"Come on, Korra! Don't you think it's time to take this seriously?" Freyde shouted as he parried the attack of the Twin-Tailed Fox, a beast that started to appear in the labyrinth floors eleven and below. Predators, but I guess the Horned Rabbits thought the same of themselves. It wasn't rare to see them fighting each other over territory or the prey they thought we were.

How wrong they were.

Squad Four was no longer a bunch of amateurs easily thrown off by one mishap. Simply the days when we were an uncoordinated pack, not really knowing our stuff, our limits, or each other, were long gone. We were a squad.

Ignoring the quarter-gnome, I rolled to the side as one of the foxes pounced on me. These buggers were smaller than rabbits, the biggest ones reaching the size of a pony. Yet despite their lesser weight and the absence of horns, they were much harder to deal with. The Twin-Tail Foxes were more mobile, agile, smarter, and moved in packs. This one had six members, three of which were on my ass.

As soon as I swung to my feet, I executed a roundhouse kick and hit the fox right in the jaw. The beast flew a few meters away, whining in pain while I smirked in satisfaction. A well-executed kick to a foe had a whole different appeal than a kick to a log.

The other two didn't give me a chance to finish the fox off, though. A quick back kick, where I hit one coming on me from behind in the snout, gave me a few precious seconds. I crouched down, flexed every muscle in my legs, and jumped as high as I could in a somersault ending in an axe kick. Well, kind of. The swinging of the Sage and the flap of the wings gave it some serious power. The nuance I added to what Deckard taught me, you could say my original or even signature move right now - no name yet.

Sadly, despite the good execution, I only hit the grass where the fox was just a heartbeat ago. As I said, those buggers were fast as fuck, and I...well, I still had a lot to work on. For example, on better timing. So did Harper, though. No sooner than my ass touched the ground, a bolt flew past my antlers, and the fox I had missed was swallowed up in a flour blast.

"Fuck you, Harper!" I roared as my ears rang and the smell of burnt fur hit my nose. Most of the stench was from the fox, but some from my uncovered fur, too. There just wasn't enough time for me to shield myself with my mane.

"You're welcome, Guardian," she yelled back, having already another of her homemade bolts in her crossbow. The baker managed to make a smaller version of the flour bombs and attach them to the bolts. Then, along with some ember runes that Meneur taught her, she turned them into exploding little infernos.

With no time to dwell on her gall for too long, I formed a shield just in time to keep the sharp teeth of the beasts from sinking into my flesh. The one I kicked in the jaw came for payback. A male, or a dog if you would, judging by the blue tips of his tails. The vixens were colored grey all over, including their two tails.

Barrier held, though. The beast's attack was too weak to shatter it.

One might ask why I didn't shield myself with it from the blast, and it would be a damn good question. I could form the barrier much faster than I could grow my mane. The heat side of things was not an issue either. Sure, while the mane could protect me from the heat completely, mitigating damage through the barrier wasn't something my regeneration couldn't handle. So why?

Simply because I was trying to find a use for my atypical hair in combat. For some reason, the image of my left leg rotting away just because I wasn't using it had stuck in my head ever since Deckard started actually training me in combat techniques more than a week ago.

Well, the Earthly week, two Sahal weeks actually. That one was only five days, and there were five to a month. Pretty easy to get your head around when every month had twenty-five days. On the downside, there were no weekends. That modern convenience hadn't arrived here yet, so it was up to everyone to find their own beats in their lives. But I guess, like most Eleadenians, I got used to living without two days of leisure, courtesy of my tormentor who didn't adhere to such a custom. In short, I trained non-stop without taking a time-out. Log kicking from morning to night, two or three hours of magical training, and Eleaden Standard in the evening before I fell into bed drained. And then all over again the following day.

Ten grueling days. Well, with occasional dives into the labyrinth like today to add variety to the dull routine. This was what, the third...no, wait, counting that initial debacle, this was the fourth delve into the depths of this ancient structure beneath Castiana together with my squad. Hard to believe we were already on floor twelve when with Deckard, I was stuck on the first three for at least two weeks, Sahal weeks.

On the other hand, he took me to Fallens Cry to train, not to conquer the Labyrinth. Plus, going solo was different. You had to be more careful and weigh your own abilities as much as your opponent's. Pretty sure if I had to face a whole pack of Twin-Tailed Foxes on my own, I'd be fucked.

These smart buggers knew the ropes of working together.

But so did we.

The fur of the one that was trying to find a way around my barrier and bite me sizzled as a stream of embers wrapped around its neck. The smell of burnt fur hit my nose again. Then, when Meneur pulled on the hot embers, he yanked the fox back. A new trick he learned with his magic.

"Is she daydreaming? She's fucking daydreaming, isn't she?" Harper shouted, half baffled, half pissed off. She may have her hands full, keeping the fox harassing her ass at bay, but she managed to keep her eyes on the battlefield. That's what I liked about her, not so much her disregard for my well-being.

"Damn it, Korra!" Freyde growled like it was my fault he was having a hard time dealing with just one fox.

"That wasn't the plan," I barked back as I swung myself to my feet, my ears still tingling from the explosion. A heel spin followed by a roundhouse kick from a squat sent the beast coming at my armor-less sides rolling through the grass.

A heartbeat later, still squatting, another appeared behind my back, the vixen's fur smoldering. These buggers were damn fucking fast, and with three of them on my tail, almost impossible for me to follow. Having a domain was one thing; being able to use it to its full potential was another. My brain just wasn't built for that. Luckily, I was fast too, and I moved before the fox could claw at my back.

I rewarded her efforts with a crushing blow to her skull. Sadly, the blow was crushing only to my fingers. These cunts may not have had horns like the rabbits, but their skulls were no less hard. Dumb of me, I know, and I actually let the whole labyrinth floor know how idiotic it was when I screamed in pain.

Good thing, though, that [Unbending Resilience] did its job, and my bones didn't crack. Tier III of the skill was a nice addition to my skill set.

 

Unbending Resilience: lvl 31

Passive III (Slave - 10%)

As fierce as you can be, you’re even harder to kill than you first appear. Driven by your rich nature, your robustness reaches unprecedented heights, making you an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.

The [resilience], [toughness], and [vitality] of your body increased by 55%(50%) → 77%(70%).

Tier II - Many have tried to rob you of it, and you had suffered plenty when your life was threatened to be taken from you. Yet you didn’t give in and instead connected more with your rich nature, bringing even more from your ancestry, and making your health even more robust.

Your [Constitution] increased by 38%(35%) → 55%(50%).

Tier III - Ripped, cut, bitten, no matter what befalls your tender flesh, remaining unbroken is what matters. After all, it's easier to regenerate a torn muscle or a bitten-off spleen than a severed leg. You figured it out, and your body learned it the hard way, adapted, and gave you a way to not worry too much about such a trifle.

Your bones and tendons are twice as resilient and tough as the rest of your body.

 

So yeah, I didn't break my fingers, but it hurt like a bitch nonetheless. Worse, my message to piss off didn't get through the thick skull of the fox, and the vixen struck again. Or at least she tried. Just before her claws could reach me, strings of embers wrapped all four of her legs, and Meneur yanked the beast away. "When did our plans ever work out, Korra?"

Hard to argue with that. "We seriously need to talk about this shit. I can't go full beast every time things go sideways."

Another explosion sounded nearby, while whistling came from the other. I moved, had to. Two of the beasts circled me with the speed that I would attribute to skills I knew they didn't have. Not according to the available info. Like Horned Rabbits, they were just beasts using their bodies to their best. Something I've been reluctant to do - again.

It wasn't hard to fend off their attacks, a roundhouse kick there, a side kick over there, and I had a few heartbeats of breathing room. The tricky part was how to finish the relentless buggers. The moment I would try, the other two would be on my tail.

"Stop whining and do it!" yapped Harper. "Nobody gives a shit what you look like in that form."

"I think you look lovely," Idleaf sang and laughed. "This is so much fun." As with the rabbits, the spirit of the World Tree exercised the grass blade playing skill I taught her. She was good, whistling her favorite songs she heard at Drunken Filly's. Whether the beast found her whistling unbearable or her simply annoying, I didn't know and frankly didn't care. What mattered was that she did a damn fine job of distracting one of the foxes, effectively giving our squad mage free rein. 

"It's not about how I look," I growled back. It wasn't, really.

"Then what the fuck?!"

Harper simply had no idea how I felt in my now full beast form. At Tier II the changes were minor, mainly claws and fangs. Tier III made me more beastly in appearance; my body got bigger, covered in fur, and I got beastlike legs. Tier IV, which I reached two days ago, went even further and pushed me more towards the beast kind. While I didn't lose it, I felt like a beast, with no speck of human in me. Scary shit.

That beast form was damn strong, though.

"Fine, fine, have it your way," I gave up, then grinned. "Get ready."

To give myself some space, I dropped my presence. Just like with Tier III of [Beast], Tier IV didn't increase its power - my presence was still regarded as that of a 500 level beast, and still only for a very brief moment. What changed was that I was able to direct the physical aspect of the presence, simply put, I could pressure someone if I chose, the same way as Deckard or Rayden. Cool shit. Just a little janky and too short-lived in my case to be of any use.

That's why when I dropped my presence, the ripple ran through the grass in all directions, and I hit everyone, Squad Four members included. Only Idleaf shrugged it off with ease. Actually, as a spirit, she wasn't affected at all. The rest, though, stopped in their tracks, pissing their pants. Figuratively speaking, of course. That only happened a few times when Squad Four was getting used to my presence, at least as much as they could. I mean, it wasn't something you could just shake off, not without the power of your own. Realistically, all you could really do was...limit the impact of your fear and train your bladder.

Well, not my issue. I was on the other end of things having my own shit to deal with.

Not wasting a moment, I surrendered completely to the beasts and shifted into my new Tier IV beast form. It was quick and relatively free of pain. Not without it, though. There was some resistance from my body as I was still getting used to my new form and the changes it brought. And they were pretty damn extensive. 

So extensive, in fact, that even my new armor with all the shifter enchantments was unable to cope, and I was forced to shove it, as well as my clothes, into the outfit-spatial ring. It was a damn shame. But I guess not all shifters went as far with their transformation as I did.

My body bulked up even more, my legs shortened, my arms turned into paws, and I fell on all fours. Yeah, I was now a thoroughbred quadruped and, worse, had a snout. I was a beast, a true beast. Or rather a hybrid of many and a human. A fact that was reflected in my overall appearance.

From a distance, I did resemble a larger version of the Two-Tailed Fox with wings, large ears, and one large tail instead of two, but a closer look was more...let's say, disturbing. Ignoring the mix of beasts that tried to dominate my appearance, my body still bore the hallmarks of humans. Nothing truly distinctive; just the way it was shaped wasn't quite right. Worst of all were the eyes, though. They had not changed, and so my now bestial face bore human shaped eyes. Weird as fuck. Seriously, every time I looked at my face through the domain, I got goosebumps.

Like I said, though, not the biggest beef I've had with my new form. What rubbed me the wrong way was how natural it felt: my body, my instincts, I was a beast, and I didn't mind it at all. Sure, I was sane and still had control over myself, but instead of fighting my instincts, I was working with them. It was simply too fucking weird.

Then there was also the matter of my combat training, the fighting techniques I was so painstakingly learning to use as both human and beast. Everything I learned was absolutely useless to me in this form.

Not everything about it was doom and gloom, though. As I said, I was damn powerful and deadly in it.

 

Beast: lvl 61

Passive IV (Slave - 10%; Deviant - 30%)

Humans can say what they want, but there is a bit of a beast in each of them. Yet, there is more beast in you than is typical of humans. Why not accept it and admit that you are stronger than a purebred human because of it? [Strength] and [Constitution] increased by 140%(100%) → 196%(140%)

Tier II - Acceptance is one thing, but letting out the beast within you another. As you have learned, it is not so easy to control your instincts in that state, but do it, and your [Strength] and [Constitution] will increase by up to 42%(30%) → 63%(45%)

[Call of Nature] - [Strength] and [Constitution] increased by up to 63%(45%) → 83%(45%)

Tier III - You're a beast, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And the beasts are quick on their feet, and heal fast. Your [speed] and [regeneration] will increase by up to 28%(20%) →42%(30%)

[Call of Nature] - [speed] and [regeneration] increased by up to 41%(30%) → 55%(30%)

Tier IV - Beast you are, no doubt. It could be argued that in some ways, more than the beasts themselves. Yet that's not what you were: Human, fighting to keep your wits. Not any longer, though. You've found your balance, gotten in tune with who you are, and learned to work both your wits and instincts together, making yourself a true intelligent beast to be feared.

[Inteligence] increased by 28%(20%)

 

To be feared, huh? Not far off the mark. When I finished my transformation, and as a kind of warning and announcement, I let out a mighty roar, the foxes, already out of the shock of my presence, flinched. No longer was I mere prey in their eyes but a dangerous predator in their territory.

And they knew only one way to deal with one: pouncing with everything they had. The reason Harper and the others pressed me so hard to take this form.

Of course, I moved first, not letting them take the initiative, and pounced on the one closest to me. Tiers II and III of [Beast] pushed to the edge of their potential were killers in this form. The fox didn't stand a chance, and my jaws clamped around its neck before it could react. Then, as I bit down hard and my teeth sank into the beast's flesh, along with its last whimper, the warm blood spurted into my mouth.

 

• Your group has defeated [Twin-tail Fox: lvl 58]

 

'The fuck!' a growl escaped my throat. 'Group my ass!' 

I knew better than to dwell on it too much, though. The puny humans knew who the boss was or they wouldn't have called me. It was that stupid system that didn't get a hint. But to be fair, it wasn't the only one. 

Down one pack member, and the foxes were still hell-bent on taking me out. Two of those buggers jumped on my back, claws digging into my hide. I may have been bigger than them and the beasts smaller than quarter-ton rabbits, but having two on my back was nothing to be taken lightly. In fact, my hind legs buckled under their weight.

One bit my wing, the other went for my neck. Of course, I wasn't lying still and did my best to shake them off. Not as easy as it might seem when they have their claws clenched in you, though. 

Growling at their audacity, I turned around to my side, something I surely wouldn't be able to do as a human, then snatched at and sank my teeth into the beast's leg. A full-force jerk followed that, and I pulled the vixen to the ground.

Painful howls came from both her throat and mine. That bitch ripped a piece of flesh from my shoulder. Yet that was the least of my problems. The other beast was doing its best to pull my left wing out of my back, and the rest of the fox pack was looking for an opening to pounce on me, too.

Yet, my own pack pounced first.

While I was still down on my ass, wracking my brain to figure out how to deal with the nuisance on my back, a bolt flew past my ear and hit the fox right in the maw. No explosion followed. Harper wasn't that dumb to piss me off in this form, so bolt just dug deep, making the beast let go of my wing. The moment it did, I rolled onto my side, a trick I had learned from mossbears, and pinned the beast underneath me.

The half-gnome, a bookkeeper who hated his former job and our front-line fighter, did the rest. He read my movements, did the math right, and so he was in the right place at the right time to cut the beast's throat in one motion. Then, to be sure, he followed it with a thrust to the chest, ending its life. 

 

• Your group has defeated [Twin-tail Fox: lvl 62]

 

Fair enough, this was a pack effort.

Two down, four to go. The four who didn't hesitate to take advantage of the moment I was lying on my side like some kind of moron. Well, only three, actually. Meneur was finishing off the one whose leg I chewed on a bit earlier. The fox, limp as she was, wasn't quick enough to dodge his ember magic. Seeing it burning through the flesh was not a pretty sight, nor pleasant to hear the fox howl in pain.

The other three? One, I stopped with a barrier, the other Harper with a well-aimed shot to the leg. But the third one, a vixen, found her way through and pounced on me before I could get back on my legs. The bitch went for my throat again, a weak spot of every beast I've met so far. I was no exception to that. 

If only she hadn't bitten into the fresh wound, I had there. Seriously, it hadn't even stopped bleeding yet, and her teeth were already ripping my shoulder neck to shreds. More annoyingly, in an effort to hold onto me, she wrapped around my body like a snake and dug her clawed hind feet into my groin.

Unable to snap at her with my snout, I roared in pain and frustration while shifting mana into my mane. A hell of a lot of mana, making it freezing cold. This was also where I exercised my mana manipulation and wrapped the vixen in my long mana-saturated hair to my body in a single breath. Before the beast even realized the danger, it was tangled like a fly caught by a spider. All I had to do was pin her down with my own weight and let her freeze to death.

 

• Your group has defeated [Twin-tail Fox: lvl 55]

• Your group has defeated [Twin-tail Fox: lvl 59]

 

Ah, Meneur did his part, and only two foxes remained. Too little to take us down, and the beasts realized that too. All it took was one growl from the now-leading fox, and they both hightail it. Or at least they tried. 

The one limping from the multitude of bolts in her body, Meneur stopped with his magic, and Freyde finished off. I thwarted the escape of the lead one with a barrier formed right in front of her snout. It may have shattered on impact like a pane of glass hit by a rock, but it sent the fox rolling through the grass. This time it was me who struck. 

 

• Your group has defeated [Twin-tail Fox: lvl 57]

• Your group has defeated [Twin-tail Fox: lvl 64]

 

It was done. The hunt was over, and my pack came out victorious. I gathered my strength and roared triumphantly to let everyone know.

 

Master's Shield: lvl 35

Active III

It is your duty to protect your master, since your master is what matters. Yet, in some situations, it is simply impossible to protect your master with your body alone. This is what a shield you can create around you or your master is for. The amount of mana required to create a shield depends on the distance you create the shield from you or your master, its size and strength; its stability then on how well you hold your ground.

Tier II - Yet, despite your best efforts, the strength of your shield may not be enough to protect your master. That's not something you can allow, even at the cost of your own well-being. 

10% → 15% of the damage done to the shield can be transferred to your own body.

Tier III - Again and again, despite your best efforts and tremendous suffering, your shield shattered and broke into pieces leaving you and those your heart desires to protect exposed. It was only your will that prevented the worst, your will, that gave you the strength to stand on. And it's the will that gives your shield its power.

Your shield strength increased by 1% for every 10 levels in [Indomitable Will] and the mana cost reduced by the same.