There were no signs of Xeno to be found anywhere near Nemeth Island. More than likely, he doesn't even know the Jaeger King is currently here. I do recall that this is the period of time where Xeno does join Zephyr, but it looks like that hasn't taken place yet. He attempts to take Rutger's head, only to fail. Instead of finishing Xeno off, the Jaeger King realizes his talent, and recruits him into Zephyr instead. Even Fie is considered a senior to Xeno, despite the vast difference in age. That is simply because Fie joined a year or so earlier than Xeno did. There are only a few months remaining in S1196, so it will likely take place after we depart Nemeth Island.
A shame, really. Xeno is quite an enjoyable character once you get to know him. The other members of Zephyr too, for that matter. The only questionable one is Killing Bear, seeing that he is due to retire from Zephyr soon and ends up joining Crossbell City's Mafia of all groups. Now that I think about it, isn't that also set to take place in S1196? Perhaps he'll meet up with Don Marconi once we leave this island.
I can't believe there's only a couple months left of S1196. Time flies when you actually have something to do, huh? We routed nine hundred monsters so far, and we only have one hundred left to go. I think we can do it within this next month alone!
"Do we really have to beat a thousand monsters like this? This place has been crawling with 'em.", Van asked, still doubtful of the Quest he saw.
"Is it really that surprising? A large portion of this place has been uninhabited for quite some time. It really does beg the question who exactly owns Nemeth Island. I've looked into several sources, but none of them have any leads.", Rufus answered. "There's bound to be powerful monsters here. I won't deny we've been making great progress. That Campanella guy said we can strike Paradise at our call too, so I say let's finish this so-called Quest, and team up with them. You don't want it to be too late right, Naoto?", Rufus questioned me.
"Yeah. Enough time should have passed for 'Her' to arrive here. We should do what Rufus suggested. It shouldn't take long to clear up this last hundred. You guys in?", I asked everyone. It was the same group of people I was with since we left those caves. The only new addition is Fie. Temporarily.
"Hell yeah. Let's go beat those monsters' asses.", Fie said, being as unrestrained as ever. Seriously, she has no filter on. Fie just does whatever she wants to do, and says whatever she wants to say. You need to be a better father to Fie, Jaeger King!
I say that, but I'm joking. I laughed hearing Fie say that.
There might be someone out of this group who showed the most surprise out of all of us. I glanced at Emma. Her appearance has changed. Not the fact she's almost turning ten like me. Perhaps in another half year or so, she's a year younger. Just like Sherryl. No, I saw a rather large orbal rifle on Emma's back. Her muscles grew sturdier in this last year. Not like Behemoth or Killing Bear. More internal. Enough where Emma could carry this rifle around with ease. She was well on her way to becoming an expert marksman.
"Is something the matter, Naoto?", Emma asked, only to see me observing her rifle. Courtesy of Zephyr. Even they were gobsmacked to see Emma excel so well in using it. It's only been a year!
"You sure have come quite far, haven't you, Emma? Are you sure this was the right choice?", I asked, wanting to make sure.
"I know I could have likely done something different to stay at your side, but this decision is what I went with. I do not mind how things have progressed to this state. Depending on where you go from here Naoto, I hope to still be beside you.", Emma said, smiling at me.
"Emma...", I uttered, but nodded my head. Emma chose this herself, so it's only right to see how things develop from here. This definitely didn't happen in the games. Not a single Witch became a Jaeger, as far as I'm aware. I'm curious how her skills and techniques will develop. She's become adept from attacking mid-range and long-range. And she has her incantations as well. Talk about a deadly combo.
"Hehe, don't forget us either! We don't know how things will end yet, but for now, we can continue having some fun battling monsters here on Nemeth.", Sherryl happily said.
"I concur. It's been fun watching you all fight.", Tio said, nodding her head.
"Haha, glad you feel that way, Tio. Let's go make a circle around us then head back to the resort. Doing that a few times should allow us to finish this last one hundred. I think we've had enough of a break.", I said.
No one was in disagreement. They all nodded our heads. Even if this was considered an open field, it is still an Instance Dungeon. So it's only proper to keep using terms related to that, right? Just like that, we continued our dungeon diving!
Before we realized it a couple more months passed by in a blink of an eye. I heard the Gamer Notification that I wanted to hear.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto and his Party have successfully routed all one thousand monsters. Instance Dungeon - Nemeth island III has been completed!]
[Ding! After clearing the rest of the monsters, Gamer Naoto's Current Level: 52 (0/286,000)]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto's Level 52 -> 57 (0/330,400). Gamer Naoto's Stats have been adjusted.]
[Ding! Custom Space Quartz - Domination I has been deposited into Gamer Naoto's Inventory.]
[Ding! Custom Time Quartz - Nightingleam I has been deposited into Gamer Naoto's Inventory.]
[Ding! S-Rank Boots: Hunter's Shadow has been deposited into Gamer Naoto's Inventory.]
'Perfect. That should pretty much conclude our business here on Nemeth Island. I'm already halfway over to the requirement for the Vermillion Trials, which is Lv100. I think I can challenge them before Sky's story officially kicks off in S1202!', I thought to myself.
But man, we sure had a lot of fun this last couple of months. Everyone's Favorability increased by a good margin. No one is at 100% yet, unfortunately. I haven't gotten my fourth Blessing yet. Only Roselia's Blessing was the one that came throughout this entire adventure. it sure was one, alright. I had a blast getting to know several characters here in the Trailsverse, and this is just a droplet in the water with how many there are.
Still, as the saying goes, all good times must come to an end.
On the bright side, the scenery shifted once again.
Why don't I go over everything else that happened?
It is now November S1196. It took two more months to beat the rest of those monsters. We didn't rush it. We tested out various different techniques and such, wanting to further improve our team dynamics and all. I am not sure if this will be the last time we form such a Party, but it was a blast letting everyone experience the Gamer System. I'm already looking forward to the next Party I form, whether it's with the same people or not!
There was one big thing that happened during this time.
Operation Party Crash went off without a hitch. All thanks to Ouroboros. Since we wrapped up Instance Dungeon III, we could now inform them that we were ready to strike. And strike we did. We completely laid waste to Paradise. It was on the most northeast island, surrounded by a bunch of old-looking pillars. It had its own puzzle to solve, which revealed a huge cave system underground.
Remember Rutger mentioning about having a contract? It was with the DG Cult, as an extra layer of security. Thankfully, Campanella played his hand, and showed the Jaeger King the truth behind Paradise. Like the rest of us, Zephyr was disgusted to their core once they found out how this place operated. Rutger tore up his contract right then and there, and in return, lost out on some Mira. But he didn't want to cooperate with such people. At the end of the day, he had the final say if they wanted to do a job like that.
And once that happened, Rutger earned his Mira again another way. By Campanella no less. He hired Zephyr to join us in combat. It was a trifecta. Ouroboros, our Party, and Zephyr. We launched our offensive, wiping out every last cultist inside there. Annihilating Paradise wasn't supposed to happen in another couple years in S1198 at best, nor happen in this manner. It looks like my influence was enough to let us proceed. Rutger didn't want Fie anywhere near this, but knowing what consisted of our Party, Fie insisted on not wanting to be left out, so she joined us. We destroyed Paradise utterly, and thoroughly.
This wasn't monster-hunting. This was dealing with other people. The Jaeger King was pleased seeing me not bat a single eye, even after experiencing my first killing. I didn't note down any of what happened inside Paradise, as you know, I can't. Just imagine it, okay?
But like I said, Operation Party Crash went off without a hitch!
I bet you're wanting to know what happened after, right?
It is now the present day. The scenery changed once again. I could now be seen in a room of sorts, scribbling down onto a private diary that I plan to convert into an app or something once I get my hands on an orbal laptop. There aren't too many circulating yet. In due time. Its purpose is to note down my story thus far, as quite a few things have changed from the original story. I'm noting these changes down to see how this life of mine develops. While Sky has yet to kick off, things are already diverging, and I don't know how big an impact that will have on what happens in the future. Some examples include...
Estelle Bright met Princess Klaudia super early on. This may or may not trigger Estelle's memories, recognizing Kloe much earlier than before she shows up in Sky.
Emma Millstein met both Rean Schwarzer and Elie MacDowell much earlier than usual. This might create some interesting conversations later on once they cross paths again. The same for Princess Alfin.
And the best one, Van, Tio, Sherryl, Ennea and I all met together, which wasn't even supposed to happen. Let alone Rufus and Lechter joining in on the fun. Just this alone has changed the original story. For better or worse, I don't know.
Then you got other events like Emma becoming a Jaeger. Zephyr joins hands with Ouroboros to raid Paradise ahead of schedule. Where will it all lead to?
Then you got the biggest one of all. Me taking the role of the Vermillion Knight's pilot. It is Prince Cedric who is supposed to do this during Cold Steel. But now, I'm taking that from him. We'll see how things develop from here on. I don't think anything has changed for the worse at this point in time.
Well, perhaps that last point might not be the biggest one at all anymore...
After writing down the latest events of what happened to me, I stretched my arms out.
"Mmm...", I uttered softly, and got in a good stretch. I'd been sitting in this chair for a while. Nothing too fancy. I heard a constant hum of air circulating around me. Knock. Knock. Knock. I heard a faint creak of a door following a couple knocks.
"Naoto, Ennea has brought you some tea. I hope I haven't disturbed you and your writing.", An effeminate voice said, calling out to me. Hearing that, I smiled.
"None at all. Are you sure you're fine moving around like that?", I asked. In my view was a silver-haired figure. It was a young boy. Reminded me of myself when I was back with Father. He was quite young. Perhaps three or four years old at most. Definitely the youngest out of us.
"Oh it is no trouble. I've gotten quite a good amount of rest since we departed the island! I just have one request.", The boy questioned.
"What would that be, Quatre?", I asked.
"Is it alright if I call you Big Brother? To be honest, I didn't know if I would ever leave such a place. And moreover, my parents...", The boy said, showing sadness in his eyes. I ruffled his hair, causing him to wink his eyes.
"Those weren't your parents. They never were. We're your family now. You're free, just like the rest of us.", I replied, smiling at the silver-haired boy. Hearing that, the boy smiled. "And of course you can."
"Thank you, Big Brother!", Quatre said, smiling at me. It was then a second sound of feet shuffling reached my ears.
"Oh poo, you beat me again, Quatre.", A girl's voice called out this time, only to reveal a purple-haired girl whose hair was very similar to my own. She was more around Tio's age, but slightly younger. A year or two older than Quatre. She was wearing a frilly purple-white dress. "I was wondering where that cup of tea vanished. You're the perpetrator.", The girl continued, frowning.
Seeing this exchange, I laughed.
"Haha, Quatre means no harm, Renny. He simply beat you to it. But why are you still up? It's getting late as it is. Can't sleep?", I asked the girl.
"Oh come on Big Brother. I told you to stop calling me by that name. I threw it out once we left the island. Call me Renne!", Renne answered, pouting.
"Yes, yes. You're Renne now. How could I forget?", I said, teasing her.
"Geez. I don't like it when you tease me like that.", Renne said, still frowning. "Anyway, I still feel like the nights are cold. Can I sleep with you again?"
"Of course you can. I was about to retreat for the night.", I replied, causing Renne's eyes to light up. I then shifted my head toward the silver-haired boy. "What will you do, Quatre?"
"I will go to sleep in my room. Big sister is here to take me back.", Quatre said, only to feel a third figure arrive. Seeing this, I grinned.
"Did you plan this, Ennea?", I asked with a grin. I saw Ennea peek her head into the room.
"I have no comment for that, Master. Renne can stay here for the night. I shall go take Quatre back to his bed. Rest well now.", Ennea said, and gave me a bow.
"Yay!", Renne happily said.
"See you later, Big Brother. Have a good rest.", Quatre said.
"You too, Quatre. Take care.", I replied, nodding my head. Just like that, Ennea took Quatre out of the room, and vanished into the corridor. It was just Renne and I now.
"Were you writing in your diary again, Big Brother?", Renne asked, seeing the open diary.
"Yep. A lot has happened since we found you two in Paradise. It's a lot to remember, so I like to write things down to make sure I don't forget.", I answered, nodding my head.
"Is that so? Will you share it with me sometime?', Renne asked.
"Perhaps one day. For now, why don't we go rest? It is still a while until we reach our destination.", I said, urging Renne toward the bed.
"Okay!", Renne happily said. "Good night, Big Brother!"
Hearing that, I draped the bed's covers over her, and also got into the bed. I saw Renne shiver a bit, before a smile appeared on her face, and slowly began snoozing away.
I turned silent seeing this happen, and didn't say anything. That's right, this girl before me is Renny Hayworth. Or now, Renne. We successfully found her while raiding Paradise.
The only surprise to me was, she didn't appear alone. Further inside those caves we found a second person. He seemed very familiar too. I recall seeing this boy in one of Daybreak's promotional images, showing him alongside Van Arkride.
Quatre Salision...!
How will things develop from here on?
Thinking that, I soon found my thoughts entering dreamland. I fell asleep shortly after that...