I guess I will postpone upgrading it since it takes 2.000 gold that I can use in much useful way. Not to mention that this is just a test.
I decided and once again closed my eyes and put my hands on Taeko's katana.
[Do you wish to enchant the weapon?]
[Lesser Sharpness]
I agreed inside my mind while thinking of a certain attribute.
[500 gold is required to upgrade this weapon with this quality of attribute.]
Tch, even the upgrade itself cost money but I guess it's an acceptable price.
---
GOLD: 15.616
---
Suddenly a wind came out of my hands and started rampaging inside the room until it got all absorbed into Taeko's katana.
A small transparent and slightly green colored aura appeared around its blade and kept gently floating around it. It was almost invisible to a naked eye but if one focused on it, they would be able to notice it.
[Energy: 1015/1515]
Hm? Even my energy got sucked by this upgrade? Thanks for mentioning it "system" but I guess it's understandable.
"Here you go, try swinging with it a few times." I said while giving the sheathed katana to Taeko.
"Mm." She nodded with a curious expression while looking at her weapon.
She put it to her waist and then in a blink of an eye she drew her katana while performing a horizontal slash.
*Whoosh!* *Bang* Aerial blade of wind was sent out of the blade and damaged the wall of her room.
"...Oops" Taeko muttered while looking at her damaged wall with a stoic expression.
"Oops? Why did you use so much strength?" I asked her with a helpless smile.
"But I didn't...I usually need to apply twice as much strength just to release air pressure contending to this one." Taeko replied with a clueless expression while looking at the blade of her katana.
"I see, let's just say that I upgraded your weapon a bit. You will need to practice a lot to gain control over that new power." I said with a small smile.
"Oh...? Akashi, are you perhaps alchemist? The wind that appeared in this room before must have something to do with this upgrade, right?" Taeko asked me with an excited expression while holding tightly her already sheathed katana.
"An alchemist?" I muttered with a thoughtful expression while holding my chin.
"You know, a few of the greatest alchemists that were able to create weapons like Teigu in the past. Are you someone like that? I can feel that my weapon is only slightly inferior to Teigu but...not by much." Taeko explained since she thought that I don't know who alchemists are or more like "were".
"I guess you can call me that but I am not professional or anything like that. Also, please keep this a secret between us and if Mera or others will ask you about your weapon, tell them that it's thanks to me but don't give them any details." I said with a small smile while winking at her.
"?...I understand if it's so important to you, I will keep my mouth shut no matter what." Taeko firmly nodded her head with a serious expression.
.
.
.
"While you will be busy with searching for Chouri, I will also make my move." I said while facing Mera, Babara, and Taeko.
"Hm? You are already leaving?" Babara asked me with a slightly surprised expression.
"Where are you planning to travel to?" Taeko asked me with a slightly sad smile.
"I will come back but I need to visit the Eastern Region of the Empire. I have yet to visit that religious organization that occupies the Empire's territory." I replied with an apologetic smile while looking at Taeko.
I also need a good place where to sell that jewelry and I have heard that taxes there aren't that high. I could also go to the Western Region but I have close to none information about it so it's safer to go to the Eastern Region.
"C-Can I go with you?" Taeko asked me with pleading eyes.
"Well, I won't be away for long and I don't see any reason why you shouldn't..." I said with a thoughtful expression before looking at Mera.
"*sigh* Taeko, you have a new mission. Protect our new employer and return safely with him once he is done with everything he needs to do there." Mera released a tired sigh before assigning a weird mission to Taeko.
"Understood!" Taeko replied with a serious expression.
Did she just do that so she could have a reason to send her with me without making her look kind? Tsundere...
"Alright, Kiyomi will take us there so we don't have to walk all the way there on our own legs." I informed Taeko with a small smile.
"Mm!" Taeko nodded her head with a happy smile.
"How did you even tame it, Akashi? I thought that you can only tame Wrigglers since they are similar to Teigu. I understand that one can tame Danger Beasts through terror and might but your pet seems to be quite happy while also being obedient." Mera asked me with a curious expression.
"Let's just say that I have a talent when it comes to communicating with Danger Beasts and I helped this one with one request so it decided to follow me." I replied with a small smile.
"Do you have any reassurance that it won't betray you?" Mera narrowed her eyes in a cautious manner.
"You don't have to worry about that, really." I reassured her before waving my hand with a smile across my face, gesturing for Taeko to follow me.
Ever since the upgrade of my special class, I have been able to store provisions into my system. However, it also depends on the size of those provisions so I can't just store any enormous dead Danger Beasts as a "food"
Despite this fact, we still took 2 small backpacks filled with necessities for our journey because I don't want anyone to know about this ability unless necessary. After we were ready to leave, we sat down on Kiyomi's back who took off towards the Eastern Region, more specifically, to the Kyoroch that was flourishing the past few years. There are news that fairly new Religious organization started helping people not to give in despair and their leader is called by many a god due to his miracles. Apparently he has the ability to see the future and also has some strange healing arts.
That's also one of the reasons why I decided to sell those things there. I hope to meet him and observe to see what kind of man he is.
...
"This is much comfortable than walking" Taeko exclaimed while looking at our surroundings from Kiyomi's back while she was sitting between my legs, leaning her back against me.
"*Chirp!* *Chirp!*" Kiyomi immediately responded with a high-pitched and what seemed as happy sounds.
"Hm? What does it say?" Taeko asked me with a curious expression.
"Practically, she is saying that she is happy to serve as a taxi" I replied with a smirk.
"Taxi?" Taeko tilted her head to the side in confusion while looking back at me.
"Transporter" I shortly explained and when Kiyomi heard my words a few large tears have fallen down from her eyes at the ground.
"Oh! I see...Good Kiyomi, good Transporter" Taeko praised with a face of realization while gently rubbing Kiyomi's back covered with the feathers.
Hearing Taeko's words, another few tears has been spilled from Kiyomi's eyes.
Hm?
Now that I think about it...She can even understand Taeko's words...I thought that she is able to understand me only because of my class but it looks like she is more intelligent than I thought. Or maybe it is because of how Taeko is close to me? Or it could be thanks to Kiyomi being already part of my crew.
"Taeko, we will take a few stops before we reach Kyoroch so Kiyomi can also take a break. You can use that time to get used to your newly upgraded weapon." I said while pulling her closed to me and watching the horizon with calm eyes.
"Mm!" She nodded before resting her head on my chest.
.
.
.
This was our second stop and most likely the last one before we reach Kyoroch. I have been observing Taeko practicing while I was sitting on one of the branches, trying to get my new power under control.
"HA!" Taeko slashed her katana and a few aerial blades were fired in front of her instead of just one. They were sharp enough to split trees and a few not too big boulders.
I was already able to slightly change the color of my flames but that's all for now, I am also able to sap things' temperature out of them. I tried this on a few captured Danger Beasts and after a few seconds of sapping of their body temperature, their blood flow suddenly froze and so their heart thus they no longer moved. One of the disadvantages is that I can do this only by being in direct physical contact with them. When I tried it from a 1-meter distance away from them, it took more than 1 minute to kill them like that. But I must say that it definitely is an interesting torturing ability, at least that's what I noticed when I saw those Danger Beasts shiver and flinch in complete pain. However...experiment is an experiment, even if they didn't do anything too bad to me, someone had to become a guinea pig.
"Taeko, it looks like you have gained some understanding over that new power. Let's spar for a bit." I stopped experimenting with my new power and jumped down from the branch.
"Yes, I feel like this is all I can do for now. But even if it looks just like a little power-up, in truth, it opens so many new possibilities for me. I will no longer need to spend an exaggerated amount of strength to create wind pressure to attack my enemies." She replied with a satisfied smile while gripping the hilt of her katana while looking at the blade coated in the transparent green aura.
"Good, show me how much you have improved!" I shouted with an inviting smile while beckoning with my hand for her to come at me.
"Heh! If I will win, I want you to take me on a date once we reach Kyoroch!" She said while pointing at me with the tip of her katana while holding it with both hands.
She is surely becoming more emotional and is no longer that emotionless or completely clueless Taeko.
I thought with an amused smile when I heard those sweet words combined with the sight of her pointing sharp weapon at me with the intention to attack me.
"Please, this entire time we are on a date! There is only Kiyomi around us." I said while looking at her with a weird look in my eyes but an amused smile never left my face.
Plus, it's not like I wouldn't do that if you just asked.
"Chelsea told me how ideal date looks like so I want that!" Taeko said and kicked off the ground while her lime-green eyes were full of fighting spirit.
She appeared in front of me almost in an instant and I already got ready to intercept her first attack.
"Ha!" She shouted and instead of swinging with her katana, she actually intended to kick me to the side which completely caught me off guard since Taeko always liked to spar using only sword moves.
?! This completely surprised me as my eyes opened wide in a pleasant surprise.
"Haha, you cheeky girl! To think that you would try to surprise me right off the bat." I laughed a bit and narrowly dodged her kick but I still felt air pressure her kick generated. Of course, it was nothing that could hurt me but she was still able to "touch" me in a first move.
"Heh, I noticed you paying too much attention to my weapon so I decided to try to catch you off-guard but I guess I still failed. However! That doesn't mean that I will admit defeat without a fight!" She said with a voice full of fighting spirit while dashing towards me with a serious expression. Despite her first failed attempt, instead of getting depressed, her fighting spirit only rose.
She slashed her katana at my right side and I parried her attack while she tried to punch me in the abdomen. I smirked at seeing this so I quickly locked weapons with her and buried both of our weapons to the ground. I let go of my weapon and twisted my body to just narrowly dodge her fist.
"Wha-?" She was slightly surprised by this but she quickly tried to pull her weapon out of the ground but unfortunately, I was already behind her.
*SMACK* "Ah!" Taeko exclaimed when I slapped her ass but it was uncertain if it was in pain or pleasure...
She quickly slashed her katana behind her and I already jumped away from her.
Judging from her blushing face and how she is rubbing the place I hit her, I guess she felt a little bit of both.
"Your movements were a bit sloppy when you took that last step forward to punch me." I informed her with a small smile while looking at her with one eye closed.
"...I am really afraid now." She suddenly said with a small smile.
"? Of what?" I asked in confusion.
"That you will try to do something like this to other female enemies for the price of abandoning your weapon. What if I try to kill you right now that you have no weapon?" Taeko asked me with a victorious smile.
"Hah, you can try it..." I said and once again beckoned her to come at me.
She took the bait and rushed once again at me at a greater speed than before.
*SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*
For more than thirty minutes, one could hear smacking sounds.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Taeko was occasionally groaning while rubbing her butt and looking at me with puffed cheeks.
*chirp* *chirp* Even Kiyomi who was observing our entire spar, in the end, came to console Taeko by gently rubbing her head against her entire body.
"Hey, don't throw it at me, I was only teaching her. Plus it doesn't look like she completely suffered." I replied with a playful smile while looking at Taeko's blushing puffed cheeks when I heard Kiyomi's low cries.