Vayu excitedly looked at his status window and besides the demonic earth bear, a new name had appeared "Wrath Snake". His heartbeat fastened and without hesitation, he tapped the name, eager to see the skills it offered—but to his surprise nothing happened, he tapped it again and still nothing. Panic crept in his eyes as he pressed it repeatedly, his fingers trembling, yet the window remained unresponsive. Only then did he notice something strange—the name Wrath Snake was slightly dimmer than the other two entries. Frowning, Vayu attempted to shapeshift into the snake and a small red screen immediately flashed before his eyes.
⛔ Cannot Transform
Reason: Level Insufficiency
Current Level: 1
Vayu froze he didn't fully understand the system yet, but one thing was clear—he was not able to use the Wrath Snake's power. Clenching his teeth, he dismissed the window and tried to shapeshift into the bear instead.
Another red screen appeared.
⛔ Transformation Failed
Reason: Insufficient Demonic Energy
That was the breaking point as Vayu roared in frustration, his voice echoing through the underground space. Although he had gained beast blood but even after risking his life he could not use the spoils. Then he looked at the golden screen and was about to grab it, but stopped thinking it was his bad day and dropped the idea. Right now, what Vayu needed most was information. Leaving his hideout, he headed toward the tavern he had eaten at earlier. Before entering the streets, he transformed into his fox-man form and blended perfectly. Outwardly, he walked with confidence, but inside, every nerve in his body was on high alert. One careless move could expose him, and if that happened, he would be killed without hesitation. Compared to the shapeshifters, he was nothing more than an ant.
Today, his goal wasn't food. It was knowledge about demonic crystal. For that, he had formed a plan—one that relied on the two basic abilities of the Kitsune clan. Vayu leaned casually against a tree near the tavern, his posture relaxed, eyes half-lidded. But in reality, he was scanning everything around him. The Kitsune's Charm worked only on the opposite gender, so he waited patiently for a lone female shapeshifter to arrive. As someone traveling alone would be much easier to manipulate. But time dragged on, for nearly two hours, not a single shapeshifter passed by alone, as most shapeshifters moved in groups. As the sky began to darken, more figures emerged from the forest paths. They were hunters, returning from their expeditions. It was then something caught his attention.
A group of three shapeshifters approached—two men and one woman. Both the men were bull shapeshifters, towering and broad, one, with massive horns, had a deep gash across his shoulder, his arm barely hanging in place and his bone was completely visible. The other bore several savage slashes, dried blood streaking down his chest. The girl walking with them was like a rabbit shapeshifter—small, alert, and but she was completely uninjured. As they passed him, one of the bull-men spoke through clenched teeth "Ruru, you go to the Hunter Guild and sell the demonic crystals and we will get ourselves healed". The moment Vayu heard those words, the dullness in his eyes vanished, replaced by excitement.
Demonic crystals.
Without a moment's hesitation, he pushed himself off the tree and quietly followed the trio, disappearing into the flow of the crowd. After escorting the injured bull-men to get themselves patched up, the girl stayed with them until they reached the hospital. Vayu did not follow them. Instead, he turned toward the Hunter Guild and slipped inside, choosing a quiet corner where he could observe the entrance from a distance and started waiting for the girl.
Not long after, a familiar figure entered his field of vision—a girl with large brown rabbit ears, her name was Ruru.
Rabbit shapeshifters rarely went on hunts as most lacked the raw strength required to face demonic beasts, and they preferred safer work within the city. But Ruru had no such luxury, her family's conditions were poor, and survival had forced her onto the hunting paths. Today's hunt had been nothing like the others, while returning from the forest, their group had suddenly been surrounded by chaos. A group of hyenas, that had never appeared in this region before—had emerged without warning. When they tried to retreat and take another route, they encountered a massive herd of boars charging blindly through the forest. Animals were fleeing from all directions as if something had terrified them beyond reason. This phenomena was caused by the battle between the baby bear and the wrath snake, the shockwaves from the fight rippled through the forest, driving every smaller creature into panic. Ruru's group was forced into repeated battles, the group fought again and again as the two bull brothers placed themselves at the front, shielding Ruru with their own bodies. They fought until they were nearly killed, blood soaking into the earth, before finally managing to escape.
But the chaos had one unexpected result. The number of demonic beasts crystals they earned this time was enormous. Standing in the shadows of the Hunter Guild, Vayu watched Ruru approach, his eyes narrowing slightly. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for as Ruru reached the entrance of the Hunter Guild, Vayu rose from his seat and began walking out, perfectly timing his steps with hers. The moment she lifted her foot to step inside, he collided with her.
"Ah—!"
Her foot was still in the air. Her body wobbled as she lost her balance, but suddenly her body stopped mid-motion, regaining her balance with surprising grace. However, the leather bag hanging at her side slipped free and hit the ground. Demonic crystals spilled everywhere.
"I'm really sorry," Vayu said immediately.
"It's fine," she replied, shaking her head.
Before she could can anything more, Vayu bent down and began gathering the scattered crystals.
"Let me help you" he said calmly, Ruru too quickly squatted down as well, collecting the crystals alongside him. As his fingers moved, Vayu activated Charm and Illusion simultaneously. In her eyes, his presence changed, his movements became gentle, his expression became more sincere, showing the image of a courteous, harmless gentleman settled naturally into her mind. While collecting the crystals, Vayu smoothly slipped one into his pocket. Once everything was back inside the bag, he stood and bowed slightly.
"Sorry again" and left without looking back, turning the corner, Vayu shifted into his human form and peeked back and to his surprise, Ruru was still outside. Her ears twitched and her gaze swept the surroundings, sharp and alert—searching. As if confirming whether the fox-man had truly left or was still watching her. Vayu, now in his human form, looked completely unfamiliar to her. After waiting a little longer, she finally relaxed and entered the guild. Vayu smiled faintly.
"So she's cautious, Good " he thought
He had no intention of stopping there. Moments later when his mana recharged, he transformed again and stepped out from the shadows, positioning himself near the entrance. Soon, Ruru emerged and
Bam! he collided with her again.
"S—ss—hey!" she exclaimed "It's you again?" she said while rubbing her forehead, her eyes widened slightly, suspicion flickering through them.
"I was looking for you," Vayu said.
"Why?" she asked cautiously.
"To give you this."
He pulled out a dark violet demonic crystal.
"I dropped my ring earlier, so I came back to search for it" he continued smoothly " and I found this instead. I thought it might be yours" Once more, Charm and Illusion washed over her senses. The more time the skills were used on someone, the more effect they produced. A warm smile appeared on the rabbit girl's face as she thought he really was a kind hearted gentleman, the last traces of doubt vanished and she gently said
"Thank you."
She accepted the crystal and slipped it into her pocket.
As she turned to leave, Vayu spoke again.
"Have you eaten?"
She paused, looking at him with mild confusion.
"No…"
"Well" Vayu smiled lightly, "I had bumped with u twice today, let me at least treat you to a meal" as the charm and illusion kept working after showing some hesitation… Ruru nodded.