As Ran approached the counter, he checked out the woman before him.
Not without a reason of course. Particularly because of the feeling she gave him. There was a clear sense of danger whenever he so much as took a whiff of air. He had gotten such a sense many times before. In the inn, there were a few, including the owner, who were stronger than him. While walking as well, he had come across a group who had just come back from hunting and they reeked of blood and death.
This however, wasn't something he actually smelled or saw, rather, it was something that he experienced with his very being; his soul. It was the same kind of feeling, only, it was a little different. It wasn't blood or death and instead was something… inexplicable. And although he had noticed this, he didn't really take this with caution as he was just here to acquire a service to enchant his clothes.
A mistake.
Yet as he continued approaching the counter, and subsequently the woman, his mind suddenly shivered slightly. As a professional, looking the part is an essential part to doing business. Yet this woman couldn't throw that phrase more out the window.
The woman wore a vibrant, sparkly, red dress that covered her all the way to her knees. Such fancy clothing was definitely out of the norm, even if this was the market district. Yet that wasn't the worst of it all. At first, he could've swore the woman was just that, a woman. Yet the next second, the dress appeared to "tighten" around her body, clinging to every curve and crevice it could find.
Was the dress shrinking, or was the woman being enlarged? Her breasts seemed much bigger than before and her waist seemed to suck in on itself. The hips, similarly, widened and Ran was left completely and utterly flabbergasted.
Yo, what the f**k!?
Ran rubbed his eyes. He could've sworn that she was not this exotic! Maybe, it was just from my angle that she seemed not this… exaggerated, he thought. But by the time he reached the counter, he completely came to terms that it was his imagination and that she was always this exaggerated.
Only, it was his imagination.
The woman smiled slightly at the white hooded individual, and she had checked him out when he had entered as well. Though it was only for a second before she gazed upon something else.
"A White Crystalline Cheetah? Wait no-a Black Crystalline Cheetah. And a child as well..." The woman was visibly excited when she happened upon Fluffy. Just from the shop's name, it could be seen that this woman, right here, has a thing for cats!
Yeah, it definitely has nothing to do with the fact that she was also a feline… definitely not.
She approached Fluffy with a very excited and yet cautious expression. She didn't want to scare Fluffy away! In this way, she completely ignored Rans existence.
Yet, what did this f**ker do!? Nothing!
This ba***rd of a main character just stood there with a straight face and accepted it! Oh, where's the justice in this world!?
Ran just completely accepted that she ignored him and stood there, oblivious. He thought she did nothing wrong, or rather, that everything she had just done was right!
And yet, what did Rans "faithful" and "reliable" companion do? Nothing! Actually, I'm wrong. She did do something; she nuzzled her head against the woman's hand like a f**king dog!
Why? Why!? I'll tell you why. Because she thought this crooked version of a woman was actually a good person!
Phew, it's… more complicated than that actually. In simple terms, since this woman seemed to have a feline bloodline, something that Fluffy can confirm, she assumed that they would be better off as "allies" or friends; rather than "enemies" or strangers-especially since they had already met.
What Fluffy just did actually was something fairly common in the world. Races of similar bloodlines, or of the same common ancestor, tend to establish friendly relations with each other rather than non-friendly ones. There's a phrase that says blood is thicker than water. In these cases it's definitely true since you would rather befriend people similar to you than people who aren't.
Then again, not all cases are the same. There's another phrase that goes like this:
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
And for the second time, what did Ran do?
Yeah… sigh. He did nothing, again. He just thought that they becoming friends was a good thing too! This entire back and forth of the woman doing whatever she wants and Ran doing nothing continues on for a few minutes. The woman just played with Fluffy, rubbing her in various places, tickling her, etc. Just stupid s**t that only serves to up my word count!
But after a full three minutes of Ran just staring blankly at the two having fun, his eye FINALLY twitched. He blinked twice before he took several deep breaths, cold sweat pouring down his face. He had finally gotten himself out of his stupor.
Three minutes! For three whole minutes, his thoughts and actions had been under an influence without his knowledge. Yet after the first two minutes, he became aware that he was under some kind of influence and from there, he slowly came to grips to reality and managed to recover.
Yet, it was subtler than what I described it as. It was more of manipulation rather than hypnotization. He was aware of his actions, just that he thought nothing was wrong. If he was hypnotized, he wouldn't be aware of any of his actions and that's why he was terrified. To be aware of your actions and for it to turn out to be the decisions of others, Ran could only say that he was a pawn!
And as a drop of sweat slid down from his face and dropped onto the floor with a drip, he looked at the woman in horror. It was extremely hard to notice, but once you do, there's no unseeing it. Her body was wrapped in what could only be called distortions as the very space around her seemed to warp and twist. Yet, it was almost completely imperceptible... unless she wanted you to see it.
But Ran had seen it! It was off. Odd. It was invisible, yet, it was present for all the world to see! And, strangely enough, Ran found it… slightly familiar. There was only one kind of power Ran can correlate all of these details to. Mental force!
In fact, he had seen mental force in action before. After all, what kind of power could Bob's sigil be called if not mental force!? The power to make someone's decisions for them. Mental force could be considered one of the most terrifying powers one could possess and every person who has such a power is highly likely to be or become someone of great renown.
The woman had noticed his recovery and smirked. "Hmm, three minutes. Interesting. Normally, you wouldn't have been able to even break out of it and yet you did. This is going to be… fun." The woman didn't say any of this out loud though.
Ran, however, quickly calmed down. Freaking out wouldn't get him anywhere and if she truly wanted him dead, she would've done it already. Plus, his getting out proved that he wasn't entirely vulnerable to her and her mischievous ways.
And he was the initiator of the conversation.
"A Black-crystalline… Cheetah? You know Fluffy?" Ran started off with a relatively normal question, especially since he couldn't just directly ask her to stop manipulating him.
"Heh, yeah. She's a rarely seen Cheetah that lives at the peak of mountains. Now, how did you get a hold of her?" The woman's voice was surprisingly polite, sounding, yet, it carried an air of absoluteness. Clearly, she wanted an answer and expected one in return.
After all, as a feline enthusiast, the treatment (mistreatment) of any and all feline species was a transgression beyond measure! I mean, look, Fluffy appears fatter than other White-Crystalline Cheetahs! Was Ran forcibly feeding her to be a pillow!?
Alright, I don't know how she came up with that "nonsense", so let's all just ignore that last statement of hers. Just the ramblings of madman (woman).
"Who, Fluffy? She came to me, twice! Trying to eat me… and my fish!" Ran was completely outraged. How could he have captured and mistreated her if she was the one who kept coming to him. Plus, she's, in part, the reason he got trapped in the cave and lost his heart!
The woman glanced at Fluffy in return and surmised that, apparently, there was some history between them. That would also explain the white-pinkish scar on Fluffy's forehead. And as she paid attention to it, it seemed to resonate with the woman. Well, it's more of a feeling; it was… familiar.
Either way, she confirmed their relationship as "partners in crime" and moved on. She glanced at Fluffy and directly asked her in a somewhat concerning tone:
"What were you doing outside all by your lonesome? Did something happen to your tribe?"
It had to be known that because her race lived specifically at the peak of mountains, seeing one outside of that is extremely rare. Especially on their lonesome, like Fluffy.
Fluffy, as strange as it was for her, actually stayed silent and just avoided eye contact.
Then, it actually hit the woman. S**t! Oh f**k, she won't hate me for this right? The woman was now deeply concerned for her reputation as a feline enthusiast. If people found out about this, blatant, disrespect, she wouldn't know what to do with herself.
After all, Fluffy was a Black-Crystalline Cheetah, not a white one. A taboo existence. One that is never spoken of within the Crystalline Cheetah tribes.
Ran, too, saw how uncomfortable Fluffy was and decisively moved on with another line of conversation. He took out three completely white sweaters and asked them to be enchanted with spells of darkness. The woman, also keen on Fluffy's emotions, finished that line of talk and accepted.
Yet as she left to do her job, she turned around and said to him, "aye, dont worry about it, it'll only take ten minutes or so. In the meantime, why dont you check if there's anything else you like." The woman sported a devious smile as she walked away in her sparkly red dress; swishing her two puffy tails about, as if, in a dance of seduction.
Ran, who heard words, was surprised she only needed ten minutes to complete such a task. After all, the smith had taken nearly two hours for just one sweater. She must be truly gifted. Yet, what really captured his attention was her last sentence.
He looked around him and found all the silver equipment… looking at him. Crazily.
Wait, equipment dont have eyes? No. No!? Oh s**t, don't tell me…
As he chanced upon all the equipment, his eyes flashed with a strange sheen. He then began picking out as much equipment he could fit in his arms and threw them on the counter! Five minutes in, he ended up clearing most of the shop and the counter was under a mountain of equipment.
"It's … it's not enough." Ran frowned at the counter as his crazed eyes were full of greed. Fluffy looked at Ran for a second, deciding whether or not he was acting normal. In the end, she thought that since he didn't seem to be in danger, there was no need to act. She just flopped onto the smooth stone floor and layed there… unconcerned.
Well, she was right. Especially because the next second, a familiar scene was happening. The crazed expression he had on kept flickering between it and his normal expression. By the time six minutes passed, he suddenly grew clear of his surroundings once again. It took twice as much time this time to recover.
F**k, this woman was just a con artist! Worse yet, he couldn't do anything!
He looked at the mountain of equipment, sighed, and decided to put them back in their respective places. He didn't like littering.
As he placed all back, at the end, he chanced upon the last item. It was actually a fairly normal looking breastplate. But it caught his attention for one reason. It was an upwards-facing pentagon shape that grew slightly outwards on a slope; presumably to deflect arrows and the like.
Yet, the silver, mirror looking, breastplate wasn't it. It was actually the straps. The straps themselves were just reinforced leather from some relatively weak beast; probably between ranks 7 and 8. But, it was the color of the straps that truly called out to him. It was because it was white!
Yep, he just really likes the color white.
He picked it up and felt it. It was fairly heavy, but it wouldn't hinder him at all and it was already relatively small as it could barely cover most of his upper torso; except for his lower torso being uncovered. Despite it's kind of plain design and less than adequate size, he quite liked it and decided to purchase it. Of course, he also thought that maybe the woman was manipulating him again, but it didn't matter as it was just this one breast-plate. And it wasn't fake either, so there's no harm done.
When the woman came back, she was surprised with her current view. A white hooded man was leaning on the counter, playing with a singular breast-plate, seemingly bored of waiting. Yet, as she scanned the room, she found it to be more tidy than it ever was!
That's right, real men clean up after themselves!
Anyway, she placed his clothes on the counter and waited for her payment. While she was somewhat bummed that he didn't buy more stuff (meaning he wasn't under her control), she didn't bother to explain herself either. There was no reason to elicit any more responses and reactions from Ran anyways.
Ran gave her one rank-5 beast core. It was strange, back in the cave, this was the only type of beast core he could find. And there were thousands upon thousands of them. Maybe it was for research…
Either way, the woman was stunned. The breastplate was the most expensive and all three of the enchantments combined weren't as expensive as it was. Even so, it was at most a dozen rank-8 beast cores! It was just a singular piece of armor after all. It wasn't even enchanted and it wasnt made of some weird or special metal either. Even all three enchantments could go for less than ten rank-8 beast cores. But he had given her, literally, thousands of times that!
From this, it could be seen just how easy and ordinary the spell of darkness actually was. It also showed just how much a single rank-5 beast core can be worth. It was definitely enough to get you a full armor set that was fully enchanted with normal enchantments.
"Well, just keep the change." With that, he turned around and began stripping in front of her very eyes!
There wasn't a bathroom in here so it "didn't" really matter (it kinda does tho). Plus, his private part was in his lower half.
After switching sweaters, he activated the spell and found it working. He then strapped his breastplate to his torso and found they match each other fairly well. After all, fashion trumps all! Who cares if you have armor if it doesn't look cool!?
After storing the others, he turned to the shocked woman and directly asked:
"You cant see me right?"
Can I see you? CAN I SEE YOU!? I can see you alright…
He took her absolutely shocked expression as a yes and nodded deeply. He turned around and left the shop. Before leaving, though, he said something to the woman.
"And don't you worry, sweetheart, I'll be back..." The woman couldn't get any more shocked and this was definitely the first time something like this happened. Couldn't you just change at your home!?
Yet, she couldn't hear his next words as they were whispered under his breath. "... Real soon." A smirk was raised.
As he left the shop with a jingle, the woman who had too many shocks in one day, was indeed, shocked again. That was because, as he left, she experienced something she hadn't in the time she spent in this city.
A counter attack!
She could've swore that as he left, she heard a soft, yet distinct and terrifying sound. It was eerie, such that goosebumps raised on her arms and a single bead of sweat trickled down her sweet face. It had caught her so off guard, she felt as if her heart had stopped for a second from the sheer amount of shock and terror.
Baduuuuuump.
***
As he walked home with Fluffy, it was already mid-afternoon. During this time, the hustling and bustling of people in the streets was abnormally high. This was because, besides the normal people, this was also the time for hunters to return home from a day's work. Most would leave early in the morning so they could be back before nighttime, so there were more people outside at this time.
Most would come back with some scratches and bruises while others were unscathed. Some had beast companions as well and those were particularly well off. Then some weren't so lucky. Some people come back leaning on their comrades bodies as they were in a fatal and deathly condition. Sometimes, arms and legs would disappear within a single day and only a trail of blood was left there to signify the limb they sacrificed so they can visit their children for just one more time.
Yet, within this diverse crowd of people, there was one group who stood out from the rest. A group of three.
Unlike the other's hasty movement, this group didn't move at all. They were stationary, and focused on a single thing. Then, after some time, they began moving again, towards a very specific destination.
As Ran passed by all the people, he suddenly got a weird feeling. He didn't know what it was, so he just pushed it aside and returned to his dormitory within the Academy.
As he reached the gate, however, he found silhouettes standing at the entrance. Three, to be specific.
Once he was able to see the faces of these people, he almost immediately began laughing; though he held back for the sake of the other party.
Yet, his "pfft" sounds were still clearly heard by the other party and their expressions quickly darkened. But they regained a cheery attitude just as quickly as it left.
"Aw, brother, don't be like that. It was just a mistake, a mistake. Come, let us celebrate your apology with drinks!" The man in the middle said as all three closed in on Ran.
"Apology?" Ran was not amused. Then, a cold smile bloomed on Rans face as he also closed in on the man. Then, as if they were all truly friends, they all threw their arms around each other tightly; to never let go.
Then, like drunken stewards, they walked in sync with each other, arms on shoulders, towards somewhere. Yet, it wasn't a bar or inn, like they said they were going. Instead, in front of their eyes was the gate to the exit of the city. Upon leaving, a small forest greeted their eyes.
They all looked at each other and they all smiled cheekily. Yet, underneath the warm smiles was the ruthlessness of a shark; and that goes for All of them.
They walked through the forest before they found a clearing.
At this point, they immediately threw Ran to the ground, but he caught himself in midair before back flipping into a perfect landing.
They all removed their cheery smiles and they all adopted killer expressions. Especially the one in the middle. This guy, in particular, was weird. Probably because he couldn't stop himself from holding onto his crotch the entire time!
He snarled before saying, "you made a BIG mistake, boy. You got yourself into a situation you can't come back from. You ruined my chance at a night of fun!"
"Night of… fun?" Ran was originally confused as to why this man would pick on the innocent poster girl, but it seemed clear now. He just wanted an excuse so that they could stay the night to "help" her! He didnt how they would accomplish that with just a plate of food, but his rage boiled nonetheless!
But the man continued. He licked his lips as his face showed an expression of reminiscence. "But you won't be saving her again anytime soon, boy!"
He groaned as he could still feel the throbbing pain coming from his lower region. And even though he couldnt see through Rans hood, he was sure Ran was laughing at him. His head turned red with rage as he began charging towards Ran like a bull!
Oh yeah, finally, another fight scene! We've been needing more of those! You know what, f**k it, let's do it right now. Who needs another chapter just to start a fight, right?
***
As the other two saw their captain charge forward, they immediately activated their sigils in preparation. Yet the next second, a Cheetah came out of nowhere and bit one of them fiercely in the leg.
After all, her nature was darkness, so sneak attacking was her forte. As soon as the three men had surrounded Ran, she quietly disappeared. Yet, she was actually just stalking and following them from afar. And the men's rage caused them to focus solely on Ran, letting them forget about Fluffy entirely.
The man gritted in pain and called out to his partner for help. He activated his sigil to get Fluffy off of him.
Within a second, earth appeared out of nowhere and surrounded his arm. The earth shined as tiny yellow runes surrounded it before coalescing into an arms-length gauntlet made of rock. He punched towards Fluffy's head, planning to make her forfeit this match immediately.
Oh hell nah! Her sunken teeth were swiftly removed from the man's calf as she backed away quickly. Then she quickly dodged to the side as a green arrow grazed her cheek.
Looking over, the other man was looking calmly at her with an eagle-like expression. He held a bow that was wrapped entirely with (live) green leaves. It looked like a recurve bow and even the string itself was made from leaves. The arrow, similarly, was created out of leaves. The bow itself, however, was actually his fetal organ.
Shing. The bow glowed dimly as green runes slithered from the bow to the string.
Poof! With a puff of air, he released the taut string as the arrow made its way to Fluffy's face. She dodged it again, but the next second found a rocky fist that slammed into her backside.
She, with rage in her eyes, wrapped her tail around the fist before tugging it. The man stumbled and by the time he recovered, he found a set of claws ready to gauge his eyes out.
He didn't have enough time to dodge so he put his rock gauntlet between his face and the black claws.
Slice! Crumble. The rocky earth gauntlet that surrounded his arm crumbled before disappearing. The next second, a scream could be heard.
"Ahh!" A nick was present on the man's now vulnerable arm. It was so slight that blood could form around the nick, but never flow through it. Yet, that part of his arm started to turn a slight purple. The arm hair surrounding that area quickly withered and freed itself from its skinly prison.
But bow man could clearly feel his arm turn numb while the purple area was slowly starting to die! He looked at Fluffy's black claws that were surrounded by a small black mist in absolute horror. It was her soul power!
Bow man was also confused. He was a rank-7 while Fluffy was clearly a rank-8, so why did she have to be overpowered. Well, technically Fluffy has been in at the peak of rank-8 since the start of the story so it's about time she makes some progress!
While her power was overpowered, he felt that the rate it was dieing was slow so it meant she wasn't that much stronger than he is in terms of soul power. Quickly, he stopped his tantrum before both arms began to be surrounded by earth.
With his dual gauntlets, he could unleash his special technique.
Rock man held both arms out before the earth gauntlet reacted. Tiny spikes began forming before they started pointing in Fluffy's direction.
Aa for the name of such a special move? Pfft, don't make me laugh. He's just some scum, unworthy of names other than rock man.
Shoo! All the spikes shot out at rapid speed from his gauntlets as they rained downed on Fluffy like she was facing an army of archers!
Speaking of which…
She was able to evade most of them with only a little nicking her back. She dodged and dodged when suddenly, woosh! A flash of green light passed by Fluffy's eyes as the bow man's arrow had already reached her face.
She instinctively reacted by clawing at it. She snapped the arrow in half, it disappeared in midair, but that's where she got caught. She had to stop to attack the arrow and thus, was assaulted by a torrent of rocky spikes.
Instantly, her left side was akin to that of a porcupine because of the sheer number of spikes sticking to her body. Blood leaked from every hole as it stained the grass red. As it left her body she, too, felt her energy slowly leave with it. But more importantly, she felt pain! It felt like hundreds of ants biting down on her skin.
She sent threads of soul juice out. It sweeped around her body, removing the spikes. She quickly decided that the other man, the archer, was the larger threat so she went directly for him.
But was Ran doing any better?
Well let's see then. Hmm, okay, the man charged towards him. He then shot out his fist while Ran summoned his sword as swiped back.
Okay, okay, what happens next?
Oh, the fist was just a feint. In an instant, his fist suddenly opened up and began emitting a red glow. Red runes appeared on his hand before jumping out of his hand. It then created a flaming red spear! He clenched his hand again, tightening his grip, and then swiped to defend against Rans sword.
The crotch man was completely stunned by Rans ruthlessness! Did he think my hand is as hard as a sword!? Shameless! Don't you know the rules to dueling!?
The crotch man screamed in his mind as his surprise attack was a failure. He intended for Ran to block with his arms before suddenly spawning a spear to jab at his throat! But… that didn't work.
Yet, he was even more shocked the next second as Rans sword began biting into his spear before slicing it in half the next second. He even felt some of his energy being absorbed! Well, guess it's time to take it up a notch.
He spawned another flaming spear using his sigil and thus, let the real showdown, begin!