Euphemia said, “The next layer of the seal isn’t much different from this one. Once I gather some more materials, I can continue helping you undo it.”
But Freya replied, “No, let’s wait for now.”
Euphemia asked, puzzled, “Did something go wrong?”
Freya said, “You could say... that. I’m worried that unlocking too many layers might draw the attention of some powerful extraordinaries. What I have now is enough for the time being. Let’s wait until I get stronger before we consider undoing the rest.”
Euphemia said, “That is indeed a possibility. But how do you plan to get stronger next?”
There were only two ways to go about it: either continue strengthening her existing pathways or embark on a new one. As for the former, after idling in the simulation for a month and a half, Mind Freya had digested another portion of her potion. However, she was still quite far from Rank Five, and she didn't have a Rank Five potion recipe or know the advancement ritual.
Needless to say, the same went for War Freya. Digesting her potion required killing, and she likewise lacked the subsequent Rank Five potion and advancement ritual.
That only left Life Freya. She just needed to do good deeds to digest her potion, which was simple enough. As for a Rank Six potion, she could probably obtain one from the Church of the Earth.
Then came the choice of a new pathway. Freya asked casually, “Euphy, now that I can create a new clone, which pathway do you think would be best for her to take?”
Euphemia replied instantly, “Scholar...!”
But before she could finish, Freya said, “What do you think of Law?”
Euphemia: “...”
After a brief silence, Euphy said, “Well, Law is indeed a good choice.”
Most importantly, since they were currently in the Kingdom of Tarapaca, Law Pathway potions were very easy to get hold of.
With that, her future plans for getting stronger were easily decided. Mind Freya would idle and slack off at home, Life Freya would go to the Church of the Earth to do good deeds, and War Freya would work with Euphy to find a way to obtain some Law Pathway potions.
As for Freya herself, she gave it some thought. Summer vacation was almost over, and school was about to start. Maybe she should just go back to class.
Though doing so seemed a bit bizarre, Freya herself really had nothing she needed to do. She could just leave everything to her clones. Besides, it was only natural for a student to go to school. What could possibly be wrong with that? Really!
It was a rare sight to see all her clones summoned and active at the same time. Observing this, Euphy couldn't help but comment, “By the way, Fufu, is your multitasking ability really that strong? You’re controlling so many clones at once without any issues at all.”
Freya blinked in surprise. She had never actually considered this before. Thinking about it carefully now, it didn't seem to be because she was great at multitasking. Rather, much like Euphy’s Hyperdimensional Brain, she was actually utilizing multiple minds for multiple tasks.
After all, every body had its own brain. Her consciousness was shared, but they weren't sharing a single physical brain.
...
A week flew by in the blink of an eye. War Freya and Euphemia stepped down from a carriage. War Freya looked up at the tavern before them, which bore a tattered, worn-out sign, and asked, “Are you sure this is the place?”
Euphemia surveyed their surroundings as well. “It should be. Come on, let's go inside and take a look.”
This was a private extraordinary gathering that Euphemia had investigated over the past few days. Unlike formal extraordinary organizations, this gathering was essentially a marketplace where extraordinaries traded and bartered items with one another.
In a place like this, various potions were naturally the most common commodities.
As the two walked into the tavern, War Freya was suddenly reminded of the time shortly after she had transmigrated, when she had also gone to a tavern, met Jerome's soldiers, and obtained her very first potion.
Unlike that time, however, Jerome's tavern had been extremely remote and practically empty. The tavern before her now was packed to the brim the moment they stepped inside. Shouts and chatter blended into a chaotic, buzzing din. It was incredibly noisy.
She rubbed her temples. Just as she and Euphy were heading toward the front counter, a rather drunk-looking man stepped directly into their path. “Hey, I’m talking to you. Are you deaf?”
War Freya tilted her head slightly. “Uh, sorry. I really didn't hear you. It's too noisy in here.”
Hearing this, the drunk man glanced around and said, “Fine, then I'll say it again. We happen to have two empty seats at our table. Why don't you two little sisters come over and have a few drinks with us? It's our treat. You just need to sing a couple of songs to liven things up for us!”
War Freya fell silent for a moment before saying, “Wow. So it's just harassment. And here I thought there was actually something important. Are all taverns filled with this kind of trash?”
“Sorry, we have other business to attend to. We won't be joining you.”
With that, War Freya attempted to sidestep the man and keep walking. But the fellow took another step, blocking her path once more. “Where else are you going to find an empty seat in this place? I—”
Before he could finish his sentence, War Freya reached out and grabbed him by the collar. Lifting him with a single hand as if he were nothing but a ragdoll, she aimed for the entrance and hurled him straight out the door.
“Aaaaaah!”
Accompanied by a high-pitched shriek, the man landed flat on his rear, crashing heavily onto the ground just outside the tavern entrance.
And this was even with War Freya holding back. If she had thrown him with her full strength... well, he probably wouldn't have even made it out. The sheer, colossal force would have torn him to shreds the instant she threw him.
“Hey!”
Seeing their buddy thrown out, the rest of the men who had been drinking at his table all stood up, glaring furiously at War Freya.
In the next second, three more men went flying out of the tavern.
This caused the noisy tavern to fall dead silent for a few seconds. Of course, it was only for a few seconds before the din resumed. However, unlike before, the sole topic of conversation now revolved around War Freya.
Some even gave her a thumbs-up and shouted:
“Sister, that was awesome!”
“What strength!”
“Hahaha, that's hilarious!”
“Those guys totally deserved it!”
As the saying goes, onlookers love a good show; the others were practically begging for War Freya to stir up more trouble.
Once this minor farce concluded, War Freya and Euphy finally made their way to the bar counter. Before they could even speak, the bartender looked up, glanced at them, and asked, “Extraordinaries? Here for the gathering? Who introduced you?”
After all, War Freya's display just now made it blindingly obvious she was no ordinary human. For a beautiful girl who was clearly extraordinary to show up right before the gathering was about to start—did her purpose even need to be spelled out?
Rate on N.U.
