Dorian stared at the girl, his eyes wide.

The girl stared back, slowly backing away from him. As she moved, a white light lit up in her eyes, and a ferocious snarl appeared on her face.

As she stepped away, Dorian got a better look at her.

She had a small figure, just a couple inches over 5 feet tall (1.57 meters). She was wrapped up in a form fitting white cloak, showing off her petite figure. This cloak had several long tears in it, exposing pale, milky white skin. Despite that, she seemed unaffected by the bitter cold that was everpresent in the cave system.

Her face was small, almost identical to that of a human, save for the beautiful, glowing silver pupils she possessed and the two small, tufted fox ears that emerged from her long silver hair.

"Sorry, sorry." Dorian held his hands up apologetically, stumbling backwards. His body was still recovering, both from exhaustion and from his injuries.

In the background, detonation after detonation shook the air, fierce winds whipping through the city as the resounding impacts of the Iron Giant fighting the Grakon King rang out. Dorian was almost drowned out, so fierce and loud were these collisions.

–

Species: Lightsworn Fox (Humanoid Form)

Class – Lord Class (Early)

Maximum Energy Level: 29,331

–

Ausra sent Dorian a notification, pulling up the information on the being before him. As he saw the unique species, he sent Ausra a request, and had her search through his Soul Spell Matrix information listing, to see if the specifics of her species were listed.

Successfully, as it turned out. Info on the Lightsworn Fox, alongside tens of thousands of other species, was stored in his Soul Spell Matrix.

–

Lightsworn Fox – Pseudo-Lord Class

Maximum Energy Level: 1,882

Ability: White Clawed Strike, Touching Light, Humanoid Form

A creature of legend, Lightsworn Foxes are abnormally rare. They only have a chance to be born on the Universal Equinox, a day that happens only once every nine hundred and twelve years. Due to their extreme rarity, they are regarded by some as a cursed species, forever unable to find an equal mate, doomed to a life of loneliness.

This species is especially renowned for its unique Ability, Touching Light, a power that allows users to manipulate light as if it was solid or liquid matter. By doing so, any tool crafted would hold incredibly powerful heat signatures, nearly equal to the strongest dragonfire in existence, Blackgold Flames. The Ability does not grant the user the power to spread widespread destruction as with dragonfire, and the heat signature is self-contained within the crafted tool.

Spry and wiry, Lightsworn Foxes are extremely fast and capable of agile movements. Their muscles are dense and tensile, concentrating a large amount of strength in a small form. Their regenerative powers are their main weakness, with weak to normal regenerative strength. The Lightsworn Fox maximizes its natural growth at the Pseudo-Lord Class.

–

'Wow. That's a powerful Ability.' Dorian's eyes widened as he looked over the entire listing of info in a split second, his mind processing all of it innately. He also was surprised by the natural growth of the Lightsworn Fox. For a creature with such a mighty Ability, it was rather lacking in natural strength.

That meant that the Lightsworn Fox before Dorian must've clawed her way up to her present strength, through tough training and practice. Unlike most humanoids, it was much more efficient for beasts to increase their Energy Level through physical training and practice, as opposed to studying Magic.

To break through to Lord Class, most beasts would study either inherited memories or mystic arts taught by their parents or seniors. Those with Lord Class bloodlines were usually able to use the innate understanding their bloodline held for one specific law to help break through.

Lord Class creatures in the wild were extremely rare, however, simply due to how difficult it was to study the laws of the universe without guidance.

Creatures that achieved power on par with Lord Class beasts simply through physical strength and natural growth, without using the laws of the universe, were rare. The undead Grakons were one such example, as was Dorian himself.

His Ifrit bloodline gave him a natural sense for the Law of Fire. However, without guidance on how to study the laws of the universe, or intense practice with Fire Magic, he was at a bit of a standstill on achieving an understanding of that law. He was working on that, by practicing magic, but he had a long way to go.

He had still managed to forcibly raise his Soul Spell Matrix to the Lord Class using energy points, but he couldn't be considered on par with the legendary Ifrits of old, the Rulers of Flame. Most Ifrits of old would only break through to the Lord Class after gaining a deep understanding of the Law of Fire. His unique Soul Spell Matrix gave him a bit of a shortcut.

He took one last glance at her species info.

The Humanoid Form Ability, he checked, gave her the power to transform from her normal state, that of a small, white-furred fox, coated in small particles of light, per what Ausra was telling him, to the form he saw right now. It was an Ability shared by many other species.

The girl glared at Dorian, her hands taking on a small, white glow.

"Another one hunting me as well, huh? Well, you managed to fin-" She began, her voice touched with venom.

"Hey, hey, easy, easy." Dorian held up his hands apologetically, cutting her off,

"I didn't mean anything. Look, I'm stepping away right now. I didn't even know you were here." He cursed mentally. What were the odds that he landed on the only house with someone in it? What was she even doing here? He tried to glare at his soul, blaming it for twisting Fate and causing this.

He stepped backwards.

At that exact moment, a rumbling boom shook the air. Dorian's sixth sense went off as he spun around, temporarily ignoring the girl behind him.

–

Species: Grakon (Desiccated)

Class – Lord Class (Early)

Maximum Energy Level: 39,331

–

"Ah damn." He swore as the hulking, Expanded form of one of the undead Grakons came into view.

While the commotion he'd raised was negligible compared to the ongoing battle between the two King Class fighters outside the city, it didn't mean he would go completely under the radar. It seemed one of the nearby Grakons that patrolled the city had discovered him.

There was only one, he noted, checking up and down the street. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"GRRR!" A rumbling growl burst from the huge Grakon's mouth as it charged at him, holding its greatsword aloft.

Dorian's eyes hardened. Maybe if it had been a living creature he'd react differently, but for the undead, tortured existence this Grakon lived, killing it was a blessing.

The Lightsworn Fox, meanwhile, didn't say anything as she jumped several meters backwards, landing at the edge of the destroyed building. Her eyes traced Dorian warily, watching with curiosity while at the same time preparing to make an escape.

Dorian wasted no time, immediately charging forward. His movements were agile and controlled, holding the same precision and innate battle sense that he had gained a few days ago out of nowhere.

"Hup!" He leapt up into the air.

As he jumped, the Grakon swung its giant sword down, slamming it into the rocky earth. It was aimed at Dorian, but missed by a bare inch thanks to his jump.

This Grakon's movements were faster than all the ones that Dorian had faced previously. Despite that, its attacking method was still a crude slash, one that was both predictable and dodgeable.

BOOM

THUD

The sword crashed into the rubble Dorian had formed by wrecking the stone house, splitting it anew and throwing up a second cloud of dust. A small explosion of rock and stone shot shrapnel off into the air.

One of the pieces of rock shot at just the perfect angle, and stabbed into Dorian's waist in mid-air, tearing open a small, bloody gash in his side. He winced as he felt it, blood splattering out of his Ifrit form. Even if his movements were perfect, he couldn't account for everything.

He finished his jump and managed to flip all the way above the Grakon, landing just above its head.

The undead Grakons, he had noticed, went all out with their attacks. As long as you dodged their first attack, they left themselves open for a split second.

"Emerald Flames." Dorian didn't bother forming a sword of fire this time, instead directly spitting a ball of green dragonfire right onto the skull of the undead Grakon.

None of the Grakons had the innate barriers powerful Wizards held, or were able to use magic. This made them extremely vulnerable to the destructive properties of dragonfire, even dragonfire that was a bit low on the totem pole like Dorian's.

"Grgr…"

THUD

A last growl escaped the body of the Grakon as it fell to the ground, killed instantly.

Dorian landed on the ground a few steps from it. He immediately walked up to it, absorbing the energy in it, its splintered Soul Spell Matrix, and the energy in its sword in one fell swoop.

As the energy rushed into him, he felt the exhaustion that had been swooping him get pushed back. He became more alert, his energy levels rising.

His first few fights with undead Grakons had been stressful and tiring, even with his innate sense of combat. Now, however, it felt almost too easy.

'Ahh.' He thought, feeling the last dregs of exhaustion slip away.

'If I keep absorbing energy, maybe I'll never need to sleep again?' He frowned at the thought. He liked sleeping.

'Well, anyway, if all my Lord Class opponents were dumb like this, life would truly be easy.' He thought, smiling. He pulled a small Light Pill out of his Spatial Ring, swallowing it whole. He'd managed to keep his Spatial Ring safe and secure while changing forms, a force of habit now.

The healing magic would work with his regenerative powers, but it was a rule in the 30,000 Worlds that the stronger a being's natural regenerative strength, the less effect healing magic would have on them. It was a trade-off of sorts, one dictated by the laws of the universe.

'Maybe I should try switching forms to one that doesn't heal as quickly?' He wondered how it would interact, considering his unique Soul Spell Matrix.

The Lightsworn Fox girl, meanwhile, had her eyes glued to Dorian's body. When he unleashed his Emerald Flames, incinerating the Grakon, her eyes had lit up, a hint of excitement forming in them.

She jumped down from her perch, approaching Dorian slowly. The white glow faded around her hands, returning to normal.

Dorian turned around,

"Look, sorry, I didn't mea-" He began, but, was cut off by her, this time,

"Thanks for helping kill the Grakon. I wouldn't have been able to, not without drawing a lot more attention." Her voice was clear and almost song-like, holding a strange melody to it.

"Ah-yeah, sure. No problem. Sorry I landed on you and broke your house." Dorian returned, a bit surprised.

"It's fine, it's not really my house, anyway. Sorry for almost attacking you too." She shrugged,

"I thought you were one of the Shades hunting me, in a different form or something. At least, until I recognized your Dragonform and dragonfire." She shivered as she spoke, her voice filled with a hint of fear. She scanned the environment carefully, almost as if she was checking or waiting on something. She kept glancing at him warily, her guard clearly not lowered.

'Dragonform?' He thought, confused. Ausra informed him, a moment later, that it was a power some species held, the Ability to transform into a Draconic form. Not all Draconic beings were true dragons, many just had the ability to take on a dragon form for brief periods.

It seemed the girl in front of him had mistaken him for a creature like that. Well, he thought, shrugging. He wouldn't correct her.

"No, it's fine, I sorta landed on the house you were in. Wait, Shades hunting you?" As he heard what she said, he frowned, his eyes hardening.

"Are they a group of powerful, Lord Class Shades? Wearing long white furs?" He briefly described the group he had seen near the slaughtered expedition.

The girl nodded, returning her gaze back to him.

"I spotted them earlier." He muttered, his mood dark,

"They had just finished slaughtering one of the merchant expeditions that went out exploring for treasure. I found them with the already dead corpses, before I could even have a chance to do anything. It was horrible." He sighed. Even if he had been there and seen them attacking, he doubted he could've done anything. The Shades he saw might not be as strong as Helena, but they were still stronger than he was currently.

The Lightsworn Fox blinked, her eyes emotionless for a brief second.

She then shuddered,

"That's them. They're monsters, the lot of them. They've been hunting me, and chased me all the way here." She shuddered again,

"And I'm not the only one. Apparently they want me for my bloodline, from what I managed to gather while I was fleeing."

Dorian frowned when he heard this, his mind immediately going to other members of the Flock. Were the Shades working with one of his brothers?

'It might just be something used in a Blood Magic spell or some type of ritual.' He thought, rubbing his chin. He couldn't assume anything. Still, it made perfect sense.

The bloodline of the Lightsworn Fox was an incredibly rare one, according to Ausra, and the Ability it had, namely Touching Light, seemed very useful. Even Dorian was tempted by it.

'Ausra, how much of her blood would I need to obtain the Touching Light Ability?' He was still working on piecing together a Grakon bloodline for their Expand Ability, but that didn't mean he couldn't work on securing another bloodline.

'Lightsworn Foxes are magical creatures, and their bloodline is blessed by the laws of the universe, containing an incredibly powerful Ability. To Absorb its bloodline, you will need to absorb its Soul Spell Matrix. Absorbing its blood alone will carry over an inefficient exchange of information and will fail, unless you bleed it for an extended period of time, at least three weeks.'

Ausra's response was rather disappointing. He couldn't just kill the girl. Well, he could, but there was no way he would stoop that low. He wasn't a monster.

'Well, technically I am a monster, right?' He looked down at his demonic Ifrit claws. He then rolled his eyes at himself.

He then looked up, realizing that the fox girl had been watching him the entire time, her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion.

"Ah, right. I'm Dorian." He stuck out his hand.

She stared at his hand for a moment before stepping forward gingerly and taking it.

"I'm Arial. Arial V'ich."

They shook hands.

Just as Dorian was about to continue, about a hundred meters above him, a small orb of darkness appeared, rapidly expanding to about thirty meters wide. Tentacles of darkness shot from the orb, spreading outward.

"The Shades! Damn, they must've picked us out somehow, even through the commotion from the battling Kings." Arial swore, her white hands taking on a white glow.

"Quick! Follow me! They'll kill you too!" She spun around, sprinting towards the center of the city.

Dorian took one last glance up at the huge orb of darkness, and then sprinted after her, preparing his Berserker Demon form.

.

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