(Written while listening to: "Bones" by Imagine Dragons on YouTube)
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Laito found himself a peaceful corner (as peaceful it could be in this cursed environment). He needed a short moment to check the Spell runes.
As such, he summoned them with excitement. Of course he was excited for the echo the most, but the funny name of the memory attracted his attention first.
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Memory: [Boner]
Memory Rank: [Awakened]
Memory Type: [Charm]
Memory Description: [In this forgotten catacombs, only bones remembers. This one belonged in the body of a man who desired to "Pound hard"].
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For the first time in this life Laito was feeling completely speechless.
Without commenting, he turned his thoughts towards the echo he just received.
Responding to Laito's command Spell showcased the runes:
Echo: [Restless Skeleton].
Echo Type: Beast.
Echo Core: Awakened.
Echo Attributes: [Undead], [Reassembling].
Echo Description: [A skeleton of a person who was denied Death. It belonged to a woman who desired to "Get pounded hard". She had her wish granted, but not in the way she expected to].
'OKAY! THAT'S IT! What is wrong with you Spell? You weren't behaving like this with Sunny!...- Not that I'am complaining though with you being so generous…- But still! What is going on with these descriptions?'
The Spell was of course: silent.
'
From the swirl of silvery sparks a bone shard materialized on the top of his palm. It looked like it was a long and thick phalanx bone taken from a big male hand.
The moment it touched his skin he felt his muscles slightly hardening.
'Huh. I feel weird…- It buffs strength? Again. Suspicious, that I am getting precisely what I needed, but I guess I'm not going to look a gifted horse in its mouth.
He fastened the [Boner] to himself so that it remained in contact with his skin without the risk of losing it in the middle of a fight.
Besides that, it didn't matter, as he could just resummon it if he somehow lost it.
He then left his hideout and searched for some empty secluded chamber.
There were hundreds of them within the catacombs(most of them not empty though) so he found one almost instantly.
When inside he secured the perimeter, and then summoned the echo. Just like with his memories the echo materialized from his spirit essence.
It was…- a skeleton. Wow, shocking, I know.
It was one of the ones he killed just before. But instead of attacking him with a cluttering of bones, this one just stood still, awaiting his orders.
'Huh, it has a female bone structure allright…- I guess the Spell wasn't lying.' Laito summarized after taking a closer look at his new servant.
'I have no idea what your name was while you were alive, but I will name you…-' he wondered for a few seconds.
'Bona Fia! From now on you are Bona Fia. Or just Bona for short.' The skeleton obviously didn't react at his well chosen and perfectly appropriate name.
He grinned to himself.
'Now is where the fun begins!'
After the Spell has "granted" him its boons the mob farming became vastly easier. Whenever he noticed the wild Skeletons, the boy just sent Bona to taunt them. As she was attracting their attention he swiftly struck from the shadows. With the help of the [Boner] Laito's attacks were apparently empowered with Awakened level buff. Although his strength was still lacking compared to actual Awakened(or even relatively-competent pro heroes from the Meta World) it was still able to decrease the number of strikes he had to deal for the sake of finishing his adversaries.
He also got two more memories, but both were Dormant weapons and hot garbage.
A [Rusted Spear] and [Peasant's Rusted Sickle]
Still, at that point Bona was fighting empty handed so he gave her the sickle, as spear was problematic to use in tight spaces of the catacombs.
And at that moment another nonsense happened.
[Your Memory has been destroyed].
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[Your Echo grows stronger]
'You know what? I will just ignore it, bullshit gonna bullshit, so who cares?'
He still checked for any changes in her status though.
And there it was:
Echo Attributes: [Undead], [Reassembling], [Reaper].
'Uh-hmm…- well, let's see!'
Laito unsummoned and then called her back immediately.
She reappeared with said Sickle in her skelly hand.
'Ehhh…- I guess that's acceptable. But what's next? You gonna turn into Jet cosplayer? A Reaper should have a scythe you know? I guess though that a sickle is kinda like a small scythe.'
After all of that, the time for his task was almost up so he recovered the map and followed the path back to the surface using the waypoints that Incandescent patrols left to navigate the vast underground..
Laito has just left the catacombs through the same exit leading to cmentarny placed beyond city walls, which next to his life was saved by Saint Tirabeth three months ago.
His satchel was filled to the brim with the Awakened Soul Shards he harvested during his "training".
He put on a smug look on his face as he approached his teacher Marigold, with his satchel raised high for better look.
Marigold was standing under the dead cmentarny tree, while resting his back against it's bark. When he noticed Laito he raised his eyebrow, looking at the sassy looking boy with scepticism.
Laito stopped himself few steps from Ascended Knight, though his shit eating grin hasn't faltered for a second.
And neither did Marigold's sceptic look.
They stared at each other for several awkward seconds.
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"I knew you weren't waiting for me here this whole time!"
At boy's proclamation both of the fencing teacher eyebrows raised, his skepticism reaching all time high.
"You still have smudges from a lipstick oooover there! And I think these are hickeys…-"
At these words Marigold covered his face with both of his hands and said with tired voice:
"Oh my dear Sun…- I'm so glad that I will have this slog behind me soon."
"Hey! That's rude. It's not my fault that you couldn't go to that party." Laito protested.
"Nah. I'm not discussing it with you. Jenna?"
"I'm here." A female voice suddenly called from behind Laito.
"
Behind him a hood and mask covered woman dressed in leather armor that's typical for rouges, has stepped out from the shadows. She was an Awakened Knight from Marigold's cohort. She also was the one who imparted lessons to Laito about being stealthy.
"How was he?" Marigold asked her.
"
"No! I don't care. I don't want to care! Just tell me if he passed and let's just be done with it." He stopped her from elaborating.
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"Yes." She said with certainty.
"Allright that's all I wanted to hear. Dismissed." Still grumpy Ascendant Knight decided.
Without a word she stepped into the shadows and vanished from Laito's sight.
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"So, you guys were babysitting me this whole time?"
He turned towards Master Marigold…- But he also vanished…- together with a satchel of shards gathered by Laito he dropped when he got surprised earlier.
"OH GOT DAMMIT!"
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[4 years left until MHA plot beginning]
[Chapter End] The story is not over yet