Lilac remembered when she'd first entered this forest at the start of the Tutorial roughly two days ago, remembered how disappointed she'd felt that her first adventure was to take place in a forest and not some old ruins or a complex cave network. She'd never really had time to dwell on and nurture that train of thought though. From that first Inferno Bear to unlocking her Physique, from discovering the Cathedral in the cave to exploring that abandoned village. The time she'd spent here in the Tutorial had been some of the most eventful and life changing she'd ever had. Despite almost dying a few time, Lilac had honestly never felt happier or freer in her life. Or more useful.

  If Lilac was being honest, her only real worry was her sister. Lily was so obviously struggling to adapt that even Lilac could tell. Or maybe she could only tell because they were sisters, she wasn't too sure. Lilac was always trying to make her sister feel better, less worried. But every sudden hug only seemed to make her sadder. Lilac didn't like the idea that she was making her sister unhappy. Lily probably blamed her for ruining her perfect life, their mother certainly suggested as such more times that Lilac could count.

  Anyway, the forest. Re-entering it was an oddly pleasant experience, the chill she'd been feeling in her body since she woke up this morning fled under the ambient heat produced by the ever-burning trees. It was a tad strange though; the forest didn't feel as hot as it had done just yesterday. Lilac looked about, trying to discern if there was anything wrong with her surroundings but came up empty. Still, she could sense vaguely that something was wrong, even if she couldn't tell what.

  "Hey, Chlo?"

  "Huh? What's up Lilac?"

  "Does it feel colder in here compared to before to you?" The other three turned to face her as the words left her lips, causing Lilac to feel a little self conscious

  "What?" Lily sounded incredulous, Lilac felt as though she might have managed to annoy her sister even more. "How could this place feel cold?"

  "She said colder, not cold." Ashley giggled softly "And honest Lilac, you're probably the best equipped to tell, what with your Physique and stuff"

  Lilac nodded and closed her eyes. The forest was alive with Mana, most of it, unsurprisingly, aspected to Fire. Then, she noticed something odd "It feels like the flames are being pulled..."

  "The flames are?" Chloe gave a small hum as she thought "Is it like something is drawing their energy, the Mana, in or something? If so, see if you can figure out what direction it's flowing in."

  "Uh..." Lilac tried her best to focus and clear her head of puppies and other distracting thoughts. For Lilac, this task was easier said than done. Thankfully, she'd developed techniques to help her achieve this years ago. After a few minutes, her mind felt calm and focused enough to reach out and mentally touch the mana of the forest. The rapidly flowing energies around her were turbulent and vicious as it quickly flowed towards and spiralled around a point in the distance.

  Lilac points her finger in the direction "It's getting drawn towards a point over there."

  "Nice, good job." Chloe gives her a pat on the back "Lets go this way then" and she begins walking in the other direction, away from the point Lilac indicated.

  "Huh?" Lilac grabs the Martialist's arm "The thing is that way."

  "Yes, which is why I'm going this way instead, obviously."

  "Why?" Ashley places her hands on her hips as she asks "Do you know something we don't?"

  Chloe turned her gaze downwards and stared at the floor for a few seconds, then sighted. "...Yes, Genre awareness."

  "It's Fantasy, right?" Lily leaned against a tree "Swords and Sorcery"

  Chloe smniled "It's a Fantasy setting, for sure. But it leans more towards Eastern Fantasy than Western Fantasy. Bloodline, Physique, the monster core-gem things, the divine lightning. It's all very Xianxia coded when you put it all together."

  "Shaung... Sha...?" Lilac shook her head "I don't get it."

  "I don't think now is the best time to talk details." Ashley smiled, though Lilac could see the slight worry in her eyes "Chloe, what are you worried about?"

  Chloe turned to face Lilac "Lilac, the Spiralling Mana, was it like this before and we just didn't notice?"

  The Pyromancer blinked and cast her thoughts back to when they were last in this part of the forest. They'd been attacked by Foxes and had fought them. The fire was definitely hotter back then, she was sure.

  "I don't think it was" Lilac felt herself frown slightly "It's hard to say for sure because I wasn't really checking, but I don't recall feeling anything wrong... did something happen overnight?"

  "The lightning?" Lily seemed worried all of a sudden

  "The System called it a 'Heavenly Punishment', right?" Ashley frowned in turn "But could that have really had an effect all the way over here?"

  "It's hard to say." Chloe sighed "But whatever the reason, something has appeared that is now sucking up the ambient Mana. And in Xianxia that usually means some kind of monster is growing stronger or evolving somehow."

  Lily winced "I don't like the sound of that..."

  Lilac also felt that that sounded a tad menacing, but her mind latched onto a different part of Chloe's words "Usually?"

  Chloe rubbed the back of her head "Well.. it could also be a magical treasure of some kind, like a rare plant or something"

  "A plant?" Ashley giggled "Since when did you get into Botany?"

  "I didn't, plants are just valuable in Xianxia" Chloe smiles at her girlfriend "Anyway, lets leave it alone and get a move on"

  Chloe tried once again to leave but Lilac held her in place. The two girls stared at each other for a few seconds. Lilac could see the confusion in The Martialist's eyes as the older woman gave another tug but failed to pull herself free

  "So Lilac..." Chloe began slowly "What's your Strength at?"

  "12," Lilac responded without a second of hesitation "yours?"

  "13. Have you taken any levels in Martialist?"

  Lilac shook her head "I didn't, no. I've only taken levels in Mage and Sorcerer."

  Lilac winced as she saw the sour look Chloe got in her eyes. Then, the other woman slapped herself hard on the cheek, causing everyone around her to jump slightly.

  "Sorry Lilac," I just felt really jealous towards you for a second there."

  "You... did?" Lilac tilted her head "Why?"

  "My Strength is my only good stat. seeing that you were almost as good as me without any Martialist level made me feel wronged somehow" Chloe shook her head "It was wrong of me, I should be happy for you. We're friends after all."

  Lily put a hand on Chloe's shoulder "Now you understand how amazing my sister is."

  "Yeah, I do." The Martialist laughed "So, Lilac; you sure you want to go check out whatever this is?"

  Lilac nodded happily "I want to explore and see new things."

  Chloe smiled at her before looking at the other two one after the other "And you two?"

  Lily nodded "You made it sound ominous, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious"

  "I'm curious too." Ashley giggled "If it's something valuable it might help us get out of here"

  "Guess I'm outvoted then" Chloe shrugged and turned to Lilac "Lead the way. You're the only who can sense the source properly. Ah, but... don't get too far ahead of us"

  Lilac gave a bright smile and began leading the group deep into the forest. As the they travelled, the temperature slowly climbed higher along with the density of the Mana around them. A few damaged trees and bear carcasses could be seen littering the forest floor as they continued to walk. Suddenly, just ahead of them, there was a rustling in the thicket. The group reacted swiftly, taking up hiding spots and doing their best to remain quiet. They watched the source of the sound, an Inferno Bear, run past the spot they had just been standing in before being struck from behind by a burst of fire. The bear stumbled and was forced to fact it's attackers, a trio of Flaming Foxes.

  The vulpine assailants acted in perfect sync, keeping the bear off balance and diving it's attention between each fox such that it couldn't land a clean hit on any of them. Within second, the three foxes had taken out their quarry without taking any significant damage themselves. The Flaming Foxes then did something unexpected; instead of eating their catch they used their claws to tunnel into the bear and pull out it's core. After which, they left the body where it was and left without even a second glance.

  "So," Chloe stepped out of her hiding spot once she was sure the vulpine trio was gone and began to carve up and store bits of the bear's meat "Whatever this thing is, the Foxes not only know about it, but they're nurturing it"

  "Poor thing" Lilac gently poked the remains of the bear with a stick "So, what kind of things can beast cores do?"

  "Don't feel too bad for it, if not for the foxes, we'd probably have been the ones fighting it" Chloe grinned "As for the core question; Cores are basically bundles of Mana. Other beasts with similar elements can use them to advance. They can be used for a lot of other things too, but I think that might be the most relevant thing here." Chloe stopped and thought for a second before continuing to speak. "If all those Ent and Bear bodies were the Foxes gathering cores, then this must be quite a big deal."

  Before anyone could ask Chloe what she meant, a pillar of flame erupted in the distance, easily visible even through the smoke and canopy. Far above, there was the sounds of crackling thunder. Lilac felt the density and pressure of the Mana around them begin to rapidly increase. She barely managed to feel the ground as she fell to her knees to meet it, The Pyromancer's breathing growing heavier and heavier as the magical pressure on her body kept increasing. Lilac felt her sister rubbing her back in concern. She'd managed to worry her again.

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  "Lilac, listen to me okay?" Chloe's voice just about managed to get through the haze "Focus on your breathing. Close your eyes and focus inward, cut yourself off from the Mana in the forest. Then fill your mind with whatever best distracts you."

  Lilac nodded and focused inwards. She could sense how the Mana from the forest was messing with her flaming mana and did what she could to separate them. Then she allowed her mind to drift, letting thoughts of Rock and Stone fill her conscious mind and ignoring the magical tempest around her. The memories came unbidden, images of her caving with Uncle Dan, shopping with him for gear. All the fun she'd had before her mother won custody from Dad and took her and Lily to Central London. A tear ran down her cheek as she remembered how she'd even refused to let Lilac attend the funeral, a pain that lingered in the hearts of both Sisters even now. Lilac slowly opened her eyes.

  "Sis... are you okay?"

  "Yeah..." Lilac wiped away her tears as she stood back up "Just ended up thinking of Uncle Dan"

  Lily didn't say anything in response, instead opting to give her sister a long, loving hug. Lilac returned it without hesitation and the hug lasted for a good few minutes.

  "Right then. You good to go on?" Chloe put her hand gently on Lilac's back

  "I'm fine" The Pyromancer glanced at the pillar of flames and felt a smile form on her lips "Honestly, I'm even more interested now"

  "You're absolutely mad." Chloe giggled "All right, lets pick up the pace then."

  The group resumed their trek, Chloe taking the lead now that the direction was obvious, and it wasn't long before the quartet found themselves at the edge of a decently sized clearing. The frankly magnificent flaming pillar extended from what was roughly the centre of the clearing up into the sky above, parting the ash and smoke above the forest in a radius around itself roughly equal to the original diameter of the slowly rotating cylinder of fire itself. Through this gap in the smoke, one could see clouds high above crackling with deep blue lightning. Around the clearing, though never getting all that close to the fire itself, multiple flaming foxes rushed about in a seemingly organised fashion.

  Chloe began to speak but was quickly cut off by a loud boom of thunder as the dark clouds above made their move. A large bolt of Sapphire blue lightning struck the pillar of fire, it's energy rippling out over the rotating surface of the flames. The pure Mana Lilac had felt contained in that strike was immense and she felt privileged to have seen it. The foxes ran about even faster now, pushing themselves towards the outer edge of the clearing as the lightning continued it's assault. Strike after strike of the Sapphire lightning struck the pillar, filling the clearing with energy that made Lilac's hair stand on end. Most of the energy had been pushed into the pillar itself, an amount that Lilac felt should have been beyond the reasonable capacity of the magical construct before her. And yet, it did not fail or falter.

  Lilac wanted nothing more than to continue to watch the battle between the powerful lightning and the steadfast flames. But she was too entranced by the magical scene before her and she failed to see the fox get close enough to spot her. Lilac tried to prevent the beast from alerting others and calling for back-up, but she had been caught flat-footed and couldn't respond in time. The yaps of the creature soon had quite the number of foxes converging on them and Lilac felt somewhat irritated at herself for getting so easily distracted.

  Lilac took up a fighting stance, ready to fight of the creatures as best she could. Chloe was soon next to her as well, brandishing a war-hammer she had summoned with her [Spirit Weapon] Skill. lily has also re-summoned her beast and had it join the two of them in the frontlines. Hopefully it'd be more useful in this fight than it was against the golems yesterday. Against them a total of 8 Flaming Foxes stood between them and the pillar. 5 normal ones made up the front rank and three two-tailed variants, which the system registered as EqL 3+ instead of 2+, took up a back rank. Neither said moved for a solid minute.

  Lilac went to make the first move, but was stopped in her tracks. A final strike of Sapphire lightning, stronger in scope than the previous ones, struck the pillar. Then, the clouds parted and both groups found it basically impossible to move as golden light flowed into the clearing, bathing it and everything in it in a thick mana that made Lilac's eyes water and her throat itch. The intense energy only lasted for a minute or so, but even then but the time it was released Lilac could do little more than stumble backwards a little and take a drink of water from her sports bottle before handing it to her sister. All eyes were suddenly focused on the pillar of flames.

  A hand pushed out from within the cylinder. Not a paw nor some clawed and monstrous appendage but a simple hand, lithe and feminine. Something that one might expect to see on a model. Not long after, a second hand soon follows, sharp fingernails glinting in the light. Lilac watched in awe as the hands gripped the fire itself and pushed it apart, splitting the pillar. The excess fire vanished once the construct was breached and standing there in the centre of the clearing where it had once been was a woman that, at a glance, might have passed for human. That is, until you noticed the Fox ears covered in Ashen fur and the tail that looked like a burning fire.

  The Kumiho, seemingly uncaring about all the eyes upon her, stretched her naked form and examined each inch of her skin with meticulous precision and a smug smile. Lilac looked about; every other creature in the clearing was unmoving, seemingly mesmerized by the Fox-like lady. Even her Sister stood there with a comically slack jaw. Lilac sighed and turned back to the bestial woman. Sure, she was probably the most attractive woman she'd ever seen, objectively speaking. She could even understand the comparison to polished jade the voice whispering in her ear was making, though to her it made no sense to compare a creature to a rock. Lilac could see what had captivated everyone else, she just didn't care about it; she never had. Lilac stepped forward and the Kumiho's head swivelled to face her, features etched with confusion. The voices in Lilac's ears tripled in both volume and intensity, but Lilac just ignored them and kept walking, stopping a few feet from the woman.

  "So..." Lilac began slowly "Hi?"

  "On your knees." The Womans voice boomed with power and the voices in Lilac's ear urged her to comply

  "Uhhh... No thank you?"

  The Kumiho blinked in confusion "Do you not want to worship me?"

  Lilac shook her head "No, why would ?"

  "Am I not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

  "I mean yeah." Lilac nodded, then shrugged "I just don't really think that matters. Why would that make me want to worship you?"

  "...right..." The Kumiho pinched the bridge of her nose "So, what are you going to do?"

  "No idea. I didn't think that far ahead."

  The Fox laughed "Really? You approached me without a plan? Did you also enter the forest so unprepared?"

  The mage shrugged "We came in the forest to get food to tide us over until we finished the Tutorial, then I felt the Mana going crazy and wondered if there might be some cool treasure"

  "Ah~ Treasure~ Well th-!" The kumiho stopped talking suddenly, her eyes starting to twitch "... Tu...Tutorial?"

  The vulpine Lady fell to her knees, clutching her head in her hands as she whimpered painfully. The voices that had been whispering into Lilac's ears vanished and the Pyromancer could see that around the clearing everyone, humans and foxes alike, were coming out of their stupor. The Foxes stepped back as Lilac's party walked to stand by her side. The Kumiho looked up at them, eyes filled with tears, and began to look though the group of people one by one before her gaze settled on Chloe

  "Sister...." The foxes' words come out weak and forced "Sister, why do you hide your ears?"

  Chloe stumbled forward slightly in shock "I'm not your Sister"

  "You...?" The Kumiho stares at her for a second, then whimpers again "Please sister, answer me true; is this place real? Am I real?"

  The space was filled with a sudden silence. No one spoke for a few seconds. The Lily stepped forward and placed a gentle, comforting hand on the vulpine womans head "Where we come from there's a saying of sorts; 'I think, therefore I am.'"

  "I... I don't get it" The Kumiho sighs "But I can tell you're trying to cheer me up, so thank you, Human"

  Chloe stepped closer "Why do you call me sister?"

  The vulpine lady looked at Chloe and tilted her head "You have a foxes' blood"

  "I have what?" Chloe's face gains a sudden irritated look "Explain."

  "You don't know? You are descended from one like me." The Kumiho grinned at Chloe "I can tell you more, but I want answers in turn"

  Ashley put her hand on her hips "And how do we know if you're being truthful with us?"

  The Kumiho blinked "I... hadn't considered that."

  "Heavenly Oath" Chloe's gaze grew intense "Swear an Oath on your soul that you will not lie to us."

  "Chloe...." Ashley looked confused "I didn't think you worshiped any gods?"

  "I don't. And I didn't ask for an Oath to a god, I asked for a Heavenly Oath; one bound by the same laws that called down the Heavenly Punishment"

  Before anyone could say anything else, the Kumiho made her choice and spoke up "Though I have no name, I willingly bind my soul by Oath, that no lie shall pass my lips to the one called Chloe or those she considers her friends"

  Chloe nodded "I accept the Oath and respond in kind. To this Fox with no name I swear I shall tell no falsehood; I bind my soul to this pledge"

  Lilac wanted to giggle, the words sounded overly still and formal for what seemed to her at first as a fancy promise not to lie to each other. Then, she felt the mana around them grow dense once more. Like the Heavenly Punishment and the golden light before, she felt a power that made her eyes sting and her body lock up slightly. IT was only there for a second before abating, but it enough to cause Lilac's breathing to deepen and to give her a minor headache. She held no doubts as to the power of those words.

  Chloe took a deep breath before continuing "Now then, what do you mean I am descended from one like you?"

  "I meant it literally; you are descended from a Fox. Kitsune, Kumiho or some kind of Fox-kin I don't know" the Kumiho shrugged, then smiled "I can possibly try and help you unlock your bloodline, for a price."

  "What price is that?"

  The vulpine lady grinned "WE can decide that later, for now, I think it's time you answered one of my questions. Tell me, Chloe; what is this 'Tutorial' and how do I fit into it?"

  Chloe sighed and began a long description of everything she knew. The Kumiho listened attentively, and did her best to limit her interruptions to only what she felt were necessary clarifications. After about 15 minutes, Chloe was finished. The fox just stared blankly upwards

  "I was... created. Along with this forest and it's surroundings, as a temporary thing to serve as a test and introduction for you four..." The Fox whimpered slightly "I... I hate that I know you're not lying to me. I really do not know how to feel about this."

  "... Do you... want us to go...?" Lily's voice was filled with compassion and worry.

  The Kumiho shook her head "No, please; stay." A sad smile stretched across her face "I... want to stay close to the only things that I know are real"

  "Just because something is temporary, doesn't mean it's not real or not worth something." Ashley tried to comfort her.

  "That's rather easy for you to say, is it not? You did not come into being two days ago with false memories. Nor are you faced with the idea that you might have already ceased to exist by this time tomorrow."

  Ashley hung her head and looked at the floor

  "So... you mentioned Kitsune and Kumiho separately, right? What's the main difference between the two?" Chloe rubbed the back of her head, her attempt at changing the topic was rather obvious.

  "It's related to Cores" The Kumiho smiled, grateful for the change regardless "Monster Foxes become Kumiho when they become Bipedal because the retain their Monster Core. Kitsune are a bit more complicated, as there are many paths for Foxes to get there. Even a Kumiho can get there, if it can safely shed or transform it's Monster Core."

  "How do you know all this anyway?" Lilac asked

  "When a Fox Beast first becomes a Kumiho, we are gifted information by Heaven's Mandate" The Kumiho shifted slightly "And before you ask, we're gifted this information because Foxes are favoured by Heaven. Foxes and Chickens"

  "Wait, Chickens?" Ashley giggled "Really?"

  "Yep!" The fox joined her "It's why they taste so good."

  Chloe sighed and shook her head with a smile "Right well. We should be on our way, we have things we need to do."

  "Wait, Chloe; I've decided what I want."

  "Pardon?" Chloe looked at the Kumiho confused "What do you mean?"

  "The price for helping you with your bloodline. I know what I want"

  Ah right, that." Chloe cleared her throat "Alright, what do you want?"

  "I want to be bound you."

  Another awkward silence filled the clearing for a few moments. At this point, Lilac realised that all the Flaming foxes had left, leaving only them in the clearing.

  After a few moments, Chloe finally responded "... What?"

  The Kumiho tilted her head in confusion.