“First off, let me officially welcome you, I guess,” I said, though my voice carried no real enthusiasm. The day had been long, and it was finally catching up to me.
“No, no, you’re terrible at this,” Harmony said. “Welcome them with a bit more zeal. Not that you did so for us, but that’s beside the point.”
Milia burst out into laughter.
I was attempting to do the disciple initiation as instructed by the prompt, but Harmony kept interrupting me. It felt like what a real little sister would do to be annoying. I almost expected her to call for our mother.
Fortunately, Titus heeded my warning, and we were able to start this mini orientation after he passed by the town with his two students.
There was also something else I wanted to address, actually for a long time.
“Goddammit, Harmony, get off my back,” I said. I once again glared at Chenzu for giving her the idea of making this event bigger than it needed to be and Milia and Muiy for egging it on. I somehow ended up promising to make the damn pies tomorrow. One day before we finally left for the city. “We’re not dragging this on longer than it needs to be. In case you don’t know, a disciple and an apprentice are not the same thing, mostly. As an apprentice, you’re directly on the pay roll, learning the trade, running the shop, and one day you could choose to take that knowledge and do something with it. Disciples, on the other hand, aren’t here to learn the potion maker trade, just magic and combat.”
“Disciples are followers and students,” Ronica blurted out, eyes gleaming. “Oh my Wanda, we have a real master!”
She hugged Nuwa.
All of them were overly excited, even Ramon. I wouldn’t break their moment by saying something dickish, at least not this time. Not that it would have any effect. They were used to my quips, sarcastic comments, and jokes.
“We should bring out the drinks,” Chenzu said.
“Yeah, no,” I said. “At least for the apprentices, Nuwa, Ramon, and yeah, you too, twerp. No drinking until you’re twenty-one.”
“I do not defile my temple with such things anyway,” Nuwa said.
Ronica simply shrugged. “I’m twenty-one, but I don’t drink anyway.”
“If that’s what Master Nate wants, then so be it,” Ramon said. “Not that I had any time to drink lately.”
Iris smirked at him. “Will they be allowed to have spirit wine on holidays? Or important celebrations… like today?”
“I’m not their father,” I clarified. “You just can’t drink where I can see you. And don’t show up here drunk. Scratch that, it doesn’t matter your age. Don’t show up to the shop drunk. You don’t want to give my apprentices bad impressions.”
Harmony pouted, but I could tell she fully agreed with me.
After lunch, we stepped outside to proceed with Wolverine’s upgrade. But before I did so, I asked the question I’d been holding.
“When you guys received that revelation, that invite, did you get something that looked like this?” I asked, then revealed the red cube. I selected a random prompt to bring to view.
“Yes, like any gift of Wanda,” Iris said. “It feels a little weird when Wanda gives a direct revelation. I… never actually heard of this happening.”
I nodded. “Remember the chests? That’s kind of the same thing.” I turned to Milia. “Even the interface on the guard tower over there. Whatever Wanda has planned, I’d like everyone to trust in me. Give me a chance to resolve whatever she dishes at us. Would be nice if she’d piss off, but I’ve learned the hard way that it’s not going to happen.” I knelt down to pet my wolf. “You ready, best buddy?”
Wolverine licked my cheek, overly excited.
“Let’s get this started,” I said as I continued petting the sunlight wolf.
[Wolverine has met the meditation requirements for the upgrade. Do you wish to begin now?]
I selected yes.
Suddenly, a magic circle as wide as the house manifested beneath us. Wolverine glowed and, for a second there, I thought he was about to appeal to Digimon fans. A strange prompt caught my attention.
[The winds of fate surround you…]
[Choose an upgrade for Wolverine, the Sunlight Wolf. Warning, this upgrade is permanent and cannot be undone, except by forces your mortal mind cannot comprehend. Select carefully.]
[1. Juvenile: Metal Sunlight Wolf. Defensive bonus.]
[2. Juvenile: Wood Sunlight Wolf. Perceptive bonus.]
[3. Juvenile: Cosmic Sunlight Wolf. Fated bonus.]
[4. Juvenile: Storm Sunlight Wolf. Offensive bonus.]
[5. Juvenile: Volcanic Sunlight Wolf. Evasive bonus.]
[Now… SELECT.]
I swear the prompt sounded like the Mortal Kombat narrator.
On the bright side, at least the selections were simple and to the point. I didn’t want to spend five hours analyzing each, not that it provided the information to do so. In other words, every single world was self-explanatory.
The prompt before that also provided a potential hint. I honestly considered ignoring it, going with the Storm Sunlight Wolf option. An offensive bonus would be nice, right? Despite being a non-combat family, we’d still run into troubles every now and then that would require a little brute force.
Here was the problem with that. Wolverine was a wolf and doesn’t lack in offensive power whatsoever. Even before I started participating in combat, the little wolf cub took down his first magician with ease.
Metal Sunlight Wolf sounded cool, and at least one of our enemies fired lightning. With his defensive bonus, he’d probably be immune to it. But I could simply give him the blood lightning potion. Also, Digimon fans wouldn’t be getting this one.
Rather than going over all of the others that seemed cool as a concept five more times, I selected Cosmic Sunlight Wolf, as it basically screamed at me to pick it. I didn’t want to hinder Wolverine’s progression with my selfish war against Wanda or whoever ran the system.
[Wolverine is upgrading…]
[Wolverine has evolved from a Sunlight Wolf Cub to a Juvenile Cosmic Sunlight Wolf thanks to the magical push from a master magician. It seems like times hadn’t changed much, after all.]
Wolverine’s glowing intensified. Cheetara let out some worried meows. Milia comforted her. In fact, I noticed that all of the spirit beasts and magical beasts were around, including the calf.
“Yes, most excellent path, my friend, Wolverine Woofy,” Mazu commented. I looked at him. “No, I don’t do translations. Besides, you can already understand him through your spirit. Cheetara too.”
I shrugged. “It was worth a try.”
Mazu sighed, muttering under his breath about the audacity of humans. Chenzu snickered, though whether in agreement or not, I didn’t know.
Finally after what felt like an eternity, Wolverine’s glow faded, revealing a new look. Truthfully, he didn’t look too different, like I originally feared. I didn’t want him to scare Cheetara.
He was obviously bigger, like from a baby to a child wolf. His eyes, which glowed an intense blue at first, settled down to a dark indigo. His claws held more definition.
But the most impressive thing about him was the upgrade to his power. I felt it. Listen to me. I felt it.
I almost considered a career change right then and there. But I wouldn’t be dedicating my life to spirit beast evolution research anytime soon. Seeing something like this in real life and not on TV or in a book does something to you.
Of course, I was already beyond questioning the science about it. Mana cores and spells that could form shapes from mana defied logic just as much as the existence of the universe itself.
Wolverine let out a powerful howl of victory.
“Look at you,” I said as he dove into my arms, tail wagging.
[Analysis.]
Wolverine. Type: Juvenile Cosmic Sunlight Wolf. Rank: SS. Special: Fated. Added: unaffected by mental, fated, poisons, confusion, cosmic, heavenly, and fire-based hostile magic. Weakness: dark magic that does not draw its power from the moon or anything symbolizing the moon.
[Congratulations. Due to meditating in the spiritual room more than once, Wolverine’s path opened to the strongest choices a wolf cub could receive. Perhaps too strong. You should consider thanking his elder, Mazu, for helping with his training in a way that only canines could understand. What a lucky sunlight wolf. It is impossible to reach this special path without a master magician’s guidance.]
[Wolverine’s Sunlight Flash evolved into Cosmic Sunlight Flash.]
[For being the first human in 150,000 years to guide a sunlight wolf on a fated path, you received the Collar of Fate.]
[Collar of Fate. Item rank: S. Item quality: Extraordinary. It is a collar tied to the winds of fate. You should probably start celebrating now.]
A silver collar manifested in my hands. Wolverine allowed me to put it on him.
“Congratulations, best buddy,” I said. “You’ve gained yourself a special element. You’ll have to show off the benefits of being a cosmic sunlight wolf as you adapt to your powers.”
“Now I want a wolf,” Ronica said as she petted Wolverine. Cheetara hopped from Milia’s shoulder to give the wolf a cat hug. She meowed something to him.
“Your evolution isn’t that far off, Cheetara,” Mazu said to her. He nodded to Wolverine. “You’re on your way, lad.” The fox turned and strolled off.
“Remind me to ask you what kind of fox that is,” I said to Alexander.
“Only Mother would know for sure. He may be related to the legendary Kitsune breed,” Alexander said. “Mother once said they were all capable of speech, magic, and are quite devious.”
Chenzu narrowed his gaze. “Kitsune are fox beastkin. But they are devious, being able to shapeshift into giant foxes. Luckily for us, the ninetails doesn’t exist in this realm.”
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised that an Eastern legend existed in a world of dragons, magic wolves, and spell casters. I was just glad spirit and magical beasts weren’t all creepy monsters like the hallows.
I hugged my goodest boy one more time before standing and stretching.
“You’re my disciples now,” I said, “but not slaves. You can choose to continue being heroes, but I won’t do it for you.” I turned to them. “You’ll always be welcome here, and if anyone does have a problem with your choice to disciple under me, then…”
I gestured around the area. “They can travel all the way out here in the middle of nowhere to speak to me about it. The hero’s party title can rest in peace, but it will not be replaced. We’ll don the Cheat Force gear only when necessary.” I gave Ramon a playful look. “Like keeping Lady Crazy away from this town. You should probably get yourself a pet spider.”
A moment of awkward silence later, Ramon burst into laughter, surprising his party. The fear of being forcibly taken back to the capital had likely frayed his nerves since the first day he arrived in this town.
“You know, I’ve been wondering, what will happen to your old shop?” I asked Alexander later that day as we closed shop. The other apprentices wrapped up cleaning, chatting and joking amongst themselves. Some of the disciples were still around. Muiy hadn’t left either, though she planned to before the other flower nymphs grew worried. To think we were so wrong about the situation. Flower nymphs were innocent beings, especially those living under a dryad guardian.
“The shop may still be running, but I doubt it’s still the second best,” Alexander said. “I don’t know if your gift from Wanda’s capable of checking the rankings, but the changes are updated almost every minute. I think.”
“Yeah, I saw actually,” I said, “but the name’s still the same.”
Alexander’s eyes widened and he paled. He lowered his voice. “It’s probably due to my sister’s insistence. Wanda’s quite the prankster to rebirth me into a family like this. Awarding me an older sister that supports demon cult activities and off-putting ancient royalty forbidden practices.”
[The top shops in the world.
1. Matriarch Aria’s Repository. Rank: A.
2. Muddy Waters. Rank: A.
3. Rip-off Gary. Rank: B.
4. Western Dungeon Store. Rank B.
5. Dwarves Own You. Rank B.]
I extended the list to find his shop at number thirty-five. However, it didn’t go past fifty. Unsurprisingly, mine wasn’t anywhere to be found. The lowest was ranked C.
“Number thirty-five,” I said. “Hopefully your mother’s gotten over it. Maybe opened her eyes?”
“If she could get over things like this, I wouldn’t have left,” Alexander said, chuckling. “Mother’s a lovely woman, and I wish her the best. But I… Wanda’s jumping bonkers, if only she wasn’t so devoted to that cult.”
“What kind of demonic cult?” I asked. “Why is she willing to cripple the family over it?”
“I don’t know the details. I wasn’t initiated, but I think they worship one of the demon lords.” Alexander’s eyes hit the floor. “I just hope Wanda’s not using me to drag you—”
“Let’s be honest,” I interrupted. “She’s trying. It may not work the way she wants it to, but she’s trying. I wonder if gods can get gray hairs. She’d probably have a head full by now.”
Alexander snickered, before it turned into full on laughter. Everyone looked at us. “You’d better consider telling them now before it gets awkward. It’s only a matter of time before you’ll become their little brother otherwise. Distancing yourself can only work so long. You are a part of this team, after all.”
“Tell us what?” Mandi asked.
Alexander motioned for everyone to gather around. “No point in hiding it anyway. Not from you,” he said. “But don’t let this leave here.”
“Seriously, don’t,” I said. “This will be treated as a shop secret. It’s personal, but I think it’s best for him to tell you, so you’ll understand. That includes why he may seem more distant than attached.”
They gave me a confused look.
“First off, you’ll have to suspend your disbelief for this one, lads and lasses,” Alexander said. “Truth be told, I remember my past life. I was originally Yomi, a pirate. Years ago. My former best friend betrayed me, tossed my body into the ocean to be devoured by the sea serpents, but by some undeserved miracle, Wanda decided to give me a second chance. I was reborn, and here I am today.”
Everyone continued to stare at him, probably wondering if he lost his goddamn mind.
“He’s not making it up,” I said. “I saw everything in a vision. His former friend’s a magician. Wanda’s the reason why he’s here. Alexander’s distance during his free time is because of his past memories. He’s virtually an adult soul. So you can’t blame him for not hanging out with a bunch of brats. No offense.”
“You… Wait, wasn’t Yomi the pirate…?” Mandi’s mouth hung open. “You’re a pirate king!?”
“You’ve heard of me?” Alexander asked, his voice equally surprised. “I was sure my name got lost in the threads of time.”
“You’re in the history books,” Mandi said. “But they don’t say much about you, other than the usual pirate stuff, your ruthlessness, and your strength.”
“I see,” Alexander said softly. “Well, karma struck hard and quick as I lost everything in an instant. I suppose with a rebirth, I wasn’t done paying.”
Muiy walked over and… gave the kid a head pat. “Everything’s going to be alright. Especially with that oddity as a master.” Alexander only stared at her as she headed toward the door. “I have to go now. See you tomorrow. I look forward to trying the blueberry pie.”
“Don’t tell the others, or Nate won’t bake any,” Milia warned, gaining a look from Harmony. The dryad only smiled innocently.
“Pfft, as if I’ll let them try it before me,” Muiy said. “Besides, they’ll try to steal my friend.” She waved at Lucas with a bright smile before hurrying off into the forest. The sun was beginning to set. I blasted my saint aura across the entirety of my domain, clearing away the Axem’s presence. The S-ranked dungeon boss was probably going to be pissed, but I didn’t care. He couldn’t do anything about it until I entered to confront him.
That night, I meditated as I wondered what the hell I was going to do as a clan leader. Could I simply run the shop like normal?
“Wanda, you suck,” I said, voice tired. Cheetara walked in, made herself comfortable on my lap and fell asleep.
I decided to call it a night. Tomorrow, I’d keep the shop closed. The next day, we’d take off toward the big city.
I’d finally get ahold of an alchemy book, the apprentices would have their fun, and Milia will be free to drag me to any of her favorite places of interest. She had quite the long list.
She snuggled into me as I laid down.
Wolverine entered the room, fresh and clean from his bath, and plopped at the edge of the bed.
I had a comforting sleep that night.
During the travel to the city, we’d do a dungeon dive, perhaps an A-ranker. When we returned, we’d challenge the fallen angel again.
The hero’s party had no confidence in Atsuki’s dungeon the last time. After more training, I wanted to witness a night and day improvement.
All of this would be profitable, one way or another. Okay, fine, maybe I wanted to see them succeed. Don’t judge me.
I especially wanted the apprentices to learn from their peers.
I just hoped I wouldn’t wake up in the morning with them waiting for me. Jobs first, disciple things later.
