Artifacts? I thought there was only one of them? Finding them was part of my goal for a while now, but I couldn't seem to find the perfect time to look for them. And Akemi mentioned that there was only one of them… Or maybe I didn't ask her correctly about this artifact. But even if I find one, my status has reached its maximum capacity so I don't think the numbers will get any higher. 

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Name: Hatsuko Gee 

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Health: 100,000/100,000 (Max)

STR: 50,000 (Max)

MC (mental capacity): 50,000 (Max)

AGI: 50,000 (Max)

VIT: 50,000 (Max)

DEF: 50,000 (Max)

Soul collected: 9,999/10,000

Condition: Healthy

Skills: ( Materialization ), ( Air slash ) ( The eyes of see-through ) ( Rage ) ( Berserk of Gluttony ) ( Presence detection) ( Night Vision ) ( Fireball ) ( Marionette ) ( Auto fight ) ( Poison Resistance ) ( Illusion) ( Life Draining ) ( Telekinesis ) ( Limit breaker ) ( killing intent ) ( Boost ) ( X10 eyes ) ( Aura sense ) ( Eyes of destruction ) ( telepathy ) ( Clone ) ( Soul Contract ), etc

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But Akemi also mentioned that I could convert its energy into skills so it might be worth looking for one.

"The same as my artifact?" Chloe wondered as she looked at Akemi. 

"You mean the necklace that Chloe had?" Hina also asked Akemi.

Wait, Chloe had an artifact? Not to mention, she had it on her neck the whole time? When I tried looking for her necklace at her chest, I couldn't locate it anywhere.

"Yeah, even though it was a small piece, it was enough to weaken the curse I had and heal most of my injuries." Akemi explained about the necklace. So Akemi used that piece of artifact to fight me in my ‘auto-fight’ state. But wait, Chloe having the artifact might explain why I couldn't see her status this whole time. Maybe I can see it now?

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Name: Chloe

Species: Human

Gender: Female

Health: 4,000/4,000

STR: 3,800

MC: 401

AGI: 4,200

VIT: 400

DEF: 3,900

Condition: Healthy

Skills: ( martial arts ) ( Limit break )

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The moment I tried peeking at her status, It immediately showed up. So her necklace was the reason I couldn't see her status. Do the artifacts have any effects other than those Akemi mentioned? 

“Okay, we’re going to look for all of the artifacts that we can find.” I said to everyone after I made up my mind about this. This might be our best decision if we’re gonna leave this city. And all of the other girls need to improve their own status as soon as possible. And the fastest way we can do that is by finding artifacts. Another thing that I'm hoping for are the changes that this artifact might bring to my status.

“““““Yes!“““““ ( Akemi ) ( Hina ) ( Ichika ) ( Chloe )

They all agreed about my decision. This might be a new start for me, that's why I'm going all out if I encounter any kind of danger.  I swore to myself that I wouldn't allow any of these girls to get harmed.

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***

None of the girls could see, but covering Hatsuko's aura was a green and dark mist which was forming around him. It wasn't affecting Hatsuko or any of the other girls in any kind of way... but Hatsko couldn't seem to notice that kind of change as well.

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Hatsuko’s POV

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Without wasting too much time we left the city, or at least, what it used to be. I used ‘Materialization’ and ‘telekinesis’ on all of the girls so we could get away from there as fast as possible. We might not know when Sakuru’s rescuing team might come, that's why we flew away. We didn’t have a destination, that's why we continued going in a straight line.

“Hey, Hatsuuuukoooo, for how long will we be going like this?” Chloe complained as she let herself loose in the air. My skills were keeping her float so she wasn't in any danger.

“I’m not sure.” I replied to her. We’ve been going like this for a while. I wasn’t planning on stopping but I didn't consider that there were a group of girls coming with me as well, that's when I realised that we had to take a break. We all landed down somewhere open in the forest. There didn't seem to be too many dangerous monsters in this area. And if any troublesome monster would come within my range, I could just scare them away with my skills.

“Let's take a break here.” I said to everyone after we landed on the ground. 

“Aghhh, finally!!!” Chloe immediately rushed towards some bushes as fast as she could. Following her was also Ichika and Hina with flustered faces. Since I wanted to give them some privacy, I tried scanning the area one more time in case there was a dangerous monster moving around. While waiting for those girls to come back, I started creating some furniture in order to sit down and take a break.

“Your skills are as convenient as usual... “ Akemi commented about my skill as she was quietly watching me.

“I lived in the forest for quite some time, so I had no other choice but to figure out a way to create these things.” Akemi looked at me a bit surprised after I said that to her.

“Is something wrong?” I asked her after I finished creating enough seats for everyone.

“N-no, you just caught me by surprise. I thought you’d just ignore me.” She came closer and sat down next to me. Her arm was still injured, but her physical form was recovering really fast. 

“You have changed.” She suddenly said as she was looking at me.

“Really?” ( Hatsuko )

“Yeah, you wouldn't even look back at me when we first met. No matter what I did, you didn't care at all.” ( Akemi )

Both of us were looking at each other as the place around us became quiet. I wasn't sure what to say to her, since I was the one who caused her injuries.

“You shouldn't be worrying about my arm that much, it’ll grow back in no time. But unfortunately my real form is still injured. But still, dont worry about it, you’re back and so is everyone.” Even though she is under a curse and her body is full of injuries, she still acts like it's nothing. She really is a proud ancient dragon.

“Yeah.” She smiled the moment I agreed to her. It was one of the smiles which I have never seen before. If I had to describe how her smile looked, then it would be… lovely. 

As I was looking at her, Shiro suddenly jumped towards me and hugged my head. 

[ Master! No fair, pay attention to Shiro as well! ] She complained as she tightened her hug. Even though she used to be a cat, I could feel her breast resting on my face as Shiro wasn’t letting me go.

“Ahhh, now I feel much better.” ( Chloe ) 

All of the girls finally came after doing their stuff. Their faces looked relieved as they sat down on the seats that I had created. Ichika and Hina sat down together while Chloe sat down next to Angela and Demonica.

"By the way, what are you doing?" Chloe asked as she was looking at me and Shiro in this kind of position. 

"Nothing." I responded to her after I cut my finger a bit to calm Shiro down. She immediately sat down properly after she saw blood coming out of my finger. Then she gently grabbed my hand and started sucking out the blood. She had a happy expression on her face while doing what she wanted.

"Anyway, I've been thinking of where the other artifacts might be." ( Hatsuko )

"Artifacts are usually hidden underground or in caves creating a powerful dungeon." Akemi immediately responded to my question.

"Do you know where they are located?" ( Hatsuko )

"Yes, I know one." ( Akemi ) 

Everyone suddenly looked at Akemi the moment she said that. Oh, that's right, she did mention that she knew the location of an artifact. But if she knows where this artifact is, then there is a high chance it's located in a dungeon.

"It's a bit far from here, but if we continue to fly like we did, we'll arrive there in no time. 

After all, it's my dungeon." ( Akemi )

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