>Isabelle’s PoV<
I shifted a bit and yawned as my brain started to work again. I always felt so drowsy when I first woke up. As I slowly sat up, a shuffling noise to my right drew my attention. Sluggishly turning my head, I saw Father standing next to me with his back turned.
“Your hour is up so I came to wake you, Styra. Though it seems you got up in time on your own.” he said.
...Is it just me, or does he sound a little nervous? Nah, it was probably just my imagination.
Still, it was surprising that I had only sleep for the hour he had given me. Usually when I take nap it lasts for much longer unless I’m interrupted.
Curious, I glance at the clock on my HUD. Huh? According to this, it’s had been a total of four hours since I went to sleep. Either Father’s sense of time was just that horrible or, much more likely, he was lying to me.
But why would he lie about that…? Hmmmm…
Oh! He must have been training and lost track of time! That would explain the slight redness I saw on his face while he was taking quick glances at me. He must be embarrassed! Welp, since he let me sleep in, I guess I’d let it slide without comment.
“Thanks Father. I guess I was too excited for training to sleep anymore than that.” I said, playing along. His body seemed to relax as I said that. He must have been really embarrassed. I couldn’t help but giggle a bit before I caught myself. I think I’ve been in a female body for a bit too long…
Noticing Father giving me an odd look, I told him it was nothing. He nodded and handed me a set of folded clothes. Taking it, I recognized it as a martial arts gi the same golden color as the one Father was wearing.
“Get changed and meet me outside.” Father said, startling the me who was focused on the gi in my hands. He walked out of the cave a little faster than yesterday. I giggled again. He was so flustered over such a small mistake.
Stretching my arms over my head, I looked around the cave. I the room I was in was roughly circular in shape. Most of the floor was covered in the huge pile of different colored furs that I had been sleeping in. As I stated before, the walls were lined with lit torches, looping around the room and through the opening that served as a doorway. On the wall opposite to the door, there was a full length mirror. Must be the bedroom.
I crawled over to the edge of the fur pile by the mirror and got to my feet, taking the gi with me. Looking into the mirror, I got the first good look at my new form.
The girl looking back at me was just as stunning as my kitsune form, but in an different way. She was extremely cute, but unlike my kitsune form, this one had obvious potential to be a bombshell when she grew up, despite looking to be only a little older. I mean seriously, this body was like 9 or 10 years old and it already had some obvious curves to it. The suntan colored skin and golden hair didn’t help, though thankfully my face was tomboyish enough not to make me look like a bimbo.
Speaking of my face, a pair of golden disks stared back at me in the mirror, framed by the long golden hair that tumbled down messily from my head. It wasn’t overly tangled, but still looked like it hadn’t been combed in a while. On top of my head, a pair of golden furred lion’s ears were perched on top of my hair, which went down to my rear, stopping just above where my tail grew out from the base of my spine. At the end of my tail, a golden knife was the only notable indication that I wasn’t a normal lion girl.
I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t. Though I have to say, for something that was supposed to be armored, my skin was rather soft.
While I wasn’t dreaming, the pain did wake me from the trance I was in. Deciding that I’d stared long enough, I decided to get dressed. I hurriedly exchanged my Beginner’s outfit for the gi that Father gave me, careful not to brush against any weird places by accident. The gi gave no bonuses to stats or defence, but it had an absurdly high durability. Probably because it was for training.
Having finished changing, I left the bedroom and found myself in a hallway of sorts, with a bunch of other openings branching of from it. I looked to my left and the hallway went on past another few room before reaching a dead end. To my right, it did the same, except instead of ending in a stone wall there was a fur curtain flapping gently in the wind.
...I’m going to take a wild guess and say that was the way out.
As I approached the curtain, I noticed a salty smell on the breeze drifting through the fabric. How could that be? Weren’t we in the forest?
I didn’t have to wait long for an answer as I reached the curtain and brushed it aside as I stepped through. What I saw took my breath away.
Turns out the cave we were in was on the side of a cliff, with a large ledge right outside that extended for about 20 feet away from the entrance. On the ledge, large crystals grew in clusters in various places. Directly below was the ocean, which meant we were on the eastern edge of the Forest of Change. I know that it doesn’t sound like much, but that was only part of what made the scene so amazing. The other part was the fact that it was early morning.
Since I was facing east, that meant I was treated to a gorgeous sunrise. The sea and sky were dyed a warm orange. The crystal on the ledge caught the light, giving an iridescent glow as a result.
...I-I wasn’t crying...I...I just got something in my eyes from the wind that was blowing in my face, that’s all…!
I was snapped out of my reverie when I heard someone clearing their throat beside me.
“NYA?!” I shouted as I jerked back in surprise, finally noticing Father standing next to me on the left.
“While I understand your urge to admire the scenery, it’s time we started your training.” he said, turning around and walking up a sloped ledge that lead up to the top ot the cliff.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I summoned my resolve and followed him. I couldn’t help but get excited as I wondered what he’d teach me.
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After a short trek through the forest from the edge of the cliff, Father and I were standing in front of a makeshift wooden pen. And by “makeshift”, I mean “How is this piece of crap still standing?”.
Inside of the piece of crap pen were several wolves, 10 to be exact.
“So...What are these wolves for, Father?” I asked, trying to comment on the state of the piece of crap pen.
“The warrior class’s training quest.” he said simply.
…!?
“R-Really?!” I shouted, looking up at him excitedly.
“Of course!” he said smugly, clearly glad that I liked his present.
“Yay! Thanks Papa!” I said without think, before realizing what I said.
“S-Styra…?” A-Are you alright…?” Father asked, stepping back a bit and sweating bullets.
……...Calm down.
That guy isn’t here…
I took a deep breath and suppressed my anger. My bloodlust aura, which I hadn’t realized I’d been letting out, disappeared as a result.
“I’m okay Papa...I just remembered something bad is all.” I said while putting on my best innocent voice and giving him the sweetest smile I could manage.
I’d only known him for a short while, but having a father figure was enjoyable so far. There was no way I was letting that bastard ruin this relationship for me. Even if said relationship was father-daughter instead of father-son. I could live with being a girl for a while if it meant not making things awkward.
*Ping!*
[tr]
[tr]
You have gained the skill:[Enchanting Smile]Enchanting Smile - Basic Lv 1Aura SkillPassiveYour smile has a synergic effect on your aura, taking your charm to new heights. When you smile, your aura gains additional effects that are dependent on which part of your aura is the most prominent at the time.Innocent SmileThis smile comes out when your [Cute Aura] is the most noticeable one. When active, it adds a desire to believe whatever you say to your aura’s effects.Confident SmileThis smile comes forth when your [Noble Aura] is at it’s zenith. When active, it grants a morale bonus to the stats of all who fight under your command.Psychotic SmileThis smile forms when your [Bloodlust Aura] overpowers the others. When active, it adds a chance to cause your enemies to freeze up in sheer terror.
Before I could even think of protesting, a suddenly found myself wrapped in a bear hug.
“You don’t have to worry about a thing, Styra! Papa will make an the bad stuff go away until you’re strong enough to do it yourself!” Papa said, rubbing his face against mine.
...Eh? Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the aloof father type?! When did he turn into the doting/overprotective dad type?!
“P-Papa…” I started to say, but he cut me off.
“You don’t need to thank Papa, my little Styra! As long my little princess is happy, then that’s all the reward I need!”
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Did...Did I overdo it? I focused my efforts on being cute because I wanted us to be closer, but I didn’t mean to change his personality so drastically!
*Ping!*
As Styra, you have gained the title: [Little Princess]For playing the part of the cute little daughter, Garn has fully recognized you as his own child instead of merely being a successor. The other members of the Nemean Blade Lion Tribe, as well as the residents of their respective kingdoms, will recognize you as the heir of their chief and treat you accordingly. This title will be removed when your body reaches maturity.The effects of your [Cute Aura] and [Noble Aura] skills are doubled.You are twice as likely to gain skills fit for a innocent young princess.
What. The. Hell.
Papa...is the king of Nemean Blade Lions? Seriously?! Whatever I’d gotten myself into this time, i didn’t see it ending well.
My thoughts were interrupted when Papa set me down and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Well then my little Princess, it’s time for training!” he said excitedly.
*Ping!*
Warrior TrainingRank FYour father, eager for his little girl to follow him down the path of the warrior, has given you a test. Passing it will grant you the Warrior base class. you are incapable of declining this quest.
Success: Kill 10 monsters without being defeated once. (0/10)
Failure: N/A
Rewards: Warrior class. Additional rewards may be given for passing on the first try.
Before I could even say anything back, he strode over to the piece of crap pen and pulled out one of the wolves. He set it down in front of me and jumped up onto a tree branch.
“Good luck, Styra!” he called down as the wolf charged at me.
I lunged to the side as the wolf speed past me. If only my [Wind Magic Mastery] racial hadn’t been locked, then I’d beat this thing in a sec. Since all my wind aligned techniques, along with my combat style, had been derived from it, they were all locked too!
The wolf charged again. Time to see what I could do with just my strength.
As soon as it was close enough, I lunged at it before it could open it’s mouth to bite me. I landed a direct punch to it’s forehead.
And it died...I think I may have been worried for nothing.
Papa jumped down and hugged me again.
“That’s my little girl! On to the next one!” he laughed.
The process repeated nine more times until all 10 wolves were dead.
“My little princess is so talented! I was going to wait a few years to let you build up strength, but it looks like we can start your technique training right away!” Papa said as he forcefully cuddled me once again.
*Ping!*
You have completed Warrior Training!You have passed the test on the first try and impressed your father with your fighting prowess.
Rewards
Warrior class
Your training schedule has been moved up
Warrior Class TreeOf the 8 class trees created by the gods, the Warrior tree is the Dragon God Silas’s handiwork. As such, it is a class tree that relies heavily on the user’s raw physical power.Warrior Class - Lv1This is the basic class that all who would walk the path of the Warrior start out with. Although it is only the first of many, it’s importance is not to be underestimated, for it is the foundation on which a fighter’s strength is built.+20 STR
[Strong Attack] class skill
Strong AttackAttack SkillActiveYou have learn to build up your strength for a blow that more powerful than normal
+20% damage to your next physical attack
-5% Stamina
3 second charge time
I know should be excited for my first class...But Papa’s cuddling was making me feel really embarrassed...
“P-Papa...Shouldn’t we move on with the training…?” I said meekly.
“Oh! That’s right!” he said. I thought he’d let me got to explain what was next, but to my dismay he instead sat down in a cross legged position and held me in his lap.
“Well now that you have the Warrior class’s [Strong Attack] skill as well as our race’s [Armored Hide] skill, you have everything you need to start training for two of our tribe’s combat styles!” he said.
“Styles? As in plural?” I said, tilting my head back to look up at him. My excitement was starting to overcome my embarrassment.
“That’s right! The first is one of a series taught to all of our young, though you’ll have to wait until you mature before you can learn the others.” he replied.
“Why’s that, Papa?” I asked.
“Because you’re so young, you still haven’t developed all of the abilities that our race possesses, such as be able to make blades appear in places other than the tip of your tail.”
I see...So I’m literally incapable of pulling them off as I am now, huh? I really hope I can convince this guy to let me go exploring before then. I’m already calling him “Papa” naturally, so I’m not sure what waiting here for my body to mature would do to me. Though to be honest, the whole “Papa” thing had other factors involved so...
My thoughts trailed off for a few seconds before I realized I was forgetting something.
“What about the second style?” I asked.
“It’s a style that is taught only to those of us in the royal line!” he said with such pride that I felt it had to be something awesome.
“Wow...What’s it’s name?” I asked in awe.
“It’s called…”
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>God’s Domain<
Irene and Wendolyn were waving their hands in front of Clarissa’s and Aurora’s faces respectively. The demon and beastkin goddesses were sitting on their knees, zoned out and drooling a bit.
“I think Isabelle might have broken them with that smile.” Irene sighed,not getting a response from them.
“Indeed, but I wonder why we’re only dealing with two instead of these people like this. Aren’t you also weak to cute things, Lucas? ...Lucas?” Wendolyn looked around after not getting an answer from the human god.
“Lucas left about thirty minutes after Isabelle fell asleep. Said something about a secret project.” Silas said simply, yawning as he watching the projections while laying down with his head propped up on his elbow.
“A secret project? I don’t like the sound of that…” Irene said worriedly.
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>???<
In the middle of a black void somewhere, Lucas stood alone in front of a character creation menu, messing with a few sliders as he put the finishing touches on his “project”.
“Irene will have quite a few things to say about this when eventually finds out about this…” he chuckled to himself.
“Oh well, it’s not like she can do anything to stop me from doing it. After all, it’s not direct contact so it’s perfectly within the rules. Aaaand done.”
He stepped back to admire his creation. It was a human of about 17 or 18 years of age in a set of beginner’s clothes. He had messy white hair with forelocks that parted above his right eye, which like his left was red in color.
“Perfect. Now let’s get started shall we?” Lucas said with a grin as he was enveloped in a pillar of white light.
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Cookie Corner
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Today’s recipients of the “Good Job!” cookies are: xacual!
xacual: Pointed out my so-called arcs aren’t really long enough to be called such, so I decided to put the down as acts of the first arc.
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Author Corner
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And so begins Act 3 of Arc 1! Hope you guys enjoyed!
Sorry I’ve been so late with this. If you wanted someone to blame, then blame the Den members who kept talking about One Punch Man. You see, once I get started on something like an anime or manga it becomes difficult for me to focus on anything else. It’s a trait of mine that has gotten me into a tight spot grade-wise more than a few times.
Welp, enough excuses from me! I need some sleep so I’ll be going to bed and reading your comments in the morning.
GrandFinale, over and out!