The Sword Saint Also Has A Succubus Class

Vale took the cloak offered by the blonde woman, sparing one more quick look at her.

She was around Vale's own age, twenty at a guess, though much shorter than her, with a smaller, petite build. She was dressed in practical clothing, sturdy boots and a large hat to cover the sun with, and a loose comfortable dress beneath her cloak—the cloak she'd pulled off to give to Vale, baring her shoulders.

She was pretty. Short and cute, with small but still appreciable breasts and a thin waist with wide hips. Her face was the real gem though, with a cute nose and bright green eyes. Her cheeks were flaming red, but Vale could hardly fault her for that considering she'd bumped into a naked girl in the wilderness.

She was so pretty, though, enough that Vale had to stop herself from staring. Then again, Vale was kind of awestruck by any young woman she bumped into, since most of her recent life had been spent on a mountain top perpetually training her mastery of the sword. But even by objective standards, Vale was certain this woman was gorgeous.

"Thank you," she said, wrapping the cloak around her waist. It was too small to wear to cover herself normally; not only was the woman small, and Vale tall, but it wasn't a full cloak to begin with, just something lightweight to throw on.

The two-handed movement as she situated the cloak left her breasts on display, but there wasn't much avoiding that, and at least she was covering up the important bits. She faced away to hide her breasts, at a minimum. With a final tug, she secured the cloak around her waist, and she instantly felt less mortified.

"Nothing to thank me for," the blonde woman said. "I've gotta ask, though. I've had some weird days, but ending up naked in the middle of the forest? How did that happen?"

"Um," Vale said. "It's a long story."

"I bet." She hesitated. "Sorry, but, you're an animara, right?"

All at once, Vale grew wary, though she probably shouldn't have. Nothing about the woman's behavior thus far suggested a… negative perception… of her animal traits. Still, she'd been burned before.

"Yes," Vale said.

"I've heard of your folk," the woman said. "But you're a long way from home, then, aren't you?"

Vale relaxed. "Yes, I very much am." She had to look over her shoulder to speak to the woman, as to keep her chest concealed. She also had a hand over them, but that was a temporary solution: she would need to pick up a weapon again.

"I'm Suzi, by the way," the blonde woman said. "And, uh, sorry for barging in?" She laughed. Obviously, there was no expectation of privacy out in the forest.

"Vale," she returned. She shifted in place, her cheeks still hot. "It's a good thing I bumped into you, actually. I've been wandering around. I'm… quite lost."

It had been a productive wandering around, at least. The monsters had grown more common, perhaps because the direction she'd chosen had led into a more dangerous portion of the forest. She'd made a number of discoveries in that time.

First: Killing monsters was a way to 'level up.' She'd actually hit second level on her Sword Saint class, though she wasn't sure what that had done for her, since it hadn't given a skill. Presumably, it made her generally stronger, like a denser spiritual core would? If so, it was a subtle effect: she couldn't tell if she moved swifter or struck harder. Then again, she was still adjusting to the massive reductions that came with losing her previous spiritual core density. A slight increase would be hard to notice since her mental calibration was all off.

Second: There might be monsters out here, but they were slow and weak and predictable. She was in no danger. She'd even started to play with them, simply to get a better feel for the creatures. Also to stretch her limbs and accustom to her diminished strength.

And third: she was lost, as she'd told Suzi. The gravity of being alone in the woods hadn't hit her at first. A niggling fear had dug into her stomach over time, though, anxiety that warned her that she might be wandering around for ages. Who knew how far the nearest civilization was?

That worry had thankfully been solved by Suzi's appearance. A human implied a nearby town.

"Well, that's good, then," Suzi replied brightly, and while the good attitude seemed genuine, she was also clearly covering up her blush and trying to act normal. "I won't pry, if you don't want to tell me what's going on. You need help finding your way back?"

"To civilization of any sort, yes," Vale said. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not. What kind of girl would I be, to leave you alone?" Despite the instant effusive reply, the short petite girl hesitated after a second. "But, um, I'm out here with a purpose, actually. A time-sensitive one… so I'm not sure if I can take you right back."

"Don't let me be an imposition," Vale said instantly. "Can I help, somehow?" That would make her feel better, returning the favor.

Vale wasn't sure why her words caused Suzi's blush to deepen, but it did. Vale suddenly became aware of herself again, not that she'd really forgotten about her nakedness. At least she had a cloak wrapped around her waist now.

And, oh dear, her cock was pressing against this other woman's clothing. She'd have to clean it for her. For something that shouldn't feel erotic, her sensitive sword tickling against the coarse fabric was… oddly very much so. She clamped down on that emotion as completely as she could.

How shameful was it, to be aroused by the fact that her cock was simply touching a cute stranger's clothing?

Extremely. She blamed it on the newness of this thing.

"I wouldn't want to take up your time," Suzi said. "You sure?"

Take up her time? That was ridiculous; she would be leading Vale back to town afterward. It would be the least Vale could do to help with her mission in return.

"Please," Vale said earnestly. "I insist. Let me help."

Why did this woman's face keep going redder?

"You can fight, I suppose," Suzi murmured. "I would feel safer."

Vale hadn't even considered it from that angle, somehow. The monsters were trivial threats to her, of course, but not everyone spent the better part of their adolescence swinging a sword until their arms were numb.

"You're in danger," she said in realization. "Then I'll definitely accompany you. I won't hear otherwise." She declared it with all the certainty her Master might have.

Seriously. How was it possible Suzi's face could go another shade redder yet? Now she was probably beating Vale's blush, even.

Was she being too forward, somehow, breaking some social norm? It was just common decency to stay by a companion's side to protect them, should they feel unsafe. Not worth remark in the slightest. So why did this girl seem so flustered?

Vale had probably said something wrong. She chided herself for that; it was hardly the first time.

"T-Thanks, then!" Suzi said, her voice higher pitched than it had been a minute earlier. "I would, I would—yeah, that's so nice of you." She cleared her throat and visibly steadied herself. She spoke normally afterward, or more normally at least. "You're Bestowed," she said. "Can I ask what level, or do you not want to say?"

"Bestowed?" Vale asked, cocking her head sideways, wolf ears twitching in curiosity—her tail and ears were hard to control compared to the rest of her. They gave her emotions away even when she didn't want them to, unless she paid close attention. A problem most animara faced.

"Bestowed," Suzi said. "You… have a class, yeah?" She seemed confused that Vale hadn't known what she had meant.

So that was what Bestowed meant. Now that she thought about it, the message earlier had said she'd 'been given a bestowal.'

There was an implication in Suzi's words that not everyone had a class. Perhaps it was rare. Only a minority had been able to cultivate and harden their spiritual core, too. Power was a path not open to the masses: it required conviction, or insight, or some elusive trait of birth. Perhaps a mixture of many things.

"Yes," Vale said. "I'm level two." In her [Sword Saint] class, at least. She wasn't going to mention her [Succubus] class.

"Two? Really?"

"Is that strange?"

"For how incredible you were, yeah." Suzi twitched, as if she'd blurted out the words a little too quickly and honestly. Then she seemed to think better of it and doubled down: "No, really, you can fight like that at level two? Did you get your class late or something? Like recently?"

"Recently? Yes," Vale said.

Was hitting level two in a few hours uncommon, or was it average? It wasn't like it'd been difficult putting down a handful of monsters. She didn't have enough context behind what all of this meant.

"I've been training for much longer though," Vale offered in explanation.

"Duh," Suzi said. "I've never seen someone move the way you do. And I saw the Black Scythe at an official tournament a few years back."

"Thank you?" Vale said, though she wasn't sure what the second part meant.

When she was younger, she used to insist she wasn't very good when receiving such comments, but Master Northstar had taught her how to take compliments with grace. She still found it awkward. She would rather people didn't remark on her abilities. Her path was hers alone, not meant to be shared with others, even just by perception. It was probably an odd viewpoint, a part of her acknowledged. And it wasn't really her Path. She just… liked privacy.

Shy, was the word she didn't want to use. She was a bit shy when it came to her talents.

"What are you doing out here," Vale asked, to brush past it, "that's so urgent?"

"Oh. I was looking for a mushroom."

"A mushroom?"

"Magical one. Brown cap with blue dots, white stalk," she said, with the sort of lyrical cadence that suggested she'd repeated it in her head quite a lot of times. "It's for the [Apothecary]. She thinks she can make something to—to help a sick person."

The word Apothecary had an emphasis on it, and Vale knew intuitively Suzi meant someone with a class. A Bestowed? That was the terminology they used.

"A noble task, then," Vale said, nodding her approval. "Lead the way. I'll keep you safe. On my honor."

Again, Vale really didn't understand why such normal words were making the other woman blush. Had the many years she'd spent in stasis changed what people expected other people to say?

If so, the rest of the conversation had been normal. Well, normal by Vale's unsocialized viewpoint.

In fact, she was surprised that there had been less odd things about the woman: she dressed more or less how she would expect a random village girl to dress, she spoke in such a way too, and while Suzi had used some terms related to classes that were new, of course those types of terminology were to be expected; classes hadn't existed before Vale's stasis.

Had the world and its people not changed as much as she'd feared? She doubted that. Then again, it seemed safe to assume there hadn't been radical shifts either. Not so much so that the average person seemed foreign to her.

Shouldn't language have evolved, at a minimum? Had Vale's patron goddess granted her a few hidden benefits to navigate the world after her possibly millennia-long slumber, like an up-to-date natural interpretation of how local languages had changed?

Interesting curiosities, but not very practical, and Vale was a practical woman, so she set the thoughts aside.

Especially since, after a red-faced nod, Suzi turned to begin leading them forward, and Vale fell in step to her side, sharpened stick in hand, eyes raking their surroundings for threats. She'd promised she would keep Suzi safe, and when Vale gave her word, she kept it.

"So," Suzi said. "I told you I wouldn't pry, but—can I at least ask where you're from?"