NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15: Chapter 14
The next morning, the receptionist is going through the paperwork from yesterday, flicking through each page, here it is. Let's see, she also lives at the palace…! The receptionist starts shaking in pure terror, w-w-what have I done? Am I going to die? I need to run!
The receptionist has been so lost in her own thoughts that she hasn't noticed the person at the counter trying to get her attention. The person slams their fist on the counter and yells, "IS YOUR BRAZENNESS THE ONLY THING THAT PROPERLY WORKS???".
The shouting brings the receptionist back to reality. She looks to the person shouting and sees Liza, causing her to panic, sweat profusely but trying to keep her cool, "h-h-how can I h-h-help you?", I'm dead, aren't I?
Liza, ticked off, "AS I SAID, I want to accept this request". The receptionist takes a second to process, wait…I'm not going to die? She then speedily does the paperwork and addresses Liza as politely as possible, "understood. The party, Elemental Busters, has been officially cleared to take on the request of hunting Bouncing Rats. I'd be happy to confirm any kills you have if you would be so kind as to bring them to me". Liza just tuts at the receptionist in disgust and then promptly leaves the building, leaving the receptionist bewildered, what…did I do wrong this time??? Am I going to die for being polite???
Liza rejoins with Ren, and they head out, Liza explaining the request she accepted, "I decided to accept a request asking for the extermination of Bouncing Rat monsters in the forest just south of the town".
Ren, "oh, so this world has rats too", bouncing? Liza, "there are no high-level monsters in that forest, the highest being a mid-C rank monster. Bouncing Rats are the lowest of the low, being low-C rank. They are pests that chew through anything they come across. That forest is used for foraging, so they are a pain for everyone. They chew up everything of a plant, seeds and all, so left alone, the forest would die. They have no offensive capabilities but are specialists at evasion due to their bouncing. This is what makes them perfect pray for new adventurers".
Ren, "what exactly do you mean by bouncing?". Liza, a bit troubled, "what do I mean? Em…when they hit a surface, they…bounce? I'm not sure what else to say". Ren, "so they aren't just in a constant state of bouncing?".
Liza, "oh…based on their name, I guess you could think of it that way. When on their feet, they aren't bouncy, but their body itself is bouncy. When startled, they jump in a random direction and form a ball. They keep bouncing until they're safe. Blunt weapons are useless against them, so blades or arrows are needed".
Ren, "hm…interesting. I see why you say it's an easy qu- request. But is there anywhere I could go to train first? Just so I can get a better feel for my lightning". Liza, "every adventurer has access to the army's training grounds from yesterday if they pay a fee". Ren, a bit apprehensive, "we have to return to there?". Liza, "training outside of designated areas is frowned upon. And in the worst-case scenario, your lightning could cause panic. They could even think an invasion is on the way".
Ren sighs, "guess you're right. Lightning can really scare people". Liza intertwines her fingers with his, "natural lightning is always scary, and yours is basically that. Let's go to the training grounds and not cause a fuss", I always wanted to hold hands like this with my lover one day. It came true much faster than I thought. For a moment, I thought that raising a boy and shaping him to be the man I desired was going to be my only choice. I'm really glad it didn't come to that…desperate last resorts are better not used.
Ren, still being unfamiliar to girls, awkwardly returns her grasp, causing a smile to form on Liza's face. There merrily walk hand-in-hand, Liza striking up the conversation, "Electromaster…a pretty cool name. Not that you need it, but do you plan to learn anything else to go with it? I'd take a while though".
Ren, "I'd rather focus on the things I have before considering other stuff". Liza, "'things? What else do you have?". Ren, "oh, I didn't tell you. There are these powers known as 'Gifts'. I have the Gift of Ultra Instincts". Liza, "Gifts? Ultra Instincts? What do you mean?".
Ren, struggles to think of a coherent explanation, "hm…that's a very difficult question to answer. Unique's are specific to this world, but Gifts are like...Unique's, but for every world. For Ultra Instincts, hmm...try to imagine you're at a crossroads with 10 paths. There is only one right path that leads to your destination. Ultra Instincts is like getting a feeling that makes me feel confident as to which one is the right path. It can also help me determine other things, like if a person's character is trustworthy, or if something bad is happening".
Liza, in disbelief, "what with that? Sounds amazing! So if I ask you any question, would you be able to answer?", as she looks at him with expectation, sparkles in her eyes, just how much better can he get? I already thought I'd landed the jackpot.
Ren, "that depends on the question. Stuff like maths questions are possible, but they will take a while and it will only be the answer. But some questions I will just know the answer to instantly, such as yes or no questions. I actually used my Instincts to determine where to go in the morning after the minotaur attack, and they led me to you".
Liza with a happy smile, "so according to your powers, we're destined to be together!", that really gives me a confidence boost about the relationship. Ren, "well...I can't deny it", come to think of it, will my instincts lead me to more comrades to fight the Demon King? ...yes, yes, they will. Good job, Instincts!
Liza, as if she was reading his mind, "let's try your instincts to find other strong people to join us", it would be far better than me aimlessly searching for them. Ren, "that's a good plan, exactly what I was thinking". Liza, "so, where to next?". Ren, "…did you forget I'd like to train first", I need as much as I can get. Liza, "ah, almost forgot about that".
Once at the training grounds, they pay the fee to a female guard and gain access to the grounds for training purposes. Ren, noticing Liza gave the guard two coins, "are you also going to train?". Liza, "I'm going to do training to raise my magic capacity", might as well while I'm here. I'd also rather not be away from you for too long.
Ren, "oh, I should have figured there would be something like that. How do you do it?". Liza, "hm...basically, I'll just be releasing magic until I'm almost empty". Ren, expecting more, "…that's it?". Liza, "yep".
Ren, "I see", If that's all you have to do to raise your capacity, then that's very handy, "I'm going to try some things before trying that type of training". Liza, "I see. Good luck", as she goes to a corner of the grounds with a slight slope, and lies on it, I can train here and have a look at what he's doing. The crowd from yesterday are there again, but they dare not approach. They just hiss at Liza like cats.
Liza points her hand up and starts releasing fire towards the sky. Some of the training soldiers look in awe, some shocked, and the crowd loses their ability to hiss. Liza then boosts its fire power by adding wind, creating a torrent of fire heading towards they sky. The soldiers go from awe to jaw dropped, the crowd trying to fade into the background as if they never existed in the first place.
Ren was watching Liza in complete awe like the others, she really must be strong compared to most if that display from yesterday is anything to go by. Ren then begins testing out his power, shooting out bolts of lightning, the same power as the one from yesterday, at targets used for arrow practice, causing them to burst into pieces, since coming here, there's been this weird flowing sensation in my body. It was really easy to notice because it wasn't there before coming here. It was natural to deduce that it was magic, and directing its flow to make that lightning bolt yesterday was easy as pie.
He then starts shooting off lightning bolts into the sky in different directions instead of the targets, testing the firepower of each one. He then fires off the most powerful one he can at the moment directly upwards. Everyone was observing him once he started, but their minds can't even process what he was doing or even how. They don't know how to react and just stand there, watching something that shouldn't be possible unfold.
This resulted in him using up a lot of magic, so he heads back to Liza, who stopped to rest up as well, feels like I have a figurative weight in me that's gotten much lighter. Liza, "that lightning bolt just now was the biggest I've ever seen", I almost fainted from surprise.
Ren, "your fire…tornado was amazing. I've never seen anything like it", not that I ever could have seen anything like it before now. Liza, "It's quite easy to use up your magic quickly, that's why it's best to incorporate the magic into techniques like using it in a short burst or making a fire sword, raising the firepower but reducing the cost output. Running out of magic is detrimental in battle, but for training, using up your magic is the quickest way to raise capacity. You should recover some magic within a few minutes, and a full recovery should take at least an hour. However, you recover more slowly if you use almost all of it up, so it's best to train in increments while our magic is low but without running out of it to get the most optimal results. And be careful, because if you forcefully use up every last bit of magic, you will die".
Ren, "very good to know, thanks for telling me. I plan to do some shaping of my lightning next, so I shouldn't need as much as earlier...hopefully. I didn't even use the majority of my magic earlier, so I should be good to go soon".
Liza's eyes sparkle in excitement, "shaping, like making a sword or shield?", you're already capable of that? Ren, "well, something like that. Maybe because I have complete control over lightning, I didn't consume much magic unless I tried to. If I increase my capacity, I should be able to do some amazing things. I even came up with a way to train using my lightning and capacity at the same time", well, I came up with it when I was first thinking of what power I wanted in the first place.
Liza, "normal training is like that. I'm just training my capacity because I wanted to see what you were doing". Ren, "O-oh. I see", I shouldn't get ahead of myself thinking I thought of something useful, of course training both exists...
They each go back to their respective training, this time Ren trying to shape his lightning. He starts off small, making a basic small knife, then a dagger, then a tantou, then a katana, wow, even I think this is overpowered. Complete control over lightning is basically cheating...right, let's try this. This could be the most important thing I can do with this power.
He creates a circle of lightning close to the ground and maintains rotating it...but nothing happens. He tries changing various things about the circle; it's size, speed, shape, and intensity. Eventually, small specs of something start to lift off the ground, they train with swords here, so there should be metal particles in the soil. I saw this in an anime, but I'd didn't know if it was actually a possibility. I guess creating an electromagnetic field is a given when my Unique's name is "Electromaster". Now that I've gotten a feel for it, let's see how far I can take it.
The little specs then start spinning faster and faster in the air until they can't gain any more speed no matter how much he tries. The specs start forming a rotating disk, like a saw blade. He then aims the disc at a nearby tree and pushes it towards it, cutting the tree like a chainsaw, but it's not as fast as he thought it would be, and the cuts are quite crude, trying to maintain its shape while making it rotate fast enough to cut is too strenuous. Creating an electromagnetic field works, but that's not the same as controlling lightning, so I can't do as mush as I can with just lightning itself. This aspect of it goes to the shelf.
He then recreates the katana he made from earlier and tries using it on the tree, it's less like cutting and more like melting. He then tries rotating the lightning along the blade's edge as fast as he currently can, this is more difficult. Multitasking to make the katana itself, and rotating the lightning along the blade as thin and quick as possible is definitely possible. It's powerful, but takes a lot of concentration. Losing concentration for a second results in the blade becoming dull like earlier. It's more like cutting with burn aftereffects, but much better than just melting. I could probably use this, but it will be a bit of a pain.
Lastly, he tries making a javelin and throws it at what's left of the tree. The javelin travels at a slower speed than expected, maybe a bit faster than a baseball pitch. Upon contact, it causes a massive explosion with some lightning shooting out every which way, blowing what's left of the mangled tree to bits.
Ren observes the results and contemplates things, once the lightning leaves my hand, it maintains my will in what I wanted it to do until it comes into contact with something, then it returns to regular lightning. I wanted the javelin to stay a javelin and get stuck in the tree, but it dissipated on impact. My lighting is also slower than regular lighting but regains its regular speed once it comes into contact with something. A regular bolt is faster than the javelin, but still not as fast as natural lightning.
Liza, I have no idea what he's doing...but it's amazing. Being able to create so many things is nothing short of pure genius. And that fire power! No doubt he's a prodigy of prodigies. Ren returns to Liza, "I'm done. I tried a lot of what I thought about. I can train my capacity from anywhere so we can leave whenever you want", it doesn't take as much concentration as I thought.
Liza, "we should probably continue finding more people to join us, so we should talk about that". Ren, "we have plenty of time before dinner". Liza flashes him a cheeky grin before spinning on her heel to head to the exit, "we should talk about it during and after dinner". Ren gets what she's implying, stiffly following after her.
On the way out, they are stopped by a female guard at the exit. The guard holds out her hand, "compensation for the targets you destroyed and damage to the ground". Ren looks apologetic as Liza takes out her coin bag, "how much?". The guard flashes a smirk, "1000 thousand yero…or 10 creampies".
Ren completely freezes, scary! Women are scary! Liza scowls at the guard and adjusts her spear, intimidating her, "I'll give you one chance to give us the correct price". The guard flinches at the unexpected resistance, "y-you dare threaten a guard? You will be enslaved if you lay a hand on me".
Liza looks her dead in the eyes, her gaze unwavering and serious, "but you won't get the chance to see that happen since your head will roll. I may become a slave, but you will be dead. Are you sure you want to do this?". The guard can't help but back down, this chick's crazy!, "8 yero".
Liza hands the guard the money and drags Ren away from there. Once they are a safe distance away, Liza stops and looks back at Ren, "the guards are not necessarily on your side, so you have to be careful of everyone". Ren looks at her, eyes full of emotion, "I'm so thankful you're here. Who knows what would have happened to me until now if you weren't here". Liza can't help but feel her heartstrings being pulled on as her body also heats up in response to his words. Unable to not act on her impulses, Liza drags Ren back to the inn.