ALL NOVEL Chapter 87 – Yamato Reiki
“Hartina Kingdom’s royal family?” Larissa Agatha raised her eyebrows. “Why does that matter to us? It’s not like she’s the crown princess or something… well, even if she is one, it’s not going to change how we perceive her as nothing more than baggage.”
“I am acquainted with Hartina's crown princess, she's not her… but weren’t you curious about her karmic luck? On the brink of despair, suddenly, we arrived and saved her. Wasn’t that a bit too convenient for her?”
“You’re right…” the hunter-priestess turned serious, “The world just used us as a tool…?”
“Even the World’s Will is not that omnipotent.” Mordred denied. “Our karma accidentally resonated with her, and it's simply convenient for the world to save her through us. However, I am immune to detection by the World’s Will, it'll be hard for my negative karma to affect the world directly in a beneficial way unless she's a Hero Candidate. It must be due to your karma… But even then, it’s not like there’s only two of us in this world. There might be some other ways for the world to save her. For example… a hidden large-class beast somewhere nearby that would 'accidentally' arrive at this hall before her neurotoxin completely evaporated…”
Mordred added, "But since we've secured her life, the beast should be released from the influence of the World's Will…"
…
“Damn it…” Shingen complained, the blood from a recent kill staining a nearby wall as he slashed at the air to clean his blade. As the team's five red marks [DPS], his methods are extremely sharp and incisive, yet, the beast was simply too strong for him to kill in one hit. "We've spent too much time killing this large-class spider. Can we still make it in time?"
After using some sort of shadowy creature to quickly dismantle and store the corpse, Katsuki re-summoned her dark wolf mounts once more and the team immediately got on them to continue the journey. "Her Hunter ID card broadcasted her rough situation and location. She used up one of her trump cards, so there's a high chance that she'll survive until we arrive…" she explained as they traveled.
The group is taking the shortest route towards their last member, but they noticed that the underground passages are experiencing a sudden drop in temperature.
"We are approaching the habitat of a Formic Hive Queen, there shouldn't be any rank 2 snow and ice-path lifeform nearby…" Kai, who is a dual-elemental mage, possessed higher elemental sensitivity compared to others. When he reported his findings, everyone frowned as things seemed to turn in the worse direction.
"Damn. Reiki… you're making things harder for us…" Katsuki muttered under her breath as Kai activated a method to protect the group from the sheer cold. It was slowly turning from mere inconvenience into a lethally freezing temperature similar to the environment in the Seas of Eternal Winters.
As they got closer, there were corpses of ants frozen solid into ice sculptures. The number of dying ants were too numerous to count, it was truly a frightening spectacle.
With their speed and direction, even the dimmest team member could predict Reiki's location should be at the center of this icy domain.
In less than a minute, Kai's defensive methods, which were multiple Mage Armors that wrapped individual team members in a warm embrace, were slowly destabilizing. They cannot endure the strange ice that seems to have the ability to suppress magic spells as elemental particles have their activities slowed down greatly in this icy domain. Casting spells would be a few times harder and their spiritual force expenditure is higher than normal, especially if it wasn’t related to snow and ice-path.
In other words, this location is showing the characteristics of snow and ice-path minor elemental waves.
Yet, he forced himself to reactivate two additional layers of defensive methods. If not, the team would suffer heavy ice DoT(damage overtime) like the countless number of ants who died.
"That's a group of Slayer Ants…" Katsuki pointed at a group of humanoid ants frozen solid on their tracks, her tone containing a hint of desperation. "Though strangely, her ID card indicates that Reiki’s vitals are paralyzed instead of frozen solid.."
As the team took the last turn to reach the central hall, they were amazed at the spectacle.
A sea of ants frozen solid. If there’s a Terracotta for ants in this world, this would be it.
Most of the ants are facing towards one direction. The team’s gaze slowly followed the central location where an omni-directional ice explosion with flower-like patterns were formed, enveloping a certain location.
“Reiki’s ID Card’s reaction is in the center of that… ice…” Katsuki led her team, navigating through the sharp, blade-like flower petals made out of ice. Nobody dared to touch the ice as they undulate with strong water elemental particles as mere touching it means allowing the ice to infect yourself with cold energy.
When Katsuki reached the core of the flower-like ice formation, she was lost for words.
“That wolf seemed familiar…” Kai muttered.
The team just stared blankly at the pale blue wolf with shark characteristics on its body. They were unable to react properly because the wolf was extremely similar to the wolf that Larissa rode.
“Have I shown my ability sufficiently to pass your assessment?” Larissa’s voice can be heard behind the pale blue wolf. She slowly dragged a cocoon of ice while wearing a Mage Armor-type clothing made out of flexible ice. After making an appearance, she waved her hand at the wolf behind her.
The wolf inhaled the coldness from the air, allowing the cold temperature to rise rapidly. With this move, the 10-meter diameter area has its temperature returning to a level friendly enough for rank 1 cultivators to roam without defensive method. Following the increase of local temperature, the wolf slowly lost its pale blue gleam, turning back into its original grayish silver color.
Katsuki dismounted from her shadowy wolf as it returned back to her shadow, the rest of the team followed suit. She revealed a wry smile. “You knew?”
Larissa Agatha smiled. “If I was in your position, I would do the same thing. Accepting a new member without seeing their capability would leave me a room of doubt. Information from others wouldn’t be reliable, so I’ll try to gather them personally.”
“It seems like we’re on the same page. Though, how did you know she’s here? We’ve never told you about her…” Katsuki inquired as she pointed at the cocoon of ice which was slowly melting and the white ice was turning transparent, allowing everyone to see a cocoon of human spine-like mechanical limbs is within.
“Deduction.” Larissa Agatha answered. “Your speed, direction, and movement pattern is too transparent. Of course, I wasn’t aware that she’s the last team member, but it’s not like saving her is a big problem.” She lied as naturally as she breathed. The one who did all the work was Mordred, but nobody has to know that. “That being said, have I gained your trust?”
Katsuki extended a hand, which Larissa Agatha accepted. “We of team Night Raid, accepted you as a new member…”
Larissa Agatha smiled in response. “Now that we’ve reached an accord. Would you mind telling me about our mission… and her.” She pointed at the cocoon of mechanical limbs.
“Ah, yes. Let me wake her up first.” Katsuki knocked on the cocoon in a special pattern. Soon, the mechanical limbs unravel themselves, revealing an orange-haired girl in a fetus position. Then, she took out a medicinal potion from her dimensional storage, opened up the cork, and let the orange-haired girl breathe out the scent.
The orange-haired girl opened her eyes soon after. Her mechanical limbs immediately took out something from her backpack and force fed a vial of potion into her throat. After a few moments, she flushed out the paralytic neurotoxin from her bloodstream. She scanned the area and her gaze soon settled on Lupusrazor. “No spiritual undulation, thermal radiation, nor any other detection metrics. No signs of life can be detected, it can be safely assumed that it is not a living being. Most probably, a mount-type artifact…” Her gaze quickly shifted towards Larissa Agatha.
“A fellow Mech-Accord?” She shook her head. “Not possible. Snow and ice-path radiation is extremely strong; her appearance has no traces of refinement-path activities. Inheritor of a refinement-path inheritance? Most probable…” she whispered to herself rapidly. From her manner of speech, it seems like her brain activity is higher than her ability to articulate her words.
“Reiki, introduce yourself. This is our newest member.” Katsuki nudged at the orange-haired girl. Due to her small size, she can only reach Reiki’s upper thigh.
“Right. I’m Yamato Reiki, a Mech-Accord Potioneer. I studied in Galatreon for a year and a half before being kicked out. You don’t have to worry about my family standing, I’m not interested in being formal and all. Say, where did you get your mount? It seems like a self-adapting weapon platform instead of a mount. I’ve seen some soldiers in Galatreon used such puppets before, do you mind if I take a look? I wante-”
Her words were cut off by Katsuki. “Enough, you’re making her uncomfortable.” Katsuki half bowed at Larissa Agatha. “Anyhow, you’ve met with our last member, she’s extremely talkative and extremely curious. Don’t let her touch it…”
‘If she knows Devil King Mordred is inside that magic machinery armor, she wouldn’t bear to be in the same country as him.’ Larissa Agatha reveals a wry smile. “Noted. While we talk, would you mind if I let Lupusrazor harvest ant materials? I need to even out my expenditure.”
Katsuki nodded. “Please. Reiki, you’ll also help.” She ordered.
Reiki quickly went to work at the same time as Lupusrazor. Although Lupusrazor is a large wolf-shark hybrid, it has excellent finger flexibility and could handle complex dismantling processes with its claws. The most precious frozen ant corpses are quickly sliced, dismantled, and piled next to Larissa Agatha who kept them inside her dimensional storage.
Looking at the deftness of Lupusrazor, Reiki’s competitive spirit seems to be ignited. She took out her own bee-drones and tried to do the same thing. Her control was excellent, she was able to dismantle precious Slayer Ant corpses, but her speed fell short compared to Lupusrazor.
After all, Lupusrazor is Mordred. He was a former Brave known for his refinement-path attainment.
While the rest of the team defrost or dismantle what they can, Larissa Agatha is having a discussion with Captain Katsuki. “The mission… you say it was about an extraplanar expedition. Please elaborate.”
“Certainly.” She took out an information-path artifact that took the form of a tablet. She established a telepathic link and it produces a holographic map quite a distance away from their current location. “The goal of our expedition is a Minor Inheritance left behind one of the 4th Generation Braves, ‘Violet Lightning’ Murasaki Shizuku.”
“She’s the ancestor of the Murasaki clan in Galatreon, correct? If my information does not fail me, wasn’t her elemental path lightning? I mean, we have a lightning-path mage in our midst, but your position seems to be higher than the rest. I wouldn’t believe you if you said it was for Kai’s sake.” Larissa Agatha inquired.
“Haha. You’re correct.” Katsuki wasn’t offended in the slightest. “The Murasaki clan was originally one of the Ten Master Clans of Hartina Kingdom before she and her husband left for the Extreme South. That being said, everyone knows Murasaki Shizuku is a lightning-path magic caster and a Mech-Accord.” She pointed her thumbs towards Reiki. “What I’m saying is, Murasaki Shizuku is not a poor Mech-Accord like her. She was a true blue Mech-Accord who was supported by the richest refinement-path expert in the world.”
“The Great Archmage…” Larissa Agatha guessed with a tone of amazement. “I don’t understand. Please tell me what’s great about Mech-Accords.” She was genuinely curious. If she asked the man himself, he would be dodgy and evade the topics.
“Well… ‘Mech-Accord’ is a prefix for class archetype which was founded roughly 250 years ago.” Katsuki pondered for a brief moment. “Unlike ‘Martial Artist’ archetype or ‘Mage’ archetype which defined their fundamental source of power, ‘Mech-Accord’ means they heavily rely on mechanical contraptions or artifacts in general.”
Larissa Agatha raised her eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that make you weak if you don’t have access to your artifacts?”
“After all, ‘external power is external’, correct?” Katsuki raised her lips upwards as if reading her mind.
“That’s right. For argument's sake, if Reiki was ambushed while she’s bathing… she wouldn't be able to react properly. Relying on external tools would be foolish in the long run…” She voiced her true opinion. As one’s cultivation base rose, a gun wouldn’t be more effective than a fist. This was a genuine concern as most same-rank gunpowder-based guns are literally weaker than a martial artists’ naked fist.
“Hahah!” Katsuki gigled. “That’s what those people who doubted the Great Archmage used to say. He replied, ‘So what if I rely on external tools? External and internal power… they are bullshit. Power is power. Can your fleshy body rival my power armor? Can your magic endure a bombardment from my artillery? Magic engineering artifacts are the power of progress, those who are ignorant about it will be left behind.’, which I totally agreed with.”
Larissa Agatha stared blankly at Katsuki who narrated with great fervor. ‘Heh. I guess he’s right. He subjugated me with a MEKA… It shouldn’t be surprising that this world’s inhabitants appreciated his ideology.’ “I see… Mech-Accords shouldn’t be underestimated, then.” She gazed at Lupusrazor who bared its fang at Reiki. She was trying to touch Lupusrazor but it wasn’t that friendly to the young mech-accord potioneer.
Both seemed to enter a playful banter with each other. Larissa Agatha shook her head. It must be the autopilot doing its thing.
“About the minor inheritance… is it related to Murasaki Shizuku’s artifacts?”
Katsuki shook her head. “No. You see, Murasaki Shizuku is the first Mech-Accord, but she does not make her own artifact. All of her combat resources are provided by her husband, the Great Archmage Mordred. He is responsible for all of her expenditure.”
“So what can we expect in the minor inheritance?” Larissa inquired.
“Elementals.” Katsuki paused, “The minor inheritance is a one of the myriad ‘Elemental Repository’ of Murasaki Shizuku. Needless to say, since she is a lightning-path cultivator, we’re going to raid a rank 1 Lightning Elemental Repository. Well… since the Great Archmage’s elemental path is also lightning, we might find something interesting within.”
‘Oh, right. His lightning-path attainment-level should be transcendent but why haven’t I seen him use lightning other than railguns?’ Her gaze involuntarily attracted towards Lupusrazor once more. The ‘man’ inside is having fun playing with the orange-haired Reiki.
“You seemed to see Lupusrazor as more than a mere tool…'' Katsuki commented.
Larissa Agatha retracted her gaze and realized her errors. “What makes you think so?” She was actually confident in her ability to regulate her emotions. Nobody can get a clue on her face if she doesn’t want to, yet, this girl was able to do so?
“I dabbled in wisdom-path, it was a hunch.” Katsuki answered. “It seems like you’re jealous of Reiki having fun with Lupusrazor.”
“Huh?” Larissa was shocked. ‘No way. That dumb girl is merely a rank 1 nobody. Although she’s a royalty, her status wouldn’t be comparable to mine as I am a genuine Sovereign with triple transcendent attainment… wait, why am I comparing myself to her. What the fuck is happening, why am I feeling jealous?’ “Your hunch is wrong.” She spat with a cold tone.
“We’ll leave it at that.” Katsuki realized it must be a sensitive topic. ‘I’ve heard one of the core components of a Soul Armament is a truesoul. There’s a chance that the soul used in refining Lupusrazor might be an acquaintance or someone close to her. After all, there are all sorts of bloodline slaves out there, and there are rumors that someone used their own sibling’s soul as a material but I mustn’t dig in too deep. It might trigger a backlash from her.’
Katsuki manipulated the holographic map. “It’s going to take us a few days until we reach our destination.” She pointed at a location. “Thankfully, we had Tomoe’s support. We won’t be having logistical issues during the expedition, you can trust her on that.”
Larissa Agatha focused on the spot pointed by Katsuki. “Oh, a Lightning Lake. Lupusrazor might be able to use some lightning-path resources.” she mumbled with a near inaudible voice.
While the hunter-priestess and Night Raid’s captain conversed regarding the details of the expedition, the remaining team members are efficiently dismantling frozen ant corpses. Most of the materials are rendered near-useless because they are destroyed by ice which was so cold to the point of decimating their cellular composition, but the high quality ones such as from rank 2 soldier ants and Slayer Ants survived.
Night Raid quickly finished up the process and then proceed to their next destination.
