Recruiting Help

Within the dense woods where battles and roars were usually present a rather quiet atmosphere was strangely present, only the flickering of flames could be heard with the rest of the world falling to silence

"Now that I think about it we could have just scared the pack with your flames and ran after the leader from the get-go"

Recalling the sole reason for her not using her flames was not to scare the prey until they found the right one he realized that all this mess could have been avoided entirely if they stopped holding back once they did find the target

"Ahh well, you learn you grow"

Passing off the near-death experience as another lesson in the life that he barely kept Yu finished placing the last yellow core on the formation and backed off, motioning for Lyra to let the big guy free

"Stand here, this will help you grow"

Patting the ground he motioned for the beat-up wolf to come closer which it hesitantly did, it wasn't because it had been beaten up every time it tried to run or fight back but because the hexagram gave it the feeling of empowerment, much like when Lyra relented and walked into it at the beginning

"Yeah, good boy, now stay still"

Seeing it cooperating he started chanting while Lyra kept an eye out for any attack, staying close to protect him at once

Her worries were unnecessary though as the wolf himself wasn't going to do anything that would cause this great opportunity to go to waste, so it stayed still and awaited the nourishing energy

"I, Yu, Sacrifice this as a means to nourish thou, in body and mind, in hope thou reach thy Zenith"

Just like the two times before the formation shined after consuming the cores, this time though it didn't shine too brightly but exuded a small light that flailed wildly making one feel the savagery contained within

The sacrifice didn't take long and the light retreated soon revealing the much bigger wolf with a buffed up appearance

"Awwoooo!"

Feeling the unprecedented power it knew that its near peak Bronze state had broken past the blockade and into Silver rank putting it at the top of the food chain in these hills, it felt so much joy that it couldn't help but howl to the sky repeatedly

After a couple howls it looked back at the source of this power, the two-legged mysterious creature that could boost it to such levels who was now extending his hand toward it in a friendly gesture

It took a hot second to decide whether or not to accept this being as a friend, or perhaps a superior would better suit its description, but it closed its eyes and nudged its head against his open palm nonetheless, not only did this man bring it power but he might be its ticket to the next rank and perhaps further beyond, either way, it would stick with him to the end

'What a big fellow'

His whole palm was only as big as its snout, that's how big it was, and although he knew it was only at the beginning of silver rank and that Lyra could easily beat it he still felt the beast before him had become quite the force to reckon with

'Sacrifice seems to give pure energy to the beast which makes it stronger than most in the same rank, Lyra couldn't be used as reference since she has two pure elements but this guy is clear proof of that'

Rubbing his palm against the wavy fur he smiled in anticipation of the many possibilities this skill of his opened up

"We got what we needed, let's head back to the city now"

Satisfied with his new temporary follower he headed back to Halferg with the large wolf in tow, it took him half a day since he was kind of lost for a bit but he ended up getting there just before dawn, stopping at the beginning of the hilly area where most hunters wouldn't go

"You stay here, if anyone spots you kill them, understand what I am saying?"

The wolf gave him a confused look, clearly not getting a word he said so Yu turned to Lyra for translation

"Wu? Wu wu wuu"

She said to him instead of the wolf who was still looking puzzled

'Arnt they from the same genus? How come they don't understand each other'

Frustrated he took out a dagger and started to draw on the ground, he made a few human shapes and pointed at them for the wolf to clearly see then stabbed the knife in them

"Understand?"

"Grrr"

The wolf growled baring its fangs, what it took out of his words was uncertain but it seemed to get the general idea

"Alright, stay here, here okay"

He patted the ground and motioned for it to sit before he got up and unsummoned Lyra then moved toward the city

The sky was only just brightening up when he approached the gates but he could see many lit torches and soldiers patrolling the area with vigour, since the prince's visit would be in the next two days the leader's of the city didn't want any mishaps to happen and thus increased the security

'Ah that's a bummer, getting in might be harder than I thought, maybe I should have asked for a free pass from Heather?'

It wasn't like he couldn't sneak it at all but it would take quite some time to do that

'I will just go in the same way I got out, perhaps they would let me in, otherwise I could flash them my mercenary ID and say I'm here to visit someone, if that still doesn't work I'll just have to sneak in'

Not wanting to waste too much time he tried to saunter in like he owned the place using the same gate he used last time since he came back from that general area, it was just before dawn similar to the time he got out last time so he happened to come in during the shift of the guards that spotted him going out which saved him the hassle of having to explain anything, after all his pale and soft look was hard to forget even among the spoiled nobles

'That was much easier than expected, wish I could get into Heather's house just as easily as his'

Perhaps someone was looking out for him today as the window which he jumped off from was unguarded when he arrived, in fact the whole area near it was left unattended

'Hmm, maybe this was her doing?'

She was a very thoughtful woman if that was the case

Throwing a hook up manually he climbed to the open window with practised movement, but before he peaked his head in he heard the maids inside asking her what she wanted for breakfast which made him hide to the side of the window in wait for them to vacate the room

After a short while he heard the door close after Heather ordered them to leave so he came in

"...."

"...I'll wait outside"

Before she berated him for coming in when she was changing again he jumped back out and let her cool her head, only coming in when he heard her calm voice inviting him

"Good morning Zombie-chan"

She said with a teasing look, clearly this was a jab at him for his earlier intrusion, since he was a little guilty he let it pass this time around

"Good morning Heather"

"You've come to discuss the plans I presume"

"Indeed, have you gotten word of the event's details?"

"I have, how about we discuss it over breakfast? It will be ready by the time you finish taking a bath"

This reminded him that he would be smelling hard by now, three days in the woods killing things left and right leaves a great stink on the body

"Alright then, I hope you don't mind this little one joining you in your wait"

He allowed the snake he summoned outside to slither from his arm into Heather's clothes, wrapping around her waist once again

This move made it clear that while they were cooperating he still didn't fully trust her but she didn't show any sign of grudge against his precautionary actions and only handed him a robe and a towel

"Take your time"

He nodded thankfully, both for her patience and hospitality then went in to get his much needed scrubbing