《Majimonsters: Rosewood Journey》


 Chapter -7 - From the Archives of the Empire: What is a majimonster?

    The following is a record from the Scholar Binder, Tobias Amberhorn


    In the old tongues, majimonsters were originally known as dragons. In the old definition of the maji, a dragon was a natural beast infused with magic, making it faster and stronger, but enslaved to the maji''s will. They experimented on any animals they could get their hands on, ranging from small fleas, leading to the creation of the electrically charged Statick and the mind bending Dibbiks, to whales and elephants, creating the ocean dwelling Kamuoy and Sludgaphants. Eventually, these maji then started to experiment with plants, natural phenomenon and disasters, objects, multiple types of aether and hybrids of animals stitched together by magic. Some famous examples of each of these cases include: Brushpyres, C.u.mulem, Batpack, Amphiboil and Chimystic, respectively. There have also been rumors of entire townsh.i.p.s and locations being turned into monsters, but that is unknown.


    Edit by Ranger Morag: Recent events have confirmed the existence of "kaiju", living city monsters, please see the record labeled: Kaiju, dwellers and you.


    However, in recent years, new majimonster species beyond the original designs of the maji have begun popping up all over the Wildlands. The reason for this phenomenon? Inter-species breeding. Due to the original majimonsters being powered up animals, it''s not impossible for them to begun mixing in the more mundane populations of animals and create new monsters. This observation was confirmed when a farmer named Albedo found an Amphare in his rabbit enclosure alongside several smaller rabbits and Amphares with similar fur patterns to it. Evidently, the aforementioned farmer ended up finding the Lapin Knight household, a noble binder family that specializes in rabbit monsters. We''re not entirely sure how many other or new species of majimonsters exist in the Wildlands, but it is still comforting to know that all majimonsters can be considered some combination of the ten affinities: Fury, Ice, Lightning, Water, Wind, Earth, Fire, Basic, Mystic and Verdant. The less comforting fact is that most majimonsters are basically unkillable by human methods.


    When the maji created the first dragons, they wanted perfect living weapons. Aside from infusing animals with magic to make them more powerful and have nature defying abilities, they also made them immune to man-made weapons. They are, however, vulnerable to phenomena such as gravity, lava, animals and old-fashioned pugilism, but it''s usually considered a terrible idea to punch a porcupine made of glacial knives or a bear strong enough to eat boulders. The most effective means to fight a majimonster is with a majimonster, or a well placed bait into an active volcano.


    It needs to be noted that when majimonsters die, they don''t leave a corpse, instead they return to the aether from which they are made. In the case of bound monsters, they return to their drajules in order to recover, which takes about six hours give or take.

 Chapter -6 - Imperial Archives: The Fog of War

    It''s a surprise to no one that if you take out the captain of a ship, everything goes to hell. This same logic could also apply to binders and their monsters. If you take out the binder, then the majimonsters should be easy pickings, right? Wrong, and that''s thanks to the Fog of War.


    For inexplicable reasons when binders battle each other with their monsters, nothing seems to affect them. That isn''t to say they''re invincible or anything, rather their senses and reactions become heightened to the point of being able to avoid anything and everything non-magical, while the massive area-of-effect techniques that majimonsters can perform seem to be blocked by some magical force . This effect also applies to battle with wild majimonsters. Additionally, the majimonsters themselves will ignore any outside interference except for their opponents or any invading majimonsters.


    That is to say however, it''s not merely a mental thing either. Bystanders have noticed that as the monsters battle, a strange haze seems to form around them and they swear they could see wisps of light winking in and out of existence. Whether it''s due to the captivating sight or some magical phenomenon, people can''t help but pause. This in turn made it impossible for outsider humans to interfere in the battle. Even when blindfolded, something about the majimonsters battling forces them to not interfere.


    This effect has been termed as the "Fog of War".

 Chapter -5 - 1.5: The parents are worried

    Chapter 1.5: The parents are worried¡­.


    As the morning sun rose over the Gemini forest, a young girl in her teenage years with eyes of amber and hair as white as snow prepared to leave her domicile, a brewery/house located within the edges of a village that was surrounded by a large circle of strange stones. Unbeknownst to her, however, an unusual creature watched her prepare from the ceiling rafters just out of sight.


    This creature, at a glance, appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary rag doll with buttons for eyes and a little green dress. But upon close inspection, one could see rusty pins piercing the doll in various parts of its body and that tears flower constantly from its button eyes. This creature was a majimonster known as an Effigy.


    The Effigy watched as the young girl proceeded to finish packing and left the house. In a flurry of activity, the Effigy got up and proceeded to walk on the rafters until she got to a specific part of the ceiling. It then took out one of the rusted needles in its body and jabbed upward, opening a hidden door on the ceiling and climbed through it.


    The Effigy had entered into a bedroom containing a dresser, a mirror above said dresser and a shelf filled with various knick-knacks made of all sorts of materials and several colorful crystals. At the center of the room was a large bed where a couple, a middle-aged man and woman, was currently sleeping. The Effigy proceeded to crawled on top of the bed and sat where the woman was sleeping.


    "Master, your little magpie has flown the nest", the Effigy said to the woman without moving her mouth or making sounds.


    "Thank You, Ellie. Now go get some rest", the woman said with a sigh after turning over to face the Effigy. With a bow, the rag-doll monster turned into a shower of blue light and flew into a ring embedded with a blue crystal on the woman''s finger. After the Effigy disappeared, the woman turned to her husband and said "You know I don''t approve of this trial by fire method right?"


    "I am aware darling, but we agreed we wouldn''t teach our kids the binding arts unless they somehow bounded a monster on their own. That way we can keep us, that thing and more importantly them, safe from...you know who.", the man replied with weariness in his voice.


    "Fine...I suppose the worst case is that she''ll run home and not have to follow our footsteps", the woman responded.

 Chapter -5 - Imperial Archives: The Maji

    About 800+ years ago, majimonsters didn''t exist. Instead, there were humans, there was the old empire and there was the maji, who were the ruling class and the wielders of magic.


    Maji is technically a catch-all term for anyone who could perform magic back in the days of the old empire. This ranged from everything from alchemists to illusionists to elementalists to everything in-between. Depending on what region of the old empire one went to, the locals would change the name of "maji" to whatever the dominant form of spellcaster was in the area, for example, the nomads of Saikhe plains called the maji shamans.


    Nobody knows for certain how, when or why, but at some point the means to create the majimonsters was established and shared among all the maji regardless of their differing abilities. This is what scholars believe the reason why the majimonsters come in so many unusual shapes, sizes and abilities and why some aren''t even animal-based at all.


    After the fall of the empire all those centuries ago, the maji all but disappear for their mistakes and magic was all but shunned and forgotten...until now.


    When Emperor Zarasul rose to power, he brought with him Binders, those who could use magic to control the majimonsters and from this momentous event, arose the six binder classes that are believed to be evolution(degenerations?) of the most common types of maji: alchemists, elementalists,paladins,druids, wizards and tricksters.


    A more detailed look into the six binder classes will be discussed in a different archive.

 Chapter -4 - Monsters Night Prelude: Heroes and a Horde

    The sun was setting over the hillside near Misty Lantern Village, and at the very edge of town, three binders were getting ready for an intense battle.


    "Great, just great. The one time we decide to take an Empire escort job, it suddenly turns into a defense mission on Monster''s Night.", Dolga complained, while grasping his head in despair and annoyance. "I blame you for this, freaking bad luck cat, if you weren''t adorable I swear I would keep you in a box somewhere", he said while pointing at the Caticlysm sitting on his shoulder, who was just smiling at him the whole time. "Oh calm down Dolga, the situation is not that bad. If anything it is quite fortunate", replied Melasina as she prepared her bandolier of concoctions, each being a glass bottle filled with strange colored smoke. "If anything it is quite a fortunate happenstance. Oli and I are in need of a third majimonster and you still need a fourth", Melasina said matter-of-factly, "Now all we have to do is just sit here, defend the town and see what comes our way". Melasina finished checking her concoctions, stood up from the rock she was sitting on and walked over to another rock where a short figure wearing an ornate mask was currently squatting."So Oli", she asked, "Think what do you think will be coming our way this time?" Oli just grunted in response whilst staring at the forest''s edge.


    The trio watched as the last bit of sunlight disappeared over the horizon and the darkness of the night came to take its place. Countless ancient runes started to glow upon the ground and floated into the air. The aether grew thicker as the moon rose higher and higher into the sky and strange lights began to glow within in the depths of the forest as many strange shapes began to take form in the gloom. The trio knew that at this moment, Monster''s Night had begun.


    "Well then boys, shall we begin?" Melasina said as she drew from her side an ornate pipe in the shape of a dragon, embedded with drajules in its eyes and one acting as a horn. She proceeded to light the pipe and took a long drag; whilst doing so, the drajule that made up the horn started to glow with the light of summoning. "Come and play Smogre", Melasina said, then exhaled a huge cloud of purple smoke. The purple smoke then began to form the silhouette of a large humanoid creature, a huge pair of golden gauntlets formed where the silhouette''s arm ended and an oni mask formed where the head was located.


    Oli responded with a nod and a grunt, and proceeded to jam a drajule into a forehead slot in his mask. Oli let loose a battle cry that soon turned into a howl as two headed wolf made of pure fire and ice formed around his body and slowly absorbed into him. As the energy absorbed into him, he started to change shape from a squat figure into a two headed wolfman, the mask on his face splitting into two perfect halves covering half of the face of the two new wolf heads, one with smoke coming out of its mouth and the other releasing an icy breath.


    Dolga merely sighed as he moved his Caticlysm from his shoulder onto the ground. Dolga removed his shirt,revealing to the world the three drajules embedded in his chest, located where his heart would be. Dolga took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he channeled energy from the drajules in his heart to his two hands and placed them on the ground. Two summoning symbols then formed to his left and right. The circle on the right was predominantly red with purple-ish outlines, showing fire and mystic-type patterns, while the one on the left was brown with green outlines, showing earth and verdant-type patterns. A strange ghost flame condensed in front of the symbol to the right and began to hover in the air; subsequently, a pair of feminine hands made of wax proceeded to reach out from the symbol and grab the flame. A figure that appeared to be a woman made of wax complete with a wax dress exited the symbol, the flame still burning in her hand.The figure then proceeded to move the flame to her head where a wick was located and placed it there. Meanwhile, the symbol to the left emitted a dense aura akin to a mountain forest. A pair of powerful, chitin-covered arms grabbed the sides the symbol and pulled against it. The beast that pulled itself out of the symbol was a hulking mass of muscle and chitin, but the most prominent feature was a massive horn reminiscent of a trident jutting from its armored head. At the sight of its companions coming out to play, the Caticlysm let out a yowl that quickly turned into a mighty roar as it began to triple in size. With all three of his monsters summoned, Dolga cracked his neck and simply said, "Leggo".

 Chapter -1 - The Circle of the Argenti Bestia

    In the days of the Old Empire, hundreds upon hundreds of philosophies, schools, circles, factions and sects ran rampant. They all thought their way of magic was better than their rivals and conflicts were rather commonplace. Some were orthodox, others not so much and there were the occasional death cults.


    The Circle of the Argenti Bestia was just one among many different factions, but they were rather...infamous.


    As the art of making majimonsters, called dragoncrafting in their time, was spreading, countless factions began to develop their own methods and ideas on how to go about it. Some went straightforward and just pumped animals with aether to see what would happen. others used mundane objects as subjects, while others made use of complex formulas and formations to augment subjects before creating monsters. However, not all of these pursuits were benign.


    A disturbingly high amount of factions wondered if it was possible to turn mundane humans, even other maji, into majimonsters. The Circle of the Argenti Bestia was one such faction.


    As typical of most druids, the Circle of the Argenti Bestia performed rituals and spells pertaining to nature. Unlike most druids however, they actively sought and used silver in their practices. Due to their cultivation method, the Circle could make use of silver to enhance spells, augment them and even as weapons. In essence, a heretical druid Circle.


    The Circle of the Argenti Bestia were one of several circles of druids who believed that the best way to create dragons, was to combine the savagery of beasts with the intellect of humanity with magic serving as the thread holding the two sides together.


    As such, the Circle developed special artifacts that were infused with bestial essence and enhanced with various elemental runes. When a compatible human host wore these artifacts, they would slowly turn into a powerful majimonster.


    Of course, the Circle was leveled at some point before the Collapse and their teachings were burned to the ground. There''s absolutely no way for them to cause a problem beyond the grave... right?

 Chapter 1 - 1: I鈥檓 about to die, because I wanted some honey.

    I would like to believe that while I am not the greatest person in the world, I am at least "decent". I don''t argue with my parents when it comes to chores, I give beggars whatever small amount of coin I can spare and I''m not a bandit or an unscrupulous innkeeper who takes advantage of weak and weary travelers. I occasionally sneak an extra cake for myself when Mom''s not looking and I may have occasionally snuck past the town''s menhirs to do some light exploring and pretend to be a binder, but I stay close to them and I still come back before everyone else gets up to make breakfast for everyone in my family. Which is why I''m wondering what force of nature compelled the universe to have me stuck in the middle of a staredown between a living volcanic eruption and a walking blizzard!


    Waitaminute, I''m getting ahead of myself. I should probably explain who I am and what''s going on. My name is Silvia Rosewood, the oldest daughter of the three children of Grigori and Alicia Rosewood. My folks and I run the best and only brewery in Onryx, a quaint little town located in a region known as the Gemini Forest, at least that''s what the traveling binders and merchants say.


    My home region is called that because the forest for one reason or another somehow goes through two seasons at the same time in two different halves, i.e., fall in one half and winter in the other half, which is weird. I didn''t think so, but that''s because I was born and raised here. Onryx is located right in the middle of this divide, or the Equinox Line, so it does get a little awkward in terms of wardrobing when half of the population is in winter clothes while the other half is in summer clothing.


    Wait, I''m getting sidetracked again. The reason I mentioned my home region''s "oddity" is because it was round this time that Winter/Spring seasons we''re setting in. Usually around this time, me and my dad,Grigori Rosewood, would go venture into the Winter portion of the forest to try and find some honeybee hives to get some bee-combs for our hives and to make our special Twin Flower mead. However, this time around my dad ended up twisting his ankle and was bedridden for the week, so I took it upon myself to go and bring back the honeycombs.


    My mother immediately disapproved of the idea stating that the Wildlands was no place for anybody to explore alone, let alone a girl who was only sixteen years old. It took about an hour of arguing, my dad''s involvement and explaining that the honeycombs are close enough to the menhirs that I wouldn''t run into any MajiMonsters to finally convince her that I could go do it at first light the next day...is what I want to say, but in reality she adamantly refused and I was about to give up, until dad said he would explain and mollify her for me if I snuck out.


    Thus the very next morning, I got my pack, my hunting knife and my lucky crystal charm and went off to find some honeycombs. Normally, Pa and I would just go check the trees a little pass the village''s menhir circle, no more than just 10 feet away into the Wildlands, and just grab one maybe two honeycombs for the mead. However, this year was different.


    This time when I went to our usual spot to get honeycombs, there was nothing there.In a panic I attempted to figure out what could have done this, which is when I found the bear claw marks on the tree. I don''t hate bears, but they can be a nuisance when it comes to my line of work. I was just about to give up and go home, until I heard the faint telltale buzzing of a honeybee hive in the distance.


    As a child I''ve always been able to hear sounds better than most other kids my age and even some a.d.u.l.ts. Ma says its because when I was a baby, a pair of snakes must''ve licked my ears clean when she wasn''t looking, but I''m pretty sure I was just born like this. It used to drive me nuts because I could hear practically everything even farther than what most people would consider earshot distance,but Pa taught me how to channel everything out except for one key sound and focus on it. As I got better at using my hearing, I used it to help him with hunting, picking up danger when we go looking for ingredients for our brews and more importantly, finding honey bee hives.


    I took note that the buzzing I was hearing was even farther from the village menhirs, which I guessed to be about 60, 70 yards from where I was. In retrospect, I probably should have gone back home because of the threat of majimonsters, but I was too stubborn to just give up! Which is why I put my ear to the wind and started walking toward the buzzing.

 Chapter 2 - Freaking Wolves

    I should probably explain why me going deeper into the forest was an extremely bad idea.


    The areas outside of Onryx, and civilization in general, is collectively termed as the Wildlands. Aside from the standard wolves, bears and the occasional angry badger, there is a greater threat that calls the Wildlands its home, MajiMonsters. The MajiMonsters are,well, monsters created by some people called the maji hundreds of years ago. They''re living objects, they''re animals infused with aether, they''re the aether given form. To sum up, walking natural disasters. Worst of all, humans like me cannot hurt them and I don''t mean in a moral sense either. The maji somehow made it so that their monsters were completely invincible to human weapons; animals not so much but that''s a whole other thing.


    If you''re wondering why the MajiMonsters haven''t killed me or wipe out my town is because of the circle of menhirs, giant upright stones with runes carved into them, surrounding it. Every form of human civilization in the Wildlands are protected from the MajiMonsters in a variety of ways. I''m not sure how it works in other towns, but the town''s menhirs act like an invisible fence that keeps out the monsters. Either way, the fact that I was walking further away from the menhirs than usual made me a bit nervous.


    Due to this being my first time going out so far, I made sure to mark the trees every few feet to make a beeline back to the menhirs just in case of MajiMonsters. I must have marked a dozen or so trees until I finally found the honeybee hive I was looking for, the only problem now was that it was about 10 ft above the ground. I clicked my tongue in annoyance, the trees at the usual spot had hives low enough I could just reach out and grab some. Then again, that might be why the bears ate them.


    Climbing a tree to grab honeycombs without tools would have been foolish, luckily I had my hunting knife, my spiked winter boots and some ropes in my backpack. (If you''re ever in the wild for camping or hiking, remember that rope is your best friend). I tied a rope to my lucky charm and threw it over a branch as close to the hive as possible then proceeded to remove the charm and tie the now dangling rope around the trunk of the tree. I managed to make myself a harness out of a second rope, some metal rings I found in my backpack and my backpack. I hooked myself up to my new rope contraption and used a combination of shoes and knife to climb the tree, thankfully with no issues...at least not yet.


    I managed to get to the hive,using the branches as an additional foothold, and carefully used my knife to remove some parts of the hive and add it to my pack. I was about to just rappel myself off the tree unto the ground and go, until I heard the snow crunching beneath me. I stopped rappelling immediately and slowly turned my head towards the ground, to see a pack of dire wolves sniffing around the tree. I was so focused on gathering the bee hives that I didn''t stop to think about listening for possible threats approaching me. On the upside I was up the tree and dire wolves can''t climb, on the downside they ended up smelling my presence and have proceeded to circle the tree and have tried to bite at me to bring me down.


    For all intents and purposes, I was now stuck. I definitely couldn''t rappel down unless I wanted to get mauled by wolves and if I tried to climb upward they might notice the rope moving and attack it and cut me down. So I was basically stuck there, dangling for dear life as I hoped that dire wolves would eventually get bored and leave me alone to go hunt rabbits, deer or something; anything but me!

 Chapter 3 - Out of the Tree, Into the Turf War

    As luck, fate or destiny would have it, I wasn''t going to be eaten by wolves today. I was in for something much much worse.


    As I was basically dangling for my life, I heard something weird like water burning off an iron skillet coming towards me and the wolves. The wolves must have smelled it or heard it too, because they bolted when I heard the second or third instance of burning.water. I took that as a sign that I should probably get out of the forest and book it back to the menhirs as quick as I could. I started rappelling downward as fast as I could, but the sound was getting closer and closer. At this point I was about 5 maybe 6 feet off the ground and I did not want to see whatever was walking towards me. I took out my hunting knife and proceeded to cut through the rope suspending me in the air and landed in the snow with a thud.


    I was a little dazed as I got up, but I quickly got my bearings together as I used my knife to remove the last of the rope harness from my backpack and I. I was about to book it back towards the village by following the path of marked trees I had made, until I finally saw what was making the sizzling noise walking towards me from the direction of my marked trees. I was standing there frozen like an ice sculpture staring at a freaking MajiMonster.


    I slowly backed away while drinking in every detail of the Monster I was staring at.I first noticed the heat coming from its body, every step it took towards me caused the snow to melt all around it in a near perfect circle and its hooves was burning scorch marks into the forest floor.The MajiMonster looked like a bull moose,but its normal brownish hide and palmate antlers was replaced with harsh black stone that a strange shine to it and jagged edges that looked to be as sharp as stone arrowheads. Additionaly, what appeared to glowing red lines criss-crossed its entire body with a matching set of eyes that looked like burning embers. On its back where the head and neck would meet, a trail of smoke was coming out of strange hole,like a fire was burning inside of its body.It reminded me of the blacksmith forge, belching out smoke and ash. Needless to say, I was terrified.


    I wasn''t sure what this thing was called, but it looked like a moose so I assumed it acted like a moose. This meant I had to back away very slowly, because if I agitated it at all, it would start charging at me and would keep doing so until it smashed me into a pile of ash and paste. I slowly stepped back away from the Monster, making sure to keep an eye on it for sudden changes in behavior or sudden changes in direction. Every step I took was slow, deliberate and very tense. One wrong move and I would be an ash stain in a snowy wonderland. I managed to take at least three, maybe four steps until I heard a second set of crunching steps right behind me. As if my luck could somehow get worse,I turned my head to see that there was another MajiMonster right behind me but this one I knew about, a Glacielk.


    It looked almost like a normal bull elk, but with very distinct differences. Glacielks have piercing blue eyes akin to a frozen pond, fur as white as the snowy forests they call home and their antlers are jagged like snowflakes. On top of that, their breath is so cold that their exhalations caused snowflakes to form in the air. As I stopped and stared,panic overtook me as I noticed that the Glacielk seemed agitated.In a panic, I had forgotten why it seemed so angry until I remembered the fire moose majimonster in front of me, that had also become agitated in the presence of the Glacielk. At this point I wasn''t sure if it was because they were both MajiMonsters or due to the territorial nature of moose and elks, but I was very certain it would be very bad for me to be in the middle of their turf war.

 Chapter 4 - Back to the present-I鈥檓 going to die and I鈥檓 hearing voices.

    Now to sum up my present situation, I''m stuck between two different MajiMonsters that are about to duke it out and I have no idea what to do right now.


    Ideally I should probably run to the side and let these two deal with each other. However, moose tend to become even more aggressive when startled, meaning that if I run there is a chance of that thing chasing after me and smashing/burning me into ash and paste. Alternatively I could slowly inch towards the tree and sneak around it but both of the MajiMonsters will probably take the offensive the moment I sneak around that tree based on which direction I sneak towards. The worst case scenario is that I wait until these MajiMonsters charge into each other and jump away at the last second, hoping that their focus is drawn to each other and not me; but the fallout of their attacks hitting each other might end up hitting me in the process. In essence, I am now up the creek without a paddle and there''s a hole in the boat.


    "Well you appear to be in a bad spot, want some help getting out of it?". I perked up my ears at the feminine ethereal voice wondering if I was just going crazy until I heard it again. "Is this one another dud? Hey, if you can hear me, blink twice." Figuring there was nothing to lose I blinked twice. "Oh dear, it appears I can''t just sit back and let you die to the dragons now can I? Listen closely and do exactly as I say, agreed?" I was about to respond but the words escaped me at that moment, so I opted to nod instead. "Good,slowly walk backwards until your back touches that tree you were just hanging from earlier", doing as the voice instructed I slowly walked back, snow crunching with each step until I felt the cold bark against my fingertips. As I stepped back the Glacielk and the moose-like monster locked eyes. I could feel the tension between the two, and not in a metaphorical sense. The left side of my body started to feel uncomfortably warm while the right side of my body started to feel colder. Whatever was going on between these two monsters, I could physically see and feel the effects of their innate magical abilities.


    "OK girlie, beneath your feet should be a rune carved into a stone. Do you see it?", using my foot I moved away the snow until I saw a rock with a strange carving about a step away. "Unfortunately, there''s not enough aether powering that rune, and from the looks of it you barely have enough to power it. We''re gonna have to do something...drastic". Well that''s a sudden revelation I''ll need to ask about later, but I did not like the sound of this "drastic" action. "What''s gonna happen next is that those dragons are going to charge into each other. Their antlers will be brimming with aether, er, magical energy. When the energies collide, it will most likely cause a great explosion that will bring thunder, lightning and wanton destruction. At the exact moment they collide however, an ample amount of aether will be released and light up the rune beneath your feet", I was going to object until she stated,"You''re gonna have to stomp on it as hard as you can at that moment or you''re gonna be an ash stain in the snow, so get ready because they''re about to charge".

 Chapter 5 - 5: I am talking to an icicle

    The Glacielk and fire moose monster charged into each other, their antlers glowing with magical power which caused the air to violently revolt and spark. It felt as if a burning summer wind was colliding with a blizzard. Despite the massive energy however, I kept my vision squarely on the "rune" on the ground waiting for the moment to stomp on it and get out of here. It must have only been moments, but it felt like hours as the two opposing forces of nature got closer and closer to one another. It was almost stifling; but then as the two monsters nearly locked horns, the rune finally began to glow and I stomped on it as hard as I could. Then came the darkness.


    The next moment I felt as if I was sliding down a hill with no control over my body, my vision blurred by a great cascade of colors and all I could hear was my own screaming. When it finally stopped my ears were ringing something fierce while my vision was blurry. It took me a minute to get my bearings together, but I was alive...somehow. I was about to celebrate, until I heard a thundering crash behind me. I looked behind me and jumped with a start to see the Glacielk locked in combat with the strange moose monster behind what appeared to be a sheet of clear ice.


    I touched the ice while thinking out loud, "What is this thing?"


    "Stop touching it. You''re getting it dirty", a powerful feminine voice echoed behind me.


    I jumped with a start and quickly turned around to see the source of the voice, and I lost my voice in that moment.


    I had landed to what appeared to be an elaborate throne room that looked to be carved out of ice. Supporting the ceiling were six pillars,three to the left and three to the right, and in between them were statues of what I could only assume to be majimonsters, albeit, they were stranger and wilder than anything I''ve ever seen. Upon closer inspection of the pillars, it became clear to me that it was actually a type of white and blue stone. At the other end of the room where the throne would be, was instead a pillar of ice that connected the ceiling to the floor and was as thick as an oak tree.


    Sealed in that pillar of ice was a beautiful woman in flowing blue and white robes. Her figure looked like she was carved out of a glacier by a master artisan while her face had this weirdly beautiful contradiction to it. Her overall face from her lips to her cheeks had this softness to them akin to fresh fallen snow, not a single blemish in sight, just pale and smooth. But her eyes, even though they were closed, had this sharpness to them like an apex predator eyeing her prey and predicting every move it would make if it fled. It even felt that everything in this room, even my very existence, was all within her calculations.


    "Well", a voice echoed in the chamber, "Aren''t you going to say anything?"


    I was about to shoot off a series of questions, namely who and why, but the tone of voice she used when she asked that reminded me of Ma when I forgot to put away my hunting gear, so I just timidly replied with, "Thanks for my saving my life". Then as those words exited my mouth, what I could only describe as a ghostly copy of the woman in the pillar arose from it and proceeded to land in front of me with a smirk on her face, her eyes still bearing that calculative glare but gentler somehow.


    "You''re welcome.", she said with this playful haughtiness in her voice (?). "Now then, I assume you have some questions for me so please feel free to ask, but as preface, my name is Voxea the Archmaji of the Blessed Glacier Pavilion and you are currently in my tomb,'''' she said with a flourish.


    "Well that explains the, waitaminute what did you just say?!", I shouted in utter shock. "But how, why? All the stories say that the maji died out centuries ago, overthrown by", I gestured to the mirror showing the two majimonsters, "the very majimonsters they created! So how are you alive...why am I here?"

 Chapter 6 - 6: Well I have questions

    A palatable silence floated in the air as I waited for Voxea to answer my questions. After what felt like hours Voxea finally said, "Majimonsters? That''s what you''re calling them now? That is a much better name than dragons, has a better ring to it", with a somewhat breezy tone which is just honestly killing the first impression I had of her. I was about to interject until she interrupted me.


    "First things first, you should know I can read your mind and that I am not as frigid and harsh as I was all those years ago. Being stuck in a magical ice coffin for a couple centuries work wonders on mellowing a person out and forcing one to look into themselves. By the by, that little statement should explain how I managed to survive the centuries", Voxea explained nonchalantly, "and the reason why you''re here is because I need your help".


    "I''m sorry, what?"


    "You heard me Ms.Rosewood, I need your help." Voxea sighed while a frown slowly crept across her face, "I may be ''alive'', but this is not living. I am stuck in a glorified ice box while the rest of the world has been growing and changing for the better part of 800 years. I want to get out of here and have a physical body again, I want to live!", and as if to provide emphasis to her statement, Voxea dramatically punched(?) the wall.


    With a growing suspicion in the back of my mind I proceeded to ask, "How can I help with that? You''re not gonna take my body are you?!"


    Voxea clicked her tongue, "No you silly girl, if I wanted to do that, you wouldn''t be here and neither would I. The necromancers of my era learned that lesson the hard way"


    "Necromancers?"


    "Don''t ask; anyways, no what I need is that primal drajule that you''re wearing around your neck,''''she said while using a finger to gesture toward my lucky charm.


    "My charm? Wait, a drajule? I thought those had to be made by binders, carved from precious jewels, crystals and other shiny rocks", I asked while fiddling with the stone.


    "Binders? So that''s the term for those monster tamers...I like it. To answer your question yes, but primal magic can sometimes condense into magic stones, taking the form of precious gemstones full of magical energy. For example, the uncut stone around your neck is actually a sapphire chock full of primal Wind aether," she replied as she took a closer look at my lucky charm.


    "Alright...that''s fascinating, and little mind boggling, but how is my...drajule suppose to help you get a body?", I said with incredulous curiosity in my voice.


    "Oh that''s simple. I''m going to turn myself into a majimonster and you''re going to become my binder!"

 Chapter 7 - 7: Im sorry, what?

    Absolutely shocked by the ghost maji''s very sudden statements, all I could say was "Uhhh¡­what?"


    "Ah right, I should probably explain", Voxea said as if it were the most natural thing in the world and slightly condescendingly.


    "Over the centuries I have been stuck here, my only source of information has been that "window" right behind you", gesturing towards the ice wall, "It can''t transmit sound all too well but it can send me visuals. In the most recent decades I have seen that the people you call binders, unlike the normal humans that seem to venture through the area, emit an aura that was akin to my fellow maji but stranger...more feral...and you Miss Rosewood are emitting that same aura. In other words, you''re a binder", she finished while pointing at me.


    I was stunned when she told me that I was a binder. Waves of confusion washed over me and many questions started popping up in my mind, too many to recount. I was mentally breaking down on how could I, a girl from the middle of nowhere,be a binder. I was going to fire off another myriad of questions, until I recalled that the binders who would stop by the village to relax would sometimes swap stories about how they became binders. The origins of their stories varied but it always boiled down to, "It just...happened". I suppose this moment is my "just happened", but that did not change the fact I have never bounded a majimonster in my entire life.


    "Slight problem with your statement Voxea, I never bounded a majimonster in my life so how can you tell my aura is like those other binders?"I asked.


    "Well that explains the unusual quietness to your aura...no matter, that just means I get to be your first. Don''t worry, I''ll be gentle", Voxea said teasingly.


    "Inappropriate", I said before taking a deep breath and saying, "Alright then...now the whole turning yourself into a monster thing? How is that supposed to work"?


    "Well that''s technically a trade secret I cannot divulge, but I can tell you that it''s an ancient ritual that will involve using the latent primal magic inside that drajule and the magic in my tomb to create a new body for my spirit to inhabit, which will turn me into a majimonster.", Voxea said with ease. "However I will need you, my soon to be binder, to help provide the nudge necessary for the drajule to release its magical power. I would do it but being a spirit comes with certain drawbacks".


    "How do I do that?",I asked.


    "I''m not entirely sure, but I''m pretty sure you''re going to have to try and bind me like a majimonster whilst I perform the ritual", Voxea said with a tone of certainty, "so try to figure out how to do that and we can get started".

 Chapter 8 - 8: I guess I鈥檓 a binder now

    I stared at this probably looney spirit as she suggested I perform a feat of magic that only binders could perform, with the added memory of that not even binders themselves knew what they did exactly. On top of the countless stories of how the binders earned their abilities, they would also swap stories about how they managed to bind their respective monsters. Some said they used some old song they remembered from their childhoods that activated the drajules, some claimed they just focused and the magic in the drajule would take form and just grab it and one girl claimed, and this could very well be distorted, she would just kick incomplete drajules at her target, it would turn into some kind of magic cage and then she would just carve the drajule out of that. In essence, every binder had completely different methods of how they did it and I couldn''t very well just follow their examples. Regardless, I proceeded to squat and tried wrapping my head around the idea of just how I was suppose to "bind" a spirit.


    I must''ve looked like I was in utter agony, because Voxea floated over to where I was squatting and placed a "hand" on my shoulder with a sympathetic look on her face. It felt cold where she was touching despite my warm coat.


    "Alright Silvia, if you were one of my students I would probably help you figure out the exact formula for your spell or I would help you through the motions you needed to cast it properly,'''' she said kindly, "But this is not like that at all, so I can only give you the same piece of advice that I have followed since I was a young girl and that I have given to every student I had ever taught up until the end".


    I perked up at these words, curious about what advice she was going to give me on how to go about being a binder.


    "The aether, the force of magic that exists in our world, is all around us. It exists in the plants that burst forth from the ground, the rain that falls from the sky and even the air we breathe. The aether is a force of nature, and we as beings that are a part of nature are also a part of the aether. In order to truly feel and understand magic, all you need to do is just relax, let go and let the aether flow through you", Voxea said sagely.


    I pondered on Voxea''s words, trying to fully comprehend what she said. I had never felt the aether or seen actual magic performed, but if she said about the aether being all around us is true, than I might as well see if I could sense it. I closed my eyes and emptied my mind, but as I relaxed and tried to let go, a strange sound started to fill my ears. It was like several different tones, songs and hums playing all at once, sounding discordant but harmonic at the same time. I immediately tried to tune it out, but this somehow made the sounds louder.


    Insinticutally, I jerked my head at the sound and rubbed my ears after hearing who knows what ringing through my ears.


    "What was that all about?", Voxea asked with concern and curiosity.


    "I tried to ''let aether flow through me'' but all I could hear was this weird sound, sounds? Are you sure this place can''t transmit sound?",I replied.


    "Well I''ll be, looks like you are quite a bit faster than my pupils were", Voxea said with amus.e.m.e.nt, "What you heard was the aether flowing around, if I had to guess is that you''re more in-tuned with vocal magic than somatic magic. Try doing that again, but this time just let it play".


    I looked at her incredulously but nodded in agreement. I tried relaxing and emptying my mind again. I heard the sounds playing again, but this time I didn''t try to tune it out. As the sounds kept playing,the sounds start to become more and more harmonized and I started to feel my body become warmer and warmer. It felt as if warm spring air starting circulating throughout my body and I felt like I was glowing.


    "Haha you did it", Voxea said, "and what a lovely color your aura, I''d peg it as a seafoam green or lovely jade".


    Curious at her words, I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was indeed glowing with a greenish light. Normally I would probably be freaking out over the fact that I was glowing, but I guess being in-tune with the aether made me super relaxed because all I could say was, "Neat".


    "Now keep doing that, I''ll start the ritual and then you can just do your binder mojo when the time is right", Voxea said. She then proceeded to float upward to the center of the room and closed her eyes. Even though my ears were currently filled with "aether noise", I could faintly make out that she was chanting,possibly praying, in a strange language.


    As she continued her chant, I saw the room beginning to faintly glow with a bluish-white light and strange markings starting to form a circle above and below Voxea. While this was happening, I could hear the tone of the room suddenly change, like a musician tuning their instrument until their performance. As Voxea continued chanting the tone went from tuning to harmonic once more,but it sounded as if the harmonic sound was now deeper and developed a pattern, like it was becoming a song.


    As the "song" continued to play, I soon noticed the drajule around my neck starting to hum and vibrate. Guided by instinct, I took the drajule off my neck and held it between my fingers. I imagined the warm feeling flowing through my body into the drajule in my hand. I felt the warm feeling leaving through my fingers and into the drajule, which started to glow and form what I could only describe as fork with only two tines.


    I suppose it was by either instinct or intuition but whilst listening to the song, my hand struck the drajule against the ground at a specific point of it. Evidently that''s when my magic kicked in.


    As I struck the energy fork against the ground, it released a tone that seemed to harmonize with the ritual Voxea was casting. Green-blue rings of energy was released from the drajule and it ended up surrounding Voxea and her strange circle. The rings soon formed a sphere around Voxea and started to spin, glowing brighter and brighter and the tone they produced grew louder and louder.


    The rings soon became a blur and at the center of the room was a brilliant sphere of light glowing green, blue, white and purple and the tone it produced no longer grew louder, it just stayed at the same pitch for a while. Then the room went silent.


    The sphere then shrank to the size of an apple and shot right at me. Instinctually, I held up the drajule in my hand and the light smacked right into it. I felt the massive amount of energy, of aether, in that sphere going into the drajule and subsequently into me.


    The drajule in my hand started to change as the aether flowed through. It went from being an uncut crystal to looking more refined, angular and the same strange markings that Voxea used in her circle appeared on the drajule. The lights soon disappeared and in my hand was no longer the uncut primal drajule, but a drajule that any binder would wear around their neck with pride.


    I was now a binder.

 Chapter 9 - 9: Meet Voxea the Blizzabella

    I was at a bit of a loss at what to do now, so I decided to examine the drajule to see if Voxea was actually in there.


    "Hey Voxea, you there?"I asked.


    I was about today shake it until it started glowing and Voxea voice chimed in my head, "YES WE DID IT". I was a bit startled and almost dropped her, but I managed to catch the drajule in time.


    "Well stop gawking and summon me already. I want to see how I look", Voxea said, the drajule glowing in sync with her words.


    Evidently I had no clue how to summon a majimonster from a drajule, but I assumed it involved me putting my aether into it like when I bounded Voxea.


    I closed my eyes and imagined that warm feeling in my body flowing into the drajule again. The drajule then started to vibrate in response to the aether. I opened my eyes to see if the tines from before manifested, which they did but something new formed as well.


    Where the two tines met at the drajule, a strange symbol appeared to be hovering there. It was clearly a circle but the drawing inside looked like a snowflake with swirls around it and little stars. Paying it no mind, I proceeded to strike the drajule like I did earlier and, mimicking what I heard other binders said, "Come on out Voxea"!


    A clear tone rang out from the drajule but instead of those rings of energy from last time, a circle drawing formed in the air in front of me instead. It looked like the symbol that was on the drajule, was much larger and looked as if it was combined with the circle that Voxea was using for her ritual earlier.


    The symbol floated there for a full second, until a slender bluish white hand materialized reached out from it. The hand proceeded to wave around as if to check if anything was blocking whatever it was attached to then retracted. In the next moment, a humanoid figure gracefully stepped out of the symbol.


    The symbol faded away as soon as the humanoid stepped out of it. The humanoid figure standing before me looked to be about the height and build of a slender girl, possibly my age or a few years younger. She was wearing a form fitting dress that reminded me of those fancy dresses in the tailor''s shop, but it looked much easier to move in. Her skin was impossibly white like snow and with her face looking somehow regal yet cute, you could mistake for being the daughter of a noble. However, criss crossing across her skin were blue lines that seemed to form various symbols and patterns. What made it clear she wasn''t human though was her large pointed ears, solid purple eyes that seemed to glow and greenish blue hair.


    Voxea examined herself thoroughly, doing stretches and feeling out her new form. She then walked over to a nearby ice wall to see her face. She appeared to be admiring her new look and then nodded in approval with a smile on her face.


    "Well then", I heard Voxea said clearly this time and not in my head, "this body will do quite nicely, though I do miss my more mature figure. Although, that will probably fix itself over time or as I increase my grade. Now then, shall we be off? There''s a world that needs exploring, I still have a bit of my old powers and I need some exercise".


    "Exercise?", I asked, following her as she began to walk towards the wall showing the Glacielk and fire majimonster still fighting.


    "The Glacielk and Magmoose outside? They''re causing a ruckus and you''ll need a 2nd majimonster", Voxea responded.


    "What? Why?"


    "Well majimonsters aren''t supposed to talk like me and you''ll need another one in case you need to throw down with other binders. Calling me could be hazardous to both our healths", Voxea said.


    "Uhhh Right, wait what are you now anyways? I know Voxea is your name but what are you?" I asked.


    "Well for all intents and purposes¡­.I am a Blizzabella. I am now Voxea the Blizzabella", she said with pride in her voice, "now let''s go make you a second monster".


    "Don''t you mean bind?"


    "Nope!"

 Chapter 10 - 10: Hello Raganoceros

    The moment Voxea touched the wall, both me and her got instantly moved from that tomb to the same spot where I was whisked away from in the first place, and right between an angry Glacielk and Magmoose.


    When Voxea and I got back to the forest, a strange force knocked back the Glacielk and Magmoose to the left and right respectively. They did not look happy that an outsider got involved in their territorial dispute. Both the Glacielk and Magmoose proceeded to charge at me and Voxea, their horns glowing with aether.


    I was about to roll out of the way when Voxea stopped and with a lazy smile said, "Watch this". As the two majimonsters got closer and closer, Voxea snapped her left and right hands toward them. Next thing I knew, both the Glacielk and Magmoose got launched into the air as a strong gust of wind blasted me and Voxea in the face.


    After I shook it off, I saw Voxea look up towards the newly launched monsters and saw her counting with one of her hands.


    "Silvia, be a dear", Voxea said sweetly and still counting, "underneath the snow where that rune you stomped on was located should be a disc made of blue stone. Can you please pick it up and place it about three steps in front of me?", she finished while pointing to the spot, counting all the while.


    I ran over to the base of the tree where I stomped on that aforementioned rune and cleared away the snow. Low and behold there was indeed a blue stone disc about the size of a cart wheel decorated in what I assume to be other runes. I quickly picked the stone up and hurriedly place it where Voxea pointed to earlier.


    "How''s this?",I asked after placing the stone.


    "Perfect, now this next part is going to be a little strange", she said.


    "Strange how?", I asked


    "Just watch, oh and grab that knife of yours", she said ominously.


    After saying that, Voxea threw a blue ball of light at the disk just as the Glacielk and Magmoose were about to hit the ground. The disk at that moment released a bubble of blue light that ensnared the two majimonsters and caused them to float around the disk in a circle. As they floated, Voxea started chanting like she did in the tomb but the words were different this time. As Voxea was chanting, the two majimonster bubbles started to spin around the disk faster and faster until it looked like there was a uniform purple ring floating above the disk.


    As the ring continued to spin, Voxea gestured me to take out my hunting knife. I wasn''t entirely sure why she wanted me to, until I noticed the handle starting to glow. To backtrack a bit, years ago my Pa for my 10th birthday gave me this hunting knife and it was beautiful. The handle was made of elk bone while the blade was steel with a pattern resembling flowing water. What stood out though was this purple crystal embedded in the handle, an amethyst Ma called it. She said that it would help me keep a clear head whenever I felt confused. But right now, it was a source of confusion due to it acting like that primal drajule from earlier, though it seemed less "wild".


    I focused on the amethyst and imagined the fork forming again, only this time the fork seemed to manifest around the blade. I didn''t really have time to question it as Voxea told me to hurry up with the binding process, as a strange ball of purple light formed at the center of the ring. Not sure where to aim the fork, I pointed at the aforementioned ball and struck the prongs with my finger.


    Purple rings of energy soon formed and encircled the glowing ball. As the tone rang out the rings started to get smaller and smaller, until the ball of light started to look a striped ball of light. Then with a flash, a ring and what sounded like an elk call, the ball of light shot into drajule in my hunting knife. I was a little dazed after performing yet another unusual binding ritual, but Voxea helped me get my bearings together again


    "Well then, we should probably get out of here before those two get back up", Voxea said while gesturing to the Glacielk and Magmoose who were both face first in the ground with their legs twitching. Nodding in agreement, Voxea and I proceeded to book it back to the village before the two majimonsters got up and resumed their grudge match.


    As we ran, well I ran while Voxea just flew next to me, I turned to her and asked, "So...what''s its name? And what was that earlier?"


    "That was essence fusion, you binders technically call it breeding but my version is a bit more advanced. As for the new majimonster born...you can name it whatever you want but its species is called a Ragnaceros. You''ll understand why when you summon him", Voxea responded.


    "Ragnaceros...I''ll call him Rakka", I said with a smile growing on my face.

 Chapter 11 - 11: Honey, homesteads and what do you mean blood inheritance?!

    On top of becoming a binder, helping a thousand year old maji become a majimonster and getting a second majimonster, I still managed to bring back some winter honeycombs, so all in all it was a good day! I almost had a skip in my step, up until Voxea and I reached village menhirs.


    As soon as we reached the village borders, I managed to cross the space between the menhirs but when Voxea attempted to cross, it looked like she bumped her head into an invisible wall. Voxea was momentarily stunned and rubbed her forhead a bit, before taking a hand and feeling in front of her. At that moment, her hand appeared to be blocked by a mote of light, while the menhirs near us began to glow with the same light. Evidently, I did not expect that the magical protection around my hometown was basically a magic window/wall.


    "Why didn''t you tell me about the magic barrier preventing majimonsters from crossing?", Voxea asked while poking at the barrier.


    "Huh, must''ve slipped my mind"


    "Hmmm, I guess I have to go back in the drajule now ...~boo~", Voxea groaned, "When you get the chance, summon me out again, got it"?


    "Yeah...sure thing," I said.


    In a moment, Voxea turned herself into a shower of light and went back into the drajule around my neck. The drajule glowed a bit and felt warmer to the touch, but stopped after a second. Experimentally, I walked passed the menhirs and remembering how I talked to Voxea earlier while she was in the drajule, I called out.


    "Voxea, you still there?"


    "Yes I am. From the looks of it, you''ll need to recall me and Rakka before you cross this particular barrier. Mildly annoying, but not detrimental."


    "Good to know", nodding in response.


    With this new insight on magical barriers, I proceeded to make the trek home.


    The walk back was thankfully short and I could see our brewery/home in the distance. I was just about to run the last few feet back, until I heard Voxea''s voice.


    "Hold up. Silvia are you sure you''re not related to any binders?", Voxea asked.


    "I''m pretty sure. Why?"


    "Because I''m detecting two such auras in the house up ahead that is much denser than yours. It appears that your binding ability might be inherited".

 Chapter 12 - Time to face the music

    That statement stopped me dead in my tracks, the sheer shock of it almost tripping me up. "Ok what? How are you sure it''s my parents and not customers or something, I don''t know!", I said incredulously. "Well...I maybe inside this drajule but I can still pick up details on those with aether flowing through them. Remember how I said your aura was a lovely shade of green jade? The auras in there are of a yellow amber color and deep blue color. Oh! Yellow and blue makes green! That''s adorable!", Voxea said with a slight chuckle.


    "Coloring aside,even if what you''re saying is true and they are binders; why wouldn''t they tell me? I have never seen them summon a majimonster in my entire life," I asked. "Don''t know. But if I had to guess, it''s because they wanted to keep you safe from something,  they''re trying to hide from something or both," Voxea said.


    I pinched the ridge of brow and thought for a moment. Should I tell my parents I became a binder or hide it from them? If I do tell them, do I also tell them about Voxea? Or do I just summon Rakka and work from there? There are honestly too many questions and too many scenarios to approach this topic. After mulling it over, the partial truth would be better than no truth. I''m going to just walk in there like everything''s normal and tell them I have become a binder. When they ask for proof I''ll show them Rakka and see what happens from there. I really hope this goes well.


    I slapped both of my cheeks, took a deep breath and proceeded to march back home, resolute with my decision. I also made sure to rehearse what I was going to say in my head a couple of times to make sure I don''t flub on my speech.


    I entered the house with a sigh, enjoying the smell of fresh venison stew. "Hey Ma I''m back!", I yelled out as I dropped my backpack near the door. As I was about to walk towards the stove where Ma was cooking, a sudden blur of motion came and hugged me close to their chest. "Ah my baby girl! What took you so long?! You were gone much longer than the usual trips to the honey bee hives. What hap-", my mother was saying until she stopped and then proceeded to grab my cheeks and stare directly into my eyes.


    "Uhhh, Mom? What are you doing?", I asked a little surprised as Mom kept staring into my eyes. This went on for what felt like several minutes, until a huge grin came to her face and she hugged me even tighter.


    "Mom?? What''s going on?", I asked a little scared at my mom''s sudden burst of joy. "Grigori!", my mother yelled, "She does have the gift"! Waitaminute...WHAT?!?!

 Chapter 13 - 13: Confession and Questions

    While I was sitting at the kitchen table, Mom was helping Dad to get from their bedroom to the kitchen in order for, as Mom, to tell me the full story. Evidently, I was a little shocked at my mother''s statement and subsequent action of getting my father, that I just slowly sat down at the table and waited.


    "Hey Silvia, you alright? You seem awfully quiet", I heard Voxea said in my head. "Sort of? I''m just very confused", I replied softly so that my parents wouldn''t hear us. "It''s just a little overwhelming that mom just looked at me and already figured out I was a binder. Normally a binder would have to tell you in order to be called out, that or just summon a monster", I said a littler bitter. Just as Voxea was about to ask another question, my mother came in helping my father walk to the table.


    The two of were visually striking as a couple. My father was a large muscular man with sun-soaked skin, grey eyes and dark hair. While I was delivering barrels with my dad to the local tavern, I once overheard a traveling minstrel describe him as, "having a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear". I, having to avoid both when hunting, and seeing the size of them from carcasses brought in by hunters, it was a fair statement to make. My mother on the other hand was on the thinner side, pale skin, red curly hair and blue eyes. However, despite how small she looked in comparison to my dad, she was as every bit as strong as he was.


    "Huh", Voxea communicated, "You look like an exact mix of the two of them. Nice". She wasn''t exactly wrong, a wandering flirt at the tavern once made a poem on the describing of, "my olive skin fairer than the finest wooden carvings, my reddish-brown hair like flowers and my grey-blue eyes like sapphires", but when he got to the part about my chest, I punched him in the nose. That was a good day.


    With a sigh of relief and a grunt, my mother and father were now sitting across from me.This look of apprehension mixed with relief and joy on their faces. There were probably a million things I could ask right now, but the only question I could say was, "How did you know I was a binder and why were you so excited about it"?


    My parents looked at each other and smile a bit before looking back at me. "We do owe you an explanation Silvia", my father said, "And so it''s only fair that we also show you why". I looked at them with a puzzled expression on my face, until I saw my father pull out a clear drajule etched with runes and my mother pulling out a ring inlaid with a topaz from her apron pockets."Come on out Magni", my father said whilst holding the drajule. "Dazzle them, Aura", my mother said while wearing her ring.


    Two summoning circles then formed on the left and right of the table, an earthy brown one to the right next to my mother and a white and yellow one to the left next to my father. Out of the right one walked out a golden-furred fox with intelligent eyes, a haughty look and five tails that were tipped with precious stones. From the left one rolled out a small furry creature with lightning sparking off of its fur. In the next moment, it stood up to be a squat figure reminiscent of a bipedal large rodent, wielding a large wooden club studded with iron.


    "We''re binders Silvia, and we have a lot to tell you".

 Chapter 14 - 14: Rakka meets the family and my parents drop a bombshell

    I stared, wide-eyed and open mouthed, at the two monsters my parents had just summoned in front of me. I wasn''t a hundred percent sure, but I could feel that these two monsters were much stronger than the Magmoose and Glacielk I had ran into. The shock on my face must''ve been evident, because I heard my father subtly cough in order to get my attention. I shook my head and refocused on my parents.


    "Well honey, this is Magni, my W.o.m.batant", my father said. "And this is Aura the Karatsune. Say hello you two", my mother said. The W.o.m.batant, the bipedal rodent with the huge club, proceeded to lift his free arm in a short wave, while the Karatsune let out a small fox "yip" as a sign for hello. "Hello...", I said sounding nervous and awe-struck by the two monsters in front of me. The W.o.m.batant just stood there, leaning against its club, while the Karatsune proceeded to saunter towards me. I just sat there in shock as the golden fox monster proceeded to sniff at me for a bit, and then jump into my lap and curl up into a little fluffy ball. "D''awww, she likes you", my mother said.


    "Silivia, why don''t you summon your monster so they can meet with ours?", my father suggested. "My monster...oh right", I said as I initially reached for the drajule at my neck, stopped for a brief second, and instead grabbed my hunting knife that had Rakka''s drajule embedded in the handle. My parents watched with pride and curiosity in their eyes, as I produced the purple drajule that held Rakka. "Told you she would use the knife", I heard my father mumble to my mother.


    Recalling how I summoned Voxea in the tomb earlier, I held the drajule embedded in my knife, focused until the familiar fork of energy formed around the drajule and clanged it with my other hand. An intricate summoning pattern soon formed behind me, filled with scripts and pattern unfamiliar to me. The pattern had red, blueish-white and yellow coloring mixing together and forming distinct scripts of just those solitary colors. A loud grunt that sounded like rolling thunder came from pattern, that was soon followed by a majestic larger than average elk-like monster, my Ragnaceros, walking out of it.


    Voxea did not prepare me for what I would be seeing. Rakka, my Ragnaceros, looked much like an elk, but was much larger than average. It''s fur was a distinctive white, with strange patterns of red and yellow crisscrossing it like elaborate tattoos. It''s antlers were huge and flat like a moose''s, but the flat parts looked to be carved with runes similar to the ones that Voxea used for her magic and lightning seemed to jump between the sharp points of the antlers. Rakka had a rather intimidating presence to the say the least.


    Rakka proceeded to look around a bit and walk a circle, stopping to face me and Aura, who was still laying in my lap without a care in the world. Rakka lowered his huge head to get a closer look at the small fox creature. When it got closer, Aura then finally perked up and looked at the massive elk directly in the eyes.


    The two monsters stared at each other for a few moments, oblivious to my parents'' observing gaze and the discomfort slowly creeping up my legs.Their stare-off finally ending when the Karatsune let out a small "yip" and licked Rakka''s nose, while Rakka snorted and nuzzled his face against Aura. Afterwards, Rakka nuzzled against my neck and face. He felt surprisingly warm and fuzzy for 7ft tall elk monster made of lightning, ice and fire.


    Magni, the W.o.m.batant, proceeded to march over towards Rakka whilst carrying its great club over its shoulder. The two then stare at each other for a bit, before Rakka laid down on his four legs. Magni and Aura then proceeded to jump onto the Raganceros'' back, and the trio went outside. "Ok, that was adorable", I heard Voxea said in my head, and I agreed.


    After the trio of monsters left, I turned towards my parents and said, "So...you''re binders and there''s something you''re not telling me"?

 Chapter 15 - 15: A retelling of two families

    My head was swirling while I laid in bed and tried to mentally digest everything my parents just shared with me. After they told me, they sent me back to my room so I could get some rest, apparently I looked more tired than I let on. That was fine, I needed to time to think anyways...is what I would liked to have had before Voxea piped up in my head.


    "So...mind telling me what you talked about?", Voxea asked. "Can''t you read my mind or something?", I retorted. "Usually yes, but you''re mind was racing with a lot of stress and random thoughts. I couldn''t parse out the bits that seemed relevant to your conversation. Lesson 1 of clairvoyant magic, you can''t mind read a panicked person", she responded sagely.


    While that was interesting to know, I wasn''t in the right state of mind to appreciate that statement. "Alright", I said exasperated, "I guess if I retell it to you, it would help me solidify it to myself".


    ------


    Before I was born, my mother and father we''re actually bitter enemies and to understand how that changed and why they changed their names, I had to know my families history. They told me that long before the Old Empire fell, there were two maji families that hated each other. On one side was the Volance family, sky maji who specialized in air and lightning magic like tornadoes and thunderbolts, while the other side was the Firmis clan, who specialized in Earth magic, namely manipulating metals into weapons and using gems as catalysts, whatever that means.


    The two families can trace their lineages back to two maji, Albedo Volance and Maldread Firmis. The two were originally on rather neutral terms with each other, but due to opposing political views, wartime advancements, a girl who dumped both of them for a different guy and, to quote my father, "a bunch of horse shit that in retrospect was really dumb to start a blood feud over", the two became bitter enemies.This blood feud ended up passing down the generational lines, the two families always somehow becoming rivals regardless of whatever enterprises they pursued. This rivalry somehow even surviving the collapse of the Old Empire. Granted, around that time they went from being public maji households to landed nobles, they still maintain some of their ancient traditions behind a veil of secrecy and money. Thankfully, the violence between the two started to wane a bit as time went on...this all changed when the New Empire was established.


    When Zarasul the Renewer made his presence known and brought the binding arts to the people, they were among the first to answer the call to become binders. Turned out the two families had a knack for controlling majimonsters due to their roots as maji noble households, which also gave them the leverage and power necessary to form two knightly orders: the Storm Striders of House Volance and the Crystal Roses of Clan Firmis.


    My parents were descendants of the founders of both houses/orders, so naturally they ended up butting heads a lot when it came to assignments and duels...up until one particular mission.

 Chapter 16 - 16: A retelling of Rivals

    Magnamane. That''s what they were calling the majimonster that was causing havoc at a place called Cloud Veil Valley. Several months before it caught the attention of the Emperor, the local lord tried to subdue the beast by hiring several hedge binders. what he neglected to tell them was that the Magnamane was a Gold grade 3 star monster and was leading a pride of Lionyxes, Sparkfangs and actual lions.


    ---


    "Wait, gold grade three stars? They also changed how the monsters are ranked in strength?", Voxea interrupted. "I guess? I was told that all monsters could be broken down into five grades and four stars in those grades. Order being, bronze, silver, gold, platinum and diamond...oh, and that each grade had a maximum of four stars until they break into the next grade", I responded and explained.


    "Huh... fairly similar to the old system. Though I remember there being grades beyond that..."


    "What?"


    "Never mind, just continue the story".


    ---


    The hedge binders got wiped out by the fearsome beast, but managed to escape with their lives. It was then that the lord decided to reach out to the Emperor, and he decided to send experts from the Storm Striders and Crystal Roses, due to their specialties in training Lightning and Earth affinity monsters, respectively. When the Emperor gave this mission to the rivaling houses, they agreed to put aside their differences for the glory of the Empire and send this monster back to the Aether...on the surface. In reality, the leaders of both houses planned to bind the Magnamane in order to increase their personal power, as well as act as an insult towards their rival.


    As such, my mother and father got sent by their respective households, each with their own retinue of binders, to go destroy(bind) the Magnamane for the glory of the Emperor(their respective household leaders). The distance between Cloud Veil Valley and the Imperial Capital was about a week''s journey on foot, but my parents said it felt a lot longer with all the fighting that occurred between the two of them.


    Aside from the wild majimonsters, one of the problems with traveling through the Wildlands is the general lack of roads, lack of safe places to rest for an evening, lack of easy access to food and water and other binders or crazy hermit fighting you for the aforementioned safe places and resources. Needless to say, my parents and their respective companies ended up having a lot of binder duels between each other over everything from camp sites, to watering hole access, to claim over game and even over places to answer nature''s calling. Honestly, hearing about how much they fought made it seem highly unlikely they would end up together and have me.


    Well...up until they finally fought Magnamane.

 Chapter 17 - 17: A retelling of a battle and a fall

    On that fateful night, atop a cliff overlooking the valley below, two binder groups of four were face to face with a Gold Grade Magnamane and a pride of twenty other lionesque monsters and mundane lions. Simply speaking, they were outnumbered...but outmatched? Not likely.


    In a brilliant cascade of light, eight binders summoned eight majimonsters of varying breeds and affinities. Six of the summoned monsters were at least silver grade middle tier, making them more than a match for the bronze grade high tier and silver grade low tier Lionyxes and Sparkfangs. The two leaders, my parents, had to deal with the Magnamane, and they held nothing back.


    At the time, both of my parents had high tier Silver grade monsters as their strongest monsters. If it was one on one, they would''ve been destroyed by the Magnamane but two against one? They had more than a chance.


    My father had summoned a Boltdachs. He described it as a badger-like monster made of lightning and fury, with blue and yellow fur and electricity jumping in its claws. He figured he would match the Magnamane blow for blow and make use of the Boltdachs'' tenacity to wear it out and capture it.


    My mother on the other hand decided to summon a Midastaur to smash it into submission. She said Midastaur was this humanoid monster with a bull''s head, horns of gold, eyes like gemstones and skin like marble. The most fearsome aspect of it was that its horns could petrify whatever it gored into a golden statue, granted the effect only lasted for an hour or so.


    My parents recalled that the fierce aura of these two groups of majimonsters facing off felt like two fierce armies standing off, each side waiting for the other to charge first or fire the first arrow at the other. Nature itself seemed to agree with the tension, because they recall feeling the air pressure drop and storm clouds manifesting above them. They don''t remember which side fired off the first technique, but it was enough of a spark for the battle to begin.


    The battle was intense. The night sky was alight with dozens of techniques being fired off one after the other. Monsters on both sides became horribly wounded, some returning to the aether while some of the gutsier binders proceeded to bind some of the lion monsters mid-battle. Despite the chaos however, the battle between the Magnamane and my parents was the centerpiece of it all.


    At the climax of the battle, both of my parents attempted to bind the Magnamane, but they failed. The monster was either too strong or their rituals conflicted with each other, either way, they angered it and it retaliated in kind. With a mighty roar that shook the heavens and stunned all the participants of the battle, it slammed a paw into the ground and released an Earthquake technique, shattering the cliff they were on and sending it, my parents and their monsters into the valley floor below them!


    They thought they were going to die that night.

 Chapter 18 - 18: A retelling of Survival and *Hrk*

    They fell for what felt like hours into the dark abyss of Cloud Veil Valley, but it was only a few minutes at most. The last thing they saw before falling into the valley, was the dense fog that perpetually covered the upper parts of it, serving as the valley''s namesake. After that, darkness, *whap whap whap whap whap* and *thud*. The two were rendered unconscious until morning came, with the last thing they heard being the sound of their monsters returning to their respective drajules.


    My father said that by some miracle, neither he or my mother got attacked in the night by any nocturnal majimonsters. My father woke up initially, trying to shake off the fog in his head. As his senses slowly came back to him, he felt a weight on his chest. He looked up and he, to quote *blech*, "And it is was there that I saw the most beautiful creature in all of the world".


    He was mesmerized at such a beautiful woman laying on his chest...until it took him all of two seconds to realize it was his rival, my mother, laying on top of him. Evidently, it''s a very confusing feeling to be attracted to someone who''s suppose to be your lifelong nemesis/rival/someone who you are technically supposed to hate because of your family history. These ideas all faded when she started to stir.


    Predictably, my mother freaked out about literally sleeping with her family''s enemy and even accused my dad of doing something to her while she slept, which he didn''t. ("Hah! Gotta love a good misunderstanding among young people", Voxea commented). She was going to summon one of her monsters out of spite and "trounce him for despoiling her honor", but thought against that once she realized they were in the middle of nowhere and had no additional supplies with them.


    It is apparently a bad idea to keep majimonsters out of their drajules for two reasons. The first is that it''s considered a logistical nightmare to cater to monster''s dietary needs without proper supplies on hand. Secondly, summoning a majimonsters in the middle of the Wildlands regardless of the specific location is a surefire way to attract wild majimonsters to one''s location. And so, she decided to storm off...well tried to.


    Turns out falling from several dozen feet and hitting several tree branches at a bad angle can really mess up an ankle. My mom initially told my dad to go away and that she could handle it by herself. He didn''t listen, instead he helped her walk.


    When my mother asked why he would help her despite their checkered past, his exact reason was, and I quote, "I would be a right and proper bastard to leave a fellow human with a debilitating injury in the middle of the Wildlands, even if we''re binders". My dad didn''t know it then, but my mom had found that idea rather sweet.


    The two of them ended up being in that valley for over three weeks, and as a result, grew closer. He nursed her back to health, they shared stories and realized they had more in common than they thought. They soon became acquaintances, friends and then...lovers. Apparently spending three weeks in the middle of nowhere with someone sun up to sun down can really bring two people together.


    ("It also probably helped that they found each other attractive"?


    "I''d rather not think about that".


    "Wait...did they...while they were..."


    "Don''t want to think about it".


    "They totally did".


    "ENDING THE STORY NOW".)

 Chapter 19 - 19: Secrets and planning

    The two of them soon managed to get out of the valley and reunited with their respective camps, albeit, with a secret this time.


    Despite the two being in love and wanting to affirm that love for the whole world to hear, familial circ.u.mstances and politics have a way of making such actions nearly impossible. So they made a promise with each other. Despite the time they spent together that they would go back to being rivals when they returned to civilization. They both knew that they were both young and that such feelings tend to disappear with time, however, that turned out to not be the case.


    As if by some twist of fate, no matter how much they attempted to avoid each other they always seemed to be forced into interacting with one another. Whatever spark of attraction that started in that valley soon grew to a flame, their love for each other growing stronger and stronger.


    At first, they limited their interactions to social events such as parties ran by other Noble houses, knightly meetings with the Emperor, auctions, etc. It was very cordial and, as my mother recalls, "Enough double talk that people couldn''t tell if we were flirting or wanted to kill each other". I was inclined to believe it was both.


    As time went on, it soon turned into secret messages sent to each other via sneaky majimonsters like my mother''s karatsune or this little hummingbird majimonster my father called a Hummingbolt. This worked to satiate their desires for a time, but love has this habit of growing in unexpected ways.


    These secret messages soon became secret meetings. Outings under the moonlight, midday meetings with "friends" and "independent" training sessions outside the city''s defenses. It seemed like life was going to be like this forever. They were going to be rivals under public eyes,but lovers in the dark and no one would know....up until my father learned he was to be married next month to a woman that his grandfather arranged. My mother was shocked and my father moreso, because his bride-to-be was his actual lifelong nemesis.


    He didn''t give me specifics or a name but said, "All you need to know, is that she was a two-faced witch that would put most monsters to shame". The seriousness in his voice was enough to believe him despite how strange it sounded. Needless to say, neither he or my mother were happy about their situation.


    The logical thing would''ve been for the two of them to go their separate ways and pretend that nothing ever happened between them....which they didn''t do. Instead, they planned to run away together and start life anew under new names and with none of their familial baggage. But now they had to figure out just how they were going to disappear?

 Chapter 20 - 20: A plan executed and a new life.

    My parents initially planned to fake their own deaths with paralytic poisons and paying off some of their guardsmen to break them out of their respective tombs and give them antidotes. They were just about to go through it, up until they heard about another couple who did what they were going to do and died in the process.


    Apparently, this other couple also fell in love despite their feuding bloodlines as well, and tried to fake their own deaths in order to start anew. However, due to a miscommunication they both ended up dying via suicide, with one poisoning themself and the other stabbing themself. My parents then decided to get rid of that idea due to learning just how bad of an idea faking your death can be.


    Time was running out for the two lovebirds and they still hadn''t figure out a plan to run away together covertly. Everything they came up with was either too foolish or too dangerous and that didn''t include all the plans they disagreed on. This kept going for about three weeks before my father''s wedding until it dawned on them. They didn''t need fake their deaths, fake a hunting trip gone awry or cause a scene; they just needed to leave. No smoke, no mirrors, just leave in the middle of the night and tell no one until it was far too late for anyone to stop them.


    And so about week before my father''s marriage, my mother and father left letters to their families saying what happened to them and snuck out of their respective estates in the middle of the night. They met up at the city''s gate and rode into the night on their respective majimonsters, leaving behind all they knew for an unknown tomorrow.


    -------


    "And that''s how my parents fought, fell in love and eloped, leading to now", I said to Voxea at the end of the story.


    "Huh...wait, you forgot to mention how your parents ended up running a brewery together and how they ended up here of all places", she commented. "Oh that? Well a year after running away together, the two ended up rescuing this old man from a pack of Blitzwolves and escorted him to his domicile, a brewery. As thanks, that old man taught my parents how to brew everything from beer to wine to clear spirits. They ended up staying with him for about two years until they needed to move on. They then settled here and the rest is history", I explained to her.


    "Cute story, don''t you think?", I asked.


    "Sounds like a happier ending than all the star-crossed lover stories I heard in my day. Feeling better?", Voxea asked.


    "Actually...yes. I guess hearing myself tell the story made it more... real?"


    "Substantial".


    "That works", I replied.


    "Silvia! Come back downstairs! Your father has got something to show you!", my mother yelled up the stairs, her voice booming through my closed door. A small "yip" followed her voice. I assumed it was my mother''s Karatsune still out and about.


    I got out of bed and opened the door to my room and replied, "Alright, just give me a minute".


    "You ready for whatever happens next Voxea?", I asked. "Always darling. Just remember to keep me secret", she responded in a fake sounding voice that sounded a lot like those traveling nobles that stop by this town.


    I hid away Voxea''s drajule, straightened my clothes and walked downstairs to see what my dad wanted to show me.

 Chapter 21 - 21: A Strange Gift...or two?

    As I walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen where my father was still sitting, I noticed he was fiddling with a strange looking object. Its shape reminded me of the clock that was hanging on the tavern walls, but was much smaller and ornate looking.


    "Ah Silvia you came down just in time. This is for you", my father said as he finished with the object and handed it to me. It was a strange thin silver disc covered in elaborate runes and a single hole in the center. Hanging off the sides were two delicate chains of silver. "Is it a necklace?", I asked.


    "Not exactly. You do wear it though. Just place the disc over one of your eyes and clasp the chains behind your head, like an eye patch", he explained. I hesitated a bit at the strange gift, but shrugged it off. Whatever it was, a gift should at least be used once regardless of how odd it looks to the receiver. At least that''s what Mom says when she gets weird gifts from our neighbors.


    I gingerly placed the silver disk over my left eye and carefully moved the chains to the back of my head to try and clasp it. I figured I''d just be bumbling with the chain as I try to clasp it over and over again, but that wasn''t the case.


    As I brought the two chains close together, I felt the two chains snake out of my hands and link together. I then felt a strange warmth on my face and felt the disk disappear. I panicked a bit as I tried to comprehend what had just happened, until my train of thought was interrupted by my father''s laughter.


    I turned towards my father prepared to scold him for laughing at me, until I saw my father''s W.o.m.batant or rather what was floating around it.


    [Name: Magni


    Species: W.o.m.batant


    Grade: Gold


    Affinities: Basic/Lightning


    Trait(s): Armed, Evolved


    Description: W.o.m.batants are large, partially bipedal MajiMonsters that are able to make use of weapons and armor for protection. While unable to craft such implements themselves, they are able to scavenge and care for the gear quite easily from ruins and refuse piles. It has also been witnessed that W.o.m.batans are able to develop and train their own fighting styles. They are not hostile monsters; however, they are extremely territorial creatures and will fight to the end to defend their burrows.]


    "Uh...father. What did you give me and what am I seeing right now?", I asked with a mix of curiosity and fear in my voice.


    "Well Silvia, the relic you''re currently wearing is what your mother and I have been calling a Dragon''s Eye. We found it years ago back when we first eloped. As far we can tell, it''ll provide some basic information about the MajiMonsters you''ll encounter as long as you wear it", he replied with a grin.


    Stunned, I couldn''t help but to ask, "Uh...where does the information come from?"


    "As far as we know, it comes from the wearer".


    "What?"


    "Well kid, your mother and I ended up learning a lot about monsters and what they can do, but can''t recall every detail like Scholars can. But when we found that relic, we find out that it knows what we know. Chances are that when you help me deliver barrels to the tavern and whenever you talked to some of the traveling binders, they imparted some level of monster knowledge to you that you can''t recall right now either. So this relic helps you dig up the bits of knowledge and information about monsters you overheard and condenses it into a single packet of information", my father explained in a plain manner.


    [Huh...look like I owe someone at least 10 coins. Granted that is if he''s a ghost right now too...], I heard Voxea mutter in my head.


    "Huh...speaking of mother. Where is she right now?", I asked while trying to figure out where the silver chain was.


    "Oh she''s outside getting ready to put you through MajiMonster combat training".


    I stopped looking for the chain and said, "I''m sorry, what now?"

 Chapter 22 - 22: The Bond

    Well, my father was serious about the combat training. Right outside the brewery was the sight of my mother stretching herself alongside her Karatsune while my Ragnaceros, Rakka, was sitting off to the side and watching the two with curiosity. As I walked out of the house and into the open, Rakka picked up my scent and stopped watching the unusual sight.


    Rakka trudged over to me and cuddle, granted I was somewhat distracted by the information floating over his head.


    [Name: Rakka


    Species: Ragnaceros


    Grade/Tier: Bronze 1 Star


    Affinities: Ice, Fire, Lightning


    Trait: Charger


    Health:B


    Strike: C


    Protection:B


    Magic:C


    Discipline:C


    Speed:D


    Brawn:A


    Talent:C


    Description: Ragnaceros is an ancient monster from the time of the Old Empire. Wielding the power of fire, ice and lightning, Ragnaceros is a walking natural disaster, an apocalypse given form. Legends say it is the ancestor of all modern deer-like majimonsters but scholars still debate this fact.]


    As I read the description floating in my eyes I let out a single "Huh" at the deluge of information.


    (Voxea?)


    (Yes?)


    (Did you know that Ragnaceros could be born from mixing the essences of a Glacielk and Magmoose or did you just do that on a whim?)


    (Yes.)


    (Not helpful.)


    My train of grumpy thoughts was soon interrupted by my mother finishing her stretches and exclaiming, "Alright! Time for battle practice. You ready Silvia?"


    A bit stunned by the sudden question I responded with, "Uh...yes? Mother why am I seeing more information about Rakka then I looked at Magni?"


    "Information? Oh...the Dragon''s Eye? Well your father and I figured out that if you use it on a monster you''re bonded with, you can see more detailed information such as it''s potential for growth and overall power", she responded in knowledgeable manner. "Now come on Silvia, it''s time for combat practice. Now you and Rakka stand over there". She pointed to a space in the snow across from her about several feet away.


    Rakka looked at her and then me with a questioning gaze. Unsure of how to respond to his gaze, I just shrugged my shoulders and lead him over to where my mother pointed. The way we were positioned is that exact way most binders I''ve seen had formal duels. The two binders standing opposite of each other while their monsters were in the area in front of them.


    "Now Silvia, I want you to take Rakka''s drajule into your hand and focus on it. Tune out everything except him".


    "Okay...sure".


    Doing as my mother instructed, I took out the hunting knife that Rakka''s drajule was embedded in and focused on it. It felt silly at first, a young woman staring at a gift knife for no reason, but that''s when I started feeling...funny. My fingers and toes started to feel lighter and numb, followed by what felt like my mind somehow exiting my body and entering Rakka.


    "Whoa...", I simultaneously said in my own body and thought in Rakka''s, "What''s going on"?


    "That is the battle bond", I heard my mother said, "When binders focus on one of their summoned monsters, the connection between their souls strengthen. This allows a binder to give their monsters instantaneous orders and enhances a binder''s reaction time".


    "What do you mean?", I asked still in a bit of a daze.


    My mother laughed a bit at the question. "Well, you''ll find out in a bit", she said ominously. In the next moment, I could sense something change in the air as her Karatsune, Aura, walked up to the battle area and watched as she stared at her drajule ring intently. I might have been seeing things, but I saw a strange circle of power seem to flicker into existence both above the ring and floating behind her.


    Was that in my head or did that happen when I focused on my bond with Rakka? Questions for later I suppose.


    "Now get ready honey, because we''re starting this practice fight...NOW!"

 Chapter 23 - 23: Thrown into the fires of battle

    In an instant, the Karatsune had changed forms from a small golden fox to an elegant predator as big as a wolf that rushed at Rakka faster than a lightning strike. Aura''s claws soon glowed with a golden light as she slashed down at Rakka. I was so shocked at her speed that I almost failed to notice that she was aiming for Rakka''s neck.


    She managed to land a clean hit and if Rakka was a mundane elk, his head would''ve been severed clean off with nary a drop of blood on the snow. Thankfully that didn''t happen. Instead, lightning sparked off of Rakka as Aura''s claw landed on it.


    As the fox monster bounced back after landing the hit, it became clear that all she managed to do was leave a light scratch on his neck and an slightly shocked paw for her troubles. Evidently, Rakka''s hide was much tougher than expected. Either way, he didn''t look happy about almost losing his head.


    The Karatsune made a sound that reminded me of how my mother clicked her tongue when something didn''t go her way. It must''ve been annoyed that it couldn''t defeat my Ragnaceros in one hit. However, it didn''t remained annoyed for long. Aura began to release this haze of energy around it, and the dirt around its feet began to coat its claws and form into armor. This was not good.


    I had to somehow stop Aura from using whatever weird magical ability it had by using Rakka, but I had no idea what to do. I knew that my soul was connected to Rakka via the "battle bond", but I had no idea what that really meant.


    I needed to fight back but I didn''t know how to fight back ...until about five seconds after thinking that. As I thought about fighting back, time seemed to slow down to a crawl and knowledge flooded into my mind. I guessed this was that "battle bond" my mother mentioned,at least I hoped it was.


    It felt similar to my connection to Voxea, but more intense. Maybe because I was the one actively connecting to him? Magic is complicated. Regardless, I learned that Rakka knew at least three techniques, the reality defying abilities that all majimonsters used to fight.


    Rakka knew ''Electrify'', ''Freezing Horn'' and ''Fire Stride''. Of the three techniques I just learned he had, only the second could be of use right now. The first one was a defensive technique he used to counter Aura when she scratched him earlier, while the third technique could only leave points of fire on the ground. I couldn''t see much point to that technique right now, if Rakka tried to disengage with Aura, she might stop doing whatever my mother was planning to do and just go for an attack of opportunity. Either way, I just had to hope I knew what I was doing.


    Time sped back up to normal as I decided my next course of action. Namely trying to command Rakka to use ''Freezing Horns'' and smack my mother''s Karatsune in the face.

 Chapter 24 - 24: A cheap shot and payback

    If this bond with Rakka was anything like my bond with Voxea, then all I had to do was just think of the technique and send it as a command to Rakka, who would then do the rest himself. That was the plan at least.


    I scrunched up my face as I put my thoughts into motion, sending my attack command to Rakka. I was wrong about the connection being as subtle as with Voxea, it was more intense. As I thought of the command for Rakka to follow, I felt my existence momentarily pulse. Is this what Voxea felt like when she casted spells?


    Thankfully Rakka received my command. In that same moment of me thinking that command, I saw his massive antlers glow with a white light as snowflakes seem to form around them. Rakka released a deep grunt, placed his head low and charged at Aura with his antlers.


    Aura was surprised at Rakka''s sudden ferocity, so much so that she didn''t dodge as the enraged elk monster suddenly bucked its head upwards as if to uppercut at her with his massive, ice covered antlers. A loud crack rang out as Rakka''s icy antlers slammed into the Karatsune''s side.


    The blow succeeded in disrupting the technique it was preparing, as well as throwing her off to the side a few feet away as a bonus. It was a quick, brutal and somewhat cheap shot, but it worked.


    Aura was sent flying into the air, rolling through it like a barrel of ale. The Karatsune managed to stop rolling in the air and landed with a huff on all four paws. From the looks of it, the Karatsune had a tougher hide than anticipated. I knew from that knowledge dump from earlier that ''Freezing Horns'' had a chance of freezing an opponent on impact; the Karatsune only had a few frosted hairs at most.


    She appraised the side that got hit by the horns and clicked her tongue again. Aura then turned her face towards Rakka and I swear a wicked little grin appeared on her little fox face. I felt in my gut that that smile wasn''t a good sign.


    With that same burst of speed, Aura rushed towards Rakka. However, instead of slashing at his neck with her claws again, she weaved between his legs and got behind him with her tails facing his hindquarters.


    Aura''s tails then began to glow with a golden light and moving strangely, like a willow tree swaying in the breeze. Suddenly, the tails stopped swaying and lashed out like venomous snakes towards Rakka. I couldn''t react in time to tell Rakka to dodge those tails, which lead to him getting entangled like a fish in a net.


    I thought that would be the end of the attack and that she''d just try to tire him out via entanglement, not the case. Instead, Aura proceeded to lift my giant elk monster into the air with her tails and slam him into the snow covered ground! She then swung her tails around and threw him into a nearby tree with a thud. Staring at Aura, a smug little grin was on its face.


    I once heard a drunkard say "Payback is a bitch", I just found out the bitch''s name was Aura.

 Chapter 25 - 25: My face hurts and getting aethered sounds painful

    After the impact, I felt my bond with Rakka suddenly cut off and had a bit of a headache. It felt like my face got hit with a tree branch. Staring at Rakka''s crumpled form, I watched as he slowly turned into a shower of light and flow back into my drajule-embedded knife. "What just happened?", I wondered aloud.


    "Well dear, you just lost your first fight and had your monster turn back into aether, or ''aethered'' for short", my mother explained. As she walked over to explain what happened and see how I was, her Karatsune shrunk down to her little size and jumped up to her shoulder.


    "Is he...okay?", I asked with worry in my voice and my knife drajule in hand. I never fought with a monster before and I never saw what happened when they were defeated. I''ve seen binder duels before in town, but I never stuck around long enough to see how it ended. I was really worried that this meant I could never be a binder now that Rakka was aethered.


    Seeing my worry, my mother placed a hand upon head and rubbed it. "He''ll be fine. Just give him six hours or so to heal up", my mother said with a smile, "Bonded monsters like him don''t return to the aether when they''re defeated like wild monsters. When they get defeated they do turn back into aether, but they go back into their drajules instead. The drajule helps to anchor their existence and heal their wounds. He''ll back to normal in no time".


    I let out a sigh of relief at my mother''s words, relieved that Rakka was fine and that I hadn''t killed him due to my inability to command. I took a deep breath of the cold afternoon air to calm my nerves and looked around the area that was disturbed by our battle.


    The snow and dirt was clearly disturbed by the techniques of our monsters, with Aura''s earth abilities tearing up the ground and leaving claw marks, while Rakka''s ice technique caused icicles to form and poke out of the snow. It was an impressive sight to behold, but one sight in particular threw me for a loop.


    Earlier, Aura threw Rakka straight towards a tree, defeating him in that instance. What I had failed to realize earlier was that the tree she tossed him towards was one directly behind me. By all accounts, I should''ve been smacked with the full force of an overgrown elk. "How come I didn''t get hit?", I wondered aloud.


    My mother chuckled at my words. With a knowing grin, she wordlessly pointed towards the ground near my feet. I followed her pointing and noticed footprints, my footprints, marking the snow. The footprints revealed that I had somehow managed to perceive the sudden elk toss and avoid it without so much as a scratch.


    That didn''t really explain anything to me, but my mother just chuckles again. "That Silvia", my mother began to explain, "is the second benefit of the battle bond. When majimonsters battle one another, the damage can get surprisingly brutal to the environment, but the binders who control the monsters always come out unscathed".


    "How come?", I asked.


    My mother smiled at my question, a smile I recognized as being one of her "lesson time" smiles. "Since we have some time before Rakka heals up, I might as well explain".

 Chapter 26 - 26: The bond and the fog of war

    "Well there are two reasons why binders are able to remain out of harm despite how dangerous the majimonster battles can become", my mother began to explain, "The first reason is the battle bond, the second is the fog of war".


    This was the third time my mother had used the term "battle bond", but I got the feeling she was going to tell me what it meant this time. Instead of throwing me into another battle...I hope. I definitely couldn''t summon Voxea for something like this.


    "The bond allows us to send our commands to our monsters at the same speed as we think them up, meaning we don''t have to say a single word. But in terms of our survivability, the bond kicks up our survival instincts and reaction time to beyond normal human limits", my mother explained.


    She paused after saying that to see if I had any questions or understood what she just said. I stood there silently and nodded, which she took as a signal to continue her lecture.


    "Now by instinct...you know when someone throws a ball at you, your initial thoughts are to catch it, dodge it, maybe hit it back towards the thrower"?


    I nodded.


    "Well the bond takes that same instinct and strengthens it so you can automatically dodge everything that can occur during a battle. I remember when I was younger, that I fought a fire monster while standing on a small ship floating down a river. It was an angry little thing that kept shooting great balls of fire at everything. The next thing I knew, I was standing on a single barrel while my boat was in flaming little pieces all around me. It took me a bit to get to shore, but I got an interesting story out of it", she said with amus.e.m.e.nt.


    Doubt crept up my throat but I swallowed it back down when I took a look at the snow at my feet. If I could somehow sidestep a flying elk and a golden fox moving faster than lightning, my mother can jump on pieces of burning boat debris until all she had left to stand on was a single barrel.


    "Wait...what about outside forces? What''s preventing other people or monsters from taking us out while we''re focused on the battle? Actually, what''s stopping the monsters were fighting from targeting us? Opposing binders?", I asked.


    "The fog of war".


    "The what"?


    "The fog of war", my mother began to explain,"is...hard to explain, but it''s what protects binders from outside influences during battle...well outside normal influences and keeps us from killing each other during battle. When majimonsters battle, the aether seems to bend around them, forcing mundane creatures to just stand and watch or avoid it altogether while other monsters that do interfere want to fight the other monsters, not the binders running around and f.u.c.k.i.n.g for cover".


    My mother took a breath before continuing with her lesson, "Alternatively, the binders in the fray focus on the other monsters more than the other binders. All thanks to the fog of war. Alternatively, one has to be very stupid to try and stab a person who controls a living force of nature or interfere in a battle between two forces of nature".


    "Does this mean we''re basically useless outside of commanding our monsters?", I asked. Honestly, that was the impression I got from this lesson.


    "Not entirely, we binders have a variety of spells that allow us to help our monsters during battle or debilitate opposing monsters as well, but that''s a lesson for another day".

 Chapter 27 - 27: Strange is my new normal

    As my mother finished her explanation on the nature of majimonster battles, she decided to go over some of the finer details about the battle we just had, what she did to defeat me and on what I could improve on. Normally, I detest getting lectured by my parents about...anything, but I listened with rapt attention this time around. It''s one thing to learn how to be a binder on your own, it''s another thing altogether when you can learn from an experienced binder. Especially if they''re your parents.


    Speaking of sources of knowledge, as my mother lectured on I couldn''t help but wonder if Voxea had any more in-depth information about the fog of war. She was one of the ancient maji and was likely involved in the creation of several majimonsters, it wouldn''t be too far-fetched as to see if she knew why this phenomenon occur. I should ask her this later in private, away from the eyes of my parents. It''s not that I didn''t trust them, but I got the feeling that revealing a maji turned sentient monster to a pair of highly experienced binders,even if they''re my parents, might not end well. I also needed to ask her some questions that my parents could never learn about.


    Eventually as the sun began to set on this hectic and strange day, my father called out to me and my mother that dinner was almost ready and that we should get inside to warm ourselves up. I was actually more curious about how my father managed to make dinner with a bum leg than getting close to a warm fire. I never knew up until a few moments ago that battling with majimonsters was surprisingly active. I guess this meant most other binders must have amazing levels of stamina what with all the dodging and weaving.


    As my mother and I entered the house, I got my answer as to how my father was able to make dinner, his monsters. I watched as my father coordinate a small team of monsters in the kitchen. I''m not sure when he summoned more of them, but it still made an interesting sight.


    My father''s W.o.m.batant, Magni if I''m remembering that correctly, had put aside his giant war club and was deftly handling a knife to cut up some persevered vegetables.


    Meanwhile, sitting on the stove was a pot full of stew that was being tended to by a hand made of shadows coming out of the wall. The shadowy hand stirred it a few more times before a shadowy head with no features popped out and tasted the stew. It gave an okay sign towards the fire, which I failed to notice was green up until now.


    "The shadow hand is a Shadowodah while the one acting as the flame is a Brushpyre", my mother explained to me.


    "Their names are Selena and Poros by the way", my father added.


    "Wait, the fire is a monster?", I asked.


    As if hearing my question, the green flame in the stove suddenly retracted and out popped a walking bush with green flames in place of leaves and a set of cute beady eyes. It shook itself to remove the ash and grime from inside the stove then stared at me.


    Floating in my vision, a small amount of text labeled the fire bush as a Brushpyre named Poros and that it was a Fire/Verdant affinity monster. The Shadowodah was only labelled as Mystic.


    After a few seconds, it saluted at me and waddled over to where the oven was and leaped inside. The Shadowodah, Selena I believe, stopped tending to the stew and moved like a shadow across the kitchen floor towards a counter where a ball of dough was resting. It then proceeded to form a set of hands that made small discs of dough out of the big ball of dough and smack the discs of dough onto the sides of the oven...which to me looked a lot like the dough discs were crawling on the walls and counter.


    Strange might be my new normal, but that scene was going to leave nightmares.

 Chapter 28 - 28: Mundane tasks and Monstrous solutions

    After the bread had finished baking, Poros the Brushpyre had jumped out of the oven and shook off the ash and soot once again. If this becomes a running trend, I''ll need to clean the oven and stove more thoroughly. Poros would probably appreciate a clean work environment to...burn in. Evidently, seeing highly dangerous and deadly creatures used for mundane tasks like this does things to one''s psyche.


    I was about to go get the dishes as to serve dinner, but my father put up a hand to stop me. He then made a circling gesture with his hand directed at Selena, who was currently a shadow on a wall facing the oven. Selena''s shadowy form crawled across the floor towards the cupboard where the dishes were stored; at the same time, Magni finished chopping up the vegetables, so he moved to the cupboard the Shadowodah was heading to and opened the doors.


    Using the same trick she used on the bread, Selena moved all the dishes and utensils from their place in the cupboard to the table. She did this again for the stew, the vegetables and the bread, perfectly arranging the table. It was still creepy to watch, but less so the second time around. On the plus side, all the food looked delicious.


    The pickled vegetables was cut into even pieces and arranged delicately, the stew smelled amazing and had fresh venison and potatoes in it and the bread was baked golden brown. Either my dad or his monsters were very good cooks. Speaking of, after they had finished their jobs, both Poros and Selena returned to their drajules, while Magni took one of the pieces of bread and some jam from the cupboards. "He likes sweets", my father quipped. Magni then grabbed a plate from the cupboard and moved to a corner of the kitchen to eat in peace.


    After everything was in its place, my mother quickly left the room before we had sat down to eat. Curious at my mother''s behavior, I was about to ask what had happened until I heard the distinct cry of my baby siblings, Oren and Jasmine, which was then quickly being soothed as my mother walked back into the room with him, Aura walking by her feet and another passenger was on her shoulder.


    Riding my mother''s shoulders was yet another a majimonster, but this one looked...unsettling. It was a living ragdoll with button eyes and patchwork here and there that appeared to be soaking wet; what made it unsettling were the rusty needles and scissors poking in and out of it. Strangely enough, it looked rather familiar to me.


    "Thanks for notifying me Ellie", my mother said towards the doll while soothing my brother and sister. The doll nodded, acknowledging my mother''s gratitude.


    As I continued to stare at the doll, it suddenly dawned on me where I had seen it.


    "Hey Mom..."


    "Yes dear"?


    "Is that...the same doll I had when I was younger?", I asked not entirely sure what answer I wanted.


    "Hmm? Oh you mean the Effigy! Well...yes? Ellie here helped me keep an eye on you when you were a baby. Say hi Ellie", my mother said as she prompted Ellie.


    The Effigy, Ellie, proceeded to stare at me for a bit and then raise a single, soaking arm at me. I waved at the strange doll and watched as she her put her hand down and go back to watching my baby brother and sister.


    My mother played with Oren and Jasmine for a few minutes and then placed him in a crib we kept out here in the main area to keep watch of him when we were busy and returned to the table. Ellie then took over to watch over Oren and Jasmine and gently rocked their crib.


    In the span of an hour, I watched a team of monsters prepare dinner and a creepy doll take care of my baby brother.... I can officially throw the idea of having a normal life right outside the window.

 Chapter 29 - 29: Informal education

    Dinner was a delicious yet somewhat strange affair. It''s one thing to eat stew with bread and pickles, it''s another thing when the aforementioned bread and stew was made with magical monster flames. It was clearly the recipes of my parents, but it had this indescribable aftertaste I couldn''t figure out. On top of that, Magni and Aura had joined us dinner for the first time...for me anyways.


    Did they need to eat while they were in the drajule? Did my parents just feed them after I went to bed or was out doing errands? Inconsequential questions to be sure, but I couldn''t help but think about these things now that I knew my parents were binders.


    After we had finished dinner and placed away the dishes, my father told me to come back and sit at the table with him while my mother put Oren and Jasmine back into their main crib. Ellie the Effigy followed at her feet, leaving a wet trail behind her.


    Using my Maji'' Eye, I decided to take a closer look at Ellie. Despite having never bonded with an Effigy, a full detailed description of it appeared before my eyes.


    [Name: Ellie


    Species: Effigy


    Grade: Silver


    Affinities: Water/Mystic


    Trait: Voodoo


    Health: E Strike: B


    Protection: B Magic: B


    Discipline: C Speed: C


    Brawn: C Talent: C


    Description: Effigy are tiny monsters that look similar to a mundane rag doll. However, a closer look reveals various pins piercing it and a constant stream of tears flowing down its ever smiling face. They despise direct conflict and prefers to flee after confounding opponents. Most binders don''t willingly seek them out due to the constant aura of unease around them. Misunderstood or magical power, nobody knows for sure.


    Addendum: Effigies are oddly protective of human children, but only when they''re truly in danger.]


    Mom did mention that Ellie kept watch over me in my baby years. Perhaps just being in long proximity with a monster is enough to learn more about them? Whatever the case might be, I was shaken out of my train of thought after my mother returned and sat in the chair next to my father.


    "Silvia", my father began to say with a stern look in his eyes, "You are now able to bind majimonsters, but that doesn''t mean you''re a binder. Not officially anyways".


    "Due to you being only sixteen years of age, by Imperial Law we are to send you to the New Capital so you may register as a binder and begin formal training at the Royal Academy, three months from now", my mother stated.


    Stunned at the revelation, I couldn''t help but to ask, "Wait, what, why? Can''t I just learn from you two? Why do I need to register"?


    My mother took the lead this time. "Well we can teach what you know, but a formal setting will help provide you a more stable foundation in how you''ll develop as a binder. At most we can teach you some tricks of our respective paths, but you''ll stagnate otherwise. However, we''ll also be teaching you what we know before the time comes. We went through such rigors before, and we won''t have our little girl be bullied because someone else think they have the bigger fist".


    "Also, you''ll need to register so that you may benefit from the empire", my father followed up, "It''ll also make it so you can travel between cities and towns with little trouble. A binder with an imperial mark can get into a lot more locations than a wandering one".


    I silently contemplated about my parent''s statement. I''ve never left my home town before, and now I had a chance to not only go beyond the forest and see what else the world had in store.


    (You should go), I heard Voxea pipe up in my mind. (The Wildlands is a big place and one can learn much from traveling it, besides, you can always come back home when you''re done).


    It was a radical change of life to be sure...but my father always said when opportunity knocks, kick down the door!


    "Alright", I said, "When do we start"?

 Chapter 30 - 30: A midnight meditation circle and unsafe magical practices.

    As I laid in my bed,watching the moon rise over the horizon and thinking of what has transpired today and how much my life has changed, Voxea decided to initiate a conversation.


    "So tomorrow begins your training, right?", she asked in my mind.


    "Yup. Tomorrow I begin training in the binder arts. Everything from the binding ritual to battling with them and even how to support them. In essence, I get to learn magic", I responded.


    "Ehhhh. Not true magic", Voxea chided.


    "What do you mean"?


    "Don''t get me wrong, what you binders can do with the aether is indeed a form of magical power, but the abilities you use is not like the magic of old, rather, it doesn''t defy reality like we did once upon a time. Although, you could make the argument that controlling the monsters make you more dangerous than maji like me back in my prime, but there''s no way of knowing that for sure", Voxea said.


    "What are you getting at?", I asked.


    "I want to teach you true magic"


    I jumped into a seated position as a surprised, "What?!", escaped my lips. I covered my mouth and listened for a few seconds, hoping nobody heard my sudden yelp. Thankfully, nothing happened.


    "You heard me", Voxea said nonchalantly, "Your parents are trying to trick you their binder tricks right? I''d feel like a freeloader if I didn''t pass on any of my wisdom to you as well".


    "That''s awful generous of you Voxea".


    "Well I did say spending 800 years in an ice box does wonders to mellow someone out. Plus, for totally selfish reasons, I want to see if today''s binders can do yesterday''s magic spells", Voxea said excitedly.


    "Huh...okay... when do we start?", I asked.


    "Right now, but we''re gonna need some things".


    _________________________________________


    So after gathering that weird magic disk from earlier, some ashes from the oven and stove and a large branch from a nearby evergreen tree, Voxea and I were now walking around the perimeter of the village menhirs.


    Voxea this time around was floating a few feet in front of me leading the way. Her reason being out was twofold. First, she was getting bored being inside the drajule. Second, if she was going to teach me magic she needed, and I quote, "A quiet place where the aether naturally congregates"...whatever that meant.


    "Voxea".


    "Yes Silvia"?


    "How much longer until we find...whatever it is were looking for? It''s getting colder by the minute out here and I''m just lugging around this stuff".


    "Don''t worry girlie, we''re getting closer. I can feel it in my...wait do I have bones?", Voxea began to ponder.


    I rolled my eyes at her question and was about to ask her again, when she suddenly stopped and declared, "Ah-Ha! We''re here"!


    I rearranged all the stuff I was carrying to get a clear view of...nothing. "What am I suppose to be seeing?", I asked a little annoyed.


    "Hmmm? Oh right you can''t see the aether. Well you see the mushroom ring right?", Voxea sassed at me.


    Taking a second look, there was actually a ring of mushrooms growing out of the snow. A little weirded out, I asked Voxea, "Ok so what''s so special about of out of season mushroom...rings"?


    Voxea shot me a look that screamed "You obvious fool" and proceeded to explain, "Mushroom rings like this are focal points of aether. Practitioners of the druidic arts often used them as meditation circles to gather aether into themselves and replenish their magical abilities".


    "And we''re going to...".


    "Turn it into a refined mystic circle and pump you full of aether!", Voxea exclaimed with pride and excitement.

 Chapter 31 - 31: A magic circle and MY VEINS ARE ON FIRE

    I looked at Voxea like she was absolutely insane, which wasn''t hard due to the manic gleam in her inhuman purple eyes. It was unsettling and pretty at the same time.


    "Wha- You know I''ve been saying ''what'' a lot today, so I''m gonna change it to, Why?", I said with exasperation in my tone.


    "Well my dear Silvia", Voxea began to playfully lecture, "While you may be a binder, which means you have aether channels, and have some semblance of aether flowing through your body through those aforementioned channels, it is simply too weak for what I need to be able to teach you true magic".


    "Okay, so that means...".


    "It means that normally I would have you recite and study formulas and spells for hours on end until your aether channels flow better and your brain feels like giving up, but we don''t have the time and I don''t have the materials necessary for that. So we''re gonna modify a ritual from the druids and forcibly open and strengthen those aether channels!", Voxea said a little too excited for my liking.


    I stared at her with a deadpan look for a few minutes then released a heavy sigh. "Alright", I said, "What do we need to do"?


    "Yay! I knew you would agree"!


    "Didn''t have a choice".


    "I know, but it''s the thought that counts", Voxea said, "Now then, first we''ll need to draw the circle using those ashes you gathered in a specific pattern".


    Voxea grabbed the pine branch and floated over to the mushroom circle. "Now I''m gonna draw out the circle in the snow and I''ll need you pour the ashes into the the crevices as I draw it. So get behind me", she instructed.


    Starting from the center of the mushroom ring, Voxea drew several interconnected lines in the snow and occasionally drawing a symbol here and there. The whole time she was muttering something under her breath. Meanwhile, I diligently followed behind the flighty maji...monster and poured the black ashes into them. Not sure why she specifically needed these ashes, but I''m just gonna assume ancient magic stuff that''s too complicated for me to understand.


    As we finished filling in the last of the circle, Voxea placed the rune disc from her tomb in the center of the circle. I took a step back to behold our handiwork. The magic circle looked strange, filled with patterns and symbols I didn''t recognize and I swear it was somehow moving despite being a static image.


    Well I was impressed with how elaborate the whole thing looked, Voxea looked rather peeved at our handiwork. Before I could ask what''s wrong, Voxea smacked her forehead and went, "Duh", right before conjuring a purple fireball and throwing it at the circle.


    The fireball landed squarely on the disk, which began to hum to life and spin. As the disk began to spin, tiny sparks of purple flame jumped from the center flame and onto the magic circle. The entire magical circle soon blazed with purple light, the parts made of ashes anyways. The mushroom ring in the center instead glowed in rainbow colors.


    Voxea floated into the center of the circle while holding the pine branch horizontally.


    "Now once you step into this circle, there is no going back".


    "What''s with the voice"?


    "Pfft nothing. Just remembering an old friend. Now get in the circle and let''s do this thing!", Voxea said excitedly.


    I gingerly stepped over the purple fire lines and met Voxea in the center of the circle.


    "Good now grab onto the branch, close your eyes and take a deep breath", Voxea instructed. With a shrug, I did as instructed. I honestly expected more flashing lights and loud noises


    "Relaxed? Good, because this next part is going to hurt", Voxea said with a cryptic tone.


    "Wait? Wha-GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"! AND WITH THAT SCREAM MY BODY FELT LIKE IT WAS ON FIRE!

 Chapter 32 - 32: Im hot, Im cold and now I have a stick.

    When I was younger, I once thought it would be a good idea to play in the snow with no mittens or gloves on. It was fun at first because I could make snowballs and snowmen with more attention to detail than if I had gloves on. My hands got a little numb, but I didn''t mind at the time. It was a wonderful day...up until my mother took me to the village bath house.


    I''m told unlike normal bath houses, the one in my village is special due to the water source adjusting itself to the weather. No need for us to boil it or keep it in an underground cellar, it becomes hot in winter and cold in summer. That''s aside the point, but this particular winter was rather cold meaning the water this time was very warm. Plunging my freezing hands into hot water was one of the most painful sensations I have ever felt. That sudden change in temperature on my hands made it felt like it was melting.


    I bring up this story not because this ritual was the most painful thing in the world, rather that this ritual reminded me of that moment. It was as if my entire body was that frozen hand and that the aether flowing through me was boiling hot water. I could feel every part of my body burning, cooling and burning again. At least for the first five minutes, after that the pain had become some ubiquitous with my body that it just felt numb. I think I stopped screaming at that point too, but that just gave way to an intense ringing sound going through my ears.


    All the while, Voxea was just sitting across from me, calmly holding that pine branch between us. My eyes were still closed, but I swear Voxea and that branch were glowing all the while.


    "What your feeling now is the aether burning out the impurities in your channels. The pain is a good sign", Voxea explained, "It means you have a good foundation that just needed some cleaning...deep, deep cleaning. The pain is going to subside very soon and your channels will replenish themselves".


    Eventually, the burning pain stopped after what felt like hours. The feelings that followed were... actually rather pleasant. It was like drinking some water first thing in the morning and getting that pleasant tingling feeling in your body. The aether filling my channels felt like that, but more refreshing and cooler. The ringing sound from earlier also stopped, replaced by beautiful but somewhat strange music.


    This continued for another five minutes until I felt my channels were "full" and the music had stopped. "And now we have finished. Feel free to open your eyes now", Voxea said as she released the branch and I felt it''s weight being solely supported by me.


    As I opened my eyes, I noticed the branch was now completely black from top to bottom. I was about to toss it to the side, until I noticed that chunk of the black parts came off and my hand slid over smoothened wood. "What in the world?", I thought aloud as I proceeded to wave around the branch and clean off the blackened parts.


    What was left in my hands was a smooth and solid staff of pinewood, carved with intricate patterns and faintly glowing with a rainbow of colors. The symbols and patterns on it was the same as the magic circle we had drawn earlier, which I had now realized had disappeared. The top of the staff was this small cage-like structure, all of it appeared to be carved from the same wood as the staff itself.


    "Congratulations Silvia Rosewood". I turned towards the voice knowing it was Voxea, but was shocked to see that now she appeared older and in a much more elaborate dress. "For today is not only your first day as a binder, but is now the first day of you becoming a maji and apprentice to me, Voxea von Glacio Doromista, The Saint of the North Wind and master of the Blessed Glacier Pavilion", she said with a smile on her face, "This is going to be fun"!

 Chapter 33 - 33: A crash course in magic staves and rituals.

    After that little speech, Voxea shrank back down to her original form and her dress went back to normal as well. "That takes a surprising amount of energy", Voxea said with a strong exhalation of air.


    "Uh...What was that? And while I''m asking, why do I have a staff now?", I asked after shaking the stunned look off my face.


    Before she answered my question, Voxea walked over to where the metal diwc was now laying and picked it up. "Oh that?", Voxea began, " Well the answer to both of those questions are related to that ritual we just performed".


    "And that answer is...". I''ve been pausing a lot today, but then again this day has been so weird that if I keep asking questions I''d probably go nuts.


    "Well my apprentice/binder, that ritual is plainly known as ''The Ritual of Staff Establishment''. It''s one of many foundation techniques we maji used to start our journey into studying magic", Voxea explained.


    Before I could interject a question, Voxea continued her explanation.


    "This particular ritual allows a maji to help jumpstart an apprentice''s ability and provide them with a tool for casting magic", she said with a flourish


    "That sounds very convenient...what''s the catch?", I asked. This entire day had taught me not to take things at face value...anymore. There had to be a catch to this ritual.


    "Well...there are technically two catches to this ritual", Voxea hesitantly explained.


    "Which are what exactly?", I asked with exasperation.


    "The first is that both the maji and the apprentice have to some level of compatibility with their souls. If the maji''s aether is incompatible with the apprentice receiving it, it might kill them".


    "I-Wait. The maji or apprentice"?


    "Yes".


    "Well...that''s disturbing".


    "Oh don''t worry about it. Because we''re bonded via the majimonster to binder bond, we managed to circ.u.mvent that little condition. Side note, that''s why I suddenly grew up. Part of the ritual involved the senior maji absorbing external aether and processing it into the staff and apprentice. I guess since I''m now made of the stuff, it allowed me to temporarily regain my true form", Voxea said to placate me.


    "Alright...and the second catch"?


    "You won''t be able to use magic without that staff".


    "What"?


    "Alright so to use an analogy you''re familiar with...imagine that you''re aether channels are like a barrel and aether is the contents in the barrel. Normally, a maji is able to refill and remove the barrel''s contents by just sitting there. However this takes a lot of time and a lot of practice, which we don''t have. The staff ritual helps expedite the process by creating a magic staff that acts like a spigot to the barrel and a funnel to fill it. However, no staff means no spigot or funnel. You''ll be able to not have to use the staff in the future, but that''ll take a long time".


    "So no staff means I can''t replenish or use any aether my body stores", I replied.


    "Exactly!", Voxea exclaimed.


    "Well that''s not too bad I suppose...I figured you''d say the staff could explode or something", I joked.


    "It can".


    "What"?!


    "Well...sort of. The magic staff created at this moment is almost as indestructible as a drajule. The only way it can explode is if it''s with a very powerful, 8th-class spell at least, or if you choose to do so. As long as those two things don''t happen, you''ll be fine", Voxea responded nonchalantly.


    "Great..." I muttered while giving myself a facepalm. I now had a potential magic bomb in my hands that is simultaneously the most important thing in my possession. I''m not sure if this is a blessing or a curse.

 Chapter 34 - 34: Functional fashion?

    As I wondered whether or not this staff was a good thing or a bad thing, I paused at a rather obvious problem with swinging around a magic staff. "How am I suppose to hide this thing?!", I asked aloud. Binders only recently got accepted by normal people, and even then the maji are so hated that if me, a binder/maji, show up out of the blue swinging a magic time bomb...I shudder at the thought.


    I was about to sink down into the depths of despair and uncertainty, until I remembered a certain 800+ year old maji who happened to be both my monster and my master who was just floating there like a flower in the wind. "Vox...Master Voxea. You wouldn''t happen to know a way for me to store the staff away so it won''t attract attention right?", I asked in a deferential manner. People may not like a sycophant, but they love being sucked up to.


    Voxea had this thoughtful look on her face as she contemplated my question. "I can think of...two methods we could try?", she said after a few minutes of thinking had passed.


    "Great...wait,what are they exactly and will it kill me in the future"?


    "Uhhh...no, but I''ll tell you both and we can figure out which one would work better for you from there", Voxea replied.


    "Why does everything you do with me seem to have a catch?", I asked her aloud and exasperated.


    "Because magic is all about loopholes and it''s more fun that way", Voxea responded cheekily.


    The first method she explained to me was for me to etch an enchantment into my staff that would allow me to change its size at will. This enchantment was created by a maji who had earned the title, "Great Heavenly Sage", and he was the creator of over a hundred spells. From what Voxea told me, he had instilled the enchantment into his favorite cudgel and would shrink it to the size of a needle to keep it in his ear, while making it as big as a pillar when he was fighting. This sounded super useful...until she told me the drawback.


    Apparently, the runes used for the enchantment had to be very precise in their etching or else it wouldn''t work. The best case scenarios is that the enchantment doesn''t work or it just stops working while the object was in a particular size state, leaving it stuck in a shrunk or grown state forever. The absolute worst case scenario was that the enchantment was faulty, leading to unpredictable bursts of growth and shrinkage. Voxea regaled me of a man who tried to mimic the Sage''s carrying a staff in his ear trick, but he got something wrong in his enchantment. The staff ended up regrowing inside his head! He lived, but hearing that story was enough of a deterrent for me to throw that idea out the window.


    Her other idea was another enchantment but this was a lot less dangerous, accessory infusion.


    "Accessory what"?


    "Accessory infusion", Voxea began to explain, "Is a method of carrying magic tools and spells by combining them with accessories like bracelets and rings. Fashionable yet functional".


    "Okay that sounds significantly less dangerous than a size erratic staff...what do we need to do"?


    "Well first things first, we need a non-magical accessory. Do you have anything like that? Like a bracelet? A ring? Ear rings?", Voxea asked me.


    Aside from my necklace, which she was living inside of, I couldn''t really think of anything except for...


    "I have a belt", I told her.


    "A belt?", Voxea said as she looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face.


    I fiddled with my coat to show Voxea the belt I had on. It was a rather simple belt with an iron buckle and made of forest viper skin. My father made it for me years ago when I was a baby. Apparently the viper almost attacked me, but he managed to kill it before it could. In retrospect, he might have used one of his monsters for that.


    Voxea stared at the belt for a bit, shaking her head side to side as if the thoughts in her head was bouncing around and then nodded. "Alright, this''ll do just fine", Voxea declared.


    "And now for your first lesson in spellcraft"!

 Chapter 35 - 35: Needles of Ice, Runes of Power, My head is hurting.

    Voxea closed her eyes after telling me that this was my first magic lesson and clasped her hands together. She began to chant in an unknown language and I saw small strands of aether begining to gather into her hands. Her chant soon drew to a close as she opened her eyes and blow a purple puff of frost into her closed hands. She slowly opened her hands to reveal a needle made of ice and shining with the colors of a rain now. "Well then...yet another perk to being made of aether. Doing something like this is usually more draining and takes longer", she said to me. "This needle should last long enough for our purposes. Here", she said as she handed me the needle.


    I delicately took the needle with two fingers and I couldn''t help but to admire it. The needle was a solid piece of ice yet it didn''t feel cold in my hands. Instead it felt somewhat warm and comforting, yet powerful due to all the aether infused inside it. A closer look revealed all sorts of patterns and symbols, but it wasn''t carved in. Instead, it looked like Voxea naturally shaped the patterns into the ice.


    Voxea cleared her throat in order to get my attention away from the needle, then began her lesson.


    "The first thing I am going to teach you is the runes you''ll need to carve into your belt and into your staff", Voxea said as her fingertip began to glow purple. She drew in the air three runes, one that looked like a circle, another like a star and the last one like a pair of rectangles with a line through them.


    "You don''t need to understand what they mean yet, right now all you need to know is that they form the enchantment to fuse your items together. You''ll need to write them in the order I wrote them as well".


    "They''re not gonna dissappear while I write are they?", I asked.


    "No", she replied,"You''re too new at this for me to force memorization upon you, plus you''re my only student".


    I stared at the runes as I began to take the needle to the staff in order to etch them in. The only issue was that I couldn''t draw them regardless of how hard I pushed into it. I felt that even if I had a fine steel needle that this staff wouldn''t budge or break. No wonder Voxea was so calm about it not blowing up in my face. I was about to ask Voxea why it wasn''t working until she stopped me to explain, "You need to channel your inner aether into the needle as you write out the runes. It works like summoning me or Rakka, but more prolonged. Imagine that feeling but keep it inside the needle".


    Voxea then gave me some additional pointers on what to do in terms of getting the aether to flow into the needle onto the medium. It was a little complicated, but I managed to get the gist of it. I took a deep breath as I willed the aether to flow from my channels, to my head, into my hands and into the needle. The experience was rather odd to say the least. I felt a warm substance was draining from an indeterminate part of my body, moving to my head and down into the needle. The needle soon began to glow brighter and the tip appeared to be a small ball of light. I figured this was the signal to start writing the runes.


    I immediately felt the difference as I took the aether infused ice needle to the magic staff. First, I could finally etch in the runes onto my staff, leaving clear purple lines of magic power into the pine wood. Not exactly cutting into it, more like the wood parted itself to allow the etching. Second, my head was pounding the whole time.

 Chapter 36 - 36: Draining Headaches and Runes are weird

    It''s one thing to carve details into stubborn material by pure physical force, it''s another thing altogether to use aether to carve details onto a magic item. They''re both tiring, but in their own special ways.


    Mundane carvings will tire out your arms and you''ll probably get frustrated because of how much force you need to control. However, you can take a break and go back to it later. I can''t seem to stop while I''m carving with magic and it''s hurting my head more than my body.


    It doesn''t hurt in the same way a headache hurts, no pounding or soreness it''s...stranger than that. It''s like my blood is constantly overflowing into my head, but is draining down into my hands just as fast. I can feel my stomach lighting itself on fire, then having they fire move up to my forehead, down my shoulders and arms and into the needle in my hand. It also didn''t help that the needle was humming the whole time. Good hearing is useful most of the time, it sucks to have it in this instance.


    On top of the weird physical stuff, the runes themselves seem to take forever to write despite their relatively simple-looking designs. Etching out each line, circle and curve felt like drawing a stick in freshly wet mud, slow and unpleasant. Regardless, it felt like I could only grit my teeth and keep writing.


    It''s a little hard to describe what it''s...like to...draw runes... because my head can barely keep a thought... straight...right now. I need to somehow hurry up.


    _________________________________________


    As I drew the last rune onto my staff I felt the draining feeling come to an end while this wave of dizziness and nausea come over me. I dropped the needle and I almost fell on top of my staff and belt, but Voxea caught me and the needle before I did. My body had this strange sense of "emptiness" I could only assume was the lack of aether in my body.


    "Don''t worry", she said while holding me steady, "The first time writing a rune is always the hardest. Take a few minutes to breath and replenish your aether channels. You''ll find it much easier to write those runes again onto your belt than onto your staff".


    I dazedly nodded at Voxea''s words as I took deeper and deeper breaths to try and steady it. As I breathed, I could feel the "emptiness" that was afflicting my body seem to fill itself slowly. Slowly but surely, the pain was starting to subside and the "emptiness" had become "fullness".


    After my breathing had stabilized, I noticed that my face and hands felt much colder than before. I looked at my hands and noticed that they were covered and sweat, checking my forehead revealed the same thing. "Magic is surprisingly intense", I commented to Voxea.


    She smirked at my comment and said, "Alright your aether reserves should be replenished by now, try writing the runes into your belt now". In-between her fingers, she presented that needle of ice once again.


    I stared at the needle, wondering if the pain was actually worth it, but decided I might as well finish what I had started. I took the needle into my hand began channeling aether into it again, but this time it felt...easier. Ice needle in hand, I began to carve the runes into my belt and noticed a remarkable difference.


    The draining feeling from before was still there, but it felt much lighter this time. It was like my body knew how much aether it actually needed to write out the runes and controlled the amount I released as opposed to just...letting it flow recklessly. The etching even felt easier to do, the ice needle flowing much easier than before. It didn''t feel like I was drawing through mud anymore, more like I was drawing in dry lake sand. I couldn''t help but wonder if it felt easier because I was more familiar with runes or was it because the belt itself wasn''t magical. Either way, working with runes are weird.

 Chapter 37 - 37: Writing in my soul and a Fashionable belt

    As I stared at my newly enchanted belt and staff, I couldn''t help but admire my handiwork. While my renditions were a little cruder than Voxea''s runes, it still looked rather passable. The amount of deviation between the two was very little if any.


    Voxea began to take a critical look at my handiwork as well. As she squinted at each rune and ran her finger on each line and pattern, I noticed the intense amount of focus she gave on each rune. I know I was a novice and I technically had a bye about the quality of my runes, but I still felt a little nervous for some unexplained reason.


    Voxea finally stopped appraising my work and did a short nod. "You did good for a first timer. Seems to me you have a bright future when it comes to learning magic".


    "Hehe, thanks. By the way, why was it easier to carve the runes the second time?", I asked Voxea. While it was a nice surprise that I could write the runes a lot faster, it was a little weird that my speed increased immediately after the first attempt. If anyone had answers for this crazy magic stuff, it was probably the maji turned majimonster in front of me.


    "Likr everything we''ve discussed so far, two reasons", Voxea teased, "The first time you write a rune, any rune, you''re not only etching it on an object, you''re etching it into your soul. This learning process is a little painful, but it makes it so you can study and recreate the rune whenever".


    "My soul"?


    "I''ll show you how to do that later, but the other reason is because enchanting magic items is usually quite difficult because of the conflicting aethers", Voxea explained to me. "Imagine an item''s ability to hold enchantments is like an empty cup and the enchantment is the liquid that can go into the cup. Your staff is a rather large vessel that''s able to hold quite a number of different enchantments, however the initial liquid inside of it doesn''t really like to mix with other types. Whenever you enchant your staff in the future, you will have to put considerable effort in adding into it", she explained with a serious look.


    I nodded at her explanation and made a mental note to limit the amount of enchantments I put on my staff. Hopefully I won''t have to worry about it that much in the future.


    "Regardless, for the final step, you''ll need to channel aether into both items and bring them together like a dragon to a drajule. This part is relatively easy and shouldn''t take that much effort, just channel aether into one hand, suffuse into the belt and then cycle it back into your body and into the staff. Simple, right"?


    I shot her an incredulous look, but shrugged and decided to just give it a shot. I was about to put away the ice needle for later, until I realized it had disappeared from my hand. It must''ve melted after it was done, but that was aside the point right now.


    I took my belt in my left hand and my staff into my right hand and began to do what Voxea instructed me to do. I first channeled my aether into the belt and felt as the aether flow into the runes and back into my body. I then took that aether and channeled it into the staff. I could feel a connection being established between the two and objects and that it was growing stronger and stronger each cycle of aether flowing between them.


    The two objects began to glow brighter and brighter until in a flash of light that almost blinded me, the two objects became one. In my hands was now just the magic staff from earlier, but coiling around it was snake skin ingrained into the structure. By instinct, I twirled the staff a bit and positioned it around my waist. The staff immediately morphed into my snakeskin belt, but now it came with an iron buckle with the shape of an evergreen imprinted on it and the those three runes I carved into both of the objects.


    "Fashionable yet functional. Just like I said", Voxea said while smiling at me.

 Chapter 38 - 38: Training is pain...

    "Good morning Sunshine! Breakfast is downstairs and ready for you. Once you''re done we''re going on a little trip", my mother yelled as she kicked down my door for the 18th day on the row. Correction, she yelled as her majimonster, Bola the Ramslide, knocked down my door with his granite-like horns. I rolled in my bed to state at Bola as the duo went back downstairs.


    _________________________________________


    [Name: Bola


    Species: Ramslide


    Grade: Silver


    Affinities: Earth/Basic


    Trait: Stubborn, Wall climb


    Description: Ramslides are mountain goat species majimonsters that were infused with the power of the mountains themselves. While normally rather docile, they''re also very territorial; which is odd given their hometurf are literal sheer cliffs. A common tactic they use to deal with Intruders and enemies is to jump off of said cliffs and land headfirst onto their targets.


    Voxea note: The Ramalanche was made when the mountain sage Alberous was inspired by watching boulders rolling down mountains and mountain goats deftly avoiding them. Although, a friend of mine told me he was actually inspired when a mountain goat fell onto his head.]


    _________________________________________


    After that initial night where I became a maji disciple, my training to be a binder started in earnest the next day. For the past month, my mother and father would alternate being my tutor for the day in the knowledge of majimonsters, abilities that binders use in battle as well as some basic etiquette stuff. That last one was due to the imperial binder academy being, to quote, "The place doubles as nobility playground, you''re gonna need to learn some etiquette tricks". I have never worn platform shoes until these lessons and I hate them with a passion...I liked the tall feeling though.


    In terms of binding, my mother and father approached combat in very different manners, but that''s because they''re different classes of binders. By the imperial system, binders usually fell under five class types with an unofficial sixth one. The five official ones are known as alchemists,knights, rangers, concordants and scholars while the sixth type are known as scoundrels.


    My mother is classified as a scholar while my father is classified as an alchemist. Apparently these, and the other four classes, can be broken down even further, but for all intents and purposes I was only taught what my parents knew, namely drajule making and potions due to them being a scribe and an apothecary respectively. I''m not sure what the other classes could do, but I would learn that once I went to the academy.


    On top of those lessons, Voxea has been teaching me about the aether, majis, their spells and the world at large. It''s one thing knowing that the maji made the monsters, it''s another thing altogether to learn the reasoning behind the monsters. She even modified my Dragon''s Eye artifact to include her own footnotes and profiles on the maji who made the majimonster in question. Voxea said it was for my education, but honestly I think she did it because she was bored.


    After my usual wake-up call, I rolled out of bed and got ready for today''s training session.


    [You''re mother is very loud], I heard Voxea chime in my head as I retrieved her drajule/my necklace from my nightstand. [Better than the time Dad threw a live Amphare in here], I responded as I donned my elk coat and pants, cotton shirt, necklace, magic staff belt and Rakka''s dagger/drajule.


    [Huh...you ever realize a lot of your magical items are accessories]?


    [Not until just now Voxea].


    With my outfit set and my drajules at the ready, I was prepared for whatever insane training regiment my parents had planned for today...hopefully.

 Chapter 39 - 39: An average morning and a 2nd(3rd) monster?

    As I went downstairs and into the kitchen area, I saw my father changing the twin''s diapers as they were busy being both adorable and a handful. He wasn''t alone though, Selena was helping by grabbing everything he requested. It''s a rather strange sight seeing a grown man changing baby diapers while a secondary set of shadowy tentacles help him to grab things such as diapers and cloths.


    "Morning father,Oren, Jasmine".


    "Morning Silvia", my dad grunted as he finished changing the diapers. Selena formed a shadowy hand to wave at me.


    "Morning to you too Selena, thanks for helping father out", I said to the Shadowodah as I sat down to eat my breakfast, consisting of porridge and preserved black eggs.


    "So", I asked while eating my breakfast, "Any idea of what mother has planned for me today"?


    My father stopped playing with the twins and allowed Selena to take over, a deep look appearing on his face. "Hmmm. That depends...did you finish making that drajule yet?", he asked.


    I nodded in response to his question and pulled out the drajule I had painstakingly made over the past two days. As it turns out, drajules couldn''t just be any random jewel lying around made by some random person, they had to be made by scribes like my mother or found in the crypts and ruins of maji in the Wildlands. Every drajule had to be infused with aether from the scribe throughout the whole process, but the real troubles came the mundane tools. I learned the hard way that no two stones are exactly the same and that each had to be cut, carved and polished in very different ways with the scribe tools.


    After destroying the last two I had made, I finally managed to get one made from a pretty blue stone called a lapis lazuli. It was a deep blue stone with these pretty striations criss-crossing through it with little flecks of gold inside of it, and most importantly, it was translucent. My mother taught me that no drajule is complete unless it had turned translucent after that final is made. Making this drajule was my second proudest achievement, right after fusing my staff and belt together.


    "If I had to guess", my father said as he studied the drajule I had made, "She is probably going to take you to catch your second monster".


    [What?], Voxea pipes up in my head.


    "Wait, really?", I asked with shock.


    "Really. Rakka has managed to grow stronger this past month, it should be at the 3 stars Bronze grade right"?


    "Yeah..."


    I couldn''t help but remember all of the times Rakka had gotten beaten up by my parent''s majimonsters these past few weeks. I still winced at the memory of some those matches, they were brutal. Luckily, Rakka did manage to eke out a couple of wins in that time period and I did manage to grow closer to him as a result. We had come a pretty fair distance from when I first yanked him into existence.


    "Rakka is a rather strong and rare monster, what with having three innate affinities, but it also has three times as many vulnerabilities as a single affinity monster. It would probably be best for you to catch something to help round out those weaknesses", my father advised me.


    I paused from my breakfast to think about what my father had said. While he was wrong about this being my second monster, I haven''t told them about Voxea and didn''t plan to until much much later, he was right about my monsters having a glaring weakness. Due to both Voxea and Rakka being innately Ice monsters, one strong fire monster would take them both out easily. I learned that the hard way when Rakka went one on one with father''s Brushpyre. Rakka couldn''t even land a hoof on it before going up in flames, which is ironic due to him also having the fire affinity.


    I didn''t know how to respond to his statement other , "Well let''s hope I find something good then", and went back to finish eating.

 Chapter 40 - 40: Saddle up...

    Immediately after eating and putting away my dishes, I rushed out to the front of the house where my mother was waiting with Bola. Bola for the most part looked rather relaxed, while my mother was busy setting up what looked to be a saddle onto his back.


    "I don''t think Bola''s strong enough to support both of us mother", I joked seeing as Bola was about as large as horse.


    "Indeed. That''s why I got this made for you", my mother replied before tossing towards me a similar looking saddle, albeit, a bit larger. "Today''s lesson is going to be two lessons in one, monster riding and binding a monster in battle", she told me with a smile.


    Evidently, I had the gut feeling that this was going to be my favorite lesson so far. The past two weeks had been a mix of cramming knowledge in relation to monsters, binder abilities and potions with getting mine and Rakka''s butt whooped with the occasional sudden wild majimonsters thrown into my bedroom. I''m not sure what was worst, the Amphare shocking me awake or the horrible scent emanating from the deceptively adorable Squnck.


    "Now then, Silvia summon Rakka and I''ll show you how to put on the saddle", my mother instructed me. With my hand on my hunting knife, I focused on Rakka''s drajule, summoned the energy tines and willed him out to the field. A summoning circle with lightning, ice and fire markings appeared floating next to me, but instead of one glowing point like when I first had him, three glowing points dotted the outer parts of the summoning circle.


    From the circle came my majestic elk monster Rakka. No matter how many times I do this, it''s still breathtaking summoning a monster of my own. It''s insane how much he had change over the weeks.


    _________________________________________


    [Name: Rakka


    Species: Ragnaceros


    Grade/Tier: Bronze 3 Star


    Affinities: Ice, Fire, Lightning


    Trait: Charger


    Health:B


    Strike: C


    Protection:B


    Magic:C


    Discipline:B(Originally C)


    Speed:D


    Brawn:A


    Talent:C


    Description: Ragnaceros is an ancient monster from the time of the Old Empire. Wielding the power of fire, ice and lightning, Ragnaceros is a walking natural disaster, an apocalypse given form. Legends say it is the ancestor of all modern deer-like majimonsters but scholars still debate this fact.


    Voxea''s notes: It''s part of an apocalypse at most. Raganaceros was created by a maji who called himself, no joke, the Doomsayer. They were obssesed with the idea of the end times and created several monsters designed to emulate what he saw, including Caticlysm, Apocaclops, Fenrir and Garmr. Evidently, irony is a *** ]


    _________________________________________


    Overall, Rakka had begun to look even tougher and healthier looking as we trained, his eyes even looked brighter than before. Nonetheless, it didn''t stop the overgrown deer to trot towards and nuzzle my face.


    "Yeah yeah, I love you too buddy", I told Rakka as I patted his head and massaged his neck. I could feel my mother gazing at me while I was pampering Rakka. I guessed it was a mix of amus.e.m.e.nt and nostalgia when I was her age learning how to control monsters.


    "Alright you two enough playing around. Silvia, make sure Rakka holds still while we put the saddle on him. After that, I''ll teach you how to mount up and how to ride, then we''ll be off".


    "Alright".


    Making use of my mental link with Rakka, I commanded Rakka to hold as still and relaxed as possible while my mother showed me how to mount a saddle onto his bulky frame. She did the task with such ease and swiftness that I had to pay close attention to make sure I didn''t miss any subtle movements to the whole process.

 Chapter 41 - 41: ...and Fall face first

    As mother put the finishing touches on placing the saddle on Rakka, she took one last look to make sure everything was in place and that every buckle was secured. It only took her about a minute of inspection for her to nod, satisfied at the saddle''s placement.


    "Alright now that''s everything in place, try to mount him Silvia", my mother instructed


    [Have you ever rode a horse?], Voxea quipped in my head.


    [No, but I''ve seen other people do it].


    [Oh no...].


    What followed was a solid fifteen minutes of me failing to mount Rakka. I did everything from jumping onto the saddle, overstretching my legs and me wriggling to the top...and then falling face first into the snow because I couldn''t rotate on my gut correctly.


    [I think you should ask your mother for help].


    "Need some help?", mother asked with amus.e.m.e.nt in her voice and eyes.


    [Or she just prompts to help herself, that works too].


    "I...yes, yes I do". I was going to protest, but I was tired of flopping around like a fish and I can only fall off a saddle a certain amount of times before I began to bleed or crack my skull open.


    [Or lose braincells].


    [What''s a brain cell]?


    [Don''t worry about it].


    "Alright Silvia", my mother began to instruct, "Your first step, is to have Rakka sit down".


    "..."


    [Hindsight sucks right]?


    At the realization of such an obvious solution being pointed out to me, I couldn''t help but to smack myself in the forehead. In the name of fairness though, I was trying to mimic more experienced horse riders from the village.


    I quickly commanded Rakka to sit down as my mother instructed and watched as the overly high saddle I was struggling to climb onto for the past fifteen minutes suddenly became eye level. It was still pretty tall, but now I could get on it without falling as high up.


    "Now place your left foot into the stir-up in front of you and push yourself up. Once both of your feet are off the ground, throw your other leg over the saddle and place it in the opposite stir-up. Simple as that", my mother said with a smile.


    I nodded at her words and proceeded to do what was hopefully a final attempt at mounting Rakka.


    Doing as she instructed, I supported my weight on Rakka''s bulky frame and pushed myself off the ground using my left foot inside the stir-up. Using the momentum from the push-up, I managed to swing my other leg over the saddle and into the other stir-up.


    "Success", I shouted as I rose my arms up into the air as a minor form of celebration. I almost lost my balance as a result, but managed to correct myself by grabbing onto Rakka''s neck before I fell into the snow, again.


    "Good job Silvia. Now try holding the reins and ride Rakka once around to get used to being on his back".


    "Okay", I replied as I sat up and grabbed hold of Rakka''s new reins.


    I mentally nudged Rakka to walk around the front yard in a circle slowly as I found my center of balance. It started off a little wobbly, but eventually I managed to find the rhythm of the saddle and stabilize myself while on Rakka''s back.


    As I got used to the swaying, I decided to push it a bit and have Rakka speed up.


    Unfortunately I wasn''t very specific in my directions, leading to Rakka just bolting in a straight line and me falling off the saddle and doing a backflip into the snow.


    I didn''t pass out, but I did have to enjoy the lovely sound of my mother and Voxea laughing at my predicament.

 Chapter 42 - 42: Into the woods

    I eventually figured out how to properly ride Rakka without falling off the saddle, so my mother and I proceeded to ride our respective monster mounts into the sunset...not really. We rode our mounts into the spring side of the Valley to go monster hunting.


    The reason why we went spring side, my mother explained, was because of two reasons: the nature of majimonsters and balance.


    "A majority of majimonsters were once mundane animals with aether infused into their existence. This means that despite their nature defying powers and outlandish appearances, for the most part they act just as animals do. Take Bola here for example. I found him among a herd that was a mix of mundane mountains goats and majimonster goats. In essence, we''re more likely to find a majimonster spring side than snow side".


    "Alright, but what do you mean balance?", I asked. There might''ve been less of them due to the nature of animals, but the ones that were active during winter were abnormally tough. I might''ve also been a little biased due to two of monsters being winter related.


    [~Winter Asthetics~]


    "Well your current monster Rakka is rather strong, but as I''m sure father pointed out it has a few glaring weaknesses.", my mother pointed out.


    "He did mention Rakka was weak against more than just fire affinity monsters...".


    "Indeed. Rakka is an ice, fire and lightning affinity monster, which means it''s vulnerable to the fire, water and earth affinities but resistant against ice, verdant and wind affinities. Additionally, the techniques of affinities that matches his should be much stronger than if he didn''t have those affinities".


    "Wait, how can Rakka be weak to an affinity he is made of?", I asked confused at the contradictory nature of his vulnerabilities.


    My mother shrugged as she answered, "It''s the contradictory nature of magic I suppose. If Rakkas'' affinities were different, he could be weak against nothing yet resistant against nothing or only have one set of resistances and vulnerabilities".


    [She''s not wrong. Even us maji were subjected to the balance of the elements. Of course such weaknesses can be only considered a factor with small power disparities. I being an archmaji of ice can soundly trounce a master maji of fire. By the logic of your majimonster rankings, a gold grade ice majimonster can soundly destroy a bronze grade fire one], Voxea commented.


    "Regardless Silvia, it''d be wise to have you bind a monster that can directly counter the affinities your Ragnaceros is weak against", my mother lectured on.


    "Right... which would be...".


    " Water, Lightning and Verdant affinity majimonsters. We can ignore the Lightning ones however due to Rakka. Meaning we can focus on finding you a Water or a Verdant majimonster, possibly one with both affinities. Now pop quiz, what are the characteristics of both?", my mother asked.


    "Hmmmm. Verdant majimonsters tend to look like plants like father''s Brushpyre or have plants growing as part of their bodies like a Scorpvine. Water affinity majimonsters tend to be aquatic creatures like fish or ducks and or, blue for some reason", I answered.


    "Very good".


    [Why are some water majimonsters blue anyways]?


    [I was gonna say asthetics, but honestly it just sorta happened. We didn''t care, it was a good indicator that the ritual worked], Voxea replied.


    My mother and I rode for a few hours after that and spotted all sorts of majimonsters from Aquadukts to Raindeers to an Arbear. But we promptly ignored or avoided most of them due to them being to numerous, too strong or because it felt wrong to separate family units.


    I was just about to give up, right until the answer to our problem quite literally jumped out of the ground and tried to kill me.

 Chapter 43 - 43: Sneaky Leafpiles!

    As my mother and I walked pass yet another group of wild majimonsters, a literal miniature tornado shot upwards, gave Rakka an uppercut to his face and knocked me off the saddle!


    Thankfully, Rakka''s protection was higher than average so it didn''t manage to cause any damage. It still looked painful though. On the other hand, due to the leafpile''s sudden aggression it caused us to enter the "Fog of War" and activated my battle bond. With my instincts and reflexes heightened, I managed to somersault onto the ground with minor scraps and bruises.


    [Nice landing].


    [Shut it, I''m new at this].


    After the landing, I activated the Dragon''s Lens to see what exactly attacked us.


    _________________________________________


    Species: Agustus


    Grade: Bronze


    Affinities: Verdant/Wind


    Trait: Elusive


    Description: Agusti are strange elusive majimonsters that resemble a cl.u.s.ter of leaves, twigs and debris swept up in a small tornado. When dormant however, they resemble nothing more than a pile dead leaves and detritus. Nobody knows why they were made or how.


    Voxea''s notes: I actually know who made the Agusti,but it wasn''t on purpose. There was this archmaji who was known as "Storm''s Eye" Erina. She was a prodigy in all of the sky disciple magical arts. Aloof, dangerous and very attractive. An arrogant maji who had the power to back up her ego. One day she came across a multiple vortex tornado ravaging a valley. Instead of running or dispersing it, she used its raw power to create a devastating majimonster, one of the Disaster Tyrants, Vortaurus. Evidently, the creation of Vortaurus had released enough energy to create some... by-products. Agustus was born when some of Vortaurus'' aether merged with some of the ravaged woodlands.


    _________________________________________


    "An Agustus... it''ll do. Silvia, your goal is to defeat and bind this majimonster. It''s ability to be a sneaky flier will serve as a good balance to Rakka''s raw strength", my mother commented on the side.


    The bond hadn''t completely overrode my perceptions, so I managed to see how she and Bola had retreated to the edge of what I perceived as the "fog of war" when the Agustus sucker punched Rakka. I was a little annoyed that she hung off to the side, but this would be the first real battle Rakka had that wasn''t practice.


    I nodded in confirmation before I allowed the bond to consume my perception. I could feel Rakka''s rage at the sneaky Agustus and how he wanted to charge in and deliver some payback. However, I held him back for the moment to try and assess the situation.


    Right now, the battle was a simple one on one affair between my Ragnaceros and a wild Agustus. I''m not sure whether the Agustus was tuned more towards melee or ranged, but I do know that Wind majimonsters are weak against Ice techniques, which Rakka had and was made much stronger due to being the same affinity as him. But first, I had to lock this sucker down and cut off its escape routes.


    (Rakka! Fire Stride!)


    Rakka''s hooves became engulfed in flames mere moments after I issued the command. With another command, Rakka rushed straight towards the Agustus antlers first and flames in its wake. However, instead of slamming right into his opponent. he turned to the right and ran a circle around it!


    The Agustus was confounded by Rakka''s running, up until it noticed it was now trapped in a ring of fire with an angry elk made of fire, lightning, ice and pure hate.


    A wicked smile crept across my face as I ordered Rakka to hit the Agustus with a Freezing Horn technique. This was a combo I learned after training with my parents these past few weeks. Fire stride was a movement technique, meaning I could immediately follow it with an attack technique like Freezing Horns.


    Rakka''s antlers glowed with a pale blue light as the runes covering them lit up and a frosty haze began to form around them. As if remembering the surprise suckerpunch from earlier, Rakka dipped his head down and launched his antlers upward into the Agustus'' swirling form. Even if I didn''t share my senses with Rakka, I could tell that hit was brutal.

 Chapter 44 - 44: Winds of Rage

    While the technique hit the Agustus dead on, it wasn''t enough to aether it or freeze it solid. It was, however, enough to give it a nasty injury. The Agustus stopped swirling around as rapidly as before, the leaves and twigs composing it seemed to float around slower than before and several of them showing visible signs of frost damage. On the other hand, a set of what appeared motes of light that looked like eyes manifested inside the living cyclone and went from white to blood red.


    The Agustus began to glow with an azure light as a visible funnel of wind formed in front of it and launched itself at Rakka. The wind funnel hit him in the side, and the force behind it was strong enough to knock through the ring of fire Rakka had created earlier to trap it. Due to the battle bond, I could feel Rakka''s pain in the places he got hit. I felt the stinging pain of the wind technique in my side and the feeling of fire burns on my back. Thankfully it was all in my head and my body was physically unaffected,it still stung though.


    A look with my Dragon''s Eye revealed that Rakka was hit with a Bl.u.s.ter technique, but the Agustus had empowered with some of its internal aether. That explains why it was strong enough to hurt and knock Rakka out of the fire ring.


    To make matters worst, the fire ring I had Rakka establish went from being a cage to trap the Agustus to a defensive wall that would hurt anyone crossing it...is what I would''ve said if the fires hadn''t died out after the Agustus knocked Rakka through them.


    The fire trail left by the Fire Stride technique only lasts for a few seconds at most, a lesson I learned the hard way when I tried to use it once to entrap my mother''s Karatsune in a practice match. My mother said that wasn''t a bad plan, but such a thing works best on wild majimonsters or when you''re being chased. An experienced binder knows that when it happens, the smart plan is to keep their monsters still and defend, start using ranged techniques, or use another movement technique to move over the flames.


    Regardless, I could feel Rakka was rightly annoyed by this short exchange of techniques and was ready for another round to knock this arrogant pile of leaves into the dirt.


    Rakka rushed towards the Agustus once more with Freezing Horns at the ready, but this time I decided to give Rakka a helping hand. Using my bond with Rakka, I channeled some of my internal aether to strengthen Rakka''s technique. I wanted to make sure this next attack hurt.


    Rakka swung his head low in order to slash his horns upward for maximum contact...and missed! The Agustus managed to maneuver it''s shaky body in such a way that it narrowly avoided the ice horns. How infuriating!


    After avoiding the attack, my Dragon''s eye reacted to yet another technique, this one named Photosynthesis. The Agustus glowed once more but with a green light this time. Several of the torn leaves within the tornado began repairing themselves or began defrosting, it''s swirling body moving faster than before. It somehow managed to heal a good chunk of the damage it had suffered so far...great...


    A wave of frustration flooded into me at that moment, it appeared Rakka was just annoyed at the situation as I was.


    I commanded Rakka to use Freezing Horns again, but instead of using my aether to strengthen the blow, I used it to strengthen his reaction and thinking speed. I could feel that Rakka now had a better sense of how the Agustus was moving and instead of just flailing his horns wildly, he adjusted them so that when the Agusti tried to dodge one antler, it would land him dead center into the other antler.


    A mere few seconds after Rakka had readjusted his antlers, the exact thing I foresaw happened beautifully. Rakka had swung his antlers in such a way that the Agustus had to move to the left, but it had failed to see that Rakka''s intial headswing was a feint! When the Agustus was far enough to the left, Rakka swung his head hard right in order to hit it with his Freezing Horns. The damage this time was almost as brutal as the first hit, but more importantly, it had froze the Agustus solid. Victory!


    All that''s left to do is to bind this suck-wait... something''s wrong.


    (Rakka dodge to the left! Now!)


    Rakka quickly jumped to the left as a mysterious green figure jumped down from the tree tops and slammed what sounded like blades into the ground!

 Chapter 45 - 45: New Challenger

    As the dust cleared from the mysterious intruder''s entrance, I began to make out a vague humanoid shape that was hunched over, holding two swords and wearing a hat and cape. As my eyes focused on the intruding opponent, it became clear that the majimonster in question was a humanoid plant.


    The two shadows I assumed were weapons were actually giant leaf blades that doubled as the creature''s arms and weapons. It''s hunched over body was actually a stem with a base of four thick roots acting as feet. The hat was actually its head, which appeared to be a giant thistle flower to me, and the cape was another large leaf.


    The Dragon''s Eye blazed to life as it worked to identify the new challenger.


    _________________________________________


    Species: Grassassin


    Affinities: Verdant/Fury


    Grade: Bronze


    Trait: Lethal


    Description: Grassassins are living plant monsters supported by four flexible stalks. Grassassin''s forearms are surprisingly flexible, able to switch between claws for dexterity or unfurled into long blade-like leaves. Binders describe Grassassin as efficiently deadly fighters, able to capitalize on poisoned targets.


    Voxea''s Notes: Once upon a time there was once a faction of maji known as the Golden Blossom Forest sect. This sect of maji were known as druids by the old tongues, and they specialized in nature and plant magic. The maji who created Grassassin was this fellow others called Bramblehood. I didn''t meet the maji who created Grassassin, but I do recall hearing he was a bit unhinged even by the maji''s standards. However his monster making ability was second to none, and the sect ended up using a lot of his creations to act as the sect''s weapons. Grassassins were being used as the sect''s "hidden security" detail. I also recall he made other humanoid plant monsters like the Oaking, Lily Fencer, Walknight, Bluebrawler and...Arpepperest? It something involving chilli peppers and a crossbow. It was weird and it had. perchance for blinding people.


    _________________________________________


    The Grassassin straightened itself up after its failed sneak attack. "Standing" upright, the Grassassin was about as tall as a teenage boy but was much thinner in comparison. It pointed one of its forearms at Rakka and curled the tip of it like it was the fingers of an open palm and then entered a fighting stance, an orange light glowing around it briefly. It was clearly goading Rakka to fight it.


    Rakka let out a loud snort and I could feel the contempt he had for this overgrown weed through the bond. If it''s a fight it wants, it''s a fight it''ll get.


    Off to the side, I could sense a huge amount of fighting spirit building up and ready to charge in. During my lessons, my parents taught me that when a binder enters the fray it is hardly sneaky. When another binder intruded upon a fog of war area, and wanted to fight, all participants in the area could feel it. I suppose that my mother was about to jump into the fray herself with Bola because if the Agustus somehow thawed itself out, this one on one would become a two on one at my disadvantage.


    Rakka suddenly released a loud grunt before Bola and my mother got into the Fog of War. I could feel that Rakka wanted to fight this new opponent himself. Honestly...I felt the same way. I felt the fighting spirit to the side disappate after that. I suppose Bola and mother had enough faith in us to do it ourselves. I appreciated the trust in my growth, now it''s time to ice this weed.


    Before I had Rakka rush in this time, I made use of my bond and channeled my aether to patch up some of Rakka''s wounds. Thankfully the wounds it suffered from the Agustus weren''t severe, so my impromptu healing managed to restore him to full health.


    Rakka rushed in on the Grassassin to use its Freezing Horns technique, ready to smash it. I need to teach Rakka more offensive techniques at some point, but Verdant monsters are weak against Ice techniques so repetitiveness be damned!


    As Rakka rushed towards the Grassassin with his ice-coated antlers, the Grassassins'' forearms began to glow orange and an aura of fury encompassed it. The mad plant was gonna try and counter Rakka''s technique with its own!

 Chapter 46 - 46: Frozen Produce

    Two powerful techniques collided against each other in that moment. On one side, a giant elk made of ice, fire and lightning was slamming its frost covered antlers into an overgrown weed. On the other, a man-sized plant with arms like swords was bringing down a blow filled with fury onto what it saw as oversized prey. Sparks flew as antler met leaf blades,and the two monsters became locked with one another. Such contests would normally end in a draw due to both sides being relatively equal in terms of power,coming out worse for wear on both sides. But this clash had me as a factor to tip the scales.


    I could feel that Rakka and the Grassassin were evenly matched in terms of raw power, that any outside interference affecting one side would be enough to make the clash end in favor for the other.


    Throwing caution to the wind I focused on my bond once more and held nothing back, empowering the technique to the point I could feel my head pounding from aether withdrawl.I was running out of aether at this point but I figured if Rakka could freeze this sucker and deal a lot of damage at the same time, the aether withdrawal pains would be worth it.


    As the aether flowed freely from me to Rakka, I noticed how visible the changes were. Rakka''s ice covered antlers grew colder as more and more frosty mist condensed around them and the runic markings that covered them seem to become more complex and glow with a deeper shade of blue. A surprise look appeared on the Grassassins'' face as Rakka began to overpower it.


    A loud bang occured when Rakka managed to break the stalemate and break the Grassassins'' technique, forcibly bouncing the grassy forearms away. Momentarily stunned, the Grassassin failed to react in time as Rakka swung his head once more and smacked the Grassassin with his giant icy antlers.


    The Grassassin was sent flying into a nearby birch tree. A sickening crunch echoed out as the Grassassin impacted the tree. I could feel rage emanating from it as the Grassassin picked itself backed up and ready itself to charge. However a smile crept on my face as I noticed what was happening at its feet; the forming of ice crystals.


    The Grassassin rushed towards Rakka, forearms unfurled into long blades, but couldn''t as its stalks were beginning to freeze in place. The Grassassin jerked itself left and right in order to break free but couldn''t. Its forearms began to glow in green light as it brought them down to smash the ice to pieces, but failed due to its arms becoming encased in ice and frozen stiff just as they got close to its frozen roots. Ice began to encase its arms, roots and stem. The Grassassin shot off one last dirty look at Rakka as ice encased its head. The Grassassin was now frozen solid, but rage still emanated from its form.


    I was about to let out a sigh of relief and let go of the bond, until I noticed the Agustus twitching in its frozen state. Before it had the chance to breakout however, I had Rakka smack it once with its horns to freeze it again. With both Verdant monsters frozen solid, I finally let out a sigh of relief, released the battle bond and promptly collapsed to the floor, exhausted but not out.


    A few moments after catching my breath, my mother came over to see how I was. "So...two majimonsters in one battle? You feeling okay Silvia?", she asked with concern and care.


    "Fine mostly. Feels like I just ran a mile and a half", I replied in earnest.


    "You kind of did. Battling takes a lot of cardio. But you''re not done yet. You still need to bind of those two monsters".


    "Right".


    Right, I have two deadly Verdant majimonsters, both frozen like preserved vegetables, to choose from and only one drajule ready to bind it...now which one should it be?

 Chapter 47 - 47: New Companion..s?

    I mulled over the decision for a solid minute before finally settling on which majimonster to bind. I took a deep breath and focused on the drajule that I had made in my hand. A familiar pair of glowing tines formed on the drajule, making the aether-made tuning fork (I learned from Voxea what it was called) I had used when I had bound Voxea and Rakka.


    I rapped against the tuning fork drajule with my free hand while holding it aloft with the other. A clear tone rang out as visible rings of energy were emitted from the tuning fork and they began to float around me. With a wave of my hand, the rings left my side and surrounded my future companion, the Agustus.


    My reasons for binding the Agustus over the Grassassin is based, as my mother mentioned earlier, on balance. Both the Agustus and Grassassin are Verdant majimonsters, meaning that either one could cover up for Rakka''s weaknesses. However, I technically also had Voxea who was a "Blizabella".


    I once looked over Voxea''s abilities with the Dragon''s Eye and it showed me that not only was she a gold grade high stage majimonster, but that her affinities were Ice, Mystic, Wind and a fourth affinity that was just a series of question marks. I had no idea what that meant, but I had the feeling I would understand or be able to decipher it once I grew stronger as a binder or as a maji. Regardless, even though Voxea had me covered with Wind and Mystic affinities as well as being able to use ranged techniques better than the Agustus and being ridiculously strong, I couldn''t exactly call her out.


    It''s one thing to be able to control majimonsters, it''s another thing altogether when one has a majimonster that is both incredibly strong and also used to be an equally powerful maji. For all intents and purposes, both my parents assumed I had lucked out by binding a majimonster that had high potential and a low grade. If I had to explain to them that I also made friends with a thought to be dead maji...I didn''t want to think about the possible consequences.


    The Agustus would be able to a long ranged attacker, technically fly and be able to cover up Rakka''s weaknesses when I couldn''t summon Voxea. It was an ideal companion to compliment Rakka''s brute strength. The energy rings had completely surrounded the frozen Agustus now and began to enclose around it. Everything was going smoothly...until it didn''t.


    As I was binding the Agustus, I suddenly felt something change in the air. I stifled a scream as the air suddenly felt colder than before and my ears picked up a strange cry, like the deranged mix of a wolf''s howl and a baby''s cry. The scream ended up disrupting my ritual, and to make matters worst both the Agustus and the Grassassin broke out of their ice shells!


    However, instead of rushing to attack Rakka or Bola, the two majimonsters started acting weird. Their forms began to flicker like candle flames in the wind and I could see threads of aether both leak out of them and seep into them. The threads of aether soon stopped going in and out of the two majimonsters and began becoming intertwined with one another. The two majimonsters ended up moving towards each other and soon overlapped with another, looking like two drawings places on top of each other in sunlight and very wrong.


    I could feel that whatever was happening was going to be bad. Bola and Rakka stood ready to fight, while my mother entered a battle stance as well. I was about to enter a battle stance too...until I looked at the drajule in my hand and had a terrible terrible idea.


    [You do realize this is a terrible idea, right?], Voxea quipped.


    [Yes].


    [You''re going to do it anyways aren''t you]?


    [You''re the one reading my mind, you tell me].


    [Oh no...].


    My mother, Rakka and Bola were getting ready to fight whatever was in front of us, they were not expecting my reckless self running pass the three of them. I went from a run into a somersault as I banged the drajule tuning fork against the ground. I quickly directed the energetic rings towards the amalgamation of a majimonster and watched as the rings encircle it.


    The amalgamation struggled against the rings initially but slowly lost strength as the rings became tighter and tighter. I rapped against the drajule once more, causing a large white ring to form in front of me.


    The ring let out a loud, deep sounding note that disrupted the majimonster and turned it into aether. The ring then started rotating, absorbing the bits of aether and changing from a blank circle into a summoning circle with colors and patterns indicating a Wind, Fury and Verdant majimonster was sealed inside.


    The circle shrank into the size of a coin and was absorbed into my drajule. The symbols for the Wind, Verdant and Fury affinities appeared on the drajule, and the pattern for the summoning circle from earlier had engraved itself onto the drajule as well.


    I had bound whatever that the thing of a majimonster was, but I had no idea what the result would be. I let out a sigh of relief and turned towards my mother and the other majimonsters. The three of them had a face of disbelief and shock. All I could response with was, "Well...that just happened".


    [Smooth. Real smooth].

 Chapter 48 - 48: Ominous Signs and ~The Most Horrible time of the year~

    I just stood there awkwardly while my mother, Rakka and Bola just stared at me while I was holding my newly bounded drajule.


    After a few seconds I asked my mother, "Am I in trouble"?


    "For what?", my mother said after getting out of her stupor and with confusion in her voice.


    "For recklessly rushing in and doing a binding ritual on", the drajule somehow growled and jumped in my hand, "whatever is inside this drajule right now".


    My mother let out a small breath and proceeded to just pat my head. "As a mother, yes. What you did was very reckless and dangerous. But as a binder, what you did was rather brave and par for the course. Being a binder means taking risks and being reckless sometimes to capture or defeat majimonsters. It goes without saying that you also passed the test", she said to me while rubbing my head.


    I felt the tension on my shoulders melt away and let out a sigh of relief. But I immediately tensed back up as I remembered about what just happened and had to make sure it wasn''t I think it was.


    "Uh...mother? Did you notice anything odd before those two majimonsters started acting out? Like the cry of a deranged animal or majimonster?", I asked apprehensively.


    My mother stopped rubbing my head and had this focused look on her. She turned towards a nearby tree and walked over to it. Taking out a hunting knife, my mother hacked into the bark and peeled back a piece. She took one look at what was underneath and let out a small curse under her breath. "It''s as I feared Silvia", my mother said while gesturing me to look for myself.


    [What does she fear?], I heard Voxea ask in my head.


    I walked right over and confirmed with my own eyes that underneath the tree bark was the strange runes that would soon show up on every tree and stone in the valley. "Well crap. Here comes Monster''s Night", I said aloud and to Voxea.


    [What''s Monster''s Night]?


    _________________________________________


    My mother rode back home in silence. It wasn''t that we didn''t want to talk, but with the sign of Monster''s Night approaching, we didn''t want to risk getting into any unnecessary fights. However, even though I was quiet on the outside, on the inside I was talking to Voxea and explaining what exactly was going on.


    [So now can you tell me what Monster''s Night is? You and your mother just sorta bolted on your mounts after confirming there were runes on a tree].


    [You didn''t have anything like to back when the Old Empire was alive and kicking?], I thought incredulously.


    [Nope. Monsters in my time were weapons and pets remember? I would definitely remember if we had a day this odd and ominous sounding in my time].


    [Fair enough. Well, every autumn season there''s this one night of the year we call Monster''s Night. There''s no set day for when it happens but it always occur on the night of the full moon and before it happens, a lot of weird and creepy signs begin to happen. A binder at the town''s tavern once told me it was due to the aether acting wild].


    [Wait isn''t it...winter/spring right now? How are you dealing with it now if it''s an autumn affair], Voxea asked confused.


    [Well it''s winter/spring in the valley sure, but it''s autumn outside of it right now. But that''s besides the point, the problem is what happens on the night itself. On this night, every single majimonster goes crazy regardless of how they normally act and I''m not sure how it is in other towns and villages, but on Monster''s Night, our menhirs stop working and wild majimonsters are able to enter. Everybody in town would have to hide in the townhall bunker until the next morning while the hired binders would try and fight off the aggressors until morning. Sometimes they lived, sometimes they died either way, we would repair the damage left behind].


    [That sounds...bad and painfully familiar...], Voxea said sounding a tad melancholy.


    Voxea''s sudden bout of sadness threw me for a loop, until I thought about it. Did the Old Empire fall because something like Monster''s Night happened? Was the first Monster''s Night the reason why humanity was now scattered and isolated? I shuddered at the thought and just kept riding onward.

 Chapter 49 - 49: Preparing for the Night and Vindictive families

    By the time got back it was already sunset and I could see my father already prepping materials to barricade and fortify the house and brewery. Well, more like my father directing his monsters in preparing the materials necessary.


    My mother and I wordlessly dismounted and recalled Rakka and Bola to their drajules. Father noticed the two of us, grimly nodded and pointed towards a nearby tree. It was covered in the same runic markings as the one my mother and I saw.


    "How long until the full moon?", my mother asked as she walked over towards Father. "I''d say we have about a week, maybe less. The moon was waxing last night but it looked to be about...three-fifths full if I had to guess", he replied as he instructed Selena to move a stack of planks in front of the windows.


    As my parents talked about preparations for Monster''s Night, I looked over my newly bounded drajule and mulled over what my mother had explained to me on the way back.


    It wasn''t until half way back home that I finally worked up the nerve/thought of asking about why we hid away when Monster''s Night came instead of participating in the fight. Both mother and father were pretty powerful binders and would definitely be able to hold off the attacking majimonsters for a while. Turns out there were two reasons that played into each other.


    The first reason was that Monster''s Night didn''t affect just wild majimonsters but bounded ones as well. Binders would have a harder time than normal in controlling them in the heat of battle, so going alone in those situations would be suicidal at best. A partner or a team would be needed to get out of the Night alive if your monster got aethered mid-battle. I couldn''t help but ask about why she and father couldn''t just work with the other binders than if all they needed was a team. Without saying a word, she pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. It was a bounty poster depicting younger versions of my parents.


    As it turns out, both of my parents were wanted, not by the Empire, but by my father''s ex-fianc¨¦e and her family. To quote my mother, "Your father''s ex-fianc¨¦e and her family are about as vindictive as a jealous Mastyff. They once burned down a restaurant because their food wasn''t cooked right...well that was the rumor as to why the restaurant burned down". Part of me was thinking that my mother was just blowing smoke to mess with me, until I noticed that the bounty poster she handed me was made recently.


    I brought this up with her while we were riding, and she explained to me that these posters have been changed yearly with a slightly higher bounty than before, ever since she and father ran away together. This meant that this woman has been holding a grudge for at least nineteen years, give or take a year. I''m not sure who this woman was exactly, but I was sure I never wanted to meet this woman...or her family.


    It was due to this bounty that both of my parents agreed to limit their interactions with other binders to an absolute minimum, preferably to not at all. It would just take one opportunistic binder who fancied themselves a bounty hunter to ruin everything they had built. If they lost, they''d be captured and turned over. If they won, they''d have to run or risk becoming actual criminals to cover their tracks or keep fighting more and more binders that would come their way.


    If they did end up fighting Monster''s Night, that would be even worst. It would just take one stupid and/or greedy binder to suddenly turn on them and lead to a major disaster for themselves and the town. Sometimes the most prudent and wise decision is to hide.


    I was lost in thought until I heard my mother calling me over.


    "Yes mother"?


    "Silvia, can you summon the new majimonster you bounded? Your father and I want to take a look at what happened exactly".


    [Oh boy, this is going to get weird], Voxea quipped.

 Chapter 50 - 50: Whats in the drajule?

    I stared at both of my parents, mouth agape and a little stunned.


    "Are you sure?", I asked, "I have no idea what''s in this drajule. I just sorta bound the...thing, because I had the feeling it would not have ended well if I didn''t. I don''t even know if I can control it".


    "We know", my father said, "but it doesn''t change the fact that this is now your second majimonster. You should at least figure out what it is at least. Besides, we outnumber it three to one. We can handle whatever is inside that drajule". My mother nodded at father''s words. The look of trust between them made me think that even if the world ended, they''d somehow survive it as long as they had each other. I let out a sigh before agreeing to summon whatever was inside this drajule.


    I focused on the drajule in my hand, but it felt different from when I summoned Rakka for the first time. I chalked up the odd feeling in my gut that it was just because it was a new monster being summoned for the first time. A tuning fork made of aether manifested on the drajule, but the symbol that would represent the monster didn''t form where the fork tines met. Instead it was more like a flickering scribble in the shape of a circle, which gave me an ominous feeling. Regardless, I threw caution to the wind and activated the drajule...which is when things got strange, well stranger than normal.


    When I clanged the tuning fork of energy, it sounded less like a harmonious note and more like a discordant mess. It was like an out of tune lute and flute playing at the exact same time inside of a cave. The summoning circle didn''t form like normal, instead it kept flickering in and out as the patterns formed inside of it and kept jumping around the area. It eventually settled in front of the three of us and kept a steady yet sketchy shape.


    From the strange circle came not an Agustus or a Grassassin or even a fusion of the two, but a strange opaque energy being with green, orange and light blue colorations. The being seemed to flicker between looking like the Agustus, the Grassassin and a featureless energy being every few seconds. I tried to use the Dragon''s Eye on it, but no boxes of texts appeared in my field of vision. All I got was a jumble of letters and symbols.


    I deactivated the relic and just looked at the strange creature. It looked like it was scared and in pain as it seemed to spasm about and move its "head" like it was looking for something.


    A pang of guilt bubbled in my chest as I stared at the strange creature. I had bound this being while it was still forming and possibly messed it up, yet I didn''t want to summon it because I was scared of what was inside of it.


    My parents had already summoned their own monsters,ready to send it back to the aether. What they weren''t ready for was me walking pass them and towards it.


    [I must be out of my mind], I thought to myself and Voxea.


    [You are, but you wouldn''t have found me if you weren''t. What''s one more trip down the rabbit hole], she replied with what sounded like a smirk.


    As I got closer, the figure stopped acting restlessly and settled its "eyes" on me. I paused momentarily at the sudden stare, but calmed myself down before walking closer. The figure kept staring at me as I walked closer and closer until I was right in front of it. Without a word, I simply reached out my arms and hugged the energy being.

 Chapter 51 - 51: Incomplete

    I''m not sure why I decided to hug it, but my instincts told me that I should. It felt odd holding a being made of pure aether. If I had to describe how it felt, it would be...contradictory. It was like hugging a ragdoll but the cloth was made of rigid stone and was somehow hot and cold at the same time on the exact same spots.


    I felt the being tense up in my arms, I was pretty sure it was confused by my actions and didn''t know how to respond. The being reminded me of the time I first held my baby siblings in my arms, unsure of what to make of someone that was not their mother holding them. Out of reflex, I started comforting the creature. I slowly stroked its back in a soothing manner while calmly and softly saying, "It''s okay. It''s okay. I''ll make sure you''re safe and sound". It felt a little silly, but I could feel the creature starting to calm down as soothed it like a fussy baby. I guess this thing was basically a baby, granted it was big as I was and made of pure aether, but a baby nonetheless.


    As the creature started to relax, I felt that the link between monster and binder was established, well grew stronger. Evidently, this lack of "feeling the bond" was why I was hesitant to summon it in the first place. I was scared of it going crazy and attacking us, and overpowering our monsters. I did not expect it to be so scared, which might be why I decided to comfort it instead.


    [Well aren''t you adorable], Voxea quipped.


    [Oh hush you], I retorted.


    Now that I could feel the bond between me and it, I finally understood why it was freaking out. It was incomplete. When I bounded it while we were in the woods, I had interrupted some kind of wild spell. The aether had gone rampant in that moment and started infusing itself into the two majimonsters in order to turn them into one majimonster. If I hadn''t bounded it while the spell was ongoing, the Agustus and Grassassin would have perfectly fused into some horrifying composite majimonster and would''ve been to strong for my mother and I to handle. But because I did so, the process had damaged the incomplete combination and removed it prematurely from the wild aether, the resulting creature was now much weaker than the two majimonsters composing it. On top of that, because it was bound to my drajule it couldn''t access the aether to finish the process. It would remain stuck like this...unless...


    [You''re just made of reckless abandon aren''t you]?


    [Very much so].


    I relaxed my hug with the creature and positioned myself in a way to stare at it eye to eye. "So my formless friend. You''re lacking enough aether to take proper form right?", I said out loud but soothingly towards the creature. It paused for a moment and then slowly nodded at my words.


    "Okay then...follow my lead and I''ll give you some of mine".


    Sitting up straight, I rose up my right hand and had my palm facing towards it. Hesitantly, the being mirrored my own movement and placed it''s own "hand" against mine. I repeated the motion again with my left hand and it did the same. There we stood, palm to palm, an incomplete majimonster and a foolish binder/...maji-in-training.


    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the task of channeling aether into the incomplete monster. My belt began to softly hum as I focused. Over the past few weeks, I learned that my magic staff could still gather and store aether even as a belt. The only downside was that I couldn''t cast spells with it, only store it. However, that function would serve very useful for this next part...assuming everything goes according to what''s in my head.

 Chapter 52 - 52: Making new life is like playing with clay

    A familiar feeling began to gather in my gut as I first focused on gathering aether into my body from my belt. I''m not sure how other maji gathered and perceived the aether, but the way I saw it was like using a well. The aether, to me, was like a big underground reservoir of water. I knew it was there, but I couldn''t drink or use it directly. Instead I had to use it piecemeal via a bucket, or in this case my staff. In essence, I couldn''t just endlessly pump aether into the incomplete being the whole time, but instead gather all that I could and let it out in one big burst.


    Once I felt that the aether building up in my core was enough, I immediately started willing it into my arms and out of my palms. My hands began to glow with a pale white light as I willed the aether into the being. I could both feel and see my aether leaving my body and entering theirs. Starting from the palms, threads of dark green energy began to crawl up the being''s arms. The threads of energy soon began to spread throughout the being''s tri-colored energy body, looking like cracks in a frozen lake.


    As the aether flowed from me into these bodily cracks, I noticed that the being in front of me started to change little by little. The featureless "hands" that were pressed against mine started to shrink and grow in various parts of it, forming a vague hand-like shape. The fingers and palms then began to develop more details, looking more delicate at the tips but more robust closer to the palm. The various types of aether inside of the hand also began to separate themselves into more obvious gatherings, giving the hand a more patterned look instead of the jumble of colors from earlier. Eventually, the silhouette of an armored hand were now in contact with mine, with the green and light blue forming the main hand while the orange energy formed the armored bits, but it didn''t stop there.


    The beings'' arms and shoulders became slimmer as pauldrons and bracers formed upon them, again following the pattern from before with the hands. The torso came next, becoming noticably more human looking. On a side note, the torso that formed look somewhat similar to my own, granted the armor formed up before I could check for certain.


    I was expecting a pair of armored legs to form up next, instead the beings'' legs turned into a swirling mass and formed a pair of faulds. I suppose the original monsters making up this new being still had some influence on how it... they (?) wanted to look.


    A pair of horns soon sprouted from the beings'' forehead accompanied by a mane of hair sprouting from the top. I could feel that by now the creature was almost complete, that it just needed one last thing to be born. The only problem is that I can''t figure out what it needs to become "complete".


    [It needs a name], I heard Voxea whisper in my head.


    [A name]?


    [Every majimonster has a name. It what keeps their existences anchored to reality. Granted this applied to the old ways of dragon creation, but this seems very similar to that so just roll with it], she explained.


    [Alright a name...I can''t think of anything].


    [Really]?


    [I''m trying to pump aether into an incomplete majimonster in an effort to create new life and ease the pain and fear of two forcibly fused creatures! Cut me some slack Voxea].


    At that thought, the creature''s form wavered ever so slightly. I could also that my aether reserves were running out, I needed to come up with a name and fast.

 Chapter 53 - 53: And your name is...!

    I needed to give this being a name and fast, otherwise who knows what would happen. Not sure what to name it, I decided to just tell Voxea a series of them to see what would stick.


    [Alright, names... Daisyslayer]?


    [Lame], Voxea quipped.


    [Reaping Willow]?


    [Monster looks too humanoid and I think that name is in use...or was it Wailing Willow...].


    [No tangents! What about Whirlwinja]?


    [By the gods, okay, let me try coming up with something], she said in exasperation.


    [Be my guest, but I suggest you do it quickly. I only have so much aether right now and doing this is rather draining].


    As Voxea pondered (leading to me hearing her humming in my head) on what to name the forming majimonster, I redoubled my efforts on supplying it with aether...and locking it in place.


    I could feel that the majimonster just wanted to break free from the aether flow and just go wild. However, I had the gut feeling that an "incomplete" majimonster running wild would probably not end well for itself and for the area it goes wild in. I''m not sure how long I could keep the creature in place unt-[I got it!]. Nevermind, thank you Voxea.


    [Alright, what am I naming this thing?], I asked in a hurried tone. I still had some aether left, but any longer and I''d be using smoke as a fuel source.


    [Okay repeat after me, but outloud].


    [Uh...okay sure].


    [By the laws of magic, the will of the aether and my authority as a maji...]


    "By the laws of magic, the will of the aether and my authority as a maji..."


    [I bestow this name upon you to anchor you to this plane].


    "I bestow this name upon you to anchor you to this plane".


    [Bushinado]!


    "Bushinado!...Bushinado"?


    A few moments after uttering that name, I felt the aether flow suddenly stop and an invisible force pushed me away from the majimonster. I was launched into the air and was sent flying until I was caught by my mother and father.


    "Silvia! Are you okay? Did whatever seal you in that forcefield hurt you?", my mother asked whilst panickedly looking me over.


    "I''m fin- wait, forcefield", I asked a little dazed.


    Wordlessly, my mother and father pointed back to where I was originally hugging the incomplete majimonster. I gazed in the direction they were pointing and saw what appeared to be a sphere of multicolored light about the size of a donkey. Apparently a forcefield surrounded me and my incomplete monster when I went over to it and I didn''t even notice. I''m either very dense or very focused, I like to think it''s the second.


    As we watched the sphere with confusion and awe, it suddenly shrank to be about the size of a pumpkin. A single crack appeared on the sphere, which soon began to spread to all over it. In the next moment, a loud sound rang out as the sphere bursted open and a bright light flashed out. We instinctually covered our eyes, but I managed to see a familiar humanoid figure bust out of the sphere before I had to cover them.


    The light soon faded and standing before us was a fully formed humanoid majimonster. The monster that stood before us looked nothing like the Grassassin or the Agustus from before, rather it was something entirely new.


    [Huh...I was right about calling it Bushinado. It looks a shinobi...wait no... a kunoichi], Voxea commented.


    [What''s a kunoichi]?


    [A class of assassin and spy from a land beyond the Empire''s borders. Technically the term is ninja by the Empire''s tongue, but I prefer the original pronunciation. Shinobi referred to male ninjas while kunoichi referred to females], she explained.


    The majimonster that stood in front of me looked like it did when it was just a a shapeless figure of aether, but with more defined features. Standing at six feet tall, it looked like a suit of... ninja armor that was moving on its own, but instead of legs it had a small cyclone of twigs and leaves. The b.r.e.a.s.tplate, pauldrons, gauntlets and faulds all appeared to be solid pieces of wood, with intricate designs and markings. All of the armor pieces were on top of what appeared to be a suit of clothes made entirely of leaves and vines. The horns and hair that I saw from the silhouette from earlier turned out to be rather different than what I had presumed. The horns weren''t growing from a skull, rather they were part of a simple, patterned wooden mask that made up the face. Lastly, the hair turned out to be a series of leaves and branches that reminded me of a berry bush of all things...


    [Be honest with me Voxea. Did you decide on the name Bushinado because of the hair bush thing]?

 Chapter 54 - 54: I cant explain anything...time to lie!

    After having Voxea explain to me the meaning of the name Bushinado (I can''t tell if it''s her being clever, being funny or that all maji have a very strange sense of style in the naming of majimonsters) and my parents making sure both me and my new majimonster were okay, I was now being forced to sit across from them at the table in order, with the Bushinado, to explain what just happened. I''m not sure if they''re the same, but it''s one thing to try and justify breaking the rules, it''s another thing altogether when trying to explain why hugging an unstable being made of aether, being locked inside a magic bubble for an hour and then suddenly popping out of it with a majimonster no one has ever seen or heard of before. I oddly miss the days when the worst thing I had to justify for was punching the face of a travelling merchant''s kid.


    [Exactly how many times have you punched someone in the face? Because this is the fifth instance you had a thought about punching someone], I heard Voxea comment.


    [First, stop reading my mind. Second, he openly insulted me after I had refused his advances and outdrank him], I retorted.


    [You are rather violent], Voxea said with a tone of amus.e.m.e.nt.


    [It''s in my blood].


    "So Silvia", my mother started while staring directly at me and the Bushinado, "you should know that you''re not in trouble, but we need to know...".


    "What happened in there and what lead to her?", my father finished while gesturing towards the Bushinado.


    [Oh boy. What are you gonna tell them?], Voxea asked.


    [I''m not entirely sure. I know for sure I can''t tell them you exist, or that I''ve been training to be a maji and that''s why I managed to...create? complete]?


    [Manipulate the fundamental forces of magic and nature to create a brand new majimonster from two vastly different majimonsters]?


    [Yeah. That. I obviously can''t tell them that], I replied in a deadpan manner.


    [So... you''re gonna lie]?


    [Only by omission and vaguely telling the truth], I admitted.


    [Simple. I like it].


    "Well for starters, her name is...", I stared at the Bushinado at my right for a few seconds before calling her, "Azalea the Bushinado", in a questioning tone. The Bushinado looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding in agreement to the name.


    "Yeah. Azalea. As for what happened in there, I don''t really remember", I said as bluntly as possible.


    "You don''t remember?", my mother asked.


    "Yes...all I can recall was seeing was the energy being from earlier and going up to comfort because I thought it looked scared. Next thing I recall was being sent flying from it and you and father catching me as I sailed through the air", I said as bluntly bit politely as possible.


    "Alright that''s...understandable. The art of magic has been lost for a very long time, it''s not impossible for you to have been subjected to some ancient force and not realize it", my mother said comfortingly, "but that doesn''t explain Azalea''s sudden appearance".


    "About that... I think I have an idea of where she came from", I said hesitantly.


    "Oh"?


    "Well...you know how you taught me that Breeder Scholars are able to make new majimonster offspring by using the essences of two other majimonsters? I think Azalea is a majimonster offspring, but the effects of Monster''s Night might have distorted how it would normally work", I proposed as a somewhat believable lie.


    "You mean to say that Azalea is not just the wild offspring of the Grassassin and Agustus but that it''s...them? Mixed together?", my father asked.


    "Yes", I said as matter-or-factly as possible. I wasn''t technically lying, but I definitely couldn''t say that I interfered in the mixing process by throwing in my own aether as well. In retrospect, was my interference the reason why Azalea, the Bushinado looked more... human, and more specifically, a woman? Neither the Agustus or the Grassassin showed any signs of...what was that term? S.e.xual dimorphism? Anyways, it makes sense that they wouldn''t really show it with one being a living cyclone of detritus and the other being a walking weed with knife arms. But now that I thought about the breeding ritual Scholars used and how they use the aether of the two parental monsters to make a new offspring one...does that make me Azalea''s mother?


    My parents were busy discussing about what I suggested, so I took the opportunity to look at Azalea. She caught me staring at her and I felt a faint feeling of happiness from my bond with her and I swear I saw a smile in her eyes.I suppose this is one of those questions that wouldn''t be able to answer, but at least she looked happy.

 Chapter 55 - Combat Practice

    [I still can''t believe they bought that], I heard Voxea say as I was getting out of bed.


    [Well they love me, I''m their daughter and...], I could somehow feel Voxea give me a withering stare even though she was inside a drajule. [Alright it probably helped that I just pinned the blame on Monster''s Night and maji shenanigans. It''s not my fault that it makes such a good excuse].


    [Just because we made the dragons, doesn''t mean we made Monster''s Night. It just sorta happened, apparently].


    The evening before, my parents decided to just attribute the unusual circ.u.mstances of Azalea to be the will of the aether...or in more blunt terms, blamed it on the fact that Monster''s Night has a tendency to make the aether act funny, turning even the most docile majimonsters into ferocious man-eaters. Either way, they let me and Azalea off the hook about where she came from and I was dismissed to bed.


    Before I went to bed however, my father informed me that tomorrow and the upcoming weeks was going to be dedicated to combat practice and majimonster control. Even though we normally hide away during Monster''s Night, he and mother thought it would be prudent to practice for just in case things gets... hairy. He used another term, but I was told not to use it unless it''s for justifiable circ.u.mstances.


    The next morning, after completing my morning rituals, I proceeded to go downstairs and got ready for combat lessons.


    "Alright Silvia, today we''re going to see what a Bushinado can do. Summon Azalea and we''ll have her face Magni". After saying that, my father prepared Magni''s drajule and called him out with the words, "Magni! Smashing thunder"!


    A white and yellow summoning circle with symbols representing the Basic and Lightning affinity appeared in the air in front of my father. The next moment, a squat bipedal rodent monster rolled out of the circle. The W.o.m.batant looked at his bare hands for a second before plunging his hand back into the circle and pulling out a large war club as big as he was. The circle then disappeared while an intimidating W.o.m.batant with lightning sparking off it''s hair remained and stared daggers at me.


    "Alright...Azalea! Bewilder and Bl.u.s.ter"!


    As I clanged Azalea''s drajule tuning fork, a summoning circle with Verdant, Fury and Wind symbols phased into existence in front it me. From the inside of the circle, a pair of wooden gauntlets reached out and grabbed the edges of the circle. The Bushinado inside the circle then pulled itself out of the circle, revealing a fierce horned mask with intricate patterns, pauldrons that were carved into the shape of demonic faces and a wooden chest piece that looked solid yet light. Once Azalea managed to get her waist out of the circle, a blast of wind propelled her forward and she flew into the air for a bit. As the circle dissipated, Azalea slowly hovered downwards until it was by my side.


    I forgot to do this yesterday, but I took a look at Azalea with the Dragon''s Eye to see what exactly what a Bushinado was capable of.


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    Name: Azalea


    Species: Bushinado


    Affinities: Verdant/Wind/Fury


    Grade: Bronze 3 stars


    Traits: Assassinination


    Health: E


    Strike: A


    Protection: D


    Magic: B


    Discipline: C


    Speed: A


    Brawn: B


    Talent: B


    Description: A brand new majimonster born from the fusing of an Agustus and a Grassassin. What new potential lies behind it''s creation?


    Voxea''s Notes: As far as I can tell, this majimonster is like a ninja. Ninjas were assassins and spies from a land beyond the Old Empire''s borders. They were fast, illusive and we''re better at illusionary tricks better than most illusionists I know. If I had to take a guess, Bushinado should be able to move fast and hit hard, but won''t be able to take a hit.


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    The fog of war soon overcame my senses and the battle bond between me and Azalea flared up in a moment. This was the first time I made the battle bond with a majimonster other than Rakka, due to me never summoning Voxea to do battle before, and it felt familiar yet different. My bond with Rakka could best be described as being in the center of a snowstorm that I could control. It was wild, instinctual and powerful.


    My bond with Azalea however was much...calmer? No...controlled. The bond with her gave me the same feeling as standing in the middle of the forest on a very windy day. The wind would be raging and roaring at the very top of the trees,but it would be dead silent on the forest floor as if waiting for something to occur.


    A set of techniques that Azalea knew flowed into my mind from the battle bond and I could tell that using them was going to make this battle get weird.

 Chapter 56 - Ninja Shenangians can only go so far

    Instead of rushing recklessly like I do when battling with Rakka, I decided to take a more subtle approach. Even though Azalea could outmarch Magni in speed, she was rather frail. If I commanded her to rush in and attack, it could leave her wide open to a counter attack and if I wanted to make use of her special trait I would have to fight a lot smarter.


    [Azalea, use Duelist].


    Azalea''s eyes glowed orange as I gave the command. Azalea soon moved her arms and torso into a fighting stance, which looked a bit odd due to the lack of legs. [Duelist] was a bit different in comparison to other combat techniques, in the sense that it strengthen the user. When activated, as long as the user is in an one-on-one situation, their Strike and Protection will become a full grade higher. In essence, she''ll be able to hit faster and defend better.


    Magni rushed towards Azalea with a dangerous gleam in his eyes as his massive war club began to spark with lightning. With a loud grunt, Magni stopped mid rush and used the momentum to swing his club from the side. A loud crackling sounded in the air as the lightning-laced weapon flew towards Azalea''s side. I could feel from Azalea that if Magni''s technique hit, she would be in a world of hurt.


    Luckily, I had just the technique...if I could get the timing right.


    [Not yet...not yet..not yet...now! Azalea, Body double]!


    A mere moment before Magni''s technique hit, Azalea''s body mysteriously disappeared from the impact zone and was replaced with a wooden log made of aether. As the technique landed, the log exploded into aether while a confused look appeared on Magni''s face. Unbeknownst to him, Azalea was right behind him ready to strike back and maybe hit even harder.


    [Verdant Claw]!


    One of Azalea''s hands began to glow with a green light, as razor sharp blade claws sprouted from between her wooden knuckles. She quickly raked her claws against Magni''s back, eliciting a loud whooshing noise. The claws cut deep into Magni''s back, leaving three long and bloody gashes across it.


    Magni let out a small grunt of pain as the wound on his back began to darken in color and fester, leaving him vulnerable to Azalea''s special trait, [Assassinate]!


    Most majimonsters can only perform at least one combat technique within the span of six of seconds due to having to recharge their aether after using said techniques. Azalea( and maybe other Bushinados in the future if I decided to become a Breeder) could circ.u.mvent that with her trait, [Assassinate].


    Apparently when majimonsters are initially inflicted with abnormal status conditions, they release a special type of aether that normally dissipates into the environment. However, [Assassinate] enables a majimonster to absorb this aether and use it to fuel a second combat technique. Which means this next part is going to hurt.


    [Azalea! Ferocious Strike]!


    Using the momentum from swinging her claw hand, Azalea spun around and made a fist with her other hand. The fist began to glow with an orange light as aether condensed around it. The fist soon became encased in orange aether, forming an even fiercer gauntlet that I felt through the bond was radiating pure rage. Without even stopping her spin, Azalea aimed a hammer fist straight at the poisoned wound.


    At the last moment before impact, Magni used his war club as a support and swung his body around in order to avoid the blow. I clicked my tongue in disappointment as Magni dodged the attack, because I knew [Basic] majimonsters like Magni were vulnerable to [Fury] techniques. I then mildly cursed as Magni followed up his dodge with a swift kick to Azalea''s head.


    That counterattack wasn''t light, as I could feel my own head pound in protest as I felt Azalea''s pain through the bond. I didn''t notice at first, but it had apparently used its own reactionary technique in response to Azalea''s second attack. Unfortunately, the pain didn''t stop there.


    After the counterattack, Magni landed with a grunt and swung the lightning-covered club upward. My head was still reeling from the counterattack so I couldn''t tell Azalea to use [Body Double] in time. A quick dull pain soon blossomed from my gut as Magni''s war club landed squarely in Azalea''s torso. If it felt this bad through the feedback, then Azalea must''ve felt much worst. I could see(sense?) cracks starting to form on Azalea''s armor-like torso.


    Fortunately, the pain from that blow cleared my head enough to have Azalea launch another [Ferocious Strike] directly at Magni''s head. I had no idea if this blow would be enough to aether Magni, but I knew for certain that it was going to hurt a lot!

 Chapter 57 - My face hurts again

    Azalea''s [Ferocious Strike] empowered fist landed right between Magni''s eye. A sickening crunch sounded out as Azalea''s fist impacted Magni''s skull, followed by an eerie silence.


    Azalea and Magni just stood there, her fist still on Magni''s face, as I waited to see if that last technique was enough to send Magni back to his drajule. A few moments later, Azalea slowly retracted her fist as both she and I watched him with bated breath.


    Magni''s form began to wobble and he began to fall backwards. But before I could let out a sigh of relief, Magni stomped down on the ground hard to steady himself. The W.o.m.batant began to stare at Azalea with a razor sharp glint in his eyes and...started growing?!


    Using a technique I have never seen my father used before now, Magni began to triple in size and muscle. Azalea quickly retracted her fist and began to back away from the growing W.o.m.batant. Making matters worst, Magni''s club also began to grow in size as well...and growing spikes for some reason. This would be a really awe inspiring technique to witness, if I wasn''t on the receiving end of it.


    I had Azalea brace herself for impact this time around, that way if [Body Double] didn''t work, she would at least have a chance of blocking Magni''s attacks...I hoped.


    [Body Double] was an incredibly useful reactionary technique that allowed the user to immediately avoid an attack and immediately move themselves around the aggressor''s blindspot. The only issue was that the technique was very timing dependent. If I make the call too early or too late, Azalea would end up in a world of hurt. It was easier to do it before because I had fought Magni with Rakka before and gotten used to his timing, but now that he was bigger....I wasn''t too sure.


    The now giant Magni let out a booming roar before swinging his equally giant club directly at Azalea. I tried to to focus as intently as possible to activate the technique so it wouldn''t hit, but apparently the growth in size somehow increased Magni''s speed as well. I immediately commanded Azalea to use [Body Double] the moment the club was in the right distance, but it suddenly sped up right in the middle of her casting. The next thing I know, Azalea is getting hit with that massive war club and I began to feel everything she was feeling, moment by moment.


    I''m certain that Magni''s finishing blow was much faster and in reality, this conflict was over in an instant. However, the battle bond main functions of slowing down my perception of reality and feeling what Azalea was feeling, made this moment feel like an eternity. I know none of the pain was caused by real injuries and that it was all in my head, but it didn''t stop it from hurting so much.


    First, my arm felt like it was shattering into hundreds of small pieces like shards of glasses. I suppose this was because Azalea tried to block the attack as I had commanded earlier. Next, I felt my shoulder becoming dislocated from the blow. Not sure how it didn''t shatter as well, but it still hurt. However, the worst part had to be when the pain finally crawled up to my face.


    The pain initially blossomed on my cheek then slowly began to spread to my jaw, neck and the top of my skull. It felt like my jaw was becoming dislocated and was being pulverized, that something snapped inside of my neck and that my skull was fracturing like a frozen pond. I''ve been in my fair share of fights before, but the pain from those blows were immediate and always cleared up later. Slowly feeling the bones in your head break apart is a pain I''d never wish upon anyone.


    And as the pain reached an apex and was a out to spread to the other side of my face, it stopped. The next thing I knew, I saw the aether that made up Azalea flow back into the drajule in my left hand while my father recalled Magni to his drajule.


    The two of us looked exhausted from the fight, with the both of us panting and taking deep breaths of air.


    "Well...that was intense", my father said in-between breaths.


    The most I could do in response was weakly nod, and then fall back into the snow while letting out a tired groan.

 Chapter 58 - I want to sleep, but magics involved.

    [Silvia], I heard Voxea chime in my head.


    "Myargggh what?", I grunted in exhaustion while laying face down in my bed.


    [How are you holding up]?


    "The fact that I find it less tiring to verbally respond to you as oppose to put effort into thought-speak should tell you", I responded haggardly.


    The past few days could best be described with a term Voxea had recently taught me, "combat hell". With Monster''s Night coming nearer and nearer, my parents have decided to increase both the intensity and frequency of combat lessons. By my father''s estimation, the full moon was to occur in three days.


    I asked why we were increasing my combat training in preparation for Monster''s Night if we were just going to hide like usual, to which I was explained that it was for, to quote, in case things go sideways.


    From sun up to sun down, Rakka, Azalea and I have been sparring with my mother and father''s arsenal of majimonsters, which turned out to be more than three each.


    Apparently while a binder can only keep at most three majimonsters ready to summon at any time, with Rangers being an exception at being able to keep four on holster, they can still bind wild majimonsters and keep them "inert" until needed. The only drawback is that it took an hour or so to change what majimonsters were active at anyone time. My parents did tell me that some crazy powerful binders had the ability to keep more than three to four active, but they were rare. Regardless, I had learned first hand that my parents each had, at minimum, seven majimonsters. I mildly mused on the idea that they should actually have eight each, but I have no idea if they actually found the drajules they lost all those years ago.


    [So you''re dead tired huh?], Voxea asked with what sound like mocking and concern.


    "Yes", I replied tiredly. In correspondence with increased combat training, I also kept up with the maji lessons that Voxea had me undergo. I hadn''t learn any spells yet, but there were a lot of strange chants and formulas Voxea had me learn, memorize and recite. I wonder if the maji made the majimonsters because they went nuts from all of the learning materials.


    [So tired you''re not willing to learn your first spell]?


    "What?", I yelped in surprise as I bolted upright in my bed.


    [Well, your first two spells. I can''t help but notice that there''s one major flaw in your combat training], Voxea said in a teasing manner.


    "Which is...", I asked heisistantly.


    [You have no means of defending yourself if your monsters are aethered], she replied bluntly.


    "Well it''s assumed I would just book it if such a thing occurs...".


    [Assumptions like that can be fatal my dear Silvia. With that in mind, I''m going to teach you two spells. One for running away, the other for fighting. What do you say]?


    I paused for. moment to take in her words..until bluntly and quickly saying, "Alright, let''s do this thing".


    [Excellent! Now thankfully we won''t need to sneak out again, but you will have to summon me... quietly].


    "Okay", I replied as I hurriedly took out my necklace drajule and prepared to summon her.


    [Wait!], Voxea shouted in my head.


    I stopped as the sudden mental shout stunned me in my tracks. It''s not a pleasant feeling having someone tell in your head. "What is it?", I asked while rubbing my head from the sudden jolt.


    [I want a summoning chant].


    "What? Why? You''re not exactly a normal majimonster", I replied in confusion.


    [I know that, but I feel kind of left out when you summon Rakka and Azalea with those battle cries of yours. It''s weird I know, but I don''t like being left out. Plus you''ll need to come up with something when summoning me].


    "Huh...okay I guess...Do you want me to say anything specific"?


    [Not really. But I know you have a good sense with it, so I''ll leave it to you], Voxea replied in a breezy manner.


    "Okay then...". I fiddled with the drajule in my hand while thinking about what to say for Voxea''s summoning chant....until it hit me.


    Drajule in hand, I manifested a smaller version of the summoning fork and rang it while saying, "Voxea, let your ice gnaw at their bones! Come forth"!


    A small summoning circle manifested in front of me as I finished the chant, and a beautiful snowflake began to form above it. The snowflake then floated away from the circle and hung in the air. It began to suddenly grow bigger and bigger and change into the shape of a woman. The ice woman then sprang to life as the surrounding aether became clothes for her. In a matter of seconds, the ice women had turned into Voxea.


    "What do you think of my entrance?", she asked me with a big grin on her face.


    "A little much and I''m surprised we didn''t alert my parents".

 Chapter 59 - Melodies and Memories

    "Now then", Voxea began as she sat herself on my bed across from me, "I shall now teach you two of my favorite spells: Ice Road and Snow Ring".


    "Shouldn''t we be doing this outside? That way you can show me how they work?", I asked her.


    "No need. I learned that since we are bonded together that there''s this neat trick I can do. The first step of which involves you focusing on that connection between us", she said with a teasing smirk. "Now go on and listen in. Once you hear it, tell me and I''ll do the rest".


    I shrugged at her answer and did as she instructed. I entered a meditative position and closed my eyes, focusing intently on the connection between us. Part of my instructions on becoming a maji involved me learning how to, in my case, "listen" to the aether. Every maji, she tells me, have their own way of sensing the aether with one of their six senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing and intuition. Due to my hearing, I was instructed on how to listen to the "melodies of the aether".


    As I entered deeper and deeper into my meditative state, I began to hear the countless melodies that made up the aether around me. At first it was confusing, hearing what sounded like hundreds of different instruments and songs going off at the same time, but then I learned how to focus on just one particular sound at a time or several at a time. I even learned from doing this that a special melody originated from the bond between a binder and their majimonster. The first time I figured this out was when I saw my father coordinate some of his monsters to do some household chores and decided to do some listening meditation around him out of curiosity. Between the thee monsters and my father, I heard three distinct melodies that belonged to each of them. I soon discovered that this was the case for my mother and for myself as well. I haven''t tried this on other binders yet, but I was curious what their melodies sounded like as well.


    Eventually, I found the melody I was looking for and focused on it. Out of all the sounds of the aether, the connection between Voxea and I was unmistakable. It had this distinct tone that when I described it to Voxea, she told me that it was the sound of violins and saxophones. I didn''t know what those were, but she assured me that they were favorite instruments.


    "Okay Voxea, I found the connection".


    "Excellent and now for the odd part...", Voxea trailed off as she spoke.


    "...Whenever you say that, it always seemed to end with me scre-AAAAAAHHH". With that retort of mine, I suddenly felt like I had slipped down a rather steep hill and into a dark void.


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    After what felt like a few minutes of me screaming in abject darkness, my eyes were suddenly blinded by bright lights. I closed my eyes away for a few minutes to readjust, rubbing my head in pain.


    [AHAHAHA IT WORKED], I heard Voxea shout.


    [What work-wait...why are we talking in thought space], I asked as cautiously opened my eyes. My eyes then shot opened as I saw that the Voxea standing in front of me was not the majimonster I had binded, but the ghost I had seen from the first time we met. I quickly examined myself ton confirm I didn''t change as well. Thankfully I didn''t, but I did notice my hand looked rather...opaque.


    [Why are you back to ghost form and what just happened]?


    [Both of those questions can be answered with one answer: We''re in my memories!], she said cheerfully.


    [What?], I asked.


    [Well, I knew that with the bond that formed between majimonster and binder, that thoughts and feelings could be conveyed, so I wondered if memories could as well. Turns out, yes. Yes they can. I just didn''t expect being inside of it].


    [Alright...and we''re in your memories because...].


    [I could teach you outside in real space, but I believe it would be much faster if we did it in my memories instead], she said seriously, [Well more specifically, from who I learned from and from my point of view].


    I was going to ask how that would work exactly, but I was interrupted by a second plunge into the void.


    [Don''t worry about it Silvia! Just remember, it''s all in my head!], I heard Voxea shout right before returning to abject darkness.

 Chapter 60 - Little Voxea

    Once more into abject darkness, once more out into blinding light. At some point, I had to give Voxea a rather stern talking-to about putting me through all these magical experiments. Call it foreshadowing,but I swear this is going to lead to unintended consequences. I didn''t even hear that last bit from Voxea before ending up... wherever I was.


    As my eyes adjusted to the new setting, I was greeted by a mirror and face that wasn''t my own. Instead, I saw the image of a noble girl with high cheekbones and soft eyes that had a familiar glint to them. She appeared to be counting while brushing her hair with a silver hairbrush.


    I tried moving my hand, but nothing happened. I appeared to have become an unwilling observer in the head of some noble girl.


    The girl in the mirror just continued to brush her hair until she said aloud the number three hundred. She then nodded to herself and said, "Now you''re ready to greet Grandpa, Voxea".


    That simple sentence struck me like the lightning strike from my father''s Shockatoo! I was not only inside the head of any girl, I was inside the head of a much smaller Voxea and was now seeing everything from her point of view.


    Before I could mentally digest the idea, the sound of door opening happened behind me. Little Voxea turned her head away from the mirror to stare at the person who had opened the door. On a side note, it is very disorienting to have someone else turn your gaze without permission.


    Standing in the door way was a pretty older woman in early twenties in a strange black and white dress. The woman made a curtsy motion before saying, "Miss Albathorn, Lady Albathorn sent me to inform you that Grandmaster Alabthorn will be arriving soon and that you are to join her in greeting him at the foyer".


    "Very well. Thank you Camille, I will be downstairs shortly", Little Voxea said in a prim and proper tone. It sounded a bit odd having known the more wild Voxea for much longer. The servant girl did another curtsy before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.


    I began to wonder why I was in this memory if I was being taught spellcraft, but as soon as the servant left, Little Voxea turned away from the door, muttered what I recognized as a spell under her breath and threw a dagger made of ice at a spot above her mirror. Evidently, that might be why I''m inside this specific memory.


    Before the ice dagger hit, a glowing rune appeared at the spot and absorbed it. The rune then change color and a beautiful tapestry appeared and covered the mirror. Upon closer inspection, the tapestry was actually a large map of a house, presumably Voxea''s house.


    Little Voxea stared at the map and began muttering under her breath again and doing this hand movement that I recognized as merchant finger calculation. After a few minutes of this, she suddenly stopped and placed a finger onto the map.


    Her finger was placed at a square which I assumed to be her room. She then began to trace a route, or what I assume was a route, from her room to what I assumed was the foyer, whatever a foyer was. Little Voxea did this a couple of times, tracing a different route each time, until she nodded in affirmation after the thirteenth time or so.


    Little Voxea turned away from the map and stared directly at her feet, which were covered by a cute set of black shoes. She proceeded to click her heels together and that little motion caused the aether to stir once more.


    I could feel that the surrounding aether and her internal aether were moving to her feet. Aether began to condense around her feet, forming a rainbow colored cocoon around them. The cocoon then burst, revealing a pair of beautifully patterned ice skates made of ice. Unusually, the floor beneath the skates became covered in ice.


    Little Voxea initially stumbled a little after casting this unusual spell, but quickly steadied herself. My point of view suddenly lowered as Voxea crouched downwards into a position I recognized as a racing pose towards the door...I have a very bad feeling about this.


    "Estimated time of Grandpa''s arrival is fifteen minutes. Estimated time of Gustav being done making the cream puffs, four minutes. Time it would take to walk from here to the kitchen and then the foyer: twenty minutes. Total time if I use the ice blades: just enough", Little Voxea said aloud to herself. Oh no...


    "Leaving in three".


    She is aware the door''s closed right?


    "Two".


    Why do I feel even more aether gathering in her feet?


    "One".


    If only I could brace myself...


    "Go".


    And with that proclamation, she launched herself at the door!

 Chapter 61 - High-Speed Skating and Mountain Grandpa

    Just as I was bracing myself for impact against a closed door, Little Voxea threw yet another ice dagger at a spot above the door. I saw the dagger hit what looked a target of some kind, making a loud clunking sound. The doors suddenly flung open and Little Voxea skated out of the door and into the halls.


    I couldn''t exactly look down due to my vision being locked to Little Voxea''s, but I could feel how this spell...[Ice Road?] worked. The entire spell was about circulating the aether around oneself like a wheel, with the ice-skates acting as the point where the aether changes. Aether would build up to the front, turn into ice for the ice skates to skate on and then turn back into aether after the skates moved away from the magic ice. It was a rather fascinating spell...granted it would be more fascinating if I wasn''t praying that Little Voxea didn''t trip and hit something.


    I know I am just a passenger in Voxea''s memory, but I have no idea if this memory ended happily or tragically. Either way, it''s very unsettling moving at high speeds but not being able to feel the high speeds.


    Little Voxea kept skating down the large ornate hall of her home, making a sharp right turn once she reached a point where the hall split off into two other halls to the left and right. As she skated down this hall, the light sweet smell of fresh pastries greeted my nose. Apparently my sense of smell was connected to Voxea as well, I really need to ask her how this memory sharing thing works later.


    As if on cue, a well dressed man servant appeared from a door off to the side of the hall. The man was holding a silver tray that had a bag made of some type of transparent material, filled with small round pastries, creampuffs if I had to guess.


    As Little Voxea got closer and closer to the servant, he suddenly lowered the silver platter in his hands to about Little Voxea''s height. In one swift motion, Voxea skated by and grabbed the bag from the platter.


    "Thank you Albert", Little Voxea shouted behind her as she skated onwards. Albert merely nodded, a small smile on his face as he watched us skate down the hall.


    Little Voxea kept up a breakneck pace as we skated through several halls filled with grand art pieces, a few rooms that were decorated to the ceilings with books, furs and everything in between and a what looked like a garden inside of a room made of clear ice. I wonder if this place was still intact in my time...


    We had finally stopped at the entrance to what was possibly the sixth hall I''ve seen all day after skating for what felt like ages. She paused for just a few moments to readjust herself and then flew off down this hall even faster than before.


    When we reached the half way point, Little Voxea began screaming at the top of her lungs the word "grandpa", or more accurately, "GRRRRRAAAAANNNN...".


    Once we got closer to the end of the hall, I finally saw how the room looked like and that we were heading towards disaster. The room we were about to enter was massive, characterized by a large double door at the end and the hall on the other. The only issue was that the hall was technically on the second floor. If I were facing this hall from the door, I''d be greeted by the sight of a balcony and pair of staircases to the left and right. In essence, Voxea and I were about to skate over a man-made cliff...or so I thought.


    Once we got close enough to the balcony, Little Voxea whipped out her hand and formed a ramp made of ice in front of her. She sped up her skating and jumped off the ramp into a dive, all the while screaming, "PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...".


    At the exact same moment of the dive and her yell, the massive doors opened. The figure that entered as the doors open was a mountain of an old man.


    The man stood at least 6 feet tall, built like a bear and dense muscles could be seen in his arms while the rest of his body was covered in a mix of fine cloth, furs and jewelry. The man''s head was a mane of white hair with a beard to match. As the man turned his head towards the flying Little Voxea, I noticed that he had the same sharp look that Voxea had when I first met her.


    A few seconds later, the look softened greatly as a smile bloomed on his face. He opened his arms into a hug and with a huge booming voice he said, "Ice Flower"!


    As Little Voxea and the Mountain Grandpa got closer and closer to hugging, my consciousness suddenly got yanked from the memory.


    _________________________________________


    I was now laying on the bed, eyes open, as Voxea the Blizabella was now floating over me with curiosity on her face


    "So...how was the trip down my memory lane?", she asked in a teasing voice.


    "Albathorn''s a funny name".

 Chapter 62 - The Morning Before

    "You know I''ve been meaning to ask this, but out of everyone in your family, you seem the most on edge about Monster''s Night. Why is that?", Voxea asked me from her drajule while I was riding Rakka.


    "It''s... complicated", I replied.


    "Really? We do have some time until we get to the main hall, why don''t you tell me", Voxea quipped.


    She wasn''t wrong that today was going to be a long day, for today was Monster''s Night, and that meant the annual delivery of the "Last Rites" shipment.


    Every Monster''s Night, the town mayor has our brewery deliver five barrels of our most flammable spirits and five barrels of our most delicious wines.


    The idea for them doing so stems on the ideas that if the night goes well, they can bust out the wine and celebrate surviving another Monster''s Night while also using the spirits to cremate the fallen and disinfect any wounds that were sustained the night before. If the night didn''t go well...the mayor has been doing this for a little over six years now, and none of the flammable barrels he has purchased have been used...yet.


    Anyways, mother and father decided to send me to deliver the alcohol this year, with Rakka pulling the shipment. Their reasoning for this was for two reasons.


    The first reason being that they were busy making sure everything at home was safe and secure. Aside from general barricades, they decided to add in some traps of both the mundane and magical variety. A pitfall trap may not hurt or outright kill some majimonsters, but it does make it very inconvenient for them to try and get out.


    The second reason was exposure, or more accurately, getting the mayor''s approval. The way new binders got sent to the Royal Academy in the New Capital from the frontier area was one of two ways: independent travel or the registration convoy.


    Independent travel needs no explaination, I would basically travel all the way to the New Capital and register at the academy. The only problem was that the Capital was about a two-three months journey on foot and the Wildlands are still extremely dangerous for a lone binder, especially one without a map.


    The group convoy on the other hand was a lot safer. The Empire would routinely send out binders to the far corners of the Wildlands in search of isolated towns and villages in order to bring them back into the Empire''s fold, while also teaching them about the art of binding monsters. This eventually evolved into the Academy routinely sending envoys to several towns on a route in order to pick up new hopefuls to bring to the capital for proper training. The only downside is that the town''s leader needs to inform them the exact number of would-be binders with proof. This was to either save time and resources or prevent fakers, I''m not sure which. Either way, the end result was that a powerful Imperial Binder would be leading an escort in order to safely transport rookies like me to the capital from frontier towns like mine.


    It''s for these two reasons is why I was currently riding the back of giant Ragnaceros while it was pulling a heavy cart full of alcohol. Nothing says, "Hey I''m a new binder and I need a sponsorship", like riding the living proof of it through town. I was actually against this plan initially because I was a bit paranoid about some of the outside binders connecting me to my parents'' vendetta bounties, until they reminded me that binders tended to pop out of nowhere. As far as everyone in town knew, I was a lucky accident born to very mundane brewing family.


    With that paranoid thought behind me, I began to notice some people in town starting to stare at me. It is an oddly satisfying feeling having people recognize yourself as a binder and them staring with a mix of fear, respect and awe. Even some of the binders who showed up for the Monster''s Night defense were looking a little jealous.


    [Don''t let that stuff get to your head, and are you going to tell me why you seem antsy about Monster''s Night or not?], Voxea said in my head.


    [I''ll-]


    "Well Hello Silv-WHOA, WHAT IS THAT"?!


    [I''ll tell you on the way back, I have some talking to do].

 Chapter 63 - Lavians regret...

    "Good morning Mayor Lavian", I said to the mayor who was currently on the floor and staring at me as I dismounted Rakka. I immediately set upon the task of helping up the knocked over leader figure.


    Mayor Lavian was a tall, lanky middle-aged person characterized by a clean shaven face, tired yet kind eyes, greying hair and a lopsided smile.To be honest, I''m not even sure how old they actually are. Mayor Lavian had always looked like this even when I was little...well...their hair was darker back then. Regardless, I couldn''t help but notice Mayor Lavian staring at Rakka while I was helping them get back up and dusting off their black ceremonial robes.


    "Uh...S-Silvia"?


    "Yes Mayor Lavian"?


    "What is...this?", they said while gesturing towards Rakka.


    "Oh him? He''s Rakka. My majimonster...I''m a binder now". To prove my statement, I gestured towards my hunting knife that had an amethyst drajule pommel.


    "Do you...want me to recall him?", I asked.


    "Uh...yes please", they replied with a hint of nervousness. With a click of my tongue and in the blink of an eye, Rakka turned into several wisps of aether and flowed back into my drajule. Lavian let out a sigh of relief once Rakka disappeared.


    "So...I suppose you can guess why I rolled up on a monster right?", I asked a little cheekily to try and lighten up the sudden frightful mood.


    "I''ll be sure to send a message to the recruiters so that they can swing by here. Is this everything?", they said while looking towards the barrels.


    "Five barrels worth of our Infernum spirits sealed in dry wine barrels and five barrels of our summer harvest wild berry honey wine in oak barrels. Just like last year and the year before", I said while quickly looking over the barrels.


    "Good, good. Well then, let''s getting moving shall we", they said as they began to roll up their sleeves and gesture to two burly-looking men, who then shuffled over. The four of us then began the rather ardous process of moving the alcohol barrels, more specifically, moving the wine barrels into the main hall while moving the strong spirits into a side room. This would normally be boring and painful work, but when you have a curious maji(monster) chattering in your head...well, the work is less boring.


    We eventually finished after some time, and the two men that Lavian had assisted us bid farewell so that they could prep for the night. Meanwhile, Lavian and I were rather exhausted so we just laid back against a wall in the main hall and just sat for a bit.


    As the Mayor and I were panting from exhaustion, I took out a canteen to take a drink from it before offering it to them. They shook their head in polite refusal before taking in a gulp of air and catching their breath.


    "Thanks for the help", they said after a few moments.


    "No problem", I replied before getting up to get ready to go hitch up Rakka got he cart.


    "Oh wait, before you go", Lavian called out to me before I left, dusting himself off again as he stood up.


    "Do you want to go visit Savina with me? I''m sure she''d appreciate a visit from a friend".


    My jaw subtly clench as I hesitated to respond.


    [Who''s Savina and does her name seem to cause you to tense up? I can barely get read on your mind because of it], I heard Voxea ask with concern.


    I thought for a moment before responding, "Sure, it''d be nice to see her again".


    A sad smile appeared on their face at my agreement, and the two of us walked away from the main hall and down a corridor. As Lavian and I walked down the corridor, Voxea asked, [Uh...shouldn''t we be heading home soon? And you still didn''t answer my question, well two questions]. I chose not to respond, because the answer to her questions were just behind a door that Lavian was opening right now.


    [So are you just gonna give me the silent treatment the whole time, or-Oh].


    "Hey Savina, it''s Baba. I brought a friend to you see today", Lavian softly said as he walked into the room. No response came, as usual.


    The room itself was small, but warm. There was a beautiful mirror attached to a small table, decorated with uncut stones and a vase of fresh flowers. A small window that would normally be open to let in sunlight and fresh air was boarded up today in preparation for tonight. Off to the side was a dresser decorated with the pattern of vines and snowflakes, with a lone drajule lying on top.


    The main draw, however, was a bed in the corner and its occupant. The girl was no older than I was, but she was much prettier than I. Her hair and skin were as white as snow, her features were much softer than mine and her eyes were the most vibrant shade of green I had ever seen.


    Lavian moved as quietly and softly as possible, until they reached the bed. They sat by the girl''s side and gently stroked her head. The girl, in response, just laid there with her green eyes wide open. Unphased. Unmoving. Unresponsive.


    [She''s why].

 Chapter 64 - Recalling my own

    The ride back home was rather quiet. I spent a few moments with Lavian and Savina before I noticed it was getting too late in the day for comfort. After saying my good-byes, I resummoned Rakka and hitched him to the now empty wagon. We rode in silence for a good thirty minutes, until Voxea finally broke the silence.


    [So...Lavian and Savina don''t really look a like do they]?


    [No. Lavian adopted Savina ages ago. My parents say Savina just showed up on Lavian''s doorstep one day out of the blue. They spent a whole week looking around town for Savina''s parents until they decided to just raise her as their own], I replied.


    [That''s sweet of them...and she grew to be a binder then? I saw the drajule on her dresser], Voxea asked.


    [Yup. Her partner was this cute purple rat majimonster with a lantern for a tail, forget what it was called though. Lavian was incredibly proud of her when her ability appeared, alerted the recruiters and everything].


    [Huh...well I suppose I should just skip the pleasantries at this point. What happened to her?], Voxea asked with concern and curiosity.


    I immediately stopped Rakka as Voxea posed the question. A tight feeling developed in my chest as I recalled a painful memory, the roar of an unknown and the sound of her screams.


    [It''s a not a good story, Voxea...], I replied in a sad voice.


    [It probably isn''t, but a truly powerful maji is able to confront one''s past, live in the present and grab hold of all possible futures. And the first step in doing so, is to figure out if one''s past mistakes can be fixed or not], Voxea proclaimed in a comforting tone.


    [What makes you think it was mine?], I asked a little defensively.


    [Just now].


    [...]


    I let out a verbal sigh before responding, [Alright I suppose, it will help pass the time as we ride back anyways].


    _________________________________________


    Savina and I were the best of friends growing up, but we were as different as different could be. I wasn''t always the spitfire and wild one I am today, rather I was the quiet and scaredycat type. Savina on the other hand was bold, energetic and courageous. We complimented each other, like mint leaves and mutton.


    We spent practically minute we could by each other''s side. Whether it was running, swimming, even studying things together, we were always by each other''s side. I was even there when Savina became a binder by binding her partner, Sparkler. But, our friendship was forever stalled due to Monster''s Night.


    Seven years ago, Savina and I were playing in the woods just like we would any other day. We knew that evening was going to be Monster''s Night, but we couldn''t resist the temptation of sneaking away from our respective homes to go and play together. The two of us ended up deciding to play hide-and-seek that day, a bad call to make.


    Savina ended up hiding a little too well that day, even remembering to control her breathing so I couldn''t find her through my hearing. I did eventually managed to find her, but it was too late.


    The sun was already setting by the time we were reunited and even though we ran as fast we could, the two of us were still stuck outside when the sun has fully disappeared; Monster''s Night had begun.


    Luckily no monsters were attacking us yet, unluckily, I could hear them all around us. It''s one thing being stuck in woods alone at night, it''s another thing altogether when you can hear dozens of majimonsters fighting each other, attacking local wildlife and people in mindless frenzy.


    The constant noise terrified my young mind to the point that I just stopped dead in my tracks and started screaming. Savina managed to calm me down, but the noise I made earlier alerted wild majimonsters to our position. Whether it was out of concern for me or just her own recklessness, she told me to run for help while she would hold them off. Foolishly, I believed her and ran. The last thing I saw of her was a bright purple flash and the roars of thousands.


    _________________________________________


    [I managed to get back in time, but in all the confusion, I was quickly placed into a safe room until sun up. The next morning, I ran back to where we split up and found her there laying in the snow. At first I was relieved, but then I noticed she was unmoving. My friend didn''t die that night, but it wasn''t her anymore. After that, Lavian started buying those barrels of alcohol from my family.], I finished with a sigh. I did feel a bit better about sharing my story with Voxea, hopefully this doesn''t become a running trend in the future though.


    [Hmmmm], I heard Voxea ponder in my head.


    [What?], I asked.


    [Odd question: did you by any chance hear this sound when you ran away]?


    After saying that loaded question, an all to familiar roar sounded in my head. It was like knives in a chunk of ice, unpleasant and painful. I flinched at the sound.


    [Yes, why do you bring up this scarring moment], I asked in a grumpy tone.


    [In that case, we can save her].


    "What?!", I shouted as I fell off Rakka due to shock.

 Chapter 65 - 65: Grim Shrieker

    [Are you serious?], I asked as I quickly stood up and cleaned myself off.


    [Of course I am], Voxea said in a flat tone, [That sound you heard belongs to a majimonster called a Grim Shrieker. The first ones were created by a maji from the Tormented Souls Sisterhood, but it appears to have spread].


    [First, the Tormented Souls Sisterhood? Second, what do they have to do with Grim Shriekers? ], I skeptically asked the maji(monster) in my head. I hope she''s right about this, but I am still doubtful.


    [The Sisterhood was a sorority of maji that were exclusively women. They were a rather creepy but interesting bunch with a perchance for necromancy, curses, cryomancy, blood magic and life magic oddly enough. Unsurprisingly, the monsters they created were similarly creepy and strange, that saw a lot of use in maintaining prisons, tombs and...other things], she said in a matter of fact tone.


    [That''s unsettling to know...and the Grim Shrieker?], I asked.


    [The Grim Shrieker could be considered the Sisterhood''s magnum opus, well the one they shared with the public at least. Making use of the gryphon template, they combined a potoo bird with a black cat and a lot of necromantic energy to create it. Making a screaming harbinger of death with a scream that could knock a person''s soul from them], she exclaimed.


    [That doesn''t sound metaphorical].


    [It isn''t. The Sisterhood used their most powerful curses in creating the Grim Shriekers, in order to imbue them with the power of soul stealing and soul storing. Originally, Grim Shriekers were employed by the Sisterhood as a means of maintaining prisoners, having them scream out the souls and swallow them up. A person can''t rebel or fight back if their soul is sealed away, especially inside of a monster], Voxea said grimly.


    [Wait, swallowed?! That means Savina''s soul could be -].


    [Not quite! A Grim Shrieker is only able to digest the soul of the dead. Lavian has done a wonderful job of maintaining her health these past few years, but it''s now or never my dear binding apprentice. If you want to save your friend, we have to go back now].


    [Wait, what, why?], I said in quick succession. As much as I wanted to say yes, my heart still held reservations and fear about the whole situation.


    [A soul can only last inside of a Shrieker for eight years at most and you''re about to leave for that binder academy in the Imperial Capital in a few weeks. You and I have no idea whether or not you''ll be back in time for next Monster''s Night and we have no idea if the Grim Shrieker will still be here by then. We either have to bind it ourselves or at least hold it still long enough to extract the soul. Before you ask, I spent a year or two with the Sisterhood as an exchanged student. It was a great learning experience, but they still weirded me out], Voxea explained to me.


    [And now we stand at a literal crossroad, Silvia. On the one hand, assured safety, you won''t endanger yourself and your ability to attend the academy will be assured. But your friend will die. On the other hand, a risk of life and limb, facing off hundreds of angry majimonsters out for blood and you may very well become crippled or die. But you''ll have a chance to rescue your friend and wipe clean the shadows in your heart. You only have enough time to pick one direction. Now what are you going to do]?


    [...The answer to that question is rather obvious isn''t it]?


    [I know, but I just love being dramatic sometimes. Now, what are you going to do?], Voxea asked.


    [I''m going to ditch this cart, I''m going to kick Rakka into a gallop as we ride towards the village, I''m going to kick that Grim Shrieker''s mouth in, and I will rescue my friend]!


    In a flash, I jumped off of Rakka and landed onto the cart, facing towards the village. I quickly recalled Rakka into his drajule, the hitch holding him to the wagon falling to the ground, and resummoned him in front of me. I mounted him once more and gave him a soft kick into the ribs. He let out a bellow and stood up for a bit before rushing down the path and back towards the town.


    Wait for me a little longer Savina, I''m going to save you!

 Chapter 66 - 66: Sunset Preparation and a different perspective.

    As the sun began to set over the valley horizon and our heroine rode to confront fate, the town of Onryx was abuzz with activity. Civilians were scrambling back and forth between last minute preparations and securing their cellars, bas.e.m.e.nts, bunkers, whatever places they could safely hide away from the coming incursion. Monster''s Night may have been yearly disaster, but its inconsistent nature always threw people for a loop in terms of prepartions. The binders on the other hand, had very different preparations in mind.


    While the Empire provided a small contingency of binders to defend the frontier town, Lavian had still hired a bevy of binders to help supplement the Imperial forces. Of the twenty odd binders hired to defend Onryx, only five were Imperial binders while the rest were hired hands. On top of that, due to the quirk of Equinox Valley having seasons out of sync, the company of binders had to split to either end of town to defend it from both sides from very different monster hordes.


    Some of the binders appeared tense, like soldiers getting ready for war; others seemed more relax, like it was just another job to do; others still seemed excited for the upcoming horde, wanting to bind a new monster or sharpen their skills; while a few were preparing for every contingency-,


    "Get that last pitfall set and get your ass back behind that barricade, NOW".


    "Paaaaoooo"!


    "Sir yes sir"!


    ,- and were very loud about it.


    The owners of those voices belonged to one Sir Agiros, a Knight class binder that is both an Onryx native and Imperial trained, and his partner, a Wooly Rammoth named Skullcrusher.


    Sir Agrios could best be described with the term, "tenacious". Standing at 6 feet tall, the rough looking barrel-chested man''s muscular body was covered head to toe in scars that he earned from fighting and binding all sorts of majimonsters in service of the Empire. Acid burns from Ergworm attacks, frostbite scars from Ragerteeth, puncture scars from Pocrupault assaults and sword wounds from W.o.m.batants, Sportans and everything in-between.The four other Imperial binders that were under his command were convinced that even if a Myriadra blasted him with a Tetrapocalypse Blast, he would still be standing with an even grumpier look on his face.


    Skullcrusher, Agiros'' partner, was equally tenacious thanks in part to its species and a special trait. The Wooly Rammoth is an Ice/Fury monster that resembled a hairy elephant with a pair of massive horns that are spiraled like a mountain ram but point outwards like elephant tusks. There is however a debate among Scholars about whether or not the spiral protrusions are actually tusks, no one knows for sure due to the thick fur making it impossible for people to parse through and confirm it once and for all. While not the most nimble or magically-inclined monsters, Wooly Rammoths more than make up for it with a strong vitality and the ability to bring the hurt in a physical melee. This tough physique combined with its eerie trait [Deathproof], which allows it to prevent aethering, made Skullcrusher just as tough as his binder, if not more so.


    As of this moment, the two of them were coordinating the other binders into preparing defenses on the winter side of town, having finished the spring side earlier that day. The defenses were rather rudimentary in nature such as pitfalls, snares, net traps and tar pits. These traps wouldn''t be able to do any actual harm to the monsters due to their magical nature, but it would still slow them down long enough for the defenders to swoop in and take them out or bind them.


    The duo have had a lifetime of adventure all over the Wildlands in service of the Emperor, but have since "retired" to their hometown of Onryx starting a year prior. Unusually, he and Silvia never met despite living in the same town for about a year. This lack of contact could be attributed to their differing schedules, the fact that they lived on different sides of town or just fate being odd. Regardless of why they never met before, the two were now set to collide on this night most foul and strange.


    Why does this meeting matter you may ask? I cannot say for sure, but it may involve a certain ghost...

 Chapter 67 - The Howls of War

    The sky soon darkened as the last of the civilians finished up their errands and safely hid themselves away. Every door was barricaded, every window nailed shut and candle snuffed. What was once the lively town of Onryx, was now a ghosttown. The only people present on the street at this moment, were the binders ready to defend the town with their lives.


    The binders, both mercenary and Imperial, were all currently standing in two neat rows of ten. Sir Agiros was in front of the binders, mounted on the back of his Wooly Rammoth. "Alright binders",Agiros began with a booming voice, " I want half of you at the Western front and the other half at the Eastern front. Any of you with silver grade monsters to form teams of two while those with bronze grade form teams of three. Stick to your teams and keep each other''s monster in check. And in case you need reminding of why we''re forming teams, Monster''s Night has the ability to make our own monsters a little nuts, especially if they''re weaker than gold grade. As such, Skullcrusher and I will be at the central gate ourselves and deal with any monsters that try to barrel down that way. Is that clear"?


    The binders replied with a quiet murmur of approval.


    "I said, Is that clear?!", Agiros asked again, this time with aether in his voice


    "SIR YES SIR", the binders responded in kind. The mercenary binders were originally lackl.u.s.ter with their response, but when they felt the aether in his voice, they perked up immediately. They could sense the gold grade strength in it, reassuring them to follow orders. With a curt nod and a small grunt, Agiros rode Skullcrusher to a point pass the barricades on the town''s dividing line. Onryx was the only bit of human civilization in the Gemini Forest and was built on the point where the two seasons collided.


    Under Agiros'' orders, the binders split into two groups, with half heading to the spring side of town while the other half went winter side. The town itself never had proper city walls built, so the binders had to make do with some makeshift barricades to huddle behind.


    While the Sun was just about to disappear over the horizon, and the stars began to become more and more visible, the binders pulled forth their drajules and began their chants.


    "Arise from the depths, Whalerus".


    "Pierce their hearts, Cattletrop"!


    "Electrify and Mistify, Gremlin"!


    One by one, summoning circles of various colors and designs appeared after the other. Out of these circles came majimonsters of all shapes and sizes, from tiny Fragmouses to intimidating Snogres, every single last one of them were battle ready.


    The summoning was rather well timed as well, for as the last of the binders summoned their monsters, the sun had completely disappeared. In a flash, the atmosphere grew heavy and the forest seemed to pulse with savagery. The aether became increasingly restless as an orange moon rose over the horizon.


    Howls, roars and all manner of beastial noises echoed through the forests, even the bound monsters started to become more and more aggressive. Dozens and dozens of glowing red eyes soon appeared, surrounding the binders and their barricade.


    There were only two bastions of calmness in this rising sea of madness, but one has yet to make their appearance on this battlefield while the other was Sir Agiros and Skullcrusher.


    The duo just stood in their position as the eyes came closer and closer. Out of the shadows of woods and bathed in the light of the Monster''s Night moon walked out a huge, scarred Lycanne, a bipedal wolf monster with muscles as thick as oak branches and fangs as sharp as knives, flanked by at least a dozen other canidae species monsters, including other smaller Lycanne. While these monsters would normally be at each others throats, fighting for food and territory, the influence of Monster''s Night overrode their instincts into working with one another for one singular goal.


    The Lycanne and Agiros stared each other down as the fog of war formed between them, becoming a literal fog under the power of Monster''s Night. A elephant''s trumpet and a ear piercing howl sounded off at the same time as the oncoming horde charged in to destroy the defending binders.


    Monster''s Night had truly begun.

 Chapter 68 - Pitched Battle Fever

    "Well this ain''t good", I muttered to myself and Rakka as the two of us were hiding amongst some recently felled trees. Whether it was luck or fate, Rakka and I managed to ride back to the town''s perimeter just before nightfall. Unfortunately, we were now stuck hiding among collapsed timbers while all sorts of monsters were attacking the binders defending it. What was even more unsettling was the deep purple fog surrounding them all.


    Maybe it was because of how many monsters were fighting, perhaps it had to do with it being Monster''s night, but it didn''t take me long to figure out that this haze was the normally invisible "fog of war". It may sound odd to be unsettled by seeing something normally invisible, but it''s kind of like noticing a spider out of the corner of your eye. You normally don''t care about its existence, but when you finally notice it, it freaks you out.


    As Rakka and I watched the battle unfold, I noticed that the fog looked thicker in some places but thinner in others. I didn''t think it was weird at first, until I noticed the fog seemed to have move with the monsters and even disappear when one of the wild monsters or bound monsters were defeated. Even stranger, some of the binders had monsters of the same species but varying amounts of fog surrounding them. However, before I could look into why the fog seemed so dynamic, I sensed a wave of unnatural aggression coming through my bond with Rakka.


    [Uh-Oh].


    [What''s wrong with him?], Voxea asked in my head.


    [It''s Monster''s Night. I either need to dismiss him back to his drajule or throw him at something to fight , otherwise he''s going to go nuts and either try to hurt me or give away our hiding spot], I replied as I prepared Rakka''s drajule to dismiss him.


    [Why not just throw him at the barricade area and just let him loose then]?


    [With where we currently are, I don''t want to risk them confusing Rakka for a wild majimonster and be out a fighter. Not tonight anyways]. Before Rakka leaped out of our hiding spot, I recalled him to his drajule. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as his form turned back into aether and back into the drajule.


    [Well... what''s the plan now? The Grim Shrieker ain''t here yet and I get the feeling hiding out here any longer probably do more harm than good], Voxea quipped.


    What was my plan? It was kind of on an impulse that I decided to ride down here on the worst night of the year and try to be all heroic. I knew my main goal was to find the Grim Shrieker and get my friend''s soul back, but I didn''t have a plan on how to get to that point...well not a complete lack of a plan.


    I knew I had to mix in with the defenders and work with them, but as stated earlier, I couldn''t just roll up with some overly aggressive monsters out of nowhere...


    "BRING IT ON YOU MANGY DOGS"!


    Unless I help the unusually loud and probably powerful binder. As I turned my head to the source of that voice, I saw what appeared to be a silver grade Brambleloup, a Verdant wolf monster, getting launched out of what had to be the densest fog of war on the battle field, into the air, impact into the ground and dissolve into aether. I wanted to laugh at the absurdity, but that feeling soon dissolved as three more silver grade Brambleloups pounced into the fog, an action that was followed by a string of profanity coming from inside of the fog.


    [...I want to meet whoever was able to do that], Voxea said.


    [Wish granted], I replied as I readied Voxea''s drajule and ran towards the dense fog of war.

 Chapter 69 - Icy Debut

    "Come at me you vile testimonies of my ancestor''s sin! If I am to die this night, I''ll send at least a hundred of you to the underworld ahead of me, so that the chefs of hell may prepare for me a feast from your ethereal remains!", Agiros roared with an aether enhanced voice while on Skullcrusher''s back. Resonating with his master''s fury, the Wooly Rammoth let out a ear-splitting trumpet that intimidated the attacking wild monsters so badly that they could only lamely surround the duo.


    At this point in time, Agiros and Skullcrusher had defeated at least twenty-seven bronze grade monsters, fourteen silver grade monsters and two gold grade monsters, including the Lycanne who rushed them first. The two of them were like war gods on this battlefield but unlike actual gods, they still had physical limits. The two of them weren''t necessarily exhausted to the point of collapsing, but the sheer amount of monsters attacking them was starting to get draining. It seemed like every time he took out one monster, two more were taking their place. It was a war of attrition at this point, either Agiros and Skullcrusher would collapse first or the Night would end and the monsters would disband with the rising sun.


    As Agiros was planning to swap out Skullcrusher for one of his lower grade monsters, an ominous clanging caught his attention. The sound was like suits of armor walking in formation, armored warriors marching into battle.


    From the dense fog entered three humanoid monsters in an arrow formation, coincidentally, covered in armor or made of it. The monsters on the left and right were known as Wraithritters,Basic/Mystic monsters that looked like hollow suits of armor with arcane lines pulsating throughout their forms and ghostly bodies filling the empty armored spaces. Bronze grade Wraithritters tend to be unarmed, but these were silver grade that were only a step away from gold. As such, the two of them were wielding iron halberds that looked crude but were sharp enough to cut stone. If they were gold grade, their basic affinity would be replaced with an elemental one and their weapons would be sharp enough to cut through iron shields.


    The one in the center of the formation was known as a Cruelsader, a Fury/Mystic monster that would be the cause of many nightmares. The monster carried the visage of a powerful fully-armored knight with spiked and jagged black armor, a dark colored and unnaturally moving cape on its shoulders and blood red energy emanating from its neck and limbs. Held between its all too human-like hands was a massive two-handed morning star that was shaped like a howling demon and glowing like embers. Any binder worth their salt could feel from its oppressive aura that it was a gold grade monster that was only half a step into platinum grade.


    As the trio of high leveled monsters walked closer and closer towards Agiros and Skullcrusher, the other monsters within the fog began to stand down and back away. Wild majimonsters may think like animals, but even animals can recognize when to stand down and let apex predators fight it out.


    The trio of monster then broke into a sprint, techniques at the ready as their respective weapons began to glow with that all too familiar light of magical power. Skullcrusher braced itself for impact against the triple assault, until a sudden blast of icy wind blew the three attackers away from the Wooly Rammoth. The Cruelsader managed to only get pushed back only by three or so steps, while the two Wraithritters were knocked off their feet and sent flying back by at least ten steps. Before anyone could figure out what happened, a pair of figures, one lithe and feminine figure while the other was robed and masked, landed between the Wraithritters and Cruelsader.


    "Bouna serata amico mio! It appears you are in a bit of a bind. Mind if I cut in to help? I''ll be sure to waive my usual fee due to tonight''s circ.u.mstances", the masked figure said with a strange accent, while the feminine figure, a strange blue elfin monster stood in a fighting stance.


    "A mercenary?", Agiros asked slightly annoyed yet relieved, "...alright, sure! Just make sure you don''t get in my way"! With that declaration, Agiros lead Skullcrusher into a collision course with the Cruelsader.


    _________________________________________


    [Voxea, what the heck did you just make me say and what kind of voice was that]?

 Chapter 70 - Voxea is absolutely bonkers

    [What about what?], Voxea asked in a voice that conveyed she knew exactly what I meant. Unusually, my battle bond with Voxea was markedly different compared to when I battle with Rakka and Azalea. Namely, I was still hundred percent conciousness and Voxea could now give me feedback and comments.


    [Okay the outfit I understand because I need to hide my identity, which I still don''t understand how and why you had these on you and where you keeping it, but was the voice necessary?], I asked in mild annoyance.


    [Pfft. Physical disguises only work to an extent, verbal cues help to throw people off of your scent further. Now hush up, it''s show time!], Voxea replied before flying into the air, avoiding the halberds of the two Wraithritters. When the two monsters rushed in to attack Voxea, I made sure to use the Dragon''s Eye to check for any weaknesses before my consciousness sank into the battle bond.


    _________________________________________


    Species: Wraithritter


    Affinities: Basic/Mystic


    Grade: Silver


    Trait: Undead, Armed


    Description: Wraithritters are living suits of armor that normally make their homes in the ruins of castles, fortresses and prisons from the Old Empire. These stalwart fighters are prized for their ability to evolve and loyalty to their binders, much like how the knights of old once swore fealty to their lords.


    Voxea''s Notes: ...I got nothing, this is brand new to me.


    _________________________________________


    As Voxea was flipping through the air, her hands began to glow with a greenish-white light. Just before she landed behind the two Wraithritters, she fired off the wind technique, [Cyclonic Piercer], right at their heads. The first Wraithritter managed to jerk it''s head in time to narrowly avoid the attack, but the second one had its helmet-like head pierced by the lance of wind. If this monster was made of flesh and blood, it would''ve splattered everywhere.


    Voxea finished her aerial maneuver and then stood in a manner that seemed to scream showmanship as she exclaimed, [Nailed it!], inside my head.


    [Dodge], I told her as the Wraithritters got back up to try and attack her again.


    My command just in time as Voxea quite literally danced to avoid the halberd technique of one of the Wraithritters. The one she pierced in the head with her wind technique decided to use a technique that took the form of a spiked purple ball that was thrown at her. The strange purple ball of energy rapidly flew at Voxea, randomly darting through the air like a hummingbird of death.


    As the ball of energy got closer and closer, Voxea''s hand began to move in a strange circular fashion while still avoiding the first Wraithritter''s techniques. A technique name, [Arcane Counter], appeared in my mind as the ball of energy collided with Voxea''s circular hand gesture. Surprisingly, the ball stopped moving, trapped in the small vortex created by Voxea''s hand, and began to disappate into strands of aether.


    The aether strands then began to gather around Voxea''s hand, weaving itself into the shape of a mitten. The next moment, Voxea stopped the circular motion and made a fist, which caused the aether glove to turn into a brilliant purple gauntlet that appeared both menacing and elegant.


    As the first Wraithritter launched yet another technique to hit Voxea, she literally spun away from the spear and closed the distance with her attacker. What followed was a sickening cracking sound as Voxea landed a purple armored fist into the Wraithritter''s chestplate. The purple aether gauntlet shattered after landing the blow, but that was to be expected from a weapon generated by a monster technique. What was unexpected was the Wraithritter being sent flying into the one that had fired off the ranged technique in the first place. I didn''t know what the sound of two armored suits crashing into each other until now, but now I wish I still didn''t know. My ears are now ringing.


    [Ow].


    [Oh perk up darling. I''m about to do my finishing move!], Voxea replied confidently.


    [Finishing what]?


    Voxea launched herself into the air again, but I could feel from my bond with her that her trajectory would make her land right on top of the confused and battered pair of Wraithritters, feet first. Before I could tell her to stop however, an elaborate magic circle appeared right above the pair of wild monsters.


    [Gatling Hailstorm]!


    Just as Voxea was about to fall through the magic circle and onto the wild monsters, she began to kick through it! Everytime her leg entered and exited the magic circle, a chunk of ice the size of my head manifested and fell rapidly downwards. Each subsequent kick from Voxea was faster than the previous one, to the point that both her legs and the hail was just a blur of motion.


    The two Wraithritters were initially able to block the hailstorm with their halberds, but the sheer amount of ice soon made it impossible for them to block it all. Eventually, all I could see was a constant hailstorm and a white mist emanating from the impact zone.

 Chapter 71 - Terrifying Old Man

    [Well that was invigorating. Who''s next?], Voxea said to me as she clapped her hands together as if to clean dust off of them. As Voxea taunted the much weaker monsters around us, I couldn''t help but stare at the block of ice that was right behind her.


    I initially thought that Voxea had turned the two Wraithritters into aether when she fired off that [Gatling Hailstorm] technique and let loose frozen fury upon their head(helmets), but to my surprise, they were instead frozen in a giant block of ice. I didn''t know expressionless helmets could have looks of fear on their faces until right now.


    [Voxea].


    [Yes?], she responded while firing off a potshot at a Blitzwolf. The much intimidated wolf made of lightning and rage took that as a sign to run out of the thick fog of war with its tail between its legs.


    [How are they not aethered? That technique you just used was platinum grade at least, they should be nothing but dust right now], I asked in shock and awe.


    [Oh that? I just dialed back the power by...fifty percent? I figured you could bind one of them or we could use them as a show for good faith to the other binders. Nothing says friendly like a gift produced by a show of force!], she told me with pride.


    [Uhhhh, sure. I don''t have any drajules on me, but we can use them as gifts...I guess].


    [Wonderful! Now we should probably-]!


    "LOOK OUT MISS MASK"!


    Before Voxea could finish her sentence, she and K had to immediately sidestep as a huge black blob was sent flying in our direction and crashed land several feet away from us and narrowly avoiding the frozen Wraithritters. Monsters being sent flying appears to be a trend for the evening. As the dust settled, I caught a glimpse of a large armored figure that looked way nastier than those two Wraithritters combined.


    _________________________________________


    Species: Cruelsader


    Affinities: Fury/Mystic/Basic


    Grade: Gold


    Trait: Armed, Invulnerable


    Description: Anger is its mantle, hate is its blade stubbornness is its armor and rage flows in its veins. Cruelsader is composed of three conflicting types of aether, which both strengthens and enrages it. It lashes out on others with varying sharp and blunt implements to relieve its constant pain.


    Voxea''s notes: Nasty with a capital N,A,S,T and Y. Cruelsader was created by a war mage whose title was, "Underworld King of the Nine Bloody Hells". Cruelsaders were designed to be punishers, fighters and tanks. Despite what your Scholars say, they do what they do because they like it, not because they''re in pain.


    _________________________________________


    Just as the Cruelsader was about to get up, a huge monster made of fur, ice and unbridled rage came charging towards it,covered in a strange red aura and huge spiraling horns leveled towards it. Its massive tusks collided with the Cruelsader''s weapon, who used it to block the incoming technique.


    _________________________________________


    Species: Wooly Rammoth


    Affinities: Ice/Fury


    Grade: Gold


    Trait: Iceproof, Thick-skinned, Glacial Fury


    Description: A large elephantine majimonster that was once thought to be extinct, but has since been discovered in arctic regions. This monster resembles a furry elephant with thick imposing horns, however, said fur is so thick that scholars debate if those horns are actually tusks. What is known is that Wooly Rammoths live like elephants in herds of three to five, with leaders being the most powerful. Disputes tend to be technique-free affairs of headbutts and horn locks.


    Voxea''s Notes: I was actually friends with the maji who made them. He was a herdsman ice maji named Garos. He raised wooly mammoths as a hobby and living. He wanted some natural looking monsters to help protect his herds and his domains. He actually ended up with Wooly Rammoths by fusing mountain rams with a mammoth and not by infusing his mammoth herds with aether, that led to something else entirely. As for the horn/tusk debate...well life''s more entertaining with unsolvable mysteries ain''t it?


    _________________________________________


    The Wooly Rammoth let out a loud bellow as it raised its trunk high into the air. A thick layer of ice soon formed around the raised trunk, as a ball of ice and spikes formed at the end of it. The binder on the monster''s back mimicked the movement with his arm, raising it into the air and forming a fist. The next moment both binder and monster brought down their raised appendages, the only difference being that the Wooly Rammoth''s ice hammer cracked down on the Cruelsader''s skull.


    The black knight looked stunned and confused as it survived the heavy blow to its armored head, but that short respite would not last.


    As the Cruelsader stood there in a daze, the old man sitting on the Wooly Rammoth''s back proceeded to draw a longsword.


    [What''s that old man doing? He does know that majimonsters are immune to mortal weapons right?], Voxea asked me as the two of us kept watching. The old man then placed a drajule into the hilt of the sword, causing a series of runes carved into the blade to light up one after the other.


    [Well that explains that. It''s a binding ritual], I said in response.


    After the last rune lit up, the old man jumped off the back of his monster and towards the stunned Cruelsader. Just as the Cruelsader managed to get its head back into focus, it was soon greeted by a flying overhead chop down its middle. A loud "snrrkk" rang out as the longsword cut through the Cruelsader''s body.


    The Cruelsader broke down into aether as soon as the blade exited its body, but instead of disappearing into the air, the aether flowed into the drajule embedded in the longsword. As the last bit of aether was absorbed into it, the drajule ejected from the sword hilt and into the air. Needless to say, the old man caught it midflight.


    [...did we actually needed to help the terrifying old man?], I asked Voxea.


    Both the old man and the Wooly Rammoth then fell to the ground into a crouching position, panting for breath.


    [Yes. Yes, we did].

 Chapter 72 - Old Veteran, Loud Scream

    [Wait, shouldn''t the old binder be outside of the fog now that his monster is back in his drajule? Actually, shouldn''t we be battle focused as well?], Voxea asked me. She may have been ancient and knowledgeable about alot of things, but modern magical issues was my domain.


    [If I had to hazard a guess, Monster''s Night is messing with the way even how battling works. That would help to explain the physical fog of war], I explained to Voxea as we ran to save the old binder, [You wouldn''t happen to have an ice wall technique or something, would you]?


    [Even better actually].


    Just as the two of us arrived at the old binder''s side, Voxea flew straight up into the air. A technique line rang out inside my head, [Permafrost Fortress]. Immediately, a spell circle manifested beneath us as the ground on both the winter side and spring side froze over. The now frozen earth then rose and changed shape to form several circular walls surrounding us and a round roof made of aether to complete the look.


    I couldn''t exactly see it, but I felt through the bond that Voxea had now landed on the roof of this makeshift fortress. I could feel that Voxea was now gingerly walking along the edges of the roof as she eyed at all of the wild monsters that surrounded us. She was amused at their snarling faces, dripping maws and razor sharp claws.


    One of the surrounding monsters tried to intimidate Voxea by letting out a loud roar, causing me to wince at the sheer volume. She responded by throwing a chunk of ice at it, freezing the offending monster''s mouth. I felt the battle bond beginning to relax after that, the rest of the monsters must''ve decided to bail instead of keep fighting. The fog of war around us began to disappear.


    [Thank you].


    [Don''t mention it].


    "You have a very strong monster, missy. Well then, I am Agiros Andorvan. Proud Knight and former commander of the Emperor''s Glacial Ragers. Who do I have to thank?", a gravelly old voice said as my mind came back into full focus. Before it came back to full however, I sensed a hint of shock coming from Voxea that quickly disappeared. I turned to face the old binder who had finally caught his breath and I finally had a chance to take in his form.


    Grizzled, old and veteran, those were the three words that perfectly described him. The old binder stood about the same height as my father, if only a bit shorter than him. The man''s face war wrinkled to be sure, looking to be about fifty or sixty years old, but there was this vigor in his eyes that screamed defiance at the ravages of time. He was wearing old and battered armor but I see could that an inordinate amount of care was put into it, implying he wore it out of sentiment and not irresponsibility. His arms were muscular, corded and covered in all manner of scars. The longsword he had used earlier was now in a sheath on his hip, alongside several drajule that were embedded into it. The old binder was the perfect picture of an old war dog who''s been through hell and back.


    [Okay Silvia, repeat after me], I heard Voxea chime in.


    "Moi? For all intents and purposes, just call me Vex. I''m a travelling binder and that''s my partner, Izza. She''s a Blizabella, very hard to find.", I repeated in that faux high-pitched accent from earlier, while extending my hand in greeting.


    "Hmm. I can see that. So why in the name ten lords are you doing here anyways, Vex?", he replied in a gruff manner while tentatively shaking my own.


    "Well, I was gonna say I was walking by and thought you would all needed some help, but I can feel that you''re a no nonsense type of fellow so I''ll be straight with you. I''m here because I''m looking fo-",but before I could respond, a loud and distinctive shriek sounded off in the distance and I turned my head toward the sound.


    "You''re looking for...", Agiros began before the shriek came again, this time louder and sounding much closer.


    [Look alive Silvia, destiny''s here]!

 Chapter 73 - The Grim Shrieker

    "What in the four hells was that?", Agiros said while clutching his ears.


    "Not sure...Izza says... something big...", I replied weakly while clutching my ears. The upside and downside to sharp hearing, you can hear everything but louder, especially if the source is close.


    [Voxea, I need an exit].


    The ice walls surrounding us began to rumble, as they began to part to form a small opening.


    "Sir Agiros, where are you?!", a young sounding voice called out.


    Agiros and I exited the makeshift fortress, only to be greeted by the sight of several battered and bruised binders and their monsters facing away from us and towards the sky and a fog of war as thick as ink surrounding us. A soldier binder in novice armor ran towards the two of us.


    The soldier abruptly stopped and snapped off a salute to Agiros.


    "Sir Agiros sir"!


    "At ease soldier, what''s the situation and why are all the binders here?", Agiros asked in a gruff voice.


    "Sir! At some point during the onslaught, an ominous screeching occured and it spooked all the attackers. The moment it happened, all of the attacking wild monsters stopped dead in their tracks despite the fog of war. After the screech stopped, they all bolted away from the town, sir! The fog of war disappeared for a split moment, before it reforming into an even thicker fog surrounding the whole town. None of us knew what to make of it, so we retreated to your position to figure out what''s the next step, sir", the soldier explained.


    As the soldier finished explaining, another ear piercing shriek rang out. As I turned towards the noise, I felt my heart sank and a fire burn in my belly. Off in the distance, highlighted by the orange moonlight, was a huge monster with massive powerful wings.


    [It''s here].


    "What the heck is that"?!


    "I don''t know but it''s freaking huge"!


    "Everyone who has ranged techniques, fire"!


    At that single command, a dozen or so monsters began firing off one technique after the other. Line after colorful line of techniques containing the power of all ten affinities streaked across the night sky and at the flying invader. Quite a few techniques missed their marks, while a few other techniques hit dead on and did nothing.


    As the monster got closer and closer, I suddenly heard the sound of deep inhalation coming from it. The others must have sensed it too, because as I was about to back away, the rest of the binders did the same.


    [Voxea]!


    [Don''t worry, I sensed it. Permafrost Fortress]!


    Voxea''s hand glowed with a pale blue-white light as she began to move them in a strange motion. The permafrost walls from earlier turned back into normal dirt, but then reformed in front of Voxea into an elaborate shield structure. She built the shield just in time as a powerful scream echoed through the night sky and resounding boom hit the area where Voxea and the other monsters stood.


    My ears at that moment felt like I was getting stabbed in them giant razor sharp needles, but the battle bond kept me focused enough to see the devastation that the technique caused.


    Some monsters, like Voxea, managed to get their defenses up in time and blocked the attack to varying degrees of success with some looking quite injured. A majority of the monsters, however, didn''t make it in time and were seriously injured. Some were slowly turning back into aether as a result.


    "Gaaaah, what the heck kind of monster can do that kind of damage?!", a voice cried out in pain.


    "I''m not sure, it needs to be closer before-". *Boom!*


    Landing in front of us was the biggest monster I had ever seen up till now, comparing it to the Wooly Rammoth was like comparing a plow horse to a donkey in terms of size.


    The monster''s shape and stance reminded me of a lynx but scaled up to a much bigger size. It had a massive set of wings on its back that were full of muscles and feathers as black as charcoal. Its backside was like a lynx, complete with gray fur, but its front was absolutely misplaced. Instead of having a normal lynx head and fore claws, it had the head of an owl with eyes as big as plums and powerful claws that looked like they belonged to an owl too. Several layers of fur and feathers mixed together to unify the whole thing into a cohesive being.


    I stared at the beast and confirmed with my Dragon''s Eye that it was a Grim Shrieker like Voxea said.


    "Sillllvviiiiaaaa baba...".


    What it said next confirmed what I had feared.

 Chapter 74 - Platinum Tyrant

    Species: Grim Shrieker


    Affinities: Mystic/Wind


    Trait(s): Undead, Soul Seal, Glacial Armor


    Description: The horrible amalgamation between an owl and a lynx, this monster is a terror of the night sky. It is believed that if someone hear its distinctive cry in the dead of night, it is a sign that someone has died or is going to die.


    Voxea''s Note: Grim Shriekers were created by an old maji coven known as the Tormented Souls Sisterhood. This horrid creature has a special technique that allows it to literally scream out the souls of its victims and steal them away. Normally it would serve as a means to store away the souls of their prisoners or soon-to-be executed. Evidently, it had evolved or mutated over time to become something of an apex predator.


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    "Gaaaah! Who cares how big it is?! We outnumber ten to one! ATTACK"!


    "Wait, don''t! We don''t know how strong it is"!


    The monsters that were still standing after the initial attack immediately sprang into action at the behest of their binders, surrounding the Grim Shrieker and launching all manner of techniques. Even Voxea launched off another [Gatling Hailstorm] at it. Meanwhile, the monsters that returned to their respective binder''s drajules were immediately swapped out with secondary or primary majimonsters.


    One after the other, technique after technique was used on the Grim Shrieker. A huge amount of dust, snow and smoke was kicked up as a result of all of the techniques, obscuring the vision of all of us here. The worst part was I couldn''t even tell if it was still breathing because that scream earlier shot my hearing.


    "Did we get it?", someone asked aloud.


    A deep and strange growl served as a reply to the binder''s question. As the dust clear, a strange ice white light shimmered in the moonlight for an instance before disappearing. The monster''s wings began to glow with a green light and a spell circle formed around it, covering the ground where all the other monsters were standing!


    [Oh crap], Voxea and I thought at the same time.


    " Typhoon technique! Get your monsters out of the blast zone, now!", someone cried out, but it was too late.


    "BAAAAABAAAAAAAAA!", the Grim Shrieker shouted before releasing a powerful aether surge that even I could feel despite being outside of the range of that spell circle. A moment after the surge, the spell circle began to spin at a high speed and a powerful wind funnel began to form.


    A majority of the monsters got caught up in the wind funnel and were tossed into the air, with the weaker monsters immediately getting aethered by the powerful winds. Surprisingly, Voxea was also caught by the technique, but she managed to get away before being sent flying up into the air like the others. Disturbingly however, I felt through the bond that Voxea got injured by the technique!


    [Voxea, what happened? I thought most monsters would be considered small fry compared to you], I asked in shock.


    [Ouch], she responded while rubbing her wounds, [Normally yes, most monsters matching my grade or below it should be nothing to me. But "Typhoon" is a grade 4 technique, which means that monster is at least-]


    "That Grim Shrieker is Platinum grade", I said aloud. The other binders around me heard what I had said and looked aghast.


    "Platinum grade?! Here"?!


    "No way, no way, no freaking way"!


    "There hasn''t been a platinum grade here in years, why did it show up now"?


    "Sir Agiros, is she right"?


    I turned to the source of that last question to see one of the Imperial binders asking Agiros this question. The old bear of a binder looked to the ground for a bit and took a deep breath before nodding in the affirmative. The other binders began to pale at Agiros'' confirmation.


    As the swept-up monsters began to gather at the top of the wind funnel, the Grim Shrieker began to glow with purple light as its neck began to swell up. The Grim Shrieker then released a powerful scream, purple rings of energy emitting from its awful beak and colliding with the monsters at the top. Every time a ring reached the top, another monster was reduced to aether and flowed back to their respective drajules.


    As the monsters were being defeated one by one, Agiros walked over to my position and tapped my shoulder. I looked at him.


    "Tell me Miss Vex", he said while taking out a strange looking stone in the shape of a flower. He took the drajule that was holding his Wooly Rammoth from earlier and placed it into a slot in the stone. The stone began to glow for a few seconds and then stopped. He then removed the drajule and re-summoned the Wooly Rammoth, which looked remarkably healthier than when I first saw it.


    "Do you think that if the two of us work together, we can beat?", he asked.


    As the last of the swept-up monsters was defeated, the wind funnel died. Voxea had retreated back to the area where the Wooly Rammoth was standing and took up a fighting pose. The Wooly Rammoth just let out a growl and shook a little, ready for a fight.


    "To be honest", I replied with what Voxea told me to say, "we have about fifty percent chance".


    Agiros nodded at my answer.


    "Well then...LET''S GIVE THIS MONSTER ONE HELL OF A FIGHT"!

 Chapter 75 - Two vs One

    After that declaration of war, the three monster sprang into action.


    The Grim Shrieker began to take a deep breath and glow with a purple light, but before it could cast a technique, the Wooly Rammoth charged into it, body alight with a red glow and tusks glowing red as if on fire. The Wooly Rammoth was quite a bit smaller than the Grim Shrieker, so the two monsters fighting looked like a goat charging at a bear. The burning red tusks made impact with the Grim Shrieker right in its chest, just as it was about to let loose another screaming technique. That same white minute flash from earlier occured again, but quickly disappeared again.


    The other binders cheered at the sight of Agiros'' monster taking the initiative to attack first, marvelling at the sheer brute strength of the gold grade behemoth. Agiros on the other hand, frowned at the sight.


    The Grim Shrieker appeared momentarily stunned by the sudden charge, but recovered quickly as I saw it lift one of its massive claws that began to glow with the telltale white-green light of a wind technique. Feeling of dread crept up my back, sensing that the raw might behind that technique would seriously injure the Wooly Rammoth. possibly turn back into aether too.


    [Voxea]!


    [I sense it], Voxea replied before her left hand began to glow with a white-green light. The words [Skyfall] flashed through my head before Voxea''s left hand curled into a fist and she punched straight into the ground, forming a magic circle on impact.


    An even larger magic circle similar to the one that formed under Voxea''s fist soon appeared under the feet of the Grim Shrieker a few moments after. A powerful gust of wind erupted from the magic circle and knocked the Grim Shrieker into the air and away from the Wooly Rammoth. As it was soaring through the air, another magic circle similar to the first manifested and fired off another blast of wind that launched it back into the ground!


    The Grim Shrieker impacted the ground with a loud crashing sound as the force of the technique hit it with enough force for it to cause a crater on impact. Once again, a huge amount of dust was kicked up by the forces of the technique, but our vision wasn''t as obscured as last time. We watched dumbfounded as the Grim Shrieker slowly picked itself back up from the crater.


    [Not good], Voxea commented, [Our attacks appeared to have done nothing and will continue doing so unless we pull off some insane shenanigans].


    [What]?


    [Take a look. It''s getting back up].


    As the dust settled and our vision cleared, it became clear why it wasn''t hurt from the previous attacks.


    "It has armor?!", I couldn''t help but exclaim


    The Grim Shrieker was now wearing ice-white, form fitting armor from head to toe. The armor''s design had imagery on it depicting scenes of rage, madness, carnage and every unspeakable horror that could happen under the sun. Most disturbing however, was the helmet covering its face had the facsimile of a screaming little girl that I was all too familiar with. I felt a mixture of bile and rage build up in the back of my throat. The Grim Shrieker began to shake off the debris and dust that had sullied its armor, right before the armor disappeared again.


    "No wonder those attacks felt wrong earlier...", Agiros grumbled under his breath as his Wooly Rammoth took on a defensive stance.


    "What the hell?! How can armor like that just appear and disappear like that?!". one of the mercenary binders shouted in surprise.


    One of the smarter looking binders, a Scholar if I had to guess, produced what appeared to be a book shaped relic and quickly skimmed through the pages. After a few moments, he closed the book and a look of despair appeared on his face.


    "That Grim Shrieker has aether armor".

 Chapter 76 - Aether Armor and Soul pain

    The moment those words escaped the Scholar''s lips, everyone within earshot was either paling at the words or confused by them. I unfortunately was part of the latter.


    The Scholar who made the statement was about to explain what it was to the others, but since I was fighting I couldn''t just listen in. Luckily, I had an actual maji connected to me mentally to explain things in a faster manner.


    [Voxea, what''s aether armor]?


    [Aether armor...well then this will be interesting...].


    [Voxea]!


    [Right, sorry my adorable student. Aether armor is a type of equipment we created to make our majimonsters tougher than normal. We figured out while creating monsters on how to make them special equipment that could augment abilities in a temporary manner as opposed to reworking them from the ground up. Evidently, we should be lucky it doesn''t have any aether weapons either], Voxea explained


    [Okay, but what does this aether armor do exactly]?


    [Well aether armor is just that, armor made of aether. Well to be more precise, it''s a defensive piece of aether gear made from a specific affinity of aether that makes the wearer resistant to almost all other affinities while also using the aether affinity it matches with to heal the wearer], she responded nonchalantly.


    [Almost all?! Then how are we supposed to beat it]?!


    [Abuse its weakness or pure force. Like I said, aether armor is made of a specific affinity of aether. The Grim Shrieker is wearing a piece of ice affinity aether armor, so we just need to hit with either a powerful fire technique or overwhelm it with one powerful technique after the other. But no ice techniques, because that will strengthen it instead].


    [Aren''t your most powerful techniques ice based], I asked.


    [Unfortunately yes, so this will be a very interesting fight!], Voxea responded cheerfully.


    After Voxea finished explaining, the Grim Shrieker let out a powerful scream before spreading its wings. With a single thrust, it launched itself straight into the air and began to hover above both Voxea and Agiros'' Wooly Rammoth.


    [Oh wonderful, it learned that the Wooly Rammoth can only hurt it up close and personal], Voxea commented.


    [Well can you hit it then]?


    [No, it''s out of range for most of my non-ice techniques. But on the plus side, this means it''s also out of range], she replied confidently.


    [Then why is it glowing]?!


    Even though the Grim Shrieker was several dozen feet up in the air, I could still make out the telltale glow of a technique about to be used.


    [Well that''s problematic], Voxea said.


    A magic circle then formed in front of the Grim Shrieker and was aimed directly at Voxea and the Wooly Rammoth.


    [And that''s worst. Voxea]!


    [On it], Voxea responded before using her wall technique again. With a wave of her hand, a dome of permafrost surrounded her and the Wooly Rammoth.


    The Grim Shrieker took a deep breath once more, unhindered by any outside interferences, and let out a powerful scream aimed at the magic circle floating in front of it. As the scream impacted the magic circle, a stream of massive purple rings of energy shot out of the circle and proceeded to fly towards the permafrost shield at incredible speeds.


    The rings impacted the dome one by one, bursting into harmless little sparks of aether. The other binders cheered at the impressive, almost perfect, defensive ability of the dome, but the reality was anything but perfect! For while the dome looked like it was holding, Voxea was screaming in pain in my head and I could feel she wouldn''t be able to hold it for long.


    [Voxea, what''s wrong?], I asked in a mental panic. I was still pretending to be some powerful mercenary binder, so I had to take being calm on the surface.


    [PainpainpainpainpainpainPAIN!], Voxea screamed in my head.


    [Pain how?! From where]?!


    [Thhheeee technnnniiiqqqquuueeee], she responded with what sounded like gritted teeth, [iiiittsss nnnooottt meannntttt to hurrrttt physicalllllyyyy. Iiiittt''sss atttaaaccckkkiinnng our soulsssss, and I''m allll soulllll]!


    As Voxea kept screaming in anguish in my head, the permafrost dome began to wiggle and shake in an unnatural way like jellied fish. As the dome opened up, I could see the Wooly Rammoth looking mildly pained by the attack while Voxea was kneeling on the ground, flickering like a candle in the wind and clutching her head like it was about to fall apart.


    Due to Voxea''s distress, the dome ended up melting into useless mud, giving the Grim Shrieker an excellent opportunity to dive headfirst at her and the Wooly Rammoth!

 Chapter 77 - A terrible, horrible plan

    I''m not entirely sure why the Grim Shrieker decided to switch to melee, but I wasn''t one to look a gift Mosstang in the mouth! I may be a rookie binder, but I am a rookie binder with a lot of tricks up my sleeve.


    While the Grim Shrieker was still diving, I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a small red vial that began to glow and hum as I infused it with a small amount of aether. One of the tricks I learned from my parents over these past few weeks aside from drajule making from mother, was concoction making from father. Remarkably, his concoction making techniques was very similar to the brewing techniques he taught me growing up. He has apparently been using alcohol making as practice for concoction making and has been subtly teaching me via brewing, up until recently when he switched to directly teaching me after I came back a binder.


    The very first concoction he taught me was a healing one he called, [Crimson Rain], which is also the name of the raspberry gr.a.p.e wine we make during summer time, father has a weird sense of humor.


    As I focused even more of my aether into the healing concoction, it changed from a red to a rainbow color. Pulling my arm back as far as possible, I chucked the vial at Voxea like I was throwing a snowball. The vial hummed through the air as it flew until it was about halfway finished its arc. At that point, the vial suddenly straightened itself horizontally and the top exploded in a burst of tiny lights and launched itself directly at Voxea! I had no idea if all concoctions did that during battle, or father was an unusually flamboyant Apothecary.


    Once the vial reached where Voxea and the Wooly Rammoth were standing, it suddenly exploded into a rainbow colored cloud. I could feel through the bond that cloud helped to restore Voxea''s strength and help stabilize her soul.


    [Thanks], Voxea said with a shake of her head and smack of her cheeks.


    [Look out]!


    As Voxea returned to her senses, the Grim Shrieker was now close enough for me to see that both of its front facing owl claws were now glowing with the power of wind aether. If Voxea was still in her muddled state, she would have been impaled by those razor sharp claws.


    Instead as the Grim Shrieker swiped at Voxea, a weird white-green glow enveloped her and the words, [Breeze Ballet], appeared in my head.


    The Grim Shrieker released a series of claw strikes, each one I felt was strong enough to cut rock! Voxea, however, just literally danced and weaved through every single blow in a strange way. At that moment, she moved as graceful as a leaf in the wind.


    Eventually, the Grim Shrieker tired itself out from using all of those claw techniques.


    [Now]!


    [Telekinesis]!


    Voxea began to glow with a purple light as debris began to gather and floated around her. With a wave of her hand, the debris launched itself like a rain of arrows towards the Grim Shrieker.


    The Grim Shrieker blocked the debris with one of its massive wings, but that moment of distraction was just enough for it to not expect the several ton Wooly Rammoth to slam itself right into its unguarded side! The Wooly Rammoth was glowing red as its horns were covered in the familiar orange energy armor of a fury technique. A brutal crack sounded out from the moment of impact and echoed throughout the town. The Grim Shrieker was momentarily stunned from the attack, but it soon recovered and began to claw at the Wooly Rammoth.


    The Grim Shrieker and Wooly Rammoth were now locked one deadly melee, leaving no room for outside interference...I think.


    [Voxea! Can you launch an attack at the Grim Shrieker?], I asked.


    [Not without hitting the big furry lummox it''s currently fighting], she replied.


    Figures.


    [Not that it would matter. That ice armor is too tough for most of my none-ice techniques and we can''t keep fighting like this. We have to break that armor with both its elemental opposite and in a huge burst], Voxea plainly stated.


    [Ok so we need fire. But most of the other fire monsters are either too weak or already aethered]!


    [We don''t necessarily need that per se...Do you know how far we are from the Mayor''s home?], Voxea asked in an ominous


    I had a feeling from that question, that she had a terrible, horrible plan that''ll be our only hope.

 Chapter 78 - A soundless cry of pain!

    "Damn this big bird is tough. I''m not sure whether or not we can take it out now...", Agiros thought to himself while coordinating Skullcrusher''s fight with the Grim Shrieker.


    From his perspective, the platinum grade tyrant that he was facing this time came out of nowhere. Why did it come out now of all times? How on Earth did no other binders report any sightings ahead of time so that the Empire could have dealt with it?! These questions raced through his mind as he was fighting, but the answer to that question would have never satisfied him.


    In reality, nobody reported it because the Grim Shrieker was never platinum grade until this very night. People had reported sightings of it flying about every and now then or about strange noises coming from the forest, but the details were so sparse nobody looked into it until it was too late. Now the monster that everyone wrote off as a minor grumbling has descended upon them like a natural disaster, ready to wipe everyone out.


    "It''s that blasted armor! If we only had some serious fire power...", Agiros once again grumbled to himself.


    Agiros was an old binder so he knew exactly what aether armor was and how to render it moot, namely use an absurd amount of fire to melt it. The problem is that none of the other binders backing him up had any monsters strong enough to destroy the armor. And he couldn''t use group tactics, because the aforementioned binders had their monsters already defeated.


    The only thing he could think of now, was to just overpower it with pure brute force.


    [Skullcrusher, Leaping Strike]


    "PAAAOOOO"!


    Skullcrusher glowed with an orange light as he began to charge straight at the Grim Shrieker. Not one to be intimidated, the Grim Shrieker fired off a wind technique directly at the charging Wooly Rammoth. But just as the technique was about to hit, an orange magic circle inscribed with Fury patterns appeared at Skullcrusher''s feet. The orange energy then began to concentrate into the Wooly Rammoth''s leg and the monster managed to leap into the air, avoiding the attack!


    Orange energy then gathered into Skullcrusher''s horns as it used its new found momentum to launch a devastating strike at the Grim Shrieker''s head! A sickening crack rang out as the horns impacted the Grim Shrieker''s head and somehow leaving a visible crack in the aether armor! The Grim Shrieker began to wobble from the attack, and looked as if it was about to fall over!


    The other binders cheered at the sight of the wobbling Grim Shrieker, but were soon silenced as the Grim Shrieker stomped one of its front claws with such force that a resounding boom echoed out and cancelled out the ringing caused by the crack from earlier.


    Punctuated by the stunned silence, the ice aether armor began to repair itself and the Grim Shrieker began to take several long, deep breaths. Each successive breath seemed louder than the previous, and a bloodthirsty feeling soon became a pervasive presence in the minds of all those present. A final, almost deafening, breath sounded out from the Grim Shrieker before silence overtook the atmosphere. The binders watched with bated breath, as even Agiros and Skullcrusher were stunned by the strange actions of the Grim Shrieker


    A second passed before Agiros decided to have Skullcrusher attack before it was too late, but that second was already too late.


    As Skullcrusher swung down his trunk, the Grim Shrieker began to glow purple and opened its mouth. The binders began to cover their ears to try and protect it from the ear piercing scream technique...but heard nothing.


    Confused, they looked back at the fighting giant monsters to see if the Wooly Rammoth had stopped the technique somehow. Instead, they saw a Wooly Rammoth twisting about in pain and confusion as a Grim Shrieker had its open mouth pointed at it as if it was screaming at it!


    None of them could hear the scream, but they could see that it must''ve been painful judging by the throes of pain inflicting the Wooly Rammoth! How on Earth could they defeat this platinum grade tyrant?!


    _________________________________________


    [This is an absolutely terrible idea], I told Voxea as the two of us reinforced the icy path once more.


    [Oh please, this plan was born from my brilliant mind. Nothing can go wrong as long as you follow the plan], she replied breezily.


    If we weren''t desperate, I would have recalled her to her drajule, shove it in a wine jug and start shaking it.

 Chapter 79 - Never repeat what I just did.

    No one had any idea what kind of technique the Grim Shrieker was using, but it was clear to everyone that it was dangerously powerful! The Wooly Rammoth acted as if it had razor sharp spikes shoved into its head, but the cause of it all was a silent scream.


    It didn''t take long for the binders to realize that the Grim Shrieker was screaming like before, but it was somehow screaming at a pitch so high that none of them except the Wooly Rammoth could hear it. They could only imagine how painful such a scream could be at such close range. On top of that, they could only imagine how much pain Agiros himself was in.


    They all knew that the feedback from the battle bond could be excruciating, but most techniques only did their damage once and it would pass. In this case, the continuous screaming would be causing constant feedback through the bond. In essence, such a situation would feel like keeping one''s hand over an open flame for several continuous minutes.


    Eventually, the Grim Shrieker stopped screaming. It wasn''t because it was tired mind you, it was because Skullcrusher the Wooly Rammoth was currently losing consciousness. Skullcrusher had been exposed to the silent scream for over a minute at point blank range. Despite its thick fur and fat, blood was beginning to leak from its ears, eyes and trunk. Disturbingly, Aigros condition reflected Skullcrusher''s, albeit, lighter due to the nature of the battle bond.


    Both Skullcrusher and Agiro proceeded to take a knee due to the extent of damage they received from the attack. The Grim Shrieker looked down at Skullcrusher''s face, expecting to see a look of hopelessness and defeat, but was instead greeted with a gaze of defiance. If the monster could see beyond the Fog of War, it would even notice that the binder of the Wooly Rammoth was mirroring that same defiant look with a smile of insanity to boot.


    Annoyed by the Wooly Rammoth''s gaze, the Grim Shrieker raised a claw that began to glow with magical power. Skullcrusher didn''t even flinch at the sight, maintaining its gaze at the overgrown chicken of a monster. But just as the Grim Shrieker was bringing down its claw to end this infuriating beast, a sudden ball of force smacked its head and interrupted it.


    The Grim Shrieker was momentarily stunned by the sudden attack, but quickly regained it''s wits. It brought up its claw again, thinking to end this opponent first and then deal with the annoying intruder, until a second stronger ball of force smacked it again!


    Thoroughly annoyed this time, the Grim Shrieker turned its massive head towards the source of the disturbance. The watching binders did the same, and what they saw made them blush quite a bit.


    _________________________________________


    I just stood there flabbergasted as I watched Voxea do a series of gestures of which, one I recognized as being a nonverbal way of telling someone to... impolitely go away and do horrible things to themselves. At the end of what was possibly a pure minute of what appeared twenty gestures probably meaning such a thing, she ended it with pulling the bottom of her eye and sticking out her tongue.


    [Voxea...what was that?!], I asked mildly shocked and blushing a bit at what I imagined the answer to be.


    [Those were twenty-seven distinct regional ways of saying-].


    [Okay I was afraid that, why though?], I asked in a tired tone.


    [Because we needed to get the Grim Shrieker''s attention].


    [Wasn''t the combat technique enough]?


    [Probably, but it wouldn''t have been as fun], she answered plainly.


    I just stared at Voxea in stunned silence at her answer. On the plus side, I guess I learned how to insult people from several different regions?


    [That being said, never repeat what I just did because at least half of those involved the implications of animals].


    [That''s disgusting], I replied flatly.


    [Quite. Now we should probably begin the plan soon because-].


    A powerful shriek sounded out as the sight of an angry charging Grim Shrieker came charging towards us.


    [That just happened], Voxea said matter-of-factly.


    Voxea fired off another [Telekinesis] technique to anger it further, meanwhile I took off my belt and turned into its magic staff form. I uttered the words to activate the [Ice Road] spell and I felt the aether flow from the air into the staff and into my feet. A pair of ice skates made of ice soon formed on my shoes.


    As the Grim Shrieker got a few feet closer, Voxea and I bolted away with her flying around me while I made use of the fast travel spell to vamoose!


    [This has better work Voxea].


    [Oh please darling, it''s all within my calculations! Of course it will]!

 Chapter 80 - Like a bull in a China shop...whatever that means

    The two of us raced through the town at high speeds with an angry Grim Shrieker hot on our tail. As I kept skating on the designated path Voxea planned, I couldn''t help but repeatedly mutter "Crap crap crap" as we went on. I knew it was necessary for us to anger it enough for it to chase us for the plan to work, but it was still absolutely terrifying having such a huge monster chasing right behind us.


    As the Grim Shrieker chased us, it began to glow with a purple light and started taking a deep breath. But while it was inhaling, Voxea quickly turned back and fired off a visible spear of wind at the chasing monster.


    The wind spear screamed through the air as it flew towards the Grim Shrieker, and from what I could see, it was aimed directly at its throat. I''m not sure if all monsters were vulnerable at the throat, but I knew for sure that something that used screaming as a weapon had to be weak there.


    As the spear flew closer to the Grim Shrieker, it suddenly jerked upwards and flew into the Grim Shrieker''s inhaling mouth. The Grim Shrieker just sucked in the spear and nothing happened...until Voxea stated inside my head, [Burst]!


    The Grim Shrieker was just about to scream again and probably deafen us, until a powerful force of wind aether suddenly burst inside its throat.


    The sudden force stopped the technique dead in its tracks, and the Grim Shrieker appeared rather hurt from the sneak attack. From my shared perspective with Voxea, I could see that Grim Shrieker was now puking up a mixture of blood, wind and aether.


    [Well that unexpected, but not entirely unwelcome. Now it won''t scream us to death for a few moments], Voxea quipped.


    [Fair enough, but why did it stop chasing us and is now glowing red]?


    [Red]?


    Voxea and I stopped going down the pre-planned path to see what the Grim Shrieker was doing instead of trying to kill us. After the Grim Shrieker stopped hacking up blood, it became unusually still and unmoving, almost tranquil. Making the whole thing unsettling, the Grim Shrieker started glowing with a dark red aura.


    Normally, I would assume it would be the color of a fire affinity technique, but the color was too dark, like blood. An unsettling feeling soon settled around us as the Grim Shrieker seemed to exude a bloodthirsty feeling that threatened to choke us.


    [Alright, we should probably continue with the plan and start moving now], Voxea suddenly piped up.


    [Why?], I asked while readjusting my skates to keep moving.


    [Because that thing is about to go nuts like a bull in a fine china shop].


    [What''s a china sh-], "SKKKRRROOONNK".


    My question was interrupted by the ghastly sound of the Grim Shrieker trying to release a roar of rage, but having it come out distorted and bloody.


    I quickly glanced back at the Grim Shrieker and was greeted by a rather unsettling sight.


    The Grim Shrieker''s aether armor of ice was now fully visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye but instead of the cold white color that we saw prior, it was now a dark shade of red. Its body no longer looked as pristine and healthy as before, it now looked to be scarred , bloody and bruised all over. The blood red armor combined with the battle scarred body worked together to make the Grim Shrieker appear to be a mad warrior fresh from a bloody battlefield. The only solace I could take was that it could no longer use its deadly voice against us anymore.


    [Told you. Now let''s boogie], Voxea said as suddenly flew down the ice path. Not saying a word and a little panicked, I just skated after her as quick as I could. A few moments later I heard the telltale thrashing and crashing of a very angry Grim Shrieker chasing behind us, causing even more collateral damage from the sound of it all.


    As we kept rushing towards our destination, Voxea suddenly decided to ask me a question.


    [Silvia, the fog of war is suppose to make it so that the enemy monsters focus on just me right? Not try some sneaky attack things on you, the binder right]?


    [Yeah, why?], I asked confusedly.


    [Because that Grim Shrieker has its sights dead-set on you].

 Chapter 81 - Foolish Plan=Foolish Hope

    Unsure of what Voxea meant by her strange statement, I took the opportunity to look behind me once more while skating away. The Grim Shrieker was indeed staring straight at us, but Voxea was flying to my left, meaning it could''ve just been staring at her


    [Are you sure? You''re right next to me, maybe it''s staring at you], I asked doubtfully as I turned my head back towards the ice path.


    [I''m sure it''s staring you down. Watch this], Voxea replied.


    She immediately began to drift further left from the intended path as we kept going down the ice path. I threw a other look back and saw that the Grim Shrieker was still looking straight ahead.


    [Oh that doesn''t mean anything, you''re still in its line of-].


    Voxea immediately flew straight up and out of sight of both me and the Grim Shrieker. I looked back again expecting it to fly after her, instead I was greeted with the sight of a still angry giant monster cat bird thing looking it wants to kill me.


    [Well that''s not good], I told Voxea as I doubled my efforts of going forward.


    [Told you. It really wants to kill you despite me being the one to hurt it a whole bunch. It also makes it a tad harder for us to proceed with the plan], Voxea said as she flew back to my left side. I was about to ask her what''s the plan now that the Grim Shrieker had its eyes locked on me, until I heard a ragged inhale of air behind me.


    "Siiilvvviiaaaa", a damaged voice growled behind me as I skated onwards. A chill crawled up my spine as the voice echoed in my ears again. I heard it cry out my name before when it first touched down, but I figured that it was just fluke, maybe I misheard it or that it was like how goats mimic baby cries and the monster heard her cry out my name that night and just kept repeating it for some reason...not this time. This time I could plainly hear that the voice the Grim Shrieker was using clearly belonged to Savina.


    [Voxea, you didn''t say anything about the Grim Shrieker being able to copy voices], I asked shakedly. It''s one thing hearing your name coming from a monster, it''s another thing when the aforementioned monster uses the voice of your not-quite dead friend!


    [Believe me, this is a new one to me], Voxea replied a little shocked, [If I had to guess, it''s either copying your friend''s voice like a demonic parrot to mess with you, or...].


    [What''s a parrot and why aren''t you saying anything?!], I mentally screamed in frustration.


    [Tell you later and I think your friend''s soul-], but as Voxea was going to explain we hit the final turn in our path and I saw that our destination was in view.


    [I''ll tell you later, but right now we need to improvise the plan a bit], she said as she suddenly sped up and flew ahead of me


    [Gya! Fine, where do I go now if it''s after me]?


    [Just go to the spot I was going to originally wait at, I have an idea], Voxea said before promptly blasting ice on the ground in a different direction from the path.


    Gritting my teeth, I just pushed on ahead and skated towards our planned spot.


    _________________________________________


    "Oh Harmonic Mother, I pray to thee, please let Silvia''s plan work...", Lavian prayed as they knelt by Savina''s bed. They clasped their hands around a holy symbol in the shape of a musical full note and kept muttering the same small prayer, hoping that whatever god was listening would answer it and help.


    If today was like any other Monster''s Night, Lavian would holed up in the town hall bas.e.m.e.nt waiting it out and hoping that they wouldn''t have to use plan B. But today was decidedly not like previous Monster''s Night.


    Earlier that evening, Lavian for some Inexplicable reason stayed out in the main hall longer than usual. They knew tonight would be dangerous, but something in his heart told them to stay for just a little longer.


    That feeling soon went away and they found it prudent to go underground, but was disturbed by the sudden sound of knock at door.


    Shocked at the sudden sound, Lavian stopped in their track as a second knock happened. They initially believed it to be some clever monster trying to get their attention before attacking, until the voice of one Silvia Rosewood called out to them.


    Hurriedly, they opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Silvia in a strange outfit and an even stranger humanoid monster floating next to them. Before they could ask her what was going on, Silvia hurriedly told them of a plan to save Savina!


    Shocked at her sudden forwardness, Lavian simply agreed to let Silvia do her plan and asked what they could do to help.


    "Just keep watch over her and hope for the best", Silvia said before her and the strange monster turned away and ran into the night.


    And so, Lavian sat near Savina and just prayed for help. Unbeknownst to them, Savina''s drajule started to glow and hum after years of being inert...


    _________________________________________


    "Come on you big scaredycat...come at me!", I muttered as I stared down the Grim Shrieker, my back up against a familiar wall.

 Chapter 82 - Bait and Smash

    You know what a lot of predators have in common with each other? They all have a tendency to pounce.


    Now bears don''t pounce, they''re too big and muscular for that, but lynxes and wolves pounce. While one uses stealth and powerful claws and the other uses pack tactics and sharp fangs, whenever they go in for the kill they always pounce. This particular action is both a good and bad thing.


    On the one hand, pouncing can give that extra boost in speed and force to lock down prey and secure the kill. But the downside is that the beast has to commit to the pounce after initiating it. If the prey animal is smart or fast enough, they can evade the pounce and escape relatively unharmed.


    By now you''re wondering why for aether''s sake I''m just blabbing about predators and how they pounce, that''s because I''m currently in a situation to get pounced by a certain screaming catbird monster.


    As my back was towards the wall, the Grim Shrieker finally turned the last planned corner and was now a solid fifty feet away from me. Seeing I was cornered, it began to switch from a chasing stance into a low crouch and slowly walked towards me.


    The monster''s burning red eyes were locked on to mine as it came closer and closer. As it crouched towards me, it tried to use its deadly scream again but could only get a painful sounding cough going. Seeing as it wasn''t able to scream, it spoke.


    "Ssssiiilllvvviiiaaaa bAaaBaaaa", it croaked once more as it slowly cut the distance down by twenty feet away. It was kind of cruel irony, hearing her voice coming out of that monster, but before I could dwell on it, Voxea''s voice popped back into my head.


    [Well isn''t this a bit of deja vu, you with a back against the wall and me being the one to save you], she quipped as the Grim Shrieker cut the distance again by another five or so feet.


    [Oh very funny Voxea, now please tell me you have a plan, because the original one went out the window when]-


    [Actually plan B is still plan A, it just needs a little tweaking. Now stand there, look tasty and don''t have an existential crisis over the thought of your friend''s soul having an unusually strong influence over a soul stealing monster], Voxea stated.


    [What was that last part]?


    [Don''t worry about it. Just keep your eyes on the big bird-cat and make sure to dive towards it when I say so], she said cheerily, [And before you protest, the Grim Shrieker is getting ready to pounce].


    I snapped back into focus at that statement and saw that the Grim Shrieker was indeed preparing to pounce on me. Due to its huge size, I could see its leg muscles starting to tense up...it also helped that it was glowing with magical energy at the same time. In retrospect, a [Pounce] technique seems relatively obvious.


    I didn''t immediately jump or move when Voxea alerted me to the Grim Shrieker''s movement, because that would''ve been a death sentence. Pouncing is a hunting technique designed to take advantage of sudden and quick movements, so the smart move for now was to stay still and wait for Voxea''s signal to move.


    The atmosphere became tenser than before as the Grim Shrieker and I stared down at each other. The monster was clearly storing up power for its technique, while I tensed up my muscles waiting for the signal to roll. This was a battle of patience, and one I definitely needed to win.


    [Get ready to dive...now!], I heard Voxea signal.


    The Grim Shrieker let out a soft growl that turned into a distorted roar as it suddenly pounced at me! But as it was flying towards me, I dove straight towards it as Voxea instructed to. The next thing I knew, I felt a lack of friction as I slid pass both the Grim Shrieker and its attempt to claw at me as I veered suddenly to the right.


    [Haha! Told you I''m good].


    Voxea has suddenly appeared in my path and stopped me from sliding any further. She stood me up and I could see that she had prepared a curving ice path that allowed me to escape. Before I could thank her however, the Grim Shrieker had slammed into the building I was standing in front of and collapsed the wall.


    [And that''s my cue to tag out. You know what to do from here], Voxea said with a smile before returning to the drajule around my neck.

 Chapter 83 - Trump card

    "Bloaarrrk, blooaorrk, blooarrrk", went the Grim Shrieker as a powerful burning scent invaded its eyes, nose and mouth. It had attempt to pounce and crush the annoying little human that it had irked it for some unknown reason but had somehow missed it. Making matters worst, that unusual colored monster from earlier had messed up its throat and it couldn''t just scream at it like normal.


    Now dust and debris had simultaneously irritated its eyes and throat while it was now covered in a liquid that felt colder on its skin than winter lake water and the mere smell of the stuff was irritating its already damaged eyes and nose.


    It''s eyes eventually cleared up a bit and it turned towards the hole it had crashed into to stare at the annoying human. However, its eyes were still blurry so all it could see was a smaller blur standing next to even larger blur.


    _________________________________________


    [So what''s the plan exactly?], I asked Voxea as we unsubtly bolted from the battling giant monsters and towards the town hall.


    [Alright so the Grim Shrieker is currently wearing a set of aether armor, which makes it basically invulnerable to all of our attacks, correct?], she asked as she flew besides me.


    [Yeah, even when all of our monsters fired those techniques at it all at once it did nothing to it. What of it]?


    [Well if you recall my earlier lecture, then you know if we want to hurt it, we need an absurd amount of literal fire power to hurt it badly], she said bemused.


    [Okay...but where we gonna get a strong enough fire monster to hurt it? The only one we got that barely fits that criteria is Rakka and he''s way too low a level to do any damage to that behemoth], I asked confused.


    [Normally yes, but we have a trump card that''ll make your bronze grade Ragnaceros hit as hard as a platinum grade tyrant]!


    [What trump card]?


    [Simply put my dear Voxea? Alcohol, especially the one your father brews, is very flammable under the right conditions], she said laughingly.


    [Flammable]?


    _________________________________________


    [Okay so Lavian and Savina are now aware of the plan and are hiding in her safe room. Anything else we need to do?], I asked Voxea.


    [Other than the placing down the path of ice connecting the alcohol storeroom and the battlefield? Nope], Voxea said cheerily,[But let''s go over the plan one more time].


    [Right. So we return to the battlefield and...].


    _________________________________________


    As I poured the last of the alcohol from the jug, I made sure to shake it a bit to get everything out for good measure. Satisfied with the lack of additional dripping, I chucked off to the snowy side of the village so I could retrieve it later.


    [Ready Rakka?], I asked the giant deer monster next to me. He gave me a snort of approval and a shake of his head as a response. I gave him a quick smile before turning back at the Grim Shrieker in the ruined storeroom with a serious look on my face.


    Moments before we got to this point, Voxea said something about how I should monologue or have a dramatic one liner before I lit this alcoholic fuse. Something about how, and I quote, "It honestly just the greatest feeling in the world when you get live that moment straight from the stories". I still think she was nuts, but I did take that into consideration.


    And now, here we are. A young and spry woman of a binder, her faithful monstrous companion and a giant horrifying beast that left a huge scar on her heart. If a bard told me they witnessed this story in person, I would have called them drunk and nuts.


    The whole time I was emptying the flask, I rapidly thought of everything from a dramatic speech about who I was and what was about happen to a dramatic one liner involving fire and punishment.


    But now, at this moment of truth, only one word came to mind.


    "Burn".


    "Baoooo!"


    Rakka''s hooves soon lit up with flames and he slammed them into ground, igniting the trail of alcohol I had lain. Faster than what Voxea and I had anticipated, it soon lit up the Grim Shrieker!

 Chapter 84 - Thermal...something something...HIT IT IN THE FACE!

    When Voxea told me that aether armor would cause a monster to be three times as vulnerable to an affinity than normal, I didn''t know what to expect exactly. I figured the ice armor to just disappear from the heat or nothing to occur and the monster just takes more damage. What actually happened was beyond my expectations.


    At first, it had attempted to swipe at the flame with one of its claws. The moment it touched the flame, the ice affinity aether armor appeared on it for a second and then exploded into pieces, with bolts of lighting shooting it out and quickly disappearing. The ice armor on its claw was destroyed and the claw itself was absolutely mangled. A look of shock dawned on both of our faces, mine due to how violent the reaction that was, and its own due to it probably feeling proper pain for the first time in a while. The ice armor eventually reformed around the mangled claw, but it looked weaker.


    The Grim Shrieker had enough sense at that point to try and avoid the trail of flames heading towards it, but it had headed deeper inside the building as opposed to leaving it. In its panic, I could hear it thrashing and smashing several more barrels of alcohol in there. This had the rather negative consequence of even more alcohol being splashed about the room, as well as over itself, and causing the fire to become even more intense.


    As the fire grew and the Grim Shrieker became cornered, I noticed a strange smell in the air. It smelled sweet and...heady...oh crap, it''s burning alcohol. I once breathed in the stuff when I wandered into the brewing room as a toddler. I don''t remember what happened exactly, but father said I just walked in, took a deep breath and I was out like a snuffed out candle. Needless to say, breathing in these vapors were a bad idea.


    I quickly covered my nose and mouth with part of the cloak that Voxea gave me to block out the alcoholic vapors. Meanwhile, I saw through the flames that the vapors were getting to the Grim Shrieker!


    The monster''s head began to bob and sway as the fire grew closer, and I could hear the messed up sounds from its throat sounding even more slurred than before.


    [Silvia get ready], I heard Voxea chime in as I watched.


    [Ready? For what]?


    [The Grim Shrieker is about to do something very stupid].


    As if on cue, the Grim Shrieker suddenly bolted out of the storeroom. The Grim Shrieker was now engulfed in flames, the alcohol on its body having been ignited at this point, and was now charging towards us. Rakka and I immediately braced ourselves at the sight of the charging monster, but as it can rushing towards us, a sudden explosion occured on its back and knocked into the ground. Small explosions yet powerful explosions began to occur all over its body as we watched in awe and horror.


    [Voxea, what''s going on? Why is it exploding?], I asked.


    [Remember how I said aether armor triples the damage taken from vulnerabilities? That''s how], she said nonchalantly.


    [It causes explosions]?!


    [Sometimes. This is actually a more exceptional case due to something called thermal expansion!], she replied excitedly.


    [Thermal what]?


    [It''s a bit complicated to explain entirely, but just know that when you rapidly heat something up that''s ice cold or rapidly cool something that''s burning hot, it causes great bursts of force, i.e., explosions].


    Digesting what Voxea had told me, I watched as even more explosions fired off from the Grim Shrieker''s body. I could see that underneath the flames that the ice armor was trying to reform as quickly as possible, but the reforming of the armor was just setting off more explosions when it came into contact with the flames. If I had to guess, the Grim Shrieker was stuck in a loop of that rapid heating and cooling that Voxea said. I couldn''t help but wonder if this would last up until it gets aethered or if it would eventually stop.


    I got the answer to my wonderment when the Grim Shrieker suddenly stopped and threw up. A pale white ball covered in bile and other bodily fluids fell out of the Grim Shrieker''s throat.


    [And there''s the aether armor], Voxea commented.


    After that, the explosions stopped and the Grim Shrieker was now panting while still burning alive. It soon caught its breath and began to stare me and Rakka down. The sound of it taking a powerful inhalation tickled at my ears.


    [And that''s not good. Rakka, Freezing Horns]!


    [Wait no, bad idea!], Voxea shouted just as Rakka let out a powerful snort and slammed a pair of icy antlers into the burning Grim Shrieker.


    A loud and bright flash echoed out at the moment of impact.

 Chapter 85 - Headaches and Soul Rodents

    As Lavian kept praying by Savina''s side, a powerful shockwave shook the room and a loud bang rocked their ears. Concerned about what had occured, they quickly stood up and rushed out the door to see what had occured. In their rush to see what happened, they forgot to close the door...


    _________________________________________


    [AND THIS IS WHY I SAID NOT TO DO THAT YOU RECKLESS GIRL!], Voxea shouted in my brain. Her voice would normally sound rather pleasant in my head, but right now it sounded like an axe to the forehead. The ringing in my ears, nor the fact that everything was blurry didn''t help either. I also couldn''t figure out why I was laying down.


    [Voxea...what...just...happened...is...Rakka...okay...?], I asked as my ears continued ringing while my vision slowly cleared up. As I sat myself up, I saw that surrounding me were various patches of frozen and scorched grass scattered all over the place. A few buildings in the area didn''t escape this fate either, some had their roofs burning while others had their walls frosted over. The ringing eventually subsided as well but my head was still in a daze.


    [Rakka got aethered by the blast. He''s back in your drajule], Voxea explained.


    [What about...the...Grim Shrieker...], I asked while trying to stand myself up. My legs at this point felt like jelly, but I had to get up.


    [Dying in front of you].


    "What"?! Nothing gets the blood pumping and mind focused like a shocking statement.


    "Grmyaaa....".


    Laying in front of me, charred beyond belief, laying in a pool of its own blood, breathing every breath like was its last, was the terrifying platinum grade Grim Shrieker, dying. I could see that starting from the tip of its wings and claws, that it was slowly turning back into aether.


    Up until this moment, I have never seen a dying monster before. I have seen a monster immediately turn back into aether when defeated sure, but never see a monster slowly dissolve like this. It was rather horrifying. Regardless, I couldn''t just stared at it with my mouth open all night, I had to move on to the next part of the plan.


    "Voxea...come forth!", I said as I pulled out Voxea''s drajule. A brief flash and a summoning circle later, Voxea was summoned again.


    [Alright we got work to do and short window of time to do it. Silvia, do you know where you tossed that jug from earlier?], Voxea asked as she floated near me.


    I nodded and pointed to where I had tossed it. Earlier, Voxea said that we needed some type of vessel or container to help store Savina''s soul. Thankfully we found that jug of alcohol earlier or else this entire thing would have be-[We have a problem].


    [What]?


    [The just appeared to have shattered from the explosion], Voxea said to me as she held pieces of the jug in her hand. The sight of the jug caused my heart to sink.


    [No...what do we do...now?], I asked desperately.


    [We can try bringing your friend here and do it directly, but I have no idea if you''re in any condition to do so], Voxea replied.


    [We have to try], I said with my mind fully working now. My body was still a little shaky though.


    Voxea looked at me with concern in her eyes, but she must''ve trusted me because she just nodded and said [Alright, so now we need to-]. A loud crack and cry of death interrupted Voxea before she could finish.


    The two of us quickly snapped our heads to see what had happened to the Grim Shrieker, the monster was now turning back into aether at even faster rate, but the monster that finished shocked the both of us.


    Standing where the Grim Shrieker was laying was an unusual purple rodent-like monster with big ears, glowing eyes and a strange lantern on its tail. As we stared at it, a ball of light that was different color of the Grim Shrieker''s aether sparks suddenly flew inside of the lantern. The strange monster then proceeded to book it.


    [A Spiricoot? What''s it doing around here?], Voxea asked me.


    [Who care, it has Savina''s soul. We have to catch it!], I said as I attempted to run after it. I immediately tripped and fell because my legs were still basically jelly.


    "Hey! Are you two alright? Do you have Savina''s soul?", a voice cried out towards us. I managed to support myself up just enough to see the voice was coming from Lavian who was running towards us, I also saw that the Spiricoot just ran pass them.


    "Are you alright Silvia? You look like you''ve been through hell and back", Lavian said as they helped me up.


    "I''m fine, but we need to catch that rodent", I said as quickly as possible.


    [Marsupial].


    [Whatever].


    "It has Savina''s soul", I hastily explained. Lavian stopped at that moment and stared at me with their mouth agape. They quickly nodded at that statement and helped support me in order to chase after the Spiricoot.

 Chapter 86 - An old friend [An old story]

    [Why did it duck inside the town hall?], Voxea asked me as we entered the building.


    [Who cares, we still need to catch it].


    "Where''d it go?", I asked aloud.


    "Over there"!


    Lavian pointed at the Spiricoot''s glowing lantern as it turned a corner at an entry way on the far side of the room.


    "After it"!


    The three of us proceeded to chase after the Spiricoot, turning that same corner and catching sight of the monster to turn yet another corner.


    [Oh for the love, y''all are too slow! I''m just gonna chase after it!], Voxea said as she flew on ahead of us and after the Spiricoot.


    [Why didn''t you do that earlier]?


    [Someone had to make sure you didn''t suddenly keel over. Now shut it as I-Oh], Voxea replied.


    [What? Did you catch it?], I asked as Lavian and I hobbled onward.


    [No, I don''t think we need to do that...], Voxea said cryptically.


    [What are you-Oh].


    "Wait. This is...", Lavian began before stopping. The two of us had finally caught up to Voxea, only to see that the three of us were now staring into Savina''s room.


    Standing over Savina, the Spiricoot was waving its lantern tail over her body. Strange symbols that didn''t look like anything Voxea had taught me manifested in the air around her. Lavian was about to go in and interrupt whatever was going on, but Voxea and I stopped them. They looked at us confused for a moment, but our gazes were steady. They immediately stopped and just trusted us.


    Under the Spiricoot''s command, the symbols then gathered over Savina''s body to form a small spell circle. A small all of light then left the lantern on the Spiricoot''s tail and rushed through the circle and into Savina. She began to glow after the ball entered her and the three of us had to cover our eyes from the light.


    The three of us watched with our breaths held tight, wondering whether or not the spell had worked.


    _________________________________________


    For just a few moments, let us turn back the clock a bit and tell the tale of a family that lost it all on Monster''s Night.


    Once upon a time, in a little town in the middle of a very strange valley was a person named Lavian.


    Now Lavian was the mayor of this town and was quite good at their job. The whole town love and respected them and Lavian made sure to act in a way appropriate of such high regard. Lavian was happy...for the most part. There was only one thing, they had no family.


    Lavian did have parents when they were younger, but they had died when a wild majimonster broke through his hometown''s defenses. A common yet tragic story in this era of binders, regardless, Lavian still grew up to be a wise and kind, if lonely, individual.


    That all changed one fateful night.


    One evening, Lavian was heading home from socializing with the townsfolk. They were in a bit of drunken stupor due to the town''s new brewery providing a particularly heady ale that night, but that stupor soon ended when they arrived to their door.


    Awaiting on their doorstep was a basket with a little baby girl sleeping away inside it.


    In a panic, Lavian called out to into the night to try and find her parents. Despite calling for a solid ten minutes, no one replied. The whole time they called out, the little girl was just sleeping away.


    Tired from the fruitless endeavor, Lavian brought the baby girl inside their house to shield her from the cold and planned to try again in the morning. Funnily enough, the baby woke when she was brought into the house and cried up a storm. Lavian went into a bit of tizzy trying to get the baby to calm down and stop crying, but they managed to pull it off after playing with her, feeding her boiled goat''s milk and changing her diaper. It was a stressful night...but Lavian was satisfied when they got the baby to go back to sleep.


    What Lavian didn''t know that night, was that he was going be doing this for many nights onward.


    Every day after that night, Lavian would bring the baby with them wherever they went to try and find her parents. But every night they''d come back and would have to care for the baby in their stead.


    Lavian kept this up for about a week, after which, they just decided to adopt her. That day, they said, "Alright you little snowbean...I''m going to name you...Savina. And from now on, I''m your Baba".


    The newly minted family had their ups and downs as all families do, but they loved each as most families do. Savina would go on to grow up to be a bright and king young girl, while Lavian became the proudest parent in the whole Empire. Their loves soon became even richer as Savina had develop a talent for becoming a Binder, binding a Spiricoot that she named Banda to be her partner. Everything was looking great for the family...until Monster''s Night happened.


    On that night, Savina and her friend were attacked by a mysterious and fearsome monster. The friend managed to escape, but Savina...didn''t. The next morning, Lavian went into the woods to look for her. They found her, but she wasn''t unscathed.


    The attack had left her in a rather peculiar state. She wasn''t injured, wasn''t crippled, wasn''t left for dead, but she wasn''t quite alive either. She could walk, eat, breath and drink, but whatever made a person, "human", wasn''t there any more. Lavian was devastated by this, their precious daughter was now a husk.


    From then on, Lavian would care for their doll-like daughter. It didn''t matter if she couldn''t react or think anymore, they would always be their precious snowbean and they would always be her Baba.


    This story would''ve ended with her eventually dying, shortly followed by Lavian out of grief, but...call it fate, call it destiny, there was another plan for the one named Savina....


    _________________________________________


    One minute passed.


    Then two...


    Three...


    "We''re we...too-", Lavian started before being interrupted by a groan coming from the bed. Just as we had given up hope, Savina eyes slowly blinked and her hand started to slowly move towards the Spiricoot.


    "B-Banda? What are you doing here bud? Did the Shrieker get you too?", Savina said in a soft voice as she slowly stroked the Spiricoot''s head. The Spiricoot just relished in Savina''s touch for a bit before turning its head towards us and making a squeaking sound. When Savina turned her head away from the Spiricoot, the little guy turned back into aether and flew into the drajule on the dresser.


    I had seen Savina''s face countless times over the years, but the look on it was always...empty. Everytime I looked into her eyes, it reminded me of an empty wine bottle. But now, for the first time in seven years, I can see my dear friend again. As Savina''s gaze locked with ours, she became startled.


    "S-Silvia? Ba...ba?", Savina said with tears starting to build in her eyes, "Are...you...really...here"?


    I was too busy crying tears of relief, but that didn''t stop Lavian from stepping forward.


    "M-my...My snowbean! Oh how I missed you!", Lavian cried as they rushed to hug Savina. As the parent and daughter embraced each other properly for the first time in years, the light of dawn filled the room.


    [Huh...like something out of play], Voxea commented while wiping a tear from her eye.


    Monster''s Night was finally over.

 Chapter 87 - Morning Celebrations and Family stuff

    As the morning came and the light of dawn washed over the town, the monster horde and fog of war surrounding the town had disappeared. Every man, woman, child and binder let out a massive sigh of relief...well I did at least, Savina and Lavian were catching up years of missing each other so I just left them be.


    [This place is wrecked...it''s a good thing majimonsters dont''t leave corpses, otherwise this place would be even messier], Voxea commented as we walked through the town.


    [Oh it''s not that bad], I replied.


    Voxea wasn''t exactly wrong about the damage though. Parts of town had been throughly wrecked from the attack, the aftermath of various techniques leaving scars on the earth and some buildings were also damaged beyond repair. Some buildings had scorch marks, others had claw marks and one was encased in ice. On the plus side, no one died. There were a few horrible injuries but those were on the binders and those were considered occupational hazards.


    [Oh right, shouldn''t we go find Sir Agiros now that the night is over? We did kind of ditched them out of nowhere to deal with the rest of the monsters], I asked Voxea.


    Voxea stopped floating leisurely when I mentioned Agiros and I could feel the apprehension coming from my bond with her. This was the second time she weirded out over Agiros, but I didn''t know why.


    [You alright? This is the second time you weirded out over him], I asked concern.


    [You felt that huh? Curse you magical soul bonds, alright. I could keep it secret and lie about it, but since we are bonded via the monster-binder relationship, I might as well be honest. The reason why I panicked was-]


    "Miss Vex, ma''am"!


    [I''ll tell you later].


    Running towards the two of us was one of the Imperial Binders that I saw working with Agiros. The soldier binder snapped off a quick salute at me after stopping in front of me.


    "Miss Vex, ma''am! Sir Agiros had sent me to ascertain whether or not you survived the night after you baited the Grim Shrieker, ma''am"!


    "At ease soldier. As you can see, my fabulous self has managed to survive the night most gracefully", I replied with that weird accent Voxea made me use earlier.


    [At ease?], Voxea asked incredulously.


    [Soldier talk, I overheard it once or twice].


    "Yes ma''am", the soldier visibly relaxed when I told him to be at ease, "It''s good to see you have survived ma''am, Sir Agiros will be most pleased. He has requested that if you had survive to tell you to meet at the front gate of the town ma''am. Would you like an escort"?


    "No need sirrah, I can make my own way there".


    "Very well ma''am", the soldier said with another salute, "then if you''ll excuse me, I must attend to the secondary mission of checking on the total of damages and casualties. Oh right, due to Monster''s Night now being over, please dismiss your majimonster as per normal regulations, ma''am". After saying that bit, the soldier ran pass me and went to survey the damages.


    [How long until he finds the blast zone?], Voxea asked.


    "By the gods"!


    [Never mind. Let''s go].


    _________________________________________


    [So now can you tell me?], I asked Voxea after we had walk for a good ten minutes. After the soldier left, Voxea had returned to the drajule on my neck as we made our way to the front of town.


    [About Andorvan right?], Voxea replied.


    [Well if that''s what''s setting you off].


    [The short answer or the long answer?], Voxea asked.


    [Which is easier]?


    [Andorvan is the name of my mother''s family].


    [What?!], I said as I stopped myself from tripping.


    [It''s not that big deal, my mother''s side of the family was known for its large size and military tradition. No big surprise that there''s one working as a New Empire soldier], Voxea said nonchalantly.


    [Voxea, don''t you get what this means]?


    [Yes, but you''re probably about to monologue anyways].


    [No idea what that means, but Voxea; you still have living relatives! Don''t you want to meet them? Catch up? See how they managed to escape the Collapse?], I couldn''t help but ask.


    Voxea had been locked in a magical ice prison for at least ten lifetimes, I''d assume she''d be happy to see any family members regardless of how distant.

 Chapter 88 - Whatre friends for?

    After I had posed the question, Voxea went unusually quiet. I kept walking in silence as my ghostly companion ruminated over the question. It makes sense that such a question would take hours to-[Nope].


    Or three minutes, sure .


    [Nope?], I asked.


    [Nope. I''ve been "dead" for a little over eight hundred years without any contact with any of my family members, descendants or sect members in that time period because I assumed they all died when the dragons rampaged all across the Empire. And even if they did survive that, unless they pulled a weird magical trick like I did, they probably lived to ripe old ages until life took them that way], Voxea ranted.


    [Okay that''s...fair. But don''t you want to see how your descendants or cousins fared then?], I asked.


    [I mean...I do to an extent, but it''s not exactly easy to explain to someone that you''re their great great great great great great grandaunt, possible grandmother, and that you turned yourself into the same living weapons that caused the current status quo], Voxea explained.


    [What was that grandmother bit]?


    [Don''t worry about that, just know that even if I wanted to talk to them, I am in literally no state to do so], she replied with a huff...well what felt like a huff.


    The conversation stopped at that moment and we just walked in silence as I formulated a response.


    [Well...what if I helped you]?


    [What?], Voxea asked incredulously.


    [Like you said earlier, we''re bonded as monster and binder right? I''d be a crap binder if I let one of monsters suffer in silence. And if that''s not reason enough, you saved my life, we''re friends, mentor and student and I owe you for setting me on this path in the first place], I explained to her, [Before I ran into you, I was pretty sure I was going to live a normal life, carry on the family trade and probably watch my friend get buried].


    [But...], Voxea began with a minute amount of her usual amus.e.m.e.nt.


    [But now, I''m a binder, a maji in training, learned that my family''s trade is a lot more elaborate than brewing and I just saved my best friend from death. If that ain''t a good enough reason to help you, then I don''t know what is]. A sense of finality hung in the air as I finished my piece. None of what I said was shameless lying either. I genuinely owe Voxea quite a bit for saving my life and setting me on this path. Even if it was dangerous, it wasn''t boring.


    [... that''s... actually sweet. Thanks], Voxea said quietly.


    [You''re Welcome].


    [And now I feel more obligated to tell you that your parents are now talking to my great grandnephew dead ahead of us], Voxea suddenly said.


    [What]?!


    I suddenly stopped in my step as I stared straight ahead to see what she was saying. A few feet away from us, I saw as Sir Agiros talk to two robed figures that were wearing simple yet effective face masks.


    [You mean the masked people?], I asked Voxea.


    [Si Senorita. They may be masked, but they can''t hide their auras from someone like me remember? I said this before], Voxea said smugly.


    [Remind me to ask you to teach me that trick later], I told her, [so what do we do now]?


    [Simply put-],"Miss Vex!", [-too late, just improv].


    "Ah! Sir Agiros, it''s good to see you have survived the night!", I began in that accent and hoping that it''s enough to throw off any suspicions, "what happened? I was too busy dealing with the Grim Shrieker in order to help, my apologies".


    "Haha! I actually almost didn''t make it! Once the Grim Shrieker had left to try and kill you and your partner, an entire horde showed up out of nowhere. But before we got overwhelmed these two showed up to save the night. Oh right, let me introduce you! These two are...uh...I don''t think they gave me any names", Agiros explained.


    "Such things are hard to do when monsters attack, but for all intents and purposes, you can call me Gaia", the smaller of the two robed figures said in a feminine voice. If I had to guess, that was my mother.


    "Call me Zeus", said the the larger figure in a deep voice that was clearly my father''s.


    [Please tell me you have a way of disguising myself further]?

 Chapter 89 - Secrets, lying and an awkward talk.

    "Gaia?! Zeus?!", I heard several binders exclaim as soon as my parents said those fake names. I was genuinely surprised at the reaction the other binders had at my parent''s pseudonyms, but I couldn''t tell if that was a good or negative reaction.


    "Wait...Gaia...Zeus...are you two the ''phantom binders'' that protected this town prior to me showing up? The ones who show up on Monster''s Night and disappear in the morning?", Agiros asked.


    ...I''m sorry what?


    "That we were Sir Agiros", my mother replied, "but once we heard that the town now had a more permanent defensive arrangement, my compatriot and I decided to be prudent to move on and see what else the Wildlands had to offer".


    "Indeed", my father confirmed. Meanwhile, I was still very very confused about all this.


    _________________________________________


    [Well I''m not too surprised. You''re parents had been binders longer than you''ve been alive right? Is it that farfetched that they regularly fight off the occasional monster in secret?], Voxea asked.


    [No, but for as long as I could remember, we''d spend every Monster''s Night just hiding in the brewery''s wine cellar], I explained exasperatedly.


    [Well, were they both present when you hid]?


    [Yes, but then I''d fall asleep halfway through the-Oh], I responded before realizing exactly what Voxea meant. If I could, I''d smack my own face right now, but I was currently pretending to be a wandering binder so I had to fight back the urge.


    [Either way, you''re gonna have to pretend you don''t know that it''s them because I''m pretty sure they don''t know it''s you or they think you don''t know it''s them], Voxea mentioned.


    [That sounded convoluted].


    [That''s because it is].


    _________________________________________


    "That right? Well regardless of your wandering status, I am compelled to repay you for coming to aide us. We didn''t expect a pair of gold ranked monsters to suddenly coming charging in after the Shrieker left and we''d be paste without you two showing up", Agiros said heartily.


    "No need for that Sir Agiros. We just happened to be in the area and needed to put some of our weaker monster through their paces", "Zeus" replied.


    "Nonsense! Now that Miss Vex is here, we can finally talk about proper compensation. Oh speaking of, what happened exactly? The last thing I saw of you and the Grim Shrieker, it was chasing you and your monster into town and then a explosion of all things happened!", Agiros asked me.


    "Ah? Oh yes, the explosion! See sirrah, after Vo-Izza had angered the Grim Shrieker into chasing us, I had managed to goad it into a running battle. We then managed to bamboozle the beast into charging into a building that turned out to be filled with barrels of alcohol for some reason", I explained.


    "Did you know alcohol is very flammable under the right conditions"?


    "Uh...no I didn''t", he replied mildly confused.


    "Well it is, and the beast had become throughly coated in the stuff! So I had switched to one of my fire monsters, granted it was a bit weaker, but it served the purpose of lighting it ablaze"!


    "Oh my", "Gaia" commented.


    "However, I did not take into account that apparently ice aether armor explodes when exposed to a powerful fire technique. A mighty explosion occured but I survived with grace and panache", I said slightly lying through my teeth and still in that weird accent. I made sure not to mention anything Lavian and Savina, because "Miss Vex" doesn''t know who they are.


    "Haha! A harrowing story appropriate for any binder worth their salt!", Agiros exclaimed.


    "Sir Agiros sir"!


    A different soldier binder from earlier ran up to the four of us and snapped off a salute. In one of his hands was a large heavy looking sack.


    "I have brought the monetary compensation sir"!


    "At ease soldier. Dismiss", Agiros said as he took the sack from the soldier. The soldier snapped off another salute and then ran off into another direction. Agiros reached into the sack and pulled out three small pouches that seemed to jingle as he moved them. He tossed one at me, "Zeus" and "Gaia".


    "Oh sirrah, there''s no need to-"


    "Just take it. Three of the mercenaries we hired ran off during the battle anyways. No idea if they lived or died, but cowardice like that should be punished. This case being that their payment goes to binders like you three. I''m going to go distribute the rest of the prizes now as well as tend to the townsfolk. Feel free to stay or go. I''ll see you lot later", Agiros said with finality. The old veteran proceeded to march off without another word, passing out the coin pouches to the other binders.


    Pouches in hand, the three of us just stood there trying figure out our next moves.


    "So...you went with the pseudonym ''Vex''?", "Zeus" asked me.


    "Nice mask hun. By the way, who was that strange monster that was floating by your side", "Gaia" said in that knowing tone all mothers have.


    Or you know... we''re having this conversation. How did they find out?!

 Chapter 91 - Into the Wall!

    "So what are we looking for exactly?", I asked Savina as we rode on Rakka''s back through the winter side of the valley. We had finished breakfast earlier that day and were now our merry way to find Savina a second monster for her to bind. Originally, Savina was just gonna go to the academy with just Banda but she saw how I had three monsters to her one, so she convinced my parents and Lavian that I should help her get a second one.


    For a girl who spent the last seven years in the stomach of a magic catbird monster, she was surprisingly devious. Which is why the two of us were now riding through a snowy forest for a little over two hours, with only a rather cryptic Savina acting as the compass.


    "I could tell you Sil-Sil, but that would ruin the surprise", she told me in a teasing tone, "but with that said, make a right here and keep going straight".


    "Sure thing madam", I said while rolling my eyes and turning my head back forward.


    [D''awww, you two are so cute together], Voxea teased.


    [Oh shut up], I replied defeated.


    As we rode onward, we had passed by several wild monsters who eyed us curiously before moving on. We had passed by one I thought was a good fit for Savina, it looked like an ice blue armadillo with miss growing on it, but she replied with "Possibly, but the one I have in mind is...special".


    "Okay then...". Whatever she had in mind, made me a little uneasy.


    "Wait... stop the Ragnaceros. We''re here", Savina said as she dismounted from Rakka. As she dismounted, I took the opportunity to see where "here" was.


    Right in front of us was the valley wall, sheer rock for miles and miles, covered in ice and snow fall. Other than that, there was either a random tree or shrub growing in front of it scattered about.


    "Are you sure? There''s nothing here", I asked Savina, who was currently walking around like she was looking for something. She eventually stopped to pick up a rock and weigh it in her hand.


    "Definitely, Sil-Sil", she said as she threw the rock straight at the valley wall. I was a little bewildered as to why Savina just chucked a rock at a wall, up until the rock disappeared.


    [Oooh! An old illusion wall trick! There should be something good in there], Voxea commented all of a sudden.


    "Where did the rock go?", I asked Savina.


    "It went into her nest", Savina said as she walked towards the wall.


    "Her"?


    "The Grim Shrieker", she answered as she walked through the wall and disappeared. Taking that as my cue to follow, I recalled Rakka to his drajule and quickly chased after into the foreboding mystery cave.


    _________________________________________


    "Banda if you could".


    "Coo"!


    What was a initially a pitch black cave soon became illuminated by the gentle purple of Banda''s tail lantern. I couldn''t help but let out a whistle at the sight of everything.


    The cave was made of stone of course, there were animal bones encased in what appeared to be oversized owl pellets and there were also human remains like torn clothes, random broken weapons and destroyed satchels. If I was a trained scavenger, this place would be a gold mine. As I looked through the scattered remains of the Grim Shrieker''s nest, I noticed Savina looking closer at the walls of the cavern.


    "Uh Savina? What are you looking for? Actually better question, how did you know about this place"?


    "I''m not a hundred percent sure to be honest", Savina replied as she began searching through the remains near the walls, "To be completely honest, I knew this place existed because I was still vaguely conscious inside of the Grim Shrieker".


    "What"?


    "As I said, I was still conscious inside the Grim Shrieker but not totally. I could see what it saw, feel it felt and cause it pain for swallowing me up for all those years", she said as she tossed aside some random junk items and pocketed some loose suls


    "That explains some things...".


    "Indeed. But to answer the question of what I am looking for...", she began before trailing off as she suddenly beelined to another pile of discarded items and began digging.


    "You were looking for...".


    "Ah-ha"!


    "Never mind, I''ll just see for myself".

 Chapter 91 - Into the Wall!

    "So what are we looking for exactly?", I asked Savina as we rode on Rakka''s back through the winter side of the valley. We had finished breakfast earlier that day and were now our merry way to find Savina a second monster for her to bind. Originally, Savina was just gonna go to the academy with just Banda but she saw how I had three monsters to her one, so she convinced my parents and Lavian that I should help her get a second one.


    For a girl who spent the last seven years in the stomach of a magic catbird monster, she was surprisingly devious. Which is why the two of us were now riding through a snowy forest for a little over two hours, with only a rather cryptic Savina acting as the compass.


    "I could tell you Sil-Sil, but that would ruin the surprise", she told me in a teasing tone, "but with that said, make a right here and keep going straight".


    "Sure thing madam", I said while rolling my eyes and turning my head back forward.


    [D''awww, you two are so cute together], Voxea teased.


    [Oh shut up], I replied defeated.


    As we rode onward, we had passed by several wild monsters who eyed us curiously before moving on. We had passed by one I thought was a good fit for Savina, it looked like an ice blue armadillo with miss growing on it, but she replied with "Possibly, but the one I have in mind is...special".


    "Okay then...". Whatever she had in mind, made me a little uneasy.


    "Wait... stop the Ragnaceros. We''re here", Savina said as she dismounted from Rakka. As she dismounted, I took the opportunity to see where "here" was.


    Right in front of us was the valley wall, sheer rock for miles and miles, covered in ice and snow fall. Other than that, there was either a random tree or shrub growing in front of it scattered about.


    "Are you sure? There''s nothing here", I asked Savina, who was currently walking around like she was looking for something. She eventually stopped to pick up a rock and weigh it in her hand.


    "Definitely, Sil-Sil", she said as she threw the rock straight at the valley wall. I was a little bewildered as to why Savina just chucked a rock at a wall, up until the rock disappeared.


    [Oooh! An old illusion wall trick! There should be something good in there], Voxea commented all of a sudden.


    "Where did the rock go?", I asked Savina.


    "It went into her nest", Savina said as she walked towards the wall.


    "Her"?


    "The Grim Shrieker", she answered as she walked through the wall and disappeared. Taking that as my cue to follow, I recalled Rakka to his drajule and quickly chased after into the foreboding mystery cave.


    _________________________________________


    "Banda if you could".


    "Coo"!


    What was a initially a pitch black cave soon became illuminated by the gentle purple of Banda''s tail lantern. I couldn''t help but let out a whistle at the sight of everything.


    The cave was made of stone of course, there were animal bones encased in what appeared to be oversized owl pellets and there were also human remains like torn clothes, random broken weapons and destroyed satchels. If I was a trained scavenger, this place would be a gold mine. As I looked through the scattered remains of the Grim Shrieker''s nest, I noticed Savina looking closer at the walls of the cavern.


    "Uh Savina? What are you looking for? Actually better question, how did you know about this place"?


    "I''m not a hundred percent sure to be honest", Savina replied as she began searching through the remains near the walls, "To be completely honest, I knew this place existed because I was still vaguely conscious inside of the Grim Shrieker".


    "What"?


    "As I said, I was still conscious inside the Grim Shrieker but not totally. I could see what it saw, feel it felt and cause it pain for swallowing me up for all those years", she said as she tossed aside some random junk items and pocketed some loose suls


    "That explains some things...".


    "Indeed. But to answer the question of what I am looking for...", she began before trailing off as she suddenly beelined to another pile of discarded items and began digging.


    "You were looking for...".


    "Ah-ha"!


    "Never mind, I''ll just see for myself".

 Chapter 92 - Inheritance

    "I was looking for this!", Savina said proudly as she presented the object in question to me.


    "A bracelet?", I asked incredulously.


    Currently resting in the palm of her hands was a simple silver bracelet that had a single blue gem bedded into it, an aquamarine if I recall my lessons correctly. I initially thought it was a mundane bracelet, until I noticed the look on Savina''s face.


    "What"?


    "Come on Sil-Sil, don''t you have that Dragon''s Eye thing? Try using that on this", she said while jingling the bracelet.


    "You know it only works on majimonsters right? Not drajules?", I retorted.


    "Fair enough", Savina said as she placed the bracelet on her wrist, "I suppose it''s easier to show you then".


    Savina slowly raised her arm and pointed the aquamarine bracelet''s gem side towards me. The aquamarine gem suddenly began to glow a deep blue light as Savina was soon encased in similar colored light. Evidently, I was a little shocked by the sudden glow up and let out a small "eek" as I stepped back. My sudden shock gave way to clarity, and in that moment, I realised that the bracelet she found was a drajule with a sleeping monster inside it!


    "Heed your lady''s call, Triton", Savina said in a voice not quite hers.


    With a wave of her hand, a blue and white summoning circle with distinctive [Water] and [Basic] markings composing it appeared out of thing air. On the outer edge of the circle were two bright silver lights that rotated around the circle, indicating that whatever was inside of it was a silver grade two star monster.


    A deep roar echoed throughout the cave as a strange salty smell filled the air. The circle moved to the ground and began to ripple like water. A powerful looking arm covered in what appeared to be silver fish-like scales and adorned in shells, wielding a large three-pronged spear exited from the circle first and slammed the flat end of the spear deep into the ground. The stone floor became cracked from the initial slam, then began to grow more as the monster used the spear to lift itself from the circle. As it rose, my Dragon''s Eye revealed to me nothing but a single name: [Shellvalier].


    [Voxea, why isn''t my eye working]?


    [Oh no it''s working, it''s just that other than the name, I know nothing about this monster. How game], she replied in an amused and intrigued tone.


    The summoning circle disappeared as the fully formed monster now stood before the two of us. The monster was an armored humanoid standing at six feet tall like the Cruelsader, but it looked very different and the aura it gave off was the complete opposite of the Cruelsader.


    The monsters'' armor reminded me of a crab shell, but interspersed with strange smooth shells with patterns I had never seen before.It had these strange pauldrons that were completely smooth and shiny,like the pearls I''ve seen some binders wear. Its helmet reminded me of a fish with its finned ears and plume reminiscent of its dorsal and tail. Combined with the strange three pronged spear and spiral shell shield, the Shellvalier gave off a more protective feeling than the Cruelsader.


    The Shellvalier looked about the cavern, giving off a feeling of confusion. Eventually, its eyes settled on Savina.


    The air became tense as my friend and the monster stared at each other, out of concern I kept my hand on Rakka''s drajule.


    Suddenly, the Shellvalier dropped to one knee and bowed its head towards Savina like an Imperial Knight. In response, a strange smile appeared on Savina''s face as she lifted its chin with her bracelet wielding hand.


    "Hello old friend", Savina said with that strange voice of hers, "I''m sorry I can''t journey with you anymore, but can you do me one last favor and keep watch over her as you did for me"?


    The Shellvalier looked hesitant at the request but eventually nodded.


    "Good. I''m counting on you Triton. Keep her safe", Savina said as she moved her hand from lifting its chin to patting its head.


    After a few seconds of patting, the Shellvalier turned into a shower of blue aether and flowed back into the drajule embedded bracelet. At the same time, the blue glow surrounding Savina faded.


    "Well then, shall we go now?", Savina asked in her normal voice as she walked towards the cave entrance.


    I had a lot of questions for my friend, but I could ask them once we were outside.

 Chapter 93 - The nature of a soul

    "Savina, what was all that?", I said the moment we exited the cave. It takes alot now for me to consider something strange, seeing my formerly comatose friend suddenly talk like a noble woman and then gaining control over a dead binders''monster is in my top ten.


    "Oh? What was what?", Savina replied as she stopped walking and looked at me over her shoulders.


    "Oh I don''t know, the blue glow, the mysterious majimonster, the weird voice you did and the fact that you bonded with the aforementioned monster''s drajule? I know how this works, the bond stays even beyond death and can only be transferred if the owner wills it. I didn''t see a ghost manifest so I have to know...who was that?", I said with certainty.


    My parents explained to me that the reason nobody steals a binder''s drajules even if they''re sleeping, is because of two reasons. The first is that a binder is able to sense the locations of their drajules regardless of distance, there''s even been cases of binders summoning their monsters from a distance. The second is that a drajule is basically a useless yet indestructible rock to everyone but the binder. Even if the binder dies, the drajule would just go inert unless the binder somehow transfers control while being dead. I was initially skeptical at this idea, but then I remembered that I had a ghost basically hanging around my neck.


    Savina turned her head back in front of her and just stood there for a bit, staring at the sky in silence. A few moments passed in silence and I was about to just say forget it and move on, but then she said "Nera".


    "Nera"?


    "That was the name of Triton''s old binder, Nera", Savina said with a hint of sadness.


    "How did you-"?


    "Remember what I said earlier? That when I was inside the Grim Shrieker I could share its senses?", she said as she turned to face me.


    I nodded in silent confirmation.


    "Well that wasn''t completely true", she said with a heavy sigh and an uncharacteristically somber tone, "For a very, very long time I felt nothing. No fear, no hunger, no sadness and no joy. I knew where I was, but couldn''t feel or understand anything...until Nera happened".


    [Flashback time]!


    _________________________________________


    Being inside the Grim Shrieker was akin to having an out of body experience, however, instead of being able to see and sense your body to an extent, it was pure nothingness. All I knew was that "I" existed and that something was "holding" me.


    I wasn''t sure how long my "life" was like that, but there were these moments where I had experienced the memories of someone''s life happening in a split second. They were infrequent and I can''t remember much, but I knew it was real and that they were fleeting...that is until one night.


    I''m not sure when or how, but the Grim Shrieker had somehow managed to corner binder and steal their soul. That soul was Nera.


    The moment Nera was swallowed by the Grim Shrieker, I was able to "feel" this newcomer in my non-existence. It was a weird feeling but rather pleasant. I think it was this feeling that drove me to "contact" this newcomer. I''m not sure how I knew to do it, I just knew that I did.


    You know how sometimes couples say they''re "soul mates" and that they share a deep connection beyond the physical? This was a more literal version of that saying.


    The moment we made contact, a connection formed a torrent of information flowed between us. I learned she was a binder from far far beyond the valley trying to find a purpose, and she learned that I was just a child.


    After that initial connection, she began to teaching "me" knowledge about the world, how to be a binder and her own memories. I didn''t know why she did so at the time, but it broke the monotony and I was happy and from what I could feel, it made her happy too.


    But alas, good times don''t last forever.


    At some point during our time together, I could feel that Nera was getting weaker little by little. She kept sharing her memories as if nothing was wrong, but I knew something bad was going to happen...and then it did.


    I think Neras'' corporeal body at that time died because I could feel her soul starting to fade away. I didn''t want to lose my teacher and only friend inside that cage of nothingness, but I didn''t know what to do.


    In my desperation, I tried to "connect" to her again, thinking it would do something to help. It did, but not in the way "we" expected.

 Chapter 94 - Something New and Something Dawww.

    In retrospect, that was probably one of the most reckless things I ever did.


    Whenever I had connected with Nera in the past, two things would happen. First, we''d be able to share memories and experiences with each other. This is how she was able to teach me so much. The second was that it seemed to "stabilize" us. When you''re floating in a vast nothingness and all you have is "yourself", knowing that someone else is there helps quite a bit.


    I attempted to connect with Nera like before, I thought that it would help "stabilize" her and prevent her from disappearing. That didn''t happen.


    The connection that we established didn''t stablize her and it didn''t transfer knowledge and memories like normal, instead it transferred "her" into "me". I think her soul was far weaker than I thought when we established that link, so instead of knowledge being transferred...it was her.


    In that moment, I lived her life and mine simultaneously up to this exact moment. But it wasn''t like before where there was a level of disconnect, it was as if I was her. I was still "Silvia" but I had also become "Nera".


    _________________________________________


    "After that, I was basically the only soul inside the Grim Shrieker. I spent the years up until I was freed putting the Grim Shrieker through hell for swallowing me up, turned out fusing with Nera allowed me to influence the big bird to some extent. Then you managed to bust me out, Banda transferred my soul back into my body and here we are", Savina explained to me.


    The whole time she regaled to me her harrowing tale, I was staring at her with wide eyes and a open mouth.


    "Are you okay?", Savina asked with concern in her voice.


    "Me? Yeah I''m fine, just a little surprised. So...is she still...there?", I asked while gesturing to her.


    "In a way yes", Savina answered, "I have her memories and possibly bits of her essence inside me, but she''s no longer alive if that''s what you meant".


    [Your friend''s right about that little one. This Nera girl doesn''t have a body anymore and given the current state of magic in this era...there''s no way she can be brought back even if your friend is hosting her soul inside her], Voxea followed up.


    I mulled over the implications of what Savina just told me and what Voxea added on. There was a lot about this world I don''t know about and the fact that souls are something that can be and merged got me wondering if-


    "Are you mad"?


    "Huh?", I said involuntarily as my train of thought got interrupted by Savina''s sudden question, "Why would I be mad"?


    "I did keep a pretty big secret from you and then I suddenly sprung it on you out of the blue, but I didn''t want you to think I wasn''t still...me", Savina explained, "I wouldn''t be surprised if you were suspicious of me...".


    Before she said anything further, I just squished her cheeks with my hands.


    "Look", I said staring her in the eyes, "ever since you disappeared from life all those years ago, I''ve been feeling guilty about it ever since. I always wondered that maybe if I was a binder, maybe if I was faster or maybe if I had found you earlier then maybe you wouldn''t have gone through what you had".


    "Oh Sil-Sil...", Savina said in the verge of happy tears.


    "But now, I finally managed to save you, we are about to go and become binders together and you just shared your biggest secret with me. Don''t ever think I''d be mad at you over something like this. You''re my best friend, and nothing''s going to change that", I said to her.


    "Awww Silvia...Thank you", she said while lightly crying.


    "Now let''s get out here before some random monster thinks we''re tasty snack", I said, letting go of her face and preparing to summon Rakka.


    [D''aw That was so sweet that I''m pretty sure I''d have at least two cavities if I was still human], Voxea commented.


    [Shut up].

 Chapter 95 - Shooting the breeze and Safety Precautions

    After that emotional confession and heart-to-heart, Savina and I mounted on Rakka''s back and began to ride back to town.


    Evidently, we came to the forest at a lovely time. The bird''s and friendlier monsters were singing, the sun was shining and the weather was nice and mild. A beautiful day for a stroll...of course, I couldn''t enjoy much of it due to Voxea singing in my head.


    [Des yeux qui font baisser les miens/Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche/Voil¨¤ le portrait sans retouche...].


    [Voxea, what the aether are you singing?], I asked.


    [Oh nothing. Just an old love song I listened to back in the day], she replied in a cheeky tone.


    [A love song? What inspired you to start singing that]?


    [Oh I don''t know. Maybe because of the spring side of the valley, maybe it''s the pleasant weather...or it could be that you and Savina just look absolutely adorable together], Voxea teased.


    [Oh hahaha Voxea, very funny. I don''t think of her that way and I''m pretty sure she doesn''t think of me that way either], I fired back.


    [Really? Because Savina looks pretty snuggly napping on your back while riding two-up on Rakka''s back with you].


    [Hey, it''s more convenient if we ride Rakka together as opposed to just walking. He''s a giant elk and a single step from him is like ten for the both us].


    [Sure sure, whatever you say Sil-],"GOOOOOOAAASS"!


    Before Voxea could finish what she was about to say, a powerful roar echoed throughout the forest. Rakka suddenly stopped and a result of the roar and turned his head towards where it came from.


    "Mmm? What was that?", Savina grumbled as the loud noise stirred her from her nap.


    "I''m not sure. It sounded like it came from the Valley''s entrance, but we should probably avoid whatever majimonster can make a noise like that".


    "Are you sure? What if someone''s getting attacked?", Savina asked with a worried look on her face.


    Looking at her concerned face, I couldn''t help but grimace a bit. "Okay, fine", I said in exasperation, "Gimme a second, but if I don''t hear anything human we are outta here".


    I closed my eyes and began to focus my hearing towards the direction of the noise.


    The first thing I heard once I focused my hearing, was something that sounded like several hundred feet rapidly stomping one after the other accompanied by a skittering sound akin to metal plates scraping against each other. On top of that, there was a growling sound that made angry bears sound games in comparison. Not a good sign.


    The second thing I heard was the sound of hoofbeats from a horse, the rattling of wagon wheels and the telltale panicked screaming and panting of people being chased down by majimonsters. That''s an even worst sign.


    "Crap, whatever made that roar is definitely chasing down people. Looks like we gotta go", I said before kicking Rakka into a gallop.


    _________________________________________


    "Faster! Come on Strider, put some muscle into it"!


    "Bo"!


    "GOOOAAAAASSSS"!


    "It''s gaining on us"!


    At the mouth of Equinox Valley, a bit away from Silvia and Savina, a majimonster-pulled wagon was currently being chased by a giant centipede-like majimonster.


    The wagon in question was owned by a Mister and Missus Lobaine, a binder-merchant married couple who were on their way to Onryx to sell their wares and trinkets and buy up new wares and trinkets to sell. The majimonster pulling it was their silver grade Thunderhorn, Strider.


    Thunderhorns are, in the simplest terms, large rhinoceros monsters infused with the power of lightning and thunder. They are normally very docile unless someone attacks them, this means, that any binder who has a Thunderhorn as a partner is guaranteed a fierce protector that will gladly smash, gore and electrocute anything that threatens them. However, such brute strength is rendered a bit moot when the monster chasing them is a gold grade Omukade that is big enough to swallow it, the wagon and the people in the wagon.


    The Omukade is a mountainous centipede-like majimonster with the affinity of Earth and Fury. Their sizes range from being as small as a hill to being as large as a small mountain. Omukade''s normally spend most of their days sleeping,however, they will relentless chase down and eat anything that disturb their slumber. In other words, this couple is doomed unless something dramatic and heroic happens.

 Chapter 96 - Confessions and a Really stupid idea.

    "What is that thing?", Savina asked with a mix of horror, surprise and awe. If she had the Dragon''s Eye, she''d be panicking even more.


    "The eye says it''s called an Omukade", I began to explain, "the best way to describe this thing is if a mountain and a centipede got fused into one,and then it was combined with the pure rage only seen in wars, bears that have been kicked awake and...cuckholds"?


    "That doesn''t sound good".


    "It isn''t, but we''re here now so we might as well try and do something", I said to Savina.


    [Voxea, if Savina and I attacked this thing, can we beat it]?


    [Eh... fifty-fifty and that is if the Omukade doesn''t know any area of effect techniques], she plainly stated.


    [What if it does know area if effect techniques]?


    [Then we''re all going to die. Well, you''re all gonna die. I''m going to end up as a sealed majimonster until only the gods know how long. So... we''re going to have be clever in order to save those hapless fools], Voxea told me.


    [And the plan to do so involves...].


    _________________________________________


    Meanwhile, at the Lobaine''s wagon


    "Louis...if we''re going to die here, I think we should spend these last few moments to get some things off our chests".


    "Things? Like what Cynthia"?


    "Well... remember that time when we ate that cafe in Flotsam and you thought the waiter forgot your order of Manatee Cheesecake?", Cynthia said in a guilty tone.


    "Yeah, it was an honest....No...I thought you didn''t want any!", Louis said in a shocked manner.


    "I didn''t...at first, but it came when you had to use the latrines and it just looked so good that I couldn''t help myself! I''m sorry Honeyhound! Can you forgive me?", she said in a cute yet sad voice along with a pouty face.


    "Oooh, Caramel twist! Of course I do!", Louis said before kissing his wife in forgiveness.


    "Well...if we''re being honest...", Louis began.


    "What?", Cynthia asked in a worried tone.


    "...I want to settle down"!


    "Really?! You mean it"?


    "Of course I do! I know I said no before, but after traveling with for so long, I think it''s now time for us to put down some roots and start having kids, ya know?", he said with conviction.


    "Oh Honeyhound!", Cynthia exclaimed while embracing Louis. Unbeknownst to them, their Thunderhorn, Strider, was rolling his eyes while running.


    "But now that all this is...".


    "Don''t say that!", Cynthia said with a firm tone, "We can still get out of this and we can still start our family".


    "It''s going to take a miracle to get out of this though...", Louis thought while urging Strider to run faster.


    _________________________________________


    "Uhh...are you sure about this Silvia? This doesn''t seem-".


    "Savina, Voxea assured me this was the plan that the highest chance of us saving those people from that giant majimonster with minimal casualties. Now please...do the thing before I have regrets", I said with forced bravery.


    In order to get the people to safety, Voxea explained to me that we had to use Azalea''s [Body Double] technique in an empowered state. If we timed it right, the Omukade would have smashed nothing but logs and the wagon, the people and the Thunderhorn would be teleported to safety. That sounds easy, but there were two problems.


    The first was that my summoning range and controlling range was rather short. I''ve only been a binder for a few months so I could only summon my majimonsters at most ten feet away from me. Supposedly, as I grow stronger as a binder I will be able to summon and control majimonsters several thousand feet away and in places that I''m not even looking at. Unfortunately, I am nowhere near that strong presently. The solution to this would be for me to get up close to the wagon and use the technique then, but that leads to the second problem.


    Rakka''s fast for a majimonster, but he wasn''t fast enough. By the time I rode down the valley wall and got close enough to the wagon, the Omukade would''ve swallowed them up whole.


    We needed to get close and we needed to do it fast...which is why...our solution was to...


    "Ok Triton, put your back into it and throw it as hard as you can"!


    "VOOOOAAA"!


    Throw me like a ball at high speeds.

 Chapter 97 - Fastball

    "Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun!", Voxea said excitedly.


    "Yeah... fun", I replied weakly.


    Currently, Voxea and I were sitting inside a giant hollow ball of ice that is about to thrown by Savina''s Shellvalier, off a cliff, towards a running wagon. Why is this happening? Because it''s all a part of Voxea''s brilliant (absolutely terrible) rescue plan.


    She used a lot of strange sounding words and mathematical terms that went way beyond what my parents taught me, but it boiled down to this:


    _________________________________________


    Step 1: Voxea uses her ice abilities to make a giant hollow ice ball that Voxea and I will climb into.


    Step 2: Savina uses Triton''s prodigious strength, along with her empowering the giant water knight majimonster with her binder abilities, to throw us at a spot a little ahead of the wagon''s location.


    Step 3: As Voxea and I sail through the air, the ice would, supposedly, melt by the time we got close enough to the wagon to penetrate the canvas that was covering it. Apparently, and I quote, "Our combined weight and the velocity we''re being thrown at will allow us to pierced the canvas covering with minimal effort".


    Step 4: After we land in the cart, I swap out Voxea for Azalea and I empower Azalea with as much aether as I physically can and in the amount of time we have before the Omukade catches up.


    Step 5: Use Azalea''s [Body Double] technique to teleport all of us away from the Omukade''s path of destruction and hope that it''s rage is subdued after smashing the cart.


    Step 6: Celebrate that we saved the day and thank whatever higher power exists that we didn''t die.


    _________________________________________


    As Triton began to spin Voxea and I in a hammertoss throw, a memory from a few months back suddenly came to mind.


    [Hey Voxea, didn''t you one time teach me that the maji had over a hundred plus ways to travel long distances?], I asked.


    [Ah, you remember my lessons! And yes, yes I did], she replied joyfully.


    [Right, and wasn''t one of the methods called teleportation or something like that? It allowed one to disappear in one place and instantly appear in another]?


    [I know where you''re going with this now, the answer is...no. I cannot teleport us from here to that cart], she replied plainly.


    [Why not]?!


    [Three reasons of my adorable student/binder. First,I don''t know what the inside of that wagon looks like. Teleportation requires a clear image of the location you want to move to. If you try to do teleportation blind...well that last guy I knew who did ended up with half of his body being replaced with wood], she said with a mild grimace towards the end.


    [Ouch].


    [Second, can''t do it right now because I''m technically still a majimonster and not a maji. Everytime you summon me, my techniques change], Voxea clarified.


    [That explains some things... wait, then what''s the third reason]?


    [It wouldn''t be as fun if I could teleport us]!


    [...].


    Before I could respond further, Triton tossed us like a sack of potatoes off the cliff.


    _________________________________________


    [Oh Mountain mother, please grant us safe haven...]


    As the wagon sped onward into the valley, Louis began to make a small prayer to his deity, Nuluna the Mountain Mother.


    Louis had been raised on the religious teachings of the Mountain Mother, but he never grew up to be a pious person. He made the sacrifices when necessary and prayed occasionally, but he never honestly prayed...that much.


    Louis has only prayed three times with all of his heart and soul.


    The first was when he met Strider, his Thunderhorn. As a child, he accidentally angered it when he was throwing stones at the local rhino herd. He prayed to Nuluna for deliverance, and became a binder in the process.


    The second was when he met Cynthia. When he became an official binder and went traveling, he happened on a town in the middle of a festival of lovers . Unfortunately, he was very very single. Out of lonely desperation, he prayed to Nuluna for love. A few moments later, he ran into a girl who was also praying for love. The two married a few months later.


    The third time was now. He prayed to Nuluna for a miracle, an earthquake, an even bigger majimonster, anything that could save him and his beloved.


    It was in the middle of these prayers, that something huge hit his cart.


    "Ouch...".


    And started groaning.

 Chapter 98 - Timing

    "Voxea...we are never...doing that...again...", I groaned atop a pile of torn canvas, broken wood and what smelled to be salted fish. Evidently, Voxea''s plan worked as intended, but she didn''t account for the possibility of the wagon containing more than people. I''m surprised nothing broke from the impact.


    [Oh come on, it wasn''t that bad], Voxea said as she helped me get up from the pile of debris and fish.


    [Ugh], she said with a grimace and holding her nose, [You''re going to need a bath after this...maybe two].


    [Ya think]?


    "Honey, what''s going on back there?", a deep and heavy voice called out.


    "I-it''s a girl and a humanoid majimonster? I think she''s a binder, w-who are you and how did you get on our wagon?!", a high pitched, melodic voice yelled out. After tossing a piece of fish from my hair and cleaning myself off a bit, Voxea and I turned to see who the owners of this cart were.


    The source of the melodic voice was a young petite woman a few winters older than me, wearing colorful merchant clothes and three studs in her right ear that were probably drajules, since I could sense faint traces of aether from them. She had dark skin, curly hair, an oval face, green almond-shaped eyes and a small nose. Despite how tattered her clothes looked from travelling, her personal appearance was impeccable.


    The deep voice came from a man who was currently steering the wagon we were on. From what I could see,he had dark somewhat straight hair, tanned skin and drajule studs in his left ear. His build could best be described as somewhat wiry yet muscular.


    All in all, they appeared to be a young married couple of binders. Adorable to say the least.


    "H-hey, I asked you a question. Why are you on our wagon?", the woman said with forced courage. She gently cupped the drajules in her right ear, but I didn''t feel the aether stirring from them in the slightest. I got the feeling she tried to use her monsters to fight the Omukade earlier and it didn''t end well.


    "Really? Bravado? Now? Can''t you tell a rescue party when you see one?", I asked her bluntly.


    [Oh you picked up some of my vocabulary! How cute!], Voxea commented.


    "A rescue? How? You''re not just a panic induced hallucination?!", the woman asked as she dropped her hands from her ear and used them to grab me by the shoulders. For someone so scrawny looking, she was surprisingly strong.


    "Yes a rescue. I''ll tell you once you let me go. No, I am not a hallucination", I answered as I recalled Voxea to her drajule. Once she returned, I reached into my b.r.e.a.s.t pocket and pulled out Azalea''s drajule.


    "Now you two are going to have to trust me, and you''re not going to like it", I said as the energy tuning fork began to form.


    _________________________________________


    "Come on Silvia...you can do it...pull another miracle...", Savina quietly hoped as she watched the little wagon getting chased by the massive Omukade.


    "Vo...", Triton said as he placed a massive hand on Savina''s shoulder as a show of comfort.


    "Thanks big guy. You did great, now we just need to hope Silvia can do the rest".


    From the distance she was standing, the Omukade appeared to be as big as Triton''s fist, while the wagon itself was only as big as her fingertip. The moment it caught up with the wagon, it would be gone in an instant. She could only hope that whatever this [Body Double] technique was would work as planned.


    Savina''s expectant gaze of hope soon turned to despair, as she watched the wagon suddenly stop in the middle of the road.


    "Nononono, what are you doing Silvia?!", Savina screamed in a panic as she watched the Omukade get closer and closer to the wagon.


    "Triton! I need you to-", she began to order Triton, until she heard a giant crashing sound.


    "NOOOOO!", Savina cried as she turned to see the resulting dust cloud of the Omukade crushing the little wagon. Tears began to stream down her face at the emotional turmoil caused by seeing her best friend suddenly dying in front of her. Rage, anguish and sadness. These three emotions raged inside her as-


    *Pop*


    "Oof!"


    "Buuuu..."


    When all of a sudden, Silvia appeared behind, in a dogpile consisting of Azalea and an unknown couple currently kissing.

 Chapter 99 - Lovebirds...(Normies.e.xplode!)

    "You''re okay!", I heard Savina cry while being faceplanted in the dirt.


    "Yeah...", I replied in a muffled voice.


    A feeling of regret and apologies came through my bond with Azalea.


    Evidently, I have come to a few realizations after this moment.


    First, the [Body Double] technique is technically a form of teleportation but is very very limited in its applications. I had to wait until the Omukade''s mouth was right above us and the lady binder was screaming the whole time. There''s probably a work around to make it so not limited but I don''t know enough about majimonsters or techniques to do anything about it...yet. I''m pretty sure I''ll learn something about this at the academy.


    Second, that this was the first time I have ever done any form of teleportation and it absolutely sucked. It felt like...the same sensation I''d get when my foot would fall asleep, but felt in cascading waves numbering in the thousands and all over my body. One would think the entire process would be like blinking, nope, I was concious the whole time and it sucked.


    This was also the first time Azalea has ever taken additional people with her when she did it, so that might have been why it was so... unpleasant. There is the possibility that the other ways of teleportation suck significantly less, but I have no idea.


    Lastly, and most importantly...I hate having people sitting on top of me. We didn''t manifest all at once, we came out one at a time and currently, the binders I had just saved were sitting on top of me and not moving for some reason.


    "We''re alive? We''re alive!", I heard the man yell in jubilation.


    "Hahahahah! Yes we are Honeyhound!", the lady say in reply.


    What followed was several deep breaths and sudden movement on my back. If I had to guess, they were married couple and we''re now making out on top of me. Freaking love birds.


    [Normies.e.xplode!], I heard Voxea suddenly say in my head with indignation.


    [What''s a normie]?


    [Something to explode]!


    [...Sure].


    "Hey, we''re alive so can you two get off me now?", I asked tired and exasperated.


    "Mmpfh, hmm? Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry!", I heard the lady binder say before she and her friend moved off my back. Azalea and Savina moved over to help get up and clean off some of the dust and dirt on me. As they were helping me, I noticed that Savina has this reddish look to her face and subtle traces of embarrassment. I guess the couple''s sudden display of affection must''ve shocked her.


    "Bleh. Sorry for the rough landing and all, you two alright?", I asked the couple after cleaning myself up a bit more.


    "Yes. Thank you for saving us! We owe you our lives", the man and woman said as they bowed in thanks to us.


    "My name''s Louis Lobaine, a merchant binder", he said with a smile after getting up from the bow.


    "And I''m Cynthia Lobaine, also a binder and his beloved wife", the woman said with pride. After saying that, she wrapped her arms around one of Louis'' and she began to snuggle against him.


    [Too...cute...must...not... explode]!


    "Well then, my name''s Silvia and the girl who is currently too red to talk is Savina", I said bluntly while gesturing to my friend''s blushing face.


    "N-nice to meet you", Savina said with a rigid wave and aforementioned red face. Apparently she gets second hand embarrassed from romantic gestures...or was that something she picked up from Nera? Things to ask later.


    "So, what brings you two to Equinox Valley"?


    "Well as I said, the two of us are merchants, and we came to sell our wares!", Louis said jovially.


    "As well as settle down and start a family!", Cynthia followed up.


    A loud rumbling roar echoed through the valley. The four of us turned to see the Omukade raising its head in triumph, before turning around and exiting the valley''s mouth...only to bury itself underground a while away and forming an impromptu hill nearby.


    "Well...I guess just to settle down and start a family then", Louis said awkwardly.


    [Is that going to be a problem later?], I asked Voxea.


    [Not unless someone wakes it up again].

 Chapter 100 - Settling down and sitting down

    "And here we are", I announced after pulling Rakka''s reigns and dismounting. After we had saw the Omukade make a new nest near the valley''s entrance, we thought it''d be prudent if we got out of there as quickly as possible. I stared into the eyes of death once today, I am not doing that again.


    "We''ve been gone for a few hours but that was enough excitement to last a lifetime", Savina stated as she dismounted Rakka.


    "This place is beautiful!", Cynthia exclaimed


    "Huh...winter and spring at the same time? How odd, yet it is strangely beautiful!", Louis added.


    Trailing behind us were the Lobaines riding their Thunderhorn, Strider. Moments before we escaped the Omukade, I had Louis recall him so they wouldn''t be defenseless for six hours. Apparently they tried to use their others monsters to fight the Omukade, it did not end well. As the Lobaines began to dismount, Mayor Lavian came over to greet us.


    "Ah Silvia, Snowbean! How was your trip? And who are these two?", Lavian asked as they hugged Savina.


    "It went great Baba, I got a powerful new friend to help out on my journeys. These are...uh...ummm...", Savina replied before stopping with a forgetful look on her face.


    "Louis and Cynthia Lobaine, your lordship. Your daughter and Silvia here saved our lives. Oh! We''re merch-ah, former merchant-binders by the way. At your service", Louis said as he put out his hand in an offering to shake.


    "Oh? What gave me away as a leader figure?", Lavian replied with a smile and returning the gesture.


    "You have a bearing about you, liege".


    "The fancy robe and necklace helps too!", Cynthia followed up.


    "Ah yes, my business clothes. I''m usually more dressed down...regardless, what brings you two to Onryx?", Lavian asked after breaking off the handshake.


    "Well the missus and I we''re looking to sell off our wares, settle down and start a family...well I guess skip to the settle down step",


    ("Hey Savina, I''m gonna head back home now. I need to tell mother and father about the Omukade. I know your Baba will treat the Lobaines right", I whispered to Savina.


    "Hmm? Oh, sure. I''ll see you tomorrow for sparring then. We do only have two days until we the escort comes, right? We have to get in as much practice as we can for the big day", she whispered back.


    "Oh right...yeah, I''ll see you tomorrow. Bye").


    _________________________________________


    "Do you know why I''m having you both kneel right now?", my mother said to me and Voxea with fury in our eyes.


    "Yes...", we said in unison.


    [Why am I kneeling?! I''m over nine hundred years old and I am an archmaji!], Voxea complained to me.


    [Because that means you''re technically the one responsible one. Also you''re my majimonster, remember?], I replied.


    [Oh right...dang it].


    "While what you did was technically the right thing to do, you two should have come and informed me, your father or Sir Agiros before throwing yourself into danger like that. I know Voxea is very strong, but even she said that the chances of you surviving an Omukade attack was low! I have seen too many binders think they''re on top of world, and then suddenly die in battle because they overestimated their own strength", my mother said as part of her lecture.


    I know it came from a place of love but it still sucked. Regardless, I just bit my tongue and agreed. Honestly, it was a stupid plan, but desperate times call for reckless heroism...I think.


    "And for another thing-"!


    "Alicia. I think you made it clear that you were very worried for our baby girl and that she should be more careful in the future", my father said suddenly, "and I also know that you''re being extra hard now so that there are no tears for when she leaves".


    "Grigori!", my mother yelped with an embarrassed look on her face. Apparently she was just called out.


    My father took my mother''s stunned silence as an opportunity to kneel down in front of me and place a hand on my shoulder.


    "Now Silvia...you''re about to take a big step in your life and leave Onryx for the first time. Are you scared?", my father asked while staring me in the eyes.


    To be honest...I didn''t really think about it until now. I think I got too used to the rhythm of just waking up, working at the still and then doing binder training and I figured it would be like that for a long time. But now...I leave in about two days time for an unknown city to an unknown school. I was scared...but also excited.


    "A little", I replied, "but also a little excited".


    "A good answer. Caution and bravery are not opposing forces, they should be mixed. Always be ready to plunge into danger, but make sure you have a shield. Now go wash up, I caught a wild boar for dinner tonight", my father said after tousling my hair and leaving.


    [By the gods your family is sweet], Voxea said in distaste.


    [I''ve been in your memories, your family is pretty nice too], I shot back.


    [Fair enough].

 Chapter 101 - A Grand Depature

    ~Two Days Later~


    Savina and I were hugging our respective parents one last time before the escort arrived to take us to the Imperial Capital.


    "Oooh I''m going to miss you so so much snowbean! It only feels like yesterday I''ve gotten you back...", Lavian said with tears in their eyes.


    "I''m going to miss you too Baba! I''ll be sure to write to you as often as possible", Savina replied.


    "Make sure to keep your chin up, bearing strong and head straight. And if anyone tries to intimidate you with their majimonsters, you look them dead in the eyes and throw the challenge back at them!", my father said after breaking off the hug.


    "Yes father".


    "You''re going to learn a lot of different techniques on how binders work with their monsters as well as what monsters are capable of doing. Absorb as much as you can so that your foundation knowledge is strong. Just because Scholars are the ones meant to identify monsters on the fly doesn''t mean you can''t as well".


    "Yes mother".


    "And most importantly, remember that we''ll always be here for you", my mother said with one last squeeze.


    I felt myself getting a little misty-eyed at that statement, but held back a bit. An occasion such as this should be done with a smile and wave, not with crying uncontrollably...despite me wanting too.


    "Ho There! Is there where I am to pick up my passengers?!", a loud aether-infused voice range out and broke us from our tender moment.


    "Scraw"!


    A few moments later, a giant bird made of stone and sand descended from above and landed right in front of the five of us. Recalling my lessons (and with the help of the Dragon''s Eye), I identified it to be a Sandroc


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    Species: Sandroc


    Grade: Gold


    Affinities: Earth/Wind


    Trait(s): Flight,Massive


    Description: Sandrocs are huge desert birds that are known to travel great distances in order to hunt for prey such as deer, sheep and elephants. Some specimens have been to known to grow to such huge sizes that their wings can block out the sun. While normally found in solitude as a.d.u.l.ts, they are sociable creatures when young. It is believed their isolation is self-inflicted as to prevent over-hunting in a given area.


    Voxea''s Notes: Out of all the dragons created to serve as both convoy and weapon, Sandrocs are arguably the best. Created by the maji known as "The Desert Beauty of Illusions", the Sandroc was considered an odd duck out of her usual creations, which included the Djinferno, Poltertheif and Dancense Burner, all of which can best be described as tricky, illusive and downright pretty. I met the "Desert Beauty" once and she was indeed gorgeous...sad eyes though.


    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________


    As the Sandroc landed, I could see that near its head was a saddle like fixture where its presumed binder was sitting in a strange leather get-up. On its back was a box-like fixture made of wood with elaborate carvings on it. Riding in the box was a group of young people about my and Savina''s age. It appears we weren''t the first group to be picked up for escort.


    "Ho there! Are you two Silvia Rosewood and Savina Alderman?", the rider at the front said with a wave.


    "Yes, we are", Savina shouted out in reply.


    "Jolly good then! Let em up, Rancor"!


    "Scraw"!


    The Sandroc lowered one of its massive wings to act as a ramp up to the box on its back.


    "Now hurry along! We have one more stop to make and then its onward to the capital"!


    Savina and I gave our parents one last hug before walking up the Sandroc''s wing ramp.


    "Please choose a seat and store any luggage or belongings beneath it. Keep your hands and arms within the box at all times, you will be held responsible if you fall off and cause a delay", the rider stated as Savina and I climbed aboard. The two of us moved to the very back of the box, passing the gazes of our fellows riders, and settled in.


    "All settled? Good. Rancor, take flight"!


    "Scraw"!


    The Sandroc flapped its giant wings once and already began to hover in the air. Before it took off for good, I turned towards our watching parents who were waving good bye at Savina and I. We managed to get out one last wave good-bye before the Sandroc took off into the sky.

 Chapter 102 - Flying...sucks...hello new friends...

    "Alright binders to be, we shall rest here for the evening. By tomorrow afternoon, we will have arrived at the capital and you all shall be registered at the academy", the escort binder, whose name was Bartleby as I learned on the way here, said as he ordered the Sandroc to land in front of a medium size building in the middle of nowhere. The sign said something along the lines of "The Mastyff''s Inn", but I couldn''t really concentrate because I was currently holding down my stomach.


    After we dismounted the giant bird of stone, Bartleby recalled it and proceeded to enter the building. Meanwhile, I gestured to Savina about my predicament and she managed to guide me to a nearby thicket.


    "Bllllaaarrghhh"!


    [Oh I can see our breakfast in there. You need to chew your food better].


    "It''s okay Sil-Sil, just take deep breaths...", Savina said soothingly while holding my hair and calmly rubbing my back.


    We were flying for a little over six hours and as it turns out, I am very much unused to flying. It was fine at first but after soaring through the sky for a little over two hours, I felt like my insides were going to become my outsides. The only reason I could keep down for so long was thanks to Voxea teaching me a meditation trick that, to quote, "motion sensitive maji developed when they kept getting ill on the majitek vehicles and monsters". That sentence sounded ominous to me, but I focused on not throwing up.


    "Oh-ink my, is she okay?'', a sweet yet grunt voice asked us.


    "Hmmm? What''s up Bori?", a second more sultry voice followed up.


    "Oh! Hello", I heard Savina say in response to the two voices. I weakly grunted a hello as well...and then immediately vomited out even more of my stomach.


    "Ooooh. That looks pretty bad~ I got something that can help with that", the sultry voice said to me.


    After making sure nothing else was coming up, I wiped my mouth a bit and turned to see who the voices belonged to...only to have a smoke pipe shoved into my mouth while staring into a set of very pretty amber eyes that belonged to a rather comely face. The young woman who had shoved a pipe in my mouth had black curly hair, dark skin and a sharp nose.


    "Mmmphf"?!


    "Just take a deep breath and trust me, okay brewer girl?", she told me with a sweet yet forceful voice. I couldn''t tell if I was compelled more by her voice or her eyes, but I couldn''t help but take a long drag from the pipe. What followed was a rather odd burning sensation in my throat and gut.


    "Now you should be feeling a burning sensation, keep your nose and mouth shut for a minute and then exhale when you cheeks begin to puff up".


    Following her instructions, I felt something building up inside of my nose and mouth along with my cheeks puffing up.


    "Now exhale".


    What came out was a puff of a weird green smoke and my stomach feeling a lot better.


    "Better?", she asked with knowing amus.e.m.e.nt.


    "Very much so. Say, how come you knew I worked at a brewery?", I asked the mysterious woman.


    "The name''s Albina and it''s because you have the scent of sugars, alcohol and fruits on you", she said with a smile.


    "Huh...okay... mine''s-oop!", but before I could say anything, a stout figure rushed pass me and then back to standing in front of me.


    "Oh-ink my, that''s an awful lot of vomit! Your stomach must be feeling emptier than a drained barrel! Here, take one of these corncakes"!


    [What the heck?! How and why?!], Voxea suddenly shouted in my head.


    Standing in front of me was a short, stout boy with a soft face and...tusks jutting out of his mouth and pig ears. Needless to say I was a little shocked and now understood why Voxea was shocked.


    "Hmm? Are you oink-kay? You look like you just saw a ghost!", the pig-like boy said to me in a voice that a fit his demeanor a little too well.


    "Oh she''s fine. I think she''s just a little shocked at your...", Savina said coming to my rescue as she took the corncakes from the boy.


    "Oh? Oh!", he said as he looked down at himself before coming to a realization, "Oh you never met a dweller before! That makes sense. My name''s Borimoris, but you can call me Bori. I''m from the kaiju, Terraboar"!


    [Wait, the kaiju rituals worked]?!


    "A pleasure to meet you Bori. My name''s Savina and my shocked friend here is Silvia", she said with a charming voice and while patting my back.


    "Ho there trainees! I managed to get us room and supper. They''re having rabbit stew tonight! Come in before it gets cold", Bartleby called out.


    "Let''s pick this up over supper then"?

 Chapter 103 - Bori, Albina and Double Tap

    "CITY SIZED MAJIMONSTERS?!", Savina and I shouted at the same time.


    [If that old grasshopper is still alive, I owe him a ducat...], Voxea commented at the revelation.


    "Mhmm. That''s what a kaiju is, and the one I''m from is named Terraboar, the roaming harvest king", Bori explained with a smile and a mouthful of rabbit stew.


    Thankfully, the inn tonight was rather rowdy so our shouting didn''t illicit too much attention from the other patrons, but that didn''t stop Albina from hushing us down and reprimanding us. One would assume Bartleby, our escort would''ve, but he was too busy chatting with the barmaid.


    "Aish. Just cause it''s loud doesn''t mean you two can be as well. You never know who''s listening or watching", she said with mild annoyance.


    "Sorry", Savina and I said in unison and quieting down.


    "Wait. Is it because you live on a kaiju is that why you look...", Savina said while gesturing to her head and mouth.


    "Yup! None of the Scholars know why, but due to several generations of living on a kaiju, we dwellers end up with quirks reminiscent of our home kaiju. I once met this merchant of Harlechid who had fours arms! But despite the changes, every last one of us kaiju dwellers are fully human", he said with pride.


    "So we won''t suddenly develop piggy ears and tusks if we visited?", I asked rather bluntly.


    "Nope"!


    "Neat".


    "While we were talking about ourselves...Albina was it? What was that stuff you had me smoke?", I asked the dark skinned woman with a quizzical look in my eyes.


    "Hmm? Oh, you mean the Chimney-sweep weed?", she asked after taking her pipe out of her mouth. The pipe in question was rather ornate and looked like a three horned lizard with gems for the eyes and horn. Maybe that''s where she keeps her drajules?


    "Chimney-sweep weed?", Savina asked.


    "Aye. I''m from a valley called the ''Garden of Healing''. My clan specializes in cultivating various types of aromatic herbs, smoking agents and incense. Chimney-sweep weed is something we use when someone has smoked a little too much, ate too much or just feel ill in my chest. It helps to burn out any impurities or build up", as she said this, she pulled out a small vial with characters on it I didn''t recognize. She then tossed it to Savina and said "Here. You never know when such things can come in handy. I also have herbs here for headaches, nausea and...delicate matters". Proving her point, she then produced several other vials each with different colored herbs and labels.


    "Impressive collection".


    "Thanks. I only hope that the Academy has some place I can grow more of this stuff", Albina idly commented as she played with one of the vials.


    Before we could move the conversation onwards, the sour smell of spilt alcohol, vomit, bad herbs and dried blood assault our noses.


    "Well hello there ladies, can I interest you all with a drink with a real binder"?


    Coming out of nowhere like a smelly Bullistic, a young man,with a ruddy face and obviously one too many tankards of mead in him showed up at our table and rudely slammed one of the aforementioned tankards onto our table. Hanging from his necks were three different colored crystals on a gold chain. My immediate impression of this guy: massive blowhard.


    "I am the great Dolvina Gulvadan! The Scour-err..Hero of the Red Rock Spires! And if you fine young flowers join me and my friends for a pint or two, I can tell you how I got that title", the man said with an obvious slur and a drunken l.u.s.tful gaze. Evidently, his sketchy title and sketchier demeanor did not win him any points in my book.


    I was going to tell him off, buy Albina had beaten me to the punch.


    "Apologies my drunken compatriot, but my friends and I are trying to enjoy a nice dinner together before our early morning travels. So I suggest you go back to your friends snickering in the corner before you embarrass yourself further", she said with a smile that seemed sweet yet condescending.


    Apparently too drunk to be deterred, the drunkard replied with, "Oh come on ladies, wouldn''t you rather spend your evening in the arms of real men instead of bacon walking on two legs"?


    A look of offended shock appeared on all of our faces after he said that.


    [Voxea, this guy''s a fake right]?


    [One hundred percent].


    [Great].


    In the next moment, Albina and I had decked this idiot in the face.

 Chapter 104 - Bar Fights and the City.

    After Albina and I punched out that blowhard faker, his friends got a little heated and wanted to fight us. Evidently, they didn''t expect us to actually follow up on their threats by actually throwing the blowhard at them. Well, Albina did anyways. She is apparently rather strong despite her thin looking build.


    What followed after that was a tavern wide brawl that ended with everyone passing out or getting knocked out, including us. I don''t remember when, but at some point, judging by my new black eye, I got punched in the face and was promptly knocked out. For the record, I remember knocking out at least four other people. My parents didn''t raise a milksop.


    Luckily, Savina had managed to drag my unconscious form to bed and away from the chaos... I''m assuming. When I woke up, I saw her lying facedown in her assigned bed sleeping with her clothes on. I guess she hid until the chaos ended to drag me upstairs and promptly passed out.


    Evidently, it appeared Bori and Albina had a better night than I did. Albina appeared to be sprawled out on her bed with a smile on her face while barely having a scratch on her. Bori likewise looked fairly content with his slumber, though I did notice a welt on his forehead. Having been in enough scr.a.p.es growing up, those were the telltale bruises of headbutting someone. Good on ya Bori.


    Just as I was getting up and possibly get breakfast, Bartleby barged into the room and loudly shouted, "Ho there, cadets to be! It appears you four got into a spot of disorderly behavior last night, yes"?!


    The combination of loud shouting and door slamming had in order, surprised me, caused Savina to roll out of bed, Bori to squeal/jump out of bed and Albina to shoot up of bed with a grumbling noise.


    "Ah to be young and brash. Don''t worry about any issues with authorities, I was told of the whole situation and patched things up. But we are leaving in an hour so I expect you four to be ready in ten minutes and downstairs to eat before we fly onwards. See you then!", he said before turning around and heading back to the tavern floor.


    "Sil-Sil".


    "Yeah Savina"?


    "Don''t start another fight until we get to the capital please", Savina asked tiredly.


    "Fair enough".


    [A No more punching people]?


    _________________________________________


    "Ho there, cadets! Look below and behold! The Imperial Capital"!


    [Huh. Never thought this place would still be standing after all this time...].


    Coming over the horizon, towers of white stone capped with gold began to form. As the Sandroc flew closer and closer to the city, I was able to make out more and more details about how and why this place became the new Imperial Capital.


    Surrounding the city was a massive wall several feet thick and dozens of feet high. Even without sensing the aether, I could see carved into each and every brick was a rune, similar to the menhir back home, but even more elaborate than that and filled with shining metals. Guardian binders patrolled the perimeter of the wall and on the wall itself, some had their monsters out and by their side, others were riding their monsters, while more still kept their beasts hidden in the drajules.


    Albina let out a long whistle before commenting that this place was more secured than a Beetalion hive, ironic since there was a guardian Binder with a Beetalion by his side.


    We flew over several stone buildings and districts, with all manner of people coming and going. It wasn''t until we flew for another five or so minutes that Bartleby loudly announced, "Welcome to the Grand Imperial Binder Academy"!


    Straight ahead of us was a huge, imposing yet regal looking citadel where a large crowd of people was milling about in the courtyard. As we got closer and closer to the citadel, several other flying majimonsters soon flanked us, each with their own controlling binder and group of cadets. I couldn''t help but feel a tad bit excited for what was going to happen next.


    [Huh...].


    [What''s up Voxea]?


    [Nothing much, just...Hmmm... I''ll tell you later. I could be wrong about this...], Voxea said enigmatically.


    [Okay....].

 Chapter 105 - I said not until we reached the capital...

    "And here we are cadets! Exactly thirty minutes before the cut off as well. Now please wait here, feel free to mingle, until the headmaster arrives", Bartleby told us as we dismounted from his Sandroc. Once everyone got off and secured our respective pieces of luggage, Bartleby promptly recalled his majimonster.


    "Now if you need me, I''ll be at the administration office finalizing your arrival and registrations. Ta ta for now", he said before marching straight towards one of the castle''s wings.


    "So...I guess after this is when we part ways to separate classes?", Savina asked aloud.


    "Not necessarily. My cousin said that when the escorts bring in groups, they tend to keep them together as either students in the same class or as dorm mates in order to facilitate teamwork...I think", Bori said while scratching his head in thought.


    "Oh yay! I do look forward to us getting to know each other even better!", Savina said excitedly.


    "Yeah-waitaminute".


    I was about to agree with Savina until my ears picked up something mildly distressing.


    {Give him back}!


    {Make us little lamb~}.


    As I turned to see the source of distress, I saw a group of people several feet away from us picking on this small looking child with curly hair and sheep horns. From what I could see, they were holding a drajule just out of their reach and tossing it between one another. An itchy feeling crawled up my back as I watched them toss around the drajule. It was good thing only the binder who owned the drajule could summon the monster inside it, otherwise this could''ve gotten uglier than it currently was.


    "Sil-Sil, you promised not to get into any fights...", Savina said as she leaned on my shoulder and whispered into my ear.


    "Until we got to the capital", I replied, "Besides, I''m just going to go over there and help out the little one". With that said, I began to make my way towards the group of bullies.


    "Silvia is rather heroic isn''t she?", I heard Albina comment to Savina.


    "That or wreckless", Savina followed up.


    _________________________________________


    Kolo was having a rather bad day.


    This morning went fine, his group and his escort managed to get to the capital in record time and breakfast was decent...what little he managed to eat. On the ride over, they had hit a snag and his delicious blueberry muffin fell out of his hand and onto the wayside. It would''ve been rude for him to ask to pull over so he just kept quiet and sniffled bit on the way here.


    After they got to the academy, Kolo had somehow gotten lost and subsequently separated from his group. Making matters worst, when he tried to approach another group to help him find his friends, they made the very unreasonable demand of him to hand over ownership of his majimonster as a "service fee". Naturally he refused, which now lead to them playing "keep away" with his drajule. If he could summon Goro with his mind, he would''ve let them have it. Unfortunately, all he could was feebly grab at it as it was tossed about.


    He was rapidly approaching just breaking down and crying in public, but just as his drajule was about to be caught by one of the bulkier looking bullies, a red-headed girl with intense blue eyes intercepted the throw.


    "Hey! Who do you-OOF! Ack"!


    But before the bully could tell her off, the girl had punched him in the stomach and headbutted him in the face. She had then turned towards Kolo and presented him with his drajule with an open palm.


    "I hope they didn''t hurt you too badly, Mister...", she said while rubbing her forehead with her other hand. Kolo was in awe and was currently staring at her with wide, slightly worshipful, eyes.


    _________________________________________


    [You know you could''ve just thrown an ice disk at them right?], Voxea commented in my head.


    [I can''t exactly show off maji-like powers in the middle of a crowded city now can I?], I retorted.


    The small sheep looking boy just sorta stared at me with these big eyes that reminded me of a small child staring at a musician in wonder. He was kinda cute in a teddy bear sort of way.


    "Are you just gonna leave me hanging here or are ya gonna take back your drajule?", I asked.


    "Huh? Yes! Sorry miss. My name''s Kolo by the way", the boy said as he took back his drajule.


    "Name''s Silvia".


    "Hey! What do you think you''re doing to my men, peasant?!", a loud arrogant voice called out to me.


    Oh I could already tell I was going to need to punch another fool.

 Chapter 106 - Bring it-Wait, what?

    I turned to see who the arrogant voice belonged to, and she looks exactly as she sounds, in essence, pompous.


    Leading this squad of goons and thugs was a girl about my age, but clearly of noble birth. She had the usual noble fashion of silk clothes, precious metal jewelery, a parasol studded with gems and rose perfume. She also had the telltale look of make up, namely whitening powder, red dye lipbalm and charcoal to emphasize the eyebrows. Surprisingly her hair was all natural despite being in those weird curls nobles like to do so much. All in all, a throughbred noble girl...with eyes remarkably similar to my own...


    "I said, you peasant, what do you think you''re doing to my men", the noble girl said with a condescending tone that instantly made me want to slap her.


    "Oh moi?", I replied with an exaggerated simpering tone.


    [Waitaminute...], Voxea suddenly commented.


    "Yes. You", she said in mild annoyance. I could already tell I was going to enjoy this way more than I should.


    "Well pardon me milady, I was just doing a public service", I replied in a sugary tone.


    [Something about this girl is tickling my senses...].


    [What do you mean?], I mentally asked while keeping up my current appearance.


    "A public service?", she said while slowly squinting her eyes at me.


    "Why yes. Is it not the duty of an Imperial citizen to deal out justice on bullies and thugs? Especially when they happen to be the subordinates to a do nothing noble girl?", I replied acidly.


    [Wait..oh! Oh boy...].


    [What? What did you realize]?


    "Do nothing noble?! How dare you! You''re the one who assaulted my subordinate!", she exclaimed.


    "Well isn''t it the responsibility of a leader to own up to their subordinate''s action? Should I call you a thug instead, or would you prefer thuggish noble?", I retorted with a challenging look.


    [I think that lackey of hers is about to explain].


    "Hey! Watch your tongue wretch!", a member of her entourage suddenly piped up, "You are speaking to Lady Diamonda Belladonna Terrania Firmis! First young mistress of Clan Firmis, daughter of Lady Fiora and squire to Lord Granido of the Crystal Rose"!


    [There it is~], Voxea stated in a sing-song voice.


    "Well I don''t give a-waitaminute...Clan Firmis"?


    [She''s from my mother''s side]?


    [Yes, and isn''t Fiora the name of one of her sisters?], Voxea asked.


    [SHE''S MY COUSIN]?!


    "Yes I am! And you, you knave girl, have insulted my honor", Diamonda interjected, "And since we are both binders, our only recourse is for us to duel! Bring out your drajule, wench, and let us settle this as true binders".


    The noble girl then proceeded to close her parasol and pointed it at me like a sword.


    "Or are you just a brute who only let their fists do the talking?", she said with a mocking grin.


    Part of me wanted to just let it go since she was technically family, but after that comment...well, mother and father did say that the academy was one part social circle and one part fight pit. Bigger fist tends to have the most say.


    "Alright noble girl, you''re on".


    "Clear out everybody, we got a duel incoming"!


    "Huh? Diamonda is about to fight a girl"?!


    "Who''s the other girl? She''s pretty cute in an untamed way...".


    "You''re crazy, Diamonda is a proper beauty"!


    The people around us began to clear,forming a circle around us and just as my friends caught up and joined me.


    "Silvia! What are you-".


    "Whoa, hang back ivory tone. This is a proper binder duel. Rules gotta be respected".


    The noble girl and I stared each other down as our respective groups began to back away.


    "Ladies first?", I asked.


    "On the count of three. One monster each", she said as she repositioned her parasol and place her hands over the handle, which began to him with aether might.


    "Fine by me", I replied while placing my hand over my hunting knife. A few weeks back, I had a new sheath made to install Azalea''s drajule as well. Fashionable and practical, just as Voxea taught me.


    "Three...".


    "Two...".


    "One"!


    "Ambush them, Azalea"!


    "Put her in her place, Bismuth"!

 Chapter 107 - Bedazzled Goat

    [Oh dear gods the species actually survived], Voxea commented as Azalea and the goat-man monster collided with another, their techniques pushing against one another.


    _________________________________________


    Species name: Jewel Satyr


    Affinities: Earth/Verdant/Mystic


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Crystal horns, Armed


    Description: A majimonster infused with the wisdom of the forest and strength of the mountains, this goat humanoid majimonster has crystal horns that is a crystalization of its magical power. However, it takes time for the crystals to develop so they fashion weapons out of rock, wood and precious metals.


    Voxea''s Notes: Two words: Drunken mistake. The maji who made these monsters was a well-known heavy drinker and master class brew master. I was actually there when he came up with idea of, to quote, "What if we took a knight, a mountain goat and jewelery and make...a thing"! I never followed up on that, but if these monsters picked up anything from their creator, they should be weirdly tricky fighters. Be wary....or not.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Name: Azalea


    Species: Bushinado


    Affinities: Verdant/Wind/Fury


    Grade/Tier: Silver 1 star


    Traits: Assassinination, Armed


    Health: E


    Strike: A


    Protection: D-->C


    Magic: B


    Discipline: C


    Speed: A


    Brawn: B


    Talent: B


    Description: Like the shinobi of old, Bushinado fights with stealth and fury. Able to inflict a variety of status effects, it can follow up such debilitating effects with a proper one-two deathblow or just go straight berserk...in battle. When not in combat, Bushinado (well Azalea at least) act like a loyal retainer/bodyguard/maid. If left alone for an extended amount of time in a messy room, the room will suddenly become spotless with everything in its proper place...I''m not sure how she knows where everything goes but I''m not questioning it.


    _________________________________________


    The moment our monsters were summoned, the familiar feeling of the battle bond sunk in and I could feel Azalea''s excitement. This was the first time that Azalea got to participate in a battle that wasn''t just training with mother and father or Savina. And to be honest, I was pretty pumped too. This would also be my first proper fight with another binder and I couldn''t help but wonder how my monsters and I measured up in terms of skill. Both of our monster came rushing out of their respective summoning circles and towards each other, emanating a bloodl.u.s.t that I could feel double time through the bond.


    The approaching Jewel Satyr was wielding a wicked looking glaive that had a crystal head while the shaft looked like a living tree with the roots holding the blade in place. The crystal glaive began to glow as the once clear crystal blade turned into a dark brown color akin to an agate. If this lamb chop on two legs wanted to go blow for blow, Azalea and I would be happy to oblige.


    [Azlaea! Seething Strike]!


    "Fuuuaaa"!


    After training for weeks on end, Azalea had become a silver grade monster and developed the trait [Armed] as a result. However, instead of gaining a weapon like a W.o.m.batant or a Cruelsader, her gauntlet-like hands became more elborate looking and began to look less like wood and more like iron. In essence, her melee based techniques would end up hitting a lot harder than normal.


    Azalea''s gauntlet hand began to glow with an orange light which then solidified into a burning spikes made of orange aether. With a joyfully fierce cry, she launched a straight punch right at the gem goat.


    A loud bang occured as gauntlet and glaive collided with each other, sparks of orange and brown aether flying into the air.


    [Press the assault, don''t let up]!


    Heeding my command, Azalea immediately launched another [Seething Strike], only for the goat to collide against it with its glaive again. The noble girl must''ve thought of to staying on the offensive as well, thinking I''d back off or something. If she wants to turn this into a slugfest, bring it on!


    _________________________________________


    Savina, Albina and Bori watched on as Silvia dueled the noble girl Diamonda to a surprising standstill. Azalea and the strange goat monster were exchanging high speed blows with one another, a collage of counters, strikes and blocks between spear and fist.


    It was a display they could watch all day...up until Bori noticed something odd stirring on the other side of the dueling area.

 Chapter 108 - Ya cheating...!

    [Well this is going nowhere. You both appear to be evenly matched], Voxea commented as I commanded Azalea to do another [Body Double] technique. Azalea''s body disappeared in a cloud of dust and leaves as it was replaced by a log that got pierced by the Jewel Satyr''s glaive.


    I''m not sure how long this duel has been going, due to how the fog of war messes with one''s perception of time, but we''ve been having this back and forth for a while...and I''m starting to notice something.


    [Azalea, use Branch Barrage]!


    A moment after disappearing, Azalea reappeared right behind the bejewled mutton man. Her bush-hair began to glow with a dark green light as several branches inside of it began to violently shake and spin, changing their shape into rudimentary stakes. With a loud cry, the branches went flying in a shower of deadly missiles.


    But before the Jewel Satyr became lamb kebabs, it abruptly turned towards the shower of piercing branches and slashed a long gash across the ground in front of it. The gash glowed with aether before abruptly exploding into a wall of stone, blocking the branches.


    [That is the third time she has blocked your counter attack in a row, she is surprisingly intuitive].


    [I know...Voxea, are Jewel Satyrs known to have some kind of hidden danger sense trait?], I asked Voxea with a bit of suspicion growing in the back of my head. As I carried on this conversation, I had Azalea launch another attack which also got blocked.


    [Huh? No, the guy who made them designed them to be brutes or bodyguards. Why?], Voxea asked confusedly. Meanwhile, the Jewel Satyr attempted to stab Azalea with a weird mystic technique that caused its glaive to leave after images. Thankfully, a well timed [Body Double] prevented that from doing any damage.


    [Everytime Azalea launched an attack or performed a counter, I''ve been hearing this weird buzzing sound going off a little before she actually does it. Weirder still, it sounds like it''s moving around the area so I can''t pinpoint where it is...you got detection abilities right? Would you mind...], I began to ask as Azalea had managed to catch the Jewel Satyr''s glaive with her gauntlets.


    [Oh alright, but just because you''re my favorite apprentice].


    [I''m your only apprentice].


    [Oh hush...huh, you''re right. There is a third monster in the fog of war, and it''s not hers. It appears your noble cousin is cheating and using outside assistance], Voxea said in confirmation of what I was thinking.


    [That bloody cheating thug of a noble! I''m gonna call her out right now]!


    [Wait one moment], Voxea interjected before I called out Diamonda, [I have a better idea].


    [Oh]?


    [The next time you have Azalea use her defense technique, have her teleport right in front of that loudmouthed lackey from earlier, her back towards her, and punch straight ahead with a fury technique].


    [...Oh! Right on], I replied as a devious smile appeared on my face.


    [Azalea]!


    "Hmm"!


    Just as the Jewel Satyr launched another assault on Azalea, she used [Body Double] once more to avoid it. However, instead of appearing behind it like she was doing before, Azalea appeared right in front of Diamonda''s entourage. This sudden action illicit a bit of surprise from the onlookers, but I could hear her group''s hearts begining to pulsate ever more quickly, especially the loudmouth from earlier!


    [Seething Strike, right in front of you]!


    "Fuua"!


    "Goooo"?!


    Azalea shot out her fist dead ahead, but instead of hitting empty space, a loud crack sounded out as a strange distortion occured in the air. A vaguely humanoid shape took form from the sudden impact, and my Dragon''s eye identified the strange air as a [Sombra]. The loudmouth from earlier suddenly jerked as well, apparently the Sombra belonged to her.


    [Well hello little air ghost], Voxea commented.


    "Bori was right! They are cheating!", I heard Silvia cry out despite the battle sense taking over.


    "Care to explain, miss noble"?


    "I said one monster each, not the amount of participants. Soldiers?", she said as she snapped her fingers.


    Two more summoning circles appeared out of thin air as a pair of brutish looking binders stepped forward from behind Diamonda with their drajules at the ready.


    "Well this hardly seems fair", I commented.


    "Then let''s even the odds!", I heard Albina yell out as she, Silvia and Bori abruptly appeared next to me.


    [Looks like we got a battle Royale going down]!

 Chapter 109 - Proper 4 v 4

    "Crush them Grigori"!


    "Suffocate them Boleras"!


    "Grooooaaa"!


    "Paaaaoooo"!


    Charging straight from the summoning circles were a pair of majimonsters that were both large and brutal looking. As the majimonsters charged straight for Azalea, the Dragon''s eye flared up and identified them as two very different Earth majimonsters


    _________________________________________


    Name: Grigori


    Species name: Cragmatik


    Affinity: Earth


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Sharp, Armed.


    Description: Monsters made of earth and stone, they are usually found in mountains, mines and quarries. They usually subsist on their surroundings crystals, metals and ores and are usually quite sluggish. However, if they are hungry enough and there happens to be a caravan carrying something tasty...


    Name: Boleras


    Species name: Sludgephant


    Affinities: Earth/Water


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Massive, Brawny


    Description: Resembling elephants, these monsters spend their days...like an elephant. They bathe in mud and dust, they eat grass, they explore nature, all in familial herds called baths. Few binders risk binding a Sludgephant, because invoking the wrath of one involves invoking the wrath of the while family. It''s also known they hang out with mundane elephants as well.


    _________________________________________


    "Bori! Take the Sludgephant, I got the Cragmatik!", I heard Savina shout.


    "On it! Take it down Ulvor"!


    Savina held her drajule like it was a pen and used it to draw a perfect circle in the air. Meanwhile, Bori''s tusks began to glow and he shouted into a existence a ring of energy. A pair of summoning circles appeared in front of me, one blue and white while the other was brown and red, which meant Bori was bringing a Fire/Earth majimonster to this fight.


    Before the two bruisers got close to Azalea, they were intercepted by my friends'' majimonsters who came rushing out of their respective circles. Savina had opted to go with Triton and had him shield slam against the Cragmatik''s club. Meanwhile, Bori had summoned-


    [BY THE DIVINES, HOW AND WHY?!], Voxea suddenly shouted as I stared at Bori''s unknown monster, which looked like a volcano was combined with a giant boar.


    _________________________________________


    Name: Ulvor


    Species name: Boaruptodon


    Affinities: Earth/Fire


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Fire Body, Obsidian Blood


    Description: N/A


    Voxea''s Notes: Paloa. The Great Molten Sun of the Obsidian Forge sect and my ex-gir-rival. She was my rival. She was an incredibly powerful pyromancer and volcamancer that had a perchance of making dangerous fire type majimonster ranging from Boaruptodon to Obsididrake. While most fire majimonsters are weak to water techniques, Paloa''s have a little...trick to them.


    _________________________________________


    [What do you mean by trick?], I asked Voxea.


    [Just watch].


    As Ulvor charged at the Sludgephant, the Sludgephant''s trunk glowed with a blue light before release a huge spray of water at the Boaruptodon. A burst of steam erupted as the water made contact with the volcanic pig monster, but instead of the expected squeal of pain, I heard the sound of glass cracking.


    As the steam cleared, it soon became clear that it wasn''t glass cracking, but strange black crystals growing from the monsters'' body.


    [Quick science lesson: when magma is cooled under the right conditions, they form a type of glass called obsidian], Voxea quickly explained, [which is very brittle...but also sharper than the finest swords! And in the Boaruptodon''s case, this next part is going to hurt]!


    "REEEEE"!


    Ulvor let out a loud war squeal before its whole body began to glow brown. In the next moment, it had charged straight at Sludgephant with its newly formed obsidian tusks levelled at it. Not one to be intimidated, the Sludgephant matched Ulvor charge for charge with a pair of glowing blue tusks.


    As the two giants collided with one another, another loud crack echoed out, followed by the Sludgephant being pushed back a few feet with shards of obsidian embedded into its face! Ulvor meanwhile had lost its fancy obsidian bits and starting glowing like lava again.


    [That doesn''t look pleasant], I commented while staring at the Sludgephant.


    [Now imagine those shards embedded into your flesh. Also, Azalea''s about to get flanked by the Sombra], Voxea replied.


    [What]?


    I snapped my focus back to Azalea, seeing she was currently engaged with the Jewel Satyr, only to see the Sombra charging up a powerful wind technique off to the side and in the air. I was about to command Azalea to disengage and dodge, until I was stopped by an arm holding an ornate pipe.


    "If it''s air control they want, they''ll have to contest it with me. Indigo, would you be dear?", Albina said before taking a puff from her pipe. A summoning circle appeared before, adorned with purple and light blue summoning patterns. Albina then exhaled a cloud is smoke into the circle, and as the smoke passed through it, the scent of incense filled the air and the smoke had transformed into a majimonster with a smoke-like body, feminine shape and adorned in golden ornaments.


    _________________________________________


    Name: Indigo


    Species Name: Djinncense


    Affinities: Air/Mystic


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Flight, Illusion Body


    Description: N/A


    Voxea''s Notes: Another one of the Desert Beauty''s creations, Djinncense is the cousin to both Djinnferno and the Dancense Burner, but has a distinct lack of the fire ability. Instead, she took the innate mystic ability of the former and combined with the air affinity of the latter to create a monster born of smoke, seduction and illusion.


    _________________________________________


    After having sufficiently charged its technique, the Sombra fired off a visible force of air at Azalea. Moments before it could hit her, Indigo had already flown straight into its flight path. Before I could ask Albina what she was doing, she just held up her hand and said, "Watch".


    For some inexplicable reason, the Djinncense suddenly began to dance in a strange undualating manner and as it did, it used one of its hands to grab onto the air technique. Instead of bursting or doing damage, the technique had somehow condense into a ball of air that the Djinncense began to infuse with smoke as she danced with it like it was a prop for her performance. After a bit, the smoke infusion stopped and the Djinncense threw it back at the Sombra at even faster speed then before.


    The Sombra was momentarily shocked by the sudden reversal, but it had enough sense to jerk its body away from the oncoming smoke ball. The smoke ball missed its intended target, but it suddenly jerked down towards the ground and made a smokescreen that blocked everyone''s vision.


    I could still sense Azalea''s position but no one else''s, so I had her return to my side of the battlefield. Once the smoke cleared up a bit, it became clear that everyone else had the same idea in mind. Two distinct teams of four had formed and were now staring daggers at each other.


    "Now then! It appears we have a proper four on four team battle, no? Ready for round 2?", Albina loudly announced as she pointed her pipe towards Diamonda and her goons.

 Chapter 110 - Lets get it- Wait, what is that?

    [Well she''s awesome], Voxea commented about Albinas''s actions as my friends and I stared daggers at Diamonda and her cronies. Currently, neither my side or Diamonda''s were rushing in to start another fight. It would go without saying that the one to rush into the other would get ganged up on real fast.


    [Looks we got ourselves a proper showdown at high noon!], Voxea commented in a weird accent again. I''d need to ask her more about the world beyond the Empire at some point.


    "So everyone know who their dance partners are?", Albina asked as she looked at us, which she followed up with, "I''ll keep the Sombra busy".


    "I''ll out brute the Sludgephant", Bori said with a snort.


    "Triton will lock weapons with the Cragmatik", Savina added.


    "And I''ll make sure the satyr is mutton", I said with determination.


    All four of our majimonsters took battle ready stances and began to stare down their respective opponents. A palatable tension was in the air, like a hunter and its prey, waiting for someone to flinch first and get the first strike in.


    "But first, I think all of us should get ready first? Indigo"?


    The Djinncense let out a breezy laugh before dancing once more. As she danced, I felt the air get heavier and electrify as it seemed to surround her and our monsters. My Dragon''s Eye recognized this as the effect of [Storm Aura], a technique that made it harder to hurt our monsters with ranged techniques.


    [Oh yeah. Buff techniques].


    Following Albinas'' lead, Bori and Savina had their monsters use buff techniques as well. Bori''s Ulvor seemed to light itself on fire, which then formed into a cloak of pure flames, while Savina''s Triton slashed the ground with its Trident before water made of aether coated it.


    [Well then...Azalea. Brute Strength].


    As the command was given Azalea''s body began to glow with an orange light. Visible strand of aether began to gather and merge with her wooden form. As the aether was absorbed, the wooden armor began to grow visibly thicker and muscles made of aether began to form underneath the armor. As additional flair, Azalea''s wooden mask went from plain looking to downright sinister with the horns growing larger and more diabolic.


    [Huh. So that''s what that does], Voxea commented.


    [Why do you sound so shocked]?


    [Because you have never used that technique up until].


    [She just learned it recently], I defended.


    [To be fair, I''ve never seen you use a buff technique until now], Voxea retorted.


    [Hard to do that given how intense battles get].


    [Fair enough. Now kick their butts]!


    Evidently, we weren''t the only ones thinking of buffing up before engaging. Over on Diamonda''s side, I could see that the Sludgephant, Cragmatik and Jewel Satyr use Earth techniques to coat themselves in armors made of mud, stone and gems. Meanwhile, the Sombra had also use [Storm Aura] to protect their team. This meant if we wanted to hurt each other, we had to go full melee.


    My friends and I continued to stare each other down after our monsters had prepped...for all of five seconds. In the span of a second, both of our respective team of monsters let out battlecries before charging straight for each other.


    [Azalea, Seething Strike]!


    Azalea''s whole body began to glow with orange aether and alongside her; Ulvor, Triton and Indigo began to glow with the power of their respective techniques.


    "Let''s see if we can push them over the edge a bit more", I said before channeling my own aether into my bond with Azalea and strengthening her technique, a visible aura of power forming around me before moving into Azalea. My friends nodded in agreement before doing the same thing.


    Once more, Diamonda and her gang did what we did and began to charge up their monster''s technique as well. In essence, the moment our monsters'' technique made contact, it would all come down to-


    [Wait. Something''s coming...!!! Call off the attack now!], Voxea suddenly shouted in my head.


    [Wait, what?! It''s too late for-]


    "Ara...what a loud ruckus for opening day. Who''s causing such noise"?


    I don''t know who that voice belonged to, but something about it made the hair on the back of neck stand up in terror.

 Chapter 111 - The Boss.

    Despite the voice echoing out on the field, our majimonsters still rushed towards one another. That fact however did not stop the sudden appearance of a bizarre looking majimonster. Quicker than a lightning strike,but more graceful than a feather, a weird bird majimonster had suddenly descended in-between the two charging groups of monsters.


    [Well, this went from a rousing romp to utterly horrifying in a couple of minutes], Voxea commented on the sudden appearance of the bird majimonster.


    The monster in question didn''t exactly look to be incredibly strong, in fact it looked elegantly wword. It had long golden and silver feathers, long legs that looked powerful and graceful, a sharp beak that reminded me of a spear and three feathers that reminded me of a crystal crown. However...all of these details composed what basically reminded me of a long chicken. Of course, I couldn''t appreciate any of this due to the immense magical power pressing down on my very existence.


    It was like staring down the Grim Shrieker all over again except ten times worst. I could feel a scream building up in my throat, until-


    [Don''t say a peep Silvia. Look around you. Everyone else is not as terrified as you''re feeling].


    Everyone else seemed to be only reacting to the monsters'' appearance, namely shock, awe and admiration, I appeared to be the only one noticing the power it was radiating. I quickly swallowed my fear before putting on a brave/annoyed facade.


    [Why isn''t anyone else freaking out over...whatever this thing is]?!


    [Probably due to you and me being the only ones with enough aether sensitivity to notice], Voxea commented,[... it''s fascinating].


    [Fascinating]?


    [Take a look with your Dragon''s Eye. See why].


    [...oh].


    The monster in question was simply known as [Bosstrich], a basic affinity majimonster. I had no description of it because this was the first time I had ever heard of it, but Voxea''s notes stated that it was a rather peculiar flightless bird majimonster that could command other species of bird majimonsters, due to its creator, [The Feathered Overlord], having a fondness for ostriches. However, none of that really mattered due to the Bosstrich''s grade being [Diamond]...the highest possible grade for a majimonster to reach.


    [Oh crap].


    [What more interesting is that its supressing its aether to the point only someone like you or me can detect something like this and why everyone else is so unusually calm. On top of that, it''s at least three,no, five times stronger than when I was alive!], Voxea explained excitedly.


    [Why is that making you excited]?!


    [Because it means there''s no idea what my limit is now! Also, the Bosstrich is about to make a move, think fast]!


    [Oh crap]!


    As our majimonsters were about to clash with Diamondas'', the Bosstrich lazily gazed at both of the charging sides.


    "Impudent hatchlings. Cease your roughhousing", a deep authorative boomed across the courtyard. Everyone else looked confused at where the voice was coming from, my friends, opponents and I could clearly see it was coming from the Bosstrich!


    [Of course it can talk...].


    In the next moment, all of our monsters'' techniques suddenly fizzled out and they were stopped dead in their tracks...or to be more accurate, they got smashed into the ground. When I finally registered what had happen to Azalea, I felt a huge amount of backlash from the bond! It was like getting kicked in the stomach by a horse, and from the looks of it, none of my friends were spared either.


    "How in the name of heaven"?!


    "What technique is that"?!


    "That was either insane speed or a mental technique"!


    "Maybe I saw its wing twitch"?


    "Its beak"?


    Evidently, they were all wrong. It didn''t use its beak, wings, legs or mental abilities to take down our monsters, rather, it just released its supressed aether for a split second.


    [Enforcement Aura. I haven''t seen that in centuries], Voxea commented with a low whistle.


    [Enforcement Aura]?


    [It''s an old maji trick, it''s basically a showy display of force. The mother aether your body could produce and hold, the more powerful an aura you could release. Depending on who was on the receiving end... well, you can see for yourself].


    I looked back at the Bosstrich standing over the defeated pile of monsters like a warlord or a tyrant or...a boss.


    "Well then, thank you Archimedes".

 Chapter 112 - Headmaster

    As the fog of war died down due to our majimonsters being soundly trounced into the ground, all of our eyes were drawn to the source of the voice.


    "It''s the headmaster"!


    "Wait what? She looks way too young. I thought she was supposed to be-".


    "Don''t finish that statement if you value your life".


    [Well she''s clearly using something magical].


    The voice in question belonged to a matronly looking middle aged woman that reminded me of an owl...well her hair anyways. It was cut short and had a tuft of white hair in the front while the sides were brown. Her skin looked looked impossibly pale and smooth, matched with features that said wisdom and beauty were one in the same. She wore flowing purple robes embroidered with golden thread and ornaments. Completing her ensemble was a cape made of black and white feathers done in a mixed manner, held in place by a golden medal with an owl design and three gems studded in it.


    "It was no trouble at all milady. Just some troublesome youths", the Bosstrich known as Archimedes said as it preened itself before bowing towards the woman.


    "Oh raise your head old friend", she said affectionately as she walked towards the Bosstrich and pet his head, "now do you wish to rest or do you mind helping me a little longer"?


    "For you milady? Anything".


    "Good good. Now then...", she said as she shifted from affectionate look to a hard gaze that reminded me of my mother but worst.


    "Would anyone mind telling me why there was an unsanctioned showdown in the academy''s courtyard on registration day?", she asked the eight of us with an authorative tone. Her gaze swept between us and I couldn''t help but feel like she already knew what happened, but was just waiting for us to confess.


    "Headmistress", Diamonda suddenly said as she took knee and bowed her head towards the woman, "This ruffian assaulted one of my friends and I challenged her to a duel. About half way through her friends joined in to gang up on me-"


    "Oh that''s a load of-"!


    "Silence!", the headmistress yelled , "Continue".


    "...her friends decided to interfere and gang up on me. My friends came to my aid in order to even the odds. We apologize for causing such a commotion on hallow ground", Diamonda said in the most sycophantic way possible. My cousin is not only a bully but also a massive suck up....great.


    "Hmmm. Believable and based on the premise that the person asking only just discovered the situation...not bad", I heard the headmistress mumble to herself.


    "Now then, you, hunter girl", the headmaster said as she pointed a finger at me, "what is your side of this story"?


    "Headma-"!


    "Silence noble girl. A proper investigation involves knowing all sides of an event, not just from the person who piped up first. Now then, hunter girl, talk", she said while gazing sharply at Diamonda and then at me.


    "Uhh...okay, headmaster. I saw these bullies harassing a kid and trying to take his majimonster away from him, so I intervened on his behalf to get it back. This c-ountess wannabe threw the proverbial dueling glove at me and we had a go. However, my majimonster detected the presence of two antagonistic monsters and I called her out on her cheating. It then snowballed into a full-on brawl as her goons tried to gang up on me before my friends came in to even the odds", I explained as eloquently blunt as possible to her. Evidently, the look of shock on Diamonda''s face as used vocabulary not normally used by "peasants" was hilarious to me.


    [Thank you mother and father, thank you Voxea].


    [You''re welcome].


    "Hmmm. A similar recollection of events but not an unnecessary twist and even owned up to aggressive actions. Surprising...", I heard her mutter again.


    "Do you have any proof to back your claim?", she asked aloud.


    "Proof"?


    "Yes, proof. Evidence. Something or someone to back your claim as to defend your position. This may not be court, but proof is important to back up any claim".


    "Uhh...", I went as I stared at my friends, who also looked a bit clueless at what to do.


    "Yes! Me! I''m her- I''m their proof!"

 Chapter 113 - Baa Baa Black Sheep thank you very much

    We all turned towards the voice that I had cry out. A look if triumph crept up my face as Diamonda''s face began to blanche at the same time.


    Standing in front of us, with possibly the cutest forced brave face I had ever seen on someone, was that dweller kid with the wooly hair and little sheep horns.


    [Huh. Karma is real...if I ever find her again, I owe her a tenner].


    "Headmistress", the dweller boy squeeked out in an attempt to sound like righteous fury, "this noble girl here and her goons tried to take away my drajule from me by force. That''s why the hunter girl intervened".


    "Hmmm. And the duel? Who initiated it and who cheated"?


    "The noble girl did headmaster but the cheating... I''m sorry but after the duel initiated, I went to go find my group", he said before his voice going quiet. The headmaster gave the boy a long hard look before finally clicking her tongue and turning towards Diamonda and I.


    "Now normally, I''d provide a suitable punishment for the eight of you for unsanctioned dueling and aggression, but since today is the first day... I''ll let you off the hook. Don''t let it happen again"!


    With those words, the owl-like headmistress turned away from us and walked towards the main building that loomed over the courtyard, the Bosstrich following behind her. It wasn''t until she had walked away from the battlefield that our majimonsters turned back into aether and returned to their respective drajules.


    Diamonda gave us a sharp look before letting out a derisive snort. She and her cronies then walked away from us and into the crowd. I was mildly tempted to use of the gestures Voxea taught me when we fought the Grim Shrieker, but I was soon stopped by Savina grabbing my shoulder.


    "Hey Sil-Sil, your parents told you about the academy right? Who was that lady"?


    "The headmistress? If I remember correctly she was called...Maltera"?


    "Malrena", Albina interjected.


    "As in the Sky Empress?", Bori asked.


    "Yeah, that was it. They told me she''s a master of bird majimonsters and that she''s been in charge of the academy ever since its founding. Her perceptive ability is so strong, that and I quote, ''she doesn''t have eyes on the back of her head, she has them all over whatever room she walks into''...or so my parents said".


    [On a secondary note, she scares me and reminds me of my old tutors].


    "Aia. If that''s what the headmaster is like, I shudder to see how the teachers are", Albina joked.


    "Yup".


    "Ummm, excuse me"?


    The four of us turned towards the newcomer.


    "Oh you''re that fluffy dweller kid", I said aloud.


    "Y-yes! My name''s Albert, thank you for getting me out of that situation earlier miss!", he said politely and with a sudden bow. His sheepy appearance, short stature and slightly high pitched voice made the whole affair look absolutely adorable.


    "No problem kiddo. It was the right thing to do".


    "Umm miss..."


    "Silvia. Silvia Rosewood".


    "Miss Rosewood, why are you patting my head"?


    I snapped back into attention and realized I had unconsciously began to head pat the dweller boy''s sheep wool-like head.


    "Gya!", I shouted as I yanked back my hand.


    "I''m so sorry! It''s just you''re head looked so fluffy and soft and-"


    "It''s fine. It actually felt kinda nice...", he said while pawing at the spot where I had initially rubbed. Evidently, I couldn''t help but side glance that Savina and Albina looked a little jealous from me patting his head, their hands mildly twitching.


    [I''m sure you''ll all have plenty of opportunities to pet the fluffy sheep boy''s hair while attending school...and maybe more with others], Voxea teased. It was good thing only I could hear her in this state, or the others would''ve started blushing.

 Chapter 114 - A show of ability

    After a few more minutes of pleasantries and learning that Albie came from a kaiju named "Shearcliff" (which turned out to be a brother kaiju of Terraboar and I have no idea what that meant exactly but Bori was happy to learn about this fact), an aether-infused voice echoed throughout the courtyard.


    "Attention soon-to-be-students! The welcoming ceremony will commence in five minutes. Please make your way to the main hall and you will be assigned your seats. That is all".


    After the announcement was made streaks of purple light began to manifest over the crowd and form a trail pointing towards a building, presumably the main hall. Evidently, my Dragon''s Eye flared up in the presence of these lights and they turned out to be very odd majimonsters.


    _________________________________________


    Species Name: Aethersurge


    Grade: Bronze


    Affinities: Basic/Mystic


    Trait: Elusive


    Description: Looking more like motes of purple light as opposed to... resembling anything alive, these strange little creatures exude electrical purple energy. Initially believed to be pure manifestations of aether, scholars recently confirmed them to be distinct monsters. They also tend to gather in places where the aether is particularly wild.


    Voxea''s Notes: These were not designed by any maji''s hands. I have seen these things sorta...form whenever a maji creates a monster but they tend to fade away after a few minutes....except maybe....


    _________________________________________


    "Using monsters as guideposts? How luxurious", Albina commented as we walked along.


    "I guess that''s one way to show off one''s power I suppose...", I replied.


    [This is low tier. Back in my day we had more much powerful and beautiful looking monsters doting the skies. Ones made of rainbows, snowflakes, auroras and burning skulls!], Voxea added on.


    [What was that last one]?


    [Don''t worry about it].


    "Do y''all think they''ll have a majimonster attendant next?", Bori asked aloud.


    "I really doubt th-".


    "PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS IN ROW A 10-14. THANK YOU, NEXT", an airy, almost aetheral, voice called out.


    "I stand corrected". At this point, I was ninety percent sure the Academy was just showing off to impress the newcomers.


    [Huh. I haven''t seen one of those things since before the fall! Good to know they survived up until now].


    To be completely fair, it was technically a monster-binder combination, but not in anyway I''ve seen before. The monster in question looked less like a living thing and more like a bejewled golden ball with various other smaller orbs floating around it, while the binder controlling it was sitting atop of the giant ball. Making the matter weirder, it appeared there was some kind of attachment connecting him to the monster. Surrounding them were even more crystal balls with chunks of earth surrounding them. The Dragon''s Eye revealed that the crystal balls with earth surrounding them were distinctive monsters from the golden orb


    _________________________________________


    Species name: Landscryed


    Grade: Silver


    Affinities: Earth/Mystic


    Traits: Thick Skinned, Clarity


    Description: A crystalline sphere surrounded by chunks of earth, these monsters from the Broken Vale are rather...odd. Staring into the sphere long enough will cause one to see images of far off people and places. Nobody knew for sure if these images are what the monster sees, if its what the viewer wants to see or if this is a strange form of communication. Turns out, it was all three! Trained Landscryed can do all of the above but it takes time, effort and a strong Landscryed.


    Voxea''s Notes: Landscryed...I have no idea about these guys but it does look similar to another monster I knew called the Astroracle....


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    Species name: Astroracle


    Grade: Gold


    Affinity: Mystic


    Traits: Metal Skin, Clarity, Swarm


    Description: This strange majimonster resembles a gold sphere with a multitude of gems, glass orbs and lenses embedded in its surface. In the wild, one could stare into one of these surfaces and see a wide of variety of sights much like a Landscryed, but in much greater detail. When Astroacles grow in strength, they develop little offshoots that act as its eyes, ears and weapons. Binders who bonded with Astroracle claim that they have been given clairvoyance, but others are doubtful...


    Voxea''s Notes: A product of a group of sisters called the Norns,in order to compete with the Moirai sisters'' Prophethreader, Astroracle is able to provide foresight...sorta. Technically speaking, Astroracle just provides information of what it is currently viewing or what the binder sees and makes calculated guesses on what''s going to happen next. Mathematics however cannot account for wild nature and human stupidity.


    _________________________________________


    [They''re just trying to show off the strength of their binders in order to deter the rowdier students at this point, huh?], I asked Voxea.


    [Yes. If this was the old days, I''d have summon an ice golem].

 Chapter 115 - Are you sure that was supposed to be inspirational?

    One of the Landscryed floated over to our group and emitted a small, metallic voice. I initially thought that the majimonster was talking, but I heard the binder''s voice at the same time coming from him directly. Hopefully, I can learn this voice transmission trick in the future.


    "Please follow me to your assigned seating area. Thank you". With a collective shrug, the four of us followed the Landscryed to a row of stone benches.


    [Huh. Guess those dwarves weren''t lying about their crafts lasting centuries], Voxea commented.


    [What''s a dwarf]?


    [Don''t worry about it].


    We sat at the benches for a solid five minutes just talking about inconsequential things until all of a sudden, the building began to darken. I didn''t notice, but the room was being lit up by the Landscryed and Astroracle. As the monsters dimmed their internal glow, another began to focus its light onto the center of a stage that was placed at the front of the main hall.


    "We will now be introducing your teachers for this upcoming year", a voice out of nowhere announced and echoed through the hall.


    As we stared onward, music began to fill the hall sounding both grand and welcoming. Several figures suddenly appeared on stage one after the other accompanied by flashes of colorful light, along with the voice announcing their names and occupation. It was an impressive sight to behold sure, but I was temporarily blinded by the act. Evidently, my friends also weren''t too happy about it either.


    "Ok that was impressive but why though?", Bori said as he rubbed his eyes.


    "Show of power?", Savina guessed.


    "Because they''re show-offs", Albina replied.


    "At least it wasn''t loud", I added.


    [And you just foreshadowed your ears beings messed up], Voxea commented.


    "Finally, please give a warm welcome to the Academy Headmaster, Malrena Artemisia".


    After that announcement was made, a final bright flash occured and the woman from earlier appeared front and center of the stage, her sharp owl-like gaze staring down at us. After a few moments, she cleared her throat and-


    "GOOD AFTERNOON INCOMING STUDENTS"


    spoke in a a very loud aether infused voice that caused my ears to ring.


    [Told you].


    "Ahem. Pardon me, it''s been awhile since I had to use that trick", the headmaster said at a much more tolerable level of loudness after clearing her throat a bit.


    "Now then, welcome incoming students to the Imperial Binder Academy", she said with a smile that had this weird mix of welcoming and predatory.


    [Why do I feel like she''s somehow measuring me up even though I''m inside a drajule]?


    "During your attendance at the academy, you''re ability will be identified, measured and strengthened. You and your majimonsters will experience exponential growth and develop brand new skills that will help you greatly in the future...if you survive".


    [Well that''s ominous].


    "Keep this in mind, students. As binders you represent three things for the Empire: a hammer, a shield and a lantern", the headmaster said in a serious tone. Looking at my friends, I could see I wasn''t he only one confused at her turn of phrase.


    "As shields, you must be strong enough to protect your fellow binders, your homes and those who are unable to fight back against the majimonsters. As their rage and fury pour down on you like lightning and hellfire, you must be able to withstand it all. As hammers, you must be ready to smash the enemies of the Empire into oblivion, be they monster, beast or bandit. The weight of your blows reflect the might of the Empire. Finally, as lanterns, you must lead the way into the this new age. You must spread the teaching of the binding arts, illuminate our lost history and discover how the aether has changed our world for better or for worst. But to become these tools of progress and protection, you must be melted down, forged and reforged a thousand times over. The academy shall serve as your forge, but it''s up to you whether you end up a pristine work...or scrap metal. I do hope you all prove to be stern enough. May your fangs never break".


    After finishing her speech, a bright flash occured and the headmaster and staff all disappeared. As the room brighten once more, a voice announced that dinner would be served in a two hours and that we should use this time to settle into our dorms.


    [Was...was that supposed to be inspirational]?

 Chapter 116 - Settling In

    "Oof! That was tasty!", Bori said as he collapsed onto a chair of our new abode.


    "Too full. Can''t comment", Savina as she passed out on the couch.


    Dinner was actually quite a tasty affair. Due to today being a welcoming ceremony of sorts for all the new students, an absurdly lavish feast was presented for everyone to consume. There were a variety of dishes I never heard of before like curry and fried rice, fruits and vegetables I have never seen before such as star fruit and rock roots, and roasted animals ranging from chickens to pigs to something called a camel. I don''t know what a camel looks or sounds like, but it was delicious and I want more.


    After stuffing ourselves silly, the four of us returned to our assigned room and promptly settled in. Due to how big this academy tuned out to be, we only had enough time to open the door, throw our respective luggage into it and run like Mastyffs were chasing us to the dining hall. But now that we finished eating, we finally had time to relax and settle in.


    The rooming in question included a surprisingly big common room with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, which I swear was magic until Voxea explained it was actually some kind of plumbing science. The common room had a large center table with a spell circle carved onto it,but the function was unclear to me, four chairs and a sofa.


    [This apartment is surprisingly large. And mixed gender housing! How forward], Voxea commented as I collapsed in the third chair.


    "Hey, anyone know what''s up with the table in the center ?", I asked aloud and to Voxea.


    "I heard about this before", Albina piped up as she joined us, "it''s a Keeper''s Table relic".


    "A what"?


    "You know how it takes a quarter of the day for our monsters to heal if they get aethered? This relic speeds up the process to about a third of the time, so it takes about two hours instead of six", Albina said before placing her drajule embedded pipe onto said relic. Two of the three crystals in the pipe began to glow with a soft light.


    "See"?


    "That''s useful", Bori commented.


    "And foreboding", Savina added.


    [Is that all it does?], I asked Voxea while also verbally agreeing with Savina on the foreboding nature of the relic.


    [No, but I didn''t know that that circle could do that too... I''ll tell you more about in private and when everyone else has gone to bed], Voxea said mysteriously.


    [Alright...].


    "Hey I just noticed, you got two majimonsters bonded ?", Savina asked Albina.


    "Aye. You met Indigo, my Djinncense, earlier. The other one is my buddy Cinnamon, a C.u.mulem", she said with a smile.


    "A C.u.mulem?", Bori asked.


    "It''s a majimonster resembling a cloud, packs a hell of a punch though....say, why don''t we use this time to introduce our monsters to each other? I know for sure you all have more than one monster. What''s everybody packing"?


    The three of us looked at each other for a bit before Bori shrugged and said, "I''ll go".


    Bori proceeded to put both of his hands into his mouth and around his tusks. After fiddling in there for a bit, an audible click sounded and he produced two crystal studs that he wiped with a handkerchief before placing it on the table. One of the studs began to glow red whilst the other glowed yellow.


    "Did.. did that...", I began to ask.


    "Hurt? Dreadfully so, but it''s a tradition in my family. It was either that or a nose ring", Bori said jovially. Evidently, I''d probably have gone for the tusk studs too.


    "Anyways, you all met my Boaruptodon, Ulvor", he said while pointing to the red crystal stud, "and the other is my Blitzhog, Zola", as he pointed to the yellow crystal stud.


    "What''s a Blitzhog? Is it another pig majimonster?", Savina asked.


    "Mhm", Bori replied with a nod, "Terraboar is home to all type of swine majimonsters. It''s not uncommon for binders who grew up there to have at least one or two pig-like majimonsters".


    [Mmmmm. Bacon].


    "My turn next", Savina said as she pulled out her two drajules and introduced them to Triton and Banda. After telling them the story of how she met Banda and how she "found" Triton, it was finally my turn.

 Chapter 117 - Shock and Circle

    "Alright, y''all have already met Azalea, my Bushinado", I said as I placed my hunting knife onto the table, "and my other partner is Rakka". Rakka''s and Azalea''s drajules began to glow as they reacted with the spell circle on the table.


    "A knife holster? How practical", Albina said as she took her pipe from off the table and began to take a huff from it.


    "I never heard of a Bushinado before, what affinity is she?", Bori asked while staring at my hunting knife intently.


    "Verdant, Wind and Fury".


    "Huh, neat. Which of those affinities was added by the primal drajule"?


    "None? I made the drajule myself".


    "What"?!


    The moment those words left my mouth, Bori looked like lightning struck him while Albina choked on her smoke.


    "Is there an issue?", I asked a little confused.


    "Are you kidding me? Natural triple affinity majimonsters are incredibly hard to find in the Wildlands!", Bori said excitedly.


    "And they tended to be incredibly dangerous and large majimonsters as well", Albina added as she coughed, "the fact that you managed to find one without being a noble or another binder helping you out is astounding good luck".


    "Huh...what if I had two?", I asked curiously.


    "Then I''d call you a liar or that you had the luck of a demon, why?", Albina asked as she stopped herself from taking another drag for her pipe. She began to gave me a wary look.


    "Well...", I began to trail off.


    "Silvia. What kind of majimonster is Rakka?", Bori asked.


    "Does the name ''Ragnaceros'' mean anything to you guys?", I asked innocently.


    "It''s an extinct and extremely dangerous deer-like majimonster, why-", but as the words left Bori mouth he suddenly stopped and began to stare at my knife with even bigger look of shock on his face. The next moment, he had duck under the table and I could feel his gaze at my feet.


    "Bori, what are you doing"?


    "He''s probably checking if you have literal rabbit''s feet", Albina said as she began to huff her pipe.


    "Why?", Savina asked in my stead.


    "Because the only people I know who are this lucky are from the kaiju Lagodrassil", Bori said seriously.


    [There''s a rabbit kaiju?], Voxea asked me.


    _________________________________________


    As laid in my new bed, I listened closely for the sounds of friends falling asleep. For obvious reasons, Voxea asked me to wait for everybody else to fall asleep before summoning her.


    [Can I come out yet?], Voxea asked a little impatiently.


    [Not- wait, can''t you detect this kind of thing]?


    [Not while inside the drajule. Magical energies and life force sure, just not biological idiosyncrasies. Now can I come out yet]?


    [Huh. More you know, and yes you can]. In the next moment, I rolled out of bed and quitely summoned Voxea from her drajule.


    "Perfect", she whispered, "now come along my darling apprentice. If that relic is what I think/know it is, it will help you break that little wall of yours quite easily".


    "Alright...why aren''t we using the link to talk?", I quitely asked as I opened the door.


    "Because...reasons", she said as she flew out of my door and into the common area. She and I may share a mental/spiritual bond, but there are somethings about her that throw me for a loop.


    As I followed after her, Voxea had already reached the table and had begun to lean closely and poke at the spell circle inscribed in it.


    "Hmmmm. That''s odd...", Voxea muttered.


    "What''s up"?


    "Take a look at this spell circle, do you see anything familiar and anything that seems off?", she asked in scholarly manner as she gestured to the spell circle.


    Looking it over, I could immediately see the runes representing the ten affinities as well as the runes for "gathering", "dragon" and "sky"... waitaminute.


    "There''s a rune here I don''t recognize you teaching me", I said as I stared closer at the carving.


    "That''s the rune for ''beast''. It''s a third grade rune that is normally used for transformation spells. I''m not entirely sure why it''s included alongside the other", Voxea explained.


    "There''s something the great Voxea doesn''t know"?


    "Oh don''t get smart with me", Voxea said while rolling her eyes at me, "What I mean is that the array should work just fine without it. I do believe there''s a second use for this circle other than healing your majimonsters".


    "Like what"?


    "Don''t know, but let''s find out".

 Chapter 118 - Aether Locks

    "Now let''s see here...", Voxea said as she floated over to the circle and began to sit/hover in the center of it in a meditative position and closed her eyes to focus. As she entered the circle, it and the drajule connected to Voxea began to glow simultaneously.


    "Well that''s a good sign...I think", I commented. Voxea had spent the last few weeks jamming a ton of foundational magical knowledge into my head. From aether types to incantations to foundational rune work, Voxea proceeded to throw the book at me and shove it down my throat. Out of everything though, one of the weirdest things that stuck out to me was spell circles, namely that a circle is pointless unless it glows.


    When making a spell circle, every line, symbol, rune and aether used must be incredibly precise, especially if one is physically carving it into an item, otherwise nothing will happen with the alternative being unforeseen magical accidents. Fortunately and unfortunately, the only way to know if a spell circle works is if it starts glowing after it has been carved in or activated. Otherwise you''d have to backtrack the circle to see what was missed or start from scratch, both of which suck terribly.


    "Hmmm", Voxea grunted as she meditated in the circle.


    "Something wrong"?


    "There''s an extra bit in this circle I can''t access. How curious", Voxea piped up after opening her eyes and returning to a floating/standing position.


    "You can''t access it?", I ask with an incredulous look.


    "Not exactly. I can sense what is and what it does, but I can''t activate it because it''s aether-locked".


    "What does that mean"?


    "This spell circle won''t activate its true effect without the right type of maji using it. Think of it like a lock and key, you need a corresponding key to open its corresponding lock. This particular lock is tuned to druids, meaning we won''t be able to use it unless we had a druid type maji with us", she explained.


    "So we''re just stuck"?


    "Not exactly. If I was back at my full strength I could just break this lock as easy as a twig, but that would take too long. So we have to use method two, i.e., you", Voxea said as she pointed a finger at me.


    "I''m getting deja vu, why?", I asked mildly annoyed.


    "As I said, aether locks are tuned to specific types of maji, but that specificity only comes with years and years of cultivation".


    "Meaning..."?


    "As a maji gets stronger, their aether end up developing into a specific affinity and... let''s say shape. Once a maji reaches a certain level of ability, the color can be changed by the general ''shape'' stays the same. However, apprentices are more malleable. Due to you being an apprentice maji, you can easily manipulate the ''shape'' of your aether into one that resembles that belonging to a druid", she explained in her teaching tone.


    "Huh. Weird", I commented.


    "It''s not weird, it''s magic. Now stop asking questions and get in the circle".


    I rolled my eyes a bit before complying and getting up onto the table and into the circle.


    "Huh. Tingles".


    "That''s normal. Now go into your cultivation form and I''ll guide you from there".


    I sat in the circle and entered the same meditative position that Voxea did earlier.


    "Alright, apprentice. Now this next part would normally done within your mindscape for secrecy but that takes too much time and no one else is here, so just release your aura and let the magic happen", Voxea said to me.


    "Uh...okay", I said with a nod before concentrating my aether channels. I willed my aether to flow faster than normal, releasing my aura into the surrounding air an into the magic circle beneath me. A few moments later, the circle began to glow a a little brighter and began to hum.


    "Is that supposed to-whoa".


    Before I could ask Voxea about the circle, a tangible glowing tangle of runes, symbols and aether lines formed before. In moments, it had taken the shape of a spell formation...with a symbol in the center that reminded of a keyhole.


    "I was not expecting the aether-lock to be...a literal lock", I commented to Voxea.


    "Magic is both figurative and literal...and this next part is going to literally hurt".

 Chapter 119 - Oh my aching-

    "Okay now make that part a little bigger..."


    "Am I done yet? I can feel my head trying to twist itself into a...what were those things at dinner"?


    "A pretzel"?


    "Yeah, that", I said while manipulating my aura.


    For the past five minutes, Voxea instructed me on how to "manipulate the shape of my aura" and it was causing my insides to feel like it was on fire...again. Unlike the first time, where it felt like my whole body was burning, this time it felt more like my head was boiling on the inside and that steam was exiting my mouth, my nose, my ears and eyes. I think Voxea used the term "apertures" to describe these points but I was too busy breaking my head open to remember.


    "Seriously though, am I done? This exercise is making my head boil", I complained through gritted teeth.


    "Well you are trying to make your aura similar to a third grade maji", Voxea casually commented.


    "Wait, what"?


    "Aether-locks aren''t only class locked, but power locked too. Unless you''re a maji of a certain caliber, you''ll never be able to open these types of barriers", she explained to me, "now just twist that part there an you''ll be done".


    "We need to have a discussion about your teaching ideology at some point", I told her as I did as she instructed. The moment I twisted that last bit of my aura, the burning in my head stopped...but my nose started acting funny.


    "Huh...why am I smelling flowers?", I asked Voxea with the scent of daisies, lavender and honeysuckle in my nose.


    "We have successfully shaped your aura into a druid''s configuration. The scent should go away once this is over", Voxea explained casually.


    "Cool...so now what"?


    Voxea gave me a look that basically told me, "what do you think you do next", to which I couldn''t help but reply, "Magic is surprisingly literal".


    "We maji are a creatively uncreative bunch. Why reinvent the wheel when you can just enhance it? Now unlock this thing".


    Within a breath, I willed my aura towards the aether-lock formation. In the next moment, the lock began to merge with my aura and I could see several runes on the formation beginning to change or disappear.


    "Is that a good sign"?


    "Indeed. In just a few moments, the lock will be undone and whatever delicious secrets this circle is hiding will be ours for the taking!", Voxea said excitedly.


    "Well aren''t you just-", but before I could finish sassing Voxea, I was suddenly hit with a tremendous force to my soul and rendered unconscious.


    _________________________________________


    "Hey".


    "Meeehhh".


    "Sil-Sil wake up, today''s our first day of class".


    "Five more-"


    "Banda"?


    "I''m up, I''m up!", I shouted quickly before shooting up in my bed...wait what?


    "Excellent! Now hurry up and get ready, we don''t want to be in the back of the line for the test right?", she said before immediately exiting my room...a room I''m pretty sure I was not in last night.


    [Voxea what the heck happened last night?!], I asked her while getting changed.


    [Owww, too loud. Ears just reformed], she grumbled back at me.


    [Reformed? How did you get aethered]?


    [Feedback].


    [What]?


    [The soul sigil inside that circle ended up smacking your soul upside the head as it imprinted itself. Sigil imprinting tends to be rather...intensive, especially on an apprentice. Apparently that temporary wavering of your soul hit me hard enough to force me to reform. On the plus side, I now know how it feels to reform from aether. It tingles, a lot], she explained to me.


    [Well that''s good to-wait, what do you mean by "imprint"? What''s a soul sigil?], I asked as I strapped on a clean pair of boots.


    [Soul sigils are advanced aether cultivation tools that help a maji develop their abilities. They come in a variety of affinities and grade, but I have never seen one like this before...].


    [Is it dangerous? How do I activate it]?


    [I''ve been poking at it since we''ve been talking and from what I can tell...no and I''m not sure. I''m not even sure if you can activate it yet, it looks dormant], she said.


    [Ok...by the way, how did I end back in my room]?

 Chapter 120 - Giant Magic Crystal Array (THEYRE NOT EVEN USING IT RIGHT)

    As the sun shined down on the Imperial Academy, a dark clothed man in a long coat and a large hat was resting in a tree branch in the main courtyard, snoozing the day away...up until skull shaped charm hanging off his belt started screaming like a Sonoxen.


    "Meh"?


    The man looked barely phased at the loud sound as he grabbed at it and placed it near his ear. The charm began to quiet down as it got closer to his head.


    "What is it? Really? Here? At the evaluation hall? How strange...very well. I shall go".


    The man replaced his skull talisman and proceeded to stretch on his resting perch. With a groan, he proceeded to jump off the branch and landed on his feet while letting out a small noise. As he stood up and stretched, a playful glint appeared in his eyes.


    "Another maji here after all these years? I wonder who they are...", the man mused aloud as he walked down the halls.


    _________________________________________


    "Welcome students, to the Evaluation Hall!", a voice echoed as the four of us entered a large circular chamber filled with people. At the center of the chamber was a huge magic array with a crystal as big as an ox in the center of it. Surrounding the back side of the circle were the professors from the day before, seated and observing us all.


    [Well I''ll be a Gorerilla''s auntie, a potentiality array! I haven''t seen one in ages], Voxea commented excitedly.


    [A potentiality array]?


    [Well the technical name is, "Reaching the Heavens and Grabbing the Moon" array, but that''s a mouthful and a tad pretentious. Either way, the important part is that the array is designed to help determine a would-be maji''s path. It measures everything from a subject''s quality of aether, aether affinity and magical inclination], Voxea explained.


    [So it separates geniuses from dunces], I asked sardonically.


    [Nope, it just helps a maji figure out what cultivation path they should take to reach their fullest potential. Take it from me, even if you have the highest quality of aether, a mismatched cultivation path can have...less than desirable results].


    [Explosions]?


    [Sometimes worst].


    "Now then binders, attention!", exclaimed one of the professors, a woman with dark hair who reminded me a bit of wolf. Her commanding voice rendered the loud chamber to be effectively mute.


    "Standing before you is a relic from the Old Empire called the Determination Array".


    [What]?


    "You will be called up in groups, and individually, you will inject the crystal before you with a small amount of aether. The array will then determine what class of binder you have the potential to become. We will then assign classes and professors that will help you grow. The Aethersurges will now choose who shall be evaluated first. Good luck binders"! After the professor said her piece, she sat back down as a group of Aethersurge flew out from behind her and the other professors. The Aethersurges then began to hover over random people in the chamber.


    The people selected began to make their way to the front of the array and formed a line. The first to go up was a confident looking man in piecemeal armor, a mercenary if I had to guess. He placed a hand on the crystal and his whole body began to glow with the telltale sign of aether flow. A few moments later, the whole crystal began to glow and a symbol reminding me of a sword and a shield overlapping formed within it.


    "Erando Natz. Knight Class".


    With a curt nod, the mercenary stepped down and allowed the others behind him to go.


    [Oh I can already tell I have issues with this], Voxea said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.


    [Huh? What''s the matter]?


    [The array is still doing its main function of determining how someone should develop as a maji, granted the names and styles have changed quite a bit, my problem is that the array is murky]!


    [Murky]?


    [The crystal is supposed to be changed every few decades or cleaned due to it being subjected to so many different types of aether. Otherwise the affinity color and aether purity get washed out and that is very very bad], Voxea explained to me.


    I was about to retort, until I felt the presence of an Aethersurge above my head.


    [Oh excellent! Now it''s time for the fun part], Voxea said ominously. Why do I have a bad feeling about this?


    _________________________________________


    "Oh? Professor Malgorious, what a surprise! I thought you hated Evaluation day!", said a portly looking binder dressed in green.


    "Normally yes, but I have a feeling today is going to be...", the man in black paused for a moment before staring at a frontier girl with distinctively dark red hair that reminded him of someone long ago, "..rather interesting today".

 Chapter 121 - Cleaning out the internals

    [I don''t know if this is a good idea Voxea...], I said to her as I stared at the array.


    [Really? Because it seems like we''re killing three birds with one stone, well, cleaning out some leylines with a surge of aether].


    [How so]?


    [For starters we''ll be increasing the accuracy of the array for future usage, meaning that there''ll be stronger binders in the future].


    [So that''s the first bird...what''s the second and third]?


    [I can finally give you a proper maji cultivation technique!], Voxea said excitedly, [And I can get back some of my original strength].


    [Seriously?], I asked doubtfully.


    [The aether in there may be low quality, but there''s enough of it for me to restore at least a star or two].


    [...alright, let''s do this thing].


    [Excellent].


    _________________________________________


    "Hmmm. What a familiar girl. Tell me Professor Alkys, who is this girl?", Malgorious asked with mild interest. {What a familiar presence...}.


    A blue-robed woman with a sharp nose briefly looked through a set of doc.u.ments before replying to the man in black. "The doc.u.ments says her name is Silvia Rosewood. She''s a binder from the frontier territories,Onryx, located in the Gemini Forest".


    "The Gemini Forest? Fun name". {I know exactly three maji who could be from there}.


    As the professors watched on, the girl took a deep breath before placing both of her hands up towards the array. The girl began to glow with a jade colored aura as she willed her aether into action. {An apprentice in this day and age? How curious}.


    _________________________________________


    As I willed my aether into the crystal, I could feel the decades worth of foreign aether inside of the crystal starting to stir as the array began to analyze my own.


    [Voxea, are you totally sure I can do this]?


    [It''ll be fine. Even though there''s a lot of it, most of the aether in this thing is fairly inert. Just give it a push and I''ll do the rest. Trust me], Voxea replied nonchalantly.


    I rolled my eyes internally as I began to increase the amount of aether I was inputting into the array.


    _________________________________________


    As the girl began to make use of array, the crystal began to form the image of a book.


    "Silvia Rosewood, Scho-", but before the professor could announce Silvia''s classification, the symbol suddenly changed into a sword and shield.


    "Looks like she''s a Knight", said a man in golden armor.


    "I wouldn''t be so sure. Look, it''s still changing",a woman in white robes commented on a mild manner.


    Before the eyes of the professors and all of the would-be students, the array began to cycle through multiple symbols until settling on an orb-like shape that began to shine a variety of colors.


    "That''s new".


    "What''s going on"?


    "What in the name of the gods is this trainee doing"?


    {I think I know what she''sp doing}.


    "Hmmm?", Malgorious went feigning disinterest to his colleagues.


    W


    {She''s about to overload the array}!


    _________________________________________


    [Is that normal?], I asked Voxea as I kept pouring my aether into the array.


    [Let''s go with yes and keep going], Voxea said nonchalantly.


    [That is not at all comforting]!


    As if on cue, the crystal array began to glow brighter and brighter.


    [Alright, if what I think is going to happen happens, you will want to close your eyes....NOW]!


    _________________________________________


    "Student Rosewood, it''s highly advisable that you-", but before the professor could stop Silvia, the array suddenly emitted a powerful flash that illuminated the whole room, temporarily blinded everyone and rendered the Aethersurges unconscious.


    "Gyaaah"!


    "My eyes"!


    "What the heck was that"?!


    {It appears an opportunity has arised, pardon me}.


    Unbeknownst to the blinded onlookers, as the array had simultaneously released over several decades worth of aether and had condensed it into a strange brightly colored ball no bigger than olive.


    In a flash, two shadows appeared out of thin air and rushed for the ball. In another instance, the ball disappeared and two figures were now staring each other down whilst holding their own halves for the ball.


    On one side was Voxea the Blizzabella, a type of majimonster that beared the countenance of a young maiden and wielded the power and mysticism of a blizzard. On the other, a strange shadowy figure that looked to be made of smoke and darkness. Voxea showed a shocked expression at the shadowy figure''s presence, she had expected to be the only one vying for the opportunity.


    "Who in nine-".


    "Another time little cygnet. For now, let''s each take half and meet later. Ciao Bella".


    "Tch".


    As everyone''s vision started to get back into focus, the two figures had disappeared.


    "What...just happened"?

 Chapter 122 - Improved Array

    [Voxea, my eyes feel like I just stared at the sun for five minutes. What happened?], I asked while furiously rubbing my eyes and blinking. At some point I needed to ask why magic always seem to involve bright lights. This cannot be healthy for my eyes.


    [Well it''s a good news, bad news situation], Voxea replied in a tone reminding me of a grumpy child.


    [Uh oh. What''s the good news at least]?


    [The good news is that we managed to clean out the aether stuck in the array and I did some things to it to make it more accurate and modern].


    [And the bad?], curious as to what the issue was.


    [ANOTHER MAJI TOOK MY STUFF]!


    [Wait, what?!], I replied while trying to suppress the shock from reaching my face.


    [Apparently I''m not the only one who managed to escape dying during the Collapse, granted their methods are greatly different from my own. Still, this is either a very very good thing or a very very bad thing depending on which maji it is].


    [Which? As in you don''t know who?], I asked surprised and confused.


    [Unfortunately no, but they sounded familiar... regardless, your proctors are about to get their sight back so get to improvising].


    [Crap].


    _________________________________________


    {That was a hell of a light show. Who was that majimonster anyways? It looked a Blizzabella but the feeling was very different}, Malgorious asked while pocketing a pair of dark eyeglasses into his pockets. He then proceeded to fake rubbing eyes as if to show that he was also affected by the flash.


    {A very old friend of mine who went with a very different path towards survival, but I don''t think she recognized me. Well, it probably doesn''t help that my body is non-existent. Either way, we''ll meet her and her apprentice properly later. For now, perhaps you should help her lie her way out, no}?


    {Whatever you say}.


    _________________________________________


    As the light faded and the professors and students regained their sight, a clamor broke out, wondering what had just happened.


    "Ow, why does it feel like I just stared at the sun"?


    "Was their a loud sound? I swear a loud bang fired off when that light happened".


    "What''s up with the array? It looks different".


    The evaluation array had indeed changed after that flash of light occured. Before, it was just a large crystal embedded in the ground, an intricate spell circle drawn around it. Now, the large crystal was floating above the spell circle while being surrounded by other smaller crystals. The spell circle was even more intricate than before, but only a maji or a very learned Scholar would be able to tell upon close inspection.


    "Miss Rosewood. Would you care to explain what happened?", asked the wolf-like woman professor.


    "I don''t know. I just did as you instructed and injected my aether into the array", the girl replied in a clueless tone of voice. The other professors seemed mollified by her response, but the wolf woman stared at her with an incredulous eye. But before she could interrogate the girl further,Malgorious interrupted her.


    "Mistress Feros. We shouldn''t not place malice where ignorance is probably at play here. We lost much knowledge in terms of the maji could do and it''s very likely that the array just simply...acted up. I believe it would be wiser if we just had Miss Rosewood redo the evaluation and move on. Don''t you agree"?


    Both Rosewood and Feros looked at Malgorious with surprise at his interjection, but the other binders present agreed with Malgorious''s assessment. Feros looked at Malgorious with murder in her eyes due to his interruption, but she agreed nonetheless.


    "Very well. Miss Rosewood, proceed".


    The girl quickly nodded before doing as instructed and injected her aether into the array. Unlike before when the array just glowed, the smaller crystals began to spin a little faster


    [Evaluating applicant].


    And talk.


    "Well that''s new".


    _________________________________________


    [Applicant: Silvia Rosewood]


    [Description: A headstrong girl with a good mix of cleverness and survival skills. Lacking in booksmarts but not by much. A diamond in the rough that could stand to learn some etiquette lessons].


    [Recommended classes: Druid,Paladin, Scholar ]


    [Recommended Affinities: Ice, Mystic, Lightning]


    "...".


    [You''re welcome].

 Chapter 123 - A Sudden Academic Overhaul

    "What''s with this overly detailed description"?!


    "Paladin? Druid? I''ve never heard of these binder classes before"?


    "Recommended affinities? I thought that was just a Concordant thing".


    "Uhh... Professors, what''s happening and what are those classes? I never heard of them before", I lied through my teeth.


    "I''m not sure... Scholar Harrison?", a woman dressed in purple piped up. In response, an old man with big glasses and a long silky beard stood up and cleared his throat.


    "As you all know or will come to know, the art of binding evolved from the magical arts that the maji themselves once practiced and just like us, they categorized their maji into classes as well. Some of the names remained the same as time moved on, like Scholar and Alchemist, but others changed to adapt to the times such as how Elementalists became Concordants and how Rogues became Scoundrels. The classes you see before you, Paladin and Druid, are now what we call Knights and Rangers. As for what''s happening...it appears that the array has somehow changed to able to determine not just the most immediate talent a person may have, but latent abilities as well. How fortuitous", the old man explained in a long winded manner. The others nodded in agreement, and I could overhear some of the students chatting about what this could mean for them as binders. Granted, I couldn''t really focus on that since I had to focus on Voxea.


    [Voxea. Why and how]?


    [I''m going to answer those questions in reverse. Thanks to you clearing out the excess aether from the array, I took the opportunity to do some upgrades to it. I remembered back in my days how someone made an improved version of the array just by adding a few key runes. I figured since everyone were blinder than a mole with cataracts, I''d take the opportunity to do them and you a favor], Voxea explained in a breezy manner.


    [A favor]?


    [Why yes. Every would-be maji,or in this case binder, has the potential to grow to unimaginable heights. The only thing is that they need a proper guide to do so. Now that I know what you''re capable of, I can now help you grow into a proper maji], she told me smugly.


    [And the description bit]?


    [A happy accident].


    [Right...].


    "Miss Rosewood", a sharp voice called out to me.


    "Ah. Yes"?


    "After some deliberation, you are to be assigned to several courses to help determine your binder aptitude. This applies to all incoming students as well", the wolf woman announced aloud, "With that, will the previous students please line up for re-evaluation".


    "You may now step down, Miss Rosewood".


    "R-right".


    As I stepped off the array and walked back to my friends, I couldn''t help but notice that some of the attendees were staring at me with either curiosity, animosity or just plain awe. I didn''t know what to make of it, so I just kept my head low and walked back quickly.


    "What happened up there Sil-Sil?", Savina asked me in a worried tone.


    I just gestured to my neck and kept quiet. She nodded in understanding.


    _________________________________________


    [Applicant: Noctis Toxicant]


    [Description: An opportunist fighter that''s more akin to survival fighting,skullduggery and trickery than head-on dueling. Understands that it''s smarter to keep at least three aces up their sleeves as opposed to just the one].


    [Recommended classes: Rogue, Alchemist, Druid].


    [Recommended Affinities: Wind, Basic, Verdant]


    "While it''s not wrong, I do feel a little called out by it", called out a boy with a shifty look. The past hour or so went on like this with a surprising amount of applicants agreeing with the arrays'' assessment. There were a few dissenters, but it was less against the class recommendation and more against the description bit. I''m not sure what Voxea did, but apparently people weren''t happy about their flaws being called out alongside their positive traits.


    Evidently, my friends were not spared from the arrays'' barbed tongue.


    "A heart as big as my belly... I''m fairly small for my age,bdoes that mean I''m unkind?! I need to make a bigger effort to be nicer?", Bori lamented.


    "I don''t think the array understands cultural and dweller differences Bori. I''m more curious of it what meant by calling me ''naively trusting''...", Savina pondered while comforting Bori.


    "I consider recklessly brave a good thing myself", Albina said amused, "either way, it appears we''re ending up in similar classes. This is going to be an interesting year".


    "What do you mean ''arrogant'' and ''tricky''?!", a shrill yet familiar voice cried out.


    "Yup. Interesting is one way to say it", I replied with a smile.

 Chapter 124 - Thunderstruck

    "Good morn-Oh! You''re actually up and ready!", Savina exclaimed as she busted into my room.


    "Yup. I woke up bright and early so we didn''t miss the first day of class", I lied to Savina with a smile on my face. In reality, I didn''t sleep at all thanks to Voxea and my new cultivation method.


    After the little stunt Voxea and I performed during the Evaluation ceremony, she decided now was the time to teach me an "advanced cultivation formula".


    _________________________________________


    "So my darling apprentice, are you ready to begin the advanced cultivation techniques?", Voxea asked me with a smile.


    "Sure...but why are we on the roof again?", I asked while watching Voxea draw a complicated magic circle onto the roof of the academy''s dormitory. Thankfully she was using her aether and a giant ice needle for this, as opposed to just carving directly into the stone. I did not want to deal with any vandalization charges this early into the year.


    "Do you remember what the Evaluation Array showed you?", Voxea asked me as she kept drawing out the circle.


    "Yeah, it said-".


    "No no, I said ''showed'' you not ''tell'' you. I added the vocalization bit for binders, I left the part for maji untouched", she explained as she finished drawing the circle, "Done".


    "You mean the giant crystal in the middle? What of it"?


    "If you had paid closer attention my dear acolyte, you would''ve noticed a mapping of your aether channels being shown in it".


    "You mean those things I had to clear out the first time? Why''s that important"?


    "While all maji have aether channels in them to facilitate the flow of aether and the use of magic, not all of those channels are in use. Much like how we all have physical or mental differences, the way one maji''s aether flows can differ greatly from another''s. Even the affinity of the aether in said channels varies too", Voxea explained to me as she floated towards me.


    "That part I understand, but what does this have to do with ''advanced'' cultivation"?


    "Aether, when left alone, tends to flow however and wherever it pleases. The problem with that is that it can end up building up in random channels or overstress weaker parts. Additionally, one could end up building up an affinity of aether they''re incompatible with. It won''t physically hurt you, but it will make it harder to practice magic later on. However, if a maji makes use of a cultivation technique, they''ll be able to dictate how the aether flows through these channels. This control can help increase your abilities greatly and lay the foundation for future growth", she explained as she pushed me into the center of the circle.


    "Neat, so what''s this formula that''s suppose to help me?", I asked while walking.


    "Well I was originally going to give you my technique, ''Frozen Empress Method'', but the fact you have Lightning Affinity means I had to change my plans. This formula is known as ''Storming Blizzard Mantra'', it''s a technique that will allow you to use lighting, ice and arcane spells more easily as well as increase your thinking capabilities", she said gleefully, "I learned of this formula when I spent a year training with the Storming Pavilion. Lovely fellows, a bit airheaded".


    "Alright that''s cool and all, but how do I start this formula? I get the spell circle, but now what? Meditation? More aura manipulation"?


    "Close. I''m going to communicate with you the mantra and you''ll just have to repeat and ponder on it while standing in this circle", she said while floating backwards.


    "Okay...why are you floating away from the circle"?


    "No reason, just start", she said while still backing away.


    I gave her a withering stare before heaving a deep sigh. Following her instructions, I began to practice the Storming Blizzard Mantra. As I recited the mantra in my heart, I began to hear a sound ringing in my ears.


    Instinctually, or due to Voxea''s tutelage, I recognized this hum as being the sound of aether becoming active and taking on Affinities. I could hear the familiar sounds of Ice and Mystic, but now there was a new sound mixed in, which I guess was Lighting aether.


    As I kept reciting the mantra, I began to feel my internal aether flowing in different and new directions. I could feel my power increasing as I cultivated this new formula...and then I got struck by lighting.

 Chapter 125 - Energetic

    I would learned this later on, but apparently the lightning strike is considered a rite of passage for anyone who practices any formula originating from the Storming Pavilion. I was told that this is to, and I quote, "help the practioner understand the true power of the great spears of heaven" and "weed out those unworthy of its power", but I''m more inclined to believe that the sect did this as a type of joke.


    I''m not sure the best way to describe what it was like to be struck by lightning, let alone magically induced lighting, but all I can say is: ouch.


    As I laid there looking at the now clear night sky, I couldn''t help but notice Voxea slowly floating over with worry on her face.


    "Are you...okay? I guess...those...guys... weren''t lying...about...the lightning...", Voxea asked me in a weirdly slow manner.


    "I''m totally fine Voxea, but I have several choice words for you. Also, why are you talking and moving so slowly. Actually, why does the world seem slower than normal?", I asked her.


    "I''m not... you''re...just...under...the effects...of...the mantra", she replied with an incredibly slow laugh, "on...the...plus...side, you''ll...learn...faster...for...a bit. So... let''s...get...cramming".


    "Yay", I said in a deflated tone.


    (Outsider''s perspective: remove Voxea''s"..." and all the spaces from Silvia).


    What followed was the oddest educational session in my life so far. Voxea began to cram everything from more magical knowledge to more general things such as etiquette and "science". Everything was so slow yet made a lot of sense. I had such a weirdly voracious appetite to learn that was so oddly intoxicating, that I didn''t even notice the rising sun until Voxea pointed it out and my brain started to slow back down.


    I didn''t feel the least bit tired despite being up quite literally all night. She had mentioned this was yet another side effect of the mantra, something about it "energizing my entire being or something". Either way, I had to get back to my dorm and prep for the day.


    _________________________________________


    "We still have a bit of time before classes begin, shall we wake the other two and get breakfast?", I suggested to Savina with a semi-supressed smile on my face. It''s one thing staying up all night, it''s quite another to be wide awake due to magical lightning pumping through your veins.


    "I think they have a different morning class time than us, but we might as well check", Savina said in agreement. With that said, the two of us proceeded to wake up the other two and began to head towards the cafeteria to enjoy a nice, quiet, hearty breakfast.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU READY FOR A BINDER DUEL?!", a loud mouthed binder shouted, using a majimonster called a Decibull to help amplify his voice.


    "WOOOOOOOO"!


    "GO FOR IT, MOURGA"!


    "SHOW THAT FRONTIER GIRL WHO''S BOSS"!


    Or you know, I get roped into a binder duel because of some big-headed sycophant wanting to suck up to my "beloved" cousin.


    To make a long story short, as my friends and I were enjoying breakfast, where I discovered what an omelett is and it is now my favorite thing to eat, this random guy strolled up to our table and loudly challenged me to a duel. I was about to refuse and go back to eating my food, up until he decided to stomp into my food in order to throw a white glove at me. He then began to prattle on about something about how he was "Mourga of the Buzzing Mountain Clan" and that he must "put me in my place for besmirching Diamonda''s honor" or something to that effect. However, I was rather miffed at him stomping on my breakfast.


    In a moment of controlled outrage, I calmly stood up, tried on the glove as Voxea instructed, and then backhand slapped him with it while declaring, "Bring it on you overgrown rhino beetle".


    As a result, I was now standing in the academy''s official dueling arena whilst staring down this ape of a man with unsually beady eyes. I was going to enjoy smashing this fool into the ground.


    "Challengers, before we begin, what is the nature of the wager"?

 Chapter 126 - A Gambling Brawl

    "Nature of our wager?", I asked aloud with a confused expression.


    "That''s right rookie, most binder on binder combat that happen on campus happen in one of three forms. Class mandated fighting, practice fights between students and duels. The first two are self explanatory, but the last one is a little different. Before the participants start the fight, we determine what''s the prize for the fight", the announcer explained aloud, "be it suls, treasures or honor, we gotta give the fighters something for their efforts. So Mourga, as the instigator of the duel, what will it be"?


    "This is a matter of honour! Nothing less!", the loud mouthed, small eyed, gorilla of a man shouted, "As such, once I win this duel, this wench must strip to her underwear and bow before Lady Diamonda and kiss her feet in forgiveness in front of the entire campus"!


    "Oooooh"!


    An annoyed, angry look crept up my face as I heard the crowd oohing and ahing at Mourga''s declaration. Evidently, I could sense Voxea''s and my other monster''s annoyance growing as well.


    "Acceptable! Silvia Rosewood, what do you desire?", the announcer said as he turned towards me.


    [What a horribly rude gorrilla], Voxea suddenly chimed in my head, [I may not be able to trounce him directly, but if he wants to play like this, I have a suggestion].


    [Oh]?


    As Voxea detailed what I should ask for, a devious smile crept upon my face.


    "Hey, just to be clear. I can ask for anything right?", I asked as loudly as possible.


    "Short of asking for his life, yes".


    "Well there goes that idea", I quipped sarcastically, "then how about this? If I win, the gorilla here will have to run around the entire campus n.a.k.e.d while singing several...let''s say bawdy drinking songs".


    I took a moment to enjoy the shocked and embarrassed gasps from the onlookers. Off to the side, I could hear Savina snicker at my wager, Albina stifle a laugh while Bori sounded a bit shocked about how bold I was being. I could already see the look of shock on Mourga''s face and practically hear the beginnings of a refusal in his throat...just as Voxea predicted.


    "I mean", I said louder than normal, effectively interrupting Mourga from voicing his disapproval, "unless the honorable Sir Mourga wants someone else to fight his battle for him like a coward...like ''Lady'' Diamonda". I made sure to use exaggerated air quotes when using the word "lady". Predictably, Mourga became infuriated at my complete and deliberate act of disrespect.


    "Fine, you detestable wench. I shall accept these terms, knowing full well that you''ll be crushed in an instant", he said with a sneer and barely suppressed rage.


    "And so on the wager has been placed"!


    "WOOOO"!


    "Now then, for the format we''ll stick with one monster per combatant, sound good"?


    "Alright", I said with a nod


    "I''ll only need one to take out her trashy monster", Mourga replied arrogantly.


    "In that case, binders! Present drajules"!


    At the announcer''s word, I grabbed my hunting knife and felt my drajules hum with power...and rage. I guess they heard Mourga''s insult and wanted payback...good. Across the way, Mourga donned a ring with a dark green drajule on it. As if to intimidate me, he cracked his knuckles as he placed on the ring.


    "Now on the count of three, summon your monsters. One...".


    A tuning fork made of aether began to form around my hunting knife while a small figure made of aether began to form in front of mourga.


    "Two...".


    Summoning circles representing our respective monsters began to form in front of us, from what I could see, Mourga was using a Water/Fury majimonster. Not exactly good but not unwelcomed.


    "SUMMON"!


    "Bring them to their knees, Budo"!


    "Rakka! Rampage"!


    "Moooo"!


    "Croak~"


    Rakka came rushing out of his summoning circle, antlers leveled while the powers of Ice, Fire and Lightning exuded from his majestic form. In the next moment, he had locked horns with...a giant toad with horns...what?


    [What the heck is that thing]?


    [Oh no...].


    "Haha! It matters not that you have a fabled Ragnaceros at your side, none can stand before my mighty BullFrog, Budo"!


    ...what?

 Chapter 127 - The BullFrog...by the gods...

    The monster Rakka was facing looked odd even by majimonster standards. It looked a lot like an oversized frog with horns that reminded me of an ox, a nose ring through its nose and covered head to toe in spiky little hairs. As Rakka kept locking horns with it, I used my Dragon''s Lens to determine if this monster actually does have a name that silly and obvious.


    _________________________________________


    Name: Budo


    Species name: BullFrog


    Affinity: Water/Fury


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Bullrush, Oil Skin


    Description: Unknown.


    Voxea''s Notes: ...Early majimonster making was rather...uncreative. When we weren''t pumping mundane animals with elemental aether to see what would happen, we would try mixing them together to see what would happened. Evidently, this was what lead to the SpiderMonkey, the TigerShark, the BuckRabbit and the GoldFish. Yes it''s as painfully obvious as it sounds.


    _________________________________________


    As the Dragon''s Eye explained to me what exactly I was looking at, I couldn''t help but mentally groan at the name and at additional monsters mentioned within Voxea''s notes.


    (Please note that about two minutes of Silvia going "Gaaaaaah" was cut from the printing of this chapter).


    After the initial shock, I proceeded to allow the battle bond to take me, but not before having a quick conversation with Voxea.


    [Voxea].


    [Yeah]?


    [Why....]?


    [Like I said, we maji are a creatively uncreative bunch. The literal named dragons were...early experiments. I am honestly surprised they managed to live this long and leave descendants. I now shudder at the possibility of the other literal named ones being spread out...or evolving, it has been eight hundred or so years], she replied to me. I had no idea what a monkey even was, but the idea of a SpiderMonkey made me shudder for some reason.


    After the initial clash between Rakka and Budo, the two horned giants bounced off of one another as the battle bond fully sank in. The two monsters began to circle each other, keeping their horns in front of each other like duelists with their swords.


    Rakka let out a deep snort after breaking the horn-lock with Budo, and a feeling of disgust, annoyance and excitement came loud and clear through the bond. Rakka was thrilled to fight, but he was not happy with this particular monster. If I had to guess, he didn''t like that this weird frog monster had somehow matched him in a contest of strength despite being the same grade as him.


    [Rakka, Freezing H-]!


    But before Rakka could fire off his technique, the BullFrog had suddenly launched forward, its horns wreathed in water aether


    [Not good! Dodge it]!


    Rakka narrowly managed to avoid the full brunt of the attack by leaping to the right of the charging frogs'' path, the razor sharp horns still managing to leave a long scratch against his hide. I felt a sharp pain at my side as the water aether in the BullFrogs'' horns wormed its way into the growing scratch on Rakka''s hide. Evidently, water aether and Rakka didn''t mix all too well...then again, neither does Lightning aether and Water monsters.


    While Budos'' horn kept scraping against Rakkas'' hide,the [Electrify] technique activated. Lightning aether began to build up underneath his skin and was getting ready to burst. The moment Budo finished passing by Rakka, a bolt of lighting struck it directly at its back. The oversized amphibian let out a loud croaking moo of pain as the lightning coursed through its body.


    [Now, Freezing horn! Fire Stride]!


    "Grooa"!


    In a second, Rakka stopped his momentum from dodging by fiercely stomping into the ground. In the next moment, his hooves bursted into flames. Making use of the sudden burst of energy, Rakka propelled himself forward at the BullFrog with his antlers glowing with ice aether.


    The BullFrog was directly in Rakkas'' line of sight and adding on that fact that the lightning coursing throughout was momentarily stunning it, this meant that it was going to be in a world of hurt!


    As Rakka got into close combat range with the BullFrog, he swung his head upward in order to slash across its back. However, instead of feeling flesh on Rakkas'' and a hearing a loud croak of pain, there was a schlicking sound and the BullFrog had jumped away in that same instance.


    What the aether?

 Chapter 128 - Slippery

    I could feel that Rakka was just as confused as I was at the sudden turn of events. I was positive that Budo, who was now on the other side of the arena and currently staring us down like an angry bull(frog, ha!), was directly in the path of Rakkas'' antlers and should be frozen by now. While I tried to figure out what had happened, Voxea suddenly chimed in.


    [Before you start hesitating due to figuring out what happened, take a look at Rakkas'' horns].


    [Huh? Ok-what the heck is that thing?], I asked while suppressing the shock on my face. Stuck onto Rakkas''still freezing cold horns was an odd-colored lump. Imagine if you will, a pale green ball of mucus that has frozen over on a frozen blue lake. Not exactly noticable, but you can never not see it once pointed out.


    As Rakka repositioned himself for another clash with Budo, his antlers returned to normal and the weird lump immediately melted into a weird colored liquid that begin to drip off his antlers in a manner that reminded me of melted butter.


    [What is that?], I asked Voxea in a disgusted tone.


    [If I had to guess? Toad oil].


    [Toad oil]?


    [Remember what traits that the Dragon''s Lens showed you?], she asked me in a tutoring manner.


    ["Bull Rush" and "Oil"...oh], I replied while mentally smacking myself in the face.


    [Call it an educated guess, but that "Oil Skin" trait is probably making it so techniques just slide off its body via the secretion of slippery toad oil].


    [That is disgusting, so what do I do]?


    [Play it by ear for now and look for a weakness. Take it from me, no armor is impenetrable], Voxea advised.


    [Right on. Rakka]!


    "Snort"!


    "Budo! Show this overgrown deer who is the superior bull!", Mourga arrogantly declared.


    Oh joy, the musclehead is showboating.


    "Croak"!


    Letting out a low croaking noise, the BullFrogs'' body began to glow a deep blue color while I could see its body starting to tense up all over and its'' horns becoming coated in water, making them look sharper and deadlier. In the next moment, a sound akin to a rainstorm echoed out as the BullFrog suddenly leaped towards Rakka horns first.


    [No time to dodge, Rakka brace for impact and "Electrify"]!


    As the BullFrog rapidly approached, Rakka stomped the ground hard and primed his antlers for impact. I could feel the aether building up inside his muscular frame, as tiny arcs of lighting began to jump across his fur.


    Another loud bang rang out as the two locked horns again, but this time I could feel Rakka took a bit more damage than last time from that water technique this time around. With a snort, Rakka flicked his head upward to try and knock the offending frog away, but its'' oily skin had caused Rakkas'' antlers to slide across it instead.


    In that same moment, the lightning building up inside of Rakkas'' body was released and jumped towards the BullFrog. The enormous amphibian let out a pained croak as the lightning coursed through its body.


    [Direct hit]!


    [That may be the case, but I don''t think Rakka can outlast this thing. From what I recall, the maji who made the BullFrog designed it to be able to win out in battle of attrition], Voxea informed me, [we need to figure out way to deal some real damage to it, meaning we have to crack that oily defense].


    [I know that Voxea, but aside from "Freezing Horn", the only other attack technique Rakka has is one of the fire affinity, which water majimonsters are...naturally... resistant...why do I hear something a soft sizzling]?


    Shifting my focus temporarily away from Rakka, I followed my hearing to an empty part of the arena. The fire trail that Rakka had left earlier was still burning, but a peculiar thing was happening near one of the hoofprints.


    Next to one of the hoofprints was a puddle of that nasty toad oil that must''ve been formed when Rakka knocked back Budo. From what I could see, while the toad oil wasn''t directly in contact with the flames, just by being near it caused the oil to rapidly heat up and cook into smoke.


    [Huh...I''m not the only one feeling d¨¨ja vu, right]?

 Chapter 129 - Buzzing Mountain Sect

    "Buehehehe! That last attack did a considerable amount of damage! Just a little more and I''ll have this wench kneeling at Lady Diamondas'' feet!", Mourga thought to himself as his BullFrog, Budo, prepared to launch another [Aqua Horn]. Mourgas was excited at his prospective victory for two interconnected reasons. The first is that he had long developed a bit of a crush on for Diamonda both her beautiful looks and her ability to control powerful majimonsters, so beating this nobody who had sullied her honor would hopefully get her to notice him in some capacity. The second was that if he could earn her affections and possible marry her, it would help elevate the Buzzing Mountain to a higher grade of organization, as well as his own position within it.


    An unforeseen, yet not unwelcome, consequence of introducing the art of binding to the people of the Empire was the rise/return of sects, clans, houses and other types organizations of binders. These organizations, on the whole, help to establish and defend human settlements in the Wildlands, subjugate overly rambunctious majimonsters as well as explore ruins and gather up lost knowledge that was left behind by their maji predecessors. Unfortunately, said organizations have a tendency to...violently stab each other in the face but that''s another story for another time.


    However, when these organizations aren''t stabbing each other in the face, they end up forming alliances or becoming subordinates to other, stronger, groups. The Buzzing Mountain Sect falls into the subordinate group category, namely, they are one of the many subordinates to Grand Cacophonous Hall.


    If one were to divide the various groups into the same grades as one does to monsters, Buzzing Mountain falls squarely in the mid-bronze grade while Grand Cacophonous Hall would be low-gold grade. In essence, the Buzzing Mountain had enough power to defend a large village and run at least two small businesses, while Grand Cacophonous Hall had enough power to safeguard a small city. As one could imagine, Buzzing Mountain didn''t receive much in terms of respect from the other organizations, yet no one could really offend them due to being a subordinate to a rather powerful sect. However, due to their status as a subordinate, they couldn''t improve their standing without possibly facing a lot of suppression.


    Mourga on the other hand is a direct descendant of the current head of the Buzzing Mountain Sect, but he is also the fifth child. Long and short of it, while his position is respectable, he could never become the sect head, at most, he''d be an elder or secondary head. If he wanted to go beyond his current life prospects, he had two choices.


    The first was to grow stronger as a binder and strengthening his majimonsters. By and large, this was the most straightforward path to power since people tend to listen to the guy with the biggest fist, the fist in this case being a hurricane summoning whale and/or earthquake causing pig. However, it was also the most dangerous due to having to spend long periods of time out in the Wildlands, where most monsters see humans as either annoying pests or delicious prey.


    The second and arguably easier choice, marry up. If Mourga could impress and win the heart of Lady Diamonda, a young mistress from Clan Firmis, a platinum grade clan, then his future prospects would soar greatly.


    Someone from a low grade sect like Mourga would normally have no chance at impressing such a powerful and eligible young lady...unless some young, probably weaker than himself upstart from the frontier appears out of nowhere and insults her honor.


    For Mourga, this was a golden opportunity. Once he soundly trounced Silvia and forced her to apologise to Diamonda, he could get into her good graces and possibly woo her. All he had to do was make use of his BullFrogs'' powerful defense and strong life force and best her in a contest of attrition. There was absolutely no way for some uneducated bumpkin to know Budos'' weakness!


    _________________________________________


    [It''s honestly a rather clever defensive strategy. From what I understand, most binders usually go for overall affinity relationsh.i.p.s rather than pay attention to things such as defensive traits], Voxea commented.


    [We can admire the BullFrog later. Rakka! Burning Blade]!

 Chapter 130 - Death Rain

    "BOOOOAA"!


    Rakka let out a loud cry and raised his head up high as a red spell circle suddenly appeared above it, right between his massive antlers. The air began to grow hot as the circle started spinning and sparking.


    As the circle spun faster and faster, more and more sparks were being released and a gout of flame began to form in the center of it. The gout of flame then began to absorb the sparks being emitted by the circle and change shape. A few seconds later, a sword made of fire formed on the top of Rakka''s head. All in all, it looked like he had three horns now.


    [Huh...].


    [What?], Voxea asked me.


    [I know the Burning Blade technique is supposed to create a sword of fire for the monster to use, I just wasn''t expecting...that], I confided with her.


    [Did you expect him to hold it in his mouth]?


    [...Fair enough].


    As Rakka leveled his new blade at the BullFrog, it visibly took a step back while releasing a small croak that sounded like it had a tinge of fear mixed in. Additionally, Mourga himself looked fairly unnerved as well at the [Burning Blade], he probably wasn''t expecting Rakka to be able to do something like this.


    Which is why I started taunting him.


    "Oh what''s wrong big guy? Not feeling so ''froggy'' any more? Think your overgrown toad is about to croak?", I asked with a vicious smile on my face.


    [Two things: One, that simultaneously hilarious and painful to listen to. Two, you know you sound like the antagonist in an action romance novel, right?], Voxea quipped.


    [Maybe, but I wasn''t the one who decided to throw a literal glove down and stomp on his breakfast. That being said, Rakka! Chop that frog to pieces]!


    "Booaaa"!


    With his sword leveled at Budo, Rakka proceeded to charge forward, leaving a trail of smoke and embers behind him. As he rushed forward, I could feel his innate desire to skewer this frog. A feeling I hope would be rather cathartic.


    On the other end of the arena, Budo released a loud croak and a blue spell circle suddenly appeared right in front of him. The circle then began to gather aether and condense it into a ball of water, that then shot out towards Rakka like a crossbow bolt!


    [Rakka, dodge to the left]!


    My command came just in time as Rakka manged to hop to the left, narrowly avoiding the bolt of water while maintaining his charging speed.


    I released a sigh of relief...right before a lot more blue magic circles began to manifest left and right like a wall made of crossbows. Behind the wall of spell circles, I could Mourga with a serious look on his face and his hands forming some kind of hand sign.


    [Well that''s not good].


    [It appears your opponent is attempting to power up his majomonster''s technique.I suggest you power Rakka up as well and have him do serpentine patterns to try and avoid it], Voxea suggested.


    [Right on. Rakka]!


    "Boooaaa!", Rakka cried out as formed a handsign and began to imbue him with my own aether as well.


    "CROAK~"!


    Accompanied by the BullFrog''s cry, the countless spell circles began to fire off water bolt after water bolt like a sideways rain of death towards the charging Rakka. I could sense Rakka was a little panicked from the incoming shower, wanting to just run around the arena in an attempt to avoid it. Luckily, he had me to direct him how to dodge.


    [Left]!


    Rakka proceeded to jump to the left, avoiding three bolts.


    [Right]!


    Two odd corkscrew looking bolts flew pass Rakka, almost scratching his sides in the process.


    [No time to dodge, strike it down with your sword]!


    Rakka juked his head upward, slicing apart a rather large water bolt into two. I felt the blade weaken a bit, but that was fine trade-off.


    _________________________________________


    "Just a little closer...", Mourga thought to himself as the charging Ragnaceros got closer and closer to Budo.


    He knew that if that technique managed to hit Budo, it would mean his defeat. Therefore, he decided to do an all-or-nothing gamble and use all of his aether to empower Budo as much as possible.


    Granted, he did have a back up plan if the rain didn''t work.

 Chapter 130 - SURPRISE

    As the charging Ragnaceros got closer and closer to Budo, a look of panic began to creep up on Mourga''s face. However, if one were to look closer, one would be able to detect a small glint of devious satisfaction forming in his eyes.


    [Not yet, not yet...NOW]!


    "Croak~"!


    As Rakka''s [Burning Blade] got closer and closer into melee range, all the blue spell circles that were initially forming a wall between him and Budo had gathered into one massive circle directly in between them.


    _________________________________________


    [Well that''s not good]!


    [Have Rakka use "Fire Stride" and pump all of your aether into it], Voxea suddenly interjected.


    [What]?!


    [Just do it]!


    _________________________________________


    "Now then Budo, drown this overgrown deer"!


    "CROAK"!


    The massive blue spell circle began to rapidly spin, as it gathered and condensed the surrounding aether to a raging whirlpool. In the next moment, a column of spiraling water shot out and tore across the battlefield like a raging dragon, straight at the charging Rakka.


    As the water column impacted Rakka, a huge burst of steam was released, filling the arena and making the air muggy and everyone''s vision hazy. On the dueling grounds proper however, the steam had cleared up a bit, showing no other monsters except a rather pleased BullFrog.


    "BWAHAHAHA!", Mourga suddenly exclaimed, "Victory is mine! There is no way that silly little deer could have survived a direct hit like that from my magnificent Budo! Now I just need to get Lady Diamonda her to...wait a minute...why did my bond reactivate? Whyis the fog of war still in effect"?!


    Mourga had just committed a cardinal sin of binder dueling, assuming victory just because he couldn''t see the opposing binder''s monster.


    Any veteran, or at least rookie who remembered to pay attention in class, can tell you that the [Fog of War] will remain in effect as long as a binder controlled majimonster still has opponents. It doesn''t matter if they are wild majimonsters or bounded ones, as long as an enemy exist, the [Fog of War] will stay in effect and those affected by the battle bond will be hyper focused.


    This focus, and thus the battle bond, can never be shaken, unless one of two things occur.


    The first scenario, is if one of the binders suddenly died in the middle of a duel. This is incredibly unlikely due to the odd, often considered reality bending, protection provided by the [Fog of War]. The only times the first scenario occurs is when one of the participating binders does suddenly due to health reasons, old age or being injured prior to the duel. This leads to the monster to suddenly, and violently, return to the drajule.


    The second and more common case, emotional overload.


    Sadness, Joy, Anger, any powerful emotions can cause a binder to lose focus and break the battle bond temporarily.


    Mourga''s extreme arrogance in this one moment was enough for his battle bond to break with Budo, long enough to notice Rakka was missing from the point of impact, long enough to notice the look of vicious victory on Silvia''s face across the way, and just long enough to notice a [Burning Blade] attached to a Ragnaceros weighing several tons, coming out of the steam and dropping onto Budo''s head like a form of divine retribution.


    Needless to say, the shock of such a thing caused his battle bond to break again.


    _________________________________________


    [How...why is this working?!], I exclaimed.


    Following Voxea''s advice, I pumped Rakka with as much aether as I could and have him use [Fire Stride]. I was expecting him to just use the technique to narrowly juke the dangerous water technique to the side and rush towards Budo to stab him with [Burning Blade].


    I was not expecting him to somehow launch himself air with it and use it to currently run on the back of the column of water, releasing huge amounts of steam all over the place and obscuring everyone''s vision.


    [Figured as much], Voxea commented.


    [Did you just use me for another experiment?], I asked annoyed yet knowing the answer.


    [Yes and I''ll tell you why later. For now, get ready to win], Voxea replied nonchalantly.


    [Huh? Oh]!


    I felt a vicious smile form onto my face, as I watched Rakka dive sword and headfirst into the BullFrog.


    I was expecting the BullFrog to burst into flame...I ended up with an explosion.

 Chapter 131 - Victory and Sore Loser

    "I can''t tell if she''s clever or just insane", Malgorious commented aloud as he watched the Ragnaceros run on the back of the water column.


    {A little of both, and a little help from that ice mage if I had to guess}.


    About halfway through the duel between Silvia and Mourga, Malgorious was just passing by until he noticed exactly who was fighting. As to why he decided to stick around...let''s just say a little voice told him to.


    Whilst everyone else in the arena was blinded by the steam, Malgorious was able to clearly see how Rakka was able to jump into the air and began running atop the water column using the [Fire Stride] technique.


    {Mind explaining}?


    {[Fire Stride] is technically an off shoot of an old pyromancy spell called [Skyfire Trail]. It''s a fairly powerful spell that enabled maji to use pure fire power to propel themselves through the air and on the ground}.


    {Sounds like a strong spell}.


    {It is, but I''ve only seen maji with a talent in aether control being able to use it properly...}.


    {Fascinating}.


    _________________________________________


    A powerful explosion rocked the arena and blew away the steam as Rakka''s [Burning Blade] made contact with Budo''s oily skin. I had feeling it had a weakness to fire, I was not expecting that to happen.


    As the [Fog of War] worked to protect me from the blast, I felt my bond with Rakka suddenly waver. At the same time, I couldn''t help but mentally groan and complain to Voxea.


    [Voxea, did you curse me or something when we first met]?


    [No. What makes you say that?], Voxea replied in an amused tone.


    [It seems like every time I''m in a non-practice fight, there''s always fire and explosions involved. At this point I can''t help but think it''s an inevitability every time I get into a binder fight now].


    [Oh please, if it was my brand of cursing, there''d be a lot more ice and mind altering involved...maybe chicken feet], Voxea nonchalantly commented.


    [What was that last one]?


    [Don''t worry about it. Look alive, smoke''s clearing].


    After the blast had died down and the smoke began to clear, I felt my connection with Rakka stabilize and watched as he landed right in front of me. He looked a bit beat up, fur a bit blackened by the blast and I could feel that both of his antlers were ringing with pain, but for the most part, I could feel that he was still kicking and feeling quite proud of himself. It was a very different story across the way.


    The once slimy BullFrog was rendered a burnt out husk, smoke coming out of its mouth and eyes. It''s skin which was once warty and green, was now black and cracked like used charcoal. Red lines of ember covered its skin and I could make out a small source of light coming from the top of its head.


    "C-croak".


    With a final cry, the BullFrog fell over. Pointed towards Rakka and I was a deep sword wound, the edges of which was still burning with flames. A few seconds later, the BullFrog''s form began to waver before turning into several balls of aether. The balls of aether flew back towards Mourga''s drajule and slowly reabsorbed, the binder himself was currently staring daggers at me with a horrible grimace.


    Meanwhile the crowd stared at us with stunned silence, as if they couldn''t comprehend what just happened.


    "So...when I can expect you to start running?", I asked aloud as I recalled Rakka to his drajule, a look of triumph on my face.


    "T-the winner is, Silvia Rosewood!", the announcer shouted.


    "...WOOOOO! SILVIA! SILVIA! SILVIA!", the crowd suddenly cheered after my loud declaration.


    The crowd''s cheering was rather deafening, but it felt rather refreshing having people cheer your name after forcing an arrogant loudmouth to eat their words. I couldn''t help but feel that nothing could go wrong at this moment.


    _________________________________________


    Rage. Indignation. Humiliation.


    These were the feelings overcoming Mourga at this moment. He had arrogantly declared he would beat Silvia in a duel and had promised that he would now go and run around the campus while...NOPE! NO. NO WAY.


    There was no way he would humiliate himself further by running around n.a.k.e.d! Of course...he only had to keep his promise as long as Silvia was alive...


    Before anyone could notice, Mourga slipped on a ring with a dark orange drajule onto his other hand, and an orange and brown summoning circle formed in front of him.

 Chapter 132 - Five Venoms Purple Demon Saber...wait, what?

    {Well, it appears Mourga is a bit of a sore loser. Shouldn''t you go and punish him}?


    {But of course}.


    As Mourga began to summon a new monster to strike down Silvia, Malgorious had somehow melted into the shadows of his seat, out of sight and out of mind, a black and purple drajule shining in his hand.


    _________________________________________


    [Oh crap! Silvia, behind you!], Voxea suddenly shouted in my head.


    At Voxea''s warning, I quickly looked behind me to see a a smooth black boulder rolling towards while releasing the most unsettling noise I have ever heard. What was more unsettling, it was a species I learned about


    _________________________________________


    Species Name: Doom Weevil


    Affinities: Fury


    Grade: Silver


    Trait: Ironshell


    Description: It is known among the more scholarly members of society, that insect majimonsters are much more outrageous than mammalian or bird-like majimonsters. Doom Weevil is a prime example, due to their incredibly hard carapace that makes it tough for even a pack of Blitzwolves to pierce through. If it wasn''t for the fact that Doom Weevils are more territorial than aggressive, the monster would have been lauded by Scholars as a testiment to the maji''s insanity, turning a small weevil to an ironclad killing machine.


    Voxea''s Notes: In the early days of the maji''s experiments in dragon creation, they first made use of the numerous insects that surround us even to this day. What they didn''t expect was that insects in their natural states were already quite monstrous. Among such specimens was a small weevil with a carapace so strong, it broke the iron needles that some bug collecting maji used to pin and preserve specimens. Logically, a maji known as the Swarmlord decided to infuse raw Fury affinity aether into the already tough shelled weevils to see what would happen. The end result was Doom Weevil, an insect majimonster with a shell stronger than steel and main method of attacking was flattening its opponents by rolling them over.


    _________________________________________


    The Doom Weevil was rolling towards me at surprisingly high speeds, and I could just make out Mourga with a viciously insane smile on his face. If I survive this, I am going to wring his neck.


    [You want to help me put this sore loser on ice?], I asked Voxea as I reached for my necklace.


    [Let''s show this lout just how terrifying we can be!], I heard Voxea shout in my head.


    [Right on], I replied while getting ready to summon her. But before I could do anything, a dark shadowy figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood between me and the Doom Weevil.


    I was about to ask who the heck was this guy, until I was cut off by his rather deep yet melodic voice.


    "Apologies, Miss Rosewood. But it is a teacher''s duty to discipline rowdy students", he said to me as a purple and black summoning circle appeared behind him...hold up.


    [Voxea, why is that summoning circle has black coloration]?


    The strange man then stuck his hand back into the circle as the Doom Weevil got closer.


    [Why did he stick his hand into that summoning circle]?


    The Doom Weevil soon got close enough that I could make out several markings on it''s grotesquely round form, but before it could crush us, the strange man swung his arm out of the circle and towards the monster. A dark purple flash occured and the next thing I knew, the Doom Weevil had suddenly rolled pass us into two neat halves. The two halves then dispersed into aether and returned to Mourga''s drajule, who looked somewhere between defeated and deflated as he fell to his knees.


    What made this whole thing unusual, was that I couldn''t see what he had summoned to beat it. The only thing different was that he was now holding a weird purple saber covered in markings.


    [Well I''ll be damned], Voxea suddenly said to me, [Never thought I''d see one of his works here again].


    [What do you mean? Where''s his majomonster]?


    [Take a look at that saber], Voxea said mysteriously.


    Shocked and little confused, I looked at the strange teacher''s, only to have my Dragon''s Eye suddenly flare up. It was only when the information started appearing that I began understand how he did it.


    [Oh].


    Turns out the saber he was holding was a majimonster, something incredibly unusual even by binder standards. In my eyes were two little lines.


    _________________________________________


    Species Name: Five Venoms Purple Demon Saber


    Affinities: Mystic/Basic/???


    _________________________________________


    [Well...that''s new].

 Chapter 133 - Malgorious Undrax

    "Now then, would the three students in the bleachers please recall their monsters?", the teacher said aloud while holding the purple monster saber and staring up to the left, "unsanctioned summons are a rather punishable offense on campus property".


    Following where the teacher was gazing, I saw that my friends had summoned their monsters and were currently staring daggers at Mourga. Good to know if things ever went South for me, I could count on them to exact revenge. Seeing how Mourga had been rendered moot, Albina, Bori and Savina recalled their monsters and stood down.


    "On that note, the duel has ended in Rosewood''s favor. Everyone please head to your respective classes or otherwise clear out", he instructed everyone present while dismissing his own monster. Heeding his words, the gathered students began to leave one after the other, chattering all the while.


    "Miss Rosewood, I suggest you also do the same. It would leave a rather bad first impression if you showed up to your first class late, er unexcused. And don''t worry about Mr.Rockhummer, I''ll be sure he is properly disciplined and that he honors your wager", the teacher said as he turned towards me.Now that I had a closer look at him, three words immediately came into mind: lanky, pale and dark.


    "Alright", I replied with a nod, "thanks for the help, mister...".


    "Malgorious. I am Professor Malgorious Undrax, at your service", the lanky man said with a smile.


    [Undrax?], Voxea suddenly commented, [then that would mean...no way...].


    "That being said, please stop by my office when you get the chance, Miss Rosewood. There is something I''d like to discuss with you", he said in an enigmatic tone that reminded me of Voxea. I''m not sure if I should find that comforting or unsettling.


    "Okay... sure... I''ll be on my way now", I replied quickly before exiting the arena to meet with my friends. What a weird guy...


    _________________________________________


    {Any particular reason why you wanted me to use our familial name? I didn''t see a reaction on the young lady towards the name}.


    {Oh dearie, that wasn''t meant for her ears, rather it was for the listener in the audience...}.


    _________________________________________


    "Silvia! Are you okay?!", Savina exclaimed while hugging me...a little too tightly. As I was exiting the arena, my friends had come down to greet me...well, in Savina''s case, come down to hug me like I had come back from the dead.


    "Savina...can''t breath...".


    "Oh! Sorry!", she said whilst letting me go in an awkward manner.


    "Uh...shall we head to class", Bori suggested. Wordlessly, we nodded and moved on.


    "I cannot believe that that rotten loudmouth would try something so dishonorable!",Albina commented while palming her fist, "If Malgorious didn''t get involved, I would''ve turned that blockhead into paste"!


    "Wait, you know who he is?", Savina asked before I could.


    "Yeah", Bori and Albina said simultaneously, "You haven''t"?


    As Bori and Albina stared at us in a questioning manner, both Savina and I shook our heads in reply. I wasn''t even a binder until a few months ago and loving in the frontier, why would I know who this guy was?


    "Who is he"?


    "He''s one of the most famous binders in the empire, Malgorius of the Grave", Bori informed us in an excited tone.


    "Malgorius of the Grave?", Savina and I asked in unison.


    "Aye, the reason he''s called ''the Grave'', is because all of his monsters carry the undead trait. Fighting him is like fighting the afterlife", Albina followed up.


    [That sounds about right], Voxea suddenly commented as Savina began to ask more about who Malgorious was exactly.


    [Hey Voxea, what do you mean by that], I asked while maintaining my stride. Thankfully, Bori and Albina were caught up with Savina''s questions, so they didn''t find it odd that I suddenly clammed up.


    [Remember what his full name was? Malgorius Undrax? Back when the maji were still in-charge, House Undrax was home to the most powerful necromancers and exorcists on this side of the world], Voxea explained, [they were also the origin point of all undead majimonsters. It''s honestly not surprising one of their descendants became a binder specializing in them].


    [Ok that''s pretty neat, but how come it seemed like earlier that you reacted like you knew them personally?], I asked her point blank.


    [Because I did...well one of them anyways...but how did she survive after all this time...], Voxea replied before trailing off in my thoughts.


    Ominous....great...

 Chapter 134 - Why we Learn

    "Good Morning students, welcome to Imperial Binder History class, I am your teacher, Professor Orlgard", a tall portly woman announced as my friends and I settled into our seats at the back of the classroom. I wasn''t sure why the teachers at this school reminded me of animals, but the woman in front of us reminded me of an elephant, but a tad smaller and friendlier looking.


    "Now my binders to be, I''m sure you have plenty of questions for me, or at least, curious as to why you''re currently taking a history class, correct? Or any of the other classes? Shouldn''t we be focusing on combat training?", she asked the room once the other students had taken their seats. As her gaze swept across the room, I noticed several of the other students either shrink back or pretend to be inattentive. This strange act kept going for what felt like hours, so I decided to just break the tension and ask what everyone was thinking...up until someone else just said it before me.


    "I mean... you''re not wrong professor. Why are we learning this stuff? Aren''t we training to fight the majimonsters and reclaim the Wildlands?", a boy covered head to toe in bandages asked.


    [I''m going to guess horribly ugly face], Voxea commented.


    [Voxea, that''s rude. He could just be shy].


    [Or horribly scarred], she quipped.


    "An excellent question, mister....".


    "Pharonketh".


    "An excellent question, Mister Pharonketh. The reason why your curriculum includes more than just combat training is threefold. The first is due to magic being a multidisciplinary art", Professor Orlgard explained with a smile.


    "By exercising your minds, bodies and willpower to a variety of subjects, stimuli and stressors, you''ll be to draw out more and more of your inner magical power and make your monsters that much stronger".


    [She''s not wrong you know. Specific types of maji had very different training styles from one another. Paladins for example had to be well-versed in weapon forms, while druids had to be in tune with nature. I once met a geomancer who had buried himself under a mountain to better understand, and I quote here, "the weight of the world". Ironically, I think he was the guy who made the Omukade...].


    "The second reason is a bit more practical. The Wildlands is full of ruins from the Old Empire. A good chunk of these ruins are fallen cities and castles, full of history and information from our ancestors that have been lost to the ages. It is a great boon to traveling binders to understand the origins and values of such ruins. As well, it has been recorded that some ruins that belonged to maji have death traps that are usually connected to puzzles and tests related to non-magical subjects, to serve as security".


    [Wait, what? You guys use puzzles as security systems?], I asked Voxea.


    [To be fair, the ones who usually go tomb robbing tend to be on the dumb side or the over analyzing side. Besides, if anyone is gonna be trying to steal our stuff, they might as well be bright enough to think like us. I wouldn''t want a pyromancer to get their hands in my goodies].


    [You are surprisingly nonchalant about people profiting from your death].


    [Meh, that''s what the death traps are for].


    "And the last reason my dear students, is so we don''t repeat the mistakes of our forefathers".


    [Pardon]?


    "It is an established fact that the world as we know it today is due to the majimonsters populating it, and that the majimonsters are a result of the hubris of the maji", Professor Orlgard said in a serious tone, "As binders, we represent a new age of magic, the blood of the maji of old flow through our veins. We are able to control the very forces of nature that threw down our ancestors and has plagued us to this day. As such, the rest of humanity see us as both its greatest defenders and its most terrible foe. The responsibility we carry is heavy, so we must learn from our past, from the mistakes of our ancestors, lest we are doomed to repeat it".


    A silence overcame the class, as we digested the weight behind her words. I couldn''t help but notice that the demeanor of many students from inattentive to respectful after the professor''s speech.


    It seems that the professor managed to earn the respect of everybody in the class with that speech.


    [You know, I resent at least part of those statements].


    Okay, mostly everybody.

 Chapter 135 - Undraxs Office

    "...and that class, is how Emperor Zarasul saved the Capital and introduced the art of binding to the people", Professor Orlgard explained as she deactivated the artifact and the class began to pick up their collective dropped jaws.


    [Okay, I now have a modic.u.m of respect for the new Emperor], Voxea mentioned casually.


    [A modic.u.m?! We just witnessed the man ride a stallion made of storms and fury into the eye of a skeleton monster the size of a castle and cause it to explode! What the heck earns more than a modic.u.m]?!


    [Doing it n.a.k.e.d], Voxea quipped.


    [Unbelievable].


    "That''s all for today class. Make sure to get to your next scheduled classes on time or enjoy the rest of your day as you wish", Professor Orlgard said as several of the students began to make way for the exit.


    As I was busy mentally digesting what was just shared with us, a tap on my shoulder brought me back into reality.


    "Hey Sil-Sil! Looks like today was our only class. Albina wanted to go check out the training facilities. Wanna come?", Savina asked me with an expectant look on her face. I was about to accept until Voxea interrupted me.


    [Hold up girl, tell them that you''ll catch up with them later].


    [Why]?


    [I wanna go see that Undrax fellow. There''s something I want to confirm. Consider it a favor from you to me], Voxea said mysteriously.


    [Huh...alright, fine].


    [Yay! I owe you one, once more], Voxea said joyfully.


    "Maybe later guys, there''s something I want to check out first", I said while tapping on my temple.


    Albina and Bori were a bit confused at my statement, luckily, Savina understood my meaning. After I had revealed Voxea to Savina, we devised a simple way to tell her when I was about to go do maji stuff.


    "Oh. Okay then, don''t take too long though", Savina replied without skipping a beat.


    [Savina is such a good girl...], Voxea commented mysteriously.


    _________________________________________


    [Well then, this place is creepy].


    [Black wood, creepy bones and charms? Looks like normal necromancer asthetic to me], Voxea replied.


    After Voxea and I left the group to their own devices, the two of us made our way to the academy wing that housed the staff offices.


    Evidently, the staff here had some form of freedom in how they decorate their offices, because Voxea and I had passed by some remarkably strange doors. Aside from having the professors names slapped on to the doors, each door was incredibly different from one another.


    The one to the left of Undrax''s door looked like it was overgrown with vines and mushrooms, while the one to the right was glowing and had jars filled with jellyfish in place of torches flanking it. Undrax''s door was...creepy.


    The door itself was a solid black singular piece of timber, no seams or metal bands holding it together. It was decorated with bones and gems, a skull with onyx eyes and ring in its mouth serving as the knocker. But the part that weirded me out the most, was that every single piece of this door had spells runes carved into it from top to bottom. I couldn''t make out a single spell formation, but I could feel that this door was a magical hazard waiting to happen.


    [So... you''re gonna knock or what?], Voxea goaded me.


    Taking a deep breath and steeling my nerves, I reached for the knocker and gave it a good tapping.


    CLUNG CLUNG


    "A GUEST IS HERE", the skull suddenly announced.


    "Kyaaa"!


    Needless to say, I jumped back the moment skull talked.


    "Come in", a voice from inside called out. The creepy talking door then slowly swung inward, allowing Voxea and I to enter.


    [Was...was House Undrax always this creepy?], I asked Voxea while forcing a straight/brave face.


    [All necromancers tend to be, so yes].


    As I entered the room, the first thing I noticed that the room felt incredibly cold. Not a winter cold, but like a graveyard cold. Surrounding me were books stacked onto each other like evergreens in a forest and-


    [Why does he have a collection of skulls]?


    [Like I said, necromancy gets weird].


    "Are you two gonna keep us waiting or what?", a deep voice called out to us, snapping me back to reality.... waitaminute.


    Did he just refer to us and himself in plural form?

 Chapter 136 - Maji Handshake

    Deeper into the barely lit office, was the languorous form of Malgorius Undrax. The man was currently lounging in a big red chair, a small table with a teapot, two tea cups and a strange box sitting next to him.


    "Well? Tea''s getting cold, Miss Rosewood", Mr. Undrax said while still lounging. Steam was rising from the two cups, and the distinct floral scent of tea greeted my nostrils. Not wanting to make a scene, I walked over but conversed with Voxea mentally.


    [I''m not going crazy, he did say "you two" right]?


    [That he did...], Voxea confirmed.


    As I got closer to Malgorius, a smaller yet still comfortable looking chair came into view on the opposite of the small table. Either this was how he usually spent his day or he was expecting me to visit now...both possibilities were somehow unsettling to me in very different ways.


    In a lazy manner, Malgorious gestured for me to sit in the chair across from him. Not to be rude, I took him up on the offer. Might as well oblige the possible powerful maji with a crazy monster sword.


    "Care for some oolong tea"?


    [Think it''s poisoned]?


    [Probably not, he did save your butt].


    "Sure".


    With a lazy twirl of his hand, I could hear the aether around me beginning to hum. A breeze began to blow through the room, as the tea pot on the table began to float ever so slightly. By waving his hand limply, the tea pot began to pour steaming hot tea into our cups.


    [Welp, he clearly has magical power beyond binder stuff], I confirmed with Voxea.


    [And one who has practiced for a rather long time...that level of control...], Voxea muttered.


    "Impressive", I commented as the teapot slowly landed back on to the table.


    "Thank you, Miss Rosewood, but I''m sure you''ve seen more impressive displays of aether control, no?", Mr.Undrax asked in an lazy yet amused manner. Two things immediately came to mind when I''m starting to get the impression that all powerful maji either get haughty or lazy as they grow stronger at this point.


    "Perhaps...though I don''t know how they would match up against the one who taught you?", I said carefully.


    [I''m clearly stronger], Voxea commented.


    "Care to find out?", Malgorious asked as he straightened himself up in his chair. After doing so, he reached over to the strange looking box in the little table and tapped on it. At which point, the temperature in the room dropped and I could feel the aether starting to stir again, but in a very different manner.


    The box slowly opened and purple smoke began to pour out of it, the aether churning further.


    {Ahhh, It''s been a while since I had some fresh air!}, a strange voice suddenly filled the room as the smoke rose up and began to take a more humanoid shape.


    [This aura, that voice...Silvia, I need you to summon me right now]!


    [Got it], I replied as I reached for my necklace and channeled my aether into it. As the smoke began to clear and the humanoid figure became more defined, Voxea''s summoning circle formed immediately in front of it.


    "Oh-ho? So that''s where she went?", I heard Malgorius ask aloud.


    Voxea came flying out of the summoning circle, her hand flowing with the power of ice, and flew straight towards the now fully formed shadowy woman.


    {Ooooh, someone wants to play?!}, the woman said as dark colored aether began to surround her own hand. As Voxea sent an ice aether empowered fist directly at the woman, the woman had launched a palm infused with an unknown aether to directly intercept the punch.


    BAM!


    A loud booming noise filled the room as Voxea''s ice aether directly conflicted with the unknown woman''s aether. The force was so intense that I could barely brace myself from the aftershock. Annoyingly, Malgorious was leisurely sipping tea as this whole thing was happening.


    The clash lasted only for a moment as Voxea and the woman separated,Voxea hovering above me and the woman hovering above Malgorius, both standing midair as if nothing happened.


    {Haha! Been awhile since I had a good maji handshake! And with the Snow Titan''s Entropic Fist no less! It''s been a long time, snow rat!}, the woman cackled estatically.


    "Obliterating Nine Poisons Palm...so you were still alive, devil girl!", Voxea replied with a smile on her face.


    [Voxea! What was that? Who is she]?


    "Silvia, this is...was the sect leader of the Nine Toxin Underworld Hall, Belladonna Necrolia Undrax", Voxea explained.


    {At your service}, Belladonna followed up while bowing, { but you forgot to mention "best friend" too}.

 Chapter 137 - The Glory Days of the Queens of Ice and Death

    About a...millennia? Give or a take a couple centuries ago....


    One fine summer morning at the Heavenly Garden Academy, a beautiful ice maji with sharp eyes was currently hovering and cultivating in the middle of what appeared to be a glacier floating in the middle of a pond filled with water that was far below the subzero temperature. This ice pond was one of the academy''s special aether points.


    To help stimulate the growth of their students, the academy had painstakingly set up several magical formations that gathered, condensed and changed the affinity of both atmospheric and ground aether into the affinity of the formation. Depending on the complexity and strength of the formation, these formations can vary in strength, ranging from Bronze grade (the weakest) to Diamond grade (the strongest)...like a certain strength scale used in the future.


    However,just because a stronger formation can provide stronger aether doesn''t mean anyone can use it. If someone without sufficient ability try to use a formation beyond their means, the results can be... destructive.


    The maji in question was currently making use of a low tier Diamond grade ice affinity formation in order to cultivate the "Divine True Ice Mantra". This high level technique required the user to immerse themselves in the coldest possible ice and absolute silence, in order to -"VOXEA"! Or you know, someone interrupts the exposition dump.


    The young ice maji named Voxea let out a sigh as she stopped cultivating and landed back on the ground. Turning her head to the source, she opened her sharp blue eyes and saw a black dot flying towards her from the horizon.


    "VOXEA ALBATHORN!", a powerful voice called out to the maji, right before the owner of said voice landed near the pond in a manner so powerful it kicked up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, a distinctly purple toad-like majimonster known as a Nethercroak with a maji on its back appeared in the center of the newly impacted crater.


    "What do you want Belladonna?", Voxea asked in an annoyed tone and a look on her face that screamed "Why are you here again"?!


    After the question was asked, the maji on the Nethercroak''s back jumped through the air with a flip and landed in front of Voxea.


    Belladonna was a beautiful curvaceous young woman with raven black hair, purple eyes and a general aura of knowing she''s hot and will make use of it. Normally, her smile could steal over a hundred hearts at once, but right now, it was a sneer to match her angry eyes.


    "You know why I''m here! You humiliated me at the tournament last week, and I am here to reclaim my honor!", she yelled in a justified tone, "And so I challenge you to a duel, once more"!


    "...Fine. I can take a few minutes out of my day to pound you into dust again. When and where?", Voxea replied haughtily.


    "Now and here", Belladonna said as she swung a purple glowing staff at her head.


    What she didn''t expect was that Voxea had a platinum grade ice mirror ready to go. What followed was a massive explosion of cold and poison energy.


    _________________________________________


    One lovely autumn afternoon, a lovely pair of young maji women were currently panting out of exhaustion after attempting to rip out each others throats.


    The battlefield upon which they raged was currently split down the middle. On one side was an icy "wonderland" where everything was stark white and frozen, while the other side was a toxic swamp full of purple puddles and decayed matter. These sides went on for at least a mile in opposite directions, the fact that one side didn''t encroach the other was a testament to how evenly matched the maji were.


    "How...how many matches have fought...up until now?", Voxea asked between gasps of air.


    "Five thousand three hundred and thirty-six... we''re all tied up...", Belladonna replied while still panting.


    "Seriously?", Voxea asked in a surprised tone.


    "Yeah...".


    "..."


    "..."


    "Wanna just bury the hatchet and be friends"?


    "...yes".


    "Sweet".


    _________________________________________


    Sometime later, a beautiful raven-haired maji woman was currently locking blades with a man with six arms and six sabers while deep in the inner sanctum of a rather elaborate looking palace.


    "Surrender Toxin Queen, the Nine Toxin Netherworld Hall will fall to my Glorious Blade Tribe today and nothing can stop it", the six-armed maji said with a sneer on his face.


    "Screw off Gorigan! We both know I''m stronger than you and I''m going to enjoy kicking your sorry teeth in"!


    "Ha! I joined hands with the Holy Sand Priest, and together we''ll-"


    "GUUH".


    Just as Gorigan was about to monologue Belladonna''s ear off, the aforementioned Holy Sand Priest came flying through a wall with a distinctive foot print ladened with frost aether embedded into his chest. He made quite the entrance with his unconscious, twitching and bloodied form.


    As the two dueling maji stared at the body in shock, an arrogantly cold voice filled the room.


    "Apologies for being late, Belladonna. I was a bit busy...cleaning up some trash that was left your entrance".


    A few seconds later, a beautiful woman with snow white hair and sharp blue eyes came walking through the hole, each step freezing and unfreezing the floor.


    "Voxea!", Belladona exclaimed before disengaging with Gorigan and leaping through the air to greet the ice maji.


    "What took ya snow rat?", Belladonna exclaimed as she hugged her, "Almost got into a sticky situation, wanna help me take this guy down"?


    "But of course", Voxea replied with a smile as she pulled out her trusty ice mirror.


    The two woman stared down Gorigan as their aether started churning violently.


    "NETHER RIME LOTUS BLAST"!


    _________________________________________


    "And that''s how Belladonna and I took down both the Sacred Desert Temple and the Glorious Blade Tribe", Voxea regaled to Malgorius and I.


    I''m pretty sure they made up at least part of these stories.

 Chapter 138 - Aether Points and Training Grounds, oh my!

    {Enough stories of our glory days, snow rat, I mean look at you! Turning yourself into a majimonster?! You''re the only girl I know who would be crazy to come up with a ritual like this!}, Belladonna exclaimed excitedly. A rich comment coming from someone who''s a ghost...in a box.


    "Well, one tends to get rather...creative when they''re left alone in a magically enhanced ice box for couple centuries. Also, that''s rather rich coming from a ghost in the box".


    Thank you Voxea.


    "How did you come up with this anyway?", Voxe a asked curiously as she began to poke at her friend''s ghostly form, "Most spirit form maji have to stick to a location in order to maintain their form for prolong periods of time".


    {Oh come now Voxea. You know necromancers like me have all sorts of tricks to cheat death and find loopholes if necessary. Just didn''t think I''d have to do this one}, Belladonna sighed while gesturing to herself.


    "Hey, none of us could''ve predicted that the Dragon Storm would happen", Voxea said while comforting her friend, "well, except maybe that weirdo oracle, wonder if he''s still alive...".


    {Hmmm, you''re right Voxea. No use getting glum over it. Now tell me, is this girl your apprentice? She''s adorable and has a decent foundation to boot!}, Belladonna said as she floated towards me and began pinching my cheeks. It seems to be a trend for spiritual beings to pinch at my cheeks and I don''t know why.


    "Speaking of apprentices, your descendant here is rather strong for his age. Upper fourth tier"?


    {Lower fifth actually. Managed to break through to that point after mastering my old sword and making use of an old aether point we found}, said after having her fill of pinching my cheeks. Meanwhile, Malgorious just watched on with amus.e.m.e.nt while sympathetically rubbing his own cheeks. I got the feeling Belladonna pinched his cheeks quite often.


    "Wait, that means...", Voxea said with a look of growing excitement on her face.


    {Correct. Welcome back to the Garden, my friend}.


    "WOOO!", Voxea cried happily as she began to fly around.


    "Uhh Voxea, what''s the Garden? And what''s an aether point"?


    "The Heavenly Garden Academy! This was our old stomping ground back when we were apprentices. Oh, I knew this place looked familiar. Good on that Zarasul for recognizing this place''s worth", Voxea explained, "And as for the aether points... Belladonna, did you happen to find any lighting, ice or arcane ones that were still active"?


    {Hmmm...Actually, we did find a hybrid one awhile back, we just didn''t have the aether to start it up. We can go look at later tonight},Belladonna said after a moment of thinking, {We can''t exactly show you it now due to, well...}.


    "Obvious reasons"?


    {Obvious reasons}.


    "Well then", I said interrupting the two maji, "I suppose now would be a good time for us to go. I still have to meet with my friends. Thank you for the tea, Professor Undrax".


    "Oh please, we''re fellow maji. No need to be so formal", Malgorius said whilst sipping his own tea, "consider me a senior, not a teacher".


    I nodded non-committally at his request as Voxea and Belladonna made their good-byes. After a minute or so, we left.


    [Be honest with me, is using the aether point going to hurt]?


    [Probably not].


    [Great...].


    _________________________________________


    [Ok, weren''t we here literally four hours ago?], I asked Voxea as we followed Malgorius and Belladonna to the academy''s training grounds.


    After leaving Malgorius'' office, I got to the training grounds and met up with my friends to see what the big deal was.


    Honestly, it was impressive.


    The training ground had everything from a target range to practice ranged techniques, battlefields that could be magically altered to make a variety of terrains and some crazy magical dummies that could mimic majimonster techniques. With all these crazy training methods, I could understand why and how students who come here end up becoming powerful binders...granted, I''m pretty sure none of the binders had to deal with a wild Amphare in their bedroom before.


    {Alright, we''re here}, Belladonna said as we got to an empty corner of the training grounds. I was about to comment about nothing being here, but I had feeling Voxea was about to change that.


    "Oh! I remember this one, it''s an Illusionary Frost Shadow array! This is perfect for Silvia", Voxea exclaimed, "it just needs a little... frost power".


    Voxea suddenly clasped her hands together and began to mutter a spell chant.


    The air suddenly got colder as little purple balls of light suddenly blinked into existence, only to be absorbed into a ball of energy forming in Voxea''s hands. A moment later, she threw the ball of magic at the ground, causing a strange array to flare into life.


    "Okay, it''s ready. Now just step in", Voxea said with a smile while staring at me. At a point that felt routine, I gave her a withering stare before letting out a sigh and stepping in.


    {Your apprentice seems mildly reluctant}, Belladonna commented.


    "I can understand her concerns", Malgorius followed up.


    "Before we begin, this array won''t electrocute, burn me or knock me unconscious, right"?


    "No".


    {Probably not}.


    "Don''t think so".


    "Okay then", I said as I sat down and began meditating.


    "Might tingle a little though".


    "Wha-nyaaaa", I said as my skin began crawling. It wasn''t painful, but it felt...weird.

 Chapter 139 - Well...

    ~What''s a peasant to a king, What''s a king to a maji, but what''s a maji to a binder but a pile of rotten bones~ ", Diego drunkenly sang on his way back from the "The Drunken Mysticac".


    Today was a good day for the young man. He had just finished his apprenticeship under Boss Fiora, and was now a full fledged journeyman blacksmith.


    Starting from today, he had the right to own his shop and leave the city and go explore as part of a binder''s entourage or even by himself, on safe roads, to far flung cities. With a belly full of pork and mead and a head full of songs, Diego was feeling like he was on top of the world right -AAAAAAAAHHH.


    Diego suddenly shook himself out of his drunken revelry, as he stood in attention to see what had released such a loud and ghastly shriek. As his head darted back and forth in an attempt to locate the source, a dark shadow suddenly leaped into the air from a nearby alleyway. With moon serving as its background, Diego could make out the faint outline of huge claws the size of short swords that shimmered in the moonlight.


    Diego quickly dashed into the alleyway that the shadow had fled from, and the thing he saw made his face pale and stomach empty.


    _________________________________________


    [Hey Voxea]?


    [Yes]?


    [What''s the deal with Belladonna''s sword... monster...thing]?


    [Hmmm, I suppose I should tell you about it. Finish going through "Ice Maiden''s Reaping" and then we can talk], Voxea said with mild hesitation.


    [Right on].


    Currently, Voxea and I were making use of the training grounds for me to practice how to fight with a polearm. Since my magical tool was a staff, Voxea figured she would teach me a couple of tricks on how to use it bash someone''s head in, in case of emergencies...or more specifically, a bunch of old "maji martial art" forms that made use of polearms and a little aether. Didn''t use any aether for obvious reasons.


    "Ha! Ha! Kyaaa!", I shouted while finishing the form.


    [How was that]?


    [You''re a quick learner. It''s good, but your footwork needs a little work], Voxea commented.


    [Fair enough...now about the sword thing, why did my Dragon''s Eye act up on when I began reading it?], I asked as I put the training staff back onto the weapon rack.


    [Do you want the long version or the short version?], Voxea teased.


    [Somewhere in between], I replied while making way to a bench to rest. As I sat down, Savina showed up with a canteen. With a thankful nod, I took a drink then gave it back.


    [Well to start...Centuries ago there was this master runesmith named Volaphus. The man was so good at his job, that he could make gold grade equipment in his sleep,literally. Maji and warriors from all over the empire would flock to his forge in a vain attempt to have him make them a weapon or tool. Granted, the man took comissions on a whim and was rather vague with his pricing.], Voxea explained.


    [Sounds like he was rather...I was gonna say eccentric, but so far every maji I met has been that, so I''m just gonna say normal], I quipped.


    [Volaphus had a habit of making weapons in groups, series if you will. One of his more infamous ones were known as "The Ten Infernals", ten dangerous weapons that he swore were infused with the power of the ten underworlds from which they were named. Belladonna''s sword, the Five Venoms Purple Demon Saber, is actually one of them, forget the name though].


    [Huh...Did Volaphus give you one of those magical tools]?


    [Two actually. The first was my old spear, Nilfheim. It was part of a set of nine called the Nine Branches. All of the weapons had handles carved from the same tree], Voxea explained, [Volaphus was poetic like that].


    [And the second?], I asked while taking another drink from the canteen.


    [Hakkan-Jigoku, the Frozen Prison Mirror of the Ten Infernals...also known as that disc you''ve been lugging for me ever since we met].


    At that sudden drop of information, I choked on my water.


    *Cough, hack, wheeze!*


    "Sil-Sil, are you okay?!", Savina asked worriedly.


    "It''s cool, but...wrong tube", I said.


    [Are you serious?! You mean I''ve been dragging around a gold grade magic artifact this whole time]?!


    [Diamond actually and you might have bigger things to worry about], Voxea suddenly said.


    [Please stop being enigmatic with your warnings].


    I was about to quip further, when an aether enhanced voice suddenly echoed through the campus


    "Attention students, there has been a murder near the campus. Please follow the Wisps to the nearest interrogation booth to provide alibis".


    Well, that''s not good.

 Chapter 140 - Suspect

    "Where were you and what were you doing last night at around...", the investigators repeated ad nauseum.


    "Last night I was...".


    "My roommate can...".


    "We just studied last...".


    "I''m not explaining why I had a...".


    "Learn anything interesting?", Savina asked as the two of us sat waiting for our Bori and Albina to finish their interrogations. Savina and I had lucked out due to the two of us being right next to an interrogation booth when the announcement was made.


    We also managed to leave quickly because we shared the same alibi with Bori and Albina: dinner. I initially thought it was weird we had to provide an alibi about our whereabouts last night, but then I was reminded that not all the students here shared the same schedule. In essence, this meant while a good chunk of the students could share the same alibis of being here at the campus but there were still quite a few outliers.


    Keeping this in mind, I decided to listen in to see what was going on.


    "Nothing much, although I now know way more about my peers than what''s considered polite", I said in response to Savina''s question.


    "I don''t think-".


    "What are we doing here?", I heard a young yet cranky voice say.


    "Never mind, I got something", I said before focusing entirely on listening.


    "What do you mean ''what are we doing here''? This academy had just received a new batch of students, making it the most likely place for the suspect to just blend in here", an older voice said in response, "it''s not impossible for someone to blend in and fake being a student".


    "Yeah I get that, but this has been happening on and off for months now. How do we even know the suspect is a binder? It could just be some random civilian who got their hands on some crazy artifacts", the young sounding voice complained.


    "You never read the full reports, did you"?


    "What''s there to read? Victims were found covered in cuts and the surroundings had deep claw marks in em. I can name at least a dozen artifacts that can do that".


    Not sure why, but the younger sounding voice was starting to get on my nerves.


    "If you had read the reports, you would''ve known that that the aether left at the scenes had a distinct fury and frost affinity mixture. Not exactly a common combination of aether for an artifact to hold, but not so if it''s a majimonster", the older voice explained, "additionally, Scholars noted that there were distinctly inhuman footprints at all the scenes. Unless a wild majimonster suddenly snuck in, the perpetrator is most likely a binder".


    "But what makes you think it''s someone here and not say, a recently awoken Scoundrel who''s just doing it for kicks?", the younger one questioned.


    "All the victims were found at least a few blocks away from this academy. It''s deductive reasoning".


    "Bah! That''s what you said last time when all the victims were women and then changed it when it went from that to all the victims wearing a similar looking color", the younger one shot back,"face it, this case is gonna remain cold unless something drastic happens".


    "Shush up rookie, the next student''s about to arrive", the older voice said. With that said, I stopped listening in and focused back on my present. I''m not sure when, but Bori and Albina showed up and were staring at me.


    "How long were the two of you staring"?


    "Long enough for Savina to explain you have crazy good hearing, what''d you find out?", Albina answered for the both of them.


    I gave them the gist of what I listened in on, about the victims, that apparently this has been happening for a while and that they decided now would be a good time to interrogate people...in retrospect, they sounded rather incompetent...


    "So what are you going to do about it?", Bori suddenly asked.


    "Pardon"?


    "Oh come on brewer girl, in the few months we''ve known you, you have proven to be a rather righteous, if not reckless individual. You expect us to believe you''re not going to stick your nose into this?", Albina pointedly asked.


    "What are you talking about? The authorities have this under control. I''m not going to stick my nose in where it doesn''t belong", I told my friends.


    _________________________________________


    [Didn''t you say you weren''t going to stick your nose in?], Voxea asked as I walked down a market street.


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 Chapter 141 - Market Streets and Alleyways

    [I have no idea what you''re talking about, Voxea], I replied in a mild manner while checking a stall that sold drajules. As a fellow crafter of sorts, I could tell that the specimens for sale were well-made but standard. I imagine he kept the good stuff hidden or in the back...and were probably more costly.


    "Are ya buying or what?", the crafter/seller asked in a gruff tone.


    "Sure", I said as I pulled out the suls necessary for the purchase. The stall owner had a big grin and asked me to come again after collecting the money.


    [See? I''m just a normal shopper, buying things from the market], I told Voxea as I pocketed my new drajule.


    Overall, the imperial market was much more impressive than the one at home. Colorful stalls as far as the eye can see, selling everything from knick knacks, unusual snacks and food, binder essentials and all sorts of useful materials. I should come exploring with my friends next time.


    _________________________________________


    Meanwhile, about ten feet behind her...


    "So do you really think she''s just here to go shopping or that she bought that just to throw us off?", Albina asked Bori and Savina as the three of them bought something called popcorn from a stall.


    "Possibly? Also, make sure to blend in with the crowd''s noises. Don''t want her hearing us following her", Savina replied while munching.


    "This is so good! Can I get another one with extra spice?", Bori said as he gulped down a bag of popcorn and bought another.


    _________________________________________


    [Uh huh...and the fact that we''re in earshot of a bunch of city guards protecting a crime scene has nothing to do with your impromptu walk?], Voxea asked point blank.


    [Are we? I didn''t notice! How strange! I''m just gonna sit here and listen in then], I replied in a slightly exaggerated manner as I sat on a bench.


    [...you are as shameless as me when you want to be], Voxea chided.


    [No idea what you''re talking about, I need to listen now].


    With a deep breath, I began to focus my hearing.


    "Fresh fish! Get your fresh fish"!


    Ok, that ain''t it.


    "20 suls for a pot?! Are you insane"?


    Ah haggling, one of the oldest traditions in the world.


    "Get your honey candy here, fresh honey candy"!


    So many tasty snacks, so little time.


    "Well this is...".


    "Nasty? Bloody? Horrifying"?


    "I was going to say messy, but sure".


    Found em.


    "So, is it the same as the other victims"?


    "Large claw marks cutting into the stone, strange looking footprints and a bloody corpse? Yup, but there was one difference this time".


    "Oh"?


    "We found this weird looking mask in their hands. Looked like they managed to rip it off the attacker when it happened".


    "Really? Then maybe we could get a Scholar to-" "LET ME GO, YOU JERKS"!


    What the heck?


    _________________________________________


    "Let me go, what do you want with me?!", Alyra shouted as a large, rotund dirty man with an ugly face was holding her up by her hair. Flanking him were about four other ruffians of varying shapes and sizes.


    "Awww, the little rabbit wants to know what we want from her! Isn''t that cute?", a small rat faced ruffian laughed as he asked the question aloud. His sarcastic question was met with uproarious laughter from the others, except for the large man who just snickered.


    "Don''t you know anything about real estate?", asked a man with a long face and crooked teeth, "This is our land, and anyone who sleeps on it has to pay rent".


    "Real estate? Rent?! This is just a dirty alleyway and y''all are nothing but gutter rats like me!", Alyra spat while flailing about.


    "Kekeke, sounds like she can''t pay up boss! But maybe we can find some other use for such a pretty young thing...", a bug-eyed fellow said with a dirty laugh.


    Alyra''s eyes went wide and her face paled at the statement, a gross feeling began to bubble in her stomach as the gang of thugs began to encroach closer as the big man holding her up switched from her hair to holding her body to the alley wall.


    "Please... don''t...", Alyra weakly cried. Just as she closed her eyes and felt the cruel hand of fate gripping in on her, a strong voice called out.


    "Hey! a*holes"!


    The next thing she knew, a fierce looking girl in a pristine uniform landed a flying kick right into the skull of the rotund brute!


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 Chapter 143 - Intimidating the "Strong"

    [Nice hit!], Voxea said as I kicked in the face of a man who reminded me of a bloated toad. I wasn''t hundred percent sure, but I think I broke his nose.


    Using my momentum and the fatso''s face as a platform, I pushed myself and flipped backwards. Landing in the same spot as I had launched myself, a trail of rapidly melting ice behind me.


    "Darrrrgghhh!", the fat man screamed as he grabbed towards his nose, dropping the girl he was holding hostage. As he screamed in pain, the mooks looked at me with shock written all over their faces. Apparently they weren''t expecting someone to come in and kick their butts.


    "What are you standing around for?! Get her!", the fat toad screeched as he held his nose. The mooks immediately dropped their shock faces and began to charge at me.


    [You''re not going to summon any other monsters, are you?], Voxea


    [Nope].


    [Want to test out those fighting techniques I taught you]?


    [Exactly], I replied as I subtly empowered my limbs with aether. Aside from polearm techniques, Voxea had drilled into my head several boxing and unarmed fighting techniques as well. And these idiots were about to be my training dummies.


    _________________________________________


    Deep within the interior of the New Capital, a fight was about to break out. In a hidden alleyway, away from prying eyes, four ruffians were charging at a lone girl. Unbeknownst to them, she had coated her fists with Wind aether and her feet with Ice aether.


    The first to charge was a gangly man with a long face, who wildly swung a punch towards her face. The girl responded by using the Ice in her feet to shift into a horse stance and directly punching the man in the stomach, the man''s eyes rolling back into his head from the sheer force of what amount to a cannonball of Wind impacting it. The man collapsed as the girl stood back up to greet the next few opponents.


    The second opponent was a bug eyed man who stopped short of charging to try and kick the girl in the side. The girl caught the sloppy kick with her arms and proceeded to shoulder throw him into the alley wall, not breaking anything but causing some serious bruising...maybe a concussion.


    The third guy was a rat faced fellow with messed up teeth and a bit more brains. Before rushing in, he had grabbed a plank of wood and and attempted to swing it overhead to crack her skull. Instead, the girl launched a straight elbow jab into his gut, before dropping low and sweep kicking him. A combo that ended with an axe kick stomp into his chest, the Ice aether making the impact hurt more.


    The fourth guy just stood there dumbfounded as his three other companions got their butts kicked. Seeing as how he was just dumbly looking at her in shocked confusion, she kicked him where the sun didn''t shine. Needless to say, he doubled over in pain.


    _________________________________________


    [Well that looked cathartic], Voxea commented as I looked over the beaten thugs.


    [It was. Now let''s go check on the-Of course].


    "Don''t move"!


    After kicking the butts of those goons in, the fat toad man from earlier had grabbed the girl and was now using her as a hostage. The man didn''t have a blade pointed at her neck, but his massive hands made it clear that he would snap it instead. I was going to enjoy this next part almost as much as I enjoyed the last part.


    "Don''t you move a muscle, unless you want her pretty little neck to snap like a twig!", the fat man threatened as he gripped the girl''s neck a little tighter. For the girl''s part she kept defiantly tried to fight back against the grip.


    "Now why don''t you-"


    "Question", I said aloud to interrupt him, "Did you really think I was dumb enough to just rush in here by myself and without a plan? Azalea"?


    "What the f-", the fat man managed to get out, right before my trusty Bushinado rang his bell with a pair of aether powered fists slamming into the sides of his head.


    [I was expecting a splatter].

 Chapter 144 - Alyra

    After getting unceremoniously knocked out by Azalea, the fat man had loosened his grip around the girl''s neck considerably. In that moment of weakness, the girl had released herself and hurriedly stepped away from the standing comatose man. Just in time too, after she had stepped away, the man immediately fell forward with a thud, blood dripping from his nose.


    "Well, I hope you boys learned your lesson and now know how to properly treat a lady, next time", I said as I dusted off my clothes. The only reply I got was a chorus of m.o.a.ns and groans.


    "Now then", I said as I turned towards the attacked girl, who was just staring at me in awe, "are you alright"?


    The girl in question appeared to be about a few years younger than me, looking a bit older than twelve but less than sixteen. Her dark hair and sun tanned skin looked no dirtier than what I was used to out in the frontier, but the roughness of her clothes showed she was a a beggar. The one thing that stood out to me though, was her red eyes that reminded me of coal embers.


    The girl was about to respond, but stopped as her stomach made a very loud growling sound.


    "..."


    "..."


    [Huh. I guess surviving a crisis does work up one appetite all around], Voxea said.


    "Do you want to join me for a late lunch?", I asked.


    The girl just vigorously nodded.


    _________________________________________


    Out of view and a few feet away...


    "Oink me! I didn''t know Silvia was that strong", Bori commented as he munched on some cube shaped fruit candies.


    "Huh...I remember holding pretty well during that tavern brawl, but I didn''t expect her to able to take down four guys at once", Albina whispered as they hid behind a wall.


    "Who''s the girl?", Savina thought with a gloomy look on her face.


    _________________________________________


    "Here you are! Two bowls of my famous mutton curry laghman, one with extra noodles. As well, here is a plate of honey dumplings. Enjoy"!


    "Thank you", I said as I handed the waitress the suls for our meal.


    A little after the alleyway brawl, I had taken Alyra, she told me her name as we were walking over, to the part of the market where street food vendors congregated. While poking around, Alyra pointed to this place and here we are.


    [Voxea, what the heck is laghman?], I asked as I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and picked out a piece of what appeared to be mutton that was stewed for hours. Alyra meanwhile began scarfing down her bowl as quickly as possible. Hunger be a curse.


    [It''s this type of hand pulled noodle dish. I''m honestly surprised that it managed to survive the isolation era...anyways, try adding salted peanuts to it. They''re my absolute favorite way to eat them], Voxea explained. With a shrug I began to eat my own bowl and was delighted by all the flavors in it.


    While eating, I suddenly developed the sensation that someone war trying to burn a pair of holes on the top of my head. Pausing from eating, I looked up to see Alyra giving me a rather strange stare, her bowl completely empty.


    "Wanna order another bowl"?


    "Why did you help me?", she asked in a straightforward manner. Her mannerisms gave me a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, but I couldn''t pin from where and why.


    "Does anyone need a reason to help someone in need"?


    "Yes".


    "Well then...I did have a reason to help you. Two in fact", I simply replied while putting down my chopsticks, "First, I am currently looking into an...incident that had happened recently. And if there''s one thing I understand about such things, is that locals who live near a thing happening tend to know more than law enforcement looking into it".


    [How mysterious of you], Voxea teased.


    At my reasoning, Alyra looked a little surprise at first but quickly adjusted to what I could only described as understandingly skeptical.


    "That''s... understandable. What was your second reason in helping me?", she asked point-blank.


    "As for my second reason? Simply put, it was the right thing to do", I replied casually.


    Alyra looked at me with skepticism, but when she saw I wasn''t shirking or changing from making such a statement, the look in her eyes shifted from skepticism to awe.


    "Pardon me, can my friend here get another bowl? I would also like some salted peanuts too".

 Chapter 145 - Verbal Traps and the Gasher

    The two of us sat in silence as the waiter brought over Alyra''s second bowl of noodles and a small bowl filled with crushed peanuts. Following Voxea''s advice, I took the peanuts and poured it over my noodles. Taking a bite of the noodles with peanuts in it, the flavor changed quite nicely.


    "What do you want know, exactly?", Alyra asked while pulling her second bowl of noodles toward herself.


    [Play it cool. Like you are in control and know exactly what you''re doing], Voxea advised.


    "Simply put?", I said while finishing a quick slurp of my noodles, "I''m currently investigating something".


    "Investigating? You don''t look like law enforcement...investigating what"?


    "That", I said while pointing my chopsticks. Alyra followed my pointing chopsticks, directly towards an alleyway where the crime scene investigation was happening. I thought I saw a moment of surprise flit across her face, but that could mean anything.


    "You''re looking into the Gasher? You have a death wish?", she asked with a scared look.


    [What a droll name for a title].


    "The Gasher? Is that what the guards are calling them or-".


    "That''s what everyone is calling him. Everyone he comes across is left with horrible gashes all over their body... you''re really not law enforcement. Then who are you"?


    [Time for the age old tactic of half truths and misdirection. Tell her you''re a private investigator from an interested party. Also she clearly knows something, but the question is how to get her to talk].


    "It''s a...private investigation. An interested third party wants a fresh pair of eyes into the matter", I lied while giving a half smile.


    "An interested third party? One of the noble houses?", Alyra asked, filling in her own blank as her face went from fear to skepticism. I merely smiled at the question and shrugged.


    My father once said that the best way to bluff at cards was to maintain a half smile while letting your opponent draw their own conclusions. I later learned that this tactic applied to unscrupulous merchants as well...and in this case, Alyra.


    "Alright then...so you''re looking for...".


    "A name, a face, maybe how and why they leave their victims in such a disturbingly large mess", I replied, using some information I learned from my own listening sessions.


    "Sorry, but I don''t know anything but him".


    "But you know the Gasher is a man"?


    "No, you said he was", Alyra quickly said as she defended herself.


    "I''ve been using nonspecific terms this whole time, Alyra. So why do you know the Gasher is a man?", I asked while making a bit of a show of twirling my chopsticks before placing them down. Alyra looked aghast at being caught in the verbal trap, which shifted into more of a sullen look.


    [Oooh, clever word play and using body language to assert force? How devious]!


    "Alyra", I said with a hint of assertiveness,"A lot of people already got hurt due to the actions of this ''Gasher'' and I have a feeling in my gut that more people are going to get hurt for no reason. If you know anything that can help, you have to tell me".


    Alyra was silent for a while until quietly saying, "If I tell you...can you promise that you won''t tell the authorities? That you won''t hurt him"?


    "Binders'' honor", I said while holding a hand over my heart and releasing a small bit of aether. The show of force was enough to cause my clothes to move slightly and myself to glow a bit. Not enough to intimidate, but just enough to show you meant business.


    Alyra was a bit taken back at the sudden display of magical power, but quickly recovered.


    Alyra let out a soft sigh before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.


    "This all started a couple months back, a little after Monster''s Night", she began to explain, "when my brother and I went outside the city defenses...".


    _________________________________________


    Months ago...


    Under the cover of darkness, illuminated by nothing more than the stars and moon, a pair of siblings snuck out of a side entrance of the capital''s walls.


    "Are you sure that map is legit?", Alyra asked as she followed a figure with a similar yet more masculine build to her own.


    "Trust me sis, when has Fish-Eyed Edgar lead us wrong"?

 Chapter 146 - Moonlit Tomb

    Monster''s Night tends to be a rather chaotic affair that leaves a lot of destruction in its wake. It''s no different at the Imperial Capital. This year,however, was especially destructive. Many binders lost their lives that night, a few unlucky civilians too.


    You wouldn''t notice it now, but there was actually a massive hole in the wall a few weeks back. Because of that hole, the overall coverage of Imperial Guards lessen quite greatly. This lack of coverage gave Alyra and her brother the opportunity they needed to sneak out of the walls during the night.


    "Why do we have to sneak out at night, Bol? Couldn''t we have just waited for the morning"?


    "Edgar said that the place only shows under the light of the moon and stars. If we came in the morning, we wouldn''t be able to find it. Now we make a left here...ah-ha!", the boy said as the duo exited a brush and saw...a rather empty clearing with only a few wild flowers growing.


    "This is it? There''s nothing".


    "Wait", the boy said as he pointed upwards.


    The sky above was dark and hazy, clouds covering the heavens. A few seconds later, the clouds began to part and revealing the hidden moon and stars. As the clouds cleared and the light intensified, the clearing underwent a slow yet substantial change.


    Ruined pillars made of shadow began to form first, followed by statues of various warriors, maji and monsters and finally, a strange yet regal building.


    It was squat looking building, no bigger than a shack, but it gave off a rather unsettling feeling. Made with marble, obsidian and snowflake agates, the building looked as if the very night sky was ripped just to make this one building. The only thing that might have hinted at it''s purpose was a name written over a door of black gold, "LUPINE". Of course, our sibling duo couldn''t read the name.


    "What is this thing?", Alyra asked her brother.


    "I''m not sure...but it looks like one of those noble graves. A... mausoleum? There must be something really valuable inside it!", the boy said excitedly.


    "Isn''t it wrong to steal from a grave"?


    "Binders do it all the time in the Wildlands. This is just... reclamation!", the youth hurriedly explained as he walked closer and closer to the mausoleum. A foreboding pressure emanated from the structure, causing the siblings to become uneasy. However, the promise of fortune outweighed the dangerous feeling bubbling in their guts.


    "Hey sis, help me push this thing open", the youth said as he began to push against the black gold door. With an eye roll and a sigh, Alyra went up and began to help push the door open.


    "On three. One, two, three-whoop"!


    As the siblings began to push against the heavy looking door, it suddenly gave way as if it was just a simple wooden one. Stale air quickly passed them, smelling the breath of the dead. The tomb has clearly been sealed for a very long time.


    "That was...easy", Alyra commented


    "The door must''ve weakened or something over the centuries...or it could be a fancy forgery...", the brother said moreso to convince himself than his sister.


    As their eyes adjusted to the darkness of the mausoleum, the siblings eyes soon grew wide at the sight that greeted them. The inside of the mausoleum was full of silver trinkets such as goblets, plates, candelabra and small statues. Anyone of these trinkets would be enough for the two to live in comfortably for quite a few decades. But the most eye-catching thing was at the very center of the mausoleum.


    "Look at all this stuff! We''re rich, bro!", Alyra quietly exclaimed.


    "Hey... what''re those?", the youth said while pointing at the center of the mausoleum.


    Sitting at the very center of the mausoleum was large obsidian slab, meticulously carved with depictions of the moon, the stars and wolves. Laying upon it was a corpse, dressed in luxurious robes and adorned with silver rings, bangles and chains and a silver death mask covering its face.


    The thing that caught his eyes, however, were the gauntlets the corpse was wearing.


    The metal seemed to gleam even in the darkness, a pattern like water over its surface. On the dorsal side of the gauntlets were perfectly cut moonstones that seemed to capture the light from outside. These gauntlets would be a work of art, if were not for the dagger-like claws made of ivory jutting out of the knuckles.


    "What beautiful claws...", the boy said.

 Chapter 147 - Cursed Ones

    "What? The claws? I don''t think those would be easy to sell, bro. They look like something a noble would claim was theirs or something", Alyra said while appraising the claws.


    "But they look so...beautiful", the boy said as he slowly walked toward the corpse, his eyes glazed over.


    "Bro? What are you...".


    But the girl''s question came a touch too late.


    Before she could act, the boy had already reached the slab where the corpse was resting.


    "When did he..."?


    In an unnaturally fluid manner, the boy removed the two gauntlets from the corpse''s hands, revealing a pair of hands that would look more at home on a living person rather than a corpse. As he quickly donned the silver gauntlets, the blades of bone jutting out of them suddenly retracted into the gauntlets and disappeared from view.


    "Aren''t they beautiful, dear sister?", the youth said in a strange tone while admiring his new gauntlets. Before their very eyes, the gauntlets began to shrink down until they fit snugly onto the boy''s hands.


    "Bol, I think we should get going now...I already picked out something we can-".


    "Just a moment, dear sister", the boy said in a tone of voice that was much deeper and more sinister than how he was speaking a few moments prior, "there''s still one more treasure for us to plunder".


    The boy had jumped on to the slab at this point and placed himself face to face with the corpse''s death mask. The youth dislodged the mask, revealing to the world an androgynous, beautiful face that looked warm with the touch of life.


    "What? I thought this place was a-".


    But before she could finish, the body before her began to decay at a rapid pace. From a peaceful sleeping face, to a shriveled mummy in one second and finally dust in another. All that was left was a set of elaborate robes, the silver gauntlets on the boy''s hands and the death mask in those hands.


    For a moment, the boy just stared at the mask. A feeling of intense desire radiating off of his body. In an oddly slow manner, the boy began to put on the strange mask.


    Sensing that something was wrong, Alyra rushed towards him to try and stop him, but an invisible and inexplicable force began to impose on her.


    "Bolero, don''t do it! There''s something wrong with that mask!", she screamed in vain. Ignoring her pleas, the boy donned the mask...and began to scream.


    His body began to spasm, squirm and grow. His voice, loud and shrill, slowly turned into a growling roar. Lastly, the mask and gauntlets fused into his flesh, but where once was a human face underneath the mask, a hideous maw began to jut out. As the transformation came to an end, the force acting on Alyra suddenly disappeared.


    She stared on in shock at the monster her brother had become, but only for a moment as her instincts to survive told her to escape as quickly as possible The next thing she knew, she bolted from the mausoleum as a loud, pain-filled roar echoed behind her.


    She did not dare to scream as she ran, afraid that it would draw its ire.


    _________________________________________


    After finisher her story, Alyra refound her appetite and downed her bowl in a quick succession of gulps.


    "That is...quite an experience", I said while trying to sound nonchalantly as possible. Internally, I was panicking. I might be being trained to deal with the magical issues that normally come with maji and binders, it doesn''t mean I am at all prepared to actually hear about it...unlike Voxea.


    As our bowls were being taken away, I could feel Voxea muttering in the back of my head.


    [Silver treasures...a moon hidden tomb... horrifying mutations...the only Mani I knew who could do that were...gyaaaa, no...quick, ask her if she remembers anything more specific about this mausoleum].


    "Out of curiosity, do you remember anything else that stood out about this mausoleum?", I asked with genuine concern and curiosity.


    "Anything more...wait, I did take this".


    Reaching into her pouch, Alyra pulled out what looked to be a silver hair comb shaped like a crescent moon, a star stone embedded in the handle.


    [Of course it''s them...], Voxea suddenly groaned.


    [What''s wrong]?


    [The Circle of the Argenti Bestia], Voxea said with a sneer.


    [The Circle of what]?


    [Best way I can describe them? A bunch of crazy druids who followed a rather unpleasant philosophy in dragoncrafting], Voxea said with clear distaste.


    [Which was?], I asked, afraid of what the answer might be.


    [Mutating mundane humans with aether].


    [Well...crap].

 Chapter 148 - To Catch a Beast

    [So what does this mean for her brother]?


    [In short? He''s under the compulsion of a powerful curse, but he''s not unfixable. The only issue is that we''re going to have somehow find him, catch him and not die in the process], Voxea explained.


    [Of course], I replied with a facepalm. Alyra noticed my strange reaction, so I quickly played it off that a bug was on my face.


    [So how exactly are we going to capture this guy?], I asked despite feeling that I knew what the answer was going to be.


    [I have a plan...but it will have to wait until it''s the right time].


    [Of course].


    [But we''ll need help, so...], Voxea said in a voice that sounded like she was gesturing.


    [Right].


    "Well Alyra, it''s a good thing we ran into each other when we did", I said to her aloud.


    "It is? Why"?


    "Because I know how to fix your brother", I said with confidence as I stood up from seat, "and I know just who will be able to help us do so".


    Confused at my words, Alyra just stared at me as I walked over and sat at a certain table of people l knew very well.


    "Hello friends. So now that you''re done tailing me, mind helping me out with this little predicament?", I asked Bori, Savina and Albina who were at a table a bit far off from where I was sitting. The look of surprise on their face was arguably the most enjoyable part of my day.


    "How did you-".


    "Savina grinds her teeth when she''s stressed out from either anger or worry. I heard the grinding while Alyra was telling me her story", I said whilst pointing at her. Savina blushed and quickly covered her mouth.


    "Now, are y''all gonna help me out or what"?


    _________________________________________


    Hungry...thirsty... hungry...thirsty...blood and bone will slake them both...hungry...thirsty...


    Among the shadows of the New Capital, stalking in the alleyways and jumping on the rooftops, a hulking beast made its way, looking for some tasty prey.


    Cruel silver claws that reeked of blood, a mask-like face that shook the soul, muscles taut and tough like iron vines, a striped hide with metallic glean and a vicious maw of ivory fangs. Anyone of these traits alone would make for a horrifying creature, all these traits together make a terrifying nightmare.


    With the night sky as its guide, the creature went on the hunt, looking for prey to fill its gut.


    Atop the roof from where it sat, among the crowd, it finally found, a familiar scent that he once smelled. A delectable piece of prey he first found, but couldn''t catch at all. He quietly watched and watched the girl move about throughout the crowds, until he watched her move away into the alleyways.


    With a quiet cackle full of glee, the beast began to stalk its prey.


    Left, right, left, right and down the maze of alleyways, the girl moving about and the beast a little away. Until she reached a dead end and the beast began to laugh again.


    With a thud, he landed, silver claws extended,drool dripping down its face and fang filled mouth ready to devour!


    Unaware that hunter has become the hunted.


    _________________________________________


    [I know I shouldn''t be surprised anymore...but how did you predict that this was going to happen?], I asked Voxea as I stared at the walls of a worn-out dead end. Behind me was the snarling existence of Alyra''s brother turned proto-majimonster. He honestly smelled a lot worst up close than I thought.


    [Simply put? The Circle of the Argenti Bestia we''re good at making strong majimonsters, not smart ones], Voxea explained, [The fact that he chased after you due to wearing a cloak with his sister''s scent, speaks volume of his ability to critically think at this moment. Now are you ready for part two]?


    [Sort of].


    [Good enough]!


    As the beast man stepped closer and closer towards me,I suddenly tore off my cloak and tossed it straight towards him!


    Angered by my sudden action, his claws began to glow with an orange light as he lunged at me, the cloak covering his face on the process.


    [Azalea! Body Double]!


    But before the claw struck me down, Azalea and I had teleported away, leaving him with a claw stuck in a sizeable chunk of wood.


    This lead to him being distracted long enough for a bear sized boar made of magma, an ogre made of smoke and an oceanic knight to slam him into a wall.

 Chapter 149 - Yoink

    We interrupt your reading to explain what is going on exactly and provide some background information:


    Before all this happened, Silvia asked Alyra a few more questions as to gain insight on how to deal with her now monstrous brother. From these questions, she and Voxea learned that her brother was hunting based on tracking her scent.


    The reason why she knew this, was because a week after the mausoleum incident, she was almost assaulted. But before anything happened, her monster brother came out of nowhere and ripped her attacker to shreds...and then switched targets to her. During the chase, she fell into a compost pile and her brother for some reason stopped dead in his tracks. She sat there in a daze as she watched him sniff the air in confusion before letting out an angry growl and leaping away. This revelation helped Alyra maintain some level of safety from her brother, but only in temporary chunks of time.


    With this knowledge in hand, Voxea planned for Silvia to act as bait using a cloak that smelled like Alyra. But bait is pointless without a good trap.


    Voxea turned out to be... unhealthily familiar with the type of curses that the Circle of the Argenti Bestia employed, and had already pre-planned the magic circle needed to undo the curse. Unfortunately, the circle had an unusual activation condition and even less pleasant ritual required.


    But less telling, more showing, back to the actual story!


    _________________________________________


    As the three bruiser majimonsters slammed the beast man towards the wall, the spell circle that Voxea and I prepared ahead of time began to spin to life.


    Chains of aether manifested from the circle and began to wrap themselves around the beast man, locking him into place. As he struggled against the magical bindings, the chains grew tighter and tighter until he was fully locked in place. A unfamiliar rune began to manifest upon his chest, causing the surrounding aether to become agitated. As all of this was happening, my friends and Alyra came from their hiding spots and joined me in front of the beast man.


    "Alright guys", I said while changing my belt into staff form. Bori and Albina looked shocked at the sudden change while Savina looked ready to help...oh right, I forgot to tell them that I could do this.


    "Silvia, when could you-", Bori began to ask


    "Don''t worry about it", l replied while using my aether to make the end of my staff look like a weird mix between a pitchfork and a pair of tongs, "because this next part is going to suck".


    "What next part?", Albina asked...right before I let out a weird yell as I rushed towards the chained up beast man. The next thing anyone knew, I plunged my staff into the rune on his chest, an audible squelch echoing in the alley.


    [Why...was there a squish?], I asked Voxea


    [Side effect of the curse. Now then, get ready to pull], Voxea instructed me.


    [Right].


    Planting both feet firmly on the ground, I repositioned the grip on my staff and began pulling it out of the beast man. As I began to pull, I could feel aether suddenly churn as purple sparks began to fly from the beast man''s chest. Surprisingly, there was a lot of resistance against my pulling. It felt like pulling a wooden spoon out of a jar of cold honey.


    A few minutes later, I could see a distinctly human torso being firmly grasped by my staff. But that moment quickly passed as I could feel the curse strengthen and pull the torso back into the beast man, dragging my staff deeper into it.


    "Hey guys, would you mind coming over and help me pull? This thing isn''t getting any weaker", I asked my friends while maintaining a hard grip.


    Savina quickly came over and grabbed onto the staff to help me pull, Bori, Albina and Alyra coming a little after to help. If I had to guess, they were still a little shocked at my little magic trick.


    "Now then...pull"!


    At my command, my friends and I began to pull on the staff as hard as we could.


    "Oof"!


    "What the hell"?


    "It''s like trying to pull out a tooth"!


    "Wait, I see him! Boleros"!


    After a few more tugs we could make out a person that looked like a more masculine and older version of Alyra, his body sticking out halfway from the beast man. With one last cooperative tug, we yanked him straight out of the beast man and the circle.


    We managed to relax just before the force of our pulling knocked ourselves over, giving Alyra an opportunity to run and check on her brother and time for me to turn my staff back to normal.


    "Is it over? Did we fix it?", Savina asked expectedly.


    I was about to say yes, up until I felt the fog of war forming around us.


    [And here comes the tricky part].

 Chapter 150 - Bultungin

    Hyenas.A type of carnivorous beast found only in the southernmost parts of the Wildlands. These ferocious beasts fall into four species.


    The small termite eaters known as Aardwolves,the brown thief-like ones known as Strandwolves, the striped scavenger ones who regularly eat the bones of the dead and the spotted ones, the aggressively large, smart ones that hunt in packs.


    Many a maji experimented on the hyenas, producing creatures such as the Arkwolf, the Allocrotta, Iceyena ,the Pyrotta and the...Sandwolf. Again, maji are creatively uncreative at times. Either way, among all of hyena majimonsters, the Bultungin stands on the top.


    Many maji called the creature heretical even by their standards, but the Argenti Bestia did not care. By combining traits from all four species, making use of a humanoid body structure, claws of runic silver and stitching it altogether with elemental and fury aether, the Bultungin was that lovely mix of ferocious killer and instinctual tactician that makes for an all-around deadly majimonster. Scholars say that a single Bultungin is able to fight four to one quite easily, with packs of three being able to take down entire cities.


    Thankfully, the last known sightings of Bultungin was over eight hundred years ago, during the Fall. The chances of them coming back are very slim.


    _________________________________________


    [...that''s what those remnants are turning into?!], I exclaimed as I stared at the empty husk of a Bultungin twitching, fidgeting and absorbing the surrounding aether. Before the eyes of my friends and my Dragon''s Eye, the empty husk began filling its empty insides with aether, forming blood, bones and sinew. Honestly, it''s kind of horrifying, like someone butchering an animal in reverse.


    [Huh... normally the husk would fall apart after the accursed gets removed...unless we had grossly underestimated just how much blood he had drank during his hunting], Voxea explained.


    [What]?


    [A small caveat for the ritual we just used is that the accursed needs to have killed less than fifteen people. Something tells me that Boleros must''ve killed more people than investigators initially thought], Voxea flatly commented [And judging by this reaction...it was at least two dozen]!


    [What does that mean]?


    [It means that this is going to be one hell of a fight!], she answered excitedly.


    "Heads up guys, we''re about to in for a fight", I told my friends as the fog of war began to condense further. Sensing my weariness, Azalea entered a fighting stance.


    Following our lead, Savina had Triton go front and center with his shield and trident drawn, Bori and Ulvor took up the left side and activated a technique that gave him rock armor, while Albina had her Smogre, Haze, take up the right side and casted a Wind technique that made itself move faster. In normal circ.u.mstances, our forces could be considered quite formidable and dominating.


    As the last of our preparations were made, the spell circle holding up the Bultungin suddenly disappeared. The monster in question dropped from the wall and landed with unceremonious thud on the street, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Seconds that felt like hours passed by us as we tensed up in preparation for...whatever was going to happen.


    The dust settled as the Bultungin just lay there unmoving, only for it to suddenly jerk an arm and press a metal claw against the ground. As the Bultungin pushed itself upward, a strange, soul shuddering laugh began to echo throughout the alley.


    "Where is that coming from?", I asked, a little unsettled.


    "Hyenas can mimic the laughter of humans...I guess this Bultungin is able to do so as well", Albina answered.


    "It sounds like something that crawled from the darkest pits of hell", Bori commented.


    "What''s ''hel-" "GYAAAAAAAOOOOO"!


    Our conversation got cut short as the Bultungin suddenly released a laughing roar and the fog of war went full force and overtook our senses.


    Standing at full height, the Bultungin appeared to have become more muscular despite having its human host ripped out of it, it''s claws somehow looking more cruel and menacing than before. Additionally, the silver mask that was stuck on its face had changed from looking like a human death mask, into proper armor covering its maw and face.


    A moment later, its whole body began to glow orange as it began to laugh once more.


    "Hahahahahahahaha hahahaha"


    The next moment, I felt a piercing pain in my gut from Azalea as the beast man burst through our majimonsters.

 Chapter 151 - Round 2

    After the pain in my gut subsided, I could sense that Azalea had already turned into aether and returned to my drajule encrusted sheath.


    Six seconds.


    It took six seconds, for the Bultungin to just aether all four of our majimonsters. But having no time to think about how it did that, my friends and I immediately summoned our other majimonsters and backed out of the alleyway and into a public courtyard.


    "How the heck did it do that?!", Bori shouted as four multicolored summoning circles appeared one after the other.


    "I have no idea", I replied as Rakka came charging out of his circle.


    _________________________________________


    A quick explanation of how a single hyena beastman managed to one hit kill four majimonsters at once: techniques+traits+grit=a total disaster.


    The Bultungin had used a technique called [Blood Blitz], a gold grade(grade 3) Fury movement/combat technique that is both devastating and oddly specific. By overcharging one''s body with Fury aether, the user is able to release a huge burst of speed and power able to punch a hole through solid stone...as long as the user had a clear landing point at the end of a twenty foot line. The obvious drawbacks being if a target is able to dodge in any direction, except maybe backwards, and it''s very easy to have the user suddenly fall off a cliff or into a wall after the aether inside the user disperses.


    The fact that all four of it''s opponents were lined up in a crowded alleyway, made them easy targets for such a devastating technique.


    Secondly, the Bultungin had two traits called [Bloodl.u.s.t] and [Frenzy]. [Bloodl.u.s.t] is a rather nasty trait that makes a majimonster stronger each time they manage to land a blow on an opponent, and said strength boost lasting longer if they happen to aether or downright kill their opponent. [Frenzy] on the other hand increases a majimonster strength based on being unable to hit an opponent, and dissipates when they finally land a hit.


    Showcasing an unusual amount of tactical understanding, when the Bultungin was picking itself off from the ground, it kept casting a bronze grade claw technique and consistently aimed at the ground. It was rapidly alternating between "hits" and "misses" until it had built up enough energy from [Frenzy] to let loose. Using that as a springboard, it used the [Frenzy] buff to take out the Shellvalier with it''s initial charge and received the benefits of [Bloodl.u.s.t]. The subsequent targets of the Eruptodon, C.u.mulem and Bushinado ended up turning the Bultungin into the equivalent of a wrecking ball on legs...covered in rusted knives. Needless to say, bad going in and bad going out.


    Lastly, and more importantly, the Bultungin used "grit". All majimonsters, from the wild ones to the bound ones, have the innate ability to tap into the aether throughout the universe and overcharge their capabilities temporarily. However, this overcharge can only be done a limited number of times a day. This overcharge is called "grit" by binders. It should be noted that bound majimonsters can use grit more often due to their bond with binders, but that''s aside the point.


    Putting all this together, the Bultungin had managed to take out four majimonsters at the same time by making use of it''s traits to increase its Brawn, using a technique that could do absurd amounts of damage in specific instances and by tapping into grit.


    You got that? Good. Now back to the story!


    _________________________________________


    The battle situation had changed had dramatically as all of us backed into the open courtyard.


    The Bultungin was deadcenter in square while Rakka was standing between me and it. He let out a powerful snort as a feeling of anger and pride came from the bond.


    To the left was Albina and her Djinncense, Cardamon, who was getting ready to fire off a Wind technique.


    To the right was Bori and his Blitzhog, a bright yellow warthog majimonster that had electricity arcing throughout it''s unusually sleek form, a sense of agitation radiating from his form.


    Lastly, cutting off it''s rear was Savina and Banda the Spiricoot, his tail-lantern glowing with eldritch power.


    [Round two! Let''s get it on]!

 Chapter 152 - Onslaught

    A bloodthirsty Bultungin in the middle, surrounded by a hulking Ragnaceros, a menacing Spiricoot, a lithe Djinncense and a savage Blitzhog. The tension was palpable as the four of us waited to see if either us or the Bultungin would make the first move...you could almost stab it.


    "Kyaa"!


    "Coo"!


    Evidently, Albina and Savina decided to just break the stalemate themselves. The Djinncense,that I just remembered was named Indigo, let out a loud cry as she threw a cannonball of condensed air straight at the Bultungin, while Banda swung his tail lantern and released several balls of purple flames that began to dart randomly through the air.


    "Hehahahahahaha"!


    The Bultungin laughed at the sudden assault, as orange aether began to wrap around its legs. As the two techniques were about to hit, the hyenaman suddenly jumped into the air as the orange aether surrounding its legs dissapated.


    A huge cloud of dust was kicked up as the Wind technique impacted where the Bultungin was just a moment ago. The Mystic technique did not impact the same spot as the Wind technique, but the purple balls of flame had suddenly jerked upward towards the Bultungin. Having nowhere to dodge or move in the air, the Bultungin crossed it''s arms to defend itself as a manic look developed on his face. Flying in random, darting patterns, the purple fireballs impacted the monster one after the other.


    *BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*


    After being hit with the Mystic technique, the Bultungin began hurtling towards the ground as plumes of black smoke blossomed from it''s form. It looked unconscious...but it had this unsettling smile upon it''s face as it fell.


    [Rakka, Burning Blade]!


    "Boaa"!


    With a loud cry, Rakka condensed a sword of flames upon his brow before charging madly towards the plummeting Bultungin. At the same time, Bori''s Blitzhog, Zola, let out a loud snort as it charged forward through a yellow spell circle that had manifested in front of it. An armor made of lighting soon formed on it''s head and tusks as it passed through the spell circle.


    Just as the Bultungin was about to hit the ground, Rakka and Zola impacted it as hard as they could. A loud bang followed by a cloud of smoke occured as the two techniques made contact. A sharp sudden pain occured on my forehead as both Rakka and Zola suddenly jumped back from the Bultungin, a trail of blood dripping from their crowns.


    As the smoke cleared, the Bultungin was standing, with it''s arms spread open, claws jutted and blood dripping from them. I saw small arcs of lighting jump up it''s arms, a result of Rakka''s and apparently Zola''s reactive techniques, but the Bultungin still maintained a deranged smile on it''s face. The fact that this crazy monster somehow did a counterattack while falling from the sky was a little unsettling...a feeling that jumped straight into being uncomfortable after seeing it lick the blood off of said claws.


    After that unsettling action, the Bultungin let out a loud, laughing howl as it''s body began to release an orange glow. A second later, it arched it''s body and suddenly launched itself towards Zola, laughing all the while. A moment of shock appeared on Zola''s face, before turning into a scowl. The lighting armor from before manifested once more as he decisively charged towards the rushing Bultungin at full force. Following his lead, Indigo and Banda changed their positions and released ranged techniques towards the rushing Bultungin at the same time.


    Before either of the ranged techniques or Zola managed to hit the hyenaman, the vicious thing had suddenly accelerated to be right in front of Zola and launched a punch straight towards his skull. The punch shattered the lighting armor on Zola and seemed to have stunned the Blitzhog.


    The next moment, it picked up the stunned and threw him into the path of the incoming ranged techniques. A loud bang occured as the techniques made impact and aethered the poor hog.


    "Ouch! Be careful guys!", Bori said as he held his head and was forcibly removed from the fog of war, disappearing from our points of view. It wasn''t good that Bori got knocked out of the fight, but we still outnumbered it.


    [Rakka, lock it down before it attacks the others. Freezing Horn]!


    Rakka let out a loud snort as he charged straight towards the Bultungin with frost covered antlers. The Bultungin''s head was darting between Indigo and Banda, who were running around the field, until it noticed Rakka charging towards it. A devious laugh began to leak from it''s form.

 Chapter 153 - Showdown

    As Rakka got closer into striking range, the Bultungin let out a nasty laugh before suddenly leaping straight towards him. Rakka swung his head upwards to try and knock the hyenaman''s head with his ice-cold antlers, but was unexpectedly blocked by the Bultungin''s sudden use of it''s teeth.


    A sharp pain occured in my neck from Rakka''s momentum being stopped so suddenly, an additional phantom pain occured above my head. I imagine it must hurt a lot more having razor sharp teeth digging into Rakka''s antlers. But the pain subsided rather quickly as the Bultungin swung it''s head around and repositioned itself. A moment later, it let go of it''s teeth and used Rakka as a platform to launch itself skywards at Indigo while sending Rakka hurtling in the opposite direction.


    [Oh dear, this majimonster is almost a little too clever...], Voxea commented.


    Catching Indigo by surprise, it launched a devastating Fury claw technique that aethered her in a single hit!


    "Da*nit! Couldn''t even send any aether fasts enough to heal! I''ll see if I can secure us an escape route, good luck", Savina called out before disappearing from the Fog of War.


    "Banda, no"!


    Not even a moment later, I felt a dull pain in my back as I felt Rakka crashing into Banda. The poor little Spiricoot unfortunately wasn''t strong enough to withstand being slammed against a wall via a several ton mega-moose to the face and was promptly aethered.


    As his energy returned to Albina''s drajule, she gave me a worried look while shouting, "Be careful"! Shortly after, she disappeared from the Fog.


    Rakka managed to get back up despite being slammed into another majimonster and a wall to boot. However, I could feel through both my bond and by watching him, that he was on his last legs. I quickly sent some aether through my bond to try and patch up some of his wounds.


    Rakka''s breath became more steady as some of his more grievous wounds began to seal themselves up, the blood flow effectively stopping...it still wasn''t enough though.


    Despite him giving his hardest, I could tell that one maybe two more good hits would mean Rakka would be aethered and we''d probably be hyena food. Unless, of course, I do something very stupid.


    [Is it showtime?], Voxea asked me with obvious amus.e.m.e.nt in her voice.


    [It''s showtime], I replied as I drew her drajule from my necklace.


    _________________________________________


    [Skymother''s wounds! Where did those crazy siblings go?!], Albina thought as she frantically searched the area the group had left them.


    The Fog of War was...a rather inconviently useful magical effect of monster battling. While it helped to protect binders from outside or internal interferences, the downside of laser focus made it rather easy for non-participants to bail from the situation...if they had a strong enough will. Normally, the Fog would cause bystanders to stop and stare the whole time, but due to this particular battle changing venue, the only on-lookers,Alyra and Boleros, ended up getting separated from the gang.


    After being unceremoniously defeated by the Bultungin, Albina decided to secure an escape route in case things kept going south. She was about to just that, until she noticed Bori observing in a safe spot by his lonesome. It didn''t take long for her to figure that the siblings had somehow got lost during the fight. This in mind, she had decided to backtrack to find them.


    [Where in the-wait...what is this feeling]?!


    Albina was about to check another alleyway, when a horrendously powerful aura suddenly pressed down on her. The aura was cold, mysterious yet...somehow whimsical. Not in the way children were whimsical, but like a tyrant who knew that no one could touch them. It only took her a second to figure out that the the aura was coming from the battleground.


    [Who showed up?], Albina thought as she ran back to see what was going on.


    _________________________________________


    As the Bultungin rushed towards Rakka, it''s whole body glowing with orange Fury aether, I had prepared both Rakka''s and Voxea''s drajules.


    [Ready]?


    [And waiting].


    Just as the Bultungin was about to bite down on Rakka''s head, I had recalled him back to his drajule and summoned Voxea at the same time. As Rakka turned back into aether, Voxea''s summoning circle manifested below the flying Bultungin. In the next moment, Voxea promptly greeted her new dance partner by doing a leaping uppercut out of the circle.


    The Bultungin was sent flying by the blow and landed in a heap.


    "If this next part ever gets recorded, it''s going to be about five pages of me whooping your sorry hide!", Voxea proclaimed while punching her palm.

 Chapter 154 - Below the Belt

    "Is everyone okay?! What was that aura?!", Albina asked as she ran back to the battlefield. As she arrived, she saw Bori and Savina hiding behind some crates with a dumbfounded look. Surprisingly, Lyra and Boleros were both there as well, granted Boleros was still out like a light while Lyra was supporting him.


    Alerted by Albina''s appearance, Bori turned to look at her before pointing towards the field. Albina looked and only to go wide eyed at the sight of a gold grade humanoid majimonster standing there while the Bultungin was currently coughing up some blood and teeth.


    "Who''s monster is that?", Albina asked with a suppressed gasp.


    "It''s Silvias'' ", Savina replied with a strange look on her face.


    "What kind of secrets are you hiding, brewer girl"?


    _________________________________________


    The Bultungin recovered after taking the uppercut, and coughing up some blood, a small trail of blood leaking from the corner of it''s maw. A strange, twisted smile began to form on it''s face as it wiped the blood away from it''s jaw. It stared at the blood on it''s claws for a moment before licking it clean.


    "A last meal of your own blood? How disgusting", Voxea quipped with a vicious smile on her face. She proceeded to enter a fighting stance, similar to the one I had used to fight those thugs from earlier today.


    "Now then, mangy mutt, are you going to come or-"


    "GYAAAOOOOO!", the Bultungin howled as it suddenly lunged towards Voxea, claws glowing orange.


    "Punching your face in it is"!


    [Breeze Shift!], Voxea exclaimed as her body glowed light blue and a visible breeze began to form around her. The Bultungin''s claw came slashing down on Voxea''s form...hitting nothing as her afterimage faded away.


    "Sup sucka?", she taunted as she rematerialized behind the Bultungin.


    [Mind giving me a boost]?


    [Of course], I replied before reinforcing her with some of my aether.


    [Gratzi. Eldritch Blow]!


    An ornate purple gauntlet that seemed more elegant than deadly in its design materialized over Voxea''s fist. A few strands of my own aether exited my body and affixed themselves to her gauntlet, forming several runes of power.


    "Smile"!


    As the Bultungin turned to face Voxea, she sent a straight right hook to it''s face, sending even more of the hyenaman''s teeth flying. It let out a growl of pain as it corrected it''s standing before glowing orange once more.


    [This old truck again? Breeze Shift].


    The Bultungin let out a angry roar before breaking out into a vicious claw combo. The Bultungin swung wildly as it tried to tear into Voxea, but not a single blow landed. The purple gauntlet disappeared as Voxea easily side stepped each blow, left, right, left, right. As if to add salt to the wounds, she started humming while dodging...and singing in my head.


    [~Shalala, now don''t be shy/you''ll never know unless you try/come on and kiss the girl~], she sang in my head while humming.


    [What are you singing]?


    [Just an old love song. Eldritch Strike].


    As the Bultungin overcommitted on the last part of his combo, Voxea suddenly did a split to avoid the attack and manifested the purple gauntlet once more. She then launched a fist directly towards a spot directly below the place the Bultungin would wear a belt. The Bultungin then proceeded to let out a low whine as it doubled over in pain.


    [Well I just heard a crunch just now], Voxea commented in a weird matter of fact tone.


    [...I did not need to know that...at like all, Voxea].


    [Well now you know and...oh that''s not good], she said as she immediately jumped away from the groaning Bultungin. After she had jumped away, an oppressive aura suddenly began to press down on me as a high pitched whistle suddenly disturbed my ear drums.


    [Voxea, what''s going on?!], I asked as I covered my ears in pain.


    [It appears this mangy cur had one more trick up it''s sleeves], Voxea informed me.


    [What does that mean]?


    Before she could answer, the Bultungin let out a loud laughing howl before a huge amount of orange aether cocooned the beast whole.


    [It means it''s about to get a whole lot nastier...and fun].

 Chapter 155 - Power Spike

    [Nastier]?


    Not even a second later, the cocooned Bultungin suddenly exploded with power as the aforementioned cocoon shattered into orange colored shards. From the cocoon emerged what appeared to be the same Bultungin, but more muscular and vicious. Everything from it''s mask to it''s claws looked sharper, bloodier and just straight up angrier. Even the aura it gave off seemed like...uh oh.


    An unsettling feeling occured in my stomach as I activated my Dragon''s Eye to confirm whether or not the worst had happened.


    _________________________________________


    Species: Bultungin


    Grade: Silver--> Gold


    Description: A large hyena beastman with silver claws and faceplate.


    Voxea''s Notes: From bad to worse, it''s gonna stop me from skinning this mutt.


    _________________________________________


    [Of course it had a power spike...], I complained to Voxea as I stared at the suddenly Gold grade Bultungin. It was already kicking the butt of my friends and I, so I was not happy about it suddenly getting stronger.


    [Why is it suddenly stronger]?


    [If I had to guess? Pure rage and the fact that it had defeated seven other majimonsters beforehand], Voxea explained in a matter of fact manner.


    [Are you serious?], I asked with an increulous look. I knew from my studies both in and out school that the quickest way to train a majimonster was to have them fight other majimonsters as much as possible, but I was also taught that they needed time to fully incorporate what they learned to grow stronger, not a little over a minute!


    [Yup. Magic tends to act funny in do or die situations, especially Fury affinity magic], Voxea explained.


    [That sounds like cheating...], I complained.


    Immediately after I voiced my complaint to Voxea, the Bultungin had let out a booming, laughing howl that rocked my ears...and from what I felt, affected Voxea too. I could feel from my bond that she was feeling ill as Voxea''s form began to look fuzzy like an image in a ripple of water.


    [Gyaaaa! It''s a lot weaker, but it''s like the Grim Shrieker all over again], Voxea complained in a groaning voice as her form flickered from the noise.


    [Are you o-Voxea, look out]!


    [This mutt]!


    After rocking both my head and Voxea''s form, the Bultungin swung his claws in a powerful manner, launching a pair of orange crescent blades of aether flying straight towards Voxea in a cross shaped manner.


    [No time to dodge. Eldritch Strike]!


    Voxea had stopped flickering just as the cross blades were about to hit her. Instead of dodging, she lashed out with a Mystic aether infused fist and broke the incoming attack. However, neither of us expected the Bultungin to be immediately behind the now shattered blades.


    Orange aether pauldrons rapidly formed around the Bultungin''s shoulder as he charged forward and shoulder tackled Voxea! I could feel from the dull pain in my arms that she had managed to somewhat block the attack, but it didn''t stop her from being sent flying into the air from the sudden impact.


    It was unsettling seeing Voxea flying backwards so quickly...up until I heard her laughing in my head. After she flew back at least a dozen feet into the air, she suddenly stopped in a rather dramatic fashion, and immediately conjured a complex spell circle filled with Ice affinity runes in front of her.


    "Thanks for giving me a better angle, pup. Now eat it", Voxea said with a vicious smile on her face.


    [Gatling Hailstorm]!


    Uh oh.


    The spell circle began to spin rapidly as it gathered and condensed the aether into fist sized chunks of ice. A second later, a barrage of ice was sent flying towards the Bultungin like a rain of arrows.


    Not one to be a fish in a barrel, the Bultungin jumped backwards as the ice barrage was about to hit his previous position.


    [Crap, he dodged it]!


    [Not yet], Voxea said as she began to angle the spell circle.


    Just as the Bultungin landed at his new spot, several chunks of ice began to pepper at him and landing several nasty blows. The Bultungin rolled off to the side after receiving a few hits, but the hail of ice did not let up as it began to follow him.


    It was only matter of time before Voxea iced this guy.

 Chapter 156 - Stubborn

    "Mmm...blegh...where am I?", a young man said as his consciousness returned to him. His limbs felt like lead while his head felt like someone ran a pickaxe through it. "At least I''m not cold", he thought. What he couldn''t figure out, however, was just how was he standing up if his entire body felt like someone had just smashed it into pieces. He looked around a bit, only to see a pair of young women and a kaiju dweller with porcine features hiding nearby him. It wasn''t until he turned his head to see his sister that he managed to put two and two together.


    "Boleros? You''re awake"!


    "S-sister? What''s happening...", Boleros was asking until his attention was grabbed by the battle raging before him.


    Raging before him, a light blue sprite-like woman was fighting toe to toe with a creature that had silver claws and looked like an upright hyena but much much larger. A strange feeling overcame the young man as his body straightened itself up. Something about the strange hyena majimonster messed with his head, but he couldn''t figure out exactly what it was...up until the blue humanoid majimonster began to fire a hail of fist-sized ice balls at it.


    "Oh no...".


    "What? What is it"?


    With a sudden burst of energy, Boleros turned towards the strangers he saw earlier and abruptly asked, "Do any of you have an empty drajule"?!


    _________________________________________


    A huge amount of dust and mist was kicked up when the last of Voxea''s hailstorm hammered down on the Bultungin. A feeling relief came over me as I felt the Fog of War fading away...only for it to be replaced by disappointment as the Fog suddenly came back in full force.


    [How is this thing not dead yet?!], I asked Voxea while staring in wide eyed shock at the giant cloud of mist and dust.


    [It should be, unless...Gale Breath, scatter]!


    Voxea took a deep breath as a Wind affinity spell circle manifested in front of her. As she blew out the air from her chest, the spell circle flared to life with light and a powerful gust of wind blew away the dust and mist.


    "What the heck is that thing?!", I exclaimed


    [Of course...starting to get super annoyed about all of these "familiar faces"], Voxea muttered.


    Standing in the now cleared area was not the Bultungin but a weird outline of a human being with what I assumed to be a hyena skull flying around it. It gave off the same inhuman vibe as Belladonna but... more off putting. The weird black dots serving as its eyes staring directly at me did not help either.


    "MuuuSssSTtt/SssUUUrrrViveee", the figure uttered in a distinctly inhuman tone. The next moment, the hyena skull suddenly and violently slammed itself onto the figure''s face, promoting the aether to coalesce and form...meat. Yeah, that didn''t help either in terms of feeling sympathy towards...whatever the heck this thing was.


    "Voxea, seriously, what is that...thing?", I asked trying to keep the fear out of my throat. It was still unsettling seeing what''s essentially a reverse butchering, moreso when there was no body to begin with.


    [Factoring in all the bloodshed from before...I don''t even need to hazard a guess for this one. Remember when you helped me perform that ritual all those months ago? How I went from a bodiless spirit to the majimonster before you? That is what would have happened if we had failed. I would be a hollow shell of myself and driven by a single mad desire. For all intents and purposes...that is an Echo], Voxea explained.


    _________________________________________


    A long, long, long time ago in the forests outside of what would one day be the New Capital:


    "Dammit...how am I going to survive this?!", the maji said between gasps of air and through a perforated chest. A moment later, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    Karma is...a rather vindictive force of nature. The maji currently bleeding to death and limping his way through a dark moonlit forest was one Alexander Ilexi, a young twenty something year old man who was high ranking member of the Argenti Bestia and a middle tier Gold grade maji. Alexander, for all intents and purposes, could be considered quite powerful.


    Unless they happen to kick the iron wall known as "Someone stronger than you".

 Chapter 157 - Echo

    The Circle of Argenti Bestia believed that only through human experimentation could they reach the peak in dragon creation and make the ultimate weapon that could defeat even the most powerful of maji. However, human experimentation was banned by declaration of the Emperor at the time after several accidents, one of which involved his favorite concubine and unborn child. This did not stop some far flung and hidden sects, like the Circle of Argenti Bestia, from proceeding with breaking this taboo...a lot.


    To this end, the Circle attempted to minimize suspicion of their existence by abducting the one type of person that tends to be ignored the most... impoverished orphans. They had a pretty sweet thing going on, by evil secret society standards, kidnapping dozens of not hundreds of kids, up until they kidnapped a child that just happened to cross paths with a certain pair of young lady maji of ice and poison.


    What followed after being discovered could best be described with the words, total annihilation.


    Most of the maji above gold grade were rendered crippled or dead, any magic materials they had were taken or destroyed and their base of operation was reduced to a a lovely pile of smoke and rubble.


    Alexander Ilexi only survived due to being a Verdant maji proficient in healing and survival magic, so he managed to survive being perforated with a bunch of new air holes causes by a rain of ice spears. However, his magic was not strong enough to counter the horribly strong poison coursing through his bloodstream.


    " *Hrk*! Well...my blood is now purple and smoking...great", Alexander complained after hacking up another mouthful of blood.


    "No time left...unless...one last gambit", he thought as he dipped his finger in the blood he had just coughed. The next moment, a silver death mask appeared in his other hand. With shaky yet quick hands, Alexander scrawled on several runes with the blood onto the death mask''s interior while muttering several words of arcane power.


    After he had finished his work, he placed the mask on his face, laid upon the cold ground and died.


    The mask began to glow shortly after his death, and the body began releasing a strange colored smoke that enshrouded the area in a bubble. A few minutes later, the smoke cleared away to reveal a mausoleum of intricate design and detail.


    Now, the spell he had used was something he picked up from a necromancer. It was designed to enable someone to keep their spirit separate from their body in a death mask, as well as have it absorb wild aether as a means to heal it. He never thought he would ever have to use this spell, but he still learned it just in case. He had planned to lay "dead" for until his body recovered. Unfortunately, he didn''t account for two things.


    The first was that due to his shaky hands, he had accidentally messed up one of the runes of the spell. This in turn made it impossible for his spirit to return to his body. Nothing says fun like being separated from your own body for a number of years.


    Secondly, the Collapse. When the majimonsters went wild, the aether did as well and there were numerous and unforeseen consequences for the world due to this magical turbulence.


    Alexander''s spirit was damaged quite violently by the wild aether, turning him into a wailing specter focused on the one ideology he cares most about, survival. Additionally, the ritual he had used to preserve his life mutated had, ironically enough, mutated into the type of ritual he had once perform on countless of victims.


    The consequences of this unfortunate accident would not be seen until many, many centuries later.


    _________________________________________


    [What the heck is an Echo?], I asked in confusion. I get that magic is learning process, but now was not the time for strange terminology! Especially since the Bultungin was reforming itself.


    [Echoes are basically weak spiritual existences. Ghosts obsessed with a desire or ideology that the original person held close to their hearts. And if it''s who I think it was, his Echo should be rather tenacious. Gale Breath!], Voxea explained as she released another blast of magic wind. The breath technique had managed to blow away quite a bit of the reforming monster''s flesh back into aether, but the Bultungin quickly regenerated from it.


    [Oh joy, it''s unaetherable], I complained.


    [Not necessarily, we just need to get rid of the Echo], Voxea said as she took on a fighting stance.


    [Okay, but how]?


    It was in that moment, a big ole chain of aether went whizzing past my head.

 Chapter 158 - Sometimes the answer is violence

    [What the heck was-], but before I could finish my thought, the Fog of War shifted suddenly as a new figure entered my perception.


    The figure had dark shaggy hair, tanned skin and reminded me of Alyra. Didn''t take me long to realize it was her brother, Boleros...holding a drajule and a chain of aether, okay what?


    "You''re a binder"?!"


    [He''s a binder]?


    The two of us were bewildered by the sudden appearance of the former possession victim turned binder, that we failed to notice the aether chain had squarely hit the Bultungin in the chest until he had released a rather loud howl of pain. A moment later, Boleros forcefully gripped the aether chain and began to pull as hard as he could.


    As he pulled on the chain of aether, a sense of deja vu came over me as I saw the Bultungin being separated from the Echo I had saw earlier. But unlike last time, the Echo was putting up more of a fight from the separation. It reminded me of trying to pick a hair out of a jar of honey, not pleasant.


    [Huh...], Voxea suddenly said in my head.


    [What]?


    [Nothing, it''s just... I''m a little upset I didn''t think of using the binding ritual in such a manner to separate the Bultungin from the Echo. My plan was very different due to me assuming the two were too connected to each other to do so], Voxea explained.


    [You were going to just keep hitting it until it exhausted it''s aether, weren''t you]?


    [...I was going to freeze him into a block of ice at some point].


    [...].


    [What]?


    [It scares me how similar our line of thinking can be sometimes], I told Voxea.


    [It''s why we get along~].


    I shot Voxea a withering stare, just as a loud howl of pain pierced the air and caught our attention.


    The Bultungin and Echo had now been separated from one another, but now the Bultungin had become a ball of light stuck in a literal tug-of-war between Boleros and the Echo.


    On one side, a chain of aether was pulling it towards a drajule, while the other looked like a liquid man trying to suck in the ball of light. I was feeling rather dumbfounded on what to do, until the realization hit me like a sack of Fragmice to the head...mother had rather extreme training methods.


    [Voxea...do you think you can attack the Echo?], I asked


    [Silvia, you know as a majimonster I can''t attack non...wait...the Fog isn''t preventing me]?


    [I think the Echo is in a weird state of being both a majimonster due to being fused with the Bultungin, but at the same time not due to the binding ritual being used to extract it from it like right now], I shared with Voxea, [so now I''m thinking...].


    [Way ahead of you, still have any aether left for a charge up]?


    [Just enough for one more attack].


    [We''ll only need one], Voxea told me before shooting across the battlefield like a crossbow bolt towards the Echo. As she flew towards the Echo, Voxea''s fist began to glow purple and a gauntlet made of aether manifested around it. Once I charged up her technique with my own aether, the gauntlet developed runic patterns of the Ice and Lighting affinity.


    _________________________________________


    {SurvivesurvivesurvivieSURVIVE! MUSTSURVIVE}, the Echo thought as he kept pulling the Bultungin back into him and away from the drajule''s grasp.


    The Echo didn''t remember when he was born, or why he was born, all he knew was that he had to survive for...some reason.


    He knew he had to survive, so fused with the incomplete hyena monster''s essence to stick around a little longer.


    He knew he had to survive, so he took over the body of a human boy and buried his soul deep in darkness.


    He knew he had to survive, so he sought to kill the girl who learned of his existence.


    He knew had to survive, so he slew innocents and drank their blood to stabilize his form.


    He knew he had to survive, so when he lost his host, he fully embraced the monster.


    He knew he had to survive, so he fought back against the former host trying to take what was his.


    He didn''t know why he had to survive...until he saw the reason why flying straight towards him.


    {Survivesurvivesurviesur...Vo...xea}!


    But it was that point, the reason for his existence punched him in the face.

 Chapter 159 - Aftermath

    Voxea''s punch turned out to be a bit more effective than anticipated. A loud cracking noise occured as her fist made contact with the Echo, which was followed by the sight of it being sent flying into the air.


    Coincidentally, the Echo''s sudden flight broke the tether it had with the ball of aether, allowing...I just remembered his name was Boleros, to bind the monster and severing his connection to the Echo.


    The Echo let out a painful wail as it soared through the air, and disappeared the moment it had hit the ground. Shortly after, the Fog of War began to disappear.


    As soon as the Fog had completely faded, I proceeded to almost collapse from sheer aether drain. Luckily, Voxea was there to keep me standing.


    [That...was awful], I complained to Voxea.


    [At least there were no explosions this time], Voxea replied with a bit of snark.


    [...true].


    "Boleros! When did you become a binder?!", I heard Alyra cry as I watched the girl run to embrace her rescued brother. Seeing the two embrace brought some warmth to my heart.


    "I...think just now?", he replied in a sheepish manner. Evidently, I felt a bit of kinship with the young man in relation to how he became a binder.


    "Silvia!", I heard Savina cry out.


    "Huh? Bwah"!


    No sooner did I hear her that she suddenly rushed up to me and began hugging me in a worried manner. I had a sense of deja vu, but I wasn''t sure why.


    "Why do you keeping throwing yourself into reckless situations?! We could''ve just ran after you had already rescued the guy!", Savina scolded as she held me tight in a hugging neck lock.


    "S-savina... you''re choking me...", I said as I tried to free myself. Meanwhile, Albina and Bori began to check out Voxea, who for her part was just floating there and acting coy.


    "Uhh...Silvia. How long..."Bori said while trying to figure out what his exact question was.


    "How long were you hiding this crazy thing and your other powers, brewer girl??", Albina asked in a straightforward manner whilst pointing at Voxea.


    "Well...hold up".


    I was about to explain/semi-lie about how Voxea and my other magical abilities, until I heard the sound of distant footsteps, voices and the baying of dog-like majimonsters. Evidently, the local guard was alerted to our fighting.


    "Quickly, the aether fluctuations came from over there"!


    And it sounded like they were getting close.


    "Silvia, what''s wro-" "We gotta go, now"!


    With that declaration, I proceeded to push my friends away from the battle area and back into the alleyways. I did not want to see the inside of an Imperial prison cell...at least not yet.


    _________________________________________


    {See? Told you they''d be fine. My girl, Voxea, still got it even after all of this}, Belladonna said with a smile.


    Malgorius just silently nodded in agreement to her statement.


    Unbeknownst to Silvia and company, their little excursion off academy grounds did not go unnoticed. Malgorius and Belladonna had detected the group sneaking away, so they decided to follow to make sure they didn''t get into any major trouble.


    Malgorius was tempted to jump in when the Bultungin had defeated the group''s first wave of monsters, but Belladonna had held him back. She believed that Voxea would be more than a match for the hyena beast. Even when the Echo appeared out of nowhere.


    {On that note, we should probably get out of here}.


    {Should we help the kids cover their tracks}?


    {Nah, they''ll figure something out}.


    The ghost and binder duo proceeded to disappear into the darkness after their short conversation.


    _________________________________________


    "Interesting...what a fascinating girl and an unusual maji...monster", an androgynous voice commented to the wind.


    High above the alleyways, and out of sight of both the group and the teacher, a lone figure stood atop a steeple, watching all the while.


    The figure was wearing a strange, dark colored robe that seemed to blend with the night sky, a set of rings embedded with active drajules and a simple wooden mask. But the thing that would draw one''s attention, if they could see the figure, was the strange silver medal, decorated with the image of a wolf eating the stars, resting on his lapel.


    "It''s a pity...that Ilexi...didn''t survive...at least I have...good data", the figure stated before jumping off the steeple. A loud bat cry followed by the sound of a powerful gale soon followed, as the figure disappeared.

 Chapter 160 - A little after the Aftermath

    "Have you heard? The Imperial Guards have managed to arrest the Gasher"!


    "Really? What happened"?


    "Apparently it was a rogue majimonster that had managed to sneak pass the city walls".


    "What kind of majimonster"?


    "I heard it was a Bearserker...".


    "An Ursicle...".


    "A Springheel...".


    "Something new, some kind of lion-man...".


    "I heard it was a badger"!


    "Bah! Who cares? I''m more excited about...".


    [Well, it appears no one suspects anything of anyone], Voxea commented as I listened in on the students milling about, [Still mildly annoyed at the outcome though].


    [Oh it''s fine, at least no one thins we''re involved], I said to placate her.


    [But I wanted to show off more]!


    I couldn''t help but roll my eyes at that but both physically and mentally at that statement.


    Two weeks had passed since my friends and I had rescued Boleros and dealt with the Echo, and things had been surprisingly calm...sorta.


    The battle that had taken place was anything but quiet, however we had managed to escape from the site and the authorities. I''m not entirely sure how we pulled that off, but Voxea mentioned she had felt an unusual presence heading towards the Imperials as we were running. Maybe it was friendly, maybe it wasn''t, but it had helped us escape so... whatever.


    I also had the lovely experience of having to lie to my Bori and Albina about Voxea and my magical know-how. I spun a somewhat believable story about finding a maji''s tomb back in my home town, digging through all the books and weird artifacts until I had found Voxea''s drajule and how it was simultaneously active but not usable. Basically, I told them that I always had Voxea on me, I just couldn''t summon her until recently. They gave me a suspicious look for about a minute, but they believed me in the end.


    A few days after that, the Imperial Binders had announced that they had captured the Gasher...somehow. The official story behind this was that they had caught the Gasher about to attack someone. Oddly, the Gasher wasn''t a binder or a majimonster. Instead, the official narrative was that the Gasher was some guy who got his hands on a cursed magic weapon that came from before the Fall. The Imperials had managed to subdue the guy and were currently looking into ways to de-curse him. In essence, it was a classic case of blaming the maji for all the problems.


    As for Alyra and Boleros...


    "Hey Silvia"!


    "Sis, wait up"!


    I stopped eavesdropping on the students to greet my newest classmates, as they came running towards me.


    Literally two days after we had rescued Boleros and reunited him with his sister, they had suddenly appeared at my class one day as new transfers. Shocked and awed, I had immediately asked them after classes on how this happened.


    The siblings regaled me with a brief story about how after we had splits ways, the duo was found by...Professor Malgorius. He had apparently sense the power within Boleros and wanted to bring him back to the Academy for official training. Not wanting to be separated from Alyra, Boleros had asked to take her with him. Initially he refused due to not sensing anything, but when Boleros asked to at least see if she could summon a majimonster, he obliged...only to be shocked that she could also use majimonsters as well. As such, the two became the Academy''s newest students.


    I initially thought the two would be rather befuddled by their new environment, but apparently the two had taken to academy life like fish to water.


    "Did you hear the news?", Alyra asked me with visible excitement on her face. Evidently, now that her brother was back by her side, Alyra''s demeanor had changed to be a bit more upbeat.


    "About the Gasher"?


    "Not that! I mean about the visit"!


    "The visit"?


    "She means", Boleros interjected, "have you heard about the fact that the Imperial Family is coming to visit the Academy"?


    "Wait, seriously?", I asked with an incredulous look on my face.


    "Yup! I guess the news got lost due to all of the news about the ''Gasher'', but the Emperor and his family is coming to the academy for an inspection", Alyra explained, "Apparently they''re gonna match up some of the students to have a few exhibition matches with the Imperial retainers and some of his kids. Think you''ll be part of it"?


    "I doubt it, I''m sure they''re much stronger and qualified students here than I".


    _________________________________________


    "I have submitted your name to do an exhibition match and it got approved", Malgorius informed me over tea.


    ...


    Crap.

 Chapter 161 - Old Owl

    "Ok, but why though?", I asked Malgorius with a mildly annoyed/shocked face. I know I tend to be rather reckless, but I want to at least maintain the facade of being a low-key person.


    "Why not? I figured with your predisposition for recklessness, this would be...up your alley?", Malgorius said with a bemused expression as he sipped his tea. I had already put two and two together that he knew what had happened to us on the day of the incident, I still grimaced at the comment though.


    [Hey, I didn''t say anything to anyone], Voxea complained to me.


    {We just followed you like good mentors do}.


    [Both of you, out of my head].


    "But on a more...specific reason, it''s because that old owl at the top of the roost asked me to do it for her", Malgorius explained in a more serious tone.


    "The old ow-Headmistress Malrena? Why?", I asked a bit more confused but having a bad feeling as to the reason why.


    "I cannot fre-"


    "It''s because I can sense the power you''re hiding, Miss Rosewood".


    "Bah"!


    I''m not sure how and when, but Headmistress Malrena had somehow appeared behind me. Rather surprising because she was at least a head taller than me.


    "And I don''t appreciate being called ''old owl'', Malgorius", Malrena said with a tinge of annoyance.


    "Won''t happen again, Malrena", Malgorius said with a lazy smile and shrug.


    [Oooh, first name basis. I bet they have a history~].


    "Now then, Miss Rosewood, or should I say, Miss Volance-Firmis? You have quite the record of practical experiences and hiding a surprisingly powerful trump card", Malrena said with a raised eyebrow. An icy feeling gripped my stomach at the realization that this crazy old bird somehow knew about both my family history and personal recent history.


    "How...did you know that?", I asked in a weak voice.


    "Your aura for starters", Headmistress explained,"when we first met, you gave off a similar energy to Miss Firmis. However, I noticed that there was distinct difference in it which reminded me of another young student from House Volance".


    Why did all the crazy strong people have to be crazy perceptive?


    "After that, it was a manner of looking into your history, sending someone to investigate your hometown and having someone observing you", the Headmistress added, "I''m just surprised you managed to hide a gold grade majimonster until recently".


    "So that means...".


    "Yes, I was there to watch as you and your friends fought the Bultungin", she explained matter-of-factly.


    "For real? You''ve been improving your stealth skills", Malgorius commented in surprise.


    [Huh...guess she was that weird thing I noticed back in the alleyways].


    "But that doesn''t change the main question", I interjected, "Why me"?


    In response to my question, Headmistress Malrena proceeded to hold up three fingers.


    "First, you are arguably one of the stronger binders on campus through the fact that you are among the handful of students with a gold-grade majimonster", she said before putting down one of her fingers.


    "Secondly, while the upcoming exhibition match is a friendly soar on the surface, it is still a matter of honor for us. To make sure our reputation is maintain and rivals understand our strength, we to put our best foot forward", she added while putting down a second finger.


    "And lastly", she said while holding up her last finger, "It''s not often one gets to meet the Emperor. It is a rare experience that I think would be rather beneficial to you...and your mentor".


    The moment she said that, I could feel a bubble of anxiety coming from Voxea.


    [While I doubt she knows about me specifically, that was still rather ominous].


    "But, I will not force you", Malrena added as she began to walk towards the door, " I do hope you consider accepting though. Such events only happen a few times in someone''s life, one should grab such opportunities like a Ragnaceros by the horns, no? "


    And with that, Malrena left the room. That left Voxea and I to mull over her words, while an amused Malgorius, and presumably Belladonna, watched on.


    "So then...what are you going to do, Miss Rosewood"?


    "...do you even need to ask"?

 Chapter 162 - Top Four

    [You detect anything interesting about these guys?], I asked Voxea as I stood in front of the door to the arranged meeting hall.


    Yesterday, I had confirmed with Malgorius and Malrena my participation in the upcoming exhibition match. They then informed that I would meet up with the rest of the participants for the upcoming exhibition match in order to, "adjust and plan strategies accordingly".


    They gave me the time, the place, but it was up to me to get along with my new teammates.


    [Well they are indeed stronger than the average students around here and a bit stronger than you], Voxea began to explain, [in terms of affinity...there seems to be a Verdant one , a Fury one that feels off, a Mystic one and an unusually strong Water binder! What an interesting cast]!


    [Interesting...yeah that''s one way to describe it]. While inside the drajule, Voxea could only see and hear things in relation to magic and aether. Meaning she could detect auras and listen in on magically effected conversations, she could not hear the cacophony of noises and arguing going on in that room...that was my privilege.


    Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves,and hoping that whatever''s going on in there isn''t too violent, I proceeded to open the door and greet whatever was on the other-


    "Duck".


    "Gya"!


    *Thunk*!


    Evidently, I did not expect a hatchet to go flying pass my head and getting embedded into a nearby wall.


    "Get back here"!


    *Fwooosh*


    Nor did I expect it to suddenly fly back. Picking myself up to look at the source of the conflict, it appeared two binders were currently arguing over something, a third was trying to get then to stop while the fourth was just reading a book.


    "Did you just try to throw an axe at me?!", shouted one of the arguing binders, a blonde young man dressed like a sea captain. I couldn''t help but notice that their hair looked like it was floating in air like how it does in water. On top of the fact that I could sense Water aether from them, probably meant that he was the Water binder and a Concordant on top of that.


    "No, if I was, you''d be dead"!


    The one shouting back was a tall dark skinned young man with wavy hair wearing a suit of bronze armor that had a wood-like texture and look, and a green cape. He was wielding the axe that flew pass my head earlier with one hand while her off hand was pointing straight at the captain-looking binder. If I had to guess, this was the Verdant binder.


    "Come on guys, can''t we all get along?", asked a tall girl in orange robes. I remembered from Voxea''s lessons that he was in she what called, "a Monk''s get-up". If I had to guess, this was the Mystic binder, but orange is normally the color of Fury aether...


    "No!", the two shouted back in unison.


    "Oh lay off them Lu Yan. They''re just trying to expressing their deep-seated and complicated feelings for each other by arguing with each other. I give them about...six months until they end up together...or not! Kukuku...", the bespectacled reading binder girl commented, "Besides, shouldn''t y''all be taking more of an interest in the new girl who just walked in"?


    At the behest of the bespectacled binder, the two arguing binders and the monk girl stopped their activities and turned to stare at me.


    "Uh...hi. My name''s Silvia", I said with a small wave and an awkward smile. It''s one thing to greet a stranger, it''s another to greet a group of them and almost dying by accident because of said strangers.


    "Well hello there", the captain said as he slicked his floating hair back into place. I couldn''t help but notice him checking me out.


    "The name''s Brisbane Whalen. How you doing?", he said with a tone that sounded mildly flirty while presenting his hand in greeting.


    [He seems like a flirtatious dandy], Voxea commented. I was inclined to agree.


    "Ignore him", the green-caped knight said as he pushed Brisbane away from me by unceremoniously grabbing his face and pushing him away


    [Straightforward. Reminds me of someone].


    "My name''s Kiero, a Knight of Clan Delvan", he said while proudly smiling and hitting his chest.


    "The one behind me is Novice Lu Yan", he said while pointing a thumb to the tall lady in the orange robes. She gave a small bow with her hands together as a sign of greeting.


    [Must be the religious type].


    "And the one reading is Delira", Kiero said while pointing at the bespectacled girl with the book. In response, the girl just let out a creepy laugh while seemingly staring at me yet not staring at me. I''m not sure why, but I swear she was staring at my soul.


    [Ooooh. I like her].


    "You must be the fifth teammate Lady Malrena mentioned, right"?

 Chapter 163 - Put your Suls where your mouth is.

    "Yeah, that''s me", I replied in a neutral yet sure tone. At least everyone in this room was either from a noble house or some big name organization. Which meant this next part was going to suck...kinda.


    "Then that means you must be a pretty strong binder, granted I don''t think I''ve seen you around the campus before...I''m not familiar with the name ''Rosewood'', are you a vassal?", Kiero asked point-blank.


    "No".


    "Adopted into a big clan?", Brisbane added.


    "No".


    "An acolyte for a sect?", Lu Yan suggested.


    "Nah".


    "The personal apprentice to an S-class binder who you have secret forbidden feelings for?", Delira said in a tone that for some reason made my spine crawl.


    "I...what"?


    [Ah yes. The most forbidden(and best) relationship: Apprentice and teacher...], Voxea commented with a strange tone


    [Is there something you want to share with me]?


    [Not until you''re older].


    "Ignore that last bit", Kiero assured, "but do you have a backer of some repute"?


    "...Kinda"?


    [Hey, I am very famous and powerful to boot!], Voxea commented in exaggerated aghast.


    [You''re also technically dead and in a drajule around my neck], I retorted.


    [...Okay, that''s fair].


    "So...no background...why did the Headmistress send you here then?", Kiero asked in a tone that sounded just a tad less friendlier than before.


    It appears Mother and Father were right about this place being a societal fight pit.


    [Mind if I...]


    [Oh please do. I''ve been wanting to kick some teeth in all day].


    "Well...maybe it''s because of my wit, my bravery or that fact that I have a gold grade majimonster on holster, but honestly it could be-".


    "Hold up", Brisbane said, interrupting me, "you have a gold grade majimonster"?


    "Did I stutter?", I asked with a cheeky smile, "Yes, I have a gold grade majimonster".


    "No way", Kiero retorted, "How can you have a gold majimonster without some kind of backer"?


    "Well I could go on a long story about how it happened, but I am a firm believer of putting my money where my mouth is", I said with as much confidence as I could muster, "anybody up for a duel"?


    _________________________________________


    Kiero Delvan was a firm believer of "noblesse oblige", that those of privileged or of noble standing must be morally outstanding as well.


    While some see this phrase as meaning "it is the duty of the privileged to be generous, kind and wise", i.e., they are privileged so they should act nobly, other saw it as a very convenient excuse for their privilege to exist. In essence, they see them as noble because they are privileged.


    Kiero was an embodiment of both.


    Due to being born into a "noble" binder clan for the Empire, he saw himself as being a shield for the Empire and it''s people. It was his duty to protect the mortals from the danger of the Wildlands and the dark secrets and cults that hide within it''s ruins.


    On the other hand, he saw also the general populace and lowborn binders mildly distasteful. Not in a bad way per say, but in the same way a shepard sees his flock. Important to him, but mildly expendable.


    So to have one of these lower class binders challenge him to a duel, mildly rubbed him the wrong way.


    "It''s not too late to back down, Miss Rosewood", he told the frontier girl standing on the other side of the dueling arena.


    While he knew it was his duty to remind others the power of nobles, he still had some reservations about crushing the spirits of a fellow binder.


    "While I do thank you for being such a chivalrous knight, this is a dueling arena. Please put the pleasantries aside and let our monsters do the talking", she replied, "you first".


    Any reservations he had now, was now gone.


    Kiero readied a green steel shield studded with three drajules in a clover-like design. The uppermost drajule began to glow with power, causing a green and brown summoning circle formed in front of him.


    "Come on out, Gawain"!


    A moment later, a pair of sturdy chitin covered arms reached out of the circle and grabbed to the edges of the circle. What followed was a hulking humanoid majimonster with a trident-like horn and covered in dense green chitin.


    _________________________________________


    Name: Gawain


    Species name: Kabuton


    Affinity: Earth/Verdant


    Grade: Gold


    Traits: Explosive Strength, Grand Horn


    Description: A hulking insectoid majimonster that resembles a rhinoceros beetle. Tapping into the strength of the Earth and the wisdom of the Forest, Kabutons are tough brawlers that make them formidable clubbing implements in any binder''s lineup. Unusually, the males have massive horns while the females have powerful claws. This has led to a debate about which type of Kabuton is better for battling.


    Voxea''s Notes: Once upon a time, a group of maji had an argument over what type of insect was "the strongest". It was by no means an academically smart argument, but boredom and magical power does that to a maji. The Kabuton was the direct result of a druid known as "The Logthrower" deciding to see if he could boost the strength of normal rhinoceros beetles.


    _________________________________________


    [Another Good grade...how many moves is it gonna take you to beat him]?


    [About three].


    [Cool], I replied as I readied her drajule.

 Chapter 164 - One, Two...

    Voxea''s summoning circle manifested in front of me in a rather dramatic manner, with Ice, Wind and Mystic aether sparking out of it.


    A familiar pressure began to fill the arena as Voxea flew out of the summoning circle.


    As the other three binders watched on, I couldn''t help but hear their reactions to Voxea''s summoning.


    "This feeling...".


    "It''s definitely a middle tier gold grade majimonster...".


    "But the aether feels denser".


    Evidently, Gawain the Kabuton which initially looked a bit lazy when it had entered the ring had suddenly become much more alert when it picked up the pressure that Voxea was emanating.


    Even Kiero looked a little uneasy when Voxea had stopped floating and landed in front of me like one of those heroic maji that Voxea taught me about during our lessons.


    [Is the crossed arm pose necessary].


    [Very much so].


    [Need a boost]?


    [Nah, this little bug is going to be a cake walk].


    The Fog of War stirred to life as both Voxea and Gawain got into battle position.


    As soon as the Fog fully encompassed my mind, the Kabuton let out a mighty roar before slamming his fist into the ground. A chunk of aether infused earth erupted from the ground and was promptly sent flying towards Voxea.


    [One. Updraft...]


    A small Wind affinity spell circle formed around Voxea''s hand, while a larger version of it formed on the ground in front of her and in the air directly above it.


    Just as the boulder was about to smash into Voxea, she gestured her hand and a powerful burst of wind exploded from the circle, knocking the boulder skyward and revealing the Kabuton with a Verdant-infused horn charging towards her!


    [Slam!], Voxea said while closing her hand into a fist.


    A second burst of wind exploded from the circle hanging in the air, launching the airborne boulder straight towards the ground and into the charging Kabuton.


    Noticing the incoming danger, the Kabuton stopped it''s forward momentum and swung it''s horn upward.


    The Verdant technique smashed the plunging boulder to pieces...and left the Kabuton wide open for Voxea to close the gap herself!


    A manic feeling of bloodl.u.s.t transmitted to me from my bond with Voxea as I felt her gathering aether for another big Wind technique.


    [Two. Cyclonic Buster]!


    Voxea lashed out with both of her fists, landing them both squarely onto the Kabuton''s torso.


    The first fist established the perimeter of the spell circle, while the second filled in the insides.


    A second later, a powerful cyclone formed between her fists and launched the Kabuton spiralling towards the arena wall like a cannonball!


    *BOOM*!


    A loud booming sound followed by a massive cloud of dust was kicked up as the Kabuton impacted the wall.


    If it wasn''t for the Fog of War still being in effect, I would''ve assumed that Voxea smashed the Kabuton into paste.


    Instead, as the dust cleared away, I saw the Kabuton picked itself up from the rubble and just shake it off like it was dust.


    [Not gonna lie, I figured you launching it into a wall at high speeds was going to be enough to aether it].


    [Finale], Voxea said as she clapped her hands together...and my ears suddenly made a popping noise.


    _________________________________________


    [Annoying], Gawain transmitted to Kiero as he cleared himself of the rubble.


    [I know partner, but I don''t think that little thing can take a physical technique without collapsing. All that offensive power normally means either a weakk defense or slow speed. And she''s seems to be a "caster" type majimonster], Kiero said to assure the Kabuton, [We just need to close the gap].


    [How]?


    [Galvanizing Bond], Kiero said in confirmation.


    [Right], Gawain said as he shook off the last of the debris from his form.


    Kiero prepared to tap into his bond with Gawain and overcharge his speed and smash the little Blizzabella...up until he suddenly felt the air pressure drop and his ears popped!


    [Uh Oh].


    Before the eyes of him and his Kabuton, the peasants'' majimonster had prepared a Wind technique that he had never seen before but gave him an incredibly dangerous feeling!


    The humanoid majimonster had produced a bow and arrow made of Wind aether and was charging it up into a singular, powerful strike!


    His mind worked rapidly until it came to a single conclusion....


    _________________________________________


    Voxea had finished charging up what she told me was currently her most powerful Wind technique. I didn''t know what it would do, but she hadn''t disappointed me so far.


    [Arrow of- ]


    But before she could fire off the technique, the Fog of War disappeared and the Kabuton was recalled.


    My senses defaulted back to normal as I heard Kiero yell, "I concede"!


    Wait, what?


    [What?! Boo!], Voxea complained as she dispelled her technique.

 Chapter 165 - Law of Warriors, Bigger fist=More Respect

    [Wimp! Coward! Cad!], Voxea complained mentally as she kept floating around me.


    Evidently, she was rather upset about being denied her coup de grace, but still had enough decorum to not suddenly verbally lash at Kiero.


    [I''m angry, not stupid].


    "So...do I qualify to be among your numbers?", I asked the defeated Knight with as much grace and etiquette I could muster while also suppressing a smug grin from forming.


    Voxea may have been denied her finishing move, but it didn''t change the fact that I had proven to Kiero and the others that I could definitely hold my own, despite my "lack of background".


    Kiero let out a deep sigh before he finally replied.


    "I will admit that I had underestimated you. It was wrong of me to assume just because you didn''t come from a noble background or have a strong backer that you would be...easy to defeat. I apologize", Kiero said while bowing from the waist.


    While I would normally assumed he was blowing smoke in order to pay pleasantries, his overall demeanor gave me the feeling that he truly meant it. Whether it was respect for Voxea''s strength or that he was raised to be prim and proper and mean it...I couldn''t tell.


    "Apology accepted, Sir Kiero", I replied with a matching courtesy. I could feel the sense of shock from the others at my display of court etiquette. Evidently, I would need to thank Mother and Father for drilling etiquette into my head before coming here.


    "Huh...never expected the high and mighty Kiero to be so humble", Brisbane teased with a smug grin on his face.


    Kiero straightened up from his bow before shooting Brisbane a dirty look.


    "Watch your tongue, you saltwater dandy. Just because I couldn''t beat her doesn''t mean I can''t grind you into sawdust", Kiero replied in a slightly harsher tone.


    "Or perhaps...you''d like to have a go in the ring with Voxea and I? She is still a bit bothered about not having a proper finish to the fight", I interjected with a mischievous grin.


    [Oh please say yes, it won''t hurt...much], Voxea said in my head as she floated over to Brisbane. Her sudden movement had caused him to step back, while the rather bloodthirsty look on her face caused him to look a bit skittish.


    "I...well...", Brisbane began to stammer, "While it would be rude for me to refuse a lady''s invitation, I will have to decline. Ozen''s not feeling up to snuff at the moment".


    [Lame], Voxea complained as she floated away with a sour face.


    "Did she just sneer at me"?


    "What kind of majimonster is she?",Lu Yan asked as she watched Voxea sulkily float around.


    [You were that blood hungry]?


    [Less about the blood and more of the denial of the finish. It was one of my good techniques, I was going to blow a hole in the arena walls!], Voxea commented while pouting.


    "And more importantly, how did you get her? It''s not often a binder as young as you get such a ... powerful and beautiful majimonster...kukuku",Delira asked with a creepy smile and grabby hands. I''m sure she was a very nice person once you get to know them, but the way she''s looking at Voxea is reminding me of a certain lecherous bard.


    Evidently, Voxea picked up the feeling and floated just out of reach of her...although the feeling I got from her implied she didn''t do it out of her own safety concerns.


    [Why are you teasing her]?


    [Her expressions amuse me], Voxea said as she lazily swung a leg, that Delira was about to try and touch, away.


    "It''s not that interesting of a story. I was just out hunting a little further than normal pass my hometown''s defenses when I stumbled down a hole...that turned out to be the tomb of a maji", I explained nonchalantly.


    "A maji''s tomb?", Lu Yan asked with a shocked expression, "the chance of finding of one those are-".


    "One in a million chance!", Brisbane interrupted.


    "One in one million, three hundred thousand and four, actually", Delira added as she still kept trying to grab Voxea''s foot.


    "And you just happened to find her in there?", Kiero followed up.


    "Well... not exactly...".

 Chapter 166 - A Believable Flashback

    "AAAHHHHH! OOF!", Silvia exclaimed as she fell down a pit she didn''t notice in time. Evidently, running for one''s life in an attempt to escape from hungry dire wolves causes one to fail to notice hidden dangers.


    Silvia was about to curse her foul luck until she heard the dire wolves baying over head. As their barking and growling got closer to the pit she fell in, Silvia held her breath and sat as still as she could.


    Thanks to her hearing, she could hear the wolves sniffing around and yipping at each other. Minutes crawled as Silvia waited for the wolves to stop and leave the area.


    Eventually, one of the wolves let out a bark and the pack moved away from her hiding spot.


    A great feeling of relief came over her as she heard the wolves slowly walk away.


    "Thank the makers...never thought I''d be praying...now where am I"?


    As Silvia dusted herself off from the fall, she finally had time to take in her surroundings.


    "Huh... must''ve fell into some ruins or a tomb or...something".


    From what she could see, the area around were clearly made of cut stone. What kind of stone, she wasn''t quite sure. If she had to guess...marble or some other fancy rock that rich people made their buildings out of.


    "Hmmm. I could climb back out...", she said aloud to herself,"...or I could see if I can find something interesting to bring back home... possibly sell to some traveling binders".


    Affirming her desire to explore, Silvia strode into the darkness and further into the ruined tomb.


    _________________________________________


    [Falling into a hole, into a set of ruins? Really?], Voxea quipped.


    [Hey, I''m just mixing some details of the things we had to deal with lately with how I met you. Weren''t you the one who taught me that the best lies have bits of truth in them]?


    [Fair enough, carry on].


    _________________________________________


    "Well that''s ominous", she commented aloud.


    Silvia had entered a circular chamber, silver and golden treasure and trinkets decorating the walls. But the thing that had caught her eye, was the clear ice coffin in the dead center of the room.


    Surprisingly, the coffin did not contain a rotting corpse or a pile of dust and bones, rather it contained a sleeping noble woman that appeared to be alive and well.


    Silvia wasn''t sure why, but she felt compelled to get closer to the coffin and stare directly at the "sleeping" woman.


    "It can''t be...a maji?", Silvia thought as she walked closer and closer to the coffin.


    As far as Silvia remembered, most if not all the maji had died or disappeared with the fall of the old Empire. She had heard tales of binders coming across the spirits of maji passing on their inheritances to them, but she wasn''t sure if they were blowing smoke or not...until this moment.


    Once she got up close and personal to the coffin, she finally had a good look at the sleeping woman.


    While the woman herself was quite pleasant looking, what caught Silvia''s attention was the strange looking metal seal embedded in the coffin''s lid. When Silvia looked from a different angle to see what it was from the bottom, she noticed that it was actually a mirror.


    The mirror was octagonal in shape, and appeared to be made of a white-ish precious medal and embossed with all sorts of decorations that she couldn''t gleam the meaning of.


    What she could gleam however, was the big shiny jewel in the exact center of the mirror.


    "I could probably sell this to a binder back at home...or keep it as a decoration. Either way, I''m taking this thing", Silvia thought with a tinge of greed.


    Drawing her hunting knife, she carefully straddled the coffin and began to use the knife to lift the mirror from it''s resting place.


    Minutes passed as she weakened the coffin''s hold on the mirror by carving the edge with her knife.


    "And...pop"!


    The mirror came out with a satisfying popping sound... followed a flood of magical light that blasted her from the hole she just caused.


    [Hmmmm. You''ll do. Take good care of my girl, okay]?


    _________________________________________


    "A little bit after that, I found myself back on the surface with a drajule in my hand", I said as the final note to my story, "And that''s how I became a binder".


    The group looked at me with silence, their expressions mixed.


    [Think they bought it]?


    "You have the luck of a devil", Lu Yan suddenly commented.


    [That''d be a yes], Voxea confirmed.

 Chapter 167 - Vague Teacher

    "Well now, it''s good to see you all getting along so nicely", a strong familiar voice of the Headmistress called out.


    At the sound of her calling, the top four strongest binders in this academy suddenly straightened up their postures and stood at attention like soldiers.


    [Is that respect for her seniority or her power?], Voxea commented as she floated closer to me.


    [Probably both].


    "Good Morning, Headmistress!", the four elites said in perfect unison.


    "At ease, students", Malrena said with a nod, "I see you were testing out the abilities of your new ally. I trust that it was an enlightening experience, Sir Kiero"?


    Having been called out by name, Kiero looked visibly uneasy for a moment before he corrected him posture to be even straighter.


    "Yes ma''am! I was unsure of Lady Silvia''s capabilities and wished to test them for myself. I apologise for any malcontent or bad impressions I may have caused for my actions!", he said while bowing towards the Headmistress.


    [He must have absurd abdominal muscles with how straight-laced he is], Voxea commented.


    [This ain''t normal for knights]?


    [Not unless they''re from storybooks].


    "Good to hear. Now then, on to more pressing matters", Malrena said as she switched to a more serious tone. Picking up on this sudden shift, I followed suit and stood straight as well.


    "As a general reminder, the exhibition match with the royal kin will be happening in two months time. For that reason, I will now be handing you these keys to the dungeons".


    [Dungeons]?


    "Keys"?


    Malrena snapped her fingers, and a strange wooden display box appeared in her hands. Inside of the display were flowing stones inscribed with spell runes. Staring at the runes, I couldn''t recognize all of them but I did recognize the runes for "power" and open". Oddly straightforward.


    [Huh...those are new...].


    With a wave of her hand, the stones floated out of the case and in front of the five of us. Following the lead of the other four, I grabbed the stone in front of me.


    "You five have free reign from now until the exhibition match to access the dungeon with your chosen teams of ", Malrena said while dismissing the case in a cloud of purple smoke with another wave of her hand, "be sure to maintain proper scheduling or alert your professors of any absences. Understood"?


    "Yes ma''am"!


    "Good. I shall leave you all to it then", Malrena said with a short nod before walking away.


    After she left, the pressure in the room felt visibly lighter as the elites let out breaths of relief.


    "Geez, she always so tensed", Brisbane complained, "Well then, if anyone needs me, I''ll be taking my crew to the Deep Floods. What about you lot"?


    "None of your business, seadog", Kiero replied before striding off.


    "The Humming Manor". Delira said with a chuckle.


    "The Forge of Blood", Lu Yan said with a polite nod.


    "And you missy?", Brisbane asked while looking toward Voxea and I.


    "Uhh...what''s a dungeon?", I asked point blank. Silence filled the room as they stared at me in surprise.


    [Hah, bluntness].


    _____Several moments and an explanation later___


    [Huh... this is what the Conductive Earth Array became...], Voxea commented as I, Savina, Alyra, Boleros, Albina and Bori stared at a swirling vortex of aether embedded in a doorway made of copper and gems.


    In the span of a five minutes after Malrena left, it was explained to me that the exhibition match weren''t going to simple one on one matches, rather they were going to be team fights.


    Each of us had to form teams of five binders on our own and be able to coordinate with them in battle. I was told that due to us being "the strongest" we had to be able to demonstrate leadership abilities as well as combat strength, but I had feeling it was more convoluted than that.


    I personally thought it was formatted this way because the royal kids disliked working together, but who knows.


    As for what the dungeons were...they didn''t really know.


    They knew that they were weird doorways, they knew that the doors seemed to gather/generate aether and they knew that whatever was behind the door was much much bigger than what the door belayed and were full of majimonsters, weird traps and treasures.


    It took Voxea all of one minute to stare at one to understand that these "dungeons" were mutated aether points.

 Chapter 168 - Conductive Earth Dungeon

    Every maji regardless of their practice, affinity or abilities require aether to do any of it. Unfortunately, aether is very hard to gather.


    It''s not that there isn''t enough of it to go around, in fact it''s everywhere like water. The main issue is that it''s everywhere like fog.


    Aether in it''s natural state is too spread out to gather normally, hence why maji developed cultivation techniques as a mean to condense and collect aether as efficiently as possible. Evidently, this desire for denser aether led to the development of spell circles and formations.


    To go back to the water metaphor, cultviation techniques used by maji were like barrels left out to collect rain water, while formations were like digging out artificial ponds or a reservoir. Both collect water, but at very different scales.


    Now how dungeons factor into this...imagine that reservoir was suddenly filled with fish, plants and corpses.


    Voxea wasn''t sure how it happened, but she guessed that over the course of eight hundred years, and a certain cataclysmic event, some of the formations had mutated into doing more than just collect aether. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/majimonsters-rosewood-journey_14361764405099505/conductive-earth-dungeon_50831273307992222 for visiting.


    Either way, my friends and I were now standing in front of a crazy gold and brown portal emitting dense Earth and Lightning aether. In front of the portal were pair of binder guards armed with spears and Lionyxes by their side.


    "Well", I said for everyone to hear, "what are we waiting for? Let''s go".


    Putting on a brave face for myself and my friends, I walked right up to the guards of the portal.


    "Please present entry key", the guards said in-sync as soon as we got close enough. Following their prompt, I took out the rune stone that Headmistress Malrena gave me.


    "Acknowledged".


    The guard to my left proceeded to reach out to take the rune stone from my hand...and then throw it out at the portal.


    "???"


    The rune stone went flying through the air until it suddenly stopped, suspended just a few feet in front of the entrance. The rune stone then began to fly upward and embed itself to a small part of the top of the portal. I soon felt a change in the aether as the rune stone locked into place.


    "Location locked", the guards stated in unison, "please proceed".


    [Huh...how unusual...], Voxea commented, [Whatever was going in there seemed to have change...I''m excited now, let''s go]!


    "Well then...shall we?", I said as I made my way to the portal. A moment of hesitation took me before I steeled my nerves and just pushed through.


    _________________________________________


    A strange, zappy feeling came over me as I walked through the portal, it reminded me of the cultivation exercises that Voxea had me go through...but a lot weirder.


    After I came out the other side, I readjusted my bearings to make sure everything was in one piece. Shortly after, Albina, Savina, Bori, Boleros and Alyra followed after.


    "Glad y''all could make it".


    "That was....weird", Albina commented as she shook out her leg


    "I found it kinda pleasant", Bori said nonchalantly.


    "I feel ill", Boleros said while looking as pale as a drunkard. Alyra for her part stayed silent as she went to support her brother.


    Savina was about to comment as well, but suddenly stopped as she stared at me.


    "Savina? What''s up"?


    [She''s not staring at you], Voxea interjected, [turn around].


    "What?", I said as I turned my head, "oh...".


    Behind me was the interior of the Conductive Earth Dungeon and it did not look like any dungeon I knew, it looked like another world!


    A series of islands that seemed to be floating in midair laid before us, some looked like nothing but sand, others like a mountain top and one that was just completely flat and dry looking. Despite how different all these islands were, however, all these islands had a strange crystal pillar that was dead center of each them.


    Surrounding us from all sides were swirling black clouds that radiated with the power of thunder and lightning. It was like we were in the eye of a massive storm.


    But the thing that was most eye-catching, and confusing, was the sight of a giant floating castle that seemed to be carved out of a single uniform mountain.


    "Oh...dear...gods", I muttered as I stared at the scne.


    [Wait...that style of architecture...]

 Chapter 169 - Ergworms

    "Well, this is disorienting", Bori commented as he peered below at the formless storm void beneath our feet.


    After the moment of awe passed us, we tried to figure out exactly how we were supposed to explore this so-called "dungeon". The moment I got close to the edge of the island we started on, the aether around us began to rumble a bit, leading to a bunch of stone platforms to form a bridge, connecting to another island.


    With no other leads to go off of, we walked forward.


    "Just keep your eyes forward and... attribute the weirdness to the maji", I assured him.


    [Oh please, floating islands wasn''t my thing...I just knew the guy who perfected it].


    [I...why]?


    [Boredom mostly], Voxea stated plainly. I couldn''t help but roll my eyes at the sheer absurdity of her answer.


    [Look alive Silvia. Looks like we hit the end of this road].


    [Huh]?


    Snapping my attention back to the present, I saw that my friends had gathered at the edge between last platform and a new floating island.


    "Why''d you guys stop?", I asked.


    "That", Savina said as she pointed across the island.


    Across the island that appeared to be mostly bare dirt with sparse grasses, was what looked like a coil of large pink rope. It wasn''t until my Dragon Lens flared up that I realized what it was.


    "Is that...an Ergworm"?


    "Yup".


    "Yeah".


    "Big ole Ergworm".


    "What''s an Ergworm"?


    _________________________________________


    Species Name: Ergworm


    Affinities: Earth, Basic


    Grade: Gold


    Traits: Tremorsense, Strong Constitution


    Description: This majimonster resembles an ordinary earthworm but is much, much larger...and has teeth. Ergworms, unusually, can get cut by mundane weapons. Unfortunately, they also tend to form new Ergworms like normal earthworms. Due to their ugly appearance and generally ability to hollow out the foundations of whole cities, they''re not a very popular majimonster to capture or deal with.


    Voxea''s Notes: From the early days of majimonster creation, Ergworms were actually an accident. There was this maji that specialized in agriculture of all things and tried to grow crop majimonsters via enchanted soil. What he didn''t account for were the creatures living in the soil. Evidently, there might be an giant vegetable garden somewhere in the Wildlands then...


    _________________________________________


    The Ergworm in question was currently sleeping in a coil like a snake, slowly breathing in and out.


    Who knew that works being the size of pythons somehow made them even less appealing?


    "So...what are we waiting for? There''s only of them and...I don''t think we can go backwards anymore", Alyra said as she pointed behind us.


    Evidently, we were so engrossed with the prospect of dealing with the Ergworm, that we failed to notice that the earthen platforms from earlier had all floated away.


    [The magical array that used to be used for cultivating maji wants y''all to move forward in a dungeon of its own design...sounds about right], Voxea commented.


    "Well then... let''s go-" "Nah nah".


    "Huh? Why''d you stop me?", Savina asked as I held her back.


    "Gimme a minute", I replied before dropping to the ground with my ear pressed against the dirt.


    Once my friends saw my action, they proceeded to be as quiet as possible.


    [Voxea, you detecting any other majimonsters on this island?], I asked while pretending to listen through the ground.


    [Yeah, funny you mention that...I can''t seem to do my detection trick here], Voxea replied in a mildly embarrassed tone.


    [What]?


    [Aether in this dungeon thing is too thick, I can''t differentiate a Statick from a Lightmare in here], she explained plainly. A grim feeling began to grow in my stomach.


    [Alright then...let''s try this then...].


    Closing my eyes to focus, I began to circulate aether into my ears to increase my hearing ability.


    As the aether began to strengthen my hearing, I listened for anything unusual that could occur underneath our feet...what I heard did not sound good.


    "Uh oh", I said aloud after a moment.


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    Picking myself up, I turned towards Bori.


    "Hey, do you happen to have any old biscuits? Harder the better", I asked.


    "Uhh...maybe?", Bori said before digging into his rutsack.


    "Oh! Looks like I do", he said as he presented me the crusty old disc of baked dough.


    With a nod of thanks, I took the biscuit, infused with aether, and tossed towards the island like I was skipping a stone. What followed was the sight and sound of tunnels collapsing inwardly from the sudden force of my aether enhanced biscuit toss.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    Boom!


    A huge amount of dust was kicked up as a result of the collapsing tunnels. As it began to clear and settle, my worst fear was confirmed.


    Right beneath was about a dozen or so Ergworms of Silver to Bronze grade, writihing about like...well worms.


    "Urp"!


    "Oh gods...".


    "Gross...".


    [Yup. That''s an Ergworm nest alright], Voxea said with a grimmace.


    It doesn''t matter how tough as nails someone is, the sight of worms writhing is... unsettling.

 Chapter 170 - Good Plan, Bad Execution

    As we stared on at the writhing mass of Ergworms, feeling differing levels of ick, a strange rumbling sound filled my ears as I felt the aether around us starting to stir.


    Several thick wisps of aether soon formed from the surrounding air and flowed into the exposed ground, causing it to reform. Additionally, a series of platforms formed a bridge behind the Gold grade Ergworm.


    "Huh".


    A moment later, the sight of the dozen or so python-sized worms writhing and wiggling was blocked out by the reformed earth. Meanwhile, the Gold grade Ergworm just slept there like nothing had happened.


    "Well then...that was disgusting", I commented aloud, "anybody have any idea how we''re supposed to get pass...this"?


    "From what I saw, a bunch of the Ergworms down there are only Bronze grade with about three or so Silver grades", Boleros said, "we could try and brute force our way through using your Blizzabella and our strongest monsters".


    "Let''s call that plan B. Normally I''d be all for that, but there''s still the Gold grader over there. If I took out Voxea, her aura would probably set off that thing''s senses and we''d have an insane brawl between it, our guys and the dozen or so little guys beneath our feet. I have no idea what''s beyond here, but something tells me it''s gonna be stronger than these Ergworms".


    The six of us then proceeded to debate and come up with a bunch of plans to try and cross this horrible worm pit.


    "Don''t some of us have flying majimonsters? We could just have them carry us across", Bori proposed.


    "I don''t think they''re strong or big enough to do that?", Albina said, shooting down the idea.


    "What about that fastball thing"?


    "Pass! Too much velocity and the impact might cause the Ergworms to react", I rejected. Honestly, I just didn''t want to go impact flying again.


    "Wait...what if we freeze the ground?", Alyra suggested, "I have Alto and Savina has Triton, combining their water power with Voxea''s ice power could make the ground solid enough to not deal with the nest beneath us".


    "That...could work", Savina agreed, "worst case, we have to fight anyways. Might as well have our biggest hitters out".


    Everyone else nodded in agreement before collectively looking at me. Technically Voxea was lynchpin to this so...


    [Think this will work]?


    [Seventy percent sure].


    [What''s the other thirty]?


    [Worm food].


    "Alright, I''m game", I replied while pulling out Voxea''s drajule.


    Following my lead, Alyra and Savina pulled out their drajules. Three summoning circles began to form in the air as we channeled our aether into our drajules.


    "Come on out, Voxea"!


    "Lead the charge, Triton"!


    "Boil them alive, Alto"!


    "Haha"!


    "Roar"!


    "Croak"!


    One after the other, each of our majimonsters exited their summoning circles and formed in front of us. Voxea came flying out of here, Triton strode forward while Alto leaped out of his.


    The newest member of our team was Alyra''s new partner, Alto the Amphiboil, a bipedal blue-red frog majimonster that had the unusual combination of Fire and Water affinity. Apparently she was given him as a gift upon entering the academy.


    The exact reason being, and I quote, "No self-respecting binder student shouldn''t have at least one majimonster".


    Not wanting to waste anymore time, Alyra and Savina had Triton proceeded to cast their Water techniques and aimed it all go the soil.


    As expected, the island of dirt became incredibly muddy and wet. Unexpectedly, all of the Ergworms became riled up by the water and began to burst out of the ground like saplings made of pink flesh.


    "Well that''s not good", I commented.


    On top of that, the Gold Grade Ergworm suddenly began to move...and towards us. The only reason I knew was due to the Fog of War suddenly flaring to life!


    "And it just got worst!", Savina called out as Triton took on a battle stance.


    The Gold Ergworm let out a shrill cry, causing all of the Ergworms that were shooting out of the ground to pause and stare at it. A series of clicking sounds followed, the Ergworms suddenly moving towards until it. A moment later, the Ergworms had organized into a tide of worms and began to charge at us.


    As Alyra, Savina and I began to steel ourselves for the upcoming battle, Bori, Boleros and Albina quickly summoned their own majimonsters.


    However, just as we were about form ranks to deal with the incoming horde, Voxea suddenly rushed out like a crossbow bolt!


    [Voxea, what''re you doing]?!


    [It''d be rude not to make use of this wonderful opportunity!], Voxea said before suddenly stopping halfway towards the charging worms, [Since we''re in an old friend''s stomping grounds, allow me to show you a spell that once made froze him in his boots]!


    With a clap of her hands, a giant blue and white spell circle manifested in front of her.


    The Ergworms charged closer and closer, all of them glowing with the power of Earth aether.


    Just as they were about to make impact, Voxea''s throat began to glow and she transmitted a single line.


    [Ymir''s Howl]!


    What followed was a sudden flash of white, a surge of cold and the roar of a being that only something the size of mountains could release.

 Chapter 171 - Into the Keep!

    [Whoopsies, was I too loud]?


    [A little], I complained while making sure my hearing and eyesight were still intact. It''s a good thing majimonster techniques become weirdly selective during battles, otherwise I''d be deaf or blind by now.


    "What was that?!", I heard Albina shout.


    "I think it was some kind of technique", Bori explained, "Whatever Voxea did, it was a really powerful one".


    "Wait...shouldn''t we still be in the Fog of War",Boleros asked.


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    As my vision came back into focus, the whiteness turning back into shapes and colors, I finally saw what had shocked Savina.


    "Well...that''s horrifying".


    Standing before us were the dozen or so charging Ergworms, frozen solid...well, hollow ice statues of them anyways. It was an oddly comforting thought that the dungeon still follows the "rules" when it comes to majimonsters.


    I just didn''t expect Voxea''s techniques to be so devastating, and judging from the looks on my friend''s faces, neither did they.


    "Well then", I began in an attempt to try and get my friends to stop gawking at the horrorfying ice sculptures, "our path appears to have been cleared. Let''s move on, shall we"?


    I proceeded to put on a brave face and walked forward, carefully avoiding the hollow ice sculptures as to not disturb and suddenly break them. The majimonsters that used to be in them were gone, but a part of me didn''t want to touch them.


    My friends hesitated for a bit before quickly following.


    As we reached the end of the island and arrived at the path of floating rocks, we realized that it wasn''t a singular path but a crossroad of three.


    To the left and right of us, I could make out larger floating islands with the left covered in what appeared to be crystal spires while the right looked like a rock pockmarked with over a dozen or so holes.


    Directly in front of us, the path lead directly to the strange looking castle.


    The six of us stood there and discussed for a bit about our next course of action before taking the risk of just going to the weird castle.


    The logic behind our rationale?


    It was big, painfully obvious full of something neat and Voxea had a gut feeling there was probably good loot inside.


    [Like I said, maji are creatively straightforward. Mutated aether gathering circle aren''t excused from this logic].


    Destination in mind, we strode forward towards the strange castle.


    The rocks leading to the other two islands floated away as we walked forward, meaning we couldn''t change our minds now that we reached this point of no return.


    As we got closer, Voxea began to comment on the castle''s design.


    [Tiered shingle roof, animal statues and strange pillars...yup, I think I know who established this circle].


    [Oh]?


    [The Clay Overlord].


    [The who]?


    [Well, he used to be the"Clay Puppeteer". He was this crazy coot of a maji who specialized in Geomancy, earth magic, but he lacked the raw might and stamina that most other earth maji had].


    [And that''s an issue because...], I asked and prompted.


    [Earth maji need to be as immovable as mountains, be able to cut through deserts and throw boulders as easily as a child can throw a piece of cheese], Voxea explained, [all these feats require a maji practicing earth magic to be as steady and as strong as their element].


    [Huh...so how did he get the name "Clay Overlord" then]?


    [ The Clay Overlord lacked the sheer might of most other geomancers, instead he had a wicked sharp eye, incredibly graceful hands and surprising aptitude with clay and mud, soft earth if you will. I imagine if his aptitude was different, he would have made an excellent water or air maji], Voxea said going on a tangent.


    [Ok that explains the clay bit...what about the Overlord part]?


    [Well, what''s an overlord without his soldiers? The Clay Overlord was able to use his magic to make and control countless number of clay puppets at will, hence his old title as the Puppeteer. From simple constructed beasts of burden to elaborate archers, his clay army tactics made him a terror to face. Once everyone started making majimonsters, he tried to animate his clay soldiers in the same manner. It worked incredibly well, hence he changed his moniker from "Puppeteer" to "Overlord"].


    [Huh...neat].


    Just as Voxea finished her exposition on who this dungeon belonged, we had arrived at the front gate of the strange mountain castle.


    Unfortunately, the massive stone gate that served as the entrance was closed.


    "So...how are we going to get in?", Savina asked.


    I was about to suggesting smashing it open, but as if sensing my intent or Savina''s question, a strange rumbling sound occured.


    *RUMBLE* *SCRAAAAAAAAPEEE*


    The massive stone doors slowly opened, revealing a darkened corridor that slowly became brighter as balls of flame manifested out of nowhere and began floating in place.


    "Well that''s...ominous", I commented.


    [Looks like things are gonna get fun~]

 Chapter 172 - Terrorcotta Soldiers

    "Well this place is absolutely...".


    "Unsettling".


    "Yup".


    Entering the keep and into what I assumed to be the main hall, we couldn''t help but feel incredibly uneasy about our surroundings.


    The hall was bright enough for us to see where we were going and make out details on the wall and pillars, but also dim enough that made everything unsettling and made me think there were majimonsters are traps hiding within the shadows.


    Decorating the walls, I could make out elaborate carvings of people, landscapes and animals. If I had to guess, it was either a decorative mural or a historical event. As for what event they depicted...I wasn''t sure.


    Voxea had taught me a lot about the history of the Old Empire, from the emperors that used to rule, the other nations and empires that they had fought and traded with, as well as the numerous rivalries that occured among the maji and their factions.


    This particular mural, as Voxea puts it, "Looks like something that probably occured while I was stuck inside my ice coffin".


    "Hey, check these things out", someone called out.


    Going towards the noise, we saw Alyra standing in the doorway of a room at the end of the meeting hall. I initially couldn''t make out what had surprised Alyra, but as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I was rather shocked by the sight.


    "That''s a lot of statues", Boleros commented.


    Standing before us was a large, wide chamber filled with over a dozen or so statues in the shape of soldiers. The soldiers were lined up in a neat, square formation, giving off the feeling that they were professionals waiting for their commander to give orders. On the other side of these statues, I could make out another door.


    "I guess we go this way", Bori said as he walked into the room. The rest of us followed shortly after.


    Despite their lack of coloring, each of the soldiers were made with a surprisingly good attention detail. Their armor looked supple yet rigid, the facial features were surprisingly on point and the weapons they wielded looked surprisingly intricate and deadly.


    Upon closer inspection, I could make out that they were all made of clay.


    [Terracotta], Voxea suddenly said as she floated over to one of the soldiers.


    [Pardon]?


    [The materials these soldiers are made of. It''s a fancy way of saying "baked earth", basically they''re all made of a type of baked clay], Voxea explained as she patted one of the soldiers, [if I recall correctly, the Clay Overlord made use of this stuff for a majority of his works. I think his reasoning was that this stuff was quicker and easier to make than other clay materials].


    [Other clay materials? Like what?], I asked.


    [Stoneware, porcelain, bone porcelain, he did make use of that stuff sure, but that I recall he kept for his more "artistic" projects. Something about them being a pain to mold with just magic], she explained.


    I was about to ask how clay could be a pain to work with, when I heard a small yelp of surprise coming from behind me. The source of the yelp was Savina.


    "What''s the matter"?


    "One of the statues just tried to grab me", she said while pointing at one of the terracotta soldiers.


    The soldier statue had a stoic face and was wielding a large glaive, like the kind I''ve seen militiamen carried, in one hand while the other hand was hanging limp. I would normally be inclined to ignore such a thing as a trick of the light, but were we in a magical dungeon created by the remnants of a geomancer...


    [Hey Voxea, is your ability to sense majimonsters still acting weird]?


    [Afraid so].


    [Hmmm, I''m gonna try something real quick...], I said as I activated my Dragon''s Eye.


    Aether began to flow into my eye, as it quickly confirmed my susipcion that the statue did try to grab Savina, because it was a majimonster in disguise, and one I had no idea about, but Voxea knew quite well.


    _________________________________________________


    Species Name: Terrorcotta Soldier


    Affinities: Earth/Fury


    Grade: Silver


    Traits: Mimic, Armed


    Description: Unknown


    Voxea''s notes: An early product of the Clay Overlord, Terrorcotta Soldiers were, in his words, an attempt to instill demons into the bodies of soldiers. Fury aether as their blood, Earth aether as their bones and terracotta as their flesh, Terrorcotta Soldiers are mechanical killers. I remember hearing rumors that the Clay Overlord had managed to instill other affinities in some of his soldiers, but I never got around to investigating that claim...


    _________________________________________________


    *CRACK!*


    "Silvia! Look out"!


    As quickly as I finished learning about the Terrorcotta Soldiers, the statue I had been staring at suddenly sprang to life and swung it''s massive halberd towards me!


    [I don''t think so!], Voxea exclaimed as she swung a glowing Ice aether fist at the attacking soldier. Her action had caused the Fog of War to kick in, and I could sense it''s magic suddenly protecting me from the halberd swing.


    Before the Fog of War completely took over my mind I managed to give out a single warning.


    "Call out your monsters, we got enemies"!

 Chapter 173 - Cracking Clay Skulls

    As the Fog of War overcame my senses, I could faintly make out that the other Terrorcotta Soldiers in the room were starting to stir and attack my friends.


    [Voxea, let''s end this fast].


    [Please, it''ll be over in one move]!


    I could only hope they heard me in time. I had a feeling this won''t be as easy as Voxea thought.


    _________________________________________________


    Savinas'' Perspective


    [Triton! Engage the Enemy]!


    [Roger]!


    At Savina''s command, a hulking humanoid covered head to toe in seashell like armor rushed shield first at an attacking clay soldier armed with a clay sword and shield.


    Facing the charge, the Terrorcotta Soldier readied its own shield and charged forward.


    *Bang*!


    The Fog of War began to stir as the two warriors clashed shields. Bounding off each others blows, the two warrior-like majimonsters separated after the initial clash.


    [Hydro Piercer]!


    After Triton regained his footing, the Shellvalier''s trident began to glow with a blue aura, Water aether gathering at the tip of it''s prongs. With a mighty roar, Triton thrusted forward and launched three lances of water straight at the Terrorcotta Soldier.


    Sensing impending doom, the Terrorcotta Soldier readied his shield again and threw up a defensive Earth technique that took on the form of a huge stone wall.


    _________________________________________________


    Bori''s Battle


    "Bwah? Wha"!


    "Bwooooo"!


    Silvia''s cry of warning came just in time as a clay soldier armed with a massive club swung downwards at me.


    Rolling out of the way, I prepared the drajule in my tusk to summon my biggest hitter.


    "Take him down Ulvor"!


    Wisps of red and brown aether flew out of mouth until they condensed to form a summoning formation for my trusty Eruptodon.


    The Fog of War came over me as the the familiar heat of rage and magic came rushing out to the circle and towards the offending sculpture!


    [Magma Rush]!


    [SMASH]!


    _________________________________________________


    Albina''s Point of View


    Are you freaking kidding me?!


    Just as the brewer girl''s warning came, a guan dao made of clay came swinging at my head!


    I dropped to the ground as the guan dao got itself stuck in one of the inert terracotta soldiers.


    Awfully clever of the dungeon to mix in live monsters with a bunch of duds.


    Prepping my pipe, I set my aether flowing to Indigo''s drajule.


    I had a feeling this toy soldier wouldn''t be able to handle her tricky attacks.


    I took a deep inhalation of my pipe, aether bouncing in my lungs, and let out a huge cloud of smoke, a summoning array shimmering inside of it.


    [Stupefy them Indigo. Telekinetic Bolt].


    [As you...command...].


    The smoke quickly condensed into Indigo''s shape, her accessories materializing before the rest of her.


    Indigo quickly formed a spear of purple energy and launched it at the clay soldier, causing several loud cracking sounds.


    This was going to be fun.


    _________________________________________________


    Alyra and Boleros Double Team


    As soon as Silvia let out her warning, a trio of Terrorcotta Soldiers, two armed with spears while the third carried a crossbow, sprung to life and charged at the siblings.


    "Boleros"!


    "I heard her, sis. Drajules out, now"!


    [Tenor, Rampage]!


    [Boil them alive, Alto! Water Claw]!


    A pair of summoning circles, one made of Fire and Water symbols while the other made of Earth and Furt, manifested in the air as the siblings prepared to meet their clay opponents head on.


    Alto the Amphiboil leaped straight out of Alyra''s summoning circle and towards the crossbow wielding soldier. Water aether enveloped his webbed hands until they condensed into a pair of massive water claws that he proceeded to use to rip into his opponent''s earthen face.


    From Boleros'' summoning circle came charging a hyena-like majimonster with rust red fur and teeth of forged iron.


    This majimonster was an Ferroena, and was formerly merged with Boleros back when they were the Bultungin.


    [Valdos, Savage Fang]!


    Fury aether began wreathe the Ferroena before condensing into his teeth, giving them a savage orange color.


    The Ferroena quickly latched onto the leg of one of the spearmen, a horrible crunching sound filling the area.


    Before the Terrorcotta Soldier could let out a yelp of pain, Valdos proceeded to swing him like a club towards the other soldier, sending the two flying into a wall.


    "This is my first proper fight as legitimate binder", Boleros thought, "I better make sure not to put my training to waste".


    [Valdos, Fury Wheel]!


    _________________________________________________


    [These cheating toy soldiers!], Voxea complained, [Face me one on one like real warriors]!


    Voxea quickly dispatched yet another Terrorcotta Soldier with a single Mystic-infused punch, but two more had already taken it''s place.


    After that initial soldier had attacked, Voxea had quickly taken it out as promised.


    However, before we could make our way to help out our friends, two more soldiers had come to life and attacked us.


    Voxea had quickly dispatched them as well, only for four of them to show up.


    Now, we were facing about eight of them and I was getting sick of this.


    [Wait a minute, didn''t you say these Terrorcotta things follow army tactics]?


    [I did. The Clay Overlord couldn''t coordinate all of his new majimonsters by himself, so he put more effort in making stronger ones to act like leaders], Voxea answered as she grabbed one of the soldiers by the waist. She then proceeded to launch it towards another in some kind of wrestling maneuver. Judging by the purple pop of energy, she had infused the throw with some Mystic aether.


    [Then like an actual army, shouldn''t we take out the leader?], I asked.


    [Oh...yeah that''d be faster], Voxea replied as she began to shoulder mount another soldier and slam both of her palms into the side of it''s head. The Terrorcotta Soldier''s head was now encased in ice.


    [I don''t know which one it is though], Voxea stated as she dismounted and kicked the soldier she was riding into a pair of them that were trying to charge her, [I can''t detect aether in here].


    [I know, I know. Just leave it to me], I said as I began to make use of my Dragon''s Eye to identify if they were any other majimonsters in the area.

 Chapter 174 - Terrorcotta Lord

    [Come on...where is this damn thing?!], I cursed as I ran around the battlefield, analyzing every statue within the Fog of War.


    [Did you find the leader yet?], Voxea asked while holding a Terrorcotta Soldier in an arm lock, [I''m getting bored and I swear these guys are multiplying]. Another Terrorcotta Soldier was about to swing it''s sword down at Voxea''s head, only for Voxea to suddenly flip upwards and slam the soldier she was holding in the arm lock into it.


    She then proceeded to land on her feet and blast a burst of ice towards another charging Soldier, sealing them in a block of ice.


    [I may have a monster''s stamina, but even I might run out of steam eventually], Voxea said as she did a back flip onto the shoulders of another monster, [Or one of these idiots get a lucky shot in]. Voxea''s fists glowed purple for a moment right before she smashed them both into the skull of the monster she was riding. The soldier immediately turned into aether from the devastating blow.


    [I am try-Wait! I think I found it!], I said as my Dragon''s Eye began to act up when I used it on a standing statue armed with a spear that had armor that looked slightly different from the rest.


    [Oh that can''t be good], I commented as the information began to flow into my eye.


    _________________________________________________


    Species Name: Terrorcotta Lord - Piercer


    Affinities: Earth/Fury


    Grade: Gold


    Traits: Mimic, Armed, Yellow Thunder Jade Heart


    Description: Unknown


    Voxea''s notes:


    Crusher, Cutter, Piercer, Lasher and Chopper.


    When the Clay Overlord was alive, it was known that among his Terrorcotta Soldiers were several unusual "generals" that seemed to have looks and abilities that were...non-standard for their model.


    These generals had weapons that were rather exotic in comparison to their "mundane" counterparts and were able to exhibit elemental abilities that deviated greatly from Earth and Fury. It was also believed that their mere existence could cause other, weaker monsters under their command to suddenly grow stronger.


    Piercer was considered "The Swiftest" due to its ability to channel the power of Lighting through the yellow elemental jade embedded in it''s core. It was said his spear could hit like a lighting bolt, literally and figuratively.


    _________________________________________________


    [Voxea! It''s this guy! Here!], I said as I pointed out the statue and moved out of the way.


    [Got it], Voxea replied as she disengaged a sword-wielding Terrorcotta Soldier armed with a sword by kicking it in the stomach.


    Turning to face the unusual statue, Voxea manifested a large spell circle that radiated Wind aether, while pulling a fist back.


    [Twister Ram]!


    Voxea punched forward into the spell circle, causing it to a ripple for a moment. Immediately afterwards, a huge ram''s head made of Wind aether came flying out of the spell circle like a cannon ball, aimed directly at the Terrorcotta Lord.


    As the ram head flew onward, it left a literal trail of destruction as the intense wind pressure shattered statues and knocked Terrorcotta Soldiers left and right.


    I was fairly certain that this attack was going to reduce this Terrorcotta Lord to rubble, up until I felt the aether levels suddenly spike.


    I''m not sure how other maji and binders detect this stuff, but to me, it sounded like rumbling thunder happening right next to my head.


    [What was that]?!


    [Oh ho ho! It appears our opponent is deciding to honor is with his full attention!], Voxea answered with a vicious smile, [Things are about to get interesting]!


    As the ram head got closer and closer, the Terrorcotta Lord suddenly rushed directly . I could quite literally feel this thing circulating Earth aether within itself and somehow converting it into Lighting aether. The aether then gathered into the spear, giving it a dense, dangerous glow.


    Once it got into range, Piercer lunged his spear forward and released a bolt of lightning that pierced the ram-like tornado.


    A loud bang followed by a burst of aether that nearly blinded me happened when the conflicting energies collided with one another. An absurd amount of dust and rock was kicked up as a result.


    If it wasn''t for the Fog of War, I''m pretty sure I''d be either full of holes from all the debris or actually blind by now.


    [You okay Silvia?], Voxea chimed in as the room darkened once more.


    [Yeah], I replied while blinking a few times, [I was not expecting that].


    [Well look alive my darling apprentice, I might actually need your help for this one], Voxea said as she took on a fighting stance. Unusually, Voxea condensed a glaive made of ice before entering her fighting stance.


    [Wait, what? Why?], I asked confused.


    [Because he''s getting serious].


    As the dust began to settle, the semi-broken form of the Terrorcotta Lord began to make itself clearer.


    Aside from being covered in cracks from head to toe, I could see chunk of it''s armor and body falling off of it. The spear it was holding, however, looked surprisingly immaculate...and glowy.


    Normally, I would assume a majimonster in such a state would be close to being one with the aether again, but Voxea''s warning had me concerned.


    *CRACK*! *THWACK*!


    Seeing the Terrorcotta Lord suddenly whack itself with it''s spear had me a extra concerned.


    [What the hell is it doing]?!


    [Shedding some weight], Voxea calmly replied, [Those chunks falling off of it is just excess materials that had gathered on it over the years. I imagine it has been a rather long time since it had a proper fight].


    {She''s right}, a smooth yet grinding voice suddenly commented, {It''s been a very, very long time since I had a proper duel}.


    [How is he doing that?!], I asked while taking a more defensive posture. The bond between binder and majimonster is suppose to be untouchable, so this thing suddenly chiming in on our conversation is downright terrifying.


    It didn''t help that he punctuated his words while smashing parts of himself.


    {And I have been very}, he said while smashing a chunk of his shoulder.


    {Very}, while smashing part of his hip.


    {Bored}, he said while smashing his face.


    "Oh...that is not good".

 Chapter 175 - Evolving Danger

    [Now there''s the Terrorcotta Lord I heard about!], Voxea told me with a smile, [And I hear I thought he was full of smoke]!


    The Terrorcotta Lord - Piercer looked remarkably different once he had completely smashed away the outer layer of clay chunks that had covered it''s form.


    Gone was the standard armor that the other statues were wearing, gone was the faded clay texture from head to toe and gone was the stiffness that I had seen in the other majimonsters.


    Standing before the two of us now was a strangely lean, intimidating figure. While the Terrorcotta Soldiers looked more like figures and dolls, moving with the same stiffness as such, the Terrorcotta Lord moved unnaturally fluid. Every subtle movement seemed a bit too... perfect.


    Its armor looked less like clay and more like a strange yellow metal, ornate and decorated with all manner of embellishments from bolts of lightning to depictions of serpentine majimonsters with long whiskers and antlers. Coupled with the spear wreathed Lightning aether, I was reminded of those "storm gods" that I saw some people worship to back at the capital.


    But the thing that freaked me out the most, was its face.


    Now, I am aware of humanoid majimonsters and I can''t really complain due to my association with Voxea, a literal human turned majimonster, but this was different.


    The Terrorcotta Lord''s face made me uncomfortable to look at directly. It had this weird mixture of looking human enough to make me think it was a person, but there were so many minute flaws that I unconsciously took a step back. The glowing yellow eyes full of power didn''t help either.


    The Terrorcotta Lord Piercer took a fighting stance as Voxea and I watched on, leveling his spear towards Voxea.


    {Shall we dance?}, the smooth voice of the Terrorcotta Lord echoing in my head.


    Voxea followed suit, taking her own stance and holding the ice glaive with grace.


    [Yes], she replied, [Let us begin].


    As Voxea and Piercer stood their ground, I could hear the aether becoming more and more agitated, alongside the sudden addition of newer, more discordant sounds.


    _________________________________________________


    A furious clash of metal against metal echoed throughout the hall as Triton and the Terrorcotta Soldier locked weapon and shield against one another. The two were evenly matched...but not for long.


    As the two kept exchanging blows, a sudden change occured in aether that set off Savina''s instincts. In that same moment, she noticed that the Terrorcotta Soldier she was fighting was starting to glow a very strange color.


    [Something''s up. Triton, disengage and hunker]!


    [Right], Triton replied as he shoved his opponent back and entered a defensive position.


    Once the two were separated, the Terrorcotta Soldier stopped moving and went into a standing position. The glow enveloping the majimonster started to become denser and denser before completely covering it head to toe in a dense layer of aether.


    Right before their eyes, the form of the Terrorcotta Soldier began to change, becoming larger, denser, broader and horns starting to grow out of the side of it''s head.


    As the light began to subside, the once humanoid soldier became significantly more bestial in appearance, a bull-like head replacing it''s helmeted visage and a heavy great axe replacing it''s sword and shield.


    [What the-]


    But before Silvia could finish her thought, the ox-headed soldier suddenly rushed Triton and knocked him straight into a wall.


    [Ouch], Triton thought as he made impact with the wall. Chunks of clay and stone collapsed upon him.


    [Triton! Are you okay?!], Savina shouted through the bond as she rushed over to her partners'' side. Aether began to circulate as she willed it into a healing technique to restore his health.


    A gentle light enveloped the Shellvalier before he managed to free himself from the rubble that had fallen upon him.


    [Fine. Strong], he thought as he prepared his trident and shield to meet his newly changed opponent.


    The ox-headed soldier let out a brutal snort at the Shellvalier''s defiance.


    _________________________________________________


    [Last one! Volcanic Stomp!], Bori commanded while slamming a fist into his open palm.


    "SQUEEEE"!


    Ulvor let out a bloodthirsty roar as he stomped down a hoof towards a Terrorcotta Soldier armed with a spear. The ground suddenly began to crack towards the soldier as Earth and Fire aether surged along with it.


    But before the attack could make contact, a sudden change overcame the Terrorcotta Soldier.


    The soldier inexplicably began crouching before glowing a strange yellow color. As the light became denser and denser, it''s body began to elongate as a pair of long ears sprouted out of the top of it''s head. The spear in it''s hand breaking into two medium sized sticks.


    Just as the technique was about to hit the transforming soldier, it suddenly leaped an inhuman distance into the air.


    A small eruption of lava shot upward, but narrowly missed the leaping soldier.


    As it sailed through the air, the light faded away, revealing that the Terrorcotta Soldier had become some kind of rabbit man. The rabbit man then proceeded to condense a chunk of Earth aether at its feet and use it as a platform to launch himself at the Eruptodon.


    [Uh oh].


    _________________________________________________


    [Smoke Double, now]!


    [Of course...].


    Indigo''s form began to waver as the smoke composing her body suddenly dispersed into a thick cloud. The cloud quickly condensed into several clones of the Djinncense that began to fly around in erratic patterns.


    Indigo''s opponent, a Terrorcotta Soldier that suddenly took on the visage of a hawk-man armed with a whip looked incredibly annoyed at having to deal with multiple targets now.


    With annoyed screech, the hawk-man flapped it''s wings and launched a spray of clay feathers that pierced the clones like a shower of arrows.


    However, he didn''t expect that Indigo would not be mixed in with the clones, but had floated to a blindspot beneath.


    [Bl.u.s.ter]!


    _________________________________________________


    Alyra and Boleros had managed to aether one of the melee Terrorcotta Soldiers, leaving only one ranged and one melee one left for them to defeat.


    They were feeling rather confident at this moment.


    [Searing Bolt]! [Savage Fang]!


    The Amphiboil glowed dark red before spitting out a glob of flame straight at the sword wielding soldier. At the same time, the Ferroena rushed toward the one armed with a crossbow, it''s fangs glowing with Fury.


    But as the two attacks were about to make contact, the two soldiers suddenly transformed.


    The one Alto the Amphiboil was about to burn suddenly turned into a strange turtle-man with shells on it''s arms acting as big shields. These shields effortlessly blocked the fire bolt like it was nothing but a spark on the ground.


    On the other hand, just as Valdos was about to crunch down, a large snake tail made of clay suddenly whipped him across the face. The Terrorcotta Soldier he was aiming for had changed into a serpent man, complete with snake tail for legs.


    [I don''t remember learning that in class].

 Chapter 176 - The Knight Remembers

    The Ox-headed Terrorcotta Soldier let out a bone shaking roar before charging directly towards Triton. It''s entire body glowed with orange light before gathering at the head of his great axe weapon. Once it got closer enough, it swung with an absurd amount of force and launched a blade of energy toward Triton.


    [Triton! Aqua Shield]!


    [Right]!


    The Shellvalier slammed his shield on the ground and began to circulate Water aether throughout its structure.


    The nautilus shell-like shield was soon coated in a thick layer of water that took on the form of an even more elaborate shield.


    *BBWOOOSSSHH-SHKKKK*


    As blade and shield collided with one another, a horrible, deafening sound followed by shockwaves rocked the surrounding area.


    Triton was preparing to knock the energy blade away and counterattack, but the Ox-headed soldier had other plans in mind.


    Just as Triton managed to knock away the attack, the Ox-headed Terrorcotta Soldier bull rushed him once more. But instead of knocking the Shellvalier into a wall, it knocked him to the ground.


    [Triton!], Savina cried out in fear.


    Before Triton could get back onto his feet, the Terrorcotta Soldier stomped a heavy hoofed foot onto his chest. With the Shellvalier locked into place, the soldier raised his axe for a finishing blow.


    [Feels...Familiar...].


    _________________________________________________


    Long before that fateful day, in a land much different from today.


    Once upon a time, there was a little harbor town called Enbarr''s Reach.


    In the days of the Old Empire, Enbarr''s Reach was under a different name and was a port town. It was a prosperous, peaceful place... until the dragons rampaged.


    The town would''ve been sunk had it not been the intervention of a certain majimonster, the town''s namesake in fact, but that is neither here nor there.


    What was important, however, was that in this little town, a certain family was performing an important coming-of-age ceremony.


    "Nera", a matronly lady adorned in sea blue robes began to say, "You are now of age and as is tradition, you will be bestowed a bound drajule to see if you are worthy of being a member of the Inner Branch. Are you ready"?


    "Yes mo-matriach", a young girl kneeling before her replied in earnest. If one were to see this ceremony from afar, they would notice that the one running it and the one participating, had strikingly similar features.


    The matron proceeded to produce a jade box from the confines of her robe and pull out a deep blue drajule that pulsated with life and aether, a clear sign that something was bound inside of it.


    "As is tradition, I present to you, your first majimonster", the matron said as she held the crystal like scepter and placed it in front of the girl.


    The young girl hesitated for a moment before grabbing it. When she did, the drajule glowed to life along with herself, a sign that a contract had been established.


    "This majimonster is known as a Shellvalier", the matron said, a hint of relief on her face, "may he serve you as faithfully as a knight of old".


    "From now on, your name is Triton", the young girl said with a smile as she held the drajule close to her chest.


    Deep within the drajule, the Shellvalier felt something warm inside of it.


    _________________________________________________


    A year or so before that fateful day.


    Far and away, in a forest untouched by man, a young binder was in the midst of a battle with a bear-like majimonster known as a Stalagamaul.


    ROAR!


    The Stalagamaul swung wildly at it''s a opponent, a huge knight-like majimonster with seashells for armor, a great trident and a nautilus shell shaped shield. Unfortunately for the bear, the shield was a bit too tough.


    "Come on Triton! Use Aqua Strike!", the young woman with a fierce yet noble bearing commanded.


    Her partner, Triton the Shellvalier, roared in agreement as he thrusted out a trident wreathed in Water aether.


    The mighty weapon struck true and pierced the Stalagamaul in it''s stomach, blood flying and mixing with the water.


    "Gaoo...".


    The blow proved fatal for the Stalagamaul, as the earth bear slowly returned to aether after Triton had removed his weapon.


    The young woman let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground as the Fog of War began to disappear. Stamina was a surprisingly important about majimonster battling, she only wished someone had told her earlier.


    "Good job, Triton", the woman said between breaths, "You''re shaping up to be one great warrior".


    The Shellvalier couldn''t talk at this time, but he could feel the gratitude radiating from the one he called "master". Unable to express his thanks in words, he radiate his own feelings of gratitude while kneeling before like a knight before his lady. He didn''t know why he did it, it just felt right to him.


    Seeing her long time friend kneeling before her, she reached out a hand began to gently rub the Shellvalier''s helmeted head.


    "Thank you for sticking with me for so long Triton. You''re a true friend...".


    Even though her words her kind and true, there was a hidden sadness in it that only he could vaguely find.


    _________________________________________________


    That fateful day.


    Deep within a valley, where spring and winter danced together.


    A girl


    Her knight


    And a devil fought under pale moonlight.


    The knight fought hard/as best he could/trident and shield drenched in power.


    But it was all for naught/for the devil was too much.


    The knight could not match it''s speed/ he could not match it''s wits/and his power proved useless, against a devil just out of reach.


    The knight was soon pinned under jagged claw, his princess looking on in horror, as the devil began to tighten it''s grip.


    The knight has long been mute/Never been able to utter a word/ but under pale moon light/ he said a single word.


    [Run].


    And then...the knight disappeared.


    _________________________________________________


    As the Ox-headed Terrorcotta Soldier was readying to swing down its axe, repeating a history Triton once suffered, the Shellvalier turned to see Savina with a horrified look on her face.


    [Familiar...], he thought as something in him began to stir.


    Would he allow his opponent the satisfaction of defeating him?


    No


    Would he allow his new master, his new friend, his new princess the indignity of watching him fall once more?


    No


    Would he allow himself to be defeated and rendered useless, while feeling the life of his partner slowly fade?


    No!


    Feeling his rage, the aether around Triton began to churn in a violent manner and flow into the Shellvalier. Newfound power began to enhance his shield and trident as a strange idea began to form inside his mind.


    The Terrorcotta Soldier released a mighty bellow as it swung it''s axe downward, but as he did, a single technique name was transmitted to Savina from Triton.


    [Tidal...Reversal]!


    Before the axe could hit it''s mark, the Terrorcotta Soldier was blasted with a geyser of sea water.

 Chapter 177 - The Siblings Fight on

    In another corner of the room, a furious battle between an Amphiboil and a Ferroena vs pair of strange clay majimonsters, one looking like a strange turtle-man, the other looking like a snake-man.


    [Alto, Leap]!


    [Valdos, Fury Flow]!


    HISSS!


    GOOOO!


    The turtle-man Terrorcotta Soldier''s shell-shield arms glowed with the power of the Earth as he slammed both of his fists into the ground. The ground began to bubble and swell from the sudden injection of aether, before launching forward as a torrent of rock and dirt at the Amphiboil.


    As the wave of rock and dirt came rushing towards him, Alto the Amphiboil began to condense aether into his legs, strengthening them to an absurd degree.


    Right before the Earth technique could hit him, Alto leaped into the air and towards the turtle soldier, repositioning himself to be right behind him.


    At the same, the snake-man Terrorcotta Soldier''s tail glowed for a bit before the very tip of it became covered in an jagged obsidian shell.


    In response, an orange aura began to envelop Valdos the Ferroena as a strange, savage focus began to overcome it''s mind.


    The snake-man began to rapidly stab at the Ferroena with it''s new tail, releasing a flurry of blows reminiscent of a wall of shifting spear.


    However, none of the spears met it''s mark.


    The Ferroena was nimbly avoiding the obsidian spear tail as it made moves to rush pass the snake-man. A few stabs did hit him, but nothing fatal and leaving only the faintest of scratches upon it''s hide.


    Valdos had managed to rush pass the snake-man''s attack and was now standing side by side with Alto, who had landed at the spot a little earlier.


    The two were surprisingly nimble in their ability to avoid their opponent''s techniques, but they couldn''t keep this up forever.


    Alyra and Boleros both knew that they had to take down these two Terrorcotta Soldiers, or else they would interfere with the other battles raging around them. The problem was that both of these soldiers were their own monsters'' natural enemy.


    Even though elemental affinity plays a role in determining the ultimate and loser in a battle between majimonsters, sometimes it''s the more natural and martial elements that render these advantages moot.


    Neither side had a clear affinity advantage over the other, but they did have bad match-ups.


    While the turtle-man was slow and made it an easy target for Alto''s ranged techniques, it''s turtle shell armor made it borderline impossible for any of Alto''s attacks to do any real damage. Combined with the fact that it could fire back it''s own ranged techniques meant that it could easily outlast Alto in a battle of attrition.


    On the flip side, the snake-man was a softer, larger target meaning that Valdos could inflict some serious damage with his techniques. The problem was that it was surprisingly good at rapidly moving parts of it''s body in strange, evasive ways. Due to a majority of Valdos'' techniques being melee, everytime Valdos tried to strike at it, it could simply avoid it and counterattack.


    In essence, the siblings would lose this battle...if they stuck with their respective opponents.


    One of the mains reasons binders are encouraged to travel the Wildlands in teams as opposed to solo, was due to the simple fact that not every binder is equipped to deal with secret single problem that can occur.


    Sometimes the best solution, is let someone more qualified take over.


    Despite the Fog of War engrossing their senses to battle, the siblings managed to get a brief window of time to quickly convey their thoughts with one another.


    [Alto, Steam!], Alyra commanded


    At Alyra''s command, Alto released a mighty croak as his throat sac expanded. His whole body began to glow with the power of Fire aether, an unusually sharp contrast with the blue Water symbol forming on his throat.


    The Amphiboil released a huge cloud of steam that blinded both of the Terrorcotta Soldiers while enshrouding himself and Valdos with it.


    Sensing the incoming danger, the turtle-man and the snake-man went back to back in order to limit their bindspots.


    As they waited for Alto and Valdos to make a move, the two Terrorcotta Soldiers prepared their own techniques to counter when they could.


    [Ember Bolt! Aim for the head]!


    The Amphiboil''s red outline manifested directly in front of the snake-man, followed by a missile of ash and smoke that flew directly at it.


    The turtle-man tried to rotate and intercept the incoming missile, but was soon interrupted by a charging Ferroena.


    [Red Line! Rage Fang]!


    Valdos'' body began to glow dark orange as, red pulsating veins began to appear on it''s body.


    In the blink of an eye, before the turtle-man could even think to launch an attack, the Ferroena had already charged into it and bite into it''s neck with it''s Fury infused iron fangs. The Terrorcotta turtle tried to use it''s arms to break free from the death grip, but alas, it''s defenses were built to withstand ranged techniques, not the furious strength of a hyena.


    With the shield out of the way, Alto''s ember missile flew fast and hot at the snake-man''s head. The snake-man used it''s usual tactic of quickly moving segments of it''s body, but didn''t account for the fact that missiles tend to still hurt even if it misses it''s intended target.


    The ember missile did not hit the snake-man''s head, but had impacted it''s tail and had caused some decent damage with scorch marks to boot.


    [I just had an idea! Ember Bolt barrage]!


    Alto was initially confused at his master''s command until their bond had managed to convey what exactly she had in mind. A cruel smile grew on his face, pleased by the idea.


    The Amphiboil began to use the [Ember Bolt] technique again, but just before he let the missile loose, Alyra began to channel her aether into him.


    [And...now]!


    CROAK!


    Alto released a mighty croak as he spat out a huge, surprisingly slow glob of burning embers at the snake-man.


    It was all set to dodge the slow missile, but it did not expect that the glob of embers would suddenly explode mid flight and go from a single, easy to dodge missile, to a literal barrage of fire and doom.

 Chapter 178 - Champion Thinking

    [Magma Rush]!


    "SQUEEEE"!


    Ulvor the Eruptodon''s body glowed a dark red color as the lava flowing in his veins began to pump even faster than before. Heat and smoke began to radiate even more violently off of his body moments before he rapidly charged forward, the momentum akin to a boulder rolling down a mountainside.


    The rabbit-man Terrorcotta Soldier didn''t panic when it saw the charging volcanic hog, but instead took on a fighting stance and crouched low, a faint orange glow surrounding it''s body. White motes of aether began to build up around the rabbit-man''s leg, indicating that it was preparing a technique.


    Undeterred, Ulvor kept rushing forward, the thought of crushing this jumpy rodent pleasing it greatly.


    But just as he got within striking distance of the rabbit-man, the rabbit-man suddenly leaped forward and by-passed the incoming charge.


    Bori felt a sympathetic sharp pain crawling up his left flank, mirroring the stick jab that the rabbit-man was inflicting on Ulvor.


    [Oi, that smarts! Cauterize]!


    Ulvor''s body began to glow red once more as Fire aether condensed at the starting point of the jagged wound on his side. As the rabbit-mans''s stick kept opening the wound further and further, the Fire aether gathered by the [Cauterize] technique did it''s best to close it up.


    The rabbit-man and Ulvor eventually finished passing by one another, leaving the latter with a significantly smaller but still annoying wound on its side, while the former looked barely phased.


    The situation looked rather grim if this kept up. This lead to Bori to rapidly think through what he could do in order to win.


    [Come on Bori, you gotta figure out how to beat this guy], Bori thought to himself, [You can''t bring out Zola, her affinity is a bad match-up, so you gotta use an ability to even the odds...even if you''re only lightly trained in them...].


    When not going on dangerous adventures and risking life and limb with his friends, Bori was usually training and learning to be a type of binder known as a Knight, more specifically, a Champion.


    Champions are able to modify the bonds they have with their majimonsters, allowing the binder to empower their partners in more specific ways.


    Bori had recently wrapped his head around understanding [Galvanizing Bond], an ability that would boost Ulvor''s reflexes,allowing the Eruptodon to move at blazing fast speeds and be able to dodge even quicker. While normally this would be a good idea, Bori wasn''t sure about this.


    The rabbit-man Terrorcotta Soldier had proven itself to be an unusually keen opponent, always jumping and counter attacking right when Ulvor was about to smash it into pieces.


    Bori knew that even if Ulvor could move faster, the rabbit-man could easily jump upwards and just wait him out. If he wanted to beat it, he had to figure out how the rabbit sensed what they were planning to do and how to get the rabbit to come to him.


    [We have to figure out exactly how it senses our moves...so let''s remove one of the options. Ulvor, Ash Cloud]!


    Ulvor''s lava blood began to churn once more as Fire aether condensed deep within the confines of his body.


    The Eruptodon began to take deep, powerful breaths, each exhalation being accompanied by huge gouts of ash and smoke generated from within it''s roiling magma core. Eventually, the entire Eruptodon''s body was engulfed in a dark, slightly red tinted, cloud of ash, the heat causing the area around him to waver and shake. Unusually, the cloud of ash didn''t disperse and engulf the entire room, but merely roiled in a small area surrounding the Eruptodon.


    The rabbit-man Terrorcotta Soldier looked relatively unperturbed at the cloud of ash, but an outside observer might have noticed that the soldier''s grip on his weapons tightened ever so slightly.


    At the same time as Ulvor began to surround himself in a cloud of ash, Bori began to perform a series of hand signs.


    As he made each successive hand sign, a small white spell circle began to manifest, line by line in sync with the hand signs.


    Eventually, a spell circle inscribed with the ancient maji runes for "speed" and "enhancement" formed in front of Bori. Once it was a completed, Bori stopped doing any additional hand signs...and then ate the spell circle.


    Bori and Ulvor both shuddered as they felt that the bond between them noticably changed.


    The connection between them was still strong, it''s just that aether flowing between them had taken a different quality, one geared towards speed. Ulvor''s body already seemed more twitchy and reactive due to this change in their bond.


    The rabbit-man didn''t notice this particular change, but it did feel something was now off. In preparation, it began to channel Earth aether into his stick weapons.


    [It''s preparing something...I don''t know what, but Ulvor prepare a technique and get ready to counter], Bori commanded.


    Ulvor released a small grunt as his body began to glow red once more.


    Now both rabbit and boar were primed and wanting to strike at one another, but not yet.


    The two stood perfectly still as they waited to see who would make the first move, tension building up to the point of suffocating.


    The Fog of War that covered their area was surprisingly still...quiet...tense.


    But eventually, the silence became too much.


    The rabbit-man leaped forward, launching himself like an arrow, it''s stick weapons radiating Earth aether as he aimed to swing through the center of the ash cloud, thinking it wouldn''t matter what part it hit as long as it hit.


    Bori and Ulvor had other plans in mind.


    [Here it comes, Magma Rush]!

 Chapter 179 - Aromatic Alchemy

    While many a majimonster and binder were rampaging on the ground, an equally flashy and destructive battle was occuring in the air space above them.


    A djinncense and a hawk-man made of clay were circling each other, waiting for a opportunity to strike and knock their respective opponent out of the skies.


    [Indigo, Dark Wind]!


    [Right...].


    The djinncense snapped her fingers and spell circle composed of Wind affinity runes quickly formed in front of her. The circle began to spin at a rapid pace, releasing an ominous gale of dark wind that flew straight at the Terrorcotta hawk-man like a plague-laced arrow.


    Before the the technique could hit the hawk-man however, it suddenly dove downward. Confused by the sudden action, Indigo stopped midair and began to hover in place.


    This sudden action allowed the Terrorcotta


    Soldier to narrowly avoid getting hit, and leaving the ominous gale to collide with the wall instead. The hawk-man did not stop there however.


    Using the momentum from the dive, the hawk-man beat their heavy wings and shot themselves upward towards the hovering djinncense. As they climbed upward, it''s clawed free hand began to glow with the power of Earth aether.


    [By Resha''s tears, Indigo Smoke Double]!


    At Albina''s command, the djinncense''s form began to shimmer and glow with the pale blue light of Wind aether, her body becoming more distorted and smoke-like.


    The hawk-man raked it''s stony claw upward, dispersing Indigo into small wisps of smoke...or so it appeared.


    The wisps of smoke didn''t disperse into the surrounding air after getting distorted by the hawk-mans''s claw, instead they began to gather in a space located a few feet below the hawk-man. In essence, it''s blind spot.


    [Indigo, use Telekinesis]!


    The djinncense began to glow with a purple aura as a small purple spell circle formed on her forehead.


    She extended her hand towards a pile of broken terracotta soldier fragments and made a grabbing motion and flinging motion towards the hawk-man.


    The terracotta fragments began to vibrate as they became engulfed in a purple light, moments before launching into the air and at the hawk-man.


    The upward shower of shrapnel managed to scratch and chip at the Terrorcotta Soldier''s form, but it was clear that most of the injuries, if there were any, was superficial at best.


    The hawk-man let out an annoyed gravelly growl as it began to channel Earth aether into it''s whip.


    When the telekinetic shower came to an end, the hawk-man lashed out with their Earth-infused whip down towards Indigo and entangled her. A constrictive, grinding feeling began to crawl all around both Indigo''s and Albina''s bodies.


    [Not good], Albina thought as she ground her teeth in reaction to the pain.


    Indigo tried to get herself loose from the whip, but the Earth aether infusion made the entanglement as solid as stone.


    With the djinncense firmly entangled in their whip, the hawk-man began to pull her towards itself, bit by bit, coiling the whip around it''s arm as to prevent any slacking.


    In a few moments, Indigo would be a bit too close for comfort with the hawk-man, that is if Albina didn''t interfere.


    "Time for a little magic trick", Albina thought as she produced a small bottle of pink colored liquid from the inside of her coat.


    In the world of binders and majimonsters, Albina fell under the classification of Alchemist, more specifically she was considered an Apothecary.


    Apothecaries are able to create potions, oil, tinctures, or in this case perfumes, that are infused with their own aether. This enabled them or their allies to use them in the heat of battle to tip the battles in their favor.


    In the case of this particular vial, a perfume made of rosemary, lavender and a twist of lemon, Albina was about to boost Indigo''s Talent and mental capabilities by a considerable amount.


    Placing the vial between her fingers, Albina aimed the opening towards the struggling djinncense. She circulated a small amount of aether into the bottle, causing the liquid inside to glow and bubble at a rapid pace.


    Once the contents of the vials reached a critical point, a jet of pleasant smelling pink smoke shot out of the bottle and flew directly at Indigo. As the smoke infused with Indigo''s being, she visibly shuddered for a moment and closed her eyes from the influx of energy. When she opened them again, her eyes seemed significantly sharper than before. A change that came just in time.


    [Indigo, Bl.u.s.ter]!


    [Of course]!


    The hawk-man Terrorcotta had finally fully reeled Indigo in and was about to launch Earth claw technique directly at her head.


    But moments before it made contact, an elaborate Wind based spell circle formed in front of Indigo''s face and released a powerful gale of wind that pushed back against the terracotta claw.


    Annoyed and angered by the djinncense''s resistive efforts, the hawk-man focused the aether in his claw further and began to push back against the powerful Wind technique.


    The terracotta claw began to push through the force of wind and inch closer and closer to Indigo''s face.


    [Don''t think so], Albina thought as she formed a hand seal and focused on the bond between her and Indigo, sending a pulse of aether that increased Indigo''s strength several times over.


    Due to the sudden increase of strength, the spell circle from the [Bl.u.s.ter] technique soon became even more elaborate as more and more wind runes began to fill the original empty spaces within it. At each successive line and rune, the gale of wind emitted from the circle began to grow stronger and stronger.


    The force of wind soon became too much for the hawk-man to resist, knocking it''s clawed arm away and causing it to lose focus. In this moment of weakness, the whip entangling her loosened just enough for Indigo to free herself and fly away...at least, that''s would be the case if she were fighting under normal circ.u.mstances. Right now, Indigo wanted blood and so did Albina.


    Indigo took this opportunity to get right behind the hawk-man, literally within punching distance, and placed a delicate finger on it''s back.


    [Indigo. Bl.u.s.ter].

 Chapter 180 - Heroic Charge!

    *Clang*


    *Bang*


    *Crash*!


    [Haha! I haven''t this much years in centuries]!


    If it wasn''t for my connection with Voxea on a spiritual and slightly mental level, I wouldn''t be able to keep up with any of what was going on right now.


    It wasn''t that Voxea and Piercer were moving at such high speeds that I couldn''t keep watch with my eyes, it was just so fluid and dynamic that it was almost dizzying watching them move. I had to focus almost exclusively on my bond with her just to feel even a millisecond of what was going on.


    All the moves she was exchanging with Piercer were the exact same ones she was teaching me during my off hours. Granted, she did it with much more mastery than what I could currently do.


    I''ve heard stories among travelers that while binder duels were flashy and loud, the duel among those who were weapon trained could be...otherworldly. They would mention things like "the thrill of the threat of death" or the "innate desire to match wits". I didn''t get it at the time, but it was at this moment that I finally understood what they meant.


    Every thrust, every counter, every strike seemed to be done with such precision and force that it was like I was reading a book of profound wisdom. I felt that if I could just copy just one move during this duel, I''d be able to beat anyone and anything.


    Voxea and Piercer clashed spears again, but then suddenly disengaged and leaped away from one another, creating a sizeable distance between the two.


    But the thing was, it felt like the killing intent between the two was reaching some kind of peak.


    [I do believe it''s time for us to finish this dance of ours, oh mighty Piercer. Shall we stop this little warm-up and finally go for each other''s throats]?


    {Very well}.


    I could feel the aether around me starting to grow discordant as the two of them entered very different looking fighting stances.


    Simultaneously, two incredibly elaborate spell circles began to manifest behind them. The power radiating from them began to cause the space around to distort, Lighting and Ice aether clashing into each other.


    I didn''t know what was gonna happen next, but I knew it was going to be big.


    _________________________________________________


    [Now, my lady!], Triton relayed while landing a solid kick against the bull-headed Terrorcotta Soldier''s chest, sending it stumbling backwards.


    "By my will, I bind you to my service"!


    Savina focused her aether into the empty drajule in her hand, causing a giant armored hand to manifest in front of her.


    The armored hand shot forward and grabbed the Terrorcotta Soldier like it was a doll. The Terrorcotta Soldier kicked and struggled against the grip, but it didn''t stop the armored hand from flying back towards Savina and merging with the empty drajule.


    Savina shuddered as she felt a bond forge with the strange clay majimonster.


    Staring at the drajule in her hand, she noted that it was now a brown and orange color and now radiated the power of Earth and Fury.


    "I shall call you...Atlas", she said as she pocketed the drajule.


    The Fog of War began to disappate around her after she had bond the new majimonster to her will.


    She was all set to go help the others or get the heck out of dodge, only to stop dead in her tracks.


    "Whoa...".


    _________________________________________________


    [Ulvor! Lava Ball, but kill the heat]!


    The Eruptodon let out a bloodcurdling squeal before spitting up a ball of molten rock that went flying towards the leaping rabbit-man Terrorcotta Soldier.


    *Splat*


    *Thunk*!


    [Direct hit]!


    The ball of molten rock managed to hit the rabbit-man in the leg, knocking it back to the ground and coating it entirely. Additionally, the ball of magma was cooling much faster than normal, locking it into place.


    The rabbit-man raged and whacked at the cooling magma that was encasing it''s lower body, unaware that the Eruptodon was about to bulldoze it into the aether.


    [Magma Rush, Empowered]!


    Bori focused on his bond with Ulvor and supercharged the technique.


    Invigorated by his binder''s aether, Ulvor rushed forward, it''s whole body burning hot and bright like a volcanic eruption. Every step he was taking in this moment, melting and distorting the floor.


    The rabbit-man finally noticed that Ulvor was charging towards him, but it was too late by then.


    *CRACK*!


    The rabbit-man shattered upon impacting with Ulvor''s charging form, bits and pieces of clay flying through the air.


    As Bori''s Fog of War began to fade as the small bits of clay began to disintegrate into small motes of light.


    "Mess with the boar, you get the tusks!", Bori shouted in victory.


    He was just about to jump in joy, when he felt the aether suddenly go haywire.


    "What in the-oh. By Terraboar''s tusks...".


    _________________________________________________


    [Alto, Blaze Burst]!


    [Valdos, Rage Fang and toss that thing]!


    A Fire affinity spell circle formed in front of the Amphiboil moments before releasing a pillar of flame that sent the snake-man Terrorcotta Soldier flying.


    On the other side, the Ferroena chomped down on one of the turle-man''s arm and began to swing it around like a ragdoll before sending it colliding with the flying snake-man.


    *CRACK*


    *BOOM*!


    The collision between the snake-man and turtle-man was powerful that the two majimonsters were turned into aether upon impact.


    "We did it"!


    "Hell yeah, sis"!


    The two siblings congratulated each other about winning their first official battle as binders. A crowning achievement in every young binder''s life.


    "Now come on sis, we gotta...whoa".


    "I knew she was strong but...".


    _________________________________________________


    *BOOM*!


    The hawk-man Terrorcotta Soldier let out a grinding cry as it was slammed into the ceiling by a cannon ball of air.


    [While it''s stuck in the ceiling, Indigo use Drillnado]!


    The Djinncense began to concentrate Wind aether in the palm of her hands until a small visible tornado began to form between them.


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    Once the Wind aether in the mini-tornado was dense enough, Indigo let out a howling war cry as she slammed the tornado straight into the Terrorcotta Soldier''s torso, ripping it into aether.


    "Aether to aether, Dust to dust", Albina mused after Indigo literally crushed her opponent into aether.


    A sudden change in the surrounding air suddenly grabbed at her attention, breaking her away from her musings.


    "Well I''ll be brewer girl...gonna put on another show"?


    _________________________________________________


    [Silvia].


    [Yeah]?


    [Be sure to carve this next move into your heart. You''ll probably need it some day].


    [I... don''t think I''ll be able to replicate that...].


    [No... you''ll be better. Now then...Woden''s Charge]!


    {Leigong''s Judgement}!


    As the two declared their techniques and rushed forward, the spell circles behind them activated!

 Chapter 181 - Ice and Lightning, Oh so Frightening

    To say the impact caused by Voxea and Piercer clashing into each other was powerful would be an understatement.


    On one side, a wintery hell scape of nightmares filled with ghostly soldiers made of ice and snow, Voxea leading the charge with a spear made of blizzards. I could quite literally feel the manic grin on her face as she went all in on the attack.


    On the other, an armored giant made of lighting was stabbing towards Voxea and her ghost army with an equally massive spear, the Terrorcotta Lord - Piercer was acting like a heart to the massive lightning construct and making the exact same movements.


    What made the sight even more terrifying was the fact that neither side had actually made contact with each other!


    Voxea once told me that when truly masterful maji got into close quarters combat, there were cases that they aether they produced was so unusually dense that they would collide into each other like mountain rams. At that point, the winner wasn''t decided by techniques or plans. The winner would be decided by sheer force of power.


    As the two forces of magic collided with one another, powerful gusts of wind accompanied by snowflakes, thunder and lighting began to form and disperse at a rapid pace, the point of impact between their weapons being the eye of this storm of insanity.


    {Hahahahaha! It''s been ages since I managed to feel so alive!,} the Terrorcotta Lord roared in my mind, {Will today be the day I finally face death?!}


    The Terrorcotta Lord Piercer had this insane smile on his face that immediately made me think of Voxea''s.


    Oh joy.


    They were both battle nuts.


    [I''d like to think I''m an adrenaline junkie to be honest,] Voxea suddenly commented back.


    [How are you talking to me while in the middle of this life or death struggle?]


    [I''m a great multi-tasker. Also, I think I might be losing,] Voxea said nonchalantly. Much to my chagrin.


    [What do you mean losing?! I can quite literally see the absurd apocalyptically magical stalemate happening in front of me!]


    [Yeah...about that, this moment is actually a war of attrition and this guy has way more aether than I had estimated. I might run out before he does,] Voxea explained, [And if I run out before he does...]


    [Okay, got the point,] I said in exasperation, [What do you want me to do about it?]


    [Have you honestly forgotten how were connected? I''m hurt,] Voxea teased.


    [...oh. Right.]


    [Wow you honestly forgot that you could do that.]


    [Shut up. It''s been a long day, you''re technically human and I''ve only been doing this kind of thing for about three months!,] I said while forming a hand seal, [Now let''s ice this clay doll and go home!]


    [Right on.]


    _________________________________________________


    He could almost taste the sweet wine of bloody victory on his tongue. It had been so long since he had fought so fiercely or slain any foes, but the thrill of battle still filled him with joy.


    However, just as he was about to shatter the technique and pierce the mysterious dragon casting it, the ghostly ice soldiers suddenly doubled in number and pushed back against his spear.


    {What?!}


    The Terrorcotta Lord looked confused as he tried to figure out where this sudden burst of strength was coming from. It wasn''t until he looked at a spot a little behind his opponent that he found the source.


    Standing behind his opponent was a young woman dressed like a hunter performing a hand seal like the ones he had once seen his master use so many centuries. The only difference was that he could see that this young maji was not using her aether to cast a spell, but funnel it into the dragon before her.


    {It cannot be...}


    And with each passing second, the Terrorcotta Lord could feel that he was now the one being pushed back little by little.


    One would expect such a realization would lead to despair, but instead, the Terrorcotta Lord looked invigorated.


    {Very well then. You are not the only who can tap into the flow of aether. Come to me my soldiers!}

 Chapter 182 - Power is power regardless of the source

    Albina, Savina, Bori, Alyra and Boleros watched on as this battle of natural disasters unfolded, only to stop when they noticed something odd happening at the periphery of their vision.


    A dozen or so Terrorcotta Soldiers began to enter the room from various points, either through obvious entry ways or literally pulling themselves out of the walls and breaching it like fishes out of the water.


    "Oh that can''t be good," Albina muttered to herself as she saw the soldiers appear one by one.


    The others had similar sentiments at the sight of the appearing majimonsters. They had already gone through quite a difficult fight and had no d.e.s.i.r.e to go through another one.


    However, just as they were about to grit their teeth and get ready to go for another round, the clay soldier majimonsters suddenly whipped out their weapons and began to destroy themselves!


    "What the hell are these crazy monsters doing?!"


    "Wait...take a look at their aether! It ain''t disappearing."


    _________________________________________________


    As Voxea began to press the advantage against the Terrorcotta Lord, a sudden disturbance in the air prickled at my ears.


    Fl.i.c.k.i.n.g my gaze towards the source, I saw what appeared to be more Terrorcotta Soldiers gather at the edge of the battlefield and then destroy themselves. I was confused at their self-destructive behavior, until I saw that aether that made up the Terrorcotta Soldier didn''t disappear like normal but instead began to flow towards the Terrorcotta Lord!


    As more and more soldiers destroyed themselves, the originally pure lightning spear the giant was holding began to become more and more solid looking.


    I didn''t know why it was happening, but I could guess.


    [Uh Voxea?]


    [It''s not normal for other majimonsters to use them as aether for another monster''s technique, right?]


    [Actually, I''ve seen it done before in the old days. Why?]


    [Because that Piercer creep is doing that right now!]


    Right on cue, the giant lightning spear began to suddenly push back harder as a now solid spearhead made of stone manifested out of nowhere and replaced the original spearhead made of lightning.


    Several of the ghost soldiers that had just manifested from me boosting Voxea suddenly disappeared as the amount of force behind the giant''s attack was too much for them to bear.


    Any ground we managed to gain from this clash of techniques was quickly lost and instead, this guy was starting to put the pressure on us.


    [Well crap,] Voxea complained, [Looks like this fight went from a two on one to a two on twenty.]


    The weird thing about her complaining is that it felt a bit too casual. I figured something like this would cause her to panic...like I am now.


    [Voxea, you can still win this, right?]


    [Maybe, but that''s under the assumption our aether can outlast his, and right now his is getting denser by the minute,] Voxea stated while fortifying her technique, [And before you ask, the staff on your hip will only be marginal increase at best. We''d need you to be a stronger maji or some questionably powerful artifacts at this point full of aether.]


    I began to grind my teeth at the realization that we might be up the creek without a paddle. Were we seriously going to die fighting some relic of a majimonster in the depths of a freaky castle dungeon thing made of wild aether?!


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Wait a minute...


    [Voxea...I have a really stupid plan...]


    [Stupid how?]


    _________________________________________________


    The others could only watch on as the lighting clay spear began to encroach on Voxea and Silvia.


    Under their gazes however, something unexpected occurred.


    In the middle of the clash, Silvia had suddenly stopped channeling aether and took off her belt. She twirled the belt around once and somehow changed it into a pinewood staff with a weird cage on the top that she then held in front of herself with one hand and began to channel aether though it. A beam of light came out of the cage and began to flow into Voxea.


    "Where did she get that staff?"


    With the other hand, Silvias'' finger began glow with power as she began draw into the air a spell circle.


    "When could she do that?"


    Once the spell circle was completed, Silvia grabbed the spell circle and slammed it into her c.h.e.s.t. Suddenly, the aether around her became even more turbulent and the beam of light she was releasing from her staff became even stronger. Unexpectedly, this had caused Voxea''s technique to become even stronger.


    "What did she just do ?!"


    _________________________________________________


    BY THE AETHER THIS FREAKING HURTS!


    I MEAN SURE, I EXPECTED TO BE FLOODED WITH AETHER, BUT I DIDN''T EXPECT THIS MUCH AT ONCE!


    I THINK I HAVE ENOUGH GRIP STRENGTH TO BREAK MY STAFF!


    [Silvia, what in the hells did you just do?!,] Voxea yelled at me.


    [Can''t...talk...need to...focus!]