Isabelle held onto Lilith as the demon maid carried her over Loksha’s walls and towards the plaza in the town’s center.
“W-Where are we going Lilith?” the kitsune asked, a little afraid of the large drop below them.
I really need to get some kind of flying skill...It seems like it would make travel a lot easier. Isabelle thought to herself.
“I’m looking for the guard captain to turn my bandit killing quest in, Mistress.” the maid said simply, hovering over the town’s central plaza and scanning streets. After a few minutes of searching, she noticed something waving at her from the crowd gathering in the plaza below. Looking down, she smiled as she realized that the one waving to her was the very dwarf she was seeking. She began a slow and graceful descent, careful not to jostle the girl in her arms.
As they drew closer to the ground, the crowd that had been attracted to the plaza got their first good look at the pair and let out a collective gasp. Isabelle wondered why the gasp until she looked over the crowd and noticed something floating above the majority of their heads.
“Hey Lilith, what does a heart icon floating about someone’s head mean?” Isabelle asked.
“Hmm? It’s the indicator that a monster or Resident has been afflicted with the Charm Status. Why do you ask?” the maid responded, confused for a moment until she realized that Isabelle was looking over the crowd. Lilith’s lips curled into a mischievous smile as an idea came to her. She landed next to the speechless dwarven guard, who had been previously talking with a now similarly speechless mayor, and set Isabelle on her feet facing crowd.
“Citizens of Loksha! May I present to you my Mistress Isabelle Lazulu, who has recently undertaken a noble quest to revive a race that was almost lost to the world long ago! But such an endeavour is far from simple and she will need all the assistance she can acquire! All those would join her in this undertaking, bow down now and declare your loyalty to your Mistress!” Lilith shouted loudly, making sure even those at the very edges of the crowd could hear her clearly, while Isabelle’s eyes widened in disbelief.
All at once, the entire crowd bow down and shouted various oaths of loyalty. Even the players did so, with some doing so out of genuine devotion to the cause, others because it seemed interesting, and others still doing so out of fear over persecution if they went against the crowd.
*Ping*
The town of Loksha has become your Territory!The vast majority of Loksha’s population has sworn their loyalty to you, earning you both followers who would follow your orders to their deaths and a town to use as a base of operations for your mission of bringing back the Spirit Races.As Loksha is a town, it does not automatically block Travelers who have not been given permission to enter. Instead you must manually add any Travelers who you wish to keep out to the town’s Blacklist.
The Charm Status of the Residents of Loksha has become permanent!
You have gained the following Stat Points!CHA: 73
Isabelle was at a complete loss for words. Lilith, seeing this as a chance to take things further so the kitsune would be unable to decline taking leadership of the city, bent down and pretend to be listening to something that Isabelle was whispering to her. She then straightened herself again.
“People of Loksha!”, the demon maid addressed the crowd, “I have been asked by our Mistress to deliver her reply! She says to you all: ‘I am honored that you would have me as your leader and vow to do my very best to prove myself worth of your devotion. In exchange for your loyalty and aid on my objective, I shall do everything in my power to ensure that no harm comes to your town or it’s citizens! As of right now, I have business to attend to so I would like for all of you to return to your everyday lives. If I have need of your services, I will send for you, so for now you are dismissed.’ ”
The people gave out a roar of cheer at Isabelle’s alleged acknowledgement of their loyalty and slowly the crowd dwindled as the people began to return to their own business. Once the plaza had return to normal, an irate kitsune turned towards a demon maid who was looking away and whistling innocently. She opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when someone suddenly hugged her from behind.
“I found you Isa-chan!” Lynn shouted as she began to pet the smaller girl.
“I...wha…” Isabelle attempted to form words but found that she couldn’t. The petting she was receiving felt too good. Seeing Isabelle enjoying herself so much, Dawn looked to the small fox on her shoulder and asked a question.
“Hey Sorako, if Isabelle is a Spirit, then how come she’s so much like a Fox Beastkin?”
”Well Miss Dawn, the answer to that question lies in the very beginning of the Spirit Races. Are you aware that the world of Ethris itself has it’s own mana?”
“I’ve heard of it before.” the cheetah confirmed.
”Well then, did you know that the world’s mana was not always as stable as it is now?”
Dawn shook her head.
”Then I shall start from there. As I stated, a long long time ago, the world’s mana was much more unstable. This instability lead to this mana sometimes clumping together and becoming sentient, at which point they materialized using whatever organisms were nearby as the basis for their physical form. For instance, the first Phoenix came into being when a cluster of fire mana came into being inside a volcano just as a single bird was flying overhead. Lady Isabelle’s Race, the Kitsune-tsuki, were made from mana clusters that became sentient while in the presence of Fox Beastkin, leading them to share many traits with that type of Beastkin. Does that answer your question, Miss Dawn?”
“Yeah, thanks Sorako.” Dawn replied.
”It was my pleasure to be of service, Miss Dawn.”
“So Isa-chan really likes petting? That’s some useful info!” Lynn smiled mischievously. Lilith on the other hand was glaring at Lynn.
“What are you two doing here?” she asked coldly, pulling Isabelle away from Lynn.
“Oh we were just following the leader of party. You know, the one you aren’t a part of?” Lynn replied, as she pulled Isabelle back towards her.
As the two magic users glared at each other, one could feel the temperature around Lilith dropping while the air around Lynn heated up. One could see the metaphorical sparks forming between their glares. The small kitsune took this opportunity to escape, slipping away unnoticed by the two girls. She also took this chance to finally look at the messages that had popped up after her fight with the ogre.
For utilizing the raw power of your fury to defeat an opponent over 30 levels higher than you, you have been granted a Job!Berserker Lv1You can harness the power of one the most powerful and primal emotions: rage. As this job increases in level, the bonuses it provides will increase as well.Current bonuses
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+20 STR when angry
For scoring a long string of consecutive critical hits, you have gained a Proficiency!Critical Hit MasteryBasic Lv1You have become adept at landing blows in such a way such as to maximize their damage. Each of your normal hits now has a larger chance of turning into critical hits, while your attacks to vital areas now have a higher chance to become brutal hits instead of critical hits. This chance will increase as the Proficiency rises in level.
For defeating an enemy while completely unarmed, you have gained a Proficiency!Unarmed Combat MasteryBasic Lv1You have learned how to take down an enemy without the need of any weapon other than your own flesh and blood. Each of your strikes made without a weapon will now do more damage than normal. This boost will increase as the Proficiency rises in level.
For defeating an enemy while by using nothing but leg attacks, you have gained a Proficiency!Kicking MasteryBasic Lv1You have learned to use your legs as deadly striking tools. Each of your kicks will now do more damage than normal. This boost will increase as the Proficiency rises in level.
For utilizing a wind spell in a way other than how it was designed, you have gained a Skill!Wind ManipulationBasic Lv1You have gone beyond the limitations of spells in order to use the element of wind to it’s fullest effect. You now have the ability to reach out with your mana in order to control the wind as you deem fit. This skill relies on you own ability rather than stats, but a higher skill level will make it easier for you to control the air around you.
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You have created an original Skill!Gale Burst StrikeBasic Lv1You have made use of the Air Bullet spell in an original way, giving birth to this technique. This skill allows you compress air around a limb or weapon, to be release on contact with an enemy.Mana cost: 25
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You have gained the following Stat Points!STR: 24VIT: 19AGI: 20DEX: 41
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
You have leveled up!
Isabelle looked over her gains with a widening grin, glad to finally receive something good for her troubles.
No, not “finally”, she corrected herself in her mind as she looked over at Lynn and Lilith, who still glaring at each other, and at Sorako and Dawn, who were smiling wryly at the pair, I got something of much greater value even earlier than this.
*Ping!*
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You have gained a Title!Wendoyln’s Protege(Unique)For finally recognizing your greatest treasure, Wendolyn, the Goddess of Wisdom and patron deity of the Fairy Races, has decided to watch over you.+25 WIS per levelIncreased affinity with the Fairy Races.Wendolyn will lend you her wisdom indirectly from time to time.Favored by Wendolyn trait.Wendolyn will be watching you closely from now on.
With her face still smiling, Isabelle closed the windows and headed over to join her friends, glad to have their company on the undoubtedly long road ahead of her.
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>Domain of the Gods<
“That should help her out in the future.” the fairy goddess as she looked a the projection of Isabelle, smiling approvingly.
The rest of the deities were looking at Wendolyn in shock, as she had never graced a Traveler with her blessing before.
“Even she’s interested in the girl…” Silas muttered, returning his attention to the projection, his lips forming into a slight smile. It was the first time in a long time that he had smiled at all.
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End of Arc 1 Act 1 - “First Steps”
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Cookie Corner
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I managed to get my cookies back!
So without further ado, this week’s recipients of the “Good Idea!” cookies are: xacual and Truth!
xacual: Suggested Isabelle get something to do with Berserker
Truth: Suggested Isabelle get Unarmed Combat Mastery
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Author Corner
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And the first arc of TFO comes to a close! Next up will be one or two side stories, after which I’ll jump into Arc 2!
Thank all of you guys for your support and follows!
See you tomorrow!
GrandFinale, over and out!