The Scorching Desert

The next day, I got ready for the day and checked my map to see if any new areas had popped up and noticed a new Quest Zone had appeared. I smiled and nodded to myself.

Yuki, Ophelia, and Shelly was waiting for me at the World Portal and smiled when they noticed me. I smiled back at them and stroked all three of their chins. Their happiness and bond meters went up then I showed them the map.

"Eshea has been opened. Our next destination is the Kafura Desert." I said.

"Sigh...First a volcano, now a scorching desert? Why must every zone begin with a Fire Area?" Ophelia softly whined.

"It is to note that all the enemies will be progressively stronger. I've brought some EXP Potions and some Otherworld Spheres for you all." I said then gave them EXP Potions and equipped new Sphere's on them. I decided to evolve Yuki since she was already Maxed Level.

[Unit Evolved!]

[Yuki Has Evolved!]

Name: Eclipse Yuki -> Abyss Yuki

Rarity: Three Stars -> Four Stars

Element: Dark

Weakness: Light

Resist: Dark

Type: Magic

Level: 30 [MAX] -> 1 -> 30

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 3,462/3,462 -> 5,821/5,821

MP: 734/734 -> 1,128/1,128

Burst Gauge: 0%

ATK: 92 -> 149

DEF: 111 -> 221

MATK: 268 -> 399

MDEF: 247 -> 374

AGI: 101 -> 211

LUK: 300 -> 402

Skills: Gravity Force, Super Dark Beam, Dark Protection, Abyss Rush

Burst Skill: Shadow Lotus

Leader Skill: Dark Savant [Boosts Dark Element Units parameters by 50%]

Equipped Spheres:

Slot 1: Shadow Orb [Boosts Dark Elemental Skills by 100%]

Slot 2: Umbra Cloak [Takes less damage from Light Units by 25%]

[Spring Elf Ophelia Level UP!]

Name: Spring Elf Ophelia

Rarity: Eight Stars

Element: Earth

Weakness: Fire

Resist: Thunder

Type: Support

Level: 21 -> 35

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 6,021/6,021 -> 8,412/8,412

MP: 1,402/1,402 -> 1,803/1,803

Burst Gauge: 0%

ATK: 119 -> 170

DEF: 147 -> 206

MATK: 316 -> 428

MDEF: 301 -> 367

AGI: 291 -> 337

LUK: 310 -> 395

[Flame Guardian Shelly Level UP!]

Name: Flame Guardian Shelly

Rarity: Five Stars

Element: Fire

Weakness: Water

Resist: Earth

Type: Tank

Level: 23 -> 36

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 6,121/6,121 -> 9,921/9,921

MP: 453/453 -> 612/612

Burst Gauge: 0%

ATK: 134 -> 227

DEF: 216 -> 317

MATK: 69 -> 78

MDEF: 216 -> 317

AGI: 92 -> 128

LUK: 102 -> 138

[Shin Level UP!]

Name: Shin

Class: Harem Summoner

Title: Virtuous Summoner

Element: None

Weakness: None

Resist: None

Type: Breaker

Rarity: Eight Star Unit

Level: 20 -> 40

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 10,380/10,380 -> 13,549/13,549

MP: 1,145/1,145 -> 1,482/1,482

Burst Gauge: 0%

OD Gauge: 0%

ATK: 690 + 755 -> 883 + 755

DEF: 680 + 213 -> 873 + 755

MATK: 391 + 755 -> 499 + 755

MDEF: 422 + 213 -> 533 + 755

AGI: 392 -> 512

LUK: 380 -> 482

"Alright...Let's head out." I said.

"Right!" My units nodded.

~~~~~

We walked through a portal into a desert city. We looked around and noticed other adventurers wandering about the desert city. A digital banner appeared in front of me saying the words, "Welcome to Kafura City".

"Ahh you must be Shin." A male said as he walked toward me.

The male wore a white bodysuit with silver armor attached to it. He had a blue cape and wore silver armored boots. He had dark blue hair and light blue eyes. He carried a halberd in his hand and a sword inside a scabbard around his waist.

"Hm..? I've definitely seen your name around the Summoner's Town. You're that Devil Hunter. Wave correct?" I asked.

He nodded and smiled. "I am Wave, Devil Hunter Commander for the First Division. I was asked on behalf of Cuara to help you through Kafura Desert."

Name: Wave

Class: Azure Knight

Title: Blue Devil

Element: Water

Weakness: Thunder

Resist: Fire

Type: Breaker

Rarity: Seven Stars

Level: 30

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 6,549/6,549

MP: 499/499

Burst Gauge: 0%

ATK: 557 + 125

DEF: 366

MAT: 193

MDEF: 314

AGI: 323

LUK: 276

Skills: Azure Counter, Brave Rush, Blue Wave Ride, Geyser Force

Burst Skill: Azure Knight's Impact

Burst Skill EX: Azure Arts: Blue Devil Rush

Final Burst Skill: Azure Devil Rage Flash

Leader Skill: Blue Demon's Command [Boosts own parameters by 200%, boosts parameters for all allies by 150% when a member of the Devil Hunters are in the party, boosts all Skills by 50%]

Extra Skill: Devil Hunters Retaliation [Boosts all parameters by 100% when fighting against a Grand Order member.]

Equipment:

Weapon: Azure Halberd + 125

Shield: None

Accessory: Azure Bracelet [Boosts Wave's Parameters by 70% when equipped, if other boosts ATK by 25%]

"What happened to her?" I asked.

Wave looked serious and closed his eyes. "A powerful Desert Monster attacked her. A Ghoul to be exact."

"Let me guess...The work of the Grand Order?" I asked.

"Yoshimune's Successor. He set it up. The Ghoul is a Thunder Element beast that he summoned. The Ghoul has her captured in the Tower of Eshea." Wave said.

I grunted then balled my hands into fists. "Damn these bastards..."

"Calm down, Shin. Your Virtues will become Sin if you express too much wrath. We have to enter the main desert area if we want to find the boss of this area. I'll go look ahead." Wave said.

I nodded and sighed. I watched Wave walk off. I looked at my units. Yuki looked worried, Ophelia looked concerned, and Shelly had a sad look on her face.

I smiled and rubbed their heads. "Don't worry...we will save her. She won't be there for too long. I promise."

[Yuki's Bond Percentage MAX!]

[Affinity Rank UP!]

[Yuki Affinity Rank: Lover]

[Ophelia Bond Percentage rose to 79%]

[Affinity Rank UP!]

[Ophelia Affinity Rank: Close Friend]

[Shelly's Bond Percentage rose to 60%]

[Affinity Rank UP!]

[Shelly Affinity Rank: Best Friend]

"I believe in you, Master." Yuki smiled and nodded.

"If anyone is going to save her it will be you, Master." Ophelia giggled.

"As someone who's lost a loved one, I know your struggles! I, Shelly, The Flame Guardian, will help you get her back!" Shelly said with determination.

I smiled at the three of them and nodded. "Alright let's head into the city until Wave comes back with information."

~~~~~

We walked around the city and heard cheering. I looked in the direction and noticed two familiar faces battling another Summoner. As I got closer I noticed it was Selene and Veria. Selene seemed to have acquired a stronger weapon and Veria has been evolved. I took this time to scan them.

Selene had new armor on. She wore a set of dragon armor and had on a dragon headdress. From the looks of it, she had acquired Six Star Equipment.

Name: Selene

Class: Summoner

Title: Wyvern Knight

Element: Water

Weakness: Thunder

Resist: Fire

Type: Breaker + Magic

Rarity: Six Star Unit

Level: 35

EXP:93/100%

HP: 6,129/6,129

MP: 799/799

Burst Gauge: 25%

ATK: 568

DEF: 233

MATK: 284

MDEF: 213

AGI: 203

LUK: 299

Skills: Wyvern Splash, Wave Rush, Geyser Blast EX, Dragon Crush, Tidal Boom, Dragon Boost

Burst Skill: Super Tidal Burst

Burst Skill EX: Whirlpool Vortex

Leader Skill: Serpent of Waves [Boosts all parameters by 70%, Boosts ATK by 100% when Wyvern Spear is equipped, Boosts Parameters by 250% for all Water Units when a Water Element Dragon is in the party]

Equipment:

Weapon: Wyvern Spear

Shield: Serpent Shield

Accessory: Dragon Charm [Boosts Parameters by 25%, Grants wielder Dragon Boost, and Boosts all Dragon Skills by 100%]

Name: Ice Royal Veria

Rarity: Four Stars

Element: Water

Weakness: Thunder

Resist: Fire

Type: Mix [Magic + Breaker]

Level: 29

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 3,121/3,121

MP: 912/912

Burst Gauge: 28%

ATK: 329

DEF: 299

MATK: 217

MDEF: 200

AGI: 234

LUK: 221

Skills: Royal Frost Slash, Cryo Typhoon, Ethereal Shine II, Royal Frost Dance, Frozen Barrage

Burst Skill: Cryo Penta-Strike

Leader Skill: Royal Blizzard [Boosts ATK and MATK for all Water Units by 70%, Boosts all Veria Skills by 100%, Boosts Royal Skills by 100% when Frozen Blade is equipped.]

Equipped Spheres:

Slot 1: Frozen Blade [Boosts ATK for Water Unit by 50%, boosts all Royal and Water Skills by 50%, gives wielder accees to Royal Frost Slash/Dance]

Slot 2: Frozen Shield [Boosts Defense for Water Unit by 50%]

The crowd cheered when Selene had defeated her opponent and she smiled proudly. She really has grown stronger since the first time we met. I could tell she was training nonstop and completing dungeons and Otherworld Missions. Both the Wyvern Spear and Serpent Shield are only acquirable in Otherworld.

Selene turned around and noticed me then squealed with excitement and hurried over to me. She hugged me and giggled. "Shin!~"

I chuckled softly and held her. "Well hello there. I see you've grown stronger..~"

She nodded and looked up at me. "I have and I want to continue doing so. Since you're in the area that means you want to clear Kafura Desert as well?"

"Yeah we're just waiting for someone to come back." I answered.

[Commencing Veria and Yuki B Support Conversation]

Veria walked over to Yuki and showed off her new sword, the Frozen Blade. "Mistress Selene worked hard to get me this unique weapon. This shows how hard she's been training!"

Yuki looked at it in awe. "It looks so cool!~ Well my Master bought me a new weapon, the Shadow Orb~"

Veria looked at the deep purple orb that shined in Yuki's hand. The orb carried some mythical darkness within and freaked Veria out a little. "Why do you like these creepy weapons..?"

"Because it's beautiful to look at..~ Master Shin really knows what to give me everytime which is why I love him..~" Yuki said with a bit of a creepy giggle.

Veria stepped away from Yuki and cleared her throat. "Your...inner yandere is showing..."

Yuki looked surprised then giggled, rubbing the back of her head.

[Veria and Yuki's Support Bond increased to 75%]

Wave finally came back and walked toward us. "I've spoken to the locals. We can reach the next area if we follow the bone trail of an ancient Bone Dragon. There are a couple of stops we have to make along the way. One being the Kafura Palace. There is a treasure that we need to obtain if we want to appease the Bone Dragon."

I nodded and looked at Selene. "Ready to go?~"

Selene nodded and smiled at me. "Ready."

Wave nodded and began to lead us through the scorching sands of the Kafura Desert.

~~~~~

Ophelia began to acquire the Overheat Status and panted softly. The intensity of the sun was more powerful than the volcano.

I fell back and looked at Ophelia. "Okay, there's no way you're making it through this area. It's time to let you rest."

"Master..." Ophelia panted and grunted as she began to take passive burn damage. She looked defeated, but understood that she couldn't handle it anymore.

"I'll bring you back once we make it out of Kafura Desert." I said.

Ophelia nodded and warped to Otherworld.

[Ophelia has left the party.]

I began to look at the list of units I could bring. "I guess it's time for a new summon. I can't really bring Sarida as she's working on Otherworld with Farida. For some reason Luna and Sol are locked and I can't use them.."

"That's because they are storybound characters. Not to break the fourth wall or anything, but the system doesn't allow you to use some characters unless it's relevant to the story. Only when you complete their story line, you can freely use them." Wave said.

I nodded and pulled up the summon menu.

May Event Unit: Arcane Devil Ayano Rates UP!

Event Summon Description: Enjoy increased rates on Arcane Devil Ayano Every x10 summons will reward you at least one Silver Star Unit to a Platinum Star Unit.

I clicked the summon one time button and the Summon Gate accepted my five Summoning Stones. The gate shined and went from Bronze to Silver to Gold and finally stopped on Platinum. The doors of the gate opened slowly and a bright light shined.

"I think it's time for the Arcane Devil to summon a Ruinous Storm~" A woman's said with a sultry voice.

The light revealed a beautiful young woman with a voluptuous figure, very long black hair and lightning yellow eyes. She wore a black and blue aikido kimono, green rope around the kimono's sash, red and black gauntlet on her right arm and wrist band on her left arm, burgundy sash near to her hip, and white hakama with red & silver peacock designs.

Name: Arcane Devil Ayano

Rarity: Eight Stars

Element: Thunder

Weakness: Earth

Resist: Water

Type: Speed + Magic

Level: 1

EXP: 0/100%

HP: 512/512

MP: 94/94

Burst Gauge: 0%

Ruinous Meter: 0%

ATK: 11

DEF: 17

MATK: 25

MDEF: 21

AGI: 25

LUK: 20

Skills: Dark Lightning Storm, Demon Bolt Flash, Fallen Lotus Blitz, Indra's Shatter Barrage

Burst Skill: Ruinous Storm

Burst Skill EX: Azazel's Wrath

Final Burst Skill: Arcane Arts: Fallen Angel's Judgement

Ruinous Skill: Risen Demon Form

Leader Skill: Ruinous Presence [Boosts parameters by 200% for all Dark and Thunder Units in the party, boosts MATK and AGI for all allies by 100%, Lowers all parameters by 50% for all enemies, Each successful attack boosts Ruinous Meter by 1%.]

Extra Skill: Arcane's Will [When using Ruinous Skill, all Skills and Burst Skills gain Dark Elemental Damage, grants user all Elemental Damage and Negation until Ruinous Meter is 0%, and boosts parameters by 50%]

Ayano looked at me and let out a soft giggle. "So it was you who summoned me..~ Well I hope you can satisfy me...I am a high maintenance woman..~"

Yuki, Shelly, Veria, and Selene looked jealous of Ayano. Especially Yuki because she grabbed my arm and shot a glare of a thousand suns at Ayano.

"She may be a new ally...but her attitude toward you...I hate it already." Yuki said.

"She reminds me of Kamie, but ten times worse." Shelly said.

I chuckled softly and began to level Ayano up to Level 30. "Come on, she hasn't even done anything to me."

"Yet." Ayano licked her lips then giggled.

Wave watched and smirked. "Come on, we still have an Area to clear."

I nodded. "We're coming."

The seven of us began to follow the trail once more and soon was stopped by a knight in black armor and red designs. I scanned them.

Name: Black Flame Agnis

Rarity: Five Stars

Element: Fire

Weakness: Water

Resist: Earth

Type: Breaker

Level: 35

HP: 10,000/10,000

MP: 895/895

ATK: 399

DEF: 378

MATK: 103

MDEF: 378

AGI: 295

LUK: 244

[Warning! Warning! Mini-Boss Detected!]

"Allow me to take care of this~" Ayano said and walked forward.

Agnis looked at Ayano then dashed toward her. Agnis slashed at her, but Ayano blocked it with a lightning shield then giggled as she kicked them, launching them away. She snapped her fingers and three black bolts of lightning struck down on them. She spread her demon wings and flew toward Agnis.

Agnis bellowed and slashed three times, releasing cutting waves of fire at Ayano. She dodged them and twirled around.

"Dark Lightning Storm!" She chanted then a barrage of a dark lightning crashed down, striking Agnis.

I watched the battle and was so far impressed. She was too fast for Agnis to even keep up with and they were at the same level. I compared their speed stats.

Agnis AGI: 295

Ayano AGI: 502

"Yep, straight mismatch." I said.

"I think it's time to end this..~" Ayano said then twirled around and winked then raised her hand in the air. She began spinning and giggled.

"What is she doing?" Yuki asked.

"She's literally dancing at this point.." Veria said.

"Ruinous...Storm!!" Ayano said then a powerful black tornado was summmoned and powerful bolts of demonic lightning crashed onto the tornado then a massive explosion happened.

Yuki and Veria dropped their jaws as they watched Ayano deal nothing but straight critical hits.

[Black Flame Agnis has been slain!]

I noticed a white ball of energy enter my body.

[Acquired Black Flame Agnis!]

"So Agnis was a woman. I can make use of her in the Otherworld." I said.

Ayano landed in front of me and held her arms then her wings disappeared. "I handled her all by myself~ I deserve a reward~"

"Don't get your hopes up, Devil! You just arrived on the scene! I won't-" Yuki started then gasped when I kissed Ayano's cheek.

[Ayano Bond Percentage rose to 18%]

[Affinity Rank UP!]

[Ayano Affinity Rank: Friend]

"She just skipped two whole ranks. I hate to say it, but we've got competition..." Veria said.

"Hmph...No one is gonna steal Shin away this quickly not when I just reunited with him!" Selene roared.

"Ayano...she is a dangerous woman. I have my eye on her.." Shelly said.

Ayano looked at the other women and gave them a smug smile. They all took offense and glared.

[Ayano has gained four rivals!]

I looked at the notification and sighed then smiled. "Come on, we have a Palace to reach."

Wave and I walked forward and the others began to follow behind, keeping watch of Ayano.