“Eli, it’s time to wake up.” I hear as I slowly wake up.

“Huh?” I ask as I determined who was waking me up. “Melly?”

“Yeah. Come on, it’s almost time for dinner.”

“Aye” I say as I get up. Uh, where’d the core go? Um, that, isn’t that, like, really bad!? “Uh, Melly? Do you, uh, where’d it go!?” I shout as I start to panic. That’s not good. That’s really not good!

Melly, noticing my panic, tries to calm me down. “It’s okay, what’s wrong?”

“It’s gone!”

“What is?”

“The core!” How did someone steal it in the middle of the church? How’d they even know!? Oh no, oh no!

“The core? Oh, don’t worry about that.” I completely blank at that. I can’t even speak, as she continues. “We saw, well, we felt the core as we arrived back here. We, after failing to properly contain it, called over the Hero, who then sealed it. Meanwhile, you just slept through everything.” She explains while giving me a look.

“O-okay. T-then, where’s the core at?”

“Um, OH, here it is.” She picks it up from the ground right next to my bed. I didn’t even check there in my panic.

“Uh, why’s it there?”

“You must have pushed it off in your sleep.”

“You guys just left the core on my bed!?” I say in shock.

“Yeah. You were sleeping with it originally.”

“And you’re fine with it just falling onto the ground?”

“Yeah. It’s yours anyway. Besides, if it could break from such a small fall, it probably wouldn’t have been useful in the first place.”

“Mine?”

“Of course! You’re to fuse with it after all.”

“Oh, y-yeah. I guess so. Haa, sorry, I guess I’m a bit out of it.”

“Don’t worry, anyone would be nervous when holding something so valuable. Anyway, enough of that, let’s get dinner!” She cheers as she gets up.

“Yeah!” I agree as I put away the, my core. “By the way, why are you so excited?”

“Oh, well, those people were quite annoying, so I’m looking forward to relieving some stress with a nice meal.” She admits.

“Ah! Yeah, even just looking at them filled me with dread, I don’t even want to think about how interacting with them would be.” I shivered.

“It was annoying. I’m glad you weren’t involved, I would have definitely lost my patience if they were harassing you too. The only reason I didn’t snap in the first place was because of how well the Hero handled everything.”

“Oh, I’m a bit disappointed that I couldn’t witness the Hero deal with that massive crowd.”

“It was quite impressive, though the best part was watching him occasionally struggle.” She smirks.

“He struggled!” I say with shock and a bit of fear.

“A little, when he was involved with some bigger negotiations. I think his main issue though was just how rushed he was. He got all the things he needed, but I can tell he was annoyed at how little he actually got. If he’d spent a few days bartering, he would have gotten a lot more.” She sighed.

“Our Hero, taking his time? He wouldn’t dream of it.” I laughed. “ I wouldn’t be surprised if he has nightmares about that.”

“You’re right.” She laughed. “Still, it was quite funny seeing his reactions. I will admit though, without him, we would have struggled a lot more. Especially when we consider how he even called over our families to do some of the negotiations for us.”

“Oh, so that’s why you got back early.”

“Yeah. Oh, we’re here. Is food ready?” She called out.

“Indeed.” Hansen confirmed. “We were just waiting for you.”

“Well, we’re here now, so let’s eat!”

Ah, the food was lovely as usual. After we finished, everyone turned to me.

“So, Eli, what were you doing with your core?” The Hero asks.

“I was getting used to its pressure in preparation for my fusion, Mr. Roosevelt.”

He rolls his eyes. “Okay, then did you lose control and pass out?”

“No, I just, fell asleep.” I answered shyly.

“Why?”

“To see if I could.” I admitted, getting some sighs in response.

“Eli…” Melly complains. “Why are you so reckless?”

“It wasn’t really.” I say, ignoring their glares. “I was certain that if I could fall asleep, it would be safe to.”

“Haa, while in this case you weren’t wrong, that was still quite dangerous.” The Hero complained. “Next time you do something reckless like that, at least make sure you aren’t alone.”

“I will. Anyway, how can I sleep with the core? It apparently can release its pressure through walls.” He just stares at me. “What? I want to make sure I’m ready!”

“Fine, I doubt that would help you, but whatever, I’ll limit the pressure to just your room. Just, be careful.”

“Okay, I will.” Time to conquer this core!

“By the way, everything needed for the fusions will be ready soon. Also, after fusing I will have to leave to prepare everyone's equipment. Since it will likely take a while for everything to finish, we will effectively have a few weeks of ‘free’ time. Take this time to get used to your monster ascensions, we’re going to need it.” He looks over at me. “Once you get used to the core’s power, you should get your saintess robes. Any questions everyone?”

After receiving no questions, everyone left to do their own tasks or whatnot. Basically, other than the Hero somehow warding my room, nothing of importance happened. I just hung out or trained. Everyone else occasionally did other tasks, but pretty much everything was being pushed back until we finish our monster ascension.

And so, the day of our fusion had arrived. After another feast, we were allowed to use the church’s private training rooms for our rituals.

“Okay.” The Hero called our attention. “You’ve already prepared for this, so now all that’s left is to just do it. Any questions?”

“Yes, why are we all doing this at the same time? Wouldn’t it be better to watch what happens so we can be better prepared?” I ask.

“No actually. There actually isn’t anything you can learn from observation. The primary reason, though, is that this is an ancient ritual with some… peculiar requirements and effects. As such, it is quite embarrassing to be observed during it, so it is only done in private rooms with the only other person being the one initiating the ritual. Besides, the only one technically taking a risk is you.”

“Ah, thanks.” I grumbled.

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“Don’t worry, no matter how this goes, you will be fine, I guarantee it. At worst, you will have to deal with the after effects of the potion for no gain.”

“Haa, I know, I’m just nervous.” I admit.

“It’ll be okay, Eli.” Melly comforts.

“Yeah. Time to take on the dragon for real!” I cheered.

Everyone’s faces get a bit grim at that. Ah, I’ve been avoiding that thought process.

“Is she going to be okay?” I hear Rapunzel whisper.

“Don’t worry!” The Hero interrupts before the mood could get worse. “It’s only remnants of its will in the core. While I admit that it won’t be easy, it will be safe. Besides, Eli’s mana can handle itself even without her assistance, and she’ll even be cheating with a mana potion, so there’s nothing to worry about.” He smiles. “Now, make sure to beat up that dragon for us, Eli.” He says as he pats me on the shoulder.

“Yes!” I nod.

“Okay, if there’s nothing else, let’s go!”

We all entered our specific rooms, where different rituals had been set up. They were also each guarded by a paladin. Mine had four though, unlike everyone else’s one. Odd, but I guess I am the saintess. Oh, and I have the dragon core. Yeah, that’s the more likely reason.

When I opened the door to my room, I was shocked. There were tons of magic circles and arrays. And I mean tons. They were even put on the walls! In the middle of the room was a large, bubbling cauldron (or bathtub), surrounded by four masked women wearing what I’d describe as shaman outfits. Strangely, their masks were basically just large, flat, white boards that didn’t even have eye holes.

I was shown a diagram of a common monster ascension ritual beforehand, and it wasn’t anywhere near as… elaborate? Intense? Grand! My ritual is far, far grander than I thought it would be. I know that different enhancements use different rituals for maximum effectiveness, but…

Also, why is the cauldron bubbling? That doesn’t seem normal. Or safe.

“Um, this is a bit different than I expected.” I stutter as I finally enter the room.

““Do not worry, a core just requires a far more advanced ritual than normal. There are no problems. We will begin as soon as you are ready, Saintess.”” They bowed, after all saying that at the exact same time. It’s a bit creepy, and I can’t even try to determine their ages from their voices either. But, it’s oddly comforting when I think about it. They likely trained a lot together to get so synchronized, after all. But first, I have to know.

“Is it normal for that to be bubbling?” I ask while pointing to the cauldron.

““For this ritual, yes. Do not worry, you will not feel the slightest discomfort.””

“Oh, that’s nice (if that’s true). Okay I’m ready, what do I need to do?”

““First, you need to take off all of your clothes. We will then paint the rest of the ritual upon your body. Afterwards, you, while holding the core to your chest, will enter the bath (So it was a bath) while we start the ritual. We were told that you would be using a mana potion, please use it before entering the bath.””

“Understood.” Haa, at least I’m used to changing in front of others and even experiencing ‘skinship’ because of my life in the church. I wonder how everyone else will take this. Though, can they even see me? Hmm. Also, I now know why we were doing this privately!

Anyway, I quickly stripped and asked them to begin.

““Excuse us.”” They apologized.

Okay, I won’t go into any details, but that was quite an uncomfortable experience.

“Haa, finally done.”

““Yes, now everything is up to you. As soon as you are ready, enter the bath and we will begin.””

Okay, I grabbed a mana potion and drank it. I then took a deep breath before picking up the core and unwrapping it. I’ve gotten quite used to the pressure, but it seems that the four women haven’t, as they are momentarily stunned.

“Are you okay?” I ask. “We can wait to start if you need.” I offer.

““Do not worry, Saintess. While we were caught by surprise, we are powerful enough to resist the pressure on our own. We will not let anything interrupt you.”” They promise firmly. It almost sounds like they are swearing that upon their lives.

I gulped. “Understood. Let’s begin.” I say as I enter the ‘bath.’

Huh, they were right, it’s not uncomfortable, quite the opposite in fact. After a moment to collect myself, they began, and my consciousness was taken away.

______

I, well, become aware inside the core. If, of course, what I’ve been told is correct. And, well, it’s not what I was expecting. I’m on a ’clear’ blue, water-like plane that feels like it expands endlessly. Though, I can’t actually see that far, as there is a sort of darkness that is surrounding me. It’s as if I was the only light within a dark fog.

As I moved around, the water-like ground rippled, but I didn’t feel anything when it did. Actually, I don’t feel anything else either. Even when I touched my face, all I experienced was raw resistance, without any sense of touch. I also noticed that I was wearing my priestess robes. Um, I guess that’s just how I picture myself? Or something.

As I wondered what I should do, I felt it. That familiar feeling. The abyss.

I’ve been found. Before I started to panically look around, I took a deep breath and started to flow my mana. As soon as I did, I could suddenly see far further, and with a quick check, I found it. The dragon.

Unlike when we fought, the dragon was completely uninjured. Despite that, it was all but cowering towards the edge of the darkness. Oh? How fun. It has already realized its inferiority.

“Submit, and you won’t suffer.” I demanded. “Resist, and I will beat you into submission.” It only growled in response. “Ha! This will be fun!” I shouted as my smile (that I didn’t even realize I had) grew.

I instinctively charged at the beast with a swing of my fist. When it hit, instead of doing basically nothing as expected, it actually sent the dragon flying. I guess this is how battles of wills go?

The dragon then got up and glared at me, so I just went over and punched it again. After we repeated this a few times, I noticed that I might somehow be losing. And apparently, the dragon’s glare can actually damage my mana. How’s the dragon doing then?

When I hit it again, I noticed a large chunk of mana being released. I see, so the battle of wills has us use our mana to damage our opponent’s mana.

I smiled arrogantly. “Ha, I’ve got a mana potion! You won’t be able to out damage my recovery! I am far stronger than you! Submit, your defeat is inevitable!” I command.

This time the dragon let out a roar. While it did drain a decent chunk of my mana, it drained far more from the dragon. Also, it seems that the dragon is barely recovering its mana, if it even is at all.

“Ignorant dragon, you are blind to the truth! I guess I’ll just have to beat it into you then!” I shout as I charged at the stupid dragon again. It didn’t even fight back, only glaring at me as I beat it up. I’d almost feel sorry for it, if I wasn’t having way too much fun to actually care!

“Ha, you’re nothing but a coward that only knows how to glare angrily! All bark and no bite!” Its glare continues to get angrier, but that does little to me. “Ha, get angry. More more! The angrier you get, the more satisfying my victory will be!”

At this point, my arrogant smile has become all but glued to my face. I’m having a blast harassing this pathetic drag- no, lizard! The Hero was right, this is just a lizard. A big one, yes, but a lizard all the same!

“Ha! How’s it like being the one chased, huh! You can’t do anything! Where’s your breath attack? Can’t use it? Of course not! You’re nothing but a stupid lizard!” I laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m feeling generous. As long as you submit to me, I will stop beating you up. I’ll even protect you! Gods know a weakling like you needs it.”

As I’m busy taunting the dragon, I suddenly noticed flames in its mouth.

“Uh oh!” I screamed as I leaped to the side, luckily dodging the attack. I stared at the dragon in shock. It, also, stared at me in shock. Then I noticed.

“HAHAHA!! TRULY ARE AN IDIOT! LOOK AT HOW MUCH MANA YOU WASTED! YOU TRULY ARE JUST A LIZARD WITH HOW DUMB YOU ARE!” I bent over laughing. I didn't even bother attacking, I was laughing so much. I just let it glare my mana away. The flames didn’t even linger on the ground!

“Aww, you poor thing, don’t worry, I’ll let you glare at me for a while. We all know you need a handicap.” I smirked, before bursting into laughter again.

After a while, though, I got bored. “Just give up already, this is getting boring!” I complained with a frown as I decided to continue my assault. When it roared in response I let out a frustrated sigh. Why won’t this loser give up already? Doesn’t it realize that it’s losing far faster than I am?

Haa, I don’t even know how long I’ve been fighting at this point. I’m not even tired, as the mana potion is oddly energizing, I’m just soo, borrrred.

Eventually, after what might have been hours of the dragon being too afraid to do anything but glare, it finally decided to do something different.

“Finally! I was so bored that I forgot to even taunt you. You better do something interesting, or I’m going to beat you up!” I demanded, the smile that I’d lost finally returning.

The dragon released its pressure again as it seemed to enter its final gambit. I easily shrugged off the pressure as I backed up and waited patiently. Soon, it became engulfed in flames, as it did during the end of our previous battle.

“Good! Let the real fight begin!” I cheered!

…

“What are you waiting for!?” I demanded. “You are just wasting mana!”

The dragon then gave me a surprised look as we both realized what was happening.

“HAHAHA! HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET! YOU CAN’T EVEN MOVE! HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO HIT ME FROM ALL THE WAY OVER THERE! HAHAHA!” I laughed. Man, this dumb lizard sure is dumb. Man, how was I ever afraid of it?

After laughing for a bit. “Submit. You’ve lost.” I once again generously offered.

The dragon then actually does! It even turns off its flames as it bows in submission.

“Good. Welcome to the winning side. Congratulations, while it took you a while, you finally realized the truth.” I say as I pat its head. “Let’s get out of here then.”