NOVEL NEXT Who’s a good… dog? (10)
And just as Kai managed to turn himself fully, the wolf snarled and charged... straight at him.
Nonchalance kicked in, allowing Kai to keep calm, but sadly... the skill wasn't completely effective. It was to be expected after all, any uncommon skill would not be able to make a beginner keep calm in a life or death situation.
But it did help though, it allowed Kai enough clarity to dodge to the side in time, just enough to not get his head ripped off by the pitch black wolf.
After noticing that their prey eluded it, the wolf turns itself back towards Kai. Expecting to have another easy meal in its jaws, the wolf saw Kai, who was... currently making a break for Noelle.
Two is better than one... Two is better than one.... It's definitely not cowardly if its smart!
After running faster than he ever had in his seventeen years of life, Kai reached Noelle. The olive-skinned woman already had her scimitar out and was in a defensive position.
Quickly turning to face the wolf with a cocky grin, Kai saw... two... two wolves...
If one terrying wolf that looks like it just came from an endless abyss wasn't enough, how about two?
Kai quickly activated Lesser identify, seeing one wolf was level nine and that the other was level twelve.
Gulping as he held his dagger in his shaky grasp, Kai got an idea. Activating his Telepathy skill, Kai spoke directly into Noelle's mind and said:
"I have a way to maybe weaken them, but you would have to be the one to attack them..."
Noelle flinched slightly at the sudden voice in her head. Honestly, Kai couldn't understand why she was so jumpy at voices in her head, they've had the other one for god only knows how long.
"Fine, but do it quick" Noelle answered. Somehow, even the voice inside her head sounded as if there was no emotion.
Kai exhaled slowly, then activated the other attribute of Will of the Kaiser
Will of the Kaiser: Impose your will onto other sentient beings below your level or up to 5 levels above you depending on your luck stat. No one should be able to disobey your commands, not even your enemies...
"Bow" is the only word that escaped Kai's mouth before Noelle dashed forward. Only the level nine wolf ends up with their snout pushed into the ground. Their legs shook as they tried to resist the command.
The level twelve wolf on the other hand, shrugged off the command. Kai's luck stat must not be high enough for him to command it.
Noelle clashed with the level twelve wolf. Dodging, stabbing, clawing, snarling... you can't even tell who is wolf and who is woman...Well, maybe the wolf is female as well.
While the intense fight happened, Kai sneaked around to the wolf his ability worked on. The terrifying creature was still struggling to resist his command. As Kai approached, the wolf tried to snarl, but it's snout is too far into the dirt so all it does is push some dirt away.
"Uh...who's a good doggy?" Kai said in a... slightly scared tone, to which to wolf responded with another snarl.
Kai coupd already tell that the Bow command was wearing off, the wolf's head was slowly rising higher and higher.
Kai was hesitating. With his dagger in his hand, he could probably easily just... end the wolf's life.
The terrifying beast kept growling at him, Kai should be absolutely terrified. But the sight was just... sad. Wolves had to hunt, it's only that they made a bad choice on who to prey on. Just as Kai was about to stab the wolf in the head, he got an idea that would save him any future guilt or trauma.
Activating Contract of Artemis, Kai reached out and... pet the wolfs head. A strange feeling arose in Kai's body, maybe it was just the excitement that the wold didn't bite his hand off, but it was definitely something other than that. He felt something intangible exit his body, but also something enter.
Contract successful
Wolf of the crescent moon has become your familiar
1/1 familiars binded
"Uhh... go attack the other wolf" Kai said nervously. The system said the contract was successful, but who knows?
The wolf thankfully obeyed and quickly got back on its feet. The beast then dashed towards Noelle and the stronger wolf. The contracted wolf jumped and bit into the other wolfs neck, distracting it enough for Noelle to successfully thrust her scimitar through the wolfs third eye.
Kai grimaced at the sight.
Quickly after finishing off the first wolf, Noelle turned and faced the second, swinging her scimitar as she fell back into a defensive position.
[5 XP earned]
"Hey, don't do that!" Kai screamed, ignoring the XP as he dashed in between them, protecting his familiar and glaring at Noelle.
While turning his back to the wolf may have been a bad idea... Kai didn't know what to say to that, bad ideas were his forte after all.
"I used a skill, they're a good dog now" Kai explained, emphasising his point by patting the pitch black wolf on the head, to which the wolf responded with... a purr? Nah, Kai must have heard wrong.
Noelle stared at Kai, as if thinking what to do. After a few tense moments she sighed and put away her scimitar.
"Alright, just don't let the mutt near me"
Kai's jaw dropped as he quickly covered his wolfs ears. "Don't say that, they're only a child!"
Kai scoffd as he watched Noelle pick up all the firewood she dropped, then start walking back to their camp. Kai then turned to the wolf he tamed and scratched their ears. "You're not a mutt..."
The wolf doesn't seem to understand its words, but it seemed to like the ear scratches judging by the way their tail was wagging.
Kai then got another idea, looking at the description of his Telepathy skill, Kai read it again to make sure he remembered right.
Telepathy (common): Allows the user to establish a telepathic link with any sentient being, be it humanoid or creature. Cost of Mana is based on level difference. Sentient beings below your level cost 3 Mana per minute to uphold the link, and for every 5 levels above yourself the cost double.
Yep, definitely says any sentient being, including creatures... This wolf should be sentient... right?
Looking back down at his new familiar, the terrifying wolf that attacked Kai first is nowhere to be seen. All that is left is an oversized puppy that only looked terrifying.
The transformation was honestly more frightening than the wolf itself. How can this dog be so cute now yet be the centre of all children's nightmares a few moments ago.
After activating the telepathy link, three Mana dissapeared from his status. What happened next was strange. It felt as like a small shock ran through his body, but more than that, he felt a connection with the wolf appear.
"Uh... testing, testing... wolf, you there?"
The wolf's head tilted to the side curiously, it looked up at Kai and said... well, thought.
"Human speak my language? Me never see human who can speak my language. Me see human before but never speak, they all have big weapons."
Kai frowned slightly at the wolfs wor... thoughts.
"If you don't attack other humans then why did you and the other wolf attack me?"
The wolf looked up at Kai once more and tilted it's head innocently. Then, the answer combined with its innocent tone was enough to make Kai feel embarrassed.
"Because your weapon was small"
Thinking back to his conversation with Noelle, Kai felt his face heat up as he scoffed and complained out loud.
"What's so bad about daggers! Daggers are a common weapon, a staple, I could argue that daggers are more important than any other weapon!"
After scowling again, Kai continued to walk back to camp with his new best friend... It wasn't very hard to replace Noelle...
"So, you got a name?" Kai asked. It's nice have an actual conversation with something after putting up with only Noelle and his own thoughts for the last... he still doesn't know yet.
"Name?"
"Yeah, a name, something people call you."
"Why would it need a name?" The wolf asked innocently. "I am me and other wolves tell me by my scent. Only the stronger wolves get names."
"Yeah, well I can't do that" Kai sighed as he shook his head. "What about gender, are you a boy or a girl?..."
Kai paused slightly, remembering what what sort of riots this question would have caused back home. But The wolf should have a gender, right?
"Gender?"
Kai resisted the urge to slap his forehead and decided to settle with a sigh instead. "Can you give birth to pups?"
The wolf tilted it's head again, Kai wouldn't be surprised if it got neck pains by how many times he has confused the poor thing.
"Wolves of the moon don't reproduce like most creatures. A new wolf is only born in the body of a dead one, and only if it dies while surrounded by shadows"
Kai shivered. That's a pretty messed up way of reproducing... He then frowned and realised something. "Does that mean the wolf we just killed... Will they come back?"
"Nope, it will be a new wolf, the only similarity will be the colour of the fur!" The wolf says excitedly, as if it's the coolest thing in the world... or, forest...
"How long would it take for it to come back?"
"I don't know! It depends on the wolf."
This dog was too excited...
After a few moments of silence, Kai decided to speak up by saying... thinking "I can't just keep calling you wolf, I think its time I pick you a name"