After a long, uhh, discussion, I think I have imparted the general concept of humans and human things, and for her to stay away from it. The mind bond broke when I left to kill a deer or something for us to eat, and when I returned I expressed my surprise at how quickly she learned magic. Which, ironically, she did not understand, seemingly taking it for granted that one just does magic.

In the end, I decided that she probably wouldn’t go off to kill humans, and in general stay away from cities and such, and turned my mind to the task I flew out here for: Magic wood for my magic spear. That was a concept she understood, and she quickly told me of a portion of the forest that is highly magical.

She did not want to leave the egg, which is understandable, and means that she’s less likely to harm humans, but also means food can become a problem. I told her I would be back and bring food, and then I left for the magic wood.

Which, as it turns out, was in an area I flew past, but far enough away that I didn’t notice it. When I knew where to go, largely thanks to the map-like understanding of the area I got from her, it stood out. Very much so.

This entire part of the forest has purple leaves and silvery needles. I photograph and collect some of those, as well as any other New World things I find. One interesting example is the [Healing Fluxroot], a rootlike plant that electrocuted me (and itself) when I pulled it up. I found another, and digging it up from the earth worked much better. The mana here is as dense as anywhere else, and this is probably a good spot for training one’s mana.

But I’m here to get wood. I find a suitable, youngish, [Silverpine Tree], about three times the thickness of what I want, and revert to my normal form. By utilizing the cutting spell of [Mana Crafting] on my little mini-axe, I quickly fell the tree. I could’ve just used my hand, but then buying those things would’ve been a waste! On that note, I should look out for New World ore deposits, if those even exist, so that I can mine them. The pickaxe could do with some enchants, too.

With the tree felled, I start magically levitate my phone, pointed at the fallen tree. I start recording a video, and then I get to working on the wood. First, I cut off all the branches. I then cut the tree to my own length, throwing the top part to the side. Next, I focus on the tree with [Mana Crafting: Wood Shaping]. I make the thin bark strip away, gathering it in a heap. With preparations done, I bring out the spearhead and start peeling off the outer parts of the wood until I have a staff roughly the correct size.

To not waste the wood I peel off, I gather and shape it into a log of its own as I work. It is a bit long, so I split it in two halves and put them aside. I grab the staff and do a few (probably awful) movements and thrusts. Hmm, a bit shorter. I repeat the process until the staff reaches my shoulder. I take a moment to think about how I want to enchant the shaft, coming to the conclusion that it should compliment the spearhead by being strong, sturdy and conduct mana well.

I start by imbuing it with mana and a little bit of Mist, and when I feel like it has enough, I use the mana to [Enchant] it with what is essentially a combination of my [Body Enhancement] and a weak form of [Regeneration]. “Perfect.” With the enchantment done, I start fitting the spearhead, an easy process when I can change the shape of the wood, made tougher by the enchantment and the fact that I can’t equip my crafting abilities. At least I can easily replace the shaft later.

I pull at the spearhead with quite a bit of force without it coming off, and determine it to be attached good enough. Acting on an idea I got while working the wood, I bring out the aluminum tooth and a grown mana crystal. I magically cut and grind the crystal until it has a nice round shape, storing the fragments in a small plastic bag. I then smelt the aluminium tooth, and form it to a sort of cage over the crystal. I imbue the cage with Earth for toughness, and then attach it to the bottom of the spear.

I take a moment to wonder at my creation. The spearhead is a bit asymmetrical, the shaft is a bit irregular, and the crystal parts looks a bit off. That said, it’s amazing for a first product. I charge the crystal and take a martial stance. I close my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, then stab a nearby tree. Despite its magical nature, the spear cuts through like butter, and I have to push the tree away when it almost falls on me.

I give the recording phone a grin and things up, and then I stop the recording. Sweet! An awesome spear, and the [Spear Fighting] ability to use it. On one hand, I feel like abilities are given way too easily, considering making instant noodles can get you [Cooking], but I’m not complaining.

I mana bond to the spear as I ponder what to do next. Oh right, the wyvern corpse. I should call Thomas to have him send someone to retrieve it. Let’s do that right now. I take out my phone and find him in the contacts list. Hmm, I might be able to fit the extra wood in the bag, but not the spe- “Hello, Thomas Speaking?”

A while later, I hear the sound of a helicopter in the distance. Ahh, there it is. They are a bit off course (I am not good at giving directions), so I do as planned and launch a magical flare. Making sure they see it, I turn my attention back to one of the two pieces of ‘soft wood’, that I am currently working on. It’s soft only in comparison to the core wood, and bending it still takes a lot of force. Well, not so much that I get particularly tired from bending it, but now I also use [Body Enhancement]. I want it to be hard to bend, or rather, that the draw weight is high, because I’m making a bow. The string will have to wait, but I’m mostly just killing time. I straightened out the spear shaft the first five or so minutes, and since I’m in the mood for more crafting I decided to start making something from the extra wood.

Well, I also had to haul the wyvern corpse to a cleared area, which happened to also be by the local (service) road. In frustration I may or may not have harvested more scales and leather. I wave to the helicopter as they come down, stilling the wind from the two rotors with some magic. The helicopter touches down, and Thomas and some soldiers exit.

“Geezes, you look terrible. I was about to ask if you fought a dragon or something, but…” He waves at the corpse I’m sitting at. “Dragonslayer, huh. Seems like you’re having a fun time.” He prods some of the dead beast’s scales.

“Actually, this is just a wyvern. And a small one. There’s a bigger one up on that hill.” I nod towards the nest, my focus still on the bow-to-be as I add the last touches for now.

“There’s another one? These things look like they could take out planes, and you didn’t warn us?” One of the soldiers exclaims. Uh. They all look a mix of horrified, amazed and ready to fight. When they put it like that, I probably should’ve mentioned it.

“To be fair, she’s pretty nice. And I think I managed to convince her to not hurt humans. At least to avoid cities and towns.”

After a bit more… ‘discussion’ (people complaining at me), I end up escorting Thomas and two soldiers to the wyvern nest. “Okay, we’re getting close. Let me put the [Aspect of the Wyvern] on you.”

Soon after, we enter the clearing around the nest. Mama Wyvern has been aware of us for a while, and we are faced with her rather menacing stare. At least she’s not grinning. I motion for the others to wait, then walk ahead, up to the edge of the nest. Her mana greets me in the form of [Mind Magic], followed by a slightly more formal greeting. ｢Little one. {Inquisitive} Little one brought pack mates?｣

｢Greetings.｣ I reply. ｢Yes. They are curious. //{Conflicted}And afraid.// Your territory of hunt scares them. Close to our territory.｣ The last part is only sent for a moment before a yell from behind me grabs my attention.

Another voice rings: ｢{Fearful/confused}What was that?｣. My train of thought is completely derailed, did I form a mind- wait… ｢Did Wyvern connect to pack members’ mind?｣

“Calm down.” I implore. “Even if it’s called [Mind Magic], I can’t control people’s minds or anything. Hell, I don’t think I could force a telepathic bond like that.” If I for whatever reason decided to become a superhero or some shit, I would call myself ‘Exposition Man’ and go around explaining things. ｢{Annoyed}Little one-｣ “But it’s MIND magic!” ｢-gives fast, but is afraid of taking!｣

Holding in a laugh, I snort at the wyvern’s comment, making the poor soldier stare angrily at me. “Sorry. But really though. Either don’t think about it, or raise your levels so you can defend yourself. Magic is too, well, mindfucky otherwise.”

They are eventually convinced she’s unlikely to hurt anyone, mostly because of her insistence to not leave the egg, nor move the egg from the nest. That and the fact that she is able to communicate. They are not happy that she forcefully made a telepathic bond to them, but if she does that to anyone who gets too close, she can warn them to stay away. I chat a bit more with her after they leave, while enjoying the contact with another being.

It really is nice being this close to someone. If a five meter long wyvern counts as a person. She’s capable of reasoning and communication, so to me, she is. Still, a lesser dragonid being more aware of my loneliness more than I was, until she told me… ｢Maybe I am looking for a mate, or nest…｣

｢{Confused/Indecisive}Little one is of my nest.｣ I look into one of her huge eyes, and she stares back. ｢Am I?｣

｢{Fondly}Little one heal. Little one bring food.｣ She elaborates. ｢Little one is of many nests.｣ She replays my memories of the wolves, as well as my apartment, my attempt to show ‘humans’/‘humanity’, and the people who just left.

｢Humans often have many nests. Family, mate, pack//friends.｣ I stare into the air for a while, just enjoying the moment. It’s getting late… ｢I should return home//to nest.｣ I stand up. Maybe… ｢Can you be of my nest?｣

I get a glowingly warm yes. Then… ｢Then you need a name.｣ Wyvern, air, draconic… Aeria? Aeris? That’s a death flag, isn’t it. Aera, Laera, Lera, Leda? ｢How about… {Firm}Leda.｣ “Leda.” (Leh-da)

A heartbeat passes. Then another. The mighty wyvern looks at me, and I look back. She ‘speaks’: ｢Leda. Leda. Lee-daaa. Yes. This one is Leda. Little one has name?｣

I grin. ｢Lars.｣ “Lars.”

｢Lars and Leda sounds pretty good. Like a pair. Companions. How about it, we can be companions?｣ Tåke is already a beast companion, no reason why I can’t have another.

｢Then we will be mates.｣

Oh. Fuck. I mean, preferably not. I feel like there’s some loss due to translation here, and I hope that I haven’t accidentally agreed to… Actually, if I gather enough mass to fully take on the form of a wyvern, would it be so bad? Until now, I haven’t cared about love or a girlfriend or anything, but I can see myself growing fond of Leda. She’s basically a child though, both in age and intelligence.

Well, for now let’s keep things within the law. It’s not something I should do without a lot more thought. I don’t mind caring for her egg and hatchling, ‘Wyvern Trainer’ sounds pretty badass. For now, let’s just enjoy the new bond, class, and ability.

Beast Companion acquired: Leda - [Young Wyvern]

Ability learned: [Beast Training]

Class unlocked: [Beast Companion]