One would wonder: Who the hell would need floating pens?

In this type of world, Mikella can only guess that it’s only useful to write faster on paper if one didn’t mind the chicken scratch they would make. For a warrior, these pens weren’t exactly tough and durable, so one can easily break them with ease.

For a mage, they weren’t true focuses like how one would use a staff or a wand, and she heard that a certain amount of size is needed, and this small pen is definitely not capable of withstanding a mage’s power.

So what exactly do these floating pens do?

Well, as usual, Zeke found a way to make even four floating pens seem like legendary weapons.

The two sat down near the large area where most of the children were out and about playing. There was no school for them today as Vivian was busy with other matters. Being the only teacher they could have in this town, it was only natural that on some days, she had to be free.

It wasn’t a park, per say, but more like a large grassy field that thankfully was the easiest to fix up after the attack. It was near the training field with the soldiers, so often the children would go by and watch the soldiers fight. But as they were resting for the day, the kids didn’t have anywhere to pour their energy in so they just ran around screaming like the brats they should be.

Clara, however, remained with them as she sat along with them on the wooden bench. It was a relaxing bench, if a little bare and simplistic. She stared at awe at Zeke who let his pens float in the air, each of them spinning in tandem with one another, either completely in circles or just rotating about.

But that’s not all that he did. With one pen, he drew a suddenly conjured small barrier on one side, and with the other pen, he drew on another barrier.

The two barriers were close with one another, but as soon as Zeke drew the simplistic runes (at least to him) on each of the barriers, he put the barriers together and created a large rune array in just a few seconds, which without the pens would’ve taken a few minutes at best.

The barriers and the runes glowed bright before suddenly conjuring a giant butterbird the size of a dog out into the open air. Unlike his usual iterations from before, this butterbird was entirely detailed. It showed its small insect like body that had giant wings that were intricately detailed with stylish markings and even different kinds of colors, unlike their usual only-white color. They were practically kaleidoscopes on drugs as it flew about, flapping its wings and making Clara exclaim in delight.

“Wow! That’s so cool!” Clara said with eager glee, much to Zeke’s rising grin.

However, Mikella was certain. If Zeke wanted to, he could just as easily make a powerful fireball, or even a terrifying tornado with the amount of speed he put into drawing his runes. She may not understand what he wrote sometimes, but she can see the vast potential behind the four pens.

And that was only using two pens. Zeke grabbed the corners of his eyes together with his one hand as he winced and grumbled.

“Gah, that was hard to do,” Zeke grimaced, closing his eyes tightly. “My head is splitting just from doing this.”

“Makes sense,” Mikella said, noticing Clara trying her hardest to pat Zeke’s head which he allowed her by lowering himself to her height. That actually helped a bit as his face slowly softened from the pain. “I mean, you’re using both pens to write different things, right?”

“Yeah,” Zeke admitted. “I figured the faster I could do that, the faster I could draw rune arrays. I didn’t think just how useful it would be to use two pens at once. I can’t imagine how fast I would be with four pens.”

Zeke grimaced, thanking Clara as he further explained.

“Though it’s completely different than just using mana and draining it. It’s like trying to think of two different things at once.”

That was the problem, at least for now. Mikella can’t even write separate things with her own hands, even with the vast amount of Dexterity on hand. It was different than doing one thing and thinking of another thing entirely–while it wasn’t impossible, it was definitely hard to get into.

But she could imagine just how powerful Zeke would be if he gets used to it.

After getting the pens, Adam sent them off with a guffaw like usual, having to get back into his thriving business once he was done with his gifts for the two. After that, the two decided to head to the park to experiment with their new gear.

Of course, they made sure to stay away from the others when they did so, as technically speaking doing any skill outside of regular combat was not allowed. But Mikella was certain they would at least allow a Lord in-name only some priviledges as long as nobody else was hurt.

In that case, once Zeke was done showing off to Clara, he made several barriers in the air far away from the two. Mikella stood up, her Tempest Bow in hand as she placed herself into a proper stance for it.

Looking at the bow, she noticed how sharp it was, and wondered if she can actually stab someone with this. She was certain she can do that, but she had a feeling that it would develop her Bow Mastery in a weird way.

Instead, she grabbed hold of the string of the bow. After pulling it taut thanks to her overall training with other bows to get Bow Mastery, she let the skill take control.

She fixed her posture to make her back straighten, using the muscles to keep the bow aloft and steady. She breathed slowly through her nose and exhaled with her mouth. She kept both eyes opened, as using one eye was just cutting off your vision.

She made sure Clara saw that one at least as she stared transfixed at her older sister.

Finally, this was where she realized she forgot to get an arrow–but that was pointless. Instead, she willed the bow to conjure one for her as her mana drained by the bow’s actions. A small gust of air formed at the end where her fingers pulled the string, revealing a glowing white arrow in physical form.

There was no gust that blew her hair or anything like that. There also wasn’t any form of sound either. It was made entirely with mana, and while the white look didn’t feel ‘windy’ in her mind, she could tell that it had the aspect of air. Just holding it, she could feel it bursting apart the ground and bending the trees in her mind, proving its might.

Then she stared down at the barriers, now made targets by Zeke, and shot the arrow straight at them. The arrow flew straight at one of the barriers, and her earlier training at least made aiming easier as the arrow hit and broke the barrier apart with ease, making a sharp glass-breaking sound that echoed around them.

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She continued to do this for the rest of the barrier targets, pulling out the arrow from the air and with her mana, and shooting them one by one. If her Bow Mastery was higher, she could definitely shoot faster without having to worry about aiming.

She knew that if it was a conscious opponent, they could dodge them with ease, or use some skill to defend against it. While her arrows were sharp like true arrows, there was no power behind them–at least in terms of anything like skills or her attunement. They were just normal arrows in this type of world.

Once the targets all broke apart, she spun back around, smiling at her adoring crowd and bowed like she usually does whenever she was finished with her performance back in the old world.

The two cheered and clapped for her, Clara exclaiming in delight at how cool it was, and Zeke marveling at the sight of the archer breaking each target with ease, despite that they were his barriers to begin with.

“That was so cool, Sissy!”

“Wow, Mikky, that was awesome!”

Hearing their praises made her feel like a peacock preening her feathers as she strutted towards them while flipping her hair aside. In the end, the bow did exactly as advertised, and she knew it would be excellent for the future.

But there was no shame in showing off and enjoying the adoration, right?

When she returned to the bench, the family just rested there, with Zeke mostly doing more experiments with his pens. Meanwhile, Clara had found something to do by trying to chase after the butterbirds Zeke created. This time they were smaller and were more controlled, allowing Clara to remain in sight rather than going off on her own and getting into trouble. It became like a game at this point for her, and it was a good start for her training in the future.

It was good exercise for her, and Mikella would gladly watch Clara and rest for a bit. But since she got the chance for it…

“Hey, Zeke… did you just call me Mikky?”

Zeke looked back at her, surprised at first. Then after a moment, his eyes widened in spiked alarm. As though caught red-handed, Zeke looked away, his cheeks flaring.

“Uhh… Yeah, I guess I did… Uhh, sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Mikella scoffed. “Actually, why don’t you just call me that from now on?”

Not that Mikella had a problem with that nickname. Sure, it sounded childish, but she was also hoping Clara would get out of her Sissy phase and eventually call her name. At least that way, Mikky sounded a lot easier and more familiar.

Hearing it from Zeke really didn’t bother her all that much. It actually surprised her that he didn’t call her that earlier despite all the time they spent together.

“Well, I thought that maybe you preferred only those closer to you call you that. Like the girls, Val and Myra. They’re the only ones that call you that.”

Mikella opened her mouth to protest, but then she paused. Her memories did told her that only Myra and Val called her so familiarly like that.

She didn’t dislike Cloud, but it would be weird to hear him call her so affectionately like that. She definitely didn’t prefer anyone else calling her that either.

Hell, she was even reminded of Jackie calling her Mikky one time and apparently she gave him a look that made him stop doing that. She wasn’t upset, per say–she was just baffled at how he called her like that.

“...Huh, I didn’t notice,” Mikella finally said, getting Zeke to nod. “But still, it’s no problem! If it’s you, I think you got the priviledge.”

After all, if the person herself was fine with being called that, then what was the problem? Yet, still, Zeke hesitated to say anything, still looking away as he usually did.

She only just glared at him the whole time he was looking away. After realizing that she won’t stop glaring at him until he eventually caved in, the defeated look in his eyes proved her victory.

“You really don’t have a problem, then?” Zeke asked once again, getting her to roll her eyes.

“Just do it already, you wuss.”

“Alright, alright, geez,” Zeke called out, then he cleared his throat. Mikella just gawked at the man having to actually try to clear his throat for such a thing.

Then–

“Then, I’ll call you Mikky from now on.”

For a brief moment, a sense of giddiness filled her chest. It was a strange feeling, and she wasn’t even sure why she felt that way. It was just a name.

But somehow, the man who she spent more than 90% of her time with ever since they were stuck in this world, calling her that kind of name felt more like a personal victory.

There was a lot of things that weren’t said. Mainly the part where he didn’t tell her at all about his own past. Though it wasn't as if she went ahead and told him her life story, it was clear it was too personal for him to divulge. Hearing that little remark about his mother certainly stopped her from asking prying questions.

But as he finally said that name, his cheeks flaring like mad as though he just confessed his undying love for her in front of the entire town, she smiled at his response, and at the fact that they were just a bit closer than before now.

The three enjoyed the rest of the day, knowing full well that this would be the last time they can just relax and remind themselves that there was more to life than constant battles, studying, and training.

…..

The next day was rather chilly, the air turning bitter cold as the fall season was coming into place. Mikella asked Zeke at some point whether seasons were the same like in their world. Apparently they were exactly the same, with the only exception being areas densely filled with Mana, as that could not only affect the location, but the atmosphere and weather surrounding it as well.

But despite the fall slowly dawning on them, when they approached the giant hole Zeke created, there was that heat in the air that was hard to describe. Mikella could already guess what this entailed, and she didn’t like where her imagination was going.

The four adults of the Mystio household left the children in Vivian’s care as always, and as long as the barrier was in place, the people there have no worries of being attacked. So they left with the other soldiers who were just as prepared, now that they had the chance to relax like the Ashton family did.

However, there was that tense atmosphere surrounding everyone. There were several things that could go wrong, even when the Journeymen were coming with them. After all, they had first-hand experience that even with Experts on their side, things could go wrong.

But in the end, wasn’t that the point? To overcome these ventures and turn out stronger than before? Rather than letting the stiff atmosphere hit her, she was instead overwhelmed with curiosity on how this supposed biodome worked out.

She saw the other soldiers appearing rather hesitant, but thankfully their own comrades, Myra, Jackie and Philip were there by their side. And it wasn’t as though every one of Zacharia’s soldiers were bad folks either. The healers were kind, and Zeke liked them, so it was almost like having assurance that they wouldn't be jackasses like Basil there.

And Mikella even had to admit that while Basil still acted like a douche sometimes, she was glad he was by their side. His unanticipated and explosive attacks could prove fatal to their enemies and give their allies some much needed support.

As the group readied themselves with some speech from Zacharia about trying to overcome their struggles with sheer force of will, Mikella ignored all of it as she noticed Zeke’s face stiffening.

It was almost like he was trying to copy a statue’s expression, but his brows kept creasing every so often, and his jaw kept locking up.

“Zeke, it’ll be fine.”

She grabbed hold of Zeke’s hand, surprising him a little. But when he realized it was her, he smiled softly. He grasped onto her own hand tightly back.

“I know it’ll be fine because you’re here looking out for us. But just remember not to overdo it, alright?”

“Yeah,” Zeke chuckled. She knew he must have been told that plenty of times already by now. But she had to make sure nonetheless. This boy can act so crazy sometimes. “You also promise me not to overdo it, alright? I don’t care how invincible you are–it’s still awful seeing you get injured.”

“I know you don’t want me to mess up my pretty face, so I’ll take special care of it, all for you,” Mikella teased with a playful smirk.

Zeke shook his head. “Mikky, just try not to mess with anyone else like that. I’m worried you’ll egg them on to do something stupid.”

Mikella was proud that he caught on calling her that from now on. It took a lot of reminding throughout the night to get him to stick with, and she was glad to see that her doctrination proved successful.

Much less to her enjoyment as Val apparently saw that as progress to their romantic relationship. Pushing that aside, she saw that the group was now heading straight towards the hole.

Into whatever hell lies beneath their own town.