Ch. 250: Goldpaw Tiger Cub

Pain.

His hand hurt.

His arm hurt.

The pain spread to his shoulder, then knotted into a tight clot in his chest.

Mo Fei tried to move his fingers, but they didn't feel like his own. It took a long while before he could curl them even slightly.

It was pitch dark all around. His nose was full of the smell of stone dust, and a few cracks in the rock let in a faint glimmer.

A speck of silver-white light hung beside his head.

The Armament Sprite had turned back into the tiny, armor-plated figure. Expressionless, it floated in midair, perfectly still.

The image of the sword light sweeping across the monster, its three small heads frozen mid-motion, surfaced again.

He lay there, unwilling to think about anything.

"...Alchemist!"

A muffled voice was calling him from beyond the rubble.

"Alchemist! If you can hear me, say something!"

It was Phoebe. Her usual drawl was gone, and each shout came more urgent than the last.

"I-I can hear you..." The moment he opened his mouth, his throat was full of grit.

The other side went quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was tight. "Hold on. You'd better hold on!"

Mo Fei tried to push himself up, but his arm gave out and he slumped back onto the rubble.

A sharp smell stung his nose, making his sinuses ache.

Mo Fei turned his head. From a crack in the rock beside him, a trail of liquid seeped out and ran down the stone face, leaving thin white bubbles hissing wherever it passed.

This smell... it's Aqua Fortis! Why is there Aqua Fortis here?

The trail grew wider, pooling into a small puddle among the rubble beside him, creeping toward him bit by bit.

I have to get out... System Transmutation, anything, as long as it can clear a path!

He called up the panel. Only 0.98 EP was left.

...With this little EP, I can't even afford Safe Mode.

The sharp smell grew stronger again. Mo Fei gritted his teeth and shuffled backward, but something in his pocket dug into his side.

He reached in and pulled out two pieces of metal, one of which gave off a faint golden glow.

Mo Fei froze, then remembered: when Barney had come to his door, he'd shoved the freshly refined Adamantine and Softgold into his pocket and rushed out.

The hissing was getting closer again, and his thoughts began to race.

Aqua Fortis can't dissolve Adamantine, and Softgold doesn't fear corrosion either... A Phial Spirit transmuted from them might be able to hold it off.

Mo Fei grabbed a pointed rock from beside him and, by the light of the Armament Sprite's silver glow, scratched an array into the rock face nearby.

His hand was torn raw and shaking badly. The lines came out crooked in several places, and he had to correct them again and again.

When he finally finished, Mo Fei took the Artificial Ether Seed out of his Storage Space.

At the same time, he noticed the fourth-tier core still sitting in there.

Prototype No. 1 gained the "Cutting" ability when it swallowed one before. Maybe putting it in will help too. Even if it can't fight Aqua Fortis head-on, it might cut through the rubble and get us out.

He took out the core and set it in the center of the array, placing the Adamantine and Softgold on either side, with the Artificial Ether Seed on top of the core.

Once he channeled Artificial Ether, the etched lines lit up one after another.

Light churned within the array. The outlines of the core, the Adamantine and the Softgold slowly melted and blended together until they could no longer be told apart.

Before the contents could settle into shape, he held his wound over the center of the array and squeezed hard. A single drop of blood fell in.

Hum—

The light surged to fill the cramped space, then withdrew in rings.

[Transmutation successful.]
[Congratulations: Phial Spirit "Goldpaw Tiger Cub" (Tier 1 · Juvenile) acquired.]
[Phial Spirit Ability: Soften & Stomp. Cannot be used on living beings.]
[Note: No matter what's in front of it, it wants to give it a stomp.]

[Ding— Congratulations, Host, on completing General Quest: New Member.]
[Quest reward obtained: Artificial Ether Seed x 1.]

In the center of the array, a tiny something stirred, propped itself up on four stubby legs, and stood.

Orange fur with dark stripes, a round little head. It let out a thin little cry at him.

Mo Fei stopped breathing.

"You..."

The little thing opened its mouth and yawned, showing a mouthful of tiny fangs.
It gave its head a shake, and the pair of round ears on top shook with it. The four paws planted on the ground were huge, out of proportion with its stubby legs.

"No, this is a Phial Spirit I just created. It's a tiger cub..."

The Goldpaw Tiger Cub opened its eyes, nose twitching as it sniffed, and scrunched up its face.

It turned toward that sharp smell and, on stubby legs, hopped over.

"Wait!"

Mo Fei reached out to scoop it up and caught nothing.

The Goldpaw Tiger Cub stepped into the puddle. The Aqua Fortis washed over its paws without raising a single bubble; all it did was make the cub sneeze.

It walked to the crack where the Aqua Fortis was seeping out and raised a front paw to press against the rock beside it. The rock went soft as a lump of dough.
Bit by bit, it pushed the softened stone into the crack to plug the opening.

Then it propped itself up, pressed both front paws onto the crack, and began to stomp, left, right, taking turns.

Again and again, the stone it had pushed in grew hard under its paws until the crack was sealed tight and the Aqua Fortis no longer seeped through.

"So this is... Soften & Stomp."

Mo Fei watched the orange figure and its two relentlessly stomping front paws.

That day in the alley, the little orange cat lying on his lap had been kneading just like this, left, right, taking turns.

"I promised... that once the Adamantine was done, I'd take you all back to the workshop..."

Mo Fei pressed the back of his hand against his eyes, but the tears came anyway.
His shoulders began to shake. A sob forced its way out of his throat, and then he couldn't stop at all.

Another muffled boom came from the rubble overhead.

On the other side, a new crack split the rock, and Aqua Fortis trickled down through it.

The Goldpaw Tiger Cub lifted its paws from the crack, shook its head, and walked toward the new one. A pat, a push, propping itself up, left, right, taking turns.

No sooner had it sealed that one than the first crack began to seep again. It turned back and stomped it all over again.

Again and again. The more times it had stomped a spot, the longer the spot held.
But no sooner was one crack mended than another sprang open. Its steps grew slower and slower, until its front paws gave way and its whole body toppled onto the stones. It panted a few breaths, then got up and went on stomping.

Mo Fei wiped his face and, bracing against the rock wall, dragged himself over beside it.

The Goldpaw Tiger Cub didn't look up. It just kept stomping, one beat after another.

Crack— crack—

A tremor ran through the ceiling.

The rock slab pressing down overhead shifted slightly, and the light seeping through the cracks grew brighter and brighter.
Then someone dug an opening through the rubble from outside.

Light flooded in all at once.

Mo Fei raised a hand to his side, and the silver-white figure dropped into his palm, folding over itself into a rectangular silver-white metal case.

"Grab on!" Phoebe's voice came through, and a hand reached in.

Mo Fei scooped the utterly exhausted Goldpaw Tiger Cub into his arms, grabbed the hand with his other one, and was hauled out of the rubble in one pull.

He squinted, and it took a good while before he could make out the person in front of him.

It was Phoebe, black mist churning at her side.