Chapter 4

List of Vali's Mana Series Techniques:

Mana Sword (MS abbreviation) - forms a Nodachi-shaped silver blade of Mana after the Mana coats the arm, a blade that is the same length as a human limb. Can be used on both arms for dual wielding purposes.

Mana Skin (MSK abbreviation) - forms a silvery aura around the user that enhances their strength, speed and defence.

Mana Ray (MR Abbreviation) - forms and fires a silver Ray of Mana from Vali's hand. It moves in a straight line though, so it's easy to dodge if one can see it coming.

Mana Bomb (MB Abbreviation) - form's a silver Sphere the size of Vali's hand which he can toss like a Grenade, which had been the techniques inspiration

Lost items, items which were said to be rare items made with lost technology from the distant past. They were considered to be incredibly strong, effectively making them dangerous items made by CPUs. They were considered as 'lost' whenever they vanished off the grid and the CPUs could no longer find them after a specific timeframe.

Hence, why the trio of adventurers had reacted to the way that they had when they'd laid their gazes upon a large, ruined building. One which looked to have been partially destroyed by something whilst also being somewhat claimed by nature itself, if the vines hanging off certain ledges and the holes in the structure as a whole were any indication.

"I can't believe that we found lost items, Vali!" Emilia exclaimed, her arms swaying too and fro at her sides as her eyes became all sparkly, seriously Vali almost swore he had begun looking into a literal galaxy when he'd turned his head to gaze in her direction.

Still, he needed to give her a response, not to mention that for once he could share in the amazement as he looked back at the large Airship, one which put the airboat he had bought to shame. His eyes reflected the amazement he felt inside as he kept the egg tucked in his arms, almost like a father trying to protect his child from the elements. "Me neither Emilia. I didn't expect to even find lost items, no less than the CPUs creation." he whispered breathlessly, jaw hanging open slightly.

The trio currently walked along a pathway, one which seemed to be similar to an old, deserted city with crumbling buildings as well as moss amongst other bits of nature having claimed much of them. Aside from the building itself, the floating island that the building stood atop of could also be considered a 'Lost Item', Vali could tell since the place looked to have once been built in a style which, according to the history books, resembled an older leanbox era in terms of architecture and building designs. He got the feeling that this had been made by a past CPU of Leanbox because of this, though why the hell this was even here, remained a mystery.

A Floating Island with an unknown amount of goodies inside to call his own… Now THIS combined with the Egg would be a HUGE ass find for him. Vali could only IMAGINE what people's reactions would be when they found out about this.

As for Alpha, she ran her gaze along the building's massive, mysterious form as she struggled to comprehend what fortune had befallen them. "Who would've thought that Vortex contained a lost item. If the CPUs were to learn of this, I bet you they'd probably waste no effort trying to get it back under their control. Still, since we found it first, we can check it out for all kinds of possible goodies inside. What do you think we can find here, Vali?"

"Hmmmmm maybe-?! Shit, hide!"

Just as he made to answer her however, something shocking caught his attention, prompting Vali to quickly grasp Emilia and Alpha's hands, pulling them behind a wall where he saw a robot floating nearby, likely on patrol.

'Tch, guess this place has some security to it still…'

Thinking this, the silver haired boy began to mentally strategize about how to take this thing down, although he didn't rush in like a bumbling idiot would. By no means did he feel like he couldn't take them on, but considering that they were Lost Items, they might possess Magic resistance, something which even he himself couldn't beat with his Mana Series being his primary weapon. Vali may be a battle maniac, but that does not mean that he was a dumbass idiot, he knew the value of combat tactics and strategy, its just that he didn't often need to think of such things since he had more strength than whatever he had encountered before now. Peering out from their hiding place, Vali looked at the robot and saw something past it, something which seemed to resemble an entrance to the Spaceship ahead of them. They must have managed to get close enough to get inside, but right now they wouldn't be able to move further unless he could figure out how destroy that robot other than suicide tactics. 'Dammit! How am I going to destroy that robot..?' the boy wondered in his mind.

"Vali I have something that might help you!"

Soon however, Vali blinked when he heard one of his companions, Emilia, say something which brought him out of his musings. Turning to glance at her, he saw the silver-haired Elf reach into her Inventory, which appeared as a holographic screen which she just put her hands into before proceeding to rummage through it. Seconds later however, she finally found what she had been looking for, taking out out an old gun from her inventory which she then gave to Vali

Raising his brow whilst taking the gun in one hand, the egg placed in his other arm protectively, Vali looked at the piece of tech in his hand inquisitively. "A…...gun?" he wondered, curious as to Emilia's intentions.

Intentions which soon came to light in the following seconds. "Yes! But they are not ordinary guns Vali, they have Magic imbued in them!" Emilia explained, gesturing to the weapon with her right hand. "This should be much better at fighting those things in case they have Magic Resistance."

"........Sweet, thanks Emilia."

After thanking his companion, patting her on the head out of reflex much to her surprise, Vali proceeded to aim the gun towards the robot from his cover, soon being fully prepared to shoot it after recalling how to fire one which he'd seen a few times in books.

CLICK-BOOM!

As soon as he pulled the trigger, a bullet shot out of the chamber imbued with Mana, the recoil of the shot causing his arm to bend backwards. However, it seemed that the bullet had done its trick, for the robot's form sprouted out electricity that zapped it like all hell. This lasted a couple seconds, before finally it couldn't take it anymore and fell down to the ground. When it was safe he and the elves got out from cover as they looked at the robot

"Huh an active robot. These CPUs sure knew their stuff..." Alpha commented as she crouched downwards by the inactive robot's head. She gently knocked on its visor as if she were knocking on a door, mostly a random action which she couldn't help but perform. Like part of her seemed to believe that there might be someone inside of it, only for her actions to confirm that there wasn't.

However, Vali wasn't so interested in an inactive robot-like Alpha (and Emilia too since she stood atop it looking around at its form like she was wondering how it worked) were, instead he focused on the Airship's main entrance which lay open and perfect for getting inside. "We can look at it later if you wish, girls. For now, let's go."

Once they had entered the building, Vali Emilia and Alpha began looking around the interior. Whilst doing so, the trio saw some plants growing inside of the walls alongside the vines on the ledges, which told them that despite it seeming quite old, this structure still seemed to be functioning just fine. Furthermore, something told them that this building had been designed with survival as well as combat in mind, since they had seen some Vending Machines on occasion, but that wasn't very important since they seemed to have long since expired.

As they continued to walk around, Vali and Alpha nearly JUMPED when they heard a loud, girlish shriek from Emilia.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"SHIT! EMILIA!"

"EMILIA! DON'T WORRY, WE'RE COMING!"

After hearing her cries, Vali and Alpha quickly yelled out their responses whilst breaking off into loud sprints, running throughout the ship while they looking left and right in their search for the half Elf.

By the time they found her, Vali and Alpha saw the half Elf just standing there, looking absolutely terrified as her whole body trembled whilst her forehead sweated profusely, her eyes trembling whilst her teeth chattered away like mad.

"Emilia, what happened?!"

"Did something happen to you?!"

Emilia didn't respond to either of their questions, as she shakily pointed a finger at what stood in front of her that had caused her to become scared shitless.

At this, both looked towards the direction Emilia had been pointing at… before they too became stunned senseless.

"AAAAAHHH!"

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

What they saw were two skeletons, one by the wall while the other was near a plant.

".....Well shit. I've seen bodies, but how come they weren't buried?" Vali wondered, his eyes wide whilst a gobsmacked expression had formed on his features.

Beside him, Alpha shook her head with a creeped out look on her face. "I-I don't know Vali. they must've been here a long time."

A few seconds later, Vali shook his head as he struggled to calm himself down. "Well there is nothing we can do for them now, but at least when we're done we'll bury them."

"O-okay Vali, whatever you say." Emilia said while looking sadly at the skeletons before leaving with Vali and Alpha.

Later, the trio reached a tall-looking door, having had to deal with lots of robots standing in their way, but they managed to pull it off successfully. They'd done it with the gun that Vali had received from Emilia, alongside the said half Elf's ice magic. As for Alpha, she kept to the defense and scouting duties since her sword didn't have the capacity to penetrate their armor. She knew this due to having tried it out herself.

"Well now, how are we supposed to get through the door?" Alpha wondered.

Emilia cupped her chin with her right hand, a thoughtful hum escaping her lips. "Hmmmmmmm maybe why not try and use your magic Vali?"

Vali however, had his own opinions on that idea. "I could, but the doors have magic resistance Alpha, we need to find something that can open the door." In the end, he decided to showcase an alternative solution instead. Plus, considering how destructive his power was, he didn't want to risk destroying this Airship.

"Let me seeeeeeee…..Aha! I just got the thing for this."

Whilst rummaging through his inventory, Vali's eyes lit up with victory over successfully locating what he sought, pulling out a card that could be useful to him. He had gotten this when they were trying to find something to open one of the doors, he'd randomly looked at the card that had been just hanging around a skeleton's neck. As much as he didn't want to do it, he had no other choice but to retrieve the card from the dead man's body.

"Well, here goes nothing." After taking a deep breath, Vali put the keycard on a registration screen built into the wall, which then proceeded to scan and verify it's identity as a security card, before promptly opening the door.

"Huh, looks like we got inside…"

"Then let's check our spoils, girls."

"YUP!"

With that declaration, the trio entered through the door, quickly becoming bathed in awe of what they had discovered.

"Wooooaaahhhh, this is so coooooooooool!"

"These lost items, they really live up to the hype!"

"Well I'll be... looks like we found this place's main docking area, but looks like it's almost damaged or gone completely." Whilst Alpha and Emilia bounced up and down in joy whilst hugging one another, giggling like excited schoolgirls, Vali himself hummed in approval as he looked about. He'd soon identified the state the main Docking area had been in, though, which made him wonder how the hell they were supposed to operate the whole thing.

At this, the girls' moods plummeted like a certain Goddess falling from the skies, the disappointment evident on their faces. "Awwwwwwwww. I was hoping we could find something." Alpha moaned in protest.

Something which soon got silenced by the silver-haired boy. "Don't get your hopes high, you two. In any case, let's split up and see what we can find, Alpha you go with Emilia while I go alone. Also, Emilia, take the egg with you."

"Alright Vali, be safe."

"I will."

After separating from his companions, the silver-haired boy could be seen walking around the docking area, trying to find anything of use to him. However, his luck seemed to be bad today, since he couldn't find anything aside from scrap all over the base. Whilst looking around, Vali soon came to what he found was a hangar of some sorts, and unlike what he had been like before his luck seemed to abruptly change… for the better. The reason? Suspended in the air above by cables and wires, was something that caused his eyes to shoot wide open.

"I can't believe it!.....An ancient spaceship!"

Standing below what could only be described as a giant black spaceship-like airship, one easily able to overshadow a small to medium-sized village, it's large, imposing yet futuristic appearance keeping him glued onto it instead of the surroundings, Vali could hardly believe it. From the looks of it, it seemed that this Spaceship seemed to be made around a similar date to what he'd seen from the ruined building housing this thing, he believed. It looked like it still seemed to be in good hands despite being abandoned a long time ago. As he looked at the spaceship, he saw a door just ahead of him

"Well might as well see what is there."

Once he opened the door, Vali saw that it looked almost ENTIRELY different from the world outside. There were no ruins, only things which one could only see in some sort of Sci-Fi setting, he even wondered if it could fly if it's as big as an island.

After a while of exploring, Vali stops by another large door, one which he found himself taking a moment to sort out his equipment for a bit before proceeding, proceeding by swiping the keycard over the scanner and allowing the door to lift upwards.

Once he entered the door, what greeted him on the other side was a robot… though not like the ones outside, rather this one looked to be more stationary in it's design. Yet, as if to compensate, it looked to be slightly larger than the others…

And to his dismay, it had spotted him.

"INTRUDER: DETECTED!"

'Oh, shit!'

That thought becamer the only one to pass through his mind as Vali sprung into action, his many fights teaching him that the one to land the first blow usually got the biggest advantage. He quickly raised his Gun, pointing it towards the robot's sole optic lense that substituted as it's eye, pulling the trigger after infusing a large portion of his Mana into it. Throughout the past battles with the other robots, Vali had discovered that if he amplified his rounds with his own Mana, which seemed to be much more volatile and destructive than compared to normal people's Mana, then the effectiveness of these bullets would increase tenfold, resulting in them being able to shoot entire limbs off or blow robotic heads into nothingness. That just went to showcase just how powerful Vali's Mana was, whilst also increasing his desire to learn more about it's origins.

BOOM!

An explosive sound filled his ears, Vali reinforcing them with his Mana to stop them from bursting from the force of the shot, before he rolled to the side and found himself behind cover.

'That should have done some damage to that thing, now… to… check…' Vali thought, although his thoughts slowly trailed to a stop when he looked out from his hiding spot to the robot's position… and saw it being virtually undamaged with it's hand being outstretched. In front of it, looked to be some sort of Sigil one would use in things like the occult, according to some books Vali had read (he even knew that CPUs used Panels as their own substitute for sigils, as a way of forming barriers, platforms and boosts to their abilities) about them. 'Okay, now THAT's just great! The other Robots didn't have that, I was careless!' Vali thought, gritting his teeth whilst wincing. With this revelation that this Robot apparently had a Magic Barrier, things just got a whole lot harder.

"Magic Based attacks have reached a critical level. Now activating Magic Barrier."

"... You wouldn't stop if I were to present my keycard for you, would you?"

"...One, a foolish action. Two, that keycard belongs to the base personale, your features do not match that of his or other base personale, who were deemed unable to be saved and had zero chance of survival previously. Thus, you are correct in your assumption, intruder."

'Great, this thing's intelligent to boot!' Vali cursed internally, a building frustration welling up in his chest as he reloaded his gun with more Bullets. He'd feared this much, if the enemy had a Magic Barrier which wasn't something that the others had, then there was bound to be other differences to it too, something which he had already considered by the time he had asked that question. Turned out logic and competent intelligence were two such differences it had compared to other robots. 'However, there are some flaws in that barrier, I'd noticed…'

Thoughts and plans formed in his mind as Vali quickly analyzed the previous exchange, coming to his own conclusion in his head as he activated his MSK (Mana Skin), jumping out of his hiding spot for his next play.

"Exterminate."

Seeing him move, the Robot quickly reached forth to grab him by reaching for the direction Vali had been moving towards. Just as the robot had made to reach for it, however, Vali smirked and proceeded to flick his weapon up into the air, causing the robot to turn it's gaze up towards it. That left a small opening for Vali to strike, as he quickly formed two MS's from his arms whilst jumping forwards, his speed reminiscent of a bullet which turned him into a humanoid blur.

"Unknown Mana Detected. Activating Magic-"

Vali had to give the robot some Credit, it seemed to possess quite decent reflexes to notice his deception and make a prompt response. However, it didn't calculate his speed to be so great, therefore it couldn't raise it's magical barrier in time for Vali's right MS (Mana Sword) to be swung dowards in an overhead slice, severing through the robot's right arm BEFORE it could activate it's Magic Barrier.

"Hah! Gochya!"

A victorious grin spread out onto Vali's lips when he felt his MS slice through the robot's arm like a hot knife through butter, though he had taken a precautionary measure just in case this attack had failed due to the metal being harder than he'd thought. The thing was, if one were to add more Mana to this technique, the blade would 'sharpen', increasing it's attack power as well as it's length. Vali had tested this out using Chris as a guinea pig (one could tell how little a threat he saw this Prince as, huh?), and had managed to once make a MS long enough that it could rival half the Ampitheatre's size… although he could only hold it for a couple seconds and one swing before he had to disable the technique for fear of Mana exhaustion. How much can depend on the quantity of Mana applied, which could be seen as a double Edged sword as seen with the previously mentioned Julius fight.

It was just like the MR (Mana Ray) in that sense since that technique could only be fired in a straight line, making it easy enough to dodge if one was fast enough, not to mention he had to stand still for it to properly work although he was still working on that one.

"...Curious."

"?!"

Vali quickly got back into a defensive stance when he heard the robot speak again, not even fazed by the fact that it lacked an arm as it proceeded to pick the severed limb back up to inspect the damage. The cut along the socket where it's shoulder would be connected to the main body looked to have been a pure, clean one. With little resistance offered by the protective armor there, it noticed, before it's optic lense focused back on the wary Vali who refrained from attacking since he had lost his Gun, and now that he didn't have much in the way of a distraction he didn't think the Robot would let down it's guard a second time. He'd have to think of another plan if he wanted to get the advantage again.

"This body, as was this ship and its contents, were created using Ceramite, a substance modern weapons cannot damage to this extent. Yet, this Mana of yours… it is capable of doing so. Moreover, scans indicate that your Mana… does not work the same way as that which is recorded."

This information both concerned and confused Vali at the same time, since what the Robot was basically saying was that his Mana had done something which should normally have not been possible. Not to mention that it worked differently compared to what should be expected of Mana, which of course he had confirmed this himself, a long time ago, but for another to also say this outside of his family really compounded the fact that he was an… well, abnormality in terms of Mana. Plus, he hadn't heard of Ceramite before, so he wanted to look that up for future knowledge since it seemed to be a decent material not to mention one with history to its name.

"What do you mean? Isn't it the same as the Share Energy from the CPUs?"

"I was created by a CPU that goes by the designation 'Purple Sister', the sister of one designated 'Purple Heart'. I can sense the energy that the CPUs have, furthermore scanning can be used in the ship."

"Huh? Just like that? Weren't you planning on killing me, just a few minutes ago?"

"While I was preparing to terminate you, your Mana is different from the Share energy that the CPUs give. You are an unusual anomaly that I even have never seen before."

"I see."

This made Vali more curious about his parentage since it seemed that not even the robot made within this Lost Item could identify the nature of his energy. Though, perhaps he could instead get some answers from this Lost Item to see what he was or who he really was.

Since it seemed that the robot wouldn't be attacking him any time soon, Vali disabled his MSs whilst turning away from it. He then walked to the ship's main console which he believed served as it's control device and just touched it before it turned on. As a result, it showed a list of codes before it went to the command ship, which then the computer projected a green light that rose up and down his form whilst it started scanning.

"Scanning, scanning, please don't move... Confirmed."

"Well, do you know what I am?"

"My scans show that your magic is different from the Gamindustri, not only is it different from normal Mana, it is also unlike Share Energy from the CPUs. Furthermore, scanning showed that your genetics are different from other people here, you are currently a hybrid of two beings: half-human, half unknown."

THAT surprised the young boy big time, hearing that the computer had revealed some information on what he was, he had half expected it to be a total flunk. But, instead, what it told him was the reason why his magic had been so different compared to everyone else's, why he never had the same energy from the people here in Gamindustri. He was half human, half something. Whatever he was, even the scanning couldn't confirm, but nonetheless Vali had managed to get some information about himself. That alone showed progress, as well as dispersed the possibility that he'd been some son of the CPUs. In time, Vali believed that he'd find out what that unknown half of him was, but right now the boy felt quite content with what he'd gotten today. He'd managed to claim some Lost Items, a monster Egg, as well as a floating island to call his own.

Perhaps it would be time to head home, now.

But first, he decided to address the robot which had seemingly put it's arm back into place whilst he hadn't been looking, as evident by how the limb was reattached to its body. Though, the armor remained scratched in a way which showcased the slash which he had inflicted upon it. "So, can you tell me your name?"

"I have no name. Purple Sister didn't have time to give me a name before we were attacked."

When the answer came to him from the robot, Vali blinked in confused surprise. This thing had been attacked? How? Vali wanted to know, so that's what he did with his following questions. "Attacked? By who?"

"I am unaware of their exact nature, but they attacked the facility I had been constructed in by Purple Sister. They would have captured me had my creator not issued a last-minute self-defense protocol which made me teleport out to a random destination… which just so happened to be within this warped space. Enough time had passed since then to declare me a Lost Item, although I do not believe that the enemy who attacked me will have given up at this stage."

So, someone attacked this Lost Item when it had just been created, the first thing it had seen of the world had been the fires of conflict… Vali may not be the most sympathetic person in the world (although that wasn't true for those whom he called precious), he could feel a part of him go out to the Robot. In fact, he began to think of it's situation as similar to the initial time frame where he himself had been hiding like a little bitch from Zora's goons when he hadn't been able to defend himself. Furthermore, this enemy likely wouldn't have given up looking for it, Vali believed, if they were ballsy enough to attack a facility directly belonging to a CPU Candidate (that's what Purple Sister was according to his research on those deities), which meant that he would likely be seeing them soon too. Since he wanted to have this Lost Item for himself…

Whelp, Vali didn't care, he'll just prepare to fight them himself, they HAD to have SOME strong opponents for him in their ranks in order for them to be like that. Vali almost salivated at the thought, but he reined himself in. "I see...then, how about I give you a name?" he offered, and was it just him, or did the robot's optic lense shift in a way reminiscent of perking up?

"That would be appealing to me."

With that confirmation, Vali proceeded to assume a detective's pose, thinking of a name for the Lost Item. "Let me see......…..how about Luxon?"

"Luxon registered, from today onwards this spaceship and land are yours from now on."

"Sweet, can't wait to rub this on Zora if you see this. Luxon there are two companions of mine that are in this ship, please let them know that it's safe and bring them here."

"Confirmed two people in this ship, one-half Elf and the other Elf shall know."

"Alright, Luxon set sail to the Bartford land, it's time to go home."

"Acknowledged, setting sail to Bartford. Calculating the time of destination…...four days until we reach our destination."

"........Oh! And before I forget, bury all the people that have died here in the land, wouldn't want their spirits to try and haunt us or something."

"........Acknowledged."

"It seems that it's been four months, four months since that brat left on an adventure with those Demi-humans."

Back in the Bradford family home, Luce, Zora and their husband sat together in the living room. As one might expect, things had been quite tense in there for some time, especially with the glee that Zora had when discussing her favorite topic with them: the death of their beloved family member Vaii alongside the Demihuman girls who stayed by his side. Things would have been even better if all of the girls whom Vali had rescued had vanished along with that brat, but she could deal with them whenever she wanted, so it wasn't too bad.

"We can't be sure that he's dead, he's a tough kid Zora even you know it."

"Baahhh he must've challenged the sky and maybe lost who knows. If he is not here in three days then he must be dead and Colin shall replace him as a marriage candidate!"

"Grrrrrh!"

Of course, Barcus and Luce did not take too keenly to this idea, not with how much they loved Vali like he wasn't adopted but their own blood-related son. The very THOUGHT of him having perished out there nearly shattered them inside, especially Luce since she knew just how devoted he was to her, the little mamma's boy that he was, which really didn't sit well with her whenever Zora had brought up the possibility (certainty in her mind though) of him being dead.

However, the longer time passed, the more they feared the worst to Zora's delight, something she did NOT bother hiding from them judging by that proud smug ass smirk on her face. Barcus could do nothing about it however, much to his frustration since his wife held all the power right now.

As such, Luce put her hands together, something she had been doing QUITE a lot these days, and made a mental prayer.

'Please come home Vali, I don't want to lose you.'

FWOOSH!

As if her prayers FINALLY got answered, suddenly the door opened as a young boy came out from the door panting like he ran a marathon.

"Papa! Papa!"

"What is it Colin?"

"Out…...outside! There's a big ship that just arrived!"

"Huh?!"

Shock, hope and fear crossed onto their faces whilst Zora looked confused, not to mention slightly shocked, fearful and angry. In order to settle their internal feelings, everyone quickly went outside when Colin had proclaimed that there had been a big ship just outside. Maybe it had been from the kingdom or a representative from the CPUs that had come to visit them. No idea on why that would be though, since they weren't that high on the political system in Gamindustri.

By the time that they reached the outside, each of the adults gasped in shock, with Zora's face quickly giving way to sheer RAGE, at the sight of the biggest ship they had EVER seen. The ship pretty much overshadowed a HUGE portion of the Bradford family island with it's massive bulk, a humbling sight which made them feel like they were looking at some sort of giant existence that could easily have wiped them off the face of the earth. Before anything else could be done however, they had heard a voice that they recognize that made them very happy

"OOOOIIIIII EVERYONE! I'M BACK!"

"WE'RE HOME, MR BARTFORD!"

"SORRY WE MADE YOU WORRY!"

The sounds of three familiar people filled their ears, as a certain silver-haired male alongside his two Elf companions appeared over it's railing, surrounded by no small amounts of treasure and valuables galore.

"I-It's!"

"It's big brother and sisters!"

"Tha-that FUCKING BRAT!"

"HAH HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW ZORA?! THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, YOU'RE SOO WRONG, OLD HAG AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Zora was enraged, so much rage that she broke her fan in anger while looking enraged at Vali's victorious, shit-eating grin which showed JUST how much he appreciated trolling Zora and her fury.

After a few seconds, the silver-haired teen jumped out from his ship and descended down to the ground, activating his MSK so that he won't get hurt from falling a thousand feet. A couple seconds later, he landed on the ground as smoke covered him before walking out from it all, hands in his pockets with the smuggest look on his face that Vali had ever made. Behind him, he could sense how Emilia and Alpha landed with the former creating an ice slide for them to get a safe landing, though right now he could only focus on reuniting with his beloved family. The proud boy walked over to his parents with his head held high, staying silent until he reached the two people who'd taken care of him.

"Hey mom and dad, sorry I was late."

"Oh my baby boy, we're just glad that you're safe."

"It's fine, Vali. Still, ya little punk, you made this old man worry sick about you. Come here, you punkish bastard."

"Hey hey…!"

Barcus grabbed a hold of Vali's head before giving him a noogie, Vali seemingly pretending to try and free himself from his father's hold with a grin on both of their faces.

Meanwhile, Emilia and Alpha jogged up to Luce, the former of the two grinning so wide that it threatened to split her face in two. " It's so good to see you again, mother!" She proclaimed, beaming happily. Over the years she had known them, Luce had pretty much all but officially adopted Emilia and Alpha as her own two daughters, resulting in them calling her their mother. As such, the two girls had an adoptive mother in all but official and blood related terms, as well as an aunt in Fortuna, not to mention a father in Barcus. Heck, one could even say the entire bartford family could be the adoptive family these two ladies had lacked, or had lost in Alpha's case.

"Its so good to see you two girls, too!" Luce proclaimed as she hugged the life out of the smaller Elf girl, who'd returned the hug with gusto. One could say that she was the reason why Vali had the ability to dish out good hugs, something Emilia appreciated a whole hell LOT. After she broke the hug a few minutes later, Luce repeated the gesture but with Alpha this time who'd also promptly returned it. "You two have grown quite a lot, I see. Look at you two, I bet it won't be long now…" she remarked, grinning at the two girls as she looked them up and down. Her grin even turned rather teasing at the end as she tilted her head, putting her index finger on her jaw whilst the other hand went onto her elbow. "My, it won't be long before Vali starts to get affected by your… charms, if this keeps up."

POOF!

POOF!

Two blushes came out of the two girls as a response, prompting a laugh from Luce whilst the two boys of the family remained oblivious, playfully wrestling with one another like many boys did.

This happy family moment, like all things, sadly came to an abrupt end when Zora approached the silver-haired boy. She looked to be trying to not explode in front of him, yet the fact that she seemed so mad that he'd survived yet another adventure, remained all the more apparent. Though, she finally managed to hide it for now as she directed a sneer towards the silver-haired male. "Well now that you found some interesting artifact, I think it's time to give it to me since you found it, it belongs to the Bartford." she claimed, a superior smirk forming on her lips.

Something which vanished when Vali grinned right back at her, his eyes alight with mockery whilst said eyes gained a dim silver glow. "HAH in your dreams old hag, in case you didn't notice I have an adventure license which means I get to have my loot, while you don't. Don't you remember, it clearly says that when adventure finds something, they have the right to keep it, so says the CPUs!"

"YYOOOUUUUU!"

"Looks like I win, again HAG! GEHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Zora just looked at Vali with extreme hatred, knowing that he was right. One of the CPUs had a conflict with another Adventurer, with the two of them arguing on who found a specific item first and who got to keep it. In the end, it had been decided that, in order to resolve this conflict. they had made a law in Gamindustri that whoever owns an adventure license and found an item regardless if it were a Lost one or not, first got to keep it fair and square.

In the end, Zora had no choice but to leave him alone as she retreated back into the house for her trip back to the Mainland of Leanbox, foaming at the mouth with not just Vali but the Demi-humans as well when they laughed at her despair. She will find a way to get rid of Vali and the Demi-humans one way or another, mark her words!

"Hey big bro! Can you tell me how you and the sisters managed to get that huge ship?!" Just then, Collin jugged up to Vali, whom he saw as an idol especially right now, with literal stars in his eyes.

Something which Vali grinned at as he ruffled the kid's head with his right hand. "Oh, you won't believe what kind of adventure I had to go through… though let's move it back inside after that old hag is gone. I don't have to head back to Gameacademy for a few days yet, anyways." he suggested, to which the rest of the family nodded as they proceeded to head back inside. Not even caring about the massive ship anymore.

Their family members had returned, that's all they cared about right now.