《The Divine Wolf... Or?》


 Chapter -1 - Discord Server.

For those who are interested, I have a discord channel now! If you just want to hang out and chat with other readers and, well, me, then you''re welcome to join! It''s also a good place to ask me questions about the book, or real life if you want to. Link: discord.gg/fhBASQ4

 Chapter -2 - Quick update!

    So, as you''ve all noticed by now, I stopped writing for a while, and I thought that I would just tell you why, as well as my plans for this story, I''ll keep it short though.


    The reason I stopped writing is pretty simple, stress. As I wrote I just started to get stressed out over a multitude of things, some of them being about the story, and some of them because of my life. I''ve also been having some serious anxiety lately, and writing just didn''t feel good to me. Therefore, I took a little break, and to be honest, it worked wonders! I feel a lot better right now, and I''m going to continue the story starting tomorrow.


    I will say though, my upload schedule is going to be a little different compared to the past, I used to do a chapter a day, but from now on, I''ll do a chapter every other day. I''ll also just post extra chapters when I feel like it. This is just to keep me from getting stressed out. Anyways, that''s that, expect a chapter tomorrow, and have a good day!

 Chapter 1 - Reincarnating?

    Some people have it easy in life, and some don''t. Some people have no trouble waking up in the morning, while for some people it is a nearly insurmountable task that requires a lot of attention and hard work.


    For Ark, it was the second case, both when it came to life and getting up in the morning. It was a usual Sunday morning, nothing special really. Trying his hardest to get out of bed Ark turned up his alarm clock to the highest possible volume and tossed it across the room so it would land on a blanket. This was the strategy he usually used to get up in the morning since it forced him to get out of bed to turn off the alarm. Having woken up Ark put some simple clothes on and walked out of his room to get prepared for the day, his room was pretty small since it was 2x3 meters but it got the job done and could fit his bed and a small desk, albeit a bit cramped.


    The clock had just turned 6 am and Ark''s part-time work started at 6:30 so he went to his bathroom and started brushing his teeth, after 2 minutes he spit out the toothpaste and rinsed his face before checking himself in the mirror. Just from looking at his outside appearance almost no one would be able to guess Ark was a loner, for one simple reason: he was handsome, very handsome. He had really fair skin and a nice jawline if it was light outside his navy blue hair that he had put up in a ponytail would almost shine. But his most protruding factor would definitely be his eyes, they were a rare silver colour that looked as though they were as deep as the ocean and as dazzling as the night sky. He was definitely not an ordinary youth by any means, he also had an air of maturity around him, he didn''t seem like an ordinary 17-year-old youth at all.


    Since he usually had his breakfast at work Ark just put on a pair of sneakers and a jacket and headed outside. His part-time job wasn''t far from where he lived since it was just a pretty generic supermarket that sold essentially anything really, his job was just to restock though, nothing exciting but it made a living.


    Absorbed in his own little world whilst crossing the road Ark didn''t notice the sound at the back of his head that had started to tug on his soul, for each minute that passed the sound would get louder and louder until he finally couldn''t stand up anymore and fell over in the middle of the road, never to be able to stand in this world again.


    ...


    Arks POV:


    I always thought my life was dull and I always felt that it was unfair. Some people were born into loving families with parents and siblings and a decent social standing, some people were even born as the sons and daughters of multi-million dollar companies were they could get anything they asked for. Whilst I myself was born without any of these, I didn''t have a family, I didn''t have any siblings or parents, I didn''t have any money and I didn''t have any social standing either.


    I was born to be a lonely orphan without any friends that everyone looked down upon, and even though I was an orphan I was both handsome and smart which got me bullied in school. You might wonder, why would you get bullied even though you''re both smart and good looking? The answer is simple, jealousy. How could an orphan be better than them right? Outrageous! This is the reason for my constant bullying which I had to endure for my entire life.


    Well not that it seems to be much of a problem right now...


    Feeling the pain at the back of my head and my vision turning more and more blurry by the second, I couldn''t help but let my mind wander. "What happens when I die?" or "If there is an afterlife, I hope I won''t suffer as much there" were the most apparent thoughts running through my head as the pain grew too hard to bear and my consciousness slowly faded away.


    Feeling a sharp pain in the back of my head I try to open my eyes, but to my surprise, they were already open. It was just too dark to try and see anything, "have I been kidnapped?" was the first thought that popped up in my head but I instantly threw that idea out of the window. I mean why would anyone want to kidnap me? Getting anxious by the idea of being in this dark room forever I slowly got to my feet... or at least that''s what should''ve happened.


    ...


    3rd person POV again:


    In a dark cave in the middle of a grand forest, you could see a navy blue wolf slowly rise. Its fur was beautiful and blended almost perfectly into the darkness, If you managed to look even closer you would notice that there were some radiant strands of white hair mixed in, even though it was well hidden it was a fact that it existed. The wolf was about a meter long and it was about half a meter in height if it stood on all fours, which it currently did.


    This was none other than Ark himself, after having woken up he quickly noticed that he wasn''t a bipedal animal anymore and he quickly got confused. But he had heard from some kids in his school before about light novels were the main character was reincarnated in another world in the body of a monster or an animal, so he wasn''t too scared, just a tad bit worried, that was all. The worry soon turned into happiness though as he heard a monotone voice in his head sound out:


    [Due to certain actions the host has obtained "Night Vision lv.1"]


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 1


    Hp: 28


    Mp: 45


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 13


    Dexterity: 11


    Endurance: 8


    Intelligence: 15


    Wisdom: 11


    (The average for an a.d.u.l.t is around 10-12 ish)


    Night Vision [Lv.1]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.1]


    Growth [Lv.Max]

 Chapter 2 - The outside!

    Having checked his status Ark was a little confused, first of all, he didn''t remember hearing a message about obtaining water magic, but most important of all there was magic! There was another skill as well but he decided to explore it later since he didn''t understand what it was for. Ark was nonetheless instantly excited, just this was enough to make up for the fact that he had died, at least in his book. But to be completely honest Ark was a special case, most people wouldn''t be able to handle the thought of dying.


    The reason he did was because of his depressing life, he thought that even just being able to explore a bit of magic would make him way more happy and satisfied than he ever was in his former life, even considering the whole fact that he had suddenly become a wolf.


    Having checked out and being quite satisfied with himself Ark set out to find an exit to the cave, now that he had obtained night vision he could finally see a bit in the dark, albeit it being just a little bit it was still a massive increase if you compared it to before when he couldn''t see anything at all. After 20 minutes of walking without a clear direction in mind, he suddenly heard a similar voice in his head again.


    [Due to continuous use Night Vision Lv.1 became Lv.2]


    Hearing this Ark''s vision instantly cleared up even more and his surroundings became even brighter, he could finally see what materials the cave was made of, at least he thought so. It looked to be a cave made out of stone that was 3 meters broad and about 2 and a half meters in height. Having seen the clear advantages with skills Ark couldn''t wait to test out his magic, but he decided to wait until he could reach the surface of the cave, if there ever was one, and he did this for multiple reasons.


    First of all, he didn''t know how strong the magic would be so he didn''t want to risk having the cave collapse in on him since it would be quite a dumb reason to die for in his brand new life. The second reason was just that he wouldn''t really be able to see very well what he did with his magic in this darkness anyways.


    Having walked around for about half an hour now Ark finally saw a hint of first light which made him really excited, rushing full speed forward while trying both not to trip over and whilst getting used to his new body was easier said then done and he tripped a couple of times, but he didn''t grow annoyed. In fact, he knew he had to get used to this body anyways so it was better to just get it done now and he also grew more and more excited the closer he came to the surface.


    He wanted to see what this world had to offer and what it looked like, he wanted to explore it himself and see the world with his own eyes, maybe there were more races out there than just humans, maybe there weren''t any humans, he didn''t know, but he was excited nonetheless. The light grew brighter and brighter the longer he ran and after a short few minutes, he was finally out!


    The trees that stood tall and reflecting the sunlight portrayed quite the majestic image. He couldn''t see anything beyond this forest though as it stretched as far as his eyes could see. Taking a deep breath whilst trying to contain his feelings Ark decided to walk around for a bit before deciding his next course of action. Well, that was how it was supposed to be at least...


    Before Ark got to do the exploring that he wanted he saw a creature about 35 meters ahead of him sleeping against a tree. Sneaking a bit closer to the monster he decided to get a closer look. The monster was a bit bigger than half the size of a normal human, just a bit under a meter tall. The creature had sharp ears that stood out from the side of its head and a tiny bit of disheveled hair if you could even call it that.


    What stood out the most about this monster though was the fact that its skin was a bit of a darker shade of green, it also only had a loincloth to cover up the important parts.


    After the close observation, the voice sounded out once again.


    [Due to hosts acute observation, the host has obtained Inspect Lv.1]


    Hearing the timely message Ark decided to instantly use it, he chanted "inspect" in his mind and a screen appeared in his mind.


    Goblin


    Lv:2


    Stats:???


    Seeing that the creature that was apparently called a "Goblin" was quite a weak creature, Ark could feel his stomach growling, this was a perfect opportunity. He still hesitated a little bit though since he had never killed anything before, but he knew he had to do it sooner or later, and an opportunity like this didn''t exactly come that often.


    The Goblin also only had a stick as a weapon if he somehow failed to kill it so he decided to go for it, lest he regrets it later. Sneaking up till he was a just a meter away from the Goblin it suddenly open its eyelids and stared straight into the silver eyes of Ark. Scared out of its wits, it didn''t have enough time to react before Ark swung his claws at the Goblins throat, ripping it to pieces, a defiant look flashed through the Goblins eyes as it slumped towards the ground.


    [Host has reached the required Exp to level up]


    [Host is now level 2]


    [Acquired 5 status points]


    Hearing the messages resounding through his head Arks eyes instantly lit up, he was right! If you killed something here your level would go up! This meant that he could grow to be more powerful in the future through killing. Deciding it would be a good idea to spend his acquired status points and see if anything happened to his skills he chanted status in his head.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 2


    Hp: 28


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 13


    Dexterity: 11


    Endurance: 8


    Vitality: 10


    Intelligence: 15


    Wisdom: 11


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.1]


    Inspect [Lv.1]


    Status points [5]


    Seeing his stats again he could figure a few things out, or at least have some pretty accurate guesses, his first guess was that each point in intelligence gave 3 magic points or mp for short, he could also guess that each point in vitality gave him 2 points of hp or health points, and that endurance also gave 1 hp per point.


    He also guessed that growth had something to do with how he acquired skills but he wasn''t too sure on that one yet. Seeing as how he had 5 points to spend he thought that he would put them all into agility, for now, to test out the effects and he felt that it would be necessary to be quick in the beginning since he couldn''t fight well yet and might need to run away.


    After confirming that he wanted to spend his status points a soothing white light enveloped his body for about a second before disappearing completely, sensing the obvious improvements Ark decided to test out his speed after testing out his first meal. At first he was a little apprehensive but after taking his first bite and noticing how it didn''t taste that bad he started eating until he was full, he was a little shocked at how he could eat the Goblin and that it didn''t taste that disgusting but he soon realized that he was now a wolf and of course his tastes would be a little different.


    Being full he decided his next course of action was to find water to drink and to clean himself.

 Chapter 3 - Exploring and experimenting!

    Even though Ark really wanted to try out his new speed he didn''t know if it was a good idea to just do it here since he might attract attention from a monster that is a lot stronger than him, but he thought that the risk was pretty low and if he didn''t do it because he was afraid of other monsters then when would he do it? That being said he started to run, he wasn''t used to the feeling of having four legs completely yet but as he ran he got better to the point that it was almost completely normal already.


    He thought it to be quite strange as he expected it to take a while but then again he had his growth skill, which he didn''t know the exact use of yet but he could guess and it would make a lot of sense, at least to Ark. After Ark had run for a while he started to get quite exhausted since his endurance was pretty low, so he opted to lay down in the shade and take a short rest, it had been a long day after all and he felt that he deserved it.


    Having laid down in the shade of a big pine tree that had a height of around 20 meters Ark began to ponder, first of all on the increase in his speed. He felt that it was really incredible that you could just increase the way your body worked, and to such a degree as well. Another thing Ark wanted to put some thought into was his future stat distribution, he liked the feeling of running fast and he thought that it would be very useful if he encountered something too strong.


    He felt that strength wasn''t really as important since he could make up for his lack of strength in speed, you might think that strength is essential in a way that it determines how much force you can apply when you attack but speed is also an equally important factor. Take the flash, for example, the reason because he can beat some opponents with impenetrable defenses is that he runs fast enough, he even has a punch that is called the infinite mass punch.


    Of course, Ark wouldn''t completely neglect his strength since it could come in handy in situations where he couldn''t really use his speed but he would focus more on other parts. Another important thing he pondered a bit was magic, but that would have to wait until he knew if it was good enough. Because even if he was interested in it he wouldn''t forsake his own safety for it. Having thought for a while Ark got bored and decided to try and level his [Inspect] to see if he could get more useful information when he did.


    "Inspect!"


    [Rock]


    It''s a rock


    "Inspect!"


    It''s a taller than usual pine tree


    Ding!


    [Due to continuous use Inspect Lv.1 became Lv.2]


    ...


    After just two uses he finally heard the nice voice in his head and he decided to instantly try it out.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 2


    Hp: 28


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 18


    Dexterity: 11


    Endurance: 8


    Vitality: 10


    Intelligence: 15


    Wisdom: 11


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.1]


    Inspect [Lv.2]


    Status points [0]


    Using Inspect on his water magic resulted in:


    [Grants the ability to cast the beginner Lv.1 Magic water bullet]


    Now that he knew what he could with his magic Ark stood up from underneath the tree and stared at a tree in front of him as he chanted "water bullet" in his head.


    As soon as he had chanted it in his head he could see a small ball of water about half the size of a fist conjure in front of him and then shoot forward until it hit the tree and left a hole about 2 fists in width and about 2 fists deep. It didn''t have that much velocity but the destruction it caused was quite decent and Ark thought that he would have plenty of uses for it in the future. And the mp consumption was also quite low at just 10 mp which meant that he would be able to use it a couple of times to surprise his opponents.


    As soon as he finished that thought he heard some rustling in the bushes behind him and instantly went on full alert. Soon he saw three silhouettes with hideous grins emerging from the bushes, he instantly recognized them as goblins but something was off about the one in the middle of them. It was a bit bulkier than the other two and it had a rusty dagger hanging around its waist attached to a piece of string that it probably found somewhere.


    Noticing his foes Ark instantly used inspect on them and went into a battle stance, if you could even call it that.


    "Inspect"


    "Inspect"


    "Inspect"


    [Goblin]


    Lv: 2


    A weak mob


    Strength: 5


    Agility: 7


    Vitality: 6


    Intelligence: 3


    [Goblin]


    A weak mob


    Strength: 6


    Agillity: 8


    Vitality: 7


    Intelligence: 3


    [Goblin warrior]


    Lv:2


    One of the many evolution''s of goblins


    Stats: ???


    Seeing this Ark got a little happy on the inside, he was thinking that it was gonna be a little tricky facing three opponents at once but if they were gonna underestimate him then he didn''t mind teaching them a little lesson for their arrogance. As the goblin warrior moved forward Ark started moving forward as well, but not at his full speed, when he was within a meters reach of the goblin it drew for the dagger at its waist, seeing this Ark''s eyes lit up, an opportunity!


    He suddenly maxed his speed and slunk past the warrior, leaving it confused until something suddenly dawned upon it as it hastily turned around. But it was too late, Ark had already arrived at the goblin on the left and slashed out with his claws since he was inexperienced he missed the throat but still managed to kill it by gutting it. For a split second Ark was a bit confused until he realized that speed could generate a lot of force, before he could turn completely toward the goblin that had been on the right he could see a wooden club speeding toward him in the corner of his eye so he immediately rolled to his left as the club soared above him, missing.


    Still on the ground he applied all the force he could muster into his hind legs and then immediately burst for the goblin that had just attacked him, he didn''t judge the distance correctly so he was about to headbutt the goblin, fortunately he had a bit of time so he opened his mouth to then fiercely bite into the goblin''s throat, killing it. Seeing its subordinates dying before its eyes the goblin warrior that was left turned furious and madly rushed at Ark, seeing this he chanted "water bullet" and watched as a ball of water shot out towards the goblin. The goblin was inexperienced and didn''t expect the wolf to suddenly shoot water towards it so it couldn''t react in time before it was hit in the face.


    Normally it might have stood a chance of surviving but since it was madly rushing at full speed and wasn''t expecting it the water bullet completely blew the goblins head off.


    [Killed goblin x 2]


    [Killed goblin warrior]


    [Due to meeting the Exp requirement host has leveled up]


    [Due to meeting the Exp requirement host has leveled up]


    [Due to meeting the Exp requirement host has leveled up]


    [Host is now level 5]

 Chapter 4 - Water!

    Having fought twice in such a short amount of time gave Ark a big influx of adrenaline and he needed to calm down a bit before he started acting rashly. In case the smell of blood would attract other more powerful monsters Ark decided to head out into the woods again. He was really excited at the prospect of having another 15 status points that he could assign but he had a couple of things to think about. First of all, when he used "Inspect" on the goblins he found out that he had some stats that they didn''t have such as dexterity and endurance and even wisdom.


    But he thought that not all monsters had the same stats since they have different constitutions and such, it would also be quite weird for a goblin to have wisdom right? He also noticed from their stats that the stat increase per level for them seemed to be 3 stat points and not his 5. But then again he had a max level growth skill while they didn''t so there''s always that.


    Ark was satisfied with the answers he came up with and decided that he could ponder harder on things like that when he had the time later, rising up from his sitting position he started to head out, this time a bit more vigilant than before since he didn''t want to get jumped. After about 5 minutes of walking, he noticed a very small stream, which got him very excited since it probably led to a bigger body of water. Following the stream he noticed how it got bigger and bigger for every step he took and after a little while he finally saw what he had been looking for, it was a river!


    Being careful of his surroundings he decided to sneak up to the water and take a sip, which to Ark''s surprise, was delicious! He used "Inspect" on the river to see if anything was special about it.


    [Lesser Magical River]


    A normal river infused with a little bit of mana, purifying it.


    Gives +10% hp and mp regen for 10 minutes.


    Seeing this made Ark think about the fact that he had used 20 mp earlier and he still hadn''t looked if it had regenerated any yet.


    "Status"


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Hp: 28


    Mp: 31/45


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 18


    Dexterity: 11


    Endurance: 8


    Vitality: 10


    Intelligence: 15


    Wisdom: 11


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.2]


    Status points [15]


    After seeing that it had regenerated 6 mp so far Ark guessed that each point of wisdom equaled 1mp regen per hour since it had been around half an hour since the fight had ended. He also noticed that his water magic had leveled up after or during the fight which made him instantly made him use "Inspect" on it again.


    [Due to continuous use Inspect Lv.2 became Lv.3]


    And then the message for the water magic popped up.


    [Grants the host the sub-skill "water manipulation" and the Lv.1 skill "water bullet" as well as the Lv.2 skill "minor reinvigoration"]


    Seeing the new skill as well as the sub-skill that he couldn''t see before made Ark very happy since he now had something that seemed to be a healing ability as well as a skill that could come in handy in the future. He still hadn''t assigned his new status points but decided to clean himself in the river first, which proceeded without a hitch, Ark was a bit scared that there would be some kind of monster hiding in the water but apparently, he was just a bit paranoid after the battles. Having cleaned himself he finally decided on how he would distribute his new stats.


    [Due to having 20 intelligence host has obtained the skills "Mana manipulation" and "Mana perception"]


    [Due to having 20 agility host has obtained the passive skill "swift" as well as the active skill "nimble"]


    [Swift]


    Increases agility by 10% permanently


    [Nimble]


    Increases agility by 50% for 1 minute


    [Mana perception]


    Allows the host to perceive Mana


    [Mana manipulation]


    (new status)


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 5


    Hp: 28


    Mp: 55/69


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 25


    Dexterity: 11


    Vitality: 10


    Intelligence: 23


    Wisdom: 11


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.3]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.1]


    Mana perception


    Nimble [Lv.1]


    Status points [0]


    Ark decided to not put that much points into his vitality and other stats for now just to test things out and since he now had a healing ability his hp wasn''t as important as power, which in turn could get him more stat points which he could spend on the other stats. Seeing his power increase and all of his new skills made Ark super excited since he couldn''t wait to test them all out, but that would have to wait for now.


    He still needed to find a nice place to rest for the night since he couldn''t just sleep anywhere due to the danger lurking everywhere. Having that in mind he set out to find a hiding spot, he could go back to the cave if heeded to but he thought that he would rather not since it was really dark in there and he couldn''t really see anything.


    He decided to follow the stream since he''d rather have his temporary home near a water source so he wouldn''t die in case he couldn''t find his way back in the future. Ark also decided to test out his new skills once he had found his place. There was one thing he realized though that made him feel really stupid, he was too fast, he couldn''t really control his body properly if he went full speed. And that is why he needed to spend a few points on dexterity in the future.


    Having walked along this giant river for more than an hour Ark found a pretty big tree that was hollowed out in the middle so he could stay inside for cover, he decided that it was an optimal place to hide and get some rest for the night that was already upon him. His plan for the next day after was to try out his new magic skills and see if he could maybe even create some new ones since he should be able to do pretty much anything he wanted to with his Mana. If he could create water he should be able to create other elements as well right?

 Chapter 5 - Magic!

    The night passed by quickly and uneventfully which was certainly lucky for Ark since he didn''t know if he had the mental fortitude to deal with even more trouble right now, taking multiple lives, experiencing reincarnation, and being in a wolfs body was a bit too much to accept in a single day. Waking up and feeling quite refreshed Ark couldn''t contain his excitement much longer, he really wanted to experiment more with the mysterious power called magic. But before that, he still had to drink some water and clean up.


    Right now he was really happy of the fact that he had chosen such a good spot as his camp since he had water about 200 meters away from him, he had also spotted a pretty desolate clearing half a kilometer away which was the perfect spot to train and study his new skills. He also made up his mind to go hunting for food after he had confirmed the uses for his new skills as well as adjusted to his new stats.


    Having thought it all through Ark arrived at the clearing after the sun had risen completely in the sky, thinking about the fact that he no longer had to care about how long he slept and waking up in the morning to go to work made Ark''s mood even better than it was before. Standing in the middle of the clearing Ark thought that the most logical choice was to use his [Mana perception] fist since he couldn''t really manipulate something he couldn''t see right?


    Chanting it silently in his head Ark''s silver pupils suddenly started to shine even brighter, even though it was light outside you could still see them shining brightly. Even though the change in his pupils wasn''t that noticeable if you didn''t see them before, the change for Ark was huge. It seemed like he had come to a different world, everything around him seemed to shine and glitter in the sunlight, some more than others, which was probably due to the difference in Mana density or maybe even purity.


    That wasn''t the only change though, because now Ark could see small round dots in various different colours that were dancing around the sky, though most of them were very blurry or had just a faint outline they were definitely there. A particular thing about these particles that Ark noticed was that most of them were coloured after the four main elements, water, fire, earth, and wind. But that didn''t mean those were the only colours, there was black ones, white ones, yellow ones, and cyan coloured ones. They all also seemed to have different tempers corresponding to their element.


    The blue coloured ones that Ark was pretty sure was the water Mana seemed to all be slightly attracted to him which Ark attributed to the fact that he was able to use water magic, the water particles that had approached him all seemed to have a gentle and nice temper, some of them even entered his body, even though it was barely noticeable Ark was pretty sure they revitalized his spirit a little bit. It was amazing how much he had gained from just this skill alone! This confirmed some of his thoughts regarding Mana as well as which elements existed.


    Feeling quite satisfied Ark decided to use the other skill that he had gotten, [Mana manipulation] was a pretty straightforward name since it did exactly what its name implied, allowed Ark to manipulate Mana. Ark didn''t know if he could do much with the different attributes of Mana except water Mana since he thought that he had some sort of connection to water, so he decided to attract as much water mana into his body for the time being since it seemed to be quite beneficial to him.


    After using the skill all the targeted water particles that were flowing around Ark suddenly turned towards him and slowly but surely made their way into his body. After having laid down on the ground and absorbing water Mana for around 15 minutes Ark suddenly felt as though something deep within him had suddenly broken free, gushing forth and giving his body infinite strength. Unfortunately, this only lasted for a fleeting moment before disappearing, to instead be replaced by a monotone voice.


    [Due to host deepening his connections to the water spirits host has obtained "Minor Water Affinity"]


    After hearing this Ark wasn''t quite sure how he was supposed to react since he didn''t know what it meant. He still instantly used "Inspect" on this newfound affinity of his to figure out what it signified.


    [Minor Water Affinity (upgrade-able)]


    Grants host more affinity towards water magic, making it more powerful and easy to use


    Makes water magic 20% more powerful


    Seeing this brought Ark a bright smile, even though it looked a bit creepy when a wolf did it. His trump card right now was actually his water magic so he was really happy to get a power-up for it, even though 20% might not seem like much it actually does a pretty big difference. The fact that it made it easier to handle would also imply that his casting speed, that mind you was already quite fast got even faster. It was also a really easy skill to get if you could even call it a skill.


    It also seemed that it might get powered up in the future if he just kept absorbing water Mana and refining his affinity towards it. He also kind of wanted to try it with the other elements but he didn''t know if it would work, it might even be harmful. The reason he could do it with water was because of his connection to it, but he still wanted to give it a try. But before that, though he wanted to try using his water bullet one more time since he had gotten quite a few power-ups since last time.


    This time he also found a pretty big tree at the edge of the clearing and turned to face it head-on. After chanting "Water Bullet" silently in his head he could feel a soothing power bursting out from the depths of his marrow where it then traveled to his forehead before leaving his body, since he now had [Mana perception] he could now see the water Mana coming out from within him that then proceeded to converge with some of the water Mana in the air before finally condensing into something a bit similar in shape to a bullet before taking off.


    A second later Ark heard a big bang as smoke covered the tree, and to Ark''s surprise, when it finally cleared he could see that the hole he had created this time in the tree had the same width as the other time. What was different this time though was that the penetrative power seemed to have bumped up a lot since the "water bullet" had nearly gone all the way through the tree. Ark stood and watched the hole dumbfounded for a couple of seconds before a huge grin spread on his face.

 Chapter 6 - Affinities!

    Having confirmed the power of his magic now that it had been improved Ark really wanted to try and get the other affinities, even though he was still a bit uncertain. Having decided to at least try it out, Ark thought that the best to start with would be the fire element, for a pretty obvious reason really, water could restrain fire, so if it got too out of hand he could still manage. Looking around a little bit for a good tree he found one at the edge of the clearing that he decided to sit under whilst absorbing the fire elements.


    Activating his [Mana Manipulation] the fire particles around him started to slowly vibrate, Ark had to spend quite a deal of effort before one of them started to slowly drift towards him. When the fire Mana finally entered his body it was neither good nor bad, Ark thought that it kinda felt like his entire body had been on fire for a single second, which wasn''t really that bad because the pain disappeared before it could even manifest itself. Thinking that it wasn''t that bad Ark started to pull as much on the ones that were closest to him.


    This went on for quite a while before something finally happened, this time Ark had been sitting under the tree and absorbing nonstop for about 1 hour. This time was a little different than the first one though, the power still burst forth from deep within his marrow but instead of just spreading to every corner of his body, the fire started to intertwine with the water in his body. It was forming a relationship with the water, a bit like yin and yang, two polar opposites restricting and supporting each other. Even though Ark didn''t know it himself, the thing that had just happened was a thing that was in fact incredibly difficult.


    By the time the water and fire had perfectly fused together multiple dings sounded out in his head as the monotone voice once again began speaking.


    [Due to hosts deepened connections to the fire spirits host has obtained "Minor Fire affinity"]


    [Due to the fire and water affinities in the host''s body having perfectly fused together host has gained the "Yin and Yang" body constitution]


    Hearing how he had gained something called a constitution which Ark had never heard before he decided to use "Inspect" on it.


    [Yin and Yang]


    The fire and water in the host''s body have reached a harmonious stage, making the host able to draw out the hidden power of fire and water by combining them.


    Combining water and fire will multiply the power released.


    Grants host [Small water affinity] and [Small fire constitution]


    Arks eyes went wide upon reading this, he had apparently done something amazing without even realizing it himself. Just that both affinities themselves had evolved was enough to make Ark ecstatic, but now he would be able to fuse them together in an all-out attack that would be able to multiply the power output. A thing that Ark hadn''t been able to notice in all his hysteria was a pair of red eyes silently staring at him from the shadows.


    What he did notice though was the fact that some of the dark particles in the air were slowly but surely converging above one of the bushes on the edge of the clearing. He decided that he would check it out since he might find something interesting there, probably some darkness attributed plant. Walking over giddily and leisurely Ark suddenly felt his hairs stand on end as he was within a meter of the bush, feeling that something wasn''t right he took a step back, something he wouldn''t regret for the rest of his life as he saw something flash before his eyes.


    Even though the mysterious creatures attack had clearly missed the air still violently twisted and the air pressure the move had created was ridiculous, especially considering the fact that Ark hadn''t sensed any sort of magic at all. Having survived such a deadly attack, Ark instantly jumped 15 meters back, creating some distance. Seeing that it''s attack had missed the attacker slowly revealed itself from the bushes. Since he was panicked Ark hadn''t been able to see what it was that attacked him, but seeing the creature that came out of the bushes made Ark freeze.


    In front stood a majestic stag, it was more than 3 meters tall when it stood completely straight, making it towering over Ark even though he was over 15 meters away. It would have been a majestic sight if not for the fact that the creature that was in front of him was as black as the night, its eyes were menacing and cruel as it stared Ark down. The horns on its head also seemed incomparably sharp and had a dark aura. The stag even released a bit of fog-like dark aura that was spreading out around it.


    Comparing this to the Goblins was like comparing the heavens with the earth, this time Ark was truly scared, he didn''t know if he was gonna be able to escape from this beast, let alone fight it. But he hadn''t given up all hope just yet as he was quickly scanning his surroundings before turning towards the stag again. He silently chanted "Inspect" in his head as his gaze was fixated on the stag.


    [????]


    Lv.???


    Stats: ???


    Seeing this scared Ark even more, as it clearly meant that his opponent was beyond him at the moment. Suddenly his eyes tensed as the stag before him suddenly flashed and was already before him, dropping to the ground as fast as he could react the stags attack didn''t fully hit him, it had tried to headbutt him with its giant horns. Fortunately, the horns missed but Ark still got hit by the stags head as he was sent flying through the air until he got stopped by a big tree, snapping it in half.


    Getting through the dizziness in his head Ark stood up, the stag was sneering at him, obviously not considering him an opponent. Ark was suddenly infuriated, his entire life he had been sneered at for being an orphan, always being looked down on even if he was above, now that he had gained a new life he wasn''t about to let history repeat itself. And he would not let a mere stag look down on him!


    But Ark was patient, he started to gather all the fire and water Mana in his body that he could find, he even started to make use of the Mana in the air, even if he could only affect a small bit of it. A vortex of Mana was quickly created, with Ark in the center.


    The stags intelligence wasn''t that high as it failed to notice the changes in the Mana surrounding them. It suddenly dashed forward at full speed towards Ark. Ark didn''t have much time before the stag was upon him, the vortex around him condensed a bit before turning into a huge tornado made out of both fire and water, since the fire and water was madly clashing against each other creating chaos with neither of them trying to give an inch, the power of this tornado could be imagined.


    The stag suddenly found itself right in the middle of this destructive tornado, sending it flying, it wasn''t anything weird since ark had put almost his entire reservoir of Mana into this one attack, he wasn''t stupid so he saved some Mana in case of an emergency. Which would come in quite handy right now, because once the fog of war was cleared and Ark was visible again, there was a dangerous-looking hole in the middle of his underside. The stag wasn''t weak and managed to still give out a devastating attack considering the circ.u.mstances, luckily for Ark the horn missed his vitals.


    Since he had some Mana left Ark instantly used it to cast [Minor Reinvigorate] on himself which helped him a little bit with his wound. Since Ark didn''t dare to stay a single minute more he quickly rushed back to his little hiding spot, enduring the pain for now. The reason he didn''t stay and rest was that the monsters nearby were sure to have noticed the battle and come to check it out. And if he was still there then he might as well ask them to end it quickly.

 Chapter 7 - Training!

    After having run for a short while Ark found himself in the hole of his tree once more, but this time he wasn''t as happy as he had been all the other times. He had learned a new important truth today though, that strength was everything in this world, and that he was weak. Having this thought Ark laid down in his tree, trying to fall asleep and heal himself as quickly as possible.


    Waking up at noon the next day had Ark a little surprised as he discovered that the wound he had suffered had healed quite well, it would be a day or two before it would return to normal but that wasn''t something he couldn''t endure. Having thought of something Ark asked the system if he could turn off the option to show his hp, which gained him a positive response.


    [Due to the wish of the host, hp has been turned off]


    Now you might wonder, why would he do that? It was quite simple actually, Ark felt that it was a bit misleading and distracting. There wasn''t a way to quantify how much life someone had, if it had been life force then it would make more sense but life in itself didn''t work like that. It wasn''t even guaranteed that you''d die after your hp hit 0 since it was just an approximate of how much you could take before going down.


    Ark felt that it was something you could feel for himself so why confuse and distract himself with a number? There was simply no reason to. Even though he was hurt Ark still decided that he would go hunting a little later today, since he still needed to eat. But tomorrow, when he estimated that he would be fully healed, Ark had decided that he would try and grind some levels if possible, he still wasn''t entirely used to killing yet but if it involved his survival then there was nothing to think about.


    Having said that Ark decided to check out his status once more.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 12


    Mp: 69/69


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 25


    Dexterity: 11


    Endurance: 8


    Vitality: 10


    Intelligence: 23


    Wisdom: 11


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.3]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.1]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.1]


    Nimble [Lv.1]


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Status points [35]


    Having seen this made Ark baffled for about a second before he realized that he had probably killed that stag in his desperate life and death attack the day before. He was still happy that he had gained something from the whole ordeal. And he had decided a little more about his path as well, he had to make it a bit more realistic. He couldn''t just level his magic and agility, he needed to put a lot more points into making his status more well rounded than it is now. Some people might argue that a jack of all trades is a master of none but that doesn''t necessarily have to be the case.


    What Ark was thinking was that he should level his other stats as well, but just not by the same amount, and then if he could, he would try and make up for his deficiencies with some skills, at least if he had some skills that could do just that. With that said he decided to bring up his stats of strength, endurance, vitality, and wisdom to 15, leaving him with 14 points left to spend, he decided to bring his dexterity up to 20 which cost 9 points, then he put the remaining 5 points into agility to make it an even 30.


    When his dexterity hit 20 points he heard a monotone voice in his head, this made Ark sure of one thing, he seemed to gain skills correlated to a stat after it had hit level 20, just like a milestone.


    [Due to dexterity becoming 20 host has obtained the skill "Stealth"]


    "Inspect"


    [Stealth]


    User makes their body movements emit as little sound as possible


    *Can be used with darkness element for better effect


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 12


    Mp: 69/69


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 15


    Vitality: 15


    Wisdom: 15


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.3]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.1]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.1]


    Nimble [Lv.1]


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [0]


    At first, Ark was a little confused as to why he only got one skill when his dexterity became 20, but then he suddenly thought of the fact that it didn''t have to be 2 skills, it''s not like that was a fact, it was just speculation on his part. This skill seemed like it would be really good though, hunting was hard so it would be good to be able to set up an ambush, this would also allow Ark to attack some higher leveled enemies as long as he could kill them from the shadows.


    Even though 10% sounded like very little it would probably help him a lot, and not only that, it lasted for a whole 5 minutes! Skills could also level so it seemed that this stealth skill would have some uses for now but a lot of future potentials. It could also be enhanced with the darkness element, Ark didn''t know if he would be able to obtain that affinity yet but he thought that there was a chance.


    Having brought up his stats Ark soon felt a bright warm light envelop him once more as he felt his body fundamentally changing, his itchy and aching wound was suddenly nowhere to be seen as Ark had leveled up both his vitality and endurance, bringing his health to a new level. When the bright light had vanished there was something that Ark hadn''t noticed. On his navy blue body were some patterns, these patterns seemed to look like two chains that were intertwined with each other, one of them being a lighter blue whilst the other one was a bright red.


    This was due to the "Yin and Yang" body constitution, because of his newfound constitution and affinities Ark had become a variant of what he once was, this was of course not a bad thing as it would give him more evolution paths, not that he''d know that. After he felt the changes in his body Ark decided he would go out to hunt at once, not delaying any further since he was starting to become hungry and he wanted to test out the changes to his battle ability.


    After following the river for what seemed like about an hour Ark suddenly felt some disturbances in the earth Mana fluctuating up ahead. Deciding that whatever was disturbing the earth Mana would be his prey Ark quickly chanted "Stealth" as he started sneaking ahead. What he found was a bear, a big one, it was a very dark shade of brown, almost bordering on black and it was probably over 3 meters tall if it were to stand straight up on its hind legs. The bear was currently drinking from the river in big, large gulps.


    Ark wasn''t sure whether he should mess with this bear at first since it seemed quite powerful just from looking on its aura alone. But just in case Ark used "Inspect" on the big bear to find out if he stood an actual chance.


    [Earth Bear]


    Lv: 14


    A bear with connections to the earth spirits.


    This one is close to evolving.


    Strength: 28


    Vitality: 25


    Intelligence: 12


    Constitution: 27


    This was the first time Ark had seen the constitution stat, he had a special body constitution himself but he hadn''t unlocked it yet, but it was probably just because his special body constitution only affected him when it came to Mana.


    Deciding to go for it since he could just run away if he couldn''t defeat the bear Ark slowly crept up behind it. Using his newfound stealth to get under the bears belly Ark decided to fuse some fire and water magic into his claws and then slash out, but just as the fusion was completed the bear seemed to sense something as it suddenly tried to jump away, it was a bit too slow though as Arks attack still hit it in the side.


    When the bear kicked the ground to get away it kicked up a cloud of dust into the air, when it slowly faded a silhouette appeared before Ark, the bear in front of him this time now had a wound in its side, the wound looked quite ghastly as it dripped with blood, it also looked quite scorched. When the dust cloud was finally gone Ark could see a pair of furious red eyes staring back at him, they were almost glowing.


    When Ark saw those eyes he shivered and had a bit of a hard time standing up, he felt as though he was under an immense amount of pressure, just because of a stare, Ark soon got to know the reason though as he suddenly heard the same old voice ring out again.


    [Due to the skill "Warriors Glare" host''s physical stats has been reduced by 10% for 30 seconds]


    This got rid of the confusion that Ark had felt a little while ago, and it also made him more alert since this bear seemed to have skills. As he thought that the bear suddenly started to make a charge straight at him. It was kind of slow since it was wounded and its agility was never good, to begin with, but it was still an insanely powerful charge. When the bear was within a meter of him Ark suddenly shot up into the air and over the bear, in the air, he released a claw attack made out of condensed flames at the back of the bear.


    He was a bit satisfied with himself since he had hidden some condensed water bubbles underneath all his four paws, which he made explode, sending him into the air, he soon realized he had gotten a bit conceited as he sensed some changes in the earth when he was just half a meter from the ground. A spike suddenly shot out of the ground and pierced straight at him, Ark was caught a bit off guard but still managed to turn his body in the air.


    The spike grazed his back as he made an awkward landing behind the bear, the spike had drawn a thin line of blood on Ark''s back but it wasn''t that bad, it didn''t affect his combat strength at all, it only stung a little bit. The bear suffered quite a lot, on the other hand, the claw attack had gone quite deep and had even lit the bear on fire.


    As the bear madly rushed into the water to put out the fire that had appeared on it''s back Ark suddenly heard the bushes behind him rustle, he instantly turned his back against the bear and went into a combat-ready stance. The reason he could turn his back to the bear was that it couldn''t do anything to him at the moment and if it tried anything funny he would either hear or sense it.


    What dumbfounded Ark in the next moment though was the fact that what fell out of the bush in the next second were, in fact, a pair of humans...

 Chapter 8 - Humans!

    Seeing humans made Ark both dumbfounded and a bit happy, seeing humans brought him some hope! Maybe someday he could make a friend! Even though it seemed like a foolish dream since he was, in fact, a wolf, Ark didn''t care, he didn''t have any friends back on earth but he really wanted to be able to have someone to talk to about anything and anyone, someone that would always support him, someone who wouldn''t turn his back on him and someone to keep him company.


    But he still knew his limits, communicating with humans was impossible at the moment so all he could do was try and show them he wasn''t hostile, even though it might not necessarily work. As the two fallen humans entered his eyesight he took notice of their appearances as well as their power levels. He silently chanted "Inspect" in his head as he watched the two humans who had now proceeded to stand up.


    Lily [Human]


    Class: Rogue


    Lv: 11


    Strength: 18


    Agility: 17


    Dexterity: 18


    Intelligence: 15


    Grant [Human]


    Class: Wizard


    Lv: 13


    Intelligence: 24


    Wisdom: 19


    Agility: 13


    Vitality: 12


    Dexterity: 14


    Seeing their statuses and appearances made Ark feel a little bit at peace, he could see that the girl on the right seemed to be a rogue or an assassin since she was carrying twin daggers that looked to be made of ordinary steel. She had a small build and seemed to be about as big as Ark himself at about 150 centimeters, or 1,5 meters. Her hair was as brown as hazelnut and her small and round face was quite petite, which made her quite cute like you had a sudden urge to protect her. She had thin lips and a pretty dark shade of brown in her eyes.


    When the two kids saw the scene in front of them they instantly looked really frightened, it was quite understandable since it wasn''t some ordinary weak monsters that they had run into.


    .....


    Grant was in a happy mood today, it had been a great day. He had been able to get permission from his father to go out in the forest nearby on an adventure. It had taken him some time but he was finally able to convince him. Grant was from the Hughes family, it was a Baronets family so they were considered to be nobility which garnered them some benefits and a status that was cut above the rest of the commoners.


    As the only son of a nobles family Grant was doted upon a lot which made it quite hard for him to go out on an adventure since both his father and his mother was strictly against the idea of their son going out on a dangerous adventure. Even though a Baronet was considered to be of the lowest rung of nobility, it was still nobility.


    The different ranks of nobility were in order from low to high, Baronet - Baron - Viscount - Earl - Marquess - Duke, and then there was royalty of course at the top of the food chain. The biggest reason because he was happy though was because he had been able to invite Lily, Lily was a commoner who was a resident of the area the Hughes family was in control of.


    Lily and Grant had been able to become close friends at a young age despite the difference in social status, the reason was quite simple, they were still kids. After having grown up together Grant had started to develop quite the feelings for Lily, for him it didn''t matter whether she was nobility or not since she was the girl that he loved. Even if his family would want to arrange a political marriage for him since he was expected to marry someone of the same social status as him, he still wouldn''t accept it.


    If his family wouldn''t support him, then he was ready to run away with Lily and make a name for himself, to force his family into recognizing his decision. But that was only the worst-case scenario, Grant knew that his family was supportive of his decisions ever since he was little, as long as his partner was someone good then they wouldn''t object.


    This day in the forest was supposed to be a splendid day for Grant since he was going to tell Lily his feelings. He was quite sure that she had the same feelings so he was quite happy, at least that''s the way things should''ve gone. Instead what had happened was that they had unexpectedly run into quite the frightening scene. There was an earth bear that was wounded and on fire in the water, just this was enough to frighten anyone who wasn''t strong enough to take it down.


    The even more frightening scene though was the fact that there stood a blue wolf in front of them, this blue wolf wasn''t normal since it could injure the earth bear to this point, and with fires at that! A blue wolf wasn''t supposed to know fire magic, so this one was a variant, it was also quite easy to spot if you looked at the two chains that were intertwining on its body. The wolf was even staring straight at them, which made both of them shiver.


    What shocked Grant the most though was that the bear had released an earth spike that was fired in their direction, that by itself wasn''t shocking but what was shocking was that the blue wolf had moved to stand in front of them and made a shield out of water to block the attack. This was simply unheard of! Grant and Lily had all the right in the world to be shocked, a monster protecting a random human wasn''t something that normally happened, even though it certainly wasn''t impossible.


    ....


    After having protected the humans Ark proceeded to gather the magic for his attack, this time he was going to make an all-out attack to try and kill the bear instantly. Ark decided that it would be quite appropriate to modify the attack he had used to kill the stag a little bit for his killer move. To do this he started to gather both water and fire and fusing them. He forced the Mana to concentrate on his claws and then condense over and over again.


    After about 5 seconds Ark started to lose a bit of control over the magic he had been acc.u.mulating, this move did need a ridiculous amount of precision to execute after all. The wind within a 10-meter radius of Ark seemed to go mad, ferociously howling as it got forced away by the invisible pressure that Ark''s move was emitting. Since he couldn''t control the vortexes on his claws for much longer Ark instantly used up most of the remaining strength in his legs to arrive before the bear, swinging his claws down.


    It took almost half a second until the destructive power of the move instantly erupted and swallowed the bear whole. The bear barely lasted a single second as it got eviscerated by the attack almost instantly. This was Ark''s strongest attack after all, and he had spent quite a lot on executing it this time. Even though there was still the humans left, but since had protected them just then he hoped that they would be sensible and leave him alone.


    As he turned around to stare at them he noticed that they looked incredibly shocked, Ark could also see some clear confusion as well as fright, which anyone would feel if they saw a monster staring at them that had shown horrifying strength just a second before. But they didn''t seem to harbor any intent on battling hem though, which made Ark a bit more relaxed. Since the humans didn''t seem like they were gonna mess with him Ark just nodded at them before dragging of the bear''s corpse with him into the distance.


    ....


    Seeing the scary and strange wolf leave with the bear corpse both Grant and Lily let out a slow breath that they had been holding. To be honest, neither of them had the guts to even breathe when the wolf was checking them out just then, but since it had left they could finally relax a little bit. Both of them was looking at each other with some confusion in their eyes before one of them spoke up.


    - What the hell was that about?

 Chapter 9 - Mysterious beauty?

    After having left the humans behind dumbfounded, Ark decided to go back to his little hole to think a little bit. First of all, he wanted to think about the possibility of returning to human society and what he would do if it were possible. It''s always good to have a plan just in case he was someday able to maybe speak to humans or even becoming one himself, this was a world of magic so who knew what was possible right?


    Ark wasn''t sure if he wanted to go back to human society, or well he was kind of sure but there was still a shred of hesitation left. The reason he still had a shred of hesitation left was because of his former life, his life had been miserable, so he didn''t know what would happen in this world. The most significant reason he had such a miserable life in his former world was that he was an orphan.


    But in this world it didn''t matter as much as long as you were strong enough, I mean who would have the right to judge you if you were a lot stronger than them, well at least not someone who still wanted to keep their head. Of course, not all people would just behead you if you badmouthed them a little bit but there was still a chance, and it would just be stupid to offend someone strong in the first place.


    After a little bit of thought, Ark decided that he would try and live in human society should the opportunity present itself. If he were to somehow turn back into a human though he at least wanted to keep his magic since his life as a human would be pointless and bad otherwise. He could also consider living with humans if he found out a way to communicate with them, and as long as they didn''t try and do something to him since he was a wolf after all.


    Another thing he hadn''t thought about is how he should act if a human attacked him. Of course, Ark didn''t want to kill fellow humans as there was a pretty big difference in killing humans and killing monsters. But at the same time if he needed to he wouldn''t hesitate, in the end, Ark just decided that he would decide depending on the circ.u.mstances of the situation. I mean if a human attacked him because it thought he was a threat he would just teach them a little lesson and then leave them alone, he would do the same after all.


    .....


    Whilst this was going on you could see two humans quickly running into the town of Merelia, it was quite small and could barely be called a town but it was still a territory governed by a Baronet family, namely the Hughes family. The two people who were rushing into town was, in fact, Grant and Lily, after having experienced being saved by the wolf the duo quickly ran back to their town to report to the adventurers guild as well as Grant''s father what had happened.


    Since the wolf seemed to be intelligent there were two different possibilities, that was that it would either become a divine creature or a demonic creature. If it were to become a demonic creature then it would have immeasurable strength as well as being incredibly evil so it was best to strike it down before it could grow up to become a large threat. And if it were to develop into a divine creature then it would be best to try and protect as soon as possible since they would often be targeted by other beasts and they were usually nice.


    Divine creatures were thought to be the messengers of God, at least to some people, whilst some people merely thought that they were legendary creatures that would be great to have as an ally. The world that Ark had gotten himself reincarnated into was called the Aries Plane. It mainly consisted of one main continent that was surrounded by numerous smaller continents. On the large continent, you could find all kinds of races and creatures, but the most dominant was the humans and the demon race.


    The continent was essentially split into two parts, one where the demons resided that was called Geneha and then the other part which was where all the humans lived, this was called the Oshwalt Empire. Under this empire existed 15 kingdoms of varying sizes. The kingdom that Ark was currently in was the fourth largest country that was called the Estridsen Kingdom, after the royal family that possessed the family name of Estridsen.


    After Grant and Lily had run into the city they were shot a lot of conflicting gazes and looks, it wasn''t normal to be running in the middle of the city in broad daylight, if you were a kid then it was normal but it would bring quite a bit of attention when two adventurers were running in the city in a state of panic. When the two was halfway to the guild they suddenly heard a voice call out to them.


    "Excuse me"


    The one who had spoken had been a woman who had been sitting in a carriage that they had just passed. Since they were in a hurry they didn''t notice the majestic gold embroidered snow-white carriage that was in the middle of the road.


    What was even more impressive was that it had been dragged behind a special breed of white horse that was called "the snow horse". What was special about these horses was the fact that they were not only very physically capable but also knew snow magic, and they were very expensive. Hearing the really beautiful voice that came from this expensive entourage made both Grant and Lily visibly gulp.


    After the door to the carriage was opened a lady clad in a white suit of armor stepped out. She was quite tall for a woman and was about 175 centimeters in height. Her legs were long and slender and she had all her curves in the right places. Her hair was a really bright and almost sparkling shade of platinum blonde. Her eyes were also really bright and purple, they kind of looked like two mysterious gems that were being shone upon by ethereal moonlight, it was a pity though since the rest of her face was covered up behind a thin veil. The white suit of armor enticed her beauty even more since it had some really beautiful engravings on it that seemed to emit a magical force.


    After the lady stepped out both Lily and Grant were dumbfounded, who was this mysterious lady? Where had she come from? And why was she here of all places? A lot of different thoughts went through their heads as they were slowly being approached by the lady.

 Chapter 10 - Meeting!

    When the lady had finally gotten in front of them they were both sweating profusely and shivering from anxiety. It was kind of hard not to, in their eyes, this mysterious woman almost seemed like she was holy. A second later they both finally realized something, why had this woman called out to them? Did they offend her somehow? Was she annoyed by the fact that they had been running on the street? They really hoped that they hadn''t offended her somehow. Cause that seemed like it would be quite the disaster!


    But when she was walking towards them she didn''t really look particularly mad, the aura she emitted also seemed to be quite gentle, giving them the feeling that she wasn''t angry at them, which she wasn''t. When she came to stop in front of them she gave them a quick look over before she began to speak again.


    "Why were you in such a hurry" She gently asked them.


    "We have a monster sighting to report to the adventurers guild," They both said almost simultaneously to the lady.


    "A monsters sighting? What kind? Since it seems so urgent" The lady asked as she pondered a bit.


    "We suspect that we have found either a possible divine creature or a possible demonic creature" Grant answered, a little anxiously.


    Hearing this made even the stoic face of the seemingly young woman change a little bit. If it was already confirmed that it was one of the two beasts then she would surely be a lot more shocked, the reason she wasn''t that surprised was simply because she didn''t believe that the kids in front of her had the right judgment for this kind of thing, even though she thought of them as kids she wasn''t much older herself.


    The kids in front of her were around 15 while she was only 18, so the difference wasn''t really that big. After asking the so-called "kids" in front of her for the whole story she knew where they had gotten there guesses from, she couldn''t blame them though since it was indeed very strange. A monster saving a human and then letting them go was really rare, and the lady had decided that she would check the situation out for herself.


    After having asked them for the situation were the showdown had taken place and which direction the wolf had taken the lady bid the two farewell and sett off into the woods. The possibility that the wolf was dangerous to her safety because of its power never crossed the lady''s mind. There was a simple reason behind this, she was strong, really strong. Not only was she strong but she was also very influential, which meant that she also had elite bodyguards and assassins that could help her with practically anything she needed them for.


    Because of the fact that she had professional and powerful assassins, she also wouldn''t really lose the wolf since they could easily track it down. It took about an hour for the entourage to get to the scene of the battle since they had to travel on foot for half of the way where the carriage couldn''t go. There wasn''t actually that much of a mess after the battle had taken place, there were some claw marks here and there, some big, some small. You could also see some scorched patches of grass and trees anywhere you looked, most of the time mixed in with some blood.


    Seeing the scene didn''t affect the woman in the slightest as she ordered one of her assassins to scout ahead in the direction that the wolf had headed. It only took him about 5 minutes before he was back again. He told her that he had found the wolf resting and healing itself inside of a hollowed out tree that seemed to be it''s home. After hearing these news the lady stood and pondered for a minute. She was now a bit more interested than she was before, the wolf obviously had some intelligence as the tree it had chosen as its home was quite well hidden, as well as being close to some pretty useful and important places. Another thing that had interested her, even more, was the fact that the wolf seemed to be a variant of a blue wolf.


    It apparently had some tattoos or maybe engravings in its fur that seemed to glow a bit in the darkness as well as contain some hidden power that was constantly emanating from it. In conclusion, it had both obvious intelligence as well as being a variant, there was definitely something up with this wolf, and in the low chance that it was a future divine creature she wanted to try and communicate with it, or at least build some good relations with it. This wasn''t really for her own personal gain but more for the country''s, since she did have to care a lot for it because of her morals and social standing.


    She didn''t really know if the wolf would have a way to communicate with her but she thought that she might as well give it a try. If the wolf wasn''t able to communicate with her then she would just be able to leave, since it wasn''t strong enough to force her otherwise. After changing directions and starting to travel towards the tree, the entourage took about 5 minutes of careful walking to get there.


    They waited outside of the tree for about 5 seconds before the wolf slowly and carefully showed itself. Aside from the "marks" the blue wolf was only slightly bigger than normal, or well that was how it looked until you looked into its eyes. They didn''t seem to belong to an animal at all, they showed a deep look and a sense of maturity that you would even rarely see among fellow humans, not to mention some monsters you would find in a forest.


    After taking a deep breath and calming herself down a little bit, the lady proceeded to talk to the wolf.


    "We mean you no harm, we are just here to talk"


    This earned her a bit of a fl.u.s.tered look before it calmed down and returned a nod. Seeing this made the lady a bit excited as she realized that this wolf could actually understand what she was even saying.


    "We were wondering why you rescued the two humans a little while ago"


    This time the look she received seemed to indicate that the answer was obvious and that it was a stupid question. This made the lady even more excited, as there were increasingly many signs that this was indeed going to become a divine creature in the future.


    This was, of course, excellent news, the demons had actually been quite restless recently and the humans, as well as most of the other races, anticipated that they were probably going to start a war soon since they had always wanted to conquer all of the Aries plane. The biggest reason everyone thought that the demons were growing restless was because of the adventurers guild.


    The adventurers guild was a place were people who wanted to make money, fame and a name for themselves go. There you could put up requests with a corresponding difficulty level and reward, then the adventurers of the equivalent rank could take on the quest and hopefully earn the rewards. If something was wrong the adventurers guild would always get reports about it.


    This was what was happening recently, apparently, the rate at which the adventurers encountered with demons had tripled compared to before, and it was rising by the day. The demons that the adventurers had encountered also seemed to be out for blood as they always attacked on sight. Something they usually didn''t do, so you could easily figure out that something was up.

 Chapter 11 - Decision!

    Ark was in a bit of a weird mood right now, he was currently surrounded by humans who had shown up out of nowhere outside of his home, and they were all immeasurably powerful, at least to Ark right now. They had apparently come to talk with him, which he found was quite strange at first, but in the end, he could attribute it to the fact that he had saved two humans before. What he did not know was what they wanted to talk about, they couldn''t possibly think he could communicate with them right?


    The first thing that Ark noticed about these humans was that they all kind of centered around the woman who had just spoken to him. Although he couldn''t get a clear look of her face due to the veil she was wearing he could tell that she was a beauty just by looking at her eyes and hair. Having said that, the woman soon opened her mouth once more to speak.


    "Do you like humans?"


    It was a bit of a weird question but Ark still nodded nonetheless, since he was still a human at heart, and he wasn''t willing to throw something like that away, ever.


    "Do you like demons?"


    This question was also a bit weird but Ark didn''t really know how to answer since he didn''t know the answer. He had never heard of these so-called demons before, if he just used common sense that he had gotten from his previous world then he would probably deem demons as something evil and sinister. But to be honest, he was now in a different world, and even if they seemed evil in the eyes of the humans, that doesn''t mean he can just start hating them without even having met a single one, he didn''t even know what they were.


    The woman seemed to be pondering a little bit since Ark presumably hadn''t answered like she wanted him to, but at the same time he had not given her an answer that would make him evil in her eyes at all. Having decided that the wolf would be good for the country''s future the lady decided that she would at least try and build some connections since a divine creature would be a great help should the demons decide to invade.


    "I have a question"


    Hearing this Ark tilted his head sideways and gave her an expectant look, this was the only way he knew that he could try and convey that he wanted to hear the question. Seeing this the woman assumed she was good to go and finally asked a very crucial question.


    "Do you want to come with us and see life in the royal palace?"


    Hearing this made Ark very confused, why did they want him to come with them to live with humans? And since she said the royal palace he assumed that she was some kind of royalty, maybe a princess of some sort. This question put Ark in a bit of tough situation, he really wanted to see the human society of this world, he also kind of wanted to have some sort of interaction with other people lest he someday actually lose all his humanity.


    The thing that made it hard though was the fact that he had no idea as to why they would want him to come with them, was there something wrong with him? When the lady in the white armor saw the obvious confusion on the wolf''s face she knew that it had at least understood her and that it was intelligent enough to question why she was inviting it into the human society.


    "My name is Annette Estridsen, the third princess of the Estridsen kingdom."


    Hearing this didn''t shock Ark in the slightest since he had already guessed that she was either a princess or something with equivalent social standing, he was still a little bit fl.u.s.tered though since there was a real princess in front of him.


    "We suspect you to be a divine creature so we thought that coming in contact with humans would help you to grow, and also establish some friendship between us!"


    Now Ark finally knew the reason that they wanted him to come with them to this so-called royal palace, he didn''t know what a divine creature was, but since he had shown them his clear intelligence as well as having saved 2 humans he guessed that those were the reasons he was considered a divine creature. He didn''t complain though, this was a win-win situation since he really wanted to be able to see what human society looked like here, the only thing that had been stopping him was the fact that he was a wolf, but now that it was no longer a problem he instantly knew that this was the right choice for him and that he might never get the chance ever again, so even if it was some sort of scheme he didn''t really care all too much.


    After having said that Annette studied the wolf for its reaction, at first it looked a bit frozen and like it was pondering, but then suddenly it looked really happy as it gazed upon her and madly nodded it''s head a couple of times. This made Annette really happy, she even broke out into a smile, which she almost never did.


    "Great! Can we set out right now?"


    Upon asking the question Ark almost instantly nodded his head, like his opportunity would disappear if he didn''t do it fast enough. This earned him a chuckle from Annette as she ordered the entourage to make their way back to the carriage that they had been riding on their way here. When they were only 25 meters away from the carriage Ark was a little baffled at how magnificent a carriage could look, he wasn''t even expecting anything that came close to this.


    It seemed that he had underestimated this world a little bit, even though they had really underdeveloped technology compared to his old world, they had something completely different that his own world didn''t have, magic! With magic essentially anything was possible, even though some things were practically impossible, they weren''t completely impossible, just almost.


    Even a carriage in this world was endowed with magic, even though it wasn''t necessarily anything complicated it was still magic, and it was practical. It made the carriage a much more comfortable and durable ride, it was also quite resistant to magic as it had been engraved with protection magic. Of course, this carriage was a bit special since it was made for a princess to ride, it was still impressive nonetheless.


    What shocked Ark a little bit when they were about to take off though was that the princess insisted on having him ride in the carriage, he expected to have to run behind it, which didn''t bother him at all. But since he was expected to ride in the carriage he naturally wouldn''t refuse, he was actually quite happy that they would let him since it would make the journey a lot more comfortable.


    After getting out of the forest they came to a town, if you could call it that. Annette told Ark that the town was actually called Merelia. It was apparently run by the Hughes family, were the kid that he had saved earlier was the only son. Annette also told him that they were going to stop by to take a rest for the night since it was already evening, and it would take a couple of days to get to the next town over.


    This made Ark a bit excited since he would gladly meet with one of the humans he had saved earlier, thinking back to it made Ark satisfied with himself. This was the moment at which he realized that he enjoyed the feeling when you had successfully helped someone, helping people made him feel more whole as a person, and he would never be able to live with himself if he just abandoned innocent people that needed his help, at least if he had the capacity to help them.

 Chapter 12 - Entering a city!

    After travelling for quite a while Ark started to hear more and more noise, at first it was a little bit annoying but as the sound got clearer it soon didn''t bother him at all, this was because this was the sound of the people! This made him very excited since he had been yearning for some human contact ever since he had gotten into this world, because even though there was amazing things such as magic and a whole new world filled to the brim with various wonders of nature and animals, there was nothing that could replace interaction with ones own kin.


    So no matter how much he loved magic and no matter how invested he got in this new world this thought would always be nagging at the back of his head. When the bustling noises was close enough to notice that it was coming from just outside of the carriage, it suddenly came to a stop, this was because of the check they made when someone wanted to enter the town, they couldn''t just let anyone in, you also had to pay a small fee. But since this was a pretty backwater place the fee was almost non existent.


    After having successfully entered the town Ark grew quite restless, just imagining all the different sights and various places and culture that he was missing out on made it feel like his heart was bleeding, but he was still very grateful that they had let him come with them at all, so he calmed down pretty quickly. After about 5 more minutes they rolled up to the Hughes estate, it was quite big from the perspective of a commoner but to someone like Annette this was barely a shed.


    Stepping out of the carriage for the first time, the first thing Ark saw was the decent sized mansion that was currently in front of him, the garden was pretty big and was very well taken care of by the gardener who worked here. Even though the guards had just let their entourage in they didn''t check the carriage since someone of a really high status was in there, so seeing a wolf suddenly walk out brought them quite the shock.


    The wolf was carrying a majestic aura compared to theirs, since it was actually just a blue wolf they had already guessed that the aura came from the weird patterns that were covering it''s body. They instantly went into battle stances though, all but one, who had run off to inform everyone else. The guards slowly encircled Ark, even though they knew they wouldn''t be able to beat him they still decided that they would be able to buy some time for the rest of the household to come up with a plan to deal with this wolf.


    When they came too close though Ark summoned up a wall fused from water and fire to keep them away, he didn''t want to battle them at all so just forced them to keep their distance, since the princess would explain why he was there anyway. As soon as he thought that, Annette emerged from the carriage accompanied by a set of royal guards, seeing this made the manors guards very confused.


    "The wolf is with us!"


    The guards instantly backed away as they realized that this entourage had immense auras leaking from their bodies, which meant that there was probably something up, not that it really concerned them, as long as the wolf wasn''t dangerous it didn''t matter, it was probably the young lady''s mount or something of the like.


    "I''m sorry my lady, we failed to notice that this was your mount."


    Hearing this made Ark a little displeased but he knew where the misunderstanding came from so he just chose to ignore it and let Annette explain.


    "No problem"


    Hearing this Ark curled his lips a little as he shot Annette a look which clearly showed that he was very displeased to be called someones mount just like that, as to which he received a radiant smile. Seeing it made Ark feel like he was just silly and question how he could ever give such a pure lady a look like that. As soon as this thought flashed through Ark''s mind he suddenly gave her a fierce look and went into a defensive stance, he clearly felt that she had used some sort of magic there to affect his thinking, so he thought that she had intended to harm him.


    "You really don''t have a sense of humor!"


    Chuckling a bit Annette made a gesture telling Ark to follow her as she proceeded to walk towards the mansion, what she had just used was a sort of magic called charm magic, this magic worked wonders when it came to influencing peoples thoughts and d.e.s.i.r.es, this magic could only be used by women though since men weren''t able to for some reason. This magic was often used to seduce people, but it only worked on people who didn''t have a will and mind that was strong enough. Of course this was also relative to the mages power.


    Realizing how Annette had only been playing with him Ark started to follow her, his head held a little bit lower than his usual bearing since he was quite embarrassed, he felt that he had overreacted a bit just then. But what was done was done, and he should probably just act like nothing ever happened, in hope that she would forget it, this was the best solution, at least that Ark could come up with.


    When they had just arrived at the entrance of the mansion the doors suddenly burst open, and out came a little squadron of guards, in the center of the guards were a middle-aged man, a woman who seemed to be just as old, and two teenagers of opposite genders. The middle-aged man had emerald green eyes as well as bright blonde hair that went down all the way to his shoulders, he looked quite fierce as he had a well built body and sharp facial features, which made him look like a warrior.


    The woman on the other hand looked very gentle and nice, her hair was a sleek black that would probably blend greatly into the darkness, her eyes were a crystal blue that looked as deep as the ocean, she looked like she was someone who had connections to the water spirits, just from her gentle bearing and ocean eyes.


    Ark recognized the teenagers as the ones who he had saved, Grant and Lily. This made him think that the a.d.u.l.ts in the middle was Grant''s parents. Before Ark had arrived in town Annette told him about the two teenagers he had saved as well as a little bit about the city itself. Apparently Grant was a nobles son and Lily was a commoner, this explained why their get-ups were so different in their quality.


    When the couple saw the wolf in front of them they instantly turned serious and positioned themselves in front of the children, even though there was still a layer of guards in the way, it wouldn''t hurt to be extra careful, especially not in these types of situations.


    "Ahem"


    Hearing someone cough they instantly noticed that there was people to the side of this wolf, it seemed like they had even come here together. Getting their acts together the couple told the guards to stand down and put on some brilliant smiles, this was mostly since they could feel the invisible pressure the group emitted. Grant''s father hurried to invite the unexpected guests inside since he didn''t really know what to do.


    "I''m sorry that I didn''t notice you earlier, please enter my humble abode."


    "No worries, we shall take you up on that offer."


    The kids didn''t really know what was going on since it was really chaotic, one thing they both noticed however was that the wolf in front of them was the same one that they had been saved by in the forest earlier, they also noticed that the lady in white was with it. This made them suspect that the wolf was indeed some form of divine creature after all, their blood boiled at the thought of making such a major discovery as this.


    After having stepped inside and sat down in the reception hall, the people from the Hughes family''s mansion were all nervous, most of the nervousness could be attributed to the wolf who was eagerly looking around the place at almost all times, it seemed quite intrigued by almost anything that managed to catch it''s eye. The tension and nervousness soon cleared up though as Annette explained clearly why they had brought a wolf with them and what it signified, she also naturally introduced herself, which scared the Hughes family a lot, they suddenly felt that their reception was way too bad.


    This was natural as the princess identity wasn''t something they could compete with, they would maybe be equivalent to her shoe servants. They also soon turned to the wolf to show their gratitude as they found out that it had saved their young master who had been out on an adventure in the forest. During all of this Ark was the biggest winner, he got to see what it looked like in this mansion, he also got a lot of praise and gratitude. Which was almost a first for him, back in his own world he usually just got contempt whenever he did good, or did something admirable. All they did was sneer behind his back and laugh at him, calling him names and making fun of him.


    He had always toughed it out his entire life, choosing to ignore all the insults, all the pain, just to try and maintain what little happiness he had in his life. But now he just couldn''t control himself anymore, he couldn''t hide from the pain anymore, and so, he cried. Everyone was shocked upon seeing this, this majestic and domineering wolf had suddenly started crying when they had expressed their gratitude, afraid that they had done something stupid they instantly started apologizing due to fear.


    Ark just kept on crying while trying to convey that he wanted to be left alone, it took a while for them to understand what he meant but when they did they all hastened out of the room, to give him space. Outside of the room Annette stood completely dumbfounded, this was beyond her understanding! Why would the wolf suddenly start to cry when they thanked it for what it had done earlier? She didn''t know, but she did know one thing, this wolf wasn''t just simply a divine creature!


    Even though divine creatures were said to be intelligent and all that they still didn''t really show much emotion, if any at all. While this blue wolf that she had met had started to cry right in front of her! Another thing that made her a little bit apprehensive was the aura the wolf had released whilst it was crying, the aura seemed incredibly desolate and lonely, it also seemed really depressing, but happy at the same time, like it had remembered something special. This aura made it seem like he was standing all alone, at the top of a majestic looking mountain peak, as the heavens sent out lightning all around him.


    Annette wondered what the wolf had gone through to be able to release an aura like that, most auras represented how a person was, and also what element they were aligned to, or well it didn''t always have an impact but in most cases it did. This meant that the wolf had probably suffered through immense hardsh.i.p.s to get to where he was. She started to feel really bad, she really wanted to befriend the wolf now, she didn''t want to see it all alone and suffering, she somehow felt that she was being slowly pulled in by this mysterious wolf.


    Suddenly the crying stopped, their was some rustling noises coming from inside of the room for a while until it quieted down completely. Then they could hear slow thuds as Ark''s paws landed on the floor to take him slowly to the door. As Ark got closer to the door the people that had been waiting outside could suddenly feel that the temperature seemed to be dropping, when he was finally at the door it was already freezing cold, which drew quite the contrast to before.


    Then the thuds stopped. When they stopped the people could suddenly see that there was a thin layer of ice that had covered the door, then it slowly grew thicker and thicker...


    BANG!!!


    Then they heard a loud bang as the door completely turned into the finest of dust, and Ark slowly walked out from within the dust cloud...

 Chapter 13 - Ice cold!

    After leaving the dust, Ark was finally revealed. He no longer looked like he was nice at all, if they hadn''t heard the crying then they would have never been able to guess. What was truly different about him though was the fact that his eyes had changed colour, and so did his aura. His eyes had turned into a dazzling cyan colour, staring into them would be like staring into the endless abyss, yet at the same time they weren''t dead at all, they were actually really vibrant.


    Walking past the people Ark didn''t even glance at them, he had a cold look as he just walked past them, bringing freezing temperatures to his surroundings. The people were really scared, the change in the wolf''s temperament was immense, too immense, it didn''t even seem to be the same anymore. They didn''t know why had suddenly had such an outburst, or why he had started crying in the first place, what they didn''t know though was the fact that the reason Ark was crying was for a different reason then they thought.


    He didn''t cry out of happiness or just because he had saved some kids, the reason was mostly because of his old world. His life in his own world had been extremely depressing, it had been a huge mess, and very tragic, but never once during his entire lifetime did he cry. Since he was on a roller coaster of emotions at the moment, and since he was a bit messed up from the charm magic he had been under he couldn''t control himself and decided that he would cry one time for his own world. And then he would never cry again. Having walked away from the group of people Ark started to get disappointed of himself, just because he had been offered to live with humans he had acted like a total idiot.


    It was obvious that the lady had used some sort of magic on him, and he had barely had a reaction, and then he got embarrassed by himself? Just this fact alone was what should be embarrassing! Having his mind messed with didn''t sit well with him, and he would start to be more cautious, as well as more serious than he had been up until now. He still decided to go with them, but he would be careful, and if the woman ever tried something like that again he would kill her!


    A thing that Ark hadn''t managed to notice was the fact that he would never think like this before. His mind had gone through a major change during his mental breakdown, this, of course, wasn''t without its benefits. Since he had been caught up in the moment he didn''t realize it until now, didn''t he use ice to break the door? Thinking about it Ark sensed the Mana in the air and turned on his "Mana Perception".


    When he did this time, there was one thing that was entirely different from before, now when he used it he could see that there was a lot of cyan coloured Mana that was hovering around him, it seemed to follow him wherever he went. Seeing this made Ark really excited, he had gained some information from Annette that regarded the different elements. She had told him that the four elements of water, fire, earth, and wind were the basic elements, that most people were aligned to. Then there were the more rare and powerful elements like darkness, light, lightning, and ice.


    This had made Ark a little baffled since ice was counted as one of the stronger elements since it was just one of the forms of water, so how could it be more powerful. Since he had looked extremely baffled when she had said this Annette had told him that the reason why ice was more powerful was that it was both more abstract, which often made an element more powerful but also harder to learn and understand. Another reason was because of it''s ruthless and cold nature that it gave its users, these were traits that were really good and suited to combat which was why they were revered as such.


    This case was the same for some other elements as well. The reason they had gotten into this subject in the first place had been because of Ark''s tattoos of water and fire intertwining which had been a subject of discussion at the time. He had also been told that it was extremely rare to be able to fuse them because of their contrasting natures, but Ark thought differently, he thought that the reason he was even able to fuse them together in the first place was because of their relationship with one another.


    Since he had realized it Ark decided that it would be a good idea to check his status, he hadn''t done so in a while, and he wanted to see if some of the changes were added to it.


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 14


    Mp: 61/69


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 15


    Vitality: 15


    Intelligence: 23


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.4]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.5]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.1]


    Nimble [Lv.1]


    Stealth [Lv.2]


    Small Water Affinity


    Major Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [10]


    Seeing this made Ark very excited, he had apparently gained 2 levels when he had killed the Earth Bear from before which made it seem like it was really worth the effort he had put in since it wasn''t that much. He also noticed that some of his skills had apparently leveled up both in the middle of the battle as well as outside of it. His stealth had become level 2 which made the effect 20% instead of 10%, which was quite the improvement. His inspect had also gained another level, which didn''t surprise him at all since he used it quite often.


    What did surprise him a little bit was that his skill [Mana Manipulation] had apparently reached level 5 all of a sudden, but what surprised him, even more, was the fact that he had gained a new skill called [Mental Fortitude] which was a pleasant surprise. He also noticed the ice affinity but that didn''t give him a shock, he knew he could suddenly control the ice element very well which meant that he had obviously somehow attained an affinity with it. What did surprise him a little bit however was the fact that the affinity was a Major one. The affinities were categorized into minor, small, medium, major, big and perfect. With each one giving 20% more power than the one before, and also more ease in controlling the element itself. But that''s just what Ark knew.


    What Ark didn''t know however was the fact that it would be a lot easier to understand the profoundness behind some of the elements if you had a high affinity toward them since the spirits of said element would want to help you gain enlightenment. This was one of the major reasons why people wanted to have higher affinities, of course, the other aspects were really nice and almost anyone would want them, but at the same time they could be made up for by other factors, control could be trained and power also depended on magic power so if you had high affinity without a lot of magic power then it wouldn''t really be better than having low affinity and high magic power, if you didn''t count the enlightenment part.


    Since he had a major affinity he knew he had 80% more power when he used ice magic but he still decided to use inspect just in case there was something else.


    Grants the host more affinity towards ice magic, making it easier to use and more powerful.


    Power of ice magic increases by 80%


    Makes controlling the ice element a lot easier.


    (Was obtained when the host awakened a part of his bloodline during his sudden enlightenment.)


    Now Ark also realized why his [Mana Manipulation] had leveled up so much, even though some of the levels probably came from actual use during fights.


    This however shocked Ark a lot, he didn''t know he had a hidden bloodline. He had just assumed that he was a normal blue wolf without any particular bloodline, but this changed things a lot since bloodlines were considered quite rare in this world, and for good reason! They were often incredibly powerful and very sought after, humans and other races actually hunted these monsters as long as they were in their growing stage since you could pretty easily steal their blood essence.


    Why would they steal their blood essence? Simple really, if you absorbed some blood essence with a bloodline connected to it then you would absorb part of that bloodline, gaining some of their powers. The more powerful the bloodline and the more blood essence one absorbed, the more abilities and power one could obtain. If some warrior from some rich or big family has a lot of talent for swords or other types of weapons but not the magical aptitude, then a bloodline would be of great help for them.


    Another thing that Ark had noticed was the skill [Mental Fortitude].


    He had no idea how he had gotten it until he had used inspect on it, it turned out to have also been attained when he had apparently gotten enlightenment, it was actually a pretty basic skill. It made it harder for the person who had it to be shocked, surprised or otherwise affected by most things, at least the negative ones. It also made the user more resistant to magical attacks that aimed for the mind. Even though the skill is pretty simple it is actually extremely useful, Ark was pretty happy about this one since that princess earlier had used some sort of magic that had affected his way of thinking which he clearly didn''t appreciate.


    He also noticed that he hadn''t spent his 10 status points that he had acquired yet, this time around he already knew clearly what he was going to spend his points on, especially since he now had a [Major Ice Affinity]. He decided to use 7 points on his intelligence while he spent the remaining 3 on wisdom since he had realized that recovering his Mana faster would be very useful. Then he checked his status one last time before laying down in the shade of a majestic looking white pine that stood tall in the middle of the garden.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 14


    Mp: 62/90


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 15


    Vitality: 15


    Wisdom: 18


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.4]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.5]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.1]


    Nimble [Lv.1]


    Stealth [Lv.2]


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Major Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [0]

 Chapter 14 - Mana Crystal!

    Laying under the tree Ark felt kind of good, this reform of his mind had made him realize what he had gone through in his world once more, so now he felt that he wouldn''t be too excited to notice what was going on around him anymore. He was still a bit frustrated about how he had acted till now though, but, what was done was done. After thinking a little bit more about his new skills as well as his apparent bloodline Ark slowly drifted off to sleep, but not a deep one, he would still sense if people were approaching him.


    Back outside the door, the people stood there a bit dumbfounded, too much had happened at once and no one knew how to react right now. It was obvious that the wolf had gone through some kind of change, but no one knew what had happened. Annette had noticed that his change the wolfs change in aura was quite big, she had also noticed that he now had a cyan eye colour compared to his earlier silver.


    "Ahem"


    Annette gained everyone''s attention by making a fake cough as she told them all to go back to their rooms and wait and see tomorrow, since no one had a better idea, everyone quickly scattered. Most of them didn''t think too much about what had happened as they didn''t want to be bothered by stuff that had nothing to do with them. Annette did go searching for him for a bit, when she found him sleeping underneath a white pine tree she went back to her room that she had gotten and left him alone.


    Waking up underneath the tree next day Ark was feeling refreshed, the cool summer breeze that brushed against his fur felt very pleasant early in the morning, it was a really good way to start the day off. After waking up he stood up, he felt that some presences were approaching from the mansion so he decided to greet them. When they had gotten close enough Ark noticed that they were only Annette and her entourage, he silently nodded his head at hem and got into the carriage.


    Seeing this made Annette frown a little bit, he had usually been pretty excited for almost anything, just like a child, but now it felt like he had suddenly become older and more m.a.t.u.r.e. She also guessed that some of this coldness towards her was because of the seduction magic she had tried on him. Her intentions weren''t all that bad, she just wanted to leave a better impression on his subconscious, this was because she wanted him to help this country.


    Another reason was that she felt that it was only natural for everyone to like her and adore her, she had grown up to become pampered a lot by the king, even though she was the third princess she was born from the king''s favorite wife. Her personality had turned out like this because everyone had always s.u.c.k.e.d up to her because of her status. But she hadn''t lost all reasoning, and she still cared a lot for the country, but who in power didn''t care for their country? If they didn''t then they would probably one day have to move away leaving most of their power and influence behind.


    This was also one of the reasons the princess cared a lot for the country, she wanted recognition from her father and be able to maintain her lavish and luxurious lifestyle. The princess had also been praised as a genius when it came to both magic and swords, but mostly for her skills with swords. But there was almost no one in the royal family who wasn''t talented so that was to be expected. Hopping into the carriage and giving a signal to the coachman to start their journey ahead they rolled off.


    In the carriage, there was an awkward silence for most of the trip since they couldn''t communicate and even if they could they had nothing to talk about. Thinking about something Annette suddenly drew out something from out of thin air, at least that''s what it would have looked like to a lot of people. But Ark had seen that there had been a portal who had opened for a second which she drew the stone from. He also saw that when she opened the portal, all the purple Mana in the air had started to gather.


    This purple Mana was quite special as it usually warped all around the place, there was also not that much of it compared to the other elements, which indicated that it was quite rare. Ark then looked at the stone that Annette had gotten out, it was about the size of a marble and it faintly glowed a cyan colour. When he gave her a questioning look she started to explain to him.


    "This is the Mana crystal from a low level [Blizzard Worm]. A Mana crystal is created when a monster dies and its energy is condensed into a crystal, this crystal is all the power it had when it was living, both life force and Mana. Therefore these can both be used to create all kinds of tools such as magic weapons, for example, they can also be absorbed by monsters to enhance their strength. If it has the same attribute as the monster who consumes it then it would gain more power."


    This made Ark a little dumbfounded, he didn''t know that there were ways like this to enhance his strength even if he didn''t level up. After having said all this Annette also suddenly tossed the Mana crystal to Ark to let him try, at first he was a little apprehensive but then he remembered that he had his "Inspect" so it wouldn''t be a problem.


    "Inspect"


    [Mana crystal]


    Mana crystal from the low-level monster [Blizzard Worm]


    Suited to ice or snow users


    Seeing this Ark put his paw on top of the Mana crystal and started to draw out the Mana that was within it. After about a minute passed by the crystal had lost all of its l.u.s.ters and had dimmed, when it had turned completely blank Ark felt very rejuvenated as he suddenly heard one of his favorite voices in the world aside from his own!


    [Due to ingesting a Mana stone the host has obtained +1 intelligence as well as +1 vitality]


    This made Ark quite happy, he didn''t know that he could use Mana crystals to gain stats directly, he had guessed that it might widen his Mana capacity a little, but when he thought about the vitality part it made sense. Since he had obtained the [Blizzards Worms] life force then it would be quite weird if he instead didn''t get any vitality. After this pleasant surprise, Ark gave Annette an affirmative nod to show that he had appreciated the Mana crystal.


    Even if he didn''t trust her he wouldn''t mind getting some benefits from her if it meant that he would, in turn, become stronger. After seeing his nod Annette felt a little better, she also told him another thing.


    "It isn''t guaranteed for a Mana crystal to drop when a monster dies though, it''s quite rare, but since they are so useful you should use every chance you get to use one! That one I gave you was pretty bad though."


    At least she was being a little honest with him now. After this event though they didn''t communicate anymore and just sat and looked out of the windows, Annette thought that the view was quite boring, Ark, however, saw a lot of new things every time he looked out of the window so he actually enjoyed the fact that he could see the view like this. Now that he had time as well he thought about what he would do in the capital a little, of course, he wouldn''t just sit in the palace twiddling his thumbs all day.


    He still wanted to get strong! And explore! He couldn''t do that by just sitting in the palace, his plan right now was to see what it would be like in the palace and then decide according to that. If he didn''t get the freedom he wanted and if it would be boring to be there then he would just leave, even if they didn''t want him to.


    After a whole day in the carriage, they decided to set up camp since they wouldn''t be able to reach the next town without another couple of hours traveling. After having set up a series of tents for the different servants as well as having set up the princess private tent they decided that a few people would keep watch while the rest went to sleep. Ark decided to stay up with the guards for a little bit since he wasn''t that tired just yet.


    ....


    At the same time in a grand black palace, a servant was running fervently towards the throne room, there was however something wrong with this servant, it wasn''t a human. It had long black horns that were slightly curved and the speed it ran on was astonishing. When it had arrived outside the throne room it suddenly stopped and knocked gently on the door. No matter how urgent something was the servant didn''t want to die so it decided it would be wise to knock.


    "Enter!"


    Hearing this confirmation come from a majestic voice inside the servant quickly entered the throne room. When the servant was inside it could see a dark silhouette sitting on top of the jet black throne before hastily speaking.


    "My lord, the preparations are complete!"


    "We can now commence!"


    Hearing this the presumed "lord" smirked before shouting.


    "COMMENCE"


    ....

 Chapter 15 - Demons!

    In the camp Ark had just fallen asleep when something happened, all of a sudden there was a mass influx of purple Mana gathering at an astonishing speed not far from where they were. Ark instantly noticed this and woke up immediately. He felt his hairs stand almost straight on his back, he was shivering, and he didn''t even know why. He didn''t know what was going on since he wasn''t really sure what those purple Mana particles actually did, he only knew one of the functions. He wasn''t the only one who noticed though since Annette also ran out of her tent.


    "DEMON ATTACK!"


    Ark suddenly heard her and multiple guards who had been woken up start shouting, he was very confused, but he could guess that there were demons who was the cause for the disturbance of the purple Mana. Since that purple Mana was supposed to be able to manipulate space, Ark had a guess, he thought that they might be warping it to teleport, but he didn''t really know if it was possible or not. If it was then it would be pretty awesome, but also kind of terrifying.


    "Get ready for battle!"


    "Get into formation!"


    After seeing them get organized and get into formation Ark started go get ready himself, at first he didn''t really know if he should help them, but at the same time he still wanted to go the palace, and he didn''t know if they were able to beat these demons, and he still didn''t want to see them die. But he would probably bail if the fight was impossible to win, since he didn''t want to die, and he didn''t know them good enough to fight to the death with them, he barely knew them at all.


    The princess had a total of 12 guards and 2 assassins, the 12 guards strength was not that great, but at the same time, they weren''t weak, at least by the palaces standards. The 2 assassins, however, were 2 masters, and they were both incredibly powerful. Ark had tried to inspect them all earlier but he couldn''t inspect the assassins at all since they were too powerful, the guards, however, had a level range from about 19-24.


    Even though that''s not too bad, they weren''t that powerful since they didn''t have much magical talent, good skills or a bloodline. So Ark would probably be able to beat a single one pretty easily. It would be a whole other story though if a person who was around level 20 had any of those skills, or all for that matter since your power would grow a lot more each level if you had any of those. If that was the case then Ark was not that confident in his abilities.


    Both Ark and Annette had felt the Mana fluctuations, but not one of them truly knew what they were getting themselves into. After a second everything suddenly turned quiet, and then there was a massive explosion of Mana in the place where all the purple Mana had been gathering. When the group felt this Mana explosion they all turned pale, this was an entire squadron of demons! A squadron of demons usually had about 500 soldiers, with one commander. This was far beyond their current capabilities.


    Even though Ark had called those assassins masters, they were nothing compared to the Mana that was being emitted right now. It was like comparing a dog to an elephant, whilst Ark was just like a cat. He would barely be able to do anything to the dog, let alone the elephant. The worst part about this whole ordeal though was the fact that they couldn''t run away, this wasn''t because of some stupid ideals or anything. They just couldn''t run because of the pressure that was being emitted from the squadron up ahead.


    ...


    Annette would have never guessed that this would be the way her life would end. She had unexpectedly run into a demon squadron, and in this backwater place at that! She had decided to travel the country to gain experience since it would benefit her a lot if she truly knew what the country looked like, and also try to gain some insight into the commoners'' life since she would probably have a position in the future were she would affect a lot of their lives.


    On top of that she had suddenly found a possible divine creature, and it wanted to come with her to see how the humans lived, this was great news since her father and her siblings would praise her and be astounded that she had managed to do something of this magnitude. She, however, had managed to make it wary of her since she was too irresponsible and tried to charm it with magic. But none of that mattered right now since she would die anyway. She had already given up hope. Demons were not weak, in general, they were more powerful than humans, the reason why they weren''t dominant was because of their lower number, as well as the fact that the empire had summoned heroes from different worlds in the past that managed to turn the tide.


    But those heroes soon left after having achieved their goal, the Aries plane consisted of 2 layers, the upper layer, and the lower layer. They lived on the lower layer, but the heroes from the past had already ascended to the upper layer. The power level of the people was supposedly on another level, but Annette didn''t know a lot about that, in fact, most people didn''t even know there existed an upper layer. She had heard however that the people on the upper layer didn''t have levels, she couldn''t comprehend how a world would work without levels but that doesn''t matter right now.


    ...


    As the whole squadron started getting closer to them, the forest in front of them was set ablaze. When they were about 50 meters away Ark could clearly see the facial features of their leader. This commander of theirs was very awe-inspiring as he was slowly walking towards them with everything burning around him, he looked like a devil straight out of hell. What was even more intimidating was the fact that he had a hoard of soldiers in black steel armor, these warriors stood a little taller than the average human soldier and they were quite muscular, they also had some pretty menacing black horns. Their horns looked like they could be a weapon just by themselves.


    The demons had seen Ark and the group of humans a while ago but now that they were getting closer they were starting to grin disgustingly. Ark was really tense, he was scared for his life at the moment, what he had noticed though was that he was starting to get used to this pressure after having withstood it for a while. What ark didn''t know was that this pressure didn''t come from Mana as he had assumed, this formless pressure was actually just the demons killing intent that was directed against them.


    If people weren''t used to killing intent then it could do some pretty devastating things, if you were weak-willed and your opponent had a really powerful killing intent then the person could be killed from just the killing intent. Ark, however, had a pretty strong mind so he was slowly getting used to it already. The demon commander looked a little baffled when he saw a wolf standing by the humans, this was mostly because of the fact that the wolf looked really majestic, the aura it emitted was also pretty special, it didn''t seem to be that of an animal.


    The demon commander had a very hideous face, his jaw looked like it had been dislocated, his eyes were brown and looked like they had sunk in quite a lot, his face also contained a lot of scars, making his face pretty sinister. Another thing that stood out about him was the fact that his skin was releasing a slight metallic sheen, almost like that of a sword. This was because the commander was a [Iron Metal Demon]. The metal demons were graded according to what type of metal they could enhance their body strength with. Thus the harder the metal the stronger they were.


    Even though a squadron was really strong in Annette''s and Ark''s eyes, they weren''t that strong, there was still a lot more powerful forces out there, there was a simple reason as to why they thought that this squadron was powerful. And that was because they were both weak! The princess had also not gotten escorts that were that strong since their country was very peaceful at the moment, and the premise of her journey was to check out the lives of the commoners.


    But the closer the demon squadron got, the more fired up Ark grew! Even though he was doomed to fail he still wanted to try! He wouldn''t go down without a fight! The light in his eyes was getting brighter and brighter and his breath was getting colder, even though he didn''t notice it himself his claws also started to glow an icy blue. The confrontation was getting closer and closer, the atmosphere was getting tenser and tenser. When there were just 25 meters between the 2 groups the demons suddenly stopped.


    "CHARGE"

 Chapter 16 - Battle!

    After hearing the commander suddenly shout, the group knew they were done for if it was just the demons and no commander then they would probably be able to beat them. But since the commander could boost morale as well as being powerful himself, they were dead meat. But even though they all thought that they were going to die, they would still fight the demons to death. Ark was a little more optimistic than the rest of them but he still wasn''t sure whether he would survive or not.


    When the demons were only 10 meters away Ark and the rest decided to charge as well, one thing that Ark quickly noticed was that the commander seemed to be interested in him, and wouldn''t let him do whatever he wanted. If he went to the right then the commander would go right, if he went left then the commander would do the same. At first, Ark was a bit crestfallen since he didn''t want to battle the commander since he didn''t think he could win against him. But he would do it anyway, he would test out his strength for real this time. He couldn''t run away anyway since the commander would easily catch up to him.


    The thunderous sounds of metal clanging and soldiers roaring were dreadful for the weak-minded person. The atmosphere was heavy as the air was slowly permeated by the smell of blood. Everyone here battled for their lives at the moment. The people who had a family to go home to back home was fighting eagerly as they would do whatever it takes to see their loved ones again. The ones who didn''t have a family considered the rest of the guards their family and didn''t want to see any of them die.


    Even though the humans were at a disadvantage, they battled with everything since they had to, the demons were, of course, taking this seriously, but they were sure they would win so they didn''t want to risk their lives if it wasn''t necessary. The battle was very intense, with neither of the sides giving an inch, the assassins were swiftly moving about in the battlefield picking off enemies, one by one, but every time they did their injuries would grow heavier, and with time they would die as well. Annette was standing in the back raining down destructive magic on the enemies, even though she had taken out staff and tried to be conservative, her Mana was quickly draining.


    The human party was pretty lucky since the opponents didn''t have any magic casters, but that also meant that there were more troops nearby and that the demons were probably about to invade the human empire, starting with the Estridsen Kingdom. The reason you could make the assumption that the demons were going to invade and that there were more forces nearby was that a squadron would never come alone. This was because the front line soldiers would be essentially harmless if they ran into magic users without some magical support.


    Whilst there was an intense battle to the death going on around them Ark and the demon had started fighting if you could call it that. Ark wasn''t going all out in the beginning so the commander was just playing with him at this point. Seeing the mocking smile the commander had on when they were fighting Ark was finally infuriated, he started to gather all of the water and fire Mana in the surroundings, as well as what he had in his body to make an all-out attack. He decided to this since he would still have his ice to rely on if it didn''t work as he wanted it to since his ice was his final trump card right now.


    As they were clashing against each other Ark suddenly backed out a couple of meters, this made the commander bring up his guard a little since he still felt that there was something special about this wolf in front of him. All the demon did though was to just put up his defensive Mana barrier, the defense might have been his strongest forte, but not making a counter-attack to cancel out some of the force was just insulting. Ark then instantly shot forward and swiped with his claws, the attack was aimed at the commander''s c.h.e.s.t since Ark wasn''t confident enough to be able to hit some other more well-protected places like the jugular vein. The attack was very swift as it had already arrived in the next second, clashing against the commanders Mana Barrier.


    Ark was a little excited since he had hit him with one of his stronger attacks, what horrified him a little the next second was the fact that he had barely even hurt him. Even though Ark had fused his fire and water to make an incredibly powerful claw attack, the commander had just gotten three thin lines on the top of his skin, they were not even red since they hadn''t been able to draw any blood. This demon had lived up to its name as it was incredibly sturdy and didn''t want to take any damage at all.


    ....


    The commander sneered after receiving the attack and seeing the wolfs shocked expression, did this wolf seriously think it could deal any damage to him? Seeing how this wolf thought that it was almighty he wanted to slowly tear it apart, to show it who was boss and that there would always be people that were more powerful than you. Or well, to be honest, he just wanted to see it suffer.


    The commander''s name was Abaddon, he had grown up as a commoner in Geneha and had enrolled in the army when he was of age, he had to this since he didn''t have any form of money to spend on living necessities, and he wasn''t good at anything else. In the army he had slowly climbed his way up from the bottom, he was still pretty low ranked but it was still a better position than most. After experiencing numerous wars and skirmishes Abaddon had quickly grown accustomed to killing. When he finally got a break from it however he soon noticed that he had become addicted, he loved the excitement of fighting with his life on the line, he loved the feeling of his sword piercing through his enemies and the look they had on their faces when they were close to drawing their last breath, it was the best!


    After a while killing had become the only reason for him to participate in wars, not the glory, nor the wealth and spoils of war. Because of his love for killing and reckless fighting without being concerned for his own life, his troops had quickly grown afraid of him, even though they revered him since he was strong.


    ....


    Since his last attack had failed Ark decided that he would unleash his ice element and fight with his life on the line, or at least he would do that if there was no chance of escaping or retreating. Ark had seen Abaddon sneering and slowly gathered his momentum as he slowly unleashed more and more of his oppressive ice element. The air around him quickly started to get foggy and the temperature was quickly decreasing. This brought some excitement to the rest of the human party as they could feel the power that Ark held, and they sincerely hoped that he had a chance of winning, because if he did, then they might just live through all of this.


    Abaddon, however, started to get a little angry, he hated the ice element! It was so strong and bothersome, even if the opponent was weak if it had the ice element then it would still be a bother. This wolf in front of him, however, had actually shown some decent strength when it wasn''t using its ice, now when it did it would be on another level, almost on his own, or at least he thought so. This time Abaddon drew the sword that had been hanging at his waist for all this time. The sword looked like it was made of some crude iron, but it seemed heavy as it contained a lot of it and was pretty huge!


    When Ark''s momentum had reached its peak he started to create an attack, this time however he didn''t put all of his power into one attack since he thought that it would be smarter to wait for the right opportunity. Having said that Ark rushed out, his cyan eyes looked as though they could pierce through the void itself, looking down on the whole world. Since the very beginning, he had started to move, Abaddon had done the same, he had acc.u.mulated both his strength and defense to their peak before Ark had come. He had also gone into a stance, waiting for Ark to make the first move, which he did.


    When Ark was about 2 meters away from Abaddon he shifted his weight and applied a lot more force to his right paw, bringing him to Abaddon''s left side, he then quickly slashed at Abaddon''s waist. Abaddon, however, wasn''t that easy to fool, he quickly tried to meet the attack head-on. Which unfortunately for him didn''t bring him the result he wanted, Ark''s ice element had slowed down Abaddon''s movement a little since the temperature had suddenly decreased, even though it was just a little it was very crucial in a high-speed fight.


    During the tiny amount of time he had earned, Ark''s attack had already reached Abaddon''s waist, Abaddon''s sword had gotten in the way a little which reduced the piercing power of the claw since it didn''t directly hit, and Abaddon''s sword wasn''t as sharp as Ark''s claws. The attack had still drawn some blood though as Abaddon''s sword had stabbed into his waist a little since he wasn''t able to put out enough force in such a tricky angle, especially when he was a bit slowed down. This wound, however, didn''t do much to Abaddon''s overall combat efficiency, but he was enraged nonetheless since he had been injured by some lowly wolf!


    When Ark''s attack had landed he used the bit of counterforce that Abaddon had used to propel himself away from Abaddon, since he didn''t want to be that close in case of a counter-attack. Which turned out to be a very wise move as Abaddon was enraged, he charged at Ark at full speed, he concentrated all of his Mana on his muscles, throwing away his defense for a much more powerful offense. At this point Ark noticed a very crucial thing to both this fight and just magic in general, it was something which he had never thought about before. You could strengthen your body with Mana, this was what Abaddon was doing when he abandoned his defense since he concentrated all of his Mana in his muscles they gained tremendous power, but he also infused Mana into his bones and his skin, since they wouldn''t be able to bear the tremendous burden otherwise.


    Since he had concentrated his Mana in his muscles, Abaddon appeared in front of Ark in a split second, Ark didn''t have much time to defend at all, he had put up a wall made of ice in the last second though. However, it didn''t even take Abaddon a single second before it was already completely broken. But during this time Ark had conjured an icicle, so when Abaddon had broken the wall, what was waiting for him was an attack. The icicle didn''t contain that much power though since Ark didn''t have much time but it still managed to penetrate one of Abaddon''s eyes.


    Slumping to his knees Abaddon released a maddening howl towards the sky, when this howl was released everyone else suddenly stopped their fighting and looked towards Abaddon, seeing their leader on his knees, clutching his eye and screaming made the demons lose all of their morale, on the other hand, the humans were ecstatic seeing the wolf hurting Abaddon to this extent, without taking any damage at that.


    Ark, however, upon seeing his attack dealing such critical damage he instantly rushed forward. He aimed to instantly kill Abaddon whilst he was in extreme pain and disoriented. On the way towards him though he suddenly turned quiet. Ark felt that something was wrong but chose to attack anyway, since he wouldn''t be able to gain another opportunity like this. This however proved to be a fatal mistake as he suddenly felt a sharp pain from his abdomen, Abaddon had disappeared from where he was earlier and was now suddenly in front of Ark. Since Ark had suddenly gotten punched out of the blue he didn''t have his magic defense activated.


    He was sent hurtling through the air until he crashed into a huge boulder that stood about 50 meters away from the battlefield. Seeing this everyone grew quiet, the demons then started to cheer loudly as they assumed that their leader had won, the humans, on the other hand, had lost their only hope, so they looked quite devastated.


    Ark had never felt pain like this before, this wasn''t even comparable to the pain he had felt in the battle with the stag earlier. Because this time he had broken a multitude of bones, one of his lungs had even been impaled by the shard of one of the bones that made up his rib cage. Right now Ark had no idea what he was supposed to do, the only idea that came to his mind was to try and surprise Abaddon with his strongest magic when he wasn''t expecting it. He couldn''t run away since he couldn''t even manage to stand up right now.

 Chapter 17 - A New Party Arrives!

    Watching Abaddon slaughter all of the guards made Ark sick, the ways he killed them were brutal, it was borderline torturing. He didn''t let any of them just die, he kept on inflicting wounds and cutting off limbs. It was a very gruesome scene, not for the fainthearted at all. The worst part about all of this was the fact that he had been laughing through the whole ordeal, it was such a genuine laugh as well. Ark had never met anyone who even came close to being this despicable. It didn''t matter what Ark thought though since he didn''t have the power to do anything.


    Even though he was just playing with them, the guards still died after a little while, no matter how much they tried to fight back, their bodies couldn''t handle it. Annette was crying as she sat on the ground, her purple irises were almost shining in the night and they looked exceptionally beautiful, even though she would soon die. The ground was painted red with blood, both the guards and the demons, this gave the place an inexplicably heavy aura, the aura of a battlefield.


    There was only one assassin master left, and he had lost his right arm, he was currently still fighting, he wouldn''t give up. The assassins were incredibly loyal, and they would do anything for the one they were protecting. This was how they were raised, they were also taught self-discipline and the art of enduring pain, this made them very scary on a battlefield, as they had nothing to lose and everything to win.


    Abaddon was in a great mood, even though he had lost one of his eyes, he didn''t care, he loved the feeling of pain on a battlefield. He loved the feeling of putting people into despair and taking away all of their hope. This was mainly why he was so thrilled, the humans had high morale because the wolf had taken his left eye, but then when he turned the tides he robbed them of all of their hope. This felt great to him!


    Ark who was lying in front of a boulder wasn''t taking it easy and just watching in despair as everyone thought. He had used his healing skill on himself, which had helped him a little bit, but since he felt that it was lackl.u.s.ter he tried to recreate how he had done it when he used the skill, but by himself and with more Mana. This had yielded splendid results as he now felt a lot better, his punctured lung had been healed almost completely, while his bones had realigned a little bit, making the healing process faster. He had also used body strengthening magic on his regenerative abilities. This also gave him a pleasant surprise as he was healing very fast, there was only one problem, his Mana.


    Opening his status Ark feared the worst.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Blue Wolf


    Level: 14


    Mp: 12/93


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 15


    Vitality: 16


    Intelligence: 31


    Wisdom: 18


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.4]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.5]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.1]


    Nimble [Lv.1]


    Stealth [Lv.2]


    Small Fire Affinity


    Major Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [0]


    Seeing this Ark felt very dumb, not only because of his Mana usage but also because he had forgotten to use quite a lot of his skills, these skills could have been crucial to this fight! How could he forget something as simple and important as this? He also noticed that his water magic had become a higher level, but he didn''t use it so he thought that it wasn''t that important. Having reflected on himself Ark started to prepare a little bit for what was coming.


    Well at least he did what he could to be ready, there were many possibilities of how this could go down so Ark had a lot to think about since he didn''t like being unprepared for anything. What he didn''t know though was that no matter how much he planned he would never be able to predict what was about to happen. But to be fair no one would be able to guess this, so it wasn''t Ark that was lacking anything.


    Whilst he was healing himself however, Abaddon had killed the last assassin and was moving towards Annette, he had a vicious grin as he was approaching slowly to make her despair more. And it was working quite well, Annette was scared, really scared. She had always been trying her best to act cool and tough, even though she wasn''t weak, she wasn''t that powerful, and compared to her sibling and some other nobles, her talent wasn''t that great. Now seeing Abaddon, a vicious Iron Demon walking towards her with a grin on his face, she was really scared. She had everything to live for, she didn''t want to die.


    "Please don''t kill me! I''ll do anything, just please!"


    Screaming for her life Annette had already started running to the best of her abilities, this brought a wider grin to Abaddon''s face as he started chasing her. Even though she had only been running for a couple of seconds she had already run past Ark. Abaddon had started a second or two later but he was right next to Ark now. But just as he was about to pass Ark there was a blinding light. Ark that was about a meter away from him wasn''t facing the light that had blinded Abaddon so he took this chance to give him an attack.


    He put a great amount of Mana into his hind legs as he used all the force he could muster in this small time frame to lunge at Abaddon. He also activated nimble, to gain a burst of extra speed. Abaddon, however, sensed this lunge, even though he couldn''t see he put up all the defense that he could muster. The attack landed on Abaddon''s left arm as he managed to twist his body a little to try and dodge some of the force. This, however, resulted in the loss of his left arm. Ark was a bit annoyed that Abaddon was able to sense the attack since he could have managed a fatal attack if that weren''t the case, he was still happy that he managed to get rid of one of the arms though since that would lower his attack output considerably, his sword was two-handed after all.


    Ark didn''t manage to back out in time this time though as he was hit by Abaddon''s right fist, it didn''t manage to damage him that much though as he was able to dodge some of the force, this resulted in Ark skidding across the ground for about 3 meters before stopping. Abaddon wasn''t able to output his full strength in that attack earlier, otherwise, Ark would have been in for a world of pain due to his lackl.u.s.ter defense.


    The light had now faded and Ark and Abaddon were standing opposite each other with a space of 3,5 meters. They were both intensely glaring at each other. This went on for a full 5 seconds until Abaddon finally spoke up.


    "I would have never thought that you would recover so fast!"


    "I''m quite sure I broke something!"


    This however only gained him a bit of a mocking smirk from Ark, Ark wanted to try and get him a little hot-headed as it would help him if Abaddon wasn''t fighting to his utmost ability since he had more fighting experience. Abaddon, however, got excited when he saw Ark''s expression since it would be delightful to change his face into one full of despair!


    They were both so caught up in their own business that they had both completely forgotten about the blinding light that had been the instigator for their resumed fight.


    ....


    Annette was feeling dreadful, she had started running earlier than the demon but he had almost already caught up, she even had a head start! When the demon was just behind her though there was suddenly a blinding light. This light came from a circle that had suddenly appeared on the ground in front of her. When the light had faded a little she saw a group of teenagers standing in front of her, there was also one grownup in the front of them all. They all looked extremely confused for a second before some started to scream, whilst the others started to chat with each other. They all had one thing in common though, they were all confused.


    Seeing this group Annette felt delighted and then confused herself. At first, she had thought that someone had sent for help and that they were wizards who had gotten teleported here to help her, but when she saw the confusion on their faces as well as their strange attires, she was at a loss for words.


    "Who are you all?"


    When she asked this question they all turned towards her, they all looked confused, then some of the girls started screaming hysterically. In their point of view, they had suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere, then they had seen a blood-soaked woman asking them who they were, with a battlefield behind her. When Annette heard them screaming she got even more confused, then something inside of her brain suddenly clicked. How could she have forgotten!


    "Chant status!"


    Hearing this strange woman telling them to this some of them were dumbfounded, what happened next though was that one of them tried it and saw a screen appear in front of them. After making this discovery they then all started looking at their respective screens, talking to each other. Some of them were scared while some of them were excited. The ones who were excited were the ones who had read light novels and could guess what had happened to them. After everyone had calmed themselves down a little bit the teacher stepped forward to try and speak with this foreign woman.


    "What happened to us?"


    "You have been summoned from your original world to ours!"


    "What does that mean?"


    "Our world is under the threat of the demon''s invasion since we needed help to stop them from killing us all, we have used magic to summon you!"


    Hearing this made all of the teenagers a bit hot-blooded since they felt that the fate of the world rested on their shoulders, even if that wasn''t the case. The teacher was about to further question this sketchy woman when they suddenly heard a loud BOOM a bit away. Looking over they could see an intense battle between a metal-skinned demon and a blue wolf. Their battle was very intense as the ground vibrated every time the wolf''s claws crossed paths with the man''s sword.


    ....


    Ark''s muscles were beginning to become sore after such an intense battle that was between pure physical fitness. Therefore he decided that it would be for the best if he started to use his magic. At this point he had noticed the newly arrived people, looking at their attire he had also been able to guess that they were from his original world, this got him thinking a little bit, why was he brought here to reincarnate? And why a wolf? He quickly cleared his head from those thoughts though since he had other things to think about, more important stuff!


    He started to acc.u.mulate all of the ice Mana he could muster, not just inside his body but also outside of his body. Due to the tremendous amount of ice Mana converging around him it created a blizzard that hovered around him, his eyes started to shine way more intensely than they had been shining previously as he stared at Abaddon. Abaddon, feeling this intense pressure being emitted by Ark, decided to use his ace attack as well. Abaddon started to acc.u.mulate lots of metal Mana, he also used some of his blood essences to infuse into this attack.


    When he had infused his blood essence into the large amounts of metal Mana he started to form it, it quickly gathered into the shape of a giant metal sword above his head. This move had been taught to him by a [Bronze Metal Demon] and it was his ultimate ace attack, since it was very hard to use, and he would be very drained after using it. Seeing how his opponent had made his final ace attack the shape of a sword Ark decided to do the same, he didn''t know what shape to make it otherwise so he thought that it was a great idea. Ark, however, hadn''t infused his blood essence, he didn''t know how to do it anyways.


    As both of their final attacks had taken shape the showdown was finally approaching. Abaddon''s sword looked about as crude as the sword that he had been using during this fight, while Ark''s sword was very exquisite, it looked like it had been carved from the finest of crystal. They both uttered their battle cries as they controlled their swords to strike. When they clashed everything around them started to vibrate, they had both just crudely used their swords and now it was a contest of who had more power.


    Ark had wanted to use technique but he had never used a sword before, so this was his only option. The swords ground against each other as the world around them shook. It was suddenly revealed that Ark was winning since Abaddon''s sword started to show signs of cracking. He struggled desperately to fight against Ark''s sword, but it was all in vain, as his sword cracked. After destroying Abaddon''s sword, Ark''s sword didn''t stop in the slightest and flew at Abaddon at a tremendous speed. When the sword made contact there was zero resistance as Abaddon was cut in half, from the top to the bottom.


    When this was revealed Ark felt his legs turn soft, as he was too exhausted to even stand up right now. He felt elated at the thought that he had made it through this crisis when he suddenly remembered something, there were still other demons left! They hadn''t been able to interfere earlier since they were too weak, but now Ark could barely move, and their leader was killed in front of their eyes. Seeing their ferocious looks Ark let out a soft sigh as he had no energy to do anything more.


    When they were getting close enough to injure him and Ark had given up all of his hope, they suddenly all lit on fire. Their horrible screams didn''t even last a single second before they had turned into fine dust, scattering in the wind...

 Chapter 18 - Evolution?

    Ark felt both relief and horror at the same time, he felt relieved since he would be able to live, but then again someone with that much power could easily kill him if he or she wanted to. So Ark would be at their complete mercy. This, however, wasn''t Ark''s immediate concern since he couldn''t stay awake anymore. All of this fighting and healing had drained him, he couldn''t even stay awake for 5 more seconds, so he just drifted off.


    ....


    After having seen this epic showdown the rest of the people present were absolutely astounded, this was their first time seeing magic after all and seeing someone being split in half, most of them became a bit sick after seeing this, some even started screaming. What they all had agreed on though was the fact that this new world was no joke, not at all. This world was dead serious, and if they didn''t get serious themselves they''d die.


    One of the teenagers stood out a bit from the rest though, both figuratively and literally speaking. He didn''t get as stupefied and horrified as the others, while the other had marveled at their statuses, he had noticed this hellhole of a battlefield already. He also stood a couple of feet outside of the rest of the group, it was quite obvious that he didn''t fit in with the rest of them. He wasn''t bad looking though, so most people would think that it is a personality issue, which it kind of was. But that didn''t mean his personality was necessarily bad.


    This young man was about 1,82 meters tall, which was kind of tall considering his age but nothing special. His appearance was a bit lackl.u.s.ter if you would try to compare him with someone like Ark, but he was kind of handsome nonetheless. His eyes were dark brown while his hair was just black, if he stood in a crowd he wouldn''t even stand out that much, if we''re not talking about this crowd, since in this one he literally stood outside of the group...


    What had stupefied all of them, even more, was the fact that all the "demons" that was going to attack the wolf had suddenly been ignited, and then turned to dust in less than a second. When they had finally managed to react there stood two men in front of them. These men seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, they looked to be very old, probably in their 70''s or 80''s. These two men also came clad in gray robes, on the left side of the c.h.e.s.t on these robes there were sat some medals of honor, so it was quite obvious these people had lived in some sort of military environment. If it wasn''t just something that looked the same of course.


    When Annette saw these men she knew she had guessed right this time, and that was because these two men in front of her were court magicians! Court magicians were basically magicians or wizards who had enrolled into the kingdoms army, where you could rank up by participating in various wars or complete certain tasks to gain prestige or fame, you could also, of course, earn money! Magic was naturally more expensive than other professions since you would often need to buy magic crystals of different variations. Especially if you don''t have that much Mana since you would be useless if you didn''t complement your Mana with an outside source. But if a mage decided to craft and engrave using magic crystals he could earn ludicrous rewards, since it was very sought after.


    This was naturally very hard and not just any mage or wizard could do it, that''s why there were still few of them. Everyone knew that some monsters would drop a monster core when they died, but what they didn''t know is that you could actually do the same with humans. This was only something that some mages who wandered on the path of darkness did though, since it was highly illegal and very unethical. The mana crystals that were created by humans were easier to absorb for humans though since they were purer, and since the energy came from a human, to begin with, it was easy for most to integrate with. This was also highly unusual though since it was quite horrible when you thought about it.


    "Master Edward and Master Lewis, the heroes have been successfully summoned!"


    "Welcome, future heroes!"


    "My name is Edward and I will now take you to the castle to meet with the king!"


    Hearing this all the teenagers straightened out their backs a little and one of them stepped out to say something.


    "Will we be offered an explanation there?"


    "Of course!"


    Hearing this they all relaxed a little bit, all but one. When master Edward was just about to use his last Mana to teleport all of the teenagers to the castle Annette whispered in his ear. She had told him that one of the students supposedly didn''t have a useful status as of now, there were certainly some very powerful skills there, but they couldn''t be used. After hearing this Edward suddenly appeared in front of the teenager who stood out a bit from the rest. Edward hadn''t teleported there, even if it looked instant, it wasn''t completely. Edward was a master of the wind element, and when you reached a certain level you could manipulate the wind to such extreme speeds that it seemed instant in short distances.


    "Are you Leo?"


    "Yes, why?"


    "Is it true that your class is the legendary [Androxia]?"


    "Yes"


    "Then, unfortunately, we can''t take you with us to the castle!"


    "Why not?"


    "Because even though it was the class of a legendary hero in the past, it only worked because that hero had a contract beast that was strong enough. But times change, and it can''t be used anymore, so I''m sorry!"


    Having said this Edward turned around and activated his magic, and suddenly Leo was the only one left there. Everyone else was gone. Leo didn''t know this but the class that he had gotten wasn''t very usable nowadays. And that was simply because it was a lot harder to get a good contract beast now compared to then, and the class wouldn''t be any good if the beast wasn''t good, and it couldn''t just be some decent beast either. So Edward was being honest with what he said earlier. Leo was very dumbfounded right now, he would have never thought that he would just be left alone here, in the middle of the woods, they could have at least let him into a town or something.


    When he was in the middle of thinking he was suddenly brought back to reality by a blinding light coming from behind him. Since he had been so absorbed in his own thoughts and feeling bad for himself Leo had completely forgotten about the wolf that had been battling earlier with a demon. And now that he turned his eyes to look at it, it was shining very brightly, and glowing with white light. He could also see that the silhouette of the wolf was changing rapidly, it seemed to be growing bigger, it had actually been quite small before considering how powerful it was, but now it had already grown to about 2 meters in length and about 1,5 meters in height, but it wasn''t done yet.


    After a short while, the white light had gradually subsided. When it was completely gone Leo could see a wolf laying on the ground. This wolf had some beautiful cyan coloured fur as well as some nice chain patterns that were crisscrossed across its body. These chains were red and blue, creating a beautiful contrast on top of the wolf''s fur. The wolf had grown to 2,5 meters in length as well as 2 meters in height. It looked incredibly majestic and even a bit ethereal. Seeing this massive change Leo was a bit dumbfounded, he didn''t think that the wolf would be able to change so much in so little time.


    Leo stared at the wolf a little bit before he was startled, the wolf had suddenly opened its eyes. What was weird was that Ark''s eyes had gone back to being silver, but this time they seemed to glow more. Leo even thought that Ark''s eyes resembled the moon, shining in the dark night...

 Chapter 19 - Parting!

    Ark was very surprised, he had suddenly woken up, and when he did, there was a human standing in front of him. This human looked like he had also come from Ark''s old world, he could figure this out from the clothes he was wearing, he wasn''t wearing any special uniform or anything, but Ark knew these kinds of clothes didn''t exist in this world, or at least he thought so. Checking around him to see where the demons had gone he noticed something, they were apparently the only people here. Ark didn''t know how long he had gone to sleep, but it was still kind of weird for him to be left alone, after all the effort that they had put into getting him to come with them.


    What he didn''t know was that everyone else had been teleported away and that the reason they had left him behind was simply that the princess had forgotten to mention his existence to the court magicians, otherwise they would have taken him with them. But they would probably not be able to go back already, using magic to teleport would actually cost huge amounts of Mana, and they wouldn''t be able to come back in a short amount of time at all, maybe in a couple of hours, but of course, Ark didn''t know this.


    Ark didn''t know if he was supposed to be happy or not that he wouldn''t be able to explore the human society of this world as of now. At first, he was a bit disappointed, but when he thought about it a little more he felt that it might be for the better. It would be a lot safer to go to an environment with lots of people who saw him as a beast if had more strength. He wanted o at least have the strength to escape if he really needed to. When he had thought about it he sent a questioning gaze towards Leo, why would they just leave him here?


    Seeing this gaze the wolf was sending him Leo tried explaining the situation to it, he didn''t really know if the wolf would actually be able to understand him, but this was another world after all, and there was magic, so why not?


    "I got left behind because they said my [Class] wasn''t up to par!"


    Saying this Leo was really frustrated. If this was a world where strength mattered a lot, and there were magical beings like this lurking around, he wanted to have the power to protect himself. There was apparently some sort of demons that were at war with the humans as well. But this wasn''t just it, Leo didn''t just want to survive, he wanted to live! He didn''t want to become some normal cannon fodder that would just instantly die during an invasion, he didn''t want to live a life of mediocrity, he wanted to become someone!


    Hearing this Ark realized part of the situation, even though he was still very confused. Why had there been people from his old world also getting summoned to this world? And how did this happen? If you could bring people from his own world to this one, then could he go back? The last question wasn''t that important to Ark though, he would rather live in this world here where he would be able to become someone disregarding of social status. And he was still a wolf, so what would he do in his original world, live in a zoo? He wouldn''t be able to show his powers there either as they would either put him down or try and capture him to do experiments on him.


    Realizing that this young man in front of him had no way to protect himself Ark decided to try and guide him to the nearest town, so he wouldn''t perish out here in the woods. When Ark had just risen from the ground he realized that something was undoubtedly off. He thought that everything looked smaller in comparison to before. What he also realized when he looked at Leo was that he was forced to look down on him, since he was too short. This made Ark realize that he must have grown! Another thing that he noticed when he looked down was the fact that his fur was another colour completely, it had now turned into a beautiful cyan colour, this made Ark realize that something was wrong. So he hurried to check his status page.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Ice Wolf


    Level: 1 (16)


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 15


    Vitality: 16


    Intelligence: 31


    Wisdom: 18


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Inspect [Lv.4<5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.5<6]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.1<2]


    Nimble [Lv.1<2]


    Stealth [Lv.2<3]


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Major<Big Ice Affinity


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [5]


    Seeing this made Ark very excited, he noticed that he hadn''t gotten any stronger when it came to status, but he saw that many of the skills he had gained more levels. And he also noticed that he had evolved into a [Ice wolf]. Even though he didn''t get any direct status increases Ark still realized that he had gained even more potential, which was even better than an upgrade that wouldn''t do much later on if he didn''t manage to get powerful. That was the reason people also favored talent more than the fighting power someone has, at least in recruiting in magic schools. The reason talent meant more was just because someone who had more talent would be able to catch up with the one with more power and even surpass them later on.


    Seeing that he had gotten 5 status points as well Ark concluded that the last level before his evolution had been [Lv. 15]. This made Ark wonder whether he would reach his limit at level 15 in this evolution a well, or if it would be able to go further than that. He also realized that the little bracket that said (16) meant that he was at least at that level of power. Which meant that he would at least be the same as a [Lv. 16] human. Of course Ark was stronger than that, but it was still nice that he was able to see it since it would be easier to identify at which general power levels both he and his opponents were, especially since he wouldn''t be able to tell if an opponent had gone through numerous evolution''s or if it was just low leveled.


    After this particular battle Ark had learned that he needed to gain some stronger vitality, his vitality right now was only 16, which was the reason why he got seriously injured so easily. Therefore he decided that he would put 4 points into it, making it an even 20. He decided to put the last point into his endurance since it would be a nice thing to have in the future. Once his Vitality reached 20 he also heard the same old voice ringing out in his head, Ark had come to love this voice during the short time he had stayed here.


    [Due to hosts vitality reaching 20 host has learned the skill "Regenerate"]


    Hearing this Ark instantly decided to use his "Inspect" on it, just to see the exact help it would bring him since he knew the basic premise of what it was.


    [Regenerate]


    Grants enhanced regenerative abilities


    Seeing this made Ark quite pleased, this skill was actually quite decent since it would allow Ark to care less for minor cuts or wounds that are not fatal, since they would regenerate a lot faster than before, in most cases however he would still decide to heal it if he had the Mana to just because of the low Mana cost. Usually, when he healed himself Ark used Mana to speed up the regenerative ability of his body, so now that it was enhanced, he wouldn''t need to use as much Mana as before.


    (New status)


    Name: Ark


    Species: Ice Wolf


    Level: 1 (16)


    Mp: 93/93


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 31


    Wisdom: 18


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3]


    Regenerate


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [0]


    Now that he had confirmed everything Ark also felt a white light envelop him for a couple of seconds when the light had vanished Ark could feel that his life force was brimming and he had more of it than ever. Seeing the same light again Leo watched Ark, when the light had vanished though he couldn''t see any difference. Deciding to not care about it anymore he was about to turn around again when he noticed that the wolf was making gestures to him, it seemed like it wanted him to follow it. At first, he didn''t trust the wolf and decided to not come with it, but then he realized something, this wolf was incredibly powerful! Leo didn''t want to die just yet so he decided that it would be for the best if he just followed the wolf, it might not even harm him anyway.


    After following the wolf for a couple of hours Leo had long grown tired, but he dared not slack behind since he was afraid to annoy the wolf. What he noticed, however, was that the trees were growing a little sparse. A short while later he noticed that they had arrived at the border of the forest they had just been in. He also noticed that there was a city in front of him. The city in front of him was actually a bit majestic, the walls of the city seemed to be made up of some sort of stone. They were tall and majestic and gave the city a pretty cool and secure feeling.


    When he had turned to look at the wolf he noticed that it had already started to disappear into the woods, as it was slowly leaving his sight Leo spoke to it for the last time.


    "Thanks!"


    ....


    After having heard these words from the youth Ark felt a little bit dejected. He really wanted to live with humans, he really wanted to be able to make friends, he really wanted to be able to someday start a family! But he couldn''t, it was not possible for him. Thinking about this made Ark go from a bit dejected to a bit mad instead. Everyone else always got everything served on a silver platter, even the other people that had come from his other world seemed to be the same, except for a single one. But Ark would show them! He would show them that he would far surpass them and live his life like he wanted to live it! And that nothing would stop him from doing so! Not even being a wolf!


    Thinking this Ark left the city behind him, wandering off into the distance...

 Chapter 20 - Travelling!

    It had already been a day since Ark had parted with the youth that had been left behind. But to Ark, it felt like much more than a simple parting with a youth. To Ark, it felt like he had parted with all of humanity since he wasn''t going to see any humans anytime soon, and if he does then he will probably have to avoid them. He still didn''t really trust humans, he didn''t have a real reason to do it anyway. He had never had any close contact with a human that he felt that he could really trust, he might have the chance to actually get really close to a human in this life, but he didn''t think that it would be that easy since he was currently a wolf, and he didn''t even have a form of communication other than just nodding and gestures.


    After about a days travel Ark had managed to cover quite the distance, since he kind of wanted to get away from humanity for a while to train up both his combat skills and his level. If he could, he also wanted to further evolve, leaving most humans in the dust. He felt that if he was powerful enough he wouldn''t have to be afraid of living with humans since they wouldn''t be able to hurt him then. This goal, however, would most likely take a lot of time since power wasn''t obtained that easily, even if he had levels and stuff. There was also a lot of risks in trying to get stronger by gaining levels.


    Right now Ark was in a forest, this wasn''t the same forest that had been bordering the city, it was actually another forest which he had found a while after he had left the other forest. This new forest was actually very special, it wasn''t your standard forest. The trees in this forest was a dark shade of gray, and the leaves on the trees were brown. This made the forest very off-putting as it felt kind of spooky. Ark had gained a skill which granted him mental fortitude, otherwise, he would probably not be able to stay as calm. Ark had noticed that this forest not only looked spooky, but it also seemed to affect the minds of the people who wandered into it in some kind of way. This, however, didn''t seem to be that bad since Ark didn''t even need to use Mana to defend himself. Other people would probably have to use Mana to defend themselves, since the only reason Ark didn''t need to was because of his skill.


    Ark had only been in this forest for a couple of hours, he had found a couple of monsters earlier but he decided to not kill them since he had not found his temporary base as of yet. And he didn''t want to make any stupid mistakes before he had somewhere to escape to if things weren''t looking too good. It didn''t take him that long to find a water source this time when he was looking and he actually found one with a very favorable location. The lake that he had found was connected to a smaller stream, which seemed to be going somewhere. It was surrounded by forest on three of the sides, but at the north side, it was facing a minor mountain.


    This mountain couldn''t even compare to the mountain that Ark had come to this world in. This mountain didn''t look majestic at all. It was quite small and it was not very pointy. What it did have though were numerous caves. Some of them were pretty big and easy to identify, while some of them were really well hidden and hard to find. The cave that Ark had decided to make his base of operations, for the time being, was a cave that was hidden behind a boulder. If you went to the right of said boulder you could find a slight opening into the mountain. This was however neatly hidden behind some vines.


    Ark actually got very lucky when he found this cave since it had a great strategic location and was very hard to find. Since he was also very close to the water Ark knew there would be monsters coming here daily. This meant that he had secured a hiding spot, water, and food, these were the most important things for him right now. Which made this spot perfect for him. He could also use the monsters that would come to drink as a source of experience, which would help him in gaining levels since he wouldn''t need to actively search for his enemies. What Ark was a little skeptic about however was the other caves, there were bound to be monster and beasts lurking in some of them, that had already set up their territory, if this had happened then Ark hoped that they wouldn''t be too strong since it would mess with his plans.


    But if they were truly strong then Ark wouldn''t complain too much, since this was a prime opportunity to temper himself. One of the most important aspects to strength was battle experience, even if you were super powerful you would still die to a weak opponent if they had a lot more experience than you, and you would probably be too afraid to do anything. After having settled down in the cave for a little while Ark decided to drink some water, after that he would wait by the lake until he found suitable prey. He hadn''t eaten in a while now, so he was very hungry. Fortunately for him, he didn''t feel any hunger when he woke up after his evolution, which probably meant that his vitality and such was restored when he evolved.


    Ark quickly arrived by the water as quiet as he could be, trying to not attract any attention just in case there was a monster nearby. Whilst he was drinking he heard some noises coming from his right side. After hearing these noises Ark quickly dived into the bushes behind him while activating his "Stealth" and regulating his breathing as well as he could. This was a skill he picked up recently since he felt that breathing was too loud, he came up with his own most efficient way of doing it. Since Ark''s paws were pretty soft, to begin with, he barely generated any sound at all when he used stealth.


    The monster that had made the noises had quickly scurried out of the bushes, it seemed very scared as it tried to drink the water to the best of its abilities as fast as it could. This monster looked like a mutated rat, and upon seeing this rat-like creature, Ark decided to check out its status just in case. He didn''t think it would be any powerful, but he felt that it would benefit him to be a little cautious since he was in a foreign world. A thing that was a little interesting however was the fact that Ark felt more connected to this world compared to his old one.


    [Ratling]


    A weak rat monster, likes to live in swarms.


    Lv.7 (7)


    Agility: 16


    Vitality: 14


    Dexterity: 15


    Seeing these stats Ark felt relieved. Since it wasn''t a threat at all he quickly snuck up into the bushes behind it. What happened next shocked him greatly though. Just as Ark was about to lunge on the rat he heard an ear-piercing howl. Following this, he felt an immense heat well up in front of him. Since he wasn''t very experienced yet he had closed his eyes due to his reflexes. And when he opened them again, he found that the rat was gone, what was left was only a patch of burnt grass...

 Chapter 21 - Roaming

    After seeing such a horrifying thing happening before his eyes, Ark was frightened out of his wits. He felt relieved that he hadn''t revealed himself a little earlier. The scary part of this attack wasn''t that it was powerful since Ark had sent out much more powerful attacks. What was scary about it was the fact that Ark hadn''t seen it coming at all, he didn''t even feel the ripples in Mana. He also didn''t see who sent out the attack, this scared him a lot as well. But even though he was frightened he wasn''t stupid, he quickly decided to retreat from the lake for now. He felt like it would be wiser to hunt for prey somewhere else, and then he would come back here when he wanted to sleep and drink.


    He didn''t feel like it would be wise to fight over territory with this mysterious monster right now, since he didn''t know how powerful it was, and since he wasn''t confident he could win if he was taken by surprise. Having decided his next course of action Ark went on his way. The more he explored the forest, the more mysterious he felt it was. How could such a place exist? There were numerous plants and other vegetation that didn''t even look real. And almost everything here was infused with different degrees of Mana. There was almost nothing here that was normal in the slightest. He also noticed how almost all of the plants and such were either poisonous or releasing a dangerous vibe, one that he couldn''t describe at first.


    But after a while, he noticed what this dangerous vibe was. It was the dark element. The dark element was one of the elements that were often associated with demons and evil monsters. This was because it was very rare for the more humane races to obtain it, and on the occasion they did, they almost always turned evil or went down dark paths, such as refining humans into Mana crystals. This wasn''t always the case however, the assassins that had accompanied Annette were users of the dark elements, and they were honorable people, they would never betray their benefactor.


    Another reason for the shunning of the people born with an affinity with the dark element was the holy church of Aries. The people from the holy church all had an affinity with the light element, and since dark were their opposite, they shunned them. The holy church had a lot of influence since many thought that they were the apostles of God, and since they looked down on the dark element, many others also started doing the same. This, however, didn''t apply to everyone, since many didn''t like the extreme beliefs of the church. These people thought that one of the reasons that the dark element users often turned towards dark paths was because of the treatment they received from society. Not many people would be able to stay completely sane after being tormented from the day they were born, just because of an affinity.


    In some places, it was quite the opposite, however, where people saw the dark element as a blessing, as it was generally stronger than the four standard elements. In these places, the church didn''t have any influence, and most of them were thus labeled as outlaws because of it.


    If Ark knew any of this he would feel a lot of sympathy towards the people born with the dark element since his situation in his old world had been fairly similar, but just a lot less extreme. The thing with Ark''s life in his old world was that it was quite miserable, but it wasn''t just because every single person he met looked at him with disdain, sure, most of them did, but not everyone. He actually had a very good friend for a little while, it was around the time he had just started to put more effort into studies. He was around 13 years old at the time.


    This friend that he had acquired was Ark''s everything, they did everything together. His friend had been a boy that was in the same class as him. Since his friend also was a target of bullying they quickly connected to each other. This relationship of doing everything together went on for around 4 months until it all crumbled down. His friend had suddenly collapsed one day, at first the doctors thought he was fine and had just collapsed from exhaustion. But a little while later he collapsed once more, and this time they found out that he had gotten cancer.


    They tried their absolute best to save him, but there was nothing they could do, it was already too late. It didn''t take long for Ark''s friend to pass away, his name was Anthony. After being scarred for life due to his only friend dying, Ark stopped trying to make friends. He really wanted a friend, he really wanted to have someone he could depend on, someone who could help him through tough times. But this friend of his haunted him, he thought that he would never get over it. Which he kind of didn''t.


    After arriving in this new world Ark had slowly started to put his past behind him, little by little. He would never forget his best friend, but he knew Anthony wouldn''t be happy with him if he just lived his life alone. He had also realized that dwelling too much on the past would do him no good. He still had a hard time trusting humans, but now he felt like he could finally try and make friends. Well, at least after he had gotten stronger, and when he had the opportunity to. One of the things Anthony and Ark had vowed to do was to both get really successful and then get married. They had felt that they would be friends forever, and when they both had their own families, their kids could play with each other.


    Ark hadn''t forgotten about this promise, but he couldn''t fulfill it since Anthony was not with him anymore, and he had never felt any feelings of love before, so he just thought that it was unimportant. Well, when he was a kid he did have a crush on a girl that went to the same school as them, but after Anthony''s death, he quickly forgot about it all.


    Anyways, after discovering that most of the forest had affinities towards darkness Ark felt a bit surprised since he didn''t know there could be so many things that were usually normal that had affinities toward any of the element. But since he was new to this world he felt that it actually might be perfectly normal, so he just put it behind him. Walking around for a bit more he started to notice that the wildlife in this particular section of the forest was very scarce, the wildlife in the other sections was already quite scarce, to begin with, so there was practically no monsters or animals here.


    The section he had entered also seemed to have a little fewer plants, but the plants he did spot had even more Mana and darkness density than the ones everywhere else. This made Ark a little more alert since he could figure out that there was something special about this sector. Even though he called it a sector there wasn''t any actual sectors, they were just something that Ark had made up himself to make it easier to remember where some stuff was located. In case he needs to find something he had seen in one of the "sectors" someday in the future. Having said all that, Ark still decided to continue walking forward.


    This was because he felt that whatever was here might benefit him, and if it didn''t, then he could always escape, and label this sector as something he should avoid. In the places he had explored so far he had also found some other spots that would be worth inhabiting, at first he still intended to go back to the place he had found earlier by the lake, but after exploring more he didn''t really see that much of a compelling reason to do so. One of the other places had been along the stream that was connected to the lake. By the stream he had found an ancient looking tree, this tree was very majestic and was actually hollow. Since it was hollow Ark felt that it would be a perfect spot to live in, the tree was also quite sturdy since it was infused with large amounts of Mana, this made it very resistant to magic attacks as well as physical attacks.


    If Ark wanted to try and get some darkness affinity to try and strengthen his stealth the tree was also very great, this was because of the high density in darkness Mana in particular. This would make it so that he would be able to absorb the darkness particles at a higher rate, enhancing the speed he could gain an affinity at. Having thought it through Ark decided to further explore this particular sector of the forest.


    After exploring for a little while he finally came to a stop, he had finally found something, something interesting. What he had found was a graveyard, but not just any graveyard, this one had a lot of monsters roaming about, even though they were all either skeletons, zombies or a monster called "Ghoul". The graveyard in itself wasn''t that big as it was only about 500 meters square, but at the innermost part of it was an entrance. This entrance was made completely out of stone and it looked like it was leading downwards, into the ground.


    Ark had no idea what this entrance was, but he had identified the skeletons and the other monsters already, and they were quite weak. The skeletons were levels between 10-13, the zombies were a little bit stronger, their levels being between 12-15, and the ghouls were the strongest, their levels ranging from 16-21. What you had to keep in mind however was that levels were not everything, skills were also really important, as well as a battle plan or a strategy. Ark would probably be able to kill most of the ghouls here as long as it was 1 vs 1, he could probably handle a few at a time but he would rather be on the safe side. What made Ark very excited about this place was the fact that he had finally found a place to train, where he could gain levels as well as combat experience. The monsters here all seemed to have pretty low intelligence as well so it would be pretty easy to escape if he really needed to.


    Now having a place that he could train in regularly he decided to switch his base of operations, after all, that tree that was connected to the stream was actually located in one of the sectors that were bordering this one, so he would not need to travel far at all if he wanted to get here, which he would want pretty often. Thinking about it a little before he returned, Ark decided to use inspect on the "entrance" before leaving, he hadn''t really thought about it before since he was busy observing the monsters.


    [The Tomb Of Charun]


    This dungeon was formed after the death of the great demon Charun, some of the monsters here were attracted to the deep demonic aura emitted, and are now the dungeons subjects.


    Rank: D


    Floors: 3


    Boss: ???


    State: Unexplored


    Seeing this made Ark both excited and apprehensive, seeing that there were 3 floors to this place, Ark could figure out that the monsters would probably become stronger for each floor. And that the monsters on the surface were the weakest of them all. But even though he was a bit apprehensive, he realized this would be an even greater opportunity in gaining strength. If he got enough strength on each floor he would be able to challenge the next one, this would, in the end, give him a lot of strength and levels, which was exactly what Ark wanted right now. Having made up his plans for the close future Ark decided to go back the tree for now.


    When he arrived back at the tree Ark found another animal that was drinking from the stream, this beast actually closely resembled a panther, but after inspecting it, Ark noticed how it was nothing special, it''s level was pretty decent, but it didn''t seem to have any magic at all or any other strong skills for that matter. Therefore Ark decided he would get his first meal in a while, having decided Ark quickly gathered his ice Mana and sent out a ferocious claw attack, even though he stood pretty far away, the attacks still arrived in an instant, beheading the panther. This made Ark realize how powerful he actually was, nothing in his level range was his real opponent at the moment.


    Seeing this dead beast in front of him Ark decided to roast it a little bit before eating it, even though his taste buds had changed since becoming a wolf, he still preferred his meat a little cooked, even though he could eat it raw. Since he had evolved Ark also noticed that his appetite had grown exponentially. But it wasn''t strange at all since he now had a lot more body mass that needed the energy to work correctly.

 Chapter 22 - Training... Again!

    After filling his belly Ark decided to drink some water before then going to sleep. He was very tired both mentally and physically since it had been quite a long day, and the sleep he had gotten last time wasn''t really that satisfying. But when he entered the tree he felt like there was something missing, and he knew exactly what that something was. This place didn''t really feel like a home at all, and he kind of wanted to settle down for a while, therefore he decided to at least put in some sort of decoration, or well at least something similar. Since the only real thing he would actually use the tree for was sleeping he wanted to get a nice and comfortable resting spot. He decided to make this out of some soft material he could find, otherwise, he would just get some sticks and make a little camp in there.


    Now you might think, why would you make a fire inside of a tree? It was quite simple really, the tree was magic resistant, so if you made a fire out of magic inside of the tree, then it wouldn''t burn the tree down, this was especially the case since the fire he would make would be quite small, and the tree was very big, and there was a lot of space inside that he could make use of. Having thought of this, Ark set out yet again to gather what he wanted, but he decided that it would be for the best if he didn''t venture too far from the tree since he was really drained, and he wanted to go to sleep as fast as possible.


    Another reason was that he wouldn''t be able to fight to the best of his abilities right now since he wasn''t in prime condition. But this wasn''t really that much of a concern for him.


    It didn''t take very long for him to find something that was very comfortable, this, however, was stuck on a sheep. This sheep looked like a very normal sheep, almost like the ones you would find on earth. The only difference was that they were all black, and they also had a pair of sharp horns. When Ark identified one of them he found out that they were quite weak. He found that most of them were under level 5, and therefore he decided to kill some of them to make a nice thing to sleep on for his new home. Since he didn''t really care much for how it would look in his tree he decided that it wasn''t that important to pay much attention to detail when he skinned them later on.


    Having thought this all through Ark decided that he would attack with his ice element, the idea of using water and fire were thrown out of the window because of their respective properties. Fire would just burn the wool of the sheep, so that wasn''t even an option he considered to begin with, and water would make the fur wet, which would make it uncomfortable to sleep on the first night. And he wanted it to be nice to sleep on right now! He was very tired after all, and he valued his sleep a lot. He also decided that the ice attack would be in the form of two saw blades, this was simply because he only wanted to kill two of the sheep, since he felt that he didn''t really need more than that right now, he decided that he would form the ice into saw blades simply because he felt that it would make it easier to behead them.


    Having thought this all through, the air suddenly contorted as two circular saw blades made out of ice made their ways towards their respective targets. In the next second, the sheep suddenly went into a frenzy, as their comrades'' heads could suddenly be seen rolling on the ground.


    When the sheep were all gone Ark trotted forwards, he then took the two sheep in his claws and dragged them to the tree. When he finally arrived ten minutes later, he just skinned the two sheep quickly before tossing the bodies into the lake, he decided to toss the bodies into the lake since he didn''t want beasts and monsters to get attracted by the scent of fresh blood. There would still be a little lingering smell but he felt that the monsters that would come because of something like that would be quite weak, since the stronger beasts would want to have stronger prey, because it would help them in their growth, due to the larger amount of Mana in the stronger preys bodies.


    But there were always exceptions to everything, which is why Ark decided that he wouldn''t go into a very deep sleep. Just a light one, even though it wouldn''t be as comfortable and nice when he woke up, it would be better since he would wake up if a beast were to actually appear. Fortunately for Ark though, there were no mishaps during the night, and he woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed. The sleeping space he had created had actually helped him a lot, he had never felt this good after sleeping before, and he felt like he had always taken his bed in his former life for granted. Right now he would do anything to experience the bliss and comfort of a bed.


    Feeling good about himself Ark drank some water from the lake before heading off towards his new training ground. He didn''t hurry at all, he just leisurely walked at his own pace. He wasn''t very sure as to why his mood was as good as it was. It didn''t really feel like he had gotten into such a great mood just from a better sleep compared to normal, but he decided to not care, he was in a great mood after all. When he finally arrived he decided to scout out the place a little more before doing anything, he wanted to be sure of most of the escape routes if he was going to train here.


    He felt that it was always for the best to be safe, he would never forgive himself if he ended up dying to something very stupid, especially if it was something he could have prevented. Looking around for a bit he noticed that the surroundings were nothing worth noting. It was mostly just trees surrounding the graveyard, there was just a difference in density. Therefore he decided that he would escape towards the route he took to get here if he wanted to escape, this was mostly just because he knew that particular route pretty well now, since he had taken it a couple of times, and he had a pretty good memory.


    Another good thing about the route was that there weren''t as many trees there, which would help him a lot in achieving his top speed, there were however plenty of various obstacles that he could use to his advantage in a pursuit. Some of them could even help him turn the tide if the opponent wasn''t that much stronger than him.


    Now that he had everything sorted out, Ark decided to get started. His first targets would be the skeletons since they were the weakest. And he didn''t really wanna rush too much in the pursuit of strength, he would take it a little easy in the beginning. Therefore he quickly scoped out his first target. His eyes landed on a lonely skeleton that seemed to be a little more separated from the rest, at least compared to the others. This skeleton was a little shorter as well, being around 1,5 meters tall, Ark guessed that the reason it was a little excluded was that it was weaker, therefore he decided to test out its strength first.


    Since he wanted to test out its strength, he didn''t use stealth when he approached it, as far as he knew it couldn''t call for help, since it didn''t have any vocal organs. But even if it did, he could handle it. So he just walked up to it.


    Seeing a large wolf suddenly appear in front of it, the skeleton mustered up the courage to attack, at least that would be the case if it was a living organism since it wasn''t alive, it couldn''t feel any fear or pain for that matter. It didn''t have any real weapons, so it opted to attack with a large bone it had found in the cemetery.


    Ark''s response to this attack was to just put up his paw to see how much damage it could do, the only thing he did was reinforce his paw with magic. In the next second Ark could feel his entire leg vibrating slightly, before going back to normal. This made him a little surprised, he expected to at least get a little damaged, or at the very least feel some pain, but he didn''t, which was a very good sign. This meant that the overall strength of the monsters here would be quite low compared to their levels, they weren''t even slightly comparable to Ark.


    Therefore Ark decided that he would change his plan yet again, if the monsters here were that weak, it would be more worth it to just train with the ghouls from the start. Since he would earn a lot more experience if he killed them, and it didn''t seem that hard. Having changed his plan Ark nonchalantly swung his claws, the skeleton didn''t have enough time or intelligence to dodge the attack, and it instantly exploded into little pieces.


    Hearing this explosion, some of the closer zombies and skeletons turned towards him, the ghouls were the furthest away from him, near the entrance of the tomb, so they didn''t hear a thing. Seeing how he would get targeted by a lot of enemies at a time, Ark grew a little excited. This would be the fastest way of them all! If he just created a lot of chaos and attracted all of the monsters at the same time, he would be a lot more time-efficient! This, however, came with the risk of being more dangerous, but Ark didn''t think it would be a problem at all since he could just use one of his strongest attacks to wipe out most of them at the same time, then he could just go back to the tree to recuperate!


    Thinking of this Ark howled, this howl he released was accompanied by slight fluctuations of magic, enhancing the sound. He tried to control it so that the ghouls wouldn''t hear him, however. But some of them still turned towards him, and they weren''t the only ones.


    Seeing at least 50 skeletons and zombies staring at him with deep scarlet eyes, Ark''s heart stopped beating for a second, before quickly resuming. The killing intent the undead had released towards him had shocked him a little, it wasn''t much weaker than that of the demons from earlier, this had something to do with the fact that the undead was created from dead humans or creatures who held a lot of regret and resentment in their hearts.


    The darkness Mana in the air could accidentally mutate a dead human or beast into an undead, if the creature had enough resentment and hatred in their heart, the amount of darkness Mana, as well as the amount of hatred, decided the strength of the undead. But undead could also be created artificially, this was something people who strayed on the wrong path could do, or some demons. If a mage raised the dead from the ground to make them battle for him, then he would be called a necromancer. Necromancers were very feared by the common populace for a variety of reasons. The most prominent one was that they were both evil, and mostly strong. But they were also very cruel and liked to see people suffer. They could also do some terribly cruel actions just to see people despair. Like reviving someone''s loved one, to then make them kill each other.


    Necromancers were pretty rare though since it wasn''t that easy to study the ways of a necromancer, and not a lot of people would actually want to get strong from reviving dead people, even if they strayed on the wrong path. Of course, not all necromancers were completely evil, but most were.


    Seeing these undead staring at him for a little while Ark decided to go all out. He started to gather all of the fire and water Mana he could muster, both inside of himself as well as in the air. He then condensed this Mana into his claws, forming vortexes that spun at a high velocity. Since he had used this move before, Ark had a lot more control this time, as his Mana manipulation had also leveled up multiple times since then. Whilst he was continuing to gather Mana and making the vortexes stronger, the undead had started to move, their reaction time was actually abysmally slow, but they tried to make up for it in strength, which was why they were still nasty opponents, another major factor to undead''s strength was the fact that they had unlimited stamina, since they were already dead.


    When the undead was starting to get very close, Ark unleashed his attack. His cyan fur was wildly flowing in the currents of air that his attack brought up, his look was incredibly sharp as he guided the claw attack as close to the center of them as he could. Then there was a loud BOOM.


    The aftermath of this attack was very devastating, the ground were the undead had been was completely erased. And there was fog everywhere, because of the attack the Mana in the air was very restless, as there had been such a random big explosion of Mana. Ark looked calmly at the scene before turning around, and then slowly walking away, back into the forest...

 Chapter 23 - Eradication!

    After having defeated all those enemies Ark went straight back to his tree again. He didn''t want to stay around anymore since all of the ghouls would be coming at the same time now, and he wasn''t stupid enough to think he would be able to take them all on at the same time. Even though he knew that he would be able to put up a pretty good fight, he didn''t want to risk anything if he didn''t need to. He had also heard a lot of notifications ringing inside his head when he had killed all of the monsters. This made Ark very excited, since it meant that he had probably gained a lot of levels from doing something simple like that.


    He decided to wait with checking his status until he had reached the safety of the tree, this was only a precaution since he didn''t really know if the ghouls would try to follow him or not. He had not seen any of them, but there was still a possibility. When he had finally arrived at the tree, he noticed how another animal was drinking close by, he felt like this was fate, as he was very hungry right now. This animal didn''t seem to be a magical beast or anything of the sort, it was just a normal boar, but just to be completely safe Ark checked it''s level, and it was only a level 3 wild boar. Seeing this, Ark''s silver eyes shone as he lunged forward and decapitated the beast.


    After having his sumptuous meal he decided to store some of it away for the next day, this was simply because this boar was extremely tasty, and he didn''t know if he would be able to find something else that would even come close the next day. The boar was very big, and therefore the meat would last for another meal today, and then another two the next day. Ark almost drooled at the thought of eating this boar once more. He decided to store the boar in his tree, where he put up a barrier of Mana, it was basically a very condensed but small shield made out of Mana, this would keep other creatures from smelling and finding his food.


    Having done that Ark decided to take a little nap, he was a bit exhausted after all. Because even if he could battle a lot more, it was still very exhausting, and he would rather rest a little before going back to take on the ghouls. He had completely forgotten about his status because of the tasty meal he had gotten out of the boar he had killed, therefore he slowly drifted off into sleep.


    ....


    Waking up a couple of hours later Ark felt really good, he also remembered how he was supposed to check out his new status before doing anything else, which failed as he was distracted. But now that he was awake again he really wanted to see if he had leveled up, or more importantly, how much?


    Name: Ark


    Species: Ice wolf


    Level: 7 (22)


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 30


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 16


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 31


    Wisdom: 18


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3]


    Regenerate


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [35]


    Seeing this made Ark very excited, he had gained a total of 35 status points! There was a lot he would be able to do with those, and he would be able to get a lot stronger, and all he really did was use a single move. But this was mostly possible because of the low magic defense of skeletons and zombies, they were also very slow and had very bad reaction speed, which led to Ark being able to kill them all with a single attack. Albeit it being one of his strongest ones. Ark wasn''t too sure of how he wanted to spend the points though, he felt like one of the more logical choices would be to invest in his magic, but he didn''t really know if that was what he only wanted to go with. He kind of wanted to balance out his stats a little, since the difference between his stats would get wider and wider every time he decided to spend points on his magic and agility.


    But he would still have them be a bit ahead of the other ones, since he wanted them to be his strong points, and he wanted to be at least a little specialized. Have you ever heard the saying: Jack of all trades, master of none? This was the main reason why Ark wanted to have his own area at which he excelled. He didn''t think it would be smart to be moderately good at everything, he thought that it would be a lot smarter to have something to be good at. Think about it this way, if he one day ran into an opponent with a very good defense, then he wouldn''t be able to do anything unless he had sufficient attack. And that''s also why he wanted to have good magic as well as speed, since they could both provide a strong attack, but also a lot of utility as well as ways to escape from an overwhelming opponent.


    Therefore Ark decided to put 10 points into his strength, bringing it to a respectable 25, then he put 4 point into endurance, to get it to an even 20, since he would get a skill for it at 20. He then put 7 points into his wisdom, he also put 5 points into agility and 9 points into intelligence. After confirming his choice Ark heard the same monotone voice sound out inside of his head.


    [Due to host having 20 points of endurance, host has gained the skill "Enhanced Stamina"]


    [Due to host having 20 points of strength, host has gained the skill "Herculean Strength"]


    [Due to host having 20 points of wisdom, host has gained the skill "Mana recovery"]


    [Enhanced Stamina]


    Grants host better stamina to stay in combat longer


    Stamina is enhanced by 10%


    After checking the other two skills, Ark noticed that the skill seemed to be the exact same, they just enhanced their respective areas by ten percent for the fist level, and then they got progressively stronger. So his herculean strength for example enhanced his strength by ten percent.


    (New status)


    Name: Ark


    Species: Ice wolf


    Level: 7 (22)


    Mp: 120/120


    Agility: 35


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 20


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 40


    Wisdom: 25


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.1]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [0]


    After having distributed his stats Ark felt the same glowing light envelop him as he sat inside the tree. And when it disappeared, Ark felt elated as he was now a lot stronger than before. His mind felt clearer and his body was brimming with strength and vitality. Having his stats upgraded, Ark decided to go back to the ghouls now, since his strength and Mana was completely replenished. And he felt that they wouldn''t be much of a challenge, he also really wanted to check out what was in the rest of the dungeon, but he would do that tomorrow since he was bound to be exhausted after the fight with the ghouls.


    It didn''t take long for him to arrive at the graveyard again, as it was pretty close by, and when he was there, he noticed how there were still some skeletons and zombies left, that had apparently survived the attack from earlier. Ark didn''t care about this however since their strength wouldn''t matter at all when he released one of his ace attacks, this time he would do an all-out attack with ice, and he had just upgraded his stats, which would mean greater power.


    Looking at the ghouls, Ark changed his plans a little bit. There were too many ghouls to take them all out in just one attack, therefore he would pick some of them off before going all out. This didn''t take too long though as the monsters were unable to react to the swiftly moving Ark. All he did was slightly boost his legs with Magic, but his speed was still insanely fast. He had invested a lot in his agility after all.


    The number of the monster quickly dwindled from the original 50-60 to about 30, and this only took Ark ten minutes to achieve, he didn''t want to spend all his efforts on thinning them out after all. When the number of ghouls was exactly 30, Ark had gotten all of their attention. This time he didn''t fuse his water and fire magic together like last time, this time he started to converge all of the ice Mana he could muster into a tornado in front of him. As the ghouls got closer and closer, the tornado grew bigger and bigger. Ark had slightly underestimated the ghouls earlier, so he needed to truly go all out with this attack he was using right now, therefore he poured in all the Mana he had until his reserves were completely drained, at that time the tornado had grown a lot. It was now very fierce and brought with it an enormous amount of power.


    This tornado wasn''t comparable with one solely made of wind either, as it was filled with ice shards that would completely rip anyone who entered it to small pieces, this was a display of why people saw the ice element as something fierce.


    As he had completely drained all of his Mana, Ark let go of his control of the tornado, letting it proceed right into the middle of all the ghouls. The ghouls didn''t get a chance to resist as they were all sent flying into the air and shredded to pieces, filling the surroundings with their miserable screams as well as some of their remains.


    Upon seeing this horrible scene, even Ark almost felt slightly bad, but he knew this was something he had to do in order to be able to stay safe in this world, and therefore he quickly managed to put it all behind him. The pieces of flesh strewn about were truly a horrific sight though as Ark sat down to catch his breath, looking towards the entrance of the dungeon Ark couldn''t wait until tomorrow, he had always loved to explore after all...

 Chapter 24 - The dungeon!

    After all of the ghouls were killed, Ark heard a voice in his head once more. He had barely even had the chance to test out his newfound strength before he had leveled up yet again! Ark didn''t know it himself but dungeons were actually very rare, and the one he had found was level D, which was perfect for people like Ark, who was kind of strong, but not strong enough. The dungeon Ark had found was also undiscovered, and untouched. This was quite extraordinary, as most of the dungeons around this world had already been found, which meant that there were always people flocking around the different dungeons. Since there were incredible opportunities to be had since most dungeons contained treasures inside of them.


    But there was also a lot of dangers involved when dungeon-diving since they were lurking in every corner. So it is up to each person to decide if it is worth it to risk their lives. And to many poor people, who wanted to change their lives, the risk was worth it. This was still unknown to Ark, however, so he had no idea what to expect from this dungeon in front of him. What he did expect, however, was stronger enemies, and in turn more experience. Since he had one again killed a lot of monsters, Ark decided to do a check on his status, to see how many levels he had gained.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Ice Wolf


    Level: 10 (25)


    Mp: 43/120


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 35


    Dexterity: 20


    Endurance: 20


    Vitality: 20


    Wisdom: 25


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.1]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Seeing this made Ark a little confused at first, but then he quickly realized what his "problem" was. He had thought that it was weird how he had gotten fewer levels for killing stronger enemies, but then he realized how he had leveled up multiple times before he had killed the ghouls, and how it would get harder to level up with each level you got. But he was still a little disappointed as he would have liked a couple more levels. Seeing as he had 15 points to spend, Ark decided to bring his agility up to 40 points as well, since he wanted to specialize in both speed and magic, he knew that he could just go all in with magic, and then boost all of his stats with magic. But then if he ran out of Mana, he would be useless. And Ark didn''t feel like that was a good way to spend his points since there might come multiple situations in the future when he will not be able to use his Mana.


    And one of the only reasons why Ark wanted to have good speed was because he really liked the feeling of traveling at fast speeds, and he also wanted to have ways to both escape, evade and attack. Since he still had 10 points to spare Ark decided that he would invest them in his dexterity, since he didn''t want it to fall too far behind his agility, since that would make his high agility a bad thing instead of a good thing. And that''s simply because he wouldn''t be able to control his own body at high speeds if his dexterity wasn''t high enough. After confirming his decision, Ark felt a white light envelop him as he felt his speed and bodily control significantly increase.


    (New status)


    Name: Ark


    Species: Ice Wolf


    Level: 10 (25)


    Mp: 45/120


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 40


    Endurance: 20


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 40


    Wisdom: 25


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana recovery [Lv.1]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Status points [0]


    Having his new status Ark decided that he would wait a while before deciding what to do next. This was simply because he had changed his mind a little bit, he didn''t really wanna wait until the next day to explore the dungeon, but he was still low on Mana at the moment, so he would recover for a bit before deciding what to do next. Since he now had both higher wisdom, as well as his Mana recovery skill, Ark didn''t need to rest as long as he had to before, even though he had a lot more Mana.


    Deciding to once more check out what would happen when he used inspect on the tomb, Ark accidentally used it once more when he had already gotten the information, and the thing which followed severely shocked him, there was more information to be had! If he inspected it once more then he could apparently get a lot more information regarding specific parts. This was something which Ark had no idea about up until now. And when he accidentally used it another time, he learned that this seemingly simple tomb of a dead demon wasn''t as simple as he had imagined it would be.


    Charun wasn''t some simple low-level demon like the commander Abaddon of the demon squad Ark had run into earlier, Charun was a pretty high ranking demon, and a very powerful one at that, even though his individual strength wasn''t particularly high. Charun was a necromancer, and he, therefore, attracted more attention and hate from humans compared to other demons that were even stronger than him, simply because of the way he did things. Even though some would feel like necromancy is like any other power, a tool to gain strength. But most, however, would say that necromancy is a sinister art, because even if the person in question decides to do something good with the undead he raises, he still brings the dead back to life, and then make them do his bidding.


    This is something many consider to be taboo, and if Ark knew about this, he would probably feel pretty similar, even though he would be less extreme in his opinion compared to others. Since Charun was a necromancer, when he died, a lot of his minions, combined with his lingering Mana, created this dungeon. Every dungeon has a core, and most of them are just crystals infused with Mana, with most of them containing skills if they were to be destroyed. But in this dungeon, however, a bit of Charun''s residual soul resides in the Mana crystal, otherwise referred to as "The Heart" of the dungeon. What this means is that Charun isn''t completely out of this world yet, and another thing this means, is that if Ark, or any other living creature for that matter, were to destroy this crystal, then they would essentially be able to inherit one of Charun''s skills.


    All that Ark found out about though when he learned how he could use inspect, was the part about Charun, and his past. The parts about his residual soul and stuff were all things which Ark had no idea about. After learning that this Charun was a necromancer, Ark''s reaction wasn''t very strong, of course, he felt like it would be very wrong to raise the dead to do ones bidding, but at the same time, this didn''t affect him personally in the slightest, all this did was give him a slight insight of what to expect inside of the dungeon.


    Having inspected what this dungeon really was, Ark decided to move a bit closer to the entrance of it. The entrance was at the very back of the graveyard, and it was very imposing. This was simply because of the fact that it was pretty big, at a height at about 5 meters, and a width of about 4 meters, and also because of its scary design and aura. The entrance itself was just two doors made out of stone, but even though it was made out of stone, most people would mistake it for bones, due to the weird colouring as well as the design of the doors, at both sides of these doors stood two skeletons, both equipped with a simple sword and shield, giving off the impression that this was a dungeon for complete beginners, even though it really wasn''t.


    Because if you didn''t have the power to protect yourself in here, you would be dead in a matter of seconds.


    When Ark had been standing in front of it for about 5 minutes, checking it out, he decided to go inside, or at least to try. And it was actually very easy to do so since the doors leading into the dungeon opened themselves to Ark when he was about half a meter away from them, this was a pleasant surprise as Ark wasn''t completely sure whether he would be able to enter it or not. Seeing as though the doors were open, Ark decided to step inside, the reason as to why he didn''t check it out much from the outside was simply because he couldn''t do it. This was because of a blinding light that prevented any outsiders who weren''t entering from looking into the dungeon.


    When he walked in through the blinding light, Ark suddenly felt his insides twist and turn, his vision going completely blank, he didn''t even feel fully alive for the split second of warping into the dungeon itself, which was completely normal for people when they get teleported for the first time. Feeling this sensation scared Ark a little bit though since this dungeon wasn''t as simple as it seemed, even after the backstory he had gotten, he didn''t expect to get teleported away as soon as he entered it. Or at least that''s what he thought had happened...

 Chapter 25 - The First Floor!

    After looking around for a little bit Ark noticed how he was at the very top of a spiral staircase, this staircase was made entirely out of stone and it looked very exquisite, especially if you considered the fact that it was made entirely out of stone, so there wasn''t much you could do in the looks department. Ark was even a bit astounded. It wasn''t like he had never seen a beautiful staircase before, he did get to visit a nobles'' house after all, but this one was made out of stone, and it was even better. You could see Charun''s influence when he was still alive just from this, the craftsmen behind this could not have been ordinary by any means.


    Just seeing some simple things like this could make Ark ponder sometimes, did the one who made this want to make it? Or were they forced to work? Maybe the demons saw Charun as a hero, who knows? Were the demons really that bad? As Ark thought about it more and more, he started to grow anxious. Who was the good guy? And who was the bad guy? Was there truly any good or bad?


    More and more questions inevitably started popping up. Ark had actually only heard the human side of the story, and let''s be real, his experience with humans wasn''t exactly great by any means. And even though the only encounter he had ever had with demons was, in fact, a battle. Were one of them was clearly evil, that was just one of them. And it didn''t necessarily mean all of them were evil. There were evil and psychopathic humans as well, but that doesn''t mean that all humans are evil. Quite the opposite actually, as it just makes the good people seem a lot better.


    Ark decided that it wasn''t the time to be thinking things like this though, so he decided to start moving down the staircase, but not before activating his stealth skill. It would be kind of stupid after all if he went down into the dungeon only to notice that the monsters were way too high level, therefore he needed his stealth in case he needed to flee for his life.


    Walking down the staircase, Ark noticed that it was actually quite narrow, considering how big the dungeon probably is, if humans were to try and walk on it they would probably only fit three people next to each other. To Ark''s surprise, the staircase was actually very long, since he had been walking on it for 10 minutes without arriving at the first floor, he did walk in a very slow pace though, which meant that he still hadn''t gotten that deep into the ground. But it was still more than expected nonetheless.


    As he was advancing down the staircase he suddenly saw the end of it, it didn''t look as grand as he expected, it just looked like a big doorframe without a door, that had gotten weary with time. Walking towards the entrance to the first floor, the hair on his hair abruptly stood straight up. Ark was surprised, but also a bit concerned if it was a good idea to continue into the dungeon. A feeling like this wasn''t something you felt often, and when you did, it was often a good idea to run, but Ark didn''t want to give up when he had already come this far, therefore he decided to continue.


    Walking past the entrance and into the dungeon, Ark''s vigilance was as high as it could possibly get, and he was quite nervous. The environment of the first floor was just a cave, and Ark felt like it was a bit lackl.u.s.ter, but he still moved on nonetheless. As his paws slowly traversed the ground within the dungeon, he noticed that the ground was super cold, but since he was aligned with the ice element, it didn''t really bother him.


    After he had walked into the cave for a bit, he suddenly entered a big space within the cave, that branched out into three different directions. Since he didn''t know where they led to, he just decided to enter one at random and went into the right path. The cave was a bit bigger than the initial one, and this one also seemed to grow a little bigger as he went on. After about 5 minutes of walking, Ark suddenly came to a stop.


    Click Clack


    Click Clack


    Click Clack


    In the distance, he could hear some weird noise, that resembled the sound of a crab or something of similar nature walking around. Now he started to grow a bit restless, and he was ready to turn around if he needed to, but at that moment.


    He could feel something cold dripping against his scalp, but as he was just about to turn his head up to look, he suddenly felt a massive amount of killing intent. Thankfully for him, he had experienced what killing intent felt like when he had been battling against the demons, otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to move at all at this moment. With that said, Ark suddenly put a lot of strength in his front legs, and combusted some flames underneath them, causing him to fly backward at a rapid speed.


    BANG!


    At the place which he had just been standing in, a big hole appeared in the ground. Ark felt a shill running across his spine as he looked at the hole in the ground.


    [If that would have hit me, I would have been a goner!]


    This was the first thought that ran across Ark''s mind when he saw the destruction of that attack. It would have been fine if it would have been head-on since he could have conjured up a magic shield or something of the like, but if he got hit by that when he least expected it, then he would definitely not survive the fight that followed.


    As he thought about this, his head couldn''t help but shift towards the ceiling of the cave. Up there he saw a pitch-black spider, about 2 thirds of his size, staring at him cruelly with eight dark red glowing eyes. One of the spider''s legs was hanging in the air, above the hole that had formed in the ground. All in all, it created a very sinister picture as it silently hung onto the ceiling.


    Ark also saw what had dropped onto his head from earlier, a seemingly vicious green liquid was dripping slowly onto the ground from one of the spider''s fangs. Seeing this, Ark slowly checked his status to see if he had gotten any status ailments, and to his surprise, he hadn''t gotten any. That meant that he didn''t need to spend any Mana on recovering, which was pretty nice in a foreign environment.


    Seeing his own status, Ark also decided to check out his opponent. Since he wasn''t really sure if the opponent was strong or not.


    "Inspect"


    Lv. 10 (30)


    An evolution of the Arachnid.


    Affinity toward the darkness element.


    Lv. 10 (30)


    Stats: ??


    Skills: [Silent Strike] ??


    Seeing this, Ark knew what had happened earlier, and his confidence to beat this spider in a battle instantly went up since he could make a guess that this spider was good at stealth attacks, and not in combat. Since he didn''t want to take any chances and let the spider attack again, he decided to go on the offensive straight away.


    Gathering mana at the back of his legs, Ark suddenly exploded out from his original position, the spider didn''t get much of a chance to react before Ark suddenly appeared in front of it, but as an instinct, it put up one of its legs in front of it. If Ark would''ve kept going, he would have impaled himself on the leg, therefore he abruptly came to a stop in front of it.


    What the spider didn''t know, was that Ark had anticipated this development, or at least something similar, therefore he had decided to try out something new for once, and gathered a lot of Mana in his lungs. A split-second after he stopped he let out a maddening howl, infused with a big chunk of Mana.


    The spider didn''t expect something like this to happen, the howl shook the spider''s innards so fiercely that it got gravely injured from just a single attack. Seeing how his howl made the Arachnid scurry backward in a hurry, and the screeching sound it let out, Ark instantly followed up with an ice spear that he conjured up from the Mana in his body.


    The spear found it''s way into the Arachnid''s head, instantly exploding it into a bloody mist. This pictured quite the grim scene, and it wasn''t something the weak-hearted would want to look at, lest they throw up all over the place.


    As Ark saw the corpse of the spider sprawled across the ground, he didn''t relax in the slightest. The reason was quite simple, he had released that howl earlier, and it was bound to attract hordes of monsters to his location. Therefore he decided to retreat for the day since he didn''t think it would be that wise to stay for much longer. Even if he didn''t attract a bunch of monsters, he would still want to leave and rest for the night.


    He also wanted to get either a darkness affinity or a light affinity, since this dungeon was focused around sneak attacks so far. And he needed either the lightness element to light the place up as well as counter the darkness element, or he needed the darkness element to know what was going on in the shadows, as well as upgrading his stealth. Ideally, he would get both though.


    Just as he was about to retreat, he saw something flash in the corner of his eye, which instantly put him on high-alert again. But he soon relaxed a little as he noticed that the thing that flashed was a black translucent orb that had emerged from the Arachnid''s backside. "Mana Stone!" was the first thing that emerged in Ark''s eyes as he snatched it up in his jaws, and turned around to leave for the surface again...

 Chapter 26 - Bloodline Appears?

    Ark had no problem finding his way in these caves since he had always had a splendid memory in his past life, and since he reincarnated into this world, it had only gotten better, which was both a good and bad thing, depending on how you view things. It''s technically a good thing since you will never lose your way, you can get good grades on tests and whatnot, there''s one problem with it though, there are some things in life that you wish that you could forget, but with a good memory... well... good luck with that.


    Ark didn''t wish that he could forget his entire past life since he didn''t want to forget his closest friend, Anthony. He did, however, wish that he could forget all the scorn, all the hate, and all the jealousy. He wished he could forget the despair he felt when he lost his friend, but at the same time, he didn''t want to forget it, since the memory of Anthony would feel less real that way.


    As he was making his way back towards the surface, he could hear the sounds of spiders shuffling around, as well as some very creepy screeches in the distance. This urged Ark to hurry even more on his journey away from here, as he didn''t feel like fighting anymore right now.


    When he saw the stairs leading up emerge in front of him again, he felt a bit elated as he sped up, even more, all so he could finally get some rest. It had been a very hectic and stressful day after all. Even for a magical wolf, believe it or not. Ascending the stairs took no time at all, and as he arrived at the top of them, he suddenly felt that twisting feeling in his stomach again, and his vision turned blank, as he was teleported outside of the tomb once more. Since it had already begun to darken outside, Ark instantly activated his stealth, as he made his way home again.


    He met a couple of monsters on the way back to his tree, but he didn''t mess with any of them since he simply didn''t feel like it. Arriving at the tree didn''t take too long, and he soon entered it. Whilst inside, he conjured up a small fire as he laid down and contemplated a few things before dozing off, most of these things were about his past life, and the rest of them were about the dungeon, and his plan going forward.


    He didn''t ponder for too long though before finally drifting off into sleep.


    ...


    Waking up the next day, Ark felt much better, he felt very invigorated as he stretched his limbs a bit inside of the ancient-looking tree, he grew more and more pleased with himself for finding such a spot to use as his temporary home, as he grew more and more attached to it. Today, he wanted to try his luck with the darkness affinity, but he didn''t know if he should start by attracting the Mana in the air, or if he should start by absorbing the Mana crystal that he had gotten the day before.


    He didn''t really know why, but his gut was telling him to use the Mana crystal to try and obtain the darkness affinity, probably because it had the vitality of a darkness monster, If he absorbed parts of the monster''s vitality and Mana, then he felt like he could obtain it easier than just absorbing some Mana from the air.


    Putting his paw on top of the Mana crystal, Ark started o try and draw out the Mana, it was a tedious process, since he didn''t have an affinity, but after a little while, he managed to extract some Mana, and draw it into his body. When it entered his body, Ark started to feel a desolate emptiness, as if he was the only thing that existed in the world. This feeling started to mess with his head, as well as his thoughts, until something unexpected happened.


    Bright lights started to shine from the depths of his blood, Ark stopped feeling the desolate emptiness, and instead, he felt like his body was on fire. This feeling persisted for a while, and it didn''t seem like it would go away anytime soon, but it suddenly vanished. And Ark was bathed in radiant golden rays, that enveloped his entire body, blocking out everything from the world around him.


    Whilst this was happening, Ark was fl.u.s.tered as he was surprised over and over again by his own body, "What is happening to me?" was one of the few thoughts going through his mind, as he felt a soothing a comfortable feeling all over his body. A fundamental change was happening to Ark right now, maybe not as drastic as a normal evolution, but not far from it.


    After a while, all the bright lights went back into Ark''s body and disappeared into the depths of his blood. When the lights were completely gone, Ark could hear the same old monotone voice once more.


    [Due to the host trying to absorb a Mana crystal, part of hosts bloodline has awakened.]


    [Due to the host''s bloodline, absorption of Mana crystal failed.]


    [Due to the host awakening part of his bloodline, the host has obtained the following skills:]


    [Big Light Affinity]


    [Envoy of Holiness]


    Hearing all these prompts made Ark really excited since he really wanted a light affinity right now, and he had suddenly obtained one that was on par with his Ice affinity, this would help him a lot in the dungeon, as long as he familiarised himself with it a little bit. Since he didn''t know what the [Envoy of Holiness] skill was, he decided to use "Inspect" on it to see if he could find something out.


    [Envoy of Holiness]


    Grants the host a perfect light affinity, as well


    as a 50% increase in all stats for 30 minutes.


    Significantly weakens the user after the duration


    is gone.


    Seeing this description made Ark''s eyes visibly widen, this was an amazing skill! He had been in need of a skill like this for quite some time now since it would be the perfect skill to use in a fight of life and death. And the period of weakness wouldn''t really matter as long as you got to keep your life intact. As Ark was thinking this, his vision also returned completely, which meant he could see now. Just now he had just been viewing all of this stuff inside of his head since his vision didn''t return immediately when the light did.


    As Ark could finally see again, he started to examine what he could see of himself a little bit. The first thing that he clearly noticed, was that both his legs, as well as his paws had changed colour into pure white, that looked like it could never be tainted. He couldn''t see much more than that though since he didn''t have a mirror, at least that''s what he thought for a couple of seconds before he ran outside the tree and looked at himself in the stream.


    Now that he could see his face as well, he noticed that some of the white had crept up onto his face as well, but his back still seemed to be cyan coloured, with a bit of white mixed in. He actually started to resemble the wolfs from his old world quite a lot if you just changed the cyan to gray. Ark didn''t really care much about what he looked like anyways, but the curiosity still got to the better of him.


    Since he was well rested and wanted to get into the dungeon earlier today, Ark decided that he needed to test out what he could do with his light element first, since he had never seen it in use before this.


    The first thing he tested out was the defensive aspect of the element since it would be good to know if he should use this element or the ice element to conjure up a Mana shield for defense. Since he couldn''t really test it out in any other way, he just decided to conjure up one of each and feel for himself which one he thought was stronger. As he conjured up two shields, one cyan-blue, and one radiant-gold, he suddenly got an idea. It was a very crude test, but it would do for now.


    As he thought about the test, he directed the shields against each other and propelled them both forward as fast as he could, smashing them against each other.


    BOOM!


    Dust filled the air as the sound of the heavy collision rang out in the peak of the morning hours.


    As the dust slowly settled, a radiant light emerged from within, indicating the winner of this small contest...

 Chapter 27 - Back For More!

    Seeing as he had gained a new element which was suited to some specific areas where he was lacking, Ark was very happy at the moment. He now had an element that excelled in utility, more so than firepower. Of course, you could also use the light element to cast some incredible spells, but Ark had plenty of offensive power already, and he didn''t need to get even more.


    Since he would still use the light element a lot offensively in this dungeon, he still tried to conjure up some fairly basic and easy attacks, such as javelins, spears, arrows, and even swords. He didn''t need to try stuff like coating his claws in the light element though since it was a bit too basic. After a little practice, Ark had grown confident in his new capabilities. But before he set out, he decided to double-check his status, in case he had managed to miss something of importance.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Level: 10 (25)


    Mp: 120/120


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 40


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 20


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 40


    Wisdom: 25


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.1>Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3>Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Status points [0]


    Seeing this made Ark a little dumbfounded, he noticed how his race had suddenly changed to a Radiant Ice Wolf, which probably happened during the process he had just gone through. This made him a little excited since it seemed like you could evolve without maxing out your level, even though this kind of evolution seemed a little different. Ark also noticed how some of his passive and active skills had leveled up.


    He didn''t get a notification about it, but that was probably because they leveled up in the middle of combat, and therefore he didn''t get a notification. Since it could prove to be fatal if he got distracted in the middle of a fight to the death. This made Ark ponder a little bit. It seemed like this system adapted after the user.


    He got this feeling since he never got any new skills when he made one up. He was grateful for this though since they would just take up unnecessary space on his status, and he didn''t want to get restricted by a skill list but by his imagination, as well his as Mana.


    But some other people was the complete opposite, they didn''t want to come up with their own solutions and their own magic, they just leveled up their basic magic skills until they got new skills and new attacks. And there is nothing wrong with thinking like this, since everyone has their own principles, and fights in their own ways. In a life and death situation, it can be nice to not have to think, but instead, just invoke the name of the spell you wanna use.


    Fighting and thinking like Ark might be more versatile, but it is also more demanding on the mind since you always have to use your imagination. And you have to be a little free-thinking. And if you think about it, all the combat skills that relate to magic can actually be found under [Mana Manipulation]. Since that''s exactly what they are, Mana that is being manipulated. And that''s why Ark didn''t want any unnecessary skills taking up space in his status.


    Feeling confident in himself, and itching for some action, Ark once more set off to the dungeon, but not before getting some water from the stream. After getting hydrated, he sped off into the distance. This was the amazing thing about the agility stat, it wasn''t only good in combat, it could also be applied in a variety of different situations.


    As he passed by a variety of different monsters and animals, Ark decided to not hunt anything right now, since he wasn''t particularly hungry. He could do it after the dungeon anyway. Thinking like this, Ark finally arrived at the graveyard once more, where he noticed something peculiar. All the monsters he had killed the day before seemed to have returned again. At first, he was a bit dumbfounded, but he soon regained his spirits, since this was a dungeon after all, and anything could happen here.


    As all of these monsters were undead, Ark decided that it would be best to use the light element against them. He began gathering a massive amount of Mana, both from within his body and in the air around him. For this massive move that he was about to execute, he took inspiration from the water element, and he used his experience with it to control it. All of the lightness Mana turned into a massive wave.


    As the size of the wave started growing bigger and bigger, Ark''s control finally started slipping after a while. Seeing this, he sent it toward the undead as quick as he could, before he lost control completely. As the air around the massive wave of light started to twist and distort, the undead were finally alerted, but there was nothing they could do at this point. They couldn''t move at all since the massive amount of light Mana was applying to much pressure for them to be able to move.


    As the wave finally arrived, it started ravaging everything in its path, completely destroying every single undead it came upon. This big wave of light was much like a tsunami destroying a city, completely crushing everything in its path until there was nothing left to destroy. Having killed all of the undead in the cemetery once more. Ark heard a familiar voice telling him about his level up.


    Since he felt the power of magic once more, Ark dumped every single point into the intelligence attribute this time.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Mp: 102/135


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 40


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 20


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 45


    Wisdom: 25


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.1>Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.3>Lv.4]


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Status points [0]


    Seeing this made Ark a bit proud of himself, he felt like he had come far from his initial starting point. But the more he thought about his beginning in this world, the weirder he felt like it was. He had barely reacted to the fact that he had died or the fact that he had turned into a wolf, which was pretty weird, he felt like something was a bit weird with his mental state at the time. Maybe that also played in a role in the mental breakdown he had? He didn''t know, but if that were the case, he was thankful. All of that helped a lot after all, and it shaped him to become what he was today.


    Thinking about stuff that he couldn''t solve was just a waste of time, so Ark just quietly wandered off into the dungeon again. This time he was used to the twisting feeling as he was warped into the dungeon, and it didn''t bother him in the slightest. As he once again descended the stair into the dungeon, Ark once again started to grow vigilant, he didn''t want to get careless just because he had gotten the light element, even if it could counter the darkness element.


    When he had walked into the dungeon for a while, he came to the same three-way crossing he had gotten to yesterday. Since he didn''t want to try his luck, he decided to take the same route as the one he took the day before, the right one. But since it was so dark, and since he didn''t want to get ambushed, he decided to use light magic to brighten up the surroundings. He also decided to turn on his [Mana Perception] in case he missed something, the darkness element was good at concealment after all. Of course, you could still hide your Mana fluctuations if you were good enough.


    After a little while, Ark could see two Darkness Arachnids staring at him menacingly from the ceiling of the cave. This time, he decided to take the initiative, and suddenly emitted a glaring light from his body. The Arachnids, taken by surprise, suddenly screeched in pain as their eyes were scorched by the light. A second later, their life was over. Ark had conjured up two light javelins and shot them out under the veil of the glaring light, which had exploded the Arachnids'' heads into bloody messes.


    Seeing how effective the lightness element was, Ark was a bit surprised, but then again, he had a big light affinity, which was almost as good as it got. Since the corpses didn''t condense any Mana crystals, Ark continued into the dungeon once more, with his light still on, since turning it off for just a second could prove to be fatal...

 Chapter 28 - Diving Deeper!

    The cave seemed to be growing bigger the further in you got, but you had to walk pretty far for the difference to even be noticeable. As Ark''s battle spirit had been aroused by the battle before, he was eager to fight with even stronger foes, at least something that could put up a decent fight!


    After having gone down this path for quite a while, Ark noticed a light further into the tunnel. As he saw this, he was a bit confused. What could be giving off such light down here? With his curiosity piqued, Ark increased his speed a little, hurrying on his way. As he got closer, the light turned out to be coming from the end of the tunnel, and it essentially looked the same as you would imagine the exit of a cave would look like. And to Ark''s astonishment, that''s exactly what it was.


    As Ark stepped through the hole and into the light, he was totally dumbfounded. When he was ready to explore the first floor, this wasn''t what he was expecting at all. In front of him spanned a massive jungle, one that even seemed a bit otherworldly. Throughout the entire jungle, you could find a dense fog that seemed like it would devour all who entered into it. What made this jungle really eerie though, was the fact that there was no sound coming from it at all, not what you would expect from a jungle at all.


    Ark tried to spread some of his light magic into the fog, to see if it could clear it up at all. To his dismay, the fog didn''t show the slightest reaction when it came into contact with the light element. Ark didn''t give up there though, as he urged his other elements to try their luck at driving away the fog. None of them showed any results, therefore Ark decided to try his luck, and enter into the jungle directly himself. But since it could potentially be dangerous, Ark had all of his Mana on high alert, and his magic defense was a lot more condensed than usual.


    As he took his first step into the jungle, he instantly felt a heavy pressure wearing down his mind and spirit. This was the first time Ark had felt something like this outside of a combat situation, where he had only felt similar things. He started to grow anxious instantly, and a lot of dark thoughts started to surface inside of his mind. Sensing these changes, Ark instantly urged the light element in his body to battle this darkness he was feeling, and surprisingly it worked perfectly.


    From this little exchange, Ark could kind of figure out what this fog that covered the jungle was, it seemed to be a large scale spell of darkness magic, that targeted peoples consciousness, wearing down their spirits and their will. Since this was the case, Ark decided to constantly supply his light element with small amounts of Mana to resist the fog. This wasn''t a problem though since the Mana expanded was less than the Mana he regenerated.


    As the mystery of the fog was solved, for now, Ark continued into the jungle. Since he didn''t want to get lost in this jungle, Ark infused every step with a tiny bit of fire, burning his footprints into the ground. He was careful to only put a small amount of fire though since he didn''t want to burn down the entire jungle.


    As he progressed further into the jungle, Ark failed to notice a pair of eyes stalking him from the darkness. All he could think about at the moment was the kind of enemies he would be facing in here, all he was sure of was that they would undoubtedly be of the darkness element. He didn''t really know how powerful his enemies would be either, but he was still excited nonetheless. He was confident in his ability to escape after all.


    As Ark stepped into a small clearing, he suddenly felt a tear in his magic barrier that he had kept active at all times. A feeling of absolute dread spread all over his body, as he instinctively exploded into a burst of flames. These flames were not ordinary either, as they were combined with the water element, giving them indescribable power. They held the ferociousness of flames, the gentleness of water, and the impact power that both of them would bring combined into one single entity.


    The panther, however, looked quite distressed at the moment as it had faced the impact of Ark''s flames, and had been badly burnt as well. Seeing it like this, Ark didn''t just stand around, he instantly went on the offensive, to gain the initiative of the fight. He brought his speed to its peak, as he lunged at the panther. The panther wasn''t some weak monster, and it sensed the killing intent directed towards it, and it instantly dodged underneath Ark and slashed out towards his stomach, its claws glowing sharply.


    Ark came well prepared though, this flaw of his attack was intentional, and it was done to bait the panther into attacking him since he noticed its astonishing speed beforehand. A sword made out of light magic suddenly appeared from underneath him, which pierced straight between the panther''s eyes. The panther did never expect its life to end as abruptly as this, as it felt regret for picking the wrong target to hunt, its eyes slowly dimmed.


    Ark was a bit too excited, and even though the panther was already dead, its attack still carried a certain level of energy. This only resulted in a shallow wound to his stomach though, barely even drawing blood. And since Ark had the light element, he was fully healed a couple of minutes later. He did expend a fair bit of Mana though, so he decided to find a resting spot for now.


    He didn''t want to stay in this clearing though, even if it was a nice spot. Since the smell of blood would almost certainly attract other monsters to the scene. And Ark wasn''t arrogant enough to think he could beat anything and everything. Especially not if he was low on Mana.


    Quickly cleansing his body with the help of water magic, Ark was quickly on his way.


    He could, of course, clear the scent of blood from the panther in a multitude of ways, but he wasn''t naive enough to think that he hadn''t already attracted a few monsters to the scene.


    Wandering around for a bit, Ark soon found a nice tree to rest under, and he decided to lay down and recover his Mana in the shade for a while. As a precautionary action though, he spread out a lot of light Mana in a dome around him. In this way, he would notice anything that entered its radius, and the fog would stay clear, it was pretty easy to maintain anyways.


    ...


    A brown pair of leather boots could be seen heavily trudging throughout a weird eerie jungle, that seemed to be covered in endless fog. As the boots trampled exotic plants, twigs, and all sorts of things, they suddenly came to an abrupt stop in front of a gold-coloured dome. This gold-coloured dome seemed to be radiating an aura of holiness, that created a sharp contrast to a jungle as eerie as this...

 Chapter 29 - A Chance Meeting!

    Thufrat had lived a tough life. Born as a dwarf in human society, the discrimination he faced as a child was nothing to scoff at, and as the other children grew taller and taller, he was quickly left behind. Now of age, no one wanted to hire him because of his race, finding a job was not something that he could do. In normal cases, it wouldn''t be this bad, since most people had a degree of rationality, as well as good minds.


    But Thufrat had been born in a rural village, where discrimination wouldn''t be punished since the law was in the hands of the villagers. With no other ways out of his dilemma, Thufrat''s only way out was to become an adventurer. Even though his dream had always been to become a master blacksmith, he didn''t have the money to even become an apprentice, therefore adventuring was the only way out until he had made a name for himself, and earned some money.


    As he was constantly putting his life on the line, his skills grew more and more refined, his weapon of choice was a large Warhammer since dwarves were born with more strength than humans. The only magic he had an affinity toward was earth magic, and he largely incorporated what he could into his own fighting style, but it wasn''t good enough yet. Through sheer effort, he had managed to get all the way to level 33, but he only had a few special skills of his own.


    But a month ago, his life took a turn for the better as he managed to find a rank D dungeon in the middle of The Twilight Woods of the Estridsen Kingdom. This dungeon was supposedly the tomb of an old Archdemon, and it was undiscovered until now. This was a great opportunity, to gain strength, wealth and fame, all at the same time. At the cost of the danger of course.


    Today was his first day of ever entering the dungeon, and the experience was shocking, to say the least. And now, in front of him, a weird phenomenon was taking place once again. Since he was rather headstrong, he stretched out his hand to touch the weird barrier, a choice that would follow him for life.


    ...


    Ark had been resting for a little while now to regain his Mana, and it was finally at its peak again, but just as he was about to stand up, he felt something entering the barrier he had set up. The barrier wasn''t capable of stopping monsters or people, it was only there to stop the fog and notice him if something came close to him. As something had obviously entered, Ark stood up and got ready for battle.


    Just as he stood up, he could hear heavy thuds resounding against the ground. It sounded like something massive was coming, since most monsters were quick and quiet on their feet, "Something that makes this much noise must be something powerful!" This was the thought that ran through Ark''s head as he pondered if this was a fight he should fight. But since this monster seemed to be big and clumsy, he was pretty sure he could run away from it, and there was no guarantee that the monster was powerful.


    Thud


    Thud


    Thud


    As the sound drew closer Ark grew more and more vigilant. Ark also wondered what level this monster could be, and if it could help him level up. As he pondered this, some bushes in front of him parted, and a silhouette emerged from within. As he saw the silhouette in front of him, Ark was dumbfounded. Of all the things he could have thought of, this was not one of them. In front of him stood a short dwarf, or well, Ark didn''t know if he was short compared to other dwarves, but that''s beside the point. The dwarf looked youthful, but he still had a rich hazel-brown beard. He had brown eyes that lacked a little l.u.s.ter, and his nose looked like a small boulder resting on his face. All-in-all, he looked a little comical.


    On his back he had a large Warhammer seemingly made out of iron, there were some simple engravings on it, indicating that it was a magical item. This was Thafrut''s most cherished possession, this was essentially the only thing he had spent his entire savings on, and it was his trusted partner.


    ...


    Ark wasn''t the only one who was surprised. As Thufrat walked out of the bushes, he saw a large wolf resting underneath a tree. The wolf was a mixture of cyan and a pure white in colour, giving it a little bit of a divine aura. Thufrat never expected to run into something like this on his journey here, and he instantly went on high alert. This wolf was the greatest foe he had ever encountered. He didn''t know its level, and he didn''t have the inspect skill because of his lacking intellect, and his bad luck. But he felt a pressure he had never felt before when he looked into the eyes of the wolf.


    The standoff lasted for a little while until the wolf tried to use body language to convey that it didn''t want to fight him. Thufrat was skeptic though, but he lowered his weapon nonetheless.


    ...


    As Ark saw the dwarf lower his weapon, he let out a sigh. He knew that the dwarf was still on high alert, as the earth Mana around him seemed to be restless, and his expression looked a little restless. Ark didn''t mind though, it was normal, he would be the same in the dwarf''s position. Since they had a ceasefire, Ark didn''t really know how to proceed with the situation. The dwarf looked a little confused as well, so they just stood there silently for a little while.


    But the peace was short-lived as they suddenly heard a massive rumble approaching. It reminded Ark of movies Ark had watched in his past life, about large battles, with hordes of soldiers. As he thought about this, the ground started to shake a little bit, and the surrounding trees started to sway a little. They both looked at each other in apparent confusion, as they got ready to run for their lives in case they needed to. This sound was sending chills down both of their spines.


    As the sound grew closer and closer, the underbrush around them started to get trampled as their enemies revealed themselves. The figures that emerged were a massive horde of skeletons. But these were no ordinary skeletons, their bones had a metallic l.u.s.ter to them, and they wore crude leather armor, armed with a plethora of different weapons such as swords, spears, bows, and staffs. At the helm of this horde was a skeleton with black bones, in its eyesockets danced green flames, it was clad in scarlet armor, with a broadsword in its hands.


    Both Ark and Thufrat were dumbfounded. They had never seen skeletons organized to such an extent, the bowmen and magicians were in the back, the vanguard was armed with swords and spears, while a commander stood silently in front of them. In normal cases, the commander wouldn''t even go to battle, but this one seemed to be a big part of the team''s force, therefore they would become a lot weaker if he didn''t join in on the action.


    A rough count told them that there were around 100 enemies in total, with levels between 21 and 27. The commander was a [High Skeleton] and was level 35. This was the highest level that Ark had ever seen, but he was sure he could beat it one on one, since he got more status points when he leveled up, and his skills and magic was really strong. But the problem was that this wasn''t a one on one, it was a 2 on 100, and there was no guarantee that the dwarf would help him, he was seen as a monster after all.


    The dwarf, or Thufrat, wasn''t really sure of what to do, he knew he had to fight since he could never escape, due to his slow speed, as well as the enemies bows and magicians. He looked to Ark, and their eyes'' met, both of them showed fighting spirit, and this wasn''t the time to think too much about the small stuff. Therefore Thufrat took the initiative.


    "If I take on the big fella, can you deal with the small fries?"


    Ark thought that the dwarf''s accent was a bit funny, but he assertively nodded his head and got ready to fight. At this moment, the High Skeleton took his broadsword and pointed it toward Thufrat and Ark. The skeletons instantly went on the attack, both Ark and Thufrat was a bit taken back by the eerie silence as they attacked, but they met the enemies head-on...

 Chapter 30 - A Massive Fight!

    Since Ark was in charge of taking down the small fries, he needed to give the dwarf some space to face the commander. He instantly dashed out as fast as he could and sent out a massive amount of light from his body, due to the skeletons low Iq, they instantly determined him to be the biggest threat, and started to attack him. The archers and magicians attacked from a distance while the vanguard tried to close in on him. As he didn''t want to get distracted while he faced the vanguard, Ark decided to take out the backline first.


    As arrows whistled past him, he activated his magic barrier instantly and tried to get closer. He noticed that a part of the vanguard was less populated, and decided to make a break for it. Five skeleton warriors instantly appeared in front of him, and Ark instantly condensed a ton of light Mana in his claws as he slashed out. They were all instantly eviscerated as he made his way towards the magicians. As he attacked he managed to get grazed by an arrow that drew a thin line of blood on his left cheek.


    As he felt a slight pain on his face, Ark didn''t hesitate to increase his speed a bit more. As this was happening, Thafrut had started his battle with the High Skeleton. As he took out the Warhammer from his back, the High Skeleton took the chance to thrust its broadsword toward his c.h.e.s.t. Thufrat grinned a little as the ground the skeleton was standing on suddenly shifted, making it lose its footing. As he saw the opening, Thufrat strengthened his body with earth magic and swung his Warhammer at the skeleton.


    The air whistled as the Warhammer was about to crush the skeleton to smithereens. The skeleton, seeing this, put one of its hands on the ground, and pushed as hard as it could.


    BANG!


    The Warhammer hit the ground as rock and dirt scattered everywhere, and the skeleton flew backward without taking any damage whatsoever. Thafrut was a bit annoyed that his plan didn''t work, but he decided to just go on the offensive since that was his strong point. He brought his Warhammer over his head and then used one of his own unique skills called [Hammer Of Destruction], swinging the hammer down, it brought with it a large shockwave that headed straight for the High Skeleton. The skeleton was pretty slow in normal cases, and this attack brought a great amount of pressure, making it hard to dodge. Therefore the skeleton decided to meet it with one of its own skills. Its broadsword started to shine a scarlet red, much like its armor, as it swung the broadsword with both hands.


    The collision of energies disrupted the surroundings immensely and brought about a large blast, shooting out in all directions. Ark, not expecting this amount of power, was thrown a bit off course, luckily, the other skeletons were worse off, some of them tumbling to the ground. Thafrut''s attack wasn''t as simple as it seemed though, as a large amount of energy was traveling underground. The skeleton wasn''t alert enough to notice, and it was sent lying when a large spike made out of earth suddenly erupted from underneath it. The skeleton managed to at least lessen the penetrative power of the attack by bracing itself and using its sword to take it head-on.


    As the skeleton whistled through the air, it suddenly came to an abrupt end when it crashed straight into a tree. As Thafrut saw this, he gloated a little, when he suddenly heard a few sounds from behind him. He abruptly turned around to notice a multitude of dark orbs as well as a few arrows crashing straight into a light barrier that erupted out of nowhere in front of him. Seeing this, he stopped gloating and grew a little more serious, he also shot an appreciative glance at Ark, since the wolf had obviously helped him out.


    Ark only answered with a slight nod as he went back to fighting his enemies. During the fight between Thafrut and the Skeleton commander, Ark was busy with his own fight, and he had so far killed about 40 out of the 100 or so skeletons. As he started to grow a little restless, he decided to use a large-scale move, and then help the dwarf out with his fight. But, alas, not everything goes as expected. When he was least expecting it, Ark suddenly felt a sudden piercing pain in his left hind-leg, sending him tumbling into the ground.


    A skeleton archer had managed to get a lucky shot that penetrated straight through his leg, crippling his movement. He instantly started healing it with light magic, but he had the fight to fight, and he could only persevere through the pain, as he quickly got on his feet. The skeletons didn''t wait for him to make his move and were instantly upon him, with all kinds of attacks. Being wounded and surrounded, Ark decided to go all out, and he activated his [Envoy Of Light] skill for the first time.


    As he chanted the name in his head, the light Mana in the surroundings suddenly seemed to be in a frenzy as it surged toward him. A blinding light shot out of Ark''s body as the fur on his body started to grow larger, and he turned entirely white. He had a glowing golden halo hovering above his head, and the air around him seemed to be that of a divinity.


    All Ark felt was a large amount of Mana and power surging through his body, and as he was surrounded by enemies, he didn''t waste a single second as he started his counterattack. He condensed a massive amount of swords made out of light magic, as they hovered in the air, they seemed like holy swords, waiting to descend onto the earth. The skeletons around him wanted to attack him, but they couldn''t even move because of the amount of light magic in the surroundings.


    [Descend]


    As the skeleton wasn''t an intelligent living being, it didn''t have as much of a reaction as Thafrut did, and it used the opening that Thafrut showed while he was dumbfounded to make a devastating attack. This time, the sword didn''t glow red, instead, it became as black as the night. The skeleton brought its sword overhead and then slashed out horizontally twice.


    As Thafrut came back to reality, he looked toward the skeleton and was greeted by the sight of a pitch-black cross flying at him at astonishing speed. Since he wielded a very heavy weapon, he didn''t have the time to create any counterforce and just put up his Warhammer in front of himself as a defense. As expected, this wasn''t going to help much, and he was sent flying through the air, spitting out a large amount of blood.


    This attack was all that was needed to take Thafrut out of the game for now, and there was only Ark and the High Skeleton left. But the skeleton was out of luck, Ark was an existence that the skeleton couldn''t even come close to at the moment.


    When Ark shifted his gaze to the skeleton commander, he suddenly gathered most of the remaining mana in his body, as well as the Mana in the surroundings. He then somehow created a weird spear made out of light. This spear didn''t really look like the normal condensation of Mana, it looked more like an actual, real, holy weapon. The spear suddenly started spinning at an enormous speed, creating a piercing sound that reverberated in the jungle.


    SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!


    The spear suddenly zoomed past and collided heavily with the skeleton, it didn''t even have a chance to react before it got obliterated. Thafrut was a bit astounded once again, was this really the skeleton that had just heavily injured him? he didn''t get to ponder much though since he suddenly passed out. The funny thing, however, was that Ark was even more dumbfounded. He had no idea what he had just done, it was like he suddenly lost control of his body, and it suddenly did something extraordinary.


    He put this at the back of his mind for a moment though, as there were more pressing matters at hand. In the fight just now, Ark had gotten an astonishing 6 levels. He didn''t hurry to put any points into any attribute though since he had just participated in an intense battle, and he wasn''t clearheaded enough to make important decisions like those if he had the chance to wait.


    He cast a glance at the dwarf that lay unconscious on the ground and started to get a little worried. Since they had just fought together, he felt like they had a small little bond between them, and he didn''t want to see the guy just die like that. He noticed quickly after some observation that the dwarf wasn''t dead, but he was in a very bad condition.


    If Ark just left him here, the dwarf would undoubtedly die, since other monsters would come here and prey on him. Thinking like this, Ark walked up to the dwarf and tossed him onto his back, then he used some light magic to keep his vitals safe, and walked off into the distance...

 Chapter 31 - The Aftermath!

    Back in his tree once again, Ark tended to the dwarf a little, before he started to ponder a little. During the battle just then, he had suddenly made an all-out attack, without being aware of how. And to be frank, Ark was a bit freaked out, since he liked logical explanations, and he had no way to explain what had just happened. He was a bit shocked by the magic he had used as well since it didn''t seem like just magic, it felt like something more. That spear definitely wasn''t something simple, but he had no way to find out about any of this, therefore he put it at the back of his head for now.


    As he remembered his level ups that he got during the fight, Ark decided that he would invest even more into his magic, the more he used it, the more he understood how powerful magic truly was, and he was enthralled. Since he had 30 points to spend, Ark put 15 points into intelligence, 5 points into wisdom, 5 points into vitality as well as 5 points into endurance. Feeling a bit pleased with himself, Ark decided to check out his status once more after the white light had receded.


    Name: Ark


    Condition: Weak (10% debuff for 2 days)


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Level: 17 (32)


    Mp: 180/180


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 40


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 25


    Vitality: 25


    Intelligence: 60


    Wisdom: 30


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Seeing this, Ark was a bit dumbfounded once again. he had unlocked a new part of his status, it now showed his condition, this was probably due to his skill [Envoy Of Holiness] since it would make the user weak for a period of time after being used. But what confused him was the skill that had shown up in his skill list, [Holy Spear: Dawn].


    The weirdest part was the fact that when Ark tried to inspect it, all that showed up were question marks, exactly like his [Growth] skill. As he thought about this, he decided to try the skill out and see if it was something that he could use. As he activated the skill, he once again condensed the heavenly looking spear. As it landed onto the ground, Ark tried to manipulate it with his Mana, but nothing happened. Ark was a bit surprised, as he tried to pour his Mana into the spear, it worked without a hitch, and the spear started to emanate a scary aura.


    If he tried to move it with his physical body, it moved without obstruction, but it wasn''t like he could wield it with his current body. Therefore the skill was quite useless right now. But it might come in handy in the future. As he was engrossed in his own thoughts, he suddenly sensed a massive change in the surrounding earth Mana, as it suddenly started to converge on top of the unconscious dwarf in massive amounts.


    A weird crust formed on top of the dwarf, completely made out of the earth element. Ark was alerted as he had no idea what was going on. He didn''t even know if what was happening was a good thing or not. As he was about to walk closer and inspect the weird phenomenon, a sudden aura exploded out of the crust. The aura was very imperious, and it was very ferocious, an aura that belonged to an animal if anything.


    The aura expanded outwards, and even Ark started to feel a little pressure. What Ark didn''t know, however, was that all of the monsters in the surrounding had all gone into hiding, without a single exception.


    The aura suddenly retreated back into the crust, where it built up for a couple of seconds before the crust suddenly exploded into smithereens. The aura once again exploded outwards, but this time it was in the form of a brown dragon, and accompanying this aura, was an earth-shaking roar. The dwarf''s eyes glowed a sinister looking amber, as his body started to float a little off the ground.


    A second later, it all calmed down though, and the dwarf gently landed back on the ground, with his eyes going back to normal.


    Ark was astonished for a second before he realized what had just happened, he never expected this random dwarf to have a bloodline! And from the looks of it, it was the bloodline of a genuine dragon. From what Ark knew, dragons were mythological creatures that held immense power, no matter what kind of dragon you were talking about.


    The earth elements reactions made Ark believe that this was some sort of earth dragon, and that was probably why the dwarf even used the earth element, to begin with.


    Abruptly waking up, Thufrat sat straight up. He had just dreamt a very odd dream, where he was confronted by a majestic earth dragon. The weird thing was, when he tried to recall it, everything was just blurry.


    It took a couple of seconds, but Thafrut suddenly noticed that he had no idea where he was. He was resting on top of some very soft type of wool, that gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling. A couple of meters away, he saw the wolf that he had just fought a battle with. The wolf gazed at him with its starry eyes, giving him a weird feeling for a second, but it went away as quickly as it came. Thafrut was a very headstrong and simple person, and he had very thick skin.


    "That was one hell of a fight huh."


    He uttered as he chuckled a little. The wolf only gave him a simple nod, making him chuckle even more. This was such a surreal moment after all. And Thafrut was genuinely thankful to this wolf that had saved his life. Even though he could be a bit slow on the uptake at times, he wasn''t stupid, and he knew that he would be dead by now if this wolf didn''t take him with it.''


    "You have my thanks pal, without you, I would''ve been done for!"


    Hearing this, the wolf seemed to be a little happy for the recognition of its efforts, as it nodded its head once more. Thafrut slowly grew to like this wolf, as it didn''t seem like an animal at all. Even though he had heard about demonic and divine creatures, he didn''t believe in such nonsense. Just because a monster was intelligent and helped out humans, it was apparently "divine", and if it attacked humans, it was demonic. Thufrat didn''t believe in stuff like that at all, what they did was in their nature, whether it be helping or not, he didn''t believe something had to be classified as evil or good just because of something like that.


    Everyone''s views on what was good and evil differed, and therefore, stuff like that didn''t work in reality. Thufrat already saw this wolf as a friend of his, because of what they had been through, and because it was his lifesaver. It was a bit inconvenient that the wolf couldn''t directly speak with him, but he could adapt. Of course, he didn''t really know the wolf''s thoughts, but he could guess that this wolf was what he defined as good, and not evil.


    As he looked around a little more, he noticed that they were inside what seemed to be a large, hollowed out tree. There was a bonfire in the middle of the "room" if you could call it that, and it looked very cozy. All that was missing were some furniture, and this would be an ideal living space in Thufrats opinion.


    ...


    When he thought about it, Ark became a little gloomy since he started to think a little about the small interactions he had with the humans of this world. The reason he was so gloomy wasn''t only because his head had been messed with, most of the gloominess came from his disappointment in himself. He felt so stupid when he thought about it. On a positive note, he learned from the experience and grew as a person.

 Chapter 32 - Getting Closer!

    As Ark pondered, his stomach suddenly started to loudly grumble. Ark hadn''t eaten in a couple of days to be completely honest. But there was just so much stuff going on that he couldn''t find the time to think about food. As this loud rumble suddenly broke the silence, Thufrat burst out into laughter. Ark was a bit embarrassed, but he still stood up, and he was about to leave when he suddenly turned around and shot a glance at the dwarf.


    "You''re going to hunt right? Is it okay if I join you?"


    As Thafrut said this, his stomach rumbled as well. Like it was making some sort of statement by doing so. Ark smiled a little as he nodded his head at the dwarf, it would be kind of awkward to just leave him here after all. As Thafrut saw this, he got up to leave as well. He didn''t really feel like staying all alone inside of a tree with nothing better to do.


    As they went about their hunting, the atmosphere was a little awkward at first, but they slowly grew more comfortable around each other. Thufrat didn''t really know if he was supposed to speak or not, but since they were hunting, he decided against it, what if he scared away the prey after all? As they were on the hunt, Ark suddenly caught a whiff of blood. As soon as he felt it, he suddenly stopped for a second, and exaggerated a sniff, to show the dwarf that he had caught a scent.


    "You find something?"


    Ark just nodded his head as he started following the scent. Thafrut followed quietly behind him, as he controlled his breathing. Ark just did it naturally at this point, and he didn''t activate his stealth skill, it did consume Mana after all, and he didn''t really believe it to be necessary since it didn''t matter if he used it right now. Because if Thafrut was found out, he would naturally be found out as well.


    As they went on along their path, the scent got stronger, and they soon ended up alongside the same stream that was flowing outside of the tree. Drinking from the stream was a huge silver-grey boar. The boar had obviously been in a fierce battle, as it had a lot of bloody scars crisscrossing over its entire body. There was an arrow stuck in its left eye, and it didn''t seem to be far from death''s door.


    As Ark saw this, he instantly shot out from the underbrush and went in for a killing strike, as he charged out, he activated his stealth skill and managed to stay undetected as he slit the boar''s throat in one swift motion. Since there was nothing for him to do, Thufrat just went along with him and gave him a pat on the head as to commend him for his good work. Ark was weirded out by this, he wasn''t some normal animal, but it did feel pretty good, and he didn''t really care too much, so he just let it slide.


    As they were about to haul the spoils back to the tree. They suddenly heard a lot of footsteps, unfortunately, they didn''t get the opportunity to get out of there before the footsteps arrived.


    A group of five hunters emerged from behind some trees, obviously on the lookout for something. As they spotted Ark and Thufrat standing by the stream, they grew vigilant, but as they saw the dead boar, they instead turned angry. They had been chasing this boar for hours after all and fought a fierce battle in order to kill it. Only to find it in the hands of some random dwarf and his mount.


    "Hey, you!"


    One of the experienced hunters stepped forward to talk.


    "Me?"


    Thufrat was a bit surprised by this series of events, but he could guess what was about to come.


    "Who else?"


    [No need to be so rude] Thafrut thought to himself as he answered a bit snappily this time.


    "What do you want?"


    "We''ve been hunting that boar for hours, and we were the ones who injured it!"


    "And?"


    "What do you mean [And?], hand it over"


    "You have no evidence that you did, in fact, hunt this boar, so the answer is no."


    Thufrat didn''t show any weakness in front of people like these, even if he was pretty sure they were telling the truth, they were way too rude, and they should have at least offered them some benefits in exchange, or at the very least asked nicely.


    "Just because you have a nice mount, don''t think that you can fight as by yourself, just hand it over!"


    As Ark heard this, he was infuriated! He didn''t want some random nobodies to randomly come here and act like they owned the place, and then call him a mount. As he thought this, he let out a snort. Accompanying this snort was an incredible amount of ice Mana that swept through the surroundings. The ground was suddenly completely frozen, and the hunters could feel chills run down their spines.


    "I''m so sorry, we didn''t mean to disturb you at all!"


    One of the hunters bowed down and said before he started to quickly run away. The rest of the hunters were dumbfounded before they abruptly turned around and followed him as quickly as they could, this wolf was trouble after all, and something they couldn''t deal with.


    As Thufrat saw this, he started to feel a little better and started to laugh loudly as he watched them run away in horror. He gave the wolf a thumbs up before they went on their way back to the tree again.


    It didn''t take them long to get back to the tree, but they stopped outside of it since they had to skin the boar as well as process the meat and make it ready for cooking. As Thufrat was about to take a step forward and do all the work, the boar suddenly started to float as the ice Mana in the surroundings went to work. Ark was finished in less than a minute, and the meat had a glossy look to it as Ark started to light a fire. Thufrat secretly wished that he could do something like that since it would be very convenient in his opinion.


    Even though the boar had been through a tough battle, Ark still managed to make the skin into something you could use as a blanket or a quilt. Ark made this for Thufrat since it didn''t seem like he would be leaving for the time being, and Ark was quite glad to have some company, it was actually a lot more pleasant than being all alone by himself. Thufrat didn''t seem to mind that he was a wolf either, and Ark commended his character. At least the parts that he had seen.


    Thufrat didn''t have fur like Ark, and even if he slept right next to a campfire, he would still feel cold, therefore he was really happy when he got something to cover himself with, he was also a bit moved by the thoughts of this wolf that he had encountered in the dungeon. If he could, he would definitely want to adventure the world with this wolf, if only it could speak with him, he was sure they would become good friends.


    For now, though, he intended to stay here for a while and ask if the wolf would want to explore the dungeon with him since the wolf was very powerful after all, and he liked the company it provided. They were both loners and had been loners for quite a while. Ark''s thoughts were pretty similar, if he could have company, then he would be very glad, he could also use someone who is originally from this world since he had no idea about practically anything when it came to this place, he didn''t even know where he was right now.


    Thinking similar thoughts, they both enjoyed the smell of cooked food that wafted through the air as the meat was barbequed over the small campfire...

 Chapter 33 - Back Into The Dungeon!

    After filling their stomach with a simple meal, they both went to sleep. They had been through a lot today, and rest was essential to a healthy lifestyle. Thufrat slept under the beast skin they had just harvested, and Ark just slept next to the campfire. It didn''t take long for either of them to fall asleep, and the next day was quickly upon them.


    Ark''s plan today was to revisit the dungeon and continue to explore it and level up. Thufrat had similar thoughts, but he also wanted to test out his new strength. He didn''t notice it yesterday, but this morning, he noticed a plethora of changes to his status. Which all stemmed from his bloodline awakening, of course, Thufrat didn''t know what kind of bloodline he had awakened, but from the looks of things, it wasn''t weak at all.


    And bloodlines were very strong in general, even if it was a weaker one, it was still something to be excited over. The only annoying part about bloodlines was that you couldn''t see what they were if they were self-awakened, unless you knew a lot about bloodlines, and knew what kind of skills you got from them. Thufrat had also leveled up to level 38 from the fight they had. If Ark knew this, he would be a little dumbfounded, since it implied that Ark got less experience than other people did. Or at least less than Thufrat did.


    There were some simple reasons behind this, of course, Ark wouldn''t find out until later, but still. The biggest reason was his growth skill since it was so strong, it needed more experience for the host to level up. Another reason was just that different people needed more experience than others to level up.


    Since the wolf couldn''t talk, Thufrat decided that he would take the initiative.


    "I was wondering, do you want to go back into the dungeon?"


    Ark nodded his head enthusiastically as he stood up and got ready to leave. But just as he was about to, Thufrats stomach growled a little. Therefore Ark decided to just hunt him a rabbit before they left for the dungeon. After that was done, they bore off on their journey towards the dungeon. Thufrat had no idea where this tree of Ark''s was, and he, therefore, needed the wolf to show him the way to the dungeon.


    As they arrived at the cemetery once more, Thufrat was just about to take out his prized Warhammer when Ark suddenly shot out from in front of him. While he was moving, Ark acc.u.mulated a massive amount of ice Mana in his left claws and got himself ready for a devastating move. As he arrived in front of the big amount of enemies, he unleashed the Mana he had been acc.u.mulating and sent it towards the undead. This time around, it was a lot easier than last time, his magic was a lot stronger after all.


    As he slashed out, a big tornado made out of ice was sent out, its sole objective to utterly destroy, and it delivered. The undead didn''t even get the chance to resist before they were torn to pieces by the ice shards flying around at tremendous speed. Thufrat was always surprised when this wolf used magic, it was always so extravagant, and such advanced magic. Most people just condensed their elements into a slash or a ball or something similar. Ark could of course also do this, but more often than not, it wasn''t as effective.


    As the undead were decimated, they both entered the dungeon quickly. Since it was a bit cramped in the stairs, Ark walked in the back. The reason was simple, if Thufrat walked in the back, he wouldn''t be able to see past Ark at all, and in case something happened, that wasn''t really anything good. As they arrived at the bottom, they were greeted by the sight of the caves system once again.


    After a while, they entered the space were the caves branched out into three different paths. As Ark was about to walk to the right one, Thufrat walked towards the one in the middle. AS they both saw what the other was doing, they were both a bit surprised, they had just both assumed that the other took the same path to get to the jungle. It seemed like the three paths led to the same place, just that some held more danger than others. As he thought about this, Thufrat decided to ask a question.


    "Are there any monsters in that path?"


    Ark nodded quickly.


    "Then we should take the one in the middle, there are strong ghouls in the left one, but there are no monsters in the middle one."


    As Ark heard this, he was a bit surprised, he was almost sure that there would be monsters in all the paths, and in the beginning, he even thought that they led to different places. But since there were no enemies in the middle one, they chose to take that path.


    It took them a couple of minutes to arrive at the entrance of the jungle once more, but this time, Ark didn''t hesitate like last time and just spread out light Mana to protect them from the fog, since it could mess with their heads. And that would drastically affect their combat strength. Thufrat was pleasantly surprised by this since he had just used determination and perseverance the last time.


    As they entered the jungle, Ark started to ponder, that horde of skeletons they had fought with, where did they come from? And why did they seem like an organized combat force? This dungeon didn''t seem as simple as it used to when Ark first entered it.


    As they ventured around in the jungle, they decided to avoid most of the monsters they ran into, this turned out to be a good move since Thufrat harvested a lot of magical herbs, that were worth a lot of money, at least according to him. It looked a little comical though, a wolf and a dwarf running around in a jungle and fervently picking up herbs.


    As they had ventured around for a couple of hours, they both suddenly stopped. In front of them, the jungle suddenly ended. And in front of them, there was a large plain, upon which stood a castle. Compared to the castles he had seen in his past life, this one was a lot more magnificent, but that was only because the castles he had seen were from backwater places.


    Since they didn''t know the exact numbers of enemies, it would be stupid to just run in like some buffoons and end up dying. There was surely a strong boss monster in the castle as well, therefore, it was best to take out the underlings. Before Thufrat was able to voice his opinion, Ark made a noise to grab his attention. As Thufrat shot him an inquisitive glance, Ark started to draw on the ground.


    His plan was to wait for some squadrons to go on patrol, like the one from yesterday, and ambush them until the castle couldn''t send out any more. When that happened they would swiftly attack, and this time around, Ark would handle the big boss, while Thufrat would handle the small fry. As Thufrat saw this plan drawn on the ground, he started to grin, as he gave his assent to the plan.


    And like this, the plan to conquer the first floor had officially started!

 Chapter 34 - Beginning The Attack On Thornbury Fort

    As the plan was set, and they were both rearing to go, they set up an ambush about half a kilometer away from the castle. Ark predicted that this was on the route of the patrol, and there were multiple spots to ambush them from, making it one of the best spots to set up an ambush. Since they saw a patrol leave the castle just now, they had to hurry and get in position though, since they didn''t want to miss them.


    Their plan was to have Thufrat intercept the path of the patrol, and grab their attention, then Ark would try to assassinate the High Skeleton of the group. Then they would clean up the small fry together. They would then act according to how the forces inside the castle responded, if they were oblivious and kept sending patrols, then they would kill off the patrols until there were none left, they would then storm the castle.


    As the patrol was already on its way, and they were not far away, it only took a couple of minutes for it to appear. At the helm of the patrol, was once again a High Skeleton clad in scarlet armor, this one, however, had a scary looking two-handed battleax at its back. As the patrol noticed Thufrat, the leader ordered them to attack him. But just as they started to move, a highly condensed arrow of light suddenly pierced the High Skeleton head, instantly blowing it to pieces.


    The other skeletons had no idea how to react to something like this, and they just stood completely still for a moment. Thufrat and Ark didn''t let this chance go to waste, and they instantly started to attack the skeleton. Thufrat used the same skill he had used the time he battled against the other High Skeleton. Instantly crushing between 25 and 30 skeletons.


    Ark didn''t let him steal all the glory though, as he instantly erupted with a large wave of light which swept over a large number of skeletons. Even though it didn''t kill all of them it killed most of them and severely injured the rest, making this clean-up even easier. Since they both wanted to conserve some Mana and energy, they both just used normal attacks as well as some light magic while dealing with the rest of the skeletons.


    This first ambush had been a large success, and it was mostly due to the surprise attack that managed to instantly take out the High Skeleton. In normal cases, an attack like that would just be blocked easily by its battleax, but since it was unaware, and focused on something else, the attack managed to hit. The reason why it instantly killed it was just that the head was the skeletons weak spot.


    If it had hit any other area of the body, it wouldn''t have done much damage at all.


    Since they had taken care of this patrol, they both sat down to rest and to wait for the next one to come. They had both leveled up and decided to spend their stat points while they waited. Since he didn''t do much this fight, Thufrat only gained 2 levels. Ark gained 3 levels, and he was essentially level 35 right now, even though his actual level was 20. Therefore he decided to put 10 more points into his intelligence, as well as 5 points into strength.


    Name: Ark


    Condition: Excited


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Mp: 210/210


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 40


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 25


    Vitality: 25


    Intelligence: 70


    Wisdom: 30


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    As he once again saw his status a couple of minutes later, he noticed that he had started to pay less attention to his agility, and for good reason, it just didn''t feel like it was the path he wanted to go down. No matter how good agility was, Ark felt like he was more suited to magic, since it was something he earnestly loved, and it was basically the only thing in this world which he hel?t any passion towards. He had also noticed that he quite liked exciting battles.


    He also felt like he would be able to attain greater heights if he focused on magic, since he had a bloodline that seemed to be really good with magic, and it wasn''t even fully awakened yet. And as the saying goes, jack off all trades, but master of none. If he solely focused on 1 stat, it was surely going to bring him tremendous changes in his combat effectiveness. Of course, he wouldn''t let his other stats fall too far behind since that would greatly affect his body. How would his body be able to handle his enormous Mana pool if it was weak?


    Ark had also noticed that the wisdom stat was a lot more effective than he originally thought. Since he could now recover a couple of Mana in a manner of minutes, whilst at the beginning of his journey, he assumed that the wisdom stat was the amount of Mana he recovered every hour, but it now seemed like it was more about percentages of his max Mana. He still didn''t intend to invest a lot into it, since it wouldn''t be that helpful in actual combat. But he would try to keep it a notch higher than the other physical attributes in the future.


    As Ark pondered, the sound of a marching troop suddenly entered the duo''s ears. It seemed like the next patrol came earlier than they anticipated, as it had only been an hour since the last one. They both didn''t dare slack off since that would just be a waste of energy in the end, and they got ready in their positions. The High Skeleton this time was armed with a small circular shield, as well as a shortsword. It had the same scarlet armor as its predecessors.


    But this time around when Ark tried to assassinate the High Skeleton, it didn''t go as expected, the skeleton had raised its shield in the last second, completely blocking off the attack. As Ark saw this, he was a bit surprised, but he recovered in an instant, and instantly went on the offensive. When Thufrat saw this, he knew that he would have to stall the entire patrol by himself this time, but that only sparked his battle spirit.


    Ark wanted to end this quickly, and he decided to spend a lot more Mana this time around. Therefore he decided to use the same move he had used in the first battle, and he started to conjure up a massive amount of swords made out of light Mana. The High Skeleton didn''t want Ark to do this of course, but before it could get close, Ark howled, releasing a shockwave of ice into the air. This was something he just came up with, and it seemed to be effective as the skeleton was caught off guard and sent tumbling as it blocked the majority with its shield.


    Since he now had the time he needed, Ark released all of the swords he had created to wreak havoc upon the skeletons. The first target was the High Skeleton, which tried to put up a fight, but it soon got overwhelmed by the sheer amount of swords, and it lost its life. As it died, the remaining swords continued to wreak havoc as Ark and Thufrat cleaned up.


    This fight was also pretty easy, but Ark only got a single level from it, which showed that it would be harder to level the more levels you got. But Ark didn''t really care, he was sure to face more powerful foes in the future, which would still allow him to level up at a decent pace. And of course, not everything was just about levels, you needed to be able to use your strength as well.


    As the day went on, Thufrat and Ark faced all kinds of High Skeletons, sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was a bit bothersome, but they always came out on top. And at the end of the day, no more patrols came. At this point, Ark had already gained 2 more levels, and he dumped 5 points into endurance again, and 5 points into vitality, the last 5 he put into wisdom.


    Condition: Exhausted


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Level: 23 (38)


    Mp: 210/210


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 40


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 30


    Vitality: 30


    Wisdom: 35


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Status points [0]

 Chapter 35 - Attacking The Castle!

    Before they started the attack on the castle, they both wanted to be in the best condition they could be in since they both really wanted to succeed. If they tried to attack while being both physically and mentally exhausted, they were not too confident in the results it would bring. And since they were not in a hurry, they didn''t even consider the thought of instantly attacking.


    They both rested for about 10 minutes before they felt like they were rejuvenated. And they decided to attack the castle. But before doing so, they drank some water and ate some snacks that they had prepared beforehand, and brought with them in Thufrat''s backpack. Their plan when it came to attacking the castle, was to have Ark take care of the boss, while Thufrat handled the small fries.


    And even though they didn''t really know what they were up against. They were both very sure of their abilities to both escape and fight. Since they both held the same conviction, no conflicts arose, and they went on their way towards the castle. Since they were only a bit away, they arrived after a couple of minutes.


    The castle in front of them was made out of normal-looking cobblestone, the only weird part was that the stone emitted weird Mana fluctuations. Neither Ark nor Thufrat thought that this was really weird though since it seemed pretty normal to fortify your defenses with the help of magic since the castle would be easily destroyed otherwise.


    The gate to the castle was made out of a reddish-looking wood, as Ark looked puzzled, Thufrat explained that it was blood-seeking wood. As Ark heard this name, he was a bit freaked out, the name of this wood was way too freaky. As they were about to destroy the gate, the gate suddenly emitted a weird sound. As it suddenly opened up from the inside.


    What waited on the other side of the gate, was the last of the skeletons forces. But these forces were a bit weird. First of all, there was not as many undead as they had anticipated. But instead, these seemed to be the elite forces. The skeletons were not High Skeletons yet, but they were not far from it, and there was about 75 of them, give or take. At the very back of these forces stood a High Skeleton, this High Skeleton was clad in weird clothing made out of hides and it held a bone whip in one of its hands, and resting at its side, was a bipedal wolf. After a quick inspection, Ark was informed that this was a werewolf and that the High Skeleton was a beast tamer, a very rare class apparently.


    The werewolf was snoring away, as it was suddenly whipped by the High Skeleton harshly. The werewolf cried out as it was enraged, the only thing the High Skeleton did was point towards Ark. The werewolf, disturbed from its sleep and in pain, instantly lunged at Ark. The werewolf attack pattern was a bit weird, as it interchanged between bipedal and running at all fours. The werewolf was level 50, and it was a rare monster, which meant that this was a very formidable opponent.


    As it lunged towards Ark, the rest of the skeletons started attacking Thufrat. As he had grown stronger after awakening his bloodline, he wouldn''t really have a problem with dealing with these skeletons, but he was a bit worried about the battle between the wolf and the werewolf since the werewolf should be stronger. But Thufrat wasn''t really sure since he had seen this wolf battle before, and he held a certain degree of confidence in it.


    Being distracted during combat could be lethal, and he decided to let nature take its course, letting them battle it out. On Ark''s side of things, he tried hard to create distance with the help of magic, since that was his strong point, and it was working well so far. The werewolf started to grow irritated by Ark''s way of fighting since it was just whittling it down, and it suddenly started to glow red, emitting a ferocious air, as it suddenly erupted with newfound prowess.


    Ark, seeing this, was a bit surprised, but he didn''t back down, instead, he activated his [Envoy Of Holiness]. As he started to radiate the holy aura from before, his prowess also went up significantly. As the werewolf was approaching rapidly, Ark penetrated his Mana into the ground. A split-second later, a javelin emitting a holy light suddenly burst out from the ground beneath the werewolf. The werewolf, annoyed by this sneak-attack, swiped at it with its claws, instantly destroying it. Ark was a bit surprised by the werewolf reaction speed.


    But since a sneak-attack wouldn''t work, he would just attack it straight on with all of is power. As he thought about this, the werewolf was already in front of him. Since he just used a move, he didn''t have the time to prepare a big move, but he still condensed a reasonable amount of Mana on top of his claws and met the werewolf''s claws head-on.


    What he didn''t expect, was the large amount of strength contained in this werewolf''s move, as he was sent flying even when he used his Mana to attack. He flew straight into one of the castle walls, and he could feel how messed up his internal organs were. The werewolf didn''t let up its attacking, and it lunged towards Ark again. This time though, Ark had more time to acc.u.mulate his Mana, and he used it to project a large shield-like wall in front of him. As the werewolf saw this, it instantly sneered as it slashed out with its claws.


    The shield didn''t offer much protection as it shattered instantly upon contact, but at that time, Ark was already long gone. The werewolf, dumbfounded, turned to look around. It didn''t get to finish its actions though as it was suddenly pierced through its back by an arrow condensed out of light. But even though the arrow did considerable damage as it pierced straight through the werewolf, it wasn''t enough to bring it down.


    The werewolf, being critically injured, was surely going to bleed out. But this wasn''t a good thing since it would just risk it all to kill Ark before going down. As Ark thought about this, the werewolf turned to him and stared him straight in his eyes. Its eyes were completely bloodshot, and if gazes could kill, Ark would have died a hundred times already. As they kept eye contact for a couple of seconds, the werewolf suddenly disappeared from its previous position.


    A chill went down Ark''s spine as he abruptly twisted his body to dodge a killing blow, but no matter how hard he tried, the werewolf put its entire being into this blow, and it wasn''t something Ark was capable of dodging. Three long bloody lines suddenly appeared on Ark''s right side as he tumbled down onto the ground. As the werewolf also exhausted the last of its vitality in its blow just now, it just collapsed on the ground in a pool of its own blood.


    Ark was seriously thanking his former self for investing some points into his vitality since that was the only reason he was alive right now. The injury he had gotten right now as way too severe, and if he didn''t try and heal it, it would definitely be life-threatening. As Thufrat saw this, he went all out as well, trying to kill the rest of the skeletons as fast as he could.


    Since the werewolf was dead, the skeleton beast tamer was completely defenseless, and it ended up being easily slain by Thufrat, who entered a state similar to Ark''s some time ago. As he was in this state, he seemed to have supreme control of the earth, and he was a lot more powerful. This was Thufrat''s bloodline at work, and he managed to finish off the rest of the skeletons all by himself.


    Ark couldn''t move, and he was just slowly healing himself on the ground, Thufrat was also pretty exhausted and he sat down next to Ark, and examined him carefully. Seeing the light element swirling around Ark''s wounds, he let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like the wolf would heal itself eventually.


    As they both sat in silence and recuperated, Ark suddenly caught a glimpse of aglimmer in the corner of his eye, out of curiosity, he glanced towards the glimmer, only to see a shiny blue crystal the size of an infants fist peeking out of the werewolf''s corpse. This was a Mana crystal!

 Chapter 36 - The Fruits Of Labor

    As Ark spotted this Mana crystal, he was very delighted. It seemed like the hard work was going to pay off. He also noticed that he managed to level up 4 times during the fight just now, which was pretty reasonable considering the level of the werewolf, and the fact that it seemed to be a boss monster, or something similar at the very least. Now wasn''t the time to reap the rewards though, Ark needed to heal himself before he decided to do anything else.


    "You okay mate?" Thufrat asked with a frown on his face.


    Ark just nodded and smiled weakly, it probably looked a little weird when he smiled, since he was a wolf, but he did it nonetheless. Of course, these were only his personal thoughts, if you were to ask anyone else, they would probably say that his smile looked a little ethereal. He was a [Radiant Ice Wolf] after all.


    Seeing Ark''s response, Thufrat let out a sigh, and then he started to laugh.


    "That was one hell of a fight huh?" He said as he started to bounce around happily. Ark almost started to laugh at this sight, since this dwarf looked quite absurd when he acted all giddy.


    After Thufrat calmed himself down a little, he started roaming around the castle looking for treasure. he noticed the wolf''s happy look when it saw the Mana crystal, therefore he just left it there. Even though it was worth a lot of money, it wasn''t worth more than their current friendship. Whilst Thufrat was busy doing this, Ark reflected a little on the fight he just had.


    He realized one of his biggest mistakes fairly quickly, he underestimated the opponent too much. He didn''t really get to experience a lot of hard fights, which gave him the belief that he was better than others, it wasn''t like he was arrogant, it was just a subconscious thing. Not something which he could really control that much, but in the future, he would be a bit more cautious. It''s a good thing to have self-confidence, but if you have too much, it turns into arrogance, and that is one of the personality traits that Ark hates the most, alongside some other traits such as ignorance and people who were way too lecherous.


    Ark didn''t want to turn into something he hated, and he was happy he figured this out quickly before it was too late. As he was feeling content with himself, he continued to slowly heal his injuries with the help of the light element. Even though it seemed slow, it was only because of the severity of the wounds, in reality, Ark still had his [Envoy Of Holiness] skill activated, since it hadn''t run out yet.


    After about 20 minutes of healing, Ark had enough strength to walk around a little. Thufrat had also returned from his treasure hunting, and from the looks of things, he had hit the jackpot this time around. What he carried with him when he returned to Ark was a pitch-black greatsword, an exquisite bottle containing some sort of red liquid, as well as some crystals. Ark didn''t really care for any of this though, all he wanted was the werewolf''s Mana crystal.


    Of course, Thufrat gave him the crystal, and he even asked him if he wanted something else as well since Ark did most of the work after all, but Ark just shook his head and took the Mana crystal. He thought about saving it until they got back to the tree, but he soon gave up the thought, since there was no need to. It wasn''t like he needed to be in good condition when he ingested it, at least not to his knowledge. He also decided to add all of his status points now instead of saving them, since he felt clearheaded enough, and he might need those status points on the way back, since he was injured, and affected by the backlash of his skill.


    Since he leveled up 4 times, he had 20 points in total, because his other stats were catching up, Ark put 5 points into agility, and 15 more into intelligence. As Ark felt the familiar white light envelop him, he was about to check out his status, before he decided against it. He wanted to ingest the Mana crystal first, for no real reason other than the fact that the change to his status would be more drastic, and satisfying.


    As he put his paw on top of the Mana crystal, he started to suck out the contents through his paw, and into his body. At first, everything felt normal, but as he finished the whole Mana crystal, he could feel a tremendous change going on inside his body. In reality, not much happened, but Ark had a weird feeling. It was as if his entire being was shaking intensely. As Ark felt this, the monotone voice which he had grown accustomed to suddenly interrupted this feeling.


    "Host has absorbed the Mana crystal of a [Werewolf] and has inherited the skill [Shapeshift Lv.1]"


    As Ark heard this, he was utterly dumbfounded, and he suddenly had a weird feeling as he hurriedly opened up his status to check it out.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Level: 27 (42)


    Mp: 124/255


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 45


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 30


    Vitality: 30


    Intelligence: 85


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.1]


    Status points [0]


    As Ark saw this, he was very excited, he wasn''t sure yet, but he had an idea of what this skill did. And if it was what he expected, he would feel like screaming in joy. As his expectation started to grow, he mentally crossed his fingers and used "Inspect".


    [Shapeshift]


    Allows the user to change forms into a human. The skill that werewolves are most known for.


    Lasts for half an hour per level.


    Surely enough, this was the skill that all of the werewolves were known for! He could finally become a human again, or at least have the body of one! The effect only lasted for half an hour at the moment, but just that could allow him to hold a conversation with Thufrat for example. It would also allow him to explore the human territory in the future, if he ever had to, or felt like it.


    The one thing that hit him the hardest though, was the fact that this was possible! Even though he had grown accustomed to being a wolf, deep down, he always wanted his old form back. Just knowing that he could go back to being a "human" in the future made his eyes glisten a little. He saw himself as a human, and his soul was that of a human, there was just no way he could feel completely content with being a wolf for the rest of his life.


    Of course, he would still be a wolf, just have the form of a human. But let''s be real, if you have the soul of a human, and the form of a human, then you could pretty much be considered a human. And Ark''s concerns weren''t about whether he would be accepted by other humans or something like that since he had never been accepted in his former life anyway. If you didn''t count Anthony of course.


    He also really missed the convenience of a human body, since, at the moment, he could only carry things in his mouth.


    Thinking about all of this, Ark decided to try the skill out, since he still wasn''t sure if it actually worked yet. As he silently chanted "Shapeshift" in his head, his body was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant white light. The light felt the same as the light of leveling your stats up. But with the accompanying weird feeling of changing form.


    Thufrat, not expecting the light to come a second time, cast a glance towards Ark. What he saw when the light faded astonished him. With his jaw dropped, he slowly gulped as he took half a step backward. From the light, a youth emerged. This youth seemed to be in his late teens, and he was about 185 centimeters tall. The youth had deep silver eyes, looking as if they were as deep as the ocean. The youth had a very good looking face, and he had a mix of cyan and white hair. The youth was currently completely n.a.k.e.d, and his muscles were very well defined. Not something you would normally see on a teenager, at least not from Ark''s old world.


    The youth suddenly started to move his arms around, before they stopped in front of his face. The youth gazed at his hands, as his eyes started to tear up...

 Chapter 37 - First Conversation!

    As Ark gazed at his hands, his eyes started to tear up, he couldn''t help it, this was a major moment in his new life. He could finally feel like a human again if he wanted to, and he could talk to Thufrat like he had been wanting to do for a while now. He didn''t even know the dwarf''s name now that he thought about it. Thinking about this, he turned his head to look at Thufrat, just to see his jaw almost dropped to the ground, with eyes wide. This was to be expected though, a wolf had suddenly turned into a human after all.


    "Yo" Ark said as he waved his hand, he didn''t really know what to say, as the atmosphere was quite awkward.


    "Uhm, hello there" Thufrat replied as he was jolted back to reality.


    "My name is Ark, you never told me yours."


    "Ark huh... my name is Thufrat, nice to meet you!"


    "What a unique name... does it have a meaning?" Even though the question was a bit weird, Ark was actually intrigued.


    "It essentially means to have faith in what you do, weird isn''t it?" Thufrat said as his expression turned a little crestfallen. His name had always been a sore spot for him since he got mocked for it, even though he originally liked it himself.


    "I think it is really cool!" Ark answered enthusiastically. He liked names that meant something, his own name was decided by his parents since lightning had struck just as he was born. Even though he had basically no memory of his parents, he did know this much. And he quite liked his name, at least compared to the other normal Swedish names that existed.


    "Are you really that wolf from just now?" Thufrat didn''t really know what to think, and he had to ask this question since he needed to clear his mind.


    "Yeah, to be honest, I didn''t really know what you would think of me when I used this skill. And I was a bit scared." As Ark said this, he looked a little hesitantly at Thufrat, seeking for an answer.


    "Don''t worry, I don''t care if you''re a human or a wolf, or whatever really, as long as you''re still the same." This was what Thufrat truly believed in, he had seen the worst sides of people, and he didn''t really care as long as someone was a good person in his eyes. So what if you''re a demon? Does that make you any less than everyone else? No. It was simple, you shouldn''t be judged based on race, but instead, be judged by your actions.


    As Ark heard this, he was relieved. He did trust in his own judgment of character, but he still couldn''t be completely sure. Since that would just be stupid anyways. As Ark tried moving around a little more in his body, he noticed that he was weaker in the form compared to his wolf form, a lot weaker. By his own judgment, it was approximately halved, which meant that he was still strong, just not nearly as strong as normal. As the topic of combat strength emerged in his mind, he realized that he might be able to use his [Holy Spear: Dawn] skill now.


    Since he could speak now, he decided to be a little considerate of Thufrat and tell him about it first, since it would be weird seeing someone randomly summoning a weapon out of nowhere.


    "Thufrat, I''m going to test out another skill, so don''t worry."


    As he said this, Thufrat nodded, and he summoned out the spear once more. The spear had a lot of intricate designs on its body, and it radiated a holy air as it landed softly in his hands after it condensed. Feeling the sensation of cold steel against the palm of his hands, Ark''s blood started to boil a little.


    Testing his luck, he tried to move the spear around a little, and to his delight, it was as easy as any other spear would be, with no obstructions whatsoever. Feeling delighted, Ark started to swing the spear around a little, and after a couple of swings, he heard the same old monotone voice in his head once more.


    [Due to certain actions, the host has obtained the skill "Spear Mastery: Beginner Lv.1"]


    As Ark saw this, he wasn''t really surprised. This was a normal skill that almost everyone had after all, of course, the weapon differed with every person. Since he had never used a spear before, he went through some basic movements he had seen on tv and that he thought would work, and after another minute, his mastery went up to level 2.


    As Ark was about to get engrossed in training, he realized that he only had half an hour in this human body, until it leveled up. Therefore, he decided to talk some more with Thufrat before it ended. As he was about to initiate a conversation Thufrat suddenly started talking.


    "So Ark, where did you get your name from?" Thufrat had been puzzled ever since he heard it, how did this wolf manage to get a name?


    "It might be hard to believe, but I actually don''t know, it feels like I''ve always had this name, and I don''t know why." Even though Ark said this, he still trusted Thufrat. He just thought that his real story would be too hard to swallow, and decided to cover it up for now.


    "Hmmm, that''s odd, but that might be why you are so special, named monsters are a lot more powerful after all" Thufrat said as he put his hand to his chin and pondered a little.


    "What''s the difference between a monster with a name and one without a name?" Ark asked as he was quite curious.


    "I''m not entirely sure myself, but I think it has to do with whoever named the monster, like their Mana and stuff." Thufrat answered earnestly, he wasn''t some noble''s child that could get a good education, he only knew what he heard from other people, and what he discovered himself.


    Ark was a bit surprised by this answer since it didn''t really help him at all, but it did give him some key points at the very least. Named monsters were more powerful, and their power came from the Mana of the one who gave them the name, that''s what Ark gathered from this answer. But he wasn''t sure at all, and he could be completely wrong. It was a bit hard to understand after all.


    As Ark was still thinking, Thufrat hesitated a little before he asked another question.


    "So, Ark, what exactly are you?"


    "Uhmm, what do you mean?" Ark was a bit taken aback by this question since he didn''t really know how to answer it.


    "You don''t really seem like a typical monster, and even though you can turn into a human, how would you know how to speak on your first try?" Thufrat asked a little apprehensively.


    "I don''t really know myself, all I do know is that I have memories from a previous life, where I was a human. And since I''ve told you this much, that''s where I got my name from as well." Ark answered pensively.


    As Thufrat heard this, he was astounded, this wolf was even more extraordinary than he thought. It turned out to be a human in its previous life. He wasn''t really put off by any of this though since it made so much sense when he thought about it. How else would this wolf know how to speak almost instantly? And why else would this wolf show him hospitality? He had heard about myths about people from other worlds as well, like the heroes for example!


    "Do you not believe me? I don''t blame you if you don''t." Ark fired a question since Thufrat didn''t react to his statement.


    "Oh, it''s not that I don''t believe you, I was just thinking a little, sorry about that mate" Thufrat answered earnestly.


    As Thufrat said this, Ark was a little apprehensive, and he stared straight into his eyes. Seeing his earnest and honest look, Ark didn''t think he was lying. He started smiling at the thought of him making a new friend in this completely foreign world. He only had one friend in his former world, and he now got his second one in this world.


    "Did I do something wrong?" Thufrat asked as he saw Ark''s sudden smile.


    "Oh, quite the opposite, I''m just happy that I managed to make a friend!"

 Chapter 38 - Regrouping!

    As Thufrat heard this cheesy line, even he was a bit embarrassed. But he was still happy nonetheless, it turned out that this wolf seemed to care for him a lot. And if he were to be completely honest, this was his first friend as well.


    "Oh, by the way, I can only stay in this form for half an hour, then I will go back to being a wolf again" Ark decided to say this now before he forgot to do it since he wouldn''t get the chance to explain until the next day.


    "Will you be a wolf forever then?" Thufrat was astounded once more, was this gonna be their only conversation?


    "Oh, let me rephrase that a little, I will only have half an hour in this form each day until the skill levels up"


    Hearing this, Thufrat let out a sigh, and then he started to smile. He was a little scared of the possibility of this being their one and only conversation. He didn''t have any friends after all, and he didn''t really know if he would be able to hang out with a wolf at all times, and how would they keed in contact if they were to separate some day. There was a lot of things that had been troubling Thufrat, but now, most of his worries were gone.


    As their conversation progressed, they started to talk about a lot of stuff, and just had a good time. Neither of them had held a conversation for this long in ages, especially Ark since he wasn''t even human right now. But the more they talked, the less time Ark had left in his human form. What was a little funny, was that both Ark and Thufrat had completely forgotten the fact that Ark was currently n.a.k.e.d, they both looked at each other''s faces when they talked, and didn''t think much of it. It didn''t really matter anyway if Ark wore clothes since they would just be wasted when he transformed back.


    After a little longer, Ark started to shine in a splendid white light once more, and they both got ready to regroup at the tree, before doing anything else. Just as Ark turned back to a wolf, he also heard the system once again. His "Shapeshift" became level 2, and the next day, he would be able to keep a human form for an hour instead. This made Ark very excited since the conversation they had just then was one of the best things to happen to him since coming to this world.


    Ark needed to recuperate before doing anything else at the moment. Running around and fighting whilst being injured would only make matters worse. The second floor of the dungeon wouldn''t go anywhere, so they could just return tomorrow to explore it.


    They didn''t want to wait too long though, lest someone else came along and discovered the dungeon as well since that could be troublesome for the both of them. If the person was greedy and wanted everything for themselves, they would have to fight, and if the person wasn''t alone, but came with a large party of people, then Ark and Thufrat would be screwed.


    The problems started to arise once they got to the surface though. As they were leaving the cemetery, Ark caught a whiff off a human. Of course, this would spell trouble, since they didn''t want anyone else to find out about the dungeon since that would mean that they wouldn''t have it to themselves anymore. Ark wasn''t the type to kill someone just to silence them though, it wasn''t that bad if someone else found out after all. It would almost only be problematic if the person that found out was problematic. But that would be a different problem in itself.


    As Ark caught this whiff, he instantly headed towards it. Thufrat noticed Ark''s exaggerated whiff and assumed that it was important, so he followed him closely. As they neared the scent, they could both hear the sound of crying. It sounded like a little child, but the sound was accompanied by the sounds of fighting as well. Hearing these sounds, Thufrat and Ark both looked at each other for a moment, before they instantly sped off.


    If there was one thing that Ark did like in his previous life when it came to humans, it would have to be children. Children were innocent when it came to worldly matters, and most of them wouldn''t discriminate without a clear reason. This was something which Ark valued greatly since he had been discriminated and bullied for most parts of his life. They were like pure little beings who meant no harm, and they were cute as well, what was there to not like?


    Thufrat shared similar beliefs, even if other children discriminated against him as a child since some of them didn''t. The biggest reason as to why the other kids bullied and discriminated him was because of their parents since they held a large amount of influence over how and what they thought. How a child is brought up is one of the biggest contributing factors to how they turn out when they grow up into a.d.u.l.ts.


    As Ark and Thufrat arrived in a small clearing, they could see a small boy sitting against a tree. He was crying hysterically as he bled a lot from his right leg. In front of this little boy, stood a small girl. This small girl was currently fighting with a small green creature. Both Ark and Thufrat could instantly recognize this creature as a goblin, and as they both saw this fight, they both grew angry.


    There was almost no time for the little girl to react before the goblin suddenly disappeared from her view. All she could hear was a loud thud, and a miserable shriek as it completely vanished in a split-second. The little girl was obviously dumbfounded, as she looked around her to find the goblin. But as she looked around, her eyes spotted a big wolf, accompanied by a dwarf. The little girl didn''t let her guard down, quite the opposite actually, as she raised the dagger in her hands against them.


    But who could blame her? She was a child, as soon as she saw the large wolf, she was sure they were doomed, which kid had not heard stories of the monsters that lurked in the forest? But she did not give up, she had to protect her little brother after all. None of this escaped Ark''s or Thufrats eyes, as they both let out a sigh, and approached the little girl. The girl started to get a little scared as they walked closer, but she didn''t have much time to think before Thufrat tried to calm her down a little.


    "Calm down little girl, we won''t hurt you ok?"


    As Thufrat said this, Ark let out a large amount of light Mana from his body. The girl assumed this to be an attack and put her dagger in front of her to resist. Of course, Ark wouldn''t attack a little kid, and the light easily went past her and headed towards her little brother. The girl, seeing this, panicked as she thought she had failed to save her brother, and a tear slid down her face.


    The tear didn''t have enough time to hit the ground before the light arrived before the little boy, and as it did, it instantly enveloped him inside. As this happened, the little boy stopped crying as well and looked at his leg. The wound was healing at a visible speed, and the bleeding had already stopped.


    Both kids had no idea what just happened and were dumbfounded.


    "Don''t worry, this wolf is a friend of mine, and he is a healer!"


    As Thufrat said this, both kids looked towards the wolf with doubt, and as they did, Ark smiled gently. As Ark smiled, a gentle and holy air seemed to radiate from him, calming both of the kids down. Of course, Ark wasn''t some healer wolf, but he knew Thufrat just said that to calm down the kids, and he didn''t really mind. There was some truth to it after all.


    Now there was one question that was digging at both of their minds, however. Who were these kids, and what were they doing out here?

 Chapter 39 - Village!

    Since there was no better way to find out than to ask, Thufrat decided to go for it.


    "So, what are you kids doing out here? This isn''t a place to play around in!" As he said the last part, his face was quite stern.


    The kids seemed to be very hesitant, as they didn''t know this dwarf, but the wolf did heal them after all, and they didn''t seem like bad people.


    "We came to gather some medicinal herbs, but we got ambushed by this goblin!" Said the sister of the pair, as she still stood protectively in front of her little brother.


    "Do you know the way back?" Thufrat followed up, with a little concern. He wasn''t really sure what he was supposed to do if they didn''t know the way back home, he couldn''t take them to the tree after all.


    The little girl nodded affirmatively when she heard this they, weren''t lost after all. As Thufrat heard this, he let a sigh escape from his lips as he started to ponder. What were they supposed to do now? Should he just follow them home and ensure their safety? But what about Ark in that case? As he kept thinking, Ark already came up with a solution, all he needed to do now was try to communicate with them, and convey his intentions.


    Since they were kids and needed help getting home, he bent down and turned his back to the kids. As he did this, he signaled with his head to try and make them hop onto his back. The kids were a little confused, but Thufrat could read the situation, he was getting used to this wolf after all.


    "You can hop onto his back, and if you give him the directions, he will take you home!" This was what Thufrat assumed, but he still looked at Ark when he said this, to get his affirmation. Ark naturally nodded and looked gently at the kids.


    The kids were a bit reluctant, but all their worries melted away after they looked into the wolf''s eyes. They didn''t really know why, but they both felt like they could trust this wolf, and it did help them after all.


    "Come on George, I''ll help you up first!" As the little sister said this, she took the little boys hand and pulled him up to his feet, they both proceeded to Ark''s back after that and tried to get on. As George was getting on, he was still afraid, but Ark released a smooth gentle light, that seemed to soothe the boy''s worries. Thufrat helped both of them to get on since they seemed to struggle a little, and they soon took off.


    As Ark started to walk, he could hear Thufrat yell at him from behind.


    "I''ll wait for you in the tree, ok?"


    Ark gently nodded his head, and then followed the little kids'' directions. He never really expected to ever have someone sit on his back in this life, but since they were kids, in need, he didn''t think too much of it. It would be an entirely different story if it was an a.d.u.l.t, and Ark would probably never let an a.d.u.l.t on his back, which was quite reasonable. It''s pretty normal to give a kid a piggy-back ride, but it would be pretty weird to give one to an a.d.u.l.t. Not that Ark ever thought that it was bad to weird, it was quite the opposite really. I mean what defines normal anyway? Being like everyone else? Wouldn''t that make it a bad thing? Who would want to be like everyone else, one in the crowd, not sticking out in any way? Wouldn''t that kind of life be pretty miserable? Ark didn''t really know, it was all just opinions anyway.


    He did ponder this kind of stuff a bit too much in his previous life anyway. Just think about it a little, what makes a person normal? Not being unique and sticking out? But isn''t everyone supposed to be unique? Wouldn''t that make being unique a normal thing? But then why did people get bullied for being themselves, for being unique, and not like everyone else? The minds of people are scary places, and Ark didn''t really understand people sometimes. What was the point of bullying someone to make yourself seem superior? Why would you feel superior from that? These were the kinds of thoughts that he genuinely couldn''t wrap his head around. But this wasn''t the time to be thinking of stuff like that.


    As he didn''t want to spend too much time on this, he ran quite fast, but not full-speed, he didn''t want to scare the kids anyway. It didn''t even take half an hour before the forest seemed to end and Ark could see a crude fence surrounding a humble little village. At the entrance to the village, there was a gathering of people. The gathering consisted of all kinds of people, elderly, young, middle-aged, teens, all ages. Some of them were even armed, mostly the men though. Some people in the midst of this gathering seemed like they were about to head out on an expedition.


    Ark could naturally guess that the people were going to start looking for the kids. Not that they would get the chance to. As Ark thought about this, a villager saw him and started to scream.


    "MONSTER!"


    This immediately caught the attention of all the other villagers, as they looked towards Ark. The armed ones got into their comfortable stances. They seemed like they were about to fight until a young man with sharp ocular abilities stepped forward.


    "Stand down!"


    This, of course, incited the crowd, and not just a little bit.


    "Huh?"


    "What the hell are you saying?"


    "Since when can you order me around kiddo?"


    These were the kinds of responses the young man got. He only smiled wryly as he started to speak again.


    "Look closer, the wolf carries the kids on its back!"


    As the young man said this, the people looked a little closer, and soon shut their mouths, as their eyes widened. On the back of the wolf sat two kids, one of them, the boy, seemed to be wounded on his right leg.


    As the crowd was stunned, a young girl soon ran forward. Ark was a bit surprised to see this, but he might as well see what she wanted before he left this place. The young girl was about 16 years old. She had fair skin, albeit with a slight tan. Her eyes were an emerald shade of green, and her blond hair cascaded down onto her shoulders, and down her back.


    When the girl got within 15 meters of Ark, she suddenly knelt down onto the ground right in front of him.


    "Please spare my siblings!"


    "I''ll do absolutely anything!"


    As the girl said, a tear couldn''t help but run down her cheek as she watched the wolf fearfully. Ark didn''t give the children on his back much of a chance to respond before he started to laugh a little. The people were completely dumbfounded by this, if it was a normal case, they would be very scared if the wolf started to laugh since it would seem very sinister. But this time, it was different. They didn''t really know why, but the wolf''s laugh was quite soothing for the soul, and most of the crowd seemed to calm down when they heard it.


    The girl was also surprised, she didn''t really know how to react to this, she didn''t need to though. Since Ark knelt down the next second, and let the kids off his back. The kids, excited to come home, ran to their sister. But before they came to her, they stopped, looked back, and bowed as they thanked the wolf.


    "Thank you mister wolf!"


    As Ark heard this sincere thanks, he was a bit delighted, as he nodded his head and turned around. He suddenly started to radiate a holy light as he zoomed away into the distance. He seemed like a holy entity to these villagers as he disappeared from their vision. Of course, they didn''t know that the light was just there to heal Ark''s injuries and fatigue.


    The girl that had knelt down on the ground was completely speechless, she just sat there and hugged her siblings, as she had no idea what had just happened.

 Chapter 40 - Just Another Day!

    Ark quickly made his way back, and it only took him a handful of minutes at full speed to get back to the tree. As he stepped into the tree, he noticed that Thufrat had seemingly just come back as well, with some fresh prey to feast on. Ark''s eyes lit up at the sight of some fresh food since he was quite hungry right now. It had been a long day after all. As Thufrat noticed Ark entering, he only asked him a simple question before turning his attention back to the food that was currently cooking over the open fire.


    "Did it go well?"


    Ark only nodded as a response, and then they both just sat there quietly for a while. After the conversation that they had earlier, there wasn''t much simple small talk Thufrat could try, since the questions needed to be able to be answered by a simple yes or no. They both looked forward to the next day since they could hold a conversation once more, and Ark could test out his human from a little more. Ark also forgot to check what his status looked like when he was in human form, he only felt that he was weaker, but not by how much really. And he couldn''t know for sure if he didn''t see the status.


    After a while, the food was finished, both Thufrat''s and Ark''s eyes shone at the sight of the freshly cooked meat, that had a bronze-looking tinge to it. The animal Thufrat had hunted was a sheep, but not just any sheep, it was actually a rare Shadowling Sheep. This kind of sheep was especially rare, since sheep rarely evolved into higher forms, and its meat was a delicacy. Ark didn''t know this, but he could tell from both the smell and the appearance of the meat that it was gonna be delicious.


    As the smell grew thicker and more intense, they started to hear the sounds of animals approaching the tree. Of course, this wasn''t much of a problem since Ark just released his aura, and they all ran away in the blink of an eye. Even though Ark normally seemed gentle, he could easily manipulate his aura to scare animals and people off. Especially since he held an affinity with the ice element, it was known for its ruthlessness and strength in normal cases.


    As he did this though, Ark realized that he had started to neglect his ice element a little bit since he got his light affinity. But that was to be expected though since almost all enemies in the dungeon were affiliated with the darkness element. And he had no use of it right now, at least not in comparison. Of course, against normal enemies, his ice element would be stronger unless he used his Envoy Of Holiness skill. Since that would give him a perfect light affinity.


    After the animals were scared off, they both started to eat ravenously, and the food was completely gone in a matter of seconds. They both let out a burp each as they finished, and the looked quite satisfied. Since both of them were tired, they just decided to go to sleep after they had eaten, and they quickly drifted off into their own dreams.


    ...


    The next day, when they had both woken up, Ark decided to use his skill again, and turn into a human once more. This time he had an entire hour to do whatever he wanted though, and not just half an hour. His plan right now was to enjoy talking to Thufrat, train up his spear skills a little, at least if Thufrat wanted to spar some with him, and he needed to learn a little more about this world. The only way for him to find things out was to talk to Thufrat, so that would come naturally.


    As the white light once again enveloped him, he once again returned to his human form. As Thufrat saw this, he took out a set of clothes from a small bag he had raided from the castle. This small bag was a spatial bag, and it contained a small separated space sealed inside of it. Time didn''t move in this space, and it was the optimal place to store all kinds of things such as food, clothes, refreshments, and weapons.


    The clothes were actually of pretty good quality, and it wasn''t something a normal commoner would wear, not because they couldn''t afford it, but just because they would spend the money on more essential things. Ark quickly put these clothes on and noticed that they were a pretty tight fit, but he didn''t really care that much, and it wasn''t the time to be picky anyway. As he was fully clothed this time, Thufrat looked a little envious, not because of the clothes, but more because of Ark''s looks. It wasn''t that Thufrat was a shallow person or anything, but who wouldn''t want to look good? The look disappeared as fast as it came through, and Thufrat clucked his tongue as he inspected his newfound friend.


    "Now that I''m dressed, wanna spar a little with me?"


    As Ark said this, he looked at Thufrat with some expectation in his eyes, he really wanted to test out this spear of his, since it could very well become his trump card in the future. Thufrat was a bit surprised by this request, and to be honest, he was a bit hesitant. Ark had sown his prowess in battle at multiple occasions and it wasn''t something to be taken lightly. But he wasn''t going to back down just because of something like that.


    "Sure mate, but are you sure you can fight in that body?"


    "Not really, that''s why I want to train!"


    "Fair enough"


    As they both said what they wanted to say, they stepped out of the tree, since fighting in there would completely ruin Ark''s home. When they were a safe distance away, they both took their respective weapons out. Thufrat just took out his hammer from the spatial bag, while Ark manifested his spear from the light magic in his surroundings.


    When they both got into their stances, it was obvious who had practice and experience with their weapon. But just before they started to fight, Ark suddenly realized something crucial.


    "Wait for a second!"


    "Is something wrong?"


    "I just need to check my status for a second!"¡§


    Ark had completely forgotten that he needed to check out what his status was like in this body. It would be pretty stupid to fight without even knowing what his body''s attributes even were.


    Name: Ark


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf (human form)


    Level: 27 (42)


    Mp: 255/255


    Strength: 30 (15)


    Agility: 45 (22,5)


    Dexterity: 30 (15)


    Endurance: 30 (15)


    Vitality: 30 (15)


    Intelligence: 85


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Spear Mastery [Beginner Lv.2]


    Shapeshift [Lv.2]


    Status points [0]


    As Ark saw this, he was reassured. It seemed like only his physical attributes were affected, and not his magic. Which was quite logical if you thought about it. The only thing that changed when Ark transformed was his physical body after all.


    "It''s cool, we can start now!"


    As Ark said this, he got ready for battle and entered his stance once more. The fight started almost instantly, with Ark being on the offensive. He decided that he wouldn''t use any magic in these spars since he wanted to train his skill with the spear after all, which was also in consideration of Thufrat since the spars would be very one-sided and useless if he used magic, it would kind of pointless.


    In the beginning, Ark couldn''t really do much, and he was knocked down time and time again, but every time he was, he stood back up and attacked again. He was a fast learner, and after just half an hour, his spear mastery had risen beginner level 7. He was quite dirty though since Thufrat didn''t go easy on him, of course, Ark was thankful for this. Since the whole thing would be pointless otherwise. Thufrat was a bit overwhelmed by Ark''s comprehension speed, and his battle sense, but he was accustomed to this wolf''s antics already, and just ignored it.


    They stopped after these 30 minutes though, since they still wanted to talk with each other, and half the time was gone already.

 Chapter 41 - The Second Floor!

    As they were done sparring now, they just went and sat down by the stream for a while to talk. During this talk, Ark found out a plethora of general things about this world that he never knew before, such as the name of this world, and where he currently was. They also talked about a lot of things that had happened during their lives, and they grew a little bit closer. Like the day before, Ark''s time was running out, and they agreed to go into the dungeon again today before his time ran out completely. This time though, Ark transformed by himself, instead of letting the time run out since he wanted to test something out, with the help of his human body.


    The weather on this particular day was exceptional, and splendid rays of lights cascaded down through the dark treetops, even this eerie forest seemed weirdly beautiful at the moment. Both Ark''s and Thufrat''s moods were very good right now. They had both gotten the chance to talk with each other, and the weather was really good, lighting up their moods, both figuratively and literally. The air in the forest was a bit more humid compared to normal, and Thufrat''s clothes stuck to his body more than usual, accentuating his muscles. As the small rays of light landed on top of Ark as he walked, he seemed to almost glow.


    After a small while, they arrived at the cemetery once more, and the undead were back again. This time, however, Ark decided to try something new out. He turned into his human form once more, and Thufrat tossed him a pair of clothes again. He then used his skill [Holy Spear: Dawn] to manifest a spear out of nowhere. As he felt the cold steel against the palm of his hand, he injected it with a tremendous amount of Mana. This was unlike his usual attacks, where he held himself back, this time, he wanted to try something out after all.


    As the spear started to radiate an astonishing oppressive aura, Ark jumped high up into the air and threw it straight at the undead. The spear whistled in the air as it fiercely struck the ground a moment later. The undead didn''t get the chance to react as the spear suddenly erupted with an earth-shattering force.


    BOOM


    From the point the spear struck the ground, a massive explosion took place. This explosion was an impressive radiant-gold in colour and encapsulated the entire cemetery. Not a single undead was spared from this majestic explosion as they were utterly decimated. This attack wasn''t simple at all as the wind was sent in all possible directions, escaping from this dreadful power. Thufrat was astounded, and Ark started to laugh as the wind howled past their faces. The shockwave of the explosion even sent some surrounding trees tumbling down.


    He didn''t expect this attack to be so powerful! This skill of his seemed to be more powerful than he had anticipated. Fortunately, the cemetery itself didn''t seem to be that damaged. Even though it only seemed like an ordinary cemetery, it must have been protected by some sort of magic, at least that''s what Ark thought.


    Even then, parts of it were still destroyed in that blast. And as Ark noticed this destruction, he could let out a sigh of relief. After all, this meant that he would be able to protect himself more than fine in his human form, that was without his [Envoy Of Holiness] skill after all. Ark didn''t level up even after killing all these undead though, but he didn''t really mind, his level was too high for these mobs after all.


    As the mobs were all dead, and Ark had test out his strength it was time to head into the dungeon. And since he only wanted to use his last bit of time in his human form if he needed to, he decided to turn back into his wolf form. Once again, Thufrat put back the clothes into his spatial bag after Ark had transformed back, even though they managed to get a little dirty from laying on the ground for a bit.


    ...


    After arriving outside of the castle once more, the duo was just about to head inside when they both noticed a passage that seemed to have opened up in the wall of the cave behind it. This passage wasn''t there before, and they could both guess that this was because of them clearing this floor. Since the whole point of this trip was to go to the second floor of the dungeon, they both quickly entered this giant passage.


    The passage was only five meters long before it turned into a short staircase that led to two big doors. These doors seemed very majestic, and they emitted a lofty aura, despite just being doors. They were about 8 meters tall and as broad as 5 meters. They seemed to be made out of black metal, framed by skeletons of some sort. All in all, these doors looked both majestic and creepy at the same time.


    Thufrat gulped as he turned to look at Ark, he wasn''t really sure if it was a good idea to proceed anymore. He noticed quickly that even Ark''s fur seemed to stand on end as he gazed at these doors. Normally, neither of them would be scared easily, but this time, it seemed to stem from the depths of their souls, and proceeding ahead seemed like a stupid idea. But could they really turn back after coming this far? That was the question. And both Thufrat and Ark were incredibly stubborn, therefore they only glanced at each other for a bit before they both nodded, and Thufrat walked up to the doors.


    He slowly stretched out his arms when he arrived and pushed the doors gently. As the doors opened, a gap appeared between them, and from this gap, a dark and gloomy aura quickly rushed out. This aura wasn''t simple, as it had already manifested into some weird dark corporeal form that seemed like it would corrode everything it came into contact with. Ark quickly used his light magic to put up barriers around them, as they both peered into the gap between the doors...

 Chapter 42 - Despair...

    As they both peered into the gap, the foul stench of rotting flesh hit them straight on, sending the both of them fumbling backward. The smell was bad enough to make them both want to puke, and this wasn''t something that they could really block off since that would restrict their breathing. Restricting your own breathing before potentially going into a fight was just suicidal since that would essentially restrict your combat ability.


    Neither of them intended to give up because of this though, and they both got back to their senses. When they peered through the gap this time, they could actually see what lay beyond. Behind the doors, was a ginormous room, this room was about 2000 meters square, and the roof was as high as 20 meters. The middle of the room, from their point of view, was completely empty, and it was surrounded by gigantic black pillars on both sides. This made it seem like the middle of the room was a path, that led up to something, which it did. The floor seemed to be made of some kind of black marble, but Ark wasn''t really sure, neither was Thufrat. the walls were lined with torches that lit up as soon as the doors were opened. As if done by magic.


    This "path" in the middle of the room led straight to a big black throne. The Throne was decorated by a number of different bones and it seemed almost comically big. At least, that would be the case if they couldn''t see the person sitting on top of it. This cloaked figure was at the very least 4 meters tall, and it sat silently atop the throne, staring at Ark and Thufrat. Ark and Thufrat could feel shivers running down their spines as they gazed at this figure. And after a second or two, Thufrat came to a terrifying realization.


    "Th-tha-that''s a lich!" As Thufrat stuttered this out, he was completely terrified.


    Ark didn''t really know what a lich was, but he could guess from the way that Thufrat was acting that it wasn''t something they could mess with. As he realized this, they both started to retreat. Life, however, isn''t that easy. The lich, seeing them like this, suddenly stretched out its left arm, revealing a bony, shriveled up hand. This hand was as pale as could be, an didn''t seem to contain any vitality whatsoever.


    A sneer rested atop the lich''s face as he pointed at the two intruders, not that Ark or Thufrat could see it. They didn''t even get the chance to turn around before pitch-black mana swirled around the both of them, completely hiding them from sight. As Ark was about to use his light magic to fight back, he could feel the darkness tugging at his mind. He could hear Thufrat screaming in the back of his mind as the world was suddenly set on fire.


    The burning sensation, as well as the smell of burning flesh and death, loomed over Ark. The pain was as if you were stung with burning needles all over your body, over and over and over again. He couldn''t employ any of his Mana to defend himself, and he could only despair as the world slowly crumbled in front of him. The pain was unbearable, and Ark started to scream at the top of his lungs. What came out was the voice of his younger self. He started to panic as he frantically urged all of his power to resist whatever was going on, this only made the pain even worse, and Ark could feel his consciousness slowly fading away into nothingness.


    "NO"


    "I''m not done yet!"


    "How could I die like this? I haven''t explored this world yet!"


    Some of his consciousness returned to him, and Ark started to think as hard as he could. This wasn''t a game, this was real life, and if he failed to find a solution, then he would definitely die. As Ark managed to regain some rationality, he could think clearly, and he started to realize something. How could the lich set the entire world on fire? Wasn''t his affinity with the darkness element anyway? Where was Thufrat, and why couldn''t he see him? And where was he? He seemed to be on some open plain, but how did he get here?


    As Ark realized these key points, he came up with an idea. Instead of defending himself from the fire by using the elements on himself as he had tried to earlier, he focused all of his light Mana to rush to his brain, to his mind. As the light Man gushed inside of his head, he could feel a barrier. He urged his Mana even more, and this barrier suddenly ripped open, and as it did, the void was seemingly slashed open from above. It looked as if a spear from heaven had descended as the skies above the plain were ripped apart.


    The spear that came down seemed holy, and it instantly abolished all of the fire that was burning the world. As this happened, Ark felt no more pain, and he suddenly returned back to the throne room of the lich. Ark was astounded, but he had a fairly certain guess of what had just happened. And since he had no time to spare, he instantly used all the strength he could muster to pick up the screaming Thufrat and run for his life.


    The lich didn''t expect anyone to survive this attack of his and was caught off guard. It could do nothing as it saw them both escaping from right under his nose. The doors that were opened slightly slammed shut behind Ark as he left, and the room returned to complete darkness once more. As Ark was running, he couldn''t really ignore his friend''s dire screams. Since he was unsure of what to do to help him, he sent some light Mana into his mind, to help against the attack.


    Thufrat seemed to calm down a little, and he stopped screaming under Ark''s constant injection of light Mana. Unfortunately, Ark couldn''t solve this predicament. If he sent in more Mana than he was currently, it would probably do more harm than good, and maybe even kill Thufrat instead of helping him. Since that was the case, Ark could only look for help whilst stabilizing his friend. Of course, Ark couldn''t ask for help in his current form, and he needed to wait for his human form that would regenerate the next day.


    Even though he wanted to help Thufrat right now, it wasn''t really possible, and he was sure he could support his friend through the night, even though it would be very energy-consuming. As these thoughts were gobbling up his mind, Thufrat was experiencing something similar to what Ark experienced.


    Thufrat was experiencing the height of despair, and he didn''t know what to do. The flames were consuming everything in existence, including Thufrat. As his consciousness started to fade, he didn''t want to give up, he had finally found a friend, a brother-in-arms who would share both happiness and pain with him. As he thought about all of this, his blood started to boil, and not because of the extreme heat, but because of his bloodline. It was awakening bit by bit and the soil around him all started to gather around him. But no matter what Thufrat did, he couldn''t resist these flames, not even with the help of his bloodline, all he could do was delaying his inevitable end.


    As he was thinking this though, the skies suddenly tore open, and out from the tear came a massive amount of light Mana. The light Mana swirled around Thufrat at all times, and helped him resist these flames, he still felt the heat and some pain, but he was safe for now. As Thufrat experienced this, he knew it was the doing of Ark, and he started to smile, despite the agony he was currently in. He had truly gotten himself a good friend this time!

 Chapter 43 - Trying To Find Help

    Since Ark was currently running at full speed, he arrived at the tree in less than an hour. When he arrived at the tree, he laid Thufrat down on top of the wool he had on the floor. After doing that, he just sat down next to him and concentrated wholly on helping his friend. A film of sweat had formed on Thufrat''s brows, and Ark used some water Mana to keep him refreshed. No matter how much he helped Thufrat though, Thufrat still suffered, and he was currently very red, similar to iron ready to be forged into a sword.


    Ark was very worried for his friend, but he didn''t believe that he was done for, he was sure that he would be able to find help. Of course, getting help would probably cost many, since nothing was truly free in this world, but Thufrat had found a plethora of different treasures when they cleared the first floor. Even though Ark didn''t want to use Thufrat''s things as payment, there was no other way.


    The reason Ark didn''t dare to treat Thufrat, was because this was an injury to his mind, and if he rashly sent in Mana to help him, he might turn his friend into an invalid instead. At the very least, that was Ark''s speculation. If he couldn''t find help, he would try and heal his friend himself, but he didn''t have confidence that he could, that would be a last resort. Thinking like this, the day turned to night and then back into day again.


    ...


    After an entire night of nonstop concentration, Ark was mentally exhausted, and his fur seemed to contain less l.u.s.ter compared to the day before. This was pretty normal though since he didn''t have that much Mana left. The only reason that he hadn''t run out of Mana yet was that he couldn''t send in that much Mana into his friend, which let him passively regenerate part of what he spent. Of course, it would still run dry with time, but that time wasn''t now.


    As it was a new day, Ark''s "Shapeshift" had recovered, and he could use it once more. He quickly turned into a human and put on some of the clothes from Thufrat''s spatial bag. After an entire night of suffering, Thufrat looked even worse than before, and dark Mana was constantly swirling around him, if not for the fact that an equally mighty light Mana was contesting this dark mana, Thufrat would have been long lost.


    When Ark had conversed with Thufrat the day before, Thufrat naturally told him where he was, and he also told him about the nearest big city, since he was planning to go there after today, to sell some materials and items, and upgrade his gear. This city was called Fairmond, and it was quite bustling with business, the biggest reason was that it was next to this forest. Even though Ark had the luck to not run into any adventurers, there was still plenty of people who decided to venture into these woods.


    The biggest reason as to why Ark didn''t run into many people was because they were currently in a pretty obscure corner of this forest. As Ark remembered this, he turned back into a wolf again and put the clothes back into the spatial bag. He got a little hot-headed before, and kind of forgot about this little fact. He had limited time in his human form, and it would take around 2 hours to get to Fairmond according to Thufrat, Ark was gonna travel at full speed, but it would still take around half an hour.


    As he put Thufrat on his back, Ark could feel how scorching hot Thufrat was at the moment, he could also feel the poor mans shivers, which seemed to encourage Ark to get him help even more. No one would want to see their friend in trouble unless they were an asshole, and Ark started to grow a little anxious, what if he didn''t manage to find help? And what if he screwed up when he tried to help him thereafter?


    He quickly cast these thoughts aside though, since they would only do more harm than good, and he didn''t want to distract himself with negativity right now. As he stepped outside, he almost instantly disappeared from where he was and darted off into the distance. Running with someone on your back was quite the hassle, especially if you have to be careful with them, whilst simultaneously keeping away from monsters and people.


    There were multiple instances were Ark was really close to running into someone, but he managed to stay on course and stay off other''s radars at the same time. Which meant that, 25 minutes later, Ark was at the very edge of the forest. He turned himself into a human and put on the pair of clothes he had gotten from Thufrat. Fortunately for Ark, no humans were in the close vicinity, and he could transform in peace.


    After putting Thufrat on his back, he hurried to the city. The city of Fairmond was surrounded by a majestic wall made out of stone. This wall was about 10 meters high, and on top of it were patrolling guards, looking out to the forest. All of the guards were armed with some simple spears made out of wood, with spearheads made out of iron. This was pretty normal since it would be too expensive to give them much better.


    Fairmond had 4 entrances, one west, one east, one north, and one south. At these entrances stood at the very least 4 guards, who checked on everyone who entered the city, as well as accepting an entrance fee. Ark didn''t know of this beforehand, but since he noticed everyone else paying a large bronze coin to enter, he took one out from Thufrat''s spatial bag as well. The money of this world was divided into bronze, silver, gold, rose-gold, and platinum. One hundred bronze coins equaled one silver, one hundred silver equaled one gold coin, and so forth. A large coin equaled 25 normal coins of the same value, meaning 4 large bronze coins would equal 1 silver.


    Ark was currently at the north entrance, and there were not many people who entered through this one, meaning that the traffic was low. This was to Ark''s advantage since he was in a hurry, but as he queued up, almost all people started to look at him incredulously, especially the women. Ark didn''t really know why, but he couldn''t care less right now, he just assumed that it was because of Thufrat. The real reason, was just that he was too handsome! Of course, he would attract attention, jealousy, and envy from men, and adoration and appreciation from most women.


    Even if the attention was originally from his looks, most people eventually noticed the bizarreness that was surrounding the dwarf on his back. Swirling masses of Mana was not something common people would want to get involved with, and most people chose to keep their distance. As Ark got up to the guards, he paid the two large bronze coin and was about to be on his way. Unfortunately, someone called out to him just as he was about to enter the city.


    "Hey, you over there!"

 Chapter 44 - Trouble Brewing

    The voice seemed to belong to a young man, even though it was a little feminine. Ark couldn''t care less about something like this though, and he just kept walking. He didn''t think the person was talking with him, and even if they did, they didn''t seem like they had any good intentions.


    "You dare ignore my young master?" You dirty commoner!"


    As Ark heard this, he was sure it was directed at him, but he still didn''t care, these people seemed to think themselves superior just because of their heritage, and Ark hated stuff like that. He believed that people should be judged based on their ability and personality, not some irrelevant things like heritage and race.


    The "young master" who was being ignored, was enraged at the behavior of this random plebeian. This commoner was ignoring him? He''d show him what happened to people who ignored him!


    "Claus, show this plebeian what''s up!"


    "As you wish young master!" Claus answered with a bow. Claus was about 40 years old, pretty handsome, with a very humoristic mustache that curled up at both ends. He was also a "master" of the sword, self-proclaimed of course. He was currently wearing a butlers outfit, with a pretty normal looking iron sword attached to his waist.


    As he was ordered by his young master, he instantly rushed out toward Ark, since shedding blood in broad daylight would be quite bad, he decided to use the "peaceful" route for now.


    "Kid, stop right now!"


    Finally, Ark stopped and turned around to look at these clowns that just had to bother him for some reason. As Claus was stared straight in the eye, he felt a shiver run down his spine, and he almost wanted to run away, but he couldn''t disobey his young master, and he just gulped nervously before speaking again. The young master was currently seated in a carriage behind him, but he could still feel the slight killing intent emanating from behind him.


    "Are you deaf kid? Why did you not listen to my young master?" he said as is palms started to sweat a little.


    "How was I supposed to know he was talking to me? My name isn''t You" Ark spat back, he wasn''t in the mood for this, and he was starting to grow irritated.


    "Hmph, who are you to talk back to me?" Claus followed up with, he couldn''t believe the nerve of this random peasant.


    "First you ask me a question, then you don''t want me to answer? Are you stupid?"


    As Claus was about to refute this kid in front of him, he was cut off.


    "You should probably get out of my sight before I get mad!" Ark''s hair involuntarily started to fly up in the air, as a dominating aura swept out from his body, encapsulating this random man. He was truly starting to get mad now, why did this random dude need to mess with him right now? As the man was enveloped by Ark''s aura, he let out a groan as he was sent down on his knees. Ark couldn''t be bothered by this anymore, and he started to walk again.


    The young master, seeing this, was enraged. The air suddenly violently contorted as an arrow appeared out of nowhere, aiming straight for Ark left leg.


    Clank!


    The arrow was suddenly interrupted by a spear that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in Ark''s right hand. The young master, noticing this, was dissatisfied and left the carriage. Ark''s eyebrows furrowed as he saw this young master in front of him. It was a teenager that was about 1,7 meters tall, he had pretty blonde hair and golden eyes. An aura of holiness surrounded him as he took several steps forward. This was probably a ladykiller in most people''s eyes, but Ark couldn''t care less.


    "Do you not know who I am?" The arrogant young man said as he stopped five meters away from Ark.


    "I couldn''t care less about who you are, what do you want from me?" Ark didn''t want to entertain this young man in front of him, and he needed to find a doctor for Thufrat before his time ran out.


    "Hehehe, my name is Lucius, and I''m from the holy church!"


    "As for what I want from you? What do you think? You''re trying to take a filthy dwarf into the city, and one that has the darkness element all around him! Of course, I''d stop you!"


    Hearing this, Ark was a little dumbfounded, before he started to get pissed off, did he just call his friend filthy?


    "What did you call him?"


    "Huh, speak up, I can''t hear you, commoner!" Lucius sneered as he mocked the commoner a little more, this was something he loved doing after all.


    "I said, WHAT DID YOU CALL HIM?"


    Ark ended his sentence almost roaring at Lucius, and he was on the verge of beheading him right here and now because Ark was really mad right now, and this Lucius just kept screwing around with him, and he even insulted his only friend, of course, he would be mad.


    Lucius didn''t expect Ark to get this mad, and he fell back on his own bottom as he was frightened. Lucius came from an established earl''s house, and he had never been shouted at before, not even by his own father for that matter. Not only was he an aristocrat, but he was also talented in light magic and was taken in as a disciple by the holy church, he felt like he had the rights to be arrogant. He was frightened at first, but that fright soon turned into anger, who was this random commoner to yell at him?


    "I called your friend a filthy dwarf because that''s exactly what he is!"


    "Who are you to try and bring such a creature into the city? Do you want to contaminate the entire city?"


    As Ark heard this, he finally snapped, this motherf.u.c.ker seriously liked to spout nonsense, and he wasn''t going to just stand here and swallow it. Ark''s eyes shone splendidly as he raised his spear up and behind his shoulder, getting ready to throw it. Lucius seeing this, was scared once again, was this dud seriously going to attack him? There was nothing wrong with what he said anyways. Humans were superior to dwarves anyways right? They were just halflings who didn''t have any worth, why should they be allowed into the same city as humans?


    As Ark was just about to throw his spear out, another figure emerged from the carriage.


    "What''s going on out here? Why have we stopped outside of the gates?"


    The figure that emerged was a young girl, about Ark''s age. She had pale white skin and wavy blue hair, that reminded people of the ocean. Her eyes were olive green in colour, and she had a gentle but currently confused look in them.


    "This commoner is trying to take a dwarf into the town, so I tried to stop him, but he suddenly tried to attack me!"


    "Why would you need to stop him?"


    "Huh? Because dwarves are dirty? Why else?"


    As the young girl heard this, she was disgusted, how could you believe in something like this? She seriously hated the fact that she needed to travel around with such an idiot. Still, what could she do about it? He came from a prestigious family, and she didn''t feel like offending him right now.


    "Just apologize to this young man, and we can call it quits, that''s okay with you right?" She said as she cast a glance toward Ark.

 Chapter 45 - Let It Slide?

    As Ark heard this, he smirked a little and put his spear down for a second. Seeing this, the girl and Lucius both put down their guards a little, and let out a sigh of relief. They made one miscalculation, Ark never said that he would let him go. The spear that was originally put down suddenly shot out at a speed that would be impossible for most to react to.


    Puchi!


    A rain of scarlet blood spread across the air as Lucius was penetrated straight through his heart. The spear didn''t stop there though, and it kept going at the same speed as before, killing Lucius was as easy as slicing up a piece of paper, and this was a holy spear, of course, it wouldn''t stop at that. But Ark didn''t want to implicate anyone else and dissolved the spear before it could hit anything or anyone else.


    An expression of fear, confusion, and despair was spread across Lucius'' face as his body slumped down onto the ground in a pool of his own blood. The young girl was also astonished by this and frightened out of her mind. She never expected something like this to happen on her trip. This was her first ever trip in this world, and she never thought that something like this would happen. Truth be told, this young girl was called Leah, and she wasn''t from this world, she was summoned here a while ago, and this was her first time leaving the capital of the kingdom.


    She was supposed to go to the holy church for training since the battle against the demons had almost begun, and if she didn''t get strong in time, she would surely just die. She never wanted to go to this world, some of her old classmates loved this new life, but she hated it. She didn''t like the fact that she was summoned here against her will as a weapon. Everyone told her the demons were evil existences, but Leah didn''t really believe them if they were truly that evil, how had they managed to build an empire?


    Building an empire wasn''t something easy, and to do it, you needed support from the general populace. A country that didn''t care for its inhabitants wouldn''t last long. And if all demons were evil, how could they agree to live underneath the ruling of someone else? Wouldn''t their empire just be a constant battlefield for power, with bloodshed everywhere? And if that were the case, would the demons be a threat? The answer to that question was a definitive no.


    Demons were in fact not that different from humans, the biggest difference was how they looked, and how powerful they inherently were.


    Their bloodl.u.s.t may be stronger than humans, but most demons could suppress it to the same level as a human, therefore making it almost stupid to use that as an argument.


    "W-wh-why did you kill him?" Leah stuttered as she started to slowly back away from Ark.


    "People kill monsters all the time right? What difference is there between killing him and a monster? At least the monster wouldn''t spout nonsense."


    Ark was still mad, and he would never just let him go. The matter wouldn''t end if he did anyway since this mongrel would just keep looking for trouble, and he would surely find help in doing so. At least that''s what Ark thought, and he was confident in his understanding of humans. Maybe killing him seemed like a rash decision, but Ark didn''t really care, it wasn''t like he would enter human cities often anyway, at least not right now. Maybe this would bring him problems in the future, or well it most definitely would, but Ark would be stronger in the future, and he would be able to deal with it when the time came.


    Leah was scared out of her mind right now, and she was surprised by the mindset of this youth in front of her, they seemed to be the same age, how could he be so calm after killing someone? In reality, Ark''s [Mental Fortitude] skill took action. Without it, he would probably be a bit thrown off, maybe even a bit sick at the thought of ending someone''s life. The feeling of taking someone''s life away was in reality pretty sickening, but Ark couldn''t feel that kind of feeling, which could be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing. In some people''s eyes, it would probably seem a little psychotic to not feel anything, but to some others, it would just be a convenience. And Ark was the latter, not that he thought that much about it.


    "You dare kill a member of my holy church? And you think you can get away with it?" Think again, kid!"


    As Ark heard this, he was a bit annoyed since he needed to deal with another nuisance before getting to heal his friend and to be honest, he didn''t have an infinite amount of time in this form. From the carriage, a very old man with a head full of disheveled white hair emerged. The old man was clad in white, golden-embroidered robes and his grey beard was almost half a meter long as it fluttered in the wind. His eyes were similar to the young man before him, but his golden colour was a bit duller, he was old after all.


    This old man didn''t spout as much nonsense, instead, he instantly went on the offensive, the little hair he had left started to flutter about on its own as he started to shine in a radiant white light. After acc.u.mulating his power for a while, he created a large sphere of magical power that he hurled towards Ark. Ark scoffed as he saw this, [What a crude way of using magic] was all he thought as he once again called upon the power of [Dawn] to deal with this foe. The spear was hurled out at an intense speed, and it twisted the air as forced its way forward. The sphere wasn''t able to stop the spear at all, and it just went straight through it, as the sphere exploded into a big shockwave off light Mana.


    The shockwave worked out in the old man''s favor though as he was blasted out of the spears course. Instead of hitting the old man, the spear landed on the ground about 10 meters away. The spear exploded into a large golden blast, that spanned for about 50 meters in a circular form. Fortunately, the people in the surroundings had long since retreated to a safe distance, otherwise, they would have all been destroyed by this blast. The old man wasn''t as lucky though, and he was enveloped by the blast.


    He managed to twist his way out of most of it, but he still couldn''t help but lose an arm in the explosion. It took about a second for him to even feel the pain, and notice that his arm was missing.


    "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH"


    The scream was heart-wrenching, and it even made Ark feel a little bad, fortunately, he had his [Mental Fortitude] and he managed to stay clear-headed throughout the ordeal. The old man was currently kneeling on the ground, hugging the stump where his arm had just been, as the blood poured out all over the place. As tears were streaming down his face from the pain, an icicle suddenly penetrated straight through his head, splashing brain matter and blood all over the place.


    This painted a pretty cruel-looking scene, and Ark looked very heartless to the surrounding people, but Ark killing the old man in one clean shot to the head was also a form of mercy, since he put him out of his suffering, even if it was induced by Ark in the first place.

 Chapter 46 - The Dark Side Of A Bustling City

    After having killed both the old man and Lucius, Ark had gained a level, and he was a little distraught. No matter how much his [Mental Fortitude] skill helped, he still just ended two people''s lives, and the feeling was definitely a little sickening if you thought about it. Ark didn''t really want to think about it right now though, and he didn''t really regret killing Lucius. The old man was a little debatable, but he still acted according to the situation, no matter how hot-headed he seemed.


    Lucius would just mess things up for him if he was kept alive, he wouldn''t be able to swallow the humiliation, and would just keep looking for trouble.


    There were two different routes that Ark could have chosen with the old man, the first one, was the route Ark had chosen, which was to kill the old fogey, but the second route would be to heal the old man and show some mercy. The problem with showing mercy was that it would only be profitable if the person wasn''t an arrogant asshole who saw themselves as superior to everyone else. Since their anger wouldn''t be abated in the slightest if you just healed them, they would want to see you dead.


    Besides, the repercussions of doing this would probably come later down the road, and at that time, Ark would have probably grown appropriately, at least to an extent at which he could protect himself. He still felt a little guilty for the old man''s death, but there wasn''t much else he could have done. As soon as the old man lost his arm, Ark felt that it was for the best to just kill him off completely. Who would want to live as a cripple in a world like this, where strength ruled everything? The horrible pain caused by such a wound was surely devastating as well.


    Ark didn''t delude himself to imagine himself some warrior of justice, but he wasn''t evil, not by a longshot. Sometimes killing someone quickly was just the best outcome. Leah seemed to be in a daze by all of this though, and who could really blame her, she had just watched a youth her age kill two people because of a dispute.


    Ark did reflect a little bit because of this incident though, the next time something like this happens, he would be less rash. He was just way too stressed out at the moment, as his only friend ran the risk of passing away each second. It was normal, who would be able to keep their calm under such a situation? Some people, but currently, Ark wasn''t one of them.


    ...


    From the shadows within the city, a human silhouette was silently watching the entire ordeal. As Ark killed both of the people from the holy church, the silhouette revealed a white row of teeth as it silently retreated back deep into the shadows.


    ...


    Leah was currently on the verge of losing her mind, she was scared out of her wits, and she didn''t know what to do at all, she wanted to just run away and scream, but she was afraid the youth would kill her as well if he was annoyed. She didn''t think he would be that rash, but she couldn''t be sure, and it was better to be safe than sorry when playing with your life. At first, she was a bit awed when she saw this handsome youth, but that awe had turned into complete horror at this point, and she just wanted to go home. Getting brought to this world had actually completely ruined her life, and a sliver of hate against those who summoned her blossomed in her gentle heart.


    ...


    Meanwhile, in another place.


    A dark silhouette was rushing along the alleys of a bustling city, while the streets were filled with food stalls and shops, filled with the smell of different kinds of food and aromas, filled with an atmosphere of happiness and joy, the alleys were filled with a weird odor. The alleys were lined with people lying on the street, filled with a desolate atmosphere, and no feeling of hope. This was the difference between two areas in the same city, and this was life. If you were well off or affluent, you could lead a happy life with the people you loved. But what about the people who didn''t have money, family, or power? What about them? This was what usually happened to those people.


    They didn''t have the money to buy the food or clothes they needed, they didn''t have the power to take what they deserved, and they didn''t have any family to fall back on. Of course, only the bad cases would end up like this, but the fact still stands, life isn''t fair, and everyone can''t be happy. Now how do you fix this? You can''t, at least not completely, all you can do is try and help as many as possible. This is where the holy church had failed miserably, or, well, not really.


    The holy church was created a long time ago, and they had seized massive amounts of wealth and influence at this point in time. There was no questioning it, the human world was mostly run by the holy church. But were they really a "holy" church? Of course not, in fact, they were worse than a lot of people, as Ark had just seen. They discriminate a lot more than normal people, believing everything other than light magic to be inferior. Especially dark magic which is heavily frowned upon, even seen as something evil. Even though the darkness element is just as normal and orthodox as the light element.


    They also believe in human supremacy, even though that isn''t the case at all. There is a multitude of races that are inherently stronger than humans, the only problem is their numbers. How is a strong race meant to be able to fight millions of humans, if they are only in the thousands, especially if the humans have the potential to grow infinitely?


    The problem with this world''s human society was that the holy church had too much influence. They could basically brainwash whoever they wanted, especially the poor common people since they all wanted something to believe in, something which could save their miserable lives. In fact, the holy church was quite the opposite, they collected a lot of donations, giving them wealth. With this wealth, they rapidly developed and started to grow their influence. With this influence, they started to quietly take control of multiple towns, cities, and even kingdoms. The tax that they collected was actually a lot more compared to other places, and common people suffered without their knowing. They just blamed their ruler, assuming he was the problem, even though the holy church was the one controlling everything from the shadows. This was a common scene around the Oshwalt empires sphere of influence.


    The dark silhouette didn''t stop until it appeared in front of an inn. The inn was pretty small for a big city like this, and it was pretty desolate at the front. The silhouette just barged through the swing doors of the inn, before speeding upstairs...

 Chapter 47 - An Odd Bunch

    As the silhouette sped up the stairs, it quickly arrived in front of room number 3, the door to the room seemed to be a bit worn out, and a weird odor permeated the area, a bit like the smell of old fish. The silhouette didn''t need to knock before someone opened the door from the inside, the weird thing was, no one stood behind the door, it had just opened by itself. The silhouette didn''t seem to be fazed at all though as it entered in complete silence.


    The room was about 10 meters square, and inside you could find two worn-out bunk beds in the furthermost corners of the room, opposite the door. In the middle of the room was a small table. Seated around this table were 4 people in total, 3 males, and 1 female. Every one of the males wore pretty expensive armor forged out of dark-steel. Even though the ore was fairly common, it was still miles above normal iron, and it was very durable even though it was very lightweight. It could also conduct Mana on a higher level, both in quantity and intensity. Imagine your sword breaking in the middle of a battle because your Mana output was too intense, that could cost you your life.


    Out of the three males, two wielded swords, while the last one wielded dual axes. The female had a staff at her side, embedded within was a majestic emerald gem, giving off a sharp glint. The woman was about 1,7 meters tall, with a curvaceous body. She was clad in black robes, with light green engravings all over it. This woman was a wind mage, and the robe she was wearing was magical equipment. The man with dual axes was the leader of this little group, and he was about 1,95 meters tall, giving him an overbearing vibe. The armor he was wearing seemed almost a little small for him, but that only made his image even fiercer. He had pretty common looks, and he wouldn''t be all that impressive if it wasn''t for his massive body.


    Out of the other two men, one of them was fairly short, about the same height as the woman. His hair was a beautiful azure, but the rest of him didn''t live up to his beautiful hair, painting a pretty bizarre picture. His face resembled that of a snake, and he was very skinny, giving him a bit of a creepy vibe. The sword attached to his waist was curved, and if he slashed someone with it, it would surely hurt like hell. The last man was actually pretty handsome. His hair was as black as the night sky, and so were his eyes. His sword was currently inside of a pitch-black scabbard, and the man looked a little annoyed.


    As the silhouette entered the room, the company of four turned to check what was going on. All of them had felt the presence of the silhouette beforehand, but they didn''t move until now.


    "You got any news for us?" The leader of the four stood up lazily and asked, he was very bored at the moment, and he felt like doing something.


    The silhouette turned into the figure of a woman as it entered the room. The woman had fiery red hair that resembled the brilliance of flowing magma, and it was currently put up into a ponytail behind her head. Her eyes were amber, and they withheld a gentle light as she gazed upon these four people in front of her. The woman''s skin was very pale, drawing a huge contrast to her strikingly red hair. All in all, she was very beautiful. She was wearing dark leather armor which hid the curves of her body really well. Attached to her waist was a pair of small daggers with jagged edges.


    "I found a recruit!" She answered tactfully as she faced the leader of the group.


    "Hmmm, give us some details!" He answered as he pondered with a bit of hope within his gaze.


    "I found this youth outside of the city gates, he seems to be between 16 and 18 years old. He carries a dwarf who seems to have some form of connection to the darkness element on his back, badly injured. He got obstructed by two followers of the holy church because of his dwarf friend, which prompted him to kill both of them! He is currently still outside of the city!"


    Hearing this, the small group was surprised, someone who openly killed people of the holy church for a friend isn''t someone you would find every day. The leader of the group pondered a little more silently before speaking up once more.


    "How would you describe the kid''s character? Just from your observation of course."


    "He seems like a loyal kid to me, I don''t believe him to be ruthless just because he killed them, I suspect that he is in a hurry to save his friend. Getting entangled with people of the holy church while trying to help a dwarf would only get the dwarf killed after all." This was the extent of the information she could gather, but she was still happy with what she managed to find. This kid would make a good recruit!


    "If that''s the case, we should probably get a move on, before things get too out of hand. If the kid gets surrounded by the city guards, it will be hard to get him out of there."


    "Everyone will come this time, I doubt that we can continue using this hideout after this, and we should probably get a move on!" The leader raised his voice a little at the end of his sentence, and the rest of the team all stood up straight, before moving out. As they all walked together, they painted a very organized picture, like they had been doing this for years. There was also one little detail that made the whole scene complete, all of them had a small badge attached to their c.h.e.s.ts. On top of this badge was two swords. One of the swords was white and pure, while the other was pitch-black. The swords twisted and intertwined atop the badge, painting a picture of harmony.

 Chapter 48 - Help arrives?

    As this was happening, Ark was currently in a struggle. He didn''t know if he should run for his life or try to find help for Thufrat. Even though running away was the sound decision, Ark wasn''t sure if it was correct, at least not in his book. He didn''t want to try and heal his friend himself, not because of laziness, but out of fear of hurting, maybe even destroying the only friend he has.


    Ark didn''t get a lot of time to think through his decisions as sounds of marching was rapidly approaching. Ark couldn''t be sure that this was for him, but he didn''t want to stick around to find out. He decided that he would just have to gamble it and try and heal Thufrat himself. The poor guy could not hold out for much longer, and he was slowly losing himself in the world of his mind. Even though Ark constantly sent in Mana to protect his friend from the endless flames, the heat still got to him. And after a while, he had started to lose control of his consciousness.


    As Ark noticed the changes in his friend, he was pissed off, he would kill that lich when he was strong enough to do so! Since staying around probably wouldn''t yield any results, Ark just decided to try and save his friend himself and decided to get the hell out of here. If he stayed around for much longer, he would probably end up in a lot of trouble. In normal cases, he wouldn''t care, but his friend''s life was at stake, and he wasn''t about to risk it because of something stupid. The world works in mysterious ways, and just as Ark turned around to face the forest, he heard a shout from behind him.


    "Stop right there!"


    The marching sound stopped abruptly behind him, and Ark was in a bit of a pinch. He didn''t dare delay though, and he turned around as quickly as he heard what was said. Behind him was a squadron of about one hundred elite soldiers. If Ark didn''t know any better, he would assume that they were all knights. But knights were actually very noble existences in this world, only truly powerful people could become knights, these were just some elite guards from a backwater city.


    Just this fact broadened Ark''s view of this world a little bit. He had already assumed himself to be quite strong, but in reality, he was only strong in a backwater place like this. Take that lich as an example, it was a miracle that Ark even managed to escape, not mentioning trying to defeat the thing. And still, there were a lot more powerful existences than a lich in this world.


    All of these elite guards wore iron plate-armor, and they were armed with either short-spears or short-swords and shields. At the helm of these guards stood a lone guard. This guard was clad in a darker metallic armor, namely dark-steel. This armor was miles above the others, and so was the wearer''s strength. This was the city-guards leader, Stanley. Ark was on guard as soon as he saw these guards since their levels ranged from 35 to 45, which was pretty high. Stanley''s level was a whopping 57, even higher than the werewolf he had fought earlier.


    If Ark didn''t have Thufrat dying on his back, he could at the very least stand a chance at defending himself and running away, but right now, it wasn''t looking too bright. Stanley gave Ark a long look before scanning the corpses of the old man and Lucius. After confirming what he had seen, Stanley was sure of the report that he had gotten, and its authenticity. He didn''t know exactly who was in the wrong, but he knew one thing, this youth in front of him was alive, and the people from the holy church wasn''t.


    "Kid, I don''t know your name, but you''re under arrest for the murder of a disciple of the holy church, as well as a deacon of the holy church!"


    "I suggest you don''t make things harder for yourself, and just let us capture you without resistance! We''ll know what happened for sure after a thorough investigation!" Even though he said that, not much concrete evidence was available, and they would probably just rely on witnesses to figure out the truth, even though that is pretty bad since the truth can be easily distorted that way. The problem was, they had to provide the holy church with a reasonable outcome. If this youth was let go, the city guards would be held responsible, and that wouldn''t end well for any of them.


    "Look, I never wanted any trouble ok? I don''t have the time for this, my friend is dying"


    "If you''re gonna try and stop me, be ready to die!"


    Ark didn''t back down despite the opponents'' strength and numbers, he really couldn''t let them just arrest him right now. If that happened, Thufrat would be done for, without Ark''s support, Thufrat would have already died multiple times. Stanley frowned as he heard this, he wasn''t aware of the opponent''s strength right now, but he knew the opponent was not to be taken lightly. He had killed a deacon of the holy church after all.


    As Stanley was about to further converse with Ark, to try and convince him to surrender, he noticed five figures slowly approaching from the gate. In normal cases, he would have ignored it, but the ground trembled every time the leader of the five took a step, and they were headed in this direction. Stanley shot the five a look, and what he saw made his expression freeze. All of the people in the group wore a particular badge. A badge that only represented one thing, the rebels!


    Stanley didn''t know why these people would show themselves in broad daylight just like this, but as he cleared his mind and thought a little, he suddenly came to a realization. As he did, he shot Ark an incredulous look, before gulping down some saliva. If what he thought was correct, then this situation would probably take a turn for the worse, and turn into something which he couldn''t control.


    He didn''t get the chance to think much more though as the small group of five soon passed the guards, arriving just 10 meters from Ark.


    "Kid, you need help to get out of this situation right?" The woman with the fiery hair was the best at talking to people, and she decided to speak for their little group this time.


    "What do you want?" Ark answered with a bit of trepidation, he had no idea who any of these people were.


    "You!"


    As Ark heard this, his expression darkened a little more, what the hell did these people want from him?


    "Don''t get me wrong, we only want to recruit you into our group" The fiery woman took note of Ark''s expression and assumed he had misunderstood something.


    Ark still wasn''t sure what was going on, but the people in front of him didn''t seem as suspicious anymore, at least they stated what they wanted. Now the question was, what kind of group was this, and why did they want to recruit him? Ark was about to ask, but he was interrupted in the middle of his sentence.


    "What kind of-


    "We''ll have to save that for later, this isn''t the right time."


    "All you need to know is that we can save your friend, and get you out of this dilemma, all you have to do is follow us!"


    Ark was still hesitant, but he knew one thing, this might be the only chance out of this situation! He desperately wanted to save Thufrat, as his c.h.e.s.t almost physically ached just seeing him like this. And if he tried to get out of this by himself, it would probably just fail. That would be ok if it only affected him, but not if it affected his friend.


    "What kind of follow?"


    "As a brother-in-arms, not a follower of course!"


    As Ark heard this, he was a bit relieved and he decided that he would try it out at least. His friend''s life was at stake, and this wasn''t the time to be slow in his decision making. He knew that problems would arise because he was a wolf, but he would solve things like that when they became actual problems, for now, he would focus on the present.

 Chapter 49 - Show of force!

    Since his time was starting to run out, Ark didn''t want to waste any more time right now.


    "As long as you can heal my friend, I''ll follow you!"


    This was Ark''s only condition, for now, what these people were up to didn''t matter, what did matter, however, was the fact that his friend was dying, and they could help him.


    "Of course, we''d never go back on our word!" The lady quickly answered, she was a little excited at the moment, they had gotten a very good recruit after all. As this happened though, Stanley got fed up with their attitude. It was like they didn''t acknowledge their existence at all!


    "Excuse me? Do you seriously think we will let you just take him away?" He thundered at them. This boosted the morale of his guards, and they started to get excited, not much happened in this little town.


    "Yeah exactly!"


    "Who do you think you are?"


    "Get out of here!"


    "Rebel sc.u.m!"


    The jeering of the guards didn''t affect the five rebels, even though the last one almost got the man with black hair to draw his sword out. They were used to this, even though it was annoying, there wasn''t much they could do. Did they see themselves as rebels? Yes. Did they think that being a rebel was necessarily a bad thing? No, of course not. Most rebellions happened for a reason. Now, why were they called rebels? Because they opposed the government? No. It was because they opposed the holy church.


    The leader of the five didn''t stay quiet though, as the jeering continued, he started laughing.


    "HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA"


    The thunderous laughter brought about an oppressive pressure as it reverberated in the eardrums of the guards, and most of them had to take half a step back. After a couple of seconds, he stopped laughing.


    "You think this paltry little squad of yours can oppose us? I''d like to see you try!" As he said the last words, he took out his axes from behind his back. The soldiers got ready and stood in a defensive formation as a response to his actions.


    The pressure emanating from the leader started to explosively grow as he just stood there, staring at the soldier for a solid ten seconds. With every second that passed, the pressure on the guards grew, and after ten seconds had passed, some guards were almost on their knees.


    Stanley hesitated a little at first since the pressure even affected him, but when he saw some of his people almost on their knees, his temper flared up! He was a magician of the fire element, and all of the guards underneath his command had at the very least some skill with fire magic. Making them a force to be reckoned with if they pooled their powers, and Stanley didn''t think that this person in front of him would be able to stop them all.


    "Get into the 3rd formation! QUICK!" He barked at his soldiers at the top of his lungs.


    The shout woke up his soldiers from their little stupor, and they quickly formed a triangular formation with Stanley at the very forefront. They all placed their hands on the shoulders of the soldier in front of them, leading up to Stanley. The two people standing behind Stanley also placed their hands on his shoulders. After they did this, they all started to quickly gather the fire Mana from within the air and their bodies.


    As they acc.u.mulated the Mana, they sent it through their hands to the person in front of them, who then sent it forward once more, leading up to Stanley. With such a massive influx of Mana, Stanley''s body wouldn''t be able to keep up for long. This whole formation created a very domineering picture as flames dance across the sky over the guards. The pressure the flames brought with them openly contended with the leader of the rebels, creating a tense scene.


    Since Stanley couldn''t handle it for long, he shouted a war-cry before creating a massive sword made out of flames. He then took control of the enormous sword and swept out horizontally towards the leader of the rebels. The sword turned into a giant stream of flame as it rapidly approached the leader of the rebels, scorching everything along its path.


    The leader of the rebels only smirked as he saw this attack approach him. He would''ve never let them finish this attack if he wasn''t confident that he could stop it. He didn''t need to gather a large amount of Mana in retaliation though, since he had started to acc.u.mulate it slowly a while ago, waiting for its chance to erupt gloriously.


    The Mana he had been acc.u.mulating converged at the tips of his two axes, and he also lashed out with both of them in a domineering manner. The air split apart as a massive amount fo earth flew out to contend against the fire. The fire didn''t get much of a chance to fight against the earth though since the earth snuffed out the vigor of the fire very quickly. Blistering heatwaves were still sent out as the collision of the earth and fire was still ongoing.


    After almost 5 seconds, the earth came out on top. It sent the city guards flying as it went on a rampage after successfully defeating the fire. The leader just chuckled as he turned around towards Ark again, as if nothing had ever happened. This created a very odd scene since the carnage behind him was shocking.


    A large number of guards lat strewn about, m.o.a.ning from pain as they checked their wounds and tried to regroup as much as they could. Spears littered the place and blood was staining both the ground and some of the guards. The whole space behind him was also filled with a large amount of magma and stone, ruining the landscape. Stanley, at the very forefront of the guards, suffered the brunt of the attack, and he was currently face-first into the ground, unconscious.


    The lady with the fiery hair smiled as she saw Ark''s dumbfounded face.


    "Convinced?"

 Chapter 50 - A Weird Proposal?

    Even though Ark didn''t know what to make of the situation, he still nodded at the remark. It seemed like he had underestimated these people who came to recruit him. He still didn''t know what they wanted or what these "rebels" were about. But he could make some minor guesses from the information he had. They specifically came to recruit him after he had an open conflict with the holy church. Now, what did that mean? It meant that they were openly opposing the holy church, and Ark guessed that was the reason they were called rebels. But he didn''t know this for a fact, and he would still like to know the truth.


    He put that at the back of his head though, as he faced another dilemma right now. How was he supposed to go about this? He didn''t have a lot of time left in this form, even if only 20 minutes had passed. A lot had happened in these 20 minutes, making it seem like an eternity, but in fact, it all passed in the blink of an eye.


    He had about 40 minutes to get away from these people, but how was he supposed to do that? They were going to save his friend after all, could he just leave like that? And would they let him go? Ark was starting to grow anxious, maybe he should''ve just fought with all he had and tried to save Thufrat by himself. Nonetheless, it was too late to regret anything right now.


    The lady with the fiery hair had paid close attention to this youth in front of her throughout the whole ordeal. And right now, she was starting to pick up on something. After the leader had shown his strength, and everything seemed to be over, he had started to grow nervous. At least to her knowledge. He had started to sweat from both his forehead as well as his palms, he was being a little fidgety, and he blinked more than you would normally. These were all signs of nervousness, but she still couldn''t be sure.


    Now the question was, why was he nervous? It could just be because of the power their leader had shown, and it could be because of his friend, but she felt like there was something more going on that she didn''t know of. She didn''t concern herself with this for now though, but she still kept it at the back of her mind.


    As the leader walked back to the group, they all turned to look at Ark. For different reasons, but mostly just to examine him a little bit.


    "Oi, are we getting out of here soon or what?" The man with curved blades said after a small moment of suspense.


    "It''s probably for the better if we get back as soon as possible, we don''t want some more people from the holy church to arrive. Oh, and don''t forget his dying friend either!" The leader replied.


    "I have something that I need to say first!" Ark spoke up as everyone sort of got themselves ready to leave.


    "Speak your mind" (leader)


    "I don''t know how to put this, but simply speaking, I can''t come with you right now!"


    This dumbfounded the entire group into silence immediately, what was he talking about? Didn''t he already agree to join them?


    "Huh, didn''t you just say you would join us you little punk?" The man with dark hair was fuming, was this kid thinking they were fools? Did he seriously think he could use them to take care of his enemies and then go back on his word? As he thought this, he withdrew his sword from its sheath.


    "Wait for a second, don''t misunderstand! I''ll still join you since I need your help to save my friend after all, but I can''t go with you right now. I''m running out of time!" Ark quickly added as he took half a step back to show his stance on the matter.


    The man calmed down, but he still wanted some answers, he was a natural skeptic after all.


    "What do you mean by running out of time? Or are you trying to trick us?" He asked once again. This youth in front of him seemed quite suspicious but he didn''t know why.


    "To be frank, I can''t tell you that, nor anyone for that matter, all I can say is that it''s personal."


    The lady with the fiery hair finally understood why this youth in front of her seemed so nervous, this was probably it! Now the question was, how would hey solve this situation?


    "I do have an idea though if you''re willing to listen!" Ark followed up as he noticed everyone''s furrowed brows.


    The leader raised an eyebrow as he heard this, he was quite intrigued by the youth''s possible solution.


    "Speak!"


    "As you know, my friend''s life is in danger, and he is my highest priority right now. You said you could heal him right? Then take him wherever you need to take him, get him healed, and then meet me here tomorrow at noon. That''s my plan!"


    "Can''t you just run away if that''s the case? This plan of yours sounds suspicious!" The man with dark hair pointed out.


    "Uhhmm, you have my best friend''s life in your hands, why would I ever run away?" Ark answered dumbfoundedly, wasn''t it obvious?


    The man was unnerved by the look he got from Ark as well as the tone he used, he felt like he was being made fun of. Fortunately for him, he had good companions, who quickly answered Ark.


    "We can''t be sure, can we? A lot of people would forsake their friends if problems arose, besides, we don''t even really know if he is your friend. Even though we''d like to believe you, trusting strangers is usually a foolish thing to do just like that." The lady with the fiery hair said as she stared into Ark''s eyes.


    "Well, what do you suggest we do then?" Ark said, a little irritated. What kind of people would forsake their friends like that? And did they seriously think he would do something like that? Of course, he knew that their worries were legitimate, but he was still a little annoyed deep down.


    A full minute of complete silence as everyone just stayed quiet and thought to themselves. Shuffling and sighs were the only sounds that could be heard right now. Since no one could come up with any ideas, the lady that had been quiet up till now, finally raised her voice.


    "Why don''t we use a blood contract then?"

 Chapter 51 - Blood Contract.

    The wind mage''s words silenced the people present, as they all silently contemplated for a second. It wasn''t like a blood contract was a bad thing, it was just very unconventional since the consequences could be dire. Or, well, that was kind of the whole point of one. They doubted that this youth would agree to sign one though. Not many people would be able to put their life on the line for a friend, no matter how nice they seem.


    As they expected a no, they got a more unusual answer in response.


    "Uhhmmm, what''s a blood contract?" Ark asked with a bit of confusion on his face. From the looks on their faces, he guessed it wasn''t something nice, but if it was to save Thufrat, he wouldn''t mind as long as it got the job done.


    "Ehhhh?"


    "You don''t know what a blood contract is?" The leader asked with some confusion. Were did this youth come from? Did he seriously not know what a blood contract was?


    "I really don''t know!" Ark answered, a little embarrassed.


    Everyone was a little dumbfounded at this, they fought blood contracts were something everyone knew about, but apparently not. Since she was the best at explaining, the lady with fiery red hair took it upon herself to explain.


    "A blood contract is a contract were you plant fire Mana within your blood. If you disobey what is agreed upon in the contract, your blood will ignite and you''ll die an agonizing death. The terms of the contract are up to the people who make it." This was a pretty brief explanation, but it got the point across.


    "So you''re saying that whoever disobeys dies right?"


    "Yeah, pretty much."


    "Then I''ll do it, as long as you can save my friend, and I want that to be a term in the contract!"


    "Of course!"


    "I have one more question still, you said that you''re supposed to plant fire Mana in the body of the one''s who sign the contract right? But what if you''re a fire mage? Couldn''t you just extinguish that Mana?" Ark asked apprehensively, he didn''t want to get tricked by something as simple as this.


    "Isn''t it obvious? It''s overlooked by Yione, God Of Judgment! It''s not like we''re the ones who are going to plant that fire Mana, and who can resist the God Of Judgment?" The lady responded, once again surprised by this youth''s lack of knowledge.


    "Ehhh, ok" Ark was really surprised. Did gods really exist? These people were not trying to trick him right? Ark wasn''t sure, but he knew that if he hesitated now, he might not be able to save Thufrat.


    "Let''s just get this over with quick! The longer we wait, the longer my friend will have to suffer!" Ark urged a little.


    Upon his request, the leader of the four retrieved a blank parchment from the bag on his waist. The bag, being really small, was obviously a spatial bag, otherwise, it would never fit something of that size. After he retrieved the parchment, he quickly started writing the contract. It didn''t really take long for him to finish it, only about a minute or two.


    After he finished it, Ark read it two times just in case he missed something, but there didn''t seem to be any problem with the contract. All the others also read through the contract carefully, since they had to sign it too. After everyone approved of the contents of the contract, the leader retrieved a knife from his waist and cut open his finger. After this, he wrote his name on the bottom of the contract and passed it over to the next person.


    The lady with the fiery hair was the last of the rebels to sign the contract, and when she tried to hand over the contract and the knife to Ark, he only squinted his eyes a little and took the contract, but not the knife. The others were a little baffled, was he not going to sign the contract?


    Different thoughts were crossing Ark''s mind. What was wrong with these people? Did they seriously rub someone else''s blood into their wounds by using the same knife as each other? That could be dangerous. Ark only conjured up a wisp of water Mana on the tip of one of his fingers, he then condensed the water Mana a lot and turned it into a very high-pressure stream. He then used this to cut open one of his fingers, to then sign the contract.


    It was at times like these that Ark wished he had other affinities such as the wind affinity. Since it was a lot simpler to use the wind to cut things. Later, he was going to try and get some new affinities once more. He tried earlier when he had just arrived in this world, but he didn''t think his body would be able to handle it, since just getting the fire element was a fluke, thanks to him having the water element. He was a lot more powerful now though, and he believed he would be able to handle it.


    He did have the light element, after all, so he could heal himself if things turned sour.


    As Ark finished writing his name on the parchment, a mysterious event took place. The fire Mana in the surroundings gathered into small vortexes above each person''s head. They then started revolving faster and faster, before descending onto everyone present. The fire vortexes shrank down to a minuscule size before resting above everyone''s hearts. If the terms of the contract were broken these vortexes would wreak havoc until the person died.


    As the effects of forming the blood contract settled in, Ark decided to immediately part ways with these people. After experiencing this blood contract first hand, he didn''t doubt it''s authenticity anymore. Therefore he felt comfortable leaving Thufrat to these people since they would have to do everything in their power to save him unless they wanted to die.


    "Since everything is settled, I''ll leave now. I don''t doubt the authenticity of this contract, but I''m going to warn you anyways. If anything were to happen to my friend, I''ll kill you, no questions asked." As Ark said this, he patted the dust off his shoulders and set off into the forest.

 Chapter 52 - Overlord Of The Elements!

    As Ark walked away from the group, they started moving too. The leader put Thufrat on his back as they left the scene. Ark just walked straight back from where he came. As soon as he had entered the forest, and was sure that he was out of sight, he turned back into his wolf form. As he once again stood on all fours, he felt at home. Even though he had been a human for most of his life, recently, he had gotten used to walking on all four. He still enjoyed his human form more though, having hands is nicer than you might think.


    As Ark was walking leisurely in the forest, he decided to speed up and get back to his tree. The more he stayed in this world, the more he wanted to grow more powerful. Power was everything here, and Ark was starting to feel some urgency. Being able to protect what he wants was something Ark desperately wanted, especially after this incident with the lich. He didn''t want to see his friends suffer because of his incompetence, or at all for that matter.


    Since he traveled very fast, he arrived at his tree in less than half an hour, this time he didn''t have to run with Thufrat on his back after all. As he once again stepped into his humble little home, he felt like this journey had been successful in the end. Sure, he got caught up in some serious trouble, and he had to join some mysterious faction that he didn''t know of. But he achieved what he wanted to with this trip, which was to get help for his friend.


    After sitting down inside of his tree, Ark started to ponder a little. He had been thinking about it for a little bit now, but he really wanted to get some more elements. Not necessarily for their power, but because of their utility. He was also just very interested in magic overall, and he would like to go as far as possible in the field of magic. He had no other interests after all, and it wasn''t like the entertainment found in his old world existed here.


    Now, the only problem he had was his body, would it be able to handle obtaining more affinities? He wasn''t sure. He managed to get his fire affinity because of it''s relation to water, intertwining the two elements into something new, but still managing to retain their original properties. Well, he would find out without trying, but before doing so, he decided to pull up his status screen once more.


    Name: Ark


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Radiant Ice Wolf


    Level: 28 (43)


    Mp: 255/255


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 45


    Dexterity: 30


    Endurance: 30


    Vitality: 30


    Intelligence: 85


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Fire Affinity


    Small Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.2>4]


    Spear Mastery [Beginner Lv.7>9]


    Status points [5]


    Seeing this, Ark was a little surprised. His [Shapeshift] skill had managed to level up twice, even though he didn''t even exhaust all the time he had left. Ark could kind of guess the reason as to why it happened though. He was fairly certain that it was just because he had used his human form to fight, which made his connection to that form grow deeper. If it was just him walking around and doing nothing, then he wasn''t even sure if it would''ve leveled up even once. The same thing applied to his spear mastery, it probably got two entire levels because he had killed people with it.


    He also noticed how he had managed to get another level and had 5 status points to spend. This time though, he decided to put 5 points into dexterity, making it 35. He had noticed his need for this stat when he was wielding his spear. The dexterity stat made it easier for Ark to make complicated movements with his body, something you really needed if you were going to wield a spear or most weapons for that matter.


    After having assigned his points, Ark glowed in white light for a second or two before going back to normal. After the light had faded away completely, Ark activated his Mana perception. In the air around him, he could see a multitude of particles floating around, minding their own business. The different elements included wind, earth, water, fire, ice, lightning, light, darkness and spatial. With an abundance of darkness particles, since this was in the twilight forest after all.


    Ark wasn''t really sure which element he should start out with since most of them were pretty enticing. After some contemplating, he decided to start out with the wind element. There wasn''t that much of a reason except for the fact that he liked the wind. He didn''t want to start out with one of the harder elements such as lightning or darkness, he didn''t really think he would be able to do anything with the darkness element anyways since his light element seemed to purify it as soon as it entered his body.


    The wind element would probably be a bit harder than something like the earth element since the earth was more gentle in nature, but Ark wanted to try it out anyway. After Ark had decided to try and get a wind affinity, he turned on his Mana manipulation and started pulling on the wind Mana in the air around him. It took quite a while for the Mana to start moving, but when it did, it moved surprisingly quickly.


    When it entered his body, it started to cut him from the inside, it did everything in its power to escape him. Even though it hurt a lot, Ark could slowly bring it under his control, it took quite a while though. After having successfully reined in a single wind Mana particle, Ark started doubting if it was really the right choice to be doing this, at the rate he was going, he wasn''t even sure if he was going to get the affinity today or not.


    Therefore, Ark got a pretty bold idea, he wasn''t sure if it was going to work or not, but he still wanted to try it. All the elements that existed could basically restrain one another. Now, if he tried to absorb all of the elements in the surroundings at once, he believed that he might be able to get the affinity of all of them at once. This was mostly a wild guess though, and he had no concrete evidence that something like this would actually work. But it was worth a try, right?


    As this outrageous idea crossed his mind, Ark turned on his Mana manipulation once more. After he had turned it on, he created a vortex above his head, which pulled in almost all of the mana in the surroundings. Since he went all-in this time, he pulled on the mana a lot more violently. As he urged the mana to enter his body, some of the particles slowly started to move. As they got closer to the vortex, they started to speed up more and more.


    After a minute or so, all of the elements had already entered his body more than once, this was the easy part. The hard part was to get them to stay, and integrate with his body. As the elements entered his body in a speedy fashion, Ark urged them to gather above his marrow. When they arrived there he waited for a little while until some more mana gathered there. Even though the process was pretty slow, Ark had a lot of patience.


    As more and more mana gathered, Ark finally decided to pull the trigger and forced the mana to intertwine with one another. For this to work, he also had to make sure that he had appropriate amounts of each mana, and that they were all an equal amount. Since there was more darkness mana in the surroundings, Ark had to spend an extra minute or so to expel some of the darkness mana he had acc.u.mulated. This entire process did hurt quite a lot though, but Ark could handle it so far.


    After everything was ready, Ark forced the different types of mana together and made them dance above his marrow. As they danced and intertwined, Ark was in a lot of pain. When they had all intertwined an incredible amount, Ark forced the mana deep down into his marrow, in an attempt to make it work. As he did this, he could feel a pang of pain hit him like a truck, and he instantly vomited blood. As he was about to pass out, he could hear a monotone voice inside of his head once more.


    "Host has obtained the skill [Overlord Of The Elements]"

 Chapter 53 - Newfound Powers!

    After hearing this voice in his head, Ark couldn''t keep his consciousness anymore and he passed out, the pain was simply too much. As he laid still on the floor, the elements were dancing around in his little tree, painting a rather mystical scene as they intertwined with each other and flew about. If anyone were to witness this scene, they were sure to be shocked out of their minds. Seeing the different elements all dancing around happily with each other was simply something that didn''t happen. It speaks for itself a little, would you ever see water and fire in a harmonious relationship? Probably not, and this wasn''t just water and fire, these were all the elements in Ark''s surroundings.


    The relationship between water and fire is even used in idioms and sayings just because it is so iconic!


    Since the elements were working together for once, all the blood around Ark was cleaned up due to their combined efforts, and his fur was even more glistening than it usually was. The elements resembled loyal servants serving their master, cleaning up his surroundings, tending to and even taking care of him. Multiple hours passed by in the blink of an eye as Ark was unconscious, but finally, his eyelids started to twitch.


    Ark woke up with a jump, and he instantly shot up, standing on all fours. He felt really uneasy, and he started looking all around him in an attempt to figure something out. As he looked all around him, he was a little surprised. In the air around him, the different elements seemed to be in complete harmony, and they were currently all revolving around him, in an attempt to please him. Ark didn''t really know what was going on, but he was a little off-put by this whole ordeal.


    As he was pondering a little, something suddenly struck him. Didn''t he get a skill or something before passing out? He vaguely remembered hearing that monotone voice in his head before he passed out, but he had no idea what it actually said. The only way to actually find out what it had said though, was by checking out his status. Every time that voice had said something so far, it had something to do with his status.


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Level: 28 (43)


    Mp: 255/255


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 45


    Dexterity: 35


    Endurance: 30


    Vitality: 30


    Intelligence: 85


    Wisdom: 35


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Miniscule Spatial Affinity


    Minor Lightning Affinity


    Minor Darkness Affinity


    Small Wind Affinity


    Small Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.4]


    Spear Mastery [Beginner Lv.9]


    Overlord Of The Elements


    Status points [0]


    As Ark saw these changes, he was utterly dumbfounded, this was a bit too drastic, wasn''t it? He wasn''t stupid, and he could guess that he had gotten all of these affinities because of his new skill, but still, this was a little absurd. He had all of a sudden gotten the ability to use almost all of the elements. These were the only elements he knew of, but he wasn''t sure if it was all of them, not that it mattered right now.


    Since the skill seemed to be the root of it all, he decided to use "Inspect" on it.


    [Overlord Of The Elements]


    Grants the host authority over the different elements.


    Grants the host affinities towards the different elements, and upgrades existing ones.


    Also grants the host the title "Overlord"


    As Ark read this, he was a little astounded, this skill was basically cheating! Reading the description of the skill also brought something new to his attention that he had apparently missed when he went through his status. He had gotten a title. He didn''t know what a title did, but he knew he didn''t have the option of a title beforehand, so this was something new. He, therefore, decided to use "Inspect" on this new title of his as well.


    [Overlord]


    Makes the elements and spirits more affectionate towards the host.


    Grants a 10% increase in magical power.


    Reading this also made Ark a little surprised. This title seemed to be pretty powerful as well. Magic would be easier if the elements liked him after all, and he would also get a flat increase in magical power. What dumbfounded him a little bit was the mention of spirits. He had no idea what a spirit was. He had heard of similar things in his old world, but he didn''t really bother to listen at the time, this didn''t have to be the same thing either way. Since he didn''t know and couldn''t find out right now, Ark decided to put it at the back of his head for now. There was no use in worrying about something which he had no control over.


    As he had suddenly gotten a huge power spike, Ark wanted to test out his prowess, but there was a slight problem, he didn''t have the time to. It was already approaching noon, and with no real way to tell the time other than the position of the sun, Ark didn''t want to gamble on this matter. If he did something wrong, then he would probably die, and was it really worth it to gamble with his life just because he wanted to test out his new powers a little? No. You only live once, and it''s up to each individual to savor that life. Well, this was technically Ark''s second life, but he had never really felt that way.


    Having this mindset, Ark decided that it was probably for the better if he started to head to Farimond immediately. Even though he only had 2 hours in his human form, he could sit in the forest as a wolf until he saw them arrive. He would also make sure to learn all their names today, he had kind of forgotten about it, but he would have to call these people his comrades for the next foreseeable future.


    Now that he thought about it a little, what would happen to Thufrat? Hopefully, he would be healthy since that was part of the contract, but other than that, what would he do? Ark was a little annoyed. He had originally thought that he would be able to travel and explore the world with Thufrat, whilst just doing what he wanted to. But that wouldn''t be happening anymore, and he was a little sad because of it. He really didn''t want to part with his only friend this early, besides, who knew what these rebels would have in store for him? Would he be able to even see him again? Ark didn''t know, but he was starting to get a little stressed out.


    He also felt a bit of resentment towards humans right now. When did things ever go right when they were involved? They seemed like they just had to f.u.c.k things up no matter what the circ.u.mstance was, and Ark almost wished he was just a part of some other intelligent race. What was so good about humans anyway? Except for how handy their bodies were? But there were other races out there with similar physiques, so why did Ark even feel like he wanted to become human again? He was starting to question some things which he thought was obvious before, and he just felt confused at the moment.

 Chapter 54 - First Mission!

    Thinking thoughts like these would just mess with his head, and Ark decided to keep that stuff at the back of his head for later. Deciding to not waste any more time, Ark started to head out. This time, he didn''t have to rush to fairmond though, and he could just stroll there pretty leisurely. Even if he wasn''t completely sure when noon would be, it was fairly easy to tell, since you could just look at the position of the sun.


    Walking through the dense foliage, feeling the light breeze against his fur, Ark felt at peace. There was something special about nature, that just comforted his soul. Even though this forest was one of darkness, the glistening rays of the sun could still pierce their way through the treetops, painting a beautiful contrast in this otherwise dark and dull place. Not that darkness didn''t have its own charm, but this mood suited Ark more.


    Even though he had felt a little stressed out, after just walking around in these woods for a while, Ark felt his head clear up a little. No matter how much stuff happened right now, Ark was still a little happy inside. He did have a friend, a genuine friend. He also felt like he had a goal in life. In his previous life, he had no idea what he wanted to do, or if anything was even worth doing. But in this world he had magic! Of course, there were bad parts to this world as well, but at the very least Ark was a little happy, and that was really all he could ask for right now.


    Even though the thought was a little morbid, Ark was still happy that he died. It wasn''t like anyone would miss him anyway.


    As Ark was casually walking in the woods, he could hear the faint sounds of beasts in the distance, as well as the sound of bugs flying around. He had grown a little fond of these sounds at this point. The forest felt like his home, and he actually really enjoyed the atmosphere.


    The somewhat tranquil atmosphere of a forest was a good change of pace for Ark. Living in a big town had its own merits, but it was just a fact that there would always be noise.


    After an hour and a half, the sun was beginning to establish its presence in Ark''s eyes, but luckily for him, he had already arrived outside of Fairmond. The rebels had not arrived yet, so Ark just sat down in the shade of one of the trees, and made sure to stay out of sight. This went on for about an hour or so before Ark could make out 6 figures walking on the road. One of the figures was visibly shorter than the other five, and Ark could easily make out that it was Thufrat!


    His complexion was normal, and he didn''t even seem to be in any sort of discomfort walking along with these people, which made Ark a little happy. They held up their part of the bargain. As he saw them stop a fair distance away from one of the gates, Ark turned into his human form once more. He made sure no one was around as well, and then took out some clothes from the spatial bag that he had with him. When he was in his wolf form, it was a bit inconvenient to carry it around, but he usually just used some Mana to carry it for him, since it was easy.


    As he was done changing, Ark headed out to meet up with the rebels. They were only a minutes walk away, but Thufrat spotted Ark while he was on the way. Seeing this youth walk in front of him Thufrat couldn''t hold himself back. He sprinted out at full speed and threw himself at Ark. He gave him a rough hug as his eyes turned a little watery.


    "Thank you so much! You didn''t have to do this just to help me!" Thufrat said as he looked at Ark with a glimmer in his eyes.


    Ark only looked at him gently with a smile before replying. "We''re friends, aren''t we? Isn''t that what friends are for?"


    Thufrat was really happy to hear this, he never really had any friends, and who would''ve guessed that he would one day be friends with a wolf, one that had saved his life as well? It was a pretty bizarre thought.


    "Are you sure you can do this though? I mean, considering your... circ.u.mstances." Thufrat followed up with, he was a little concerned, didn''t his transformation only last for half an hour?


    Ark didn''t want to give away too much information since the rebels could hear them from here, but he still gave a short answer. "It should be fine, I have more time than before!"


    Thufrat was still a little worried, but he trusted Ark, and he didn''t believe him to be someone reckless.


    The rebels were truly dumbfounded by this conversation. It was a bit weird to imagine what they were really talking about if you had no idea. They were a little touched though, by their friendship, you wouldn''t find this stuff just anywhere after all.


    The leader of the rebels was also touched by this scene, but they were in a bit of a hurry, and he spoke up rather quickly. "It''s not like I want to interrupt your moment or anything, but we don''t have a lot of time on our hands."


    "Kid, if you intend to live up to your promise, then now is your chance. We got a mission yesterday, and we don''t have that much time to complete it!"


    Ark was taken off guard. Furrowing his eyebrows, he questioned lightly. "My first mission?"


    The lady with the fiery hair curtly responded. "That''s right, but you''re probably a little confused right?"


    "Well, yeah, I still don''t know what organization I have joined, or what you do!" He answered quickly. He was curious after all, and this was some important information.


    "Our organization is called Torment of the Fallen. It might sound weird, but there''s a meaning behind it. As you might have guessed already, we''re seen as rebels because we oppose the holy church." The leader stepped in to explain this time.


    "As for the mission, it''s to stop human trafficking!"


    As Ark heard this, he was very surprised. It seemed like human trafficking was a thing in this world as well. But since the mission was to stop something horrible like this from happening, Ark currently had a positive mindset towards these people from Torment of the Fallen. Even though the name of this organization was a little odd, everything had its meaning, he just didn''t know what it was yet.

 Chapter 55 - Introductions!

    Ark wasn''t really sure what they would make him do in this organization in the beginning, and to be frank, he was a little nervous. Even though he could leave Torment of the Fallen if he wanted to since it wasn''t against the blood contract, he wasn''t sure how these people would react, and he didn''t know if he could beat them in a fight or not. Besides, Thufrat seemed to have hit it off with these people as well.


    "So, can you give me some details?" Ark asked politely, or at least he thought he did, he didn''t get to talk to a lot of people and wasn''t that good at talking politely, or at all for that matter.


    Before the leader could respond, the man that resembled a snake cut in.


    "Don''t you think that''s a little rude? At the very least call him sir, you''re a part of this squad now, act like it!"


    Ark was a little surprised, but he quickly realized his situation.


    "Ehmm, sorry, I don''t really know formalities that well, sorry if I offended anyone!" He quickly responded.


    The leader nodded as he heard this, he also thought that Ark was a little rude, but knowing it wasn''t on purpose cleared his mind a little.


    "Don''t worry about it, as for the details, we''ll talk about them somewhere more appropriate. As he said this, the leader started to follow a path that branched away from Fairmond, and everyone quickly followed him.


    They followed this path for almost an entire hour before they arrived at a new city. This one was a little bigger than Fairmond in size, but it wasn''t as active, and the population wasn''t as high. This city''s name was Everwick. Everwick only had 2 gates, compared to Fairmonds 4. This time, no problems arose, and they all entered the city after another 10 minutes. The only reason it took so long was that Ark didn''t have any identification papers, but he was quickly issued new ones.


    After they went through the gate, the party of 7 made their way to one of the city''s inns. It was reasonably cheap, only costing a few bronzes per night for lodging, food was extra. Once they got into a room, they all stood around a table that was situated in the middle of the room.


    "Since we''re all going to be a part of the same team, we should all introduce ourselves!" The leader said before explaining anything about the mission.


    "I''ll start, my name is Ulfig, my class is Berserker, and I''m the leader of this party!"


    "My name is Gilpin, my class is Shadow Assasin!"


    The guy with the dark hair looked a little uninterested, but he introduced himself nonetheless.


    "Yo, the name''s Reyner, my class is Dark Knight."


    Next up was the female wind mage.


    "Hello, my name''s Adeline, I''m a Wind Mage, nice to meet you!"


    The lady with the fiery hair was the last one from Torment of the Fallen to introduce herself.


    "Hi, my name is Eliryll, I''m an Elemental Rogue. I''m also a half-elf!"


    As she said this, both Thufrat and Ark was a little stunned, they had just assumed her to be human, but underneath all that fiery red hair, you could actually see a pair of pointy ears. Eliryll was actually a little nervous when she said this, half-elves were looked down on by both humans and elves alike, and she didn''t know what these people would think.


    Luckily for her, both Ark and Thufrat couldn''t care less about someone''s race, I mean Ark was a wolf after all, and Thufrat was still his friend.


    "Hello, my name is Thufrat, as you can see I''m a dwarf, and I''m also a Warrior, with some earth magic at my disposal!" Even if the earth magic wasn''t the strongest, Thufrat was actually pretty proud of the fact that he could use magic.


    Last but not least was Ark.


    "Hello, my name''s Ark and I''m a Magical Spearman!" Even though he used primarily magic, in his human form, Ark would opt to use his skill [Holy Spear: Dawn], therefore this class seemed like the best cover for him.


    "I''ve never heard of that class before..." Gilpin said under his breath, as he eyed Ark a little.


    The people from Torment of the Fallen looked a little skeptical as they heard this, none of them had ever heard of this class. But the world was a big place, and none of them would dare say that they know all the classes out there, therefore they just stopped thinking about it.


    "Well, since that is out of the way, let''s get to talking about our mission!" As Ulfig said this he took out a map from his bag and put on the table.


    "We got a tip that some wanted slave-merchants are going to be passing through this city later today. These slave-merchants have been selling humans and demi-humans for quite some time now. The only reason they have been getting away with it for this long is that they have some contacts inside the holy church, namely a deacon called Augur." The leader explained patiently, but no matter how hard he tried to hide it, all of the people present could see how angry he was.


    He didn''t stop there though. "This mission is going to be done tonight, under the cover of the night. Since they have contacts, they are going to be disguised as legit merchants, which means we''re going to have to take them out without anyone noticing, to avoid trouble."


    "Everyone who can use darkness magic is going to infiltrate their hideout, while the rest of us distract them. That''s the basic plan, we are going to have a meeting now though to make changes and assign roles. We don''t want to mess this up!" As Ulfig said the last part, he was clenching his hands hard.

 Chapter 56 - Making Some Money!

    Making a plan for such a serious operation wasn''t always easy, especially when everyone had their own opinions on everything. But in this case, everything went smoothly. The plan was basically to attack a little after midnight. Since clocks were magical tools in this world, and they cost a lot of money, Adeline would light a fire at their meeting spot when the time was right. She came from an established noble family and was the only one in the group who owned a watch.


    The planning itself only took about 15 minutes, since there wasn''t that much to decide on. Ark only had about half an hour left in his human form, which is why he decided to look around the city for a while with Thufrat.


    The streets of the city were quite crowded, and Ark and Thufrat just enjoyed the atmosphere for a while as they walked around and chatted with each other. After walking around for a couple of minutes they decided to sell some of the stuff they had gotten in the dungeon earlier. Even though Ark hadn''t really thought about it, the spatial bag on his waist contained quite a lot of money in the form of magical artifacts.


    At the corner of one of the streets, there was a small artifact shop. This artifact shop was run by an old man. The old man had silvery grey hair, and a monocle covering his left eye. As Ark and Thufrat entered this shop, they were hit by a very large amount of mana particles. The feeling of mana was actually very pleasant, giving this shop a very relaxed mood. The old man gave Thufrat an odd look when he entered the store, he looked a little annoyed.


    Ark, noticing this, felt the urge to go to another store, but they didn''t have that much time, and this store was actually pretty renowned around these parts, making it optimal for selling their stuff. Since Ark was annoyed at the old man''s attitude, and he didn''t want to be polite to such a person, and therefore he wasn''t.


    "Yo, old man, we want to sell some magical artifacts." He said as he walked up to the counter.


    The old man looked a little annoyed being addressed this way, but when he heard that they wanted to sell magical artifacts, his interest was instantly piqued.


    "Just follow me this way, I''ll appraise your items for you." The old man said as he motioned for Ark and Thufrat to follow him behind the counter.


    Behind the counter, the old man opened a door to a small room with a big workbench in the middle of it, this was where the old man appraised rare items, as well as the place where he tinkered with all kinds of things. Ark and Thufrat followed the man in, and they stopped on the other side of the table, opposite the man. Ark didn''t waste any time and instantly took out some items from the spatial bag.


    The first thing Ark removed from the spatial bag, was a pitch-black greatsword that had an affinity towards darkness. As the sword came in contact with the world outside of the spatial bag, the darkness mana in the air instantly went into an uproar, swirling around this sword. The old man stared at this sword with a glint in his eyes. These people in front of him seemed to have hit the jackpot!


    Ark wasn''t done yet though, after taking out the sword, he reached for his spatial bag once more and started taking out some things. The first thing he took out was a fiery red gem, this gem shone with an irresistible l.u.s.ter and the fire mana in the air started dancing happily when it revealed itself. After taking out this red gem, Ark took out another 5 similar looking gems, each with their own element, one green, one blue, one brown, one translucent as well as one yellowish surrounding by terrifying electric sparks. The one that was yellowish was of the lightning element, and it emitted quite the terrifying pressure as it appeared on the palm of Ark''s hand. Ark had never really realized how brutal and tyrannical the power of lightning was before this.


    The old man felt like fainting when he saw all of these elemental gems one after the other. This youth in front of him didn''t even bat an eye when taking them out! He simply acted like he took out some pebbles he found on the roadside. Ark''s feeling wasn''t far from that either, he had no idea of the value of these gems, but he didn''t have any money at the moment, just a small amount that Thufrat had saved up by himself.


    "Old man, state your price!" Ark said with a bit of impatience, they had spent a little too much time here already, and Ark didn''t like this cramped space.


    "Give me half a minute to think first!" The old man responded as he eyed all these objects in front of him.


    "I''ll take it all for 3 rose gold, as well as 30 gold coins!" This was around the market value for all these things. The most expensive object here was the pitch-black greatsword. But all of the gems could be used to craft both magical weapons and staffs, making their price less than an already completed product.


    Ark had no idea about the value of these things, and he cast a glance towards Thufrat. Thufrat was really excited when he heard this price, and when Ark looked at him inquiringly, he nodded his head in satisfaction. This was a pretty good price after all! Since Thufrat was on board with this price, Ark stretched his arm out to shake the old man''s hand. The old man was a little taken aback, but he quickly shook Ark''s hand. It wasn''t often people would shake his hand when finalizing a deal, but he didn''t really mind.


    As Ark was already in this store, he decided to buy another spatial bag since the one he was using now was actually Thufrat''s. The old man was happy when he heard this since spatial bags were pretty expensive. Ark only wanted one that wasn''t too big, and he bought one for 1 rose-gold before exiting the store with Thufrat. Ark stopped outside the store and swapped some of the contents of the spatial bags, such as his clothes, and after that, he also put in 1 rose-gold as well as 15 gold coins in Thufrat''s spatial bag. Thufrat was very happy, he had never had this much money in his entire life, and if he wanted to, he would be able to just relax for a while with this money, not that he would do that.


    Since Ark didn''t have much time left, Ark and Thufrat left the city and sat down in the forest outside for a while to just talk. The conversation was very pleasant for both of them since they hadn''t gotten to talk that much with each other yet. Whilst talking with Thufrat, Ark felt like his life was finally starting to become a little pleasant. He had never really felt complete in his life, and he still didn''t, but slowly but surely, the void in Ark''s heart was beginning to shrink.

 Chapter 57 - First Mission-Commence!

    After some time had passed, Ark reverted to his form as a wolf. Since the spot they had chosen was very comfortable, they both just sat there for an hour or so, enjoying the afternoon breeze. Thufrat even fell asleep for a while, leaning against Ark. Ark didn''t mind, Thufrat had been through a lot of suffering, and Ark''s fur was super fluffy, so falling asleep was completely natural. Ark still blamed himself a little because he couldn''t protect Thufrat from the lich, therefore this was the least he could do. Ark made sure that no humans came too close to them, he didn''t want anyone to disturb Thufrat''s sleep.


    Thufrat woke up a while later, apologizing for falling asleep. Ark only smiled and shook his head a little, trying to say that he didn''t mind. After being around Ark for a while, Thufrat could pick up on what Ark wanted to say, so he got the gist of it. Since it was already afternoon, and neither of them had eaten yet, they decided to hunt for some food. It didn''t take long for Ark to find a small magical boar. He took care of it with the help of his wind magic for once, since he had never tried it out before. He was a little surprised by the result even though he understood before what the wind element embodied, the swiftness and speed of his attack were just on another level! Especially because his wind affinity was pretty low.


    If he could, he would upgrade this wind affinity when he got the chance to! Thufrat was a little surprised to see this wolf use yet another element. But he had already gotten used to this wolf''s absurdity. Since his affinity with fire had taken a step forward, Ark decided to cook the boar himself. Even though he had never used his fire to cook like this before, the meat on the boar slowly turned into a very enticing colour as the smell of roasted meat started circulating in the air. Before they dug in, Thufrat applied some spices that he had bought earlier, and all of a sudden, this humble meal turned into something else.


    After eating, both Thufrat and Ark just idled about as they tried to make time pass. Both of them were nervous about this mission they were going on tonight, but they were also excited, as well as upset. These people they were after were literal sc.u.m, and they would be doing the world a favor tonight, but nervousness and unease couldn''t help but settle in their hearts anyway, it was only natural.


    As time passed, the sun was beginning to set, and Ark and Thufrat were once again outside Everwick. They didn''t enter the city though, there was no way the could, with Ark being a wolf and all. Therefore they just patiently waited. They didn''t know when midnight was, but Ark''s time in his human form would refresh once midnight passed, so they could find it out anyway. Speaking of, Ark''s "Shapeshift" skill had leveled up once more, bringing its total level to 5. Normally skills would get harder to level the higher their level was, but Ark''s "Shapeshift" skill kept leveling at about the same pace even though it was higher level now than it was before.


    After waiting for several hours, Ark felt something shift within himself, and he changed form into a human again. Thufrat was a little surprised when this happened, but e quickly calmed down. After Ark got dressed, they both hurried into the city as fast as the guards at the gate allowed them to. After they had entered the city, Ark turned on his "Mana Perception" and looked for any fire mana converging somewhere. It didn''t take long for him to locate some fire mana gathering on top of the roof of an abandoned building, and as they approached it, they could see the small fire on the roof.


    They hurried onto the roof and were greeted by the sight of 5 people sitting around a fire. All of them looked at them with some level of disapproval, they were a little late after all. Ark instantly realized why they looked annoyed, and he took half a step forward and apologized.


    "I''m very sorry for arriving late, sir!" He said as he looked earnestly at Ulfig. This gave him a small nod of approval from Ulfig, and everyone else also calmed down, well, except for Gilpin. He still seemed displeased.


    "It''s ok, just try to be on point in the future! This mission is not a joke!" Ulfig said whilst looking at the two. After saying this, he stood up, followed by everyone else, and started talking again.


    "Now, since everyone is here, let''s go!"


    Once Ulfig said this, everyone present split up into two teams. Team one contained Ark, Gilpin, Ryner, and Eliryll. This was the team that was going to infiltrate the camp of the slave-merchants while the other people commenced a frontal attack. The slave-merchants had a ton of mercenaries and guards, which is why they had to launch a frontal attack to stall said mercenaries and guards, while team one took care of the actual slave-merchants and saved the people they held captured.


    The slave-merchants were currently residing in a large estate that was located on the east side of the city. Guards were standing in front of the main gate 24/7 while patrols were searching through the yard and the estate at all times. Since these patrols were always vigilant and at high-alert, it would be very hard to sneak by them even if one used the darkness element to the limit unless one was a lot more powerful of course. But these mercenaries were all fairly high level and experienced, these slave-merchants were pretty infamous after all.


    This was why they needed team two to create a distraction at the gate, drawing the attention of almost all of the mercenaries. They knew that some mercenaries would still stay behind to protect the merchants, but with the power of this group of 4, not many would be able to stop them. They had to be very quick though, they needed to be gone before the city guards arrived since that would complicate things.


    Team one was hiding a little bit away from the estate, while team two was quickly approaching the main gate. They did this so they could see when team two attacked, so they could sneak in. With Ulfig in the lead, team two arrived in front of the gate. The guards standing outside the gate noticed this small group as they quickly made their way towards them. Both of them got into battle-ready stances, pointing their spears towards Ulfig in the front, whilst one of them shouted at them.


    "State your name and business!"


    As Ulfig heard this, he slowly clenched his fist and smiled a little eerily, today, he would go all-out! He had been holding all his anger until now, but he finally exploded with all is might! The guards fell over as a mighty aura exploded out of Ulfig''s body, along with intense killing intent. The guards were shocked, to say the least, and scared out of their minds. Ulfig didn''t give them much time to think though as he removed both of the axes on his back sent out a devastating attack.


    "BOOOOOOM"


    The gate exploded along with the guards in a splendid fashion with a thunderous boom. Everyone inside of the estate instantly woke up and put up their guards, even more, the whole estate quickly sunk into turmoil, as Ulfig''s team made their way inside. Team one saw all of this, and slowly descended into the shadows, disappearing from the streets of Everwick...

 Chapter 58 - Human Sc.u.m!

    Ulfig''s team didn''t get to walk far into the estate before they were stopped by even more guards and mercenaries, not like they would be able to stop them. The more they defeated, the more powerful the guards and mercenaries that replaced their comrades were. Whilst Ulfig''s team was constantly fighting, Ark''s team was rapidly dashing around in the shadows, making their way inside the mansion.


    Ark was still a little nervous, but luckily for him, the rest of the team was experienced, and they knew exactly what to do. The mansion was three stories tall, with both a bas.e.m.e.nt and an attic. It only took them a minute to sweep through the entire first floor, yielding them nothing, except for a few close encounters with some guards. After finding nothing on the first floor, and having wasted some time, they decided to split up. It was a bit risky, but they didn''t have much time at all, and they had to do it if they wanted to get this over with before the city guards arrived.


    They were four people, with four different places to check, making this idea the best one. Eliryll would check the second floor, Gilpin would check the 3rd floor, Ryner would check the attic, while Ark would check the bas.e.m.e.nt. Gilpin was a little discouraged by this since he thought that the second floor was the most likely to not be that important. They didn''t holp up long at all though, and assigning these roles took barely half a minute.


    Ark didn''t want to waste any time, and sped off as soon as he got the order to. As he descended the stairs to the bas.e.m.e.nt, he could hear faint laughter from below. Slowing down, Ark perked his ears, and slowly made his way down the stairs. In reality, he wasn''t slow at all, it was only slow in comparison to his earlier speed. At the bottom of the stairs stood two guards. These guards weren''t compared to the guards Ark had seen so far at all, they were on a different level. Behind these guards was a big bas.e.m.e.nt, almost resembling a wine cellar, but instead of wine, there were cages everywhere. Inside of these cages were slaves. Women, men, children, demi-humans such as dwarves and elves, and even two demons.


    What almost all of these people had in common, was the despair in their eyes, and the sickening wounds covering their bodies. These slave-merchants were not nice by any means, and one of them enjoyed torturing people quite a lot. In the middle of all of these cages, sat two men around a small table. They were currently engrossed in a heated game of cards, with piles of silver laying on the table. Laughter echoed, tears were being shed, and Ark was still standing in the staircase. As he saw this scene in front of him, his temper flared up, could you really call these people humans?


    Just when Ark was about to move, he heard some muffled crying coming from one of the cages. A small child had started to cry and was trying her hardest to destroy the iron bars of the cage. Desperately banging on the cage, she wanted to get out of here and see her family again. The two men, disrupted from their game of cards, were not amused.


    "Kid, shut the f.u.c.k up!" One of the men snapped as he stood up from his seat. The child was not in a good state of mind and didn''t listen to him at all, continuing her antics. The man was enraged seeing this and started walking toward her cage. As the man passed the other cages, everyone shirked back as far as they could, avoiding looking at him. A lot of slaves glanced at the small girl with pity since they knew what would come.


    As the man walked up to the cage, he stared at the kid, before waving his hand at her. As he did, he stirred up the wind mana in the surroundings, and a strong gust of wind attacked the poor child. The child couldn''t protect herself at all and was sent flying straight into the iron bars on the other side of the cage. As the other slaves saw this, they could only clench their hands and watch. They had no power, and there was nothing they could do, but everyone wanted to desperately get out of here, and if they could, they would murder these bastards!


    Ark was shocked seeing this, and he instantly moved. As Ark approached, one of the guards furrowed his brows, he was sure he felt a presence just now, and he was about to say something when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck before everything went completely dark. As his comrades head was suddenly sent flying, the other guard could feel a warm splash of blood on his face. Dumbfounded as he was, he didn''t have the time to react before a hole was poked straight through his head.


    This happened in just a split-second, and everyone in the bas.e.m.e.nt was dumbfounded. From nowhere, a handsome young man had appeared and slain two of the strongest guards in this entire estate. The two slave-merchants were very surprised at first, but they quickly calmed down, they weren''t scared of some kid.


    "Oh, what do we have here? Did you come here looking for some milk?" One of the men said before he started laughing. Ark didn''t answer and instantly appeared in front of the man. He was about to kill the man when he felt a sharp pain emanating from his back. With a surprised expression on his face, Ark noticed the man in front of him smiling calmly. When he looked down, he could see the tip of a dagger protruding from his stomach. He felt another sharp pain, and the dagger was suddenly gone.


    Blood started pouring like crazy out from the wound, and a man clad in dark clothes appeared right next to the smiling slave-merchant. In his right hand was a jagged dagger, covered in Ark''s blood. The assassin smiled eerily as he licked some of the blood on the knife, thereafter showing an expression of euphoria. The slaves that had finally found an ounce of hope was brought back down in despair.


    Ark''s vitality was rapidly fading, and his eyes were slowly losing all their original l.u.s.ter. After trying hard to stand up, Ark fell to his knees. Staring at the slave-merchants and the assassin with deep resentment in his eyes, Ark coughed a bit of blood and fell over in his own pool of blood...

 Chapter 59 - Opportunity!

    As Ark''s lifeless body hit the floor with a wet "thump", all of the slaves'' expressions darkened. Even though they were all skeptical, they couldn''t help but hold onto some small hope of getting saved. Their lives were currently the epitome of pitiful, and if they had bad luck with their future masters, then their lives would get even worse. Seeing the young man in front of them fall over in a pool of his own blood, they were brought back down into reality, this was what life had decided for them. Was this life truly what they were destined for? They couldn''t help but wonder, as they all accepted their fate once more.


    As the slave-merchants saw Ark on the floor, they couldn''t help but laugh, did this kid seriously think he could just kill them like that? He was way too naive! Since they had nothing better to do, both of them went back to their card game once more, with this assassin around, it didn''t matter if they acted a little carefree. If this youth had reinforcements, then it didn''t matter if they went up to look since that wouldn''t change anything, the city guards would arrive soon, and they wouldn''t have to worry when that happened. They''d be in a lot of trouble if the city guards found out about their slave-trading, but this bas.e.m.e.nt was easy to hide since it was normally hidden anyway.


    The only reason it wasn''t hidden when Ark went downstair was that they didn''t see a reason to bother to hide it in the first place.


    Seeing as Ark''s body was quite unsightly to look at, the two slave-merchants ordered the assassin to take care of the body.


    "Oi, get rid of this body for us, it''s making my mood worse, it''s not like you have anything else to do anyway!" The older one of the two ordered.


    The assassin, albeit a little annoyed at their attitude, followed his orders. Walking up to Ark''s corpse, he bent down to pick him up. But just when he was about to pick Ark up, a ray of light erupted from Ark. The single ray of light zoomed at a speed inconceivable for most eyes and went straight between the assassin''s eyes. The assassin didn''t get the chance to react before a finger-sized hole appeared between his eyes, oozing blood.


    As the assassin slowly fell backward, Ark picked himself up from the ground and dusted off his clothes a little. The wound on his stomach had shrunk considerably, and it was not that noticeable anymore. Around his wound was a mass of light mana, revolving around it, meticulously tending to the wound, afraid of letting their master lose too much blood. Even though the wound was actually quite serious from the beginning, it served as a perfect distraction. Ark knew that he wouldn''t stand a chance against this assassin, therefore this was the only makeshift plan he could come up with.


    Ark wasn''t stupid, and as soon as he saw one of the slave-merchants smiling and taunting him, he knew that they had another guard laying in wait somewhere, but since Ark couldn''t sense him, he knew it was someone out of his league. Even though his move seemed like a huge gamble, Ark''s strongest element was technically the light element, meaning that his survivability was out of this world, and unless he was instantly killed, he would be hard to get rid of.


    It took about a second the slave-merchants to notice what was going on, and when they did, they were instantly terrified, this assassin was the last of their defense, and he had passed away just like that! One of the slave-merchants quickly fell off his chair scared for his life, while the other got on his knees to beg for his life. Ark didn''t give them any chance though as he sent two arrows conjured out of wind flying toward them. The slave-merchants didn''t have enough time to be scared before their heads exploded into a mess of brain matter and blood.


    Even though he had killed before, Ark still felt a little out of it after killing five people, he had gotten a little used to it, but the feeling of killing someone was still... weird. He quickly let go of all his negative thoughts though as he looked around him. All of the slaves around him were currently watching him with both horror and expectation, but most importantly, their eyes shone with hope, something they hadn''t had in a long time. As Ark saw their haggard bodies, riddled with injuries and scars, Ark''s heart couldn''t help but tremble.


    He didn''t hesitate to activate his [Envoy Of Holiness] skill, making his body burst with a splendid but gentle golden glow. The slaves looked at this young man like he was a deity that had descended from the heavens, blessing them with his radiance. Ark didn''t want to see these people suffer anymore, and didn''t hesitate to go all out. With his newfound magic power and light affinity, he immediately enveloped every single person in the room with light mana, and mended their broken bodies, slowly but surely. It didn''t even take a minute before everyone in the room was in good condition, ready to flee from this nightmare of a life they had been living.


    Most people present couldn''t hold their tears from running down their cheeks, and all Ark did was smile, as he continued to let the light element embrace everyone present. He also commanded the ice mana in the surroundings to freeze the locks on all the cages, before ordering the wind to break them all apart. As the slaves were now in good condition and set free from their captivity, Ark simply smiled and gave them a few words.


    "Don''t worry, you''re all okay. No one will hurt you like this ever again from this day on, and you''re all free. Don''t let this setback break you down, stay strong! If you follow me out of this place, I guarantee your safety, as well as a place to call home!" As he said this, Ark smiled gently and looked toward the people present.


    Almost everyone present gulped as they heard this, and looked at Ark with determination. There were two exceptions though. The two demons that had been here all along, were very hesitant at the moment. They didn''t think that this human''s words applied to them as well, they were demons after all. The problem was, they had nowhere else to go, and if they were left here, they didn''t know if they would be able to survive. As this thought crossed their minds, the demons looked at each other in dismay.


    Since doing nothing wouldn''t help them in any way, the female demon decided to take a step forward and grit her teeth, before asking a simple question.


    "Do this apply to us as well?" She asked, lips trembling as she did.


    The rest of the slaves looked at Ark with expectation, they all had a certain understanding of each other, and these demons were not bad people by any means, and no one present wanted to see them left behind. Ark didn''t even consider this since he felt like it was obvious, why wouldn''t hey be allowed to come with them? He knew why, but he felt like it was just way too wrong to even consider.


    "Of course it applies to you as well! It''s not like you''re any different from the rest are you?" Ark asked as he gave them a reassuring smile


    As the two demons heard this, they were overcome with joy! Their legs were a little wobbly, but they still decided to follow this young man in front of them! The two demons were actually a kind of fire demon. Whilst out adventuring in a forest close to their village one day, they had been ambushed by humans. As they were on the brink of death, the humans had taken them away, before selling them off as slaves, and thus, their journey in hell began.


    After Ark made sure everyone was ready, he started leading them up to the stairs to the ground floor. As they ascended the stairs, the rest of team one appeared from the shadows. As they saw a large number of people following Ark, as well as his current state, they were all very astonished. The young man in front of them almost resembled a deity, paving a path for the common people.


    "What about the slave-merchants?" Gilpin quickly asked as he wasn''t aware of the current situation.


    "Don''t worry, I killed them, they won''t be bothering anyone ever again!" Ark responded, a small amount of killing intent still in his eyes. The fact that there were similar people out there roaming about doing whatever they wanted made his blood boil with rage, but there was nothing he could do about it unless he confronted them by himself, then he would make sure to teach them what the meaning of death was.


    The group wasn''t really surprised hearing that Ark had killed the slave-merchants since he had freed all of the slaves, which would be almost impossible without killing them. But the fact that he was able to get past the slave-merchants'' guards spoke volumes about his current strength, making them see him from a new light, figuratively and literally as well, since Ark was currently shining.


    "Since we''ve accomplished the mission, let''s get out of here!" Eliryll said as she flashed Ark a thumbs-up, before ascending the stairs along with them. The group of people quickly made their way out and was soon outside of the mansion. As they approached the gate of the estate, they could see team two quietly standing their ground, waiting for their arrival. As team two saw Ark''s team return with a bunch of people in tow, they all let out a collective sigh of relief. If it had taken any longer, then the situation might have taken a turn for the worse.


    "Since everyone is here, I''ll take this opportunity to say this, you''re all in safe hands now! We''ll make sure you all get to where you belong, and that you can live your life normally from now on!" As Ulfig said this, he started walking toward the gates of the city, with everyone following behind him. He had noticed Ark''s abnormality, but he decided to ask about it later. Now wasn''t the time after all. As they approached the gate of the city, they ran into a problem. The city-guards we''re quickly catching up with them, and at his rate, they would have to fight it out with them as well, complicating things.


    Ark had just the measure for this situation, however, and he didn''t want these slaves to have it anymore rough right now.


    "Captain, leave it to me! I''ll stall them!" Ark shouted. He was pretty far behind the front, making sure the slaves were all okay. Hearing his shout, Ulfig was a little surprised, but he guessed that Ark had a plan up his sleeve, and decided to leave it to him.


    "Okay, just make sure you catch up with us!" He shouted back, before telling everyone to walk a little faster. Ark just immediately stopped and left the large group of people behind him. The city-guards were quickly approaching, and there wasn''t that much he could do, but he knew a pretty good way to stall them, as long as it worked of course.


    Ark''s [Envoy Of Holiness] skill was still activated, and he, therefore, started to acc.u.mulate all of the light mana he could muster. As the city-guards cam,e into view, Ark released all of the light mana he had gathered straight up into the air in front of him. This wasn''t a lethal attack at all. The blinding light of the light mana quickly shot straight up into the air. As it made it''s way straight up, it parted the clouds, as if trying to prove something. The city-guards couldn''t do a thing, currently blinded by this heavenly light that had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the night...

 Chapter 60 - A Happy Conclusion!

    The city guards were not the only people stunned by this sudden eruption of light. Anyone within a few kilometers couldn''t help but look to this beam of light, piercing the heavens. Even the newly freed slaves, as well as the people from the Torment of the Fallen, couldn''t help but be shocked as they saw this. I mean, who wouldn''t be? Even though most people thought that the light would quickly fade, it proved them wrong by staying there, buzzing with immense power. Of course, Ark couldn''t keep this up forever, and he quickly grew exhausted. After a little while had passed, Ark could feel multiple immense auras approach from afar.


    As Ark sensed these auras, he quickly made his escape, not daring to stay any longer. He couldn''t just let all the light mana rampage around, therefore he quickly dispersed it into the air, as fast as he could, before following the freed slaves'' tracks. It didn''t take Ark long to catch up to them at all, normally it would take a little longer, but they had decided to set up camp in the forest before moving more tomorrow, everyone was tired after all.


    As Ark arrived, all fo the slaves quickly made way for him, looking at him with praising looks, as well as looks of adoration and admiration. This was the young man that had freed them from their shackles and saved them from their horrible fates after all. Ark couldn''t help but straighten out his back as he felt all the stares of the people surrounding him, and his heart couldn''t help but fill up with warmth and pride, he had saved these people!


    The feeling of accomplishing a good deed was like none other. It wasn''t something you could just describe with mere words, especially not for something on this level.


    As Ark made his way forward, he soon arrived next to Ulfig and the rest. When they saw Ark, a mix of surprise, praise and something else was reflected in their eyes. Ark noticed quickly that something was a little off with their expressions, worst was Thufrat, his eyes full of concern. Not knowing what was going on, Ark couldn''t help but ask.


    "Is something wrong?" He asked with a hint of concern in his voice.


    "A-are you alright?" Thufrat asked quickly, with a grave expression plastered across his face.


    Ark wasn''t really sure what was going on, but as he saw where everyone''s gazes were resting, he knew what the matter was instantly. Even though he was perfectly fine after he had gotten stabbed if you didn''t count his slight mana deficiency as well as his exhaustion, and some minor pain. Ark hadn''t really thought about cleaning himself up or switching clothes for that matter, meaning that he was currently covered in both fresh and dry blood, and his clothes were ripped.


    "Oh, sorry if I worried you, I''m perfectly fine right now, the wound is already completely gone!" As Ark said this, he pulled up his shirt, revealing a slim scar snaking across his abdomen.


    Thufrat, still a little concerned, didn''t forget to ask one more time. "Are you really sure you''re okay?"


    "I''m really sure."


    "Don''t worry me like that you little punk!" He said with some concern in his voice that had yet to leave.


    As the rest heard this, they all started laughing merrily at the sight. From there, the atmosphere in the camp was heavily lifted, and everyone enjoyed their freedom for once, eating and talking about all kinds of things, like their pasts and some stories. Everyone was just laughing and having a good time, even the demons joined in on the fun, marking their fresh new start. Ark and the rest couldn''t help but smile as they saw this. If there was one thing they loved, it was helping people like this and making a change in the world.


    After enjoying the atmosphere and the mood for a while, Ark felt a wave of exhaustion hit him like a brick, urging him to rest. Even though he would''ve liked to stay and enjoy the mood for a little longer, he almost felt a little ill. Since he didn''t want to leave without saying goodbye, and since he didn''t really know what the future plans were, Ark went to see Ulfig.


    Ulfig was currently enjoying a conversation with one of the demons, the male one to be exact. They had hit it off quite well, and had matching personalities, brightening both of their moods a little. Ark didn''t want to disturb them, but he needed to say his farewells for the moment, as well as ask about the future.


    "Leader, can I borrow you for a sec?" He asked with an apologetic tone.


    "Of course." Ulfig nodded seriously, before glancing at the demon. Seeing his queue to leave, the male demon excused himself before mingling a little with some of the other people around.


    "First of all, I just wanted to ask what our future plans are. I consumed too much energy on this mission, and I''m going to need some time to recuperate." Ark said seriously.


    "Don''t worry about it, first of all, we''re going to get back to our closest base, before giving these people somewhere to stay, after that, we''ll see." Ulfig responded.


    "I have one more question, how am I supposed to get into contact with you when I''m healed up?" Ark asked a little apprehensively.


    "When you feel that you''re ready, just inject your mana into that scroll."


    Even though the explanation was a little lack-l.u.s.ter, Ark got the message. Nodding his head, he was just about to leave, before he felt a nudge in his side. Glancing to his right, Ark noticed a short little man looking up at him.


    "You think you can leave me behind just like that kiddo?" Thufrat said with a mean look in his eye, before bursting into laughter a second later.


    Ark was a little surprised, but he could feel his heart warm a little at the sight of this short dwarf in front of him.


    "You want to come with me?" Ark prodded.


    "You think I have anywhere else to go or something?"


    "I guess you have a point."


    As Ark said this, he turned around, and started wandering into the forest, Thufrat close on his heel. Ark had wanted to say goodbye to the rest of the Torment of the Fallen, but seeing them absorbed in their own conversations and stories, he decided to just leave them be, he didn''t want to disturb their fun. Like this, the two of them slowly wandered into the dark forest, disappearing from this small camp...

 Chapter 61 - Side-Story

    At another place, at another point in time.


    ...


    Deep down, in an underground dungeon. A foul stench was permeating the air, enveloping and corrupting everything it came into contact with. The rattling of bones was ever-present and a large amount of darkness mana was swirling around in the atmosphere. The sound of fighting was everywhere, and if you were to be in the middle of the dungeon, you''d be able to see around 35 people locked in intense fighting.


    Now, what were they fighting? Mostly undead, as well as some other vile creatures like hobgoblins. The people consisted of mostly teens, as well as some knights. Overseeing these teenagers fighting were 2 old men clad in robes. In this group of about 30 teenagers, 2 people stood out from the rest, one young man, as well as a young woman.


    The young woman was very beautiful, yet not too over the top. The man was the same, very handsome, but not abnormally so. The biggest reason as to why they stood out so much, was because of their classes. The young man had been endowed with a variant of the [Hero] class, called the [Hero of the Flame]. The young woman''s class was called [Grand Elementalist]. Even though her class didn''t sound as extravagant as the young man''s, hers was actually stronger, albeit by a tiny margin.


    The rest of the teenagers were by no means ordinary either, they might seem a bit lackl.u.s.ter in comparison with the other two, but in reality, they all had very powerful classes, even some borderline legendary.


    These teenagers were currently locked in some pretty intense combat, but it didn''t really last very long. Even though they seemed to be in trouble, this was like a walk in the park for them, they only fought with these undead to gain experience and levels. After about 5 minutes of fighting, the young Hero of the Flame got a little impatient, and he used one of his strongest skills, [Inferno of Samsara]. As he used this skill, he instantly erupted in flames, before creating a massive inferno, consuming the entirety of the undead. What was peculiar about these flames though was their colour, they were an eerie shade of green. The reason it was called the [Inferno of Samsara] was that it would send any foe into the wheel of reincarnation.


    As everyone saw these flames consume everything in their path, they collectively gulped, before regaining their bearings. The girl also let out a soft sigh, before walking back to the magical knights that waited for them next to the old men wearing robes. These old men were actually court magicians of the Estridsen Kingdom, and the magical knights were actually a squad of royal guards. Now, even though these people were hailed as heroes, why would they be accompanied by a squad of royal guards? The reason was actually standing at the helm of the royal guards.


    A gallant young man clad in silver armor was standing silently in front of the royal guards. The silver armor was full of intricate and complex engravings, exuding a mystical sense of power. The young man had deep purple eyes, with very handsome facial features, as well as a head full of beautiful platinum blonde hair. This young man was the 3rd and most talented prince of the Estridsen Kingdom, Oscar Estridsen.


    As the young teenagers had vanquished their foes, they all started to gather in front of Oscar. The young woman, whose name was Ella, had a visible spark in her eyes as she chatted a little with Oscar. The Hero of the Flame, also known as Arduin looked a little upset as he glanced at Ella fawning over the 3rd prince, but he quickly regained his normal bearing. As he arrived in front of the 3rd prince himself, he quickly took half a step forward, before bowing a little, and then he started talking.


    "Your majesty, what should we do now that we''ve cleared the dungeon?"


    "You don''t have to be so formal you know, but we should probably get back to the palace, for now, the war with the demons has already started, and your levels should be high enough to be able to fight right now." The prince responded with a slight chuckle.


    Then with a drastic turn of his body, the party of about 35 people started to follow him and gathered in a circle around the 2 old men. The 2 court magicians didn''t waste any time and in a couple of seconds, all of the 35 or so people were standing on top a huge magic circle. The magic circle shone with a peculiar purple light before all of the people suddenly vanished as if they were never there to begin with.


    ...


    The young prince didn''t even spare the 2 court magicians a glance before he was on his way, walking at a relaxed pace. The other teenagers followed a couple of steps behind, with Arduin and Ella walking in front of the rest. Even though it wasn''t noticeable, these teenagers were actually split up into two groups. One of the groups followed Ella and the 3rd prince, aiding the kingdom. This group was about 15 people. Meanwhile, Arduin''s group was only 10 people.


    Even though Arduin''s group also followed the king''s orders and fought for the kingdom, that was only on the surface. In reality, neither Arduin nor the people that followed him truly believed in the king. What did they truly know? Nothing. Which was why they didn''t want to risk their lives going to war against "Evil" demons, who they didn''t even know if they were actually evil. At first, they were easily persuaded, since they had no idea what was going on, but after some thinking, they all realized their situation.


    None of them were stupid after all, and they couldn''t just blindly put their trust in the first person they saw since they arrived in this new world. The other group was a little simpler in their thinking, they all believed the demons to be inherently evil since they were "Demons" which existed in fairy tales from their old world. They didn''t know what to do otherwise if they didn''t follow this kingdom into war, and they were all excited at the prospect of being heroes of "justice" and "peace".


    Due to their difference in beliefs, the group of people naturally split up into two groups, even though Ella''s group didn''t know about Arduin''s group actual agenda. After walking for a while, the group of teenagers arrived in front of 2 massive doors. These doors led to the throne room, and the prince promptly opened them after fixing his appearance a little bit.


    As he entered, the rest of the group also followed after him. After walking into the middle of the room, the teenagers all knelt down, except for the prince, who only offered a slight bow. In front of them, was a big throne made out of gold. On top of this throne sat an older man, the current king of the Estridsen Kingdom!

 Chapter 62 - Side-Story, Part 2.

    Being in the presence of the king, none of the teenagers dared breathe too loudly. they didn''t want to be seen as disrespectful after all, and they were all very timid, with the exception of Ella and Arduin. Even though they both showed due respect, they were not really afraid of the king, he needed them after all. Deep down, Arduin didn''t want to kneel before this old man, but there was nothing he could right now.


    "Rise young heroes, no need to dirty your clothes!" The king said with a deep and profound voice. But even though he said this, he didn''t really mean it, these people had just been through a tough battle, kneeling on this floor only dirtied the floor, not their clothes. They all stood up respectfully nonetheless, not daring to be slow.


    The prince chatted for a while with the king and told him about their encounters in the dungeon, as well as some reports he had gotten from soldiers stationed at the front lines. After a while, the teenagers were dismissed, and they all split up and started walking toward their living quarters. As they arrived at their living quarters, they all went about their lives like they usually did in this new world, before the moon slowly crept its way up into the night sky.


    During the dark hours of the night, the guards of the palace were going on their usual patrols, inspecting every nook and cranny of the palace, making sure no one could make their way inside. But, during this particular night, multiple silhouettes could be seen flitting their way through the large number of shadows created from the dark of the night. These shadows kept making their way through the courtyard of the palace, before arriving inside of a small toolshed stationed just inside the main gate of the entire palace.


    Once inside this small toolshed, the silhouettes revealed themselves. Sitting in a circle on the floor of the toolshed, were ten youths. One of the youths had striking red hair and a confident smile plastered across his face, this youth was Arduin. This red hair of his that looked like it wanted to incinerate the heavens, was actually something Arduin had gotten when he awakened his class. Originally his hair was actually light brown. As they had all gathered out here in the middle of the night, only God knew what they were up to.


    "Are we really sure about doing this?" One of the youths said as he fidgeted around a little bit, obviously a little scared of the whole situation.


    "Look, none of you have to do this, but if you''re too scared, then I suggest you back out now before it''s too late." Arduin said with a stern look in his eyes, this wasn''t the time to be playing around!


    Even though a lot of the youths were scared and uncertain, none of them decided to back out! This place was way too suspicious after all, and they couldn''t just go to war for no reason. Besides, why would they listen to someone who kidnapped them from their original world in the first place? These people who had summoned them had also ruthlessly thrown away their classmate Leo when they discovered that his class was useless.


    Even though none of the people present stood up for him at the time, could they really have done that? Arriving in a new world, faced with people holding immense power, would you really stick your neck out for someone who you barely knew? Not only that, but almost no one had any time to react before they were teleported to the castle.


    Leo wasn''t actually disliked by his classmates, he just didn''t fit in with the class, and after a while, everyone just kind of ignored him. And Leo wasn''t really that bothered by it, but he was really bothered by the fact that he was left behind, alone, in the forest, but that is a story for another day.


    "Since none of you are saying anything, I take it as though you are all on board!" Arduin said, grateful that there were at least some people in his class that had managed to notice how strange their situation was.


    "Breaking out of this place shouldn''t really be that hard, but just to be safe, I will be the one to knock out the guards, and distract anyone if things go a little south."


    As the other youths heard this, their eyes showed looks of admiration for this leader of theirs, he could have just given this risky job to someone else, but he took it upon himself instead! They had already discussed their plan before meeting up here, and it was actually pretty simple, therefore they all quickly left the shack after having their little meeting.


    Even though Arduin said that he would be the one to knock out the guards, he wasn''t talking about the guards stationed at the gate, since that was the job of one of their assassins. The guards he was talking about were the ones who would be pursuing them as they made their escape. Arduin would be the one to bring up their rear.


    They couldn''t be entirely sure that they would actually be pursued, but they all had a faint feeling that this place was pretty disturbing. And staying here would probably bring them all to their doom. Funny enough, they had no idea how correct they were...


    As Arduin gave one of the youths a signal, he instantly vanished into the shadows, before abruptly reappearing behind one of the four guards standing at the gate. The guard didn''t even notice anything as he slumped over onto the ground with a thump. The other guards noticed this, but the youth had already shifted beside another one of them and knocked him out as well. After taking out 3 of the guards in the span of a little over a second, the last guard managet to roar at the top of his lungs before being taken out.


    "ENEMIES!!!"


    The youths all instantly ran as fast as they could toward the gate, with Arduin a step behind. But just as they all took a step outside, a whooshing sound could be heard an inch or two behind them, before something slammed into the ground.


    SLAAAMMM!!!


    A big cloud of dust rose from the ground, before enveloping the youths. Even though some of them panicked, one of the youths kept his cool and summoned some wind to clear the dust. As the dust particles in the air were swept away, the youths'' hearts almost dropped to the ground as they could see a giant portcullis made entirely out of dark-steel dividing them from Arduin.


    The youths panicked as their leader was suddenly caught on the other side of the portcullis without any way to get to them. Arduin thought about destroying the portcullis, but before he could get the chance to. He could hear the rumbling of footsteps behind him. As he turned around to look, he could see the 3rd prince arriving with his royal guards in tow. A visible sneer plastered across his face.


    Before the prince and his guards arrived, he issued a loud command, loud enough for both Arduin and the other youths to hear.


    "Hahahaha, catch these impudent rebels for me, I''ll make sure they regret their decision of running away, as well as regret ever being alive!" This accompanied with his slightly sinister laugh, sent a shiever down the youths'' spines.


    They all realized that their decision to escape was sound, but this discovery only made them panic all the more since Arduin was still separated from them. Arduin hardened his resolve, before shouting a command at his classmates.


    "Everyone, run, run as far as you can!" He said, his fighting spirit ignited.


    "What?"


    "How could we escape without you?"


    "Yeah leader, we won''t leave without you!"


    Even though Arduin was grateful for their loyalty, this wasn''t the time.


    "I SAID RUN!"


    As Arduin shouted this, he started to emit some slight green flames from his body, namely his flames of samsara!


    This shout also brought these youths back to reality, what would they accomplish by staying behind? Wouldn''t that just waste their leaders sacrifice? As these thoughts crossed their minds, most of them let a few tears escape from the corner of their eyes, before they turned around, and ran.


    Arduin, seeing this, let out a sigh of relief before turning around to face Oscar and his guards again. Seeing this youth bathed in green flames before him, Oscar sneered.


    "Take care of him quickly, don''t let the others escape!" After having barked these orders, he gave Arduin a look of disapproval, before turning around.


    Arduin had already come to terms with his fate, and he wouldn''t let them catch his friends, not after coming this far, and especially not considering that this prince had shown them his true colours. As these royal guards quickly approached him, Arduin only smiled faintly and mumbled a few words. As the words left his lips, his aura surged, and his eerie green flames exploded out from within his body with expressive splendor. Engulfing everything in their way.

 Chapter 63 - Another Evolution?

    After having arrived back a the tree with Thufrat, Ark had instantly collapsed out of exhaustion. All the fighting as well as using his skill [Envoy Of Holiness] had drained Ark completely, making him barely able to stand. The injury he had contracted, even though healed, still had quite the impact on Ark''s stamina, and he needed a good night of sleep! What he hadn''t noticed, however, was that during his battle, he had managed to level up another three times, bringing his level to 30. Now, this was pretty important, since level 30 was the max level of a Radiant Ice wolf.


    Now, what did this entail? Pretty simple, it meant that Ark was at the boundary of a new evolution. Normally when you progress your job or evolve, there are different options to choose from, depending on your disposition as well as skills and affinities you have. But due to Ark falling asleep, he had no control of the process.


    Thufrat had also planned to go to sleep when Ark did, but he got interrupted by the splendid light produced by Ark''s evolution. Seeing this phenomenon, Thufrat was a little taken aback, but he knew that this was an important process for Ark, and therefore decided to just guard the tree for him, just to keep him from being interrupted. If Ark''s evolution was interrupted, it could bring disastrous results.


    Ark had no idea about what was going on outside, he was currently engrossed in a pleasant dream, at least pleasant in Ark''s eyes, all he did was talk with Thufrat, but that was enough for Ark to be happy.


    Time quickly passed like this, and Ark''s evolution had soon been going on for close to 10 hours. It was already noon the next day, but Thufrat still just sat there, whistling to himself as he watched over this wolf undergoing evolution. He was completely drained of energy, and his stomach was rumbling, but it couldn''t be helped, it wasn''t like he could hunt for food or take a nap. He did have some dry meat in his spatial bag though, that he munched on to abate his hunger for the moment.


    After another 4 hours, it was already late into the afternoon, and the evening wasn''t far away. Thufrat still held on, but these last few minutes, he had noticed that the light Ark emitted had grown in intensity, to a blinding degree, forcing Thufrat to turn his head away, unless he wanted to be blind of course. The mana in the surroundings also frantically poured into Ark, almost as if he would die if they didn''t.


    After another couple of minutes, Ark''s body had lifted off the ground and was currently hovering a couple of inches above the ground. This stae of his didn''t last for long though as he slowly descended onto the ground again, the light emitting from him completely fading. As the light disappeared, Thufrat noticed that Ark''s fur had completely changed colours. It was now completely white, without a single blemish. Mixed in with these long soft strands of white hair, were some strands of completely varying colours such as green, cyan, yellow, red, blue, brown and black.


    This made Ark''s look a little odd, but not in a bad way. Seeing Ark like this, Thufrat couldn''t recognize the species Ark had evolved into, and he wasn''t really sure if it was powerful since he couldn''t sense any aura from Ark at the moment. But knowing how powerful Ark was before, and the fact that he had just evolved, Thufrat was sure that there was more than met the eye.


    As he watched Ark, he noticed that his body slightly twitched a little bit, before his eyelids started twitching. The next second, as Ark swiftly opened his eyes, an enormous amount of pressure suddenly erupted from within his body. His eyes had turned into a splendid golden colour, looking like they didn''t belong to a wolf, but to a deity. The pressure wasn''t going down in the slightest, and Thufrat was instantly pushed down on his knees.


    All of the animals and magical beasts in a radius of several miles, all prostated in fear as this paramount pressure surfaced out of nowhere. This was the aura of a ruler! All the mana around Ark''s humble abode madly swirled around, as if trying to show Ark how good they were. Thufrat didn''t remain on his knees for long though, as his ancient bloodline was awakened under this pressure. The roar of a majestic dragon resounded from Thufrat''s body as he slowly picked himself up from the ground, standing with his back straight.


    Facing Ark, he noticed how big the change was during this evolution, and he couldn''t help but gulp as he thought about the pressure he had just faced head-first. Ark was in a bit of a daze at first, but as he noticed how the surroundings were changing because of him, and the insane amount of pressure he was giving off, he quickly came to. When he realized what was going on, and as he looked at Thufrat, Ark instantly restrained his aura.


    Since the environment turned back to normal and calmed down, Thufrat let out a soft sigh. He was also very astounded since he had heard a distinct dragon roar coming from within his own body, indicating his bloodline probably having a breakthrough. This also brought him a wave of joy, seeing as how your bloodline was directly tied with your own strength.


    Ark had an ethereal and gentle look in his gaze as he looked at Thufrat for a moment. His shapeshift time hadn''t refreshed yet, indicating that it was the same day, but seeing as it was already starting to darken a little bit outside, Ark could guess how much time had passed, even if it was only a rough estimate.


    As he looked around a little bit, he quickly noticed that his fur was currently pure white, with some strands of other colours mixed in. He didn''t need much more than a second to realize that he had just evolved. It was also unquestionable that he had grown more powerful, but the question was: What did he evolve into?

 Chapter 64 - Overlord Elemental Wolf!

    Seeing as he had just evolved, Ark opened up his status page almost instantly to see what the outcome of his new evolution was.


    "Status"


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: 1 (45)


    Mp: 255/255


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 45


    Endurance: 30


    Vitality: 30


    Intelligence: 85


    Wisdom: 35


    Night Vision [Lv.2]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6]


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1]


    Swift [Lv.2]


    Nimble [Lv.2]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Spatial Affinity


    Small Lightning Affinity


    Medium Wind Affinity


    Medium Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Shapeshift [Lv.5]


    Spear Mastery [Beginner Lv.9]


    Overlord Of The Elements


    Status points [10]


    As Ark saw this, he was a little out of it. What the hell was this op race that he had evolved into? Not that he complained, he was just surprised. He had just recently acquired new affinities, as well as gotten an upgrade for some of his existing ones, and now he got another boost. Even though his fire and water affinities stayed the same, Ark had a guess as to why. Since he was now a variant of an elemental wolf, he was pretty sure that his fire and water affinities didn''t upgrade since his body wanted to achieve some sort of equilibrium between the four main elements. He didn''t see any new affinities either, but he wasn''t really disappointed, you could only expect so much from a simple evolution.


    He also had no idea if there existed any other elements out there, these were the only ones he knew after all. But he certainly hoped that other elements existed, the only thing Ark felt some passion toward in this life was magic after all, and he would love to be able to explore its depths, and see all the interesting elements that might exist out there in the vast world! Ark pondered a little bit about his future path. So far, he had basically just gone with the flow his entire stay in this world, but what was his goal in this life? Or did he even have one? Ark wasn''t really sure if he had a goal, or if he needed one for that matter, but he would just let that rest at the back of his mind for now.


    Ark didn''t know it himself, but him pondering in his wolf form, actually created a very serene and beautiful picture, something that Thufrat was experiencing first-hand. As Ark pondered, the surrounding mana and nature reacted according to his mood. This wolf kept astonishing him, and no matter how many times he saw such spectacular sights, he couldn''t help but be surprised. Thufrat had never witnessed the surrounding mana and nature to react just because someone pondered a little.


    Ark naturally broke out of his stupor after a couple of seconds passed, he was, nevertheless, feeling a little anxious at times. No matter how carefree his spirit was at times, not having a goal in life can seriously wear people out. Since he didn''t want to feel depressed, Ark decided to assign the stat points that he had gotten from leveling up twice, namely ten. Since he spent a lot of time in his human form nowadays, Ark had noticed that investing stat points into physical stats would be a little wasteful.


    Therefore, he only put 5 points into wisdom and 5 points into intelligence before calling it a day. After that, Ark noticed the fatigue on Thufrat''s face, as well as the low rumble originating from both of their stomachs. Since he couldn''t really speak, Ark only smiled and pointed to Thufrat''s stomach with one of his claws, before pointing towards the exit of his tree, trying to indicate that they should hunt for some food. Or well, that he should hunt for some food, Thufrat looked exhausted, to say the least.


    As Thufrat got ready to move out with him, Ark only gently pushed him back onto the ground, preventing him from standing up. After doing that, Ark justly disappeared with a gentle breeze, leaving a faint afterimage behind. Thufrat wasn''t stupid and could understand Ark''s intention to some degree, and only laughed as he recalled the actions of the wolf, before closing his eyelids and resting a little bit.


    Ark appeared right next to Thufrat five minutes later, a large bull-like creature in his claws. Even though Thufrat had only intended to rest for a bit, he had swiftly fallen asleep and slept soundly like a log. Ark would never want to disturb Tufrat''s peaceful sleep, and only stored away the dead bull-like creature in his spatial bag, before laying down, and closing his eyes.


    He didn''t drift off into sleep though as you would think. Instead, Ark started to absorb the mana in his surroundings, almost like a form of meditation. He didn''t really have a goal in mind when he did this, he only wanted to test the waters a little bit. He didn''t rashly absorb a ton of mana either, as that would definitely disturb the surroundings, ultimately disturbing Thufrat''s sleep.


    As the mana converged inside of Ark''s body, he guided it along his vessels, meridians, and different pathways, infusing everything with mana. As he did this, the mana started to refine his body, albeit very slightly. Noticing these very slight changes, Ark''s face lit up with surprise, before he continued to absorb all the mana he could without disturbing Thufrat, and continued to temper all parts of his body.


    Even though the changes were minuscule for now, Ark knew that with time, the changes would get bigger and bigger, especially considering the fact that he had the capacity to absorb mana at a much faster rate. If this method could actually bring results, Ark was sure that investing in magic-related attributes would certainly be even more alluring.


    After almost an entire hour of constant absorption and refinement, Ark finally felt a great change occur withing his body. His constitution itself didn''t really change that much. But Ark felt like he had an epiphany, and he suddenly heard a monotone voice in his head once again...

 Chapter 65 - New Skill?

    [Due to the host refining his body with the help of the elements, the host has obtained the skill "Body Refining Lv.1"]


    As Ark heard this, he was a little ecstatic. This skill sounded like it could help him a lot, considering the fact that he didn''t invest a lot of status points into his physical attributes. A passive skill that could help him with his body''s attributes while not spending status points could be phenomenal. Ark didn''t know if it would be that helpful yet, but he would naturally find that out in the future.


    He opened up his status to check if anything had happened, and even though the stats themselves didn''t change, next to them, in brackets, you could find the number (+5). Ark couldn''t be entirely sure, but he was pretty confident that it was how much this skill gave him currently. Even though 5 points was pretty negligible for him at this point, if it kept acc.u.mulating, this skill could provide a lot of support!


    Since Thufrat was still currently asleep, Ark decided that he would spend this time to work on this skill a little. Still laying comfortably on the ground, he started to devour the surrounding mana once again, guiding it throughout his body to slowly temper it, giving him a wondrous feeling. The wondrous feeling of growing stronger and the itchy feeling that permeated his bones created a weird equilibrium of satisfaction and annoyance as Ark continued to temper his body.


    A couple of hours quickly passed like this until Thufrat finally woke up. When Thufrat woke up, the afternoon had already turned into night, and the darkness of the night permeated throughout the forest, creating a slightly eerie atmosphere as a slight fog enveloped the tree. This "fog" was actually just Ark''s sweat that had evaporated in large amounts.


    Ark was a little engrossed in his "Body Refining" skill, but he still noticed when Thufrat woke up and promptly stopped his tempering. His skill had reached level 3 in this time that Thufrat was asleep. Even though the progress wasn''t that fast, it was to be expected, the stats the skill gave were pretty steep after all. He had already gained an additional 15 points in all of his physical attributes after all.


    Since Thufrat had woken up, Ark decided to make the meal now, both of them were starving after all. Ark also needed the nutrition if he wanted to recover from the weakness caused by his [Envoy Of Holiness] skill. Not to say that he would recover without nutrients, but it would take longer. The bull-like creature he had killed earlier was actually a rare species of bull called the "Horned Darkness Bull". On its head, a jagged jet-black horn protruded, this horn would kill the average human in a flash, and if you were lucky enough to survive being impaled by this horn, then you would have to suffer the onslaught of darkness mana that ensued.


    When disassembling this bull, Ark stored away this particular horn, since it would sell for a good price, it was perfect for making weapons after all. The smell of roasted bull permeated the surroundings after a little while, and both Ark and Thufrat couldn''t help but drool. The bull was swiftly devoured, and both Thufrat and Ark sat down in appreciation for a while after having their fills, not a single piece of meat left on the bull''s bones.


    As Ark cleared his head after filling up his stomach, he could notice something different about Thufrat. He couldn''t put his finger on what it was, but he was sure that something had changed after the dwarf had been asleep. This guess of Ark''s was actually completely spot-on. A drastic change had occurred to thufrat as he slumbered, and he only just realized himself!


    After eating, Thufrat had taken a quick look on his status, and what he found had astounded him to an absurd degree! His physical attributes had been boosted by an entire 40%, this abrupt change had instantly made him gulp. This wasn''t the only change though, not by a longshot! His original earth affinity was small-grade, but after awakening, it had apparently changed to Major! This was a really big change, and Thufrat almost wanted to cry tears of joy when he saw them. At first, he had no idea what had happened to him, but after taking a look at some new skills that he had seemingly gotten as well, it all made sense to him!


    His bloodline had awakened further! He had gotten a couple of skills that related to his bloodline, which confirmed his assumptions, all of the other changes also made complete sense if that were to be the case as well! He had been under immense pressure from Ark''s evolution after all, and this was a heaven-sent opportunity for both of them! The skills that Thufrat had gotten were by no means bad or average, some of the skills he had gotten were almost on the level of cheats, and most of them came from his draconic bloodline.


    Dragons had always been natural paragons when it came to the food-chain, and considering the fact that Thufrat''s bloodline was that of an Ancient Supreme Earth Dragon, it was only natural that he would grow into an existence befitting of that kind of title. The 40% physical attribute increase was only on the surface, with the help of his skills, his bodily strength would grow to a terrifying degree, he needed to have a really strong body to contain all of his draconic might in the future after all!


    After sorting through all of his new skills and power, Thufrat was very excited, he was already thirsting for revenge against the lich that had almost taken his life not long ago. But he would need to bide his time for a little longer, he needed levels to back his skills up, but when he did that, he would naturally show that lich who he had messed with!


    Ark could sense the change in Thufrat''s mood, he was emanating some serious fighting spirit after all, as well as some faint killing intent. Ark wasn''t really sure what was going on, but he didn''t bother with it too much, he would ask after midnight when he got some new time in his human form.


    Ark still reflected a little on the previous events that had transpired. Saving the slaves from their horrible fates had an impact on Ark''s mental state. Seeing how cruel this world was first-hand, he really wished that he could change it for the better. But he didn''t have that kind of power, and even if he was seriously powerful, would that erase all evil? Of course not, no matter what you did, evil would always live on in people''s hearts. It was a part of human nature after all. Greed, l.u.s.t, jealousy, all of these were a part of human nature, and there was nothing you could do to completely erase them.


    What you could do, however, is to try and restrain these d.e.s.i.r.es, and contain the truly evil individuals. Expecting everything to always go your way is just naive, but not believing in the kindness of humans is also foolish. Good and evil exist in our hearts, it''s up to each individual to decide which direction they want to choose...

 Chapter 66 - The Next Mission!

    Even though Thufrat had just woken up, he was still tired, and after eating their fills, both Ark and Thufrat decided to get some more rest before the next day. Even though they weren''t entirely sure what awaited them the next day, it was for the best if they were well-rested. Ark didn''t know if they would get another mission immediately, but he knew for certain that he was going to inject his mana into the scroll he had gotten from Ulfig, and he would know what to do from there. At least that''s what he assumed.


    After evolving into an Overlord Elemental Wolf, Ark had noticed that his newfound powers weren''t as simple as an increase in affinities. The elements in the air spoke to him, or at least that''s what he felt like. This was something amazing for him when he wanted to sleep since he didn''t need to sleep lightly. He could sleep as deep as he wanted since the elements would warn him if anything were to happen. This didn''t have a direct impact on his powers, but the elements in the air felt like family to Ark, and controlling them was like controlling his own body, easy as can be.


    Waking up the next day to the chirping of the birds, both Thufrat and Ark were in good moods. The weather was nice, the smell of freshly bloomed flowers permeated the air, it was a good day to be alive. Before anything else, Thufrat removed some simple breakfast from his spatial bag, namely some sandwiches, and some milk. Ark couldn''t drink the milk in his wolf form, so he transformed to gulp it down, and then just sat there for a minute, enjoying the mood of this spring morning. He did put on clothes, of course, he wasn''t just sitting there n.a.k.e.d. After that, he chatted a little with Thufrat, and he got to know the reason for Thufrat''s mood the day before. He had apparently been thinking of the lich which had nearly taken his life.


    When Ark heard him mentioning this lich, his eyes also glowed with discernible killing d.e.s.i.r.e, but he restrained it before it started to affect his surroundings. After some more chatting, Ark pulled out the scroll he had gotten from Ulfig from his spatial bag. After looking at it for a little bit, he glanced at Thufrat. "You ready?" He asked politely. Thufrat only nodded, before turning his gaze toward the scroll, looking at it with clear interest.


    Ark didn''t hesitate and instantly poured in his mana into the scroll. As he did so, the scroll stated glowing with clear, liquid-like blue lines. These lines crisscrossed and sn.a.k.e.d across the scroll, before finally turning into letters, and a small map. The message these letters formed was clear, it depicted Ark''s and Thufrat''s next mission, and the map led to the town the mission was in. Underneath the map, was both a yes, and a no. This was to confirm if they wanted to accept the mission or not.


    The mission itself was a little odd. Ark and Thufrat were supposed to travel to the city of Ravenfront, whilst there, they would be assigned to work as bodyguards of the daughter of a noble. The mission itself was pretty weird, and both Ark and Thufrat was a little disappointed in how simple it was. But, the pay was exceptional! They only had 3 days of work, yet they were supposed to be paid 10 rose-gold! This sum was astronomical considering the fact that they only had to work as bodyguards.


    Even though they would rather do another mission, the pay was too lucrative to pass up. After a small talk, they both agreed to accept the mission. Ark willed his mana to pour towards the "Yes" inscribed on the scroll, and after a second or two, the whole scroll suddenly turned into a map toward Ravenfront, where the mission was supposed to take place. Ark and Thufrat weren''t stupid, they knew something was up, how could this mission be easy with pay like that? The mission was assigned by Torment of the Fallen though, and all they could do was have faith.


    It was stated in the mission that they were supposed to be in Ravenfront in two days, where they would meet up with the entourage of the noble daughter outside of the city gates. Even though two days seemed like a lot of time, Ravenfront was a considerable distance away, and it would take Thufrat and Ark about half a day to travel there on foot. Since they had nothing better to do, Ark transformed back into his wolf form, before they set off towards Ravenfront.


    The trek through the forest was actually quite relaxing for both Thufrat and Ark, albeit a little tiring. After walking for almost 6 hours non-stop, both Thufrat and Ark were exhausted and hungry, and they decided to rest a little and eat some food. They quickly found a pretty nice clearing and settled down, starting a fire after gathering some nearby twigs and wood. The fire was quickly lit, and meat was roasted on top of it, even though they could hunt for food, they were both tired, and they just used some that they had stored away in their spatial bags.


    When the meat was ready, and a delicious smell permeated the air, Ark and Thufrat were ready to dig in straight away. But as they were about to start eating, they could hear some rustling coming from some bushes not far away. Out from these bushes wandered a lone white wolf. This wolf was almost as thin as the twigs they had used to lit the fire. The wolf didn''t show them any hostility though, and it only desolately looked at the meat that was being roasted.


    Ark was a little surprised seeing this, this was the first time that he had ever seen a monster of this world that didn''t show him any hostility, all the other monsters he had run into had always shown him hostility. This was also a wolf, one of his own kin you could say. he didn''t hesitate at all and quickly gave the wolf his share of the meat. The wolf was hesitant at first but quickly gobbled up the meat after seeing Ark''s expectant look.


    After gulping the meat down, the wolf was super happy, it hadn''t eaten in a long time, and was on the verge of starving to death. After the death of its pack, it hadn''t been able to look after itself, which ended up in its current predicament. Seeing the euphoric look on its face, Thufrat threw his share of the meat at the wolf as well, after laughing a little. The wolf was ecstatic seeing this, and quickly ate the rest of the meat as well.


    Even though it still looked meager, it was full of spirit and vitality rushing through its blood. After eating its fill, the wolf howled loudly up into the sky, before turning around and disappearing into the forest again. Ark and Thufrat only looked at each other with a smile, before laughing a little and taking out some more meat from their spatial bags.

 Chapter 67 - Ravenfront!

    After taking out some more meat, they started roasting once again. After another 10 minutes or so both Thufrat and Ark had eaten their fills. They only digested the food for a couple of minutes before they started to move again. They wanted to arrive at Ravenfront as fast as possible, even though they had plenty of time.


    After another 5 hours of walking, Thufrat and Ark had already left the Twilight Forest and stepped onto a small road. In the distance, a fairly small wall made out of wood was towering over the city of Ravenfront. Even though they both had excellent stamina and endurance, both Ark and Thufrat were excited upon seeing this wall in front of them, they had finally arrived! Since people were up ahead on the road, Ark took the opportunity and went into the forest to change forms as fast as he could.


    What he didn''t notice, however, was that a pair of curious eyes inspected him from a distance. When the pair of eyes noticed that the wolf had entered the forest, and a human came out, they shone with a weird glint before disappearing again. As this was happening, Ark and Thufrat made their way toward Ravenfront. Getting through the city gates was fairly easy now that they both had identification papers, the fee was quite small too, at only 10 copper coins.


    One of the guards had wanted to extort them for some more money upon seeing their spatial bags, but the other guard stopped him from doing so.


    "Dude, what the hell, we could''ve earned some easy money, why would you stop me?"


    "Are you an idiot? You notice that they have spatial bags, yet you don''t stop to think why? They obviously have backers, or are powerful themselves, besides, we shouldn''t stoop that low just for some money!"


    After hearing this, the guard that had wanted to extort Ark and Thufrat suddenly looked as if he had realized something important. "Damn, how could I forget something that important? Thank you for restraining me back there!"


    The other guard chuckled a little as he heard this, "No problem" was all he said, before going back to work once more. Messing around with people was rarely a good idea. One day, you would end up offending a noble or someone of similar status, and the next day you''re dead. That''s how simple life can be at times, besides, would you want people to extort you for money? No? Then you should probably not do it to others.


    Whilst this was going on, Ark and Thufrat were exploring Ravenfront. The marketplace was Ark''s favourite part of the city, and not just when it came to Ravenfront, he just loved the marketplace in general. Walking around the market whilst peddlers tried to sell their goods, the people ran around and bought all kinds of stuff, the atmosphere of the market was always bustling. Ark loved it, he never interacted a lot with people in his previous life, and he wanted to get to know people more in this one if he could.


    The lives of the common people in this world were a lot more joyful compared to his old life. The biggest reason was just that the people of this world were satisfied with what they had, and made the best out of their situation. The people from his previous life were never satisfied with anything, no matter what they did, and it created quite the gloomy atmosphere, and the mindset of the people of his previous world just got worse and worse. That isn''t to say that the opposite also exists in both worlds, but from Ark''s point of view, it wasn''t nearly as prevalent.


    Even though the people of this world had it way worse from an objective standpoint, they still lived happier lives. This mood also influenced Ark a bit when he walked down the streets, he couldn''t help but smile as he saw some small kids helping their parents out with errands, and playing around. Thufrat also enjoyed this kind of mood, but he also felt a little bit of envy. His childhood had been fraught with discrimination and loneliness.


    After strolling around the city and experiencing the hustle and bustle of the market, Ark and Thufrat proceeded to check into an inn called The Bear''s Den. The inn was fairly cheap, and the reputation was great, netting them two customers in Ark and Thufrat. The biggest contributor to them choosing this inn was probably their immense fatigue from walking around all day, it was close by after all.


    Neither of them really cared for privacy, and Ark was a wolf when he slept anyways, therefore they just resided in a spacious single room. Ark could sleep soundly even in the middle of the city even though he was in his wolf form, the passive ability of this race he had evolved into was truly convenient! After going to sleep, the next day quickly arrived.


    Since they had nothing better to do, Ark and Thufrat decided to first eat some breakfast before deciding anything else. The innkeeper was busy with something else, so the reception was left to his first-born daughter while he was away. Her name was Lily, and she was about 16 years old. As Ark and Thufrat asked for breakfast, she guided them to the dining hall. As she did so, she repeatedly snuck glances at the duo. When they had come the day before, she had been very surprised, seeing an abnormally handsome young man with a dwarf was a pretty weird sight to see, considering the discrimination they faced. These 2 people had definitely piqued her interest.


    After eating their breakfast, Ark and Thufrat headed out for the day. Since Ark only had 2 and a half hours to do what he wanted, they decided to find something to entertain themselves during this day off. But before that, there was something very important they had to do, even though Ark felt that it was a little degrading, he felt like it would be totally necessary for the future, and even for this current mission that they had accepted. They were currently headed towards the local adventurers guild, to register Ark as Thufrats contracted beast.


    Ark only had 2 and a half hours each day in his human form, and to be someone''s bodyguard while being restricted by a time limit of such a size would be impossible. It would also come in handy in the future if Ark ever needed to enter a city without time in his human form left. To do this though, Ark needed to transform into his wolf form before they left. Since he was really big in his wolf form, he was going to try and see if he could shrink down his size, to not scare the life out of everyone in the city.


    After sneakily entering a very dark and secluded ally, and making sure no one was around, Ark transformed back into his wolf form, but this time, he stopped himself from growing bigger just as he had turned into a wolf, leaving him at about a meters height. Ark didn''t think that anything was off until he walked a little. He could feel that his body was weaker than it had been before. After opening up his status, the reason was laid before his eyes...

 Chapter 68 - More Trouble?

    After looking at his status, Ark found out that his physical stats were still halved in this form, which made him a little disappointed. The disappointment quickly disappeared though as he thought about it a little, it was only logical after all. Why would he retain the full power of his body if it was reduced in size? And if the muscles in his body were smaller?


    After having transformed into a wolf, Thufrat put a blue pendant around his neck. This pendant was only there to show that Ark wasn''t some random wolf, and was, in fact, a contracted beast. Ark felt a little distraught at the fact of being seen as someone else''s thing, but he knew that some things just had to be done. Besides, walking around in his wolf form was actually very comfortable.


    After Thufrat had hung the pendant around, his eyes watered a little as he looked at it. This was the only thing that he still had from his mother. The pendant was actually the mana crystal of a water dragon, encased within a silver pendant. Of course, Thufrat had no idea that the pendant was something valuable, the only value he knew it had was the sentimental value it held to him. Even if he did know of its value, it wouldn''t change anything. It wasn''t like he would sell it just because it was valuable.


    After they left the alley that they were in, Ark instantly attracted a lot of attention. Most eyes were either filled with curiosity or envy, but some were filled with fear. At least until they saw the pendant hanging around Ark''s neck. Thufrat felt a little fidgety under so many gazes, but he still firmly walked towards the adventurers guild and didn''t let the gazes of the crowd get to him. It was a little worse for Ark since most of the gazes lingered on him, but he mostly felt slight discomfort.


    It didn''t really take long to get to the adventurers guild since the city was pretty small after all, and when they arrived, they just entered the reception area straight away. In the reception room, there was a fairly large board where people could post quests for the adventurers to take on, next to this big board, was the reception desk, with two current workers. The rest of the reception hall was actually just like an inn, with adventurers sitting around tables discussing their quests and missions while eating.


    Ark and Thufrat drew a lot of attention as they entered, and the once rowdy reception hall quickly turned quiet. One of the receptionists was busy, but the other one had nothing to do at the moment. The receptionist was a young woman in her twenties, and she quickly showed them to another room after Thufrat told her what his business was.


    The other room was actually on the second floor of the building, next to the guildmaster''s room. In the room, was an old man sitting behind a desk. As Thufrat and Ark entered the room, the old man glanced up from some doc.u.ments, before becoming captivated by the wolf in front of him. This old man worked as an inspector for the guild, and he was supposed to inspect items and contracted beasts for doc.u.mentation and such.


    The instant he saw Ark, his eyes quickly glistened. He wasn''t 100% sure, but if he was right, then an extinct species was standing right in front of him! He knew for sure that Ark was an Elemental Wolf since it was easy to spot, but seeing the golden eyes of Ark, as well as the mysterious aura the shrouded him, the old man suspected this wolf of being an Overlord Elemental Wolf!


    "I''ll have to use inspect on your contracted beast, is that okay?" The old man asked as he looked at Thufrat respectfully. Thufrat didn''t answer the question directly but instead looked inquiringly at Ark. Seeing this, the old man was a little surprised, but when he saw Ark nod, he realized! This wolf seemed to be highly intelligent! This only further strengthened the old man''s suspicions of Ark being an Overlord Elemental Wolf. If that was the case, then this would be a historical moment. The Overlord Elemental Wolfs, lost in the passage of time, had reappeared once more, and as someone''s contracted beast at that!


    "Inspect"


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: ???


    After seeing this, the old man couldn''t help but want to scream! He had seriously witnessed an Overlord Elemental Wolf. He had also managed to notice that the wolf had a pendant made out of a water dragons mana crystal hanging around its neck. This made the old man look at Thufrat with another bout of respect, and he also tried to straighten his posture and bearing a little. This dwarf looked fairly normal, but having an Overlord Elemental Wolf as a contracted beast, as well as giving it a pendant made out of a water dragons mana crystal, this dwarf could not be someone simple at all.


    "I-I''ll quickly get your nameplate ready for you, if you just wait here for a minute kind sir!" The old man didn''t waste any time and left the room quickly after inspecting Ark. After a couple of minutes had passed, the old man returned, in his hand, he held a small rectangular nameplate. This nameplate was made out of rose-gold and was actually quite expensive. Normally, the nameplates for contracted beasts were made out of materials like dark-steel, but this old man took the liberty of issuing Ark a nameplate made out of rose-gold, just out of respect.


    On top of the nameplate, the name Ark was engraved in beautiful writing. The engravings held something magical to them, but Ark couldn''t really put his finger on what it was. Fortunately, the old man started to explain just as he was in the middle of thinking.


    "If you pour mana into the nameplate, a small status window displaying your contracted beasts name should appear, this window also contains his master''s name, yours, so that people know whose beast it is if it ever gets lost or anything of the like." The old man told Thufrat with a smile on his face. Thufrat only nodded in acknowledgment.


    "Is there anything else we have to do? Or can we leave now?"


    "I won''t hold you any longer, go ahead!" The old man smiled and waved, not going back to work until they had left the room. Not that he could get much work done with his blood boiling like crazy.


    Thufrat hung the nameplate around Ark''s neck when they left the room, and he had to admit, it actually fit him quite well. After doing that, they started to walk away from the room they were just in, and past the room of the guild master. The guild master''s door was wide open, and as they passed by, an imperial voice sounded out loudly.


    "Wait for a second!"

 Chapter 69 - Young Lady?

    After hearing the voice of a girl call out to them, both Ark and Thufrat stopped in their tracks outside the guild master''s room. From within the room, a young lady, around Ark''s age, appeared. The young lady was fairly tall, and she was the most beautiful woman Ark had ever seen in his entire life. Her wavy blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, covering parts of her beautiful emerald dress. Her eyes were a beautiful and mysterious shade of red, bewitching almost anyone who would dare stare into their depths. Ark''s breath was instantly taken away. Luckily for him, he was currently a wolf, and not in his human form. Even though he had seldom really taken an interest in a woman before, he was sure that he would blush if he was in his human form.


    Thufrat was a dwarf, but he still really appreciated the lady''s beauty, not letting it show though, as he was sure that this was a noble, not someone he would dare offend without a good reason to. The lady stopped right in front of Ark and Thufrat, and she started to intensely stare at Thufrat. This went on for almost half a minute before Thufrat lost his patience. Just as he was about to talk, the lady crouched down and started to pet Ark.


    "Awwww, so fluffy!" The girl was surprised at the quality of this wolfs fur, he would become an excellent carpet! Jokes aside, the girl couldn''t help but continue to pet Ark, enjoying the feeling of running her fingers through his fluffy fur. After petting him for a while, the young lady scratched him a little behind his ears, ruffled his fur a little, and stood up.


    "Fuuuuuu, that sure was refreshing! I''m sorry for suddenly petting him like that!" The young lady bowed a little and apologized to Thufrat. This put Thufrat in quite the tough spot, what was he supposed to say to that? This young lady had no idea, but she had just petted Ark, Thufrat''s only and best friend, not his contracted beast.


    "Well, if you''re going to apologize, apologize to my buddy here." As Thufrat said this, he squatted a little and patted Ark on the back. This woke Ark from the stupor he had been in. When the young lady had suddenly started to pet him, he had been left in a daze, freezing on the spot. He almost felt humiliated at the thought of being petted, but worst of all, it felt so good! The feeling of someone petting him, Ark would be lying if he said that he didn''t like it.


    When the young lady heard what Thufrat said, she was taken by surprise and reevaluated the wolf in front of her a little bit. As she looked at it closer than before, she could notice that this wolf wasn''t some ordinary beast and that it had some level of intelligence. The wolf currently had a weird look plastered across its face.


    During this time, the guild master had also withdrawn from his room and arrived at the scene. Seeing this, he couldn''t help but chuckle a little, before he bowed a little before Ark.


    "I''m sorry for the behavior of my guest little fellow, I hope you''re not offended!" He said lightly, the apology was the epitome of half-hearted, but he couldn''t care less. He wouldn''t let this young lady bow and apologize to a beast though, seeing as her apology to Thufrat was already pushing boundaries.


    Ark could easily see that this robust middle-aged man in front of him wasn''t sorry, and he just snorted lightly before urging Thufrat to leave with him using his eyes. The mana in the surroundings could sense Ark''s disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, and they caused a small riot when Ark snorted, sending the air in the surroundings into disarray. Thufrat could only smile wryly before following Ark down the stairs, and out of the adventurers guild.


    "Pfft, hahahahahahaha, the wolf didn''t seem to be too fond of your apology Roberto!" The young lady couldn''t hold her laughter in as she thought about what just transpired.


    Roberto wasn''t as carefree though, when the mana was sent into disarray earlier, he could feel that something was wrong. He wasn''t exactly sure, but he could feel that no one had conjured or manipulated the mana in the air. Almost as if it acted out of its own volition. If that were to be the case, then that meant that the wolf that was in front of him wasn''t simple, if the mana in the air would follow its every whim without the wolf''s command, then that wolf would surely be extraordinary.


    [Why would a wolf, like that, follow a dwarf?]


    This was the thought that kept darting across Roberto''s mind, he seriously couldn''t wrap his head around it. While Roberto was thinking serious thoughts like these, the young lady was thinking about how cute the wolf was when it was displeased and snorted, she chuckled a little as she recalled it. [What an interesting wolf!]


    On the other hand, Ark was a little displeased, not with the young lady, but with the guild master. It wasn''t like he even needed to get an apology, he kind of liked the petting after all, and no harm was done. The thing that annoyed him was the old man''s attitude, it was like apologizing to Ark wasn''t worth the hassle, which kind of pissed him off. After leaving the adventurers guild, Ark and Thufrat headed to a deserted part of the city, where Ark swiftly turned back into his human form.


    After turning back into his human form, Ark stretched a little, before he started to walk around town with Thufrat again. After walking around for a while, the two sat down inside a small but cozy restaurant and started talking.


    "God damn it, that old man seriously annoyed me! How can he dismiss me just like that? Stupid old man, if he only knew!" As Ark said this, he pouted a little, he didn''t really take the whole situation seriously.


    "Pfffft, look at you, I thought you were some kind of majestic being, but look at you! Hahahahaha" Thufrat said merrily as he saw Ark''s pouting.


    After some friendly banter between them, the two ordered some food and talked a little about their mission the next day.


    "I wonder what kind of person the noble lady is going to be like?" Ark asked a little naively, he was genuinely curious after all.


    "Don''t get your hopes up kid, most nobles look down on people like us. They act like they are some other kind of species, sitting all haughty on top of their high horses. They seem to conveniently forget the fact that we''re all the same, just because they had luck on their side when they were born." Thufrat said as he clenched his fists a little.

 Chapter 70 - A Day Off For Once!

    The lady from earlier still occupied parts of Ark''s mind, even though he tried not to think about her, she still managed to surface in the depths of his mind. She just wasn''t someone you could easily forget, Ark felt that something was special about the young lady, he just didn''t really know what. After eating their fill, they both headed back to the inn for the day, and just rested a little in their room. Since he didn''t have a lot of time as a human, Ark tried to save as much time as needed in his human form, in case of emergencies.


    In their humble room, Ark rested on the floor, while Thufrat rested a little on the bed. They had to make a good impression the next day as bodyguards, and they were both a little tired. No matter what they did, each day seemed to be filled with adventures and new developments. They rarely got a real day off, to just relax. After a couple of hours of resting, noon had already passed. They were both getting hungry and decided to eat some lunch.


    Walking down into the dining hall of the inn, Ark and Thufrat ordered some lunch and sat down for a while. The food arrived after a couple of minutes, and they both dug in. Lily was watching them a little for a while, whilst serving the other customers. When they had finished eating, Thufrat left to go to the bathroom, and Ark was left all alone. Whirling around the drink in his glass a little, Ark looked a little desolate. He never really thought about it too much, but he seriously liked having a new friend. The feeling of being all alone was seriously the worst, and Ark didn''t feel it anyway near as much as he used to. But still, the feeling was there sometimes, and it was kind of horrible.


    What if Thufrat one day decided to just leave him, and never came back? The thought seriously scared him. Even though they were friends right now, people were never almost friends for their entire life. Friends were almost always bound to grow apart after a while, but Ark didn''t want that to happen, he didn''t want to be left all alone again.


    After a couple of minutes, Thufrat returned from his bathroom visit. Ark heaved a sigh of relief and gulped down the rest of his drink. Standing up, they paid their tab and left the place. Ark had a little under 2 more hours of use in his human form, all he had done was eat in it today after all, and strolled a little bit. Since they had already rested a little, they decided to leave the inn, and explore the city some more.


    As they strolled about, they almost instinctively gravitated toward the marketplace. This place was always cheerful, and there was a lot of things to look at and do there. After almost an entire hour of looking around, eating some snacks, and just browsing the different shops. Ark and Thufrat arrived in front of an inconspicuous stall. The weird thing about this stall was that even though it looked so ordinary, it was quite the opposite. The stall itself was enchanted with numerous kinds of magic, and the things on display were far from ordinary, to say the least.


    There was an array of different magical artifacts and mana crystals. What caught Thufrat''s attention was a fairly large warhammer that was on display. The warhammer was mainly crafted from a sort of magical tree that was heavily earth attributed. The wood was lined with different kinds of mana conducting metals that would make this warhammer an excellent weapon for someone of the earth element.


    "Is it okay if I test it a little?"


    The shopkeeper only glanced at him before he nodded, and started polishing a magical sword that was on display. As Thufrat felt the weight of the wood in his hands, as well as the polished metal finishes, he instantly fell in love with it. He tried to inject it with some of his earth mana, which instantly made the hammer swell in size, as well as increase exponentially in weight. The surrounding people gave him some space, and Thufrat gave it a test swing.


    Even though he didn''t use his full power at all, the air trembled as it was split apart when the hammer was brought down. Before slamming it into the ground, Thufrat stopped it an inch or so above the ground. The hammer still carried a large amount of force, and the surrounding ground cracked for several meters. It almost looked like a large spiderweb covering the ground as the cracks crisscrossed across the ground. And that was when the hammer didn''t even touch the ground.


    The surrounding people gulped involuntarily, what if the dwarf actually struck the ground with all his power? They didn''t dare imagine what would happen to them if they were to fight this dwarf. The shopkeeper gave Thufrat a slight nod of approval when he saw the destruction of the ground. Thufrat didn''t want to ruin the man''s business, and he repaired all the damage to the ground using his earth magic.


    Even though the warhammer was seriously attractive to Thufrat, he didn''t have the money to buy it. It cost 50 rose-gold, and Thufrat didn''t have that kind of money. At least not currently. Ark could see the look on Thufrat''s face, and he knew what he was thinking. Even if they pooled their money together after this mission, they wouldn''t be able to afford it. But Ark really wanted Thufrat to get it, and his brain was working hard trying to figure out the best way to make out money, at least for him currently.


    He didn''t have the time to be doing any of that right now though, it was more for future references. After a little bit more of looking around, Ark and Thufrat left the small stall and walked back to the inn. They didn''t stay in the lobby, they just walked directly to their room. After entering their room once more, Ark stayed in his human form, and they had a nice and long chat, before Ark took a nap for a while.


    After he woke up, they ate some dinner at the inn, since they didn''t feel like going out anymore. And then they just both went to sleep. Ark felt like it was a bit of a waste of a day off, but sleeping was just too blissful when you were tired.

 Chapter 71 - A Weird Coincidence?

    After waking up the next day, both Ark and Thufrat were filled with energy, Ark turned into his human form again, and noticed that his "Shapeshift" had leveled up to level 6 the night before. He had been too sleepy to notice the night before. They went downstair after stretching their tired bodies a little and ate some breakfast at the inn''s diner. The fresh air of outside hit them as soon as they stepped out of the inn, painting a bright contrast to the inn''s stale air.


    After walking around for a bit, Ark entered a dark alley before preparing to switch forms. As soon as he stepped foot into the alley, a foul smell assaulted his senses, and Ark almost fell on his b.u.t.t. A little confused, Ark looked around a little before he noticed the source of the devastating smell. In a dark, remote corner of the alley, a body laid propped up against the wall. What was once a young man in his early teens, was now a foul, decayed corpse, permeating the air with a terrible sense of dread.


    Seeing this, Ark almost had an urge to throw up, but he calmed down a second later. This was one of the devastating realities of the world. Some people simply couldn''t live comfortably, and this was their fate. After taking their time to alert the authorities, Ark and Thufrat went into another alley, which was empty this time around. After transforming successfully, Ark and Thufrat left for the city gates, to start their first day of work.


    There was no one outside of the city gates when they arrived, therefore they just sat down and waited patiently in the open field outside of the city walls. They had to wait for almost an entire hour before someone finally arrived outside of the city gates. The entourage that was meeting them consisted of a fairly normal carriage, with 4 guards and a coachman. As they waited for a little outside the gates, some of the guards spotted Ark and Thufrat. They dismissed after a second or two though, they were waiting for two guards, not one guard and a beast. To their surprise, Ark and Thufrat swiftly picked themselves off the ground and started walking in their direction.


    After arriving about 5 meters away from the carriage, they stopped.


    "Oi, are you guys the ones looking for two bodyguards?" Thufrat asked the coachman. The coachman was a little surprised before he nodded his head gently. The coachman said something to one of the other guards, which promptly knocked on one of the doors of the carriage.


    "Yes?" After hearing the voice of a female, the guard swiftly answered.


    "The two bodyguards have arrived!"


    "Ok, I''ll speak to them."


    After saying this, the door to the carriage opened, and a young girl stepped out. The young girl wore the attire of a maid, indicating that she was not the noble lady that they were supposed to protect. The young maid''s crystal-like green eyes quickly scanned her surroundings, before they landed atop Ark and Thufrat.


    "Eh?"


    Hearing her surprised voice, Thufrat took half a step forward.


    "Is something the matter?" He asked with some concern.


    "Sorry, I just thought that there would be two bodyguards, is your partner on the way?" The young maid asked with an apologetic tone.


    "My partner is standing right in front of you!" Thufrat answered with a little disdain hidden in his look. He made sure that the young maid didn''t notice it though since it would spell trouble.


    The young maid was surprised when she heard this before she turned a little angry.


    "Are you trying to make fun of me? You''re saying this wolf is supposed to be the other bodyguard?"


    Thufrat could see the clear anger on her face, but he was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.


    "That''s exactly what I''m saying, he''ll do a better job than any of the guards currently here, I can attest to that!" He said with his voice full of confidence.


    The girl''s look was full of obvious disbelief. She didn''t take what Thufrat said seriously at all. Did he seriously think that this small little wolf would be able to do anything to these bodyguards? Even though they looked a little ordinary, they were all fairly powerful. At the very least level 50.


    "You have to be kidding right? Do you seriously believe that this little wolf can do anything to us? Is there something wrong with that little head of yours?" One of the guards laughed with his voice full of ridicule. Who the hell was this random dwarf to say that his contracted beast would be able to take them on?


    As Ark heard this, the normally gentle glimmer in his eyes died down, replaced with anger. Who was this nobody to talk shit to his friend? Ark didn''t sit still for long. Before anyone could react, Ark snorted. An intense light erupted out of nowhere, and everyone one the scene was blinded completely.


    "Thud..."


    All that could be heard was the sound of something hitting the ground. As the blinding light faded, a strange scene was revealed for all to see. The haughty guard who insulted Thufrat laid face-first on the ground, his face burrowed an inch or two into the soft dirt. Ark looked at the guard with disdain and some residual anger, before he shot a challenging look towards the other guards.


    "So, do you believe that he is qualified now?" A smirk plastered across his face, Thufrat asked with confidence. The young maid was about to answer, but the door to the carriage suddenly swung open!


    "What happened here? Are you ok Maddy?" A distressed but elegant voice of a young lady emerged from within the carriage. As soon as they heard this voice, both Thufrat and Ark reacted and looked at each other. It couldn''t be her right?

 Chapter 72 - Meeting Once More!

    Ark''s and Thufrat''s question was answered a question later as a young lady stepped out of the carriage. A mesmerizing pair of red eyes frantically looked around the scene, trying to assert what had happened out here. Her blonde hair flung about as she swung her head around, looking for her maid Maddy. After making sure that her maid was safe and sound. The young lady heaved a sigh of relief before looking around the scene a little more.


    Her gaze quickly came to a stop when it landed on Ark and Thufrat, showing evident surprise. She then noticed that one of her bodyguards was knocked out cold, with the rest of them standing at the ready, weapons drawn, facing Ark and Thufrat. A weird glint shone in her eyes as they landed atop Ark once more.


    Ark and Thufrat were both dumbfounded at the sight of this young lady walking out from within the carriage. They quickly recovered though, it wasn''t that weird. It was almost to be expected, why would there be multiple noble ladies in a backwater city like this? Ark was a little more fl.u.s.tered then Thufrat though. But it was fairly easy for him to hide it.


    "Maddy, exactly what is going on right now?" The sound of the noble lady''s voice broke the current awkward silence.


    Maddy, the maid, seemed to be awoken from her stupor, and she quickly answered her master.


    "You see, this dwarf said that they were here for the job as bodyguards. I thought he was joking when he said that the wolf was his partner, and the situation escalated a little. One of the guards insulted the dwarf, and the wolf got mad, resulting in this situation!" After reciting everything that happened as quickly and concisely as she could, Maddy had to gulp for some air. It wasn''t a short explanation after all, and she said it all in one breath.


    "Hmmm" The noble lady glanced at Ark a little, the wolf seemed annoyed, which wasn''t weird, someone insulted its master after all.


    "Sigh, it should be fine if both parties just apologize right? I don''t want this to become a feud because of such a silly reason." Thufrat proposed when he saw the troubled look on the noble lady''s face, she obviously didn''t know what to make of the situation.


    "That''s probably for the better right? We need to get a move on as well." The young lady appreciated the help and decided that it was probably the best solution for now. They could probably make up along the way as long as they spent some time with each other. The only problem was that her bodyguard was knocked out cold, and he needed to wake up for them to be able to solve everything.


    In normal cases, the young lady would''ve been more irritated and angry if someone created trouble with her people, but this situation was a little different. First off, these guards had only started following her recently, and they were her father''s people. This made it hard for her to recognize them as her own people. Second of all, they really needed these two people as guards, they didn''t have the time to reject them and then try and find new ones. And last but not least, these two didn''t seem like bad people at all.


    "We just need to wake him up first though, then we can set our differences aside."


    When Ark heard this, he glanced at the bodyguard he had just knocked out and started to manipulate the mana in the air around him.


    All of a sudden, a faint sizzle was heard as a very meager amount of thunder mana zapped the knocked out bodyguard. It didn''t even take a split-second for the once out cold body to shoot straight up.


    "Uwaaaaaaah" The man was shocked out of his wits, both literally and figuratively. He quickly tried to get on his feet, but he just fell squarely on his face again. All eyes first shot to the bodyguard, before involuntarily switching to Ark. Ark just shifted his gaze and pouted a little. The young noble lady had an almost unstoppable urge to laugh, but she somehow managed to hold herself back.


    After a second or two of confusion and looking around, the bodyguard finally realized the situation and drew his sword. Ark only looked at him with disdain upon seeing this, like drawing his sword would actually make a difference in this situation. [What a complete idiot] was the only thing could think of when he watched this person.


    "No way in hell will I apologize to some dwarf and his pesky wolf, I didn''t really do anything wrong either!" As these words escaped the bodyguard''s lips, the noble young lady''s gaze suddenly intensified, and she stared at the bodyguard with a look that could kill. Before the guy could say anything else, she started speaking.


    "If that''s your attitude, then you might as well just go home, I don''t think I want you as my bodyguard!"


    This elicited shocked expressions from almost everyone present, but it couldn''t be helped, the young noble lady didn''t want to put her life in the hands of such a person. He wasn''t particularly strong either way, and they would probably survive without him.


    As he heard this, he ground his teeth hard, before staring at Ark with malicious intent clear for all to see. He glanced at the young noble lady once, before sheathing his sword and going back to Ravenfront.


    "Was that... really ok?" Thufrat asked with some clear concern in his voice, the look that man had in his eyes did not bode well, and he was sure that trouble would be sure to follow.


    "It''s fine, we really need to get going after all."


    "Now, shouldn''t we all introduce ourselves?"

 Chapter 73 - Introductions!

    "Well, I''ll start off I guess. My name is Morgana, and I''m your employer for this mission, I''ll be in your care!" The young noble lady said with a radiant smile. As she smiled, a gentle breeze gently c.a.r.e.s.sed her figure, creating quite the beautiful scene.


    "Hello there, the name''s Thufrat, a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet ya! This little fellow is called Ark, he''s a little prideful, but he''s very loyal!" Thufrat responded with a smile.


    "Ark and Thufrat huh? Well, my name is Eric, the long one with the beard is Finlay and the short fat one is Lewis." One of the guards said a little awkwardly. He looked like the epitome of average, and nothing really good or bad could be said about him. Even though they all looked like some second-rate guards, it was mostly a facade. The purpose of looking worse than they actually were, was to make their enemies let their guards down and look them.


    This was more effective than most people would think, if one of the sides doesn''t fight at their full strength... well, the result would be pretty obvious. After their introductions, everyone just stood there a little awkwardly, Thufrat and Ark didn''t really know what to do next. Seeing that no one took charge, the old coachman stepped in.


    "Well, we should be heading out as soon as possible, so if you''re all done, then we should get going." After saying his piece, he just sat all by himself at the head of the carriage and waited for everyone to get ready to depart. Morgana and Maddy didn''t idle about and entered the carriage without delay. The 3 remaining guards took to their horses, before realizing something crucial, Thufrat didn''t have a horse. Their worries disappeared a second later, only to be replaced with surprise instead.


    The once small wolf had instantly grown to be over 2 and a half meters tall, and Thufrat seated himself on its back. The shock disappeared pretty quickly though, the world was a big place, if they were surprised and shocked by everything they saw, they wouldn''t live long. Seeing that everyone was ready, the coachman whistled, and the horses started moving. The carriage quickly started moving at a baffling speed, making it a little hard for Ark to keep pace in the beginning.


    The once ordinary carriage didn''t seem so ordinary anymore, it looked ordinary on the outside. But Ark was sure that it was only to deceive people. A normal carriage wouldn''t be able to travel at such speeds, neither would normal horses for that part. The horses that drew the carriage were actually magical beasts, namely draconic horses. Draconic horses were a rare breed of horses that had a shred of dragons blood running through their bodies. Since dragons were natural-born paragons, sharing some of their bloodline let these horses distinguish themselves from the masses.


    As Ark and Thufrat noticed these details, they both had a feeling that this mission was going to be harder than what they signed up for. Thufrat quickly put these thoughts at the back of his head though as he felt the wind flowing against his body. Traveling at high speeds like these, the wind was actually very harsh, but since Ark was an Overlord Elemental Wolf, the wind c.a.r.e.s.sed them instead as they flew forward. Thufrat would have been able to easily withstand such winds anyways, but it was a lot more pleasant this way.


    Thufrat probably traveled more comfortably than Morgana and Maddy to be completely honest. They had to sit in a carriage at these speeds, even though the carriage was very solid and stable, it couldn''t be that comfortable either way. In comparison, Thufrat could enjoy the winds, as well as Ark''s soft fur, he was basically traveling in bliss.


    After traveling for almost 4 hours non-stop like this, the entourage decided that it would be for the better to take a rest and eat a little. The rest was mostly in consideration of the horses, they didn''t want them to suffer or bear the risk of dying of exhaustion, even if the were special breeds. As Maddy and Morgana stepped out of the carriage, they were both a little taken aback seeing Ark''s size.


    "How come he suddenly grew so big? Is it a skill or something?" Maddy asked eagerly as she watched Ark''s body with astonishment.


    "Quite the opposite actually, this is his normal size! The earlier one was just so he could enter Ravenfront with me, it''s not like we wanted to scare people to death." Thufrat answered earnestly, as he helped with preparing the fire they were going to use to cook. Everyone else was busy preparing the ingredients they were going to use for their meal, as well as some other utensils. Even though they were in the middle of nowhere, they still wanted Morgana to have best meal possible.


    Ark was starving after having to run for such a long time, and now that he was in his original form again, his hunger had expanded several times over, since his body required a lot more energy after all. As his stomach emitted a sudden growl, some bushes fiercely parted! Out of them came a large bear. The bear had pure white fur, and extensive green markings covered its entire figure. The bear seemed to be in some weird ravenous state, and its eyes shone with a deadly red l.u.s.ter.


    Everyone on the scene quickly drew their weapons and stood up. They could clearly see that this was an Emerald Bear. Emerald Bears were usually fairly gentle in nature, but it was obvious that something was wrong with this one. As it was about to rush out to attack them, Ark swung his claws ferociously. No one had a chance to react before the bears head was suddenly rolling on the ground in front of them.


    The ground was dyed red from the blood that spurted out of its decapitated body, and a heavy smell started to permeate the surroundings. Before they had any more time to think, Ark manipulated the water mana at his disposal to clean up the mess that he had created. Everyone else only silently stared at the scene. Even though they would have no trouble to take care of an Emerald Bear themselves, they had barely even seen what Ark had done before it was done for.


    In reality, Ark had actually used the bear''s specialty against it and decapitated it with the use of wind magic, as well as his own body''s power. Now that he was in his original form, his strength had returned, and he finally got the chance to test out the bonus stats he had gotten from his [Body Refining] skill. The results were a little absurd, but in a good way.


    Ark''s stomach started growling as he looked at the corpse of the bear he had just killed, and he started to disassemble the corpse using wind and ice magic. After getting rid of all the parts that couldn''t be eaten, Ark started roasting the meat of the bear himself using his fire magic. Everyone else went back to their own food preparations, they were all hungry after all. And even though what had just happened needed some discussing, this was probably not the best place, since the party responsible was probably still around. Even if they weren''t it was better to be safe than sorry.

 Chapter 74 - The Journey Continues!

    After consuming their meal, they quickly started moving again. This time, they continued to travel at an even higher speed, and they had no intention to stop before they had arrived in the next city on the way, which was quite far away from their current location. Even though it was far away, they estimated it would take around 5 hours for them to arrive. Since everyone, including the horses, were well fed and rested, they could easily travel for 5 hours non-stop at high speed. The rest of the trip was fairly dull since it only consisted of traveling along a road, and taking care of some low-level bandits as well as some magical beasts that tried to attack them. This was usually taken care of in an attack or two, resulting in them arriving in a medium-sized city in about four and a half hours.


    After arriving in the city, they all checked in to one of the better inns of the town, but not the best one. That would stick out a little too much for their tastes. If their enemies were after them, then they would probably search the most renowned inns and places to stay before checking the normal ones, this was a noble lady after all. They wanted to be as inconspicuous as they could. This heightened Ark''s and Thufrat''s unease even more, them being on guard wasn''t boding well.


    The noble lady and her maid slept in one room, while the 3 other guards got another room, and a small room was left for Ark and Thufrat. Since he had time in his human form, Ark and Thufrat had a long conversation, and they took the chance to talk about a lot of things, before finally going to sleep late into the evening.


    the next day, the party of 7 left early in the morning and headed further away from Ravenfront. At first, he wasn''t really sure where they were going, but after a little while, Thufrat started to question the direction they were heading in. At this rate, they would either end up on the border or even entering another kingdom, namely the Kingdom of Magic, Steoteya! Magic was prevalent in a lot of kingdoms, but Steoteya was famous for their first-class magicians and wizards, earning them a secure spot as the second strongest kingdom under the Oshwalt Empire.


    Magicians held a lot of power in Steoteya, and upon becoming a magician of Steoteya, your social standing would become a lot more prevalent. But that was easier said than done. Steoteya was known for its renowned magicians, therefore the bar was set really high to become an official magician of the country. This would also mean that you would have to fight in wars for Steoteyas sake, and protect its citizens, but for many, that was killing two birds with one stone. Getting to defend and protect your country whilst getting a lot of benefits, to many, this was a dreamy offer, to say the least.


    The trip was going smoothly without mishaps, and they stopped a few times along the way to rest and eat some food, but after traveling for a couple of hours, a feeling of unease crept up along the entourage''s spines. Even though they still travelled on the same road, a feeling of darkness and despair had started to sully the road. Morgana looked out of the windows on the carriage, an obvious frown plastered across her face. Her maid, Maddy, also fidgeted a little as she watched her young lady being uneasy.


    Morgana''s father was a very powerful and influential man, which garnered many enemies, this was why they were both worried. They knew what this trip would entail, and they came prepared, but the hope of being undiscovered, was lost. But their hope to live was all but gone, and Morgana looked to her guards with a serious and determined gaze. This was probably not going to be easy, but everyone here knew what they signed up for. Well, everyone but Ark and Thufrat.


    The feeling of darkness and despair kept increasing, until all of a sudden, it vanished! The surprise and unease brought about by this aura made them stop in their tracks. Rushing straight ahead like fools would only get them killed. Morgana swiftly left the carriage and called all of the guards to assemble in front of her. As everyone lined up, Morgana was just about to open her mouth, when a stifling aura suddenly enveloped everyone present. The aura was scorching, and if they were normal people, they would probably boil alive from just this aura alone. Fortunately, no one here was normal, except for Maddy.


    She didn''t even suffer for a second though before Ark enveloped her in his own water mana, keeping the scorching aura at bay. She gave him a thankful nod, before refocusing on what was happening right now. Before long, the scorching aura kept getting closer and closer, and before the entourage''s eyes, a magical beast made its appearance.


    A large majestic lion showed up before their eyes. This lion was over 4 meters long, and it''s ripped body was very effective when it came to striking fear into people''s hearts. The lion''s fur was a dark shade of brown. What stood out most about this lion, however, was its scarlet red mane. The lion''s eyes glowed an eerie and savage red colour, indicating that it was the same as the bear that Ark had killed the day before.


    Ark knew that this would likely be a tough opponent, and used inspect to see what he was up against.


    [Scarlet Lion Variant]


    Level: Max (75)


    Stats: ???


    The scarlet lion is a fierce and savage beast that lives to slaughter, relying on the strength of its body as well as its tyrannical fire magic, this beast dominates its opponents. This particular one is a variant, and is one the verge of evolving into a "Scarlet Lion King".


    After seeing this information, Ark''s eyes darkened a little. The level, as well as its innate strength, was already nothing to scoff at, but with the addition of being a variant? Ark wasn''t entirely confident he could win. Even though he was usually miles above his level, that only applied if the enemies strength wasn''t extraordinary. This lion had extraordinary strength, as well as being plenty of levels higher, it would be a tough fight for sure.


    Ark wasn''t alone though, and with the help of Thufrat, he would be able to take care of this Scarlet Lion. Before Ark had the chance to rejoice, numerous auras suddenly emerged once more. This time around, the auras were not as stifling, but they were still seriously strong, and there were multiple. Before anyone had the chance to react, numerous figures clad in black emerged from the shadows, standing alongside the Scarlet Lion...

 Chapter 75 - Fierce Fight!

    The silhouettes that emerged didn''t stay still for longer than a couple of seconds before they instantly sprung into action. The guards all surrounded Morgana and Maddy, protecting them from the newly emerged opponents. The people that were dressed in all black noticed these guards, but seeing the way they were dressed, they just tried to bypass them to get to Morgana. 2 of the people dressed in black went ahead of the others since they would get a bonus if they landed the fatal blow. Just as the two people passed the guards, their heads were suddenly sent flying through the air. They didn''t even get the chance to react, as the tall guard with a beard wiped off some of the blood from his sword.


    The rest of the people dressed in black instantly stopped in their tracks and skidded for a meter or two before stopping. It seemed like they would have to take their opponents seriously, lest they wanted to lose their heads just like their comrades. These people dressed in black was actually an elite force known as shadow warriors, as for who they worked for, who knew?


    Even though they stopped in their tracks, they were more than confident enough to take care of people like this, but they had to go all out if they didn''t want to end up with the short end of the stick. Since they were going to act seriously, the 8 remaining shadow warriors all engulfed themselves in darkness mana, enshrouding them in mystery. Normally they would start to radiate with power if they used a move like this, but the scary part was that they didn''t emit any aura at all. The shadow warriors almost looked like they were darkness incarnate, roaming the earth.


    After they engulfed themselves in darkness mana, they all disappeared from where they stood, leaving just a wisp of darkness lingering behind. Before Morgana and the rest could react, the shadow warriors were already upon them. This time, Thufrat stomped on the ground, sending a wall made out of earth straight in front of the attackers. With just the right timing, one of the shadows hit the earth wall with a loud bang, before the wall crumbled down again as he burst through it.


    The rest of the shadows still went straight for them and arrived in no less than a second. Thufrat stood in the very front of their little defensive line, and when he was about to use his earth magic again, the limp body that was just about to hit the ground suddenly shot out. The shadow had acted like he was knocked out cold, but just when he was about to hit the ground, he used one of his hands to find leverage, catching Thufrat off guard.


    The shadow warrior''s dagger went straight after Thufrat''s throat, not hesitating one bit. Thufrat may have been caught off guard, but in a life and death situation like this, he managed to squeeze out every bit of his body''s potential to save his life. He activated one of his skills he had gotten when he further awakened his bloodline, and his skin changed drastically. Small brown scales appeared all over his body, interlocking with one another to provide the most excellent of defense they could. The brown scales shone with a peculiar l.u.s.ter, and they were imbued with the majestic strength of a dragon, which naturally suppressed his surroundings.


    He shifted his body as much as he could, which was enough for the dagger to change its course by a tiny bit. The dagger, imbued with tremendous amounts of power slashed across the side of Thufrat''s throat, instead of piercing through it, which was the shadow''s original intention. The dagger drew a thin line of blood, but nothing oozed out of the small wound. Thufrat had managed to escape danger this time, but his opponent had still drawn blood.


    The dignity of a dragon was nothing to scoff at, and even though it was only a minor and insignificant wound, Thufrat''s temper flared. His pupils started to narrow into slits, and the colour of his eyes changed to amber, radiating light. Before the shadow warrior could process what had happened, Thufrat''s arm shot out of nowhere and firmly grasped the man''s neck. Even though he had numerous means to deal with such a situation, no such means would ever get to see the light of day.


    "Crunch"


    An eerie sound broke the intense atmosphere of before, and a soft thud followed shortly. The limp body of a man dressed in all black slowly revealed itself as the darkness that engulfed him dissipated. The other shadow warriors barely spared the man a glance before their assault was resumed in full force once again.


    On the other side of the battlefield, Ark was standing face to face with the Scarlet Lion. Even though the lion was oppressive and savage, it still held an ounce of wariness and respect for the wolf in front of it. The wolf carried the aura of a ruler, and no normal magical beast could ever have something like that. Even though the lion was wary for a little while, its patience didn''t last long at all, its savage nature couldn''t be repressed forever after all.


    Along with its thirst for battle and slaughter, the temperature of the surroundings rose accordingly. It suddenly flared up intensely as the lion bared its fangs and pounced on Ark. Atop the fangs of the Scarlet Lion, a burning flame danced. Even though the attack seemed simple, the attack was everything but weak, and the devastating aura it carried brought great turbulence to the surroundings.


    "BOOM"


    This proved to be the right move as a column of fire had shot out of the mouth of the lion, and slammed straight into the barrier made out of water. This, in turn, created a blast that sent both Ark and the lion skidding across the ground backward. Stabilizing himself as quickly as he could, Ark sent out another elemental attack. This time, he had conjured up a swift blade out of wind mana, that he had sent straight for the lion. The lion also stabilized its body, only to find a blade out of wind hurtling towards it at great speeds.


    The lion swiped out with its claw full of fire magic to counter the wind blade, only to learn a harsh truth. The lion''s expression quickly darkened when the attacks made contact, and a small explosion of fire instantly engulfed the lion. The lion had never met with such a situation before and had no idea that wind only fed the power of fire, and could, therefore, be able to both counter and support fire magicians.


    Even though the Scarlet Lion was a creature of fire affinity, it still wouldn''t come out unscathed out of such an attack. The force of the explosion still remained after all, and the lion wasn''t completely immune to fire. As he was complimenting his own wits in secret, Ark''s expression soured as the Scarlet lion emerged out of the flames of the explosion, with barely a blemish to be seen...

 Chapter 76 - The Fight Continues!

    Seeing the state of the Scarlet Lion, Ark had a feeling that he would have to go all-out if he wanted to beat this beast. Holding his strength back would only get him killed, and who wanted that? Well, except for his opponents, and a few other people. The lion didn''t wait for even a second before it started attacking once more. It called on the fierce fire mana once more, but this time, it was preparing a much larger move. Ark would be stupid if he just stood there and watched it happen.


    He could''ve tried to interrupt the lion''s magic, but since he wasn''t too sure of his body''s capabilities, he would rather use the one thing he was sure of, his magic. Since his opponent was going to use a fire attack, Ark started to acc.u.mulate tons of ice mana. The ice element was one of his strongest elements, and it restrained fire, making this one of Ark''s strongest weapons against this foe. A couple of seconds quickly passed, and the lion''s expression was getting fiercer and fiercer for every second that passed.


    The lion suddenly shifted its head, staring at Thufrat in the distance with glee, Ark was surprised, and quickly followed its line of sight, only to discover that Thufrat was fine. It quickly hit him that this beast was more intelligent than he thought, and a scorching aura quickly approached him. A vortex of fire was making its way quickly toward him, and Ark didn''t have much time to react. He mustered all the ice mana he had acc.u.mulated and put up a defensive barrier in front of himself.


    The fire and ice clashed with a loud sound, and the ice managed to keep the fire at bay for the moment, the fire wasn''t leaving though, and Ark had to keep feeding the ice his mana to sustain it.


    "Crash!"


    All of a sudden, the ice shattered into thousands of pieces, scattering into the air. Through the ice, the lion came flying over. Ark didn''t manage to muster much defense before the lion appeared before him, swiping at him with its claws. This attack wasn''t imbued with any mana on the surface, but it contained a scary destructive power nonetheless. Ark took the claw attack head-on, but since he didn''t manage to acc.u.mulate any power of his own, he was sent flying.


    A fairly deep scar was left on his abdomen, and Ark was bleeding profusely. The pain was excruciating, since the lion had imbued Ark''s body with its fire mana when it had made contact with its claws. Ark got back on his feet as quickly as he could, and he instantly dodged to his left.


    Woosh


    The scarlet lion flew straight past him as he dodged its next attack. The lion didn''t leave him any room to breathe after he had been injured heavily, and it just attacked once more instantly. Ark activated his Envoy Of Holiness skill after retreating for about 50 meters. Enveloped by sacred light, Ark tried his hardest to suppress his injury. He couldn''t go all-out, he needed mana to attack after all, but he still stopped most of the bleeding, and mended the wound considerably, alleviating some of his pain in the process.


    The battle on the other side was looking a lot better, but it was still looking rather grim. The guards of Morgana could barely hold off a single shadow warrior face to face after they had gotten serious. Thufrat was trying his best to contend against the other four by himself, but even after using his bloodline''s ancient power, he was still being suppressed, and it was only a matter of time before he fell.


    One of the 4 shadow warriors suddenly leaped off the ground and into the air without any warning whatsoever. The figure of a shadow floating about in the air was rather ethereal, but no one had the time to appreciate the beauty behind this moment. The shadow brought out a short sword from his own spatial bag and stabilized himself up in the air. After a moment of silence, the sword came swinging down. An abnormal sword aura took form and speeded toward Thufrat. This strike of absolute darkness was awfully powerful, and Thufrat thought of dodging.


    Before he had the chance to finish his thought, the 3 other shadows appeared to his sides as well as behind him, trapping him with only one way left, forward. Thufrat didn''t hesitate, and even though he had fought bare-handed up until now, he finally took out his warhammer from his spatial bag. He swung the hammer as soon as it was out of the bag, and he put almost all of the remaining mana he had into this blow, if he didn''t he would die for sure. Earth mana oozed out of the warhammer, and the outer layer even shone with a brown hue.


    The hammer''s force split the air apart, and a sound that would normally rupture people''s eardrums echoed as it explosively made its way toward the darkness. Earth and darkness soon collided in mid-air. No sound could be heard, but a blinding light shot out in all directions, directly blinding everyone present. Ark obviously noticed such a sight, and he nervously watched the event unfold. After colliding with each other, a clear winner emerged, Thufrat. The earth didn''t give up against the darkness, and with the help of its tenacious nature, it kept going after eradicating the darkness. The shadow warrior was already resigned to his fate, the only comfort he could find in his death was that his killer would soon follow him.


    Ark was happy when he saw this and heaved a sigh of relief, only to realize something a second later. As the light dimmed down, Ark could finally see Thufrat. But instead of the triumphant expression he was expecting, he could only see one of pain on his face. When Ark''s eyes worked their way down to his stomach area, Ark''s expression darkened. A tempestuous aura appeared around him, weighing down on his surroundings. If you looked at Thufrat''s back, all you would be able to see was the hilt of a dagger that shone with a dark light.


    Ark''s eyes reddened, it was time to kill!

 Chapter 77 - Kill!

    Seeing Thufrat like this, Ark''s anger instantly consumed him. Rational thinking was a thing of the past, and Ark''s aura skyrocketed. These bastards dared hurt his best friend? Even going so far as trying to kill him? What had Thufrat ever done to them? Nothing, and Ark was furious. The scarlet lion was about to attack Ark again, but as the scarlet lion neared, something peculiar occurred. Ark stood in silence, but the elements around him were all but staying still. Sensing Ark''s seething anger, the mana in the air grew furious, and it all started to cl.u.s.ter around him.


    The first element to go out of control was the wind element, kicking up a tornado with Ark at its center. The tornado was rapidly expanding, and the rest of the elements integrated themselves into the tornado to the best of their abilities. Soon, the tornado had spears made out of ice, swords created from light and spikes made out of earth flying around it. The darkness element couldn''t be of any use in the tornado and clung to Ark instead, hiding him from people''s sight. Water and fire were contradicting energies, and instead of fighting with each other inside of the tornado, they integrated themselves with Ark''s body, imbuing him with immense power thanks to his constitution.


    Everyone present was mindblown as this raging tornado suddenly appeared, and Ark seemingly disappeared. the shadows that were attacking Ark and the bodyguards were distracted, and before they could think much more, the tornado attacked the scarlet lion. When they saw this, they all focused back on their fights, since the tornado wasn''t attacking them after all. But before their battles returned to what they were before, gloomy darkness spread among the fighters. Morgana and her party assumed it was the shadow warriors'' doing, but that wasn''t the case.


    All of a sudden, the sound of flesh being ripped apart emerged out of nowhere. Blood and flesh rained down from the air as two shadow warriors were suddenly ripped apart from something lurking in the darkness. As everyone felt the warmth of the blood that splashed on their faces, chills ran down everyone''s spines. The shadow warriors looked apathetic on the surface, but turmoil raged within their hearts. No matter how inhuman and weird they seemed, they were all human at heart and seeing their comrades ripped apart like this, they all felt bloodthirst. But more importantly, they felt fear.


    A sudden light suddenly emerged from the darkness, and the shadow warrior standing behind Ark was targeted by a white fire javelin flying at a speed almost indiscernible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. A large hole appeared in the shadow warrior''s leg. Albeit in immense pain, the shadow warrior felt some relief that the attack only hit his leg. Before he could finish that thought, the shadow warrior suddenly burst into white flames. The white flames instantly engulfed his entire figure and burned fiercely.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH"


    An inhuman scream that sent shivers down people''s spines followed a second later. Ark appeared a meter or so away from him, and looked at him with eyes of pure anger. He could''ve instantly killed the man, but did Ark want the man to die such an easy death after doing this to his friend? No way in hell! He let the man burn for a second or two, enduring immense pain, before letting him pass on, he was no sadist after all. The shadow warrior just turned into a fine dust that scattered in the wind, disappearing completely.


    Thufrat was currently kneeling on the ground, using one of his hands to keep himself from falling completely. Ark quickly tried to support him with one of his paws, before inspecting the wound on his friend''s stomach. A dark dagger was stuck in his back, with darkness mana lingering around it. Blood was gushing out like a waterfall, and Ark''s unease multiplied when he saw the severe wound as well as Thufrat''s pale face.


    He didn''t dare waste even a single second and instantly tried to help him. The first thing he did was to remove the dagger itself. He had to use light mana to battle the darkness mana that was lingering around, but it wasn''t that difficult.


    "Hnnng"


    Thufrat''s pained voice quickly sounded, and Ark''s unease grew. Removing the dagger made the wound bleed even more profusely, and Thufrat was in a lot of pain, but it had to be done. If he didn''t remove the dagger, there was no way for Ark to heal the wound, and even though it pained him to hurt his friend, it was for his best. Ark calmed his mind down and concentrated as much as he could. He then started sending in large amounts of light mana into Thufrat''s body. He guided the mana to the best of his abilities, trying his hardest to repair Thufrat''s damaged body.


    Unfortunately, the wound wasn''t simple, and it was fairly deep. If that was all there was to it, then it wouldn''t be that hard to fix, the unfortunate part was that the assassin was experienced in his profession, and had punctured Thufrat''s liver. Ark grew more and more desperate, and he kept sending in more and more light mana to help Thufrat''s body recover, but it wasn''t going too well. Ark bit down hard, treating him like this wouldn''t help, and Ark decided to go all out. This would endanger Thufrat''s life as well, but it was the only way Ark could make use of to try and save his friend.


    Even though it was a bit of a gamble, Ark decided to take the bet, and he sent in almost all the remaining mana he had into Thufrat''s body. This could effectively heal the Thufrat''s wound, at the very least to a point where it wasn''t life-threatening. The dangerous part was that the mana itself could go out of control, and that could easily kill Thufrat from the inside. For this to work, Ark had to remain focus to the utmost, and try to control the mana to the best of his abilities.


    The large stream of mana entered Thufrat''s body through the wound, and his face instantly paled even more. Ark sat behind him, guiding the mana through his damaged blood vessels and mending everything he could to the best of his ability. Most of the mana was repairing Thufrat''s liver and some other arteries that had been damaged. After a while, the colour on Thufrat''s face started to return, while Ark''s face started to pale instead.


    His focus wasn''t disturbed in the slightest by the fighting of the bodyguards and the shadow warriors, nor the tragic roars and yelps from the scarlet lion as it was ripped apart by the tornado ark had sent at it earlier. The only thing occupying his mind was the will to save his friend, which he eventually did. After successfully saving Thufrat, Ark couldn''t hold onto his conciousness any more, and collapsed on the ground...

 Chapter 78 - Conclusion!

    After Ark had fainted from overexerting himself, only Morgana and her bodyguards were left. The shadow warrior s that were in the middle of battling them, noticed the strange situation and decided to retreat. No one tried to stop them since everyone was exhausted, and they just watched the shadow warriors disappearing into the horizon. After they disappeared, Morgana and Maddy let down their guards and sat down on the ground. The bodyguards kept their minds alert, if they relaxed now, only to get attacked again, they would only be able to lament in their graves.


    A heavy mood was lingering in the surroundings. The horrible stench of smell kept invading everyone''s nostrils as they tried their hardest no to mind it. Scattered across the battlefield were bodies, flesh, and blood. A normal person would probably puke if they experienced this, but fortunately, no one here could be considered normal by any means.


    After recovering their bearings for a minute or so, they all quickly made their way toward Ark and Thufrat. The bodyguards still kept a tight formation around Morgana and Maddy. Standing in front of Thufrat and Ark laying quietly on the ground, Morgana''s heart began to stir. These two had risked their lives and existence in this fight, even though they could''ve easily run away. Seeing the pained expression of Thufrat and the exhausted yet peaceful expression of Ark made her heart clench, and she vowed to herself that she would definitely see to it that they both survived.


    Morgana wasn''t the only one who felt a little anxious, everyone present was a little emotional. Above Ark, the different mana particles kept circling around him. Some tried to wake him, whilst some just devotedly waited by his side. It was quite the sight to behold for people that could see mana. And as for the people who couldn''t, they could only feel something mysterious surrounding his body, as to what, they couldn''t be sure.


    Even though they would''ve liked to just sit here and protect them until they woke up, they were in a hurry, and they couldn''t just wait around. As Morgana was hard-pressed to come up with a valid solution, she could sense moment coming from Thufrat. As she took a closer look on his face, she could see his eyelids trembling fiercely, before they suddenly opened with a jolt. Thufrat was dazed for a second or so after he woke up before he quickly surveyed his surroundings. Seeing Ark''s body lying on the ground, eyes shut tightly, Thufrat couldn''t hold himself from rushing to his side.


    As he violently jerked his body up, an inhuman amount of pain instantly spread through his abdomen, stopping him from moving any further.


    "Just take it easy, it should be fine, I think he only suffers from mana deficiency! Moreover, you shouldn''t be moving your body right now." Morgana quickly tried to calm Thufrat down.


    Hearing her soothing voice, as well as the fact that Ark was apparently fine, Thufrat calmed down a little, he was still anxious though, but that couldn''t be helped though. Since Thufrat couldn''t travel with them any other way, he was allowed to ride in the carriage with Morgana and her maid Maddy. They didn''t have any other way to take Ark with them other than having him sleep on the roof of the carriage. As Thufrat heard this suggestion, he decided that he would stay with Ark on the roof. And look after him.


    Since they didn''t dare dawdle, they swiftly departed after settling their own business, such as using the bathroom. The wind whipped the carriage fiercely as it traveled at an amazing speed toward Steoteya. Thufrat''s plan was to shield Ark from such a wind, but as soon as the wind approached the two, it switched routes and avoided them completely. Thufrat understood that him being by Ark''s side changed nothing. But he still decided to sit beside his one and only friend, keeping watch over him to the best of his abilities.


    The next day was the third and last day of their job, and everyone had braced themselves for the wors, expecting to have to fight for their lives to arrive in Steoteya safely. To their surprise, the rest of the trip went as smoothly as it could, and they arrived at Steoteya''s borders on the evening of the third day.


    Seeing the robust stone walls of an outpost guarding the border, they couldn''t help but collectively heave a sigh of relief. Thufrat had never been too fond of his life, but he was happy that nothing had happened, he didn''t want anything to happen to his friend after all. Well, their journey wasn''t entirely complete just yet, but they would be considerably safer within the border of Steoteya.


    They quickly passed the border town and headed straight for the capital. The capital, surprisingly enough, was actually only a few hours away, and before night had completely fallen, they arrived. The capital of Steoteya was called Frostfell, and it had a long history. The walls of the city were actually all created out of ice. Of course, not just your normal every-day ice, but a type of magical material called Reinforced Etheral Ice. This type of ice was practically unbreakable by most types of weapons and physical force due to its rigidity. The thing that made Reinforced Ethereal Ice so special was the fact that it could nullify most magical attacks, which made the capital of Steoteya a fortress that had never been sieged successfully.


    As they gazed at the massive and looming walls of Frostfell, a feeling of insignificance arouse in most people. Seeing such a wall not far away, Thufrat couldn''t help but swallow down his saliva.

 Chapter 79 - Frostfell!

    Frostfell was a magical place for most people, and a terrifying existence for all enemies, trying to siege this city would only end in bloodshed, and not for Steoteya. A city such as this, with its stalwart defenses and good trade routes, was very prosperous. The party quickly made their way into the city, normally they would have to pay a fee and show all their papers, but Morgana just showed the guards a badge, and they were all let in.


    The badge had a specific magical aura, and when pushed up against a certain plaque, it would show a specific reaction. This was to prove the badge''s authenticity. After entering the city, the entourage made their way toward a mansion in the depths of the inner city. Steoteya was a country which believed in both aristocracies as well as ability. The inner city was where the nobles lived, but not exclusively, if you had the power and necessary achievements, you could live in the inner city despite not being a noble. In most people''s eyes, this was fair. Even though the nobles still had it better than the commoners in most cases, that was to be expected, if not, why would you want to be a noble? Nobles were nobles for a reason.


    A noble title was something you got after meritious service toward your country, which could then be inherited by your offspring. Nobles also held a certain amount of responsibility and a great number of lives in their hands. If they were careless or reckless, then there would obviously be implications. They had different rights than commoners, but not to such a degree where they could do whatever they wanted.


    The mansion was located in the very center of the inner city, only a few hundred meters away from the imperial palace. Its grandeur was like nothing Thufrat had ever seen before if you didn''t count the imperial palace, but why would you, it was a palace, and this was a mansion, the difference was evident. The mansion was surrounded by its own walls made out of the finest of wood, namely Elderwood. Elderwood was highly sturdy, and after experiencing thousands of years in the world, its resistance to magic and mana had grown exponentially.


    In the dead center, facing the street, were two dark-steel framed Elderwood gates. The gates were fairly big, about 3 meters in height and over 2 and a half meters in width. Two guards were stationed outside these gates, but upon seeing Morgana, they courteously bowed before opening the gates. Beyond these two gates was the front garden. Numerous servants walked around here, attending the bushes, cutting the grass, and watering the flowers. This garden was very beautiful, and it was one of the biggest points of pride Morgana''s father had when it came to this mansion, it was their home after all, and he didn''t want it to look shabby.


    Even though that was his reason on the surface, deep in his heart, he did it for Morgana''s mother. Morgana''s mother had been one of the most beautiful women of Steoteya, and she had loved flowers and wildlife. Upon her tragic death, Morgana''s father ordered his servants to make this garden one of the most beautiful in the entire country, in her loving memory. Morgana had grown very affectionate of this place, and every time she saw it, all she could think of was her loving mother. No matter how many times she saw this garden, holding back her tears had become a custom at this point.


    Thufrat was very stunned by this garden, and he could feel the abundant amount of mana flowing around, interacting with his surroundings. After they laid eyes on the garden, the party continued into the mansion. Ark was still knocked out cold, and he was taken to a separate shed where he could rest in peace until he woke up from his slumber. Mana deficiency wasn''t normally something dangerous. The worst part about mana deficiency was that it could cripple you for life. There was not a time limit on how long the sleep would last either, it was basically like going into a come, in some extreme cases, they never woke up.


    Even though he wanted to believe that Ark would get well, Thufrat was worried nonetheless. After receiving his payment, Thufrat was offered a job in the mansion. This was mostly to tide him over until Ark woke up from his slumber, and the conditions were numerous, he was allowed to quit whenever he wanted, he got a place to sleep, three meals a day and a decent salary. All he had to do was be a sparring partner to the younger generation of the family.


    This "family" so to speak of, was Morgana''s family, the Windrunner family. Morgana''s father was the head of the family, namely Arthur Windrunner. Arthur Windrunner was not a duke nor a royal, his existence was something which would be classed as something in the middle, namely an Archduke. There could only ever exist one Archduke at a time, which made Arthur a very influential and powerful man. Even though the Windrunner "family" was called a family, it was more like a clan.


    With numerous mansion and thousands of servants and members, the Windrunner family was the most influential family in the entire country, second only to the imperial family, at least on the surface. Thufrat''s job was to spar and teach some of the greenhorns of the family, to give them valuable experience and teaching about fighting in general, to prevent them from getting killed easily in the future. The Windrunner family had their own private army, which some of these greenhorns would likely join in the future. Even though they would get training at that time, laying a solid foundation would never hurt.

 Chapter 80 - 2 Months Later!

    On a sunny monday morning, Thufrat rose at the crack of dawn as usual. After cleaning himself up, he trained some in the small yard he had been assigned and then ate some breakfast. As he passed by the servants and some low-level members of the family, almost everyone greeted him with respect and reverence. To these people, Thufrat had shown his prowess through his daily training sessions with the young teens of the Windrunner family.


    After his breakfast, he waltzed to one of the family''s training grounds, and then started his work for the day. Like this, another day passed by in peace, yet Thufrat was just as sad as any other day. Ark had been comatose for more than 2 months, and the longer he was comatose, the worse off his injuries would be when he woke up. After dining with some aqcuintances he had met in the large mansion, Thufrat walked back to the shed that Ark was resting in. Seeing the wolf still in ethereal sleep, Thufrat couldn''t help but be down. This was his fault, after all, if he had not been weak, Ark wouldn''t have had to sacrifice anything at all to try and save him.


    Thufrat was disappointed in his former self, and in these 2 months, Thufrat had gotten a lot stronger compared to then. He had been training his manipulation of earth, his control over strength, as well as training his physical body. He had also taken quests from the guild and gained a few levels. Even though he looked the same on the surface, compared to two months ago, he was nearly double as strong. If before he was an unpolished gem, then he was now something worthy of buying in a small store for pretty cheap. He had polished the skills and assets that he had, but he was still far from perfect.


    After a while, the sun was beginning to set, and another day of Thufrat''s bland life would soon be over. As he was about to return to his own little residence, a strong gust of wind almost knocked him off his feet! Stabilizing his body before he fell, Thufrt was on high-alert! Wind like that didn''t come out of just anywhere, this was definitely the work of magic! Seeing magic disturb Ark''s rest, Thufrat was livid!


    Before he had the chance to look around, another strong gust of wind battered his body again. After that, the wind kept appearing over and over again, in a steady rhythm. It didn''t take long for Thufrat to notice something was wrong. After looking around for a few seconds, Thufrat was heavily shocked! This wind was the results of Ark breathing! This made Thufrat both ecstatic and a little worried.


    It seemed that Ark was finally going to wake up! After 2 months without anyone to really talk to, Thufrat had noticed that he was really reliant on Ark''s company. After finally getting a friend, letting that friend go would be the hardest task imaginable for someone like him. The part that worried Thufrat was that Ark''s mere breaths contained such destructive power, there was obviously something wrong. Before long, the destructive wind started going out of control. Everything inside of the shed was smashed to pieces one after the other as the wind swept over the place, leaving nothing in its path.


    As the wind rampaged about, Ark was still lying down on the ground in the shed, but no longer peaceful like before. His pained expression was only getting worse and worse as time passed. The mana in the air was in a frenzy. Not just the wind, all the different elements just wanted to go on a rampage and destroy everything in their path, but this was the Windrunner family. The wind elements in the air were abundant, while the concentration of the other elements was far less in comparison. This was a tactical advantage since the descendants of the Windrunner family all used the wind to their advantage.


    This gave them more power while making other people invading their home less powerful since they had to use the other elements, that were suppressed. As the wind grew fiercer and fiercer, it slowly turned into a tornado, and it didn''t take long for the harsh wind to completely demolish the little shed he was in. Thufrat was flung backward by the wind, and he was currently very anxious, he had no idea how he was supposed to react to such a predicament. Before long, the tornado had gone completely out of control.


    Thufrat tried to use his own earth mana to calm the tornado down, but all it resulted in was a backlash in the form of a blade of wind flying at him at amazing speeds. An attack like this was easily resisted with the help of his earth mana, but that didn''t change the fact that the wind was going out of control. This didn''t only concern Ark, if this tornado went out of control, then it could easily hurt innocent people.


    The slow acc.u.mulation of wind suddenly burst with renewed vigor, sending dust and rocks flying everywhere. The tornado started to rapidly expand once more, quickly turning into a behemoth towering over the mansion. This was obviously noticed by the inhabitants of Frostfell, as well as the Windrunners. Before long, numerous young men and women crowded around the tornado, trying to figure out what was going on. This agitated the wind elements even more, and the tornado grew even bigger,


    The destructive aura of the tornado weighed heavily on the young people present. In fact, the aura was so heavy that they couldn''t even move. All they could do was watch as the tornado kept growing in size, slowly but surely dragging them towards its depths. If they entered that tornado for even a second, then they would die for sure. Before anything bad happened, numerous elderly and middle-aged people showed up on the scene. What was extraordinary about all these people was that they were all standing solemnly in the air, watching the tornado.


    After giving each other knowing looks, the numerous people all started to coerce the wind to do their bidding. Even though the wind was being controlled by Ark subconsciously, these people were all masters of wind and didn''t let it rampage any further. Pooling their auras together, all they had to do was emit pressure to get the tornado to shrink back in fear. The young family members all let out sighs of relief, if the elders didn''t show up, then they would surely be done for.


    Unfortunately for them, the danger wasn''t as easily avoided as they believed...

 Chapter 81 - Seal!

    As the young family members were rejoicing, a mysterious phenomenon took place. Ark''s eyes suddenly opened with a start. Ark''s irises had turned into a sinister scarlet red, and the whites of his eyes had turned as black as the night. After opening his eyes, Ark stood up on his own, before opening his mouth.


    "AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


    A piercing howl disturbed the peace and sent shockwaves through the air. All the young disciples were sent flying, some of them unconscious, whilst some screamed in pain, some disciples laid on the ground, howling in pain, trying to cover the blood that came rushing out of their ears. Chaos broke loose, and everyone started to frantically run about. The elders weren''t affected as much, but some of the weaker ones coughed up some blood. Horrifying looks shot toward Ark, and many of the elders looked to each other for an answer. After his howl, Ark stared at everyone present, with no human emotion visible in his eyes.


    The tornado that had quieted down suddenly grew in size once more, this time though, Ark controlled the tornado personally, and it quickly acc.u.mulated horrendous amounts of power. Thufrat was distressed seeing this, he had no idea what was going on, but he could clearly see that Ark was in pain. This wasn''t like Ark, and Thufrat knew for sure that he wasn''t doing this out of his own free will. Thufrat had no way of stopping him though, and all he could do was watch as Ark wreaked havoc.


    Thufrat believed himself to be fairly powerful after these two months, but it turned out that he was being naive. The elders in the air quickly started making their move. They knew that this wolf was a guest of Arthur, and knew that it wouldn''t be the wisest move to just kill it. Even if it was dangerous, they had other methods, at least these other methods could buy them time. The ten strongest elders of the Windrunner family quickly encircled Ark. After every single one of them got into their respective positions, they started to acc.u.mulate massive amounts of wind mana.


    After acc.u.mulating ridiculous amounts, even to the point of the tornado dying down a little, they all started to draw symbols in the air. Each elder drew ten symbols each, imbued with all of their acc.u.mulated power. After the symbols were finished, they started to rotate around Ark in a circular motion at insane speeds. This rotation created a forcefield around Ark made out of the wind. The ravenous Ark watched as this happened, and didn''t just sit still, he tried his hardest to break out of the forcefield, but to no avail. This forcefield was way too strong for him.


    After the symbols rotated so fast that they turned invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye, they all superimposed on top of each other and turned into a majestic green symbol. This symbol quickly descended into Ark''s body, disappearing from other''s views. As the elders saw this, they let out a collective sigh of relief, it seemed like it worked without a hitch.


    Inside of Ark''s body, the imposing green symbol didn''t waste any time and quickly restrained Ark''s soul. The symbol quickly superimposed itself on Ark''s soul, forcing it into a deep slumber. The weird part about Ark''s soul was that it was actually split into two parts. One white fussy human silhouette, and one blue fussy wolf silhouette.


    In Thufrat''s view, all that he could see was the weird symbol enter Ark''s body, before Ark quickly collapsed on the ground, his eyes losing all l.u.s.ter. If Thufrat didn''t notice Ark''s heartbeat, he would''ve assumed that Ark was already dead. Seeing Ark''s deadpan expression, Thufrat was incensed.


    "What did you do to him?!" He shouted anxiously at the air, if these people had harmed Ark, he wouldn''t leave this place until either of them were dead.


    The eldest of the elders quietly descended onto the ground. "Calm down young dwarf, your companion is under no harm. I can assure you that!" The old man had white hair that covered his entire back, flowing like a waterfall all the way to his t.h.i.g.hs. He had next to no facial hair, and despite his age, not a lot of wrinkles could be seen on his face.


    He extended his hand to Thufrat who sat on the ground next to Ark, examining his close friend. The old man''s hand was essentially just skin and bones and was a lot more wrinkled than his face. Thufrat didn''t take his hand and instead continued to worry for Ark. "Tell me, what did you do to him?" This time, Thufrat didn''t speak as loudly, but a hint of ferocity could be heard in his voice, and it was evident that he hadn''t calmed down yet.


    "Don''t worry, we only used a variation of the Ten Variations Heavenly Seal." The old man explained calmly.


    Thufrat was dumbfounded. "The Ten Variations Heavenly Seal?" He had never heard of such a thing before.


    "You''ve never heard of the Ten Variations Heavenly Seal? The Ten Variations Heavenly Seal is a sealing technique that can be used in a variety of different ways. What we did just now was seal your companion''s soul into a deep slumber, but fret not, we can wake him up whenever we want!" The old man exclaimed.


    Thufrat frowned when he heard this, but he started to calmy ponder for himself. If what this old man said was true, then Ark could still be saved, and he shouldn''t be in any immediate danger. Thufrat would do anything to save his friend, his only problem was that he had no idea how he was supposed to know what to do in a situation such as this.


    As he was pondering, a shining light was approaching swiftly from the horizon. This shining light quickly caught the attention of the people that were still conscious, and this was because of one very reason, this light was Arthur Windrunner!


    Arthur swiftly landed on the ground a couple of seconds later, stirring up a small cloud of dust. After taking a look around, the look on his face quickly turned surprised. After getting an explanation from the elders, Arthur''s expression turned incredulous, this was something beyond his imagination. He wanted to be furious at Ark and Thufrat for harming his people, yet he knew that it wasn''t their intention and that something else must be at work here.


    When Thufrat saw the Archduke arrive in person, he decided to take a gamble.


    "Your highness, please, can you help my friend? He didn''t do any of this on purpose, I''ll do anything!" Thufrat was already on his knees, hoping that the Archduke would be magnanimous and help Ark.


    Seeing this, even the Archduke was a little fl.u.s.tered. "Rise young dwarf, although I can''t help you, I can give you some advice!" He answered as he picked Thufrat up from the ground.''


    Even though he wasn''t kneeling anymore, he still bowed deeply as he continued. "Please, anything would be of help."


    The Archduke cleared his throat. "If you want to save your friend, then I think there''s only one person I know who can help you!"


    Sensing hope, Thufrat didn''t waste any time! "Who?!"


    "The Heavenly Beast Master!"

 Chapter 82 - The Heavenly Beast Master?

    "The Heavenly Beast Master?" Thufrat mumbled to himself, he had never heard of such a person before.


    "You''re probably confused, but I think that The Heavenly Beast Master is the only one who can help you. I have no idea what happened to your companion, but The Heavenly Beast Master will definitely know, if not, then no one knows!" Arthur tried to answer Thufrat''s doubts.


    Thufrat pondered a little, if what Arthur said was true, then this would probably be hard. Just from the name, Thufrat assumed that this person was very powerful. To get someone like that to help him, Thufrat knew it wasn''t going to be easy. He wouldn''t leave Ark like this though, and he would do whatever it took to get him back to normal. Ark was his best and only friend, and Ark had saved his life multiple times. If he didn''t help him now in his time of need, then could he really call himself a man?


    He took a deep breath to calm himself down a little. "Do you have any idea where I could find this Heavenly Beast Master?" He asked shortly.


    "I can''t be one hundred percent sure, but I think the Heavenly Beast Master created her own force not too long ago, called the Heavenly Beast Pavilion. This force consists only of beast tamers, and is surprisingly strong and influential."


    "The Heavenly Beast Pavilion huh?" Thufrat engraved the name into his memory, before asking one final question. "Where can I find it?"


    "If I don''t remember it incorrectly, then it should be located in the capital of Geatopia Kingdom."


    As Thufrat heard this, he was a little disheartened at first. Geotopia was actually pretty far away from Steoteya, as it was the 6th biggest kingdom on the continent. He didn''t lose hope though, even if it was far away, a roundtrip would only take a couple of months. Even though a couple of months was a fairly long time, as long as nothing happened to Ark, then Thufrat didn''t mind how long it took for him to find help.


    "I don''t know what happened, but I will keep him safe until I can get a clear explanation!" Arthur said with a slight frown on his face.


    Thufrat heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and he decided that he wouldn''t waste any more time. It was currently the afternoon, and Thufrat decided that he would leave right now. Staying around and doing nothing wouldn''t be of any help at all. All he could do to help Ark right now was to get help from the Heavenly Beast Master and to do that, he had to cross numerous kingdoms. Thufrat didn''t know it at the time, but him leaving as fast as he could was actually advantageous to Ark.


    Even though the seal was supposedly harmless, after suppressing his bloodl.u.s.t and hatred for months on end, it was only natural that the bloodl.u.s.t and hatred would be multiplied. Before doing anything else, Thufrat bowed before the elders, and thanked them sincerely for their help this time, without them, Thufrat had no idea how he was supposed to save Ark from his predicament.


    After expressing his gratitude, Thufrat left the mansion behind, and quickly found himself inside a spacious shop. This shop sold numerous breeds of horses, some of the more expensive ones were actually magical beasts, which allowed them to travel at up to thousands of miles every day. This was what Thufrat was here for. To travel through so many countries, he would naturally need a horse, and if he just bought a normal one, then his journey would take forever.


    After walking up to the clerk, all he asked for was how much his fastest horse cost. Even though Thufrat looked quite shabby, the clerk answered respectfully. The fastest horse they had was a magical beast and it was a Thunder Horse. Even though the name sounded fairly ordinary, this magical beast was aligned with the thunder element, and had both tyrannic speed and strength. With the help of such a horse, Thufrat regained some of his confidence, it would still take him a long time to get to Geotopia, but compared to the speed of a normal horse, he would at the very least travel 5 times as fast.


    The Thunder Horse cost Thufrat 2 rose-gold, but in his opinion, it was definitely worth it, he had plenty of money right now, and he didn''t really need it for anything else. After buying the horse, Thufrat stocked up on some necessary supplies such as food and other appliances that he would need on his trip. Spending some extra money for comfort was worth it in his opinion, what was the reason to have money if you couldn''t lead your life the way you wanted to.


    You only live one life, and Thufrat was determined to make his own the best it could be. And to do that, he needed Ark. What was life without friends and family? No amount of wealth could make up for your family, and real friends were hard to come by. After leading his horse through the city and past the gates, Thufrat quickly left. As he sped away at an insane speed, Thufrat couldn''t help but look back at Frostfell. Such a majestic city and he could only stay there for two months before having to leave again. Even though he felt that it was a pity, Thufrat didn''t grow too attached to the city. No matter how grand it was, it couldn''t be compared to any of the cities he had visited and passed through with Ark. In Frostfell, Thufrat had been all alone again, and he realized how complacent he had grown with his life.


    Shifting his gaze back on the road, Thufrat silently vowed to himself. No matter what happened, he would see to it that Ark was saved. If not... there was no "if not", Thufrat would get the job done, no matter what.

 Chapter 83 - Journey!

    The looming walls of Frostfell were quickly left behind as Thufrat rode as fast as the Thunder Horse would carry him. Open plains as far as the eye could see was all that greeted his sight when he took his eyes off the road for even a second. Numerous battles had taken place on these plains, and even though the last battle was a long time ago, Thufrat could still get a weird feeling from these plains.


    He continued his journey, from desolate plains to vibrant wildlife in the forest, Thufrat kept riding his horse for a couple of hours before taking a break. The horse was a magical beast and had a lot better stamina compared to a normal horse, but numerous hours of running non-stop at high speeds would still eventually tire it. Stopping by a small stream, Thufrat made himself comfortable and ate some food he had bought earlier. The horse was busy drinking from the stream, and Thurat took the chance to rest a little against a tree. Even though his body was sturdy, riding for multiple hours was still uncomfortable.


    After the horse had finished drinking, Thufrat let it rest for about half an hour and gave it a couple of carrots before he continued on his journey. He had a little trouble actually getting onto the horse since he was a dwarf after all, but after his first try, he had gotten the hang of it fairly quickly. Petting the horse a little before setting off, Thufrat sighed. This was going to be a long journey.


    The road that slithered its way through the forest was obviously not as well-maintained as the road outside the forest, but all things considered, it was actually pretty good. As even more time passed, the sun had already started to set. The golden rays of light that penetrated their way through the treetops only to slowly fade away was quite the beautiful sight, mesmerizing even Thufrat into silence.


    After night had fully established its presence and stars were visible in the sky, Thufrat decided that it was time to rest, fortunately for him, as he was looking for a good spot to set up camp, the road led him into a large clearing. The road went straight through this clearing and continued into the forest on the other side, but Thufrat urged his steed to stop as he entered this clearing. The reason being that a small village had established itself in this clearing.


    The village was surrounded by a wall made out of wood, although calling it a fence would probably be more appropriate. A lone man sat guarding the entrance to the village, he wasn''t very strong though, and he was mostly just there to act as a lookout. When he saw that Thufrat was approaching steadily on an expensive-looking horse, he ran into the village to get the village head. The lookout running frantically through the village aroused quite the commotion, and soon, half the villagers watched eagerly ad curiously as this dwarf made his way to the village.


    Since he didn''t want to startle anyone, Thufrat let the horse walk to the village, since its speed would probably scare these villagers otherwise. When he was about to enter the village, Thufrat noticed an elderly man with two strong a.d.u.l.t men at his sides. These men held pretty shabby spears, but compared to the rest of the villagers, they were certainly dangerous. The old man was obviously someone important in this village, and Thufrat made a mental note to himself that he would behave properly.


    After explaining that he only wanted a place to stay for the night, most of the villagers dispersed, and Thufrat was led away by the old man. Not long after, Thufrat was led to a pretty small and shabby house on the outskirts of the village. After knocking on the door, a middle-aged woman opened the door. After explaining the situation, the old man just left Thufrat there by himself and went home. Thufrat''s horse had been left in a stall on the way, for only 5 copper a day.


    The middle-aged lady was actually fairly beautiful, but Thufrat had never been too astounded by beauty before. Growing up, he had learned that looks were only secondary to how a person actually was and acted. When it came to falling in love with someone, beauty was merely a part of the equation, nothing more and nothing less. The most attractive woman Thufrat had ever met wasn''t actually someone beautiful, the only reason he saw her as attractive was because of her personality.


    Standing there baffled and taken aback, the middle-aged lady soon regained her bearings. "I''m sorry for being rude, please come inside."


    Hearing her say that only made Thufrat feel awkward. "Don''t worry about it." He said, before following her inside. The house was pretty small, with only 2 bedrooms, a small hallway, the kitchen, as well as the living room. After taking off his shoes, Thufrat quickly noticed a small head poking out from one of the rooms, staring at him viciously. The head belonged to the woman''s son, who was currently only 10 years old.


    After entering the kitchen, the woman turned to look at him. "Have you had anything to eat yet?"


    "Oh don''t worry, I have already eaten, thank you for the concern though!"


    The woman was a little baffled by Thufrat''s politeness but quickly shrugged it off. After showing him around the small house a little, the woman stopped outside her room. "I need to prepare a few things before you can use my room if that''s ok?"


    As Thufrat heard this, he was a little perplexed. Why would she give up her room to him?


    "I''ll just sleep on the couch, I don''t want to intrude after all." He said as he walked into the living room. Leaving the woman standing baffled outside of her room.

 Chapter 84 - Pain of the past.

    Thufrat woke up with a start the next day, covered in sweat and hyperventilating. Forcing himself to stop hyperventilating, Thufrat soon calmed down. He had a nightmare. This nightmare was recurring, but it had been ages since the last time Thufrat had it, and he had already tried to put it behind him. In this dream, he saw the woman he loved lying covered in blood in his embrace. Every time the woman died, the dream started over, and it kept going until he woke up.


    Every time her lovely smile emerged in his mind, his heart started to ache. Even though she had passed away fairly recently, Thufrat felt like a decade had already passed. Even though normally people would be mad when their loved ones were killed, Thufrat was mostly just sad. He didn''t care for revenge, all he cared for was her, and now that she was gone, he didn''t care for much. A band of orcs had taken her life from him, yet his hate for orcs was barely above that of other monsters.


    He had tried his hardest to protect her, yet she was taken from him anyway. At the time, Thufrat had felt that the world was unfair and that God hated him. But nowadays, Thufrat knew that they were just unlucky. Trying to see everything from a depressing point of view and thinking that the world was against him was a thing of the past, and he had changed a lot compared to back then.


    Since he didn''t want to waste any more time, Thufrat quickly left a couple of coins and a note on the table in the kitchen. He then swiftly left the village behind and disappeared into the forest once more. When the mother and her son woke up the next day, they only found a note on the table, where it said: Thank you! After reading the note, the sight of two shiny gold coins quickly filled their vision. Both mother and son could barely manage to hold tears back. In a rural place like this, two gold coins was a very large sum of money.


    This family had originally had a man taking care of them, the woman''s deceased husband, and the boy''s father. When he was still alive, he was one of the strongest people in the entire village, and the family could live a peaceful and healthy life. But after passing away during an attack on the village, the man left his family behind to fend for themselves. As time passed, people started taking advantage of them, and they quickly lost their place in the village. With the support of some of the man''s friends as well as the woman working as much as she could, the family somehow persevered.


    The boy flashed a radiant smile at his mom and clenched his fists hard. [I will never let you suffer again mom! And if I ever get the chance, I''ll make sure to repay you old dwarf!]


    ...


    Zooming through the forest, Thufrat had completely calmed down. After leaving the village, he had found a nearby lake to wash himself in, and then he had proceeded to ride on this road for about 2 more hours. It was still early morning, and the few rays of sunlight that broke through the crowns of the trees were gentle and warm, keeping Thufrat''smood from deteriorating due to the cold. Thufrat had always been a fan of warmth, and he could never understand people who preferred cold over warmth.


    With nothing else to do on the horse, Thufrat could only observe the surroundings as he rode. The dense and vibrant green foliage, as well as the exotic plants and flowers that could be found here and there, was very pleasing to the eye, yet Thufrat still felt the desolation of loneliness as he rode all by himself. Before long, another two hours had passed.


    Without any warning, Thufrat''s horse suddenly came to a stop, and he was nearly flung off its back in the process. As he was about to curse, the sound of footsteps appeared not far away to his right. Vigilant, Thufrat was about to disembark from his horse when a muffled boom suddenly broke the silence. A dark silhouette came flying out of the forest and flew straight into a tree on the other side of the road.


    The five elves were all males, and they wore quite frankly disgusting facial expressions. All five of them looked like they were about to break into laughter any second now, and they looked at the blood on the ground with a sneer. Most disturbing was the elf that stood in the middle, his expression was very perverted, and he couldn''t help but lick his lips as he made his entrance. As for their weapons, they all had either bows or daggers or both.


    After they all noticed Thufrat sitting atop his horse watching them, the tallest elf said something to one of the elves that carried a bow in his hands. After saying his piece, the elf, which was the one who had the perverted expression approached Thufrat. The elf with the bow blended in behind him naturally, but Thufrat didn''t take any notice.


    "Traveler, what brings you to these parts?" The elf asked.


    Thufrat frowned, something was up. "I''m just passing by!"


    The elf sneered, "That''s your bad luck then!"


    "Twang!"


    The sound of a bowstring being released came abruptly as Thufrat was about to question what the elf meant. The elf that had blended in behind the tall elf suddenly showed himself, with the string of his bow vibrating intensely. Thufrat could only see a green streak soaring through the air before reality dawned upon him, they were trying to kill him!

 Chapter 85 - A fight? Or Slaughter?

    Since the arrow was imbued with the power of the wind, Thufrat didn''t have the time to dodge. He had other means to deal with this arrow though. Conjuring up a small amount of earth as quickly as he could, Thufrat used the earth to offset the course of the arrow slightly. Tilting his head slightly to his right, the arrow suddenly whizzed right past his face, hitting a tree that was over 40 meters away. The tree offered next to no resistance and the arrow just went straight through, continuing on its path.


    Thufrat didn''t just sit still and let them kill him. After the arrow missed, Thufrat jumped off his horse backwards and gave it a kick on its behind. The horse, startled and in pain, sparkled with thunder and ran straight for the elves. One of the elves didn''t react in time and was trampled under the hooves of the Thunder Horse, ending his life almost instantly. Seeing the trampled, charred body of their comrade, the rest of the elves were enraged.


    Before the horse could continue its rampage, its head was suddenly sent flying through the air as one of the elves appeared on top of it, his two curved short swords covered in blood. Thufrat had assumed them to carry daggers in the beginning, but he now realized that they were just unusually short curved short swords. The horse continued running for more than 20 meters before it finally collapsed onto the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air.


    The other three elves instantly coordinated their own attack, with the tall elf in the middle. The tall elf used a fairly large dagger, and he enveloped his figure in wind, before darting toward Thufrat. The other two elves both used short bows, and they stood back and prepared their shots. Thufrat noticed the elf with the long dagger coming at him, and he retrieved his warhammer from his spatial bag. After saving the life of Morgana and fighting to the brink of death, Thufrat had been awarded the warhammer he had laid eyes on in Ravenfront. Even though it was fairly far away, a servant had been sent on a mission to buy it. Thufrat had stayed in their mansion for two months after all, he had gotten it a long time ago.


    With the dagger aiming straight for his heart, Thufrat threw out his own counter-attack. The blow of the warhammer split the air apart, but the clanging of metals didn''t come as expected. The elf was faster and more agile than Thufrat expected, and a thin scar soon appeared across his right side. The elf appeared from within the wind about 20 meters behind him, an obvious sneer visible on his face. Thufrat felt a sharp pain from the wound, and he clenched his teeth hard, he had underestimated this elf!


    As he was silently scolding himself, 2 gusts of wind arrived only a couple of meters away from him. The other two elves had taken the opportunity to launch an attack while Thufrat was still surprised, and their attacks were coming straight toward his c.h.e.s.t. Thufrat didn''t dare underestimate his opponents anymore, and he instantly urged his bloodline to cover himself in brown scales. Now covered in very protective scales, Thufrat managed to deflect the arrows using the backsides of his hands.


    Before anything else, Thufrat quickly surveyed his surroundings, which gave him an idea. The elves didn''t get the chance to continue their assault as Thufrat suddenly raised his leg high, and stomped down hard on the ground. Earth walls shot straight out of the ground within a circ.u.mference of 2 meters. The walls tilted outward, and Thufrat was completely hidden within. The walls weren''t entirely perfect though, as a part of them was lower than the rest. The tall elf only sneered at such a weak attempt at a defense, and instantly went on the attack.


    Since he couldn''t rush at Thufrat straightforwardly, the elf suddenly jumped up high into the air and twisted his body in the air. His feet landed on the side of a tree that was facing the part of the defense that was slightly lower than the rest. Using the tree as if it was the ground, the elf pushed himself forward once more, this time with his course heading straight for Thufrat. Since he saw the formidable defense of Thufrat''s scales, the elf went all-out and used his strongest skill. With his long dagger in front of him, the elf started spinning at an insane speed, soon making his figure a blurry haze.


    The tree broke apart from the force of his feet, and the elf disappeared in a flash of green light. Using the wind, the elf turned into a spinning force of death, heading toward Thufrat at an incredible speed. This skill of his was truly tyrannical in its power, the only downside was that you would barely be able to see while using it. Even though Thufrat was supposed to be scared out of his wits, he only smiled as he heard the elf breaking the tree. He had been steadily acc.u.mulating his mana for a while now, and it was time to release it!


    Thufrat swung his hammer using all the force he could muster, and he imbued the hammer with all of the mana he had acc.u.mulated. The hammer shone with a bronze hue, and Thufrat sent it straight toward the elf. Since the elf couldn''t see what Thufrat was doing, he was just heading straight into his doom. Even though his skill held a fierce and scary penetrative power, in a head-on collision, it didn''t amount to much.


    A large sound echoed throughout the forest, and the other elves'' hair stood on end, an eerie premonition took control of their hearts, and they couldn''t help but gulp. A silhouette came flying through one of the walls made out of earth, making it all crumble down in the end. The silhouette flew through the air, and then landed squarely in front of the other elves after bouncing off of a tree. The silhouette turned out to be the tall elf, or what used to be at the very least. A mushy and unrecogniseable mess was all that was left off him. With blood all over his body, and pieces of bones jutting out here and there, it was quite the grotesque scene.


    The two elves that used bows were scared out of their wits, and felt like vomiting. When they had no idea what to do any more, one of them felt a tap on his shoulder...

 Chapter 86 - A Dark Elf, Literally.

    The elf was startled and turned around quickly in fright. What he saw astonished him. Upside down and a little bit away, he could see himself as well as the other elf. The weird thing was that his body had no head. The elf didn''t get the chance to even react before he was already completely and entirely dead. The sound of his head hitting the ground also prompted the other elf to turn around, the horrifying sight he saw frightened him out of his wits.


    A dark-skinned woman was standing just a meter or two behind him. This dark-skinned woman was exceptionally beautiful, but she wasn''t anything exaggerated. Her beauty wouldn''t topple kingdoms and she didn''t look like a celestial fair of the nine heavens, she was just simply beautiful. Her curves were plenty, but her b.r.e.a.s.ts were quite lacking, she was an elf after all. Normally elves would have more delicate facial features, but their bodies would be a little lacking compared to some humans. There were exceptions of course, but in general, their bodies were more modest.


    This dark-skinned woman had mysterious bright yellow eyes, which created quite a contrast to her skin colour. Her ears were pointy, indicating that she was a dark elf. She wore armor made out of high-quality leather from a magical beast, which enunciated her body''s curves. Resting in her hand was a long sword made out of a mysterious metal that shone with a silver hue. The hilt of the long sword also had some weird blue metal that intricately decorated it. Thufrat had never seen such a metal, and he had no idea what it was used for.


    The eerie part about the whole scene was that the woman''s arm and her sword was entirely drenched in scarlet blood. With some drops splashed on her face as well as the few drops that dripped from the tip of her sword that was pointing to the ground, she looked fierce. Behind her, the body of an elf with two curved swords at his side was lying covered in blood, a long scarlet wound covering his back. A meter or so away, the head of the other elf laid on the ground.


    Before the elf could feel too much despair, his head was sent flying through the air as well. Thufrat wasn''t too fazed by the fact that he had just killed 2 people, the only thing that bothered him was the reason they attacked him. Even though he had done nothing to wrong them, they tried to kill him just because he saw them, that was enough to give Thufrat a reason to not show mercy. The thing that annoyed him the most was the fact that his horse died in that exchange, which would delay his journey.


    The dark-elf released a sigh of relief, and after putting away her sword, she held her stomach with her right arm, obviously in pain. Thufrat was going to ask her how she felt, but she interrupted him.


    "Thank you for the help just now! I''m sorry if I caused you trouble, but without you, I would''ve been dead for sure!" She said with heartfelt gratitude. She had no idea who this random dwarf was, but he was powerful, that much was certain.


    Thufrat sighed. "I would like to say no problem, but honestly, I want to know why they were so eager to kill you. They wouldn''t just chase you around for no reason right?"


    The dark-elf looked a little troubled, but she eventually gave in, this was her savior after all, and she felt that he had the right to know who he had killed and why. "If you didn''t already know, deep inside of this forest, there''s an elf settlement. A peace treaty between elves and dark-elves was supposed to take place there yesterday." Up to this part, the dark-elf had been calm, but she now started to tear up.


    "My mother was the representant of the dark-elves, but on the eve the treaty was supposed to be signed, she... she... *hiccup* she was poisoned to death." The dark-elf started crying, even though she had promised her mother to stay strong after her death, the tears couldn''t help but run endlessly, she couldn''t control it. Her incessant trembling tugged at Thufrat''s heartstrings a little.


    Thufrat looked at this girl with pity. Even though she didn''t tell him why these elves were after her, he could make an educated guess. Thufrat also felt pity for the dark-elves in general. They had gone to sign a treaty for peace but had instead gotten an important member of their race murdered, this was sure to add flames to the conflict that had already existed between them for centuries. Before he could ponder anymore, his thinking was cut short.


    The dark-elf started clenching her teeth. "Those damn elves! After they murdered my mom, these bastards wanted to kill me too. I swear on my mother''s death, that I''ll do everything in my power to get revenge, and kill those bastards!" Her eyes were red from crying and her anger, and they had swollen up a little, making her look quite miserable.


    Thufrat was stumped, he didn''t know what he was supposed to do in a situation like this. "What are you going to do now? Do you have any plans? If you don''t mind me asking."


    The dark-elf seemed to ponder something. "I will likely get targeted if I try to go back to my country, and I don''t have any reason to go back now that my only family is gone anyways."


    Thufrat understood what she was implying, and now that he didn''t have a horse, he made a decision. "Do you want to follow me for the time being? At least until we get to a city, it''d be a lot safer don''t you think?" His conscience wouldn''t allow him to just leave her alone here, especially not with people out for her life while she was injured. At times like this, Thufrat wished he knew the light element, it would be handy after all.


    The dark-elf was a little surprised at first, but after thinking about it, she realized that this was probably the best thing she could do right now. If she didn''t like traveling with him or if he tried anything funny, then she would just be able to run away. She had one question though. "Are you sure I won''t be a nuisance?"


    "I mean I can''t be sure of anything, but I don''t think so!" Thufrat said whilst smiling for once.


    Seeing his earnest smile, the dark-elf couldn''t help but feel relieved. She had been anxious about what her next course of action should''ve been. Even if this situation was only temporary, it was more than enough for now, she just needed some time to think. Since they had come to an agreement, they started walking down the long and winding road. The smell of blood would eventually attract magical beasts, and neither of them had an element that was suited to cleaning up the traces they left behind.

 Chapter 87 - Alenia Chaehorn.

    Even though they had just been through a life and death situation together, talking was still something off the table for now. They both walked in awkward silence as they progressed down the long road. After a couple of hours, they were both starting to feel hungry, and even though the dark-elf was injured, she still persevered on this long walk. Food was necessary though, even more so because she was injured, she needed the energy to be able to go on.


    They didn''t set up camp for too long though, they ate their meals that Thufrat prepared as fast as they could, then drank some water before continuing on their travels. As they walked down the road, Thufrat realized that they hadn''t introduced themselves yet, which was kind of weird considering all the time that had passed.


    "I forgot to introduce myself earlier, my name''s Thufrat."


    The dark-elf looked a little hesitant at first, but she gave in eventually. "No worries, my name is Alenia Chaehorn, it''s a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you!"


    This name told Thufrat something very important, this elf was a noble! It was almost to be expected since she was the daughter of a very important dark-elf. Of course commoners could rise to become prominent, but usually, they would get a noble title in that case.


    After their introductions, the awkward silence returned once more, and they continued on their path. After another couple of hours or so of walking, the surrounding trees and foliage started getting thinner. The reason was pretty obvious, they had almost left the forest! After walking a little more, they finally managed to get out of the forest, only to be greeted by a weird sight. According to an old map that Thufrat had bought for cheap from a vendor, there was supposed to be a small town here.


    But to their surprise, the main road that led to and from what was once Ghosborough was barely detectable beneath layers of dust, sand, shrubs, and leaves. Dust and debris littered the roads within the town while unkempt gardens were cluttered with forsaken possessions.


    Some doors were shut tightly, others were broken down. Some forcefully, others had simply collapsed under their own weight as the elements continued to eat away at them. Many walls and balconies had collapsed. Without proper maintenance and cleaning it was easy for rot and water to do their damage.


    Ghosborough, once a major hub for new beginnings and young families had become nothing more than a painful memory. The sounds of insects, winds and creaking wood of trees which were once drowned out by the sounds of carriages and people had returned as the dominant sounds once more.


    No matter how you looked at it this town was an eerie sight to behold. Lives forgotten, perhaps completely ruined and there was barely anything to show for it. But there was something oddly poetic about nature reclaiming what was once theirs to begin with. Thufrat and Alenia couldn''t help but gulp upon the sight of such a place. A desolate and empty feeling couldn''t help but tug on their very souls.


    After regaining their bearings a little, they decided to rest here for the night. With the changing of seasons, the sun was already on its way down, and the night was not far away. Even if it might take an hour or two, it was probably better to stay in this abandoned town then to sleep in the forest. After looking around town and searching for the best place to stay, they soon happened upon an abandoned mansion in the middle of the town. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that this mansion was probably the mansion of the noble that used to govern this town.


    Despite being old and run-down, the mansion was still in considerably better shape compared to all the other houses and establishments in the town. The only thing that came close was the old adventurers guild, but that place didn''t have really have very suitable rooms to sleep in. All the rooms inside of the mansion were dirty and covered in dust from top to bottom, but with the help of a broom and some magic, could that really be considered a problem?


    Before going to sleep for the night, Alenia and Thufrat decided to eat a hearty meal together. Cleaning an old table and propping it up on the balcony, they sat face to face and ate to their hearts'' content. Even though the meal was fairly humble, it was delicious and filling nonetheless. Thufrat had also taken it upon himself to bandage Alenia up earlier before they started eating. Even though she had played very cool and made Thufrat kind of forget about it, he noticed her injuries again earlier. He wouldn''t let her run around injured, and he just did what he believed any man would do.


    After pondering a little, Thufrat got up to leave. "We''ll be traveling all day tomorrow as well, you should go to bed early." With his back to Alenia, Thufrat retreated back into the room he had claimed as his own earlier. Alenia also decided that it was time to sleep, she wasn''t really sure how long it would take them to reach the next town. What she couldn''t see was the slight blush on Thufrat''s face or the slight trembling of his body when he had his back against her.


    When he had taken his gaze away from the stars earlier, he had paid attention to the face she was making while she watched the stars as well. His conclusion was simple, she was way too damn cute!

 Chapter 88 - Civilisation at last!

    The night quickly passed uneventfully. After waking up the next day, Thufrat noticed that it was almost noon already, he had no idea why he had slept for so long, but he felt really good. Sleep had always been something blissful, but sometimes when you slept, it felt extra good, which was one of the best feelings possible in the world, at least according to Thufrat.


    He walked around the mansion a little and happened upon Alenia''s room. The door was ajar, and the room was empty, it didn''t surprise Thufrat though, he had slept for way too long after all. When he walked through the slightly rotten doorframe to the mansion, Thufrat''s eyes were attracted to the balcony facing the large garden. On top of the railing to the balcony, Alenia was sitting quietly by herself. Her beautiful white hair couldn''t help but flutter in the wind, mesmerizing Thufrat as he watched.


    After she spotted him walking through the garden, Alenia dropped down from the balcony. Her movements seemed graceful and practiced, and Thufrat couldn''t help but get a little stunned. He had been a little tired the earlier day, and he didn''t take notice of her until yesterday evening.


    Alenia was currently facing Thufrat, as she looked at him, she couldn''t help but ponder. This small dwarf in front of her had saved her life. He was very kind, compassionate, and strong. She held some admiration for him, and when she thought about it, an unnoticeable blush couldn''t help but creep across her face. She quickly stopped thinking about it though, as they decided to head out.


    Walking down the desolate road at a brisk speed, they tried to desperately hold some small talk. Even though the small talk was fairly awkward, it was far better compared to complete silence. After half an hour of getting to know each other a little better, the atmosphere had gotten a lot brighter. Their discussion had lightened up and it was all flowing naturally. They talked for more than 2 hours before they could finally spot another city. Even though their conversation had been pleasant, there was nothing to look at as they walked from Gosburough.


    The only things that surrounded the road were plains and crops as far as the eye could see, but now that they had finally come to a city, they could get a change of pace and horses. That was only if Alenia wanted to keep traveling with him though, if not, Thufrat would just have to travel by himself again. Now that they had found a city, they could get a light magician to heal Alenia, if there were any in this city.


    Alenia had always been living with her mom and the dark-elves and had never entered a human city before. Because of this, they had to get her some identification papers if they wanted to get into the city. Thufrat was already used to the procedure, and it all worked out without a hitch.


    Walking down the packed streets of the city, Alenia kept turning her head around to look at all the new sights. With Thufrat''s help and guidance, she soon learned about all the major parts of the city, and which places she should avoid in the future. Whilst chatting and walking, Thufrat spotted a public bathhouse just down the street. Since they were a man and a woman, neither of them had gotten the chance to clean themselves since yesterday, and now was a perfect opportunity, since bathhouses were divided after gender.


    Half an hour later, they were both standing fresh on the street again. Thufrat had noticed a fairly shocking revelation when he was in the bathhouse. Since there were mirrors propped up here and there, he managed to see a large tattoo that covered the majority of his back. The tattoo resembled that of a fierce and majestic dragon. Since he knew that it was just because of his bloodline, Thufrat didn''t really care about it too much though, it looked pretty cool anyway.


    Since speaking publicly would attract attention and possibly problems, Thufrat decided to sit inside of a small cafe close to the city square. Choosing a table for two in a remote corner of the small establishment, they ordered a cup of coffee each. Neither of them had ever drunk coffee before, it was a fairly new invention in this world, but they put that in the back of their heads for now.


    Thufrat looked at Alenia solemnly. "So, have you decided what you''re going to do yet?" He couldn''t help but have some anticipation deep in the back of his mind.


    Alenia''s mind''s gears started quickly turning, what did she want to do now? Did she want to try and settle down in some city somewhere? Probably not. Did she want to return to her home? Not really, there was nothing left for her to return to anyway. Did she want to follow Thufrat? When this thought appeared, she couldn''t help but hesitate. Thfufrat seemed like an upright and nice person, and she quite enjoyed his company, it was very refreshing. His outlook on life differed from hers, and they had a lot of fun conversations this morning.


    If she didn''t go with him, she had no idea what to do. After thinking about it a little more, she decided to bite the bullet. The awkward silence that ensued after Thufrat''s question was killing him slowly. It was pretty apparent that she probably didn''t want to come with him at this point. But just before he was going to say something, Alenia broke the silence.


    "I have to be honest, I would like to come with you, but before I make a decision, I want to know what your goal is."


    Alenia''s gaze turned gentle, before she suddenly realized something. "Did you just say The Heavenly Beast Master? If that''s the case then I can help you!" Jumping up from her seat, she took Thufrat''s hands from across the table and smiled. This was her opportunity to pay Thufrat back for saving her life!


    Thufrat was bewildered by her sudden enthusiasm, his heart started to beat a little faster as he stared into her eyes, but he quickly came to. Could she really help him? Thufrat started to get his hopes up, he would do anything to save Ark. But before he got too excited, he needed to know just how Alenia would be able to help him.


    "Look, it''s not like I don''t trust you, but how are you supposed to help me exactly?"


    Alenia kept smiling, but some sorrow was starting to resurface in her eyes. "My mom used to be good friends with The Heavenly Beast Master, and I''ve met her a couple of times. I should be able to get you a meeting with her!" As she mentioned her mom, her eyes were getting a little watery, and her nose was itching a little.


    Thufrat knew exactly why she was sad, and he wasn''t really sure what he should do in a situation like this. A weak "Thank you" was all he could muster, before he became quiet again. There they stood, in a corner of the cafe for a couple of minutes, before Alenia managed to calm down again. As she looked up at Thufrat again, she was about to ask why he was still standing with her. Before she could say anything though, she noticed that she was still holding onto his hands, with sweat permeating her palms.


    An intense blush instantly appeared on her face, before she quickly let go of his hands. "I''m so sorry" was all she could muster before she turned her head away with a jerk.


    Thufrat could only laugh, he was pretty embarrassed himself after all. "No worries." And so, they both sat down again, silently and awkwardly enjoying their coffee, before leaving the cafe.

 Chapter 89 - Geotopia!

    After leaving the cafe, the two of them managed to find a light magician that could heal Alenia''s wounds, before buying a pair of horses. Even though Alenia wanted to look around town a little more, they left shortly after they bought the horses. Letting the horses run swiftly down the road until they grew tired, Alenia and Thufrat traveled at a very fast pace. Only stopping to eat, let the horses rest and sleep, the two kept traveling.


    Like this, 15 days quickly passed. On the road, as usual, both Alenia and Thufrat were bored out of their minds. During the past 15 days, the only entertainment they had was each other, and as a result, they grew closer to each other. The road they traveled on was still the same old road made out of dirt, but with each day that passed, it seemed to get bigger and more crowded. Though the word crowded was a little misleading considering that they only met people with more than half an hour in-between.


    It was already noon, and the biting cold wind was burrowing into their very souls as they traveled at fast speeds atop their horses. Even though they had bought warmer clothes in a town on the way, when they traveled at such speeds, the cold was close to unbearable. Alenia had it easier than Thufrat, considering how she was adept in the use of wind magic, but she was still cold nonetheless.


    As they traveled, they could see the vague outline of something massive on the horizon. Thufrat was immediately excited when he saw this, he knew exactly what this signified. They had finally arrived at the border of Geotopia! After 15 whole days of travel, they had finally made it here! Thufrat was a little astonished at how fast it took for him to get here, but considering that his originaly estimate was made with normal horses in mind, it made sense.


    He couldn''t help but think about the red eyes of the majestic wolf he called his friend just a while back, and his d.e.s.i.r.e to help his friend burned stronger than ever. He had no idea how he was supposed to get such a favor from The Heavenly Beast Master, but there had to be a way, and he would figure it out later.


    As they drew closer, the outline turned out to be a massive wall. This wall stretched as far as Thufrat''s eyes could see, and it was simply massive. Built out of stone and towering in height, Thufrat felt insignificant in front of it. More and more people appeared on the road, eager to cross the border to Geotopia. Even though it was dubbed the 6th strongest kingdom, that was only in size and military strength, the living conditions in Geotopia was a lot better compared to most countries. This was mostly because their economy was flourishing, and with large amounts of money flowing through the country, its rapid development and good living conditions were attractive to a lot of commoners and nobles alike.


    Now, where did all this money come from you ask? Simple, alchemy. Geotopia was renowned for its top-class alchemists, and alchemy was a very lucrative field since a life-saving potion would be essential if you wanted to be an adventurer, at least for most people. Alchemy wasn''t an easy job though, and achieving high attainments in alchemy wasn''t just some random walk in the park, it took incredible amounts of dedication and perseverance, and in most cases, money.


    Getting across the border was different from getting into a city, and it took almost half an hour for Thufrat and Alenia to go from the back of the line and into geotopia. After entering Geotopia, Thufrat and Alenia didn''t stick around for long before they kept traveling, with the capital in their sights. Alenia was actually quite nervous about this whole ordeal. Telling one of her mom''s friends about her death wasn''t going to be easy.


    In the beginning, they noticed nothing special about Geotopia compared to all of the kingdoms they had passed through on the way here, but after a while, their views were starting to change. The natural lush green forests and vibrant wildlife was something of the likes Thufrat and Alenia had never seen before. Almost all of the villagers and people they passed by seemed pretty content with their lives. The jovial atmosphere and beautiful landscape were very refreshing, and the feeling it generated was very hard to describe.


    Unfortunately for them, the capital was pretty far away from the border, and there was no way they were going to arrive today. They still traveled with regular breaks and arrived in a very small city as night decided to cast its shade. After checking into an inn, they ate some food in the biggest restaurant in the small city and called it a day. Throughout their journey across multiple countries, Alenia and Thufrat had stumbled upon both misfortune and fortune.


    Battling magical beasts and bandits alike, they had both earned quite a large sum of money, as well as valuable combat and life experiences. Trust was something that you didn''t give many people in this world. It was just a cold harsh truth that you were going to get used and abused if you didn''t look out for yourself and trusted the wrong people. Although that was true, it just made the value of true trust in this world shoot through the roof, something Alenia and Thufrat had slowly built up over time.


    Along with this trust, Thufrat had noticed that his feelings had built up considerably as well. Even though that was the case, he had no intention of confessing these feelings or letting them out. He was determined to keep them to himself. He had been hurt by such feelings before, and he didn''t feel like getting hurt again. The only thing that he told himself was "One day" and nothing more.


    After getting back to the inn, they both went into their separate rooms, and quickly fell asleep, or at least Thufrat did. The inn was one of the finest establishments of the small city and was also one of the tallest buildings. Alenia had snuck up onto the roof of the building and was gazing at the stars. Although the night sky was incredibly breathtaking, all Alenia could feel was pain. Looking at such a sight, she wished her mom could see it with her. Tears ran down her cheeks incessantly. She tried to be strong, she really did, but she just couldn''t...

 Chapter 90 - Liverance

    Waking up the next day, no time was wasted as Thufrat and Alenia hurried on their way to the capital of Geotopia. The capital of Geotopia was called Liverance, and even though neither of them had ever seen it, they both had high expectations. Geotopia seemed like a paradise compared to other kingdoms they had passed through so far, and their expectations for its capital were naturally higher because of that.


    Unlike all the other days when they usually spent a lot of their time talking, Alenia seemed to be in a bad mood today. Thufrat was a little worried about her, but he didn''t stick his nose in her business, if she wanted to talk about it, then she naturally would. The weather was almost like any other, cold harsh winds kept assaulting their bodies as they traveled, yet the gentle beams of sunlight that covered the hills and forests they passed kept creating pleasing sights for their sore eyes. The kingdom they had passed through earlier had been through war not long ago, and in comparison was a lot less aesthetically pleasing.


    Asking the nice villagers for directions every now and then, they were on good track towards the capital. After only a couple of hours, the landscape around them was starting to change a little. The trees grew sparser and villages and towns grew further in-between as more and more small hills started appearing. After noon had passed, a large mountain appeared in their view. They had seen this mountain on the horizon for a while now, but seeing it up close was spectacular, to say the least.


    A large waterfall cascaded down the mountain, all the way from the top. Thufrat had never seen such a mountain before, it was truly a peculiar sight. The mountain wasn''t pointy at all, and on the top was a large crater. This crater was the home to a large lake, which was what created the waterfall. The weirdest part of this mountain was the fact that the lake seemed inexhaustible, as it had never run dry for over 500 years. Due to these peculiarities, the mountain was aptly named the Everspring Mountain.


    On the bottom of the mountain, the waterfall was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y split apart by a protruding rock formation, before it flowed into a river. This rock formation actually looked like a giant dragon''s maw. Inside of the dragon''s maw was a majestic castle, one that looked like it came straight out of a fairytale. Nine narrow, round towers are scattered in a seemingly random pattern, but have been built for an ideal defense and are connected by huge, wide walls made of black stone.


    Refined windows are scattered here and there around the walls in fairly symmetrical patterns, along with symmetric crenelations for archers and artillery. A moderate gate with enormous wooden doors, a draw bridge, and various artillery equipment guard the inhabitants of this castle. It''s not the only way in, but it''ll be your best shot if you wish to conquer this castle.


    Statues of kings are lined up outside of the castle gates, serving as reminders of the past.


    On the sides of the mountain were two large hills, almost big enough to be called mountains themselves. This created a spectacular looking valley where the river flowed through. This was where Liverence was located. Thanks to the awe-inspiring and sky-high silver wall blocking off the valley, entering Liverence without permission was harder than ascending to heaven.


    On the other side of the wall, tall and small houses alike were all crafted meticulously and with great craftsmanship. If a house wasn''t elegant enough, then it had no place in Liverence. The streets of Liverence were all made out of chiseled stone unless you entered the noble district, then some roads could even be made out of white jade.


    Like a place out of dreams, the lush green grass and fields of yellow flowers that stretched along the sides of the valley created a beautiful and dreamy atmosphere. The river that flowed through the city was not only a great source of both water and energy but also something that breathed life into the city. In the middle of the city was a giant black tower. The black tower seemed to pierce even the heavens as it disappeared above the clouds, giving the otherwise vibrant and beautiful city some gloominess.


    Thufrat and Alenia were flabbergasted by just the silver wall when they first arrived. But after getting permission to enter the city and paying the fee, shock was too mild of a word to describe what they were feeling. Alenia''s bad mood disappeared as quick as the wind could suddenly change direction in this place, replaced with a giddy and excited mood as they browsed the streets.


    As they looked around, another quite shocking fact hit them out of nowhere. No matter where they looked, they could not see a single beggar or poor soul, even in the darkest of alleyways. Usually, in big cities like these, people were only happy on the surface, whilst others suffered in the deep and dark corners of the city, but this place seemed different. Thufrat was, of course, happy at the notion of this, he knew what living a life of poverty was like, and he wouldn''t wish that upon any innocent soul.


    The rules of the noble district were a lot less strict in Liverence compared to most places as well. Commoners could actually enter the noble district as they wished, but they could not try and peddle goods or settle down there, they were only allowed to either visit or pass through. Even entering the noble district in other places usually required you to be either a noble or a servant to a noble. If Thufrat had to choose a place to live amongst all the places he had been to so far, then this place was currently at the top of his list. He had no plans to settle down anytime soon though.


    After walking around for a while, they ended up outside of the ginormous black tower. The entrance to the tower was a seemingly inconspicuous door, without any guards in sight. Above the door hung a banner with the insignia of a majestic claw mark. This was the insignia of The Heavenly Beast Master! Thufrat and Alenia gulped when they saw this, they had naturally asked around about how to find The Heavenly Beast Pavilion, but standing right in front of it like this, they couldn''t help but shiver...

 Chapter 91 - The Black Tower.

    Both Thufrat and Alenia were nervous beyond belief. Alenia was nervous since she had to deliver the news of her mother''s untimely death, while Thufrat was scared that she would reject him. If that happened, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. After calming herself down a little, Alenia went up to the inconspicuous door and knocked softly. To her surprise, no one opened the door when she knocked, and she could hear no movement on the other side of the door.


    Since no one was going to open it for her, she slowly pushed the door open herself. Inside of the massive tower, was a small lobby. A countertop made out of fine marble was in the middle of the lobby up against the wall. Behind the counter was a small middle-aged man clad in dark robes with the insignia of the Heavenly Beast Pavilion on it. As he heard the slight creaking of the door, he looked up from the piece of paper he was looking at.


    "How can I help you, young lady?" He said with a slight smile.


    After hesitating for a second or two, Alenia finally spoke up. "I came to see the Heavenly Beast Master. It''s very important."


    The man squinted as he heard this, he then opened up a drawer and took out a small parchment. "State your name please."


    "Alenia Chaehorn"


    After hearing this, the man quickly scanned the paper, and to his surprise, the name was actually written on the paper.


    "Any identification?" He cupped his hands gently and tried to be as courteous as he could.


    Alenia only handed over her identification papers as she was prompted to, and waited patiently. The man looked through her papers to the best of his ability, and upon confirming their authenticity, he told Alenia to wait for a little. After scribbling something down on a small piece of paper, he got up from behind the desk, revealing his height to be no more than 150 centimeters. After walking up to a small hatch, he opened it, put the paper inside, and closed it.


    After pulling on a small lever, he then sat down behind the desk once more. Both Thufrat were a little bewildered by this series of events, but since they were told to wait, they waited and inspected their surroundings a little more. The inside of the lobby was actually very cozy as the only thing that kept the darkness away was the existence of a few torches that hung on the walls. The only doors in sight were two doors to the right of the entrance, otherwise, there was nothing really special about the place.


    No stairs could be seen anywhere, puzzling both Thufrat and Alenia. Meanwhile, the letter that was thrown into the hatch had flown at an incredible speed, all the way to the very top of the tall tower. At the top of the tower, a middle-aged lady was quietly sitting behind a grandiose desk and working. The desk seemed to be made out of some mysterious high-quality wood, and it was sitting at the back of the room. The room itself looked a little like an office.


    The lady was clad in almost the same dark robes as the man in the lobby, the only difference was the materials the robe was made of, and some minor design. The lady also wore a badge on her c.h.e.s.t. In front of her desk stood a couple of chairs, whereupon a young man sat on one of them. After hearing a slight sound, both the young man and the lady looked to the small hatch in the wall. The young man promptly stood up and went over to the hatch. After retrieving the letter, he gave it to the lady without even so much as glancing at it.


    The lady was pleased with his attitude, and she read the letter leisurely. After reading through the entire letter, slight surprise and confusion were apparent of her face. After about 5 seconds passed, the lady stood up, adjusted the hood of her robe, and walked toward the door of her office. The young man looked at her inquiringly, but stood up shortly after and started to follow her.


    On the bottom floor, Thufrat and Alenia both waited with patience. Even though they both grew a little restless, they still just stood there and waited. They didn''t even know what they waited for, but they did it nonetheless. After a couple of minutes, they could hear a dull sound coming from behind the two doors before they swiftly swung open.


    A lady and a young man stepped out and headed straight for them. The young man walked a step behind the lady, and the lady walked at a very brisk pace. When she came up to Alenia and Thufrat, she stopped for a second.


    "Excuse me, are yo-"


    On the other side of the two doors was a small room. This small room was only about 4 square meters, but the roof was nowhere to be seen, and both Thufrat and Alenia had no idea what they were doing in here, or what the lady and the young man had been doing in here. The only thing in the small room was a lever, which the young man pulled after they had entered the room. A dull explosion could be heard right underneath their feet before they were suddenly traveling upwards at an insane pace.


    Feeling the floor beneath them press them upwards and moving at incredible speeds, they couldn''t help but marvel at what they were experiencing. If Ark had been present, he would''ve instantly thought of an elevator when he saw this, unfortunately he wasn''t. The floor they were standing on was made out of a special type of wood that was both highly resistant to magic, as well as force absorbing. When you pulled the lever, an explosion of fire magic took place beneath the floor that propelled them upwards, the force of the explosion was absorbed by the wood, which meant that the people using the "elevator" wouldn''t get hurt.


    After the initial burst of fire magic, constant wind magic was applied underneath the floor to keep it going at a consistent and safe speed. Thufrat and Alenia had no idea about this though, and they just marveled at the feeling of traveling like this. After ascending for some time, the lady pulled the lever again, which made the elevator slow down before it came to a complete stop.

 Chapter 92 - Help.

    After the elevator stopped completely, they walked out into a small reception room. Behind a small desk in the room, a young woman worked away at a stack of papers. Seeing the lady and the young man come back with even more people, the young woman only glanced at them shortly before continuing her work again. Thufrat and Alenia were like small children as they eagerly took in all the sights around them.


    After walking through another door, they entered the Heavenly Beast Master''s office. As they did, the reality of what they came here for suddenly dawned on them. Both of them were incredibly nervous in their own rights, but Alenia was a bit sadder than she was nervous. It was apparent from her reaction that the Heavenly Beast Master was really close with her mom, and to tell her the news of her death, certainly wasn''t going to be easy.


    The young man sat down in a comfy leather chair in a corner of the room. He knew his place, these people were probably here for important business, and he didn''t want to interfere in any way. After seating themselves comfortably, both the young man and The Heavenly Beast Master took off their hoods, revealing their facial features. The lady looked fairly ordinary if you considered the immense status and power she held. Slightly flabby cheeks and angular black eyes adorned her face, making her more of a cutie than a beauty. Her name was actually Laurelia, though not many people have the slightest idea.


    The young man was about 1,8 meters tall, with a head of glossy black hair and brown eyes. Fairly handsome, yet pretty normal, this was Leo. Ark would''ve instantly recognized this young man as the one he met when he was still new to this world, one of the summoned heroes from his original world that got left behind. What was shocking was that the young man had worked hard and gone from some random nobody that got left behind, to the only disciple of the Heavenly Beast Master. Even though he was her disciple, she treated him like her own son.


    After some awkward silence, Laurelia stood up from behind her desk. "Alenia! What brings you here? It''s been a while since I''ve seen your mother, how is she doing nowadays?" The enthusiasm in her voice only made it harder for Alenia to actually speak up.


    On the verge of tears, Alenia just stood there in silence, not managing to gather the courage she needed. Laurelia obviously noticed this, and she started to worry, something was up. "Is something the matter Alenia?" She asked, her voice laden with worry.


    She couldn''t hold her tears back anymore, and they started to flow by themselves. "She... she... she''s gone" was all she could say before she started to sob. Laurelia frowned when she heard this, she was hoping that she had heard wrong, but she was a pessimistic person, and she couldn''t help but worry.


    "Uhmm, sorry what did you say?" She asked with trepidation evident in her voice.


    "Mom... she''s gone, forever." Alenia managed to squeeze out in-between her sobs. Laurelia was sure that she had heard right this time. Slumping down into her chair, her expression was incredulous. Small tears started streaming down her face, and she bit her lip hard, almost to the point of starting to bleed. Leo just sat in the corner, worried about Laurelia. He didn''t open his mouth to say anything, this wasn''t his place to speak, even if it was only to comfort. He had no idea who this girl''s mother was anyway, so his words of comfort would hold no significance.


    5 minutes passed by in the blink of an eye. Both Alenia and Laurelia had calmed down by now, but their immense grief hadn''t passed in the slightest. Laurelia wasn''t stupid, she could sense that they didn''t just come here because of her mother''s death. Alenia had never really spoken with her before after all. She hadn''t introduced the dwarf that stood behind her either.


    Standing up again, with a gentle gaze in her eyes this time, she started speaking again. "Be honest with me Alenia, why did you really come here, it couldn''t have been for just this right?"


    Before Alenia could say anything, Thufrat bowed as deeply as he could. "Please help me!" Was all he uttered with a steadfast attitude.


    Laurelia was taken aback, but she only looked at Alenia, waiting for an explanation.


    "This is my savior Thufrat. After my mother was murdered, he helped me fight off the elves that were after my life. He''s a nice person, and he needs help saving a friend. Please help him!" Toward the end of her last sentence, Alenia also bowed deeply.


    "Since the daughter of my best friend is asking me for a favor, then how could I ever disappoint? I''ll see what I can do to help your friend." With a sincere expression, she walked up to Alenia and gave her a hug.


    "I''ll need to know the situation though if I''m gonna help."


    Thufrat didn''t waste any time and quickly explained what had happened with Ark, excluding the fact that he could turn into a human since he didn''t know what the consequences of such actions would be. Laurelia pondered for a while when she heard this, but she soon looked enlightened. She gave Thufrat a weird look, before asking him a question.


    "This wolf companion of yours, wouldn''t happen to be able to turn into a human right?"


    Thufrat was scared out of his wits when he heard this. How did she find out? Did he say something wrong? Since the cat was already out of the bag, Thufrat told her a little about Ark, only some general parts though. Since he came clean, Laurelia knew how to help Ark, it was a very special case, but it wasn''t hard to treat, not considering her skills at least.


    After some deliberation, she agreed to help Ark. Both Alenia and Thufrat were happy beyond belief. Alenia was mostly just happy for Thufrat''s sake though. Not wasting any more time, Laurelia left her office, with everyone else in tow. They all stepped into the elevator again, but instead of going downward like they thought they would, they kept going up. This time, the ride only lasted a couple of seconds before it swiftly stopped on another floor.


    Before anyone had the chance to react, Laurelia started chanting some weird words, before the entire floor erupted with a purple glow. The resplendent glow was blinding, to say the least, and Thufrat and Alenia who hadn''t been prepared were both scared by the sudden light. Before long, they could feel a weird twisting aura enveloping them before they completely disappeared from their previous spots.


    From an outsider''s perspective, the peak of the mysterious black tower had suddenly erupted with immense purple light, before a shockwave of light was shot out in all directions. The black tower then went back to its previous complete silence.

 Chapter 93 - Awakening Once More!

    Meanwhile, in Steoteya, a blinding purple light appeared from numerous runes on one of the courtyards in the imperial palace. Numerous mages and guards instantly surrounded the square. The Steoteyan knights stood in a circle around the square clad in their flaming red armor. While some of them had large shields, some carried swords and stood behind them. The knights with shields stood at the very front, protecting from any eventual attack. Since they had no hands to hold their weapons, there were knights behind them wielding swords, that would strike out at anyone coming close. They had practiced this formation countless times, but they didn''t expect to have to use it today.


    From within the square, Thufrat, Alenia, Laurelia and Leo appeared. Leo and Laurelia looked relaxed, they had been through this before, but both Thufrat and Alenia collapsed on the ground. Thufrat vomited several times before he could stand up again. Alenia had it a little easier, but she still had to sit down for a while before she could stand up again. When they stood up though, they were greeted by the sight of intimidating knights clad in full blazing armor.


    They weren''t afraid though, they were only surprised, but that was only par for the course. Laurelia took a step forward, and all of the knights flinched a little. A hooded figure that had used the teleportation circle on the square f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y, with such terrifying energy, wasn''t someone they wanted to mess with unnecessarily.


    "Attention!" Before long, a shout was heard from behind the knights.


    "Yes Sire!" they all shouted in unison.


    As they heard the commanding shout, the knights parted in the middle, creating a pathway for whoever it was that had shouted. The knights then stood at attention with their shields in front of them, and their swords by their sides. A gallant young man strode down the middle of the pathway. The young man was dressed way better than someone like Thufrat, and it was obvious from just a glance that this was a noble.


    Underneath his blazing red armor was the finest blue silk clothing Thufrat had ever seen. At his waist hung a sword in a scabbard. The scabbard was exquisitely crafted and had been engraved with numerous runes and carvings, giving it a mysterious vibe. If not for the young man''s intimidating and formidable aura, Thufrat would''ve assumed it to be ornamental. The armor he wore differed a little from the guards, mostly in quality, but also in looks. It was a lot more beautiful, and it was a lot lighter in comparison.


    The young man himself was handsome, to say the least, with striking blonde hair, big yellow eyes, and sharp facial features. This was the crown prince of Steoteya, Theodore. Thanks to his class as an elemental swordsman, with a perfect affinity for lightning magic, he was called Steoteya''s lightning sword. Walking up to Laurelia''s entourage, he inspected them meticulously with his eyes. Seeing Laurelia, his gait and bearing instantly straightened itself out a little bit. He had no idea why she was here, but it was obviously not for a fun visit.


    "I''m sorry for the inconvenience your majesty, but we have an urgent matter to attend to, I can compensate for the troubles later." Without waiting for a response, Laurelia walked past Theodore, without so much as glancing at him in the process. Thufrat, Leo and Alenia followed tightly behind her, they didn''t dare get left behind.


    Theodore didn''t really care, he would let his father handle this matter later, he held no interest in questioning why they were here or trying to suck up to them in any way. Instead, he went his own way, intending to train his swordsmanship a little more.


    "Dismissed!"


    All the soldiers were relieved from all the tension. Even though they looked perfect on the surface, the human mind was fickle, and none of them were even close to perfection in reality.


    ...


    Outside of the main manor of the large Windrunner family, Laurelia''s entourage arrived. The guards at the gate stopped them from entering, but after one of them sent word to the Archduke, they were allowed inside. All the elders of the family got ready in the main hall of the large mansion to receive their important guests. To their astonishment, no one arrived.


    Laurelia just followed Thufrat as he lead the way to the place where Ark had been sealed some time ago. The shed was nowhere to be seen, the only thing that could be seen was a big wolf lying dormant on the ground, with a small vortex swirling above its body. The small vortex was the seal''s way of supplying energy, by s.u.c.k.i.n.g in the surrounding mana. Seeing this, Laurelia didn''t wait around, she had her ways to break the seal, and she didn''t need to rely on the elders of the Windrunner family.


    Before doing anything else, she just used a very advanced dispel skill to break the seal. When she did, an outflux of mana and killing intent that had been suppressed for weeks suddenly erupted all at once. Alenia and Thufrat were both suppressed by this aura, and they had a hard time moving under it, but before Ark could go out of control, Laurelia suppressed him. How did she suppress him? By brute force? No, she actually started singing.


    Both Thufrat and Alenia were astounded when she did, but what surprised them more was the effect it had, and how good it sounded. Ark''s initially red eyes were starting to dim, slowly but surely, and his original eye colour was starting to reappear. After almost a minute of her ethereal singing, Ark looked just the same as he did before he went out of control. He looked around, astonished, and a little dull-headed. His mind wasn''t feeling like normal after having been deeply asleep and suppressed for multiple months.


    What he could see though was Thufrat, and he looked fine. Considering the last thing Ark saw was Thufrat nearly dying, this brought him great joy. He walked a little unsteadily to Thufrat and then laid down on the ground again. He couldn''t say anything since he was in his wolf form, but the joy in his eyes spoke volumes by itself. Thufrat was happy beyond belief as well, his friend had finally come back to him! Just thinking about the conversations they would have and all the stories he had to tell Ark made him excited at the prospect.


    He was about to give Ark a hug when he was interrupted by a sudden ferocious growl! Everyone instantly got into defensive positions and looked around them. Ark only stared straight down into the ground out of shame. While everyone was still looking around them trying to find what made the sound, Thufrat started laughing heartily.

 Chapter 94 - Finally Back!

    Before anyone could be shocked by Thufrat''s abrupt laughter, he started talking.


    "I guess you haven''t eaten in months pal, let''s get you something to eat!"


    Reality hit the rest of the people present, and they all broke out into melodious laughter as well. Ark was a little embarrassed, but he was way too hungry to care right now. Thufrat didn''t delay any further, and just took out plenty of food from his spatial bag. Ark couldn''t contain himself at all and instantly devoured all the food that was put before his nose. Thufrat didn''t hold back at all and just kept taking out food from his spatial bag. After about 5 minutes, Thufrat''s entire food supply was completely gone.


    Ark still wasn''t completely satisfied, but he had eaten enough to not be especially hungry at the very least. After eating all that Thufrat had, Ark''s mind had cleared up a little, and when he looked around, he was instantly shocked! Even though he was wearing a hood that covered a good part of his face, Ark had great perception, and he could instantly recognize Leo. Well, he still had no idea that his name was Leo, but he knew him as the kid that was left behind after getting summoned.


    What surprised Ark, even more, was not just that he was here, but his strength. Ark was an Overlord Elemental Wolf, a creature loved by all the elements. Since that was the case, he had become exceptionally good at perceiving other people''s strength, and this young man was even stronger than Thufrat. Still not at his own level, but not that far from it, at the least from the looks of things. There was a woman next to this young man that had an inexplicable aura. Even though he was an Overlord Elemental Wolf, he had no idea about what sort of strength this woman kept hidden.


    At the same time, Alenia, Leo, and Laurelia were all a little shocked when they saw Ark. Neither Alenia nor Leo had any idea what his species were, all they knew was his dignified bearing and aura. Laurelia had read legends about such wolves that roamed the continent long ago, but they were supposed to be extinct now. The wisdom the wolf''s eyes contained didn''t belong to that of a simple animal either, they now understood why Thufrat would go to such lengths to help this wolf.


    Since imposing on the Windrunner family, even more, would be impolite, to say the least, they decided to leave the place. They had nothing to gain from being here anyway, it would only restrict their freedom and what they could do. Some elders of the family had arrived here a little while ago since they had sensed that the seal had been broken by force, but seeing the situation, they decided not to interfere.


    Since this dwarf had the power to move The Heavenly Beast Master, he surely wasn''t someone ordinary by any means. All they did when they passed by was bow and greet the Heavenly Beast Master. After walking for a while, they arrived at an inn. Thufrat told Ark on the way that he had told them Ark''s secret. Ark instantly became wary of the people surrounding him. He trusted Thufrat''s judgment, but he couldn''t help but be skeptical of these people. If his secret ever got out, his life in relative peace would be completely over, and he was a little flabbergasted by the fact that these people knew his secret. He wasn''t angry with Thufrat though, maybe slightly disappointed, but he didn''t really know the circ.u.mstances, and he decided to not pass any judgment before he did.


    After they entered the inn, Ark quickly entered a separate room and turned into his human form. Thufrat had returned his spatial bag earlier, and he quickly put on a new set of clothes. He had been living in this world for a while, and considering that he was asleep for months, his facial hair had grown a little out of control. Ark was never a fan of his facial hair and instantly groomed it with the help of wind magic.


    After doing so, he created a small mirror made out of ice magic and nodded at his appearance. Considering the importance of the people that Thufrat had pulled along, he wanted to look proper at the very least. Everyone else was waiting down in the lobby, and when they saw Ark, surprise became evident from all of their expressions. Ark had originally been handsome, but now that he had been living and evolving in this world, he looked even better. His golden eyes were especially charming.


    Even though Alenia and Leo had heard that the wolf could transform into a human back in Liverence, they had put it at the back of their heads, and it wasn''t something they had the time to really think about. When Ark walked up to them, he first stopped in front of Laurelia and bowed. "Thank you for saving my life! I have no idea what happened, but I''ll be sure to repay you if I ever get the chance to!"


    Laurelia was a little surprised by the courtesy and level of intelligence of this wolf, it seemed no different than a human or other intelligent race. She smiled gently. "No need to repay me, I was just doing someone a favor, as for what happened to you, I can tell you somewhere else." She looked around at the end of her sentence. Ark got her message, eager ears were everywhere, speaking about such a secret out in the open would be abnormally stupid.


    After nodding, he kept walking and stopped in front of Alenia. "I heard a little from Thufrat, thanks for looking out for him!" Ark flashed her a rare smile, which seemed to lighten up the surroundings, both literally and figuratively. The light mana in the air reacted when he smiled after all.


    "Don''t worry about it, if anything, I should be thankful. Without him, I would''ve died!"


    When he heard this, he glanced at Thufrat in the corner of his eyes and grinned a little. It seemed like this friend of his had finally found someone. Ark seemed to remember something as he did.


    "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself just then. My name''s Ark, I hope we''ll get along!" Considering his intelligence, no one was really surprised that Ark had a name, even if it was pretty rare for magical beasts unless they were a beast tamer''s contracted beast. But they could easily tell that it wasn''t the case here. After his introduction, however, his stomach suddenly growled a little more.


    This time the other''s could see an obvious blush on his face, but no one minded it. After chatting a little, they just decided to eat some food at a nearby restaurant. The establishment was fairly popular, and after a while, a big pile of dishes was laid out in front of them on the table. Not only Ark, but Thufrat had also gone all-out this time, and they ate to their hearts'' content.


    A small wind barrier was set up around the table, stopping others from listening in on their conversation. Laurelia was in the middle of explaining Ark''s problem. "The reason you went on a rampage laid in your soul. Because of inner conflict, your beastly instincts took over which resulted in your rampage. The only thing I did was calm your soul down."


    Ark''s eyebrows furrowed. "Then is there anything I can do to prevent it from happening again?"


    Laurelia sighed. "Thufrat told me you ended up like that because of mana deficiency. For now, just avoid that, I have no other advice except growing stronger. If you grow stronger, then your soul''s strength will naturally follow. A strong soul seldom has an inner conflict."


    Whilst in the middle of their conversation. Strange mana fluctuations suddenly appeared in front of Laurelia, disturbing their discussion...

 Chapter 95 - Joy And Disaster Often Come Hand In Hand.

    The mana fluctuations were instantly brought to their attention. The air stirred gently, and a black parchment suddenly appeared hovering in the air in front of them. The parchment landed gently in Laurelia''s hands and her expression turned dire after reading it. Everything on top of the parchment was written in striking blood-red colour. With the backdrop of the black parchment, it created an eerie atmosphere. The parchment itself was also enveloped in some disturbing mana.


    Ark felt like he had seen a similar parchment before, but he couldn''t put his finger on it. After inspecting it for a couple of seconds he realized that he would gain nothing from staring at the back of a parchment when he suddenly noticed something shocking. Laurelia wore a badge on her c.h.e.s.t, he had noticed this a while ago, but it never hit him what was actually on the badge, his mind had still been a little dull after all. Engraved on the badge was two swords, one white and one black, intertwining.


    Ark looked at Laurelia. "You''re a part of Torment of the Fallen?"


    This sentence brought the awkward silence that had been persisting for a while to an end. Laurelia looked at Ark inquiringly, how did this wolf know of Torment of the Fallen? Was he an enemy? Was he an ally? She didn''t know, at least until Ark retrieved a similar badge from his spatial bag. He had gotten this earlier when he joined, but he had kind of forgotten about it. Wearing it in the open when he was by himself would only bring trouble after all.


    Since he had shown his badge, Laurelia didn''t waste any time and threw the parchment over. It was obvious that his position was way lower than hers, but he should still see the parchment, there was some pretty shocking news on it after all. Ark quickly browsed through the parchment, and what he read shocked him pretty deeply, it seemed like his peaceful days were already coming to an end, even though he just woke up today.


    A stronghold of Torment of the Fallen located in Steoteya was currently being attacked by the holy church. And not just some skirmish, the holy church was hell-bent on completely massacring the people in the stronghold. The parchment was like a distress signal that was sent out to any high-ranking member in the vicinity. This was why neither Ark nor Thufrat got one, because they were just new recruits, regardless of their strength.


    They couldn''t just sit around and let their own people be slaughtered right? After eating his fill, Ark was pretty much in prime condition to fight, he wasn''t really sure if he had to, considering who was sitting right in front of him, but he wanted to help nonetheless. There were numerous innocent souls hiding behind the walls of that stronghold, all people who had something against the holy church. If and when the holy church forced their way into the stronghold, these people would all be deemed traitors and would suffer a miserable end.


    Since wasting time would end up with people dying, Laurelia dispelled the wind barrier and got up to leave. Everyone quickly followed after her, and they soon left the establishment. In Frostfell, there was one major square, it was usually occupied, but today, it stood completely empty. Laurelia and the rest soon arrived here, but the only one who had the slightest clue as to why was Leo.


    Laurelia stood in the middle of the square, and after telling everyone to back off, she started to chant. The chant was the most complex Ark had ever heard, and when she was done, the surroundings shone with a blue light. Immense amounts of mana and pressure started emitting from where Laurelia was standing. People started gathering to see what was going on, but upon feeling the pressure, most people retreated to a safe distance.


    "ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRR"


    In a sudden flash of blinding light, a loud roar shook the entire capital. A giant blue dragon materialised in the middle of the massive square, enveloping everyone present in its shocking aura. Thufrat didn''t feel affected in the slightest, the only difference he felt was his back heating up a little. The giant blue dragon was Laurelia''s contracted beast, and its might was not something which normal people could ever fathom.


    Throngs of guards started swarming toward the square to protect their city from the sudden threat. Laurelia only glanced at Ark and the rest. "We don''t have a lot of time, jump on already."


    No one dared to object and they all just quietly mounted the dragon. Normally dragons would never let people mount them, but these people were far from normal. Ark was an Overlord Elemental Wolf, and Thufrat''s bloodline was even fiercer than the dragon itself.


    In a flash of light, the lightning sword, Theodore appeared on the square. Staring down Laurelia and the rest, he sheathed his sword but gave them a stare that seemed even more lethal. "Stir up any more trouble and you won''t live long!" After saying his part, he turned around. "Retreat!" He disappeared into thin air a second later, and the all the surrounding knights and soldiers dispersed.


    The dragon flapped its wings and took to the skies. Ark and the rest had nearly been thrown off due to the sudden flight, but they managed to stay on. After getting used to it, it was pretty easy to stay on, especially when the usual hard winds didn''t appear at all, Ark was on the back of the dragon after all.


    After flying for a while, they soon left the airspace of the capital and kept going. The parchment naturally guided them via the use of mana to where they needed to go. It took almost half an hour before some smoke could be seen off in the distance. Naturally, smoke wasn''t a good sign, and Laurelia urged the dragon to go even faster.


    At the outskirts of a rather large forest, a big stronghold constructed mostly out of stone stood tall, or at least it used to before the holy church arrived. The sight of the crumbled walls and fires burning everywhere was hard to picture without seeing it for yourself, the mental impact it brought was not to be scoffed at after all. Wherever you looked, people dressed in pure white robes decorated by a golden sigil were destroying and causing havoc.


    When Ark saw all the numerous people from the holy church slaughtering everyone in their path, his eyes started to burn with fury. Did it matter if the one they were killing was a child? No. Did it matter if the one they were killing was begging for mercy? No. Did it matter if it was a mother crying in despair? No. This wasn''t a battle or a skirmish, this was a slaughter. Ark regretted that he wasn''t here earlier. He regretted not arriving in time to save these innocent people.


    A little bit away from the stronghold stood another group of people in white robes. Every single one of them was armed with various weapons and they were obviously here for a single task, to protect! Ark sneered upon seeing this. He was mad, and he was going to vent his anger and regret the only way he knew how to...

 Chapter 96 - You Want To See What Slaughter Is?

    Since he couldn''t use his light element, Ark decided to use the next best one, his Ice element. The rest could only feel his immense killing intent as well as all the mana stirring around him. Ark took a little time to prepare this move, he wanted to make sure that there was no escape if he was going to attack.


    From the people of the holy church''s point of view, they could only see the clouds above them gently stirring, before they were suddenly torn apart. Close to a hundred large swords made out of ice were flying at an intense speed in their direction with the help of both the wind and lightning element. The ice swords were like sudden bolts of lightning that struck down on the holy church with all their might.


    Not many could react to such an attack coming out of nowhere, and as the swords descended, many lost their lives. The original number that came close to almost one hundred elite guards of the church was reduced to less than 40 in an instant. Behind them all stood a fair maiden, the leader of this attack, as well as the important person they had to protect. With beautiful blonde hair and charming blue eyes, she would be called a beauty almost wherever she went. Ark had seen a little better before, but it didn''t matter to him anyway.


    When she saw more than half of her guards drop dead, and a large amount of blood seeping into the ground, she lost her cool for a couple of seconds. When she regained her bearings, another sound suddenly appeared. Almost like the sound of an arrow travelling at high speeds, the sound quickly came closer to the group. They all stood at attention, no one dared to be careless for even a second, lest it took their lives away.


    Of course, they didn''t know, but no arrow was coming. What was coming was something far worse. A light erupted above their heads, and a streak of light hit the ground amongst them. Ferocious flames erupted from the epicentre. The flames instantly consumed whoever stood in their path, and horrid screams started echoing from amongst the troops. Only a select few could avoid the fire, and they instantly retreated with their young miss.


    What struck the ground you might ask, Ark''s spear did. When the flames settled down, all the people from the holy church could see was a majestic spear sticking out of the ground. The spear shone with a holy light, shocking them even further. Why would someone with a holy artefact attack people of the holy church? When they looked a little closer through the smoke and ashes, they could see a young man standing imposingly on the spear.


    The only reason Ark did this was to instil some fear into them, and it worked splendidly, as these people thought he looked like some form of a master. He jumped off the spear quickly and ripped it out of the ground with one of his hands. He walked up to the people of the holy church, with a reasonable space between them. The young lady saw him stop a little bit away, and mistook it as him being cautious. "Who the hell are you huh? You know you''ll die just like everyone else here? I''ll slaughter you and your entire family!"


    This random guy had come and killed almost all her most impressive men, she would surely be punished when she returned, and it was all because of this random bumpkin.


    When Ark heard what she had to say, even though he had no family, and he had never had any family, he was still angry. He kept his calm though, he wouldn''t be provoked by something like this, that being said, he would kill every single one of them nonetheless. He took half a step forward. "You said that you''re going to slaughter me? I''ll show you what slaughter is!"


    Toward the end of his sentence, Ark almost roared, he had been asleep for far too long, and when he was finally awake again, something like this happened, he was enraged! After his shout, he grabbed his spear with both hands and thrust it out straight in front of him. He had been preparing this move for a little while, and it wasn''t simple by any means. The air around the people of the holy church contorted and held them in place, forcing them to take this spear attack head-on.


    The unfortunate thing was, did they stand a single chance against this attack? Ark had already spent a lot of mana, but that was still just about half of his mana pool, he had more than enough for these people. The spear erupted with astonishing might, arriving in front of Ark''s foes in half a second. Devastating wind ripped everything in its way apart as Ark''s spear travelled through his foes. Their miserable screams didn''t make a single sound. Ark had control of the wind after all. How would the sound waves travel if not by the air? Even if he didn''t, who would even have the time to scream?


    Body parts and blood was all that was left of the haughty girl and her followers, this is what happens to those who don''t know who they''re dealing with. Being arrogant and careless was an easy way to lose your life in a world where strength was everything. Especially if you don''t have any strength of your own. The heavy stench of blood and death was a little nauseating, but Ark didn''t really mind it. This was life in this world, if you don''t have the strength, you can only be trampled beneath other''s feet.


    Ark was about to go after the other people of the church, but after seeing the dragon descend in the stronghold, and hearing the miserable howls that ensued, he calmed down. He still felt a little strange when he killed people, it wasn''t like he hadn''t gotten used to it, it was the opposite. He felt like he got used to it a tad bit too quickly. He didn''t fret over it though, it was a positive thing, after all, being burdened by killing would only bring troubles in the future.


    Since he had mana to spare and the smell of blood was pretty disgusting, Ark burned all the bodies with fire magic, washed the place clean with water magic, and used wind magic to scatter the ashes and the smell into the air. The more he used magic, the more fascinated he got. Even though entertainment was on a completely different level on earth, Ark still enjoyed this life more. Being through life and death and gaining friends was very stressful, but also very rewarding at the same time. Most importantly, Ark could feel that his life at least had some meaning in this life, he didn''t feel like a nobody.


    Enjoying the cold weather, Ark just sat down and relaxed his mind for a minute, before he picked himself off the ground, and headed for the stronghold. He still had some mana, and he was sure that people needed healing.

 Chapter 97 - Savior.

    What he saw when he entered the stronghold wasn''t beyond his expectations. Corpses littered the place, the blood of innocents was running like a river through the place, it was a very horrific sight to see. With a solemn expression, he passed by corpses of mothers, children, men and beasts. The "beasts" were the people of the holy church. But from Ark''s point of view, calling them beasts would actually only tarnish his own species. He was a beast after all.


    After his recent sealing, Ark had reflected a little on his views. He had always been pondering if he was a human, but right now, he couldn''t care less. What did it matter anyway? Would him being a human change anything? No. Ark was Ark, no matter if he was a "beast", a "monster", or a human. At times, those words could even mean the same thing.


    His fury had not calmed down yet, but he still walked at a leisurely pace through the stronghold. After arriving in the very middle of the stronghold, he found Thufrat, Alenia, Laurelia and Leo. They were currently surrounded by the few survivors of the massacre. Even though they tried their best to calm everyone down, it wasn''t working very well, these people had just experienced something horrible after all.


    After assessing their wounds to the best of his abilities, he evaluated that his mana wouldn''t be enough to heal them all. Since that was the case, Ark had a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Activating his [Envoy Of Holiness] skill, he started emitting a sacred light. What these people needed wasn''t just healing, they needed someone to put their faith in, someone to rely on.


    As he entered the scene, he radiated with blinding light. These rays of light landed on the wounded survivors, instantly revitalizing them with vigour. Seeing a young handsome man enveloped by sacred light, healing all of their wounds at a speed visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye, almost all of the survivors present could feel a sense of relief.


    Most broke down crying even more since the reality of the situation had settled in, and their bodies were healing, while their loved ones lay on the ground, gone forever. Even though being a survivor can be a blessing, it can be painful in its own right. Ark kept walking forward, emitting more and more light, until he stood in the midst of all the survivors. He then discharged a large amount of mana, healing every single one of them fully.


    His radiance dimmed, but his position in these peoples'' hearts was rock solid now. Ark was no saint, yet seeing how he could heal people like this still brought him great joy. He had seen his fair deal of suffering, and it was never a pleasant sight. Relieving people of pain, saving people in their time of need, even though it wasn''t beneficial to him in any way, he would still do it if he had the chance to.


    Some people feel like it''s their responsibility to help, but Ark had never really felt like that, he helped if he wanted to, and if he didn''t want to, then naturally he wouldn''t, he didn''t care about some imaginary responsibility to help those in need, he just did it anyway. Hearing the sobbing and thanks he received, Ark''s mind eased up a little.


    Laurelia had sent for help, and people would soon come and help these people in whatever way they could. Ark sat down and rested up against a wall, letting his imagination run wild. With no form of real entertainment that he enjoyed, Ark just came up with his own stories. With a wild imagination, he could derive a lot of fun from just sitting around and thinking to himself.


    No one wanted to interrupt him, since he seemed to be at ease and relaxed, even Thufrat left him alone. Ark had gone through a lot recently, and Thufrat wanted him to take it easy if possible. After being through peril and then being sealed up and asleep for months, only for him to wake up to even more death and trouble, anyone in their right mind would be exhausted.


    Ark wasn''t as exhausted as people thought, even though it was a tough life, it was at the very least exciting. With his mana exhausted, both his mind and even his body was a little tired. Ark paid it no heed though, and just dove deep into his own imagination, and relaxed for once. After more than an hour passed, the sound of footsteps could be heard, but Ark couldn''t be bothered to open his eyes, he just kept sitting up against the wall by himself.


    Everything proceeded smoothly, even though the people from Torment of the Fallen that arrived were disgusted by Ark just sitting around as he pleased, they didn''t trouble him in any way. The survivors left with them willingly, they were all essentially a part of Torment of the Fallen after all. When everyone was gone, Laurelia summoned her dragon again, urging everyone to get on. Thufrat didn''t want to disturb Ark, but he couldn''t just sit around here all day.


    Ark had recovered some mana, and with his sharp perception, he stood up on his own before Thufrat could even approach him. He didn''t need to look with his eyes to know what was going on, he was an Overlord Elemental Wolf, the surrounding mana told him plenty already. How could he not notice the change in mana after a genuine dragon was summoned? The dragon might be young and of a weak breed, but it was still a dragon nonetheless.


    After getting on top of the dragon, they departed for Frostfell again. This time, they didn''t want to stir up any trouble, the crown prince seemed to be at the limit of his patience after all. Instead, they landed some ways away from Frostfell, and Ark turned into his wolf form. For just walking and lazing around, this form was very comfortable, he didn''t have enough time in his human form to just do what he wanted either way.


    After entering the city, they headed to the greatest inn in the city. They all needed a good nights rest, and they all felt like they deserved a good place to rest. Laurelia was kind of loaded either way. And like this, the next day quickly approached...

 Chapter 98 - Relaxation!

    The next day quickly arrived. Ark was too lazy to do anything though, he just wanted to sit back and relax. His time in his human form was refreshed once again, but he didn''t really care right now, he didn''t want to leave the room. Sleep was blissful, and Ark had always thought so, but usually, he had important things to do. Thufrat woke up earlier than him, and he went out to eat some breakfast. The others were going to return to Liverence today, but Ark had no idea, if he did, he would at least see them off.


    The other''s just ate breakfast, talked and walked around leisurely, and had a pleasant day off. After noon had passed, Leo and Laurelia needed to go back, they had an entire pavilion to look after. Alenia decided that she would stay behind, which surprised both Thufrat and Laurelia. Thufrat was happy though, he would be able to spend more time with her, which he really wanted to do. He was sure that she and Ark would be able to become friends, or at the very least he hoped so.


    After Ark had lazed around in the inn for a couple of hours, he decided to stretch his legs for a while. Walking around town in his human form, witnessing the bustle of the city, experiencing the tastes the various food stalls had to offer, Ark was in a very relaxed mood. He saw some beautiful ladies now and then, which was very pleasing for his eyes. He had never been that much of a fan of beauty, but recently, he had started to appreciate it more, it was hard not to in a world such as this.


    Compared to the beauties of his previous life, the ones he saw here were a lot more extravagant, and a lot more natural. With his life constantly on the line, Ark wanted to live his life to the fullest. He wasn''t really scared of death, he had already died once, and it ended with him living a much more fulfilling life this time. At the same time, if he was unlucky, he might reincarnate without any potential at all, in a world where strength is everything. But wouldn''t that just be his fate then? [F.u.c.k fate] was all Ark could think when such thoughts crossed his mind. Who cared about some predestined shit? Ark didn''t care about such ambiguous things.


    If he was reincarnated as a pile of shit, then that was just life, and he would become the best pile of shit to ever roam the universe! Sighting an interesting clothing shop, Ark decided that it was probably time to get some new clothes. He looked like a pearl that was covered in mud at the moment, almost literally too, his clothes weren''t exactly what you''d call clean. The shop wasn''t too big, yet the clothes were all very high quality, even on the level where it would be befitting for a noble to wear them. Of course, those clothes were expensive, and Ark didn''t want the absolute best, but he didn''t want some cheap rags either. He wanted some kind of middle-ground.


    When he entered, a young female attendant instantly brightened up. A handsome young man like this entered the shop, this was her time to show what she''s got! She didn''t delay and inquired about what he was looking for. "Excuse me, sir, how may I help you today?"


    Ark looked around a little. "I would like a new outfit, preferably a couple of them, money shouldn''t be much of a problem, but I don''t want anything too fancy if possible."


    The attendant listened attentively. "Coming right up!" She said before she scurried off, scavenging the small store for any outfits that would suit the young man. Ark just stood in silence and browsed around the store some more. This place was his ideal type of store, whether for clothes, weapons or anything really. High-quality goods, nice service, and a nice and cosy atmosphere. A slight smile resting on his face, he noticed the attendant returning with multiple sets of clothes in her arms.


    Ark quickly changed into his first outfit. Looking at himself in the mirror, Ark''s first impression of the clothes was very high. The comfort was like nothing he had ever worn in this life before, even contesting with some of the fairly high-quality clothes he had worn in his previous life. He was of Swedish descent, and these clothes looked a lot more eastern in comparison to what he was used to, they looked a little old-fashioned too, but he liked the look.


    The attendant truly had splendid insight and perception, as she had noticed that he was a warrior the moment he walked in. What he wore was a set of ink-black martial attire. The sleeves of the arms were a little longer and looser than he was used to, but it would look quite elusive when he fought. He had an azure coloured sash around his waist. Embroidered on his back was an azure coloured dragon. With some other azure coloured patterns covering the entire outfit, it looked rather good. Coupled with his handsome face as well as his extraordinary aura, Ark looked like a fierce fighter, not someone you would want to create any trouble with.


    All in all, Ark was very pleased with the outfit, and he decided that he would just buy it. The attendant was very pleased with her selection as she saw him walk out of the changing room, it was a little bit of a pity that his face wasn''t very clean, it even looked like there was some dried blood on his cheeks. Ark didn''t doubt the woman''s ability and just decided to get the outfit she picked out for him.


    She was a little taken aback that he was going to buy all of them, without even trying some of them on, but she was very happy nonetheless, despite their ability and quality, they didn''t have a lot of customers. People would usually prefer to go to bigger stores situated close to the centre of the city. Being close to the centre of the city signified a stores status, as it was expensive and hard to get a place there.


    The attendant had picked out a total of 5 outfits for Ark, and it cost him a grand total of 50 gold coins to buy all of the outfits. The cost was that high just because of the quality, as well as some of the defensive properties of the clothing. Ark left satisfied and continued to browse the city, his mood being pretty good for once.

 Chapter 99 - Just Shut Up!

    After looking around the city for some time, Ark came across one of the biggest and most famous cafes of Frostfell. Since he had nothing better to do, and he wanted to see what the place had to offer, Ark decided to enter the establishment. The cafe was actually fairly grand in size, but considering its popularity, it wasn''t that weird. The cafe itself had 2 floors, the first floor was very bustling and packed with people. In comparison, the second floor was desolate in comparison. There were still a lot of people on the second floor, but it was smaller.


    Ark was about to go and sit on the second floor when he realised the actual reason that the second floor was pretty quiet. It was for nobles only, without proof of nobility, you could forget ever sitting on the second floor. Ark was a little dejected since he liked it when it was a little quieter, but he just turned around and sat down at a nearby table.


    "Hmph, that''s right, commoners should know their place!" The sound of multiple footsteps appeared closely behind Ark. He turned around to look and saw the visages of multiple young men, as well as two young women. The men could be considered a bit above average, and the women were fairly good-looking, but there was nothing more to them. It was obvious for all to see that these people were nothing but arrogant nobles.


    As Ark turned around to look at them, they were quite stunned, this dude didn''t look like a commoner at all! Judging by his clothes and looks, there was no way he could be a commoner, the clothes he wore were even more expensive than their own.


    If another person that had read web novels saw this scenario Ark was in, they would take it for a perfectly normal face-smacking scene! Ark had not read any web novels though, at least not any that contained face-smacking, and even if he did, he couldn''t care less. Why would he go out of his way to create trouble just for the sake of some shitty pride? Ark wasn''t a pushover though, and if he did nothing, then these people would surely pester him to no end.


    Since that was the case, Ark just released a burst of his contained aura, and the young nobles were frightened out of their wits. Considering how they grew up sheltered like a flower in a greenhouse, they had never face such an aura before. Ark''s hair flew gently in the air, almost like it was suspended in zero gravity, looking mysterious and ethereal. His eyes glowed with bright light, and his surroundings were being pressed down by his heavy aura.


    "Just shut up!"


    The nobles quickly scurried up to the second floor of the cafe, and Ark contained his aura again. Everyone in the surroundings looked at him with both fear and admiration. Nobles usually bullied commoners like themselves, but seeing someone scare away the nobles for once was quite the refreshing sight. Ark ordered some weird cake he found on the menu that laid on the table and then ate it quietly by himself.


    The cafe deserved its reputation, the cake was truly something extraordinary, and Ark was very pleased with himself after eating his fill. Since he had nothing better to do, Ark decided to check his status for the first time in quite a while.


    Mp: 255/255


    Strength: 30 (15)


    Agility: 45 (15)


    Dexterity: 35 (15)


    Endurance: 30 (15)


    Vitality: 30 (15)


    Intelligence: 90


    Wisdom: 40


    Night Vision [Lv.2>4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.6>8]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.2]


    Herculean strength [Lv.1>2]


    Swift [Lv.2>3]


    Nimble [Lv.2>3]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Spatial Affinity


    Small Lightning Affinity


    Small Darkness Affinity


    Medium Wind Affinity


    Medium Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.6]


    Spear Mastery [Intermediate Lv. 2]


    Overlord Of The Elements


    Body Refining [Lv.3]


    Status points [35]


    Ark got a great idea when he saw his status as well. Since he had been planning to rest for a while, he could take the opportunity to level up his new body refining skill, and just laze about at the same time. This would also make him a lot stronger in comparison to his level since he would get stronger whilst not getting any levels. Ark also noticed that a lot of skills that he had completely forgotten had levelled up as well. He had no idea why skills such as herculean strength took so long to level up, he had been using his strength pretty often after all.


    He didn''t ponder too much about it though, it wouldn''t help him in any way, shape or form to worry about something which he couldn''t do anything to change. His 35 status points still just sat there and waited for him to use them, and Ark didn''t wait long before he assigned them. Since he had his cheat-like body refining skill, Ark invested 25 points into intelligence whilst putting the rest into wisdom.


    Putting points into his physical stats would be the epitome of wasting points, and Ark wasn''t stupid enough to do it. After being enveloped by a white light for a couple of seconds, Ark realised he was in the middle of a cafe, and curious stares kept stabbing at his body. When Ark was just about to leave, he overheard a very interesting conversation.


    "Did you hear about what happened in the Estridsen Kingdom?" A burly man asked his companion sitting in front of him.


    "Hmm, I don''t think so, why? Did something big happen?"


    "You know how they made such a big deal out of their summoned heroes not too long ago right? Well, as it turns out, one of them is supposed to be beheaded 2 months from now!"


    "You serious? Wtf, what happened?" The burly man''s companion was both shocked and interested.


    "I think he disobeyed the king and tried to run away or something, he was charged for treason."


    Ark was listening intently, and as if the Gods were trying to play a joke, a very familiar scroll suddenly materialised in front of him...

 Chapter 100 - An interesting mission.

    Ark curiously scanned over the scroll in his hand. As he did, he almost wanted to laugh, was this some kind of joke? On top of the scroll was his next assigned mission. The mission was to save the hero Arduin from the hands of the Estridsen Kingdom and win some prestige for Torment of the Fallen. The plan was already set for him, all he had to do was follow it and use his abilities to their utmost.


    To save the hero, Torment of the Fallen had gotten him a spot in an annual tournament that was held every year in the capital of Estridsen. The tournament''s purpose was to scout recruits for the royal guards and the court magicians. It was only open to people who had yet to pass the age of 25, as they were still considered young enough. If Ark won the tournament, then he would be rewarded personally by the king, that was Ark''s mission. Getting a reward from the king meant he would be granted access to the castle, which was his opportunity to secure his target.


    Even though it sounded fairly straightforward, Ark knew this mission was going to be hard, really hard. But the reward was just enticing enough for Ark to consider it seriously, before accepting the mission. This was a reward of 3 platinum coins after all! This was an astronomical sum of money. And considering that Ark wanted to live this life to the fullest, why not? He would be able to have some fun, save a life, and earn money in one fell swoop.


    After the missions he had done so far, Ark had begun to trust the organisation that was Torment of the Fallen. He didn''t think that they would want him to save someone who actually deserved to die. Besides, when he heard what the young hero had actually done, Ark almost wanted to laugh. He was kidnapped from his home and expected to fight in a war for some strangers he didn''t care about, and when he tried to run away, he was sentenced to death, how laughable.


    Ark didn''t stick around any more and returned to the inn. Since he had nothing better to do, he turned into his wolf form and started to absorb the mana in the surroundings. Since they were in Frostfell, the mana in the air was certainly thick, even if he was just inside of an inn. Absorbing the mana in the air greedily, Ark was beginning to feel hot all over, and he slowly tempered his body. He wasn''t sure yet, but he could make an educated guess that he would slowly upgrade his affinities when he used this skill as well.


    He did absorb the mana and incorporated it in his body, after all, that was how he had upgraded his affinities in the first place. When he did it without the skill though, the pain was inevitable, which was why he had put it off for so long. Ark wasn''t a sucker for pain, and he didn''t want to feel pain just to grow a little stronger, it probably would''ve been bad for his body as well. After a couple of hours, Thufrat returned with Alenia, but upon seeing Ark so caught up in his training, they just left him to his own devices.


    Ark had no idea how much time passed, and before he knew it, 3 days quickly passed. A pleasant sound appeared within his mind abruptly, breaking Ark out of his stupor.


    [Due to continuous use, Body Refining Lv.3 became Lv.4]


    The voice was like music to Ark as he happily stood up and stretched his legs. As he did, the rumbling of his stomach interrupted his train of thoughts and laughed a little to himself. It had taken him 3 days to just level this once, which was a little more than Ark had expected, but the skill was still a cheat in his mind, the effect was just way too good.


    Ravenous as he was, Ark left his room after transforming and went down to the dining hall to get something to eat. The proprietress of this inn was like a heavenly cook in Ark''s eyes as he wolfed down the food he had been given. After eating his fill, he didn''t waste any time, and just returned to his room after paying for his meal. Lying down on the floor again, Ark started absorbing the mana in the air again. But this time, he didn''t stop when he heard the next level up, instead, he kept going for almost an entire month, before he decided that it was probably time to leave this place.


    His Body Refining skill had now become level 7 and Ark''s body was brimming with both vitality and immense strength. Most of his physical stats nearly doubled now that his Body Refining skill became level 7, as it now gave him a +35 to all his physical attributes. Since he kind of needed to leave now, Ark needed to find Thufrat, and tell him about the mission he had accepted. During this month, Ark had gone out to eat now and then, but he was still pretty hungry now.


    Coincidentally, when Ark browsed around the city to find a good place to eat since he wanted to try something new, he saw Thufrat and Alenia down the street not too far away. He was a little surprised that Alenia was still around, but seeing them together, Ark could guess why. Even though there was still some form of barrier between them, they both seemed to have grown fond of each other, as they laughed merrily when they walked around together.


    Ark approached them casually, he decided to wear the black martial attire he had bought last time, but this time, he had cleaned himself properly, and as he walked, people unconsciously steered away from him. Alenia and Thufrat sensed the people clearing the way, and as they looked behind them, they could see Ark walking toward them slowly.


    Ark arrived in front of them quickly and smiled gently. "It seems like you didn''t leave after all."


    "I have nothing else to do really," Alenia responded curtly.


    Ark thought about the answer a little before he looked at Thufrat. "Yo, I accepted a mission, do you have any plans for the near future?"


    Thufrat shook his head a little. "No, to be honest, we kind of waited for you to come out before deciding to do anything. Anyway, this mission, what''s it about?"


    Ark looked around a little. "Talking about the details here would be a little... I can say it''s a rescue mission though, that much won''t give it away."


    "Can you tell us where?"


    Ark pondered, and then he felt stupid. He conjured up a wall made out of wind around them, preventing any outsiders from hearing what he was about to say, he could''ve just done this from the very beginning...


    "You heard about the summoned heroes of Estridsen right? Well one of them is getting executed for treason, I''m supposed to save him."


    Thufrat grew concerned. "Oi, won''t that be dangerous? You sure about this?"


    Ark smirked. "If it wasn''t dangerous, what would be the meaning of taking the mission in the first place? Don''t worry, I can handle it!"


    And so, Ark''s mission drew closer...

 Chapter 101 - Back To Estridsen Again!

    Since they had nothing better to do, Alenia and Thufrat followed Ark into an inconspicuous restaurant and sat down to eat. After eating their fill, they all left to buy themselves some horses. Ark had told them the reward he would get if he completed the mission while they were eating, and Thufrat nearly choked to death on his food, it was an absurd amount of money for commoners like them after all.


    This time, since they had to travel quite the distance, they bought a lesser draconic horse. This horse had a sliver of a dragon''s bloodline, which boosted its physical strength and endurance to a whole new level. This also gave Thufrat another degree of control over the horse, since his bloodline had a lot of influence over other draconic bloodlines, especially this one since the bloodline connection was pretty distant.


    Now, why would they only buy one horse? They were 3 people, right? Ark didn''t need a horse since he would be travelling in his wolf form. Alenia would just ride with Thufrat, instead of wasting money on another horse. Since they had no one to say goodbye to, they just left the same afternoon. The lesser draconic horse was very fast, even considerably faster than the thunder horse Thufrat had bought last time, but to Ark, this was a piece of cake. The higher the level of his body refining skill, the more it felt like a complete cheat!


    His agility was at 75 right now! That was insane considering that it had been a while since the last time he invested any points into it. Ark was confident that unless he faced someone that was more than double his level, Ark would come out ahead, or at the very least run away with his life. The journey was very smooth, and they travelled for the entire day, not stopping until nightfall. They had eaten lunch earlier, but they were still pretty hungry now.


    The night quickly passed, and they travelled without stopping the next day as well. Like so, they travelled for days on end, eating when they felt like it, and sleeping whenever they wanted. 15 days passed by in the blink of an eye, and they had already entered into Estridsen. Ark was a little exhausted after running so much, even though his endurance was high, the muscles in his legs were a little sore.


    A couple of hours past noon, they all entered a small village just outside the capital. Since Ark''s mission wasn''t happening for another two weeks, they decided to just settle down here for the time being. Spending time in the capital would only give the palace a chance to identify them, even though that chance would be very slim, taking risks for a mission like this was just stupid.


    Even though Ark would be able to learn the layout of the city pretty intricately if he stayed there for 2 weeks, he was sure that he would be able to memorise all that he needed in a single night, besides, the villagers here were really nice, and they had all that they needed for now. Ark decided to try and level up his body refining skill once more in these two weeks, and he shut himself inside a room.


    Thufrat and Alenia had nothing better to do, and they mostly talked the days away and trained with each other every now and then. Their bond grew stronger with time, but no real steps were taken in their relationship. What they lacked wasn''t affection, it wasn''t courage either. For now, all they had were each other, even if Thufrat had Ark and Alenia had Laurelia. If getting into a relationship would ruin their friendship and make things awkward, they would rather stay as they were right now, at least for the time being.


    Two weeks passed peacefully in the small village. Thufrat and Alenia had basically gotten to know every single villager at this point, while Ark had just been shut inside of his room the whole time, he didn''t even leave to eat, he had food in his spatial bag after all. His hard work paid off though, and his body refining skill successfully became level 8. As he used the body refining skill, Ark could feel that his affinities were slowly growing stronger, but it would probably take a while before any of them actually upgraded, it was enough for Ark to feel satisfied though.


    Rome wasn''t built in a single day, and Ark didn''t expect his strength to grow at an astronomical degree, he would let nature take its course, and see where he ended up. Tomorrow was the date of the tournament Ark would be fighting in, and a little after noon, the three of them left the small village and headed for the capital.


    Even though Ark would''ve marvelled at the sight of the city''s massive walls and its imposing palace in the distance a while ago, he had now seen what Frostfell had to offer, and in comparison, the capital of Estridsen fell behind. Thufrat and Alenia were even less affected, after seeing Liverence and Everspring mountain, something like this wouldn''t faze them at all.


    The entrance fee to the capital was fairly expensive, but they paid it nonetheless and just went on with their day. Since Ark wanted to get to know the city a little better, most of the day was spent walking around town with Thufrat and Alenia, both in human and in wolf form, since he didn''t have that much time in his human form after all. Even though Alenia and Thufrat weren''t actually a part of the mission, they would help Ark nonetheless if he needed it, but the parts they would play wouldn''t be too risky or big, Ark would also compensate them of course. Though they were friends, how could Ark let them put themselves in danger for free? That would be preposterous.


    Compared to Liverence, the people here were a lot less jovial and happy, and the atmosphere wasn''t the same at all, everyone minded their own business here, and if you slighted a noble, then you would have to look after your head! Ark didn''t enjoy the atmosphere of this capital at all. Even though it looked splendid on the surface, the alleys and slums were littered with homeless people and beggars, doing whatever in this world fraught with danger to survive for one more day.


    Ark only felt pity, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. Thufrat and Alenia were also affected by the mood, and the three of them checked into an inn, dejected and tired by the time evening had arrived. Tomorrow was going to be both risky and exciting, Ark went to sleep as early as he could. He wanted to get as much sleep as possible. Even though it was exciting, the mission he was going to go through with tomorrow would be very dangerous, a minor slip-up wouldn''t only cost him his own life, but also an innocent persons life as well...

 Chapter 102 - Tournament Underway!

    Waking up the next day, Ark was both anxious and excited. It didn''t really cross his mind before, but what if he didn''t win the tournament? What would he do then? He wasn''t really sure, but he didn''t really think that would happen, he had a great deal of confidence in himself, especially considering the age group he was competing with. If he didn''t win, he would probably just try and sneak into the palace to break Arduin out of there, he hoped it wouldn''t come to that though.


    Thufrat and Alenia hadn''t woken up yet, and Ark just ate some breakfast by himself and waited in his room. The tournament would start at noon in a big arena constructed outside of the noble district, and since Ark didn''t have a lot of time in his human form, he had to wait until then before going out, just in case of any unforeseen circ.u.mstances. Ark wasn''t particularly bored though, being alone was nice in its own right.


    Thufrat and Alenia eventually woke up, and they waited with Ark inside of one of the rooms they had rented. When there was only half an hour left before the start of the tournament, they all left the inn together. Just in case, they split up halfway there and went their own ways. They would help Ark run away with Arduin later if everything went according to plan, but for now, they would just watch the tournament from the crowd. If he didn''t win, then there would have to be a change of plans.


    The tournament itself was actually just the finals, which meant that only the ten strongest youths across the kingdom would battle it out. There had been numerous smaller elimination tournaments across the kingdom before this, and today was the finals. Luckily Torment of the Fallen was a very influential organisation, and they had managed to give Ark a spot in the finals very easily. How they managed to do it was very easy, they had sent someone to participate in the qualifiers under an alias. All Ark had to do was wear a specific mask which he had gotten the day before. Along with the mask, Ark had also gotten a small token imbued with a special type of mana. This token was needed to identify him at the tournament.


    When he was getting close to the arena, Ark entered a secluded alley and gently put on the mask which he had stored in his spatial bag. He then conjured up some ice to see what he looked like. After seeing the pitch-black mask with beautiful silver engravings on top of it, Ark nodded softly and then went on his way again.


    The streets near the arena were very crowded with both commoners and nobles alike, but Ark managed to easily squeeze his way through. The arena''s size was daunting, to say the least, it looked more like the colosseum of Rome rather than an arena. There were multiple entrances to the arena, but the one Ark used was a pretty small side-entrance. After going through some procedures, he soon arrived inside of the large arena. The place the participants were sitting in was a small lounge that was right next to the stage where they would be fighting.


    Eight other participants had already arrived and were sitting wherever they pleased. When Ark entered, he attracted a lot of attention. Not just because he was a participant, but also because he was wearing a mask to cover his face. After sitting down in a remote corner, Ark observed the other participants a little. Out of the eight, five of them were male, while the remaining three were all female. Most of them seemed to be warriors of different sorts, mostly knights, while there were only 2 magicians. Judging by their equipment at least. Ark couldn''t be one 100% sure.


    About ten minutes after Ark''s arrival, the last participant finally showed up as well. The last participant was also a girl, but judging from her equipment, Ark was almost certain that she was a commoner, which was pretty surprising. To be able to come this far without proper training or anything of the sort was actually very commendable, and Ark''s impression of her was naturally a step higher. She was fairly beautiful as well, but compared with the other women here, her beauty was a lot more natural, which Ark could appreciate a little more.


    Unlike Ark, most of the other participants'' views were pretty different. Only two other people present seemed sensible enough to not look down on her entirely just because of her apparent social status. Would that even matter in a contest of strength? No, not at all. As time passed, the rowdiness of the crowd naturally became worse and worse, they all wanted to see what the strongest youths of their kingdom had to offer.


    All of a sudden, the rowdy crowd started to quiet down, which prompted the youths to direct their gazes at the stage. A middle-aged man was slowly walking on the stage. Stopping in the middle, the middle-aged man looked out over the crowd.


    "Is everyone excited?"


    His loud voice reverberated throughout the arena, and the once silent crowd broke out in stupor a second later. The man laughed a little, before he made some gestures with his hands, trying to tell the crowd to quiet down again.


    "Since everyone seems to be excited, why don''t we start with the first fight of the day then? I welcome to the stage, Silver Gaze!"


    The crowd applauded when they heard the nickname, but no one got too excited, most people had never heard of this name before. Unlike the crowd, Ark was surprised. It seemed like he had to take part in the very first battle. He didn''t waste any time, and before anyone could react, he disappeared with a gust of wind. Suddenly seeing a masked man appear on stage out of nowhere shocked a lot of people, especially the participants themselves, wasn''t he right next to them just a couple of seconds ago?


    Ark only stood quietly on one side of the stadium, awaiting what came next. Even though people couldn''t see his face, his piercing gaze was noticed by a lot of people, even though he was fairly far away from them. The nickname was actually quite fitting.


    The middle-aged man was a little surprised by Ark''s sudden appearance as well, but he adjusted his mindset accordingly.


    "And let us now present the challenger, welcome Allastir, Nature''s Warden onto the stage!"

 Chapter 103 - The First Match!

    A young man slightly over the age of 20 walked up on the stage. As Ark saw him, the first thought that crossed his mind was that his name was perfectly fitting. The young man was very bulky in stature, and his shiny black-steel armour reflected the many rays of sunlight that hit it. His weapon of choice was a shortsword as well as a very large rectangular shield. The shield was far from normal, and it looked like it was several hundred years old, made completely out of wood. The helmet that adorned his head hid any facial features, except for his piercing blue eyes.


    He stopped when he stood about 50 meters away from Ark, face to face. Their eyes met briefly, and intense fighting d.e.s.i.r.e awakened in both of their hearts. Fighting against other strong young people was exciting, and both Ark and this young man had the spirit to do so. The middle-aged man retreated to the very edge of the arena before he made his announcement.


    "The fight will commence as soon as this piece of fabric hits the ground, my princess, if you''ll do the honours." The middle-aged man took out a piece of white fabric from withing one of his sleeves. A beautiful young woman then proceeded to take the piece of fabric, before eyeing the two contestants. When her purple eyes met Arks, a weird sensation welled up withing her c.h.e.s.t, had she met this young man before?


    Ark was even more shocked himself. What a coincidence! The young woman was none other than the third princess of the Estridsen kingdom, Annette Estridsen! Ark didn''t think much of it though, and he averted his gaze from hers, returning to the young man in front of him. Annette didn''t think much of it either, she was a little captivated by his gaze, but she was a princess, love wasn''t something she should think about.


    "Are both of you ready?"


    Seeing both of them nod, Annette gently tossed the white piece of fabric into the air. The wind wasn''t particularly strong, and the white fabric didn''t stay in the air for too long as a result. Four seconds after being tossed into the air, the fabric gently landed on the ground. As it did, Allastir brought his shield up in front of him and got into a defensive stance. He had wanted to use this opportunity to observe his opponent, but when he looked up, what he saw shocked him!


    Ark didn''t waste any time. As soon as the piece of fabric hit the ground, he instantly used his skill [Holy Spear: Dawn] and took three steps forward. Instead of running up to his opponent and attacking, Ark flung the spear with all his might, sending it whirling through the air at an insane speed. All Allastir could see was a golden blur radiating holy aura zooming toward him at a speed faster than a bullet.


    Even though he could dodge it, Allastir held great confidence in his defence, and he didn''t believe that this young man in front of him would be able to break past it. Especially considering the energy fluctuating from the spear, it didn''t seem too special except for its great speed. As he slanted his shield a little sideways to deflect the spear, Allastir realised his mistake.


    Although the spear seemed average, it contained a terrifying amount of power buried within. As the spear collided with the shield, a loud boom was heard as Allastir was sent skidding backwards from the impact. He stopped about 10 meters back, but astonishment was written all over his face. The crowd was completely silent as well before they started roaring in excitement. Who here had not heard of Nature''s Guardian Allastir? Seeing his defence breached in such a way was a first for many, and the excitement of the crowd was astonishing.


    Before Allastir could really reflect on what happened, the sounds of rapid footsteps approached him quickly. Ark wouldn''t let go of such a great opportunity, and he went on the offensive once more. With a new spear in his hands, Ark arrived in front of Allastir in a matter of seconds. When Ark was only 10 meters away, Allastir was about to make a move, when the tip of Ark''s spear suddenly shone with a blinding light!


    The light caught Allastir off-guard, and he instantly slammed his large shield into the ground and hid behind it. Ark naturally took the opportunity to circle around him. Appearing behind him, Ark lashed out with the spear once more. Allastir felt Ark''s movement behind him, as well as a weird aura of death that accompanied his movements. Since he couldn''t do much, Allastir turned his body slightly and swung his sword against Ark''s spear. Since he was still blinded by the burning light, he could only guess where Ark''s attack was coming from, and his prediction was slightly off.


    Since Ark''s spearmanship had reached the intermediate level, he was able to notice that if he proceeded with his attack, Allastir was likely to die. Feeling no need to kill anyone just because of a tournament, Ark angled his spear slightly, so that the tip of his spear whistled straight past Allastir''s ear, while the shaft of the spear slammed straight into him. Ark used his full force in the attack, which resulted in Allastir being sent flying through the air.


    Landing miserably on the other side of the Arena, Allastir quickly scurried to his feet, with agonising pain all over his body. Ark didn''t let him do as he pleased though, and just when he got to his feet, he noticed Ark''s next attack. Just after Ark sent Allastir flying, he jumped high up into the air. Instead of using the spear this time, Ark condensed a large sword made out of Ice. A feeling of nostalgia washed over him as he thought back to the first time he had used a move like this, when he was facing off with the commander of the demons.


    Allastir''s expression was one of despair as he watched the large sword made out of ice descend on him. In stark contrast to the spear he had thrown earlier, everyone could sense the dreadful mana this attack contained, and Allastir was scared out of his wits. He almost resigned himself to his fate, when he decided that he would go all-out to face this attack. He lifted up his wooden shield up high and used his strongest skill.


    "Guardian Of Nature!"


    Screaming at the top of his lungs, the shield started to glow with a viridian light. The glow was intense to say the least, and it seemed to contain an inexhaustible amount of vitality. Ark had been planning to just stay his hand at the last second, forcing his opponent to surrender, but seeing the viridian glow, he just let nature take its course, and didn''t stop the large ice sword.


    Everyone was watching the intense scene with fervor, not daring to blink, just in case they missed something important.


    "BOOM!"


    A large explosion kicked up a large cloud of dust on the stage, blocking everyone''s vision. Ark didn''t want to waste any time, and he just waved his hand. As he did, the dust particles in the air seemed to disappear, and everyone present could clearly see the outcome...

 Chapter 104 - Uncanny Strength!

    When the dust settled, the audience grew quiet. On the edge of the stage, Allastir laid on the ground, his body twitching, covered in blood from head to toe. His armour was badly mangled, and the originally imposing position he held in everyone''s hearts quickly faded into nothingness. A lot of young ladies in the crowd gasped when they saw Allastir''s sorry state. Even though Ark had no idea what he looked like behind the helmet, Allastir was recognised as one of the most handsome young men of Estridsen.


    Ark gently landed on the ground more than 50 meters away from Allastir. Seeing his sorry state, he only felt pity and decided to give him some help. To the rest of the crowd, his actions didn''t look the same at all though. Seeing Ark walk slowly toward the bloody and mangled Allastir, the crowd could only guess what he would do to the poor man. The middle-aged man that was supposed to be the judge and announcer quickly entered the stage.


    "Silver gaze, you''ve already won, you can step down from the stage now!" The middle-aged man released some of his mana to intimidate Ark, not that it worked particularly well at all. Ark realised why the man was hostile pretty quickly though, and he only chuckled softly. Due to the intense atmosphere, the crowd was completely quiet, and when they heard his chuckle, chills ran down their spines, would this man still intend to go after Allastir?


    Whilst everyone was pondering, and whilst some started shouting vulgarities, Ark turned around. With a wave of his hand, a gentle and soothing light quickly made its way across the entire arena and landed on Allastir. When his body came in contact with the light, it instantly started to greedily devour it. His body that was mangled beyond recognition and that was ridden with injuries healed at a speed visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. The people that had started screaming vulgarities earlier instantly shut their mouths, it seemed like they had misunderstood this young man, and some of them sat down in shame.


    Allastir was on the brink of unconsciousness, but after feeling the gentle light being absorbed by his body, his mind gradually cleared up. He already had respect for this young man since he managed to break his defence without so much as breaking a sweat. But after his benevolent act just now, Allastir couldn''t help but have good feelings toward Ark, the little jealousy and envy toward his abilities quickly dissipated.


    Since walking all the way across the arena was too much of a hassle, Ark just vanished with the wind, instantly arriving where the other participants were quietly sitting and waiting for their turns. Looks of reverence and envy penetrated his figure as he once again sat down in a remote corner by himself, shutting his eyes and waiting for the next fight to start. Even though his magic had healed Allastir a great deal, he was still taken away by a couple of healers, to heal him thoroughly.


    Both Allastir and Ark were actually pretty unlucky to fight in the first fight since the chance of staying in the tournament was lower that way. Ark had no trouble with these people though, and after facing off against Allastir, Ark was sure of his own fighting capabilities. As long as the rest of the people were within the scope of Allastir''s strength, then Ark wouldn''t have any problems at all. Thufrat and Alenia also witnessed the entire fight from the crowd. Even though they had seen Ark fight before, they still had to give credit where it was due, it was a splendid battle after all.


    The tournament Ark was participating in wasn''t flawless, but he didn''t really care, even if he had to fight one more fight because he was in the first fight, so what? In the end, it all came down to strength! If you had enough strength, then you would be able to fight 10 more fights than all the others and still come out on top!


    After both Ark and Allastir had left the arena, the crowd was still cheering because of the brilliant battle! Even though the victory was fairly quick, it was still intense and exciting, keeping the audience at the tips of their toes. They quieted down though at the sight of the middle-aged man entering the stage once more. He quickly announced the next battle: Evellia vs Eldor.


    After announcing the fighters, the middle-aged man retreated from the stage and handed the piece of white fabric to princess Annette again. The people that entered the stage this time were a little different. This time it was a male and a female, both seemed to be around their twenties, with the male being above twenty, and the woman being under 20. The male was dressed in blue robes, an obvious magician from the looks of things. The woman was actually a half-elf. Being the offspring of humans and elves, they were normally superior to both races and inherited the good traits of both races. Even though they sometimes faced discrimination, since they were considered superior in most cases, it wasn''t that bad. It wasn''t at the level of discrimination most dwarves would have to face at the very least.


    Of course, discrimination depended entirely on where you were since dwarves were seen in a positive light in numerous places as well, because of their crafting and forging skills. Evellia, the half-elf, was an archer. Everyone with a pair of eyes on their head would be able to notice the bow strapped to her back, what a lot of people wasn''t able to see though, was the formidable amount of power her slender body contained, almost as if she was a ferocious beast, waiting to be unleashed.


    The bow on her back looked like it was made from some form of old and ancient wood, with a string made out of the tendons of a once ferocious beast. Once they both faced each other on the stage, they got into comfortable fighting positions and waited for the princess to start the battle. Seeing the eagerness of the participants, Annette tossed the white fabric gently into the air once more.


    Before the young magician could even process what happened, he heard the sound of a taut bowstring being released. A whistling light was heading for him at an indiscernible speed and the originally arrogant young man was scared out of his wits. Was this really a slender young woman? To release an arrow with a speed like that, what kind of strength was needed to pull the bowstring? Since his speciality was water magic, the young man conjured up a large amount of water magic right in front of him, in the hope that it would be able to block the incoming arrow.

 Chapter 105 - Arrogance is bad for you!

    Before anyone could react, the arrow slammed straight into the thin water barrier. With a resounding boom, the two collided. Seeing his barrier withstand the arrow, Eldor gloated a little, since he could withstand her arrows with magic, what would she be able to do? Sure, the arrow left a jarring hole in the barrier, but he didn''t think much of it. Unfortunately, his arrogance would be his downfall. Even though the sound of the arrow zooming through the air should''ve disappeared, it was still present.


    Eldor was surprised, but as he looked around, he noticed a familiar sight heading straight for him! Another arrow that Evellia released when he wasn''t looking was on a straight course toward him, and due to the hole in his barrier, nothing was stopping it from reaching its target. Before Eldor could do anything to his barrier, the arrow had already gone through it.


    "Puchi!"


    His body had already been fairly weak, and the strength of the arrow was way beyond what his defence would handle. A fairly big hole appeared on his left shoulder, whereas the arrow kept flying even after penetrating him. Blood gushed out incessantly and Eldor fell backwards on his behind. The crowd was just as stunned as he was, but when they were about to cheer, they were abruptly interrupted by Eldor howling frantically in pain. Evellia was a little stunned by his behaviour, but the small amounts of disdain she had towards him just increased as she walked off the stage.


    Everyone else was also a little surprised by his screaming and yelling, he could already be considered an a.d.u.l.t, and screaming like this when you had already fought your way to the top ten of the country was a little... Ark had been watching the match closely, and he approved of Evellia''s tactics, they were reminiscent of something he would do, while he was a little taken aback by Eldor. Ark had trashed Allastir way worse, but he barely said a thing, and just took it in silence.


    Screaming in pain wasn''t something weird, but doing so when you were only injured in the shoulder, and by such a clean wound as well, it was a little disgraceful. Eldor''s father was a court-magician of the country, and he was also spectating the fight from the crowd. When he saw the antics of his son, his face couldn''t help but flush in embarrassment. This son of his was a little too shameful.


    When Evellia was on the edge of the stage, she turned around and looked at Eldor. He still screamed at the top of his lungs, and the tournament''s healers were already on the way to him. "Next time don''t look down on people, arrogance is bad for you!"


    After saying what she wanted to say, she only retreated to where the other participants were holed up and sat down to rest. Like this, the day continued, Ark''s second match wasn''t anything to talk about, considering how they instantly surrendered when they went on stage, there was barely anyone here who could consider themselves his match after seeing what he did to Allastir. After a little while, the semifinals finally arrived. Ark didn''t have a lot of time left in his human form, but fortunately, the finals were going to be held the next day. Ark felt that it was a little weird, but he didn''t care enough to really think about it.


    The first match of the semifinals was between Evellia and another woman, a magician at that. When they faced off against each other, a hint of trepidation could be seen on the young magicians face. She gave it her all though, and instead of being defensive like Eldor had been, she decided to go on the offensive. Since she was a fire magician, she engulfed a large part of the arene in what could only be called an inferno. Evellia was still a tad bit too strong though, and after sending an arrow straight through the sea of flames, her opponent was defeated.


    The next match of the agenda was naturally Ark''s match. As he passed by Evellia when she was on the way down from the stage, he could feel her burning fighting spirit. He chuckled a little, it seemed like he wasn''t the only one that was confident in his win. His opponent in the semifinals was a mysterious youth called Christoph. This Cristoph entered the stage while Ark was still walking and his aura was a little odd. When they faced off against each other, Ark had a feeling that something about his opponent was a little off.


    When the piece of white fabric once again hit the floor, the fight instantly erupted in full flair. With a long black rapier in his hand, Cristoph charged in the second the battle started. Even though he was a little surprised, Ark decided to fight this a little differently. When Cristoph was only ten meters away from Ark, a wall made out of Earth suddenly erected out of the stage. He had to stop abruptly to not run into the wall face-first and embarrass himself, but just when he stopped, he noticed a hammer made out of fire slam down from above his head.


    Narrowly escaping it backwards, Christoph didn''t get a lot of time to react when a holy spear suddenly penetrated the wall of earth and headed straight for him. Due to his continuous movement and some surprise, Christoph didn''t manage to dodge the spear completely in time. He jumped sideways, but his right leg was still impaled by the spear, leaving a large bloody hole in his leg. The crowd hissed as they saw these developments, this Silver Gaze had no idea how to go easy on someone!


    Ark didn''t let him off that easily though since he knew that a wound on his leg wasn''t enough to net Ark the win, especially considering how Christoph didn''t seem to be too fazed by the pain. His mobility was drastically lowered through with one of his legs incapacitated, and Ark had free control of the battle. With a wave of his arm, numerous blades made out of wind chased after Christoph and he tried his hardest to defend himself. Luckily for him, his swordsmanship was very good and he managed to deflect every attack with the help of his rapier, no matter how swift the wind blades were, his sword was even swifter!


    Unfortunately, his opponent was Ark, and Ark didn''t want to waste too much time here. While he was busy with the wind blades, numerous spikes made out of earth sprung out of the earth underneath his feet. Concentrating on numerous things at the same time was immeasurably hard, and since Christoph was already incapacitated, he didn''t have the time to doge some of the spikes. Ark wasn''t too cruel, and he only let them penetrate Christoph''s other leg, making him almost completely immovable, hoping he would surrender out of his own volition.


    Christoph didn''t intend to surrender at all though, and he only let his burning gaze speak for itself when he looked at Ark. Ark sighed a little. Did he really have to make it so hard on himself? Since he wouldn''t surrender easily, Ark went all-out for once. He disappeared with the wind and appeared a second later right in front of Christoph. Christoph''s face contorted in disbelief, but before he could get his defence up, Ark''s fist had already made contact with his guts, and he was sent flying.


    Ark had used his full bodily strength in that punch, and when Christoph was whistling through the air, he even urged the wind to make him fly even faster. The people that sat in the crowd were scared out of their wits seeing this young man flying straight towards them at such a high speed. Before he collided with the crowd, a giant wall made out of earth erupted from the ground. Christoph slammed straight into it, making it crumble in less than a second. Christoph was buried underneath a layer of earth and rocks as a result, his fate remaining unknown to any outsiders...

 Chapter 106 - The finals!

    Ark didn''t just leave Cristoph there and then called it a day, he healed him before he left. He didn''t just leave the stage, but he left the arena as well, that was his last fight for the day, and Ark couldn''t be bothered to stay around for even a second longer than necessary. The crowd followed him with their gazes as he promptly left after demolishing Cristoph. Some of the other participants were happy that they didn''t run into this monster during any of their fights.


    After Ark left the massive arena, he managed to spot Thufrat and Alenia waiting for him outside of the main entrance, and he instantly joined up with them. Thufrat couldn''t help but smile when he saw his friend. "You sure didn''t show them any mercy out there now did you?"


    Ark and Alenia laughed a little. In retrospect, Ark probably did the people he fought a favor. Most of them were young, arrogant, and thought that they were on top of the world, but after Ark''s display of strength today, most of them would probably wake up from their delusions. If they were arrogant and looked down on their opponents in the middle of battle, they would probably end up losing their lives.


    Feeling a little parched, Ark decided that they could go for a drink, to which Thufrat and Alenia readily agreed. They needed to celebrate this victory somehow, right? They entered a nearby tavern and ordered some drinks, but to Thufrat''s and Alenia''s surprise, Ark only ordered some lemonade. Even though it was in the middle of the day, a drink or two wouldn''t hurt anyone right? What they didn''t know was that Ark was barely of legal drinking age, and he had never really liked the taste of alcohol, he had tried some blends like vodka and red bull which he enjoyed, but that was just because he liked red bull in particular.


    In the damp room of the tavern, they sat and drank and laughed the time away, until nearly an hour passed. Even though they felt reluctant to leave, they decided to leave in consideration for Ark''s time in his human form, and they went back to the inn again. Since he didn''t want to disturb them, Ark just said that he wanted to be alone, and then shut himself in his room, refining his body a little more wouldn''t hurt.


    Like so, the next day quickly dawned. Ark was both excited and a little nervous when he woke up, today would be a big day! If the mission was successful, then Ark would''ve done a meritious deed and would be rewarded accordingly, and if things went south, then he could only hope that lady luck was on his side. The battle would be held at noon today as well, and Ark just wasted time until there was half an hour left again.


    This time, Ark switched up his clothes a little and chose one of the other outfits he had bought. The outfit was fairly simple, a pair of black trousers with a golden-embroidered red tunic. Coupled with the mask he had to wear, his image was one of elegance. He didn''t go together with Thufrat and Alenia today since they wouldn''t be watching the finals. He had already assured them that he would win today no matter what and that he would go through with the mission directly after the finals.


    As the pedestrians outside the arena saw him walking, they all cleared a path for him, a large part of the population watched the games yesterday, and who didn''t know of Silver Gaze''s cruel attacks? He entered the arena when noon was just about to pass, and he walked up to the stage. Evellia was already on the stage, sitting by herself and waiting for his arrival. Seeing him arrive, she stood up and sized him up with her eyes.


    Unlike the day before, princess Annette wasn''t present today, instead, a young man stood at the side of the arena, holding the familiar piece of white fabric in his hand. The young man had deep purple eyes, just like his sister. This was the third prince of Estridsen, Oscar Estridsen! Ark didn''t know who Oscar was, but upon seeing his striking appearance, he was easily able to see the resemblance between him and Annette.


    "Are both of you ready?" His melodious voice rang out. Evellia and Ark collectively nodded and got ready to fight.


    With a slight smile, Oscar threw the piece of fabric into the air, letting it slowly fall onto the stage. Since he didn''t know how long it would take to save the hero from imprisonment, Ark decided to end this battle as fast as he could, without using everything he had in his sleeves. He had already used his fire the day before, and since that was the case, he was going to use it once more to win this duel.


    Evellia didn''t dare underestimate him, and upon seeing the fabric hitting the floor, she instantly unleashed a barrage of arrows. Ark didn''t let her have her way, and when the arrows were just about to hit his body, white flames erupted from within his body, instantly covering him with a protective layer of magic. After successfully repelling the arrows, Ark didn''t hold anything back and let the white flames erupt in their full glory. With the only thing stopping their expansion being Ark''s large mana pool, the entire stage was soon bathed in white flames.


    The crowd braced themselves for the heat upon seeing these flames erupting out of nowhere, but to their surprise, the flames didn''t seem to radiate any heat at all. In actuality, the heat was condensed entirely in the flames themselves, without any of it radiating into the atmosphere. Now how was that possible? It was only possible because Ark had combined his fire with the water element, which forced the heat to stay.


    Evellia was a little fl.u.s.tered because of the sudden flames, but since she had defeated a fire magician before, she could do it again! Acc.u.mulating immense power, she released an arrow that contained an immense amount of both strength as well as almost half the mana she had. Instead of the arrow zooming through the fire and history repeating itself, the arrow instantly disintegrated into nothingness as soon as it entered the sea of flames. Ark had gone all-out with this attack, and instead of playing around like he did the day before, he decided to just end it all in one attack today.


    Seeing the flames approach her slowly, Evellia went down on her knees. "I surrender!" She declared at the top of her lungs, prompting Ark to retract his flames. Even though she wanted to fight back and try to win, she knew that the damage from that fire was unavoidable, and she would probably be taken out of the fight regardless if she tried to brave it.


    "Congratulations Silver Gaze!


    "I love you!"


    "You''re so cool!"


    "You''re my idol!"


    Young and old alike couldn''t help but admire the young man, he was the strongest youth in the entire kingdom! how could they not revere him? The young women could only dream about the face behind that mask of his as he walked down the stage slowly. Even Ark was slightly fl.u.s.tered upon seeing the crowds reaction. he never really considered this to be an actual tournament, he had only seen it as a stepping stone for his mission.


    Oscar glanced at him with a curious gaze as he walked out of the stage. This young man would become an excellent puppet in the future!

 Chapter 107 - To the rescue!

    Before Ark left the arena, he was handed a token with a particular mana signature engraved on it. This was his token to get into the palace since anyone with a mask would just be able to waltz right on in if they didn''t add a way for him to verify himself. Ark had no idea about what Oscar had planned for him, and even if he knew, he wouldn''t care at all. They would probably have no future interactions with each other after today, and Ark would gladly let it stay that way.


    Before going to the palace, Ark made sure to buy some refreshments, he wanted to be in good condition if he was to go through a mission like this. After buying a lemonade just like the day before, Ark headed off to the palace. Comparing it with the palace of Steoteya made it seem a little lackl.u.s.tre, but in reality, the palace of Estridsen was truly splendid, yet a little ordinary at the same time. The true splendour of the palace lay in its sheer size, not the actual design.


    When Ark arrived at the large gates, he was a little surprised. The courtyard he could see beyond the gate was not very welcoming at all. Even though it was apparent that they had done what they could to cover it up, scorch marks littered the place. Ark also noticed that the lower part of the dark-steel portcullis had actually melted a little at the tips. It took a second before he connected the dots, but when he did, he couldn''t help but comment this young hero he was going to save, it seemed like he had caused plenty of trouble.


    The guards noticed this suspicious figure with a mask approaching the gates, but before they could either say or do anything, Ark shoved his token in their faces, before continuing his walk into the palace''s courtyard. Since he already knew where the royal family held their prisoners, Ark didn''t waste any time. Their small prison was actually placed in a very peculiar spot, as far away as possible from the main gates as possible, which sounded reasonable on paper, but in reality, it was a very weird choice.


    Indeed, if you wanted to escape using the main gates, then it would be in a good place, but which criminal would ever escape using the main gates? The exit of the prison was actually right next to one of the stairs leading up to the walls of the castle. Numerous guards patrolled the walls and they had archers and scouts in some of the smaller towers that stood on the wall. Normally prisoners were either criminals or political prisoners, whichever the case, the best place to escape was usually with the help of these very stairs. If you knocked out a guard or two, then all that stopped you from leaving the place was basically if you had a rope or not. And considering that most escapes weren''t done alone, that wasn''t a particularly tough criterion to meet.


    Ark arrived outside of the small prison fairly quickly, and to his immediate surprise, only a few guards patrolled the area, with only four actually standing guard outside of it. A foul stench quickly assaulted his senses as he drew near, and he almost retched. Keeping his stomach at bay, Ark kept approaching, alarming the few guards in his proximity. Before they could do anything, Ark disappeared like a phantom, reappearing every now and then, knocking out guards left and right.


    The four guards who stood outside the prison were all knocked out in a single go, and Ark quickly entered the prison. Considering what it was, the relaxed security of the place couldn''t help but make Ark fear for the worst. Straining all his senses except his sense of smell to the max, Ark delved deeper into the prison. Wherever he looked, he saw prisoners in dire straits, with blood here and there, scars littered across their bodies, and some even had entire limbs missing.


    Even though he would like to imagine that these people totally deserved everything they seemed to have been through, Ark had a feeling that it wasn''t that simple, this country seemed pretty messed up after all. When he neared the end of the small prison, Ark noticed a slightly larger cell at the end of the hallway he was in. In the cell, a young man was chained up by both his feet and his hands to the wall behind him. His dispirited expression, as well as his dull eyes, made Ark question if this was the man he was looking for, but upon seeing the vibrant and striking red hair, he was sure beyond doubt that he had come to the right place.


    Seeing Ark approach him, Arduin''s eyes lit up for a second or two, before they went back to the way they were before. Ark noticed this small change and was honestly a little puzzled. The bad feeling he felt before returned, this time worse than before. If he wasn''t on a mission, he would just have turned around right then and there. Something uncanny was at play here, Ark just didn''t know what.


    "T.. tu.. away... lea-"


    Hearing the young man''s slight mumbling, Ark had no idea what to make of the situation.


    "Huh? Sorry, I couldn''t hear you, can you speak up a little?"


    The young man turned quiet, Ark didn''t hesitate, and just directly used ice magic to first break his way into the case, before breaking the chains keeping the young man shackled. The young man had no power to stand by himself, and Ark quickly caught him before he could land on the ground. Before he could do anything, Ark could feel the young man''s breath as he started talking again.


    "You should''ve turned away, and left when you had the chance to..."


    Before he could fully comprehend what was going on, the sound of footsteps was already rapidly approaching their current location, and Ark felt like he had a sudden epiphany. It seemed like this mission would be a little harder than he anticipated. The young man fainted after he said the words, with a bitter smile on his face.


    Ark put the young man on his back and stood up. The sound of footsteps was already way too close, and when Ark was just about to step out of the cell, he could clearly see numerous guards swarming toward his current location, and since he could feel their killing intent, he was sure that they wouldn''t let him off lightly if he was caught. Since that was the case, Ark decided to just not get caught!

 Chapter 108 - Escaping with ease?

    Ark didn''t want to waste any time since that would only complicate things. Making use of both his stealth skill as well as his darkness magic, Ark easily slipped into the shadows and made his hasty escape with Arduin sitting tightly on his back. The rumbling of footsteps didn''t stop whatsoever, but when they arrived outside of Arduin''s cell, he was already gone, with no one else in sight.


    "Damn it, find them quickly, lest you want to lose your head!"


    They were under the orders of the third prince. Their plan was to loosen the security a little to bait the other escaped heroes into trying to rescue their friend. They didn''t expect to get stumped like this when they did that though. Ark had to take it relatively easy though when he slipped past the guards in the fairly narrow hallway, even if he was borderline invisible right now, a slight mistake would lead to them exposing him.


    When he exited the prison, Ark was a little stunned, and his expression darkened slightly. What he saw was a ton of guards patrolling the area, with majority of them stationed outside of the small prison, it was obvious what they were there for. Since the sun was shining fairly brightly, there weren''t a lot of shadows for Ark to make use of, and without them, spotting him would be fairly easy.


    Since his mana pool was almost completely full, Ark decided to just go all-out from the beginning. From the guards'' point of view, it was a fairly boring and easy mission. All they had to do was wait here until some idiot would come running out. Apprehending that idiot would be pretty easy as well since they were sure it was one of the heroes who had escaped earlier. If the person proved to be too strong for them, then they had plenty of back-up lying in wait as well. They were only fairly normal guards, the truly powerful people didn''t really care for such a small issue, but with the help of Oscar''s influence, some of them were actually not that far away, waiting to attack.


    What these guards were not expecting, however, was for a multitude of elemental swords materialising in the air over their heads, before descending rapidly. Even though most of them were able to spot the swords ahead of time, they were still devastated by the attack, and the ones who managed to survive without taking any damage were very disoriented from the surprise attack. Ark didn''t waste any time after using this attack either and he instantly dashed out from his hiding spot when he got the chance to.


    Sprinting towards the staircase leading up to the wall, Ark didn''t dare slow down in the slightest, since he could feel multiple really strong auras approaching rapidly from afar. Frankly, he didn''t expect there to be such strong people on standby nearby, but he was fairly confident in his speed, and since he had the element of surprise, he thought that he would still be able to escape. Since he didn''t want to be caught, Ark used the wind mana in the air to propel himself forward even more than before, and he zoomed past the stairs and arrived on the big wall.


    There were only a couple of guards stationed on this part of the wall, and Ark took care of them with ease, they were only supposed to be archers and scouts anyway, not actual fighters. Looking out over the city for a brief moment, Ark was filled with a sense of elation, before he quickly made up his mind and jumped off the wall. Though the feeling of inertia was a little odd at first, Ark actually rather enjoyed the feeling of falling freely, it filled his gut with a rather enjoyable feeling.


    Arduin wasn''t feeling as good as Ark did though. He had woken up during the chase, and suddenly waking up to a free fall was scary, to say the least. It actually hurt him as well since he had numerous injuries that had yet to heal. Hearing the soft grunts of pain coming from his back, Ark used a little of his mana to heal his injuries a little. Arduin couldn''t help but be taken aback by the sudden relief of his pain, and he made some weird noises.


    Even though Ark wasn''t really a fan of the weird noises, he acted like it was nothing, and used the wind to land gently on the ground. Down in the city again, Ark could make use of his darkness attribute once more to slink into the shadows again. He couldn''t use the stealth skill since it was still on cooldown, but he didn''t really need it either right now. Normal people wouldn''t be able to spot him anyway.


    Dashing his way through the city, it didn''t take long for Ark to get himself to the city gates. Since he couldn''t just waltz out with Arduin on his back, Ark just knocked the guards out before making a run for it. It might''ve looked very risky on the outside, but it was all a part of his plan from the beginning. A couple of hundred meters away, Ark ran into Thufrat and Alenia resting with two lesser draconic horses in the shade. Seeing him, they put Arduin on the same horse as Thufrat, and then Alenia got onto the other horse herself.


    After turning into his wolf form again, they all speeded off into the distance, quickly leaving the capital of Estridsen behind them. Arduin was still awake, and seeing the youth in a mask that had saved him from the depths of the despair turn into a large wolf turned his world view a little upside down. Even though he tried not to, as he had read multiple light novels and manga in his old world, Arduin had already put some races in less favourable positions in his mind. Races such as vampires and werewolves were something his old world had been quite engrossed with, and in general, they were seen as slightly wicked creatures. These stereotypes had invaded his own mindset a little as well, but seeing this creature that seemed to be a werewolf saving his life, he couldn''t help but be a little ashamed of himself.


    Though they had managed to run away from the capital, the thought of stopping to rest didn''t even occur to them until night had already fallen, and their horses were beginning to get noticeably strained by all the running. There were numerous powerhouses residing in the capital, and if even a single one of them actually tried to hunt them down, they would be in for one hell of a nightmare.

 Chapter 109 - Disaster?

    When night fell, they all slept soundly. With one of them sitting on watch at all times, just in case something bad would happen, they couldn''t celebrate too early, it would only bring disaster. Since Arduin was too exhausted to even force his eyelids open, he was exempt from sitting on watch, it would only exhaust him even more than he already was, which was very bad for his health.


    On Ark''s watch, a weird feeling of unease couldn''t help but root itself in the pit of his stomach. The feeling was fairly negligible at first, but as time passed, the feeling only grew. The howling of the wind in the dark and otherwise silent night was something which he should''ve been used to already, but for some reason, anxiety gripped his mind when he heard it. As time passed, his anxiety and unease kept growing, and Ark started to notice that something was definitely off. Even though he was a little suspicious at first, he knew that the emotions he was feeling right now were fake, they weren''t his own.


    It was at that moment, a mysterious fog started enveloping their position. Ark''s eyes narrowed, it seemed like this was going to be a little harder than he anticipated! With a loud howl, Ark tried his hardest to instantly wake everyone up. To Ark''s surprise, no one seemed to wake up even though his howl would almost shatter a normal person''s eardrums if he was close enough. Since that was the case, Ark didn''t doubt that it all stemmed from this weird fog. Since he didn''t know what to do otherwise, Ark used mana this time when he howled, and to his delightment, it worked instantly.


    Obvious expressions of distress and confusion covered their faces as they all jumped to their feet upon hearing the howl, even Arduin responded fairly quickly. Even though he was still tired and hurt, he knew that something bad was probably going to happen, and he didn''t want to drag his saviours down in a critical moment. Even though they were a little disoriented at first, they could pretty easily connect the dots as they saw this peculiar fog close in on their surroundings. Ark couldn''t talk, and so they couldn''t really ask him what was actually happening.


    Before they could really think too much about anything, a peal of eerie laughter echoed throughout the fog, sending chills down everyones'' spines. Compared to the other three, Arduin''s complexion was the palest, he seemed to know something that the others didn''t.


    "RUN!"


    When he realised what was going on, Arduin screamed at the top of his lungs, and his legs started shaking incessantly. The rest were taken aback by his scream, but seeing the state he was in, they knew that the night had only just begun. The young man looked completely traumatised, which he absolutely was. As the eerie laughter came to a sudden halt, Arduin''s knees buckled completely, and he fell on his behind, still shaking like there was no tomorrow.


    As they were scared by Arduin''s behaviour, they tried to move, but to their astonishment, as well as despair, the fog seemed to be completely impenetrable, not moving an inch no matter what they tried to do. Ark''s expression was grim, but since he was in his wolf form, he just looked like a ferocious wolf, a scary one at that.


    The fog suddenly parted a little in the middle, revealing a rather short silhouette. The silhouette moved forward fairly slowly, but when he revealed himself completely, everyone present almost felt like puking. A very short old man that seemed to be at least in his sixties revealed himself. What was disgusting was his appearance. One half of his face looked rather normal, albeit pretty ugly, but the other half of his face was completely disfigured, and it almost looked like it had started rotting. Not only was the man''s appearance disgusting, but the foul stench he brought with him was also nearly dangerous on its own.


    This ghastly old man was a shocking sight, to say the least, but when they spotted a handsome young man walking behind him, he only looked even more disgusting. The stark contrast between the handsome young prince and the disgusting old man was pretty disturbing, to say the least, but the most disturbing part was the fact that it was the prince who was laughing. The slightly eerie and scary laughter didn''t fit in with his persona at all otherwise, and everyone except for Arduin was pretty surprised.


    "Please, I''ll do anything, just don''t take me back to that place, I''d much rather die!"


    Arduin realised that there was nothing he could do, and he just fell down on his knees, sobbing. What he had experienced because of these two was something which he would never want to think about again. Getting executed sounded pretty decent in comparison. Ark was a little disturbed at first, but since he could feel the man''s strength, he knew that this would be their end if they didn''t do anything.


    Ark cast a sideways glance at Alenia and Thufrat. Their fear and unease were evident for all to see and Ark couldn''t help but want to sigh. This wasn''t what he expected when he accepted this mission, but it was too late to regret it now, there was nothing he could really do about it anyway. Ark pondered for just a couple of seconds before he was overwhelmed with determination. Was this the time to just sit back and ponder? No! What if they sent more people? Ark needed to act fast.


    He turned around slightly and stared Thufrat in the eyes. Seeing the determination deep within his eyes, Thufrat didn''t really know what to expect, a slight unease filled his body though. After staring for a second or so, Ark looked at Arduin and motioned to Thufrat with his head. Thufrat was a little confused at first before reality dawned on him.


    "You don''t want us to run away, do you? Please tell me that isn''t the case!" Thufrat was anxious.


    Ark only nodded slightly, a little happy that Thufrat understood him so easily. Seeing him nod, Thufrat''s expression darkened, but before he could say anything more, he noticed Ark''s fierce gaze. Feeling Alenia squeeze his arm gently, Thufrat was conflicted. He knew that what Ark was doing was probably their best shot at getting away, but he didn''t want to leave his friend behind just like that. They had been through a lot together, through thick and thin, if something went wrong, he would blame himself for the rest of his life.


    Even though it felt like an eternity to him, it only took half a second for Thufrat to make his decision, he just hoped that Ark would be able to run away. After getting Arduin to sit on his back, the old man and the prince were already very close to them, a bit too close even, as the old man''s stench was nauseating.


    As Ark saw Thufrat make his decision, Ark felt a little empty, yet happy at the same time. If Thufrat refused to leave with Arduin and Alenia, Ark would have to focus on protecting them as well, which would probably just make things harder at the end of the day, even if they had some fighting capacity. When the young prince was just about to open his mouth to say some condescending words, Ark activated his [Envoy Of Holiness] skill. Shining with a blinding bright light, and radiating light mana, Ark''s mana emissions alone managed to purify the eerie fog, leaving the rest with a perfect opportunity to escape.


    The old man and the prince were both taken aback at first before they both started to move. Ark wouldn''t let them do that though.


    "AWOOOOOOOOOOO!"


    That night, a wolf''s howl shook the entire forest.

 Chapter 110 - Not always sunshine and rainbows!

    Though the howl was majestic and loud, the old man wasn''t really fazed by it at all. Oscar''s ears hurt a little, but he didn''t let it show on his face. Since they had left this wolf behind to delay them, then naturally the old man would show it the utmost of his care! Ark didn''t want the old man to take the initiative and was the first to attack. Even though he had numerous elements at his disposal, Ark had an idea. Earlier when he had activated his skill, his light mana had purified the old man''s fog, which taught Ark an important factor in this fight, this old man seemed to be weak against the light element, or at the very least his attacks were.


    Since that was the case, Ark didn''t dare hold himself back by spending mana on attacks containing elements that had a worse effect. A spear of holy light condensed in front of him, before propelling itself forward at dangerous speeds. The old man only sneered when he saw the attack and lightly slapped it when it arrived in front of him. The spear was sent flying by his simple slap, but before it could fly more than a meter, the spear exploded, all its energy discharging onto the old man. Though he hadn''t expected the attack, it only made his skin sizzle a little, almost as if he was burning.


    The old man was suddenly overtaken by a seriously dangerous feeling, and he took half a step forward instinctively. A slash was heard, and a slim but long streak of blood started to sizzle along his back, shredding his shirt a fair amount. The man was underestimating Ark from the start, and his way of attacking was a little different compared to most people he had killed, so he was a little taken aback. The sword also exploded into burning light, but this time around, the man had learned from his lesson.


    Still blinded by the light, the old man had no way to see Ark approaching rapidly. Oscar could see everything that was happening clearly since he had backed away from the fight earlier, but upon seeing Ark charge forward, he only sneered. He didn''t say a word to the old man, and in just a second, Ark had already lunged at the old man, biting fiercely into his waist. His teeth easily sank their way into the old man''s frail body, it was fairly obvious that he was a mage, but Ark had still expected some slight resistance.


    Instead of hearing the old man''s pained voice, Ark was assaulted by a disgusting taste filling his mouth. Before he could really react at all, the old man started to laugh sinisterly.


    "Kukukuku, how naive, did you really think that something like that would work? Well, you''ve got another thing coming!" The man was fairly small in comparison to Ark, but he still managed to land a punch in Ark''s gut. A weird screech that seemed like it came from the deepest depths of hell resounded throughout the forest as the small man connected his punch.


    Ark wasn''t sent flying or anything, he only let go of the man, and staggered his way backwards. When he bit into the man earlier, he could feel his entire body starting to numb a little, and as he felt the punch that connected with his guts, Ark knew something was wrong. His body was strong, very strong, as was his magic for that matter, but something was different right now. That punch the man used earlier didn''t coincide with any elements Ark had ever heard of, and he was sure of one thing, he had been poisoned.


    The old man didn''t even flinch when he bit into him, and when he did, weird sensations started to take control over his body. He used to have a lot of control of his body, but now, it felt like some foreign object, a foreign object filled with lead at that. The energy that entered his body through the old man''s fist was currently on a rampage, wreaking havoc to everything in its sight. As Ark knew that he didn''t have much time before he would be completely devoid of any strength, he decided to use one last attack, making use of his entire mana reserve in the process.


    Ark could almost feel his rage starting to cloud his judgement, but at this point, he didn''t care less, instead, he started to feed it even more, and gathered massive amounts of momentum.


    The old man and the prince could feel Ark''s determination and rage and decided to back off a little, especially when they saw his large momentum gathering. Even though they were cautious, they still managed to underestimate him a little!


    The once clear sky started to get cloudy all of a sudden. The dark grey clouds blotted the sky, and heavy rain started to pour. The clouds started twisting and contorting, before breaking out into a large hurricane. The fierce wind gathered around Ark and the two men, before wreaking absolute havoc. Small bolts of lightning also struck with ferocity toward the old man and Oscar. Though they expected a large attack, they were a little disappointed, the old man''s magic could easily contend with this.


    The raging stormclouds suddenly parted, only to reveal a ginormous radiant sword descending from the skies. This was Ark''s parting gift, as he slumped down on the ground in the next moment, falling into deep unconsciousness. The old man''s facial expression soured, but there was no way he could avoid this. The large radiant sword was blotting out an entire part of the sky, it almost looked like god was pissed off, and decided to enact divine punishment.


    Underneath a blood-red barrier made out of some weird mana, the old man and the prince watched as the sword was descending from the sky. A moment or so later, the sword hit the ground. A deafening explosion that would''ve pummeled the eardrums of anyone who heard it occurred, raising debris and dust from the ground all around the forest. Ark was pretty much untouched by everything that went on around him, but the same could not be said about the old man and Oscar.


    Though the strength of the barrier was extraordinary, it didn''t have enough strength to withstand this attack, and after a while, the barrier cracked open like an egg. Both of them had to withstand the attack on their own since the barrier cracked, and Oscar was soon on his knees. The old man had no problem with withstanding this attack, but Oscar was another story. Even though the attack was weakened after the barrier absorbed some of the power contained within it, it was still enough to overwhelm him.


    A line of blood extended all the way from the left side of his forehead, and down to the right side of his jaw, leaving a diagonal wound across his face. Oscar howled in pain like there was no tomorrow, his left eye had been completely blinded! The pain he was experiencing was searing, and he could barely keep his consciousness. He didn''t calm down in the slightest as time passed. The pain alleviated a little bit, but the fact that he would be blind on his left eye was devastating, and so was the fact that he had been disfigured by that attack.

 Chapter 111 - Just a normal day.

    The old man frowned when he saw the young prince''s ferocious expression, he knew that this probably wouldn''t end well for the wolf. Oscar didn''t take his eyes off of Ark for a second, and his burning gaze would be enough for most people to take a couple of steps back in fear, he looked similar to a feral animal. Seeing the unconscious wolf, the young prince sneered, before smiling. The smile of the prince was the exact opposite of what it once was, cruel, sinister, and deranged.


    They had no reinforcements nearby, and since the young prince was heavily injured, they hurried back to the capital, not leaving Ark behind of course. The king of Estridsen was shocked when he saw Oscar''s miserable state, and he ordered the best of healers and physicians to help save his young son''s face. Unfortunately for Oscar, there was nothing that could be done to make his face the same it once was. An ugly scar was permanently left on his face, it took too long to find a healer after all, and permanent side-effects were normal in such cases.


    Ark was awoken the next day with a harsh kick to his stomach, and so his new life in the castle began. Calling it a life was a little generous though, as it was more like a nightmare than it was a life. The young prince was relentless in his methods, and every single day, excruciating pain was all Ark was able to experience. The only difference between each day was the severity of the pain, where the pain was, and who administered it.


    The only thing Ark was allowed to eat was what was given to him, which was usually raw. With a collar around his strength that could not only seal his magic but also drain his physical strength made it useless for him to harbour any ideas to fight back or escape, all he could do was wait. And waiting was truly the right move in this situation. Thufrat and Alenia had managed to run away with Arduin. They located the local headquarters of the Torment of the Fallen, and from there on out, their mission began. Arduin rejoiced at the sight of his familiar classmates, it seemed like they were the one who had put up the mission to save him.


    Thufrat and Alenia talked to the leader of the headquarters and requested help for Ark, but to their surprise, their request was denied. There was no way to save Ark form the clutches of the royal family with only the people that they had at this location, he was thoroughly stuck there. Thufrat and Alenia didn''t give up on their mission though and continued to ask after help. No one was interested in saving Ark, and they knew exactly why: money! Who would accept a mission where the risk was greater than the reward? Not many people in their right minds would accept such a deal, and Thufrat and Alenia were left to their own devices.


    After almost an entire week had passed, Ark was still kept captive deep down under the ground. Inside of a small cell that was almost too small to hold him, Ark was lying on the floor. After an entire week of just pain and suffering, as well as eating raw meat, Ark''s dormant animal instincts had started to resurface. His sense of smell was heightened marginally as a result, and his thinking started to get affected too. After every single time Ark was tortured, he would get healed by magicians, leaving no scars or wounds on his body, only the memories of the experience and of the pain were left.


    The look in his eyes, his aura, his taste for food, everything had slowly begun to change. Ark noticed these changes himself, but what caught his attention wasn''t that he was getting them now, shouldn''t he have been like this when he arrived in this world from the very beginning? As these kinds of thoughts crossed his mind, Ark also made a shocking revelation, one he had no idea how he managed to look over. How did he understand the language? Why was he able to read and write, as well as speak the language fluently, albeit having no knowledge of the language itself nor any skill that could help him?


    Ark had no idea, and these thoughts started gnawing on his mind, there were too many irregularities with him arriving in this world. Hearing the sounds of footsteps approaching slowly, Ark knew that it was that time of the day again, resigning himself to his fate, he shrunk back a little in the cell, and just waited for it to be over. Seeing the prince''s hateful and sadistic expression almost every day, Ark''s mind was constantly filled with rage, endless rage. He would get out of here someday, and when he did, this entire palace would suffer his wrath!


    ...


    The sun was shining brightly, illuminating the fields with splendid rays of light. The rays that were reflected on the crystalline windows of a very luxurious carriage created splendid spectacles as the carriage moved on its way down the paved road. Small pebbles flew everywhere as a small dust cloud was raised behind the carriage. Accompanying this carriage were numerous strong men clad in black armour riding atop what looked to be basilisks, ferocious monsters that used their six legs to run at high speeds, as well as their bulky bodies to crush their foes.


    Atop the carriage, a young boy was resting quietly. The young boy was exceptionally cute, and it was obvious that he would grow up to become a handsome young man. Even though they moved at very high speeds, the boy seemed unperturbed, and only enjoyed the slight breeze as well as the sunlight. Inside of the carriage, a young girl, as well as a maid and a butler, were sitting quietly, enjoying the scenery passing by their eyes as they travelled. The young girl was just as cute as the young boy, if not even cuter, and both of them had striking green eyes, their relation to each other was that of siblings.


    The young girl was a little bored from just sitting inside of this carriage for days on end, but it was something she had to do, she couldn''t just blatantly disobey her father when it came to matters like these. With a slight pout, the young girl stared at her butler sitting in the carriage. Though a little unnerved by her incessant staring, the butler didn''t really take it to heart. "May I help you, young lady?"


    "When do we arrive in Estridsen?"


    "Oh, we already have my lady."


    The young girl smiled sheepishly, melting both the butler''s and the maid''s hearts. Their young lady was just way too cute!

 Chapter 112 - Suffering.

    Without Ark knowing, an entire month had already managed to pass in the blink of an eye, or, well, not in his case. For Ark, the 5 weeks he had been held captive felt longer than almost his entire life combined. It was just too excruciating. Since he had been alone with nothing but pain and his own thoughts, Ark had gotten the chance to reflect a lot on himself, and his life for that matter. Even though he never really thought that he had taken things for granted before, after this experience, he felt like his past life on earth was paradise!


    In retrospect when he looked back at it, maybe he didn''t have it that bad, at least compared to other people. Some people who were born in his past world had much worse lives than he had, he had just been too selfish and too self-centred to even really think about it. He felt a little ashamed. Sure, his life may not have been the best, but it hadn''t really been all that bad either. Well, thinking about it wouldn''t really change anything, but Ark had nothing better to do, and so, his thoughts just ran wild.


    This day was just like any other day down in the dark cell he was imprisoned within, well, for some reason, no one had come to torture him just yet. Instead of feeling relief, Ark just felt fear. He had already gotten used to the various torture methods they used on him, and he was afraid that something was going to change, for the worse. The notion of it changing for the better barely even crossed his mind, he had resigned himself to his fate by now, which seemed to be torture until he died or the prince got bored.


    He felt his consciousness swaying a little, which instinctively scared him into staying awake for a little longer. He had already collapsed numerous times during these five weeks, and each time he did, he was punished for it, and the prince was never lenient in his methods. The scent of this god forgotten place had already etched itself deeply into his nose, seemingly never going to disappear. Ark smelled pretty bad too since he hadn''t been able to wash himself during these five weeks at all, but he was already used to it by now. His once mysterious eyes filled with spirit just looked like two dull jewels now, which had been buried in dirt for far too long.


    For now, this little corner deep underground was all that Ark had, and at the very least, he wasn''t dead right?


    ...


    In the grandest hall in the royal palace, a banquet was currently being held. The extravagant clothing of the numerous nobles and the tables filled with various foods and wines was like the polar opposite of Ark who was currently underground. With no worries about the world evident, the nobles just chatted incessantly with each other, trying to earn favours and matchmake for their children, trying to set up their future for them.


    Unlike the rest of the nobles, there were a number of nobles that evidently stood out from the rest. That being the royal family members of Estridsen, though the only ones present were the king as well as the third prince, everyone else was currently outside of the royal city, on numerous errands. The other group of nobles consisted of two children and a middle-aged man. The two children were a boy and a girl, both around the age of ten, with captivating green eyes. The middle-aged man was from the looks of things the dad of the two children, seeing as he had similar facial features, as well as the same shade of green eyes.


    Everyone present was currently holding their distance from this family since they didn''t want to lose their heads after all. Approaching them would be like playing with fire. The grand hall was over ten meters in height and was simply massive, one of the biggest reasons for its sheer size was the fairly large elevated stage that stood in the middle of it. This stage provided a great opportunity to entertain the guests, which was its main reason for existing.


    Atop the stage, an old man clad in blue robes was currently in the middle of chanting multiple peculiar lines, before purple runes starting to overlap with one another in the air, and a weird sound reverberated throughout the hall. This sound drew the attention of nearly every single guest present, and all eyes were centred on the stage. After a second or so, a majestic bird''s cry sounded out in the hall, that was right, this old man was a summoner. The bird that was summoned was made to do some flips and tricks to amuse the audience, which proved to be quite the success, and the old man received plenty of applause and laughter alike.


    The young girl''s eyes were captivated by the bird that was summoned, and she tugged at the hem of her dad''s sleeves.


    "Hmmm?" With a gentle gaze, the middle-aged man looked at his daughter inquiringly.


    "Dad, I want to have a cool pet! Just like that guy!" As she said this, the young girl pointed to the man on top of the stage.


    "Eh, are you sure you don''t want something cooler?" The man looked puzzled.


    The young girl smiled brilliantly. "Can I?


    "You''re my daughter, of course you can!"


    The young girl giddily skipped around a little, before giving her dad a big hug. Though the man was seen as a fierce warrior on the battlefield that was ruthless to his enemies, there was nothing he loved more than his family. Doting on his family was one of his greatest joys in life. As for whether she would actually get a pet, that depended on whether she would still want one after they had returned home, it was probably just a whim anyway.


    As he thought about it, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sad howl of a wolf.


    ...


    As Ark was sitting in his cell, like normal, he made an effort to stand up for once. He normally didn''t, since it consumed some of his precious energy, which he didn''t have much of, but lately, he had started doing it once a day. The reason was simple, instincts. He didn''t really know why, his only reasoning was just that he was a wolf, but whenever he felt especially lonely, Ark had started to get the urge to howl. Since he had done it multiple times without getting punished for it, it had become a habit of his. It was his only way to express the loneliness and sorrow he felt right now anyway, and he decided to just let nature take its course, what was the worst that could happen?

 Chapter 113 - Change!

    The sad howl interrupted the jovial atmosphere in the grand hall, bafflement and surprise was all that was left. Not many could just go back to having fun after hearing something like that. Most of all, people were frightened. Hearing such a loud howl of a monster nearby was something that would scare the wits out of most people considering that it had to make it all the way here for them to even hear it, which spoke volumes of its strength.


    The people with more acute hearing were able to make out that the howl seemed to have come from underneath them, which only made the entire situation even weirder. Curious gazes bore their way into the king and Oscar as they stood a little baffled themselves. Oscar was a little distraught, he would prefer if no one had any idea about the wolf that he had been releasing his pent-up anger upon since it would make him feel more at ease.


    The little girl couldn''t help but tug on her father''s sleeves gain, obviously scared of what was going on. The middle-aged man was enraged when he saw his precious little daughter scared for her life, what the hell was the problem with this banquet? "Don''t worry, dad is here, nothing will happen to you, ok?"


    With her head down, and with tears in the corner of her eye the young girl nodded. "Ok."


    With an intense stare, the middle-aged man waltzed up to the king of Estridsen, hell-bent on getting an explanation. The king was intimidated at the sight of the middle-aged man''s obvious anger, and he started to sweat a little. He glanced at his son, and his expression soured a little. Ever since that day five weeks ago, this son of his could no longer be called his favourite. Instead of what he once was, he was disfigured, seemed to have some mental issues, and had now caused even more trouble for him.


    "I demand an explanation right this instant!" With his thunderous voice, the middle-aged man wasn''t afraid to berate the king at all, and for once, he was actually mad. There was nothing he hated more than his family being sad or discontent, of course he wouldn''t let that fly in such an event that was supposed to be fun and jovial.


    "Of course, of course." The king was a little frightened, and he only glanced at his son, waiting for him to chime in.


    Oscar, knowing that he had screwed up, tried to explain reasonably. "Ah, it''s just a monster that''s being held captive in the dungeons for, uh, experiments!"


    The middle-aged man smelled something amiss, and since his children were scared, he was going to make sure that he knew what was going on, and reassure his daughter. "Then take me there, I want to see what is going on!"


    The prince hesitated when he heard this, he didn''t want anyone to go down there, especially not now, he was almost certain that the wolf was about to be tormented once again. He didn''t want to let the wolf rest for even a day, and he had already planned for Sidulig, the old man who had helped capture the wolf torture him for today. He didn''t really think that the wolf would howl at such an unfortunate timing, and he was hesitating whether it would be a good idea to show him the way down there.


    "What are you waiting for you brat? Show him already!" The king was livid at this point, was this idiot of a son going to mess this up even more? He had already assumed that this bastard of his had killed the wolf off, but he still had it for some god forgotten reason. He was going to lose his mind one of these days.


    "O-of course!" Oscar stuttered a little, but he managed to say his sentence, before showing the middle-aged man the way down into the dungeons. As they walked down the damp and dark spiral staircase that led to the dungeons, the middle-aged man''s daughter tightened her grip on her father''s sleeves and made sure that she would never let him leave her sights.


    Once down in the dungeons, they passed by numerous criminals behind bars. Even though the palace had a small prison, the dungeon was the place the worst criminals ended up in, or the criminals the Royals didn''t want anyone to ever know about. As they walked and walked, a faint almost indiscernible sound was beginning to enter their ears. At first, no one really paid it any heed, but as they got further and further into the dungeons, the sound became more and more enunciated.


    Though it was more obvious now, no one knew what it really was, and still didn''t really care about it, it was a different story for Oscar though. The sound itself would usually fill him with glee and happiness, but right now, it was only feeling the pit of his stomach with anxiety and despair, he could only hope that the middle-aged man didn''t mind too much because these were the sounds of Ark getting tortured.


    In the narrow and dark corridors of the dungeon, the people were soon able to hear the soft whimpers of a wolf, as well as occasional yelps. Though still uncertain, the middle-aged man had a foreboding feeling, and his expression soured a little, it seemed like these "experiments" were pretty interesting. He hoped that his gut feeling was wrong, because his impressions of this family had always been good, and he would''ve never thought they would do something so inhumane.


    After a fair share of walking, they all arrived in front of a single cell. The young daughter caught a glimpse of what was going on inside before her dad covered both his children''s eyes with his hands, this wasn''t something he wanted them to see. The yelps and whimpers were fairly loud now, which was to be expected, they stood just a meter or two outside of the cell after all. "Experiments huh?" The middle-aged man was both disgusted and angry.


    "Uhm, I can explain!" Oscar tried desperately to save the situation, but he knew that it was probably too late at this point.


    "Daddy, what are they doing to the wolf?"


    Hearing his daughters adorable voice that seemed to be on the verge of crying, the middle-aged man was mad! What the hell was wrong with this family? Was this how they welcomed them? As he glanced inside the cell once more, he saw the lifeless, dull eyes of the wolf inside, as it was covered in blood, wounds covering the majority of its body. Even though it was a monster in most peoples eyes, the middle-aged man knew that this wolf felt pain all the same, and since it was a magical beast, its intelligence wasn''t like that of a normal cow or anything either.


    Subjecting someone to this kind of torment was inexcusable, and the middle-aged man could feel some sympathy for the wolf. The old man that was currently in the middle of tormenting Ark noticed these people arriving, and he immediately stopped what he was doing, afraid of doing something unnecessary. The king was embarrassed when he saw what his son had been doing, but if not for the middle-aged man being here, he wouldn''t have even spared a glance, much less been mad.


    "Release this wolf this instant!" The middle-aged man snapped at the king.


    "Wai-" Before Oscar could say anything, the king smacked him on the top of his head, interrupting what he was about to say. "Just do as he says!" Oscar only nodded with resignation and kept his head down before he took out a pair of keys and unlocked the cell.

 Chapter 114 - Finally Free!

    When Ark heard what they were talking about, he was a little apprehensive. Though he was excited at the prospect of escaping this hellhole, he was a little sceptic. It was only natural at this point, his trust in humans was at an all-time low. He didn''t let anything show in his expression though, and he just looked apathetic about the situation, like he didn''t care at all. But deep inside, Ark''s heart was in turmoil. All he wanted to do right now was rip out this prince''s heart before feeding it to this f.u.c.k.e.d up father of his, but he reined his feelings in, before they went out of control, screwing up what might be his only chance to escape would be seriously stupid.


    The middle-aged man had already begun to seriously reevaluate his impression of this kingdom, or at the very least its royal family, since they were doing stuff like this, who knew what other stuff they did here? Though angry, he didn''t let it show, since that would both affect his image as well as alert these people. Even though he was very strong, taking on an entire kingdom without any soldiers was still an impossible feat, and not an idea he entertained for long. Since the door to the cell was opened, they couldn''t just let the wolf leave by itself, and if he let these people take care of it, then it would probably just be killed or brought to a torture chamber somewhere else instead. Since that was the case, the middle-aged man clapped his hands.


    A man''s silhouette suddenly appeared out of nowhere right next to the middle-aged man, clad in form-fitting black clothes. "Carlos, make sure this wolf makes it out of the city safely, and if it tries to go on a rampage or kill anyone, just kill it and put it out of its misery!" The silhouette, Carlos, only nodded slowly as he watched Ark trying to stand up inside of the cell. How long had they been torturing this poor creature for? Did they even give it any food?


    The last thought came about after he noticed Ark''s haggard and skinny frame, it seemed like he had been starving for some time.


    As they left the dungeons, Oscar turned around briefly while no one was looking. Sidulig was busy packing up all of his tools, and he managed to notice Oscar turning around. Oscar made a gesture of slitting a throat with his hand before he sneakily pointed to Ark, before quickly turning around again. Sidulig could easily interpret his young master''s wish, and he smiled wickedly as he watched Ark stumble his way out alongside the others. It was a little hard for him to walk in the narrow corridor considering his frame, but he made it work, a small nuisance such as this wouldn''t be able to hinder his way out of this nightmare.


    Though the rest went back to the banquet almost immediately, Ark just followed Carlos meekly, hoping that he could just get out of this city already, just being here pained him. Carlos didn''t waste any time at all and just led Ark straight through the city. Though many people glanced and looked at Ark with fear and trepidation in their gazes, just seeing the collar around his neck was enough for people to be at ease. This collar was very well-known for capturing beasts, and in places where it was legal, controlling slaves.


    After they arrived outside of the city''s gates, Carlos watched Ark with pity. "After I take off the collar, you better just leave, otherwise don''t blame me for the consequences!" Ark only nodded his head fiercely, there was no way he was going to stay here for even a second longer than necessary, when he had the strength in the future, he would surely return, and when he did, he would watch the entire palace burn before his eyes!


    Carlos didn''t hesitate after seeing Ark nodding, and just kicked the collar that was on his neck fiercely. With a "clang" the collar immediately broke apart from the force. How Ark didn''t feel any pain or force from the kick at all, he had no idea at all, but he couldn''t be bothered at this point. Feeling his strength and mana returning to his body once more, Ark felt like he was on top of the world, this feeling that he had lost had finally returned!


    As Carlos felt the pressure that was starting to emanate from Ark, he was a little surprised. If this wolf truly was out for blood, he would be hard-pressed to deal with it easily, he would probably need some help if he was to take it down. Thankfully for him, Ark didn''t intend to stay around at all, and he promptly started to run at full speed away from the city. After seeing Ark disappear completely beyond the horizon, Carlos heaved a sigh of relief and vanished from where he stood, his speciality was assassination and recon, he wasn''t fit to fight such a monster.


    While Carlos went back to his master''s side, another person slowly walked out from within the city, Sidulig didn''t waste any time, and instantly zoomed off into the distance, in the same direction Ark was going. Even though Ark was very fast, Sidulig was even faster, which was to be expected, the level difference between them was a little too big after all.


    Feeling the wind c.a.r.e.s.s his fur as he ran at his highest manageable speed possible, Ark was almost feeling a little at ease. But he didn''t dare let his guard down, his entire escape felt a little too easy, and he was sure that there was more to it than he thought, which was why he tried to keep his energy consumption at a reasonable rate as he ran. After running for a while though, Ark had to slow down a little, his body wasn''t as strong as it usually was since he hadn''t been eating or moving around properly, which put a large strain on his strength.


    Though he really wanted to eat something, he had lost his spatial bag when he was captured, and he didn''t know if he was being pursued, stopping to randomly eat might get him killed, and Ark wasn''t particularly fond of the thought of dying. After almost an entire hour of running, Ark decided to stop for five minutes to take a break, he needed to catch his breath a little, his body wasn''t what it used to be.


    The road that he had been running on all this time had become a lot smaller, and he was currently in the middle of a small meadow. Surrounded by beautiful flowers and greenery, Ark felt a little at ease for once. The scent of the flowers and mother nature invaded his nose, pleasing him to his very core. It was too bad though, Ark wouldn''t be able to enjoy this moment for too long as Sidulig arrived not even a minute after Ark decided to take his break.


    Seeing the familiar old man speeding straight for him at high speeds, Ark''s expression darkened.

 Chapter 115 - Just some minor revenge!

    Rage wasn''t nearly enough to describe the feelings Ark was feeling right now. His otherwise gentle atmosphere quickly turned ferocious, and his eyes started to glow with a red light. He had never felt such rage before, and instead of trying to rein himself in or something like he usually did, Ark just let the rage take over completely! Running away wasn''t an option right now, and judging by the old man''s wicked facial expression, Ark knew that this was probably going to be a fight to the death!


    Well, Ark knew that this fight was pretty much lost if he fought with the old man using conventional methods. Since that was the case, he feigned fear and trauma for the old man, trying to get the old man to lower his guard a little. Seeing the wolf so scared, naturally, the old man felt better, he wouldn''t need to try so hard if he just acted like he was going to capture the wolf instead of killing it right? "If you just come with me obediently, you won''t die at the very least, the prince isn''t done with you yet!"


    Though this method of his would probably have the opposite effect on most people, for the cowards who would do anything to survive for even a second more, it would prove to be sufficient. And in the old man''s opinion, this wolf was probably the latter. Ark responded by lowering his head as he started to trudge his way forward on the small path. The old flashed a cruel smile while waiting impatiently. He was fidgeting a little from the excitement of killing this wolf, he looked forward to the expression it would show him as he watched it bleed to death, betrayed by its expectations.


    As Ark neared, he didn''t dare acc.u.mulate even a single speck of mana, even though people normally wouldn''t notice, this person in front of him was significantly stronger than him, and he didn''t want to alert him since it would completely ruin his plans. The old man was thinking along the same line, he didn''t really know what species this wolf was, but if it was particularly s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to mana, which it seemed like it was, then he wouldn''t get as much enjoyment out of it, since the wolf would be aware of his intention to kill him off. Since that was the case, he put one of his hands in his pocket, where he had a small spatial bag.


    Though the spatial bag didn''t hold much, it was still the home to the old man''s favourite sacrificial knife. He had used this knife to commit his first murder, and he had kept it with him ever since, it had a special place in his cold, rotten heart. If he ever decided to commit suicide one day, then this knife would definitely have a special place in his heart, through it. He didn''t bring it out immediately though, instead, he just waited patiently for Ark to come closer and closer...


    "Swish!"


    In the blink of an eye, Ark was suddenly in front of the old man''s face, baring his sharp teeth. The old man was just about to make his own attack and was thus stunned by these developments as a result, and he wasn''t able to react in time. Ark had learned from his past mistakes, and instead of using his mouth, he made use of his long and sharp claws to swipe the man at his waist. Once again, not much resistance was shown, but instead of only leaving a deep wound, Ark directly managed to cleave the skinny old man in two.


    Though surprised, he knew the old man wouldn''t just die from this injury, since he seemed to possess some weird magic which interlinked with the way he experienced pain and damage to his body. Ark just let the rage consume him, and his orderly attack instantly devolved into chaotic onslaught. The man''s upper body was ravaged by both claws as well as bombarded by magic until there was not even a speck of dust left of his body. Ark wasn''t done venting his anger though, and he redirected his attention on the man''s lower body. Not only after it was completely gone did Ark calm down a little, and he slumped down on the ground in exhaustion.


    His consciousness was starting to sway a little, but he tried his hardest to stay awake. When he was on the absolute verge of collapsing entirely, Ark suddenly heard abrupt laughter next to his ear. "Kukukukukuku..." He instantly swung his head around to look, only to be left dumbfounded, there was nothing behind him. He was sure that he had heard the old man''s ghostly laughter just then, and he was sure that it wasn''t some illusion.


    But after seeing absolutely nothing in his vicinity, Ark felt that it was all a little surreal. The old man didn''t even have a sliver of fear or resignation on his face as he died, and after hearing that laughter, Ark was sure that there was more to it than met the eye. He didn''t have the mental capacity to think about it right now though, and he decided that he would stay here and rest for at least five minutes, there was no way for him to keep moving otherwise.


    5 minutes passed by in the blink of an eye, and Ark felt that his body had regained some of its strength, but only enough to run for around 30 to 60 minutes, which wasn''t too shabby, this mostly attributed to his mana recovery though, since the two went hand in hand now that his physique was refined by mana. His mana recovery would thus affect his physical recovery as well, which was pretty sweet in Ark''s opinion.


    He quickly worked up a sweat as he ran, but all the sweat quickly evaporated into steam, before it diffused completely into the air. If life was only this convenient in his previous world... After 45 minutes of straight running, Ark''s stomach was killing him. Some bloodl.u.s.t still remained after "killing" the old man, and Ark made short work of a poor boar that happened to roam the area before he just ate it raw. Life in the cell had changed him a little, and raw meat was an acquired taste. Though he would probably still prefer it roasted or cooked if he was in his human form.


    The blissful taste of raw meat filled his entire being, and he savoured every single second of his meal, even so, it wasn''t nearly enough to satisfy his hunger at this point. Before long, 5 boars disappeared from this part of the forest, and one wolf was every bit happier because of it.

 Chapter 116 - Freedom can be sweet at times!

    After filling up his stomach a fair amount, Ark began to ponder about what he was going to do from now on. Originally he had planned to go to the Torment of the Fallen headquarters to collect his rewards, as well as start his search for Thufrat, but now, he was a little conflicted. There was no way he could just waltz in there in his wolf form, and it wasn''t like he could go there n.a.k.e.d in his human form either.


    Without any of his money or clothes, Ark was at a loss. Without clothes, there was no way he could enter a city, and without entering a city, there was no way he could make any money to buy what he needed, namely a spatial bag, some clothes as well as a food supply, just in case. Since that was the case, Ark decided that he would need to live in the wilderness for some time, until he for some reason happened upon clothes, or if he managed to make some on his own. All he really needed was just some rags anyways, which he could probably manage to make on his own with some beast skin and fur.


    Well-rested and with food in is stomach, Ark decided to keep on running for a couple more hours, he had gained plenty of energy just now, and it was about time he started moving again. After continuous running for another 4 hours, Ark had to take another breather, and calm down a little. Like this, the day quickly passed, and Ark found a random spot underneath a tree to sleep for the night. Though just sleeping on grass would be uncomfortable for most people, Ark currently loved the feeling, after sleeping on hard stone slabs for weeks he wasn''t exactly picky.


    Dawn of the next day, Ark was already on the run again. He waited with his breakfast a little since he wanted to eat when he felt a little hungrier, that way it would be more enjoyable. Occasionally he ran past carriages and people who traversed the road, but no problems arose. Several people had gotten ready to fight to their death, but he just ignored them and ran straight past them, he couldn''t be bothered.


    After 2 entire days passed by like this, Ark started to relax a little. He was sure that no one was behind him or following him right now, and he decided to relax a little. Even though it can be important to be on your guard sometimes, it can also be harmful in its own way, especially mentally. Ark was feeling like shit these past two days, it wasn''t bad compared to the hell in the cell, but instead of physical pain and torture, he had to live with the worry of having to return to that place, which wasn''t very pleasant.


    He had been wondering a little as he ran, was Thufrat and Alenia worried about him? What were they doing right now? Would they try to get help for him? He didn''t know, but the thought worried him a little, he didn''t want them to do something rash on his behalf now that he was already free. Phones were something he truly didn''t appreciate enough in his previous life. What Ark didn''t know, however, was that a story of a giant wolf fleeing from the capital was a hot topic in numerous places. And Thufrat and Alenia had already heard about it.


    As night was about to fall once again, Ark entered a mystical forest. This one was very different from the Twilight Forest which he had stayed in for quite some time before. Instead of having an abundance of darkness mana, this forest was especially rich in the mana of the four elements. This made the forest very diverse in its habitats, as some places had plenty of lush greenery, while some other places seemed like they were the homes of a fire monster or something of that nature.


    Though night was quickly falling, Ark hadn''t eaten his fill yet, and he decided to hunt some more before going to sleep, maybe this would even be a good spot to settle down for a while. Just to rest, and get back on his feet. There was a city just an hour away too, which made it optimal for him to try and get himself a spatial bag and clothes. Even though he didn''t feel like interacting with humans just yet, he still needed to prepare in case he actually needed to, he wanted to get his reward later too. Two platinum coins was a decent amount of money.


    After eating his fill, Ark looked around for a comfortable spot to sleep in for some time. After half an hour, Ark happened upon a fairly sizeable cave that had been covered up by a plethora of vines and plants, which made it optimal for Ark who wanted some privacy and time for himself, away form everything. He didn''t want to just sleep on the hard ground, so he tried his best to gather plenty of plants and leaves to sleep on. Ark''s fur was more than enough to stand the cold, but he wanted to feel a little warm and cosy, therefore he constructed a simple fire, before falling asleep.


    SCREEEEECH!!!!!


    In the middle of the dark and otherwise silent night, a large screech suddenly woke Ark up from his deep slumber. With a blank expression on his face, Ark decided to leave his cave for a while to look around, there was no way he could just go to sleep after hearing something like that. He didn''t intend to actually investigate what happened, since by the sound of things, he guessed that some poor monster was butchered, and it was none of Ark''s business, who knew what he would get himself into if he just had to investigate everything that happened. He had already experienced enough hardship for a year or two, he didn''t want to experience any more right now.


    Realistically, he would probably just end up in a dangerous fight with some other monster. Though that was the case, Ark still wanted to calm down a little before going back to sleep and decided to stroll around the place a little. Though his stature was big, his paws hitting the ground didn''t even make the slightest sound if he didn''t want them to, and the eerie silence of the forest was oddly calming. When he was just about to return, Ark happened upon a small clearing in the forest.


    All that filled Ark''s sight were ethereal glowing blue flowers, swaying gently in the wind. Even though Ark had seen plenty of things, this sight had to have been one of the most beautiful so far!

 Chapter 117 - Treacherous forest!

    After admiring the sight for a couple of munites, Ark had already managed to calm down again. As more and more minutes passed, he got calmer and calmer, sleepier and sleepier. It didn''t take long for Ark to notice that something was amiss with his situation since he was beginning to have a hard time even standing straight when he was exposed to those flowers. He quickly left the small clearing, he didn''t want to risk staying around any longer, what if another magical beast took advantage of him when he was weak? Then he would only have himself to blame.


    After leaving the flowers behind him, Ark quickly returned to his recluse cave again. Once there, he abruptly dozed off into blissful sleep, the effect of the flowers hadn''t worn out yet. Waking up the next day, Ark was feeling a little sluggish. His body felt the same as usual, full of vigour and energy, but his mind felt inexplicably heavy at the moment, something which he couldn''t explain. Or at least until he remembered what happened the night before.


    Ark conjured up about a bucket''s worth of water and poured it directly on his own head. Though it seemed ridiculous and pretty stupid, it worked wonders and Ark almost instantly felt more awake. After drying himself off with the help of wind, Ark decided to inspect the flowers once more, he wanted to know how these flowers worked, and if they were something he would be able to make use of in the future.


    A shocking revelation revealed itself when he arrived at the clearing this time though. Unlike the day before, none of the flowers were anywhere to be seen. In their place, exact copies, yet ordinary green plants, replaced them. Instead of the ghostly and magical glowing blue flower, generic green plants replaced them, though otherwise the exact same in appearance. Ark didn''t notice any effect on his mental state either when he was here today, which was quite odd, he couldn''t have hallucinated the day before, right?


    Since Ark was sure that he hadn''t been hallucinating the day before, he drew the conclusion that the flowers were normal during the day, but special during the night. That was the only hypothesis he could come up with right now, since the only difference between now and the night before was the time of the day. After pondering a little more, Ark decided to not dwell on it, and just go with the flow. He felt like eating something right now and decided to go for a morning hunt.


    As he wandered around the large and tropical forest, there were many new sights. Numerous weird plants and berries filled the entirety of his vision, with some weird types of trees and bushes with purple thorns on them. Ark was mesmerised by all of the different sights, and he almost forgot that he was supposed to go on a hunt. As he kept walking, the sights around him started to turn from mesmerising to borderline disturbing.


    On some trees next to him, Ark managed to spot deep claw marks, he wasn''t really sure what kind of animal it belonged to first before he realised something crucial, these reminded him of his own claw marks! As he quickly used his paw to swipe the ground in front of him, numerous lines extended deep into the soft ground. Ark didn''t find many discrepancies between his own claw marks and the one on the trees, which concerned him a little.


    Normally he would feel like this, but after his time in the cell, his animal instincts seemed to have grown stronger. His sense of belonging to other wolves had also strengthened on that notion since the pack mentality of a wolf was fairly strong. Of course, Ark was more of a lone wolf, but if he could help someone of his species out, then he probably would, if it wasn''t too much trouble. As he continued walking, he could clearly see copious amounts of blood scattered all over the place, dying the otherwise beautiful scenery an eerie shade of red.


    An inexplicable feeling rose within him when he saw this blood scattered about, and he could feel a sense of familiarity stemming from his very soul toward the owner of the blood, whoever or whatever it may be. Though he didn''t really know why exactly, a feeling of pensive sadness rose within him. As he continued walking further ahead, Ark started to hear some faint whimpers coming from up ahead. He was almost entirely sure that this was a wolf now, and he kept walking.


    Next to a battered up tree, a fairly large wolf laid on the ground. Covered in soft white fur, with different coloured strands mixed in here and there, the wolf was very beautiful. When Ark saw the familiar fur, he was a little shocked, he didn''t expect to run into any one of the same species when he entered this forest! His heart ached at the sight of the wolf covered in blood lying on the ground, but when he was going to heal it, he was in for another surprise!


    "Grrrrrrrr!"


    A small figure appeared in front of him, standing in front of the injured wolf. Yet another wolf of the same species as him stood in front of him, but this one was only a cub at the moment and hadn''t grown up just yet. When Ark took another look, he realised that the cub wasn''t the same species as him after all, since they were as blue as the sky, while Ark''s were golden. This cubs bloodline was only a small step from his own though, and he still felt the same familiarity.


    If this was any other wolf, maybe Ark wouldn''t have been inclined to help, but the feeling of belonging he felt in his heart wouldn''t lessen, and he would probably feel really bad for a while if he didn''t give them a helping hand, or well, paw in this case. Unfortunately, Ark didn''t get to help the poor wolf before another unexpected occurrence appeared.


    "Kukukuku, so this is where you''ve been hiding huh?"


    A rather large man with dark skin walked out from the underbrush and walked toward the two wolves. The man''s skin was covered in numerous black tattoos, emanating with a strange sense of power. With two horns adorning his head, it was easy to figure out that this man was a bona fide demon through and through! With a large axe dragging across the ground, the man looked like a very fierce warrior. With the help of some blood dripping from the axe, as well as the long vertical cut on the large wolf''s back, Ark could easily guess what had transpired.


    The young wolf cub was scared for just a single second before it proudly stood in front of its mother lying on the ground, as to protect her from the evil demon. The demon was just about to attack when he noticed Ark standing to the side, oozing with thick killing intent. Though he was mad, he wasn''t rash and didn''t instantly attack the demon. The demon wasn''t as rational though.


    "Oh, what''s this? The father? Its pupils are kind of weird, oh well, I''ll just kill it off as well, more money that way!"


    As Ark heard the demon mumbling to himself, Ark took the opportunity to attack while he was distracted. With enormous amounts of power acc.u.mulated in his hind legs, Ark leapt forward at an almost indiscernible speed and slashed out with his right paw. The demon didn''t even get an opportunity to react, but Ark''s attack was a little off course, and only ended up sending the demon''s arm flying. Though it wasn''t an instant kill, it was disarmed and disoriented. When the demon was just about to react, a wind blade came from behind Ark, cutting the demon''s other arm off cleanly.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"


    The demon started screaming madly from the excruciating pain, and he fell down to the ground on his knees. Ark''s speed was way beyond what this demon could deal with, the only reason he could kill the other elemental wolf was just because of a surprise attack, and Ark was way stronger in comparison. Ark was a little surprised himself, as the wind blade wasn''t his doing, and he eyed the small wolf cub behind him a little. Seeing the ferocious expression in its eyes, Ark only stepped aside, and let it do what it needed to do.


    The cub didn''t hesitate at all and seeing Ark step aside, it waltzed up to the demon. After staring into the demon''s eyes for a couple of seconds, the wolf cub quickly slit his throat, and just watched him bleed to death. After successfully getting rid of the threat, the young cub scurried back to its mother''s side and nuzzled up against her body. Seeing the small cub cuddle lovingly with its mother''s lifeless body, Ark''s heartstrings were pulled fiercely, and even though he had been through a lot, he almost wanted to cry.


    After inspecting the cub''s mother''s body a little closer, Ark had realised that the wolf had already passed away just now, and there was nothing Ark could do to save it. Ark glared a little at the demon''s body a little, his heart in turmoil. Why did someone always have to f.u.c.k someone else''s life up for some small benefits? He felt like people were detestable at times, at almost all times even. The only reason ths¨ªs young cubs mother was dead was because of money, and not even a lot of it.

 Chapter 118 - Things arent always that bad!

    Seeing the cute little cub lying next to its mother, Ark was a little surprised, did it not notice that she was already gone? He involuntarily walked a little closer, and as he did, he was shocked! This couldn''t be, right? For a second, he heard a very faint heartbeat. Ark wasn''t sure if his mind was playing tricks on him, or if he actually did hear a heartbeat, and he decided to move a little closer. As he did, he realised that his mind wasn''t playing any tricks on him! There truly was a heartbeat! Albeit so faint that he could barely hear it, Ark was sure that it was there if he concentrated hard enough.


    Since there was a chance to save the cub''s mother from the jaws of death, Ark didn''t dare waste any time. He walked a little closer again, alerting the little cub again. Seeing Ark approach, the cub didn''t do anything, from its point of view, Ark had saved them, and he was way stronger than the small cub, so even if the cub wanted to do something, it couldn''t, it didn''t have the strength. As Ark walked closer, he started to emit countless amounts of light mana, the light mana that radiated from his body slowly made its way over to the wolf''s body, where it converged above its soft fur.


    The mana then slowly started burrowing its way into the wolf''s body, healing whatever places it could. This first batch of mana permeated throughout the wolf''s entire body, which almost immediately resulted in the once faint heartbeat growing a little stronger. As Ark sat down next to the cub and its mother, he first glanced at the cub, before refocusing on the mother again. The cub felt reassured by Ark''s glance and nuzzled up against its mother even more, it didn''t want to leave her side.


    Ark focused on the long vertical cut on the wolf''s back, this was the biggest problem right now. He still constantly released light mana into the wolf''s body, to mend whatever was broken on the inside, and to help with the blood loss, but for now, he needed to stop the bleeding. Ark focused to the best of his ability and sent an even larger stream of light mana to converge atop the wolf''s back. The wound, now exposed to countless amounts of light mana, started to slowly mend together.


    Since there were no other visible injuries on the outside, Ark diverted some of his attention to focus on some of the internal bleedings inside of the wolf''s body. Like this, three wolves sat closely together next to a battered up tree, with radiant light covering all of their figures. Time quickly passed, and half an hour was already gone. The wound on the wolf''s back had already been closed in its entirety, replaced with a scab. When Ark healed her wound, he used the bulk of his mana to spark her own body''s regenerative capabilities, which resulted in her wound healing cleanly.


    Ark was a little close to fainting himself, and he had to stop himself from sending any more mana into her body since his mana reserves were running dangerously low at the moment. He didn''t want a repeat of the situation that happened the last time he had run completely out of mana, and he decided that it was for the best if he stopped, her condition was stabilized for now either way. The small cub was looking at Ark with a happy expression when it noticed its mother''s condition slowly but surely improving.


    Ark was very exhausted after using up a large portion of his mana pool, and he just laid down on the ground for a while and rested his body and mind. In all honesty, he really wanted to sleep, but he didn''t really think it was safe to just fall asleep here. Even though he doubted that the cub would do anything, considering what he had done for them, he still needed to be on guard against other magical beasts and animals.


    As that thought crossed his mind, Ark''s expression darkened a little, and he used a minuscule amount of mana to get rid of the demon''s corpse that had been lying on the ground for all this time. He had forgotten about the fact that magical beasts would be attracted by the scent of blood because he was so focused on saving the wolf. He was almost certain that some magical beast would come sooner or later, he could only hope that he had recovered some of his mana by then, or that it was weak enough for him to defeat it with his physical strength alone.


    After nearly half an hour had passed, Ark''s worries came to fruition. A fairly large black panther sneakily made its way toward them through the thick underbrush. As it was about to pounce toward them, Ark made his move. Though the panther was supposedly fairly strong, Ark managed to sever it in two without it taking much effort on his part. Even though his mana was still low, his mind was a lot clearer, and he could use his physical strength to its fullest.


    The cub''s eyes shone as it looked at the dead panther that laid on the ground next to them. Seeing the small cub salivate while it looked at the panther''s corpse, Ark tossed one of the halves to it, before eating the other himself. Eating a magical beast was a good way to recover his mana faster, as its body contained large amounts of mana that he could easily just digest by eating it. Ark was a little hungry after all the healing too.


    The cub was even happier than he was, and it instantly devoured a large portion of the dead panther. When there was only a third of it left, the cub seemed to realise something. After glancing at its mother lying on the ground, the small cub placed the rest of the meat in front of its mother, before it nudged her a little with its head. Noticing the lack of response, the cub was feeling a little dejected, and it just curled itself up on the ground next to her.


    Ark could only smile bitterly upon seeing the cubs antics before he himself laid down on the ground next to them, he made sure to keep some distance though. The cub noticed Ark lying on the ground resting next to them, and it promptly stood up. After everything Ark had done for them, the cub waltzed over to him and just cuddled up next to him.


    Though shocked at first when he felt the warmth of the little cub lying next to him, Ark didn''t let it disturb the little cub''s rest. He couldn''t help but feel touched by the cute little cub''s actions, and he was happy that he decided to help. Even though he liked talking to Thufrat as a friend and all that, this felt a little different, it was something Ark had never really felt before, and he couldn''t really put his finger on it. Even though he wanted to find out, he just couldn''t be bothered right now, he didn''t want to ruin the moment.


    Though the little cub appeared collected and fairly calm on the surface, Ark could feel its frantic heartbeat when they laid next to each other, and his own heart started to ache a little as a result. He really liked this cute little cub, and he didn''t want it to feel this bad and distressed. Ark would feel a lot more at ease if the little cub could just be happy together with its mother. After lying next to Ark for a while, the cub started to calm down a little, and its frantic heartbeat started to beat with a more relaxed rhythm as it fell asleep.


    When Ark felt the change in the cub''s mood, as well as its warmth, Ark slowly slipped into unconsciousness himself. To any outsider, this probably just looked like a small wolf pack resting in the forest, though that wasn''t really the case. Though asleep, Ark could easily notice if any hostile animals or magical beasts showed up since he never really slept too deeply, but fortunately, no magical beasts were attracted by the lingering scent of blood from the panther that Ark had killed earlier. Possibly because no magical beast was around, but it could also just simply stem from the other magical beasts being afraid of Ark, his bloodline was noble compared to theirs after all.


    It took almost two entire hours before Ark actually woke up again. When he did, he mentally scolded himself a little for being careless and just falling asleep like that, but at the same time, he hadn''t slept that well in a while! Even if the sleep itself only lasted for two hours, Ark felt oddly at peace during those two hours, and he didn''t dream any unpleasant dreams as he would quite often. When he was held captive for about 5 weeks, not only was his life a living nightmare, he had literal nightmares every single time he fell asleep, and he had just been living in hell.


    With a quick glance at his status, Ark could see that his mana had recovered quite a bit, and he decided to use half of what he had recovered to heal the injured mother. He didn''t move away though, as the cub was still happily immersed in its sleep for now, and he didn''t want to take that away from it, as its reality wasn''t the nicest right now, considering that its mother was almost on the brink of death just a few hours ago.

 Chapter 119 - Healing!

    Since he didn''t want to wake up the small cub, Ark just kept lying where he laid and sent streams of mana to the mother wolf lying on the ground. After almost twenty minutes had passed, his mana was beginning to run low again, and Ark decided that it was for the better if he just kept going like this, healing the wolf with a set number of steady intervals. Though the wolf was healing at a very rapid pace, Ark wasn''t really sure how long it would actually take to heal her until she was completely healthy again, and when he did, how would she react?


    From the cubs perspective, Ark was their saviour who had saved its mom, but how would the mother react? He wasn''t really sure, but he didn''t really let it bother him too much either way. Even though he, for some inexplicable reason, didn''t want to just part ways with them when he woke up. Many thoughts ran across Ark''s mind constantly, and it was hard for him to have a positive mindset sometimes considering all the different negative thoughts that always invaded his mind, but he tried his best to have a somewhat positive outlook on things. The unfamiliar feeling he felt when the cub was lying next to him, wasn''t something Ark wanted to lose, even though he didn''t even know what it actually was.


    As time trickled by, the cub eventually woke up. Concerned about its mother, the only thing the small cub could do was clean her affectionately, and cuddle with her. Though Ark was a little saddened by the sight at first, as more and more time passed, the sadness turned into determination instead. It would benefit the small cub more if he was determined to save its mother instead of moping about it. Though he wanted to save her, that was easier said than done. Ark''s healing capabilities were remarkable for sure, but healing someone that was knocking on death''s door would take time, and Ark wasn''t sure how much it would actually take yet.


    The next day arrived quickly, and nothing had really changed. The mother''s wound was still not entirely healed, and she wasn''t going to wake up just yet, so Ark just kept healing her persistently, hoping that it would speed up the process by at least a little bit. Even though he had eaten a little the day before, Ark was a little famished, but he couldn''t just leave them here by themselves. What if another magical beast happened upon them and took advantage of the situation? Ark wouldn''t let that happen since that would kind of ruin the whole point of doing all of this in the first place right?


    That being said, Ark couldn''t just do all of this on an empty stomach, and he came up with his own little plan. Though it was a little weird, it didn''t really bother him. That being said, Ark conjured up some wind blades, and then let them lacerate one of his legs. After plenty of blood had spilt onto the ground, Ark used some healing magic on himself and patched himself up. The little cub was alarmed at first by his behaviour, but after seeing Ark heal himself, the only thing that was left was intrigue. This little cub had no idea what the point of Ark''s actions were, but it had a feeling that it was something important.


    Ark''s position in the little cub''s heart was far from ordinary, and it just naturally looked up to him at this point. After about 20 minutes had passed, Ark''s actions finally bore fruit, as a majestic white tiger waltzed straight into the premises. This time, Ark didn''t let the white tiger attack first, and he surprised it himself, ending the proud beast in a single clean attack. Now, one of Ark''s problems was already solved, food. After dividing it between himself and the cub, Ark devoured his portion of the food in close to an instant, leaving some of its blood on the ground, Ark wasn''t satisfied yet.


    Not long after, a couple more magical beasts arrived one after one, all dying under the tremendous power of Ark''s paws. The cub noted Ark''s actions down in its mind, and then happily ate a large amount of meat. Like this, three more days quickly passed with Ark healing the cub''s mother, as well as using this method of his to hunt some prey. To his surprise, his status actually changed somewhat during these three days, which he hadn''t anticipated at all at first.


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Mp: 395/395


    Strength: 30 (40)


    Agility: 45 (40)


    Dexterity: 35 (40)


    Endurance: 30 (40)


    Vitality: 30 (40)


    Intelligence: 125


    Wisdom: 60


    Night Vision [Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.8]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.3]


    Herculean strength [Lv.2]


    Swift [Lv.3]


    Nimble [Lv.3]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Spatial Affinity


    Small Lightning Affinity


    Small Darkness Affinity


    Medium Wind Affinity


    Medium Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.6]


    Spear Mastery [Intermediate Lv. 2]


    Overlord Of The Elements


    Body Refining [Lv.8]


    Wolf''s tongue [Inherent]


    First of all, he had gained another four levels from killing numerous magical beasts. He invested the 20 stat points he gained evenly between wisdom and intelligence for now, since he had no better idea. Second of all, he had sort of gained a new skill, namely Wolf''s tongue. The weird part about this skill was the box next to it, which signified that it was an inherent skill, something you were born with. This skill allowed Ark to communicate with and understand other wolves, which was good and all, but Ark couldn''t understand why he had gotten it now? The prompt said that it was because he tried to communicate with another wolf, namely the little cub. What Ark didn''t understand was why he didn''t have this in the first place when he woke up in this body.


    Was there a specific reason behind it? He didn''t know, but it worried him a little bit. This system was a big part of his life and strength, not knowing how it worked was a little scary. He was still happy he got it though since it helped him with his current situation quite a lot.


    "Papa, food!"


    Speaking of which, had become a little odd. The little cub seemed to have misunderstood something and thought that Ark was his dad. Even though he had tried numerous times to get the little cub to understand, it didn''t seem like it wanted to acknowledge that Ark wasn''t it''s "papa". Ark didn''t really think that it was too bad though. Feeling needed wasn''t really that bad once in a while, and the feeling he got from it was different from the feeling he would associate with that of friends. Even though he still had some difficulty understanding it, he didn''t really mind.


    He had grown really fond of this cub even though he had only been with it for a couple of days. Being in close contact with someone else for days was guaranteed to bring you closer to each other though, and Ark didn''t really see it as something weird. Hearing the small cub ask for food, Ark could only laugh a little before he used the same method as always to lure some prey. He had noted that this small cub benefitted greatly from all of the magical beast meat he was eating. It had already grown noticeably, and it seemed like it had grown stronger as a result too.


    Ark was happy for the little thing and giving it food to eat was oddly satisfying. To see the small cub gobble up any food that was given to it with fervour would easily bring a smile to Ark''s face. Though it seemed like Ark just idled away his time like this, he made sure to practice his body refining skill during these days too, as wasting time by just lying around wasn''t very suitable with his personality. Practising the body refining skill didn''t really take anything away from his relaxation anyways, it was a win-win situation.


    Food soon arrived in the form of a large bird with golden wings, gliding across the sky at high speeds. Ark didn''t let it even react before he cut it in two with the help of ice magic. Ark was almost beginning to get a little bored of killing all these small-fry. Even though he had never been much of a battle-junkie, an exciting fight was still something which he would like to experience every now and then. That would have to wait until he was done here though, he couldn''t just leave now. After coming this far, Ark had to at least take responsibility for giving this small cub the hope of getting its mother back.


    ...


    In a small tavern in the outskirts of a village in Estridsen, the business was as per usual. Three drunks sat at the bar, drinking every single one of their worries away, as well as their pennies. Some people were rowdy, playing games with each other, joking around, eating food, and just all around having a good time. In a rather secluded corner of the tavern, a dwarf sat by himself, sipping from a cup.


    [I hope I can find you soon Ark, I had forgotten what it felt like being alone...]

 Chapter 120 - Finally!

    Time kept passing, and now, 4 more days had already passed in the blink of an eye. Even though these 4 days should''ve been very boring, Ark had liked these days quite a lot, and he had a great time, even though he didn''t have too much to do. The antics of the small cub were enough to tide him over until he had healed its mother back to full health again. Though that was what Ark thought on the surface, deep inside, he really didn''t want to part with them just yet.


    And why would he? He had nothing better to do with his life right now anyway. Sure, he wanted to get stronger to be able to one day get revenge, but Ark had patience. Whether it took him one year or three years wouldn''t really matter when it came to his revenge. And what good would taking revenge be if he didn''t even get to enjoy his life? Ark''s current goals were as such: get stronger for the sake of revenge, find and reunite with Thufrat, and just enjoy his life in general. With the third and last goal currently being his priority.


    When he thought about it, Ark always came to the conclusion that living was essentially meaningless. Whenever he heard the question "What is the meaning of life?" all he could think of was nothing. There was no meaning. Therefore Ark had made it his goal to just enjoy his life in general. Though, to enjoy it to the fullest, he needed strength, not only to protect himself and those he enjoyed spending his time with, but also to be able to take control of his own fate, to get what he wanted out of life.


    If he needed money in the future? Then all he needed to rely on was his strength. If he wanted to protect someone? He had to rely on strength. If he wanted to attack someone? He also needed strength. A lot of things stemmed from strength, which was why it was so important in Ark''s eyes. With that being said, his first priority right now was still to heal this wolf. After about a week of healing, the scar on the wolf''s back was completely gone, and Ark had basically gotten rid of any internal injuries now as well, all that remained was for the wolf to wake up.


    [Papa, danger!]


    Hearing the urgent calling of the cub, Ark could feel that something was wrong. Even though he had already faced off against plenty of magical beasts these last couple of days, the cub had never reacted like this before, which meant that something terribly strong was coming. Even though Ark didn''t feel any urgent danger, his instincts were not as sharp as an animal that had lived in the wild all of its life. Sure, Ark could feel mana fluctuations and determine danger that way, and he still had fairly sharp instincts of his own, but that wasn''t really the same thing.


    Ark trusted the cub though, and he decided to stand up and stretch a little. [Don''t worry, while I''m still here, neither you nor your mother will be hurt ok?] The cub instantly felt reassured after Ark''s lofty words, and he nodded his head slightly. The wolf''s way of communicating with him was still very primitive, but he suspected that it would evolve and surpass that of even a normal human being as he grew up. These were elemental wolves, after all, a race that was only a step below his own.


    As he was just about to stand up, a dreadful and suppressive aura suddenly hit him like a train out of nowhere. Since he wasn''t ready, Ark was pressed back down on the ground for a second before he struggled to stand up again. He wasn''t ready for this at all! What the hell was this? It seemed like he had underestimated his enemy even though he tried to be careful. Just from the pressure alone, Ark was pretty sure that this wasn''t an enemy he could fight against. Normally he would opt to run away, but with the cub''s mother lying behind him, could he really just ditch them and run away?


    Of course not! He had already gotten to know this little cub too well to just abandon it, especially when it depended on him for survival at the moment. Ark wasn''t heartless, and even if he was, he wouldn''t leave them behind, they had something that he wanted, after all, that special feeling. Though it might sound laughable to some, Ark considered that feeling a real treasure, something which he couldn''t replace, and he wouldn''t even dare try to abandon them for that very reason.


    In front of them, a large creature appeared. Ark could only gulp at the sight of the overbearing, large and grotesque monster that appeared in front of them. At first, Ark had no idea what kind of creature it was, but after looking a little closer, he could draw some similarities between the large green creature and a pesky little creature that he had run into long ago, a goblin. Although he knew for a fact that this wasn''t an actual goblin, Ark was pretty sure that it was at the very least related to goblins in some way.


    The large monster was over 5 meters tall, and though Ark thought it looked a little like a goblin, it was more reminiscent of a troll if anything. The troll had greasy and thick green skin covering its entire body, with nothing but an oversized loincloth covering up its family jewels. The troll was completely bald and had a primitive-looking bone club in one of his rather gigantic hands. The scariest part about this troll, if you disregarded the horrible stench that almost made Ark want to puke, was the troll''s eyes.


    Even if the stench was frightening by itself when you considered Ark''s exceptional nose, the eyes of the troll were daunting. Complete darkness. That was all there was to them. With no irises or white in its eyes, the troll''s eyes looked like two pitch-black pupils. Just from exteriors, Ark was able to guess just how stupid this troll was, only based on the troll''s frankly disgusting bearing. He didn''t dare underestimate the troll though since he had experienced its stifling pressure beforehand, and underestimating your enemy went hand in hand with death.


    "Inspect"


    [Cave Giant]


    Name: Boneflayer


    Lv: 96


    The dumbest variant of a giant, which should speak for itself. This one is a little special.


    Status: ???


    Seeing these things pop up in front of him, Ark felt like chuckling. Was this system making fun of this cave giant in front of him? Even though he was humoured, Ark didn''t dare underestimate the giant in front of him. Just looking at its level alone was enough to put Ark on edge, this cave giant was almost level 100! Not only that, the thing even had a name! Though he wasn''t too sure, Ark was certain that it was something special for a magical or monster to have a name. Not only that but the sentence "This one is a little special" was highly alarming to Ark. What was considered a little special in the eyes of a system? He didn''t know, but he didn''t want to gamble with his life.


    Fortunately for Ark, this type of enemy was probably his speciality. A dumb, large and slow target. This was the perfect target for his magic! If the enemy had no possibility of dodging, he would just unleash his strongest attacks! While Ark was focused on the enemy in front of him, the wolf that had been in a comatose state for a long time now started to twitch a little. As the wolf slowly opened her heavy eyelids, the sight which she woke up to was far from charming.


    Confusion and unease suffused her face as she frantically snapped her head around, on the lookout for something. As she spotted her little cub''s cute little figure standing behind another wolf in front of her, she managed to calm down a little. As she took a closer look at the wolf that was standing in front of her son, she was a little surprised, it seemed to be the same species as them. This was the first time the mother had ever seen another wolf of their species, as the father of the cub was far gone, and he wasn''t the same species in the first place.


    At this point in her life, the mother had already developed her intelligence to that of the average a.d.u.l.t human, maybe even a little beyond that. Seeing that the wound that had almost claimed her life was presumably gone, the mother could only guess that it was the doing of the wolf standing in front of her, she couldn''t come up with a better explanation than that after all. Gratitude filled her heart, but even though she wanted to repay the gesture, it seemed like now was a bad time.


    When her dull mind recovered a little, she managed to notice what the wolf was actually facing off against, and her body went stiff, it seemed like they wouldn''t be able to survive this either way.


    The mother wasn''t the only one who had almost completely given up already, the little cub wasn''t faring too well against the pressure this cave giant emitted just by existing. As it turned around to glance at its mother the cub was ecstatic! [Mama!] with a leap, the small cub instantly nuzzled up against its mother, not leaving her side. The mother was happy to see her cub again too, but for her, the time had barely passed, as she was in a coma after all.


    The little cub''s call for its mother didn''t go unnoticed by Ark, and he quickly turned around. As he did, he managed to stare straight into the mother''s bright green eyes. Though he was captivated by her eyes, and he felt like he could stare into them forever, Ark calmed himself down a little, this was a good chance! [Quickly, run! Leave this place! I''ll cover you!]

 Chapter 121 - A hard battle? Hardly!

    Though the mother hesitated at first, the cub started running immediately, which forced her to follow it. Though the cub didn''t want Ark to get hurt, it didn''t even hesitate when he told it what to do, the cub knew that Ark meant well, and had grown to rely on him and his decisions by now. The mother looked worried when she looked back at Ark as they ran, but since she had to protect her cub, there was no way she could stay behind and help him.


    Ark was delighted to see them run away when he told them to. Otherwise, this fight would''ve been a lot harder. Ark didn''t plan to defeat this gigantic monster at all, even if he might be able to if he tried his hardest, Ark didn''t think that it was worth it to risk his life right now, especially when he had actually found something that he wanted to do. Whether that was just a thing for now, or if it was something that lasted longer, Ark wasn''t concerned, for now, he was feeling happy nonetheless.


    He knew he couldn''t just immediately run away though, as that would run the risk of the monster going after the other wolves, so Ark decided to stall it for some time and attract its attention before doing anything else. As the grotesque monster drew nearer, Ark was almost on the verge of passing out from the foul smell. But just as he was about to dry-heave, the monster suddenly swung its enormous club!


    Dodging narrowly to the side, Ark was still sent flying by the following shockwave from the club hitting the ground next to him. He wasn''t hurt in any way though and he managed to land safely on the ground, skidding across it for a meter or two before stopping. His eardrums ached a little from the soundwaves, but he tried his hardest to not let it get to him, he was pretty good at keeping his composure.


    The monster was sure that it was going to hit Ark just then but was dumbfounded when it didn''t see the meaty paste that was usually left behind when he swung his club. He scratched his head a little in confusion. Did he not hit hard enough? Ark was a little surprised when he saw how confused the cave giant was, but he could only laugh to himself, and prepare a counterattack. If the cave giant was truly this stupid, then Ark would make sure to make short work of it.


    If it wasn''t too hard to kill, then why would Ark not want to kill it? It presented a future threat to the other two wolves if Ark wasn''t around, and in Ark''s eyes, this cave giant might as well be a giant sack of experience points. The giant was about to take a step back when Ark noticed his opportunity to strike! Instead of the soft soil that it was expecting to set foot on, the giant''s foot connected with nothing but pure air. With one foot in a hole, all the giant''s momentum backwards without any support caused him to easily fall backwards.


    "Crack!"


    "ROAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"


    The sound of a loud crack broke the silence, followed by the cave giant''s pitiful roar. When it fell backwards, the cave giant landed awkwardly with his leg stuck in a pit, causing it to cleanly fracture. The pain it was feeling was genuine, but instead of focusing on what was actually going on, the giant only howled madly in pain. Ark almost felt a little bad after seeing his trick succeed, and he was still a little taken aback, was it truly this easy to take care of an enemy that was level 96?


    It all felt a little surreal to him, but Ark didn''t want to let the cave giant suffer more than necessary, and he sneaked up behind it as it was still screaming frantically. To his surprise, the giant flailed a lot with his bone club as he roared. Even though it looked silly, the dangerous wind pressure he stirred up could be considered attacks by themselves, which was a testament to the giant''s immense strength. Well, there was no need for strength if he couldn''t hit anything with it.


    Dodging these "attacks" was nothing hard to Ark though and he just quickly made his way next to the large giant again. As he stood a couple of meters away from the giants head, Ark''s body tensed up, before he leapt with all his strength toward the giant''s neck. With a slash of his claws, Ark used his full strength to try and kill the giant in one fell swoop.


    "Clang!"


    To his dismay, Ark''s claws only left behind a small, thin white line on the large giant''s neck, before they rebounded, and Ark just continued flying through the air, until he landed on the ground not too far away. What the claw attack did do, however, was enrage the giant. It stopped its frantic screaming for a second and glared at Ark with glowing red eyes. Ark had accidentally forced the cave giant to use an inherent skill of his, [Berzerk]. This skill caused the cave giant to rampage out of control, without the need to feel pain, it was a very destructive ability.


    The cave giant watched Ark with rabid eyes as it relentlessly pulled its leg out of the pit it had been stuck in, only to reveal it back to normal already. Ark was initially surprised, but he suppressed it before he let it affect his mental state since that could have serious consequences. This cave giant was a variant from the norm, and it had a very strong innate skill, namely [Hyper regeneration]. Ark didn''t know of this, but he suspected that it had a very strong regenerative ability, since it was way too dumb to know any healing magic.


    Though Ark wanted to kill the cave giant to level up, things weren''t looking too good for him, and he was pretty sure that he wouldn''t be able to fight it at this point. He could barely hurt it after all, and it had impressive healing capabilities, if Ark wanted to kill it, it would probably take around a century. The cave giant was furious and seeing Ark just standing there, the giant started running toward him.


    As it charged, Ark could only smile bitterly before he turned around, and left. There was no way for this giant to catch up with him once he made use of all of his agility paired with wind magic. In almost no time, Ark was already nowhere to be seen. The cave giant was a bit simple-minded and kept running in a straight line for over an hour before it realised it had been duped, and when it did, it was furious!


    "ROAAAAAAAAAAR!"


    A deafening roar reverberated throughout the entire forest, scaring its many residents into complete hiding, scared for their very lives. Ark had already retreated back to his cave since a while back, but he still felt chills run down his spine when he heard the cave giant''s guttural roar. It seemed like the dimwit had finally realised that something was completely off. Not that it mattered now anyway, Ark was already completely safe in his little hideout.


    Ark only had a slight problem now, how was he supposed to find the cub and his mother in this large forest? There was no real way for Ark to track them, and all he could think of when he later went to sleep, was what would happen if he didn''t find them. Would today be their final meeting? Would they ever meet again? Ark couldn''t help but be a little down, he really didn''t want to be separated from them, at least not right now, he just felt like he needed to be with them deep down, even for only a second.


    The next day arrived painfully slow, as Ark did nothing but worry the entire night, which only netted him about three hours of sleep, even though he should''ve slept for way longer. It had already become instinct at this point for Ark to wake up at the crack of dawn, and today was no different. When Ark had mulled over how he was going to find the mother and the cub the day before, he at least managed to come up with his first course of action.


    After a short walk, Ark saw the familiar sights of claw marks strewn about on the trees around him, as he arrived where he had encountered the cave giant the day before. The cave giant''s entrance was painfully obvious as Ark noticed the familiar trees lying broken in half on the ground, all of their vitality slowly draining away completely. Ark could smell the familiar scents which he had come to know and love as he sat down on the ground for a while.


    As the scents burrowed their way into his nostrils, Ark just sat quietly and waited. His plan was just to wait and see if they showed up here today. Since the mother should be fairly intelligent, Ark hoped that she would head here with the cub sooner or later, that was if she felt any gratitude and wanted to find him of course, which Ark couldn''t be entirely sure of. Even though he looked patient and calm on the outside, that was far from the truth. Ark was feeling very anxious at the moment, he didn''t want to be away from them for too long, the longer they were separated from each other, the bigger risk of the mother and cub running into danger.


    With Ark there, at least he could protect them from any potential harm, or as he did the day before, stall for them to get away safely. Though he wanted to be able to protect them proudly, that wasn''t always possible, and Ark wasn''t a fool that would risk others'' wellbeing just to look a little cool or to defend his own pride or some other bullshit like that. Ark had actually found pride to be pretty laughable in most scenarios. In many stories he had heard and read of, characters pride was often a limiting factor to their growth, and just utterly stupid.


    Why not lower your head to survive if you had to? There was nothing cowardly or wrong with that, it''s only normal. Anyone who would rather defend their pride than live is either suicidal or just stupid, or at least that''s what Ark thought. He knew that other''s had different opinions, but still, stuff like that was kind of stupid in his opinion.

 Chapter 122 - Reunion!

    As Ark just sat by himself, time quickly passed, and noon soon passed. As Ark was about to give up his endeavour, that same familiar smell was slowly approaching from a distance. With a smile on his face, Ark just sat and patiently waited for about 5 minutes before he could hear the underbrush rustling. The cub ran out of the underbrush with fervour and jumped on Ark the moment it saw him. Behind the cub followed the mother, some concern evident on her face.


    [Papa!]


    The cub didn''t give Ark a chance to react, and jumped on top of him excitedly, and licked him in the face. Seeing this, Ark could only laugh bitterly, this cub was beginning to act like a dog! The nickname still felt a little awkward, but Ark didn''t have the heart to tell the little cub that he wanted to be called by his name. Now that he thought about it, he didn''t even tell the little cub his name after all of these days.


    That was pretty normal though, not all magical beasts had names, for a magical beast to have a name, either their parents had to have enough intelligence to give them one, or they would have to get one in other ways. Ark wasn''t named by his parents in this world, but he had retained his name from his old world, which wasn''t something all magical beasts could do, or any for that matter. Ark let the cub do what it wanted for a minute or two before he stood up and dusted himself off a little with some wind magic.


    Both the other wolves were a little surprised by his casual use of magic, but neither of them really cared. It wasn''t that special or hard either, they would be more shocked if he used an actual full-out attack. Ark was smiling from ear to ear as he watched the cute little cub. The mother of the cub just watched him with intrigue, but other than that, she did nothing special. Ark decided to take the initiative. [Are the both of you feeling okay?]


    The little cub rubbed a little against Ark to show its affection. [mhmm]


    The mother was more curious about how Ark was feeling, he had been up against such a horrid monster after all. [We''re fine. How about you? Are you ok?]


    Ark was a little taken aback by her advanced language, even though he should''ve expected it, it still felt weird for some reason, probably because he had never seen wolves as an intelligent species. [I''m fine, I just toyed with it for a little bit before running away.] The mother was relieved upon hearing this, who would want someone to be injured because of oneself? Though her concern was genuine, her expression was nothing but deadpan, and she looked apathetic.


    Ark didn''t really care too much, he wasn''t expecting much from the beginning, a little more concern would''ve been nice, but Ark didn''t do it for acknowledgement. As long as the cub was safe and happy, then Ark would be happy too. He also felt a natural urge to protect its mother, but that was more of an instinct, while the cub was a bit of instinct as well as an acquired taste so to speak. He had resolved himself to protect it in the beginning due to his instincts, but he had later on just started taking care of it because he liked doing it.


    The mother''s deadpan expression changed a little, and her expression turned a little more sincere. [I almost forgot, thank you for saving us twice now! As well as taking care of my son during the time I was injured.] Seeing her sincere expression, Ark felt a little fl.u.s.tered, but at the same time, he also felt a little proud. [No worries, I just did it because I wanted to!]


    From there, awkward silence took over completely, and Ark didn''t really know how to proceed, sometimes he wished he had interacted a little more with people in his past life. The awkward silence was only painful for Ark though, as neither the mother nor the cub felt any special way about it. Since just standing here and doing nothing was going to result in, you guessed it, nothing, Ark got an idea. [Have you guys eaten anything yet?]


    The cub and the mother both shook their heads gently. After a second or so, the cub''s eyes widened a little, and it started sprinting around in a circle around Ark. [Papa, food!] Ark chuckled a little on the inside before he continued. [Since that''s the case, why don''t we hunt for some food together?] The mother tilted her head a little before, nodding in approval. The cub was still just as excited as before and kept running around excitedly all over the place. [Let''s get going then, I haven''t eaten yet either.]


    As they started walking around the forest, Ark took the lead, with the mother close behind him. The cub didn''t run around anymore, as it knew that it was bad to run around when hunting, he had learnt from his mother that he needed to be quiet and sneaky! Ark hadn''t had much of a chance to explore the forest just yet, and seeing all of the different sights, he almost forgot about the hunting for a while. In some places, the trees were small, yet densely packed together, with their tree crowns only leaving some slight sunlight shining through.


    In other places, the trees were tall and ancient, and instead of just a little sunlight shining through, the beautiful clear blue sky was easily visible. Ark had alway liked mother nature and her creations, so he was easily captivated by all the sights, something both the cub and the mother were used to at this point, they had roamed this forest for quite the while after all. But even though Ark appreciated the nature around him, he didn''t let his guard down, and he was always on the lookout for good prey.


    They had already passed by plenty of animals, but since Ark was strong, he had the option of being a little picky with what he wanted to eat. Especially now that he was going to hunt something for the mother and cub as well, he wanted it to be a little special, and preferably something that was good for the cub''s growth. Which basically translated to: he wanted to find something powerful and tasty. As they kept walking, the forest slowly started transforming a little.


    Instead of the lush greenery that once was, the trees and plants around them started adopting a red hue. The temperature also seemed to rise accordingly the further they walked. Even though Ark was a little fascinated, he made sure to be on his toes, this was unfamiliar territory after all, and he had no idea what sort of magical beasts and monsters lived here, nor how the climate and the surroundings could affect him and the others.


    Since he wasn''t too sure how well they could withstand the heat, Ark wrapped the mother and the cub in some protective water mana, that both defended against the heat and kept their bodies cool. The cub barely even noticed the small film of water mana surrounding him, since he was too focused on his surroundings, but the mother appreciated Ark''s gesture. Though she could pretty easily replicate the effect by herself, she didn''t have as good control over mana as Ark did, and she would need to focus more on it and her attention to her surroundings would be adversely affected as a result. [Thank you.]


    Even though she said it in a very low voice, Ark was still able to hear it, and he was instantly fired up even more. Something like that was child''s play to him now, especially after his last evolution, and if he could help them out by doing something simple like this, then why the hell not? As he was a little excited, Ark failed to notice a shadow dart past them at an impeccable speed. It would be hard to notice it in normal cases, but since he didn''t pay attention, it slipped right past him.


    As they continued walking, faint sounds could be heard in the distance. Ark instantly heightened his senses to the maximum, and he slowed down his walking speed a little. He signalled to the cub and the mother to be as quiet as possible before they kept walking forward. The further they walked, the louder the noises became before they were finally faintly discernible. Ark was still unsure of what was the smartest thing to do, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to just keep walking forward, he was intrigued after all.


    The trees around them at this point were barely able to be called trees. Several cracks extended through the trees'' pitch-black bark. Lava gently flowed within these cracks and exuded large amounts of heat. Ark was a little intrigued by the bark of the trees, as well as the exterior since it didn''t even burn even though there was lava, but he would have to take a closer look later, now wasn''t the time.


    Though the lava trees were fairly sparse, they all suddenly came to an abrupt stop, revealing a large clearing. The clearing had multiple burning, red hills that were several meters tall each. Ark was once again fascinated by the burning landscape, but his fascination was abruptly interrupted by a sudden shriek. More and more shrieks followed, not stopping in the slightest. Ark looked around to try and see what was going on, and what he saw shook him a little.


    If you looked closely, you could see multiple openings in the hill, seemingly like caves. These opening were all larger than a meter in diameter and height, and they were the home to a species called "Molten Rabbits". This species was fairly ancient, and they were actually a peaceful kind of magical beasts. With the properties of fire deep within their bloodline, these rabbits could only live in harsh fire habitats like this one, which was very scarce.


    Due to these harsh requirements on their living space, the species had slowly but surely declined into what it was today. A rare species that was almost never seen, but was very coveted by adventurers and professional hunters alike. What was disturbing was that the only molten rabbits Ark could see, were all dismembered. With body parts strewn about, what Ark saw could only be described as a massacre.


    The shrieks didn''t stop though, and Ark could see numerous humanoid figures crowding around one of the openings to a hill. This was the only opening left that still seemed to contain any sort of life force, as all the others only smelled of death and decay. The humanoids, upon closer inspection, turned out to be demons, and there seemed to be at least 20 of them, all crowding around the same spot laughing. Suddenly, a shadow appeared among their midst, which made them all turn silent for a second or two before they all collectively turned around and looked at Ark and the others.


    As Ark saw this, there was only one thought crossing his mind.


    [F.u.c.k]

 Chapter 123 - Cruel

    Even though they knew that Ark was there, they didn''t immediately attack him or anything, they just stared at him wickedly for a while. Ark did the same, he just stared at them, some residual anger shone in his eyes as he watched them, but he didn''t do anything rash. Ark had nothing against killing other animals for survivals, but exterminating races just for the fun of it, that was actually messed up. Just a single race going extinct in his old world could seriously affect the ecosystem, even more so in a world like this.


    The demons were a little surprised when they saw that Ark wasn''t provoked by their behaviour, and the leader of them only flashed a cruel smile. The leader of the demons was an unusual kind of demon. With striking blue skin and only a single horn that was centred on his forehead, he looked quite different to most demons that Ark had seen up until now. As Ark was staring at the demons'' leader, he responded by pulling out a spear from behind his back, before Ark could get much of a chance to react, the spear was already zooming through the air, heading straight for him.


    When Ark was just about to dodge the incoming spear, like always, he remembered something crucial. Behind him, the cub was shaking fiercely, almost on the verge of collapsing just because of the immense pressure from the attack. The mother was faring much better than the cub, but Ark could still feel her struggling. Since there was nothing else he could do, Ark decided to take the attack head-on, he had the power to do so after all. Even if he had planned to surprise them with his strength later on, it seemed like that wasn''t the best idea right now.


    If he still insisted on pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, then it would have dire consequences. Ark could feel immense strength imbued into the spear, but it seemed like it was only a casual attack to the demon! Since that was the case, then Ark was going to keep hiding his magic for a little longer. He was sure that the demon would let its guard down a little if it saw him taking the attack seriously using just his physical strength since that would have no meaning if he could use such advanced magic as Ark.


    Putting massive amounts of strength into his hind legs, Ark himself propelled through the air like a spear! Though he was heading for it head first, it wasn''t like he was planning on headbutting it away. As the spear was about to hit him, Ark twisted his body a little and attacked the spear from beneath with his claws. Ark had still underestimated the power behind the attack a little, and he didn''t manage to stop it fully like he had intended to, but the spear changed course and flew straight through a thick lava tree in the distance.


    The demon was a little surprised that the wolf managed to receive its attack, and it started to grin even wider, it seemed like it had managed to find another plaything in this little forest. The spear that had embedded itself somewhere in the ground far away, was suddenly shaken by a weird force of attraction before it flew back the exact way it came. Ark didn''t know why the demon was grinning so widely, it was kind of creeping him out if he was to be completely honest. As the spear was just about to hit his head, Ark moved his head out of the way slightly, still staring straight at the demon.


    This was just to show his stance, that he wasn''t afraid to fight. He didn''t know if he managed to convey his message well enough, but he could see that the demon was a little disappointed when he dodged the spear the second time, which was enough for Ark to gloat a little. Did this demon seriously think that he was that stupid? If Ark couldn''t sense an attack of that level approach rapidly from behind, then he would probably already be dead by now.


    Before Ark did anything rash, he communicated a little with the cub''s mother behind him. [Do you think you can take care of the other demons for a while? You know, keep them busy?] When he looked behind him, he could see her nod her head with determination, which was enough for Ark to feel at ease, it was time to go nuts! The demons had no idea about Ark''s plan, as they couldn''t understand a thing that was said between them, which was to be expected.


    With determination in his eyes, Ark started to slowly walk forward toward the demons. Even though he didn''t use any mana, some of the weaker demons still felt suppressed by him, just because of his physical strength and his bearing alone. The leader of the demons naturally took a step forward and brandished the spear that had already returned to his grasp. Even though the demon knew Ark was going to attack him seriously, he couldn''t be bothered, he just wanted to have some fun.


    As Ark approached closer and closer, the demon suddenly thrust out with his spear. The spear travelled at an unbelievable speed, and it bent weirdly as well. The attack that was originally headed straight for Ark''s head was suddenly about to pierce through his front left leg. Ark thought that the attack resembled a snake a little, and he used a lot of effort just to barely dodge it by jumping slightly up into the air.


    The demon sneered when it saw Ark up in the air. Since the wolf had taken the chance to immobilise itself for him, the demon wouldn''t be polite. As he brandished his spear and struck out with even more force, Ark seemed doomed from an outsiders point of view, though that was far from the case. As Ark was just about to be struck again, a wall conjured out of ice appeared just where the spear was about to hit. Not only that, but Ark also used some wind magic to reposition himself in the air.


    "Crash"


    The ice broke almost immediately, but it bought enough time for Ark to be able to reposition himself outside of the spear''s attack range. The demon quickly realised his mistake, but it was already too late. The other demons wanted to jump in and help their leader when they realised that something was wrong, but they were oppressed by a thick wave of water magic that kept them in their place, even though it would be pretty easy to break through the water with their numbers, they didn''t have enough time on their hands.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"


    The sound of something being pierced through broke the temporary silence, followed by a horrifying scream. Ark felt a little cruel after his attack, but who knew how many people this demon had tormented? It probably got its just desserts. That being said, the glorious leader of the demons was now lying down and squirming on the ground in front of him, both of his hands clutching his behind. With blood flowing between the cracks of his fingers, the demon kept roaring at the top of his lungs, like it was going to help him ease the pain.


    Where he had just been standing, a long spike made out of the earth was standing upright, with some blood flowing from its tip. That was right, Ark had used some earth magic in the fight just then to penetrate the demons sacred place, a place no man should ever penetrate! At least that''s what Ark had heard from some religious people from his past world. He could only pray for the demon''s wellbeing as it kept roaring in pain.


    As Ark was about to make his next move, another demon came running into the large clearing. This demon was different from the demon group''s leader and had flaming red skin instead of blue. He was also really short, standing at just 1,5 meters tall. The small demon frantically ran around, until it spotted the crowd of demons standing around near one of the hills. Changing its course, the small demon quickly arrived in the blink of an eye.


    "Captain! The humans are pushing us back, we need your squad to help us!"


    Just when the demon forced his way through the crowd of demons, he saw the captain lying on the ground, roaring in pain. Since he had never met this captain before, the small demon had just assumed that it was a magical beast or monster that was roaring, not the captain of a demon squad... not only that, what was up with that injury?


    When the small demon was about to ask about what was going on, he was shut up by the furious stare of the captain lying on the ground. He had stopped his incessant roaring now, but he didn''t even get the chance to stand up before trouble came his way again. The rumbling of footsteps started to shake the surrounding trees a little bit, and Ark instinctively retreated for a couple of meters before he finally stopped, he felt that something big was about to go down.


    His instincts proved to be correct, as over 30 demons covered in battle injuries and wound came running into the large clearing. Behind them, about 60 humans were tight on their heels, with their weapons hung high. Battlecries and roars of pain started to erupt from the once peaceful clearing, and Ark couldn''t help but feel bad. What was once such a peaceful clearing, home to an almost extinct race was now just a battlefield, and home to a massacre.


    The demons that had been busy surrounding their captain had to join the fray when they saw their fellow comrades being mercilessly slaughtered by the neverending swarm of humans that followed them. Though the captain was left behind by himself on the ground, any human that came close to him was instantly murdered. He had started to recover a little by now, and he could make some simple movements, although it was still hard for him to stand up.


    Ark took the bloodshed as his cue to leave, and he retreated back a little bit until he managed to bump into someone...

 Chapter 124 - A decisive battle.

    Ark didn''t even get a second to recover before he could feel large amounts of killing intent from behind his back. The sound of a sword whistling through the air rapidly approached him from behind, but Ark couldn''t feel a lot of weight behind the attack. Since that was the case, he just controlled a decent amount of earth to shoot out of the ground behind him, successfully protecting him from the attack.


    The wall of earth crumbled just as Ark turned around, and behind it, two humans glared at him. One male and one female, the humans had both drawn the swords that were once sheathed at their waists and were staring at Ark. From Ark''s understanding, the woman was the one who had just tried to attack him, and Ark wasn''t too happy about it. Since he didn''t want to end up an enemy of all the humans present and get drawn into the battle, Ark just chose to ignore them.


    The humans were not going to just ignore him though. As Ark glanced at them with a little disdain, he started walking past them. When he was by their side, the woman swung her sword once again, this time she was aiming for his ribcage. Since this woman was so intent on killing him even though he had done nothing to provoke her, Ark didn''t show any more mercy. The woman wasn''t particularly strong by any means, and when Ark turned to stare at her, he released all of his pent-up killing intent.


    The woman''s expression blanked, and she fell over on her behind. Her sword landed right beneath Ark''s stomach, but he couldn''t care less. From the woman''s point of view, Ark looked like death incarnate, as her eyesight started to quickly blur. Though Ark didn''t do anything too significant, the woman still had no way of fighting back. Ark was a little surprised by her lack of strength, but this only saved him some trouble. Even though he kind of wanted to kill her, he didn''t want to get the cub and mother to get drawn into trouble because of his petty reasons.


    Well, if the male still wanted to kill him, then Ark would just kill them both and get it over with. That being the case, the man just quickly threw his sword on the ground and put his hands where Ark could see them. Seeing the man''s resolve, Ark just walked straight past them and was going to join up with the cub and the mother. When he was beginning to get close, Ark had a bad feeling and picked up his pace a little.


    As he arrived where he had left them, Ark could see the mother facing off against three humans. The little cub was hiding behind a tree close by and was shivering from the atmosphere around the place. The humans consisted of three men dressed squires. With their swords drawn, they had cornered the mother against a tree, and unless she used some strong magic, the getting out of their encirclement would certainly be hard.


    Ark didn''t like what he was seeing at all, and he instantly made his move. When the three squires were just about to push on, one of them suddenly stopped and slumped over. As his two companions checked on him, they could see an entire paw sticking out from his c.h.e.s.t, before it was pulled out, only to reveal a giant hole. The man didn''t even let out a single squeak before he was completely dead.


    "HELP!"


    One of the men didn''t waste a single second and instantly called for help, this wasn''t the time to try and be a hero when he saw the size of the wolf that had soundlessly killed his friend, the man even peed his own pants. The shout didn''t stop Ark for even a second, as he instantly butchered the other two men right away. Insulting or threatening Ark was one thing, but threatening or endangering those he cared about? That was equivalent to suicide if you weren''t strong enough, and these people simply weren''t.


    The humans that were in the middle of battling the demons were alerted by the shout, and as the leader of them saw their men getting slaughtered, he couldn''t just sit still. Even though he was already in his fifties, he was still vigorous enough to fight on the frontlines.


    "Team Roland, take care of that wolf, we can take care of these filthy demons ourselves!"


    The old man barked an order almost immediately, sending a team of five to take care of the wolf. This small team was led by a knight by the name of Roland. Even though he was just in his twenties, Roland was already level 80, and he was considered one of the strongest in his entire age group in the country. The four men under him were quite impressive as well, reaching an average of about level 60.


    Though that was the case, to take on Ark, they were still a few years too young. When they arrived at the scene, they could only see their comrades mutilated corpses strewn about, as well as a very large wolf glaring at them intimidatingly. When they saw the wolf standing in front of another female wolf, as well as a small wolf that was hiding behind a tree nearby, the 5 could roughly guess what had happened here. Even though they could almost state for a fact that this wolf had done nothing wrong, the five still had to take care of it, orders were orders. They were currently at war, and disobeying military orders could even go as far as execution during war times, as the country had to be stricter with rules when they were at war.


    Ark could see their determination, and he could clearly feel their strength as well. After using inspect, he could find out that the leader called Roland was level 81, and his friends were around level 60. Even though he was a little cautious of the leader, Ark was very confident in his victory. If he could put up a bit of a fight against a variant cave giant that was level 96, then he was sure that he could take care of this knight and his goons.


    Since they didn''t want to make the first move, Ark took the matter in his own hands. Instead of rushing in, he was planning on using his magic to take care of all these people as fast as possible, and he didn''t want to get too far away from the mother just in case more enemies arrived. Ark''s eyes turned completely white, and he decided to unleash his white flames. As his entire figure erupted in white flames, the temperature stayed the same for some reason.


    Roland and his goons were taken aback by the fire, but they calmed down quickly. Roland was a bit more cautious since he couldn''t feel any heat from the flames, which was odd for sure. The flames around Ark danced beautifully in the wind, but they weren''t there just to look pretty. With a sudden outburst, 10 white lances materialised out of the flames that covered Ark''s body and headed straight fro the five humans in front of him. 12 of the lances flew towards Roland and the other 8 split into groups of two and headed for Roland''s goons.


    In these situations, dodging was usually the right call, at least for the goons, since the lances were too fast for Roland to be able to dodge all 12 effectively. When the goons were about to retreat and dodge, a wall made out of white flames suddenly ignited behind them, stopping them from retreating any further. Roland was already in a defensive stance and was just about to use one of his skills when the lances arrived, but it was different for his goons. Since they were so intent on running away from the start, now that they had no place to run to, they couldn''t deflect Ark''s attack effectively.


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"


    "SAAAAVE MEEEEEEEEEE!"


    "GET IT OFF MEEEE!"


    Tragic screams quickly reached the other humans'' ears, and they managed to look over just in time to see their comrades being turned into ashes. Roland was far stronger than his goons, but he still had a rough time defending against these lances. Since he felt like he needed to meet them head-on to have a chance at survival, Roland used his signature skill [Meteor Strike] to try and fend them off. Though his swordsmanship was splendid and his skill combined mana of both fire and earth into a strong attack, Roland still only managed to barely defend himself from the attack.


    With his constant levelling, Ark''s magic had grown considerably strong, and the better his affinities with fire and water grew, the stronger these white flames would become. Though they were only decent in the beginning, these white flames of his had already become one of his most powerful weapons. When it came to attacking, these white flames were only weaker than his light and ice magic, depending on the circ.u.mstances of course. But his light magic wasn''t actually that strong when it came to attacking compared to his white flames, at least not if he didn''t use his envoy of holiness skill.


    Light magic wasn''t supposed to be used as offensive magic in the first place unless you were against the darkness element or undead for that matter. Light magic was better suited for support, healing and defence. That being said, in Ark''s hands, light magic became a weapon of destruction as well, but in normal cases, it wouldn''t be that effective. With enough imagination, any element could definitely be destructive.


    Though Roland was suppressed by Ark''s splendid magic, he wasn''t going down without a fight, especially not after Ark had just killed some of his comrades. Roland didn''t care if they brought it upon themselves, he would get revenge for his comrades, it was as simple as that.

 Chapter 125 - A bloody craze!

    Though Roland was eager to prove himself and avenge his fallen comrades, life wasn''t always that easy. The wall of white fire behind him was still burning fiercely, and when he was about to go on the offensive, Ark commanded the fire to encase his figure. Though Roland was taken by surprise, he managed to use a large portion of his mana to disperse the fire. Fortunately for him, the fire never managed to touch him, otherwise it would''ve been a completely different story.


    Ark wasn''t really surprised at the notion of Roland surviving his attack, and he wasn''t really in a hurry when it came to defeating this man. Though he''d rather have a quick fight instead of a drawn out one. The attack might''ve looked ineffective, but Ark knew that Roland had to spend at least some mana to get rid of it, and since Ark was focused in magic, he was sure that Roland would run out of mana before he did. Since that was the case, Ark just summoned even more fire, trying to engulf Roland within.


    Once again, Roland''s mana pool was put to the test, as he actively had to keep pouring out his mana to counteract the white fire. In Roland''s eyes, these white flames were closer to a virus than actual fire, as it actively tried to engulf him, without ever giving up. Since just resisting the fire was going to get him nowhere, Roland decided to go all out to counterattack. From Ark''s point of view, he could only see the steady stream of fire engulfing Roland being slashed apart, before Roland came rushing out, with his sword ready in his hands.


    The attack was a pleasant surprise to Ark, as the fight would end faster this way. Seeing the prey delivering itself to his face, Ark stretched his legs a little. Roland took this as provocation, but Ark couldn''t care less. As Roland approached, Ark once again started emitting large amounts of flames in front of him. The flames rose high enough to block Roland''s entire vision, to the point of him not being able to see Ark any more. Even though the wall of fire was intimidating, Roland was able to spot a weak spot, and he readied his sword once more.


    "Haaaah!"


    With a shout, a part of the wall of fire was cut open, revealing Roland flying forward. Before Roland could even comprehend what had happened, the light in his eyes dimmed considerably. Blood splattered everywhere, and the originally red surroundings turned even redder. As Roland passed away, he didn''t fall over on his knees, on his side, or fall backwards. Ark''s attack had completely made his legs disappear from the face of the earth.


    The "weak spot" Roland had found was in reality just something Ark had devised to make it easier to get rid of him, and it worked excellently. Roland didn''t find anything strange about there being a single obvious weakness in an otherwise very stable wall of fire, and he fell for the bait. When the blood splattered on his face, Ark felt a sudden throb from deep within his heart. The throb didn''t stop, and it kept growing stronger and stronger. Though he was a little alerted and apprehensive, Ark turned around to make sure that the cub and the mother were ok. To his delight, they turned out to be completely fine, and Ark had nothing to worry about.


    With that being said, what Ark should''ve been worrying about was actually his own state, as he was the one who wasn''t feeling too well. The throbbing was beginning to grow even more intense, and with each second that passed, Ark could feel his grip on his mind loosening. Though he had no idea about what happened when he lost control completely, he wasn''t very eager to find out.


    "Whooooosh!"


    A piercing sound split the air, and was rapidly heading Ark''s way. Ark didn''t even need to look to know what was coming his way, and he instinctively put up a barrier of light around himself. More than 15 arrows slammed into the barrier made out of light, causing numerous cracks to appear all over it. The originally beautiful barrier now had cracks that resembled spider webs all over it. As Ark looked over, he could see the old man commanding numerous archers to fire upon his position, to try and take him out.


    Why did everything always have to be so difficult? Why couldn''t they just be left alone? Because they were magical beasts? Did that mean they were supposed to just drop dead whenever humans came close to them? Being forced to constantly fight or flee wasn''t a pleasant feeling, and after the strain of the weird throbbing in his body, Ark snapped. His usually calm demeanour quickly devolved into the face of a rabid monster, and he activated his envoy of holiness skill.


    All Ark could see was red, and to the outside world, Ark''s eyes actually glowed with an eerie red colour. After his envoy of holiness skill displayed its usual phenomenon, Ark took a couple of steps forward. Calling them steps was a little generous, it was more like he was stumbling his way forward.


    "AWOOOUUUUU!"


    The hectic battle was suddenly interrupted by a feral howl. Looking over, both the humans and the demons were able to spot an abnormal wolf standing not far away, staring at them all hatefully. Though they were surprised at first, many just disregarded the wolf, sure, it was powerful. But unless it was completely out of its mind, it would never attack such a group of people all by itself, which was just pure stupidity.


    In reality, Ark had no idea of anything that was happening, as he had already basically lost consciousness, or at least control over it for the moment. He could still feel certain sensations such as fear, anger, and most of all, hatred. The hatred buried deep within his marrow was clawing its way out, and Ark went all-out from the get-go. Since these people had messed with the wrong wolf, they were going to pay dearly for it.


    A slight, chilly wind graced the battlefield, sending slight shivers down most peoples'' spines, even some of the demons were affected by it. Though it was distracting for sure, it wasn''t like anyone had the time to really care or do something about it for that matter. The wind was just distracting at worst, but as seconds trickled by, the wind was growing fiercer and fiercer for each and every one of them. When most people were starting to notice that something was actually amiss, the wind had already escalated into a full-blown typhoon, with rain and fog blocking most of their sight.


    After a long time acc.u.mulating, Ark released an attack that contained more than half of his entire mana pool! The typhoon was still picking up its pace, but at this rate, it wasn''t going to hurt a single soul, until Ark combined it with this new attack of his. Holy swords and spears materialised out of thin air all around the typhoon, and quickly started rotating along with it. Ark wasn''t done yet though. Since he still had plenty of mana to spare, Ark conjured up large amounts of white flames, and he ignited the ground under the entire battlefield.


    The fire spread quickly, and screams followed soon after, as many fell victim to the deadly flames. Before anyone could really try to escape, another batch of horrifying screams resonated throughout the forest, as Ark had commanded the weapons of holy light to tear their way through the people inside of the typhoon. The original white fog inside of the quickly revolving typhoon was hastily dyed crimson, creating an eerie typhoon that looked like it was made completely out of blood.


    Ark''s expression was all but normal, as he looked completely deranged when he took over a hundred lives in a single sweep. Maybe he should''ve been feeling some sort of remorse, but all Ark could feel on the inside was complete emptiness, like his soul was nothing but a deep dark abyss. The typhoon soon faded into nothingness, as it had lost too much mana to be able to sustain itself without Ark''s constant supply. As Ark scanned the battlefield, all that was left was death and decay. He could still see a few humans and demons hanging on by mere threads, and that wasn''t acceptable in his eyes anymore.


    A second later, all that could be heard was the sound of those people gurgling on their own blood, as Ark had torn their throats apart. Even going this far, Ark felt like it was natural, that it was something that he should do, and he could still see nothing but red. When Ark was just about to do something, a concerned voice echoed from behind him.


    "Papa?"


    When Ark heard this voice, it was as if he was hit by lightning. His originally red vision turned back to normal, and the weird throbbing, as well as the unlimited hatred vanished. All that was left was¡­ nothing. Ark felt completely empty. Staring into empty space, Ark was bewildered. What was going on? What was he doing just then? Where was he? What happened? Nothing was making sense in his head, and everything that came up in his mind just turned blank, and he just couldn''t put his finger on why.


    The little cub didn''t give up when Ark didn''t answer, and it walked closer to him, and cuddled with him a little. The cub didn''t know what was wrong with Ark, but it knew that whenever it felt scared or uneasy, it would just lay down next to mama, and everything would be all right. As time passed with the cub lying next to him, Ark could feel some warmth returning to his cold heart. The emptiness he was feeling was slowly fading away, and he was gradually going back to normal.


    With unease still in his heart, Ark frantically tried to wrap his head around what had happened just then. In his memory, all that was left was just a blank space, one filled with endless hatred. Just the memories of all the hatred was enough for Ark to get a headache, and he was having a hard time adjusting.


    Since he had nothing else to go off of, Ark looked around a little to see if he could figure out what had happened. The sight that filled his vision was beyond words. Blood. Blood everywhere. That was Ark''s first impressions of his surroundings. There was nothing but pure, crimson blood. On the ground, on the trees, on the hills, and even in the air. Blood was all around.


    As Ark looked around even more, he noticed another thing. Corpses. Corpses everywhere. Not only were there corpses everywhere, they were not even fully intact. The gruesome sight of limbs and guts strewn about everywhere was enough for even Ark to feel like he needed to puke, and Ark had been through a lot. He was pretty sure that if it was his first day in this world, and he saw this, then he would probably puke until there was nothing left in his stomach, and then puke some more on top of that.


    With his mind full of doubts, Ark decided to look even closer, and that''s when he noticed it. The wounds that had caused all of these dead bodies lying around. It was the light element, in the form of sharp weaponry, which seemed to have cut these people into small little pieces. Some other corpses were nothing but dust, there were not even any bones left of them. Now, where had Ark ever seen these similar attacks before? That was right. It was himself. He had used similar attacks all the time, and another flame that could burn a corpse to that extent is not easy to find.


    Ark could easily draw the conclusion that he was the one behind all of this. As this thought crossed his mind, Ark couldn''t help but almost fall over. Had he really done this? Why could he not remember a single thing except for hatred? And most importantly, why? Why would he go this far? He could clearly remember up until the point where he killed Roland, then it all turned fuzzy. Did something else happen that caused his outrage?


    As that thought crossed his mind, Ark suddenly got a frightening thought. After snapping his head around to look, he could see the cub''s mother walk over slowly, concern and some slight fear written all over her face. Even though her expression would normally be a cause for concern, Ark knew why she seemed scared. Even he himself was scared of himself after what he had done, of course others would be scared of him too. At least she was fine, that was all that mattered right now. If she had died, Ark wouldn''t know what to do.


    Dangerous thoughts started to cross Ark''s mind. Out of all the primitive emotions he was feeling right now, the most prominent one was fear. Ark was scared. He didn''t know what was going on, he didn''t know what to do now, and he didn''t know what was wrong with him. The fear of the unknown can be brutal sometimes, and Ark was experiencing it first-hand right now.

 Chapter 126 - Immense Uppgrade!

    Though he was scared, Ark tried his best to calm down. He didn''t want to appear weak, and he didn''t want others to worry about him, especially not the little cub. Others worrying about you can be a burden for them, and Ark didn''t want to become a burden in any way, shape or form. He just wanted to be a dependable figure in this small cub''s life, not some weird homicidal monster. The scene around him was not something anyone sane would normally be capable of doing, at least not under the right circ.u.mstances, and Ark was barely even conscious while he did it.


    What if he hurt the mother and the cub the next time he went out of control? What if he never regained control? What if he just became a murderous monster on the loose? What would Thufrat think about him then? Ark couldn''t help but think a little too much, and he tried to frantically come up with the right course of actions from now on. Was it really the right course of action to just stay with the cub and its mother and act like nothing ever happened? Wasn''t that a little too risky? Ark became a little dejected. No matter how he looked at it, it didn''t seem logical to stick around with the cub and its mother for now, but Ark really wanted to.


    In the end, he decided to not be selfish for now, he didn''t want to endanger them just because of his selfish d.e.s.i.r.es. With that said, what was he supposed to do now then? He could search for Thufrat, but then again that would endanger Thufrat. Maybe Thufrat was strong enough to hold him back? Ark quickly discarded the idea, he didn''t believe Thufrat to have that kind of strength. Seeing Ark troubled like this, the small cub started to feel anxious. Since it didn''t know how to comfort people, the cub could only walk up to Ark and nuzzle up against him.


    Even though it was something the cub only did on a whim, Ark''s head seemed to instantly clear, and he calmed down a little. His once cloudy mind suddenly felt free, and he realised something. Maybe he shouldn''t avoid this side of him as much as he had been planning to. In the end, whatever it was, it was a part of him, and just running away from his problems wouldn''t fix them. Now, how was he supposed to confront this problem? Ark wasn''t entirely sure, but he was willing to bet on the fact that this cub could definitely help him.


    This cub had already calmed him down and helped him numerous times, by just being close to him. Even though the idea sounded a little crazy to Ark, he couldn''t help but want to trust his gut feeling this time. Since he had decided on how he was going to solve his problem, Ark decided to stay with the cub and its mom for just a little longer. He would need to leave eventually, but he didn''t want that time to be now.


    Even though it seemed like that fight was nothing but pure trouble, Ark had actually benefitted a lot from it, more than you''d think. The idea didn''t even cross his mind until he opened up his status.


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: 30 (74)


    Strength: 30 (40)


    Agility: 45 (40)


    Dexterity: 35 (40)


    Endurance: 30 (40)


    Vitality: 30 (40)


    Intelligence: 125


    Wisdom: 60


    Night Vision [Lv.4]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.8]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.4]


    Herculean strength [Lv.3]


    Swift [Lv.3]


    Nimble [Lv.3]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Small Spatial Affinity


    Small Lightning Affinity


    Small Darkness Affinity


    Medium Wind Affinity


    Medium Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.6]


    Spear Mastery [Intermediate Lv. 2]


    Overlord Of The Elements


    Body Refining [Lv.8]


    Wolf''s tongue [Inherent]


    Status points [90]


    Seeing these massive amounts of status points, Ark was at a loss. How the hell did he manage to level up 18 times? The thought that he had actually killed countless fairly high level demons and humans barely crossed his mind, as he had already begun to try and tuck the experience into the deep recesses of his mind, this experience wasn''t something he wanted to easily remember just like that. Right now, Ark''s only concern was what he should invest the status points into, which wasn''t the easiest question to answer.


    When Ark had levelled most of his stats to level 20, he had gotten corresponding skills for each stat. But after that, he hadn''t gotten a single skill even though he had levelled up his stats countless times, especially his intelligence. Maybe he wouldn''t get any more skills from levelling up his stats? Maybe the skills he got were tied to his race? Maybe there were other requirements to get some of the skills? Ark didn''t have a single clue, but for now, this wasn''t his biggest concern. He had plenty of really strong skills after all, he could live without having one more in his arsenal, though it would still be appreciated.


    Ninety skill points¡­ now where was he going to invest all of those? The go-to choice was always intelligence, but he couldn''t just dump all of them into intelligence¡­ right? The more he thought about it, the more tempted Ark actually got. Even though he still needed to invest some points into wisdom, intelligence was always so alluring. Ark also wanted to see if anything happened if he got over 200 points of intelligence. He wasn''t counting on it, since nothing happened when he achieved a 100 points in intelligence, which was a much more normal milestone in Ark''s mind.


    Since that was the case, Ark decided to invest 75 points into intelligence, while he dumped the last 15 on wisdom. A white light started to envelop his figure after he assigned his status points, but instead of the normal soothing sensation, Ark could feel something else. He didn''t know what it was, and he couldn''t really wrap his head around what kind of feeling it was either, all he could make out of the weird feeling, was a weird sensation of empowerment. The weird sensation soon turned into a prickling sensation that spread all over Ark''s body, or more like, all inside Ark''s body. If he was asked to, Ark would have no idea how to pinpoint where the prickling sensation was, it was basically omnipresent, and it was very uncomfortable.


    As the prickling sensation started spreading more and more, Ark could also feel his body getting lighter and lighter, as if the prickling sensation was eating away his insides, making his weight go down in the process. Even though most people would feel scared upon such revelations, Ark felt oddly at ease. Deep down in his subconscious, he knew that whatever this prickling sensation was, it wasn''t going to hurt him, or affect his body negatively at all.


    As his body got lighter and lighter, the prickling sensation was starting to get more and more enunciated, and Ark was beginning to feel some slight unease. The unease wasn''t a result of him being scared or anything like that, it was just an uncomfortable feeling, that was all there was to it. Without him even noticing himself, Ark had actually started floating. His body was getting hotter and hotter, and his face started to flush red.


    Once again, the cub and the mother were concerned for him, but the mother was a little more sensible than her son, and she forced the little cub to make some distance. Since they didn''t know what was happening, it was stupid for them to just stand right next to him, what if something happened? Even though the mother was concerned for Ark, she was more concerned for her little cub, since it was her own family, Ark was still just an outsider.


    After Ark had managed to float just about a meter above the ground, his body suddenly expanded a little, before it rapidly shrunk. During this time, his body also sent out a massive wave of mana, which demolished his surroundings to smithereens. When the wave of mana was about to hit the cub and its mother, she decided to bravely stand in front of it. To her surprise, the mana wave didn''t hurt her at all, instead of crashing into her and demolishing her, the mana wave was absorbed into her body. The residual mana from the wave was absorbed by the small cub, and both of them started to gently float too.


    Nothing changed about the physically, but if one were to assess their strength before and after this mana wave hit them, it would be like night and day. After a minute had passed, Ark started to descend again, and he landed gently on the ground. When he opened his eyes, it was like the entire world turned completely silent for a moment, before everything returned to normal again. As Ark looked around him, he instantly noticed the terrible aftereffects his weird state had on the surroundings.


    When he also noticed the cub and its mother lying on the ground not far away, he feared the worst. Before he could get too close, Ark was able to clearly hear each and every one of their breaths as he concentrated. He felt relieved to know that they seemed to be ok for now, but he was also perplexed about how his hearing suddenly turned so sharp. Before, he would need to use mana to even come close to replicating the effect of his new hearing. He also noticed something else that was a little odd when he looked around, his vision seemed to have grown clearer, but for some reason, it was as if he had grown shorter.


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: 30 (74)


    Mp: 600/600


    Strength: 30 (40)


    Agility: 45 (40)


    Dexterity: 35 (40)


    Endurance: 30 (40)


    Vitality: 30 (40)


    Intelligence: 200


    Wisdom: 75


    Night Vision [Lv.4]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.8]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.4]


    Cellular Mana Infusion


    Herculean strength [Lv.3]


    Swift [Lv.3]


    Nimble [Lv.3]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Spatial Affinity


    Small Lightning Affinity


    Small Darkness Affinity


    Medium Wind Affinity


    Medium Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Big Light Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.6]


    Spear Mastery [Intermediate Lv. 2]


    Overlord Of The Elements


    Body Refining [Lv.8]


    Wolf''s tongue [Inherent]


    Status points [0]


    In the beginning Ark was hard-pressed to find anything different about his status, until he noticed a new skill in the midst of all his different skills he currently had. Since he had no idea what it did, Ark used "Inspect" on this new skill of his, to find out what it was.


    [Cellular Mana Integration]


    Allows the host to integrate mana into his body on a cellular level, drastically increasing bodily functions such as strength and speed, to a correspondingly high expenditure of mana.


    Although the description was pretty normal, Ark could easily notice the raw potential this skill had just like that. Even though he didn''t know the extent of the skills capabilities, he had already gotten a little taste-test, and he certainly liked it. Now, Ark had used magic before to increase his speed and such, but this skill used raw mana, not magic, there was a clear difference. First of all, he didn''t even to use any specific mana in the air to create a spell or anything, he just needed to draw mana from his mana pool, and infuse it directly into his cells.


    Even though Ark didn''t know how he was supposed to do that, when he thought about it, the knowledge just conveniently popped up into his head. He figured that it was a benefit of the skill, and just accepted it as fact, instead of worrying about the small details. Even though he was eager to test out the strength of his new skill, especially considering the upgrade to his intelligence, Ark knew that now wasn''t the best time. Instead of testing his strength, he decided to just sit down for now, and wait for the mother and her cub to wake up.


    He didn''t know what had happened to them, and he was a little worried, but after he inspected them closer, he was certain that they were totally okay. Not only that, both of them seemed to contain an extraordinary amount of mana, which was weird to say the least. At least from Ark''s point of view. Ark didn''t know at the time, but the mother and her cub was actually in the midst of digesting all of this mana, slowly making it their own, this would greatly enhance their strength afterwards, as the mana also tempered their bodies to a certain degree.


    If Ark knew that this fortunate encounter was solely because of him, he would surely smile. After acquiring his new skill, Ark had actually shrunk down to 2 meters in height again. When he had shrunk down, he had actually discharged a large amount of mana, in the form of the large mana wave, which was what the mother and the cub were currently in the midst of digesting. If Ark knew all of this, he would definitely react to the mere absurdity of some of these events. Well, he would find out about his height sooner or later.


    In reality, Ark actually benefitted a little from his new size. It wasn''t like he lost any power or strength, as his physical stats were still the same. Since he didn''t lose any power, a smaller frame was actually just convenient for him, as he didn''t have to tower over everything and everyone anymore, he was still fairly large though.


    As Ark sat and patiently waited for the mother and her cub to wake up, numerous magical beasts started converging on their location. Most of them lurked in the shadows and waited a little, before they started to attack. The corpses of the demons and the humans, as well as all their blood was an excellent bait for magical beasts, and after smelling the alluring scent, many magical beasts had decided to try their luck on this buffet.


    Though Ark was concerned at first, when he saw the sheer amount of magical beasts, he could only smile to himself. Since there were so many of them, he wouldn''t even need to deal with most of them, since they were going to start fighting each other any minute now. Ark''s prediction proved to be correct as the large array of magical beasts started using various means to fight amongst themselves. The more they killed, the bigger the prise of the winner was going to get, as the winner was going to get all the corpses of the dead magical beasts as well.


    Though he didn''t need to do anything, Ark was still disturbed by all the noise that was made, and he was also a little uneasy, what if they targeted the mother and her cub when he wasn''t paying attention? Since he didn''t want anything to happen, he decided that it was probably for the better if he just acted on the situation, and got rid of these troublesome magical beasts himself. He felt a little bad for them, since they had all come here in search for food, but at the same time, this was a fight to the death, and mercy would lead nowhere, as the magical beasts didn''t know how to appreciate it.


    Since he had gotten a new skill, Ark decided to put its power to the test. As he started infusing his cells with large amounts of mana, Ark could feel his body heating up. Not only that, he almost felt as if he was as light as a feather, and he started to feel pretty happy. This skill seemed perfect for him, as he was still a little lacking in close combat, this was also a good way to shorten the gap between his wolf form and his human form. Ark stretched his body a little, before he suddenly disappeared from where he stood.


    "BOOM!"


    All the magical beasts could hear was a large explosion before almost all of them succ.u.mbed to the sweet embrace of death, no longer living. The magical beasts that were a little stronger managed to live a few seconds longer, only long enough for them to be able to see the other magical beasts being slaughtered one by one, by a fairly small wolf, flickering in and out of existence. Funnily enough, that was also the state some of the magical beasts were in, their lives flickering in and out of existence. Well, until they finally went out for good.


    As Ark made short work of all the beasts, he could feel his eyesight getting a little blurry again. He immediately stopped himself, and sat down on the ground. It seemed like killing like this could be pretty bad. All that torture that he had to suffer at the hands of the third prince had definitely changed him, that much was certain. And if it was for better or for worse, Ark was pretty sure it was the latter. Ark tried to calm down to the best of his ability, which was pretty hard. That was until his eyesight landed on the small cub and its mother. He only heaved a sigh of relief and smiled. It seemed like this little cub was his guardian angel.

 Chapter 127 - Carelessness leads to regret!

    An explosion shook the atmosphere. The three youths sitting in a corner of a dimly lit cave couldn''t help but exclaim as the shockwaves were enough to almost make them fall over. In front of them, the rest of their comrades were in the middle of battling with three large minotaurs. Minotaurs were savage and powerful creatures, and they were known for their brutal means of attack. One of the minotaurs towered above the other two, and just judging by its build, it was a lot more powerful than the other two.


    That being the case, there was still only a single youth that was fighting head to head with the large minotaur. While the other two minotaurs were held up by multiple youths each, this particularly big one was taken care of by a single person. The person in question had fiery red hair, and was fairly handsome. That''s right, the one currently fighting the large minotaur was Arduin! Even though he had numerous scars now, even one that covered part of his face, it almost made him look even better. Though it would normally make someone look worse, it kind of fit him. Not only that, the scar also enhanced his image, and he looked more like a fierce warrior compared to the old him.


    After Arduin had been rescued by Ark, he had rallied his classmates, and they had started to level as quickly as possible. They didn''t want to be weak anymore, especially not when they knew how much potential their respective classes actually held. Arduin had already gotten past level 70, which had taken a lot of hard work, but after dungeon diving and battling day and night, his level had steadily increased to what it is today.


    His classmates were also pleasantly surprised by this change of his, as they got to see him courageously fighting head to head with foes and opponents stronger than him, yet he managed to come out on top every single time. Granted, he had to take a few hits here and there, which was the source of the few scars that he had acc.u.mulated. This courage of his also became a source of inspiration for his fellow classmates, and they were currently all working as hard as they could to grow stronger.


    Arduin''s capture and eventual rescue had been like an awakening for all of them, and they had steeled their resolve to grow stronger. None of them wanted to feel as powerless as they did when they couldn''t even save their close friend and leader. Arduin''s reason wasn''t as noble as the others, he just didn''t want to go through that hell ever again, and no one could stop him from trying to achieve his goal.


    The three that sat in the corner spectating the fight were all resting and recuperating when they could suddenly feel the temperature rise exponentially! They weren''t surprised though, as they had already gotten used to it at this point. With Arduin at their centre, green flames suddenly erupted ferociously, instantly engulfing the large minotaur. Miserable screams echoed throughout the cave system as the minotaur tried to desperately put the flames out, to no avail.


    Arduin just sighed, it seemed like this was going to be yet another easy fight. Ever since he had been rescued, he hadn''t run into a really tough fight yet, even though he still got some injuries, those were mostly just because of his own negligence, not because his opponent was actually strong. Just when Arduin was about to turn around, he could hear the minotaur roar fiercely. With the large axe it wielded in one of its hands, the minotaur swung as hard as it could, with Arduin as the target. Since the minotaur couldn''t fight the flames, the only thing it knew how to do was target its source, namely Arduin.


    Arduin was almost caught off-guard, but at this point, he had already picked up a few tricks to keep himself alive. Green fire combusted beneath his feet, sending him flying through the air. Arduin flew straight past the minotaurs attack, and the large axe slammed straight down into the ground, leaving a long deep gash in the ground. When Arduin was almost next to the minotaur''s head, he used his momentum to flip his body until he was upside down. With his body spinning, Arduin slashed out with a flaming longsword, decapitating the poor minotaur in one fell swoop.


    After fl.i.c.k.i.n.g the blood off his sword, Arduin sheathed the sword, and collected the minotaur''s mana crystal. With a fist-sized amber crystal in his hand, Arduin sat down next to the other three, and just rested a little. The three that were resting couldn''t help but admire him, as he was a role model in their eyes. Even though he had been through a lot, he didn''t break, instead, he came back stronger than before. Just when he was about to sit down, one of the three couldn''t help but ask.


    "Are you not going to help them take care of the other two?"


    Hearing such a naive question, Arduin almost felt like laughing.


    "Of course not, what would the point of you guys coming with me be if I just took care of all the enemies?"


    "Ah, that''s right, sorry for asking such a stupid question." The guy scratched his head a little as he realised what a dumb question he had asked.


    "Don''t sweat it man, we''re all friends here."


    The three kept watching him with admiration on their faces. Even if they screwed up sometimes, even if they couldn''t handle some easy foes, Arduin would never blame them. Instead of being mad, he would just encourage them to improve, and set examples for them to strive after. Even though a good scolding was necessary sometimes, he never went over the top, and all of his classmates respected him because of it. Pointing out someone''s mistakes and correcting them is a good thing, but doing so by insulting them is never the right thing to do, at least not if you want them to improve. That was the way Arduin did things at least, and it worked splendidly for this group.


    It would be another thing if they were all total strangers, but that wasn''t the case here, they were all friends and classmates. They knew each other well, and all they had was each other, if one was shunned from the group, then that person would be truly alone in this foreign world, and no one here wanted that, which was why they all tried so hard to help each other out, and point out each other''s weaknesses and mistakes.


    About 5 minutes later, the other 2 minotaurs were both dead next to their leader, with their mana crystals extracted. When they were finished, most of them looked at Arduin, waiting for him to give them instructions. When they were in dungeons or in the wild, they had all agreed to have Arduin as their leader. If they all went about and did whatever they wanted in such a dangerous location, then who knew what the consequences might be. It was better and easier if they just listened to Arduin during times like these, of course, to a certain extent.


    "We''ll rest up here for 15 minutes first, then we''ll continue to explore the dungeon!"


    After hearing that, everyone felt at ease and just sat down. Some of them used their spatial bags to retrieve some food and other necessities to build a small campsite. The ones who could cook volunteered to do so, while the ones who couldn''t just waited for the food to be ready. Like this, 15 minutes passed quickly, and all of them got their own share of food and rest.


    "I don''t know how far we''ll be able to go, but let''s head deeper for now!"


    They moved out almost instantly, they had already anticipated that this would be Arduin''s call, and they had all mentally prepared to fight a lot today. The dungeon they were in was located in the outskirts of Estridsen, and it was famous for its high death rate. Even though there was such a high death rate, and the dungeon was fairly infamous for it, Arduin had still chosen it as their destination. There were a lot of rewards that were equal to the risks, and how would they get stronger if they never faced any hardsh.i.p.s?


    The first floor of the dungeon was essentially just a large cave, and it was the floor they were currently on. The minotaurs that they had just faced were actually the bosses of the first floor, and they could now easily access the second floor. Since they didn''t know too many specifics about this particular dungeon, none of them were sure of what was awaiting them on the next floor. Was it going to be about the same difficulty as this one, albeit a small increment? Or was it going to be something completely different? Were they even going to make it out alive?


    There was no way to be sure, except for trying it out themselves. In the far back of the large cave system, a rather large wooden hatch was in the midst of being opened by the numerous youths. This wooden hatch was the way down to the second floor, and even if it seemed a little sketchy, there was no youth here who didn''t have enough courage to explore it. Though that was mostly because of Arduin''s presence.


    The way down was actually a rather crude ladder, in a fairly cramped enclosure. Because of the tight space, two youths decided to stay back. One of them was a claustrophobic, and leaving someone by themselves in a dungeon could easily be a death sentence, so another youth stayed behind to look after their friend. There was no light in the small passage down, so Arduin used some of his flames to illuminate the way forward.


    After almost an entire minute had passed, the youths could finally see some light, and they exited the cramped space they were in. Even if none of them were actually claustrophobic, tight enclosed spaces were still uncomfortable for a lot of people, and these youths were no different. Instead of the large cave they were in preciously, they were now all standing in a large room. The floor of the room seemed to be some weird kind of red marble, and it was utterly beautiful.


    The walls were also made out of some kind of stone, but none of the youths were able to recognise it. The walls had all kinds of engravings on them, as well as plenty of torches that lit the room up. The eerie part about these torches was the fact that they burned with a purple flame. In the far end of the room, two large doors stood in the middle, oozing with a weird amount of pressure. Even though they had no idea what waited for them on the other side, there weren''t a lot of them that were especially excited to find out.


    As Arduin was about to take a step forward, the room suddenly started to shake fervently.


    "Rumble!"


    To their surprise, four parts of the walls slid down, revealing hidden rooms. From within these hidden rooms, 4 silhouettes slowly made their way into the large hall. When the 4 figures had left their respective rooms, the walls closed behind them again, hiding the hidden rooms from sight again. With every step they took, their large steel frames shook the ground around them. With one shining red, one shining blue, one shining green and one shining brown, four large golems stood tall in front of the two large doors.


    Even though the appearance of the four golems were a little abrupt, Arduin was itching for a fight! The fact that they had their own elements actually had nothing to do with their attacks at all, and their elements only showed what the golems were resistant against. So the golem that shone red was resistant against fire for example. Since there were four opponents, Arduin would have to split their group into four to combat them, and when he thought about it, it was a little risky.


    The reason why it was risky was mostly just because the golems were very high level, and they were not that many. Luckily for him, the golems were not sentient beings, and they wouldn''t attack if you didn''t provoke them first, this gave Arduin some time to think. In the end, Arduin decided to take on one of the golems by himself, whilst splitting the rest of his classmates into three groups to take care of the other golems.


    "Is everyone ready?"


    "Yes!"


    "If that''s the case, then let''s get to work!"


    After he drew the sword on his waist, Arduin rushed forward. The rest of the youths took this as their cue to attack as well, and they all rushed to their respective targets. Since Arduin''s main element was fire, he decided to take on the earth golem. He could''ve taken the wind golem, but he decided to take on the earth golem since he wasn''t sure if his other classmates would be able to break through its defence, as it was more robust than the other golems.


    After he had gotten within a ten meter radius of the golem, it started to slowly move. Even though it was both big and abnormally strong, golems had two inherent weaknesses. First of all, they were slow, very slow. This was easy to exploit, as it could make the golem''s attacks pretty harmless. It didn''t matter how strong they were if they never hit anything right? The other inherent weakness a golem has is their lack of sentience and intelligence.


    Because of this, the golems attack patterns were very simple, at least these golems. Some golems are of course more advanced than others, and their attack patterns depend entirely on their creator. But creating a golem with a complex attack pattern is many times harder compared to creating one with simple attack patterns.


    Arduin didn''t plan on fighting with this golem for too long, and when he defeated it, he was going to help the others take care of their golems. Even if this may be an opportunity for them to get stronger, Arduin knew that it was a little too risky, these golems were really strong after all. And his group of friends wasn''t an army, a single casualty would hit them all hard, and they would be filled with sorrow.


    If that happened, then more casualties could easily follow, and when that happened, their little mission to get stronger would come to an end. Since Arduin didn''t want any of that to happen, he was going to go all out from the beginning, and slaughter this golem with all of his might. As he rushed straight for the golem, his longsword started glowing with a scarlet light. With a burst of flames, the cold and damp hall suddenly became a little bit more comfortable to be in.


    With a flaming sword in his hand, and with the intention of helping out his friends, Arduin suddenly leaped. As he did, the large steel fist of the golem slammed into the ground where he had just been running.


    "Teng!"


    The ground trembled fiercely as the golem''s fist made contact, and a small shockwave was sent out in all directions along the floor. As Arduin flew through the air, he arrived right beside the golem''s neck. Since his attack was already prepared beforehand, Arduin swung with his sword as hard as he could, aiming for the golem''s neck. Though he didn''t expect the attack to instantly kill the golem, the result of his attack shocked him greatly.


    "Teng!"


    A similar sound of metal clashing against metal rang out, and there was only a small line left behind on the golem''s neck. Arduin knew that it would be bad if he was up in the air for too long, and he made use of the golem''s head to kick off of. After landing safely on the ground, a thought crossed his mind. Before he could even think about it, he was interrupted by a sudden scream.


    "Nooooo!"


    This was what Arduin was afraid of, that someone would die due to carelessness. But as he thought about it, his expression turned a little dull. This classmate of his didn''t die due to his own carelessness, he died because of Arduin''s carelessness. Feelings of guilt kept invading his mind, distracting him from his current fight. The shockwave that was sent out due to the earth golem''s missed attack had thrown this poor guy straight into the wind golem''s attack, and he was now dead due to it.


    Even though Arduin just wanted to be sad and grief, he knew what he had done wrong, and if he just gave up now, his other classmates would probably die as well. There was no way that Arduin was going to let anyone else die, and he was almost consumed by his own rage. He was mad because of himself, he was mad that he was careless, he was mad that he had caused his classmates death. But most of all, he was mad at these golems. Even if Arduin might''ve been one of the causes, the main cause was the golems.


    No matter what Arduin had done, these golems had quite literally killed one of his friends, and he wasn''t too happy about it. Since he knew that physical attacks would have little to no effect with his current strength, Arduin knew that there was only one thing left to do. The hall was filled with a dreadful mood at the moment, as everyone had already seen exactly what Arduin had seen, but as many of the made their own convictions, the cold halls temperature suddenly rose by more than 10 degrees.


    A green light engulfed the entire room, and everyone present was able to guess what Arduin was about to do. Ever since he had arrived in this world, this skill had always been his strongest skill, the skill that made him who he was today. Without it, he would''ve just been like anyone else in this room, strong, but nothing too special. The green flames of samsara was Arduin''s bread and butter, and now that he had shown it to these golems, he would surely kill them all!


    The earth golem had no idea about what was going on, and it only swung its fist one more time, heading straight for Arduin''s head again. Arduin narrowly dodged the fist again, but instead of letting the same thing happen again, Arduin used some magic to cancel out the force of the shockwave, before he headed straight for the golem again. The golem wasn''t just going to let Arduin do whatever he wanted, but fortunately, he was too fast for the golem to stop him.


    After circling behind him, Arduin made use of his sharp sword to stick it into the golem''s leg. After doing so, he used the sword to propel himself upwards, before sticking the sword into the golem''s back. This wasn''t supposed to hurt the golem, as Arduin used way to little force for it to actually do something, all he wanted to do was safely scale the golem. It didn''t take more than 5 seconds before Arduin was already on top of the golem''s head.


    Even though his previous attacks had done nothing to hurt the golem, Arduin wasn''t disheartened, he knew that he was able to kill this golem, and he would do his best to do so as quickly as possible. Since he knew that there was no other way for him to kill this golem other than relying on his flames, Arduin used all of his strength to shove the sword in his hand as far into the golems head as he could. The golem didn''t react at all when he shoved the sword into it, as it had no sense of pain at all.


    When the sword was inside the golem''s head, Arduin started to summon as much green fire as he could, sending it along his sword and straight into the golem''s body. After a minute or so had passed, Arduin started to sweat a little, but he still stood steadfast atop the golem''s head. The other golems were occupied with chasing Arduin''s classmates around, and so they weren''t even able to notice that the earth golem had already started melting a lot.


    The original majestic steel golem was now shining orange and Arduin knew it was time to deliver the final strike. Since the golem had basically melted to a certain degree, Arduin just threw another attack with his sword, infused with a fairly large amount of mana. The golem was easily cut into two with this single sword attack, and Arduin landed shortly on the ground no far away. Even though he had managed to kill one of the golems, Arduin wasn''t satisfied or happy at all, it was quite the opposite.


    A classmate had died because of him, and the golem had taken way too long to kill, endangering his other classmates even more as a result. Because of their fallen friend, many of his classmates had become reckless, and it showed in their attacks. The ones who were reckless quickly got themselves injured, leaving the rest of their classmates to handle the golems without them. Luckily, Arduin wouldn''t need to spend as much time to defeat the other golems. The earth golem was a golem that was specialised in defence, and breaking through its defence was the hard part.


    The other golems were better in other areas, the fire golem had very destructive attacks, the wind golem had very swift and fast attacks, while the water golem was like a mix between them all, being mediocre and average at everything, but at the same time not having any glaring weaknesses. Since he didn''t have any time to waste, Arduin hurried to his next target, the wind golem. The fire and water golem would take a little longer to kill, while the wind golem was the most dangerous for his classmates, as its attacks were harder to dodge due to their swiftness.


    The other golems attacked fairly slowly, and their big movements made their attacks very predictable. That being said, Arduin''s classmates still had some trouble with dodging their attacks. The people that were holding off the wind golem retreated a little when they saw Arduin running at them at full speed.


    "Split up and help the others! I can take care of this one!"


    Hearing this, his classmates promptly split up into two groups and left to help the others, everyone except for the girl. After her boyfriend had died, she had just been sitting there on the ground by his side, gently c.a.r.e.s.sing his face from time to time. Even though it was dangerous, Arduin knew that he was in no position to tell her to move out of the way, as he was the reason she was acting like this in the first place.


    The wind golem didn''t just sit around and wait for Arduin to attack it, and instead, it fiercely sent its fist flying through the air as soon as it saw him approaching. Trying to doge the fast fist would be a little hard, and Arduin would end up in an awkward position if he did do so, so instead, he decided to meet the fist head on. With his sword drawn, Arduin imbued his swing with a large amount of fire mana, sending a wave of fire to parry the golem''s blow. Even though the golem''s attack managed to get through the wave of fire, Arduin had successfully managed to buy himself some time.


    With this time, Arduin sprinted forward as fast as he could. The golem managed to adjust its fist a little, sending it on course to Arduin''s face again. Since the golem''s posture turned out to be a little weird, Arduin managed to slide under the attack, dodging it narrowly. As he kept sliding, Arduin used the momentum of his slide, and a large amount of mana to swing at the golem''s leg once he ended up next to it.


    "Teng!


    The same metallic sound echoed, but Arduin managed to successfully slice the golem''s foot of cleanly. Since it only had one leg left to pivot on, the golem was sent tumbling down onto the ground. Arduin took this as a chance, and when the golem was in the midst of falling over, he got into position to swing his sword. As the golem''s head was just about to hit the ground, Arduin slashed out with his sword again, and this time, it was easier than when he sliced off the foot. This was because he could use the golem''s own momentum against it when he sliced its head off, and it worked out perfectly.


    With two out of four golems down, Arduin was beginning to grow tired. Luckily for him, his classmates had managed to get the remaining two golems under control after they combined their forces, but they couldn''t kill them. Since that was the case, all Arduin had to do, was wait for an opportunity to strike, before he killed them in one fell swoop. Before he did anything though, he glanced at the girl and his classmate. Seeing the dull look in her eyes, and her tearstained cheeks, Arduin could feel his stomach turning with guilt.


    Even though that was the case, he made sure to not dwell too much on it though. Even if he was feeling guilty, even if he was feeling down, what would that change? Would the classmate that died because of him feel better if Arduin felt bad? No! His classmate was dead, the dead don''t feel. No matter what Arduin did, the fact that he was responsible for his classmates death would still remain, and nothing would change just because he felt down and sad.


    He wanted to be brave, he wanted to be strong. He wanted the rest of his classmates to rely on him. During such hard times, would this little group of friends benefit from him being down? No! Since that was the case, Arduin held his head high, and he rushed out to help his friends take care of the rest of the golems.


    After another 5 minutes had passed, all of the golems were completely defeated. Arduin had to heave for air when he was done, as he had to go all out during that fight multiple times. Defeating the water and fire golems was also a little harder than he had anticipated.


    "We''ll rest here for a while, before deciding what to do next!"


    With that said, all of them completely collapsed onto the floor, too tired to do anything. After time passed, some of them managed to stand up and retrieve some food and water from their spatial bags. After all of them had rested up plenty, a heavy atmosphere took over as complete silence reigned. Almost every single person here knew, and were friends with the guy who passed away, and sadness was encompassing every single one of them. Upon seeing the sad state his classmates were in, Arduin decided that it was time to say something.


    "Everyone, can I have your attention for a moment?"


    Everyone slowly turned their heads to look at Arduin who had now stood up, even the girl turned her attention towards him.


    "Look, I know that everyone here is sad because of the loss of our friend, so am I. But do you think this is what he would''ve wanted from us? Do you guys think he would be proud if all we did was just sulk? We all came here to explore this dungeon today, shouldn''t we at least finish what we started so that he can rest in peace?"


    Silence. Complete silence. That was the response Arduin got. But it wasn''t a bad silence. Almost every single one of his classmates were fired up after hearing what he said. He was right, what would their friend think if this was all they did? Wouldn''t his sacrifice have been in vain? After everyone slowly came to terms with what had happened, one of them stood up.


    "I don''t know about you guys, but I''m with him! I don''t want his sacrifice to be in vain, I don''t want to imagine that he died for nothing!"


    "Yeah!"


    "Me too!"


    "We can''t just let it end like this!"


    As more and more people stood up, in the end, only the girl was the only one still sitting down on the ground. Arduin looked a little dispirited when he watched her sitting on the ground. But as he was about to open his mouth, she slowly stood up.


    "I don''t think he would be happy with me if I just sat here, so I''ll go with you!"


    Even though she said that, Arduin could see the reluctance on her face, and he only smiled wryly.


    "Well, since everyone''s on board, let''s head out straight away!"


    With Arduin in the lead, everyone slowly walked up to the two large doors. The doors had no handle, but since that was the case, Arduin only assumed that he was supposed to push the doors open.


    "Everyone stand back a little, I''m going to open the doors now!"


    Since he told them to, everyone else took a step backwards, while Arduin walked up to the doors, and slowly pushed them open. Due to their enormous size, Arduin had to use all the strength he could muster for the doors to open slowly. When the doors had opened completely, the group only saw darkness. The room behind the doors was too dark, and it almost looked like they stared into an abyss.


    The group of teens couldn''t help but shiver as a gaze ran over their bodies. One of them almost fell over, but he had no idea why. "Arduin, may-maybe it''s best if we get out of here!"


    Before Arduin could even respond, a pair of white eyes opened in the darkness.


    "Kukukuku, it''s been a while since the last time someone came here, it seems like someone has a death wish!"

 Chapter 128 - Visions?

    In another part of the continent, Ark was still sitting quietly and waiting for the mother and the cub to wake up. Even though almost an entire hour had passed, they had yet to wake up from their weird sleep-like state. Ark wasn''t too worried though, his gut was telling him that everything was going to be fine, and after getting such a large strength upgrade, his confidence had surged even higher than before.


    If he was to face that cave giant now, Ark was almost certain that he wouldn''t need more than one serious attack with his new skill to end it all. Even though he had sat for almost an entire hour and waited, he didn''t feel particularly tired or bored at all. Seeing the world through this new perspective that his skill gave him was pretty interesting, and he didn''t really get tired that easily either. All in all, this new skill of his was going to be a life changer for Ark, and he was really glad that he got it. He still didn''t really understand why it took him until he had 200 intelligence before he got a skill, but he didn''t really concern himself with it too much.


    He didn''t know if all his other stats would follow the same pattern, but if they did, then it would take him an eternity before he managed to get their skills. At the same time, the skill he had gotten was this strong, what about the skills of the other stats? Would they be this strong too? Ark certainly hoped so, but he couldn''t really be certain. In any case, he was excited to see what the future had in store for him.


    As he waited another half an hour, Ark had to get rid of two more magical beasts, but due to their lacking strength, he managed to scare them away by just relying on his oppressive aura. As he stood up to stretch his legs a little, Ark noticed that the mother and her cub were finally beginning to wake up from their deep slumber.


    Though that was the case, he still continued on with his stretching. Sitting in one place was pretty annoying if it was for such extended periods of time. After they had both woken up completely, the cub was excited to see Ark sitting and waiting for them. The funny thing was, when the cub was about to rush to Ark''s side, it completely stumbled and fell over. The mother wanted to go get her cub back on its feet, but when she tried to walk, she fell over too.


    Ark was a little concerned when he saw this, but when he was about to help them, the mother cut him off. "We''re just not used to having this much strength, we''re going to need to adjust a little before we do anything."


    When he heard this, Ark was a little relieved. He was a little scared at first that something had happened to them, but it seemed like it was because they had gotten stronger. What puzzled him was how they had gotten stronger. Did they normally fall asleep to get stronger? Or what was actually going on here? Ark had no idea, but when he was about to ask, the mother cut him off again.


    "I don''t really know what you did earlier, but that wave you sent out seems to have made us stronger somehow and I thank you for that!"


    "I did?"


    "You didn''t know?"


    Ark fell silent, it seemed that he was the reason they had been asleep for so long. Apparently he had made them stronger, but he had no recollection of doing something like that. The only thing he could think of was his new skill, did he do something weird when he awakened it? According to the mother, he sent out some sort of wave. The only kind of wave he could think of was a wave of mana, but he had no idea how that would make both of them stronger. In any case, dwelling on this would only make him even more confused, hence he decided that it was probably for the better if he didn''t think about it for now, it wasn''t like he would figure anything major out anyways.


    "You shrunk a lot when you released that wave huh? What was that?"


    Once again, the mother''s words kept befuddling him, what did she mean by that? He shrunk? When he thought about it, something dawned on him all of a sudden. Wasn''t his line of sight a little lower than before? If that was the case, then he actually might''ve shrunk when he got his new skill. But then another oddity remained, why? Why did he shrink? Ark didn''t understand why he would shrink just because he had acquired a skill. Nevertheless, becoming a little smaller wasn''t really a bad thing though, so he decided not to think about it for now, it would only become a problem if he kept shrinking in the future, but that was not something he needed to be concerned with for now.


    As he was thinking, the mother kept looking at him with a peculiar gaze. He didn''t really mind though, and when his eyes met hers, he only smiled a little. Though it probably looked weird if a human was to see it, Ark''s smile was heartfelt and sincere, something that seemed to get across to the mother pretty well. The mother was still a little awkward around Ark, she couldn''t really understand why he was so nice to her. Had she done anything to deserve his kindness? As far as she was concerned, no.


    The first time she had ever seen Ark, he had already saved her life. Right now, he had saved her more than once, he had taken care of her cub, and he had made them both stronger. She was really grateful for all that he had done, but she was also a little apprehensive. Though she was a magical beast, her intelligence had developed since long ago, and she knew that most people always wanted benefits. Especially humans. Even if Ark was just a wolf in her eyes, her suspicions couldn''t be so easily cleared. For now, she just convinced herself that he didn''t mean any harm based on the fact that he had plenty of chances to harm them, but chose to help them instead.


    Ark had to admit that her eyes were as mesmerising as ever, but when he was about to say something, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. As he snapped his head around to see what it was, he could only see the bushes rustle faintly. Ark was instantly intrigued. Even though he had no idea what it actually was, he had a feeling that it was something important. He had no idea where that feeling came from, but something deep within him was telling him that he had missed something truly important.


    He looked at the mother and her cub softly, before he decided that he wasn''t going to go and check it out. He really wanted to, but he felt like he had to look after them. He didn''t know what he would do if either of them got hurt because he left them behind to satisfy his own curiosity. The mother noticed his eager look, and she was fairly quick on the uptake. She could easily see that he was restraining himself to look after them, which she didn''t want him to do. Not just because of his own sake, but also for her own. She felt like Ark was trying to babysit them or something, and it made her feel like a useless mother.


    "You know you don''t have to worry about us, just do what you want. I can protect myself, especially now that I''ve become more powerful!"


    When Ark heard this, he felt a little embarrassed, was he really that easy to see through? Though he felt a little embarrassed, deep down inside, he was feeling elated. Of course he was a little worried, but he wouldn''t be gone for long, and he really needed to find out what it was that made him feel like that!


    "Are you sure you guys will be ok?"


    "I wouldn''t say that otherwise!"


    "I guess that''s true, I''ll be back soon then!"¡§


    Their short exchange ended with Ark turning around, and sprinting straight into the bushes that had rustled not too long ago. The mother thought that he looked just like her little cub when he sprinted into the bushes like that, and she smiled a little as a result. The cub didn''t know why Ark suddenly ran away, but seeing his mother''s expression, the little cub felt at ease, and just ran around excitedly, trying to get its body under control.


    After Ark had sprinted through the thick foliage, he just followed his gut, and kept on running. After 5 seconds of pure sprinting, Ark could see something just ahead of him. A small transparent white light was floating in front of him, slowly moving forward in its own pace. Ark had never seen such a thing before, and he frankly had no idea what it was. As he inched closer, he could make out that the white transparent light seemed to resemble something, he just couldn''t make out what it looked like due to its colour.


    With that being the case, Ark moved even closer than before. Now that he was within 3 meters of the small light, he was able to distinctively tell what it looked like. The small light turned out to be a small humanoid figure, with 2 pairs of wings on its back, one of the pairs was fairly big in comparison to its size, while the other set of wings was right below them, and was fairly small. As Ark was able to make this out, he was a little befuddled. What kind of creature was this? Why did this creature give him such an odd feeling?


    As he was caught up in his thinking, Ark forgot that he was actually following this creature, and he stepped right on a dry branch.


    "Snap!"


    The creature quickly turned its head around, only to see a fairly large wolf sneaking up on it from behind. Without wasting any time, the small creature fiercely flapped its wings, and left Ark behind. Even though the creature was fast, Ark had no intentions of just letting it leave without figuring anything out first, and he quickly pursued the creature from behind.


    The creature could easily make turns and take complex routes because it was flying, but Ark was still not left behind. There was nothing this small creature could do to leave him behind. Especially not after he had gotten his new skill, as he could use it to enhance his speed to several times his normal speed, which was already on par with this creature.


    The creature didn''t look behind it a single time during its escape, presuming that it had already left the wolf behind since ages ago. Since it had flown for quite a while, the creature was getting a little tired, and it checked around it to see if the wolf was gone already. Ark managed to spot the creatures movements beforehand, and he quickly hid himself behind an ancient tree. Fortunately for him, this tree was thick enough for him to hide behind, and he managed to do it just in time. The creature couldn''t see him anywhere, and just assumed that it had run away from Ark successfully.


    Since it thought that it had successfully run away, the creature slowed its pace down considerably, and it went back to the pace it had before it noticed Ark behind it. Ark didn''t play around anymore, and he activated his stealth skill before he slowly started to follow the creature from behind again. The more he saw the creature flying around, a thought that had been at the back of his mind started to establish itself in his head.


    Was this creature a ghost? He couldn''t be sure, but that hazy, transparent figure couldn''t be a real creature right? It didn''t make sense to him, and even though he had never seen a ghost before, he imagined that it would look something like that. But could it really be a ghost? Even if this was another world, would ghosts actually exist? Before he was able to think any more about the subject, he noticed that the creature turned right, and flew into the ruin of an old building.


    Ark didn''t know what kind of building it was before it collapsed to such a point, all he managed to deduct was that it was something grand, something majestic! The building was simply massive, with massive pillars supporting it from the inside, only problem was that many of the pillars had crumbled, and the entire building was filled with holes and cracks all over.


    The creature flew in from a small hole in the wall, a hole that was way too small for Ark to fit through, so all he could was enter through the front door. He made sure that he was as fast as possible though as he didn''t want to lose the creature now. At this point, he was following the creature just because he could, he had no idea why he would actually follow it other than curiosity, but there was still something deep within that was calling out to him, and he felt like he was forced to follow the small creature.


    As he entered the building, he couldn''t see the creature anywhere. It seemed like he had still been a little too slow, and the creature had managed to lose him just when it was getting to the interesting part. Ark didn''t think too much of it though, now that he couldn''t see the creature, the feeling in the pit of his stomach was slowly fading. When he was just about to turn around and leave, the feeling suddenly flared up!


    Ark quickly scanned his surroundings, anxious to find something quickly, this feeling was very uncomfortable, and if he didn''t find something that could calm it down soon, then he would almost want to kill himself. That was how bad this feeling was. It was as if he was endlessly yearning for something that was just out of his reach, it was unbearable for him. When he was starting to lose his composure, Ark was able to spot a staircase that seemed to lead underground.


    With no other options around, Ark quickly made his way to the stairs, and scurried his way downward. Even though it was supposed to be pitch-black this far underground, Ark was able to see a shimmering light ahead of him, seemingly leading the way. Since he wasn''t stupid, he was able to figure out that the light was actually the creature that he had followed all the way here. The disgusting feeling he had in the pit of his stomach slowly receded, and Ark was able to calmly follow the light ahead of him.


    Even though he still had no idea where he was going, at this point, he was already committed to doing this, if he didn''t, then he would have to live with that weird feeling for god knows how long, and that was something that he absolutely didn''t want to do. That being said, Ark continue to follow the small light. Deeper, and deeper, it seemed like the staircase would never end at this point, as Ark had already been walking for almost 5 minutes.


    He started to grow a little worried. How far underground was he right now? And where was this weird creature taking him? He didn''t know, and when he thought about it, maybe it was for the better if he didn''t know how far underground he was, as it would probably just worry him even more.


    With darkness all around him, and only a small white light to show him the way, the stairs finally came to an end 3 minutes later. This meant that he had been walking straight down for about 8 minutes straight, and he had no idea where he currently was. The light ahead of him suddenly came to a stop just a little bit ahead of him, and Ark wasn''t really sure what he was supposed to do now. When he was still thinking about what to do, the small creature suddenly vanished from where it was. The place turned completely pitch-black, and Ark was left all alone. Even though he had night vision, the skill hadn''t level up in a long time, and Ark didn''t really care about it either way, as it was just more convenient to use some light magic to light the place up.


    Even if he was able to see somewhat with night vision, he''d rather just be able to see normally. That being the case, Ark conjured up a ball of light magic, and controlled it to hover around the room. He didn''t dare move a single step before he shone the light around the room, to make sure that he wouldn''t get himself killed by being careless. As the ball of light flew around the place, Ark was able to notice that he was currently standing on a plateau. From the looks of it, he seemed to be suspended high in the air on a plateau, which befuddled him, since he was currently underground.


    What kind of place had he come to? After looking around with the help of the ball of light magic, Ark was able to see that there was nothing special around, and that he was just on a plateau with nothing else on it. The only special thing about this plateau was the location, as well as the fact that it seemed to be connected to another room.


    The connection to the other room was via a small and narrow bridge. Even though he was sceptical at first, after testing it out a little, Ark decided to walk across it. He did, however, use some wind magic to make himself lighter, as a fall from this height would probably end his life. The funniest things about that thought of his, was the fact that Ark had no idea that he was high up at all. He had just assumed so since his gut kept telling him so.


    So far, his gut had been mysterious today, and at this point, he couldn''t be bothered to think about it anymore than he already had. That being the case, Ark crossed the bridge in an instant, and he arrived in the room on the other side. The air inside the room was really stale, and the temperature was freezing, luckily, Ark had a ton of very warm and fluffy fur that kept the cold away from him.


    When Ark was just about to us his light magic to light the room up, his eyesight started to get blurry. The room that he could barely make out with the use of his night vision suddenly turned pitch-black, and Ark passed out.


    ¡­


    Even though Ark was a steadfast person, he almost passed out when he saw where he was. He had no idea what was going on right now, and the fact that he seemed to be in his human form only made the situation worse. The clothes he was wearing was the same thing he had worn before he was captured by the third prince and the scary old man. As he frantically looked around, all he could see were the same things, death, despair, blood and decay.


    Seeing the faces of so many corpses, with most of them twisted in despair, Ark felt sick, was this what a real battlefield looked like? Before Ark was able to ponder too much, he noticed something familiar. He didn''t really know why, but some of these corpses looked familiar to him. With the thought in mind, Ark walked a little closer, and that was when it hit him, Thufrat! The body of a small yet robust little dwarf was lying covered in blood, with a long sword sticking through his stomach. The sword ran straight through him, and also penetrated Alenia who laid underneath him. Ark was beginning to lose his mind, what was going on here? He desperately tried to come up with ideas, he pinched himself, he did whatever he could to wake up, this had to be a nightmare right? Ark was on the verge of going insane, when he noticed another oddity. Not far away, two corpses laid next to each other. These corpses were so badly mangled that Ark had a hard time seeing what kind of animal they belonged to, as he could clearly see that they weren''t human.


    Before he could walk too close, something hit him, was that? Not daring to waste any more time, Ark quickly sprinted up to the two corpses. After some careful inspection, he was sure, it was the cub and the mother!

 Chapter 129 - Determination!

    The sad reality hit him hard, and Ark fell back onto his behind. He had nothing to say about the situation, he just sat there, with a blank face, and stared. Their eyes were still open, horrific expressions still on their faces. Seeing the deep fear rooted within their eyes, Ark''s heart started to ache even more than before. Not only did it hurt, but he felt inexplicably empty at the moment. Everything that he had managed to create in this world was suddenly gone. The mother and her cub, Thufrat, they were all gone, bathed in their own blood.


    Seeing all of this despair around him, it was like something resonated within Ark. It was weird, but seeing such suffering was not something he ever wanted to see. Not now, not ever.


    Grief was trying to take him over, but before that could happen, another feeling exploded out of nowhere, one that was much more overwhelming than grief, rage! Calling him mad would be a massive understatement, and Ark was borderline rabid right now. As immense bloodl.u.s.t was about to take him over, Ark could suddenly feel a presence of into the distance.


    His immense rage and bloodl.u.s.t was redirected, and Ark looked over to see who had done such a thing, or if there was a survivor that could tell him what happened. The presence that felt as strong as a mosquito suddenly revealed itself on the horizon. A woman clad in shiny silver armour appeared. Her long blonde hair fluttered in the air, shining brighter than even the sun behind it. Behind her back, a pair of majestic white wings extended and flapped slowly.


    The wings looked like they moved in slow-motion, yet they still generated such fierce winds, to the point of being able to mistake them for attacks just by themselves. The impression that Ark got from the woman was that of a deity, but before he could calm down, he spotted something else. The wings on her back weren''t perfect by any means, they even looked a little tattered, with multiple holes here and there. That wasn''t what captured Ark''s attention though, if anything, it was only something that he briefly noticed, before something much more striking captured his attention.


    Blood. On top of the long golden sword that she held in her hand, there was an unimaginable amount of blood. Normally it would only drip a little, but from some reason, the blood seemed to flow as if it was a river. It would require a special type of genius to not connect the dots together, and Ark was fuming. The twisted face of a beautiful woman sneered at him with disdain, as if she had done all of this to spite him.


    Ark was preparing an attack, when all of a sudden, the woman raised her sword high above her head. It looked ordinary, and Ark wasn''t able to sense any amount of force in her swing. Before he could underestimate the swing, he remembered that she had managed to kill all these people, as well as Thufrat, there was no way in hell she could be weak. It wasn''t like what he thought would matter in the end though, as the woman swung her sword in the next second.


    All that Ark could feel was a certain aura, a crushing aura, an aura of something higher than him, something stronger than him. Ark wasn''t able to move at all, much less put up a decent fight, all he could do was watch as she swung her sword. A blinding white light was all that Ark saw, with some droplets of red mixed in. Unimaginable pain was all around him, corrupting his mind entirely. The murderous instincts he continually supressed resurfaced again, but it was all too late, as his vision went blurry, and he fell unconscious.


    ¡­


    With another start, Ark abruptly stood up again. This time, he fell back down when he tried to pivot on his legs. To his surprise, he was back in his wolf form, which explained why he fell over when he tried to stand up. Before he thought any more about it, he quickly scanned his surroundings to look for the woman who had just attacked him. As he scanned his surroundings, Ark was beginning to get a headache. Right now, from the looks of things, he was standing outside of the ruins again. Before anything else, Ark inspected his body, and found that nothing seemed to be wrong, he was feeling just like he felt before he entered the ruins. He heaved a sigh of relief, but he didn''t really calm down, there was no way that he could calm down after seeing something like that. There was no way that what he had seen had no meaning. The more he thought about it, the more Ark''s fear started to grow. Even if he tried to supress it, it just came back stronger than before.


    The biggest contributing factor as to why he felt that what he had seen was significant, was the pain that had yet to fade completely. Even if his body was the same as before, he could still feel the residual pain of the woman''s attack. This told Ark that what he saw was more than some dream. But then, what did he see? And how did he manage to see what he did? Ark had no idea, but he really wanted to find out.


    Even if the idea of re-entering the ruins seemed off to him at first, for the sake of the people he cared about, he decided to enter the ruins again. After entering the familiar ruins, another surprise came his way, one that scared him even more. After he scanned the ruins, he couldn''t seem to find the staircase even more, the one that he had used to descend deep underground. Since he couldn''t find it, Ark tried his hardest to calm down.


    All of these events seemed so surreal to him, and he couldn''t quite put his finger on any of them. What had truly happened? What was going on? There were too many weird things that had happened lately, and Ark was having a hard time processing what was going on. All he could think of was random theories, but there was no way for him to feel sure of any of them. Maybe he had fallen asleep outside the ruins, and had a nightmare? That seemed a little unlikely though.


    Maybe that weird creature had shown him some kind of illusion? He didn''t really like the thought, since it seemed odd somehow. Maybe he had been shown a vision of the future? Even if it seemed even more unlikely, Ark couldn''t help but be scared. If that really was the case, then every single thing he cared about in this world would be taken from him, and from the looks of things, it wouldn''t be too far away from now, as Thufrat didn''t seem a lot older than he was the last time Ark saw him.


    Even though Ark had no idea what had actually happened just now, he was very scared of the possibility that what he had seen was the future, and his stomach kept turning, as if it was trying to tell him something. Whatever it was that Ark had actually seen, he never wanted to feel that helpless, and if he had truly seen the future, then that meant that war was coming, and it wasn''t going to be pretty.


    His determination that was once a little unsteady, quickly solidified at this moment. He wasn''t sure what the future had in store for him, but if it was going to be even remotely close to what he had seen, then he would need to have the strength to subvert this fate, and allow his close ones to survive such a disaster. And although Ark was no hero, he didn''t want to see that many people suffer ever again, and if anything truly happened, then he wanted to be able to help, and put an end to such suffering.


    With newfound determination, Ark left the desolate ruins, and started walking back toward the mother and her cub. As he walked, he realised another important piece of information, how long had he been gone for? Just judging from how it looked outside, it didn''t seem like he had been gone for a long time at all, but at the same time, it could have been day, weeks or even months, but just at the same time of the day. Though that was unlikely, Ark didn''t dismiss the idea, and decided to sprint his way back instead of just walking.


    As Ark was quickly leaving, a pair of eyes watched him from the shadows. If he was to look closely, maybe Ark would recognise this as the small creature that had led him to the ruins in the first place. This small creature was actually a pixie, a very rare creature that not many people had ever gotten to witness in their lifetime. The pixie smiled as it watched Ark running off into the distance, before it slowly disappeared.

 Chapter 130 - Never bite the hand that feeds you... or youll get slapped!

    Barely any time had passed at all before Ark arrived where the mother and her cub were resting. When he was just about to walk out of the bushes, he stopped dead in his tracks. He was a little scared, what if they had already left? What if he had been gone for weeks already? How was he supposed to find them if they weren''t there? Ark had no idea, and this was the sole reason he was hesitating.


    This hesitation of his was going to get him nowhere, and Ark was beginning to calm down a little. He knew that he had probably just been gone for a little while, he wouldn''t bet on it, but he felt like it would be a little too bizarre if he had truly been gone for days or weeks. After heaving a large sigh, Ark managed to clear his mind, and he just walked straight into the clearing he had left them in.


    The familiar sight of the barren fiery hills, as well as the destroyed landscape felt all too familiar to Ark. But what felt even more familiar, was the sight of two wolves, eagerly running around, seemingly playing tag with each other. The playful way they interacted with each other, as well as the fact that they seemed to be so happy, was enough to make Ark feel complete. His worried heart was already at ease, just from seeing them like this, and he vowed to himself again. Under no circ.u.mstances, was he going to let these two suffer the pain and despair that he saw them feel in that vision!


    He wasn''t going to let them die just like that, no matter how far he needed to go, he would make sure that they were safe. Before he could get too absorbed into his thoughts, he also remembered Thufrat. The dwarf that had been with him through thick and thin, was still nowhere to be found. Well, it wasn''t like Ark had made any active attempts at finding him, but he was sure that he was safe for now. Thufrat was strong, not many people could mess with him. Not only that, but Ark had no idea how much stronger he had gotten since the last time they met.


    Of course he wanted to meet Thufrat, they were friends after all, but it wasn''t at the top of his list of priorities. Right now, he needed to get stronger. Not only that, but he didn''t have the courage to leave the mother and her cub''s side after seeing that vision, and he was going to make sure he protected them while he grew stronger. When he was still in the middle of pondering to himself, Ark''s train of thought was suddenly interrupted.


    "Papa!"


    The little cub had noticed him just standing around, and was eager to see him. As Ark saw him rushing toward him, he was surprised at the sheer speed the little cub was currently displaying! Even though Ark knew that they had essentially grown stronger, the difference was a little too big! The next second, the cub jumped straight into him, and tackled him down onto the ground.


    "Wooosh!"


    An arrow zoomed straight past Ark''s scalp, fluttering his fur in the wind. Ark was almost a little ashamed of himself for not noticing the attack, but in his defence, he was distracted by a cute little cub running towards him. The psychological impact of the vision he had seen had yet to fade, and it seemed like it had almost cost him his life this time. Luckily, the little cub was quick to save him, and he wasn''t hit by the attack.


    Even for Ark, an arrow to the back of the head was almost one hundred percent guaranteed to be lethal.


    "Tsk!"


    The sound of an upset man came from behind Ark. The man was actually just a regular hunter, well, except for the fact that his prey was usually magical beasts, nonetheless, he was still just a regular hunter in the end. Before he could get too annoyed though, the cub instantly attacked! Even though his body had been enhanced considerably by Ark, his most convenient way of attacking was still his magic.


    Before the hunter could get too much time to react, a disc of wind was sent at him, aiming for his neck. The hunter was fairly experienced and he managed to dodge out of the attack by only a hair, unfortunately for him, he was still a little too inexperienced. He may have dodged out of the way of the first wind disc, but to his dismay, he led his body straight into another one. The jugular vein on his neck was sliced in an instant, and he slowly slumped over on the ground, his hands clutching his neck.


    Disbelief was written all over his face, he never expected to die like this, as he took one of his hand off of his neck, he could clearly see the stream of blood flowing down his neck. Even though he should''ve felt mad, he felt oddly at peace, and he laughed a little at himself, it seemed it was his time to go. This was the price he had to pay for his weakness, and he knew that it was his own fault, there was no one to blame but himself.


    Not only that, but when he saw the ice cold gaze of the mother wolf who had taken his life, he let his consciousness quickly fade into nothingness. Ark was a little surprised by this quick turn of events, and even though someone just died in front of him, he didn''t really feel anything special. If anything, he felt glad that the cub and the mother cared for him, and he was happy to see that their strength had grown. After everything he had been through, he couldn''t care too much about human lives.


    If they were innocent, then of course he would care if he could help it, but if not, then it wasn''t his biggest concern. As the cub stood in front of the hunter''s body, Ark quickly walked up to him. He nuzzled his head against the little cub. "Thank you for the help buddy." His voice was serene, and his expression was gentle. He really liked this cub.


    "Papa, food!"


    The cub wasn''t fazed by killing the hunter at all with his mother, and was just hungry. Ark felt like laughing, but since the little fellow was hungry, he was going to make sure he got some really nutritious meat as a thanks for saving his life. "What about you?" He turned around to face the mother, and asked with concern.


    "I feel pretty hungry after gaining this new strength."


    "Well, if that''s the case, then let''s get some food!"


    Before they could go anywhere, the sound of footsteps quickly came from the forest around them. From behind the hunter, a number of humans quickly emerged, all shocked at the sight of the three wolves, as well as their comrade lying on the ground, his body lifeless. The humans stopped in their tracks, all sad at the sight of one of their most brilliant friends and warriors lying dead on the ground. From behind them, a boy around ten years old shoved people out of his way as he made his way forward quickly.


    When he stepped in front of the other humans, he saw the body of a man lying on the ground. Unlike the others, the boy didn''t just stand still and watch the body. Instead, he quickly ran up to the boy, and got on his knees. As he shook the body fervently, tears started to roll down his cheeks. "Please, dad, wake up!" Seeing no response, the boy slumped over his father, and cried his eyes out. Even though it was a soft whisper, Ark had excellent hearing, and he was able to make out what the boy was saying. "Please don''t leave me behind¡­"


    The boy tried to get his act together, and he slowly stood up. With a murderous look in his eyes, the boy stared at Ark, before letting his eyes wander to the cub and the mother. The rest of the humans also regained their senses upon seeing the young boy mourn his father, and they all drew their weapons. "Mitaru, take a step back, we''ll handle this!" As one of the hunters said this, the young boy''s eyes flashed with a weird white light, before going back to normal.


    As the other hunters took a couple of steps back, Ark did the same. He positioned himself in front of the cub and the mother, and told them to stay behind him. The hunters were not stupid, and they knew that he was trying to protect his family, and this could give them a big advantage. No one here cared for this wolf, they just wanted revenge for their fallen comrade, and get justice for Mitaru.


    Ark was able to see that some of the hunters were focusing on the mother and the cub instead of him, and naturally, he wouldn''t just let them do that. His once neutral look quickly transformed into something completely different, and so did his aura. When he saw some hunters point their bows at the mother and the cub, his killing intent spiked. The hunters were naturally taken aback, as Ark''s killing intent was overwhelming, and some of them even had some trouble just breathing as they looked at him.


    The sinister look in his eyes, his muscular physique that was imbued with mana, Ark looked menacing, and none of the hunters had the courage to make the first move. One of the hunters looked into Ark''s eyes, and all he could see was an abyss, and abyss of darkness. Startled, the hunter took a step backwards, and stepped on a dry twig. Ark used this moment to make his move.


    Even if he was angry, he didn''t want to just kill them all, as it was completely unnecessary bloodshed. All they wanted was revenge for their comrade, Ark would feel the same if he was in their shoes. Therefore, he started with a warning, before he did anything else. He imbued his vocal cords with mana on the cellular level, and he howled. This howl was enough to send some of the hunters flying, while the others used their strength to just barely stand straight.


    The howl was shocking to say the least, but none of the hunters would give up from just that. This wold had killed one of their own, if it thought that it could escape with just a warning, then it was completely wrong! Arrows came whistling through the air, and Ark was a little disappointed. He had given them a chance to run, a chance to live, a chance to go back home to their families, to live another day, but instead, they''d rather die for no reason.


    Even though he thought it was pitiful, Ark would do what needed to be done to protect his loved ones, and no human or demon would ever be able to stop him. Ark didn''t hold anything back and he used his skill once more. Before any of the humans could even begin to react, all of the arrows whistling through the air were smashed to pieces, and so were the humans.


    Their heads popped like zits, and blood sprayed everywhere. The boy that had stayed back wasn''t spared, and he was killed as well. Just a couple of seconds after the hunters released their arrows, they had all been wiped out. The screams of the hunters reverberated through Ark''s head, but he wasn''t too disturbed, instead, he calmly turned around, and looked at the mother and her cub.


    "You guys still want to eat?"


    The three of them quickly headed out, and not even half an hour later, a loud roar shook the forest. The mother and the cub were watching with earnest as Ark dealt the killing blow to a large frost lion, sending it straight to the afterlife. The large frost lion was about level 80, not far from Ark''s own level, but it would make for a very nutritious meal for the mother and her cub, especially the cub that was still actively growing, the quality of his meals would affect his strength a lot.

 Chapter 131 - Nightmare

    Time passed by in the blink of an eye, and night was quickly starting to close in on them. The cub was satisfied after their earlier meal, and so was Ark. The fact that he had killed a bunch of people was something that he had just put at the back of his head, and almost forgotten by now. Even if he had killed a lot of people, it was their own fault, and Ark wasn''t really bothered by it that much, which was why he had managed to put it at the back of his head, and practically forget about it.


    Since night was closing in on them, Ark decided that they could sleep in the cave that he had found earlier. Even if he didn''t know where they usually liked to sleep, he was confident about that cave, he liked it after all. He had memorised all the parts of the forest that he had been through earlier, and the way to the cave was one of them. Even though he knew exactly where it was, it still took them almost an hour to get there, but that was mostly because they just strolled the whole way there.


    When they arrived, they didn''t do much else, and just quickly went to sleep, it had been a long day for all of them, and they were all tired. Ark wasn''t much of an exception, and after seeing both the mother and the cub fast asleep, he quickly fell into deep slumber as well. Unfortunately, his night wasn''t as peaceful as he would''ve liked it to be.


    After midnight had already passed, Ark woke up with a start! As he jolted awake, he frantically looked around him, as he breathed heavily. Covered in sweat, and very disoriented, Ark was almost hyperventilating. He tried his hardest to calm down, and after ten minutes or so, he was essentially back to normal again. Even if that was the case, going back to sleep wasn''t too tempting to him right now.


    As he had been sleeping earlier, he was attacked, by his own mind. His mind didn''t want to let him sleep, instead, all Ark could hear when he was sleeping were the tragic screams of the hunters he had killed, and all he could see were their dead bodies. Even if it didn''t bother him during the day, it seemed like his subconscious was bothered, and it was trying to tell him something. Maybe it was trying to tell him that what he did was wrong, but even so, Ark didn''t really listen.


    What he did earlier that day was justified, both cases were self-defence, nothing else, and nothing more. It wasn''t like he wanted to kill the hunters, they just had a death wish, and tried to take away one of the few things he held dear from him, which they failed miserably with. Maybe it was a little excessive to kill all of them, but if he didn''t, then he would be putting the mother and her cub''s life at risk.


    Leaving a bunch of vengeful people like that was like asking them to come after the people he cared about, and Ark wasn''t willing to take such a risk, especially not for no reason. Whilst Ark was in the middle of his little antics, the cub was watching him quietly. For some reason, the little cub had woken up at the same time that Ark did, and had just been watching him this entire time. The cub didn''t like seeing Ark like this, and after watching him for a little while, the cub promptly got up, and then laid down again beside him.


    Ark was a little surprised by the cub''s sudden actions, but after some time passed, he managed to calm down with the cub by his side. Eventually, Ark fell back to sleep, and this time he didn''t dream anything weird again. When he woke up the next day, the mother and the cub had already woken up, and were just lying and resting, waiting for him. Seeing them resting in peace, Ark''s mood was lightened considerably.


    The day was just starting, and the weather was very nice. Even though it was fairly cold outside due to the season, the sun was still shining brightly. Ark was in a fairly good mood right now, and for some reason, he felt like it was going to be a good day. His only motivation for such a thought was only based on the fact that he had seen them resting this morning, which was something that he hadn''t really seen before, and he quite enjoyed it.


    He wasn''t obsessed with them, or at least he was telling himself that he wasn''t. To Ark''s dismay, this good day was abruptly interrupted before it even started by the sound of a loud bell. The loud bell echoed throughout a large portion of the forest. Not only did it echo throughout the entire forest, it also echoed throughout Ark''s head, and most other magical beasts that were nearby as well. The worst part about the sound wasn''t just that it was loud, but it was also infused with mana, and the foreign energy rampaging through his head hurt quite a bit.


    Ark was quick to dispel the energy, but the same could not be said for the mother and her cub.


    "Yelp!"


    Hearing the little cub in distress, Ark''s instincts took over in a heartbeat. He quickly sent his own mana to counteract the mana that was infused into the sound, and after he erased it in a split-second, he retracted his mana. He then saw that the mother had already taken care of the mana inside her head on her own, so he didn''t need to help her with anything.


    "Are you ok?"


    "Mm"


    "It still hurts papa!"


    Hearing this, Ark''s heart ached a little, but he was quick to comfort the little fellow. "Don''t worry, it''ll pass in a heartbeat!"


    He tried his best to sound positive, even if he himself was probably in an even worse mood right now. He had no idea what that sound was, but he had a feeling that it was the work of either a human or a demon. Ark was already feeling a little vengeful, no one was allowed to hurt the people that he cared about when he was around, and he also felt a little guilty himself. He had been in such a good mood that he didn''t notice the sound until it was too late, and both the mother and her cub had suffered because of it.


    Even if it was a pretty minor accident, he still blamed himself a little bit. The pain that he felt was pretty severe, and he could guess that it was even more painful for the cub, which was why the cub could still feel the aftereffects. Now, Ark''s question was, who would do this? Was there anyone that would benefit from such an attack? Or was there another purpose behind that sound, except for its harmful nature.


    Ark didn''t know, but he knew one thing, he was mad, and that was enough to warrant whoever he was up against to feel threatened. If they weren''t careful enough, then Ark would come for their throat, unless he was able to get an explanation of some sort. Then he would decide what to do based on that explanation of course. But with that said, Ark was in a bit of a situation. He really wanted to find out what happened, and find the source of that weird sound, but at the same time, he didn''t want the cub and its mother to come with him.


    Ark didn''t know what he was up against, and maybe their enemies were dangerous, there was of course a chance that there were no enemies at all, but he still didn''t want to take the risk. At the same time, it was risky to just leave them in the cave by themselves anyhow. What if Ark started to look for the enemies by himself, and then they somehow found this cave while he was gone? Before Ark could ponder too much on what to do, he was interrupted.


    "ROAAR!"


    A loud roar, almost as loud as the sound of the bell, reverberated throughout the forest. This time, Ark protected the mother and her cub from the subtle attack by himself, he wasn''t going to fall for the same thing twice. To his surprise, the sound of fighting in the distance that he had expected didn''t come, only silence. The forest that had been ravaged by such loud sounds twice had suddenly turned eerily quiet for some reason.

 Chapter 132 - King of the Forest

    The eerie quiet was scary, normally, fighting would quickly ensue following such events, but for some reason, no one was moving a muscle. From Ark''s point of view, he was sure that the magical beast that had roared earlier was a prideful beast, and just taking an insult like this lying down was kind of weird. This part of the forest was probably part of that beast''s territory, and someone creating a disturbance like this would usually result in fighting and bloodshed.


    Because of the bizarre situation, Ark wasn''t really sure what he was supposed to do. He wanted to know what happened really badly, he didn''t want the cub and the mother to suffer for no reason, and if someone actually intended to do them harm, then Ark would make sure that they would never get the chance to. The silence was a little odd, but at the very least, it was pretty nice. Unfortunately, it wouldn''t last very long.


    Another wave of sound quickly washed over the forest, this time it was the sound of the bell again. Ark didn''t move from where he was standing, and he just kept protecting the mother and her cub from the horrific soundwaves. This time was a little different than the first time though. Instead of one big soundwave that hit hard, this time it was like an unending tide of sound, and a constant loud noise rang throughout the forest.


    Even though it was really harmful for most animals, Ark didn''t really need to divert too much attention to neutralise the force of the soundwave. Before he could think too much about it, the ground inside of the cave started to lightly tremble. At first, the tremble was small enough to go completely unnoticed. But as seconds passed, the light trembling quickly escalated into rumbling, and it was more like a large scale earthquake rather than the ground just trembling.


    The plants at the entrance to the cave were fluttering in the wind as well, creating a pretty serene atmosphere. Well, at least until you checked the surroundings, only to see absolute chaos. The originally strong and tall trees trembled to the point that some of them even fell, the ground was shaking uncontrollably, and numerous magical beasts were running around wildly. After a couple more seconds passed, something changed!


    "ROOAAAR!"


    The roar that he had heard earlier was almost incomparable to this one! Even though the earlier roar had shook the forest, this one was simply in another league! From the sound of the roar, Ark could guess that the roar was from another magical beast, but it was probably the same species as the roar from earlier, but this time, the roar was a lot more majestic, and it was filled with unlimited fury. If the earlier roar was to combat the sound of the bell, this roar was to challenge it!


    Not only was the roar ungodly loud, it stirred up a weird sensation inside of Ark. The instincts that he had tried so hard to keep under control were beginning to show themselves, and his grip on his sanity was loosening as well. He didn''t let this roar affect the mother and the cub at all, as he tried desperately to keep them out of harm''s way, but the longer he tried to protect them, the worse his control over his instincts got.


    His eyesight even started to blur a little, and his eyes started to glint with a red hue. Before it could completely take him over, Ark''s mind was suddenly brought back to normal once he heard the voice of the mother behind him.


    "Are you ok? You don''t look too good."


    "I''m fine, thanks for the concern."


    Not only was he brought back to normal, Ark was even pretty happy. It was a nice feeling, someone showing concern for him. Especially when the one who showed concern for you was someone you cared about. Ark who was originally on the brink of losing control was all of a sudden in a stellar mood. The weirdest part was that he didn''t even notice these mood swings himself.


    "Should we see what''s going on outside?"


    Hearing this suggestion from the mother herself, Ark didn''t hesitate anymore.


    "Sure."


    With that said, the three left the secluded cave, and headed out into the forest. Neither Ark nor the mother were sure where to begin looking, and they didn''t really have any plans for what to do. Fortunately, as if an act of god, a change occurred. Another roar shook the leaves on the trees, and both Ark and the mother knew what direction to head in now. The weirdest part about this roar, was that it sounded more like a whimper than an actual roar, and for some reason, Ark started to feel a weird feeling in his stomach.


    What was notable was that this roar was made by the magical beast that roared the first time, and as a response, the other magical beast roared again. This roar was filled with even more anger, and Ark felt a little stuffy just from feeling the fury second-hand. He couldn''t imagine what it would feel like if he was the one who contained that sort of fury. Loud thuds could be heard off into the distance, and Ark figured that the magical beast was on the move.


    Since that was the case, All Ark had to do was follow the thuds, and then he would eventually find what he was looking for. With the mother and the cub closely behind him, Ark moved quickly and efficiently, at a pace that the two could keep up with relative ease. The Thuds eventually stopped. Ark didn''t know what was happening, but he started running a little faster, using wind magic to aid all three of them with their running.


    Soon, the trio arrived just outside the forest, on a large plain. As they did, they could finally see the majestic magical beast that managed to shake the entire forest with its roar. A pitch black bear, with some purple strands of hair was standing on one side of the plain, with a vicious expression all over its face. What surprised Ark was the fact that he was able to see some concern on the face of the large magical beast.


    When he tried to inspect it, all he was able to see was the magical beast''s title, King of the Forest. The title was fairly explanatory, and it also explained the large horde of magical beasts that were surrounding the large plain, most of them were in hiding like Ark, but unlike Ark, they almost all had the same expression as the bear had, rage and concern. As Ark noticed this, he was even more befuddled than before, what exactly was going on right now?


    It didn''t take long for him to figure out what the reason to all of this was though, as he spotted a rather large bear lying in the middle of the plain. This bear looked almost identical to the King of the Forest. The only difference was that it was a child, and that it was currently lying on the ground, whimpering in pain¡­

 Chapter 133 - Never mess with a mother!

    As Ark saw this, his once normal expression slowly twisted a little. He didn''t know the entire story yet, but just seeing this was enough to make him angry. Seeing the pained face of the bear writhing in agony on the ground, Ark felt bad, and he quickly scanned the surroundings in order to understand the whole picture. A large number of humans had gathered around the bear. Most of the humans were clad in fairly heavy silver armour, with swords strapped to their waists.


    Except for these knights, there were also two other groups of people. The first group was a group of nobility, and they were the ones who were in charge of the entire operation, while the other group was a group of mages. These mages were currently all pouring their mana into a large golden bell, which emitted a radiant light in response. What caught Ark''s interest was not this giant bell, nor was it the knights in silver armour, it was the nobles.


    At first, Ark didn''t believe his eyes, but he quickly accepted reality. These sick bastards were draining the young bear of its blood, while it was still alive! Normally, Ark wouldn''t be this angry, but seeing the small bear in agony like this¡­ something just didn''t feel right. Maybe he was able to sympathize with the mother bear because of the small cub that he had resigned himself to take care of, but either way, what these nobles were doing was inhuman.


    Or maybe that was exactly what it was, human! Ark had never seen another animal that was this obsessed with material gains, it was only humans. If this wasn''t human, then what was? Well, in any case, Ark wasn''t a human right now, and he wouldn''t condone this even if he was. Since that was the case, Ark wanted to help the mother bear save her child. At first, Ark wondered why the bear didn''t just attack them to save her child, but as he observed, he quickly found the cause.


    The bell. No matter what the mother bear did, that large golden bell was not something she could handle. The bell restricted the mother bear''s physical prowess to the point where it couldn''t get past the knights with silver armour. This golden bell looked imposing and ethereal as it hovered in the air, suppressing the mother bear with its mere presence. Fortunately for the mother bear, Ark was here. Even if the golden bell could restrict the mother bear, who was way stronger than Ark, it wasn''t really able to stop magic in any way.


    In the beginning, Ark had no idea how this bell worked, but after careful inspection, he noticed that the magical artefact made use of mana to suppress and restrict its surroundings or a specific target. The only downside to this artefact was that it could easily be handled by a magician, which is why it was normally only used in specific hunts or dungeon raids. This posed no threat to Ark though, and since he quickly figured out that he was able to take care of the golden bell, he got ready to attack.


    Before he could do anything tough, his train of thought was suddenly interrupted.


    "Humans, if you release my child right this instant, I can still spare your lives. If not, I WILL END YOU!"


    The booming sound of the bear''s voice echoed throughout not only the human''s head, but also Ark''s, and anyone that was close by or in the vicinity. Ark didn''t even know that such a thing was possible, and the notion of being able to speak to people using his mind was actually kind of cool, and also very convenient for that matter. If he was hanging out with Thufrat for example, then it wouldn''t matter if he was in human form or not. Unfortunately, Ark didn''t have this kind of skill, and it was only something that he could hope to obtain in the future.


    As Ark was thinking, his thoughts were suddenly cut off again, this time by one of the nobles.


    "What are you going to do to us? That''s right, there''s nothing you can do, so just sit back and enjoy the show, you filthy beast!" The wretched voice of a fairly chubby young man broke the silence, before the entire forest seemed to go completely silent. All of a sudden, a preposterous amount of killing intent and bloodl.u.s.t was released, encapsulating the plains. The young man wasn''t even able to stand up for a second before he fell on his behind in complete horror.


    Not only was the mother bear mad, the entire forest was mad! If you messed with the king of the forest, or in this case the queen of the forest, then you were messing with the entire forest! Ark didn''t just stand by and watch any longer, it was obvious that none of the magical beasts present were strong enough to destroy that golden bell using magic, and so he took the task upon himself. The young bear was still whimpering on the ground, the life in its eyes growing duller by the second.


    "DING!!!"


    "Guards, take care of that wolf quickly!" A panicked yell came from within the circle of nobles, whereupon the silver-armoured guards promptly made their move. As they were in the middle of their charge towards Ark, a sudden sound caught their attention.


    "Crash!"


    Golden pieces of metal rained from the sky, and the magicians that had originally been taking care of the golden bell all threw up blood from the immense backlash. The silver-armoured guards all stopped dead in their tracks and briefly turned around, their expressions filled with horror as they saw the only thing that was keeping them safe falling out of the sky. They didn''t get to feel afraid for long though, as they could already hear the sound of footsteps approaching.


    Ark didn''t wait around, and he quickly infused his cells with large amounts of mana, before using wind magic to become even faster. In the eyes of the humans, Ark was like a phantom, completely fading out of existence. The humans that were busy draining the small bear of blood suddenly all fell to the ground, each with a gaping hole on their backs. Ark appeared next to the small bear, and used healing magic almost immediately, the rest of the nobles were none of his concern.


    If they knew what was best for them then they would stay away, and run for their lives while there still might be an infinitely small chance. Behind him, Ark could hear the screams of the knights in the silver armour. A chill couldn''t help but run down his spine.

 Chapter 134 - You get what you ask for!

    The carnage behind Ark was a scene that he would rather miss than actually watch, and for good reason. Not even the numerous magical beasts surrounding the plains wanted to watch this show, as the sight of the mother bear ripping apart the soldiers was not really pleasant. That didn''t stop her at all though. The tragic screams of the soldiers echoed throughout the forest as their limbs were torn apart, and their heads were smashed to bits.


    The attacks from their swords were akin to mosquito bites, and since they were the mosquitos, the mother bear simply swatted them away. Ark himself was busily pouring his light mana into the small bear, quietly and thoroughly mending its visible wounds, as well as any hidden injuries. The worst part was that the bear had lost a lot of blood, and Ark had no means to simply replace it. Therefore, even if he was able to heal all of the bear''s wounds, it was still not going to feel particularly good.


    Ark simply did what he could do, and he did it to the best of his abilities. There were still some nobles left alive that he didn''t touch, but he didn''t really care about them. They would get what they deserved, it was more important to take care of the small bear than killing them. The mother bear would surely do that anyway. The screams of the soldiers went on for a while, before they slowly started to fade into nothingness. There were only a few of them left now, but they had all resigned to their fates by now. There was nowhere for them to run, and screaming wasn''t going to help, it was their own fault anyways. They could only blame themselves as a result.


    After the sound of a few bodies being ripped apart faded, the entire plain was suddenly engulfed in complete silence. Even though Ark was facing the opposite direction, the thick smell of blood that permeated throughout the plain was enough for his eyes to redden a little bit. He managed to regain control fairly quickly though as he once again focused on healing the small bear. If his bloodl.u.s.t got the better of him now, then he didn''t know what would happen to this small bear. Not only that, but he didn''t know what would happen to himself, or he actually had a pretty fair guess, he would probably die.


    With the life of the small bear resting in his hands, Ark would surely die by the wrath of the bear''s mother if he let his bloodl.u.s.t take over. Fortunately, he was able to restrain himself completely. The sound of the mother bear''s footsteps approached from behind, and Ark took a couple of steps away from the small bear after making sure that he had healed it back to normal, at least if you didn''t account for the blood loss.


    After moving away, the small bear was carefully inspected by the mother bear, who was surprised at how fast Ark was able to heal the little fellow, no matter how hard she looked, she wasn''t able to find any injuries in her child, and that put her at ease. Of course, she wasn''t going to let any of the humans off because of that, the moment they decided to harm her only child, they had already received the death sentence.


    The last few nobles screamed for their lives, trying desperately to come up with different excuses and reasons as to why the bear should let them go.


    "Please spare me!"


    "I was forced to do this, I didn''t want to do it!"


    "I can make it up to you! I promise! Just spare me!"


    "I have a family at home to take care of! Please don''t leave them without a father!"


    It wasn''t like the mother bear didn''t hear any of their pleas for help, but it was already too late to repent. No matter if they had a family or not, they would still have to die for their sins. Didn''t the small bear also have a family? How come these humans didn''t think of that beforehand? Oh, that''s right, they did, and they just didn''t care! There was no way any of them would be able to make it up to the mother bear, as her wrath was far too much for any of them to handle.


    With no hesitation, the lives of the nobles were gone in a heartbeat, the only thing left to remind people of their existence was the blood that was left behind on the ground. After the mother bear had taken the lives of the nobles, she walked up to her child once again, and with loving care, put it on her back. After making sure that the child wouldn''t fall off, the mother bear refocused on the present, and she looked at Ark.


    What she saw was a fairly small wolf. Judging by the strength she had seen earlier, this wolf couldn''t be simple, yet it was this small, which only alarmed her even more. The wolf had a majestic aura around it, it was nothing like any other animal or magical beast she had seen in this forest before. Even if she was alarmed by the existence of the wolf, it had still saved the life of her only child, and she was very grateful for that. If the wolf didn''t want any trouble, then she wouldn''t go looking for it by herself. Not only that, but realistically, a majestic aura such as the one this wolf was projecting was only something you would get from a bloodline, which meant that this wolf''s parents were probably not anybody she wanted to mess with.


    "Thank you for your help in saving my child, it is much appreciated!"


    Hearing the booming voice inside of his head all of a sudden, Ark was a little startled. He quickly regained his wits, and noted that this bear''s manner of speech was a little funny, probably just because it never spoke or something along those lines. Before he was able to reply, he could hear another voice inside of his head, but this one was much more monotone.


    "Due to the hosts attempt at communication using his mind, the host has obtained the skill Telepathy Lv.1."


    This voice was like music to Ark''s ears, and he was instantly excited at the prospect of gaining this new skill. He didn''t know to which extent he was able to use it right now, but that wasn''t really important, since he could always just train it in the future. This Growth skill of his that he had was actually a lot better than it seemed. Even though it seemed useless, it was actually Ark''s best skill, since it allowed him to pick up new skills faster, as well as learn a lot of skills that he normally wouldn''t be able to.


    The mother bear just looked at Ark with curiosity, she had no idea what he was doing. After hearing her speak to him in his mind, the wolf had just suddenly gone completely quiet, and she didn''t know if the wolf actually understood what she meant at all.

 Chapter 135 - An army a day keeps the doctor away.

    After quickly using inspect on his newfound skill, Ark was quickly a little disappointed. This new skill of his only allowed him to convey faint emotions, and nothing else, which meant that communicating in his wolf form was still off the table. But the chance of communication in the future was still there, and Ark was still excited at the prospect. After thinking to himself for a little while, Ark quickly realised that he had just been thanked by the mother bear.


    He also realised that it probably looked weird from the bother bear''s point of view. She had just thanked him, and he just blanked out completely as a result, which probably looked really odd. Since he couldn''t speak, Ark quickly tried out his new skill, and hoped that it would yield some kind of result. He tilted his head slightly, and he stared straight into the mother bear''s eyes. The mother bear could feel the wavelengths of mana that entered her brain, and the emotion that was attached to them.


    She was actually really surprised at first, since it seemed that the wolf had been able to pick up her skill after she just used it once, but after a second or so, she realised that it was a lot more primitive compared to her own. Even so, the fact that the wolf was able to use this primitive version of her skill after only experiencing it once was actually very shocking. The feeling that was projected to her was actually a little odd, and it took the mother bear a little while to understand it completely, it was compassion.


    The wolf in front of her was actually feeling compassion towards her and her child, which was why it helped them. This was something this mother bear had never felt before, it was a weird feeling, and it wasn''t something she would usually associate with a magical beast, at least not a random one. If it was a magical beast toward one of its family members, then it wouldn''t be weird at all. Compassion toward strangers was more or less a pretty foreign idea to most magical beasts, but the concept of compassion at all was not odd to magical beasts.


    With that said, the mother bear couldn''t just let Ark leave right now. Even if it was pretty much established that he had saved her son, she couldn''t be too careful, and she wouldn''t just allow him to leave until she felt a little reassured that her child was fine. "Even though I want to believe you wolf, you can''t leave until my child has woken up!"


    Even though he was a little annoyed, Ark knew that it was his own fault for getting involved with something that didn''t concern him. It would certainly look weird for him to pop out of nowhere and just help someone based on his compassion, with nothing to gain, and this was her child he was talking about. He would be paranoid too if someone tried to help his child for no benefit or reason. Especially not while risking his own wellbeing. That wasn''t to say that the humans could actually endanger him.


    Besides, based on his own wild guess, he probably wouldn''t need to stay here for more than an hour, the small bear was fully healed after all, and was only missing blood. In the case of a human of his own world, this would be a bigger problem, but this was the child of the "King of the Forest" which was a pretty prestigious title, and a little unfitting, considering the bear was a female after all. After signalling for the cub and the mother to come to him, Ark just laid down on the ground, and waited patiently.


    The air in the surroundings was tense, as the numerous wild magical beasts surrounding the plains were starting to grow restless from just standing there. Ark didn''t mind though, as it was simply in their nature, and he wasn''t scared of them. The mother bear knew that she wouldn''t be able to keep all these magical beasts here forever, but she also didn''t want to risk anything when her child could be in possible danger, and just let them stand there on standby as a result. Even though she didn''t expect it, her decision turned out to be correct in the end.


    As Ark was resting, he could feel a very faint shake of the ground. At first, he didn''t even pay attention to such a small detail, but after the shaking was growing more and more intense, he was eventually forced into taking note of the strange events. After about 5 minutes had passed, Ark could also hear loud rumbles in a steady rhythm. At first he was baffled, but after hearing it for a little while, Ark was able to put two and two together, and he was instantly dejected.


    An army. That was all there was to it. What Ark could hear in the distance was an army marching towards them. As for the size and how far away the army was, Ark wasn''t sure, but the one thing he knew was that the army was certainly big. Just the rumbling itself and the swaying of the trees was enough for the numerous magical beasts to grow fervent, and almost none of them could stay still. Ark stopped lazing around on the ground, and he stood up in front of the cub and the mother almost instantly.


    The mother bear was also quickly alerted, even earlier than Ark was, and in turn, she also stood in front of her own child, intending to protect it from any harm coming its way. Not long passed, and the marching sounds of the army grew louder and louder. Unlike walking through the trees, this army actually just left destruction in their path, as every tree was decimated to make room for the army that was quickly approaching. Even Ark was growing a little nervous upon hearing the sound of the army approaching for such a long time.


    As the trees in front of them were suddenly sent flying with a couple of strong gusts of wind, Ark''s expression turned a little sour and he instantly conjured up several gusts of wind in retaliation. The trees that were flying toward them were torn to shreds before they could arrive, but Ark was a little mad. Even though he had expected to get attacked, he was still angry.


    His once peaceful expression was already a little twisted, but as he felt the fear from the cub behind him, he calmed down a little. Even though he was even angrier since they scared the cute little cub, Ark needed to put on a brave front to make the cub feel even more secure. If he just let the cub feel afraid then he couldn''t just blame it on the humans, but also on himself for not reassuring the small cub.


    Since that was the case, he took a step back to come closer to the small cub, and he could almost instantly feel that the small cub''s heartbeat was slowing down considerably.

 Chapter 136 - Duel?

    To no surprise, endless men and women clad in silver armour walked out of the forest, with numerous mages amongst their ranks. At the forefront of this small army, a large imposing man clad in black armour walked imposingly. Not only that, but instead of the usual longsword that you would associate with a knight, this man dragged a large club covered in spikes along the ground, leaving a trail wherever he went.


    As the humans arrived, they saw what was once their fellow comrades torn up on the ground, and as a result, most of them were instantly enraged. Even though some of them had lost people that were really important to them, none of them made a move. Their discipline was admirable, and they wouldn''t just make a reckless move unless told otherwise by their superiors. Not every human was like this though.


    "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"


    A loud yell was heard as a knight with armour that stood out from the rest dashed out of formation. This knight''s armour had engravings that shone both gold and blue respectively, and his aura was different from the rest of them. Instead of looking at the fallen soldiers like the others, this knight knelt down at the sight of what was left of the nobles. In particular, his eyes didn''t seem to be able to leave a particular woman in a green dress, or whatever was left of her anyway.


    A tear streamed down the knights face, and he just stared at her corpse in shock, not able to take his sight off of her. Many people were influenced by the knight''s sadness, and almost anyone present was able to notice how much he had loved this woman. Seeing their vice-commander like this, as well as the state of their dead comrades, the knights were beginning to grow restless. The commander clad in black armour watched as his closest aide knelt down on the ground in shock and sadness, and he had to try really hard to not explode with anger himself.


    "Balan, get back here before you end up the same as her!" Even though his words were harsh, Balan knew that his commander cared for him, and meant well. Before he walked back reluctantly, he glanced at the large bear in front of him, an enormous amount of killing intent in his eyes. The mother bear didn''t feel bad about what she had done, these greedy humans had done this to themselves, and she had only defended her lovely child from their schemes.


    "King of the Forest, I demand an explanation for this! If not, then there will be war!"


    The man clad in black armour took a step forward, and lifted his heavy club off the ground, resting it on his shoulder.


    "Explanation? Humans never get old! Why would you care for my explanation? I attacked them because they attacked my own kin, just like you will attack me for attacking them!"


    The mother bear snapped back, and she showed everyone present why she was called the King of the Forest. The strength behind her harsh words shock everyone present, and some of the humans had to resist the urge to take a step backwards.


    Silence quickly ensued. No one dared to even breathe too loudly, as everyone was anxious about the fight that was about to break out. The commander in black armour contemplated silently. He knew that what the bear was saying was probably true, but even so, what was there he could do about it? If he was to not think about his troops, then he would''ve already left, as the only people that had died had done so because of their own greed. But if he just left, how was he supposed to lead his soldiers in the future?


    The commander was caught in a dilemma. Even if he might win the small war, at what cost would he do so? What was the point? To show dominance? To get revenge? Either way it was only stupid, but there was nothing he could do, he had to come up with something.


    "Then how do you suggest we solve this then? We can''t just leave like this! You should know this!"


    The King of the Forest was a little surprised at the human''s question, but she was able to quickly figure out why he asked for her opinion. He didn''t want to spill blood, at least not create rivers of blood flowing through the forest. The king of the forest was actually relieved at the notion, as she didn''t want the forest or her child to be endangered.


    "How about this, we have a duel to decide our fates? If I win, you humans leave this forest, but if I lose, then you can have my head!"


    The commander in black armour was taken aback by such a suggestion, but he was quickly convinced. This was perfect for reducing losses and there was no real risk involved, he could also soothe his soldiers this way. There was only a slight problem, he was no match for the king of the forest, and not by a small amount. Before he could fret too much, he came up with a new idea.


    "I''ll accept your suggestion on a condition. Instead of us duelling, we each choose a champion to fight for us! How does that sound?"


    "I''ll agree to your condition human, but do note that this fight will be to the death!"


    "Of course!"


    As this was said, the duel was set in stone. No one was allowed to interfere with the fight, and it would only end when one of the participants was left alive. There was no other rule than these two, you could fight however you wanted, and with whatever methods you wanted, whether they were considered good or bad. The commander in black armour declared Balan as his champion, but the King of the Forest was still not sure who her champion should be.


    Before she was able to decide on who her champion would be, she could feel a large influx of mana entering her brain, once more, she was able to feel the emotions that were associated with this mana. D.e.s.i.r.e. The King of the Forest was a little shocked, but as she turned her head to look at Ark, all she was able to see in his eyes were his pure intentions. He wasn''t trying to deceive her, he truly wanted to take this fight!


    As for why? She didn''t know, but she was sure that it was probably to protect his family, and nothing else. When the humans blasted the trees and scared his child, the wolf seemed to be enraged, even if it was hard to notice. The King of the Forest was perceptive, and after thinking briefly about these details, she decided to let him fight. Considering how much this wolf seemed to care for its family, he wouldn''t want to leave them behind.


    This meant that the wolf was really confident in its own victory, even to the point of risking its family''s happiness. After seeing the King of the Forest nod at him, Ark knew that he was allowed to fight, and he walked forward. Before he did, the small cub walked up to him, and rubbed against his side a little, before it walked back to its mother. This was the cub''s way of showing his affection, and Ark was moved as a result.


    He vowed to himself that he would win this fight, and to not let the small cub down! With steady steps, he walked away from the two, and appeared in front of Balan. Even though the humans were surprised by the fact that this wolf was chosen without them even noticing how, they were even more surprised by the opponent itself. Was the King of the Forest looking down on them? Or was this some kind of joke? The King of the Forest''s life was on the line, yet she sent this small wolf forward to represent her?

 Chapter 137 - Heartbreak.

    Standing face to face with his enemy, Ark stared him straight in his eyes. The only person who was taking Ark serious was Balan. Unlike the others, he was able to feel a sense of danger whenever he looked at Ark, and he had no idea why. As he stared straight into Ark''s eyes, his will to fight wavered slightly. Before anything could happen though, he quickly looked away. A few drops of sweat ran down his back, that was close!


    He didn''t really know how the wolf did it, but if he had looked too long, he had a feeling that he would just give up the fight. With a hand on the sword on his waist, Balan carefully drew his sword, before he once again stared straight at Ark. This time, his conviction was unwavering, and Ark wasn''t able to mess with his head. He did note that this telepathy skill of his could be really useful in the future, since he was able to influence other''s emotions as long as they didn''t find out what he was doing. The only downside was that it only worked on people that didn''t enough willpower, not that Ark could be completely sure after one try.


    The air between them seemed stale, and time seemed to slow down as they both stared at each other, anticipating the other''s move. After a couple of minutes had passed, Balan grew impatient, and he decided to attack first. Ark only smirked slightly upon seeing this, it seemed like his opponent was impatient. Not only was Balan impatient, but he also wanted revenge, and he was angry. These factors combined was going to make the fight easier for Ark, as they would make Balan more prone to making mistakes.


    As Balan rushed forward with his sword, he made a simple vertical slash. Seeing the small amount of energy the attack contained, Ark was about to dismiss it with just a casual attack, when he noticed something. Even though it was really hard to notice, the might that was concealed in this one strike was nothing to scoff at, and if he just casually tried to dismiss it, he would get hurt. Since there were plenty of magical beasts behind him, Ark didn''t dodge the attack, just in case something went wrong.


    Since he knew his opponent was impatient, Ark suddenly got an idea. When the attack was just about to hit him, he casually destroyed it with a swipe of his claws, only for it to blow up with a devastating amount of energy. Balan smiled with disdain as Ark''s face was twisted with fear, an enormous explosion quickly engulfing his entire figure. What Balan didn''t know was that Ark had prepared a mana shield in advance, which he had set up around himself in the last second when no one could see him.


    After the explosion "engulfed" him, Ark quickly activated his stealth skill, and erased his presence. Everyone present was quickly surprised. Was the fight really this anticlimactic? Was this what happened when you underestimate someone? The cub and the mother were both silent. They both panicked on the inside at first when they saw Ark being engulfed by the explosion, but as they had been with him for quite some time now, their bond had grown quite deep, and both of them was able to feel that Ark was still alive. There was also no smell of blood in the air, which only reinforced their assumptions.


    Balan felt proud of himself after successfully defeating Ark. This move of his had defeated countless people, as almost anyone he faced fell for the simple illusion of the strength behind the move, and they underestimated it as a result. With a smirk on his face, he looked at the King of the Forest, almost mocking her, of course, his sense of smell wasn''t as good as hers, and even she was able to tell that Ark was still alive. The dust in the air from the previous attack was beginning to settle, but before it could, a loud sound broke the cheers of the humans.


    Ark made use of his cellular mana infusion to boost the strength of his body beyond imagination, he then lunged at Balan. Balan barely got a chance to react, but he still managed to barely raise his shield in front of himself. Ark''s attack slammed straight into the shield, which in turn slammed straight into Balan''s own c.h.e.s.t, as he didn''t have enough strength to hold the shield and withstand the attack.


    "CRACK!"


    Not only did the shield crack, but so did almost every bone in his c.h.e.s.t. All that was left was splinters, which in turn were on the verge of puncturing his lungs and other important organs. He was already bleeding profusely internally, and after a few more seconds, his life would be forfeit. That''s how long he had until the bone splinters in his body destroyed his lungs beyond repair. Since he knew the situation of his own condition better than anyone else, Balan knew that he was done for.


    The immense pain was nothing when compared to the death of his lover, and instead of resigning himself to fate, he wanted to take Ark to the grave with him. He wanted to do anything he could to make the King of the Forest pay for what she had done, even if it was at the cost of his own life.


    Every human present was worried about him, and with them behind his back, Balan rose from the ground and stood up. Ark was still in front of him, since he wasn''t sent flying by the force of the attack, and since that was the case, he used up the only strength he had left in his body to swing his sword one last time before he passed away.


    Ark could see the attack coming from a mile away, as the swing was very wide, and not very subtle. Since that was the case, Ark made good use of his agility, and swiftly dodged the attack. Like the first attack, this attack also seemed fairly weak and simple, but when it came into contact with the ground behind, the entire ground was ruptured! Not only that, but the attack kept going, heading straight for the King of the Forest. Maybe this was his whole intent the entire time? To attack the King of the Forest. Maybe he didn''t even try to win from the very beginning.


    As for Ark, when he narrowly dodged the attack, he decided to be a little merciful and swiftly end Balan''s life. Dying by having his internal organs slowly punctured by his own broken bones and then bleed to death seemed like a horrifying way to die, and Ark wasn''t going to let him die like that, instead, he simply pierced the man''s heart with a long icicle that he conjured out of mana.


    The King of the Forest had no problems dealing with Balan''s attack, and as he slumped over on the ground, he could see her still standing there, watching him. The fight ended just like that. That day, Balan''s heart was broken twice.

 Chapter 138 - Names?

    Even if Ark was more indifferent to life than he was before, even he felt his heart ache a little as he watched Balan slump over on the ground, at the very least he was going to meet his lover once more. The humans that had started to cheer were all silent now. The ones who knew Balan tried their hardest to hold both their tears and themselves back. The commander in black stared at Ark silently, his vision sometimes shifting to Balan''s corpse. Regret took over him. If he had just let this matter slide, his closest aide wouldn''t need to die.


    The commander in black was shaken, but he knew that now was not the time to mourn, as doing something like that now would only have negative side-effects. He ordered a few men to take Balan''s corpse with them, before he nodded at the King of the Forest. Just five minutes later, the human army was nowhere to be seen, and the once chaotic scene quickly calmed down and returned to normal. All the magical beasts in the surroundings scattered, and the only ones left were the King of the Forest, her child, Ark, the cub as well as its mother.


    Ark had no interest in socialising with the King of the Forest, and after using his telepathy, Ark left with his entourage. Such a sudden conflict had been handled, but Ark was a little tired as a result. Why did his life always have to be so annoying and eventful? Sometimes he just wanted to relax. Everything he had been through had already started to gnaw at his mind, but constantly fighting for his life and defending the people he cared about was tiring.


    Nonetheless, it was something he just had to do. In a world like this, survival was the biggest priority, it couldn''t be compared to his previous life, were a lot of people could just live comfortably, and the biggest problems were not magical beasts as well as demons or humans trying to kill you. Sure, people were murdered all the time in his old world, but that wasn''t just an everyday thing or something like that.


    After they had walked for a while, Ark killed a random magical beast, and they stopped for a break. Time passed slowly, and the smell of raw meat and blood wafted through the air. Ever since he had gotten away from all of his torture, Ark had started to eat meat raw, as it felt more natural that way, and he was a little more true to his instincts. As he was eating, the small little cub cuddled a little with him, happy that he was able to win the duel effortlessly. Because of how it had lived up until now, bloodshed like that didn''t even phase the little thing, as it had killed animals before, and didn''t see any difference between killing and animal and a human.


    As they ate, Ark pondered a little. He really wanted to find Thufrat, mostly to just tell him that he was safe, but also because he just wanted to meet him. The problem was that Ark had no clothes that he could use. If he wanted to find Thufrat, then he would need to head to a Torment of the Fallen outpost, but to do that, he needed clothes. But in a forest like this, where was he supposed to find a set of clothes? Ark thought a little about it, until he got a pretty weird idea. Before he was able to think too much about it, he was distracted.


    "What are you thinking about?"


    The soothing voice of the mother entered Ark''s ears, and he was a little entranced, it wasn''t often that he could hear this voice.


    "I''m thinking about a lot of things actually."


    "Anything that''s troubling you?"


    Ark was a little touched by the question, but unfortunately, he wasn''t really sure what he was supposed to say. Was he supposed to just tell them that he was able to shapeshift into a human, and that he wanted to find one of his friends? When he asked himself that particular question in his head, Ark kind of blanked. Why would he not want to tell them? He had nothing to hide, and just because he could shapeshift into a different form didn''t mean that he became someone else.


    "Actually, there are several things that have been troubling me lately, what am I supposed to call you and your child for example? It feels kind of weird to not call you by your names."


    "We don''t have any names."


    The answer to his question was short and to the point, and Ark wasn''t too surprised. So far, he hadn''t run into a single magical beast with a name, at least not that he could remember. He pondered quietly for a little bit, he needed to call them something, as it was way too awkward for him if he didn''t, and he also felt a little distant seeing as he couldn''t even call them by their respective names. Since that was the case, Ark came up with a simple solution.


    "How about I give you your own names then?"


    As he said this, not only was the mother shocked, but even the little cub was surprised. Even if it hadn''t lived for long, it knew about the importance names held for magical beasts.


    "Are you sure?"


    "Of course I''m sure, I wouldn''t suggest it if I wasn''t!"


    Hearing this, even the mother began to grow a little excited. Not even the King of the Forest had a name, and was she and her child really about to get their own names? Names usually represented different things when it came to magical beasts, they didn''t get them at birth from their parents like humans. Some did, but those were exceptions. Normally, a name for a magical beast could be associated with royalty, strength, wisdom, or maybe a certain achievement. A title would usually be associated with the name as well.


    "I''ll start with you." Ark said as he looked gently at the small cub.


    "Atar!"


    Ark had no idea where the name had come from, but he just suddenly felt like it was very fitting, and he thus decided on this name. There was not much real thought process behind it. The cub was giddy with emotions as it heard its new name, and it couldn''t help but bounce around happily after hearing it. As Ark had decided on the cub''s name, he then looked to its mother.


    "Ephine!"


    Ark felt proud of himself, as both of these names had just showed up in his head out of nowhere, and he just instinctively knew that these names were suited for the two. As for the meaning behind the two names, Ark wasn''t entirely sure, but he hoped that he would find out one day. Before any of them could really rejoice over the situation, both Atar and Ephine started to get enveloped by a strange white light. This white light wasn''t the same as the light Ark was enveloped by whenever he levelled up, as it had a burning radiance to it.


    Nonetheless, as Ark saw what was happening to them, he was struck with fear!

 Chapter 139 - Evolution?

    If it was just the normal light that he was enveloped with when he levelled up, then he would just be excited for them, but considering that it had a burning sensation to it, even to the point where he had to back up a little if he didn''t want to get hurt. He didn''t know what was going on, and it scared him. The thought of losing them now, was something that scared him more than any torture could.


    Maybe something good was happening, but Ark didn''t count on it, and he was worried about them nonetheless. Before he could get too worried, he felt a large amount of mana leaving his body. Not only was it leaving his body, but it felt like it was being s.u.c.k.e.d out of him. There was nothing Ark could do to stop it, and he could only watch as a large stream of mana flowed into the bodies of Atar and Ephine.


    As the mana entered their bodies, the burning light only grew stronger and stronger. But a change occurred. The light switched colour. From the original white light, it became blue, then red, then black, and it kept switching colours. At first, Ark was confused, until he realised the colours were the same colours that corresponded to his elements. When he saw that, he got an idea of what was happening. He had no idea what the meaning behind giving someone a name was in this world, but so far, it seemed like it was something extraordinary.


    From what he could see so far, it looked like giving someone a name would give them some of your power. This was something that Ark was actually pretty happy about, as it seemed like they would be a step closer in the future. Ark had always wanted a family, or something that he could call a family, and if nothing went wrong, then he might actually get just what he was looking for.


    He was sceptic in the beginning, but after thinking about it, he was beginning to grow hopeful. He really hoped that nothing would go wrong, and that they would be able to inherit some of his power. If they did, then he wouldn''t need to protect them in the future if he ever disappeared, not that he was planning on doing something like that. Nonetheless, it was a really good thing if they became more powerful.


    After some time passed, the numerous different colours started to intertwine with each other, and blend together. Vortexes of dazzling colours formed above the, no longer just s.u.c.k.i.n.g in the mana from Ark, but also from the surroundings. Ark didn''t want any other magical beasts to interfere with this phenomenon, so he used what mana he had left to create a large barrier to keep any magical beasts or humans away.


    Even though he didn''t know it himself, Ark had undoubtedly saved all of their lives in doing so, as magical beasts from all over the forest were beginning to gather around them. But none of them were able to get past the barrier, as Ark had spent a lot of time and mana to make is as strong as absolutely possible.


    Some magical beasts certainly had the strength to contend with the barrier, but they were too vigilant to do such a thing. What if the barrier was just something this magical beast had done casually? Then they would certainly be doomed if they tried to do something shady. Not only that, but they would expose themselves to a counterattack if they were the first to attack the barrier, and no magical beast really knew what was going on anyway, they could only feel weirdly compelled to find out what was going on, it was almost as they were drawn to whatever was going on inside the barrier.


    As Ark watched the vortexes growing bigger and bigger, devouring everything in their way, he was beginning to grow tired. His heavy use of mana was making him a little dizzy, and he felt like he needed to desperately sleep. The thing was, he didn''t feel comfortable just falling asleep without knowing what was going to happen to them. Therefore he just walked away a little, and rested a little against a tree.


    His rest was certainly needed, as just resting five minutes was enough for him to get a little clearheaded. Which was something that he would desperately need, as the vortexes that had been growing steadily for all this time, were beginning to shrink down again. As they did, the energy they gathered started to acc.u.mulate inside of Atar''s and Ephine''s bodies. At this point, Ark wasn''t even able to see them anymore, as they were completely submerged inside of the blinding light.


    The vortexes suddenly shrunk down to an infinitely small size, before disappearing in the blink of an eye. The enormous amount of energy flooded Atar''s and Ephine''s bodies, surprising Ark a little in the process. Even though he believed in them, he wasn''t sure if their bodies would be able to handle such a large influx of energy, without any real preparation. In reality, their bodies had actually already been prepared to handle the energy, which was the burning white light''s job.


    Of course, Ark had no idea about this, and he was thus worried for nothing. Minutes later, the white light started to slowly dim down. It took almost 5 entire minutes for the light to dim down enough for Ark to be able to focus on it intently. As he did, the light slowly disappeared, only to reveal two lone figures. Before he could rejoice that they were alive, Ark was shocked beyond belief.


    What he saw was not the bodies of two wolves as he had expected. On the ground in front of him, laid two humans. Neither of them had any clothes on, but Ark was able to quickly realise who they were. He wasn''t entirely sure how this had happened, but he guessed that it was because of his ability to turn into a human that they had turned out like this. He wasn''t able to watch them closely though, as they didn''t have any clothes on, and he was feeling really awkward.


    He had no idea how he was supposed to react to the situation, before he noticed that they were beginning to wake up. Since there was nothing else to do, Ark just waited a little. Surely enough, they both woke up seconds later, and they sat up. Or at least they tried to, they had no idea how they were supposed to control their newfound bodies, and both of them kind of just flopped over. Ark wanted to help them, but it was suddenly like they both seemed to realise something, and they just sat up. After inspecting their bodies a little, they both turned their heads to look at Ark.


    Ark still had a hard time looking at them, but as he saw Ephine''s eyes, he lost all concentration. All he was able to see were those mesmerising eyes, nothing else seemed to matter. Even if her body was different, her eyes stayed the same, and Ark still loved them like crazy.

 Chapter 140 - Explanation.

    Ark was lost in her gaze, and he wasn''t able to divert his attention at all, it was like he was stuck in another dimension, and he couldn''t look away. This eye contact only lasted a couple of seconds in reality before it abruptly came to an end. Ephine tilted her head a little, seemingly surprised by the fact that she had just stared into Ark''s eyes for such a long time without realising. When she glanced around, she quickly noticed something odd, namely her new body. She inspected her new hands, and moved her fingers back and forth, she even tried to grab some grass on the ground.


    Oddly enough, her new body felt natural, and she wasn''t freaked out about it. Even if she was still a little taken aback, she knew that it was a side-effect of getting her name. But that assumption only gave her another question, why would she turn into a human just because she got a name from Ark? Of course, this was because Ark could turn into a human, which also meant that this new body of hers was only temporary.


    Temporary or not, Ephine had no idea, and she didn''t really care either way, she was still the same being anyways, nothing would change except for what she could do and her appearance, which wasn''t something that she had ever thought about before. And why would she, she had no reason to do so, as that wasn''t something a normal wolf would care about. Atar wasn''t as intelligent as his mother, but he was occupied with testing out his new body, rather than thinking about why he was in it, or what it meant.


    Her glance found her way to Ark again, and she quickly noticed that he refused to look at her body at all, which for her, was pretty weird. Why would he feel shy with watching the body of a human? Unless¡­ Before she could finish that train of thought, Ark disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    Ark was using his cellular mana infusion skill to run as fast as he could, straight back to where they had just been fighting with humans. Since both Atar and Ephine had turned into humans, Ark knew that he had to tell them about his other form, and maybe a little about his life as well. He wasn''t in a bad mood though, he needed to tell them eventually, and the world had just presented him with a perfect chance to tell them, why would he not want to take it?


    Since he couldn''t just talk to them n.a.k.e.d, and since he didn''t want to see them stark n.a.k.e.d either, he was going to get them some clothes. Even if these clothes had just been on corpses, Ark didn''t think that they would care. Some of the clothes weren''t even really ruined, they were only stained with blood, which was something that Ark could get rid of with his water magic anyways. After looking around the battlefield for a while, not only did Ark find some clothes, he found a couple of spatial bags as well, which would actually help him a lot, as this meant that he would be able to enter cities and buy whatever he needed.


    The clothes that he picked out for himself were really simple, and there were a few small holes in them, but nothing that he cared about, and nothing that was really noticeable. Even though he knew that he had to tell them, Ark was still a little nervous, he didn''t know how they were going to react. Would they start to hate him? Would they accept him anyways? Would they even care in the first place? Ark wasn''t entirely sure, but he sincerely hoped that they would give him a chance.


    From Atar''s and Ephine''s perspective, Ark just suddenly disappeared without saying anything. Half a minute later, they could hear someone appearing. When they saw who turned up in front of them, they both instantly turned defensive, and both got ready to defend themselves. Instead of Ark who they had expected, a human male had shown up in front of them all of a sudden.


    Before they could freak out or attack him, Ark tried his best to calm them down.


    "Don''t worry, it''s only me, Ark!"


    As he spoke, he forgot entirely that he was talking in human language, and he wasn''t really sure if they could even understand what he was saying. Fortunately, he could see apparent signs that they were surprised by what he said, which indicated that they had understood what he was saying. At least Ark figured that it was a fairly safe assumption to make.


    "You''re Ark? But how?"


    Ephine was the first to question him, but she seemed to be rather open-minded about the whole situation, and her hostility was already gone.


    "Papa?"


    The cub only looked at him curiously, and didn''t seem to care at all that he was a human all of a sudden.


    "I''m not really sure where to begin, but as you might''ve already guessed, I''m not just a normal wolf."


    From there, Ark briefly explained the fact that he was both human and wolf and some of the things that he had been through so far. He tried to make it as concrete and easy to understand as he could, but it still sounded a little weird. He left out some particular facts like the fact that he was from another world, as there was no need to talk about it right now, it would only further complicate the situation, and Ark didn''t have the patience to do that right now.


    He also explained how he was able to turn into a human, and how they were suddenly turned into humans as well. Atar just curiously listened to him, without a single worry in the world. Human or wolf, it didn''t matter to the cub, Ark had been there for them when they needed him the most, and he had already grown to depend on him. Ephine was a little less na?ve than her son, but she was still just sitting there and listening to Ark.


    Fascinated by Ark''s stories and explanations, she simply stared him straight into his eyes, and listened intently on what he was saying. Ark noticed her stare, and returned the favour. As he did, he remembered that neither of them had any clothes on, and he quickly retrieved the clothes that he had picked out and cleaned for them earlier.


    Contrary to his expectation, when Ark threw the clothes in front of them, both Ephine and Atar just looked curiously at the clothes, before tilting their heads, and shifting their gaze to Ark. Ark quickly realised his mistake, how were they supposed to know how to put on human clothes? Of course they wouldn''t know what to do in such a situation. Ark quickly helped Atar to put on his attire, which was a little too big for him, as there were no children present during the battle, but it would just have to do the job until Ark could get something better for him.


    After Ark had helped Atar, there was only Ephine left, who eagerly waited for his help¡­

 Chapter 141 - Weapons!

    Contrary to Ark''s beliefs, Ephine wasn''t bothered by the fact that she was n.a.k.e.d. Just like her son, she wasn''t able to see something wrong with it. Ark was awkward to say the least, this situation wasn''t something he ever expected to experience. Since she had no idea how she was supposed to get dressed herself, Ark had to help her thoroughly, which was a new experience for him.


    He was a little excited at the prospect of them being so close, but he quickly calmed down. A minute or so later, all three of them were dressed, and they were indistinguishable to other humans. At least if you only looked at the surface. Considering how they acted, it would be hard for anyone to not be suspicious of them. Fortunately for them, these new bodies came with some basic memories of how to operate them, and so, they didn''t need to figure out how to walk and so forth.


    Well even if they knew how to do everything, it would still take them some time to get used to these forms. Ark wasn''t really sure what he was supposed to do now that they had gotten clothes, maybe they wanted to try their new bodies out a little? As that thought crossed his mind, Ark realised that it was probably for the better if they knew how to fight in their new shapes, at least to an acceptable degree.


    As he looked at them fully dressed, Ark realised just how good these two looked. Atar was a handsome young guy, and even if he was only a pup, he looked to be around 12 or 13 years old in his human form, which didn''t really fit with the way he acted. His figure was rather slender, but Ark could still feel an almost terrifying amount of strength hidden within. His hair was snow-white, just like his mothers, but unlike her green mesmerising eyes, his were a clear blue colour.


    He was sure that they would have to use these forms later down the road if they wanted to be with him, and since that was the case, they needed to be able to protect themselves in these forms. Besides, Ark was pretty sure that they would''ve gotten some sort of power-up from this whole spectacle. It wouldn''t be limited to some human forms, right?


    "Uhmm, what do you guys say about testing out these new bodies of yours? Do you guys want to try and go hunting?"


    "Sure!"


    "Yaaaay, hunting!"


    Both of them seemed excited at the prospect of trying out their new powers, as they knew more than Ark about just how powerful they had really gotten. In their human forms, it wasn''t like they could fight with their teeth and claws as they had been doing before, and so, Ark decided that it was probably for the better if he armed them with weapons that suited them. The only problem was that he had no idea which weapon would suit each of them best.


    From what he had seen so far, Atar seemed to be an aggressive fighter, and liked to be up close with his opponents, whereas Ephine was way more reserved, and would rather fight from a distance. After some consideration, Ark came up with suitable weapons for each of them, and he called them over.


    "Ephine, Atar, come here for a second!"


    They both walked a little awkwardly to him, and he only smiled as he saw them walk all wobbly towards him. Atar arrived a little before his mother, and he sat down heavily upon arrival, taking a deep breath, it seemed like it harder for him to move in this new shape than he originally thought. Unlike her son, Ephine wasn''t as hasty, and she took her time carefully walking forward, slowly growing a little more accustomed with each step. As she was about to arrive without fault, she grew a little overexcited, and she fell over as a result. Ark wasn''t just about to let her fall, and his body reacted in pure instinct. With an arm wrapped around her waist, Ark quickly pulled her body towards his own to prevent her from hitting the ground.


    Like this, they were suddenly facing each other, only a couple of inches between their faces. Ark felt his face burn, and he quickly let go once Ephine had her feet stable on the ground again. This time, even Ephine felt a little embarrassed, but also oddly happy for some reason. She didn''t really get why, but she quickly put it behind her. As for Ark, his heart was beating wildly, to the point where it even started to concern him. [Why the hell is my heart beating so fast? Am I getting sick? There''s no way right? How would I suddenly just get sick?]


    Before he could start to worry, his heartbeat slowly returned to normal, and his concern swiftly disappeared as swiftly as it had come. He had never felt like that before, and he was almost beginning to get scared. Fortunately, it disappeared quickly, and he didn''t have to worry anymore. Since both Ephine and Atar were in front of him now, he retrieved two weapons from his spatial bag.


    The first thing he retrieved from his spatial bag was a white bow. This bow was crafted from a particular type of white wood, and it was exquisitely crafted. He quickly handed it over to Ephine, before he retrieved the next weapon. Atar''s weapon was actually a pair of black gloves. Since Atar didn''t know how to put them on, Ark quickly helped him before he explained his thought process a little.


    "Considering how you both fight, I think these weapons are good choices for the both of you!"


    "Atar, since I doubt that you would be able to quickly learn how to wield a weapon effectively, I decided that it was probably better to give you a simple weapon that suited your aggressive fighting style."


    "Ephine, since you usually fight from a distance and with magic, I think this elegant bow is a good fit for you. With your reserved way of fighting, a bow suits you quite well. With magic, you can easily conjure up a multitude of different arrows as well, so there won''t be a need for any arrows!"


    Atar didn''t really pay much attention to Ark''s explanation, he was just really excited about his new weapon, and his new body for that matter. As for Ephine, she quietly absorbed everything Ark was saying, and she actually quite liked the bow she was given. Not only was it elegant, but it truly did fit her. Not only was it white like her hair, but she was just happy in general upon receiving her very first weapon. Anything that could amplify her strength was a good thing.


    Ark didn''t really need a weapon, but just for look''s sake, he attached a sword to his waist in case they ran into other humans, as he didn''t want to have all of his cards out in the open. Now that all three of them had their weapons equipped and ready, they set off to test their newfound strength.

 Chapter 142 - First Venture!

    Even though they set off, they didn''t really move very fast. Atar was barely able to walk, and Ephine got tired pretty fast, which was why they took breaks very often. As time passed, they both grew more and more accustomed to their new forms, and walking became less of a hassle overall. They still needed to rest every now and then, but walking was almost natural now, which was a large improvement. Even if they had already seen a lot of different magical beasts that they could try to fight, Ark wanted them to grow a little more accustomed to walking before he let them do anything else, just as a safety measure.


    It didn''t take more than an hour until they could both use their bodies proficiently, which meant that they had around 2 hours or so left, which was plenty of time to get some combat training. "Are you guys feeling comfortable enough to try and fight now?"


    Neither Atar nor Ephine said anything, they both just nodded in silence. As they had been walking around, Ark had taught them a little about how they should breathe and walk to make as little noise as possible. Even though there were no magical beasts around, they still chose to be quiet. Ark didn''t really care, he got his answer either way, and he just took a step back.


    Since they were supposed to learn, Ark didn''t want to help them with anything unless they were in danger, and he just watched as they tried their best to navigate the forest, to find prey. Unlike in their wolf forms, there was no way for them to use their sense of smell to locate their prey, which they would otherwise do. Instead, they had to learn how to manipulate the mana around them to expand their area of detection. When you knew how to do it, it was very easy, and something that Ark could do almost subconsciously.


    But if you had never done it before, then it was an entire different story. Atar had no idea how he was supposed to do it, and even after Ark''s simple explanation, he was completely lost. Fortunately, his mother was a lot more adept in the use of magic, and she was able to quickly figure out how to do it. Ark wanted them both to learn how to do it, but he knew that Atar wasn''t that good at magic, so he figured that he would teach him later. Atar was able to use elementary magic, as Ark witnessed earlier, but he would much rather use his body to fight, as it felt much more natural to him.


    After another ten minutes or so passed, Ephine had finally found the first opponent that she thought they would be able to beat on the first try. The opponent they had found was an Aqua Hound. Like the name suggested, this magical beast was a hound, which was adept in the use of water magic, and it was almost 2 meters tall, with ferocious fangs lined up inside of its mouth. Its fur was a dark shade of brown, almost dark enough to be called black, but not quite.


    Had Ark not been as strong as he was, even he would probably be a little intimidated, fortunately, he was way stronger than this little pup, and he wasn''t going to pay much attention to this fight. He was confident that Atar and Ephine could win without any sort of troubles.


    The hound glared at the trio when they walked out from behind a couple of trees, but when it saw Ark, it quickly grew quiet. The hound just stared at him blankly for a while, before taking a step back. Even though it wasn''t really sure how strong this human in front of it was, it could still feel some of Ark''s hidden power, which was enough for it to want to run for its life. Since he didn''t want to scare away the hound, Ark simply backed off a little, and let Atar and Ephine do what they were supposed to do.


    Ephine elegantly retrieved her bow from her back, and took half a step back, getting ready to fire. The attention of the hound was immediately drawn, and so was the bowstring. An arrow made completely out of water materialised on the bowstring, and Ephine was just about to release it. Before she could fire, she heard a crunching noise, and the hound simply disappeared. Where it was once standing, laid a pool of blood. In front of it stood Atar, covered in the blood of the creature he had just killed.


    Ark was surprised, but so was Atar! He had never expected to become so strong all of a sudden, and he couldn''t really wrap his head around it, he knew that it was because of his new name, but he didn''t understand why the difference was so big. Ephine could feel her increase in power more clearly than Atar could, but she was still surprised by his power. Judging by his expression, Ephine could tell that her son had no idea that was going to happen, and she didn''t know if she was supposed to be happy or worried about him.


    Power was a good thing in a world like this, as it allowed them to stay alive and take care of each other, but too much power, and too suddenly at that, could often lead to mental problems, and in extreme cases even insanity. Ephine sighed. She was beginning to overthink things again. It was a new habit of hers that she had picked up recently, but she just couldn''t help it sometimes. Atar was quite the opposite, and his mind-set was a little too simple sometimes, but he still had his young age to blame for it.


    Seeing as he was covered in blood, he shot a quick glance at Ark. Ark immediately responded by conjuring up some water to clean him, and then some wind to dry him off, and finally some heat to warm him up.


    "Thank you papa!"


    Hearing Atar speak as a human was something odd for both Ephine and Ark, but Ark actually quite liked it, his voice was cute, he was a child after all. Unlike some children Ark had heard before, Atar didn''t have an annoying voice at all.


    "Oh Atar, if you had asked me I could''ve done it for you!"


    Ephine pouted as she spoke, making Atar giggle a little, before he responded earnestly. "Of course mama! Next time!"


    Ark was trying his hardest to keep a straight face, but he was struggling. Hearing her speak in her human form was really cute and all, but the pouting just made it so much better. Both his eyes and ears were captivated at the same time, and he had to try his hardest to keep himself in check, and not look like a fool. In reality, Ark just wanted to smile foolishly. The minute changes in his expression didn''t go unnoticed by Ephine, but she didn''t understand what was going on, and she just decided to ignore it, as usual.

 Chapter 143 - Mishap!

    As they had killed their first magical beast without any trouble, Ark decided that it was probably for the better if they kept training for a little longer, preferably against something stronger. Ephine hadn''t even gotten her chance to fight yet, and he wanted them both to experience how it felt to fight in these new bodies. For the majority of the time, they would all still be wolves, but for the times when they were not, they needed to be ready to fight and protect themselves, as Ark couldn''t protect them forever.


    Having gotten used to using her mana to search their surroundings, it only took them about five minutes to find another opponent, but this time the opponent was a lot stronger than the previous one, as they had both gotten a lot stronger. As Ark inspected the opponent, even he was a little surprised by the strength of the opponent Ephine had chosen. The opponent this time was not a normal magical beast, as it was a humanoid. This monster was known as a High-orc, the next step on the evolution path of a normal orc, a creature that had immense physical prowess.


    The level cap of a High-orc was high, and some High-orcs could probably even beat Ark. This High-orc wasn''t too high level though, and Ephine and Atar definitely stood a chance, at least if Ark used the strength Atar showed earlier as a reference. The High-orc had a crude bone club in one of his hands, his weapon of choice. As it saw Atar, it instantly got mad, and it started to speak in its foul language, spitting all over the place as it rambled something incessantly.


    Atar didn''t know what the High-orc was saying, but he knew that it was insulting him, and he was ready to fight! His fists that he had started to have in his pockets, went up in front of his face, as Ark had told him to hold them. Even though he knew that it was to protect himself, he was pretty relaxed in his stance, and it wasn''t going to offer much protection if someone actually attacked him. Atar wasn''t much of a defensive or calculating fighter, he liked to go all-out, and just brawl until there was a clear winner.


    The reason Ark told him to keep that stance was just to offer him some minimal protection, as it was better than nothing. The High-orc seemed to be eager to fight as well, and the club that it had dragged across the ground was instantly raised high into the air, ready to be brought down at any time. Atar wasn''t afraid of a challenge, and he decided to accept this high-orcs attack head-on. The high-orc was annoyed by Atar''s provocation, how dared this kid stand up to him?


    The high-orc was mad, and it started to growl, before it madly swung its crude club fiercely. Even if the swing was very unsophisticated, and normal, it contained a terrifying amount of power, something that no normal human would ever be able to contend with. But Atar wasn''t normal, and he wasn''t a human for that matter either. Ark was satisfied with the courage he showed, whereas Ephine was a little more proud, and also a little concerned. This was her only son, and he was just a little pup in her eyes, not a warrior.


    Unlike his mother, Atar didn''t see himself as a pup anymore, after he had gotten his new name, his power had taken a massive leap, and he was a lot stronger than before, although he himself was still the same little pup as before.


    "BANG!"


    A loud sound reverberated throughout the surroundings, as the high-orc and Atar clashed head-on with each other. Dust clouded Ark''s vision a little, and he instantly used the wind to get it out of his way, he wanted to see how it went. As the dust cleared, the winner of the exchange of blows was apparent. No matter how strong Atar was for his age, there was no way for him to beat a high-orc head-on like this. After this exchange of blows, it was obvious that the high-orc was a lot more powerful. Atar was exhausted, as he tried his hardest to resist the strength of the high-orc. In stark contrast to him, the high-orc just smiled cruelly, not using much strength to take care of him at all. Beads of sweat trickled down Atar''s forehead as he stood face to face with this vicious orc. Before the stalemate could continue any longer, it was interrupted by an arrow made out of crystal clear water slamming straight into the high-orcs face.


    The hideous face of the orc was contorted in pain, and some of the dark green flesh that covered it was ripped off completely, making it even more hideous. Ephine, who had fired the arrow, almost regretted it upon seeing how ugly the orc became, it was a little hard to look at it. The orc backed a little, and then roared loudly in rage. Atar, whose body was that of a child, was hurt by the roar. Blood spurted from his ears, and he retreated quickly, crying as he did.


    As Ark saw Atar''s pained expression, and the small tears that ran down his face, he was instantly enraged. He didn''t expect it to hurt Atar at all, especially not by roaring, the fact that Atar''s human form was still young was something that Ark didn''t really think about it. But seeing him crying in pain now, Ark just wanted to tear this f.u.c.k.i.n.g orc apart! Before he did something like that though, Ark''s priority was to heal Atar, and make sure that his pain went away, along with his tears.


    A shining bright golden mana entered Atar''s ears in streams, and the blood that was trickling out of his ears quickly disappeared. Atar managed to calm down fairly quickly, it wasn''t like he had never felt pain before, but now that it was gone, he had no reason to cry or be sad. It was the first time he had ever felt such severe pain in his ears, and it had shocked him quite heavily, leaving his mind a little befuddled at the moment.


    Ephine was even angrier than Ark was, but she had an easier time controlling herself. But this time, she wasn''t going to contain her anger at all, this filthy orc had dared to hurt her one and only son, it was going to pay for it with its life! Her anger was like an ocean, endless and unstoppable, and so was her mana. The white bow in her hand started to vibrate intensely as she kept pouring more and more mana into it, seemingly never going to stop.


    The air in the surroundings was becoming a little damp, and a suffocating pressure suffused from Ephine. This time, she wasn''t going to hold back at all, and she was going to go all-out. The massive amounts of mana turned into a blue arrow. At first, it looked like a normal water arrow, but as she kept pouring in more and more mana, the arrow kept growing bigger and bigger, until it couldn''t really be called an arrow anymore.


    The water arrow had turned into a javelin, resting atop the quivering bowstring. She squinted her eyes, and released the bowstring, sending the javelin hurtling through the air at an insane speed!

 Chapter 144 - An eye for an eye.

    The high-orc had a bad premonition as it saw Ephine gathering a scary amount of mana, but before it could do anything, her attack was already heading for its head. The high-orc wanted nothing else but to run away for its life, but it was too late to do anything now. The javelin that she had conjured up out of water magic was now completely crystallised, and it was flying straight for the orcs face. The orc wanted to dodge the attack, but Ephine wouldn''t let him.


    Since she didn''t want him to move, she just created wind pressure around him, keeping him contained in one place, making him unable to dodge the javelin. Since he had nowhere to run to, the orc started to panic. It didn''t want to die yet, there were still tons of things it wanted to do, like raping, murdering and pillaging some more! It wasn''t satisfied yet, as it had grown quite fond of killing and raiding small villages.


    The javelin didn''t go straight through the orc as Ark had expected. Instead, the javelin exploded right in front of its face, sending small shards of ice flying straight into the high orcs face and body. The shards were tiny, but there were too many to count, and the orc instantly started to scream in agony. Blood gushed from the thousands of small holes all over its hideous body, even ripping parts of it apart completely.


    It was quite a horrific sight, but Ephine was angry, and she didn''t want to let the orc off easy with a quick and painless death. The orc just kept screaming in agony, falling down to what was left of its knees, trying its hardest to keep from falling over. The agony of the orc didn''t stop for a while, and when it did stop, the orcs heart did as well.


    Ark didn''t feel bad for the creature, and neither did Ephine, the orc deserved every second of the torture it experienced before it passed away. Not only that, but if it was possible, then Ark would''ve wanted to vent a little anger as well. But the orc was dead, and Atar was already feeling better. The shock from the pain was still there, but it would slowly wither away with time. It pained Ark a little to see him like this, but since he knew that everything would be fine with some rest, he tried to not think too much about it.


    Ephine had vented her anger already, and at this point, she had calmed herself down. There was still enough time to fight some more, but both Ephine and Atar were a little tired, and Ark decided that it was probably for the better if they just continued another day. There was no real hurry to get strong in a single day, at least not for them. Ark on the other hand, was definitely anxious to get stronger. The visions he had seen down in the ruins were enough for him to desperately chase after more strength, and strive to improve himself.


    There was nothing he was more scared of than losing what he had right now, and he would do practically anything to protect it. This peace he felt every day, whether he fought battles or not didn''t matter to him, he still felt at ease as long as he was surrounded by people he liked, which he currently was. Ephine and Atar were special to him, that was just a fact, and it would probably never change, at least not for no reason.


    Even Ark had felt the feeling of friendship before, even in his old world, though it was short-lived. But one thing Ark had never experienced before was having a family. Though Atar and Ephine might not be his actual family or anything, Ark already felt like he belonged with them, and he had never felt the same before. A feeling of belonging was something special, and it wasn''t easy to replicate or substitute with something else, which was why Ark treasured it as much as he did.


    Since staying next to a bloody corpse was pretty much inviting trouble, the trio left the scene behind, and wandered off into the woods. None of them were hungry, and there was pretty much nothing for them to do, so they decided to do exactly that, nothing. They found a nice place to sit down fairly quickly and then made themselves comfortable. Atar wasn''t in any sort of pain anymore, and so he was back to his normal happy mood, albeit a little more reserved than usual, but that was only natural.


    After they had all seated themselves, they just started to chat with each other. There was no real subject they talked about, and they just talked about whatever they felt like. There was still time left for them in their human forms, and it wasn''t like someone had a better idea at the moment either way. Even though the conversation was a little stale in the beginning, it soon became a lot more relaxed, and everyone started to enjoy themselves.


    Atar wouldn''t usually be interested in conversations, but he certainly loved hearing Arks numerous stories, and it seemed like he never ran out of something cool to tell him about. Atar acted like the little child he was, and just eagerly listened, occasionally butting in to tell his own stories, stories he was really proud of. All of them had a lot of fun for a change, and the usual sounds of roars and beasts fighting was replaced with humans talking and laughing.


    Unfortunately, time was beginning to run out, and they didn''t have much more than half an hour to talk left. Even if they could basically talk in their normal forms, it wasn''t as convenient, and the conversations became slightly weird. In their wolf forms, they didn''t talk, they communicated, and there was a slight difference between the two. A casual conversation like this was a lot harder to execute.


    As they were talking, a familiar sound broke the silence. Footsteps. Ark had heard this sound way too many times, and he knew that humans were approaching them. As they were in their human forms, Ark decided that it was probably for the better if they just stayed put and acted like nothing special. Trying too much would only stand out, and he only told Ephine and Atar to not bother the humans that were passing by, as he didn''t want any trouble right now.


    Ephine didn''t need a reminder, but Atar definitely needed one, as he wasn''t good at acting, and he was definitely not really comfortable around humans yet, and Ark didn''t expect him to be. It was odd for a magical beast to talk to humans, and as such, Ark knew that it was for the better if they just took things slow. He didn''t want to bring the two of them into a city if they weren''t comfortable with humans, or even their own forms for that matter.


    As he was a little lost in his own thoughts as usual, the humans that they had heard approaching finally stepped out from between some trees.

 Chapter 145 - Misunderstanding.

    At first Ark was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing, but as he laid his eyes on the humans that had stepped out in front of them, his look sharpened. Three humans had stepped out in front of them, two guys and one girl. The girl was very beautiful, and she seemed to be around 20 years old. Her eyes were dark brown, which was fairly rare in this world. Ark had mostly seen a plethora of colourful eye colours, but normal colours from his old world like brown were actually fairly rare.


    The girl''s hair was oddly enough dark green, which was something that Ark hadn''t really seen before, at least not natural. The girl was about 1.7 meters tall, which was a little taller than average. But what really surprised Ark wasn''t the girl, but rather the two guys on either side of her. They both had the same set of armour on their bodies, a set of dark blue armour with an insignia on the left side of their c.h.e.s.t plates. This insignia pictured a dark green deer, actually pretty similar to the colour of the girl''s hair.


    The guys seemed to be twins, as they looked almost completely identical, with azure coloured eyes, and pitch-black hair. As if to confuse others on purpose, the two twins had the same hairstyle as well, and walked in almost perfect sync next to their young lady. Ark didn''t care that much about their appearance, as he had seen twins before. What shocked him was their enormous amount of strength.


    He couldn''t be too sure of their strength, as they were actively concealing it, but he did know one thing, both of them were over level 100, and they were not pushovers by any means, as Ark could feel some pressure from their bloodline as well. His was still more powerful, but this was like the first time a bloodline had ever had an effect on his own except for Thufrat.


    Ark wasn''t sure if Ephine and Atar were able to feel their strength at all, and so he hastily whispered to them both before the three could get too close. He also knew that these two knights would be able to hear him if he simply whispered normally, and he concealed his whisper with the help of some wind magic. "Be careful of these three, and no matter what you do, don''t offend them!"


    Even though he concealed it with wind magic, the three humans were all able to sense the slight amount of magic. Seeing someone using magic as soon as they were in sight, both the knights drew their swords instinctively and stood in front of their young lady. As it seemed, one of the twins was left-handed, whereas the other one was right-handed. As Ark saw this, he knew that he might''ve screwed up big this time.


    He quickly stood up from his seated position and put his hands up in the air in front of him. "I want no harm!"


    The three humans understood what he was trying to do by showing them his hands, but neither of the knights put their swords down at all. The lady was a little more observant than her knights, and she noticed that Ark was nervous, really nervous, not only that, she noticed that he glanced at the two people behind him, indicating that he was worried about them. Not only that, but seeing the expressions on Atar and Ephine''s faces, she understood that he really didn''t want any trouble.


    She still didn''t know what he said, but judging by how angry Ephine and Atar looked when her two guards pointed their swords at Ark, she could guess that he probably just told them to stay calm, or not do anything rash. "Put down yours swords, we don''t want any trouble if there''s no need for it."


    Upon her request, the twins quickly lowered their swords, and put them back in their sheaths. But even though they did put them back in their sheaths, their hands never left the handles, just in case.


    "What are the three of you doing out here?"


    From the looks of things, they had just been sitting here and chatting with each other nonchalantly. Even though that sounded completely normal and all for a family. This wasn''t a picnic. No one would have a family picnic in such a dangerous forest, at least not if they were sane. The young lady could tell that something was off with this family, and that she was missing something, but she had no idea what it was, and she could only ask such a pointless question as a result.


    "We were hunting earlier, but we just sat down to rest a little, Atar is tired after all."


    This time, Ephine responded, and as she mentioned Atar, she gently rubbed his head a little. Just hearing her voice was enough to put both the guards and the lady at ease. The situation had undoubtedly become quite tense, and Ephine''s soothing voice was enough to dispel some of the tension. Atar felt like he was being looked down on and he pouted a little, which only further alleviated the tension.


    As everyone calmed down a little, the situation soon returned to how it was before Ark whispered, quite normal. Ark respected these humans in front of him, as they had managed to become this strong, and he was sure that they didn''t have as many advantages as he did when he levelled up, which was worthy of his admiration for sure. They were probably some of the strongest beings he had ever met so far, which spoke volumes about their strength.


    Since he didn''t want to hold them up, he put down his hands, took a step back, and gave them a friendly nod. "I''m sorry for disturbing you guys, I''ll let you go back to being on your way." He tried to be as polite as he could, but as he thought about what he said, he noticed that he sounded a little rude. It definitely sounded like he just wanted to get rid of them, which was true.


    They didn''t have infinite time in these forms, and he didn''t want to hold these random people up, as that would risk exposing themselves if they ran out of time. The lady was a little annoyed by his manner of speech, but she decided that they should probably just leave, as they didn''t have all the time in the world either.


    Before they were able to leave though, a heavy smell assaulted their nostrils. The heavy panting of another human being was quickly approaching their location, and it was accompanied by the heavy stench of blood. From the direction the human trio was headed, another knight clad in blue armour came running. He had the same insignia on the left side of his c.h.e.s.t. But in stark contrast to the twins, this knight was in terrible condition, and he was covered in blood.


    "Young lady, please, we need your help, we can''t hold on much longer!"


    The voice of the knight was hurried, and he was almost completely out of breath as he spoke. As Ark saw the middle-aged man covered in scarlet blood, and feeling the stench burrowing deep down into his nostrils, his control started to slip.

 Chapter 146 - Control.

    Bloodl.u.s.t was starting to engulf Ark''s mind, and his rationality was beginning to slip. As he took a whiff of the heavy smell of blood once more, Ark suddenly smirked. His expression turned slightly sinister as his vision started to blur a little. His mind that was once filled with the happy expressions of Ephine and Atar was suddenly engulfed with thoughts of murder, and pain. He wasn''t thinking of inflicting pain on others, but he was thinking about the pain that he had felt.


    As Ark had been tortured, there was nothing on his mind other than pain. His mind had been consumed by thoughts of revenge and pain, nothing else. If he had been there for a couple more days, he would''ve truly either gone insane, or just straight up murdered everyone in his sight. Meeting Atar and Ephine had effectively worked like therapy to him. His disrupted mind had calmed down, and he had started to become normal again. The only problem he had now was with blood, it worked like a trigger for him.


    Every time he saw too much blood or smelled the heavy stench for too long, his control started to slip. He had already lost control before, and he was about to do it again! The young noble lady quickly turned around, as she had felt a scary amount of bloodl.u.s.t, and as she looked around, she noticed Ark staring creepily at the young knight that was covered in blood. Seeing the weird smirk on his face, as well as his twisted expression, the lady was able to sense that something was wrong with him.


    Ark''s thoughts were erratic, and he was on the verge of lunging forward, even if it cost him his life, he couldn''t hold himself anymore. Ark took half a step forward, and the ground cracked underneath his foot. The young lady''s knights reacted quickly and drew their swords once more, standing in front of her to protect her from Ark. Before Ark could lunge, a slender hand took hold of his. Ephine''s slender fingers intertwined with Arks, and she whispered in his ear gently. "Calm down a little."


    Ark''s entire body shuddered violently, and he started to slowly calm down. The intense bloodl.u.s.t that he had been emitting was slowly receding into the depths of his body once more. The twins looked at him with weird eyes, they were sure that he was just about to try and kill them, and the hairs on their bodies had stood almost straight up when they felt his massive bloodl.u.s.t, but it was suddenly all gone.


    Ark was a little ashamed of himself, how many times was he going to lose control of himself like this? What if he one day attacked the only people he cared about? His shame quickly turned into something else, anger. This anger wasn''t directed at someone else, but himself. He had managed to get this strong, and he had managed to find people he truly cared about, yet he couldn''t even control himself? If he truly did attack them someday, then he would probably just want to kill himself.


    The twins didn''t sheath their swords this time, and they just kept pointing them at Ark. The young lady, was unlike her two guards, quite perceptive. She was shocked as well by Ark''s behaviour, but she could clearly see that his hands were shaking slightly, and his twisted expression had turned into something else. Instead of the twisted expression of someone who was about to commit murder, this was the expression of someone feeling ashamed, not only that, but it was also an expression of disappointment.


    Before she could inspect him anymore, Ark quickly bowed deeply. "I''m really sorry for that, it wasn''t on purpose, I have a problem with controlling myself sometimes, I''m truly sorry."


    "It-it''s fine, just don''t do it again."


    Ark felt truly ashamed for once, he usually didn''t care about others, but letting people see him like this was quite embarrassing. As he saw the young knight covered in blood again, he stood up straight again. Before anyone could react, he released a massive amount of blinding golden mana from his body. The pressure he was exuding was stifling, but he reined it in a little, letting everyone else relax. The golden light quickly made its way towards the young knight, engulfing him entirely from head to toe.


    At first, the twins and the young lady were on their guards, but as Ark released the mana, the young knight could be seen again. He was still covered in blood, but all the wounds that had riddled his body were gone. A long wound that had been bleeding profusely from the young knights back was also completely gone, a thin red scar was the only thing that was left of it. If he had more time, then he would probably be able to get rid of the scar as well, but seeing the looks on the twins'' faces, Ark knew that they would probably attack him if he continued.


    "I''m sorry for holding you guys up like this, you should probably be on your way."


    This time when he said it, Ark was a little more forceful, as he just wanted these people to leave. He didn''t want to get involved more than he already had, and he didn''t have all the time in the world. Not only that, but he still had to exert himself a lot to not lose control again. The twins and the young knight were infuriated by the way Ark spoke to their young lady, but Ark didn''t care right now, he just wanted them to leave.


    The young lady was a little annoyed by the way he spoke, but she needed to leave either way, and it seemed like this guy had gone through something. Otherwise he wouldn''t want to risk offending them to just get them to leave a minute or two earlier. Besides, she was thankful for the help, Ark had healed one of her men after all. "Don''t worry, I won''t stay any longer!"


    The young lady left quickly, with her knights quietly following after her. It didn''t take long for them to leave Ark''s line of sight, and when they did, he simply plopped down on the ground for a while. Anger, frustration and shame was invading his mind, there was no room for any happy thoughts right now, as Ark was thoroughly angry at himself. He didn''t want his life to be like this, and there was no way that he would let it stay like this. He didn''t want to depend on others just to keep his sanity.


    He clenched his fists in frustration, hard enough for his fists to start trembling. As he did, he abruptly stood up, and moved next to one of the trees in his surroundings. He needed to vent some of his frustrations, and this tree was just his poor victim. If the tree had any idea about what was going to happen to it, it would surely uproot itself and run away. He relaxed his stance a little, before he threw a punch with all his might at the poor three.


    The tree broke apart before his punch could even connect entirely, but the aftereffects were way more devastating than the destruction of a single tree.

 Chapter 147 - Bad mood

    When Ark had punched, he didn''t only use his normal physical strength but he infused an enormous amount of mana into his cells as well, propelling his powers to a completely different level. What was left after Ark''s punch was only a couple of scattered branches as well as dust and fragments of the trees that had been in front of him just a second ago. The devastation reached further than 50 meters away, and even Ark was a little surprised by his own strength.


    As he watched the destruction, he heaved a sigh of relief. He already felt a lot better than before. Ark had never felt like he had problems with anger before, but as he watched what was left of the trees that had been in front of him, he reconsidered a little, maybe he did have a problem with his anger. It would be weird if there were no side effects from all the torture he had been through, but if it was possible, Ark didn''t want to inconvenience anyone, not even himself.


    Seeing how Ark had calmed down, Ephine sighed. She didn''t expect this to suddenly happen, but it seemed like she would have to keep him away from too much bloodshed, as it seemed like it was dangerous if he was exposed to it. Atar was not really concerned with what had happened, as he didn''t really understand it. But from the looks of things, Ark was sad, which was enough for Atar to feel sad as well.


    Since time was running out, and Ark was feeling quite dejected, he just decided to turn back into his wolf form again. The clothes he was wearing were stored safely in his new spatial bag, as he would need to use them again later down the road when he wanted to enter a town. Seeing Ark transform back into a wolf, both Atar and Ephine felt some unease. They didn''t really know how to become wolves again, and they felt weird now that Ark was back to normal. As they thought about it, they both suddenly transformed back into their wolf forms, leaving the clothes they were wearing on the ground.


    Ark was a little amused by the fact that they had both just transformed back into wolves as soon as he did, but he found it pretty cute. The rage and shame he had been feeling was pretty much gone by now, but he was still in a fairly bad mood, and that wasn''t going to change for a while, he couldn''t just force himself to feel happy after all.


    In the distance, the sound of battle was beginning to grow out of control, echoing throughout the forest. They all felt a little uneasy upon hearing other people fighting, especially considering the fact that the fighting was in the direction of the cave which they had made their home. Both Ephine and Atar wanted to check out what was going on, but neither of them wanted to trouble Ark, as he was evidently in a very bad mood.


    Ark knew that they were curious, and a little worried, and he couldn''t help but wonder himself.


    "Should we go and check it out?"


    Though it almost felt a little foreign to him as he had talked a lot in his human form just now, Ark was still able to communicate without a problem in his wolf form. Ephine and Atar both nodded at his suggestion, as they wanted to know what was going on. Whether they decided to help someone out or not, they just wanted to see what was going on. Ark wasn''t too keen on the thought of getting involved in any more trouble, but he was definitely curious about what was going on, and he could find that out without getting involved.


    As they left, they decided not to just walk leisurely all the way there, instead, they sprinted at full speed for the most part. When the sound of battle was within half a kilometre of them, they decided to start walking quietly. Ark walked in the front, and Ephine walked in the back, with Atar protected in the middle. Even if he was powerful, both Ephine and Ark were stronger, and they would rather get hurt than see Atar get into trouble. The sounds of fighting were growing rather intense, and so was the smell of blood. Ark had to make a serious effort to keep himself in complete control, but this time he was prepared for it, and he was able to keep himself in check. As they approached the fighting, Ark noticed that they were almost at the foot of a rather small mountain. The mountain looked a little odd, but Ark didn''t really know why, and this wasn''t the time to think about that either way.


    As they were about to arrive, the sounds of fighting had almost died down completely, but they could still hear the voices of people nearby. Since the battle had already ended, Ark wasn''t sure if it was a good idea to keep going, but since they had already come this far, what was the harm of taking the last step? As they arrived at the foot of the mountain, the scene that they saw was far from what they had expected.


    There were no corpses of magical beasts or monsters, instead, the corpses of demons littered the ground in front of a few humans. The humans didn''t seem to be hurt at all, and there were no human corpses either for that matter. Ark didn''t normally want to meddle in the affairs of humans and demons, unless he saw a reason for doing so. And the events that were unfolding in front of him right now was enough to light a fire deep inside his heart, rage!


    What Ark was seeing in front of him right now was far from an unfamiliar sight, and it made his blood boil. To think that he would see a scene such as this when he was in such a bad mood. The sound of a whip crackled abruptly, before the scream of a young girl followed.


    "Please, we''ll do anything, just leave our daughter alone!"


    "She''s done nothing to deserve this, please, show mercy!"


    "Huh? She''s done nothing wrong? The fact that she was born with such vile blood is enough to deserve death! Don''t even try and beg for mercy, filth!"


    The harsh berating of a teenage boy immediately caught Ark''s attention, as he looked over, he was stunned. The boy didn''t even seem to 14 years old, yet he was saying such cruel things, while ordering his men to whip his prisoners. The sentence itself befuddled Ark a little, what did he mean by vile blood? It didn''t take long for him to realise what the boy meant as soon as he looked over at the family that were pleading for mercy, they were demons as well.


    Both parents had their hands behind their back on the ground, a sword holding them in place by piercing straight through them. On the ground next to them, a small girl laid on the ground with her hands covering her head. Two small horns stuck out from her temple, but what was far more striking was the blood gashing from her back.

 Chapter 148 - The family of three

    Ark''s rage was not something to be taken lightly, and as he saw the small girl shivering in pain on the ground, covered in her own blood, he was beginning to get really pissed off. But this time, he wasn''t the first one to lose control. As he had been trying so hard to keep himself in control, Ark was still able to maintain his rationality, though it took almost all he got to keep himself back. The same could not be said for Ephine or Atar.


    Ephine was a little busy trying to hold Ark back if anything were to happen, but Atar was different. He didn''t really understand it himself, but when he saw the young girl getting attacked, he felt like he needed to do something. Without any warning, Atar suddenly pounced! The guards surrounding the young boy could do nothing but watch in horror as their young master was suddenly killed in the blink of an eye in front of them.


    The guards knew that they were screwed, but if they didn''t at least take this wolf''s head back with them, then this would probably be their last day alive. Seeing the guards staring at him with ferocious expressions on their faces, Atar realised that he had made a mistake. There was no way he would be able to fight these guards all alone. If not for the element of surprise, he wouldn''t even have been able to kill their young master in the first place, but now that he had done it, he needed to face the consequences.


    Luckily for Atar, he wasn''t alone. When the guards were about to encircle Atar, a few arrows could be heard whistling through the air. One of the guards was too preoccupied with Atar, and he wasn''t able to protect himself in time, as arrows of different elemental attributes tore him to pieces. Ephine showed herself this time as well, these guards weren''t allowed to harm her son, no one was! The guards were beginning to grow nervous as they saw another wolf kill one of their comrades.


    What was the extent of these wolves'' strength? Would they be able to handle them without any more casualties? Or would they have to suffer even more? Since there was nothing else to do, and since there were only 5 of them left now, they quickly decided to split up, three of them facing off against Ephine, while the other two decided to take care of Atar. This definitely relieved some of the pressure on Atar, but it still wasn''t enough for Atar to be able to win by himself.


    He had enough strength to contend with them for sure, but they were far more experienced than him, as he was still only a cub, albeit a fairly big and strong cub. The family of three that had just been walking along the razors edge were dumbfounded. What was going on right now? More importantly, they had a chance to live! Not only that, but their daughter had a chance to live! The young girl was anxious, as the lashing had suddenly stopped.


    She didn''t want the cruel men to hurt her family, and so she anxiously lifter her head to see what was going, and what she saw was enough to blow her mind. The cruel men that had just been hitting her were now suddenly in the middle of fighting two wolves. One of the wolves was fairly small and it was standing right in front of her. The wolf was just about to be attacked by the two men, when a blinding light suddenly erupted.


    Ark who had been trying his hardest to hold himself back didn''t expect Ephine and Atar to suddenly step forward to protect these demons that they didn''t even know, but he was proud of them for standing up for someone who could protect themselves from such cruel torture. As Ark had been tortured down in the dungeons of the Estridsen Kingdom''s palace, all he wished for was to be saved by someone, and he knew that these people probably felt the exact same way.


    Before anyone could really react to the outcome of the attack, Ark suddenly disappeared from where he had been standing. The guards who had been approaching Ephine all suddenly tumbled over, their heads rolling on the ground beside them. From the family''s point of view, in the blink of an eye, every guard had suddenly died, and another wolf that was covered in blood was suddenly standing in front of them.


    The wolf was bigger than the other two, and it was quite obviously the father of the small wolf. Ark turned to look at them, and he started to walk closer. As the family of three saw this, their expressions sank, they had been so excited at the thought of getting to live another day, but it seemed like it was probably just their wishful thinking in the end. Ark''s eyes glowed golden as he gazed at the young girl.


    Though she was supposed to feel scared, she felt at ease upon seeing Ark''s gaze. Though he was covered in blood, the look in his eyes somehow seemed gentle for some reason, and the young girl couldn''t really do anything either way even if she wanted to, therefore she just decided to sit still and see what was going to happen. The parents were not as carefree as their daughter, and they wanted nothing more than to see her alive, gambling with her life was nothing they wanted to do.


    Seeing the domineering wolf walking closer, the parents knew that it was now or never. After nodding at each other, they both yanked their hands as they could, successfully removing the sword that was restraining them. As the guards had died, the mana that was infused into the sword had scattered, which meant that they could attempt this escape.


    But as they did, their hands were mutilated in the process. They were already in bad shape after being pierced through, but after yanking their hands as hard as they could to escape, their hands suffered even more in the process. Ark wasn''t very pleased upon seeing this, but when he saw them both pick up swords to try and protect their child, he smiled a little to himself. This was how he imagined parents should be like, strong, unyielding, and never backing down from a fight to save their child.


    It was quite the display, but Ark wasn''t out to get them or anything like that, he just wanted to heal them up to good health, and then just leave them to their own devices. If anything, Ark just wanted to sleep.

 Chapter 149 - Finally, a lead!

    As they stood bravely in front of their child, they were both prepared to die if they had to. Sure, they might''ve been saved by these wolves, but they were sure that it wasn''t for their sake or anything like that. These wolves probably just killed them for their own gain, and now they were next. Ark didn''t want the misunderstanding to get out of hand, as he was too tired to deal with it, so he just decided to use his telepathy skill a little.


    It had levelled to level 2, which had improved it slightly, but the core of the skill had not changed at all, he could only convey his emotions to a certain extent. Still, the feeling the parents were getting were way more than enough for them to lower their swords. This telepathy skill worked wonders for him, as in the parents eyes, he looked more like a deity than some beast. Glowing with a golden light, the feeling Ark was conveying was compassion, which was why the parents had both dropped their weapons.


    Seeing their mutilated hands, Ark sighed a little, before he enveloped them in his light magic, quickly healing them and repairing any damaged bones. Since his priority wasn''t the parents, Ark kept on walking until he arrived in front of the little girl. When he did, he quickly let his light mana gush out of his body, enveloping the little girl within. The amount of mana he released this time was enormous, even to the point where the little girl disappeared from his view entirely.


    Even though the parents didn''t think that Ark was going to do anything bad to their daughter, they were still nervous, they couldn''t be sure after all. After some time passed, the light mana left the girl, and receded back into Ark''s body, disappearing completely. Ark was done, and he was too tired to deal with anything else right now, he just wanted to get some rest. It had been a long and annoying day, and he just wanted it to end already.


    The parents frantically looked for their daughter to see if she was ok, and upon seeing her sleeping soundly on the ground, no wounds to speak of on her body, they both let out a sigh of relief. Not only that, but they both bowed to Ark with gratitude. "Thank you for saving our daughter!"


    Ark just nodded, before he turned around, and started to leave. Ephine and Atar both followed shortly behind him, as they had nothing else they wanted to do here. Before they left, Atar stopped in his tracks for a second, looking back at the small girl. His gaze lingered on her for a second, before he quickly followed behind his mother again.


    The family of three was thus left behind all alone in this dangerous forest, with nothing but corpses surrounding them. Even though the forest was dangerous, if Ark wasn''t confident in the parents'' strength, he wouldn''t have left them to fend for themselves. From the looks of things, it looked like they had important identities, to be protected by so many demons, and even though they were severely weakened when they tried to face him, Ark could feel their real strength after he had healed them.


    Even though he had saved their lives and helped them, he didn''t really want anything to do with them. But who knows, maybe they would cross paths again in the future.


    ¡­


    In a tavern somewhere in the middle of a fairly remote village, the mood was jovial. The villagers were having fun and chatting with each other, drinking merrily. Adventurers had just passed through and taken care of the magical beasts that had been destroying their farms and even hurting the villagers, which was a cause for celebration. The atmosphere was joyful, but the air was quite damp, and in a remote corner of the tavern, a dwarf sat, drinking some mead by himself.


    As per usual, no one dared get too close, but Thufrat was already used to such a life. The fact that people were disgusted by his mere presence was something that he just had to live with his entire life, it had always been like this after all. The only people that didn''t care about the fact that he was a dwarf were not here, and he was all alone. Ark was nowhere to be found, and Alenia was still in Liverence, doing whatever she was supposed to be doing. Even though he was lonely, Thufrat still had plenty of money to enjoy himself, and he wasn''t feeling too depressed.


    But that could change at the drop of a hat. As he had nothing better to do, Thufrat just sat in silence, and listened in on some of the conversations that the villagers were having. Sure, it wasn''t really polite, but they weren''t polite to him in the first place, so why should he care? If you don''t show someone any respect, then don''t expect to get any in return either.


    "Did you hear about the battle at Calmond Forest?"


    "Hmm? The one the adventurers spoke about?"


    "Which other battle was there? Idiot."


    "Okay okay, calm down man, I was just making sure, but what about it?"


    Throughout all the noises, this conversation caught Thufrat''s interest the most.


    "Did you know that vice-commander Balan perished in a duel against a magical beast?"


    "Wait, really? What kind of monster would be able to take on Balan? Was it the king of the forest?"


    "The king of the forest? No, I heard that it was some kind of elemental wolf, and it was even an overwhelming victory!"


    "Really? But won''t his family send their troops to take care of it then?"


    "Who knows? Either way it doesn''t really concern us, I just hope they get rid of that monster quickly!"


    Thufrat listened intently, and when he heard about how an elemental wolf was involved, there was only one person who came to mind, Ark! If that was the case, then maybe he would finally be able to meet him again! Thufrat was excited to say the least, if he was finally able to meet Ark again, then his dull life would finally be able to regain some of its colour again. It had been too long since they had seen each other.


    Thufrat wasn''t really sure how Ark was doing either, and he was concerned for him. Thufrat didn''t know what Ark had been through when he was captured by the royalty of Estridsen, but he knew for a fact that it wasn''t something good, why would it be? Not only that, but Ark had already been lonely before he met Thufrat, now that he was all alone in a forest, especially after such a haunting event, Thufrat was sure that he wouldn''t be feeling well.


    Finding Ark in a random forest he wasn''t familiar with wasn''t going to be easy, but he had nothing better to do either way. Not only that, but he wasn''t sure if it was actually Ark. It could''ve just been another elemental wolf, but Thufrat felt like it would''ve been too much of a coincidence, and he would take any lead he could get to find his friend.

 Chapter 150 - A Random Encounter

    While Thufrat was busy with his new journey to Calmond Forest, Ark was quietly sleeping with Ephine and Atar in their cave. This cave was like a home to them for now, and Ark felt at ease when he was sleeping here, at least compared to just sleeping randomly outside. Even though he had no comfortable quilt or blanket to sleep on, it was still fairly pleasant thanks to his large amount of fluffy fur.


    Even though he felt at ease and could sleep comfortably, he was haunted by nightmares. These nightmares didn''t want to leave him alone, and no matter what he did, they would always try their best to haunt him. If he was lucky enough, then they wouldn''t haunt him for a night, but if he was unlucky then getting even a wink of sleep would be a blessing. Tonight was a rather bad night, maybe it had something to do with his unstable mood during the day, but he couldn''t sleep for longer than half an hour before abruptly waking up.


    The night passed fairly quickly, although not for Ark, as he didn''t get nearly enough sleep to feel particularly good. His mental state was a lot better than the day before, but that wasn''t really saying a lot, since he felt like trash the day before. Even though he was a little tired, seeing Atar and Ephine sleeping peacefully was enough for him to feel a little more energetic. As he watched them a little, Ark could feel an aura quickly approaching the secluded cave.


    The aura was weak, and he was certain that it was a human that was approaching, but he couldn''t really figure anything more than that out. He didn''t need to figure anything else out though as the human quickly made his way through the vines that covered the entrance and into the cave. As soon as the man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties entered the cave, he stopped abruptly.


    The cave was way too dark for the man to see anything distinct, but what he was able to see was a pair of glowing golden eyes. The eyes stared at him intensely, as if they were trying to unravel any secrets he could be hiding. The man''s footsteps had been completely silent, which meant that Atar and Ephine was still sleeping peacefully. Ark didn''t want this random human to disturb their sleep, and he quickly used his telepathy skill to convey how displeased he was.


    He originally thought it was going to work wonders, but when the man felt Ark''s apparent hostility and slight bloodl.u.s.t weighing down on him, he wasn''t too sure anymore. Unfortunately for the man, there was nothing else he could do, if he left the cave right now, then he would die within a couple of minutes. Ark originally thought that the man would run away instantly upon feeling his hostility, but to his surprise, the man just stood entirely still.


    Ark was annoyed, if this man woke up Atar and Ephine, then he would actually get mad for real. He didn''t want some insignificant dude wake them up for no reason when they were sleeping as peacefully as this. Even though it was basically impossible to see anything in the cave, the young man knew that there were at least two other magical beasts in the cave, from the sound of their breathing. Seeing the pair of golden eyes of the magical beast looking at them, the man knew why it wanted him to leave.


    It just didn''t want him to disturb its family when they were sleeping. He was a little taken aback by such a revelation, but it also meant that the magical beast probably wouldn''t attack him if he didn''t do anything, as it would mean that it had to wake up its family. He had never seen a magical beast that cared so much for its family, it seemed to love its family more than the young man could ever hope to receive from his own family. None of his family members had ever looked at him the same way the magical beast looked at its family members.


    Since there was nothing else he could do, the young man just sat down patiently on the ground. He didn''t let his eyes wander around, as this was the home of the magical beast in front of him, which could probably take his life in the blink of an eye if it really wanted to do so. Ark was a little intrigued by the man, but since he wasn''t doing anything harmful for now, he just let the man sit there on the ground.


    After he had been sitting for a couple of minutes, the sound of other humans could be heard in the vicinity, it seemed like they were looking for something. Upon hearing this, Ark understood why the man had refused to leave, as leaving would''ve probably cost him his own life. Even though he had been ignoring it up till now, Ark could see that the man was clearly injured, and the smell of blood was enough to distract him a little.


    At first, Ark didn''t want to heal the man since the mana could potentially wake up the others, but seeing as how the smell of blood could wake them up as well, he just decided to gamble. Instead of the overwhelming amount of mana that he would normally use, Ark just released a small and steady stream of light mana that continuously healed the man. The small light that was being released was enough for the man to see both Ark and the others.


    Even though the pure-white fur was outstanding, the man was a little surprised when he saw Ark''s size. Sure, Ark was 2 meters tall, but he had expected him to be at least 3 meters when he considered the dreadful amount of power he had sensed earlier. What was more shocking than Ark''s size was his compassion, why would a magical beast randomly heal a human? Not only that, but it was a human that had set foot in his home as well.


    Though the reason behind his actions were a little uncertain, the man was still thankful. He had just entered this cave to seek refuge for a little while, he had never expected to be healed as well. Since he was sure that the people after him had probably left, he didn''t want to stick around for too long and disturb this family any longer, but he still decided to wait for a couple of minutes before he left.


    When he was sure that there was no one around, he stood up from his seated position, and bowed to Ark in gratitude, whether this wolf really wanted to or not, it had saved his life today, and he wouldn''t forget such kindness easily. With a tap of his finger, the bag on his waist produced a small amount of light as something flashed into existence. The man was suddenly standing in front of Ark with a beautiful white sword in his hand.


    This sword was decorated with a plethora of different jewels, and it was quite beautiful. Ark didn''t expect the man that he had saved to repay his saviour with enmity, but before he could get ready to do something, the man put the sword down on the ground in front of him. Ark was naturally a little befuddled, but the man only bowed once more and thanked him. "Thanks for saving my life, although I don''t know if it will be of use, please accept this gift from me!"


    The man gave the precious sword one last look, before he shook his head a little, and quietly left the cave. Ark was still a little shocked, why did he give him a sword? It seemed like such a random gift of gratitude, but judging from the man''s expression just then, it was obviously not some ordinary sword. Ark didn''t really get it, he hadn''t really done anything to deserve such gratitude either way, but he was a little happy that the man had just left quietly without creating any trouble.


    Since he was gone now, and Ark didn''t get much sleep, he just decided to go back to sleep again. At first he just laid down in his original position, but since he knew that it wasn''t going to work, he just decided to lay down next to Ephine instead. Not even a minute passed, and Ark was suddenly deep in slumber for the first time in quite a while.

 Chapter 151 - A New Goal

    Whilst Ark was sleeping happily for the first time in a while, Thufrat was in the middle of his journey. With some of is money, he had hired a fast horse and immediately set off for the forest. There was nothing else for him to do either way, so he just set off as fast as he could. The days of just endlessly riding were quite long, and boring as well, but Thufrat just endured for the sake of arriving faster. He didn''t want to let this chance slip by, as there was a chance that Ark could move away from this forest. Why would he stay anyways?


    If there was no real reason for him to stay, then Thufrat had to be quick, if Ark left and he wasn''t able to find him, then he would be quite annoyed. As he travelled, he passed by plenty of people, but there were no people who even looked at him when they passed. Even if he was used to it by now, it was still a bit of a pain in the a.s.s to always be ignored wherever he went. No matter what he did, no matter what he accomplished, people wouldn''t give him the respect he deserved for it, he was a dwarf after all.


    Of course, there was no way Thufrat would ever accept this fate of his, he would always strive to be the best he could, and be acknowledged accordingly. Sure, maybe it would be hard to earn recognition, but he truly wanted to find a way. For his own sake.


    ¡­


    Multiple days passed in the blink of an eye, and Ark''s life these past few days had been very nice. He had gotten plenty of sleep, and the nightmares that had been haunting him were beginning to calm down, at least when he was sleeping with his new family. Even though he wasn''t Atar''s real father, Ark felt like Atar was his own child, and he saw them both as his own family. If this wasn''t family, then Ark didn''t know if he would ever find something which he could call a family.


    Of course, these feelings of Ark''s were not one-sided. Atar had never had a father figure in his life, and as far as he could tell, Ark was his father, who else would it be? Ephine wasn''t as na?ve as her son, but she liked Ark, and she had grown used to his presence during this time they had been together. He had not only given them names, but he had also protected their lives multiple times. His presence was really reassuring, with him close, she felt safe.


    Ark had no idea how they felt, but he knew that they didn''t hate him at the very least, and he didn''t really feel like asking. As Ark was thinking, he was suddenly struck by a sudden thought, was this really ok? He had grown too complacent and comfortable recently, and he needed to desperately get stronger. The visions of war and death he had seen a while back were still haunting him, and he needed to be as strong as possible if he wanted to protect those he cared about.


    With that said, Ark wasn''t sure how he wanted to go about it. Right now, he was pretty strong, at least as far as he knew, but if tried to compare himself with the enemies he would need to face in the future, then he was practically nothing right now. Strength was pretty easy to gain, as all he needed to do was fight. The only problem was who he would fight, and where. He couldn''t just walk around and massacre every magical beast he came across, as they also had lives to live.


    Killing other magical beasts for the sake of food was one thing, but fighting them with no other motive other than to get stronger was quite cruel. Since that was the case, the most efficient method he could think of was to explore a dungeon. The monsters in a dungeon was exactly that, monsters. They weren''t magical beasts. Sure, some magical beasts could be found in dungeons, but they had all had their minds twisted by the nature of the dungeon.


    Since that was the case, then Ark would have no qualms about fighting to level up anymore. He had no problem whatsoever with exterminating monsters whose sole purpose was to murder others. At first, he was considering to go and explore one on his own, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was probably for the better if Atar and Ephine could gain some strength as well. The strength he was longing for was going to protect them, but if they already had strength themselves, then he wouldn''t need to worry as much.


    Talking it over with Ephine and Atar was probably not going to take much convincing, as they had nothing better to do either way, and getting stronger was something everyone wished for, as it would always be helpful to be as strong as possible. Nevertheless, right now, they were all out to hunt food, and the talk could wait until later. These last few days, they had made a habit of hunting by themselves. Even though it made Ark a little anxious in the beginning, they had to learn to fight in their new forms as fast as possible.


    Even though they had only done it for a couple of days, their improvement was very fast, and they were already kind of used to fighting in these new shapes. They could still fight a lot better in their original bodies, but the gap was becoming smaller, which was the intent of this training in the first place. Ark didn''t really restrain himself when he hunted for food, and he set his sights on a large rhino-like creature, although it was big, Ark could handle it fairly easily, and it was dead within ten seconds.


    This was way too much food for a regular human, but Ark was a magical beast, and he quickly devoured a large portion of the rhino, before he could hear other magical beasts approaching. Since he had eaten his fill already, he just left the corpse there, it would be too troublesome to deal with even more magical beasts, and he had no need for this food either, it was better if it wasn''t wasted.


    Since looking for Ephine and Atar would ruin the point of this training, Ark had nothing to do. Since that was the case, he just headed back to the cave for now. Inside of the cave, there wasn''t really anything left for him to do, so instead of just standing around, Ark opted to just lay down on the ground and rest for a while. Getting a break from his usual hectic lifestyle was like a blessing, and something that Ark truly cherished every moment of.


    Whilst Ark was just lazing around, Ephine and Atar had also finished their hunting for the day. Much like Ark, they had nothing better to do, and since that was the case, they also just headed back to the cave. But unbeknownst to them, someone was quietly tailing them from afar.

 Chapter 152 - Reunited at last!

    Whilst Ark was silently resting, an eerie quiet had started to envelop the surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was just way too quiet. This wasn''t too odd though, as no one wanted to get close to this cave, considering the strength and aura of the monster that rested within. Magical beasts had very sharp instincts, and if Ark wasn''t actively trying hard to supress his aura, then the chances of other magical beasts sensing him were rather high. Nonetheless, Ark didn''t care at all, since the magical beasts were able to sense him, they didn''t make any sort of trouble.


    Few magical beasts could contend with him in this forest after all. After waiting around for an hour or so, he could feel Atar and Ephine waltzing toward the cave. They were still in their human forms, but unlike the two of them, Ark could feel another aura a little further away. He was a little confused for a second, before he realised that they had been followed! What did this mean? Someone was after his family! Ark didn''t know the reason why someone would be after Atar and Ephine, but he wouldn''t allow anyone unknown lurk around in the background, potentially with ill-intentions.


    The small amount of rage he was feeling quickly grew out of control, and he couldn''t rein in his aura for any longer. With the unknown presence in the distance within his sight, Ark''s aura went out of control, and a stifling pressure suffused in the surroundings of Atar and Ephine. Naturally, Atar and Ephine were both astounded by the sudden pressure, but it quickly left them alone, almost as if it intended to crush everything in its path except for them.


    Since Ephine was fairly intelligent, she knew that something was not right, and that they were probably not alone, since that was the case, she threw Atar onto her shoulder and rushed into the cave as fast as she could. Even though Atar was actually faster than her, he was still young, and he had no idea about what was going on. It was for the better if she just helped him for now. Ark felt a little relieved when they had run into the cave, as it was far easier for him to defend them here, sure, there were less escape routes, but considering the strength of the enemy, Ark didn''t believe there was a need to run.


    When Ark''s full aura enveloped the shady figure in the distance, he could feel something, much like a spark igniting. The stifling pressure that would be enough to make most people kneel was being pushed back a little, as a familiar aura surged from the figure. The familiar was unruly and fierce, not willing to lose out in this exchange. This aura¡­ Ark had only felt it from a single person before. Before he could react, the figure that had been hiding for this entire exchange took a step out of the shadows, and a couple of sunrays hit his face as a result. The sight of a dwarf that had seen better days was now standing in front of the cave, staring into its dark depths. This was Thufrat!


    The stifling pressure he had felt just then, and the familiar aura¡­ only a single person could make him feel like that! Since he knew that Ark wasn''t alone, he didn''t enter the cave out of respect, he just stood outside and waited gleefully.  Ark wasn''t much different from Thufrat, and his face was full of glee. He had intended to look for Thufrat sooner or later, but he didn''t expect Thufrat to find him first, in the middle of this random forest as well.


    With that said, Ark didn''t wait for long at all, instead he instantly turned into his human form, and rushed out of the cave. Once outside, he didn''t even get to say hi before Thufrat gave him a bear hug, but due to his short height, it looked quite funny. Naturally Thufrat was very strong, and he just lifted Ark up and spun him around a little while laughing heartily. From an outsider''s perspective, it probably looked quite humorous, but Thufrat was just happy upon seeing his friend once again, and he couldn''t care less about how they looked.


    Even though Ark was a little surprised by this sudden hug, he just found it funny, and he was happy that he was reunited with his best friend once again. Laughter echoed throughout the forest, and anyone sane enough to think straight didn''t want to get close to such loud laughter in the middle of a forest filled with magical beasts, most people that were close enough to hear it just assumed that it was someone who had gone insane. Nevertheless, the most shocked people were Atar and Ephine. They had no idea who this short man was, and they didn''t know why he was that short either.


    Growing up in this forest, neither of them had seen a dwarf before, not even Ephine had heard of one. The hug lasted for a second or two before Thufrat let go, although he kept laughing for quite some time. "It''s been a while buddy, how did you manage to find me in this random forest?"


    "Ah, I heard about a peculiar elemental wolf in this forest, and when I came here, I just looked around for a couple of days, before I ran into those two." Thufrat pointed at Ephine and Atar, still a little unsure of their identities.


    Ark was kind of surprised, why had he decided to follow Atar and Ephine all of a sudden? Before he could ask, Thufrat had already started talking again. "I sensed a familiar aura around them, and so I decided to tail them for a little while, and it seemed that my intuition was the right thing to follow in the end!" When he finished speaking, Thufrat laughed heartily once more. He was truly happy for once. He had been separated from Ark for too long, and he really needed someone to talk to.


    Since Ark knew that Thufrat wouldn''t just come here to say hi, he decided to introduce Ephine and Atar, he didn''t want their relationship to be awkward and weird, this was his friend after all, someone they could trust. Even though Ark knew that he might''ve been a little too quick to put his trust in Thufrat in the beginning of their friendship, now that they had known each other for a while, Ark knew that Thufrat was a trustworthy comrade, someone who had been with him through thick and thin.


    Ark nodded at Atar and Ephine, and they both stepped forward as a result, inspecting Thufrat closely and curiously. "The name''s Thufrat, hope we can get along." Since neither of them were introducing themselves, Thufrat decided to break the ice.


    "My name is Ephine, nice to meet you Thufrat!"


    Atar was a little reluctant at first, but upon seeing both Ark''s and Ephine''s expectant gazes, he just decided to do it. "Hello, my name is Atar¡­"

 Chapter 153 - Reminiscing

    Seeing the only people he cared about getting to know each other, Ark was in a good mood. He had missed Thufrat a lot during this time they had been separated, but now that they were back together again, he knew that his life would get a little more interesting. Even though the chances of something tiresome happening increased, Ark thought that it was definitely worth the risk. Whatever happened, he would have his family by his side either way.


    "It''s been quite a while since the last time I saw you buddy, what have you been up to?"


    "Ah, when you were kidnapped by the kingdom, Alenia had to leave for Liverence, so I''ve just roamed around in the meanwhile, waiting for either of you to come back."


    Even though he had been through a lot, Ark felt a little bad for Thufrat, he had just been completely alone for all this time, and considering the fact that he was a dwarf, he probably had no one he could talk to. "Well now that we''re reunited with each other again, I won''t let you be alone any longer."


    Even though it was a pretty normal promise, Thufrat was still happy nonetheless. He didn''t know how well he would get along with Ephine and Atar, but since they were Ark''s companions, he knew that they were probably good people. There was no way for him to know for sure, but he trusted Ark and his judgement.


    "Now that you''ve introduced yourself to my family, do you want something to eat, or have you already eaten?"


    "Hmm, wait what!?"


    "What did you say just then?"


    "Hmm? I said that they were my family?"


    "Wow, I guess you''ve been busy while I was away huh?"


    "What''s that supposed to mean? Just answer the question old man!"


    After laughing and joking with each other for a while, they all sat down to eat. Even though everyone except for Thufrat had already eaten, there was always room for more food, their digestive systems were excellent after all. A nice fire was quickly conjured in front of them, with nothing to keep it from going out of control except for Ark''s mana manipulation. A nice aroma wafted through the surroundings, and the jovial mood of Thufrat and Ark quickly infected Ephine and Atar. Soon, all three of them were talking about all sorts of things, from stories about what they had done during their many adventures, and even some stories about Thufrat''s childhood.


    Atar and Ephine didn''t have much to add, but they chipped in here and there, and they listened attentively to all their stories, especially the ones that concerned Ark. The time they had in their human bodies was not infinite, and after an hour and a half, both Ephine and Atar needed to turn back into their original forms. Thufrat was naturally shocked to see them suddenly turn into wolves in front of his eyes, but to him, this only meant that Ark had found somewhere he belonged, and these wolves seemed to know his secret.


    Even though both Atar and Ephine needed to turn into wolves, Ark still had time in his human form left, as he hadn''t used it earlier today. Since he still wanted to talk with Thufrat, he just stayed in his human form for now. Atar and Ephine didn''t leave, as they could still listen to their various stories, and it was a good chance to get to know Ark a little more. They didn''t really know too much about him, as he usually didn''t really speak about what he had been through, probably because he didn''t want to think about it, and after hearing the stories, they could both understand why he didn''t want to think about it. Even though most of the stories were really exciting for Atar, Ephine looked at them from Ark''s point of view, and most of them seemed to be pretty horrible. He had endured a lot in his travels.


    When the topic of his kidnapping eventually came up, Ark''s mood changed a little. Thufrat wasn''t really sure about what had happened, but after Ark''s brief explanation, his expression changed drastically. He would have never thought that Ark had actually been tortured during the time he was kidnapped, as if being kidnapped wasn''t enough already. After his explanation, the look in Ark''s eyes dimmed considerably. Thufrat knew that he had stepped on a landmine, and that he had screwed up considerably.


    Seeing Ark like this, Atar was beginning to get sad too. With a few steps, he arrived next to Ark, and cuddled a little with him. Ark smiled gently and patted him on the head. Seeing Atar like this, he stopped sulking. This wasn''t the time to feel depressed, he was surrounded by such wonderful people, and all that torture was in the past now. Like this, the depressed atmosphere gradually returned to normal, and the conversation that had died down flared to life again.


    Ephine just watched from the side, and after seeing how close Atar and Ark were, she smiled to herself. This was her family, and she felt truly happy when she saw them both smiling together. Time passes quickly when you have fun, and soon, Ark''s time was beginning to run out. Since it could come in handy, Ark transformed when he still had ten minutes left, since it could come in handy in the future.


    Since there was still plenty of time left on the day, they all just sat down in the ground in front of the cave, and bathed in the sunlight for a while. The weather was really pleasant, and Ark just wanted this moment to last forever. Being surrounded by people he truly cared about, and that truly cared about him, and just relaxing in the sunlight was an almost divine feeling for Ark. Feeling this happy was not something he usually did, but he was truly happy today.


    Maybe god would just leave him alone for a while? He had been going through so many things, and he just wanted to spend some time with his family and Thufrat, and he just wanted to relax a little, was that too much to ask for? Maybe it was, because before they could relax for too long, the sound of footsteps were approaching them from quite close by.


    Ark almost wanted to roll his eyes when he heard them, but since he wasn''t in his human form, he probably didn''t really need to deal with them, he would just leave it to Thufrat. Well, that was if he didn''t need to help him out of course. Thufrat sat up slowly when he could hear the footsteps reaching closer and closer to their location. He was quite annoyed, as this was the day he had finally reunited with his best friend, he didn''t want some pesky humans to ruin it for him.


    As the sound of a couple of branches getting snapped resounded through their surroundings, three humans slowly walked into view. Thufrat had a displeased expression across his face as he watched the three humans approach them, he had no idea who these three were, but he didn''t like them. If others could look down on him before knowing him, then he could do the same too. As Ark saw the three humans, he was a little fl.u.s.tered, what a coincidence!

 Chapter 154 - Annoying mosquitos.

    Ark wouldn''t really call himself a believer of fate, but seeing these three humans in front of him, he couldn''t help but feel that it was a little weird. This was one hell of a coincidence. In front of them, one young lady and two men stood quietly. The young lady was standing in the middle, and her hair was a rare dark green colour. Next to her were two twins, both clothed in dark blue armour, with azure coloured eyes and pitch-black hair.


    The three of them seemed to be in pretty bad shape at the moment, especially the two guards. The girl was always being protected by the two, and so her shape was fairly good, but the same could not be said about the twins. This time they had been through a fierce battle, one of them had a long cut along his stomach, and the other one had small wounds all over his body. Even though their injuries were a little different, they were both covered in their own blood.


    When they saw Thufrat in front of them, they were a little relieved, that was until they saw the three elemental wolves on the ground behind him, that were cautiously eyeing them up. Both twins instinctively reached for their swords when they saw this, but when they did, Thufrat squinted his eyes, and pulled out a large warhammer from his spatial bag. If these guards wanted to fight, then he would gladly oblige. No one was allowed to make trouble when he was around.


    Since the elemental wolves seemed to be with the dwarf, both twins put their swords back in their sheaths, as they weren''t sure if they would be able to beat these three with these injuries. Nonetheless, if they really had to fight, then they would make sure that their young lady got away safely with all of their strength. At least that was their plan, if they truly fought with Ark to the death right now, then none of them would be able to escape with their lives.


    The young lady didn''t want any fighting right now, these twins had already done enough for her, and she didn''t want them to perish if she could avoid it. "I''m sorry about my guards, they are a little on edge, I apologise if they offended you!" As she apologised, the young lady bowed lightly. The guards wouldn''t let their young lady apologise for them and bow all by herself, and they bowed sincerely with her.


    Thufrat just scoffed and put away his warhammer for now, he was a little annoyed at the moment. These people had immediately drawn their swords at the sight of his best friend, how could he not be annoyed? Still, he didn''t let his expression get too exaggerated, but it was still really obvious that he was annoyed. The lady felt a little odd as she had never really apologised sincerely like this before, and it seemed like this dwarf didn''t even really care.


    She sighed to herself, there was nothing that could be resolved with just a half-assed apology after all. But this wasn''t a big issue to begin with, the dwarf was only annoyed. "I know it''s a bit presumptuous of me to ask, but do you think you could help them?" She pointed to her guards, she sincerely hoped that this dwarf could help them, as she didn''t want to see her personal guards suffer like this, especially not when they had just been protecting her.


    "That depends, will you guys leave us alone if I help you?" Thufrat didn''t want to get dragged into unnecessary trouble if possible, but lending a helping hand in exchange for peace and quiet didn''t sound too bad.


    "If that''s what you want then sure!" From the tone of his voice, the young lady assumed that he would be able to help them if they agreed to his conditions, and considering that his condition was to be left alone, she quickly agreed. It wasn''t like they intended to stay here for long either way.


    After getting her confirmation, Thufrat just glanced at Ark, and expected him to use his magic. Even though he hadn''t seen Ark for a while, Thufrat was sure that he would still help people in need if he could, like he had always done. Contrary to his expectations, Ark hesitated. He didn''t want this stranger to know his secret, but after thinking about it a little, he just ended up thinking that he was a little too cautious. How would she know it was him? They had only met a single time, and he probably didn''t leave much of a lasting impression.


    Since he had decided, he quickly enveloped both the twins in his light mana, and thoroughly healed the wounds that riddled their bodies. The young lady didn''t expect such a development, and she glanced at this wolf that lying on the ground in front of her. As she glanced into the depths of his glowing golden eyes, she felt a weird sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. She had definitely seen those eyes before, but at the same time, she was sure that she had never seen his wolf before.


    Her thoughts were a little disarrayed, as she couldn''t stop staring into Ark''s eyes. Ark himself was feeling a little fl.u.s.tered, why was this woman staring into his eyes all of a sudden? Did she find out who he was? How was that possible! Ark started to quickly become paranoid, and as a result, he started to heal the two twins even faster, since he just wanted them to leave before this woman was able to figure out it was him.


    Unlike Ark, Ephine was not feeling fl.u.s.tered when this woman stared into his eyes, instead, she felt annoyed. As to why she was so annoyed, she wasn''t really sure, but she didn''t like this feeling at all. Just like Ark and Thufrat, she just wanted these people to leave, her impression of them had suddenly gone from nothing special to that of an annoyance, much like an annoying mosquito buzzing in your ear when you tried to sleep.


    Ark''s healing magic was very formidable, and the wounds healed at a speed that was clearly visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. Even though the healing magic was very formidable, these knights had been healed by even stronger healing magic in the past, by a saint of their kingdom, so there wasn''t any astonishment because of its strength. What was more astonishing was the fact that Ark, a magical beast was healing them.


    But even then, the astonishment quickly disappeared when they understood that Ark was probably just this dwarf''s summoned beast. But when they realised that there were two more of these wolves, confusion started to invade their minds. They had never heard of someone who could summon three elemental wolves before, especially not an entire family. Did that mean that these three wolves were not summoned beasts? This thought was plaguing their minds, as they couldn''t determine if that was actually the case or not.


    It would be surprising either way, but if they were not summoned beasts, then it meant that these three wolves were friends with this dwarf, which was amazing to say the least.

 Chapter 155 - Making lives easier, what could go wrong?

    Though they were being healed, they could see that they weren''t welcome here by observing the faces of everyone present. Even the golden gaze of the wolf that was healing them contained some hidden intentions. Even though they were sure that they had been polite for most of the time, they were still being looked down on like this. Since that was the case, they were determined to just quietly and quickly leave once they had healed.


    They didn''t really know why they were being looked at like this, but they assumed that they were just being a nuisance, and disturbing their rest. They still felt that the looks they were getting were a little too overbearing, but what could they do about it? Ark didn''t waste any time and just kept releasing waves after waves of golden mana, he almost resembled a deity in a way.


    He soon abruptly stopped releasing mana, and stopped healing the twins, they had been healed thoroughly, and Ark just stood there, waiting for them to leave like they had promised they would. The atmosphere quickly turned awkward, but the trio took the blatantly obvious hint, and left. Seeing the trio being on their way, Ark felt relieved, at least no one would be bothering them for the time being. With that said, it didn''t take more than a minute before the sounds of battle reached their ears.


    Ark wasn''t even surprised at this point, and instead of waiting around, he just nodded at everyone else, then swiftly left. If the twins were injured seriously again, then they would probably come and ask him for help again. Ark didn''t want to wait around for that, and he decided to just help them before they get injured this time. Lending a helping hand to such powerhouses meant that the enemy was most likely powerful, which was a chance for him to level up.


    With that said Ark disappeared from where he was standing, and considering how close the battle was, he arrived in a matter of seconds when he ran as fast as he could. Though he made sure to be fast, he also made sure to not make much noise, as he didn''t want to alert anyone unless necessary, a sneak attack was usually a lot more powerful compared to a normal attack. Not because the inherent power was any different, but the opponents defence wouldn''t be as tough.


    When he was about to enter the fray of the battle, a tree was suddenly sent flying his way. This was nothing to Ark, as he could easily dodge it, but it was still proof of the level of battle that was taking place here. As Ark inspected the battlefield, his expression quickly changed. The high-level battle that he was expecting was surprisingly against a squadron of goblins. What was abnormal about these goblins was the fact that their skin was completely pitch-black, and their eyes shone with an eerie scarlet shade.


    Unlike normal goblins, these goblins were quite organised in the battle. In the front, 4 warriors were currently contending with one of the twins in combat. In the backline, 3 magicians conjured up different types of magic and hurled them at the twin. Fortunately, the twin had his young lady supporting him, and she was able to contend with these goblin magicians all by herself. The second twin was currently locked in one-on-one combat with another monster. This monster quite resembled the pitch-black goblins, but he was at least 3 times larger than they were.


    His height reached over 3 meters, and as Ark inspected him, a small text popped up. "Mutated Ogre"


    This mutated Ogre was overpowering to say the least, and the twin that was supposed to take care of him was on the defensive. Ark thought that these twins were supposed to be stronger than this, but as he saw them battle, he realised the truth. They were tired. Not only had they lost a lot of blood and already been through a really rough battle, but they had then been healed just to go back to fight once more. Not only that, but healing magic could be quite tiring on the body and soul sometimes, especially if the injuries were severe.


    Since they seemed to be in a stalemate at the moment, Ark figured that he might as well help them. It wasn''t like he would lose anything from it, and he would get some experience points as well. Having strong people owe you a favour was nice too, since you never know what you might need in the future.  Since his stealth skill was already activated, Ark figured that it was probably best if he got rid of the largest threat first, since the twin that was fighting with the ogre seemed to be in a bit of a pickle.


    He snuck up behind it to the best of his abilities, while still making sure that the ogre didn''t sense his presence. Even though the brute was quite simpleminded, its battle instincts were superb, and it wouldn''t easily fall for a sneak attack. Though he said that, Ark was confident in his abilities, after all, he had magic to aid his physical prowess. This ogre didn''t have any magical capabilities, and considering its resistance to physical attacks, Ark guessed that magic was its inherent weakness.


    There was no way to know for sure, except to just test it out himself. The ogre wielded a large broadsword, and the intense clashes of their swords deafened everyone in their surroundings considerably. Ark waited patiently for his opportunity which soon presented itself. The twin was beginning to grow tired and the ogre managed to find an opening in his defence. Seeing this opening, the ogre instantly attacked with a horizontal cleave, if it wasn''t handled properly, the twin would surely be cut in half.


    Even though the twin would be able to deal with the attack and counterattack, there would be costs, and he quickly tried to calculate if it was worth it. In the ogre''s eyes, he just stood still, and the ogre assumed he had already given up. It laughed crazily while the sword was still in motion. This was it! A piercing sound was heard, and the ogre''s laugh was abruptly cut short. When the twin saw a frozen hole in the middle of the ogre''s ugly face, he instantly retreated.


    Even though the ogre was already dead, its attack wouldn''t stop. It lost a considerable amount of power, but most humans would still be cleaved in two by the attack. Of course, the twin wasn''t like most humans, and he just quickly dodged the sword. Ark managed to kill the ogre in one shot, and hearing the notification of a level up, he was a little satisfied with himself. Although that was the case, he didn''t dare to laze around.


    There were still plenty of enemies around to defeat, and if he didn''t take care of them, then he wouldn''t get any experience! He had already saved these people, at this point he was just making their lives a little easier. And if he could make others'' lives easier by strengthening himself, then were was the drawback?

 Chapter 156 - Investing

    Ark knew himself that his thinking right now was a little na?ve, but he couldn''t care less, this was a good chance to earn a lot of experience, and he would certainly not just let it go. The rest of the enemies were almost evenly matched with the other twin and the young lady, mostly due to their fatigue, but it presented Ark with an opportunity, and he took it.


    Not even a minute passed, and Ark had already slaughtered every single monster in the vicinity. The trio were of course surprised by his help, but more than that, they were surprised by how excited he seemed to be when he killed all of the monsters. This excitement was a mix of Ark''s bloodl.u.s.t and excitement for experience points, which created quite a peculiar mood. For once, Ark''s bloodl.u.s.t didn''t take over completely, and he managed to stay fairly rational, he just had to try really hard to contain himself.


    If he went out of control, then he would make some mighty enemies. Ark knew that this trio would probably take care of these monsters without him, none of them had used any of their trump cards after all, and considering their status, he was sure that they had a lot of trump cards that were still hidden. With that said, Ark probably wouldn''t be able to beat them if he went out of control, and even if he managed to survive, the forces behind them obviously wouldn''t just sit still.


    Ark quickly let these thoughts run through his mind, and then he tried to stop thinking about it. In the end, he didn''t lose control, so there was no reason for him to dwell too much on what would''ve happened if he did. This monsters had all been abnormally high level, and Ark had no idea where they had actually come from, but in the end, he was still happy that he had run into them. After living in the forest for a while, Ark had already acc.u.mulated some levels and status points that he hadn''t used yet, and with another new influx of status points, he decided that it was time to think a little about it.


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: 42 (86)


    Strength: 30 (40)


    Agility: 45 (40)


    Dexterity: 35 (40)


    Endurance: 30 (40)


    Vitality: 30 (40)


    Intelligence: 200


    Wisdom: 75


    Night Vision [Lv.4]


    Water magic [Beginner Lv.4]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana manipulation [Lv.8]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.4]


    Cellular Mana Infusion


    Herculean strength [Lv.3]


    Swift [Lv.3]


    Nimble [Lv.3]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Enhanced Stamina


    Small Spatial Affinity


    Small Lightning Affinity


    Small Darkness Affinity


    Medium Wind Affinity


    Medium Earth Affinity


    Medium Fire Affinity


    Medium Water Affinity


    Big Ice Affinity


    Mental Fortitude


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.6]


    Spear Mastery [Intermediate Lv. 2]


    Overlord of the Elements


    Body Refining [Lv.8]


    Wolf''s tongue [Inherent]


    Status points [60]


    Seeing this status that he hadn''t opened up in a while, Ark was a little surprised to see the amount of times he had levelled up without even thinking about it. His telepathy had apparently levelled up to level 4 as well, but he didn''t really think that it was shocking or anything like that, he had been using it a bit here and there after all. When he saw his body refining skill, he felt a little stupid. This was such a powerful skill, it was basically free status points! Yet he had completely forgotten about it due to his cellular mana infusion skill.


    Seeing the amount of points he had acc.u.mulated without thinking about it, Ark felt a little stupid, he shouldn''t have let them acc.u.mulate to this level, even if at least 20 of them was from the fight just now, he had still let 40 points just waste away for no reason! When he thought about what he wanted to invest them in, he was a little stumped. He would usually just invest them into his intelligence, but he felt like his wisdom was getting left too far behind.


    Even though he didn''t have any major problems with mana regeneration, it would still be nice if it was higher, as he would be able to extend the periods of time he was able to fight at full strength. The question was how much he wanted to invest in it. Did he want to invest every point he had? He wasn''t really sure. After a little thought, he decided to just invest it all into wisdom. He wanted to at least get it over a hundred, since he wasn''t sure if he would get a skill or not when he passed it.


    He didn''t get any skill when his intelligence passed 100, but he couldn''t be sure that the requirements were the same for every attribute, maybe it depended on his other attributes too, he had no way of knowing. Since just investing 20 points or so into intelligence wouldn''t bring him any major improvements in strength, he thought that investing it into wisdom would be good enough for now. At the very least it would catch up to his intelligence stat a little even if he didn''t get any skills.


    When he felt the nostalgic white light enveloping his entire figure, Ark felt at ease. He had felt this feeling so many times, and it felt just as good now as it did in the beginning. To Ark, this light was proof that he had grown, which made him feel good. After a second or so passed, the light disappeared into the void, and Ark just stood there. There was no voice that told him about how he had gained a new skill, which disappointed him a little, but it didn''t really matter too much either way. It just meant that the skill he would get when his wisdom passed 200 would be very powerful, hopefully on par with the cellular mana infusion skill.


    Even if the skill was only close his cellular mana infusion, it would be worth the points. The sound of footsteps rapidly approached, and Ark got ready to fight once again. He didn''t know the strength of the enemy this time, but he was always up for a good fight! To his surprise, there were no more monsters, but Thufrat was frantically running his way. As he saw Thufrat, Ark felt a little stupid, of course he would come chasing after him if he just ran off like that.


    When the trio saw Thufrat arriving, they all released sighs of relief. Even though Ark had saved them, they were still a little scared of what he might do. Now that Thufrat was here, he could hopefully control the situation, or at least that''s what they thought. In reality, Thufrat would have no means to stop Ark if he truly went on a rampage, he could only try and contest with his strength, but it wouldn''t work in the end.


    Nonetheless, Ark didn''t lose control of himself either way, so there was no need for them to worry. Seeing the dwarf gasping for air as if he had ran a marathon was quite funny, agility wasn''t his strong suit. Ark could cross such a distance in a matter of seconds, but for Thufrat it would be a matter of minutes. But that was mostly because of Ark''s use of wind magic, enhancing his speeds to a horrifying degree.

 Chapter 157 - Help?

    Thufrat wasn''t entirely sure as to why Ark just ran away, but he could make an educated guess, and after seeing the scene when he arrived, he knew that his guess was correct. Thufrat knew that Ark was once a human, and that he still helped humans if he could. Maybe this torture had changed him in some way that Thufrat had no way of knowing, but his nature hadn''t changed yet, and if he could help people that deserved it, he definitely would.


    With that said, Thufrat knew that he had changed, he could feel it. Ark was just a little bit different, but it was easy enough to notice. But since he knew the entire story, there was nothing for him to ask about, he knew exactly why Ark had changed, and he was even surprised that he didn''t change more than what he did. Thufrat was not sure who these people were, but now that Ark had already helped them, they could just leave them alone. They had no obligation to help these people any more.


    "Let''s go!"


    Thufrat turned around, and Ark quickly followed after him. He had no d.e.s.i.r.e to stay here any longer, he had done what he set out to do after all. Before they could walk far, the young lady of the trio suddenly called out to them. "Wait!"


    They both stopped abruptly, but Thufrat was beginning to grow impatient, what did they want this time?


    "What do you want?"


    It was obvious from his facial expression that he was getting pissed off, and the young lady was quite observant to begin with. Even so, this was something that she had to ask! "I know it might seem very daring of me, but can you please lend us your strength!"


    Thufrat''s originally dark expression turned even darker, was this lady actually asking for even more help? How much did they need to help these people before they were satisfied?


    "I know that you probably don''t want to help us anymore, but I''m not asking this on my own behalf!"


    "These monsters are from a dungeon nearby, and we need every little help we can get to deal with it, otherwise people will get hurt."


    "I don''t know how this happened, but we really need to clear this dungeon to stop this rampage, or blood is going to flow like rivers throughout the forest!"


    Even though he was annoyed, there was no way Thufrat could just ignore such a plea for help! Whatever had happened to this dungeon, if the monsters were all on this level, then numerous people would die! Not only people, but magical beasts would all get massacred too. If anything, Ark almost cared more about the magical beasts than the humans at this point. Even though many of them were hostile, most of them were just trying to survive, and Ark was no different. He would never hunt magical beasts just to get levels.


    Ark would of course care about innocent people, but unfortunately, there were not a lot of them. Humans were naturally greedy for different things, and a lot of people let this greed control them, sometimes to the point where there''s no going back, and that''s when problems arise. You see, someone who has done something wrong but regrets it and tries to repent and make up for their mistake could be called a good person, right? But are they truly innocent? No. A truly innocent person that isn''t a child is hard to find, and only saving the innocents wouldn''t really work.


    Saving others is truly an annoyance. It''s hard to know who is truly worth saving, and whether it''s worth putting your life in harm''s way to try and save someone else. Which is why Ark had mixed feelings when it came to saving humans. He had met truly rotten people, but he had also met nice people who helped him without getting any sort of benefit. He wasn''t too conflicted about helping this time though, as clearing this dungeon would only benefit him in the end.


    He had just spent a lot of status points, but if he had the chance to earn even more, then he would surely go for it! Getting an opportunity to get stronger just like this wasn''t something you got every day, and Ark really needed it right now. He was still anxious about the visions he had seen, and just forgetting them wasn''t going to be possible. There was no way for Ark to even know if these visions he had seen were real, or if they were just some form of illusion, but he wanted to be ready either way.


    If they were real, he would be ready, and if they weren''t real, then he would just be very strong, which would definitely aid him in his daily life. Thufrat wasn''t sure if he should say yes, but when he saw Ark nodding furiously, he decided that he would accept their call for help. "I''ll help you out, but I''ll only help out a couple of hours or so a day, and I won''t come alone."


    When the trio heard this, they were all secretly happy. They didn''t ask these people in vain. They naturally assumed that Thufrat would bring the wolves with him when he said that he wouldn''t come alone, but Thufrat had different plans. If he was supposed to clear a dungeon, then he wanted to at least have someone to talk to, so he just decided by himself that Ark was going to clear the dungeon with him in his human form.


    Ark wasn''t aware of this, but it didn''t really matter to him. He didn''t want anyone to be suspicious of his identity as a wolf, but he doubted that anyone would even come up with the idea that he was a wolf that could turn into a human, it was just a weird guess that practically no one would actually make. When he heard what Thufrat said, he was feeling a little elated, the only question he had was whether they should bring Atar and Ephine with them into the dungeon.


    Even if he didn''t want them to be subjected to any danger, he also wanted them both to become strong, truly strong. He wanted them both to be strong enough to protect themselves. He couldn''t protect them forever, even if he really wanted to. What if he was to die one day? What would happen to them then? They would fall prey to other magical beasts or humans stronger than them, which was why they need strength.


    Even though he felt a little conflicted, it wasn''t a very hard decision to make. Sure, they might be subjected to some danger, but he would always be there to back them up, and as long as he was around, no one would be able to hurt them! With that said, he still needed to consult them about it of course, he wouldn''t just make a decision like this on his own and then expect them to just comply or anything.


    "Since you''ve agreed to our proposal, I have a question to ask!"


    "Just speak your mind, no need for formalities or anything like that."


    "Would you be able to meet us here tomorrow at noon?"


    "Sure!"


    Since they had come to an agreement, Thufrat was eager to leave and he just promptly turned around and left. Ark felt like sighing upon seeing how impatient his friend was, but he just followed after him.

 Chapter 158 - Family

    No time was wasted as Ark and Thufrat hastily made their way back to Ephine and Atar, who had just been waiting patiently on the ground while they were away. As Ark saw Ephine and Atar lying down on the ground in front of him, he pondered a little. After some quick thinking, he decided that it was for the better if he just asked them whether they wanted to come or not.


    "Tomorrow were going to clear a dungeon with some humans, would you guys like to come with us? You don''t have to, but it''s an easy way to get stronger."


    Thufrat had no idea what Ark was saying, since he couldn''t understand wolves, but he figured it was about the dungeon, and he just laid down on the ground to rest again. Atar was excited at the prospect of exploring a dungeon, as he had never done it before, but unlike him, Ephine was contemplating it a little more. The risk of this dungeon was presumably fairly high, as there was no way Ark was going to clear it with other humans otherwise, but the question was whether the risk was worth it or not?


    Ark noticed that she was struggling with the decision, and couldn''t help but add to his earlier question. "Of course, I will be there to protect you guys if something goes wrong, we''re family right?" He smiled brilliantly at the end of his sentence, and Ephine could feel her heartrate increasing. Seeing his genuine smile when he called them his family, she was truly a little happy.


    "Of course we are!"


    Returning the gesture, Ephine smiled brilliantly too. The walls surrounding Ark''s scarred heart came tumbling down, and he couldn''t help but feel warm inside. Atar didn''t want to feel left out, and he quickly chimed in. "Papa and Mama are both family!" With this, it was quickly decided that Atar and Ephine would follow them into the dungeon.


    Whilst this was happening, Thufrat was busy fighting with an annoying fly that had entered his personal space without his permission! It was a fierce fight, yet it ended abruptly with a clap of his hands. Ark, Atar and Ephine who had been absorbed in their own little world all suddenly stared at Thufrat. His clap had stunned them a little. When he saw that he had interrupted their wholesome moment, he scratched his face a little, "Sorry?"


    ¡­


    Night quickly arrived, and unlike the rest of them, Thufrat decided to sleep just at the opening of the cave. Even though he was really close with Ark, he didn''t want to sleep with them, as they all seemed so close to each other. In the depths of the cave, Ark was having trouble sleeping as usual. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could feel was endless suffering. Since there was no other way, Ark just got up, and then laid down next to Ephine and Atar again. Feeling their warmth, Ark was quickly able to calm down, and he thought back to what had happened earlier that day. As he thought of this new family of his and felt their warmth, he quickly fell into deep sleep.


    Morning quickly arrived, yet the cave was just as dark as always. Ark just saw this as a blessing, as he continued to sleep late into the morning, there was nothing else for him to do either way. Eventually he had to get up, and when he walked out of the cave, the first thing to greet him were the piercing rays of sunlight that shone straight into his eyes. He winced a little, and quickly adjusted to the light. Like the day before, the weather was truly beautiful, and everyone was just lazing around in the grass.


    Thufrat was just taking a nap in the grass, and as he breathed, the earth around him moved to the rhythm of his deep breaths, it was quite the peculiar spectacle. Unlike Thufrat, Atar was happily playing around, chasing bugs around and just having fun. Under the shade of a nearby tree, Ephine was lying down and practicing her mana manipulation by interacting with the mana in the air. As he laid down and wondered about what he was going to do, he recalled a skill that he had neglected for quite some time now, "Body Refining"


    This skill was quite powerful, yet he had just left it at the back of his mind, and practically forgotten about it. Since he had a couple of hours before noon, Ark just started to absorb the mana in the surroundings. Maybe it was because he hadn''t used the skill in such a long time, but when he activated it, the mana in his surroundings seemed to grow frantic, as it surged frantically into his body.


    His body was just like a man that hadn''t seen water in three days as it greedily absorbed all the mana it could grasp. Ark was a little astonished at the speed he was absorbing mana into his body, as he had never absorbed this much mana the last time he had used the skill. The astonishment quickly faded though as he concentrated on Ephine while he let his body do all the hard work. Usually he would have to guide the mana into his body and actually focus a little in the process, but this time his body did all the hard work whilst he just concentrated on other things.


    In the blink of an eye, it was already time to depart, as it was already noon. The meeting place was really close, and it would take them just a minute or two to get there depending on how fast the wanted to arrive. While he had been using the "Body Refining" skill for a couple of hours, it managed to level up! It was now level 9 and gave him an extra 45 status points in every physical stat, which was quite the amount.


    Since they couldn''t show up in their wolf forms, they all turned into their human forms. While Ark was sleeping, Thufrat had entered a nearby town and bought some decent clothes for them, which he promptly gave to them before they changed into them inside the cave. Even though he didn''t really care about himself, Ark didn''t want Thufrat to see Ephine n.a.k.e.d, and he made them both change their clothes inside the cave. They would''ve done it either way even if Ark didn''t say anything, but he couldn''t be too sure.


    Seeing them both in proper clothes, Ark couldn''t help but feel impressed. As he laid his eyes on Ephine, his heart started to beat a little quicker, but he quickly calmed himself down. Even though she was truly beautiful in her white dress that was decorated with green embroidery, he wanted to stay calm for now. They were soon going to enter a dangerous dungeon where their lives could be on the line, he didn''t want to be distracted. He could appreciate her beauty later.


    Since they were all ready to go, they swiftly departed. This time, Ark didn''t carry any sort of weapon. Before he had carried a sword to confuse opponents, but this time he was up against monsters, and he needed to be serious from the very beginning. The meeting point was soon in sight, and they leisurely walked over. Even though it was expected, the trio wasn''t alone this time, instead of just three people, there was closer to 20¡­

 Chapter 159 - Whos stronger, you... or a kid?

    As soon as Thufrat entered their sights, the trio got ready to greet him, but when they saw the three people that followed him, they stopped in their tracks. The weird family that had helped them a couple of days earlier! Ark had made quite the impression when he released all of his bloodl.u.s.t, especially when he healed their guard despite his obvious hostility. The young lady immediately became suspicious, this was too much of a coincidence right?


    Ark and Ephine both acted truly surprised to see this trio here, even though they knew they were going to be a part of this. Seeing their surprise, the young lady calmed down a little, maybe it really was a coincidence? She was still suspicious, but this act of theirs definitely put them off. Ark wasn''t sure how effective it was going to be, but since Thufrat wanted his company in the dungeon, he had to be in his human form, otherwise the dwarf would probably be bored to death.


    Worst case scenario, the young lady finds out about their secret, but if that happens, there are several routes he can take. If she isn''t hostile, then there wouldn''t even need be a need to be worried. If she was hostile or had ill-intentions, he was sure that he could dispose of her, especially with Thufrat''s help. Hopefully it wouldn''t come to that though.


    They quickly arrived in front of all these people, and fairly quickly, a lot of eyes were glued to Ephine. It wasn''t anything weird, she was truly beautiful, but Ark was a little displeased. As soon as they saw his rather displeased expression, they naturally backed off, since the young lady had invited them to this excursion, they were not someone weak, and it wouldn''t be wise to offend them. The looks of scorn and disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e directed at Thufrat naturally disappeared when Ark glared, but he didn''t forget to remember their faces.


    "Thank you for helping us out this time, are these your companions?"


    "Yeah, though they might not look like fierce fighters, these are some of the strongest people I''ve ever met!" Thufrat was a little gleeful as he bragged about their strength.


    "Hmm? Do you think this dungeon is some sort of picnic? Why would you bring some kid with you?" A rather large man in the group of 20 abruptly said when he spotted Atar standing behind his mother. Did these people take this trip to the dungeon as some kind of joke?


    Thufrat was about to respond, when Ark took a step forward. "Whether or not I bring my kid with me has nothing to do with you, his safety is my responsibility and no one else''s. Besides, I doubt you''re much stronger than him either way." Ark didn''t hold back, he wouldn''t let someone push them around as they wanted.


    "You little-"


    "Now now, let''s calm down a little shall we?" the young lady quickly intervened before things got out of hand, she didn''t want a fight to start before they even managed to enter the dungeon. As for the young boy, she was a little perplexed as well, this man didn''t seem like a good parent at all. Without him knowing, Ark''s favourability in everyone''s hearts quickly plummeted.


    Seeing everyone''s reactions, Ark was at a loss for words. He had once heard that actions speak louder than words, and maybe it was time he let Atar demonstrate exactly what that saying meant. While people were still looking, he crouched down next to Atar, and patted him on the head. "Do you want to show them how strong you''ve become?" Atar quickly nodded, he didn''t like the way these people looked at them, and it was uncomfortable.


    "Don''t let them look down on us!"


    With a pat on the back, Atar quickly walked away for a bit until he was in front of a couple of trees. Everyone was watching him, and as he felt their stares burrowing into his back, he quickly took half a step forward, and sent his arm flying forward! With all the might he could muster, Atar threw a punch at the trees in front of him. Unlike what the others had expected, Atar didn''t try to punch just one tree, instead he punched the empty air in front of him.


    Unlike what they expected, Atar''s punch was actually very powerful, and the wind that was brought about by his punch quickly sent the nearby trees flying. In front of him, devastation was everywhere. A large area in front of him was completely obliterated, with nothing but dirt and broken branches left. After this punch, he felt a little relieved, and just skipped back to Ark and Ephine. Seeing the child happily skip back to his family after unleashing such sudden destructive power was very unnerving for most people, but they had to admit, the child was very powerful.


    The large man realised his mistake, and he was a little annoyed. Even though he was annoyed, he knew that it was for the better if he just apologised for his rude remarks, as these people could probably easily deal with him, if the child was this powerful, how powerful were the parents? While the man was contemplating to himself, Atar was getting plenty of affection from Ark and Ephine, who both couldn''t help but want to spoil him when they saw how cute he was.


    This happiness was what Ark worked so hard to protect, and he would surely work even harder in the future. After the large man apologised, the group naturally split up into two groups, the original group of 20 as well as Ark''s group of four. To Ark and Thufrat, this didn''t matter at all, quite the opposite, it was actually quite nice that they were left all alone, this meant that they could do whatever they wanted down in the dungeon if they split up.


    The young lady didn''t like that the group had split up like this, but there was nothing that she could really do about it. She couldn''t just make them suddenly like each other. With that said, she still had an idea of how to keep the group together, it was actually quite simple. Since no one would willingly follow Ark and his group, she just decided to stick to them. Naturally everyone else just followed after them, since everyone came here to curry favours after all.


    With Ark and the young lady''s group in the very front, they all quickly descended into the dungeon after they arrived. Since the dungeon was actually a goblins nest, it was actually just a cave system that delved deep into a nearby mountain. Naturally, the scary opponents were not the goblins, but the monsters they had evolved into.


    It didn''t even take long before a group of black goblins came running. When they heard the large amounts of footsteps, they all drew their small weapons and rushed at the group to attack. Before they could even come close, they all started shrieking miserably. Before anyone in the group could react, a white flame suddenly engulfed them whole, leaving not even dust behind.


    Everyone looked at Ark with frightened expressions, he had clearly used his mana just then, but what the hell was up with that attack? It was way too powerful!


    While everyone was astonished by his strength, he felt like something was a little amiss. Even though goblins were stupid creatures, they were also timid, they wouldn''t just rush into a horde of strong opponents like this, it was simply against their nature!

 Chapter 160 - The Goblin Dungeon

    Considering how he had shown his light magic to these people when he was in his wolf form, Ark figured that he would have to hide it for now, as he didn''t want to arouse any suspicion, although it would probably be alright as long as he didn''t show anyone his holy spear, since that would definitely give his identity away immediately.


    The other humans were definitely shocked by his prowess, as he didn''t even need to lift a finger to disintegrate numerous variant goblins. Even though they were goblins, their variations made them a lot more powerful than normal. To Ark, whether they were variants or not didn''t matter, they were still goblins in the end, and there was nothing they could do to try and stop him. Since they were already dead, Ark just kept walking, and everyone swiftly followed him.


    Even though he had surprised them, they still held their composure, they were all strong adventurers after all, and everyone here knew that being careless in a dungeon was essentially a death sentence. The further down the dark cave they walked, the more damp the air became. Unlike the outside, the air was quite foul, and just breathing was a bit of a challenge in comparison to the lush forest outside. A slight stench lingered inside the cave, which was something commonly associated with goblins, who were quite nasty.


    Even though Ark could easily see with the help of his night vision skill, he knew that not everyone was as fortunate as him, and he created a source of bright light with the help of his light magic, which quickly illuminated their surroundings. The cave wasn''t too dark in the beginning, but at present, it was almost pitch black. Everyone was thankful for Ark''s thoughtfulness, as they continued down the rather wide cave.


    Along the way, they had bumped into several patrols of goblins, who almost blended perfectly into the darkness, but to Ark, these goblins couldn''t even be considered an obstacle. Just like the goblins in the beginning, they all just turned into dust as soon as they tried to approach them. For the other adventurers, this dungeon exploration eventually just turned into a casual stroll, while Ark took care of everything.


    Whilst he was busy with taking care of the goblins, he just casually chatted with Ephine and Thufrat. This was in reality the only reason they had come to the dungeon in their human forms, just to chat along the way. To the other adventurers, it all looked a little bizarre, as they had never seen anyone just casually stroll around inside a dungeon whilst happily chatting, it all just looked so odd.


    After walking deep into the cave, a faint light could be seen in the distance. Although it was faint, judging from the colour, it was obvious that the light was originating from some form of flame. When they came closer, they were finally able to discern what the light was. Surely enough, the light was indeed a flame, and not only that, but two torches!


    The two torches were attached to either side of a rather imposing gate. Even though it looked a little odd that there was a gate deep down inside a cave, everyone present knew that this gate was the entrance to the goblin settlement. The gate wasn''t left unattended, and underneath each torch was a guard. These guards were not like the goblins they had met before, they were an evolved species.


    Though the most normal route was that of a hobgoblin, these had evolved into something similar, yet something far more powerful. When Ark used inspect, he found out that they were both over level 80 and they were called hobgoblin gatekeeper. They were still considered hobgoblins, but their strength had evolved far more, and as long as they fought near this gate, they would be even stronger. As a price for that strength, they would lose almost all combat effectivity as soon as they left the vicinity of their gate, which was why they almost never left it.


    As soon as the group of 20 approached the gate, the two gatekeepers simultaneously got ready for combat. Armed with a spear each, they pointed them at the foreign intruders. Even though Ark really wanted to fight them with his spear, to see who was superior, he knew that it wasn''t really appropriate considering that he was hiding his identity. Since he couldn''t really use his holy spear, he wanted to try something else out.


    It was boring to just end every fight normally, and he decided to try and beat these monsters with a sword. Since he didn''t bring a sword with him, he just conjured one out of ice. The sword wasn''t just some ordinary ice shard that he had hastily conjured, instead, he took his time to craft an elegant and refined sword made out of shining cyan ice.


    The sword was imbued with an immense amount of mana, and he made it as sharp as he possibly could with the mana control he currently had. To the others, the sword looked like it would cut them if they just so much as looked at it. Grabbing the sword in his hand, it had a cool and refreshing feeling to it. Even though he had just crafted it, it felt like he had been using this sword for all his life, like it was a part of him.


    Naturally, this feeling came from the fact that this sword was made out of his own mana, mana that had actually just been an actual part of his being, the sword was just like an extension of his being in that sense. At least that was what it felt like. With the sword in hand, Ark turned around to face everyone else and left them with two words. "Don''t interfere."


    With another turn, he was once again facing the gatekeepers that were pointing their spears at him. Since he didn''t want to end the fight in a single second, Ark only used a bit of mana on his cellular mana infusion skill. In a single stride, he instantly appeared in front of the left gatekeeper. Seeing the human appearing in front of it, the gatekeeper instantly thrust its spear at him. Leaning his body slightly to the right, Ark managed to deflect the spear with his sword.


    He kept running forward, and almost instantly arrived slightly to the right of the gatekeeper. The sword in his hand exuded an icy cold fog as he swiftly used it to slice his opponent in two. Well, that''s what would''ve happened if he didn''t sense an immense amount of danger approaching him from his right side. Forcefully using wind magic to send his body flying backward, Ark skidded along the slippery floor of the cave, and almost arrived back to where the others were watching the battle.


    In front of him, the two gatekeepers were staring at him with venomous eyes. The gatekeeper that Ark had tried to attack hadn''t withdrawn its spear yet, while the other gatekeeper''s spear was aimed at the left gatekeeper. This was obviously the danger he had sensed earlier, and Ark was quite pleased that he was able to avoid the attack, this was going to be a fun fight!

 Chapter 161 - Fight against the gatekeepers!

    As he faced off against the two gatekeepers, a monotone voice resounded inside of his head. When he had been fighting just now, he had actually gained a new skill! The skill wasn''t anything special, but Ark was still fairly happy that he managed to get it. The skill sword mastery was just like his spear mastery, it was basically a representation of his skill with a weapon, and the higher level it was, the more benefits he would get from it. It wasn''t just about increasing his attack power, but also enhancing his knowledge and understanding of the weapon, as well as his familiarity with it.


    Although it was currently only beginner Lv.1 Ark was sure that this skill would be useful in the future. Fighting with a sword was fairly refreshing too, and it was a lot more convenient since he didn''t want to reveal one of his biggest trump cards. Keeping his spear skill hidden in the future would be a good way to launch a surprise attack.


    Since he knew that the fight was going to be a little difficult with his current strength, Ark decided to infuse some more mana into his cells, enhancing his physical capabilities to another level. Not wasting any more time, Ark rushed forward once more. Since he didn''t want to fight them both at the same time, this time he slashed pre-emptively at the right gatekeeper, unlike his first attack, this one was imbued with a large amount of ice mana, and a devastating cold energy was sent flying at the opponent.


    Even if the attack wouldn''t harm the gatekeeper, Ark knew for sure that he wouldn''t get interrupted again. Unlike the last time, Ark ran whilst keeping his body as close to the ground as possible. Naturally, the left gatekeeper thrust its spear at him again, quite like the last time. But unlike last time, he didn''t dodge to either of the sides. Instead, he used wind magic to blast himself off the ground and into the air.


    Since the attack was aimed very low, Ark thought that it would be fastest if he just jumped over the attack instead of dodging to the side before counterattacking. Whilst in the air, he still needed to use his sword to change the course of the spear a little, since he didn''t want the gatekeeper to try and adjust its attack to hit him, even if it was just with the shaft of the spear. The spear pierced into the ground as if it was butter.


    Since it pierced into the ground, Ark was free to attack however he wanted, with nothing to stop him. With a diagonal overhead slash, the sword in Ark''s hand released an intense amount of ice fog that enveloped the gatekeeper. The ice fog slowed down the gatekeeper''s movements to the point where it almost stood still. With no way to defend itself from the attack, the gatekeeper could only stand still and await its fate.


    The gatekeeper was quickly slashed in half, but weirdly enough, blood didn''t spray everywhere like you''d expect it to. Because of the cold fog, the blood froze as he cut the gatekeeper in half, and a thin layer of ice kept everything in place. Before he could land squarely on the ground, Ark sensed the right gatekeeper''s spear heading straight for him again. This time, he didn''t have the time to blast himself away with the help of wind since his body wouldn''t get out of the way in time.


    Instead, he conjured up a paltry ice shield in front of him, which the spear quickly obliterated. This bought Ark just enough time to twist his body forcefully and to raise his sword to deflect the attack. Even though he was able to avoid the attack in time, he injured himself in the process, and the force of the attack still travelled through his sword and into his body, albeit not all of it.


    He flew backwards a few meters, but managed to land safely on the ground. The injury wasn''t that severe, but it still hurt like hell. Since he had already gotten himself hurt, Ark decided that it was time to end this fight instead of just playing around and testing his limits. He infused a large amount of mana into his cells and from the others'' point of view, it simply looked like he disappeared. Everyone that was strong enough could see that he was simply too fast for most eyes to see.


    Ark instantly appeared behind the gatekeeper and swung his sword again. This time, the gatekeeper wasn''t cut in half, before the sword could even touch it, it had already frozen solid. The slash simply shattered the ice into tiny little pieces. After he had killed both the gatekeepers, Ark could hear the monotone voice telling him that his sword mastery had levelled up to beginner Lv.2


    To everyone else, this battle was a bit too shocking. He had at first shown pretty exceptional strength, but all of a sudden, he had become exponentially more powerful, to the point where they could barely make out what happened. After killing both of the gatekeepers, Ark just waltzed back to the rest of the group, and then approached the young lady. "So, what do you want to do now? Do you want to continue?"


    His rather nonchalant remarks toward a noble was a little bit frightening to the rest of the humans, as they all just assumed that he could talk like that due to his extraordinary status or something along those lines. They would''ve never assumed that he just didn''t care for proper etiquette when it came to nobles. The young lady didn''t really mind it, as she had never really cared much for the rules of nobles in the first place, she still had to follow them though, and there wasn''t really much she could do about it unless she wanted to be punished.


    She was a little thankful that he asked for her opinion, as she was supposed to be the leader of this exploration. Seeing as how everyone was pretty much in their best condition, she decided that it was for the best if they just kept pressing forward. After hearing her opinion, Ark just nodded, walked up to the large gate, and threw a punch. The gate stood no chance at all, and was instantly blasted into smithereens by Ark''s fist. What greeted them was a ginormous amount of space that had been dug out by the goblins and their brethren.


    This space was littered with shabby houses and shacks as far as the eye could see. The only source of light were the torches that were set up all around the place, on the walls, on the houses, and even in the middle of the "street", which was essentially just the space between the shacks. Hearing the gate being blown up, pretty much every monster in the entire settlement turned their heads to look at the gate.


    Ark didn''t waste any time, and he quickly released almost half of his mana. The mana was quickly converted into white flames, that started devouring everything they came into contact with, not only were the goblins that tried to resist it massacred, but every house and shack ignited until there was only ash left. The numerous wooden structures helped spread the fire even faster, and the entire place quickly descended into chaos.


    When the people behind him witnessed the scene, they couldn''t help but gulp. The wails and screeches of goblins and monsters being burned alive was quite frightening, it looked as if Ark had set the entire world ablaze. Considering how much mana he had just used, Ark decided to stay back for a while to recover his mana, he had done his part after all, it was time for everyone else to show their worth.

 Chapter 162 - Decisive battle!

    The fire raged unceasingly, burning everything in its path. Unlike your average flames, these flames easily destroyed everything in their path in mere seconds. Seeing Ark doing this while still staying calm, as if it was nothing special was something bizarre to everyone present, but as they saw him retreat a little, they could guess that he was running low on mana.


    Since that was the case, it was their turn to show what they were capable of. Spreading out, they all attacked different monsters they came across, and as soon as they came close to the white flames, the flames scattered to let them pass. The endless sea of fire was still being controlled by Ark, and it wasn''t going to disappear until he felt like there was no need for it anymore. Controlling the flames cost mana, but not too much, since he had already conjured all of the flames after all.


    Since they had seen Ark taking care of these black goblins so easily, they had assumed that it was an easy task. In reality, the goblins'' strength were quite extraordinary, and a lot of the adventurers got themselves injured due to carelessness and underestimating their enemy. Because of this, they all got a new sense of respect for Ark, as they had no idea that these monsters that couldn''t even approach him were actually this strong.


    The wails of monsters being slaughtered as well as intense fights echoed throughout the cave. Considering the strength of these goblins, their evolved counterparts would surely be powerful. Surely enough, the battle cries of three large monsters soon shook the entire cave. Ephine and Thufrat took this as their cue to finally enter the fray of battle, as they finally had worthy opponents.


    The three monsters were three large black ogres. Unlike the goblins, these ogres all had shining red tattoos all over their large bulking bodies. The tattoos shone eerily in the darkness, and anyone who witnessed them would surely shiver. The immense strength contained inside of the tattoos was clear for all to see, and any adventurer that was close to them instantly retreated back to safety.


    Naturally, not everyone could escape their fate, and 4 adventurers were all slaughtered before they could even react by the ogres. Though they were large and a little dim-witted, they were excellent in battle, and they were far from slow. After using his inspect, Ark was able to see their levels, and not a single one of them was lower than level 100. Even he himself would have to go all-out to kill these ogres, much less these random adventurers.


    Naturally, most adventurers backed off, as they were not strong enough to contend with these monsters, but 10 people remained, and stood in front of the ogres. In front of the left ogre stood three people, namely the young lady and her twin guards. In front of the middle ogre stood four other adventurers, who all exuded an aura that was above the rest, these four were obviously quite strong from the looks of things.


    In front of the right ogre stood three other people, namely Atar, Ephine and Thufrat. Thufrat stood in the middle, and he quickly told them that they were just going to support him, since he didn''t want them to get hurt, Ark treasured them after all. Ephine knew that they would only get in the way if they tried to fight the ogre head-on, and she quickly agreed, she didn''t want Atar to be in too much danger either way.


    Ark was a little worried, but he had faith in Thufrat, and he believed that they wouldn''t get hurt. Even though that was the case, he would immediately interfere if things started going south. The three ogres were all brothers, and upon seeing these puny humans challenging them to a fight, they all sneered with disdain. The fights quickly started, as the ogres were impatient to kill their opponents.


    The battles became intense right from the get-go, as these were fights to the death between exceptionally powerful people. Thufrat didn''t idle around and immediately unleashed his bloodline, and used one of his skills. The mighty roar of a dragon seemed to be coming from the depths of his body, and he was instantly covered in a shiny set of brown armour. This armour looked like the scales of a dragon, and it covered him from head to toe, the only visible part of his body was his face, and even that couldn''t be fully seen.


    The armour contained an immense amount of earth mana, as it was actually just condensed mana that had taken the shape of armour, but even so, it was not something anyone could do. He had gotten this skill by awakening his ancient bloodline after all. After he had covered himself with armour, Thufrat just went all-out and fought the ogre with his fists. Though the ogre was more than double his size, Thufrat wasn''t disheartened at all, and he met all of his opponents punched with his own, creating a stalemate.


    But Thufrat wasn''t alone, an arrow condensed out of water magic was rapidly approaching the ogre''s right eye, which prompted the ogre to quickly close it. Though the eye was essentially a weak point, when it closed its eye, it was protected by its eyelid. Even though it was stupid, the ogre could also use mana to protect itself, which it did. The aim of Ephine''s attack wasn''t to injure the ogre though, which it soon had to find out the hard way.


    Since it had closed its right eye, Thufrat quickly threw a right hook at its face, which it wasn''t able to see in time due to its closed eye. The ogre was quickly lifted off its feet and sent flying backwards, roaring in anger since it had been tricked like this. The attack wasn''t over yet though, and as the ogre was still in the air, it could feel a presence behind itself. The presence was small, yet it contained an immense amount of power, it was Atar!


    When the ogre had been shot in the eye, it had created numerous blind spots, and Atar had taken the chance to run forward and past the ogre. After it had been sent flying, he was now standing right behind it. With a shout, he punched with all the power he could muster, squarely on the ogres back. The ogre could feel its spine crack a little, and it roared in pain and anger.


    As a result from all the power behind Atar''s punch, the ogre was sent flying back to Thufrat again. With a smirk, Thufrat quickly retrieved his warhammer from his spatial bag, and mustered up all the mana he could whilst the ogre was flying towards him. When it was close enough, he swung the warhammer, which landed right on the ogre''s c.h.e.s.t.


    The force behind the blow was enormous, and with the help of the speed the ogre already had, its c.h.e.s.t was caved in as a result, which ultimately ended with the ogre''s untimely death. The facial expression of the ogre was quite ferocious, but as it was already dead, it didn''t really matter. Ark felt a little weird when he saw their battle. It reminded him of tennis, a sport that was quite prevalent in his previous world.

 Chapter 163 - An Eerie Entrance!

    Even though one of the ogres was already dead, the battle was far from over. These ogres had all grown up together, and despite their brains being dull, they still saw each other as family. Seeing the youngest of the trio get slaughtered, the other two quickly grew furious. Unlike most ogres, these three ogres all shared a skill. The youngest ogre had just died too quick to use it, if it had used its skill, then the battle would have definitely been different.


    As furious as they could be, the two ogres both activated their skills at the same time, and their eyes quickly became scarlet red. Their bodies shone slightly scarlet too, creating a ghastly scene. This skill was called blood berserk. It was a variation of the normal berserk, and it consumed one''s blood to provide a tremendous amount of power. Due to their high vitality, the ogres could use this skill without too much of a drawback, whereas most would be on the verge of death if they even tried to use it for a single minute.


    With their newfound powers, the ogres quickly went on a rampage, destroying anything that crossed their path. The young lady and her twin guards struggled a little in the beginning, but they quickly managed to regain control of the battle, and without spending too much energy, they began to restrain the unruly ogre. Unlike them, the party of four adventurers could only watch as their comrades were being torn apart in front of them. Not even 5 seconds passed after the ogre activated its skill and it had already killed every single one of them.


    Just as Ark was about to take care of it, Thufrat, Ephine and Atar quickly attacked it. Though they were strong, Ark was very tense at the moment. He couldn''t care less about his recovery, he really didn''t want them to get hurt. Although that was how he felt, he wouldn''t interfere unless he really needed to. This was their battle, and he wasn''t going to ruin their fight by doing something unnecessary.


    With his glowing golden eyes, even the ogre felt a little uneasy when he stared at it, but it was too mad to think rationally at this point. Since he didn''t want to interfere with their battle, Ark decided to help the young lady and her guards out a little. He didn''t use any of his mana though, all he did was fully release his aura and bloodl.u.s.t, which was enough for even the dull ogre to be restrained. Its bloodline couldn''t be compared to someone like Ark, and neither could its strength for that matter.


    Even though they already had the battle under control, Ark''s help was much appreciated, and they finished up their battle fairly quickly. When they were finished, they naturally went to help out Atar, Thufrat and Ephine, but to their surprise, the battle seemed to be under their control. This ogre was a lot more powerful compared to its younger brother, especially considering it had activated its skill, but even then, they were still able to handle it.


    Though that was the case, it wasn''t without any injuries. Since that ogre attacked ferociously even when it was injured, Thufrat had to suffer a few injuries here and there when it retaliated. But in comparison to the ogre, he was in good shape. The ogre had battled with all the power it could, yet it could barely injure Thufrat when he had his earth armour activated, and even then, it had to suffer numerous injuries the few times it did.


    Since they had it under control, the young lady and her guards didn''t interfere with their battle, and neither did Ark, there was no need for him to do so. The fight soon ended, and Thufrat, Atar and Ephine reaped the benefits, not only did they get battle experience, but they also gained levels. The battle was far from over though, and no matter how much Ark had done with his white flames, there were plenty of mobs left.


    Like this, a purge soon began, with the young lady and her guards at the helm. Not even Ark stayed back, as his physical strength was enough to take care of some goblins while his mana regenerated. The crazy battle cries and wails of dying goblins filled the large settlement, making the entire scene look like something that came straight out of hell, considering the white flames that engulfed their surroundings.


    The young lady acted quickly and spread out her mana into a large dome, which all adventurers fled to in order to survive. Ark didn''t need her protection, but as he could see a small crack in the dome she created, he decided that it would be for the best if he helped her out a little, he didn''t want to let all these people die after all. The young lady could naturally feel her barrier beginning to break, but she couldn''t just pour more mana into it, as it was also a matter of quality.


    Even if she sent all her mana in the barrier, if the opponent''s mana was of high enough quality, then it would still come crumbling down in a heartbeat. Ark wouldn''t let that happen though, and he released some of his ice mana into the large dome. Even though it was mostly there to reinforce it, his ice mana instantly elevated the quality of the barrier, making it withstand the enormous amount of pressure it was under.


    The cracks in the dome quickly mended themselves, and the young lady let out a sigh of relief. This young man was truly their saviour in this time of need, even if he had done it to help himself or those he cared about, he had still helped them nonetheless, and she would surely reward him if they made it out of this alive. After their long battle with the monsters of the dungeon, most adventurers present were exhausted, and Ark was not that different. He had recovered most of his mana by now, but he had worn out his body in the process.


    As they were all standing within the barrier, wondering what creature was creating such pressure, a weird laugh echoed throughout the cave. "Kukukukuku¡­"


    As Ark heard the laugh, he rolled his eyes, couldn''t some villain create an original laugh for once? It felt like he had heard this particular laugh at least a dozen times before. Unlike Ark, the rest of the adventurers were not as calm. Not far away from them, the pressure swirled violently like a whirlpool, and a silhouette could be discerned if one looked carefully.


    The stature looked like that of a human, but the weird part was that the silhouette seemed to be walking on empty air, as if it was flying toward them.

 Chapter 164 - The Fallen

    On the back of the mysterious creature were a pair of wings. Though it seemed odd, as the creature came closer, the colours of the wings could be discerned if you looked closely. The wings were not the same colour, as one was pitch-black, whilst the other was a gentle white colour, soothing for the eyes. Unlike most bipedal creatures, this creature had a pair of feathered wings, which was enough for Ark to be a little surprised, he could clearly feel that the wings were real, and not created out of mana, as he couldn''t feel any sort of mana fluctuations at all.


    Before he could feel too surprised, the creature slowly descended down onto the ground in front of the barrier. "Hahaha, who would''ve thought that so many excellent sacks of blood would come wandering into my home! This isn''t my birthday is it?" As the adventurers heard his manner of speech, they could feel their bodies shiver, the way he was talking about them was almost as if he saw them as some sort of lesser being, even though they dominated large parts of the continent.


    When Ark tried to use inspect on the creature, he got a real shock. "Lesser Fallen Angel" was the only thing that popped up, along with its level, 152. Ark instantly took a couple of steps and positioned himself in front of Ephine and Atar, he wouldn''t let them get hurt in a place like this. Even if he wasn''t sure how powerful a fallen angel was, considering its level, there was no way he wouldn''t take this seriously!


    The fallen angel took a couple of steps forward, and his face was soon discernible to all of them. To most people present, his angelic looks that almost seemed to be out of this world were quite shocking, but as Ark already knew that he was an angel, he wasn''t that surprised. Only a few people present had the inspect skill, and as they all eventually used it, they dropped down onto the ground in horror. This wasn''t someone they could fight at all!


    As the angel looked around at the scene, he noticed the corpses of the three ogres laying on the ground. "It seems like I''ll have to make them a little more powerful next time, but unfortunately for you guys, you won''t be the ones who tries to interfere when the time comes."


    As they heard this chilly sentence, those with weaker mental fortitude started to shake in fear. Naturally Ark wasn''t afraid, there was nothing to be afraid of. The worst thing that this angel could do to him was torture him, but he had already experienced that before. The only thing he cared for was Ephine and Atar, and he would make sure that they came out of this alive. He cared about Thufrat too, but not in the same way, and Thufrat was almost as strong as Ark either ways, and he was sure that he could protect himself when it came down to it.


    Ephine and Atar were strong, but they were not on the same level as Thufrat and Ark. The lesser fallen angel noticed the few people that weren''t affected, and decided that they would be the first to die. They were the only people that could pose some kind of threat after all. Needless to say, he didn''t want any kind of threats around, and wanted to get rid of them as fast as he could. Since that was the case, the angel walked up to the barrier that he had almost destroyed earlier and gently touched it.


    Before anyone could be surprised, the barrier collapsed in an instant, and shattered into tiny fragments of mana that scattered into the air. The young lady hurled a ball of very condensed fire mana at the fallen angel, which exploded as soon as it came into contact with him. The fire ball only left a slight singe mark on the fallen angel''s skin. This didn''t really affect the angel''s fair complexion at all, and he just smirked.


    "You''re being an eyesore!" With a step forward, the angel suddenly punched, aiming at her pretty face. The twin guards who had been unsure of what they were supposed to do instantly stepped forward. Since there was no time for them to prepare any sort of attack or a solid defence, they just stepped in front of her and superimposed their swords in front of her. With their swords in front of her, they released all of the mana they could muster, in an attempt to stop the punch.


    The devil didn''t even bat an eye at their feeble attempt to defend their young lady, and just carried on with his punch. When the punch made contact with their swords, a horrible screeching sound instantly ruptured the eardrums of some of the adventurers who hadn''t taken any defensive measures. Orange sparks filled the air as the two swords had no way to cut into the angel''s hand.


    The resulting force of the collision sent the two guards flying backwards. Since they had plenty of battle experience, they both inserted their swords into the ground the moment they went flying, and quickly stopped themselves from flying any further. Since there was no way that they would leave their young lady behind, both of them instantly rushed forward as fast as they could, ready to face the angel once more. The young lady wasn''t stupid, and she quickly retreated from the angel. The gap between the lady and her guards quickly narrowed, but the angel wasn''t just going to let them do whatever they wanted.


    Even if he was powerful, his opponents were no small fry either. This time, the twins had been preparing their mana for a strike all along, and they were ready to show the world their destructive power. The angel was getting a little serious in his attack now, and he infused his fist with an incomparably holy power. The holy power made his fist shine with a gentle bright light. If not for his twisted nature, no one would''ve been able to guess that this was a move with the sole aim of killing people.


    The contrast between his sacred fist and his twisted facial expression created a weird sight, and Ark felt quite disgusted when he saw it. The twins'' swords started to shine in a sharp yellow light, and unlike the light that was emitted by the angel''s fist, the light seemed very ferocious. Their two swords almost seemed linked to each other, as they both attacked at the same time, combining their might into a single powerful attack.


    The two brothers had excellent teamwork, and after fighting together for a long time, they had both awakened the same skill, which they had been using to cut down powerful foes. They didn''t really know how it worked, maybe it was because they were twins, but ever since they were born, they had a special connection to each other. If one of them awakened an attack skill, then the other was bound to awaken the same skill. They even looked the same.


    Whether it was a blessing or a curse, neither of them had decided yet.

 Chapter 165 - Getting Serious!

    The aftermath of the collision was tremendous to say the least. Sending shockwaves of powerful energy rampaging throughout the damp cave. Ark conjured up a fairly large barrier in front of all the other adventurers, since he wasn''t sure if they would be able to protect themselves. Even though the twins had used a very serious attack, the angel wasn''t playing around anymore, and they were both pushed back by the attack.


    They didn''t get injured in this exchange, but it was clear for all to see who had the advantage, and it wasn''t the twins. Though they were pushed back, they weren''t disheartened, and they quickly attacked once more. The angel just used the same skill as earlier, and punched out with his fist, while the twins used a similar attack as before, but this time they used fire instead of lightning. The impact of their attack was a little weaker, since lightning packed a bigger punch, but the biggest strength of the fire was naturally its heat.


    As the fire was obstructing the angel''s view, Thufrat brought his hammer up high, before swinging it down again fiercely. A large shockwave of mana was rapidly approaching the angel from the gap in between the two twins, and Ark seemed to remember this attack from before. If he didn''t remember incorrectly, this was the skill Thufrat had used in one of their first fights in the dungeon where they had met. But since that was the case, Ark knew that there was more to this attack than you could see with your b.a.r.e eyes.


    The angel didn''t react fast enough, and Thufrat''s attack immediately breached its defences. Though that was the case, the attack didn''t do too much, it mostly infuriated the angel even more. With a deadly stare, the angel got ready to attack, when it suddenly realised something! Even though it noticed it in the last second, it was already too late. A large amount of mana suddenly came flying out of the ground in the form of an earth spike. Since this attack was a little too strong to just take head-first without reacting, the angel twisted its body slightly, avoiding a frontal attack.


    The spike still managed to draw a thin line along the angel''s waist, and a small stream of blood trickled down the angel''s side. With a sinister expression, the angel tilted its head slightly, before it stared at Thufrat. He naturally felt uncomfortable upon receiving such a sinister stare, but at the same time, he didn''t get to ponder too much before all that was left of the angel was a hazy afterimage. Feeling the air shift behind his back, Thufrat knew that he had been careless.


    The angel was furious, and it started the motion to throw a deadly punch at the back of Thufrat''s head. A sharp noise could be heard almost simultaneously, and an immense amount of pressure was swiftly heading for the angel''s head. The angel''s anger was about to grow out of control at this rate, as it had to forcefully twist its body so that its punch could meet the arrow in a frontal collision. The explosion from the collision of the two attack had no real effect on Thufrat, as he was quite strong, but he was still propelled forward a couple of meters.


    The angel turned its head to see that Ephine had already conjured up another arrow made out of mana, and it served as a brilliant distraction. A thunderclap was heard, and a piercing blue streak of lightning came down from above the angel. The lightning struck the angel with a frightening velocity, before it went on a rampage inside of the angel''s body, charring everything that came in its way. Though lightning was a very chaotic element, Ark had still managed to fuse a little bit of his ice mana into it, which slowed the angel down considerably even if it was just for a moment.


    Ark wouldn''t let such a chance go to waste, as he was already dashing rapidly towards the angel, his sword conjured out of ice mana in his right hand. At this point in time, the angel was just standing still. It''s originally flawless appearance was now in shambles, as its entire body was slightly singed, and its eyes were blood-red. But even if that was the case, the angel seemed slightly odd. The originally furious and ferocious expression was now replaced with a calm expression. The atmosphere had quickly turned eerie. Even though Ark had a bad feeling, his determination wouldn''t waver easily. He quickly arrived in front of the angel, but as he was about to strike out, a strange phenomenon occurred.


    Calling it a stifling pressure would be an understatement, as the aura of the angel changed completely. A dark and gloomy haze started to revolve around the angel, until it completely encased the angel within. Naturally, Ark stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to do about this sudden development. Even then, he still saw it as an opportunity to regroup a little, as he didn''t want his friends and family to get too far away from him during such a dangerous and crucial fight.


    The weird pressure completely disappeared as the angel was soon encased within a spherical shell that was pitch-black, and way bigger than Ark was when he was in his wolf form. Ark, Atar, Ephine and Thufrat all backed up a little from this weird shell, until they were standing in front of the barrier that Ark had created for the other adventurers. When they were still unsure of what was going on, a loud crack could be heard, as the black completely shattered.


    The dark mana and energy that had been sealed inside the shell was completely set free, as a large could engulfed their surroundings. Ark swung his sword infused with mana, instantly clearing up the black fog in their surroundings, but as it cleared, a black silhouette flashed by! Still in the motion of his swing, Ark could only watch as the angel was rapidly approaching him. Some dark energy could be seen swirling in the angel''s hands, but no one was able to discern what it was.


    "Puchi!"


    Ark who was originally standing on his own two feet was now suddenly suspended in mid-air. The swirling dark mana was still hard to make out, but anyone was able to see that it had taken the form of a long spear. It was pretty hard to miss, since it was currently impaling Ark after all. Shock wasn''t enough to describe what everyone present was feeling right now, as no one had even caught a glimpse of the angel''s shadow, and all of a sudden Ark, who they presumed to be the strongest here, was suddenly impaled on top of a spear.


    With a spear straight through his stomach, Ark was probably the least surprised of all. He had seen the attack coming, but there was just no way for his body to ever dodge it in time, and this was the price he had to pay. He could feel the bitter taste of blood, a taste that he had hoped to never taste again, as blood was trickling down the side of his mouth and down onto the ground.


    The angel dissolved the spear made out of dark mana, and turned around, leaving Ark on his knees¡­

 Chapter 166 - Sunshine and rainbows

    Pain and suffering¡­ why did it always follow him around? Was he never allowed a break from this endless hell? Ark could already feel his consciousness beginning to fade, but he wouldn''t just let it end like this! This wasn''t the time to feel bad about himself, he needed to do something! Immediately, he started revolving a large amount of light mana within his body, not only healing his wounds, but also combating the darkness within. Before the light of the mana could escape his body, one of the adventurers, namely a healer, had already started casting their magic on him, enshrouding his body in light.


    This worked out in Ark''s favour, as he had been holding back his light magic just in case, and it seemed like it would stay hidden for a little longer. Naturally the healer was able to feel the presence of Ark''s magic, but he couldn''t care less at the moment, and he just kept using his magic to heal Ark. This wasn''t any sort of selfless act or even something he did out of the kindness of his heart, he just wanted to survive, and saving Ark would increase his chances even if only by a little bit.


    Ark was barely able to stay conscious, but his mind was rapidly coming up with different strategies and ideas to beat the fallen angel who had just shown its tremendous strength. Just using his strength and hoping for the best wasn''t going to work on this opponent, and he knew this, it was fairly obvious after all. The taste of blood was still lingering inside of his mouth, and the numbing pain that pulsated throughout his entire body was driving him crazy, yet there was nothing he could do, he could only wait for his wounds to heal slowly, whilst spectating what was happening in front of him.


    Seeing Ark in such a miserable state, Thufrat wasn''t just going to sit still. Seeing his best friend getting impaled right in front of his eyes, his rage was not something to be taken lightly. Today was supposed to be a rather carefree day of exploring a dungeon and reaping benefits, how did it turn into this? Thufrat couldn''t wrap his head around why any of this was happening, was this god''s will? Was he not allowed to enjoy his life for even a moment before something had to go wrong?


    As Ephine watched these events unfold before her eyes, she could feel some sort of emotion welling up inside her. She glanced at Ark who was in a sorry state, and the feeling just wanted to go out of control! What was this feeling called now again? Anger? No. It was something more. It was something worse.


    She could feel a fire of burning passion light within her heart as she felt a sort of clarity she had never felt before. Though the situation was tragic, and she was furious beyond belief, she couldn''t help but let a slight smile escape her lips as she glanced at Ark once more. Today, she had realised something important, something which she would never forget. And today, she was going to protect just that.


    Unlike Thufrat and Ephine who both felt furious, Atar felt something completely different. He didn''t have the time to feel mad, he didn''t even really understand what it meant to be mad either way, and he just felt sad. The thought of losing Ark only ended up with Atar feeling sad. He didn''t want Ark to leave them, he wanted to keep hunting with Ark, he wanted Ark to pat him on the head when he had done something well, and he wanted to cuddle with his mother and Ark before falling asleep. Ark was the only thing close to a father figure that Atar ever had, and he never wanted him to leave. He didn''t want their happiness to go away. Even though he wasn''t necessarily angry, he was going to fight the fallen angel anyways, for the sake of protecting his family''s happiness.


    The fallen angel who had just strutted away after impaling Ark had no idea what he had awakened, and as he turned around, three people immediately caught his attention. Thufrat was standing on his right side, with his eyes nearly turning red from uncontained rage. Atar was standing in the middle, with a sombre expression on his face, from a glance he looked unassuming, yet he was ready to pounce any second now. Ephine looked¡­ radiant? Her expression made the fallen angel a little surprised, as he had no idea what she was thinking. The real reason behind Ephine''s expression was quite simple, she finally understood her own feelings. To most people that might''ve been something obvious, but to Ephine, understanding her own feelings and emotions was like a breakthrough, and she felt stronger than ever before. Rather than being mad about what had happened, she was focusing on what she wanted to protect, and for what reason.


    Thufrat didn''t want to just stand around and do nothing, and he decided to take the initiative. A large amount of thick dark-brown scales appeared all over his body, forming an intimidating set of armour. From his spatial bag, he retrieved his warhammer, and to all the onlookers, he looked like a fierce beast made for war. Before he attacked, Thufrat let his unimaginable rage took control of him for a second, as he tilted his head back and roared!


    This roar seemed like it would be enough to shake the heavens themselves, and surely enough, the angel faltered. It had never felt this oppressed by the bloodline of a magical beast before, and there was only one reason why. A look of astonishment could be seen on the angel''s face as it watched Thufrat rush as fast as he could towards it. This dwarf actually had the bloodline of a dragon in its body!?


    Thufrat swung his warhammer with all the force he could muster as soon as he got within range of the angel''s face. Though it was certainly under pressure, the angel managed to recover somewhat before Thufrat''s strike connected. Since it could move, it haphazardly put up one of its hands in front of its face to catch the warhammer.


    "BOOM!"


    The collision sent the angel flying over 50 meters before it managed to recover somewhat on the ground, but not unscathed. The arm that had been met with Thufrat''s warhammer was so crooked and bent that it barely resembled an arm. Bits and pieces of muscle tissue and skin were completely missing, and pieces of bone jutted out from all sorts of different angles and places. It was a horrid sight, and even the angel wasn''t able to act its way out of this one, as it was genuinely in a lot of pain.


    "Hahahahahahaha, how do you like that one you f.u.c.k.i.n.g bastard?" Thufrat couldn''t stop himself from laughing upon the sight, but the angel was far from amused.


    It quickly conjured up a sword made out of darkness mana in the hand that wasn''t mutilated, and it stared creepily at Thufrat. Thufrat naturally didn''t take this angel lightly, and he quickly got into a defensive stance. The angel swiftly slashed out with its sword, and before anyone realised, an arm was already flying through the air¡­

 Chapter 167 - A Godly Ability...

    A badly mangled arm was sent flying high into the air, before it abruptly vanished into nothingness. Though it must''ve surely been painful to cut off his own arm, the angel was unperturbed, and he didn''t even bat an eyelash, this was simply something he needed to do. To the others, his action seemed rather weird, and it left them all slightly astonished. Who in their right mind would cut off their own arm? In the middle of a fight too?


    Before anyone could really think about it too much, the angel smiled to no one in particular. Even though he had just cut off one of his arms, no blood seemed to be flowing out of his wound at all, the scene was actually quite bizarre. Instead of blood flowing out of the wound, dark mana was constantly pouring out rapidly, until it formed into the shape of an arm. This darkness mana somehow formed into the shape of an arm, and quickly materialised into a real one, perfectly identical to the one before.


    The angel who had seemed like it was in dire straits was all of a sudden back in normal condition, like nothing had happened at all. Everyone was naturally dumbfounded, as they had never seen anything like this before, but the angel wasn''t just going to let them off like this, not after what had just happened. The form he was currently in enhanced his darkness abilities, but it didn''t completely take away all his light abilities.


    Since that was the case, he released a burst of blinding light for just a second or two, blinding almost everyone in his close vicinity, naturally Thufrat, Atar and Ephine were close enough to get blinded, but both Thufrat and Ephine reacted fast enough to look away for a split second. The only problem was, when they looked back, the angel was completely gone from his previous position. The light had created plenty of new shadows in the already dark cave, giving the angel plenty of room to move around unnoticed in the darkness.


    Though they had no idea where he was currently, no one dared to let their guard down. If they relaxed for even a second, then their heads would probably be rolling the next second. As they were all standing on guard, something suddenly materialised behind Atar. A dark sword slashed horizontally at his back, faster than almost anyone''s eyes could perceive. There was no way Atar would be able to see an attack that fast that was coming at him from behind, but thankfully for him, he could easily rely on his instincts.


    When it came to instincts, Atar was second to none, and even Ark wouldn''t be able to say comfortably that he had sharper instincts than Atar. When the sword was just inches away from his back, Atar forcefully twisted his body to avoid it. It still managed to scratch his back a little, but he managed to escape any major harm fairly easily. After he had twisted his body, he quickly bent his knees and jumped as fast as he could to get away from the angel. The angel wouldn''t just let Atar jump away without doing anything, and it quickly slashed out once more.


    Atar could feel the hairs on his back rise as the looming feeling of death seemed to take control of his small body. The sword that seemed to be made out of complete darkness quickly approached the back of his head. Even though he was just a child, it seemed like his life was already about to come to an end. When the darkness was about to engulf the little child, a rather bright light quickly scattered it all away.


    An arrow made completely out of condensed fire mana and propelled by wind magic fiercely collided with the sword made out of darkness. The fierce collision instantly created a large explosion, but naturally, Ephine wasn''t thoughtless enough to send such a destructive attack right next to her own child''s head without any precautions. Thufrat had already taken hold of him, and hoisted him up on his shoulder. With earth all around him, there was no way for the explosion to do either of them any sort of harm. The angel didn''t have any earth magic to defend itself with, and once again, it had to take the brunt of the explosion. It wasn''t as brutal as losing an arm, but the angel had instinctively guarded itself with its right hand, blowing half of it straight to pieces.


    The angel still seemed to be devoid of any emotion as it just stared blankly at its bloody hand. All that was left was some of the bones, which only had some flesh and blood on them. Any other sane person would''ve probably just screamed uncontrollably in pain, yet the angel was as disinterested as ever, as if pain was just something foreign. Just like before, black mana started to envelop his destroyed hand, and before long, it had already turned back to normal.


    Even though most of the adventurers had already expected this to happen, they were still almost all swept away in despair as they saw this almost godly power repeat itself right in front of their eyes. How were they supposed to beat something that could heal back to normal in the span of a second? This angel had already taken damage to the point where most adventurers would be on the ground crying in pain, twice!


    Anyone who didn''t see the entire thing would have no way of knowing that this angel had just had one of its limbs severed. At this point, Thufrat had already retreated a bit with Atar, and he was also secretly beginning to feel the pressure of the situation. This wasn''t some ordinary fight, if they didn''t find a way to overcome this angel''s strange ability, then they would have to forfeit their lives here today. But in Thufrat''s mind, there was just no way he was going to let that happen!


    His life had finally started looking better, and there was no way he was just going to fall over and die now that he had gotten a taste of what life was truly about. Besides, there was no way this angel was truly invincible, he just didn''t believe it, but how do you beat something that can regenerate in a matter of seconds? Unless¡­ ?,


    He finally felt like he had figured something out after all this time of just thinking desperately. Realistically, there was no way for the angel to regenerate if he didn''t exist right? If his heart was just crushed all of a sudden, would he really be able to just heal it back? Such an ability was basically immortality, and Thufrat knew that this angel wasn''t some immortal.


    In reality, there was actually one more way to defeat this angel, but there was just no way they could ever find out¡­

 Chapter 168 - Ephines prowess.

    Even though it seemed like the angel couldn''t feel any pain, it was still not happy with getting its body parts mangled like this. It wasn''t just rashly going to rush in like it had done before, as it knew that its opponents were kind of troublesome. Their coordination was fairly on point, and their individual strength was high as well, making them quite hard to deal with. Since fighting with them in close combat wasn''t working too well, the angel flapped his wings, and instantly shot up into the sky.


    Dark energy endlessly swirled behind him, creating a suffocating pressure once more. This didn''t phase Thufrat or Ephine, and they both got ready to fight once more. After coming this far, they were both determined to kill this evil creature, they could only imagine the harm it had caused so far. And it was probably just going to cause more harm in the future.


    The dark energy swirling behind the fallen angel suddenly condensed into 5 long lances behind his back. He stared at Ephine with hatred, and with a wave of his hand, the dark lances were sent flying through the air at an astonishing speed. Naturally, they flew at a speed that was almost indiscernible, yet before they had come halfway to Ephine, they collided with 5 arrows condensed out of wind. Unlike what you''d expect, no shocking explosions took place this time, only a cloud of darkness was left of the dark lances that were destroyed.


    Through this darkness, another lance was flying at an astonishing speed. This lance wasn''t like the other lances, as it was more than 3 times the size, yet it also contained almost ten times the amount of mana of the previous lances. Before it managed to leave the cloud of darkness, it was met with yet another arrow condensed out of wind mana. This arrow naturally contained more mana as well, easily dispersing the dark lance.


    The fallen angel was beginning to grow increasingly annoyed with this female in front of him, as she just wouldn''t stop ruining his plans. The thing that annoyed him the most was her expressionless face as she did it, it was simply infuriating. Since she wasn''t going to be killed by such simple dark lances, the fallen angel decided to go all-out. He just wanted to get rid of her.


    The dark mana all around him swirled around and condensed into a beautiful pitch-black sword. The sword didn''t look like it was simply condensed out of mana, it looked like an actual black sword, with intricate carvings and runes all over it. Not only did the sword exude an air of elegance, but also power, raw power. It hovered around a little, like an excited child that was finally let out to play after a long time of staying inside, and it landed softly in his hand.


    This was naturally a scene that created quite a disturbance, as the sword looked quite extraordinary. Considering the angel''s strength, giving it a strong sword was basically like dooming them all to a bitter fate. Even though they expected the angel to go all-out to try and kill them, the angel just stood there. Instead of flying over and attacking them, the angel just slowly hovered in the air. With a disdainful sneer, the angel raised the sword over its head, and slashed out with extraordinary power.


    A long stream of dark mana was instantly hurled through the air towards Ephine, but she wasn''t scared by an attack like this, and she quickly drew her bowstring, and released another condensed wind arrow. The angel knew that such an attack would never work, yet the sneer didn''t leave his face. Before the arrow could meet with the long stream of dark mana, he had already slashed out with his sword once more.


    In response, Ephine naturally drew her bowstring, and prepared another arrow. Before she could even release her second arrow, the angel had already swung his sword for a third time, creating another large stream of dark mana. At this point in time, Ephine realised that this was going to be hard if she didn''t go all-out to counter the angel''s attacks. The angel wasn''t even going all-out yet, and his speed was only growing faster and faster as time passed. Since his speed was just picking up, Ephine naturally picked up her speed as well. But just condensing her arrows faster wasn''t going to work, as this angel was condensing his attacks abnormally fast. Since that was the case, Ephine used one of the few skills she had, and her entire being started glowing slightly.


    Without her doing anything, arrows after arrows of all different kinds of elements condensed on top of her bowstring, before they were swiftly released three at a time. Fire arrows, wind arrows, thunder arrows, water arrows, ice arrows, and all kinds of arrows exploded as they collided with the angel''s wretched dark mana. The sneer that was once on his face had already disappeared, and he was now trying his hardest to attack faster and faster.


    Even though Ephine''s attack speed was abnormally fast, there wasn''t much power behind her numerous attacks. But since all she was doing was destroying his attacks, she didn''t need much power. All she needed was enough power to cause the dark mana to grow unstable to the point of exploding. Since that was the case, the speed of her casting was naturally faster than that of the angel, and after a while, he was all of a sudden the one being under pressure.


    With her number of attacks being higher than the angels, it was only natural that some of her arrows managed to slip through his numerous attacks, and land on his body. Even if the power inside of the arrows wasn''t that high, the damage they dealt slowly acc.u.mulated, until his entire body was riddled in scars and wounds all over. The fight that was going was way too quick for anyone else to try and interfere, but Thufrat was beginning to grow a little restless.


    He really wanted to help, yet there was nothing he could do at the moment. Considering the speed the angel was attacking at, he didn''t dare to leave Atar on his own. If he tried to go for a surprise attack, and the angel took the opportunity to get rid of Atar, then Ark would never forgive him. There was no way he would go for such a risky move. Since that was the case, he could only stand and watch as Ephine had to carry the burden of the fight all on her own.


    Even though she had the upper hand at the moment, Ephine wasn''t confident she would win this fight at all. After such a long time of using this skill, she was beginning to run low on mana. This skill naturally cost quite a lot to use considering how often she attacked, and after all this time, it had come back to bite her. The angel naturally had to use a lot of mana as well, but Ephine didn''t think that her mana pool was anywhere close to the angels.


    The angel suddenly stopped its ferocious attacks, and just stood still. It knew that its attacks weren''t effective, yet the sneer didn''t leave its face even though its body was riddled with wounds.

 Chapter 169 - The things you do for family.

    Naturally, the angel wouldn''t just stand still and await his death. When Ephine''s endless arrows neared, he simply created a barrier made out of darkness in front of him, which absorbed all of the dangerous attacks. As the attacks kept hitting the dark barrier, darkness mana started to engulf the angel''s body. After the span of a few seconds had passed, all of the wounds covering the angel''s body were completely gone. This frightening ability had once more shown itself, completely undermining all of Ephine''s hard work.


    But even if that was the case, she wasn''t disheartened, she knew this was probably going to happen from the start, but she still had hope. There had to be some sort of drawback to such a strong ability, if there wasn''t, then they were probably screwed, but she wasn''t going to give up hope anytime soon. She wasn''t alone either, and there were people to help and support her in her fight.


    Thufrat and Atar were out of the picture, but the twin guards and their young lady could still put up a fight. The young lady was protecting the rest of the adventurers, but her twin guards could surely help out. Before she could ask for any assistance, the angel seemed to have had enough. It never expected to have to fight these humans for so long, and it seemed like it had finally ran out of patience.


    Much like Ark, this fallen angel had his own trump card, and since this fight wasn''t ending any time soon, it decided that it was time to show its true colours. Almost like a seal had been broken, the angel was covered in an enormous amount of dark mana, which condensed into a black set of eerie armour upon its body. Once the armour had manifested itself, a large wave of dark mana was sent out, shaking the air wherever it travelled.


    Naturally this wave of dark mana was dangerous, and even though the young lady was busy with protecting the other adventurers, she wasn''t sure if she could interfere with this attack without getting herself gravely injured in the process. She was a little hesitant to put herself in harm''s way, but as she glanced behind herself, and saw the horror and fear on everyone''s faces, there was no way she could step down and let them get hurt.


    The dark and looming wave of dark mana was slowly inching closer and closer, and the young lady had already strengthened her resolve. Even though the twin guards wanted to respect their young lady''s decision, they still couldn''t let her get hurt in a place like this. Before they could try and protect her, Ephine had already appeared in front of them. It wasn''t like she cared that much about the human adventurers that she was protecting, but amongst them, Ark was being healed, and there was no way she would entrust his protection to these humans.


    Before the wave could get too close, Ephine swung her right arm, and released an enormous amount of wind mana. As the two forms of mana clashed, an obvious winner soon emerged, and to no one''s surprise, Ephine''s attack had decimated the wave of dark mana. This was mainly because the wave of dark mana wasn''t an actual attack from the angel, if it was, then stopping it would naturally be much harder.


    After the dark mana had dispersed, all eyes landed on the fallen angel''s figure. Suspended in mid-air, the angel looked quite awe-inspiring, if it wasn''t for the fact that its armour was pitch-black and that they already knew its true colour, no one would believe this angel to be evil. In Ephine''s eyes, this angel was suddenly even scarier than it was before, and the reason as quite simple, she couldn''t estimate its strength, not at all. It felt as if the angel was really ordinary, almost like it didn''t have any strength at all.


    This didn''t mean that the angel was actually weak, it only meant that Ephine wasn''t able to figure out how strong it was, which usually indicated a clear difference in strength. Since the strength of the angel was beyond her understanding, she realised that this might really be her end. As she cast a glance behind her, she could clearly see the healer trying desperately to heal Ark, and the hole in his c.h.e.s.t was actually gone, but his eyes were still completely closed, and it didn''t look like he was going to open them any time soon.


    "Leave!"


    A clear voice broke the heavy silence, and all the adventurers looked at Ephine, a little puzzled.


    "There''s no way I can beat this angel by myself, but I can definitely buy some time, so take my son and leave this place, before it''s too late."


    Ephine''s expression was resolute, she had already made her mind up. She had no intention of dying yet, but if they could get Ark and Atar out of here, then she could put her mind at ease, and she could try and escape herself later.


    Even though most of the adventurers were shocked, no one disagreed with her request. They were only in the way if they stayed here anyways, so helping her out by getting her son to safety seemed like the least they could do. The young lady nodded gravely, and she immediately started moving with the rest of the adventurers.


    Atar was struggling a lot, as he didn''t want to leave his mother behind, but he was quickly put to sleep with the help of some magic. It was for his own good. The angel was already furious to begin with, but seeing these humans actually trying to leave, his anger had reached a boiling point. As he threw a punch directed at them, the darkness that came with it seemed to warp space itself as the energy arrived almost immediately in front of them.


    Thufrat reacted before the motion of the punch was even completed, and he smashed the ground with his warhammer. A wall created out of earth erupted from the ground, which the dark energy promptly smashed into. Though it wasn''t enough to completely stop the attack, the remaining dark energy could be dissipated by the young lady''s mana barrier.


    Even though the attack rattled their spirits a little, no one dared to walk slowly at all, and they all hurried along. Thufrat had already resolved himself to stay, as he couldn''t just leave Ephine behind and leave by himself. Though she wasn''t exactly sure why he had decided to stay, Ephine was very thankful, as the pressure on her shoulders naturally lessened a lot as a result.


    The adventurers quickly arrived at the opening of the settlement once more, but when they did, two people suddenly stopped. The twin guards naturally knew that if they didn''t get rid of the angel, it would only chase after them once Thufrat and Ephine died, so if they could buy time for their young lady to get away, then they would gladly lay down their lives. After quickly thanking their lady for everything she had done for them, they both departed without looking back, leaving their young lady standing there in a daze.


    The sounds of battle echoed throughout the large cave as the adventurers walked with sullen faces out of the dungeon, and back into the forest. After they had walked for another 5 minutes, Ark suddenly opened his eyes!

 Chapter 170 - Escape!

    As he opened his eyes, Ark had no idea where he currently was, and as frantically looked around, he managed to fall down onto the ground. Naturally the sound attracted a lot of attention, and almost all of the adventurers that were present turned to look at what was happening, and what they saw was just a confused Ark that sat in the dirt, wondering what the hell was going on. Since no one was speaking to him, Ark was about to ask what was going on, when he seemed to notice something.


    Where was Ephine? As he looked around, he couldn''t spot her anywhere, and his heart started to beat faster, what the hell was going on? He tried to calm himself down, but when he kept looking around, he noticed that Thufrat was nowhere to be seen either. Though he was worried, when he saw that Atar was fine, and was currently sleeping, he could at least find a little bit of inner peace.


    "Where are Ephine and Thufrat?"


    The abrupt question naturally surprised a lot of people, and considering his domineering voice, no one really felt like answering. Before he was able to get mad, the young lady pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered. Seeing the familiar face, Ark restrained his anger for a little bit, before he asked once more. "Where are Ephine and Thufrat?"


    "They are still in the dungeon!"


    With a step forward, Ark had a dangerous look in his eyes.


    "What did you just say?"


    "They stayed behind so that we could escape. The lady wanted us to escape with her son!"


    Ark had already stopped listening after she said that they had stayed behind. Had these people actually left them behind and ran away by themselves? And they had actually taken him with them? Where did they get all of their guts from? His anger was beginning to boil over, and he already had a little trouble just restraining himself. Even though he was furious, his first priority was to help out Ephine and Thufrat, this would have to wait until later.


    Everyone could feel the tense atmosphere, as they could all see the apparent anger on Ark''s face as he gave them all a quick glance. "Take care of Atar for me, if I even see as much as a hair out of place on his head when I come back then¡­ I''ll let you imagine the consequences."


    Since he needed to be as fast as possible, Ark activated his "Envoy of Holiness" skill. Light that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere instantly enveloped his body, imbuing it with endless power. After a couple of seconds, the power that was enveloping his body burst out into brilliant lights that scattered everywhere. With eyes that glowed with a white light, Ark once again gave the adventurers a final glance, before he turned around, and disappeared into nothingness.


    A second or so after he had disappeared, the ground upon which he''d been standing cracked open completely.


    ¡­


    In the middle of a dark cave, an intense battle was in midst of happening. With their combined efforts of four people, you''d think that the angel would have a hard time, but the angel didn''t seem to be concerned at all with this fight. At this point, it was basically just playing around. Even though all it was doing was playing around, all four of them were covered in wounds, while the angel was unscathed, since every time they managed to injure it, it just healed back to normal.


    At this point, they were all beginning to lose their hope, as they couldn''t seem to find a way to do any lasting damage, and their mana reserves were rapidly drying up. Since the only other thing they could do in this situation was try and run away, Ephine''s brain started working at full capacity, trying to figure out the best way for them to get away from this terrible foe. After only a few seconds, she managed to come up with a decent idea, all she needed was some help from the other three.


    "Twins, Thufrat!"


    Since she would call out to them for no reason, they all regrouped quickly, and before they could ask her what was going on, she enveloped them with a fairly gentle tornado. It only took five seconds before the tornado disappeared, and when it did, all four of them had serious expressions on their faces. The angel was a little amused, to think that a human would use a tornado to stop him from hearing their plans, she didn''t seem too stupid in his eyes.


    They all quickly spread out and surrounded the angel, but the angel was too conceited to move, no matter what these humans were planning, he would take it face-first, and then watch them as they fell into despair when they realised that nothing they did would work.


    With Ephine standing in the front, the twins on the sides, and Thufrat behind him, they started their attack. The twins slashed out their swords, sending out both fire and wind which came at the angel from both sides. Thufrat swung his hammer, and condensed earth mana into spikes which were sent out flying toward the angel''s back. Ephine conjured up a large sphere of water, which she swiftly hurled toward the angel.


    The angel just stood there and waited for the attacks, as nothing like this would ever make a dent on him. The sword attacks dispersed by themselves as soon as they hit, and the earth spikes had no way to penetrate his black armour, as for the water sphere, it didn''t even manage to explode, as it crumbled under his pressure before it even arrived, and just drenched him in water. As the angel realised this, his anger reached new heights! He wasn''t taking these humans seriously, and now it seemed like they were making fun of him? He was going to slaughter them all!


    Even though their attack seemed to have failed, Ephine only sneered, everything was going according to plan so far. The twins had already joined up with each other, and while the angel was still befuddled, they had already arrived quite close to it. As they both swung their swords together at the same time, sparks of lightning erupted out of nowhere. Unlike earlier, the twins used all the mana they had left, and created a shocking attack.


    All that was heard in the quiet cave was the sound of a thunderclap that seemed to have originated from the heavens themselves. Before the angel could react, it was hit by this monstrous attack, and along with the water on its body, the angel was screwed. Thufrat didn''t wait at all, and swung his hammer once more. He had been manipulating their surroundings with his magic for a while now, and with a large "BOOM!" the entire cave started trembling.


    As soon as they heard this, they all started to run as fast as they could out of the dungeon, leaving the angel behind them. The first space to collapse in the dungeon was the large settlement, and the angel was quickly buried alive. None of the four dared to stay behind and look for even a second, and they all arrived outside of the dungeon in less than a minute, and at that point, the entire dungeon was buried underground¡­

 Chapter 171 - Reunion!

    With their backs facing the dungeon, the four of them quickly started running away as fast as they could. Before they could even run for more than a hundred meters, they could hear a massive explosion behind them. Though the explosion was loud enough to be heard from several kilometres away, none of them looked back for even a second. They already knew that the purpose of this plan was for them to run away, not to kill the angel.


    They had already seen the angel''s tyrannical strength, they naturally knew that they wouldn''t be able to kill it, at least not with something of this level. Unfortunately for them, it seemed like their plan had ultimately failed. The angel was a bit stronger than they thought, and it was barely delayed at all. Since that was the case, where could they run to? How were they supposed to escape with just a couple of hundred meters as a head start? It was simply impossible.


    The angel was livid, it had never felt like this before. Every single person he had killed had just either tried to run away whilst screaming or accepted their fate, no one tried to fight back, and no one had genuinely pissed him off so much before. With a murderous look in his eyes, he quickly spotted them running a few hundred meters away from him, and he instantly hurled flew as fast as he could after them. In only took him a few seconds to close the gap to 50 meters, which meant that they were now in his range of attack.


    If he was any further away, they would just easily dodge his attack without effort. With a condensed dark sword in his right hand, he started to move his arm. The atmosphere quickly turned gloomy and dark before he had even swung his sword, and the look in his eyes became a little sinister. Before he could actually fully swing his sword, another large mass of energy suddenly erupted. This energy was the opposite of the angel''s, and it seemed to instantly purify the gloomy and dark atmosphere.


    The angel quickly turned its head to the side, only to see a thin crescent wave of light mana heading his way. Was this the large mass of mana he had just felt? That couldn''t be right¡­ But it most definitely was. Seeing such a small crescent blade of light heading his way, the angel instinctively swung his sword in response. The dark mana he had sent out to meet the light mana was of equal size, but the angel would soon realise his errors.


    Since he had just tried to match the size of the attack with his own mana, his attack instantly got ripped apart by the light mana. Usually he would overwhelm his opponents with his mana, but after using his regeneration skill for so many times, he had almost no mana left, and he tried to conserve it a little. The light mana proceeded to cut the angels legs off as a result, and all that was left of it was its torso, falling quickly toward the ground.


    Ark didn''t take any chances, and his anger only fuelled his attacks even more as he relentlessly sent attack after attack towards the angel, who could only try his hardest to defend himself against the plethora of attacks.


    "Thud!"


    The sound of something hitting the floor soon echoed throughout the surroundings. As Ephine looked over, all she could see was a bloody arm, and nothing else except for blood. Ark himself quickly landed on the ground too, he had spent a bit too much mana after all. The twins were shocked beyond belief, but Thufrat and Ephine were only relieved, and not really surprised. Ark looked to see if Ephine was okay, and when she responded with a brilliant smile, he instantly appeared right next to her and gave her a hug.


    As he was rushing over, he had been worried out of his mind, and seeing her okay just made his heart feel at ease. This hug contained all of his worry and care, and he wasn''t going to let go anytime soon. All he could think about was that he was happy that she was ok, and he cherished this moment with his life. Thufrat smiled himself as he watched them, while the twins just felt both grateful and a little awkward.


    Ephine herself was probably the most shocked of them all, she had never been hugged like this before, and it was a foreign feeling. Experiencing Ark''s care for her like this first-hand was a first for her too, before they had just been close. Since she enjoyed his warm embrace, she hugged him back too, expressing her thanks for his timely assistance. Today''s dungeon diving had turned out to be quite the experience. What was supposed to be some casual level-ups had turned into such a desperate battle so quickly that it just felt surreal.


    Though Ark wanted to keep hugging her like this for eternity, he soon let go, as he knew that they were running out of time. Their time in these forms were running out, and he wanted to get Atar before it was too late and they ended up revealing their true forms. He was going to make sure to get the right amount of compensation for this though, as he had ended up with way more than he had bargained for.


    He gave the twins an approving look as they had helped his friends out this time. Whether it was for his friend''s sakes or not didn''t matter too much, as they had still helped out, and without them, who knew if Ephine and Thufrat would still be standing in front of him. Before he could even say anything to Thufrat, he had already gotten a slap on the back. "Thanks for the help pal, much appreciated!"


    He just chuckled a little as a response, before he turned back to Ephine again.


    "Let''s go and get Atar so we can leave this place."


    Ephine just nodded, and they all set out in the general direction Ark had come from. Though they hadn''t been far away, they had kept moving, and it took the group of five almost 5 minutes to find them, even though they were travelling at full speed.


    When they caught up with the large group of adventurers, they were met with nothing but shocked faces and slacked jaws. The crowd was quickly pushed away though as a small boy pushed his way forward. "Mama, Papa!" The sound of a young boy''s echoed as he ran as fast as he could into his mother''s embrace. After they had their moment, he even gave Ark a hug, before he happily jumped around all over the place.


    "Now that the reunion is out of the way, let''s talk some business."

 Chapter 172 - Dodgy mana crystal.

    The young lady who had been shocked out of her mind was instantly brought back to reality as she heard these words. What was he going to demand? Was he going to blame her for is injury, and demand compensation? Either way she was going to have to listen to his demands, because there was no way they could defend themselves if he wanted to kill them. And to be fair, he had done way more than what he had been asked to do, and if he wanted compensation then he deserved it.


    "First of all, I''m keeping this, I worked hard for it after all."


    As he said this, Ark took out a glowing, fist-sized crystal from his spatial bag. This amber crystal was the angel''s mana crystal, which was all that was left of the angel, except for the limb. The young lady was a little surprised, but not by the fact that he had killed the angel, but more so by the fact that he showed her the crystal, and said he was going to keep it, he could''ve just done so without saying anything.


    In Ark''s eyes, it was only a matter of honesty. In this world, it was common that the party leader would distribute the loot after they had raided a dungeon, and he didn''t lose anything by telling her. No one here could do anything about it even if they wanted to, since they all knew their places. Ark didn''t want to hide it and feel guilty about it, so he decided to just tell her. It would be wrong of him to just hide it and demand more compensation from her.


    The young lady gave him a glance, before she looked behind him and at his family.


    "Can I borrow your spatial bag for a second?"


    Though it was a weird request, Ark quickly understood why she had asked it. He lightly tossed it over to her, and she caught it promptly, before she retrieved her own. After putting them next to each other, she concentrated, and a stream of light emerged from her spatial bag and entered into Arks. After the process was done, she tossed it back to him again.


    "Thank you for helping us out, without you guys we would''ve probably died several times over! I''m sorry that it turned out like this!"


    Ark just caught the spatial bag and put it back on his waistband without checking what she had put into it, as he already knew what it was. "Don''t worry about it, we earned something from it after all, but we''ll take our leave now."


    The young lady only nodded in response, before she turned to talk to the twins. Ark didn''t waste any time and immediately left with Atar, Thufrat and Ephine following closely behind. Their reunion might''ve been sweet, but Ark didn''t have the time to stay and watch it, he didn''t want to risk anything after all.


    After a while had passed, they arrived back outside their temporary home once more, and they all relaxed. Thufrat had been tense for quite a while now, and he just instantly laid down onto the ground in front of the cave when he arrived. Everyone else turned into their wolf forms before they all laid down in the grass as well. The soft yet slightly tingly grass was a nice welcome after a long and hard battle, and both Ephine and Atar fell asleep almost as soon as they laid down.


    Thufrat and Ark both just stared into the sky, the peaceful afternoon breeze finally managed to calm them down after a while, and they both fell asleep.


    ¡­


    Sitting on the branch of a tree close to the cave, Ark was contemplating. He was currently in his human form, and in his hand was the angel''s mana crystal. The pulsating gentle light within seemed incomparably gentle, which felt surreal to Ark considering how the angel''s true form was all but gentle. At first he had wanted to give it to Ephine to enhance her strength, but as he thought about it, he was a little scared.


    The angel''s mana crystal might actually be a mirror image of the angel itself, seemingly gentle and pure at first, but actually wicked and dark. To let Ephine absorb and assimilate this mana crystal would be a risk, and he wasn''t sure if he was willing to take it. He himself had assimilated a mana crystal, but that mana crystal had been from another species of wolf, just like himself. Had the mana crystal just been dark and resembled the angel in its true form then he wouldn''t even need to think about it twice. The amber mana crystal in his hand felt like a wolf in sheep''s clothing, appearing prettier than it actually was.


    Since he wasn''t an expert on assimilating mana crystals, and since he had never dealt with one of this calibre, he decided that it was probably better to just ask for help. Since that was the case, he''d think a little bit more about it later, for now, he had something more important to do. After the fight they had experienced the day before, he had naturally levelled up!


    Ark was a person who liked to enjoy the moment, and he didn''t want to think about levels or such the day before, but now that he had calmed down and refreshed himself, he was eager to strengthen himself even more! As more days passed, the visions he had seen haunted him more and more. After this fight with the fallen angel, his thirst for strength was even stronger than ever before. He desperately wanted to grow strong enough to protect what he cared for.


    As he watched his status page, a small smile formed on his face.


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: 60 (104)


    Mp: 600/600


    Strength: 30 (45)


    Agility: 45 (45)


    Dexterity: 35 (45)


    Endurance: 30 (45)


    Intelligence: 200


    Wisdom: 135


    Status points [140]


    Seeing the amount of levels he had gone up, Ark was happy, and he knew that a big increase in strength was going to come from all of these points. With that said, he wasn''t entirely sure how he wanted to distribute them yet. He still didn''t quite know how the system worked, as he never knew when he was going to get a new skill. He thought that he would definitely get a skill when a stat passed the 100 milestone but that wasn''t the case.


    With that said, it didn''t take Ark too long to figure out what he wanted to do. Since he had plenty of points, he decided to invest 75 points into his intelligence, and 65 points into his wisdom. Mana regeneration was definitely important, but even more so was that skill he might get when the stat reached 200 points, and it was worth the gamble in his opinion.


    After investing all of his points into intelligence, he had seen a massive increase in strength, and investing into his physical stats was simply not worth it anymore since he could just boost them with skills and such, it was still good to have just in case, but it was definitely not a priority by any means.


    As he poured his points into wisdom and intelligence, he could hear that same old familiar voice once more.

 Chapter 173 - A new skill?

    [Due to host reaching 200 wisdom and having a spatial affinity, host has obtained the skill: Blink]


    Hearing this voice telling him he had gotten a new skill, Ark immediately used inspect on it to see what it was.


    Blink [Lv.1]


    "An ability granted to the host because of his spatial affinity. Allows the host to instantly blink to an area within 10 meters of himself."


    As he read this, Ark was at first a little excited, and then he was a little befuddled. First of all, he didn''t know that his affinities could actually affect which skills he got, but now that he did, he was a little excited. This skill might seem pretty useless for now, but it could come in handy in the future when it levelled up. Since he needed to test it out before actually using it in a fight, Ark quietly chanted the name to himself.


    A purple light seemed to come out of nowhere and instantly twisted Ark into nothingness, before he instantly reappeared face-first on the ground 8 meters away. Even though he felt embarrassed by his antics, he also felt excited over the prospect of this new skill! The feeling itself was a little sickening, but just appearing somewhere out of the blue would be a great way to surprise someone during a fight!


    Since he needed to learn how to control this skill before he ever tried to use it seriously, Ark continued to use it over and over, challenging himself by trying to land on branches or trying to stand on his toes when he came out. Though it was hard, and he failed miserably plenty of times, he didn''t give up, and continued to perfect his use of the skill. After almost an entire hour of just using it repeatedly, Ark could hear the voice announcing that the skill had levelled up to level 3.


    During just an hour of use, it had already levelled up twice, and Ark could now teleport 30 meters away. Though it sounded like a lot, it wasn''t actually that much. It took a little while to activate the skill, and if Ark was just running at full speed with cellular mana infusion, then he would probably be about the same speed as if he continuously used the blink skill. As it levelled up, the skill also demanded more and more mana, and Ark could already figure out that this skill was going to use up a lot of his mana in the future.


    Since his mana pool was basically completely empty after an entire hour of using the skill, Ark decided to do something else for a while. He had turned back into his wolf form when he had used the skill, as he needed to be able to use it in both forms, and he didn''t want to waste too much of his human form''s time. He wanted to be able to use it to make conversation after all. If he couldn''t talk with Thufrat for example, then his days would become a little duller.


    It was still fairly early in the morning, but everyone was already awake. Ephine and Atar were sitting outside the cave and were just playing around at the moment, and Thufrat was nowhere to be seen. Since it was morning, he was just out and about, hunting for some breakfast. Ark wished that he had gone with him, but he was a bit too late. Since he had done nothing better to do at the moment, he just played around with Ephine and Atar for a bit, before Thufrat returned.


    With a deer hoisted over his shoulder, Thufrat hummed a happy tune whilst he walked back over to the three wolves. As he started to prepare the meat, he left about half of it raw and untouched, which Atar and Ark happily devoured. Ephine quite liked to eat it cooked, as she enjoyed the tastes of various flavours and spices that Thufrat used when he cooked. Atar still liked eating everything raw, as he always had been up until now, and Ark didn''t really know himself.


    For his entire life, he had eaten everything cooked, but recently, his taste for raw meat had manifested, and he couldn''t exactly get rid of it, and it wasn''t something bad either way. For now, he just ate whatever he got, whether it was cooked or not, he would enjoy it either way. After everyone ate their fill, they just lazed around for a bit, a little unsure of what to do.


    After pondering for a while, Ark decided to ask Thufrat about the angel''s mana crystal, and what he should do about it. Since he couldn''t speak to him in his wolf form, he just blinked away, put on some clothes, and blinked back in his human from. Though they were surprised initially, as soon as they saw that it was Ark, they all calmed down. He never stopped surprising them with what he could do, so they had grown used to it at this point.


    "You have any good idea what I can do with this?"


    As he said that, Ark tossed Thufrat a large glowing amber crystal, which he promptly caught. After looking at it for a few seconds, Thufrat turned to Ark. "You don''t want to absorb it?" He tossed it back to Ark.


    "I wanted Ephine to absorb it, but I''m scared of what potential hidden dangers there might be. You think I could trade it for some other mana crystal? Or just sell it at a good price to buy another one?" Ark put it away in his spatial bag.


    "Well I think it depends on what you want, but most big cities would probably be eager to buy it, as it is quite a high-quality mana crystal after all. Whether or not they have any mana crystals that would interest you is beyond me, but it is worth a shot."


    Since they were all bored either way, Thufrat''s idea sounded great! Ephine and Atar were both excited to visit an actual human city, as they had never been to one. Well, Ephine was really excited, and Atar was mostly excited because his mom was, he didn''t really know what was exciting, but he just went with the flow.


    Since they had nothing else to do at the moment, they decided that they could just do it immediately, they had no reason to wait after all. The nearest big city wasn''t too close, so they decided to travel in their wolf forms until they were close enough. If they tried to travel the entire way in their human forms, then they wouldn''t have enough time at all.


    With a beautiful day to accompany them, they started their travels almost immediately. Atar calmed down fairly quickly, as his initial excitement dropped when he noticed that all they were doing was just walking. The peaceful nature wasn''t something that he really enjoyed, and he just wanted to play around all day. In stark contrast, everyone else quite enjoyed the peaceful walk in the forest. They were all a.d.u.l.ts, and after the stressful situation they had run into the day before, they were all feeling at ease currently.

 Chapter 174 - Calmond City

    Just casually strolling through the forest was an occasion that didn''t happen too often, so Ark made sure to enjoy it thoroughly. As they walked, Ephine and Ark made some conversation, as they could communicate pretty well in their wolf forms, but Thufrat and Atar just walked quietly. Or, well, Thufrat walked quietly, whilst Atar just ran around, looking for something interesting in their surroundings.


    Like this, time passed quickly, and it was soon starting to get a little late. Since they didn''t want to take too many rests, they had been walking for quite some time, and they were all famished. Since everyone seemed to be too tired to do anything, Ark took it upon himself to hunt some food, and before they knew it, he was already back.


    The little camp they had set up was quite cosy, and the gentle fire in the middle of their camp constantly drove away the darkness around it. Meat was soon roasted, and this time, Ark used his human form to taste it properly cooked. As he did, he couldn''t help but be surprised. Had this food always tasted like this? He quickly realised that wolves and humans naturally have different taste buds, and the food that he liked in his wolf form seemed to differ from that of his human form.


    In his wolf form, raw meat felt natural to eat, but in his human form, it was the complete opposite. There was nothing weird with it, Ark was just a little surprised. After everyone had eaten their fill, they decided to all go to sleep. Normally when people adventured into dangerous forests like these, someone would sit on watch whilst the others slept, but since Ark was here, they didn''t need to do that.


    He usually didn''t fall into deep sleep, and nothing would be able to sneak up on them whilst he was here, he would unconsciously feel them coming, even if they used some sort of stealth skill to approach. Since they were right in the open, numerous magical beasts approached them and tried to attack them during the night, but Ark disposed them all, without waking anyone up.


    Just like that, the night passed peacefully, and the next day arrived quickly. In the early morning, the four of them had already started moving again, and as hours kept passing, they drew nearer to their destination. They didn''t stop until it was already in the middle of the day, and they ate some lunch. Ark had kept the magical beasts that tried to mess with them whilst they were sleeping in his spatial bag, he didn''t want to waste food after all.


    After they ate their fill, the four of them continued on their journey, and eventually, they arrived next to a rather large road. Even though it was just a dirt road, it was fairly wide, and up to three carriages would be able to travel side by side if they really wanted to, which was quite unusual. Thufrat had been here before, and he knew that they were fairly close to the city now. Even though it was still around a 20 minutes'' walk, they had to change into their human forms.


    The reason was quite simple, this city they were going to was by no means small, and they would surely bump into people on the way there, which was why they couldn''t just walk around as wolves anymore. Since they had limited time in their human forms, they picked up their pace a little, and after around ten minutes, they arrived close to the city.


    Unlike most cities with walls made out of stone or sometimes even steel, Calmond City had walls made completely out of wood. Though that doesn''t sound too weird for a village or a small town, for a big city like this, it was naturally a little surprising. Unlike what you''d think, the walls of Calmond City looked tall, sturdy and imposing, and that was exactly what they were. The wood was naturally not regular wood. The walls were made out of a special type of wood made out of Evertrees. Though the name was a little weird, this type of tree was truly special, as they were sturdier than stone, and they could live for almost a millennia if left alone.


    They also had a special resistance against magic, which made it a great material to build walls with, albeit very expensive as well. But for a city located so close to the dangerous Calmond Forest, the expensive price tag was definitely worth it. It was actually because the city was so close to the imposing forest that it had adapted its name.


    Entering the city was quite an easy procedure, as they only needed to pay a small fee, as well as state their purpose. Since it was quite a bustling city, they couldn''t do a thorough background check on everyone who entered it, but at the same time, they at least needed to do the very minimum of identification. Naturally everyone didn''t have identification, but the guards would generally only keep suspicious people out.


    Ark had already instructed Atar beforehand to stay calm, as he believed that the sights of the city might be a little too much for the young cub to stay calm.                     Nevertheless, Atar''s pupils widened considerably as they darted around the city, inspecting absolutely everything possible. Ark just wanted to let him run around as he wanted, but that naturally wasn''t possible, as he would just freak people out and attract unnecessary attention.


    They already attracted more than enough attention as they walked down the streets, as their group was a little peculiar. Not only did the group have a dwarf, which was quite unusual in cities like these, but both Ark and Ephine were very attractive, and they all had extraordinary yet casual auras. No one really paid any attention to Atar, as he was just a kid, which made Ark a little happy, it paid off to tell him to stay calm.


    As they wandered around, they eventually decided to take a rest at a local caf¨¦. They weren''t in a hurry, and Ark wanted Ephine and Atar to enjoy themselves a little before they did anything. The caf¨¦ was in a fairly calm and nice part of the city, and the atmosphere was very pleasant. Ephine loved the lovely little caf¨¦, while Atar still felt a little restless, or, well, until he got his dessert.


    Ark wasn''t a big fan of coffee, he''d much rather drink a warm cup of tea, but this particular caf¨¦ didn''t have any tea that suited his tastes. While they were in the middle of enjoying themselves, a rather annoying voice couldn''t help but dig into their ears.

 Chapter 175 - Another day, another spoiled brat.

    Even though they had come here to enjoy themselves a little, it seemed like it wasn''t going to go according to Ark''s original plan. The annoying voice seemed to come from a rather plump young man that was seated at a table a couple of meters away from them. The plump young man was currently flirting with the waitress, or as most would call it, harassing her. His behaviour was quite honestly disgusting, as he wouldn''t let her return to her work in peace.


    Ark wasn''t stupid, and he could quickly figure out that this guy was someone rather important in this town, probably a noble of some sort, otherwise the waitress would''ve just told him to f.u.c.k off. Ark hated stuff like this, and he sometimes wondered what went through these people''s heads when they did stuff like this. The waitress looked disgusted and troubled by this noble''s advances on her, but there wasn''t much she could do.


    Sure, she could tell him to go away, and if she didn''t, then she could report him to the city guards. But even the most honourable guards had their price, something the noble''s father would willingly pay to keep him out of trouble. With that said, a resounding slap suddenly echoed throughout the establishment. Nearly every table turned their heads to look at the spectacle, only to see a rather surprising scene.


    The waitress hadn''t done anything, she was only cowering behind another female figure, namely Ephine. The behaviour of the rather fat noble had disgusted her, and there was no way that she was just going to stand such behaviour without doing anything. Ark wasn''t really surprised by her little intervention, since he knew that she couldn''t stand watching stuff like this, but he could already feel a headache coming.


    This meant endless trouble for them while they were in the city, and they had just arrived too. Maybe they were fated to get in trouble, since it seemed like they got in trouble every single time they entered either a city or encountered humans in general. The reason was fairly simple of course, humans. If they entered a city, they got in trouble because they encountered troublesome humans, and if they encountered humans elsewhere, then they had a tendency to be less civil, as there were no rules in the wilderness.


    The fat noble looked shocked beyond belief, as if something like this would never happen to him in this lifetime. Ark could see the anger boiling within his eyes, and before the guards by his side could even draw their swords, he had already appeared behind them. A swift roundhouse kick was all that was needed for the guards to pass out, and for the fat noble to swallow the words he was about to spout.


    Though he was definitely a bad person, he wasn''t mentally handicapped, and he wasn''t going to start scolding these people as they could easily kill him before anyone could ever come to his rescue, so he swallowed his words, and bided his time. As long as his father was notified about what happened here, he would get his revenge. There was no way they could escape from his father''s guards after all.


    The happenings in the caf¨¦ naturally spread within the city quite fast, as the fat noble was a notorious character, and someone who no one really liked around here. Though that was the case, no one dared to go against him, they all had something they wanted to live for after all. Giving up on life because of a sense of justice was not something a lot of people would do. Everyone cared more about their own benefits and interests than others, that was just life. Naturally there were still a lot of people who wanted to help people if they could, but that was the problem. "If" they could, not many had the backing or strength to do whatever they wanted.


    People were happy to hear of his misfortune, but they were also scared, who knew what antics the fat noble would cause because of this. His father was quite known for his ruthlessness and overprotectiveness of his only son. The news quickly reached the fat noble''s father as well, and he instantly sent two of his strongest guards to the scene. When they arrived, all they found was two knocked out guards, as well as their young master trembling by himself on the floor.


    Since they knew what awaited them if they came back empty-handed, the two guards split up. One escorted their young master to somewhere that was a bit safer, while the other guard set off to trace the adventurers who had started this whole thing. Since he had no idea if they were strong or not, he had to actually be a little careful with what he was doing. If he wasn''t careful, his head might be rolling down the streets a few hours down the line.


    Since he was a prestigious noble''s guard, people were more than willing to provide help and assistance if it meant that they could earn a favour or two. Of course not everyone would do it to earn a favour, but it wasn''t like they had much of a choice in the first place, who knew what would happen to them if they didn''t do what was asked of them? Since Ark and his group hadn''t been discreet in the first place, it only took a short moment for the guard to find their trail.


    Normally it would take a while to find someone in a city like this, but since Ark''s group was rather outstanding, it was hard to forget them, even in a crowd. Eventually he came across a rather small and inconspicuous shop in the middle of downtown. He had heard of this place before, and they specialised in mana crystals. It was a rather normal establishment, with nothing going for it except for the nice sign outside of the shop. The guard had no idea what they wanted with this shop, but since he had found what he was looking for, he quickly left to get some backup.


    ¡­


    What the guard didn''t know was that this small shop was actually quite different from the rest of the mana crystal shops in the city. The owner was an old and experienced noble, who had went on many adventurers as a young man. After getting older, he had decided to put such a risky life behind him, as he had mouths to feed at home, and he didn''t want to die and leave them behind. Since all he had left from his adventuring days was his mana, he had opened up a small shop, and settled down.


    The reason why and his group had chosen this store was because of the old man. Since he had been adventuring for all of his life, and he was a noble at that, he had a lot more financial resources compared to other small shops in the city. What Ark wanted to sell was the mana crystal of a fallen angel, it wasn''t something anyone could get their hands on. It was worth a lot, more than most shops could handle.

 Chapter 176 - Old Shop

    In a small shop somewhere in Calmond City, the creaking of an old door signalled the arrival of a few more customers. A calm old man sat behind the counter and was in the middle of inspecting a mana crystal. The magnifying glass in his hand was put down as he raised his head to look at his new customers. He often tried not to judge his customers from their appearance, but he found it hard not to.


    Right now for example, 4 customers had walked into his store, and judging from what they were wearing, he could guess that they probably had plenty of money. They all dressed pretty neatly, and Ark, Ephine and Atar seemed like a well-off family, probably from some noble house. Well, that was until he saw the way they talked and even the way they walked around, there was no way they were from a noble house. At the same time, the old man was sure that they weren''t normal, he just wasn''t really sure what made them so abnormal except for their clothes.


    ...


    Whilst the old man was busy inspecting them and pondering, Ark and the rest was eagerly walking around the shop, inspecting the various amounts of mana crystals and other mysterious artefacts the shop had to offer. Some mana crystals shone with resplendent light, others radiated an unusual amount of life force, whilst others seemed dim and dark. The shop naturally sold numerous artefacts of varying levels too, but only a few of them could actually catch Ark''s eye.


    Most of them were not good enough for him to show any sort of interest, while others could at the very least pique his curiosity. There was one particular pair of boots that stood out a little from the rest of the artefacts. The boots didn''t have any sort of strong aura to them, at least not that could be discerned by most. The reason most people wouldn''t be able to sense anything from the boots was because they had no mana in them. Most artefacts were powered by runes or engravings infused with mana, but these boots were different.


    The old man could see that Ark was interested in these boots, which only further strengthened his suspicion that these people were a little different from normal. Even the old man himself was unsure of the boots'' origins. Even though that was the case, he still knew the strength of the boots, and there was no way he was going to let anyone swindle him, he knew their true worth better than anyone else. At least that''s what he thought.


    Even though the main reason they had come here was because of their mana crystal situation, Ark couldn''t help but want these boots, not for himself, but for Atar. Ark was confident in his own strength, and he had seen Ephine''s enormous growth, and he knew that she was smart enough to be able to defend herself. Atar, on the other hand, was a bit of a different story. His main strength was his abnormally powerful body, and his one weakness was his lackl.u.s.tre skillset and underdeveloped intelligence.


    As he grew up, the second notion would naturally be taken care of, but the problem was the first part. If he didn''t have a way to save himself in a difficult situation, Ark wouldn''t be able to rest easy at night. Especially since he knew the events that were coming. From here on out, their lives were going to get harder, and he needed to grasp every opportunity he could get to not only strengthen himself but also Ephien and Atar, which was why they had made this trip in the first place.


    Ark couldn''t discern the specifics of the boots from a single glance, but he was able to deduce a few traits with a minimal amount of effort either way. First and foremost, the boots could enhance the user''s speed to a certain degree, which was one of the most basic functionalities of most boots that were considered artefacts. Almost anyone would be able to guess this. What attracted Ark to the boots was another thing he had sensed from the boots.


    With his bloodline, he was extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the different elements in the world, and from within these boots, Ark could feel the spatial element. This element was even scarce in nature, and to find an artefact with its attributes was naturally something that most people could only dream about.


    Ark wasn''t sure what the use of the spatial element was when it came to these boots, but this was the limit of what he was able to see, and just this was good enough for him to want this item. There was one crucial thing though, and the thing that had drawn his attention to these boots in the first place, the faint aura they emitted.


    This aura seemed to come from a certain bloodline, and Ark was certain that he knew what kind of animal it was, a wolf. He was extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to feeling the bloodlines of his own race, even more so than the elements. He wasn''t sure what kind of wold the bloodline aura belonged to, but he was sure it was a wolf when it was alive, which made these boots even more suitable for Atar than before.


    "Shopkeeper, how much do you want for these boots?"


    The question was rather abrupt, and no one apart from Ark had paid attention to these rather normal boots, which made his question a little puzzling to the rest of his entourage, but he didn''t have the time to explain right now.


    "I knew there was something different about this kid," the old man thought to himself before he pondered a little bit. He wasn''t really sure himself, as he had never thought he would get the chance to sell these boots in the first place. Just naming a price from the top of his head wasn''t that easy, as he wasn''t sure how much money this youth in front of him had either.


    If he had a lot of money then he could naturally set a higher price, but if the youth only had a decent amount of money, then the old man would settle for just selling the boots at all, he wasn''t sure if he would ever get the chance to otherwise. Seeing the struggle in the old man''s eyes, Ark sighed. It seemed like he might not be able to buy these boots this time.


    Since that was the case, he opted to ask another question instead. "Do you buy mana crystals if they are of high quality?"


    "Naturally, just show me what you got." Since Ark changed the subject, the old man stopped thinking about the price of the boots for now. That could wait.


    Ark himself didn''t waste any time and reached into his spatial bag to retrieve a mana crystal. The old man just stood there and waited, not expecting much from the youth, but as Ark pulled out his hand from his spatial bag, a radiant light filled the small shop.


    The relaxed expression of the old man quickly changed, as he furrowed his brows.

 Chapter 177 - Money!

    The strong amber light wasn''t something the old man had expected, as he was pretty sure what such a strong light signified. The light seemed to contain a mysterious warmth, as it covered the entirety of the small shop. The old man''s eyes were practically shining at this point, he had never seen such a splendid mana crystal before! He gave Ark a peculiar look, "Can I take a closer look at it?"


    Ark didn''t really answer, he just nodded, and handed the mana crystal over. Even though he knew it was worth a lot of money, he wasn''t afraid that the old man was going to try and steal it from him, he was confident in his strength. Unless the opponent had an overwhelming level advantage, he wasn''t really scared. Naturally, he didn''t believe that he was unparalleled amongst his level, he wasn''t that arrogant after all. He had no idea how vast this world truly was, but he knew that it was certainly way bigger than earth, and there was always someone better out there.


    There were numerous races in the world, and they all had endless potential, surely there was someone with higher strength than him out there, maybe even with an even lower level. Dragon''s were known for being paragons, they could probably take care of him with ease. As the thought crossed his mind, he could feel a burning passion in his heart. He really wanted to get stronger.


    As Ark got stronger, his passion for pursuing the peak just intensified. He didn''t feel satisfied in the slightest with his current strength, it was actually quite the opposite. He knew that his strength wasn''t sufficient, and Ark wanted to live his life the way he wanted to. Whilst Ark was lost in his own thoughts of getting stronger, the old man was lost in his own thoughts too. This mana crystal was one of a kind! He had never seen anything like it before.


    What was shocking wasn''t only the amount of mana that was in the crystal, but also its element! The amount of creatures with light mana crystals was way lower than any other creature, even creatures with dark mana crystals were easy to find in comparison, and they were normally seen as quite rare. If he found the right person, he could earn a lot of money from this mana crystal!


    Before he got any ideas, he gave Ark a long glance, where had this person managed to find a mana crystal like this? He was so young as well! Even though the specifics of how he had acquired the mana crystal were unimportant in this deal, the old man was pretty curious how such a young lad managed to get his hands on something like this. Since they were just standing there in silence, the old man decided to speak up.


    "How much do you want for this mana crystal?"


    Ark glanced at Thufrat instinctively, since he was the only one here who had any sort of idea about the value of such a mana crystal. Seeing Thufrat softly shake his head, Ark pondered for a second. Since he didn''t really know the value of the mana crystal, he could only ask the old man what he was willing to offer. Just straight up asking him would obviously lower the amount of money he would offer, so Ark was going to act a little.


    With his arms crossed in front of his c.h.e.s.t, Ark made sure to look a little annoyed, as he quickly countered the old man''s question.


    "Just state your price, I don''t have time for this."


    The old man looked a little surprised at first, since he had thought that this young man in front of him had a better temper, but he quickly adjusted, and thought of a price quickly.


    "How about 500 platinum coins?"


    Ark naturally had no idea if this price was supposed to be good, and since he didn''t want to expose himself, he just coldly stared at the old man, as if the amount didn''t really interest him. The old man wasn''t really taken aback by the fact that Ark wasn''t moved by the price. He only pondered a little bit before throwing out a new offer.


    "Since you don''t seem tempted by 500, how about 650, that''s a reasonable price right?"


    Ark lifted an eyebrow, but he didn''t answer, as if he was interested, but it was still below him. The old man naturally noticed this small detail, as he had been working in the business for quite a while, and he knew that Ark would probably sell it to him as long as he raised the price a bit more. The value of this mana crystal wasn''t normally this high, the old man''s offer was already approaching the limit of its value.


    The reason the old man wanted it so much was because he had certain contacts that he could sell it to. The person he was planning on selling it to would give him at least a 1000 platinum for it, which would be quite the profit. Even though the difference didn''t seem like much, a few hundred platinum was already considered an astronomical amount by most.


    "Hmm, you know what? I''ll give you 750 for it, final offer. That''s as far as I can go if I want to make any sort of profit."


    As Ark heard this, he felt like smiling. He had done absolutely nothing, yet the price had been raised by 50%, netting him another 250 platinum coins. With an indifferent look on his face, Ark reached out his hand to the old man. "I guess that''ll do." The old man shook his hand, and went into a room behind the counter, seemingly looking for something. Ark wouldn''t let him leave with the mana crystal, so he held it until the old man returned with a small bag.


    "It''s a pretty low-quality spatial bag, but it has enough space to hold the coins, you can just put them in your own spatial bag later." As he reached out to receive the spatial bag, Ark handed the mana crystal to the old man. Ark looked as indifferent as ever, but Thufrat couldn''t help but gulp down his saliva as he thought about the amount, 750 platinum... it was an amount he couldn''t even dream of previously.


    Even Ark, who didn''t really understand its value as much as Thufrat did, knew it was a large amount of money, and even if he looked calm on the outside, his heart was racing.

 Chapter 178 - Getting Rich Overnight!

    As much as his heart raced, Ark felt like he was about to go into cardiac arrest. His face looked ever so frosty, but on the inside, he was feeling rather gleeful. Getting his hands on his money was always a good thing, no matter which world he was in, money was always supreme. There was almost nothing you couldn''t solve with money, an exception would be matters of the heart. But in the face of money, people would easily discard their true feelings. Maybe you dreamt of being a world-renowned artist, but in the face of a large amount of wealth, who would hesitate?


    With such a hefty amount of money in his hands, Ark didn''t immediately turn around and leave the small establishment. Seeing that he wasn''t leaving, the old man could tell that he wanted something else. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"


    "Hmm, I need a good mana crystal. Something that''s above what''s on display, surely you have something better right?"


    "Of course, wait here for a second."


    The old man quickly moved his feet as he ran into the small room behind the counter. It didn''t take long before he emerged once again, with a couple of large crystals in his embrace. They were a bit too big to carry in his hands, so he tried his best to press them up against his c.h.e.s.t as he scuttled out behind the counter, earning a cute chuckle from Atar.


    Ark ruffled Atar''s hair a little as he started to inspect the mana crystals that the old man had laid out on the counter in front of him. The numerous amounts of bright lights filled the entire shop, and they looked quite magical, unfortunately, there didn''t seem to be any that fit Ephine. There was water, earth, ice, and even thunder, but Ephine didn''t really use any of those elements exclusively. Sure, she could absorb one anyways, but the effect wouldn''t be as good. The more compatible you were with a mana crystal, the better the effect.


    As he was about to shake his head, Ark noticed the only crystal that he hadn''t really paid any attention to earlier, since it was a size smaller than the rest of them. With the help of his "Inspect", Ark''s expression darkened a little, as he started to ponder what he should do. The mana crystal had once belonged to an elemental wolf, the same species as Atar and Ephine...


    Ephine could naturally tell that the mana crystal was from one of her own kind as well, which was why her eyes didn''t leave the colourful small orb of mana. Ark could see that her gaze seemed to be stuck on the mana crystal, and he could only guess how she felt about it.


    "I want that one."


    What he didn''t expect though was that she actually wanted it. Ark didn''t intend to ask her why, at least not now, so he just decided to buy it for her, their original goal was to get her a mana crystal anyways. "How much for that one?"


    The old man was a little surprised when he saw Ark pointing at the small mana crystal of the elemental wolf, as it was quite peculiar. Not many people practised many elements at the same time, which meant that no one was usually interested in this mana crystal. After a quick glance, the old man decided on a price. "50 platinum!"


    "Deal!"


    Ark was a little surprised, he expected a higher price. But the reason for the low price quickly dawned on him. Even if it was a rare mana crystal, what was the use if no one was going to buy it? It''s worth was naturally a little higher, but the old man wasn''t sure if he was ever going to get rid of it, so he decided to lower the price a little. It didn''t matter too much to him either way since he was going to be able to profit a lot from that amber mana crystal he had just bought.


    After handing the old man his money, Ark took a final glance around the shop before he started walking towards the exit. As he was about to exit the shop, with everyone else in tow, Ark suddenly stopped in his tracks. Even though he had just been fairly happy, his facial expression said otherwise. Outside of the shop, 10 adventurers stood waiting on them to exit, and Ark could tell why they were there.


    They had just offended some noble, and all of a sudden a bunch of adventurers turn up outside of the store they''re in, seemingly waiting for them to exit. Ark wasn''t stupid enough to not see the connection. What put him at ease though was the general strength of the adventurers outside. Even Ephine would be able to take them on by herself, much less Ark. "Prepare for a headache..."


    Everyone else had naturally already sensed all of the people waiting from them outside, but they were a bit more relaxed than Ark was. Ark felt a little tense as he was always thinking about the visions he saw, and he was scared that they were going to come true. He always had his guard up, especially since they were in the middle of a foreign city that they knew next to nothing about.


    Seeing the group of 5 people walk outside of the small shop, the 10 adventurers all got ready to fight. Even though their purpose in coming here was just to "escort" these people elsewhere, they didn''t expect them to give in without having to show some force. Contrary to their expectations, the group of 5 didn''t really seem to care about them, even though they were clearly hostile towards them.


    Feeling as if they might''ve been misunderstood, one of them decided to speak up. "You better stop right there! Don''t do anything you might regret and just come with-"


    Before he could continue, he felt a chill run down his spine. The young man who seemed to be the spiritual leader of the small group had just looked at him, yet he felt like he had run into a ferocious beast! The sword that he had just raised fell to the ground as he stumbled hastily backwards, trying to get away from Ark''s killing intent. Ark felt like laughing upon seeing the calibre of the adventurers that had been sent after them, but since they were already here, he decided to give them a little parting gift before leaving.


    "Since you guys don''t know who you''re messing with, I''ll be lenient."


    Before anyone could question him, Ark seemingly disappeared from where he stood, before he reappeared at the same spot a couple of seconds later. Before most people could process what happened, they could hear the screeches of the adventures who had once occupied most of the street. Every single adventurer laid on the ground, rolling around in pain, some of them even screaming.


    Ark just looked on coldly, maybe they were only following orders, but Ark needed to set an example to whoever had sent them. He was not to be trifled with!

 Chapter 179 - Show of Strength

    Even though Thufrat and Ephine were both a little surprised, they understood what Ark was trying to do. Ark wasn''t someone brutal who would kill anyone who got in his way, but at the same time, he wasn''t a saint. His purpose in hurting these people badly was to deter anyone else from coming after them. Atar wasn''t even phased by the screaming of the adventurers as he jovially looked around the street, this was his first time in a city after all.


    Ark didn''t know if more people were going to come after them, but if he had to guess, then that would definitely be it. Surely this noble wasn''t going to be happy with them, and they probably had some experts that were going to take action shortly, but Ark wasn''t worried. He was a little tense, but he tried his best to relax. Not many people would be able to rival him in strength in such a small city. He would be way more apprehensive if he was in the capital, no matter the country.


    Since sticking around would basically be asking for trouble, Ark decided that it was time to leave the city. He wanted to buy some more spices and some more clothes for all of them, but he decided against it after some thinking. It was better to just get out of here, they could go to a different city later. Since he didn''t want to talk openly about his plans when there were people around, Ark just conveyed his thoughts with the help of telepathy.


    He couldn''t speak telepathically yet, but he could easily convey some simple messages and feelings. Since Ephine and Thufrat seemed to understand him, Ark just started walking down the street, as if the 10 adventurers screaming on the ground weren''t even there. The normal people that witnessed the scene tried their best to keep their distance from them, whilst some of them ran off to somewhere.


    What benefits would they get if they helped out a noble? Such thoughts ran through their minds as they ran off in the distance. Some people were likeminded, but after thinking about what had just happened in front of them, they decided against it. To some of them, the benefits were not worth the risk. Ark could tell that some of them were up to no good, but he couldn''t care less. The word would reach the noble either way, as he probably had some of his own people around anyways.


    After walking for a while, the large gates of the city showed up in the distance. Ark expected to see plenty of people blocking the exits to the city, but to his surprise, it was just like when they had entered the city. He knew that it wouldn''t end like this, and since no one was blocking the way out, it seemed like they were going to deal with them outside of the city.


    Ark wasn''t bothered by it, quite the opposite actually. It just made things easier for them. After leaving the city, Ark didn''t follow the road, instead, with everyone else in tow, he made his way into the forest. After walking for quite a while, Ark could feel plenty of presences in their surroundings, it seemed like they were about to be surrounded. Even though being surrounded usually meant doom, Ark was far from worried.


    Being surrounded only meant doom if the enemies were a threat, and these people could barely even be considered a threat to Atar if he was completely alone. It wasn''t like Ark was the only who could take care of these people, both Thufrat and Ephine could singlehandedly defeat them if they wanted to. Not like Ark was going to let them get any chance to do anything. He was getting a little tired of people underestimating him and creating trouble, so he was going to make this quick.


    Hmm, how did he want to take care of these people? Augment his body? Magic? As he pondered, their enemies drew nearer, not like he cared. Since he had been using his body plenty lately, he decided to use some magic this time. Since there were about 10 people, and they were all spread out, Ark waved his hand, and summoned 10 javelins of light. The javelins of light didn''t even hover in the air for even a split-second before they shot out like bullets.


    Thufrat and Ephine weren''t even surprised, but Atar was a little befuddled, as he wasn''t sure what was going on. He had smelled people earlier, were they bad guys? Atar wasn''t really too concerned with what was actually going on, he was only excitedly observing Ark''s magic. Unlike Atar, the enemies surrounding them didn''t have much time to observe Ark''s magic, as it was currently whistling through the air straight for them.


    Even though Ephine and Thufrat couldn''t see their enemies, they could distinctively hear their enemies wailing in pain, before all sound abruptly came to an end. Ark didn''t really care too much, as he just kept walking into the forest. Thufrat and Ephine had seen plenty of death at this point, so they couldn''t care less if Ark killed people. These people hade come after them, so if Ark didn''t kill them, then they would take matters into their own hands.


    This world was nothing like Ark''s old world, if someone tried to kill you here, then you killed them. As simple as that. There was no police, there was no court. If you killed someone out in the forest, who would ever know about it? These small fries would arouse no suspicion if they were found dead. No one would care about them. If there was no benefit to be gained, no one would be bothered to find out the truth.


    That being said, there were still people with a sense of justice in this world, they were just not as easy to find. And if they had no strength, then did it even matter in the first place? Even the authorities would turn a blind eye for the right price, of course normal people would do the same. As they were travelling towards their humble little home, Ark started to think about their next course of actions.


    They now had plenty of money, and maybe it was time to get a base of operations, somewhere they could stay that wasn''t inside of some gloomy cave. What was most important right now was not only strength, but also comfort. Ark wasn''t sure what was going to happen in the future, but if they were going to die, then they had to not only try to strengthen themselves, but also try to enjoy their lives.


    What was the point of trying your best to survive if you didn''t even enjoy your time on this planet?

 Chapter 180 - Plans for the future.

    After arriving at the cave once more, they all decided to do their own things. Ephine needed to absorb her new mana crystal and enhance her strength once more, Atar needed to train and learn how to control his strength more, whilst Ark needed to plan for the future. Since Thufrat didn''t need any urgent training, he helped Ark with making plans, as Ark needed some help when it came to the common sense of this world.


    Getting themselves a home was something that Ark really wanted, since it would make his stay in this world a bit more organised. And it would be his very own home, something he had never felt like he had, even in his old world. He used to rent a small apartment in his old world, but he had never felt like it was actually a home, which wasn''t too weird, he lived by himself, and the only thing he did was sleep and just laze around when he was at home.


    The only problem with getting a residence was whether they could afford it, and where they would buy it. As a matter of fact, getting the location right was quite tricky. Even if he wanted to enjoy his life, Ark needed to grow way stronger, and to do that, he needed enemies. Where would he find enemies in the middle of a city? The answer was simple dungeons.


    But not all dungeons were the same in the sense that they didn''t have the same requirements on the adventurer. Some dungeons could be cleared even if you were level 20, whilst you could barely survive in others even if you had reached level 50. It all depended on the enemies in the dungeon. Preferably, Ark wanted a dungeon where he could level up continuously, and to do that, the enemies couldn''t be low level, but at the same time they couldn''t be too high level either, since they wouldn''t be able to survive if that was the case.


    What Ark wanted was a dungeon with levels, which wasn''t too hard to find, they just needed to find one that had enough levels to let him grow to the point where he didn''t have to worry about the upcoming calamity. Well, he still couldn''t be sure if what he saw was even real, but it was better to get stronger just in case it was, if it turned out to be just an illusion, he would still be left with all his strength and he could live the way he wanted.


    he naturally told Thufrat all of his requirements, and the two of them started brainstorming. Even though Ark couldn''t actually do much other than wait for Thufrat to give him some suggestions for the moment. There were multiple dungeons that fit his requirements, and they were mostly the renowned big dungeons that had been mostly explored and discovered ages ago. Some of these dungeons were quite close to large cities, which were mostly where they were looking to settle down for now. If they wanted to move in the future, then all Ark needed to do was earn some more money for them.


    The fact that him, Atar and Ephine were all wolves didn''t matter too much even if they were going to live inside of a city. They all had several hours worth of time in their human forms, and they only needed to use that time to get into the city and to enter the residence, as well as leaving the city, and entering their preferred dungeon, other than that, they could do whatever they wanted in their wolf forms. With the help of magic, Ark could make sure that no one would be able to enter their home without him knowing, as it was quite simple magic.


    After deliberating and looking over all of the options they had, the city which looked most attractive to Ark was a city in the country of Geotopia. The country''s economy was flourishing, the living conditions were nice, and there was an abundance of potions, it seemed like a nice place to live. The city they had chosen was not the capital though, as no dungeon was close enough, and they couldn''t guarantee that they would be able to afford a nice place to live if it was in the capital, they didn''t know the prices after all, so it was a bit of gamble.


    Naturally, Ark asked both Ephine and Atar what they thought too, as he couldn''t just make a decision by himself and expect them to agree with it. The mana in the cave was currently fluctuating like crazy, and the atmosphere was quite heavy. Ark could guess that she was in the middle of absorbing her mana crystal, so he didn''t disturb her, but instead he just laid down outside of the cave in his wolf form.


    After watching Atar working hard for a while, Ark decided that he shouldn''t laze around too much either, and he decided to train his blink skill for a while. He needed to train it in both wolf and human form after all. It was quite a dizzying sight to see for someone like Thufrat, as all he could see was Ark disappearing and reappearing all over the place like a ghost. After familiarizing himself with it, Ark was soon able to chain his blinks together quite nicely without waiting much in between uses. The most frightening part was that he could use magic between every use of blink if he wanted to, which would be quite frightening to face.


    After an entire session of training, Ark only had half of his mana left, and he didn''t want to use much more since they were in the middle of the forest after all. If they got attacked and he had no mana left because he was training, Ark wasn''t sure what he would do with himself. His blink had managed to rise to level 5 already too, which was good enough for now, the range was a little longer, and the activation was faster, which was quite satisfactory to Ark.


    Whilst Ark and Atar was training their respective skills, Ephine was in the middle of absorbing her mana crystal. She had never absorbed a mana crystal before, so she wasn''t quite sure how it felt, but when she had actually started, she was pleasantly surprised. The feeling of rapidly enhancing her strength was quite thrilling. She would''ver never thought that she could grow stronger in such an easy way, it was quite perplexing to her, as she had been taught the cruelty and harshness of reality from the moment she was born, and never thought there was such an easy way to get strong. It didn''t even hurt like she had expected it to.

 Chapter 181 - Getting a move on!

    What Ephine didn''t know was that the reason it didn''t hurt had to do with compatibility. She had been absorbing mana crystal from someone of her own race after all, so it would be rather weird if it rejected her strongly. To others, this mana crystal would be nothing but endless troubles, as it wasn''t cheap at all and it would be really hard to absorb for someone who didn''t practice the correct elements.


    If Ark tried to absorb this mana crystal, it would be even easier, as his race was an even more advanced elemental wolf. But at the same time, its uses would also be limited for him. Thufrat, on the other hand, would be pretty strongly rejected by the mana crystal, as the only element he really used was earth. Since he didn''t have an affinity for the other elements.


    Whilst Ephine was busy gathering all the mana in the surroundings, Ark made sure to keep watch for her. Plenty of strong magical beasts were attracted by the surge of mana in their surroundings, so Ark took it upon himself to get rid of them. To his surprise, one of the magical beasts that attacked them was even above level 90! Unfortunately for the magical beast, it ran into Ark, and there was no chance for it to resist at all.


    Since the magical beasts were quite a low level, they didn''t provide Ark with any sort of challenge. Even though it was nice in a sense, there was also no way for him to gain any levels from such fights. Which made them a waste of time. Ark didn''t fight them to level up though, so it wasn''t like he was in a bad mood or anything. Whilst he was busy getting rid of small fries, Ephine''s aura was steadily getting bigger and bigger.


    Soon, even Ark could feel a little pressure from her aura. This naturally made him very happy, as he felt like it was money well spent. After a while, Ephine''s aura reached its peak, before it suddenly disappeared. Nearly a second later, her aura appeared once more, but this time it was much more powerful! The crushing aura rushed out of the cave, and the trees in their vicinity were quickly swept away, destroyed by the pressure.


    Ark smiled at the sight, and he even felt a little proud of her. Thufrat had to try his hardest to resist the crushing pressure that surrounded him, but before he could buckle under the pressure, his own draconic aura seemed to awaken, annoyed by this aura that pressured it. His bloodline instantly erupted with power to counteract Ephines. Atar didn''t even notice what was going on, and he just kept playing around. He had practised enough for today.


    The crushing pressure soon retreated back into the cave again, and this time, it stayed there. Ephine soon came out of the cave, and felt a little surprised by the carnage outside. She almost felt a little ashamed that she had caused such destruction without noticing, but since everyone was fine, she soon stopped caring. Since she had absorbed the mana crystal, he told her about his plans, and asked what she thought.


    Ephine didn''t really care that much, but if she could get a nicer place to stay, that would be nice. And she was honestly quite fascinated by humans and their cities, so she had no problem with staying in one. She had only been to a human city once, and it did not disappoint! Even if they had only been there for a small visit, the cafe they visited was enough to pique her genuine interest. They might''ve met some trouble, but Ephine didn''t think much of it, they fought with magical beasts and monsters on the daily, what were a few humans in comparison?


    Since ephine seemed keen on the idea, Ark was honestly quite relieved. He wasn''t sure what he would do if she insisted on living in the forest for the rest of her life. Ark didn''t have too much of a problem with it, but he would much rather stay in a proper home, and he wanted a place he could call his own. Atar didn''t need any convincing when it came to the matter, he would just follow his mother wherever she went, and he didn''t get to explore enough of the city last time either way.


    Since setting out immediately seemed a little too abrupt, Ark decided that they would set out the next day. They had a long road ahead of them if they wanted to reach geotopia, and he wanted them all to be well-rested before they left. With that said, time quickly passed, and dawn soon arrived. The air in the morning was as refreshing as ever, even bordering on cold, but Ark loved the feeling of the cold breeze against his fur.


    Thufrat wasn''t too big of a fan, but he didn''t really dislike it too much either, whilst Atar and Ephine didn''t care too much. They didn''t set out immediately but opted to eat breakfast first, and there was also a slight problem with their hasty planning. How did they intend to travel? Running in their wolf forms would be the obvious answer, as that was their fastest way of travelling, but there was no way Thufrat was going to keep up with them if that was the case.


    Not only were Atar, Ephine and Ark abnormally fast, but the fact that Thufrat was a dwarf that specialised in earth magic also didn''t help much. Even though he was slightly unwilling, the fastest way was just for Thufrat to ride Ark. Since he didn''t want the dwarf to ride on his back for the entire journey, Ark agreed to let him ride on him until they reached a city or a village where Thufrat could buy a suitable mount.


    It wasn''t really appropriate for them all to run on the roads either since they would probably be stopped and interrupted by adventurers all the time if they did that, which would only consume more of their time. Since they were all used to living in the woods, they decided to just run in the woods next to the road instead. Since Thufrat was most likely going to buy a horse, he would travel on the road, while the rest kept out of sight, running alongside him.


    Even though it was a little annoying, there wasn''t too much they could do, since time was precious after all. Since they were all quite decisive in their decision-making, they left soon after agreeing, and their journey to Geotopia, finally began!

 Chapter 182 - Journey!

    Since the nearest town was rather close, Thufrat didn''t really need to ride on Ark''s back at all, making that entire discussion quite pointless. Though the town was rather small, they managed to find a rather suitable steed for Thufrat there, before they set off for their journey once more. The steed they had chosen was a type of horse that made use of lightning magic to increase its speed tremendously, and Ark had to use some of his mana to be able to keep up at all.


    Naturally, the same could be said for the horse, as well as Ephine. Since Atar didn''t really use magic much and had an abnormally strong body, he was able to keep up even without using magic, which helped Ark in getting a perspective of just how strong this little fellow had gotten. The reason Ark was so strong was obviously because of his strong mana, whilst Atar didn''t use it at all.


    The horse, albeit fast, didn''t have the best of stamina, and after about 3 hours of running at breakneck speed, it started to get tired. Since they had a long way to go, and they wouldn''t get far with a worn-out horse, they decided to take a small break. On their 3-hour long journey, they had already run past over 5 different parties of adventurers or travellers. Some of them could feel the presence of 3 wolves running in the forest beside them, but since they never attacked, there wasn''t a problem so far.


    Like this, the 4 of them kept travelling for the entire day, only taking breaks every three hours to eat some snacks and restore some energy. Before long, more than 5 days had passed, and they had arrived in a large city. Since they had been travelling for 5 entire days already, they decided to rest for a day in the city, to invigourate themselves a little, they still had a long way to go after all. Although nothing eventful happened in the city, both Ephine and Atar were in great moods since they had gotten to explore quite a bit the day before. With nothing else to do, they soon left once more.


    In the blink of an eye, almost 20 days had already passed. They kept taking breaks at large cities they passed, and Atar and Ephine had grown to like the life in the cities a lot, not only that, but they had also grown more accustomed to how humans lived and acted, which made it easier for them to blend in. They had also managed to pass the border of Geotopia about 3 days ago, and they would probably arrive at their destination in just a few hours.


    Although they didn''t care about it too much at the beginning, both Atar and Ephine were actually really excited about living in this city that Ark had chosen in the future. Ever since they arrived in Geotopia, they had been met with beautiful scenery wherever they met, and compared to other countries they had passed through, it seemed pretty peaceful here. Thufrat was also in a good mood, although this place wasn''t as good as Liverence, which he had visited before, it was still really nice here.


    And the reason why they had decided to not choose Liverence was naturally that there were no suitable dungeons in the vicinity, so they had to give up on the idea. A few hours later, they could all see large walls entering their sights in the horizon, and they all naturally grew excited! They were finally here! The city that Ark had chosen was called Moonhill, it was a rather big city that wasn''t that far from the capital. The name originated from the dungeon that they were going to visit nearby, the Moonlit Caves.


    The walls of the city were a little different compared to what Ark was used to, as they weren''t made out of steel, rock or some sort of wood. Instead, they were built out of some kind of mineral that Ark had never seen before. The mineral seemed to glow with a green light, and it was imbued with extraordinary power. If he had to guess, Ark speculated that this wall was super expensive. But since the city was very prosperous, money wasn''t a problem compared to the importance of safety for its inhabitants. Seeing this impressive wall, Ark wondered if he had underestimated the cost of property here...


    What he didn''t know though, was that he had actually underestimated the amount of money he had with him. Only a single platinum coin was something that could sustain the life of a family for ages, yet he actually walked around with 700 of them. If that wasn''t enough for property in the city, then who could ever afford to live here...


    The process of entering the city was quite simple, as they had done it plenty of times before. The only thing they needed to do now was to buy a house as fast as possible since their time was limited. After asking for directions, they quickly found their way to a real estate office, which they promptly entered. It was a bit of an awkward encounter, since none of them had ever done something like this before, but the lady who worked there was quite skilled at her job, and they were soon able to pick out a few properties that suited them.


    Ark was able to get a grasp on just how much money they had through this encounter as well, since none of the properties they had picked out cost more than 250 platinum coins. The lady that worked there was glad that she had been extra attentive to these customers, as it seemed like they were quite loaded. And if she managed to sell such expensive property, her commission would surely be pretty nice.


    Usually, they would send someone else to let the customers tour the properties, but since this was such a big deal, she decided that it was for the better if she did it herself, since she was confident in her abilities. Ark just wanted everything to be fast, since their time was limited, and he had some other things he wanted to do as well. On his request, the lady kept the tours brief as she explained the good points about each property, and they soon made their decision after viewing each one. The lady was surprised by their decisiveness, but if anything, it only made her happy since she managed to sell a property worth 190 platinum coins!

 Chapter 183 - Home!

    With a deed in his hands, Ark and the rest quickly left the real estate agency with 190 platinum less in their pockets. As for the house they had chosen, it was a fairly big mansion located quite close to the outer wall of the city. In reality, this city had 2 walls, one for the inner district, as well as the outer wall. The inner district was where the nobles lived, and commoners were only allowed to walk through it, not stay there. But even if they could, they would''ve never bought a house in the inner district.


    Since they had limited time, they wanted their house to be as close to the outer wall as possible, and the atmosphere in the outer district was also more to their liking, a bit more lively. Ark didn''t have the best views of nobles, and neither did the rest of them. It wasn''t to the point where they hated all nobles or anything, they just tried to keep their distance if possible, since they had a tendency to create trouble.


    Either way, they might not have been able to afford such a nice house in the inner district, so it didn''t really matter. The house they had bought was meant for a large family, with plenty of rooms for servants as well. Even though it was located in the outer district, it wouldn''t be surprising if a noble family were to live in it. With that said, it wasn''t like they had any servants, and it might''ve been a little overkill for only the four fo them, but Ark didn''t really care. He only wanted them to have the best, he wasn''t concerned about money.


    Since they now also had access to a proper kitchen, it would be a shame if they didn''t use it! With the time they had left, they first decided to walk around the city a little, as well as buy plenty of different ingredients and spices. Since they had finally gotten themselves a new home, Ark was going to go all-out and make plenty of different foods. It wasn''t like he was a fantastic cook or anything, but since the food here was pretty primitive, he was sure that he would be able to satisfy the rest of them.


    After a long journey, was there anything better than coming home to a homecooked meal? The answer to that question was obviously subjective, but Ark couldn''t think of anything better for now. The only downside was that he needed to cook in his human form, but since there was plenty of waiting involved, he spent that time in his wolf form, so he could at least preserve some of his time in his human form.


    As the day was coming to an end, they were all tired, and since the next day was probably gonna be pretty eventful, they decided to get a good nights sleep. Thufrat picked one of the larger rooms for himself, whilst the rest of them decided to sleep in the great hall. This room was plenty big for all of them, and it wasn''t like they could sleep in a regular bed or anything. Ephine and Atar both fell asleep rather rapidly, whilst Ark laid awake for a while. The fire in the fireplace illuminated most of the dark empty hall, and Ark couldn''t help but look forward to the next day, it was a good chance to grow stronger after all.


    He soon fell asleep himself, and the next day quickly arrived. The morning sun was rather blinding as it landed on them through the large windows of the great hall. As usual, they woke up rather early in the morning, and they decided to not waste any time, since they had some stuff to do after all. It wasn''t like they could just enter the dungeon immediately, they had to register as adventurers first. Normal people weren''t allowed inside the dungeon, to avoid casualties.


    The adventurer''s guild was located quite close to the centre of the outer city, and it didn''t take longer than 5 minutes to walk there. To their dismay when they arrived, the adventurer''s guild was full of people, and the line to sign up as an adventurer was pretty long. There were at least 15 people ahead of them in the line. Fortunately, the process was pretty fast, and they only had to wait for about half an hour before they could sign up.


    After that was done, they only had to get to the dungeon, and proceed to level up and fight as much as they wanted. At the moment, they were the lowest rank of adventurers, rank F. Every increase in rank meant a quite significant jump in power, with the highest rank being rank S. But rank S was impossible for most people to achieve, so many people saw rank A as the highest rank. Though they could do missions to rank up, Ark couldn''t care less about his rank as an adventurer, as it didn''t bring him any sort of benefit at all to be a higher rank.


    The only benefit it gave him would be in the long run, but Ark didn''t have time to spare at the moment. With their registration out of the way, they quickly left the bustling city, and headed straight for the Moonlit Caves. Since they had almost used 50 minutes of their time in human forms, Ark, Ephine and Atar travelled to the Moonlit Caves in their wolf forms, whilst Thufrat used his horse. Since the dungeon was rather close, it only took them about 20 minutes to get there, but that was also because they travelled exceptionally fast.


    As they got closer to their destination, they decided to travel in human forms, as they encountered more and more humans on the way. To other humans, their party of 4 looked quite odd, as they only had one horse for some reason, and they had also brought a child. It wasn''t like a child couldn''t be an adventurer, but it was very unusual, as most parents would most definitely forbid it. Not only that, but the age restriction was also 13 years old, so most would just wait a few years until they were considered a.d.u.l.ts.


    Atar wasn''t actually 13 years old, but since he looked like he was, they just wrote down his age as 13 at the adventurer''s guild. As they arrived at the dungeon, almost everyone who was present glanced at them. Their party was pretty odd after all. Two young a.d.u.l.ts, who both looked very captivating, as well as a child and a dwarf. Most parties usually consisted of about 4 or 5 human a.d.u.l.ts, so they got a lot of attention. Unwanted attention.


    Ark didn''t appreciate the stares directed at them, especially not the ones that stared dumbfoundedly at Ephine. Thufrat felt a little embarrassed, as he didn''t expect something like this when they showed up, people would usually choose to look away from him when they saw him, so this was certainly a change of pace. Atar didn''t even notice the looks directed at him, he was just fascinated by his surroundings as usual.

 Chapter 184 - The Moonlit Caves

    The Moonlit Caves was a dungeon that was actually bit different compared to the other dungeons Ark had been to before. Unlike a dungeon with different levels, the Moonlit Caves was essentially a cave system, with each cave having different levels of difficulty. It wasn''t like you needed to beat a certain level to be able to advance to the next one or something. If you were strong enough, you could just go straight into the hardest cave without even looking back.


    But at the moment, there was no way for Ark and the rest of them to be able to beat the hardest cave. They were simply too low level. At the same time, that was also kind of the point, and half of the reason why they had chosen to stay in this city. They could make use of the lower-level caves to level up and then proceed to challenge the high-level caves. At the end of it all, Ark wasn''t sure which level he would reach, or maybe if he would even evolve, but either way, he was sure to get even stronger. That was his goal after all.


    After asking around for a bit, they were able to choose a cave that was suitable for their ability. The cave they had chosen had a large plaque next to it with the number 4, indicating the difficulty of the monsters inside. After they had asked around for a while, they had ascertained that the average level of the monsters in this cave was around level 130. It wasn''t like they had reached level 130 themselves, but with the powers they currently had, defeating someone that was level 130 wouldn''t be that difficult, especially not if they helped each other out.


    Since they were going into a cave that had a rather high difficulty with a child, plenty of people stepped forward to persuade them and warn them of the dangers inside. Since he didn''t want to be bothered, Ark made use of his mana to emit a stifling amount of pressure from his body, scaring away most people that were trying to warn them. These people weren''t stupid, this group of 4 was obviously strong, whether they went into the cave or not was none of their business. Since no one was bothering them anymore, they quickly went into the cave.


    There were some guards stationed outside each cave just in case, but they didn''t stop anyone from entering, they were only there to make sure that no monsters came out of the dungeon. The inside of the cave was damp and cold, and with no sources of light, it was incredibly dark as well. Ark could see well even if it was dark, but the same could not be said about Thufrat and the rest, so Ark conjured up a ball of blue flame, which not only took care of the darkness but also drove away the cold.


    Just like that, their exploration of the cave became much smoother. Normally, monsters would definitely approach them after seeing the bright flame in the darkness, but after gathering some information outside of the dungeon, Ark knew that wasn''t going to happen. This was a dungeon after all, and it was far from an ordinary cave system. Like most other dungeons, each level was different from the rest, and they all had their own peculiarities, if anything, the caves weren''t the actual dungeon!


    The cave they were currently in actually lead to a forest full of undead, whilst another cave might lead to a jungle full of exotic and venomous monsters. One of the caves actually leads to a large lake, where you had to venture underwater to fight monsters, naturally, almost no one chose to hunt monsters in that particular cave, since it would restrict their battle power severely. This forest was a nice place to explore for them with their current set of skills, as undead were usually weaker to magic compared to physical attacks, and their team was a bit skewed towards the magic power side of things.


    What caught their team of 4 a little off-guard though was the fact that they saw a large door in front of them after walking for a while. The surprise vanished as quickly as it appeared though, sure, no one had told them that there would be a door but were the people obliged to tell them every single little detail about the place? Of course not! The fact that there was a door here was probably common sense as well.


    After pressing on the door, Ark noticed that it didn''t budge, so he increased his strength greatly, close to his body''s limits without infusing it with mana. Since it still didn''t budge, he wasn''t going to keep pushing it like a dumbass, instead, he tried to infuse the door with mana, upon which an interesting scene appeared almost instantly. The pale blue mana streamed through his hand, and then entered the large door, lighting up multiple intricate mana circles as it passed them before the door suddenly opened.


    Ark guessed that this process was to keep ordinary people from entering the dungeon since they would only throw away their lives inside. What he didn''t know, was that these magic circles actually checked his strength, before allowing him entry. This was something a lot, but not all dungeons did. If he were to go to cave nr 10 with his current strength, he wouldn''t be let inside. The door would simply reject him. These doors with mana circles embedded in them were actually a sign of them being cleared and were left behind by strong people to keep other adventurers from throwing away their lives.


    The whole process was actually quite breathtaking to look at in the dark cave, and Ark would be lying if he said he wasn''t a little captivated by it. As he glanced at the rest of his party members, he could easily see the sparkle in Ephine''s eyes, which gave him a bit of an idea, maybe he could recreate something even better later? As the idea came to his mind, his mood almost immediately became a little better.


    Atar and Thufrat were as uninterested as ever, and were both just eager to start exploring the dungeon instead, what could possibly be interesting about a door? Since they all knew what lay beyond the door, they all raised their awareness to the max, before continuing forward. Even if they knew they could beat enemies that were over level 130, being careless would only lead to their deaths, and it wasn''t something they were willing to be.


    In front of them, a scene similar to something out of a scary movie could be seen. Endless black trees filled their vision as the black forest came into their vision. Dead trees without even a single leaf filled the entirety of the forest, with a thick mist clinging close to the ground. The mist didn''t obstruct their vision forward, but there was no way for them to tell where they were putting their feet.


    Eerie howls could be heard in the distance, and the faint of hearts would probably be shivering in their boots as they heard them...

 Chapter 185 - Forest of the Dead!

    Ark almost immediately took a step forward, as if to reassure Atar and Ephine that he was there to protect them in case something happened. They knew what they were getting into when they chose this level of the dungeon, but the forest was still unnerving when they were actually there in person, and not just listening to someone else''s description of it. Although it was very creepy and unnerving, they had been through a lot, and Atar didn''t really understand the concept of fear, so he was unaffected by the atmosphere.


    Since the Forest of the Dead was known for only having undead monsters lurking within, Ark was confident in his ability to deal with them. Most undead were known for their strong physical defence, while their magical resistance was slightly lacking in comparison. Since that was the case, the only person who would be restricted here was Atar, since he only relied on physical attacks. But just because they had great physical resistance didn''t mean they had immunity to physical attacks, if he hit them hard enough, Atar could still obliterate them in a single punch. Unfortunately for Atar, he didn''t possess that kind of strength yet.


    Whilst Atar was a bit restricted, Ark couldn''t be a worse opponent for the undead. With his devastating light magic, no undead would be able to escape from his attacks, since it was their inherent weakness after all. Not only did he have a perfect light magic affinity, but he also had a holy spear, as well as a special skill that could exponentially increase his raw power for a while. Although that was the case, he had no intention of being careless, as he still valued being alive after all. Underestimating an opponent is probably one of the easiest ways possible to lose your life, and Ark wasn''t stupid enough to do it.


    The forest of the dead was kind of notorious for not having many adventurers willing to venture inside of it, which made it perfect for Ark, Atar and Ephine as they could walk around in their wolf forms, allowing them to be in their best condition for as long as possible, whilst also saving the little time they had in their human forms. Since Ark was the strongest in the group, like he had always been, he walked first, with the rest close behind him.


    Even though it looked like they didn''t get along, they simply kept some distance, since Ark could simply blink away if he was in trouble, whilst they had no such skills. Ark wasn''t unhappy with the arrangement, since he had proposed it after all. The forest of the dead intrigued Ark greatly, especially after he had heard wolf howls just after they had entered, it was almost as if they knew that other wolves had arrived.


    He had tried numerous methods to disperse the thick fog that lingered on the ground, but nothing seemed to really work. If he used a lot of mana to summon wind, he could easily blow away the fog, but it wasn''t a viable solution at all, since it would drain him of mana before they would even be able to see the shadow of an opponent. The fact that he couldn''t disperse the fog easily only made him even more curious about the secrets this forest of the dead contained.


    Many had explored it before, but there was no way he could satisfy his curiosity by asking other people. He wanted to explore it for himself, and he was almost certain that no one knew the secrets behind the fog. When they had asked around about the fog, almost every single adventurer told them about the fog, but they also all said the same thing, that they didn''t need to worry about it, and that they didn''t know what it was, except for the fact that it wasn''t harmful.


    Ark didn''t care whether it was harmful right now, he only wanted to know what it was and how it worked, that was all. Before he could get too caught up in his own mind, the branches of a few trees in front of them snapped fiercely. Everyone except for Ark had been on high alert and wasn''t surprised by the sound, whilst Ark was visibly startled. He felt a little ashamed of himself, but his thoughts were interrupted again, but this time by a low growl.


    With a fierce gaze, Ark turned his head to see what creature had shown itself in front of them, and he was actually a little surprised. The creature in front of them was an undead monster in the form of a large bear. As he saw that his opponent was a large bear, Ark couldn''t help but reminiscence about the past. One of his first real opponents had been a bear as well. As he thought about it, Ark almost felt like laughing, he had been so weak back then, and naive too, he nearly winced a bit just thinking about it.


    The bear was a type of zombie, albeit a very fierce one, as bears are naturally way fiercer than normal humans too. The stench of the bear''s rotting body quickly assaulted their noses, and the closer it got, the more Ark wanted to kill it. Since the stench was quite unbearable, Ark decided to just get rid of it. The bear tried to roar, but due to its rotting vocal cords, the only sound they could hear was a gurgling sound.


    Seeing a rotting bear running at them whilst gurgling, Ark felt like laughing as he quickly conjured up a javelin of light, which he promply sent flying to nail the undead bear to the ground. The violent power of light contained in the spear quickly erupted in a flash of light, as the undead bear was vaporised. Light particles gently bobbed around where the bear had just died, creating quite a beautiful sight, even though what had just happened was far from beautiful.


    If anyone had seen this from a distance, Ark would''ve probably looked pretty scary considering how happy he looked even though he was fighting with another monster. In other''s eyes, that was what Ark was after all, merely a monster. Ark himself couldn''t care less whether he was a "monster" or not, as he was just himself either way. The only people he cared about was basically Atar, Ephine and Thufrat.


    Either way, he liked being around them, and they enjoyed being around him, so life was good. The more he thought about it, the more motivated he became, there was no way he was going to let someone snatch his happines away from him. If anyone tried to hurt those he cared about, he would show them just how much of a monster he truly was.


    What he had seen in that vision was truly shocking, and no matter what Ark did, it was always there, occupying the back of his mind. Even if he got rid of all his memories, he felt like that vision would still be there. If the vision proved to be real, he would do his utmost to thank whoeveror maybe even whatever bestowed it upon him.

 Chapter 186 - A nice day for levelling!

    As he was once again stuck deep in his own thoughts, a rather small voice interrupted his train of thought.


    "Papa, I smell humans nearby."


    As Atar''s words brought him back to reality, Ark could feel the presence of multiple adventurers heading their way. He felt a little sweet inside when he heard what Atar said, but he didn''t feel like interacting with others right now and ruining his mood. He had noticed that people had a tendency to ogle Ephine whenever they were close, which greatly disrupted his mood.


    Since that was the case, he started gathering large amounts of wind mana, before he released an earth-shattering howl. Infused with wind mana, the howl shook nearly the entire forest, even going so far as sending some trees that were close by tumbling down. The humans that were walking in their direction got one hell of surprise, as their eardrums nearly shattered from the inhuman sound. Although they had confidence in their own abilities, the howl quite frankly scared the hell out of them, so they swiftly turned tail and ran for their lives, they had never heard of a monster that could release such a roar in this dungeon, and they didn''t want to find out what it was.


    "You don''t think you could''ve told us you were gonna do that earlier or something?"


    Hearing Thufrat complain reminded Ark that he wasn''t alone, and he had completely forgotten to shield their eardrums before he howled. Because he was covering his ears, Thufrat spoke way louder than usual, and it sounded quite funny to Ark, as he wasn''t used to hearing Thufrat raise his voice.


    Since he wasn''t in his human form, he couldn''t exactly speak in a language Thufrat understood, but he tried to convey his worry through the use of telepathy. Thufrat seemed to understand Ark''s worries, and he answered almost instantly.


    "Nah I''m fine, just messing around with ya."


    Since Thufrat seemed to be fine, Ark turned to Atar and Ephine.


    "Are you guys ok?"


    "I''m fine, but you didn''t have to use such drastic measures to scare them away."


    Towards the end of her sentence, Ephine smiled a little, and Ark felt his heart skip a beat.


    "Hahaha I''ll be a bit more careful next time. How about you Atar? Are you feeling ok?"


    Hearing the question directed towards him, Atar tilted his head in confusion.


    "Why would I not be ok papa? Is something wrong?"


    Hearing his question, Ark felt relieved.


    "Guess you''re ok then, nothing''s wrong in that case."


    Since everyone was fine, they joked around a little more before they started walking around again, looking for their next opponents. Like this, they explored the forest of the dead for a few hours before they all started feeling hungry, and they decided to head back into the city again. Although they didn''t get much in the form of levels since they had only been in the dungeon for a few hours, it was still way more than they would''ve gotten from walking around aimlessly in some random forest.


    When they walked out of the dungeon, they saw a few familiar faces that they had seen before they entered the dungeon. Seeing this party of four come out of the dungeon completely unharmed, some people were actually pretty surprised. Although most people wouldn''t walk into a dungeon without confidence, it wasn''t often that you saw people walking out of a dungeon looking the exact same as they had looked when they walked into it.


    Most people would come out either dirty or covered in injuries, or perhaps even both. Since some of the adventures had given them information about the dungeon, and even helped them out, Ark naturally thanked them for their help, since it made their exploration more convenient and safe, which was something Ark valued greatly. Whilst he was in the middle of talking to a group of 3 adventures, he could feel someone tugging on his sleeve, and when he turned around, he was met with Atar''s pitiful look.


    Since Atar seemed very hungry, Ark could only apologise to the adventurers as they left for the city. To save as much time as possible, they travelled back to the city in their wolf forms once again. As they were back in the city, Ark was a little annoyed that they had already used over an hour in their human forms, but there was nothing he could do about it except sulk. Before they went to eat, they decided to go to the adventurer''s guild to sell their mana crystals for a reasonable price.


    They didn''t really care that much about the money right now, but it wouldn''t hurt to have more right? Since they had plenty of money to spare, and they felt like treating themselves, they decided to find a nice restaurant to eat at. Luckily for them, there were plenty of nice restaurants in Moonhill, and they soon found a nice establishment.


    Atar, like usual, only wanted meat, but under the persuasion of both him and Ephine, he also reluctantly ordered a nice salad. Although he was reluctant at first, he soon started liking the salad too and ate with his usual gusto. The atmosphere in the restaurant was excellent, and they enjoyed themselves to their hearts'' content for nearly half an hour before they paid the bill and left.


    Since they still wanted to have some fun, they waltzed around the nearby marketplace for a while and bought some necessities that they were running out of, as well as some snacks. After they were satisfied, they decided to travel back to the dungeon once more, as there was still plenty of time left in the day. The journey to the dungeon was quite uneventful, the only noteworthy thing that happened was that some adventurers nearly started fighting them, but it never actually happened.


    Compared to most people that were exploring dungeons, Ark''s party of four was incredibly relaxed, as if this excursion in the dungeon was just a normal picnic. There weren''t really monsters that could really threaten their lives in this dungeon, so they could take it easy, whilst still levelling up at a decent pace. They bumped into people a few times, but they usually tried to keep their distance, as none of them actually wanted to talk to strangers normally.


    Since they had brought snacks and food with them this time, they could essentially stay in the dungeon however long they wanted. Instead of returning to the city for a break, they just ate some snacks and rested inside the dungeon. It was hard to actually relax inside the dungeon, so at one point they rested outside the entrance for a while, before going back inside.


    As they went outside for another break later down the road, they noticed the setting sun in the distance.


    "You guys wanna call it a day for now?"


    "Yeah, today''s been pretty tiring!"


    Ephine nodded in affirmation, and Atar looked pretty drowsy, so they started heading home. Today had been pretty eventful, and besides having a nice time, Ark also gained a few levels. He didn''t add the points immediately though, he liked doing it when he had some peace and quiet after all.

 Chapter 187 - Petty Noble Creates Petty Trouble

    The journey home was a bit slower this time, as they were all pretty tired, but they still arrived after about half an hour of travelling. The atmosphere when they walked down the dimly lit streets of Moonhill was actually pretty nice, as the lights along the road provided a sense of comfort and warmth in the cold dark night. Ark was pretty drained of energy, and since they still had time left in their human forms, they decided to eat at a restaurant once more.


    Even though the allure of a homecooked meal in the evening was pretty strong, Ark didn''t feel like cooking right now. As they walked around town looking for a nice restaurant, they noticed a peculiar store that stood out from the rest. This particular restaurant was still brightly lit even though it was already dark outside, and the atmosphere looked pretty jovial from the outside. The name of the establishment was the Lighthouse, which was a pretty fitting name.


    Even though it was beginning to get late, the restaurant was still filled with people, which was a great sign. Since no one was against it, they decided to dine here for the night. The service was great and the food tasted good, the only problem was probably that it was a bit too noisy for Ark''s taste, but since everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, Ark didn''t really see it as a bad thing.


    After eating a large steak, Atar had regained a bunch of energy of his lost energy, and he was practically jumping up and down as they left the restaurant. When they had merely taken a single step outside the restaurant, Atar seemed to jump into something, and a large thud soon echoed throughout the silent street. Before Ark could even react, a row of vulgarities rattled his eardrums.


    "WHICH F.U.C.K.I.N.G BASTARD JUST PUSHED ME?"


    As stunned as he was, Ark instinctively stood in front of Atar, and used some wind mana to keep the man''s spit from landing on him. The man looked a little stunned to see Ark standing in front of him all of a sudden, but he soon kept on shouting vulgarities, as if he was trying to prove something by doing so.


    "I''m sorry for bumping into you, my eyes didn''t adjust to the darkness in time."


    Even though it was only an excuse, Ark still tried to be as polite as possible, since Atar was the one who had bumped into the man after all. Ark knew that Atar didn''t really understand that he should apologise for bumping into someone, so he just took the blame for now, he would teach Atar some manners when he had time later. Although he would normally help the man get up from the ground, Ark didn''t appreciate his temper, and just let the man get up by himself. Even a saint wouldn''t like it if you cursed at them.


    Seeing Ark''s handsome face smiling apologetically at him in the dark, the man became even angrier, envy is a scary emotion. Since the man stared at him ferociously, Ark had a pretty easy time seeing what he looked like. To be frank, he was quite ugly. His nose was flat, his lips were thin and devoid of colour, and his eyes looked sinister. And his short height was like a little cherry on top.


    The man was of noble lineage, and he was used to being above others. With his two guards by his side, he could basically do whatever he wanted, and his family would cover up his crimes for him. He wouldn''t usually do anything too drastic, but he liked humiliating commoners and having people looking up to him and flatter him endlessly.


    "Do you think some shitty apology is gonna sav-"


    Before he could even utter the entire sentence, he could feel a cold blade against his neck. Shifting his eyes, his sight fell on a beautiful sword resting against his neck, with a few drops of blood trickling down onto it. After spending enough time in this new world, he had grown tired of empty threats from nobles with no actual power. Anyone who threatened those he cared about was better off dead.


    "Honestly, I think my shitty apology should be good enough for someone like you right?"


    Ark''s cold gaze seemed to pierce straight into the man''s soul, and he felt a shiver run all the way through his body. With a shivering voice, he couldn''t even look Ark in the eye as he spoke.


    "D-Do you know who I am?"


    His guards had also reacted by then, and pulled out their own weapons, which were shining in different colours due to being coated with mana.


    "Who you are? I don''t think you understand the situation you''re in right now, do you know who I am? No? Then don''t try to threaten me with your paltry family name, unless you want me to kill you right now."


    The man, presumably a noble, gulped down his saliva, he had never encountered a situation such as this. People would always cower when he told them his family name, but this man in front of him didn''t even let him say his name. No matter how arrogant he was, in the face of death, he immediately swallowed his foul words, and stared at the ground nervously.


    Since he didn''t want the man to create unnecessary trouble for him, Ark decided to leave him with a threat. "I''m gonna let you live, but if I find out you or your family tries anything funny, you''re going to be the first person who dies, understood?"


    "U-Understood!"


    In the next second, a spark of electricity seemed to flash in front of him, and before he could react, Ark was gone. A faint sizzling mark appeared on both his guards'' necks, proving that Ark could''ve taken their lives and disappeared without them even knowing. To the noble''s surprise, not only was Ark gone, but his companions had disappeared into thin air too, as if the entire encounter just then was only an illusion.


    In reality, Ark had told them to leave earlier with his telepathy, and neither the noble nor his guards had the guts to take their eyes off Ark, so they could just walk away without being noticed. The reason Ark told them to do this was that he wanted to leave the noble with a bit of a psychological scar. If he ever saw them in the future, he would know that they could kill him and disappear in the blink of an eye, which would deter him from creating trouble. And who knows, maybe the noble could turn over a new leaf and learn to not create so much trouble for strangers?


    Even though Ark had already left, the noble and his guards just stood there for a while, dumbfounded. They had never been stunted like this before, it was as if they had run into a brick wall. Seeing someone playing with their lives as if they were merely ants left quite an impact on their narrow and short-sighted minds. After a while, the noble seemed to come back to his senses, and he immediately started shouting vulgarities at his guards...

 Chapter 188 - A powerup in the quiet night.

    Since it was already late, no one bothered each other as they all went directly to bed, the only one who was still awake in the large great hall was Ark. During the day, he had gained 5 levels! Sure, 5 levels wasn''t a crazy amount, but since it had just been an ordinary day of levelling, he could expect similar results in the future, and getting 5 levels a day seemed like a great deal to him. The number of levels he gained would naturally become less the stronger he got, but for now, this was a good amount to gain with just a day''s hard work.


    Since 5 levels gave him 25 stat points, and since he had 275 points of intelligence, Ark didn''t hesitate before making it an even 300. As soon as he did, the mana in his surroundings seemed to go completely haywire and started surging towards him as if it turned crazy. The violent and unending stream of mana quickly penetrated his body, permeating every single cell, and every inch of his body. A crazy amount of pressure started building as his surroundings quickly turned chaotic.


    There was no way Ephine and Atar could sleep under such crazy conditions, and they both woke up almost immediately. Seeing Ark being engulfed by mana, both of them immediately backed off, looking worried in the process. Even though they instinctively wanted to help him, they had no idea what was going on, so there was no way for them to do so. In reality, they didn''t even know if anything bad was happening to him. After a closer look, Ephine seemed to realise that she had been a bit too anxious since Ark seemed to be enjoying himself in the midst of the mana.


    Atar didn''t really figure it out quickly, but since his mom didn''t do anything, he didn''t want to do anything rash. Whilst they were both wondering what was going on, Ark was undergoing a baptism of mana, reforging his body into something completely different than before. He didn''t expect such a drastic change when he got 300 intelligence, but so far, the experience wasn''t too bad. The feeling in his body was unlike anything he had ever felt before, as his body''s structure changed on a molecular level.


    Every single part of his being was getting infused with tremendous amounts of mana. It felt as if he was mana, and mana was him. Before long, the raging mana in the surroundings was beginning to dry up and settle down, there wasn''t an infinite amount of mana there after all. Before he could revel in the feeling of his new body for long, a monotone voice abruptly interrupted him.


    [Due to hosts intelligence surpassing 300, host has gained the skill "Mana Erosion"]


    [Due to hosts deep affinity with mana, the skill "Body Refining Lv.9" has become the skill "Mana Body Lv.1"]


    Hearing the voice, Ark could figure out why his body had been seemingly reforged. The skill he had gotten from getting 300 intelligence was "Mana Erosion" whilst his body''s weird state must''ve been because of the new skill "Mana Body". Since it had been a while since he had last checked out his status page, and since there had been plenty of changes recently, he decided to check it out.


    Name: Ark


    Title: Overlord


    Condition: Normal


    Species: Overlord Elemental Wolf


    Level: 65 (110)


    Mp: 900/900


    Agility: 45 (75)


    Dexterity: 35 (75)


    Endurance: 30 (75)


    Vitality: 30 (75)


    Intelligence: 300


    Wisdom: 200


    Night Vision [Lv.4]


    Growth [Lv.Max]


    Inspect [Lv.5]


    Mana perception


    Mana recovery [Lv.4]


    Cellular Mana Infusion


    Herculean strength [Lv.3]


    Swift [Lv.3]


    Nimble [Lv.3]


    Stealth [Lv.4]


    Regenerate


    Enhanced Stamina


    Yin Yang body constitution


    Envoy of Holiness


    Holy Spear: Dawn


    Shapeshift [Lv.7]


    Spear Mastery [Intermediate Lv. 2]


    Sword Mastery [Beginner Lv. 6]


    Overlord of the Elements


    Mana Body [Lv.1]


    Wolf''s tongue [Inherent]


    Blink [Lv.6]


    Mana Erosion [Lv.1]


    Status points [0]


    Seeing the changes his new skill "Mana Body" brought him, Ark was amazed. Such a simple-sounding skill had actually boosted his body''s attributes by a tremendous amount. Compared to the 45 of the past, this new skill actually gave him an extra 75 of each physical attribute, and it would get even higher when he levelled the skill up. Before he checked anything else, Ark immediately used "Inspect" on the skill, to see what it really did.


    [Mana Body]


    The host has a body completely reforged with mana, infusing all of the host''s entire being with mana. Grants tremendous amounts of physical strength, as well as increased mana affinity. Also greatly increases mana regeneration.


    Seeing the lengthy description, Ark knew that he had struck gold this time. This skill was just way too powerful! Not only did it make him significantly stronger, it also enhanced his affinity to mana as well as his mana regeneration. Since the mana had also become an actual part of his body, he wouldn''t lose his physical strength buff if he ran out of mana, this buff was now permanent, as it was a part of his body after all.


    Even though it was really good, Ark could already feel the changes in his body by himself, what was more exciting to him was his new skill, "Mana Erosion".


    [Mana Erosion]


    The description was very short, but Ark could feel the potential of the skill just from that short description. If he could erode all things, wouldn''t he be able to erode others'' mana? Wouldn''t that allow him to destroy other peoples'' magic? Couldn''t he erode an opponents muscles or even their blood, killing them directly?


    At the thought of the dormant power in this simple skill, Ark was instantly over the moon. Depending on how it worked, this might very well be his strongest skill yet. Before he could get too excited, he heard a voice laced with worry cut the silence of the dark night.


    "Are you ok?"


    Hearing Ephine''s gentle tone, Ark calmed down a bit from his excitement, before he promptly responded. "I''m sorry about that, I''m fine, in fact, I''m even stronger than before!"


    Letting out a sigh, Ephine responded in a delighted voice.


    "I''m glad to hear that."


    With the whole ordeal out of the way, and the mana in their surroundings back in order, they all soon fell asleep, awaiting the next day.


    In the morning when they woke up, Ark was already excited, he really wanted to try out his new powers! He just wanted to test the limits of his newfound powers quickly, and hopefully they wouldn''t let him down! Thufrat had slept like a log the night before, and he didn''t wake up during all the disturbance, so he was a little perturbed by Arks excitement, he didn''t really understand what was going on.

 Chapter 189 - The power of Erosion!

    Before long, the table they used to eat their meals was filled with various dishes, some that Ark had prepared himself, and some that they had just bought from the market the day before. Without wasting too much time, they had a nice and fulfilling breakfast together, before they set out for the dungeon once more. Ark was anxious to try out his new powers, and everyone else was just excited to get stronger and get more experience, as well as money too!


    Atar just followed Ephine and Ark without thinking too much about it, whilst Thufrat was happy to spend time with his friends and earn money whilst he was at it too. Although they had plenty of time to do whatever they wanted, Ark still wanted to get their daily trip to the dungeon over with, and the could do whatever they wanted later in the day. In the future, he wanted this to be a habit since there wasn''t much you could do in the morning anyway.


    The journey to the dungeon was pretty dull, and there weren''t many adventurers outside the dungeon this early in the morning either. Since there was no one to stop them or talk to them, they all quickly entered the dungeon upon arriving. The sight of the magic circles on the door still marvelled Ephine, and Ark made another mental note to research a bit about it later. The sight of the forest of the dead was the same as the day before, eerie and creepy.


    The eerie howls of the forest''s residents would send chills down any normal person''s spine. But in Ark''s case, all he could feel was excitement. Today was the day he tried out his newfound powers after all. With his newfound affinity to mana, Ark felt closer to his surroundings than ever before, which also meant that it had become even easier for him to sense and find opponents. Because of the ease at which he could find opponents, Ark estimated that even without his new powers, he would still double the rate at which they levelled up!


    As they were walking around in the forest, Ark suddenly stopped.


    "Can you guys let me take care of this one? I want to try something out."


    Seeing nods of affirmation, Ark smirked. All of a sudden, a dark silhouette came sprinting at them from the underbrush. Seeing the decaying body of a fierce panther dashing straight for them, Ark acted quickly. With a confident smirk on his face, he looked at the panther, and lifted one of his front paws. The panther that was initially dashing towards them was now suddenly ripped off the ground, and thrust into the air.


    With the help of wind mana, Ark kept the panther suspended in mid-air, as he tried his new skill. With a mere thought, the mana in his body raged like waves, and the panther in the air could feel a shadow death looming over it. It didn''t think anything was wrong though, it was an undead after all, of course death and decay followed wherever it went.


    The mana in Ark''s body represented his pure power, and that power was currently invading the panther''s body. Unbeknownst to the panther, it was being destroyed from inside out, and fast at that. The mana crushed everything it passed, and soon the skeletal structure that supported the panther''s body was gone, and so was its life. He was a little surprised at the power of the new skill, but the functionality was more or less what he had predicted, the only difference was the power.


    Although the use of corrosion took longer than just killing the panther by cleaving it in two, it had other uses. First off, it was much harder to trace, you could essentially kill someone by looking at them. If they were strong, they could just use their own mana to fight it off, but if his opponent was weak, or just didn''t think straight, this would be an easy way to kill someone.


    Another use that he thought of was something he was about to test, he just needed another subject to test it on. The body of the panther had no real use, as basically every part of it was ruined, but the mana core could still be salvaged for some money. Since that was the case, they left after taking it, leaving the body there to rot, or well, it was already rotten, but still.


    As they were walking around the forest, Ark was in a great mood, he had more or less already established how useful his ability was, he just needed to test it a bit more to find out where its real strength lies. Not only that, but his telepathy had also been steadily levelling up, and he could now essentially communicate with his mind, which he had done earlier successfully.


    After walking around for a bit, Ark soon found another presence in the dark forest. Since that was the case, he could finally test out his second theory, which would determine how useful this ability really was. He already had an inkling, but he couldn''t be 100% sure unless he actually tried it out. Without further ado, he walked straight for the presence, even speeding up his pace a bit.


    Before the presence, which turned out to be a bipedal creature could sense them, Ark used his skill once more. This time though, he used his mana to invade the creature''s brain. The brain was enveloped in the creatures own mana, but Ark simply eroded the mana before he proceeded to take out the creature''s brain in one fell swoop. The creature he had attacked was an evolved variant of a skeleton warrior.


    Although it wasn''t very smart, it still had a brain, and some degree of intelligence, meaning it relied on its brain to work properly. Although it noticed what was happening, it was already too late at that point, and it soon collapsed on the ground, dead. Ark was feeling more and more impressed by this new ability of his. Since he could pretty easily erode other''s mana, he could just destroy other people''s magic before it could even threaten him.


    "Atar, what''s wrong?" He asked, a bit apprehensive, did something happen that he wasn''t aware of?


    "Papa, why are you the only one who gets to have fun, I want to fight too!"


    Ark was simply speechless, was that why he was sulking? He wanted to fight too?


    With a chuckle, Ark ruffled his hair lightly.


    "Of course you can have fun you brat, I just needed to test something, how about this, the next monster''s yours?"


    "Really?"


    "Do you think I would lie to you?"


    "Hmmm, maybe?"


    At this point, Thufrat couldn''t help but burst into laughter.


    "This kid..."

 Chapter 190 - Splitting up.

    Before Ark could even say anything, Ephine spoke up.


    "Maybe we should split up, to increase our efficiency a little."


    Hearing Ephine''s suggestion, Ark was a little hesitant. Even though he knew that they were all strong, he didn''t want to leave them. If they split up, he wouldn''t be able to protect them if something unexpected happened. If the commotion was big enough, he would probably notice, but what if it was too late at that point? Even though he was worried for them, he respected her opinion, and he knew that it was most definitely the smartest move if they wanted to increase their strength rapidly.


    "I guess that''s probably for the better, but if we''re going to split up, then someone definitely has to go with Atar, in case he runs into something unexpected, or humans for that matter, a kid can''t just run around in a dungeon alone, especially not since he doesn''t know how to interact with others."


    "I''ll go with him, he won''t leave my sight!"


    Thufrat quickly volunteered himself to go with him. Amongst everyone here, he was probably the most used to interacting with others. Even though Ephine was way better than Atar at interacting with others, she tended to act coldly towards people she didn''t know, and she didn''t really speak much either, it was still a little foreign to her after all. Thufrat also found the little kid quite amusing, and because of his great strength, he wouldn''t be dead weight or anything like that.


    Since that was settled, they all decided to split up immediately, and go their own ways. Even though he was worried, Ark was also excited. He felt like a caged beast that was just about to be released. And that wasn''t too far from the truth either. Even though all four of them were really strong, Ark was ultimately held back by them. Not necessarily because of their strength, but more so by the way they "hunted" their enemies.


    If he was by himself he could take it more seriously and didn''t need to walk around at a reasonable pace. He could just go all-out, sprinting around looking for prey, he could be as reckless as he wanted without having to worry about others. With his newfound physical strength, he didn''t even need to use cellular mana infusion to keep his old speed. But if he used it now, his speed would grow to a new level!


    With that in mind, Ark infused himself with mana and started sprinting throughout the forest. The wind whistled as he passed, and it didn''t take him long at all before he found his first victim. Since he wanted to go for efficiency now that they had split up, Ark didn''t use his mana erosion, instead, he merely used magic to conjure up a large blade of light, that cleaved his foe in half. The undead could barely react before it died, and Ark only picked up the mana crystal before he disappeared into the forest again.


    Like this, he ran around the forest of the dead like a reaper of the undead, instead of a reaper with a dark scythe, he was more like a reaper with a scythe of light, although in reality, he didn''t use a scythe of course. Because of his affinity to light mana, Ark could easily get rid of hordes of undead, not to mention them being spread out like this. Even though their individual levels were higher than his, it didn''t really matter. He was a perfect counter to undead after all. His stats were also way higher than others his level, not to mention his plethora of strong skills.


    After killing for a few hours without stopping, Ark ran into an undead that was on another level. The undead had mutated from one of the many undead bears roaming about, and its level was naturally higher than its peers. Unfortunately for the bear, its domination over its peers didn''t matter when he brought out his holy spear, nearly instantly taking the bears pitiful life. Due to the relative ease at which he could kill his opponents, Ark quickly got bored.


    Although the dungeon was nice due to its safety, Ark wanted an exciting battle! Even though most exciting battles were exciting because of their danger, Ark just wanted a change of pace. As he thought about it, he silently cursed at himself in his mind. It had only been a single day, and he was already bored? This was going to be their daily routine for a while going forward, if he was already bored after a day, then how would he feel after a week?


    Putting his useless thoughts in the back of his head, Ark picked up the mana crystal and put it in his spatial bag. Since they had already been here for hours, it was probably time for them to take a break, and get something to eat. Going back to the city would waste plenty of time in their human forms, so Ark resolved himself to cook for them today. He wasn''t planning to spend his entire life inside of a dungeon, so after eating, they could probably go back in for another hour or two, before returning to the city.


    The only thing remaining to do was finding everyone else...


    In hindsight, he should''ve probably set a place and time for them to meet, but oh well, he would remember to do it in the future. Luckily for Ark, his senses were superb, and he could use his sense of smell enhanced with mana to locate them in the large forest fairly easily. Since her smell was the closest to him, Ark decided to rendezvous with Ephine first, before finding Atar and Thufrat.


    After running for a while, Ark found Ephine in the midst of battling a rather large undead. The undead was covered from head to toe in dark-grey steel armour, and he was crazily swinging around a large broadsword, trying to deflect a rain of magic arrows of different colours. The arrows all contained different elements, and crazily sought to destroy their target, which they did shortly.


    The sword that the large undead wielded seemed to have some anti-magic properties, as all the magic he hit with it dissipated in the air. A sword that could cut magic sounded like a dream for any knight, but unfortunately for the undead knight, there was no way it could swing the large sword fast enough to deflect all the arrows.


    Since she could take care of it pretty easily on her own, Ark didn''t interfere, and just watched from the sidelines. After she had defeated the undead, she turned to him and smiled. Seeing her smile always made Ark happy, and since they hadn''t seen each other for a few hours, they chatted for a bit before they left to find Thufrat and Atar. To his surprise, Ark noticed that Atar and Thufrat were already moving in their direction, they were probably looking for them as well.


    When they all met up again, Atar was excitedly talking to Thufrat about something. Ark was a little surprised, Atar usually didn''t really speak that much. It was a new sight for him.


    "What''re you guys talking about?"


    He couldn''t help but be interested, what exactly happened?


    "Dad, you should''ve seen, uncle Thufrat was this strong!"


    As he talked, he tried to gesture with his hands, but it kind of looked like an old man trying to show off to his friends about how big of a fish he had once caught...

 Chapter 191 - Magic is lame?

    Seeing how fascinated Atar was by Thufrat''s strength, Ark couldn''t help but ponder, should he invest some more points in his strength? As he was pondering, Atar was still in the midst of describing how strong Thufrat was.


    "He traded punches with a giant undead multiple times without even flinching!"


    "Not only that, but he didn''t even use his magic once, but the undead still had no chance!"


    As he kept rambling about how cool uncle Thufrat was, Ephine interjected.


    "Wouldn''t it look cooler if he used some magic too?"


    "Of course not, magic is so lame!" He quickly rejected the idea.


    Both Ark and Ephine felt a little embarrassed when they heard Atar call their fighting style "lame". Considering how both of them were very adept in the use of magic, it felt a little odd hearing Atar call it lame, but he was only a kid after all, they just said things without considering other people''s feelings sometimes. Since Atar seemed disillusioned about magic, Ark made up his mind to show him how cool it was one day.


    With the conversation lingering in the back of their heads, they made their way outside of the dungeon. Ark had already prepared everything he needed inside of his spatial bag, and after a fairly quick meal with some enjoyable conversations, they reentered the dungeon. This time, they didn''t stay for longer than 2 hours before they regrouped again. Compared to the day before, Ark had still gotten plenty of levels, in fact, he had gotten 5 of them today too!


    Although that was the case, he wasn''t going to add the points until they had gotten back to the house. He wanted to have a clear mind when he did it, unaffected by others. The journey back to the city was as uneventful as usual, but for today, Ark actually had some plans! The others just wanted to have a look around town to see if they could find anything fun to do, but Ark was going to visit the library.


    Although Ephine was also interested in getting more knowledge about humans, she didn''t feel like going there today, she''d rather just walk around with Atar and Thufrat. Ark didn''t blame her, they had worked hard today, and she probably didn''t feel like doing anything more tedious. Studying about humans and their lives was probably something you didn''t want to do after working hard for an entire morning. Personally he just wanted to find something rather specific.


    "Well, you guys go and have some fun, I shouldn''t take too long."


    After splitting up, Ark asked a random pedestrian where he could find the library, and after getting a pretty... rough description, he set off. With some guidance from kind souls along the street, reaching the library wasn''t too difficult. The building was a majestic sight compared to the rest of the street, and it only excited Ark more when he saw it.


    Before he could enter the library, he needed to pay a fee of a silver coin. The reasoning behind the fee was pretty reasonable to Ark, knowledge was power. To commoners, paying a silver coin to read some books wasn''t very attractive, but to someone like Ark, there was nothing he needed more. In general, he needed more knowledge of this world since it seemed to have become his home after all. Not only that, but there were also some things which he really wanted to know, and the only place he could easily find them was here.


    Before he could enter, he read through the rules, he couldn''t just walk in without knowing what was allowed. To his delight, the rules were pretty standard, and there weren''t many restrictions. As long as he was quiet and respectful, he could read essentially whatever he wanted. Naturally, he wasn''t allowed to steal any books, and this wasn''t like a library in his old world, where you could borrow books either.


    After getting a good grasp of the rules, he entered the ancient-looking building and started browsing the shelves. The library was divided into different sections depending on what you wanted to read, and Ark could pretty easily find the magic section. Contrary to his expectations, there weren''t a lot of books pertaining to magic. Quite the opposite actually, the books on magic were far and few in between.


    As he noticed this, his hopes he had when he walked into this library were beginning to sway a little, would he need to leave here empty-handed, without finding what he was looking for? The more he looked around, the more annoyed he was getting until one book finally caught his eye. The book looked fairly old, and it was standing in a pretty inconspicuous corner of the library, but as soon as he read the text on the cover, Ark felt like he had hit the jackpot!


    [A beginner''s guide to magic circles]


    The text was simple, and it looked pretty unassuming, but Ark was very happy when he found it. His sole purpose of going to the library was to find out more about magic circles. What they could do, and how he could construct one himself. This book was like the light at the end of the tunnel, or a saviour of sorts. If he didn''t find the book here, he would have to go scouring elsewhere to find something similar.


    Since there were plenty of seats around, Ark quickly found himself a place to sit down and started indulging himself in the contents of the book. Although the cover made the book seem ordinary, its contents were anything but simple. As Ark got deeper and deeper into the theory behind creating magic circles, he lost track of time, and soon, an entire hour had passed. Realising how he had somehow been reading the same book for an entire hour, Ark had to give respect to the author of the book, its contents were simply captivating after all.


    Although he had taken his sweet time, Ark had found what he came for, and he now had a decent understanding of magic circles. All he needed to do now was try and experiment with creating different magic circles of his own. If he could create powerful magic circles, and inscribe them on parchment, he would be able to create magic scrolls, which could get him an easy source of income. The price of magic scrolls was pretty steep since not many could create them. Even though many understood the theory behind it, they couldn''t control their mana well enough to actually do it.


    Ark''s control over mana was exceptional, and he believed that with enough hard work, creating magic scrolls and magic circles of his own would be inevitable. Since he had already learned what he came for, Ark decided to leave the library. Even though he wanted to read some other books too, his time was limited, and he wanted to spend some time with the others too.

 Chapter 192 - A nice day for doing nothing.

    Since he couldn''t be bothered to go looking for the others in the middle of the town, Ark decided to return back to the house, and wait for them there. They were bound to go back there at some point, and whilst he waited, he could practice a bit on his magic circles. Although that was his original plan, he was surprised to notice that everyone was already back at the house when he arrived.


    "Why is everyone back already, did something happen?" He asked as soon as he was back.


    "We''re just tired, so we decided to rest for a while."


    "Oh, let me get you some snacks then."


    Since they were all tired, and had nothing better to do, they had all gathered in the great hall. Although there wasn''t much to actually do, with some good snacks and some company, they still had a pleasant time. Although it was nice to just talk, Ark had bought a card game at the market earlier, and they all tried it out together. Although the card game was a bit slow at first, the pace started to pick up after they had been playing for a while.


    Even Atar, who usually wasn''t interested, played the game with interest. The game was mostly based on chance, so there wasn''t much of an advantage to being smart, otherwise the game probably wouldn''t be that fun, since Ark and Ephine would just dominate the game. Although Ark didn''t really see himself as smart, he was great at calculations, and he had always had great grades in school. Of course, the grading system in school didn''t take everything into account.


    Ark knew that he was lacking in several areas when it came to intelligence, but he was still smarter than most. Both Atar and Thufrat were honest and pretty simple-minded, that didn''t necessarily mean they were dumb or anything, but they were bad at lying and scheming as it wasn''t in their nature to do so. The game went on for a while, and with no clear winner being declared any time soon, they decided to take a break.


    In this world, there wasn''t much in the form of entertainment, but luckily, Ark had great company. Even though he had been here for a while, and felt like he was a part of this world now, it still felt foreign to him. Even though he wasn''t obsessed with the internet or anything in his past life, it was still kind of hard to live without when you were used to having it. Even though he didn''t have internet, he currently had something that he never had in his last life, a family.


    Could they really be called a family? In Ark''s mind, yes. He couldn''t be completely sure, as he never had a family before, but he liked to imagine that this was how it was like to have one. As Ark was pondering, he soon noticed that both Thufrat and Atar had fallen asleep in a matter of minutes whilst he was looking away. Just from this, it was obvious that hunting in the dungeon was tiring for them, and he let them sleep.


    Whilst they were sleeping, he could start practising his magic circles, and who knows, maybe he would be able to use them soon? Ephine noticed that Ark had begun training his mana manipulation, and she decided to do the same. Her instincts told her that she needed to be stronger, and she had noticed that Ark was anxiously seeking strength, as for the reason? She had no idea, but that only made her even more eager, as he seemed to be hiding something from them.


    She knew that Ark cared for them, and she really appreciated him, but his anxiousness made her anxious too. Ark had no idea that Ephine had noticed something out of order, but even if he did, he wouldn''t tell her what it was about, he wasn''t sure himself after all. Why was he so anxiously seeking strength? The real reason was fear, the fear of losing what he cared about. This fear stemmed from a vision he had seen a while ago, and he had no way of knowing if this was a vision of the future, or just a hallucination.


    What he did know, however, was that the enemy in the vision was an angel of some sort, and just a while ago, he had faced off against a fallen angel... maybe these angels were related? Ark couldn''t help but doubt, which had only made his fear grow stronger for each day that passed. He might be strong, he might have immense potential, but in the end, he was still scared of death. Maybe not his own death as much as others, since he had already experienced it once after all. Having said that, he was still scared of dying. Compared to his old life, there was a lot more at stake if he died during this life, since he would lose all that he cared for if he did, whilst there was nothing he really cared for in his old life.


    Currently, Ark was busying himself with magic circles. He really wanted to try creating one, but before he could do that, he needed to practice his mana manipulation. Although his raw mana manipulation was really good, and he could basically manipulate it however he wanted to, he needed to manipulate it in a certain way, a certain pattern so to speak, if he wanted it to work. After trying it out multiple times in his head, Ark decided to actually try it once.


    The construction of a glowing green magic circle. Complex lines and formations started forming in the air in front of him as he slowly built his magic circle. Although the magic contained within the circle would be as elementary as it could possibly get, the magic circle was still hard to make, and it looked complicated just hovering quietly in the air. When the magic circle was in the midst of forming, it suddenly started trembling, before it eventually dissolved into the air.


    Ark was a little disappointed, but he expected this result, so he quickly got over it, before he slowly started forming another magic circle. The magic circle he was in the midst of making was introduced in the book he had read in the library. Even though it was introduced as a very rudimentary and basic magic circle, it was also explained as very hard to get the grasp of, since magic circles were very complex in nature.


    With his recent failure stuck in his mind, Ark made sure to not make the same mistake again. After a while, the mesmerising green magic circle once again dissolved into the air, and Ark sighed. He was sure he didn''t make the same mistake this time, but because he was so focused on his last mistake, he made a new one instead...


    Like this, the scene of a rather large wolf staring into space whilst a green magic circle kept forming and dissolving in front of its face stood out in the large great hall.

 Chapter 193 - A week goes by in the blink of an eye.

    In the middle of a pitch-black forest, a young man was standing opposite a fierce undead. The undead was a creature that had long surpassed level 100, a skeleton paragon. A skeleton paragon was a rather advanced form of evolved skeletons, but this one had evolved quite recently. The young man didn''t seem to be scared at all facing such an adversary, instead, he looked as if he didn''t care at all.


    With his sharp eyes still inspecting the skeleton paragon in front of him, he fished out a scroll from the spatial bag adorning his waist. As he unfurled the scroll, a magic circle immediately lit up the surroundings. The skeleton paragon seemed to finally react to what was going on, but it was already too late! The magic circle had already acc.u.mulated all of its power, all it needed to do was release, which was what the young man had just done. A wind arrow sped out quickly from the magic circle, before finally hitting the skeleton paragon!


    The skeleton paragon had put up its shield in front of its face, seemingly waiting for a strong impact, but nothing happened. Surprised, the skeleton paragon lowered its shield, only to realise that the wind arrow had already hit, it just dissolved into the wind. Contrary to the skeleton paragon''s belief, the young man had never expected this wind arrow to do anything, this was simply just one of his experiments.


    Ark let out a sigh, he really didn''t expect this wind arrow to do much, but this result was still a little too pitiful. He had been training for an entire week, yet the result of his training was that he had not only obtained the skill [Magic Circle] but he had also levelled it to level 2. The only problem was the power of the skill, it was way too weak! Even though that was the case, Ark didn''t give up on the skill, since he wasn''t going to use it to get stronger or win battles either way. The skill was mostly meant for utility, and he intended to let it stay that way.


    When the skill had levelled up a few more levels, Ark could start selling his magic scrolls for a decent amount of money, and he would also be able to use his magic circles for his own convenience, which was definitely worth it in his eyes. Even though he still levelled up regularly, his levelling speed had dropped pretty drastically in the past week. Maybe it was because he had been experimenting with his different skills a bit too much, but he had only levelled up a total of 10 times this week.


    To others, this would be a very startling amount, but to Ark, it could only be described as normal. It was not bad, but also not very good. Since he had gotten 50 status points, he had invested 25 each into wisdom and intelligence, since they were both his main stats. He had also levelled his [Mana Erosion] to level 3 during all these experiments, and its power had gone up a little as a result.


    Whilst Ark was in the middle of pondering about his experiments and the pitiful power of the magic scroll, the paragon skeleton was enraged. Through its numerous evolutions, it had gained some intelligence, and it had never been made fun of like this before. All of its opponents had always looked at it with fear, and staked everything to fight it, only to end up dead, but right now, Ark was ignoring it. It was attacked by the most elementary magic existing, and was then ignored, how could it not be enraged?


    Full of anger, the paragon skeleton raised its shiny sword, and rushed to attack Ark. Before it could even react, Ark had already retrieved a sword from his spatial bag, and slashed out. The two swords collided with each other, but the situation was very different from how the skeleton had imagined it. It had expected itself to overpower Ark and send him flying, but instead, the sword it had raised up high was sliced into two parts.


    The skeleton had once had a very fierce fight with an adventurer before it could finally get this sword, it was like a trophy. But against the pure white sword in Ark''s hand, it was basically like a stick of butter. The shock was enough to make the skeleton stand still without doing anything for a split-second. This split-second was enough time for Ark to slash out once more, and the proud and strong skeleton paragon was slashed in two.


    Ark wasn''t really surprised with the result, except for the sharpness of his sword. Although he knew the sword was great, he had never expected it to be to this extent. This sword had been the gift of a random human some time ago, and he had never used it to this day, since it was a bit too conspicuous. A pure white sword adorned with jewels, no matter how you looked at it, it was the sword of a nobleman.


    He still didn''t quite grasp why a random man he had saved would give him a sword, since he was a wolf at the time, but either way, he liked it. The sword was beautiful, sharp and just comfortable to use. Whilst he was contemplating about the sword, he heard a shriek in the distance. Hearing a random shriek in this dark and creepy forest, Ark could feel a shiver run down his spine.


    Although the shriek was pretty ominous, Ark didn''t exactly wait around, and dashed out into the distance. Although he didn''t want to be too involved with others, he would definitely save people if he had the chance to do so. Just because he saved others didn''t mean he put his trust in them though, as the human heart was fickle, but he saved them nonetheless. This was just something that he couldn''t change.


    He had experienced plenty of pain and even torture, but he just couldn''t sit still when there were people he could save. He naturally wouldn''t risk those he cared about or even his own wellbeing, but if it didn''t cost him anything, then why not? He didn''t have the time to dwell on stuff like that though, as he vanished into the dark forest.


    The reason for the shriek was that one of the girls was currently impaled with an arrow, and could only sit down on the ground, watching as her companions were fighting for their lives. Fortunately for them, in the midst of their despair, a great change occurred in the battle. The sky, that had originally been grey and dull, was suddenly obstructed with a large cloud of mana.

 Chapter 194 - A damsel... no longer in distress.

    Before anyone could really react, the large cloud of mana started forming numerous lights, which soon descended on the undead. The lights were actually magic arrows of different elements, all seeking to destroy the undead in one fell swoop. Seeing the hundreds of arrows falling down from the skies, the three adventurers were a bit dumbfounded. What was going on? Although they could guess that another adventurer was helping them, they had no idea who, or why.


    "I''m not dreaming right?" One of the girls couldn''t help but ask, and reached out to pinch the man in the party.


    "Ow, don''t pinch me, if you''re gonna pinch someone then pinch yourself man."


    The girl that was injured on the ground quickly looked around, trying to see if she could spot anyone around. With no one else in sight, the girl was a bit confused, did they not want to show themselves? As she was looking around, the numerous magic arrows landed on the undead that had encircled them one after the other. A single magic arrow didn''t do much harm, but hundreds of them? That was an entirely different story altogether.


    The scene looked like absolute carnage, almost as if a mad god had descended to smite down these undead. Although most of the undead had no chance to survive such an attack, there was still one undead that made it through. Although a single undead was basically nothing to three adventurers, this one was a little different. The undead standing right in front of them was a Dullahan.


    With a broadsword in one hand and his head in the other, the dullahan clad in black armour looked at the three adventurers menacingly. This undead was a little too much for them to currently handle, even though there were two of them that could still fight. The dullahan didn''t want to waste any time, and almost immediately brought up its broadsword. Before the sword was brought down, a streak of light shot out straight for the dullahan''s head.


    Since its biggest weakness was being targeted, the dullahan quickly turned around and tried to deflect the attack with the broadsword. Although the streak of light hit the broadsword, the dullahan was taken aback by the force of the attack and was sent flying through the air. In the distance, the three adventurers could see a young woman standing silently with a white bow in her hands.


    She just stood there quietly, watching the dullahan flying through the air, as if it was completely unrelated to her. To the three adventurers, she looked like an ethereal fairy that had descended to save their lives. Ephine didn''t look at them, she just silently drew the bowstring again before almost immediately releasing it. A green light streaked out, once more heading for the dullahan''s head.


    Before the arrow could arrive at the dullahan''s location, Ephine had already released another 5 arrows, and it seemed like she had no plans on stopping as she kept drawing the bowstring and then quickly releasing it. Whilst she was calm and collected, the same could not be said for the dullahan. Currently, it had to all it could just to deflect all these arrows that were flying at it, and it wasn''t going too well.


    It could deflect most of them, but it was still repeatedly hit by the magic arrows in different places, slowly but surely wearing it out. Two of the magic arrows even hit the dullahan in the kneecaps, immobilising the creature completely, not it could just deflect, without trying to run or dodge at all. Ephine seemed to have predicted this, as she was currently charging up a massive amount of mana on her bowstring. Unlike the other arrows, this one wasn''t released quickly, and the purpose wasn''t to be fast, but incredibly powerful.


    The arrow''s only purpose was to be destructive, and which element was more suitable than the fire element for such a task? The flaming arrow was released, and the three adventurers looked on in awe as it made its way toward the dullahan. The dullahan himself was feeling miserable, as he could only watch on as a giant mass of flames was heading his way, intent on wiping him out. Although it couldn''t move, that didn''t mean there was nothing it could do, as it used one of its only and most powerful skills.


    Swinging the broadsword, space seemed to tear as purple mana undulated from it. The clash between the two moves was a bit peculiar, as the sound of the blast seemed to disappear into the void. Although it was severely injured, the dullahan managed to barely survive the situation. As it was still happy about surviving, it didn''t notice that another arrow had already arrived, landing right between the dullahan''s eyebrows. Because the arrow was of the wind element, the dullahan couldn''t react in time and died just like that.


    Since she had killed the enemy and saved the adventurers, Ephine got ready to quietly leave, but she couldn''t help noticing that one of them was injured. Even though she was no saint, healing an injury didn''t take much effort or mana, and she couldn''t just leave her like that on the ground. As she was approaching them, she suddenly jerked her head, and looked into the distance. Seeing this, the three adventurers naturally did the same.


    With a flash of light, a young man appeared seemingly out of nowhere, looking around the scene. Although they didn''t know what was going on, the three adventurers put up their guards, in case this young man was hostile. Meanwhile, Ark was just quietly looking around the scene curiously. Seeing the carnage, the three scared adventurers, as well as the looming cloud of mana in the sky, Ark could naturally figure out what happened here.


    With a blink, he suddenly disappeared, only to reappear right in front of the adventurers. Seeing them scared for their lives and on their guard, Ark started laughing. This naturally confused them, but they didn''t dare relax. Even if they thought that this young man didn''t have bad intentions, they were still on their guard. Ark thought their reaction was a little funny, but he didn''t think much of it.


    "Hahaha, relax, if I wanted to kill you, you wouldn''t even be able to react."


    Hearing this, the three adventurers were stunned. Was this supposed to calm them down? He just admitted he could easily kill them, how would they be able to calm down now? Even if his words made sense, they were still scared of him. Since they didn''t calm down or lower their guard, Ark just ignored them and approached Ephine instead.


    "Seems like I''ve made a fool of myself this time, you ok?"


    "Of course I am, you should be asking the people behind you instead."


    When the adventurers saw that the two of them knew each other, they could finally relax a little. This woman was their saviour, and since she knew this man, he wouldn''t hurt them, at least that''s what they thought. Ark could easily see that one of the girls was injured quite gravely, but he didn''t think too much of it.


    "Well, you heard her, want some help?"

 Chapter 195 - Saving someones life takes less effort than drinking water?

    Faced with such a nonchalant question, the adventurers hesitated. If they tried to leave the dungeon with the girl in her current state, surviving would be hard, but there would still be a chance. However, if they trusted this man in front of them, maybe she could live, but who knows what might happen. Although the beautiful woman had saved them earlier, they couldn''t trust her. Why would these two people be so inclined to help them? Was it out of the kindness of their hearts, or was there something more to this?


    To believe they were saved out of kindness would be naive, and even if that could be the case, they would never assume that to be the truth. Ark could discern that they didn''t trust him pretty easily, and since that was the case, he decided to just do it whether they wanted him to do so or not. Saving someone ungrateful or hateful was one thing, but these people were just cautious, he would behave more or less the same way they did if he was in their situation.


    Either way, Ark didn''t have the time to just stand here and try to convince them that he wasn''t bad guy that wanted to harm them or anything since that would probably make him seem even more sketchy. As they were looking warily at him, Ark suddenly released an enormous amount of mana. To the adventurers, the pressure was pretty immense, and they instantly realised that he was speaking the truth earlier, he really could''ve killed them as easily as killing a few chickens. The question now was, was he really going to kill them? Did they annoy him with their excessive cautiousness?


    As they were in the midst of pondering and borderline despair, gentle holy light started to emanate from Ark''s body, before making its way towards the three adventurers. As they were bathed in the holy light, all of their small injuries instantly disappeared, and their pain along with them. Dumbfounded, they just watched as the arrow that was stuck inside one of the adventurers dissolved into nothing, before the wound was closed almost immediately.


    Seeing the three dumbfounded adventurers, Ephine was feeling a little smug. To be frank, she had been a little annoyed when they were doubting Ark earlier, so seeing them being dumbfounded and a bit embarrassed made her mood a bit better. As for why she felt smug, she didn''t really know the reason either.


    As they were all thinking about god knows what, Ark reeled his mana back in, and his imposing bearing returned to that of a normal young man. Although they were dumbfounded, they were not ungrateful or anything, just surprised. The older of the two girls hastily stood up after checking her younger sister''s injuries to express her gratitude.


    "Uhm, thank you for saving us just now, and sorry if we didn''t trust you or anything like that, it''s just-"


    "Don''t worry about it, I understand." Ark didn''t feel like listening to their reasoning, so he cut her off before she could even start explaining, he wasn''t bothered by it.


    Seeing his dismissive attitude, the girl felt a little at ease. Even though his behaviour might be a little cold, it would be weird if it wasn''t. Luckily he wasn''t mad at least, that was all that mattered right now. At this point, the other two adventurers had regained their bearings as well, but they were both a little fidgety. Unsure of what to do, the older sister just decided to introduce them.


    "My name''s Lillia, and that''s my little sister Lily, thank you so much for saving us! Oh, and that''s our friend Kanan."


    "Thank you!" At this point, both Kanan and Lily spoke up at the same time. Seeing them introduce themselves so eagerly, Ephine took a step forward.


    "You don''t have to thank us, we just had nothing better to do, and my name is Ephine."


    Ark was a little surprised, he was usually the one who introduced Ephine, but this time she did it on her own initiative. As he was concentrating a bit on her gentle smile, he suddenly noticed that everyone was looking at him. After a second of confusion, he suddenly realised why everyone was watching him, and he just quickly blurted out his name.


    "Ark."


    After he just stated his name without any further introduction or anything, the atmosphere quickly became awkward. Ark wanted to just leave, since they had already been in the dungeon for long enough today, but he felt like it would be awkward if he just said that all of a sudden. As he was thinking about an eloquent way to say it, both he and Ephine seemed to sense something at the same time.


    "Seems like Atar and Thufrat are getting bored." Ephine suddenly said.


    "Yeah I guess it''s time to leave." Ark agreed with her.


    To the adventurers, the conversation made no sense at all, since they had no idea what they were talking about. That confusion quickly disappeared though when two silhouettes soon made their way towards them from the dark forest. As a dwarf and a child entered their sights, they put two and two together and assumed that these two were Atar and Thufrat.


    Both of them looked a little tired and bored, but Atar''s eyes glistened at the sight of Ephine and Ark. As they all started chatting with each other, the three adventurers just stood awkwardly by the side, not sure what to do. After catching up with each other, they decided to leave the dungeon, and since the three adventurers were pretty drained of energy and still a bit weak, they left together.


    Although it was a bit awkward at first, the two sisters were able to talk to Ephine pretty easily, whilst the young man just walked silently. It wasn''t like he had done anything, but Ark didn''t have anything to talk to him about, and Atar was just a child, so the atmosphere amongst the guys was a little odd. The trip out of the dungeon was pretty carefree, as they only encountered a few undead, which were all killed in a single strike without exception by Ark.


    Although the three adventurers knew he was strong, seeing his strength for themselves was still a little different, and they had to admit that it was a little scary to travel with someone that could easily kill them, but they seemed like reasonable people, and he was their saviour after all. The older sister Lillia seemed to get along really well with Ephine, which was something that Ark was happy to see, since she didn''t actually have any friends, and Ark knew that it was probably a bit different to have a woman to talk to.


    Although Kanan didn''t really fit in that well with them at first, that was also mainly because of his nervousity. After he had eased up a little, he could participate in the conversations a bit, and they got along fine. Atar was in his own little world, and mostly ran around on his own, doing whatever he wanted. Like so, their party of four suddenly became seven, and their trip to the dungeon ended on a good note.

 Chapter 196 - Dinnerdate.

    Because of issues with time, they had to split up once they left the dungeon. The three adventurers didn''t know their dilemma, so they were a little disappointed, but when Ephine offered to meet up later to eat dinner together, their mood improved significantly. After deciding a time and place, the two groups split up and headed in separate directions. Although they were going to the same place, Ark''s group decided to take a different route, just to avoid any suspicion of their identities. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/dinnerdate._48744590039107439">#...-or_12348883106314005/dinnerdate._48744590039107439</a> for visiting.


    Since Lillia, Lily and Kanan all had horses of special breeds, they were bound to travel back to the city swiftly. Since that was the case, Ark''s group just took a different route and travelled leisurely, to make sure they didn''t bump into them somehow. Because of their leisurely pace, it took them almost three times as long to get back to the city, but it didn''t really matter that much, since their trip was rather enjoyable either way.


    Because of his telepathy skill, Ark could now talk to Thufrat even when he was in his wolf form, the only downside was that he could only communicate to a certain extent, so they couldn''t hold any extensive or complicated conversations. But considering how they couldn''t communicate with each other at all for a while, it didn''t matter too much to them.


    Once they returned to the city, it was already afternoon, but they still had plenty of time left before dinner. Since that was the case, they started with selling their spoils of war as usual, which earned them a decent amount of gold. Since they had been in the dungeon for over a week now, they were pretty used to this lifestyle now, they had also considered moving on to the next level of the dungeon, but they decided to hold off on it for now.


    Although they had some confidence, they decided to just take it easy for another week, and acc.u.mulate a bit more strength first. It wasn''t that big of a risk to just go to the next level immediately, but Ark preferred to not risk anything. Since they didn''t have much information on the next level, he wanted to gather some too before going. Getting information from some adventurers in passing was pretty easy, but he would prefer it if it was a bit more in-depth and extensive, and the guild had guidebooks that served such purposes.


    A guidebook was pretty cheap too since its purpose was to let adventurers know of the dangers in the dungeon. And if it was expensive, no one would buy it. After they were done at the adventurer''s guild, they went to look at the nearby market to see if they could find something they wanted. After walking around for a while, they only managed to find some decent clothes, whilst the rest of the market was filled with stuff they didn''t care for.


    Since they were running low, Ark decided to also buy a plethora of different vegetables, and even some spices too, since they had been using a lot of it every time they went out. Although he wasn''t the best cook out there, he kind of enjoyed cooking, so he made sure to have ingredients at hand when he needed it. His spatial bag was almost always filled with magical beast carcasses since a lot of lesser magical beasts attacked them whenever they were in the wild.


    The greater magical beasts could all sense both his strength and bloodline, and they knew better than to try and fight with him. Even if magical beasts were seen as monsters by many, after a certain point, they could be considered an intelligent species too, just like humans. Although Ark wasn''t a big fan of their natural brutality and bloodthirst, he could appreciate their honesty, as it was a trait that many humans lacked.


    Although his interactions with intelligent magical beasts were far from enough to judge an entire race, he could still draw some conclusions from the few he had met. Either way, he wasn''t going to judge someone based on their race, he just planned on keeping his guard up for most of the people he faced, whether they were humans, demons or beasts. He had naturally heard a lot of bad things about demons, and he had even fought against demons before, but similarly, he had fought against plenty of humans, and the reason behind the endless fighting seemed to almost always stem from humans natural greed.


    Just like magical beasts, there are good and bad apples, but the rotten ones always stand out. Speaking of apples, they also bought a few to share. After a while of just browsing the market, they started losing their interest, and just went back to their house. Because of exhaustion, no one really felt like doing anything other than lazing around, and what better place to do it than home? Since they had recently gotten into playing card games, they spent most of their time doing that.


    Even though Ark felt like playing with the others, he opted to practice his magic circles instead. Compared to when he had just gotten started, it wasn''t as boring and repetitive as before, since he could now experiment with different kinds of circles, who showed different results. In the future, Ark theorized that he could make his own spatial bag with the help of a magic circle, but that was far off in the future. Not only did he need to level up his magic circles a bunch before he could do something of that calibre, but he also needed to get a better affinity if he wanted the spatial bag to actually be somewhat useful.


    After a while of just playing around and doing whatever they wanted, it was soon evening. Even though he had spent a few hours to practice his magic circles, no levels were gained. Even though he practised with the goal of gaining levels, he didn''t care that much if he didn''t get any. Since he knew that he got closer at least. Since it was almost the time of their appointment, the group decided to head out.


    As they walked around the familiar streets of Moonhill, it didn''t take long until they reached a familiar establishment. Although the street was dimly lit, one particular shop seemed to light up the street like beacon, that was naturally the Lighthouse. Outside of the restaurant, they could see Kanan waiting patiently. He seemed a little bored, but since he had nothing better to do, he had decided to wait outside. The night breeze was fairly pleasant after all.


    When he saw Ark and his group approaching, he grew a little excited. He wasn''t sure whether they were going to show up in the beginning, but he could let out a sigh of relief now that they did. Truth be told he was starving, and when he saw them, he almost started salivating at the thought of the food they were soon going to eat. To Ark, he looked a little foolish as he stood by himself in the dimly lit street, seemingly in a daze.

 Chapter 197 - Making friends is easier said than done!

    "You guys are finally here, I thought you weren''t going to show up!"


    Hearing this, Ark felt like laughing. Despite just idling around and having nothing to do, they had still managed to show up late.


    "Yeah sorry about that, at least we''re here now right?" He didn''t really think too much about it, but he still apologised out of common courtesy.


    Kanan just laughed, they were only late by a few minutes, of course he wasn''t mad at them. Since Lily and Lillia were still waiting for them inside, they didn''t idle too long outside. Lily and Lillia sat at a rather large table in a corner of the establishment, looking a little dejected, but as they saw Ark''s group arrive accompanied by Kanan, their expressions immediately lit up in delight. To be quite honest, just like Kanan, they had doubted whether or not Ark and his group was going to come or not, but seeing them arrive instantly brought smiles to their faces.


    The table had 3 sides, with the last side being up against the wall. Since each side could fit three people, Ark, Ephine and Atar sat on one side. Opposite of them sat Lillia, Lily and Kanan, and awkwardly enough, on the last side, Thufrat sat by himself. Although it looked a little peculiar, Thufrat didn''t mind, he had more space to himself after all, which he could only see as a good thing.


    The dinner itself was fairly jovial, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves to varying degrees. Ephine was trying her hardest to make conversation with Lillia, but she wasn''t very good at it. Even though she talked with Ark all the time, it was a bit different trying to talk to someone you didn''t really know. She didn''t give up though, this was her chance to make a female friend, something she didn''t really have, and something she really wanted. Ark was amused as he watched her trying her hardest, and he would help her a little whenever he could.


    Kanan talked mostly with Thufrat, since he was a bit more open to conversation, whilst Ark mostly entertained Atar. Lily was a little shy and barely spoke during the entire dinner, but she enjoyed the atmosphere either way. After they had all eaten their food and talked for quite a while, it was time to part ways. Ephine and Lillia seemed quite reluctant, as they had gotten along pretty well, but it was getting late. Since there was no such thing as phones, Ephine told them where their house was, so they could send each other letters, or they could visit if they wanted to.


    As they walked home, Atar wobbled around as he walked. His cute antics earned a smile from Ark, before he lifted him up and gave him a piggyback ride. Since he didn''t need to walk anymore, he fell asleep nearly immediately on Ark''s back. Compared to Atar who seemed satisfied with his day, Ephine seemed a little disheartened.


    "It was harder than I thought trying to make new friends."


    Ark didn''t reply at first, he just took her hand into his gently, and smiled.


    "Don''t worry too much about it, if you try too hard you''ll only weird her out, let nature take its course, and you''ll become friends in no time."


    Hearing Ark''s words of encouragement, Ephine felt a little better about herself. She had felt a little useless during their conversations earlier, as Lillia was the one who kept asking questions and keeping the conversation alive.


    "Just remember to be yourself, don''t try to be someone you''re not. As long as she gets to know you, I''m sure she''ll want to be your friend, anyone would." Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/making-friends-is-easier-said-than-done!_50258457546247133">#...-or_12348883106314005/making-friends-is-easier-said-than-done!_50258457546247133</a> for visiting.


    As she listened to Ark talking, Ephine felt a little sweet, and her heart fluttered. Her anxiousness quickly went away like receding tidewater. Thufrat didn''t say anything, but he was silently cheering them on from the sidelines. To him, they seemed like a perfect fit, and he just wanted them both to be happy. As he was thinking about them, his thoughts couldn''t help but drift to Alenia. Was she doing ok? He didn''t know what she was up to right now, but he sincerely hoped that she was doing alright.


    As he let his thoughts drift, he had a bitter smile on his face. This went unnoticed to the others, as they just walked back to their house in peace. Back at the house, they didn''t feel like doing much other than talk for a while, and just went to sleep.


    The next day arrived rather quickly, but they didn''t really have anything special going on at the moment. For now, all they needed to do was prepare for going into the next level of the dungeon, and to be perfectly honest, there wasn''t much to do in the form of preparation. They just needed to get all the supplies they might need, as well as research a bit about the next floor. The day was spent fairly leisurely, just browsing the market for things they might need, not only in the dungeon, but just overall.


    The things they needed in the dungeon were not too many, it wasn''t like they were planning on living in there or anything after all. The things they needed were mostly food supplies, spices, and some changes of clothes, in case they were destroyed. Normally that wouldn''t be something they planned for, since it didn''t usually happen. However they had done some research on the next level of the dungeon, and considering the environment and opponents they were going to face, they decided to prepare seriously this time.


    That didn''t only include their clothes, but they also needed to get some new gear. They were a little underleveled to take on the next level, so good equipment would go a long way. From what they had gathered, the opponents on the next level of the dungeon were exclusively of the fire element. Which meant that gear with fire resistance properties would be a big help. To Ark it wouldn''t have as much significance since he already had plenty of fire resistance, but to the others it was crucial.


    Besides, they had plenty of money to spare right now, and to Ark, the significance of money was nothing compared to his family''s safety. As they walked down the crowded streets he asked a random passerby for directions to the closest store where they could buy the gear they needed. Without thinking too much about it, he pointed in a direction and then told them a few simple directions, which would lead them to "The Devil''s Forge".


    Ark was a bit intrigued by the name, since most people would try to stray away from using the devil or demons in the names of their store. Humans had a very negative view of demons in general, so to name your store after them could be considered a very bold move. But since a random passerby recommended them to him without regard for the name, Ark could infer that their skill was probably way better than anyone else in these parts. To Ark, that sounded promising, he also had a feeling that they would get along well with whoever named the store.

 Chapter 198 - The Devils Forge

    Even though the directions they got were fairly simple, it still took them some time to arrive there. It was a bit further than they anticipated, and the heavy foot traffic slowed them down a little. It didn''t really bother them though, since that just meant that they had a bit more time to talk. After a while, a sign by the side of the street stood out to them, and they knew that they had arrived at the right place.


    The sign looked a little peculiar as it depicted a devil with two crooked horns clad in splendid armour and holding a longsword. To some people, this sign was something to stay away from or at least something to be wary about, but to Ark, it was only intriguing. To be quite honest, they were all a little excited to go into the store, since it had a mysterious air around it. What better place to be than a mysterious weapon shop if you wanted to upgrade your gear?


    As they entered the shop, they could feel the temperature suddenly rising and the clear sound of a small bell. Behind the counter was a door that led to the forgery where all the weapons were being made, since it was open, the heat from within couldn''t help but escape into the shop. They all had things they were interested in, and so they split up and looked for what they wanted the most. Compared to the others, Ark wasn''t really in any hurry to find any equipment. His natural fire resistance was high, and the sword he had was way better than any shop had to offer, at least as far as he knew.


    Thufrat wasn''t in too much of a hurry either, he had the bloodline of an earth dragon, a creature that was said to have one of the strongest defences ever. The hammer he was using was already good enough, to get a better one would be too expensive, and even if he could find one, they probably didn''t have that kind of money to spare right now. The only one that was really excited was probably Atar, not because he felt a need for new equipment, but because he was awed by the splendour of all the armour in the small store.


    With a smile on his face, Ark just watched Atar as he ran around the store in excitement. Since he knew that Atar probably wouldn''t really look for anything that he needed himself, he also decided to look for some equipment for him. Even though his body was small and unassuming, it packed quite the punch, and Ark knew that his small frame was actually a weapon in itself. Who would put their guard up against a small child?


    Since his small frame could be considered a weapon, Ark didn''t want Atar''s gear to be too flashy. If anything, he wanted it to be quite unassuming. Since that was the case, his gaze was attracted to a robe that was hanging on one of the walls. The robe was a rather light shade of brown, with red markings on it. The red markings were actually magic circles that had been engraved on the robe. This quickly sparked Ark''s fascination as he started to study the magic circles engraved on the robe.


    Even though he wasn''t too proficient in the use of magic circles yet, in the future, he was sure that he was going to be able to create gear like this by himself, which would be quite convenient. As he was entranced by the intricate magic circles, they heard a voice from behind the counter. "Can I help you guys with anything?"


    A short girl stood behind the counter, her head barely reaching above it. She looked a little funny when she had such a serious look on her face, but no one dared to belittle her because of it, because they could all feel the menacing mana she was emitting. That was nothing a mere child should be capable of. As he thought about it, Ark couldn''t help but look at Atar. Maybe that was something a mere child should be capable of after all.


    "We''re just looking around for now."


    "Sure thing, if you need anything then just ring the bell, I''ll be in the back."


    The armour she had found was practically a fiery red suit of leather armour, tailored towards women, and coincidentally, it was pretty much perfect for her. Ark was happy that she managed to find something she really needed an decided to buy it for her without a shred of hesitation. After looking around a bit more, he managed to find a pair of pitch-black gauntlets in a corner of the shop. They looked like they had never seen the light of day, and had been collecting specks of dust for quite some time.


    What attracted Ark was their simple and unadorned style. After lifting them up, he quickly found out why they had been left on a shelf to rot, they were way too heavy! Instead of being repulsed, Ark was pleasantly surprised. "Atar, come here for a second and try these on."


    Atar quickly tried on both the robe and the gauntlets, and Ark was very satisfied with the results. Even though the robe might''ve been a little too big, he looked really cute in it, and it wouldn''t get in the way when he was fighting, so it was still fine. The gauntlets were a different story though. To Atar, these gauntlets couldn''t be any more perfect, and he quickly fell in love with them as he tried them on. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/the-devil''s-forge_50423089279856241">#...-or_12348883106314005/the-devil''s-forge_50423089279856241</a> for visiting.


    Ark thought they were pretty heavy, but to Atar, they were perfect. Since no one wanted them, they were pretty cheap as well. Since he didn''t really have any armour himself, Ark was planning to study the magic circles on Atar''s robe, and maybe he could engrave something similar on his clothes. Not because he needed it, but more because he wanted to see whether he could do it or not. Thufrat didn''t really find any armour that was to his liking either, so they decided to just buy what they had found so far.


    After ringing the bell, the little girl from earlier soon came out of the forgery, and they paid for all the gear. Now that he saw her from up close, Ark realised that this little girl was probably a half-elf. Although their lifespan wasn''t as long as regular elves, he could guess that she was probably even older than him, despite how small she looked. Her blood-red eyes made it seem like she was actually half-demon as well.

 Chapter 199 - Final Preparation!

    Even though Ark was a little intrigued, it wasn''t like he was going to ask about it or anything, he had enough self-restraint to just move on. As he was absorbed in his own thoughts, the little half-elf gave their group a once-over as well. On the surface, their group didn''t look too special, but as she looked a little closer, she realised that these 4 were a bit peculiar.


    Not only was there a child in the group, but they also had dwarf in their midst. Although she didn''t have a problem with dwarves herself, she knew that they faced plenty of discrimination. To be fair, she faced plenty of discrimination herself in the past. But nowadays people didn''t have enough guts to mess with her, she didn''t interact much with others in the first place.


    Either way, she could see that some of the gear they were buying was for the kid, which was a little baffling. Did this kid really need this equipment? They weren''t planning on dungeon-diving with a kid right? Even though she was intrigued, she held herself back in the end. At the end of the day, they were just a couple of adventurers, she''d probably never meet them again. She locked eyes with Ark for a second and immediately felt like they had a peculiar charm to them.


    Although the atmosphere became a little awkward as they locked eyes with each other, Ark quickly tried to defuse it by paying for the gear. After feeling a slight tug on his sleeve, Ark could only smile as he completed the transaction. He was a little dumbfounded by Atar''s eagerness to try out his new gear, but he still thought it was pretty cute. After they left the forge, Ark wasn''t sure what he wanted to for the rest of the day. Since there wasn''t much they needed to prepare before they ventured into the next level of the dungeon, they could take it easy for the day.


    Since they could pretty much do whatever they wanted, the rest of the day was filled with simple forms of entertainment, mostly derived from each other. Not only that, but Ark made sure to practice his magic circles as much as possible, and before the end of the day he felt like he wasn''t far from reaching level 4. Although that was the case, he didn''t neglect to have fun whilst practising throughout the day.


    As night was approaching, they decided to eat some food at the Lighthouse, at this rate it had practically become a tradition for them to eat there. Both the food and the atmosphere was the best they had found, at least in Moonhill. During the dinner, they all messed around a little, and everyone was a little excited about exploring the next level of the dungeon the following day. Although they could only imagine what it would look like right now, tomorrow they would be able to see the real thing.


    Since they only had one life to live, they all wanted to see and experience as much as possible while they still could. Although the next level of the dungeon was dangerous, it was also known for having great scenery. As Ark thought about life, he was a little unsure of what to think. Although the mindset of living his life to the fullest was something he enjoyed, he couldn''t be sure whether or not he really only had one life to live. He had died before, which brought him to this world, but he was pretty sure that what happened to him wasn''t something natural that happened to others.


    After pondering for a while, he stopped thinking about it. Although it was a bit peculiar, thinking hard about it wasn''t going to change anything. There was no way for him to find out what had actually happened to him, at least for now, so that would have to wait for the future. Whilst he was still in the midst of thinking, a rough voice broke him out of his stupor.


    "What''re you looking so sullen for Ark? You alright?"


    Seeing how both Thufrat and Ephine looked a little concerned for him, Ark realised that he had been putting on a weird expression as he was pondering.


    "I was just thinking about life a little, I''m glad I met you guys."


    As he was talking, he started to genuinely smile. Although the Lighthouse was known for its bright lights and atmosphere, Ark''s genuine smile still seemed to brighten up the entire restaurant an extra level. Although he knew that it might''ve sounded a little cheesy, Ark was completely serious. Without these three, he didn''t know what kind of place he would''ve been in right now. After everything he had been through, he wasn''t sure if he would''ve been able to stay himself without their help.


    After the torture he had experienced in the Estridsen Kingdom, he was both sad and lonely. It was after this harrowing experience that he managed to meet Atar and Ephine. As he thought about it, his smile grew a little wider. His aching heart had been slowly healing all this while. Although he was still anxious and nervous about the future, he was happy to have met such amazing people, people he could call his own family.


    The mood became a little peculiar, and even Atar, who was usually fairly clueless, could sense the weird atmosphere. Although he wasn''t sure what was happening, he only looked at Ark and smiled foolishly. Ark laughed a little upon seeing Atar''s antics and ruffled his hair. Seeing how the atmosphere returned to normal, Atar went back to focusing on his food.


    Time seemed to pass slowly as they continued to eat in the Lighthouse, and it was soon time to return home. They had grown accustomed to life in the city, but they were still not human after all. They had limited time to do what they wanted, and they needed to return home before they were forced to turn back to their wolf forms in the middle of the city. If that were to happen, Ark wasn''t sure how long it would take before the entire city was chasing after them.


    If that happened, their lives would naturally be turned upside down pretty quickly. He chuckled a little at the image that formed in his head, even though it was supposed to be a serious thought.


    Although they strolled pretty casually, they still arrived at their home in a matter of minutes, and they were all a little tired. Normally they would all talk to each other and have some fun upon returning home, but they were all a little tired today, and since tomorrow was going to be a special day, they all wanted to make sure that they got enough rest. If they were tired as a result of their carelessness today, then they would have no one to blame but themselves tomorrow.


    They had prepared plenty for this expedition tomorrow, but they were still a little under levelled in the end. If they were not careful and ended up bumping into an enemy way beyond their level, they would have no one to save them but themselves. Before going to sleep, Ark fiddled around with his magic circles for a while, and just before he was going to sleep, they finally levelled up to level 4.

 Chapter 200 - Finally entering the next level.

    As dawn arrived, golden sunlight streamed through the large windows of the great hall, accentuating the three wolves pure white fur. The spectacle looked incomparably holy, but unfortunately, no one was there to witness it. If Ark was told that he looked holy, he would find it a little ironic. Considering his relationship with the holy church, being called holy would be a little funny.


    At the same time, his powers were actually quite holy. Not only was his light affinity perfect, but he even had a holy spear. To Ark, there was no benefit to having "holy" powers. To him, the nature of your power had no significant meaning, what mattered was how you used it. Unfortunately, the holy church didn''t agree with this viewpoint, to them, people with dark power, no matter how they used them, were sinners. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/finally-entering-the-next-level._51342763916057214">#...-or_12348883106314005/finally-entering-the-next-level._51342763916057214</a> for visiting.


    To some people, good or bad didn''t really matter. If the holy church could get rid of all people with dark powers, all they needed to do was call them devils, or worshippers of demons who tried to overthrow the church. As long as they did that they would have the peoples'' support, and to be honest, they had already done similar things before. Naturally, no one knew this better than the holy church themselves.


    After an hour or so, Ark was the first to wake up. Feeling a little excited, Ark decided to train his mana body a little. Whenever he had some extra time, he always tried to train his mana body a little, since the skill was really strong after all. Although he knew that the fastest way to get strong was to simply level up as much as possible, it wasn''t that simple to Ark. What was the point of being a high level if you couldn''t fight people that were 10 levels below you?


    Ark wanted to be a high level of course, but he also wanted to have good combat strength for his level. For now, his combat strength was already leagues above his own level, and considering how things seemed, his advantage would only get greater and greater as he became higher levelled. Although he had been working on his mana body whenever he had time these past few days, it still hadn''t levelled up yet.


    After another half an hour or so of just absorbing mana into his body, both Atar and Ephine seemingly woke up at the same time. This was something Ark had noticed after he had lived together with them for a while, they almost always woke up and went to sleep at the same time. He figured it was something that was born out of their extreme trust and bond they shared. As he was thinking about it, he also noticed that Thufrat was stumbling down the stairs slowly.


    He looked a little funny, and it was evident that he was still tired as he drowsily tried his best to not fall down the stairs. Seeing as everyone was already awake, they ate breakfast together, before setting off to the dungeon. Since they had gone to sleep fairly early the day before, everyone was pretty energetic and excited to finally move on to the next level of the dungeon!


    Although they all cared a lot about their own lives, they were all ambitious. Thufrat wanted to obtain enough strength to never be looked down on ever again, and most importantly, he wanted to keep up with his friends. Ark knew that something dangerous was coming, something he needed a lot of strength to face, so he desperately wanted to level up and get stronger, all for the sake of protecting those he cared about. Ephine and Atar didn''t know what was coming, but they could sense Ark''s unease and thirst for strength through their bond with each other, and so they were a bit more serious as well.


    Although they were all serious about getting stronger, who wouldn''t be excited about some adventures? They had heard a lot about this level of the dungeon, and they were thrilled to finally be able to see it with their own eyes. About half an hour after they had set off from their house, they had arrived in front of the familiar dungeon once again. Instead of going to the cave they were used to going to, they went to one that was a little further away. Next to the cave was a plaque with a blazing red 5 on it, indicating that it was the fifth level of the dungeon.


    Just like the preceding level of the dungeon, the cave was damp, dark and cold. Like he always did, Ark conjured up a small ball of blue flame that drove away not only the dark, but also the cold. After walking for a while, they saw a large set of doors in front of them. Compared to the doors that led to the forest of the dead, these doors were not only a bit larger, but the magic circles that covered them were a bit more intricate as well.


    Although he was intrigued, Ark didn''t stand around and watch them for too long but instead put his hand on one of the doors. Soon, a pale blue stream of mana could be seen making its way through the magic circles on the door, lighting them up one by one as it passed through. After all of the magic circles lit up, they seemed to resonate with each other, before the door was finally opened.


    As the door opened, they were all hit by a wave of extreme heat. Luckily they were already prepared for this, so it barely inconvenienced them. The temperature inside of this level of the dungeon was way higher than outside, and when compared to the cold cave they were in, the change was extra apparent. When they stepped inside the dungeon, the landscape inside quickly mesmerised them.


    In front of them were the ruins of what looked to be an ancient civilization, but if that was all, they wouldn''t have needed to prepare so much before entering. What was peculiar about this level of the dungeon was the fire, or more accurately speaking the hellfire. Instead of normal trees, the trees inside of this dungeon were all black like charcoal, and instead of leaves, they burned with hellfire. Hellfire was a bit different from normal fire. Not only was it way hotter, but it also contained some dark mana, making the shade of the fire an eerie dark red.


    In the distance, they could see several creatures roaming about, but these creatures were a bit different from what they were all used to fighting. The first creature they saw was essentially just a bundle of hellfire that seemed to have a conscious of its own. This was a hellfire spirit. Hellfire spirits were creatures completely born out of hellfire, which made physical attacks nearly completely useless against them. Naturally, this wasn''t too much of a problem for them since they all had strong magic, the only one who would need to get used to fighting them would probably be Atar. But to Ark, that was something good. He needed to learn how to be more diverse when fighting anyways, so now was a good time to learn.

 Chapter 201 - Hellfire Ruins.

    The 5th level of the dungeon that they were currently in was called the Hellfire Ruins. The name naturally stemmed from the hellfire that was all around the ruined city, but it was also because of the creatures that one would find here. Almost all of the creatures in these ruins didn''t have physical bodies. Since they didn''t have physical bodies, they could naturally only be killed using mana. Although Atar didn''t usually use magic, all he really needed to do was coat his body with mana to be able to kill the different spirits that roamed about.


    Ark naturally had no problem with this, but since he knew that something was coming in the future, he wanted Atar to be able to use ranged attacks as well. Letting Atar specialize in close combat was fine, but he didn''t want him to be too reliant on just physical attacks. Since there would definitely be times in the future where he couldn''t use physical attacks. It was better to be safe than sorry, and since this dungeon was the perfect place for Atar to practice, Ark would make sure he did so later.


    For now, he wanted to get a little familiar with this place first, and grind some levels before he let him practice. As they walked down the path that led to the ruins, the closest hellfire spirit suddenly started pulsating with energy, indicating that it had sensed their approach. Since Ark was the strongest, he was the first to test the waters. The hellfire spirit started to expand in size as it drew nearer, and after getting close enough, shot out a fire spear.


    Although the fire spear packed quite the punch, Ark could fairly easily snuff it out with an overwhelming amount of mana. Without waiting for the fire spirit to react, Ark drew his sword and used blink to teleport right next to it. As he felt the heat radiating from the fire spirit, Ark almost started sweating immediately, but because of his physique, he wasn''t really affected. With a large amount of ice mana imbued within the pure white sword, all that the rest could see was a white flash, before the fire spirit was obliterated.


    Although it seemed simple, not many people would be able to do what Ark did. Instant teleportation magic was really rare, and both his affinity with ice as well as the amount of mana he consumed was nothing to scoff at either. And you also had to consider the fact that this was essentially the weakest monster in this entire level of the dungeon. Ark was still pretty relieved since he could take care of it so easily, he was sure that the rest wouldn''t have any problems either.


    "So, how do you guys want to do this, you want to stick together or split up?"


    "I say we split up, as usual, it would take too long to make any progress otherwise."


    After hearing Thufrat''s opinion, Ark just silently gazed at Ephine.


    "I think I will go with Atar for today, and if it goes well we can split up tomorrow."


    "Ok, sounds good, let''s just meet up here for lunch then."


    Since they had it all figured out, they all went their separate ways. Although Ark was eager to power level, he still needed to scout the place out a bit first. If he was going to be fighting a lot of these enemies, then he wanted to know whether there were any peculiarities that he needed to watch out for.


    After roaming around for a while, he noted down some things to look out for, and he also made some plans for himself. Although the dungeon was the ruins of an ancient city, this particular city had once been divided into several parts, which had created 3 different zones in the current dungeon. These 3 zones all had different levels of danger and rewards, with the outermost level consisting mostly of lesser hellfire spirits and similar creatures. If you continued further in, you would start running into hellfire elementals of different levels and kinds, which were much more high-level creatures.


    Since that was the case, Ark decided to stay in the outermost zone for now and work his way into the other zones once he was a bit stronger and a bit more accustomed to the dungeon. Whilst he was busy planning, the rest had already engaged in some fights, and understood the strength of the lesser hellfire spirits more. Since they had only seen Ark fight one earlier, they naturally needed to test them out themselves, and the results were actually a little surprising to them.


    Although they knew that Ark was a bit stronger than the rest of them, they were still shocked by the ease at which he handled the lesser hellfire spirit after they had fought one themselves. Although it was by no means a frightening or particularly strong monster, it was far from being weak.


    Before he actually started grinding, Ark also probed some of the stronger monsters a little. After a confrontation with a hellfire elemental that could be found between zone 2 and 3, he concluded that he could win if it was a 1 versus 1 situation, but considering their surroundings, that would only be wishful thinking. Even though it wasn''t the best of situations, Ark was satisfied. It would only serve to further strengthen him if he could feel some extra pressure, and he hoped that this place would be able to provide him with that.


    After confirming some other theories, Ark set out to finally grind some levels. Since he didn''t have unlimited time in his human form, he decided to grind in his wolf form. Although he wanted to train his swordsmanship, that would have to wait until another time. Although he couldn''t train his swordsmanship, he made sure to train his other skills as he grinded, especially his mana erosion.


    Although these spirits didn''t have physical forms, his mana erosion could literally erode anything, especially mana, it was in the name after all. After a few hours of relentless hunting and grinding skill levels, he saw some result in his training. Not only had he gained 3 levels, but he had also managed to level his mana erosion once. Although 3 levels might not seem like a lot, this was only a single morning after all.


    Since they had been at it for a while, they all soon met up near the entrance of the dungeon. Although they had agreed to meet up at lunch, they didn''t say a specific time, which meant that Ark had to wait for the rest of them for a while. Surprisingly enough, Thufrat was the last to arrive, and he looked like he had been through a fairly rough battle. Seeing his tattered clothing and scorched body, Ark didn''t ask what happened before he instantly enveloped him in holy light.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/hellfire-ruins._51431074886113612">#...-or_12348883106314005/hellfire-ruins._51431074886113612</a> for visiting.


    It took a little while for the healing to completely finish, but they all sat down and talked a little in the meantime. Although Thufrat had been injured, the atmosphere wasn''t heavy or gloomy at all. He was fine now after all, and they all pretty much knew why he had been injured anyways. Thufrat didn''t really mind either, and he naturally shared why he had been injured, he had overestimated himself!

 Chapter 202 - Paths.

    After having a sumptuous lunch, they all decided to split up again. Although Ark had gained a few stat points from levelling up, the amount was fairly negligible for now. Since he wanted to level up as fast as possible, Ark decided to start hunting between the first and second zone of the dungeon. The difficulty was naturally a bit higher, but Ark felt like that was actually a good thing. His strength had skyrocketed lately, which was obviously a good thing, but it also had some natural downsides. His raw strength was naturally higher than before, but his combat experience wasn''t. Although beating someone down using overwhelming power is relatively easy, defeating someone using lesser power isn''t.


    That was something Ark definitely needed to work on. This was also one of the main reasons he decided to fight stronger enemies. The enemies between the first and second zone were definitely stronger, but Ark decided to use the same amount of strength he used earlier. This naturally trained his mana manipulation, but since he also spent a lot of time in his human form, he also trained his swordsmanship. Training was a lot more effective against actual enemies compared to doing it by himself, which was why his skills levelled pretty rapidly.


    After training for another 2 hours or so, they all met up with each other again. To Ark''s surprise, it seemed like everyone else had gotten some considerable gains that day, at least compared to what they would usually get in a day. With new equipment and harder enemies, everyone was excited to get stronger gradually. The best way of obtaining strength was naturally through training oneself and fighting. A gradual increase in strength also felt much better than just getting a sudden power-up.


    If you gradually got stronger, you would be able to control your strength pretty easily, the opposite of what would usually happen if got a lot stronger all of a sudden. In that case, you would still have to spend time adjusting to your newfound strength, and fighting an enemy while you''re not accustomed to your body would usually lead to instant death.


    Although Ark felt like he had found a great way of getting stronger, the biggest winner of the day was actually Atar. With his new equipment, he could be more offensive and playful whilst fighting, which was in tune with his nature. If he refined it a bit more, he would be able to find a natural fighting style that was suited to him, which would in turn make him a lot stronger. There was a considerable amount of force contained within his small stature, if he learnt how to use it efficiently, he would eventually become a real force to be reckoned with.


    Ark could already feel a slight change in Atar''s aura, which made him a little ecstatic. If there was one of them who needed to get stronger the most urgently, it would definitely be Atar. With that said, they left the dungeon in a great mood. They had all found their temporary paths, the only thing left to do now was walk down them.


    When they got back in town, the first thing they did was return to the mansion. Before doing anything else, they needed to relax for a bit and unwind. Since Ark had levelled up 3 times, he just put the points into his intelligence. Although it didn''t change much for the moment, there was no real point in holding onto them, and he still got stronger, no matter how little. As he looked at his status, he had a vague feeling that he was going to evolve soon, something which he looked forward to.


    Evolution was an elevation of being and usually led to an incredible increase in strength, who knew what benefits he would get from his next evolution? Maybe he''d see another massive increase in strength, maybe even an increase in elemental affinity. To Ark, the strength gained from evolution was something he looked forward to way more than something like levelling up, since it was more of a qualitative increase after all.


    Since they all needed some time to relax and digest what they had learnt today, they all just kept to themselves for a bit. Even though he was supposed to relax, Ark just kept practicing with his magic circles. At this point it had basically become a bit of a habit, and he had a lot of fun just experimenting with them, something that would definitely come in handy later. One use of the magic circles that he had figured out through experimentation was the mana gathering circles that he could now create. Although he could only make them gather a specific element, he could make one for every element.


    Normally a mana gathering circle was fairly useless, but since Ark needed to absorb mana for his mana body, they could prove very useful to speed up the process, something which Ark appreciated a lot. If he kept levelling the skill up, he would eventually be able to create mana gathering circles that gathered mana of all the elements, and at a much greater speed too. Of course there were other uses of mana circles, especially after levelling the skill up even more, but for now, that was the greatest use Ark had for the skill.


    Whilst Ark was training his magic circles, the rest were all busy with their own things. Ephine was training her mana manipulation, no matter how high the level of the skill, she still trained it relentlessly. Her best advantage in combat was her great control over mana, something which she wouldn''t give up on. If she got complacent and stopped training as a result, then her advantage would soon naturally disappear.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/paths._51620331814714082">#...-or_12348883106314005/paths._51620331814714082</a> for visiting.


    Thufrat wasn''t really training, he just sat silently, staring out into space. He looked like he was just relaxing like he was supposed to, but in reality, he was working hard too. Although he wasn''t the smartest, he was trying his hardest to come up with good strategies to beat the opponents he had found in the dungeon. Today had been a bit of an eye-opener for him. If he had the right strategy, he was sure he could beat his adversaries, but if he just ran in head first, he would probably suffer once more.


    Normally, Atar would be the only one of the four who wasn''t doing anything other than having fun, but after seeing Thufrat come back covered in injuries earlier, he had been shocked. He had never really noticed it before, but he could sense from Ark''s desperation that something was coming, something he wouldn''t be able to help with. Although he was still young, he could think for himself, and he really didn''t want anything to happen to this family of his.


    Even if he couldn''t protect this by family himself, he could at least make sure that he wasn''t a burden to them. With that thought at the back of his head, Atar started practising more intensely than he had ever practised before. Well, it wasn''t like he had ever really practised hard before anyways.

 Chapter 203 - Back in the dungeon again!

    After a day of rest and training, they once again set off for the dungeon. Although they didn''t get to do much the day before, they were all excited to dive back into the dungeon. Seeing your strength grow is certainly something addicting, and to Ark who desperately needed it, it was even more satisfying. With that said, he didn''t want to get too excited and just recklessly level up as much as he could, he still needed to live his life after all.


    He had been given another chance at life, it would be such a waste if he didn''t make the most of it, especially considering how his first life had gone. Although he had plenty of good prospects in his first life, his attitude and personality hindered him severely from enjoying himself, and although he knew a calamity was coming, he really didn''t want to end up the same as before, distancing himself from others and screwing up the life he currently had.


    As they arrived at the dungeon, both Ark and Ephine were shocked to see Atar with a serious expression on his face. He had always been carefree, or even careless, to the point that both Ark and Ephine had grown completely used to it. This was practically one of the first times they had seen him like this, and they wondered what had triggered the change? Ark assumed that it might be connected to the day before. Had he seen something inside the dungeon? Something that could shake even Atar?


    Maybe it was simply because he had seen Thufrat hurt? Ark wasn''t sure, but he was happy that Atar seemed to be taking things a little more seriously. He had no problem with Atar being carefree normally, but inside a dungeon, especially one that was as dangerous as this one, it could prove fatal if Atar didn''t take it seriously. Something that Ark obviously didn''t want to happen. He had been contemplating how to deal with this for a while now, but it seemed like he didn''t have to worry for now.


    Since Atar seemed to be taking things more seriously, both Atar and Ephine could fight with one less worry in the back of their minds. Ark also noticed that Thufrat seemed more determined than usual, something he was also glad to see. Luckily the setback he had suffered the day before didn''t seem to affect him much, other than make him more determined that is.  Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/back-in-the-dungeon-again!_52594812934748131">#...-or_12348883106314005/back-in-the-dungeon-again!_52594812934748131</a> for visiting.


    After they had entered the dungeon, Ark barely had the time to say a word before Thufrat had already left, going in the same direction as the day before.


    "Are you guys ok with splitting up like before?"


    "Yeah, you can go ahead, we''ll start out in the outer zone before heading a little further in."


    "I''ll meet up with you guys later then, make sure to stay safe."


    "You t-"


    Before Ephine could even finish her sentence, Ark had already disappeared into the distance.


    "They''re both so eager¡­"


    She could only sigh to herself as she and Atar started looking for an enemy to use as a warmup for the day.


    Ark had already run off to the border of the second zone where he started looking for some suitable enemies. As he ran around, he came across a raging flame, slowly floating around in the air. At the same time that he spotted the flame, it pulsated with heat, as if it was announcing to the world that it had noticed him. This was the same kind of lesser hellfire spirit he had met before, but compared to the flame he had encountered last time, this one was considerably bigger. Its powers and abilities were basically the same, it was just stronger. Compared to last time, Ark knew his enemy better this time, and this was a great test of his training. As the spirit was getting ready to attack, Ark suddenly started sprinting, closing the distance greatly. The spirit seemed a little fl.u.s.tered at his approach, and instantly fired off three fire spears in his direction.


    Since the distance between them was short enough, Ark instantly used his blink skill to teleport behind it. The spirit had no time to react before Ark shoved his claws straight into the spirits body. With a gush of ice mana, he made it implode from within, instantly killing it. Compared to last time, Ark used way less mana, as he had eroded the spirits defence whilst he was approaching. Since its defence was compromised, Ark had no trouble taking out the lesser hellfire spirit without trouble.


    Compared to when he had fought one earlier, he didn''t even need to use half the amount of mana he had used then. He could still train his mana manipulation more though, which was what he was going to do for the rest of the day. Like this, he sought out opponents, used as little mana as possible to defeat them, before finding his next victim. After a few hours of this, he had gained another 2 levels, as well as levelled up his mana manipulation once. He had also learned that if he used his cellular mana infusion, he didn''t need to coat his body in mana even if he wanted to punch a spirit or elemental.


    As usual, they all met up to eat lunch together, and compared to the day before, it was a lot more jovial. Thufrat had returned with a triumphant smile on his face, prompting everyone to laugh. With his pride and confidence at an all-time high, Thufrat was way more chatty than usual, and everyone had a lot of fun just listening to his bragging and antics. The sombre and serious atmosphere from earlier had completely vanished, replaced with a cheerful and playful one. Since they were all in great moods, they decided to leave the dungeon a little early, and find something fun to do for once.


    Ark had no real issues with this either. Even though he was a little anxious and wanted to get stronger, he also wanted to see his family happy. That was the reason he wanted to get stronger in the first place, to protect what he cherished. If his desperate pursuit for power was the thing that tore this family of his apart, he would never forgive himself.


    Although they had decided to find something fun to do, they had no idea what that would be. Since just walking around probably wouldn''t yield great results, Ark just pulled aside a random stranger on the street and gave him some money. Since he got a few silver coins, the man happily obliged, and told them about the things they could do to have fun around the city. Although there were plenty of interesting things to see, the man placed heavy emphasis on a play that was going to be played later on in the theatre.


    Ark wouldn''t normally be that interested in a romantic play, but as he glanced at Ephine, he instantly made up his mind, they were going to watch the play! Since the play was performed by a travelling troupe, they would only be around for a few days at most. None of them had ever watched a play before, and since it wasn''t that long, they had plenty of time to watch it in their human forms. Even Atar was excited, although that was mostly because he wasn''t sure what they were going to do.

 Chapter 204 - Unease...

    The story of the play was pretty bland, yet very dramatic, and even Ark was intrigued to see what was going to happen next. If this had been his former life, he would''ve never watched something like this, but entertainment in this world was scarce, and usually, when something is rare, you appreciate it more. Since he could also see it with someone he liked, he felt even better. Halfway through the play, the male lead died, and even Ephine started to tear up a little. Ark just quietly held her hand, and she calmed down a little. As if to comfort herself a little she leaned onto Ark a little since they sat next to each other.


    For some reason, she could feel her heart beating harder in her c.h.e.s.t, but she paid it no heed, and started focusing on the play again. Ark just acted nonchalantly about the whole thing, but deep inside, his heart was beating loudly. Thufrat wasn''t really concentrating on the play in the first place, so when witnessed their little antics, he grinned and gave Ark a thumbs up. Ark honestly felt a little embarrassed, but he only smiled in reply.  Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#...-or_12348883106314005/unease..._52596038879476075">#...-or_12348883106314005/unease..._52596038879476075</a> for visiting.


    After a while, the play finally came to an end. Although it wasn''t the most interesting, Ark had a great time anyway. As they left the theatre, Ark felt as if someone was watching them from behind. Before he could even properly turn around, the gaze vanished. Although it could''ve just been nothing, Ark got a bit more vigilant. Being watched was something he seriously hated, and whoever just watched them didn''t feel like a pleasant person. It could just be his imagination, but Ark didn''t want to gamble on something like that.


    With the use of his telepathy, he told everyone to stay vigilant, just in case. Neither Thufrat nor Ephine questioned why they had to stay vigilant, they just did it anyway, they had a lot of faith in Ark after all. Keeping their guard up, they all made their way home without incident. Even though they were curious about why they had to stay vigilant, they didn''t relax even though they were already home. Since they were already home, Ark told them they could relax, but he was still uneasy.


    He knew for a fact that someone had been following them, but he didn''t know why, and he didn''t know who either. Usually, he wouldn''t have much of a problem with finding whoever was following him, but the person that was following them today was a real professional, and if he had to guess, it was probably someone that was an even higher level than himself. That didn''t mean Ark was weaker, but it meant that Ark would have a hard time finding out where he was watching them from if it ever happened again.


    Although Ark was pretty tired, he knew that he didn''t have the time to laze around. There was no way he was going to relax when someone was lurking in the shadows, watching them. Since the person following them was too high level for Ark to find him, all Ark needed to do was level up. The only problem was how to get to the dungeon without this person following them there. Naturally, he already had his own ideas for this, and he promptly left the house to go to the market.


    Almost 5 minutes later, he was already back. He felt a little paranoid leaving the others without him, but he didn''t think anyone would just attack in the open like this. This was also why he didn''t want anyone to follow them to the dungeon, since the one following could very well attack them on the way there, and no one would be able to stop them. In the city it was a different story though. Although the regular guards weren''t the strongest, the guard captain was renowned for his strength, and no one in the entire kingdom would want to be on his bad side, hence why there wasn''t much conflict in the city.


    When he went to the market just now, he bought a few coats, one for each of them. Although they wouldn''t be of much help right now, they would be after he had engraved some magic circles on them. Since he wanted them to be able to leave the city unnoticed, the only element he could think of was the darkness element. As the others watched him work so fervently, they started to realise that something must have truly happened for Ark to be this anxious, but the question was what?


    "So, you gonna tell us what happened Ark?"


    Hearing Thufrat''s deep voice, Ark put down the coats he''d been working on for a bit with a sigh.


    "I truly hope that I''m just being paranoid, but when we left the theatre, someone was following us."


    "People have followed us before right? Why are you so fl.u.s.tered?"


    "This time was different, I couldn''t feel the person following us at all, I could only feel their gaze, but not their actual presence."


    "If even you couldn''t sense their actual presence, then they have to be pretty high level¡­"


    "I really hope I''m just imagining things."


    After a small talk, Ark taught them all how to use their new robes. It was quite simple really, and since they had all used magical artefacts before, the explaining process was pretty straightforward. Since the mood was a little strange, Ark decided to train a bit. Recently, he had started training his ability to multitask, and he could now train both his mana body and magic circles at the same time. Since he had also had some breakthroughs regarding his magic circles, training his mana body should be a bit faster now as well.


    Whilst Ark shut himself in his room to train, the others were unsure of what to do. Seeing Ark so serious about this whole thing and even shutting himself in his room to train, they felt like it would be kind of weird if they just lazed around. Since that was the case, they all decided to train by themselves too.


    With everyone training hard by themselves, a few hours had soon passed by, and everyone was beginning to get a little hungry. To be fair, it wasn''t like they really had to eat, since their bodies would be able to go on without food for a few days without problems, but they all enjoyed eating, it was one of the joys of life after all. Even Ark came out of his room when it was time to eat, but that was also mostly because he was the one who was cooking for them today. The tension from earlier had pretty much subsided, and they could all relax as the smell of delicious food wafted out from the kitchen. Ark had been experimenting with different recipes and techniques lately, and he had become a lot better at cooking.


    Whilst they were having a good time and ate food together, somewhere else outside of the city, a sinister plot was brewing, something that may come to change their lives forever...

 Chapter 205 - Something... Wrong...

    The next day, Ark woke up feeling very refreshed. The day before, his mana body had managed to level up to level 2. The increase in physical stats was more than he had imagined, and he felt amazing, all his hard work had paid off. The reason why it was so hard to level up his mana body was naturally because of how strong it was, and the reward was just as great as the hard work he had put in.


    With that said, his magic circles had also levelled up once, which naturally improved Ark''s mood even more. The unease from the day before was still there, but at least it had subsided a little, and wasn''t as prominent as it had felt before. No one likes feeling on edge, and that naturally goes for Ark too, sure, he could probably handle it better than most, but when it came to his family, he felt like there was no room for error, which was why he put a lot of pressure on himself.


    The others had practically already forgotten about what happened the day before, since they didn''t really know what it was about in the first place, it wasn''t like they had personally felt a presence watching them, they had only heard Ark mention it, which was why it didn''t really feel real to them.


    With no plans for the day, they decided to head to the dungeon as usual. An opportunity to grow stronger was something that Ark would naturally throw himself at, and everyone else had been influenced by him to a certain degree, and they all wanted to grow stronger if they could. They were all actually considered fairly strong in this world, but it wasn''t enough. Compared to most people they were strong, but they were far from becoming able to influence the world on their own.


    Ark''s goal was to become an existence that could decide his own fate, he wanted to become someone that could battle entire nations for those he cared about if he had to. Most people in this world weren''t that high level, since you had to risk your life to go into dungeons and grow stronger. Who would actively put themselves at risk when they could just get a job and family in a big city, and get protected by their kingdom?


    Ark didn''t have much faith in others, especially not humans, and he would never leave his fate in their hands. He''d rather forge his own destiny through his own hard work and determination.


    As they walked through the town, a piece of rather alarming news reached their ears, the demons had officially declared war on humanity! Recently the tension had been high between the two races, and skirmishes happened frequently, but Ark didn''t expect for an all-out war to begin. To Ark, this news wasn''t that bad though, at least it would serve as a good motivator for Ephine, Atar and Thufrat. All he really wanted was for them to get stronger.


    Whether or not humans or demons perished didn''t matter all too much to Ark. Although he didn''t enjoy watching people die, especially not if they were just normal innocent people, there was nothing he could do to stop this war. Besides, it isn''t like he likes humans or anything, quite the opposite, humans are hypocritical creatures that have no problems with not only killing and torturing others, but even doing so just for the sake of profit.


    He could understand if someone decided to kill someone else in self-defence or in a war, since they wouldn''t have much of a choice in that case. But to hurt others for the sake of personal profit is something that Ark could never wrap his head around, nor something he could ever condone for that matter.


    As they left the city, Ark also noticed Kanan and his group. Since they were pretty far away he didn''t bother to go say hi, but he noticed that they had an extra companion. This companion of theirs looked a little¡­ shady. Maybe Ark was just imagining things, but he didn''t really like the guy''s aura, it felt peculiar, like he didn''t really fit in with them.


    Since they weren''t too close, Ark didn''t really feel like asking Kanan about it either, so he just continued towards the dungeon with the rest. As per usual, the trip there was uneventful as well as boring, but at least it was pretty quick. After they had entered the dungeon, Ark released a sigh. He had been a little on edge, waiting for something out of the ordinary to happen, but luckily, everything was still fine.


    Since that was the case, he was just going to spend the day like normal and try to level up a bit. Although he felt uneasy about splitting up inside the dungeon, he couldn''t really force everyone to stay as a group either, since it would just hinder their progress, all he could do was tell them to be on their toes and stay vigilant.


    Ark knew that he couldn''t protect everyone at all times, which was why he wanted them to grow stronger themselves too. If he hindered their progress because he was being paranoid, and it came back to bite them, he would never be able to forgive himself. Sometimes, you can''t have everything.


    With more determination than usual, Ark let himself hunt with more ferocity than ever in the dungeon. He felt like he needed to release some stress, and the easiest way to that right now was for him to take it out on the spirits in the dungeon, it was like killing two birds with one stone.


    ...


    About half an hour away from Moonhill, there was an abandoned house. This house once belonged to an ancient noble family, but after they passed away, it had been empty for generations. What no one knew, was that this house had been occupied for close to a hundred years already, without anyone actually knowing.


    Currently, a notorious group of bandits were merrily enjoying a banquet in the dining hall. While they were eating, someone entered the house, and they all instinctively reached for their weapons, but after recognising the aura, they all calmed down. Soon, a sleazy-looking guy entered the hall with gusto, he seemed to be in a great mood, but if Ark had been here, he would''ve realised that this was the man who had hung out with Kanan earlier!


    "Hey Stanton, I was right wasn''t I? Admit that they were top-quality goods."


    "Shut the f.u.c.k up, I don''t know how you found them, but you did a good job for once, don''t ruin my newfound impression of you."


    The hall became even more merry hearing the two banter with each other, and since Stanton said they had found top-quality goods, they would probably have a new job soon. As they were chatting, a gloomy aura suddenly ruined the mood, and the bandits could feel a chill run down their spine. The merry dining hall became deathly quiet, and they could hear footsteps slowly approaching.


    The door soon opened, and a figure clad in a long black robe entered the room.


    "Have you found one yet?"


    "We found one earlier, we can probably set out soon."


    "Good, make sure you get him to me in one piece."


    "Of course, as long as you pay the price, we''ll do just about anything."