Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Someone Who was Supposed to be a Supporter
(This chapter was re-uploaded on Monday 14/August/2023 9:00 PM, timezone GMT+3)
('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the notes at the end of the chapter.
"..." small moment of silence
"Talking"
"He-" Someone was interrupted.
'Thinking'
[Skills' names, chanting and spells' names]
Don't shy from commenting on typos and/or inconsistencies. That and/or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you.
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.
(Line Break)
"Comfy featheeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrssssssss!!" She mindlessly flailed her arms around as Fey got out of bed, trying and failing to clear the last stretch towards Fey's feathery goodness.
"Before that, update our falna" Henryk demanded.
"I concur" Bell was of the same opinion as Henryk.
"Do I get to sleep in Fey's feathers?" Hestia had a pouty face saying that. She was displeased. Fey's feathers were the comfiest things to sleep in.
"Short lady can" Fey lazily said. She wanted to sleep in today.
"Fine then. Let's get this over with. I want to relax" Hestia grumbled.
"Start with me" Henryk wanted to go first.
(Line Break)
(6 days' worth of effort)
Name: Henryk Williams
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: I35 --> I81
END: I24 --> I74
DEX: I35 -- > I85
AGI: I23 --> I83
MAG: I0
Magic:
None.
Skills:
Advanced Taming:
By weakening a monster, you could feed it a magic stone to tame it.
The monsters you tame become a new species.
Monsters can heal any injury by eating magic stones. Unhampering wounds are still going to form.
Master of monsters:
Although you may be slower than your monsters, you will be able to follow their movements as clear as day.
Orders:
If out of earshot of your monster, only one order could be transmitted at a time. Upon receiving a reply, you could send the next order. Orders could be ignored.
Fake Falna:
Allows the automatic bestowal of falna to your monsters.
Bestowing and updating the fake falna does not require your blood, only levelling up does.
The fake falna can enhance parameters using only magic stones as a catalyst; they replace excellia.
The monsters you tame at least have one non-racial skill and one racial skill. Some of them could have more.
If the monsters have an animal person counterpart, they will get a [humanification] skill to become that counterpart.
Your monsters' levels increase by one after being tamed.
Monsters will acquire the [Abnormal Resistance I] development ability for level two. Any further development ability could be chosen by you.
Monsters' parameters, upon being tamed, for all levels below their shown level are all S999, regardless of the presence of any magic spells, or the lack thereof.
Feeding the monster a magic stone of the same species, it will make them into a variant with a skill appropriate for the variant type or change an already existing skill accordingly.
Monsters currently tamed:
- Hippogriff: Fey Williams. (Harpy Eagle variant)
- Kobold: Ouros Williams. (German Shepherd variant)
- Kobold: Mont Williams. (Great Dane variant)
- Kobold: Blanc Williams. (Irish Wolfhound variant)
- Kobold: Noland Williams. (Siberian Husky variant)
- Minotaur: Taurus. (Bloody Menace variant)
- Siren: Ray. (Mystical Feathers variant)
- Kobold: Olympia Williams. (Irish Wolfhound variant)
- Kobold: Gracie Williams. (Whippet variant)
- Kobold: Gladia Williams. (Jack Russell Terrier variant)
- Blue Papilio: Galleon Williams. (Queen Alexandra's Birdwing variant)
- Blue Papilio: Flora Williams. (Queen Alexandra's Birdwing variant)
- Purple Moth: Pepper Williams. (Atlas variant)
- Purple Moth: Bones Williams. (Horn variant)
- Purple Moth: Luna Williams. (Luna variant)
Walking Orchestra:
You can replay any music or song you heard before for others. You can choose to play the sound with you as the center, or let it play from everywhere around the room equally. The volume is adjustable.
Observation:
A transparent leather scroll will appear before you. Only you and authorized people can see the leather's contents. The contents will show a status representing the current location of your monsters and their physical condition. Recent activities could be toggled.
(Line Break)
"... No way..." Hestia was astonished.
"Yes way" Henryk wondered why she sounded so shocked. 'I feel like we went through something like this before'
"You got another skill! Just how many will you get before you are satisfied?!"
"Well, the more, the merrier" Henryk was unrightfully smug. It was not even his own achievement to begin with. The skill came out of nowhere, unexpected.
(Line Break)
Name: Bell Cranel
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: I87
END: I19
DEX: H109
AGI: H197
MAG: I0
Magic:
None.
Skills:
None.
(Line Break)
"You grew up fast, Bell~" Henryk knew that tone. Hestia wanted to play with Bell a little.
"Of course, lady Hestia. He is a child. As they say, children grow fast" Henryk played along to redirect Bell's attention elsewhere. He was currently the weakest of the familia even though he was the captain. Not to mention, Bell thirsted for a skill and was seeing all the others getting skills for no reason.
"HENRYK! LADY GODDESS! YOU IDIOOOOOTS!!!"
(Line Break)
"Jeez! Stop saying things like that, Henryk!"
They were walking with Fey laying lazily on Henryk's shoulder. She was still forced to follow them out. An entire squad followed them. The seven kobold siblings, Bones and Alexander.
"As you wish, Captain Rabbit" Henryk smirked at Bell's dismay.
"Henryk!" Bell was a little flustered.
"To be honest, you needed to get out of that dangerous mood. I can tell you something interesting, though. You will get a something that will make the entire world envious. No, I'm not telling you where I heard that" 'That, and I needed to fool you into coming towards the Hostess on your way today without you noticing'
Bell's steps came to a halt. He felt like someone was looking at him from somewhere. Where exactly, he did not know.
"Excuse me? You dropped this" A girl approached them. She has bluish gray hair that she keeps tied with a small knot in a ponytail style. Her eyes are the same color as her hair, and she has a light peachy colored smooth skin. She wears a white blouse and a leaf-colored knee-length long skirt. She also wears a slightly long half apron around her waist. She wears a pair of brown boots over black stockings.
"But I am sure I handed all of mine yesterday? Anyway, my name is Bell Cranel and I thank you miss...?"
"Syr Flova"
"The greatest innocent scammer in the city" Henryk commented.
"Hey!" Syr punched him and nursed her hurt hand. Henryk felt the tickle the punch came with.
"What?!" Bell was taken aback by Henryk's statement. "Someone so pretty can be a scammer?"
'Naive, my poor captain' "Captain, Syr wants to scam you into spending more money here tonight. Which, by the way, is worth every penny"
"Mean of you, Henryk!" Syr pouted.
Henryk put Ray between them to protect himself from Syr's cutesy attacks.
"Eh?!! You know each other?" Bell was looking back and forth between the two.
"Papa and Fey ate here before! The food here was really good! It was really plenty! It was really delish! They were very delish grilled rabbits!" Fey's mouth watered at the memory of the grilled rabbit meat she ate last time and the time before it.
Bell was fidgeting. He got a feeling a predator was eyeing him. Looking every which way, he found nothing like one. He dismissed it for his mental stability.
"Aaanyway" Henryk rolled his eyes, "I would've dragged captain here tonight regardless. You keep the stone to scam another person in"
"What do you think of me?" Syr complained.
"A young lady with charming silver eyes and beautiful silver, flowing hair" Syr's face reddened. She was known for playfully teasing others, but she was also weak to being teased herself. "Problem, this young lady has a twisted personality that loves to try and fluster people"
"HEY!" She did not like the sound of that. She would have punched him again if it did not hurt her.
'Good thing this entire thing's only a joke. I wouldn't know how to deal with her otherwise'
"Leaving that aside, I want to give you something" Syr went to the kitchen to grab something. Henryk knew what it is she was getting.
"Henry?"
"Don't worry, Ray. She wasn't on my list. You can also consider the list burned to ashes and scattered through the wind. No other woman can take your place now" Henryk hurriedly said. He was uncomfortable saying something flirty like that, but he felt like he needed to do it.
"Thank you" Ray pulled him down a little using both wings to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Henryk was stunned, staring into the void with one hand over where Ray kissed him. Fey took that opportunity to escape back to the comfort of her mattress in the confines of the church.
Syr came back just in time to witness Ray's actions. She was "Ooohh!"ing with a devilish smile while preparing new teasing lines for Henryk.
As for Bell, he was not in the mortal world anymore. In his mind, he was imagining himself and Aiz doing something similar.
"Take this and go before it's too late" Syr shoved her handmade lunchboxes at an entranced Bell.
"Tell Mia to reserve some tables for me. My children will be coming with us tonight. We will need a total of ten chairs on the tables and two chairs by the counter"
"Anything else?" She was a big tease, but she was professional when it came to her job.
"No, thanks. We will see you tonight" Henryk waved her goodbye.
"I will be waiting for you" She shouted at them excitedly. She might get a raise in this week's salary for getting more than ten customers coming after being invited by her. Better yet, one was a confirmed glutton. Her eyes were full of valis.
As they walked away, Henryk looked behind. 'Good. She's still in earshot' "Captain, prepare an antidote or two. Her food's highly poisonous"
"HEY!" Only if mama Mia would not scold her for skipping work. She wanted to give Henryk a piece of her mind.
"Umm" Bell nodded. Bell was still fantasizing things.
(Line Break)
"I will say this one last time. Your jobs today are two things. One is to tame more monsters by proxy. Blanc will fill you in on the details of that later. The other thing is to gather as many magic stones as you can, preferably from stronger monsters.
If you have the time, hunt monsters from floors one through eighteen. Gather around twenty of every monster on every floor, twenty goblins from floor one, twenty goblins from floor two and so on, with the other monsters too.
Keep them separated into the sacks I gave you by monster type and floor. Goblin magic stones from first floor are going to be separate from those of the second floor, like with other monsters.
We will keep the magic stones for a later experiment. Focus on the rare among them, those being the infant dragons and crystal mantises. Those don't appear that often. And even if we forced them to, I assume not many'd appear.
Olympia, Gladia and Gracie, unarmed for now, should focus on carving and carrying magic stones for today.
Alexander should stay in the rear. If anyone needed healing and had the time, go to the rear to get treated.
Bones, fly as high as the ceiling allows for and spray poison powder from where the monsters or adventurers aren't going to see you.
Magic stones should be consumed as little as possible. And remember this, your safety takes priority. If someone attacked you" Henryk's face turned grim, "kill them. Your group's filled with strong monsters. You should be able to win a scuffle with them. That's especially the case if you fight under the effects of [Pack Member] and apply [Gjallarhorn Howl] whenever possible.
Don't forgive those who attack you first. Doing so gives them the chance to complicate your life later down the line. I have personal experience with that"
Henryk was not taking chances. People were greedy. They will target others for money, like that Soma raccoon did. (AN: Canoe Belway)
"Ray, can I trust you with making sure of their safety? I fear someone stronger chancing upon them"
"I want to see you fight next time" She gave him a hug and followed the children.
"I might've got a woman higher than my caliber. I better keep her"
"You are making me jealous, Henryk"
"Don't you worry, captain. You got it in yourself. You can find a woman who will love you for who you are. Don't you forget that I joined the familia primarily to help you with that" Henryk patted Bell's back as they sat on a bench near the tower. As he was gazing around, he glanced a big bag that seemingly walked all on its own.
'Let's warp the timeline ever more. My actions may have already made her fate worse. So, let's make sure it turns out good' He guessed that bag was Liliruca Arde.
"Captain, change of plans. You wait for Welf and go with only the two of you. An urgent thing needs my attention"
"There you go again, Henryk" Bell sulked with a palm supporting his head. He was looking the other way.
"I will be accompanying you more frequently soon. Maybe tomorrow if luck would have it"
"You can go. Do not break that promise. I look forward to adventuring with you" Bell had a slight smile, still looking away.
"Goodbye, captain. Safe hunting down there. And don't forget to bring Welf to the Hostess tonight, the celebration wouldn't be complete without him"
Henryk sneaked behind her through the noise of the crowd. He made it look natural as he was eyeing a stand on the other side of the plaza.
"Miss supporter, miss supporter, are you free right now? Are you in search of an adventurer who would need your help?" 'Okay, that might've been a bit over the top'
Lily recognized that sentence. How could she not, when she was saying a similar thing to the adventurers who she scammed? There is not a chance she can escape this unscathed. She was frozen solid.
"Don't die of fright. I'm not one of the guys you doomed. I came here to propose some things that might actually benefit you. As you might be too scared to say or do anything, I will just say it here. I can help you leave the Soma familia. All I need you to do is to promise to join our familia as a combatant. I can help you do that"
Lili was standing still, saying no words.
"What do you say to talking at the guild in a safe environment?" Henryk's suggestion was really tempting her. She hated adventurers with a passion and that made her doubt him enough to get deterred. But when he mentioned being in the safety of the guild, she started to think that she might need to take this chance that will be opened in a safe environment.
"I will go there and wait for you in the lounge. Come before today's evening if you want to change your future much more easily" Henryk walked away, leaving her to her thoughts. She hid herself for a few hours after that to think if she should pretend to trust him and decide to doom him like the others or to not even go.
(Line Break)
Lili entered the guild's building and looked at the lounge. The adventurer who was talking to her earlier was sitting there. She decided to bide her time and stab him in the back later. She sat opposite him.
"Let's go. We need the privacy of a booth" Henryk waved his hand for her to follow as he stood up.
"Miss Tulle, we will borrow a booth" He informed Eina and waited for no answer.
"Haaah. Your lessons are going to be hellish" Henryk was spooked by that. He tried to keep his composed image and marched towards the booth. Lili noticed a slight shaking in his legs.
"Well, where should we start?"
"What did mister adventurer mean by helping Lili?" She gave her nickname out of habit.
"This humble Henryk Williams wants to talk to Liliruca Arde about the way [Cinder Ella] could be used in combat" Henryk had sharp eyes. His eyes made her feel like she was being judged where she sits right then and there. 'She might have been a criminal, but she was, and still is, a criminal out of necessity. If we remove that necessity, she wouldn't become a criminal. As for the fools who abused her and wanted her dead for their benefit, they deserved what happened to them. Ah, how lucky you are, Liliruca Arde. Your spell allows for more than you think it does. You didn't try transforming to a monster that could fight, did you? You didn't transform into a monster that could bypass the defenses of others even if it was weaker than the offended party? You didn't try transforming into a monster that has high enough defenses to bludgeon your enemies with said defenses? You didn't try transforming specific parts of your body?...' Henryk's mental tirade went on for a while whilst his eyes were glaring a hole or two in Lili's skull.
"How.... did you... know?!" Lili was shaking. She was ready to scream and try her best to run away if he showed any sign of approaching her.
"How I knew isn't important right now. I'd tell you that if and when you join my familia. For now, that stays a secret. I will suggest something, and you verify it. If it works, I sign a contract with you and submit it to the guild.
That will ensure that I can't betray you. The contract's for you to join our party as a vanguard or a rearguard depending on what forms you want to take. You would occasionally return to being a supporter"
"What nonsense are you talking about, mister adventurer?" Lili's tongue had acted before her mind caught up to it. She was getting even more willing to book it and run.
"The nonsense I said could be achieved if you see the next thing"
Henryk took a deep breath.
*WHISTLE*
His whistle was somehow loud enough to deafen most of the people in the building and some of those around it, including himself. It did its job, though. Fey, who was laying somewhere upstairs in the church heard it and knew he was calling her. She did not hear that whistle for some time now. As she flew there, she reminisced on the times he played with her using the whistles during their forest days.
"WHERE'S FEY'S PAPA?!" She barged into the guild as the people started to regain their hearing. A slumped Eina, whose ears were among the more sensitive races, pointed a shaky finger at the booth Henryk stayed at.
"Thanks, lady in glasses!" Fey went on her merry way before Eina could retort or threaten her to correct the way Fey called her.
'I will have her attend the lessons' Fey tasted hell in the coming days.
"Papa! Fey's here!" Fey trotted towards him. Her size, currently at the height of a child, allowed her that. She shrunk to a cat's size to lay in his lap. She was planning to go on sleeping.
"My daughter, stand in front of that girl over there and be at the same height" Fey complied reluctantly. She was going to have a feast tonight, that was enough to compensate her. She stood where Henryk told her to and did what he said.
"You...?" Lili's eyes turned as wide as dinner plates.
"Yes, I'm a tamer. My daughter here isn't going to harm you. Try taking her current form and size"
Lili got a glimmer of hope. If she could fight for herself, she wouldn't be putting herself at the mercy of the rotten adventurers.
"[Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight. Cinder Ella]" Her body started to take shape. There were two Feys standing before each other's faces.
"Fey has the ability to make herself bigger. Try that" Henryk suggested.
Lili tried it. Making herself bigger has its merits. As she tried, her height only rose up to two and a half meters. 'Phew, good thing that worked. So, she can copy the abilities of monsters she transforms into. She just needs to find something her size'
"Lili... can fight for herself now?" Her voice trembled.
"Fey's strong!" Fey jokingly huffed with her head raised high.
"And by extension, that makes you strong, Liliruca Arde. Fey's as strong as a fresh level two" Lili's eyes watered. She started shaking violently. Her whimpers started becoming audible.
All those years suffering, all those times she had her hope shredded, all those rotten things she wanted to exact revenge on by her own hands, they are things of the past now. She felt relief. She felt joy. She felt her flames of life light anew at the hope of having her fate entirely in her own hands. She was finally free.
She broke down in tears while Fey tried to give her some support. Henryk gave her privacy and left the room. He told Eina that Fey and Lili are still settling things inside, so she tells people to use other rooms for now.
(Line Break)
Henryk was called back in after Lili calmed down. She was instructed to reverse her transformation by returning to the size she first took and then returning to her original form. Otherwise, Henryk feared that she might get a permanent aftereffect if she did not do it in that order.
"What is the contract you were talking about, master Henryk?" Lili was still not putting her blind trust in him.
She wanted to use his help while he still offers it. She will judge if he was truly different. If he was not, she would abandon him in the dungeon like many others before him.
"So, here's the contract. See what you might want to add to its terms" Henryk handed her a piece of paper with the terms he wanted written on it.
(Line Break)
- Lili will join the party under Bell's leadership at least until she gets out of Soma's familia.
- Lili will accept Henryk's suggestions on how to use her skills and magic.
- Lili will be assigned a fighting position in the party, occasionally returning to her role as a supporter.
- Henryk will not harm Lili in any intentional way.
(Line Break)
"Is this not in Lili's favor, master Henryk?" Lili was not sure what this adventurer in front of her was thinking. Why would he propose a contract that benefits her but not him? Does he have any ulterior motives?
"Do you want me to be honest with you?"
"Lili would like that"
"I had an ulterior motive behind this contract" That immediately sent her alarms ringing. "I wanted to make us look appealing as a potential familia to join after leaving Soma's" Her alarms calmed down considerably, still ringing.
Henryk signed the contract and stood up. "I will be taking you with me to a pub tonight. We have kind of a celebration and I want to introduce you there"
Lili agreed to go.
Everyone should know by now; Henryk was petting a sleeping Fey that he cradled in his arms.
(Line Break)
End of Chapter.
Have a good day, ladies and gentlemen.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone