“Big Brother Woofy, watch this! Hi-ya! Big Bang attack!”
Wolverine’s eyes widened as Cheetara leapt into the air and, from her mouth, unleashed a beam of mana five times the size of Best Buddy’s lookout tower, leveling the entire forest in front of the lead runners. A shockwave as powerful as the sunlight wolf’s own previous one passed over everyone. It created very strong wind too. Somehow Mandi seemed to grit her teeth and remain airborne, thankfully.
The forest instantly regrew itself, but in that moment, the potion was revealed. And in that flash of revelation, Wolverine saw Mudwater running away, startled.
The sunlight wolf couldn’t chase him down, not now. The coyote was long gone and too fast.
“Ha! That’ll teach you,” Cheetara boasted as she fell back to the ground.
Everyone stared at the kitten, even Mazu, eyes wide. She tilted her head, blinking. “What?”
“Whoa! Master Nate didn’t tell us his kitten was capable of this level of destruction. She wasn’t this powerful before,” Ramon said.
“Last time we saw her in action was when the Crimson Sect bastards attacked the town,” Ronica said.
“Do you… Do you think we’ll learn to do that too?” Iris asked, which sounded a bit out of character for her in Wolverine’s opinion.
“Don’t be too reckless, Disciple Cheetara Cutie,” Wolverine said. “You are much too powerful for the disciples and apprentices. They are friends, remember. We don’t hurt friends.”
“It’s really hard to control,” Cheetara said as she snuggled into Wolverine. “But I’ll do what you do. I will reflect on my actions, go sleep—meditate ten times, do a bunch of trainings, and come out a better cat. Do you think Father will approve?”
Wolverine gaped at the kitten and then the laughter poured from him. He once again dedicated himself to protecting Cheetara like a proper sunlight wolf.
“Best Buddy most certainly will approve. He’s already proud of you,” he said.
“He’s really proud of you too, Big Brother,” Cheetara said. “I wish I could get an ev… evo what-so-call it too.”
“Evolution,” Mazu calmly corrected.
“That!” Cheetara cheered. She tested the word on her tongue a few times, the desire for power and impressing Wolverine quite obvious.
The humans had no idea of the conversation that was going on, or that Wolverine and Cheetara fully blocked the path.
However, even Wolverine miscalculated the persistence of Lucas and Mandi. They both collided into each other, landing in a heap.
But the potion… wasn’t there.
Wolverine laughed as he revealed it, covered by his paws. “Fools! Do you think I’d let it be that easy?”
“Yay! How did you move so fast?” Cheetara asked, ecstatic.
“I used the commotion you caused to swipe it. Ronica almost won.”
The humans looked at each other, wondering what to do. Lucas and Mandi, both groaning in pain, eventually righted themselves. They both consumed a health potion after asking if the other was okay.
“I see we’ve reached a standstill,” a voice said.
Everyone turned to see Nate casually emerging from the main path, smiling.
“You’ve raised really amazing pets, Nate,” Ronica said cheerfully.
“More like scary,” Nuwa said. “Really scary.”
“What in Wanda’s name can I do to reach that level of power?” Ramon asked, his voice filled with barely contained excitement. Wolverine could detect his Best Buddy’s moment of discomfort and felt a sense of amusement. The strongest human had reactions that always bemused the sunlight wolf.
“It’s possible, but you’re going to have to work as hard as Wolverine and Cheetara,” Nate said. “Good luck with that.”
“Challenge accepted,” Kelvin said, pumping a fist into the air. Iris and Ronica copied him. Wolverine sighed. Mazu laughed.
“You’re an inspiration, lad,” Mazu said. “Accept it and stand with pride. You too, Cheetara.”
Cheetara’s giddiness made Wolverine worry if she was going to let this recognition go to her head.
“Big Brother Woofy, does that make us their seniors? Lady Feathers said something about clan officers, whatever that is. Are we officers?”
“Try not to take that one seriously,” Wolverine said.
“So what happens now?” Maxus asked as his invisibility wore off and he failed at snatching the potion bottle from Wolverine.
That question never got answered. Sand exploded in all directions, forcing Wolverine to shield his eyes. At that moment, Harmony leapt from a tree directly above them.
But she was too slow. The ground froze and frost winds slowed her descent, giving the dark man all the time he needed to grab the bottle. His hands were so close. So close.
But Alexander was there the entire time. Using one of his treasures, he fired a sticky string of mana onto the bottle and pulled it away just in time, claiming victory.
All of this happened so fast that Wolverine could only stare at the kid in astonishment.
“Well, I guess I’m not needed to intervene after all,” Nate said. Before he could say anything else, a roar cut him off. Mudwater reappeared on the back of… well, Wolverine didn’t know what the creature was until his Best Buddy said, “Is that a fucking giant glowing gorilla?”
The coyote quickly leapt away, attempting to leave us with the gorilla, but the twerp zapped it with her trademark pink lightning. Away went its strength and it fell to the ground. She was so quick, I almost complimented her.
But the fifteen-foot tall gorilla with silver fur, red aura, glowing red eyes, and razor-sharp teeth capable of biting boulders with the greatest of ease by the looks of them, held my attention. It let out a roar containing mana.
“Sheesh, shut the fuck up,” I snapped. As if it understood my words, it looked at me and beat its chest. “The Axem’s…”
“An ass,” Maxus finished.
“Wanda’s floating bottom, it’s strong,” Mandi said. “Really strong.”
I noticed the coyote running again. To my surprise, Wolverine viciously pursued it, Cheetara and Mazu following. Knowing my sunlight wolf’s new strength, I had full confidence he’d take care of it quickly.
[Enemy Analysis.]
[Unable to scan undead. Your identifying skill isn’t ranked high enough to affect the undead.]
“Well fuck, it’s undead too,” I said.
“What do you mean too?” Nuwa asked.
“Long story, get ready. It’s coming,” I said. “Lucas, Mandi, Harmony, this is an S-ranked monster. None of your attacks will be effective, but I’m giving you the chance to watch the fight from up close. I do recommend retreating back to the farm.”
The stubbornness set in Harmony’s eyes, and I didn’t bother arguing, my gaze glued on the furry foe. The boss prompt signaled the start of the battle.
[Boss fight, begin!]
The gorilla roared again and charged me.
“Hey Nuwa, do you have any idea why I can’t scan undead, besides my scan ability not being good enough?” I quickly asked as I dashed out of the way.
“Wanda’s Purification!” Nuwa yelled, both hands aimed at the monster. Her spell book was summoned.
A red shield suddenly erupted around the gorilla. It turned to her and, to everyone’s horror, grinned. That was when its fur morphed into what I could only assume was red mana or magic.
By now, everyone fanned out. A prompt revealed the obvious.
[The Axem-infused gorilla undead is protected by the Axem’s special shield.]
“Undead are a tricky sort,” Nuwa explained after running to my side. “We’re not one hundred percent sure, but I think scanning relies on life force and mana. Undead naturally generate dark energy, which likely interferes with our scans.”
“Sounds plausible enough,” I told her as I first made sure the apprentices were running, which they were, then charged the gorilla. “Alright, disciples, I’ll keep its attention. You bring down its shield.”
Dodging its fist, I countered with a jump-punch to its gut. The shield did not interfere physical attacks. Good!
My fist collided with solid leathery skin.
For a normal person, this action would get them torn to shreds if a giant gorilla even registered the attack. Fortunately for me, he wasn’t standing to full height. Unfortunately, he also didn’t go flying like I was hoping, remaining rooted in place. All I did was piss it off.
And so, I continued the fistfight, throwing punch after punch. So did the gorilla. They weren’t slow punches either, and while I had to dodge my opponent’s attacks, a few did hit home. They hurt, probably as much as a truck accident, but now I could tell my friends I fought a giant zombie gorilla with my bare hands.
With a good dent in its gut, I pulled a purification potion from my storage ring, preparing to slam it into the spot. Magic was useless, after all. Unfortunately, that was only true for our side.
In a blur, the gorilla leapt back and opened its mouth, which rapidly glowed. Ah fuck, not good!
Abruptly, the disciples showed that they weren’t just sitting around with thumbs up their asses. Multiple arrows struck simultaneously, none attuned with mana. Some slammed into the monster’s eye, tongue, head, and all over. It was well on its way to becoming a porcupine. The overgrown gorilla screamed, thankfully forgetting about me.
But its torment wasn’t over yet. Ronica appeared at its side.
“Thanks for distracting it, Nate,” she said. Focusing on the dent in its gut, the petite woman cast enough pink lightning to destroy a village. Her spell book was out too and floating at her side. “Harbinger Cascade!”
The area briefly lit up in pink.
“It’s kind of weird that you have to shout out your attacks,” I commented. Ronica childishly stuck her tongue out at me. I raised my voice. “Harmony, Lucas, Mandi, Alexander.”
I know using a fucking boss creature as a teaching point may seem ludicrous, but this felt important. The four were in hearing distance and relatively safe enough from the mayhem. “If you ever find yourself facing an opponent too strong for you, don’t be afraid to get the hell out of there. But if you can’t escape, don’t rely on magic. You’re my apprentices. You should have potions accessible in a storage ring for as many situations as possible. For this undead, a purification potion will do. The liquid just needs to touch its skin. Assuming you made a good quality potion, the effect should be immediate.”
I revealed the basic purification potion. Nuwa looked at it, questions forming in her gaze. “Here’s a… no, not a science experiment. None of this shit makes any sense. Potion experiment. Let’s see what happens when I smash this into the dent we made. Hopefully a miracle.”
I walked over to the undead gorilla in agony on the ground. “I guess even undead can feel pain.”
“Uhm… Nate, you don’t know?” Iris asked.
“Know what?” I asked as I poured the purification potion on the monster. “Don’t be cryptic. Spill it out.”
“A zombie-type undead normally can’t feel pain, not like this, but because the forest is covered in your saint aura, it is subjected to the same rules of nature we are. It’s very similar to stepping on holy ground, except they don’t burst into flames immediately.”
The gorilla roared as the potion took effect. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure it’d actually work. A few factors worked against the monster. One was the fact that Ronica’s pink lightning ate enough of the magic that kept its shield at full strength. Two were the injuries by Iris’s arrows.
Three were several daggers sticking from its side, which I just noticed. The rogue was a crafty one.
I also located spots where ice and Ramon’s lightning likely hit.
[The purification is destroying the undead. Would you like to harvest its core?]
The disappointment struck, just a little. I was hoping it’d turn back to normal, become a protector of the forest. I didn’t want to kill it. However, naïve thinking wasn’t the reason why I made it this far, so I selected yes on the prompt.
The giant undead abruptly exploded into red light, souring my mood a bit more. In its place was a glass-like sphere the size of a basketball, glowing with multicolored energy.
“So… there’s no real way of reverting the undead back?” I asked as I collected the undead core.
“If there is a way, I’ve never heard of it,” Nuwa replied.
I nodded. Not every heat-of-the-moment idea was meant to work.
[Large Undead Core. Item rank: S. Item quality: Extraordinary. A rare and powerful mana core fit for mana applications. It is not recommended to absorb it without purifying it. Capable of reducing the effects of magic seals.]
“I could purify that for you,” the healer said as if reading my mind. “If you want.”
I passed it to her. “Please and thank you.”
Turning to Alexander, I awarded him the contribution points. Or rather, the system did it for me. I no longer controlled the process. “You’ve got first priority. If you want to buy the core with your contribution points, feel free.”
“Yes, I’d like to buy it now,” Alexander said, eyes shining with hope.
“Give me a few,” Nuwa said, sitting down, placing her hand over the sphere.
“You guys sure are lucky, getting contribution points,” Kelvin said.
I waved off his comment. “Since we’re an unofficial clan now, you’ll also be rewarded. Just with things suited to you. The contribution points the apprentices are receiving aren’t controlled by me, but whatever system the goddess has in place.”
I smiled at his confused expression. “Believe me, if I understood any of it, I’d have an S-ranked shop right now.”
Kelvin chuckled. “That’s true.”
[Congratulations, you received 10,200 spirit coins. Number of spirit coins: 125,100. Heavenly spirit coins: 9.]
We were so close! So goddamn close. Only twenty-five thousand spirit coins needed to finally purchase the magic lab. I worked so hard to get that close, even decided to no longer spend anything.
Some of the upgrades I wanted were either inaccessible due to the shop’s rank or gave me a system error. There was a chance the cube itself needed an upgrade for those specific options to become available. That or the system was simply being a dick.
“We should consider visiting a house of scholars,” Alexander suggested. “Maybe they’ll have information pertaining to undead and potentially potions to drive up profits.”
“Eh… we should probably bring Shera along in that case,” Harmony said.
I frowned. “I don’t know. She’d probably rather fall off a building than be anywhere near me. Lady gives me a death stare every time I enter the library.”
I could’ve phrased that as resting bitch face.
“She’s like that with everyone, but means no harm,” Harmony said. “I’ll ask her.”
“We’ll be entering dungeons,” I said, “so no.”
“She’d be fine waiting outside,” Harmony said.
“No. Remember, we’re keeping secrets,” I said, which finally opened the naïve eyes of the teenager. “She doesn’t even know you’re a magician.”
The guilty expression that I hoped wouldn’t emerge did so in the teenager’s eyes. Even Mandi turned to stare at her, abandoning her conversation about clans with Ronica.
“She’s a good friend of mine and already knew about my broken core,” Harmony said. “Tom and Father too.”
“Ah. Who else knows?” I asked. “And do they know about me?”
“They probably made guesses, especially with the apprentices,” Harmony said. “Not the master magician thing, but about being a magician. And no one else knows.”
I sighed. “Well, it was going to come out one way or another. As long as you’re okay with it.”
Harmony nodded. “Shera’s a great person. Don’t let her obsession with books fool you.”
I glanced at the others. “Good job. Wash up and meet back up at the shop. We’ve got blueberry pies and dinner to eat.”
I made a mental note to see how they made frozen desserts here. When the cool breeze hit across my sweat, I changed my mind.
“Hey Nate, should we… attempt a dungeon before going to the city?” Iris asked as she turned away from the forest. There appeared to be longing in that gaze, which quickly vanished as the life elf eyed me.
“I was thinking along the way and afterward,” I replied, but paused as a new thought came to mind. “Actually, let’s go check on Wolverine’s progress. They shouldn’t have gone too far. Mandi, you take the air and tell me if you see them.”
“Right,” the redhead said and off she went, Opal following. Opal, of course, had entered the forest after the battle ended.
Wolverine, Cheetara, and Mazu dodged bushes and thorns, branches, and even forest residents as they ran Mudwater down. The sunlight wolf barked viciously after him, and even as a juvenile, it still contained power. But the coyote didn’t let up.
They were moving so fast, Cheetara had to hop onto Wolverine’s back in order to not get left behind.
Finally, she fired another massive beam of mana, which almost hit. The ground exploded everywhere, reforming itself moments later. Mudwater leapt into the air at the last second, but they caught his attention, as he turned on them, smug.
Wolverine took notice of the clearing they were in.
“This area should be enough to go all out,” Mudwater said. “You could have resisted the chase, not gotten involved with the Axem’s land scoping. Now he’s ordering me to murder you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Wolverine said. “The moment you attacked Best Buddy and the others, you sealed your fate.”
Massive aura erupted around Wolverine, and it went on for miles. The sunlight wolf’s eyes glowed an ominous red.
His fury demanded blood.
