Story Arc: Welcome to Wartwood
Episode 2: Basement renovation and Hollow Beetle (I)
Chapter 6: The Plantar House Guests
Plot: Bruce, Anne and Marcy arrived at the Plantar residence, there were problems with bringing in Bruce and his Servants.
But after a brief "reminder", Hop Pop has pulled out the red carpet for his guests and starts cleaning the basement.
Leaving Bruce, Altera, Anne and Marcy alone, allowing him to have a long discussion about the moonlit world and the Servants.
XXX
POV Narrator
Once Hop Pop made a deal with Bruce in Dark Armored Wizard mode, the most colorful group Wartwood has ever seen, he began walking towards the Plantar farm.
The group is made up of whatever Bruce is, a dragon-shaped automaton, two Heroic Spirits, two human girls and three anthropomorphic frogs.
Technically they are not walking on their own feet, the whole group is riding Ferrus, as if he were a giant horse.
Strangely missing a certain blue-eyed raven, he is probably flying somewhere he performs a task for his master.
Bruce would have preferred to have Ferrus fly off and reach his destination in less than three minutes.
But the presence of Hop Pop and Polly made it a risky option.
Who knows how the heart or brain of the old orange frog will react to high altitude, the same goes for the violent tadpole.
Taking this possibility into account, Bruce ran Ferrus through the forest, leaving behind a clear path of devastation and felled trees.
Following Sprig's directions, the only frog who isn't scared to death (Hop Pop) or too excited to talk (Polly).
In less than fifteen minutes, Ferrus led the group to the outskirts of the village where the Plantar farm is located.
'Wading this house gives me a strange feeling of déjà-vu.' Bruce thinks, looking at the house of the frogs in search of something familiar, not finding anything in particular.
The Plantar farm consists of a housing unit surrounded by fields and a small red shed where the tools are stored.
The house is quite old and is made from a tree stump as is the case with a number of houses in Wartwood.
There is a small yellow wooden front door and a circular window next to it.
A bioluminescent mushroom has also been planted next to the door to serve as a front porch light.
The house appears to have three floors and has a red wooden roof with a large branch protruding to the side.
Moss and grass are also seen growing prominently throughout the house's exterior.
There is also a small wooden fireplace placed on top of the third floor roof.
From the back porch there is also access to a lake where the Plantar ship is also moored.
"Mr. Archduke and handmaids, welcome to the Plantar residence." Hop Pop said, stepping off Ferrus' back, along with Sprig and Polly.
"Altera, help Anne and Marcy has to get off." Bruce said, before taking a "little" jump from Ferrus' head, without too much trouble being more capable than an ordinary man.
"Right away, Master." Altera responds, in a monotone tone, making her sword disappear into particles of light, proceeding to help the girls in Los Angeles get off.
First Anne and then Marcy who is surprised by Altera's physical strength.
The white-haired girl manages to lift them into the air as if they were small children.
"How strong are you?" Marcy asks, wanting to know Altera's strength level, along with many other things about these Heroic Spirits.
"I am a Saber-Class Servant, my strength is of rank A." Altera said, giving information that only a nerd could understand.
"If we use a low-letter level system. The letter E should be the lowest level, with A the highest level, except if there is an SSS or EX level here." Marcy said, using her gamer knowledge to make some pretty good deductions on the Servant power rankings.
"Our class skills, Presence Concealment are A +!" He suddenly declares Jack, instantly appearing next to Bruce.
Little Serial Killer voices her best stat out loud to stand out in front of her "aunts" and "Daddy."
Apparently Jack took Marcy's curiosity as some kind of game of who is the best Servant.
"Bruce, I'm not a big RPG fan like Marcy, can you explain to me what Altera and ... Jack the Ripper are saying?" Anne said, having a little hard time referring to the white-haired girl by the name of one of London's most infamous serial killers.
"Short lesson on Heroic Spirits aka Servant. Normally a Servant when summoned based on his attributes is placed in one of seven classes: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Rider, Assassin and Berserker." Bruce said, not wanting to go into the details of how the Servants work without a more secluded location.
"Summons classes!" Marcy exclaims, with a big smile, excitedly clapping her hands, loving to feel the existence of a true magic system low on job classes and skills.
"Let me guess, Altera is Saber Class while Jack is Assassin Class." Anne said, sure she can't go wrong in guessing the classes of the two white-haired girls.
Altera is in possession of a giant multicolored sword that appears to be capable of cutting through buildings.
In the case of Jack the Ripper, putting aside the explicit name of his profession, he wields a large number of daggers and appears to be some kind of Ninja or a little Batgirl.
"You're right Anne. Altera is a wonderful Saber." Bruce said, with a smile on his lips, taking Altera's hand, pulling him close to him.
Servant Saber remains silent and still like a doll, but her eyes seem to have grown softer and warmer with just the touch of Bruce.
"And my Jack is a lovely Assassin." Bruce said, stroking Jack's little head who smiled gently, tenderly appreciating his fatherly affection.
"You are so sweet together!
You look like one of those fantasy couples from Marcy's books. A sword master warrior and a black sorcerer, together you have to cover their respective weak, creating an absolute duo. "Anne declares, expressing her romantic feeling about her, admitting how good Altera and Bruce are.
Anne's comment made the unthinkable, Altera's face has changed, the expression remains a perfect poker face, but her cheeks have turned red.
'For the great sky frog, is it possible that demons have families?' Think Hop Pop, look how close and happy Bruce, Altera and Jack are.
"Did I just use RPG references to describe a cute couple?" Anne said, blinking, realizing what she did a few seconds ago.
"I'm turning into a nerd, this is your fault Marcy." Anne said, in a false angry tone, punching Marcy friendly for bribing her.
'You have no idea how happy it makes me that you pay attention to my hobbies and want to participate in them.' Marcy thinks, feeling some warmth within herself, as Anne shows her nascent nerdy side with her.
"Wait a second, you said there are seven Heroic Spirit classes underneath, that means there are five other beings like you that have to show up !?" Sprig asks, having paid attention to Bruce's discussion to understand the possible presence of five other otherworldly beings.
"Pink frog, I am a unique specimen, practically a multiverse singularity." Bruce said, completely changing his tone and expression, returning serious and cold.
"But you're right, normally entities like Altera and Jack the Ripper are invoked in sets of seven.
If all goes as it should, the Silver Faction and its Servants will be full again. "Bruce proclaims, imagining the reunion of the group that won the Apocryphal Holy Grail War.
The silver faction that fought against the black faction made up of the Yggdmillennia and the red faction representing the Association of Wizards.
The Silver Faction is made up of the Trinity Seven, the seven most powerful witches of their generation: Lilith Asami, Arin Kannazuki, Levi Kazama, Mira Yamana, Akio Fudō, Yui Kurata, Lieselotte Sherlock.
Technically Bruce was hired by the Wizarding Association as a member of the red faction.
But when a Holy Grail anomaly, it results in the creation of an extra faction, bringing into play a total of 21 Servants and 21 Masters.
It is the case that the third faction is made up of the Trinity Seven which can be defined as Bruce's Battle Harem.
The armored sorcerer didn't miss the chance to double-cross and manipulate the Apocryphal Holy Grail War in his favor.
'Perfect, this was missing from my impending nightmares, the knowledge that there will be five more demons haunting my home.' Think Hop Pop, starting to get into a cold sweat, not wanting to try to imagine what kind of monstrosity the rest of the Servants can be.
"Spirg was right about something!" Polly exclaims aloud, not believing her ears.
Sprig rarely ... almost never ... this is the first time he's right about something complex.
"This explains why demons, magnificent metal beasts and bizarre creatures appeared in the forest." Polly said, quite sure that Sprig will be right again the moon will fall on Amphibia.
Polly's rather insulting words brought Bruce back to reality, no longer thinking about the witches in his messed up life.
"Mister Archduke, would you like me to prepare the stable to house your metal steed?" Hop Pop asks, continuing to walk on the glass around Bruce, the leader of the group and the scariest being.
"It won't be necessary to take Ferrus with us into the building, I prefer to have him close at hand." Bruce said, not wanting to leave Ferrus alone, even though he would make an excellent watchdog.
'Once the peasant frog house is inspected and adequate defenses are created, Ferrus will be able to guard the outside. Until then he will be close to the girls. ' Think Bruce, wanting to keep the draconic automata close to Anne and Marcy as a last line of defense.
"Bruce I don't want to screw up your plans, but how are you going to get your mecha through that little door?" She asks Anne that she could barely pass into Physics with a pass.
But even an idiot realizes that an object the size of a school bus can't fit through a frog door.
"Watch and learn. I have added upgrades, multiple and modular functions of all kinds to Ferrus." Bruce said, walking up to Ferrus and slipping his fingers behind the left front paw of the automated dragon.
By pulling a lever, Ferrus trembles from head to tail.
Everyone drew back, especially Hop Pop pulling Sprig and Polly towards him, while the dragon folds up like an origami.
The bronze plates stacked on themselves. The neck and tail retracted into the body.
The wings closed and the trunk compacted until the entire dragon shrank into a block of metal the size of a suitcase.
"Here you are, funny aunts and frogs, our Daddy's genius!" Jack declares, giving a lively applause at this little demonstration.
"But it's impossible, it breaks several laws of physics!
Such a big thing cannot become that small! "Exclaims Marcy, feeling like the scientific side of her has taken a punch right in the stomach.
Marcy ran to the metal suitcase, trying to lift it, but the block weighs a zillion pounds.
"Some laws of physics have remained intact. The volume has shrunk considerably, but the mass has remained the same." Marcy said, before pulling out a notebook and taking notes on Ferrus.
The nerdy girl started inventing theories about how it would be possible for a mechanical dragon, the size of a school bus, to reach the size of a suitcase.
"What did Marcy say about mass and volume?" Sprig asks, having not yet learned the fundamentals of physics in school.
"Put simply, Ferrus got smaller, but remained just as heavy as before." Anne said, having more or less understood Marcy's speech.
"I'm not done yet, wait a minute." Bruce said, pushing another button, and a handle and wheels appeared.
"The heaviest trolley in the world!" Jack declares, in a joyful tone, making a small jump, landing on the wheeled suitcase as if it were a bike.
"It's hard to believe that I'm carrying an automated dragon in the form of hand luggage.
But you have seen with your own eyes the result of the teachings of the Cyclops and Cybertronian science. "Bruce said proudly, taking enormous satisfaction in seeing the astonished looks of people when they see his creations at work.
"Let's go indoors, we've all had a long day and a good nap can't hurt anyone." Hop Pop said, speaking more for himself, seriously needing a nap after this witchcraft, a beast the size of a small house that grows to the size of a chair!
Who can say what else in possession of the Archduke of the Ice Hell can transform?
Maybe his Scepter can become a giant three-headed fire-breathing snake !?
"Hop Pop isn't it early to sleep?" Sprig asks, looking up at the sky, noticing that the sun is still up.
"I don't want to sleep, I want to eat something, the sweets from before are still causing problems for my stomach." Polly said, wanting to have lunch and not take an afternoon nap like a small child.
"We can discuss once our guests are settled." Hop Pop said, wanting to put some walls and door between the forest creatures and his grandchildren.
XXX
After about ten steps, the colored group arrived at the door of the Plantar residence.
Hop Pop opened the door, Sprig and Polly entered their house smoothly, followed by Anne and Marcy
For an unknown reason Bruce, Altera and Jack remained in front of the door, but did not enter, as if an invisible barrier were active only for them.
"Why don't you come in?" Marcy asks, finding it odd that the Armored Warlock and his summons remain outside.
"Thresholds of this house are pretty strong." Altera responds frankly without going into details.
Anne hearing yet another strange thing that is surely connected to magic turns to Bruce.
"This is sure to repeat itself for a long time, but can you give us an explanation of what a Thresholds is and why it prevents you from entering." Anne said, having a feeling that asking Bruce questions to get answers on strange things will become a habit.
"Thresholds are entities that separate the houses from the outside.
A threshold is a magical barrier around a house; it acts as an invisible and intangible energy field that surrounds it and keeps unwanted magical forces out.
Above all, they constitute a barrier to magic, making it impossible or uncomfortable for magical beings to cross them unless they are invited. "Bruce says, giving an introductory overview of the Thresholds and how they work.
Bruce raises his hand, pointing it in the direction of Anne and Marcy.
"Two pure-blooded human girls who have never learned or practiced the art of magic in any form, can enter uninvited, without suffering from side effects." Bruce states, explaining why Anne and Marcy have never suffered from this problem in their entire life.
"I, Altera and Jack are supernatural entities, created by magic or science so advanced that it is considered magic.
For us, crossing a threshold can be impossible or involve a lot of effort or cost if we are not invited. "Explains Bruce, pointing to himself and his white-haired girls who suffer from the same common problem.
"Our house has a barrier that keeps evil spirits away, great!" Polly exclaims, delighted to discover that her old cottage has such an interesting feature.
"In reality, every home is surrounded by a threshold, even if there are large variations in strength, and not all living spaces qualify as a home.
The existence and strength of a threshold depend on the way it is inhabited.
Places that for its inhabitants look like a home, which are linked to emotions and which have a history, are stronger than those which are simply a place to live, which are "just a home".
Family homes are generally stronger than single families. Old and long-standing homes, ancestral homes, places with their own history are generally very strong, while short-term or rented living spaces are weaker. "Bruce says, providing more information on the Thresholds.
Shortly thereafter, Bruce uses his Scepter to touch the outer wall of the Plantar house, analyzing the consistency of the Thresholds.
"Anthropomorphic frogs for ordinary peasants, your millennial abode has one of the most powerful Thresholds people could have." Says Bruce, almost as impressed by the defensive quality of the Plantar House, at least as much as it is about Thresholds.
"If I entered without permission, I could lose about 90% of my arcane-focused abilities." Bruce said, not mentioning that the rest of his abilities of a non-magical nature remain fully operational.
"Does this mean that your excellency and your guards cannot stay in my house?" Hop Pop question, in a hopeful tone, trying to hide a smile.
The old orange frog is envisioning a scenario where the demon and his creatures will either seek another settlement or return to their cursed forest.
Immediately upon hearing these words, Altera's gaze turned hostile, looking at Hop Pop as something that needs to be blown away.
Before Altera could do anything bad, Bruce placed his Scepter in front of Altera, preventing her from advancing or making a move against the old frog.
"Everything can be solved with a simple invitation and I remind you that you have signed a contract." Bruce declares, in a voice that promises bad consequences that I'm not Altera.
To make it clear that there is no chance of breaking the contract, Bruce snapped his fingers.
A complex tattoo appeared on Hop Pop's skin, the signed contract with Bruce, which shines menacingly.
Hop Pop's body slowly begins to overheat, giving the impression that it could catch fire at any moment or even explode.
"I think fatigue is starting to reach me, I completely forgot to invite you properly." He replies Hop Pop, feeling like his life might end or burn out in the next few seconds.
The old frog, moving with the speed of a young man, approaches the living room window and tears the curtain, throwing it in front of Bruce and his companions, as if they were in front of the Hollywood red carpet.
Hop Pop doesn't stop there, he takes a purse out of his pockets and hands it to Sprig.
"Go to Felicia's Tea Shoppe and buy the flower of mercy tea for ten days. Hop Pop said, winking at Sprig, obviously this order is a pretext to keep the children away until the creatures are gone.
"Grand Archduke of Cocytus and venerable companions, welcome to my home!" He declares Hop Pop, bowing to his guests.
"I'm going to prepare your room, you can wait for the cleaning to finish, staying in the living room." Hop Pop said, pointing to the old sofa and chair in the living room.
Without saying anything else, the old frog grabs a broom and a wrench, rushing to do an emergency cleaning in the basement.
For a moment Bruce, the Servants, the humans and the frogs were silent, after watching the Hop Pop fast-track scene.
"Fear of dying, the third greatest stimulus in the universe, surpassed only by hate and love. It allows you to work miracles at high speed." Bruce said, with an amused grin on his face, finding some entertainment in the performance of Hop Pop.
The Armored Warlock having been officially invited, enters the Plantar house, followed by Altera and Jack who do not give too much concern to the old frog scared to death by their presence.
Bruce sits in the living room armchair, placing himself as if it were his personal throne.
Jack in a childish way throws himself on the sofa, lying down after playing with the giant insects.
Altera ... behaves like Altera.
"Sprig, until Hop Pop calms down, I think we should go to Felicia Sundew and have mercy tea." Polly said, having had quite a weird part for this day.
"I've never heard of this type of tea, does it have to be a fine commodity?" Sprig said, not having the slightest understanding of Hop Pop's true intent.
"Sprig, your grandfather is worried that we, especially Bruce, might hurt you. What will never happen." Anne said, making it clear that she doesn't want to hurt anyone, especially pink frog sympathy.
"The excuse for tea is to stay with a friend of the family for a few days, until things calm down." Marcy explains what Hop Pop wanted to do, with taking Sprig and Polly out of the picture for a few days.
"But you are not bad people, you are two ugly and friendly creatures, protected by three spirits with great powers!" Sprig states, completely convinced that this group from a completely different world is made up of good people.
"The old frog is convinced that my Master is an Archduke of Hell. He won't change his mind that easily." Altera said, standing by the sofa, weapon in hand, ready to be used in any case.
"But I don't want to be with Felicia Sundew for ten days, I want to get to know you better and see what else you are capable of!" Sprig declares, hoping to be able to make new friends.
Besides, staying in Felicia's house for so long means being very close to her secret friend, Ivy.
A good thing, but not when he has to take his little sister with him.
"If you don't want to be away from home, pretend you're an idiot, go buy some tea and nothing else." Bruce said, giving the solution to Sprig's problem.
"Surely you will be good at pretending to be unintelligent." Polly comments, fully agreeing with Bruce's suggestion.
Sprig casts a quick irritated glance at Polly, knowing he is not a genius, but begins to tire of his younger sister's teasing.
"Jack, take the pink frog and the violent tadpole to the shop, I want the best packet of tea you can find in this little village." Bruce said, wanting to take advantage of the situation to send his little girl out to play so he can argue with Altera, Anne and Marcy.
"Got it, Daddy, let's go play with the two of them, we'd be responsible sisters." Jack declares, jumping up from the sofa, jumping back, pulling in behind Sprig and Polly.
"Let's go get Daddy's tea!" Jack exclaims, appreciating doors running errands for his Daddy.
In a second Spirg and Polly are lifted by Jack who starts running towards the village.
XXX
With the little kids outside he has to run an errand and Hop Pop busy cleaning the basement.
There are only four people left in the living room: Bruce, Altera, Anne and Marcy.
The armored Sorcerer, remaining seated on the armchair as if it were a throne, raises his Scepter in the air.
"Piatră de aur, utilizează puterea acestui arbore străvechi și cuvintele învață della vrăjitoarea Scáthach pentru a creea or protecţie de neclintit pentru mine şi allies mei.
(Goldstone, use the power of this ancient tree and the words taught by the witch Scáthach to create unwavering protection for me and my allies.) "Bruce recites, making the Scepter stone glow, drawing a large magical circle made up of Druic runes.)
For a moment every window, door and lock of the Plantar house was enveloped in a golden glow.
When the glow disappeared it left behind, a number of Druic runes that were engraved on the surface of the places exposed to the glow.
Now the Plantar house can boast of not only having a powerful Thresholds, but also a magical rune-based barrier that makes the wood of the house a radioactive zone for evil creatures.
Marcy, being very interested in learning magic, immediately began inspecting the windows in the living room, noting the presence of unknown runes.
"Anne look these must be magic runes!" Marcy exclaims, in her fan girl voice, starting she has to copy the runes displayed on her notebook.
"Did you by any chance do a rune-based spell to increase the defenses of this house?" Marcy asks, speculating about the purpose of this spell.
"Yes, now no person outside can hear and see us by physical or magical means. Trying to enter without permission will end very badly for the bad guys." Bruce said, starting to relax, getting comfortable on the sofa, putting aside his more serious behavior.
By snapping his fingers his black mud creature armor melted back to being a simple tar-like liquid that smudges Hop Pop's floor, leaving Bruce dressed in his detective outfit,
The majestic Scepter has also reverted to its form of a simple walking stick.
"I think the time has come to answer your questions.
Girls, make yourself comfortable, we will surely talk for a long time. "Bruce said, having nothing and no one left to interrupt or peek at their discussion.
Marcy sat in the chair, holding a pen and notebook in his hands, acting as if he were back in school.
Anne on the other side made herself comfortable as if she were at home, putting her legs on the small coffee table in the living room.
"You don't have to tell me twice, after the past week, I won't get up from this couch for the world." Anne said, in a rather serious tone as she tries to find the most comfortable position possible.
After being nearly eaten by a giant mantis, flying on the back of a mechanical dragon, witnessing the summoning of Altera, seeing the comfort between an armored sorcerer and an angry mob of peasants.
If Anne had had a bed she would surely have jumped on them and slept for a week.
But with no comfortable bed in sight, Anne will just make herself as comfortable as possible.
"Altera, why don't you sit down too?" Bruce asked, seeing that Altera remained standing, with the multicolored sword in her hands, ready she has to fight against anyone who threatens the well-being of her Master.
"I don't need to sit down to do my job." Altera replies, without shifting her position by an inch.
"You are too diligent a girl for your own good." Bruce said, shaking his head, knowing that of all her Servants, Altera is the most obedient and committed to her duty to protect him.
"The same can be said for you, Master. Knowing each other you certainly worked without taking a break." Altera said, often having enough time around Bruce to realize that he is a workaholic, as well as being very paranoid.
"It means that later we will be spending quality time together, the only way to let us pull the plug." Bruce proposes, fully aware of the "problem" they have in common.
" I would like." Altera said, showing for the second time on this day, a shred of emotion.
The ghost of a smile appeared on Altera's face.
Seeing his warrior princess almost smile, Bruce's strange Kuutsundere heart begins to beat much faster than it should.
"Altera, you should smile more often, you are so beautiful when you smile." Bruce declares, looking at Altera with sweet eyes, forgetting about Anne and Marcy.
For a second Bruce feels a certain tingling that allows him to do something nice for Altera.
"Path of the Lotus." Bruce said, holding up the finger and thumb of her hand as if it were a toy gun, pointing it under Altera's feet.
Suddenly a giant lotus flower sprouted from the floor, modeling itself to become a chair / throne for Altera.
"If you weren't armed I could swear you were a beautiful flower fairy." Bruce said, greatly appreciating the sight of Altera sitting on a giant white flower.
"You're exaggerating I'm not that beautiful, I'm a living weapon, not the princess of your dreams." Altera responds, looking the other way as he dematerializes his sword.
"You are my weapon, I can do anything I want with you, right?" Bruce said, rising from his chair, standing in front of Altera.
"True, you are my Master and I am your Servant. I listen and I obey you have your orders without asking questions." Altera replies, in a monotonous and apathetic tone, acting as usual.
"I order you to let me sit by your side and allow me to treat you like my beautiful warrior princess." Bruce said, wanting to stay close to Altera to better see her next smile.
Altera doesn't respond, she simply moves to the side, making room for Bruce to sit with her.
Within seconds, Master and Servant are seated together on the same giant lotus flower.
"I love you when you act from
Servant Saber, but I prefer it when you're just Altera. "Bruce declares, creating with his magic, a small white flower that sticks it in Altera's hair.
A small and very faint smile appeared on Altera's face who feels touched by Bruce's words.
"All I know is destruction.
I am incapable of anything else. "Altera declares, in a sad tone, lowering her gaze.
"A girl with such a smile is capable of much more than destroying her enemies." Bruce said, putting a hand under Altera's face, lifting her face so that their eyes look at each other.
"Er ... well ... sometimes I think of ... using these destructive hands to love something, to hug something or someone ..." Confesses Altera, with a softened look, leaning forward to Bruce.
The sorcerer also leans forward, approaching the warrior dressed in white.
"Mar-Mar are about to kiss!" Anne exclaims aloud, unable to hold back her "romantic" side of her anymore.
"If a girl said such words to me, I would surely cry tears of happiness." Marcy declares, finding Altera's words touching.
The magic between Bruce and Altera was ruined by the words of Anne and Marcy.
"Let's finish what we started when we have a room just for us." Bruce said, knowing full well that trying to continue as if nothing had happened is something impossible.
Especially for two people like Bruce and Altera.
"Master, I have never agreed with your order more." Altera replies, returning to behave with stoicism.
"Heck we spoil your moment." Marcy said, sorry to interrupt the sweet scene between the sorcerer Kuutsundere and the swordswoman Kuude.
"Sorry, next time something like this happens, we will go away in silence so as not to disturb you." Anne said, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment from ruining things for Bruce and Altera.
"Let's pretend the last five minutes never happened." Bruce said, not wanting to waste time hearing excuses.
"Like you. I have so many questions on so many topics that I can't please begin." Marcy said, showing that the list of questions on the notebook is growing every few minutes.
The nerdy girl who wants to have an isekai experience is keen to know a lot more about witchcraft and heroic spirits.
Marcy really wants to become a real witch and get strong enough to talk about her feelings or even better, get Anne and / or Adeline's attention, making her make the first move in her place.
" What do you want to know?" Bruce said, not really knowing where to start with the explanation.
The moonlit world is quite complicated. Bruce's own life is so complicated that it would be easier to understand the plot of Kingdom Hearts.
"May I know what all that winter Overlord drama was all about?" Anne asks, remembering perfectly well Bruce behaved with the angry mob of frogs.
The armored sorcerer towards the inhabitants of Amphibia behaves like a kind of noble, cold, serious demon, capable of frightening and subduing anyone who dares to challenge him.
Towards Anne and Marcy he behaves in a more friendly and protective way, he still remains serious, but every now and then he shows a more eccentric and nerdy side.
Not to mention the fatherly air reserved for Jack or the romantic side towards Altera.
"Anne, you have to understand that we could live in this amphibian world for months, maybe years if we're incredibly unlucky." Bruce said, trying to make it clear that the residency in Amphibia could last a long time.
"If we want to thrive, we need to show our strength.
We are not exotic creatures to hunt and hang you have walls like trophies.
Personally, I prefer to be feared and respected, instead of being a simple freak of nature to be locked up in a cage. "Bruce declares, wanting to avoid being persecuted by the inhabitants of this world.
Los Angeles girls listened to Bruce's words, having mixed feelings.
On the one hand, being feared and respected sounds too negative or extremist for their tastes.
But bearing in mind that an angry mob of anthropomorphic frogs wanted to chase them away or turn them into hunting trophies ...
Anne and Marcy cannot fully object against Bruce's actions.
Especially when thanks to these questionable actions they will be able to live for some time in a real house, instead of a dank and dirty cave.
"I see, you did what you had to do. But it wasn't too much to scare all those frogs like that, couldn't you just have talked to them?" Anne asks, appreciating a friendlier method of solving her problems.
"Anne, you worry too much about others, a noble trait to have." Bruce comments, finding this characteristic of Anne pleasant, being her greatest strengths and weaknesses.
"If it makes you feel relieved, I don't use violence without a good reason.
I just performed a show of strength to send a message. "Bruce explains that his violent actions have a motivation.
"What kind of message?" Marcy asks, curious to understand Bruce's mentality better, bearing in mind that she will be spending a lot of time with them.
"Destroy any creature that opposes the Master's will." Altera declares, expressing her interpretation of Bruce's message.
"Altera you are one of the few women I love in a romantic way. But you have a bad habit of exaggerating when it comes to fighting or destroying." Bruce comments, shaking his head, slightly amused by Altera's exaggerated comment.
"My message is pretty simple to understand: If you try to joke with me, you risk becoming a statue of ice or food for my black mud." Bruce said, wanting to get a reputation infamous / scary enough to nip any thoughts of fighting him in the bud.
"What exactly are these Heroic Spirits or Servants?" Asks Anne, not as interested as Marcy, but she has a certain curiosity about what Altera and Jack are.
"This is a topic I want to investigate. Are they a kind of Guardian Spirits or are they closer to a Person or Stand?" Marcy asks, wanting to know how these Heroic Spirits are invoked and the type of class.
"Altera is a Saber-class Servant." Bruce said, deciding to start with the basic issues.
"You already said that. What it means to be a Saber, besides carrying around a great sword." Anne said, sure there must be more than just a pompous title to a swordswoman.
"Servants in the Saber class are agile and powerful melee warriors skilled in the art of the sword, who boast high scores in all categories, and are often heroes of the Age of Gods, when magic was still the order of the day. .
The qualifying conditions require Heroic Spirits to have legends such as sword knights, and it's the class that requires the highest attribute levels in all but the Magic attribute. "Bruce states, giving a higher overview of what it means to be a Saber-class servant.
"You can delve into exactly what Servants are in its genre of your magical system." Marcy asks, wanting to get the big picture of Bruce's summons.
"Servants are spirits transformed into special higher-ranking familiars, called Ghost Liners by the Association of Wizards, who are related to the Master.
Unlike the normal definition of familiars that can be compared to lesser mascots unable to be stronger than their masters, Heroic Spirits are among the most powerful beings in the moonlit World. "Bruce says, starting the big explanation with something. it is simple that Heroic Spirits are incredibly powerful entities.
"What do you mean when you say Heroic Spirits? Does that mean they are good-looking Ghosts?" Marcy asks, wanting to understand why the Servants have this precise denomination.
"Heroic spirits are spirits of heroes who have accomplished great feats in life, having become objects of worship after their death.
Heroic Spirits are beings of a higher existence, who categorically become closer to the Elementals than to the Wraith.
Unlike the way the Elementals are "powers" granted in form using the human imagination as a container, they are entirely intertwined with the ideals of people everywhere.
They are freed from the constraints of time itself and removed from the ring of reincarnation, moved into the Throne of Heroes, a place that exists outside of both the world and the time axis. "Bruce recounts a mid-to-high level description of the origins of the Heroic Spirits.
"Heroic spirits are made up of those who truly existed, those only from legends and those who have never been observed at all.
Those who existed believed in their actions collected at their death and were sublimated into beings of higher rank, while those who existed only in myths and legends were born from the collection of those beliefs even if they did not exist.
Those who have not been observed are those who entered into a contract of some kind with the World during their lifetime and subsequently became Heroic Spirits and Counter Guardians respectively after their death in compensation. "Bruce finishes his explanation, bringing up arguments. which begin to touch the level of great complexity even for some Mages.
"Mar-Mar you understand something, because I am lost." Anne said, having some difficulty understanding all the fancy terms.
"In short, the people who have accomplished great deeds in their lives such as King Arthur, Napoleon, Leonardo Da Vinci or Francis Drake.
Once they are dead, they have ascended to a new level of existence, becoming Heroic Spirits who can be invoked as Servants by magical users of the highest level. "Marcy said, having more or less understood what Servants are, Spirits of great historical personalities. and / or mythological.
"It means Jack is literally Jack the Ripper, London's infamous Serial Killer!" Anne exclaims aloud, very concerned for Marcy's safety.
"Calm down, Anne. I admit my little girl is a little unstable, but she won't take her aunts of mine.
Jack's favorite victims are adult prostitutes who have abortions, you don't fall into that category. "Bruce said, wanting to prevent Anne and Marcy from getting seriously scared of Jack.
This could hurt Assassin of Black's feelings, causing a bad reaction and the possible appearance of dead prostitutes.
"If Jack is the real Jack the Ripper. Then who is Altera?" Marcy asks, having no information on a historical figure by the name of Altera.
"I left my name in history as Attila the Hun. But I don't want to be called by that name. I don't like it very much. Because ... it doesn't sound nice." Altera declares, passionately hating her old name.
"I managed met Jack the Ripper and Attila the Hun, I could rewrite the history books with a simple afternoon conversation!" She declares Marcy out loud, bringing out her fangirl side of her that she wants to solve some of the greatest mysteries in history.
"Mister Archduke and Handmaids, I have finished cleaning your room!" He declares Hop Pop, appearing in the living room, broom in hand, ending the conversion between Bruce and the Los Angeles girls.
Keep on ...
XXX
Path of the Lotus (Fate / Legends - Nirvana Yuga) (50): The favor of the world as you walk the path, showing you in the flowers that bloom beneath you whenever you need to rest. A lotus is more common, but other types can appear to your taste, supernaturally large and stable plants that sprout whenever you need a platform under you. Perhaps it is a traditional seat to meditate on or serve as a path through dangerous surfaces, flowers that continually sprout to separate you from the dirty ground. If you use them for their intended purpose, you will find that sitting on the lotus allows you to connect much more easily with the spiritual side of the world, to use it to understand the truths of the world or become more aware of the magic that flows through it.