Elegy For An Epilogue

The night air started to thin and the string of system notifications rang out in her head one after another. An indescribable feeling started to well up within her being and the wolf ceased all movement; looking up at her and waiting for an answer.

[You have successfully gained the trust of a creature before taking any lives.]

[You have met the requirements and received the eligibility for the exclusive job, ‘Tamer.’]

[Job Obtained: Tamer]

[Tamer Level 1!]

[Warning! You only have one job slot available.]

Cecillia smiled slightly as she saw the notifications and took a step forward. Her outstretched palm brushed against the fur as it rubbed its head against her. The former ferocity it showed was no longer there, and instead it stared at her with big glassy eyes.

[Contract Terms]

Individual Cecillia (Master) must protect Twin-Tailed Wolf (Servant).

Individual Cecillia (Master) must provide for Twin-Tailed Wolf (Servant).

Individual Cecillia (Master) must not create a contract with another Twin-Tailed Wolf.

If any of the terms are broken, the Twin-Tailed Wolf will no longer be required to respond to your commands.

Cecillia read the contract carefully to the last term, each clause made sense, but the last one made her lips curl up into a smile as she looked at the wolf.

“You’re quite the selfish puppy, aren’t you huh?”

The wolf lowered its head shyly and licked its paw. The two tails behind its large body swayed in the air as it tried to act cute in front of Cecillia.

“Alright boy, I’ll protect you.”

Cecillia knelt down to meet the wolf at eye-level and awkwardly scratched the fur just around its scruff. She had never had a pet before, but she would always see people on the internet behaving around their companions like so. And as the Twin-Tailed Wolf continued to nuzzle against her, a notification appeared in front of her eyes.

[Contract Finalized]

In the next moment, a pale blue glow washed over the two and bathed them in a soft, ethereal light. The Twin-Tailed Wolf growled gently and bowed down in subservience. Cecillia’s jaw opened slightly before a smile replaced the initial surprise. The wolf was successfully tamed.

[Would you like to name the Twin-Tailed Wolf?]

‘Eh? I can name this guy?’ Cecillia thought.

She stared at the wolf who was currently trying to lick at her hand, though to its disappointment, she reflexively dodged every attempt. The wolf soon stopped and a bell-like laugh escaped Cecillia’s mouth as she saw its crestfallen face. For some reason, she started to feel a little bit like a parent.

“Alright, alright,” she chuckled and placed a finger on her lips. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she continued to think of names for the beast.

“How about… Mr. Black?”

[The Twin-Tailed Wolf is saying that it doesn’t like that name.]

The wolf turned away, snout raised in indignation as Cecillia looked on blankly. She raised a brow as her gaze drifted past its legs and paused at a certain area. Like a lightbulb turning on, realization struck Cecillia’s mind. A sudden thought entered her brain that maybe she wasn’t thinking of things the right way.

“Ahah! You must be a girl then?!” she exclaimed, but her expression soon fell. “But you can’t be Mrs. Black. There’s already two of those…”

Cecillia bit her lip as she shook in agitation. Why was such a simple thing so difficult? It was just a name, but for some reason she just couldn’t decide on something suitable for the wolf.

“Hmm,” she narrowed her eyes. Shuffling backwards, she studied the wolf to its every last detail as the creature squirmed beneath her piercing gaze. She noted its sleek, jet black fur and its twin tails both with a white tuft at their ends. Truth be told, it was honestly a pretty impressive animal—which only made this task that much more difficult.

[Failure to provide a name in the next thirty seconds will result in default assignment.]

The sudden chime of the notification echoed inside Cecillia’s head and caused a bead of sweat to appear on her brow. Her vision rapidly swapped between the wolf and the system screen as her thoughts started to race.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she muttered and clutched her head. Cecillia could practically feel the pressure and the seconds ticking by. If only this were something she could fight against, wouldn’t that be much easier…

“Two Tails? No. Shadow?—” she paused, shaking her head. “Absolutely not. What am I thinking?”

Cecillia released a groan as the Twin-Tailed Wolf looked up at her with pity in its eyes. It probably didn’t understand the dilemma she was going through, but it placed a paw on her thigh to show its support.

She smiled softly at the notion, the thing was just so cute. To think that they were engaged in bloody combat just a few hours prior.

“Alright girl, I’m sorry I’m not that great at this but how about… Blackie?”

The wolf’s ears drooped down and its head turned to the side, although at the exact same time, the tab with its signature chime opened up in front of her eyes.

[Are you sure you want to name the Twin-Tailed Wolf, ‘Blackie?’ Remember, you can only name your contracted partner once, please be careful.]

‘How do I do this, just think right?’ she thought, ‘Confirm.’

[Naming successful. Your Twin-Tailed Wolf is now named ‘Blackie.’]

The interface glowed with a faint light and Cecillia instinctively knew that something was different. She looked at the wolf now named Blackie with a warm gaze and used her identification skill.

[Contract Information]

Species: Twin-Tailed Wolf

Name: Blackie

Bond: Cecillia Black

Level: 6

Health: 630/800

Stamina: 420/650

Mana: 80/200

Attribute: Darkness

Skills:

(Passive) Minor Regeneration Lv. 3

Night Slash Lvl. 5

Stealth Lvl. 8

Compared to her own status, Blackie’s stats with the exception of mana had far surpassed hers. Its health and stamina were more than five times that of hers, and while their mana levels were similar, she couldn’t even access the resource in the first place. Well, it was to be expected as she was still level zero.

Regardless, Cecillia was quite happy with Blackie. Truly. She wasn’t able to hide the grin on her face as she gently stroked Blackie’s fur. She imagined fighting alongside the wolf and thought of what Alice would say.

“She’d definitely be jealous,” Cecillia chuckled. An obsessive person like Alice wouldn’t let anyone take her place. Her mom and dad though, they’d probably be more lenient, but then again Blackie was quite large for a pet. Cecillia paused for a moment and reassessed the wolf. On a closer glance, the creature was much larger than she initially thought. If it stood up on its two hind legs. it would easily be more than double her height.

“Well then Blackie,” Cecillia said, looking down at the wolf. “I can proudly say that you’re my first friend in this world.”

Blackie looked up at her with big eyes, round eyes. Cecillia thought that there was a pout hidden behind its visage, but didn’t think too much of it. Perhaps the happy feeling in her heart was making her blind, but nevertheless, weren’t the dogs considered to be man’s best friends?

Cecillia handed the rest of the skewers over to Blackie. The wolf sniffed at the food and happily gulped the venison down before releasing a satisfied burp. The sight reminded Cecillia of a mother and its child.

Feeling content, along with an odd sense of peace, Cecillia brought Blackie next to the campfire and settled down. The ground was rough but wasn’t in the worst condition she had slept before. She leaned back against Blackie’s body and gazed up at the skies. The stars twinkling above shone down upon them and Cecillia gradually felt the lull of sleep grab her being.

The rhythmic rise and fall of Blackie’s chest as the animal breathed only served to bring Cecillia closer to the edge. The steady pattern was calming and her worries were mailed to the Cecillia of tomorrow.

“Night, Blackie,” she murmured softly. She reached out to pat the wolf’s head one last time before letting her arm drape over its body. Blackie growled gently and curled its body around her, resting its head on one of its limbs.

The fire crackled as the smoke billowed into the night, the warmth created a small circle of protection against the forest breeze. But as the flame released its last ember and finally expired, Cecillia had already gone off into the deep end.

Although when she woke up on the first morning of the new world, it certainly wasn’t as nice as her first night here. Cecillia held her dagger in a back-handed grip as her gaze swept across both sides of the stream.

Threatening growls rang out from all around her as Blackie was pressed against her back. The wolf’s hackles were raised and teeth were bared as she snarled with a savage tone.

[Saber-Fanged Mountain Wolf - (Level 4)]

[Saber-Fanged Mountain Wolf - (Level 4)]

[Saber-Fanged Mountain Wolf - (Level 5)]

[Saber-Fanged Mountain Wolf - (Level 7)]

…

Cecillia identified each of the creatures that slinked around each other to encircle her and Blackie. There were at least nine of them, their sleek brown bodies moving in unison as they approached even further. On a good note, each wolf was smaller than Blackie—just a little more than half of her size—but those long, curved fangs jutting out of their jaws sent a shiver running down her spine. Tightening the grip on her dagger, Cecillia already saw that they had secured the rest of the deer’s carcass she had caught last night, but it seemed like they wanted more.

“Stay close, Blackie,” Cecillia said as her eyes narrowed.

Four more of the monsters with similar levels emerged from the forest shadows and slowly joined the circle. There was a breath of silence as Cecillia waited with the dagger in her hand. The bloodlust in her eyes surged as the thrill of battle within her was itching to be let loose.

It was at that moment when the leader of the pack released a howl that spurred the rest to charge forward. Seeing this, Cecillia’s face hardened, it would be quite a challenge if they came one at a time, but all at once would be…

“Blackie!”

The Twin-Tailed Wolf at her side lunged forward with a thunderous roar. With a slash, its massive claws ripped through and sent a smaller wolf flying into the stream with a yelp. Another slash and the next Saber-Fanged wolf was slammed into the ground. Blackie then rushed forward and sank its teeth into the wolf’s neck, tearing its throat out to instantly kill the creature. Blood coated Blackie’s obsidian pelt and dripped down her teeth, she released a guttural howl as her yellow eyes contracted into thin slits.

Cecillia, though, had no time to admire the wolf’s demonstration of brutality as she had her own set of wolves to deal with. Three leapt out at her as she back-pedaled to the space that Blackie had just created and forced them to come at her one by one. As the first one came, she pivoted, sliding her left foot counterclockwise as the wolf came barreling past. Hacking down, her dagger pierced deep into the wolf’s flesh whilst it was in mid-air. Her gaze then instantly snapped to the second wolf that pounced straight at her before ripping the blade out and connecting the movement into a horizontal slash.

The crimson liquid splattered onto her face as the weapon met flesh. The creature’s formerly sturdy poise and its body folded upon itself. With its out-stretched claws no longer there, Cecillia smashed it away with a sweeping kick. Her gaze landed on the third as it paused with an uneasy growl, its eyes jerked between the two combatants as it reflexively took a step back.

Cecillia grinned but made sure to never release her guard. The two injured wolves quickly scrambled back to their feet, shaking off the pain as their coats bristled with fury.

She quickly glanced to the side, currently Blackie was engaged in combat with eight of the wolves although the difference was that it had a kill up on her.

Cecillia clicked her tongue as the sense of competition rose within her, but she remained patient as a foreboding ominous feeling permeated through the air. She quickly looked at the wolves again, their wounds were glowing red and a pale, crimson mist surrounded their bodies. The pressure they emitted tripled as their fangs and claws were coated with a red sheen.

Frowning, she spun the dagger and swapped her grip. If her hypothesis was correct, the wolves were currently in a heightened state of combat, their festering wounds may have triggered some sort of skill. With that, the risk had increased substantially, the hacking stab-down-attack (AN: I really don’t know the verb for this) couldn’t create a return that would be worth her life.

“Come at me, motherfuckers,” she muttered.

Baring its teeth as the air started to distort around its body, the closest attacked. Cecillia was barely able to avoid its slash as she lurched backwards. However, it didn’t stop there. Its claws skidded against the rocks, creating sparks as it lunged forward again, but this time, it brought its buddies.

With a quick burst of speed, the three wolves accelerated as the ground beneath their glowing claws were gouged with deep scars. Unable to escape, Cecillia could only take a half step backwards before they were upon her. But at the last second, her eyes flashed as she smiled.

A blur of darkness rushed past her vision as Blackie’s massive body slammed into the wolves whilst they were in mid-leap. Her wolf’s pelt was covered in small wounds that constantly trickled blood, and one of her limbs seemed to be heavily injured, but the ferocity it emitted to protect its master was something that Cecillia had never seen. The image touched her heart, but she couldn’t afford to waste any time.

Locking onto the closest one, Cecillia immediately dashed forward and skewered the heart of the wolf. She confirmed that the light had faded within its eyes before trusting the chime that echoed through her head.

[Defeated (Saber-Fanged Mountain Wolf - Level 6)]

[Congratulations! You’ve leveled up twice. You are now level 2!]

[Updated Available Stat Points: 20]

However, she didn’t have any time to read every notification, only glimpsing the part at the end where she had gained twenty stat points. Twisting her body, she narrowly avoided a set of jaws that snapped at her neck, but the slash of its claws made contact with her arm.

Instinctively, she dumped all of her newly acquired stat points into agility, she wasn’t able to explain how, but knew that it was the only thing she could do. Immediately her body blurred, the extra points into agility taking effect as her body flashed away from the claws.

Cecillia felt her flesh burning, but it was better than her arm being torn to shreds. She glanced at the wolf in front of her, somehow her subconsciousness had allocated her stats into agility and successfully allowed her to escape before its claws could dig any deeper into her arm.

It left a sour taste in her mouth though. She was planning to create a ratio between her stamina, vitality and agility while saving the rest for emergencies. But then again, perhaps this was one of those times.

More annoyed than in pain, Cecillia rolled her shoulder before dashing forward. Her eyes slightly widened as she noticed that the battlefield became more clear. Her movements had considerably sped up; she estimated that it was an increase of about fifty percent. But what shocked her was that everything seemed that much slower. She wasn’t sure whether her eyes had sped up, or the rate of information that the brain processed had increased but it sure made the fight that much easier.

A split second later, she was upon one of the wolves. Her movements easily matched the creature’s as she weaved between its claws and slashed away at every opening she had. On the even playing field, her lifetime of battles spoke for itself.

Soon enough, she quickly dispatched the wolf with a precise cut on the lower half of its jaw, piercing through into its brain from underneath.

Almost immediately after, her legs brought her to Blackie. Cecillia found it insulting that the enemy had decided to pit the Twin-Tailed Wolf against so many of their own, whilst only giving her four.

Regardless, she saddled next to the beast. Her dagger filled the gaps where Blackie’s claws and fangs couldn’t and the opposing wolves were quickly whittled down. Two remained out of the fifteen wolves she counted and they had slain twelve of them, and they too quickly fell. Blackie’s claws glowed with darkness while Cecillia presumed the wolf had activated [Night Slash]. The saber fanged creature beneath Blackie squirmed for a second after its head was cleanly separated from its body. As for the wolf beneath Cecillia, it too perished with an accurate stab to the heart.

A quick sweep of the battlefield showed the scattered corpses of their attackers and Cecillia released her guard. It was only for a moment but she suddenly froze, in that momentary lapse of judgment, her heart turned into ice.

‘There’s one mo…!!

By then it was too late, Cecillia wasn’t even able to rip her dagger out of the wolf as she was slammed onto her back. Her vision swam and she heard Blackie roar into action. Yet Cecillia knew that her courageous companion would not be able to make it in time. She witnessed as those savage jaws opened wide, its saber-fangs gleaming crimson as they rushed for her throat. She grimaced as her arms attempted to rise in front of her face, but they too were too slow.

‘It was a nice run…!?’

Suddenly, a whistling noise struck her ears followed by a dull thud as Cecillia felt the weight of the wolf crash atop of her. The air within her legs instantly exited her body as the Saber-Fang Mountain Wolf’s head sprawled onto the ground next to her eyes. She gazed into the wolf’s pupils and it was unmistakable, the creature was dead, and the arrow’s nock protruding from its skull was the definite proof.