Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 47

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 47:

I woke up from another peaceful sleep, my eyes opening to witness a beautiful sight, the first of many.

Irene’s sleeping face, just inches from mine. She looked so peaceful that I didn’t feel like rousing her.

As I watched bemusedly, her eyelids tensed, then fluttered open. Those brown eyes took a moment before they focused on mine.

“Good morning, Irene,” I murmured to her. 

“Good morning, Rick…” She yawned slightly, then blinked and blushed.

Getting shy over that, even after all we’ve been through… how cute. I smiled and pecked her on the lips. 

Her blush deepened, and Irene averted her eyes slightly, before locking on my hand that was resting on her side, then further down. I followed her gaze, and we both stared at the hand that was gently squeezing one of her exposed breasts. Its owner was spooning Irene from behind, and was currently humming pleasedly.

I made eye contact with Irene again, and we both chuckled softly.

Returning to the shop in our original world after one whole year of looking like younger versions of ourselves was an odd experience. However, there was one thing I could definitely say about seeing my girls in their original forms. 

They were fucking sexy as hell. 

If not for the job persona and Sano’s rules about lewd behavior in the shop, I probably would have been doing them all day long. As it was, I barely managed to find time to catch up on my usual anime and manga series because of how much I was doing it with the girls. And they were returning my affection just as fervently.

The bed boosts energy recovery, so even after doing it so much the night before, we’re all rested by the time we wake up. Except some of us just don’t feel the urge to get up even then.

“Hey, Matsu-dono, that’s enough. It’s time to wake up.” Irene reached back and slapped down with one hand, right where Matsu’s butt was.

The fingers groping her breast flinched, then squeezed down again, causing Irene to let out a soft moan.

“Mmm…” Uzume’s sleepy voice came from behind me. “Good morning, y’all…”

She untangled herself from my body, rolling out of bed with an energy I was a little envious of, and slipped off to the bathroom to freshen up. With three of us up, the fourth had no choice but to go along with it and get up as well.

“Fuwaaa~” Matsu yawned as she sat up in bed, putting on her glasses.

Her bed hair was pretty amusing to see, but with a snap of her fingers, it instantly fixed itself into her usual braids. 

“Here, Irene-tan, let me do yours too,” She offered, picking her wand off the bedside table.

“Please do.” Irene sat on the side of the bed and turned her back to Matsu.

With a wave and twist of her wand, Matsu smoothened out Irene’s crimson hair and shaped it into a single braid, which the redhead brought over in front of her shoulder. My eyes couldn’t help drifting to the large globes that red tuft of hair rested on.

Uzume came out of the bathroom, looking remarkably freshened up even in her lingerie. “I’ll get breakfast ready!”

“Well, it looks like someone else is awake,” Matsu teased, her eyes fixed on my crotch, “Last night wasn’t enough for you?”

“It’s a normal physiological reaction… plus I can’t help it when I’m being blessed with such a beautiful view first thing in the morning.” My response sounded very much like an excuse. “Also, did you call my dick ‘someone’?”

She nodded unashamedly. “Yup, I did. So, want me to take care of it? Or would you like us to take care of it?”

Matsu took advantage of her position to cup Irene’s breasts from behind again, causing the other redhead to sigh exasperatedly, even if she didn’t protest the skinship.

“As attractive as it sounds, I think I better not,” I said regretfully, “I need a shower, to wash off last night’s sweat.”

A cold one, to be exact.

Breakfast was delicious as usual, and we discussed our plans for the day over the meal. Now that we were back to working in the shop, we all had our own individual projects, especially when it came to handling the gathered loot.

And there was a lot of loot.

Sano was extremely pleased when we returned to the shop. The data analysis skill I had been carrying with me the whole time was rather bloated, full of the recorded info regarding the reality warping that was Wizarding World magic, even if most of it wasn’t in what I would call usable form. He still found it valuable enough to pay out a good deal of DP, even if we retained about a quarter of it for our own use.

Since the last time we had seen him, the god had been working on crafting new skills based on the Danmachi falna, and contrary to past experience, he still hadn’t managed to get results he was satisfied with. Due to that, we decided to hold off on using our newly earned DP to buy skills first. Instead, like Sano, we were trying to create our own skills.

Irene, being our magic specialist, was handling the bulk of the work in adapting the Wizarding World’s magic to the formats we were familiar with. Replicating the reality warping mechanics, creating alternatives to compensate for what couldn’t be replicated, refining them into individual usable stuff, and integrating them into various other builds and so on. I was slightly worried that she was taking too much on herself, but Irene looked like she was enjoying herself with all the magic-related work.

Matsu was doing something similar with her work on the Rooms. While she no longer had access to the original in its specialized location of Hogwarts, she had no shortage of data from the various working prototypes she made based on it, and was now trying to integrate them into standalone skills. As testament to her efforts, our living space within the shop’s domain had undergone a tremendous upgrade. Not only were our bedrooms and bathrooms more luxurious, but we even had specialized rooms for our other pursuits, with enough variety that I could see myself not stepping out of the shop for months at least.

Unfortunately, that success was much more limited outside of the shop, and that was something Matsu was trying to overcome.

Uzume was stepping up to handle most of the daily chores, making sure that all of us weren’t overdoing it in our activities, but even she was pursuing her own hobbies on the side. My Veil Sekirei was taking commissions to produce cosplay outfits, taking advantage of her Clothworker DA, and the abundance of data on enchanted objects was helping her with crafting various accessories using Mystery. Most had beneficial effects, while a few were more cosmetic in nature; it was nice to see her model some of her original outfits for us, especially with Requip instantly swapping through them.

As for me…

‘Good morning. Have a wonderful day at work again today.’ 

I smiled at the message from my dad, before glancing at the time at the corner of the phone screen. 

“Alright, time to get to work. Thanks for the meal, Uzume, it was delicious.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then the same for the other two. “See you all later.”

Letting the job persona take over felt like putting on a comfortable glove, and once again, it was business as usual, selling skills to the gods that came to the shop, and recommending the new stuff that Sano was creating. 

My experience in the Wizarding World did contribute a little, which was something to be pleased about.

“So you wish to have a staff for your selected person, to represent their role as your representative? In that case, I would recommend these skills to go along with it.”

“Oh my, and why would you recommend them?”

I obligingly explained, and the goddess purchased the staff and the skills, before taking her leave.

“Welcome to Sano’s Skill Services!” I recited to the next deity that entered, “How may I serve you today?”

“I hear this is the shop where I can get skills for transmigrators,” The squinty-eyed god remarked, his tone sounding oily even to my ears.

“That is correct, customer. I am here to assist you with selecting the right mix of skills.”

Seems like one of those manipulative types… except I’ve seen enough to not judge by appearances.

“Well now, that sounds like juuuust the thing I need,” He drawled.

“What sort of purpose do you have in mind for your transmigrator?” I inquired.

“Oh, there’s a certain location that I need them to help maintain and oversee, y’see…”

As I listened to his explanation, I realized that the description of the setting sounded similar to one of those isekai stories I read before. A magical hotspot needing a living being to manage the flow of the leylines focused around the area, or else the nexus of energies would cause dangerous mutations in the native beasts, or worse. I had a few customers like this before, so now I was aware of how to handle such requests.

The god’s touch on the pad let me know just what his world’s system was like, so I now knew that even if the location in question was on a secluded mountain, there was still some chance of interacting with the natives, as well as what abilities they possessed. Not only that, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this god had quite a good amount of DP to spend.

Makes sense, if his world has that much ambient magic, then the amount of power he has on hand would be quite high, I briefly thought before focusing back on my current task.

The basic transmigrator package was obvious, especially if they had to communicate with the natives. And since the purpose was to manage native mana in the leylines, I recommended a few skills that would assist in that purpose. Some of them were active-type, while others were passive skills that would greatly save time and trouble.

“Oh, there is a recent creation I think that would be perfect,” I touched the pad and extracted one of Sano’s more recent creations, “This is [Domain Communion].”

“Let me take a looksee~”

I offered the glowing box to the god, who began examining it. 

“I see… A location-specific skill, which would ceeeertainly fit my needs.” He put it back down on the counter. “You do look like you know your stuff, so what else do you recommend?”

“Well, there is the issue of the transmigrator’s character…”

Obviously, dropping an urban person in the wilderness was going to be a rough experience, even if the target in mind was a stressed-out corporate slave eager for a fresh start. According to the god, he hadn’t even considered the type of person he was planning to bring over to his world. I started throwing out suggestions about how to source for the right person, instead of just going for a straight-up abduction or truck-assisted reincarnation. Use of magic to narrow down the possibilities, directly approaching to talk to the candidates, and so on… With his smooth-talking character, he seemed quite receptive to playing the role of hiring someone as a property manager.

Ah, it’s nice to be able to handle this sort of thing one-on-one, without having to rush to serve the next customer…

After that, there were the various add-ons to make the new life more comfortable. Instantly constructing a living space, conjuring modern conveniences, survival knowledge for those who wished to embrace the naturist lifestyle, taming skills for the ones who wanted to live alongside animals…

“Truly, I didn’t expect there to be so many options to choose from,” The vulpine-faced god remarked, “I can see myself using a few of these skills in other ways.”

“That’s up to you, of course,” I replied pleasantly.

He paused for a while, then nodded. “I’ve decided. Give me all of it.”

If not for my job persona, I would have jerked in shock, because the total cost of all those items was a staggering amount of DP, far more than everything I had gained in my entire time of working for Sano. I didn’t know if he was stretching himself in doing so, but he didn’t look like it was bothering him at all.

“Thank you for your business,” My mouth replied politely for me. 

“Consider it a token of my appreciiiiation for your help. I will pass on my compliments to your boss as well.”

The god swept up all the skills into his storage and left, leaving me staring after him in shock. A few moments later, the phone rang, and my body went over to pick it up. 

“Hello, Sano’s Skill Shop, this is Rick speaking.”

“Hello, hello!” Sano’s voice greeted me, sounding a little tired, “Quite a big sale you just made, and you got a compliment too. Well done.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Man, if I had that much to spend, I’d buy all sorts of cool skills… now though? I’d buy stuff for the girls.

With that big sale, Sano gave permission for me to close up early, so I returned to the living space with a smile on my face.

“Welcome back, Rick-kun!” Uzume greeted me from the couch in front of the TV, Leafeon dozing across her lap. “You’re early.”

“Fee~” The Pokemon yawned her greeting.

“Sano said I could close early because of the huge sale I just made.” I sat down next to her. “Want to hear it?”

She nodded, so we spent some time telling each other about our day. Even with her projects, Uzume had the most free time out of all of us, but hearing her talk was more interesting than the flow of unique customers I saw at the shopfront.

“Leafeon also did a lot today,” Uzume added after she finished talking about the new accessories she made for later testing, “Why don’t you tell Rick-kun about it?”

“Fee. Leaf, leeeeaf, on, feon. Fee…” Leafeon made several more sounds in her own language, while I tried my best to follow.

Her time in the Wizarding World had helped her grow significantly, possibly a combination of her Eevee genes, interaction with the world’s system, and her own aura. Leafeon had grown a few inches, and she also developed a few more plant manipulation abilities, such as boosting their growth or encouraging the development of specialized offshoots. 

As a result of that, she now had her own room in our living space, one that doubled as a greenhouse quite like the ones at Hogwarts. Specially designed by Matsu, it contained several miniature biomes with their individual generated weather, allowing the plants it contained to grow freely within. Leafeon helped to oversee said plants, not just managing the upkeep like watering and fertilizing with touches of programmed buttons, but also observing and recording their development outside of their native setting. Despite the added responsibility, Leafeon absolutely loved the place, barely stepping out of it if not for Uzume calling her away from the room.

Though it’ll still be some time before we can harvest those plants for use in making potions. “Maybe we should spend some of our DP on another plant manipulation skill for Leafeon?”

“Fee?”

“But she already has some, so won’t it be redundant?” Uzume questioned.

“What’s this?” The door opened to reveal Matsu, “Oh, Rick-tan’s back early. What are you talking about?”

“It’s about Leafeon…”

We filled her in, and then Irene as well when she came out as well. In the end, we decided not to buy a skill for Leafeon just yet, since we wanted to see what came from the casual botany research that was going on in Leafeon’s room.

Sometimes we stepped out of the shop to visit Tokyo, either to experience the nightlife there, or because there was an event we wanted to participate in. The sight of the sakura flowers blooming in the park was a rather nice one, and I took quite a number of pictures to share with my family back home.

Just like that, daily life continued to pass by quietly and peacefully, with spring slowly giving way to summer.

…

<Long time no see,> Olivia greeted me, still locked in the same position as the first time I saw her, <You look like you’ve grown a little.>

“Yep, I did.” 

I didn’t know how long it was for her since I last came, but for me it had been more than a year. 

I looked around the place, which still had the various things I had left here for Olivia. Some of them had really run low on power, so I quickly set about recharging them. As I did so, I noticed a few clues.

“So Noir was here already?” I asked.

<Cheh. And here I thought I was going to surprise you.> Olivia sounded disappointed, despite her body’s facial expression not shifting the slightest millimeter. 

“So, how was meeting him like?”

<...he definitely reminds me of another boy I met before.> She admitted, more seriously, before reverting to her teasing tone, <He really is quite cute though. Makes me want to poke fun at him!>

“So you [Bestowed] your skills to him then?”

<That’s right! I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with them!>

“Did he ask about all these things?” I gestured at the items I left to keep Olivia entertained. “I expected him to use [Great Sage] to try and learn more about them.”

<He did ask, but I told him they were just something I produced with my powers to keep me from being bored.> Olivia chuckled, <And he believed me just like that. I think he didn’t use [Great Sage] because he already used it to find me in the first place.>

“I see…” That makes sense.

<He’s still just a little chick, but I have high hopes for him.>

“Want me to assist?” I offered, thinking of my own [Trainer] skill, which would give Noir a huge boost.

<Mmm… nah. I think I can handle a bit of teaching on my own.>

“Well, good luck with that, teacher.”

<Olivia Servant is the best adventurer ever, and that applies to teaching too!>

The smile in her voice was very obvious, and I smiled back at her. As I continued updating her entertainment gear with new stuff, I filled Olivia in on the other worlds I had visited since the last time I came to hers. Recruiting Irene from Earth Land, gaining the falna from Zeus in Danmachi, spending a whole year learning all sorts of strange magic in the Wizarding World… She listened attentively, with the occasional interjection with her own comments.

<So you’ve got a new member of the harem, huh? Is she hot?>

“Yep,” I admitted shamelessly, causing her to huff at the failure to embarrass me.

<A god-dependent power up system like that sounds interesting, though I wouldn’t accept if it meant tying myself to someone that cringey.>

“You probably wouldn’t. Also, with your level of ability, you might not get as much growth from it.”

<But you said you had a skill to compensate for that, didn’t you? I’ll just have to [Create] my own then.>

It would still be dependent on having an experience that could level you up anyway. 

<Speaking of schools, Noir-kun is trying to join an adventurer’s academy. I’m kind of curious as to what they plan to teach him there…>

“You might as well ask him that directly.” I finished up with the last bit of data transfer, and disconnected my hard drive, “Alright, I’m done.”

<Do come back more often, Rick. I enjoy talking with you.>

I stared at the motionless woman, slightly surprised that she admitted it openly.

<Of course, you can also show your appreciation by feeling me up.>

There it is. I shook my head and left, ignoring her further offers. “See you next time.”

Once I got out of the dungeon, I left the world to reappear in the shop. I considered visiting Michio’s world next, but there was another one that I wanted to finish up before I brought Irene over to Spira to watch Yuna’s concert.

A quick Requip to swap into a more appropriate outfit, and I entered the world of Sekiro once more.

The last time I was here, Sekiro had been making his way to the Sunken Valley where the Lotus of the Palace could be found, one of the ingredients he needed in order to perform the Immortal Severance for his master Kuro. Of course, such an important item wouldn’t be left lying around for him to pick up. A flower like that exuded a scent that attracted female apes, thus it was nurtured by the Guardian Ape, who was hoping to find an ape. 

And that ape was very territorial.

Hey, he’s doing better than I thought. Better than I did during my initial playthrough too. I watched from my perch, high up on the wall of the valley. Will this be the one? Oof, he got careless and got grabbed.

The furry white beast rolled over into a sitting position, lifting the tiny figure in its grip and slamming Sekiro down into the ground, before leaping away. To his credit, the shinobi recovered quickly, retreating as he took gulps of his medicinal water to heal his wounds. I was quite impressed by his willpower and determination to keep on fighting even after that.

They clashed several more times, with Sekiro making use of the firecrackers to stun it for more openings to slash away with his sword, until he finally landed the deathblow, first stabbing it in the eye, then using the sword embedded through the ape’s neck to decapitate it.

Oh? What’s this? I leaned forward slightly as he continued to keep his guard up. Seems like he’s already fought it before, enough to know that the fight’s not over yet.

Sure enough, the headless body of the ape rose up, grabbing its severed head and the giant sword in its hands. Sekiro distanced himself as it placed its head upon its neck stump, and released a powerful roar. The sound didn’t just echo off the walls of the valley, but carried a mystical energy, too weak to affect me at the range I was, but still enough to trigger my skill.

[Terrifying Roar learned!]

Nice. Don’t think I’ll use it that much though. I’ll probably just sell it to Sano later. 

Sekiro rushed back in to land a few hits after the scream ended, before dodging its counterattack. The attack patterns were different now, but he did a reasonably good job of parrying them. Even the powerful one where it stretched all the way upwards for a powerful downwards swing. The deflection left its stump exposed, and the shinobi used the spear contained in his prosthetic to stab deeply into that body part.

The centipede it ended up dragging out was rather gross to see, even from far away. I grimaced as I saw it writhing and squirming from the bloody stump, but I continued to watch nonetheless. The bug soon crawled back into the ape’s body, but I couldn’t forget about its existence after seeing it. So when Sekiro finally defeated the abomination, ripping open the centipede’s hiding place and dragging it out of there for a finishing stab, I couldn’t help letting out a hiss of vindication.

However, what happened next caught my attention.

Assistance from Fate itself within this world? I definitely felt something at work before that idol just appeared out of nowhere. I watched as Sekiro communed with the carved figure, somehow healing all the wounds he incurred from the earlier battle. Yeah, there’s no mistaking that time-twisting effect.

It was as though the entire battle itself had taken place in an instant, something that I was only aware of thanks to my past experience with Time Magic from Ivalice. Clearly, the whole Divine Inheritance thing had enough impact upon fate to alter the normal flow of time. Perhaps I was lucky that whatever force that was driving this system didn’t care enough about my presence to specifically target me.

Now healed, Sekiro entered the cave the ape had been sitting in front of, where the Lotus Flower he needed was. 

“Well, he’s definitely trying hard…” I commented to myself, “So maybe I should give him a small reward.”

A bit of magic to materialize a martial arts manual, carefully shaped to look like the others that I saw in this world. After that, using [Creation] to make a cheap skill with some of my LP, and transcribing it into the manual, so that Sekiro would be able to learn it after reading it enough. He was sure to make good use of it, because it would reduce the spirit emblem cost for his skills and tools.

I idly fanned myself with the thin book, then began my descent down to the shallow waters of the valley. As I did so, I wondered what sort of effects those waters might have in making potions. I had every intention of collecting some to bring back as samples.

…

Just as the note his master found said, Wolf found a white lotus flower in the depths of the sunken valley behind Ashina Castle. Reaching it had been an arduous task, navigating through hostile monkeys and poisonous swamps, until he finally faced off against a giant ape which forced him to slay it twice. Still, he now had one of the ingredients required for the incense they needed, in order to reach the divine realm.

Tucking the flower carefully into his clothing, he began to backtrack out of the cave, before pausing as he detected a familiar presence. As suspected, Fox was waiting for him just outside the entrance.

“I thought you might have gotten the Mortal Blade from Senpou Temple already, but it appears I was wrong.” The other man turned to look around at the valley.

“Why are you here?” Wolf asked.

“There was a giant ape here, but seeing as it’s gone, you must have slain it.” Fox tilted his head. “It indicates your skills have improved.”

A hand slipped out of Fox’s long sleeve, and Wolf caught the item that was flicked towards him. A quick glance let him know that it was another martial arts manual, before he returned his attention to the other person.

“Your efforts deserve reward. That text should make your fangs sharper.”

Wolf tried to question the man further, but he refused to engage in conversation, only telling the shinobi to hurry back to his master instead. Seeing that the masked man had no intention of talking any further, Wolf gave up and used the idol to depart from the area, returning to Ashina Castle where his master was.

He found Emma there, and as they discussed the topic of Immortal Severance, she gave him a text written by the previous Divine Heir, Takeru. The contents of that text matched what Fox had told him; that the Mortal Blade which was needed to draw Lord Kuro’s blood was at Senpou Temple, and that the Rite of Immortal Severance would claim the life of his lord. She was troubled by how the stranger knew such secrets.

“Perhaps… no,” Emma shook her head, “It doesn’t seem possible.”

“What is it?” Wolf pressed her, and eventually she shared her thoughts.

“Perhaps he comes from the divine realm as well.”

“...” 

He couldn’t reject that possibility, but after thinking about it, Wolf realized that there wasn’t much he could do about it. When he talked to Lord Kuro next, the young boy praised him for finding the lotus so quickly, and urged him to find the other items required to make the incense. Seeing as there wasn’t any clue forthcoming about what they were, Wolf decided to retrieve the Mortal Blade first, and set off for Senpou Temple.

Compared to his journey through the Sunken Valley, the dangers along the route to the temple weren't as intense, but they were still challenging nonetheless. Wolf was a little surprised when he saw Black Hat Badger, the person whom he bought the iron fan from, present near some kite device, but their interaction was much shorter now that the short, squat shinobi had nothing left to sell to him. 

Curiously, he found several notes along the way, all of them marked with a fox-like symbol to indicate where they had come from. The information they contained proved to be very helpful, whether it was warning him of dangers, or directing him to hidden treasures that would be of great use in his quest. Wolf still didn’t trust the masked man, but there was no denying that he felt some gratitude for this odd method of help. As he continued to ascend the mountain, the manual that Fox had given him in the valley soon proved its usefulness as well. His prosthetic tools, which usually drained the karmic energy of the spirit emblems to use, could now be used more often, and that made the increasingly tough battles easier to handle.

Oddly, it felt like with every helpful note that Wolf found, his skills grew even sharper, allowing him to parry attacks more easily, and inflict more damage with his strikes. However, he didn’t have the luxury of time to consider it further, as the objective of his quest drew ever closer.

Eventually, he reached the main hall of the temple, where a single bell sat on the table before the altar. Picking up the instrument, Wolf found another note beneath it. He read it several times trying to understand its cryptic instructions, before ringing the bell. He found himself transported to a different place, similar to what the sculptor’s idols did, but in a strange place he had never seen before. It resembled a giant temple with multiple wings, built over a sea of deceptively thick mist.

A lone monk in the area explained how the way ahead was defended by the monkeys that inhabited the place, and with that explanation came comprehension. The note contained clues about how to deal with each of the monkeys, including the hidden invisible one. By following its advice, Wolf was able to return all the monkeys to the folding screens, upon which he was finally allowed to enter the Inner Sanctum, where the Divine Child awaited.

There, he asked for, and received the Mortal Blade from the girl. Though it took his life when he first drew it, the Dragon’s Heritage revived him, thus allowing Wolf to claim its power for himself. The Divine Child, surprised to witness someone actually surviving after so many had died to the blade, couldn’t help but question him about his purpose for desiring the accursed weapon, and he indulged her curiosity.

Wolf told her about his quest to obtain dragon tears from the divine realm, in order to sever the immortality of said Heritage, as that was what his lord desired. She was moved by his account of his lord’s determination, and agreed to assist him. The girl revealed that she was aware of the method to sever the ties of immortality as well, but that was an answer that he already knew of, so instead he decided to ask about another topic.

“Do you know of a man wearing a fox mask?”

“A man wearing a fox mask…?” She repeated. “I’m afraid I do not recall meeting such a person. Why do you ask?”

“He appears to know more than he should, like how the Mortal Blade was kept at the temple, or that there are other ways to sever immortality.”

“Other ways?” The Divine Child echoed, tilting her head thoughtfully. “I am not aware of any other ways… But perhaps, it is not impossible.”

“He told me to obtain the Mortal Blade to prove my ability, before he would say anything else.”

“I must admit, I am curious about what he knows as well. I expect the next time you meet this man, he will share the answers you seek with you.”

Wolf nodded, having nothing else to say to that.

“Farewell, Shinobi of the Divine Heir. May the harvest be plentiful wherever your path may lead.”

Taking his leave of the place, Wolf returned to Ashina Castle, where his lord was waiting for him. He instantly knelt down to pay his respects.

“Wolf, you’ve returned,” The young boy greeted him, “That sword on your back, is it…?”

“Yes,” Wolf answered, “It is the Mortal Blade.”

He told Kuro about how he obtained it from Senpou Temple, including how the monks there had abandoned their faith in pursuit of immortality, resulting in the false Dragon’s Heritage that gave rise to the Divine Child of the Rejuvenating Waters, the sole survivor among many.

“I see… it is as he said… further proof of the corruption this power brings to man…” Kuro said bitterly.

Something in that statement stood out to Wolf. “My lord?”

“I met the man in the fox mask, Wolf. He came in while Emma was out, and spoke to me,” Kuro explained, “He answered quite a few of my questions, but not all of them. He also told me about the wager he made with you.”

Wolf didn’t think that it was actually a wager, but he didn’t wish to interrupt his lord in the middle of speaking. He was more worried about how the man approached his lord while he was away from Lord Kuro’s side, but as far as he could tell, Kuro didn’t appear to feel threatened at all.

Kuro explained that thanks to Fox’s information, he knew that one of the ingredients required to craft the incense they needed was somewhere in a hidden village deep underground. That wasn’t all; the man shared directions on how to reach the depths where it was, and left saying that he would be waiting for Wolf there.

“Now that you have the Mortal Blade,” Kuro continued, “He should be willing to give us the answers we seek. Go, Wolf, find this Fox-masked man and ask him to tell us about the other ways to perform Immortal Severance.”

“Yes, my lord.”

He followed the directions his lord shared with him, choosing the safer, more familiar route through the Sunken Valley, as he didn’t fancy the idea of throwing himself down a bottomless hole. However, it still had its share of dangers, most prominently the giant white serpent that lurked in the caverns. There were several close calls, including one unavoidable death when the snake’s powerful body crushed him against the stone walls, but eventually he made it through. 

There were more traces of Fox’s passing through the place in the form of notes, and he gathered up the items they directed him to accordingly, including a dried serpent viscera that was left on a statue in an underground shrine where the serpent was. All of them just added to the list of questions Wolf intended to ask the masked man when he next saw him.

He certainly did not expect to fight the headless ape again, nor did he expect it to suddenly call a second ape to assist it partway through. Having to deal with two of them was an ordeal, and his gourd was quickly running low on water to heal the wounds he was taking from the battle.

Wolf darted backwards to avoid the terrifying scream of the headless ape, but he inadvertently strayed into the path of the other ape, who grabbed him and flung him against the wall. Coughing up blood from the damage to his organs, he struggled to get back onto his feet, only to see the headless ape prepare to swing its blade down to end his life again.

He certainly didn’t expect another figure to suddenly leap in its way, deflecting the giant sword and saving his life.

Fox turned slightly to look at Wolf over his shoulder, his katana shimmering in the dim light of the cave.

“Kept you waiting, huh?”

Afterword: Work’s tough. Super tough. It’s really affecting my muse and my inclination to write, and I need both to write. Sorry to my readers for the delay in getting this chapter out, but hopefully I can get things going again soon.