Chapter 53 – Selene

*Dsh*

*BOOM*

A combo attack came from the front. One shot to the forehead, and the seismic slam of an ice hammer right on top. The first to weaken the stone armor, and the second to shatter it. Both were achieved as the armor on the tiger's forehead became cracked all over. 

The tiger was forced to bow down into the floor under the impact. Though it quickly recovered and flared up its body in pure rage.

*ROARRR*

Flames came from the cracks between the tiger's armor as it took a large swipe at the girl in front of it. Luna, the girl in question, quickly made distance and avoided the claws. Another shot came from over her shoulder.

*Dsh*

*ROARR!!*

The bullet went straight for the eye, blinding its right side. At the same time, Iris jumped on top it's back from behind and went straight for the cracked head, biting and clawing up chunks of stone from its flesh.

Since Iris could control flames herself, this meant that she had a good deal of resistance to other fire. And when she was in her fox form, this was only amplified. So she had no worries about the flames of the tiger.

The tiger didn't plan on letting the fox do what she wanted though. It tried to shake and claw at the fox near its head, but the fox kept evading it. All the while, it was having its armor torn to bits. It wasn't a pleasant thing, even if it were happening slowly.

Luna wasn't idle while this was happening. She disappeared as the tiger was distracted and moved to its side, jumping up and slamming down on another plate of armor near its neck.

*BOOM*

*ROARRR!!!*

The effects were greater as its armor was already partially damaged. Anything that was together wasn't anymore. This also served to disorient the tiger. 

Impact weapons were the obvious choice for enemies with tough exteriors and weak interiors. Just because you couldn't break the outside, doesn't mean you couldn't liquify the insides. 

The tiger began to feel threatened for its life. It had one person hammering, and the other tearing its armor off. It did the only thing it could think of in that chaotic situation. Burn them!

*ROARR!!*

Flames began spewing out from every crack and crevice on the tiger. Not shallow flames either, but ones that quickly filled the entire room. It decided that if it couldn't see the enemy, it just needed to attack everywhere. 

Little did it know that the people in the room couldn't be worse opponents for it. One ice gladiator, one fire fox, and one marksman who couldn't be burned. 

Luna put up her shield to block the flames coming at her face. The other two did nothing as they took it without consequences. 

This went on for several seconds. The entire arena was blazing with fire. And although it seemed as if nothing bad was happening, Dream was preparing for the actual threat that fire posed. 

Three ingredients are needed for fire. Fuel, heat, and most important of all, oxygen. So what happens when fire fills a confined space? It burns up all the oxygen. 

'You ready Scarlet?'

'Yes.'

When the fire went out due to lack of oxygen, Iris and Dream both began channeling their air magic. Wind began blowing everywhere as all the carbon gas was swept out of the arena, and fresh air from the outside took its place. 

When that was finished, the tiger looked around fiercely. The three had disappeared once again, and it was about to begin filling the place with fire once more, but it was stopped before it could do so.

The armor around its head and neck was totally shattered, with a lot having been torn off leaving only flesh exposed. And since it had been positively blistering with rage, the tiger didn't realize that it had been primed for execution.

*Shing*

*Thud*

<You have killed a level 111 [Fire Stone Beast]>

<You have gained Experience!>

Luna came down with an oversized axe of ice and cleanly decapitated the tiger. The fleshy insides couldn't put up any fight against the sheer weight and sharpness behind that blade. 

When she landed on the floor, two more people appeared near the corpse of the tiger.

"*sigh* I think that went rather well." (Dream)

"It was easier than I expected." (Iris)

"That's what happens when we properly plan things." (Luna)

All three nodded to each other.

"You guys level up?"

"Yup." (x2)

"Noice. I got two levels."

"Same." (Luna)

"Same too. But you only shot it like 4 times! Why do you get the same amount?" (Iris)

"Well for one, 6x experience. Two, I provided stealth which was key in this battle."

"...Oh, right." (Iris)

"Anyway, good job to both of you. We defeated the king." (Dream)

"Indeed." 

A voice came from the entrance of the arena. The three spun around. It was one everyone here recognized. 

"You like the show, Old Man?"

"Dad?!" (Iris)

Luna and Iris looked on in surprise. Riddick smirked seeing that.

"Heh, did you think I wouldn't notice you three leaving the building? Don't worry though, I'm not mad."

Riddick walked into the arena and up to the tiger's body.

"This'll sell nicely." (Riddick)

"I'll leave it with you then." (Dream)

Riddick stored the corpse in his inventory and turned to the three.

"Like the boy said earlier, congratulations on defeating the king. Or better yet, your first 2nd class monster. This barrier is one of the most difficult to pass for every hunter, believe it or not. Most people will never defeat a 2nd class in their lives, let alone become a 2nd class themselves. Even rarer for a 1st class to defeat a 2nd class king. I'm proud of your efforts up until now."

"Hehe, thanks dad."

Both girls smiled at their father's praise. 

"Did you know?" (Dream)

"I had my guesses. Seeing you guys work so hard and develop weapons designed specifically for the stone beasts doesn't leave many things to guess about. But I didn't want to stop you. This is a part of every hunter's life, and the fact that you guys took the initiative to challenge yourselves is a good thing. Your planning, preparation, cooperation, and execution were all great. Though the only reason I allowed this is because you guys are you. Your levels of power have already reached second class. I sense high levels of magic from all of you, as well as that regeneration technique of yours, boy."

"Oh, that reminds me, do you want that too?"

"I might try it if its better than mine. We have things to talk about as well, but for now, let's head back and sleep for the rest of the night. We can talk tomorrow."

Everyone nodded and made their way out of the dungeon. They knocked out once they got to their bedrooms.

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

.........

....

The next day after breakfast, Dream, the girls, and Riddick met in Dream's room.

"What did you want to talk about, Old Man?"

The four sat down on the big couch in the living area.

"Since you guys are at the doorway to class 2, as well as moving a lot faster than I expected, I wanted you to think about the idea of holding off your advancement until we get to the Spire. This implies that we wouldn't spend much more time here and instead head off. The reason is that learning as much as you can and possibly getting more skills would be extremely beneficial to your advancements." (Riddick)

"Alright. You said something about an academy too, didn't you?"

"There is a school, yes. But I'm starting to rethink you three entering it. You see, I can't guarantee that things are still safe, and so, we'll be entering and staying at the Spire while keeping things quiet. I'm friends with one of the higher-ups there and he'll be able to help us out."

"That's something else I was wondering about. If it's not too intrusive, I'd like to know what the hell happened with you and your 'soul mate'. Why a 3rd class such as yourself has to hide."

"..."

When dream asked that question, Riddick went quiet. He looked over to his daughters and saw the longing in their eyes. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"*sigh* I guess it's fine. You know that there are two main continents. One ruled by humans and one by animals. Well, I had gone to explore the other continent many years ago, looking for anything that might help me further my magical studies. And one of the best places to do that was the biggest empire on the continent, the United Empire of Humanoids. So I went there and stayed for a while, studying, learning from the humanoids there, all sorts of things. It was during this time that I met your mother."

Riddick looked at the girls as he said that.

"Long story short, we met each other by chance and our relationship quickly grew. Heh, she was a conniving, mischievous girl, but it was part of her charm. Playing pranks, getting in trouble, she did it all. Anyway, I eventually came to know who she was. Her name is Selene, and she is the daughter of the council member known as Raoul."

"What's a council member?"

"The United Empire is run by council members. I believe there are around 12. And every single one of them are 4th class. Raoul is one of them. He is a 4th class Fox. Not only is he a 4th class, but he's one of the leaders of the entire United Empire. He holds a huge amount of power which consists of basically his entire Fox species, of which there are millions, as well as parts of the empire's combat power. So when his daughter decided to have a child with a 3rd class mage from the human empires, he was not happy."

"Wait a second, so Luna and Iris are the grandchildren of a 4th class Fox?"

"That is correct."

"Hot damn! Old Man, I have more respect for you now! Stealing a princess from the most powerful Empire in the world and having children, it takes some massive balls to that!"

"Hmph."

Dream saw Riddick smile ever so slightly at the compliment. He was probably feeling smug since he did indeed do just that. He continued.

"Anyway, when he found out that Selene was pregnant, he basically locked her up. He then sent people out to come and find me, wanting an explanation as well as my head. Luckily, we had sort of prepared for such an event. Selene escaped and we found each other, quickly escaping towards the Human continent. Which we were able to do, but not without spilling much blood of the warriors he sent after us.

The next thing we tried to do was take refuge in the Human empires. Unfortunately, after knowing the situation none of the Empire's were willing to take on the consequences of angering Raoul. Though they weren't about to bend to his will either and at least didn't turn us over, which helped immensely. We kept running between the Empires and small kingdoms for about a year before Selene finally gave birth to these two. And although it was a wonderful thing, it also meant we had more to protect.

Our next engagements quickly gave away the fact that the children had been born, which was quickly relayed over to Raoul. After that, the people chasing us got reinforcements with the orders to take the children as well. Things went downhill fast, and one day, they had finally driven us into a corner.

7 class 3's specializing in assassination. We knew we couldn't get away that time, at least not without consequences. So Selene decided to give herself up, leaving me with the kids. She didn't want them to be raised at the United Empire where they would learn to hate their father, and nothing would happen to her if she went back. Things would calm down with her there and I could disappear with the kids. It was the best option we had, even if I didn't want to. So, Selene was taken back to the empire and I disappeared to that forest."

Riddick stopped there, though Dream was confused about something.

"Why couldn't you disappear to the forest with Selene?"

"Because Foxes have certain innate abilities that allow them to track other foxes using their souls. Especially the powerful ones. Selene could never hide herself since she was 3rd class and the aura she gave off was too strong."

"What about them?"

"Since the girls were babies, they weren't powerful enough to give away anything to track."

Dream nodded. He had more questions like what other innate abilities they had and how they worked, but now wasn't the time.

The girls sat there and took everything in. They weren't that shocked though since they had already gotten a gist. 

"...So what do we do then?" (Iris)

Iris looked up towards Riddick.

"You guys won't be doing anything except not catching lots of attention. I'm the one who's got to stay careful. While we were running, everybody came to know the situation and my name. So if word gets out that I'm back, it may cause trouble, especially if people back at the United Empire find out. But don't worry, we aren't going to hide forever. 

It's only been a month since we've left the forest, but I'm beginning to see the way forward. If I can get to 4th class, then nobody will be able to stand in my way. And one place that will help is the Spire. There, I'll be able to practice my magic and develop myself. There are also places that might help me raise my level. You guys will also be able to develop there. So that's the place we need to go."

Riddick laid out his plan for the future, which consisted of him trying to get stronger. And while Dream had no complaints, he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave just yet.

"Keeping things on the down-low won't be an issue. And I think it would be good to go to the Spire as well. But I'm hoping you'll be okay with staying here a bit longer."

"I wasn't planning on leaving right away, but why?"

"I have some things I want to do. One of them is learning enchanting. I was going to talk to Graff about bringing me to an enchanter so I could watch and learn. Another reason is that this place holds many valuable materials. I was planning on going to both of you for that so we could stock on some. They would help us in case we needed something made. Last but not least, I have a project that's been put off, but I think now is the time to complete it since it'll need the help of you, Graff, and probably everyone else."

"So you want to know how to enchant weapons. It's very difficult, but nothing you couldn't handle. So how much longer did you want to stay?"

"As long as it takes to do those three things. It shouldn't be more than a couple of weeks though."

"...Alright. That's fine. I guess we aren't exactly in a rush."

"Thanks."

Dream nodded while planning out the future.