Returning Home

The amount of Valis that would be earned from taking on the task was more than enough to leave Mallory and the others satisfied.

The success of the task was not the only thing that they could benefit from and there were additional gains that needed to be counted up when they returned to the city.

It was the first time for many of them to be facing monsters in such a dangerous position where their strength, skills or experience was not enough to keep them alive.

They were made aware of their weaknesses and that without Mallory to provide the talismans and support, they would have died.

They were grateful to be alive but there was a small part of them that felt a little helpless towards their powerlessness and wanted to grow stronger.

There was a tiny part of them that held a little bit of envy towards the talents and abilities that Mallory possessed but they soon came to feel relieved that she was their ally and not their enemy.

There were many things picked up from the remains of the monsters and Swaine had been the one closest to them before he picked many of them up before storing them away.

It slightly increased the chances of a drop item appearing and Mallory had referred to his skill as a golden hand type ability.

Although it may not have been purely for those kinds of situations and could have bigger effects, she made use of that high luck to increase the chances of a drop item appearing.

It had been discovered during her time hunting monsters on her own that Mallory possessed the complete opposite result and obtained barely any drop items from the many she killed.

Her bad luck was working on the probability of the monster drop items but so long as she took some distance from others, the chances of them dropping was slightly higher.

When Swaine was with them then the chances of them appearing would be far higher but even his good luck in its present state could not overcome her own if she got too close or participated too actively in the battle.

In a way, it had some kind of connection to how big of a percentage each person did to a monster so it did not have an effect when her talismans had activated to protect her group but the chances of drop items decreased when she damaged or killed one of them.

It was quite similar to how mmorpg games would work with how the most damage done, the first hit or the last hit determined who gained the experience and loot for the kill of a mob.

The main issue was that if Mallory wished to increase the odds of drop items appearing, she could not interfere too much and could not take the kill which meant sacrificing the Excelia she could gain.

If she had not been a little more interested in gaining more profits and studying how things worked then she may have landed the killing blows herself on each of them.

It gave her some insights into her position within most teams where she could play a role that would not affect the gains of the party but she could not waste the inherited agility gained from half of her non human side that was a part of the leopard tribe.

It just meant that she had to decide when was best to hold back and support when there was a chance of a greater item dropping from a rarer monster or monster rex.

The worth of those items was far higher and there would be some among them that could be used to make all kinds of items with different effects.

Those were her future things to worry about for gaining more Valis and items to craft useful items to assist her or her party but she would not put her party at risk just to obtain them.

If the party was severely outmatched then she would have to step up and fight personally so that the casualties could be reduced.

Her first spell had been very helpful in pointing the way towards her role within a party and it was well suited to her Apotropaic skill in the way it prevented and averted harm.

It was a barrier based magic so it would have certain limitations or uses but Mallory was aware that it was far more suited to protection from magic, curses and other harmful non physical effects.

If confronted with a stronger force, constant physical attacks or a type of spell that could negate her magic then it would require more magic to keep the barrier up or it would break down.

The shape, thickness and size of the barrier would affect different things too which would increase or lower its range of protection or its durability.

If it was a single projection of a shape that was stationary then a more experienced spell caster or melee combatant would learn to aim their attacks after moving around her to where the barrier was not providing protection.

A more skilled spell caster would be able to manipulate their spell more freely to avoid the barrier and pass through the areas that were not protected.

If she was maintaining a barrier to protect someone else then she would be left vulnerable too so it increased the need for her to learn concurrent chanting to avoid being harmed in all kinds of scenarios.

The reflection depended on if the surface was flat or curved so that the direction the reflected spells would be reflected to but the angle was important too.

If she kept it as it was and took an attack head on and reflected it then it would hit a stationary target but other spell casters that had more combat experience would move to avoid the reflected magic.

A single miscalculation in the angle of the barrier or the opponents combat abilities could result in the reflected spell missing.

As Mallory arrived back at the gates of the city, she showed a slight smile on her face. 'It looks like I have to get the help of Oars again so I can work on the weaknesses that have appeared when I learned this spell.'

The spell was excellent for what it needed to do but she needed more practice before she could use it more effectively in combat.

The interrogation began on those that had been captured and brought to be imprisoned while Mallory headed back to her home where she met up with her goddess once again.

Goddess Seshat raised an eyebrow as she said. "You are back so quickly. How did it go?"

Mallory shrugged and replied. "It was not that difficult to handle. A couple of talismans and purification here or there.. a little investigation and trickery so those I found among them have been caught.

It would be best to monitor the village from now on for signs of new people appearing or the failures of the next village head that could be appointed. There will always be those that can be turned against us if they are given the right amount of force or persuasion."

Seshat looked towards the dainty body of Mallory with an excited glow in her eyes. "You must be want to receive an update to your status now that you are back?"

Mallory rolled her eyes and complained. "Goddess please.. put your thoughts elsewhere. I am going to find Oars first. Where is he?"

Seshat looked a little disappointed and pouted a little. "He is training… you will come see me again later?"

Mallory sighed and answered. "Later.. sure."

She did not want to delay her status update by too much but she wished to get some training done in her present state before that happened.

Growing in stats would only lessen the burden she would have to endure when she faced Oars.

She ran towards the training grounds and away from Goddess Seshat who stood there looking a little lonely and conflicted. "This kid cannot stay still for even a little time.. she really needs some time to relax or someone that she can form a bond with. I have placed too much of a burden on her shoulders."

Seshat saw no other alternative but to leave things to Mallory with how things were expected to play out.

Her own life, her familia and the lives of those in the city were at stake so she could not be so softhearted to stop the path Mallory was walking upon.

All she could do was watch from far away and provide some support where it was needed but there would always be variables that Mallory would have to overcome on her own.

Seshat just hoped that the pressure and expectations placed on Mallory would not become the ruin of her.