Chapter 46 - The Crimson Iris

'E-enough with the teleporting already!' The little kitten groaned as she recovered from her dizziness.

"Kekeke. Don't worry, this is the last one... If you don't count the one to kick you out of the Thunder Mountain Trials." The Guardian Spirit giggled.

'Oh... Great.' The little kitten rolled her eyes and sighed helplessly.

"Now then, puny cat. This here is a small collection of Gold Rarity Dull treasures that are fit for your use. I have more than this, but these items are the most suited to you." The Guardian Spirit explained.

It was at this point that the little kitten finally took the time to survey her new surroundings. They were now in a rather large room. This room was rather historical looking with large stone bricks making up the foundation of the walls, with a few vines intertwining the layers of the bricks. In the centre of the room were various stone pillars that protruded from of the floor and reached around chest height on a grown human. They seemed to hold certain items that the little kitten couldn't really see from her disadvantaged height. In total, there appeared to be around 30 of these pillars.

'Hey! I can't see the items!' The little kitten complained, a pout forming on her feline features.

'Keh!' The Guardian Spirit chuckled, a smug grin forming on his lips as he seemingly enjoyed her plight.

'Teh, move over!' The little kitten grumbled as she leapt up, landing softly at the front of the Guardian Spirit's hovering seat. Her small body let her fit snugly on it and the Guardian Spirit just shrugged its shoulders, not caring much about it.

'Now then!' The little kitten's eyes seemed to gleam with a twinkle as she turned to face those various items sitting upon those pillars.

In front of her, the little kitten could see that every item seemed to hover peacefully above the pillars, bobbing up and down ever so slightly. She saw various items that all looked incredibly precious.

The first thing she noticed was a close-fitting metallic armour that shun with a noble grace with intricate carvings. This armour seemed fit for a small beast, looking like it would be too big for the little kitten however. The little kitten frowned when she saw this.

Noticing this, the Guardian Spirit could read her thoughts and informed. "All these items are size adjustable, so don't worry about size."

'Okay, that makes sense.' The little kitten replied, the excitement returning to her eyes.

She went back to appraising the other items. She saw a red coloured metallic bangle, a collar with intricate runes running through it and even saw an ear piercing with an azure gem.

"Let me explain the properties behind these items before you make your choice." The Guardian Spirit spoke up at this point, breaking her out of her reverie.

'Okay, shoot away.' The little kitten nodded enthusiastically and the Guardian Spirit began to list out the properties of each item quite patiently, answering any question the little kitten had on any given item at the same time.

★★★

'I'll choose...' The little kitten mumbled in thought as she surveyed all the shining items one more time. She found it hard to only choose one out of all of these amazing items.

For example, she turned to look at a chest piece that grew outwards into a set of metallic wings. This was an item that actually allowed the user to fly!

And at was a pretty fast speed too, definitely a strong aid in battle and travel alike. It was very deserving of its Gold rarity status.

She then turned to face another item that she found hard to leave behind. This item was a medallion that would hang off of a collar or the like. It had a deeply complex series of runes that, once activated, could cast a spell could 'Diamond Shell'. The ultimate life saving defensive spell that the Dull Rank could pull off. It could even be activated three times, with a day recovery rate. It also had a permanent shield, that while weaker than the 'Diamond Shell' spell, was on at all times, ready to activate if it sensed any threat.

However, in the end, the little kitten coveted one item in particular and her eyes couldn't help but gleam in excitement when she returned her sight towards it.

'I'll choose the Crimson Iris!' This was the item she wanted out of the vast range available in front of her. This item was actually a bangle, one which could fit snugly onto her tail. The bangle was a deep crimson colour with a simple but sleek carving of an eye at its forefront.

The Crimson Iris bangle amazingly had three effects. The first effect that the Crimson Iris bangle gifted the user was a resistance to heat and fire; it wasn't a massive amount of resistance in the large scheme of things, but as only one out of three effects, it was a welcomed bonus.

The second effect was the spell, 'Crimson Glaze'. A defensive spell which would activate at the user's command, coating them in a protective barrier that also has the chance to burn the offending party if they had attacked with their physical body. The barrier isn't as strong as 'Diamond Shell', but it wasn't far off either.

Finally, the third and strongest effect was another spell, the 'Scorching Ray' spell! A Major Magical Beast ranked spell that shoots out directly from the Bangle's iris carving. This spell shoots out in a ray of light, burning with the heat of the sun, scorching all in its way. This spell actually has five slots, except it takes a week to recover each use. But as long as she had the spell in reserve, her attacking strength would be incredibly strong with this spell in her repertoire.

"A good choice. This item will do well to save you in times of crises, so hold onto it well." The Guardian Spirit smiled as he made a casual sweep of his right hand. In conjunction with that small movement, the crimson bangle 'Crimson Iris' was swept across the air, precisely fitting itself upon the kitten's tail. It glided down her tail until it was around 1/3 of the tails length before shrinking and latching onto the tail.

'Whoa.' The little kitten couldn't help but twist her head around to admire her new accessory. The crimson red coloured bangle looked rather nice against her silver fur. She could also feel a small warmth emanating from the bangle, spreading throughout her body, pleasantly warming her body.

"Congratulations, puny cat. You are the 39th person to complete your trial. You ready to leave?" The Guardian Spirit asked.

'Yes. My gains have been many, I'm ready to lea-' The little kitten stopped thinking as a look of despair took over her. 'A-actually, c-can we leave off teleporting me out of here... For maybe half-an-hour... No! An hour... No, how about f-'

"Goodbye, feel free to return in two years!" The Guardian Spirit's voice interrupted her as he spoke with a cheeky grin. The Guardian Spirit suddenly clicked its red furry fingers.

'Wu wu...' The little kitten felt like crying as she felt the familiar feeling of being teleported once more...

★★★

The little kitten found herself in the outside world once more after recovering from her sickened state. Looking around, the little kitten noticed several other people outside as well, though not even as half as many as had entered.

'Looks like a lot of people's trials are still on-going...' The little kitten noted.

Thinking this, the little kitten began to survey the surrounding people for any familiar faces. Eventually she only noticed one figure, it was the head of the Wilderwolf soldier's, the one who was always wielding a spear.

"Meow!" The little kitten cutely mewed in greeting as she sauntered up to his side. Coming closer, she saw the man was studying a spear in his hand intently. She also noted that this was a different spear from the one he usually wielded before.

The spear he was currently holding was a deep blue colour with intricate runes running across its body and blade. The guard had violet fur spiking outwards and overall, it looked quite mystical.

"Oh, hey little lass." The Wilderwolf soldier smiled upon noticing the kitten's appearance. "You're the second of us to complete the trial!"

"Meow!" The little kitten pointed her attention to the spear in his hand.

Noticing this, the Wilderwolf soldier smiled brightly as he said. "Ah, this was my reward for completing my trial. Its a Blue Rarity Vibrant Spear! Its a Vibrant weapon, so its a little above my cultivation level so I can't fully utilise its capabilities yet. But when I hopefully reach the Inner Haven Rank, this will be quite a good ally."

"Meow!" The little kitten nodded her little head in agreement.

"Oh, that's new. Is that your reward?" The head of the Wilderwolf soldier asked as his gaze set upon the bangle that clung to her swinging tail, his lips formed into a grin. "Oh, is that... Well, it would seem that you were able to obtain an item of Gold Rarity! The Crimson Iris is an item I have heard of, it's quite powerful. It may only be a Dull weapon, but it is still quite impressive nonetheless."

"Meow!" The little kitten felt like blushing, a boastful glint in her eyes forming.

After this exchange of words, as having a proper conversation would be quite difficult when one of the two parties couldn't even speak, the two turned silent...

'Ah, I really wish I could talk...' The little kitten sighed. In her boredom, the little kitten chose to spend her time working on her cultivation as she awaited the arrival of Jonathan, Uncle Kil and the rest of the Wilderwolf soldiers...