The Thunder Mountain Hunt

The little kitten is still for a moment longer before she finally places her left paw on the wooden floor and looks on thoughtfully. 'It's definitely a powerful spell... But I can't practice the spell in the middle of a city, it would cause too much damage. Ah...'

The little kitten shakes herself out of her stupor and turns to the next box. Inside the wooden box she can see the book laying snugly inside it, and she ponders over the words written upon it. 'I believe this is the 'Ravager Armour' spell... Now, this is a defensive spell. So this should be a good spell to practice... Let's see how difficult this one looks.'

More firmly than the last time, the little kitten places her little paws upon the Echo Stone for the 'Ravager Armour' spell with renewed vigor! Instantly her greenish-red eyes turn a dull colour as her vision warps and she finds herself watching the contents of the Echo Stone...

★★★

Several minutes later, the little kitten's previously dull eyes return to their usual glow as she awakened. 'Amazing, so this Echo Stones' visions were quite different from from the first one. The first Echo stone, for the 'Celestial Claw' had a teacher show off the spell and explain while for the 'Ravager Armour' spell's Echo Stone, it was very different. It started with various shots of earth and metal being molded into shapes, hardened and refined into a more powerful material. This material took on a fluid form of both earth and metal. They showed this material splitting into two, one made of earth while the other metal. Individually, the two separate materials began to take shape and one could see them take the form of a full set of armour that seemed fit for some form of beast. The two armours then drew close to each other and seemed to fuse and in the end, one armour stood, consisting of both metal and earth! It was quite amazing to see such hardened materials flow like water... Truly magical... The Echo Stone then showed various weapons striking against the armour and the armour stood strong throughout. That was until the vision revealed a blurred being wielding a massive spiked club that held various golden runes on its black body!... With a single smash, the armour crumbled! That truly shocked me, like, why are they showing the user of the spell being destroyed?... But it was only a prelude as the vision seemed to reverse, the armour put itself back together while the spiked club was pulled back by the blurry being. The scene began to play once more, however this time, the armour showed some change. Its earthly materials were being pulled out to be replaced with metallic ones... This time, when the armour was pounded to the ground, despite a small cave in and scratch marks, the armour actually stood strong... Amazing, truly a great defensive spell!...'

Before she could finish her thoughts, the door was suddenly opened in a rather leisurely pace and a yawning Jonathan walked in, giving the little kitten a welcoming smile as he did so. He walked over to the bed and sat on its edge before facing her once again.

"Good morning, little lass."

"Meow!"

"Looks like you've started your training. There's not much I can do to help you to understand these magic's at this point as you can't ask me questions, so you're just gonna have to repeatedly view there Echo Stones to gain as much knowledge and understanding as possible."

The little kitten nods in understanding.

"Well, this might help. If there are any parts in the Echo Stones you want to skip, with a single thought you can. Just think about the part of the vision you want to see and the Echo Stone will skip to the part. This can also be reversed, so you can re-watch a part again as many times as you want."

"Meow!!"

"Yeah, that's the beauty of Echo Stones, they are definitely one of the best tools at a Magician's disposal... What else can I help you with?... Oh! I don't know if the Echo Stones you've seen have told you, but you might be wondering how you can use these spells if you can't speak!"

The little kitten nods her head again.

"Well, while you can't speak our language, all Magical Beasts have an innate understanding of the Language of Spells, or what is otherwise called the God's Tongue and can actually speak them. You can test this out, how about you recall the incantation for that 'Ravager Armour' spell you just learned."

"Meow!"

With another enthusiastic nod, the little kitten raises up from her sitting position. She closes her eyes in thought, recalling the incantation. With the incantation remembered, she then slowly inhales and just as slowly exhales before her mouth begins to dance as an enchantingly delicate and feminine voice rings out. The words fly out of her mouth in a fluent manner to the shock of Jonathan. That shocked expression soon fades into a pleased grin.

'She's quite the natural!'

The chant of the spell comes to an end and an azure glow begins to encompass the little kitten's body. That azure glow suddenly becomes dull at the center point of her back as an earthen material surfaces. The earthen armour begins to form quickly and in seconds the little kitten is fully encompassed in her 'Ravager Armour'. Fully formed, the earthen look fades and takes on a metallic gleam. It covers most of her body and even snakes up her sleek tail. Around her head, the armour only forms at the side of her cheeks allowing for good maneuverability of her neck while also not impeding her sight.

"Hahaha! You even have around 5% of metal element in this armour, amazing! You've got some good insight, I've got to give you that, little lass!"

"Meow!"

'Of course, you idiot! Who do you think you're talking to!'

The little kitten raises her chin proudly with a small 'hmpth' sound and Jonathan doesn't know if he should laugh or cry in response.

'This one's quite the character. Hahaha. My little sis is definitely gonna like her...'

"Well then, I should tell you what me and Uncle Kil have decided on for our next destination!" The little kitten's ears perk up and she lowers her chin to return her attention to Jonathan.

"Hehe, glad to have your attention again. Now then, my Uncle had been talking to another band of adventurers last night and this morning and has gotten word of an event happening in a month. This event is called the Thunder Mountain Hunt! It's an event run by the Falcio Kingdom every two years and takes place in the Northern Mountains, a large section of the kingdom that takes up most of the North. One of the biggest mountain's in the Northern Mountains is the Thunder Mountain. Its a rather mysterious place with many dangers, but also many rewards. This'll be a good chance to perhaps happen upon some good fortune that can improve our magic or we can even find Magical Items! I heard a few people have attained Vibrant Magical items there in the past!"

The little kittens eyes light up. 'I wonder if any of those good fortunes will come my way?... Probably not, huh?... Even if I make a breakthrough to the Late stage of Minor Rank... (sigh)... I bet I would be unable to even grasp one of these good fortunes even if It came my way... Oh well, I can still test my mettle on various beasts. When I reach the Late stage, I'll definitely have the power to contend with Magician's and Magical Beast's of my own level with the power of these spells!'

The little kitten's eyes shut for a second before opening with a new sense of determination. She had a deep craving to use more magic, especially after pulling off the 'Ravager Armour' spell, which by now has dissipated against her will. 'Looks like this armour take up a lot of Aura, I tired out in less than a minute. Makes sense, considering it's a Late Stage spell and I'm using it in the Middle Stage, I guess...'

"Well then. Little Lass, how about you take a break from those Echo Stones for now and join me downstairs, you've still not eaten yet and I need some company!"

"Meow!"

'Using so much aura was quite taxing, it even made me hungry as well. I'm starving!'

With a wide smile, Jonathan steps up from the bed and holds his hands out in a catching gesture. The little kitten's red-green eyes narrow at this.

'There's no way I'm jumping in your arms, moron!' The little kitten rolls her eyes.

"Haha. Okay, okay. Let me pick you up at least."

"...Meow."

'Well, I'll forgive your impertinence this one time, humph!' And with that, she was gently picked up by Jonathan and lead out of the room. With a gentle pull, the door is closed and the duo begin their descent down the stairs towards the bar...