Celebration and Return to Duty
Back in the Twilight Manor, Nox stood face to face with Ais and Riveria in the latter's study.
"Now then, I'm sure you've both noticed something difference about me not just on the surface and Ais might even have an inkling on what that difference is right?"
Riveria then interrupted.
"If this is something about what Ais noticed . . . Why am I here?"
"Well, in our familia you're one of the people I'm closest with and definitely the one who I spent most time with, so I fully trust you with th information. In fact, even if Ais didn't notice anything I'd still tell you about it." Nox declared.
"I-I see!" Clearly Riveria was a bit surprised by the explanation and Nox could have almost sworn to have seen a slight blush but it was very momentary.
"So Ais, what did you feel when you first saw me after I leveled up?" Nox asked.
"You . . . Felt like a Greater Spirit . . ." She answered, surprising Riveria.
Nox then explained his new skill to them and its characteristics. Riveria immediately drew the connection to his Mind Veins which he had previously discussed with her and it turned into a discussion of magic which Ais listened from the side since she was seeing if she could hear something that benefited her since sher own magic was spirit magic.
In the end, this event brought all three of them closer. Ais was getting more and more interested in Nox while Riveria really loved his appreciation for the study of magic and not just its use along with the openness of the boy in regards to his ability and the fact that he said it was a special privilege of hers and nobody else's, at least for the moment.
Truthfully, other Loki, Riveria was probably the individual that knew the most about his abilities, a fact that he told her and left her surprised and flattered by it.
Fast forwarding to dinnertime, Nox had arrived at the Hostess of Fertility only to notice something strange. It was empty saved for the maids who greeted him excitedly as soon as he arrived. Then, Mama Mia came to talk to him for the first time since he started to come here.
"So, you're the reason my pub will be closed tonight huh?" She asked him.
"I thought that Loki was making a reservation for one of the back rooms?" He inquired a bit confused.
"Well, that was the original plan but all my girls wanted to be the ones serving the food and drink to your room and they were annoyingly insistent, ALL of them!"
Hearing this, Nox expression became one of the smuggest he had ever shown.
"What are so smug about!?" Mama Mia asked outraged. She thought the boy would become apologetic but she couldn't be more wrong.
"All the renowned beauties of the Hostess of Fertility want to serve at my party! Damn straight I'm feeling good at getting such attention from some of the most beautiful girls in the whole world!" He announced, his response to Mama Mia pleasing the girls quite a lot, a few of them even sending flirty glances while others became shy and blushed while looking away.
A little while later the invitees started to arrive. Loki, Finn, Gareth, Riveria, Ais, Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, Aki, Alicia, Hephaestus, Tsubaki, Asfi, Lulune, Falgar, Tabitha, Suicia, Thane, Meryl and Laurier. After they all arrived, the girls, particularly those interested in Nox as well as perverts like Loki immediately noted the disproportionate amount of girls compared to guys.
"I say Nox! Ya definitely got good taste~ Hehehehe." Loki commented next to Nox with a perverted expression, her arm around his shoulder.
"I know right? Maybe we should go out and pick up girls together some time." Nox suggested in response while also putting his arm around Loki's shoulder.
"Ya know, over time, I'm realizin' more an' more what a good decision it was acceptin' you into ma familia!" Loki said in turn as they both shared a laugh.
"But I must say . . . To even manage ta seduce a goddess like Hephaestus . . . I must praise yer skills!" Loki complimented.
Nox just smiled in response.
As the party continued Nox took time to talk with the guys and flirt with the girls, he even managed to get Finn drunk until he started flirting with Meryl, a pallum from the Hermes Familia much to Gareth's amusement and Tione's displeasure.
In the end, after making considerable damage to Nox's wallet, everyone dispersed after giving a collective congratulations to the new Level 2.
Having one day of rest and a good celebration, Nox decided it was high time he got back to work. His new Archon skill opened a lot of avenues to explore for his magic due to his increased prowess and magical perception gained from the spirits' powers and he wasn't planning on leaving any of them untested.
He immediately discovered his magic had not only become more powerful and efficient but he also had a much greater control over it. Nox could even create and control small gust of wind, sparks and small flames without any spells! Although it was far from being useful in battle at this point in time, it left the boy full of hope for the future.
All of his magic and spells had the flavor of spirit magic and were thus better in every way but using his newfound powers and perception towards magic, Nox wanted to make some changes to a particular one, Invictus.
Invictus: Covers and infuses the user's body and equipment with powerful magical energy. This energy can be used both to attack and defend. It also possesses the ability to absorb physical attacks and magic.
Although a powerful spell, Nox had left it with no elemental bonus to decrease cost but now, his spirit power meant he could actually easily impart elemental effects to any of his spell for a considerable increase in power in exchange for a comparatively small increase in Mind cost.
But as he was testing out the spell in preparation for the changes, he noticed something. Although the spell had a marked increase in power, it also allowed Nox to do something he could not until now. While before, Nox could fire relatively short ranged bursts of magical energy to attack from a distance, now it was completely different.
Not only could he unleash huge blast of magic for a wider and longer range with powerful destructive force, with his newly improved control over magic, Nox could also, shape, compress and fire magic projectiles which were basically the same as his Arcane Bolt thus making the spell redundant which in this case was great news since every slot is valuable.
Next, Nox applied elemental effects to Invictus. With a single keyword, Nox could freely change the element of Invictus mid-battle without deactivating the spell. He decided to use the different appellations for the various types of spirits as keywords.
Sylph for wind, Salamander for fire, Undine for water, Tonitrus for lightning, Gnome for earth, Lux for light and finally Shade for darkness.
With this experience, Nox also modified his Arcane Missile Storm adding the elemental variable and renaming in to Spirit Missile Storm with the first name changing based on the element.
Day was fast approaching and Nox had to go to Hephaestus' place for further training. He theorized that his Archon skill also gave him the ability to make powerful Magic Weapons without training like the Crozzos and was eager to test it out.
He had no qualms like the idiot Welf so he would be making a shit ton of money for basic Magic Weapons if that was the case. He didn't need to make powerful weapons to supply to possible enemies and people he didn't know but he could make weaker ones en mass and sell them to every single person who would buy them.
As he tried making some basic stuff while Tsubaki and Hephaestus watched, his theory proved correct as he made a magic dagger that could create flying blades of wind with each swing, stupefying his audience. While he had made weapons with magical effects before, they worked more like a magic item or simply a weapon with special properties made by a Level 2.
Nox explained it was due to a new skill he got on level up but gave no specifics which they were quite alright with. Still, this event made the two women much more excited to train Nox and see just what he could achieve with his talent once his smithing skill caught up.
His skills in smithing, specially with his Craftmaster development ability had definitely improved and while they were passable, Nox still wanted to make further improvements before starting to sell his own equipment. Hephaestus had already offered to help him market his good, truly a very helpful Waifu, Nox couldn't ask for more, at least materialy. Hehehehe~
Now that he could also make advanced magic items, he also thought to resume his training with Asfi much to the former princess' joy with her excitement when he informed her in the celebration yesterday being quite adorable. So from now on, he would alternate between these two task every day. Also, since he was given permission from the guild, Nox decided to tame some more monsters.
Not only would he get some nice henchmen but it would also serve as a fine excuse to interact with the cool beauty Guild receptionist Rose Fannett.
Having finished his daily training though, after passing by the Hostess to receive his lunch and greet the girls, Nox picked up Lili and resumed his dungeon exploration.
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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!
The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.
You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.
There's also my other novel Kage of Kages, do check it out!
I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.