Cave Assault

Mina could feel her hypothetical blood boiling as she descended deeper into the cave. Slightly luminescent stones, as well as torches left by humans, kept the place somewhat lit.

"They blinded the bats to do this! Their eyes aren't the best, so light will destroy them. That bat outside... Mina, she probably won't be able to see again."

"Then I'll protect her."

Mina clenched her hilts tight, the blades trembling as her hidden anger began to spill over. Every step was silent, every movement was filled with the desire to destroy monsters.

Having gotten pretty deep, Mina finally heard voices. She knelt down, peeking out towards them. She glared daggers, the group of humans not even noticing her rage. They were set in the middle of a pile of bodies.

"Ay, Corsa. Melody wanted us to scout, why we headed in here?"

"Shut it. Melody doesn't need to know. Noble bitch even has a slave elf. Ugh... I just want to break her face, or her mind. Make them both my slaves."

The smallest man was grinning widely, locking his lips. He looked absolutely disgusting with a gross look of contentment on his face. Mina peered closer, his next words giving rise to her anger even more.

"These bats, they're a pretty smart race. Monster Cores form quite easily, so we get lots of gold without even trying! Better pay than the bitch, but what can I say. Lady runs a decent ship, whether I want to dethrone her or not."

Mina smiled, a devious thought coming to light.

"You three, follow my lead. Don't do anything stupid. Asahi, keep further back. Your healing will be amazing in here. None of them seem to be a mage."

The beasts nodded, each of them filled with anger. Their natural instinct to defend erupting within them.

Mina lifted her Sword Body over her head, dropping it to the size of a dagger with [Weapon Shift], she then switched class to Rogue. She could practically feel her eyes narrowing as her accuracy rose. Her metal armor became a somewhat sexy leather set that allowed a large range of motion.

'I may have to be extra careful here.'

In a swift motion, Mina flung herself towards the men. A soft whistle resounded as the blade hustled through the air. At the last moment, Mina blinked away. Not only did she reappear beside the dagger, she shifted by to a Swordsman as well as a full longsword. Her hand grabbed the hilt, swirling in the air. The blade flung downwards, one man fell before he could even make a sound.

"Hey boys."

Mina waved, winked, then tossed her Sword Body away. The men watched in horror as she vanished from sight, then reappeared from around a large boulder the men had been situated around. Another man fell, his throat slit by a thin dagger. Mina flipped the blade, catching it midair. The last of the men, being four left, had finally grabbed their weapons. One used a sword, a bit shorter than Mina's, and impaled her.

Looking down, Mina blinked.

"Oh. Owwie?"

Her dagger flashed up, elongating as it met his eye. The man fell back, his sword clattering to the ground. Corsa stared in fear, dropping his weapon as he began to run off. Mina could only hear his scream of pain as Fubuki appeared. Her massive claws gouging a chunk from his waist. A quick flash of color and feathers impaled another man, while Inferna tore apart the last two.

"They were unbelievably weak. No wonder they chose a species that can't survive the moment their eyes are damaged."

Mina was about to turn away, but a small movement had her attention. A bat, larger than the rest, was trying to move. It's soft voice suddenly reached Mina.

"Thank... you."

It's body stopped, the breath of life fading. Mina walked up and knelt beside it. She sighed, fully confirming that it was dead.

"Mina, do you want to take their Cores? They... they had seven small ones. The one in front of you, I think it has a medium sized one."

Mina nodded, gathering the eight separate stones. She didn't [Devour] them, but she also gathered the weapons of the men.

"I'm sorry everyone, I can't do much else for you. Please... don't suffer."

The four girls left the cave, Mina finally using [Devour] on both her weapons and cores.

[Seven humans killed. 700x7 exp earned.

Devoured seven small dark cores. 100x7 exp earned.

Devoured seven common tier weapons. 100x7 exp earned.

Sword Body + 1400 exp. + 2450 exp.

Astral Body + 2450 exp.

Sword Body, Level Up! 3/50 Exp 1350/2500

Astral Body, Level Up! 3/30 Exp 450/3000]

Mina finally exited the cave, kneeling beside the snake and the bat. She gave them a small smile, but frowned at the bat.

"Fubuki, can you hold her between your shoulders?"

Fubuki gave a confirmative nod, kneeling slightly as Mina activated [Coalesce]. She lifted the bat, almost losing it as she hugged her hand. Mina used her free hand to rub the tiny head, then placing her between the shoulders of Fubuki.

"Thank you."

The little bat snuggled into Fubuki's fur, hiding it's face from the bright light.

"I'm sorry we couldn't do anything more. For now, do you just want to come with us?"

"Okay. I'm a Lesser Cave Bat. I'm young and pretty weak, but my mama told me that we have a history of demon blood."

[A Lesser Cave Bat wishes to become your follower. do you accept?]

Mina used the last few seconds of her physical body to pat the bat, accepting her new follower.

"Don't force yourself. You're hurt and blind right now. We need you to get some rest before you try to help us out."

The, slowly increasing, group of girls began to walk even deeper into the forest.

'Can the other two get experience? They aren't in the party, nor are they named.'

[Experience will be reduced if you allow followers to gain experience.]

'Oh. That'll be fine. Turn it off after I hit five followers?'

The system seemed to accept her request, causing a small smile. Her eyes lifted in time to see the others staring back at her. she gave them a small smile, alleviating any fears that may have sparked.

"So... anyone have any ideas on where to go from here?"

Not a single answer. Mina sighed, then took the lead.

"Let's just... try to avoid whoever Melody is. She has an elven slave, so I don't feel so safe."

Mina touched her own ears, the tips shifting under her fingers.

"Let's go!"

--

Thank you,

JScott and croix!