"I was told we shouldn't mess with these things." I say as I stand only a few feet away from a deadly Punctastar.
"That's wise, I wouldn't have you deal with them either, without myself nearby." Inari replies. "With the loss of many of the forest's ants, these creatures are growing in number and threatening to over consume the parasitic fungus on the trees. Therefore, I'd like you to dispose of them with my help."
"Oh, okay. What do we do?" I glance back at Sakura and Josh who are both nervously holding their weapons behind me.
"They will counterattack instantly when struck, so make sure you're ready for their response. They don't have eyes and can only vaguely sense where we are so try to direct their strikes by carefully placing your own. Make sure to get under their scales or you won't do any damage, I'll use time magic to slow the Pointystar."
"Pfft. What did you call it?"
"It's a Pointystar. Why, what do you call them?"
"Punctastars."
"Needlessly verbose. We fairies have a much more practical grasp of language."
"Right, and what do you call the ants?"
Inari is more hesitant to respond this time.
Cough, "Meany bugs." Cough.
"Pffhehehe!" I try my best to hold in my laughter but seeing the formidable fairy using such juvenile names is sending me.
"The names of the creatures is irrelevant. Language is about concision, and considering you knew exactly what I meant, I'd say our names are more than sufficient."
"Right, right, and what do you call the fungus?"
"I don't need to answer your question. Just focus on the task at hand." She says as she begins casting her spell.
"Got it, thanks again."
A blue film forms across the Punctastar and I can see it moving noticeably slower. I take a deep breath and stab at one of its arms while bracing for the counterattack.
Snaap!
I just barely manage to move aside as the pointed spear flies by my face and smashes into a tree behind me. The tentacle then swiftly retracts.
"Damn, that's fast."
"Based on your stats, I've slowed it so you should just barely be able to dodge; as long as you're paying attention that is."
"Wait, how do you know my stats?"
"Your breathing, how you step, the pressure you of your grip on your spear, and how quickly you notice what's going on around you. All of these pieces of information can be used to estimate your stats."
"Wow, what are your stats?"
"We do not engage with the seal system so we don't have stats. Accepting the aid of the gods is too restrictive on our freedom."
"Oh, so you don't have health points?"
"The health point system you use is actually based on ours. We, along with monsters, naturally shield ourselves from damage with our latent magical abilities."
"Oh, so this Punctastar has health points too?"
"Yes, you'll need to whittle it down if you want to actually kill it."
"Interesting."
"Why don't I shoot it with an arrow?" Sakura suggests, having built up enough courage to speak to the powerful fairy before us.
"Go right ahead." Inari smiles.