A/N: I'm back! I'm so sorry about the delay. Truth is, I work in the medical industry, and I recently started working 12-hour shifts. The downside to that is that it's also the holiday season. So, things are insane and what time I've had off has been for unwinding and recovering. That said, I do hope you enjoy this chapter! It's recruitment time!

PLEASE READ: I cannot stress this enough. All non Danmachi or Skyrim characters that appear are REFERENCES only. I am changing their races, their backgrounds, and even the occasional aspect of their personalities to make them fit in this world. I am only using them to flush out the background characters and make the world feel a bit more alive. The Hestia Familia needs to grow and I'd rather do this than make up a bunch of OCs.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please leave a comment with your thoughts and your guesses on who the characters are! I'm curious to see if you all get who everybody is! I'm not exactly subtle with the references, but I wonder if you'll recognize them all.

Hearthfire

Chapter 47

Hestia

"Goddess? The first of the applicants is ready to see you." Bell's voice came through.

"Bring them in." She called out from her desk. The door to her office opened and in stepped her darling captain followed by an excitable cienthrope girl whose black hair had oddly red tips. The young teen was nearly vibrating with excitement.

"Have a seat here," Bell gestured to the chairs in front of the desk before moving to sit behind it in the chair next to Hestia herself.

"Okay!" She grinned and flopped down, looking slightly nervous. "So, um… where do I start?"

"How about with your name, child?" Hestia asked, taking a document from Bell and glancing over it.

"Oh, right! I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose." The silver eyed girl grinned.

"What made you decide to become an adventurer, Ruby?" Hestia asked, seeing in her file that the girl had never received a Falna before.

"Oh, well my parents were both adventurers, and so were their parents so I figured why not join the family business? And then when my sister decided to come here, I just had to join her! I mean countryside adventurers are great and all, but Dungeon adventurers are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool, y'know?"

Hestia raised an eyebrow. Somehow, the girl had managed to say all that without stopping or taking a breath. With her voice getting somehow higher as each word passed her lips. If nothing else, she was certainly enthusiastic.

"What made you decide on the Hestia Familia?" Bell asked from his seat next to her. The goddess was rather impressed that he was able to hold in his own 'adventurer fanboy' behavior when faced with someone so excitable. The responsibilities of being captain had injected a seriousness into the boy that hadn't been there when he'd first joined her.

"Oh, well that was because of my friend Penny!" Ruby replied. "She and her dad live here in the city, but they're both originally from my hometown so they'd come visit sometimes. She's like my uber-bestie, so when I found out she got a letter of recommendation to join you I figured why not take the chance to be in the same Familia as her?"

"Ah." Hestia nodded in understanding. She'd already heard from Miach that he'd be sending someone to her with a letter of recommendation. That must be her friend. "Well, if you don't mind, we'd like to ask a few more questions so we can get a better idea of what you're looking for in a Familia."

Lili

"Name?" Lili asked, glancing up at the nervous teenage Hume Bunny standing in front of her. He was fidgety, scrawny, and extremely blonde. His ears, on the small side for a Rabbit Person, were drooping down in an obvious show of nervousness and maybe a bit of fear. As for his clothes, he was wearing pretty simple blue pants, a baggy grey shirt, and had only a simple sword and rusty shield with him. If she had to guess, he was probably new to the city.

"M… my um…" He stammered before puffing himself up in false confidence. "The name's Jaune Arc. I'd like to join the Hestia Familia." He puffed out his chest. Behind her, Lili heard Haruhime giggle at the false bravado. The poor boy deflated, his ears drooping even further. "Sorry…"

Lili just sighed. "Have you ever been a member of a Familia before?"

"Um. No, ma'am." The blonde replied. "I only moved to the city a week ago. Haven't been able to find a Familia to join, and all I have is my great grandfather's old gear…" He gestured to the sword and shield.

"That's no problem." The Pallum Vice-Captain replied, her voice curt but not unkind. "If you'll follow Haruhime here," she gestured to the Renard, "she'll take you further inside so we can test your skills."

"Oh!" He perked up. "Really? Um, okay." He grinned sheepishly at her before walking away, following Haruhime closely.

Turning away, Lili looked back over the desk at the crowd gathered in front of her. Three or four dozen adventurers and hopefuls were milling about in half-coherent lines waiting to be called up. Ever since the first three girls arrived, they'd been faced with a deluge of people. The Hume Bunny she'd just sent off was probably the 10th person she'd personally dealt with. More than a few of whom she was certain would not be accepted. They just had the wrong attitude.

"Next!" Lili called out to the lines.

The lines were large but thankfully they weren't all charging in at once. Groups who arrived together would approach together, but that was all. Thankfully, the hopefuls were more or less lined up in order of arrival and were waiting to be called forward. Lili and Chigusa would take the information of the hopefuls and then send them on their way guided by either Haruhime or Cassandra. So far, there hadn't been anyone too unruly though, in any situation like this, adventurers with big personalities had a tendency to rear their heads.

"Woahohoho, Babe Alert!" A booming voice laughed. Looking to her right, she could see a tall Boaz man wearing decent armor walking towards Chigusa's station. "I'm sad to say I'm already taken, but that don't mean you two ain't gorgeous. You ladies got boyfriends? OW!" The brunette Boaz screamed in pain as a beautiful white-haired elf woman wearing a rapier slapped him across the back of the head. Behind her trailed a second, slightly younger white-haired elf.

"Silence, you boob!" The older elf woman shouted, smacking the Boaz man again.
"Ow!" The man protested before falling silent under the woman's withering gaze. After staring him down, the elven woman turned back to them with a contrite expression.

"I apologize for my husband's outburst. He's a good man, but he has the rather unfortunate habit of saying every single thing that pops into his head without regard for whether or not it's appropriate."

"C'mon Babe, why'd you have to hit me?" The Boaz complained half-heartedly.

"Because you're embarrassing us!" She shouted in reply. It was only because of her heightened sense of hearing thanks to years of thievery that Lili caught the "and because you like it,' that was whispered next.

"Gross." The younger elf shivered, evidently having heard the elder's whispered comment. Pushing her way to the front, she introduced herself with more grace and decorum than Lili would expect from anybody who wasn't royalty. "I apologize most sincerely for their behavior. My name is Weiss Schnee. These two are my sister Winter and her idiot husband, Naotsugu. We're new to the city and would like to join the Hestia Familia."

"Hmhm." The elder elf coughed into her hand, regaining her composure. "Yes. I apologize for that. My name is Winter Hasegawa and, as my sister pointed out, this is my husband Naotustu."

"Sup!" The Boaz grinned, raising a hand at them with a cocky grin.

"Have you ever been a member of a Familia before?" Lili asked, choosing to ignore the antics. She just wanted to get this done.

"Yes." Winter nodded. "My husband and I were both members of the Kuutar Familia and are Level 2. We've moved here to challenge the Dungeon, and both our Statuses are open so there won't be any trouble converting. My sister has never been a member, but she does have some combat training."

"That's no problem." Chigusa spoke up, taking down their information. "If you'll follow Cassandra here, she'll take you further in so we can test your skills.

"Thanks babes," the Boaz man spoke up again, only to devolve into pleas for release as his wife began dragging him by the ear while the trio walked away from the desk, following Cassandra's lead.

"This is going to be a very long day." Chigusa whispered once they were gone. Lili nodded in commiseration before gesturing for the next person or group in line to step forward. She perked up at the sight of the next applicant. He was a Pallum!

"Greetings, Ma'am." The long silver-haired Pallum man said, bowing and giving her a salute. Despite the color of his hair, he was quite young. Perhaps the same age as Lili or maybe a year younger and rather handsome. The large, for a Pallum, sword on his back gave him a rather fierce appearance. "My name is Pipin Tarupin. It is a true honor to meet you, and I would be most grateful for the chance to join your Familia."

Bell

"Tell me, what's your greatest strength?" Goddess Hestia asked the Dwarf in front of them. He was short and stocky like most dwarves with a neat and nicely trimmed beard of brown hair.

"Um. My strength? Literally?" The dwarf, Erend, said hesitantly. "My sister, Ersa, always used to tell me that my head was so hard, our old man could use it in his forge instead of his hammers. I ain't exactly the smartest person, but I'm loyal to my friends and if you ever need something smashed, I'm your guy." The dwarven man was rather blunt, all thing's considered, but he was also earnest and kind. All in all, Bell rather liked him so far.

"What about your greatest weakness?" Bell asked, since it was his turn to ask a question.

"Oh, my temper." Erend replied without a moment of thought. "Yeah, my temper kinda has a tendency to run away with me sometimes and I need a good kick to the back of the head to calm me down. I do my best to roll with the punches, but if you really get me going it takes a lot to get me to slow down and think clearly."

Welf

"Alright! Who's next!" Welf cried out, hefting his greatsword and moving to stand next to his compatriots. He, Ouka, and Mikoto had been lightly sparring with the hopefuls for around an hour now and were having fun. They'd seen so many different fighting styles! Though, the blonde human girl who fought with a type of brass knuckles he'd faced off against right at the start had been his favorite challenge so far. Her fighting style gave him so many ideas for new weapon types. He'd never even considered making weapons for close quarters fighters that weren't daggers. Now he was thinking of different variations on brass knuckles or maybe bladed boots for those who preferred kicking?

"Right." Daphne spoke up, bringing three people forward. She was in charge of assigning sparring partners for anyone with melee skills. Any mages who showed up were being overseen by Master Torrhen himself since he was the only real magic user they had but when he wasn't doing that he, Aisha and Daphne were observing to assess the melee skills of everyone else.

"Ms. Belladonna?" Daphne said, gesturing to a black-haired cat person. "You'll be with Mikoto." The silent woman nodded, drawing her blades. One was a thin Wakizashi while the other was more cleaver shaped. Mikoto grinned at the girl, drawing her Tachi and leading her opponent away. Before she left, she glanced back at the tall brown-haired Weretiger standing next to Daphne. The man gave her a nod and a smile before turning his focus back to the rest of them.

"Leo?" Daphne spoke up, pointing at the second of the people she'd brought up. "You'll be sparring with Ouka." This one was a Werewolf with short, cropped brown hair and two broadswords strapped to his back. The only notable features beyond that were the scar that ran from his forehead across his nose and down to his left cheek and the wolf-head medallion he wore around his neck.

That meant the Weretiger was for Welf. He grinned at the man, noticing the large one-handed war-hammer at his side. His mane formed a full beard of dark brown hair, and he wore simple armor. The man bowed is head to Welf, a gesture which the redhead returned.

"Roran Garrowson." The man said, his deep voice introducing himself before Daphne had a chance to.

"Welf." The redhead grinned before giving Daphne and nod and leading his opponent to the sparring circle. "What level are you?" He asked.

"I am Level 2." The man replied. "I was once a member of the Dagda Familia in Karuna, but I wished to see if I could improve my skills here in the city."

"I'm Level 2 as well, so this should be a good fight." Welf replied. "And the cat person?" he nodded over to where the girl was already sparring with Mikoto. "You know her?"

"I do." Roran nodded. "She is my second cousin. Her own father and mine share a grandfather."

"I see." Welf nodded before hefting his blade and getting into a ready stance. "Shall we?"

"Let us begin." The Weretiger replied, drawing his hammer.

The two clashed, hammer meeting great-sword. Welf had to admit, the tiger man was good. Very good, especially for someone who'd never been inside the dungeon before. If he had to guess, pondered as he ducked under a blow, he'd say that he was a bit farther along inside Level 2 than his opponent. What's more, combat in the dungeon was fundamentally different than it was outside of it. A skilled level 1 adventurer with plenty of dungeon diving experience had a decent chance at beating a Level 2 who'd never set foot inside the dungeon. Suffice it to say, Welf never really lost the upper hand in their fight but keeping it that way was a bit of a challenge.

Using a move he learned from Torrhen, Welf used the momentum of a dodge to stick the blade of his sword between the feet of his opponent. Surprised by the move, the weretiger tripped, sprawling backwards into the compact earth of the sparring yard. Roran let out a grunt of pain, but that was all.

"Nicely done." Welf complimented him genuinely and held out a hand. His defeated foe rather graciously accepted it and allowed Welf to pull him up to his feet. "You're quite good with that hammer of yours. Get a little dungeon experience and that fight would go quite differently."

"Well, I suppose that is why I'm here." Roran chuckled, rubbing his shoulder and holstering his weapon.

Welf just nodded. "Go and have a seat over there." He gestured to a bench where the cat-person from before was sitting with a few of the other hopefuls he and the rest had already sparred with. "They'll call you into the Hall when they're ready for you."

"You have my thanks." Roran nodded and walked away towards the benches.

Hestia

The goddess of the hearth could already tell this one was certainly not going to be joining her Familia. "So?" She asked, despite her distrust. "Why do you want to join the Hestia Familia?"

"Your Familia currently hosts the strongest adventurer in the world." The elven mage in front of her replied. Her name was Phillipa Eilheart and she had a properly nasty attitude. "But you also lack adventurers with any real magical capabilities. I am a rather impressive mage, as I'm sure Master Torrhen could tell you and as the leader of this Familia, I don't doubt he would recommend me highly."

"Leader?" Hestia asked, confused. "He may be an advisor, but Bell here is my captain." She gestured to the white-haired young man who, incidentally, the mage had been ignoring for some time.

"Oh?" She looked genuinely surprised. "I thought that was only because he was retired. Now that he's active again, surely you don't mean to keep someone like this boy in charge when you have someone as powerful as Master Torrhen in your Familia?"

"You should leave." Hestia cut her off, bluntly and angrily.

"Excuse me?!"

"Out!" She shouted, letting some of her godly aura slip free.

Torrhen

"Alright." Torrhen said, standing in front of the gathered hopefuls who already had the ability to use magic. "Let's get started."

Originally, he'd been intending to help assess the melee skills of their applicants, but they'd realized nearly too late that if anyone with magical abilities showed up, they'd need someone skilled in such arts available to test them. So, here he was in a mostly empty and undeveloped section of the grounds waiting for the five people who still needed to be assessed to show off their magical skills.

"Roderika." He gestured to the cienthrope woman who'd accompanied Ryuu back from Solingen. "You're up first. You can begin whenever you're ready." The nervous blonde girl nodded, tugging on her red hood. Walking forward, she knelt on the ground almost as if she were praying and began to chant.

"O' fallen warrior of Elden Lore. Thy mistress lies cold and fell, beneath the once great tree of a forgotten shore. Heed my call and rise once more, to answer the Spirit's Calling Bell!" With the sound of a ringing bell, an ethereal cloud of vapor exploded into life in front of Roderika. Out of it stepped a spectral warrior, not unlike Torrhen's own ethereal summons. It wore armor from head to toe with a long cape trailing the ground. In its right hand was a sword and in its left a giant scythe.

Torrhen watched in fascination as the summoned entity moved to stand between its summoner and the rest of the group. This was the first time he'd seen any kind of summoning magic beyond his own conjuration spells. But, this young girl, who'd already earned a spot in the Familia, now presented an opportunity. She already had a summoning spell so what did it matter if he let her learn a few Conjuration spells?

"Cool!" A young voice shouted. One of their two youngest applicants, a 12-year-old Dark Elf girl named Aura shouted, heterochronic eyes shining. "I didn't know other people could summon monsters too!" Torrhen's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"Y… you can summon too?" Roderika hesitantly asked from behind her spectral knight.

"Hell yeah!" The Dark Elf child shouted, grinning. "Oh! I'll summon mine and then maybe they can fight!"

"Um, Aura." a hesitant voice asked. This was Aura's twin brother, Mare. Clearly, the sister was the more… animated of the two. "Maybe you should just wait your turn."

"It's alright." Torrhen said, not unkindly before looking at Aura. "There will be no fighting, but I do not mind if you wish to call your own summon forth. If that is indeed the nature of your spell."

"Hehe. Yup!" Aura grinned. "Mine is a creature though, not a person. Check it!" She ran forward, shouting a chant as she went. When she finished, she slapped her hand onto the ground. From that spot, a vortex expanded. Out of it rose a large bear-like creature with an extra set of forelegs. It too was ethereal, but not in the same way as Roderika's knight. Hers was all the same white-blue color while you could just see the red hue in the fur of Aura's bear. "See!" Aura grinned, standing on top of her bear's back.

Torrhen nodded at her. It was a rather impressive summons in his opinion. Especially for a Level 1 adventurer. On par with a frost atronach, perhaps? He'd have to see it in battle before making a determination.

"Very well done." Torrhen gave them both a look of acknowledgement. "Now, dismiss them. We need to see what the others can do. He turned to the younger of the dark elf twins. It's your turn, Mare."

"Oh, um. Okay." He nearly whispered, walking forward and nervously clutching his simple wooden staff.

Bell

"So, your name is Pipin, right?" Bell asked the Pallum man seated in front of them.

"That's right. Pipin Tarupin. It's a true pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"It's nice to meet you too, Pipin." The goddess replied. "So, what made you choose to apply for my Familia?"

"Well." Pipin sat back and put a hand on his chin. "When I first arrived in the city, I'd intended on joining the Loki Familia. I'm sure you're aware that Finn Deimne is an inspiration to many of my race. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to apply. Got turned away at the gates by a rather grumpy werewolf, I'm afraid. But" his eyes shone, "then I saw your vice-captain fighting during the war game against Apollo and realized that there were other Pallum adventurers making a name for themselves in the city. Breaking the stereotype! The whole city knew you'd be recruiting after the war game, so it was just a matter of waiting for the opportunity to arise."

"So, you want to prove the stereotype of the Pallum being weak as wrong?" Bell asked, in order to get a clearer picture of his intentions. Which, in his personal opinion, were rather noble. Something the young captain fervently supported.

"Yes! Exactly!" Pipin replied. "My adoptive father is a powerful warrior. A level 5 adventurer with the alias Flame General who retired to the countryside many years ago. He told me once that even a very small person can cast a very large shadow. I didn't really know what he meant until I heard about Finn. He's a perfect example to show that the Pallum race is not weak! Your vice-captain, Ms. Arde is another! She proves that the Braver is not unique! It is my wish to become a third example to my people. To show the world that Mr. Deimne and Ms. Arde are not an anomaly and that a Pallum can truly be strong!"

Aisha

"Well now," Aisa grinned at the person who'd just finished beating Ouka. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Nor did I," The tall, tan-skinned human replied with a grin, his accent soothing to the ears. "Your beauty is even more radiant when my mind is not clogged by alcohol. I never did catch your name last night, though."

"Aisa." She grinned back, mind wandering to their adventures the night before. "Aisha Belka."

"Alexios." The man grinned, giving her a little bow. "My alias is Eagle Bearer, thanks to my dear friend, Ikaros." He gestured to the bird resting on his shoulder.

Alexios, now a hopeful to join the Hestia Familia, had been an extremely pleasurable encounter of hers last night at a local bar. What's more, he'd just proved himself to be rather good with a blade judging by how easily he'd beaten Ouka. He was only Level 3, so not a strong as she'd like but he certainly knew what he was doing… in more ways than one.

"Antianeira" Aisa replied, giving him her alias. "Maybe if you make it into the Familia, we can have another encounter. I wouldn't mind a repeat or two." She brushed a hand against his shoulder before walking away with swaying hips, knowing that his eyes were following her.

Hestia

"Why don't you tell me a little about your background?" Hestia asked the werewolf, Leo.

"Oh, wow." Leo muttered. "Where to start? I guess, um… Well, my parents died when I was super young during one of Rakia's wars. I got taken in by my grand uncle, Vesemir before I could be inducted into the Ares Familia. He ran a school of warriors out in the mountains, so I started learning to use swords at an early age. A couple of the older students, Lambert and Eskel, helped me with most of my training. Once I was good enough, they said the only way I could get better was if I joined a Familia. They were all members of the Ares Familia, but they'd retired or run away as soon as they could so they wouldn't be forced to fight in his wars. So, I decided to come here and join a Familia in the city before I got discovered and forced to join up with Ares."

Chigusa

"Greetings, young madam." The slimy looking man said, giving her what Chigusa thought was supposed to be a charming smile. It wasn't. Nor was his speaking to her appropriate considering he wasn't the one they'd called forward.

"Hey, mano." The large half-dwarf who was supposed to be next in line cut in, putting a hand in front of the cutter. "I was next. Why don't you wait your turn like a good boy, okay?" The man's accented voice was smooth and calming though there was an edge to it. A clear but calm warning.

"Get your hands off me you brute. Don't you know who I am?" The one who'd barged in was human, relatively tall with dark purplish-black hair and now sporting an ugly scowl. The eyeliner he was wearing didn't exactly help him look completely sane. His wide and angry eyes just made the fool look rather unhinged.

"Sheh." The half-dwarf scoffed at the human. "No. Should I?" The half-dwarf sported a bun in the back of his head, but the rest of his black hair was cut short. He himself was quite bulky and rather tall for someone with dwarven blood.

"I am Tahno! The Wolfbat! Surely, you've heard of me, no? What about you, madam?" He looked back over at Chigusa, who just grimaced. "Surely a woman of culture such as yourself recognizes a rising star like me?"

"Sir." Chigusa replied, her voice like iron as she addressed the totally unfamiliar man. "If you don't get back in line and wait your turn, you will be removed and forfeit your chance to apply. I suggest you step back now."

For a moment, it looked like he would challenge her, but eventually the slimy-looking human backed down and walked back to his place in line. The half-dwarf gave him one last glare before his face stretched into a smile.

"Nicely handled there, chica. The name's Jackie, but my alias is El Coyote."

"You're Level 2, then?" Chigusa asked, writing down the information.

"Yup!" Jackie grinned at her. "I love my Familia, but my goddess, Mama Quilla, ain't too interested in fighting. My blood is just too hot for the quiet life. Gotta make a name for myself, you know?"

"I understand." Chigusa nodded, writing that information down. "Do you have much Dungeon experience?"

"I mean, as much as it takes to hit Level 2." Jackie replied. "Took a good long while though, cause most of mi Familia tend to avoid the Dungeon. They're mostly merchants and shop owners, you know?"

"That's alright, sir. If you'll follow Haruhime, she'll lead you to the sparring fields."

"You got it!" He grinned at her before walking around the desk. "Lead the way, boss-lady!" He told Haruhime, causing the Renard girl to giggle and blush.

Bell

Bell sighed and collapsed, leaning back against the couch. The sky outside was slowly darkening as evening gave way to night. All around him were the exhausted members of the Hestia Familia. In total, they'd vetted 83 applicants, the last of whom had only just left around an hour ago.

"So?" Master Torrhen asked from his spot in a nearby lounge chair. "Does anyone have an opinion they want to weigh in on? Someone that stood out to them?

"Yeah." Welf nodded. "This weretiger I fought. Roran. He seems like a good guy. Got a good head on his shoulders."

"I remember him." Bell muttered, putting a hand over his eyes. "He seemed like a good person. I have no objections to him joining."

"What happened with that pallum… what was his name?" Lili started before falling silent.

"Pipin?" Goddess Hestia asked.

"That's him!"

"I liked him." The goddess admitted. "He's got a good head on his shoulders and had a good attitude."

"Who do we have so far that's a guarantee?" Daphne asked.

"Oh, let me see." Bell groaned and leaned forward to grab the sheet he'd dropped on a nearby table. "Ms. Ryuu and the three people who came with her are guaranteed. Penny Polendina had a letter of recommendation from Lord Miach, and she showed well so she's in along with her friends. Roran, the man Welf just mentioned and the young cat person with him um…" he checked the notes, "Blake. I've got them on here as well. Any suggestions for the rest?"

"The Dark Elf twins." Master Torrhen spoke up. "They both have a lot of potential. It'd be a waste to lose them."

"What about the husband and wife?" Goddess Hestia added. "The elf and the boaz? Also the little sister. He's a bit of a pervert but I liked them overall."
Bell sighed, covering his eyes with one arm again and wishing for sleep while the others debated around him. It turned out being a captain was harder than he ever expected. It was worth it though. Rewarding, challenging, and very fulfilling. He just wished it wasn't so exhausting.

A/N: There we go! Chapter done! Recruitment over! I'm sure you can guess from the chapter, but I'll post the official list of who the new members of the Hestia Familia are in the next chapter before I get into the next arc. Please leave a comment or a review with your thoughts on the chapter and what might come next!

I know that this was pretty much a parade of new characters but frankly, that's what the recruitment drive was always going to be so I hope you don't mind. The next arc will begin next chapter so I hope you don't mind this one being a bit different.

Also! Alias suggestions for everybody who showed up in this chapter would be appreciated! Most of them are Level 1 but it's still fun to think about!

Roderika's summon is Cleanrot Knight Finlay. Aura's is an Ankyloursus from Overlord.

Answers to Questions

On FFN

Nightsy: I love RWBY. So excited for new stuff now that it's been saved! The characters are just references though.

Walkmanapprenticewordsmith: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter!

Monkey D. Conan: I'm glad last chapter was satisfying! We'll see more of Freya later on.

: RWBY, yes. Only half of JNPR though.

LionLordEscanor: thank you!

Captaindickscratcher: I want to see Freya as a tragic character but… well, look at the crap she's pulled recently. I don't really feel any sympathy for her.

NinjaFang1331: Thank you! I hope you liked recruitment!

Bluesnowman: Thank you!

BauxiteGlue: I think she's learned a bit of a lesson. I'm sorry I didn't wind up using the Raphsodia characters. Truth is, I don't know those characters much at all so I didn't feel like I could do them justice by including them now.

Fake-rob: maybe not a mind break but she's definitely humbled.

Frostwolf3227: Y'know, I am considering throwing a bit of Nuts & Dolts in as an occasional side note. I love penny and she deserves better than what she got in the original.

VirusZyX: Thank you for reading!

Kayrasen: I'm sorry about the wait!

Turtletripper123: Thank you so much! I hope you liked this chapter too!

Haziq Saffari: Sorry about the wait!

Lucius Walker: I'm glad you're loving it! I know there was a wait and this one is different, but I hope you liked it!

On Ao3

Bigtime12: I'm so sorry about the delay, but absolutely you can use it.

Roccanegra: No, Bell is not immune to Bend Will. At least, not the full power version of it.

Khavros: We will get some development on them soon, I promise!

Alex3773: She might but for now she's going to play along.

Chiki270: Glad you love it!

MagnustheRed: I did bring in Roran! I considered Eragon and Arya, but they felt a bit too OP to really be considered as Level 1 adventurers. I am unfortunately unfamiliar with NeiR: Automata so I didn't want to risk being unfaithful to the characters.

Phonenix_Warehouse_Productions: We got a Roran! Thank you for that! I'd completely forgotten about him! Eragon and Arya unfortunately were not included this time though. I thought about it, but they just felt too OP.

FrankTHaddock: Not really familiar with Hololive so I didn't want to risk messing with the characters. Thank you for the suggestion though! You are absolutely right about there being too many girls at the moment though. That's why I tried to make sure I brought in a few guys this time.