"So, this is it… do you truly intend on staying here?"
"Umu! I have people who rely on me here… besides, heh, I'd probably hold you guys back~" Shea gave a self-deprecating smile before shaking her head and sighing.
She put both her hands on her hips, thrusting her chest forwards haughtily. Despite how unconfident she sounded in her skills, she knew better that compared to the struggles of Ivan and the group she was still too green to be in their league.
"But don't look down on me too much! Watch ya' backs, else me and the rest of the Haulia are comin' for your spots~!"
Ivan only smiled wryly, in any case, he was glad she wasn't putting herself too down.
"Jokes aside… If you guys ever need help, don't hesitate to call on us… We're family, alright?"
Shea smiled warmly before taking the hands of Ivan and Shea, though her journey with them wouldn't extend here, if her precious friends ever asked for her she'd come hell or high water.
"You got it, kid... The same applies to us, here, take this. If you or any of your people need help, just press that button. I can't promise we'll be there immediately but we'll sure as hell try!"
Ivan snapped as a small device appeared out of thin air, on it was a huge red button covered by tempered glass.
Shea fumbled with the device for a second before promptly lifting the glass and smashing down on the button.
For a second nothing happened and then Ivan threw his helmet at Shea.
"Guh!" She recoiled and groaned at the sudden impact that blew all the air out of her chest. She fell to the ground, her ears twitching as the helmet that she landed beside was releasing a very loud siren noise.
"And if that isn't enough—!" Ivan sighed before pulling his shirt up, a small ornament hung around his chest, blinking red and vibrating violently.
"So long as I have any of these things out in the open I'll notice. Though if you think these things won't help you're welcome to suggest something else."
Ivan's malicious grin put Shea to a pause, cold sweat dripped down her forehead before she began shaking her head dismissively.
"N-No need! I'm sure it'll be fine... Thanks for the offer I guess…"
She got off the ground, dusting off her garments. Shea pouted before giving Ivan the stink eye.
"But are you guys really not gonna say bye to everyone else, Dad's gonna be reallllll upset when he finds out he missed his opportunity to say goodbye to his precious leader~"
"That's fine, I'm sure he's busy enough as is training recruits and such. Besides you're the leader now. If he complains, just teach him a lesson!" Ivan's imposing posture brought even more cold sweat down Shea's back, however in the end she just saluted before solemnly nodding.
'I'm sorry father, but orders are orders!' She sent a silent apology to Cam, who back at the Rabbit Hole shuddered before nonchalantly continuing his work. He had no idea what awaited him the moment Shea returned…
Ivan stood idly by as each of his group sent their farewells, though apart from him and Yue no one else really knew her. So the farewells didn't take long at all. Except for the fact that Yue took a very long time herself to say goodbye.
He just nodded sagely, Shea was her first friend after all, though the title of 'best friend' may belong solely to Tio. Even if she was a bit of a pervert… Well, scratch that. The only thing that may stop her and Yue from being best friends might be because she IS a pervert.
Perhaps that wouldn't be the case if Yue weren't raised from young to respect dragonmen, and then had that illusion destroyed by the princess of dragonmen.
'How ironic…' Ivan mused at the thought for a bit before his thoughts were interrupted.
"Hm... Master, that is quite the look you possess. May I inquire what it is that may be on your mind~?" Tio took the time Yue left his side to approach, she angled herself at such an angle that from where Yue stood she'd only be able to see his back, obscuring her presence.
"Heh, I was only thinking what a troublesome perverted teammate we've acquired~" Tio squirmed under his gaze, thankfully she possessed no tail in her human form, otherwise it would have shown how embarrassed she was in front of her master.
But despite the trouble she had breathing in front of him, despite how still her breath becomes when speaking to him, and despite how narrow her world is when he is in the picture, she just couldn't get enough of it.
Subconsciously she inched close to him, her breathing becoming just short of hyperventilation as her eyes moistened with desire.
"T-Tio-sensei, what's wrong…?" Her trance was broken by Felis, who tugged at the hem of her kimono in worry. Ivan in turn hummed, deciding to let the situation go without prying to save Tio's face.
"Alright, we ready!? Let's GO!" Ivan clapped his hands as a portal opened up, one by one the group filed in and found themselves inside the familiar airship. Seeing as how he was responsible for closing it, Ivan was the last to leave.
"Farewell, o' rabbit crusader!" Ivan dove into the portal leaving those words, ignoring the fit of rage behind him as he sealed it close.
"Phew…" Shea sighed loudly now that she was alone, her face pensive before she released another sigh and kicked the dirt at her feet. Her nose furrowed at the scent she caught but in the end, she didn't bother commenting about it.
Now that she had evolution magic she could make strides of her own to catch up to Ivan and the others, the problem was that she knew by the time she reached their strength they'd already be even more leagues above her.
"For now I'll focus on my family, perhaps I'll even take Ivan up on that deal about conquering the Reisen Labyrinth… Umu, that sounds good. I need more ways to get stronger, and gravity seems just about the right thing to improve physically…"
With newfound determination, Shea hopped from tree to tree with an excited grin on her face.
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"Hmmm… so where to now?" Ivan asked particularly no one as he eyed the highlighted final dungeon on his world map.
"...Do you want to clear the final dungeon now?" Yue decided she would aid her man in his plans, proposing for them to move forward and clear the final dungeon.
"I'm thinking about it… but, it might also be a good idea to play around with the magic we have now to get ready for it. On the other hand, acquiring the final magic and then taking on what awaits us is plausible as well."
He paced around the room, catching the eyes of the others as they approached the table as well.
"If there truly are more combatants like Noint then it isn't exactly a big deal so long as we stay together, the problem is if they outnumber us or manage to separate us, worst case possible both scenarios happen at the same time…"
"That would certainly be troubling…" Tio muttered aloud, her master had quite a rough time dealing with that fake angel, and now there was a strong possibility that there would be a dozen.
"Thankfully evolution magic is simple as it is, we can apply it to whatever magic or items we want, as for actual evolution… I'll deal with that later~"
It shouldn't be impossible, at least every magic so far from the liberators had the potential to be mastered to that of a power matching essentially gods.
Or at least their idea of what a god is capable of…
"So, what'll it be, boss~?" Ari stood there with a carefree smile, her fingers laced behind her head. No matter what option her boss chose she would keep her faith in the bet he put.
"Honestly, I say we just rip the band-aid off and tackle the final dungeon. We can cultivate like hermits after we have all of the ancient magic and secrets the liberators stowed away. We can evade Ehit and his forces in our lair. The best way to do that is to clear the dungeon so we don't have to worry about him raiding it first and stealing the secrets."
The others hummed, nodding as they didn't exactly see fault in his idea. Evolution Magic was easy to implement and yet only really effective in the hands of great mages or craftsmen. Mages to enhance spells and craftsmen to level up their crafts.
So for melee fighters other than enhancing the weapon they hold or their body, there wasn't much of a use, not to mention strengthening magic already existed.
"Frost caverns Schnee… I suppose we'll need to make ourselves sufficiently warm if we're to survive the harsh climate." Tio was the one to speak this time, reminding her master that apart from the dungeon itself they would need to worry about the climate as well.
"I already have that covered, in fact, our heat/cold insulating clothes should be able to brave everything for us. Though I can probably whip up a couple of devices as a backup just in case I might be underestimating it."
If anything, creating a thin film to encapsulate the user that prevented climate and matter like the lust-inducing slime should be an easy feat if induced with evolution magic. Though the latter may be difficult to prevent with how acidic the material was to clothing, armor, and anything other than flesh.
'A bracelet or collar would be ideal, something they could activate with the press of a button or a simple thought… then again having the system be thought-based may increase the chance of accidental activations in the future.'
'So a bracelet it is~' A ring would probably be too small to imbue with the necessary runes and engravings. Ivan was a little remorseful about asking the girls to adorn another piece of jewelry with all the stuff they already had on but it was a sacrifice for protection he'd need them to make.
"Meeting adjourned, Yue you're in charge. Also, sit in the chair and make sure the aircraft has enough juice to guide us while it's on autopilot. Everyone is to follow her or Tio's words while I'm working!"
Ivan didn't allow for a moment of rebuttal as he slithered away to what was a mini-workshop for his personal use.
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