Chapter 9

I didn't technically tame any of the wolves. But they kept following me like lost ducklings after they woke back up from inside the tent. I think it was more like curiosity of what this weird, tall but obviously weak being would do next. I was entertaining to them because I hadn't been able to throw any hits on them but I had somehow kept the cold outside and their furs dry. I was perfectly fine with that. I even talked to them even if I could tell from their empty looks that they didn't get a word from what I was saying.

"And like, he gave me hell and would never admit I was a worthy apprentice but I could see his pride behind that dirty old man beard of his. Too much of a tsundere, that old blacksmith"

"Do you think my parents would lock me in an institute if I woke up and told them all of this? Am I even gonna remember? I better because I have endured some shit in here! I have the potential to be badass!"

"Could this...truly be a game? Everything is so lifelike and it seems to be lasting so long...can this truly be happening in a span of seconds in real time? But, what would that mean? For me? Are my parents worried?"

"What if there are more players in here? I mean, Erlong wasn't entirely a player but it's possible right?"

"What if I die in here?"

"Wolf 1, stop biting Wolf 2 and oh no! Wolf 3, you better not get involved into this again! Seriously? Every. Fucking. Time! How does that broody wolf over there even deal with you?!"

"Maybe actually giving you names would make it less confusing but then you wouldn't remember and I would get them confused. Yeah, I know! You aren't pets! Okay, okay! Keep your independence!"

The loneliness that I had been feeling was surely being driven away and no matter how shabby the tools I had made were, they still sniffed and licked at them as if they were the most amazing stuff so that helped with my wounded ego after being with someone that was doing everything perfectly. 

Their yips and jumps when I had managed to catch some rabbits, snakes and squirrels in my impromptu traps had been deafening and they had crushed me under their weight as they jumped on me by their excitement. They almost chewed me raw while they impatiently waited for me to actually prepare the food instead of give it away uncooked. Well, my intention wasn't to give it away at all because I knew hunger and I wasn't ready to experience it to such an extent any time soon. But they seemed to expect that I was providing for them and when I tried to cook with what little Erlong had shown me, they kept glaring at me as if they were doing me a favour by being patient. They were humoring me. How on earth was I supposed to say no to those faces? Or those gleaming teeth? I tried to never forget how easy it would be for them to turn on me but at the same time, no other creature had dared appear near me so I couldn't be entirely sure if their appearance was to thank for that but I was still grateful. 

As I was more and more grateful for those few precious days in Oasis and how much they were already helping me through this mess. But more than grateful, I was hurt and angry. I would never forget Erlong nor did I know if I would be able to see him again but that was his fault and his alone so I couldn't forgive him. The weight of the sword was a constant reminder as well. The wolves had the most peculiar reaction to it too. They seemed inclined to forget its existence when they were all over me but the moment my grip on it tightened or I moved it from one hand to another to relieve the pain, the movement attracted their attention to it and they hissed and growled at it as if it was an entity of its own. They considered me something separate from it and the moment it was out of sight, they became entirely different beings. There was something there and I had no idea what or if I wanted to find out.

Also, no matter the entourage of wolves watching me every second and moment of the day, I couldn't let go of that initial wolf. He was the first one that had gained my attention and I could swear I had intrigued him too. There was a reason why he had called his pack on me when I hadn't even made a move towards him. Was it a test? Had he just seen a good chance to feast on a weakling? Was I reading too much into a wolf that was basically code in a game or a figment of my imagination? Then, why did he still keep his distance but never take his eyes off me?

And then, one day, when he looked ready to leave the shadows and make purposeful movement towards us, or more like me, I saw something that took my mind off of everything else. There was a person. There was a person near the water at the edge of this godforsaken island. A person.

"Wait! You'll fall-" They never heard me but they fell in the water. I blanked out. I threw the meat in the fire and got up in an instance, not even in control of my own movements. My desperation burned through every second and my mind was filled with static. I heard growls and whines around me but I ran as I had never run before and jumped into the frigid water. I hissed and that resulted in swallowing some of that ice cold water that burned in its way down my throat. The current was violent and I barely managed to float. A second splash sounded somewhere behind me but I couldn't concentrate. All I could feel was my life slipping through my fingers like sand and the leadlike weight of the sword as it dragged me to the bottom. 

That was when something bit into the hood of my cloak and growled indignantly and irritatedly at me before it dragged me to the surface. It gave me enough clarity to see the glaring fish symbol in the corner of my vision. I selected it instinctively. That was the icon that had appeared the first time I had killed those Ikawa and I had drunk their blood and been covered in their scales. An uncomfortable sensation covered my body for some moments. After it, the cold was bearable and the water seemed to follow my movements instead of trying to move me. I looked at my arms and feet and screamed. I was covered in scales. The wolf that had fallen along with me looked me at my new appearance in shock. Then he narrowed his eyes and I immediately recognized him.

"You spend days giving me the cold shoulder after trying to get me killed by your pack and now you jump in to save me at the risk of your life?!" He literally rolled his eyes at me before he started swimming forward. I had forgotten why we were in the water for a moment but now that it came back to me, I followed behind him with vigor, feeling the water slide through the scales and giving me unparalleled speed in swimming. "This better not be permanent!" I grimaced in disgust but when I saw the wolf trying to competitively keep up with my swimming and losing, I realized it wasn't that bad for now. "All that holier-than-thou attitude but see who's losing!" He nipped my boot, dragging me back a few meters and moved forward. "Oh, it's on!"

Lainax Connection Acquired

Filled my vision. That was what it took then. To tame a wolf. Though I felt as if I was the one being tamed. 

"Lainax? Seriously? How much of a drama queen can you b-" He kicked water in my face and barked joyfully when I choked. Seriously, I seemed to attract those kinds of characters.