‘It looks like they think that they cant win. So they surrendered? I never imagined that wolves would act like this. But wolves and dogs always respect strong. They would be useful as my minions and trackers if I could tame them somehow. I will throw them some meat.’

I brought a big chunk of meat from my [Item Box] and threw it towards wolves. Leader wolf approached it slowly and sniffed it before biting it. Other wolves soon joined him.

Ding!

System Announcement

You successfully tamed level 12 [Dark Wolf Alpha]

You successfully tamed [Dark Wolf] x 3

You gained a new skill [Monster Tamer I]

You gained a [Pack Leader] title

Some kind of connection was established between the wolves and me as I could feel their intentions and emotions. We were pretty exhausted from our battle, so we took a while to rest. I used that time to look at my injured hyp. It looked ugly, as someone would expect from burned and tared muscles, but my regeneration already started. It was slow as cauterisation not only stopped bleeding it also slowed down my regeneration. I couldn’t resist, so I approached the biggest wolf and petted him. His fur was soft and fluffy.

I smiled as it was the first comforting thing in a very long time. ‘It’s even better. Not only that, they are good trackers. They will also be warm me at night.’

“Ohh, right, you need a name. You are a creature of darkness so that you will be a Dark from now on.”

Ding!

System Announcement

You named your tamed monster [Dark Wolf Alpha] as “Dark”

Your mental link with Dark grew stronger

Better evolution options were unlocked for Dark

When we rested, I wanted to return home and heal, only to feel the intention of the biggest wolf to go somewhere with him. I could tell through our link that it was something important. So we all started to run behind him slowly. It took us an hour before we reached some kind of cave. I instantly activated [Toch Hand], startling wolfes a little. There was a female wolf with many small puppies hiding behind her in the corner of a cave.

‘So this why they surrendered. They knew that these pups would probably not survive without them. I will take care of them. I never had a chance to have pet pets before.’

Ding!

System Announcement

You successfully tamed level 9 [Dark Wolf]

You successfully tamed level 1 [Dark Wolf Pup] x 4

Level of [Monster Tamer] increased to 2

I looked at my injury, and it still wasn’t fully healed. I decided to stay in this cave and not return to my old one as this one was bigger, and I had no stuff, except for one pelt in my old cave. I decided to evolve my [Black Flame Fireballs] as I waited for my injury to heal.

Spell Evolution

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Current evolutions for [Death Flame Fireball]:

[Death Flame Firebomb]

Adds an explosion on impact, causing additional splash damage.

The size and strength of the explosion depend on your magic stat.

Increases Mana cost.

[Death Flame Firelance]

Change fireball into a fast-moving lance of flames.

Increases penetration power.

Increases projectile speed and range.

[Death Flame Fireball II]

Increases damage scaling.

‘There is nothing to think about here. I already have a fast, long-range attack in the form of [Focused Death Lightning], and my current damage is already good for now. So I will take [Death Flame Firebomb] because my only spell with aoe has a pretty limited range, and most importantly, explosions are cool. Also, that explosion component would be beneficial during spell crafting.’

I acquired [Death Flame Firebomb] and spent an hour training as my injury regenerated. None of my skill levels increased. I stopped when my rumbling stomach reminded me that is till I didn’t hunt anything for dinner. And I gave all of my meat to wolves because it wasn’t fresh enough for me to eat.

I broadcasted my intention to go hunting to my minions. I walked out of the cave, and the wolves followed me. Then I ordered them to sniff out one of the hogs for me. It took only fifteen minutes before they caught a smell of prey. We quickly ran, following that smell. They were moving in shadows, quickly running through the thick forest wildly. I was the same. With my tattered clothes and my agile movement in the woods, someone could mistake me for some kind of a wild beast. Soon I spotted giant boar in the distance. It was still pretty far, and it was too occupied with something in the ground to spot us, so I charged [Focused Death Lightning] and aimed at its head. Beam with a width of fist come out of my hand and blasted hog into the head. It made no hole or dramatic effect, but the electricity contained in that beam still destroyed the internals of my target.

System Announcement

You killed LV 10 [Blazing Hog]

You obtained 134 XP

You obtained 220 CE

My wolves rushed towards the corpse, intending to tear it up, only to be stopped by my order. They quickly stopped, and I approached the corpse. I brought out my small knife and started to gut out the hog. It took a while to remove the massive head of the hog with my small stone knife. Then I removed the skin and dried it with [Dry] utility spell. Next, I removed the intestines. I cut the body into a few pieces and stuffed my [Item Box] to full. Meanwhile, my wolves ate remains on the ground and grabbed pieces of meat that didn’t fit into [Item Box] with their mouths and carried them.

We finally reached our cave. I quickly grabbed some stone and massive branches and made a simple fireplace out of them. Then I stuck pieces of boar on a thick branch and fixed them at the top of the fireplace. With a simple spell, I started a fire to cook it. Fire startled wolves, but I calmed them down through our link. Meanwhile, small pups started to suck mother milk, causing me to smile for the first time in a long time.

Suddenly I remembered something ‘Ohh my, now that I think about it, my past fights would be easier if I used my [Flame Cloak] to protect myself. I have to remember to use it in future. Also, I got a new spell component to cause an explosion on impact maybe I could craft something out of it. Also, what about the combination of fire, lightning and death attributes in one spell.’

So I sat down on boar skin and got into a meditation position, and without any further ado, I started to craft a new mighty spell. I decided to make it powerful but very mana consuming. As a base, I picked up [Ball Lighting], then I added a few fireball properties. It was easy as lighting and fire attributes were highly compatible. Then I spotted some kind of resonance between these two elements. It looked like they were attracted to fuse and create something new. I gave them a slight push and made a new higher tier element. It was a plasma element combining properties of electricity and fire.

The second step was to change some parameters, increasing the size and speed of the projectile at the cost of increased mana consumption. The third step was to add an explosion effect triggered on impact. Plasma was unstable by nature, so making it explode wasn’t so hard. I just copied the explosion part from [Death Flame Firebomb]. The fourth and last step was to add the death attribute using plasma as its medium.

Finally, after hours of hard work, I opened my eyes. It was already very dark, so at least a few hours have passed since I started.

‘Ohh shit, I forgot myself. My dinner…’

Ding!

System Announcement

You learned a new spell!

[Death-Infused Empowered Plasmabomb] has been added to your spell list

Ignoring the announcement, I looked toward my fireplace and breathed out in relief. Luckily fire burned through all wood, dying before turning my dinner into coal. I cut a warm piece of meat and started to eat. It was still bland without seasonings, but it was edible. My wolves, especially Dark, began to make dog eyes on me, so I threw them some raw meat out of my [Item Box]. So we all had a nice dinner. It was already night, so I barricaded the cave entrance before setting up my sleeping place. I simply placed my hog skin in the corner. It wasn’t very comfortable, but I was in the middle of the forest. I lied on it, and my wolves snuggled to me, warming my body and heart with soft fur. I quickly fall asleep.