Unexpected Hinderance

Job Name: Unexpected hinderance
Job Rank: B-tier
Job Location: Riem
Job Reward: 15,000 Huang | 200 XP
Job Prerequisites: Meetings of Minds
Job Overview: After reviewing the magic items he will learn of the connection to Magno and
specifically Kornel Klien. However, Zion is interrupted by assassins that are most certainly to be sent by
his adversary.
Enemy Name: Red Spot
Enemy Tier: A-tier
Damage Required to Defeat: A-tier
Description: An assassin clad in black and standing at 1meter tall. They work for an unknown force
that was hired to kill Zion and recover the magic items. They fight without honor and will do anything to
kill their target. They have a pair of .5m swords that deal B tier damage.
Abilities:
Dance of the stream: The assassin’s body goes completely limp allowing them to take no damage up to B
tier as a form of unique blocking.
Dancing Crow: The assassin rushes forward 5 meters before thrusting out one of their blades to deal B
tier damage
Dance of the Blades: The assassin will run straight pass their target twice striking with both of their
sworsdealing B tier damage with each pass.
Encore: They activate a single use magic item that heals them for A tier damage before breaking up into
small pieces

"Are there any others like this one?"

Zion returned the magic tool to Cornelia and turned his head to the other magic tools on the table. She pouted and crossed her arms glaring daggers at Zion for his silence to her previous question. If he wasn't going to answer then neither would she. Zion smirked at her act of defiance and found he couldn't spite her for it. It was very much so something he would have done were the situation reversed.

"Fine. I'll just fine out for myself."

The fox said with a shrug as he walked over to the table and reached out to pick up a bracelet. "No! Stop!" She panicked and moved to block the table but Zion was one step ahead and snatched it off the table just before she could. The magician held it up to the light and examined the circle carefully. "I see, this one also has the same formula for taking magoi without the wielders consent..." The Magic Smith's Hammer in Zion's other hand moved and a Molding Strike allowed him to alter the engravings of its magic circle.

"There, it should be fixed now."

He casually handed the bracelet to Cornelia and then moved on to the next one. She received it somewhat absent mindedly and watched as Zion went on to fix the third tool with another Molding Strike as if it were a simple task. "Where there any others?" Zion asked calmly as he finished and turned to the dumbstruck woman. She gathered herself and placed the bracelet back on the table. "No, that was all of them." She almost sounded disappointed as if all of her fun had been stolen away.

"I'll be off then. Come to Magical Miracles in the market district if you find any others. I'll fix them at no cost."

Leaving that offer the cloaked magician returned the hammed to his waist and prepared to leave. But this time the woman was fast enough to block him and stood in the door way. "Hold it! You can't just...waltz in here, unbreak all my research materials, and then run off! Do you think I want to be up there doing paperwork with the rest of them!?" She seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown and even slammed her fist against the wall. But when she did the stone cracked and gave way slightly leaving behind a small crater.

The violent outburst of power made Zion's eyes jump open. Wasn't this woman just an archeologist? Why did she possess such strength? "Um...I'm sorry?" Zion wasn't sure what else to say but he didn't feel like he had done anything wrong in the first place. "Sorry? Sorry!? You think that's going to save me from the chairman when he finds out I've got no more work left to do down here?" She was even starting to tear up although her face was far more full of anger than it was sorrow.

Cornelia's hands grabbed Zion's robes and lifted him off his feet slightly to shake him back and forth. "This is all your fault! I didn't even get to find out how you fixed them. What am I supposed to write in my report now, huh!? Some guy with tails showed up and smaked them with a hammer? The chairman will think I've been writing my reports drunk again!" Zion felt a headache come on though he couldn't be sure if it was from all the shaking or if it was from how loud the woman's voice had become by this point.

Feeling helpless the magician finally relented, "Alright, alright, I'll help you with your research report. Please let me down." Cornelia had a 180 in bearing and set Zion down to ask in a hopeful voice, "You will!?" The magician gave her a questionable side glance and hesitated but in the end he still nodded. "Wonderful! So what were those tails? And how come that hammer is so quick at fixing them? Could something like that be mass produced incase more defective tools show up on the market?" She wasted no time in asking about all the things on her mind since Zion had arrived.

The fox frowned and shook his head, "One at a time. The first quesion has nothing to do with your research. The second is a trade secret. As for the third...if I were to give this hammer to someone that doesn't understand magic formula then at best they could erase a dangerous magic circle. But you're mistaken about one thing. Those magic tools weren't defective." He stunned Cornelia with his last answer. Using that opportunity he slipped past her and left.

"Wait, wait, what the hell does that mean!?"

The curious researcher chased after Zion unwilling to accept only such tiny hints. Zion was firm in not involving the woman however as he saw this to be a Magnostadt problem to be solved by the hands of a Magnostadt citizen. "It means what I said, don't ask any further." His words were for naught however as she continued to follow him up the stairs. "Oh no you don't, I'm no idiot. If they weren't defective, that means they were made that way on purpose. But who would do such a psychotic thing and why?" Cornelia was going to pursue this to the end and she wasn't about to let Zion dead wall her here.

The cloaked magician stopped and shot her a cheeky smirk, "You're right, you're not stupid if you can figure that much out. But what business is that of an archeologist?" The question gave Cornelia pause, but now it was her turn to smirk, "I happen to be head of a new department. We specialize in recording and detailing modern artifacts so they can be preserved for future generations. Sort of like doing the next generation's archeology for them." She was rather proud of this position as it was one she had advocated for personally.

"Ah, and where is your department team?"

Asked Zion as they reached the top of the stairs. "It's just me for now, no one else wanted to join." She stated shamelessly eliciting a stifled laugh from the fox. Only when she heard his poorly masked chuckle did she blush. "Hmph, those fools just don't understand the value of my work." Zion stopped to and turned to give Cornelia a look. "What?" She asked but then she sensed many more eyes on her than just Zion's. The sound of someone clearing their throat made her turn her head. She had said it in front of the other society members without realizing it as they had already gotten back to the ground floor.

"Heeeeeey guuuuuuuys! This guy happens to make magic tools, so I'm gonna go with him to reference some stuff for my research. Tell the chairman I'll be out, won't you?"

A crowd of deadpan stares met her request. Then then young man named Nokaris shouted loudly. "Chairman! Cornelia is trying to sneak off from work again!" Fear came over Cornelia's face and the sound of a bottle of wine crashing against a wall sounded from the second floor where the chairman's office was. "WHAT!? Cornelia you get back to that dungeon or I'm cutting your budget in half!"

"S-Sorry! Can't hear yooou~ We need to go."

The woman said loudly before whispering to Zion. Why was this his problem? But he was trying to leave anyways so Zion did not fight her from taking his hand and leading him out of the building in a hurry. Her grip on his wrist was so strong he probably couldn't break it without using magic anyways. Zion wondered here the woman gained such strength as she pulled him along onto Reim's streets. "Not that way, to the market. I must return to my workshop." Said Zion as he noticed the sun was starting to set. Cornelia seemed to snap out of her fear induced flight. "Oh, of course. Sorry." She let go of his wrist and instead began to follow as Zion led the way back home.

"You don't seem to fit in at the society. What made you join?"

Cornelia didn't seemed bothered by the prying question and had a forlorn look in her eyes as she replied, "My father always had a thing for history. He has been one of the societies' largest donners for years and groomed me to be a member since the day I could walk. I guess it's just my fate to work there." The acceptance in her voice did not equate to happiness. It made Zion frown. "The circumstances of your family and upbringing might be fate. But where you take your next step towards in the future? That is something you must make for yourself."

The words didn't cause a profound change of mind in Cornelia. But they did give her brain something to chew on and the pair went the rest of the way in silence. Finally the arrived at the workshop and Zion moved to unlock the door. Cornelia followed behind him looking around in shock. "Wow, you sure have a lot of security here. Just what are you hiding in such a small, hidden shop?" It hurt the business owner to hear that his shop was small and inconspicuous. But alas, he could not refute her. Wait a minute.

"Security? I don't have an-"

A volley of darts aimed for Zion suddenly shot over from six different positions forming a semi-circle around him. The attackers were in the alleys and on the rooftops of nearby buildings and had concealed their presence right up until the moment of attack, but Cornelia had still somehow sensed them before they made a move! The warning did little help however as Zion's tails bloomed out to wrap around them, his borg activated on its own only to be shattered by the combined force of the darts leaving two that still had deadly force behind them! One struck Zion's wand as he drew it knocking the Sage's Swordwand out of his hand. The other arrived last and moved right for Zion's heart.

Tails tried to recover and intercept but the blowback from having his borg broken was too strong. These assassins had planned their attack well and timed them perfectly. But they had not expected Cornelia to be here. He hand was like a serpent and with deadly accuracy she snatched the last dart out of the air only an inch away from Zion's chest. Her expression turned sour and Zion could see veins appear on her fist as she crushed the dart in her bare hands. "Oh, so those weren't your friends." She then made the expression of a beast huntress anticipating a hunt.

The woman stepped forward and pulled on a strap at her wrist. The strap wrapped around her hand unraveled and became a sling! She reached into a pouch at her back for a smooth stone and leaped up onto the roof of Zion's workshop laughing to her hearts content. The sudden change in behavior nearly stunned Zion frozen but he didn't have the luxury to think about her. A 1m tall figure clad in black leaped out and attacked Zion with a Dancing Crow.

Without his wand, the magician was once helpless but he was no longer the inexperienced greenhorn he was when he'd first arrived in Reim. A blade of lightning formed in Zion's open hand and he advanced towards the assassin meeting him with a Sinking Swipe to parry the deathblow. The swordsman did not simply stop there however. From the low position his blade suddenly unleashed two Swiping Strikes. But Red Spot was small and fast. A Dance of the Stream allowed him to weave away from the lightning blade's two attacks. But they did force a bit of room between the two and Zion took a couple back steps to bring him closer to his wand.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The sound of heavy crashes sounded throughout the night from Cornelia's battle above. Soon there would be many angry sleepers waking up and coming out to inspect the source of the chaos. Red Spot didn't rush though. He approached Zion again with a calm and cold Dance of the Blade but Zion's sword of lightning had already returned to a low position and was ready for a Rising Swipe which bat the first of the assassin's strikes upwards. Red would never get to make his second pass however as Zion's free left hand closed around a second sword of lightning which cut through the hired killer's leg as he ran past.

Cut down to the bone and shocked by an electric charge, Red Spot's leg gave out under him and he rolled to the floor turning as he did to orient himself facing towards Zion. But that moment of tumbling had cost him too much time. Storm winds summoned up around Zion' and shot him towards the assassin like lightning. The two magic blades in Zion's hand attacked at once. One engaged the his opponent's weapon while the other drove into the center of that small frame. Red Spot died on the Storm Kitsune's bended blades.

A few more booms sounded as Zion finished up but now there was silence. Cornelia jumped down from the rooftops and made a big stretch with her whole body. "Aaaaah, that was SO refreshing! I can't remember the last time I let loose. Looks like you're done here too. Who are these guys?" Zion gave her a somewhat fearful side eye. She didn't have a scratch on her so presumably those booms hadn't been made by the assassins. Just where did this woman get her monster-like strength?

"I don't know either. To be honest...there are a lot of people who could have sent them."

The magician stated in a grim tone as he let go of the lightning swords causing them to fade away. He then picked up his wand and touched it to Red Spot to cast Seeking Seer on him. But the moment he did a sudden surge of magoi appeared on the corpse. A ring on his body had come alive with heat magic and in a flash the body was turned to ash. The ring itself was all that remained but it to then cracked and then crumbled into metal fragments. Zion's frown deepened.

"Well that narrows down who sent them. This is too similar to the incident with Councilman Basilius, Kornel Klien must be involved. I suppose I got carried away by mocking him."

Zion had mostly been speaking to himself but Cornelia heard ever word. "You've met the councilman? Wait, THE Kornel Klien? Even I know that he is Magnostadt's leading producer of magic tools. Half the new tools coming out of the country are all his designs!" The woman's words made Zion scoff angrily. "His designs for magic tools are stolen. But his designs on Reim are uniquely sinister and his alone." He wanted to believe that last part. That Klien was acting on his own and that the academy simply did not know of his sins yet.

---

WC: 1500+/1500

Magoi: 370/420
Stamina: 200/280

Notes:

[spoiler=Traits]Trait Name: Storm Kitsune Physiology
Trait Tier: -
Trait Requirement: Storm Kitsune Race
Trait Description: This magical creature has command over the storms, appearing as a dastardly fox or a beautiful human, these creature deceives and brings ferocious skills to the battlefield.
Trait Effect:

• Must take magician as primary class, gains access to storm magic for free but not it’s comboing types, may register 5 abilities for free.
  
  
• Has the ability to turn into a fox made of lightning, in this form the user may not use any
  abilities but gains access to B-tier abilities damage with it’s electrical touch, able to arc up to 5m away to damage enemies.
  
  
• Can run at A-tier speeds, is allowed to pay 20 magoi to instantly zap to a location once per post appearing as a lightning bolt. Allows flies at A-tier speeds.
  
  
• Has Magician magoi and stamina pools
  

Trait Name: Kitsune Borg Mastery
Trait Tier: A
Trait Requirement: Storm Kitsune | A-tier Magician
Trait Description: Upon becoming a dungeon beast the magician lost the love of the rukh and its protection in the form of a natural borg. Dedicated communication with the rukh and study of magic has allowed the magician to re-establish their connection with borg magic and earned back the love of the rukh. However, the borg is abnormal in how it applies itself to the Storm Kitsune's unique magical body.
Trait Effect: Zion gains access to the Magician Racial Borg, however its effects are localized to the Storm Kitsune's tails and will take over the motor functions of said tails to position them into harms way in order to block attacks. The borg damage is shared across tails meaning that if it breaks for one it breaks for all of them and goes on cool down. In addition, one additional borg spell slot is granted, but it must be tail oriented.

Trait Name: Storm Bender
Trait Tier:A
Trait Requirement: Be a Storm Kitsune
Trait Description: Using their Magician background tailored with their flare of the sword, the Dungeon Beast uses their natural power over the storm to combine the two styles into elemental weapons
Trait Effect: The user is able to created either 1- 8 weapons from the warrior class pool of weapons of which they have class abilities for.  The weapons that are created are done so with Lighting Magic and can be only used in their Human form.  The Weapon or Weapons strength depends on the number of weapons crafted, the Strength goes as follows. 1 weapon is of A tier Quality, 2 of B tier Quality, 4 of C tier Quality, 8 of D Tier Quality. Of course, they may be paired in any way that equal UP TO A tier.  Each weapon follows Weapon Rules for durability.   The first time this trait is used in a thread it comes at no cost using the stored electricity from it's fur, however, each use of the trait after that cost 10 Magoi per blade regardless of Tier or number of weapons.[spoiler]

Abilities:

[spoiler=Equipment]

Name: Magic Smith's Hammer
Tier: B
Type: Magic Weapon - Hammer
Magic Type: Molding Magic | Strength Magic
Appearance: A metal hammer which carries a dull luster and dark red coloring. The face of the hammer is a crystalline face formed from hardened resin. There is a clear bell-like melodious sound made whenever this hammer strikes a target. It has a 38cm long handle and a hammer face 20cm in diameter. The hammer is capable of dealing B-tier blunt damage with the face of the hammer or B-tier puncturing damage by using the sharp back end. The magic circle is carved into the face of the hammer's metal body and is covered by the resin crystalline face but remains visible through its clear translucent nature.
Function:

• Molding Strike - Feeding magoi into the hammer causes it to send a wave of Molding magic into whatever the hammer strikes. The molding magic will cause the struck object to become soft like clay for a moment and change shape swiftly before returning to its normal consistency. The magic can affect an object or amount of material up to 20m in size in any dimensions and reshape it freely. Enemy equipment affected by this magic type is repaired to its normal shape for free at the end of the thread. All equipment altered by this spell receives an additional C-tier's worth of item durability. 10 Magoi to activate | 5 Magoi to sustain
  
  
• Calamity Seal - Feeding magoi into the hammer causes it to swell with Strength Magic causing the hammer to grow without restraint. The hand remains wieldable by the wielder's hands, but the rest of it grows up to 10m long with a head up to 15m in diameter. Despite its massive size, the hammer feels light as a feather to the user as gravity does the lifting for them. A swing from the hammer in this state causes a strength magic projection of the force with a japanses character for "calamity" 禍 embossed on the cylinder of force unleashed. The projection can travel up to 20m away and deals B-tier damage. 10 Magoi to activate | 5 Magoi to sustain