Mina slowly opened her eyes, realizing she was snuggled between Inferna and her daughter. Their warm fur and soft snoring made her almost want to to curl up and sleep longer.
Forcing herself to get up, Mina appeared beside her Sword Body. She activated [Astral Senses] before grabbing herself from between the Hellcats. To her dismay, a rather large Hellcat was looking up at her... holding a sword over their leader.
His heavy howl filled the morning air as he leapt from the ground. His mighty jaws clamped around Mina's neck, but he was sent flying passed her. Mina looked at him, shock etched into her pale face.
"You treacherous witch! You betray the kindness of Lady Inferna after one single day within our den!"
Mina squatted down, then used her hilt to tap Inferna's ribs.
"Hey, Inferna. You've got an angry Hellcat thinking I'm trying to kill you."
A large eye opened, but it wasn't happy. Lifting to her feet, Inferna stared down at the male Hellcat. He bowed with fear and reverence, but glared at Mina.
"Lady Inferna! She held her blade over your sleeping body. I tried to atta-"
FWABOOM
Inferna sent him flying. Her large paw was engulfed in a small flame. She hissed and growled as the male cowered in fear.
A fun idea crossed Mina's mind, so she forced the distance that she could be away from her Sword Body to nearly half a meter. Then she threw it.
"Ack. Bad choice!"
She nearly screamed as her Astral Body flew through the air, tumbling and rolling to a halt beside Inferna. The angry Hellcat was staring down at her when she suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. Mina felt awkward, watching a cat bigger then herself laughing. Forcing a cute pout, she glared at Inferna.
"That was terrifying! Don't laugh!"
Inferna slowed her laughter, then stared down at Mina.
"Fufu. Then don't throw yourself, silly. Hah... I was rather pissed off at this moron for attacking you, but you just made my day. I'll remember that scene forever!"
The male Hellcat was bewildered. Mina realized he wasn't in the den the previous day, only coming in after she began practicing with the beautiful white sword.
"Speaking of which, where is that sword?"
Mina was about to start looking for it when a cute kitty came up to her. Inferna's daughter was holding the sword between her teeth, trying hard not to clamp down. After she let it fall, she began to speak.
"After you exhausted yourself, mother asked me to take care of this sword for you. She told me of how she got it as well, being from a powerful summoner that died within these trees. She was a graceful elven woman, who wished to see all of the forests before she died."
She began to bounce around excitedly.
"Mother told me that woman was the reason her core got a massive jump-start! I wish I could find someone that could help me grow stronger. I've even heard of certain beast type monster going through evolutions to grow more massive or powerful. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
Her excitement leaked a tiny smile from Mina, stalling Inferna's daughter for a moment. She blinked and shook her head.
"Erm... what kind of magic did you just cast?"
Mina shook her head, then tapped her nose with her hilt.
"I can't cast magic. I can manipulate a bit of water though. Can't conjure it. Don't even ask me to try!"
She could see the excitement build and die within the Hellcat's eyes.
"Well, mother wants you to keep that sword. She treasures it, which is why it was held so far back in the pile of weapons we kept. I also noticed, you didn't eat any of the bows?"
Mina shrugged.
"They're wood and string. Find me a metal or stone type bow, then I'll use [Devour] on it."
The Hellcat seemed to nod, then scampered her way back to her mother. Mina felt a little awkward until they both crept up to her and practically forced her to walk back with them.
'Is this the warmth I missed from my own mother? We lived so far apart... I just hope she's doing alright. I was supposed to go see her.'
A heavy heart made Mina frown as she sat with the Hellcats. They didn't know what was going on inside of her mind, so they had no clue what to say. Mina sighed softly, then looked up at them.
"Inferna, those hunters. How did they get so far into the forest?"
The question had Inferna taken aback. She shook her head, then spoke.
"While it is true that this forest is quite large, our trip yesterday was fully skirting a human settlement that lies to the south of us now. We were quite close to them when we met, as that pool of water wasn't too far deep within the forest."
Mina nodded.
"So the elven summoner. How did she get here from her home? Wouldn't the elven kingdom be incredibly far away?"
"To the east, far far through this forest. A village of elves is there. This forest is quite massive, though we are on the western end. It would take about... hmm. I'm not sure, a full week of running in a straight line to cross the forest? This is without fighting anything, or swimming, climbing and the like. Our home is quite the adventurerous destination."
Mina sat back, looking towards the sun between the trees.
"Then, do you know anything about this sword? The summoner used it, so is there a reason behind that?"
Inferna placed her head against her paws.
"That sword is actually a magical weapon. It can be used as a staff as well, increasing magical potential and spell damage. Due to this, it isn't the ideal weapon to strike a hard enemy with. The summoner used it to cast, only ever striking her dinner with it. The sword is by no means special, although I feel it could be."
Mina grabbed the blade, then thought.
'So can I identify this weapon? Look at its stats like I can see my own?'
[Name: None
Race: White-Silver Steel Longsword (Lost)
Durability: 340/350
Attack Power: 70
-
Passive Skills:
Magical Enhancement-Increases the wielders control and power with magic by a great amount. Can absorb magic in the air to restore durability.]
"Huh. More impressive than myself, but I can grow stronger than it."
Mina placed the sword beside her own, then looked towards the Hellcats.
"Do we need anything when we head to the cave?"
Inferna's daughter shook her head.
"The cave is a bit distant, but if you just need to eat ores and stuff of that variety... I would hope you can eat them from within the rock walls."
Mina had no idea if she could do something like that. She hadn't actually eaten an ore before, so she only knew of what she was capable of.
"Is there anything dangerous?"
Inferna spoke up this time.
"That area is hounded by a special variant of wolf beasts. Their king is Tyber, a Glacial War Wolf. For the most part, we remain neutral. They don't mess with us, we don't mess with them. Boundaries are not a part of this forest, we only respect each other's dens. Tyber isn't nice by any means, so please do not attract his attention if at all possible. His youngest is more open to friendships with us, however. She's a sweet wolf, but she a muscle head. She will crush her foe before she speaks to them, if they enrage her. Fufu."
Mina relaxed a little, but Inferna's daughter chimed in.
"There is a weird source deep in the cave. No one goes that far, so I'm confident it won't come out either. Probably just a dead beast with extra magic pouring out of them or something scary."
A large paw thumped her upside the head.
"You may be a fearless kitten, but that doesn't make Mina like you! Try to be more subtle when you speak of powerful creatures!"
The young Hellcat held her head under her paws. She sniffled softly before peeking up at Mina.
"Did I scare you?"
"Not especially. We just need to avoid going deep into the cave. We are going tomorrow morning, right?"
A cute kitty nod made Mina give another tiny smile. Mother and daughter were stunned, but began to agree on the power behind Mina that even she didn't know.
'Why does everyone get stunned so suddenly?!'
[You're charming.]
'Why the hell do you respond to something like this!?'
No response. Mina huffed as she started to follow the Hellcats around. She didn't participate during their hunt, nor did she need to eat with them. Nothing they caught even held a core, so she just enjoyed her time beside the mother and daughter she had begun to seriously bond with.
'I can't wait to see this cave!'