"You're not from Suna?" Nian said.

"No, I'm from Earth." The light was soon setting, washing the world in cold orange. Just over the far horizon were two mountain ranges meeting to a pincer where the sun was peeking through.

"Was there a world going by that name?" Nian turned to Ruan. The group was all settled above the giant wolf Amigo, settling to a round circle with a flickering lantern at the center.

"I don't think so." Ruan then turned to Youmu. "Have you heard of it?"

Youmu simply shook her head. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere, watching the compass on her hand.

"Come on, are you sure this world of yours exists?" Nian said, taking a fur blanket from her bag and drooping it over her. Now that the night sky started to rise along with the moon and stars, it started to get freezing real fast.

"Yes, I'm sure." Mat moved closer to Nian, begging to share in the warmth of the blanket. Above the group flying was the ghost eagle, circling the sky like a flying scout. "I've been living there for the past eighteen years."

"You're eighteen years old?"

"What's surprising about that?" Mat wrapped the blanket around him, sitting side by side with Nian as they both shared the same warmth of the blanket. "How old are you anyways?"

"I'm forty."

Mat blinked once then twice.

"You're kidding."

"It's true."

Mat then turned to Ruan, a baffled expression drawn on his face. "Ruan, what about you?"

"Me?" Ruan grimaced. It was rude of him to ask for their age and all, but his curiosity got the better of him. "I'm forty-two."

Mat let out a silent 'what?' before turning to Youmu. Last resort.

"Thirty-nine."

Mat was in a state of panic, double-checking their faces with a stare. They all looked more or less the same age as he was. This had to be a joke of some kind, unless these girls really got their hands on some serious fantasy face cream.

"You're as clueless as ever." Nian nudged his shoulder with a hint of a laugh. "Look here."

A red light appeared in front of her. This was her sprite, the same thing that was following beside Mat wherever he went. He didn't know how to control his sprite yet, so he had to make do with his floating around him constantly like a firefly.

[Character Sheet]

Information

Name: Nian

Class: Archer

Mana: Sun

Race: Mink

Rank: Bronze

Stats

Strength: D

Endurance: E+

Agility: D+

Sense: D

Spirit: D-

Magic

Power Shot IV, Arrow Rain III, Deft Hands II

"Wait, why's yours red?" Mat leaned closer.

"That's because I have sun-type mana. Red for suns, blue for moons, and every other color for eclipses." Youmu said before waving Mat off. "Anyways, You were wondering why we look so young."

"Yeah, I'm really confused." That was a lie. Not just confused, Mat was destroyed both mentally and emotionally.

"That's because we're bronze rank- aside from Youmu." Nian pointed to the text in front of her before it faded into thin air. "The stronger you get, the higher your lifespan grows and the closer your body is to its potential perfection. At bronze, I think we have thrice your current lifespan."

That was a bombshell Nian just dropped on Mat. A longer life and eternal youth- this fantasy world really was something else. That just motivated him to work harder, and by a lot.

The girls then turned their heads towards the distance. Their ears were standing to attention as if something was roaming on the far empty grasslands. Mat turned to look, but there really was nothing going on out there, with the tall grasses as still as they ever were.

The ghost eagle then descended from above, leaving a trail of green light in the air before landing and latching onto Mat's arm. It flapped its wings before letting out a squawk. Something was going on.

"Ruan." Youmu said.

"Yeah." Ruan stood up before undressing herself, letting the cloth slide right off her body.

Why is she stripping? Mat was dumbfounded. If this right here wasn't culture shock, he didn't know what was. Is it really too much to ask to at least give me some warning?

Mat wasn't complaining though. Ruan had the same skin tone, but her wiry body accentuated the beauty of it more so than his ever could, fitting so perfectly with her mature figure and cat-like gait.

Ruan then unfurled her hair, letting it all fall behind her back. As she did, both the length of her hair and her tail grew longer and longer as they then glowed a blinding purple light, her dark body now in contrast to the violet burning sun behind her.

"Why is Ruan naked and why is her hair on fire?" Mat said, all the while staring in awe at the absurdity of it all.

"Just watch, it's gonna be fun." Nian said, pointing to the empty grasslands below.

"What's there to-" Ruan pushed herself off the top of the giant wolf Amigo, sending herself whizzing through the air like a bullet. She then dropped to the ground with a resounding tremor, with dust swirls following after.

A hyena was pinned beneath her feet, squashed to a bloody mess.

A pack of them then appeared out of thin air around her, snarling and growling and barking like mad dogs. They were huge, double the size of normal hyenas with the claws and teeth to match.

"Where'd they come from?"

"Silver hyenas." Nian said, bringing a finger to her chin. "They're stealthy animals, having the ability to blend into their surroundings. I'd pet one if they weren't so angry all the time."

Ruan then pounced to another hyena, holding its head to a grip before crushing it with bare strength. The other hyenas took the fight, pouncing to her one after another.

Ruan threw the dead hyena she held to another one midair, sending both tumbling on the grass. She then flipped back, swerving two hyenas from the sides before she grabbed another by the ruff and sent it smashing into the ground with the momentum of her flip. It was a death dance, her long burning tail and hair accentuating her fluid movements.

There were two left. The first ran to her at speed, though with one single fist Ruan drove the hyena into the ground. The other pounced above, but with a birl and turn, Ruan knocked the hyena midair with a high leg, sending it tumbling into the distance with a thud and skitter.

That was the last one.

Ruan gave away a bloody smile before jumping back aboard, her legs and arms and face marred in sweat and blood and all the gore left behind from the short fight. She slipped her clothes back on as her hair and tail turned back to normal, the violet flare fading into nothing.

Mat found himself staring. At that point he still didn't realize it, but his standard for women just got a whole lot higher.

He then turned back to where the hyenas were sprawled around the grasslands, with blood, guts, and everything inbetween marring the yellow grassfield red. Green floating orbs then rose from the corpses of the animals, and with an outstretched hand, he called forth flowing rivers of light towards his palm. He then tried to move the light into his other hand to materialize the souls, but he wasn't able to. He couldn't make a bridge connection.

"What's going on?" Mat turned to his sprite floating beside him.

[Guide]

Number of minions capped at 2 by spirit stat. Increase spirit stat to increase number of minions.

"That's a bummer." Mat sighed then just opted to absorb the souls into his body. Atleast his absorption skill seemed to have no limit.

"I guess now's the time more than ever to start taking things seriously." Mat clenched both his hands as his gaze met with Ruan's. "Luck can only really take me so far."