shattered

So how is your day? hope it has/will be great, I'm still a little bit sick with a stuffy nose and dry coughing

~~

Hearing multiple steps behind me, I quickly prepared for a potential ambush. However, what I saw surprised me.

"A-Ais?" I looked at Ais, who was accompanied by a wolf-kin, a pallum, an elf, and a twin sister. She quietly looked at me without saying a word, as if lost in thought.

Lili approached me and worriedly asked, "Are you okay?" as she checked for any wounds.

"I'm fine, just a little hurt from the impact," I replied, looking over to the disintegrating minotaur and noticing that it had dropped its horn.

"Oh, lucky you, a dropped monster part," a golden-haired pallum congratulated me upon noticing the loot. I approached it and examined the red horn in my hand.

"To think someone can grow this fast in only a week," the elf muttered, recalling that it had been only a week since Ais had saved Bell from the minotaur.

"How..." Ais muttered, but no one heard her.

-

Returning to the broken church at night, Lili and I parted ways. I entered the basement where Goddess Hestia was quietly waiting. She saw me descending the stairs and happily tackled me into a hug.

"Welcome home, Bell," she said with a warm smile, letting go of her embrace.

"I'm home," I replied and finally remembered what I wanted to do. "Goddess, could you update my status?" I eagerly anticipated seeing how much I had grown after defeating the minotaur.

"Alright," she agreed. We approached the bed as I took off my shirt and lay on my chest, Goddess Hestia straddled me and started to examine my status.

"HAUH!" Goddess Hestia exclaimed in surprise, which could only be a good sign. "H-How?!" She said

"Goddess, can I see it?" I said bringing Goddess Hestia back to reality and She quickly imprinted the status into a paper, handing it to me

===

Strength: 1,000 SS

Dexterity: 1,000 SS

Endurance: 960 S

Agility: 1,000 SS

Magic: 848 A

Skills:

Liaris Freese: Increase the amount of stats received proportionate to how much the user has feelings for someone

Argonaut: unknown

Magic:

O living flame: cast a small flame on the hand of the user, infusing the flame into a blade or body will empower it

if cast on a blade it will cover the blade in flames inflicting burn to anything that it strikes, the burn intensity and duration depend on how many minds you condensed into the flame

if cast on a body, it will strengthen the user increasing all stats besides magic for a small amount of time, the duration and strength depend on how many minds you condensed into the flame

chant:

blade: "O flame, enchant my blade to aid me in my fight, engulf my enemy with your flame, and leave nothing but ashes"

body: "O flame, grant me strength, cover my very bones with your warmth, and protect my flesh with your shielding burn"

===

"SS... and a new skill" I was stunned by the paper. Even though I had expected a significant improvement, I didn't anticipate such a massive leap. Goddess Hestia was also amazed by my status but quickly returned to reality. She tackled me into another hug.

"I'm so proud for you," she said affectionately, and we stayed hugging each other for a while. Then, she asked if I wanted to level up, and I agreed without hesitation.

- Xian's POV -

Morning arrived, and I donned the outfit I'd purchased from the merchant the previous day. I tested every movement and found no hindrance from the clothing. As the merchant had indicated, this dress had been meticulously crafted for combat, as expected. Leaving the pub, I followed my usual route, but I noticed many more eyes on me than usual. Adventurers and civilians alike watched as I passed.

Upon reaching the church, I spotted Bell already standing in the field, with imaginary flowers seemingly floating around him, I casually approached him, and he heard my footsteps, snapping out of his daydream to greet me. However, he was taken aback by my figure.

"Good morning," I greeted him nonchalantly, but all I received in response was Bell having a nosebleed, leaving me puzzled.

"Beautiful," Bell muttered unconsciously before finally returning to reality. "G-G-Good morning," he stammered several times.

"What's going on with you today?" I moved to my usual spot for sparring, and Bell did the same.

"O flame, grant me strength, cover my very bones with your warmth, and protect my flesh with your shielding burn," Bell chanted as flames gathered in his hand. I patiently waited for him to finish. As the flame grew larger, I drew my blade and assumed my ready stance.

- 3rd POV -

Bell finally consumed his flame, drawing his dagger and dashing with blinding speed compared to before. His dagger moved downward as Xian calmly dodged it and adjusted to his level.

'First, the calm lake below the blue moon,' she muttered inwardly as the sword style she had been holding back was finally unleashed. Bell attempted to strike again, but she met his blade with hers. Bell's eyes widened as he didn't realize that her blade had met his until he retreated.

She dashed at him, leaving him no space to think, and performed a horizontal slash as he tried to dodge. *splurt* A cut appeared on his hand, and his eyes widened even more, as he could clearly see her attack.

'Wait? I can see Xian's attack clearly?' Bell questioned himself. He had only been able to see the line of the blade before. His eyes went serious, and he tried to capture every movement of Xian.

Xian performed a downward slash, and Bell raised his dagger to parry, but his blade wasn't met with hers.

'How…' Bell saw the incoming blade and rolled sideways to dodge. Xian chased and performed another horizontal slash. Now vigilant of her every movement, he backstepped again but still got slashed.

"Hmf," Bell suppressed the pain and noticed something unusual about Xian's movement. One of her feet shifted ever so slightly closer when she slashed. Xian smiled, seeing that Bell was able to figure it out. She didn't hide her movements as much giving Bell the answer easier. Xian continued her offense, but Bell was now able to predict her attacks, attentively looking for any oddities in her movements.

*Clank* *Clank* Sparks fell from their blades clashing as the heat of the battle intensified, and so did the speed of their clashes. The battle of blade mastery continued as Xian set her level to match Bell's, leaving no advantage.

Xian thrust her sword forward but Bell simply sidestepped and countered with his dagger, She shifted her feet and moved it to block, as Bell's dagger met Xian's sword, *Shatter* Xian's blade shattered, after receiving too many blows and was unable to keep steady under her sword style