An eagle flew over the forest, the mark of a lightning bolt on its back as it stalked after a wolf visible below the canopy of leaves. The beast ran, its figure barreling between trees while Astoria chased after its back. She could see what Tig could. She could hear what he could. And, in a way, she could also feel what he could. She was sure it wasn't a one-way stream. To a degree, Tig could also feel as she did.

Her daggers were wielded tightly in her hands and, this time, she had no need to spend minutes to hours tracking down her prey. She had grasped its general direction from its paw prints, its smell, and then sent Tig after its form.

'Tig, cut it off with a bolt,' She thought as she jumped from one tree to another with less effort than before, quaking its branch. 'Before it notices you.'

There was no need for any deeper instructions as Tig understood her thoughts and her intentions. He flapped, gaining ahead of the wolf, and then turned before curling his wings into himself and diving from the sky. A few feet above the ground, just as the wolf reached to cross under him, he flapped his wings as his beak opened.

A screech rang and a bolt of lightning struck the wolf in mid-run. It roared in a yelp of pain, its body convulsing and its figure tumbling over itself before slamming into a tree, the air wiping out of its lungs. It moved to regain itself and Astoria leaped from a tree, her figure barreling towards it.

It roared and leapt at her, fangs opening to bite. The two crashed into one another, its teeth biting into her upper body and finding themselves unable to advance as her two blades plunged into its back, digging into its muscles as she twisted them.

As they rolled upon the floor, Astoria yanked her weapons from its back and pierced them into its mouth. The beast roared in pain and snapped its jaws open, allowing her free. She tore away from it, taking her daggers with her as she rolled, then jumped, backflipping into a standing position in front of the creature.

Astoria grinned, watching the wolf stagger to a stand before her while Tig flapped down, landing on the branch of a tree behind her. This time, she wasn't fighting an injured wolf, and she had already brought it down to this state in merely a few seconds.

'I guess that's the drastic difference between having a class and not having one,' She thought as its bite mark, which couldn't pierce further than her skin, healed.

Though she had a feeling she was now stronger than the beast, strong enough to tear into it, she didn't kill it immediately. After all, they were here to test her full strength, not a part of it. They already knew what her body was capable of but, though she instinctively knew her art, she hadn't yet seen it in action.

She ran forward. Pendridge had stated that her abilities would come naturally to her, and they did. Mana burned into Astoria's right dagger as she slashed, releasing the full blow of her Warrior's Art.

"<Sever>"

A beam of what seemed like a trail of light blinked through the air, then disappeared. The wolf growled and moved forward to attack her. The beam reappeared at its forefront, slicing through its head and sputtering blood.

Astoria watched, smiling as the beast fell down, dead before it could figure out what had occurred. She tossed her two daggers, caught them, and sheathed them.

"Good job, Tig," She said, turning to her shoulder.

He landed, screeching lowly as he rubbed his head against her cheek and she patted him. Then she pointed at the corpse of the wolf whose head had been split in two.

"Eat up."

Tig screeched once more than flapped, pouncing on the carcass.

"You have quite a nuisance of an art," Pendridge's voice came behind her as the wind blew. "I'm unsure if even I could avoid it. . .though that is only when speaking of my slowest speed."

Astoria rolled her eyes at the boastful and prideful wolf. "Well, I guess you're right. It costs half of a mana circle to use, though."

Her art was an attack that sliced through distance, cutting between space to land on an opponent. As long as she had at least half a circle of mana, she could attack anything within 10 meters of herself. It wasn't a guaranteed hit, and it couldn't change its initial trajectory, but it was an attack which would be unexpected to most, and even if it were expected, hard to dodge or counter in close range. Then there was the fact that the art would continue to grow in strength and distance the more mana circles she gained.

The only current downside was that she could only attack twice in quick succession. In reality, unless she wanted to be without any mana strengthening her body, she could only attack once before she would have to wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the amount of time it took to recover half a mana circle. Just as a mage burned mana when utilizing magic, a warrior and rogue did the same when utilizing their classes' skill set.

Astoria shrugged, at the very least she had managed to test the attack she now termed 'Sever'. She couldn't say the same for the 'Mana Breaker' of the Rogue class, however.

Pendridge nodded at her words, then turned to the dead wolf. "Your companion has finished its meal. It is time I impart onto you how to store your items into a subspace."

Astoria tilted her head as Tig flapped back, perching on her shoulder.

"Store stuff into a subspace? What? You could have taught me that this entire time?" She spoke, raising a brow and looking incredulously at Pendridge's form. "Really, Pendridge? Really?"

The wolf merely scoffed. "It was not something I could have taught you until now and nor was it something tied to your physiology like what you call <Guardian's Sight>. It required first unlocking your Guardian class, and that required sufficient strength. Do you know why it had been so easy for you to advance into the class? Because I made sure you were first strong enough to do so."

Astoria frowned, then nodded, his words made sense to her, but she was still puzzled. "What about when you carried the wolf from before to trade for my clothes and daggers? What about then?"

"I may be a Guardian, but I am also a wolf. Naturally, there is no difference between storing a corpse of that size in my mouth than storing it in my subspace."

". . ."

Astoria thought Pendridge was foolish, while the wolf saw nothing wrong with his actions. Her form was originally human, even if she did have beast-like qualities, so she didn't get it. However, Pendridge was still a wolf at the end of the day, even if he had claimed to be able to turn into a human, so he had no qualms about carrying a dead creature in his mouth being his first instinct.

"You're odd, Pendridge," She muttered, then questioned, "Alright then, how do I use it?"

"Walk to the wolf, touch it, and wish to store it."

Astoria did as she was told, crouching and touching the wolf's corpse as she willed to store it. In the next instant, it was gone. She tilted her head due to the fact that she could still tell it was somewhere, and she could bring it back with a thought.

"And just like so, you have stored it," Pendridge stated, "But be aware, the subspace can only store none-living items that are not made of any other energy. Your companion? You cannot store him. A magical spell? You cannot store it."

"What a bummer. . ." Astoria muttered as she chuckled, standing back up.

Naturally, she didn't really think it was and had expected his words. She had yet to read an isekai story where the main character had been able to store living things into their inventory. She shook her head mildly and touched the hilt of her two daggers, storing them into what she now decided to term just that, <Inventory>. Then she followed up with her two sheaths and their belts, things she would no longer be needing.

"I should profess to say that this is not truly your magic," Pendridge explained, "You are simply borrowing Altera's control over space through your connection to it in order to create and access your own personal subspace, nothing more, nothing less. In the same vein, it is also how us Guardians close rifts."

Then he turned around.

"For your final training," He said, "I shall take you into a low-ranked rift, and you must complete and close it. In tandem, I will also explain how to train in your class."

Final training? Those words rang through Astoria's mind as she stared at Pendridge. For one, it meant he would soon term her 'strong enough' and kick her 'free into the wind'. Yet, for two, it also meant they were likely to go their separate ways right after. There was a melancholic air about it, even if they had only known each other for several days.

"Come on, Tig," She spoke as she jumped onto Pendridge's back, "Let's go."

Pendridge began running, shifting through the terrain like a gust of wind. This time, Astoria found herself holding on to him tighter than normal, thoughts adrift in her mind, wandering about the uncertainty of the future. A part of her did not want to leave his side, but the calmer, more true self knew she would eventually, even if there wasn't a final training.

"Hey Pendridge. . ." She muttered.

"Hmm?" The wolf replied.

"Why did you dislike me using your name as my last name?" She asked.

Once she left his side, her name would be the strongest memories she would have of him. Not only had he given her her first name, she had also taken his name as her last. Yet, he had seemed unwilling in both instances and that thought still gnawed at her mind.

There was a momentary silence, the wind the only thing she could hear. Then he spoke.

"For the same reason I did not want to name you in the first place and had refused to go beyond your first name."

Astoria tilted her head, her hands shaking, holding his fur. "Meaning?"

". . .I did not want you tied down to me in any way. I can never leave the Western Winds as that will be leaving my duty, but you, you will one day adventure the span of Altera. In fact, you hunger to do so. I can feel it."

Astoria's eyes widened.

"That's it? That's really it?" She asked.

". . .yes."

She could hardly believe it. Was that also why he had been so cold, maintaining a certain distance from himself and her? Because he didn't want her to become attached to him? Astoria couldn't help her laughter as she clutched onto his fur, and she bent forward until her face was above his.

"You're strange, Pendridge," She muttered, grinning and patting his head.

He scoffed.

"Say that once more and I shall throw you off."

"Aye aye, Pendridge~"

Though he claimed himself the fastest Guardian alive, the trek seemed longer than usual.

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