We make our way across the lower level. We have the time, so we walk leisurely to enjoy the sights.
The town slowly becomes quieter and quieter. The people stop walking across the streets, and even the shops start to close. Today, the day will end early.
The priests also close shop, and the public lights are turned off, forcing us to cast [Spirit Light] to see.
The mood of the town suddenly changes as the dark environment of the lower levels is quickly filled with dotted lights from the commoners coming out. Most of them stay in front of their doors with their heads down, muttering prayers. The rest join us in a procession towards any of the town's exits.
We are early, so we easily pass through customs before a crowd forms. Across this gate, there's a spiral ramp that leads to many levels of farms. Our feet get massaged by the grass planted on the floor, but unfortunately, we won't be going down on foot.
I pull out the dinghy and we get in. With Yunia, things get a little more cramped, but it's not too uncomfortable yet. Lina and I might work to expand it one day, though.
We fly down and land on the lake. The dinghy is heavier now that it's reinforced, but Roxanne just needs to use a small amount of mana to keep it stable.
We find an agglomeration of boats and gondolas and join them. In the middle of the mass of boats, we see two sets of ropes that form a lane. It starts at a spiral ramp that leads up to the town, and ends at one of the giant trees inside the lake.
In the vessels around us, other elves occasionally mumble something between themselves, but everyone is silent most of the time. The lake is so quiet that the swish of the boats and the occasional dewdrop falling onto the surface can easily be heard.
We are all forced to wear cloaks since the dew dropping from the bark shield wall above us is quite consistent and annoying. The upside is that it makes us blend in perfectly with the other elves around us.
A few ultra-bright crystal lights illuminate the lake, but they aren't strong enough to let us see the bottom. Fish regularly pass by near our boat, mostly attracted by some of the elves, who feed them crumbs of food. Occasionally, I see eyes watching us from behind the cover of the deep, dark water. I have a feeling that these aren't normal fish.
Half an hour after we've arrived, there's a sudden uptick in the number of boats coming towards the lane, then we see movement on the spiral ramp that the lane connects to.
Through Alissa's eyes, I can see a procession coming down the path. Countless scintillating little lights slowly make their way down the spiral. Many levels of farms surround that pillar, and the [Spirit Light]s passing through cause faintly-colored lights to bounce off the plants on each level of the farms. The lights mix and form a magical image, then a small amount of Eia mist starts to accumulate along the procession's path, making the lights glow ethereally.
The procession reaches a jetty at the end of the spiral ramp, and three gondolas are loaded, each with a single coffin. Many more gondolas follow the first three, and the huge crystal lights floating above allow us to perfectly see who is in each of them
Confiel, Luz, and Lua each row a gondola with a coffin while standing. Their faces are stony and their postures are perfectly rigid; if it weren't for their arms moving, they could easily be mistaken for statues. As they're the ones who killed Mavel and his wives, they have the responsibility to ensure that their fellow elves find rest where they deserve. On top of each of the coffins, there's a large portrait of the deceased to remind us of their beauty and dignity.
On the first gondola coming right behind them, there are two twin boys with gentle and pretty faces. Their hair is messy and long, amplifying their feminine air. They stand on the gondola and look forward with grieving faces, but are still trying to look strong. They barely look twelve; at most, they could be fourteen due to their level delaying their physical growth a little.
Soul Info
Name: Arturus Este Race: Golden Elf Level: 25 HP 100 MP 150 Magic Power 60 Strength 12 Endurance 13
Soul Info
Name: Antares Este Race: Golden Elf Level: 25 HP 100 MP 200 Magic Power 110 Strength 12 Endurance 13
Yunia looks calm. There's a hint of melancholy on her face, but at least she's not using [Mask]. Her eyes follow her brothers, but theirs don't stray, so they pass us without them noticing her. The boys are looking forward, but without focus; perhaps that could be an apt description of what they feel about their future.
Behind them come many gondolas with the nobles that were Mavel Este's allies. None of them are wearing anything luxurious since the situation calls for everyone to humble themselves over the inevitability of death.
Alissa notices my observation and whispers, "'We enter this realm naked, and we move on to the next in the same state. Nothing material will come with you in your next life, not even your physical bodies.' A teaching from the Goddess of Piety."
Then a name jumps out at me.
Soul Info
Name: Ira Saponaria Race: Golden Elf Level: 59 HP 100 MP 840 Magic Power 210 Strength 20 Endurance 18
High MP, but not a lot of "Magic Power." That's the usual consequence of being a spell sword.
Ira is a tall, middle-aged man. He sports a golden dad mustache, stubble, and a buzz cut. His face is blocky, and his eyes are permanently squinted. He looks slightly displeased, and I'm not sure if that's an expression or just his natural face.
Barely any of the nobles look around, focusing solely on intensely staring at the Rincipios' backs. Some show anger, but most keep an impassive expression, reminding me of Yunia when she's trying to hide her emotions.
Silvane appears on one of the gondolas near the back. She's one of the few who glances around, but there are so many people in the crowds that she doesn't manage to find us.
The gondolas pass us by and stop in front of the huge tree at the end of the lane. Then Confiel rests his oar on the gondola and turns around.
"Lords, Nobles, Knights, and the common folk of the High Forest!" He starts, gesticulating as he speaks and slowly increasing the speed of his movements. His voice resounds across the lake without being too low or too loud, no matter where we are, clearly aided by magic. "Today we bury Crown Lords Mavel, Deva, and Dalia of the Este family. It was us, Crown Lords Confiel, Luz, and Lua of the Rincipio family that deposed them. There were multiple reasons for why we did what we did, and each one of you might know a few of them, but we aren't here to tarnish the name of the Este family. We are here to see that our fellow elves receive their deserved rest, and to offer one last prayer to their name before we move on with our lives.
"Now, let us pray and wish that these Lords are awarded long stays in Paradise. Let us thank them for their hard work in protecting and ruling over us. Let us thank them for fulfilling their duties the best that they could. Let us honor their accomplishments and recognize their strength. Let us learn from their lives so that we may climb up on their shoulders and see further than we did before.
"Their efforts shall not go to waste, and their mark in the realm shall not be erased. Their lives end here, but their legacy shall continue on, influencing us for generations to come!" He finishes with his hands high above his head in a supplicating gesture.
His "legacy," huh? Now that he's dead, his vision of the future will be supplanted by Confiel's. Maybe something will last, but it won't be much now that he isn't here to continue spreading it. Just like Arreira's dream…
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An elven woman starts to softly sing, and her voice resounds the same way that Confiel's does. It's so gentle that it sounds ethereal, and it tickles my ears. It reminds me of the way that the Weepers whisper into your mind, but in a good way.
I've removed my points in [Ingua Language], so I don't know what she's singing about.
Most of the other elves lower their heads and mutter their prayers. Yunia remains silent, still staring at her brothers, who are now praying along with the nobles. The melancholy in her eyes slowly gets replaced with determination.
Mages stand on their gondolas and start chanting. They open a hole in the water and deep into the lake bed, then the coffins are lifted by magic and slowly brought down into it. After a minute or so, the coffins reach the bottom and the mages release the water, allowing it to close the hole.
The coffins were buried below the mud of the lake, near the roots of the huge tree in front of us. They will slowly dissolve in a few days, then the ashes of the diseased will be absorbed by the tree. With this, their bodies will forever be part of their dear town that they worked so hard to protect.
After around ten minutes of listening to the elven woman sing, the melancholy that was building in my heart starts to fade. Her voice reminds me of a mother singing a lullaby to their child, and it makes me a little sleepy.
"Let's go," Yunia suddenly says, finally looking somewhere besides her brothers.
I look around and see that a few of the boats and gondolas are starting to leave. Some of them take flight and return to the town's gates.
"Alright," I say, and Roxanne makes us fly again.
We return to our house in Goloria, and the gloomy mood fades as we rest in our living room and enjoy some refreshments. The servants left some steamy pastries for us, so of course, we're going to eat it all.
"You girls want to do something? We still have a few hours until dinner," I say.
"I want to train. I need that instant cast Gift of yours," Yunia answers immediately.
"Sweating a little might do us some good," Hana says and looks at me.
I sigh and get up. "Alright, let's spar," I say.
Alissa tries out her new [Mana Arrow] enchanted bow. She can create arrows with any shape, weight, and color that she wants. This removes the need for arrows but uses mana, obviously, so it isn't a straight upgrade. The draw weight increased, though, and with a stronger [Loosen] enchantment, she can pierce armor deeper than before.
The bow is made from not-ebony and decorated with green wavy patterns to disguise the glitter of gold from the enchantments. Now I realize how eye-catching her previous bow is since it's pure white. Our own emerald weapons aren't the perfect camouflage, but they lost their luster from being new, so they are good enough for us.
Monster hunters also don't really need camouflage when there's hardly any monster that would run away once they've spotted a humanoid.
Ciel is testing the wooden sword with [Searing Blade]. This one basically turns the blade into a lightsaber while also protecting the sword from the heat. It sucks mana like Alissa, Hana, and Aoi combined suck me dry, so it's only used in bursts. It's also extremely dangerous to yourself if you don't know how to use a blade.
Yunia is meditating. After some coaching from Roxanne, she's putting her all into searching for the "itch" inside her soul space.
Lina is adding a [Vacuum] enchantment to Roxanne's workbench. It's quite simple, so it should be ready today.
Inside the house, Roxanne is testing some of her poisons on a group of summoned goblins and a dragonoid. The Decay goop is allowing her to make some very toxic substances, so it's good that the workbench is almost ready.
Aoi puts what she learned today to practice and tests new ways to bend air around her wings to produce lift.
Gify is watching us in amusement, as always.
The golems practice their spells while also observing us.
Meanwhile, Hana beats the shit out of me.
"Come on, where's your ferocity?! Where did that dragon soul go?!" She yells at me, and I force myself to stand up.
Bitch, imma stab you and make you -.
I lower my own gravity and jump, then I strike from above and spin in the air to avoid Hana's counter.
I pull out a dagger from my back with a tail, and it gets cut down by her sword. I increase my gravity again so that I catch up with the dagger, allowing me to reattach the tail, and at the same time, I strike at Hana.
She immediately goes for the tail again, and I detach the tail myself, making her sword only cut through air, then I immediately reattach it. Once she turns the blade to cut upwards, I meet it with my own and stop her.
My dagger thrusts towards a chink in her armor at her waist, and she dodges to the side, making it bounce ineffectively against the plate.
With a click of my tongue, I cast [Ghost Lights] and blind us both since I lack fine control with this spell. Then I use Holly's sight to guide the dagger towards the chink again.
She jumps back and tries to cover the chink with her arm, but I jump forward at the same time and bash her with my shield, making her stagger and open her guard.
I change my target and sink the dagger through the opening below her armpit, then I leave it there, almost fully disabling her arm. She moans out loud, and I smirk.
She suddenly spits fire, making the area between us become covered by smoke and flame. Then two swords emerge through it, each aiming to strike at a different angle. One of them is an illusion, but I don't know which.
Fuck.
I try to cast [Rush] and retreat, but the tiredness of controlling the tail and casting multiple spells makes me too slow, and I'm forced to defend before the spell can activate.
The left sword disappears into nothing while the right one hits my shield, then pivots. [Battlefield Perception] triggers, and I lean back, but it's not fast enough. Her sword slides over the top of my shield and sinks into my neck.
Once Hana feels her sword cutting flesh, she stops herself and pulls the sword back.
The wound was shallow, but it still hurts like a bitch.
The smoke and fire dissipates, and a smug Hana appears from behind it. "Hah! Got you!" She exclaims and grins.
I need a fucking neck guard!
I pout and [Heal] my neck. "I'm trying to do too many things at once, and the mental overload is slowing my reactions," I say, then I go to her to [Heal] her armpit.
She nods. "Which is why we need to train your style as much as we can until you adapt to it."
I groan internally. This training with sharp weapons makes me too anxious. Also, I can only do it with Hana because she's a masochist. Imagining myself stabbing any of the other girls is just too much for my heart.
She cleans her sword and gives me a fearsome smile. "Again!"
Alissa delicately massages my muscles with her soft and cute hands. They glide along my skin, aided by the soap, and caress me with love, then they find a sore muscle and stimulate it gently, giving me that combo of dull pain and pleasure. I let out a low, satisfied moan with every press.
-
She changes into her fox form while I'm inside, and my mind goes blank with the information overload.
Fuck!
- A blinding rage takes over me. I bite her neck to keep her in place, and hug her body, lifting her paws off the ground. - Then I do it like a mad man.
-
I soak in the bath and try to process what I saw and felt. It was almost like when our minds tried to merge through [Bind]. But this time, there was something more. There was a "raw" feeling, something pure and strong. It was similar to the dragon visions, but it had a different flavor to it.
This one made me feel small and energetic, and the energy fueled a need to fight and struggle, to make sure that I was never stepped on, that I was never the prey. While the dragon visions made me feel massive and majestic, it gave me the energy to act with confidence and certainty, to always strike true and to never hold back.
I think I just felt Alissa's "fox essence." But why was this time so different from all the other times that I observed her transform? Well, this time she did it while I had my thunder cock inside her…
Of course! [Mana Genitals] has turned that part of my body into something more "malleable" and mana sensitive. It would certainly have a special interaction with her "transient form," where her body is made of raw and unstable mana.
I adjust Ciel's - under my head to make myself more comfortable and look down at Lina-. I gently rub her scalp with my fingers, and she closes her eyes in happiness. I can't see Ciel's face, but I know that her expression is either one of happiness due to my tail-hand massaging her head, or one of awkwardness due to my tail-hand massaging her head.
But the amount of mana that I felt was incredible. It was so much that it felt like I was fighting Mavel again and one of his wives was casting a spell. Though, we only sense the mana that escapes the spell, not the mana used for the spell itself, so I guess this is why I sensed so much more mana, I was in the source.
Hana tiredly deposits an exhausted Roxanne beside us, and Ciel casts [Refresh] on them both. It seems that Hana won the duel this time. Because I couldn't control my [Bind], they became -crazed, so to compensate them, I extend two tail-hands towards them and massage their heads.
Yunia scooches closer to me, and I extend a fourth tail-hand to caress her, then her usual stern expression softens a little.
But there was something interesting that I noticed about Alissa's transformation.
"Alissa, transform for me, please," I ask.
"Huh…? Okay…" She wakes up from her nap and obeys diligently.
I use [Sense Soul] to keep a close look on her mana organ. Once she starts to glow, I notice something interesting: her mana organ expands and covers her entire body, then it changes in a way that reminds me of my and Gify's custom [Materialization] spell, and she becomes a fox.
That's it! She doesn't just create a new skin and cover herself with it. She uses her own mana organ to become the fox. She uses her own will and inner "animal" to control the mana organ and transform it.
Fox-Alissa adorably paddles her way to us and curls up on Lina's lap, increasing the spooning chain by one. Then Aoi curls up on top of Alissa, and finally, Gify curls up on top of Aoi, completing the cuddling chain.
Also, this might be the most efficient use of mana that I've ever seen. I don't think there's any actual waste of mana since it's never "taken out" of her mana organ. Of course, some of it is spent during the transformation, but it's a very small amount. She even recovers far more mana than when I recall a completely undamaged summon, it's actually pretty impressive.
After dinner, we do some mana training.
"I've heard of this secret imperial technique before, but I never imagined that it would be so simple," Yunia comments.
"But it's not something you'd normally think about doing. We are taught to focus mana in our hearts, not outside of our bodies," Roxanne says.
"It seems that the average mage knows very little about mana organs," I say.
"Only after you created [Sense Soul] did we become able to see into someone's soul like that, so it makes sense that most mages know very little," Alissa says to me.
"Not even [Spirit Magic] has this much insight into the soul. If we pierce into someone's spirit, then it instantly dissipates and kills them, not to mention that it makes the Gods angry," Yunia says.
"Once we become Lords, there might be people trying to pry into our secrets about the skills that Wolf has created," Alissa says.
"Just another monster for the Lord," Yunia comments and shrugs.
Roxanne claps the tip of her fingers repeatedly in excitement as Lina presents her with the finished workbench. It's usable, but it's not completely safe yet. She can still add some enchantments to protect against explosions and such.
Then, after another long day, we go to sleep.