2-14 Deserving

As the rain continued to pour, the Fox-kin and the Wolf-kin made their way through the forest with celerity and perseverance. They took advantage of the trees by traversing on the branches. It was faster and most of the monsters didn’t have the ability to scale even slopes, but one monster among the others pursuing them, had no need for such ability. Sounds of trees falling and ground tremoring were blasting behind them but neither of the two glanced back over their shoulders. Crimson lightning bolts streaked and grazed past them intermittently but they stayed their gazed at the path ahead of them.

“We’re getting further and further away from the caravans,” said Siv as a lightning bolt missed her and struck a tree beside her. “This beast is absolutely relentless. We’ll tire ourselves out before we can lose it.”

“There’s a clearing up ahead. You can take a turn there. I’ll draw the bear to me,” Erin suggested.

“Unwise, Lady Erin. I refuse.”

“Siv, the bear is chasing me, not us. I’m the one it wants.”

Siv cast a passive gaze with a hint of surprise.

“I mean I’m the reason the monsters attacked.”

“...Of course that would be the case,” Siv murmured after a brief moment of silence.

Erin stared. “You knew?”

“Every time we had a Fae with us, the troubles that we encountered are always correlated to that Fae.”

Erin felt a needle sunk into her heart. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.

“You mistook my meaning, Lady Erin. I’m not condemning you. Though Fae have brought us troubles, there was always profit in these troubles.”

“I’m afraid there won’t be any profits this time.”

“There’s profit to be found behind us,” Siv uttered as she lowered head; a lightning bolt streaked over her. “If we can subjugate it, of course.”

“Your sanguine thoughts are admirable,” Erin said and backhanded a Rock Ape away as it pounced at her from her blindside but all too obvious for her Sixth Sense.

[Experience gained +1% - Level Progression: 65%]

The Razor Grizzly was ever obstinate with its pursuit. It had kept the two in its sight for the whole time, never once losing sight of them. For a beast of its weight, it possessed speed that far exceeded one’s expectation. Even after running for a prolonged period, its speed did not wane by the slightest. However, its tenacity was not a will of its own but the desperation of its puppeteer.

“Sanguine or not.” Siv glanced back briefly over her shoulder. “This gigantic beast of a bear sure can run with its weight.”

“The Grizzly has been enthralled by some spell. Its will is not its own.”

“Can’t you break the spell?”

If they weren’t with their lives at stake, Erin would have frowned deeply. “If I can, we won’t be running,” she said.

“You can’t?” Siv tilted her expression. “Isn’t magic tampering a quirk of the Faerie-kin?”

Erin remembered asking Nivia the same question. “Misconception and pure generalizing!” she repeated Nivia’s answers in a shout as more lightning bolts flew past them.

“I stand corrected,” Siv replied. “But we can’t keep running forever.”

“We won’t.” Erin pointed ahead. “There’s a ravine up ahead. I can tell it's deep.”

Siv followed Erin’s finger and found a ravine with a gap of around three meters. “I see that but the gap’s too small to swallow a colossal beast like the Grizzly.”

Erin drew her broadsword. “I can take care of that.” She infused the blade with Arcane Edge and Lightning Magic.

As they approached the ravine, they put strength into their feet and jumped when they reached the edge of their path. For the two with animalistic traits and the Fleet Foot skill, covering such a distance jump was a minor feat. But as they landed on the other side, Erin plunged her sword into the ground. The biding magic within the blade was unleashed into the soil. The ground exploded, forming cracks on the cliff.

“Stay back!” Erin yelled at Siv.

The Razor Grizzly caught up to the two at the ravine. It effortlessly leaped from the cliff to the other side but when it landed, its weight forced the ground to give in to its excessive demand. The ground began to fracture and piece by piece, the land on the edge of the ravine crumbled away. The Grizzly soon tumbled its way into the ravine as it struggled to escape its plight.

The destruction spread fast and far, reaching Erin before she could recover from her caper.

“Oh fuck,” Erin cursed, her face paling at the bind she put herself in. Before she could scamper to safety, the ground slanted from the fractures and she too lost her foothold like the Grizzly. The soil was too slippery from the rain to be properly trod on. Erin was only able to hold on by hanging on the broadsword she used as the catalyst to cause this devastation.

Pieces of the ground crumbled more and more into the depths below, forming a gap more than double of its former width.

The Razor Grizzly roared out its dissent for its fate and thrust its claws into the intact soil as the ones beneath its feet gave out. It locked its glare on the Fox-kin who was just a few in front of it.

“Lady Erin!” Siv exclaimed as she rushed to aid the Fox-kin. She extended her arm from solid ground. “Reach for my hand!”

Erin reached out but there was more than a foot between their hands.

The Grizzly took swipes at Erin’s feet and tails which were dangling right in front of its eyes. When it realized the futility in its current actions, it shifted tactic on the command of its instincts. It dug its claws deep and firmly into the soil. It curled up its limbs, preparing for a leap.

“Fucking hell, you’re not as dim as you look.” Erin uttered another curse at that sight, but her face was lit up with the same idea. She retracted her hand and gripped the hilt of her broadsword tightly with two hands.

“Lady Erin, what are you doing!?” Siv was starting to panic as she too could see what the Grizzly was about to do.

Erin clad the tip of her tails with Arcane Armor and she pierced them into the ground. She bade herself good fortune and released her grip on the broadsword. She bent her tails as she fell before straightening them, springing herself into the air.

“Whoa...” Siv gasped as her agapes eyes followed Erin’s caper.

Erin landed into a roll and stopped with one knee on the ground. “Ouch...” she groaned. She clutched her tails in a hug. “This hurts so fucking bad...”

“Lady Erin, what about your sword?” Siv asked.

“It’s just a sword...” Erin muttered in response. “In the end, it’s just a sword....”

Before Siv could offer her condolences, the Razor Grizzly emerged from its apparent fall, in the air, with its claws bared.

Erin made an abrupt decision and instantly allocated all of her ability points into Arcane and all of her skill points into Lightning Magic.

[Arcane: 20 increased to 22]

[Lightning Magic: Level 2 increased to Level 4]

As if responding to her desperation, Erin acquired a Lightning Magic spell that fit the criteria she was pleading for in her heart; Lightning Spear. An offensive spell with more precision and destruction than the staple Lightning Bolt but at the expense of a higher Mana consumption. A spear made of lightning of two meters in length, manifested into Erin’s hand upon the spellcast.

[Warning: Magic Vigour is under 25% threshold]

“Then this spell better do wonders.”

Just as the Grizzly landed, she threw the spear of lightning at the colossal beast. The Grizzly was too focused on recovering its footing to give any attention to the spell coming its way. The spell hit its mark and clouds of dirt were raised from the ensuing explosion. The spell wasn’t enough to break through its tough hide but it did what Erin had hoped for it to do, it pushed the Grizzly back just enough for it to slip on its footing. Its eyes widened as it spared its last despairing glance at the faintly grinning Fox-kin. A second transpired and the Grizzly fell into the ravine.

The Razor Grizzly’s bellow of rage trailed off as it fell into the depths.

[Experienced gained +5% - Level Progression: 70%]

“Huh, that little… I guess the bear’s not dead then. This is merely the reward for escaping the plight. I can work with this.”

The rain was beginning to recede and the thunderclaps were getting fewer.

“Did you kill it?” Siv asked.

Erin slumped to the ground as she caught her breath. “I didn’t,” she answered. “But it won’t be coming to pursue me for a long while.”

“Us, Lady Erin. It was pursuing us.”

Erin eyed the Wolf-kin curiously. “Thank you,” Erin smiled.

“But I didn’t manage to save you, Lady Erin.”

“You knew it was only coming after me but you came back to help me, regardless of the results. Therefore, you have my gratitude, Siv.”

“T-thank you, Lady Erin.” Siv was about to bow but Erin stopped her.

“Don’t do that. I’m not good with formalities. And please, just call me Erin.”

“You are a Fae and you saved my life. I have yet to repay my debt. Addressing you as Lady Erin is the least I can do for now.”

Seeing the obstinance in Siv, Erin relented in changing the Wolf-kin’s way of addressing her.

Siv threw her gaze towards a dense bush. “We’re not out of peril yet, Lady Erin.” The bushes rustled.

“So it seems,” Erin agreed with her and pushed herself to her feet. She drew her saber and her broadsword but her left hand felt only the empty air. “Oh right… it’s gone...”

“Can you still fight, Lady Erin?”

“Of course I can. Who do you think I am?” Erin wasn’t crowing. From the scent she picked up, she knew what she was facing and even in her exhausted state, they were nothing to her skill.

Nine Serks appeared from the bushes, but that was it. There were no more beasts or animals in the vicinity. The appearance of the Razor Grizzly had driven almost all of the faunas from their habitats. The beasts that were still lingering around were only those under the control of the mysterious Necromancer. Aside from the ones creeping in the bushes, the ones closest to them were on the other side of the ravine.

“Can you fight?” Erin threw the same question.

“That goes without saying, milady.” Siv answered and protruded her claws. “For Beast-kin, our body is a weapon.”

“So, you take four, I take four? And for the last one; let’s see who’s faster.”

“Aye,” Siv nodded and instantly broke into a dash.

Her claws found two Serks’ heads as she swiped unhesitatingly. She spun and her kick found another head of a Serk, snapping its neck with the brutish strength of her leg. The fourth Serk pounced from the side but Siv moved fast and caught it by its neck. She snarled and crushed the poor beast’s neck. When she had eliminated four of the Serks, she eyed the fifth one. She bent her legs, ready to lunge— but a saber whirled through the air and carved right into the head of the last Serk. Siv looked over to Erin, who already had four headless Serk’s around her.

“I won,” Erin declared with a rasping breath.

[Experience gained +5% - Level Progression: 75%]

Siv’s gaze was attracted to the clean cut of the headless stumps of Serks. There was no hesitation in the Fox-kin’s swings, not the slightest. She had seen swordsmen twice the level of Erin but their swordsmanship was never this refined. With her tails flourishing about as a backcloth and her skin stained with the blood of her prey come victims, Siv couldn’t help but feel the need to lower her head to the Fox-kin. Although she didn’t have an extreme prejudicial opinion like her brother, she did have her own preconceived notion of Fae in general. However, the entirety of that notion was shattered by Erin.

“Beautiful...” Siv breathed.

“Sorry?” Erin raised an eyebrow as she retrieved her saber from the Serk.

“I meant no offense but your beauty is truly astounding, even by the standards of Beast-kin and my tribe,” Siv responded swiftly without a tremble in her voice.

“I-is that so...” Erin looked away as red filled her face.

“It is, milady.” Siv nodded with a fervent expression. “Your beauty is no ostentation. Your prowess complements it well.”

“I-I’m honored...”

“No, it is I who’s honored by you, Lady Erin.” Her nod turned into a slight bow. “It’s a common tragedy that beauty is often wasted on those who are undeserving.”

“Anyways, do you know these lands?” Erin asked, trying her best to steer the conversation onto a sensible path. She felt that she was on the brink of becoming an idol of worship in the eyes of Siv.

“Only what I had heard from Lord Crom and Lord Hegan during their many conversations.”

“Anywhere we could likely meet up with the caravan?”

“The descent of the hills is at least a day away. There’s a settlement there at the base of the descent. A fishing village by the name of Sapphire Fork.”

“Fancy name,” Erin mused. “Beautiful village, I reckon.”

“They say the water there glitters like sapphire under the sun, a sight to behold, and the river splits into two streams that surrounds the village. Hence the name.”

“Half a day away… Well, we can’t go back where we came so forward it is. Looks like we’ll be sleeping in the woods for the night.”

“My tribe lives among nature and so does the Fae, or so I have heard. I’m sure sleeping in the woods won’t be a problem for us.”

Then a growl echoed from the Wolf-kin’s belly. Red touched her cheeks.

Erin smiled warmly. “But first, we’ll need to fill our belly.”

Siv nodded meekly.

Erinthea - Faerie-kin: Three-Tailed Fox-kin

Level: 13 | Status: Moderate Exhaustion

Might: 20 | Arcane: 22 | Finesse: 19

Magic Arts

Spirit Magic Lv. 8 | Arcane Edge Lv. 4 | Arcane Armor Lv. 6 | Lightning Magic Lv. 4

Combat Arts

Sword Art Lv. 7 | Fleet Foot Lv. 5 | Brawler Lv. 4

Innate Skills

Appraisal Lv. Ex | Night Vision Lv. Ex | Sixth Sense Lv. Ex | Toxin Resistance Lv. 1 | Lust Deviant Lv. Ex

Unique Talent

Mystic Blade Lv. Ex | Revenant Lv. Ex

Level Progression: 75%

Remaining Skill Points: 0

Remaining Ability Points: 0