el, Krumi, Ozymandias, and Sheila stopped in their tracks, their eyes locked on the towering knight that stood over the lifeless monster. The knight’s head whipped around to face Iris as it noticed the blood trickling down her cheek. With a furious screech, it charged toward them. Krumi and Sheila, paralyzed by fear, could only watch as Tael quickly set Iris down and prepared to confront the knight with his scythe. This wasn’t his first encounter with such beings.
Iris, however, stepped forward with her arms outstretched and shouted, “STOP!”
The knight halted abruptly, its sword mere centimeters from Iris. She stared at it with unwavering calm, meeting its gaze directly. The knight, seemingly subdued, knelt before her.
“These people are my friends, so don’t attack them or I’ll be really mad,” Iris scolded the knight with a pout. “Bad Puppet, bad.”
The knight transformed back into the bear, still coated in a crimson hue. It looked up at Iris with pleading eyes. Iris, with a shy smile, picked up the bear and hugged it tightly. “Hmph, since you’re so cute, I don’t mind holding you,” she murmured, her cheeks flushed. 'It feels so soft.'
Suddenly, the bear froze, reverting to a lifeless object. Iris, feeling the effects of magic exhaustion, began to sway and then collapsed. The last thing she saw before darkness took over was the system notification.
[You have used too much MP to summon Blood Puppet.
-45 MP used.
-20 HP for magical drain.]
As Iris’s vision blurred, she could barely make out the concerned faces of her friends before everything went dark.
---
In the observation room, the adults watched the children’s progress on multiple screens, but Iris’s group drew the most attention.
Mutsuba was the first to voice his surprise. “Isakawa, what in the world was that?”
“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Isakawa replied with feigned innocence.
“You know exactly what I mean. What was that knight?”
“It’s her daughter’s summon,” Isakawa said casually.
“That can’t be right. I’ve never seen an Ability or Class capable of summoning a being made of blood.”
“Actually, Mutsuba,” Takase interjected, catching his attention, “there are Classes that summon entities like holy knights or necromancer knights. But a Blood Knight? That’s unprecedented, especially for someone so young. It’s quite surprising.”
Takase’s thoughts turned to Ray. 'This could be problematic for him. But my son and his group should be able to handle it.' He cast a sharp glare at Isakawa.
His daughter wasn’t even among the children who had been forcefully given Abilities, yet she already possessed such a formidable power. Takase’s jealousy flared as he glared at Isakawa, though he eventually managed to compose himself.
---
After some time, Iris regained consciousness. As her vision cleared, she noticed a brown skinned young lad with his hand resting on her head. It took a moment for Iris to recognize him as Ozymandias.
“It was quite reckless to use a spell beyond your level,” Ozymandias said, his tone serious as he patted her forehead. “You could have died, you know.”
Iris stared in shock, surprised to hear the usually silent Ozymandias speaking to her. But then again, you never fully know someone.
From the sidelines, Alka observed Iris and facepalmed. 'Could she be any more careless?'
'I guess I have a lot to teach her,' Kaguya thought as well.
“Next time, be careful,” Ozymandias advised before walking away.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Iris got up quickly, scanning her surroundings with a frown. She had hoped to wake up at night, when the day's troubles would be behind her. To her dismay, the sun was still high in the sky, making it clear that their challenges were far from over.
___
"Um, Tael," Iris called out, tapping his back.
"You can put me down now," she said with a bland expression.
Tael raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to get down? Just a moment ago, you were complaining about how much your feet hurt from running."
"Well, I feel better now," Iris pouted as she hopped off his back and skipped around cheerfully.
"Let’s find more monsters and get that reward!!" Iris exclaimed enthusiastically. Her mother had promised her a buffet of food once the family games were over.
___
"Arghh! Where the hell are we?!!" Ray shouted, gritting his teeth and kicking at the trees in frustration.
Ray, the ten-year-old son of Mutsuba Subaru, had spiky red hair and dark grey eyes. Standing at 150 cm, he had a perpetually angry expression, though he was quite handsome with his slightly built frame.
"Calm down, Ray," Kamare advised, surveying their surroundings with a frown. His feet were submerged in the giwy swamp, and the thick trees obscured the sky.
Kamare, twelve years old and the son of Tamare Subaru, was about 152 cm tall with fair skin and short grey hair. He wore expensive, stylish glasses and a tracksuit, with two swords sheathed on his back.
"Says the one who has been leading us in circles," Heili muttered, glaring at Kamare.
Heili, with her long dark grey hair tied into a ponytail and light green eyes, appeared to be around seven years old. She wore a short black dress with a white summer jacket, which now felt ill-suited for the swamp they had been transported to. Despite her youthful appearance, she often wore a sweet but cold smile.
"Kamare, I guess we're all frustrated," Meiru said with a panicked expression, trying to calm the group. She too had noticed their disorientation.
Meiru, with her long pink hair tied into a pigtail and her pink, innocent eyes, was visibly upset as she noticed her dress was ruined by mud. She was around eight years old and wore a Japanese chiffon kimono with a pink blouse and a black lace skirt. Her outfit, now stained, added to her frustration.
"I guess her intuition is off this time. Meiru, do you have a way to get us out of here quickly? This place seems like a fog maze, which is causing us to lose our sense of direction," Kamare asked, looking to her for help.
Meiru slightly blushed under Kamare's clear blue eyes, feeling self-conscious.
"Let me see… I can try to clear the fog with my Ability, but I can't guarantee it will work perfectly," Meiru suggested, her voice tinged with hesitation.
"Just do it already," Heili groaned, her irritation apparent.
Meiru shot Heili a death stare, making her turn away quickly.
Meiru retrieved the two sticks covered in cloth from her back and combined them into a long spear with a blue crystal-colored tip, about 20 cm long, with the entire spear measuring 70 cm. The spear, adorned with owl engravings, was now ready. Meiru stood before the group, facing the fog.
"Activate Class {Lancer}," she commanded.
With a focused thought, Meiru initiated {Wind Whirl}. She spun the spear in her hands at an incredibly fast rate, creating a powerful gust of wind that surrounded them like a barrier.
(Meiru's Class, Lancer, specializes in spear usage. Though skilled, she isn’t a complete master. The Wind Whirl skill allows her to spin her spear rapidly to create a temporary, fragile wind barrier. )
"We’d better start moving. I can't keep spinning the spear for long," Meiru said, struggling to maintain the barrier.
"Nero, which way should we go?" Kamare asked, looking confused.
"Let’s head left. I sense a faint sound of living beings in that direction," Nero replied, his pink eyes glowing slightly.
Nero, a boy about 143 cm tall, had light pink eyes and short black hair. He was quite handsome, with a slightly chubby build but not overweight. He wore blue jeans and a white top, and carried a huge bow that was twice his height without any apparent difficulty.
"Then everyone, let’s move," Kamare instructed, signaling for the group to proceed.
"Right," they all replied as they began walking forward.
After making their way out of the fog, they entered a grassland, leaving the dense swamp behind. Meiru stopped spinning her spear, and the wind barrier dissipated.
"Arghhh," Meiru groaned, twisting her hand in discomfort.
"Hey Meiru, what's wrong?" Nero asked, concerned.
"It seems my hands can’t handle the stress of spinning the spear for so long. I’m still adjusting to my powers," Meiru replied, wincing.
"Don’t worry, you’ve done well. Now we need to find something to eat," Kamare said, scanning the grassland.
"I have a suggestion," Heili said with a sly smile.
"And what might that be?" Kamare asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That huge-looking chicken over there," Heili pointed to a distant figure in the grassland, which resembled a chicken.
"That’s not a chicken," Nero said, frowning as he squinted at the figure.
"Everyone, it’s a monster!" Kamare yelled as they quickly formed a defensive circle.
[ You have discovered a Harpy.]
[ A Harpy is a creature with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a bird. The more powerful and beautiful the Harpy, the higher its level.]
[ Harpy ]
[ Level: 150
Class: D
HP: 200,000/200,000
Strength: 30,050
Defense: 1,000
Agility: 5,000. ]
'Dammit, we have to avoid detection. Attacking head-on would be too dangerous,' Kamare thought, cursing silently. The Harpy’s stats were far beyond what he had encountered before. Its HP alone was alarming.
Its appearance was far from beautiful; it had the body of an ostrich and a huge beak. This Harpy was a runner, not a flyer. If it could fly, they would be in serious trouble.
The Harpy twitched its head, sensing the presence of the group. It swiftly moved towards them, extending its massive beak.