Elisa, Mark, and the latter's Underlings walked through the Final Floor's forest
"While I didn't watch the whole thing, I can tell you have good Kinetic Vision."
[You could?]
"Yes. Your reaction speed is also good."
[About you watching, I think I need to-]
Elisa could feel the dark spots on her skin tingle. The bad kind of tingling.
As if ants were crawling on her skin, occasionally taking bites for no reason.
"No need. It's complicated, and I don't want to talk about it. They weren't the ones I once knew. They haven't been for a long time. So let's just... Not talk about it."
[Right.]
She threw back the hair that was falling over her right shoulder.
"The best way for me to tell you is to show you."
[Okay?]
"We 're going back to that place, right?"
[What am I supposed to watch?]
Elisa laughed cheekily.
"Me. My fighting."
Mark wondered for a bit.
'Her fighting... I can't mimic the way she moves. My speed isn't bad but she has me beat in flexibility and dexterity. I guess the three fall under the Agility Stat... Huh. It would benefit you to learn from me...'
You have a habit of looking around a lot when fighting-
'She said it after I talked about the way she moves her head around all the time. Is there something more to it than what I thought? Those movements... Those glaces... I've seen them many, many times...'
The head movements of a Terrified Monster that's been driven to a corner.
"So? Should we go back, or...?"
Mark scratched his head.
[No.]
[We already have all we need.]
"Is that so?" Elisa chuckled as she unsheathed her Timeworn Elven Daggers.
The cold eyes of his Underlings stared at her.
'Ugh. This feels so weird...'
"Don't blame me if some of them end up dead. When I get to it, stopping my blades is-"
[No blades.]
"Huh?"
A Demonic Dark Wolf and a Typhoon Wolf walked to the Monster's side.
And the Monster smiled. Out of embarrassment surely, but its fangs hid the embarrassment rather well.
[We're playing tag.]
Elisa jumped back as she put her weapons back into their sheathes.
"Mm!" She nodded cheerfully. "Works for me. I'll take my headstart."
'No fangs, no claws, no Wind Blast. Alright?'
The two Underlings lowered and raised their heads.
By this time, Elisa had already entered the forest around the area.
...
Minutes later, Elisa rested her back against a tree.
'Guess I'll wait here.'
A second later, something shined above.
'Is he supposed to be the one locating me?' Elisa asked herself.
And a stream of flames descended upon the forest.
'They're making a mess before we leave, huh? Appreciate that.'
The stream of flames started moving.
'The Spirit drew a circle. Delimiting the perimeter already?' She chuckled. 'Guess they're taking this seriously.'
Elisa gently pushed herself off the tree.
She extended her hips, arced her back, and a Typhoon Wolf missed her back by an inch.
"Your Stealth isn't bad." Elisa's tone was cheerful, as she nimbly turned around.
Before the Typhoon could even touch the ground, she quickly lowered her gaze.
"If it's not dark enough, you stand out in the shadow."
The next second, a Demonic Dark Wolf jumped out of that shadow.
Elisa arched her back until the ends of her long hair kissed the grass below.
The Demonic Dark Wolf passed above and beyond her.
Her eyes followed it.
The Demonic Dark Wolf's mouth was closed, its fangs hidden, and its claws retracted. It was the same for the Typhoon Wolf.
Both weren't used to that.
Just as the Demonic Dark Wolf was about to touch the ground, its body turned into a Dark Fog.
"You don't need to turn around if you use that, huh?"
Elisa brought her left foot behind her right, lightly tapped the ground with her left hand, and rotated her body.
'She can control her body way better than him. From that unstable position, he probably would have fallen to the ground.' The Fire Spirit thought to himself as he watched from above.
The Dark Fog approached quickly, but Elisa looked away.
The Typhoon Wolf had jumped onto the tree trunk she had rested her back on earlier.
'I have a pretty good grasp of their speeds now.'
The Dark Fog materialized.
Demonic Dark Wolf from the front, Typhoon Wolf from above, slightly behind her.
Elisa turned her body to the right and raised her head.
The Typhoon Wolf's eyes met hers.
It launched itself with all its great, fully accepting its role as bait.
The Demonic Dark Wolf accelerated.
It reached forward.
Its snout could smell her.
It could almost touch her.
And with a back handspring the pair of Wolves never saw coming, she escaped.
"Can't go full throttle like that."
Just as both were about to collide, the Demonic Dark Wolf turned into Fog once more.
"Right." Elisa smiled. "That's a good one."
...
Dozens of meters above, a flying Monster had taken the Fire Spirit's side.
'Looks like they won't be able to catch her.'
"Nope. She's good. Really good." The Fire Spirit whispered.
The Monster turned at the Spirit, slightly confused.
Or perhaps, simply surprised.
'Didn't expect you to compliment anyone. Or anything really. Except for your flames.'
"It is my first time seeing someone fight this way. It's interesting, not using brute strength. I fell in love with that Berserker's... Rawness? But this is different. So different."
'It is?'
"Of course it is. Every move is calculated. She takes her time to think through and find the right option. That's why she dodges by a hair's breadth every time. You're similar in that way."
'I usually don't think too much during fights though. I just let my body... Do its thing. Or think on the spot?'
The Fire Spirit stayed silent for a bit.
"I meant similar in the sense that you dodge by hair's breadth too."
'Oh.'
"She's calculating, while you're winging it and fearlessly, if not foolishly, risking getting hit."
The Monster chuckled as it spectated the scene from above.
She was smiling, as she ran from the Wolves.
A different smile than the one she had when fighting and killing Monsters.
'You're not about to leave me for her, are you?'
"I just might if you don't prove yourself worthy of me."
The Spirit chuckled, and so did the Monster.
"Now that I think about it, her movements remind me of the kitty cat..." The Spirit's tone had turned serious.
The Monster didn't say a thing.
"That cat has similar movements. Which makes me question..."
'What?'
"Is she calculating or simply lazy and can't be bothered to move until the last moment?" The Fire Spirit asked.
The Monster laughed.
The Spirit did not.
'Oh. You're serious?'
"Huh. I always am." An offended tone.
The Monster stared below for a bit.
'Feline grace, huh? Probably not something I could get with this body.'
The Spirit nodded.
'Which means that there's something else I should be looking for.'
...
On the ground, a couple hundred meters away from where the game of tag was happening, Levi and Krista stood.
Just beyond the circle of flames delimiting the perimeter.
'Levi, Krista. Go.'
The two quickly leaped beyond the burning boundary.
Krista's body immediately turned into that of a Lioness'.
The difference in speed made the gap between the two slowly widden.
Levi couldn't help but notice that.
He didn't feel bad about it though.
Krista was Krista.
What she was to his Lord, he couldn't tell exactly.
But he had realized that what others were to his Lord didn't matter to him, as long as they were not enemies.
Plus, speed wasn't a priority for Levi.
After all, his goal is to understand the Lord, and assist him perfectly when needed.
He was "The Devourer's Shield".
And so, what Levi felt he needed was Strength, Sturdiness, Endurance, and Vigor.
The second one wasn't a Stat, but he thought it just as important.
...
Elisa escaped from, yet another, attempt from the Wolves.
"The two of you are good at coordinating your attacks." She noted as she stepped back, leaving place for the Typhoon Wolf to miss its mark.
The latter growled, its frustration was starting to show.
The next second, the Demonic Dark Wolf leaped from behind a tree.
She dodged closely.
"No..." Elisa whispered.
Closer than she would've liked.
"There's no coordination, is there?"
Her eyes stared at the Demonic Dark Wolf's bloody red pupils.
Its eyes were calm. Collected.
"You're just letting him do whatever and reacting to what he throws your way huh?"
The two stared at one another for a bit.
"Not bad. Not bad at all. I didn't expect that from-"
Elisa's long ears twitched.
A handful of seconds later, so did the Demonic Dark Wolf's and the Typhoon Wolf's.
Elisa jumped back.
Freeze-
"That's illegal, you know?"
A Lioness stood tall, as the area Elisa had been standing on froze.
"Oh well. Contracts only take effect in the case of death or if one of the Parties complains. And if it's you..."
Her face softened, and so did the Lioness'.
"I don't think I will."
The Typhoon Wolf growled.
"What? Jealous?"
The next second, the three Beasts that made a triangle around her leaped.
"Call it: Cute Privilege." Elisa smiled. "The privilege of the cute."
