Around mid-afternoon, Liam and Nora returned to the shop, completely oblivious to the events occurring because of the collapsed tomb. However, almost everybody in the city saw the giant creature flying to the north. Of course, it only gave Liam another thing to ask Noctis about in the future.

Once they entered the apartment where nobody could eavesdrop, Liam said, “I’m taking the other Direwolves hunting for the rest of the evening.”

“Other Direwolves?” Nora nervously asked.

“Yes. You coming or not?”

“Uh… I think I’ll pass this time…”

“Alright. I’ll be back later, so don’t make me look for you again.”

“I won’t.”

With that, Liam left her by herself. Looking around the empty room, she muttered, “This feels weird. Perhaps I should go do something…”

Now that she no longer needed to steal anything to survive, she felt at a loss for what to do with her free time. Hoping to find something to do, she grabbed a few gold coins and headed downstairs.

* * * * *

Deep within the forest south of Crey, Scath led Liam through the maze of trees until they once again reached the wall of fog. On the other side, they met the other Direwolves. Honestly, Liam wondered if they would even be capable of hunting. Every single one looked like it had not eaten well in several months. Their ribs protruded from their sides, making them look like skeletons covered by a layer of fur.

Sighing, Liam muttered, “I have no idea how you all ended up like this…”

“It is hard for them to hunt without being spotted,” a voice sweet as a ripe plum spoke.

Facing the owner of the voice, Liam saw a woman garbed in a flowing white dressed that wavered in the air despite the lack of wind. She returned his gaze with peaceful golden eyes much like his own. Her skin shone with a golden luster, though multiple vines wrapped around her arms and dress, obstructing much of her skin from view. Short red hair sprouted from her head like leaves on a tree. A compelling beauty by any standard.

Furrowing his brows, Liam asked, “Who are you?”

“We met yesterday, did we not?” the woman asked.

Putting the pieces together, Liam asked, “Are you that mist woman from yesterday?”

“That is the form I take in that pond, yes,” she answered.

“I see… Hmm…” Liam muttered while eyeing her curiously. Although she looked almost human, she also looked far from it.

“You still seem curious about their condition?” the woman asked, pointing at the wolves.

“Somewhat,” Liam answered, “considering they are powerful predators.”

“Having a human among them should keep them safe from the powerful humans. You will look like a tamer.”

A few of the wolves growled at the statement, although one, the same that previously tried to bite Liam, simply wagged its tail.

“I see. Well, we should head out,” Liam said. Then, raising a brow, Liam faced the woman and asked, “If I end up coming here more often, I’ll need a name for you.”

“Ah, yes, my name,” the woman mumbled, gazing into the sky with a nostalgic glint in her eye. “Long ago, my late master gave me the name Gardenia. I had nearly forgotten…” A single tear dripped from her eye. Then, she returned her gaze to Liam and said, “Now look at me, changed into something besides what my master made me, all thanks to that fool who lounged beneath my roots for so many years.”

“Mhm… Can’t recall if I mentioned my name, but I’m Liam. Anyway, Gardenia, if you’ll excuse me…” Liam said.

No good way to shorten that name, he thought. Although the statement about a master in the past caught his attention, he figured she referred to a person from long ago that no longer mattered.

“Good hunting, then, Liam,” the woman replied, bowing gracefully.

Facing the Direwolves, Liam said, “Alright, you mutts, let’s go.”

Although a few growled at the insult, they followed him out of the fog wall. Gardenia watched them leave and said to herself, “What an interesting person… So different from Master, but so similar at the same time. How long has it been, I wonder?”

Observing the tree her previous body had grown into, she gave up on counting the years. At this point, even recalling her master’s face proved difficult. However, she sensed a similar potential in Liam, a potential to grow. Once human yet now something else, just like her old master. Only time could tell.

* * * * *

Throughout the afternoon, Liam led the wolves deep into the forest. Here and there, they stopped to prey upon small animals. At one point, a few of them began to chase after a stag, but Liam called them back.

“Wait until you regain some strength before attacking larger prey,” he instructed. The huge wolves looked at each other, then at Liam. They nodded in understanding.

Experience in Command Skill Recognized

Adjusting Skills...

Well, then… Liam thought as he observed the notification. I wonder how much these things actually affect my surroundings.

While wandering through the woods with the Direwolves, he read the skill description. Supposedly, it affected others subconsciously when he gave orders depending on the level of the skill. It bothered him. Orders needed to be followed based on the person’s desire to carry them out, or at least through a willingness to carry them out even if one did not like it. Forcing someone to follow generally ended with betrayal or abandonment of duty.

“Would be nice if I could turn this off for now…” he muttered. Sighing, he decided to give the annoying Masked Meister a call. When he looked at his friend list, he saw Nora’s full name there. “So her last name is Deepwood? Interesting…”

A minute later, the Masked Meister showed up on a screen but looked rather disheveled. [What do you need?] he asked, noticeably out of character.

“There are a few questions I want to ask, but first I was going to ask if I could shut off a skill I don’t want.”

[It’s possible. I assume it’s some sort of passive thing you wanted to disable?]

“Basically.”

[Well, it shouldn’t be much different than anything else you’ve done so far. Also, when did you contract with a Greater Direwolf?]

“Last night,’ Liam replied.

[Hmm… I’ve been a bit too busy to pay attention to everything you’ve done over the past couple days. I did happen to accidentally see your… mmm… ‘naughty night’ by accident for a second, though.]

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Liam muttered, “What about it?”

[Nothing. Just a confession, and thought I’d mention she won’t be getting pregnant anytime soon.]

“Does it have to do with why her eyes changed?” Liam asked.

[In a way, yes. The Ancientbloods were able to procreate with quite a few races, but it generally involved some gene alterations and whatnot for at least a year. You’d have to ask Noctis for all the details.]

“Gene alterations? That sounds a bit advanced for this world,” Liam muttered with a hand on his chin.

[How do you think we implemented this system you’re using? Magic?] the Masked Meister asked sardonically.

“Not like I’ve seen any technology here or anything.”

[Well, you will when we meet in the future. Anyway, I’ve got a lot to set up in the meantime, so did you have anything else before I go?]

“Yeah. I talked to some guy that appears to be descended from the Ancientbloods, but he didn’t seem to know much. He mentioned a library.”

[I could have told you about that, but it isn’t that important for now. Also, seeking out answers from people besides the old bastard or myself probably isn’t the best idea.]

“I assume that is because Ancientbloods are not well thought of?”

[Partly, but also because the old writings portray them as demons.]

“I see. Then, next question… I met a tree woman. I was curious if she is important or powerful since I might form a contract with her at some point.”

[One moment... ] the Masked Meister said, turning somewhere else. While apparently watching some sort of recording, he rubbed his fingers through his jet black hair and asked, [How do you keep meeting such important people?]

“I guess that answers my question.”

[She’s been alive longer than I have. Well, kind of. I actually thought she died, but her turning into a tree makes sense. Anyway, do not form a contract with her until much later. In fact, it might be better to wait until after you help me with my plans.]

“Why?”

[You could die.]

“Good reason, I guess. Also, do you happen to know about that giant creature that flew out of the area by the tomb?”

[Something else I missed? Hmm... ]

The man fell silent for a few minutes while watching something offscreen.

“So? Answers?”

[A dragon… to think one still exists…]

“So they were extinct or something?”

[No, but it’s definitely the only one on this continent. It’ll probably become an ally to you if you meet it.]

“Why would that be?”

[Some old politics and stuff. Ask the old bastard if you care that much. Now, I’ve gotta go. I might need to be more careful next time as well since it seems a few people are more curious about my actions as of late.]

“Alright, fine,” Liam said just before the screen vanished. The man’s reaction to Gardenia interested him, but he had a feeling the story behind it did not matter much for now. Instead, he moved on to shutting off the command skill. Perhaps he could find a use for it later, but he did not feel comfortable keeping it on.

With that out of the way, he and Direwolves continued hunting for a few hours. Under his direction, they cornered all sorts of prey that they normally would have struggled to catch alone. The beasts certainly did not lack for coordination.

That evening, back at Gardenia’s tree, Liam started a fire in order to cook some meat he obtained for himself but left enough wrapped in large ferns to give Nora later on. Anticipating some well-cooked meat, he skewered a rabbit haunch and stuck it over a makeshift fire spit. The crackling flames lapped at the meat until it began to brown. Scath gazed curiously over Liam’s shoulder at the haunch when the fumes tickled his nose.

Gardenia joined Liam by sitting next to him on the log he had dragged over.

“Are you here to ask for some?” Liam asked.

“No. I can’t eat such things in this manner anymore,” she answered, regret oozing from her voice.

“That’s… unfortunate, I guess. By the way, do these guys have names like Scath does?” Liam asked, pointing at the other Direwolves circling the campfire.

“That is a question for them, is it not?” Gardenia asked in return.

“I guess. Hey, you lot, do you have names?” Liam asked the beasts. In answer, a few shook their heads.

One of them waltzed over and sat next to Liam, panting. It was the same one that tried to bite him before.

“It’s hard to keep track of all of you as a collective, so names would have made things easier…” Liam asked them.

One wolf, with completely black fur save for two grey lines on its left side, moved its head further away while lying on the grass. Apparently it held no interest in such things. However, the others seemed willing and interested to take on new names, though the grey one closest to him tilted its head in confusion.

“I guess I can’t give you forgettable names, so I’ll just use ones from a story I can remember from my younger days,” Liam said. Then, facing the Direwolf on his left, he said, “I’ll call you Percival. It feels like it fits.”

Again, the beast tilted its head, but its eyes flashed with comprehension.

“Then, moving on, hmm… I’d like to fit it into your personalities to help me remember, but I’ve barely seen you do anything besides hunting…” Then, looking at the biggest wolf besides Scath that did most of the killing during the day’s hunt, he said, “You’d fit as Gaheris. The others… I’ll wait a bit longer.”