Helial opened his eyes. He had a slight burning feeling in his chest, but nothing that could prevent him from sitting up.

“Listen, little girl, do you or do you not want to become my personal pe-”

“Kitty, can I touch your whiskers?”

What the fuck is happening.

Helial turned on his side and saw a girl with platinum hair and a giant pile of white fur fighting vigorously. All in all, despite the arrogance and insolence of Snowflake, it looked like Lumia was gaining the upper hand.

…

It looks like someone made a new friend while Shithead was fast asleep.

…

Helial sighed and waited for them to notice him, but it did not look like that was going to happen any time soon.

He cleared his throat.

Lumia spun around. While she was turning, worry and guilt flashed in her eyes. Helial ended up like that because of her. She ran towards her brother and hugged him, while tears came streaming down her eyes.

Helial held the little girl tight and ran a hand through her hair. It was a very sweet scene. Lumia could finally hug her brother, after he had risked his life to save her. Helial was not mad at her in the least, he even took a good look at her to make sure her little body had not suffered any wounds. Once reassured that she was safe and sound, he planted a big kiss on her cheek and gave her one of those smiles that were only for Lumia.

“Idiot…”

“Don’t worry, I’m alive. Nothing to worry about. The Boss…” whispered Helial, still confused on the last events.

“It’s dead”, snorted Snowflake, destroying that family idyll. “Little monster, what kind of Forbidden Skill did you use? That huge pile of crap exploded like BOOOM, you know? Billion pieces, entrails flying. Aaah, what a sight.”

The cat then realized he had just paid a compliment to Helial, so retraced his steps immediately: “Coff, coff, I mean, uhm, you suck and deserve to die.”

Helial frowned, while Snowflake kept curling his whiskers, very satisfied of how he had finished off his speech.

“Listen Shitflake, we have stuff to do, thanks for your help. Now we have to go, goodbye”, he tried to get rid of the cat.

“How did you call me?! Hey you, Shitial, listen, I don’t hack you to pieces just because that poor baby would cry too much and this Supreme Cat needs a personal pet. She happens to look perfect”, sneered Snowflake.

…

A tavern full of ignorant boors would have more significant conversations than this one.

…

“Eat your shit and go kill yourself”, continued Snowflake, “this Supreme Cat has no intention of taking orders from a little brat. Rather, what did you find with the Boss?”

Helial suddenly remembered of the Mission and the reward. Plus, after killing all these wolves, he should have levelled up.

He opened the Stats window.

Name

Helial

Race

Human

Title

Wolf Hunter

Primary Class

None

Primary Affinity

None

Primary Profession

None

Level

26

Exp

4.566/80.000

HP

3100/3100

MP

30.090/30.090

Strength

144

Vigor

102

Intelligence

148

Wisdom

125

Dexterity

90

Effects:

Physical Resilience: 5%

Vitality Regeneration: 1800 %

Health Regeneration: 1800%

Physical Resilience: 3000%

Resistance to Magic: 3000%

Helial stared at the Stats window. Level 26… Not bad, but it was not enough.

Will it ever be enough?

He waved a hand in front of himself and the Stats window disappeared, replaced by his Inventory.

A new translucent window was now floating in front of Helial. The boy looked inside and frowned. He reached inside and his hand disappeared in the Inventory. He fished out a small, slightly rusted ring.

Snowflake looked at it with disdain: “A stupid Interspace Ring, and even a low-level one, judging by the look of it. What a catch! All hail our Brat King!” The cat began rolling about on the ground, incapable of restraining the laughter.

Apparently he thinks to be funny, thought Helial, looking at his with a raised eyebrow.

“About 3 cubic yards, better than nothing”, he shrugged and put it on his finger.

Lumia asked: “How does it work?”

Helial answered with a smile: “Simply put, when-”

He could not finish: “Hahaha, little girl, don’t you even know how an Interspace Ring works? Where did you live until now, in a village at the end of the world?! Hahaha!” Snowflake was now crying with laughter.

Sigh

…

This cat is retarded…

…

Helial sighed and continued with his explanation: “You use it to carry objects. It is essential equipment for who wants to embark on the journey to become an Immortal. The best Interspace Rings can contain hundreds of cubic yards, but cost a fortune. This is a low-level ring, but it is better than nothing. Plus, the Boss has left on the ground also some materials to forge low-level weapons and armors. I guess we could use them in some tribes to get money or food.”

Snowflake was still on the ground, with the hair on his chest raising and lowering furiously. That cat did not seem to have all his marbles.

…

Heavenly Star Tigers are famous for their elegance and refinement…

Who the fuck started this rumor?

…

Helial was feeling well again and said: “We have to go, the Goblins might have already taken the outpost, for all we know. The forest should be clear, but just to be safe we should move fast to the North and pass the mountains. This way, we’ll ditch them for sure. There is nothing in the North that might get their attention.”

…

Actually, I think that if you go out now, you’ll find a nice surprise waiting for you.

Kyeheheheheh

…

Helial walked to his sister’s side and putting a hand on her head he said, awkwardly: “Uhm, you see”, Helial’s eyes were full of insecurity, “the tunic got torn, split in two. Could you sew it up? I’m sorry, but I wasn’t able to parry the blow in time.”

The boy had a very remorseful look on his face, almost afraid of Lumia’s reaction. Insecurity clouded Helial’s eyes; he hoped Lumia would not be mad at him.

“Yes, sure. Give it to me, I’ll fix it!” said the girl, with the utmost confidence.

“Little girl, do you have the Sewing Skill?”

“No.”

Snowflake stroked his chin, deep in thought. After all, Sewing was a Passive Skill; it would have been impossible for Lumia to have it. At most, she could learn some low-level Active Skills, like Helial had done with Demolition. In order to learn a Passive, one had to be in the First Phase, when the Meridians undergo a substantial change.

Lumia took the fabric and observed it.

It looks like the little one is a sewing expert!

Snowflake was thinking, after all it was not unusual to develop a talent even before the First Phase. Helial did not have the Passive for Mastery of the Sword, but it was clear that that was going to be his path.

“Uhm, little one, could you sew me a red cape later?” asked Snowflake, fascinated by the attentive gaze with which Lumia was scrutinizing the tunic. “With a red cape I would look even more magnificent than I already am. My magnificence would reach unheard-of levels!”

“Be quiet, pussycat, if you’re a good boy I’ll make you one.”

Pussycat?! Snowflake stomped his feet, irritated and helpless at the same time. That girl had absolutely no respect for him, but what could he do? Should he act overbearing with a little girl? The Boss had tried to hurt the girl and it had been the death of him. What would he do if Helial went ballistic? Minding his own business was definitely the best solution.

“I’ll show you, bah, who’s the pussycat here…”

Lumia began to sew, as focused as a surgeon.

The more the stitching was taking form, the deeper Snowflake’s frown lines grew. Helial, however, kept smiling, as if everything were perfectly fine.

The new stitching was just below the old, horribly bulging one.

Snowflake raised an eyebrow. But-

“Done!” Lumia handed the fruit of her hard work to Helial. Now there were two stitchings in the front of the tunic, one more bulging than the other.

Snowflake’s jaw dropped. The girl was not even remotely able to sew. That horror was painful to look at. In all likelihood, even him, without opposable thumbs, could have done a better job.

He was about to make a biting comment, when he suddenly felt a killing Aura crush him to the wall. That icy grip to the heart was coming from Helial, whose blue eyes looked like direct trapdoors to hell.

The look only lasted a split second, then Helial turned to Lumia and said, grinning: “It’s perfect, now we can go.” He hugged her and kissed her on the forehead to thank her. “We still have plenty of meat. Now that we have the Interspace Ring, crossing the mountains shouldn’t be a problem.”

Inside Interspace Rings, time stood still. The food took much longer than usual to go bad, so they did not need to worry about provisions.

Helial arranged the meat and the objects in the additional space in the Inventory, created by the Interspace Ring.

Every time an object was added that could increase the available space, the new space was added to the existing one in the Inventory. Once the Ring was removed, though, the space would have disappeared from the Inventory, together with the objects inside it, that were going to stay with the ring.

“Let’s get out of with dump and go, we still have things to decide. We need to find a city and find a way to make some money, what comes next we’ll decide later. We need to become stronger.”

“Can we take the kitty?” asked Lumia with sparkling eyes.

“What?” said Helial and Snowflake together.

“The kitty. He looks so lonely… let’s take him with us.”

The corners of Helial’s mouth trembled. Kitty… that “kitty” has almost killed more wolves than me…

“Are you coming with us, kitty?”

“Who the fuck are you calling kitty? Why the fuck would I come with you? What’s all this fucking bullshit”, grumbled Snowflake.

“Do you have any plans, Snowflake?” asked Helial.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“If you’re just going to wander aimlessly, you might as well come with us. You’re not bad and you don’t look like the kind of animal that would hurt a little girl… with you here, I could protect Lumia more efficiently. Who knows how many wolves we will encounter in the mountains. I’d feel safer, with you by my side”, said Helial earnestly.

He was not the kind of person to waste time with pleasantries, he was always direct and frank.

“Your mama’s an animal, you little monster”, grunted Snowflake.

Exiled to this place…Snowflake shook his head and said: “If you’ll kneel down and beg me, hitting your forehead on the ground three times, this Supreme Cat will grant you the honor of accomp- Where are you going?!”

Helial and Lumia had already turned around, headed for the exit of the Dungeon.

Snowflake ran after them. “So, will you kneel or not?!”

Helial and Lumia exchanged a glance and laughed. The pile of white fur would keep them company on their journey, making their travels less daunting.

They stepped outside of the cave.

Suddenly they heard the leaves rustling and other noises. But there was one noise that could be heard above all others:

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”