Poof.
The moment I lowered myself, my tails refused to cooperate and bounced me off balance. I toppled sideways and ended up flat on my back on the cold floor, tails spread out in an embarrassing mess around me.
"Pfft, sorry, pfft-" Mom tried to hold back her laughter, but I could see her shoulders shaking.
"Sigh... My tails don't fit," I said, staring at the ceiling in defeat, cheeks tinged with embarrassment.
"Can't you just shorten them?" Kayda said, entering the plane with a curious tilt of her head. Her eyes flicked from me on the ground to the bench with casual amusement.
"No, this is the shortest they can go," I said grumpily, waving the fluffy meter-long tails around to prove my point.
"Ah, I see. Then just strap yourself to the floor," Kayda suggested with a shrug, saying it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"S-strap myself to the floor?" I blinked at her, confused and mildly concerned by how casual she was being.
"Or just stand?" She added, still tilting her head like she didn't understand why I was even hesitating.
"Uhm... How fast do these planes go again?" I asked cautiously, my ears flicking as I looked between the two of them.
"Hmm, about 2300 kilometers per hour," Mom replied calmly, tapping her chin as if calculating grocery costs.
"Yeah, no. I'll freeze myself to the floor then," I muttered, standing up with a fatigued groan.
"Huh? Why? It's not like you'll feel it once we're moving," Mom said, confused, her ears twitching.
"Yeah, but that's only when we're already moving. I'll be a pancake in seconds if I try to stand while it accelerates," I explained, glancing around the cabin for a safe spot.
"Ah... that might be true. "That might be entertaining, but it is still true," Mom said with a knowing nod and a very unhelpful smile.
"Did you just say entertaining?" I asked, pausing mid-step to look at her with suspicion.
"N-No~," she said, averting her gaze quickly.
"Tsk, you fucking cat," I muttered under my breath, walking to the center of the cargo bay and settling cross-legged on the floor. I conjured a thin layer of frost around my waist, anchoring myself down.
"Okay, with that sorted out, let's get everyone on the planes and depart," Kayda said, clapping her hands together with forced cheer.
The others slowly filtered in. Despite their movements being quiet, the weight of their sulky moods was heavy enough to make the air feel stagnant. The crazy squad looked like they'd collectively lost a battle against gravity and shame.
I sighed, tuning it out. I needed to prepare for the next eight hours anyway.
I wondered how I would explain everything to her. I thought, biting my lip as I stared at the floor. I already knew Mom would want to go over all the skills I'd unlocked with my class. And truthfully, who better than her to help me master them? But explaining some of them-especially spiritual magic-might be more difficult than expected.
'Wait, did I ever ask Kayda about it?' I wondered suddenly, furrowing my brow.
"Kayda, did I ever ask about spiritual magic?" I asked curiously, glancing toward her.
"You-you cannot be serious right now, Kitsu," Kayda said, looking absolutely done with me. She sighed hard enough to shake the seat, lowering her head as if questioning her life choices.
"Huh? What's with your reaction?" I blinked, confused by her exasperation.
"So that's one of your tail abilities, I presume?" Mom chimed in smoothly, throwing me off even more.
"Yes, it is. How did you know that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her in surprise.
"There have been quite a few demi-foxes turning up at the capital-and at our home," Mom explained, lounging in her seat lazily, arms folded like she was bored with the whole situation.
"Oh, right... They did come after me, didn't they?" I muttered, recalling the incident without much feeling.
"Uh-huh. We also went and found quite a lot of them at your request," Mom said, still sounding like she hadn't woken up fully.
"Ah, yes... thank you," I said sincerely, giving her a nod.
"No problem. You're my daughter, after all," she replied with a soft smile, and for a moment, the tension in the air lightened.
"Yes, yes, Mom. So how did you know about my-"
"We'll talk about it more privately," Mom interrupted, glancing up at the ceiling like she already suspected someone was listening in.
"Before you two try to drag me in with no thanks," Kayda said suddenly, raising a brow at us both. Her tone was sarcastic, but there was something honest beneath it.
"Okay, we'll talk later," I said, shrugging it off for now.
"Prepare for lift-off!" the pilot's voice rang out over the intercom. A moment later, the engines roared to life.
"That thing is loud," I complained, rubbing my ears as they folded reflexively against my head.
"Ugh, I hate this," Kayda mumbled, crossing her arms.
"Don't look at me like that. You should know what I'm talking about," she added, narrowing her eyes at me.
"This is the first time I flew in one of these at full speed," I said thoughtfully. "Well... while conscious, of course."
"Ah, what about the time with Amari in the capital?" Mom asked with a sly look.
"We only flew for a few minutes, so we didn't go full speed," I replied, shrugging again.
"Okay, that is true," Mom nodded.
Then-
"Ugh." The moment the plane accelerated, I felt the pressure slam into me like a mountain falling on my chest. My limbs tensed, muscles straining to resist the sudden force.
My body felt like it was being shoved into the earth.
It only lasted a few seconds, but it left me panting.
"I see what you mean," I gasped, catching my breath.
"Yeah, it's only the start. You feel that pressure," Mom said, calmly taking off her seatbelt as if nothing had happened.
"Why is it only at the start, though?" I asked, still confused by how we were moving this fast without being crushed.
"All thanks to the twins. They really are the smartest people I know," Mom replied fondly.
"I can't really debate that, but... how did they even make something like this?" I mumbled.
"I don't know. Anyway, come follow me. "It's time for you to show me your stats," Mom said as she stood up and beckoned.
"Yes, Mother," I said obediently, breaking the ice lock around my waist and brushing frost off my pants. I followed her toward the front of the plane.
She opened a small door that looked like a closet from the outside.
"Huh, it's bigger than I thought," I muttered, stepping in and looking around.
"Right? That was my initial reaction too," Mom said, closing the door behind us.
"Well, alright. Now, show me," she said, handing me a sleek black tablet.
"Uh." I nodded and placed my hand on it, letting my mana flow in.
The screen lit up with my status.
Name: Kitsuna Draig (Shiro Adachi)
Age: 14 (Immortal)
Race: Primordial 3-Tail Demon Fox
Bloodline: Primordial 9-Tail Fox
Gender: Female
Level: 51
Class: Weapon Sage (Wrath)
HP: 4,738 / 4,738
MP: 71,938 / 71,938
STR: 2,469
VIT: 2,369
DEF: 1,969
INT: 35,969
END: 3,769
AGT: 4,169
Skills: Dimension Storage, Devil Fire, Devil Lightning, Fox Ice, Analysis, Short Distance Teleport, Sword Domain, Mana Sense, Fox Golden Lightning, Fox Golden Fire, Healing
Passives: Heightened Senses, Soul Regeneration, Eyes of Intimidation, Human Form, Night Vision, Mana Tails
Tail Abilities: Clone, Spiritual Magic, Illusion Magic, LOCKED
"Hmm... it changed a lot in three months," Mom commented, her expression flat, but I could see the glint of approval in her eyes.
"Yeah, all thanks to my class," I said, a small, proud smile tugging at my lips.
avataravatar
Chapter 147: Skills Explained and Fox Friends
"Hmm, it changed a lot in three months," Mom said, clearly impressed, her eyes scanning my status screen like she was trying to burn every word into memory.
"Yes, I owe all of this to my class," I said, practically glowing with pride. I couldn't help the big grin stretching across my face. It had been a tough road getting here, but seeing her reaction made it feel worth it.
"Is it, though?" Mom raised an eyebrow, skepticism creeping into her expression like a fog rolling over clear skies.
"What?" I blinked, caught off guard.
"You got a supporting class, Kitsuna. This is so misleading you can't even joke about it," she explained flatly, folding her arms.
"Oh yeah, that it is," I said, nodding without shame, "but it supports my skill set to the T!" I threw her a thumbs-up with a wink, hoping to deflect the scolding I knew was coming.
She didn't laugh.
"Well," she said slowly, her expression tightening, "if you had a dedicated attack class, we might have seen another nine-tailed fox going to ruin."
"... What?" I frowned. That came out of nowhere.
"You see, daughter," Mom started, slipping into lecture mode, her voice annoyingly calm, "if you had a class that made you a dedicated fighter, too many attack skills would overburn you. That kind of overload can easily make you weaker instead of stronger."
I immediately felt my head start to ache.
"Okay, okay, whatever, I don't really care about that," I said, waving my hands in the air and crossing my arms in defiance. That was my signal that the conversation needed to change. Thankfully, she caught on and moved on without a fight.
"Well, okay. Anyways, in the last few months, quite a lot of demi-fox came to our kingdom because of you," she said, her tone suddenly softer, more curious. "We also searched for them. You could even call them a small tribe already."
"A small tribe?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. That sounded... way more serious than I expected.
"Over forty of them. "I don't know the exact number," Mom said with a nod, as if she were discussing something as casual as a market haul.
"Ah, I see. "That's great," I said with a small smile. A soft warmth bloomed in my chest.
"It is. They will be a tremendous help in boosting military power in the future," she said, snickering. That snicker wasn't a positive sign.
"... Mom, what do you mean by that?" I said, narrowing my eyes. That dangerous glint in her eye wasn't helping.
"Oh, no, don't misunderstand. We're not forcing them to join," she quickly clarified. "We're actually declining them. We don't want them to enlist without your permission."
I let out a sigh of relief I didn't realize I was holding.
"Hmm, is that so?" I said, still eyeing her skeptically.
"Tsk, if it weren't for the king stopping me, I would have done it already," Mom muttered under her breath, her tone dripping with disappointment.
"Haha, I knew it," I said, rolling my eyes. "Well, Mom, they can join the Draigs anytime. They also want to include the Anabalds, but no one else is desired. Though-they must be of age. The usual things. I don't want them to go out and get killed."
"Yes, clan leader," Mom said teasingly, her grin stretching wider.
"Tsk, I will not be a clan leader," I snapped, already regretting my life decisions.
"Say that to them. They all believe you, the nine-tailed fox, are their queen and will lead them to greater heights," she said, bursting out in laughter as my face twisted in horror.
"Sigh... Even if I were that, it wouldn't have been difficult, considering they were treated as slave goods before arriving here," I muttered, sighing for the third time in under a minute.
"Take responsibility for this one, okay," she said. Her voice sounded normal, but somehow the words carried the weight of a decree. I knew then-I didn't really have a choice.
"Tsk, fine, fine. Did you find anything out about the previous nine tails?" I asked, switching topics before she started planning banners and tribal flags.
"Ah, not really. All I know about her is that she also had a god as a wife and killed herself by giving herself up for Gluttony to kill her."
"Gluttony?" I repeated, feeling a chill crawl up my spine.
"Yeah, that bastard is still alive," Mom said with a wicked smile blooming on her face, something feral flashing in her eyes.
"Heh, good, good," I said, grinning back at her, a matching smile pulling at my lips.
Clap.
"Let's get back on track, shall we?" Mom said, shaking her head, dragging both of us out of that vengeful haze.
"Right. Is there anything else you heard about the nine tails?" I asked, nodding seriously.
"Yes, quite a bit. Each tail possesses a unique ability along with several other characteristics.
"Oh? Do go on."
"First, the tails. At your class revival, you get three of them. Then, from level 300, you will get one every 100 levels. Each tail grants you an ability. In other words, you'll have nine tails with nine different abilities."
"That's intriguing. Do you know which abilities I will get?" I tilted my head at her, curiosity rising.
"That's the thing. I know about two of the powers, but I have no idea what the others are. No clue. One will be blood magic, and the other one will be immortality," Mom said, shrugging like she wasn't casually dropping game-breaking power into my lap.
"But I already have immortality? And another magic element?" I groaned. More training. Great.
"Yeah, your arsenal is only going to get bigger. Regarding immortality, I'm unsure how it differs from your current state of being. It could be a more refined version. It could be something spiritual. Who knows?"
"Sigh, it's fine. We'll figure it out later. Though what do you mean you only know about two? What about the other seven?"
"That, my dear daughter," she said, waggling a finger at me, "is because every nine-tailed fox is different. Especially you."
"Why especially me?" I asked, pointing to myself, confused.
"Because you're not connected to the sin of lust. Something that has never happened before."
"You mean-"
"Yes, for thousands of years, a nine-tailed fox held the sin of lust. Haha!" Mom laughed again, reveling in the horror on my face.
"So if gods meet me, they will-" I trailed off, already regretting this line of thought.
"Yeah, they'll want to fuck you," Mom said, laughing loud and free while I physically recoiled.
"Ugh, but she was married," I said instinctively, trying to find some logic in the madness.
"Don't worry, the previous one wasn't like that. And you're right. She was married. Loyal to her wife. That's what her right hand said, anyway."
"Sigh... I'll need to think about it later."
"Haha, don't worry. You won't have that problem. You're the sin of wrath. It has nothing to do with love or anything like it. However... you might struggle a bit more to control the sin. That's what I was told. But knowing you, I don't think it'll be a problem."
