The Woman Lost in Thought

My party and I made it out of the forest and followed a path to the Marshlands. As we walked, I noticed Shelly dragging behind and slowed down to walk next to her. She looked at me and smiled then looked back at the ground.

"Something wrong, Shell?" I asked and looked at her.

"Not really, just thinking about what it would be like if the world wasn't in ruins right now. I mean it feels as if we are going back in time. We aren't really doing anything except saving it again just for the same plot to occur once again." Shelly answered and sighed.

"Well we are doing something different. In the original games, we killed the Goddesses, but battles their spirits and obtained them as units. I don't plan to kill the Goddesses. I only plan to save them from their dark intentions. If they destroy the Universe they would be killing themselves also. If we spare them this go around, we will be doing something different." I answered.

[Shelly's Bond Percentage rose to 21%]

[Affinity Rank Level UP!]

[Shelly's Affinity Rank: Amicable]

"You plan to spare them...well that would be the first and if would make for a good change of pace! I can get behind sparing instead of killing them." Shelly nodded and smiled.

I nodded and watched her hurry to the others.

We continued ahead then felt a drew rain droplets hit out heads. The area became more humid and the rain began. We hurried to find some cover from the rain and found an old house. We hurried inside and noticed Cuara being taken care of by a woman with blonde hair, green eyes, and had flowers in her hair. She wore a white dress with green straps and green leafy ankle accessories.

"Dreva!~" Yuki hurried over to Dreva.

"Hm?" Dreva looked at Yuki and looked excited. "Yuki!~"

They laughed and hugged each other, happy to see each other again.

"Ew you're all wet and sticky." Dreva laughed and let Yuki go. She looked at me and bowed. "Master Shin! It's nice to finally meet you. We've heard about you from Lady Cuara."

"We? Where's your Mistress?" I asked and looked around.

"She's outside, in the rain for some reason. I keep telling her she's gonna get sick, but she's very absent minded right now. Maybe you can get through to her?" Dreva asked. "I've got to tend to Lady Cuara since she's got a slight cold."

"I mean...I'll try." I said then took an umbrella from the umbrella rack then walked outside and opened it. I walked ahead and looked for a woman.

As I looked around, I noticed a woman with black hair with yellow highlights that stopped at her butt. She wore a large white jacket over her white top and white skirt. She wore black thigh highs and brown boots. She held a book close to her chest and looked up at the sky. She seemed to be daydreaming, lost in her own thoughts. I walked over to her and held the umbrella over her head. She looked a bit surprised and looked at me. She gazed at me and tilted her head slightly.

"You'll catch a cold in rain like this. What's got you so lost in thought that you forget you're in humid rain." I asked and looked at her.

She held her book tighter and took a step back. She kept taking steps back and slipped, about to fall down a hill. I dropped the umbrella and rushed to her aid. I caught her, but we both ended up tumbling down the hill, grunting lightly. We landed in a puddle and she sat up on top of me. She placed her hands on my chest and looked at me.

"A-Are you okay..?" I grunted lightly.

"Yes." She answered softly and looked at me blushing a bit.

I slowly sat up and she held onto me. "I'm glad...now we really need to get you inside. You're all wet and dirty."

She looked at herself and just realized how wet she was. She looked back at me and I stood up, helping her up. I helped her back to the house and we walked in, dripping wet.

"Mistress Setsuna! You're all wet and sticky as well!" Dreva said.

Setsuna sneezed and sniffled. "Sorry...I was thinking and lost track of my surroundings..." She spoke softly.

"You do it too often! What if someone sneaks up on you and tries to kill you?" Dreva said then helped Setsuna take her jacket off. "You need to dry off and get washed."

"I'll get onto it." Setsuna said then walked to the back.

"You seem like the caretaker. I expected the opposite if I'm being honest." I smiled and changed my element to Fire then used my flames to dry off my body.

"Mistress Setsuna is pretty forgetful and pretty absent minded often, but I can't really hold it against her. She's doing the best she can, but she always seems to be lost in her daydreams. Always thinking about something in solitude. She's a powerful Witch, but it seems as if she's easily distracted." Dreva sighed.

I looked at Dreva then noticed Cuara waking up. Cuara sneezed and sniffled then groaned lightly.

"Fuck this weather. Damn it all. I can't wait until we leave this stupid ass Quest Zone." She groaned then noticed me. "Ah, Shin. You made it through the forest. I'm happy you did."

I walked to Cuara and rubbed her hair gently. She lowered her head and closed her eyes. "You seem to be going through it."

"Yeah...It rained earlier and got me sick." Cuara said then looked at me, seeing my grin.

"You-"

"Don't you fucking dare say a word you prick. I know what you're gonna say. 'yOu aRe a wATeR uNiT sO wHy cAn'T yOu tAKe tHe rAiN?' Fuck up." Cuara sighed and watched me sit at the table with her.

"I wasn't gonna say that." I smiled. "I was gonna say, You are a water unit and you can't absorb the rain. Pretty useless."

I laughed and she pinched my nose hard then twisted. I groaned in pain and she frowned.

"You two seem to be close." Dreva smiled and walked around the table to prepare some soup for us.

"Close my ass. He's lucky enough that I tolerate his bullshit teasing. He's always got something to say whenever something happens." Cuara scoffed and let go of my nose.

"It's not my fault you make no use of your element." I rubbed my nose and flicked her forehead.

Cuara grunted lightly and leaned back. She blushed lightly and held her forehead. "Hmph! Anyway...We are only a rock toss away from the Tower of Aclia. All there is left are the Ruins and the Graveyard. The Sparking Marshlands is bound to be a tough one since this field effect is pretty unique."

"Oh come on! Field Effects still exist?" Yuki complained.

"Unfortunately yes. This Field Effect makes it so that Thunder Elemental attacks always paralyze their targets due to the frequent rain showers. Even Earth Units aren't safe. The only way to avoid this is with the power of a Leader Skill that negates status ailments which you are fortunate enough to have Ophelia for." Cuara explained.

"Anything else I should know o wise one?" I asked and gently pinched her nose.

"No, but I'm sure if anything comes up, you can handle it since you do have your old equipment back." Cuara smiled.

"Alright. When do you all wish to head out?" I asked and looked at Yuki and the others.

"When the rain stops." Shelly answered.

"I agree. Once the rain stops that would be the best time to go." Ophelia nodded.

I nodded and got up and decided to explore the house. It looks as if this house was just rebuilt to be able to fit the living standards and necessities.

"So Master Shin was chosen as well to help save this world huh?" Dreva asked as she set down the bowls of soup on the table.

"Mhm. We are on our way to the Tower of Aclia to kill Developer Matsuta so he can't make the process any faster. By stopping him, we can take our time and focus on actually training, exploring, and getting things done." Yuki answered.

"Mistress was also chosen. We made it here easily, but we got stuck here because of some Guild named Grand Order. One of their members are here, still looking for us. Luckily we found this house to stay in for a few so we can rest and recuperate." Dreva sighed. "And Mistress is once again gone for a long time. Master Shin? Can you get Mistress for me?"

"Eh? She's in the bathroom. I'm not going in there." I said then put the book back in the shelf.

"Just close your eyes!" Dreva smiled.

I rolled my eyes then walked to the back and made my way to the bathroom door. I knocked on the door. "Setsuna, are you alright in there?"

At first there was no answer, but I heard the water slushing around. "Come in..." Setsuna spoke in a soft voice once again.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes.." Setsuna answered.

I exhaled and opened the door and walked inside of the bathroom. I looked at Setsuna's naked body and she looked at me. "Setsuna...Dreva is waiting for you. You've got to come out."

"Sorry...I was lost in thought when I was taking a bath. I'll come out now.." Setsuna said then began to get out the bathtub after letting the water out.

She really was absent minded. Always... thinking about something. Always imagining something in her head. Always daydreaming. It happens to the best of us which is why we can never hold it against her, but it seems like it happens to Setsuna unwillingly.

I watched Setsuna and noticed her slip, but I immediately caught her and she held onto me. She gripped my sleeves and leaned her head against me..I looked at her and blushed just a little.

"I don't know why...I feel like I know you from somewhere. As if we met before...even though I know we haven't met before. You just have that energy about you that makes me very comfortable around you." Setsuna spoke and looked up at me.

I kept looking at her and she blushed slightly. "Well we can get familiar with one another while I am at the house." I smiled at her.

She looked at me and let me go. She nodded and dried her body off the proceeded to get dressed in some new clothes. She bought from the Summoner Customization Shop. She wore a pink top, black pants, and white shoes. She put on her oversized jacket and grabbed her book off the sink.

We made our way back to the front and sat at the table together so we could eat with the others.

[Resting....]

[HP and MP fully recovered.]

The rain had finally stopped and Ophelia looked outside and smiled. "The rain finally stopped! Let's hurry and clear the dungeon!"

"Right!" Yuki nodded.

"Wait for us." Dreva said, walking towards us with Setsuna.

"You're joining us?" Shelly asked.

"Mhm." We want to get out of here too and we can't stay in this house forever when we have a mission to complete.

I nodded at them. "Well come on aboard. We always have a slot for you two."

[Setsuna and Dreva joined the Party!]

We all left the house and Cuara had already warped to the next dungeon. As we walked down the Stormy Marshlands, I decided to check Setsuna's and Dreva's stats.

Name: Nature Dreva

Rarity: Three Stars

Element: Earth

Weakness: Fire

Resist: Thunder

Type: Mixed (Support + Tank)

Level: 21

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 2,459/2,459

MP: 412/412

Burst Gauge: 0%

ATK: 52

DEF: 128

MATK: 94

MDEF: 128

AGI: 87

LUK: 214

Skills: Nature's Wish, Nurturing Guard, Terra Shield

Burst Skill: Nature's Purge

Leader Skill: Loving Hope [Negates all enemies Elemental Damage, 10% chance for all allies to take 1 damage, restores HP by 30% every 10s for all allies.]

Equipped Spheres:

Slot 1: Nature Boost [Boosts Recovery Effect of healing moves by 100%]

Slot 2: None

"Interesting...Support and Tank with the possibility of taking 1 damage. That's pretty nice.." I said to myself then clicked on Setsuna.

Name: Setsuna

Class: Witch

Title: None

Element: Thunder

Weakness Earth

Resist: Water

Type: Magic

Rarity: Five Stars

Level: 20

EXP: 19/100%

HP: 2,149/2,148

MP: 672/672

Burst Gauge: 21%

ATK: 45

DEF: 67

MATK: 213 + 67

MDEF: 211 + 35

AGI: 97

LUK: 83

Skills: Arcane Blast, Witch's Protection, Spirit Boost

Burst Skill: Witch's Gates

Burst Skill EX: Eternal Retribution

Leader Skill: Witch's Duality [Boosts MATK and MDEF by 100% for self, Lowers ATK and DEF by 50% but reduces physical damage to 1, 100% Boost to Arcane Blast's power.]

Extra Skill: Arcane Boost [When Using Arcane Blast, add the opposite element to the attack with the current element]

[If Fire, add Water. If Water, add Thunder. If Thunder, add Earth. If Earth, add Fire. If Light, add Dark. If Dark, add Light]

Equipment:

Weapon: Arcania Grimoire + 67

Shield: Arcane Shield + 35

Accessory: Arcanic Instinct Necklace [Boosts Arcane Blast by 50%, 50% chance to auto dodge all attacks]

"Auto dodge...Hm." I looked at Setsuna and noticed her looking at the sky as she walked with us. She seemed to be lost in thought again. I wondered what she could be thinking about.