The Red Hand

Chapter 140.5 – The Secret Training Method

"Well damn, this place really is some kind of feudal estate." Eris said as she climbed up the stairs toward Akagi's home.

"I didn't think this world had places like this." Ema commented.

"Well, we used to have nobles and kings and stuff, but nowadays, if they still exist, they don't really have any real power or anything." Ayame explained. "I think this place was actually a historical location or something that the Tokugawa family preserved." She didn't really pay much attention to history and knew very little about this location.

"Neat house aside, I'm more curious what kind of training she has out here." Eris was fired up to see what Akagi had in mind. According to the Demon, it was something substantial.

The three girls reached the top of the stairs and were greeted by Yumi, who appeared from inside the estate to greet them.

"Good morning." Yumi smiled. She knew they'd be arriving soon and wanted to be at the front gate when they arrived.

"Well, there's someone I haven't seen in a while." Ayame greeted her. "And I see Akagi's got you wearing a formal Hakama as well. it looks nice on you."

Yumi giggled. "Her tastes might have rubbed off on me a bit." She turned to Ema. " And It's good to see you as well, Ema. I see we were both lucky that my Lord's crazy plans worked out."

"Indeed." Ema smiled. "It was a strange experience at the time, but I'm glad I went along with it." As an NPC, Ema was only able to accompany Eris and Ayame into the real world because Akagi used a glitch to make the game think she was an item, similar to what the Demon did to Yumi and the other followers. Though once summoned, that quirk seemed to have disappeared as Yumi and the others could not be placed into inventory.

"Yeah, losing our little cook here would be a tragedy." Ayama poked Ema in the cheek.

"You and your food." Eris rolled her eyes. "I say she's more valuable as a cleaner, I hate doing laundry." She laughed.

"Do you see what kind of hardship is placed upon me to please my parents?" Ema put her hand on her forehead in fake exasperation. "Please rescue me from this life of servitude, Yumi." She giggled.

"Now, now. Respect your elders, young lady." Yumi laughed.

"Aren't you almost the same age as her anyway?" Eris asked.

"Ema is seventeen right?" Yumi thought for a moment.

"We think she is anyway," Ayame answered. "They didn't exactly have a registry for that sort of thing and its not like commoners kept track of those kinds of things."

"Well if your guess is accurate she is a bit younger than me, as I'm twenty." Yumi said.

"So you're old." Ema laughed.

"Ha-Ha." Yumi gave a monotone laugh before walking over and pinching her cheeks. "Just remember that while I might be older than you, one day you will get old and wrinkly, while I will always be fresh and smooth!" Her status as Akagi's junior partner meant that she'd always be youthful and wouldn't look much different than she did now.

"Cheater!" (Ayame x Eris)

"You two are in the same boat, so why are you complaining?" Akagi appeared from behind Yumi, throwing her arms over her shoulders. "Star Humans shouldn't age, and hey you were already in your thirties. So I'd say you got a nice deal out of things."

{I wonder if they'd get mad if I called them hags in young bodies?} (Akagi)

"Yo!" Eris smiled as she greeted Akagi. The two actually got along pretty well in FWO due to their many similar interests.

"There's our resident evil god of death." Ayame fist-bumped Akagi. "So what kind of fun training program have you got for us?"

"Straight for the training, huh?" Akagi laughed. "Then again, I'd be the same way." They both shared Akagi's love for battle, which was partially why they got along with her so well. "First, come on in. I'll get Ema all set up with a place to stay while you two are busy with training, so don't worry about her." Akagi let go of Yumi and turned to go into the Estate. The four girls followed her, and the new visitors' heads rotated around as they inspected the Estate's interior. It was a unique sight in the modern day, and they were impressed by how beautiful it was.

After heading into the living room, Yumi brought everyone drinks while they discussed Akagi's idea.

"Wait, where's Zeff?" Eris asked as she sipped her tea. "I thought she was supposed to be here?"

"Our little academic has already arrived, gone ahead, and started her research. She arrived a while ago, and she'll be waiting for us when we head over." Akagi said.

"So where are we going anyway? Do you have a place in the mountains around here for us to use as training grounds?" Ayame asked. Akagi had told the two girls nothing about what her plan was.

"Nope." Akagi smiled. "We'll be going somewhere a bit more fitting." She waved her hand, opening a small portal to her right. On the other side, you could see Omara from high up in the air.

Eris, Ayame, and Ema's eyes went wide. "Where is that?!? It looks like Kishu!" (Eris)

Kishu was a Japanese themed town on the eastern side of the main continent in FWO and was set up as a colony of Ocha.

{I guess it does look like that small town, just a bit anyway.} (Akagi)

"This is Omara." Akagi smiled. "It's a real city and the location where you'll be training."

"Omara? Is that somewhere around here? I've never heard of it." Ayame asked.

"Nope, in fact, it's not even in this plane of existence." Akagi winked as she began to explain what she'd learned about the Spirits. Mizumi was brought up, but neither girl seemed to be bothered by her or her people's actions.

"Well, fuck..." Eris mused. "That's pretty nasty, but I guess that explains why we kept our powers."

{Still though, fleeing from another world. What kind of crazy turn of events is this?} (Eris)

"So you want us to practice there?" Ayame asked.

"Not in the city itself. Rather you're going to be diving into a dungeon." Akagi grinned.

"A Dungeon?!?" Eris and Ayame exclaimed, their eyes glinting in excitement.

{Oh dear...} Ema sighed internally as she knew just how excited her mothers could get when it came to training and combat.

"They have a Dungeon!" Eris squeed in excitement. "I've missed diving into those so much!"

"Yup, that world actually has monsters due to its natural mana or something like that. I honestly don't care about the technical aspects." Akagi shrugged.

"So the mana made a natural dungeon?" Ayame asked, figuring it worked like dungeons in novels.

"No, this one was my creation. I don't think natural dungeons are a thing, at least in Omara." Akagi smirked.

"YOU MADE IT?!?" (Eris x Ayame)

"Yup!" Akagi smiled.

Eris and Ayame looked at each other, before looking back at Akagi.

"Is there anything you can't do?!?" Eris let out a massive sigh.

"I'll let you know when I find out." Akagi laughed.

{If you can make a whole dungeon then I doubt much is beyond you...} (Eris)

"And here I was wondering what kind of crazy training you had in mind, but this just blew away my expectations." Ayame gave an fierce smile.

"Trust me. If your already excited now, just wait until you've actually seen it. I've had my people working on this thing for a good while, and I finished it personally a few days ago." Akagi said. "I think you three are going to love it."

Akagi then explained a bit more about Omara, and what they could expect within the Spirits' home. Eris and Ayame were down to remain in the pocket dimension for a good while since they didn't really have anything better to do. Though, Ema would remain at the estate for her safety since she couldn't go into the dungeon and they were wary about leaving her alone. Not wanting them to be separated, Akagi gave Eris a small device that could open a portal between the estate and Omara if magic was channeled into it, to which she was grateful. Once things were settled, Akagi, Ayame, and Eris headed to Omara. The familiar sight of the city made the two women have the same feeling of deja vu as Akagi did, and they even compared the city to Antkellion.

After a bit of a trek, they crossed outside the protective barrier that surrounded Omara and headed deeper into the forest.

"This place is crazy." Eris said. She and Ayame had suited up before they left the protected area. "The magic in the air makes me feel so awake."

"Yeah, it's like I had a direct shot of energy into my mind." Ayame agreed.

"Mizumi said something like that can happen when you've been in a low magic environment, like Earth." Akagi said. "It won't last long, but it will make you a bit sharper."

"So, is Zeff out here already?" Eris asked.

"Yeah, I can sense her up ahead and she seems be waiting in front of the dungeon. We've just got a bit further to go, so lets pick up the pace." Akagi replied. A few minutes later, the group came across a large stone structure jutting from the ground. It looked like a pillar but was around twenty feet in diameter. The outside wasn't particularly decorated, and its only feature was a single set of stone double doors.

"There you are!" A blonde-haired girl called out to them as she looked up from her book. She was standing in front of the stone pillar and slowly walked over to them.

"Zephiria!" Eris called out to the girl. "There you are."

"We were wondering where you snuck off to." Ayame laughed. "I thought you would have been in that town tearing it apart to figure out how it worked."

"She already got plenty of time to bug the Spirits about magic, so don't worry." Akagi chuckled.

"I would have gotten more if that Water Spirit would let me into her library! But no it's for authorized personnel only!" Zephiria pouted. "There is so much more for me to research and tons of theorizing to do here! Ack!" She ruffled her hair.

"I see you're just as obsessed with magic as ever." Eris sighed.

{Has she gotten even more powerful since the last time we saw her? Her magical aura is definitely stronger than last time we met.} (Eris)

"Why wouldn't I be?!?" Zephiria looked at her like she was crazy. "It's magic! Think of all the possibilities!" Even in FWO, Zephiria had acted as a wandering scholar of sorts by collecting various tomes and magical knowledge. She was a highly competent and skilled mage, though she only rarely engaged in combat.

"So is this the dungeon?" Ayame pointed to the stone pillar.

"Yeah, I made it pretty plain on the surface, but it goes down ten floors. At least for now." Akagi laughed. "There is a mid-boss at 5 and a final boss at 10. But be warned, this place is neither small nor safe. You can die in there, and since I made it, you can bet it won't be easy."

{Alveron's spatial magic came in handy for making the inside bigger than the outside and he seemed to have fun designing this place. Though I hope the girls are ready to deal with his traps.} (Akagi)

"Is there anyone else coming?" Eris asked. She figured more people would make tackling this place easier and she was wary about hitting a dungeon with three people.

"Not at the moment. Our little dragon wasn't interested, and most other players I asked were not particularly enthusiastic." Akagi shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Eris gave a wry smile. "Ayame and I are pretty crazy for wanting to challenge such a dangerous place after escaping FWO."

"Yeah, and Zeff's just crazy generally, so its not surprising that she wanted to come with." Ayame laughed.

"Oh? Keep that up, and you won't get any buffs or healing." Zephiria gave an evil smile.

"Oh no, whatever shall we do?" Ayame feigned sorrow. As a barbarian she didn't really need much of that.

"Also." Akagi interjected. "Since leveling up is no longer a thing, I've made it so that the monsters within do drop loot, which you can easily take back to Omara for some good money, and I've added a few neat items for people to get if they reach the bosses or other areas." She continued. "I mean, what good's a dungeon without nice prizes for winning." She winked.

"And since this is you we're talking about." Eris thought for a moment.

"The prizes will be good. Very good." Ayame was practically licking her lips at the thought of a challenge.

"Indeed. Imp and I've come with some nice gear, and for Zephiria, we've got some special magical tomes and items." Akagi glanced over at the blonde-haired girl, who was visibly excited. "I might have even borrowed from Mizumi's library."

"WHY ARE WE JUST STANDING AROUND OUT HERE?!?" Zephiria began pulling on Eris. "WE SHOULD START NOW!"

"This is going to be so much fun!" (Eris x Ayame)