It’s been roughly one year since Wight first joined her Master.

In that time, a certain daily routine developed.

After everyone else woke up, the day proceeded as normal. The group continued to follow the winding river upstream. Wight did not really know why they were following the river, just that, her Master was quite adamant towards the subject. Well, it wasn’t like she was complaining. Although the areas around the river were relatively more dangerous, it was also filled with fish.

Fish were creatures that lived in the water. Wight, who spent her whole life living within the depths of the forest, was completely oblivious to their existence. To her, they were a new type of being just as mysterious as her own Master. Also, they were delicious. Like, really delicious.

While traveling along the river, they encountered enemies quite frequently. Usually, Wight and her pack were the ones responsible for taking care of them. When the enemies are too strong for them to handle on their own, the demon usually steps in. Although she was a hateful existence, Wight had to admit, the demon was strong. She was far stronger than Wight’s current self.

As for her Master, he hardly ever fights. After all, Master is simply too strong. It is a strength beyond her comprehension. The strong Master that doesn’t fight is cool.

Unlike her Master, Wight was not cool. In fact, there were many times during the day when her uncool self was exposed for the whole world to see. For example, right now.

Wight wheezed out a sputtering cough. Her eyes frantically scanned her surroundings. Her pack lay exhausted on the ground. Most of them were severely injured. Umbra had a giant gash on his chest that exposed his lungs, Cocoa’s entire face was bloodied, while Plush, the fattest of the wolves, had his two front limbs ripped clean off their sockets.

It was a gruesome scene, but Wight was not worried. As long as the demon was around, injuries could be healed, but the shame of defeat, that sort of thing sticks with you for a long, long time.

Among her pack, Wight was the only one still standing. She glared at the enemy in front of her with gloomy eyes. It was a creature that resembled her Master, but uglier.

It was a creature that towered well above her. It had a stocky build and thick log-like arms. Its entire skin was green while its face was adorned with ugly welts and beady yellow eyes.

Her Master looked quite surprised when he first laid eyes on the creature. No doubt, he was taken aback by its ugliness. He said something along the lines of, “Wow, a real Ogre…”. Wight did not know what his words meant, but she was certain that it was code for how ugly the thing was.

Losing to such a horrid thing would be the ultimate shame.

The monster called an Ogre was also injured. Her pack mates did not go down without a fight. As the leader, it was Wight’s job to finish things once and for all.

She bared her teeth and mustered up strength within her hind legs. Without hesitation, she dashed forward. The Ogre immediately reacted. With a mighty roar, it swung its massive arm down.

At the last second, Wight stepped to the right.

BOOM!

The ground beneath her feet cracked. The Ogre’s immense strength was enough to split stone and shake the earth. Loose pebbles flew through the air. Some hit her, causing her wounds to worsen. Wight reflexively winced, but otherwise showed no outward reaction.

She continued forward with unflinching determination. A burning fire blazed in her eyes. She stared at the creature, desperately searching for a weak spot. After what felt like a painfully long eternity, she finally found one.

The Ogre was large, and its muscle clad body acted as a natural armor. Still, that armor could not cover everything. Her eyes locked onto the thing between the Ogre’s legs.

This creature was indeed quite similar to her Master! She learned this from experience (an unfortunate accident), but that thing between its legs was a major weak point. A strike there could immediately incapacitate someone, even a person as strong as her Master was no exception!

Wight stared at it. Her eyes gradually took on a fervent glint. Swinging it out in the open like that… it was practically begging to get bit!

She opened her jaws wide and lunged forward. The distance between them rapidly shrank and just as she was about to bite down—

CHOMP!

Wight furrowed her brow in surprise. The feeling of tearing flesh with her teeth, such a thing did not happen. Instead, the only thing she bit down on was air.

When she looked up, she suddenly realized that something was wrong. She was no longer standing in front of the Ogre. Instead, her surroundings had changed. She was near the base of a tree a few dozen meters away from her original location.

What’s more, her feet were no longer touching the ground. A familiar scent filled her nose. When Wight turned around, she saw her Master’s face. He was currently holding Wight in his arms.

Her Master wore a somewhat awkward expression. “You… you really shouldn’t put something like that in your mouth. It’s filthy.”

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Wight tilted her head in confusion. Her Master looked conflicted. He hesitated for a moment, before he shook his head. Without another word, he released her.

Wight was somewhat curious. Why did her Master suddenly interrupt the fight like that? Also, what did his words mean? She wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time for that. Wight immediately searched her surroundings. A half second later, she finally found the Ogre.

She hurriedly ran towards it, but unfortunately, by then, it was already too late.

The Ogre lay still on the ground, unmoving. It was dead and standing on top of its corpse was a certain nine-tailed shorty.

Wight’s expression was distraught. She collapsed to the floor. Apparently, the mental shock combined with all of her accumulated injuries were too much for her to handle.

Since she could not properly do her job, that meant another round of hellish training. Even though her Master had interfered this time around, that was not enough of a reason to stop the inevitable from happening.

During the next few seconds, a green-tinged glow suddenly filled the air. The glow came from the Demon. Her entire pack was suddenly healed. As if by miracle, everyone was returned to their optimal state. Wight was no exception.

At this point, she readily accepted her fate. With one last heart-wrenching howl, today’s first torture session officially started.

****

“Good job today, everyone. That last guy was about as strong as a dragon. Since you were able to fight it to that state, that means all of you have gotten considerably stronger.” Master’s words of praise echoed through the air, but all Wight could feel was dejection.

An orange halo tainted the forest. The sun had set, and it was now a matter of time before night fell.

Wight had just finished her last battle of the day. Unfortunately, it had ended in defeat. Suffice to say, she was disappointed in herself.

Another hour passed.

Today’s last ‘training session’ ended. Wight was dead tired. Her entire body shivered like an autumn leaf, while her eyes were completely bloodshot. In the dark of the night, she saw an ephemeral light glowing in the distance.

She approached the light.

“Ah, welcome back.” Her master’s voice suddenly filled her ears. Looking up, she saw his familiar figure. He was sitting on the ground, in front of him was a small fire pit. Strips of meat were laid out beside him.

Without another word, Wight collapsed onto the floor.

“You have it rough, huh?” Master’s sympathy warmed her heart. A second later, she felt the gentle caress of her master’s touch. It was a familiar sensation, the feeling of a warm hand stroking the fur on her back. “Well, rest up for now.”

Even if he hadn’t said so, Wight was completely planning on resting for the rest of the night.

Today, she had experienced death five times, and that was only counting the stuff from the last training session. She did not want to openly express it, but her Master’s comforting words were what got her through days like these. Even now, she was relying on him. If he wasn’t there, surely, she would have long since collapsed from all the stress.

A few minutes later, the rest of her pack arrived. Since they were weaker than her, they had an even worse experience. They collapsed by the fire pit. At the same time, a delicious smell wafted through the air.

Wight looked up. After everyone had arrived, Master promptly began to cook.

Her mouth automatically salivated. The hunger that she felt was almost great enough to overpower her fatigue. Well, almost.

Wight and her sibling waited patiently for the food to cook.

Frankly, this was Wight’s favorite time of the day.

She adjusted herself and curled up onto Master’s lap. A faint smile leaked onto his face. Without another word, he calmly watched over the fire, all the while occasionally stroking Wight’s fur.

From her position, Wight could see the demon. She was resting on Master’s shoulders. Like always, the demon sported quite the vexed expression on her face, but Wight didn’t care. In fact, the greater her frustration, the better Wight felt.

Since Master was the one who initiated contact, the demon was unable to do anything about it. It was only during times like these that Wight could openly experience the joy of snuggling up next to her Master. The demon will probably be even harsher during tomorrow’s training, but that was of little consequence. Wight is already used to it.

She lazily inspected her surroundings. Wight’s eyes landed on the wolf pack. They were resting on the opposite side of the fire.

“…”

A rather serious situation had developed over there.

This situation centered on two members from her pack, Umbra and Cocoa. The two sat by the fire pit. No, they were sitting too close to one another. It was to the point where their shoulders were practically touching. Cocoa had a peaceful expression on her face, her tail was even wagging. On the other hand, Umbra… his face was kind of stiff.

Looming silently behind them were the other four members of the pack. They were glaring at Umbra’s back with some serious enmity. They did not say or do anything though. They simply sat there, staring. The invisible pressure that they emitted was strong enough to give her shivers.

Plush, Cinder, Cobalt, and Tangerine, those guys were all Cocoa’s older brothers.

Wight laughed to herself. As usual, they were very overprotective of their little sister.

She spent the rest of the time watching the scene unfold before her. After a while, dinner was finally ready.

Today, they were eating a gorilla. It was something they had encountered a little while after the Ogre incident. The gorilla meat was sliced into thick steaks, before it was then sprinkled with the magic powder. Wight did not know what that magic powder was, but it made everything taste better.

When Master handed out the food, he gave Wight a little bit extra. It wasn’t just Wight who loves her Master, but Master also loved her, so it was only natural that Wight got extra meat. She can feel her Master’s love through the meat juices that run down her jaw.

After a while, she discreetly looked over towards the demon. She immediately noticed that the demon has less meat than her. Wight secretly laughed to herself. The demon was given less meat because Master loves her the least.

Right now, the demon was acting as if it doesn’t bother her, but Wight knew better. The demon was seriously vexed. Wight could tell because all nine of her tails were as stiff a board. Of course, Wight wasn’t about to point this out, or else she’ll get unjustly beat up again.

She enjoyed the rest of her meal in relative peace. When she finished, she gradually grew sleepy. Master suddenly clapped his hands. He quickly put out the fire and then informed everyone that it was time to sleep.

Wight walked over to the other wolves, while Master and the Demon prepared to sleep together. As Wight watched the scene play out before her, she felt a bit down. Still, she does not let it bother her too much. After everyone else falls asleep, Wight fully planned to sneak to her Master’s side.

An hour later and Wight suddenly stood up. She silently walked over and snuggled up next to her Master. He was still asleep, but he moved his arm to embrace her as if it was completely natural.

Master does not have any fur, so he often gets cold easily during the nights. It was Wight’s job to warm him (at least, that’s what she tells herself). Wight’s body was helping him sleep. She was making him feel good. Thinking of it like this, Wight felt a sense of accomplishment.

As her eyes grew heavier, the little pup silently made a vow to herself.

To get stronger than the demon and to receive more of her Master’s kindness... More meat, less training sessions, and an exponential increase in head pats… With such goals in mind, Wight eventually drifted off into the realm of unconsciousness.