AN: Well, no real announcements this time, other than the fact that quarantine sucks.

UO: And so does Myne.

?: Indeed. Welp, time for the action!

"Speech"
Text
Thoughts
Mental Communication
Accursed/Divine
Skill/Spell/Technique

Chapter 5: Just as Important as the First

A few leeches crawled about sluggishly on the stone paths of the underground dungeon. Their black, bulbous bodies reflected the glow-shrooms' light faintly as they went about their own business.

*Thwipthwipthwip!*

A series of arrows shot out of the dark, nailing several to the ground in one hit. Their bodies sizzled as if exposed to salt, melting away as they squirmed and screeched, before falling still. Treading carefully along the narrow walkways of the dungeon, Nick and Marcia marched through, the former steadily nocking and releasing arrow after sleek, blue-green arrow.

After they had cleaned up and restocked their supplies, they formulated a plan to tackle the dungeon correctly. During the prep work, Nick had, in a moment of inspiration, looked to see if his arrows could be individually socketed. It would be pointless if each arrow was only affected once, given how disposable they were, but if that happened to unlock something…after all, he'd already absorbed each Stone into the bow to unlock new forms, surely it wouldn't give him anything new if he tried the same thing again?

Each arrow only had one socket inside it, the fewest he'd seen yet. Upon slotting in the first one, an Evanescent, it glowed brightly, the shaft transforming into a smoother, pale blue substance.

Evanescent Arrow Unlocked!
+100 SPD
Shot Speed Up (Variable)
Erst Barrage

Satisfied, he felt the urge to test them out, preferably in the Dungeon.

Now, standing back and casting a spell to light his way, he pulled out another arrow and fired, over and over, his keen eyes letting him pick out individual leeches in the distance.

Marcia meanwhile swung her axe, striking the ground and blasting out a large wave of ice that froze over the ponds, killing any leeches that tried emerging to attack them directly. Her massive body shook slightly, her breathing becoming heavier as she spent more of her rather meager MP.

Wish I'd thought to buy some MP-restoring potions, along with the Healing potions, thought the Bow Hero, watching her out of the corner of his eye even as he fired arrow after arrow, marveling at how quickly and smoothly the motions had become. Even without considering that Marcia has access to magic now, I've got my own to worry about. A glance at his HP, MP, and SP had him amending that thought, however, given that his maximum MP was currently over 5000.

As the last of the smaller leeches crumbled into frosty goop, a loud screech echoed through the halls. Nick grinned. "Sounds like the parents are coming." Aiming in the direction that the sound had come from, he pulled back the string without nocking an arrow and twanged it. "Glow Shot!" The jewel in his weapon flashed a bright blue, before a similarly-colored bolt of light blasted from it, streaking out into the distance until it struck something, bursting in a cloud of glowing spores. As they began to settle, several much larger leeches were revealed, outlined in the blue clouds.

"Sir Nick, I think those are the guardians of this dungeon."

"Well, what passes for 'em at least, since the Boss is long dead," he corrected her. He pulled out his new sleek arrows and nocked one, taking aim. "Quite a lot of 'em this time, so let's try out the new trick. Erst Barrage!"

This time, as he loosed the arrow, the jewel of his bow flashed, a small glowing portal opening ahead of it. An instant later, countless more copies of that arrow blasted forth, whipping up the wind as they streaked across the underground swamp towards the group of giant leeches. The massive, bloated black invertebrates barely even had time to react before the stream of arrows struck home. The leeches screeched in pain as they quickly became riddled dozens upon dozens of blue shafts, which sank deep into their soft, squishy flesh until finally, they looked like slimy porcupines. As they writhed and screeched, Nick nocked another arrow, ready to unleash another barrage, although his SP was low enough that he could only reliably get off another two. Fortunately, however, being riddled full of projectiles just once seemed to do the trick, as the group quickly slumped over and stopped moving.

Breathing a sigh of relief but keeping his arrow notched, Nick nodded to Marcia and headed the bodies, keeping an eye out for any more of the smaller ones. Fortunately, none came forward to try feeding on them. Upon realizing this, he slung his bow over his shoulder. "Now my favorite part, dissection!"

"Do you have to?" Marcia shivered.

"Well, maybe not," he admitted, shrugging, "But if this gives me something that could, I dunno, recover my meager HP without relying too much on healing potions, I think it's worth seeing what I can unlock from these."

So saying, he quickly sliced into the rubbery mounds of flesh, quickly extracting their teeth, and both brains from each body. His companion gagged at the grisly sight, but the man merely continued his grisly work. When he got to the brains, his bow glowed before transforming into a pair of long, black oblong shapes that stuck out straight on either side of the handle

New Bow Unlocked: Large Leech Flatbow
Rarity: Uncommon
+45 ATK
Leech Shot (1)
Armor Penetration (Small)
Type bonus: +150% INT

Leech Arrow Unlocked
Rarity: Common
+15 ATK
Armor Penetration (Small)

"Well, looks like I was right on the money. Another Flatbow, though…can't say I've ever used something like this before; looks like there's no string. Maybe it's formed from mana or something?" he murmured, pawing at the air around the bow. As he did so, he felt his mana pool just under the skin of his palm and fingers, before they caught what felt like a string, a shimmering, ethereal strand materializing. "So you need some magical ability to use this type of bow. Tricky, but doable," he noted. "This could work later."

"Can we please get this dungeon over with?" Marcia growled.

"Oh relax, I think that was the last of it. Come on." He motioned the pouting wolf girl to follow him. With the last of the big beasties defeated, it was a relative cakewalk through the rest of the dungeon to loot the place. Sadly, most of the great treasures that this Dungeon had once possessed had long since been looted by the heroes that had cleared it, judging by the many empty treasure chests they dredged up.

Eventually, however, they reached the edge, where the huge, sloping walls met the ground and began following it, picking their way over large, petrified roots that erupted from the side. Soon enough, with judicious use of Nick's Light spell. Walking through it with their hands on their weapons, their serious looks melted into one of surprise as they entered a massive vault of gold, various precious jewels, and gilded weapons.

"JACKPOT!" Nick cheered. "We'll be eating like royals tonight, Marcia!"

Marcia's eyes lit up at the sight of the treasure, while Nick began to grab all the loot and shove it into his bag, the satchel swallowing each and every one without any difficulty. "Sir Nick…this is too much for both of us."

Nick smiled and handed her some of the gold. "You've never seen this much have you?" When the wolf girl shook her head he continued. "When you get loot like this, it's overwhelming. Trust me, I've seen a few hordes like this. It's pretty special when you clear your first dungeon. When we get back, treat yourself. Go nuts. Granted, we might want to be careful; this much money entering the economy might start devaluing the currency…"

"Eh?"

"Ah, don't worry, I've got a way around that," he said, waving off her confusion, "Now, lessee here, any weapons? I should probably hang onto them so that the other Heroes can copy them, I guess…Oh?"

Amongst the treasure pile was a medieval crossbow, sturdily constructed out of iron, with filigree along the sides. Carefully picking it up, he examined it for a moment, before holding it up to his Bow's jewel. Sure enough, it glowed softly, releasing a scanning ray of light, before morphing into a replica of the crossbow

Impetuous Crossbow
Rarity: Rare
Abilities: +200 ATK
Sniping (+1)
Firing Speed (-1)
Type Bonus: +100 SP
Auto-Load

Bolt style Ammo Unlocked

"Sir Nick, what is that?" Marcia asked.

"It's a crossbow. It's more accurate than a normal bow, but reloading it can be a bit of a pain. Though apparently the Legendary Bow can load a bolt automatically, somehow. Which means my issue with reloading my bow is now mitigated with this. Though switching different types in a hurry might be an issue."

"That's good, I guess?" Marcia muttered as she collected the rest of the loot, absentmindedly shoveling it into a sack. Thanks to Nick's Inventory and her being in the Party, it all vanished without a trace, making her feel rather confused, but not enough to make her stop. Satisfied that they cleaned out the dungeon, they left the way they came in. Stepping out of the swamp, Marcia jumped as there arose a loud, ominous gurgling. Turning back to watch with great trepidation as the swamp waters swirled and drained into the hole that had led down into the dungeon, completely flooding it and sealing it off.

"God damn…so it looks like once the Dungeon has been completely ransacked, it'll collapse and vanish," murmured Nick speculatively, rubbing his chin, "Or is it just that there's a limited number of times one can enter it? I wonder how that'll affect the spawning of monsters in the future…" Then, glancing around at his companion, he smiled. "Well, no matter. Let's go get ourselves some food, shall we?"

Marcia's tail sprang up in excitement, wagging. "Oh thank you, Sir Nick!" she cheered, pumping a fist in the air and bounding after him exuberantly.

Hours later

After returning to town to clean up, they chatted up the innkeeper about potential destinations. After his initial skepticism and then shock at their claim that they'd destroyed the Dungeon, the man directed them to the north, where a much larger town was situated. It wasn't on the scale of the capital, but there was definitely a developed economy. "If ya picked up anything worth selling, you'd best take it there," he told them, "We don't have much need for jewels an' such 'round here."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," concurred Nick, "Much obliged. We'll probably hit the road now, then. If you got any fresh fruit, that will be nice to have for the trip."

"Oh sure. Just go down the road here to Millie's, tell her I sent ya, you should get a good price! Have a safe journey!"

Nick and Marcia waved and headed out. The giant wolf girl skipped along happily next to the Legendary Hero, while the bowman thought about what else he could use from the dungeon treasure. Idly, he reached into his pocket, where he felt a particular object. If nothing else, I still have this from the CYOAs, he thought.

TBH

She stumbled along, leaning heavily against tree trunks and clambering over roots. Her heart was thundering in her ears, and her lungs burned as she gasped for air, in between agonizing coughs. She could barely see where she was going, her vision was so blurred, and her legs felt like they were just seconds away from turning to jelly.

Had anyone seen her? Was she being pursued? When would they catch her? Would they just kill her when they did?

Only the tiny flag clenched in her fist kept those questions from sapping the last of her strength from her limbs.

TBH

Crouching down for a moment, Nick took aim with his crossbow, closing an eye as he lined up his shot. Then he pulled the trigger.

*TUNK!*

The bolt blasted from his weapon, streaking through the air to strike the distant boulder-sized bee-hive, which clung to the trunks of several trees.

Thanks to the crossbow's Sniper skill, the damage of his attacks would increase dramatically the further away he was from his target. As a result, the projectile slammed into the nest with tremendous force. The beehive shattered utterly, the monstrous larva and a majority of the workers not surviving the explosion. If it weren't for the fact that these were clearly monsters, he might have almost felt bad for destroying such a thriving hub of life.

But then bees the size of crows were swarming them, and Marcia was howling, swinging left and right, unleashing blast after blast of ice that felled swaths of them. Likewise, as his weapon pulled back automatically, a fresh Evanescent bolt materializing in the barrel, he took aim and unleashed an Erst Barrage. Fortunately, the decrease in Firing Speed didn't seem to affect the skill, as a cone of blue-green blasts shot forth in a satisfyingly rapid stream, nailing dozens of the insects out of the air.

By the time it was all over, he and Marcia had gained yet another level, and were well on their way to the next. Nick sat down on a root and pulled out his journal, leafing through it to confirm the newest jump in his and Marcia's stats. He let out an exhale. "Movin' right along, we are," he commented. Having mastered the crossbow with his latest level, he switched over to the Verdant Shortbow, a stout but visually striking weapon, colored bright green and embossed with silvery, leafed vines. The Recovery Shot skill that came with it seemed like it might come in handy. Unfortunately, the RES stat was involved in the use of healing, and Nick's RES was troublingly low. Maybe the shot works based on the target's RES instead, he thought with no real hope, grimacing. At the very least, the bow gave a decent boost to his already ridiculous SPD, and a MASSIVE increase to his HP.

Nick Ward
Level 7
HP: 1245 (+56)
MP: 7116 (+82)
SP: 214
ATK: 1195
DEF: 11 (+24)
HIT: 1817
SPD: 1960
INT: 342
RES: 26

Marcia Niado
Level 7
HP: 1289
MP: 100
ATK: 675 (+75)
DEF: 1992 (+300)
HIT: 540
SPD: 71
INT: 97
RES: 1161 (+100)

Nick hummed happily as he snapped the book and pulled an apple from his pouch. Seeing Marcia walking over and sitting down, he gave her a peach, which she eagerly bit into, her feathery dog-tail swishing in contentment. "As always, I can never tell if it's good that these numbers are so high," he commented, frowning.

"Whatcha mean?" asked his companion, slurping up peach juices.

As he opened his mouth to answer, a thought occurred to him. "Marcia, you can look at your Status, right?"

"Uh-huh! Everyone learns how when they're kids."

"Right. Look at your stats and tell me if those numbers seem high or low to you."

She cocked her head at him, but her eyes flicked up and to the left. "Mm. Now that you mention it, I've been leveling up a lot lately…EH?!" She shot up to her full height, eyes widening comically, "Wh-wh-what's with these stats?! I've always had some big numbers, but this is huge! I-is this normal?! No wonder those bees didn't even scratch me…"

"So it's unusual for this world?" asked Nick.

"I-I dunno…I think so…?" she mumbled, sitting back down. "M-maybe? I think we're strong, though."

"I hope that's all it is," he sighed, "Because the alternative is that the Waves will bring monsters powerful enough that we NEED stats this high."

Marcia froze at this line of thought. "I-I'll protect you, if I have to, Sir Nick," she told him, clearly trying to reassure both of them, "But…what do you think we should do?"

Nick thought for a moment, biting into his apple. "We keep journeying, of course. If that swamp dungeon is anything to go by, there should be lots of good new Bows for me to unlock, and better equipment to arm ourselves. In addition, it might be good if we get ourselves more party members. The ones that first joined me in the capital were no good and ditched me, but there's something to be said for strength in numbers."

"Why did they ditch you?" Marcia asked.

"I defended the Shield Hero, and basically called out the king on his bullshit. They took issue with that, and chose not to support me." He shrugged. "Given that I'd only been grinding for a day, it's no great loss."

Marcia hummed and continued to munch happily on her fruit. A snapping twig sounded through her ears and she snapped towards the sound. Staggering towards her was a frail-looking girl who looked ready to drop over dead. She was wearing a tattered set of rags, so stained with dirt and grime that it was impossible to tell what color it once had been, and a set of manacles rattled on her almost skeletally-thin, raw wrists. A pair of rounded ears sprouted from the top of her head, and a smooth, but dirty tail drooped behind her. Her matted hair was brown, and through her bangs, they could make out a pair of hazy red eyes. She stopped in her tracks and looked around at them both. Then, without a word, she collapsed to the ground.

"S-Sir Nick! This girl looks like she's been starved to death! We need to help her!"

Nick was already pulling out some oranges and carefully peeled it and pulled it apart. Marcia scooped up the girl and brought her over. Once laid down, the dire-wolf girl turned to her master. "She's burning up. I think she has an infection! If we don't do something…"

Nick didn't need to be told twice. "Stay with her. I'll go find herbs," he told her, standing up. Quickly looking through his Journal, he remembered that the Blue and Green Mushroom arrows that he'd picked up gave him the ability to create simple concoctions. Focusing on that skill, he found that he could recall the ingredients necessary to make a simple fever-reducing medicine.

Fortunately, with the Plant Appraisal skill, it was easy enough to locate the ones he needed. Gathering them up, he pulled out the Green Mushroom arrow and popped the cap off. Immediately it expanded, widening and hardening into a bowl with the consistency of hardened clay, while the remainder of the arrow transformed into a pestle. He quickly dumped the ingredients in and began to pound the ingredients into a fine mint-colored mixture. Pouring some of their water in to allow for easier digestion, he finally finished the green concoction. "Alright, this should do the trick. Prop her up."

Nodding, Marcia did so, gently raising the raggedly-breathing Demi-human child. Carefully, he opened her mouth, her lips terribly dry and chapped, and slowly trickled the medicine inside. He stopped when she began coughing, her body jolting, and something struck him as familiar about the image. However, once she stopped, he resumed, patiently administering the medicine until it was all gone.

Once it was all gone, the little girl cracked her eyes open. Blearily, she saw Nick looking over her before she closed them again.

"I think she'll be fine now. But whatever happened to this girl, her environment must've been awful for her to get sick like this." Glancing down at the manacles on her wrists, Nick scowled.

Marcia laid the poor girl down. Noticing that the girl's hand was clenched around something, she gently prodded it open, revealing a tiny, battered white flag, cobbled together from a stick and a scrap of cloth.

"Leave that," Nick told her, "Whatever it is, the fact that she still has it means that she'd die for it."

Marcia nodded and moved to make the little girl more comfortable while she rested. "What happened to her?"

"Nothing good," Nick muttered staring at the girl. "Maybe I can kick start her healing cause I don't know if we can get her to a proper healer in time." He pulled out one of his gems and carefully considered it. If he was right, this could lead to some major breakthroughs in his efforts to strengthen the party. Gingerly, he reached out and touched the young demi-human's forehead, wincing at the heat it gave off. "Socket."

There came a small pulse, but the girl's breathing, ragged as it was, didn't change as a single Socket opened in the air above her chest.

So living beings can be Socketed, thought Nick, looking down at the Verdant Seed in his free hand. So far, it seems that the quality, size, and condition of an object determines how many Sockets it'll have. If this girl has only one, then any later and it might have been too late. Bringing the gem to his forehead, he closed his eyes and murmured, "Give this girl the strength she needs to keep going, and the healing needed to fight back."

*Ktink!*

The gem slotted neatly into the socket and vanished. The young girl's body glowed slightly, and she stirred, mumbling, but didn't wake up. However, the feverish pallor in her face died down considerably, and her breathing became much less labored. As she shifted, her ragged shift rode down slightly, and Nick caught a glimpse of a purple sigil etched into her skin. That looks familiar… Frowning, he pulled the Journal out again and began leafing through it, trying to remember where he'd seen it. His brow furrowed when he found it.

Slave Crest.

This girl is an escaped slave.

Well, that settled what they would do with her. "Alright. Let's wait until she wakes up," he decided firmly, "Then we're taking her and heading back to the capital."

"Eh?" asked the dark-skinned giant dog girl, "Why? I thought we were heading further north."

"Yeah, we'll need to postpone that," sighed the Hero, "My medicine seems to be doing the trick for now, but this girl is a slave. That means that whoever her…owner is, they might have the ability to punish her from a distance, maybe even kill her, as long as she's got this crest on. We need to take her to the Slave Trader in the capital so that he can remove it."

Marcia's eyes widened. "Eh? Eh? Slave? What?"

"Yeah, the mark here is a Slave Crest. I don't know how to remove these, but I do know who might."

However, they still had to wait, as the mystery girl still had not awoken. So Nick began gathering up all the monster bees that they'd killed, as well as the fragments of their broken nest.

Beehive Longbow Unlocked!
Rarity: Common
Abilities: Hive Shot
Type Bonus: +5 HIT
Sockets: 2

Numbing Poison Coating Unlocked!
SP Cost: 25
Effect: SPD Down (Small)
HIT Down (Small)

Nodding in satisfaction, he kept on absorbing the bees.

Coating Efficiency Increased.

Nick blinked, then quickly pulled up the HUD for the skill. Sure enough, the SP cost had gone down by one. Wait, so absorbing more of the materials for coatings lowers the cost? He thought back to the Parashrooms down in the swamp Dungeon, which he had largely passed over after unlocking their coating. His Compounding recipes hadn't had a need for them, so he'd decided against collecting them. He groaned. Well, shit.

Sighing regretfully, he kept absorbing the bees, until finally the cost of his new coating dropped to 1 and stopped there. "Alright, so there's a minimum cost for things like this," he commented, standing up.

Looking over at the girls, he sighed and went back into the woods to gather firewood for the night, then got back to making more medicine. Marcia kept a vigil over the young slave girl, anxiously watching to make sure she slept well.

TBH

She really hadn't expected to wake up again, but she did. The soreness of her legs and back, not to mention the throbbing in her head, left her little choice. The cool morning air was a shock to her, yet at the same time impossibly soothing. She basked in it, unwilling to open her eyes; the last time she'd felt a breeze anywhere near like this since she was captured. Is...this what heaven is like? Mama, papa...Raphtalia…" Her hand squeezed the flag. Ah…so I'm still alive. You're right, Raphtalia. If I'm here, then our village will come back someday.

She opened her eyes blearily, to see a hulking shape looming over her. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse squeak before she rolled off whatever she was sleeping on, landing on the dirt floor with a thud. This set off a coughing fit.

"Ah, good morning!" A cheery female voice chimed in. Still panting with shock, she looked up to realize that the figure that had frightened her was a large woman, with a surprisingly round, young-looking face. "You scared us when you came into our camp. We thought you were gonna die. Thankfully, Sir Nick helped you."

Blinking, she gazed around and realized that there was, in fact, a man seated next to the remains of a fire. He was dressed in a collection of eclectically colored leather armor, with a bright yellow scarf around the lower half of his face. What little she could see was rough and weathered-looking, and his salt and pepper hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. A bright green bow was slung over his shoulder. Realizing that she was still on the ground, she quickly scrambled upright, only to stumble and sway.

"Careful!" said the huge woman, moving with surprising speed to keep her upright, "Sir Nick said that you're still really sick, so you'll need medicine."

"Medi…cine?" she asked, her voice cracked and dry. She spied several bowls of dark green fluid next to the man's lap.

"Yeah, exactly! Hey, Sir Nick! She's awake!"

The young girl flinched, eyes widening in trepidation as the man- who she now realized was a human -stirred.

"Not so loud, Marcia," grumbled the man in a deep voice, opening his deep-set gray eyes, "'s too early…ah. It's you." Without preamble, he picked up one of the green bowls at his feet and held it out. "Take it. Probably doesn't taste all that great, medicine seldom does."

The young girl gazed down at her bowl. Her stomach growled, making her cringe self-consciously. Not wanting it to get snatched away if she was too slow, she quickly gulped it down, although her face distorted and it took some effort to actually swallow it. She coughed once it was gone, but this time, it was a smoother cough.

"No one's gonna take it from you," Nick assured her. "We're not your…we're not whoever you were running from." He held up an apple. "Here, bet you're hungry. It's the best we got till we get back to town."

She took it, quickly chomping into it, and voraciously devouring it, almost eating even the core. Marcia giggled. "Hungry huh?"

The girl hesitantly nodded. Then, finally, she spoke. "I…I know you're not with them." She started coughing again.

Nick smiled slightly, telling her, "Don't need to force yourself."

She shook her head.

"Alright then. You got a name?"

"R…Rifana."

'Well then Rifana, I hope you don't mind traveling with us to the capital. We can get you looked at there, get that slave crest off of you."

Rifana's eyes widened. "Re…move?" she asked, her free hand drifting to her chest. "You would…do that?"

Nick nodded. "I would. The enslavement of another person is a crime that must never be condoned. So I'll remove the mark that binds you to someone else."

She stared at him, her eyes burning and welling up with tears. Then she fell to her knees, sobbing. Thank you, god…thank you for sending this person. But…why couldn't I have gotten away sooner? Then Raphtalia could be free too…

TBH

"The Bow Hero…?" Rifana asked hoarsely.

"Yep! Sir Nick is one of the Four Legendary Heroes! There's also the Sword, Shield and Spear Heroes!" Marcia said excitedly.

The smaller Demi-human looked at her askance. "Yes. I know that. I'm just surprised that…nevermind."

She'd always grown up on stories about the Shield Hero, friend to all Demi-humans and righteous to a fault. Of course, tales of the other three Heroes had been told in her village as well, but without any real reverence. Rifana chanced a glance at Nick, who had kept largely quiet. While his sharp gaze initially intimidated her, there was nothing specifically unkind about him.

"You alright walking?" he asked, noticing her look, "We can carry you if you get tired."

She flinched, looking away. "Th-that's okay…"

He hummed, watching her for a moment. "Those shackles probably aren't helping any, but we don't really have anything that can get them off you yet."

"Un."

There followed a long silence. Eventually, he turned to the little girl. "If you don't mind my asking, do you know where you escaped from?"

She shook her head, a thrill of fear running through her. He wouldn't sell her back to that man, would he?

"Damn. Could you describe the one who tormented you the most?"

Rifana blinked, then flinched automatically. Phantom pains lanced across her back, but for some reason, the welts from her whipping was much, much less painful than she remembered. She looked up to see Nick watching her with concern.

"That reflex was trained into you. Tells me plenty, even if you don't want to talk about it."

Rifana stared up at Nick, wide-eyed. Then, haltingly, she said, "He was…a big man. With a mustache. When our village was destroyed, soldiers rounded us up and…sold us to him. He liked whipping us, all the time." She shuddered, curling in on herself. "Over time, we took turns digging a way out of where they kept us. By the time it was done, though…" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I was the only one in the cell, and I was sick…I should have waited for the others to be brought back. We could have all escaped, but…"

"But you wanted to be free," Nick finished for her, gently, "And you couldn't take it anymore."

"I'm a coward…"

Marcia flinched.

"Who can say?" asked the Hero, shrugging, "Fear and desperation are some of the rawest things you can feel, especially if you were sick."

"But I still left them behind."

He nodded. "You did. But you want to know something?"

She looked up at him.

"A coward would've made excuses. Do you want to go back for them?"

"Y-yes! I do! But-"

"Then when we find out who that man is, we will go after him."

"...Eh?" she rasped out, wincing at her still-sore throat.

Marcia spoke up with a strident, "Yes! Keeping slaves only to hurt them is unforgivable!"

"It is," Nick concurred evenly, but Rifana could see a steely glint in his eye, "Slavery is an evil that must never be condoned."

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of the young girl's mouth. "You really are a Hero, aren't you?" she murmured.

"I'd say that even if I weren't."

TBH

When they finally arrived back at the capital, two days later, Rifana had started to show her more energetic side. With every dose of medicine she took, not to mention all the fruit she scarfed down, her ill pallor faded away. Marcia had taken to carrying the girl on her broad shoulders, the young slave blushing faintly. Any monsters that came into view were shot down in an instant by Nick, so that his party member wouldn't have to set down their guest. Finally, about mid day they reached the capital. The guards recognized Nick and saluted the two as they walked past the gate.

Using his mental map, he gestured for his companion to follow him, the crowd parting before the behemoth of a Demi-human. Of course, due to that, it was pretty much impossible to remain discreet. Sighing, he led her and Rifana into an alleyway, using his knowledge from his previous exploration of the town to quickly lose the crowd, before heading for Beloukas's tent. Soon enough, they found the large, gaudy thing.

"Oho?" The portly slave trader grinned widely as he spotted them. "Well now, I wasn't expecting you back so soon. How may I assist you, Sir Hero? Have you changed your mind about making a purchase? Ah, but no, I see that you are not lacking for companions."

Nick grunted. "Hardly. Are you able to remove Slave Crests?"

The egg-shaped man cocked his head, his bespectacled gaze passing over Rifana, who shuddered and hid behind Marcia, who frowned back at him. "I am indeed. It'll cost you a fair amount, though; the removal process requires materials that are a little harder to come by than with the application.

"We just looted a dungeon, so money is no object," Nick replied.

"Ohoho! Music to my ears, good sir!"

"Oh, and something to get these shackles off her."

As they stepped inside, Rifana began to tremble, stopping in her tracks only to force herself forward. Nick knelt by her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay," he told her gently. "He's gonna make sure the man who did this can't just order you back."

"But what happens after that?"

He smiled under his scarf. "Whatever you want to happen."

She looked down, shuffling nervously. Opening her fingers, she gazed at the flag still clenched in her hand.

"Here it is!" said Beloukas, bustling back into view with a vial of what looked like water, "Slave Crest-removing holy water. The church doesn't like producing it, but everyone has their price. Speaking of which, mine is ten gold."

"Of course it is," Nick acknowledged dryly, fishing a ten-gold coin out of his pocket and flipping it over. In exchange, the slave merchant readily handed over the small bottle.

"Just a few drops ought to do it, Sir Hero."

Said Hero turned back to the young slave, who pulled at her ragged neckline to expose her seal. As instructed, Nick dripped the water onto her skin, where it hissed and steamed, and although she flinched, she did not seem pained by the phenomenon. The purple mark drawn on her chest shimmered for a moment, then faded away, leaving nothing behind.

Rifana took a deep, shuddering breath, her eyes filling with tears. "It's…it's really gone…" she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Marcia swept her up into a hug, squealing quietly. "You're free now, Rifana!" she told her.

"Free? You mean I can do what I want?" murmured the smaller Demi-human, her tail lifting, only to "This...is a dream right? I'm gonna wake up in my cell in the manor and I'll be whipped…right?"

The dire-wolf girl's eyes widened. "Wh-what? No, that's-!"

"M-maybe Raphtalia will be there when I wake up…"

Nick, who had been about to pour the remaining holy water into his bow, froze. "Raphtalia?"

"Yes…Raphtalia was always the strongest one of us," said Rifana, tears streaming down her cheeks, "When the Wave destroyed our village, s-she told us that our flag would fly again one day! B-b-but she got taken away! And I had to run! I'm such a coward, e-everyone I cared about was left b-behind…"

Marcia squeezed her even tighter, making Rifana bury her face in her shoulder with a sob.

'Take her out of here,' Nick mouthed to her, gesturing around at the dreary interior of the slave tent. Realizing what he meant, Marcia quickly retreated, leaving the Bow Hero alone with Beloukas. As he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, Nick spotted something out of the corner of his eye. A purple box, lined with velvet and filled with rows of eggs. "Oi. What're those?" he asked, pointing them out.

The trader looked around as well. "Ah, those are a bit of a side project I use to bring in just a little more coin." His ever-present grin widened. "Are you interested?"

"Depends on what it is. Do I need to pay for the information?"

Beloukas laughed. "Of course not! I'm not THAT greedy! But this is what I call my Egg Lottery. You see, while these eggs might all look the same, their contents are not equal. For one hundred silver coins, one of these eggs is yours for the taking. At the very least, it will hatch into a Filorial, but if you're extremely lucky, you might get a dragon, worth its weight in gold!"

Nick's brow furrowed, and he turned to give the box his undivided attention. "...Alright, slaver, I'll admit you've got me interested. One hundred silver, you say?"

"No more or less," promised the egg-shaped man, chuckling.

Eyes narrowing in thought, the Hero fished out the required silver. "Don't ever say I never did anything for you," he grunted, striding over to the box.

"You? Never!"

Sighing, Nick looked down at the selection of eggs. There were twelve of them in total, each one identical, white and larger than his fist, their shells marked with a miniature Slave Crest. He activated the Mantle of Chiron, but no symbols appeared. Frowning, he reached out, lightly touching one egg.

A symbol materialized in his vision, showing a series of blue feathers. Not wanting to choose lightly, he moved on to the next one, receiving a reptilian claw. So, a bird and some sort of…lizard. Could that be the dragon? Hm. Let's see what the others are like.

He moved from one egg to the next, noting the symbols that appeared each time, mostly more clusters of feathers and claws, but a couple of unusual ones, like pools of liquid or a collar.

The moment he touched the tenth egg, he knew that it was The One.

As his fingertip made contact with the eggshell, the tent fell away, and an almighty blizzard battered at his senses. A dark, bleak wasteland stretched out as far as the eye could see, the horizon broken by mountains of solid ice.

He stumbled back, buffeted by phantom winds, and the vision was gone, leaving him back in the tent. The hand that had touched the egg shook, bitten by bitter cold, and as he let out the breath he had held at that moment, he was startled to find that it came out as a vaporous cloud.

"...I'll take that one," he said shortly, plucking out the tenth egg, this time with his skill deactivated.

If Beloukas realized what he'd done, he didn't show it, holding up a cushioned case with a clear glass top. "Keep it in this, Sir Hero. It is enchanted to incubate the egg depending on its species. I don't know which one you chose, so I can't say when it might hatch."

He grunted in thanks, gratefully plopping the egg inside and enclosing it. Then he turned and strolled out of the tent.

Whatever was inside that egg, it would grow up to be dangerous. And when it did, it would be best for it to do so where he could keep an eye on it.

TBH

He found Marcia and Rifana outside at the entrance to the alley that led to the tent, the younger girl sitting on a box, hunched over. "How are you doing?" he asked her.

She looked up at him, taking in the sight of the egg without comment. "I'm…better," she murmured, "Just a little."

"I'm glad."

She gave a tiny smile. "I never thought that it would be a Hero besides the Shield who would set me free."

Marcia giggled. "Sir Nick isn't the Shield Hero, but he's pretty good in his own right, yeah?"

"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied dryly.

Rifana actually blushed. "W-well, to tell the truth…I always thought that if I ever met the Shield Hero, I'd…" Then she shook her head, turning even redder. "N-n-nevermind! Forget it!"

Nick snorted. "If you insist." Then he grew serious for a moment. "Also, there is something you should know: I have seen your friend, Raphtalia."

The young Demi-human shot to her feet. "What?! You have?!" she cried, hope glinting in her eyes, "D-do you know where she is?"

"Not at the moment, no," he denied, making her droop, "But I do know who her master is."

Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw set, the news that her friend might be a slave putting some steel into her voice. "Who is it?" Left unsaid was what she would do with the information.

"Don't worry," chuckled Nick, to her confusion, "She is in good hands; her master is the Shield Hero."

Rifana reeled back, utterly stunned by this revelation. Nor was she the only one. "What?" gasped Marcia, astonished. "The Shield Hero has a slave? Why?"

Nick sighed. "Unlike me, Naofumi is unable to fight and defeat monsters on his own," he said, "Thus, he has Raphtalia fight in his stead, while he uses his abilities to protect her from harm."

"She's fighting?" Rifana asked anxiously, "She can't fight; she's like me!"

Marcia scratched herself under the ear, making it twitch. "Nn, I mean, there's lots and lots of small, weak monsters out there. If the Shield is as tough as me, then it'd be easy for him to hold 'em still while she finishes 'em off and gets EXP."

"Where there's a will, there's a way," added the Bow Hero, "I don't know the criteria for who gets summoned as a Hero, but I believe that Naofumi has what it takes to survive, keep Raphtalia safe and to grow."

Rifana bit her lip, shivering. "And…then you'll fight the Waves?" she asked in a small voice.

"We will," he confirmed firmly.

She nodded, bowing her head in thought. "Then…I would like to fight as well."

"What?" gasped Marcia, "Are you sure? You just got freed from slavery, you can go anywhere-"

"But I don't have anywhere to go now," said the younger Demi-human quietly, "My home was destroyed by the Wave, and then ransacked by soldiers from the capital."

Nick sucked in a breath, taken aback by that bombshell. This kingdom's problems go even deeper than I thought.

"That's why, I want to help you defeat them!" she continued, voice rising as she gazed up at him, "Please, Sir Nick, help me get strong, so that I can fight and make things easier for Raphtalia!"

Nick watched her for a moment, scanning her face. She was being genuine, but of course, he didn't doubt that for a second. Then he activated the Mantle of Chiron again. Shimmering into view over her head was the image of a silvery glove, holding a set of knives between its fingers. "Very well," he said, nodding, "It might take a bit of doing to train you up, but I've got a skill to help speed it along."

She nodded resolutely.

Rifana has joined your party.

TBH

"I didn't think I'd see ya back so soon," commented Erhardt, leaning on the counter as Nick picked out armor, "It's been what, a week or two? And you picked up two Demi-humans?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" asked Nick lightly, frowning as he examined a set of light leather armor, "You got anything in Rifana's size?"

"Eh, gimme a little bit and I can whip something up," replied the armorer, shrugging, "And nah, I don't mind it. Just surprised; I thought Demi-humans favored the Shield Hero over the others, kinda like the church here worships the Three Heroes."

Marcia huffed, clanking around in a suit of plate mail. "I'm plenty tough already, so I don't need the Shield Hero protecting me. I wanna be the one to protect people, so I joined Sir Nick 'cause he's squishy! Nnh, this armor is kinda tight."

"It was designed for someone normal-sized!" groaned Erhardt, "I'll make you something as well!"

"What do you think of those?" Nick asked Rifana, pointing out a pair of daggers. She padded over to the shelf and picked on up gingerly, turning it over in her small hands.

"Um…it's not bad? I've never held a weapon before."

"Mm, true. Just pick two that feel good in your hands, but maybe a little big so that you can grow into 'em. Oi, Erhardt, I'll also take a couple sets of throwing knives for her."

The bald, scarred man raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Those things take a lotta skill to use."

"Yeah, don't worry. Let's just say I've got a feeling they'll suit her well."

He shrugged. "Your coin, Bowman."

"Don't you worry, we've got coin to spare. Marcia and I went into one of the old Dungeons and hit a real payload."

"No kiddin'? I hear those can be tough for low-level adventurers."

Nick shrugged, leaning against the counter. "This one wasn't. Or at least, the only danger was how many damn leeches there were. But we got through it alright. The Dungeon actually flooded and vanished after we left it. Know anything about that?"

Erhardt blinked. "Vanished? Huh, can't say I have. Then again, hardly anyone ever tries going into a Dungeon once the Heroes kill the boss and make off with the big treasures."

"How big?"

"Ah, y'know, I've only heard stories, but I'm talkin' some majorly powerful magic items and weapons, rare jewels and super intricate pieces. Stuff that'd have you rollin' in it for life if the Heroes didn't use it to revitalize the parts of the kingdom that get torn up." Erhardt sighed. "The worst part about the Waves is, when a Dungeon forms, it totally screws up the landscape and ruins maps, making people have to take different, more dangerous routes. If you think it's possible to make the old ruins disappear, Bowman…I wish ya all the luck in the world."

Nick nodded and waited for the girls to finish changing back. I should probably get Rifana some better clothes as well, he thought, carefully bundling up the new weapons and gesturing for his companions to follow him.

In comparison to the armor, getting Rifana a light blue tunic and long gray skirt that fit her size was much easier. The younger girl gave a shaky smile as she took in her new look, bolstered by Marcia beaming at her. "T-thank you."

"No problem. Now let's see if we can't find you a teacher."

She blinked. "A teacher?"

He snorted at her cutely confused look. "Regrettably, I can't directly show you how to use those knives myself. I can't pick up other weapons besides this bow."

Rifana nodded in understanding.

The three left the clothing shop and began to ask around. Nick had just the person in mind to help Rifana. A little bit of digging later, they encountered him in a tavern near the castle.

"Looking well, Gerrick," Nick addressed him from behind.

"Eh? Whaddya wan-?" The oily, gangly man swiveled about on his barstool, looking sour, only to pale at the sight of the Bow Hero. "...Y-y-y-you!" he gasped.

Nick smiled, his eyes flinty. "Good, good, so you remember me."

"Ah, uh, yeah, that I do, Sir Hero," stammered the thief, bowing his head quickly while subtly getting to his feet, "W-well, I'd love ta chat an' all, but y'know, lots ta do!"

Nick's hand snapped out, snagging the man's collar. "Is that so?" he asked casually, "I find it difficult to believe that a man like you wouldn't have some free time, since you're not in my party anymore."

"Ah, you know this smelly man, Sir Nick?" asked Marcia brightly. The tavern's patrons were giving the mountain of a girl a wide berth, though she seemed to not notice. It helped to ensure that nobody listened to closely to their conversation.

"Oh yes," he replied with equal cheer, "This man was one of my party members, until he decided to bail on me when I spoke out against the Shield Hero's treatment."

Immediately the wolf-girl's gaze sharpened.

Gerrick gave an undignified squeal. "O' course I did!" he protested, "The Shield Hero raped th' Princess! We all know he's the devil."

"We all," Nick indicated himself, Marcia and Rifana, "Know nothing of the sort. What, were you afraid of a little dent in your reputation to work with a Hero who doesn't follow your religion? Ah, that would probably have been Deaurep, now that I think about it. But we're not here to talk about any past abandonments."

"Y...yer not?" asked the wiry man.

"Oh no. We're here for something more useful. You know how to use a dagger and throw knives, yes?"

Gerrick nodded cautiously, looking wary. "Yeah…why? You're not gonna drag me out ta th' Dungeons ta fight for ya, are ya?!"

Nick scoffed. "Certainly not." He pointed to Rifana. "You'll be teaching her how to fight."

"O-oi, you can't just expect me ta give lessons to a Demi-brat!"

"Hm…it seems that I do. Therefore, I clearly can."

"You think that ya can make me? I'll kill you here!"

"Oh wow, you must be really drunk. Now see, if I was the Shield Hero, you would probably get away with threatening me. Since I'm the Bow Hero, you're gonna want to rethink that, chum. Now, I hate to throw my status around without due cause, but if you're denying one of the legendary heroes training…"

The man's face reddened. "Tch. Just like you fancy types. The moment someone like me becomes useful, you sink your claws in and don't let go."

"Are you attempting to make me look like some sort of prejudiced nobleman? No no no. I'm just a bowman who wants to make sure a small child can defend herself."

"I ain't doin' a thing for free, and even if I did-!"

"Oh, speaking of, how much were you paid to join me?" Nick asked suddenly, making Gerrick freeze, "Because I don't imagine it was a lot up front. They probably figured you'd stick with me and earn more that way. Shows what they know, doesn't it?"

"Five hundred silver!" hissed the thief, his gaze flicking towards the counter, where his half-empty mug still stood, "I learned the knives meself! If your little rat-child cuts 'erself tryin' ta copy me, I won't put up with any bellyachin'!"

"That's just robbery!" protested Rifana, glaring up at him.

"And she talks back too! What a sorry little beast you dredged up, eh?"

Nick's eyes narrowed, and Gerrick suddenly became very aware of a crossbow being pressed against his ribs, hidden from the rest of the crowd by the Hero's body. Even with the scarf hiding his mouth, there was absolutely nothing that he needed to say to get his point across. Rifana was free to speak as she wished. Gerrick was not.

"Hey, Sir Nick!" said Marcia suddenly, "Why don't you use a crystal ball to record him? I heard that you can watch anything stored in it over and over again."

Nick perked up. "Splendid idea!" He smiled at Gerrick, who flinched. "You're lucky that I had a windfall from the Dungeons, Gerrick. I won't even haggle for it; five hundred silver buys your skills."

"Tch! Don't think you can get a good fighter outta some recording…!" mumbled the defanged thief, fighting to keep a tremor out of his voice.

The Bow Hero smiled. "Don't you worry about that, my good man. I just need someone to show her how to hold and throw them, since I can't myself. My Mantle will do the rest."

As Nick dragged Gerrick from the bar, the two Demi-humans trailed behind him. "Sir Nick can be kinda scary…" murmured Marcia.

Rifana shook her head. "A little…but against someone like that, I think there's no one better suited to being a Hero…"

TBH

AN: And so we bring another chapter to a close. Nick has drawn to him another person of great potential, to grow and prosper under his guidance.

Stats!

Nick Ward
Level 7
HP: 1245 (+56)
MP: 7116 (+82)
SP: 214
ATK: 1195
DEF: 11 (+24)
HIT: 1817
SPD: 1960
INT: 342
RES: 26

Marcia Niado
Level 7
HP: 1289
MP: 100
ATK: 675 (+75)
DEF: 1992 (+300)
HIT: 540
SPD: 71
INT: 97
RES: 1161 (+100)

Rifana
Class: N/A
Subclass: None
Race: Demi-human (Weasel)
Sockets: 1 (Verdant Seed)
Level 1
HP: 30
MP: 14
ATK: 10
DEF: 8
HIT: 12
SPD: 18
INT: 12
RES: 10

To those of you who are reading this on FF, I have recently started an AO3 account, which this fic has been uploaded on.

As always, if you have any questions, leave a review or send a PM.

North South out.