Waterflower

* First
* Faelor
* Saint
* Legend

* Gangdor
* Tiramisu
* Medium Rare
* Olar
* Phaser Repersie
* Zangru Baruch

**Secondary**

* Saint Lawrence
* Zendrall
* Kellac
* Ironshield

## [source]

**Waterflower** is the first follower of Richard Archeron and his soul guardian. Gangdor and Waterflower both came from the Archeron Death Camps and became part of Richard's core team on his first adventure.

## Description

A rather scrawny white figure emerged silently from the forest. It was a young girl in a tattered white dress, her clothes torn so badly that they could only be called rags. She had no defences to speak of, and the clothes didn’t even cover her entire body. If not for cloths wrapped around her chest and waist, she would be essentially naked.

She was standing on top of a branch, her long fair legs contrasting the gloomy backdrop of the forest. The sight of her bare feet gripping the branch was somewhat eye-catching— every single one of her digits could be seen clearly. She had wild, shaggy hair that she seemed to have cut short herself. The silhouette of her face seemed rather beautiful, but the deep green eyes flashed like a hunter looking at their prey.

Her shoulders were broad, her figure curving sharply inwards at the waist before broadening once more at the buttocks. An unimaginable strength was hidden within those curves.

### **Land of Dusk**

As Richard thought back to it, ever since he encountered her in the Archeron death camps, the girl had fought in multiple planes for several years. Her face was still sharp and delicate, and although they weren’t like steel spikes anymore her hair was still short. She would allow for no obvious weaknesses on the battlefield.

She didn’t seem to have changed, but then again the passage of time always changed someone. Years ago she would have crouched in the corner, back arched and ready to pounce. Now, she was standing ramrod straight. The only way Richard could picture her was hidden amongst the canopy and grass, body bowed slightly to ease movement. This sort of posture that revealed her beautiful curves was extremely rare.

Waterflower wasn’t particularly filled out in any places, but she was well-built and her long legs especially were filled with explosive power. Right now, she looked like a mix of contradictions, her savage nature being tempered by burning shame. She stood there like a mountain flower before the storm, prepared to wither away. 5;102

## **PLOT**

### History

I picked her up during one of my trips in the forest. She was living with a pack of moon wolves at that point, probably raised like a wolf cub. She looked about five years of age by normal standards, but even having learnt to speak she hasn’t been able to explain exactly how long she’d lived with the wolf pack. That’s why we don’t know her definite age. As for her name, it was given to her by the other students in the training camp. They say that she’s akin to an aquafloral fruit, tasty yet formidable with the protection of lethal poison. She’s completely unattainable by the common person.” [1;112]

soulguard

He was their leader, core, and spiritual support

a year after Richard enters the battlefield of despair, Waterflower follows him in with the help of Nyra and Io. she end up fatally wounded. Hasting heals her, but Richard ends up losing the demon Blacklight for it.

Besides talking about what Richard had done, Lawrence even started to analyze Richard’s personality and way of doing things, giving her suggestions on endearing herself to him. His eyes shone with excitement while his gesticulations grew even more exaggerated, as though he was the conductor of an opera and not a storyteller. He even started to comment on Waterflower’s attire, accessories, and manners, criticizing her for her lack of grace.

“Who would like a girl who spends her entire life in the trees?” This comment caused her to pale.

### **Risk**

Io snorted, “How? Lucky to be alive! Her organs were turned into mush, and healing her was more draining than even resurrection! I don’t understand, who would even use their body to block a blade, and that too for your sake? I would have let you get cut in half without a second thought!”

Richard let go of Io’s collar, gaze softening as he turned back to Waterflower, “Thank you.”

Completely stumped by the genuine gratitude, Io just shook his head and left the room.

Left alone with Waterflower, Richard leaned over the bedside and observed this soulguard that had been the first of his followers. Her eyelids were quivering, a sign that she was awake.

The normal traces of wildness were completely absent from her face, replaced instead with a rare gentleness. This girl might have the talent to reach the legendary realm herself, but right now it wasn’t easy to survive a saint’s full-power strike. If not for her tenacity, she wouldn’t even have lasted to the end of the battle. Even so, it exhausted Io completely to bring her back from the edge of death. 5;65

Richard flinched at Waterflower’s clear, bright eyes, unable to face such a penetrating stare. Her expression spoke volumes of just what reward she wanted for such loyalty, but he didn’t know how to answer her.

He didn’t know when and how, but by the time he snapped back to his senses he was out of the room. The two of them hadn’t spoken a word from start to end, but their silent conversation was worth more than a thousand words. Even so, he was feeling like an escaping fugitive; he had never given her an answer.

This wasn’t the first time he had learnt of Waterflower’s feelings, but he was still completely helpless to respond. It seemed despicable, but he couldn’t afford to add another responsibility to his ever-growing list. He had no idea when he would be done repaying his current debts, forget a new one so heavy it would last a lifetime.

Waterflower’s feelings were always repressed, but they still radiated from her heart. Her method of dealing with them was as savage as a beast, but the sheer passion of it was something he couldn’t face openly. And yet, he couldn’t turn away either; the moment she had taken the blade to protect him, she had already confessed her love.

A confession that had turned him into a coward.

### **Land of Dusk**

“Your Excellency, she has been fighting alongside us for the past week. She is not a saint, but her might in battle is no inferior to our own. She killed three Daxdians before she was injured, and even then held off some opponents to reduce our casualties.” Her soul injuries were far more serious than he had assumed, and if not for the protection she would have died long ago

Someone found out about it and helped me get here. I can feel that this place is great for me, I’m becoming stronger and stronger. Master… as your soulguard, I should always be with you.”

“Someone?” Richard smiled faintly, but that only caused the girl to feel uneasy as she estimated the distance between herself and the window, “It was Nyra, wasn’t it.”

“… Yes… and Io. He saw that I was sad and asked me a few times, so I told him… Then he told me to come find you, even if to get a taste of the battlefield of despair. Nyra blocked the power of our contract and strengthened my soul protection, and Io filled me with the divinity to sustain it for a year.” 5;100

So many years had passed since he first set off on this journey, a stubborn little child with no knowledge of the world’s workings nor any idea of how to lead. But now, he and his followers were growing rapidly. Everyone started to come to their own opinions and ideas, and had the ability to put their thoughts to action. They were no longer shy and unsure, able to take the lead with regards to their own lives.

*Wasn’t this what he always wanted, for his slaves to become full-fledged people of their own?* He had always known Waterflower’s desires, a love that had erupted before they were even certain of their own lives. He had his own debts to pay and refused to add another weight to his heart, but now she had come all the way to a battlefield of despair. With Nyra’s soul protection, he might not have even realised she was fighting by his side until she wound up dead.

Waterflower was always a simple girl, so simple that she almost acted upon instinct. Her arrival here was just that, an instinctive desire to stay close to him. However, this simplicity was precisely what made his heart feel so heavy.

### **Mentor**

The old man just laughed and started talking non-stop, from Richard’s history in the Land of Dusk to how Blacklight had been requisitioned and he gave up the vote for her sake. The girl’s expression slowly turned into a daze, and when Lawrence started to get up she didn’t even stop him. However, he didn’t run away as he continued to tell Waterflower about all the events of the past year.

At some point, the two had returned to Richard’s room, wetting their throats with wine. The old man couldn’t stop talking, vividly describing every wound Richard had sustained in the past year, explaining each of the battles as though he had been the one present. The girl grabbed the table whenever things got intense, leaving deep scratches in the wood. At other times she would sigh, taking a swig of wine. The old man drank a glass with every battle.

As time went by, the old man went deeper and deeper into the conversation. Besides talking about what Richard had done, Lawrence even started to analyse Richard’s personality and way of doing things, giving her suggestions on endearing herself to him. His eyes shone with excitement while his gesticulations grew even more exaggerated, as though he was the conductor of an opera and not a storyteller. He even started to comment on Waterflower’s attire, accessories, and manners, criticising her for her lack of grace.

“Who would like a girl who spends her entire life in the trees?” This comment caused her to pale.

### **Companion**

Waterflower stood quietly for a while before closing the door and covering the windows, causing darkness to shroud the house. The room was quiet, the only sensations being a touch of warmth and the girl’s own scent. Just as Richard managed to hypnotise himself into sleeping, she made her way to his bed and crawled into him.

“Wa—”

“I’m cold.” This one sentence blocked every word he could think of.

The night was dark and quiet, with only a few soft breaths ringing within the room. The two people just focused on the other’s breathing, noticing the difference from normal. One was a little heavy, while the other was gradually speeding up.

When Richard woke up in the morning, he saw Waterflower sleeping soundly on his arm and thing. It took a moment to get out of the entanglement, waking her up in the process, but he sat for a while and redid his plans as he prepared for the day.

He left for the dark wilderness in the morning, but this time he was no longer alone. It was only during their naps that Waterflower revealed any weaknesses, sticking closely to him to be able to relax. So long as she leaned against him, she would be able to sleep immediately even in the middle of a cacophony. 5;102

And just like that, Richard started a life of living together with a girl. Richard fought, rested, and crafted runes, occasionally spending some time talking to Waterflower.

### **End of the Expidition**

“All of you have reached your limits, you can’t continue.” Threads of astral energy flew out from Richard’s hand, illuminating the area around them. The blue glow revealed dark smoke circling all around each of Richard and his followers, and as they examined it closely they noticed countless minute divine symbols floating about. Some expressions immediately turned grave.

Richard continued calmly, throwing his spatial bracelet to Waterflower, “This is the poison from the devil lords you’ve been eating. If it continues to accumulate, you’ll die in body and soul. You’re done. There’s some rank 2 offerings here, go straight to the Church and offer them. The Eternal Dragon should be able to neutralise the poison in your bodies. Now go, I can’t keep this up forever!”

Realising that they would only be a burden if they stayed behind, Richard’s followers entered the portal one by one. They exhausted their strength to drag the remains of their most recent kill away; if not for the huge storage Richard had gotten from Lithgalen, previous ones would have been impossible to take.

However, not everyone left. The only one amongst them who hadn’t consumed a single core, Nasia stayed behind. With her unparalleled abilities and equipment, even in Arbidis there wasn’t any opponent that had managed to significantly harm her.

## Levels

Waterflower was someone who had followed Richard in the Battlefield of Despair for years on end, tempering herself to the absolute limit of perfection before advancing. Ordinary saints were nothing to her; she could kill ten of them in a single fight. 6;112

While Richard still hadn’t built back up to a thousand rune knights, more and more powerful drones were emerging from the broodmother to take their place. His subordinates had spiked in power after the bitter war against the reapers, each shooting up multiple levels.

Levelled up at least two levels in Arbidis.

## **Weapons**

### **Shepherd of Eternal Rest**

The Shepherd of Eternal Rest no longer suited Waterflower’s might at the legendary realm, but the girl refused to give up on it. The sword wasn’t even legendary, so it couldn’t sustain the might of ember essence either. Richard could only resign himself to giving her two stacks of Lifesbane, bringing her killing power to barely acceptable levels. That is, barely acceptable levels in his eyes. In front of other legends, this was a killing weapon that ended many lives.

## **Runes**

she was able to carry grade 4 runes at level 9 (possibly even grade 5 runes)(153 points)

* Guide of Secrets set
* Breath of Darkness set
* Shadow Seal (forearm)
* Grade 4 Illusion of Dawn set (incomplete)
	+ Instant Assault (incomplete) (shadow seal + lifesbane)
	+ Instant Assault is basically an integration of Shadow Seal and two Lifesbanes. The best way to use it is quick, accurate attacks.
	+ Floating Phantom was an upgrade to Master of Wilderness, enhancing Waterflower’s ability to pass through difficult terrain and granting her the ability to fly freely in the air for short bursts. Both this and Instant Assault were technically grade 3 runes, but they were borderline grade 4 and incorporated many complicated and powerful arrays within. They were also specifically designed for Waterflower and her swift, unpredictable strikes, amplifying her strengths greatly. 5;110
	+ Dark Sight. The rune now offered more expansive darkvision, and added on a rare resistance to soul and nature magic. It was all inscribed on the narrow piece of flesh behind the ear, approaching a crafting difficulty comparable to Lifesbane.

## **Saint ability**

Her saint ability greatly increased the pace at which she gathered her energy, allowing her to erupt with full strength in a single moment.

## Relationships

She express her love to Richard by crawling into him in his bed. [Book 05 Chap 102]

“Okay,” Waterflower agreed immediately, not dragging the topic. This immediately caused Richard to smile with relief, something that caused the girl’s feelings to soar as they continued the hunt. He didn’t know that Lawrence’s words were echoing in her heart: ‘Men like to feel in control. If it isn’t important, just give him the illusion of authority.’ 5;110

## References

1. ↑ 1;111
2. ↑ 5;99
3. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 111
4. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 87
5. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 110
6. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 96
7. ↑ 3;144
8. ↑ 2;80
9. ↑ 5;104
10. ↑ 5;104
11. ↑ 5;104