Scars of battle

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'Saphos and Lingtom could now be seen carrying Silver on their back as they walked away from the area where everyone was fighting.'

/BOOOM!/

/BANG!/

/Crack!/

'But the fight was still was ongoing, it was so intense that the entire road trembled and several windows broke due to the small earthquake.'

'Saphos raised his head as he looked at the distance, he knew he had to keep up the pace else he would be dragged into the fight and that was the worst possible scenario.'

"... Things look rather chaotic over there."

'He didn't look very good, in fact, he seemed conflicted.'

"... How are you feeling?" Asked Lingtom

'After a few moments of thinking, Saphis replied:'

"... Because of negligence... My family was dragged into this trouble, especially our grandson... To a fight that he had nothing to do with, something he did not start, and that will certainly not end with him."

"Worse, I can do nothing about that, even if I was at my peak I would've been powerless. And sometimes, I think if I should've just allowed that guy to have what he wanted from the beginning."

"But despite all of that, of me wishing that he lived a fulfilling life within his own peace, he continually throws himself in danger… In short, I'm feeling like crap because nothing has been going my way ever since we arrived at Orario."

"... I agree with you on that note, even now, I still can't seem to put my head around the things that are going on, the scale of this trouble is way above what I… We expected." Replied Lingtom

"But in the end, I believe your choice in the past was the right one, if I understood it right, he was the cause for the attack on the Loki Familia right?"

"I am not too aware of the details since we've been here for only a week, but there was a lot of confusion and chaos during that day, someone like this is better kept away from such things."

"If he was any stronger, or any more desperate, what do you think would've happened? Perhaps Silver would've been dragged into trouble regardless."

"I know, that was why I took it away from him and eventually made a deal with him… But no matter how I see things, he is completely different from how he used to be before I left. At that time, he was only harsh and rough due to what happened, but now…"

'Lingtom patted his back and said:'

"It was 4 decades ago… Plenty of time for people to change, and drastically at that."

'Saphos did not smile, but he continued to walk forward as he carried Silver on his back.'

/BANG!/

'Behind them, the chaos of the fight had yet to recede, in fact, it seemed to be getting more and more chaotic as time went on…'

…

/Back at Loki's manor…/

'Loki could be seen biting her thumb's nail as she looked at the smoke rising from the living district near her manor.'

'Just because she was always a smartass Goddess that loved to mix jokes with threats, that doesn't mean she doesn't worry about her children, on the contrary, Loki, even for a woman's standard, has a fairly complex set of emotions and a particular way of showing them to the world.'

'Loki rarely stands still, but for the safety of her children, she has to remain put until she receives a report from what is going on, especially when she was attacked not so long ago.'

"I swear I will… Hum?"

'As she gazed at the smoke with her eyes fully opened, she noticed a rather peculiar group walking near the entrance to her manor.'

"..."

'Loki's expression suddenly changed to a small cheeky smile as she turned around and left her room leaving the confused Line behind.'

…

/A few minutes later…/

"... And that was what happened." Said Saphos as he looked at Loki

"I see."

'Loki looked to the side to see Silver who was currently being healed by Line.'

"I understand what is going on now, but thanks to what you said, I can relax a bit now."

'But despite what she said, Loki thought:'

If it's what I think it is, then that hoe was already aware of what was going to happen, and yet, she kept me completely in the dark…

That freaking public outlet! Wanting to play her games right under my nose?! She even kept the identity of the piece of shit who attacked me a secret…

What does she plan to achieve with all of this?...

But the most surprising of all is how this is all related to this kid and his family...

/BOOOM!/

/Tremble.../

'But she was interrupted by the serious explosion that happened, it was intense enough to shake even her mansion!'

'Everyone got up in a hurry to look outside, but there was no signal of what had just happened.'

"What… Just happened?" Asked Line

'Loki gazed outside and thought:'

"..."

It wasn't Revi's magic, else it would be some sort of aftermath…

Could it have been Finn?

"But it seems whatever happened has already ended." Said Lingtom

"ZZZZzzz"

'Loki looked at the couch to see Silver on the verge of snoring and she couldn't help but get a bit annoyed.'

I'll make you regret sleeping!

'Plans started to work around inside Loki's head as she thought of the future.'

…

/Back in the clocktower…/

'Freya as always gazed at the smoke with her poker face.'

'But she wasn't alone this time, several people clad in black could be seen around her on the rooftops of the houses.'

/Step step…/

"You're back, it seems things didn't go as we expected didn't they?"

'Ottar gazed at Freya and said:'

"In the end, the Loki Familia was strong enough to deal with the repercussions of this event. So there was no need for me to interfere."

"I saw that… Loki's children ended up being stronger than I thought… But that's enough for today. Loki will surely come after me soon…"

'As she returned to the shadows, she looked at Loki's Manor.'

Not yet, grow, more… Everything you are capable of, I'll wait for you to mature, and then... I'll reap my rewards.

How far will your dream push you?

As long as you desire...

'As she disappeared in the shadows the people around her also left…'

…

'Two adventurers could be seen resting on a rock near the rubble left from the aftermath of the battle.'

"It's simply… Sigh." Said an adventurer with a shield was his back

'The other adventurer looked at the destruction and asked:'

"How do things look over in your area?"

"Better than expected… Minor structural damage was found in the area past 50M of the fight, but still, there was still a lot of damage even past the 100M mark due to the trembling… It'll be a pain to fix it all… And the costs…"

"What about your area?"

"Do you even need to ask? Just look at this mess… The road is completely obliterated, most of the houses were flattened… Ice, burns, cuts… It's irreparable, we will have to flatten everything and rebuild them. I still can't believe they were forced to use magic to deal with whatever was happening."

"About that… I heard it was a single opponent."

"A single person huh… Dammit, was there such a strong adventurer in Orario? To take all of the executives together and still cause this much damage? You know... Apart from him..."

"You may be thinking from the wrong perspective… As long as the executives fight seriously, the damage is always going to be high, but what surprised me was how they were forced to use destructive magic deeming the conditions, it must've been a tricky opponent…"

'Suddenly, the two looked to the left to see a girl calling out to them, their rest had ended and it was time to work again.'

'All around the place, similar situations repeated as people worked nonstop running around the streets as they tried to search for any injured people and count the damage to the infrastructure.'

'But surprisingly, the number of injured people was close to none, since everyone just decided to leave that area at the same time… This greatly confused everyone but under Loki's orders, they ignored this aspect and smiled in satisfaction since no one was hurt.'

…

/Sometime later at Loki's Manor…/

"Urg…"

Shiit… I feel like crap.

'A few hours after his 'fight' against Aetos, Silver finally woke up as his body screamed in pain making him feel as if he didn't have a single bit of strength left.'

"... And I have work tomorrow… Sigh…"

'Silver looked around but saw no one, with a more detailed look, Silver came to the conclusion he was in an infirmary.'

How long have I been out this time? Did everything end already?

… I can't stay put...

"Huh?"

The scarf is still with me?

'As he got up, Silver noticed the scarf near his bed, it seemed a bit dirty, but it was still there in all of its glory.'

"Who left you with me?... After all, that happened... What do I do with you?"

Things happened way too fast so I didn't get a proper look into everything, but if I understood it right, this scarf can allow someone to break their limits…

Everyone has a limit, it's basic knowledge. Some can raise their strength to 900 while some can't even get it beyond 300… It's something determined by their birth and race. One of the reasons why Dwarfs have an easier time raising endurance while Pallums have great difficulty in doing so.

Well, Pallums have a difficulty in raising anything when compared to literally any race, it's the reason they are called the weakest race together with Humans.

When Aetos said limit, I don't think he was talking about the limit beyond 999 but this limit, after all, there is a chance he was stuck at Level 6 and couldn't level up because his body simply didn't have any more potential left. Like Anya, who is stuck at Level 4 and couldn't level up anymore, so she was forced out of the Freya Familia.

So the only way for him to break his limit is through self-effort… But such a thing is impossible in modern times, at least this is what everyone believes, even Riveria who lived for almost 100 years believes breaking this limit is nothing but a fleeting dream…

However that is a misconception since in the ancient past, before the Gods descended, this was the main path most people took, with the blessing of the Spirits, people got access to special powers and abilities, but people didn't have Falna, so they had to break their limits to advance…

How that worked is unknown, I simply can't imagine the people from the ancient past put that much effort into getting stronger as compared to those from the present. The only one that fits this is Ottar, but he is a unique existence.

As for me… It's already strange I never got stuck… Not even once.

The only answer I can give to that is that my body's potential is that massive. Or perhaps, there is something else that is increasing this potential…

What you can do as a Level 1 normally indicates how far you can go...

'Silver shook his head.'

"In the end, I don't need this magic tool."

Although it is incredible, I don't really such a thing, it's better to give it to someone who needs it and gain some points in the process…

It's also a problem that I am not strong enough to hold it, I was already stalked for several days for it and I don't wish for it to happen again…

Just think about it, Ishtar had to do a scheme going over several years to properly groom Haruhime and gather the materials to make the ultimate magic tool... Even if she failed in the end, that tool would've been in my opinion, stronger than this one.

Since it would've been capable of giving Haruhime's Magic a very large number of people...

'Forcing his body to move, Silver, step by step, got up from the bed he was in.'

"I feel as weak as when I got that heavy cold a few years ago."

And my head is killing me…

'Finally, up, Silver slowly made his way to the door, opened it, and looked outside.'

'It was a nicely decorated corridor, looking at the design, Silver immediately understood he was in Loki's Manor, after all, it had been just a few hours since he passed through this place with Tiona.'

"Where's everyone?"

I didn't expect to wake up and have no one to greet me, not even the old farts…

Last time, I only said a word to them and I didn't see them ever since…

I still need to ask why they are in Orario…

'Silver looked around as he walked but he did not find anyone.'

Should I just find Loki?... Perhaps not.

My relationship with her is still a bit ambiguous and I do not want to force things… But on the other hand, I am here, aren't I?

Someone had to bring me here, and Loki must've likely allowed it.

'Silver turned around and climbed the stairs, his destination was Loki's office.'

…

/Whispers…/

"Hum?"

'As Silver arrived at the office, he started to hear voices coming from inside. This surprised him as he did not find anyone on the way.'

'He did look at the windows on his way and noticed that most of the people were working outside, focused on whatever happened after he got unconscious.'

"... You!..."

"... FLAT!..."

".... THUMB-SIZED!..."

'As Silver slowly approached the office, he started to hear what was happening inside more clearly…'

'And he recognized the voices, it was Hestia and Loki without a sliver of a doubt.'

"This is the last time! Don't stop me 'Sword edge'!" Screamed Hestia

"Sword… Edge?" Asked Loki with an annoyed tone

"Hehe! Looks like your brain is as smooth as your chest! What I meant is that your chest is so flat that I am afraid I might get cut from how sharp it is!"

"YOU?! THAT'S IT! DON'T STOP ME REVI-TAN!"

"..."

'As Silver heard this, he immediately decided to turn around and crawl back to his bed, anything was better than hearing those two arguing nonstop.'

"..."

"..."

'On his way back, he saw Lefiya, who seemed a bit pensive. Her thoughts were immediately cut from her head as she opened her mouth to speak:'

"Hm?!"

'But Silver interrupted her by putting his finger close to her mouth:'

"Sh!... Please, don't say anything, let's just go on our ways, you never saw me and I never saw you…"

"BUWAHAHAHA! Is that all you got Chibby girl?!" Screamed Loki

"..."

"..."

'Lefiya looked at Silver with an understanding expression as she continued walking forward as Silver left…'

/Knock knock…/

/Creak…/

"AHHH!"

'As the door opened, sounds of screams could be heard from within, blasting Lefiya's ears.'

"Ouch…"

'Lefiya's ears dropped a little as she felt as if she made the wrong choice, but her mood increased as she saw who opened the door.'

'Her golden hair fluttered in the wind, and despite the few bandages around her body, her beauty couldn't be hidden.'

"Lefiya… How are you feeling?"

"I… I am doing great! I barely even did anything…"

'Ais interrupted her by shaking her head.'

"You were a great help Lefiya…"

"She is right." Said Riveria behind Ais

'Riveria was currently holding Loki's head with one hand as if she was a bag of potatoes. This made Lefiya sweat as she knew Riveria was annoyed.'

"Don't feel down because you couldn't do much in that fight, but you should be happy that you are capable enough to do anything despite the difference in Level. And besides, there is still a lot to learn, tomorrow, we will have a session to see how well you fare in using those magics."

(If you forgot, Lefiya can copy any magic as long it came from an Elf… N1)

"Eh…"

'Lefiya's ears dropped even more, like a beaten dog, Lefiya nodded and sat on the couch.'

'Ais, on the other hand, felt as if something was wrong, so she put her head outside the door and gazed at the corridor, but no one was there.'

/Step step…/

'Focusing a bit, she heard the steps of someone walking away, but knowing this corridor was a one way, she turned to Lefiya and asked:'

"Lefiya, did anyone pass by?"

"?!"

'Lefiya's ears suddenly perked up as sweat fell from her forehead.'

"No…No?"

"..."

'Everyone looked at each other while Loki licked her lips.'

"Looks like someone is hiding some secrets…"

"Ah… No… I mean…"

"Spill it out!" She said as she fled from Riveria's hand and started to touch Lefiya's body

"WAHHH! STOOO... AHH... I met him! The boy!"

"..."

'Everyone looked at each other in silence while Hestia got up and left the room, followed by Ais.'

'The rest looked at each other while Loki smiled.'

"Looks like the boy's plan to escape were in vain… Hehe…"

…

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Notes

N1

Elf Ring: Elf Ring is a summon burst that allows Lefiya to use any magic used by an Elf, so long as she knows the chant and effects of said magic.

It uses mind for the summon burst and for the magic used.

If the Elf whose magic she's using has the Development Ability Mage, the color of her own magic circle will change to match theirs while she's using their magic.