Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

-----

Olivia saw Elayne clutching her face. For a moment, one of her eyes flashed red before it quickly returned to normal.

"A-Are you okay?"

"Yes, I’m fine. I just... recalled something. I think my class as a Heroic Spirit might have mutated since Tartarus manifested within my vessel."

"What?"

"I might be a Ruler, but Tartarus is... a Foreigner."

"Like that fairy’s Heroic Spirit?!"

"Yes. Perhaps we now share something in common. Foreigners are the strangest of classes, right?"

"Little is known about them. For ages, they have only appeared in myths and legends. It is said they are deeply connected with beings beyond this world—Alien Gods, or Outer Gods. They manipulate what we deem ’foreign’ to our world. All the things that don’t fit in belong to their strange domain. Tartarus is... the embodiment of the dark abyss in Greek mythology, isn’t it? The place where the ancient Titans and other monsters were cast and sealed. Such a being would certainly qualify as a Foreigner."

"Hm, but why? Why did it manifest within me? Could it be because Noah’s powers leaked and mixed with my Spirit Core and the Origin of my myth as Gaia? Was Gaia truly that connected to Tartarus?"

"Perhaps... well, we cannot know for certain right now."

"Hm... you’re right. Let’s have breakfast for now, shall we?"

Elayne decided to cook breakfast. As the savory aroma of her delicious meals filled the house, her daughter and friends quickly dragged themselves out of bed to join her and Olivia at the table.

"Good morning, everyone!" Elayne said brightly.

"Good morning..." the girls yawned, settling down to drink warm milk tea.

"And done... Oh?"

Ding!

[You have learned the Skill: [Cooking – Tier 1: Level 1/10]]

[You acquired the Title: [Spirit Chef]: Increases Cooking Proficiency, especially with Spirit Ingredients, by 25%. Dishes made become Spirit Dishes and grant various special effects. Can gain EXP from cooking.]

[You gained a small amount of EXP.]

[Level Up!]

[Your Level has increased from Level 1 to Level 2!]

Elayne finished preparing breakfast and joined them. As they discussed yesterday’s events, the conversation naturally turned to Olivia and her recent changes—especially the horns.

"I’m still trying to figure out a way to make them invisible. I suppose I’ll use some artifact for now," Olivia sighed.

"So, uh, Mom... are you a vampire now?" Elena asked.

"Do I look like one to you?" Elayne replied.

"I guess not right now... but you can transform and stuff, right?" Elena wondered.

"I can, but that doesn’t mean I am a vampire. I just have some of their powers... mixed in," Elayne said. "I’m still figuring out exactly what I am, but I know I’m still myself."

"That’s somewhat reassuring, maybe," Elisa said. "Ugh, look! This is what’s left of Obsidian. He almost died, but there’s this tiny bit of him remaining."

Elisa opened her palms, revealing a small apple-sized slime made of living ink, with two tiny dot-like black eyes.

"Wasn’t he a giant three-headed dragon?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, he was supposed to be," Elisa said. "But then suddenly he wasn’t!"

"He took too much damage..." Monica sighed. "Anna, you’re a Summoner. Can’t you do something? Don’t you have a skill for it?"

"If I did, I would have already," Anna replied, shrugging. "I’m sorry. He’s stuck like this until we find a solution."

"Maybe he just needs to eat?" Olivia suggested. "If he’s a unique creature born from Living Ink, perhaps he only needs to consume Imaginarium Cores or magical items. Have you fed him?"

"I fed him magic crystals and spirit stones, but he barely grew," Elisa said. "Imaginarium... I don’t have any on me."

"I’ll give you one," Olivia said, handing her a stone.

Elisa smiled and fed it to Obsidian. The little rainbow slime absorbed the core, wobbled, and suddenly grew three times larger.

But nothing else happened.

"Huh, he’s a gluttonous one. He’ll need a lot more to grow big and strong," Olivia noted.

"Definitely, but the cores we have are limited..." Elayne said. "They’re not low in number, but we still need to ration them."

"I guess we’ll just have to go to another Canvas Bleed Dungeon and hunt more Imaginarium Cores!" Elisa declared.

"Right now? Are you crazy?!" Anna exclaimed.

"Not now, but... later," Elisa said, crossing her arms and furrowing her brows.

"Perhaps if he had a System Status, he could grow and level up..." Elayne sighed. "I wish I could help, but I only have this paintbrush, haha."

Elayne showed the paintbrush to everyone and gently tapped the head of Obsidian with it.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the rainbow-colored ink clung to the brush’s head for a moment. It glowed brightly, and as Elayne moved it, the air itself seemed to warp strangely.

"W-What is this?"

The strange power vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had never been there. No one else seemed to notice—except Elayne. But she felt something within the paintbrush when it interacted with the Living Ink.

"Why?"

She wondered about it for some time. Why would her Dream Weapon—something that shouldn’t even exist for a fully manifested Heroic Spirit—display a power that interacted with the Living Ink created by another Heroic Spirit? Coincidence? Or perhaps... there was a deeper connection.

"Could the Canvas Bleed be reshaping the world’s natural order, and the paintbrush appeared as a way for me to restore it?" Elayne wondered. "After all, that is one of my duties..."

She shook her head. A Dream Weapon was born from her own dreams, not from duty. There had to be a deeper meaning behind this.

While they were still eating breakfast, Anna’s mother emerged from her room.

"Ah, girls! Good morning. I heard what happened yesterday. Were you all alright? Anna?"

She walked over and pulled her daughter into a tight hug.

"I’m fine, thank you for worrying," Anna said with a smile. "Uh, well... a lot happened."

"Yeah..." Elayne nodded. "I suppose we can take the week off? Olivia?"

"I’ll go check on that now. I’ll return once I have news about what we’ll do from here on," Olivia said, stepping out of the house toward the larger academy buildings.

While Elayne and the girls explained everything to Anna’s mother, Olivia returned after about an hour with updates.

"They’re letting all students take the week off. Teachers aren’t completely exempt, but you and I are allowed to rest as well," Olivia said. "They’re sending large groups of sorcerers around Tokyo to strengthen security. Also, the Director told me the Clan Master has scheduled a meeting with everyone who participated in yesterday’s battle for the day after tomorrow. She’s giving you all a little time to recover first."

-----