Deep roots

Deep roots

Year 144

After a bit of bureaucracy, Kei and Lausanne were finally met again in Freshka.

Hello again. Has the restrictions on your class lifted? Lausanne asked.

Yes it has, Lady Lausanne. Kei bowed. Lausanne was pretty much an old auntie for the 18 year old Kei. Ive leveled a bit after fighting regular monsters, but still, my hero levels are way too low. Only in the lower 20s. No way near enough, if what you told us last time was true.

Well, the Rottedlands is a fine anvil to hone any [hero] into a worthy shape. I may even take you there myself, but I have a kid to care for. Lausanne shrugged. Wheres Alvin and Hans?

Kei waited for a while, she pondered over her response. Uh...

They dont believe me, right? Lausanne laughed.

...yeah. They uh... theyre really into the stories and legends the priests and temples fed them. So I had to travel alone.

Well, youll soon realise this continent does have its own propaganda.

There was a period of awkward silence as both sized each other. Kei then continued. You spoke of Aeons uh... weapons. A stockpile of hero items. Id like to have them.

It is not mine to give, but Aeons. The previous heroes entrusted the task to Aeon. It is for you to prove yourself worthy of them.

Kei nodded. How may I do so?

First, well need to get your levels up to at least level 70. Without Star Mana, the items are useless to you, for they respond to nothing else.

I cant be waltzing into the Rottedlands by myself, right? Im only level 20+ in my [hero] class, and Level 30+ in my [soldier] class.

Well... thats actually one of the best ways to level quickly. Put yourself in trouble and fight your way out of it. Or we can spar a bit more, under Aeons auspices and blessings.

Would that make much of a difference? Kei asked.

It will. But first, a familiar. Lausanne said. My black vines are from my familiar, and I am certain Aeon wants you to have a familiar before he grants you access to the facilities available here.

Is that a must?

Yes.

Okay then. I gave her a familiar at the temple, then they used one of the many [training rooms], with Yvon present too. Yvon as an upgraded [training tree] would also have an effect of accelerating her level gain.

-

When Kei arrived at the end of last year, I had to decide what to do with the hero. It was clear I could not kill her, there was after all a moratorium on killing heroes until the demon king died, and I wasnt going to risk a divine curse. I already have a suppressed demonic curse to deal with.

So, after some consideration, and discussions with the many different councils, I decided assisting the heroes was the best choice. Get her on my side, and at least if the other two heroes are nasty, itd be me and a hero vs 2 heroes, instead of me against 3 heroes. It was also better to learn what they know, and discover how their powers worked. I would even offer her a familiar, and reap the benefits if she died, just like the earlier bunch.

So far the gods have not warned against taking my familiars, so thats a good thing. I wonder whether they really hate me, or they are just testing me in some kind of divine game.

Or maybe, they dont have the ability to communicate directly with the heroes? The people of the world could receive divine messages, but I had not heard of stories where the heroes received divine messages.

If the managers of the reincarnation process, Mozart and gang are not the same ones as the gods who summoned them, it is entirely possible that certain messages dont get through. Thinking back, Mozart did refer to the gods as if they were someone else. Or perhaps it is just a trick. Like seemingly different shops in a shopping mall all owned by the same person.

Anyway, I decided to help her along.

-

Level 60! Kei said after two weeks! She was quick, and the regular hybrids of the Rottedlands now too weak for her. A level 60 hero was easily stronger than a level 80 [spearmaster] or [grand knight]. It was just the nature of absurdly powerful classes like [hero]. Every few levels, a bit more of her regular mana transformed into star mana.

By level 100, 100% of her mana is star mana, though she could change it to normal mana if she so desires. At least, thats how the earlier heroes had it.

My two friends are only in the 40s back in the South, and still they refuse to come here!

Well, a bit more for you to go. Perhaps, level 90, then Aeon will see you.

Alright!

-

The next 30 hero levels came after 4 months of constant grinding. She had to travel the fractured Rottedlands, to look for the giant hybrids, because only the massive hybrids gave her sufficient experience. Still, its exceptionally fast levelling speed, but for the heroes, it still felt too slow. Still, I chose level 90, because I recall one of the first few heroes I met unlocked their [heavenly forms] at that level.

Keis level 90 skill wasnt heavenly form. Instead, it was, [Heavenly Guns Array]. It created a massive star mana powered fortress around her with multiple magical floating flak-cannon lookalikes. They had a large range, and clearly were meant to take out aerial opponents.

She was, literally, a walking anti-air fortress. A shipgirl. I had to resist really hard to ask whether she knew what a shipgirl was.

Damn. Finally back to civilization after hitting level 90. Kei said, finally back in a large city after spending her last few months camping out in the towns along the Tree-expressways. Those towns were her save spot as she ventured into the Rottedlands.

We granted her a small escort, mostly as a guide. There really was no need to attach an upgraded Valthorn with her, since her levels already quite high, so her escorts were mostly a few regular Aeonic priests, for healing, and a small squad of regular Valthorn soldiers and rangers.

She quickly visited Lausanne. Somehow, Lausannes her guide, even if shes still busy with Arlisa and just as a trainer.

Im level 90 now, can I meet Aeon and claim my weapon?

Lausanne just bowed, Im afraid the right person to assist you is Jura.

Oh.

She met Jura in the Valthorn Fortress, and quickly made her request. Yes. I believe Aeon has been expecting you. Before that, there is someone Aeon wants you to meet.

-

Kei, this is Astia. Shes a human from your world, I believe.

Yes?

Do you.... Still have herbal infused wines? Or teas? The strongest ones?

A small teapot appeared in the Giant Attendant Tree, and hot water too. She quietly brewed the tea and sipped it, her mind still spinning. Patreeck could not read her mind once she passed Level 40 as a hero. She sat there and sipped.

I... I wasnt ready to see those... visions. Kei said.

Sorry? Ive got no idea what is in the journals.

I mean... they left memories behind in the journals. Some kind of dreamspell that contained a fragment of themselves. Its like... Its like a part of them still lived in the journal.

Ah. I certainly wasnt aware that a journal could be made so powerful. But since it was made with [star mana], I suppose anything is possible.

The gods want us to kill the demon and keep the cycle going, isnt it?

Well, yes?

But they also want us to die, so that the worlds constantly in turmoil?

I had no answer.

Do you believe what the heroes said?

I dont know what youre talking about.

I mean, that this demon and us... were the gods way of resetting the system? Keep this world stagnant and stuck in a perpetual state of war. Do you believe that?

Thats just one of the theories. Without asking the gods, no one knows. I suppose that sounded like one of the crazy musings Gerrard had. I didnt know he recorded that into the journal.

She sat. I... She looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

It changes nothing for you, really. The gods have already predestined that you must slay the demon king, or die. That is a task you have.

I can choose to do nothing. She had a headache again, and she quickly took a sip of the tea.

Your two friends will do it for you, or they will die trying. It is best you go with them. Again, knowledge only changes your perspective, but not the task at hand.

Kei sat for a while, and then she stretched. Yes. You are right. And I too, should do my part. She walked over to the journal, and she channeled her star mana into it. The journal glowed, and I thought it became bigger. She then spent the next few hours analysing the other hero items, and a few more hours making more hero items.

All in, she spent almost 3 days there and she left with a spear. But I felt she changed. Im really curious whats in the journal now.

Thank you, Aeon. I must now depart and join my friends. It will be time for me to do my duty, whether we like it or not.

Good luck.

Kei left Freshka, and started her journey to return to the Eastern Continent. She would have to travel from Freshka, and journey to the port cities on the Eastern Coast, and then arrange for a special pirate ship that would smuggle her there.

-

Howre you, Astia? Stella was in her studio, working on her paintings and posters. That little meet with Kei didnt go as well as I liked, and strangely, it made her turn to painting.

Im fine. No shes not. Her mental indicators were a mess. She felt lonely, alone in the world. She wondered whether death would return her to her own world, and yet she lacked the guts to actually kill herself. There was no one who could help her.

Alright. I decided not to push it. The door is always open should you ever need to speak, or want to go somewhere. The Central Continent is home to many beautiful sights, and if you wish, I may arrange someone to go with you.

Thanks. Her minds still locked up. I could force it open, but I decided not to. Perhaps she needs meditation. Even though its been years since she arrived, shes still not yet accepted reality, her mind clung onto her old world, no matter how painful her life there was. She still yearned to go home. She had no friends, but many acquaintances.

I had tried to create environments for her to make friends, but she couldnt let anyone in. So it didnt go anywhere.

-

The runic formations necessary for a supermassive blood ritual were 60% complete. Creating them was far harder than I expected. Containing the energies that such a ritual would release was one of the two main struggles, the second point of difficulty was then compressing such a massive ritual into a single shot.

Runes were hard, especially at large scales. I hope that I never have to resort to such bloody tactics.

On other preparations, Hytreerion, my tree walker was idle. It was a massive anti-air fortress and it sat at the edges of the Eastern Continent. It could not walk or swim across the ocean, and I wondered whether flight was a good idea. But then, I also doubt a Flying Titan could swim across the ocean. It was a distance far too large to bridge.

Still, the [Trade Lord]s efforts to convert a few of the port cities into mini-pirate dens were quite successful. Piracy had a kind of charm to it, and as a privateer, it was even better. They had legal backing of the Central Continent.

The Eastern Continent managed to hold on, even if so many have died. The demon king clearly is incapacitated or sealed to some effect.

At the same time, I wanted to activate my two unique classes. Lausanne. I have a special class, [Aeonic Demonslayer]. Do you want it?

...no.

No?

No. Perhaps you could offer it to Jura?

Why not?

I think... I think I dont deserve this special treatment. Lausanne said. I certainly lack the kind of genius talent needed to maximise such a class. After spending such a long time as an adventurer, I realised my talents honestly just above average, my main advantage is really my high levels, and the unique abilities that you gave me. In the hands of someone truly talented and gifted, I think your powers can go much further. And at the same time, its also fear. I may not live up to the expectations such a special class would have, and I may do stupid things.

Its motherhood, isnt it? But I didnt say it.

So... please, offer it to someone else.

Very well.

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