I walked through the forest happily chatting with Mist, and regaling her with tales of some of my most impressive misdeeds.

As my new associate in crime, I had naturally told Mist who I was and she immediately said she believed me. Haa, finally, instead of dismissing the truth when I said it, someone outright believed me!

"Ah yes, there was that one reincarnation where I became a world-renowned master chef just so one of the imperial families would hire me. In that world, there were four continents and an imperial family ruled each of them. Every three years, they would gather together for a meeting. When the time came for their next meeting, I was naturally chosen to prepare dinner for them. Kekekeke, I spiked the food with a fast-acting drug I made that caused a person to fart and burp at the same time, then I sent holograms throughout the land so the people could watch the result. Haaaaa, I was executed soon after, but it was definitely worth it~"

-Wow, compared to Master, this one is not even worthy to be held at the level of dirt in the realm of mischief making......I'll need to work a lot harder if I want to keep up with you.....-

"What are you talking about Misty? That time you told me about, when you gathered together the top experts of this world for a fake contest to determine the top dog, then pulled their pants down and sprayed onion juice in their eyes to make them cry in front of the huge audience you gathered for the event, is pretty impressive even in my rankings~"

-Ehe, it was a rare moment of genius that has become one of my most prized memories......-

"Ah, I know what you mean...."

Mist and I both drifted into a comfortable silence, reminiscing happily about past mischief's.

My nose was suddenly assaulted by a familiar pungent smell that jolted me out of my memories.

I stopped in my tracks and sniffed once more, confirming my joyful suspicion.

"T-to actually find that plant here!"

I felt Void shift on my shoulder as he turned to lean his head against my cheek questioningly.

-Eh? What are you talking about, Papa? That smell definitely not from a plant, it's definitely from something dead and rotting...-

-Ha? Since I'm a sword, I can't smell, but from logic, a plant shouldn't smell like a dead body, right?-

I began to walk, following the smell as I explained.

"Remember that drug I was just talking about? Well, the component that causes the burping is a plant called Corpse Breath, named, as you can guess, for it's distinctive smell. They're quite rare since when people come upon them, they generally have a distinctive urge to destroy it to permanently get rid of the smell."

Void shoved his nose into my hair, trying to block out the smell.

-I can smell why, but Papa, if it smells so bad, how did all of those royal people not realize it was in their food?-

I grinned at his question.

"That's what I love most about this plant, when you boil it, it becomes scentless, tasteless, and colorless, but remains just as effective as it is in it's raw form."

Misty suddenly melted off my hand and moved along my forearm until she wrapped around my forearm tightly.

-Master, you're going to pick it, aren't you? Well, even if I can't smell myself, there is no way any girl can allow herself to smell like a dead body, even if the end result is useful.-

At her words, my tail suddenly wrapped around my waist. I frowned, why had it done that?

"....could it be that you don't want to get smelly either?"

The tailed tightened around my waist in affirmation.

A horrible thought occurred to me.

"C-could.....it be that your awareness is female?"

Another affirmation.

......

"But, as one of my appendages, even if you posses your own separate awareness isn't logical to be male, not female........Ah!"

Spikes were suddenly pressing through my shirt into the soft skin of my belly. I stopped walking immediately.

"Ahahaha.....w-well, in the end, I suppose it doesn't matter what gender you are....."

The spikes broke skin and I could feel blood begin to drip down from my stomach. Misty seemed quite amused by the situation.

-Master, that was the wrong thing to say, girls must be flattered, not dismissed, despite being an immortal being, it seems you still lack skill in a very important area~-

I growled quietly at her.

"I am perfectly capable, I'm just not used to having to sweet talk my own appendages...."

I felt the spikes begin to go deeper and grow larger, I needed to defuse the situation now!

"Ah, umm, of course I meant to say that it's only natural that such a soft white tail be a girl, i-it suits you perfectly...."

The spikes stopped for a moment, as though my tail was considering my apology, then I felt them shrink rapidly away.

Phew~

My tail then tightened against my wounds, I winced at the pain, then I felt a pleasant warmth radiate out from my tail, completely washing away the pain of the holes it had punctured in my stomach.

Eh? My tail had healing magic? It seems growing spikes isn't it's...erm... Her only ability....I wonder what other things she can do.....but for some reason I feel as though if I try to find out, bad things will happen......

The dangerous situation suffused, I continued to follow the scent, and soon came upon a tiny clearing filled with dead plants and leaves that crackled under the soles of my bare feet. The scent of the Corpse Breath came from the very center of the clearing. Misty suddenly spoke up.

-Um, Master, this just occurred to me, but that plant was from another world, right? Isn't it possible that it doesn't have the same properties here as it did in that world?-

I smiled slightly at her question.

"No, I'm quite sure."

Misty seemed more confused than ever.

"Eh? How can you be sure? This is the first time you've seen it in this world, right? So there's no way you've verified that it has the same properties....."

My smile grew even wider.

"I know because it's one of the interesting plants I created and spread throughout the universe before I made my deal with Fate~"

-This does seem to be the kind of plant Master would call interesting.....-

An evil thought passed into my mind and I plucked a leaf off the plant, conscious to not breath through my nose since the smell was a bit too overpowering for my sensitive sense of smell at close quarters.

"Of course....it could have cross-pollinated with other plants and created a variant species that didn't have the same properties as the original plant....Here Void, eat this, I made sure that it would effect all species the same way."

Void began to slink away from my shoulder, I grabbed him and held to smelly leaf to where I sensed his face.

-Papa......do I really have to eat that smelly thing? Can't you boil it first?-

Bah, and give up on some revenge for all the grief you've given me over the years!? No Way!!!

"Eat It!"

Void reluctantly took the leaf from my hand and I could here him begin to chew it.

-Blergh, it tastes almost as bad at it smells.....-

Void quickly swallowed the leaf.

I stood there for several minutes, waiting for the plant to take effect.

Void suddenly straightened on my shoulder and twitched.

.......bbbbBBBBBUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPPpppppppp........

Void relaxed slightly.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Mere seconds after Void burped, I felt a sphere of space a little ways away from me vanish, destroying several tree trunks at the same time. The tree's foliage, now unsupported by their trunks, began to crash down onto the clearing. Snatching the Corpse Breath, I then turned and dashed quickly away from the crashing wave of leaves and branches that thundered in my ears.

Hrm, Void's burp had done that? It seems the little parasite might have a use after all......

Before I could expound further on my track of thoughts, Void once again stiffened on my shoulder.

Hrmmm, it seems I'll have to delay going to school until the effects wears off......how long did it last again?

..................

Back At The School:

Arvid stared worriedly at the impenetrable sphere of black that surrounded the teachers.

"Hrm.....Maybe telling them I existed wasn't Boss's best decision in the long run.....What could they be talking about in there? Ergh, if only I had thought to leave a little bit of consciousness with Boss, then I could have warned him, but it's impossible at the moment......"

As soon as the teachers had heard that the little monster known as Felix wasn't present in school, they had immediately gathered together, minus Professor Raina, of course, and cast a spell that created a bubble of space that was completely separate from the area around them, thus, Arvid was unable to hear their conversation, or even touch them so he could break their conspiratorial group apart.

Arvid was quite right to worry, for within the distorted space, the teachers were discussing the best way to ensure Felix Bardon could never return to their school again.

Eamon was leading the discussion. While in the beginning of their acquaintance, Felix's innovative ideas in magical theory might have led to a good friendship, the 'special training' Felix forced all of the teachers through soon ended any chance of that.

"No, how many times do I have to say it, we can't just curse him or bind him to ensure he stays away, that little monsters understanding of magical theory is beyond anything I've ever seen before, he'd be able to free himself in mere seconds from any spell we place directly on him. What we need to do is somehow keep him away from the school and the origin of the spell we use to do so. Probably something with a large range of effect, but a point of origin that can only be dispelled in person...."

One of the other teachers spoke up.

"Well, the kid is blind, right? Can't we somehow use that to our advantage?"

Eamon began to shake his head in rejection of the idea, then paused, considering something.

"The level of that monsters senses is extremely hard to deal with, but I don't believe they're infallible, there must be something we can use to disorient him.....Ah, if I remember correctly, that kid's file said he was from Ediraseth......That place is well known for it's rocky ground, it's possible that Felix doesn't have much experience navigating looser earth.....Let's cast a wide range spell that turns the surrounding area into sand! Hrm.....but that kid has wings too, though I've never seen him fly, he most definetly can......we'll need to cast a Very strong wind spell to keep him out of the air.....That should mess with his hearing and sense of smell as well....."

Miss Drake stepped forward, pointing out a major flaw in his plan.

"What if he just gets someone to lead him to the school..."

Eamon frowned.

"I hadn't thought about that.......Ah, there is a spell that blinds anyone in it's radius, that should work pretty well, though I'll need to alter it a bit so it doesn't effect the school.......Still, it seems we have a pretty good plan laid out, let's get started, oh, though we'll need to set up the spells outside of the school so that Arvid thing can't mess with our plan...We had best get started right away, there's no telling when that kid might come back, though he's visiting the bandits, which is a few days ride by carriage away, that kid's body can definitely travel a lot faster than that."

At Eamon's words, the teachers immediately began to manipulate the spacial spell to move it out of the reach of the school. They weren't taking any chances, whether with being caught by Arvid, or having Felix return before they finish their work.

................

Felix's Point of View:

Void finally stopped emitting burps of destruction after almost an entire day had passed. I was a bit sweaty from having to dodge falling trees all the time, I didn't dare fly in case one of Void's burps my wings, and being at the heart of the forest, it would take at least a day to make it out on foot. I had been making my way steadily in that direction between the incidences of destruction.

"Hrmmm, it seems this actually was a variant, the effects last a lot longer than the original.......still, nothing else seems to have changed, so I guess it's fine~"

Void was sagging on my shoulders, exhausted from all the energy he had expended in his burps. Misty rippled around my forearm in amusement.

-Heh, Master, so the chicken-lizard had magical burps? It's weirdness seems to fit him perfectly~-

I flicked Void's weary head.

"Hmph, through our bond, I get wings, a tail, and soon-to-be in existence ears, while he gets a power up grade and destructive burps..........It's Not FAIR!!!!"

-Master.......-

My tail stroked my face comfortingly.

"..........Argh! Whatever, let's just get back to the school, I need to rework my plans to involve these new factors..."

I happily patted my chest, sensing the Corpse Breath stored safely in a little storage stone I had just created while running away from falling trees.

I could feel the air around me began to clear of objects as I came closer to the more sparse forest edge.

Finally, I stepped clear of all the trees.........and fell flat on my face. Void went tumbling off my shoulder.

-P-Papa!? Ah! I can't see!-

I spat sand out of my mouth, Eh? Had Void inherited my blindness? Sweet! It serves him right!

Misty spoke up, crushing my hopes.

-Erm, I know I don't have eyes, but the sense I use to 'see' isn't working either.....-

"Ugh, it must be some kind of magical effect then..."

I stretched my magical sense out....yep, the air was full of mana, there were some major spells going on around here.

"No wonder I don't remember feeling sand here from before, someone's conjured it!"

Hrm....from the level of mana filling the air, it's a very large range spell.....could those teachers have finally worked up the nerve to get rid of me?

I struggled to my feet and took at step forward, or more accurately, attempted to take a step.

The sand caused the strong vibrations I was used to feeling from solid ground shatter and spin in a way that completely disoriented me. I swayed to the side, my balance completely upset by the change.

"It seems I overlooked the aspect of terrain in my development of my senses...... I'll need to address this problem later....But for now I need to get back to school, it sure is a good thing I'm able to fly~"

As I was unfurling my wings in preparation for flight, an unnaturally strong gust of wind suddenly blew from the direction of the school and caught my open wings, blasting my body back into a tree.

"Oof! That hurt! Ehehe, it seems as though that conditioning I gave them in planning and plotting paid off, they've covered all their bases properly, Ahhh, I'm so proud~"

Misty shifted uncertainly on my arm.

-Um, Master? I don't think this is the time for you to be overcome by the pride of a teacher. It seems that it is impossible to return to your school now....-

I blinked at Misty's words.

"Eh? While the timing of their rebellion is quite unfortunate, it doesn't mean we can't return to school, it just means that it'll take a little longer because of this unexpected training opportunity."

-......Eh?-

Void tiredly stumbled to my leg and began to climb slowly back to his perch.

-Papa has a fixation with training, once he finds something lacking, he tries to solve it as soon as possible, because he really enjoys working with something he stinks at and then slowly getting better, though slow might not be the best term with Papa's comprehension and training speed. Since he already has a fairly strong basis in his senses, altering his approach for this new terrain will only take a few days....-

.....Was it just me, or did Void just sound kind of smart just then?.......Eh, whatever, time to start training~

Sorry there weren't any updates last week, I was so busy that I didn't even have time to log onto the computer to announce there would be no chapters. [th_0gotas.gif]