Chapter 141: Experience and the Critical Strike of a Brat

"Right on time! Let's see what these items I've obtained can really do," the Storm Sorcerer said, eager to test them out.

"Don't get too careless. These items likely scale with our current levels. While they provide a combat boost, they don't actually raise our base level. Without the help of the Death Dragonflies, we still won't be able to stand our ground against the monsters here," Wendy lectured, taking advantage of the group's growing excitement to drive the point home.

"Got it, got it! It's just a test, anyway!" Aria fiddled with a newly acquired Magitech Revolver, practiced her aim, and fired two quick shots into the distance.

"I still think that little girl's Wings of Light were better. Do you think she might have tricked us with fakes?" Lilian suddenly asked.

In her hand appeared a grey orb.

"The Chaos Orb. It seems to be for amplification."

As the others looked over, Lilian spoke softly, then cast a water-based spell toward the monsters surging from afar.

BOOM!

A massive wave erupted, several yards high, crashing down and scattering the incoming monsters. Though the spell lacked lethal force, it was...

"Wow... Lilian, did you level up behind our backs? Otherwise, the power and the effect of that spell..." Mira asked, visibly surprised.

"I..." Lilian was also stunned, staring at the grey orb in her hand. It felt even more effective than a magic staff.

*Whoosh!*

When the wave crashed through, the terrain caused some of the water to surge back, and the group panicked.

"Quick! Gather the light orbs! Or they'll get washed away!" Aria cried out.

Just then, a massive energy shield rose up, blocking the surge and preventing it from flooding their temporary camp.

"Ger?"

Everyone looked over to see that the chubby Ger had a new, small bracer on his arm, shaped like a miniature round shield.

"That's an amplification item, too! That's impressive!"

"Well, then, my turn!"

Seeing everyone else try their gear, Mira didn't want to fall behind. She stepped forward and chanted, "Thorny Overgrowth!"

A circle of thorns sprouted around the camp.

A small, colorful butterfly, about the size of a palm, flew out from beside Mira and drifted into the thorn bushes, scattering dreamlike, shimmering dust.

"This must be an illusion-type item, even if it's just a tiny butterfly..." Lilian noted.

"There are still plenty of light orbs left. Should we continue? Even though they aren't cheap, we should be able to afford them," Wendy said, looking at the orbs scattered on the ground.

Then, she noticed—

"My god! Celi, you..."

"What’s wrong with Celi?"

Hearing the exclamation, everyone rushed over to find Celi standing there, looking flustered, as if she had done something wrong.

"Isn't Celi perfectly fine?" Aria walked up, reached out to pat Celi's head, and then patted the head of another Celi standing right next to her.

"Wait? Why does something feel off?"

"Celi... why are there two of you?!"

"Are you twins?"

"No! Celi just contracted a light orb!"

"But Celi isn't a mage yet! How could she have contracted one?"

"So, which category does this fall into?"

"Not sure, but it looks pretty powerful. Why didn't I get something like that..."

"Enough of that." Wendy hurried over. Unable to tell which was which, she pulled both of them close. "Celi, how did you do that?"

The two Celis in front of Wendy said nothing. From another direction, behind a Death Dragonfly, a small figure emerged, holding a light orb.

"Contract!"

She whispered the word, and with a flash of light, an energy construct appeared beside her. Before everyone's eyes, the energy mass rapidly morphed into the likeness of Celi.

"Oh no!" Aria exclaimed, throwing her hands up in defeat. "One brat is already more than we can handle, and now there are four!"

"..."

Wendy didn't say a word, but her head was spinning. She reasoned that since these were just items, she could probably just deactivate them.

"Actually, there are five."

Just then, another figure crawled out from behind a different Death Dragonfly.

"Six, seven... oh... eight..."

In despair, the group found several more hidden Celis behind the Death Dragonflies.

"Which one is the real one, anyway?" the Barbarian Shaman asked, speechless.

"That doesn't matter anymore!" The Storm Sorcerer narrowed her eyes and scanned the ground. "The light orbs! More than half of them are gone!"

"Celi, tell us, where did all those light orbs go? You didn't contract them all, did you?" Wendy stared wide-eyed at the Celis.

"No, I only took two," all eight Celis said in unison, holding out their hands, each clutching a light orb.

"You... two each means sixteen!" Aria lunged to snatch them.

"No! I won't give them to you!" Celi seemed resistant toward Aria, hiding her hands behind her back and refusing to hand them over.

"Celi, be a good girl. The sisters need these orbs, and you already have so many." Wendy coaxed her gently, stroking her hair. It was a gesture Luo Yong often did, and Celi seemed to love it.

"Fine..." Celi pouted, clearly reluctant, but she extended her hands and handed the orbs to Wendy.

She handed over fifteen orbs in total.

"Wait? The count is off. There's one missing!" Aria said.

"Contract!"

As everyone looked over, the Celi standing furthest away spoke softly and performed a contract right in front of the older sisters.

Yet, under their watchful eyes, nothing seemed to happen, much like when Fiona had demonstrated it earlier—everyone saw nothing.

"What item is this one?"

"I have a feeling this kid is getting out of hand!"

Before they could finish, Celi’s expression turned puzzled, and then she smiled triumphantly.

"Awoo!"

Following Celi's cry, a fierce yet adorable little tiger appeared before them.

Immediately after, the other "Celis" transformed as well—some turned into piglets, some into lambs, others into lion cubs, and one even turned into a tiny Death Dragonfly...

It felt like they were running a zoo.

"That's Shape-Shifting! A spell-type item!" Mira said.

"But that doesn't have any attack power!" Lilian pointed out.

"Eight brats who can use Shape-Shifting, and you say she has no attack power? I feel like I've already taken critical damage!" Aria groaned.

"Hmph!" A little tiger trotted past Aria.

"Blehh!" A piglet stuck its tongue out at her.

"..." The thought of facing so many brats in the future left Aria feeling utterly hopeless.

"Alright, since there are still a few orbs left, let's divide them up. Don't hold back; if these things are good, we might as well keep them and use them ourselves!" Wendy said. She distributed the remaining orbs, and everyone quickly performed their contracts.

"I guess you could say we're 'pay-to-winning' now! Just like Luo Yong..."

*Whoosh!*

A pair of flame wings appeared behind Wendy. With a flick of her form, she soared into the sky!

Though she was initially clumsy, she quickly grew accustomed to the sensation of flying on the wind.

It was exhilarating.

"Whoo-hoo!"

She shouted, flying over the others, diving toward the distance, and then swooping down to unleash waves of fire blades at the monsters she had attracted.

She hadn't possessed these skills before. It was the amplification item, channeling the fire from her sword into projectile blades.

"Alright, is everyone done with their contracts?"

After landing, Wendy took advantage of the group's high spirits to clear another wave of monsters. Finally, everyone leveled up once more, bringing the average to level 11.

"Wendy, we're out of secret potions."

As they stopped to rest, Aria lay on the ground, eyes half-closed, muttering softly.

The atmosphere around them grew heavy.

"The Elven race doesn't have many secret potions to provide either..." Wendy sighed, a vision of a certain figure appearing in her mind.

"Ever since the Captain left, that Elven Inquisitor hasn't shown up again, not even when the news of the Captain's death reached them," the Storm Sorcerer said suddenly. "Are the Elves really that heartless?"

"I suspect there's more to this than meets the eye," the Wilderness Hunter said.

"You and your theories..." Aria muttered.

"I know what I'm talking about. I've been through this twice—the [heartless departure of the man by my side]!" the Wilderness Hunter said with a straight face.

"Wait, what?!"

Everyone looked over.

Even Celi curiously leaned in. She had returned to her original form, having dismissed her physical clones, and was once again acting like a sweet, well-behaved child.

"W-what? Is it not the same with Han Bing? Or the Captain? And don't forget the two blockheads from our old squad... Oh my god! I've been through it three times!" the Wilderness Hunter wailed.

"Wendy-sister, is the Captain really coming back? You aren't lying to me, are you? You said he was dead before..." Celi looked at Wendy with pleading eyes.

"..."