Chapter 43 – Phoenix

---Skip this bit if you want, thought it would be funny to do a stupid recap---

Previously on REAPH, bird hatches, bird gains system, bird learns to swear and fly, bird starts hunting, bird get's captured, bird witnesses dragons vs city, bird watches peace treaty, bird gets bullied, bird learns magic and sword, bird gets cursed, bird drinks booze, bird starts party, bird completes dungeon, bird hates sharing, bird gets drunk, bird completes dungeon, bird kills dragon, bird meets potential love interest, bird kills bandit camp, bird drinks potions, bird goes home, bird completes dungeon, bird realizes bird is stupid, bird hates empire, bird completes dungeon…

---I've definitely missed out some parts but you get the gist of it---

__________

"Petra, you… are you a phoenix as well?"

[<-User- has unlocked new sub system ability>]

The second I ask that; system has to get involved.

'Damn it, I know exactly what you're doing right now'

She couldn't have picked a worse time; I know very well she's purposely announced that right as I'm about to get an answer.

[<-User- should think about target -Petra's- confidentiality>]

'But… yeah, you're right'

"Sorry Ikarus, I'm unsure what you meant"

Petra quickly responds to my question; she definitely heard me but is playing dumb to the answer. Thankfully, my other party members didn't hear me question her, they are still looking around this cave but it still looks like there's nothing to loot other than the gold ore that would need mining in this place.

It probably is a good thing they didn't hear me; it's clear Petra wouldn't want this type of thing known by the empire if it's true since she seems to hold a lot of dislike towards them. Thinking about it, I now share a large part of her dislike also. The other party members still haven't heard us just yet so I start speaking quieter.

"I know you heard me Petra, I need answers"

"Ikarus… this might not be the time"

She responds with a smile as well and she's not even denying it, it's clear this is something confidential so I'm taking this a different direction now. She's already told me about everything else, I'm not resting till I know the truth on this though.

"Then once we get back to the town, we'll find a private place to talk"

"It still might not be the best idea for you to know just yet"

"No, you don't get to decide what's best for me, you're telling me the second we get the chance"

She seemed a little down from my response but I'm more than justified, I'm purposely being stubborn on this. If she's held the fact that she's also a phoenix, I want to know the second we're alone. I don't care if it's for my betterment, I'm knowing.

(Charlotte) "Are you two alright?"

(Nathan) "Yeah"

Both the other two-party members join us, I was clearly right about there not being any loot around here. We both just ignore them though; our conversation is more important right now.

"If you really need to know, then it would be better to show you rather than speak about it"

Wait, I thought this is confidential, is she going to show me her phoenix form right now? I doubt it, I don't think that's what she meant though.

"Can't you just tell me when we're alone?"

"Sorry Ikarus, I can't. There are some people you should meet if you feel like you can handle some more secrets, we'll have to head close to the brown forest though"

(Nathan) "What are you two talking about?"

(Charlotte) "Secrets?"

Why do these two have to listen to our conversation, it's clear we we're trying to ignore them. I now need to involve them if something she's hiding is confidential and if we need to head back to that bandit forest though.

"*Sigh*… I'm sorry Charlotte and Nathan but we're splitting up the party for a while, I'll fly you both to some place safe and we'll call it quits"

"Why Ikarus-sama?"

"Yeah, have we disappointed you?"

Both look extremely concerned from my announcement, this is happening though.

"Something important has come up, this isn't one of those times were I'm accepting your opinions or protection. I'll make sure to come get you when we search for the dungeons again though"

"Actually, we could probably pay a visit to the desert continent dungeon as well while we're over there Ikarus"

Pay a visit to the desert continent dungeon? Considering how dangerous that dungeon was with us four, isn't that a bit risky? With Petra, she'll definitely know what she's doing though so it should be okay but then again, she's hiding this phoenix thing from me and still hasn't confirmed or denied it yet though.

Both my other two-party members don't look any better about the split up and haven't responded, they both know this isn't something I'm going to change my mind on.

"Look, on the brightside, you two can spend some time togeth- sorry, I wasn't trying to be a tease there, let's just get on with it, there's nothing to loot here so we'll head back now"

All of us leave the cave with those two still looking disappointed, the magical barrier blocking the exit is long gone as well now. If they don't cheer up soon, I might just leave them here and see if they can find their own way back. Who am I kidding, I'm not that nasty a person.

__________

While flying back to the hot spring settlement and having a party of mute people on my back, it seems like a reasonable time to check something out.

'Aesa, what was that ability you said I unlocked?'

[<-User- has unlocked -aspect of gigantomachy-. -User- will enjoy this ability>]

'What's it do then? You sound slightly exited over this'

[<Every 24 hours, -user- can inflict 1 attack equalling up to 50,000 damage>]

"THAT'S SO FUCKING OP!"

"Ikarus-sama, you okay?"

(Nathan) "Ikarus?"

(Petra) "…"

It makes sense why they would be concerned; I did just shout for no reason while flying. Need to calm back down slightly.

"Yeah sorry, just speaking with Aesa, one second"

I've gotten myself too exited right now; this attack sounds absurdly good so I already know there's going to be a massive problem with it, this system wouldn't give me such a good thing.

'Give me the normal disappointing news, I bet this ability is secretly crap like everything else'

[<-User- worries too much. -Aspect of gigantomachy- only drawbacks are 24-hour cooldown and enemies with high resistances to specific damage types>]

'So… let me guess, most enemies have strong resistances to everything? That's gonna be the problem'

[<Partially correct, 50,000 damage will still destroy most living creatures>]

Wait a second, she's actually serious? Have I basically just gotten a one hit ability like that? It makes sense what it would be from, that giant would've easily squashed us if a single hit had landed. I guess abilities gained from dungeons reflect on the enemy faced, at least in combat dungeons.

No Ikarus, calm yourself down, I can only use this once a day and even then, every creature is probably going to have some type of resistance. I'll need to speak with Aesa another time and go into all different types of resistances, stuff like fire and frost resistance are easy to understand, armour is a completely different type of thing though.

Imagine if armour gave a person ninety percent resistance, then this ability would only deal five thousand damage in theory, I'm not getting too exited just yet. Still would be a hell of a lot stronger than anything else I currently have.

"Oi Petra, did you get that ability as well?"

It takes her a second to respond, think she was thinking heavily on something and didn't recognize I was talking to her.

"Huh? Oh, from the dungeon, let me check one second"

She takes more than a second, it's closer to a minute than a second.

"Erm… It does that much? That ability is… something else. Wasn't gigantomachy the battle between the Gods and giants as well? It makes sense why it would be so powerful then"

I guess she has gotten it as well so that's good, she even remembers a little about Greek myths, that's brilliant! I doubt the other two have a clue what we're talking about.

"Something like that, even I can't remember everything about Greek myth, ironic seeing that my name is basically from one"

"Ah, that's where Ikarus is from, knew it sounded familiar"

Damn it, now we're just getting into casual conversation when all I want to do is know if she's a phoenix or not. My impatience has gotten better but it's still not perfect yet.

Screw it, I'm going to double time it back to the settlement now, hopefully the other two decide quickly where they want to go. It shouldn't be that long away.

__________

"Okay, so where do you two want to go then? Like I said, I've got to go with Petra somewhere and you can't come along"

Back on the outskirts of the little settlement on one of those islands, I'm currently discussing what we should do going forward, I'm still in bird form since I can drop these two off as fast as possible if they want to go back to the capital for example, I hope they decide to stay here though.

There's also no one out here right now so it's safe for me to be seen still in bird from.

"Well… wouldn't it make sense to just leave us here? You've got to kinda come back this way anyway when heading to the elven continent and shouldn't be that much of a detour"

Okay, sometimes I really like the knight, good he suggested that so it doesn't make me have to waste time.

"I guess that would be fine, there's more than enough for us to do here, just don't be making us wait too long please Ikarus-sama"

Both of those two still look unhappy about the situation, I couldn't care less though. I think priestess might also be annoyed with her God as well, she had quick words with him as we were leaving but she seemed really irritated with him, I can completely understand why though. Whether it was down to the dungeon interfering or just something like he was sleeping, that makes no difference to us.

"Good good then, I'll see you two"

(Nathan) "See you two then as well"

"Bye Ikarus-sama and Petra-sama"

(Petra) "Bye"

Both the other two-party members head off into the settlement just leaving me and Petra alone now, it's time for some more sweet info that I'm going to force it out of her… that's sounds a little weird.

"Now that we're alone, want to strip off and show me your bird form?"

"You want to see me naked?"

Wait, damn it, why did I say it that way? She'll get my point in a second though.

"I'm not flying you over there especially when I know you can fly as well, you're still keeping things from me so let's get a move on then"

It's time to head back over to the brown forest in the south of this continent, it'll be a long journey but since she'd rather show me what's going on rather than just say, the quicker we leave, the better.

"Why do you assume I'm a phoenix anyway Ikarus?"

She has that coy smile, why is she so adamantly trying to deny this?

"Don't play dumb with me Petra, one or two coincidences I can accept but you are way too similar, I can basically confirm it as well"

"How are you able to do that?"

I was hoping she'd ask something like that. Thankfully, my voice makes numbers up and presents to me them as facts. I think that's what Aesa does at the very least.

'Aesa, what do you reckon the percentage of her being a phoenix is?'

[<Target -Petra- has a 96% chance of sharing -user- species, similarities are too similar>]

She thinks it's that high a chance? Yeah, I was right then.

"Aesa literally says there's a ninety-six percent chance of you being a phoenix, don't play dumb and just show me already"

"There's still a four percent chance though"

She's getting on my nerves now, it's not exactly going to kill her to change form, is it?

"Stop it Petra, just change already, please?"

She responds with a slight sigh and now looks disappointed.

"*Sigh*… fine then, really don't want to do this Ikarus but if you insist, just try and calm yourself once you see"

Without getting naked, she activates her changing ability and like with my choker enchantment form change, a large amount of smoke shows when it happens. Once the smoke has faded, I get to witness Petra the phoenix, I knew I was right but I'm shocked from how she looks though.

"Jesus Christ! What the hell happened to you?"

Her phoenix body shares roughly the same size as me but there are some major differences. First, her feathers are charcoal black in colour but there are a lot of grey in parts and large scars, her phoenix body almost looks like it's survived a beating or loads of close encounters. As for her wings, they look the most damaged out of everything. Was this why she didn't want to show me?

"This is my own curse Ikarus. Unlike with your curse, this is down to my own stupidity, making a deal with a devil has that type of consequence"

I can't help but feel terrible now, that form looks like it's extremely painful to stay in. As for it also being a curse, I'll ask about that later.

"Damn it, I'm sorry for making you change then. Does it hurt being like that?"

"A little, flying causes the most issues though. Did do it before we met back up in the capital and on occasion for short distances, still need to use my wings every now and then but it can be troublesome. Shall we set off to the forest then?"

She's pissed me off now, she wants to fly when it physically hurts her? What does she take me for?

"You should have fucking said, you idiot! I can't make you fly when it hurts, change back and get on my back already, I'll fly and we can talk since I bet there's things you can still tell me before we get where we need to"

"Heh, fair enough"

__________

I'm now back in the skies with the secret phoenix Petra on my back heading towards the brown forest, it'll probably be a two-week journey but this will probably go quickly with just us two, I'm kinda looking forward it being just us alone for a while.

Might as well start asking more questions now, I'm quite a curious person after all… and dumb.

"How did you keep your clothing as well?"

No idea why I started with that but I'm still interested though.

"These robes are enchanted; they can't be destroyed while having to change so it's a similar thing with your ring"

Do her disciple robes shrink and go elsewhere when she turns into bird form then? Once again, I'm fixating on stupid things but I'll stop in a second.

[<Aesa told -user- to wear enchanted clothing >]

Aesa is bringing up that accursed bikini once again, is that the same type of thing though? I guess it is enchanted as well.

'Hang on Aesa, how would that have worked?'

[<Enchanted clothing fits any form, -user- would've been narrow minded so Aesa didn't share information previously>]

She knew I wouldn't have listened to her, I guess she knows me too well then.

As stupid as it sounds, wearing that would've stopped me seeing myself naked every time I change form, I'm still not wearing it despite it might actually have some use now, it had use previously but still. Damn it, I need to move on.

"Why did you keep all this from me though? Knowing that you're also a phoenix is brilliant, I can't understand why you've been hiding it"

Despite her phoenix body being really hurt looking, I can't help but think it's slightly… cute. Look, it's not like I've got a thing for scars or anything like that, I think it's just more the fact that most of her bird body looks quite similar to how I look, just black in colour, I think that's the reason. The scars play no part in it.

Wait, don't birds of the same species have an automatic attraction to each to other, that got to be it, right? I'm just second guessing myself now so I'll leave that thought about Petra being cute for another time, I guess her human form looks alright too… Damn it, shut up Ikarus!

"Heh, it's complicated Ikarus, it'll make more sense once you meet the others, everything should make more sense then"

Once again, I'm getting more and more curious on things, there's another question I can ask though.

"What about your curse? How did it come about?"

"It was an exchange, it's another reason why I was using the empire's knowledge. Unfortunately, it still looks like deals like this can never be broken, probably shouldn't call it a curse either seeing that I agreed to this"

She seems down as hell now, I'm going to stop asking about her curse, it's too depressing a subject for her to discuss. If I'm speculating about it, it could also be related to her blindness. Maybe in exchange for extreme power, this was the price? I wonder if I can help her in the future but for now, it's best to change for subject.

"Well anyway… I've just realized something… I'm such a fucking idiot"

"What's wrong Ikarus?"

"It's my birthday today, I've only just remembered it now"

Everything with the fight against the giant, the realization that the empire are scumbags and now with Petra, I nearly forgot that I've literally just turned two today. I guess I can use everything else as an excuse.

"Happy birthday then Ikarus, would've gotten you something if you'd have said"

She would've gotten me something? I don't really need anything though.

"Thanks but really don't need anything, already got more money than I could ever possibly need so gifts are pointless"

At the end of the day, when you have enough money to buy anything you want, is there really any need for gifts? I know it's supposed to be the thought that counts but still, such a thing would be wasted on me, I'd rather someone just spend the money they would've used to me towards something for themselves, I was always like that even back on Earth. Then again, I'm happy to take free generosity other times so I'm just contradicting myself.

"You should still make sure to celebrate stuff like birthdays even if it's just a gift. Once you hit a certain age, you'll forget what your birthdate even is and things start to lose its meaning"

Well, isn't that great? I've already forgotten my birthday and I'm two, I'll need to keep check of how old I am otherwise I'll end up forgetting my age as well, she's made me worry a little. I've been alive for twenty-four months right now, remember that Ikarus! Actually, I can use status right here to check.

'Status'

[Name: Ikarus | Species: Phoenix | Level: 54]

[Health 14,840/15,000]

[Stamina 2,319/5,000]

[Magicka 7,000/7,000]

'Damn, my stamina is lower than I thought, that fight took a lot outta me'

It wasn't till just after I opened my status that I realized checking my health to see how old I am is dumb. Once I'm cured from this curse, I won't be able to check how much HP has been lost and seeing that we've already conquered four dungeons in one-hundred and sixty days, we hopefully should have it done in under a year.

That's not a red flag! I said hopefully so it doesn't count, back to our conversation anyway.

"I was a twenty-three-year-old man before I got reincarnated you know, I never really celebrated birthdays even back then. Well, except with a drink or two, maybe a bottle as well"

I just revealed I got reincarnated, it should be the same for her since she's a phoenix as well, right? I'll ask more about that another time; she seems more focused on something else.

"You were a man beforehand? That… actually, makes no difference"

What does she mean it makes no difference? Forget it, I'm just going to buckle down and fly as fast as possible now, I'm going to be flying nonstop from now on.