章 67: CHPT 67: No time to waste!!!
The sun was almost completely set and with it came the cold and windy fall weather of mid October.
Claude sat at a poorly made campfire in the grass with Frosty laying nearby working away at a deer's mangled hind leg. They're hunt was successful and incredibly quick, despite achieving what some would call a new personal record, Claude looked at the fire with a hint of agitation while he chewed on a cooked piece of deer meat.
"It's getting nastier, Arne. What the fuck is this?" He asked in reference to why he was beginning to dislike cooked meat more and more.
"[Your body's changing, Claude. Everyday your becoming less human and more Lupine, that may mean you crave a different set of tastes.]"
Claude grunted and scarfed down the last of the foul and burnt tasting deer meat.
"So, how are we getting into this Tangent?" Claude asked as he laid back and looked up at the darkening sky.
"[W-What, now?]" Arne stuttered out.
"Well of course."
"[But Claude, it's almost night.]"
"Wait!.....is the SkyLight Guildhall closed???? Why would they do that?" Claude asked anxiously while shooting up from his position laying in the cold grass.
"[Erhm....no...but if not much has changed since my time, then trying to do Tangent runs at night isn't the best idea for first timers.]"
Claude twisted his face in confusion, causing Arne to further explain.
"[Night Runs can be dangerous for anyone who isn't involved in the criminal underworld, Guildhalls become riddled with system powered criminals, thugs and backstabbers only looking to cause misfortune for the people around them once they all enter the Tangents. Sure there can be good people, but they don't last long, they either learn to go during the day...or something unfortunate happens to them.]" Arne said grimly.
"Arne, I'm going to die anyway if I don't get stronger— fast, I need all the experience I can get. So, I'm ready, right now." Claude said with tangible determination.
Arne sighed within Claude's mind before giving in and helping him prepare for his first Night Run.
"[Ok, first things first; your appearance.]"
"What about it? I know I look old enough so there shouldn't be a problem." Claude said.
"[Are you thick? If you go as yourself and then go again to get to the University, you'll be found out and arrested immediately...or worse.]"
"Riiight." Claude said as Frosty finished his food and began to throw the thick leg bone around and play with it.
"Wait....that's why you told me to steal that cloak out of the University, isn't it?" Claude realized.
"[Yes, you need a different appearance from your usual one, as well as a different identity.]"
"What? How do I do that?" Claude asked.
"[Slow down, let's worry about your appearance first, since we're broke we don't have much to work with but that's alright.]"
"Ok, ok. I can work something out." Claude said as he got up and walked over to his backpack to pull out the black cloak.
He quickly put it on over his leather armor and tightened it around his neck.
"Hmmmm.....I'll need to cover my face too." He thought.
He quickly reached into his backpack for any kind of fabric and frowned at the realization that he was wearing the only clothes he had.
"God damn this is depressing." He grunted.
While he was standing in the grass, thinking for another couple seconds, his cloak brushed against his hand causing an idea to spark within his mind.
He activated his (Beast Trait) skill and felt himself change. Aside from the claws, fangs and increased sense of smell, he seemed to have a new feeling. It was one he couldn't see on his body— but he felt it as clear as day in his mind. Lust for battle.
"[It must be from your (Beast Trait) skill level increase. You seem to have inherited the PitWolves hardwired thirst for battle....are you alright?]" Arne asked.
"Yea I'm fine." Claude said over the sound of his index finger claw ripping a medium sized chunk out of the bottom of his cloak.
After he ripped it all the way off he held it to his face, seeming to imagine how it would fit around his head.
"[A face mask? Clever. But you need to change more.]" Arne said flatly.
Claude sighed saying, "What else can I do?" As he asked, he noticed his hair swing in front of his eyes before retreating back to the sides of his face.
"Never mind." He said.
"[Mhm.]"
Claude didn't even think to look in his bag since he knew he wouldn't find a rubber band inside. After a few seconds, he crouched down to the ground and began to focus. Suddenly, thin but sturdy fibrous plant life sprouted from the ground, it twirled and combined into a loose circular loop shape— a perfect make shift hair tie.
"[D-Did you think to grow that kind of plant?]" Arne asked in wonder.
"Uhhhhh no." Claude said innocently while he plucked the dark green "hair tie" out of the ground and manhandled his hair through it causing two long black locks of hair to still hang near his eyes.
"Alright. Let's move." He said confidently.
He stopped mid step and turned to look at Frosty who returned his glare before tilting his head in confusion.
"Arne, eventually someone will recognize Frosty since I'm bringing him back to the University. I'm not leaving him, so what do I do?" He asked in panic.
"[Listen, maybe you should let the furball sit out during those Night Runs. I've heard stories of Beast Tamers getting their Companions stolen by thieves.....you don't know what type of psychological effect that would have on you....and given what you are, mental illness would be a terrible mix.]" Arne explained.
"No, he's connected to me. So he needs to level up just as much as me, for both of our safety." Claude said.
"[Hmmmm....give me a moment.]" Arne said.
Claude paced around the grass anxiously while Frosty followed him happily. He was beginning to get agitated at how long Arne was silent for when the English accented voice finally broke the tense silence.
"[Alright, I can help you do something that allows Frosty to tag along....but you'll be breaking the law.]" Arne said.
"Are you kidding? I've already stolen from someone and I'm about to pose as an adult to register as a Hero. Tell me what I have to do." Claude said.
"[Ok then first, it's time for a history lesson on Lupines.]" Arne said cheerily.
"Or, you could jus—"
"[Shut up and listen.]" Arne interrupted.
"[Erm....erhm. So, in my time, the Lupines of Romulus were different from other animalistic/shape-changer races in the sense that we had multiple ways of attacking and defending instead of just wildly charging our enemies in groups— we had strategy. Individuals in our packs had varying skills and abilities as well. My pack had a powerful Warlock within our ranks that eventually taught us a very useful camouflage rune that allowed us to roam the streets of cities in our true forms and swiftly deal with our enemies without ever being seen. If I can teach you this rune, you can put it on Frosty and sneak him along with you.]"
Claude grinned with excitement at being able to learn something new and being able to bring Frosty along with him safely.
"What do you mean teach me? Shouldn't you just be able to tell me what to write?" Claude asked.
"[Its not exactly that simple, writing runes isn't simply done by writing it down on a surface. You need to use mana in combination with what you write.]"
"Well, let's begin." He said impatiently.
***
Around 20 minutes passed and Claude had run through twenty pages of notebook paper trying to correctly write the rune while simultaneously channeling his mana into the pencil he wrote with.
A couple of times, after he wrote a failed camouflage rune, the paper would spark or literally crumble on its own. He learned afterward that failing to write a rune correctly can have drawbacks— severe drawbacks.
He was on his 26th or so paper, the rune was becoming easier to write but the issue was sending his mana down his arm and through his pencil, it required a level of precision he wasn't accustomed to— at least he wasn't on his previous attempt.
He was almost finished with the rune and he could feel the semi steady flow of mana leaving his fingers and radiating through the pencil, it felt easier.
The rune looked somewhat like an eye made out of stylistic lines and wave patterns that spaced out periodically. To finish the rune, Claude needed to draw a line through the eye— easier said than done. The line required the most mana to be injected into the pencil without the flow losing complete control.
He held the pencil above the paper while beads of sweat dripped from his forehead and onto the paper, he used all the focus he could muster to direct a stronger flow of mana into the pencil.
"Come on! If I can't do this, then I can't bring Frosty. If I can't bring Frosty, then he can't get stronger....which may result in injury...or...." he trailed off seeming to full understand the importance of adding the finishing touch to the rune.
He began to growl from the strain of focusing his mana when suddenly something clicked, he no longer had to strain as hard. It felt like he simply willed his mana to increase in power as it flowed through the pencil.
He opened his eyes and saw his pencil glowing a faint green from his mana. With that, he confidently drew the line through the rune animatedly and after a few seconds, the paper disappeared.
"That is badass!" Claude said excitedly.
He quickly picked up the invisible paper and inspected it with wonder before easily ripping it.
Shrip...hsssss.
As the paper ripped it became visible with the hiss of green mana dispelling from it and disappearing into the air.
"Alright, obviously I can't write with a pencil on Frosty. So how am I getting this on him?" Claude asked while looking from the rune to Frosty.
"[If you had paint that would work, but all we got is what nature has to offer so...]"
"Oh! Berries!" Claude said before quickly getting up and bounding off into the forest to collect a couple handfuls of berries.
A few minutes later and Claude was crouched on one knee with a handful of berries in his right hand.
"Frosty! Get over here buddy!" Claude yelled.
Frosty's ears pricked at the sound of Claude's voice and he turned and ran to him.
"Alright, sit please." Claude said once Frosty reached him. Frosty quickly sat and lowered his head to sniff the berries in Claude's hand with interest.
Sqshhh
He squished the berries and let the thick purple colored juice sit in his cup shaped hand, then he dipped his index finger in the liquid and began to bring his mana to the tip of his finger and into the berry juice.
"Alright, this should be easier since I don't have to send my mana through the fine point of a pencil. Focus....one final rush of mana at the end...then boom— maybe that isn't the best choice of words considering what could happen if I mess up." He thought.
"Whew, sit still and don't move a muscle, buddy." Claude said as he began to anxiously write the camouflage rune on top of Frosty's heavily muscled head.
After 5 minutes of intense focused drawing, he finished the eyes and still had a good amount of berry juice left.
"Hmmmm....almost done." He said as he dipped his finger in the juice and increased the flow of his mana. Soon enough, the tip of his finger started to faintly glow.
SWIP.
He slid the line through the eye symbol and felt the mana in the berry juice trail off of his finger. He wiped the sweat of his forehead and stood up to examine his work.
"Why is it taking so long? Did I mess up?"
"[Relax, it takes longer on bigger objects.]"
After Arne responded to Claude, Frosty slowly blended in with the area around himself until he was practically invisible. He wasn't entirely unseen though, if someone focused on him under direct light, they would probably see the disturbance in the air. This meant Night Runs would work to their benefit. Also, Claude didn't have to worry about losing sight of him since he realized he could feel where Frosty was through their mental link.
"[Seems like the rune writing was a success.]" Arne said.
Claude smiled and reached into his armor to pull out the rag from his cloak. He tied it around his face so it covered the bottom half of it and tightened his hair tie. Even though Arne told him of how dangerous this Night Run could be, he couldn't help but feel excitement at the idea of getting stronger.
He felt his mental link to Frosty and noticed he must've picked up on Claude's excitement because he too was happy.
In this moment, Claude was filled with a new kind of determination, intense determination to get stronger. He needed to get stronger so he could survive, because if he could survive, he could get his revenge.
The crescent moon stood high in the sky, providing a beacon of ghostly white light to illuminate the inside of the quiet and peaceful forest circle they stood in. Tonight was indeed very important.
"Alright Frosty, let's go level up."
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_Avatar0FFury_ Hey thanks for reading!!! Let me know what you think! Also, thanks for the powerstones frenandoi, Adam_Ketchum, alex99, Graveyard_Keeper and ironsoldier!!!
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