Trying with all her might to suppress the violent trembling throughout her body and the almost irresistible urge to turn around and run away, Tessa stood and looked at the head of the Sun Eater hanging over her.

- How is it? R-ray…

Deciding that this was enough, the guy again took the form of a forest. Taking a few steps forward, he approached the girl, who was trying to make sense of what she had just seen. Ray reasoned that it was better to tell her now, because sooner or later she would have found out anyway if she had followed him. He did not know how the inhabitants of this world would react to such an ability, and now was a great opportunity to find out. Perhaps there was nothing special about the change of appearances and all this time he was winding himself up. So, if Tessa reacted normally to the news, it would be great, but if she started to be afraid of him or wanted to run away, the guy would try to explain everything and calm her down. Of course, this might not work. In this case…

He was ready to kill her.

Somehow it felt a little wrong, but keeping the secret was more important.

“It’s probably hard for her to comprehend this, after what she’s experienced, but I don’t want to wait either.”

Tessa, at that moment, seeing that Rey had returned to his forest form again, sighed calmly. Although he warned her in advance, before the snake she felt such an all-pervading horror that she could not even move, but for some reason, when the girl saw the familiar appearance of a young guy in front of her, her fear almost completely disappeared. Tessa subconsciously knew that the serpent and the Pharoese were the same creature, but right now she felt calmer.

The two stood silently and looked at each other. Ray tried to understand what the girl was feeling now, and she, in turn, tried with all her might not to look away from her deep green eyes. The guy did not pay attention to the fact that he was completely naked, but Tessa was very worried about this.

- Aren't you interested in what I am? - He decided to be the first to ask a question, but in the eyes of the girl slipped only bewilderment.

It became clear that she also did not know his race.

Tessa froze in place, not knowing what to say to him, and the guy pondered whether he could learn more about his abilities in the capital of Rondal.

“Even just by finding a description of creatures that could change shapes or absorb souls, I can clear up a lot for myself. It would be nice to also find information about the Sun Eater."

The snake's body held many secrets. In addition to the huge size, the strongest scales of an incomprehensible color and a strange name, Ray was most surprised by the acid in his saliva. She appeared after the soul of the snake turned green, although before that it was quite ordinary. It was worth assuming that with subsequent growth, the body would change again, so it was quite important to know exactly how.

Tessa noticed that the guy was thinking about something, so she decided to say at least something:

- Everything is fine?

- Yes ... - looking up from his thoughts, he once again looked at the girl.

"She doesn't seem to be afraid."

- Well, didn't you change your mind? Still want to follow me?

After waiting for an affirmative nod, Rei continued:

- Then tell me, maybe you know something about beings capable of transforming like me?

Tessa answered immediately:

- Not. I haven't even heard of anything like it.

- That's how... Okay.

Seeing that the guy was thinking about something again, the girl hurriedly spoke:

- Could you get dressed? Still... it's cold at night.

Those words made Ray smile.

- She's not dressed too warmly either. And what didn't you see there? Having said that, the boy took another step forward. Now he stood almost close to Tessa, who again turned away, trying not to look at the naked guy.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Rei said in an unexpectedly serious voice:

“You should be afraid of me, even hate me. If I had not appeared, you would now be among your comrades, and your tigress would be alive.

The girl answered in her usual commanding tone, but now it seemed softer:

“But if I leave now… I’ll be left all alone.” So shut up and let's get up for the night.

The guy understood that Tessa was aware of all this without his words, but nevertheless decided to stay with him. Smiling again, Rei took out the armor from the Inventory.

- Speaking of which...

***

- Incredible! You don't need to eat or sleep. No wonder you didn't have any supplies with you when we met. By the way, the way you hid my things that…

- How noisy you are. If I knew you were so talkative, I wouldn't have taken it with me. - Ray's indignation was quite justified, because the last ten minutes Tessa did not stop talking for a moment.

But the girl seemed to be much more forgiving than he had originally assumed. Looking at her now, it was impossible to say that during that night she had endured as many shocks as a person would have for a lifetime.

- Nonsense. You love talking to someone so much. What has changed now?

Unable to find an answer, he just sighed.

“Now you don’t need to eat and rest either.” And how can you call what you eat normal food?

- Hmph. Kshims porridge is the perfect balance of price and nutritional value. Why did you decide that your way is better?

- You'll see for yourself. - Saying this Ray pulled Tessa to him. She clearly took this gesture wrong, because she began to break free, muttering something about perverts and the fact that it was inconvenient to do such riding.

The guy did not pay any attention to her not very active attempts to escape. From his chest, a grayish clot of energy escaped and entered the girl's body.

She instantly froze.

Now Tessa felt an incredibly refreshing wave of coolness spread to every corner of her body. In surprise, she even let out a sweet moan, but the effect did not last long. The girl turned her head incomprehensibly, but at the same moment she realized that her fatigue had vanished, and the feeling of hunger that had begun to arise disappeared.

- It's... I feel better. Much better! How did you do this?

“So one soul was enough for her? She's much weaker though, so that's okay."

Ignoring the girl's question, Ray asked his own:

- Describe exactly what you felt.

The girl thought for a moment. Pulling her neat eyebrows together, she tried to describe her feelings as accurately as possible, without missing the slightest detail. After listening to her, the guy noticed a slight difference.

- What about the taste? Didn't you feel a special taste of this energy?

Although he could not accurately describe his feelings, it seemed to Ray that Tessa should understand what he was talking about, but the girl only tilted her head to one side, causing her long braid to flutter.

- Not. All I felt was a pleasant chill.

The guy was silent, but the girl did not back down:

- Tell me. What's the taste?

- Who cares? You will still eat your porridge. Maybe you'll learn to be more obedient.

Widening her eyes in surprise, Tessa was about to start to resent, but right before the first word escaped her lips, the girl pulled herself up.

- Well, okay.

When she turned away, Rei only grinned, however, a calm smile also played on the girl's face.

They silently moved forward until about an hour later, the guy felt a change. The smile on his face grew even wider.

"Status"

Name: Ray???

Race: ???

RACIAL FEATURES:

[Immortal]

[Many Faces Level 3] (Human, Celestial Tildas, Kuring, Snow Serpent, Pharos Forest Native, Sun Eater, Desert Hawk...)

[Soul Master Level 5]

???

SPECIALIZATIONS:

[Hunter Lv 7]

(Detect Animals, Trap, Increased Damage to Animals(3x), Dominate(Devil Panther), Hunter's Mark, Vanish)

[Dagger Mastery Level 5]

(Retreat, Cleave, Penetration(2x), Haste)

[Archer Lv6]

(Firing range increase (4.5x), Power shot,

Trajectory correction, Downpour)

[Throwing: Daggers Lv. 4]

(Return, Throw Range Up(2x), Shot)

[Rider Level 3]

(Relentlessness(3x), Bareback)

[Trickster Level 3]

(Powered Jump (2x), Dash)

Having ordered Tsess to stop, he asked the girl to get down and, ignoring her surprised look, removed the saddle from the panther.

Climbing on his pet again, he got used to the new sensations for some time. Earlier in the forest, sitting on the back of Cess was as pleasant as on a piece of wood, the steel muscles of the cat were too hard and therefore the main part of the load fell on the guy's legs, with which he supported himself. Now, when the level of the Rider had increased, it was even more comfortable to sit on horseback than when the panther had a saddle. As long as Rei did not move, there was a feeling that Cess's back was covered with something thick and viscous, reminiscent of jelly. It firmly held him, not letting him fall, but as soon as the guy consciously tried to move, the resistance disappeared.

- How strange ... Forward!

With a sharp cry from the owner, the panther took off. Zess increased speed, and the only problem for Ray now was strong shaking, but now he was not afraid to fall off.

The cat ran faster and faster. At first, the guy could sit quietly, but when the speed became too high, he had to bend down close to the body of the panther, almost hugging his pet. It was also strange that there was no need to hold hands either. As soon as he placed his palms on Cess's fur, they themselves were fixed in place by the same invisible viscous substance.

Convinced that he could now keep on riding even when the pet did not restrain himself, Rey ordered him to slow down. Now he was just enjoying the feeling of freedom that came naturally. Looking at the night plain, he felt the gusts of an unstoppable wind with his whole body.

“Soon I will be as free as this wind. You just need to finish one thing ... "

Stroking Tsess, the guy found out that he could do it calmly, because the feeling of viscosity disappeared at his request. Freezing for a moment, he immediately ordered the panther to turn around.

- I'll tell her that I just wanted to ride alone ... It's good that I remembered not too late.