A dozen dead monsters later and I stood there with an outstretched hand collecting the EXP; the fight had been pretty fierce due to the monsters absurdly strong armour, but Slipfold decimated anything within melee range, and it pleased me that the fight had been an excellent excuse to test the fold area control.

The wolf was injured, currently laying down with its head on its paws, ears flat back and it was looking up at me with its four jet-black eyes that had a comet-streak patch of steel blue fur around each socket.

It was whining and whimpering as Siya finished off a gargling gorgon, and I asked to her hold back as I slowly approached, my feet crunching deliciously in the thick snow, as I reached back and grabbed a tin of tuna out of my bag.

"Hey bud, don't be scared. Here, I got some food for ya.” I cracked the tin open slowly, the noise making the wolf flinch.

“It's alright, don't worry, we’re not going to hurt you. I just couldn't let those bastards gang up on you like that. I know if I was in your shoes, or rather paws-heh, I'd hope for someone flying over to come and help if they could.." The wolf lifted its head up and cocked it to the side as I spoke and it started to lean forward, sniffing deeply as the tuna meal got tantalisingly closer.

It growled and I froze.

"Hey hey now, no worries bud, I’ll put this down here. I was hoping to get a head pat in or even a friendly sniff of my hand, but I'll leave you be my friend. Stay safe out here yeah?" I placed the open tin down and started to walk away back to Siya. I made it a couple of steps before I heard a yelp with a whine, and I turned around to see the wolf has stood up and was limping, pacing a few steps forward towards me hesitantly, but then falling back in fear and uncertainty, even though it was almost the same height as me when it stood, it was big.

How the old laws of nature no longer apply.

"Woah, you sure are a huge woofer..what's wrong bud? Not a fan of fish? Tuna is all I got, sorry.." As I turned back around it dropped down onto the floor again and put its head on its paws, whining and panting, looking up at me almost hopefully.

#Godu# Hmm, I don't know what it wants-

#Siya# Acceptance. Family. It is frightened, yet it doesn't want to be alone in this world. Maybe it has lost its family..

Damn..I know the feeling bud.

"Do you want to come with us? Is that it?" It cocked its head from side to side as I approached. Its outline didn't change hue so I wasn't getting any danger or 'intent to hurt me' vibes, but still, I approached very slowly. Funnily enough I was still very afraid, even though I was over double the wolf's mag level, but I looked at all that level stuff the same way I would if you had a child with a sword and put them against an adult. The child could be considered much lower level, but it could have just the right type of skills and luck to easily behead the adult.

#Siya# It is sad, but I don't think I can carry it and you through the skies..

#Godu# No worries Siya, we'll figure something out.

I reached out for the wolf with my hand held out in a closed fist, trying to appear as less threatening as possible. Even lying flat on its front, it came up to my waist, and its 4 beady black eyes darted from my hand to my own eyes as it breathed heavily in its high pitched whines. I kept my voice steady and warm.

"It's alright bud. Come here. I'm sure there's an ear or chin that wants to be scratched eh? What's your name? Mines Godu. Is it okay if I feel your fur? Looking pretty soft there aheh..” I nervously laughed as my palms ‌clammed up.

Funny how I can tear apart literal nightmare creatures but I’m still anxious about stroking a pup..sure it’s a BIG pup but still. Come on Godu, put on your big boy brave pants.

“Okay. Ookay. Here I go-woaa!" As soon as I touched it's thick neck fur, it yelped and excitedly crawled closer and sidled itself up against my legs, curling itself around me and it started to bury its head and whining.

"Heh, I guess that's a yes then?"

The wolf nuzzled its snout under my armpit, mewling and yapping, slowly closing and opening its eyes and breathing heavily as I patted its head and carefully scratched behind its ears which it heavily leaned into.

Poor thing is shaking like a leaf..and it seems exhausted. How long have you been running for?

"Bet you're really tired eh? Can't imagine there's many safe spaces to sleep these days.."

I stopped scratching but the wolf yipped and licked my hand and nudged it with its cold wet nose.

"Heh well alright, just a bit more and then how about you come say hello to my friend Siya?" I looked over at Siya who was watching with great interest and smiling.

#Siya# Your compassion for other species is lovely to observe.

#Godu# Ah trust me, there were plenty of people who truly cared for all animals. Before everything went to crap, people all around the world would keep and care for absolutely every single type of creature you could imagine..even the less appealing ones. Anyways, did you want to come over and give him some fuss?

#Siya# He is a she, and absolutely. It looks delightful.

"A her?! Oh I thought it was a guy wolf." Harmlessly, I leaned my head to get a better look at the wolf's crotch who stopped mid yawn and stared at me with an 'excuse me?' look.

"Sorry! Just wanted to check, my bad, my bad..huh, wow, you’re pretty smart for a wolf ain’t ya’” She sniffed and nudged my hand to continue, so I did with a smile.

“Hey Siya, how do you know she’s a she?" I patted the fur as she approached and the wolf briefly tensed up, but then physically relaxed with a huff and flopped down, seemingly deciding the ear scratches were worth whatever the risk. Siya ran her clawed hand over the wolf's fur and smiled.

#Siya# So soft…I scanned her. Her name is Immo.

"Oh right. Yeah that makes sense."

Relatively speaking.

"Nice to meet you Immo. Wanna come with us? Or do you have somewhere you need to get back to?" After I said the wolf's name, she did a literal double take. We were given a peculiar final look, a sniff, then she got up and shook her fur.

#Siya# It looks like she wants to join our team. I'll try adding her to the group.

I almost scoffed out loud.

No way is that going to-

Immo has joined the group.

Say what.

#Team#

Siya: Hi Immo. It is nice to meet you.

Immo: Greetings. Kind, strong ones. Friends.

Godu: I. Um. Hello, Immo.

Immo: Follow friends. Protect friends. Safe together?

Godu: This is..wow. I wasn't expecting this.

Siya: Yes Immo. We can travel together. It is most definitely safer together.

Immo: Kind. Friends. Share.

Share?

Immo is offering [WolfTek].

Accept?

Wow okay uhh-

Deep thought needed to be ‘thunk’ here, it would be extremely reckelss just to accept right off the bat. Surely there’s some old wise saying that covers this situation? Like, ”Don’t take abilities from stranger wolves?”

“This isn’t going to turn me into a furry is it?” I directed a wincing smile at Immo.

Siya: Furry? What?

Immo: Confusion?

Godu: I mean like, the skill you are offering me, will it change my physical appearance. Will I sprout a tail or ears and start calling myself ‘Maxx’ with two x’s for example..

Immo: No shell. Only Spirit.

Hmm only Spirit eh..probably means Majik.

Something fidgeted inside of me.

#Godu# Siya, I’m going to accept, I assume you’ve been offered as well so hold off until I give the all clear. Just in case.

#Siya# Understood. But I have not been offered anything. I assume Immo has offered you a soul gift judging by your reaction?-Oh. Ha! How amusing. Your ‘furry’ ear fears now make sense, considering your aversion to permanent outside modification. Teehee!

I gave Siya a flat look whilst Immo tilted her head in more confusion.

‘Teehee’ yeah, yeah, yeah..Accept.

Accepted.

Streams of white and blue Majik burst from Immo and likewise black and azure burt from me.

Woa okay, this is new.

Establishing Link..

Connected.

They swirled in helixes and pulses of faint lights rippled through them.

Initial sync..Completed.

Delta continuous..Established.

Prechecks running..

I know it had ‘Tek’ in the name but what the fuck is this?! Some kind of server backup job-

Completed.

Pending action…Please destroy logical entity to complete simulcrum integration.

“WOA. Hold your fucking horses! What does it mean ‘destroy logical entity’?” I blurted out.

Immo: No fear. Spirit join. Shell must die. Destroy shell.

Godu: Seriously? That sounds cultish as fuck! Siya? Thoughts? The skill share process is effectively telling me to kill Immo to complete a ‘simulcrum integration’??

Siya: I believe if the words suggest it, then you should do it.

Immo: Yes. Friends. Please complete.

Just like that huh? ‘Believe’ in the fucking ‘words’..But we just saved you, Immo!-

The streams of Majik pulsed with light and I felt a drop in my MP, causing a painful migraine to drop kick me in my skull.

Low MP at target.

Consuming destination MP.

Please destroy logical entity before process timeout.

Brain: OWW! NOBSACKS! We need to make a decision here people!

Gut: It will be fine!

Heart: Shit shit. I don’t know man!

Brain: YOU GUYS-

Balls: Listen. Do whatever it takes. But we TAKE this to our FUCKING graves if it goes south? Understood boys?

Gut: It will be fine lads!

Heart: I don’t know if I can live with that kind of guilt man.

Brain: I’m kind of with heart on this one-

Balls: I. FUCKING. SAID. AM I UNDERSTOOD. BOYS?

Brain: Jeez-Yes! Yes. Understood..Take it easy.

Heart: Y-y-yes sorry sir!

Gut: Yeah whatever mate! But it will be fiiiiine! Chill peeps!

Brain: So it’s decided. We do this.

Spirit: Ooo whatcha all doing-

Brain: Oh FF-Uhh-Nothing spirit! Go back to your room! We’re just doing boring survival stuff! Psst quick! Someone cover his eyes and ears and get him the FUCK out of here! He mustn’t see this! He would never recover-

“Argh fine! Sorry Immo. I hope this hasn’t been lost in translation or some shit, else I’m going to be feeling very miserable for a long time..”

Immo: No fear. Destroy shell. Stronger. Safer.

With pursed lips, I walked up to Immo and scratched her ears, possibly for the last time.

Not that I’m sentimental after such a short time or anything..but still. She’s a lovely creature, a bloody rarity these days..

“Just to be extremely crystal-clear, you want me to kill you, correct Immo?”

Immo: Correct. Kill shell. Soul-

I Slipfolded on the spot, severing her head and letting it thud into the thick snow. The red spread out through the white, like viscous ink on sugar paper it soaked up and spread.

I held my breath, hoping that I hadn’t just slaughtered one of the few remaining creatures that seemed to be friendly.

And a fucking canine at that! John Wick’s going to absolutely crucify my bal-

Logical entity destroyed.

Completing the final Delta..

The wolfs body rapidly sagged in on itself like it had been made of sand, and from said pile of wolf shaped sand came a blast of shimmering mist, just like EXP, but at a density I’d never seen before.

Completed.

Creating containment framework..

It slammed into my hands and chest making my body painfully seize up, and I almost screamed as I felt my bones strain and creak as they grew by a couple of centimetres resulting in my frame rising slightly taller and slightly broader.

#Siya# GODU! WHAT IS GOING ON??

Siya unleashed a trilling war-cry as she deployed her cloak wings, ready to fuck something up, and leapt towards me.

Completed.

“Ughhhhh-I’m okay!-that was-what the heck-phew..I’m okay Siya-” Hands on my knees, panting, I held up a palm to ease her warwapth. I stumbled on my slightly longer legs, my feet finding the ground earlier than I had grown accustomed. I stared at Immo’s sandy remains.

What just happened? I’m..Bigger, and..Heavier?

Carefully I started to check myself over-

[WolfTek] initialised..

From every single pore in my body came bursting out a small stream of white and blue Majik, as if I was a statue with billions of beads of condensation on my surface that had been simultaneously flicked off. This bead cloud bundled onto the ground and then 3D printed an exact copy of Immo who shook her fur and trotted a little circle before sniffing at her old remains.

Immo: Eugh?! Why do I have such a strong desire to eat some of that..Blergh. Anyways! Godu! Siya! Legends! You both rock! But seriously Godu, this is fantastict stuff! Truly, wow. I mean O.M.G. The language is..amazing?! And these stats and functions!! Holy circle in the night-oh it’s called the moon? And it is a BALL? HA! A circle..Oh jeez. Boy am I glad you had the cahoonies to come save me. You have NO idea how rough it is out there..

“UFFF! OKAY. OKAY. You could talk before, but now you can actually TALK!?” My voice went slightly higher than I expected. “What the flippin hell is going on here? What does WoofTek do?”

Immo: Uhh that’s Wolftek my friend. And here let me show you-

Immo burst into sand again and slammed back into my body with a rush of air.

[WolfTek] Dismissed..

Immo: Tally-hoop! Gosh your vocabulary is vibrant..let’s see..

Tally…hoop..what?!-

I looked exasperatedly over at Siya who was frozen on the spot with her claws up in the air, eyes looking side to side, ready for me to give the word for her to attack..Something.

Immo:..Ah! There you are, wow it’s certainly cosy ‌here-oh hi Seren, don’t mind me, I’m just going to..No no, I’m just going to share some info if that’s okay?..Great! Thanks! See you later!

Immo: You should have everything now. Take a peek and I’ll explain to Siya at the same time. We should continue your journey though, I must confess that I saw you both flying last night and wanted to see what you were doing but then you disappeared. Since all this has happened, most humans have been good to us..Well, to me anyways..but I wasn’t sure about Siya..yet, it looks like my worries were not warranted. You two saved my life. Thank you, friends. And sorry for doubting you, Siya.

Siya: You have nothing to apologise for Immo. But your language has..it is remarkable. I’m certainly interested to hear everything you are willing to share!

Immo: You are too kind! And with friends? I share everything! Okay! So, firstly I now live in Godu’s Spirit, oh you call it Soulspace? How pretty..-

Hmm. Alright, I’ll leave them to their chat and take a look I guess.

[WolfTek]

A deviant of the Spyryt.gyde tree, this ability allows the creation of a simulcrum built froma combination of the host and guest entities. The simulcrum preserves its entity status and can still be destroyed, but is able to compress and hibernate in the host and is also able to be deployed at both the hosts and guests will.

The simulcrum retains all previous abilities and the requirement to assign attributes, upgrades and new skills, but benefits from the hosts MAGN levels as if they are their own and loses their own MAGN autonomy.

The host’s decisions take precedence at all times.

The host may permanently terminate the guest at any point, including remotely.

I blew a puff of air out between my lips and shrugged, feeling a little disturbed by the last parts that gave me an extremely narcissistic level of abusive control over Immo, and went over to Siya who smiled at me and patted my back as I hooked myself back to her harness, giving her the green light to take off.

..

Heart: Well..I’m a little conflicted but..Actually? I feel pretty good about this! Great job everyone.

Gut: Told ya! You guys really should listen to me more often. When have I ever done us wrong?

Heart: Really G? Have you forgotten the whole ‘slave gladiator arena’ stuff already? Hmm?

Gut: Nope. All part of the master plan my guy.

Heart: Uh-huh..Sure..

Brain: Gents, I’ll be honest, I’m still a little sceptical, buuut I can’t deny an outstanding result. We didn’t grow a tail. Fucking ‘ay.

Balls: Hmm, hmm...yeah great result..But guys, I’ve been thinking. There’s a fair possibility that Marri would go NUTs for a tail..and some..ears….maybe?

Heart:..

Gut:..

Brain:...

Balls:..

Brain: No.

Balls: Fair enough.

…

..

.