Novel Full 243 243 New Floof
The first of the random new arrivals only took a single day to arrive. Wolfe was having breakfast with a bunch of witches in the gardens on the surface and discussing possible additional enchantments for the fortress when a very confused-looking hooded figure came up to the gate.
“Come on over. We don’t bite. Did you have a message for us, or did the Forest get you hopelessly lost?” Wolfe called out, and the hidden face turned his way.
“I have been lost in this Forest for over a day. I didn’t even intend to enter. I was looking for a way to get to my cousin’s village, and the next thing I know, I’m in the trees, and there are no more directions.” A lyrical voice answered.
Wolfe turned up [Detect Hidden] to see who they might be dealing with. The figure was a young woman with long Fox ears and a pair of bushy tails. Definitely a Kitsune, a Fox Demon, and not a mutant or a witch.
“Come get a bite to eat. The Forest is picky about who it lets in, and if it lets you in, you’re not a bad person. Your cousin must be the one running the village about ten kilometres from here, and the entrance to that village is also within the Fae Forest.” Wolfe explained.
“So, you know where I’m going?” She asked eagerly.
“I do. There are messengers from that village most days, and she comes to personally say hello every few weeks.” Wolfe agreed.
“That is wonderful news. I was worried that she had placed her winter location too close to the borders when I heard that the entire Eastern Army from Gormana and the Grand Dutchies to the East of the Wastes had come to try to take over Sylvan Coven.
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Wolfe laughed at her nonchalant shrug. “We have been using their own radios to communicate. It’s quite effective, though not as long-range as hoped, thanks to the interference of the Wastes. Did you want to wait here for an escort? Or we can call for someone to bring her to us so that she can visit and you don’t risk getting lost again. For those who don’t live here, even a few seconds out of sight is enough to end up beguiled by the forest.”
“In that case, I will wait here. This is a nice place, and it looks like you have powerful Fae and Witches taking care of your home for you.”
That made all the witches at the table burst into laughter, confusing the Kitsune.
“We have no fewer than ten Rank Two witches here, with more coming soon, and the forest is full of Treants who make sure that the balance is upheld. You could say we have a few powerful people taking care of it for us.” Alice informed her.
The Fox Demon took a closer look at the Witch, then dropped her hood and came over to directly sniff and poke at her.
“She really is a Second Rank Witch. How did you get one of them? I didn’t know any of them were left.” She asked Wolfe while still looking at Alice.
“You can ask her directly, but the short answer is that we trained them up. I used my powers to help them reach their potential, and now they’re beginning to level up.
The Demon placed her hand on Wolfe’s arm as if to admonish him for telling bad jokes, then froze when she felt his power.
“You’re a Rank Four Demon? An actual male, Rank Four Demon? Well, part of one, since I can feel that you’ve already begun cleansing your bloodline. What in the world happened to this side of the Wastes? They were supposed to be the weak front, where nobody wants to live, and from which everyone retreats for the summer.”
“I came from the Covens this winter. They sent me out to deal with a Monster Tide, and I just stayed. I’ve got my Familiars here and a lot of Servant Bonds on the Witches, so I’m not short on power, and I have been growing pretty quickly.
I entered the Wastes in the autumn as a Second Rank Witch who had just formed a Pentacle and now look at me. This is the land of opportunity if you’re brave enough to go for it.”
“So, that means that you’ve got the power to spare, right? You can spare a bit for a poor, destitute Kitsune? I only need a bit of a push, and I will make it through to the Third Rank and form another tail. But I can’t find a mana source large enough to store what I need to pull to make the breakthrough.
You men have it easy, just forming Mana Focus after Mana Focus while the rest of us struggle to transform our bodies with latent Mana and relic items.” She pouted.
“Hey, don’t make it sound so unfair. You can still use any sort of magical item, and from what I have heard, your talent for mana manipulation should be way ahead of where mine was at Rank Two.” Wolfe reminded her.
“The sort of magical items that you have made and spread all over the entire village? Speaking of which, I have an item that I will trade you if you agree to help me break through to the Third Rank.”
The Demon took out a small book, labelled [Weapons Creation Theory and Practice], which looked like it was exceedingly old, but it was covered in inscriptions and remained completely intact despite the passage of centuries.
“I will trade you the book for the advancement.”
Wolfe smiled at her and opened his arms. “Come have a seat right here, and I will see what I can do to help you.”
The Demon giggled. “Right here in public? You are a bold one. You’re not trying to cheat me out of the fun part of a Demonic Mana Transfer, are you?”