My heart threatened to climb up my throat as I waited for the other shoe to drop.

Was the System holding back for dramatic tension or was it all my imagination?

> You have successfully bonded with Wolfertinger Pup.

> At least you are on the ground already. No prince charming to catch you when you swoon. Whoops.

> You gained the achievement: Legendary tamer. Awarded for raising a Legendary newborn monster from the brink of death and bonding with it over manly tears.

> Boy, let me tell you. Fate can be a cruel mistress and she mistreated me greatly, costing me my homeworld, but can she simp like nobody else when she's in a good mood? Yes, she can. Don't let it go to your head. She is a googol times as fickle as your not-a-girlfriend. Don't tempt her. I would hate it too if my date's boss demolished my house on what basically amounted to an unsolicited welfare check by a random civilian. Let me stop rambling and give you the reward.

> Reward: this bond's effects are doubled. You cannot dismiss the bond. Should any of you die, the survivor will suffer a penalty equal to half the bond bonus for a year and a day.

I was kind of feeling let down because I didn't get a Class evolution. But it was a long shot. Who knew what the System thought was a feat worth it.

Then, another window opened.

> You earned an achievement: Boy, is this Character growth I see? Awarded for doing some deep shit reflection, something I wouldn't expect from a teenager.

> Just a FYI, it wasn't me holding back the bond to teach you a lesson. It was all your feelings betraying yourself. But to put yourself in the place of that B… Witch? Dude. My metaphysical buckets of popcorn weren't enough. Here's a high five from me.

> Reward: High… five Attribute points. Hint: put them in Clarity, dumbass. Don't neglect any of your Attributes. Oh, but System, I am not a mage… smack!

> For bonding with level three Wolfertinger Pup, you gained 100 Experience points.

> Your experience and knowledge of the nature of beasts improved your Beast Mastery Skill to rank III.

> Rank II benefit: Beasts under your care heal faster and are more resistant to disease and parasites by 8% per rank.

> Rank III benefit: Beasts you train retain knowledge from these lessons 10% better per rank.

I almost ignored the Skill upgrade. Two ranks at once was almost unheard of. Was the System holding it back? No. I needed to ask someone about that later. Not Melgart, though. Perhaps Josephine or Alice.

Sleepy's bond granted me twelve Attribute points. But he was level three. Ten percent of a Legendary monster was three points per level, plus one in each Attribute because of his initial points. It was almost worth the points I lost to the sub-class.

And now that we could share Exp, Sleepy would skyrocket in levels. With time, the three of us would reach the same level, with one or two levels of difference at most due to the rarity constraints. Sleepy needed six thousand Experience points per level, I needed four thousand, and William only two. But the awards changed based on our levels. Sleepy would most likely gain two whole levels from the first joint kill we got.

That was a problem in itself. Sleepy would get a whooping thirty Attribute points per level. I had a way to indirectly monitor his growth but making him too strong too fast could become a problem in the future.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Training him now while he was weak became crucial. He needed good discipline to thrive in society. Because soon he would be as big as his sire. In at most two years, considering the explosive growth rate of the Wolfertinger's predecessors.

The empathic link granted by the bond would help immensely. So, we dedicated the remainder of the day to training.

*

*

I woke up with a monster licking my face. Sleepy was jumping on my bed and he felt very excited for some reason.

It wasn't hunger though he hadn't had breakfast yet.

A look outside the window gave me a clue. It was snowing. Which was odd. We rarely got temperatures close to zero but snow? Never heard of it.

Scooping the little ten-kilogram Wolfertinger under my arm, I went to the window. Frost had formed on the edges where the white powder gathered. Strangely enough, my bedroom wasn't freezing.

Sleepy barked and jumped on the windowsill. He then licked the glass and shivered.

"Come, let's fetch some food."

He hesitated on the "come" but was pounding away at the mention of food. Sleepy's gait was very fun to watch. He bounded with his hind rabbit legs and ran on his front wolf paws. Only his front legs had claws, which clicked on the hardwood floor. If I focused only on the sound, it seemed it was missing the sounds of the third and fourth legs. The time and distance between successive contacts of the front paws were also longer than that of a normal canine.

I followed Sleepy and checked on William. The goat-ram hybrid was okay, snoozing in the backyard. His fur coat was so thick now the snow on his back didn't melt.

Monsters were a tough bunch.

*

*

After breakfast, I put the open carrier on the ground. "Sleepy, crate!"

The little guy stared at me with puppy eyes. I placed a small piece of Dad jerky inside. He dashed and entered to eat.

I sat next to the door and waited. Sleepy turned around on the bedding and sat inside, still staring at me. He wanted to get out.

"Okay, come!" I tapped my lap. The happy critter jumped on and rested his snout on my leg. "Good boy."

I pet him for a while, then repeated the command. "Crate," was something we started at the end of yesterday's session. Sleepy hesitated, then jumped into the enchanted carrier. I tried to convey the importance of being safe through our bond. Sleepy watched without whining as I closed the door. Five minutes later, I let him out to repeat the process.

But I couldn't spend the morning playing with Sleepy. I had to work. Especially since I suspected this snow wasn't natural.

With William's saddlebags under one arm and Sleepy's crate on the other, I went out.

Then I came back indoors immediately.

The weather was freezing cold. The building had magical insulation, something my parents added before I was born.

I had to take out the heavy winter clothing. Then, adjust my armor to cover the extra bulk.

My first stop was at Fizzlewhisper's. The insulation enchantment was a blessing for the gnome tenant. His shop was full of people browsing the shelves and avoiding the cold.

I stocked up on supplies and rations. Two weeks should be enough. With William doing the heavy lifting for the team, I added a tent to our standard load-out. No more bivouacking under the stars and the rain.

I tied several bundles of arrows to the outside of William's saddlebags. With the Strength points he got from our bind, he could easily deal with the extra weight. Without a care in the world, William dozed off, comfortable in his wool coat.

Then, the Guild. While it was just across the street, the heavy foot traffic delayed us. I hitched William to the horse post and went inside with Sleepy.

The Hall was packed. Dozens of Adventurers were inside trying to avoid the light snow and get warmed up. The quest board was empty and a few Adventurers were frowning at it as if doing so would make quests pop up.

“Is it him?”

“Yeah, the Guild Master’s pet.”

“Check the box. There's a Legendary inside.”

“Don't even think. You will die.”

Heightened senses were a mixed blessing. I ignored the hushed whispers and went behind the counter to get the quest reports.

I gained around thirty Attribute points from quests I scouted during Sleepy’s kidnapping incident.

But once I reached the Guild Clerk, I got bad news. “Deputy Guild Master wants to talk to you. She said the Quests go on the board without scouting this time. There's a Mage with her, I think she has a special job for you.”

With a long sigh, I climbed the stairs to Alice - I mean, the Guild Master's office. I knocked, the Deputy called, then I entered.

“He's right on time,” she lied to our red-robed guest. It was a Mage from the castle, I remembered his face from a previous visit. He was a chubby old man with pink cheeks, white hair, and a beard. Very mage-looking.

The elderly Mage stood up. “Mister George, well met. I am Kris Kringle, an Elementalist at our Lord's service.”

We shook hands and took our seats. Kris kept eye contact all the time.

“How may the Guild help you, Master Kris?”

“I am sure you noticed the snow. It started at midnight and hasn't stopped since.”

“Hard to miss. What's the problem with it?”

“I am certain it is artificial. Some spell, artifact, or creature is affecting the weather. We must find the cause and stop it before it causes irreparable damage. I would like the Guild's assistance in this matter. Especially your aid in navigating the wilderness outside our walls. I have means to track the effect to its source.”

“It is part of our cooperation agreement with the City,” the Deputy said.

She all but confirmed it was punishment for what Alice did. Who was being punished, whether it was the Guild or me, was up for debate.

“Would you need a bodyguard? The wilderness is getting pretty dangerous.” I said.

“I am aware of the rising Mana levels and increased spawn rate of monsters. Most Adventurers downstairs do too. It's the main reason they traveled here, after all. Yet, if it is too dangerous out there for me, the average Adventurer will have no chance. No, no bodyguard is necessary. If we find something dangerous we evade it. A bigger group will draw too much attention. Just you and me.”

Going out alone was okay. I could take care of myself and run from danger. Going with an old man meant keeping two safe. What were his combat abilities?

“Kris is trustworthy,” the Deputy said. “He can carry his own weight.”

“Okay, let's go, then.”

“Excellent. I am ready to depart immediately.”

He had no backpack, making me believe he had a spatial item. Not my problem. I led him downstairs and retrieved William.