30

Next month, on the small irrigation canal dug to the nearest river, a small boat was screaming ahead. The sharp sound of hot steam ejected from the brass nozzles made the curious onlookers cover their ears.

Black smoke poured through a funnel, swirling up into the grey sky, and adding to the already polluted air of Smithtown.

Ten minutes later, the horrible noise sputtered and stopped.

From inside the monster ship, a young man, perhaps 18 of age, emerged singed and coughing.

His hand waved over his face, washing away soot and tears, with the magical ability of a water mage.

'So, about 100 meters in 10 minutes?' he asked himself, a bit dismayed.

'A record, for this planet. You must be on the right track, Aspirant' the glove said in amazement.

'Must be doing something wrong' Pef concluded while storing his first steamboat.

He flew up, and accelerated at maximum speed towards the capital.

In 5 minutes he arrived, having established a new personal record, with 0.1 seconds better time than yesterday's.

Aunt Ching was already pouring tea, somehow having anticipated his visit.

"Hello there, the prettiest oracle in the world" the hero offered with a smile.

"Hmpf! I am the only oracle you know." the woman said with a gruff voice.

"Ah, jasmine tea. And I have a lemon, somewhere..." Pef observed with his amazing deductive skills.

Aunt Ching's hand had already grabbed the lemon and was slicing pieces for the tea.

She wasn't faster than this novice Sky rank, but her movements were near perfect, demonstrating precision and timing of the highest degree.

And in a sword fight, she always won, despite being slower.

Which was something Pef wanted to learn, just in case. He just needed to convince her.

"I don't get paid in hugs, young man. Offer me something of value" the lady of justice asked after sipping some tea.

"Storage ring?" he tried at once.

"Already got one"

"Sky rank sword?"

"Got that too"

"My love?" Pef asked meekly.

The woman sighed and finished her tea in silence. "Find me some oracles, Pef. This is the curse I have, cannot see other oracles. We're blinding each other"

"Oh, that makes sense. So you want students?" he mused, his hand scratching his chin in deep thought.

'Fishermen, merchants, pirates and bandits. They would be most likely to have the skill' the glove proposed after some deliberation.

"Ah, your glove knows...if only its abilities were given to a person" Aunt Ching whispered softly, and eyeing the glove with revulsion.

"The glove has no blame. It was made this way. And it's very helpful, when it wants to be" Pef answered with a friendly pat, like he was petting a cat.

The oracle winced and said: "It throws you right at the biggest danger, to make you grow faster. It won't always work"

Pef walked around the table and hugged his auntie, inhaling her golden aura like it was the scent of a heavenly flower. After a minute, he let go, and walked away.

'She's wary of me, Aspirant. But you still have a chance'

'Oh? Far off in the future maybe. No, in her heart, she thinks herself old and dying. I'll bring her a big mirror next time'

'She is also 30 times your age' the glove observed logically.

Pef landed at the Emperor's Palace, which was his old house here in Lacrimosa, now used by public servants.

"Emperor, we have started those 20 schools you asked for" his secretary reported as he came in.

"Nice, anything else?"

"The book printer is broken again..." she whispered in a dejected tone.

Pef cursed inside. Every universe had this problem. "And?"

She tapped a paper in front of her "Pirates were sighted on the route to Port Li. Four ships, appearing new"

"Send word at the port, convoys of 10 ships from now on. No ships leaves alone. Anything else?"

"A village east of here was razed by some beast. Here is the scout report" the woman said more officially, holding out a roll of paper.

He scanned the report, and returned it.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Yun" Pef said politely then walked out.

Another secretary rushed in, in high spirits. "Ah, the Emperor was here...he is soooo cute!"

"File this report Rumi, and less daydreaming. The Empire won't run itself" the secretary said sternly, holding out the paper.

"Mou...I want the front desk job. Maybe he'll ask me out...someday"

"Run along. There's a Guardian coming!"

"I'm going..."

Pef sped up, reaching the village in 11 minutes. Then he sat down to rest and recover his qi, while the glove looked around. Camp fires and bodies laid around, but no sounds.

'84 bodies. No survivors, no captives. Wooden cage is broken. Footprints head east'

Pef nodded and steered the airship eastwards. The forest was thick here, and full of animals.

But animals would be scared of fire and people.

Only the rare animals with qi, or the beasts, would be cunning and brave enough to attack a village.

After a few hours, Pef located the perpetrator.

'Spirit rank Purple Divine Fox. And a litter of 8 pups, one with qi'

'Female fox?'

'Yes. And very smart.'

Pef stored the ship and flew down, floating right in front of the hollowed tree.

The fox stared at him, yellow eyes filled with fear. Then a beam of purple qi burst from the fox eyes nearly making him faint. His soul felt like it was hit by a train, depleted by half.

'And it hits with soul spikes. Very strong spikes' the glove added as an afterthought.

Another spike hit Pef, making him fall and crash in front of the fox.

'This hurts! It isn't funny...' Pef muttered as he felt close to fainting.

'Well, the beast is out of qi now. Though I doubt she can chew through your Sky rank body'

'Being chewed on by anything, is not funny!' he muttered back.

'It is a bit funny. The mightiest god killer on the planet, yapped to death by a tiny fox'

Pef sighed and entered the den, pushing the fox aside.

The small pups growled cutely, as Pef leaned in.

One of them had it's fur burned and torn, and was breathing in heavy panic.

Pef petted her with the gloved hand. The fur felt soft beyond belief, like warm silk.

'Internal injuries, shock, malnutrition. Projected lifespan, 100 thousand seconds.'

The mother fox nosed Pef's hand away, and began licking the dying pup.

'What use would a fox pup be?' Pef asked himself, while walking out of the den.

'A fox? Only entertainment. Too small to ride, and dangerous to tame'

Pef sighed and drew his daggers. 'Noblesse oblige' and all that.

Revenge came at a price. At least his wives will love their fox coats.