After bathing in the river, I helped hitch the horses back onto their wagon and hopped in. The wagon in front of us set off, and we followed.

Leaning back into the crate I chose as my spot for the last several days, I shifted so my cloak would bunch up behind me.

"Screw magic weapons. I demand a portable sleeping bag, enchanted to be no bigger than a grain of rice when not in use," I complained.

"A pillow would be nice," Alice admitted.

Devon sighed and sank lower.

I crossed my arms. "I didn't think much of the other day, but why did you bring them along to see our spar? I can't think of any reason why you would comply with that."

"Either you wanted them to feel more relaxed around us, see us as people like them. Or, you wanted them to realize we are not just kids," Alice mused.

I looked at Alice, but she shrugged.

"Both," Devon grumbled. "The captain's approval, as well as the excitement from the nobles, would help get the ornery guards off our backs. But the guards who have a problem with us--the mounted ones especially--needed to see that they can and will not survive so easily trying to confront you."

"Since when do we care about what people think of us? They aren't a threat to you, not to us. I don't get why you suddenly factor them into the equation," I argued.

He looked up and fixed me with an emotionless gaze. "Because I slaughter monsters, not idiots. I prefer keeping it that way."

And did you get the reaction you wanted for the noble?

It'd be several hours before we stopped and let everyone stretch their legs, so I closed my eyes and envisioned the ward incantation.

Maybe I'll actually get it right today.

***

I hopped out and stretched. The bruise on my lower back made me groan, but the stretch felt heavenly. After waving at Yadalee, who hesitantly waved back, I moved away from the wagons and horses and ventured into the trees.

Only after a few minutes did my steps slow. I stopped and spun around, waiting. No sounds. Nothing approached.

Good. This is far enough.

I didn't want to spook the guards and needed space.

For the last few days, whenever I thought about using the skill, I felt it in my core. It felt like a dull poke against my chest that grew if I kept resisting. But the feeling stopped during the hours between stops. I let the mana begin to flow, keeping it to a trickle in case the feeling returned, but just like before, it didn't.

I guess you're finally ready to say hello.

Flames roared underneath my skin, and I tapped into the bubbling pool. I was not using my hand but simply closed my eyes and let the system guide me. The familiar void greeted my mind, and the system willed the new spell circle into place. Runes I didn't recognize stood out in blazing yellow as the runes took on an orange hue.

Mana connected to the spell, and I opened my mouth, the name rolling off the tip of my tongue.

"Freki. Come"

Mana, more than I had ever used for a single incantation aside from what the messed up light spell took from me, flowed out of my chest and down into my shadow. The darkness beneath me opened up, stretching before me until it reached several feet away.

From the endless black rose a creature. Strands separated and thinned out while four pillars elongated upwards into a massive body. Once the shadows congealed into something resembling a dire wolf, a bright orange flame lit up from within. It traveled through its belly and up its throat before two blazing eyes stared up.

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Freki came up to my chest, no longer waist-high and nearly twice as wide.

Holding out my hand, I sent more mana into the connection and waited. Without hesitation, he pushed his nose into my palm and gave it a lick. I kneeled and embraced the surprisingly warm wolf in a hug. Initially cold, the shadows cooled my skin, but once I sunk past the first layer of fur, I felt a comfortable heat blazing underneath.

"You're friggin huge! Was that where all my mana went? Feeding you?" I exclaimed.

When he nudged my shoulder, it had enough force to push me back. He quickly came in and licked my neck before pulling me back with his head.

"Hey! Calm down. Looks like you're a lot stronger than you realize."

"Wulf!"

The bark wasn't the same. Way deeper than before, it practically vibrated my bones.

Yet, as I scratched behind his ears, for all the world, the giant shadow wolf looked like a menacing demon hound; he acted like a puppy in my arms.

I have to resist calling you a good boy.

I stood up and stepped back, circling Freki as he watched me with a wagging tail.

Three feet wide? Maybe eleven feet long. Damn, that's impressive.

A strong breeze blew past, and I threw up my hood.

"Wulf!"

"Yeah, I know, you're pretty cool."

He growled.

His tail stopped moving, and he began to sink into the ground. Trusting my wolf, I pulled out my axe and smelled the air.

Blood and rot.

It came from the left, past the thick foliage.

"Come."

The massive wolf slipped into my shadow, and I began walking toward the source of the smell. Carefully, not wanting to make noise, I avoided the piles of leaves and stray sticks, sticking close to the trees before moving on to the next.

Even without the breeze carrying the scent, it assaulted my nose.

I smelled water before I heard the sound of it hitting rocks. After another minute, I saw parts of a river cutting through a small bank between trees. Carefully, I passed the treeline and came to the riverbank, where a large gnarly tree had its roots exposed above the water.

That's foul.

My wolf rose out of my shadow and joined me in staring at the remains of a bloated corpse. It lacked clothes, so I could see the bare white chest poking through the thick roots.

I swallowed my bile and searched the ground for a long stick. The only one nearby was barely longer than my arm, so I had to anchor myself into my wolf and hold on. Thankfully, he took the weight like a boulder, and I leaned down to try pushing the body out of the roots.

I think… Right there.

The body came free, and I speared its shoulder. The stick sunk into the blubbery-like flesh with ease, and I forced it toward the bank before it floated away. Tossing the stick aside, I covered my nose and examined the corpse.

Freki growled, his fur snapping at the air as heat wafted upward.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," I said as I petted Freki's head.

The bloating was too severe, and I couldn't make out any facial details, but it looked male judging by the facial hair. Two long puncture wounds marred its neck, while it lacked the entirety of its lower body from the navel down.

Already regretting it, I grabbed the stick and used it to slowly and sloppily flip it over.

Huh.

A stretched-out tattoo remained intact on its back, centered near the top right of its shoulder blade.

Pushing the loose skin aside, I made out the faded image of a mountain with a cracked skull at the base.

"What do you think?"

Freki slammed his paw into the dirt, and a puff of flames shot from his nose like a dragon.

I shook my head and stepped away. The presence of a floating corpse disturbed me, but it was in the middle of nowhere, not civilization.

"Hey, scout the area real quick; tell me if you can find anything nearby. Maybe there's more."

"Wulf."

Closing my eyes, I imagined the spinning vortex in the middle of the spell circle, letting it suck me in. As it spun, I saw glowing embers mixing with the void, but my vision split before I could observe it further.

After nearly ten minutes of Freki bounding through the trees at an incredible pace, I recalled him, and we headed back toward the caravan. There were no tracks or any signs of a battle to be found.

Wherever the corpse came from, it must have been further upstream.

***

I waved Devon over, and he tossed me a smoking skewer loaded with meat.

"Uh, thanks?" I bit down and shrugged. "What meat is this?"

"Rabbit," Devon answered, grabbing his skewer before sitting next to the fire.

Alice wasn't around, but I figured she'd join us soon.

"Where did you go?" he asked.

I swallowed and lowered the rest of my skewer into my shadow. It sank deep, and the meat was gone when I pulled it back out. Devon stared but didn't ask.

"Went to test out my summon. Interesting changes to show you later, but we ended up finding a corpse near a river. Missing half its body, most likely male, no clothes, but it had an interesting tattoo on its back."

"Tattoos are very uncommon in this kingdom. Surprising. Describe it."

"A light brown mountain with a golden tip. It had a human skull at the base but with spiderwebs and pieces of bone missing from the top right."

He finished his skewer and drank from his flask before tossing the stick aside. "Not tribal, nor a warrior marking. It couldn't be a merchant brand either; they specifically don't use gold or silver colors. I'll ask the captain later. Did you find anything else?"

I shook my head. "No. I sent Freki out to scout, but if there was anything else, it must have floated downstream. I only saw the corpse because it got tangled in some roots."

"Probably nothing. In the wild, people die all the time."

We ate another skewer each before Alice joined us, and she quickly finished off hers. As Devon tossed another log into the fire, I grinned and tapped Alice's foot.

"You guys want to see the changes to my summon? He looks pretty cool."