Chapter 866 Decision
Medusa, Serafall, and Yoruichi cleared up the whole floor of irregular monsters and sealed the entrance to the 67th floor with Serafall's powerful Ice Magic.
Instead of returning to the camp, Medusa directly returned to Dizara to continue the work she'd left behind. Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Serafall immediately went to find Riveria to bring her back to the surface and ask for Loki's permission. When they arrived, they saw that Tenestra and Line were demonstrating their skills, while a crowd was gathering around them.
Yoruichi and Serafall decided not to show themselves for now and instead watch what was going on for now.
While Line was displaying her masterful way of Magic Circle construction and Magic Power Manipulation, most of the eyes were on Tenestra. More specifically, her arms and hands had Magic Circuits drawn on top of her skin.
Tenestra first lifted her left arm and pointed it towards a boulder of ice. A second later, the ink on her arm lit up with Magic Power until it reached the back of her hand before a six-inch-long pointed ice shard materialized in front of her arms, shooting towards the boulder. It traveled at the same average speed as normal Magic spells shattered upon contact, leaving only a bit of a scratch on its target.
However, the overall strength of the spell didn't bother anyone. In fact, most of them were speechless from what they saw due to the sole fact that she activated Magic without any prior preparation or incantation. A completely silent Magic. That's what's important.
"Heh~. Engraving Logic Circuits on her skin itself using special ink. So this is what she has done instead of continuing her research on Magic Items. I wonder if that ink was an original concoction.", muttered Yoruichi.
Tenestra wasn't done yet and lifted her other arm, repeating the same process, but this time, a ball of fire shot out, "Although it does seem to put a lot of strain on her body compared to the amount of power she can output."
"It's still worth it, though. Since this would only be used as a distraction, it could be compared to a hidden throwing knife in the middle of an engagement. If her opponent isn't prepared, she'd be able to land a fatal hit," added Serafall.
"But it looks like Riveria already lost her interest in it. Well, to someone like her who's already completed a Communication Magic Item, she'll be able to see through its inner workings in an instant."
"Even then, the creation of this technique signals the start of specialized weapons."
Yoruichi turned to her and asked, "Specialized weapons?"
"I'm talking about Holy Swords and Demonic Swords. Although they look like Magic Items, those weapons utilize their power by engraving their own Magic Circuits to the wielder. But like that technique, it puts the user's body under too much strain so in an attempt to curb that, only those 'compatible' may be able to wield it. As for how compatibility is measured, it's just how easily one's Magic Power could be converted to either Holy or Demonic Power."
The two of them stopped talking and followed Riveria, who was leaving. After making some distance from the crowd, Serafall and Yoruichi finally revealed their presence, "Ria~tan~!"
Riveria was startled, not just because of their sudden appearance, but also the fact that she just couldn't get used to Serafall calling her 'Ria-tan', "Serafall, Yoruichi. Welcome back. Since when did you return?"
"Just now.", answered Yoruichi, "With Tenestra and Line here, things should speed up a bit."
Riveria turned to them and asked, "What did you see below?"
Without hiding anything, Yoruichi answered, "Tens of corrupted Spirits, and each one of them is stronger than those found in Knossos."
"W-What!? What should we do!? There's no way we could take them on if they decided to come up!"
"Don't worry about it. Serafall sealed the paths towards the 67th floor. Even if there are ten times the number of them, none of them will be able to break through it."
Serafall winked at Riveria and reassured her, "And if there's something above them in their hierarchy, the strongest that being would get to is God-level. My barrier could still hold up for a few minutes and that should be enough time for us to prepare and respond."
Riveria breathed a sigh of relief and calmed her beating heart. Tens of corrupted Spirits scared her more than she anticipated, "Then are the two of you going to remain here for the time being?"
"Oh? That's the first time you've asked that. Is there something else you want to say?"
Riveria opened her mouth but closed it again soon after, due to hesitation.
Yoruichi looked around and saw a number of people. Although not many of them were paying attention to them, it seems that Riveria wanted to say something important, "Let's move out of the camp. Is that fine with you?"
Riveria hesitated again before shaking her head, "...It's nothing. Just forget it."
Not liking her response, Serafall grabbed her hand and started dragging her, "If you want to say something, just say it, and we'll at least hear you out. Who knows~ maybe someone's opinion could prove useful to you."
Riveria made a difficult face and didn't know what to do. But after being pulled for a few meters, she sighed and just began walking along with Serafall instead of being dragged, 'I'll just say it. They're the best people to ask.'
Yoruichi let out a short breath and slowly followed them.
After reaching a secluded area and cleaning up the monsters around it, Serafall and Yoruichi waited for Riveria.
After a few seconds, Riveria finally let it out, "I want to return to Level 1... But I don't know if that's a good thing."
Yoruichi and Serafall looked at each other and smiled. Not answering her concern, Yoruichi instead instructed her, "Go to Finn and say your farewells. We'll bring you to the surface."
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AN (Sept/27/22): Thank you for waiting~
I apologize first because this won't be fitting in Author's Note section and I don't want to post a separate one for a very short announcement.
Preparation for migration is proving to be a daunting task since I would have to clean up at least the first 400 chapters of the fic so I'll be working on that slowly.
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