“The deceased light elemental emperor’s power—grant us the privilege of reveling in this ancient creature’s light!” Michalik roared once again as golden particles began to cover his eyes, sparkling like stars. “You cannot hide it from us, Princess Hestia! To us light dragonkin, the primeval mana of a primarch of light is the embodiment of power from the age of ancients. We can smell it even when others cannot!”
“Smelling” it, huh? They probably meant it figuratively since we dragons were pretty attuned to mana. Whether it was ‘cause we cast a lot of magic or ‘cause of our huge mana pool, there wasn’t one exact answer to this. However, I did have one idea that I believed made me able to sense the flow of mana even without [Mana Eyes].
[True Draconic Lineage], the generic “end-game” skill for us dragonkin, was described as an ancient skill that only true dragonkin were allowed to possess.
[Draconic Magics], [Arcane Conduit Lv. 10], [Sorcerer’s Power Lv. 10], [Sage’s Wisdom Lv. 10]>
For me, the skill was the latest evolution after it first started as [Primal Magics], one of my starting racial skills, before it upgraded into [Draconic Magics] when I evolved into a rank D. [True Draconic Lineage] has been with me since the start of my life as a rank B, but even before it, its previous versions had been the backbone of my mage career since it naturally allowed me to cast spells without needing to gain the necessary magic casting skills everybody had to acquire.
As such, I was quite attuned to mana-sources, even to the point I could feel the mana as if it was the wind, although most of the time, it felt more like an aura attack. Regardless, I was sensitive to magic. Similarly, these light dragons must have felt something special from [Providence’s Will] due to our elemental-alignment to the holy element.
To them, though, it probably felt nostalgic since they should be old enough to have witnessed the world before the Origin Gods. That meant, they lived during the time of the “divine” rule of the elemental emperors.
[Providence’s Will], the divine catalyst of Goddess Andira used during her mortal lifetime fighting the archdemons during the demon war, had been created from the remains of the Light Elemental Emperor, and was widely considered by the followers of the Church of Aurena to be the strongest holy catalyst in existence, if not the single strongest catalyst of any element. It was said to be powerful enough to wipe out armies despite the fact its true potential was sealed.
Considering how much the dragons wanted to bask in this catalyst’s presence, you had to wonder why they didn’t just steal it from Aureolis ... Well, beyond the obvious reason, of course.
Owner: [Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
Skills: [Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 10] [Cast Activation Speed Increase Lv. 10] [Holy Elemental Materialization Lv. 10] [Sacred Amp] [Healing Amp] [Mana Expenditure Lv. 10] [Artillery Spell Enhancement Lv. 10] [Long-Range Spell Enhancement Lv. 10] [Holy Resistance Pierce Lv. 10] [Demi-God Seal] [Slime Intelligence Core]
Enchantments: Sealed>
The catalyst’s slime “A.I.” would only listen to its registered owner. Without them around, the catalyst would simply act like a large paperweight, since it could only register somebody as a new owner if their previous owner either died or handed the catalyst over to somebody else. Or, if you had the support of both Aurena and Andira, they could just grant you authorization over it as the reward for a Divine Quest’s subgoal, like in my case.
I’ve seen it used in action, but not enough to really understand its power. Currently, I was trying to make it work, and it had become quite obvious to me that this catalyst wasn’t made to be easily used for a beginner. You had to be an established holy mage, since [Mana Expenditure Lv. 10] did exactly as it said—you were forced to spend far more mana on EVERY SINGLE spell cast with this catalyst, even if they weren’t holy elemental spells.
It might boost my other elemental spells by a bit, but Providence’s Will still by far worked the best and most efficiently with holy spells; the boost for the other elements got from this catalyst simply wasn’t strong enough to justify the extra cost from the mana expenditure skill. Which meant I had to get catalysts for my other elements for efficiency’s sake, which was why I wanted an upgrade for my current fire catalyst.
Owner: [Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]
Skill: [Resource Efficiency Lv. 8] [Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 8] [Chant Revocation Lv. 10] [Flame Furnace Aura] [Cast Activation Speed Increase Lv. 7] [Inferno Amp] [Lava Amp] [Artillery Spell Enhancement Lv. 1] [Explosion Spell Enhancement Lv. 1]
Enchantment: [Flame Accumulation] [Heat-Mana Transmutation] [Spell Song Amplification]>
The current plan was to remake the catalyst from the ground up, and separate the [Spell Song Amplification] into my two future instrument catalysts, and improve its fire damage. Maybe I could even have them improve my draconic abilities, depending on what Tasianna could do with it and what Kahalameet was planning to give me.
Nevertheless, my catalyst situation could be assessed another time. All the adults were waiting for my answer.
The light dragons were asking for permission, even if they were “demanding” it with their attitude. While I could understand their wish to witness the “peak of the holy element,” this wasn’t a situation where I could just say yes or no with no repercussions.
Why? Because I was still a princess of the imperial family of Kargryx and the princess of Frozen Nest.
[“... I have no reason to show you my catalyst. I don’t know you, elder scale,”] I answered, deflating the light dragons’ enthusiasm. They stared at me with agape mouths, glancing over to others to see their reactions of disbelief. It seems they didn’t expect me to actually turn them down.
However, to the ice dragons, I was making the correct choice. “No deals.”
“I ... Pardon me,”—Michalik cleared his voice as I felt a mana link forming in my head before accepting it and sharing it with Mom and my retainer uncles—[“This should be better. My words might have come out to you, Princess Hestia. Ahem, once again, I would like to propose a favor. Allow us to see [Providence’s Will], and we would like to help you unlock its full potential! We know Goddess Andira had sealed the catalyst in fear of its power overwhelming the humans!”] �
He thinks I misunderstood him. Didn’t understand the Draconic due to my age. Eh, I guess that might be true.
[“Elder scale, I know I am still young, but I can understand Draconic, my speaking is the issue. Once again, I have no reason to grant you a glimpse of [Providence’s Will] when it currently is one of my best weapons. Unlike you, I still need help to grow my strength. What exactly do you want to do with it? Literally bask in its glow when the Church of Aurena has covered it up in a metal cover for the sake of elegance and appearance?”]
I had the upper hand here. The difference between our age and strength mattered little with Frozen Nest’s influence behind me. Arrogance was bad, sure, and this wasn’t my achievement, but while acting as Frozen Nest’s princess, I had to leave those thoughts behind. Act appropriately and live up to Mom’s expectations for me.
[“As you know, I am a Champion of Aurena. In fact, I am even trying to promote myself as the first ‘Idol’ of Aurena, a hybrid blessed between a Champion and Saint that focuses more on showmanship and action to motivate and rally people to a cause or just to quell their fears. I am, after all, probably one of the few who can properly talk with the gods without a severe backlash to my soul,”] I explained.
“Correct,” Mom supported me. “Even compared to Eltharion, Hestia can hold a conversation with any god quite well, especially with those she had made a physical connection with by praying at their shrines. If she wanted to, she may even make contact with Kargryxmor and Aurena right now.”
[“Which is why I do not need your help in unlocking the catalyst’s true potential, elder scale. I do apologize for that, but I see no benefits here,”] I said, knowing the moment Andira wanted to, she could grant me a Divine Quest to personally unlock its powers. The Light Pantheon wanted me to fix their religion and help their blessed; I didn’t believe Andira, of all gods, would want to sabotage me, so she must have a reason on why the catalyst had to remain sealed.
The time wasn’t right, essentially, and I didn’t have any reason to trust the light dragons over Aurena and her subordinates.
[“... I see. Well, this was originally supposed to have just been an invitation to a meeting, Princess Hestia. However, please remember—”] He looked at Mom and my retainer uncles. [“We, the holy dragon flight and the holy drake wake, wish to form this alliance, truly. A princess born from Frozen Nest, but adapted to fit in Sacred Nest, is before us, so should we not combine our power to protect her for the impending succession war? After all, let us not delude ourselves; war will ensue, and when that time finally comes, Dragon Ruler Maustoovaka will not forget the slight the young princess has inflicted on him. Nor can we ignore the meddling of the leviathans.”]
[“Leviathans? You mean Caedhul?”] Uncle Kary squinted his eyes.
“Hee’Rlak. Wasn’t my friend. Was my ‘apprentice,’ but he really was just my adoptive father’s former second in command, so I just inherited him as mine. He taught me more about how to act as a soldier after my father died, to the point it made it just weird to call him an apprentice. I was stronger, sure, but that somehow didn’t really make our relationship awkward.” Vifi turned her head down, sitting down on the cold earth. “He gave me food. I just ... I didn’t want him dead.”
“Why?” I pressed. “You pretty much forced me to heal him first. Any second I ‘wasted’ on him might have cost you your life, as you were on the edge of your life, anyways. I might have gambled to persuade you, but you might have risked even more. You kept talking about how you learned how to survive on the street, but all your actions speak against it.”
“‘Cause my father told me to act less like a rat. You do realize I’m not talking as if I came from the gutter to you, right? I could give ya the smackin’ talk and it ain’t gonna feel like we’re throwing down in the same corner; that’ll just blow the buns off our vibe, see?” She shrugged in an exaggerated manner, prompting me to nod along.
I would have probably acted like Saori and Tasianna and asked her to tone it down a bit. I was having some issues understanding her slang.
“The military of Bole’Taria first teaches you that the country and the victory for the demonkin race should always be a priority over our lives. The ‘future’—the kids—are the ones we are creating a new world for. What we are fighting for. Never really meant anything to me, which is probably why you somehow got to persuade me to flip. I never really was too strong on the idea of it, but it did manage to make me care for my nation despite all the crap I had to live through,”—she shrugged, looking a bit melancholic—“Hee’Rlak kept spouting that nonsense, but he made sure to add things about my father here and there. Things I couldn’t see from inside our home or whenever I had to train with them.”
“I respect that.”
“He took care of me as if his ‘master had left behind a kid’ or something like that, although he didn’t really care about Father’s biological kids. I could guess, but that isn’t my issue now. Too far away from them, and even if I came back, what’d be the point? I can’t inherit the ‘Yok’ possessions since I’m just an adoptee, and my siblings’ supporters will just kick me out. Never even got along with them.”
“From the sound of it, I’m starting to see a pattern there, Vifi. Then again, I guess to them, you were just some orphan their father picked up from the streets just because she’s strong, right?”
“Nailed it.”
“To the majority of Aurora, you nearly killed me. Nearly killed them, as well.”
“Pretty sure we’re all trying to leave that aside for the sake of party unity, right? Haaa, a year has gone by, Hestia. I’m not friends with them, but I’m working on it, just like with Tasianna and the twins. Although, with them, we got some rapport since we spent the one year like a party, journeying around to acquire stuff and hunt things.”
A smile crept on my face as I heard this before I took out [Providence’s Will] as I saw a herd of mammoths close by. Seeing this, Vifi nodded and jumped onto her feet.
“So, how do you think our rapport has progressed?” I asked.
“Truthfully? Enough, Party Leader. You invited me with that heartfelt message there, so what do you think? That I secretly hate you and that I’m just grumbling around like some irritated brat?”
“Eh. As long as you’re willing to help me herd the strong mammoths towards me, then I think we’re about to become the bestest friends after I cook us some steaks! What do you think?”
“Ha! With your level, you’re gonna require more than a few of the big ones. Turn the experience share down to zero and let’s do this!” Vifi shouted before she shot forward like a red lightning, all while I channeled my mana into the bronze-covered ball in front of me.
The metal opened up, forming four wings around a milky, swirling fluid, only kept together by a bronze-plated spine. The liquid ball glowed like pure white with no blemishes or impurities, shining to the point it was hard to look at it without harming my eyes.
Yet, whenever I stared at it, the liquid began to jump up and down like a springy ball, showing signs of its being alive. The artificially made slime inhabiting this catalyst, or maybe it was the catalyst, was reacting to me like a little pet, almost like Saori’s Shoyi or my little Gravy. They couldn’t speak, but they could all react to what we said with small, cute gestures.
... Yet, this little thing could eat so much mana, you wouldn’t think it was just a bit larger than my palms.
<Holy Elemental Materialization: A catalyst skill that naturally accelerates the movement of mana for all holy-aligned spells. Accelerates the activation of holy-aligned spells cast through this catalyst by increasing the expenditure of mana>
Increases all mana cost for all spells cast through this catalyst by [Mana Expenditure Lv. X]/3 * [Mana Cost of the Spell]. Increases the damage value independently from the Owner’s Intelligence or Wisdom value by [Mana Expenditure Lv. X]/3. Allows full manipulation of the spell’s size without demanding extra mana cost>
The stronger the spell was, the better it would become by using this catalyst, and with my insane mana pool, this wasn’t a big issue for me as long as I didn’t spam high-damaging spells. With this catalyst, even my weaker holy spells could do damage.
So, why didn’t I use this during the Maustoovaka fight? Well, there was this little restriction on it.
... Urgh, activate.
<[Providence’s Will] does not like the Goddess of Light, Aurena. Does not like being in the presence of her mana or the vessel holding it through their blessings and titles. Despises that the Goddess of Light, Aurena, had forcibly given ownership to Owner, [Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor].
Current Affinity: Dislike
Effects: 200% increase in mana cost for spells used with this catalyst. 50% damage value reduction for all spells cast through this spell. 50% healing value reduction for all spells cast through this spell. 100% mana regeneration for Owner as long as this catalyst is around>
With intelligence came its ability to act. When the catalyst’s description mentioned it chose its owner, it really meant it, and ‘cause Aurena did some cheating by just giving me the catalyst, it disliked me, greatly. Presumably, it still had some elements of the Light Elemental Emperor in it, which was why it kept mentioning not liking Aurena.
I had a problem child in my hand that increased every holy spell’s mana cost I cast through it by ten, but it didn’t increase the amount of damage it could do. Although I had the mana pool to survive using it, I would rather not. [Purple Flash] increased the mana cost by three, and even that was draining, and now I was dealing with this? No thank you.
Using this catalyst could have dealt some severe damage to my pursuers in Inferno Nest, but I already had been at my limits arcane corruption-wise. Using this thing would have probably killed me. No thank you!
... Yet, the only way I found that this catalyst would like me was to feed it my mana and to use it for what it was made for—battle. From its initial “disapproves,” I turned its affinity to me to “dislike.” Therefore, the goal was clear: use the catalyst and kill things to level up!
“Sacred Smite!”
Cue the training montage, as I had to get to level 45 before we went up north, as additional levels and SP would most likely be needed so my party could traverse the cold wasteland in search of items and methods to improve ourselves. Tasianna needed a way to adapt to Mom’s true ice, the twins required inspiration to evolve, and I needed to awaken my ice dragon lineage before my next evolution!
Let’s get stronger, Hikari!
‘Strong enough to defeat a rank A dragonkin!’