A rough, dry tongue was waking me up from a way too deep sleep. I rolled onto my back, trying to prevent the attacker from scratching my skin, but it simply followed right after me before continuing to try to greet me or wake me up - whatever it was that it tried to do.
My struggle continued for a few minutes, always trying to avoid the vicious licks before I reluctantly gave in. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before I really ended up with scratches or worse.
“I get it, I get it!”
When I opened my eyes to face the attacker, it was indeed the Obsidian Fox who had returned from his duty of protecting my friends. It had somehow not only found its way back to my dungeon by instinct alone but had also managed to make all the jumps needed to challenge the geyser room’s many dangers, making him the first ‘adventurer’ to ever be able to do so.
The fox looked not the slightest exhausted or wounded from his ordeal. If anything it looked shiner than usual, meaning it had either run into rain or been hit by a fountain of boiling water. Whatever it was, the black fox was not the least bothered about it.
Naturally, I rewarded my trusty guardian with a few scratches, not only for completing its task but also for being here with me when I needed it the most. With the fox at my side, it was already a little easier dealing with the aftermath of my meeting with Cilia. Experiencing the goddess’ grief firsthand had taught me a harsh lesson, one that would make me think twice about what stupid question to ask in the future.
Just forcing her to talk about the past had reopened a deep scar of hers, one I couldn’t hope to close again with how little time praying to her was giving us. I didn’t even know what to say to her in the first place! I could hug her, sure, but how much would that actually help? I had no idea. Still, I could only try.
With a deep sigh, I prepared myself to pray again, gently pushing my oversized protector to the side. The fox looked at me in confusion as he saw me lie down and hug my core again, but it soon realized what exactly I was trying to do. Soon, it made itself comfortable as well, seemingly knowing that my prayer would take a long time.
After closing my eyes, I thought for a moment about what to say, then I already began both praying and at least trying to prepare myself to see my mother’s tears once again.
Sadly, there was no reply coming from the goddess. Neither did I feel any warmth, nor did I grow sleepy all of a sudden. It was as if I had not prayed at all, and was instead just lying on my side while trying to sleep.
For minutes I tried over and over again, hoping to finally get some reaction to my heartfelt prayers, but there was nothing, nothing but the growing snore of the Obsidian Fox which seemed to have little to no trouble at all falling asleep even during this time of day.
After trying for one last time, practically begging the goddess to let me help dry her tears, I reluctantly lifted myself up again, finally letting go of my warm core as I did so. I was now sure Cilia was trying to deal with her grief on her terms somehow, just like she had done for all of those countless years, but knowing that still left a nasty aftertaste.
Would she answer me later today? Or should I give her a few days until matters got better on their own again? Maybe she would like it if I fulfilled those odd jobs and tasks she had given me?!
There was no choice but to try praying to her once a few hours had passed. For now, I would instead work towards the easiest of the quests left to me, which was simply unlocking a total of nine different foxes, six of whom were already living in my dungeon, hopefully enjoying their lives as they played, slept, and fooled around.
Naturally, using the Vulpine Circle would mean being out of mana again for ten whole hours, time I needed to spend or at least waste on something else. But there were only so many things to be done inside of my dungeon. Other than playing with my foxes and taking a long, relaxing bath in one of the geyser room’s many ponds, what exactly could I do to pass some time? Wait for Fren and Marisa to return from the town of Abervale? Would they even be returning after all that I had done to the ratkin and her friends?
I couldn’t help but sigh as I slowly made my way out of the room, leaving my core for the sleeping Obsidian Fox to protect. Soon enough, I found myself in the tunnels leading to the largest of my rooms, where the ritual circle was already waiting for me to place two foxes onto its nine pedestals. But which ones would I choose this time around? I had already combined both fire with earth and fire with water, giving me both lava and steam. Combining all three of these elements had given me the strongest monsters I had access to yet, in the shape of the three-tailed steam and obsidian foxes.
Should I go with earth and water this time? No, that didn’t make sense. I had a whole theme going on, featuring volcanism in various shapes and forms. Wouldn’t going with fire again be a much better fit? I still had to unlock the combination of fire and fire, if that one existed in the first place, and use it in my future rooms!
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I shook my head, freeing myself of the very idea that the ritual could turn out unsuccessful. Cilia would never give me an impossible quest, meaning at least most if not all of the remaining options where feasible, should the foxes work together perfectly. And who would find an easier time doing so than two monsters of the very same element that also lived together?
Knowing that much, my choice was already made. Once I reached the volcano room, I immediately made my way over the rocky slopes before calling out for the fire foxes, most of whom were enjoying their days by lazing around or chasing each other. Before I knew it, I was already surrounded by all fifteen of them, all of them eager to chat with me, it seemed.
I told the happy monsters just what I had come here for, before trying to greet them all with a few gentle pets each. Chaos quickly ensued as every single fox urged to be chosen to participate in the ritual, but in the end, only two of them could win this time around. It took me several minutes to make the final choice, before leading two especially happy foxes down the mountain slope. The rest of them went back trying to look busy or unbothered by the fact that they weren't selected.
When our small group reached the Vulpine Circle, both monsters eagerly jumped at a random platform before watching me choose one for myself. Within moments I was already kneeling at mine, before closing my eyes and trying to imagine just what a two-tailed fire fox would look like. I knew that simply thinking of a beautiful monster wouldn’t make it turn into one, as the ritual only required me to have a calm and focused mind, but it still felt right to dream. And when I had thought of my other foxes back then, they had turned out just like I wanted them to. So maybe there was a hidden aspect to the Vulpine Circle that Cilia had not told me about?
I shove the matter aside. Right now wasn’t the time to think about possible secrets the ritual had. I had a fox to create!
It took only a few moments for my imagination to run wild. The resulting fox was much smaller compared to its one-tailed counterpart, having gained big, blue eyes and an additional tail in exchange. Its fire, as well, had vastly changed, now being a pure white much like Cilia’s hair.
Despite not knowing how much it would affect the result of the magic ritual, I now tried to imagine just what kind of abilities this fox should come with. And when there was one glaring weakness all of my fiery monsters currently shared it would be them being unable to receive healing from any of the water foxes, with the steam foxes living in the neighboring room most likely being equally unable to assist them in battle.
So with all my strength, I imagined a new support-type fox coming into existence. And soon enough, I was already rewarded for my effort as a cold shiver ran all over my body. My mana was quickly drained away from me, instead gathering at the nearby foxes. It was only now that I dared to open my eyes to watch the magic happen.
The mist of mana quickly changed its color as it reached the waiting monsters, from a faint blue to a bright red, only to become white as snow upon reaching the middle of the magic circle. A ball of pure fire formed at this place, only to soon change its shape. Four legs and a head were now growing out of it, with two tails to be seen behind the newly created body.
The precious little fox stared at me with its deep blue eyes, just for a few seconds, before it happily jumped at me, thanking me for bringing it to this world. I welcomed it with open arms, before petting it all over as it licked my face with its soft, hot tongue. The two foxes who had helped me with the ritual were already making their way over to us, wagging their tails as they joined in on our merrymaking.
As I rewarded all three of the foxes, I couldn’t help but check out what exactly my newest addition was all about, the summoning menu giving me both its name and abilities.
「Liri Fox (E)
A small vulpine Monster that uses blessed fire to both heal allies sharing its element and cleansing any ailments and curses they may have. Liri Foxes like to stay close to sources of heat such as fire and other Liri Foxes, as doing so helps them quickly regain any lost mana and strength. When forced to, these foxes group up to flock to their opponent, enveloping it with their intense body heat. Liri foxes are highly social and prefer living in groups or harems of at least five members.
Summoning Cost: 25 mana」
I stared at the board listing all of this information, then back at the fox in my arms. “So you are a cuddle fox,” I decided. “A very cuddly cuddle fox.”
The fox in question answered with a barely audible purr, before closing its eyes, seemingly trying its best to fall asleep right at this moment. I just let exactly that happen, happily carrying it up the volcano’s slope where I said my goodbyes to the two fire foxes. I then made my journey back to the core room, where I gently placed my newest friend down, right onto the soft fur it seemed to have so much in common with. For a short moment, the precious little thing seemed to be waking up, but it soon went silent again, leaving me to take care of my own matters for now.
My journey this time around would obviously lead me to the prayer room, as a part of me hoped the statue over there could somehow help me meet Cilia again. So for minutes, I made my way through my dungeon, already thinking of the perfect words to say, only to have my little flame of hope harshly extinguished once I actually tried to pray to her. The goddess did not answer to me, nor was there any feeling of warmth gently soothing my worries. It was as if my stupid question had caused her to abandon me, though that couldn’t possibly be true.
With a sigh I carried myself back the way I had come from, trying to instead search for the Liri Fox’s company. It was very unlikely I would be able to simply fall asleep to forget about things like it did, having already slept for at least half a day after that mess of a talk I had with my mother. But the little fox was at least company.
“I could really use some friends…”
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Poorly edited AI Liri Fox:
image [https://i.imgur.com/ej8x7bS.png]
My first try on the graphic tablet. No judging!
image [https://i.imgur.com/9yvcufH.png]