Foxbond Chapter 5

Kurix sighed as he laid on top of the arena’s fighting platform with his chin against the ground, watching as his partner and the trainer spoke about the rules. He had been raring and ready to go ever since he had first gotten that woman’s scent. It had been like a powerful breeze rushing through a forest, dense with mana despite having just finished a fight.

He could still smell it lingering in the arena. His new opponent, while decently strong, didn’t come close. Baern couldn’t, or wouldn’t, understand no matter how many times Kurix brought it up.

The smell of this judge’s mana was more like the humid season, hot and uncomfortable. Kurix could tell that there was some decent strength to her core. Not impressively so, though she had clearly gone through quite a few fights herself. But, after the Ozella woman, she came up short.

<I hope we get to fight her in the first round,> the fox said through his mental bond, sighing for effect. <I bet she’s going to be the strongest one there. Aside from whatever local kid wins, I mean. Hopefully they won’t be some kind of pushover, but I’m assuming they will be.>

Baern’s emotions became a little pricklier. Kurix assumed it was because of the judge he was talking to.

The fox continued to watch the Carded. Baern was a fine person to be bonded to, but he certainly wasn’t a straight forward person. The words he spoke didn’t always match with what he felt. Like a trickster. He said a lot of things that Kurix knew he didn’t agree with, and lied when he thought it might suit his needs.

Remembering what his Carded had said to the innkeeper back in Talsmark about how the three corpses they found having helped somehow, Kurix huffed.

As if he needed help taking on such a creature.

Baern turned and started walking around the circular arena, causing the fox’s ears to perk up. Once it became clear that the two were done talking, he jumped to his feet and padded over.

<Are we ready to go?> Kurix asked impatiently.

“Just about,” Baern responded. The arena was raised three feet off the ground, but he still had to look down at his companion. “A few things before we start.”

<Must we?>

The Carded nodded. “Every judge is a contestant from the last tournament that’s still red core,” he explained. “And I was right in thinking that none of them are bonded to a Razorfeather or even any kind of flying Soul Beast.”

<My, how scandalous,> Kurix said in a deadpan voice.

“Hey, this is important stuff,” Baern protested, crossing his arms. “They’re not giving anyone an opportunity to spar against what is, statistically, the likeliest opponent. Since the tournament starts tomorrow, we’ll have to go hunting either tonight or in the morning to get some experience in. I’m not optimistic that we’ll find what we’re looking for due to it being so close to a big event, but we won’t know if we don’t look.”

<We have to go to the monster hunting guild because of that innkeeper guy anyway, right?> he asked as he began bouncing on his paws with excitement. <You have a letter for them.>

“Yes on both counts, but let’s get into this before we get into that,” the Carded chuckled. “Since I want to maximize our chances of getting in, what I’m thinking is—“

<Can you spare the lengthy explanation and boil it down to a few words?> Kurix requested.

Frowning, Baern paused for a moment before sighing. “Sure. I’m going to give you most of my mana and only keep enough to play the Boulder Hare card. That way, we’re not playing everything we have. Knowing what our cards are and how we use them are two totally different things, so I’m trusting you to finish this before they can get a triad attack off. We should make it into the tournament if you’re quick.”

<You rely on me to do all the work anyway, so this is no different.> Kurix tilted his head. <Wait, hold on. When we win, shouldn’t we get a spot in the tournament anyway?>

“You just told me to spare you the explanation, and now you want one?” Baern asked pointedly.

The fox looked down for a few seconds in thought before shaking his head. <No, I suppose it doesn’t matter so long as we make it in. If it takes your plots and schemes, then so be it.>

“Thank you for your support,” he replied sarcastically.

<You’re welcome, especially considering we’d have no idea how far you’d get without me.>

Just as he was about to retort, their opponent called across the arena. “Baern, I challenge you to a match using the Hewspara Arena training rules, do you accept?”

<Yes!> Kurix immediately said, ignoring the words that popped up in front of him. Baern, however, was paying attention, and the fox had to wait anyway.

[[You have been challenged by Hewsparan Judge Estair & Tamavar.

Hewsparan Arena rules are as follows.

The match will end if either Soul Beast leaves the boundary of the platform or runs out of mana.

Mana cannot be replenished until Dueling Mode is finished.

Both contestants are limited to the first three cards they draw.

Do you accept?]]

“I accept,” Baern announced only after he had taken the time to make sure the rules were fair.

[[Preparing deck for Dueling Mode. The match will begin in 1 minute.]]

“Her companion is a Laval Dammer,” the Carded explained. “It’s, well, very exotic for the region, which also seems to be a recurring theme of the judges. Estair was pretty free with her companion’s information seeing as this is the last day of sign ups.”

<Uh huh, sure. We’ve got thirty seconds, are you sure you want to talk about this?> Kurix asked. Baern frowned, but nodded. He placed his tattooed hand on the fox’s face and breathed out.

Energy flowed from the Carded’s core, traveling through his veins towards the Soul Beast. Red energy could briefly be seen as it was transferred from one being to the other. The process not only allowed Kurix to cast more spells, but it made him tougher, stronger, and more agile at the expense of adaptability. It was a delicate balancing act.

Baern visibly drooped when he finished. His core had enough mana in it to activate the Boulder Hare card in his deck, which was the one with the lowest cost, and enough afterwards to keep him on his feet for a few minutes. Whatever Kurix had remaining could be cycled back, but for now it was considered gone.

The fox took in a deep breath, relishing in the feeling of power coursing through him. He wasn’t a creature of flesh and blood like his partner, but rather the physical manifestation of magic in a superior form. The excess energy made him feel full, almost bursting, but it also felt wonderful.

<I’ve got it from here,> he said confidently as he trotted to the spot in the arena that the system lit up for him. That was his starting point.

Across from him, a monster was emerging from Estair’s tattooed hand.

It was four times thicker than Kurix and three times as tall with short, jet black hair covering its entire body. The monster’s beady eyes stared at him, a small red glow surrounding its black pupils and its large, rectangular incisors. It sat on wide haunches with its hands in front of it. Kurix begrudgingly noticed the large, rocky tail it was sitting on. Red glowing lines crossed in diamond shapes throughout the whole appendage.

The Laval Dammer bowed slightly, bringing one of its hands to its head. <Tamavar,> his voice masculine but whimsically high pitched for something his size.

Kurix did the same, bending his front legs just as Baern taught him to at the start of a duel. <Kurixevinear,> he responded with barely contained excitement.

Once he stood up straight, the fox started bouncing from paw to paw again. Even though this wasn’t exactly what he wanted, it was still a fight and that was going to have to be good enough. The only part of the words Kurix paid attention to was the countdown, waiting for it to hit zero.

[[Begin the duel!]]

The very moment the text changed, the fox took off. He ran straight at the Tamavar, who had so far only shifted so that he was no longer sitting on his tail. Kurix took some of the mana Baern gave him and started releasing it into the air around him. Unlike the human, he didn’t need to mold it to do what came naturally, and the result was instantaneous.

Three illusory copies of the fox jumped out of the original and the four of them advanced, though they spread out. Tamavar’s beady eyes shifted back and forth, trying to figure out which one was the original. The air around his rocky tail was starting to visibly waver as heat started to rise from it.

Kurix made the copy farthest from him falter, nearly skidding to slow down at the Laval Dammer’s display. His opponent’s attention was immediately caught. Tamavar jumped into the air, clearing a good four feet, before slamming his tail into the ground in front of him.

The arena shook and cracked, causing several geysers of fire to erupt from the ground in a line, one after another. Kurix made his copy scramble and dive out of the way, happy that the move was slow, and pounced. With the Laval Dammer looking towards him, he had more opportunities to defend but his tail was out of play for the moment.

Kurix once again spent Baern’s mana to create a rock wall that rose from the ground inches in front of his opponent’s face. Tamavar’s eyes went wide and he scrambled, trying to move while he was still in the middle of an attack.

The Laval Dammer surprise only grew as two of the copies jumped over the seemingly solid barrier and sped by. He tried to turn, and that was when Kurix came in.

While the fox didn’t have many actual attacks in his arsenal without the cards. He only had one, in fact, though that didn’t mean he couldn’t fight without it. His jaws were powerful, his claws were naturally sharp, and both were meant to take down opponents much bigger and more heavily armored than this flaming beaver.

Tamavar was looking to the left, so Kurix came from the right. He leapt onto the Laval Dammer’s hind leg, slashing it with his claws before bounding back towards the spine. The fox twisted in midair before clamping his jaws on the back of his opponent’s neck.

The beaver monster howled in pain. Kurix’s teeth may have been small, but each one was like a knife. If this had been outside of the dueling arena, that would have been a debilitating hit

It was a good thing Kurix didn’t want it to be over yet.

Before the fox had a chance to bite through, he was forced to jump away again. His back claws grew longer as they turned to blades through the Hardlight Claws spell, leaving gashes as he leapt. Tamavar’s tail slapped against his own back, coating him in hot rocks to deter future skirmishes. The heat coming off of the Laval Dammer was stifling, but bearable.

At least, it had been so far. This was something else entirely.

Kurix landed on the ground, his claws leaving lines on the arena’s stone ground, and Tamavar was already turning away from him again. The beaver slapped his tail on the ground before dragging it along in an arc. The fox watched with interest.

Just like the Illusory Wall from earlier, a small rocky outcropping grew out of the arena. This one put out a lot more heat than the Laval Dammer did on its own and made for great cover in its own right.

<Ohhhh,> Kurix said to Baern. <So that’s why it’s called a Dam—>

He didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence. Tamavar lifted himself onto his tail and started kicking the rocks with his hind legs. Kurix grinned as he accepted the challenge. Lowering his body, he took off just before the first rock was meant to strike him.

The fox slipped to the side, his fur singed by the heated projectile. It landed exactly where he had just been standing, cracking the stone platform. Kurix stayed low to the ground, weaving through the incoming rocks with speed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Tamavar’s Carded throwing something, and eagerly waited to see what kind of evolution was about to take place.

Tamavar, out of rocks, returned to his feet as the flying card touched him. The transformation was quick despite the large amount of mana being infused, and Kurix resumed his charge once he saw what it was.

Coming out of either side of the Laval Dammer’s mouth were large, sickle-like mandibles. He still had his large buck teeth, and it looked like this card had been specifically chosen to allow him to grab and bite. It could be devastating if Kurix allowed himself to get caught.

A quick glance back at Baern showed that his partner was just standing there, arms crossed as he watched. There was an intense look on his face, but Kurix felt none of it in their emotional bond. He was simply waiting for it to be over. The Carded arched an eyebrow at his Soul Beast before jutting his chin towards the enemy.

When Kurix looked back, he was forced to dodge. Tamavar was still across the arena, but his mandibles had clapped together and a cross of energy was coming his way. The fox jumped out of the way a moment too slowly. The arching line caught him in the back leg. There was no blood, but the wound was painful; if it weren’t for the overcharged mana in him, he may well have lost it.

<Gimme the bunny card,> Kurix growled as he landed on his feet, the injured one threatening to come out from under him.

He could sense Baern’s energy start to circulate into the card behind him as he created more copies of himself. Kurix left one where he had been sitting, moving off to the side with one of the others as they all hobbled away.

Taking the opportunity, Tamavar slapped his tail on the ground and slid it in front of him again. Kurix could feel his opponent’s humid mana filling up the arena as more hot rocks rose from the ground. It was starting to become annoying. 

This time, the enemy didn’t start kicking the rocks. Tamavar’s tail raised and lowered, and another line of eruptions came forward just like it had before. It could have been luck, but the Laval Dammer had chosen the correct fox.

Instead of backing away, Kurix ran to meet it. The Boulder Hare card flew through the air, and the moment it touched him his back leg was healed.

The fox winced as his back legs were coated in stone. Perhaps healed was a bad choice of word. His injury was better now that he wasn’t leaking mana.

<Check this out!> Kurix announced as he leapt into the air, spinning to look at Baern.

“Get him, Kurix!” the Carded yelled back, sounding exhausted as his mana was nearly depleted.

Completing his 360 degree turn, Kurix looked down at the eruptions he was about to leap into. His legs were now rock, which wasn’t going to be affected nearly as terribly as his fur was, but he knew better than to jump directly into a special attack without preparation.

He gathered his mana underneath him to activate the Stone Leap spell just as he had against the Manticore. A shield of rock appeared under his back paws, growing larger as he pumped more energy into it. The last flaming geyser caught his tail and his sides, but he was committed to the maneuver.

Kurix rode forward with the momentum of his leap, the shield from Stone Leap grew large enough to protect the fox completely. With the geysers putting out enough force to keep him aloft, he sailed over them directly towards the Laval Dammer. The enemy looked up and opened his mandibles wide. They started closing, and he jumped.

The rock shattered from the force of the fox's hind legs kicking it. It collided with Tamavar’s aerial cut, stopping while getting crushed itself. Shrapnel still continued flying forward to strike the Laval Dammer, obstructing his vision of Kurix for a moment.

In an instant, the moment of victory flashed in the fox’s mind. He really wanted to show off, but he could see it so clearly that he only had to act on it to make it happen. Shifting in midair, he used Stone Leap to create the smallest possible platform he could. It took less than a second, and he kicked it. By the time the shrapnel struck the Laval Dammer he was heading that way.

Carefully, he twisted again so that his back legs were going first. He activated Stone Leap for what he assumed would be the last time as Tamavar shook his head. The shards had done a number on him, and he was distracted.

Perfect.

Kurix’s rocks collided with the Laval Dammer’s chest, pinning his arms against his torso. Tamavar’s mouth and mandibles opened from surprise as he staggered backwards. His tail slapped the ground, and a huge eruption emerged all around him. The fox’s fur was scorched and he sensed another card coming in from the competitor, but it was too late.

Opening his mouth wide, Kurix bit Tamavar’s throat. His teeth penetrated the oversized fire rodent’s pelt easily, and he clamped down as hard as he could. Claws elongated as the light turned them into blades, and he tore through flesh.

This wasn’t enough to defeat the larger Soul Beast, but what would happen next certainly would.

Kurix kicked off of his rock platform with as much energy as he could muster. It shattered, shards embedding themselves into the Laval Dammer’s torso as he leapt out of the raging inferno. His teeth came with it, taking a part of Tamavar’s throat with him and causing massive damage.

Thankfully for the sparse audience, this wasn’t a fight between two flesh and blood monsters, otherwise things would have been a lot messier. The red mana that was spilled looked like gore, but it evaporated into the air quickly.

Kurix landed on his feet and immediately started trotting to disperse his momentum. He turned around, tail swishing with pride as the inferno started dying down. When it did, he saw Tamavar on the ground, fading away into nothingness. A wisp of energy, no longer as powerful as it once was, returned to the woman.

[[Combat is now over. The winner is Baern & Kurixevinear!

Experience gained.

Boulder Hare: 12 exp.]]

“Good job, Kurix,” Baern praised.

<Of course it was a good job,> the fox replied happily as he trotted over to his Carded. <Shame we don’t get a chance to fight any more. Think they’ll let us?>

“No, definitely not,” the Carded chuckled as he placed his hand on Kurix’s head. The Soul Beast willingly allowed his companion to retrieve the excess mana after it was used to fix his leg. Both of them glanced at Estair, who looked sour but was already on her way. “Let me take care of this, and we’ll get some food on the way to the monster hunting guild. Does that sound good?”

<Sounds delightful,> Kurix agreed. <And if you don’t mind, I’m going to trot about like I own the place. This Laval Dammer was more fun than I anticipated, and I’d like to memorize the scent of its lingering mana.>

“Go for it,” Baern replied before he started walking towards the judge with a raised hand. “Hey, that was a pretty intense fight, huh?”

Kurix huffed. Intense wasn’t the word he’d use, but that didn’t really matter to him. He had his fun, and was satisfied enough to almost forget about that Ozella woman. Almost.

And that's it for now! Please feel free to leave feedback, or even just like it if you have nothing particular to say except that you want more. If you don't like it, feel free to tell me that as well. Not everything is going to be for everyone, and I certainly understand that!

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