{Skill Description: Allows the user to retrieve skills related to their pioneering field.
Skill Prerequisites:
Skill Effects: For all
Um...that's crazy. I could learn Rea's [Multilayer Barrier] and [Into the Void] as I wished. Furthermore, Rea and I had already shared skills using my
Ah...I got stronger even without trying, huh... By the way, the S-ranked monsters that I had been fighting had
However, it's not like it was easy on me either. If I ever even got hit by the shockwaves of their attacks, I could lose up to a thousand HP easily. A full-on hit would definitely instantly kill me. One of the S-rank monsters almost got me due to its [Spatial Control] combined with a hit correction skill, but a combination of {Subskill: Spatial Nullification} and [Void Supremacy] allowed me to avoid what would otherwise have been an unavoidable lethal strike.
Well, now that Rea had ranked up and evolved, it was time to go check on the children. We teleported back to floor 70 to find rivers of blood flowing where B-rank monsters had been mercilessly slaughtered. I grinned, thinking, "as expected of my kin, to have such an intense bloodlust!"
Meanwhile, Rea looked almost shocked as she asked, "ano...Ava-sama, are we sure that these are the children that we left earlier this week? They seem to have gotten even more bloodthirsty..."
"That was the plan. It is impossible to truly draw out bloodlust unless you are facing higher-ranked enemies."
Once we found the children, I checked all of them and found that they had been rotating their EXP sharing, keeping all of them at around the same level. I was delighted at their coordination. Just about all of them were on the verge of evolution as well.
Appearing in front of them and going through the formalities, I said, "you have all done well. I shall award each of you with three things. First, I will [Name] all of you. Second, I will procure for each of you a weapon. Third, I will bring all of you to get clothes and armour."
""""Thank you, Master!"""
"Nn. Now for the [Naming]. It will cause each of you to evolve. Please select the option that has [Voidfall] attached."
"""Understood, Master!"""
"[Karan Kino]"
"[Vier Kino]"
"[Arctos Kino]"
"[Cora Kino]"
"[Marcta Kino]"
"[Bistry Kino]"
"[Nilor Kino]"
"[Fil Kino]"
"[Dresha Kino]"
"[Wist Kino]"
Just as I had said, all of them underwent an evolution. However, unlike what I had expected, upon the completion of their evolutions, all of them sported similar wings and skin colour to Rea and I. Apparently, I had forcibly converted them to my race. Ah, the curse (blessing?) of the [True Ancestor]. All of them currently stood at the B+ rank. Their
As they stood up and looked at themselves, they all smiled widely.
"""Thank you, Master!"""
"I'm so glad we're now of the same race as Master!"
"Un, un! We're truly her kin now!"
"And we've gotten so much stronger!"
"Do you remember just three weeks ago we could barely beat a C-ranked monster together?"
"Now even normal B-ranks are small fry, huh?"
"Now, for the weapons," I said.
"For the [Warrior] Karan, two swords. I've left you my old [Citrosian Edge]."
"For the [Berserker] Vier, a two-handed greataxe."
"For the [Mage] Arctos, a ring."
"For the [Hunter] Cora, a pendulum. I made it from my old [Secret Fang]"
"For the [Assassin] Marcta, a dagger."
"For the [Healer] Bistry, an amulet."
"For the [Guardian] Nilor, a greatshield."
"For the [Illusionist] Fil, throwing knives."
"For the [Tamer] Dresha, a whip."
"For the [Scout] Wist, short swords."
"These are all weapons I have made myself. For his excellent contributions, Karan will be your leader. For her excellent thought process, Cora will be your strategist. We will now return to the city."
"""Yes, Master!"""
I had made all of their weapons on my own. Of course, I didn't just leave myself without anything. I had used the S-rank monster parts to make myself a new sword, which I had [Named] [Viper Strike], a [Living Weapon] that I could extend and retract as necessary. I had also used an S-rank spider monster to make eighteen new wires, and [Named] it [Arachnophobia]. They were far more powerful than my initial weapons. Of course, Rea didn't need any weapons. She already had them. In fact, after evolving her tails doubled, giving her twelve whips instead of six.
We walked through the portal together, back into the house that served as our initial meeting place, and happened to walk right into a meeting of the five leaders, Jessa, and Martis.
"Ou, Ava-san, Rea-san. You're back," Arlo grunted.
"W-w-w-wait! What the hell is up with the kids behind you??" Catel yelled, his reason on the verge of breaking again.
"Long time, everyone. These are the former slaves who decided to join me. We've just finished boot camp."
"Eto...Ava-san, just to preserve my sanity a little, these kids were at least C-rank three weeks ago, right? Right?" Remil asked.
"Huh? No, they were like...G-F rank?" I returned.
As seemed to often be the case, silence blanketed the room. Karan was the one who broke the silence, speaking for his squad.
"We have been trained by Master. This level of improvement was only gated by our own incompetence. Upon receiving her blessing, we have understood that had we more willpower, more bloodlust, we would have become even stronger."
"Ano...Ava-san, just what kind of hellish training did you put these kids through?" Jessa finally interjected.
"Eh? Just a bit of [Labyrinth] diving."
"Just a bit? How much is just a bit?" Hura cut in.
"Oh, just floors 40-45 for the first two weeks, then floor 70 for a week."
"""""EHHHHHHH???"""""
It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. This time, it was Rea who spoke up.
"Ava-sama's methods are unconventional, but effective. Just as I have now reached A-rank, these children are an elite squad who are all at the B+ rank, with flawless coordination and deep mutual trust. They are also completely loyal to Ava-sama."
"Iya iya iya, that is not the point-ssu!" Mishky screamed, his composure clearly long gone.
"Normally, you normally take a few years normally to normally reach A-rank normally from B-rank, you know? Normally??" Martis finally broke.
"Everyone, I think it'd be best to refrain from questioning Ava-san with normal logic. After all, I suspect that the concept of 'normal' does not exist in her vocabulary," Jessa added.
"Well, to get everyone back on track, this is my elite squad," I said, returning the conversation to the intended track.
"They are all my kin, and have received adequate training for now. The leader is Karan here, and the strategist is Cora over there. If we have any missions that are necessary, we can send them."
"Kohon. Well, we have just received word that a village is about to be attacked by the bandits under a noble's control. Could we trouble you to move them to rout the attackers?" Jessa recovered and immediately got to business.
"Certainly. I'll need a map and an imaging crystal. Squad, this is your first mission. Think of a name by the time your mission is complete. Got it?"
"""Yes, Master!"""
Upon receiving the image crystal and map, I sent them to the location that they were supposed to protect.
"Uwa, they're terrifyingly well-trained, huh?"
"While their collective bloodlust still has nothing on Ava-san, it's still quite heavy, isn't it?"
"Ou, that's exactly what I was thinking. What kind of hellish experiences have those children gone through?"
"She said it, right? [Labyrinth] diving?"
"Ava-san, scary-ssu..."
I sighed and pressed a hand to my forehead. Certainly, compared to regular common sense, it was ridiculous. However, how else was I supposed to raise the strength of a ragtag squad without breaking some common sense boundaries? Take a few years? Yeah, by that time the rebellion would be over and done.
"Anything else for me?" I asked.
"Ah, just one thing. Here's a recording crystal. It would help if you took some time to look at the information recorded here," Jessa said, handing over a crystal.
"Nn. Will do. We'll take our leave, then. We've been in the [Labyrinth] for three weeks, gotta get some fresh air."
With that, we left.