047

--TheirWorld--

Liorax’s laughter echoed joyously as he followed closely behind her head. “What are you doing?” he chided. “You are doing it wrong, all wrong! That’s not a way to fight! I don’t know what that is!”

“Well, I don’t know how to fight!” Guin shouted back at him as she sprinted in an arc around the large room. From the moment she had pushed off into a run, she could feel the difference in her body. Every move felt lighter, even lighter than when she had her [Dance] skill activated. She went to turn slightly, but her new speed and agility caused her to overcompensate, and nearly pulled a 180 degree turn. Slamming her spear down on the floor in attempt to correct her error, she saw the five fox spirits barreling towards her with abandon. “Not like this!” she muttered, shifting her spear forward to meet them — but as they approached, her courage failed her and she bolted in the other direction.

“Chicken!” Liorax slapped the back of her head as he followed. “I should eat you! Have you forgotten everything you’ve learned up until now?” he asked. “Fight back, half-Che!”

Gritting her teeth, she stopped herself in her tracks, nearly falling over as she did. Her muscle memory was all sorts of messed up with the powers of her new class. One of the foxes leaped towards her, snarling. Guin swiped at it — but when the blade of her spear hit, the fox spirit evaporated.

Feeling the blood drain from her face, Guin sprinted off again. She didn’t actually want to hurt the fox spirits. “What the hell just happened?” she demanded of Liorax as he floated nonchalantly beside her. “Where did it go? I killed it?”

Shrugging, the blue-grey fox said, “It just went back to its mistress. Don’t worry,” he went on. “You can’t kill them even if you wanted to. They aren’t even real; just fragments of Amikavi herself. All that stuff about killing you just another trick. She obviously doesn’t know you as well as I do.” The grin on his face expressed more pleasure at the thought than Guin thought it should have.

“What does that mean?”

“Stop asking what things mean and attack them, Tatterskin!” he commanded, his green eyes wide. “Have your vengeance!”

Guin glared at him. “This is your power I’m using,” she told him. “Help me. What should I do?”

“Well, first you need your skills,” he told her. “Do you know what those are?”

“No, but I can fix that.”

Her body was finally starting to adjust to her improved stats, so she opened up her abilities window. “What the hell is all this?” She asked him, her eyes going back and forth between where she was running and trying to read the tool tips. It was a fruitless endeavor. “There are four. I can’t really read them right now — give me a name.”

“Hmm,” Liorax went, still floating effortlessly. “Let’s slow these kids down a bit! Try [Chilling Aura].”

Guin went and hit it in the skill screen as she went. She couldn’t really tell if that did anything, so she asked. “Okay, now what?”

“Let’s buy you some time,” Liorax said, hitting his fist into an open paw. “Look to the shadow of the opposite corner — don’t run into anything — and cast [Shadow Step].”

Guin hit the button — and then found herself flush against a wall. “Ow!” she mumbled, rubbing her nose. “What the hell!” She was on the other side of the room. Ah, she thought. [Shadow Step]. That makes sense.

Liorax went over to her. “Perhaps I should have told you to stop moving, first…”

“Perhaps,” Guin answered dryly, looking for signs of the fox spirits following her. They, however, seemed to be moving awful slowly, the ground they walked on emanating a pale blue mist from the floor. The ground around her own feet, too, had a blue tinge to it, in a perfect circle around her feet. It moved when she moved, but it left a faint trail behind her. “Right,” she went. “[Chilling Aura]. Okay. Got any actual combat skills in there, or is it just getting used to the new reflexes?”

“I suggest you take this chance to equip the final two abilities I have for you at this level,” Liorax told her, putting his paw to his mouth and tilting his head. “I worry for you Tatterskin. Are you sure you can handle this?”

Ignoring him, she found the last two abilities — [Wind Blade] and [Pandora’s Box] — and equipped them to her quick cast bar along with the others. “[Wind Blade] seems like an attack. Dare I ask what [Pandora’s Box] is?”

Before she got her answer, however, the pursuing foxes were freed from the slowing effects left by her aura. As they barreled towards her, Liorax shouted, “Now, Tatterskin! Point your weapon towards the enemy and cast [Wind Blade]!”

Is it long range, then? She wondered, but placed her faith in her fox friend. This time, she used the voice cast system. “[Wind Blade]!” she shouted, and a long, lance-type wind spell burst from the tip of her spear. It hit one of the foxes, sending it back to Amikavi. And then there were four. But there was nothing stopping the four as they leaped at her. Guin looked to a shadow on the far side and shouted, “[Shadow Step]!”

In and instant she teleported across the room. Grinning, she watched the four foxes hit the wall that had been behind her.

“Yes! That’s it!” Liorax chuckled as he went to her. “You are a tricksy kind of creature — as we all are! Deception is your strength!”

“Alright, fine,” she said. “You win.”

“Shall we finish this?” he asked. “This time when they come close, swing your blade in an arc to cast [Wind Blade]!”

“Motion cast? I don’t know if I’ve practiced enough —”

“You have all your life to make perfect! Have faith, Tatterskin!”

They all moved in unison, coming at her front. She could easily tell now that Amikavi had no intention of doing her any real harm, or she would have been quite dead already. Guin took her spear and swiped it, using the mental cast system as best as she understood how to apply it. A large arc of wind burst out from the tip of her spear, as if it had split the air. The sharp, curved blade flew forward, causing all remaining four foxes to poof like smoke monster.

“Holy crap!” Guin said.

“Yes, yes,” Liorax nodded. “But it’s not that amazing. You’ve barely scratched your potential. You still have quite a ways to go.”

“What about [Pandora’s Box]?”

“That one is a bit different,” he told her hesitantly. “It’s one you’ll have to try for yourself.”

“Are you pleased, half-Che?” Amikavi asked from atop her pedestal. The five smaller white foxes had re-appeared, sleeping against the warm body of the fox spirit. “With your new coat?”

“Yes, my lady!” Guin said. “Very much so!’

“Have you practiced enough? I am very tired now,” the fox spirit yawned to prove her point.

Guin nodded. “I think so, my lady. I thank you ever so much for you help!”

“Then, I shall leave you to your journey then,” she said. “This may be the last time that you and I meet, young kit, for the only reason for you to return now, is to bring that man to me.” Guin was a little bit sad when she heard this. “Before you go, however, I would offer you one last boon.”

“My lady?”

“As a Gumiho, you have the ability [Fox Form],” she said. “I can tell that it is at the height of its current form. With this, I can offer you an upgraded form, linked to your Tatterskin prowess. Is this your desire?”

Blinking Guin nodded. “If that’s possible, then yes!” In all honestly, she had had no idea where she would have gotten the upgrade for [Fox Form], but connecting it to her class sounded like an even better idea than getting a simple upgrade.

Amikavi nodded and leaned over in front of her. With a warm, echoing breath, Guin heard a dinging sound.

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<<[Two-Tailed Fox Form]>>

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It certainly wasn’t bad; not at all! Also, being connected to her Tatterskin abilities, she could use it as much as she wanted without having to upgrade it again.

“Thank you, Lady Amikavi!” Guin bowed. Liorax also bowed his head before settling himself in Guin’s hair.

“Farewell, half-Che,” Amikavi smiled. “One of my spirit kits shall lead you to wherever you wish to go. I do hope, you know, that someday, we shall meet again.”

The small spirit kit sat, waiting for them by the door. Guin spared one last look at the elegant fox spirit once more before leaving the chamber in the catacombs — perhaps, as Amikavi suggested — for the last time.