Chapter 62: You get a power up… and you get a power up!
– Haru –
I sat in a booth with Naruko right next to me, her body pressed lightly against mine. She was still freaked out about no longer being fully human, and I was doing my best to comfort her as a good boyfriend should.
One of the best ways to do that? Stroking her ears and tails.
The second my fingers ran through her soft, fluffy tails, she shuddered and let out a small, involuntary purring sound. Her face turned bright red, and she grabbed onto my arm, squeezing it tightly.
"I didn't know they were this sensitive…" she muttered, burying her face in my shoulder.
I chuckled, my hand continuing to stroke the base of her ears, feeling the way they twitched under my touch. "Now you know how I always feel. It's kind of unfair, isn't it?"
Naruko groaned and peeked up at me. "Yeah, yeah, I get it now. You've suffered in silence for too long. Poor you."
I grinned and leaned closer, my breath tickling her ear. "If I started stroking the base of your tails, though… I think you'd have a much different reaction."
Naruko's whole body stiffened, and she smacked my chest lightly. "Haru, please don't!" she whined, her face somehow getting even redder. "I… I've been wanting to be more intimate with you, but now is not the best time."
I laughed, kissing her on the cheek before pulling back slightly. "Relax, Naruko. I'm just teasing. We'll figure everything out when you're ready. No rush."
She looked at me with warm blue eyes before nodding, some of her initial nervousness fading. I kept running my fingers through her tails, and she slowly melted against me, letting out another small purr she probably didn't realize she was making.
And then, the doors to my restaurant slammed open.
Both of us jumped in surprise, and I turned my head to see Yasaka walking in with another familiar face right behind her.
Amaterasu—or Amy-chan, as I preferred to call her—strode inside as well. It was always nice to see her emerge from her NEET hole.
AKA…her bedroom.
Her expression immediately shifted when her eyes locked onto me, and she froze in place. Yasaka, my mother, had the same reaction.
Their eyes zeroed in on me, or more specifically, on the ten golden tails swaying behind me.
Amy-chan's eyes twitched, her mouth opening and closing before she finally just threw her hands in the air. "What the fuck did you do!?" she shouted, staring at me like I'd grown a second head. "Did the devils give you some kind of weird experimental formula or something!? Ten-tailed foxes aren't a thing! They don't exist!"
Yasaka, however, had a less freaked out reaction. A soft smile spread across her face as she walked forward, her golden eyes gleaming with pride. "Ara… my son is even stronger than me now. How wonderful." Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. "...What happened, Haru?"
I hugged her back before stepping away and rubbing the back of my head. "Not exactly sure. The newest world kind of forced me into a power-up out of nowhere. It was definitely a whole thing..." I then gestured to Naruko, who was still sitting in the booth, her ears twitching nervously.
Both Yasaka and Amy-chan turned to look at her.
And both of them immediately froze again.
Naruko shifted uncomfortably under their scrutiny, gripping the hem of her jacket. "Uh… hi?"
Amy-chan's eye twitched again. "What. The. Actual. Fuck."
Naruko laughed nervously. "Yeah… so, um… surprise?"
Yasaka looked completely taken aback, her mouth slightly open as she stared at Naruko's newly acquired nine tails. "She… she's really a Nine-Tailed Fox now."
"Technically her race is Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and I'm a Ten-Tailed Demon Fox now. Other than the power up, it's not a huge change. The only real difference I feel though is my 'youki' has all turned into something call 'magicules'..." I added.
…
Amy-chan looked like she suddenly had a migraine as she sat there at the table with a bowl of ramen. She rubbed her temples with one hand while using chopsticks with the other, slurping up the noodles at a rapid pace. "How has your cooking gotten even better!? You were already better than all the chefs in Tamegahara," she tried to complain, but it was hard to take her seriously when she was practically inhaling her meal. The smile tugging at the corners of her mouth wasn't helping her case either.
Yasaka, sitting next to her, let out a pleased chitter between bites of sushi. "Ara~ I must agree. This is simply divine."
"I got some kind of weird skill called 'The Chef.' Apparently, it lets me enhance my food by adding magicules to my recipes. It's kind of cool, but honestly, it feels like cheating..." I huffed.
Naruko, seated next to me, raised an eyebrow as she took another bite of sushi. Her ears twitched happily, her tails swishing behind her. "Cheating? You're literally making your food even better! Who cares?"
"I do," I said with a shrug. "It grates on my pride as a chef. If I rely on a skill like this, I'll never truly improve on my own. So, I decided I'm going to train myself to the point where my natural cooking skill matches my magic-boosted one!" I feel like I'd been growing a bit complacent with my cooking anyway. This would be a good opportunity to try out new recipes and techniques.
Amy-chan sighed, placing her empty ramen bowl down and folding her arms. "So this world just randomly hands out power-ups the second we step into it? That's a political disaster waiting to happen!"
Yasaka nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed. If word gets out, every supernatural faction in our world will be fighting to get here for an easy evolution. It would completely destroy the delicate balance of power..."
Amy-chan groaned. "Yeah, that's exactly what I was trying to say! We cannot let this news get out!"
"And what am I supposed to do in MY WORLD?" Naruko asked, glancing at me. "I can't exactly hide my new features all the time…" she whined. She grabbed another piece of sushi and took a bite. The second it hit her tongue, she let out a soft moan and her ears twitched again. "Oh wow. This tastes so much better than before! Is this why animals always look so excited when they eat? It feels like my taste buds are way more sensitive now."
Yasaka let out an amused chitter. "Yokai don't particularly enjoy being referred to as 'animals', but yes, some of them do have enhanced senses, including taste. Be careful when you eat spicy food like wasabi, though. That'll hit a lot harder now. Especially with your enhanced smell."
Naruko pouted. "Ugh, I always liked old man Teuchi's spicy wasabi ramen. Guess I'll have to be careful with that now." She let out a sigh. "Not that it matters. I have no idea how I'm even going to walk around my village looking like this," she said again.
I frowned. "You worried about how people will react?"
"I don't know." Naruko admitted. "I'm pretty sure I might be stronger than my entire village right now. But, the villagers always used to think my twin brother and I were the reincarnations of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Now I actually look the part, and that's just going to make things worse. And on top of that, I'm pretty sure the Nine-Tails is dead now. I think I, uh… ate it? Or absorbed it? Or something? Anyway, it became my new unique skill 'Kurama.' It lets me cast any jutsu I know without hand signs," she explained. "And that's just one of the things it can do…"
That seemed pretty handy…or not handy, I guess.
As if to demonstrate, a puff of smoke appeared next to the table, and suddenly there was a perfect shadow clone of her standing there. It gave us a small wave before disappearing again.
Yasaka leaned back in her side of the booth. "This new world is quite fascinating," she mused. "I wouldn't mind getting a little stronger myself. If it means protecting my darling Kunou-chan and my amazing son, Haru, then I'd say it's worth it."
I felt my face heat up at the compliment. "Mom, I'm already strong enough to protect myself," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. I was already ultimate-class before all of this...
Now, I didn't really know where I ranked...but it was gonna be up there.
…Top 20 maybe?
"It's a mother's job to worry about her children's well-being," she replied fondly, giving me a knowing smile.
Amy-chan, sitting across from us, looked more hesitant. She tapped her fingers on the table, clearly debating something. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, Yasaka," she said. "You're already more powerful than most gods."
Yasaka just smiled, reaching over to pat Amy-chan on the head. It looked adorable from the outside, but knowing the dynamic between my mother and the literal mother of Japan, it was a pretty amusing sight.
"Even if I surpass you, Amy-chan, I will always be your priestess," she said softly. "You have been so good to our family."
Amy-chan's face turned red, and she puffed her cheeks indignantly. "No way! If you're getting a power-up, then I want one too!"
I smirked. "Why do you even need more power? You're just gonna lock yourself in your room all day anyway."
Amy-chan pouted, crossing her arms. "If I'm stronger than Tsukuyomi, he won't be able to drag me out of my room and force me to do evil paperwork anymore."
I blinked. "That's your reason?"
Naruko giggled next to me. "That might be the most ridiculous reason I've ever heard," she teased.
Amy-chan huffed. "It's a perfectly valid reason."
Naruko leaned over to whisper to Yasaka and Amy-chan. "Just don't freak out when you suddenly freeze, and a robotic female voice starts speaking in your head."
I turned to my mom. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"
She smiled at me. "Ara, my son is so sweet to worry about me. But I'm sure it will be fine. The goddess wouldn't have connected your restaurant to this world if she didn't want us to take advantage of it."
Amy-chan crossed her arms and huffed. "I don't like some other goddess trying to sink her claws into MY priestess's family," she grumbled. "But I'll allow it… if it keeps me away from paperwork."
Internally, I doubted she'd get her wish. Even Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the strongest beings in the world, couldn't escape the horrors of paperwork. If he couldn't, then Amy-chan was definitely doomed.
It was another reason I was glad to be a chef. But with all the titles and territories I was gaining, I had a feeling paperwork was in my future too. As far as I knew, my mother was handling all the logistics so far, but I had no idea when she'd start expecting me to be more responsible…
Naruko and I exchanged shrugs before following Yasaka and Amy-chan outside the front door of the Fox Hole into Rimuru's world.
– Rimuru –
The Great Sage informed Rimuru that he had survived "the attempt on his life" and that his Poison Resistance had dramatically increased...
He sighed, rubbing his temple. It wasn't even an actual attempt on his life—Shion's cooking was just that terrifying.
Suddenly, he froze!
His senses picked up on a ridiculously powerful presence that had appeared out of nowhere. He snapped his head toward the source, his body tensing. Without wasting another second, he rushed out of his shrine/home to see what was going on.
His shoulders sagged in relief when he saw it was just Haru standing in front of his restaurant with three women Rimuru hadn't met yet. But then his brain completely short-circuited.
Holy shit!
One of the women was an absolute bombshell. A tall, ridiculously curvy, busty blonde fox-woman with golden fur, hypnotic eyes that practically oozed confidence, and an aura of raw, commanding sex appeal that could make even the most disciplined monk break his vows. She looked like the kind of woman who could make men ruin their lives with just a wink and a sway of her hips.
Rimuru, despite no longer having sex organs as a slime, was pretty sure he had just fallen in love!
He ran over to Haru, unable to keep the excitement from his voice. "Hey, Haru, what did I miss while I was passed out from Shion's cook—WHOOOAAA!"
Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion of power sent him flying backward. He barely managed to keep his footing as the very air around them became suffocatingly heavy. The ground trembled beneath him, and violent winds kicked up debris and dust all around them.
'What's happening, Great Sage!?' Rimuru asked in his head!
The Great Sage responded in its usual monotone voice: "The two beings in front of you are currently undergoing evolution."
Rimuru's eyes widened. 'Evolution!?' They already seemed insanely strong!
"Correct. The Nine-Tailed Fox is in the process of evolving into a stronger Fox Demon, and the Goddess is in the process of evolving into a Greater Deity."
Rimuru nearly choked on air. 'Goddess!?' He dug his feet into the ground to keep himself from being blown away as the sheer force of their transformations continued warping the environment around them.
Haru had done the same, using his tails to anchor himself while gripping onto the red-haired fox girl next to him, keeping her steady.
Rimuru squinted through the whirlwind of energy. "Haru! What the hell is going on!?" he shouted over the deafening roar of power.
Haru, despite the chaos around them, gave him a lopsided grin. "My mom and the Goddess Amaterasu wanted to come here so they could get stronger."
Rimuru's brain stuttered to a halt. His mom!?
His gaze darted back to the blonde fox woman, still radiating divine energy that made his very soul tremble.
Haru's mom was the total babe!?
– Yasaka –
Yasaka's life certainly hadn't been boring since her son opened his crazy restaurant to other worlds…
As the voice of this world echoed in her mind, she felt her body shifting, her power skyrocketing beyond anything she had ever reached, even when drawing on Japan's leylines. The overwhelming surge of energy coursed through her veins, raw and untamed, yet perfectly controlled at the same time. A strange dichotomy.
The voice informed her that she had evolved into a Twelve-Tailed Demon Fox. And that wasn't all. Something known as an "ultimate skill" had been bestowed upon her—one with terrifying potential if the description given to her was accurate.
It was something beyond what even the gods of her own world possessed, something that made her wonder just what kind of reality this place was...
The winds around her died down as the evolution completed. She flexed her fingers and stretched, marveling at the change.
As Haru had warned her, she no longer sensed the familiar youki in her body. Instead, it had been replaced by this new, denser, and far more potent energy—magicules. It felt different yet natural, as if she had always been meant to wield it.
A subtle shift behind her made her aware of the three additional tails now swaying behind her back. Twelve tails… That would take some getting used to.
She glanced over at Amaterasu—or Amy-chan, as Haru so endearingly called her. To Yasaka's surprise, Amy-chan didn't look much different physically. However, the sheer power radiating off of her was another story. It was staggering. Yasaka was sure that, after this evolution, Amy-chan would easily rank in their world's top ten strongest beings—assuming she didn't find a way to suppress that power, which Yasaka had no doubt she would.
Turning around, Yasaka spotted her son Haru standing with his girlfriend, Naruko. A new face was standing beside them—a "bishounen" with long blue hair.
That had to be Rimuru, the new customer Haru had met last night, and a resident of this world. He'd told her about Rimuru while they were eating earlier.
Haru grinned. "Glad to see everything went alright, Mom."
Naruko tilted her head as she studied Yasaka. "Wow, your new tails are really pretty! And you kinda look like you're glowing."
Yasaka let out a soft chitter at the compliment, but as she glanced down at herself, she noticed the faint golden aura surrounding her. Oh... she was actually glowing wasn't she?
She had been radiating power without even realizing it. With a thought, she pulled it back in, and the glow disappeared. Wow, these magicules were a lot easier to control than Youki.
Shifting her gaze to Rimuru, Yasaka smiled warmly. "You must be Rimuru. It's nice to meet you."
The blue-haired young man fidgeted slightly, his golden eyes flickering with something between awe and nervousness. He swallowed before responding, "It's… nice to meet you too." Then, to Yasaka's mild amusement, he blurted out, "Are you single…?"
…Ara ara. He was certainly a bold one.
– Milim –
Milim stretched her arms above her head, feeling the rush of excitement build inside her. Today was super crazy! She sensed the sudden emergence of two more immensely powerful beings!
Just a few hours ago, a new presence on par with an average Demon Lord had popped up. And now, two more had appeared—even stronger than the first!
"Oooh! This is getting good!" Milim grinned to herself.
She had been lounging around, bored out of her mind, but now she had the perfect excuse to get moving and do something fun!
One of the newcomers felt like a boring Greater Deity, which wasn't as fun. But the other…
The other was a demon—a powerful one. And what was even more interesting was how similar they felt to the first presence she had sensed earlier. Family...?
That would be even more super interesting! Milim felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine. She had to see for herself!
"It's coming from the Jura Forest," she muttered, squinting in the distance. With a playful smirk, she crouched down, and in the next instant, she took off!
A sonic boom echoed through the sky as Milim launched herself toward Jura, her excitement bubbling over. It wasn't every day she got the chance to meet new powerful beings—and possibly fight them!
XXX
Thanks for reading!!!
I have a patreo n. My subs can read advanced updates of my stories ahead of standard release and even check out pics for some of the more naughty chapters.
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Here is the list of Current Advanced Chapters:
The Fallen Gamer ch 323-327
The Titan 30
The Fox Hole 67
Thunder and Black Wings 14
The Fox Hole 66
The Blood Queen 38
The Fox Hole 65
The titan 29
The Fox Hole 64
Thunder and Black Wings 13
The Fox Hole 63
The Blood Queen 37