Nico swirled the milkshake in his cup while looking at Peko with a thoughtful expression before finally breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over the gazebo after they had all disclosed their entire skill sets to each other.
"So you can extract memories using your darkness affinity… but your control over it is shaky."
"Yes… It is a Tier 7 spell, and I am currently only Tier 6, Early-Stage… I can use it forcefully, but the resulting trauma will kill the target. The same applies to wiping or altering someone's memory."
Nico leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers against the plastic cup as he processed the logistics of cultivating Peko.
Magic Beasts take ten times more resources and time than any other species to progress through their Tiers, but on the flip side, they are much stronger and have access to their innate abilities and affinities.
And in Peko's case, it's her Phoenix Fire, all the classical affinities, and a rapid healing factor. And most glaringly of all, three lives, of which one was lost to Pantheon's Team Laps during her capture.
"Okay… so you basically need a quiet space to grow. Unlike Nom and me… You don't strictly need to kill monsters and stuff to grow stronger… You have thousands of spells in your Ancestral Knowledge waiting to be unlocked. All you need are resources to quickly progress through your Tiers, and a private space to learn and experiment."
"That is an accurate assessment," Peko agreed while smoothing out the fabric of her robe. "Though some combat experience will prove invaluable… theory can only take one so far."
Nico nodded, deep in thought as he watched the koi disturb the water's surface, calculating the effort-to-fruit exchange rates in his head before speaking.
"Resources Nom and I can handle by aggressive dungeon diving… and selling the monster parts into the System… as for space, that I need some time to figure out."
"Very well," Peko nodded, adjusting the plushie on her lap.
"Okay, that wraps up our little heart-to-heart on each other's abilities…" Nico said while straightening his posture, "Now we know what everyone here is capable of. Do any of you have doubts or questions regarding each other's abilities?"
Both Chimeras shook their heads in unison in response.
"Okay, then here is what we're going to do…" Nico started while gesturing at Peko. "Until I can get you a proper environment… I need you to focus your efforts on the community library."
"Understood," Peko replied with a firm nod, her mind already organizing a study schedule. "Are there any specific areas I should focus on…?"
"Yeah," Nico said while ticking the subjects off on his fingers. "Focus first on local geography and history… and after that move to economics and politics… both local and geopolitical."
"Understood," Peko replied with a nod.
With the intellectual front secured, Nico shifted his attention to the dragon sitting to her right, who was currently trying to extract the last drop of milkshake from beneath the lid.
"As for us… We're going to the Adventurer's Guild first thing in the morning."
"Alright! Finally, to the city!"
"To register as adventurers," Nico emphasized.
"And try the sweet cloudy stuff you promised…" Nom-Nom countered immediately with violet eyes downright sparkling.
"Yeah, that too…" Nico sighed before rubbing his temples as he realized he better start making bank or his dragon would bankrupt him. "And once we're registered, we'll be dungeon diving to net ourselves a steady stream of Credits, and money… while focusing on one thing both of us desperately need… and that's training."
Nom-Nom nodded with a rare seriousness in her eyes. She hadn't forgotten how easily Thane and Luke defeated her by exploiting her lack of combat experience.
And so, for the next few hours, the gazebo transformed into a makeshift war room of hushed voices and debates on how exactly they would achieve their individual progress while supporting each other's.
The discussion flowed until the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in bruising hues of orange.
The strategy session only ended when the soft crunch of gravel announced an approach from the garden's path.
Elena appeared at the foot of the bridge leading to the gazebo while wiping her hands on her apron with a gentle smile on her face.
"Young Master, M'Ladies… dinner is served."
"Okay, then!" Nico stood up, stretching his stiff limbs, and making sure to hide the plastic cups from Elena's view with his body before quickly sending them to his inventory.
Leading the way back across the wooden bridge, trading the cool evening breeze of the garden for the warm, savouring the aroma of Elena's cooking, Nico let his thoughts settle.
A few minutes later, the three of them were seated around the long mahogany dining table.
Elena placed the final serving dish on the table, revealing a vibrant spread of grilled, flaky fish, perfectly shaped mounds of rice, and small bowls filled with colorful pickled vegetables before taking a step back with a pleased bow.
But instead of the usual silverware Nico expected, a pair of slender, wooden sticks rested on a small ceramic bridge in front of each setting.
Picking up the sticks, Nico clicked them together experimentally while Nom-Nom just poked at her fish with one stick, looking utterly baffled by the complexity required just to lift food.
Seeing their obvious confusion, Elena stepped forward with a patient smile before picking up an extra pair to demonstrate.
"It is all about leverage and patience, Young Master," Elena explained softly while manipulating the sticks with a practiced ease to pinch a grain of rice. "Let the bottom stick rest, and move only the top one."
Peko watched the demonstration intently for a single second before picking up her own pair, and mimicking the grip perfectly on the first try and lifting a delicate piece of pickled radish to her lips with the inherent grace of someone who had been doing it for centuries.
Nom-Nom saw Peko's success and tried to jam the sticks between her fingers, but her patience lasted exactly three seconds before she groaned and ditched the wooden implements entirely and grabbed a spoon to shovel rice directly into her mouth.
While Nico's will wasn't so fragile, he determinedly tried to replicate Peko's elegant technique. With his brow furrowed in concentration and his fingers cramping in protest, he managed to pinch a small piece of the grilled fish.
He lifted it slowly with a triumphant flicker in his eyes, only for it to slip free halfway to his mouth and splash tragically back into the small soy sauce dish.
[Oh, come on!]
He stared down at the dark splatter on the white tablecloth for a long beat before sighing in defeat and reaching for the backup fork Elena had discreetly placed nearby.
Elena chuckled softly at the display, while the lingering tension of the day's battle with Alaric, the mind games with the General and Dove, the pain of integrating Eyes of Relevance, followed by their swirl of emotions and planning at the gazebo, finally melted away under the warmth of good food and even better companionship.
The rest of the meal passed in a comfortable blur of satisfying chews, pleased hums, and Nom-Nom occasionally trying to steal a bite of Peko's fish, just to mess with her, only to be expertly blocked by Peko's chopsticks.
Eventually, even Nom-Nom found herself satiated.
Letting out a contented sigh, Nico placed his fork down before turning to the gently smiling maid.
"That was incredible, Elena," Nico said while standing up, offering a genuine bow of gratitude, which was immediately mirrored by a graceful Peko.
"Thanks for the meal! It was super tasty!" Nom-Nom chirped before following with a bow of her own.
And so, with bellies full and eyelids heavy, the trio retreated from the dining hall and headed upstairs to their respective rooms for the night.
And just as Nico plopped onto his bed, ready to start practicing Manifestation…
-Ding!
{
Conditions required to begin the main quest have been met. Host has now settled.
MAIN QUEST RECEIVED – First Trial – The Destined Journey.
Objective: Reach Cardella, the City of Heroes, and be coronated as the Destined Hero.
The Host must journey to Cardella and gain audience with Lady Sera, the Goddess of Heroes, Adventure, Valor, Guardianship, and New Dawns.
The Host shall then be coronated as the 46th Destined Hero.
Beware: Fate will hinder the Host every step of the way. Should the Host forego the Journey, destiny will make the Host embark, or result in the Host's death so a new Destined Hero may be chosen.
Rewards -
Magic – Temporal Collapse – Chrono Ruina (Unquantifiable)
Condenses and collapses the flow of time into a compressed sphere before releasing it outward.
Everything caught in the collapse between accelerated and reversed time is completely annihilated.
Alternatively, the collapsed temporal sphere may be maintained and directed, forming a mobile temporal singularity under the user's control.
Anything caught within its influence is annihilated without exception.
Note*
Sustaining and manipulating the singularity imposes rapidly compounding MP consumption and extreme mental strain.
MP Cost: 500 MP or 650 MP/s to ∞
Price: Quest Acquisition Only
------
Weapon – Regalia of the Destined Hero (Heroic Armament)
Birthed at the dawn of the first calamity by the very conception of heroism and the prayer that is hope, the slender longsword is the crystallization of the exalted ones at the highest order of fantasy.
The blade answers only to the will of the Destined Hero and moves with just his thought.
It cuts not merely flesh, but all that must be severed. Soul, fate, evil… even death itself.
Its blade is bound to no fixed length, nor must it obey distance.
And set within its pommel rests the wedding gem of The Dawn Mother, the Great Lady Liora, through which all magic is magnified.
Price: Destiny
}
Nico read through the whole shebang, absolutely flabbergasted, before the 'Beware' section of the Quest clicked into place.
"System," he whispered. "What do you mean 'or result in the Host's death'?"
The response came after a long, weighted pause.
-Ding!
{Exactly what it sounds like.
Arlen Hale tried to refuse the Journey once. But even he had to relent.
The 44th Destined Hero before him tried twice. Neither attempt ended well.}
"How… how long do I have?"
-Ding!
{Unknown. But Destiny is impatient, Host.}