"T-That blast was in the direction of the Bracer Guild!", Cassius exclaimed with a frown, seeing a large explosion occur toward the South Block.
"We should make haste. I do not wish to see bloodshed on such a fine day. I do not feel any ill will, so perhaps that is where our next interest lies.", Prince Olivert, who was in his 'Olivier' attire, responded.
"For once, I agree with you, Your Highness. Just keep in mind your range of influence, alright? We are visitors. Any action you take can become a matter of public concern.", Mueller said, voicing his opinion to Prince Olivert.
"You needn't worry, Mueller my boy. I am very well aware of our boundaries. You do not mind if we join, do you, Cassius?", Prince Olivert asked.
"I do not, "Olivier". Let's hurry. The Army might go and investigate, but more than likely, this will be the responsibility of the Bracer Guild. Everyone, follow me.", Cassius said, urging the group. Thankfully everyone had finished their ice cream by the time the explosion rang. The girls looked at each other, and nodded. Even Celine bugged Tamamo to wake up from her nap, seeing what the situation turned into.
Seeing everyone's attention, Cassius shifted his eyes toward Emma.
"Can I leave Estelle and the rest to you, Emma?", Cassius asked.
"You mean we can't go with you dad?", Estelle asked, showing a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
"Of course not, Estelle. This is official business. I do not want to place you in danger. You understand my worry, right?", Cassius asked with a serious look.
"I understand. Naoto and the rest did head off in that direction, if that means something to you.", Estelle reluctantly said.
"So His Highness and the rest really did head off in that direction...", Cassius uttered.
"You should go, Mr. Bright. You can leave things to us.", Kloe said. Hearing that, Cassius, Prince Olivert and Mueller nodded their heads. They hurriedly sped off seeing several patrol guards quickly heading to South Block, ignoring a bunch of shocked onlookers. They didn't expect to see such an explosion resound around them at the height of the festivities!
Seeing the group of girls alone now, Celine finally spoke out.
"You recognized where that Mana came from, didn't you, Emma?", Celine's voice said, which came from the black cat resting beside Emma.
"Yes. It was Naoto's signature. No doubt about it. I just hope he's safe...", Emma uttered. "It's almost like Naoto's Mana is tugging toward something. I do not feel any struggle. It's almost like it's converging? But into what, exactly?"
"I'm not sure. That prince will definitely have a story to tell those Bracers. That much I can assure you.", Celine answered.
"Kyuu.", Tamamo's voice also responded, which came from the three-tailed silver fox beside Celine. She had woken up from her slumber, and saw what was happening. But she didn't feel threatened. Instead, she felt...pride?
"Hmph. There's that smug face of yours again. Are you saying we don't have to worry?", Celine asked.
"Kyuuu~", Tamamo happily responded, acting like she had known the answer all along. As for Estelle, she didn't expect to hear two foreign voices suddenly reach out like that. She wondered where they came from, causing Emma to giggle. Estelle looked downward, and saw the black cat next to Emma with her blue bow ribbon tied on her tail.
"...Did this cat just talk?", Estelle asked, surprised.
"It sure did.", Princess Alfin responded, also surprised. Hearing that, Emma smiled. Celine and Tamamo weren't initially with them when they departed Grancel Castle. The two joined up halfway through after everyone left the Erebonian Embassy.
"I could go all day giving you girls an explanation, but why don't we save that for later? Instead, we're done enjoying our little break. We still have some shopping to do, don't we? I just fear it'll go unsupervised.", Emma asked with a hint of worry in her eyes.
"Oh if that's the case then I'm sure Kloe here will do her magic~", Princess Alfin happily responded. "There's still a few shops I haven't visited yet, and Naoto is buying, so let's go back inside!", Princess Alfin happily suggested.
"...Are we going to ignore the fact that this cat is TALKING?", Estelle retorted, still shocked.
"Put a sock in it. If you're going to hang out around Naoto in the future, this is normal.", Celine responded, and looked at Tamamo again. "And get off your butt already, stupid fox. Otherwise, we'll leave you all behind."
"Kyuu!", Tamamo immediately replied, hearing Celine say that. Tamamo hopped up and stretched, only to land on her paws. She then stuck her tongue out at the black cat. Before Celine could do anything, Tamamo leapt into Emma's arms.
"Hey! That's cheating!", Celine exclaimed.
"Kyuu kyuu.", Tamamo replied, acting like she was saying "You snooze you lose".
"Teehee, if we ignore the fact that you are a talking cat, you two seem quite close. I'd love to hear more about it, Emma."
"Now now, everyone. I am sure it will still be a while until Cassius finishes his business with Naoto. Until then, let us enjoy some more shopping to our heart's content.", Emma said to the girls.
"Roger!", Estelle happily responded. Before the girls realized it, they wandered back into Grancel Market, ignoring the rest of the shocked onlookers. Time began to resume once again...
As for Cassius's group of three, they headed directly into South Block. By the time they arrived, most of the street had been cleared out. Any passing orbal vehicles were no longer in the vicinity. Thankfully none of them got blasted apart. Presently, a fiery mess stood atop the Bracer Guild. The first and second floor remained intact. But the third floor held another story. It didn't take long for them to feel a heavy pressure encompassing their bodies.
Even Cassius raised his eyebrows, not expecting to receive such a feeling on a random day like this. But for some reason, the closer they got to the blaze, the colder they felt. Even cold breaths of air escaped from Prince Olivert's mouth.
"...This is strange. Isn't it supposed to be hot with such a blazing fire?", Cassius asked.
"The world works in mysterious ways, Cassius.", Prince Olivert said with a smile.
"It looks like the situation is already under control. You're with the Bracer Guild so after you.", Mueller said, causing Cassius to nod. Cassius took point and led the two toward the Bracer Guild entrance. Seeing a couple patrol guards lurking around, they became startled seeing Cassius arrive.
"S-Sir Cassius!", One of them said.
"Is everything under control?", Cassius shot back, wanting to find out immediately.
"For the moment. A couple of Bracers headed inside. It isn't exactly our jurisdiction, so we've been keeping the streets safe.", The patrol guard said.
"Good. Continue your monitoring. I will go check the situation myself.", Cassius said with a nod of his head. "I'm affiliated with the Bracer Guild. I will not be able to pass down any orders to you all."
"It truly is a shame you are no longer of our ranks, Teacher.", A voice suddenly called out to the three, appearing to belong to a girl's voice. A short, green-haired woman arrived wearing a blue military uniform, holding a rapier on her waist. Seeing this woman arrive, Cassius sighed in relief.
"So you were lurking around here, Julia. I can leave the streets in your capable hands. Let us head inside.", Cassius said, looking at Prince Olivert and Mueller.
"Stay safe inside there, Teacher. We've secured our perimeters. No civilians were harmed in the explosion. I shall leave His Highness onto you and your couple of guests.", Julia said, and saluted Cassius. The three simply nodded as they headed inside the partially destroyed Bracer Guild.
As they hurried on in, Julia went into her thoughts. Her gaze landed on Prince Olivert's retreating figure.
"Strange, I could have sworn I've seen that guy somewhere before...", Julia uttered to herself. She quickly shook that thought aside. She could only return to her current duty, which was watching over the streets to make sure no danger came to her people. As for the inside of the Bracer Guild, several pieces of paper have fallen over onto the ground, likely having its foundations shaken earlier.
Despite being closer to the source of the damage, there was a rigid chill in the air now. A far cry from what a normal fire would feel like.
Seeing the first floor empty, Cassius looked toward the stairs, which were still intact.
"It looks like everyone's on one of the upper floors.", Cassius said. However, before he could act, they heard a couple voices from upstairs.
"Just like that, Your Highness. That blast from earlier was the result of you trying to force a connection. Let the resonance happen naturally. Only then will you achieve balance and let it listen to you. You need to reach out to it. That's the feeling Angbar and I had.", A man's voice said, which belonged to McBurn.
"I think I got it...", Another familiar voice said, reaching Cassius's ears. "So it's not really a contract. It's more of a bond, if anything."
"Exactly. Let it continue doing its thing. Before you know it, the synchronization will be finished.", McBurn said. Hearing that, Cassius sighed in relief.
"That is definitely His Highness's voice. Looks like he really is here.", Cassius uttered.
"That does seem to be the case. This coldness is not normal. But should we really bother Naoto? It sounds like he's in the middle of something.", Prince Olivert mused, wondering what was happening beyond the stairs before him.
"Indeed. Either way, we should head up. It sounds like His Highness isn't alone.", Cassius said. Prince Olivert nodded his head in response, then proceeded to whisper something in Mueller's ears. He nodded too. Perhaps it was an order of sorts. Cassius saw Mueller walk toward the entrance of the first floor, and stood still. He was likely going to guard this.
Seeing Prince Olivert pass down an order, Cassius didn't need to say anything. He knew he could leave the first floor in Mueller's hands. Instead, the two glanced at each other, and nodded once again. Taking it slowly, they went up the stairs. The closer they got, the colder they became. At the same time, it was then they felt a strange sense of warmth. Once they arrived on the second second floor, they saw a few figures surrounding a nearby table. The group had relocated from the third floor to the second floor, likely as a result of the explosion.
Cassius raised his eyes to see this group of people. It was Naoto, McBurn, Scherazard, Joshua, Zin, Kilika, and a couple of Bracers Cassius was familiar with. Even the receptionist Elnan was nearby, observing the ongoing spectacle. The two joined the group, but were immediately shushed.
Looking toward Naoto, he saw that he was actually floating in the room, surrounded by a constant stream of blue and red Mana. They were swirling around each other in harmony. A pitch-black bow also appeared hovering nearby, swirling around with the same Mana. The two Mana streams never directly touched one another.
Thankfully, a second blast didn't strike the building. Cassius watched on, seeing Naoto respond to the bow. Slowly but surely, the pressure grew and intensified. Naoto gritted his teeth, but he didn't back down. All of a sudden, his hand reached out, and grabbed onto the bow!
It looks like the synchronization worked!
"So that is how it works in the end.", I said, smiling while holding onto the bow. I did take notice of the new arrivals in the room, but paid them no mind. Instead, I looked back at McBurn. He nodded his head.
"That's synchronization in a nutshell. Glad to see you got your weapon to respond to you.", McBurn said. After saying that, he yawned. Seeing him keep to himself, I decided to look at the rest of the Gamer Notifications that came through.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully synchronized with a Divergent Weapon, further increasing All Stats by 20%.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto may now equip and use the weapon Verbrannteis: The Soul Devourer. Its details and skills are now available for viewing.]
[Ding! McBurn's interest in Gamer Naoto has reached its peak after observing Gamer Naoto successfully form a bond with a Divergent Weapon. Two separate manifestations, but somehow, both Gamer Naoto and McBurn have ended up in Zemuria. Due to this, McBurn's Favorability has reached 100%.]
[Ding! McBurn's Blessing has been granted to Gamer Naoto.]
All of a sudden, I suddenly gained a combined, multiplicative 60% buff to all my stats, as it happened in sequential order. My strength literally doubled. Within this last year or so after leaving Nemeth Island, I arrived at Level 60. But I'm already showing stats comparable to the max level in the games, 250. Talk about absurd.
I also decided to review Verbrannteis's information, and was shocked. It really was a Growth-type weapon!
[Verbrannteis the Soul Devourer]
Level: 60
Weapon Type: Bow
Class Type: Growth
Stat Per Growth:
STR: +7 ATS: +12 EP: +15 Dex: +2 SPD: +2
Verbrannteis is a hybrid bow that embodies opposing elements, eternal flame and eternal frost. It is optimized for both high-speed combat and striking with keen precision from afar. Adjustable to any size, this bow can pierce a target's soul and shatter it completely, rendering true death!
Effect 1: Final Damage increases by 100%.
Effect 2: Combines Water and Fire Efficacy, then doubles. Effect triggers after FrostFire Reversal. Ex: If Monster is weak to 50% Water, 150% Fire, Water becomes 150%. Combined Efficacy reaches 300%, then becomes 600% Attack Damage or Arts Damage.
Effect 3: Verbrannteis does not need to be drawn for Effect 1 & 2 to take effect. Gamer Naoto can use Arts, Crafts, and Spells in conjunction with said Effect.
Effect 4: Grants the following Crafts to Gamer Naoto: Soul Piercer (S), FrostFire Burst (SS), Transform (-)
Effect 5: Verbrannteis has the ability to adjust its size to any degree, allowing Gamer Naoto attack from any distance. Once Gamer Naoto enters close-range, it will change into twin daggers. Every instance will use [Transform] Craft, consuming some of Gamer Naoto's EP. [Transform] can even change into other weapons like an orbal rifle, allowing Gamer Naoto to attack from a far distance!
'...Did I just read that right? This bow can adjust to any size, and even transform into other weapons!?', I exclaimed, keeping my thoughts to myself. I know weapons have their own tiers, with S-Weapons being at the very top. Like Rutger's glaive, and such. I bet there's even stronger weapons than that. Mystical weapons created through means not known to man. Such is the case with McBurn's Angbar, and Loewe's Kernviter. These are weapons you can't expect what would happen when you attack with them. These effects are wild!
I could turn it into a short bow, a composite bow, a longbow, any sort of bow with its size change. And it can even transform into other weapons to suit my battle range. It definitely gives Glistening Moonlight a run for its money. But here's the thing. Let's say I still had Glistening Moonlight on. I could forgo my Armor slot, and place Verbrannteis there, going for a dual-weapon build. Imagine it transforming into a Shield!
A lot of possibilities opened up, to say the least. I'm already growing excited! Why don't we test one of these Effects out right now? I saw McBurn look at me, and it was clear he saw my intent.
"Heh. It looks like you're already raring to give this weapon a go, Your Highness---?", McBurn tried to ask.
But before we could do anything, Verbrannteis began to hum. It's aura exploded forth. Wooosh!
Seeing Verbrannteis do this, I just stared at it. The aura didn't stop.
"Uhh...Is it supposed to do that?", Scherazard asked, feeling the pressure only grow. Even she wanted to back away from the bow.
"I don't think so...?", I tried to ask, only to turn serious. I wasn't the only one. We all heard the sound of bells strike around the entire building.
Ding...Dong...Ding...Dong...
"Are those...bells?", Zin asked, who was also part of the group around us. It was then we felt the space around us distort. It wasn't just me who saw this. All of us glanced upward. A very familiar blue screen appeared, causing me shock.
[Ding! Now invoking Instance Dungeon: Grancel City - Level 70.]
[Ding! The flow of time will now stop. Those who have formed a connection with Gamer Naoto will not be influenced. Party Limit: 6.]
'...An instance dungeon. Here!?', I inwardly cried.
But before I could do something else, something strange began to happen.
Starting from the origin, Verbrannteis, the color from our surroundings began to change. Or more like...It started to become void of color, turning entirely black and white...