Chapter 46: Toll (IV)

A new week. More power stones!

I will try to complete Vol 1 this week but no promises.

*

All of a sudden, after Roselia finished her transformation and asked us that, I heard another notification sound off in my head.

[Ding! Endurance Passive Skill acquired.]

Endurance-Lv1 (0/100)

Reduces damage received by 1%. Additionally reduces damage by 3% the more HP is dropped. (Max 15%)

Each Level improves damage reduction rate. Further improvement may unlock further status resistances] (A/N: Trails has an insane amount of status ailments)

…I'll just pretend I'll ignore that passive skill for now, but overall it's quite a good one Gamers can get. I am pretty sure there are skills in the Trailsverse that ignore damage reduction, doing full pierce damage, but I'll go over that later. For now, I had my attention on Roselia, well, both of us were.

Roselia blinked at us after hearing both of us exclaim that.

"What, would you rather have me inscribe my insignias on your frontside instead?', Roselia asked, confused.

"T-That's not he issue at hand here!", I immediately retorted.

"Naoto is right!", Aurelia also quickly nodded her head. "We don't...need to remove all of our clothes, do we?", Aurelia continued to ask. She even looked at Prince Olivert, who could currently be seen grinning.

"Don't look at me. I am just the guest of honor here.", Prince Olivert retorted, shrugging his shoulders.

"Pfft,", Roselia also responded with a laugh. "But 'tis true. We are dealing with intricate spellcasting here, the less obstructions, the better the result. A little cloth won't trouble you so, will it?', Roselia asked Aurelia.

"Ugh, fine. I've come this far, and I won't let that interrupt us.", Aurelia responded, admitting defeat. Next, she approached the front of the bed, only to grab one of the pillows. With a heavy slam, she chucked the pillow straight at Prince Olivert, catching him off guard. A muffled bang echoed in the room. She used a rather large amount of force, which almost caused him to tumble backwards.

"You peak, you're dead.", Aurelia said, glaring at the pillow-faced prince.

"Right...", Prince Olivert quietly said. It was only now did he actually feel his spine go cold.

I inwardly chuckled seeing this. I guess being a little kid right now has its perks? I will admit, I do have an interest in Aurelia, along with a few other girls. I know I will be going off grid for the years to come, but it would do well to remain on her good side. As such, I looked toward the bedframe, and started to undress my robe.

Seeing this, Aurelia smiled. Prince Olivert didn't say anything more and only sat down at a table further away, keeping the pillow with him. As such, Aurelia began stripping her uniform. She was indeed wearing a Thors Military Academy uniform, but the one she wore signaled that she was in the noble faction, sporting the white and purple colors, and not the red and white. With a plop, her skirt and top fell down, revealing a rather ample size of two mounds, hidden away in white lingerie. Among the girls in Trails, she had one of the biggest racks, and she was already in her growing period.

I do wonder though, when do people become adults here? Does life here follow Japanese standards like in my past life since these were JRPGs? But I used to be an American living under a Japanese identity. Most people would be legal adults either at age sixteen or eighteen, depending on what state they resided in. Yet in Japan, one wouldn't be a legal adult until the age of twenty. Another interesting point to discover later.

For now, I could only continuing looking the other way, as much as I wanted to look at Aurelia right now. I was ready to start Roselia's ritual, as I no longer had my robes or undergarments on me. They were placed off on the bed to the left. In the next moment, I heard another plop, which revealed Aurelia's adolescent beauty. She even took off the ribbons which kept her hair tied into two ponytails, letting no cloth obstruct her. She proceeded onto the bed next to me, entering a cross-legged position, while keeping an arm over her breasts.

"Umu, looks like you two are ready. Naoto, remember the breathing technique I've taught you already? Since you can already feel the flow of mana, entering meditation will help this spell. And as that is the case, I will start with Aurelia.", Roselia explained.

"Understood.", I replied, lowering my arms. They would typically call this the lotus position in those Chinese novels, wouldn't they? I guess the look is pretty similar. As I relaxed my arms to my legs, my breathing slowed down. It didn't take long for me to activate [Meditate].

[Ding! You have activated [Meditate]. Your health and energy will restore at a faster pace.]

Hearing that sudden notification, I wanted to inwardly retort it. Am I going to hear this every time I enter this state? Either way, as for Aurelia, she raised her eyebrows as she quickly saw me shut my senses off from the world.

"Impressive. To think someone so young could quickly enter a meditative state. You've said this little child is your apprentice?", Aurelia asked with interest.

"Already feeling jealous?"

"Jealousy? I am not sure. If anything, I feel an admiration.", Aurelia answered, curiously.

"Is that so? Well just like I said I will be starting with you, Aurelia. Are you able to enter a similar meditative state like Naoto's?", Roselia asked.

"Of course. I can use the technique Master Vander has long since taught me. And if this works, don't forget I'll be addressing you as Master.", Aurelia said, answering in confidence.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a note, you will definitely feel a lot more pain than Naoto will.", Roselia continued to say.

"...Are you suggesting Naoto has more talent than someone who has yet to find their match?", Aurelia asked.

"Higher talent? That, I cannot answer. What Naoto does have is more experience in this state of mind.", Roselia answered, which only caused Aurelia to blink. "Not like I'll tell you what that state of mind is though. I won't be teaching you anything. I only see you as a stowaway.", Roselia uttered.

"I did accept these terms with that in mind, so I won't ask anything in regards to that matter. The meditation I will enter is more used for our battle qi, but since you will be unlocking that "Mana Core", as you say, I should be able to feel the flow of mana afterward. I can bear a little pain along the way.", Aurelia responded with a smile.

"Then match Naoto's breathing with yours. I will start inscribing my insignias shortly.", Roselia explained.

Hearing that, Aurelia closed her eyes, only to let out breaths at a certain interval, which were quite different from my own, but she still tried to match my pace. As for Roselia, she approached Aurelia's back, an tapped the floor with her staff. All of a sudden, a rather complex magic circle appeared underneath the bed, even giving Prince Olivert a shock. Roselia then started to chant.

"O to the one above the skies, please listen to the whims of your lowly servant. Hear ye for I give my crest to one bound by mortality. Let me be the truth to the eye who seeks it...", Roselia began to chant. The longer Roselia chanted, the more blueish aura she began to release. In the middle of that she slowly took her staff and held it, pointing it at Aurelia's back.

Roselia's staff shown a bright crimson red before a beam of light shot out from it, only to find its destination at her back. Slowly but surely, Roselia began to move the beam of light, only to begin the inscribing process. The moment the mana struck Aurelia's back, she felt a big shock, only to start getting a tingly feeling...

Meanwhile deep inside Aurelia's mind, she started to hear the sounds of a chain being unbound.

*

For those who are wanting Trails lemons, yeah that won't happen for a good while. But I do enjoy me a good lemon owo