In the middle of the forest, a little dog trotted happily through the grass. The sound of insects and the smell of the earth were incredible sensations that could only be fully appreciated with highly developed senses.

Titan was very happy. It had been a long time since he had gone for a walk outdoors. Ever since he left that dark place, things had been getting better and better. The food was delicious, the bed was warm, and there was plenty of space to run around. It was much better than when that old guy took care of him. He knows that everything is thanks to his new owner.

Titan's eyes sparkled with intelligence. Titan is not stupid. Since birth, it was decided that he would be a companion animal, so he received some basic training. As cute as he is, no one will take him home if he bites those interested in buying him. Thanks to this, Titan knows certain things.

For example, Titan knows that his name is Titan, and his owner's name is Doctor. Everyone calls him that, so he must be a doctor. Titan thinks that Doctor is a stupid name, but there's nothing he can do. Not everyone is lucky enough to receive an incredible name like Titan.

Obviously, Titan means... super-mega-cool dog. Yes, that's what it means. Titan thought proudly as he lifted his head. Proud of his new name and proud to be a dog smart enough to understand it.

But such an incredible name comes with obligations. Titan knows that there is a gigantic responsibility on his shoulders. Not only does he have the duty to protect his home, but he also has to ensure that nothing bad happens to his new owner.

For a long time, many people passed by him while he was locked in that store, but none were able to see his hidden talents. Only his owner could see the potential he had. That's why Titan will do everything possible to help him, even if his owner doesn't realize his efforts.

It was at this moment that Titan became aware of his surroundings. The environment he was in was unfamiliar, and, most importantly, there was no trace of his owner. Whichever way he looked, there were only trees. He was alone in the middle of the forest. It was at this moment that he realized the gravity of the situation.

His owner... was lost.

Titan sighed. He didn't think his duties would start so soon. Considering what had happened, he wasn't sure choosing Doctor as his owner was the best option.

What's done is done. There's no point lamenting what could have been. Titan chose him as his owner, so Titan must protect him from any harm. Starting with rescuing Doctor from the forest, thought Titan as he set out to find him.

Titan pressed his nose to the ground and began to trace Zack's scent. Moments later, his eyes started looking in a particular direction, and in seconds, he shot off in search of his owner.

Unfortunately, the direction he was heading was not where his new owner was. In fact, the direction he was running was almost opposite to where Zack was. Obviously, Titan has no idea how to follow a trail.

This is not his fault; it's a specialization problem. Titan hasn't been trained for such a task. He is a pet, not a hunting dog. In the forest, countless scents intertwine with each other. Unless a specialized dog is dedicated to the task, finding a particular scent and following it is almost impossible.

Titan has been running carefree for quite some time. Completely unaware of the dangers that could lie ahead.

It was clear that Titan had no sense of his predicament.

...

While Titan was about to play the game of who would eat him, Zack set out to start looking for him. Since he was a child, Zack had had a special interest in having a pet for a while. Unfortunately, due to his parents' work and their desire for Zack to focus on his studies, there was no one to take care of it, so he never had one.

Maybe Zack can't remember what kind of pet he wanted, but he can remember all the reasons his parents gave him not to have one. Now that he's seeing the trouble Titan is causing, Zack wonders if having a pet is the best option.

(It might have been hasty, but there is no other way since he has committed to taking care of it until the end) thought Zack as he set out to look for him.

Under normal circumstances, if he were in his world, that wouldn't be an easy task. Not only has Zack been in the village for less than two weeks, and he doesn't know the forest's topography well enough, but even if he were an active member who had lived there all his life, venturing deep into a forest without proper preparation is one of the most dangerous and foolish things anyone could do.

(Fortunately, I'm not in my world) thought Zack as he began to accumulate mana.

As mentioned earlier, Zack can remember all the reasons his parents gave him not to have a pet, including one of the most important reasons: pets can get lost if not supervised. That's why these days, he put aside his studies of spells to help create medicines to learn a small tracking spell and cast it on Titan.

The spell itself was nothing special, a basic earth spell that was in one of the many books in the library. Still, given the circumstances, he is very grateful to have been cautious about it.

Zack activated the spell, and the mark on Titan's body began to guide the way. While following the trail of the mark, Zack began to observe his surroundings to see where he had gone, and in the process, to see if there was any medicinal herb he needed that he could pick up in the meantime.

At first, there was no problem, the sun was warm, and a gentle breeze caressed his skin instead of looking for a lost pet, it was more like a pleasant walk. However, that changed in less than an hour. Zack had been walking for an hour before he was fed up and used reinforcement magic to strengthen his body.

His body began to glow with a blue light for a moment, and then his speed suddenly increased.

Once he used magic and started accelerating to get there as soon as possible, the problems began. Even so, there was still no trace of Titan. To make matters worse, the places he had crossed were usually too narrow for Zack to pass through. Most of the time, he had to take a detour to follow the path.

The worst part was that in some of those places, you know what happened, he had to do it multiple times. Obviously, Titan was lost and had no idea how to get home.

Yip!

Just when Zack's patience was running out, he heard a small bark in the distance, like that of an injured animal. Upon hearing this, he quickly hurried in that direction, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

When he arrived at the place where he had heard that noise, Zack found an indescribable scene. Titan was trapped in the vines of a plant while trying to reach one of the fruits high above. If someone recorded this scene, it would probably be the next viral video on the internet.

Seeing this scene, Zack's anger disappeared, and he even feels stupid for worrying about his dog in the first place.

Suddenly, Titan's nose moved, and he turned his head to see his owner with an expressionless look.

Seeing Zack in front of him, Titan's eyes lit up, and he started barking excitedly, trying to say something that Zack would never understand.

(I found you)

And thankfully, he couldn't understand it. If he could have the slightest idea of what he was saying, he would have turned around right there and wouldn't have come back for a couple of hours.

Seeing Titan completely tied up and unable to do anything, Zack sighed and set about untying him.

Once released, Titan started circling around, wagging his tail happily at being reunited with his owner.

Zack didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This episode had cost him several hours of effort that he could never recover. However, seeing Titan's joyful figure, a small smile appeared on his face as he grabbed him with his hands to prevent him from escaping again.

Now, only one question was on his mind.

(Which way is the way back?)