A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 4: Discussions Between Monsters, Gods, and Tricksters
The demi-humans that were approaching our location would be child's play to eradicate for me. While it could save me a lot of time, I also was a bit curious of the capabilities of my new comrades and a few enemies to fight against would give me a slight idea of what they could and couldn't do. Didn't mean that I wouldn't help them take care of some of the raiding demi-humans.
Better stick to using 3rd Tier spells so I didn't wipe out all of the raiders with one spell. Also, I needed to keep the collateral damage to a minimum since this farmer probably couldn't afford to lose too much of his land. My traps had enough space between the woods and the farmer's land to avoid setting anything on fire from the initial explosion. It also helped that since these enemies were so weak, they were immolated instantly.
I could smell the stench of burning ogre and goblin from here, and it was bad enough that I started breathing solely from my mouth to avoid inhaling the scent into my nose. This was going to be an issue if I ever encounter smells worse than burning goblin and ogre. I seriously needed to get a handle on my nose if I wanted to avoid becoming incapacitated because of it.
Regardless of smells, I had to rein in the fire spells unless I wanted this farm to go up in flames. Earth spells were out as well because of the damage that they caused from either upturning the ground or launching heavy rock projectiles in any direction. Since it seemed that spells had more permanence here than compared to YGGDRASIL, then a bunch of large boulders weren't going to disappear from the area anytime soon.
Wind spells used too much AoE that made me worried about hitting any of my companions. But lightning spells, and spells that focused on single targets could work. They were highly controlled with very little risk of injuring my companions or causing collateral damage, and that was great for me as my class [World Disaster] made offensive spells I used more destructive than what they'd normally be. Lightning was the simplest choice, and I had a spell that could fit my earlier criteria.
I looked over to Peter and Dyne, "You two are going to need better protection if you plan to attack those raiders up close." I stated before placing my hands on the shoulders of both men. "[Body of Steel]" When I said this, both men were covered in a soft metallic glow that faded, "[Mana Font]." The next spell covered them in a gold aura before it faded away as well.
The first spell was a simple 2nd Tier spell that enhanced the defensive capabilities of whoever it was cast on. It was essentially a required spell for certain low-level caster classes because of how most caster classes couldn't wear armor unless they used a class changing spell. I stopped using that spell a long time ago since I both learned better protective spells and got the perk [Tails of Adamantine] which essentially made my tails indestructible and allowed me to use them as a shield if needed.
While I rarely if ever used the first spell, the second, [Mana Font], let me convert my mana into stamina that I could then transfer to another character or I could give that character mana from my reserves. It was rare for players in YGGDRASIL to ever learn that spell because, for most characters, mana is a limited resource that takes hours to recharge.
While the stamina boost was nice for physical fighting classes and the mana transfer could pool mana from other casters into another player who was the designated nuke, it was too expensive and would suck most casters dry after a few minutes. For me, that wasn't an issue as I always had an immense amount of mana to burn…
I just never really had friends that I could use that spell on. But that is something that hopefully might change with the new allies I've gained.
"Kashia, what did you just do?" Peter asked as he inspected his body.
"Both you and Dyne are a lot tougher than before. It'll take a good blow to really scratch you. You're also not going to get tired as long as my enhancements on you last." I explained as my ears twitched to a noise behind us. Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted Ninya and Lukrut running up to us.
"Just who I wanted to see." I stated as the two quickly climbed over the wooden fence and joined us. Not even bothering to explain, I buffed the two of them like I'd done for Peter and Dyne.
"Wha-" Lukrut was about to ask before I quickly interrupted him.
"I gave both of you some enhancements that'll make you tougher and prevent you from feeling fatigued." Looking back to Peter, "What's our plan?" I wanted to see what his leadership skills were like and this was a perfect moment to test him. Plus, if anyone got in trouble, I could easily bail them out if need be.
"Lukrut, focus your arrows on the goblins and try to take as many of them out as you can before they can reach Dyne and I. Kashia and Ninya, use your magic to injure and slow the ogres down. Dyne and I will be going out onto the front lines to deal with anything that gets close." Peter drew his sword after saying this and turned to face the oncoming attackers.
Dyne pulled out his mace and joined Peter as both started moving forwards. I heard the 'twang' of a bow as my eyes spotted an arrow quickly flying past their heads before burying itself into the skull of a goblin from over 80 meters away. Glancing over, I spotted Lukrut already lining up another shot before letting another arrow fly through the air, hitting another goblin.
"Guess all that talk about your archery skills wasn't for show." I teased the archer before focusing my eyes onto the raiders. Thirteen ogres and sixteen goblins remaining. Time to even those numbers a bit.
Spotting three ogres marching together with four goblins following after them, I had a quick idea in mind and wanted to see what Ninya could do with her magic. "Ninya, know any water spells?"
"A few, but they aren't powerful enough to hurt the goblins or ogres. My [Magic Arrow] would be more effective in damaging them." The girl quickly replied.
"I don't need you to hurt them, just get the group of three ogres and the area around them really wet. Can you do that?" I asked while pointing at the specific group. Ninya didn't seem to fully register what my plan was yet, but she quickly cast a spell that launched a large stream of water at the area from the tip of her staff.
The ogres and goblins showed great annoyance at becoming soaked in the magically conjured water as well as from trudging through the muddy soil, but they didn't slow down their pace which was fine with me. Holding my hand out I channeled my mana into my spell, "[Lightning Stream]." Which fired a continuous stream of lightning at the soaked ground.
It only took a moment before the electricity was conducted from the water and into the unlucky beings that were walking over the soaked ground. The entire group froze in place and began twitching as the electricity fried them from the inside out. When I finally cancelled the spell, all the ogres and goblins dropped to the ground like marionettes with their strings cut.
A quick survey of the battlefield told me that Lukrut had killed four more goblins while Dyne and Peter were battling an ogre that was about to be joined by some of its comrades. Ten ogres and eight goblins remained.
"A tip for you, Ninya, some spells can compliment and strengthen the effects of others." Channeling another lightning spell, I fired it at an ogre that was getting too close to Dyne and Peter. The moment the bolt of lightning hit the ogre in the head, it immediately spasmed in place before falling to the ground dead.
Ninya didn't have the same amount of ease with ogres like I did. She used a 1st Tier spell, [Magic Arrow], that, while damaging to goblins, barely pierced deeply into the tough flesh of the ogres. Lukrut seemed to be getting the second highest kill-count as he dropped three more goblins.
With Lukrut and Ninya having killed five goblins between the two of them, added with the ogre that I put down, we were left with only nine ogres and three goblins. I heard a battle cry from Peter who sliced the tendon in the back of the left leg of the ogre that he and Dyne were fighting.
It fell to one knee and gave Dyne the opportunity to swing his mace in the side of the ogre's skull with a loud crack. The ogre fell to its side and stopped moving while Peter and Dyne moved away from it and onto their next target.
With eight ogres being the only remaining remnants of their fighting force, I spotted two in the back of the pack that noticed the changing tide of the battle and ran away from the battle and into the woods. The rest of the ogres didn't take notice of this as they charged at Peter and Dyne with reckless abandon.
From the amount of time that it took those two to beat one ogre, I doubted that they could take on the six remaining ogres and survive. But even though I was going to do cleanup duty on the rest of the ogres, I believe that I've seen enough of their abilities to temporarily satisfy my curiosity.
Lukrut, for instance, is an excellent archer who made me curious about what would happen if I gave him a heavily enchanted bow to use? If he's a silver-plate adventurer right now with the skill he has and the weak bow that he has now, could better equipment allow him to rank up in the guild? Food for thought.
Ninya is a fine enough caster, but I think that she could do well with more spells learned for the level she is at. One thing you don't want to do as a low-level magic caster is put all your skill into one spell. I've seen new casters in YGGDRASIL who only bothered to learn one or two damage spells and would become floored when a player or NPC was completely resistant to that spell.
You need versatility as a low-level caster or you'll eventually encounter something that counters your spells. It's at higher levels that you can focus on specific areas in magic since after a high enough level most spell resistances could be ignored since, while a resistance to specific damage types can nullify part of the damage, a high enough amount of damage could ignore it.
Peter showed that he had good leadership skills with the way that he'd been put on the spot by the raiders. Quick-thinking is a skill needed to make decisions that could result in life or death. He could use better equipment, the entire group could, really.
Dyne showed that he was willing to fight on the front lines, and he did so competently. I didn't get to see all of the large man's skills, mainly because of how druid were usually healers, and none of us required healing right now.
But enough analysis, it's time to finish up this battle. Holding up my hand, "[Lightning: Arc Shot]!" A bolt of lightning flew from my hand and slammed into the head of the first ogre. Then, instead of just dispersing after the first ogre, it leaped from that ogre and onto the others. Finally, after a few more moments, the lightning faded and all six remaining ogres collapsed onto the ground, their hearts stopped from the massive influx of electricity in their bodies.
Ninya had of look of awe after my display of power while Lukrut chuckled. "I took down more. The ogres still only count as one." He joked.
"You know what they say, Lukrut, quality is better than quantity." I retorted. Looking to my other comrades, I spotted Peter and Dyne walking up to us with large, triumphant grins on their faces.
"Thanks for stopping those ogres before they got to us. I doubt that we could've taken them on, even with the magic you used to enhance us." Were the first words out of Peter's mouth. "I didn't know you were strong enough to kill that number of ogres simultaneously."
I shrugged at the remark, "I actually could've killed them all before they reached us. I really just wanted to see you guys in action, with me stepping in when needed. And, let me tell you, none of you disappointed me." I answered.
"We were very lucky to have met you then. None of us expected for the number of attackers to be that large. This should've been a job for a gold-plate adventurer or at least a larger party than us if you weren't here."
That did make me curious about what was happening out in the wilds that the humans here weren't paying attention to. From what I've seen and heard, humans in this kingdom don't really care about the demi-human races as long as they left humans alone. A large group of ogres and goblins like that shouldn't have been so hidden for the amount of time that they had been raiding.
From all evidence that I've seen, there must be something or someone that was uniting large groups of demi-humans in the woods. This also reminded me about what the goblins had said about the ogres being very hungry lately. I needed to get to the bottom of this, and either figure a way to end this violence peacefully or by force.
To do that, I needed some ogre or goblin to interrogate. And, as luck would have it, there were two ogres running through the woods right now.
"Hold the fort down here for a bit. I'm going to go after those ogres to find out some information." I told the others quickly as I ran towards the edge of the trees at a speed that most would be surprised to see coming from a woman in heels. After enough time wearing these boots, I stopped noticing any difficulty in walking or running, I assumed that it was because of my [Greater Agility] passive.
When I arrived at the edge of the woods, I got a good look at my trap handiwork from earlier. The entire area was littered with the charred remains of ogres and goblins that had instantly died from the explosions. That reminded me that I needed to remove my traps. So, with a thought, the traps quickly deactivated. With that taken care of, I quickly started sniffing the area. Trying to ignore the smell of burning flesh, I focused in on the stench of ogre that hadn't been overly charred like a bad steak.
I began running into the woods while following the scent. My search was also aided by the crushed vegetation that the ogres had trampled over in their effort to escape. Even with the head start that they had, I was quickly gaining on the two of them as both their stench became more pronounced, and my ears could pick up their loud stomps.
Ogres had the advantage against most weaker races due to their great strength and thick hide. They were built to be humanoid tanks that could take a hit and dish it out just as hard. Despite these natural advantages, they came with weaknesses. Their large size and heavy mass made them very slow, and they needed to consume an immense amount of calories to compensate for all the energy it takes to even move all that muscle.
It took me less than a minute for me to finally catch up to the ogres, and the moment I did, I cast the spell [Earthen Defense] which caused a wall composed of rock to rise up from the ground and block the path of the ogres. Both ogres turned around and spotted me as I slowed down to a walking pace about fourteen meters away from them.
"I have some questions that I want you to answer. Give me what I want to know now, and I can make this a simple conversation. Or you can-" The ogres didn't even give me time to finish as they started charging me. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the suicidal charge, didn't they just see me take out a bunch of their friends without a sweat?
With how weak these two were, I didn't even bother casting spells. Instead, I stabbed two of my invisible tails into the ground as anchors and the rest in front of my body as a shield. The moment that the two ogres slammed their clubs at me both wooden clubs snapped into splinters, leaving the ogres holding only handles of their former weapons.
"I feel that you don't understand the situation here," two of my tails snaked out from my shield and wrapped themselves around the necks of the ogres before lifting them off the ground, "right now, I'm your judge, jury, and even an executioner. I could crush both of your windpipes right now and be on my way, but I'm feeling quite merciful as I've killed quite a bit today."
After saying this, I slammed both ogres into the ground and moved two of my tails pointed down over their foreheads. Then, I let my illusion fade away to reveal my true glory!
Both ogres didn't even struggle as they quickly realized their situation. The moment they tried anything, I could stab my tails into their heads or crush their windpipes without a second thought. "Now that you are finally understanding what's happening, I hope that both of you can be more cooperative with me." I said in the friendliest tone that I could as a way to put them on edge. I remembered the way my mom could terrify me after I'd done something wrong by speaking in that very friendly tone.
Both ogres quickly nodded in reply and I slightly loosened my tails on their throats. "First of all, why are you raiding the farms in this area? It's less risky to hunt in the woods or attack a random traveler without getting an adventuring party hunting you."
"Food." The ogre to my left said.
"Big 'un kick ogre out of green home." The right ogre said.
"What is this green home? Why did the 'Big One' as you call it force the ogres to leave?" I asked. How strong was this Big One that they could force all the ogres out of their green home?
"Green home is big with club growers." Club growers? Were they talking about trees? "Up from sunset and human rock home. Big 'un strong. Make ogre leave. No food down sunset and green home. Ogre many, food less." The right explained in his broken English. From what I think I understood, their green home was a forest that was up north from E-Rantel as it was the only settlement nearby that could fit their description of rock home.
These ogres may have come from the Great Forest of Tob. Something in those woods forced the ogres to migrate south in mass. I'd reckon that's why the goblins village had come together in the first place. With the large influx of ogres down south, they were eating all the available food in the woods faster than the animals could breed and replenish. Right now, nature was taking its course and the ogres were all starving to death. Because they were running out of food, and they were being left with the options of eating each other or the goblins, the two races decided to cooperate and steal food from the only areas that had plentiful amounts of food.
This explained why the farms were getting raided, and why the raiding group, which had been smaller in its last raid, had gained many more members. Competition and hunger were forcing the ogres to raid, and the goblins to help them or else be eaten by the ogres.
I needed to go to that Great Forest and investigate what is happening if I wanted to prevent more raiding parties from popping up around E-Rantel. But first, I needed to deal with the two ogres at my feet. I quickly unwrapped my tails from their necks and pulled all my tails away from the two ogres.
"Do both of you have names?" I asked. The ogres seemed confused at my question, probably because they weren't used to an enemy asking questions like I was. It took a few moments before the first on my left answered.
"Voh Tun."
The right ogre, encourage by his companion's answer, spoke as well, "Goru Tun."
Both these ogres were hungry and thought with their stomachs. But they were also immensely intimidating, strong, and tough, which would make them great guards for many locations, including a certain goblin village that could use the help if I wasn't around all the time.
"I have a deal for the two of you that could make you both very happy if you were to agree." Both ogres looked at me while being completely silent, "I have a small settlement that I plan on turning into a village. Right now, that settlement could use a couple of guards to fight off anything that might attack it. The benefits for guarding this settlement would be a roof over your heads, company, along with food and water." The moment I mentioned food, both ogres looked like dogs begging for scraps.
"Would this offer interest either of you?" Both ogres quickly nodded repeatedly.
"You strong like Big 'un. Strong get food. I follow strong." Voh Tun answered with a quick bow of his head.
"Club break on you. You beat Tun clan with magic. Beat us with strength. I follow you." Goru Tun stated with a nod of deference to me. I was interested in the way that these ogres venerated strength. It seemed that if I could put on a strong enough show of power, then the ogres would be more willing to follow your orders. I'd have to keep that in mind if I fight other ogres.
"I'm going to teleport both of you to the settlement. When you get there, tell them that Kashia Blanc sent the two of you. The one in charge of the settlement while I'm gone is Muap. He'll tell you what to do when you get there." It was simple to teleport the two of them with the spell [Lesser Gate] which was the weaker version of the [Gate] spell. It cost less mana, and was very quick to cast, unlike [Gate] this spell could only teleport a group of ten people at a time with limits on the distance being fourteen miles unless you shoved more mana into the spell.
Both ogres watched in amazement as a black portal appeared before them. With some hesitation, both stepped through the portal and I closed it behind them. Putting up my illusion once again, I quickly used [Teleportation] to arrive back at the farm in front of my comrades and the farmer.
With a grin, I spoke, "Took care of the two ogres after I caught up to them. They won't be raiding farms anymore." I decided to leave out the bit about the Big One that the ogres told me about. While it is important information, I had a feeling that the moment that E-Rantel and the farmers learned about this, they'd march on the Great Forest with torches and pitchforks.
I'd rather not watch an ecosystem be destroyed by an angry mob or have the deaths of any human who entered that forest on my mind. This was something that I could take care of on my own without anyone getting hurt. And, this gave me the chance to go to that forest and explore. And, I could head to the Great Lake and go swimming afterwards. Seems like a fun day.
"Did you learn anything from them?" Peter asked.
"Not much. There wasn't anyone else in their raiding group, we took care of them all."
The farmer had a grateful sigh as I said this, "Thank the gods that I don't have to worry about those monsters coming back! That's a weight off my mind to be sure. Without your help, my livelihood would've been destroyed, so you'll forever have my thanks for that. If any of you ever need help, I'll do whatever is within my power to make up my debt to all of you."
"It was no problem, sir. Any decent person would do what they could to help a person in need." Dyne humbly replied. The farmer seemed to lose his smile for a moment before he corrected himself.
"You may say that, but these aren't decent times. With the Baharuth warmongers and Slane fanatics at our doorstep, and the drafting of able-bodied men for the army, people have become less friendly to one another. One of my farmhands, Arden, is a boy who hasn't even grown stubble yet, but was drafted by the king a month ago." The farmer said in a defeated tone.
This kingdom was on the precipice of collapsing in on itself. A populace that has lost all hope in their government is one that's more likely to revolt. Unless the Re-Estize Kingdom could get a handle on their continual war with the Baharuth, the populace was going to turn on itself. Just the loss of a few farmers was affecting the food supply of the kingdom.
I wouldn't even put it past the Baharuth Empire to be sending spies and infiltrators to rile up the peasants into a frenzy. When the food eventually ran out, this kingdom would fall. This world is a new start for me, and since I ended up in this kingdom of all places, I was going to make sure to do my best in preventing it from falling.
The food problem is something that I needed to take care of. This world's magic was heavily based on that of YGGDRASIL's, which means that they've probably invented spells that deviate from those of the game. There might be a spell that had been created here that I could learn to fix the food problem, but that was only a possible solution. There also might be a spell in my repertoire that could also solve these problems.
And, with my knowledge from my technologically advanced world, I could possibly enhance the farming techniques in this world if they haven't already. I was also curious as to why they didn't use magic to augment farming.
"But this is just the prattling of an over-the-hill farmer. Lukrut and Ninya, here's the reward I promised. You both were very helpful and entertaining." The farmer reached into his pockets and pulled out two small bags of coins that he tossed to the adventurers. "You'll receive the rest of your reward at the Adventurer's Guild."
Looking around the area, I saw that it was still filled with the corpses of the ogres and goblins that we'd killed. "What are you going to do about all the bodies?"
"Don't you worry, miss. I was assured by the E-Rantel military that they'd send some men over to remove them. Since my farm helps provide part of the meat that the city consumes, they want to make sure that nothing can hinder my job. Besides, the five of you have done more than enough today. Go home and enjoy yourselves."
"Then we'll be taking our leave. Good luck with the farm." I replied.
"Thanks for the extra pay!" Lukrut added with a grin. Before we left the farm, I ended my spells that were still active around the farm and on my companions. We left the farm after that and started walking down the road once more. While Peter and Lukrut chatted with one another, and Dyne remained quiet while taking in all the nature that we were around, Ninya spoke to me after enough hesitation.
"Kashia, I have a question for you that I was wondering if you would answer. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, and I won't tell the others your answer," She quickly added, which I nodded in agreement to, "but are you able to cast spells over the 4th Tier of magic? The way that you could cast and maintain all those enchantments placed on us and the battlefield, and use all those powerful spells on the ogres and goblins makes me think that you're a lot more powerful than you're letting on." The girl whispered to me.
She certainly was smart if she could catch onto me holding back my strength. I seriously doubted that she thought I could cast spells higher than 5th Tier, but she knew that something was up. Might as well tell the girl a half-truth, then she'd be less suspicious. Besides, showing my more powerful spells would be such a fun surprise that I didn't want to spoil.
"Yes, Ninya, I'm a lot more powerful than I let on. Part of it is due to my lineage while the rest is because I worked to get as strong as I am." I whispered back before adding with a grin, "And, I hope that you can keep it a secret just between us girls." The way that Ninya seemed to freeze when I said this was all the reaction that I wanted and more. And, I know that I may have wanted to let Ninya reveal her secret to me of her own volition, but this option was much more entertaining! And, Ninya had revealed the secret that she knew about me, so it was only fair that I reveal a secret that I knew about her.
"H-How do you know?" Ninya whispered in shock as she looked at her other companions to make sure that none of them had heard what I said.
I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze, "There were a few ways that I could tell. The way you walk for starters, even with all the self-control that you've done to make it seem more masculine, there is still the slight sway in your step. I'm guessing the cloak you wear is meant to mask that movement. Your appearance, while tomboyish, can't fully hide the feminine features of your face or voice. And..." I tapped my nose playfully.
"What does your nose have to do with anything?" Ninya asked in confusion.
"I wasn't lying earlier when I said that my body is more advanced than an average human. My nose can pick up the differences between males and females quite easily due to the hormones that both genders produce." I finished explaining. Ninya was quiet for a few moments before finally speaking up.
"Why are you telling me this now?"
I shrugged in reply, "You told me something about me that you had learned, so I felt that it was fair to do the same. And, I doubt that you like hiding who you truly are all the time, so I felt that it might remove some of the burden on your conscience. Like I said before, I'm always available if you want to talk, you just have to ask me." By now, I had let the two of us fall behind from the other three to give us some more privacy.
"It just feels strange that someone else knows my secret. I kept the fact that I'm a girl hidden at first because it's safer to travel as a boy than it is a girl. After I met the others, I felt like them knowing my gender would hurt my friendship with all of them." I couldn't blame her for feeling worried about her relationship with the others. After all, they'd only known her as Ninya the Boy Mage, and depending on how long Ninya had been friends with the others, it may hurt them to know that she had hidden such an important part about herself for so long.
Still, it wasn't healthy in the long-term to keep a secret like that bottled up for so long. "Ninya, they are your friends, aren't they? You've laughed, fought, and bled together. It may hurt them to know that you've hidden who you are from them, but I doubt that they'd ever break their friendship with you. None of them seem the type to see gender as any reason to treat you differently, though Lukrut may or may not make possible passes at you." Ninya giggled at the last part.
She quickly calmed herself before looking up at me, "I don't know, it just doesn't seem right to tell them right now. I can't do it." I nodded in understanding.
"It's your decision. I'll support whatever decision you make. Though, I may needlessly tease you because it's amusing to me."
"Kashia! That's not funny!" Ninya whined. I took my hand off her shoulder and playfully tousled her hair in retaliation. "Hey, leave my hair alone!" She ordered while shoving my hand off her head, then she tried to comb it back down with her fingers.
"Oh, so you do care about your hair. I would've thought that you'd act like a boy and ignore what your appearance looks like. You truly are a girl!" I teased as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into an inescapable bear hug that any man would kill for in her position. "As an adult and your mentor in magic, it's my duty to mercilessly tease my student in all matters of their life."
She struggled and pulled her head from my chest to look me in the eyes, "Wait, you're making me your student now?" Looking down at her, I nodded and gave her a soft smile.
"Of course. You handled yourself well enough during the battle to prove to me that you have talent in magic. And, I can't resist having a student who I can order around and embarrass. This'll be so much fun for me… And you," I added, "but mostly me."
Ninya sighed at my declaration, "Can you at least let me go? Your… chest is suffocating me." Acquiescing to her request, I let her out of my grip and watched as she took a breath that she'd been holding in. Note to self: possible ability to suffocate people with hugs. Potentially deadly weapon used in the right situations.
"Kashia, when do you plan to start teaching me?" Ninya asked after regaining her breath. That did make me think, there were multiple things that I needed to do this week, but I can always use a [Replicant] to do those chores. So, technically anytime, though I would like to do a lot of the teaching myself instead of sending a copy since it would give me a greater sense of accomplishment that I couldn't get if a copy did all the work.
"In two days, after we finish whatever job we do with the others, I'll take you with me to start training. And don't worry about being tired or low on mana after the job since I'll just use the enchantment I used on all of you earlier. There's no room to be tired in Kashia Blanc's Magic Class!" I answered with more enthusiasm than I thought.
"I don't know if I should be happy or worried about whatever you're going to make me do." Ninya said with a nervous look on her face. The girl had no idea what kind of tortu-I mean training, that we would be doing tomorrow. If she didn't know any protective spells, she'd learn them by the time I was done with her.
"Both would be a suitable choice. Now, how about we catch up with the others? I'm sure that they're wondering what we could possibly be talking about. And, I want to get back to E-Rantel soon because Lukrut is paying for my dinner tonight." I didn't mention that I also wanted to use my [Loki's Call] ability to verify if what I've been wondering is correct.
I also needed to debrief my copy about what has happened with the goblins today, and what she could've possibly done in the city while I was away. After that, I had another list of things to do which would need to be done tomorrow. I'd need to check in on the goblin settlement and make sure that the ogres were set up, as well as do some cleaning of the area if my copy hadn't already done so.
After that, I had to go north to the Great Forest and find this Big One that the ogres talked about and take care of the problem. Then, I'd check out the Great Lake and have some fun. To accomplish this, I'll probably have a copy of myself take my place with the others on whatever job that they were going to do that day. After that, I've been thinking of changing the terrain of the goblin settlement to be more defensible than what it is now.
The pond was also another issue that needed to be taken care of. I've been thinking about a way to fix that, and my idea involved expanding the pond into a small lake, filling that lake with a large water spell, then filling this newly-made lake with fish. The Great Lake up north could possibly help me with that issue since it should have a large supply of marine species.
There's also the possibility of expansion in the settlement. At the rate that I've been recruiting newcomers to the settlement, we'd need more housing to fit the residents in. I could always create hollow hills that had multiple floors and rooms. That would work, but I was thinking far ahead of myself right now.
Right now, I had to get back to E-Rantel.
It was almost an hour later before we arrived at the guildhall and collected our pay for the job. I felt happy with the weight of my silver coins in the coin purse on my belt. It just felt satisfying to get a reward that was immensely better than the measly amounts of copper I earned yesterday.
"That certainly was a job well done." Peter said as he collected his pay. "This job would've taken much longer if we didn't have your assistance, Kashia. It was a great decision to invite you into our group."
"Yeah, we may have gotten seriously hurt without your help. We're lucky to have recruited you to our group first before anyone else. Your versatility in spellcasting could help for many challenging missions." Dyne added with a clap on my shoulder.
I smiled and nodded at the compliment, "Keep saying things like that and I'm going to start blushing." Dyne chuckled at my comment.
"He's just telling the truth." Peter reassured me. "So, now that the job's done, will you be joining us for a job tomorrow?" He asked, changing topic.
"While I would love to, I have some chores and commitments that I need to do tomorrow, but I'll be able to work with all of you the day after." I answered. Even though they seemed understanding of my answer, it was hard for them to hide their disappointment.
"Is there anyway that I could help you? I'm always available if you need it!" Lukrut stated in that chivalrous tone of his. That's just adorable. But I wanted to keep everything that I was doing secret from Lukrut and the others. It was way too early in my relationship with them to reveal things, like a goblin settlement under my control or that I was going off to the Great Forest of Tob to deal with the Big One so that ogres would stop getting pushed into human territories and cause conflict.
I wanted to keep the others out of that mess because they definitely weren't strong enough for a task like that. I didn't doubt that they had skills, but if they had some trouble against a large party of ogres, then they would be crushed by whatever could force ogres to flee their territories. I didn't want to risk them getting hurt, and it would distract me from my task if I had to focus some of my attention on protecting the four of them from harm.
Next time might be a possibility if I could make them stronger and give them better gear. Until then, the safest place that all of them could be is off on the sidelines.
There was also another small reason that I wanted to keep them out of this situation; they were all human. I doubt that residents of the Great Forest would be that accommodating to a species who were known for looking down upon non-human races. I might be able to ease possible negotiations considering that I'm not human, I'd just need to enter the forest while I wasn't in my human guise.
"Sorry, Lukrut, this is something that I need to do on my own. If I ever need help with something in the future than I'll let you be the first to know." I assured the blond which seemed to calm him down as the macho stature of his relaxed.
"Alright, I will hold you to that promise. Onto more important topics of discussion," A ridiculous grin grew on Lukrut's face as he said this, "I know a perfect place to have our date tonight, it has wonderful food and drink that I know you'd love!"
Yes, free food and attention so lovingly lavished upon me. I would be quite the fool to turn such a tempting offer down. And, I couldn't help but instinctually feel the need to accept such gifts, especially when they were so generously offered.
"With such enthusiasm about taking me out for dinner, I can't find any reason to turn that offer down. You can pick me up later tonight at the Hero's Respite Inn." I answered.
"Excellent, my lovely sorceress! I'll see you later tonight."
"If everything is settled, I'm going to be heading off. Farewell!"
A chorus of, "Goodbye, Kashia," or similar sendoffs were uttered by the group as I made my way out of the guildhall with a wave. That group was really beginning to grow on me.
When I was far enough from the building, I used my [Teleport] spell to arrive at a random section of the woods that I had passed when I chased after the ogres earlier. My reason for arriving in the ass-end of nowhere was because I wished to avoid a mess and the questions that followed if I accidentally summoned Jormungandr.
Out here, there was little risk, besides the farmer freaking out due to him being less than two miles away. His property would be safe since any summons with [Loki's Call] always appeared in the area in front of where the caster was looking.
With a deep breath, I held my hand out and spoke, "[Loki's Call]!" A large, green, runic circle appeared beneath my feet as I felt a great gust of wind tear at my hair and clothes. Before my eyes, a green light began growing in front of me that seemed to suck all the light near it into the growing green light that started forming a pillar about six feet high.
Finally, the pillar burst into fragments, releasing all the light that had been trapped inside of it out into the area. I had to shut my eyes due to how blinding the burst of light was. That was when I heard a long chuckle and the clapping of a pair of hands.
"I've been waiting for you to call to me, and you didn't disappoint in the slightest. We have much to talk about, my foxy disciple." A deep voice full of mirth stated. I quickly blinked my eyes open and was greeted to the sight of a man in a regal green coat over black leather armor. On his head was a green jester's cap that would've seemed ridiculous if anyone else had been wearing it.
The man had dark hair that went down to his shoulders, while his face was a mix between that of a model and a warrior. There were laughter lines on the corners of his piercing green eyes that stared at me warmly.
This was Loki Laufeyson, God of Tricksters, Shape-Changer, Wizard of Lies, Slayer of Balder, and a multitude of other names. I stood before a god in both body and name, and I instinctively felt the momentous amount of power that rolled off the god.
Where I'm like a sun to the people of this world, Loki's power was like a solar system that surrounded my sun and managed to completely dwarf my own power. It was unsettling to feel this massive difference of power since I was used to always being the strongest being in the room. What I didn't understand was why he felt so powerful here in this new world compared back to YGGDRASIL?
"While I'm happy to see you, I believe that we could do for some better accommodations." As Loki said this, he snapped his fingers and the forest around us disappeared and was replaced with a log cabin that had a warm fire going in the fireplace. The most terrifying part of what had just happened was that I had no idea if this was an illusion that Loki had cast or an actual place that he had conjured.
"Why don't you take a seat and slip into something more comfortable." Another snap of his fingers and my clothes disappeared and were replaced with a tight green silk evening gown while my illusion to hide my true self vanished with my clothing. I didn't have time to complain about this change in attire as a chair bumped into the back of my legs and swept me off my feet before catching me in its cushioned embrace.
"You know, I don't exactly enjoy having my items and clothes taken away like that." I stated with a roll of my eyes. Loki gave me a sly grin as I said this.
"You're certain that you'd like your items back now?" The way he asked that made me completely suspicious, and I was about to say no but his fingers were quicker as, with another snap, I noticed that the evening gown had been replaced with only my underwear. I couldn't help but sigh at the phrasing of his question, "Oh, don't be like that, I'm the God of Tricksters for a reason. Everyone can incur some type of mischief upon themselves, not even my own followers are completely immune to my jokes." He said with another snap that returned all my clothes back.
I couldn't help but grin at the god, "That would also imply that the God of Tricksters could also be tricked himself. I'll keep that in mind the next time that I try and summon you." I answered as I leaned back into my chair and crossed my legs.
Loki burst into another round of chuckling before he spoke again, "It's exactly that type of mindset which interested me enough to make you my Chosen in the first place." I couldn't help but wonder about something that was bothering me since I realized that he was completely sapient.
"Were you sapient before when in the game YGGDRASIL or did you only become self-aware here in this new world?" I asked the god with keen interest.
"I've always been aware of what occurred to my representative within that game of yours. While my existence has been bound to this world, any manifestation of myself, imagined by humans or otherwise, have always retained a connection to my very being. I know what my counterparts know, fake or real. Illusions and trickery have always been based within both the realms of reality and fiction."
"If you exist here, then what about any other gods or goddesses that were in YGGDRASIL? Are they also aware of what has happened to their representatives in the game? And, did divine beings even exist on my earth or were they just fake?" If I had an actual god to talk to, I kinda wanted to get a lot of unanswered questions about the divine and the afterlife answered that many people would kill for.
"There are some gods and goddess from your game that do exist here, just as I do, and there are others that were never portrayed in your game as well. For instance, Odin certainly exists and is well aware of you killing his representative within the game before you arrived here. He is quite sour about that." Oh, shit. Pissing off a god, even unintentionally, might bite me in the ass later on. "Try not to worry about Odin too much, you are the Chosen of Freya after all, she has some sway with Old One-Eye. There is also your mother who resides in this plane."
My ears perked up when Loki said this, and the god's grin seemed to grow at my reaction, "But that is something for another time, I have other matters that I wish to discuss with you. No doubt you've been wondering how you possibly ended up in this realm with that body of yours, right? "
Even though I had an instinctual urge to find out more about Inari, mother, knowing about why I had ended up in this world had much higher importance. It had been a question that has entered my mind more than once since my arrival, and I wanted my curiosity sated.
"I have. My revelation of this world being real, and not a computer program, has made me wonder how something could drag me from one world to another, in what way was YGGDRASIL connected to this world, and why I was even brought here in the first place?"
"Always the curious one. Kashia, as you like to be called in this world, understand that you are not the first player to have been brought to this realm. Others have come before you as either conquerors or saviors." I couldn't prevent my jaw from dropping as I heard this. I wasn't the first player to have come here, which meant that something had been pulling players from YGGDRASIL to this world for years.
"When did the other players arrive? They couldn't have been here for more than a decade at the least? Wouldn't news about some powerful beings arriving here have spread quickly?" This changes everything. I wouldn't be alone in this world without anyone from my previous home anymore!
"There was news about these players…centuries ago. Most reports said that all of them died, either of battle or old age. I'm sorry to tell you this." My chest hurt as my mind couldn't make a decision on whether I should scream in rage, cry in sorrow, or perform a mixture of both actions. Feeling such intense emotions like this was new to me, and it took all of my self-control to keep myself from breaking down emotionally.
"Hearing news such as this is distressing, I know. But you need to understand now that you cannot go home, such options were erased with the ending of YGGDRASIL. Accepting your new life here is the only possibility for you." The god tried to console me, but part of me, the part still connected to my former life back on Earth, felt destroyed at learning this. My old life was truly over, Aaron Smith was truly gone, and in his place was a kitsune woman named Kashia Blanc.
"Why was I brought here? Who was the one that did it?" I asked softly.
"No one knows. What is known is that some being connected the game YGGDRASIL to this world through some form of magic on the level of a god. What I have inferred from years of investigating this phenomenon is that players are brought here from the game through a soul snare embedded within the foundations of the game. This soul snare, when activated, will pull the player's soul here with their avatars becoming their new bodies upon arrival. You were an unlucky soul who was within the game when the being activated the snare before the game was shut down." Loki appeared to be contemplating as his eyes seemed to grow distant for a moment.
"That answered the how, but not the why. Is this something you've figured out?"
Loki was pulled out from his thoughts as he looked me in the eyes. "I don't know. The being might be pulling people here to gain immensely strong soldiers without any previous allegiances. It could be due to the power your souls contain that the being might be harvesting. They could even be doing it because it's amusing how players radically change this realm. Whatever the reason, you should be on guard since none of the reasons are for your benefit."
All the explanations had some sense of reasonability, but none could be accepted until I got to the bottom of this mystery. I would keep Loki's advice to heart since he is right, I wasn't brought here for my benefit, the benefits for me were only a side-effect of the original reason.
"I'll be careful if that's the case. Is there anything else that you wish to tell me?" My enthusiasm to talk with an actual god had been rapidly drained after this whole conversation. I just wanted it to end at this point so that I could stop keeping my calm visage up.
"Just a few things that I'm allowed to say." Allowed to say? What information was Loki holding back from me? And what was preventing him from telling me more? "Old things are beginning to stir, and some might even be a match for you." Nothing is a match for me. I am beyond compare! "The gods and goddesses will remain neutral in most situations unless it's directly related to them."
"That sounds like bullshit. You're interacting with me right now." I quickly replied. Loki only smiled and made a 'tut tut' sound.
"Kashia, you are my Chosen, that automatically makes you someone that I can directly interact with normally." To prove his point, he snapped his fingers and left me in my underwear once more, then he snapped again and brought my clothes back, "Summoning me, like you did, gives me a loophole to ignore my neutrality as long as it's tied to you. It just depends on if you even summon me in the first place, and that's a very low chance."
"I'm mostly going to be summoning Ratatoskr, aren't I?"
"Very much so. You'll have a lower chance of summoning me here than in YGGDRASIL. Me talking to you now is a curtesy, otherwise you'd have gotten Fenrir as your conversation partner. He isn't a good conversationalist." Loki sighed at the mention of Fenrir, much like a dad who couldn't believe the type of stupidity that their child just demonstrated.
"It won't be that much of a problem. I can handle most trouble that I get myself involved in." Back in YGGDRASIL, I could count on both hands the amount of times that I ever summoned Loki. I never liked to put all my eggs in one basket by having only one plan of attack, especially an unreliable one like [Loki's Call].
"Excellent! That's the spirit! Now, I only have a little bit of time remaining, so I want you to know one last thing before I go." Loki's whimsical tone quickly turned deadly serious, "When players are brought here, it's usually in batches. And, players brought here usually become tyrants more often than saviors." The moment Loki said that, I felt torn between relief that I might not be alone after all, fear of a tyrant that would kill innocent people, and anger that someone would dare touch those who I considered under my protection! "Treat that information as you will. Good luck, Kashia." The god's tone rapidly flipped to a chipper one as he said this.
Then, Loki gave me a wink before both he, and the cabin that we were in, faded away into green mist that dispersed throughout the forest. I was finally alone, with only the noises of crickets and other animals to keep me company.
I'm trapped here. Permanently without any method to get back home. "I-I'm…" My voice wavered as I understood the gravity of what I had to choose. I could keep holding onto my life as Aaron Smith and continue to feel the pain of never seeing my old home. I wasn't even related to my old family biologically because of my new body!
"M-My n-name…" All these memories of being Aaron Smith are like sand castles being washed away by the ocean waves. I'm already changing in small ways, and while Aaron Smith made up the skeleton of my personality, something else was becoming the flesh. And now, with nothing to continue keeping the hope of Aaron Smith returning home alive, that part of me had lost the will to remain as prominently as it once had.
"M-My name is…" With a shudder, I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks, "My name is Kashia Blanc…" Like a dam being opened, tears poured out of eyes and I began sobbing before I choked out, "Aaron Smith, son of Seth and Julianne Smith, is dead. Kashia Blanc, daughter of Inari, is who I am now."
I curled up into a ball and felt my tails wrap around me as I let out all my emotions in that empty forest.
Stepping into the goblin settlement after using a [Teleportation] spell, I glanced around and spotted some of the new changes that had been implemented here. Surrounding the entire settlement was a seven-meter-high wall made of stone. All the tents, which were made of sticks and ratty cloth, had been exchanged with simple earthen huts that were five feet high. The trash that had been littering the area had been removed, while the small pond looked completely clear compared to yesterday.
Much of the overwhelming stench that had filled the area before was gone, I'm guessing that my clone made that the first chore to be done when she arrived. I also spotted a pile of tools and weapons resting on top of a stone table that was merged with the ground beneath it, my clone's doing no doubt.
"Lady Kashia! You've finally arrived!" I didn't even need to turn around to tell that it was the voice of Muap. And, he called me Lady Kashia. I love it. Turning around, I gave him a smile and spotted the new sword that was sheathed on his hip.
"Hello, Muap. Seems like you've made some big changes since I was last here. Mind telling me about them?" The hobgoblin rapidly nodded with a large grin.
"Of course! Your clone told us that you sent her to collect supplies and take care of the settlement while you were off on a mission. She arrived with large bags of supplies that almost made some of the boys pass out in excitement! When we were equipped with our new weapons, she decided that we needed more protection, so she used this amazing magic to make walls rise from the earth and transform our tents into huts. After that, she used some more magic to purify the pond while the rest of us were told to clean up the trash and do a few other things."
"Sounds like you had a busy day. Anything else happen?"
"Well, when those two ogres arrived, I thought that Larha was going to have a heart attack. They explained everything after your copy calmed everyone down. We showed them around the settlement while your copy built some huts for them. They've been patrolling the settlement ever since. After that, your copy conjured up this hut by the pond and went inside for a while. We heard some weird moaning coming from there, but we were told to not bother her." Muap finished with a deep inhale.
That last part was a little odd, but I'd ask my copy about it in a little bit, right now I simply patted Muap on the shoulder, "You did a good job today. If the amount of progress that I've seen today keeps happening, then this will be a great village in no time."
"We couldn't do it without you, Lady Kashia." Muap replied, he then took my hand in his before saying, "If you'll follow me, I can take you to where all the boys are." I nodded and let the hobgoblin lead me through the village until we arrived in front of the makings of a farm. The goblins were tilling the ground in long lines. They had cleared out eight feet by ten feet of dirt and were still going at it.
I couldn't help but look down at Muap as he smiled proudly at the progress his comrades made. "When were you taught how to farm?" I asked while continuing to look at the goblins labor. They were so invested in their work that they hadn't even noticed our arrival.
"Your copy showed us what we needed to do with the hoes she brought, then she had us digging out lines of dirt in the open space over here. She said that she planned to get seeds for us to plant tomorrow, so we'll have to wait until we can start raising crops. In the meantime, this is good practice for when we need to make more farming spaces." Muap explained with a positive attitude. At least he was looking on the bright side of this delay. Unfortunately, now I needed to find a place that sold vegetable seeds.
"At least the farming will make you more self-sufficient. We'll need multiple sources of food if we're going to feed everyone here, especially the ogres." I wondered about finding a way to condense the farming. I'd need to think hard on a solution if this settlement continued to gain residents.
"That's the idea." As I took note of each goblin before me, I quickly spotted someone missing. A hobgoblin…
"I don't see Trabgo anywhere. Any idea as to where he went off to?" I asked.
"Trabgo said that he was going scouting around the forest. He'll probably be back tomorrow or the day after." I must've showed my concern quite easily on my face as Muap quickly added, "Not much to worry about concerning him since he's got a good head on his shoulders and knows when run. He'll be back soon enough." His assurance placated some of my fear, but there were still the hungry ogres that were migrating down here.
"If you are sure, then we'll just have to wait for Trabgo to come back home. If everything has been taken care of here, then I'm going to talk to my copy for a bit before I leave. I'll be sending another copy here tomorrow to help in anyway necessary while I head up to the Great Forest of Tob to hunt down some creature up there. I'll arrive later in the day to check in on all of you."
Muap nodded in agreement, "Sounds like a plan. I'll hold down the fort here until then. Happy hunting, Lady Kashia!" I walked off after he said this and heading to the stone shack by the pond where my copy supposedly was staying. When I arrived, I knocked on the simple wooden door.
"Hey, you in there?" I asked. My ears picked up a scuffling sound before the door opened to the face of my grinning copy whose clothing seemed hastily put on while her hair was a mess and the fur on her tails seemed ruffled. "Anything to report?"
My copy leaned against the door with a grin, "Goblin settlement has had an increase in its standard of living. Nothing strange occurred while under my watch, if two ogres magically appearing in the middle of the settlement isn't considered strange, and supplies were delivered."
"Sounds like it was a simple day."
"Boss, that's just the boring stuff. The real fun is what I did in E-Rantel to some uppity high-class snobs, and the amazing test run I did with this body." She leaned in close to me and whispered, "Let me tell you, this body is definitely up to par…" She trailed off.
That's when I realized just what she'd been doing in this shack. "Really? You couldn't just keep it in your-"
"Technically, it's a dress." She interrupted, "And, I'm a copy of you, so technically it would be something that originated from your mind." I couldn't help but sigh at the fact that I'm arguing with myself over something so ludicrous.
"Whatever. I really don't feel in the mood to argue with myself right now." I conceded. "You going to disperse, or would you like some more time to do whatever it is you wish to do?"
"I think I can call it a day. Already did everything that I needed to do, and there really isn't much I can amuse myself with since I've done quite a bit already. See you around, Boss." When my copy said this, her body quickly burst into flames that died in the air until no trace of my former copy remained.
You could say that it was enlightening to understand how infuriating I could be, after all, I now had hands-on experience with that matter. Yet, even the annoyance of dealing with my copy, and the pride I had in the goblins progress wasn't enough to fully block out the sorrow that I still felt. I could hide it as best as I could, but I would still feel the part of myself that was missing.