"Urp! Bleeaaaaaaagh..."
Despite how successful their time in Soma Valley had been, Yumiella's life the past day and a half after leaving had been utter misery. She was vaguely aware of periodic EXP gain notifications, and that her teammates brought her things like fish to feed to the Cardinal Sword, but ever since they'd set foot on the river barge that would take them to Seatto Territory, her sea sickness had resurged again and she wasn't paying much attention to it.
Despite its unpleasant ending, though, their week in Soma Valley had been a wonderful grinding opportunity.
After making rounds to several farms to unlock and master multiple magic plant forms, the team had done a bit more monster-hunting and grinding interspersed with sparring practice sessions to develop their cooperative combat skills before buying gear with intent to leave.
Then the Soma family -- the eldest daughter of the countess, and her husband this time -- had approached them with a request that carried a handsome cash reward for its completion.
More Wave monsters, a mix of skeletons and hounds, had settled near the border of Soma Valley and its neighboring fief, and both nobles were putting off dealing with the encamped monsters.
Yumiella had happily taken her team to wipe them out, gaining and mastering the Interdimensional Skeleton Sword as well as mastering the Interdimensional Hound Sword.
The next day, after buying a carriage for Doduo and Rich to pull (at their own insistence, as otherwise Yumiella would have had misgivings about child labor like that,) and bidding an early farewell to the rented carriage that had taken them this far, the team had left Soma Valley to take a barge down the river to Seatto Territory proper, seeking the site of the First Wave.
Sadly, it turned out that the stomach soothing medicine Yumiella had taken was not strong enough, and the overnight barge trip had been miserable since it wore off.
Yoshi had curled up with her like a lovely air-conditioned pillow, and the twins had brought her fish to feed the sword and things and they bunked down with her at night after swimming in the river, but Yumiella only sporadically felt well enough to cuddle them back until the barge dropped her team and their new carriage off at the river bank in Seatto Territory.
It still took another hour or two of rest and medicine before Yumiella felt well enough to review their progress.
Bloodsucker Garlic Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 ... ... Unique Equip = improved damage to unholy (small) ... Unique Skill = Bloodsucker -- spend SP to restore your health with half the damage you deal from one attack (1 minute cooldown)
Attack Apple Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)
Bright Barley Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = dark vision improvement (small)
Hopping Hops Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = jumping improvement (small)... brewing improvement (small)
Jousting Juniper Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+4
Popping Potatoes Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... SPD+2
Snake Grapes Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2 ... poison resistance (small)
Watchful Wheat Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = senses improvement (small)
Interdimensional Skeleton Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip Effect = DEF+2 ... inventory rot resistance (small)
Interdimensional Hound Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+8 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... Equip Skill: Tracking -- use SP to place a tracking beacon on something you strike
Cheshire Catfish Sword (unmastered) 7/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = M.DEF+3 ... stealth improvement (small)
Goldfish Sword (unmastered) 3/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = item drop improvement (small)
Rocky Fish Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+3
Flying Fish Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = SPD+4
River Pike Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+3
Yumiella blinked and checked her inventory.
That... is a lot of fish. Actually, I think that's more fish than would account for the sword forms I gained, and multiple types of pike and goldfish. It seems as though not every fish granted a form, and that several different subspecies got folded into a single type. Still, even with rot prevention from the skeletons, I wouldn't trust this fish to stay edible for very long. Although maybe Welt's ice magic can freeze it...?
Then the Level indicator at the upper corner of her Menu caught her eye, and Yumiella quickly switched over to her Party page to check everyone's levels.
Yumiella Dolkness -- Level 32 -- HP = 324/324 -- MP = 299/299 -- SP = 179/179
Welt Bluegrass -- Sorcerer -- Level 27 -- HP = 181/181 -- MP = 255/255
Farrie Bonheim -- Martial Artist -- Level 25 -- HP = 283/283 -- MP = 172/172
Bakta -- Ranger -- Level 29 -- HP = 310/310 -- MP = 149/149
Tersia -- Scout -- Level 27 -- HP = 209/209 -- MP = 152/152
Yoshi -- Tyrella -- Level 21 -- HP = 227/227 -- MP = 74/74
Rich -- Filorial -- Level 23 -- HP = 249/249 -- MP = 137/137
Doduo -- Filorial -- Level 22 -- HP = 202/202 -- MP = 157/157
"You did a lot of hunting on the river. Good job," Yumiella congratulated her team.
"Lady Yumiella, you're up!" Farrie bounced over and pulled her into a quick hug, followed by everyone else moving their way and her three babies demanding the cuddling they'd missed out on.
According to the map, they still had a day or two of travel by carriage to arrive at Seatto territory proper, and then another day or two to reach the site of the First Wave, but that would be easy enough.
...This feels like cheating, Yumiella reflected as she got another EXP notification, along with a message that Doduo had leveled up.
"I see some more doggies, Pyuu~!"
"Yom!"
"Kick one over here, gueh! I can't leave the carriage!"
"Sacred Seven
Stars," Tersia muttered, their carriage-cart shaking a bit as the sounds of messy mayhem reached their ears.
There weren't any particularly good grinding zones near where they had bene let off, and Yumiella had left it up to Doduo and Rich whether they fought at day if the twins were fine to pull a carriage at night, or whether they moved more slowly and mixed in grinding during the day.
...She'd then had to break up an argument about which of them would be 'allowed' to pull the carriage, insisting that they switch off in one or two hour shifts, and that they had to get a good amount of sleep and food along the way.
It turned out that there were several thousand (or several tens of thousands) of Wave monsters left over in the area from the initial Wave, and that they'd learned to lurk by the roadside to pick off humans who traveled.
Doduo had been pulling the carriage the first time a Wave Hound had come out of the bushes, and Yumiella (who was keeping her company by reciting some mangled fairy tales from her first life,) had barely noticed it before Doduo kick it hard enough to shatter its ribs, grabbed it from the air with her beak, and began to dig in while still moving.
Rich had promptly left his perch in the carriage and run out beside her, demanding that she share with him.
Thus, instead of taking the carriage along the road and periodically stopping to fight monsters, Yumiella had decided on a new team arrangement where one twin would pull the carriage while the other twin and Yoshi (and riders, sometimes,) would scout the roadside to flush out and slay as many Wave monsters as they could manage.
Moreover, in addition to being exceptionally strong children in combat (just like their mother and older brothers Ryu and Yoshi too!), it seemed that Rich and Doduo could comfortably pull the carriage faster than average, so they were making excellent time in their journey!
Granted, Yumiella felt a little useless and worried she was taking advantage of them, but all her children seemed really happy and she made sure they ate and rested, so since the team -- well, herself, her three children, and whichever members of the team were being cycled through the party at that moment -- was getting EXP and they were all happy and making good time, she had made her peace with it.
It still felt a little like cheating to get EXP without doing anything, though. Where was the fun of growing stronger!?
ALERT
Goldfish Sword has been Mastered!
Goldfish Sword has 100% Proficiency!
Yumiella reset the proficiency -- 59 PP available and she hadn't decided what to use it on -- and returned to studying the magic and local alphabets, since Welt was going to quiz her once his shift was finished.
"Lady Hero! I see the city near the horizon, we should make it by sunset or a little after," Welt called from the driver's seat.
They'd arrived a little after sunset and informed the gate guards, who sent a runner up to whatever noble was in charge of the city.
Said noble was
not a member of the Seatto family, apparently, as the head had died fighting the Wave and his heir was... back at the capital for some reason? There were mixed explanations with no clear answers to be had from the guards and passers-by near the gate, but King Aultcray had sent an interim governor who they would meet the next morning.
Given her status as the eccentric (sensible) Cardinal Sword Hero, the guards didn't make a fuss when Yumiella decided to save money by making camp near the gates.
The next morning, Yumiella woke up early to find herself cuddling Yoshi and two unknown children that looked age 10.
The children -- a boy and a girl -- had brown and gray wings similar in coloring to the twins' plumage. They were also a boy and a girl.
A mother is inevitably able to recognize her children, so Yumiella blinked blearily and went back to sleep with her three kids.
"What the
fuck?" Bakta yelped, waking up everyone in the cart and disturbing Yumiella's pleasant family cuddle pile.
"You're just totally unfazed by this, aren't you?" Farrie wondered as she accompanied Lady Yumiella and 'the twins' through the town to buy them shape-changing outfits.
"Is it strange?" Yumiella wondered.
"Yup," Farrie confirmed. "Talking Filorials who can shape-shift into Demi-humans? That's, like... I can't even think of fiction stories that have stuff like that. It's crazy!"
"Next to dimensional tears spewing monsters, heroes summoned from another world, shape-shifting weapons, and my Inventory storage, this doesn't seem so exceptional."
Farrie opened her mouth to comment and then shut it with a click.
I... Well, she's definitely not wrong, I guess. "Did anything like this happen in your prior life's world, Lady Yumiella?"
"No."
Farrie sort of expected more of an answer, but Lady Yumiella didn't seem inclined to answer when she was keeping Doduo and Rich on-task, and Farrie wasn't willing to press.
They got to a clothing store to ask about magical clothing, and it turned out the store owner knew exactly what to give them and had a bastite crystal on hand to provide it.
Apparently, it was because there were a higher number of Demi-humans living in Seaetto Territory, and they requested transforming clothes relatively often for assorted reasons, which...
Well, Farrie's family wasn't exactly
devout when it came to attending services anyway -- she was pretty sure her Mom had been raised Four Saints instead of Three Heroes and just didn't mention it anymore -- and she'd met some Demi-humans in her trips to Zenoble who'd been not really different from the humans she met...
And besides! For all that she'd heard plenty of horror stories about things that Demi-humans did to humanity, none of those stories had a patch over the stories of what King Faubley did to his so-called 'brides', and he was 100% human!
So yeah, Farrie was
fine with seeing a couple groups of Demi-humans on the street as they were walking to the store and with using therianthrope techniques to make Lady Yumiella's clothing requests. It was a bit weird, but weird wasn't bad or evil, just strange!
Lady Yumiella handed over a downpayment and made arrangements to pick up the clothing the next day, as well as taking her own spool of mana thread to feed to the Holy Sword.
"Did you get any useful sword forms, Lady Yumiella?" Farrie asked once they'd left the shop.
She looked pleased when she was allowed to borrow the bastite crystal for the Holy Sword.
"Two," she confirmed, and Farrie guessed that was enough talking so the four of them walked back to the cart in pleasant silence.
+230 EXP ... +1,200 EXP ... +230 EXP
LEVEL UP! ... Yumiella Dolkness - Cardinal Sword Hero - Level 35
SWORD MASTERED!
Interdimensional Hound Sword (M) 20/20 -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+8 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... Equip Skill: Tracking -- use SP to place a tracking beacon on something you strike
NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED
Interdimensional Orthrus Sword (M) 1/20 — D — Base Power = ATK+12 ... ... Equip = ATK+8 ... "Tracking" Skill improvement (medium) ... "Dual Wielding I" Unlocked
NEW SKILL: Dual Wielding I -- pay SP proportionate to the power of the Sword Form used to duplicate the Cardinal Sword and wield two swords total, gaining double the equip bonus
Yumiella blinked and then checked her HELP MENU to see whether Dual Wielding a sword form would potentially help it gain Mastery and Proficiency at twice the speed.
It would.
This is like a Growth Amulet for the swords' experience, she reflected, immediately duplicating the Owlbear Sword she'd been using for this hunt.
"Two-?"
"A useful power," Yumiella informed Bakta, who had been helping her practice dissecting the wave monster corpses and watching her back as she absorbed them.
A burst of EXP gain notices flashed through her vision, indicating that her teammates were continuing to hunt the Wave monsters that were still inhabiting the area.
"Does it double the Holy Sword's power?" Bakta wondered.
"Not quite, but it doubles the speed of growth. We should continue hunting."
"Ooh, this feels nice! Doduo likes it, thank you!"
"Mahahahaha~! This is awesome, it's great! Thanks miss!"
Is this really okay with you, Rich-kun? Yumiella wondered as the twins got on their new outfits. She'd been envisioning something like overalls or a martial arts gi for her youngest son, but she had only really told the tailor to make the clothes 'appropriate', meaning Rich had gotten a dress to match his sister despite being a boy.
Or I suppose it's called a kilt when a boy wears it? ...Actually, does that mean Rich-kun might want to play the bagpipes?
Yumiella considered the image of herself attending her kids' music recital in the future, or of Rich taking the part of some battlefield coordinator using music to march around... and then she had the idea of a rockstar Rich breaking his guitar over an enemy's head in battle...
"Lady Yumiella?"
Yumiella blinked back to attention when Farrie prodded her.
"Thank you for your excellent work," she said, since her children both seemed happy with their clothes. She handed over the rest of the payment -- it was expensive, but there was a bounty on the Wave monsters inhabiting the area and Yumiella's team had collected almost two gold coins just for the work they did yesterday -- and the four of them (Farrie had come along as the 'cool aunt' figure,) stepped back out onto the street.
"We're not heading back to the cart?" Farrie checked as she and Yumiella pulled the twins into piggyback rides.
"Not yet. I want-,"
"Boo!" Rich complained, tugging at her hair. "Mooooom, I want to go fight and eat something tasty!"
Yumiella very nearly changed her plans for the day, such was the power of his cuteness.
"Bro, be nice!" Doduo scolded from Farrie's shoulders. "You just had breakfast, and Mom told us to say 'please'!"
"Don't wanna!"
Right, I can't reward bad behavior or it will teach them bad habits, Yumiella resolved. "Farrie and I need to run a few errands, and you need to stay with us, Rich-kun."
His grumbling and her (half-hearted attempts at) scolding lasted until the four of them were outside the gold building where adventurers gathered for quests and bounties.
"Farrie, today is your day off," Yumiella triple-checked.
"Mmhmm! I'm still planning to do some training and sparring, but if you have something else for me?" the martial artist confirmed.
"Information on the first wave, particularly from people who fought in it."
"Right! Where did the Boss appear, how quickly did the monsters come out, that type of thing?"
"As well as the strategies used by knights and adventurers to fight it, what was done with the remains, and as many names as you can get regarding the people who fought against it."
"Right. ...Any reason you didn't mention this earlier?" Farrie checked.
"You are the person I feel most certain is not reporting to anybody else, of our party. I have suspicions that there is some form of foul play around our summoning and the events of the First Wave, and I do not want to let our teammates or assorted followers know about my suspicions."
There was a long pause as several expressions crossed Farries face like clouds blown across the sun.
"Um, are you counting letters home as reporting to anyone?" Farrie asked worriedly.
"No."
"Oh, thank god. ...What do you mean by assorted followers?"
Yumiella leaned in and told a plausible lie that she suspected but didn't actually have evidence of: "We have had at least two people following our party since we left the capital, but they stay far enough away and move fast enough that I am unable to investigate them at my current level."
If worst comes to worse, and Farrie is reporting on me as well, any followers might be tricked into revealing themselves with the implication that there is another follower they are unaware of.
She felt a little guilty about the deception, but a local equivalent of the assassination attempts Count Dolkness had thrown at her would be
catastrophic and nearly guaranteed to succeed, so she needed to get information fast and keep her search under wraps.
If she figured out a way to clear Farrie, she'd apologize and hope she was forgiven. But the nice girl was nodding slowly and then offered, "If I find anything or anyone important, do you want me to write it down or maybe call them back to talk to you in person?"
"Yes please," Yumiella confirmed as she held out her arms to take Doduo so they could head back to the cart.
"-in ice! Drifa Tundra!" Welt cast, and his magic answered. A wave of cold crashed through the forest, its efficacy enhanced by the humid fog he'd created in advance, and those Wave monsters that weren't killed by it still found themselves frozen and struggling to break free.
The rest of the party all fell upon the wolves, crushing and cutting as Welt caught his breath.
I did it! I really did it! My first ever Drifa-level spell and it was a total success, Welt rejoiced as the wave monsters died.
Right, but I can't rest while they're fighting. "Faust Wing Blow! Faust Wing Blow!"
He kept casting steadily, throwing around blasts of solid air that smashed frozen monsters or hurled around the more resilient ones. They'd been at this all afternoon since Lady Yumiella wanted to leave the next day, and Welt was honestly feeling like he might hit the Class Up cap before they even
got to Cal Mira Archipelago.
Granted, the main reason they were going was to check the equipment and any records left by previous Legendary Heroes, since the Cal Mira Event wasn't happening at the moment.
But since it was so far to travel, they'd probably stay at the Archipelago as long as possible until the Wave arrived.
Two weeks ago -- had it really only been two weeks? It felt like ages -- Welt would've reluctantly admitted that he was as terrified of having to fight a Wave as he was eager to prove himself.
Today he actually felt confident. His MP had swelled enormously, and his casting capability with it. Lady Yumiella had made them periodically spar a bit each morning and evening to get used to each other's fighting styles, and now he was pretty sure he could kill some Wave monsters without magic!
Not that he was eager to test that, but he was debating whether to get a sturdier staff the could be used like a club with his share of the wave monster bounty money.
Still, he experimentally punched a few frozen monsters and then stomped on them instead when he hurt his hand, just to see how it felt.
The monster dog made a very satisfying
crunch when he killed it, he had to admit.
"Hey, the sun's below the tree line now," Tersia called once the battle was dying down. "Do we want to head back or keep going?"
"More! Frozen meat taste good in the heat," Rich, the little gray-winged kid demanded.
"Tastes good, baby brother, and you need to say please," his tan-winged sister Doduo insisted. "But I'm fine to keep going here, Mom."
"I think we should head back. Night is too opportune a time for monsters to stalk and ambush us," Bakta disagreed immediately.
Welt was honestly 50-50 on whether Bakta actually believed that, or whether Bakta just didn't like the kids making demands. Still... "If Rich and Doduo can guard our camp at night, I think they can keep us safe when we're awake and able to fight back. I'm not running low on mana, so I can keep up a simple light spell too. Tersia?"
"Honestly, I've been beating monsters with the pommel of my short sword because I'm worried it's going to break," he admitted. "My strength is outstripping my equipment, but if we call it now and cash in the bounties I can maybe get some shopping done."
"Mooo~om, what are we doing already? Unf," Rich grunted when Lady Yumiella booped his nose.
"Please go easy on the whining, Rich-kun. ...Welt, I have a few errands to run as well, but if you feel confident, I am willing to trust my kids to you."
Welt puffed up immediately and had to remind himself that she had a fiancé, she wasn't flirting with him. "Absolutely! Um, just the twins, or Yoshi too?"
If I have to ride Yoshi I'll probably throw up again, but I'm not sure how else to handle and keep an eye on him.
"Yoshi?"
"Yom! Yo-yom."
"Yoshi will come back with me. Doduo, Rich, I want both of you to stay in sight of Welt. He is in charge," she emphasized slowly. "Promise me?"
"We'll stay with Mister Welt, Mama!"
"Fine, I promise."
Welt really hoped that he didn't screw this up, because he'd seen Lady Yuiella's face when the local governor had offered to buy one of the twins from her, and while her expression had barely changed he'd been amazed that the man hadn't caught fire or frozen or withered away under her oppressive aura of indignation.
Welt really didn't want to find out how she'd react if one of her kids got hurt.
"I- I won't let you down, Lady Hero!" he pledged, as much to himself as to her.
