Ren is in bed. Her injuries are recovering nicely enough. Today she is getting out of bed. She cautiously stands on her feet to check the stability of her ankle. It seems manageable. Now that she is somewhat mobile it’s time for her to work through her various appointments. The first appointment on her docket is Sally and Velaura.
“Ready Ren?”
“Ready Sally.”
“What’s the point of this?” Velaura says.
Ren, Sally Vert, Velaura Albrinter and Unwo Albrinter were in the Vert family home. They were seated at a dining table. It was a quaint little place. Mila Vert had baked some crackers for the 3 as they sat around with a board game Sally found and bought. Sally was really excited while Ren was still covered in bandages. Velaura also had a bandage on her cheek and arm, but she wasn’t covered in injuries like Ren.
“It’s Miracle Worker! It’s a board game you play with friends.” Sally said excitedly. “Each of these is one of the hundred of hundreds of gods. First, this is the play mat. Then you pick your favorite god. They become the leader. Then you flip these plague cards. When you fix the plagues, you keep the card and score points and stuff. You get stuff by assigning worshippers to perform works. You can also use the miracle written on your god card to do super cool stuff. Use the stuff to answer prayers and fix plagues and you win!”
“I didn’t know they made a game about the gods!” Unwo looked at the display in awe.
“Cool.” Ren said flatly.
“Ugh. The gods. I don’t want to listen to another sermon.” Velaura leaned her elbow on the table as she slumped her unbandaged cheek onto her hand.
“Don’t be so disrespectful!” Unwo gave her little sister a disapproving look.
“It’s a game! It’s fun!” Sally says. “Here! Pick a god!”
Sally spread a deck of cards on the table. Each one denotes a different god that is worshipped.
“Why gods? Why couldn’t it be regular eastern light novel characters?” Velaura pouted. “The gods aren’t even good at their jobs.”
“This is a worker placement game about doing the gods’ job. Why don’t you show them how it’s done?” Ren says.
“Ren! That’s disrespectful too!” Unwo points at Ren.
“Oh, fine! I’ll pick Sathernee, Goddess of Magic. I’ll show her how to properly handle the great wonders of magic.” Valuara says as she picks a card from the pile.
“Hmm… then I pick Morcanass, God of Messages!” Sally picked another card.
“Oh! How am I to choose?” Unwo looks at the array of gods depicted as little character cards.
“We can both pull from the deck randomly.” Ren says.
“Oh! I suppose that may be the only way.” Unwo says.
Ren shuffles the cards and spreads them out face down for Unwo to choose. Unwo picks one at random. She reveals the card.
“Oh my gods! I got Lodomvayle, Goddess of Shooting Stars!”
Ren also picks a card at random.
“Oh! It’s Vaesiliya, Goddess of Fate.”
“Okay! Now it’s time to play!” Sally says.
The four of them have fun playing multiple rounds of the game. At some point, Mila Vert asked the Albrinter bodyguards standing outside to help her haul back some groceries. She cooked a big dinner and shared it with the 6 bodyguards so they were happy enough. They played into the long hours before everyone had to return home. It was a pleasant friendly gathering after a battle fraught with danger. It was a pleasant day to be enjoyed. The next day, Ren paid a visit to the Albrinter estate.
“You prioritized a play date with my sisters over my summons?” Lutz Albrinter was resting the palm of his hand on his face.
“I was summoned by three friends. Two of them were your sisters. Of course I did.” Ren says in her usual tone of voice.
Chancellor Luard Luminite is also in the room and is laughing to himself at the discussion.
“Moving on. You have dutifully done us a great service. Now, two things. Firstly, you did well against Parnidot. His insurrection stopped after you went to work. For that you have earned your reward. But before I grant you that, please explain what Mackamer was doing there.”
“Mackamer was totally a vampire.” Ren says. “He did magic stuff and made the sky bleed. Before that, he looked like he was using a salve or cream to stop the thing where vampires burst into flames in the sun.”
“He can do that? The sun is, like, the one thing that shuts down vampires without exception.” Lutz says.
“Woah, woah, woah!” Luard says. “This is news to me. This is a threat to national security. Vampires that don’t do the vampire thing when they step in the sun? Do you have, like, a sample of this stuff?”
“No. I was knocked out after I won.” Ren says.
“This Mackamer has a home and property around here, right?” Luard asked.
“Yes. But before you start pulling every building he owns apart, Ren that’s a bold claim. One you made before you met me or even Velaura.” Lutz says.
“Yes, but I found the answer to how he debunked my claim. It was alchemy.” Ren says.
“Well, I’m not sure we should be committing resources and manpower to an investigation that has already-”
“Lutz, I know you’re doing things by the book, but I’m a chancellor. I say the word and the authority of the queen will lift every stone in this town to uncover his daytime trick.”
Lutz shrugs his shoulders.
“If you say so.”
“Besides, I’m basically on vacation until you decide to leave.”
“Right. That leads me to the next thing I need.” Lutz says. “For the time being, we’ll call both of the quests a completion.”
Lutz waves his hands in the air and messages appear in Ren’s mind.
Quest Complete
Stop Parnidot’s Inquisition
Quest Complete
Stop Mackamer’s Schemes
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Level up!
Ren
Level 10 Samurai -> Level 11 Samurai
Strength: 31 -> 34
Magic: 37 -> 38
Agility: 25 -> 27
Vitality: 27 -> 30
Level up!
Ren
Level 11 Samurai -> Level 12 Samurai
Strength: 34 -> 37
Magic: 38 -> 39
Agility: 27 -> 29
Vitality: 30 -> 33
Level up!
Ren
Level 12 Samurai -> Level 13 Samurai
Strength: 37 -> 40
Magic: 39 -> 40
Agility: 29 -> 31
Vitality: 33 -> 36
“Woo!” Ren raises her arms up and cheers with a tone of voice that does not seem enthusiastic enough to be a cheer.
“As for the rewards promised,” Lutz continues. “I have one prepared. As for the other, I'm hoping we can come to an arrangement. You see, what I have for you today is a broach pin adorned with the Albrinter family crest. It denotes that you are a friend of our noble house. It also comes with a simple magic. You can use it as a lantern light without the need for oil.”
He hands her a pin. It is a broach of gold with the Albrinter family crest adorned on a pin. One of the voices in Ren’s head easily notes this as a magical item that works as Lutz described.
“Now, I know that’s a bit disappointing, but that is the extent of what I can afford you here and now. However, I have another idea. It’s not a magic item, but if it pleases you, I am owed a favor in the capital and I am happy to call in that favor to pay you twice over. Maybe thrice over if I catch the guy on a good day. If it pleases you, I would be happy to arrange you a grander reward there, or I can give you 50 gold and a broach for slaying 2 enemies plaguing my family.”
“Sure, I can go to the capital.” Ren says.
“Excellent! Now, in light of that decision, would you be interested in escorting me and my family to the capital?”
“Is it a quest?”
“Yes.”
“I can do that.”
“Great. We’re still waiting to see when we can head out. At the moment, Gilligan has the worst of the injuries. Thankfully, you saved him. While I would love to give him time to fully recover, a fire has been lit beneath us to attend a meeting at the capital.”
Luard Lumanite snaps his finger and speaks up.
“You know, the Golden Autumn festival should be kicking off soon. How about you and the family get together for the holiday. It gives Ren here a chance to go shopping during the festival too. You pay off a girl with a shopping trip or something during festival season.”
“That sounds like a fine idea.” Lutz says.
“Just don’t let Millia see you.” Luard chuckles.
“Shut up, you.” Lutz shakes his head. “Anyway, we might just give you a day’s notice before we head out. Just trying to get Gilligan in a traveling in carriage sort of condition.”
“Cool.” Ren says. “If that’s all, I need to see my next appointment.”
Lutz and Luard give Ren a confused look.
“You’re keeping appointments?” Lutz says.
“Well, no. They just can’t leave until I speak to them.” Ren says.
“Oof. Sorry to keep them waiting. We’re done here. I’ll hire a messenger to deliver a letter to you when we’re ready.” Lutz waves her off.
Ren heads outside of the town walls. She approaches two demonic figures by the riverside with a makeshift clothes line. Praisegg and Felloice seem to be doing laundry. Felloice was eyeing up and down Praisegg’s form. Praisegg wore a thin dress shirt that accentuated her figure. She was trying to clean blood, dirt and ashes from a blazer that she wears over that shirt. Felloice just watches longingly as water and light cascades off her figure.
“Hello!” Ren shouts as she approaches the two.
“Oh, she’s finally here.” Praisegg flicks water off the blazer she was working on.
Felloice snaps to attention.
“Oh, yeah! Hey!”
“I will now gift you with custom spells using my mastery of magic.” Ren says to the two.
From her hand magic shifts into strange shapes and lights.
“That’s just arcane magic.” Praisegg says.
“No. I’m just using arcane magic to show you.” Ren then draws Warumasa the Demon Blade. “Watch what happens when I apply demonic power into this.”
Ren flicks Warumasa at the magic in Ren’s hand. It glows with an eerie red light and becomes something sinister.
“Oh! Looks promising.” Praisegg gives her a grim smile.
“A spell to create copies of yourself. Using your aspect of pride, this should work better. This spell wasn’t made for Warumasa after all.”
Praisegg looks it over.
“What’s the name of this spell?”
“It doesn’t have a name. I invented a new spell for demonic purposes for you. The name is yours to make.”
“Hah! That’s some service!” Praisegg laughs out loud.
Praisegg then raises a hand.
“Cadre of Vanity!”
As Praisegg speaks those words, two identical looking forms appear across from her. One brushes her hair back while the other pulls on the collar of her dress shirt.
“Not bad. Not bad!” Praisegg looks the two over. “It looks like the amount of clones I can make are dependent on the way I manifest. The guy I’m using to manifest is a bit above average, but not great. But to make two clones of myself with just someone a bit above average is still impressive.”
Praisegg raises her hand. Demonic energy gathers in her hand and a scythe appears. Her clones do the same and they produce similar scythes. As Praisegg experimented with her clones, Ren showed Felloice the less impressive stamina recovery spell.
“Alright. Looking good.” Praisegg shouts.
With a snap of her finger, Praisegg’s clones vanish.
“Looks like we’re done here.” Praisegg says. “It was rough going, but it all paid off in the end.”
“Cool.” Ren says.
“Tell you what, give me good shit like this and you can summon me whenever you want. I won’t charge you a soul either.”
Praisegg narrows her eyes at Warumasa on Ren’s hip.
“But not you, though. You’re an asshole.”
“I’m not sure he heard you. He’s arguing with a wizard now.” Ren says.
“Is he an asshole too?”
“Yep.”
“Then they were made for each other.” Praisegg chuckles. “Alright. I’m out of here. Felloice, you good?”
“Oh, uh. Yeah, but…” Felloice hesitates for a moment. “Praisegg, would you happen to be in the market for a partner in crime?”
“A partner in crime?” Praisegg gives her a confused look.
“Yes. I think that working together, we can do great things. If you’re open to the idea, I mean.”
Praisegg rests her scythe on her shoulder. After a moment, she gives Felloice a vibrant smile.
“Ah, sure. Why not?” Praisegg holds out a hand toward Felloice. “Let’s do it, partner.”
Felloice rushes over to grab Praisegg’s blazer from the clothes line. She rushes over and gives a gentle smile as she takes Praisegg’s hand. With that, the two of them erupt into a black energy. When the energy vanishes, two different forms appear. One was a man in armor. He seems to be a mercenary that joined Mackamer on the demon’s side. The other was Maloon Pras. Maloon fell to her knees. She had a few cuts and she seems to have been burned. The man looks around very confused. Maloon looked like she was in pain.
“Urgh! Damn it!” Maloon drops to her knees and hurriedly stumbles back up.
“Huh? What? Wait, you’re one of those weird church people!” the mercenary stammers.
They both drew their weapons and prepared to fight by the river side. Ren decided to use the skill that was designed to defeat enemies who had drawn their weapons before her.
“Blade flashing, steel drawn.
Your blade sang first, feel cold light.
In a blink, you die.
Form 1: Flash”
In the blink of an eye, Ren brought her katana up out of it’s scabbard and down onto the mercenary’s shoulder. The blade didn’t cut all the way through like it would normally do, but blood shoots out of the man like a geyser. Maloon goes wide eyed at the sudden eruption of blood.
“Shit!” Maloon leapt back and threw a knife at Ren.
Ren side stepped the knife and rushed Maloon with a normal attack. Maloon responded by using a skill.
“Dark Step!”
At those words, Maloon vanished from Ren’s sight. It is then that Ren raised a fist. On her left hand she wore two rings. One was the Shield Bound Ring of Protection. It was a ring she was awarded by Mackamer himself back when she defeated his cohort Lenard. She had since modified the ring with her own enchantment. The other was a ring she made from goblets and ritual daggers imbued with magic from some sort of magic workshop. It had not seen use until now. One of the voices in her head had dubbed this ring the Ring of Assassin Chasing.
Maloon had used her Dark Step skill to get across the river in a flash. If Ren wanted to pursue Maloon, she would need to cross the river. Unfortunately for her, this distance was nothing to Ren. A red string of sorts spanned across the river from Ren’s ring to Maloon. Ren turned to face Maloon across the river. She gripped her sword in both hands and took a ready stance.
“Cut upon the wind.
Beyond my blade, you shall fall.
With my steel, you die.
Form 4: Blade Wave”
Ren slashed across and a cut rushes across the river right at Maloon. The definition and concept of the term “cut” had found it’s way to Maloon and slashed her in half at the waist. Maloon’s two halves fell to the ground unmoving. Wordlessly, Ren flicked the stale blood off her blade before looking the mercenary’s body over for loot. She found some loose coins, but it wasn’t anything notable. She then swam across the river to look over Maloon. Ren searched both halves of her too. She finds a magically enchanted dagger, a few slips of paper that appear to be paper bombs and a fine hairpin. It is a fork hairpin made of silver. Green gems are inlaid and adorn it like an art piece. Ren silently took the hairpin and froze in that moment.
“LIKE YOU CARE ABOUT HER FINANCES! I SAW THE WAY YOU LOOKED AT THAT BOOK ON POOP SPELLS!!!” Warumasa shouted inside Ren’s head.
“AND I SUPPOSE YOU AND YOUR 100 YEAR TRAINING UNDER A WATERFALL REGIMENT IS FOR HER SAKE!!!” Apherward shouted back.
“WELL YOUR WEIRD ASS WIZARD DANCES ARE FAR FROM A WORKOUT ROUTINE FOR HER!!!”
“Oh, sweet girl you have graced me with your touch.” a sweet velvety feminine voice speaks itself into Ren’s mind. “Let me grace you with a grand vision. Topple the systems that chain the common-”
“MY RITUALS ARE NOT DANCES AND ARE NOT A WORKOUT ROUTINE!!!” Apherward shouted over the new voice.
“H- hello? Girl? Why are there two men arguing in your mind?” the new voice asked.
“H- hello? Girl, is that you? Ah! Finally! You surface into your own mind! Quickly! What’s more important to you! True spellcraft or some dumb weighted clothes?” Apherward spoke to the new voice.
“Oh, uh- huh? Wait, what’s happening?” the feminine voice stammers.
“No! Forget that! Girl, you need to eat more proteins and vegetables. Then I need you to commit to a regular workout routine. Now, it doesn’t need to be daily right now. You can slowly work your way to acclimating to more intense workouts!” Warumasa explained.
“Woah, wait. Wait. Wait! Are you the girl?” the new voice says.
“What? No! I’m Apherward. Mote of Dark Secrets and all that. I’m the book at your hip.”
“Right. Introductions. I’m Warumasa the Demon Blade. I’m the sword at your other hip.”
“Woah! Woah! Woah! What?” the feminine voice stammers.
“What?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Okay, I’m Agnoir, the Venom of Rebellion. I’m the hairpin you just picked up. You are the girl, right?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Oh no. Not again.”
“Another one?”
“WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?!”
