52 A War To Come

I woke up this morning feeling pretty refreshed. Being with Claire was fun, but resting with her and Licia heals the soul so much that it might actually be better...

Watching their cute, serene faces as they slept made me think that they also felt the same.

It was hard to leave the bed while knowing I could bask in the wonderful and relaxing situation I found myself in. I knew that if I gave in I'd spend the entire day like this, which wouldn't be bad at all, but...

There were still things to be done before I could relax.

Even though we increased our numbers and strength, in a battle against a much higher-level opponent, like the general we met back during the last event, our best bet would be to have Mia confront them and try to provide as much support to her as we could, since thanks to her level, she's the one who would be able to deal the most damage.

Given everyone else's level though, we'd be down in one hit, or maybe two for Anna. In such a scenario, we need to get stronger so that we don't become burdens for Mia, and for that, we'll need to level up.

Most of us are at the level cap for the current floor in the dungeon we usually raid, and the new girls aren't too far away, so there's no need to delay it...  We'll face the boss of the second floor and reach the third floor today.

I don't think he'll be much of a threat, but it's better to face him at our best to avoid any problems, so, as soon as we finish breakfast, it's time to go to the dungeon again.

Mia: "Morning."

Licia: "Mm...morning. You're quite the early bird, huh?"

Mia: "Well, yeah... both this place and the kingdom are way more comfortable than I'm used to. I find the morning breeze on the grassy fields over there to be quite enjoyable."

Licia: "That place is pleasant, but a bit too mysterious for my taste."

Mia: "I guess... That fog is ominous, but nothing ever comes out of it, so it's just creepy.  But since there's not a single animal or monster to hunt there, I find it to be boring as hell."

As for me, I'm really glad there's none. That place is as much a safe zone as my own house, and I tend to view it as an extension of my home. If I ever need to flee, I'll always consider the kingdom and my home as the first two choices.

Today Mia was the first to wake up aside from me. As soon as I started in the kitchen a pop-up came asking if I would allow Mia to join. 

After coming, she took a note from Claire's book and went straight for the sofa to watch TV. With no intent to help in sight.

It didn't take long for Licia to wake as well, even more so considering the noise from the television.

The other girls came one after the other too, Claire being the last of them, but that's to be expected at this point, even more so given how tired she got yesterday.

Everyone seemed to be happily chatting together, but by the time I was almost finished, something they said caught my attention...

Mia: "Seems like a war is coming..."

Miwen: "Huh?"

I thought it was something about a movie they were watching, but surprisingly enough, they were actually watching the news.

I got a bunch of red flags due to the way they were talking about it with a more serious tone too, completely different from the reactions they showed to the movies yesterday.

Mia: "Well, they said that there's this army that is expanding recruitment and that it was worryingly, so... that will eventually lead to a war, right?"

I don't have any idea about what she's talking about.

As far as I know, there were no signals of war anywhere. Most governments have their hands busy dealing with internal politics and issues since the Gifts bring a lot of strength to the individual citizen in society, which makes the government pay much more attention to even things that would otherwise be considered minor.

Anna: "I guess it's the same no matter where you go huh..."

She seems pretty upset with what she saw on TV...

Sadly I couldn't catch the news that they were talking about, but I was sure it must've been a misunderstanding, after all, if we were under threat of war, everyone would be talking about it on the internet, making much more buzz than the TV.

Since this wasn't the case at all, it was either their misinterpretation or the news being dumb, with both being pretty likely, but not urgent, I thought I could look it up later, giving it the attention it might deserve.

Miwen: "No need to worry, I'm sure it's not that bad. I'll give it a better look when we get back home, alright? First I have something to give you all."

Mia: "Ohh...  I thought you'd get more worried, but you seem to be in a good mood."

Miwen: "So you've noticed? As expected of my fiance."

Beatrice: "Oho... so you had this kind of relationship?"

Mia: "We do not !"

Miwen: "Yet."

Mia: "Never !"

Our usual squabble actually managed to improve my already good mood.

As soon as everyone finished, I started giving them their new changes of clothes. Today I made 105 [Kingdom Points], and 30 were used for the clothes.

As for skill sharing... we were going to fight a boss, so I had to give Beatrice a way to defend herself at the very least. Since I could see that her loyalty wasn't bad, I decided to trust that everything would be alright.

The most pressing issue is the event, and to deal with it, I'll have to get everyone to the best possible condition. I'll try to be cautious about it, but preventing a witch from using magic would only hurt our prospects, sooner or later, I'd have to give her the ability to fight.

It would be too costly to give her [Ice Magic] since mine is at level 6 now, so I decided to give Beatrice the [Fire Magic] skill that Claire has. It's at level 3, so I decided to also get it.

As for Anna, right now, she seems to be our weakest link, and she holds an important position in our formation, so I gave her my [Swordsmanship] at level 4 and my [Greater Might] since it adds to the strength status, which in turn boosts her defense alongside it, making for a good combo.

For now, this was fine, I could boost them a bit further, but I still wanted to keep their overall strength a bit under the other girls I trust more, just to be extra safe.

The real problem was Ellie though.

Her Gift is already very strong, and she doesn't seem to need anything...

I decided that [Sight Enhancement] was the best choice, it won't make her super strong, but it will obviously go well with her abilities.

With the remaining points, I gave Licia [Movement speed Up Lvl 4]. Even at level 1, this was already useful, and at the current level, I'd say it's my strongest skill aside from magic. By giving her this, I can strengthen our party and also keep a bit of the strength gap in our members.

By the end of it all, I had spent every point I had, but it was for a good cause. The only thing that worries me a bit is the special buildings that I've unlocked once again now that I get more than 100 Kingdom Points daily.

I could try and save for them, but... it would take too long to acquire enough for a building. Thus, the best use for the [Kingdom Points] right now is still skill sharing.

Before heading out for the dungeon, I still had the daily tickets from the gacha, so I used 3 of them on items, of which the only good outcome was a staff for Beatrice. Sadly, though the [Ptzde's Staff] provided a small increase in magical power, its main catch was boosting water-based magic, which didn't really affect Beatrice at the moment.

The other 4 tickets went for skills, and they provided a good result this time around.

[Culinary Arts] got a level up and so did [Appraisal], which strengthened both of its effects.

But what made today's roll great was [X Slash] and [Focused Strike] both getting a level up. These two active skills make a great combo, and to have both of them at a higher level increases my chances against any opponent.

Anna: "To gain so much in a single day is just..."

Ellie: "It's really impressive."

Claire: "Right? Even my Gift can't compete with that."

I ended up receiving a lot of praise from them even though all I did was use my Gift. It felt great though, so no complaint from me.

But with this, every preparation for today's raid was done, and we could head to the dungeon.