I walked along a path and looked around. We weren't in a main city area so most of the people who were travelling were on a horse or riding a beast they had tamed. It was very different from what I was personally used to. I was used to everyone using dirt bikes or some form of off-road vehicle.
As I continued down a path, I noticed a few markings on the ground. It seemed like someone was leaving behind checkpoints just in case they got lost. I followed the trail out of curiosity. I made it to the end of the trail and noticed a woman with a fox tail digging in a bush.
"Poshi poshi~ Poshi poshi~" The woman said as her tail wagged with excitement.
I watched her to see what she would dig out.
"Gotcha!~ Badam!~" She celebrated as she pulled up a massive vegetable.
I looked at the vegetable then rose an eyebrow. My heart dropped as soon as I noticed what it was. "Wait! That's-"
"Huh?!" The woman looked at me quickly.
The vegetable opened its eyes then began screaming. We both yelled and I covered my ears. The scream echoed through out the area. The birds flew away and a few of the people in the area also heard the scream. Soon the screaming stopped and we looked at the creature the woman just uprooted from the ground.
"That's a Mandrake..! If those are uprooted, it'll scream and alert a bigger threat-" I tried to explain then noticed the woman beging grabbed by a plant monster. She screamed and dropped the mandrake.
I grunted and noticed the plant monster walking up dangling the woman by her feet using its vines. I readied my blade and glared at the monster. The monster roared and vines rushed at me and I countered them by slicing the vines. I rushed ahead and dodged the next few attacks then jumped up and sliced the vine that was holding the woman. She squealed and I caught her. I landed on the ground then turned around then groaned as I was smacked away by a giant vine.
I groaned and sat up on my elbows. "Are you alright..?"
"Yes! Are you?!" She asked in a panicked voice.
I stood up after she got off me then readied my blade again. "Yeah, you don't have to worry too much about me.."
"Who are you?" She asked.
"The name's Asin Lasslow." I said then my eyes shined and I dashed ahead then dodged the multiple vines then threw my sword at the vine monster and warped to it then caught my sword and spun around. I bellowed and slashed at the monster but it blocked my attack.
I grunted and felt a vine wrap around my legs. I looked down and yelled then groaned loudly as I was slammed to the ground. The monster slammed me down on the ground a few more times before throwing me to the side. I rolled backwards and recovered on one knee then my aura surged around my body. I dashed to the monster and slid under one of the vines then jumped up in the air and my aura gathered around my sword.
"Giga Slicer!" I bellowed and came back down with a massive slice that went through the vine monster's defenses.
The monster screamed in pain as it was sliced in half. The color of the monster faded and shriveled up, dying. I panted and my aura disappeared. I grunted as lightning crackled around my arms.
"Whoa.." The woman said in awe then walked to me. "You're really strong!"
"Really? I feel like I can go further than what my body is allowing me to go. There's so much more that I can accomplish.." I said and stood up. I looked at the woman and sheathed my sword. "What's your name?"
"Oh! My name is Hosaki! I'm a Kitsune if you already didn't figure that out!" The woman smiled at me and her tail wagged.
"Were you the one who was drawing on the ground and leaving landmarks?" I asked.
"Yeah...ehh heh heh~ I tend to get lost a lot so I use these markings to get around! I'm hunting for food since my clan kicked me out because I didn't know how to be a proper fox. Do you think you can help me?" Hosaki asked.
"Ehh I don't know. I have my own business to attend to." I said then turned around.
"Please? I'll share what we find!" She said and held her hands together.
I looked at Hosaki then sighed softly and rubbed the back of my head. "Fine."
"Poshi!~" Hosaki said happily and hopped up and down. "Thank you!~"
And with that, I made a new friend and we travelled about together to get some food. We weren't near any cities or small towns so any food we wanted had to be acquired from the wild.
We traversed down a path, occasionally making stops so Hosaki could hunt for rare finds. We found a few rare items that could be sold for high prices at stores and a few other items that Hosaki could keep in her bushy and fluffy tail.
"So the word Poshi. What does it mean?" I asked.
"Poshi?" She asked and looked at me as we walked together.
"Yeah, I hear you say it a lot when you're digging for something." I said.
"Ohh!~ Poshi is something I say when I'm excited!~ Poshi Poshi Poshi~" Hosaki said and her tail wagged. She suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. Her ears flicked as well as she sniffed the air. "You smell that?"
"What? I'm not a canine like you. I still have a normal human smell." I said.
"It smells like...prey.." She said and her pupils became vertical. She got down on all fours and transformed into a fox then ran ahead.
I quickly followed her. "Wait Hosaki!"
Hosaki stopped and noticed a moose like animal with massive antlers and a bladed tail. Hosaki's predator instincts were at an all time high. Hosaki was about to run towards the creature, but I grabbed her tail and she yelped.
She looked back at me and her eyes shined. "What are you doing?! That's food we can eat!"
"Be real with yourself! That thing is bigger than you are and it doesn't have a Prey mentality! It isn't even fazed by our presence like a normal moose would! It's like the thing is challenging us!" I said.
"That thing is called a Sumaak and it isn't as scary as you're making it sound. I'm a Kitsune, not a normal fox!" Hosaki said.
"Do you see the horns on that thing? It glowing for crying out loud and its eyes are red it's clearly getting ready to attack the moment we step close up to the thing." I warned.
"Let go of my tail. I'll show you." Hosaki said and looked at the Sumaak.
I looked at Hosaki then at the Sumaak. I let go of her tail and she dashed straight towards the beast. The Sumaak roared and got in its battle stance then watched Hosaki. The Sumaak charged straight to Hosaki and tried to ram her, but she dodged then dashed to the Sumaak and sliced its side with her claws. The Sumaak roared and turned its head quickly, slashing at her with its bladed antler. Before she was hit, she placed an illusion in her spot. The illusion got hit and electrocuted the beast. She rushed to the Sumaak while it was weakened then bit its neck with a powerful bite.
As she bit down harder on the Sumaak's neck, her fangs dug deeper and deeper into its neck until her bite broke the Sumaak's neck, killing it. It was a quick battle, but long enough for me to know that she's a natural killer. She changed back into her human form and stepped on the dead body then smiled at me.
"See? Easy food!" Hosaki smiled at me.
I looked at her then smiled. I walked to her and helped her carry the Sumaak to a safer location to where other animals couldn't leech off Hosaki's catch. We set up camp in a pretty secluded place and I used my sword to cut the Sumaak into tinier pieces so it was easier to cook.
"So you're on your way to complete a test to see if you're ready to venture about the Frontiers? Wow, I can't believe the Paragons would actually do that for someone. They've never really been one to help someone they don't know. Also your mom is THE Professor Lasslow also, her findings are always legendary!" Hosaki said and watched the meat as it cooked.
"Well yeah. My whole reason on being here is to meet up with my mother. Nothing more, nothing less. She has something important for me and I want to obtain it as soon as logically possible. I can't really do that since I don't know a thing about these Dark Beasts." I said.
"Dark Beasts are no joke. They come straight from the Dark Domain so they are going to be insanely strong! Dark Beasts from what I know can't be killed by a normal being. You have to have Divine Power to be able to even defeat even the weakest of Dark Beasts. All Dark Beasts are S-Class Monsters." Hosaki explained.
"Even knowing that fact, I can't allow that to stop me from completing my goal. I won't let that stop me. I have to also find my friends. After getting attacked by that Mecha...we were separated." I said.
"Well you can't do that tonight. The Dark Beasts come out at night and we won't be able to make any progress with them out tonight so let's call it a night after we have our dinner. 'Kay?" She smiled at me.
"I guess." I shrugged.
She handed me a cooked leg and she took a leg for herself as well. We began to chow down on the food. After we ate, we laid on the grass. Hosaki was already asleep. I stared at the sky then soon closed my eyes to get some sleep.
....
"It seems they aren't here...How far did that thing hit them? I hope they are okay." Einhart said as he sat on a bed in a motel.
He sighed and laid on the bed then heard his phone ringing. He looked at it then noticed it was Penelope calling. He sat up quickly then grabbed his phone and answered it. "Pene! You're still alive!"
"Yeah! I'm glad you are alive too, but Asin hasn't been answering his phone! I don't know if he's alive at all." Penelope said in a worried voice.
"Come on, it's THE Asin we're talking about. The same guy who saved our asses a million times in the past. Maybe his phone broke during his fall. I'm surprised ours still work." Einhart said.
"Well mine does have a nasty crack on it, but it still works using the voice system." Penelope said.
"Yeah same here, but my screen is still somewhat usable. How far are you from the city? I'm actually here!" Einhart said.
"Mmm...looking at the map and where we are supposed to be, I'm about a week's travel away. I have to catch a train there, but for some reason the train won't run so I have to wait until it's fixed." Penelope said.
"I see, I wonder where Asin is right now. Hopefully he's alright." Einhart said.
"Same here.." Penelope said.
....
The morning came and I woke up to the sounds of large birds screeching at the sky. I sat up and looked to my side to see Hosaki still asleep in her fox form, curled up in a ball. I stood up slowly and noticed her ears perk up.
"You're not asleep are you?" I asked.
Her tail wagged and she opened one eye.
"How long have you been awake?" I asked.
"Since three this morning. I was waiting for you to wake up." She said.
"Why?" I asked.
"We are travelling together aren't we?" She said and rose her head.
I looked at her then closed my eyes. She knew more about the Frontier than I did, so keeping her around seemed like a not so bad idea. "I guess you could say that."
She had a happy look on her face then transformed into her human form. She stood up and looked at me happily. "Let's hit the road then!~ We aren't too far off from a town called New Veritas. We should head there first before anything else, so we can get washed up and clean."
"Right. Let's head out." I nodded.
"Let's go!~" Hosaki said excitedly.