71-80

71 Mana exercises

The words of more training rang out in both Shaman and Elysia's head as it seemed unreasonable for them to keep going.

"HAHAHAHA" Himeko burst out laughing as the dread on their faces was priceless and to Shaman and Elysia this meant what Himeko said was just a joke.

"Hey now, let's not get relaxed, I was not kidding when I said we have not finished training." The slight moment of relief that Shaman and Elysia felt had vanished and their hearts began to sink.

"We are not going to do any physical training but instead some meditating to increase your mana capacity as it seems to be relatively lacking." Himeko finally explained what they were going to do which helped ease the minds and hearts of Shaman and Elysia.

"Also drink this Shaman." Himeko tossed over a bottle that contained a blue liquid, Shaman could only assume that it was a mana potion and happily drank it.

"I don't have many of them as we have not found a way to mass produce them yet so make sure if you get your hands on some potions make sure you use them well." Himeko had indirectly answered one of Shaman's questions as Shaman was unsure why the typical Health and mana potions were unavailable.

'Looks like I am just going to have to rely on healing spells.' Shaman was a little sad that consumables were not really a thing and would make future encounters harder but also a little easier.

"Anyway now that your mana is returned we can begin to exercise your mana and try to increase it or at least make it more efficient."

"So first we have to understand how mana actually works in our body, so can anybody answer this question for me." Himeko began to walk back and forth as she was talking.

.....

"I believe mana works as you have a central core that is located in the center of the body and have branches that reach out throughout your entire body to send the stored mana through those branches." Shaman answered Himeko's question as this was her understanding from the magic books she brought.

"You are indeed correct and with that mana we output it uses the ambient mana around us to create the elements of our desire. However due to environmental conditions people can become attuned to a certain element like me and have been surrounded by fire which means i'm more likely to learn fire magic."

"There is also another thing to keep note is that the only reason why people fail to learn magic is that generally they do not have the mana capacity to support the element and why gifted people who are born with a high reserve are able to pick it up so easily."

"This also does not mean that a person can't learn it through hard work but it takes years to build the foundation to even begin to learn magic."

"As of late though due to the increasing amount of people being so gifted the population is currently in a transition phase where it is more common to be able to learn magic easily."

"This means that currently a lot of people are able to use magic which has also been the indirect reason for why technology is advancing since it is now becoming more accessible than ever. There are also ways to artificially increase your mana capacity but those had been deemed as illegal due to its low success rate."

"There are also magic enchantments which use the ambient mana to have a desired effect by the inscriptions on the circle which is an entirely different profession but has seen an increase in popularity as being able to use magic increases the usability of the enchantments." Himeko took a moment to rest her voice and Shaman asked a question.

"Then how come people are able to use mana crystals and still be able to use basic magic items if they are unable to produce a significant amount of mana?" Shaman was rather confused as it should be impossible for them to use anything magic related.

"That's because everyone has an aura which slightly admits mana and with that alone it allows the use of magic items since they depend more on the ambient mana around them than the amount of mana admitted by the person." After Hiemko's explanation it clicked in Shaman's head.

"Moving on to actually exercising your mana." Himeko smiled and sat down on the ground in front of Shaman, Elysia and Wolfy and crossed her legs.

"Follow my actions and listen to what I say." With that said Shaman and Elysia sat crossed legged.

"Now just get comfortable but make sure your arms are outstretched and begin to take slow deep breaths." Shaman and Elysia followed Himeko's instructions.

"Now what you must do is sense your mana core within you and feel the surging mana that it holds." Shaman could instantly feel the swirling mana inside her and fell into a deep concentration. Elysia on the other hand was slightly struggling but could still sense her mana core but could not go any further.

"Once you feel your mana, what you want to do is try to spread it throughout your body and try to embrace it within you just like how our blood runs through our veins." Shaman was able to grab a hold of the swirling mana and began to release it throughout her entire body slowly. The mana began to fill the branches that sprout throughout the body and Shaman could feel a slight warm sensation start to come over her.

Elysia was still struggling but was beginning to see her mana core and all her mana. With what she got Elysia tried to do what Himeko said and spread it through her body but her concentration was broken when she attempted to manipulate her mana.

"Keep trying Elysia as this is something that not everyone can master but it seems like Shaman has been able to achieve." Himeko could see Elysia was struggling but knew that it takes time to be able to get the right effect but it seems that Shaman was able to get it on the first try.

"Now that you have filled your body with your mana you want to stay in this state for as long as you can and this should slowly improve your mana capacity and efficiency as you are constantly using your mana to exercise the core and branches within you." Himeko smiled as she was quite proud of Shaman being able to achieve such a great result in a short amount of time.

Shaman stayed in this meditative display and system notifications began to rang out.

[User has increased mana capacity by 2]

[User has increased mana capacity by 2]

[User has increased mana capacity by 2]

….

Notifications kept ringing out every 5 seconds which felt like an eternity to Shaman as it seemed like she was in an endless space.

Shaman felt like she was floating but was unable to make out which direction she was going.

'It feels like I am in a dream and time has stopped moving.' Shaman was rather confused but could still feel the warm sensation enveloping her body and due to her not having any time orientation she was unable to tell how long she had been there.

'It feels like I have been here forever. I need to get out of this.' Shaman began to get a little worried as it seemed like she was in a sort of trance but then suddenly the warm sensation she was feeling began to dwindle and her concentration was broken bringing her back to reality.

Shaman opened her eyes and could see Himeko smiling at her and Elysia looking at her with curiosity.

Shaman could feel that she was sweating all over and that her breaths had begun to be raggared.

"How long was I out for?" Shaman felt like the endless space would never end and wondered how long she was actually in there for.

"I would say about 4 minutes." Himeko's answer shocked Shaman as it did not feel like 4 minutes.

"It really felt like I was there forever and was going to die of old age." Shaman let out a sigh of relief but could not help express her worries.

"That's a normal feeling but I did not expect you to do so well so I was unable to explain how to deal with it." Himeko let out an awkward laugh with Elysia and Wolfy listening closely

"Anyway I have to say I'm impressed as it takes a few days to be able to stay in that meditative state for a decent amount of time." Himeko was proud of Shaman but this was only the beginning as there is much more to the meditative state that can be done. Shaman was also rather shocked to hear it but felt very proud she was able to achieve something.

"Well with that out of the way I think we will go for a break and have some lunch then I have something planned for you guys hehe~" Himeko wanted to treat the girls for their effort and also wanted to found out more about them since she felt like they needed a motherly figure in their lives as the recent events must have taken a toll on them.

72 Motherly urge

Shaman and Elysia were relieved to hear that they were going to get a break and wondered what Himeko planned to do.

"I will cook you guys something to eat." Himeko stood up and reached her hands out to help Shaman and Elysia up. They took her hand and Wolfy stood close as Himeko used her fire to travel back to the tower.

They appeared back in their room and Himeko let go of their hands.

"Go change into something more comfortable and come to the floor below once you are ready, also does Wolfy eat anything special or will some meat do?" Himeko looked at Wolfy and at the mention of meat Wolfy's tail began to wag and looked at Himeko with happiness.

"Yeah, meat is fine." Shaman could see the excitement in Wolfy's eyes.

Himeko then vanished in her flames to the lower floor and began to cook a meal for the girls.

Shaman and Elysia quickly pulled out some casual clothes from their inventory and began to get changed. Wolfy upon hearing the word meat was waiting patiently at the door for Shaman and Elysia.

Shaman changed into a baggy black top and black short shorts while Elysia wore a pink top and a black skirt and the top was a little too small and showed off her curves. Shaman pouted a little and looked away as she was rather jealous of her figure.

'At Least she belongs to me and I can enjoy it.' Shaman was trying to be optimistic but since she was stuck in thought Elysia had snuck up on her. Elysia hugged Shaman from behind pushing her breasts against her back.

.....

Elysia had a smug look and poked Shaman's cheek, Shaman tried to avoid Elysia but did not want to get out of Elysia's hug as it felt nice.

"Hehe~ somebody is jealous of someone else's body." Elysia pushed herself harder against Shaman's back and kept poking Shaman's cheek.

"At least it belongs to me and is only for me." Shaman's face was turning bright red from Elysia's teasing.

"Fuhuhuhu~ and what are you going to do to this possession of yours." Elysia then licked Shaman's fox ear causing shivers to go down her spine and start to put her in the mood.

"NO!." Shaman finally pushed Elysia away as Himeko was expecting them and it was not the time to get down and dirty. Elysia had been pushed back on the bed and quickly sat up and stared at Shaman.

"Awww." Elysia looked sad but then suddenly a ball of fire appeared above Elysia.

Elysia did not notice it but Shaman saw what was happening and did not warn her. Eventually a pan coming out of the fire fell ontop of Elysia bonking her on the head. Elysia fell back on the bed and Shaman went to the pan to see if it had a message on it.

Shaman picked up the pan and could see a fire message on it.

"Stop being horny and get your ass down here." Shaman read out the message and Elysia who was on the bed was now bright red as everything she said was most likely heard by Himeko.

"Heh it seems like the tables have turned." Shaman was now the one with a smug look.

"Let's hurry up and go downstairs and see Himeko." Shaman dropped the pan and grabbed Elysia by the leg and pulled her off the bed.

"OW!" Elysia fell on the floor and sat up.

"How did I end up being the one bullied?" Elysia tried to tease Shaman but it ended up backfiring and her getting a pan to the head. Shaman just stuck her tongue out and walked towards the door.

Elysia pulled herself up and slowly made her way down.

They arrived at the lower floor and opened the door, Wolfy's tail was still wagging as he was able to pick up the smell of meat within the room.

They walked in and were met with a dining area that had a table that could hold at least 6 people. Behind the dining area a kitchen could be seen taking up at least half of the room and Himeko inside it cooking. She wore a White apron and What seemed like black nightwear but was unable to make out what it was due to the apron. There was a clear split with the dining area being wooden and the kitchen having tiles.

Shaman and Elysia went to the table and sat down on one side together while they waited for Himeko to finish up. Wolfy laid down next to Shaman on the floor but his wagging tail gave away his excitement as he tried to hide it.

"Hey girls, I hope I did not interrupt anything, the food will be ready in a few minutes." Himeko yelled out from the kitchen and Elysia once again became red as it just confirmed she was able to hear anything.

"Heh." Shaman elbowed Elysia in the arm as now she has to deal with the awkwardness.

'Hey Rea are you there?' Shaman was wondering why they have not heard from Rea in a while and assumed it was most likely because she almost said something she shouldn't.

[I am here but I am unable to speak for a while]

The familiar text box came up and Shaman instantly understood that Rea's ability to speak had been revoked as punishment for what she said.

'Oh okay, well I hope you can talk soon.' Shaman quite enjoyed Rea's company as it felt like a 4th companion to her.

[Don't worry, I will be able to speak again you just have to wait for a little while]

Shaman nodded and Elysia also read the same message boxes and got a jist of what they were talking about.

However their talk was cut short as Himeko used her fire to carry the plates of food and place them in front of the girls and Wolfy.

Wolfy instantly started eating while Shaman and Elysia waited for Himeko to come out of the kitchen.

Himeko finally walked out and Shaman was able to get a good look on what Himeko was wearing as she no longer had the apron on. Himeko wore a black dress which was rather short and started to become transparent at the ends. Shaman could also slightly see Himeko's underwear due to the transparency but as soon as she noticed she stopped looking as it was rather embarrassing. Shaman also could see Himeko's large chest and was disappointed again as it was a constant reminder of what she doesn't have.

'Well at least I won't get back problems and the more I look at myself the more grateful I am so maybe I should just accept what I got.' Shaman was finding inner peace with her own body while Elysia did not pay attention as she was too busy appraising the food to see if it was up to standard.

Himeko finally sat down with her food and looked at Shaman who was looking at her own body and Elysia who was examining every inch of the food.

"Let's eat." Himeko found it rather amusing but the food would go cold if she let it continue.

They were given miso steak that had been cut up in bite sized pieces with a bowl of rice, there was also some tempura on the side.

Shaman snapped out of it and picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. To her surprise the food was really good but was not as good as Elysia's cooking.

'This is very enjoyable but I have to say Elysia wins in the cooking department.' Shaman once again felt proud that she had Elysia for a girlfriend and was glad that her habit of getting easily attached did not ruin it.

'Also despite the Chinese aesthetic I thought we would get Chinese related food but instead we got Japanese, I guess when you are in a new world anything can happen.' Despite the clashing cultures Shaman shrugged it off as this is a different world and not hers so she can expect it all to be the same.

Elysia looked at Shaman's face and could tell that the cooking was good but knew what Shaman's blissful smile was and that she was the superior cook. Elysia then finally picked up the chopsticks but when she did she had no idea how to use them.

"Uhhh how do I use these." Elysia was rather confused and tried to mimic Shaman but was unable to get it right.

"Oh? Here, just use these." Himeko clicked her fingers and a Knife and fork appeared next to Elysia's plate.

"Thanks!" Elysia was glad she did not have to embarrass herself more.

They all ate the food and happily ate but once they had finished Himeko spoke up as she wanted to talk to them for a little bit.

"So would you like to tell me how you two met since it must have been quite the long journey for you to end up dating." Himeko was rather curious how they got together since same sex relationships were rather uncommon and her motherly urge to find out every detail was bugging her to find out.

"Well if I think about it, it really has not been that long so you may be quite surprised." Shaman thought back and it had hardly been a month, yet so much has happened.

'If Elysia did not save my life and not for me being so easily attached I don't think we would have ended up dating.' Shaman thought internally as the stars really aligned for her and Elysia and without Shaman's bad habit and Elysia's longing for love their relationship may have taken much longer to develop.

"I don't care how long or short it was, just tell me." Himeko was even more curious as now she wondered how long they had been together as it sounded really short but yet they seemed like they had been lovers for ages.

'I have to find out if anything is suspicious otherwise I will have failed Cecilia as a replacement mother.' Himeko needed to know as it seemed like something inside her switched on.

73 Freya forest

Shaman was a little hesitant on telling Himeko their story as she was unsure if she wanted to let Himeko know of the cult that's seemingly trying to hunt them down for their fox blood.

Shaman also took this opportunity to message Elysia through Rea if they should tell Himeko.

[Should we mention the cult that we bumped into or should we try to avoid telling Himeko about it]

Shaman was a little perplexed as Himeko would be able to provide protection and for all they know Himeko may even know about the organization running it.

[I think it is okay, if anything it would make Himeko train us even more so I think it is worth while telling her the full story]

Elysia made a great point as it seemed like Himeko was quite adamant on making them stronger so that they could protect themselves.

"Uhhh, hellooo." Himeko waved in front of Shaman's face as she was wondering what was going on as it seemed like Shaman and Elysia dozed off.

"Oh, sorry just thinking about how to start the story, that's all." Shaman let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of her.

"Anyway…" Shaman went on to explain the start of her journey in the city of Victoria and how she was able to obtain Wolfy and started her adventuring journey.

.....

"Oh okay so Wolfy is more of a bounded beast than a familiar and is able to get stronger on its own." Himeko was rather intrigued by Wolfy as it is very unusual for a low tier wolf to hold such a valuable egg.

"Well he has been a very good boy and I treat him just like a companion so I don't know what I would do without him." Shaman was glad that she obtained Wolfy and could not wait to see his growth in the future.

"So what kind of Wolf is Wolfy here and does he have any special skills?" Himeko wanted to know the breed of Wolfy as there are clans of beastman Wolves that are able to transform into a human and live in a certain forest within the Fox Realm.

"If I remember correctly I believe Wolfy is a Shadow moon wolf and is able to use the element shadows and due to our bond I also share those skills." Shaman did not think much of it but Himeko upon hearing those words dropped the glass of water she was taking a sip from.

"Uhh, did I say something wrong." Shaman was a little worried as it seemed like the information she just told Himeko was something that should not be said aloud.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU FIND A WOLF FROM THE FREYA FOREST!!!!" Himeko screamed as she was shocked at hearing the race of Wolfy and could not contain that shock.

"I don't know, I killed a Wolf and he had the egg and I hatched it and that was it." Shaman was a little confused but had the idea that Wolfy's existence was something special and that this Freya forest may be the origins of Wolfy. Elysia was lost in all this and could only wait till they explained what was happening.

Wolfy on the other hand was very curious and wanted to know more from Himeko.

'Mother, is it okay if I can talk to Himeko as I want to find out more about this Freya forest and I think being able to talk will help.' Wolfy asked Shaman if it was okay and Shaman was not entirely against the idea but wanted to wait a little longer.

'Give me a sec, we need to find out a little more before we start jumping to conclusions.' Shaman wanted a little bit more information in order to make a judgement.

"Ahem, sorry, I was just a little shocked, let me explain to you why this is massive news for me." Himeko calmed herself down and realized that Shaman and Elysia would have no idea of this Wolf clan as it is one of the most secretive races.

"Wolfy being of the Moon Shadow clan means that he must have originated from the Freya forest where they work in secrecy and are basically assassins that are hired. They do have strict rules on who they assassinate but in order to get in contact with them you must go through a trial of sorts to be able to talk to their leader." Himeko started to explain what the Freya forest was and what it entailed.

"I have only met the leader a few times but that was with your mother as she was friends with the leader but due to her distaste for humans I could only go if Cecilia went otherwise I might have ended up being killed for just being human." Himeko thought back to when she went to the Freya forest and first met the leader.

Shaman could see the dread on her face as it seemed like it was a rather traumatic experience for her.

"I'm so glad I do not have to go there again but all I can really say is if you do go there, make sure you have a good explanation why you have a Wolf from their clan as your bond." Himeko wanted to give them an easy way out of it but there was no other way than to face it head on and due to Shaman being Cecilia's daughter this may help in their favour.

"Well we plan to go to the Fox Realm after we travel through Elfhiem so hopefully we are strong enough then to go to the Freya forest and see if we can get Wolfy some training while we are there." Despite the warning, Shaman thought it was a rather good opportunity for Wolfy to get stronger as it may improve his skills and give Wolfy a boost in power.

Himeko was a little shocked at Shaman's response but she could not help smiling as she could see the image of Cecilia in Shaman.

"Well, I say it would be a smart move to get to at least tier 6 or 7 before you head there as the trial is rather difficult and not impossible but if you have access to the shadow skills then it will be rather easy." Himeko wanted to explain the trial but due to it always changing it is hard to say what will be there.

"Well I will have to see if we can go to the Fox Realm early then as I would really like if Wolfy was able to go back to his home and get some training." This was good knews as they had a proper goal and once they were tier 6 they could make their way to the Fox Realm.

"I like the idea." Elysia was onboard with it and was not opposed to it.

'Wolfy you can speak now if you want.' Shaman figured Wolfy can talk with Himeko as it would cause them no trouble.

"Oh yeah one more thing Wolfy can speak telepathically so don't be surprised if you hear a voice in your head." Shaman wanted to warn Himeko as it is quite the surprise to randomly have a voice in your head.

"What?" But before Himeko could understand Wolfy began to talk inside her head.

"Hello Himeko, this is Wolfy that you are hearing right now." Wolfy's voice rang out in all of their heads and Himeko could not help but stand up to look at Wolfy.

Wolfy looked back at Himeko and could see the shock on her face.

"Hello" Wolfy raised his paw to wave at Himeko.

Himeko however quickly rushed to the side of Wolfy and began to suddenly pat him.

"Oh my god, this is amazing, I can't believe you found yourself such a strong and cute wolf." Himeko seemingly fell into cuteness and could not help pat Wolfy.

"Why the sudden pats?" Wolfy was rather confused but he was not against the actions of Himeko.

"Because you looked fluffy and the news just keeps getting better and better by the minute so I needed a way to vent this excitement." Shaman and Elysia could not help but laugh as Himeko was taking the sudden drops of news really well and it turned out to be rather beneficial.

"Okay well, stop whenever you want." Wolfy was enjoying the pats and let Himeko have her way.

Shaman shook her head as she could see Wolfy take full advantage of the situation but all she could do was sit and wait.

"Phew." Himeko stood up refreshed and walked back to her seat as she got a little side tracked.

"Anyway this is amazing as this means Wolfy is close to evolving and actually may be the ticket you need to get into the Freya forest." Himeko put her elbows on the table and held her hands together in front of her face.

"From what I know shadow moon wolves have the innate ability once at a certain level to sense the direction of the forest so you wont need an item to guide you."

"Wait really?" This was good news for them as it will save them time on having to find the forest as from all the maps she has seen the forest is not labeled on any maps.

"Yes and seeing as I wont be able to babysit you through your journey I can't take you there straight away so by having Wolfy as your guide you can easily get access." Himeko smiled as she could see Shaman's group being one of the most powerful forces in the future and it made her excited to think about.

"Sweet, but I really should keep going with my story shouldn't I otherwise we may be here all day." Shaman realized that they had gotten sidetracked although it was good and wanted to keep talking about the forest she needed to tell Himeko about the cult situation before they continue to talk about the forest.

"Oh right, I can explain more about the forest later since there are a few more things I should tell but that can wait till later." Himeko still had some things to say but they could be told at a later time since they were not going there anytime soon.

"That would be nice." Shaman wanted to know more about the place but also came to the same conclusion that they are not in a rush. Elysia on the other hand did not have much to say and sat there listening as the next part of the story would be her time to shine.

'I can't wait for what Her reaction when she hears we may be getting hunted.'

74 THAT'S NOT HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO

"I appreciate the information about the Freya forest but as I said I should get on with the story as there is still more that needs to be said that I think you should know." Shaman was a little nervous about telling Himeko about the cult that seemed to have put a target on both hers and Elysia's head but first she was going to talk about her relationship with Elysia.

Himeko crossed her legs and begun to listen to Shaman who begun to explain the situation with Elysia without revealing that is was the cult and calling them slave traders for the meantime.

"WAIT YOU ONLY KNEW EACH OTHER FOR A COUPLE DAYS AND YOU STARTED DATING!!!" Himeko stood up and slammed her hands on the table making it slightly crack where her hands were. Shaman and Elysia both grabbed a hold of each other as Himeko spooked them with the sudden outburst.

"This can't be happening." Himeko grabbed hold of her face and sloped back down to her chair and began to sulk.

"Why can my friend's daughter get a girlfriend in 2 days and I can't even get a man to go on a date with me." Himeko seemingly began to have a mid-life crisis in front of Shaman and Elysia, but after the spook they were now trying their hardest not to laugh at her.

"Life does not work like that, you can't just wake up and love someone you need to actually spend time together, tell me, HOW DID YOU DO IT!" Himeko looked intently at the 2 girls as clearly there was a secret to it and she needed to find out.

Shaman took a deep breath to get rid of the laugh she was holding and now just began to hold Elysia's hand.

"Well I have this habit of getting really attached to someone easily and to see Elysia try so hard for me my thoughts instantly went to love and i could not help reciprocate Elysia's feelings that she clearly expressed." Shaman's face went a little red and Elysia was very happy to hear what Shaman had to say as it seemed like she had completely swept Shaman off her feet.

Himeko then looked at Elysia for answers as she did not get a good enough response from Shaman and was hoping that Elysia was the answer to all this.

.....

"Well uhhh, when Shaman broke into the underground base and I saw her break me out I had this feeling of deep gratitude towards Shaman and after she was willing to take me in all I could think about was her and so I jumped the gun and it somehow worked out despite my rushed approach." Elysia scratched the back of her head as this was the first time outloud saying how she fell in love.

Himeko could visibly be seen dying on the inside as this was the most ridiculous and boring love story she has ever heard.

"I think we may have killed Himeko." Shaman felt a little uneasy but could not help find Himeko's reaction amusing.

"I don't know what she expected." Elysia thought Himeko was expecting some sort of tragic story that would take a while to explain but instead she got something that was way below her expectations.

After a few minutes Himeko finally came back and shook her head.

"You know, that's not how it's supposed to go yet here you are." Himeko leant back in her chair and looked down on herself. She let out a sigh as there was nothing she could do or complain about.

"Well I am glad things are working out for you and I hope that nothing separates the two of you." Shaman was a little shocked at the sudden change in attitude in Himeko but nonetheless appreciated the words.

'Well if Elysia does betray me I believe she loses all her power as the grant system will strip all the acquired power through the system.' Shaman thought back to the grant system description which reminded her that only people that pledge loyalty are able to be given one.

"Thank you." Elysia spoke up as she could see Shaman deep in thought and did not want to leave Himeko hanging.

Shaman broke out of her thoughts as there was still more to be said.

"Ahem, anyway, our relationship was quick but honestly it was going to happen anyway plus there is one more thing which I saved for last as it is the most important." Shaman wanted to move on for Himeko's sake and she also needed to hear the situation.

Himeko raised an eyebrow and was a little worried that the next thing could be much worse than her friend's daughter getting a girlfriend quicker than she could get a suitable date.

Shaman saw that Himeko was ready to listen and started to explain how the past 2 cities seemingly have an underground cult and they are trying to summon something.

"The story I said before about the slave traders, well actually they were the cult and were going to use Elysia's blood as the final sacrifice to active whatever they have under the city."

"After that we moved straight away to Cholden but they were also there and targeted us to use our blood but we manage to kill the person behind it and escape but it also seems like now we are being hunted in general as we are a valuable resource to this cult and this whole thing seems a lot bigger than just a small group." Shaman hoped that Himeko may have information about this group since she is one of the superpowers of the human territory.

"Did any of them touch you?" Himeko spoke in a stern tone as it seemed like a fuse had gone off.

"I did get captured but was able to break free since the city lord was dumb and thought I was weak." Shaman did not want to lie to Himeko but that may have been the right choice.

"I'll be right back." Himeko got up and began to use her fire to teleport.

"Wait, I already killed the city lord, there is no reason to go over there and do anything!" Shaman quickly spoke as she felt like the maps may have had to be redrawn if she did not stop Himeko.

The flames slowed down and Himeko stopped her teleport and took in a deep breath.

"At least you dealt with it." Himeko had seemingly calm down as she planned to go to Cholden and murder the city lord that captured Shaman but it seemed like she was beaten to it.

"The reason why we tell you this, is because we were wondering if you know who is behind this organization." Shaman judged from that reaction that Himeko was not a part of it and that this is something she is unaware of.

Himeko was in deep thought for a moment as this whole situation could be a lot more serious than just a small group.

"It has to be the damn church." Himeko came up with a response and with what she has been told so far about the church it is no surprise that they would also be evil.

'Typical, they usually always have something to hide and just like other novels it seems like it is the same case here.' Shaman half expected this to be the case but did not want to assume things as using her knowledge from fantasy novels have not always been right.

"They are against this whole beastman alliance and want to become the higher power of the entire continent but due to Elfhiem and the Fox realm being much stronger they have not been able to do anything. But if what you say is true then they could be planning something that could put everyone in danger." Himeko had grabbed her chin as this was very crucial for her since she is the only one who had not aligned with the church.

"So do you think that is why they are trying to get rid of you since you can easily interfere with their plan." Shaman guessed that the church was now the puppetmaster and it was unable to get its strings around Himeko and now they are just trying to straight up get rid of her.

"Well I mean Himeko is one of the strongest people so they can't just exile her so they must be trying to not get rid of her by killing her but just keeping her in the dark while keeping up appearances." Elysia had chimed in.

"You may be right but this is too big for you right now, you have to get stronger before taking on the church as they may have all the royal families backing them and fighting against a tier 10 is not so simple." Himeko began to tap her foot on the floor as she was deep in thought.

"Fair enough, we really should not be sticking our noses in it and focus on our own goals." Shaman realized that they should not be getting involved as they are too weak to do anything.

"Alright it is decided I am going to teach as much as I can in the next month and then I am going to have to investigate this for myself." Himeko made a declaration and was determined in making Shaman and Elysia powerful warriors.

Shaman and Elysia knew how serious this could be and were ready for this month of tortures training.

"Girls I hope you are ready as this is going to be one of the hardest months of your lives." Himeko looked at the girls for their response.

Shaman and Elysia nodded which put a smile on Himeko's face.

'Cecilia I hope I can make you proud.' Himeko was all the more determined and began to think of how to train these girls for the next month.

75 The training begins

"AHHHHHH!" Shaman and Elysia were screaming as they were running away from a giant fiery bird that looked like a sparrow just outside of Ebonscale. Wolfy was also running along with them but due to lack of vocal cords he was not able to scream like Shaman and Elyisa.

"Come on girls, you can't just keep running forever!" Himeko was currently mounted on top of the bird made of fire. Himeko then controlled the bird to send down a rain of fire balls directly at the group.

'Shit.' Shaman could see the oncoming fireballs that they have been suffering from in the last hour.

"Elysia, Wolfy, jump on." Shaman quickly created a small sled out of her ice and started to create an ice trail for it to slide on. They all jumped on at the same time which gave it the force to start sliding down the ice trail that Shaman was conjuring up was being created as they continued forward.

Elysia was given the job to deflect the fireballs as Himeko still had full control over them and could direct them in any direction.

Elysia summoned her bow and began to prepare [Explosive arrows] with multi shot to stop the fireballs. 3 fireballs started to make their way toward their sled and Elysia quickly knelt down and prepared for the shot. Once the fireballs were about 50 meters away Elysia finally fired her shot colliding with all the fireballs causing them to explode.

"Let's see how you deal with this." Himeko smirked and began to send over 10 fireballs at once towards them.

Elysia's heart sank a little as she was unsure if she would be able to deal with it but she still had to try as Shaman is relying on her to keep their backs covered.

Elysia took a deep breath and instead of using her normal bow switched to a bow fully made of fire and conjured up the 10 arrows on it. Elysia opened her eyes and began to analyze where each ball was and began to fire her bow. With the little mana manipulation she had she directed the arrows towards the 10 balls.

.....

This had taken a lot of energy since directing the arrows was not an easy task and took a considerable amount of mana to use.

Himeko was rather impressed with Elysia's ability to manipulate her arrows as it is not something all mages can do.

"Shaman, I don't think I can keep going, I think I used too much mana on that last." Elysia began to feel the fatigue and her head started to slightly spin.

Shaman quickly grabbed a hold of Elysia and put Elysia on her back. When Elysia went on Shaman's back she started to fall unconscious and ended up falling asleep.

'How can she sleep in this situation?' Shaman shook her head as she had more concerning issues to take care of.

'Looks we have to go on one foot, I can't keep this up as I have already gone through a quarter of my mana.' Shaman began to talk to Wolfy as she needed to make sure Elysia was safe whilst fighting off Himeko.

'We can use my shadow skills but we need to find a way to bring Himeko down.' Wolfy felt rather useless as his skill set was not good for this kind of confrontation.

'Wolfy jump.' Wolfy followed her instruction and then they found themselves on an ice ramp that went to the ground to ease them into running.

Himeko was not idle for much longer and began to fly down with her bird.

'Damn if it wasn't for the fact that the bird was made of fire we would have had some shadows that we could work with' Shaman was a little frustrated as Himeko was a good counter to the shadow element.

'Well we just need to create some.' Wolfy figured they could combine Shaman's ice to take advantage of the light created from the fire.

'We can indeed do that but how is that going to work against a bird of light.' Shaman had thought of this as well but could not see a practical way to apply it.

'We need to get ice above her so that the light from below can cast a shadow and that way we can get on her body since there are plenty of shadows there and we do not need to worry about how big the shadow is as long as it is there.' Wolfy had also found that he is not confined by the size of the shadow if he is already in it, just as long as it is there he can move freely within it.

Shaman fell into thought as Wolfy's plan was plausible and if they were able to get on Himeko they would finally be able to knock her off it which was the objective of this session.

Himeko at this point finally was able to catch up and was right behind the running Wolfy and Shaman.

"Hey there, are you done planning and ready to attack?" Himeko had a massive grin as she started to create a small sword out of fire.

Himeko swung down causing an explosion with the ice on the floor forcing Shaman and Wolfy to begin their plan.

Shaman continued her ice platform and then began to make a loop out of it and expanded it out to create a roof of sorts.

Himeko halted her bird and began to float close to the ground.

'I wonder what they are planning.' Himeko wanted to allow them to follow through with their plan to see what they would do.

With the ice roof now covering Himeko, Shaman made small walls along the roof to create shadows on the roof and to her surprise it was rather effective.

Shaman and Wolfy then proceed to use [Shadow walk] which was able to throw Himeko off as she saw them disappear but once they were gone it was like they were never there.

'That is one scary ability, if it wasn't for the fact that I knew they were in the shadows I would be worried.' Himeko still was getting over the fact that Wolfy was a Shadow moon wolfy as his potential is insane.

'Anyway I should try to mess up their plan a little and see how they do when it fails.' Himeko then proceeded to use her fire sword and destroyed the ice roof they were on. The ice shattered and pieces of ice fell but Shaman and Wolfy were still not brought out of the shadows.

In the distance Elysia could be seen coming out of the shadows and Himeko ignored her as she knew she was out of commission.

Himeko trying to pull them out stabbed her fire sword in the ground through her bird and due to being out of fire it was able to extend. The ground then began to rumble till eventually the ground started to crack and a bright orange light started to shine through.

Fire pillars rose from the ground all around Himeko for at least 5 seconds till they finally died down. But yet again no results were shown till she realized that they would have used Elysia's body to hide.

Himeko quickly flew to Elysia and lifted her up with non lethal fire and lit up any area as a way to drown out any shadows.

'Still nothing where could they be?' Himeko began to get more confused and was trying her hardest to figure out where they were, however her question was answered when she felt something around her stomach.

Ice started to form and incase her but was quickly melted by Himeko. However this was a distraction as Shaman started to pop out of Himeko's back. Shaman could be seen holding a ball of wind and shot it towards her bird. Wolfy on the other hand came from Himeko's head and jumped in front of Himeko. He used his [Shadow claw] and targeted it towards the bird's head.

The ball of wind hit the bird and caused a reaction as Shaman had made it a pure pall of oxygen. This aggravated the flames causing a small explosion to occur at Himeko's feet.

'YES!' Shaman yelled mental and used her wind to push her way to avoid the blast.

Wolfy was not so successful as Himeko used her palm and hit Wolfy in the side causing him to fly out towards where Elysia was.

Himeko now had to deal with the explosion that was occurring but there was a crucial mistake made by Shaman that she failed to realize. The fire was still in her control so she was able to use the exploding portion of the bird and direct it towards Shaman.

"Shit." Shaman saw Himeko taking control over the explosion and sending the flames in her direction.

'Let's hope this works.' Shaman wanted to use a skill that she had not been able to use and due to her being a higher tier she was willing to try it and hope that it will help her get past the on coming fire.

76 Successful loss

Shaman was a little hesitant on using this skill but due to her not being far from being able to use it more regularly, she should not suffer the consequences like she did at a lower tier.

'Alright here goes nothing.' Shaman faced the pillar of fire that was aimed straight at her and gripped her sword tightly.

'[Blade of Flamesicon]' Shaman activated the skill and the fire bursted out of the sword, Shaman had also made Kotetsu affinity to fire which amplified the flames.

Blazing flames began to fly out violently and Shaman could feel this time that her mana branches were not being burnt unlike last time. Himeko observed what Shaman was doing and was really impressed as she could sense the use of wind and fire to create the skill.

'It looks like a very powerful skill but it seems like it is still a little too much for her to handle but It also seems like she can almost use it but just isn't quite there yet .' Himeko was able to tell that Shaman's mana core was working overtime and realized that the skill was still just too advanced for her.

The skill was fully activated and Shaman's white hair began to turn slightly orange. Shaman lifted Kotetsu above her head and slashed down at the pillar of fire that was close to hitting her.

A slash of fire was sent out colliding with the pillar stopping it within its tracks, with the attack successfully being halted Shaman could feel that her consciousness was fading.

'Dammit, I still can't use it freely yet.' Shaman was a little disappointed but was nonetheless happy that she was able to use it without ruining her body but just at the cost of her consciousness.

As Shaman's eyes began to close she could see that the blade was starting to weaken till eventually it was absorbed by the fire powering it even further.

.....

'Sh-." Shaman could no longer stay awake and fell to the floor.

But before Shaman could hit the ground Himeko caught her and quickly moved her out of the way of the fire pillar.

"You did really well sweetie." Himeko smiled and patted Shaman's head as she was really proud of the girls and Wolfy with how they handled the situation.

'They still need to be put under a lot of pressure and make mistakes so their fighting sense is fine tuned otherwise when push comes to shove the hesitation they might have could kill them.' Himeko had noticed many times during the fight that they either hestatied about using a skill or were unsure about their own abilities which could cost them their life.

'Oh well, it comes with time and I just need to beat them over and over again till they finally get it.' Himeko had walked over to where Wolfy and Elysia were and layed Shaman down next to them.

'If I am going to put them in danger I should throw them in the dungeon unexpectedly so that way we can see how well they do.' Himeko had a devilish smile as the idea of putting them in the dungeon before they woke up was a great way to put them under pressure.

'Of course I will watch over them but if I tell them that they might not take it seriously so I better get to work before they wake up.' Himeko had used her fire to teleport them all away and began to make her way to the dungeon.

***

'Ahhhh shit, memory time again.' Shaman had found herself once again in her mind space that the system gave to her.

'This feeling never gets old and it seems like my negligence of checking these memories are catching up to me since I keep forgetting to see what has been unveiled.' Despite wanting to find out more about the past, Shaman completely neglects the fact that memories are slowly given to her as her INT stat rises.

After being in her own thoughts for a while something began to happen as the black wavy scenery began to change into a bedroom.

'It seems like this is my own room for when I was at the palace.' Shaman could only assume that this was her room. The room itself was very normal and was bland, Shaman felt a little sad as the room was just marble and a window looking out to a small garden.

'This girl really needs to decorate her room.' Shaman could not help but critique the other 'Shaman.'

Finally she lost control of her movements and began to move on her own.

'I hate this feeling of not being incontrol.' Shaman was once again stuck with the feeling of being in someone's head but unable to move which was rather uncomfortable for her.

'I hope this one does not last long.'

'Shaman' began to move and when she looked in the mirror that was in the corner of the room Shaman was able to get a good look at what age she would have been.

'It looks like I am about 14 years old at the time but it's hard to tell.' Shaman examined herself and could tell that this was a much younger 'Shaman' but could see that she had started to mature a bit.

Before Shaman could look anymore 'Shaman' Started to move again and walked out of the room. It was the same hallway from when she saw the memories of 'Shaman' when she was a kid. The walls, floor and roof were all marble with the walls being decorated with ornaments, vases and paintings but to Shaman's surprise it seemed like things were incomplete.

'It seems like I don't have a fully detailed memory and only what 'Shaman' would remember.' Shaman half expected the memories to not all be in detail and have some aspects missing.

'Shaman' continued to walk down the hallway and when she reached the same massive door which was completely made of wood she had stopped and listened out for a moment.

"So when are we going to see Freya?" An unfamiliar voice could be heard in the room.

"We will soon but it seems like I have a little guest that wants to come in."

"I shall wait for you in the usual spot then Cecilia."

'Shaman' knew she had been found and quickly opened the door to find out who it was but when she did all she could see was a little flame fizzling out next to her mother.

Cecilia had beautiful pure white hair with a massive Fox tail, it could also be seen that she was wearing a blue kimono of sorts which made her look elegant. Shaman was a little dazzled by her looks and was glad she inherited those genes.

"Who was that?" 'Shaman' pouted as she just missed who the mysterious woman was.

"Just a best friend dear, so anyway what brings you here sweetie." Cecilia seemed to have avoided the question.

"Why won't you tell me and also when is Stein going to be here?" 'Shaman' did not give up on wanting to know who the woman was.

"First, I don't tell you because it is important that as little people see you and know of you and secondly he is already here you just need to look more closely."

"Wh-." Before 'Shaman could finish what she was saying she was suddenly picked up from behind.

"Well if it isn't Shaman, you have to be careful of your surroundings otherwise you may get swept up like you just did." A man wearing a black suit with brown hair, hazel eyes and a fox tail had picked up Shaman. He also had a rather slim body and was tall, despite him looking weak he picked up Shaman with ease.

Cecilia smiled and waved at her daughter before being taken away.

"Goddammit!" Shaman screamed out as who presumed to be Stein walked out of the room with Shaman in hand.

'He looks like the guy that trained me how to use a sword and that woman who was talking with my mother was Himeko but why was my mother trying to hide my existence.' Shaman was rather confused by this as it did not make sense as to why she had to be hidden by everyone.

'Was there some sort of incident or something.' Despite getting an answer why she never recognized Himeko she was still left with more questions.

'Maybe I should go for these memory dives more often.' Shaman was coming to realize how important these memories were.

'I did get the name of the shadow moon Wolf leader as it seems like the place to find her is named after her.' Shaman had obtained more information about the Freya forest and who she will be looking for.

'Oh? It looks like this is the end.' Shaman could feel that the memory was ending as she began to gain control of her body.

Shaman began to slowly open her eyes and could hear the sound of fighting. The sound of arrows could be heard flying through the air and the sound of bones being crushed was echoing alongside it.

Shaman quickly shot up and found herself looking at Elysia and Wolfy who were fighting off a horde of skeletons.

"What?" Shaman was still wondering if she was dreaming till Elysia yelled.

"Holy fuck, you are awake finally, hurry up and help us kill these fucking skeletons!!"

77 Spooky scary skeletons

Shaman was confused but instantly became vigilant as a horde of skeletons began rushing into the room.

The room looked like an ancient ruin and they were in some sort of side room that had a memorial of a person in it. There was a lot of overgrowth in the cracks of the bricks and many holes showing that this place is not kept in good condition. The room was also rather large with one exit with no windows making it only being lit by the torches on the walls.

Elysia could be seen shooting rows of fire arrows eliminating a lot of the skeletons while wolfy picked off the remaining ones that were not hit with [Shadow claw].

Shaman pulled out her sword and made the affinity with fire and stood next to Elysia.

"Tell me, what's going on and for how long have you been doing this?" Shaman wanted to know how long she had been out for and what the current situation is.

"Well it's been at least an hour and these skeletons have not stopped coming through that door and if you don't destroy enough of the bones they just remake themselves like it was nothing!" Elysia shot some more arrows destroying more skeletons with Wolfy finishing the stragglers off.

"Ok well now that I am awake let's get the hell out of this room." Shaman knew that Elysia had been protecting them for the last hour so they must be getting exhausted.

"Sounds great." Elysia felt relieved as now some of the load has been taken off her since Shaman has joined the battle.

Shaman used [inspect] on the skeletons to see what they had been dealing with.

.....

[Skeleton puppet]

[Level 1]

[Tier 1]

[A disposable skeleton that is controlled by a puppet master]

'That makes sense why Elysia and Wolfy are not dead tired as these guys are just cannon fodder and require little energy to get rid of but if we need to get out of here we most likely need to deal with this puppet master first.' Shaman was a little worried as the puppet master could be anywhere and did not know if they had to be in a certain range.

"As much as I want to clarify what seems to be a dungeon I would say our top priority is to get out of this place entirely." Shaman decided it would be best to leave as they had only just entered tier 4 and would not be ready to take on the boss till they were at least tier 5.

"True, we are not quite ready for the final boss." Elysia thought it was a logical assumption since the boss was most likely a tier 5 leader or even a tier 6 so it would be best to over-prepare then walk into a death trap.

'Goddammit, why did Himeko dump us in the dungeon?' Shaman remembered that they were just training with Himeko and since they all passed out Himeko had placed them randomly in the dungeon.

Without saying much Shaman dashed towards the door where skeletons were still funnelling out. Shaman did not use any skills since the level of the skeletons was so low Shaman could flick them and they could fall apart.

Shaman slashed with Kotetsu, instantly destroying many bones and clearing them out of the way. Elysia and Wolfy quickly dashed towards the door and followed Shaman through it.

There were still hordes but Shaman was able to keep swinging like she was getting rid of bushes in a jungle.

After running through a narrow hallway they finally were able to enter a hall with a lot of open space.

There were many support beams going 6 meters up around with many different entrances around the walls, what caught Shaman's eyes was that there was a figure in the middle slumped over not moving.

She quickly used inspect to find out what it was as it could be the puppet master.

[Skeleton soldier]

[level ??]

[tier 5]

[A powerful skeleton soldier used by the puppet master]

"Careful Elysia, this one is powerful but sadly not the one controlling the skeletons." Shaman showed Elysia the inspect screen and got ready for battle. The skeletons from the hallway seemed to have also stopped and were not following them.

'That's odd, why could that be?' Shaman was a little worried as to why the sudden absence but she had no time to think about that as the quicker they defeated the soldier the quicker they could leave.

The soldier began to twitch and slowly rise from the ground, bones from around the place began to float towards him and soon created a 2.5-meter tall skeleton in armour and a massive great sword. The greatsword looked rather simple but in pristine condition, just like the armour, it was wearing. The armour looked like a typical medieval set and was kept in perfect condition. A purple mist could be seen flowing through the insides of the skeleton.

Shaman got ready as the skeleton seemed to be getting ready to attack straight away. Elysia moved to the side to get as far as possible while Wolfy stayed close to Shaman.

'Well this will be our first time properly fighting together.' Shaman was excited as Wolfy was now able to communicate and they could coordinate attacks now without having to worry about each due to not being able to communicate.

'Let's hope we can make this a clean kill.' Wolfy's tail was wagging as this was his first real battle and could not wait.

The skeleton soldier finally finished reconstructing and instantly began to move towards Shaman and Wolfy. It dragged the great sword along the floor, destroying it slightly.

Once it had gotten close it had swung a lot faster than Shaman and Wolfy expected. The sword was going at a speed that they could almost not keep up with but luckily Elysia managed to shoot an arrow directly hitting the blade mid-swing redirecting it, allowing Shaman to safely move out of the way.

'Let's stay on the move and not let it attack first.' Shaman regretted not moving out of the way straight away since it almost got her killed.

'I love to gather information about the enemy but it seems like I pushed my limits.' Shaman loved getting as much information as possible so that she could make a plan around it.

'Mother, I will hide in the shadows since this place is indoors and I can pretty much go anywhere, let me know when I should attack and I will try to disable it.' Wolfy realized that since they are indoors this allowed for free-ranged movement around the entire place.

Shaman nodded as they continued to run with Wolfy slowly going into the ground with his shadows. The skeleton had pulled his greatsword out of the ground and instantly turned to the running Shaman.

Shaman slid on the floor and faced the skeleton who began to charge once again.

"Let's dance." Shaman had a grin as the adrenaline of battle filled her veins and was ready to fight.

Instead of the normal swing, the skeleton had done a wide swing coming in from Shaman's left, it was not as fast as the previous attack and Shaman was able to easily leap over it but to her surprise, the blade halted right under Shaman's feet.

Shaman was worried as the blade began to turn. Shaman quickly used her wind to move out of the way and as she did the blade came flying up.

'This damn skeleton has some insane speed.' Shaman could not believe the speed of the skeleton as it has been twice now that the attack has been barely visible.

The skeleton's sword this time did not get stuck and once again looked onto Shaman but before he could move an [Explosive arrow] hit the side of its head causing it to tumble to the side. This allowed Shaman to get some distance between her.

'This skeleton surely has some other attacks.' Shaman wanted to attack but again was stopped by her nature of wanting to find out more about her opponent before making a move.

'Let's try to force it to do something.' Shaman decided to go on the offensive and used the opportunity to send out a wind slash from her sword towards the skeleton.

She had also told Wolfy to aim for its ankles once the slash had landed. The skeleton saw the slash and blocked it with his greatsword, it used both its hands and pushed on the blade keeping it bay.

Wolfy on the other hand came out from the floor and with a shadow blade slashed at the ankles of the Skeleton. This caused the skeleton to kneel but not falter in its defence however something strange was happening.

Wolfy could tell and instantly went back into the shadows which was a smart move as the mist inside the skeleton began to move violently

It continued to ravage around the skeleton's body till eventually it began to spew out of the body and started to form something.

"What the hell is it doing?"

78 Must've drank a lot of milk

The mist that was inside the skeleton was morphing not making any sound but it could be seen violently thrashing around, till it finally took a form extending from the skeletons body and enveloping it.

The armour the skeleton wore had been covered in this purple mist till finally it gripped around the body and slowly turned into a midnight purple armour. Eventually all the pieces of armour had turned into this midnight purple armour with additional pieces, the extended parts of the mist had turned into extra arms for the skeleton.

The skeleton had dropped his great sword and the purple mist began to extend further into the hands of the skeleton creating pure black swords. The swords were rather normal looking except the hilt, the hilt looked like a pair of demon horns and was emanating a slight purple light.

Shaman's heart began to pound as the presence of the monster became more dense and she was terrified of what she was looking at. Her hands were shaking and sweat began to fall on her face as she checked the status screen of the transformed skeleton.

[Midnight night]

[A skeleton imbued with demonic powers as represented by its weapon, proceed with caution as one hit from the blade can paralyze the body.]

'Looks like I'm going to have to go full power as this battle won't allow me to conserve my mana at all.' Shaman began to think of the ways to approach this as one mistake could mean she loses an arm.

She had also sent a message to Elysia of the description and told her not to hold back.

'Wolfy I don't want you out of the shadows and only attack when I say.' Shaman wanted to keep Wolfy safe as if he were to become a target. Shaman did not want that extra burden of protecting someone as worrying about Elysia was already stressful enough.

.....

'Let's try out these new skills I have yet to use.' Shaman remembered she had acquired 2 new skills but had no reason to use it and also did not want to use it in front of Himeko.

Shaman began to run towards the skeleton as being on the defensive would not be an option.

Before Shaman got close she finally activated [Spatial rift] and entered a separate space.

The separate space was in a dark blue color looking like the sky, it also had this stary effect which amazed Shaman but she could not admire it for long as it drained her mana fast and could only stay in there for a short period of time.

Shaman ran behind just where the skeleton was as the room was still visible just with that dark blue filter over it. Shaman changed her affinity to ice and exited the separate space.

Shaman summoned ice spears and used her other skill [Chains of earth], the ground rumbled for a moment before the ground broke apart and chains came out wrapping around the skeleton immobilizing it.

'Now.' Shaman called for Wolfy to attack.

Wolfy came from the roof with what looks like a shadow spear going straight for the neck of the skeleton where there was a gap in the armour.

Elysia had also shot a [Blade burst arrow] to the front side aiming for the left shoulder.

This all happened in a matter of moments and Shaman began to swing her blade towards the skeleton's back while she used the ice spears to go for the leg joints. Shaman and Elysia had used quite a bit of mana to make sure they were powerful strikes and were more than they would usually use for a strong enemy.

Shaman hit the armour and was able to slice through it just as she expected but when she came in contact with what seemed to be the ribcage the blade was put to halt.

'What? My legendary sword can cut through some good looking amour but I can't go through the bone, did this skeleton drink a shit ton of milk?" Shaman was surprised but she did not need to cut through him anyway as all she needed was to get inside the armour.

The ice on the sword started to spread inside the body and began to freeze him over.

Wolfy's attack was unfortunately unsuccessful as he was unable to get past the bone as it seemed like it was more sturdy than the armour itself. Wolfy bounced off and quickly went back in the shadows to wait for Shaman's next signal if there was one.

Elysia's attack on the other hand was half successful, the armor on the Skeletons armour was shredded to pieces and part of the bone had been melted away making it hang from the shoulder.

Shaman noticed the effect fire has on the skeleton and could be the key to the battle.

Shaman had now jumped away as the skeletons body was being encased in ice but she still did not let her guard down.

The ice at this point had fully encased the body of the skeleton but what Shaman hoped to be the end of the battle did not end up being true as the ice instantly began to crack.

'Of course it would not be the end.' Shaman expected this as she had only just backed away and it was already breaking free and she had no time to set up an attack for when it was in the ice.

Shaman took in a deep breath to calm the nerves as her hand began to shake again.

'It's okay, we just need to try a different strategy.' Shaman began to think of different ways to attack the skeleton night during the little time she had before it broke free.

Elysia had also sent a message to Shaman as she could visibly see her stressing out just like she was.

[Since fire is the most effective against the bone how about instead of ice try to put it in a pillar of fire]

Shaman had thought of this idea as well but the issue would be trying to keep it in that one spot long enough.

[If we need to keep it one spot how bout we just bombard it with spells and keep it from moving]

Shaman mentally face palmed as Elysia was making a lot of sense. They don't need to make an elaborate trap; they could trap it by using spells and keep hitting it back in the pillar if it were to escape.

'Alright, let's try it.' It was worth a shot as the skeleton did not seem very smart and was more of a muscle head kind of monster.

The skeleton finally broke free and shards of ice launched across the room destroying the walls and some of the pillars in the room. The earth chains had also shattered and turned into ambient mana slowly floating away.

The skeleton also seemed agitated as ice was still inside its armour and the sound of cracking could be heard as it moved. The damage that was also done to the armor and bone were getting fixed as purple mist floated around the area slowly repairing it.

'Damn it regenerates, we are going to have to make sure nothing is left of it when we try to burn it.' Shaman was a little worried that they would never be able to kill it but they would not know unless they tried.

Shaman gripped her sword and Elysia got ready waiting for Shaman.

Shaman dashed forward towards the skeleton as it was still distracted getting all the ice out. The skeleton noticed however and grabbed out 3 more swords that looked the same as the first and occupied the 4 arms it now had.

Due the blades being light they were even faster than the great axe but since the ice still invaded the ice the arm movements were still impaired enough that she could still react to the skeletons movements.

Shaman quickly entered the rift and a second later appeared behind the skeleton. Shaman slashed down and was quickly blocked. The force of the block launched Shaman back towards one end of the hall.

Elysia had jumped out and caught Shaman making her landing more smoother.

"I think our idea is going to take a bit longer." Shaman thought it would be a little easier but it seems like this battle is going to take a lot longer than expected.

"At this rate, yes but we can't give up just yet." Elysia let out an awkward smile as the skeleton knight is a lot stronger than they initially thought.

Shaman got up on her feet and stared back at the skeleton that had not moved.

"Seems like it is wai-" Shaman was cut off as it vanished and appeared behind them swinging.

"FUCK, ELYSIA." The skeleton swung towards Elysia and Shaman knew that Elysia would not be able to react in time.

Shaman instinctively jumped towards her to save her but was unsure if she would be able to make it.

'Please make it.'

79 Escaping death

Shaman could do nothing but helplessly reach out as she watched Elysia's death slowly approaching. The colour of her hair began to change to all the colours of her elements.

Orange, blue, white and green could all be seen mixing in her hair as she screamed out I need to be faster, I need to be stronger. But before she could do anything her view was taken up by Elysia getting slashed in the back by the demon blade, blood spewed out as Elysia fell to the floor.

Tears filled Shaman's eyes as her mind crashed and everything went blank.

[Permission to give user original powers]

[Access granted]

[Partial true form activated]

A system message appeared but Shaman was in too much pain and anguish to read it but it did not matter as they disappeared quickly.

Shaman's hair had fully changed and began to stare down the skeleton which to Shaman just killed Elysia. Tears still fell down her cheek as she held a very subtle pained expression. Shaman suddenly dashed and screamed at the skeleton warrior while holding Kotetsu in a tight grip to the point where her hands started to bleed.

**

.....

Elysia did not feel any pain but was welcomed by a warm feeling just like Himeko's flames. She had squinted to brace for the attack as she could not move out of the way quick enough but soon realized that the attack never came.

She quickly opened her eyes and realized she was in Himeko's embrace. Elysia quickly backed off and was confused by why Himeko was here. She looked around and noticed they were still in the same room but all of a sudden felt a sudden surge of mana behind her. When she turned around her face paled as she saw Shaman going into her berserk mode.

Himeko was intently watching but was interrupted by Elysia asking a question.

"What the hell is going on and we need to stop her." Elysia was confused why Shaman had gone into her berserk mode but she knew it was bad news and needed to calm her down.

"Well I saved you and the impact with the sword and my fire caused the fire to burst out emanating a blood like effect as it was more like lava than fire that protected you, but due to Shaman not thinking straight she seemingly thought you were just killed." Himeko explained what happened to Elysia and understood the situation but one question aroused in her mind.

"Wait, since when could you use magma?" This was an important detail Elysia did not miss as it was known that the Ado family can only use fire.

"That's a story for another time but just know with or without it you would of been fine but it has seemingly back fired since Shaman was too dumb to realized it was not your blood." Despite slightly insulting Shaman, she could understand why, as it was the heat of the moment and things can happen all too fast.

"Well we have to go stop her!" Elysia was nervous as she could see on her bracelet that Shaman's mind was breaking.

"It's okay let her kill the Skeleton knight then we will get out of here, it seems like I pushed you guys a little too far by putting you in the middle of the dungeon." Himeko let out a smile while cursing herself on the inside.

'Fuck, they are just kids Himeko, there is no need to rush things.' Himeko regretted doing what she did but felt like this was the only way to train them at a faster rate.

Elysia could not do anything as she knew Himeko would not let her go so all she could was hope that Shaman would be okay.

**

Shaman clashed with the skeleton causing it to use all four swords to block the attack. They slid along the floor till they hit one of the pillars causing a bunch of bricks to fall on the skeleton. Shaman jumped away and activated her sword. This time instead of one element all 4 could be seen present accompanied by a system message.

[Sword compatibility 100%]

This allowed the sword to have all elements activated at once, each element was not attached to the sword but was instead floating around the sword and took the form of something that represented the element. A snowflake for ice, a tornado for wind, a ball of water and a small flame. Each one slowly spun around the hilt of the blade while the gem shared the different colours of the elements.

The skeleton had finally gotten up and did not waste time and instantly charged at Shaman. This time Shaman was able to see where it was going and just like it had done to Elysia it had appeared to her. Shaman lifted Kotetsu above her head blocking the strike, it had also caused the ground to cave in a little due to the sheer amount of force.

Wolfy who was still around saw what happened and was panicking on what to do as he knew Himeko saved Elysia.

'I need to talk to her and calm her down, I need to find where Elysia is and try to lead Shaman to where she is.' Wolfy with a goal in mind began to search the hall for Elysia in hopes that Himeko did not take her too far away.

The elements around the blade began to spread out till eventually they became spears of their respective elements and shot towards the Skeleton knight. Due to the speed of the spears he was unable to dodge and the four spears pierced him.

This time the bone was not an obstacle and 4 apparent holes could be seen through its chest. The skeleton backed away as the mist began to heal it again. Shaman however did not let the Skeleton rest and instantly dashed towards the skeleton. Shaman slashed down and four other slashes were also followed by it.

The Skeleton knight was able to block four of the blades but due to not being able to block the fifth one, one of its arms had been cut off.

Due to not having a voice box it was not able to scream but it could be seen that it was in some form of pain from that attack. However the purple mist was able to catch the arm and place it back on its shoulder.

"Tch." Shaman clicked her tongue and prepared another attack, this time she used a much bigger concentrated slash releasing a combined elemental attack. This slash intertwined with all of Shaman's elements creating a chaotic mess out of the bricks around. Shaman slashed down, sending the attack.

Unexpectedly the massive attack flew at a greater speed than the skeleton could see causing him to be hit by it before he could dodge.

The skeleton flew all the way down the hall till it hit the wall causing it to cave in a little. Dust clouds also flew up causing a smoke screen around the area.

Shaman walked through the dust and stood in front of the skeleton who was laying limp and in half against the caved in wall. Tears were still falling as she looked at the skeleton in pain and anger.

Thoughts spiraled in her head as the scene of Elysia dying played on repeat.

Shaman bit her lip causing it to bleed and raised Kotetsu in the air.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!." Shaman screamed as she slashed down towards the skeleton throwing different elemental slashes. Shaman did not stop and continuously did this till her mana had ran dry.

Shaman had finally run out of mana and fell to her knees, tears fell harder than before as she began to sob.

"Why, Why did it have to be Elysia." Shaman screamed out her lungs and let out all the pain she was feeling.

The body of the skeleton was no longer as it had all been turned to dust.

Notifications rang out but Shaman did not care for them and continued to cry.

Shaman's hair also started to turn back to a pure white colour with blacks tips on her tail and ears. Once it had fully turned back Shaman fell to the floor passing out.

**

Elysia and Himeko were currently running to where Shaman was as they had traveled to the other end of the hall.

Himeko wanted to use her fire to travel faster but they were still looking for a Wolf that could still be around. However they did not have to search for much longer as Wolfy came from the floor running alongside them.

'Shaman needs to see Elysia, I did not expect for them to travel so far and also did not expect this hall to be so massive.' Wolfy told Himeko what they needed to do and also complained how needlessly long it is.

"Well now that you are here we can travel a lot faster, just stay close." Himeko had Elysia on her back and Wolfy did as she said and stayed close.

Fire picked them up by the feet and they had started at a much faster pace.

They soon reached the back of the wall in a few seconds and spotted where Shaman was.

Elysia saw Shaman laying on the floor and instantly jumped off Himeko's back and sprinted towards her. She quickly picked her up in her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Oh you stupid dummy please be alright." Elysia embraced Shaman as she teared up

Himeko let out a deep breath as it seemed like everything was okay.

"Let's head back." Himeko grabbed Elysia's shoulder and Elysia nodded, Wolfy had also walked next to Himeko.

With the nod Himeko used her fire once again and transported them out towards the dungeon entrance.

80 Mistakes

"What was that damn old man thinking, allowing Shaman to use her power of origin!!" The same 12 tailed fox girl that had been watching over Shaman this whole time was not impressed by what she just saw.

"She isn't capable of holding that power, luckily they had only done a partial activation." The 12 tailed fox let out a sigh and slumped down into her chair.

"If I don't do something soon it may get too overwhelming and the whole purpose of the system would be for nothing." She shook her head as it was a tough decision on what she should do.

"Maybe I should give her a slight hand otherwise that damned old man will end up killing her." The fox girl clicked her fingers causing the room to shake violently, the fox girl's face instantly turned sour when it had begun. .

"Oh great, what do I do to honor this great old geezer that has to come to visit me?" The fox girl rolled her eyes as she knew exactly who it was.

"You damned brat, what do you think you're doing!" A stern voice could be heard from all directions.

"What do you think i'm doing, i'm helping the darn girl which you dragged here and making sure she does not die because of your stupid mistakes!!!" The fox girl retorted back and the voice stayed silent for a moment.

"I know it was a risky move to let her tap into that power but it was also to test if she was capable of wielding it and frankly it was a success." The fox girl squinted her eyes as she was not satisfied with that answer.

"You know that this will backfire right if she is able to inherit it right?" The fox girl crossed her arms as arguing was not going to get them anywhere.

.....

"There is not much we can do and since we had to start pulling people at random just to get the right candidate, it gives me hope that we found someone who has potential."

"Yeah well at least let me help otherwise that hope will all be for nothing." The fox girl stared at the roof waiting for a response.

"Fine, just make sure it's not obvious." The man had given up as even if he said no the fox girl would have done it anyway.

"Fuhuhu~." The fox girl clicked her fingers once again this time with no earthquake and did whatever she wanted to do.

'Just wait till I break out of this damn seal, you can't keep me physically here forever.'

***

[Shaman has been healed]

[Blessing of the fox (hidden)]

***

Shaman, Elysia, Wolfy and Himeko had all returned back to the tower in Ebonscale and were back in their room.

Elysia had Shaman in her arms as she was worried sick for her and did not want to leave her side. Elysia however did notice something strange and it was the fact that all of her mana came back, it was normal for Shaman to heal small wounds due to having a regeneration skill but for all her mana to come back it was rather odd. Elysia kept looking at Shaman's status which only showed the little information but it did tell her Shaman's HP and MP so she had a general idea of Shaman's condition.

'Did she level up or complete some secret quest which caused her to heal?' Elysia still had no idea what happened and had to wait for Shaman to wake up as she probably has a system notification.

'Although I got to level 62, I will say Shaman most likely got the bulk of it.' Elysia looked at her system and saw that she had only risen 5 levels but she did manage to upgrade her fire to tier 3 so it was worth it in the end.

'Can you see what level I am Elysia?' Wolfy was curious as he did not have a system and was curious about if he gained anything.

'You rose to level 76 so only 1 level from that fight.' Elysia expected Wolfy to not have gone up much as the requirement to level up would be significantly higher and also the lack of contribution they had during the fight.

'Looks like we need to go kill one ourselves.' Wolfy was a little disappointed but he could not complain much as he was already at a much higher level than Elysia and his mother.

They continued to sit around for a while with Himeko coming in to give them some food and check up on Shaman as it was just a waiting game.

A few hours had gone by till eventually Elysia who was now sitting besides Shaman could see she had begun to wake up.

Elysia waited patiently and called Wolfy over, Elysia had sat on the bed kneeling while Wolfy sat next to the bed leaning his head on the mattress.

Shaman could be seen moving around a little till she finally shot up from her sleeping state.

"ELYSIA!!" She screamed out Elysia's name and when she did this Elysia instantly hugged her.

"It's okay I am here and completely fine, I'm still here." Elysia was trying to reassure Shaman the best she could as the trauma Shaman would have faced definitely left an impact.

Wolfy had now jumped on the bed and was on the opposite side of Elysia.

Shaman sat there frozen as she could not believe Elysia was okay in front of her. Tears had also started to come down her face uncontrollably as she started to hug Elysia back confirming that this was real. Wolfy had also begun to lick Shaman's cheek to show his affection to Shaman.

"B-but how?" Shaman was so confused as to how Elysia was fine.

What you saw was not my blood but the shield Himeko used to save me and due to it being a lava like substance it spilled out looking like blood to you, you idiot." Elysia still could not believe Shaman saw it as blood but at the same time everything happened all too fast.

Shaman now felt a little ashamed as it seems like it should have been something easy to see.

"I'm sorry." Shaman could not say anything as she seemingly have made everyone worried for a stupid reasons.

"It's okay, I still love you and knowing how far you will go for me, it made me love you more." Elysia was also rather touched as it showed Shaman really cared for her and was reassuring.

"She hasn't even been awake for a minute and you are already flirting, uggghhh." Himeko had appeared behind Elysia with her armed cross.

"Now that's strange from what I can see, you already have all your mana back but where the hell did it come from? It explains why you woke up so early as mana is basically what our bodies use for energy but to have it suddenly come back is not natural." Himeko had looked at Shaman and could see that the mana inside her core had pretty much fully returned.

Shaman had also stopped crying and let go of Elysia to wipe her face with her hands before talking to Himeko.

"Well I don't know what it could be." Shaman was rather confused as she should have been out for a longer period of time than just a few hours.

"Well let's be thankful that you are okay without any issues but you may have developed some trauma so just be careful what you do." Himeko wanted to know more but Shaman was clueless as well as Elysia so there was no point into pursuing why Shaman got all her mana back.

'I want to ask her about the mode she entered but I think I will leave that for later since she just woke up.' Himeko had many questions for Shaman but it would be rude if she were to start asking them so she left it be for now.

"I will be downstairs making some food so come down when you are ready." Himeko had patted Shaman on the head for a moment before disappearing on the spot.

Shaman fell back on the bed as there were many things running through her head.

"So Elysia tell me what happened because everything went blank after I thought I saw you get killed." Shaman wanted to know as she was rather curious what she did.

"Well…." Elysia explained how the fight went to Shaman.

Shaman was rather surprised as she was able to simultaneously use all her elements at once.

"Usually I have to activate them one at a time but you are saying I did it all at the same time." Shaman had to go by a step by step process in order to use multiple elements let alone all 4.

"It was really cool, even your hair became multicolored, just need a few more and you get rainbow hair." Elysia, despite the whole situation being sad, could not help tell how cool Shaman actually was during the fight.

"That also reminds me what did you get from the skeleton." Elysia also wanted to know what kind of message she got from the system.

"I don't think I picked up any loot." Shaman realized they had to usually pick up the loot but from the sounds of it she did not end up getting any of it till a message popped up.

[Don't worry, your trusty companion Rea put it in your inventory for you!!]

A cute message appeared which gave a feeling of relief to Shaman and Elysia as the loot from the skeleton would be worth a lot.

"Shall we check the loot." Shaman figured that was the best thing to do first to lighten the mood even more.

"Yes!" Elysia yelled out and Wolfy who was sitting next to Shaman began to wag his tail as he was also excited to see what they got.