Chapter 84: The Aftermath and Spoils of a Quest

Multiple proficiency requirements fulfilled. [Sundering Enhancement Lv. 5] [Piercing Enhancement Lv. 5] [Water Resistance Lv. 2] [Stage Fever Lv. 2] [Terror Aura Lv. 2] [Body Temperature Control Lv. 5] gained

Title [Divine Inferno] description has changed

[Overheated (Minor)] [Starvation (Minor)] [Dehydration (Minor)] [Arcane Fever (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]

“Say, ‘ahhhhhhhhh’,” Saori said as she drew a wooden spoon filled with steamed white grain coated in a mouthwatering brown sauce close to my mouth.

“Ahhhhhhhhh, mhmph,” I bite onto it, drawing the warm, savory food into my mouth, letting my saliva run as I started chewing on it. “Mhmmmm!” The tender meat and the filling toffels compliment the white, oval grain, adding an extra flair of texture as my cheeks turned red from the nostalgic taste after I swallowed it.

“Hestia, your cheeks! Is it the food or are you warming up again?” Saori asked as she hastily grabbed a cup of tea and poured it into my mouth.

“Bwuah! Saori, I’m not a kid! And it’s the food! You should know how nostalgic the taste of rice should be,” I blurted out with a frown as I nearly coughed on the tea.

Saori's eyes widened for a second, her mouth agape as she put the teacup down, “O-Oh…I apologize, I overreacted a bit…How is the taste?”

“It’s good on the Saori cooking scale, but the curry isn’t there yet. The spice combination isn’t correct I believe,” I answered her question as she fed me another spoonful of curry rice.

Subjugating the bandits not only meant that we fulfilled the Quest that we got from Colwyn but also that we secured the food that they stole. Honestly, I was glad it wasn’t destroyed during the whole raid. It’s a miracle that it didn’t get burned to ashes!

Speaking of burns…

“How are your burns? They still hurt?” I asked with a troubled expression, eyeing her singed arms.

“…What is that frown? Come on, smile for me, Hestia," Saori urged me as she placed two fingers on the edges of my mouth and pushed them upwards. “As you once said, ‘An Idol must always keep up a smile’. Do not worry, Kushlek’zar already healed me. The fur will need some time to regrow, but I prefer this look personally, heh.”

Despite how much Saori was trying to cheer me up, I couldn't help but continue looking at those burns, regardless if they were gone now or not. The thought of who gave Saori those wounds made my heart hurt as if it was being squashed.

…I know it wasn’t technically my fault. I mean, who would have thought that the fuckin fire origin god himself would be so “nice” to grant me his blessing and the new title [Divine Inferno]. I should be grateful ‘cause it improved the strength of my fire spells, right? FUCK NO! I’M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT AT ALL!

Why, why, why, why did that fucking bastard do that to me, huh? Not only did I gain his “blessing” but I also lost all my fire, inferno, and holy spells. Sure, I got [White Flames] and [Corrosive Fire] in return…but who asked him to do that for me, huh?!

I also never asked him to fix my custom spell “Imperial Hellfire”, alright? Oh, wait, I mean, [Symphonie des Feuergottes]. Do you know what “Feuergottes” means in English? Fucking, “Fire God”! Translated that meant “Fire God’s Symphony”! Argh, not only did he steal my chance to finally finish my custom spell, but I am now the “proud” owner of a spell made by that narcissistic piece of shit Danterno!

…Jeez, why, why? Harrgh, I told myself that I wouldn’t go on a rampage and kill things like that. I didn’t want to kill things without my own consent. I’m sorry, Macklemor…why didn’t you surrender…Dummkopf.

I'll be honest here, I was frustrated that I killed him due to my rampage but it actually didn't mean that much to me. Macklemor was a bandit and he stayed adamant about being my enemy to his last breath. To me, as a monster, it was just business as usual.

“Whew, that [Starvation (Minor)] will not disappear anytime soon it seems. I’ll get you some more curry rice. Tasianna, like before, please take care of her,” Saori ordered the person behind me as she stood up and went back to the cauldron manned by Mister Kushlek’zar.

“Of course, Miss Saori!” Tasianna stated with fervor. “Lady Hestia, how is it? Should I raise the temperature or is this cold adequate?”

I showed her a small smile before nodding, “No, it’s perfect. I can feel myself cooling down and I think [Overheated (Minor)] will disappear soon. Thanks for asking, Tasianna.”

“That is a relief to hear, Lady Hestia. It is a pleasure to serve you,” she responded. “…If I may, could I ask you how it felt to lose so many spells? You mentioned that was the reason why you lost control of your body.”

After Danterno took away my spells, my mind essentially went into shock. It felt like the System didn’t know what it was supposed to do when so many spells were deleted from my “mind” in such a short moment. I went unconscious for a few seconds due to the pain of having them ripped out from me.

Don’t forget that I didn’t learn all these spells naturally like a custom spell. They are System spells created by the Origin God and they literally are implanted into you through your status board. I never gave it a thought but thinking of them as “rented” spells kinda made sense now.

I just wish the process was less painful. My parallel minds explained to me that due to me, the original mind, disconnecting from our body, none of them could get my permission to control it, leading to me acting as if I was under the effects of [Battle Frenzy (Moderate)]. I was essentially acting on my draconic instincts, my monster side.

It saw everything as an enemy and all it wanted to do was to protect itself. The dread I felt when it didn’t even register Saori or Tasianna as friendlies. My parallel minds and I did our best to regain control, but it took so long. It was like something inside me was rejecting me. It’s such a disturbing thought that even now sent a chill down my spine.

It also didn’t help that I somehow gained the skills [Dreadflame Dragon] and [Hellblade Dragon] by losing [Spark Fire Dragon], [Draconic Claws], and [Draconic Fang]. I don’t know how it was possible that I got those two skills despite not evolving into those two races. My body literally changed with them without me needing to evolve.

Seeing my body use [Scale-dust Veil], [Hellblade Edge], and [Dreadflare Aura] did make me a bit excited from the sheer flexibility and power of those abilities but that instantly disappeared once I saw myself use them on the saurians and my friends. I was so hysterical about it that all the progress we made on taking back our body was gone, as any distressing emotions I felt would influence my parallel minds.

Eventually, I did calm down though, but that was mostly ‘cause my body reached its limit. [Dreadflare Aura] and [Symphonie des Feuergottes] covered me in intense heat that would usually kill anything that couldn’t withstand a literal volcano…and I was in the epicenter of it.

It consumed so many calories that I got [Starvation (Minor)] while also giving me [Dehydration (Moderate)] ‘cause my sweat was literally evaporating from my skin due to the heat.

I was currently unable to move my body due to [Arcane Fever (Minor)]. How did I get it despite being extremely resistant against it? Well, imagine me having to manage my [Overheated (Moderate)] to the point that my [Body Temperature Control] jumped three levels while keeping [Symphonie des Feuergottes], [Dreadflare Aura], and [Hellblade Edge] active.

That is a ton of mana that I used in a short amount of time…but that wasn’t all. I also used [Pyrokinesis] to emulate some of my [Inferno Magic] spells. There were no magic circles, I just transformed them into a certain form and shot them at Mister Kushlek’zar who was dueling me with his water spells.

Saori admitted that she couldn’t believe that I lost a mana duel against somebody with less Mana, but what can I say except I used too much. Thankfully, I passively recovered enough Mana that I didn’t run out of it. The last thing I needed was to experience [Mana Stress], again.

Mana Stress

A status effect inflicted when the owner’s Mana is zero. Restricts all Mana recovery. Any further usage of Mana will stress out the mana paths

Urgh…that memory of the garm matriarch’s limbs exploding in a bloody fountain due to [Mana Stress] is as vivid as on the day I saw it.

While [Mana Stress] was already terrible, [Arcane Fever] fucking sucks. I’m having a terrible headache, I puked blood, and my body was limp. The last time I felt this way was after my first encounter with one of the snake heads of the leviathan, but this was the real deal now.

While [Mana Stress] wouldn’t kill you if you just chilled and rested, [Arcane Fever] continuously decreases your Health while it’s active. I was lucky to have a lot of Health and also Mister Kushlek’zar to cast [Ocean’s Healing] on me, otherwise…

Yeah, thinking about it does drain the blood from my face.

“Ahhh, Lady Hestia! Depth Priest Kushlek’zar, she needs healing, again!” Tasianna worriedly shouted out before grabbing the tea and pouring it down my throat. “My Lady, please, you must drink the tea!”

“Mhumphfpfpf!” I mumbled, unable to answer as tea water gushed down my throat.

“Ocean Healing!” Mister Kushlek’zar shouted out as he dashed over to me.

Tea made out of the leaves of the Fulinoe plant that could alleviate arcane corruption problem while Mister Kushlek’zar was always close by to heal me the moment my Health dropped too low. Yeah, I am really lucky to have friends around to help me with my first case of [Arcane Fever]. If I were still alone in the Belzac forest, I would have definitely died.

“Hestia, are you alright? Here, another bowl of curry rice ready to fulfill your [Starvation (Minor)],” Saori stated after running to us.

"Ha ha ha, that is very optimistic of you, Miss Saori," Kushlek'zar responded with a merry laugh. "She ate through two cauldrons filled to the brim with your wonderful food. She probably needs more considering that she not only used quite the amount of Mana but is also a dragon.”

He says it like that, but I didn’t hoard those two cauldrons for myself. The saurians and the humans ate quite a lot themselves.

“Thank you…,” I thanked them with down-casted eyes, trying to hide my tears as I was unable to wipe them away with my feeble arms.

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“Hestia…,” Saori placed the bowl on the ground, ruffled my hair with affection, and then gave me a short hug. “See? You cooled down enough. You cannot burn me in this state.”

The meaning behind these words lies with the fact that Saori and Tasianna both burned themselves after embracing me the moment my rampage ended. Despite Mister Kushlek’zar cooling the area with his water magic, it wasn’t enough as I still had [Overheated (Moderate)]. Even if it was an accident, it didn’t make me feel any better.

“Seeing a young scale in such a state does not make this old scale very happy, Hestia. Do me a favor and go back to your previous state,” Mister Kushlek’zar urged me while crossing his arms. “Besides, you mustn’t fault yourself for something caused by the gods. Instead, feel honored that you have fancied an Origin God.”

I couldn’t hide anything from Mister Kushlek’zar at this point. I might not have told him about Kargryxmor and Aurena but I couldn’t construct a proper lie to excuse my rampage at all. There is also the fact that I couldn’t hide [Divine Inferno] in time before he used [Identify] on me. If the cat is already out of the bag, I might as well come clean. Especially when he was kind enough to hold back to avoid killing me during that battle.

“…I do understand what you mean, Mister Kushlek’zar, but…aren’t you annoyed that I killed those captured bandits?” I asked feebly, avoiding making eye contact with him.

The bandits the saurians captured weren't lucky enough to survive my rampage as nobody helped them when I activated [Dreadflare Aura]. They were too close to me that I literally cooked them alive, scorching them until only their bones were left.

Speaking of which, I also destroyed my party bracelet with that act. Saori might have gotten the experience when I killed Macklemor but she missed out on those 21. It is disturbing to think that I was more annoyed at the fact that the experience was wasted instead of me killing 22 humans and beastmen today.

Has my mind turned completely into that of a monster?

"Don't let that cloud your mind, young scale. They were destined for judgment anyways, due to their crimes of pillaging and murder," Mister Kushlek'zar answered with a firm tone, sternly speaking against my naivete. "You have a good soul, lass, so don't let these criminals distort it. Helping the innocent and condemning the wicked is a worthy cause to strive for. Just look over to the prisoners you’ve freed.”

His arm directed my eyes toward the group of 30 or so villagers and mercenaries, all huddled up away from the saurians. They were all devouring the curry rice that Saori made. As the food was technically theirs, we couldn’t exactly deny them from getting any especially with how malnourished they were.

“We were lucky that none of them actually were sold off to a slave trader. My co-workers there informed me that the bandits had an argument with them that led to the end of any transactions. Ha, and here I thought the ‘Depth Serpents’ had to go headhunt them,” the relief in Mister Kushlek’zar’s voice suggested that this wasn’t a common occurrence. “I believe every culture has a tradition where they hold a feast after a momentous event. Isn’t the joy in their faces enough to soothe your mind, young scale?”

Breaking bread with each other while beads of tears dripped into their curry rice was a wholesome sight, equivalent to the time I spent with the lizardmen…although the “feast” was pretty lacking.

“You call it a feast but I was the only one who cooked, and only curry rice is not enough,” Saori complained with a frowned face, as she kept stuffing my mouth with the exact curry rice. “Thankfully we were able to cook the hardened rice quite fast, thanks to Hestia’s body temperature. As much as I wanted to create a variety of dishes, Hestia and the malnourished prisoners required an easy-to-eat and filling meal, which so happens to be curry.”

“Thanks to my body temperature”, yeah, putting my weakened body under a pot to cook a large batch of rice without having to create a fire was a pretty good idea. Due to the transfer of heat, that process also managed to cool me down a bit, so we hit two birds with one stone. It just doesn’t help that I felt like a tool.

“Mhmm, certainly helps that it was delicious. How long has it been since I tasted curry? Since I left Caedhul? Yours however has a certain charm unlike the marine country’s, which I assume is due to it being sweeter? Curious, where you learned this meal, Miss Saori,” Mister Kushlek’zar mumbled as he licked his mouth clean with his long tongue, still suspicious that Saori was a monster like me.

Regardless of how tensed it seemed, the two somehow hit it off as Saori simply ignored his attempt to draw an answer out of her and just talked about curry with him. Mister Kushlek’zar wasn’t exactly helpful as he didn’t know the spice blends too well, but any criticism for her curry was satisfactory for Saori.

As I was watching them talk, while Saori kept feeding me the curry and the fulinoe tea, Tasianna suddenly tickled my ear as she talked into it, “Lady Hestia, are you still worried about what happened?”

The concern in her voice made me clench my teeth, “…Was I that obvious?”

“You usually are far more talkative,” Tasianna answered with a nod. “Even when you were enfeebled after our fight with one of the leviathan’s appendages, you tried to speak even when you were so close to [Arcane Fever]. However, it feels like you are trying to avoid speaking if it isn’t urgent.”

Well, what can I say besides I’m not in the mood…

“Hestia…,” Saori stopped speaking with Mister Kushlek’zar the moment she heard Tasianna, putting the bowl of food down. “Look at me, nothing happened to us. You neither hurt Tasianna nor me. This is Danterno’s fault, not yours.”

“…You still couldn’t stop me, though…,” I meekly gave out while looking at my new set of claws. “My body didn’t know how to control its new power output, so it recklessly used everything in my arsenal without a care. However, the more I get used to it, the more I can master my new abilities, the more dangerous my feral state will be.”

I shook my arm, releasing shining red scales onto the ground, “Condense [Symphonie des Feuergottes]’s initial explosion, use [Dreadflare Aura] as a one-second burst attack instead of a continuous heatwave, ignite the scale-dust with my claws instead of my mouth to prevent the explosion to cloud my vision. I can think of so many ways to refine my battle habits, and I don’t think this is all my body is capable of. I still haven’t even checked my dragon form’s yet. Due to [Divine Inferno] I can’t hurt myself with my own fire spells and it seems like my feral state somehow is able to cast custom spells, but not System spells.” I gave a defeated chuckle as I counted up all these reasons. “It has only been a week or so and we’re back to the same fucking discussion. When will I next go on another rampage? Can somebody stop me next time? All this worrying is making me sick of myself.”

I eyed the sharp end of my claws. So sharp, so durable, so strong. They can pierce even metal at this point, not to mention simple bare flesh. One clean swipe. That is all I need to end somebody’s life. One clean swipe and it all ends.

As my line of sight never strayed from my claws, a black-furred hand blocked them, displaying its own claws to me. They were shorter, duller, and less imposing. They couldn’t be compared to mine at all.

“Don’t,” Saori uttered with a shake of her head, a bitter smile trembling to keep itself together, as her deep-red eyes peered into me.

“…I gave you my promise, and I plan to keep it. I have a dream, which I will not squander a second time. I have two precious friends, whose eyes I don’t want to see empty,” I breathed in deeply, so much so that I felt dizzy from the extra amount of oxygen, before exhaling and looking at them with firm eyes. “I’m counting on you two. Please support me as I try to control the beast inside me, so I won’t make you two sad ever again.”

“By your will, Lady Hestia!” Tasianna shouted as she kneeled down, hiding her wet eyes by casting her face down.

“Keep your shine, Hestia. Don’t let this week’s events pull you down,” Saori encouraged me as she presses her hands around my cheeks, showing a smile at my renewed determination.

I’ve learned some valuable lessons from this Quest. First, that killing when I need to do it, whether it may be humans, beastmen, or monsters, isn’t something that I should worry so much about. Feeling guilty about every single kill isn't good for me, but I should always be wary to never abandon the moralities that I've learned.

Second, seeing my friends being sad is more painful to me than I actually thought. Crying and being depressive about the matter is natural but what’s important is that I get myself up and going. Nobody wants to see me in this state and if an Idol can’t bounce back from a bad day, then what have I been doing with my life on Earth.

Third, and lastly, fuck Danterno and Kargryxmor.

Fuck those two, seriously. Fuck Kargryxmor for giving me this shitty blessing that only produces troubles. Weakness to water and also that shitty [Battle Frenzy]. Pah, this is more like a curse at this point!

And Danterno, you can go suck a big one, you bastard. Nobody asked you to help me here. Do you honestly believe that I would be grateful to you when you didn’t even have the courtesy to prevent me from attacking my friends? Your asinine execution of your plan makes me want to vomit. Don’t even think about me becoming your pawn!

Divine Inferno

A title granted to a mortal recognized by the God of Fire, whose control has been usurped by the owner. Boosts proficiency gain of magics based on Fire Element, while also boosting their power. Decreases Water Element proficiency. The possessor of this title will also gain immunity to any fire spell that he/she cast

I don't know what Aurena is like, but I honestly am contemplating working with her just to spite those two sick fucks. Nonetheless, any wyverns or dragons will probably be bad news for me. I'm not gonna speak with my "grandpa".

“Hmm, that spark in your eyes seemed to have reignited,” Mister Kushlek’zar stated with a wide grin. “Here’s a lesson for the future, never stay in debt with a mercenary. You understand, young scale?”

“Uh, uhm, yes!” I responded with a weary tone.

“Good, then once your [Arcane Fever] is gone, we will get back to training. I do not have much time until I must depart but as my student, I want you to learn all four advanced casting techniques. You said that your lost [Fire Magic], [Inferno Magic], and [Holy Magic], right?" I nodded at his question. "Then it is even more imperative that you learn how to properly construct a custom spell. As a mage and your master, I cannot fathom what you can do with your talent, especially with those white and purple flames."

Mister Kushlek’zar scratched his plumage again, thinking about something before speaking, “…As a member of the mages guild, I am actually obligated to report to them about your custom spell. The mages guild is responsible for managing all official mages including their custom spell usages. However, at this point, it is very likely that they will forbid your spell, so until you can control that spell properly, don’t show it to the world.”

The old scale then turned his head towards Saori and Tasianna, “I will also assume you two wish to learn, too, correct?”

The two nodded in unison.

Astalos is still hunting for us and Danterno won’t be happy about what happened here. It can’t be a coincidence that I got this blessing when I was in the presence of Macklemor. I need more strength to fend those two away, to keep my happiness…which means it is almost time…

After I ate and drank enough to get rid of both [Starvation] and [Dehydration], everybody rested for the night, while the saurians kept watch. Once morning came, both [Overheated] and [Arcane Fever] disappeared.

Having fully recovered from the aftermath of that bandit raid, the saurians and my party started our escort of the former prisoners towards Carine village. Unfortunately, we couldn’t move too fast as most of the villagers and mercenaries couldn’t muster enough strength to walk for too long until they needed a break. We had to move slower, especially when the cold nights came earlier now.

Fortunately for my party, that meant that we had more time to learn from Mister Kushlek’zar while also giving us a chance to bond with the whole saurian party. It also got to the point that I started calling Krim-slak “elder scale” out of respect. I mean, the saurians were reluctant about helping me but they still did. It’s just normal.

After four days of travel through the woods, we finally reached the outskirts of Carine village.

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