“I meant to ask you earlier, but what’s up with your tail? Don’t you normally tuck it away to keep it out of your way?” Asked Bea, as we were leaving the caravan for our daily spar. Only a few hours had passed since my little encounter at the lake, and I felt like I needed a good sparing session.

Of course, Bea had already noticed the unusual activity of my tail, but had held her silence up to this point. Evidently, her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her, and she felt the need to ask me about it.

I shrugged while answering her.

“Don’t know. It’s been misbehaving for a little while now, and won’t stay put.”

As I was saying this, my whip-thin tail was waving in the air behind me as we walked, almost like it was trailing in my wake. It was nearly as long as I was tall, too, and topped with something that looked a bit like an arrowhead.

“Do you know what’s causing it?”

“Nope.”

 I took a stance where if I couldn’t figure out how to get it to stop, I might as well make use of my tail. Already, I could figure out a few good reasons why having it might be a good thing. For one, I felt like I could keep my balance more easily with it out. Also, I felt that making more subtle movements with it would be possible with a bit of practice. Right now, I have constantly remind myself that it’s out, do things in a way that keeps it out of harm.

I forgot about it when I returned to the carriage, and accidently sat on it. Lucky, Bea wasn’t in the carriage at the moment, and didn’t see me immediately shooting up with a pained cry.

“You should let your tail out more often—it suits you well.” Said Bea, bringing me back from the memories of pain I had endured.

“Mh—Not like I have much of a choice right now. I’m planning on going through out sparing match with it out.”

“That’s probably a good idea. It would teach you how to use it and such. Who knows, maybe it’ll even prevent you from sitting on it in the future?”

I leveled a glare at her. Apparently, she did see that.

Ah, if only…

Thwap.

Oh?

Huh—It actually worked.

It was now Bea’s turn to glare at me while she rubbed her arm, where my tail had hit her.

“That hurt!” She pouted, “Why did you have to hit so hard—or, more like, why is your tail so strong? It’s so thin!”

I laughed a little.

“Well, it was going pretty fast, and it does share my stats, after all. Though, I will admit that I didn’t think it would hit that hard.” And, I didn’t really think I would be able to hit her in the first place. It looks like I at least have a little control over the thing.

Bea, still ruefully rubbing her arm, commented on the arrowhead tip of my tail.

“You hit me with the flat your tail, right? That thing on the end looks sharp—I wonder what would happen if you used it, instead of just smacking people with it?”

I considered this for a bit. True, the tip is sharp, but I don’t really know what damage it’s capable of.

Looking at a nearby tree-trunk, I tried to convey my intentions to my tail again in an attempt to hit the trunk with its tip.

Like before, my tail blurred for a second, before deeply impaling the trunk. I looked on in shock, fully aware that it had gone halfway through the two-meter wide bit of wood. And, I didn’t feel any resistance, indicating that it probably could have gone all the way through, had it been long enough. I felt like I had an extremely sharp little dagger attached to the end of my tail.

Cool.

I think that I’m convinced now—I should figure out how to use this during combat, since it’s like having a third hand.

Anyway, we reached a good point to start the sparing match soon after that, and took up ready positions. For that brief moment where we were both waiting for the other person to make the first move, everything was still besides the tail waving behind me.

Then, we exploded into motion at almost the same time. Naturally, Bea was still the faster of us, though I had a fair bit more speed now. However, the increase I had experienced was negligible at best, since Bea was still effectively three times faster than myself, which should still be a problem.

But it wasn’t, really.

Because, I could see her now. She was no longer just a blur in the corner of my eyes. I could make out each and every movement she made rather easily. And, the largest reason why I was getting beat up by her all the time, was simply because I didn’t know what to guard against.

Now, I found myself countering her moves with increasing frequency, even though she’s still multiple times faster that I am. Let me put this in another way—It wouldn’t matter how fast an arrow goes, if it meets an already raised shield. Bea was finding that my guard was already up in the direction she wanted to strike, almost as soon as she had made the preliminary movements to go for the hit.

The only way she could hit me, would be to overwhelm my reaction times. She had to move in a way that would leave me in a checkmate position, where I couldn’t possibly move my body fast enough to block. Of course, this happened quite a bit.

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Bea was still surprised that I was able to block her at times though, when I hadn’t been able to previously.

She was even more surprised when the bruises she had given me when making contact, simply faded away after a few seconds. So that’s what Draconic Regeneration’s like. Bea’s hit’s didn’t even really register as pain, before they were gone.

Of course, that just incited her to hit harder, and faster, which in turn motivated me to block better, and more often.

In the end, Bea won the spar. However, I will not count it as her win since she used dirty tactics. Apparently, she thought it would be amusing to grab onto my tail. She felt validated when I immediately fell to my knees, making a yowling noise.

“Ehehehe…Weak-point found….” She said, giving me chills.

It looks like I really need to get stronger, to defend myself from those threats closer to me. I also need to figure out how to make better use of my tail, otherwise it would just be a weakness.

We walked back to the caravan, and I began answering some of Bea’s questions after I felt like speaking to her again.

“So, what happened? Something about you has changed since yesterday, including your tail. Hell, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that you broke through the bottleneck.”

I looked at Bea, confused.

“But I did?”

“Hm?”

“I broke through the bottleneck. It looks like I was freaked out over nothing yesterday.”

I noticed that Bea had stopped moving next to me, so I slowed down, and turned around to face her.

She had a look of shock on her face, and was looking at me like one would a monster.

“But…how? It took me three years…”

“Three whole years? Is that what you meant when you said that it takes a while to get through the bottleneck?”

“Yes, that’s what I meant! It’s common sense—it can take years to get through bottlenecks! Doing it in only three years is considered extremely quick for the level 250 divide!”

I think I’ve broken Bea. That seems to happen often around me, doesn’t it? But still, when put into perspective, I do suppose that breaking through a bottleneck in a single night is a little….monstrous. And, I did it while sleeping, no less.

Really makes the whole bottleneck thing feel useless, doesn’t it? Oh well, I guess I’m just one of those protagonists, after all. Or am I more of an antihero? Bah, doesn’t matter.

I simply shrugged at her comments, and replied without much thought.

“I think you can attribute all that to my demonic heritage, and not to any effort of my own.”

“Ugh. So unfair.”

Yeah, it is. But, at least I can get stronger in less time because of it.

The rest of the walk back to the caravan was spent in relative silence, since I was admiring the massive trees found here, and the vibrant forest life. Bea was probably still trying to get over the fact that I broke the bottleneck. I wonder what would have happened if I told her that I had also gained thirty levels right after breaking through?

I think it would be best to wait until we got to the carriage to tell her something like that, since she would have a seat to keep her from falling due to the shock. After all, I’ve completely broken from common sense now.

Though, when we did get to the carriage, there was already someone waiting inside it. Bea’s sister Gabriel had taken a seat inside the moving carriage, looking fairly tired and bored.

When she saw Bea enter the carriage first, her face lit up, and I knew that the girl was here to talk to Bea about something. And, given the way her face fell when I followed Bea into the carriage immediately after, I was the topic of discussion, or in the very least wasn’t viewed in a friendly light by Gabriel.

“Ah—what brings you here today, Gabe?” Asked Bea. Her sister, momentarily distracted due to the force of her glare towards me, answered Bea.

“Mh? Well, I wanted to find out more about Lady Katariah here. Things like, how old is she? Why is she here, and where did she come from? How strong is she?”

Hey, I’m right here, you know? Why not just ask the source of your anger and curiosity? Agh, forget it. This is between sisters, I guess.

“Why do you want to know these things?” Asked Bea curiously, while I simply sat back, and observed. Gabriel obviously doesn’t care too much that I’m here, after all. Though, she seems to be ignoring me rather seriously. I had to look down, and reassure myself that I hadn’t somehow turned transparent.

“Because, I want to be able to beat her.”

I will admit, I giggled a little at that. Such a naive little notion, beating me. Gabriel sent a death glare towards me due to that, though.

Bea looked at me briefly as well, to get my permission to disclose my information. I nodded at her.

“Right then. Don’t get your hopes up too high though. Kai’s level 250, since she just broke through that bottleneck yesterday. The one time she spared with me with all her ability, we ended in a draw, so she’s at least as strong as I am when going full out.”

Gabriel’s eyes seemed to light up at this information. Maybe she thinks she can catch up with me?

“And? How long did she spend at that bottleneck? How old is she? What type of reptile beastkin is she?”

“Err—are you sure you want to know? There are some things that are better left unknown, lest you discourage yourself.”

Gabriel nodded.

“I have to know. More information is always better than less.”

“No, it’s not. Especially in this case.” Bea paused. “But, since you seem so adamant about finding out, and since Kai seems to not mind you knowing, I’ll tell you. Kai is fourteen years old. She’s a monstrous existence that both reached, and broke through the level 250 bottleneck in a single day. And, she’s not a reptile beastkin. She’s a Demon, apparently.”

Ah, I think I’m beginning to like shocking people. Their pale faces are so, so amusing. However, judging by the fact that Gabriel hastily left the carriage right after that revelation, looking shaky and conflicted, she didn’t take the news well. I suppose it didn’t help that I smirked at her gloatingly right before that point, no?

----------------------------------------

(POV Gabriel)

She’s a Demon, a freaking Demon. How the hell am I supposed to catch up to something so powerful, so legendary? How am I supposed to get Joseph to quit looking at her?

The first thing he did after waking up this morning, was call out for her—even though she was the one who had knocked him unconscious in the first place. By the gods, she’s only fourteen! How does someone so young hold so much power?!

It’s all feeling a bit hopeless. By the time I catch up to her current level, she’ll have left me in the dust. Maybe she’ll have even reached the 500 watershed? Who knows, with that sort of bloodline and aptitude?

No, I just need to resolve myself to climb up, to get ever stronger right? I need to get stronger, in order to beat her, no matter what. I’d even go to hell in order to gain strength enough to stand on the same field as her.

“Ohohoho! I’ve overheard some interesting thoughts from you, little mortal! Tell me, what is it you truly seek?”

I gasped, and spun around. Who’s there?

Behind me, a massive woman stood, wreathed in glowing motes of red light. Or is she made of the light? She held a great spear in one hand, and a massive shield in the other.

“Who…are you?” I asked cautiously. The woman, who was taller than me by a great deal, exuded an aura unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

“Me? Have I been so forgotten in my slumber, that even the mortals like you do not recall my name?”

I shook my head, not knowing what she was talking about in the slightest.

“No matter. I have awoken, and find you most amusing. I will allow you to act as my temple, so that you may use my power as you will it.”

“Wait, temple? What do you mean?”

“Stay still, child, this might sting a bit.” Said the woman, who suddenly blurred in front of me. Then, I felt as if my head began expanding, and my mana pool seethed as if a great pressure was forcing the both of them to grow.

I tried to scream, but found myself frozen in place, experiencing each second as if a year passed in great pain.

Finally, it ended, and I collapsed to the ground, sweating bullets. From inside my mind, I heard the voice of the woman.

“My name is Aren, goddess of righteous battle. I look forward to working with you, little mortal.”