Chapter 20: A calming familiarity.
Yogiri was right in his assumption that the entire labyrinth needed to be completed to receive the magic.
The next day, Tsubaki and Shea went straight for the final boss room. Despite expectations, they needed no help besides from each other.
Over the course of their descent, Tsubaki had been learning body strengthening.
She wasn't as talented as Shea but she did manage 3 layers of body strengthening while Shea's max was now at 7.
Tsubaki upon seeing the Hydra was intent on getting its scales. In actuality, the scales were more durable than azantium, it was just that Miledi had compressed her azantium to build the golem.
What they had learned from the bosses was that they would disappear after being defeated, well at least everything still attached to their body.
Using such knowledge after destroying the white head of the Hydra Tsubaki exerted more strength than she ever had before and ripped the scales off. It helped that the Hydra didn't seem to die until all its heads were gone.
Shea held down one of the heads while Tsubaki did all she could to pry them off.
In the end, she got a few hundred but then, the hydra fired off a spell while Shea was pressing down on its mouth. As a result, the Hydra exploded and then disappeared soon after. Leaving the numerous different colored scales.
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For Tsubaki, the sudden transfer of information was indeed a giant headache, but that didn't stop the giant smile that split her face.
She was quick to ask Nemesis to teleport her back.
When she had arrived, Yogiri had told her of gravity magic's use in finding large veins of ore all throughout the planet, especially if she could develop her synergist skills further.
The result was almost immediate as she wanted to instantly challenge the labyrinth she was currently in. Unfortunately, Yogiri stopped her and gave her, her first job.
Making Shea, a hammer.
"Right, I'm not too familiar with how it works but I found this." Yogiri throws a light blue stone at the girl.
"It's cold," Tsubaki says with a start, tossing the stone on the table.
Her current appearance was topless. All she had on were bandages she wrapped around her chest, hoping yet failing to bind her large assets.
As a result, those same assets gave Yogiri a good show by bouncing around.
"Yeah, when it's charged with mana, it turns extremely cold. I want you to make several artifacts with that. We're going to the volcano labyrinth next, I'd rather not be hindered by the heat."
"Hmm, shouldn't be a problem, when are you guys leaving by the way?" She asks stretching her arms and getting her equipment ready.
"In around 3 days." Yogiri, was of course waiting for his next team member. He was also really looking forward to flying on a dragon.
Ah, right there was also the teacher of the heroes. He'd love to meet her and 'talk'.
That was actually the entire reason he even decided to go to the town.
"Yessir, anything else you need boss?" Tsubaki saluted as she grabbed a chunk of the Azantium she couldn't wait to explore.
"Make anything you think would benefit our group, ah right don't forget to make yourself some stuff too." Yogiri tried to think of anything he needed but failed.
"On it, boss, leave it to me." As Yogiri excited through the door he made so she could concentrate, he waved at the saluting girl.
The first thing he was greeted to, was Shea who was flailing around trying to stabilize herself while Yue lifted her with gravity magic.
The latter had shown extreme ease with the magic, that far surpassed everyone in the group except Yogiri and Nemesis.
Yogiri already had prior usage with manipulating gravity, so in all honesty, it felt like his ability was only enhanced.
As for Nemesis, controlling gravity to her seemed like second nature. Maybe it was dark matter origin that just gave her a knack for things like this.
Tsukasa on the other hand was sitting at a table taken from the portable house, and leaning back hard into a plastic chair. All the while she was sipping away at some tea, trying to ignore the screaming Miledi who was still pissed about her golem.
Nemesis was with Darkness training by manipulating gravity the best she could around Darkness.
Darkness was currently under the pressure of 20x normal gravity and on top of that, she had weighted clothes on.
She also had her skill immovable on which although keeping her from moving at all, only seemed to increase the painful-bliss Darkness was in.
Yogiri seeing all the girls proactively throwing themselves into the grind albeit apart from Tsukasa, decides to do the same.
Unlike them, however, he wasn't focusing on gravity magic as of now, but instead his superhuman transformation.
Activating said transformation, besides the faint white glow that emanated initially from him, nothing seemed to change.
Even when he began moving, kicking, and throwing punches about nothing seemed to happen.
Internally though, an energy clone of him was perfectly coordinated with his body.
'No problems' Yogiri nodded before another white glow emanated from his skin. This one was a lot less contained though 80% of it remained in his body.
Yogiri had created another energy clone that overlapped with the previous one.
This time though, when he moved there was a very slight afterimage that seemed to follow after him.
He couldn't keep the second clone completely contained within his body.
Still, he increased the number of clones until after 6 clones, any after that were completely visible outside his body.
At this level, with each energy clone having around 1/4 of his total strength, he was sitting at around 2.5x his normal strength.
He had to cancel it soon though as the energy consumption was outrageous.
Ideally, he wouldn't have more than 4 clones active in his body as he could just infinitely increase the physical strength of his energy clone, as it had no limit. Though, using multiple works to help build his energy efficiency, and lessen the mana consumption.
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"Ahh." A blonde seductress opens her mouth, ready to accept the purple orb that the man at which she was thrown across held out to her.
Yogiri who was relaxing on a random hill somewhere near Horuad, fed the grape to Yue, who had given him a surprise visit a while ago along with the others.
She took advantage of the fact that he was well-reclined in a comfy chair to splay herself across his body and chair. Her short legs dangle off the armrest of the chair, her yukata creasing a bit as the fabric of Yogiri's pants rubs it.
Her waist caves inward, leaving her backside to rest in between his two legs. The lovely soft neck of the girl bends a bit as her head lay cushioned by Yogiri's arm, which was propped up and relaxing on the armrest.
Yogiri could only chuckle as the girl's emotionless eyes stare into his own, demanding more of the purple fruit, he had miraculously found being sold at one of the stands in Horaud.
Across the grassy hill where he sat, were the figures of his comrades all providing him with a unique ambiance as they frolicked around with one another.
Tsukasa who had managed to drag along Miledi, sat on a pink flower-designed quilt and looked through her telescope into the night sky.
On occasion, she'd point something out to the tiny golem beside her. That same golem was quick to snatch the view away as she stared in wonder at what she had been previously limited in viewing.
A bit away, was the silhouette of Tsubaki laying against a tree, a half-drunken bottle glued to her lips.
Her free left hand found its way to her left eye, covered by a black eye patch, something inspired by her beloved Goddess.
That same Goddess is who fully occupied her mind, as she touched along the well-sewn fabric.
The red eyes she shared with her goddess reflected the moon, as she gazed absentmindedly into the clear moon.
That clear nighttime sky brought her back to those nights she spent on the roof of one of her Familia's shops. She found the scenery and atmosphere there particularly desirable when it came to late-night drinking.
*Sigh*
'Get it together Tsubaki'
It felt like everything reminded her of her home world. If she didn't know any better she'd think she had just been teleported to a different part of it.
She hadn't been gone long yet she somehow was already a bit homesick.
With all the crazy things she had experienced in such a short time, she didn't have much to brood over it. It wasn't until she had actually been put to work that her thoughts drifted to Orario.
The hand she used to caress the fabric of her eye patch moved past her face and down her neck. The tree blocked further descent, but she was still able to feel the start of her back, that was only clothed by some wrap.
It brought back memories of her Goddess's hands that pressed against it every time she went to get her status checked.
She was sure that hand would grip her extra hard if she was to see how strong she had grown in such little time.
She chuckled as she moved her hand, from her back. The bottle of rum she had nearly finished escaped her lips as she brought the knee she used to hold up her leg straight down parallel with her other.
A bright smile overtook her face as she imagined the look on the redhead when she revealed her new abilities. The thought made her wish she could go back right that moment.
*Sigh*
She couldn't help but sigh again as her head turned away from the silver moon and to the tan girl who lay next to her.
Her eyes were closed, and her face was relaxed. The girl was completely silent, not even the sound of breaths escaped her. It was almost as if she was dead.
Tsubaki would have panicked if she hadn't learned of the uniqueness some of them possessed, the part about them not needing to breathe included.
The chaos that seemed to surround her from what Tsubaki had observed lacked a presence, as right now she seemed like an innocent child.
It was a little baffling, however, how little care the girl seemed to have for decency.
As of now, the black yukata she wore was completely disheveled. The shoulder parts meant to keep her chest hidden had slipped off mostly, leaving one of her small breasts and nipples exposed to the cool air. The other was only barely covered but still left little to the imagination.
As for her bottom, she was sure that if she looked from a different angle, she would see straight through to her crotch. Even from her current angle, the yukata folded enough that her waist was exposed and she was pretty sure the girl's bare ass was touching the grass.
'That can't be comfortable.' Tsubaki resisted helping the girl, having been quick to associate her current state with how the girl always was.
She was sure that trickster Goddess Loki would love to get her hands on the girl.
Hell even she wanted to snatch the innocent girl up in her arms. She always had an urge to snatch up a cute boy in her arms, it wasn't until she met Darkness and Yue that gender seemed to become unimportant.
'Now that I think about it, Loki would probably try to go after all these girls...' Tsubaki turned her attention away from Nemesis and looked at Darkness.
Said girl was sitting at the edge of the hill attending to her armor and sword, dressed only in her chainmail.
The girl's proportions were through the roof. Even with her assets, she only viewed them as an annoyance when. She could only imagine the burden this girl faced.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn't talked much to the girl, nor did she know too much about her.
She always seemed a bit... Heated? Especially around Yogiri.
Despite her lack, of knowledge about the girl, she was the one that seemed the most familiar to Tsubaki.
It was more so the way she carried herself that gave the feel of a Nobel. Unlike those annoying pricks though, she wasn't cocky.
Shea also gave her a similar vibe. She had met quite a few rabbit-man demi-humans. They had all been quick, something Shea demonstrated with how she was darting around collecting wood to build a fire.
She had spoken quite a bit with the girl, especially when she was getting her measurements to make the hammer suit her best.
She had an enthusiasm to her that reminded her of Lefiya Viridis, a member of the Loki familia. She was pleasant in that regard.
Among the group, she found herself in there were also those who she found to be far older than him.
To start were the two who sat looking into the night sky.
The one on the left is a pink-haired girl in a yukata similar to that of Nemesis. Unlike the unruly tease sleeping beside her, however, the girl's yukata was without wrinkle nor imperfection.
She had learned that image didn't change much no matter the situation. She always seemed to be spectating rather than being a main contributor to any of the discussions. That only changed when she was around Yogiri.
Besides her appearance, it wasn't hard to believe the girl was over a millennia years old.
The one to her right though was a lot different.
Every time she had seen her, she was acting like a child. Screaming, yelling, or teasing one of the group members.
She had learned from Yogiri that she was the oldest of them all.
That, above all the weird magic and weirdness she had experienced, was what she considered the hardest to believe.
In fact, even now she had somewhat taken the information as a joke.
Kind of a mixed case from the two were the two huddled up on the chair, wrapped in each other's embrace.
The girl, she had confirmed despite looking 12 was actually over 300. She didn't have the immaturity of a child like a certain golem, yet at the same time, the wisdom that Tsukasa had was not as present.
She didn't have much to go off though, and she might have been mistaken. The same was with the man who held the girl.
Her 'master' the man who everyone referred to as their leader. He by far was the one she had the most contact with.
She learned of his hedonism relatively quickly with how Nemesis talked openly about their sex life, and from how she caught him eyeing her goods a few times.
Besides that though, she honestly couldn't get a read on him. It felt like there was more to him than he portrayed.
Not once though had his age ever come up, but she wouldn't be surprised if it surpassed her own.
There were cases where she'd get that maternal instinct to smother him when he'd give her that starry-eyed smile when she completed something.
His atmosphere gave her the go-ahead she needed to act on that desire and she did. Though, the motherly feeling she usually got was replaced with something more lustful.
It was another peculiarity about him.
Taking her eyes off from the group members she had found herself acquainted with, Tsubaki let her body fall to its side and lazily rolled to her back.
She was quite drained from the day's activities. Since she got 'Creation magic' it had been three days.
Tomorrow, they would be setting out for the next labyrinth. She kind of wanted to go after the labyrinth her workshop was in but, they didn't have time.
As the day's fatigue began catching up with her, her darkening vision landed on the two who had been relaxing on the chair.
In her loss of consciousness, she didn't bother to question the reason why Darkness was kneeling between Yogiri's legs and bobbing her head up and down.
Nor did she question the reason why, Yue was suddenly naked and had Yogiri's fingers going in and out of her cunt.
Instead, her vision turned to dark, and the day for her ended.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone