Chapter 23: The Dreaded Silence.
"These are old recipes for potions and medicine," she thought as she looked through the papers.
She saw all the ingredients and then glanced at the table with her leaf balls.
"I want to try to make these, but I don't know how rare the ingredients are or how much they would cost. I also want to see if I can change the toxicity of my spores or maybe infuse them with other types of poisons or toxicities." She glanced back and forth a few times before taking the small stack of papers with her to the table along with a feather pen and a bottle of ink.
"I don't have to sleep tonight," she thought as she stretched and took out the notebook that Miach had given her before.
She flipped through the pages of the notebook in order to look for the ingredients required to make a basic stamina potion.
"Coffee beans are found in the red fruits of coffee plants, which are found in tropical forests..." She wrote it down on a blank piece of paper and drew a small sketch of the plant, fruit, and seed.
A small smile formed on her face while drawing the sketches without causing any 'bleeding'.
She heard a hiss from behind and glanced back to see the curious eyes of Selara and Zeruk.
"I am taking notes on the items needed to make stamina potions..." She noticed them tilting their heads at the name and explained.
"According to the old recipe, a stamina potion energizes the drinker enough to reduce exhaustion." A small paragraph hidden on one of the corners of the page caught her eye.
"It seems that drinking too many might cause insomnia and addiction..." She said aloud.
'It would make sense that these potions would have some sort of side effects; otherwise, sleep wouldn't be a necessity anymore,' she thought as she moved all the items, excluding her staff and leaf balls, to the floor and sat down with her legs crossed.
She then laid the papers out on the floor and petted the lizards' heads as they rested on her thighs.
She continued to read the step-by-step guides on how to craft the different potions, trying to commit the recipes to memory as she repeated a few parts in her mind while closing her eyes.
[Rolling Nature... 14]
After about an hour or more, she grouped the old potion recipes and placed them aside. She was able to memorize most of the general steps in making them and the ingredients needed but decided to stop there.
Selara and Zeruk had both already fallen asleep, so she picked up Miach's notebook, which she aptly named Medica Plantarum, and started reading through it entirely.
The moment she started reading was the moment her fascination and curiosity for plants grew.
The part she found the most shocking was that none of them seemed adamant about intentionally killing people.
'Artemisia, named after the goddess Artemis, is a special herb. In the past, one of its species was used to create Artemisinin, a treatment for diseases like malaria. Now, it's considered rare and serves as a key ingredient in making an elixir. Other species of Artemisia are known for medicinal uses, such as expelling parasitic worms,' she frowned slightly.
'Parasitic worms?' The hair at the back of her neck slowly rose as she began to get goosebumps. A shiver went down her spine as her face showed raw fear.
'Like those tadpoles?' she thought, fear riddled her mind as the images of those... monsters appeared in her mind. She mostly saw them in the texts of the Dreugar Fortress, but the innate fear that her race carried for them was genetically ingrained into them and got passed on with each generation.
'Did they come to the surface world?' she thought, rereading the paragraph before letting out a deep breath of relief.
'Although rare, there are still medicines used to expel them...' She let out another breath of relief as she slowly stopped shaking.
'I'll ask Miach tomorrow just to be sure,' she calmed herself down and continued to read the book.
She understood why Miach said that there are only a few notes on animals. The reason was that only some parts were used in the manufacture of medicine in the past or used for treatments.
A few examples are leeches which help with blood flow, and lanolin which is derived from sheep's wool and used to help maintain the skin.
Everything interested her, so she continued reading the notebook. A small sense of fear was still present in her eyes, but it was overshadowed by her growing sense of curiosity and interest.
And so a few hours had passed. In between these hours, Miach and Naaza noticed her on the floor and wanted to stop her from sitting on the floor. But their words weren't heard, and Miach decided that they shouldn't disturb her.
"She seems to be enjoying herself," he said to Naaza, who looked concerned.
"Isn't that unhealthy?" she asked while he shook his head with a soft smile.
"She is already a high-level one adventurer in stats alone, so she'll be fine. The only problems that she would face are some stiffness and a bit of exhaustion," he said as he turned around.
"Besides, you have done much worse by staying up for a few days straight without any rest," he chuckled as Naaza got embarrassed.
-------
[Rolling Con save... 19]
The sun is slowly rising as the sound of papers being flipped disturbs the silent room. Durvekka was still sitting in the same location as she reread the same book again and again.
In between her readings, she would close the notebook and use its hardcover to write some of her own notes on the blank papers she used previously, each word she wrote was written in the form of strange symbols.
She hadn't had an ounce of sleep, yet her focus wasn't hindered at all as she went into a 'flow state' as her surroundings were blurred and the sounds blocked out.
This includes the soft glow of her totem.
[Rolling Nature... 22]
[Rolling Intelligence check... 21(Nat 20)]
She managed to memorize the entire book from front to back, but she always made sure to open it to make sure that she hadn't written anything wrong.
What is she writing about?
Theories. After reading about all the plants written inside the Medica Plantarum and the recipes for those potions, she became curious about them and their limits.
The recipes she went through were detailed guides on how to make basic health, mind/mana, stamina, and curse-cleansing potions.
The first three were self-explanatory, but the curse-cleansing potion made her curious. The basic version is used to cleanse the drinker of certain ailments caused by magic, but if such a thing can be a potion, being able to clear magical 'curses'... Not only that, but other potions are able to restore the user of things they lost like stamina, mana, and heal from most injuries just from drinking their content...
It made her curious about the possibilities. Logically, a higher-quality potion should be able to heal, restore, and remove more effects.
So shouldn't there be potions that have special properties? Like, give the drinker temporary effects instead of restoration?
And where does the restoration come from? How do you regain magic so quickly by drinking a potion? How do you heal wounds from drinking a potion?
What are the limits of their higher-quality counterparts? Can you regain a lost arm from an elixir?
If so, then how? Does the potion help boost the drinker's base healing factor? If so, how does an elixir help with regrowing the bones of a lost limb?
The answer to all of these resides somewhere inside the Medica Plantarum that Durvekka read so thoroughly, and something she picked up on after a few rereads.
'Miach always mentioned in his book the significance of plants to the people of ancient times. For instance, how people from a place called Baltane believed that these mushrooms symbolize great health and longevity and that eating them could increase their longevity and boost their heart's 'qi'.'
'I am unsure of what qi is, but it might be a diffrent name for mind as I learned it as mana. So if I assume that it is, then the people of Baltane also believed that these mushrooms also help with their mana. Not only this, the reason why everyone in Orario might call mana mind would be because it is related to a person's clarity and consciousness. The reason this might be the case is every time I overuse mana in the Underdark it causes my head to ache and sometimes makes me start to lose consciousness.' She thought as she stared at the Medica Plantarum.
'Not only this, but one of the mana potion's ingredients involves coffee beans, which can help keep their mind active...'
'If my theory is correct, then the herbs with cultural value should hold more importance in brewing...' She opened the notebook to the page of the lotus flower.
'To the people of the mountains, the lotus flower symbolizes inner potential and the flow of energy through the 'chakras'. While the Buddhists that follow the god, Buddha, believe that it represents the purity of the body, speech, and mind,' she read the text and then checked the recipe.
'It is also an ingredient in the mana potion along with the reishi mushroom, coffee beans, and ashwagandha root, which was powdered and then used in traditional medicine by the amazonesses of Telskyura, who believed that it helps calm the nerves, lower blood pressure, and boost the immune system,' she smirked as she then moved on to the health potion and found the same similarities.
She knew that most people of the surface world had likely already figured this part out if it was true, but she was excited nonetheless because she was planning on following this theory in order to create a few recipes of her own.
The first two new recipes are the potion of swiftness and the potion of strength.
The stamina potion is made to quickly recover lost stamina and reduce tiredness, but what if she could make a potion that increases her stamina and flexibility instead?
She placed most of the papers she had written onto the side except for four pages.
They both hold the theory behind those two potions and the ingredients for their creation. She did not know the ratio needed nor what steps to use in order to brew them, but she was happy with her first attempt.
That was until another thought passed through her mind.
'I can use potions to increase the potency of my magic too...' She grinned again as she picked up another blank paper.
'Mana potions boost the drinker's mental clarity and energize the body enough to regain mana, but some of the lotus's and reishi mushroom's magical properties should also flow through a person's... 'mana veins' to kick-start the process... So does that mean with the correct assortment of ingredients, I might be able to give the mana I regain a certain property or element?' Her grin grew wider.
'Which would mean that if I mix the correct assortment of poisons, then my spores, which are created from my mana, would become extremely deadly while my magic itself might become poisonous,' she started writing down her new theory and possible ways of how to make it work.
'I should start small, as a poisonous mana potion might poison me instead... But I am a spore druid so perhaps not?' She continued to write those strange symbols as she theorized.
They looked similar to the ones written on her back.
-------
[Rolling perception (Dis)... 7-> 5 (Exhaustion)]
Naaza was getting everything ready to open the store while Miach was on his way to make breakfast, but he decided to check in on Durvekka and saw her sitting in the exact same spot as before, writing on pieces of paper with a feather pen. The small ink bottle by her side was already half empty with a few small stacks of papers filled with strange symbols.
He called out to her and the lizards, but none of them heard him, so he walked closer when the papers caught his attention.
'They are written in Celestial,' he thought in shock. He peeked at the notes she was currently writing, astonished at how effortlessly and fluent she seemed to write in the language. 'She can write in Celestial as if it's second nature... How can she be this fluent?'
He read the notes and couldn't help but smile and give her head a small pat, causing her to jump at the sudden contact. She turned around to look behind her, only to see Miach standing there with a proud look on his face and a smile similar to a proud father.
She didn't know what that smile meant.
He crossed his arms and asked, "Did you get any sleep last night?" She shook her head softly and mumbled out a "No..." which made Miach chuckle. He then crouched down closer to her level.
"Sometimes it is necessary to stay up late, but don't make it a habit, and make sure to get enough rest before you go into the dungeon." He said sternly as he stared into her eyes.
"Hm... I won't be going to the dungeon today, so I'll be fine," she said and then glanced at Selara and Zeruk, who began to stir, The then lifted their heads off of her thighs and let out a cute yawn in sync.
Durvekka couldn't help but find their antics adorable. A smile formed on her face as she petted them on the head.
"Did you two have a nice sleep?" They both hissed happily.
"That's good." She said while hugging them both.
Miach stood up as he saw them and felt left out.
He wanted a hug from his child too.
Durvekka stopped her hug and struggled to stand, but her legs were numb from sitting for over five hours straight. This caused her to stumble forward as she lost her footing.
[Rolling Dex save... 15]
Miach reacted swiftly, catching her just before she would have fallen face-first onto the floor. Given their height difference, he crouched slightly, one arm wrapping around her waist to keep her upright while his other hand rested gently on her shoulder for to keep her balanced.
"Are you alright?" he asked hastily, his voice filled with concern as Durvekka gripped his forearm to steady herself, using his support while the feeling in her legs gradually returned.
"I am fine now, thank you," she said, relief evident as the two lizards began hissing playfully, their tails wagging.
"It was no problem. Try to be more careful next time and make sure to stretch every now and then, so you don't put your legs to sleep," Miach replied calmly, releasing her slowly, making sure to be ready if she fell again.
She was fine, much to his relieve.
"Hm, I will." She crouched down carefully and gently gathered all of her papers into a neat pile.
"...Where did you learn how to write in Celestial?" Miach asked while helping her gather her papers.
"In the Underdark. There was a temple where I learned how to use my magic, but some of the books there were in Celestial, so I started learning the language too."
"You must be very talented if you can learn Celestial from books," He said with his usual smile on his face.
But he knew she was telling a half-truth.
Durvekka shook her head, "It took me a few years to read and write the language. It took even longer to be able to speak it comfortably." She patted the stack of papers in her hands into a neater stack and placed them on the table.
"Without any help?" Miach did the same with his stack and placed it next to hers.
"There is no such thing as help in the Underdark." Her voice held no emotion as memories slowly resurfaced.
[Rolling insight... 15, 18]
Miach heard her tone and glanced at her eyes and saw... nothing. His smile was replaced by an apologetic one as he said, "I am sorry for bringing up bad memories."
Durvekka glanced at his face and waved her hand.
"It's completely fine. Any god would be curious about how a mortal could understand their language," she said with a yawn at the end, her right hand slightly covering her mouth.
She then started going through the piles of paper and placed all of them in separate stacks in order. Each small stack represents a different theory and recipe.
"Out of curiosity, have you heard of an illithid tadpole?" She asked cautiously, it was obvious to Miach that she was focused on hearing his answer when he noticed her hands slowing down when organizing the piles.
"I haven't." Durvekka nodded.
"That's good."
"..." Miach decided to not ask her any questions on what those tadpoles were and instead chose to stay silent as he read through some of her theories and couldn't help but marvel at her ingenuity.
It made him proud.
Who would have thought that teaching her how to make a basic health potion would lead her to write these?
It's true that there are a few errors in them, but they can easily be fixed by attempting to make these potions.
'It would be difficult, but not impossible to brew them without the help of the mixing development ability,' He thought as he glanced at her. A hint of disappointment flashed through his eyes.
'It's a pity that she won't pick mixing as her development ability, but I won't force it on her either,' He chuckled to himself as his thoughts drifted, 'At least Naaza will stop complaining about our debt in the future... and maybe I'll be able to give away more potions at that time too? If we have the money, then Naaza might not complain as much.'
"Do you want me to comment on your work?" He asked Durvekka when he stopped his musing.
"...No, I want to figure them out at my own pace for now. I can be a bit slow for a few days before my level up brings me more trouble." Miach nodded while placing the notes he read back in the same order as they were.
"That's fine. But make sure that the time you spend is worth it. The up coming days will be the calm before the storm, so use them wisely." She nodded and asked,
"...When do you think I should level up?" He stopped to think briefly and answered, "...I am unsure. Your situation is already an extreme anomaly in the falna's system... Waiting too long would impede your growth while leveling up too quickly would bring more danger."
"At this moment, your growth speed is already extremely fast to the point where the masses' reaction would always be big no matter if you take days or weeks. The only way to lessen their reaction would be to wait at least six months to a year for a 'calmer' one." She frowned at his answer.
"...If I level up in a few days, what do you think would happen?" He sighed with a sad smile.
"Multiple gods and goddesses would pester me into giving you to them, while others would attempt to cause a situation that would bring forth a war game."
"A war game?"
"A war game is a battle between two familias where the rules, terms, and prizes are settled in a meeting between gods. Most of the time, a war game is called to settle a disagreement between two gods or if the children of one familia caused a mess in another." Miach explained.
"...And in my case, if a war game were to happen then I would become the 'prize'?" She and Miach frowned at the current conversation.
"I and Naaza will try our best for that not to happen... but at worst, I'll have to ask you to switch to a different familia of someone I trust." Durvekka could see his seriousness and nodded.
"What familia would it be?"
"...There are a few gods that would look after you, but there are a lot more that would be worse," he sighed and looked at her.
"Are you sure you want to stay in my familia? It would be better to go to a better one that can protect you." Durvekka shook her head.
"I already promised Naaza that I won't leave." She was determined to stay.
"At worst, I'll use my spells to run with Selara and Zeruk." She heard both hisses behind her which made her chuckle as it lightened the mood.
"I am going to visit the Hostess of Fertility for breakfast. I am curious about how their food tastes."
"You should also visit Babel for better equipment. The fifth floor is where the lower-ranking blacksmiths sell their equipment, so you can look through that floor for more affordable prices."
"Hm, thank you." She nodded and carefully stacked the different piles of paper on top of each other, but paused briefly as she yawned again and then carried the stack to her room, leaving Miach behind as he watched her leave.
He started tapping the table with his finger, left with his own thoughts as he turned to stare at the leaf balls and her staff on the table.
"I'll have to speak with Ganesha today," He said to himslef as he carefully carried the leaf balls and her staff and called out to her.
------
Durvekka walked along the road with the two lizards in tow as they made their way to the Hostess.
She used her staff to lightly tap the floor absentmindedly as she looked around through her sunglasses.
'At least my mana recovered, and I was even able to add more spells to my list... Did {Druid} rank up again?' She frowned slightly at the thought as she looked at her hand.
'Miach and Naaza will have to work hard in order to keep everyone in line,' she chuckled to herself as she muttered "Wehakipa Lnstmiwaa" with her hands moving slightly as she cast {Speak with animals}.
"How did you two sleep?" She asked again.
"{It was amazing, big sis!}" Selara yelled happily.
"{I never knew waking up would feel this refreshing,}" Zeruk answered with a cute yawn.
"I am glad to hear it. Are you two excited for the Hostess?" They both simultaneously yelled, "{YEA!}"
Durvekka had a smile on her face as she walked inside the Hostess with the two in tow.
The majority of the people inside are civilians while the adventurers are already inside the dungeon.
[Rolling Perception... nat 20] (This ff is taking all my luck, I swear)
"You actually came back, nya~!" the brown-haired catkin yelled out when she noticed the grey dwarf enter the Hostess.
She placed the plates she was holding on her customer's table and quickly made her way to her with a smile, completely ignoring the few giggles she heard when she almost tripped over her own feet.
Durvekka tilted her head at her antics.
'I wonder why she seems so excited to see me,' She shrugged and waited for the catkin at the entrance.
"Ahum," she cleared her throat.
[Rolling insight... 18, 14, 15, 16, 22, 11, 24, 23, 18]
"I am Anya Nya~ And welcome to the Hostess of Fertility! Please follow me to your seat..." She glanced at the two lizards and scratched her cheek.
"Umm, please follow me to your seats, nya." She corrected herself and walked forward.
Durvekka squinted her eyes slightly when she looked at Anya.
'Something seems off about her... But I don't know what,' she stopped looking at Anya as her eyes trailed off to the pub.
[Rolling Perception... 13(15-2)]
Most of the customers were laughing at Anya's antics while some of the waitresses were shaking their heads while the rest smiled.
A grey-haired waitress had a teasing smirk on her face as she stared in Durvekka and Anya's direction.
'Everyone seems to be having fun at least,' Durvekka thought as she listened to the lizards' conversation.
"{I wonder what's wrong with the strange lady,}" Zeruk was curious while Selara shook her head as she replied, "{She got blinded by big sis' brilliance!}"
"{...Maybe... But at least she seemed to have lightened the mood. When we entered previously, everyone was quiet, but now it's all lively.}" Durvekka was surprised when she heard him and thought,
'Did she do that on purpose to lighten the mood?' She smiled softly.
'Zeruk is also strangely perceptive to his surroundings... Could that be his talent?' She thought as Anya pointed to one of the tables.
"You can sit here, nya~!" The table had a set of four chairs, causing Durvekka to frown slightly as she stared at it when a sudden thought appeared in her mind.
"Can I borrow an extra chair?"
"Sure thing, nya~" She took one of the empty chairs and handed it to her. Durvekka smiled and placed two chairs across from each other with the backrests to the side. She did the same with the other two and then used the extra one as her seat.
Selara and Zeruk hissed happily as they jumped on the chairs and lay on them comfortably.
Anya smiled as she said, "Here is the menu, nya! I'll be back and ask for your order, nya~!" She placed the menu on the table.
"Hm, thank you." Durvekka picked it up and went through the menu thoughtfully.
'I am guessing the menu is where you pick a meal to order from, and the numbers on the side are the pricing.'
She started to tell the two lizards what was on the menu and the short list of ingredients that was inside the meal.
"What do you two want to eat?"
"{I'll have the 'Hearty Adventurer's Plate'. It would be the easiest to eat and sounds delicious,}" Zeruk said, while Selara nodded enthusiastically,
"{Hm! I'll have that too!}" Durvekka nodded and decided to order it for herself too.
"Anything to drink?" They shook their heads.
"{I don't feel the need to drink.}"
"{Me neither.}"
They both looked confused while Durvekka shrugged.
"Alright... It might be because your bodies convert food into energy, so drinking becomes obsolete."
They were eagerly waiting for their food while talking to each other.
The other customers were only able to hear Durvekka talking while the two lizards were only making hissing sounds.
But the body language of the lizards indicated that they understood her.
One of the waitresses walked up to her with a smile. She had light grey hair that was tied up in a ponytail with a small knot. Her eyes also were a light bluish-grey.
[Rolling insight... 12(14-2)]
[Rolling Deception(adv)... 21]
"The name's Syr!" she said with a charming smile.
"I'm Durvekka, he is Zeruk, and she is Selara."
"Nice to meet you three!" Her face then turned into one of curiosity as she looked around sheepishly and got a little closer to Durvekka.
"Is it true that you can understand and talk with them~?" She whispered in her ear, causing Durvekka to frown and lightly push her away.
"I can." Syr's eyes went wide with a big smile as she got a bit closer to Durvekka again.
"That's so cool! Can you tell me how?~"
"No." Durvekka's face slowly got a bit more irritated as she grabbed her staff and placed it between her and Syr.
"I would prefer it if you would stop getting so close to me."
"Eh~ Sorry, I got a bit excited." She rubbed the back of her head while her face looked apologetic.
Some of the other waitresses could feel the awkwardness from their interaction but didn't intervene.
Durvekka nodded, placed her staff on her lap again, and picked up the menu, which caused Syr's lips to twitch.
"Um... Uhhh." She tried to find something to start a conversation with but seemed to struggle until her eyes landed on the totem and her staff.
"W-where did you get that necklace and this staff? They look well made, especially this staff with the glowy bits on it." Durvekka glanced at her and replied, "...I don't want to talk about it."
Durvekka seemed to look a bit down, which caused the two lizards to glare at Syr as their heads peaked up, over the table.
"I-Uh-I didn't mean to ask something sensitive." Syr looked worried but didn't know what to do as some tears slowly appeared in her eyes.
"Hm, it's fine," Durvekka said with a small smile on her face.
"Can I give you my order?" she asked softly when Syr nodded vigorously.
"Three Hearty Adventurer's Plates and some herbal tea."
"Alright!" she said a bit too loudly and hastily escaped from the 'conversation'.
Syr was an expert at teasing people and getting them to open up, but she just had her first experience with an extrovert's worst nightmare.
Someone who is not only immune to her teasing but also someone who doesn't understand small talk.
This was the first time she felt the dreaded 'awkward silence'.
=====================================================
Chapter 24: An eventful day~
Durvekka watched Syr leave with her eyes squinted.
'...I don't like her.'
"{She was so rude to big sis!}" Selara continued her glare in Syr's direction.
"{Truly, I knew something felt off about her the moment she walked over here.}"
"What felt off?"
"{I'm not really sure what it was... She just gave off a strange feeling that I didn't like.}" Durvekka nodded and then glanced in Syr's direction.
"Is it related to strength?" She whispered to Zeruk.
"{No, it might be something else.}" He whispered back.
'She isn't strong, but I can't put my guard down.' She sighed.
'I'll focus on the surroundings while talking with Selara and Zeruk. I don't want to ruin breakfast for them.' She smiled and turned to them.
"What do you two want to try out today after we eat?"
Selara jumped up instantly, "{I want to fight big sis and see the forest!}"
Zeruk nodded, "{I want the same.}"
Durvekka noticed that he wanted to say something else but stopped himself.
"Is there something else you are interested in?" She tilted her head.
"{...I was wondering when we are going to ask Miach about our falnas.}" Durvekka hesitated before saying,
"...I'll ask him when we go back." Zeruk nodded.
"{I understand that the chances of us gaining a falna are very low, but I still want to try.}" Selara stayed silent but nodded in agreement.
"I understand, sorry for not asking him sooner." They shook their heads.
"{It's perfectly fine big sis!}"
"{I understand why you didn't ask, that's why I didn't ask sooner.}"
Durvekka smiled, "Thank you for forgiving me."
"{Of course, big sis!}" Selara's tail started wagging, which made Durvekka chuckle slightly.
Zeruk stared at Selara and let out a soft chuckle and asked,
"{Big sister, how did you learn your magic?}" Durvekka tilted her head slightly.
"{I know you explained it to Dad, but it felt like half of the explanation was a lie.}" Durvekka was shocked that he picked up on that as she thought,
'He really is amazing when it comes to this.'
"I didn't lie about learning my craft in a temple." She carefully omitted the word magic from her sentence.
"{How did learning magic go?}" Zeruk knew that she didn't want to speak about the language, so he asked a different question.
Durvekka noticed that and patted his head while answering, "It was very difficult at first, but the more time I spent in nature, the more I felt connected to it, and the better my art looked like."
Selara nodded enthusiastically, "{Does big sis think I can learn magic?}"
Durvekka didn't know how to answer the hopeful lizard but decided to be truthful in the end, "I don't know... you might be able to but I want you to remember that the chances are extremely low."
Selara looked a bit down, but she still add a small fire in her eyes as she asked, "{Can you teach me?}"
Durvekka thought for a few seconds and said
"I don't know if I can... I might be able to teach you some of the basics, but to become an artist like me might not work. Not only this, but I have never taught anyone in the past so I don't think I'd be a good teacher either." Selara got deflated as she slouched on the table. Durvekka sighed, feeling guilty about what she said, but she knew it was necessary.
"There was a time when I was forced to follow a path I had no interest in, and so I had to run for my life to create my own path. I know you want to work with the same art as me, but I don't want you to get disappointed when it fails.
"{I understand.}" She said sulkily, but quickly regained her previous enthusiasm after receiving some heat pats.
"{So instead of being a plant magic, I will become the best at a different magic!}" She grinned(?).
"...I'll teach you a few small things that might help you with your new path." Selara nodded rapidly, "{I will make big sis proud!}"
"What about you, Zeruk?" he thought for a bit, then shook his head.
"{I don't think magic is meant for me... I think stealth might be my strong suit instead.}" Durvekka nodded and said,
"You two will be a dangerous duo in the future."
"{You really think so, big sis?}"
"I do." Durvekka patted her head.
"{Hehe~}"
'I wonder where the more mature Selara went.' Durvekka found it funny at the shift in Selara's personality, but she didn't dwell on it.
-----
They continued to talk with each other, while Durvekka made sure not to use any words such as magic in order to reduce the eyes on her from those listening in on her talking.
Although there is already a lot of attention placed on her for being able to speak to 'monsters'.
"You really scared Syr-nya~" Anya teased while placing the two servings of the 'Hearty Adventurer's Plate' on the table.
The 'Hearty Adventurer's Plate' is a serving that has scrambled eggs, thick-cut bacon, sausages, roasted potatoes, and a slice of bread with butter neatly spread on it.
It is one of the Hostesses' most popular breakfast options on the menu.
"I'll bring yours in a second Nya~" She walked away, leaving the confused Durvekka, whose head was tilted to the side, wondering how she scared Syr.
'Is she afraid that we realize that she might be suspicious?' She wondered.
'But that would mean that she is perceptive enough to realize that we are on to her.' She squinted her eyes and glanced at her surroundings.
'That would mean that she might be Lolth... No, it can't be, Lolth wouldn't be afraid nor cause such a simple mistake. Not on purpose which in of itself is unlikely.'
'She asked me a lot of personal questions, so it might be one of her spies that lurk up on the surface world.'
'She is a goddess, so it wouldn't be surprising if she has a Familia, and having people that don't worship her as pawns in her Familia is something that she would do.' She sweated slightly as her anxiety slowly started to seep into her heart.
'If that is true, then Lolth is somewhere inside of Orario and most likely already knows my location.' Durvekka was about to grab her staff out of fear but held herself back as she continued to think.
'But if she had my current location to report then her reaction would have been different than being frightened. Not only this, but Lolth already knows about my magic so there should be a need to be scared if they couldn't gather more.' Zeruk and Selara tilted their heads at Durvekka who was to be deep in thought.
'Unless... she might think that I know about her identity?' Something seemed to have clicked in her mind.
'Lolth's servants wouldn't fear such a thing, so it might be someone unrelated to loth?' She tapped the table lightly, a small grin appeared on her face that quickly faded.
'There is a small chance that she might be a goddess in disguise and I have a way to confirm this. but if she isn't a goddess then it would cause more problems as she might be working for one.' Durvekka yawned slightly when she saw Anya bring her dish and herbal tea. Anya's tail wagging while she had a mischievous smile on her face.
Durvekka was used to working and staying awake for long days with no rest. So one day of no sleep and with her current stat from her falna? There is hardly any impact on her speculations, or so she would like to think.
"Thank you for the food," Durvekka said when Anya placed the dish and cup of tea on the table.
"You can thank me by enjoying the food Nya~" Durvekka nodded with a smile.
"Is there a chance that Syr can visit my table later? I want to apologize for scaring her earlier." She was being honest, as there was always a chance that she might have said something that scared her, and if that was the case, she would apologize.
Anya's lips twitched slightly as she thought, 'This poor girl. I only said that to tease you.'
"Is there something wrong?" Durvekka tilted her head to the side, while Anya waved her two hands and shook her head.
"Not at all-Nya!"
"I'll ask Syr to come after you finish eating to bring you the check Nya." Durvekka nodded and asked,
"What's a check?" Her head slightly titled to the side.
"Nya? You don't know what a check is nya?" Anya looked confused.
"No, this is my first time eating in a shop." She raised an eyebrow and asked,
"...Do you know what a pub or a restaurant is Nya?" Durvekka thought for a bit and said,
"I think I have heard those terms before but I can't remember where." Anya nodded understandingly and asked,
"Were you living in a village outside of Orario nya?" Durvekka didn't like that question and briefly glanced at her surroundings.
[Rolling Perception... 19]
She noticed a few people looking at her oddly, some wearing adventuring gear, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Anya was confused when she noticed Durvekka on edge, so she dropped the question.
'So I was correct... she also had a difficult life like the rest of us.' Anya thought as a reassuring smile appeared on her face as she patted Durvekka's shoulder.
"Don't worry about it Nya! I was just curious nya! Your past doesn't matter in the slightest to us nya!" Anya brought her hand closer to her own face and made an okay sign as she said,
"All that matters is if you can pay for your food Nya!" She laughed and walked away.
'What a strange waitress.' Durvekka thought as she picked up her fork and knife and ate her food. She found everyone's antics strange as she wasn't used to it.
But she was now cautious of her and Syr.
[Rolling sleight of tail... 17, 19]
She used her fork and knife to carefully place some of the scrambled eggs and thick-cut bacon on her toast and then cut a piece of the toast with her knife and ate it with her fork.
She then turned to look at the two lizards and saw them use their tails to pick up the forks and use them to eat their food.
'They have amazing control... I wonder if I can ask someone to make them a tail blade?' She thought briefly. A smile hovered on her face as all three of them enjoyed their meals, but something felt missing.
'The food is amazing... but it would taste better with Miach and Naaza.'
'I wonder why?' She thought, bewildered.
"You should eat slower, Selara. The food won't run away."
"{But it tastes so goooood~}" Durvekka chuckled as she heard her whine slightly.
"{It won't if you choke.}" Zeruk added.
Durvekka took a sip of her herbal tea, enjoying the flavor as she said,
"You should take your time and eat carefully, otherwise you'll have to watch us eat while you're done." Selara nodded her head.
"{I will, big sis!}"
'I can't stop wondering where her maturity went after the dungeon?' Durvekka glanced at Zeruk briefly, who was carefully savoring his food with a smile(?) on his face.
'While Zeruk, who had gone through fewer cycles, became more mature.' She found it odd but kept it at the back of her mind.
'It might just be their personalities developing.'
------
After ten minutes of calmly eating and talking with each other, while Anya dropped by every now and then to talk, a group of adventurers walked into the pub.
Leading the group was a small, yet sturdy pallum with scruffy blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. He wore a yellow vest over a purple long-sleeved shirt.
At his side was a burly dwarf with long brown hair, brown eyes, and a thick, bushy beard. He wore a green tunic with yellow accents. A maroon cloak draped down to the back of his knees, and his brown pants were tucked into sturdy boots.
behind him was a tall, beautiful elf with her jade-colored hair tied neatly into a ponytail that reached her waist, and eyes of the same color. Her green outfit with yellow borders and a white cloak draped elegantly over her shoulders walked behind the group as her long brown boots tapped on the wooden floor.
Next came a young woman with long golden-blonde hair and piercing gold eyes. Her slender frame was clothed in white and black battle cloth, and her blue boots stood out beneath her armor. She moved silently, as her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her rapier, her eyes instantly locking onto the two lizards with a light frown on her face.
Following her was a muscular figure with wild gray hair, orange eyes, and a pair of wolf ears atop his head. A long, sleek tail swayed behind him, his muscular frame barely contained by the light armor he wore. A cut-in-half blue lightning bolt tattoo under his left eye. He noticed Aiz's stare and followed it along to the lizards as his face contorted to one of anger and annoyance.
Behind them, was a flat woman with light red hair tied back into a ponytail and red eyes hidden by her almost closed eyes. Dressed in jeans and a shirt that exposed her midriff, and had a mischievous smile on her face.
Lastly, two dark green-eyed women entered. They both wore revealing clothes with a darker skin tone, marking them as Amazonesses. One had a well-endowed physique with long dark brown hair and sky-blue earrings on her ears and wore a red bandeau-style top, red leggings, and a yellow sash around her waist adorned with colorful beads. She also wore anklets and bracelets on both her arms and legs, completing her look with a thin necklace and feather-like decorations behind her head.
While the other had medium-length black hair and wore a white strapless bandeau with a beige, layered skirt. The skirt had green accents and an open front, revealing a shorter reddish-brown cloth underneath. A yellow sash was tied around her waist, and she walked barefoot with simple bracelets on her wrists.
The group's presence filled the room with tension, the pub growing quieter as their reputation seemed to speak louder than words.
The tension was quickly cut when the redhead started laughing and yelled,
"MAMA MIA! Bring me a couple of bottles of wine please!" She said while dragging the blonde girl with her to a large table.
"BE QUIET WILL YOU!" Mama Mia yelled back in annoyance.
The rest of the group calmly followed, used to their goddess' antics.
The wolf-kin stayed briefly and scoffed as he followed the group. His hands clenched into fists.
"When did this pub become open to monsters?" He said angrily, loud enough for everyone to hear, which caused Durvekka to frown as she turned to look at him.
"What are you looking at? Weakling?" He scoffed when he stared at her, but there was something off when he stared into her eyes.
He didn't like it.
Durvekka didn't answer him and turned back to finish her food.
"Calm down, you two." The two lizards stopped hissing and relaxed, but they were stilled pissed off.
"{He's lucky that he's strong.}" Zeruk muttered to himself.
"{Yea! Otherwise, we three would put him in the ground.}" Selara pouted while Durvekka chuckled.
"We have to train hard for that to happen." They nodded, determined.
While the wolfkin looked even more pissed off, but begrudgingly walked towards the rest of his group.
"You should stop trying to pick fights with others, Bete." The Jade-elf said as she looked at him.
"I'm not picking fights, Riveria." He scoffed as he took his seat, arms crossed.
"Come now, Bete! What's with all the moping?" The flat Amazoness teased as she nudged him with her shoulders.
"Yea~ Bete~. This is supposed to be a small farewell party before everyone's next dungeon excursion~" The redhead slurred as she downed another bottle.
It's barely been a minute and two bottles are already empty.
But something else caught her attention as she heard the gray dwarf talking in the distance.
"Heyyy~ Short Amazoness~ Are you talking to those lizards~?" She walked over with a mischievous grin.
The rest sighed, while Reveria decided to follow her and said, "Don't bother the other customers, Loki-sama."
"I am not bothering no one~ Hic~" Durvekka turned to look at them, a fork in her mouth as she chewed on some bacon.
She nodded at Loki's earlier question.
'She's most likely a goddess since she is being addressed with -sama.' Durvekka thought and picked up another bacon piece and placed it in her mouth.
Loki grinned slightly and crouched down to sling her arm around Durvekka's neck, but a fork lightly touched Loki's instead.
"I don't like you getting so close to me." Durvekka said calmly as a bit of sweat formed from Loki's forehead.
The members of her Familia didn't expect someone to do something like this either so no one was ready to protect her.
They were about to rush towards her side, but Loki waved at them for them to stop.
She chuckled slightly and took a step back, "Sorry haha~, I got a bit carried away from being tipsy~"
Durvekka squinted her eyes as she muttered, "Inguadec." under her breath as she looked into Loki's eyes.
[Rolling insight... 25(17 +(5)Guidance)]
She noticed a mischievous glint in her eyes along with interest and curiosity.
'She was lying too.' Durvekka's eyes became a bit dull as she asked,
"Is there anything else that you want from me?" as she retracted her fork and placed it on her plate. Selara and Zeruk started hissing at Loki, but Duvekka asked them to stop, which they did.
"You are being quite rude to a goddess." Loki commented with a smile.
"But right now, you are mortal, no?" Durvekka's words sent a chill down her spine.
She didn't say it in a threatening tone or mean it as a threat, but something in her eyes that Loki saw, the same thing that Bete did too, frightened her.
Loki had a feeling that Durvekka might really do something idiotic if she got pushed to do so.
Riveria frowned slightly and when she wanted to intervene, Loki stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and pulled the poor elf closer.
"You are correct~ But don't you know who I am? I am Loki! The goddess of one of the top three strongest Familias!" She grinned, while Durvekka nodded.
"I am Durvekka, a member of the Miach Familia. This is Selara and that is Zeruk." She introduced herself and the lizards, which made the corner of Loki's lips twitch.
Durvekka remembered seeing something from her walks and stood up from her chair and stretched out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Loki." Everyone was silent at the strange girl's actions and demeanor, while the Loki familia was shocked at the lack of respect towards their goddess.
It's not like Durvekka had none, but more that she treated Loki like every other mortal instead of a goddess.
"Nice to meet ya!" Loki said as she shook her hand.
"Hm."
Durvekka turned to Riveria, frowned slightly as she looked at her ears, but then begrudgingly reached out her hand to her too.
Riveria smiled wryly and said, "My apologies, but we elves have a tradition to not let others touch our skin."
Durvekka tilted her head slightly.
"Does that count for drow too?" Riveria was confused at the unfamiliar word.
"Drow?"
"Hm, Dark elves."
Riveria frowned slightly.
"You know about dark elves?" Durvekka squinted her eyes.
'She knows about them too.'
"I do." Durvekka nodded.
"...They also hold the same traditions," Riveria answered the question.
Durvekka frowned slightly as moved her outstretched hand to her chin.
"That can't be right... Every drow I met didn't care about that tradition." She absentmindedly spoke her thoughts as she sat back down, Riveria was confused and asked, "How did you meet them? The majority of the dark elves were killed a long time ago."
Durvekka glanced at the elf silently as she processed what she said.
"...I see." A small smile formed on her face as she nodded.
Riveria found her smile unnerving.
'Is she smiling at their death?' She squinted her eyes.
Loki noticed the shift in the atmosphere and decided to step in.
"Well then~ Thanks for the nice chat Durvekkie~" She waved at Durvekka as she dragged Riveria back to their seats while making sure to only touch the cloth.
Loki walked back and heard all of them talking to each other, the main thing that caught her eye was the palum sucking on his thumb.
"What did you notice, Finn?"
"I am not sure... All I know is that there is something special about her and her dungeon Lizards." Loki nodded with a grin and sat down while picking up another bottle of wine.
"With that out of the way, time for us to enjoy some drinks." Some of the Familia members shook their heads while the rest chuckled.
Riveria was in deep thought while the rest enjoyed themselves with drinks and banter.
The dwarf noticed this, "What's the matter with ya?" His voice broke her out of her stupor.
"There's something about that girl that feels off.. did you notice anything?" The dwarf shook his head.
"The only thing I noticed was that girl's guts." Riveria chuckled.
"So what else bothered you?"
"...She muttered something under her breath when Loki walked up to her. I couldn't pick it up, but it sounded like a no-chant spell." Riveria said softly.
"But I think I just misheard it... No spell muttered that quiet would work." The dwarf nodded and said,
"That can't be the only thing that bothered you." Riveria hesitated slightly and said,
"...It's every time she mentioned the dark elves, I am sure Loki-sama caught it too, she held hatred in her voice..." Gareth sighed as he leaned back in his seat, mug in hand.
"I heard she mentioned that she met them earlier... She might have been mistreated by them in the past." He chuckled softly.
"Almost every race has had some kind of deep-rooted bad blood with another so don't take it to heart."
"Now lighten up, this is supposed to be a party." Riveria smiled softly and noticed a cup of orange juice in front of her.
She picked it up and held it up to her nose.
"...Loki-sama..." There was an edge to her tone as she glared at her, while Loki pretended that Riveria wasn't there and hugged Ais.
"Why are you two so hung up on that shorty?~" She poked Ais's cheek with her finger, whose face was devoid of emotion as she stopped looking at the gray dwarf.
"She feels natural." Ais said with a shrug.
No one understood what she meant, while a soft light flashed through Loki's eyes.
"Ehhhh, I didn't expect you to check her out that much~ Is every part of her natural?~" Loki teased while continuing to poke Ais, whose face slowly turned more into a frown.
She grabbed Loki's hand and threw her over her shoulder, causing her to fall on the table, which slightly collapsed under the force.
Everyone stared at Ais, who looked away in embarrassment.
"I forgot the table was there." She said softly as she scratched her right cheek.
The flat Amazoness couldn't help but start laughing as the rest followed.
Durvekka was looking at the scene while sipping her herbal tea.
'They were rude at first, but it might just be the goddess and wolf guy being weird.' She thought as she staired and watched them laughing and messing with each other.
She noticed the middle-aged woman, who Loki called Mama Mia, walk up to them. Her presence gave of a dangerous feeling, but in the end walked up with a smile on her face and a bag of valis.
'I wonder if me and my Familia can one day laugh like that?'
'I guess that's for the future to decide.' She smiled slightly and looked back at the two lizards who sighed in satisfaction.
"Are you two finished?"
"{Yes, big sis! The food was delicious!}" Selara said, while Zeruk nodded in agreement.
They both then glanced at the Loki Familia as a slow 'grin' appeared on Selara's face.
"{Hey, big sis, can we mess with that wolf guy?}"
Durvekka looked over and saw him and the less flat Amazoness yelling at each other as they began arm wrestling.
'Hm... I wonder if I can use {Guidance} at range now?' She thought carefully and decided to try it out, with the amazoness as the target.
She focused as she muttered, "Inguadec." and tried to push the spell outwards.
She felt some of her mana getting drained as she felt the spell activate on the Amazones, who felt a slight boost in her right arm as she slammed the wolf guy's arm to the table.
He grumbled and asked for a redo, while she agreed with a smirk.
'The target needs to be willing, but I wonder if it worked because the spell isn't harmful?'
Durvekka and the lizards chuckled as Durvekka cast {Guidance} again on the Amazoness, causing the wolf guy to lose again.
The more she cast her {Guidance}, the more she realized that its effects had also gotten stronger with her magic stat.
'It never really helped me in the Underdark, but now it might be more useful than I thought.' she chuckled slightly, which caused the wolf guy's ears to twitch.
"Oi! Do you think this is funny?!" He yelled as he stared at Durvekka.
"I heard you chuckling over there every time I lose!" Durvekka tilted her head to the side.
Durvekka didn't use {guidance} this time, afraid that the wolf guy might hear her.
[Rolling deception... 0]
"...Yes." Durvekka covered her mouth after the truth slipped out.
'This is bad.'
"Are you looking for a beating?" He cracked his knuckles, while he was seething.
"...Can you two wait for me outside? I'll be there in one minute." She said to two lizards, who trusted her fully as they went outside.
She then dug inside her satchel while the wolf guy walked closer, "Sending away your pets before you get a beating huh?"
Durvekka frowned but still placed the nine hundred and thirty valis on the table. She remembered the prices of the food and drink.
She then looked at him and said, "They aren't my pets."
Wolf guy was now being held back by the rest of the Loki Familia as he started yelling.
She then turned her head to look at the wolf and glanced at his metallic shoes and the few extra metallic pieces he had on.
She felt something deep inside of her to cast {Heat Metal}, but she held herself back.
She bowed to the Loki Familia and said, "I am sorry for my rudeness."
Before they could answer, she grabbed her staff and then used {Wild Shape}, turning into an Al-Mi'raj as she teleported out.
She knew that almost everyone already knew about her shifting ability, so it didn't matter if she used it in the city.
She carefully jumped on Zeruk's back, patted his back a few times, and pointed forward to the exit of Orario.
"{We have to run!}" He yelled to Selara and got enthusiastic as they ran at their top speed while laughing.
Durvekka chuckled too, but she was unsure what to feel.
'They probably thought I won a fight.' She shook her head slightly.
It was true that he was rude at first with his previous comments, and then she retaliated by making him lose in his arm wrestling. After that, he was rude again with his comment about Selara and Zeruk.
'But was wanting to cast {Heat Metal} too much?' She wondered.
'I know I wouldn't have felt bad about doing so and I know that if he was a level one then he might have lost his legs, but would that have been a bad thing?'
'I don't think the way I used {Guidance} was a bad thing, but would {Heat Metal} have been?'
She frowned to herself as she lay on the back of Zeruk.
'I didn't cast it because I didn't want it to become well known that I can use magic, but if I did use it, would it have been morally wrong?'
'I'll need to ask Naaza and Miach about this. I might be risking my life in Orario if I can't fix my morals.' She thought, but a small smile crept on her face.
'But if it isn't harmful... can I still use my spells on people? I did find it funny...' She chuckled slightly as she remembered the frustration on the wolf guy's face when he lost every arm wrestling match.
'I wonder if I'm being influenced by these two?'
The people already knew about Durvekka's shifting ability, but the sight of a yellow Al-Mi'raj lying on a dungeon lizard was very strange to them.
Durvekka then carefully stood up and sat down. She closed her eyes as she began to focus.
'I remember that some Al-Mi'raj had other minor magical abilities other than teleportation, but I was never able to use it.' She tried to focus as the horn on her head slowly started to glow in a multitude of different colors similar to an opal gemstone.
She felt a bit of heat radiating from her horn and quickly stopped herself.
'I think one of an Al-Mi'raj's abilities is {Produce Flames} so I'll test that out later.' She thought and tried to use something else.
'I can move one rock at a time with the little bit of psychic energy I have access to while in this form.' She formed an invisible hand to play with a few stones. But most of the time it disappeared as the hand quickly got out of her range.
'I'll test it out more later too.' She thought as they arrived at the entrance of Orario.
All the guards noticed their arrival and got on edge. One of them was wary but walked closer to the trio, he was the same one that had spoken to Durvekka the first time she left Orario.
He looked at the yellow Al-Mi'raj and then glanced at the guild insignia on the lizards and sighed slightly.
"I am assuming you want to go back to the forest?" All three nodded.
"With the dungeon lizards?" She nodded alone, while Selara said- "{Of course!}".
But Durvekka only heard a hiss because the spell wore off. After realizing this, she carefully jumped off of Zeruk and turned back to her own form.
'It's sad that I can't cast my own magic while in {Wild Shape}.' She thought sadly.
"Is it fine if I go with them? I want to show them the outside world, and also practice combat there too, as we don't have any training areas at my Familia." The guard thought for a second as she looked at the grey dwarf's expectant eyes. He then glanced at the two lizards whose eyes were practically glowing.
He hesitated for a bit, before shaking his head. "I am sorry, but monsters aren't allowed outside of the city."
She frowned for a bit as she looked down, but an idea sparked in her mind as she muttered "Inguadec." under her breath and then looked up at the guard.
[Rolling group persuasion... Nat 20, 19, and 24(16 + (8)Guidance)]
"Please? It is their first time seeing the place outside of Orario, and I want a place to train with them without revealing too much of our capabilities." She pleaded in a low tone, while some of the mana ran through her facial muscles and vocal cords. The cantrip slowly began to move her facial features and her tone of voice, making her sound and look extremely sad.
He smiled wryly as he started to feel bad, and when he glanced at Selara and Zeruk, he couldn't help but give in when he noticed their sad expressions.
"Fine... I'll let you three go this time. But make sure to be back within five hours otherwise, I'll get in trouble."
"Hm, and I won't fall asleep this time." Determination in her voice, caused him to let out a laugh.
"Alright, follow me. I'll lead you outside." She nodded and followed him along with the lizards, who both looked smug at convincing the guard.
The other guards who heard their conversation couldn't help but laugh at his situation, but let it go.
"Shouldn't we stop them?" One of the guards asked, he was human and looked to be sixteen to seventeen.
"That's not necessary, the majority of the villages around Orario have at least one god helping them. Besides... I trust Zack enough with his judgment." The guard on his side answered he was in his mid-thirties.
"But isn't what he's doing against the rules?" He tilted his head, while the guard shook his head.
"The captain already gave that girl permission, but she also gave Zack permission to deny her if he deems it necessary." The young guard was shocked as he asked,
"Why does she have such special treatment and when did the old man's judgment have such high value?" The older guard shrugged.
"I don't know what the captain saw in her to give a member of another familia that kind of permission and the reason with Zack is because he made the report about her last time so he got tasked to help her." He patted the young guard on the shoulder as he looked to the side.
"It's our turn to switch out with Jeffery's group at the line." The young guard nodded as they both swapped with the new group.
"But what about the trust in judgment?"
"Because it's Zack." He said with a laugh at the confused teen.
Durvekka and the lizards followed Zack, while Zeruk squinted his eyes at the guard in front of him.
'It feels like I am missing something.' He thought as he started glancing around. He only noticed that some of the guards were looking at them, which was normal.
[Rolling perception... 13]
He was annoyed, but that 'itch' was still there.
'As he said, we are monsters from the dungeon, and from their point of view, we were nearly tamed by big sister. So why put so much trust in a level one adventurer in keeping two monsters in check?' He glanced at Selara, who held her head high as she walked and told her,
"{Selara, be on your guard. Someone might be after big sister.}"
She nodded as her demeanor instantly changed. She lowered her body a bit more to the floor as she focused on her surroundings.
They both walked a bit faster in order to be on Durvekka's left and right side.
After a half a minute, the guard stopped and said,
"We are here, you three can go on, but make sure to stay away from anyone you might come across while wandering around. They might not recognize the guild insignia and attack you on sight." Durvekka nodded, while the lizards did nothing.
"Thank you for your help." Durvekka walked away with the two lizards.
Zeruk noticed the guard glance at him and Selara.
'...You seem normal... but something is telling me that you aren't.'
That's what his instincts are telling him.
But he stored that at the back of his mind for now.
He will tell Durvekka once she can understand him.
------
Zeruk and Selara both were wary of their surroundings, but seeing the vast open grasslands made them lower their guard.
That's when they realized that the terrain under their feet had changed. Instead of feeling the dungeon's hard rough stone or the smooth brick pavement of Orario, they felt the softness of grass, slowly swaying against their legs. They felt the soft cool breeze of the wind brushing against their scales.
They stopped moving as they slowly closed their eyes. Their attention and focus slowly drift away to the new sensations they are feeling. They subconsciously lifted their upper bodies off the ground with their heads held high to feel more of the breeze and sun.
Durvekka smiled softly as she noticed their actions and content hisses. She sat down in front of them and laid down on her back.
Just like last time, she is still in her leather armor and leather boots. But she still enjoyed being surrounded by nature.
A slight dissatisfaction filled up inside her for being unable to enjoy the same feeling as them, but she pushed it down.
She would wear less armor when she is confident enough in her strength.
She stretched her left arm out in front of her. As she looked up at the black-tinted sky.
'One day, these glasses won't be necessary either.'
'One day, I can enjoy the vastness of this world to the fullest.' She lowered her hand and stood up.
"Let's go, we have a lot of training to do before we are strong enough to enjoy this scenery." She said sternly as they broke out of their trance.
'But, that day is not today.' Something about her changed slightly as she gripped her staff.
Zeruk noticed this, but he didn't comment on it.
-----
"Wehakipa Lnstmiwaa." She muttered under her breath.
They are currently walking across the forest entrance away from the prying eyes of Orario.
"For now, I want us to train for a few hours before we explore the forest." They both nodded.
"{Alright, big sis!}"
"{I am fine with that. Also, don't put all of your trust in that guard. Something about him feels off.}" Durvekka squinted slightly but nodded.
"I will keep that in mind, thank you for telling me."
"{It's my duty to help big sister.}" She chuckled with a nod and stopped walking after a few more paces.
They are currently far enough away behind some trees that no one could see them.
"This place should be good enough." She said and sat cross-legged.
"Selara, do you still want to try and use magic?" She nodded enthusiastically.
"Alright, I'll try and teach you what I can, but I am unsure if it would help or work."
Selara walked in front of Durvekka while Zeruk was next to her.
"Now, close your eyes and empty your mind of distracting thoughts. Only focus on the nature around you. The rustling of the leaves, the chirping of birds, and the wind brushing against your ears." Durvekka said and Selara followed. She heard creatures chirping first then she heard the wind brushing against the leaves.
Each new sound took her focus away from the other.
Her breathing became more even as she slowly fell into a trance again. Her body posture slowly becomes more upright just like earlier.
While Zeruk seemed to be struggling, his breathing was uneven, and an annoyed hiss escaped from his mouth.
Durvekka spoke in a low yet calm tone,
"Zeruk, you shouldn't force yourself to focus on each sound at the same time but to change your focus on each new one as they appear. Start with the first noise you hear, then listen to the second until you hear the third." Zeruk nodded his head, but it still didn't work.
He felt overwhelmed by all the different noises and was unable to listen to them individually.
"{I don't think magic is for me.}" He sighed as he said in a hushed tone and walked next to Durvekka.
Durvekka smiled softly and patted his head as they looked at Selara.
[Rolling Arcana(magic talent)... 4 and 21(Nat 20)]
(I promise y'all, I am not scuffing the rolls ;-;)
Selara was in a flow state as all the food she had eaten earlier was quickly converted into mana as it moved through her body.
"What do you feel?" Durvekka asked.
"{...I feel connected to the surroundings as if I became one with it.}" Her voice was emotionless as she was still in her trance.
"As a {druid}, I don't command nature, but use it as an extension. You might be different so follow your instincts and do what feels right."
Selara hissed softly as the stone inside her slowly began to glow with a light green light as the excess mana slowly left her body and began to dissipate into the air.
The soft breeze that she felt on her scales stopped and slowly began to move around her in a protective shield.
The mana that got released from her feet slowly fused into the ground as a few clovers and lilies began to sprout.
Most notably, her breathing slowly became more heavy as the seconds went by and in about thirty seconds, the glow on her magic stone stopped and the wind died down.
She opened her eyes as she slumped to the floor.
"{I'm hungry~}" She whined jokingly which made Durvekka and Zeruk laugh.
But Durvekka was mostly shocked and proud of the lizard.
She muttered an incantation under her breath as ten yellow-colored berries began to grow out of her hand.
Normally one berry gives enough nourishment to sustain a creature for a day, but creatures from the dungeon instantly regain a portion of their mana instead.
Durvekka gave her one berry, which Selara ate, and then patted her head.
"I am proud of you."
"{hehe~}"
Selara was ecstatic and wanted to try again. She knew that she was able to move the wind while in her trance, and so she tried again.
But it didn't work, which made her frustrated.
Durvekka thought for a moment on why it might not work,
'They are born from the dungeon and live on mana... Their magic stone is essentially their heart...' Her heart skipped a beat as she said,
"Selara, I want you to stop trying to use your magic for a moment. I forgot that if your magic stone gets damaged then you will die," Selara stopped instantly and nodded.
'...It would make sense if they could use magic or at least control their mana because their body is created by it from the dungeon, otherwise, their bodies wouldn't disappear with their stones being destroyed...' Durvekka looked at Selara worryingly.
"Are you positive that you want to use magic? This could very well kill you." Selara paused briefly but nodded.
"I do." Durvekka sighed, but let her continue. She was confident enough that she could feed her the berries for her to have enough mana to stay alive, and if things got dire, then she would use {Cure Wounds} to directly infuse her with mana.
"I think you should focus on the mana inside of you and move it outside. But be careful with the amount you move and the way you do it, if things get dire, then I'll use my spells to infuse you with mana, but you should not rely on that as it might not work."
"{Hm, thank you, big sis.}" Selara closed her eyes again. She then tried to bring her focus inward and feel the mana inside of her body.
She then attempted to consciously follow the flow of mana towards all the parts of her body for a few minutes and then tried to push some of the mana that flowed to her two front feet and carefully pushed it outwards. The suction discs slowly began to take on a greenish glow as the grass and lilies slowly began to sway from the wind.
Durvekka smiled as she saw Selara open her eyes with a grin(?) on her face.
"{I think I know how Zeruk and I can become one of those enhanced species!}"
"{We can quicken the cycle of mana in our bodies in order to get used to the other stone's mana and release some of the mana that we can't handle into the air.}" Zeruk thought for a bit and nodded.
"{That could work, but I need to figure out how my mana works... And like big sis said last time, we will only try to become an enhanced species if we can't get a Falna.}" Selara nodded while Durvekka smiled and patted Zeruk's head.
"Alright, Zeruk, you can try to move the mana inside of you. I will help you if things get dire, but you should still be careful." He nodded seriously and closed his eyes.
[Rolling Mana control... 18]
He followed the same steps that Selara did and focused on his stone, then the flow of mana inside of him for a few minutes, but the problem came when he tried to expel the mana from his body.
He was able to do so, but he found it much more difficult than following the mana inside of him. Controlling the mana outside of his body wasn't even possible.
He frowned slightly and decided to take a different approach. Instead of pushing the mana outside, he decided to control the mana inside of his body, but he made sure to be cautious and quicken the pacing of the flow in moderation. He then opened his eyes and felt that his eyes were a bit more focused, his senses seemed to be slightly better and when he moved his limbs, they seemed to be a bit stronger.
Barely, but he could tell.
"Is everything fine?" Zeruk nodded.
"{It's difficult for me to expel my mana from my body, but instead, I can alter the flow inside of me for other effects like making me faster.}" She nodded and said,
"That's good, and I am proud of you too." She smiled and rubbed his head.
"Just be careful with the changes you make as it might drain your mana faster." His tail started to wag, but he smiled.
"{I think me and Selara should train in the dungeon on our own after tomorrow since we passively regain our mana while inside.}" Durvekka nodded her head.
"We can look for more secluded areas in the dungeon tomorrow where you two can train." Durvekka then looked at Selara and asked,
"Are you able to change the flow of your mana?" Selara tried first, a few light greenish particles flew into the air before she opened her eyes and shook her head.
"{At most, I can slightly increase the flow speed in order to expel more mana.}" Durvekka nodded.
"Interesting... Now, do you two want to test out your new abilities or are we going to start sparing with them?"
The two lizards wagged their tails slightly and grinned at each other.
"{I want to fight big sis while using my new abilities!}" Selara said as she got ready to pounce.
Zeruk took a few steps back and did the same.
Durvekka smiled and got ready too.
"That's fine, but make sure to be careful with your mana usage." They both nodded.
"Good, now we can begin." The moment she finished speaking, they both pounced at her. Durvekka smiled as she stepped to the side, causing them both to miss.
Or so she thought, but Selara caused a small current of wind to push herself to the side, just enough for her to crash into Durvekka which pushed her to the ground.
[Rolling dex save... 5, 20(unnatural)]
"Clever." Durvekka grinned and pushed Selara upwards enough to pull her leg up and kicked her off of her.
Durvekka then rolled to the side, causing Zeruk to miss a bite, and stood up.
She made sure to hold back so as not to kill them or damage their stones, but her hits were still going to pack a punch.
She twirled her staff and focused.
'I'll stay on defense for now and give them time to get used to their abilities. I also need to focus on their condition. I don't want them to run out of mana.' She thought and cast {Guidance}.
[Rolling perception... 24]
She noticed Zeruk's posture change and got ready as he ran with increased speed toward her and tried to scratch her legs.
His movement was still awkward, so she stepped to the side and kicked him in his side.
Selara tried to pounce at her again, missed, and tried the same trick again which annoyed Durvekka.
Selara changed her trajectory, only to be met with a staff in the face as she got sent a few feet to the side.
"Using the same move to catch someone off guard is a death sentence to most intelligent creatures."
Durvekka threw her and Zeruk a berry each, which they ate. The bruises on their bodies quickly faded as they got ready again.
"And don't hold back out of fear of injuring me. I still have healing magic at my disposal." They nodded their heads and rushed at Durvekka again.
Selara tried to increase her speed by using the air around her to push her forward, but it only ruined her balance and made her fall.
While Zeruk continued to increase his mana cycle as he ran towards Durvekka. This time he went with the intent to harm her, but she still dodged and kicked him away.
He and Selara stood back up and tried again.
Selara, instead of using the wind to push her forward, used it in front of her to reduce the resistance. She was excited when it worked and then joined Zeruk, who slowly got better at a quickened pace.
But every time he got used to it, he increased the cycle.
He still missed the majority of his attacks, but a few light scratch marks started appearing on Durvekka's leather pants.
Selara was also faster than before, but she couldn't remove all the air resistance she felt and didn't want to use too much mana to reduce it more, so she stopped moving and stayed at the back.
After thinking for a bit, she had an idea and covered her tail with her mana as it took on a slight greenish glow. She then jumped into the air and tried to twist her body forward to slash her tail downward.
[Rolling dex check... 19]
It felt uncomfortable, but she managed to do it as the green mana left her tail and got sent towards Durvekka, who noticed the small torrent of wind traveling towards her.
She also noticed Selara lying slumped on the ground and threw a berry in her direction as she jumped back to dodge Zeruk and then moved to the side as the gust of wind blew past her.
"Your current mana pool isn't enough to be used for big spells, so focus on smaller ones. For example, forming smaller wind claws on your legs or a wind-type armor." Selara nodded.
"You have to get creative with how you use your abilities, but within enough limits so as to not overexert yourselves." She said, but her last sentence was also directed at Zeruk, who looked extremely exhausted as he lay on the floor with a bruise on his head with a yellow berry next to him.
She had slammed her staff on his head when she noticed he was overtaxing his magic stone.
"I am sorry Zeruk, but I am unable to give you much advice on your ability... All I can think of is to use it in bursts."
"{No need to apologize big sister and your advice and ideas are already good enough.}" He said after eating the berry and stood up.
They ate their berries and got ready again.
--------
Their sparring continued for another two and a half hours. After their sparring, they decided to relax and play around with their abilities. Durvekka chose to test out more effects on her spores and cantrips.
She managed to mix her spores into her vine whip so that they could enter the newly made wounds. She also tried to increase the speed of their forming and she realized that she could infuse more magic into her spores in order to use them as a wordless spell.
At the moment, the limit is a stream of spores up to thirty ft and a burst of spores up to fifteen ft. Each costing mana equal to her first-level spells, but it allows her to poison more targets than the previous one at a time.
She also tried to infuse more mana into the spores to see if she could make the toxicity stronger and she could, but there was a limit to how strong she could make them before she hit her strength cap, which is that of a second-level spell.
She also wasn't able to make them sleep-inducing spores or paralysis spores, but she was able to use small mushrooms and toxic plants as materials to take on their effects.
'I won't be using these special spores much as it takes more mana and parts of my limited plant supply, but it's still useful to have,' she thought as she played around with them.
Next, she played with her new cantrip called {Fist Of Fire} and as the name suggests, it sets your hand on fire.
Durvekka tested the cantrip out after placing her staff against a tree and started boxing the air with her flaming fists.
'I wonder if I can combine this with a special weapon? Like a spear that I can ignite?' She thought as the flames receded.
'It lasts for about a minute at minimum which is good, and I can choose if I want both or only one of my hands on fire.' She nodded as she picked her staff up in her left hand and ignited her right hand, but she frowned slightly.
'I tried to fight like this last time, but it felt too awkward... but the variety of elements is still good and I can possibly find a suitable blacksmith that can make me a special weapon one day.' She thought with a smile and turned around to look at Selara who was currently working on her control and mana manipulation. She then looked at Zeruk who was working on his body control by jumping from tree to tree and doing parkour tricks while mid-air.
He had multiple small cuts and bruises on him from all his previous falls.
She stretched and climbed a tree in order to do the same.
'I should be able to increase my dexterity and endurance stat like this too, although it might not be as good.' She thought as she climbed to the top.
She managed to barely balance on one of the tree branches and tried to do the same as Zeruk, but fell face first against the tree in front of her and fell on her back.
'...This is the first time I disliked being so short...' She thought with a chuckle and stood back up and climbed the same tree again.
'Let's try again.'
--------
After a total of four and a half hours, which included their sparring sessions, they walked back to the entrance to Orario.
"Welcome back. I am glad you didn't fall asleep this time too." The guard laughed while Durvekka nodded.
"That won't happen again." She said seriously, which made the guard laugh awkwardly as he walked with them back.
Durvekka glanced at his face to try if she could see anything deceitful but found nothing of the sort.
[Rolling insight... 15]
'...Are you hiding something, or does Zeruk just not like you?' She wondered and then looked at the people around her, muttering an incantation to increase her awareness.
[Rolling perception... 23(17 + (6)Guidance)]
Durvekka looked at the other guards most of them seemed to ignore her and do their jobs, but one of them seemed to be putting too much of his attention on her.
The moment their eyes locked, he flinched slightly and waved lightly.
She committed his appearance to memory and looked away.
'Tomorrow might be a bit too eventful...' She thought to herself with a soft sigh.
'At least no one knows about Selara and Zeruk's abilities. I already warned them not to show anyone unless it's necessary.' She noticed the guard stop at the same place they met him a few hours ago.
"You all can continue now. Next time you three want to visit outside, make sure to ask for me to walk with you until we reach the entry post outside and I'll be walking with you three until the exit post. This is only for formalities so that the people in line don't start a ruckus about wild monsters leaving." Durvekka nodded and walked away with her group.
'...We need to find a different way to leave the city now. I don't want anyone following me outside when I leave.' She frowned slightly as she clicked her tongue.
'I even told him that we went to train. What if someone noticed our abilities?'
'I've seriously gotten too relaxed...' She squinted her eyes.
"We are going to that tower so that I can buy some better equipment." They both nodded and walked with her.
'After a few days, I'll be at level two so I need to stay on guard before other gods start problems.' She thought before an idea popped up in her mind.
'...What if I level up but not announce my level to the guild for a few days or months? That would not only give me more time to train and get stronger but also have a longer 'grace' period.'
'I'll have to ask Miach about this... It might be the best option for my safety.' She sighed to herself as she stared at Babel.
'Now, what type of equipment do I need?' She thought as they stepped inside of Babel.
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A/N) I might continue or rework this story in the future if I feel the motivation for it, but don't get your hopes up.