The Bounty Hunter Chapter 12: A New Magic

August 18th, 2088

Its been nearly 2 months since the Pri Minister bounty and since then Ive been spending the ti lazily in the other world. The money I got from that bounty was the most I ever received for one job, 50 gold coins (400,000 dollars). That was more than enough to justify a vacation. I only work for the money and I only spend money on supplies, magic materials and bribing the city guard to protect Kiras neighborhood.

The rest of it is saved up to give to Kira when she becos an adult. I want to make sure she has enough to live a comfortable life without worry. I wont be around forever; I plan to never return here after I make sure Kira is set. As of now the plan is to wait until she finds a suitable mate so she wont be alone after I leave. I wont accept anyone though, my little sister is special after all and only soone special is worthy of her.

Would I be considered a sis-con? Most likely. Anyways, I have enjoyed these days of peace and quiet. Surprisingly, in addition to spending ti with Kira I have also been spending ti with Veronica. Before we parted ways after arriving back from Malkith, she shyly asked if she could see again. Well, to the unobservant onlooker, Veronica simply said in an icy tone This mission showed I need practice. Co back and train with later. But as fellow ice royalty, I could read between the lines.

I saw her ears were quivering, which ant she was anxious about my response. An elfs ears, just like a beast-kins tail, always signal their honest emotions. The strange thing Ive noticed though, is that no one else in this world seems to have realized that. I responded with a simple Ok and although her expression was unchanged, I saw her ears perk up. This ant she was excited. And so I started visiting her regularly. We would spar or go hunting monsters. Sotis we would simply pass the ti quietly sitting together.

This was done in secret, since the Fell household would definitely disapprove. For so reason I cant explain, I just felt content being with her. I know I probably should cut off my ties with her since it will definitely lead to sothing troubleso, but I cant help it. I know very well what its like to have the emptiness that she had when we first t, and now that I see her eyes so lively I cant just abandon her. Not to ntion that its refreshing to spend ti with soone else like . I felt no pressure to maintain a conversation nor deal with overly-emotional nonsense.

Back ho things were also going well, my parents both managed to get extended ti off for once and so we went on vacation to the US. My parents are often gone due to their work, but they are the overly doting type when they are around so I have never felt neglected. I also spent ti with Reiji, going to events and just hanging out.

Currently, I am at one of my safe-houses in Obsidia experinting with a new type of magic. Specifically, I am trying to shapeshift. It would be incredibly useful and would also allow to normally walk around the city when I am with Kira. I have already mastered transformation magic, which temporarily and instantly alters your form for as long as you supply mana, but it is too inefficient to use for long periods of ti.

Shapeshifting, on the other hand, would allow to make permanent magical alterations to my body which would then require to shapeshift again to revert back to normal. Its not suitable for combat, but its perfect for long-term transformations. Up until now I have had no luck due to lack of mana, but I decided to try sothing new. I was trying to shapeshift by imagining my DNA being altered to the DNA of the target species, but that approach might be too mana costly because I dont know what the target species DNA is like.

Thus, I have a small sample of fur given to by Kira. I held it in my hand to use as a catalyst and once again focused on shapeshifting. The fur started to shimr as my mana passed through it and I felt a strange sensation envelop . Its difficult to put into words the feeling of have your anatomy rearrange itself. After a very uncomfortable 5 minutes, I finished my change and looked into the mirror I had set up beforehand.

I no longer had my human ears and instead there were two brown cat ears tipped with black on the top of my head and a matching tail that managed to poke out from my pants. It felt weird suddenly gaining extra appendages. My eyes had cat-like slits and I could clearly see in the dimly lit room as if it were bright daylight. My body felt lighter, more flexible and I noticed my nails had beco much more claw-like. My balance had changed slightly due to the tail and I could tell that I would need so ti to fully adjust to this new form.

Afterwards, I left for the 9 Lives Trading Outpost to join them for dinner while still shapeshifted as a cat-kin. It was the first ti I didnt have to cover my ears in years and it was a truly refreshing experience. I entered the dining room where Kira and Grandma Kuma were waiting. They both saw and were shocked. Sorry I was late, I was trying out a new spell. What do you think? I smiled mischievously as I saw their reactions.

Grandma Kuma was the first to recover Thats rather impressive, but the explanation will have to wait until after dinner. I nodded and sat down, although I had to avoid Kiras attempts to play with my tail the entire ti I was there. Eventually I had to leave and I was told that they would be gone for a few days on a trading expedition to a nearby town. I waved good-bye to them and saw Kira smiling happily. Those feelings of guilt that have plagued for years have finally started to fade and I was actually starting to have positive thoughts about the future. But of course this rotten world always finds a way to screw things up.