Soul Knight - Chapter 31 - Kaya (Patreon)

The din of battle filled Kaya’s ears, as her heart and body essence beat like a drum. Spinning as she swung her axe, her essence filled her body and empowered her bestial strength further.

Cutting into the giant boar, she continued her spin as she activated [Leap] and jumped powerfully to the side, a second boar’s charge almost piercing into her with its tusks.

Arrows struck the boar next to her as she danced past warriors piercing into the weakened boars with polearms.

Her strength flagging, Kaya backed off from the battle lines, finding her sister. She gave Eirwen a feral smile as she spotted her, approaching her for another pick-me-up.

“Revitalize!”

Energy from Eirwen flowed into Kaya’s body, her body filled with energy–feeling like she could run a few more miles.

She was about to run back into the fray, when her sister’s hand didn’t let go of her. Just a week ago, Kaya would have been concerned about accidentally swiping at her sister, but now, she truly felt like she had her bestial transformation under control, and just looked at her other sister inquisitively.

Eirwen smiled. “Just rest another minute? The wolflings are in more need of the combat experience and essence, and I think this wave is wrapping up. I’m so glad that, one way or another, this should be the final wave.”

Kaya let her beast transformation fall away, holstered her axes, and sat to cultivate her earned essence. Eirwen continued firing her crossbow, but occasionally gathered mana and cast a minor healing spell on those that were pulled away from the fighting.

Eirwen’s hoofed feet now carried her rapidly around, her loping strides allowing her to move quickly in a straight line. As Kaya watched her sister, she couldn’t help but be amazed. Just a couple of weeks ago, she was bedridden. Eirwen was sick nearly all the time, and while she was always optimistic, a touch of sadness and guilt had always shadowed her presence.

But now Eirwen was so full of life, her body actually becoming fit from eating well and consuming mass-quantities of essence. When they returned to Havendale, Eirwen would already be the belle of the ball, as Nick put it.

Eirwen was really starting to shine and find her place, and Kaya was really noticing how Nick had truly brightened both of their lives.

A weight was lifting off her chest, the guilt and shame of her failure being washed away. Nick may have been the one to heal Eirwen, but Kaya had remained loyal and protected her sister for all that time, enabling that to happen.

Eirwen held gratitude for Kaya, and it wasn’t just lip service. Kaya could feel the love and thankfulness for what she had done, and none of the blame.

Lothar and Agatha continued to lead the many orcs, the warriors working on the boars that kept charging out of the portal. The battle lines shifted to triangle formations, the orcs with polearms supporting their brethren using shields.

Eirwen had told Kaya to rest, but had run around the camp healing and continued to participate in the battle. Kaya looked at her sister in question when she returned, and Eirwen chuckled.

“I need lots of practice too! I’ve improved my skills a lot, but I’ve got a long way to go to keep up with you and hubby! So, what do you think? Will he win the bet?”

A blush came over Kaya’s features, as she huffed and folded her arms. “He’d better! He has to beat Lothar tomorrow, or we might really all be doomed!”

“Is that all? I thought it would be because you wanted to go on that date,” Eirwen teased.

Kaya paused. “I do… It’s just, living until we get out of here is…more important to me, right now.”

“Of course, and then there are the children and others at stake! But I do think you motivated hubby a little bit there, so you might have increased his chances.”

Kaya did her best to catch her breath. “It was just a silly idea. I wanted to… force myself to move on. Going out with me is…not that big of a prize.”

Eirwen smiled at her knowingly. “Compared to lives on the line, of course not. Him wanting you and wanting to help those in need are different motivations. Don’t think he doesn’t desire you, I can see how he looks at you–you have a lot to offer! You’ve been really coming into your own, and even if your class isn’t a beast warrior yet, you are definitely one in spirit!”

Kaya smiled, a bit of pride warming her chest. She knew she wasn’t far from becoming a true beast warrior, just like her mother.

She had now already dueled half of the orc warriors in the camp, and she could best nearly all of them. Nick had continued training her in their dreams every other night, and practicing his own methods.

The wave of boars eventually completed with the portal closing, and the many orcs began to clean up the beast’s remains, and the warriors cultivated their earned essence.

The wolflings cheered in victory, clapping and woo’ing out loud. The orcs all laughed and joined them in their clapping, giving the furry creatures happy pats and head scratches. The orcs enjoyed the smaller creature’s positive attitudes, and their diligence and drive.

From what Kaya could tell, they truly wanted to become more. Their alpha wished for them to become strong from his perception of strength, which certainly included more than just brute strength. And they wished to meet his expectations.

Having learned from Eirwen and the orcs, the many wolflings then swarmed to join the orcs in their dismantling efforts. Using their sharp claws like knives, they carved the hide off the flesh, the creatures barking and yipping as they worked together.

Eirwen and Kaya joined them with a smile, the many hands making for lighter work. The three unpaired females rejoined Kaya and Eirwen in their shadowing, barking and yipping in happiness and pride.

Kaya couldn’t tell what they were saying, but she got the gist of things from their gestures and the sounds of their barks. Animatedly they crouched and postured using their spears, regaling some of the fighting, proud of their efforts in fighting as a pack.

The three girls had smiles on their canine faces, their tails wagging.

Eirwen laughed at their antics. “They’re so cute! They’re getting so big now, they’re almost past your shoulder now, sis. I wonder what they’ll be like when they evolve?”

Kaya snorted at the reminder. Nick had no idea these wolflings, at least in appearance, could shift to become hardly different from beastfolk when they reached the second stratum. In the end, it depended on how they developed.

They could evolve to become just larger and fiercer wolf people, or they could become more like humans and beastfolk. Often, both would be capable of speech, the wolf people often taking much longer, though.

Kaya wondered, “Do you think we should name them? Before Nick does. He might be all,” she cleared her throat, her voice taking on a deeper tone, imitating Nick’s voice as she pointed at them, “they’re my wolfling butlers! Jeeves, Jerald, and Jarvis!”

She continued in her normal voice, “We’d better come up with something else, before it’s too late.”

Eirwen giggled. “You’re right. At least these three, anyway. Though, they likely already have names, just not in common tongue.”

Before they could think on it much further, the wolflings all froze, before turning to the tower and barking, and yipping.

Kaya looked toward the tower, finding that Nick was marching out with a proud smile on his face. Her heart warmed as he looked at her, his desire clear in his expression. He was walking straight toward Kaya, and while he nodded at Eirwen, it was like he only had eyes for her at this moment.

He came close, and was about to say something, but the three wolfling girls barked and charged at him, bowling him over with happy licks and yips from the side.

“Ah, shit! Cut it out! You totally killed the mood.”

He shoved them away, chuckling. “Those girls sure are sneaky. Hey, that’s right. You girls don’t have names, do you?”

Kaya and Eirwen’s eyes widened in shock as their bodies stiffened, but the three girls barked and yipped.

“Oh, you do? What’s your names?”

Kaya and Eirwen looked at each other incredulously, as the three girls each barked and yipped in response, pointing and gesturing at each other while they did. It seemed they were showing their body’s features.

Nick had a thoughtful look as he nodded, his expression serious as he pointed at each of them in turn. “I think I see it. You have a patch of fur by your eye that looks almost like a moon, so you’re Luna. You’ve got a tooth that sticks out when you grin, so you’re Fang. Lastly, your fur is blacker and darker than the rest aside from your white face, so you’re Sable. Those are some pretty names, I like those.”

Luna, Fang, and Sable each clapped, nodding and howling in response, their tails wagging.

Kaya looked at him with doubt. “They said that was their names? And you understood them? I thought you just…got the gist of it.”

Nick shrugged. “It worked out, didn’t it? What, you got better ideas for their names? I suppose I could just name them–”

Eirwen interrupted, “N-No, I think those are wonderful names! They are actually very fitting…even outside their body’s features.”

“Huh. Well anyway, check it out.”

Nick drew the blade from his waist, raising it above his head. His essence stirred, and Kaya watched with rapt attention. Some of the crowd paid attention to Nick as well, but the rest immediately turned to look when he suddenly shouted.

A wind originated from him, something primal stirring inside her from his shout. A shiver ran up Kaya’s spine, her breath taken away.

The wolflings howled in reverence, and his essence then thickened, the energy climbing to coat his blade–the mark of an expert.

There were a few skills that could accomplish similar, but it was not quite the same thing. This was his own skill in molding the essence, of blending the proper amount of mana and body essence to form a powerful enhancement that even the best skills could not fully replicate on their own.

Kaya’s feral energy could produce a similar yet lesser result, and it was not even through her own efforts. As always, becoming more skilled with body essence as she controlled her feral nature would make her more powerful.

The orcs clapped and woo’d along with the wolflings, happy to join them in their little ritual, with many chuckling and smiling at the creatures. Lothar and Agatha looked on from afar, nodding with satisfied looks in their expressions. They both wanted Nick to win, earnestly doing what they could to help make him ready for their fight.

Eirwen clapped alongside Kaya, the two’s smiles beaming. Becoming an expert at body essence enhancement in the first stratum was a significant accomplishment, one that only true elites ever did.

It was a requirement to become an expert at a weapon proficiency–most of the time. That Nick could hit Expert in Archaen Swordsmanship was a strange thing.

Nick sheathed his sword, and gave Kaya and Eirwen a charming smile.

“Know what that means? You and I are going on a date, Kaya, and I’m gonna whup that orc’s ass!”

Kaya snorted. “At the same time? That’s going to be a weird date.”

Nick shrugged. “If ya want. Won’t you beastfolk girls like that?”

Eirwen giggled, as she started fixing Nick’s disturbed clothing, and using her Revitalize on him.

Kaya hadn’t noticed it before, too focused on his approach, but his clothing was a bit beat up. There was a big welt on his chest where his clothing tore, showing his muscled body. It looked like he had gotten even stronger.

Kaya blushed, as he saw her interest in his body. “M-Maybe. But I think I’d rather go some place like you and Winny did.”

Nick gave her another smile, as he came close. “Well, I definitely want to make sure you have a good time, Kaya. You really helped me out in that tower, you know.”

“I-I did?”

“Yup. Realized how much I wanted you, and that was what shifted something. We’ll talk about it later. I’ve got some essence to absorb, and I think I’ll make level eight. What about you, Winny? Kaya?”

Eirwen beamed. “I’ve got enough to reach level seven! And these wolfling girls are catching up fast! They are probably nearly level six.”

Kaya did her best to feel her core, closing her eyes. She thought the next layer was nearly completed. “I’m about to hit eight, too. I think other than the bosses, none of the essence will be thick enough to really move forward, after that. Unless we go kill some drakes.”

Nick shook his head. “I don’t think another level will make enough difference, the enemy is likely strengthening itself just the same as us. I’ll need to beat Lothar, then we move out.”

Eirwen looked over the many carcasses being worked through. “Let me wrap things up here, then we’ll go have dinner? I wanna hear how the tower went! I wish I could go inside with you.”

Nick smiled at her, hugging Eirwen into him and kissing her on the cheek. “Let’s do dinner. I wish you could come with me too, I could use my cute sheep with me in the tower. I’d like to see how you’d do in there too, Kaya.”

Eirwen left to help with the dismantling, Eirwen triggering Loot on several of the boars. The essence split among those participating, all of it avoiding Nick as he sat down to absorb his essence he gained from the Warrior’s Ordeal.

Kaya sat next to him, continuing to absorb her gains, as Eirwen sent more using her skill. “The beetle was strong, but its carapace eventually cracked. It was too slow to be much of a threat.”

“That’s just because you’re a badass, though. A lot of them orcs have trouble with it unless they’re a mace wielder, and are just higher level. At least, that’s what Andross said.”

She blushed. “How can you say I’m badass? You’re so much stronger.”

He wrapped his strong arm around her hip, pulling her close to his body. “I already told you. How strong I am doesn’t take away from how awesome you are. Don’t think I didn’t see you already beat half them orcs. Those are warriors, trained most of their lives–and you won.”

She laid her head on Nick’s shoulder, and she noticed her tail had already wrapped around his waist. Taking in his scent, she couldn’t help but feel her body had long since made its choice about Nick being her mate.

From the beginning, she couldn’t help but gravitate toward him, her body aching for his touch. She had tested this during the bath in the Safe Area, and found that she had all the signs that her feral nature was already connected to him.

She had been stubborn, afraid of getting herself emotionally attached and hurt again. But now, she knew Nick was a good man, just like her father was.

Remembering her father and mother that were lost, she was filled with sadness. She didn’t have a cure for her melancholy, but she had an easy treatment. She grabbed Nick’s hand, and placed it atop her head.

He began scratching her ears, just how she liked. A warmth spread in her chest, as he mindlessly scratched and ran his hand through her fur. It seemed he didn’t really notice he was even doing it, his eyes closed in cultivation.

After a time, Eirwen returned with Luna, Fang, and Sable in tow, the three carrying some meat ready to be cooked wrapped in pelts.

Eirwen smiled, looking down on Kaya and Nick’s position. “Let’s go eat, and get some rest? Big day tomorrow.”

Nick cleared his throat, then looked at his hand on Kaya’s head. “Oh, huh. Yeah, let’s go. I only got a bit left, I think I’m so close.”

They returned to their temporary home, the inn. It was not a huge place, but the wolflings were happy to share beds and rooms, leaving Eirwen, Kaya, and Nick with their own room. It had two beds, but a couple of nights ago, they had pushed them together.

The three of them now slept together, though Eirwen and Nick were often…having a little fun in the bath before bed, it appeared.

Finishing their dinner, they once again settled to continue absorbing their essence. Eirwen read the wolflings some children’s stories as she did, while Nick and Kaya once again sat together and cultivated together on a sofa by the fireplace in the lobby.

She hit level eight, which granted her a passive skill that increased her movement speed when dodging slightly. Essence would sometimes shift as she would dodge, enabling her to safely dodge an attack she might not have otherwise.

But then she saw it. Her Beast Warrior class had unlocked.

She stood up abruptly, nearly knocking Nick over. “We did it! I can become a beast warrior now!”

Eirwen beamed. “That’s awesome, Kaya!”

The wolflings cheered and woo’d, clapping for Kaya. They understood she was excited about something, and wanted to join her in her excitement.

Nick chuckled. “That’s great! You’re a beast warrior now? Or wait, you had to like, spend some time to switch or something, right?”

Kaya froze. She realized that they likely didn’t have enough time for her to switch her class up.  It would take a solid day to do, and much of her essence would be lost, reducing her overall level.

“It looks like I don’t have enough time right now, but it’s fine. After the Trial…”

Eirwen nodded. “I think it’s a bad idea to switch classes right now, if you’re going to be involved in the fight tomorrow. What about you, Nick? Did you hit the eighth level?”

Nick nodded. “I got it! I didn’t get anything, but I unlocked what I needed from the previous level. I’m as ready as I can be, for the fight tomorrow.”

The three got settled to bed after winding down, Kaya joining Eirwen and Nick.

Eirwen said, “Ready for your dream date? I’m a little stronger now, so I wanna try something special. I want you two to have a great time!”

Nick looked thoughtful. “The beach was pretty cool though, and I thought that was pretty special. I’m sure I’ll enjoy my time with Kaya either way.”

Kaya was excited about their first date. She had told herself she would let the past go if Nick had won, that it would be a sign for her to move on.

Nick had already been destroying the walls she had built up. Now, she could fully enjoy the view that was her new life–together with her sister and best friend, and likely, the man that would become her mate.