Eventually, after roughly an hour walk, Inari and I finally made it back to the Paws & Beans Tavern. Relieved and exhausted, both of us happily entered the residence before slogging over towards the bar section where Yarn was currently standing. Felice was presently talking with some demi-humans at the reception counter, but glanced our direction when we walked by. Wanting to make myself comfortable, I pulled out one of the wooden chairs by the bar, then promptly sat down with a climatic *thud*. My body, finally able to relax, was overcome with aches, pains, and a whole array of exhaustion even I didn’t know was possible! That’s when Yarn spoke to me in her quiet, timid voice.
“Ko... Ko nyan. Ummmm— Here is... Your change *meow* I... I forgot to give it to you when... You ordered the beef bowl with egg meown!”
After finishing her adorably cute apology for failing to give me my change from the 1 silver Solara coin payment earlier, she slid the assortment of currency across the counter to gently land in front of me. Her ears twitched while her tail wagged about as she tightly gripped her maid’s gown for comfort. I could see she was staring hesitantly at the wooden floors behind the counter, awaiting my response.
“Thanks Yarn! Oh, by the way, would I be able to try that mana malt beer you recommended from earlier? I could really use a drink after what happened to us on the herb gathering request from Felice.”
For lack of a better phrase, “I could really use a drink” felt apt here. Seemingly I wasn’t able to catch a break and had spent a good portion of my time here in Terra on the wrong side of several life-or-death situations. So, with the end of the day in sight, I figured, why not try some otherworldly beer? Pleased at my remembrance about her recommendation from earlier, Yarn shot me a cheerful smile.
“Of course Ko Nayn! I’m... I’m glad you remembered my recomeowdation nyaa! That will be 1/5th of a bronze Solara coin please *meow*. Oh! Inari nayn, would you like something as well meown?”
“Sure Yarn, I’ll have a green manaleaf tea please.”
“Puurrrfect *meow*. I’ll get your drinks right away nayn!”
Cheerfully, Yarn trotted away to one of the large, wooden kegs at the other end of the bar counter. Then, grabbed a tall wooden pitcher from the shelving unit while flicking her hands. While she was pouring my beer, her magic seemingly collected some tea leaves and placed them into a metal cup filled with water, which then suddenly started to boil. While I was amused at the ability to boil water without a kettle, I sensed Felice heading over to our direction. It didn’t take long once they arrived, to greet us in their usual manner of speech.
“Welcome back Ko and Inari nayn! I Pawsume meow herb gathering meowquest is complete nayn?”
Excited, and nervous, I happily removed the 10 Adventurer’s Sage from my spatial storage and handed them into Felice’s outstretched hand.
“Why of course Felice! Here is the 10 Adventurer’s Sage of quality C or above! You are more than welcome to check them with appraisal to verify the accuracy of my clai—”
While I was still happily giving Felice the Adventurer’s Sage and welcoming them to use appraisal on the plants, I noticed their cheerful expression change into an annoyed glare. It felt like their piercing green eyes were twitching in anger at me. They.... They were clearly using their appraisal skill on me already... Which means, they probably saw my—
“Ko... What did I say to do for your first herb gathering request.”
Uh oh. They didn’t use any of their usual speech mannerisms. Inari was also looking quite scared as well, with her ears completely pinned back and tail stiff. A sharp chill ran down my spine as I could only respond as best I could to the whole situation.
“Uhhh, you said only to gather herbs... Right? But.... What if we happened to deviate ever so slightly from thos—”
The silence and tension between Felice and I, was palpable. Whatever words I was managing to articulate, were clearly falling on deaf ears. No matter what I tried to say, Felice continued to glare at me, until finally, they....
Didn’t explode in an angry ball of fury incarnate?
Somehow, Felice had managed to calm their anger, and instead, brought their hand to their forehead for a traditional face palm. While still pouting at me, they conjured a black, swirling rift in reality and neatly placed the unsuspecting plants inside. Then, they handed me 1 bronze Solara coin for the herbs while they collected their thoughts. Finally, in a disappointed tone even I was feeling guilt at, they reprimanded me for clearly ignoring their instructions.
“Ko nyan... Meow two really are similar nyan... While I’m pawsitive there is a compelling meowsplanation for why mew are level 2 now nayn, but pawlease be careful meown. Meowready leveling up in such a short time nya means meow must have encountered something pawerful meown. Would you tell me what hapmeowned nyaa?”
It wasn’t too much longer after Felice’s cautioning words, that Yarn returned with Inari and I’s beverages. Grabbing the wooden stein and taking a sip of the mana malt beer, I was surprised at the lack of bitterness along with how smooth the alcoholic beverage tasted. It was a wonderful combination of grainy, carbonated flavour, with each sip bringing a relaxing and bubbling feeling into my head. Figuring this was the unique addition of mana to the Earthly beverage I was somewhat familiar with, the combination made it obvious why many patrons seemed to enjoy the drink as well. Satisfied with my drink for the night, and, not wanting to keep Felice waiting much longer, I started retelling how my first gathering request went.
I mentioned how Inari was able to teach me about analysing objects to detect their mana signatures, combine spells to create filter, and the several hours we spent trying to find the last Adventurer’s Sage. When I got to the goblin encampment, Felice clearly wasn’t happy with my decision to engage them, but understood why I did. However, they were more concerned when I mentioned our encounter with the ogre. Apparently, when Felice was teaching me about the inner workings of the kingdom last night, they had lied about there being a demon lord, or one resurrecting. This was all part of their mind reading ability since I was happily thinking about all of the typical isekai scenarios at the moment, they ended up incorporating the description to keep me distracted. But, the mention of a winged creature and the ogre being gifted such a powerful artifact, indicated to them, that perhaps demons actually were returning to Terra.
Felice carried on a little bit explaining the ancient recorded history of Terra, but essentially, long ago in the “lost ages”, there was a powerful deity named Diablos, who was the god of chaos and evil. The title of Demon Lord was more than fitting for them as they waged war and destruction in every kingdom, trying to unify all of Terra under their rule. Known for serving under them, were winged beings known as demons. Broadly speaking, they were humanoid in appearance, with bat-like wings, spiked tails, and an incredibly powerful affinity for all types of magic. However, during the great war amongst the gods, Diablos, along with all of his followers, were killed. Their territory, nestled in the north western regions of Terra, was called the Kingdom of Damonius. While the true record for how Diablos and his followers were defeated remains unknown, their region was utterly destroyed through some powerful magic attack, where it still remains uninhabitable from toxic mana particle waste to this day. Additionally, at each mention of Diablos name, my eye burned a painful heat, much stronger, but similar in intensity to the mention of the deity Vixen that Inari said they were the speaker for. Nonetheless, this was still potential evidence that something had happened, and that maybe not all of the demons had been wiped out.
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Eventually, Felice wrapped up their condensed history lesson by reminding Inari and I not to be too reckless, since we got “exceptionmeowly” lucky during our encounter. That’s when I asked them and Inari if they could explain the different deities of this world to me. While all of the gods have since disappeared from Terra, their presence is still felt throughout the many kingdoms they ruled over. Unfortunately, a lot of the records about their accomplishments were destroyed over time, so what knowledge remains is what has been passed down through stories and teachings from the various religious sects. In Terra, there are 6 gods:
1. Fenrir, the deity of land and life
2. Neptune, the deity of storms and seas
3. Vixen, the deity of knowledge and curiosity
4. Draconius, the deity of fire and might
5. Diablos, the deity of chaos and evil
6. Perfectus, the deity of everything
Each kingdom generally followed one of the gods, but their support has diminished greatly in modern times. Roughly speaking, the great war amongst the deities happened 100,000 years ago, and their divine interventions have been absent since that time period. My eye burned at the mention of each name, except for Neptune, which for some reason, gave my eye a rather sharp chill and... Frightened... Feeling? Seemingly, Felice and Inari were just as confused as to the sensations I described, along with not knowing anything about a “world serpent” either. Eventually, the conversation turned towards our status values, as I was rather curious about how Inari’s appraisal window differed from mine. While she was hesitant, Inari shared her status window with me, along with the hidden parameters.
---
Name: Inari Kitsune Level: 3
Race: Beastkin HP: 30/30 MP: 100/100
Age: 22
Profession: Priestess [Hidden - The Speaker For Vixen]
Status: Strength: 10 Defense: 15
Magic: 33 (+2) Dexterity: 22
Skill Proficiencies: [Magic Affinity – Excellent+] [Reflexes] [Concentration] [Fire Affinity – Excellent+] [Curses – Excellent+] [Charms – Excellent+] [Illusion] [Magic Detection – Excellent+] [Growth]
Titles: None [Hidden – The Speaker For Vixen – Chosen by the goddess Vixen to pursue the innerworkings of the world at large. Individual is blessed with growth and manipulation of magic, along with a passion for discovery. All types of magic may be learned by the individual who possesses this title.]
---
Heh, and apparently, I was the overpowered one due to summoning magic. Aptly, Inari was just as powerful in certain aspects, which was related to the hidden title and growth attributes, along with her hard work and tutelage under Felice. Her status was generally kept hidden with an illusion spell, modifying their values so they appeared like a “normal” adventurer. This concept of hiding status values made me wonder just how many others like Inari existed out there? Next, Inari instructed me how to view my own status with appraisal and share them. After trying, below were my best results.
---
Name: Kotato Yamata Level: 2
Race: Human HP: 70/70 MP: 70/70
Age: 25
Profession: Spell Blade
Status: Strength: 30 Defense: 30
Magic: 30 Dexterity: 30
Skill Proficiencies: [Growth] [Summoned Hero] [] [] [] [] [] []
Titles: None
---
While I had gotten all of the raw status values correct according to Felice, all of my hidden parameters remained invisible. Furthermore, all of the glitched characters had fully vanished now, yet a shimmering vale of light continued obstructing the hidden values. Thankfully, a normal individual wouldn’t notice if they cast a common appraisal spell according to Felice, but it was apparently visible when I or Inari cast it on myself, showcasing our strong magical ability.
Since we were on the topic of everyone’s status, I asked Felice if they would share their values with me, to which they responded: “Nya nya nya Ko nayn. Some things are best kept a secret meown!”. While I was slightly disappointed I couldn’t learn more about how powerful the cheeky cat maid actually was, I figured I would eventually discover the answers on my own with time.
Finally, after chatting with Inari, Felice, and Yarn for a bit longer, it was time to retire for the night. After saying our goodbyes, Felice led me up the old, wooden stairs of the tavern, to the second floor again, except this time, to my proper room. After traveling down several winding and confusing hallways which prompted me to question the interior size of the actual tavern itself, we eventually arrived to my apartment. Staring at the plain, wooden door, I grabbed the cold, metal handle, taking note of the metal’s contours in my tired and aching hands. Physically, and mentally exhausted, along with wanting to finally sleep after another tiring day in Terra, I opened the door and was greeted to the warm, pleasant welcome of a simple, yet comfortable, hotel lodgings. Inside the small space was a simple, single bed, covered with a white blanket and matching pillow. To the sides, were a basic wooden nightstand, oaken closet, and mirror. Two metal lamps also dimly illuminated the room with their presence, with one affixed to my immediate right on the wall, and the other resting calmly atop the nightstand near the bed. While there was a large window next to the simple wooden frame and mattress, only tranquil, moonlit rays entered the room, indicating nature too, had signalled it was time for rest.
“Meowright Ko nayn. This will be meow lodgings while you stay with us at the Paws & Beans Tavern meown! Make sure to wake up early and see nya in the meowning nayn. I have lots of requests to assign you and Inari nayn meown!”
“Thanks Felice, I’m already looking forward to it!”
With a cute smile and accompanying wave, Felice wished me goodnight, then, happily pranced away, disappearing down the long, twisting hallways. My body, now desperately calling for the comfy confines of the alluring blankets, instinctively slogged towards the simple bed. Throwing myself onto the mattress, I let out an equally strenuous sigh of relief as the frame struggled to catch my weight. Gradually, I found what little strength remained in my body to remove my leather armor, sword, and serpent adorned shield, neatly placing them beside the night stand. With the last of my curiosity for the day, I attempted another cast of appraisal on the mysterious shield, to which it replied with a flaring red, and intimidating gaze. No status window appeared before me, seemingly denied access by whatever it was, resting within the shield. Shrugging my shoulders, I promptly decided that would be a “future Ko problem”, and lay my head down onto the soft, divine pillow. While I was exhausted, the excitement from today was still actively playing out in my head. I felt like I had learned a lot more about my unique situation, yet seemingly, had many more questions than answers.
Are there demons in Terra? What happened to the gods? Why does my eye hurt at the mention of their names? What about the other heroes? What would change in the coming months in the Kingdom of Solara? Why do I have these weapons?
As I continued laying on the bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling, my thoughts gradually began to slow, as my eyelids became more and more strained at the task of remaining open. My breathing slowed, as I finally began to fall asleep, surrounded by blankets, and my riveting thoughts. While I still didn’t know what fate awaited me in this world, I at least knew I had made some dependable friends I could rely on for the coming hardships. Finally, a world full of magic, fantasy, and adventure, was before me. With my last thought before entering the world of dreams, I said to myself, a promise:
“With this wonderful chance, I’ll make sure to be the best Ko, that I possibly can.”