The village guard executed a thorough search of Lysara and the surrounding woodland, but Malice had left no trace of her presence in the elven domain. It was also discovered that Gwyn, the caretaker who had first been attending to the guest houses, was missing, and efforts were made to locate her as well. Jade spent the rest of the night on high alert, suspicious of every rustling branch and creaking footfall. She was starting to understand why shapeshifters were distrusted, as their paranoia inducing powers went so easily undetected.
The night passed uneventfully, despite her concerns. In the morning, Jade joined her companions in the living area.
"I don't understand." Naomi was saying, staring into a steaming cup of tea Siora had just given her. The elf had come over first thing in the morning to deliver the brew, which was having a welcome calming effect on their nerves. "Why would anyone but us want to know where the Labyrinth cores for Earth are?"
They all turned to Aylin, the resident expert on all matters pertaining to the Labyrinth. The mage shook her head, her brow furrowed.
"It shouldn't matter to anyone, demon or otherwise. Only Earth wayfarers will be able to enter the core zones for their world. To everyone else, they'll simply be inaccessible gateways."
That wasn't strictly true, since party members of Earth wayfarers would also be able to enter. Jade didn't think that had anything to do with the actions of this 'Malice', however.
"Whatever it is, it won't be good for us." Jade said grimly. She took a sip of her own tea, which had a pleasant, fruity taste.
"From the sound of it, there's a group of demons working together somewhere." Fenrin said. He was standing with his arms crossed, frowning. "Which can't be good news."
"Maybe she was lying?" Siora offered, cocking her head. "Just saying things to cause trouble? Succubi are known to do that. Ahh…" The elf shot Jade a guilty smile. "No offense."
"I should take word to Estelhelm." Aylin said, standing. "She mentioned the city by name, Jade?"
Jade nodded.
"I'll transit there via node. Countess Montrell, the Mystic Order, and the guilds should be informed. If there really is something going on there, they'll get to the bottom of it. Once I deliver the message, I'll return to escort you as well."
"Weren't you going to take that relic thing to the third floor?" Luis asked.
"That can wait. This succubus seems interested in you, Jade. That's not surprising, but if she comes looking for you again, it'll be best if you have help."
Great. Jade thought. Just what I needed. A demon stalker.
"Thanks." She said aloud, touched by the show of support.
Unfortunately, there was no easy way to discern a shapeshifter from a regular person. All shapeshifting powers included an aura masking effect, without which they would be mostly useless. She didn't want to be surprised by Malice again, though, and Jade fully intended to find some detection spell, item, or other ability that would help.
The conversation concluded soon after, most of them returning to their various training exercises. Before Jade followed suit, though, she had a special stop to make: She'd finally received word that her new armor was ready. After the events of the previous evening, Jade had a newfound appreciation for the idea of lightweight, minimalist armor she could wear without discomfort, even during downtime. That sentiment lasted right up until she saw it in person.
"You have got to be kidding me."
Jade held up the tangle of leather straps and buckles, unable to even tell what side was 'up'. What was patently obvious was that this outfit would leave very little to the imagination. A closer look revealed dark gemstones studded into the leather at regular intervals, each carved with intricate runes.
The armorer explained that with so little material, the protective enchantments needed more magical capacity to take hold. The crystal structures of certain precious stones could hold much more magic than simple leather, so he had woven onyx gems into the outfit to fortify it. The elf sounded exhausted, as if he had barely rested since Jade had placed the order.
With his help, she changed into the new 'armor'. Somehow, despite being about three percent of the material of her regular leather armor, it took almost as long to fasten the series of buckles that comprised this new equipment. The end result was a sort of crisscrossing mesh of thin leather straps 'covering' her chest, with a couple of pieces of fabric added to preserve her modesty. What little that remained of it.
The waist was little better, made up of a few additional strips of leather that encircled her hips and ran between her legs. Here the armorer had added the only decorative component to the outfit, short flaps of dark fabric that draped between her legs, helping cover her up in a way that didn't obstruct her skin.
The armor's ridiculous appearance aside, it was actually quite well made. The design of the chest harness meant that, when properly tightened, it provided much better support than she would have expected. A pair of straps also connected the top half of the outfit to the bottom half, which did much to keep everything in place and was apparently required for the defensive enchantments to work properly. It was even surprisingly comfortable, at least in the relatively warm climate of the elven village.
In short it was fully functional, accommodated her exotic anatomy, provided as strong a ward as her current equipment, and enabled the use of a powerful defensive ability she had been neglecting.
And Jade could hardly stand the idea of wearing it.
"What do you mean, you're not going to use it?" Naomi asked later that night, exasperated. She, Luis, and Jade were clustered around the table having dinner in their temporary home. She was wearing the absurd garment on their insistence and was certain her face was redder than the tomato-like fruit they were eating. "You paid a lot of money for that!"
"Actually, he gave me a good discount." Jade muttered, unwilling to meet her eyes. "Said it was a good challenge."
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"Are you going to let his hard work go to waste?" Naomi asked. "Come on, Jade. I know it's silly, but it could be the difference between getting stabbed through the chest and being fine. Your ability is a lot better than our armor. We tested it, remember? And with this-" she made an all-encompassing gesture directed at Jade's body. "The effect will compound!"
"No one will be able to take me seriously!" Jade complained. "What if we team up with other Earth wayfarers? And if I try to walk around town like this, I'll probably be arrested for breaking whatever decency laws they have."
"Just throw something on over it." Naomi suggested, waving her concern away. "Really, it’s no worse than a swim suit. People were those all the time. Don't worry so much."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one walking around looking like you just stepped out of a BDSM club."
"Nah, amiga, this is genius!" Luis said, snapping his fingers and grinning. "You can distract the bad guys without even tryin'. Fenrin and I've been sparring. If someone's even a little off-balance, they're way easier to take down."
The next day, Serrethis had even less patience for her griping.
"Not every power is enjoyable to use." he said with a disapproving frown. "And I know of many that are far less palatable than yours. Are you going to willingly discard a potent battlefield advantage? I can assure you, your enemies will not do the same."
"I want to use it. I'm just not sure I'll be able to. Not without being so self-conscious that it isn't worth it."
"Then fix that. The fate of your world is in the balance, you don't get to be selfish."
The sword master was right, and Jade knew it. So it was that, under his direction, Jade spent her final two weeks in Lysara wearing nothing except her new gear, day in and day out. At first the embarrassment was crippling, so severe that it affected her performance in training bouts and monster hunts. It wasn't her first time wearing revealing outfits, life as a gymnast had forced her to grow accustomed to such clothing, but there was a difference between putting on a team uniform for an event and casually wearing this absurd getup as normal streetwear.
As time went on, however, Jade slowly adjusted to the strange feeling of her body being so exposed. Her mindset began to shift, accepting that much of her discomfort came from societal expectations of modesty and propriety. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with the human, or in her case demon, body. Instead, her perception of what was normal was the true obstacle. That was a barrier that could only be worn down by persistence, and she attacked it with the same determination she directed at her training. Eventually, she began to adapt to the new normal, weathering the odd looks and glances her strange attire garnered with far less discomfort. It still felt a odd, but it was enough progress for now.
Between their mock battles, aura training, and occasional excursions into the forest to help clear out remnant monsters, Jade advanced from level 13 to 15. Level 14 brought with it a new class feature, with numerous options to choose from. The standout choices were the talent 'Hail Blade', the spell 'Vanish', and the talent 'Spell Break'.
'Spell Break' was exactly what it sounded like, a weapon talent that had a high chance of disrupting spells the target was focusing on. That and 'Hail Blade' were the two offensive options Jade considered, with 'Vanish' being the only utility power good enough to make the list. It was a simple, short term invisibility spell. While all the options were appealing in their own ways, it ended up being a simple decision. Having been desperate for a reliable ranged attack since the beginning of her journey, and now in the possession of an enchanted weapon that could make excellent use of the power, Jade selected 'Hail Blade'.
* Talent: Hail Blade
* Rating: D level talent
* Cost: Very low mana
* Cooldown: 20 seconds (3 stacks).
* Effect: Activate when throwing a weapon to duplicate the projectile twice, resulting in a total of three missiles. The copied weapons are identical to the original but do not share any of its non-physical properties. Copies dissipate shortly after impact. You may store up to three charges of this talent, gaining one charge every twenty seconds when slots are available.
The talent wasn't flashy, but practice proved it to be a reliable source of ranged damage. It was a welcome addition to Jade's arsenal, finally giving her a way to contribute to fights directly without throwing herself into the midst of the fray. Luis and Naomi each levelled up twice as well, growing commensurately more powerful. The training sessions made it clear that Jade would never be able to compete with Luis's raw damage output, especially now that he had selected dedicated weapon talents. Fenrin could reliably out damage her as well, his bow capable of unleashing a constant stream of precision shots.
While Jade's strength still lay in her ability to disrupt enemies, her vulnerability to distant foes was too big a weakness to ignore. With that gap in her powerset filled, she could now focus on more specialized abilities in the future.
After allocating her new statpoints, Jade's current characteristic page read:
* Base Stat Scores (Human)-(Succubus)
* Strength: 8-10
* Agility: 19-23
* Fortitude: 11-13
* Intelligence: 15-18
* Willpower: 12-7
More noteworthy was the change to her overall summary page, which had undergone a minor evolution.
* Name: Jade Callian
* Level: 15/(17)* (Mark of the Wayfarer)
* Race: Succubus
* Class: Shadow Witch
* Origin: Earth
* Note: '*' indicates an estimation of the power of your capabilities based on a combination of your Labyrinth-granted and self-taught magical abilities. You will not be able to advance any of your Labyrinth-granted spells or talents beyond 'C' rank until your Labyrinth level has reached 20.
There was no explanation regarding what new capabilities had affected this change in assessment but, given that neither Luis nor Naomi had the same note on their status screens, Jade assumed her new ability to manifest aura blades was the culprit. Apparently, that single technique was roughly equivalent to two whole levels, although she wasn't sure if that equivalency would hold true as she continued to grow more powerful.
The most valuable result of her time spent training wasn't the numerical growth, but rather the knowledge and experience shared by Serrethis. As the weeks passed, she grew more adept at identifying opportunities to put her powers to creative use, support her teammates, and set her opponents up for failure. She, Luis, and Naomi attacked their training sessions with vigor, working to integrate Fenrin into their team moves and creating entirely new ones. The world had just revealed itself to be even more dangerous than they'd thought. There were demons on the prowl, and at least one of them had her sights set on Jade.
Next time, she would be ready.
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The notice came while Jade was meditating in the clearing beside Serrethis's home, practicing aura manifestation. A window appeared in front of her, the feminine Voice of the Labyrinth reading the message aloud with uncharacteristic solemnity.
* Earth Wayfarer Notice
* Dimensional link established.
* Connection finalized: No anomalies detected.
* Gateways to 'Earth' have been placed on the first floor.
A second message popped up behind the first.
* Earth Wayfarer Notice
* Labyrinth Cores on the third floor have been initialized. Location data is now available via your wayfarer mark. Proceed to the third floor to access this function.
Another notice appeared, this one a new quest. The objective was simple: Locate a Labyrinth Core zone. Jade minimized it, and the new quest was added to her journal.
"What is it?" Nythis asked. The elf was sitting beside her, having joined her for the afternoon's exercise. The two of them had struck up a friendship over the past few weeks, one that was separate from the several intimate nights spent together. She had just been telling Jade about an upcoming combat tournament that was held in Illysport every year, trying to convince her to participate in the next one, when her attention had been captured by the sudden updates.
Jade let out a long breath, one that she'd been subconsciously holding for over a month now.
"It's finally started."