Chapter 68 (End of Volume 2)

Previously in NWC-

Reno wakes up to find a mysterious girl sleeping on his chest. After a short conversation it's revealed that it was Luna, who had regained enough of her power to maintain a more human body. Afterwards, they begin discussing Reno's next wish. Reno wishes for more strength, but Luna has her own recommendation... 

"How about what?" Reno tilts his head in curiosity.

"Instead of making you stronger once, how about I make it so your body strengthens at an accelerated rate?"

Reno shakes his head, unable to understand her reasoning. "Wouldn't it just be better to make me strong all at once? That way I get the benefits right away."

Luna shakes her head, her hair swaying as she does. "No, no, no! You're not getting it, Reno. I can make you stronger right away, sure. But, I can only make you strong up to a point with my currently limited power. However, if I make it so you get stronger much faster, you could easily surpass the strength I could give you right now."

Reno's eyes widen slightly as a lightbulb goes off in his brain. "Oh, I get it! You'd be soft locking me into a certain stat spread if you increased my strength. But, giving me an XP boost makes it so I can level up faster. Then, after a certain point, by taking the XP boost I could potentially pass the level you're currently capable of making me!"

Luna nods her head, slightly confused. "I guess? I don't understand your analogy, but it sounds like you understand! So, what do you say? Would you like your next wish to be accelerated growth?"

Reno nods his head enthusiastically, clenching his fists. "Hell yeah! Let's do it!"

"Excellent! Now, stay still for me…" Luna slowly cups his cheeks, bringing their heads together. She closes her eyes as she presses their foreheads together. Her hands glow with a blinding light as his face begins to feel strangely warm. After a moment of this sensation, the light slowly fades. "There, now you should be able to learn new skills faster as well as increased improvement when strengthening your body."

Reno straightens himself, inspecting his body. "It's always weird because I never feel any different, but I know it's real." He chuckles and rubs Luna's head, smiling brightly. "Thanks, Luna!"

Reno's sudden show of affection causes her to blush, turning her head away. "You've no reason to thank me. I'm simply repaying you for what you've done. My power is mine only because you helped me. I consider my power to be your power, Reno."

Reno is silenced by her speech as he is completely caught off guard. "How about we save everything until we get the rest of your shards back?"

"That sounds wonderful, Reno." Just like that, the day starts. They get out of bed and make their way to the FTG. They stand in the middle of the clearing as they begin their training. Luna crosses her arms as she begins to speak. "Alright! You should have Ventus at this point, so today we should practice that!" Luna walks over and sits on a log, watching Reno. "Do exactly what you do for Aqueous but instead of imaging the power turning into water you do wind. The fundamentals of casting magic are roughly the exact same. You imagine the mana focusing in one spot then releasing it in an attack. Go ahead and try! Also, don't get frustrated if you don't get it the first time. Don't forget, the majority of the population can only cast one type of magic, so don't lose hope if you don't succeed at first!"

Reno nods his head and hardens his resolve. He points his index finger towards a tree as he begins to store power in his hand. The mana flows through his body and begins concentrating on one spot. Finally, after he feels ready, he imagines the mana exiting his body in the form of wind. At first he thought nothing happened, but then the tree in the distance creaked, then a large crater formed in its place. "Woah!" He jumps back, surprised by the loud noise that follows after.

Luna watches with pride. She nods her head as she walks over and pats Reno on the back. "Now you see why I recommended you take the accelerated growth! If you continue training the same way you have been then you'll be much stronger in no time!" Luna turns her head, inspecting the nearly destroyed from afar. She smiles as a sense of hope begins forming in her heart. As she's thinking, she seems to remember something. "Hey, Reno?"

"Huh?"

"Now that I think about it, I kind of forgot in the heat of the moment, but how'd you fire off an attack as powerful as the one you did? You destroyed the walls in those ruins which isn't something you should be able to do yet."

Reno taps his chin, thinking. "Well, I wasn't able to get my arm up in time, but CeCe grabbed me and it felt like power was surging through me. It was almost like she added her own power to the attack, but that doesn't make sense since she can only cast Ventus, right?"

Luna shakes her head, walking over to Reno. "No, no, I get it now. I've heard of that technique but haven't seen it in person. I also didn't know if you would be able to receive something like that."

Reno tilts his head in confusion as he crosses his arms. "What do you mean? What'd we do."

"Nothing that's unheard of. It's known by many names, but essentially CeCe was able to push her own mana through you, which your body then turned into more powerful Aqueous magic. Again,. It's not unheard of, but it's an extremely advanced technique that very few are capable of mastering."

"So what you're saying is that CeCe might be stronger than she's letting on?"

Luna walks over and stands in front of Reno, gently grasping his right hand with hers. "Essentially. The more I learn about her, the more curious I get. I also believe it would be in your best favor to remain on good terms with her, as her web of connections might be the best possible source of information. Now, back to training. We're going to do it together."

Reno looks down at Luna with confusion. "Do what? What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to funnel some of my mana through you and we're going to see how well your body handles it." Reno nods his head, getting on one knee to meet Luna's height. They point their index fingers forward together. "We should aim towards the sky. If this works then it could do a lot of damage to the forest." Reno nods his head and points in the air. Together they focus their energy, mixing it together. After charging an adequate amount of mana, they release it, firing it off into the sky. "Due to the nature of wind, you won't see the attack… until it hits, that is." Suddenly, the cloud at which they were aiming opens up, swirling. The attack is followed by a loud bang sound from the sudden release of air pressure.

"Woah!" Reno falls back, staring in awe at what they'd just done. "We seriously did that?!"

Luna continues to observe the aftermath of their attack, smiling. "That's right. I'll admit, it was much more powerful than I expected! However, it's only the start, Reno. There are many people in this world who could easily do what we just did with little effort. Now, are you ready to train?"

Reno nods his head and he continues practicing his spells. He continues for hours until he's too exhausted to continue. By lunch he's spent, barely able to find the strength to make their food. Luna has to help him, standing in front of him and doing the majority of the cooking. As they're finishing up, they get a visit from CeCe. "Heya, everyone!" CeCe waves as she strolls up to them, smiling.

Medusa waves as CeCe approaches. Reno turns around, glancing behind his shoulder. Luna then turns around, popping her head out from behind Reno. "Ahh! Welcome, CeCe. Have a seat, we were just about to eat lunch!"

CeCe's eyes narrow with confusion as she stops in her tracks, staring at Luna. "Reno."

Reno's eyebrows raise with confusion. "Yes?"

CeCe inspects the girl from a distance, her face getting more and more concerned. "Why is there a little girl here, and why is she wearing your clothes? Where's Luna? Reno?" CeCe's face drops more and more as she continues to process the scene in front of her.

Reno holds up his hands. "Wait, it's not what it looks like."

"Reno… I never thought I'd have to put down one of my friends. I'm sorry, I only hope your soul is forgiven." CeCe sighs as she begins raising her hand, her palm facing Reno.

"Wait a minute! At least give me a chance to explain!" Reno raises his hands in a panic.

Luna giggles as she finally steps in. "Fear not, CeCe, for it is I." She walks over and gently lowers CeCe's hand. "Reno hasn't done anything worthy of being killed, yet."

"What the hell do you mean yet?!" Reno protests from the background but is ignored entirely.

CeCe's eyes widen and her face brightens. She hugs Luna and spins her around. "Oh my goodness! Loon, you 're so adorable!" She sets her down, brushing her off. "I seriously thought Reno had gone off the rails! I'm so glad that wasn't the case!"

Reno watches this go down and he gets progressively more annoyed. "What the hell did I do to get this sort of image?!"

Luna returns to Reno, taking their food off the fire. "Well, since you're here, would you care to join us for dinner?"

"Sure!" CeCe joins them for lunch. After they're all done and ready to clean up, she calls their attention. "Hey, Loon, Reno. I had a question."

The two in question turn to CeCe, speaking in unison. "What's up?"

CeCe clears her throat and smiles. "Have you ever thought about going to the capitol?"

Reno nods his head, crossing his arms. "I mean, it would definitely be a good decision. I think one way or another we'll find ourselves there. So, yeah."

"Perfect! Then my next question is, what are you doing in a week?"

TO BE CONTINUED...