Chapter 10

I wake up where I fell asleep, Evan shaking me awake.

<Hey fluffball, it’s time to wake up. You also got to explain where the magical necklace came out off.> he says in a pretty neutral tone.

I get up and I notice instantly that both my back and neck are hurting… like a lot, and I can’t muffle the groan of pain I let out.

<tsk… of course the child can't handle sleeping in the wild> Evan remarks.

<I… never slept “in the wild”... I suppose it's better if I sleep as a feral fox from now on> I say in a whiny voice… not really to keep up the act but because I never woke up with so much pain. It was only pain though, and I could still move normally, so after a few tries to raise I get up winching and groaning in pain.

<The necklace… well, I dunno how to explain it, in my dreams I met my goddess… or well my mom and she gave it to me, it's used to store energy… she was afraid for my future>.

Lionel this time chimes in with a chuckle: <seems like the fox mother doesn't trust 3 humans to take care of its child, well, I hope that that trinket is gonna help you if we can't>.

<About that… She also told me that for some circumstances I can’t remake my body if I die, so no respawning for me, if I die I stay dead… so please, take good care of me> I say.

Telling them I’m an easy kill might not be the best way to go about it, but, they might think it's ok if I die if I don't tell them, and I need to face it… I’m not really that cunning, if I pull the wrong lie out it's gonna come out to bite me in the worst moment.

Marina says <That is unfortunate… but I never heard of a condition like that… Do you have a problem storing your magical energy?.>

<Yeah, it's a bit more complicated, but that’s the gist of it, but my goddess told me that as long as I follow what she tells me it's gonna get fixed… and right now that task is to kill a magical beast… Mostly by myself… She said I need to be the one doing most of the work> I answer, sounding defeated, as I think that it's not likely to happen too soon.

Marina pats me on the head and says: <Don’t worry Ivo, you just need some training, you’ll be able to square up to low ranking magical beast in no time, and with our support is gonna be even easier, you get the magical energy, we get the loot, it's gonna be great> her tone encouraging.

I nod and ask a bit more cheerful: <well, what is our next stop then?>.

Lionel says: <We need to go back to the capital, it's gonna be a few weeks of travel, we need to get the ok from the “adventurers & monster hunters'' guild, it's kind of a necessity… They don’t require journeying all the way there if you take on another human… But for non-humans, require an assessment. Don't worry Though, on the way we are gonna get you ready and working> and then he gives me a pat on my aching back which gets a snarl of pain out of me.

<Sorry, Sorry> Lionel tells me jokingly and then adds <Get in the wagon, so you can wait the pain out, we are gonna travel for most of the day anyways>.

I nod and do so. 

The day goes by pretty quickly, I sit in the back of the wagon for most of it and I used that time to practice changing form… let’s just say that it wasn't the most productive I have ever been… but now, I think, I can at least attempt to change form and not take 10 minutes to do so, I’m still far from being able to change mid-fight.

Anyways we reach some kind of village by the end of the day when it's already night, only stopping towards midday to have a meal, which I refuse, as I had enough tasteless both.

The village has a wooden log wall all around it with one single gate, the area around the village has been logged and used for farming. The inside of the village is not much more interesting, it's nothing more than about 10 crude houses built all bunched up together.

Lionel and the others stop just outside of it and tell me to stay in the wagon, which I oblige, as I'm curious about humans in this place, but not curious enough to risk being pitchforked to death, or killing someone and becoming hunted.

Lionel and the others go into the village and come back a few hours later.

Lionel tells me that after whatever happened at the fortress shrine the village has a problem with a pack of wolves and a bear having moved towards the village, and now they cant let their animals pasture in the nearby fields as they don't have enough guards and hunters to deal with them and that he took on the job of thinning out the wolf pack, the bear was a bonus.

<It's a great way to get you some training, tomorrow, we get you in fighting fit, and then we get hunting> Lionel finishes.

I nod, hoping it's gonna be just normal wolves and normal bears… it is still scary to have to go against a pack of wolves, but there were 4 of them, with weapons and magic… normal beasts shouldn't have a chance… Right? Anyways, after they go to sleep I start worrying about the hunt, it's not like I am tired anyway, but I can’t even practice changing forms. I am so worried about being weak and useless… I really need something else I can practice or just a way to kill time… I’ll ask the adventurers if cards are a thing in this world.

Still, I can't sit all night worrying, so one thing I can practice by myself that can be good to have down is climbing, so, I just run to the nearby woods and practice climbing and staying on top of trees, which well its kinda easy when you have claws, given they are not climbing claws, and not made to grip but tear, but they are better than bare hands.

The night goes on as I learn how to position myself right and grab onto the bark first and then the branches, making sure I grab the healthy big ones and not the flimsy or dry ones. I fall only a dozen times, but all in all, I manage to take my mind away from the hunt and learn to climb a tree in a pretty quick fashion, next time is gonna be jumping from tree to tree practice.

Morning comes and I go back to the Wagon just in time to see the adventurers coming out of the wagon and stretching, Lionel wearing the last few pieces of his armor while sitting at the back of it.

Evan approaches me and says <Gone to scheme against us?> he says it with a straight face and that makes me sweat bullets a bit but then seeing my distress he laughs and says: <don’t make that face, ‘saw you climbing trees. You were so focused you didn't even notice me, so I left you to it, climbing trees is always useful at least until someone starts flinging fireballs or attacks you with the said tree. But nevermind that, wolves don't have magic, and if they did there wouldn't be any more cattle around, so now most of the morning until we eat lunch is gonna be training to fight, I plan on teaching you basic hand to hand and how to fight with a stiletto, if by any chance you are a natural we will move onto the bow, non-magical, so I hope you didn’t tire yourself too much.>

Well for sure I wasn't fresh, but still had plenty of energy. He walks a bit away from the wagon and then tosses me a pair of chainmail gloves: <wear these, I prefer getting punched with iron than getting tore apart by your claws, still mind your strength.>

I do as he says and the training starts. He shows me posture and teaches me what to look out for, which thanks to my keen senses is fairly easy, my problem is seizing the moment where to strike and I end up getting punched myself many times. I get the hang of Fighting after most of the morning spent punching each other. 

<Well, I got to say, not bad for a kid, though remember that wolves fight different, so analyze their fighting before jumping on them, it's more important to not get injured than landing a killing blow, there isn't always someone that can heal you.> Evan tells me

I nod profusely, it makes sense and it was obvious that a human can't teach how a wolf fights unless he studied them, but I was at least a bit confident in my clawing skills.

Next Evan gives me a stiletto, I saw this weapon in a few games I played… I think it's supposed to be more about piercing than slashing, to get through tough skin or into the opening of armors.

<Ok, as I said next part is the stiletto… for now your claws aren't as tough and sharp as steel, so if we meet the bear you are gonna kill yourself if you try to scratch his pelt, so I’m giving you an actual weapon to supplement your claws until you are sure you can use them against tough opponents. Now we are not doing any actual practice since I don't have training weapons and really don't feel like being poked with a stiletto, but we can still go over stance and motion> Evan tells me and then takes about an hour making sure I know the stance and motion. It is a dodge and stab fighting style where you need to exploit an opening and then go for a vital point with the sharp-pointed blade, not that hard to learn, but for sure hard to master. I can't wait to get some training weapons and practice with them.

With that, the morning passes and it's time for Lunch for the adventurers, this time it looks like they bought food from the village and Marina asks: <Hey Ivo! Wanna taste some? this is actual food, not just travel gruel.>

It seems like they bought some fresh meat and cheese, still no salt, but probably they don't have any in a village so small.

I accept and they give me some sausage cooked on a hot stone with some melted cheese on top, and I have to say that the taste is great, lacks in salt, but it's good. Still, since I’m eating just for taste I don't ask for more and let them enjoy their lunch, as they also have bread and what looks and smells like beer. I have always been a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so I don't even think about asking for a taste of it… the last thing I want is to be drunk when the fight happens.

When they are done eating Marina cleans the crumbs from her robe and says: <Well Ivo, time for some Magic training… we won't be doing much as I don't know how much energy you have, but you should at least learn how to channel your magic… After that, you should be able to figure out how to use your magic on your own. Just remember not to go all out with it or else you’ll go back to being a feral fox… And we got no use for a feral fox unless you like being a pet that is, sadly you rely on other living beings life force to thrive, so every time you use magical energy to practice you don't get any back, but hopefully with the wolves and maybe the bear you’ll get enough magical energy to practice.>

<Does that mean humans regenerate magical energy?> I ask inquisitively

<Basically, it's a bit more complicated, it's like a fire that needs kindling, and that kindling can come through meditation, rest, or magic potions… Those would work with you too, but well they are pretty expensive, and we don't have any.> Marina answers.

Ok, so basically I’m just a battery that requires electricity to charge, and humans just charge by themselves, I might actually ask them to teach me how to hunt, so I can get some amount of extra magical energy, as long as it's something with enough life energy to be worth the effort.

Marina asks me seeing me deep in thought: <Are you ready?>.

I snap out of my train of thought and nod, she takes me to a place that I suppose it's an empty farm plot because the ground looks plowed… I wonder why it’s not planted… as the weather is not cold so it cant be winter, but whatever I’m no farmer.

Marina says: <ok, so using one of the natural elements is generally the easiest form of magic, so you should be able to feel the magic inside of you and bring it out in the form of fire, once you can do it, it’s up to you to figure out how to make more than a little flame. So, now, close your eyes, feel the energy inside of you and push it out gently through the palm of your hand, slow and steady.>

I follow the instructions and it’s fairly easy, it’s not much different from changing shape, instead of molding the energy inside of me I need to push it out… but it’s like a rushing river, and after a few fiery accidents I manage a small steady flame.

<good job, magical creatures are wonderful… it took me like 10 years at the magical academy to gain control of my energy and channel it in a non-destructive way, you did it in a few hours> Marina says exited.

I scratch the back of my head and say: <is it good? I hope I didn’t waste too much energy.>

Marina waves her hand dismissively at me and says <naa, just channeling your magic like that doesn’t take much magic, some mages can handle that kind of magic for hours without needing a break, so if you are in a pinch use the basic flames.> Then she yells over at Evan and Lionel who were getting their gear ready: <we are ready! you can go call the farmer>