System Breaker: Surviving Apocalypse with Nine-Tailed Kitsune

[You have received a new class: Blacksmith]

Damon’s eyes snapped open at the notification.

Although he expected that to be the outcome of completely comprehending someone else’s class, it was still unbelievable to see it written in text.

His heart hammered against his ribs as his mind spiralled into all the potential classes he might be able to learn, but before he could ponder on that, Nyla’s excited voice cut through the room.

"I did it!"

Damon snapped out of his thought and turned to Nyla, who was now drenched in sweat. She breathed raggedly, while her oversized t-shirt clung to her body, revealing her every curve, but despite her exhaustion, the girl beamed with excitement, holding the relic she had just made in her arms.

It was a steel-plated breast armour which looked fairly similar to the metal boots the girl had made, but also looked a lot more defined, clearly a much better quality and mana density item.

"Do you mind if I...?" She began to ask, glancing down at her new armour.

Realising what she meant, Damon quickly turned around. "Go ahead."

After no more than a second after he turned, Damon heard the faint thud of the girl’s t-shirt dropping to the ground, followed by a small echo of rattling metal.

"Ta-da!" The girl exclaimed.

As Damon turned around, he took a sudden step backwards, caught off guard by the girl standing a lot closer to him.

The armour perfectly covered her chest and upper back area, while leaving her arms and stomach exposed. The girl had also summoned her metal boots, which reached her knees. The only thing that looked out of place was her shorts, which left her hips completely exposed to attack.

"So, what do you think, boss?" She asked.

Damon nodded. "Looks like it’s a lot better quality. What bonuses does it provide?"

The girl’s grin only widened at the question. "Plus twenty-five to vitality."

Damon’s pupils dilated.

That was a crazy increase, even for someone like Damon.

He had already expected the girl’s class to be useful, but this seemed far beyond whatever he imagined.

Suddenly, before he could finish his train of thought, the girl swayed slightly on her feet.

"Boss, I-"

Her knees buckled.

Damon moved instantly, catching her before she hit the ground. Her weight dropped fully into him, far heavier than he expected.

"Hey-"

"I don’t feel so good..." she murmured, her voice faint, nothing like the excitement from moments ago.

Her fingers clutched weakly at his sleeve, then slipped.

Damon frowned, listening to her uneven breathing.

"Mana backlash. It happens when you overspend too much of your mana." He explained just as he realised what had happened.

As if in response, the armour dissolved into particles of light, followed by the boots a moment later.

Nyla sagged further against him without them, barely able to keep herself upright.

"I... couldn’t hold it..." she whispered, her cheeks flushed from not only embarrassment but also exhaustion.

Damon tightened his grip slightly to steady her as her balance faltered again.

Summoning and maintaining a relic took mana, and although it was a small amount, an empty core, just like hers now, could not do so.

The girl didn’t even seem aware of how close they were in that moment, completely focused on staying upright.

They lingered there for a couple of moments, the girl’s ragged breath brushed unevenly against his neck, while her body continued to lean into him for support.

’I might’ve pushed her too far. Someone at her level shouldn’t make relics of that quality.’

Still, he couldn’t help but let a small smile tug at his lips as he recognised just how strong the blacksmith class, the class he had just learned himself, was.

Slowly, Nyla’s breathing began to turn more steady, while her body began to stand more and more on her own strength.

"Are you okay to stand on your own now?" Damon asked, breaking the silence.

"Y-Yes."

"Okay, I’m gonna close my eyes and turn around."

The girl nodded softly, and they did just that.

Damon turned with his eyes closed, allowing the girl to grab her t-shirt from the ground.

He was already walking toward the door when Nyla’s voice called to him.

"Boss... thank you."

"Sure," he replied, before realising he had forgotten to mention one more thing. "Oh, and one more thing, let the others know that our departure time will have to wait. There was something else I’ve got to do tomorrow."

With that, he left.

The walk back to his room took shorter than expected as Damon was lost in thought on his acquisition of the Blacksmith class.

And so before he realised it, he was already there.

He stared at the door before him for a second before swinging it open to see Kitsune patiently waiting for his return.

"Where have you-"

Her fox-like ears suddenly twitched before her legs swayed over the edge of the bed, and she moved quickly toward him.

She leaned forward, taking a small sniff before looking back at him.

It was almost as if a wave of darkness crashed over her face as she stared at him, and noticing that very gaze, Damon began to explain.

"I was with Nyla," he paused for a second, his lips curving into a smile, "I just learned her class."

Kitsune studied him for a moment, a flicker of intrigue flashing across her face. But before she could feed her own curiosity, she felt a strong urge to do something against that unmistakable smell of another woman.

Grabbing him strongly by his shirt, she dragged and pushed him onto the bed. It wasn’t forceful enough to hurt, but it was firm enough to imply it wasn’t a suggestion.

"Hey, what are you-"

Before he could complain, she had already moved to sit on top of him. Her tails flicked lazily as she watched him with a smile of a hunter that caught a prey.

"So," she said lightly, almost teasing now, "you learned her class..."

Her fingers traced slowly across his chest. The mana inside of his body reacted almost immediately, following the girl’s every movement as her smile sharpened into something dangerous.

"How about you try to learn my class~"

And despite her doing this purely to toy with him, Damon’s Absolute Comprehension activated and when it did, a loud notification cut through his thoughts.

[Your comprehension of *Pure Mana Weaving* has slightly increased!]

Kitsune’s eyes flickered for a moment as she realised what had just happened through their mental connection.

Then her smile widened.

"...Oh?"