I stared sullenly at the screen displayed on the Interface, as I had for the last few minutes. 

...

At some point, I'd set the buttons at the top of the Recruit menu. Frontline in position one, then a Marshal, then two supports. The forum used a Fortress instead of a Frontline for their 'ideal' Party, but that was probably more because Frontline was a rarer type. I still wasn't sure why that was but... I let myself get distracted again.

Once I'd gotten that far, I'd assumed that it would just automatically look for party members, like when I'd made the first Kindlesprite. But, over time, I'd realized that there was a major difference between the two events. When I'd made the Kindlesprite, I'd been scared and anxious, sure... But I'd also been lonely. It was hard for me to press the button, but I'd wanted to. This time, everything in me refused.

No matter what advantages it might bring, I didn't want to meet other people. I wasn't even really sure why I was making a distinction between them and my Creatures. It was foolish. But, without any question, I would never willingly choose to form a Party. The logical part of my Mind was telling me that it was already past the point where I had a choice. That was the only thing keeping me on this screen. But a part of me already knew that it would lose to my true intentions. Consequences be damned. 

"Elder, it should be ready now." Mara called out to me, breaking my deadlock. She slowly drifted between me and the ever patient Kindlesprite.

I slid the Interface into my pocket, feeling guilty, but also far lighter than before. "Just call me Selene." I stretched a little, then started to follow the Fairy to our destination. The Kindlesprite walked just behind and to my left.

The Fairy flew backwards to speak to me more easily. "Pardon me, Selene. Mica is making the final touches to the compass." Our walking speed was a little faster than the Fairy could fly comfortably, so she landed on my shoulder after a moment's hesitation. 

Over the last few hours, I'd been making some basic preparations. To find Nyx's Core shards, I had Mara teach me the Locate Objects spell. Since her ability to teach was somewhat lacking compared to the Interface, she and Mica had made a compass that I could use as a medium for the spell.

Before that, however, I'd been more concerned about my safety traveling on Earth. As such, I'd finally put in the work to Study the Ice Lance spell, so I'd have a useful weapon. In addition, I'd added the Mage Armor and Elemental Bolt spells to the Spellbook Mara made.

Both spells worked on a similar principle. They were slightly difficult to cast, but very versatile, with the ability to substitute different elements and effects for the default functions. Since I had Ice Lance already, I left Elemental Bolt for the others and focused on learning to use the Armor spell.

I did try to memorize the Teleport spell as well, but I wasn't confident in my ability to use it without the Magic menu. Since that wasn't the most reliable, I might have to travel using Air Armor to make myself lighter and kind of float around. The main problem being that the Air Armor wasn't as durable as other types, and I needed a lot of protection for the Puppet Avatar. It was significantly weaker than my real body.

In regards to the Spellbook, it worked just as I'd hoped. Having the knowledge just appear in my head was infinitely better than having to read and memorize the spell from a book, but only needing to spend CP once was worth the trouble. Especially since Mara could scribe the spells from one book to another. And it was even possible to write down a known spell in a book, meaning I might not have to repurchase some of the spells I'd already bought. It was rather difficult though, to the point that the Kindlesprite couldn't add True Regeneration to a Spellbook with her innate knowledge. If I put a lot of time into it, I vaguely felt I could manage it though.

We arrived at the building the Fairies were using as their workshop. The structure had been upgraded into the same veined marble as the room's walls. There wasn't a door, exactly, just a barrier made of mana to prevent particles from moving through. It felt like walking through something sticky.

Inside, the place was a bit of a mess. It was clearly organized, with several bins for scrap metal and rocks, a line of shelves for completed and nearly finished components, and a large work area in the middle of the room. But it still felt rather chaotic, especially in the central work space. There were multiple projects laying around on the floor, as if they changed what they were working on at random. To be fair, that was probably whenever I asked them to change priorities, though.

Geni and Mica were working on separate projects, but both came over to greet us when we entered. After a couple pleasantries and an update on their progress, Geni went back to her project, and Mica brought me the compass.

It was a small box with rounded edges, sort of like a jewelry box. There was a wrist strap attached to a corner, made of the same material as the felt covering the box. It was rather comfortable to hold. Opening it, I found a small crystal orb filled with liquid. Minute flecks of metal floated inside the orb. More strikingly, the entire inside of the case was covered in tiny runes, three of which were currently glowing.

Mica's explanation was a little too quiet, but I still caught most of it. "If you use the Divining Tool to help with a Divination spell, the metal dust inside the crystal will be drawn into certain patterns by the enchantments. For the Locate Objects spell, it should just turn into a rod that points towards the object. Uh, there might be multiple rods if you aren't specific enough and there's a lot of the same object in different directions." Towards the end, their voice gained quite a bit of liveliness.

From my shoulder, Mara clarified one thing with a slightly concerned tone. "If you try to use that other spell, this tool won't be able to help at all. It might be damaged if you try, so please stick to simpler spells." Then she bowed slightly. "As long as you're in the Dungeon, you can always ask me to cast such spells. Until then, I'll get back to making Spellbooks. You said you wanted thirty for now, yes?"

I nodded slightly. "Yeah. We most likely won't need more than that for a long while. Will you need a Nymph of some kind to help you?"

She paused at the question. Her eyes lost focus for a long moment. Then she blinked and shook her head. "I believe a Naiad would be of use to you eventually, but you said you wanted to produce clothing first. I can manage this much on my own, but an Air Fairy might be more helpful to me than a Naiad, surprisingly. Threads to bind and make pages for the Spellbooks... Wouldn't be a bad investment. The metal plates are perfectly valid, but a little heavy to carry around." She gave an apologetic glance to Mica, who just shrugged.

I nodded slowly. The threads would have to come from somewhere though. Which meant trading. I looked back to Mica as Mara left. "Do you think we have enough ore to start trading? The extra CP will be necessary to buy silk for the Air Fairy."

The Fairy froze up a little, then squeaked out an answer. "Uuuhm. There's a lot of ore. It's just that it takes time to collect. The stuff on the other side of the river is easy to get. But um. How much do you want to trade?" They fluttered around nervously, the sound of light chimes accompanying their wingbeats.

I shook my head. "Won't know until I summon the Air Fairy, I guess. Well, more CP is always better. I'll have to look into it when I get back." I tried to smile reassuringly. "You've done good work. All of you have. Um. Keep it up." Ugh, talking is hard.

Mica blinked a moment, then their whole atmosphere brightened considerably. "Of course! Good luck finding all the shards!" They fluttered closer to me for a moment, then shot off towards their work.

I smiled after them, a little bemusedly. All that from a barely coherent compliment. People are weird. I stored the 'Divining Tool' in my Bank, then left the building. The Kindlesprite and I walked towards Corina's temple. I was a little nervous... For all the wrong reasons.

I'd taken the Oread's offer to make a new place for me in this room, since my Core room was now too far away for easy use. Of course, she'd put the furniture inside her temple. Since I wouldn't be conscious while I was using the Avatar... Well, maybe it was better to go back to my Core room after all?

I turned my head a little. "Umm. Kindlesprite... While I'm using the Avatar, could you-"

Unexpectedly, she interrupted me. "I shall watch over your body while you search for the shards." If it were anyone else, I'd say she was challenging me to disagree... But that neutral expression was just what she defaulted to.

"Oh. Okay." I answered reflexively. For a moment, I wasn't sure how to continue. Then I had a little epiphany. "Ah. Do you still have my old phone? You can call me if anything important comes up, okay?"

She suddenly lifted up the hem of her dress, causing me to gasp in shock. Then I exhaled slowly when one of my old pairs of shorts came into view. She reached into a pocket that was barely large enough to contain my phone, then showed it to me. "I will call as you instructed. I will keep the phone within reach, in the event you wish to speak to us. Don't hesitate to do so." She returned the phone to her pocket and released her dress.

We arrived at the temple at that moment. Finding the place was rather simple, with how empty the rest of the temple was. As promised, the furniture Corina made was beautiful. Stunning, even. There was a very large bed and four desks, each with an old style armchair with a thick cushion covering it. All the items were black and white, but textured like wood instead of the stone patterns everything else used.

Corina smiled at me from her seat at one of the desks. Her computer was sitting in front of her, but she pushed it aside to look at us. "Hey cuties. Are you getting ready to look for those shards, now?"

I was curious, so I took a moment to lift one of the chairs. Far lighter than it looked, and that was assuming it was actually made of wood instead of the stone I knew it was. Magic really did some strange things... I gave a tiny snort, then nodded to Corina. I sat on the edge of the bed, finding it to be absurdly comfortable. Not exactly in a way I wanted from a bed, but I wouldn't notice once I was using the Avatar. 

When I looked back up, I found Corina was looking at me with a serious expression. "Hey... Selene. I've been reading about... What's happening down there. Should you really be going back?" For a moment, she seemed like she was looking for something else to say, but she remained silent.

I nodded. "The longer I wait, the more likely that someone else will find the shards I can reach easily. More importantly, having a higher capacity will probably let me see more expensive items and Creatures. I may not end up using them, but it's still something I want to get done." I paused for a moment.

There was another reason, though it wouldn't reassure anyone if I said it aloud. A part of me was looking for a fight. One that I could actually win. And I was confident that I would find one where I was going. It would be better to stay. Picking an unnecessary fight would just be shameful... "I'm going. I'll come back in five hours. The sun should be out by then, and my CP will be maxed."

I was already raising the Interface, so I was surprised when I heard a quiet response. "Then come back safely, okay?"

I confirmed the last option, lying back before my perspective changed slightly.

Cipiteca396

This could theoretically have been two very short chapters, but that's less fun.