221-230

221 [Christmas] – Snowy adventure

It was the evening with the sun barely peeking over the horizon, providing just enough light to see. Snow had fallen from the sky covering everything in a thick white coat, making it somewhat troublesome to travel.

However, this wasn't a problem for the group as Elysia effortlessly melted the snow with her flames. Traversing through the snow, the group were exploring the fox realm since Freja tipped Shaman and Elysia off to a nice place to go during the winter.

Everyone was covered head to toe in winter gear, but due to the fox realm having some of the harshest winters it still felt like it wasn't enough.

Currently the group was walking through a bamboo forest at the bottom of a mountain, slowly getting closer to the base.

"So do we actually have a place in mind?" Clara did not know where they were going as well as Elanor and Silver.

"What she said, you dragged us out into the cold and haven't said anything." Silver pouted wishing he had his thick fur coat when he was a wolf.

"Hey, you have at least an arm warmer with you." Clara turned around glaring at Silver who had an Elf attached to his arm. Elanor avoided all eye contact pretending she wasn't even there and ignoring what everyone was saying.

"It's not like I had a choice." Silver blushed as ever since they went outside, Elanor latched herself onto Silver for warmth.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm." Shaman was constantly eyeing off Elanor, not approving of her actions, but Elysia kept Shaman at bay by pulling her along.

.....

"Ahem, we will be there soon… I hope." Elysia answered Clara's question the best she could since she didn't even know how close they were.

*Sigh* "I guess we will see soon." Clara accepted their fate and only hoped it would be worth the trip out in the snow.

*

Continuing through the bamboo that grew thicker the deeper they went, the group finally made it to a clearing.

"I think we are here." Elysia spotted an entry to a cave that Freja described to her.

"A cave?" Clara found it ridiculous that where they were heading was a cave and didn't make much sense.

"Where we have to go is through this cave apparently." Shaman gave some details about the location, but it didn't subside the immense amount of curiosity Clara had.

"Hope this is worth it, if not I'm going straight back." Elanor was wanting to go back more and more since she hated the cold.

"I'm hoping as well, the last thing I want is to get there and it turns out to be just one massive joke." Silver became more sceptical as time went on and slowly was agreeing more with Elanor in turning back.

"I'm sure it will be fineeee." Shaman believed this would be okay since when she spoke to Freja it was in a tone she only uses when she is serious.

"Urggg let's just go in, it will be warmer in there at least." Clara overtook Elysia as the snow was less dense making it much easier to walk in.

"Oi don't go too far." Elysia chased after Clara alongside the others who didn't want to be left behind.

*

<Inside the cave>

The cave wall was lined with blue glow bugs which lit up the cave perfectly well. It was a rather beautiful scene and without taking a closer look, it made it seem like a wall of light bulbs.

"Damn I wouldn't think something like this is just in a random cave." Clara took a moment to admire the scene while the others caught.

"You're not wrong, but hey at least it gives me hope that what Freja said is true." Shaman became less worried that this trip was for nothing since they were already seeing a wonderful scene.

"This isn't the final destination so it makes me think about what will be at the other end of this cave." Elysia was itching to find out what was through the cave and kind of wanted to hurry.

"Still haven't told us what she said." Elanor had finally let go of Silver as the cave was out of the cold breeze which made it unbearable cold for her.

"If I'm honest she didn't tell us much, the only thing she said was to go to this cave and have a nice date." Shaman finally revealed what Freja said which wasn't surprising for anyone.

"Ah I see why, it kind of ruins the suspense." Clara felt her curiosity fall flat as she would have thought Freja enticed Shaman and Clara with something, but in reality, there was nothing.

"Still though, it has been promising so let's not get too down. It is Christmas after all." Shaman thought this would happen and didn't want to say anything, but she felt bad keeping it a secret from everyone.

[Shaman, they don't have Christmas here.] Rea echoed in Shaman's mind letting her know that this holiday didn't exist.

"Ch-Ch-rist-mas?" Elysia turned her head confused as the word sounded like it came from a different language.

"Oh right, well we have a day in my old world where you exchange gifts and meet up with family. Basically a holiday at the end of the year to celebrate." Shaman gave a quick explanation, but it didn't seem to do much.

"Is it like the day of the tree? I know we elves do something different but it's to celebrate the world tree." Elanor realised what Shaman described sounded like a elven tradition, but it was something celebrated in the middle of the year.

"Maybe? I don't know too much about the traditions of this world so I hoped things would be similar." Shaman had no idea but assumed it was since her Christmas did originate from religion.

"Hmm, probably not the best people to ask since we have been ostracised from society, especially Elysia and Elanor." Clara had no idea what the holiday could be since she only knew of the demon land's traditions which didn't fit any of what Shaman said.

"Oh well, we can make it our thing. I will ask Freja if she made it a proper holiday, but I feel that would be too much of a task." Shaman was a bit sad that it may no longer be a thing but had some hope since Freja also came from her old world.

"For now let's keep going, I still don't see an end in sight." Silver ended up ahead of everyone and couldn't see the end of the cave meaning they still had a lot more walking to do.

*

<End of the cave>

Light from the outside leaked into the cave, indicating they made it. This was the final reveal and once they were through they will finally see what Freja wanted them to see.

All of them walked out together and were met with quite a unique scene that Shaman didn't think was possible.

As their eyes adjusted to the light, they stood over a massive cherry blossom forest that was enclosed at the bottom of a volcano, but something was odd. They were blooming and the petals on the trees were of a blue colour.

This confused Shaman and didn't quite sit well in her head, but it was also another reminder that she is in a different world.

'I really shouldn't be surprised.' Shaman knew she shouldn't be caught off guard since she has been in this new world for so long, but she couldn't help but get confused at times.

"Wow, it's so… beautiful." Elysia and the group were amazed by the scene as paired with the snow, the bright blue petals almost looked magical.

"I see why Freja didn't say much." Elanor couldn't believe such a place existed, let alone that it was completely untouched.

"Let's get closer." Silver wanted to get close and see the trees up close, but as he took a step out of the cave, he slipped. In a desperate attempt, he grabbed the closest person to him which was Elanor.

Dragging her down with him, they rolled down the side of the mountainside which was covered in snow.

Shaman, Elysia and Clara quickly jumped down and slid on the snow. At first, they almost tumbled and joined Silver, but once they gained their balance it allowed them to catch up.

"Hang in there." Shaman was able to use her ice to create a platform under her which made her faster. Going to the side of Silver and Elanor, Shaman opened up a rift portal right in front of them. She then opened one in the sky and created an ice slide so she could make a smooth landing.

Silver and Elanor went through the portal and landed on the slide together.

Reaching close to the bottom, Shaman tried to flatten out the slide and created a bowl at the bottom. Although Shaman intended so it would let them slowly slow down, they instead took off into the sky.

"AHHH!" Elanor screamed as they were launched into the air and came crashing down towards the snow.

Elysia and Clara wanted to help, but they didn't have the skills that would help and if anything would make it worse.

Shaman wanted to do another ice slide, but then realised they were too close to the trees and not wanting to ruin them hoped the snow was deep enough.

Crash landing into the snow, Silver and Elanor vanished showing that it was deep enough. Once they landed, Shaman, Clara and Elysia rushed over to help them out.

Pulling Elanor out of the snow, they saw Silver who had been crushed by her with eyes resembling spirals and completely out of it.

*Sigh* "And Elysia you say it's a good thing Elanor is clingy to him." Shaman squinted her eyes at Elysia who had kept Shaman at bay the entire trip.

"It's kind of cute you ask me." Elysia winked and poked her tongue out thinking that this wasn't a bad thing at all.

"Geh." Shaman rolled her eyes and went ahead pulling Silver out of the snow.

After a few minutes, Elanor and Silver got out of their daze and realised what happened.

"We're alive?" Elanor freaked out and touched her body all wondering if she turned into a ghost.

"My head hurts." Silver grabbed his head and tried to get his bearings.

"Phew, looks like they are fine." Shaman casted her [heal] on the 2, making the headache they felt go away.

"It was rather amusing, but my question is Silver, why didn't you use your shadows to brace the fall?" Clara brought up a great point and figured he would be able to react in time.

"U-ummm well, when you are spinning and getting smothered, it's hard to think in the moment." Silver blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed that he wasn't able to save himself.

"Pffhaha, don't worry too much about it, if anything it was a quick way to get down." Elysia made light of the situation which helped with Silver's embarrassment.

"Well now that we are here, let's find a spot to relax." Elanor didn't want to hold up their trip anymore, so she got herself up and helped Silver up.

Suddenly Shaman's hair floated slightly and her eyes glowed blue as she glared at Elanor helping Silver up. However, Elanor was completely oblivious and before she turned around, Elysia jabbed Shaman in the ribs to get her to stop.

"Ahem, let's continue." Elysia then dragged Shaman by the collar and led the group into the forest of blue sakura trees.

While walking through they enjoyed the atmosphere and surprisingly it was rather warm. They deduced that since this place was in a volcano-like mountain, there was something underneath them producing this warm feeling.

When they reached the middle, there was a clearing that was void of snow and was instead of grass littered with blue petals.

All of them took a seat on the grass while Elysia set up the portable kitchen she carried in her personal inventory.

"What did you do for this Christmas event?" Clara was intrigued by what Shaman mentioned before and wanted to know more about it.

"Hmm it wasn't too special, but usually we would have lunch like what we are doing now and have a great time. We would say merry Christmas and enjoy our meal, but the main event was the present. However, this was mainly for the kids and a good time for them to get something they want." Shaman elaborated more and Clara found it sounded like a great event. She even thought if Silver was younger, he would love this kind of event.

"Damn, wished we had something like that, but I guess like you said we can have it as a small tradition between us." Clara thought back to when she was a child and winter were some of the most boring times for her.

"We can and I know a great gift for you and Elysia." Shaman put her hand under Clara's chin teasing a kiss.

"Sheesh, not here while Elanor and Silver are here." Clara blushed and averted her gaze while also secretly hoping Shaman would continue.

Elanor and Silver both looked away trying not to intrude but found it hard not to keep peeking.

.....

"Of course, it will have to wait until later, but at least you have something to look forward to." Shaman winked and pulled away her hand. Clara pouted, but she tried to not make it known what she really wanted.

"Lunch is ready!" Elysia shoved a hot pot between Clara and Shaman, breaking up the tension.

"Food!" Silver's eyes widened at the appearance of food and instantly held out his bowl.

"Alright, one at a time." Elysia placed the pot on a stand and began to pour what looked like curry. Shaman raised an eyebrow as her head was in a Christmas theme and didn't think this meal was Christmas-themed.

Regardless she still took a serving, not thinking too much about it since realistically they can do what they want.

"Before we start eating, did we all want to say merry Christmas as a little homage to my old world?" Shaman figured they may as well celebrate it since it will also be a reminder of her old world.

Silver, who almost took a bite, slowly lowered his spoon and nodded. Everyone else nodded and waited for Shaman's signal to go.

"On go… 3.. 2.. 1.. go"

222 Teleportation trap

Elanor continued examining the wall and finally found the secret entrance to the palace. The brick wall vanished like an illusion, revealing a tunnel illuminated by green flames.

"This is it. I don't know if it is safe, but I do know it goes directly to a courtyard inside the palace grounds." Elanor took a step back to let the others go first since she didn't know if it was safe anymore.

"Anything we should be aware of?" Shaman didn't mind Elanor stepping back, but she knew more about the palace than anybody else.

"Nope, just walk through and we should arrive in a garden." Elanor did not recall there being traps or dangers of any kind, yet she wasn't entirely sure if the traps were merely deactivated when last passed through.

"Alright, let's go then." Shaman entered the tunnel followed by the others. So far there was nothing suspicious or wrong, but this only made it more eerie for Shaman since it felt too easy.

'Why would they just leave this entrance here, there must be some traps.' Shaman constantly focused on her senses to search for anything out of place, but she sensed nothing.

"You alright Shaman?" Elysia saw how restless Shaman was which made her own anxiety spike.

"I'm fine, I just don't trust that this tunnel is safe." Shaman didn't want anyone else to worry, but she saw the look on Elysia's face and didn't want to hide it from her.

"It's to be expected, I know I would have set traps in places like these." Clara understood how Shaman felt and was also trying to sense if anything was wrong.

.....

"We just need to keep going forward and hope for the best at this point." Silver was getting second-hand stress as he believed that there was nothing there. After all, if it was trapped, why hasn't something happened yet?

"True." Shaman felt more at ease after hearing Silver and kept going forward, keeping a few steps ahead of the rest just in case there was a trap.

*

Things started looking hopeful as they saw light at the end of the tunnel and assumed it was the courtyard Elanor mentioned.

However, just then a white magic circle appeared under Shaman's feet. She tried to jump back, but a barrier was placed behind her.

"Shaman!" Elysia tried to grab Shamana and pull her back, but the same barrier was in the way.

"El-." Before Shaman could speak, she vanished on the spot and the barrier disappeared.

Elysia and Clara both rushed forward, feeling the floor and wall to find out what had happened.

"SHAMAN!" Elysia started to freak out and tears welled up blurring her vision. Clara was a lot calmer, but seeing Shaman disappear like that made her heart race.

Silver also joined in the search, but there was no trace of Shaman at all as if she genuinely disappeared.

"It was a teleportation spell, we need to hurry and find where she is." While the group was looking for signs of Shaman, Kiruya was trying to figure out what kind of magic circle that was.

"Elanor!?" Elysia turned to Elanor with a murderous glint since technically she was the one that led them to this tunnel.

"I-I really don't know." Elanor was just as shocked as everyone else and didn't think such a spell was in the tunnel.

"Mom! Don't blame her, she didn't know! If she really had done that on purpose, the system contract would have been broken." Silver spread out his arms and stood in between them.

"Grrr." Elysia couldn't be angry at Elanor as what Silver said was 100% true.

"Thank you Silver." For a moment there Elanor felt her life was in danger, so she was grateful for Silver jumping to her aid.

'Shaman wasn't wrong when she said Elysia can be quite volatile.' Elanor was terrified of Elysia and couldn't believe how emotionally unstable she was.

"Elysia, let's go, no point in trying to find someone to blame." Clara grabbed Elyia's shoulder and tugged on it to get her moving.

"Fine, but I'm burning this place down." Elysia put on a calm face, but on the inside, her anger was still burning brightly. She was determined to turn the place to ash to find Shaman.

"How about we don't do that." Kiruya knew it would be the worst approach and would slow them down immensely.

"Tch." Elysia clicked her tongue knowing she couldn't go against Kiruya's word since the latter was stronger.

"I-I will lead us to where she could be." Elanor had an idea where Shaman could be and, although her memory was foggy, it was still better than nothing.

"Lead the way." Clara trusted Elanor, especially after Silver brought up the system contract which gave her a lot of credibility.

*

<A dark room>

"Ah fuck, what was that." Shaman got up from the ground trying to get her bearings and quickly lit a small fire on her fingertips.

However, when she clicked her fingers no flame came out and she couldn't feel any magical current in her body.

'What the fuck?' It was a weird sensation to not feel mana flow through. It made her feel… normal.

[Mana suppressed, please locate the suppression device]

A system message appeared in front of her which gave her an important context clue on where she could be.

'Shit I'm trapped.' Shaman's mind raced as she tried to think of a way out. Sadly, her lover's call was on cooldown, but she didn't even know if that would work with the mana suppression to begin with.

She walked forward to see if she was in a dungeon of some sort but instead walked into a wall. Trying again, she felt nothing but walls around her with no light source at all.

'There seems to be something above me though.' Shaman felt a slight draft come from above her and figured that's where the ventilation was.

Luckily, even without Shaman's magic, her stats remained unchanged. Shaman jumped up towards the ceiling, just barely making contact with the cobblestone roof.

Her hope reignited, Shaman kept jumping as she searched the ceiling until finally making contact with a metal grate.

Jumping up once more, she grabbed a hold of the grate. However the grate could not support her weight, so once her momentum ended both Fox and her new metalworks tumbled down to the floor.

Landing on her back, Shaman's mood soured. Without the grate as a hand-hold her climbing options were cut short. Depending on how deeply the vent was cut into the ceiling she might not be able to reach its ledge.

'Please let me reach.' Getting back up she jumped up again and brushed her hand against the sides of the vent.

"Damn it!" Shaman felt no ledge to grab, but since the wall was made of cobblestone, she thought there might be enough rock to grab onto.

"Don't bother, there is no way for you to get out." An old raspy voice echoed out in Shaman's cell, scaring her almost to death.

"Who?! Where?!" Even though Shaman's eyes had already adjusted enough to see the layout of the room, her frantic search did not reveal any silhouettes.

"Tch, stupid fox." The old man hit the ground with a cane, the resulting sound reverberating throughout the dungeon.

"AHHH!" Shaman covered her ears as the sound it made was extremely high-pitched.

"Now listen here, you bring my granddaughter back to my palace and think you can get away with it?! Surely she has told you she isn't allowed back here. I made it very clear that if I ever see her again, I would kill her!" The old man was getting more agitated with every word he spoke.

"Shut up! What do you even know of your daughter? She worked hard making a living all on her own and even worked up the courage to fight alongside us. Just because she diverges from your "Purebred" ideals doesn't mean she should be exiled." Shaman realised who she was talking to and was becoming infuriated.

"You know nothing about her and your naivety led you here, which will be your final resting place."

"Ha, the audacity to think you know anything. Have you ever spoken a word to her?" Shaman couldn't believe what she was hearing. Having a son herself, she understood to some degree a parent would feel he knows what's best for his child. She wanted to mould Silver into her own mind's image of him, but that just wasn't possible. The more time went on, it became apparent he was becoming his own unique person.

"I don't need to, she couldn't produce results, so I tossed her."

"Oh fuck you!" Shaman knew it was far from the truth. Elanor was far more talented than what the old coot knows, having her own unique element. Hearing his words just made Shaman want to smash something. Acting out of pure spite, she ended up activating [Royal bloodline arts].

Since the skill did not need mana to activate she started to transform into her hybrid fox form.

"What? How?" Elanor's grandpa was confused as he sealed Shaman in an anti-mana barrier.

"I'm sick of your shit!" Shaman's fur started to gain the stardust effect, the element no longer restricted by the barrier. She now had full access to her mana but still couldn't use any of her elements other than stardust.

"What is this element?" The old man was confused, as it seemed like the barrier could not stop the stardust element at all.

223 Ineffective seal

The seal that prevented Shaman from using her mana prevented the ambient mana from entering the room, making it impossible to create water, fire, air and earth. However, due to her stardust being a unique type of mana, it did not require the base 4 elements to be formed.

This allowed the use of her royal bloodline arts, which were completely unrestricted since the space attuned ambient mana was not limited within the seal.

Elanor's grandpa, who wore grey robes, stood above the vent and came to this realisation after taking a closer look at Shaman and the properties of her unique element.

'How troublesome.' It threw a spanner in his plans as he didn't have the energy to waste on fighting.

"Do what you want with my granddaughter, now get out of here." Seeing the situation going downhill, he turned to leave when suddenly a rift in space opened behind him.

"You're not getting away!" Shaman appeared from the rift with Kotetsu in hand covered in stardust. She was slightly blinded by the lights in the hallway, but it didn't matter to her as her only aim was to sow some chaos.

Slashing down, she missed the old man by a fair margin, but when her sword hit the ground it exploded in a burst of stardust. The entire hallway was covered in Shaman's stardust, giving her a strategic advantage. On top of that, now that she was out of the seal she should finally be able to use all of her elements.

Next, Shaman surrounded herself with ice spikes and shot them into the stardust. The old man saw them enter the walls, but nothing came of it, so he tried to use this opportunity to get away.

Taking a step back and hitting his cane on the ground, roots tried to break out of the floor but were stopped by the stardust. Suddenly, a barrage of ice spikes came from all around him, blocking his escape path and pushing him back towards Shaman.

.....

Shaman lifted her sword from the ground and charged into the old man, sandwiching him between 2 lethal attacks. Her sword released its own barrage of ice spikes while Shaman took a stab at piercing the old man's heart.

"Argghh!" The sword successfully went through his chest while the ice spikes stabbed into every part of his body except the head. Blood poured out of his mouth, his wounds so severe that Shaman doubted he could survive.

Blood landed on Shaman's face, but she noticed something wasn't right with the blood. It was the same blue colour as the dark elves she fought in the dungeon.

"You're-!?" She saw the smile on the old man's face, who no longer seemed to be in pain. A wave of purple spread through his skin and his eyes glowed slightly red.

As the ice covering his body started melting, Shaman tried to pull away but the elf had already grabbed her sword in his powerful grip.

"Should have stayed in your cell vixen!" The dark elf gripped even harder and the sound of metal snapping echoed in the hallway. Shaman then took a few steps back as it felt like the elf let go of her sword.

Looking at her sword, she was speechless to see that almost the entire blade had been snapped off.

[Kotetsu (Broken)]

"Look at you, a broken sword and you're already in disarray. This isn't who I saw in the dungeon." The dark elf had finished transforming and the old wrinkled look of a tired grandpa vanished. He now had a great physique and grew a pair of horns like an oni.

The grey robes that he loosely wore fell and revealed a leg that resembled a goat.

Shaman's mind spiralled trying to think what her next move should be, but to her, there seemed to be no way out.

[Axel the Satyr]

[Tier 7 leader]

[It is a highly intelligent monster that is able to mimic the appearances of those he has killed. Specialises in black flame magic and has incredible speed due to its goat legs.]

Reading the description in front of her, she found some comfort in knowing it was just a tier 7 leader, but the fact it snapped her sword like a stick terrified her.

"Fox got your tongue? Here let me help." Axel suddenly disappeared, even faster than the wooden elf she fought not too long ago. He then appeared behind Shaman and kicked her back, sending her flying down the hallway.

"AHH!" Crashing into the wall that was made out of pure stone, she broke through to the other side and was embraced by the cool air of the outdoors. Having been shot out of the second floor, Shaman fell unconscious from the impact and was heading straight for the grassy ground below.

However, just before reaching the ground, she woke up and desperately tried to use her wind to brace the fall.

Managing to lighten the fall slightly, she still hit the ground hard and bounced across the ground until she rolled to a stop. All of her clothes were covered in dirt. Even worse, when she tried to move she felt bones poking her insides.

She tried using heal, but the damage was just too much. Her healing wouldn't suffice for a full recovery, but just enough for her to get up.

'Shit.' Shaman grabbed her broken Kotetsu and wobbled on her feet when she got up. Putting her sword in her inventory, she glanced up at the palace where she caught Axel standing over the edge of the hole she fell from.

"This mustn't be separate from the dungeon and instead the palace itself is the dungeon." Everything fell into place as seeing the grandpa be a tier 7 leader confirmed that he was the boss of this dungeon and that the palace is actually the final zone.

"Correct! Thanks to elves living for so long, I was able to play family." Axel spoke into Shaman's ear making her swing around with an arm that she quickly covered in ice.

Axel caught Shaman's ice arm and lifted her up, which was extremely painful as it felt like her arm was being ripped off.

"Ah yes the pleasure of pain, now don't be so jumpy and listen." Throwing her to the ground he took a few steps back and let Shaman stand up.

"Bastard." Even as she was Getting more furious about being toyed with, Shaman controlled herself from attacking since she had no choice but to listen.

"You go back to your love triangle and take that bastard child Elanor with you and I will let you live, but I need to get that demon sword you stole." Axel laid out conditions for Shaman which was surprising, but she couldn't help feeling there was something more to it.

"What guarantees that you won't just kill me as soon as you get that sword back." She couldn't trust a demon even though she was dating one, it just didn't sit right with her.

"Pffhaha! I can kill you and your friends right now, so don't test me." After his laugh, his aura changed, engulfing Shaman in a feeling of death.

"E-even if I accepted, I would need to get back to them first. Are you even going to let me?" Shaman saw herself as a hostage at this point and doubted Axel would let her just run back alone.

"Oh don't worry they will be here soon." Axel smiled as he looked up into the sky sensing something was coming his way.

***

<Elysia and Clara POV>

"Lovers call won't work!" Elysia was constantly trying to activate the skill, but only a system message popped up.

[Cannot reach lover, please try again later.]

Clara also tried as ever since she got together with Shaman and Elysia, she got access to the skill.

"We are almost there." Elanor was leading them through the palace hallways which were surprisingly quiet. There were a few maids around, who were all very surprised to see Elanor. Yet luckily not a single one tried to alert the guards even though they clearly recognized her.

Elanor wanted to stop and say hi as they were the same maids from when she was younger, but they needed to hurry.

"Are you sure we shouldn't have split up?" Silver figured they could cover more ground as there were no serious dangers.

"It's better if we stick with Elanor, especially if we bump into her father. He might mistake us as intruders or even be under Elanor's grandpa's influence." Kiruya didn't want anyone to get separated as Shaman disappearing was already stressful enough.

"If my guess is right, Shaman is in the dungeon and was put in an anti-mana seal." Elanor knew roughly how their dungeon worked as her dad explained what would happen to bad guys, using it to quell any worries she had as a kid.

"What kind of seal?" Kiruya picked up on this detail as there were varying degrees of seals.

" I don-."

"IT WORKED!" Elysia suddenly got the notification that lovers call worked and began to disappear on the spot. Clara also quickly activated it and joined Elysia to go help Shaman.

"I hope they are okay." Elanor felt it was very sudden, but was happy to know it worked as it told them Shaman was 100% alive.

"Great, let's be quick and try to find your brother then." Kiruya wanted to join them, but there was no way to tell where they vanished to.

"Mhm, I think it's better we find my dad first though, he will be able to find Ren quicker than I can navigate this place as if I'm honest…. I'm kind of lost

224 Synergy

Axel looked up in the sky feeling 2 presences appearing out of thin air and was confused as to whom it could be.

Suddenly Elysia and Clara appeared in the sky just above Shaman. Spotting that she was heavily injured and without a weapon, Elysia already felt her blood boil. Clara on the other hand was calmer, but she still shared the same feeling of anger with Elysia.

Both spotted the satyr standing across from them and instantly knew they were responsible. Axel smiled in response and beckoned for them to fight him.

Elysia and Clara looked back at each other nodding, communicating without even speaking. Both of them landed on the ground next to Shaman, but they were focused on killing the Satyr that injured her, so they sprinted at Axel.

"Wai-." Shaman didn't want them to attack, but they were already sprinting before she could conjure up words.

Elysia pulled out her spear while going into her hybrid form to increase her speed. Clara also partially did her demon transformation just enough that she won't be exhausted in the first 30 seconds.

"Interesting." Axel stood there observing the 2 girls as they approached.

Elysia was a few metres away and so she stabbed her spear into the ground, performing a vault kick into Axel. Taking a side step he easily dodged Elysia, but while he was moving Clara lashed with one of her whips, wrapping it around Elysia's immobile spear.

She sprinted past Axel while attaching her whips together, forming one extended whip. She then threw the handle at Elysia, who caught the whip and pulled on it catching Axel, but it was all futile as he vanished on the spot. Appearing behind Clara, he tried to grab her neck, but she was able to swing around with a sword made from lighting.

.....

Axel stepped back slightly, barely dodging the lightning sword while also getting a few burn marks from the flickering lightning.

Clara jumped back next to her whips and picked them back up while keeping an eye on Axel. Elysia also grabbed her spear out of the ground and stood next to Clara. But Axel didn't allow them to breathe and charged at them with his fist covered in black flames.

Elysia took a step forward and deflected Axel's fire fist with her fire-coated spear. When his attack touched her spear Elysia noticed that it absorbed some of the flames.

Even though Axel's fist was deflected his control over his body was extreme, which allowed him to completely shift his body and continue to attack. Axel renewed his assault sending out constant punches and forcing Elysia to go on the defence.

She was barely able to block the attacks, but she didn't need to wait long as Clara jumped over her while slashing down with her whips.

Axel crossed his arms to block the whips, but they ended up wrapping around his arms which was exactly Clara's intention. Clara then landed back on the ground while tugging on her whips to pull him in closer to Elysia who was going to strike him right in the stomach.

However, Axel allowed himself to get pulled and used the momentum to kick Elysia in the jaw, sending her flying back into Clara.

Both of them slid on the ground until they hit the palace wall, crashing into it and causing some of the cobblestone bricks to crack.

Elysia felt her head ache from the kick and nearly passed out just trying to get back up, just barely holding on to her consciousness. Clara took the brunt of the force when hitting the wall, her back hurting so much she worried it may be broken.

It took her a second to stand up, but even once back on her feet she knew it would take one more attack to end up with an actual broken spine.

"Round 2?" Axel slowly walked up, hoping they would keep going since he started enjoying the fight even more.

"Shut up!" Clara didn't want to hear it, so she ran up while spinning her whips on either side of her, charging them with lighting. She then swung them at Axel in awkward directions to make it hard to dodge.

Axel smirked and dodged the whips, bending his body in a way so physics-defying that Clara didn't think possible. Clara didn't stop trying to catch him mid-dodge, but no matter what she did Axel found a way.

Elysia during this had switched to her bow and begun to fire arrows, timing them with Clara's strikes, but even then none hit their mark.

*Yawn* "Still can't hit me." Axel had enough dodging so he moved closer to Clara in a flash. Throwing a punch as soon as he appeared, he landed a hit right in Clara's stomach, sending her back to Elysia.

Elysia managed to catch Clara, but she ended up sliding on her feet and hit the palace wall, albeit thankfully not nearly as hard as before.

Clara coughed up blood, her back only escaping dire consequence thanks to Elysia.

"He is strong, if I didn't push myself to the limit I would have been dead." Clara felt goosebumps as the severity of the situation sunk in. Her opponent was so fast she had to rely purely on instinct, not to mention that without her regeneration she would have probably been dead by now.

"I have a dumb idea, but I doubt we will be killing it." Elysia wasn't confident in beating Axel as she had the same feeling when she fought the variant troll boss in Cholden.

"Let's just try it and see if we can run away." Clara didn't care what kind of plan it was, because at this point as long as they could get out with Shaman, then she considered that a win.

"Sling me with your whips." Hearing Elysia's idea, Clara looked at her in confusion and shock, finding it completely insane.

"Enough chatter." While the girls were talking Axel took the time to do a few stretches before his next attack. After cracking his neck, he jumped into the sky and let out a pair of bat wings from his back.

He then suddenly changed direction, aiming straight for the girls while also creating tridents made out of black flames.

Without having a chance to argue why Elysia's idea was stupid, they both dodged to the side into a rift portal that appeared out of nowhere. All of a sudden they were in the sky well above Axel in the perfect position to execute Elysia's plan.

"Shaman?" Clara didn't expect her to participate or have the energy to even use her mana.

"Mhm, now let's go." Elysia actually used Rea to tell Shaman to use her rifts.

Clara shook her head finding the situation inconceivable, but they were already in the air.

While the girls were getting reacquainted with gravity, Axel crashed into the ground in an explosion of black flames that ravaged the environment.

He looked around for the girls, but all he saw was a heavily breathing Shaman, her hands extended outwards. He knew she did something and decided to switch targets knowing she was the reason for the other 2 being here.

However, he suddenly felt an immense amount of mana forming above him forcing him to look up.

Clara spun like a top in the air with her whips fully extended and tied at their end was a ball of blood-red flames. Elysia threw all caution to the wind, allowing the flames to go wild as they naturally formed into a crimson sphere.

Clara could no longer spin any faster, so she retracted her whips which sent Elysia plummeting into the ground. Once Clara's whips were fully retracted, Shaman opened up another rift, teleporting Clara next to her.

Elysia's speed was faster than Axel's own dive leaving him with no room to dodge and forcing him to block.

He created a wall of black flames that was as thick as the palace walls.

Elysia then hit the black flamed wall forcing a contest of fire. Hellfire ravaged the grassy field, easily surpassing the destruction of the previous attack.

Axel struggled to keep up the wall as he felt his mana getting sucked away and didn't know what was causing it.

Elysia on the other hand was only getting stronger, her flames consuming Axel's fire with unnatural thirst. The unique properties of the black flames are based on corrupted souls which count as a form of vitality, allowing Elysia to absorb it.

"DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT DEMON!" Elysia felt herself breaking through the wall and with one last push of her newly obtained mana, it finally broke. The fire wall dispersed allowing Elysia to have a clean shot with her spear into Axel's chest.

Hit in the chest and crushed into the ground, Axel was then blasted with the full strength of Elysia's flames. The force of the attack made the ground cave in creating an explosion of dirt and dust obstructing everyone's view.

As the dust settled it revealed that Elysia had not pierced Axel at all, only leaving a small mark on his chest. They stood still for a moment, but then it dawned on Elysia that her attack did nothing. The feeling of fear and despair filled her heart.

"Pathetic, you had me worried for a moment there." Axel smiled while looking at the spear that wasn't even able to leave a cut.

Elysia tried to pull away, but her spear was grabbed before she could move. Not wanting to risk her life, she was about to let go of her spear. However just then roots erupted from the ground and restrained Axel.

225 Holy Nature

"AHHHHH!" Axel screamed in pain as his skin was burnt by the roots. The putrid smell of burned flesh spread in the air as thick smoke seeped through the entangling roots. Taking advantage of the distraction Elysia managed to free her spear, then jumped back next to Clara.

From the top of the palace, a group of 4 people were floating on a wind platform.

Elanor, Silver, Kiruya and Elanor's father were joining the battle and Elanor seemingly made the first move.

Shaman needed only one look at the roots to notice their holy nature, telling her exactly who conjured them.

'Makes sense the holy element would be effective… Maybe that's why she was exiled.' It was only a theory, but seeing as their entire family everything they knew about her grandfather was a lie, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

"Shaman! Clara! Elysia" Elanor screamed out from the platform grabbing the attention of everyone. Landing next to Shaman, Kiruya instantly pulled out a potion and gave it to Shaman to heal her wounds.

"So this is the person who has been masquerading as my grandfather." Elanor's father looked furious as he couldn't believe it at first, but seeing it with his own eyes, it was undeniable.

"Raiu, do you think you can take care of it?" Kiruya saw the satyr and knew it was too much for the girls to handle. Even though he was a tier 7 leader, he had been living for well over a hundred years, honing his skills to greater heights.

"I can, but Elanor… My daughter, I want you to use your roots whenever you can as it seems to be its weakness." Raiu noticed the damage it was doing and there was no denying she would be helpful in the fight.

.....

"Mhm." Elanor nodded. She tried to keep a straight face, but her tears betrayed her happiness. Only after coming this far did she finally realise how much she missed her father. However, she stood strong as she no longer felt like the useless girl she once was.

"Bastards!" After getting over the initial shock from the pain, Axel proceeded to destroy the roots with his black flames. Veins popped out of his skin and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He looked back at Elanor with rage as he knew who was in possession of such roots.

"YOU!! This is why I exiled you! My only weakness and danger to my life! If only that stupid vixen listened and left taking you with her!" Axel was furious and blurted out the reason for her exile which caused Raiu to get even angrier.

"You made me abandon my daughter for your benefit, you piece of shit demon! Now you will taste the power of the elf king!" Raiu wasn't going to allow Axel to speak like he was still in control anymore. It was high time to get revenge for all the torment he must've caused for Elanor.

Reaching into his dimensional storage, Raiu pulled out a green blade with a golden hilt that had many engravings on it. Each engraving represented something, but only elves could read it as the old dialect was not commonly known.

However, Shaman was able to read it just fine as if it was being translated in front of her eyes.

"Wrath… Power… Love… Loyalty." Shaman had no idea what it meant in the grand scheme of things, but she was able to get a direct translation that closely resembled the engraving.

[Oops, forgot to remove that from the translator.] Rea spoke up, revealing why she was able to understand the engravings. When she initially got transported the system adjusted everything in Shaman's vision to English, but in reality, it was a completely foreign language.

In real time Shaman saw the engravings go back to their original form and she could no longer read them.

'Damnit! that's such a nice thing to have, why did you take it away?' Shaman could see the benefit of being able to understand ancient texts, so knowing now that the system had the capability, she definitely wanted to keep it.

[Ahem sorry, but you need to unlock it before I give you access and no it's not a skill.] Rea answered her question, but before Shaman could probe anymore the fight had begun.

Raiu slid his hand across his sword, lighting up the runes and illuminating the sword in a light green glow. Axel on the other hand created black flame tridents again in his hands, pouring as much mana as he could into them. Once the flames could hardly be contained, he took a step forward, yet before his foot touched the ground he suddenly vanished.

Doing another flash step he appeared behind Elanor while swinging his tridents, but before they got close Raiu blocked the blow. He was just as fast if not quicker than Axel and managed to protect Elanor.

Elanor was unable to process what just happened, but she still used her holy nature and shot roots from the ground into Axel's stomach.

He tried to move away by pushing with his wings, but as soon as they extended out they were shredded by a wind barrier. Raiu made use of the brief deadlock to put up a barrier that was slowly shrinking making it impossible to move.

This allowed Elanor's roots to pierce his stomach, immobilising him as the searing pain came back. Axel tried to use his tail to cut the roots, but Clara came to help and wrapped her whip blades around its tail.

She then pulled on her whips, spinning the blades like a chainsaw and slicing the tail cleanly off. Axel screamed once again in pain, his superior toughness failing him once again.

Elanor's nature was able to completely ignore Axel's base defence and disable his control over his demon blood which he could harden to mitigate attacks.

The black flamed tridents vanished from his hands which gave Raiu the opportunity to deal the finished blow. Raising his sword high he swung down cutting Axel in half in one swift motion. He even got all of Axel's hearts that were spread throughout his body by sending out small wind slashes as the blade sliced through his body.

Each of the girls got a notification saying the dungeon was complete and received their exp reward. Sadly they did not get much since Raiu and Elanor did most of the work in terms of damage. However, it wasn't all bad as Elanor saw she could already hit tier 6.

[Dungeon complete]

Rewards for killing dungeon boss:

Elanor 60% contribution: Skill select x 4, Skill level-up x4, level 127 -> 200

Clara 20%: Skill level up x2, level 200 -> 208

Elysia 15%: Skill level up x1, level 200 -> 206

Shaman and Silver < 5%: Level 200 ->203

Seeing the reward they got, Shaman and Silver were both shattered to see they got nothing, but it made sense since they hardly fought the boss. Elysia and Clara on the other hand high fived each other since they actually got something despite doing close to nothing in terms of damaging the boss.

"Should have fired an arrow at the end there." Elysia knew Clara got the extra 5% because she stopped the tail, but Elysia didn't have a good angle and didn't want to ruin the trap they had Axel in because of her greed.

"Oh well, maybe next time we won't be faced with an overleveled tier 7 leader that is beyond our skill level." Although Clara was happy with the rewards, she didn't feel satisfied with the fight and the fact it ended so quickly just because they had the right element didn't sit well with her.

"You have a point, it is disappointing, but at this point, it wasn't even about the dungeon." Elysia saw the dungeon reward as a bonus since well the boss they were dealing with controlled the entirety of Elfhiem.

"True, but enough about that let's head over to Shaman." Clara saw Kiruya use the health potion so Clara knew Shaman was completely fine, but still wanted to be near just in case. Elysia nodded, so they walked over and sat by Shaman while Raiu dealt with the body.

"Is everyone okay?" Raiu finished up destroying the body making sure there was no chance of Axel coming back.

"Everyone seems fine." Elanor looked around and saw that Shaman was recovering while the others sat down to rest next to her.

"Good job Raiu and thanks for your help." Kiruya walked up to Raiu leaving Shaman as the girls took over watching her condition.

"No worries, if you hadn't come I wouldn't have realised there was a seal around my room preventing me from getting any information, let alone hearing the commotion." Raiu scratched his head as he should have known something was off, but with him always being surrounded by magic it was hard to tell if a seal was confining him.

"Thank your daughter for bringing us to you, surprisingly she remembers the place quite well." After Elysia and Clara left to help Shaman, they changed their objective to finding Raiu.

"Well, I'm just glad I get to see her again." He wrapped his arm around Elanor's shoulder and pulled her into his side.

"O-oi!" Elanor pouted as she felt like she was being treated like a child, but at the same time didn't mind.

"Now how have you been Elanor? I wished I could have stopped the exile and helped you on the outside, so I wouldn't blame you if you hate me." Raiu let go of Elanor and faced her trying to be as sincere as possible.

"I-I umm, I don't hate you… I knew you cared." Elanor felt a wave of emotions and tried to hold in the tears.

"Thank goodness." Raiu pulled Elanor in for a hug, glad that despite being fooled for many years Elanor still didn't hate him.

However, Elanor couldn't hold it any longer and began to cry her heart out while hugging her dad as tight as possible.

"I-I've *hic* missed you *hic* so much dad."

226 Cleaning up

After the battle with the Saytr, there was a massive clean-up that needed to be done. Raiu naturally took up the role of his grandpa and now had full control of Elfheim. Many of the palace guards seemed to be under some form of influence since as soon as Axel died many passed out.

Many were confused, but it helped cover up the incident, leaving the only people who fought Axel in the know of what truly happened. Repairs were quickly done thanks to the use of magic and soon things were back to normal. Ren was freed from one of the cells where Axel trapped him and could only grumble about missing all the action.

While things were being organised, Elanor finally had some time to catch up with her brother and father. It also gave them time to talk about the future as with Raiu now king, his next in line must be decided.

Elanor was now a fugitive in the public eye, making it impossible for her to take any noble role as they couldn't disclose that a satyr was in control of the kingdom. This left Ren needing to stay behind to become the heir and abandoning his plans to adventure with the group.

Ren didn't mind staying since the group seemed like a woman's only club with which he wasn't comfortable in the first place. Although he did feel a slight bit of regret since it sounded like a dream traveling with his own little harem, it only took one look from Elysia and Clara to tell him all he needed to know about his chances.

This settled the problem allowing Elanor to do as she pleased, but it did leave her conflicted. She had just reconnected with her family, but was already planning to leave with Shaman and the group.

"As much as I would love for you to stay, Elanor, I want you to follow your heart. What is your heart telling you to do? No matter what you choose, you will always have a family here waiting for you." Raiu sat Elanor down in one of the many living rooms to discuss her future since she had a choice to make. The last thing he wanted was to confine Elanor, especially if she wants to pursue the path of adventurer.

"…" Elanor bit her lip, debating in her head what she should do as this was no easy choice. Even though she declared that no matter what she would join Shaman's group, having things resolved changed the situation drastically.

'Shaman… Elysia… Clara… Silver.' Each of them flashed in Elanor's mind as all the memories they made in a short time together played. This almost brought her to tears as they were the friends and even family she always wanted. They gave her the opportunity to grow into who she is now and get back with her family.

.....

"I-I think I will continue to travel with them… They gave me so much to live for and I need to repay them. Of course, I will still come back when I can to visit, but I want to continue living my life free." Raiu fought to hide his pain as Elanor made her final decision, but it still made him happy to see her treasuring her new friends.

Besides, Seeing his daughter grow and become someone strong just like he was during his youth made him glad she chose this route.

"I understand. I will be waiting for your return along with your brother… Make me proud, Elanor my daughter." Raiu reached out and patted Elanor's head, proud of her resolve to continue on the path of her choice.

"Thanks Dad." Elanor felt at ease hearing her father be so understanding of her choice.

"Now go find your friends. I'm sure they are eagerly waiting to hear what you said." Raiu saw Silver leaning up against a wall at the entrance waiting for Elanor. Plus there were things he needed to do that he couldn't delay.

"Mhm!" Elanor stood up and gave her father a hug before running over to Silver.

Seeing Elanor's genuine smile, Raiu felt a weight coming off his heart. Just before Elanor left she made eye contact with Raiu and waved while giving one last bright smile.

Raiu waved back, feeling his heartstrings take a direct hit, almost bringing a tear to his eye.

"I should get to work." Raiu wanted to have a moment to himself to think but work was calling him, so he got up and vanished on the spot.

**

Silver brought Elanor to Shaman's room where they were staying while waiting for Kiruya. They had finally finished their mission of clearing the dungeon and so Kiruya decided to deliver the letter to Raiu for them.

Shaman, Elysia and Clara were sitting on the bed together deliberating on what they should use their skill upgrades on, but it led to quite a heavy debate.

"We should save them! What if when we reach max level we find a way to break the limit?" Clara was in the camp of saving them and seeing if they could use them to go past the max level.

"That's stupid, why would such a thing exist? Why make a max level if it can be broken?!?" Elysia thought of it a bit more logically and didn't see a reason why the system would implement such a mechanic. It also didn't help that Rea wouldn't give them an answer leaving them to argue.

Sparks were flying off as they stared at each other intensely while Shaman sat in the middle unsure if she should say something.

However, when they realised Elanor entered the room the intense atmosphere completely vanished. Clara and Elysia both sat back smiling like nothing ever happened.

"Hey Elanor, how are you?" Elysia spoke in a cheery tone, hiding her still burning temper.

"H-hey, I'm fine, but are you two okay?" Elanor felt like she was intruding and shouldn't be there.

"Oh not at all, just a little squabble." Clara played it off trying to downplay the situation.

"Why don't you just fuck it out." Silver walked to the couch while chewing on some raw meat.

"What?" Shaman, Elysia and Clara spoke in unison trying to process what Silver just said. This completely killed any tension between Elysia and Clara as now there were more important matters at hand.

"Well mothers you all seem pent up so why don't you go do some special exercise, I can hang out with Elanor so don't need to worry about me." Silver turned his head, trying to avoid eye contact at all costs.

"…" The three of them all looked at each other and then at Silver since something sounded suspicious.

"Why are you bringing up Elanor? I know you are more than capable of looking after yourself." Shaman was the most skeptical of them all as it didn't sound right that Silver wanted to specifically spend time with Elanor.

"Did something happen between you two~?" Clara thought they may have had a moment and some developments were being made.

"Oh my~ Silver trying to make some moves." Elysia saw it on Silver's face that he was embarrassed and had a plan in mind.

"E-eh what?!" Elanor who was just a bystander was confused, unsure what they were insinuating.

"It's not like that!" Silver pouted as he didn't want to admit it, but ever since he became tier 6, he's become more mature. Now new and unfamiliar feelings were welling up inside him.

*Sigh* "Enough, you two can argue about your skills later. As for you Silver, we don't have time to be going out on dates, we are leaving as soon as Kiruya is back. More importantly, how did things go with your father Elanor?" Shaman was finally conceding, deciding not to be as nosey when it came to Silver. However, she remembered that Elanor needed to make a decision on whether she will stay with her family or with them.

Clara and Elysia were both surprised that Shaman didn't press further about Silver, but it was good news that Shaman wasn't being overprotective. Silver also expected a small lecture, but instead, Shaman changed the subject.

"O-oh, well I decided that I will continue to travel with you guys." Elanor stated her decision and everyone smiled. They were happy to hear that she wanted to continue with them, but they still had some doubts.

"Are you sure? You did just finally bridge the gap with your family." Elysia, having lost her family, knew how important they were. So, if Elanor leaves now, she may grow to regret it.

"I believe I will be fine, I've chosen you guys as my second family and want to continue my journey with you all." Elanor second-guessed herself for a second, but she swatted those thoughts away standing firm in her decision.

"As long as you believe it's the right choice we won't stop you." Clara respected Elanor's choice since the path she will now walk is much more dangerous, but she didn't waver.

"Welcome aboard again Elanor." Shaman was happy to hear Elanor wanted to stay and was touched that she considered them a second family.

227 Returning to the Freya Forest

A few hours went by and Kiruya finally returned to pick the group up.

"That took way too long." Kiruya looked exhausted which was odd since all she needed to do was deliver a letter.

"Didn't you just have to drop off a letter?" Silver brought up this point confused as to why something like this would take so long.

"Well, let's just say when you start talking to Elanor's father, it just never ends." Kiruya had spent the last few hours talking about the contents of the letter and the situation with the demon lands.

"Ah, I see." Silver did notice that Raiu was rather eccentric, especially in his looks, so it wasn't a surprise he was quite the talker.

"Anyway, we need to move, Freja is expecting us soon." Kiruya didn't want to waste any more time and it was starting to get late.

Everyone nodded their head and got up from where they were sitting. They had been ready for a while now and were wondering if they would just stay the night.

"Have you finished your business here, Elanor?" Kiruya wasn't sure if she was staying with the group or not.

"Yes I have, although I would like to see my father and brother one more time, if we don't have time that's fine." Elanor had said everything she wanted, but it still would be nice to have a final goodbye before leaving for who knows how long. However, just then the door behind Kiruya slammed open, revealing Raiu with Ren following behind him shaking his head.

.....

"Elanor! I've come to send you off!" After he heard Kiruya was going to leave, he realised that Elanor would also be going. So he grabbed Ren and dragged him to see Elanor for one last good-bye.

"Oh no." Kiruya felt like they would be here for another hour, so she quickly opened up the portable portal that Freja made. She then grabbed the girls and pushed them inside the portal to get out of the situation quickly.

"Oh Dad and Lil Bro! We are in a hurry, but I'm glad I get to see you." Elanor couldn't stop Kiruya so she quickly said her goodbyes.

"Take care sweetie! I will always be here to welcome you back. Don't forget to contact me through the communication stone every now and again!" Knowing Elanor needed to go, Raiu wished her the best and hoped to see her stronger the next time they met.

"Next time we meet sister I want a duel, so make sure you come back alive and well!" Ren was shyer and wished he could spend more time with Elanor, but it was her choice to keep travelling.

"Don't worry I will keep in touch Dad and Lil Bro I can't wait to kick your ass hehe~." Elanor waved as she entered the portal, happy that she got to see them before she left.

The portal vanished a moment after they all entered, marking the start of Elanor's journey outside of Elfheim.

"Do you think Big sis will be okay?" Ren was rather worried since she never got any training, yet all of a sudden she is now a tier 6 journeying into an unknown world. Although the same could be said for Ren when it came to experience, he had still received training all his life.

"I don't know what her friends did, but she is a very capable fighter now. What we need to do is simply believe in her." Raiu didn't think too much of it and was just happy Elanor was able to get strong on her own.

"Alright." Ren hoped his father was right and that Elanor would indeed be safe.

***

<Freja's throne room>

A portal opened in the middle and through it came the group. Unfortunately, there was a small fold in the rug and Shaman, who came out first, ended up tripping. This had a chain effect causing everyone to topple on top of each other.

Elysia and Clara landed on top of Shaman smothering her. Silver and Elanor tripped over the trio and crash-landed together with Silver landing on Elanor. Luckily, Silver's landing was… cushioned. Kiruya was quick to react and used her wind to catch herself, avoiding the pileup all-together.

"Pfft." Freja who was sitting in her chair chuckled seeing the human dominos fall to the ground.

"Damn it Freja!" Shaman instantly assumed Freja was responsible for their mishap as her laughter echoed out.

"Don't blame me, blame the rug." Freja shrugged as she genuinely didn't do anything.

*Sigh* Shaman didn't bother to argue as it will only end up worse for her.

All of them got off each other, but something caught Freja's eye and she couldn't help but comment.

"Did Silver get himself an Elf girlfriend while on mission?" Freja was well aware that it was Elanor, the exiled daughter, but Freja couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease.

"E-eh? N-no it isn't like that." Silver's face instantly turned red while Shaman shot daggers from her eyes. Elanor didn't say a word and fidgeted while looking away to hide her red face.

"No? Perhaps she is joining Shaman's little harem?" Switching the question, she was now met with glares from Elysia and Clara. However, at the mention of the harem Elanor's face became neutral with a bit of disgust. She wasn't against a harem, but it is something she doesn't see herself being a part of.

"Heh." Freja caught the change in expression giving her all the information she needed for more teasing later on.

"Oi! Nothing is happening with Elanor, plus we have more pressing matters don't we?" Shaman saw the trouble coming from a mile away. If anyone could make something happen it was Freja.

"Oh that's right, I'll have my fun later. Moving onto business, I need you girls and boy to head into the demon lands to get Himeko. The humans are making a move and I believe they are after an artifact." Over the last few days Freja was trying her best to figure out why the sudden movement and then it all clicked.

"Wait, the demons have an artifact?" This was the first time Clara heard of it and she knew what was in the treasury since she liked investigating all the different kinds of treasures in there.

"I'm not surprised you don't know, only the king or queen know where it is, but they do indeed hold the artifact of lust. Wish I had gotten it myself, but the demons have had it from before I even came to this world." Freja remembered that the pope took the artifact of control which was bad news.

"I-I don't know if that would be a good thing if you had it, but if the pope is aiming for it then that really is concerning." Shaman didn't want to think about the kind of things Freja would do, but it wouldn't be as bad as the pope having it.

"But wait, isn't he tier 10? You are making it sound like we should fight him?" Elysia didn't like the sound of it as they were still tier 6.

"Oh no I don't want you to fight him, they are currently making their way slowly to the demon lands to avoid attention. What I want you to do is abuse Clara's status to beat him to it." A smirk appeared on Freja's face as she planned for them to steal it before the pope does.

"What?" Shaman felt like she didn't hear Freja correctly as it sounded like suicide.

"You heard me, you will go to the demon lands to pick up Himeko as well as steal the demon land's hidden artifact of lust." Freja enjoyed the looks of disbelief she was getting. Even Elanor who had the least amount of context could understand that it was a crazy request.

"Do not worry though, if you are unable to, please contact me right away. The only reason I'm sending you is that I don't want the demon lands to set me as their target. As quiet as they have been, the current queen is someone of unknown strength and I believe only Clara has any chance of actually talking to her without the rest of you being killed right away." Freja elaborated on the plan a bit more and it began to make sense.

"I see, well what about Himeko? Do we just rescue her or send her back here?" Shaman knew that saving Himeko alone will be a big task especially since the relationship between her and Clara are not the best.

"That is for you to decide but I feel like she will play a useful role in your group." Freja didn't care since she accounted for Himeko sticking with them for the mission. Either way, her choice wouldn't change the nature of their task.

"Alright, when do you want us to leave?" Shaman was fine with the mission. Looking back at the group, she saw there were no objections to be had.

"You will leave tomorrow and I will give you the emergency crystals needed if things go wrong. I will also give you all some new clothes to fit in." Freja would have sent them right away, but she still had things to prepare, plus they did just return from clearing a dungeon.

"You can take your usual rooms. Elanor, a maid will come to see you shortly and take some measurements." Freja clicked her fingers and disappeared from her throne. This gave the group some free time, but the only thing on their minds was getting a nice bath and then some sleep.

228 Luna

<Demon Lands capital city>

"Urgh, why does the queen need us?" A 154cm cat girl sporting blue hair with a red highlight as well as 2 protruding red horns slumped over a table with a drink in her hand.

"It's on her orders, you don't want to end up like your parents Luna." A man who wore a suit and was of a similar race spoke up while drying dishes.

"Tch, I know old man." At the mention of her parents she became a bit agitated, but what he said was true.

"Then stop procrastinating and get going." The half-cat demon took Luna's drink and began to clean it.

"Fineee." Standing up from her chair Luna headed towards the door, flaunting her blue dress. It was an impressive piece, outlined with gold and layered with scales. On its sides were slits for easier movement and in the back was a hole for her tail, hidden by the flaps of the dress.

"Good luck and make sure you stay away from the frontline, especially if there's any battle going on." The old man gave his regards while she walked out of the room.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Luna walked out of the room which led directly outside. After walking a little further away from the building she came to a stop and focused on the pendant around her neck. As she did, the gem in its center began to glow. It was a deep blue precious stone engraved with mysterious runes.

Water then emerged around her feet and lifted her into the sky. Once she reached a certain height, she converged the whirling water into a stable platform hovering in the air. Only then did she let herself sit down. This entire procedure was done so quickly she made it look easy, but the truth of it was this was a very costly skill to use.

.....

"To the demon queen's castle." Luna then picked up speed and flew over the buildings towards a castle that was just barely visible in the distance.

*

The terrain was rather barren and consistently painted in shades of red which made the place unappealing. However, it was perfect for the demons since they preferred to be left alone, so having the worst land gave them the quiet they wanted.

This did not come without its risk as the place was filled with high-tier creatures which were the cause of many towns being destroyed. With time though, the place became safer as magical defensive mechanisms got better. Generally speaking, unless you are outside of a town you are safe.

The Demon Lands were always in a state of darkness as the skies were filled with ash from various volcanoes. There was of course still sunlight, but with every day being cloudy it made for a rather grim atmosphere. Nonetheless, this was Luna's home for most of her life to the point she even became a demon due to living there for so long.

Originally she was just a half-cat born in the Elfhiem, but at a young age she was sent away to friends in the demon lands due to her parents being hunted.

Over time she was exposed to the demonic essence and ended up growing horns making her a citizen. It wasn't known exactly why, but demons were not born with horns. Only being raised among other demons from a young age would guarantee one's horns would grow.

Not many people ever questioned it in the first place, so the only thing that was known is that demons had a special kind of essence that was like mana but infects the body. However, once they grew older the mana in their body became a protective shield that repulsed the essence. As such, even if an adult without horns lives closely with a demon, he would never grow his horns.

This was the case with Luna as ever since she was a child she lived among demons and eventually grew horns. A side effect of this was also her hair gaining red highlights as well.

"I wonder what could be going on." While travelling over the barren land Luna pondered her mission. It was not yet beast season where towns would be attacked by an onslaught of beasts, so why was a high tier healer such as her suddenly called?

'It must be something bigger, I am the only healer they call for big missions after all.' Although Luna was taken care of by friends of her family, it didn't stop her from becoming an adventurer. She had an aptitude for water and took an interest in healing magic.

She tried using holy magic, but because she became part demon the holy magic almost killed her. As such, she opted for something of her own creation. It was one of a kind, but thanks to her understanding of the body, she was able to create her own healing magic with water.

'Hope they don't try to shoot me down like last time.' Luna was fast approaching the castle. Although she shouldn't be flying so close to its walls, she was too lazy to go through the front gate. Luckily this time no one shot at her, albeit the hoarse shouts from the guards made clear their displeasure.

"USE THE DOOR LUNA!" Hearing their yells Luna chose to ignore them and flew into an open window that led into the throne room.

It seemed the window was open just for Luna since as soon as she entered a bunch of small flying demons hurried to close it behind her.

"You never learn do you?" A woman sat on the throne with an imposing presence staring at Luna as she descended.

"Heyyy Ela!" Luna however, was not afraid at all despite the immense pressure.

"Elaina!" The demon queen tightened her grip causing her armrest to crack.

"Yeah, yeah so what did you need?" Luna jumped off her water platform and did a small bow to show some respect.

*Sigh* "It's the humans, they are making a move into our territory. To be more specific it's the pope and the admirals." Elaina explained the situation and Luna's eyes widened in shock. As far as she could remember, this was the first time another territory cared to even bother with the demon lands.

"I won't be sending you to fight, but I need you to stay here just in case." Elaina wanted to keep the best healer she knew close by in case an emergency arises.

"I understand." Luna knew this was important as it was the first time something like this happened so they needed to be ready, especially if the pope is personally involved.

"I will have one of the maids set you up in a room, so in the meantime get yourself settled in, and don't worry your friend Isaac will be coming soon." Clapping her hands a few maids appeared behind some pillars and gave a polite bow.

"Alright Ela." Luna waved and winked while she exited the hall with the maids. Elaina gritted her teeth since she hated the nickname, but there wasn't anything she could do.

***

<Demon lands mountain>

Behind a gate engraved with the symbol of the phoenix lay a small cave, inside of which a small bird was sitting on top of a large pedestal. Finally awakening from its long slumber, the bird rustled its feathers and then shifted back to her human form. This woman was of course Himeko, who after hibernating due to her reincarnate skill has finally gained some of her power back.

Rising from the ground, she was completely nude, but luckily she prepared the cave ahead of time to also serve a base.

"I feel awful." Himeko rose from the pedestal, holding her head as she barely remembered what had happened. However, everything slowly came back to her as she made her way over to a door in the side of the cave.

Flashes of the treatment she received from the pope filled her mind causing her to fall to her knees. Seeing herself being reduced to such a low refuelled her anger as flames sparked off her back.

"That piece of shit!" Himeko wanted to get revenge right away, but her power was reduced to that of tier 8 and it would take a while before she returned to her peak.

Opening up the door to a hallway, to the side was a set of clothes and further down an open space. Grabbing the clothes she got changed on the spot, getting into a pair of pants and a white t-shirt.

Walking down the hallway into the open space, it was revealed to be a bedroom with a kitchen on the other side. It was designed just for her to stay while her power recovers and, although a boring way to live, it was better than venturing outside and risk getting found by the pope.

"Hope the girls are fine, they were in the dungeon when Ebonscale was attacked… Clara, you probably remember everything by now." Thinking back she remembered the artifact was stolen which meant the sealed memories of Clara should have resurfaced.

"I hope she doesn't hate me, that seal formed on its damn own because of how emotionally distraught she was." Himeko knew the truth of the situation and it wasn't her intention to hide anything. However, since the seal formed, Himeko rolled with it expecting it to never break, but in the end, it backfired.

"Oh well, she is in good hands now. Also Freja should be coming to see me soon." Himeko remembered she gave Freja a crystal that would tell her when Himeko entered the cave. So if everything worked she hoped to see someone come knocking at her gate.

"First I need to clean, I have no idea when I will get visitors." Himeko looked around the place and found it to be covered in cobwebs.

229 Change of outfits

While preparations were happening in the demon lands, Shaman and her group were in the lounge getting ready to leave. Freja was sitting down in the lounge with new sets of clothes, but this time there was something special about them.

"These clothes are not your normal attire. Part of the reason why I wanted you to get stronger was so you could handle beast material. I am giving you tier-9 quality clothes all from beasts that suit you. As for Elanor, she may have only joined recently, but fortunately for her I only needed to make a trip to my vault." Freja laid out on a table in front of her boxes, all colour coded to match each of the members.

"Now some of your outfits do show some skin, but rest assured these clothes will act a little different from your usual wear. Now go get changed and you will soon see what I mean. It will be easier to understand once you experience it first-hand." Once Freja was done with her explanation each of the members grabbed a box and headed back to their rooms to change.

*

The first to come out of their room was Clara as she had something very simple. Matching the cultural theme of Ebonscale, Clara was given a qipao and thigh-high socks. The qipao was edged with gold with rose patterns scattered on its sides, spread in shades of dark gold and bright purple. At the top of the slit in the qipao, a golden rose and purple gem were attached making her feel like she was royalty. However, it was quite short, only going halfway down her thighs and she felt like every movement would flash someone.

"This is too damn embarrassing." Clara was visibly red as this was something she would rather wear for Shaman and Elysia instead of for battle.

"Ah, it looks good on you fufu~." Finally done waiting Freja was pleasantly surprised by Clara's outfit.

"I demand a redesign! I don't want to be giving people a view as I fight." Clara was constantly pulling down on the qipao and started to think this was some ploy for Freja to make them cosplay.

"Fine, I won't tease you too much. Try channeling some mana into your clothes." Freja would love to tease Clara, but it was one of her own rules to never pry on other people's partners without a good reason… Usually.

.....

Clara did exactly as she said and suddenly she felt mana wrap around her legs.

"Woah." Clara lifted one of the sides and noticed that something was forcible creating a shadow preventing anyone from seeing underneath.

"See! I already thought of everything. With a little bit of mana that you only need to expend once the dress will conceal you. The special thing about these outfits is that they change to fit you perfectly and, with a bit of tinkering, I managed a way to conceal exposed parts from prying eyes." Freja felt proud as there was nothing worse than people trying to take a look, so knowing that there is no way for anyone to see made the outfit less embarrassing.

"Damn I'm impressed, now I'm actually liking this outfit." Despite Clara being a demon, she grew up in Chinese culture so she had a sense of familiarity with the outfit. It did bring back memories of living with Himeko, but they weren't all bad. It reminded her of the local festivals where she wore something similar.

"I'm glad you like it since it is made out of dragon skin." Freja was glad she hit the mark with the outfit since it wasn't cheap to make.

"Dragon skin!?" Clara found it insane since dragons alone are disaster-level creatures.

"Yep it was a juvenile one so it wasn't quite a tier 10. Sadly it didn't have as much skin, but if I let it get any stronger then I wouldn't be able to reap the materials." Freja elaborated on how she acquired the materials which seemed like a highly dangerous endeavor, but it was Freja so the more dangerous creature was her.

"But why couldn't we wear it until we were tier 6?" Clara remembered What Freja said earlier and was curious about this fact.

"I'll tell you when everyone is out. Speaking of which it looks like Elanor finished changing." Freja didn't want to repeat herself so she decided to wait until everyone was out.

Elanor came out of her room and surprisingly her outfit didn't change too much. She wore black pants and a leather corset over a shirt. The t-shirt had an opening on her chest that showed some cleavage which clearly made Elanor a little shy as she walked out. On her wrists were short sleeves that were adorned with frills, matching the sleeves of the t-shirt.

Everything was also edged with a bit of gold giving this nobility feeling which Elanor quite liked.

"Damn you look good in that Clara." Elanor felt like she was scammed since Clara was given such a fancy dress where she got more of a re-colour and exposed chest.

"You look great too, I'm sure a certain someone will definitely enjoy seeing you." Clara appreciated the compliment as it gave her a confidence boost in such a tight and short dress.

"O-oh really? Alright." Elanor in the end couldn't complain as she liked the style and preferred not to wear dresses or fancy clothes.

"Here comes more." Freja heard Silver's door opening and made sure to announce it.

Walking out, Silver wore a black skin-tight long-sleeved top as well as pants. He also had a hooded shoulder cape that also came with a mask. It was clear Freja tried to go for an assassin look which she was successful in doing. Like everyone else so far the edges of his clothes were golden and if it wasn't for his cute face he would fit the description of a shady dealer.

"I don't know if Silver is looking more cute or badass." Clara loved the design and it really signified his role as someone who moves in the shadows. Elanor also loved the design and found him adorable, but overall the outfit definitely made him look cooler.

Silver scratched his head while blushing and looked away since he wasn't too confident in his looks.

"Here comes the final pair."

Shaman and Elysia having a bit more complicated clothes came out last. Shaman wore a dress that was half kimono and a skirt, a golden ribbon wrapped around her waist concealing the connection. Part of the kimono that covered her chest was white while her sleeves and back were black.

The outfit perfectly captured the original Shaman's origins as the fox realm had taken to Japanese culture. Elysia on the other hand received something that came from the victorian era, but to give it the fox realm touch it ended up as a lolita dress.

Elysia looked like she had 2 skirts with one slightly longer red skirt under the black one. She was given a corset that was edged with gold and tied up with golden strings. Elysia was also wearing a long sleeve button-up shirt that barely held her chest and a red bow tie at the collar. Her stockings were also still there and had not changed much other than them being made of a much higher quality material.

The outfit gave Elysia a rebel princess vibe which represented the weird situation with Elysia's family and how they oppose Shaman's family.

"Wow, you both look gorgeous." Clara found herself fangirling a little over their outfits as they looked perfect to her.

"Makes me want to try on a dress." Elanor loved the look which made her curious how a dress like Elysia's or Shaman's would look on her.

Silver was stun locked and didn't know what to say as all of his mum's looked amazing.

"Looks like all the princesses are here…. Wait a minute, technically you are all princesses except Silver." Freja just came upon a realisation that everyone in this group was some form of royalty. Although Elysia came from a fallen family technically she could receive a princess status if her family rose to power.

"Now that I think about it, Clara is the lost princess of the demon lands, Elanor the exiled princess of Elfhiem and then Elysia the fallen princess of the fox realm." Shaman hadn't really thought about it, but with Freja pointing it out, it seemed that every person she picked up had some form of connection to nobility. Even Silver had royal status since he had her blood in him making him a future prince or king.

"Damn Shaman, I thought my girls were of impressive origin but if you keep this up, you will end with a harem full of royalty." Freja clapped her hands, impressed with these series of coincidences and was tempted to give Shaman a nickname.

"Oi who said I would be having more, it was scary enough getting Elysia and Clara to like each other." Shaman didn't like the assumption that she was trying to go for a harem. All she ever did was let things take their natural course.

"Your loss, but I guess we should move on and show how these new clothes work." Not wanting to waste any more time, Freja stood up from the couch ready to show them the full capabilities of their new monster-made clothes.

230 Fashion > practicality

Freja led the group to the indoor arena and got Shaman to stand in the middle.

"Alright, to show you what your clothes actually do, I am going to hit you. Don't worry I won't kill you, but brace yourself for impact." Freja formed a fist while smiling at Shaman.

"A-are you sure?" Shaman was not confident that she would be fine and wanted to run, but that would be pointless, especially against Freja.

"Don't worry these are not tier 9 clothes for nothing." Freja then punched Shaman in the stomach without any warning. She was launched across the arena, but to her surprise, she didn't feel any pain and didn't even lose her balance.

"What the hell." Shaman slid on her feet to a stop, then grabbed her stomach wondering what happened.

"Now as you just saw, I punched Shaman with probably a quarter of my strength so the equivalent to a tier 8. These clothes you are wearing also act as armour, but do be careful since they are not invincible." Freja lifted her finger up and suddenly Shaman was picked up by strings of hardened blood. She was then carried right next to Freja who seemed to prepare for another attack.

This time it was much weaker, but it hurt more than the first punch.

*Cough* *Cough* Shaman gasped for air, not expecting that her new layer of protection would suddenly vanish.

"What is protecting you is an invisible mana barrier, but if it sustains too much damage then you are no longer protected. Of course, you can channel your own mana into it, but it will cost way too much and it's better to let it regenerate with ambient mana." Freja then flipped up Shaman's skirt slightly.

.....

Elysia and Clara were about to charge at Freja, but they quickly saw that she was showing something on Shaman's skirt rather than flashing them. Silver and Elanor looked away waiting for the predictable clash, but to their surprise nothing happened. Turning back they saw that Freja only folded the edge of the skirt, only revealing a bit of the rune-work hidden behind the hems.

Shaman freaked out and tried to pull down her skirt, but Freja stopped her by restraining Shaman's wrist with blood shackles.

"Pffhaha, glad to see you didn't go into a blind rage. Anyway, as you can see these runes work a little differently from magic circles. Unlike magic which requires the user both to cast and activate, runes act according to their own set conditions and work differently depending on the kind of material they are inscribed on." While Freja gave her explanation, the runes on the rim of Shaman's skirt lit up indicating they activated. Freja also placed Shaman down as she was done being the guinea pig of the demonstration.

"So for Shaman, her clothes are made out of an ice fox skin which will enhance her ice thanks to the runes. I couldn't find any space creatures since well, can't really go to space so your stardust will not get a buff." Freja chose animals with synergistic elements for each member as the effect they provide is too good to ignore.

"Elysia you were given a Pheonix, Clara a lightning dragon, Silver a dark wolf and Elanor your animal was a sky snake." Freja disclosed what each of their clothes was made out of causing them to inspect their clothes. They noticed the runes littered on the insides thanks to the light glow they produced.

"How come we couldn't get these before?" Shaman had this question ever since she found out these were tier 9 apparel and wanted to know since Freja suggested it had to do with their tier being too low.

"Well, that's due to the property of the material and skins. If some regular person decided to wear them, they would be sapped of all their mana and die out. As for why it's ok for you to use now, that's because when one ranks up their mana channels go through a strengthening process which improves their resistance to outside interference." It sounded rather scary since it felt like this could be a tool for murder, but the requirement to make it was tier 9 monsters which don't come by too easily.

"So then how come you got tier 9, not 10?" Elysia felt like Freja was going the extra mile so why did she stop at a measly tier 9?

"There is another reason and that's because at tier 10 clothes made from these beasts take form from within your soul. They are not tailored as I have done with your current clothes, so it's always better to wait until you reach that level as this will be your… let's call it ultimate form." Freja didn't have a name for it, but aside from tier 10 being almost impossible to get, it just wasn't worth having at a lower tier since it will be downgraded in quality.

"Do you have one?" Clara was rather curious since Freja herself was tier 10 so surely she had her own set of clothes.

"Of course I do." Freja clapped her hands twice and black flames covered her body. Changing from her black shirt and jeans, her casual presence suddenly became authoritative.

As the flames slowly faded from her body, they revealed an imposing imperial uniform in black and gold. Atop it, a red cape with white fur adorned her neck and black gloves covered her hands. The whole outfit screamed 'empress' and the group finally understood why people were so afraid of her.

"Now this will be something you have to earn in the future when you become tier 10, but this outfit is the personification of my soul. When the time comes, remember – you only have one shot to get it right." Freja knew the kind of presence she carried when wearing her uniform so she quickly changed back to her casual clothes.

Suddenly it felt like they could breathe again making them realise they were holding their breath. Everyone was impressed and now had something to look forward to once they reached the top.

"Are there any more questions about your clothes?" Freja finished her demonstration, so she figured it was better if they asked about any concerns they may have rather than her having to explain everything in detail.

"What happens if our clothes get damaged? Will we need to go out and kill tier 9 monsters?" Elanor was worried she would ruin her new clothes since they seemed too precious.

"Ah don't worry! The clothes have a repair rune, so as long as there is a piece of it left, injecting your mana will regenerate it. However, it takes a lot of mana so do this after clearing the dungeon or once you have a break. Annnnd yes Elysia that means you don't need to carry around a bunch of spare stockings fufu~." Freja instantly knew what Elysia was thinking since it was written all over her face that her head was in the gutter.

"O-oh ahem yes thank you." Elysia blushed since now everyone knew what her intentions were.

"Anyway, what do the runes actually do for our elements?" Shaman created little ice spikes in her hands, but she didn't feel any change.

"The runes will reduce the amount of mana needed since the material comes from an elemental beast meaning there is more ambient mana of your respective element. However, there are other effects that you will have to find out for yourself since they are unique for each set of clothes, so it's up to you to find out what they are." This was the secret to the outfits and is why they are so rare and expensive. Each outfit had a different set of powers which even Freja didn't know, but even if she did it was better for them to find out themselves.

"I see." Shaman was dying to know more as even inspecting her clothes did not show any results, setting her curiosity on fire.

"If there are no more questions, then I believe it's time for you guys to head out to the demon lands." Freja saw that no one was waiting to speak, so she decided to get a move on. Everyone nodded in agreement. Although they would have liked to stick around a bit more, there was no time to go on a holiday.

"Meet me in the throne room, you have 30 minutes max." Freja needed to prepare the teleportation spell since she will be directly teleporting them near Himeko. Freja vanished on the spot, giving the group some time to see if they could figure out their clothes' special ability.

However, despite using their elements and trying some skills, they had no luck in activating anything. They did however notice the reduced mana cost which was a nice upgrade making long fights not so worrisome.

"So Shaman and Clara, want to go back to our room real quick~?" Elysia decided to embrace the fact that they didn't need to worry about clothes ripping and figured she might as well ask to have a quick session.

"Someone is eager." Clara didn't mind so it was ultimately Shaman's decision whether to push their luck.

"Haha, I would say yes, but with Freja waiting for us I'd rather not risk it, sorry darlings." Shaman hearing the offer fidgeted, but knowing the importance of their mission she couldn't bring herself to mess around. She didn't want to risk being late as they get really into their sessions and usually end up passed out.

"Hmm fair enough." Elysia pouted, but she understood the situation.

"Phew." Elanor and Silver both were relieved since they didn't want the responsibility of walking in and getting them to hurry up.

"We are running out of time anyway and I don't think the 15 minutes we have left would be enough for all of us." There was also a time limit since they spent the first half experimenting.

"True, so let's get going." Clara figured they should just head over to the throne room and wait.

"Alright, let's go." Not having much else to do, everyone left the arena and made their way to the throne room.