Chapter 6 – Even Odder Fellows and How to Power Level
Aiko was finally satisfied after intensely staring at the door with her piercing gaze. She looked towards the Horse, only to find him chuckling before gesturing to the guards to open the doors.
It was a glorious and well furnished throne hall. There were plenty of carpets and banners all around, it felt like he was transported into the medieval ages with... Odd Fellows.
There were guards under each pillar, all of them had their eyes closed, but when they noticed an additional presence on top of their Esteemed Buddy, they couldn't help, but take a peek.
They were surprised that Buddy would let someone ride him, but were more surprised about what was riding him. It was a small furry animal that was curiously looking around. They were confused as to why their Prince would let a mere animal ride him... (AN: The Prince title was given to him and does not mean that he is part of royalty of this town.)
"Prince Buddy." A Scaly creature nodded at the Horse.
The Horse named Buddy nodded back. "How are you doing, old friend?"
"Very well, very well!" The Scaly creature laughed. "By the way... we have a strange visitor?" He noticed the presence long ago, but didn't understand why they took their sweet time entering the room. 'Do you know how difficult it is to stay in a dignified pose over long periods of time?!' He wanted to complain but refrained from doing so due to etiquette. Even so, he still didn't have a good impression of this little creature.
"Very strange indeed." The Horse neighed happily. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you." He shook his head.
He came closer to him, the guards didn't move.
"Little one, this is my buddy Char. Char, this is a very intelligent Fox in the Animal Beast Rank." He chuckled when he saw his friend completely speechless.
The little Fox scoffed at him, when he saw how he acted.
'Where did your dignity go?! Give me back the Scaly Dragon, you bastard!'
Aiko cussed at him.
"... Did... did it just scoff at me?!" The Scaly dragon was speechless and stared at his friend. "Are you controlling it just to get back at me for eating your cake?!"
The Horse snorted, wanting to kick him, but he didn't want to reduce his friend's already low dignity. "Of course not, you can test her." The Horse snorted at his friend.
Char stared at the little Fox with comically large ears and was deep in thought. He then gestured to a maid nearby (the one that guided them) to bring over the stuff.
Aiko was puzzled, but didn't dwell on it. It seemed like nobody would hurt her as long as she was on his back. Which was good news. She could also explore this place with her enhanced sight, since her stamina had almost completely recovered.
The room didn't have any torches and the windows were quite far away. He didn't understand why there was so much light, there were only strange gems in the walls and nothing else that gave off light.
Those gems that were embedded into the walls and ceiling provided pleasant light that didn't hurt his eyes, unlike lightbulbs... whatever those were.
Aiko’s ears twitched at the slightest sound, so much that some other attendants would make strange sounds just to attract that little one's attention. They had many cubs around, but they matured too quickly, so they didn't have any outlet for their motherly love. Their young ones would cuddle them only till they were mostly one year old, but then avoided them like plague...
...
The maid brought a nicely ornamented box and behind her were young ones with the same complexion as the Liz- Char on the throne.
"These are my dumb sons." Char gestured, staring at the little creature. "You will play a game with them." He snorted at them.
The maid opened the box and symbols flew out of it. Aiko knew these, they were normal numbers! Albeit a bit strangely shaped...
Buddy placed him in front of the cards with numbers and between the brothers.
Aiko immediately stiffened and didn't move. The maid suppressed her giggle and gently explained the game and the different cards.
As Aiko thought, those were numbers, the order was from 1 to 100. Char would tell them numbers or equations and they had to find the right answer. They would get 1 point for a good answer and -5 points for a bad answer.
'I'm not going to play this game...' Aiko thought.
Aiko was no longer on Buddy's back and that meant danger from all around. He wouldn’t play games with his life on the line.
Char said a few numbers and equations, but snorted when he saw the little creature with closed eyes laying there without moving.
'See? It's dumb as any other animal.' Char snorted towards his friend.
'Just wait and see.' Buddy snorted back.
The Horse moved towards his friend’s smart daughter, who was eating deliciously looking pieces of meat. She was interested in the small little thing, but lost interest soon after she saw it not moving.
The Horse levitated the plate, startling Char's daughter. She stared at him strangely and the Horse winked at them. She blushed, but still observed what he would do.
The Horse blew some air towards Aiko. The delicious smell drifted into her sensitive nose and her eyes snapped open. She immediately jumped into hunting mode, [Dash]ing towards that delicious smell.
Everyone was startled by this, but the maid was quick on her feet, catching the salivating little animal.
The horse placed the plate with the meat some ways away and said.
"For each right answer, you will get a piece of meat."
*Rumble*
Aiko's stomach rumbled from hunger and her eyes were trained on the meat.
"Meat for equation of 6*9" Char snorted, not believing she would be able to guess it. Oh, how wrong he was.
Aiko might be a bit slower than before, but such a basic equation was no problem for her. She immediately dashed to the 54th card and settled there. Startling everyone, especially the 2 brothers. Their sister had shining eyes and while she felt some repulsion towards the little Fox (Mostly because her meat was stolen from her), she was now curious about how much that little one could do.
Buddy gave her a piece of meat while Char was stunned in place. 'Even... Even a dumb Animal is smarter than my children…'
Buddy saw his friend's soul leaving his body and laughed. 'What did I tell you.' With a smirk, he fed the little creature.
Char boiled from his friend's gestures and vowed that the next question would be much harder!
As for Aiko...
[EXP gained.][EXP gained.][Level up!][EXP gained.][EXP gained.][EXP gained.][Level up!]...
She had the time of her life, easily increasing her Level.
Char wanted to say the next equation, but was stopped by his daughter. She was enjoying watching the little creature munch with a blissful expression. 'It was normal meat, yet it felt like she was eating treasure...'
Aiko finished the meat within moments and glanced at her Level.
[Level: 5 (1st Evolution)]
'Holy!'
He grinned from ear to ear, waiting for the next card to jump on.
"6+9*9+3" Char said slowly, but when he finished the little creature was already sitting on the 90th card.
His soul left his body again as the creature happily munched on another piece of meat.
...
Aiko was so into the game that he no longer checked his Level, but he had to since a very sharp system notification disturbed him from eating.
[You can Evolve!][Level: 11 (1st Evolution)][If you reach Level 20 you will be able to pick from [Common] Rarity.]
He was stunned.
'So if I reach higher levels, I will get better Evolutions?'
[That is correct.]
The system finally responded back after a long time.
'Is anything after that?' He asked curiously.
[Indeed.]
The system replied positively, nicely surprising Aiko.
He licked his lips, vowing that he will finish all the meat and get the best Evolution!
...
Char was completely left without a soul. The little creature defeated his sons each and every time. He couldn't bear it, he couldn't believe it. 'It's impossible that my sons are that dumb!'
("Oi you lot! Predict her movement and win! You are bringing me too much shame!") He told them through telepathic communication.
("Yes, father!") They couldn't question their own father, since it was true that they had an awful time with this little Fox.
Next game they prepared their senses and when they saw her jump they predicted where she would land and clapped the card with their hands. As such, Aiko landed on their hands. Naturally she didn't mind since she was still levelling up. She was already Level 16!
Buddy chuckled. "Little one, if you can manage to beat them in correctness and speed, I will give you 2 pieces of meat."
He could see Aiko's head immediately snap to him with wide eyes, salivating. She dropped some saliva on their hands and they frowned, but didn't move their hands, since it seemed like Buddy really liked her, not to mention their sister. If the little Fox got hurt now... they might not survive their next training session.
Aiko nodded happily, laughing in her mind. 'HEHEHEHE, all your meat is mine!'
She wiped her drool and positioned himself on the starting line. She couldn't beat them in speed, since it seemed like they already knew where she was going. That wouldn't stop him! She purchased [Jump] from the Skill store and waited for the next equation.
Char told them and they immediately trained their eyes on her. They would easily predict her movement and their father would no longer be unhappy...
Aiko used [Jump] jumping high for her small body, surprising everyone. The Brothers already started to calculate her destination with some difficulty, but still were able to slap the card with a smirk.
Char pinched his nose bridge and their sister laughed. They couldn't understand why, when...
Aiko suddenly twisted her body slightly, affecting her trajectory. She landed next to their hands on a different number than them. She turned to them with a smirk.
Their sister laughed so hard she was holding her belly. She didn't believe that her brothers fell for it so easily and that a creature in the Animal Beast Rank was able to outsmart someone in the Magical Beast Rank!
"Here you go." He placed 2 meat in front of Aiko, but was stopped by her paw.
Aiko had a paw in the air, gesturing more.
"More? But you already got 2 meat for being faster than they were." Buddy narrowed his eyes.
Aiko tried to gesture. 'But I made them fail! Reward me, reward me!'
She was explaining while happily swishing her tail, smugly grinning.
It took her a good 20 minutes to finally explain her thoughts, but she succeeded.
"You want me to reward you for failing them?" He asked curiously. The brother glared at her, but she ignored it, since Buddy was on her side.
Aiko nodded with glee and Buddy laughed. "Very well! Here are 5 pieces, but no more!" He was entertained by the two brothers, looking so miserable. Their sister laughed in glee, liking this little creature more and more.
She ate the food happily and waited for another equation.
...
He lost twice, mostly because those two brothers weren't completely dumb and waited for the last second before claiming their cards. Like that, he was getting only one piece of meat.
He begrudgingly ate the meat, while thinking about the shop. He had time while eating and browsed the shop, trying to find anything of value and that he did. Not only he found an interesting skill, it would also help him with his day to day 'problems'. The [Prehensile Tail].
[Prehensile Tail][You can move your tail like it's your own hand! Higher Levels will also allow you to use different #### Techniques and some skills through them!]
It cost him a whole 5 points! But he had already reached Level 17, he had a whole 20 Skill points to his name! He could spare a few to get more Levels!
He bought it and tried it a few times while eating. After getting used to it and feeling ready, he gulped the rest of the meat down and got into position.
Char told them the equation and she jumped again. The brothers strained their eyes on her calculating her landing positions and waited to slap the card right before her.