Now that I thought about this, it never occurred to me that I had been neglecting to tell Hiro one of the most important aspects of living in Wyld Land, especially now that my ward planned to stay for a while longer.

Thus, when Sunday offered us the chance to take a day off from all our strenuous work, I immediately leapt at the opportunity to remedy such an oversight.

The result? Well…

“So, let me get this straight…”

“Um hum.”

“The dark crystals harvested from those banes will be cleansed using a holy ritual, which turns them into purified crystals…”

“Yup.”

“This purified version can then be used as a raw conduit to power up spells, but it is risky to do so…”

“Which is why we either use them as a sacrifice or trade them with Bright Land, yes.”

“And, you guys trade these purified crystals for the pure crystals, which have been cleansed even further using the powerful magic at Eagle’s Flight…

“Cor~rect! See? Easy and simple. I don’t get why you were making such a fuss about this.”

Hiro looked like he badly wanted to refute those words, though it was unclear which part of my statement he had a bone to pick with. In the end, however, the troubled fetcher-that-had-not-fetched simply took a deep breath as we continued our walk.

“And, once a purified crystal or a pure crystal loses all its mana, it would be considered a drained crystal-” The boy held up such an object for emphasis. “-which then gets cut into rocks of various sizes that wylders use as currency…”

“Um hum. A drained crystal can be made into 6 big durocs or 18 small durocs. You can trade 1 small duroc for a few fruits or some pieces of meat. On the other paw, 1 big duroc is worth a bowl of fruits or a slab of meat. Of course, the exchange rate can be negotiated, though it usually won’t stray too far from what I mentioned.”

Pausing slightly to let a trader pass, I then continued.

“Once you become a fetcher or a wanderer, you would get 1 pure crystal and 4 big durocs every week. You can exchange that pure crystal for 8 big durocs, or use it ‘til the thing runs out of juice and exchange the drained crystal for 2 big durocs. However, if you want to buy a new pure crystal, it would cost 20 big durocs instead. Furthermore, if the purchase of said pure crystal occurs in a wyld city, the seller would have to crush all the durocs which were used to buy such an item immediately.”

My paw reached out to close Hiro’s rapidly dropping jaw.

“Plus, fetchers and wanderers can live in a dwelling with some others for free! Foods and fruits which are served at the shouting halls also cost nothing! Zilch, zip, nada! What a deal, amirite!?”

In response to my perfect sales pitch, both of Hiro’s eyes began to spin as he swayed slightly on his feet, causing passersby to giggle at such a sight.

“The only thing I could get out of that-” After spending some time practicing the dance of a seasick sailor, the fella finally said. “-is the fact that “duroc” literally means “dull rock”... Also, where did “Zilch, zip, nada” even come from? Where did you learn those words?”

“From Captain Jack, duh! There is an entire encyclopedia detailing the unique phrases that the second chosen once used. Adventurers everywhere love to mimic that kind of speech!”

“Of course… Of freaking course… Why did I even have to ask…”

Instead of letting Hiro lament his lacking love for lore, I just threw 3 big into his hands.

“No better way to learn than experiencing it firsthand. Hop to it, young one!”

“Ugh… I’m still older than you, though…”

“Not when I’m a runner and you’re not, baby bird. Now hop, hop, hop!”

“Uuuu…”

With that, the boy proceeded to join a sea of goers and buyers at the market. Seeing him failing at every haggle and getting swindled out of his rocks, a tear of joy could not help but flow down my face.

After this fall, he would have the motivation to fly. Slowly but surely, my ward was becoming a productive member of society, and I couldn’t be more proud!

•ㅅ•

“Now now, don’t frown. Let me see those purely pure eyes of yours!”

With the passing of Tuesday, I decided that it was finally time to pass down one of my deadliest techniques. Unfortunately, it seemed not everyone realized how mighty a move this could be.

“Ugh. This is so dumb… What kind of training is this supposed to accomplish?”

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“Confusing the foolish. Or, as the mistwalkers call it.” I performed a stunning high kick, just like one of those eastern poses. “Confusion fu!”

“Ohhh!”

Two of the trio had stars in their eyes as they marveled at my masterful performance. The eldest one, however…

“Yeah right, you definitely made that one up.”

“...”

I could just feel some veins slowly popping on my forehead. Unlike his siblings who would wag their tail at the simplest magic tricks, this wćlf was definitely the sourpuss that no magician would ever want to entertain!

“Well then~” I leaned towards the little fella, who was still frowning at me. “Since you think that this exercise is sooo silly, how about we start with something more exciting first?”

Before the kit could ask, a piece of honey candy had already landed on his hand. With a smirk, I watched as three young hounds salivated at my delicious bait.

“A jar full of candies is hidden inside that mist. Find it and you can keep it, my treat.”

“... What’s the catch?” Once again, unlike his siblings who were still drooling over their carrot, the eldest pup was quick to notice the stick.

“Hm, hm… Perhaps, I just want to reward my precious proteges for making such great strides, after just a few weeks…” I paused and gave the trio my toothiest grin, causing them to pale and shudder.

“Or, perhaps… If you fail to track it before time runs out, let’s just say that something very, very bad might just catch you!”

At a sight of a looming bὕnny doing “tickle tickle tickle” signs with both paws, all three little wćlves immediately bolted into the misty forest, and it was not long before I could no longer hold back an unrestrained laughter. Not far away, the grove tender overseeing this section of the hunting ground was shaking his head with a sigh. However, an amused grin had already given away his real thoughts.

With one final wheeze, I waved goodbye to the dέέr and trailed after my little hunters. Soon, all the preparations would bear fruit, and the look on my prey’s face as I finally cornered him… Oh, I could just imagine how delightfully delicious that moment would be! Heheh… Hahahah… Muuuhahahah!!!

.

.

.

Later that day, the trio claimed that my evil laughters scared the entire forest and motivated them to find the mark sooner. After pinching their cheeks ‘til tears came out, I gave each one another bag of candies, as well as a head pat, for a job well done.

•ㅅ•

“There, there. Those silly fledglings were just trying to have some fun, that’s all.”

For me, Thursday came and went with so little fanfare. The same thing, however, could not be said for my ward. What Hiro had to go through would certainly scar him for life, and I could only offer the poor fledgling my most sincere consolation.

With a sunken look in his eyes, he stopped planting his face on the table and slowly turned his head towards me.

“How could it go so wrong… Why would anyone let it go so wrong…?”

I heaved a sigh at the mess that was my guest. With the Crimson Dragon returning to the south, even the most hot-headed brats had finally simmered down and stopped getting into trouble for just about any reason. Thus, the shouting halls should have been safe enough for a brief visit from my ward, especially now that he was a fetcher-in-training.

So, when Hiro asked to tour the darn place with some of his fellow greenhorns last night, I didn’t think much of it. After all, this could be a learning experience for him. An adventure best underwent on one’s own, some could even say!

… Unfortunately, in my haste, it had once again slipped my mind that our kind of common sense might be a teeny-tiny bit different from Hiro’s kind of common sense.

“It was just supposed to be poker… We were just playing some poker…”

Plus, there was no telling what could happen when the absolute evil that was gambling came into play!

“Ah, well…” I started, still patting the poor thing on the back. “At least you’re rich now?”

The pile of big durocs lied scattered on the table, sparkling in the morning sunlight. Yet, despite such great gains, there was no mirth in Hiro’s voice.

“When Bun`Iwyn asked me to help him with his “poking or nothing”, I was tipsy… too tipsy to realize why I had to stand in front of a giant dartboard…” A shiver ran down his spine, as if the thought of such memories alone was enough to frighten him. “When everyone around the room started making bets, it finally clicked…”

Hiro’s voice cracked as he continued his tale of terror.

“I could barely move before several cards “poked” the place right above my head… over, and over, and over… lodging themselves into the very board…”

He shivered once more as his mouth recalled the experience.

“My reward as a volunteer was great… I also thought that it was great… After all, “It was just a game, no way people would do this if it wasn’t safe”, I told myself…”

My ward then looked me dead in the eye.

“And then, when it was the turn of Iwyn’s opponent… The volunteer was… he was…”

With an understanding nod, I patted the stuttering boy again. After all, Imit had also told me about what happened this morning, after he checked on our nutty campaign at the shouting halls.

“... When he was carried to the druid for healing, those cards were still sticking out of-… I swear that I saw the thing almost dropping-… It could have been me who got my dick sliced off back then… Oh god…”

I nodded once more, understandingly, of course. Aiming for one of the danger zones to turn the tables was a common tactic. And it was also common that, every once in a while, accidents happened.

“Oh, cheer up, you! Even if worse comes to worst, the druids can still reattach your missing parts, especially in a city so seeped with the Wyld.” For whatever reason, that only made my ward even paler. “Besides, it is not all that bad. In fact, some human nobles that visited Wyld Land actually described the experience as a novelty, claiming that it opened up new feelings within them, even!”

Those same people also proceeded to get ostracized by their fellow brightlanders, last I heard. Eh, details, details…

With a plonk, Hiro planted his face on the table once more. Looking closely, one could even see a soul slowly leaving its hollow husk, whose eyes had grown into white lifeless circles.

Huh…

Neat!

After one final pat, I decided to let Hiro have the day off and quietly left the room. Another fall before the flight. Hiro was now one step closer towards being an upstanding citizen of this city. And I, once again, couldn’t be more proud!

•ㅅ•

The wćlf is back in town.

Saturday started with a quiet knock on my door and a slip of text with six simple words.

Despite already knowing this in advance, I still couldn’t help but smirk. Once again, the grapevine had proven its worth, even if one must pay an extravagant fee for such a service.

Opening the door slightly, I slided the rest of my payment over, which disappeared as soon as it reached the other side. With that, my tattletale left, leaving nothing behind but a faint smell of grape.

Now then…

I chuckled, and chuckled, and chuckled some more. Finally…

Finally.

“Your free trial to life has finally expired, you darn punk! Heheh… Hahahah… Muuuhahahah!!!”

.

.

.

Later, Hiro told me that my definitely-not-evil laughters woke him up and asked to see what I was up to. After pinching his cheeks for slandering his superior, I agreed to let the fledgling come along, lest he missed out on my epic hunt for a big, bad wolf!