Swordsmaster Fox-girl

As Esther’s eyes fluttered open, the dim sunlight from the reinforced glass panel on the ceiling came into view. She groaned, feeling her clothes sticking to her body because of sweat.

Sitting up, she looked down at her own hands. Nothing’s changed… Which was good. Her biggest fear was that she’d turn into an actual fox. 

Esther stood up. She paced around the room, trying to find a way out. No good. The entrance’s shut tight. The next logical step was to check the glass panel on the ceiling, especially considering the fact that there was a ladder propped up against the wall.

She climbed up. Right beside the panel, there was a note that read, “28028487.” And right next to the note was some kind of Manatech lock.

Esther furrowed her brows. I need to input this, right? After putting in the last number, the panel swung open, letting a rush of fresh air in. 

The fox girl sighed in relief. She could feel her two tails brushing against her back as—

Wait, two tails?

Esther almost fell down the ladder but managed to cling to it. Spending a split second to catch her breath, she inspected her tails. They were still the same, but there were two of them now. While she was happy that she was now twice as fluffy, she also despaired the prospect of spending twice as much time cleaning them…

Shaking her head, Esther climbed out of the Heat Shelter and onto its roof. She could see the cloudy sky, feel the howling wind, and notice the walkway that connected to her room on the second floor.

He’s not even trying to hide where I should go, huh? Esther climbed through the window and into her room, whereupon she spotted Nowa, sleeping in the bed. 

Her eyes grew soft at this. How long have I been there? She didn’t know, but she was sure to make up to Nowa for the time they’d been separated.

Sitting on the bed, Esther dug her nails into her hand so that it slightly bed. “[Minor Heal].” As the green light subsided, the familiar blue screen appeared right before her.

[ARC has increased by 0.00000005]

Damn… 

Seemed like her old method just wouldn’t do it anymore. Heaving one last heavy sigh, she called Status up.

==STATUS==

Name: Esther Raze

Species: Nogitsune

Class: Soldier of Stars
Sub-class: -UNCHOSEN-
Sub-class: -UNCHOSEN-

Rank: ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (2/12)

Titles: Master of Swords (+10% to STR, DEX, and AUR) // Star-breaking swordsman (Access to Cosmic swordsmanship) // Slayer of Mages (+4 to ARC) // Devil of Arylist (+5% to AUR) // Reincarnator (hides the user’s Titles to any and all appraisal skills and items)

Gift: Kirion, the Blood-drinking sword (current rank: ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ [3/12]) {DISCONNECTED}

 Avaron, the Mana-eating sword (current rank: ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ [2/12]) {DISCONNECTED}

Trait: False pragmatist (+4 to INT and DEX // -10 to Hidden stat: Emotional stability)

=================STATUS=================

STR: 18 (+1.8) → 21 (+2.1)

DEX: 25 → 30 (+3) (+4)

INT: 12 (+4)

END: 14 → 12

LUK: 5 → 10

ARC: 25 → 29 (+4)

AUR: 25 → 32 (+3.2) (+1.6) 

Current state: Blessing of the [Outer Sun God] (Tier 1) // Blessing of the [Storms Monarch] // Curse of the [Monarch of Violence] (1) // Curse of the [Monarch of Violence] (2)

=====

Aside from the stats increase, there was really nothing of note. Though, Esther focused on her Race section.

[Nogitsune - The Evil Fox Spirit

Gets stronger by ending the lives of creatures and assimilating a fraction of their souls into your own power.

Power also scales with notoriety.] 

“...”

She brought her face closer to the screen, making sure that she didn’t see wrong.

[Gets stronger by ending the lives of creatures and assimilating a fraction of their souls into your own power.]

Nope, I saw right. 

[Power also scales with notoriety.]

And it was this line that made her a bit sad. If only I had this in my past life… Maybe killing the Demon King by myself would’ve been possible…

But it was too late to regret now. Anyways, I can’t believe Freya is right. I am a Fox Spirit now. Maybe s—

Esther suddenly felt something clinging to her tail. Snapping her head around, she found Nowa hugging the mass of fluff, staring at her with bright red eyes.

“Nee-chan?”

Esther smiled. She caressed Nowa’s cheek with her hand, which was still horribly scarred. “I’m back.”

.

.

.

.

.

A few weeks had passed since then. And, as Esther had expected, it was now pretty much impossible to get Freya to call her by her real name.

“Fox spirit, we’re outta food!”

Esther dropped the bucket of laundry she was holding and stretched her arms. Although she could just travel to town and buy something, she was actually keener on hunting something and seeing the new effect of being a Nogitsune directly. “I’ll handle it. Do the laundry for me.”

She left, but soon remembered something and poked her head into the room again. “And next time you sniff my panties, don’t leave your drool on it. I know what you did.”

Leaving a blushing Freya behind, Esther picked up Requiem and stood before a wooden door. She straightened her back and knocked on it. “It’s me.”

“Come in.”

Hearing the familiar voice, she opened the door. Her eyes quickly scanned around the room. Yep, still the same. Old books, stacked papers; it was the Guildmaster’s office. 

As for the Guildmaster himself, he was sitting behind his head, nose buried in a mountain of paperwork. He’d only returned last night, yet he was already working today.

Esther waded through the floor full of papers and sat down on the only other chair available in the room. Placing Requiem flat against her thighs, she asked,

“Do you remember the Wolves that attacked me?”

“I do.” He lifted his head from his work for a moment before focusing on them again.

“I need a map to their den.”

“...Are you trying to kill their Leader?”

“Not yet.” Esther shook her head. That’d be suicidal. “Just to know where to stay clear of.”

“Very well. And by the way, Ria said she misses you.”

Esther blankly nodded. A split second later, her entire body froze, trying to comprehend what the actual fuck the Guildmaster had just said. Slamming her hands on the desk, she shouted,

“WHA!? RIA? HOW DID YOU KNOW!?”

A pile of paper was knocked over. Through the falling papers, the Guildmaster merely concentrated on his work again, not paying any mind to Esther’s outburst.

“You… You cannot just say that and be silent! Tell me! How did you know?!”

“I went to see her. That’s why I was gone. And why do you think I adopted you?” He said without lifting his gaze from the paper. “And she sent you a package. I left it in the Heat Shelter.”

Esther’s heart raced. It’d been so long, and now, she finally could hear from Ria again! Rushing out of the room, she dashed toward the Heat Shelter, not caring about the furniture that she knocked over.

She nearly ripped the Heat Shelter’s door open. Upon seeing a square box, she pounced on it and hugged it tight. She sniffed the box. Although the smell of the Guildmaster was apparent, she could pick up the faint fragrance of Ria… and Hannah.

Without further ado, she carefully opened the box. The first thing that she saw was an envelope on top of some pieces of metal. She decided to ignore the metal for now and opened the envelope, which had the words, “DON’T REPLY” written in big bold letters on it.

===

Dear Nova,

I guess I should be calling you Esther now. I want to say that I really, really miss you! Hannah’s by my side, and she’s sending her regards, too.

I know, I know, you don’t care about us old maids. You want to see how Ihwa’s doing, don’t you? Don’t worry. She’s working hard. You’d better get stronger quickly, or she’ll overtake you someday!

 

I’ve heard that Edward and Violette are not with you. I can only pray that they’re safe.

 

That’s all I can write. This may be the last time we will ever meet since the Patriarch only allowed this letter.

But whatever the case, just know that Hayan will always 

====

The last part was blurred, and it was Esther’s fault.

She touched her cheeks and felt hot tears streaming down them, staining the one part of the letter that she wanted to see the most.

She tried to salvage it, but it was too late. The ink was already washed away.

Esther sniffled. She wiped her tears and neatly folded the paper. Opening her locket, she put the letter inside, forever keeping it by her side.

Her nose also felt hot. She stayed silent in reflection for a few minutes, glad that Ria, Hannah, and Ihwa still cared about her. I won’t fail them!

With new-found determination, she moved on to the pieces of metal. As it turned out, it was the set of armor that she’d ordered from the Demon Blacksmith Erza. Ria must’ve convinced Herald to grant her permission to send her this somehow.

But as she removed the last piece of armor, she found another envelope at the bottom of the box. It read, “FOR NOWA, NO REPLY.”

More letters from Ria? Esther wanted to rip it open and read the content right away, but she refrained from doing so. It’s meant to be for Nowa. I shouldn’t. And maybe she’ll let me read it later…

She checked the box again, and again, and again. Making sure that she’d exhausted its content, Esther finally stood up and left the Heat Shelter.

Still, one question plagued her mind.

What’s the Guildmaster to Ria? A sibling? An old lover?