Chapter 101 - Vol. 2 - 66

Kaori

Two Days Later

"Okay, is everyone ready!?" Ren asked as the group gathered at Sapphire's southern gate, just past the bridge. In the distance, the portal gave off demonic energy, so much so that Kaori could almost feel it, but it was hard to focus on it with Ren's wide grin aimed at everyone. 

"Sure," Ash shrugged. 

"Let's get moving, we'll want to get as much done as possible," Satsuhiro stated and everyone followed behind him as he walked towards the west. 

Ren was tagging along as he wanted to show Kaori what exactly she was meant to do as a tank. Yesterday, the group had headed to a Level 20 - 25 area, where they fought creatures who were so much weaker than them, that their levels only went up by 1, by the time they got back. Today, they were doing the same thing, heading to a different place that had the same level range, as the point wasn't so much to level up but to focus on honing their new roles. 

Ash would be in the back, only coming into a fight when Kaori was in serious trouble, while Kaori would keep most of the enemies focused on her. Ren called it, "taking aggro", which Kaori thought was a neat phrase. 

At the start of the day, around 6am, Kaori used  Mark of Love  on Ash, and with it, over the course of the last six hours, her stats all went up by one, every hour. 

Leaving her at this status:

Level 26

MP: 120/120

STR: 24

DEX: 24

CON: 35

INT: 12

WIS: 12

L: 100

EXP: 10/275

It was only now, looking at the massive increase in her attributes, that Kaori understood the full power of the spell that Lumina had given her.  So,  she thought,  that means, that at the last of the 24 hours, my stats will all be increased by 23!?!?

Because of this, she decided to take a closer look at those other spells she'd received. Maybe she'd missed more opportunities than she thought. 

Encourage - 30mp-  Syphon your own stats into a marked ally for 2 minutes. You determine how much of your power you wish to give. 

Loving Sacrifice - No cost - Upon activation, any incoming damage to a marked ally is instead redirected to the Protector. Needs no incantation.

Hm.  Kaori looked at  Encourage. She tapped her chin.  So... What if I just dump everything except my Con onto Ash?  She glanced at the half-demon. 

"Okay, so, the next time you use your Dark magic, what are you going to do?" Satsuhiro asked. 

"Take deep breaths, and calm down," Ash replied. 

"Say it again?" 

"Take deep breaths and calm down." 

"One more time?" 

"Fuck you." 

"Okay." 

As the two went over Ash's unfortunate tendency to go crazy in the middle of fights, Kaori thought about it.  With the portal buff on top of these stats... She'd be pretty strong, right? 

Just to experiment with it, she decided to give her all 6 Str, Dex, Int, and Wis stats that she received, leaving only her 6 Con for herself. 

Okay, so, the words were...? 

It was strange. Although this was her first time using this ability, and it had been a long time since it had been given to her, she still knew it by heart. She figured maybe it was because Lumina passed the knowledge to her. 

"Our power is one and the same, take mine and wield it as your own."

"... I know, listen, I'm not just going to flip my shit next time, I'm going to try to- wait, what?" 

Ash stopped walking as she looked up and saw the following message appear. 

Stats Siphoned: 

6 Dexterity

6 Strength

6 Intelligence

6 Wisdom

"What the hell?" Ash asked. 

"All me," Kaori said, walking up to her. "So, how are you feeling?" 

"Uh, strong, but, how did you do that?" Ash asked. 

"One of the spells Lumina gave me," Kaori smiled. "I'll be sure to use it in the next big fight. It'll wear off after two minutes, but I wanted to see how it worked." 

"Hm. Well, this boost just about guarantees the monsters we'll fight won't be a problem for you." Satsuhiro noted. 

"Still," Ren walked up, putting a hand on Kaori's shoulder. "Let Kaori here take some hits. It would do her good to get used to it." 

"Agreed," Satsuhiro replied. 

With that, they continued along the path. The area they went to this time though, was completely different from the last time. Here, there was a crystalline bright blue floor, surrounded by a crescent moon of ice, glaciers that rounded the blue surface. On it, Kaori could see a reptilian creature with white skin and long bony limbs. It had spikes on its back and blue eyes. 

Level 20

MP: 40/40

"Uh... What is this place? And what is that thing?" 

"A snow lizard."

"... Snow lizard?"

"Mhm," Satsuhiro nodded.

"That's... straightforward, I guess."

"And, about this place, it's a frozen lake, a popular spot for some monsters since they can break a hole in the ice and yank out some of the fish in the waters beneath. Then, the ice gets solid again, since it's so cold, and they repeat the process," Satsuhiro explained. "Bait that thing to come closer and try to take it on. Careful, it'll probably have a couple of Ice spells it can use." 

"Huh. Okay, so..." Kaori looked over at Ash.

"Go ahead. You need to learn to take hits, right?" Ash asked. 

"Yeah. You're right." 

"Keep yourself steady," Ren told her. "You'd be surprised how much of a fight comes down to your confidence. Your numbers prevent the creature from hurting you, but unsure legs can be taken down easily, no matter how high your Constitution is, understand?" 

"So, stay firm?" 

"Exactly. Trust in your Constitution. It's hard to imagine just standing there and letting things attack you, but that stat is one like any other. It'll do what it has to do." 

Kaori breathed in and out. Then, she walked forwards. She transformed her Love into a swordstaff, and ahead, the snow lizard locked eyes with her. Kaori held her weapon by her side and waited.  I guess I should let it come to me. 

The snow lizard hissed and lowered its body, almost touching the ice beneath it. Kaori held its gaze until finally, it started speeding towards her. The lizard moved so fast that Kaori flinched when it reached her, almost instantly after it had started its charge. Her first instinct was to move away, but she stopped herself. 

Let it hit you,  she told herself,  let it hit you, let it hit you, let it-

"AGH!" 

The lizard jumped, spun, and slammed its tail into her abdomen. Some spit came flying out of Kaori's mouth as she was sent to the ground and the lizard immediately bit her arm. 

She saw Ash about to run out to help her, but Ren stopped the half-demon, holding a hand in front of her. 

The lizard's bite wasn't penetrating Kaori's armor, so it felt more like a weight had been pressed on her arm. Realizing this, she bent a leg back and kicked the lizard off of her, pushing it back. Standing up as quickly as she could, she nearly dropped her swordstaff to soothe her abs. 

That hurt... That really hurt, but...  She took a deep breath.  I'm not too seriously wounded or anything. I can keep going. 

A blue orb appeared over the lizard's head. Kaori squinted at it and then, a spike of ice was launched at her. It crashed into her chest, breaking into pieces but knocking Kaori back at the same time. 

This time, she did drop her weapon. 

"Hsss, ahhh!" She hissed as the lizard ran up again. 

Okay, just take another hit. Just one more. 

The monster went to pull off the same move it had before, leaping up and spinning, attacking with its tail. Kaori allowed it, and the tail caught the side of her head. 

Kaori was struck back several feet, landing in the snow. The world was spinning and for a moment, Kaori could see double. The lizard didn't stop there, instead, it ran up, looking like it wanted to finish her off. 

It flipped, spinning in the air as it gathered momentum for its tail to deliver the final blow. 

Then, someone caught it. 

Ash. She caught the lizard by its neck, in mid-air. The lizard squirmed in her grip, and Ash raised it up and slammed it into the ground, head-first. 

Once, twice, then, on the third smash, Kaori heard a  crack and the lizard's body stopped moving. 

EXP Gained: 100

EXP: 100/270

Still groggy, Kaori went to stand up. The world was still spinning. 

Oh, gosh, I'm going to-

She gagged, holding herself back from vomiting. 

A pair of hands held her steady and slowly, the world started to focus again around the woman in front of her. Ash, with concerned eyes, had her arms outstretched, on Kaori's shoulders, looking back at her. 

"You okay?" 

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Kaori reached up to check if she was bleeding, and found no blood. "That hit just had me dizzy, is all." 

"Ha! Such wimpy strikes will be no concern to you, after a while, Kaori," Ren said, approaching. "You showed some courage there, tanking those blows like that, but next time, protect your head. It's one thing to take blows to the body," he patted his own abs, "but a strike to the head can leave you disoriented and open for a deadlier attack. Got it?" 

"Y-Yeah. Got it." 

"Good! Ash, can you heal her?"

"On it."

"Once you're done, it's onto the next one!" 

---

Several Hours Later

By the time they were finished, Kaori was seriously starting to regret choosing this path. She had a knot on her head the size of a small fist and her body was sorer than it ever had been after working out, but she and Ash both leveled up. That left them at these statuses: 

Ash

Level 28

MP: 150/150

STR: 29

DEX: 13

CON: 10

INT: 18

WIS: 15

L: 100

EXP: 0/280

---

Kaori

Level 27

MP: 60/60

STR: 18

DEX: 18

CON: 31

INT: 6

WIS: 6

L: 100

EXP: 0/275

Currently, they were in a public square, on the northwest side of the city. Here, there was a particularly large heat orb keeping the area warm, thanks to that, the snow that fell around them would melt away quickly after landing. 

"I'd say that was productive," Satsuhiro said with crossed arms. "We'll probably be doing the same tomorrow." 

"Ugh," Kaori bent over, placing her head on the table in front of them. "I guessed being a tank would hurt, but I didn't think it would hurt  this much." 

"Every moment of pain means someone's life was saved! The more you hurt, the more of a hero you are. You have to see it that way, Kaori." 

Sighing, Kaori looked over at Ash. 

"At least you're getting pretty strong though," she tried to smile for her.

"Yeah?" Ash asked. "I don't know. Most of the time, I don't feel that different. I mean, I can tell I'm getting stronger but..."

"Your enemies feel the difference, trust me," Satsuhiro replied. "That lizard definitely felt it, I'll tell you that much." 

Ash smirked. 

"Guess so." 

As they continued to go over the day, a guard walked up to them. 

"Sir," he addressed Satsuhiro. 

"Yes?" 

"Someone is at the southern gate, she says she knows you. All of you." 

"Hm?" Ash raised a brow. 

"Alright, let's go then." 

The group stood and walked through the streets to see what this was about. They saw a few citizens looking back at the gate as well, trying to catch a glimpse of someone. When they got closer, Kaori was the first to recognize her. 

She wore a black coat, black pants, and black gloves, all lined with golden stripes. On her back was a weird staff-like weapon Kaori had never seen, and on her belt were two dagger-looking things and a katana. Kaori noticed some small badge on her chest as well. She was speaking to a guard while they took her horse somewhere else. 

Kaori grinned and started running towards her. 

"KEIKO!" 

"Huh?" The Zayama turned towards her and when her eyes fell on Kaori, the way her expression bloomed into utter excitement as soon as she saw her made Kaori's elation even stronger. She reached her and wrapped her right arm around the shorter girl's body, feeling an embrace come to her in return. 

"Kaori!" Keiko said, muffled by Kaori's armor.

The blonde giggled as she buried her face into the Zayama's hair, and the others walked up to her, seeing their friend arrive.