, what did you forget to mention?¡±


    ¡°Well, the four of us are kind of famous from participating in tournaments, but Michelle is especially. She even has a title! She¡¯s called Lady Iceflame Heartbreaker.¡±


    ¡°Are you serious¡­?¡± Michael asked, still reeling from how different his new twin sister/alternate self was from him.


    Michelle rejoined the conversation. ¡°They are,¡± she laughed. ¡°It was given to me during the first tournament I entered. I think it¡¯s fun, though, as cringey as it is.¡±


    ¡°I think you mean amazing!¡± Liz exclaimed.


    ¡°It can be a little embarrassing sometimes when someone calls her that,¡± Luna added.


    Michelle grinned, ¡°Oh, but who was it again that was running around calling herself Little Heartbreaker this, and Lady Beastblade that?¡±


    ¡°Mom¡­ Please forget about that already¡­¡± Luna groaned.


    ¡°I will never forget that for as long as I live,¡± she promised seriously.


    They made it home, and Luna immediately ran to her room, both to hide her embarrassment and to message her not-girlfriend.


    Sarah said, ¡°I¡¯ll sleep with the others, so that means we have one bedroom for use right now. The other two will have to make do with the conversation pit until the extensions to the house are built, which I think we can manage in a few days.¡±


    ¡°Just a few days?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°Magic really speeds things up,¡± she elaborated.


    Looks like I¡¯m going to be creating a lot of stone again.


    ¡°Ah. So we won¡¯t have to wait long. So what¡¯s the plan for us starting out, then?¡± he asked, looking at the photos on the wall. Pictures taken over the years were projected from photo crystals.


    ¡°I imagine that at least one of our royal friends will be here shortly,¡± Amber said. ¡°Luna messaged Nipha.¡±


    They didn¡¯t have to wait very long before there was an excited knocking at the front door. Nipha hurriedly threw off her shoes the moment she stepped inside and ran to where her elven friend was waiting. ¡°Luuunaaaaa!¡±


    ¡°Nipha! I missed you so much!¡± They hugged and put their foreheads together.


    Elana whispered to Michelle, ¡°Luna told me she loves someone who is incredibly dense¡­ So what¡¯s going on here?¡±


    She whispered back, ¡°They¡¯re both incredibly dense. They both think the other is just a friend, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.¡±


    ¡°¡­This is going to be so exhausting.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you have no idea.¡±


    Rayna, Senava, and Malorei also entered the home, though much more calmly. They did their best to ignore the two idiots in the room.


    ¡°I see your family has grown,¡± Malorei noted, having already been informed of the new people through Luna¡¯s message to her daughter.


    ¡°All three of you tonight?¡± Amber asked.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t want to miss your return, so we kept our schedules light for today and tomorrow,¡± Rayna explained.


    Roumazi said, ¡°Well, you¡¯d best sit down. There¡¯s a lot to explain here.¡±


    I¡¯m glad Michelle told them of her previous body years ago, otherwise, this would¡¯ve been even more of a surprise for them.


    Once they got over the explanation, Rayna told them, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange a teacher for all three of them. They¡¯ll learn the language, and anything else they might need to know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Roumazi said. ¡°It means a lot.¡±


    An avian Awakened suddenly appeared in the room, radiating divinity.


    ¡°Jorzem, tone it down!¡± Roumazi yelled at her brother, surprising everyone, as none of them had ever heard her yell before.


    He laughed and looked at the wolf, ¡°Ah, so this is your daughter? It¡¯s nice to meet you, Diamond. I am the God of Earth. Your uncle!¡±


    ¡°Uh, y-yeah,¡± she responded.


    ¡°Cute. So that human over there, right?¡± he gestured to Liz.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s her,¡± Roumazi confirmed. She had asked him to visit and see about giving Liz a Gift.


    He walked over to her, and an orb appeared in front of him before eventually melding into an utterly confused Liz¡¯s chest. ¡°Have fun!¡±


    Jorzem was about to vanish again when he turned his head to Senava. He hopped over to her and gave her a Gift, too. ¡°Okay, bye! Nice meeting you, Diamond!¡±


    He vanished before she could reply.


    Roumazi sighed wearily and shook her head. ¡°Sorry. That¡¯s just how he is.¡±


    ¡°What just happened¡­?¡± Liz wondered.


    Michelle explained, ¡°The God of Earth showed up and gave you a Gift, a magical ability that would be difficult or even impossible to perform otherwise. Like my motorcycle or Luna¡¯s ice animal that you saw in the footage of our behemoth fight.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± her face broke into a wide smile. ¡°I can weld things with my magic now! I can control the temperature and composition and¡­ Oh, there¡¯s so much I can do with this!¡±


    Amber clapped her on the shoulder. ¡°Great to have you aboard, sis!¡±


    So that¡¯s what receiving a Gift looks like from an outside perspective, huh? Shiny.


    ¡°Please thank him for me, Roumazi!¡± Amber translated Liz¡¯s message for her, and received a nod in response.


    ¡°I just received a Gift¡­!¡± Senava said. She held her hand open and formed a crystal in it. She gasped. ¡°I can use it to create crystals and experiment with their functions!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great, hon!¡± Malorei congratulated.


    Rayna nodded. ¡°I¡¯m happy for you. He¡¯s known to be a bit sporadic when it comes to giving Gifts.¡±


    Nipha was too lost in Luna to have any idea what was going on with her mom right now, though she had been momentarily distracted when Jorzem showed up.


    ¡°Michael, Elana,¡± Roumazi said, gesturing for them to come closer.


    The father and daughter nervously did so, not entirely understanding what was going on yet. An orb floated to both of them reminiscent of when Michelle and Luna had first appeared before the goddess nearly a decade ago.


    Michael¡¯s Gift was to create high-pressure water jets, which would be immensely valuable for him since he would likely become a blacksmith as well.


    Once he builds up his mana pool, that is. Michelle couldn¡¯t drive around in the sky until years later.


    Elana¡¯s Gift was the ability to create barriers, and she could even alter their shapes in fine ways. She had no idea what she would use it for, but its purpose would find her eventually, just as it had for Sarah.


    Roumazi smiled. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about time for dinner, yes?¡±


    The dinner table was rather crowded that night, with thirteen people there in total.


    I can¡¯t believe I went from being on my own to having eight other family members. Michelle and Michael are both looking overwhelmed as well. They both only had Luna before.


    Amber excitedly showed her new family members the tournament recordings, astounding them and exciting Liz, who had the same tastes that she did.

 36 — Departure

    Three years later¡­


    Michelle


    ¡°Do you have everything?¡± Michelle asked.


    Luna rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, Mom. I¡¯ve checked everything three times.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know, but it¡¯s easy to forget things.¡±


    Luna didn¡¯t comment. Michelle locked the front door behind them and they walked together to the prearranged carriage.


    Luna smiled as she spotted her girlfriend, having finally gotten together with her a year and a half ago, much to everyone¡¯s immeasurable relief.


    It really was a fairy tale romance for her, wasn¡¯t it? Her childhood friend and eventual lover was secretly a princess, and she went from having no home and just me as family, to having lots of people who love her and a city that she¡¯ll miss while she¡¯s away.


    Both Luna¡¯s and Nipha¡¯s families were gathered to see them off, as were Izara and other close friends from school. The two girls were going to travel together, and with a group of people they already knew would be good teammates.


    After loading up her luggage, Luna made sure to give everyone a solid hug, which took a while.


    ¡°Goodbye, everyone! I love you!¡± she called out.


    ¡°I love you, too, sweetie!¡± Michelle called back to her.


    The carriage began to move once everyone was aboard.


    ¡°And just like that, she¡¯s gone,¡± Michelle said.


    Her wives hugged her.


    Nipha still hadn¡¯t decided whether or not she wanted to be Queen, but she still had several years to decide. She was currently leaning in the direction of not going for it. Regardless of her decision, Luna would be by her side no matter what.


    Luna and Nipha actually had an advantage that most people didn¡¯t have when traveling. Roumazi created a few permanent ice cubes for them that they could simply shatter if they were in trouble or just if they wanted to check in.


    I don¡¯t normally miss having a cellphone, but right now I definitely do.


    ¡°Moms, I¡¯m going to the library,¡± Diamond said to them.


    ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll see you when you get home from work,¡± Sarah replied.


    The remaining teenager sighed and began walking back home. Elana had made great progress since leaving Earth behind, but she still had a lot of issues to work through. She enjoyed the quiet that alchemy provided her, and her Gift allowed her to rapidly shape materials and help in other, smaller ways. They had even experimented with her creating molds out of her barriers and then casting metal in them.


    The additions of Elana, Michael, and Liz to their workshop allowed them to increase production a bit, but they weren¡¯t intending to become some kind of huge blacksmithing franchise or anything, so their current output was fine. Demand for more interesting gear was still gradually increasing, and other smithies were starting to take notice as well.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    I can¡¯t wait to see what people are wearing at the next tournament now that more interesting things are starting to catch on.


    Michelle had even finally managed to create wearable clothes out of her ice. She had originally intended to create durable clothing for use when riding her bike, but her armor was still the better option. Still, the ability to create regular clothing out of ice and snow was a lot of fun to play with. She just had to make sure it was entirely opaque, at least outside of the bedroom.


    She had the urge to go for a drive right now, but might unintentionally follow her daughter for a bit if she left, so she instead began walking home with everyone. The enchantment for the bike had been finished recently as well, so Michael had also had his share of fun driving it around.


    They were already working on a second version. They also considered eventually trying to build one entirely out of enchantments rather than relying on Michelle''s Gift, but it was still unclear if something that complex would even be possible.


    Having a sibling is nice, but then again, I didn¡¯t grow up with him. Luna and Diamond hardly ever had any problems, though.


    Michael had tried going on a couple dates with people since moving here, but found himself much more interested in smithing at the moment.


    He also occasionally tried experimenting with wearing more feminine clothes now that he was no longer constrained by Earth''s ideas of what was appropriate, but still had no idea what he was really doing. But that was fine, and no one was forcing him to do anything. Michelle had long since gotten used to wearing whatever she felt like, whether it was masculine, feminine, or both, and Michael would also eventually reach that level of comfort.


    Liz was happier than she had ever been, also getting to fulfill her sword lesbian fantasies just like Amber. She hadn¡¯t consistently been in a relationship with anyone so far, but was quite enjoying the freedom she now had. And she took to blacksmithing just as eagerly as her sister had.


    It¡¯s interesting being on the teaching side of things. It really helps with my own learning.


    With the Gift Senava had abruptly received three years ago, she began looking more into how printers functioned and was working to improve them as a side project alongside some specialists.


    This was not only a favor for Sarah, but having that technology would also be highly beneficial for the Queendom as a whole.


    Sarah also decided to create a bookbinding tutorial with detailed illustrations from her wives. She then grew annoyed when it became her most popular book practically overnight. While there already were blank books for sale, many of them weren¡¯t exactly formatted for writing stories, so there were many who found bookbinding an interesting idea. And writing things out by hand was much more common in this world where computers didn¡¯t exist, which made it much more valuable.


    Sarah¡¯s stories were gradually picking some regular readers. She was still quite far from being a famous author, but she was happy that people were interested. She was still self-publishing, but the demand was starting to be a bit much for just their family to make all the copies.


    She¡¯ll probably have to talk to publishers again.


    Michelle hopped into the conversation pit with her wives. They were all feeling a little forlorn that one of their daughters was now on her own and the other would likely be moving out soon as well.


    Luna¡¯s powerful and skilled, and we put everything we had into her armor and sword. She¡¯ll be fine. She¡¯s an adult now.


    She awoke several hours later by Michael opening the front door to let the royal throuple in.


    ¡°Ahh, that looks cozy,¡± Senava said, seeing the Woods polycule all rubbing the sleep from their eyes.


    Roumazi laughed, ¡°Sorry. A nap just seemed right, after seeing them off.¡±


    Rayna smiled. ¡°I took one, too. Didn¡¯t get to sleep in a pile, though,¡± she pouted at her wives.


    Amber yawned and stretched. ¡°Game night?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still the plan, yes.¡±


    Elana stayed in her room for most of the night, but did come out to chat for a while. Diamond simply returned to her own room after her workday was finished. Michelle didn¡¯t miss that the wolf paused for a moment before entering. The sisters had been by each other¡¯s side for twelve years, after all.


    Be well, Luna. Come back with interesting stories.