Chapter 696 - 696: Void Stalker
“Now just what’s going on with you…” I muttered, half-laughing as I tried—and failed—to stop the excitable dog-girl from thoroughly smothering me in her overwhelming affection. Of course, I didn’t truly try to pry her off of me. I’m not a cruel bastard.
She pulled back and looked at me with an intense gaze. “Blossom has been feeling very bad about her lacking senses!” she declared, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. “Lady Vex, Lady Yoruha, and others have managed to sneak up on Blossom, making her feel useless as Master’s supposed scout!”
Her tail lowered, and her ears twitched in clear dissatisfaction before her expression lit up again. “But! Rosie upgraded Blossom’s senses!”
I glanced toward my daughter, who floated nearby with the most smug, proud little grin imaginable. Before I could comment, Blossom pounced on her, wrapping Rosie up in a tight, adoring hug.
“Blossom loves Rosie!” she nuzzled into the little tree spirit, her cheeks pressing against Rosie’s tiny face.
Rosie, of course, giggled in delight. Then, an idea struck her, and she beamed. “Let’s play tag! Blossom Mommy is it!”
Without waiting for an answer, she took off, soaring through the air with a squeal of joy.
Blossom’s entire body flickered, merging briefly with the shadows beneath her feet. In a single breath, she surged forward, easily catching up to Rosie—but then, she suddenly slowed, with her expression twisting into a playfully exaggerated pout.
“Awww, no fair!” she whined, stomping on the ground with pretend frustration. “Rosie is too fast for Blossom!”
The shadows themselves were bending under her will, allowing her to move with terrifying ease. And yet, every time she got close, her fingers nearly grazing Rosie’s tiny form… she missed on purpose.
“Ahhh, so close!” Blossom gasped, feigning exhaustion with her tongue lolling from her mouth in an exaggerated dog-like pant.
Rosie burst into laughter over and over again, giggling so hard she nearly lost control of her flight. The sound was pure and bright, painting the image of the joy of a child in her element.
Blossom’s tail wagged wildly behind her, her eyes sparkling with warmth as she continued the chase, allowing Rosie to bask in her victory just a little longer.
I used this chance to check just what was going on with my adorable dogkin lover.
[Class: Phantom Canine → Void Stalker]
[Void Stalker – Shadowborn Predator, Silent Reaper]
[A hunter of the unseen, a phantom among phantoms—the Void Stalker is an assassin who transcends the physical plane, existing between reality and the abyss. By manipulating the fabric of shadows and void alike, they weave through existence unseen, striking before their prey ever senses their presence.]
[Their dogkin senses have evolved to an unparalleled degree, allowing them to detect even the most elusive of foes. Not even the deadliest assassin or the most cunning trickster can hide from the senses of the Void Stalker should they be alert.]
[Unlike ordinary assassins who merely conceal themselves, a Void Stalker becomes one with the void itself by distorting space, phasing between shadows, and striking from angles that defy logic. They move in eerie, unpredictable patterns, blinking, distorting, and unraveling into nothingness before reforming elsewhere.]
Holy moly, my sexy dog girl had become one ultra assassin all of a sudden.
I didn’t dare hope Rosie’s flowers would have such a resounding impact on my ladies.
There was one truly strange thing about these new classes, however: they didn’t have a rarity. Both the Merchant and Phantom Canine classes were of the Rare-rarity. Their upgraded versions, however, simply lacked any classification. They didn’t upgrade into Epic-rarity but instead lost the line that said [Rarity: Rare] beforehand.
I thought that this phenomenon happened because Rosie herself was a unique entity, a one-of-a-kind being. She was a normal Geim up until today, and although her species is extremely rare, it was still a normal species. Yoruha had a Geim in her garden as well, after all. But after coming into contact with my [Blessed Seed], a unique ability that only I had in the entire universe, Rosie was transformed into a one-of-a-kind little dryad/tree spirit girl.
But then there was Kitsara’s Nine-Tailed Sorceress class, which also lacked a rarity, and that was not a result of coming into contact with me. However, this class of hers acted differently from other classes in that each tail grown would make the holder stronger, unlocking more spells or upgrading previous ones. It was believed that those with one tail were only as strong as combatants with Rare-rarity classes, while Yoruha likely went beyond the Epic-rarity after unlocking the full potential of the class.
Anyhow.
More and more ladies were opening their eyelids, so I had no more time to theorize in piece.
“My Lord!” Kaelira’s sudden, excited shout sounded, making me curious about what on earth could make this composed tomboy react so energetically. “I can craft items worthy of you now!”
“Amazing, Kaelira,” I said while checking her class out. It was called Runeweaver Titan, allowing both her artificer and tanking capabilities to reach the next level. The Runeweaver portion made me especially excited.
According to Vex, the woman who made her into an inked baddy had the Runebinder class. Kaelira’s class seemed to be similar to that, hopefully letting her crafts have runes embedded into them.
Aurora unlocked Essenceweaver, allowing her to weave the raw energies of the world into powerful enchantments.
Lucille graduated from her Berserker class and became a Bloodmonger, one who spreads carnage through bloodshed.
Lyra became a Juggernaut, heightening her already amazing tanking capabilities.
Two of Kaelira’s teammates stood out to me in particular, Shallan and Liora, the ex-slaves of the Mithril-ranked failure called Kai. The former was an Anemomancer who now sported the Tempest Empress class, while the latter was a Healer just like Seraphiel. Liora became Dawn’s Sanctum, which basically made her into an upgraded Healer-Enchanter hybrid, allowing both rejuvenation and other buffs to be cast.
I was extremely proud of all my girls and other allies. The last three to awaken were Seraphiel, Ayame, and Iris.
It was my blonde lover who parted her eyelids first out of the trio of snoozers. A giant grin adorned her gorgeous features as she winked at me slyly. “Perhaps calling me your ‘bombshell of an elven healer’ is no longer applicable, Quinnie… I’ll settle for being your bombshell of an elven DPS healer. Maybe it’ll be me who fights the big bosses from now on while you get relegated to mob-clearing duties.”
“Hoho… I can’t wait to see you in action. But dearest Seraphiel, only my mothers have the right to call me Quinnie. You better watch yourself.” My pretend threat was met with a cute, playful yelp.
“I see I’m late to the party,” Ayame said groggily before jumping to her feet with uncharacteristic agility even for her.
Skysplitter… This ambitious woman of mine unlocked one hell of an OP class. She was extremely proud of it, too, judging by her big smile and content eyes. She was visibly busy reading over its details using her systemic interface.
Humans couldn’t materialize their interface like I could, but just following her eye movements told me everything I needed to know.
*Thud!*
A sudden thud sounded as someone enveloped me from behind.