The dust engrained doors slid inwards as two kitsunes pushed them forward to let us through. Entering the abandoned chapel, I could see the immense erosion of certain parts of the building. From within, I could tell that this place used to be a large area, statues painted in gold aligned against both sides of the church, ceilings that reached high above with painted decorations etched on it. Rows of wooden seats all aligned symmetrically from the red carpet at the center, until it eventually led to a large shrine of some sort.
However this was all what I imagined used to be. The statues are now instead eroded with rust and missing pieces, the ceiling art now already faded into an uncomprehending mess with a large hole accompanying it, taking about one-fourth of the roof away. The carpet tainted and chairs filled with dust, moss, and dirt. Strangely enough, the shrine itself was still intact, although the broken stained windows behind it doesn't nearly compare to the image I had imagined.
"Well, at least it's something." I replied at the sight of it. Striding in, making sure no muck or guck got ahold of my clothes or tails. The other kitsunes followed behind in unison as we examined the place ourselves, most of us unenthusiastic at the pitiful sight.
"It's certainly... something.." the first kitsune said. I turned my head slightly to glance at her. The girl I recognized was the same one that woke me up in this world, and the same one I fluffed for my selfish experiment. Upon walking along with them, I've learned that this kitsune's name was coincidentally 'Number 1' or Ichi-San. From her appearance, she seems to be some sort of shrine maiden, or miko from the getup she wore. A simple wear of red hakama trousers, accompanied by a simple robe on top, and of course, 8 tails. I already asked the pack for their names beforehand as I traveled the forest towards here. At this point however, I could only guess what they were capable of.
I took mental note to later ask them all the skills that were available to them. If my memory is correct, they should all specialize in different types of jobs. I never really paid any attention to them beforehand, so I don't recall exactly what they could do. Jobs in-game were different than what people were used to in real life. Back in Yggdrasil, jobs were essentially a class you could choose from in order to learn certain skills related to that profession.
This was a difficult situation, I couldn't just ask them what their jobs were. They probably already think less of me after asking for their individual names back in that forest.
Wait.. didn't I already asked them what they all thought of me? Right..? Ni-san already confirmed that they saw themselves as tools...
Hold on.. that didn't answer my question at all!
I turned around to glance behind me, only to see the very same group all standing idle before me, staring at me with their ears perked as if they're expecting new orders to appear any second. I could only stare back, unsure of what to do next. I felt my tail swish side to side as I pondered about my next decision.
"Uh.. erm.." I coughed to clear out my throat then gave the new set of instructions for the pack of kitsunes to follow. "For now, 4 of you guard the perimeter and the other 5 will stay here and tidy up the place to be more suitable for encampment." I declared with full authority.
They all nodded and faced towards each other. All of them huddled together, discussing how to divide themselves until they continued to carry out my orders. The shinobi assassin-looking kitsune left in a flash, along with a few others I didn't entirely know yet. The only few remained was the first kitsune, Ichi-san, and 4 more kitsunes I have yet to be acquainted with.
Before they all left to resume their duties in clearing the place, I called out to the kitsune I am most familiar with. "Ichi-san, could you come here for a moment?" I asked in a delightful tone. That girl turned around with her ears perked to meet me once more. She lowered her head upon walking up to me, tail shifting from side to side like I did before. "Yes mistress? What do you have in mind?"
"What items do you have in your inventory?" I instructed. Out of all the things I know about the kitsune pack, the one I have definitely familiarized myself before with is their expansive inventory I've used almost exclusively. It was to the point where I committed everything to pure memorization. Every item, cosmetic, consumable, I knew them all. All of their different inventories held different categories of items, organized by yours truly. Their characters should all represent each of them. For this kitsune specifically, I believe her inventory consisted of consumable scrolls and spells.
"Oh! I have a large number of talismans, scrolls, and other consumable abilities in the form of items mistress. You have assigned me to protecting these items with my very life." Ichi-san confirmed, lowering her head once more.
As I suspected, Ichi-san did have that category of items. That also should mean her skills and jobs are spell related. A spellcaster, with a supply of paper talismans. She's definitely a miko priestess. Her abilities should be very similar to mine in some aspects, although she should specialize more in purification spells and holy attacks if my memory serves me right. However I could only assume.
"That's good to hear Ischi-san. I'm glad. That is all I have for now, you may go back to cleaning with the others." I spoke with my roleplaying attitude. Being in character of my avatar was always a hobby of mine, but I never thought that this practice would be essential to keeping appearances among my NPCs. In fact I might be a little TOO good. Not once have I felt uncomfortable in my avatar's, or having to use feminine voice rather than my normal voice.
Although I had already practiced doing so back in Yggdrasil, this was now my real body. It was very strange in perspective. I was perfectly in tune with my movements, even though these proportions were drastically different than my original body. I felt lighter, much stronger, and a lot calmer than I would have expected myself. The more I thought about it, the less sense I could make of it. Pondering for a moment longer, I determined that it was simply because of me being a natural at it after so many years I spent roleplaying.
Long ago when I first played this game, I attempted to pretend to be one of those many famous female players in Yggdrasil. However many called me out on it, saying I was just a useless NEET pretending to be a girl to gain attention. And I was, to an extent. However that all changed when I started training my vocal cords to go to a higher pitch.
It took approximately 6 months to achieve. After lots of water to drown my sore throat in and continuous hard practice, I had done it. Joining voicechat, I had fooled so many players. There was no other word to describe it except for the pure euphoria of fooling others. My closest friends however would simply call me the gender-nuetral term "they" to address me whenever I pretended to be as such. The term "they" was what I stook with ever since. It wasn't because I was insecure about my gender like how many other people were in real life, but it was simply because I was able to enjoy my hobby to it's fullest.
This was probably the reason why I adapted to this body much sooner than I expected myself to. As soon as I finished reminiscing my Yggdrasil days and stopped to cease pondering about pointless things. I soon realized that Ichi-san had already resumed cleaning with the other fox girls, as expected. They were making steady progress on cleaning the church. Very excellent progress in fact, most of the dirt and grime was already wiped away, leaving only the broken furniture, glass, and missing ceiling to remain in place of it. It was impressive to say the least.
Many of the foxgirls were removing rubble outside of the building. Placing any foreign rocks or broken decor outside for the wilderness to deal with. It was actually kinda bizzare to see so many small girls lifting things much larger than they are. Out of curiosity, I drew in for a closer look.
Looking upon a closer inspection, the leader of the cleanup-crew this time was a different foxgirl. A maid to be precise. She was a regular unassuming kitsune, sporting a normal black and white maid outfit along with a bamboo-oriented broom in hand. The kitsune was sweeping the area with full efficiency and effort, traversing around the area with no wasted movements. The one thing that stood out however, was her dumb-looking smile on her face. She was enjoying it, perhaps one could even say she seeks pleasure in it. Making sure no tiny speck would interfere with the interior's decor.
Eventually she stopped to clean out a persistent splotch that stained the floor. Even after attempting to use the cleaning chemicals she had at her disposal, it simply wouldn't come off. Then she would fixate her eyes on the stain before raising her palm in the direction of the stain shouting "『Clean』"! A bright radiant light emmited from her palm before flowing into the stain, removing any traces of the annoying spot left. Satisfied, she continued onwards to clean the rest of the building.
Ah.. that reminds me. Am I still able to cast spells in this world? I must be able, my NPCs seem to be using them just fine. Ah, but the console's broken..
Usually I would simply pull up a selection of spells with simple hotkeys and quickswitching, having each spell binded to each number key and scrolling between the hundred spells I've pre-settled accordingly. Now things weren't that simple... or was it?
Deciding I must confirm this, I reached out the palm of my own hand and I started to copy the kitsune maid in what she was doing. Only this time with a different spell in mind.
『Message』
"Hello?" I called out, once activating the spell in mind. I wasn't sure if this spell had to be communicated out loud or if I could have done it telepathically, so I took my chances with both.
"Yes Hitomu-sama. I can hear you." Was the response. From the sound of it, the spell worked as I hoped it would. Upon thinking of a person in mind and activating the spell, it connected me to Ni-san's mind accordingly.
"Hm.. I see." I confirmed with her. It appeared that 『Message』was telepathic entirely, and that I had to remain in concentration for it to work.
"Well I wanted to confirm how things are outside. No unexpected visitors I hope?" I mentally replied.
"None at all Mistress. We've even scouted a second time to make sure nothing severe could occur." The assassin spoke back.
"Hm.. well all of you may return now. I'm going to place a barrier around here soon. I have many things I want to discuss with you all." I continued issuing instructions to the kitsune.
"Right away Mistress." Was the response I heard, canceling the spell, and leaving me to return to whatever I was doing previously.
Right, so I have confirmed that I can cast spells without needing the console. That only leaves me with the problem of remembering everything that I have learned.
This soon dawned at me at the realization. Usually a player was able to learn 3 spells per level in a magic-related job. The maximum of spells a player could have was 300 if one had 100 levels in caster jobs, and that's without cash-shop items or special abilities. I recall having at least 70 levels in caster job levels, meaning that I had 210 spells to choose from, yet I could only remember a handful of them.
This turned out to be a severe problem for someone like me, as I usually considered myself a non-combatant, always avoiding fights with illusions magic and other evasion skills I had. I wasn't able to recall every spell in my disposal. Most if not all of memory was mostly taken up by Yggdrasil's item names and descriptions they had for us. I couldn't possibly fathom how anyone could be able to memorize all the spells in the game, as there were over 6000 spells in the game by itself.
Then again.. I managed to memorize 800 items and their uses.
I was left in a hard rut. Fortunately I can recall the more important spells in my arsenal. One of them were greater barriers that had the effect to seal a specified space for a limited period of time. It would prevent any unauthorized beings from entering as they were useful for trading priceless items and information with other players. There were many uses for barriers, that is if they could hold for long enough. All barriers had a damage limit before they could break after all.
The rest of the kitsunes regrouped once their orders were completed. Looking back, most, if not all, of the church was completely spotless. Minus all the broken furniture and clearly missing features this church should previously have. I stood up from my spot to address their work. "You all have done well. I am pleased with your hard work." I praised them. All of them simply lowered their heads with their tails swishing in unison, as if mutually accepting my praise.
"We were only doing our jobs Mistress. A simple task like this couldn't be hardly considered hard work for us." The assassin replied amongst the group. All of them nodded at her response.
Taking another good look at the kitsune, she wore a completely black outfit surrounding her skin close to entirely. A single black tail was wrapped around her neck and mouth as the only thing left open was her head from top to nose. Her hair was a silky silver-ish grey as her ears sported a charcoal color along with her outfit and plates that were tied securely on her arms and legs. Unlike the rest of the kitsunes, this was was entirely tanned, making her stick out of the group just a bit. However the thing that stood out the most was her eyes. Silver, filled with unrelenting diligence and dexterity.
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After examining her for a bit, I've room time to notice that Ni-san tends to act as the general leader of the pack when formed together or separated into other groups. As for the other half, they seem to switch leaders accordingly to the job they are given. Clever, leaving the job to the person most suitable. Reconnaissance was mostly led by the assassin and her knowledge of movement abilities would prove valuable there. As for cleanup, that was left for the maid I've examined from before. This group seemed to be well versed and organized when it comes to completing their tasks efficiently.
"Right, well I guess it's about time I started." I proceeded. Walking past them, I headed outside to see if I could place a high-tier barrier accordingly. Walking around, I determined the distance and width of the broken church and attempted to visualize it in my head before chanting my second spell.
『Five Elements: Greater Barrier』
I commanded. I felt something stir within me, then flowing out of me. It swirled outside of my body as it formulated a series of circles around me like before. Glowing shapes and constructs of magic emulated as it revolved, bending reality to it's will. Soon enough, space was altered as an invisible dome widened around the building. I could feel a little fatigue from casting it, as it consumed a large chunk of mana out of me. From another's perspective, it would totally be hidden from all 5 senses. This barrier would resist all natural elements to an extent, and it would also reflect the light around it to appear see-through. It was a perfect barrier. A 10th tier spell, an illusion magic of the highest tier. It was granted to me from the nature of my Miko Maiden job levels and my racial levels of a kitsune. It was very effective to say the least.
Heading back in, I could see that the others waited exactly in the same spot as they did before. Their ears perked up upon the sounds of me closing in with my wooden sandals, also called Geta. "Yon-san." I called out to the maid. This one was named with the number 4.
The maid rose and stepped forth instantly, ready to do whatever ordered. "Your inventory should have all the food consumables right?" I asked with my arms crossed.
"Y-yes mistress... I am the only kitsune out of my sisters to have a stasis inventory space due to my cooking job levels." She stated before me.
That's right, out of all the sisters.. wait sisters!? Nani? They're all related!? None of them look similar at all!
『Passive Trade Skill: Poker Face』
Another skill automatically activated without me knowing. This skill allowed my expression to remain calm and certain, on the outside. However on the inside I still expressed my surprise in full throttle. Looking back and forth between them, I could tell that they all definitely looked different. For one, some of them held different variations of color. And for the other, many sported drastically different outfits. One of them wore a maid dress, others wore miko outfits, shinobi outfits, China dresses, and most out of place, a school sailor uniform. It was definitely unprecedented that they hardly could be called related. Perhaps it wasn't by blood, and more like a bond of sorts? I could only guess.
"Ahem.. right. Anyways I'm feeling a little fatigued. Do you have any suitable dinner sets with you?" I slowly regained my composure. The maid nodded "Right away mistress." Before taking out a small table and putting her hand into a small void of black space infront of me. She soon brought out a silver tray of food and placed it upon the table, lifting the pot over it to reveal a freshly steamed collection of hams and other side dishes to accompany it. I instinctively started to help myself to her food and thanked her.
Yon-san bowed at the thanks and I continued to clean the plate presented to me. The plate done after I finished eating. I didn't realize I was this hungry after getting a taste of it. It was a drastic difference in quality than the multiple ramen packs I had back home..
I stood there with a stiff expression.
Home... not once have I even thought of that after I was transferred here.. am I even able to go back there? I already sold some of my items, and I didn't even get a chance to see what other items that event had in store..
This left a bitter taste in my mouth. Not the food, that was delicious, but as for the circumstances I was in, this was very unfavorable. As I'm given absolutely no reason how I even got here. If this was an isekai novel where a hero gets transported into a new world I would understand. There would typically be a king that summons a hero and orders him to slay a demon king or something. However now I was still in my in-game avatar with no reason of any sort.
"Mistress? Is something wrong?" A voice abruptly ended that train of thought. "Was the food bad? I could get you a new set of your unsatisfied with that choosing." Yon-san informed me, ready to correct her mistake.
"Ah no. Nothings wrong.. the food just reminded me of home.. that's all.." I relied.
Well it wasn't a lie exactly, I did ponder upon my old home after eating, although the taste had nothing to do with it. It wasn't exactly homesickness, I could hardly think of anything to miss over there. No one besides my job wanted me. And everything I prized my life around was back in Yggdrasil.
"Tsk.. anyways you girls must all be hungry as well right? You should all eat." I removed my thoughts in place of what's happening now. All the girls stood stiff as they all surprisingly objected to my offer.
"No no, we couldn't possibly take advantage of your hard earned items mistress. You worked for every single one after all. I remember you spending days, if not weeks collecting materials for each ans every item we all hold. We couldn't possibly fathom taking them from you mistress." Ichi-san outright said.
I was at first surprised at this response, surely they would want something at the price of working for me. But as I thought about it, it soon made more sense in their perspective. I spent many in-game days, months, and even years spending my time grinding for exclusive items and selling them off the market for a high price. The amount of inventory I had was shocking to others, especially after I filled them with these types of items. Essentially I was a grinder, gaining massive amounts of loot each day for profit. It must have left an impression on my NPCs.
"But all of you surely must be hungry right? All living things require food after all." I counter offered.
"But mistress, even if we starve to death you can simply resummon us all and we'll be fine!" They all exclaimed in semi-unison.
Just what part of that is fine!?
I yelled internally with my passive skill still active. After my inner outburst, I tired to calm down to assess the situation presented to me.
"I-I see.."
Well... they aren't wrong, but what value could I have that they would even die at my own convenience? It couldn't be items, they already have them in their own inventory.. Argh... their loyalty is strangely off-putting and I can't pinpoint why.
I glanced back at the kitsune pack, all of them haven't moved an inch from their spot.
No, they haven't even moved a single millimeter it seems! Are they that determined to follow my every whim?! Phwah... calm down.... If they're truly the tools as they say they are, then they wouldn't mind me asking a few questions right?
Right... it's best to say that I should start over with them it seems.
"All of you." I started. The 9 kitsunes all weren't phased by the order, taking care to listen to every syllable I speak out of. "I didn't get the answer I was looking for when I first asked you all previously, so I shall be more specific this time." I declared. "What do you all think of me? Individually. I want to know how far is your loyalty from your own perspectives. State your name, class, and your thoughts about me." I clarified. I already knew their inventory, but everything else was crucial for communications in the future.
All the kitsunes shifted in their own place. They all took a moment to ponder the thought carefully and thoroughly, as if their very existence depended on it. They all went in line and one stepped out to introduce themselves and their opinions.
"I am Ichi-san, Hitomu-sama. Or otherwise number 1." She lowered her head respectfully. "I am a Miko Priest, specializing in seals and barriers. However my barriers can't compare to your glorious example surrounding this very building." She stated in awe. Her eyes commented with mine, showing them in pure admiration. "You are the highest peak of what a miko could achieve and I could only hope to eventually reach it." The fox miko said humbly before returning to her previous position. I nodded in satisfaction.
This one was a miko, as I expected. And it appears she holds me in high regard.. I'm relieved. I was afraid she would be unforgiving of my.. actions from before, but now I don't have to apologize for that.
She then moved on to the next kitsune. This one was the assassin from before. Kneeling down before me, unlike the others. "I am Ni-san. Representing the number 2. My skills consists of evasion tactics and assassination. You are my master and I can't think of anything else that could compare to you Hitomu-sama." She informed me of her thoughts. I nod again, leaving her to step away to allow the others to take their turn.
This one is an interesting one. So the tool analogy was all her. Can't say I'm surprised. I would expect this from an assassin type person.
The 3rd one came along. It appears they're doing it in chronological order. The third came to introduce herself. She wore a red Chinese-like dress. Her hair and tails were all embedded with a reddish hue with black tips at the ends of their fur. Black ears were perking from the edges of her head. She didn't appear to be wearing armor of the sort, only white wraps around her arms and legs. She had a spikey ponytail accompanied with a white mask with red linings that covered only her eyes and nose. The slits in the masked revealed a pair of golden eyes with flames of passion, only to reveal the utmost respect for me once she bowed with both hands clasped together in a martial stance.
"San-san, a martial artist, Hitomu-sama." She introduced herself.
That... sounds a tad bit odd. I really didn't think naming them through, did I?
The red kitsune continued with her introduction "You are strong, much stronger than me. I hope to eventually achieve that strength and stand by you till the end." The red kitsune declared outright.
A battle maniac huh? Well.. I can't say that I didn't expect that.
I nodded in equal respect as she left for the next in line.
The forth was the maid I saw before. She lowered her courteously and introduced her brief thoughts. "Yon-san. I am the mistress' maid. You are the mistress I serve, and I hope to match your expectations and give you the comfort a queen should have." The maid said simply before stepping back.
Queen? Oh. Right.. my occupation is a Kitsune Queen.... Strange hearing that word.. I never really considered myself a member of royalty, although I had the fortune to become one multiple times over. This maid seemed to see me as such and simply wants to serve me it seems. Well that'll have to do for now. At least so far none of them are rebellious.
I nodded with again for what seemed like the 10th time before having the 5th kitsune walk forth. This one was a simple blonde kitsune that's slightly taller than the others. She had a lab coat around her shoulders, wearing casual dark clothing with blue jeans. Her hair was a little bit unkempt, but it was held together by a pair of safety goggles above her forehead, with ears sticking out behind it.
"Go-san. An alchemist in the scientist subclasses. I view you as the keeper of all knowledge. I seek the truth in the world, or in this case, worlds. I hold the upmost respect and interest in the secrets you hold that could benefit the progress the very foundations of science itself!" She shouted with a crazed look in her eyes. It caught me a little off guard at first.
A mad scientist? Well that's certainly unexpected.. but it makes sense. I had this one carry all the rare potions I collected and made sure to have her be able to reproduce them on a massive scale. To think she'd be this.. eccentric over it, well ambition isn't bad. It's definitely fine to have ambition in this world.
I smiled back at the woman, confirming her identify and ambition for knowledge. Giddy, she left to join the others with small haste. The other kitsunes seemed to take notice of my highly pleased expression and all of them took mental note to reflect Go-san's behavior.
The 6th one came along, this one carried a long sheath on her back. She gripped the handle of the blade sticking out of it, only to pull it, swiping the blade in a vehicle flash in front of me. It shocked me for a moment, making me reel back in a moment's fright. What was revealed was an ōdachi. Or a long sword originating from Japan. She had demonstrated a basic attack to show off her skill with the blade. "Roku-san, Blades Master. I am the mistress's sword. With the purpose of cutting down whatever is in her path." She declared in pure fighter's fury.
My heartbeat was way above the normal rate at this point where I almost had a heart attack. I had gripped my tail instinctively upon the attack, very tightly so. "Erm.. very good.. y-you can go now." I replied with a strained calm expression. Even my passive skill had trouble keeping my heart contained.
What was that!? I swore I lost a couple years of my life at that moment. I could have seriously been injured there!
I stopped for a moment to assess it a bit more.
....Okay, I know if that blade had connected, it would have only been able to deal a small amount of damage to me, but that was scary as heck!
The Blades Master stepped away confidently exchanging glances with the others. She nodded to them and they nodded back approvingly while others glanced back as if determined to do better.
D-don't encourage them!
What is this? A competition?!
I was unerved at this predicament unfolding. The 7th one stepped forth to reveal a brown kitsune wearing what appears to be the same outfit as Ichi-san. A miko outfit. However this time she had a lot of ornaments on her and she was equipped with a small bamboo staff. "Nana-san, Element Shaman" she then planted her staff into the ground, sparking a couple of electrical charges into the air. My tail unfurled extremely uncomfortably in response to the sudden sparks.
...Stop. How far is this going to go.
"You are the mistress that can guide the very nature of the spirits. You are nature's informant and my most wise master." She kneeled along with her staff. Then the brown kitsune tapped her staff to emit a large burst of shocks and zaps in the air once more, shooting thunderous fireworks indoors. Spiraling out into the air infront of her other sisters.
And they clapped.
I... I don't think I can last any longer.
Next in line to drain my sanity was the 8th kitsune, wearing a brown shirt with laces tied around her body, paired with more linen wraps around her arms. Attached to her belt was a leather whip and other keepsakes I didn't know where from. Other equipment she had was just a pair of simple shorts, gloves and brown boots to literally boot. This one appeared a tad bit tom-boyish as she had neatly kept back short black hair, along with red crimson eyes. "Hachi-san, Tamer." She lowered her head in respect. "You are the queen of kitsunes, and I the tamer of beasts. I'm utmostly pleased to be in your care." She responded before stepping back to her previous spot among the others.
O-oh.. thank God.
I expected something ridiculous to happen, but it turned out that the tamer didn't really have any beasts to show off her abilities. I was glad since it gave me a small breather to recover from these past events. And now.. finally.
A young small foxgirl stepped forth. Her hair was long and fluffy, yet also short and unkempt. Suiting a dark-green sailor schoolgirl's outfit, she was equipped with a handgun along her small thigh and other necessities such as a combat knife on her waist.
Hold on.. I remember giving her all the long-ranged weapons in my inventory. Why did I do that again?
Her eyes seemed devoid of any expression, and she spoke aloud. "Kyū-san, School Shooter."
That's it.
That's enough social interaction for today. My mental fortitude could only last so long with these ridiculous acts. After this I'm going take a loooooong well deserved nap.
"Alright that's enough, all of you did well and are officially dismissed." I then proceeded to see if I could cancel the summoning by unsummoming the kitsunes.
"Wait. That was a joke. I'm actually a sharpshoote-"
『Greater Rejection』
I declared out loud. As I had hoped, it had sent all the kitsunes to God knows where, leaving me with only myself to collapse on to the floor and drift into a long mental recovery.