I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?

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After everyone had shown off the new looks of their weapons, they decided to hang out for the rest of the day. That mainly consisted of Elysia and Clara trying to tease Elanor or Silver, but they did manage to learn more about Elanor in the process.

They found out that early on in her exile she lived in the slums of Elfheim. Similar to Elyisa, they both had to steal from shops and were constantly on the run from the people they pissed off. However, instead of being kidnapped like Elysia who was captured by the cult, Elanor managed to get a job as a waitress, which allowed her to just barely make a living.

For Elanor, it felt good to finally be able to talk about her life with others, especially with friends who were so understanding. She also did not anticipate getting along so well with Elysia because she was unaware that their circumstances were so similar.

However, before long the hour turned late, and so they all decided to return to their rooms for the night.

***

<Clara POV>

I was once again in the training room with my tutor, Kano. I didn't know what kind of style she was proficient in, but as Shaman put it, Kano was the embodiment of old Western cowgirl culture. I had no idea what that was, hence I had no reason to disagree.

"You need to stop thinking so much, sweetie. Block, counter, and strike with your body. Get rid of any thoughts that are dragging you down." Kano struck downward with his whip, aiming for my arm. Now that my weapons had finally been returned to me, my training sessions suddenly got much harder.

I tried to counter it with one of my whip blades trying to deflect Kano's whip by catching it in between the blades. However, right as I hooked it, I felt myself getting pulled forward. Somehow Kano completely overpowered me, pulling back his whip with enough force to launch me into the air.

'Bloody hell!' It was beginning to frustrate me, as I had been going at this for a couple of hours, constantly losing. I had been thrown into the air a few times, which resulted in me being defeated, but I wanted to change that. The only rule was that no mana was allowed to be used except to power our weapons.

I still hadn't quite figured out the features of my new whip blades, but one thing for sure was that they were more durable. As I was flung up into the hair, I let go of my opponent's whip and struck the ground using one of mine, managing to lodge its tip into the floor. I then poured my mana into the whip, turning it solidly stiff.

It was as if I had an extremely long pole lifting me up above the ground, killing off my momentum and keeping me stable in the air. I hung off the handle, looking at Kano, wondering what she was going to do next.

"Training hasn't finished, gal." Kano wasn't going to stop, which was fair, but I had no idea what to do. I was stuck, hanging on for my life, and Kano was just about to swing his whip at me.

'Hang on, why don't I deactivate it.' Retracting the mana from my whip blade, suddenly it became flexible again, leaving me to drop to the ground, completely avoiding Kano's attack.

Kano's eyes widened in surprise, a surprise that I instantly capitalised on, thinking I had the upper hand. She was in the process of pulling back her whip, giving me that slight opening.

Pushing off my feet while retracting my whips into swords, I closed the distance between us to make it harder for her to attack. There was one thing I had over Kano, and it was the ability to adjust the length of my whips, making close combat much easier.

I closed up the distance, making it impossible for her to counterattack, to which she responded by trying to move away. I quickly swung one of my whip blades and wrapped it around her ankle, causing her to trip.

Now that she was on the ground, I stood over her with my other whip blade in sword form up against her neck.

"I win this time." Even though it was just a training bout without any mana allowed, I felt proud that I had defeated her at least once.

"Think again, partner." The face of exhaustion suddenly turned into a smirk, and a blunt object hit me in the back of the head. I instantly face-planted into the ground, not knowing what the hell attacked me.

"Hahaha, you almost had me there garl, but I'm afraid you need to be aware of your surroundings even if the battle seems to be over. Just because I can't use my whip at close range doesn't mean I don't have a trick up my sleeve, otherwise I wouldn't be part of the elite guard here." Kano patted my back, reassuring me. But honestly? I felt too defeated to be reassured. My win was crushed but a moment ago, which demotivated me slightly.

"Don't go drowning in negativity there, Clara. I'm sure one day you'll surpass me, but like all things it takes time. We will take a rest for now, but know that you did well." Kano picked up that I was feeling depressed, and her words helped me clear the thoughts that clouded my mind.

She was right, there was no way I could win against one of the demons' top soldiers, I just needed to keep learning and practising.

***

<Shaman POV>

After four days of not being able to do any training, Tyso was quick to put the pressure on.

"To make up for the days you have missed, you will be duelling me with all your strength without the use of mana. I know how strong your elements are, and frankly, I don't know if I'd even be able to beat you if you fully utilised it. However, do not get me wrong! I fully intend to put your true power to the test later on. For now though we will work on the basics." Tyso wasn't afraid to admit that Shaman's magic was something beyond him. However, the main reason for her training was to get better at general combat, not the use of magic.

"Hehe, it makes me happy to hear you praise me, but are you sure about this duel?" I could already feel the soreness that would come after fighting for hours on end, and I tried to see if I could weasel my way out of it.

"I'm afraid I'm not that kind, so be prepared to push yourself till you can't stand." Prepared to start at a moment's notice, Tyso took hold of the handle of his katana, ready to draw.

'Looks like I can-.' Tyso turned to mist just as I was getting mentally ready, and a wave of bloodlust came from behind me.

In an effort to block whatever was coming from behind, I turned my body as quickly as I could while pulling Kotetsu out. I clashed swords with Tyso's bright red blade, which emitted this crushing pressure of death.

'He wasn't kidding about collecting souls, they must be what is causing this pressure.' I couldn't imagine bearing something like this, as surely Tyso is constantly under its effects.

"Not too bad, but this is only the beginning, and I should warn you: I will be using mana." Once again, he disappeared into some kind of mist, leaving me guessing where he would come from next.

The deathly presence then came from above, and I promptly tried to block it, but nothing was there. Suddenly, ghostly hands from all over the surrounding field grabbed hold of my ankles, and as they held onto me, I was overcome with piercing screams that made it difficult to focus.

"You lose round 1." When Tyso called out to me from behind, his blade was already pressed against my neck. I was not even able to perceive it, which made me ponder whether Tyso had the power to direct the souls contained within the blade.

The first round was over so fast that I did not even realise the arena had gotten so dark. Only when Tyso sheathed his sworddid the area become suddenly brighter. The hands that had covered the ground vanished, along with a weight I didn't even realise was weighing on me till now.

"What was that?" I exhaled heavily, unsure of what had happened to me from these strange abilities he possessed. I knew it involved souls, but I never realised it could be used in such a way.

"I gave you a small dose of what you need to beat. Once you can, then we will enter the dungeon and perhaps have a duel with no rules attached." Tyso stood back in the same position, seemingly waiting for me to recuperate.

"I have no idea how I will be able to beat that, but if you believe I can, then I have no choice but to try." I stood up straight, this time more ready for what was to come.

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