WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 18

I spent about two hours with Feinrea, instructing her on how to refine the Blood Replenishing Pill. While that seemed like a long time to create a single pill, the fact that she could refine one in just two hours after seeing me refine it once impressed me. It had taken me about two weeks to refine one that met the stringent standards of the person who taught me.

Once I was satisfied with her performance, I left the Alchemist Association. My next destination was the northern Nevarian Spiritualist Headquarters.

The Alchemist Association was located close to the Merchant’s District, which was in the western quarters, so the journey was pretty far. I actually decided to take a carriage. It took me about one hour to reach the headquarters. After hopping out of the carriage and paying the driver, I walked up to a young woman in the armor of a Nevarian Spiritualist who was guarding the front gate. She looked at me in surprise, but I didn’t give her a chance to speak.

“Is Commander Dante present? I would like to speak with him.”

The woman needed a moment to restart her brain as she gawked at me, wide-eyed like she couldn’t believe I was standing before her. I wondered if she knew who I was and that was the reason, or if she was just surprised some random person would ask to speak with Dante. I got my answer a second later.

“Y-yes, Commander Dante is present. Shall I escort you to him, Master Eryk?”

Master? Since when did people start calling me master? Regardless of the reason, the important thing was that she was willing to take me to Dante.

“Yes, please.”

The woman bowed toward me, and then led me passed the gate surrounding the headquarters and through the front door. I followed her as she walked to the, by now, familiar doors of the commander’s office. She knocked once.

“Commander Dante? Master Eryk is here to see you.”

“Send him in,” a voice came from the other side.

“You may go in.” The Nevarian Spiritualist held the door open for me. I thanked her as I walked into the room, and then she shut the door behind me, leaving me alone with Dante.

Dante was alone today as he sat behind his desk, reading what appeared to be a report written on faded parchment. He looked up as I walked toward the desk. Setting the parchment down on the surface, he smiled at me.

“It seems you had quite the adventure with my sons and daughter,” he said in a breezy voice. I wasn’t fooled.

I shrugged. “It was a bit more hectic than I assumed it would be at the beginning, but matters evened out soon after, and we were able to complete our quest with relative ease.”

“I heard.” Dante leaned back in his chair and blew out a deep breath. “I received a report from Mikkel telling me about everything that happened… including the attack by the Giant Svart. I am still having trouble believing there was a B-rank Demon Beast so close to Nevaria. Giant Svarts live on Devil’s Mountain, which is located about a hundred kilometers into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. There shouldn’t have been one here.”

“It is unusual,” I admitted with a shrug. “But it could just be an anomaly.”

“Do you really believe that?” asked Dante.

“Not really. No.”

I knew more about the Demon Beast Mountain Range than even Dante did, having spent an entire year living with the mysterious lady who had made her home there. I’d explored even the regions where A-rank Demon Beasts lived. That was why I knew a Giant Svart showing up near the beginning forest just a few kilometers from Nevaria was highly unusual—no, it was something that shouldn’t have been possible.

But then again, the Demon Beast Invasion shouldn’t have been possible either.

“Demon Beasts, especially the strong ones that are B-rank and above, like to create territories, and they rarely ever leave those territories.” Dante tapped his finger against the desk, creating a staccato rhythm. “This is part of the reason our Spiritualists are able to delve so deeply into the Demon Beast Mountain Range without running the risk of dying. The Nevarian Spiritualists have extensively researched this matter and created maps that detail where all the known Demon Beast territories are. For one to appear out of the blue like that is…”

“It may be that something unusual is going on to cause the Demon Beasts to become restless,” I began when he trailed off in thought. “But I don’t believe thinking about it is going to get us anywhere right now. If this is a matter of great importance, then maybe you should consider sending people to investigate. In either case, that isn’t what I’ve come here for.”

Dante threw his head back and laughed at my blasé attitude. “I suppose that is true. Sorry. I went off on a tangent there.” He calmed down and leaned forward on his desk to pin me with a look. “So, what did you come here for?”

“A few reasons. First…”

Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out a folded up sheet of parchment, unfolded it, and set the parchment on the desk in front of Dante. He glanced at the parchment briefly, looked away, and then doubled back when his brain seemed to finally process the contents. As he gawked, I smiled and explained what he was seeing.

“This is called a ballista, though it’s also been referred to as a bolt thrower. It’s a weapon that launches projectiles at distant targets. However, it can also be used to shoot at flying Demon Beasts—provided someone has the skills to use it.”

I reached over and tapped a finger against what was a blueprint for the ballista. Dante followed my finger as I pointed out specific parts of the weapon.

“This uses two levers with torsion springs. The springs consist of several loops of twisted skeins. The ballista itself is made of wood and held together with iron plates around the frame and iron nails in the stand. You see this slider at the top? That’s where bolts are loaded into and shot out of. The winches and the claw at the back are used to ratchet the bowstring into an armed firing position.”

It felt like Dante wasn’t really listening to my explanation as he stared at the ballista, but I kept going anyway.

“Our forces right now rely entirely on our Spiritualists to fight against the Demon Beasts, which is fine in most circumstances, but if something were to happen where our city was attacked en masse, it would be a good idea to have people who aren’t Spiritualists trained in how to use these so they can provide support by taking out airborne Demon Beasts. Of course, these weapons are also great if we ever find ourselves under siege.”

More or less finished with my presentation of this first weapon, I took a step back and waited as Dante continued studying the ballista. I glanced around the room. There were a few maps hanging from the walls. It looked like most of them were of Nevaria, but there were a few incomplete maps of the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

Finally, Dante blew out a breath and spoke. “I was wondering what you wanted to speak to me about, but to think it was something like this…” He trailed off as a wry grin twisted his lips. “I certainly won’t lie and say this doesn’t interest me. Just hearing you talk about them, I can see how these weapons would be an advantage to have.”

“Why do I sense a ‘but’ in those words?” I asked.

Dante laughed again. “But I will need to speak with Hilda, Rainer, and Valence before any decision can be made on whether to implement them.”

“I figured as much.” Dante was technically the sub-commander of the Nevarian Spiritualists alongside Rainer, who dealt primarily with the logistical side of things. In fact, I probably should have been presenting this idea to Rainer. “Should I present this idea to Empress Hilda as well?”

“Naw.” With a shake of his head, Dante dismissed my offer and grinned. “I think I can do that much at least. You’ve already shown me this amazing device, and I can definitely see how it would be useful.”

“I’m glad you think so… because I have several more devices that I would like to show you.”

“Wait. What?!” Dante actually stood up from his seat and slammed his hands flat against the desk. His expression made me grin. “You have more?! Really?”

Nodding, I took out several more sheets of folded parchment and began showing each one to Dante. The first one I actually showed him was an idea to have several watchtowers built in key locations around Nevaria. There was the blueprints for the watchtower, which would have a ballista built on a rotating platform that had a full 360 degree rotational range. I also had a map where I circled the areas where having a watchtower would prove most beneficial. My goal was to have these watchtowers built at 500 meters apart, which was the maximum range for the ballista.

I also presented a blueprint for a smaller ballista, which could be installed on top of the ramparts and used the spray suppressive fire on any rampaging Demon Beasts that attacked Nevaria from the ground. They were actually a lot like crossbows. However, they were about three times bigger. The bolts also had more penetrating power and range than a crossbow did.

“What makes both of these ballista really great weapons is that bolts can be infused with an element,” I finished my presentation. “Say you’ve got a Spiritualist with the lightning element. He or she can infuse that element into the bolt by transcribing Runes onto the surface to increase its penetrating power. If someone with the fire element transcribes Runes onto it, the bolt will unleash a massive explosion. Of course, having a Spiritualist use the ballista isn’t necessary. Once the Runes are transcribed, anyone can fire them and get the same effect. This is the biggest benefit of these weapons.”

By the time I was done, Dante looked like someone had struck him in the throat with a rabbit punch. He was staring at me like I was an A-rank Demon Beast. I wasn’t sure I appreciated that look, but then he took a slow breath, held it… and chuckled.

“You really are something else. You know that?” he asked.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that.” I frowned.

“I mean you’re an impressive kid.” Dante rubbed his smooth-shaven chin. “This is something that has the potential to turn the tide of battle if Nevaria is ever attacked. Of course, the chances of that happening are small, but it isn’t impossible. These could definitely help us out.” After staring at the blueprints for several seconds longer, he grabbed them, rolled them up, and tied them together with a leather band. “I will present these to Hilda when I get home today. I’m sure she’ll be interested in them.”

“Very well.” I accepted his words with a nod.

“Was that all you came here for?” asked Dante. “You just wanted to present these to me?”

I was about to say yes, but then I remembered something and shook my head. “There was also something I wanted to ask you.”

“And what’s that?” asked Dante.

“Do you know any people by the name Hagen or Skygge?”

Dante leaned back and crossed his arms, eyes narrowing in sudden concentration. “I don’t know anyone named Skygge, but I know of a Hagen. That’s a fairly common name. However, I assume you are asking about a person of great power who is named Hagen.”

“That’s correct.” I couldn’t imagine someone who didn’t have high standing within Nevaria being able to keep a woman like Dyr secret for so long.

“The only Hagen I can think of who fits that description is the Head of the Leucht Family. Hagen Leucht.” Dante uncrossed his arms and grinned upon seeing the way my face twitched. “Does that answer your question?”

“I believe it does,” I said.

“Is there a reason you asked me about him?”

His question made me pause, hesitate, as I debated whether or not telling him about Dyr would be beneficial, but I had no reason to hide what happened. Earland, Geirolf, and Mikkel also knew about Dyr. It wasn’t like telling their third father would do any harm. That was why I explained how I had met a woman named Dyr in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, and how she had mentioned living with two people called Hagen and Skygge.

The frown that appeared on Dante’s face at the start of my explanation had grown larger by the end. “I don’t know anything about a Skygge, but Hagen doesn’t have any daughters. He only has that one son, Grant, and you already know what happened to him. This Dyr could be talking about a different Hagen.”

“Maybe…” While I decided to drop the subject for now—we had no proof to incriminate the Leucht family with, and even if we did, I wasn’t sure what we’d incriminate them of—I couldn’t help but think that Dyr and the Leucht Family were definitely connected. That said, I also had to wonder… just who was Skygge?

***

Having given my presentation to Dante, the next place I made for was the training ground I was using with Kari and Fay. We had actually been offered to use the training courtyard at the Imperial Royal Palace. I had declined. I wanted a space with lots of obstacles to help the girls train in their Flash Step.

While making my way to the training ground, I thought about what Dante had said about Hagen Leucht, the head of the Leucht Family. I was positive he was the one who Dyr lived with. That said, I really didn’t know what to do with this knowledge. It wasn’t like I could storm the Leucht Family manor and slaughter everyone there. As one of the Three Heavenly Families, they had more power, politically, than I did. If I did something to them, I’d be the one branded as a criminal.

I also wondered about Dyr. The girl wasn’t very strong, couldn’t fight, and didn’t have any sense of spatial awareness. What had she been doing in the Demon Beast Mountain Range? Why would this Skygge person even take her out to such a dangerous location? No matter how many times I asked myself this question, I always came up with a blank.

My thoughts on Dyr and the Leucht Family were shaken off when I reached the training ground. Fay and Kari were already there.

They were wearing clothes meant specifically for training.

Fay’s shirt wasn’t something I feel could be called a shirt, since while it covered her breasts, it left her torso and stomach completely exposed. Her hips were covered in black shorts that wrapped around her firm bottom like a second skin. This drew my eyes along the magnificent lines of her body, from her wide hips, her flat and toned stomach, to her large chest. The black stockings and brown boots she wore matched her clothes.

On the other hand, Kari was wearing those weighted clothes Fay and I had been using to build up our strength and stamina. That meant most of her body was covered. She also must have been wearing breast bindings because her chest looked much smaller than usual. While Fay appeared relatively fine, she was breathing hard as sweat poured down her body.

“Is this… really what you two did… to get stronger?” asked Kari as she went through the routine of push ups, sit ups, squats, lunges, pull ups, and several other strengthening/endurance training exercises.

“It is.” Fay nodded as Kari slowly bent her knees, hands on the back of her head and back straight, until her body was squatting down, and then moved to stand back up. “When I first began training with Eryk, this was the routine we did every day before training our Spiritual Power.”

“Ugh…”

I wished her pants weren’t so baggy so I could see her butt flex, but I recognized that I was getting distracted and shook my head.

Kari had only begun training with us a few days ago. In fact, I don’t even think 10 days had passed since she joined us (if we didn’t include the time spent in the Demon Beast Mountain Range). That said, we hadn’t been able to have her do this particular routine at the time because she didn’t have the weighted clothes. Now that she did, I guess that meant it was time to put her through the paces as well.

“Kari, once you finish these exercises, I want you to begin practicing the Flash Step,” I said as I walked further into the clearing. Kari whimpered but didn’t complain. “While you are doing this, Fay, you and me will begin our game of tag.” I smiled at her. “I hope you last longer this time than you did the last time.”

Now it was Fay’s turn to whimper.

***

Fay did actually last longer this time than she had the last time, but that was like comparing apples to oranges. It was only a five minute difference. Still, for five minutes, she had managed to use the Flash Step nonstop before exhausting herself and tripping. My goal for her training was to make it so she could last for at least half an hour. If she could do that, then it meant her stamina and reserves of Spiritual Power were at the same level Kari’s had been in my previous life, which also meant she had the power, if not the skill, to defeat a B-rank Demon Beast by herself.

Both Kari and Fay were utterly exhausted by the time they finished training. I’d had to carry Fay back to the clearing that Kari was using because her legs weren’t working. She was hanging limply from my arms, her legs swinging back and forth as her head rested on my shoulder. Even her arms weren’t working.

“No fair,” Kari mumbled when she saw us. “I want to be held like that too.”

Her words made me chuckle just a little. I was sure she’d said that out loud without realizing it.

I had packed some lunch for us all to eat, though it was just a simple basket full of sandwiches. The lunches came from a bakery that specialized in catering for parties. A lot of what they made was mostly finger foods. What I had bought were simple, just several servings of meat and vegetables smashed between two slices of bread with a light spread, but they would satiate our hunger. I also had a large flask of water to share between the three of us.

“How long do I need to keep these exercises up?” asked Kari as she munched on her food with little decorum. I wondered what her fans would say if they saw how she stuffed her face. I thought it was cute, but I was sure they’d be appalled.

“Once the weights in your clothes reach a maximum of six hundred kilos, you can stop using the weighted clothes,” I said.

Kari grimaced. “I don’t even think I’m at two hundred kilos yet. It seems I still have a ways to go.” She put the flask to her lips and drank deeply of the cool water inside, releasing a sigh of relief after quenching her parched throat. Her attention refocused on me. “If you don’t mind me asking, how much weight did you end with?”

Tilting my head, I thought for a moment as I calculated how much weight I’d had by the end of my training with the clothes. “Well… let’s see. I stopped using the weighted clothes after they ripped from having too much weight. Those clothes are quite sturdy. I’d say… I must have had at least 2,500 kilos by the time I was done.”

“2… 2,500 kilos?”

By this point, even Fay was gawking at me. She probably didn’t know how much weight I had been packing into those Rune inscribed cylinders. Every day, I had increased the amount substantially from the previous day. I think it was something like I doubled the amount each time I trained.

“Thereabouts,” I affirmed their question.

Kari blew out a breath. “We need to train harder.”

“Yes.” Fay nodded. “I agree. I can’t afford to let myself fall behind.”

It sounded like Fay planned on going back to training with weighted clothes, but I didn’t think that was necessary right now.

“No, at the moment, it is more important for you to practice the Flash Step and the Rotation Fire Fist. As of right now, you are way stronger than most Spiritualists, physically speaking, which means we should be working on giving you attacks and techniques to supplement your combat style. If you can master the two Spiritual Techniques currently at your disposal, your overall power will increase far more than if you gained mere physical strength.”

After listening to my explanation, Fay placed her hands on the ground behind her and leaned back. “So I see. Yes, that does make sense. But how will I know when I’ve mastered these techniques?”

“When you can use the Flash Step consecutively without stopping for thirty minutes, I will have considered the first stage mastered. As for the Rotation Fire Fist…” I rubbed the back of my neck and thought about the technique. “My understanding is that it’s a technique where you generate fire using the rotation of your fist, and then launch it outward in a spiral-like pattern that slams into your opponent at range. Currently, your attacks don’t have that spiral pattern. You just shoot large fireballs. I believe the spiral is what gives your technique increased range and power, so I’ll consider the technique mastered when you can create a spiral with enough power to destroy a large boulder from fifteen meters away.”

“In other words, I have a really long ways to go,” Fay said with a sigh.

I’m sure the wry smile on my face had nothing to do with amusement. “Pretty much.”

“And you?” I asked Kari. “How is the Divine Buster Cannon coming along?”

“It’s really not coming along at all.” Kari’s smile was a tad self-deprecating. “I don’t want to make excuses like ‘it’s because I haven’t had time to practice’, but this technique has kind of fallen by the wayside in favor of physical conditioning and learning the Flash Step. I still can’t generate a beam wide enough or powerful enough to really deal damage to my enemies.”

“And the Flash Step?”

Kari’s smile brightened a bit. “That’s at least going well. I can now reach the target without overshooting or not going far enough in a single step. I’ve also been able to extend the distance. Currently, it only takes me one step to travel sixteen meters.”

Her analysis of her own abilities caused Fay to grimace, which I knew was because it had taken her a lot longer to reach that point. I didn’t say anything. However, I would talk with Fay later. Kari was uniquely suited to speed techniques thanks to her affinity for light. Fay wasn’t because she had a fire affinity. That was all there was to it.

“In that case, let’s work on the Divine Buster Cannon for now.” I stood up, causing the two girls to also climb to their feet. “Fay, I’d like you to work on the Rotation Fire Fist. I sadly won’t be able to fully help you because I don’t know the mechanics behind it very well.”

“I understand.” Fay nodded before moving off to practice on her own.

Turning to Kari, I said, “And I will be helping you right now.”

Kari beamed at me, seemingly happy that she and I would be training together. To start off, I asked her to show me the Divine Buster Cannon.

I stood about five or so meters from Kari, who had adopted a standard battle stance used for polearms, her dominant foot forward, knees bent, and her ranseur held at an angle as the tip pointed toward the ground. She took a slow, deep breath, and then lept into action. Moving forward on swift feet, she gathered Spiritual Power. Then she spun her ranseur in a complicated pattern and thrust it forward.

The beam of golden energy that erupted from the spear was certainly much smaller than the one she’d launched in my past life. I remembered how the beam had burst from her spear, shooting across the ground as it overwhelmed entire hordes of D and C-rank Demon Beasts. Her attack had a range of about 50 meters and was able to create a huge gap in the enemies’ formation. Her current Spiritual Technique only produced a beam with a range of about 15 meters and was much smaller. At most, she’d be able to incinerate a single line of enemies.

“I think I see the problem here,” I said after analysing her current abilities and comparing them to what I remember.

“What is the problem?” asked Kari.

“The first is simply that you don’t have enough Spiritual Power. You’ll have to build up your reserves if you want to unleash that attack at full power. Saying that…” I walked up to Kari as she set the butt of her ranseur on the ground. “It looks like the movements you’re using to generate that power are a little weak. I want you to try again, but this time, when you take that first step forward, I want you to add a spin to your movements.”

I took the ranseur from her and showed her an approximation of what I wanted. Granted, I was sure my example wasn’t the best. Polearms were not something I specialized in. However, I’d seen Kari do this enough times in my previous like that I could at least imitate her movements to some extent.

“Think you can do that?” I asked as I gave the staff back.

“I can definitely try.”

It was probably a testament to her trust in me that she didn’t even question why I asked her to add a spin. As I walked back to where I’d first been observing, Kari’s face gain a look of absolute concentration. She took a deep breath, held it, and then took several swift steps forward, spun, and released a loud cry as she twirled the tip of her ranseur around in complex patterns.

I used Spiritual Perception to watch her Spiritual Power as it surged through her body. There was much more this time. I could see the way her Spiritual Power flowed through her pathways, up her ranseur, and then exploded from the tip as she thrust the weapon forward. What shot from her weapon this time was a beam of about two meters in diameter. It flew for 20 or so meters, slammed into a tree at the other end of the clearing, and burned straight through it. As the tree groaned and fell to the ground with a loud crash!, Kari looked at what she’d just done with a flabbergasted expression.

“That… how…?”

“The spin you added after taking those first steps forward helped generate the power for your technique,” I said.

“I see.” Kari’s eyes soon returned to normal as she bit her thumb and looked at the damage she had done.

“Now you just need to increase the amount of Spiritual Power you have,” I suggested. “I recommend firing off this Spiritual Technique as many times as you can. You have those Three Way Spiritual Widening Pills, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Take one right now and begin practicing like that.”

“I will.”

As Kari raced over to where we’d set our bags and began rifling through hers, I traveled deeper into the forest. Our journey into the Demon Beast Mountain Range had shown me my own limitations. I wasn’t as strong as I needed to be, which meant it was also time I increased my own training.

***

I was fairly exhausted by the time the sun was setting. After giving Kari and Fay a kiss goodbye, the three of us parted ways—or rather, I parted ways with them. It looked like Kari and Fay were heading off somewhere together when I last saw them.

My destination was the Nadine Library, which had become even more crowded than before. There were a lot of people standing around outside. Several people were even peeking in through the windows. I wondered what they were looking at, but I couldn’t be bothered to figure it out… not until I entered, at least.

The inside was packed. There wasn’t a single space left at the tables. I noticed that all of the people sitting around were also mostly teenage boys and men in their early to mid-twenties. This confused me for a moment, since the boy to girl ratio was normally fairly even, but then I saw most of those men glaring with jealousy at a table near the back. I looked that way and felt an intense burning in my gut.

Lin sat at the back of the table, studying humanity’s written language with due diligence, but she was also being pestered by a pair of boys. It looked like one of them was the leader. He was a man with a powerful build, somewhere in his early to mid-twenties, and wore leather pants, a white shirt, and a leather jerkin. While his outfit appeared plain at first glance, the quality and material was made from Demon Beast hide.

“If you wish to learn our language, I would be more than happy to hire tutors for you,” the man was saying. “In fact, I could even tutor you myself, if you’d like.”

“No thanks,” Lin said. “This princess isn’t interested in letting anyone but Big Sister Kari and Fay tutor her.”

Those words, the mentioning of “Big Sister Kari”, made the man pause, and I used that opportunity to walk over to the table.

“Lin,” I greeted the girl.

“Oh! Darling!” Lin looked away from her book to present me with a glorious smile. “Are you done training?”

“Yeah… it went a bit longer than I expected.”

“That is all right. This princess has been catching up her studying. She didn’t have any time to study recently because we were in the Demon Beast Mountain Range.”

I nodded as the man who’d been hitting on Lin glared at me, but all that did was make the fire inside of me burn hotter. It wasn’t jealousy. At least, I didn’t think it was. However, the idea of this man hitting on Lin bothered me. I didn’t like it. I could also tell when I focused on the Ring of Marji that Lin was irritated by his actions as well. That was probably why I did what I did.

I wasn’t jealous at all.

Lin gathered her parchment, ink, and quill. As she turned back around to face me, I leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips. It was nothing more than a quick kiss. It could barely even be called a peck. However, the action caused Lin’s eyes to widen. Smiling at her as I leaned back, I held out my hand, which she took on reflex rather than any conscious action.

“Are you ready to head home, Lin?” I asked.

“Ah, um, yes,” Lin answered in a soft, dazed mumble.

Still smiling, I stared at the man, who I belatedly recognized as someone who’d taken part in the Spiritualist Grand Tournament. “Marko, I appreciate you keeping Lin company while she was studying.”

Marko, who had the appearance of a man who’d just been metaphorically punched in the face, could not stop himself from stuttering. “That… what… but you… how…?”

I ignored him as I guided Lin toward the door. We stepped out, the crowd of people parting before us as we exited. Once we began walking down the street, I looked back at the library to see everyone leaving, which I concluded was because their main attraction—Lin—was no longer there. As I was about to look back again, I caught sight of Lin and paused.

“Is something on your mind, Lin?” I asked.

Lin shook her head. “Not particularly. This princess is just very happy right now. Hee-hee.”

I couldn’t figure out why she was so happy, but it didn’t really matter. If she was happy, then so was I.

Still holding her hand, I laced our fingers together as we made our way home.