The next chapter is a bit of a mess.

It will probably feel like you skipped a lot of chapters.

But it should explain most of what happened.
During the time skip...

Welcome to Story progression.
The first eleven chapters are merely the introduction!

[I still don't know what I'm doing, But let's go and find out.]
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Time turns...
It flows constantly...
Conflict after conflict...

The world remains to move whether they wished for it or not...
To those who perished from this world in its cruel unfairness...

I pray your next life would be something that will bring you good graces.

...

...

...

「This time...
Let's try not getting ourselves killed. 」

Was the hopeful wish of a young girl with emerald eyes and green hair.
Slender arms and a youthful stature...

She wore a small uniform fit for her size,
Miniskirt, necktie and a cute dress custom made by the school themselves.

Her twin who carried the same way as her replies.

『Easier said than done.』

As they entered their own classroom.
Death glares and hostility came from the students.

「Why the heck are we sent to the upper noble classes again?」She groans.

『Because we both of us are gifted twins that need to help our parents from their debt.』

「Ah... right.」She then sighed.

3 years have passed...

The twins are now at the age of 12 were forcibly sent to Academy of Havel...
But this was deliberately done on their own to help their parents sooner rather than later.

Baster gave them many reasons why they should use their talent to draw the attention of the teachers of that academy.
It is simply because land exploration becomes an option for those who have shown great talent in magic regardless of their age...

For the twins who can use magic without an Ark Seal,
it was an easy ticket for them to skip their elementary classes.
where their knowledge and experience surpassed those of their own age...

All they simply needed to do was blow the minds of their current school...

By casting simple spells.

Tori was against it, but she was soon lectured by Talie.

『You don't need to be afraid of marrying to another family anymore,

The odds are extremely slim,
now that every noble hates our guts.』

「But we are drawing attention if we did such a thing!」

『We already have our eyes on us whether we like it or not...
Besides are you intending on letting that debt grow to abnormal heights!』

「Uwuu...」at this point she could no longer retort.
The twins performed a spell which they chose to show in a certain event where all teachers were present.

It was easy to tell how they all froze in shock.
As they watched young youth at the age of 12 capable of skillfully using spells without using an ark seal.

They sent Havel Academy a letter regarding their talent as sorcerers.
They soon swiftly moved to send them there.

...

But why did their family suffer debt?

「Ugh, I can't believe the other nobles would send pirate ships to harass us. Like this...」Tori said.

『I can't believe they hold that much of a grudge against us.』Talie replied.

The air-space of the BlackRose family was undoubtedly safe.
But once they leave it, airships claiming themselves as pirates started bullying them.

They damaged their family ship repeatedly leaving it banged up and close to breaking apart.
Then flees away in an instant as they did the deed.

The authorities came but they are often too late.

Their family did all they could to repair the airship and constantly work to avoid any conflict with them.

They also requested aid from the royal family, but they were denied.
Claiming it was their problem now at this point on...

The pirates attacking them always comes out when they are outside the protective airspace.

Rufus the head of the family, however, was given escort ships when it applies to his work for the kingdom.
Because even they knew, it would be troublesome if a skillful individual were to get shot out of the sky.

But during times where they needed to purchase necessary goods.
The airships that once attacked returns to harass them.

With the loss of their power, they were no match against them.
Because of this...
In the end, they had to borrow money in order to repair the ship and survive while doing their daily work.

The twins suspect the animosity of the other noble family is the cause of the attacks.
But we're powerless to do anything about it.

...

...

...

-During Break-time-

Bustling students flowed in the cafeteria of their school.
The modern looks surprised the twins but the death glares still remained amongst the students.

『I'm surprised we survived for 3 years.
But the debt had grown quite large.

What did Baster say on how should we deal with this again?』She asked Tori.

Tori replied with a bitter expression.

「His first idea is to find ourselves another noble who will help us with financial problems.
But there is no way we are marrying ourselves to other families.

That's like turning ourselves into slaves.」

『So that's an out. 』

「His second idea, however.

Is to participate in exploration with him...
Sadly, we don't really have an air-ship of our own.

And trusting anyone here is like signing yourself on a death warrant.」

As she said those words, somebody threw food directed at her as she reflexively and skillfully avoided it.

『We should eat somewhere else...』
Talie said with a suggested as both of them tries to leave only taking the meal they have bought...

But then another piece of food was thrown this time towards Talie.
She flickered her hand as a thin black shell, disintegrated it in the air.
The two calmly walked towards the door then turned to them.
They politely bowed to those gazing at them with hostility and left.

Then the sound of food splatters the door.

...

...

...

The twins went to the meeting place ahead of time which Baster has made for them.

「I can't believe, the jewelry you once stole at the party actually came in handy.」

『I can't believe, I'm hearing you praise me for stealing.』

「I'm not praising you...」

『Neither am I...』

Both of them sighed.
After waiting for a few moments has passed.

『But the real question right now...』

「Where's Baster!」Tori cried out in impatience.

As the two shouted, both of them were waiting in the meeting place as they munched on their bread.
As soon as they were done, they saw Baster with a bunch of tissue paper and food on his head.

『Looks like your having fun.』Talie replied.

"Ha.-ha.-ha." he said in a robotic tone.

「Any way...
Can't we get rid of this stupid circumstance.

We currently have...」

『I can feel the stench of noble trash trying to make us a laughing stock.
But there is no way, I'll let them have the last laugh.』Talie said with an annoyed expression.

Baster then said to them.

"There's going to be an academic event soon.
The dungeon exploration session...

I've already enlisted us to that event."

「Eh!?」

『Eh!?』

The two were shocked as he accepted such a reckless request that involved putting their lives on the line...

「You are aware everyone here wants to kill us?」

He nods in reply.
"But this one is a bit special."

『Why this event exactly?』 Talie asks.

"This event, in particular, is an event in the game.
It's a competition to clear a peculiar dungeon made by the academy themselves.

As for the reward for first place..." he sharply gazed at the two.

The twins swallowed their saliva as they hear him in earnest.

「Say it!」

『We aren't here to waste time!』

Baster giggled at how aggressive the twins were...

"The reward is an airship.
Along with an exploration permit.

This event is to measure students who possess the ability to deal with monsters.
While also exploring their talent to deal with traps and other disasters that can happen in there."

The two gazes at him with serious eyes along with a wide smile.
A chance for them to finally aid their parents who are currently in hardship.

For three years they could only watch in silence.
Tori wanted to soar the sky and crush those who harassed their family out of the sky.
But the fact she wasn't a dragon anymore made her feel regretful about it.

Talie, however, was there to comfort her in such troubled times.

They went to Baster and requested his aid to teach them about the world around them.

What he knows and how things work.

He himself was learning how airship functions and requested his actual parents.
For a vehicle that allows them to soar the sky and fly towards the nearby island to avoid dealing with the sky-ships.
That constantly attacks them.

His mother gave him a gift.
A vehicle but it was incomplete pieces.

"If you seek to leap unto the nearby islands.
You must first understand how that thing works.

A single mistake could cost you, your life you know?" were her harsh words to him.

Baster understood her reason and accepted it.
She wanted him to understand that an air-ship vehicle is fragile.

It's going to be extremely dangerous if it gets damaged without any knowledge of repair.
Being stranded in a floating island is something Baster didn't want to experience the most.

There is also an option to contact back home using a communication device and use the airship to rescue him.
But that is always a chance of an ambush from the pirates which could go extremely bad.

That was something he wanted to avoid the most.

Using all his free time...
Baster earnestly worked hard on building it.
Until he was done piecing it together and learned how it works.

After a year...
He successfully managed to build up the vehicle after a long study regarding its inner workings.

Its size was similar to a large car.
Inside it, he could fit at least two to three people.
However, he needed that space for the supplies to bring in...

His intention was to hunt monsters and return their carcass back home.
Or find rare materials to sell.

The time was finally ripe for him to finally lessen their burden.

He assisted his family by gathering supplies to repair their damaged airship.
The twins, of course, lent him a hand.

Then I requested three things from them.

Talie's three stolen Ark seals,
Along with Tori's multiple spells of light magic to be planted into the seal.

Finally, his third request was for them to help him maintain specific tools and parts for his work.

Both of them were reluctant, unaware of what they were doing but accepted his request in their muddled situation.

The twins were still 10 and their parents will undoubtedly worry if he brings them.
Aware of this, he simply requested their support.

Through this, Baster at the age of 13 worked outside his own island home while the twins kept his gear in top-notch shape.

The twins obtained knowledge to maintain the vehicle tools as Baster taught them how to use it.

「Talie...」

『Yes, Tori...』

「Let's show them what it means to meddle with our family shall we?」

『For the first time in a long time, I always wanted to hear you say that...』

Baster felt the ominous aura coming from them.
This was certainly a time for them to finally have the option to work.

After 3 years, he is now 15 years old.
His stature has changed to a muscular form making him quite handsome with a reliable look.

All his hard labor in the forests outside his home island gave him the experience he needed...
He had also dealt with monsters and gave it to them as a way to pay the debt off.

But it still wasn't enough.
All it did was keep it from completely swallowing them whole.

The place where he resupplied his own family was from a nearby island.
He knew what kind of monsters lived there and was able to stave them off using the ark seals which Talie had stolen.

If he was wounded he utilized Tori's light attributed ark-seals to heal himself.
Sometimes he returned home late in exhaustion.

The twins gave him their support with tea and praise.

It was pure bliss and he realized it.
Their bonds together had grown closer as he began to discover more about them.

Talie a former thief in her past-life carrying stolen memories of a sorcerer.
Tori a former queen and a half-dragon in her past-life.

It was at this point in his life, he wanted the twins to finally pull their weight.
He wanted to see it, the chance where the two graces that came to his life finally bears their fang against those who put them in such dire circumstances.

Of course, it would cause the story to change.
But he said to himself.
"The story in the game has already been distorted.
May as well do our best and screw over whoever gets in our way."

The numbers of otome game characters from a cast of 14 people turned into 30 characters.
He suspects that Tori's healing magic saved those who were supposed to die that day.

But it didn't matter as a lot of them hate them enough, that trying to converse will only turn into an argument.

A circumstance where they are alienated as they gave them such a terrible memory.

He then said to the twins.

"Stay calm, you two.
The event starts in a few weeks.

We still have preparation and days to endure until then..."

As he said those words the twins became dispirited.
But then lightly laughed.

「Our brother have grown quite well didn't he?」

『Indeed, he doesn't look like a loser anymore.』

"You two always make fun of me...
But it's better than having food thrown at you." I retorted to their jests with a smile.

The two gently smiled as they pulled out water and cloth from their shadows.
They cleaned his face and hair properly as they went on their way to their own respective classrooms.

The scent of food in his clothes however remained.

________________________________________________________________________________

Baster's Pov: 2 years ago.

Shadow Pockets.

I wanted to imitate that spell for a long time...
Such a shame, the ark seals were incapable of copying it.
It was a spell, I needed to use to gather riches faster.
But my wishes didn't happen...

Nor did I had shadow attributes to enable me to learn it.

Though, I can kind of understand what would happen if it did work.
Smuggling illegal things are going to be a complete breeze with that kind of magic flowing around.

I could probably ask the twins to do such things.
But, I feel like scum if I made them do something so fiendish...

As for what happened to the city in the past 3 years.

Well...
In the game, the world didn't particularly change.

The only difference at the moment is unrest within the populace is growing...
And there has been a search for the so-called *Saint* who called forth vast restoration magic that enveloped the city after our incident.

Turns out, the magic made the plants bloom and lasted for months.

I asked Tori about it,
Her response was...
「The mana is thick in that place.
Seraphim's magic must have been sustained that way... 」

All I could say was how ridiculous her magic was...

In that stupid forest, many times over I got severely wounded.
Close to death, the healing magic she had given me through the ark-seals kept me alive.

It was technically godsend, no it was absurdly strong for spells.

The thick mana in the air amplified the effects of the ark seal.

To be practically honest, I didn't know what kind of light magic is effective to bring.
I told her to give me what she believes I would need.

There were only 3 Ark Seals so I was troubled on what I should ask for and let her decide.

These are the Spells she had given me.
『Rejuvenation』 that constantly healed wounds.
『 Revitalize』 that restored stamina lasted for a long time.

With such spells, I shouted.

"I can do this!"

You probably think that the monsters in an unknown island forest are safe.

That is completely impossible.

Performing exploration without any information on enemies is a huge risk...
I had to take it slow and gather information with my eyes, nose, ear's and feet.

That forest in that floating island was no pushover that a single error in my judgment could kill me.
Thankfully I carried a device known as "MMS or referred to as Monster Mana sensor."

It can detect signs of nearby monsters, as I hid in the scenery.
Every time it spikes upward a fearsome monster exuding a dangerous presence lurks as it hunted for prey.

Thanks to this I managed to survive most scenarios.

It helped me avoid the more fearsome creatures that would eat me up in a single err of movement.
Most monsters in this world seem to act like animals in my world.
Very territorial and often fights amongst each other.

Thanks to that, I managed to at least discover that there were at least 5 deadly creatures
In this place that I needed to avoid the most.

Unlike the game, they simply evolved.

Their movement and actions are swift and lethal to the extent.
They don't give lesser monsters even a chance to escape.

Thankfully their bellies easily get full and they avoid eating most of the wildlife.

This gave me a chance to hunt for myself while dealing with the lesser monsters.

How does monster spawn work in this world?
The higher the island the weaker monsters would spawn.
The lower the island to the ground the bigger and meaner the creatures come out.

I could only garner a guess that the island I scouted was pretty much on lesser monsters.
The bigger and worse ones that patrol the area are undoubtedly the king and lord of the forest within the island.

It's suicide to fight them on my own at the moment.

But the lesser monsters are creatures that shouldn't be underestimated either...

Constantly moving in and out of that place for 5 months is practically a hell zone for me.

Sometimes I barely survived because certain monsters appearing with dangerous abilities.
It begins to show up and starts ruining my day by ambushing me in the middle of my hunt.

Blood of monsters draws attention of other monsters.
Just like in the game, the more you kill the more they appear.

A certain grinding mechanic that I rather not have in this kind of place.

The most troublesome ones that appeared were.

Poisonous, paralyzing, and even petrifaction was also there.

The third Ark-seal which Tori gave me was that basically saved my life was...
『Purification. 』

Hot damn, I would have died without it.

I asked Tori why did she give me such a spell?
Her words were...

「This world has undoubtedly changed.
If mana is thicker than normal,
You are bound to face such terrible monsters.

Did you perchance met such creatures?」she said with a worried look.

I could only giggle at her question towards me.
She was spot on to the extent I ended up hugging her while crying.

It was an embarrassing moment.

She was calm and didn't push me away.

Tori patted my head while I did so...
It was both terrifying and absolutely scary when I was on the verge of being eaten alive.
Managing to activate it while under its effect was something I was very thankful for...

At that point, I kept the Seal close to my fingers to avoid the worst circumstance.

...

...

...

I often traveled on foot.

Armed with a grenade and a set of hunting tools like rifle/ax paired with my game knowledge to gather rare materials.

They were bought from the jewelry from Talie.

Ugh, I felt like scum borrowing her money.
But it was for the sake of the family and for their future.
So I can't let them down here...

I made a decision to leave the vehicle in a place where I placed warding stone around it.
Any damage on it would leave me stranded.

I soon found a cave.
After clearing away the monsters inside of it.

I moved it there, hidden from any pirates that might try and steal it.
Considering we are targeted by them,
It wouldn't be strange for them to suddenly appear here and sabotage my work.

The odds are low, but I wasn't taking any chances.

Then I placed warding stones around the cave to prevent any kind of creature from making an ambush.

Warding stones are specific objects that repel monsters from approaching certain locations they have been planted in. I borrowed the jewelry from Talie and used it to purchase the necessary things I needed to start my journey.

Our debt was sky-rocketing...
It was a terrible situation where if I continued to do nothing.
We won't even have a home to stay in!

I argued with my grandfather with him saying "It's far too risky!"
But doing nothing was far riskier.
"At this rate, are you going to watch this house disappear!

I may have a home.
Back to where my mother is...
While it is dangerous there, I can try and survive with her and dad...

But what about the two daughters you dragged their family into?"

He grew pale with guilt, but it was truly what my grandfather needed to understand.

Tori and Talie have extremely high potential to become powerful companions.
I'm totally not giving them up to some stinking nobles to be used as their tools to play around with...

No, I don't think those two will let anyone control them.
The odds are they might abandon this kingdom and flee elsewhere or hijack something...

"That would be a huge waste.
These two were fun to be with...
Despite their ridiculous banters and annoying words."

I still need that airship from the DLC to finally put an end to this stupid situation.

As I waited earnestly for the time we finally make our final stand.

An airship of our own...
I thought deeply about it.

He then deeply sighed.
As much as I wanted to help the protagonist.
I can't help him or her if my family situation is like this...