Preparations, Prophecy, and Mission.

The first thing I did after leaving Gilbert's house was go back to my clearing. Funny how it felt like I spent more time there than in the kingdom itself.

Next, I saw the rewards I earned from the stream for the mission in Kimetsu.

It hadn't been anything comparable to HOTD, but still a useful reward.

Around three hundred thousand SP for saving Tanjuro and another hundred thousand SP for getting the Kamado family to move.

About the "bond," Tanjuro had the highest "bond," which was eighty-seven percent. The rest of the Kamado family was in the seventy to eighty range.

I thought I might earn another Pylon, but I guess that was wishful thinking; the required ninety percent seemed more complicated to acquire than I thought.

Finally, since I hadn't killed any oni, the extermination missions were empty, but I got a bonus for saving Tanjuro's life: an extra reward beyond SP, a Nichirin.

Even though I wasn't a big fan of katanas, an extra weapon was always welcome, especially one effective against creatures of the night/oni/demons.

It was also a good reward because I managed to use the Analyze: Item on the sword, learning how it had been constructed and the forging process.

Interestingly, when I touched the Nichirin, it gained a dull red color, as if the color was "off," missing something to fully ignite.

The only theory that came to mind about why the sword was like this was that it didn't have the Demon Slayer Mark, but why it needed the mark to "activate" the sword I didn't know.

I ended up tossing the Nichirin into the inventory and started preparing some inks I wanted to use for the Humvee's Mystic Symbols, but stopped halfway when I had a better idea.

I would need a lot of gel to create the ink, and since the ink I wanted to use was mostly metallic, I would need a lot of gray gel...

Gel that I knew where to get.

-//-

[Slime Dungeon - Modes:

Classic Mode: Unlocked (100%) - Phantom Copy: Enabled

Expert Mode: Unlocked

Master Mode: Locked

Story Mode: Unlocked (WARNING!! HIGH DIFFICULTY - STREAM ONLY)]

-//-

Honestly, I didn't know whether to be scared or not by the warning of the "Story Mode" still existing even though I was much stronger than before, but I ended up ignoring it for now.

With a thought, my armor was on my body, and I had Houtengeki in hand.

"Let's see how I compare to my early days in Terraria..." Without hesitation, I clicked on "Classic Mode."

Moments later, I wasn't in my clearing anymore, but inside the dungeon.

"Here we go..."

[...]

POV: Helena Oakwood.

"Repeat the prophecy for me," I said, taking a sip of tea, trying and failing to alleviate my headache. "The vision too, if possible. Describe it again with as much detail as you can remember."

I didn't even want to look at myself in the mirror; I must look terrible with the dark circles from lack of sleep... fatigue was killing me too...

"Do you hate me by any chance?" I heard Alalia's voice echoing from the bed where she was lying. "Would you ask a person with trauma to keep retelling their trauma over and over again?" Her voice was somewhat dry, as if she were wondering how I could do that.

"If that trauma is the doom of a vision that is my kingdom in ruins and destroyed, then yes!" were the words I wanted to say, but they came out of the mouth of another person in the room, Charlotte.

The Princess didn't look well either; she seemed tired, as if she hadn't slept and eaten well for days. Which, given our situation, was probably true.

I couldn't blame her, as I was in the same state. It had been four days since Alalia had had this prophecy and vision; since then, I couldn't rest for a single second.

The fact that my daughter was in the damn city surrounded by the largest mana storm ever also didn't help...

I had to restrain myself from screaming in frustration. Luckily, Alalia's voice stopped me before I could.

"You two are mean! Evil! Monsters!" Alalia screamed as she flailed her arms and legs like a child throwing a tantrum. The pout on her face was just like a child's too.

Even with this, after this little tantrum, Alalia took a deep breath and put on a serious face. The Dryad could pretend, but she was just as worried as the two of us.

Without hesitation, Alalia began reciting the words that had stressed me out for four days, her voice seeming to echo from all sides.

~

"In the darkest night, where fear never passes..."

"A shadow rises, bringing disaster..."

"The skies weep in red, and death spreads..."

"In flames, the kingdom burns..."

"In blood, the ground floods..."

~

I had to physically restrain myself from trembling and running out of the room.

I felt like I was being watched, as if something evil were looking at me and could attack me at any second...

"Damn... What a shitty feeling..." I heard Charlotte mutter. I didn't reprimand her for her lack of manners or language, after all, I felt the same way.

I tried to ignore the bad feeling I was experiencing and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I failed at both.

In the meantime, I could see that Alalia seemed to tremble and shrink in bed, pulling the covers up over her small body like a child trying to hide from something.

Still, I could see that her eyes glowed slightly with mockery, seeing my state and Charlotte's state, as if to say: You made me like this, suffer with me!

Of course, before completely covering her head, hiding.

It took about a minute for the horrible feeling in the room to dissipate, and I, along with Charlotte, could breathe normally and return to normal.

Alalia took longer, about five minutes, but eventually emerged from under the covers, partially at least, leaving her whole body still under the covers and only her head poking out.

"You don't need to describe the vision again," I sighed as I spoke. "I know how it affects you; it was unfair of me to ask you that... More than I already had."

The Dryad shook her head in disagreement.

"I'll speak. It's good for us to keep the image fresh, to try to find details..." she hesitated before continuing. "Just... Open the window, let the Sun in..."

I did as she asked, walking to the window and pulling back the curtains, allowing the sunlight to illuminate the room.

This seemed to dispel the remaining bad omen that lingered in the room.

Alalia nodded before sighing and began recounting the vision she had, still not emerging from under the covers.

"It was dark, very dark, not just night, but the barrier... The barrier seemed tainted... As if something was covering it..." The barrier we had built to surround the kingdom in case of emergency.

"It was unsettling, frightening, even the barrier couldn't fully block the presence coming from outside the kingdom..." Alalia shivered slightly before continuing.

"I couldn't feel things properly in the vision, but whatever was out there, it was evil, totally malignant... As if all 'it' wanted was death..."

I raised my hand, stopping Alalia as she was trembling again, and handed her a drink. After a few minutes, when she calmed down, Alalia resumed her narration.

"I felt weak in the vision, powerless, for some reason, or else I could have helped..." She seemed bitter. "...We had no way to fight against it, you..." She pointed at me. "Were keeping the barrier up along with the old man..."

I heard Charlotte snort in the background at how Alalia referred to Hirael, after all, Hirael may be old, being one hundred and fifty years old, but Alalia was much older than him.

"... The rest of the precious gem-ranked fighters were on missions or had disappeared for some reason..." Traitors... A trap.

The Guild's traitors had sent our best fighters on fake missions, and those who remained were probably traitors...

She hesitated again, but after taking a deep breath, she continued.

"The platinum-ranked contractors weren't enough. Chacha also couldn't leave the barrier room since she was the only one protecting you." She pointed at me again. "And the old man, something about not being able to trust anyone in the kingdom..."

Traitors again! Why hadn't we, from the vision, done anything about the traitors?! How many were there?

"...The last thing I saw before the vision changed... Was the barrier breaking... Then... Nothing..." She stopped talking for a few seconds before continuing.

"We're in a carriage in this other vision... The carriage was moving quickly, without stopping or daring to slow down... It was pulled by the old man's summoned horses..." She trembled slightly again, once more, but continued. "Something was chasing us, that evil thing that was outside the kingdom..."

"Did you see what it was? Or did someone see and say it out loud?" I heard Charlotte's voice ask. "Who's in the carriage?" I asked.

Alalia hesitated and closed her eyes, as if thinking and concentrating, but sighed and shook her head.

"I couldn't see what it was, and no one dared to look. There was a barrier protecting the carriage, protecting from the presence of that... 'thing...'" She sighed and took a sip of tea before continuing.

"It was as if just the existence of 'it,' just the sight of that 'thing' affected everyone, hence the barrier..." She closed her eyes again, this time, frowning as she concentrated.

"There were few people in the carriage..." Alalia then began listing the people.

"I, you..." She pointed at me, without opening her eyes. "ChaCha..." She pointed at Charlotte. "Little Melissa was there too..." She shuddered, and I knew why.

"She had no arm, and looked bad... on the brink of death. Her not-boyfriend, as she likes to call him, was nowhere to be found..." It wasn't hard to figure out why.

I felt my hands clench in anger and helplessness... My daughter, my dear little daughter almost dead...

"And Dylan?" I asked quickly. "Was he there?" As I feared, Alalia shook her head, denying...

I had to hold back the tears that threatened to escape... This wasn't going to happen, I wouldn't allow it! Nobody would touch my babies!

"Who... Who else?" I heard Charlotte's voice behind me; I didn't need to turn around to know that she too was holding back tears.

"A two-tailed fox woman, whom I had never seen before... She seemed sad, something about not seeing her father for almost two months and not being able to say goodbye..." Alalia sighed before continuing.

"The Old Man was there too... but he looked tired, as if he could faint at any second... Everyone seemed like that..." Alalia hesitated, furrowing her brow even more, as if searching for something, someone.

She seemed to be unsuccessful, as she opened her eyes, which looked sad, tired, but mostly, fearful.

"No one else, just these people... Everyone else had been left behind..." In the realm... "Sorry... I have nothing else..." She sighed; I could see that there were small drops in the corners of her eyes.

"Don't blame yourself," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "You're the reason we can try to react." Without Alalia's visions, I fear the realm would have fallen long ago...

The atmosphere in the room had become somber, as if we were at a funeral... Which could very well be true, since, according to Alalia's estimates, this vision was of a near future, one or two months at most...

"One thing!" Alalia seemed to remember something important. "Before the vision ended, you said something, Heleninha." She closed her eyes, as if to remember the words correctly, and began to speak.

"You had said that: If we had knowledge of the traitors, the realm wouldn't have fallen so easily... How strange?" She seemed confused, just like Charlotte and me.

What did that mean? We had knowledge of the traitors; my baby had warned me about the information Devas had found...

Charlotte and I had already started cleaning the realm of them; we had arrested and interrogated several, and Hariel was currently hunting them with our most trusted men. How could this still happen?!

How did we not know about them in this vision?!

My thoughts were interrupted by someone knocking on the door, followed by a voice.

"Mom? Can I come in? I have something I want to talk to you about." It was Dylan.

The moment his voice sounded, I looked at Alalia and Charlotte.

Dylan was not aware of Alalia, and Charlotte and I looked terrible.

"One moment, son!" I shouted to Dylan and started fixing my face. Charlotte did the same, and Alalia, without hesitation, disappeared into the floor.

A few minutes later, I gave Dylan permission to enter the room.

He bowed, greeting Charlotte formally, before giving a small hug to the Princess when she said that if he continued, she would spread his embarrassing stories in the kingdom's newspapers for everyone to see.

After a brief hug from me, he sat down and began to speak.

"I want to know what's going on." He said without beating around the bush. "What's so serious that you can't send anyone to help Melissa?" He looked serious as he spoke.

It was the first time I saw my son with such a serious look, as if he were on a mission... He wasn't thinking of rescuing Melissa himself, was he?

I hesitated to tell the truth. Dylan was not aware of Alalia, explaining her existence was something I didn't want to do, let alone explaining her visions.

"The realm is in trouble... to say the least..." Charlotte began speaking on my behalf, with the last part whispered in a way that only I could hear because I was sitting next to her.

"What trouble? Are they the traitors Devas discovered? Or is it something else?" Dylan asked quickly and in succession.

Before I could answer, I saw the plants in the pots behind Dylan move, the branches moving abnormally until they formed the words: Ask him about Devas!

Devas? What did she want to know about him?... Actually...

"Some difficulties at a confidential level." I said in my Duchess voice, making Dylan briefly shrink before straightening up, looking at me in the eyes in a serious way.

He seemed ready to argue with me, something he had never done before, but before he could, I stopped him with my next words.

"But... even though I can't tell you what's happening in the realm, I can tell you what's happening in WinterHord..." I saw that my son seemed happy with these words, great!

If I couldn't prevent the fall of the realm, at least I could save my children by sending them away...

WinterHord might be having the biggest mana storm ever, but it was still something that, if treated in the right way, wasn't dangerous, after all, it was just snow...

Now, I just needed Devas to accompany Dylan; that would be perfect!

[...]

POV: Devas Asura.

I had gotten stronger, I knew that, but comparing the difference with something that was challenging for me before put things into perspective.

I had gotten much stronger.

The dungeon had been a walk in the park; I literally walked through the entire dungeon without a care, calmly killing the slimes.

Interestingly, as the name suggested, they were phantom, Phantom Copy.

They were still gray, but they were translucent, like Phantom, and much dumber than regular gray slimes.

They didn't seem to have the instinct they had before; they just seemed to move mechanically, like programmed bots. They weren't real either, as the moment I killed them, they just vanished into thin air!

They left no bodies, items, nothing! They even had their acidity; I was afraid that Houtengeki might be damaged, but they couldn't even do that...

It had been a disappointment, I won't lie. Not even the mimic existed in this version of the dungeon; the room where it should have been was empty!

After having two disappointments, I finished clearing the slimes from the dungeon and went to the boss room, where the Mother Slime was.

Upon opening the door, I instantly realized that things were different.

The chains that held the Mother Slime were nonexistent, and the Mother Slime itself was loose, in the middle of the room, standing still, not moving.

As I entered the room, the Mother Slime seemed to "activate" and jumped toward me without hesitation.

The Phantom Copy was as fast as the original Mother Slime, which for my current self was as slow as a snail.

I drew a common iron sword from the inventory and took a step to the side; the moment the Mother Slime got close, I raised my arm and cut with the sword.

So, calmly, the Mother Slime was split in two, its core destroyed, and its body disappearing into thin air...

There was no battle, no fight; I just killed it. The enemy that I had previously defeated using a cruel tactic, an enemy that could have easily killed me before, didn't even manage to touch me...

I had truly gotten stronger.

I sighed as I saw that the iron sword was intact; not even the Mother Slime had the corrosion it had before; I could have used Houtengeki if I wanted.

After killing the dungeon boss, the same completion window appeared, asking me if I wanted to exit and receive the rewards.

I didn't hesitate to press yes, returning to the clearing.

Collecting the rewards, they were completely inferior to the rewards from the first clear.

There were no other slime hook or another double jump tattoo or potions, just slime cores and gel. Twenty slime cores and two liters of gel, to be more specific.

"And there goes my potion farm..." At least I had the cores and the gel; both of which I could throw into the matrix and turn into "Artificial Sapphires" to feed the Heart Valve.

I looked at the (CHAT) after sighing one last time for the loss of my potion farm and read the messages.

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: It's disappointing that you couldn't get the potions, but look on the bright side! You have infinite gel now! Enjoy and put some in your hair, pull it back, it should look more stylish! (Iron Man stylist emote).

[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]: Don't do that! Your hair like that is much prettier! Don't change! (Little Red Riding Hood holding a stop sign emote)

[(MOD)Jarvis]: I timed it, Devas, it gave a total of 12 minutes, 23 seconds, and 26 milliseconds for you to complete the dungeon in classic mode. (Robot butler with a clock emote)

[AsuraLady]: I agree with Ruby, your hair like that is prettier! If you want to let it grow, I wouldn't be against it either! (Little lion with a pink mane smiling emote)

[BestToadSannin]: Listen to the girl there, Devas, let your hair grow, I can give you some tips if you want! (Frog with long spiked white hair emote).

[TohsakaHeiress]: Ignoring the stylists, do you think the dungeon creates the cores and gel using mana, or just takes them from somewhere else? (Chibi Rin writing on paper emote)

[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: Long hair is a xianxia protagonist thing! Let your hair grow and you'll find out that young masters will start appearing quickly! (Generic guy saying "You're courting death!" emote)

Twelve minutes for a complete clear with me going at a walking pace... It was a good time; if I were running at full speed, I could probably clear the dungeon in less than three minutes, maybe less.

The problem was the curves, as I couldn't turn quickly to avoid hitting... Speaking of which, I could use the dungeon as a training track... That way, I could farm cores and train my speed at the same time...

Alright, I know what I would do in my free time now...

"I'm not letting my hair grow, it's easier to take care of this way." I ruthlessly crushed the dreams of the (CHAT) people.

I had already let my hair grow in my adolescence, but it was too much trouble to take care of; with it short, it was simple and practical.

Besides the fact that letting my hair grow would only hinder me in battles; I wasn't like Jiraiya, who had a jutsu that could turn his hair into a weapon; it would just be a weakness.

Speaking of Jiraiya, I asked about his and the others' disappearance from NARUTO in the last few days; the answer was expected, but unwelcome: War.

The third ninja war had started, making Jiraiya and Minato have little free time; as a consequence, their summonings too.

I warned Jiraiya and Minato to be careful and, above all, to be careful with the children Minato took care of as Jonin sensei.

I may or may not have dropped some hints to not let Obito die and keep an eye on the Uchiha here and there, but that had nothing to do with anything.

Stretching before going into expert mode dungeon, I responded to Rin.

"If I were to guess, the dungeon, or the stream in this case, creates the cores and gel using mana." Probably transmutation, or some kind of First Magic with a discount. "Matter transmutation, or molecular based on mana, I'd guess."

Theoretically, I could do it myself; I just needed to know the molecular composition of what I wanted to transmute and have a way to make my mana transmute or copy that composition.

Theoretically, it was easy; in practice? I had no idea how to start.

I didn't rule out the possibility that the stream was just creating the cores out of nowhere, disregarding all laws and rules or pulling them from another reality, but it was less likely than the first options.

After finishing the classic mode of the dungeon a few more times, I thought about trying the expert mode, but I ended up concluding that it was better not to.

I felt that the difficulty was not as simple as addition, but rather something exponential. It was better for me to have corrosion and acid-resistant armor before trying my luck in this second level.

Well, it was something simple to do, as it was just something resistant to corrosion and acid; I should be able to make such armor in a few hours.

Looking at my inventory, I saw that I had a large amount of gray slime gel, so I started preparing the dyes I wanted.

The first dye was something I wanted not to paint the Mystical Symbols, but rather, the Humvee as a whole, something that would give the Humvee a better resonance with the Mystical Symbols.

After a few minutes of brainstorming with Snape and the folks from the (CHAT), I ended up coming up with a dye that I thought would be right.

-//-

[Metallic Dye (Scarlet Ore - Kimetsu)]

Type: MaterialRarity: Orange

Description: A dye made from a ore from another world.

Materials:

Gray slime gel (122 ml per cauldron)Green slime gel (32 ml per cauldron)Scarlet Ore - Kimetsu: (238 grams per cauldron)[…]

-//-

With the dye ready, I left more of it being prepared and started painting the Humvee.

It took me about two hours to finish painting the exterior and the bottom of the car and another hour to paint the interior, but it was worth it.

The dye had acquired a reddish-gray, matte color that gave the car a look I liked and that wasn't flashy.

I touched the car a few times thinking it could change color like Nichirin, but fortunately, that hadn't happened... Or unfortunately, since that could give some kind of special property to the Humvee.

With this part finished, I left painting the Mystical Symbols for later; first, I started modifying the Humvee's engine, or rather, Stark started.

"Solder this part here and then that one! No! Not like that!" I heard Cactus-Stark's voice shouting from behind me. "DS, I have to tell you, as a mechanic, you're a great streamer..."

I didn't know if I felt offended or not, I ended up deciding to ignore it and continued following Stark's instructions as best as I could.

Only after five hours, when the sky had already turned dark, did I finish the modifications to the Humvee. I only realized I was building an arc reactor after it was already done.

"Why?" I asked, wiping soot from my face. "Isn't this your greatest creation? Why offer it to me for free like this?" I said, looking at Cactus-Stark.

"For no special reason," Cactus-Stark said calmly. "I just don't want one of my few friends to die because he was dumb enough not to be able to build a car properly."

Before I could respond, Cactus-Stark's hologram had disappeared, leaving me alone in the clearing...

I couldn't help the smile that had appeared on my face and laughed lightly as I turned around.

"You asshole, since when is not being able to build a cold fusion reactor considered being dumb?" I said aloud to the stream, receiving several middle finger emotes from Stark.

With the engine part finished, as I was about to start painting the Mystical Symbols, I received a "Call" from Dylan.

"What happened?" I asked after tapping the EcoMirror twice. "I thought you were only going to call me tomorrow or the day after, did you find something?" I asked the guide.

"About what's happening in the kingdom, no, it's confidential, my mother's words." I heard Dylan's voice echoing from the EcoMirror.

"Confidential?" I murmured, what could be confidential that the Duchess couldn't, or rather, didn't want to tell her own son?

"Yes, unfortunately, something only the royalty, or in this case, the Princess and her confidants know." The guide's voice sounded bitter for a moment before he sighed and returned to normal.

"But I received some information from WinterHord. Basically, the city is now in the center of the mana storm, preventing the residents from leaving due to the danger that creating an exit would bring." Dylan explained.

"And the entrance? Is it possible? Or is the only option to wait for the storm to pass?" I don't think the people of WinterHord have enough food to survive until the storm passes.

"It's possible, but it's a bit risky, since the entrance window would be small, something around a few seconds, it would take someone or something very fast for it to happen..." Dylan said, leaving the sentence open.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was talking about.

"The Humvee... You want to get in there, don't you?" I asked. The Humvee was fast, Dylan had already seen the speed of the car; comparing it to the means of transportation in Terraria was ridiculous.

Well, at least the ones I knew. I was sure there was something like a magical carriage or something that was faster than the Humvee.

"It's my sister, Devas, I need at least to try to help her..." I heard Dylan's voice echoing, getting lower as he continued the sentence.

"Does your mother even know that you're planning this? Or do you plan to run away again?" I asked, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the idea.

"She knows, actually, it was her who came up with the idea, saying that, with the information you got about the traitors, few people were truly trustworthy, and these people are currently unable to leave the realm..." Dylan explained calmly, with a slight hope in his voice.

"So it would be left with you, who is surely reliable, and me? Why me? Why this trust?" I asked, after all, Dylan might have a high level of trust in me, but that didn't mean Helena should.

Of course, this is if I ignore the Dryad who, for some reason, thought I was her "hero"...

"Frankly, I don't know. I trust you, but I don't know why my mother seems to trust you, or why the Princess, Charlotte, also seems to have that trust." The Dryad was certainly the reason for this trust...

What did that thing want with me?...

"I know I'm asking a lot, asking for something dangerous, but you're the only person I can count on now, Devas, I can't leave my sister there, in that place..." I heard the guide's voice murmur, it was basically a plea for help.

"Dylan..." Just as I was about to ask for more information to decide whether to accept or not, my choice was basically thrown out the window by the message the stream sent.

-//-

[Emergency Mission (Worldwide) - (Chain Mission - Part 2)]

Mission Name: What's happening in Jille Village? (Completed!)

Mission Name (New!): What's happening in WinterHord?

Description: A massive mana storm is surrounding WinterHord, investigate the reason for such an event and return to Terraria quickly! (Priority!)

Reward: Life Crystal (3), Mana Crystal (3), ???, ???, ???, ???

[..]

Secondary Objective: Return to Terraria in less than three months! (Top Priority!) / Reward: ???

Secondary Objective: Keep Dylan Oakwood alive! / Reward: ???

Secondary Objective: Keep Melissa Oakwood alive! / Reward: ???

Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???

Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???

Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???

Secondary Objective: ??? / Reward: ???

-//-

I widened my eyes with the mission prompt and sighed. Was it too much to ask to paint my little car in peace, wasn't it?...

"Dylan, I want as much information as possible about WinterHord, residents, guards, fighters, everything! All routes there, whatever information you can get about this place, I want it." I practically ordered the guide.

If the town's baker cheated on his wife with someone, I wanted to know!

The guide took a few seconds to respond, and his voice sounded incredulous, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So... does this mean we're going?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes, we're going. Start preparing things, let Gilbert know too, we'll meet tomorrow, we should leave in less than a week, I just need to finish the preparations on my end..." I ended the call right after that and went back to working on the Humvee.

"Let's speed things up... Damn, I just wanted to paint my car in peace!" I muttered to myself.

It was obvious that something was happening, especially since the stream had literally put the secondary mission: Return to Terraria in less than three months as top priority!

Shit was about to hit the fan; I just didn't know from where, or why. All I could do was protect myself...

Before continuing to paint the Mystic Symbols on the Humvee, I took something from the inventory: a Life Crystal.

-//-

[Life Crystal]

Type: Material/ConsumableRarity: Amber

Use: Increases vitality by 10% when consumed.

Description: A source of pure vitality from the very planet itself, crystallized for consumption without consequences.

Ways to consume: Eating, absorbing vitality, ritual.

~ A breath of life from the core of the planet ~

-//-

There was a reason I hesitated to use Life and Mana Crystals: they increased vitality and mana by a percentage...

I had received this Life Crystal as a reward when I finished the mission in HOTD, and the description was the same, a ten percent increase in vitality...

But if I compare my current self with my self from that time, ten percent of my current self's vitality could very well be all the vitality I had before.

As for mana, the comparison was even worse. If I had about a thousand times more mana than before, it was little...

What would happen then if I didn't use these crystals now, but a year from now? How much more could I gain? Of course, I was sure there was a limit, but still, was it worth waiting... That is, until now.

Something was about to happen, in three months to be exact, as it was the date the stream had given me...

Was it worth waiting until the limit? Until the last second? What if something happened and I couldn't use the crystals? These were the doubts I always had when I thought about using them...

"To hell with it... I'll use them before going to WinterHord..." At least one of each, the other I would save...

Tossing the Life Crystal into the inventory, I sighed and finally went back to working on the Humvee.

"Five days... No, three..." In three days, I could finish all the Mystic Symbols and Runes I wanted to put on the car.

[...]

POV: Gilbert Jheut

"It's late, boy, what do you want?" I asked, opening the door to talk to Dylan.

"Don't tell me you came here to court my daughter?! I'll only allow that if you can beat me in a fight, don't think it'll be easy!" I lightly tapped my biceps as I teased.

"I may be old, but I can still teach some lessons to the young ones!... Well, some of them." Devas was a completely different story.

The Oakwood kid might not have noticed, or like my daughter, noticed little, but Devas had gotten stronger... Much stronger.

I've always been good at discerning things like that, how strong my opponent is, what their strengths and weaknesses are, it's what kept me alive all these years.

So, I knew Devas had gotten strong... If the him from before, who fought against the goblin army, was strong, at a level near a platinum-ranked adventurer, his current self was a different story...

The only person I could compare him to was the Duchess of Symbols in her youth, and even then, I didn't know who was more dangerous between the two...

What did that guy eat to achieve this? Could he share a bit with my old bones?

"What?! No! Have you been drinking, old man?!" The Oakwood kid's denial shout snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You're lucky my daughter is in her shop... If she heard you saying that, I don't even want to imagine what would happen..." I joked, laughing as I walked to the living room.

Well... I joked in parts, just like Dylan would if Robyn heard him saying something like that in front of her.

"So, what's the visit about then? Found something?" I asked as I poured coffee for both of us.

"Yes, not about the kingdom, but about WinterHord." The Oakwood kid went on to explain the recent events, leading up to the current point.

"So, Devas accepted then... How much time did he say?" I asked.

"Less than a week, he's probably finishing preparing the Humvee, as he told me before." Humvee?... Oh, right, that monstrosity he drove.

I didn't even want to imagine how absurd that thing would get, if it were like the owner, it would be something to watch...

"Alright... What do you need?... Actually, I'm coming too." I declared.

From what the Oakwood kid had explained to me, the things happening in the kingdom were serious, and WinterHord was probably just the beginning, it was better for me to get back in shape...

"Are you sure? Don't you think you're too old for this?" The Oakwood kid asked with a raised eyebrow. "And your back, is it better?"

"I'm good as new, kid! Dozens of medicinal baths heal anything!" I hadn't returned to youth, but I was much better than before.

"So, what are the preparations on your side?" I asked after a few seconds. "Will it be just the three of us or anyone else?"

"Just the three of us, from what I know, unless Devas decides to call someone trustworthy..." The Oakwood kid hesitated before sighing and asking. "And Robyn, she'll want to go, you know, won't she?"

"Tsk..." I clicked my tongue.

It was true, the Oakwood kid and Devas may have known my daughter for a short time, but it was easy to distinguish what her personality was like.

The moment she found out I was going, she would jump on board without thinking, especially after the Jille fiasco...

"Four people then." I murmured... "We'll need preparations, armor, weapons, supplies..." I began listing.

"How long did the Duchess say was expected for this mission?" A mission from the Duchess, who would have thought I would do something like that one day, especially in my old age...

"Three months, at least, that's what my mother said..." The Oakwood kid explained. "But if I were to guess, it shouldn't take that long... Two months at most, maybe even less."

"Hmm..." I hummed lightly. "Alright, still, it's a long journey..." Funny, the last time I planned such a trip for a mission, Robyn hadn't even been born, and here I was now, doing the same years later.

After a few minutes of conversation, I bid farewell to the Oakwood kid. A few minutes after he left, Robyn arrived home.

"I'm going on a mission in a week, daughter," I told Robyn, who was reading on the couch, causing her eyes to widen.

"Have you gone crazy? Are you finally senile?" How rude, I wasn't that old.

After explaining what the Oakwood kid and I had talked about, her response was as expected.

"I'm going with you, got it, old man?" She exclaimed.

"Fine," I simply said.

"Heard well? Don't even try to-." She blinked in confusion, finally processing my words. "You said fine?"

"Yes, fine, you can come."

"Are you running a fever? Ate something spoiled?" My daughter asked me, making me scoff.

"It's just easier to give you permission and let you come than to worry about you following us from afar." I explained while laughing, dodging a pillow she had thrown at me.

Honestly, I wouldn't have let Robyn come if it were any other occasion.

As strong as she might be compared to an ordinary person, she wasn't a contractor, and even with her animals that could protect her, it would still be dangerous...

But with Devas there, I guess it's acceptable...

In fact, as absurd as the Oakwood kid's claim that it would only take a month to complete this mission sounded, I agreed with him.

With a gem-ranked contractor on our side, that time was acceptable, as absurd as it seemed...

"Just don't stare at Devas for too long, if you like him, just say it!" I joked while dodging more pillows being thrown at me.

"I don't like him!"

"Your blushing face says otherwise, daughter..."

It was good to savor moments like this, moments of peace...