Admiring Pandora's muscular frame and powerful striking limbs, all wrapped in jet black fur, but his eyes amber yellow.
Gesturing to Pandora while it licks its fur, "This is Pandora my familiar, a Legendary classed, Alpha Shadow Leopard. I found him on the island of Hyperborea nestled in the mountains, who was then later subjugated with the help from Minato from the Alpha Demon Bulls."
"Amazing! What a beautiful familiar you have there, but I don't seem to feel its all-encompassing pressure from a legendary class."
Oh! I hide mine all the time, so Pandora must have instinctually followed my behavior... "Pandora release your aura for this kind man right here."
"Yes master." Magicubes in the air began drawing into his body, as he enlarged 3-fold to the size I had encountered him in. Dwarfing the Chameleon dragons, causing them to shiver uncontrollably, their skin color shifting like a psychedelic bombardment of colors.
Standing at full strength and proud, giving an earth-shattering roar.
I watched Emporoi for his reaction, and observed that he actually got slightly compressed, eyes rolled up, and body trembling even slightly pissing himself.
My mind raced back to the time I spoke with Eri the eyesore at her fruit stand... "Legendary classed monster exert actual physical pressure, making your body twice as heavy as usual, wrapped in complete fear unable to move a single muscle while your brain spasms from the shock and tries to correct itself..."
That must be what's happening... but battle honed individuals like Sagi seemed to be very resistant to such a reaction when she was faced against three of Virgo's reanimated Legendary classed beasts... or maybe it's simply just the difference in sigil class stages that triggers a greater reaction.
Alright that's probably enough, "Pandora conceal your aura and return to my shadow." Obediently he bows and conceals his presence back into my shadow. The gravity and pressure released, the chameleon dragons rest on their bellies with their legs spread out, fatigued from the encounter.
Emporoi eventually regained consciousness and realized his whole body was drenched in sweat and that had soiled himself. Looking back up at me with a serious look... "That Sir... Was the BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!" Smiling ear to ear, "The other merchants I know would do backflips just to experience this."
Giving a sweaty thumbs up "As promised... I will do my utmost to find a relic for your girl."
"Not my girl, but for me..."
At the other side of the city, Virgo and Sagi were happily shopping together, arms locked skipping down the street of merchants.
"100 pieces of dried goat please!".... "2 jugs of milk" .... "New cooking saucepan let's get a new one..."
Trying out different styles of adventurer clothes, from the full fabric leather ensemble to a more risqué looking one with dragon silk wrapped around their chest and butt. Giving the store owners a nosebleed...
Fuck I should have been there...
Next, they entered an enchantment shop, on its shelves decked out with rare stones imbued with magic.
Browsing the sleek matted ones and shiny glossy ones. While in the background another customer tries to use the stones as instructed by the merchant.
"Yes just like that hold it in your palm and face towards the target at the back... oh and wear these..." as the merchant passes a thick wool padded steel glove. So thick that it made it difficult to grasp.
As the customer as instructed shouts, release! "A torrent of flames from the ruby held in his gloved hand erupted and smashed into the dummy target."
The flames so intense it had actually burned off most of the glove protection, causing him to jump and urgently remove the tattered burned glove.
Complaining to the merchant, "This isn't even usable! What a scam!" as he left the store fuming.
She then turned around and saw new customers, Sagi and Virgo who witnessed the whole ordeal.
"Wait girls! Don't leave just yet! I'm sure we can strike a good deal?"
Virgo whispers in Sagi's ear as they side eyed the merchant.
"Alright we'll look at your products but looking at how dangerous and unusable they are I think you should give us a discount!"
The merchant caught off guard by this feisty haggling teenager... "ah... sure how about 20%"
They both raised an eyebrow pressuring her, "40%? ...." A look of silence before proceeding to walk out again.
"Alright highest I can go is 60%... anymore and I'll lose money..." Satisfied they clapped a high five with glee.
"If you'd look right here, we have elemental stones, Rubies for fire, Sapphires for Ice, Emerald for Lightning, Topaz for earth and Opals for Wind. If you are into more unique stones, we have Azurite for celestial star magic and Lizardite for corrosive magic but for these I only have 3 in stock."
Discussing between themselves they agreed, "Alright shopkeeper, we'll take three each of Azurite and Lizardite, and for the rest we want 30 stones each."
"That's more sale than I've done in a year! Thank you, young ladies! I'll throw in these protective gloves for free!"
Putting her hand up Virgo replies, "No need, keep them for your next customer... we have our own ways to use them."
Bagging all their loot they headed back to the apartment we stayed at in Athens to regroup.
Storing all the items in my infinite storage, we had prepared all the necessities for the upcoming journey ahead, a divergent from the myth quest but a well-received one for us to explore the world as a real party.
We mounted on Icarus and took to the skies. Virgo thrilled with her first flight experience and her first adventure with friends. Leaving Venus behind to tend to the household chores and wait for her to return.
Tracking southeast of Athens where the monster was observed to be headed towards, I opened up a scroll handed by the Emporoi the merchant, it has detailed descriptions of the beast gathered by observers who lived deep in the mountains who witnessed the phenomenon.
Reading to the rest with my neck craned, and the wind blowing in our faces. "Intelligence reports confirmed from multiple sources that the monster was a Demonic Sea Star Wildebeest."
"Unspecified class... its body thick and greyish with several stripes, its hook shaped horns spread all across its body. From the neck up its giant white sea star capable of individual movements."
"The monster was observed feeding on several Elder red toothed demonic hippos near the swamp lands where it was last seen."
"Observers described it as swallowing the massive hippos whole through the use of its tenacles riddling with hooks, once fully gripping its meal, its entire star tentacled face envelops and crushes the hippo."
Bringing out a second scroll, according to this updated map of surrounding Athens, we are in the right direction, just need an hour or 2 to spot the Blood Swamp.
About an hour later, we flew overhead an entire marsh of blood red soil partially flooded to the ankles.
Descending to survey the land for clues, we wade through the marsh like trailing through thick viscous blood.
Spotting red stakes randomly scattered throughout the marsh.
Sagi and Virgo backs up to me, "Yuujiro I believe we're all assuming the same thing, those are probably the red toothed Hippos who've buried themselves to deep to entrap any wildlife that brushes across them.
Let Sagi and I handle this, we've got something new to try out.
Sagi bring out a small bag of gems, "Oh? the gems that I've kept in my infinite storage... you kept some on hand."
Extending her arms ... singing, "Undead Idol Magic Enrapture, ~ Seize a move, you're on me, falling, and we were dissolving~" her voice resounding through the empty marsh...
From the swamp bursts forth, reanimated 2 elder red toothed Hippos, 1 human skeleton, and four superior chipmunks. "Ah... only up to elder class in this dump..."
I side eyed her... I knew this was going to happen...
As the summonings make their way towards her, their movement and weight trigger the powerful snapping jaws of the hiding red toothed hippos.
Crushing all the reanimated monsters, except the human skeleton who somehow nimbly made its way past all the traps.
Slightly dejected... "Ugh whatever, here take these as she tosses the skeleton two Elemental rubies. Point towards the sea of tooths... Release!"
Giant torrents of flame like a fiery dragon breath torches the entire marsh, boiling the water off, driving the elder red toothed hippos to the surface.
The skeleton, receiving the full draw back of the flames its bones charring into a deep black, but like a drone continuously makes its way forward spewing flames burning up several elder red toothed hippos.
"I've got dinner settled... your turn Sagi."
She draws out Arisaki the hilt of the war goddess, "Magnetize! Elemental Topaz!"
The yellow gem flies and fuses itself on the hilt. Giving a few test swings.
Getting into a charged stance... "Release!!!" A dense blade of lightning scorches the ground cutting into dozens of surfaced red toothed Hippos, its energy so strong the lightning which struck the monster boils it from the inside till it pops, then proceeds to jump to several ones surrounding it. Creating a massive area of effect strike.
Wiping the entire swamp clean of monster with another two AOE strikes, the last one doubling in magic, after it was swung, created a passive lightning storm then seeked out any remnant enemies hiding.
With that last powerful release from Sagi, the gem shattered into pieces.
While the Virgo's reanimated skeleton had long turned into a pile of ash, cremated from the heat and back blast of using the gems. Sifting through the ash she blows and wipes it clean before throwing it back into the bag.