Chapter 245 - Vol. 4 - 44

The Next Day

"Keep track of your own movements," Sinneah said. "You want to keep yourself under control." 

I still haven't gotten better at that?  Ash wondered.  Or... Am I just too distracted?

She and Sinneah were continuing to practice Tomoe's Divine Arts. To Ash's right, everyone else was sitting at the nearby benches. Yumi was reading from one of her books, Keiko and Luvine were watching the half-demon, Metsumi and Satsuhiro were talking with each other, and Opah was playing with some doll. With the festival out of the way and no other strange interruptions from the Arcane's Daughter, Ash was allowed to continue her work. With Keiko's help, she'd made a bit of a schedule for herself. 

She decided she would spend all morning working on this with Sinneah, then she'd leave and head to the south, to turn on the next Site of Power for Lumina. Ash had no clue how much more she needed to do for the deity, but until she was told otherwise, she would just keep activating them, all the while searching for monsters to hunt and get her level higher. 

As for Keiko's potion, she'd changed her plan a little. Instead of trying to get a dragon's eyes, now that she knew she couldn't use Gurron's, she figured she could get the flower from the Mist Realm first, since those were guaranteed to be there, and she could focus on the dragon eyes last. 

Once she was done with the Sites of Power, Keiko suggested that she go to Tyl's shop and ask for any advice she could receive before heading to the Mist Realm. After that, it would be up to her luck to let her find some dragons or not. 

As she trained with Sinneah, Ash lunged forward and went for a punch, in the style that the woman had taught her, and Sinneah dodged it easily, spinning into a kick that nearly connected with Ash's jaw. The half-demon dashed forward, looking to hit Sinneah with a punch to her gut, but in the middle of that, a message appeared over her head, letting her know her proficiency had increased to 4. 

Oh, ni-

And, Sinneah landed a knee on her chin that had Ash falling on her face. 

"A-Ash?" Keiko asked, as the half-demon quickly raised a hand. 

"I'm fine," she said as Sinneah backed up. "I just... Fuck me." 

"Your proficiency increased?" Sinneah asked, looking up. "Then, you might be ready for the next ability. 

"Oh, shit, really?" Ash asked, standing up with her chin feeling like it was on fire. 

"Yes. As with before, even though I know the ability, I cannot perform it myself, so all I can tell you is what you are supposed to do. Understand?" 

"Mhm." 

"Good. The next ability is a defensive one. Hold your hand up, letting your palm face the direction of incoming magic. Then, you activate the ability, and if you do so just as the magic strikes your hand, the spell you touch will be canceled." 

"Huh? How does that work? That sounds like a worse version of the  Barrier  spell," Ash said. Satsuhiro spoke up then.

"... No," he shook his head. "If I'm understanding this right, this would eliminate the spell entirely. The  Barrier  spell you know can stop something from hitting you, but, firstly, it has limits, and second, it can't cancel out magic. It just prevents you, specifically, from being struck." 

"What do you mean it has 'limits'?" Ash asked. 

"If an opponent's INT is much higher than yours, their spell will break through your  Barrier. If this ability doesn't work like that, then it's outright better." 

"However," Sinneah stepped in, "if you mistime it, all that will happen is that the spell will hit you as though you'd done nothing at all." 

"A high-risk, high-reward defensive move, it sounds like," Satsuhiro added when he heard that.

"Hm... Okay," Ash shrugged. "I'll give it a shot then." 

On that note, Ash got ready. She took a few steps back from Sinneah and closed her eyes. Searching for her connection to Magia was usually something that felt weird in that it was always there, just hiding under the surface, and all Ash had to do was look for it to feel it. When she found it, she raised her right palm and took in the message that popped up next. 

Tomoe's Divine Arts

2. Divine Rejection (Light)

Mana Cost: 0

Incantation: None

(None of Tomoe's Divine Arts require mana or incantations, but overusing

them will wear you out, regardless of your Constitution.)

Okay,  Ash thought. Now, I... 

She exhaled softly then. Lifting her right hand, Ash activated the ability with a thought, as she centered her mind around that connection. She opened her eyes, and for just a second, she saw her hand radiating a white aura. 

But, it was gone as soon as it had appeared. 

"One second, I think," Satsuhiro said. "In that time frame, any magic that hits you will be canceled." 

"How useful do you think that is?" 

"Incredibly," Satsuhiro quickly replied. "As long as you get it right, of course." 

Nodding, Ash noticed how she felt her body turn a little heavier. 

Right, the exhaustion thing, she thought. 

"Okay, I think I'm done for now," Ash announced, turning toward the group. Keiko stood up and walked over to her. 

"Are you going to head out?" 

"Yeah," Ash replied. "I want to see if I can get a little bit done... I won't head for the Mist Realm today though, just the churches." 

"Of course," Keiko nodded. "I'll see you off, then." 

"Alright, come on." 

With that said, the two of them walked back into the Manor. They went to their room, where Ash already had her travel bag ready with some packed-up bread and bottles of water. She walked inside, grabbed it, threw it over her shoulder, and turned around. 

Only for Keiko to put her hands on Ash's chest and push her back. 

"W-"

Before Ash could ask what was happening, Keiko pressed their lips together and Ash's question was snuffed out. She took a sharp breath, closing her eyes and putting her hands on Keiko's arms as the two kissed before Keiko broke the kiss a few seconds later. 

"Where did that come from?" Ash asked with a chuckle. "Are you actually...?" 

She had been about to ask, "are you actually in the mood right now?" But, all it took was one look into Keiko's eyes and she received the answer to that. Half-lidded and lust-ridden, Keiko leaned forward and rested her head on Ash's chest. 

"... It's been a while," Keiko muttered. 

"Really?" Ash asked, looking down at her. Keiko nodded against her body. 

"I-I've been holding back, but... You know..." Keiko told her, and, Ash bit her bottom lip before responding. 

"When I get back," Ash said. "I'll help you out with that. But," Ash said, kissing Keiko's forehead and forcing herself not to do a hell of a lot more than that, "if we do anything right now... I'm not going to want to leave." 

It honestly surprised her how good she'd gotten at restraining herself. Though, she did wonder if part of that was because her Lust hadn't gone further than 2 stacks in a very long time. She was certain, however, that she'd gotten at least a little bit used to the lust she always felt. 

"... Right," Keiko replied, stepping away from her. "I understand, I just... Ignore me," she waved a hand. "I lost control for a second." 

"No, no," Ash told her, pulling her in for a quick hug. "I encourage that. It's hot as fuck. Literally, this exact same shit, but in like 5 hours, would be perfect." 

Keiko smiled. 

"I will keep that in mind, then." 

---

Later, Ash was walking into Amber, with her Savior's Weapon by her side. She'd gotten used to keeping her hand over it, just in case anyone tried to steal it again. She made a beeline for Tyl's shop, ignoring the lingering gazes of everyone around her, and when she arrived, she opened the door and found the alchemist actually sitting in front for a change. Martin was nowhere to be seen. 

"Hey," Ash called out, and the woman, who had been reading something, looked up. 

"Ah. Savior, what can I do for ya?" She asked. 

"That other kid isn't around?" Ash asked today, a little curious. 

"Gave him the day off. Things have been hectic lately. Because of what happened to the Arcane, everyone's been buying antidote potions, potions that cure poisons," she clarified, "because they all feel like they're going to get assassinated this week or something." 

"... Damn." 

"Riveting response. So, what do you need?" 

"I'm gonna be heading to the Mist Realm, next. I was wondering if you had any tips, or whatever." 

"Next?" She asked. 

"Yeah, I got the sand reaver's claw already. One down, two to go." 

"Ah... You're actually going to do it? That's surprising. Well," she shrugged, "there isn't too much to say about the Mist Realm. It's a very unpredictable place by nature. Reality itself bends and shifts in that area. All I can say is, don't stay in there for too long, otherwise... Well, weird shit might start happenin'." She told Ash and the half-demon nodded. 

"So, what, I go in, look for the flower for a few hours, and if I don't find it, I walk back out?" 

"Exactly," Tyl nodded. "That would be wise." 

"Okay, thanks," Ash replied, turning away from her. 

"No problem." 

Ash was about to exit the store, when, suddenly, she thought of another question. 

"Hey, so," she turned back toward Tyl, "about those dragon eyes..." 

"Dragon's eye," Tyl quickly interjected. "Just one is enough." 

"Okay, about the dragon's eye," Ash corrected herself. Those things are massive, will everything fit in this pot?" She asked, gesturing at the pot Martin was usually working over. At that, Tyl raised a brow. 

"What?" 

"Hm?" Ash was confused at her confusion. 

"What do you mean they're massive?" 

"Well, yeah, I saw a dragon a little while ago, and just one eye was as big as that whole pot. How are you gonna work with it?" 

"... OH!" Tyl snapped her fingers and then waved her hands. "No, no, no, no, no, no. No. Nono, nonono, nononononono." 

Ash crossed her arms. 

"You looked at the wrong eyes," Tyl suddenly said. Ash blinked. 

"What?" 

"... Ah, fuck. I hadn't told you this because I assumed you knew already, what with you being a Savior, and all. A dragon has two pairs of eyes."

"... I'm sorry?" Ash asked, baffled. "I didn't see..." 

"The two big ones," Tyl interrupted her, "those are the ones you saw. However, just above those, there are two much, much, smaller ones. Small enough to where both can fit in your hands. Those are the ones you're looking for." 

"Seriously?" 

"Yes, seriously!" Tyl added. "Those are the valuable ones because, upon a dragon's death, they turn hard as stone, and when melted, they can act as a catalyst for a potion. I didn't want to get into the details of alchemy, but, here, I'll explain. See, when it comes to making a potion, there are two kinds of ingredients. Catalysts, and agents. Agents are the ones that create the effect, catalysts are the ones that make the agents activate, and both have a unique relationship with each other. The dragon's eye, one of those stone-like ones, is the catalyst for the potion you want." 

"... So, I wasted my time, then?" 

"Oh? What, did you have a dragon corpse available?" She asked, and Ash nodded. "And, you didn't check for those smaller eyes?" Again, Ash nodded. "Yeh, pretty much." 

Hearing that, Ash felt defeated. She tried to think back, however, because when she'd checked Gurron's corpse, she had gotten close enough to where she believed she would have noticed such an eye, even if it was that small. However, she was fairly certain she hadn't seen any. 

... Still, it might be worth it to go back there.. Fuck me.