Sword Oritoria, Chapter 9
Getting ready to go into Knossos
While the Hestia Familia was in the Dungeon on our first expedition, the Loki Familia was preparing for their attack on Knossos. Or rather their first attack which will be a mapping of Knossos to prepare for the second full attack on Knossos.
Since the Freya Familia has been disbanded, Ais can't go to Ottar to learn to get stronger. Plus, Ais remembered what I told her That she was to come to me when and if she wanted to get stronger so I can train her. Ais visited, the Hestia home, the Hearthstone Manor and asked me if I would train her. I took Ais to the PD where she and I will live for the next several days while I train her. Ais is astonished by how strong I am even though I'm only a level 4.
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Right after my Team and I reported our rank up to the Guild. Ais came to Hearthstone Manor. Ais pounded on the door. "I'm coming for thee!" She called out.
Inside the manor, Haruhime ran into the dining room, where she found Hestia, Cindy, Wiene, Mari, Welf, Sky and I sitting around the table. "Someone is pounding on the door!" Haruhime declared with fear and concern on her face and in her voice. "They said 'I'm coming for thee,' while they were pounding on the door." She added.
Hestia started to get up. "Why would anyone be pounding on our door like that, and why the hell say, 'I'm coming for thee'?" she asked.
"I know who it is. It's Ais, and I believe she wants me to train her." I told Hestia and the others. "Loki told her that she should pound on the door and say, 'I'm coming for thee', when she is offering a challenge." I said as I stood up.
"I'll answer the door and make sure." I said and I turned and left the room.
"I'll join you if you don't mind." Cindy said when I reached the door to the hall.
"I want to go too." Wiene offered.
I Turned and looked at Cindy and Wiene and nodded my head in agreement. "If you want to come with me, that's fine." I told them and turned back to the door and walked out into the hall.
As I reached the front door, Wiene and Cindy were close behind be. Hestia had also followed me into the living room.
"Why would Wallen-whatever want you to train her? And why should I allow you to train her." Hestia asked me.
"Ais wants me to train her so she can get stronger. As for why you should allow me to train her. Orario's existence in on the line." I told Hestia.
I turned back to the door and opened it and looked out. "Hello Ais." I said as I looked at her. I opened the door wide enough that Hestia, Wiene and Cindy could see who was there.
Ais looked from me to Hestia then to Cindy and lasty to Wiene, then she looked back at me. "I want you to train me." She told me as she looked at the ground.
I looked over at Hestia. Hestia nodded her head, yes. I turned back to Ais. "I'll train you, but you owe me one." I told Ais.
Still looking at the ground. "As long as it is personal and does not involve my Familia." Ais replied.
"It is just between you and me." I assured her.
"Thank you." Ais replied.
"I'll give you two weeks of training." I said as I turned to Taima. "Please, tell my Team and Welf I'll be leaving for Pern in half an hour. If you see anyone else you can let them know as well, including Fia, Mari and Sky." I asked Taima.
"On it." Taima said with a grin and headed off to our apartment.
"Two weeks? I don't have that much time." Ais complained.
"Yes, you do. I could train you for a month and you would have more than enough time to help with the expedition. I'll be taking you to Pern, I'm sure you remember. I took you there while we were at Edas village" I assured Ais.
"Yes, I remember." Ais replied.
A half an hour later I opened a portal to Pern. Cindy, Iris, Kimmy, Rosni, Welf, Wiene, Sky, Fia, Ais and I, all walked through the portal. Once everyone was on Pern I closed the portal.
"All right!" Welf exclaimed as we walked into the Green House entry way. "I've got two weeks to make weapons and armor." He said excitedly.
"You know, if you use gravity dust in armor. It will make the armor lighter." I suggested.
"Wow, I didn't know that. That would make heavy armor much lighter to wear. I can make a lot of money adding gravity Dust to armor. I'm headed to the Lab." Welf replied and headed down the hall to The Lab.
I chuckled at Welf's enthusiasm.
I gave Ais another quick tour of the house so she would know where the Cafe, the Armory's Sparring room and the apartment she would be using to sleep in would be.
I led Ais back to the Sparring room. "I'm not going to be the only one training you. Because we really don't know Levis's fighting style, I thought it would be good for you to train with people with different fighting styles." I told Ais.
"I see. Who is going to train me?"
"Cindy, Kimmy, Iris and myself."
"But all of you are only level four. How are you going to train me?"
I grinned. "Back in Orario we are all level four, but we're not in Orario right now. Besides, I'm able to take you and anyone else to different universes. One of my Team members is supposed to be an angel that was cast out by her 'god' because she was going to use a device to help some people, but the device was way overpowered. Another Team member is a dragon that spends most of her time in human form. And the other member of my Team is a total bundle of energy that seems to never wear out or run down. I'm sure we will be able to train you and then some." I assured Ais.
With that said, I summoned Sasori, my naginata. "It begins." I said and took a fighting stance.
Ais drew Maelstrom from its scabbard and flicked it. You could hear the whoosh as it sliced through the air. Then she lunged at me. I moved Sasori and blacked her thrust. Ais gave me a blank look for a moment, then she came at me again. Again I blocked her attack.
"Put everything you have into it." I told Ais.
Ais looked shocked for a moment before her face went back to her blank expression. "Awaken Tempest." She said and I could feel the air flowing around her and in the room.
Again, Ais came at me brining Maelstrom up at a diagonal strike. I blocked the attack and moved Sasori's handle knocking Ais' feet out from under her causing her to fall to the floor.
It went on like that for the next four hours, when I called for a break. Ais was covered in bruises and cuts.
"Let's take a short break and get a drink." I said and healed Ais of her injuries.
"Okay." Ais replied softly.
I lead Ais to the Cafe and found a seat at one of the smaller tables and sat down. Ais took the seat across from me. As we took our seats a young girl walked out from the back and walked over to our table. She had a name tag on with the name Maddie on it. Maddie is the youngest daughter of the Cafe's owners.
"Hello lord Eilwyn, what may I get you today?" Maddie asked.
I smiled at Maddie. "Hi, Maddie. I'd like a sweet tea and get one for Ais as well." I gave Maddie the order. "Maddie, this is Ais, I'm training her in fighting. Ais, this is Maddie. Her parents own and run the Cafe." I made introductions.
"Hello Ais. It is nice to meet you." Maddie said.
"Yes, it is nice to meet you, Maddie." Ais replied.
"I'll get your order." Maddie said and headed back to the kitchen.
Ais watched Maddie walk to the kitchen then she looked at me. "Isn't she a little young to be working?" She asked.
"Maddie's parents own the Cafe so they can let her work if they want to. They have several other children that help them run the Cafe as well." I replied.
"Oh." Ais said.
Shortly Maddie brought our drinks out and sat them on the table. "Thank you, Maddie." I told her.
Maddie smiled and replied. "You're welcome." And walked back to the kitchen.
I took a drink and sat the glass back on the table. Ais stared at her drink, not picking it up.
"You're only a Level four but I wasn't able to land one strike against you. How did you get so strong?" Ais finally asked me.
"I get asked that a lot. I believe I already told you that, that information is a Familia secret… But I'll tell you if you promise to never reveal what I tell you to anyone." I offered.
"You have my word." Ais replied.
"I don't know." I honestly replied.
"What!?" Ais exclaimed.
I chuckled. "I don't really know how I got so strong. I come from a place where people fly through the air in machines, and we use cars to travel on the ground. Cars could be called horseless carriages." I started.
Ais gave me a blank stare.
"I was driving in the country when my car flipped, and I was thrown out. The accident should have killed me. But while I was flying through the air I blacked out. In the darkness I heard a voice and when I woke up, Taima was looking down at me in her human form. After that I was able to do a lot of different things. I received abilities and powers I never would have believed I would ever be able to do. Those abilities included great strength, dexterity, agility and durability." I finished. I picked up my glass and took another drink.
"Is that why you can come here?"
I nodded my head in agreement. "Yes, that is why I can come here and why I can go to Orario, and why I can go to several other universes."
Ais picked up her glass and took a drink with a thoughtful look on her face. "I see." She said as she put the glass back on the table.
"Drink up so we can get back to your training." I told Ais as I picked up my glass and drank down what remained in it. Placing the glass back on the table, I stood up.
Ais took another drink and stood up as well. She followed me back to the sparring room.
We spent the next three hours sparring. Ais spent most of the time getting knocked down, bruised, banged up and cut. I think Ais was beginning to see what Bell went through when she trained him.
We took another short break, then we went back to the sparring room, and I trained Ais for another three hours.
As we were leaving the sparing room I healed Ais. "There is a bath in the master bedroom. You can use it if you want to. It's a huge natural pool for bathing. Although you might not be the only one in there. Everyone in my household uses that bath house. Or you can go to the
back yard and swim in the ocean." I offered.
"Thank you." Ais replied.
"Cindy will be here in the morning to train you." I informed Ais.
"Okay." Was all Ais said in reply.
Cindy spent the day training Ais the next day. Then Kimmy took the next day to training Ais, then it was Iris's turn to train Ais. After that we rotated again starting with me again.
The days my Team was training Ais. I would stop by to see how her training was going. The rest of the time I spent taking care of my Hold and spending time with Wiene, Fia, Mari, Sky and the other girls in the Hold. Wiene really liked swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand on the beach. Sky and Fia liked being able to fly in their natural forms.
The last two days I trained Ais. On Ais' thirteenth day of training. "You're not using all of your abilities and power." I told Ais.
Ais just looked at me.
"When you fight Levis what are you fighting?" I asked rhetorically. "Your fighting a human and you're not putting everything you have into the fight. Levis is a monster. It does not matter that she looks human. She is a monster, just like a harpy, a siren, a mermaid or a lamia are monsters. They look human but they are monsters. That is how you need to fight Levis, as a monster and give it everything you have. Use your black fire. Use it without letting it consume you. Use your black fire and let it become a part of you. You control the black fire, don't let it controle you." I instructed Ais.
At the end of the thirteenth day, I gave Ais a Companion.
"You might have noticed all the animals running around both here and in Orario." I said to Ais.
"Yes, I have." Ais replied.
"They are not animals. They are what I call Companions. They each have higher status than normal and some other abilities that they share with their partner. You have to get used to having yours in your mind most of the time because you and your Companion can talk to each other like we are right now and also telepathically or mind to mind." I started as a small snow leopard walked into the room and walked up to Ais. "She can also Blink. That means she can teleport up to three hundred feet in line of sight, and because she can Blink, that means you can blink as well. Because anything she can do, you can do. So, take the rest of the day to get to know Binu and I'll see you in the morning. Binu can tell you what all she and now you can do and you can ask anyone here about the Companions and they will be happy to answer any of your questions." I said and walked away.
Automaton/Manticore/F (Bird of Prey, Snow Leopard, Scorpion)
Name: Binu/F (Created with Immense Power)
Mythical
Size L2
Regeneration L2
Sustenance L2
Intelligence L2
Strength L2
Agility L1
Durability L2
Flight
Teleportation L1
Shapeshifting L1
(Forms: Scorpion, Hawk, Snow Leopard, Horse (Percheron), Red Fox)
Elemental Blast L1 (Earth)
Magical L1
(Dancing Lights, Mend, Ghost Sounds)
Venom L1 (Tail stinger, Paralysis)
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The next morning, I walked into the Bakery. Ais was already in the Bakery with Binu. I walked over and sat down across the table from Ais.
"Are you ready for your last day of training?" I asked.
Ais looked at me. "Y-yes I'm ready." She replied.
I gave my order to Grandma and as I waited for my food. "Today we're going to work on, Blinking. That is, we will work on how you can use your new short range teleportation ability, Blink for defense and offence in fights." I told Ais.
"I see. Binu told me more about that last night. I want to learn how to use… Blink when fighting." Ais admitted.
After we had eaten breakfast, I lead Ais out the front door of the Hold. Since I was going to be teaching Ais how to Blink. I figured the more space we had the better.
"When you Blink, you have to be able to see where you want to Blink to. Your destination can be two feet in front of you or three hundred feet. But you have to be able to see where you want to go to. When you Blink you can also reorient yourself. That means you can be facing one direction before you Blink but when you arrive you can be facing a different direction. That way when you are fighting a person or a monster, you can Blink behind them, but still be facing them after you Blink." I explained to Ais.
We spent the first four hours just practicing how to Blink. We worked on finding a place to Blink to at different distances. Then we worked on reorienting our direction when we Blink. Not only did this teach Ais and give her some practice. It also helped me because I don't use Blink that often. So, this gave me a chance to practice using Blink as well.
We also worked on Ais's Air Creation and Control from her sword, Maelstrom, so Ais would be able to use air to attack with and not just use as armor.
By the end of the day, Iris, Cindy, Kimmy and I were all fighting Ais. Or rather Ais was using her Blink ability to fight us so she could learn to use Blink to fight more than one enemy at the same time.
"Take some time to relax and I'll take us all back to Orario in the morning." I told Ais.
"Thank you." Ais told me. "To all of you." She included my Team.
I explained about if Binu was to be killed that she would reappear in twenty-four hours healthy and whole. "I would suggest that when you go into Knossos that you leave Binu at home. I know she won't like that, but there is no telling what might happen in there. Besides, it prevents her from being used against you by Levis or anyone else. And if there is any reason, she really needs to get to you, she can port to you at any time." I added.
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The next morning, I opened a portal to our apartment in Orario. Once everyone was back in Orario I closed the portal.
I explained to Ais that in Orario time we had been gone only one minute, and I explained the time distortion when going to different universes.
I turned to Ais. "Have Loki update your status. Then one minute later have her update your status again." I told Ais.
Ais looked at me confused. "Why would I need to have my status updated twice?" She asked.
"Because the first update will be what you received from your training. While the second update will be what you get from your training plus what you get from Binu." I informed Ais.
"Oh, I see." Ais replied.
"You should tell Loki to find out about how Nidhogg was killed. You should also tell her that there are seven demi-spirits in Knossos not just one. Six main demi-spirits and one back up demi-spirit that they call Nidhogg." I informed Ais.
"I will tell Loki. Thank you." Ais said. "And thank you again for training me." Ais thanked me again.
Right before Ais could walk away. "As for your payment to me." I started.
Ais turned back and looked at me with concern on her face. "Y-yes?" Ais stuttered.
"For my payment, I want you to consider me and my Team as good friends. We want you to feel welcome to come to Hearthstone Manor any time you want to talk to us, to go swimming or to just get away from your worries." I told Ais. "I would really like for you to consider us as… family."
"Oh! Yes! I would like that." Ais replied with excitement in her voice and on her face. "I very much would like to call all of you, friends and family."
"Now you have another sister." Iris said with a giggle.
I nodded my head in agreement. "I like that. Another sister."
With that Ais left to go back to Twilight Manor.
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Ouranus talked to Loki and Igashu/Fels. Telling Loki who the Igashu Familia really was and how they could help in the mapping expedition and later on in the actual attack on Knossos. Loki wasn't sure about using intelligent monsters, but she did admit they needed all the
help they could get. So, she accepted the help of the Igashu Familia.
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