– Next Day –
"Hmm, should I?" I muttered chewing on some jerky, staring at my refilled mana and was torn between two options. I can either do the gacha 21 times or increase all of my valkyries health (i.e. soldier count) by 450 each. Or I could do both, and check how the upgrade/fusion function works when I get a Normal Valkyrie. Well, if they want to go back to the higher realm, that is.
After thinking it over for a few minutes, I decided it was best to do both since I need all the protection I could get. I'll give my mana to my valkyries first, so I wouldn't be tempted to keep going and waste it all on the gacha. It happened once before, and it will happen again, so it's best to get rid of temptations like that.
I started with Bugbear who was the closest to me. Placing a hand on her head, ignoring the curious look I received, I closed my eyes and started to slowly transfer 200 points of mana while she ate her breakfast. It was a little slow at first, since I still wasn't used to it, but I eventually got the hang of it.
Once I was finished, I worked my way down from there, to Teacher, then Onmyoji, Slime and paused when I reached Calamity. It took a couple of minutes of hard concentration from her along with Onmyoji's talismans to push back the miasma surrounding her for me to even touch her. It went pretty well even if I almost got hit by said miasma as it overwhelmed the talismans.
After that, I took a small break to finish eating my breakfast which was mostly berries and more dried deer jerky with a few bird eggs that was found by Onmyoji's shikigami. It didn't take me long to finish it, and I soon moved on to the summoning process.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes feeding my mana into the crest on my hand as the same summoning circle appeared on the ground. Feeling it latching onto something and bringing it forth, I waited a couple of seconds before opening my eyes to see a large bag of coins on the floor.
"So that's how you summon us?" Calamity spoke, her voice gaining a weird quality to it.
"Yes, but it doesn't always summon a Valkyrie as you can see," I replied, turning around to look at her and blinked in surprise when I saw she was farther away than I thought. "How...?"
"I am using my telepathy to send my thoughts to you," she spoke again in my head and this time I noticed how ethereal her voice sounded.
'Can you hear me?' I mentally replied, thinking the words instead of saying it like I would in my own mind when thinking.
"Yes, I can hear you quite well."
'That's amazing! How long can you keep it up for? Can you do anything else?'
"Indefinitely... and a few other things."
I nodded at that, giving her a smile and focused back on the summoning process.
After wasting another 500 mana, all it gave me a total of 460 rare metals, a Stellar Bud, a Light Stone (s), and a Space-Time Feather. Using the rare metals, I quickly bought a couple of Arcana Blessing from the store to help give more experience when I start upgrading the Valkyries.
'I should've expected this,' I thought with a sigh sitting back down after putting the items away and decided to continue summoning since I got nothing to lose. Sending another 100 man into the crest, I felt it finally connecting to someone, creating a blinding flash of light.
Anahita
The Goddess of Waters and Fertility. Also known to be Sexy and Glamorous amongst the Goddesses.
Element Type Light
Rarity SR
Level 1/50
Attack 3900
Defense 3900
Soldiers 100
Skill Pure Water
All allies recover 50%
Activations: Infinite
When the light finally died down, I found myself captivated by the beauty standing before me. Everything else faded away and became nonexistent, as I became filled with a deep and overwhelming desire to worship and praise her.
She's a tall, voluptuous woman with long, brown hair and bright blue eyes. She's wearing a black slingshot bikini with an orange bow tied underneath her breasts. On her head is a gold crown that is decorated with stars with a blue orb in the middle, and gold jewelry scattered all over her body.
Blinking, I shook my head, barely coming back to my senses, and stared at the information I received from her. My eyes widened in awe, seeing that I got really lucky and summoned a Valkyrie, but not just any Valkyrie, it was a goddess of water and fertility. I paid special attention to her skill before my attention was drawn back to her.
"I'm the Sexy Goddess, Anahita! You can worship me as you like," she said in a sensual tone of voice, striking a pose, placing both hands behind her head causing her breasts to bounce in her swimsuit as she sent a wink at me.
"Ugh, she's here," Teacher softly muttered under her breath, but not soft enough that I couldn't hear it.
It took all of my willpower to not pop a boner and drool at the sight of her, especially the way she emphasizes her curves. Forcing myself to kook away, I quickly summoned again, getting two valkyries instead of one because I accidentally put in 200 instead of 100 like I planned.
Popcorn
This young girl simply loves popcorn, but she hates fresh, frozen, and canned corn.
Element Type: Passion
Rarity: N
Level: 1/30
Attack 1900
Defense 1750
Soldiers 100
Skill Corn Bomb!
Deal 120% Damage to all enemies
Activation Infinite
Muryan
From a winged ants tribe, She is always walking around with sweets.
Element Type Passion
Rarity N
Level 1/30
Attack 1400
Defense 1950
Soldiers 100
Skill Sugar Sweet
Own attack 50% up/ battle start 20% chance
This time, I got two normal rank Valkyries that seems to be obsessed with junk food. I felt my mouth watering and my stomach growling at the snacks they have on them. Wiping the drool I focused on them instead and silently planned on asking if they can share some of their snacks with me.
Popcorn is a young blonde haired girl with long hair in twin pigtails. She's wearing a blue dress with green socks and shoes.
"Ah-ha ha! I can't stop eating popcorn! It's soooooo good!" Popcorn happily shouted, grabbing a handful of popcorn from her large bag and began munching down on it.
Muryan is a young grey haired girl with ant antenna on her head. She's wearing a small short sleeve shirt with a red bow that leaves her stomach bare and black shorts.
"I am MURYAN, the ANT! The sweet scent led me here!" She happily shouted, taking a bite from her giant donut in her hands.
Seeing them, I decided to stop summoning and save the rest for emergencies.
"Ah! Popcorn! Muryan! It's so good to see you both again!" Bugbear shouted in glee, running towards them as they did the same and they ended up in a group hug. Sadly the joyous reunion didn't last long.
"Hey, no! That's my popcorn!" Popcorn shouted, moving her popcorn out of Bugbear's reach and Muryan did the same with her donut as Bugbear tried her best to reach for them.
"Come on! I thought we were friends. I haven't eaten any junk foods since forever! Just give me a nibble."
"Last time you wanted a 'nibble', you ate the whole thing!"
"Lies and slander! I didn't eat the whole thing! I left you a few precious crumbs that I wanted! So gimme!"
"You also ate the crumbs, Bugbear!"
"No! It's mine! You can't have any!"
Chuckling, I watched the chaos unfold until I felt a soft sensation pressing itself on my back and smelled an aroma that was earthy, sweet, and had a fruity-floral undertones to it.
"It's not nice to ignore a goddess like me you know," Anahita whispered into my ear, causing me to shudder, feeling her breasts rubbing against my back before she set herself down sideways on my lap with her arms wrapped around my neck, staring straight at me.
"Anahita, can your skill [Pure Water] bring up all the valkyries soldiers count back up and is it possible for it to heal the women over there?" I asked, doing my best to stay focused on the matter at hand and not get lost staring into her eyes. In the game, her skill only recovers a certain amount of soldiers that was already present if they received any damage, much to my disappointment. Though, I'm hoping it'll work differently outside of the game restrictions.
"Yes, I can and so much more," she said, raising one hand as a glowing orb of water formed above her palm, shining with ethereal beauty, before it splits apart, one half enters her body and the other went for the unconscious women.
On the surface it didn't do anything, but once it was all absorbed, their bodies started healing at a rapid pace, bruises disappeared, bodies filling out until it stopped halfway. A second application soon filled in the rest and seemed to have improved their bodies, judging by how they each became more curvaceous and healthier looking.
Turning my attention to Anahita, I stared at her status, and found her soldier count increased by 1,950, exactly half of her total soldier count for her current level.
Anahita
The Goddess of Waters and Fertility. Also known to be Sexy and Glamorous amongst the Goddesses.
Element Type Light
Rarity SR
Level 1/50
Attack 3900
Defense 3900
Soldiers 100 -> 2,050
Skill Pure Water
All allies recover 50%
"Amazing," I muttered in awe as Anahita puffing her chest out proudly, a smug grin formed on her face as my eyes followed their hypnotic movements.
"Of course, I am a goddess–ack!" She spoke before she was interrupted and pushed off my lap when Muryan and Popcorn hid behind my back, tilting me forward.
"Master! Tell Bugbear to stop trying to steal our candy!" Popcorn shouted while rapidly munching on some popcorn as Muryan nodded in agreement.
"Tell them to share their snacks with me!" Bugbear shouted, stomping her foot on the ground.
Seeing this, I decided to do the complete opposite of what my mom did with me and my little sister whenever we get like this. Instead of just giving half to her, I decided they should trade food. "Bugbear, why don't you give them some of the jerky, eggs and berries and they'll give you some of their snacks in return?"
"Fine, here," she muttered, handing over some of the leftover breakfast.
"It's no popcorn, but it's ok. Here you go."
"It's not as good as sweets, but if it's to stop you from stealing our snacks, then I'll be the bigger person, here."
"Mmnn~, sugar~, sho good."
"Hey, do you have any candy on you, master? I can't smell any," Muryan asked, her nose sniffing the air in my general direction.
"No, I don't have any candy or popcorn," I said, chuckling at the horrified looks on their faces when they turned to Bugbear and she nodded in agreement.
"No offense master, but can you send me back to the celestial realm?" Popcorn asked, surprising me and soon clarified the reason when she realized what her words could mean. "It's not because I don't want to stay by your side, I would love nothing more, but you have more than enough firepower with them," she said, pointing at Anahita and Calamity. "The least I can do is give up my physical form for experience and I can be sent back to the Celestial Realm."
"Me too."
"Why do I get the feeling that by doing so, it'll also allow you to eat more popcorn and candy when you get back there?" I asked, staring at them with a raised brow.
"Uh, it's a sacrifice we're willing to make?" She replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, unable to look at me in the eye.
Suppressing my laughter at that took all of my willpower, but I was the only one as everyone else either had a smile on their face or they started giggling.
"Slime...too. Experience," Slime said, raising her hand, looking excited, but pouted when I shook my head no.
"So, who wants the experience?" I asked, looking at the group and they discussed it amongst themselves.
"You should take it Anahita, Calamity. Such small amount of experience won't increase our levels if we do take it, no offense," Teacher said, pointing at Bugbear, Onmyoji and herself.
"Yeah! We gained a ton thanks to Onmyoji using a spell to put all those monsters to sleep and bashed their heads in!"
"While I wouldn't put it like that, but Bugbear is correct. We've gained plenty of experience in our last battle and it would be better if you both take it."
"I won't say no to free experience, so I'll happily accept it," Anahita said, retaking her seat back on my lap.
"Thank you," Calamity replied softly, lightly tilting her head towards them.
Going to the upgrade page where all the cards were gathered, I picked Anahita's card as the base, and then I selected only Popcorn as material card, along with the Acrana Training and the newly bought Arcana Blessing. Once I hit the button, Popcorn transformed into a ball of light that soon entered Anahita's body, causing her to shiver and momentarily glow in an aqua blue color. The light surrounding her soon disappeared and she returned to normal.
Anahita
The Goddess of Waters and Fertility. Also known to be Sexy and Glamorous amongst the Goddesses.
Element Type Light
Rarity SR
Level 1/50 -> 2/50 (16%)
Attack: 3900 -> 3,948
Defense: 3900 -> 3,948
Soldiers: 2,050
Skill: Pure Water
Activations: Infinite
Effect: All allies recover 50%
Going back to the Upgrade page, I did it again, but this time I used Calamity as the base and Muryan, Acrana Training and Acrana Blessing as the material cards. The same glow appeared around Calamity's body, but her miasma turned a darker shade of pink for a moment before returning to normal.
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Calamity
A miasma that leaves ruin in its wake seeps from runes carved upon this demon queen.
Element Type: Dark
Rarity: UR (Ultra Rare)
Level: 1-> 2/70 (6%)
Attack: 6,550-> 6,616
Defense: 6,450-> 6,505
Soldiers: 100
Skill: Ruinous Miasma
Activations: Infinite
Effect: All Dark allies' ATK 350% up
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– A Few Hours Later –
After Anahita had healed all the women and the valkyries to peak physical health, we soon exited the forest and arrived at the grassland. There, we found a dirt trail and decided to follow it for the past few hours.
"Look! It's a village!" Bugbear exclaimed excitedly, looking through the spyglass she'd requested after the first hour, pointing at the faint smudge in the distance.
"A small one from the looks of it," Anahita muttered, taking the spyglass from Bugbear to see and a small frown formed on her face at the sight as she passed it on.
When it was my turn to use it, it was a little hard to see, but I think Bugbear and Anahita was right. There's some kind of large structure or walls with what might be towers overlooking the area. Seeing how primitive it looks, worsened my hope of this world actually having advanced plumbing.
"Teacher, do you have a translation spell that can help us understand the local language if they speak a different dialect?" I asked, turning my attention to her.
"No, we never needed one and I don't know how to start something like that," Teacher replied, frowning in thought. "Even if I did, the spell wouldn't quite work without a basic understanding of their language structure."
"How do you wish to proceed, then?" Calamity calmly asked inside my head.
"Well, I was thinking of doing some reconnaissance since we don't know if they speak the same language as us or how they will react to any newcomers passing by," I said with a slight frown on my face, knowing that they'll be suspicious of us and I wouldn't blame them. A strange group consisting of a single man with multiple women, wearing strange clothes with a bunch of other unconscious women in a wagon. They'll assume we're either slavers, adventures, if they have that, bandits pretending to be adventures, or something much worse, nobles.
Or the people in town could be evil, targeting small groups of travelers for their possessions or people to sell, keep as slaves, or use as sacrifices. Maybe all three. Or it could be none and I'm just letting my imagination run wild.
"Onmyoji can your shikigami shapeshift into other forms like birds and other small critters and scout the place for us?"
"Yes, they can, but it may take a while."
"It would be faster if we do it ourselves," Anahita commented, twirling her hair around her finger. "We can pose as travelers going from a small town heading towards the city and we stopped here to resupply. We can even go to the town's bar or whatever the equivalent of it for any news."
"That's good idea, but who would go and who would stay behind to take care of the unconscious women?" Teacher asked, adjusting her glasses as she turned her gaze to said women for a moment before returning it back to us.
"I'm going, since you may need the extra firepower and of course Alex and Teacher is a given. We may need her magic to help us get in undetected," Anahita said, starting off.
"I'm not going for obvious reasons," Calamity replied softly, looking down at the miasma surrounding her slowly killing the plant life she's standing on before she started floating off the ground, stopping the spread.
Anahita then used her powers to revitalize the ruined grass and inadvertently brought a few flowers to life.
"I dont want to do it. It sounds boring," Bugbear replied, shaking her head, placing her arms behind her head as she leaned on the wagon.
"Even though I'm curious, I won't be going. Someone has to keep Bugbear out of trouble," Onmyoji said, shaking her head.
"Hey!" Bugbear shouted in annoyance before relenting and shrugging, "Okay, yeah, that's fair."
"Slime... wants to... go. Slime is curious," Slime said, raising her hand with an excited look on her face.
"You do know we're just going to look around and not fight anyone, right?" I asked, wanting to make sure she understood, and she nodded in response.
"So it's decided then, the four of us will be going and you three protect the wagon."
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Arriving closer towards the village, I saw that the walls were made up of wood with guards manning the towers. With us invisible thanks to Teacher's magic, we flew in from above, sneaking past the guards and landed in what appears to be a farming village. We began exploring, silently watching as the people were living their lives, some were washing simplw worn-out clothes, others were planting seeds using old styled tools.
We soon found the market and it didn't take long for us to learn that they're speaking the same language as us, thankfully.
Listening in on the conversations, we didn't learn much about the land where we're in or what's happening in the country. They were just talking about their harvest being poor and how hard it'll be when winter will be coming in a few months.
One particular stalls conversation caught my interest and I moved closer to hear it better.
"I'm telling you, it's true!" An older man yelled, trying to attract customers to his stall. "This here fruit is very popular in the big cities and the Valkyries themselves! Especially Skuld! She loves this stuff!"
"Really?"
"Yes, she always buy some of these strawberries. It gives a delightful mix of sweetness and slight tartness. If you don't believe me, try one for yourself. The first one's free, and it'll be two coppers or the equivalent goods for a small box."
'Valkyries? So there's other valkyries in this world?' I thought, silently wondering if they're as powerful as my own.