"I can’t believe she just changed her mind like that, what reward would do that?"

Celeste broke the silence as we walked toward town, set out for the guild to get Reika placed into the guild system and to fill out the form marking us as a party. We made plans over breakfast to grab a quest shortly after and test our teamwork. If I was supposed to fend off some kind of demonic threat, we would need to get strong and grow our team.

"It’s a secret..." Looking back at Celeste and smiling. "I’m just lucky she’s easy to please," I slowed my pace so they both could catch up. "I’ve been thinking Celeste... my skill says we share a mana source between us, today after we get our quest we should test that out,"

She thought about my words for a moment before replying. "I’m not so sure how useful that will be... remember my mana is weak, that’s why I favor my bow so much,"

"Thats true..." Letting out a loud sigh I changed my focus onto Reika. "We haven’t even had time to talk about it... what kind of magic do you have, Reika?"

Her tail started wagging as soon as I said her name, without hesitation she stopped, closed her eyes and began to glow bright blue. From behind her two more tails erupted, swaying back and forth in a rhythmic pattern. Mana continued to be pulled toward her as the temperature dropped enough that our breath could be seen.

As I watched in amazement, something in my peripheral caught my attention. The system flashed quickly in my view.

[ DANGER! ]

[ DANGER! ]

[ DANGER! ]

As the warning blinked a large snake burst into our path, noticing us it focused its attention. Coiling its tail and planting it in the ground using it to launch itself forward, fangs bared at Reika. I tried to move to block the attack but the snake narrowly missed me, continuing toward the Kitsune.

Reika opened her eyes and ice shot forward, freezing the snake instantly. Her nails grew long and sharp before she slashed the chunk of ice, it split into several pieces each holding a portion of the beast. Blood leaked out soiling the ground.

"Holy shit! Reika... that was awesome!" I shouted, staring at the chunks of frozen snake that had scattered across the forest floor.

Her extra tails swayed proudly behind her as the glow around her body slowly died out. The cold in the air lingered a little longer before fading. She turned toward me with a big bright smile, clearly pleased with herself.

"Reika uses ice magic," She said brightfully, like she hadn’t just turned a monster into linkin logs. "Was that good Adrian... Can I get my reward now?"

Walking over and patting her on the head softly. "Yes, that was very good," She let out a few soft purr’s as I continued to reward her. "Honestly it was kind of insane... You froze that snake in place... like damn,"

The rest of the trip into town went smoothly, by mid day we had gathered supplies for the manor and decided to stop in and say hello to Tanya at the Inn. I figured she was due an explanation for our disappearance. As we entered the familiar smell of fried foods filled my nose, Tanya waved us over and set out some drinks for us.

All three of us sat and waited for her return, Celeste squirming in her chair afraid Tanya would be upset with her. Reika however was trying to find a way to sit in the chair without her tail getting stuck under her, noticing her struggle I changed her chair out for a barstool without a back allowing her tail to freely sit behind her.

Tanya re-appeared as I was taking my seat, she had brought along three full plates of food, setting one in front of each of us before pouring herself a drink and sitting across from us. She looked at us sharply for a moment and then smiled widely.

"Celeste, where you been the last few days... actually where have the both of you been?" She asked leaning forward, allowing her cleavage to almost spill out. "Ight... spill the beans,"

I explained the best I could over our meal, making sure to exclude that I had formed a bond with the both of them. I introduced our new friend, explaining that we were on our way to officially start a party together. Once we had finished our meal and said our goodbye’s, we set our course for the guild.

"Why am I not surprised the first thing she said was ’no refunds’ haha..." I said as we walked, mentally crying about the money. "Glad we have plenty but she didn’t have to whip me for asking."

"You should have looked behind her, It’s written on a poster... I’m surprised you even asked," Celeste replied, she then raised her hand and pointed straight. "We’re almost there, hurry up,"

Running ahead of us out of excitement, Reika and I looked at each other and grinned, picking our pace up to meet her at the door. She opened it and we entered, the gold glow of the inside lighting the room. The guild was busy this afternoon, multiple teams waited in line for a clerk to assist them. Some teams were huddled around the quest board, searching the guild board for their next job.

Reika began to shake, the busy room making her uncomfortable. I placed my hand on her shoulder and pulled her close, the anxiety loosening its grip enough for her to calm down as we approached the line for new adventurers. The wait wasn’t long, the guild running like a well oiled machine was taking care of each person without fail. As we walked forward a familiar face greeted us and we explained our new friend hadn’t been logged at the guild yet.

"Okay then... uh Reika, if you would please place one of your hands on the glass ball so we can make your guild certificate," The clerk pointed toward the object. "Once you touch it, you’ll see a color that matches your magical attribute and I’ll be able to see your stats."

As Reika’s hand touched the globe, light grew bright blue from the center and continued to grow in intensity. The globe shook violently in its stand, blue mana surging through it faster and faster as frost sealed over the glass. A second later it gave out with a loud crack, exploding into glittering shards and icy mist.

The entire guild went silent.

Reika stared at the ruined globe, then looked back at us with wide eyes. "I think I used too much."