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It was a rather uneventful week following prior events, as Morwenne and Freya were still working on things on their own, keeping the rest of the SDC members in the dark so Arnold had nothing to do but wait.
All they know is that they've come into contact with an assistant scientist working under Jenlak, with a deal. Reveal everything and get a lighter sentence. Approaching the head scientist directly wouldn't work in their favor since the guy has been obsessing over demons his entire life. Meanwhile the other wants the demons' powers.
It would be foolish to think they'd crack under threats. Arnold was told that they'll deliver any news tomorrow once everything works out so all of them are waiting for Freya and Morwenne.
News came from the Republic that the empire's army managed to gain an advantage over Serz so this calmed the restless Wistorina down. Serz hasn't made any demands yet, choosing to play the waiting game.
Of course, a few things weren't revealed in the report he gave her, such as how Serz was executing a citizen every day while Wistorina isn't showing herself. As long as her father stays as their trump card, they will just kill innocents until she comes to them. They won't run out of citizens anytime soon so it's best not to tell her.
Hessinia's clone was put in trial by the Republic's nobles, who were refugees in the empire's camp, and held as hostage. This destroyed Serz's current plans as she's a very powerful witch that they needed. As such, negotiations are expected to take place soon if they fail to break her out.
Speaking of, Hessinia was now Celeste's subordinate and their plan to take down Serz's leader is already in development.
Anyway, his little side project with Sylphy proved to be a success. The Imperial Court approved their patent and a manufacturing company offered to mass-produce the Rune Transmitter. After being put on auction yesterday at a major event, that Sylphy attended as the inventor, pre-orders skyrocketed.
Even without his crystals, he'd made tens of millions of gold coins with a simple gadget. That number is expected to grow once the general public are able to buy it.
Parents can contact their sons in the military.
Long distance lovers can talk the hour away.
Children can talk to their parents while away for school.
If he didn't stop smirking now, his head would grow as big as the moon.
That aside, the natives that used to live in his mountains had important things to talk about so he had to teleport over to the city a few times to handle things there. Surprisingly, they didn't protest his operations in the mountains and forest and only wanted to negotiate on how to coexist.
Honesty, he could've simply driven them out and not negotiate but that action would reflect badly upon him as city lord. As such, he'll have to see this through till the end.
Lastly, an unsurprising piece of news is that the demon cultists have made contact with the drug lords selling Demon Punch. Ever since word got out that the drug can mutate people, they want to get it in their hands, as it's a much easier method than what they were doing.
Arnold hasn't gotten involved yet as he's going to wait for Luke to return to the academy after their school trip. He'll only move once Morwenne and Freya does.
For now?
He's currently at the guild.
'What would you say if you saw this, Alecs?' staring up at the guild building, he pondered.
Alecs and Lufulur started the Misteltein Guild in Star Fantasy and have stuck together through many years of struggles. While they weren't complete newbies at the start, managing a guild and doing boss raids was a whole other demon than grinding solo.
There were times even their strength combined wasn't enough to take a boss down despite being in the top 100 player rankings.
The doors swung open, breaking him out of his nostalgic daze.
"Morning, Sir Nova!" Elora came outside first, "You're here earlier than I expected."
The sun was barely out and the streets were still empty so no lies there.
"I have to do my duty as guild master now that I have time to myself."
The door opened again, then Josephine along with the new priest and Shaun and Idalia, came outside. The latter two were carrying equipment and crates with potions. It's normal for the party leader to push the new arrivals to their limits so this much is needed to equip them properly and buff or heal them.
"You remember Shealis, right? She's our new buffer and healer!" as if introducing a capable friend, Elora pushed the person in question forward.
To anyone who sees her for the first time, she would look like a sheltered young maiden with perfectly groomed hair and nails, pale skin untouched by the sun and golden eyes that gave her a strange elegant appearance.
'Shealis, huh.'
He looked above her head.
· Secta
· Divine Titan (Currently in human form using Giant Magic)
· Titles: Guardian of the Holy Sword, The Champion's Sworn Knight,
· Level 100
'She even used Yorm's species of magic to perfectly turn her into a human. She's desperate to keep her identity a secret if she's using such high-tier magic. What's her goal for coming here?'
He's known it was Secta since the moment the two met. But that was an inappropriate time to confront her so he just left her alone.
There's no way she knows he's Arnold with this new magic item that he received from Selia that can block even the highest perception skill.
Secta must be here for an innocent reason, like saving people and fighting for the poor and whatnot, but as someone who has a dark past with her, he was still a little cautious about her motives. If she's just taking a break from that incompetent fool's whining, he can understand.
'She's even in her human form that leaves her more vulnerable since her powers are sealed. Why take such a huge gamble for that guy in the first place?'
He could snap her neck much easier than when she's in her real form. If she did know he was Nova, she wouldn't take the risk of coming here.
For now, he'll just keep an eye on her and not break character.
"Nice to meet you again, Shealis. My name is Nova and I'm the guild master of Misteltein."
"Pleased to meet you, sir." She bowed.
"Shealis, there's no need to bow. We're all equals in this party." Elora said with a smile.
"Ah, yes…"
"Where's the other one?" he glanced at Josephine.
"She said she'll meet us outside the city. Believe it or not, but she prefers camping outside the walls compared to the inn we booked for new recruits."
"Alright, then let's go."
'She's always been a bit of a nomad, I guess. It's strange having her join my party.'
She actively hated Arnold's guts in the game. Pissing her off just once when you take control of Arnold throughout the game can end in a battle to the death.
She does win against him, though. But that's because he always underestimated her and never used his sword against her.
A martial artist's weapon is their body while a knight's is their sword. Arnold neglected his hand-to-hand combat abilities, relying more on his skills and physical strength to win most battles.
But that cost him his life in the game. Even if you do prefer a heroic playthrough, letting the deuteragonist die so early on could affect the final battle.
Stella had no rival anymore so she had no one else to compare herself to.
Luke had no one to save anymore so his motivations changed and with that the ending.
Tenma neglected her own cultivation and dies to a demon lord, when she should've been as strong as a demon lord.
This ultimately results in a bad ending.
Hard to believe an antagonist's death could cause such a ripple, huh?
'The reviews for the game having this route were so negative, they had to tone down Tenma's fiery personality and scrap some scenes where they interact to make it harder to trigger this.' As they sat in the carriage to go outside the city, he had that funny thought, 'I wonder what Tenma of this life thinks of me…'
Granted, they shouldn't know each other. And he hasn't committed those horrible things that made her loathe him.
Arnold remembered Tenma's in-game CGs.
She might not have had the curviest body but she had the most toned body out of any woman he's ever been with. Naturally, he chased after her in the game the moment they met.
Unfortunately, he had no idea how to tame that she-beast.
He was curious if he'll be able to do it in this life…
**
The carriage took a side road to an empty grassland far from any farms then came to a stop at the dead end there.
"That's her, huh." He spotted a woman training in her underwear in the field as if she was fighting a real opponent.
When the carriage came to a stop, they stepped off then Idalia and Shaun unloaded the equipment and supplies.
Galadriel said her presence isn't needed here as she'd rather continue working on the program once the guild opens so it was just the five of them here.
"Looks like she got bored waiting." Remarked Elora, "What is she even doing, fighting empty air?"
"It's imagery training." Said Arnold, "We won't be able to get her to snap out of it by calling out to her."
"Well, we can't just wait for her to finish. We have a busy day at the guild so it's best to get the evaluation over with sooner."
He was curious how she reacts to danger while in that state. He only did imagery training during his sessions with Sebastian which was a few years ago but he remembers that almost nothing could disturb him once he's focused.
But killing intent, which works on slumbering warriors, will work on her without a doubt. This instinct will be important for when they're out in an unfamiliar territory as they need to be alert even when sleeping.
Focusing on the quick and nimble Tenma, Arnold released his killing intent.
She stopped moving mid punch then within a blink of an eye, she appeared in front of him and threw a kick at his head.
"Uwaah!?" Shaun fell on his butt as her foot went right over his head, touching the top of his spiky hair.
Nova caught her leg easily then hit her thigh's pressure points.
"Uack!? W-What the hell!? A martial artist!?" she hopped on one leg as she lost all strength in the one she kicked him with and cursed, "Eh?"
"Tenma Dragneud, we finally meet."
**
"What a strange greeting." Elora said from beside them.
"S-Sorry! I just lose all focus of my surroundings and leave everything up to my instincts and senses." As her sorry excuse for a bandeau was beginning to come loose—he could distinctly see the outline of her areola—she apologized sheepishly.
Shaun and Arnold were getting lots of eye candy from this. Noticing the former, Idalia slapped him in the back of the head.
"You seem… comfortable." Elora said in a dead voice as she stared at Tenma's large bust that jiggled as she fanned herself with her hand. This woman is so shameless, she doesn't even care that she's basically in her underwear.
"Ah, I don't like getting my uniform sweaty just to train. My master taught me the first thing that must dirty a martial artist's clothes is the blood of the enemy!" she flexed her bicep and slapped it with a smirk.
"Anyway, sorry for the weird introduction. You're Mister Nova, right? Our party leader?"
"Yes. What made you come to us? I'm sure any other party would take you in easily."
"I heard you're one of the strongest adventurers in the country." Wiping a sweat droplet that almost fell down her chin, she answered flatly.
He glanced at Elora, who smiled wryly.
'Still the same as ever, Tenma. No wonder you had so many lovers in the game.'
To her, strength was the most important quality to look for in both a lover and a leader.
If she suddenly grew demihuman ears and a tail, he'd believe she's always been a demihuman with her simple personality. That being said, she's obedient and loyal if you can prove you're stronger than her.
She's the perfect idiot to manipulate.
"I hope you aren't some musclehead from the mountains who doesn't know anything about strategy because being in an adventurer party requires teamwork."
"…" She went pale for some reason. "U-Uhm, I don't know how that works…"
Elora sighed, "We'll just have to take you on a few small quests. That should be sufficient to teach you."
"S-Sorry for the trouble." For a mountain musclehead, she was surprisingly polite, if not a little airheaded.
"Get ready. I'll evaluate both of you newcomers and see where your limits lie. We need to know why we should pick the two of you over the applicants that applied to our program."
"I'll do my best…" said Secta.
"Ohhh! A fight with our full powers!? No wonder you requested to meet outside the city! Kekeke! I won't let you down!"
She then stretched, putting both arms behind her head, humming a merry tune while Shaun and Idalia were taking out the equipment.
"Look at her all fired up." Elora chuckled.
'Does this woman ever shave?' he noticed the thick bushes on her armpits, which glistened under the sun.
A wind then blew by, making her waist cloth fly up, exposing a rather thick bush between her legs. She's not even wearing proper underwear, making Arnold almost facepalm himself.
What an airhead.
Mouth almost as wide as his entire head, Shaun's nose gushed blood. Idalia was on the verge of unsheathing her rapier because of him.
After gaining distance from each other, Arnold took off his coat and threw it on the ground. He then stretched his upper body.
Tenma hopped on the spot like a boxer and shadow punched the air.
"I hope you forgive me for going to hard on you, Guild Master." After getting into a stance, a white energy surrounded her forearms, which took the shape of two dragon heads.
"The purpose isn't to win. Show me everything in your arsenal, Tenma."
She then zig-zagged across the grassy plain. Tenma was so fast that her body left afterimages. Before the shockwave even registered, Nova was almost punched right in the chest with one of her Dragon Fists but he managed to block with his arms in time.
He was sent flying several meters back but otherwise he was fine.
"Wha!? That might not have been a full-powered punch but that's all the damage it did!?" she shouted in disbelief at him being able to absorb so much of the force.
"You need to be careful with your strength." He said casually, "There's farmlands all around us."
Since he tensed up his muscles the moment of impact and relaxed his stance a second after, the power behind her punch was absorbed into his body so there wasn't any damage to the land besides the ground that he was forcibly moved through by the force of her punch.
"I'm not just going to test your attacks, but also your defense so don't take me lightly."
Seeing as how he was able to take that punch, Tenma heightened her guard.
'Shit, he looked so weak from a glance. But he's actually this strong? I shouldn't underestimate my opponents. My masters warned me how dishonorable it is to do so.'
The two of them charged at the same time, her holding back his fist and she, his fist.
The next moment, their flurry of punches created a blur and wind so strong that it made the grass lean backwards.
"Haaaah!" Tenma gradually began to increase the power and speed behind her attacks.
However, Nova began to do the same.
'He's keeping up with her that easily…' Shaun thought absentmindedly, 'How does a guy only three years older than me become that strong…? How many monsters did she kill in her life… or is this just training?'
He and Idalia were present when Tenma came to the guild. They're also members of Misteltein so they helped around every now and then between doing quests with Lucia to help them level up.
Shaun's strength comes from his class—Berserker. But even that wasn't that amazing since he tires himself out quickly just for a temporary burst of strength.
'Would I be able to become that strong if I train harder…?'
Tenma has been living in the mountains almost her whole life, dedicating it to training. She's also been said to be the most talented martial artist the famed Emei sect had ever taken under their wing.
So why? Why is a villager boy from who-knows-where as strong as her?
Admittedly, she wanted to impress the party with her strength by beating the party leader, making her the most popular in the guild and spreading her name. However, the same guy who established the guild was keeping up with her without breaking a sweat.
Tenma jumped back, missing a punch by an inch.
'Her physical strength stat is twice as low as mine in this form but her endurance is three times my own. What a great meatshiel—tanker.' He thought as he shook his hands loosely.
Eyes closed and stance relaxed, a dark red energy began to engulf her body. Red veins popped under her skin and when she opened her eyes, they were pure white, no sign of her pupils.
"Ms. Tenma, Sir Nova doesn't possess energy like you do so that's cheating!" shouted Idalia.
Nova held up a hand to stop her, "It's fine. The point of this test is to bring out her limits so that we can decide the role she'll play."
Her HP and endurance were higher than his but his physical strength and agility far outclassed her. She's the perfect vanguard meant to take the front lines instead of just staying at the back to protect the mages.
Any decent tanker would have more health than her but she could probably serve as a competent tanker even if they didn't have one.
"Show me what worth you'll bring to our party, Tenma." He gestured with his hand to 'Bring it on'.
Smirking, she burst forth with even more power.