'DAMN IT!' Lone shouted in his mind. He watched as the sword he had tried to enchant crumbled to pieces. 'I was able to learn the skill easily enough... but damn it. This is only so hard to learn because Breena isn't accepted, isn't it? Is this how far my natural talent stretches?' Lone thought in anger.
Lone took a second to sigh before he glanced over at Sophie and saw that she was obviously improving her ability to mana sense ever so gradually. Also, her eyesight didn't seem to be getting affected at all by her usage of the power, which was a relief to the both of them. After letting his eyes linger on her a moment longer, Lone's gaze moved to hover over his fellow Foxkin and contracted bodyguard.
Breena was holding a small ball of pure darkness, and she was gently moving it about. 'I can't do that. Is that a new skill? I wonder how her fear container self-made skill is coming along? Did it become a skill yet? Both of these girls are so talented,' Lone thought before he moved his right hand to hover over his head and rub something invisible.
'Michael, you may have wasted your Halo by letting it choose someone like me who had so little natural talent. I guess I'm the biggest crook on the planet, huh? Monstrously talented, but only when I'm by myself or with accepted beings... hahaha... why was I chosen by your master, Vihaan?' Lone had thought in a rare spell of depression.
Lone continued practising his enchanting for a couple of hours. Breena had decided to sleep on the floor since her stamina had run and Sophie was now sitting on Lone's lap due to her not feeling much progress because of how thick the mana was here in Eolande's Glade.
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence. "Mmmm... eh? Why are you guys in my room?" Eolande said with a hint of hostility in her voice.
"Ah, sorry. It's just us, Eolande. I woke up in an unfamiliar room and just followed your mana to find you. You were asleep, so I didn't want to disturb you, and I didn't really want to wait outside of the room, so I figured we'd just stay here and train a little bit until you woke up," lone explained in a relaxed manner.
Eolande slowly got out of her bed and waved her hand, changing the nature of her clothes from pyjamas, to the violet dress from yesterday. "You couldn't have stayed in a nearby room?" she asked with slightly less hostility in her tone now, but it was still present.
Lone gestured for Sophie to get off of him so she jumped off of his lap and he stood up. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to you as soon as you were awake. I wasn't explicitly watching you as you slept. As I said, we were all training. I'm sorry if I offended you in some way," Lone expressed in an apologetic manner.
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"No, it's fine. I'm always a bit grumpy when I wake up. It's not the first time I've woken up to see someone sitting a few feet away from me," Eolande said with a wave of her hand. She then floated in front of Lone and made it so that their heads were level with each other. "So, what questions did you have for me? If you just want to know how to get back to the forge, I'll take you myself."
Lone fiddled with his glasses for a second before he stroked the soft fur of Kyuubi who was still laying on his head. "I don't think you've met; she's my daughter. Kyuubi, say 'hi' to Eolande. She'll be my teacher in blacksmithing and enchanting soon, so be nice to her."
After saying that, Kyuubi's golden eyes slowly opened and she inspected Eolande for a brief second before she made a quiet 'kyu' noise. She then immediately closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
"Mmm, she's a bit lazy. I wonder if that's normal? She is very young still, though, so I guess it's to be expected? Oh, right, my question. Please tell me where to find the Lemurians," Lone had requested after he'd stopped mumbling to himself.
Eolande didn't answer and simply stared at Kyuubi for a few moments. "I thought my eyes were lying to me when I first saw it, but that's not a normal Golden Fox. That's actually a Golden Foxkin who's mastered the beastification ability? Incredible!" Eolande's spirit had been ignited by this discovery, and she excitedly flew around Lone's head while she gently poked Kyuubi in the cheek and stroked her fur.
"What? You know what happened to Kyuubi? Tell me!" Lone demanded in a rare moment of anxiety. He had been curious about Kyuubi's situation ever since he had adopted her and regardless of how much he asked, Gilbert knew nothing while Clicker, the apparent creator of the system, refused to tell Lone anything he knew for whatever reason. Lone had naturally planned on asking Eolande if she knew anything, which it seemed like she, in fact, did.
"You don't know? But you said she's your daughter... ah, adoptive?" Eolande asked to which Lone rapidly nodded. "I see... well, of course, I don't mind telling you. Come, we'll go to the forge while I explain," Eolande said before she floated away from Kyuubi and Lone before she left the room. Lone quickly got Breena to enter his shadow, and he pulled Sophie along after the Tylwyth Teg.
The group of three were moving at a steady pace while Lone was impatiently waiting for Eolande's response. He didn't press her any further for answers and simply waiting for her to collect her thoughts while he held back his urge to ask for an explanation once more.
"Hmm, well, it's a bit hard to explain, and I've only ever seen it once before on the founder of the Golden Foxkin clan back on Earth, so my information may be wrong, but only those born with pure Golden Foxkin Blood, undiluted from any source, are able to harness their true bestial nature. From my understanding, it should be something unclassifiable by the system and is completely optional if it's been mastered," Eolande took a few breaths to explain.
Lone stopped walking for a moment and removed the sleeping Fox from his head and looked at her deeply. "So, you mean that she is choosing to appear like a Fox?" Lone asked with some curiosity in his voice alongside a fair amount of concern.
Eolande also turned her gaze to Kyuubi. "Indeed, assuming she's mastered the ability."
The Fox in question simply titled her cute little head in response before she curled up into a ball in Lone's hands and fell asleep again. It would seem that she was unfazed by Lone and Eolande's conversation completely.