17 Day 81 - 85

- Day 81

Rou's pets ranked up today. His hind bear became a demon bear with a sharp blade-like horn and flames caressing its body and the black wolf became an orthros with two heads capable of spewing forth the elements of Lightning and Fire.

I spent the day trying to think of something I could do with the Draugr. After I saw Rou's ranked up pets, I remembered that all kinds of monsters can do so. My mind then followed that natural progression towards the Draugr's possible rank up forms.

I created pits in the ground which I then filled with zombies and a single Draugr, commanding the Draugr to kill them all. I did this with 5 other Draugr and by the afternoon, Fu had a feast and I gained a few new kinds of undead.

The first three were something called a {Draugr Commander} which had gained some rather nice looking armour and the abilities to let out a ravenous scream that bolsters the abilities of other undead. It's also stronger, faster, larger and obtained an ancient looking sword with intricate designs. I ate one of their souls and gained the {Ravenous Scream} skill. The other two ranked up to {Draugr Warlord}, gaining armour that seemed a little more battle worn than the commanders' but they boasted higher strength and overall ability with their greatswords.

I decided not to eat one of their souls since a different idea popped into my head. I put the four remaining, successful rank ups in a pit of their own and had them fight to the death. Fu joined me for a while to watch the show. When it was over, one of the Warlords had come out victorious and ranked up to {Revenant}. It now boasted a set of pitch black armour covering its 7 foot body from head to toe, only revealing the glowing red eyes within its helmet, a serrated long sword of the same colour and it now has a few ice related skills that can do some serious damage to any foes, unsuspecting or otherwise.

I was proud of it so I praised its skill for a few moments and the revenant seemed to understand and nod in approval. It appears that it's intelligence has also increased.

When nightfall arrived, Rou and a few others, including my allies, went to hunt some humans. He told me it was just another routine group with nothing exciting but I soon found out from a couple of loose lipped hobgoblins that they were actually headed out to take down one of the most powerful foes and his encampment.

I see what you're doing Rou. You're tricking me into staying back so that you can get all the good skills while also undermining my authority when it comes to my own allies. That would be smart if I was just some random monster from this world.

I leave the cave and activate {Ardent Minds Eye} to track them down and watch from a distance. They take down the enemies with ease since Rou had killed the leader from afar using his black spear spell he launched, causing a hole to form in the leaders chest. The others were so caught off guard that they went down with relative ease.

After the "battle" was over, Rou ate-no absorbed the victims with a mix of his abilities that made their bodies look like a pile of sludge being sucked into Rou's body. After they left, I went and gathered their souls.

I gained {Crosswind} {Storm Wind} {Inhibit Regeneration} {Recognition Interference} {Uppercut} {Heavy Slash} {Warrior's Pedigree} {Knight's Pedigree} {Job: Dual Swordsman} {Job: Master Axeman} {Job: Master Spearman} {Job: Berserker} {Job: Grappler} {Job: Sword Saint} {Job: Dragon Slayer} {Survival Instinct} {Familicide} {Enhanced Physical Strength} {Hawk Eye} {Chickenhearted} {All Martial Arts Proficiency} {Flying Slash} {Crescent Slash} {Chiyaki Hyakka*} {Rush} {Heavy Axe Strike} {Create Trap} {Grand Cross} {Cursed Wounds}

Hmph, yeah, this was just routine. Nice try you ogre bastard.

[Elf Chief] "Hello? GuruKei? Can you hear me?"

The Elf Chief seems to be communicating with me through {Ally Communication}. Since it's his first time started up the conversation, he doesn't seem to grasp how it works just yet. I told him I could hear him and he let out a sigh of relief. As for the reason for this unexpected call, it would seem that a group of humans are attacking a group of elves attempting to complete something that has been in the works for a few days now. Specifically, the secret operation that I happened to stumble across when I saved the short haired elf woman.

I told him that I would go to help immediately, especially since he told me that there was a human there commanding them that appeared to be at around hero level. I rushed in the direction he told me to and with my eyesight enhanced by skills, I noticed what seemed to be a young boy with long silver hair and flames of the same colour surrounding his hands and the sword in his left.

Using {Perfect Analysis} I found that his name is [Ceres Crest] the {Otherworlder}. By the sounds of it, this boy seems to have been summoned from earth and blessed with power that caused him to go off the deep end. Either that or he's been manipulated by the empire or kingdom. Then there's the possibility of him just being a psychopath from the beginning who enjoys killing.

I would have liked to talk to him but since we're currently enemies and he has the elves captive, I suppose I'll just have to speak with the next one I find. With that said, using {Invisible Strike}, I cut down each and every one of his allies before equipping my {Living Magma Armour}. Say what you will, I'd still like to fight this guy head on. It could be the only real test of strength I've gotten in a while.

[Ceres] "Let's just finish them and go."

I suppose this means he doesn't have any perception skills.

[Ceres] "What are you waiting for you-!?"

Turning around, he finally notices me standing their with my sword at the ready, then all the bodies of his men lying on the ground.

[Ceres] "Y-you, what did you do!?"

[Kei] "...killed them?"

[Ceres] Why would you do such a thing you Monster!?"

Okay, he's either brainwashed or incredibly stupid.

[Kei] "Couldn't I say the same to you, who was about to end the lives of these elves?"

[Ceres] "That's not the same! The elves aren't human!"

[Kei] "Ah, you're one of those people."

[Ceres] "Wh-"

[Kei] "A human supremacist. Or is it just that you've not had to experience losing anyone you know? What a spoiled childhood you must have had. You realise that these elves have families and lives of their own right?"

[Ceres] "So did those men!"

[Kei] "I know. The thing is, you humans started this war, so whether they're just following orders or not, I really don't care."

[Ceres] "y-you.."

It seems that this boy truly has the mentality of a child and the instability of a mental patient. His anger appears to have grown considerably as his skin turns black and the marking of a crescent moon appears on his forehead. Shouting at me that he'll kill me, he charges with his flaming sword. Using {Retreat} I avoid the blow and respond with an {Invisible Strike} that cuts through his shoulder.

He reels back in pain but the wound quickly heals and he looks back to me with blood lust filling his silver eyes. He swings his sword at the air causing arcs of silver flame to shoot out. Since I have {Fire Nullification} and {Magic Resistance} among other skills, I simply outstretched my hand towards the flames and they disperse upon contact with my hand.

It seems obvious now that this boy hasn't been training properly and is merely throwing his power around like a child with a toy that's far too advanced for them. I decide to show him what real flames look like and, after a bit of close combat, I manage to get my back facing the elves and the large tree they seemed to be working on. With that done, I use the Rank 1 Chaos Magic <Flare> and supercharge it with {Fire Manipulation} and {Mana Projection}.

The boy, seemingly unwilling to believe that he could be bested so easily by an unknown entity such as myself, charged the flames on his sword to a passable degree. I launch the large, blue and orange ball of magic fire towards the boy as he tries to slash through it. The ball of magic fire pushes the boy back a small way before exploding on top of him, shaking and even toppling the nearby trees and leaving a burning crater where the boy was and slightly outside of it, is the charred but still standing boy whose armour seems to have been unable to withstand the attack.

[Ceres] "What the hell are you? Magic that strong...should belong to the humans...not a monster..."

I decide to play with him one last time before ending this.

[Kei] "what would you do if I told you that was one of my weakest spells?"

The look of horror on his face was amusing but even then, the face of this boy playing war, without the hint of understanding as to what he's doing, irks me. Using <Bolt> with {Lightning Manipulation}, the beam of electricity wipes the look from his face. Rather, it wiped his face, and his head as well as a portion of his upper body, out of existence.

Eating his and the soldiers' souls, I gained {Otherworlder} {Moon Magic} {Crescent Slash} {Limit Breaker} {Job: Herald} {Job: Holy Knight} {Job: Master Swordsman} {Job: Slaver} {Job: Mind Mage} {Job: Silver Warrior} {Wilderness Survival} {Collector} {Fighting Instinct} {Blessing of the God of Moonlight}. I was a little disappointed that he didn't have anything more but I suppose you can't expect much from a brat like that. Maybe I shouldn't have worn my armour. Perhaps that would have made the fight a little more even?

When I turned around to face the elves, they seemed at a loss. That's when I realised that they haven't seen me like this before so I quickly unequipped my {Living Magma Armour} and the short haired elf woman immediately relaxed. I healed them and they thanked me before the elf woman asked for me to guard them on their way back. I gave her a smile and agreed after confirming that they had done everything they needed to do.

After we arrived at the Elf village, I received an audience with the Elf Chief who revealed to me that their goal the whole time had been to lure out the {Otherworlder} and have either Rou or myself take care of him. It was decided to be me thanks to the input from the short haired elf woman who deemed me as the more trustworthy of the two options.

I thanked them for placing their trust in me and accepted their apology for keeping their plan from my attention. I gained a few good skills that I doubt Rou will ever come across so it's fine. Discovering that the short haired elf woman seems to favour me as well is a bonus. After receiving the reward of 3 <Unique> class health potions, 4 <unique> class poisons and a load of mithril, I was asked if there was anything else I wanted for a reward. I could tell that he was testing me since the items he's already given me would be considered quite valuable to the normal person.

I decided to ask for the name of the short haired elf woman which surprised him but he laughed and complied, asking for one of the guards to ask for her presence. When she arrived, the two of us were drinking some {Herbal Tea} that I had made mixed with a small amount of alcohol for the Elf Chief who, if I didn't know any better, I would say had an alcohol problem.

When we both noticed her, she bowed before noticing the extra cup of tea on the table. The Chief asked her to join and once she was made aware of my request, her eyes widened a little at the idea that, though I could have asked for something of much greater value, I simply wanted her name. She complied, telling me that her name is Cilia. When I told her it was a beautiful name, I saw her blush for the first time.

It would seem that the Elf Chief hatched an idea inside that head of his and suggested that Cilia return to Parabellum with me. I wasn't averse to the idea but left the choice up to her. After only a few moments, she bowed her head slightly and agreed to come with me.

When we returned that night, we got a few strange looks from those that happened to still be awake but when we went straight to my room and didn't come back out, I'd say that they got the idea. I also added Cilia to my {Allies}

- Day 82

I spent the morning introducing Cilia to the other girls. They all took the news remarkably well and even became quite friendly after a while. It was decided that with her ability in tailoring and crafts that she would work with the two craft and cook sisters for now, using her negotiating skills when necessary. Since she has some skills in combat as well, she was able to get along with Sigul and, more surprising, Lisbeth who not too long ago was on the humans side. I suppose Cilia is quite intelligent so I guess she's able to put aside her prejudices in favour of having good relations with those now on the same side. I think she'll do well here.

Since I received {Moon Magic} from that boy yesterday, I asked Sei if she would like to come with me and test it out. She agreed as she was curious about the magic of an Otherworlder. I should also mention that while we did this, Rou and a few others went to the Elf village to discuss the next phase of the battle. It's safe to assume that I wasn't invited.

As Sei and I were testing our spells, it seems that Sei has been getting stronger as well because of this war. Her spells are more powerful and she has more mana to cast them with. Meanwhile, we learned that {Moon Magic} is capable of various offensive, defensive and support spells. Starting with the level 1 offensive spell <Silver Flame Coating>, it's the same spell that the boy had used to coat his hands and sword in silver flames. The flames themselves are similar to holy flames in that they have an advantage against the undead, however they are also just a much stronger fire than normal.

The level 1 defense spell <Moonlight Barrier> was next, capable of defending against two of Sei's powerful fire spells before shattering and bursting with a bright silver light that blinded Sei for a moment. After making sure she was okay, we moved on to the level 1 support spell <Illusory Light> which creates intangible copies of the person the spell is used on that move in unison with the main body. They're unable to damage the opponent, given that they're illusions, but it's still a good spell. The fact that boy didn't use any of these just goes to show how inexperienced he truly was. I certainly hope that not all heroes are as worthless as him.

I thanked Sei thoroughly before we returned to the caves with a satisfied look on our faces for various reasons.

- Day 83

Rou and the others headed off for the decisive battle at dawn, leaving me at the caves again. Cilia, Emery, Sigul and Lisbeth tried to comfort me as I trembled in irritation. That was when Lisbeth remembered a piece of information she overheard about the {Brave Hero} Philip M. Eagesect, the insect hero, being brought in if things begin to go south. With this information, Cilia suggested that I lay in wait near the battle and give backup from the shadows when required while Emery noted that if a hero did show up, Sei, Fu and Dou might be pushed into a corner.

With everything the girls have told me, I couldn't exactly keep sitting here feeling sorry for myself, regardless of the "leaders" command. Getting up and leaving the caves after thanking the girls, I rush towards the battlefield.

When I arrive, the battle is almost over but Rou seems to have had some issues fighting the insect hero and lost sight of him. Using {Ardent Mind's Eye} I tracked him down to an area 300 metre north west. Flying at full speed with {Elytra Generation}, I manage to catch up with the fleeing boy. A smile creased my mouth when I realised that If he managed to escape, then he must have a better head on his shoulders than the last boy.

The flying, naked boy turns his head to see me flying after him.

[Philip] "Who are you!? Why can you fly?! Stay away from me!"

I pick up my speed and rush straight for the boy when all of a sudden, the earth below me erupts and a massive, mutated centipede stabs through me with its mandibles before taking me back underground. As it drags me along, I try to activate my {Living Magma Armour} but with its mandibles still lodged in my body I can't seem to form it.

- Day 83 Side Story - Philip M. Eagesect

I might not have gotten mr. black ogre but I did get a white monster with insect wings. Just the thought of taking it apart piece by piece has me excited.

A loud noise below me reaches my ears and when I look down curiously, I see the earth erupt and my beautiful Arutirumu mutated centipede burst out. It almost hits me as it rises into the sky, giving me just enough time to see something strange. It's face is covered in what looks like mud. It begins screeching in pain which causes the whole area to shake violently. I yell back asking what's wrong and that's when I see it. The figure of the white monster opening a black hole in front of my pets head that's constantly dropping the mud.

Seeing this, it's obvious that it's not normal mud but since we're not on the ground, I can't really use any of my skills. What do I do!?

- Day 83 - Kei

Sine my armour won't form, I'll just have to kill this thing before it can kill me. Dropping all 50 Corrosion Clay Golems on its face, as it rises out of the ground, screaming in agony as its face is melted, it finally releases me, throwing me upwards and allowing me to use {High Speed Regeneration} to heal my wounds. Following this, I activate my {Living Magma Armour} skill, <Silver Flame Coating> spell, followed by {Control Mass} and ending it with {Fire Manipulation}, {Fire Body} and {Sundering Strike}. Rocketing down towards the giant insect like a meteorite from the heavens, the impact between my fist and the creatures' melted head echoes a cracking, crunching sound throughout the Kuuderun great forest.

As cracks begin to cascade the centipedes' armoured body, the flames soon follow, erupting from the cracks with fury. It falls back towards the ground but isn't dead just yet. Making myself lighter with {Control Mass}, I thrust my palm out and launch the rank 3 spell <Sunder>, annihilating the centipedes' body and a large area of the forest around it. I turned to see the insect hero looking at me with a terrified expression on his face. As he tries to run away, I launch the rank 1 spell <Bolt> but he manages to avoid it and run away, leaving me to fall to the earth below with my wings heavily damaged.

- Day 83 Side Story - Rou

My fight with the insect hero ended with him running away, leaving his Exoskeleton armour to distract me. I took care of it fairly quickly and got some good skills but when I looked around for Philip, he was already long gone. I made a vow to hunt him down and eat him but as I thought that, I felt something fly overhead. Looking at it, I saw...Gurukei?

Eventually he was dragged underground by the giant centipede which, although a terrible loss of someone relatively powerful, there wasn't exactly enough room around for two monster with as many abilities as us. Especially not for someone who couldn't be controlled like him.

As I turned to leave, the earth-shaking screech of the giant insect can be heard and when I turn back around, I see it. In the distance, the small figure of Gurukei being tossed into the air as the centipede deals with some mud that appears to be causing it harm. Suddenly, Gurukei bursts into silver and orange flames, slamming into the centipede and ruining its carapace with pure strength. What followed was something I could never imagine that guy possessing.

I could feel the magic from here as he launched it, obliterating the insect and part of the forest. The resulting dust wave cascades over me, blocking my vision of where that bastard ended up.

- Day 83 - Kei

I managed to slow my fall with {Control Mass} and {Aero Master} to the point where I only let out a small "oof" as I landed atop the dead insects destroyed carapace. The first thing I did when I got to my feet was find and devour this thing's soul.

{Mining Mastery} {Enhanced Digging Speed} {Earth Manipulation} {Calamity Insect's Speed} {Calamity Insect's Grip} {Calamity Insect's Piercing Power} {Chimera Creation} {Calamity Insect's Carapace} {Calamity Insect's Noxious Fumes} {Earthshaking Scream}.

After gaining all of these abilities, I decided to find a good amount of its carapace and add it to {Exoskeleton}. The Ability devoured every piece, resulting in a black, gold and red insectoid armour with retractable, mandible-like blades on both wrists and golden, stiff antenna that seem to act more as decorative horns than proper antenna.

{Exoskeleton: Calamity Centipedes Carapace Registered. 3 slots remaining}

{Slot 1: Living Magma Armour

Slot 2: Calamity Centipedes Carapace

Slot 3: Empty

Slot 4: Empty

Slot 5: Empty}

With that registered, I deactivated the new armour before putting the rest of the Centipede's body in my {Inter-Dimensional Storage} before Rou could get his hands on it.

Speak of the ogre, he appeared not too long after, asking me where the body is. I smiled and shrugged, telling him that I must have destroyed so much that without its soul, it simply rotted away. Obviously he didn't believe me and called me out on it. My reply was that if he was going to purposely keep me from the fight so that he could grow stronger than me, that I would do the same.

He emitted some of his killing intent towards me and I returned the favour by using {Reapers Spiritual Pressure} and {Earthshaking Scream}. This got him to reluctantly back off.

When I returned to the cave, I decided to help the healing group deal with the wounded. I saw a few Hobgoblins' crying for their lost friends. This was rather strange since the thought of monsters crying over monsters is not something you generally hear about. It's good though.

- Day 84

I woke up today to the sight of Fu drooling as she was watching me sleep. I invited her to join me and she did so immediately. Later, we found that Ji had ranked up to {Half-Saint Lord}. I can practically see the holy aura around the blonde.

When I started looking around to see what else had been happening, I saw a peculiar sight. Fu was eating the souls of some zombies. I wonder if that's a Ghoul thing or if it's because of me? Next to her, trying to stop her from over engorging herself on rotten flesh and souls, is Hobume, now a {Dodomeki}, a monster with eyes all over its body and a bio-armour white kimono that will repair itself when damaged.

Other than the major rank ups, there's also been 7 Hobgoblins that have ranked up to Ogres and the Kobold leader has become a Kobold samurai. His face looks more like a middle-aged man which is a little disconcerting and his weapon has changed from a bio-lance to a bio-katana, two of which hang at his side.

I thought I'd take a look at the prisons to see what the new inmates are like, finding a much wider variety this time. From a {Half-Fire Lord} to an {Ape Man} to a {Tiger Man}. I kept to the shadows since I thought I might hear something and I was right on the mark. The {Half-Fire Lord} kept spouting off about how lords and strong monsters like them should be the ones ruling, not an ogre. I unintentionally let out an amused chuckle at this and the female {WereTiger} managed to hear it.

When she asked who's there, I walked towards the exit while revealing myself, telling them that if they did revolt, I'd enjoy eating their souls when their bodies are devoured. This made them go quiet for a while as I left but conversation resumed a little bit later. Needless to say, I'm sure my comment hasn't deterred them, maybe they'll be more careful though. Who knows, they might be able to touch him if they all worked together and went all out from the start.

After Rou had the prisoners brought out of their cells, he told them that after remaining with them as temporary troops for awhile, they would then be given the choice of joining Parabellum or returning to their homes with some money. As for where the money came from, this time it wasn't from Velvet's tomb, rather, from the loot taken from the human army.

The {Half-Fire Lord} voiced his complaints, followed by a few of his other, more idiotic, companions. The Weretiger female, the Dullahan and the Tigerman all decided against joining in which I could understand, given their leaders lack of brains.

Rou accepted their challenge for leadership and the first two to charge in was the male Half-Fire Lord and a female Half-Gale Lord. They both had something called {Demon Orbs} that enhance their strength but Rou quickly broke them and beat down the two challengers. Seeing this, many of the Half-Dragonewts backed down while the Dragonewts attacked with lightning. Their attacks did nothing and resulted in their total defeat as well.

As he was wrapping things up, the large Apeman came up behind Rou and smashed into him, sending him through the cavern wall nearby. I got a good chuckle out of this but I laughed even harder when the Apeman, now pridefully yelling to everyone that he was the leader, received a punch to his body that left him unconscious, bruised and bloody. When they looked over to me strangely, I simply said to them "I told you so"and, taking another look at the three that didn't participate, I attempted to leave. That was when I saw a Dhampir flirting with Mi which resulted in Rou beating him near death before giving him some blood to heal him.

[Kei] "Hypocrite."

Was all I got out before laughing again as the Male Dhampir rose back up and offered his body and soul to the black ogre for the taste of his blood, whilst kissing his hand. This resulted in him being slammed into the ground but it was funny nonetheless.

When I later went to visit Emery, I found that the forge now has some dwarves running around in it, judging her creations and telling her how she should improve them. This annoyed me so I slammed my scythes blade into the ground, both scaring them and alerting them to my presence. They tried to scold me by telling me not to wave around an artefact like that but when I told them that Emery made it they changed their tune, at least, after some convincing since they didn't believe it at first. I should have eaten their souls for talking to me like I'm beneath them but I'll let it slide because Emery said that while they are brutally honest, they are good at what they do and she's learning from them.

Later, while the temporary troops were being introduced to the training regime, I decided to watch. This of course, earned the ire of the Loud mouth Half-Fire Lord. I responded by telling him that if he could withstand three of my attacks, whether that be by dodging, blocking or attacking, I would do triple the training they're currently doing. Needless to say the prideful idiot accepted without another word.

I started out slow by using {Total Water Manipulation} to send a torrent of water towards him which he attempted to block with flames but ended up flying back into the wall, wet and with a few new broken bones. He struggled back to his feet while asking if that was all I had which made me smile a bit. I told him that I wanted to have some fun with him before ending it. Using {Lightning Manipulation}, which shocked him and especially shocked the Dragonewts who seem to pride themselves on their Lightning skills, I electrocuted him. The Lightning, coupled with the fact that he's covered in a large amount of water, resulted in a nice light show. When I relented, he fell to his knees panting.

Is he really strong enough to withstand my attacks like this? No, of course not. I'm not using anywhere near the full strength of these skills since, like I said, I want to play with him. It'd be boring if he just keeled over immediately. After resting for a minute on his hands and knees, he growled, getting to his feet and charging at me with his flaming sword drawn. I grabbed the sword with my bare hand and broke it before hitting him with {Slam} which resulted in the sound of many of his bones breaking, echoing throughout the cave as he smashed into the wall nearby, half dead. That time, I used a little more strength.

After calling a cleric over to heal him and picking up the demon orb that was in his sword, since they regenerate after a while, I told the Weretiger woman to come with me for a moment. She obediently yet cautiously followed and I led her to my room. Getting a good look at her, she has wild, blonde and black hair, a black eyepatch covering her left eye while her right, Amber eye shows her stern yet cautious nature, a green and yellow kimono dons her body and a katana adorns her waist.

The thing that I wanted to talk to her about, was the eyepatch. I asked her what had happened and she explained that she had lost it during the battle that resulted in her becoming a slave in the first place. I told her to remove the eyepatch and while hesitant, she did as she was asked, revealing not just a slash across the eye, but a hole in her face where her eye should be. A wound received by an arrow then, meaning that likely, it wasn't a one on one battle she had but rather a one on many situation.

I cut my finger and had her drink, which almost instantly restored her eye back to the way it was before she lost it. She was in shock for a few moments before asking me why I had done such a thing. I told her that I did it simply because I didn't like seeing someone with potential injured in a way that prevents them from using their skills to the fullest. She thanked me and I told her she could return to the others now.

As for why I didn't do anything else, it was true that I saw a lot of potential in her but my goal is more than just her. The Tigerman and Dullahan both seem quite promising so, since the three of them seem to get along, it's quite possible that after seeing my strength and healing ability, they'll choose to stay after their time as temporary troops is over and join my group. The thought of adding the capable bunch to my group is actually kind of exciting.

At night, Rou attempted to use a new skill of his to fuse together 100 ghosts. They ended up turning into something called {Legion} but it ended up going out of control and when I ate it I gained the {Chaotic Death} skill that he had used to create the thing in the first place. Where {Synthesis} lets me combine skills and items and {Chimera Creation} would allow me to combine and enhance living or physical creatures, {Chaotic Death} will allow me to combine and enhance non-Material entities such as ghosts.

Synthesis Results: {Retreat} + {Walking Enhanced} + {Aero Master} = {Wind Walker}

- Day 85

The Half Fire Lord showed his face in front of me again. He wanted to know why I didn't snatch the position of leader from the black ogre. When I told him that Rou has already been ingrained in most people's minds as the leader and that most of the strongest forces wouldn't stand for Rou being kicked out, likely either rebelling themselves or leaving the group, he seemed to calm down a little. My preference towards leading a smaller group is a factor in this as well, considering I used to refuse to take a leadership role at all.

He didn't seem to understand my lack of ambition but Sei intervenes by saying that if Rou and I did fight for the role of leader, all out, as we are now, the forest would likely be flattened, leaving nowhere to lead after the fact. This calmed the loud mouth down a bit more and I thanked Sei as she informed me of Fu's magic training starting in a few minutes.

Yes, Fu has, since becoming a Hobgoblin been able to use magic, now capable of the <Aqua> and <Abyss> varieties, with <Abyss> being her main element. I joined her for a short time to see how she was coming along and I have to say that I'm quite proud of her.

Later, I tried using Synthesis to combine some items and skills. With a group of Cursed Stakes, I was able to craft something called the {Staff of Greater Corruption} which, while ominous sounding, seems to work like any other magic staff though any magic used with it gains the {Greater Curse} effect, turning the magic cast an abyssal Black. I decided to give this to Fu after she finished her practice.

I also combined the Holy Stakes I made giving me a similar result, creating a {Staff of Greater Purification}. It grants the magic cast the {Holy} attribute on top of whatever it already is and improves the effects of healing spells and skills. I instantly thought that this would be good for Ji the Half-Saint Lord and he accepted it politely and gratefully.

Later that evening, I ate the essence of the demon orb and gained {Demon Armour Formation}. Following this, I spent a good time playing with the pets before going a little wild with {Synthesis}.

Synthesis Results:

{Goliaths Resilience} + {Goliaths Endurance} + {Power of the Goliath} + {Calamity Insect's Carapace} + {Enhanced Endurance} + Hard Body} + {Stone Skin} + {Steel Skin} + {Wrought Iron Shell Armour} + {Toughness} + {Enhanced Physical Strength} = {Divinely Forged Body}

{Pump Up} + {Libido} = {Extreme Libido}

{Chemistry} + {Alchemy} = {Advanced Alchemy}

{Calamity Insect's Speed} + {Speed of the Goliath} = {Calamity Goliaths Speed}

{Swimming Proficiency} + {Water Strider} = {Ocean Bonded}

{Stench} + {Calamity Insect's Noxious Fumes} = {Exude Calamity Poison}

{Knights Pedigree} + {Warriors Pedigree} + {Noble Aura} = {Noble Knights' Ancestry}

{Mining Mastery} + {Earth Control} + {Mining Proficiency} + {Earth Manipulation} = {True Earth Manipulation}

{Luck Manipulation} + {Fortune} + {Golden Rule} = {Transcendental Fortune}

{Quick Regeneration} + {High Speed Regeneration} = {Extreme Regeneration}

*Hundred Petals of a Thousand Spears