novelhome Chapter 209: Honey Crystal and a Massive Upgrade
Chapter 209: Honey Crystal and a Massive Upgrade
[ Honey Crystal: By using this crystal, you can create a Queen Bee-type monster girl who inherits some characteristics from her predecessor, while having her body molded according to your will. Do not use the crystal without a Valkyrie slot, or it will not work. ]
’Hey, you’re kidding, aren’t you? Last time, I got a free slot for Camula, so why don’t I get one this time, huh?’
I glared at my HUD, pissed off. I didn’t expect to get an answer, but then a timid female voice spoke to me.
’G-Good morning, Rick,’ the girl said in my thoughts.
So much had happened since the last time we saw each other that it felt like an eternity had passed. But in truth, we had seen each other just last night, at Freya’s palace.
’Good morning, Brandish. It’s good to hear your voice again,’ I said to her in a gentle telepathic voice. ’Did you sleep well?’
’Y-Yes,’ she said, sounding a little embarrassed. ’Thank you for asking. About your earlier question...’
’Ah, that’s right. I didn’t receive an additional slot along with the crystal.’
’That was probably Lady Freya’s decision,’ she replied, a little anxiety in her voice.
’Tch. She could have made things easier for me. Having one more member in my party doesn’t seem like a bad thing.’ I sighed. ’Well, there’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll wait for a better opportunity to use this crystal.’
’About that...’ Brandish said, flustered. ’Lady Freya asked me to tell you that she would give you a slot if you came here.’
’Oh!’ I don’t know why, but I was surprised by the request.
Freya wanted to use what she knew I longed for as a reason to make me go to her palace. It was a bold move on her part, but I couldn’t say I disliked it. There was only one problem.
’Sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to meet you girls tonight. I made a promise to my Valkyries that I would reward them for the effort they put in against the bees.’
I didn’t feel very good about ditching a goddess like Freya, but I had indeed made an agreement with all the other girls. I was well aware that I had only gotten as far as I had because of Freya’s blessing, but it didn’t feel right to go back on my word and give absolute priority to Freya.
’Oh, I see. But I don’t think that will be a problem. I think we could postpone it until the next day...’
’Do you think Freya will approve of that?’
’I... will try to... convince her.’
My eyes widened after I heard that. Brandish said she would try to intercede for me with her boss, even with her timid personality.
’Are you sure about that?’ I asked her.
’Not really...’ she said frankly. ’But even so, I want to do it.’
I smiled as I heard her say such brave words in such a fragile, wavering voice. I was happy to see that she was making a genuine effort to become less timid. I could only support her.
’I’ll be rooting for you. Well, then the Honey Crystal issue will be on hold for now. So I’ll see what rewards we got from leveling up—Eh?’
[
Name: Richard Forster
Class: Valkyrie Tamer
Level: 47
Valkyries: 6/6
Health: 490 points
Mana: 265 points
Strength: 58 points
Defense: 20 points
Magic: 50 points
Agility: 30 points
Status Points: 40 points
]
[
Name: Sarah Lockhart
Level: 32
Class: Swordmaster
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 360 points
Mana: 175 points
Strength: 31 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 26 points
Agility: 23 points
Status Points: 40 points
]
[
Name: Justine Blackwood
Level: 27
Class: Sage
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 200 points
Mana: 330 points
Strength: 1 point
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 43 points
Agility: 25 points
Status Points: 36 points
]
[
Name: Diane Stollen
Level: 32
Class: Shadow Assassin
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 370 points
Mana: 298 points
Strength: 45 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 15 points
Agility: 37 points
Status Points: 28 points
]
[
Name: Erina Ashburn
Level: 30
Class: Marksman
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 340 points
Mana: 252 points
Strength: 45 points
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 27 points
Agility: 5 points
Status Points: 40 points
]
[
Name: Camula
Level: 25
Monster: Demonic Slime
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 382 points
Mana: 170 points
Strength: 17 points
Defense: 40 points
Magic: 8 points
Agility: 2 points
Status Points: 20 points
]
Almost my entire party, myself included, had received a massive upgrade. I was so shocked by our rewards that Erina reacted.
"What’s wrong with your face?!"
"You went up 10 levels, Erina," I said to her, still surprised. "You too, Sarah."
I explained to each of them the increase in points they had received, and they were just as dumbfounded as I was.
"That’s..." Erina said. "Way too cool!"
Her surprised expression changed into one of genuine happiness.
"I couldn’t say otherwise," Justine said with a more delicate smile on her face. "This increase in our power is extremely welcome."
Most of them seemed quite happy with the rewards, with the exception of two. The first was Alicia.
Because of the madness of the competition, all the Valkyries had started fighting on their own, and since the Insects offered little resistance to the Valkyries because they were weaker, Alicia ended up being left aside and didn’t receive even a single level. My Saintess had such a sad look on her face that I felt bad for her.
The other one who wasn’t satisfied with the reward was Camula, who had leveled up the least out of everyone, only rising 5 levels.
"How am I supposed to kill monsters if the others are so fast?!" she complained to me.
The worst part was that she was right, since her Agility points were pretty low. Erina suffered from the same problem, but I believed her bullets made up for it in terms of offense. Camula really had to compete with four women who were faster than her at taking down monsters, so it was no wonder she lost badly.
I decided to organize the points in a way that would fix that problem. Camula seemed to be a mix of tank and damage dealer, but it seemed like a good idea to increase her Agility so she wouldn’t fall behind next time. I did the same for Erina, in case she needed to reposition herself in the middle of combat.
[
Name: Richard Forster
Class: Valkyrie Tamer
Level: 47
Valkyries: 6/6
Health: 490 points
Mana: 265 points
Strength: 73 points
Defense: 20 points
Magic: 65 points
Agility: 40 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Sarah Lockhart
Level: 32
Class: Swordmaster
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 360 points
Mana: 175 points
Strength: 61 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 26 points
Agility: 33 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Justine Blackwood
Level: 27
Class: Sage
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 200 points
Mana: 330 points
Strength: 1 point
Defense: 20 points
Magic: 69 points
Agility: 25 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Diane Stollen
Level: 32
Class: Shadow Assassin
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 370 points
Mana: 298 points
Strength: 70 points
Defense: 15 points
Magic: 15 points
Agility: 50 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Erina Ashburn
Level: 30
Class: Marksman
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 340 points
Mana: 252 points
Strength: 65 points
Defense: 10 points
Magic: 27 points
Agility: 25 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
[
Name: Camula
Level: 25
Monster: Demonic Slime
Title: Valkyrie
Master: Richard Forster
Health: 382 points
Mana: 170 points
Strength: 17 points
Defense: 40 points
Magic: 8 points
Agility: 22 points
Status Points: 0 points
]
"Hey, Sarah," Erina said to her with a wicked smile, "Rick put more Strength points into me than you, but that was only to be expected. The Marksman needs to be the strongest one on the team, doesn’t she?"
Sarah narrowed her eyes at the girl, irritated by her audacity.
Diane looked at Erina in surprise. "Erina, but I’m the one with the most Strength points, aside from Rick."
"Hey, Diane. Don’t ruin the moment between two rivals," Erina said, looking annoyed at Diane.
"You’re not my rival, Erina. And besides, my class mixes Strength, Agility, and Magic in its attacks. If you add all those points I have together, I’m the strongest among the Valkyries."
"What the hell kind of logic is that?!" Erina exclaimed, startled by the absurdity.
I was enjoying listening to them argue, comforting the loser Alicia by patting her hand, when I looked at my HUD and saw there were more rewards.
"There’s more?!" I shouted in surprise. "This fight really was rewarding for us."
Thanks to the level up we went through, our team received new skills. Among the new powers listed, one caught my attention, the one from my Valkyrie Tamer Class.
"What is that thing?" I said, looking at the name of my new skill, unable to believe what I was seeing with my own eyes, "Punishment Collar..."