Chapter 117 (2/2)

It was like that oppressive aura was a bad smell, and the woman’s words were a breeze, lightly brushing it away. Which, in a way, was even more intimidating. The woman smiled at Alana. “You have questions, I’m sure. But I don’t involve myself much in the affairs of the other totems. Instead, I’d like to talk about… our village’s, Kith Klark’s, gift for Donnyton. I’ve taken a look at that plant the girl brought over, and it is quite unique. Useful, and attractive. I haven’t seen something so intriguing since Bert here was a young man.”

She smiled good naturedly at Bert, who had given Devan and Alana a mug. Bert simply glanced at the woman, his face inscrutable.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but… who are you? I don’t understand much about your kind, but… You don’t appear to be either a Rabbit or a Turtle…” Devan spoke slowly, his eyes locked on Bert the entire while. But it made Alana take a second glance at the woman, and she realized it was true; her ears were smaller and more angular, and she could see the curl of a tail around the back of the chair.

“Excuse me! Where are my manners? I’m Hess. And yes, you are correct. Typically, Kiths in our world have 3 totems each. Usually two are dominant, while the third takes on a special role in the village… Yes, I am neither a Long Footed Hare, or the Grey Shelled Turtle; I am the current Spectral Lynx.”

Hess put her chin on her fist, looking at Devan and Alana with glittering eyes. “But I did find it extremely interesting that the girl spoke of a Ghosthound. It is perhaps fate that ectoplasmic cats and dogs are at each other’s throats constantly, is it not…?”

There was only silence to answer her.

But then Hess laughed, slapping her knee. “Oh come on, did you really think I would push our villages towards war just for a dumb coincidence like that? Jeez, you don’t have a very optimistic view of the situation, now do you? That old hare might have as much sense as a barrel of gunpowder, and the turtle have as much foresight as fashion sense, but I’m very wise, I assure you. Despite the events I have… allowed, this past week.”

Devan looked sheepish, but kept his eyes on Bert. Alana rubbed the back of her neck. “...Yes well, it hasn’t exactly been sunshine and butterflies between us. The welcoming party for us…”

“When the Turtles tried to kill the Hare Elder’s grandson? Quite an unfortunate choice, that. But I think it will ultimately prove beneficial, to you.”

Alana regarded the woman flatly. “...I see.”

Chortling, Hess turned to Bert. “Bert, fetch those newcomers before they cause any trouble. I have an idea.”

Nodding, Bert ambled to the door, all but disappearing as he rounded the corner. Hess turned back to Devan and Alana and made small talk, speaking of small matters, explaining the details of village life, asking about Donnyton. At first Alana hesitated, but it truly seemed as though the cat woman in front of them possessed no guile; she was simply curious.

So they began to open up slightly in regards to facts about the village. Based on what Hess was saying, Donnyton was much, much larger than this village, which they called Kith Klark. They were not the village prior to the system with the strongest warriors, but a lucky series of events let them become the first village in their zone to reach the level of Trainee Village. Since then, they had been struggling to survive, and had to withdraw most of their villagers to the inner part of the village. There were simply too many Raid Bosses spawning too quickly.

Although it hadn’t occurred to her before, Alana was forced to admit that Donnyton was much better off than this village, even though they hadn’t been forewarned about the approach of the system.

It was all because a guardian Ghosthound was there to protect them until they had their legs under them.

****

Randidly leaned back, barely suppressing a grin.

Engraving of Dragonfly 20% ©: Wearer of the armor has a small chance of moving more quickly when moving with the wind.

It wasn’t all that impressive of an effect, but it was a successful completion, Randidly’s first even after 3 hours of work. He supposed that in the old world, this learning speed would be prodigious, but now… it was slightly disappointing.

But then again, the point of the training was to make things seem more like the old way of training, thereby shifting expectations and results. So it made sense that Randidly wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of some of the system assistance from Skill Levels.

Randidly brought the finished product over to Sam, who looked at it, then blinked. “...C-C-Common rarity?!?!”

Turning to Randidly, Sam glared daggers at him. Randidly shrugged helplessly. What did Sam expect? It was only his first try. He had figured an achievement at this level was to be expected.

Snorting, Sam muttered to himself, “Probably a fluke…” Then directed Randidly to return to the bench and keep practicing until he could do three in a row. Although Randidly wanted to train some other things, Randidly supposed it was fair.

But secretly, for the rest of the night, while he was trying and failing at Engraving, he kept a tightly packed ball of Pestilence under the table, controlling it very carefully.

Randidly’s head throbbed painfully as his attempt cracked another bracer. Grimacing, Randidly rubbed his temples for a few seconds, but then picked up another bracer. Although it was difficult, the only way to get stronger was to push.

The only way to move forward was to continue to walk.