KAPPA 79 (Patreon)

With little else to do with his free time, Cairn spent the days after his return from the Subterranean Spire training from the early morning and lounging in the afternoons. He 'needed' to be better after the fiasco that was his encounter with the Ground Dragon, so while Vira watched from the sidelines, sipping tea, Cairn, empowered by the Mana Crystal he had received in the past, trained diligently with Kaia as his sparring partner.

"You ready...?" asked Cairn, the eyes of his wolf-themed mask glowing an eerie red as the individual sections of his mantle billowed in response to his Mana beginning to surge.

"I won't hold back," Kaia replied, punctuating her words by flexing the muscles in her calves and thighs to such an extent that ordinary fabrics couldn't contain them. Instead, she wore a modified loincloth, leaving her legs exposed as she lunged forward with the momentum of a cannonball.

Raising his shields to block Kaia's spear, Cairn clenched his teeth as he was pushed back, the bones in his arms creaking. His feet carved shallow trenches in the compacted soil beneath him, but he managed to avoid being knocked over by bending his knees and leaning into Kaia's attack as it landed.

Transitioning from her spear to her shield, Kaia intended to hit Cairn with a [Shield Bash], but her instincts screamed at her to dodge. As a result, she brought her shield in front of her, activating [Great Leap] to flee to the sky just as Cairn parted his shields and exhaled a weak but incredibly fast [Darkness Dragon's Breath].

Seeing neither hair nor hide of Kaia, Cairn felt a wave of panic before he instinctively looked to the sky. Kaia had a penchant for fleeing into the sky to escape danger, but while most would be sitting ducks after performing such a maneuver, the human-form Karakut used her powerful legs to kick against the air, creating temporary footholds of Mana that allowed her to reposition and dodge freely.

'I need to get my hands on a flight-type ability...' Cairn thought, finding it surprisingly difficult to keep his head craned and shields aloft as Kaia zig-zagged overhead, her form eventually disappearing against the backdrop of the artificial sun adorning the Interspatial Pouch's sky.

Deciding it wasn't the best idea to stand still, Cairn unequipped his shields and rushed forward, surmising Kaia would find it just as difficult to target prey positioned directly below her. His intuition was correct, but as it was fairly easy for her to bound to a new vantage point, he was still at a tremendous disadvantage on the ground.

Hearing a sharp whooshing sound, Cairn abruptly changed the direction he was running and leaped to the side. Unfortunately, as the projectile he was attempting to dodge was nearly as fast as the sound that reached his ears, a heavy force impacted his lower left side, sending him spinning as it got tangled in the fabric of his mantle.

*You have sustained 406 points of damage!*

Clamoring to his feet and leaping forward as quickly as he could, Cairn barely managed to dodge a second spear, this one attached to a fluffy hand and body. A large explosion occurred behind him, but Cairn didn't have time to see or even process it as Kaia emerged from the column of dust and smoke she had created to ram him in the back with her shield, increasing his forward momentum to knock him off balance.

Though he could have rolled forward to offset the force of the blow, Cairn was denied the opportunity as Kaia had struck him with [Shield Bash]. His [Stun Resistance] was gradually increasing, but there was a reason it was called resistance and not immunity.

With his body becoming statuesque due to the effects of the Stun Status Effect, Cairn was just thankful he had an indestructible helmet to protect him as he faceplanted and 'wheeled' several times before the effect wore off. Fortunately, while the inciting [Shield Bash] dealt 138 damage to him, his many intimate meetings with the ground inflicted none.

-----------------------------

Name: Adam Masterson

IWN: Cairn

Gender: Male

Age: 27(Apparent Age: 16)

Title: Grand Architect's Favored Disciple(Growth Rate+100%)

Class: [Jack-of-All]

[Attributes]

Level: 21->25(193,509/198,533)

HP: 17,895/18,736

MP: 9,850/12,100

Str: 50->100

Agi: 66->100

Vit: 120+222

Int: 200->300

Dex: 50+75

Cha: 100->104+156

AP: 0

Talents: [Slow Start, Endless Potential(25/100)], [Never Say Die(MAX)], [I Can Do It  Too(2/10)], [Animal Magnetism(15/90)], [Heavenly Divine Body(5/80)], [Shadowflame(24/100)], [Mining(41/100)], [Bedroom Arts(35/100)], [Shield Mastery(33/100)], [Pain Tolerance(35/100)], [Nurtured(28/100)], [Acid Resistance(17/100)], [Cooking(17/100)], [Fire Resistance(23/100)], [Pickaxe Mastery(14/100)], [Sword Mastery(10/100)], [Corruption Resistance(16/100)], [Charm Resistance(13/100)], [Disease Resistance(5/100)], [Grooming(10/100)], [Stun Resistance(11/100)], [Thievery(3/100)], [Taming(1/100)]

Skills: [Insight(MAX): 1MP], [Domination(2/10): 200MP], [Shield Bash(MAX): 50MP], [Sophistry(4/10): 30MP], [Penny-Pinch(2/10): 50MP], [Gamble(2/10): 10MP], [Self Immolation(MAX): 10MP], [Whelp's Roar(2/10): 100MP], [Darkness Dragon's Breath(4/10): 500MP], [Claw of Destruction(3/10): 50MP]

-----------------------------

Seeing how quickly Cairn recovered, a wave of helplessness washed over Kaia as she remarked, "Striking you is like hitting a metal plate. I fear that in a few more Levels, I won't be able to damage you at all..."

Rising to his feet and brushing himself off, Cairn countered, "Well, at least your attacks land consistently. Unless I manage to Stun you, I can't even graze the hairs on your ass."

Adopting an increasingly cheeky and alluring smile, Kaia half-turned and placed her hand on her pert posterior before asking, "Is that where you've been aiming all this time...?"

"Every waking moment," Cairn quipped, subsequently leaping nearly 20m horizontally to try and tackle the mischievous Karakut. Unfortunately, as much as Kaia was tempted to let him, she immediately dodged to the side and leaped back into the air, eluding the wall of purple-black flames Cairn manifested with a sweep of his hand...

...

..

.

Exhaling a sigh that produced a thread of orange and black flames, Cairn did his best to appear calm and unperturbed even as his body tingled and a sick feeling filled the pit of his stomach.

"You can get out if it bothers you," mused Vira, seated across from Cairn in a large, cauldron-like tub filled with frothing yellow liquid. Unlike Cairn, however, she was completely relaxed despite the liquid they were bathing in having a pH comparable to sulfuric acid.

"You're annoying..." Cairn groaned, each syllable producing flames as his [Shadowflame] Talent kicked into overdrive to repair the constant damage he was receiving. Acid was one of the sole weaknesses of his [Heavenly Divine Body], decreasing its efficacy the longer he was exposed, so Cairn was preemptively increasing his [Acid Resistance] to ensure it couldn't be used against him.

Entangling her feet with Cairn's, the sharpened nails of her digitigrade feet scratching his calves and causing the water to foam in response to his blood, Vira revealed, "I paid a visit to the Royal Palace earlier today. The tension was palpable."

"Are you going to tell me something useful...?" asked Cairn, gritting his as Vira's foot reached his crotch. It was the main reason for the cold sweat covering his body, so he didn't appreciate her attempting to stimulate him when it clearly wasn't the time or place.

*Ding! Your Acid Resistance has increased to 22!*

'Fuck my life...' 

Ignoring Cairn's resent-filled glare, Vira continued her antics with a smile, explaining, "A noticeable divide has formed between the members of the Court. Many are dissatisfied with how the King is handling the matter with the Dungeons. The common belief is that the power of the monarchy has become too decentralized. However, while one side wishes to use that as an excuse to strengthen the King's authority, the other believes it to be a suitable pretense for certain cities to become independent."

"In other words, the cunts responsible for the outbreaks are trying to incite a civil war..." muttered Cairn, a disproving frown marring his face. Doubts were planted in his mind when Vira responded with an amused chuckle, but as there was no way she would reveal the truth outright, he settled on asking, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I would say it's to better prepare you for meetings with individuals such as Countess Camilla, but that's not quite the truth..." replied Vira, staring up at the ceiling for several seconds before remarking, "You may not care about the politics of this Kingdom, but you're a sentimental fool who can't turn a blind eye to those in need. Your appearance has widened the divide between the two groups considerably, so I suppose my true aim is to ensure you're prepared to have a substantial amount of blame placed on your shoulders..."

"Sounds about right..." groaned Cairn, sinking into the acid bath as if it were an ordinary hot spring rather than a solution used to separate gold and silver from less dense metals. He briefly regretted his carelessness when Vira took advantage of his position to crawl on top of him, but if he were being completely honest, he would rather have his dick snug inside her gorilla-grip furnace of pussy than frothing in a bath of acid...

...

..

.

"I know I wear a wolf helmet, but people will think I'm an actual Therian if I wear something like this..." said Cairn, referring to the peculiar, crimson, multi-strap 'cleats' Elle and Mari had prepared for him. He had asked them if there was something they could do to counteract him being driven back by heavy blows, and their solution was to prepare what looked like a pair of crimson snowboarding shoes with the nose resembling the clawed toes of a white wolf.

-----------------------------

Name: [Ground Grabbers]

Rank: Epic Footwear

Weight: 2.3kgs

Durability: 2,100/2,100

Level: 0/60

P.Def: 140

M.Def: 100

Enchantment(s): [Dig In], [Shock Absorption], [Fire Resistant]

Description: A well-made pair of boots comprised predominantly of Salamander Whelp materials. Their design is somewhat unorthodox, but the unique structure of the soles allows the user to maintain their footing even atop oil.

Ingredients: [Salamander Whelp Leather], [Salamander Whelp Bones], [Fire Drake Sinew]

Restriction(s): Due to the materials used in its production, it can only be repaired by someone with [Cobbling] Rank 30 or higher.

-----------------------------

"Are you saying you don't want them?" asked Elle, maintaining her smile, but Cairn got the distinct impression she wouldn't be happy if he refused the gift she and Mari had spent three days preparing.

"Of course, I want them," Cairn replied, smiling wryly as he removed his [Flamewalkers] and manually donned the [Ground Grabbers]. The self-tightening straps made the boot fit like a glove and provided excellent ankle support, but the first thing Cairn noticed when placing his weight on them was how 'spongy' the soles were. It reminded him of the expensive gel inserts he used to purchase in his previous life, but the quality was an order of magnitude higher.

"Wow. It's super comfortable..." Cairn remarked, wriggling his toes and causing those at the end of the boot to do the same.

"Try stepping on the toe," said Elle, her pink eyes glistening as the smile on her face blossomed in full.

Doing as he was told, Cairn's brows perked when the nails hidden within the toes promptly elongated and bit into the ground. Now, whenever he was pushed back, the claws would extend, providing him greater traction as the shock-absorbing qualities of the sole helped to bleed off the force of the blow. They would also extend when he ran, so he wouldn't have to worry as much about slipping on ice or other slick surfaces.

"They're amazing," expressed Cairn, and he meant it. Their design was a little 'odd,' but like everything Elle made, the functionality of the [Ground Grabbers] was everything he asked for and more. He felt that Elle might prepare him a belt with a tail attachment in the future, but as long as the Enchantments were beneficial, he didn't mind her completing his wolf-boy cosplay. His teeth became noticeably sharper as his [Shadowflame] grew in potency, so he already had the grin and appetite of one...

...

..

.