"And there it is. Strodens, capital of Rebe. Isn't it beautiful?"

I look down at the valley in front of me, within which is a city. There are no walls around it, but that's understandable, really; after all, the amount of materials and manpower it would take to wall off a city that big would be hard to imagine. The massive city stretches on into the distance, nearly as far as the eye can see. It easily dwarfs all of the cities we've been to so far, combined.

"Well then, shall we?" Poisonclaw, the roguish bandit, gestures to the road ahead.

"Of course." replies Mama.

For some reason, after Mama beat him up, Poisonclaw caught up to us and asked if he could be our guide so that we might "forgive his transgressions". Before we could even reply, he insisted that entering the city should be fine for him, since they usually don't issue bounties for petty criminals. Eventually Mama gave in, agreeing that we could use a guide, and I can't say I really have any objections.

I continue to admire the view as we descend the gentle slope towards the city.

Even at a decent pace, it still takes the rest of the day to reach the city. Though, that can be partially attributed to Poisonclaw, who had to take several brakes along the way. Apparently he's only barely in Qi Awakening, so he gets tired out pretty easily. By the time we finally enter the city, all of the inns are closed.

"Don't worry," states Poisonclaw with a hint of pride, "we're cultivators. I'm sure the inns will make an exception for us."

Mama Bloodcat shakes her head, "No, I do not wish to inconvenience them. We will sleep outside of the city tonight."

He looks at her like she's crazy, "We're cultivators, it's fine. They won't mind."

Mama looks at him like he's the one that's crazy, "What difference does us being cultivators make?"

"Well, because we're strong."

"And how would our strength help us? Are we to threaten them?"

"No, it's because people respect strength! They'll want to accommodate us."

"That is to say we will inconvenience them. We will sleep outside."

Poisonclaw looks disbelievingly at Mama Bloodcat.

"Are all cultivators that arrogant?" I ask.

"I do not know. I hope that is not the case."

Poisonclaw perks his head up, "Huh? What did you say?"

Mama shakes her head, "I was not talking to you."

"I'm telling you, it wasn't my idea!"

A voice abruptly wakes me from my sleep.

"Then whose was it?"

"Who... you say. Well, it's a funny story, really. You see..."

A guard is confronting Poisonclaw, questioning him. I look beside me at where Mama is lying, and although her eyes are open, she's staying perfectly still. It's almost like she feels guilty about something, her eyebrows inching closer and closer together as the conversation goes on.

Finally, she stands up, "It was I who had the idea. I did not know that sleeping outside of the city was not allowed."

The guard looks over at Mama and opens his mouth, but no words come out. He stares silently at her for several seconds, and then jerkily turns his head towards me.

Finally, he snaps out of his stupor, "You... are free to go."

He then turns around and starts walking towards the city, soon increasing his pace to a sprint.

"Ah, do you think he recognized us? He probably recognized us."

Mama nods her head, "Probably. We must be cautious."

"What?"

"I was not talking to you."

"Oh, sorry."

"Do not apologize."

I snicker to myself as Poisonclaw stares blankly at Mama. He soon after regains his composure, but still doesn't seem to know what to do with himself.

"Shall we enter the city?" offers Mama, a suggestion that he gladly accepts.

And so begins our city tour. He first takes us to several different inns, his criteria of which seems to be their food. He then leads to a market area and shows us weapon shops, armor shops, even clothing shops. He tactfully implies that Mama should buy a few sets of 'normal' clothes, but she doesn't seem to understand and simply states that her clothes work perfectly fine.

After that, we visit a few tourist attractions, one of which is a restaurant staffed only by Qi Awakening cultivators or higher. Apparently it's pretty expensive, but you get to be 'served by cultivators'. I'm not sure I understand the appeal; are cultivators like celebrities or something? Or maybe being waited on by strong people appeals to their egos, I don't really know.

"And here is the mission board. It's run and regulated by the Life Sect, which practically owns this city. The mission board pretty much has the dirty work that they don't want their disciples doing, though some missions are personally posted by members of the sect. Even dirty work pays pretty well, though, if you're strong." he glances at Mama Bloodcat.

Mama starts looking through the papers posted on the board. After a couple seconds of looking, she suddenly grabs one of the papers and stuffs it inside her pocket in a single quick motion.

'Did she already find an interesting one?'

"Mama! Could you lift me up? I wanna see!"

She giggles and lifts me up. As I read through them, a single mission in the top left corner of the board stands out from the rest. It seems someone named Trista Riddith is coordinating a 'dungeon clear'. The only requirement is being in the Qi Manipulation realm, and the reward is 800 'spirit stones'.

"Mama, do you know what spirit stones are?"

Mama shakes her head, "Poisonclaw, do you know what spirit stones are?"

"Of course I do." he states, but after seeing our questioning gazes, he asks hesitantly, "Wait, do you not?"

We both shake our heads.

"Well, let me see... they contain qi, so they can be used to help cultivate, but that's mostly useful for Qi Awakening cultivators like us." he smirks. "Their main use is that of a currency. Most cultivators prefer to buy and sell in spirit stones, to the point that some even detest using mortal currencies."

"What are 'mortal currencies'?"

"You know, like quotes."

"Are 800 spirit stones a lot?" I ask, after which Mama repeats the question to Poisonclaw.

"800 is a lot! I might be able to reach Qi Manipulation with that many."

"Then, should we do that one?" I ask, pointing at the dungeon clear mission.

Mama starts reading, but not long after asks me what 'dungeon' means. Before I can explain my theories, though, Poisonclaw starts passionately describing them in a rather practiced manner.

"Dungeons are the lifeblood of cultivators. Nobody knows who made them, but from what I know, there are dungeons scattered all across the world. And while no two dungeons are the same, they all have something in common; treasure! Without dungeons, we would be ages behind where we are right now. They provide us with cultivation manuals, magical techniques, martial arts; even most of the magical items you see are from dungeons!"

I nod my head, "Right, so that pyramid was almost definitely a dungeon."

"That seems to be the case. Yes, let us do that one, but we must be cautious of the dungeon, and more so of the people. It seems many cultivators are not trustworthy."

I nod my head and look at Poisonclaw, who has a funny look on his face.

"Were you not talking to me again?" he asks.

"I was not. Would you please lead us to the location on that paper?" she points at the dungeon clear mission.

As Poisonclaw begins reading, his eyes start to get wider.

"But this is for Qi Manipulation cultivators, aren't you in Qi Awakening?"

Mama thinks for a few seconds, and then nods her head.

He frowns, as a confused look creeps over his face. Suddenly, as if a light bulb just flipped on in his head, he drags his slowly widening eyes towards me.

"Then, it's...?" he points at me.

Mama nods her head, "Yes, she is in mid Qi Manipulation."

'Ah, did she just sell me out? Somehow, I feel sold out...'

His already wide eyes get wider, as he backs up a few steps. After a few awkward seconds of silence, he straightens himself back up and coughs lightly.

"Wow, I uh... didn't know. Just... follow me, I'll lead you to your destination." he says, as he starts walking away mechanically.

As he walks ahead of us, even though I know he can't hear me, I subconsciously whisper, "Mama, I've been wondering this for a while, but why does everyone think that you're a Qi Awakening cultivator?"

She shakes her head, "I do not know."

"Kinda weird if you ask me. Maybe they're all just idiots."

"Lyna, be nice."

"Ah, sorry."

Poisonclaw leads us to a large, nice looking building in an otherwise rundown and mostly uninhabited area.

"I'll wait outside for you." or so he says, but from the looks of it, he's probably going to ditch us as soon as he's alone.

"You may leave, thank you for guiding us."

He looks instantly relieved as he sighs, "Thank you very much. Er, I mean, you know... goodbye."

I wave to the retreating Poisonclaw, though I don't think he notices me. I really can't get used to this feeling of people being afraid of me. It just feels so wrong. I hope I can get stronger quickly, so that I'll be able to turn human.

I briskly shake my head in order to wake myself from my pity party, as I think out loud, "Does he know who we are, too?"

"I do not think so, he seemed afraid of only you. He must have been traumatized."

"Haha, that's possible I guess."

Soon he turns a corner and walks behind a building, leaving our sight. After waiting a couple more seconds, Mama picks me up and walks into the building.

As we pass through the double doors, I start wondering who exactly this Trista Riddith is. The outside of the building looks nice, but the inside looks a thousand times nicer. I feel like I just walked into a billionaire's mansion!

"You must be here because of the dungeon clearing notice. The Miss should be discussing the mission with the rest of the applicants right now; I will inform her of your arrival, if you wish."

Mama smiles, "Yes, please."

The butler nods his head and walks up some stairs to the second floor. Although his words sound pleasing to the ears, he has a certain arrogance that seems to permeate his entire being; it's like even while speaking politely, he was looking down on us.

"Man, these people really must be rich. Even their butler acts rich."

Mama shakes her head, "You must be mistaken. After we got these," she points to the loop around her neck, "you said you felt rich, yet you did not act that way."

"No, what I mean is-" before I can finish my sentence, I'm interrupted.

"The Miss will see you now."

Mama follows the butler up the stairs, through a hallway, and finally through another set of double doors.

"Is this going to keep happening?"

Through the doors is a room with a single circular table in it, surrounded by ten chairs. Currently eight of them are occupied, and one of the occupants, a young looking man in fancy clothes, releases a snide remark as soon as we walk in.

"Shut up Mucky, more help is always appreciated." the woman sitting in the chair farthest from us immediately reprimands him, causing a hushed laugh to break out.

"I said to stop calling me that! My name is Stephan Riddith, can't you at least call me that in public, sis?"

I feel an immediate connection to this poor Mucky sap. I can understand the feeling of having a silly nickname.

"I can, if you act in a manner befitting a Riddith." The woman then looks at Mama, "My name is Trista Riddith, the person hiring you. You are...?"

The woman named Trista Riddith looks pretty average, but one thing in particular stands out about her. That is, she has green hair. Her brother has similarly green hair, as well.

"I am Bloodcat." Mama replies seriously.

Trista nods her head, and as she turns her attention to me, her eyes go wide; but she doesn't look afraid. Instead, she releases a bright smile and points at me.

"Is that a holy fox? I've never seen one in person before!"

Mama shakes her head, "I do not know what species she is."

Trista quickly composes herself, "So she is a girl? What is her name?"

"Her name is Lyna."

"Where did you find her? Were there more? Oh, and when-"

Mama interrupts, "She was in the forest, and she was alone. Why do you ask?"

Trista sighs, "I have always wanted a holy fox. All of the books I have read tell of how kind and gentle they are. Apparently they try to avoid any form of confrontation, and would rather run away from a fight if possible. But when they do decide to fight, they are said to be very strong! Their main downside is that they can't talk, which is a shame, but supposedly they make extremely good pets nonetheless."

Mama looks at her funny, "Hate fighting? I do not think she is a holy fox."

"No, I am pretty sure she is. I do not know of any other magical beast that looks like that."

Mama redirects her funny look towards me.

I shrug, "I can't help it if I like fighting."

Suddenly a middle aged woman stands up and points at Mama, "Are we just going to ignore the fact that she's only in Qi Awakening?"