William didn't sleep much after a good meal. Instead, he decided to practice his movement technique in the cave. With each use, he felt that the technique was becoming more and more in harmony with himself.

This technique also worked like the Execution Sword, but the fire element it used was less. The fire element he drew around him was only a tenth of that. Moreover, it could not be used when there was no fire element in the environment. He would not draw the fire element from his body. Therefore, this technique was weak in some areas. It wasn't a big problem right now, but if he used this technique in an area like a volcano, he could feel that both his speed and burning power would increase exponentially. From here, the disadvantages of each element began to show.

For example, what's the point of using this technique in a volcanic area? The creatures he wanted to fight were already familiar with that area. They would inevitably have some immunity to the element of fire. In this case, the burning effect of the foot technique became a completely unnecessary addition.

He could not help but think of the advantage of the Wind Technique in this regard. It was not like metal, fire, or water. It was everywhere. It could be found in a volcano or over an ocean. In the future, he would have to find a way to increase his affinity with the wind. That way, he could at least replace his foot technique with a wind-based technique.

Finally, three days passed, and he thought it was time to return. He had promised to go hunting with Baldur. In fact, he wanted to get the Earthworm's Blood Crystal for him. Although Baldur was his friend, he was a skilled mage and loved to research. He was considering recruiting him into the ranks of his family, and this blood crystal could lay the foundation for their solid relationship.

At that time, William had just finished his training. His sweaty body shone in the dimly lit cave. He took a breath and drank a bottle of water from his dimensional bag. Then he looked at the Comrade and spoke. "I'm going back to the Academy, would you like to come with me?" he said.

It seemed very strange to William to speak from the mind. He wasn't used to it yet. That's why he continued to speak normally.

The comrade's ears pricked up as soon as he heard William's words. "Hmm...Academy?"

William smiled immediately. "Yes, the academy. Where they teach us to fight, to become stronger."

"...like a master?" He had a questioning look on his face. His eyes were narrowed.

"Yes, like a master. Huh-huh." William did not lose his composure.

"Alright."

William was very pleased. He was planning to show off to Baldur. He was excited to see the look on his face when he found out that the wolf he was riding was the one he had met before.

"Let's go then." He said. Then he approached the ruby horse in the corner and spoke, patting its mane. "Wait here, okay? These wolves are your friends. They won't hurt you. No need to be afraid." He comforted him. Then he climbed onto Comrade's back, bare-chested, and they walked out of the cave together. Outside the cave, William asked the Comrade something.

"Comrade, can you tell the other wolves not to harm the horse inside? He is my comrade, just like you." He said.

Comrade howled with all his might at the entrance of the cave. Shortly after, the two bronze-level wolves came towards him. The comrade muttered something and pointed his head inside the cave. The other two wolves quickly nodded in response to his words. Then they proudly entered the cave.

Then Comrade turned his head to William and spoke. "Done."

William felt that the other two wolves were just like minions trying to befriend him. It was as if he had just said to Comrade, "Don't worry, boss. From now on he is one of us."

After William secured the ruby horse, he left the Valley of the Wolves on Comrade's back. The speed of the return was very slow. William even took a bath, stopping at a river on the way back. His body smelled of sweat because he had been working on his foot technique for several days. There were many saber-toothed crocodiles in the river, but they were all afraid of Comrade, so they could not get close to William.

William felt that Comrade's frightening aura could help him a lot in the Black Forest. At least he wouldn't have to deal with small prey. But he also feared that it might attract stronger enemies.

It was noon when they arrived at the academy. The guards and students of the whole academy looked at Comrade with bright eyes. Comrade also examined people like William. His curious eyes were always trying to discover new things.

William didn't want to waste his time. The Comrade's curiosity would wait for now. They walked quickly to Baldur's villa. Baldur was ready and waiting for him. He was in meditation when they arrived. Everything he needed to take with him was in his dimensional bag.

William remembered that his dimensional bag was small. He didn't know why he was using a small dimensional bag, but when he wanted to give him a new one, he understood. Baldur pulled a dimensional bag out of his inner pocket and showed it to him. "Twenty cubic meters." He said.

William realized that he was also an extremely cautious person. Everyone had a few little secrets, and those secrets could be dangerous in a world like this. Fortunately, contracts like the Oath Contract sometimes provide enough trust.

William did not ride the Comrade while he was with Baldur. Because Baldur didn't have a mount. Even if he did, it would have to be an elephant or something to carry his heavy body.

The Worm Mountains were several tens of kilometers from where William met Comrade. So the sun was about to set when they got there at their slow walking pace.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Before entering the Worm Mountains, William asked Comrade if he could hide his aura.

Comrade, "While hunting... Yes." He answered, and then he was no more than an ordinary wolf. If no one saw him, no one could feel his power. That included creatures. Together they went to the cave where they used to hunt with Baldur. But when they came to the old area, they found that a new family of worms did not occupy this cave. They would have to search deeper.

William tried to test the limits of his senses as he descended deeper into the cave. He specifically asked Baldur not to cast the light spell. He could clearly see a hundred meters ahead in this pitch-black cave where there was no light. It was a different way of seeing. He saw with a deep red color, like heat vision. Just like the bloodthirsty wolves in various werewolf movies. But there was no rage or bloodlust this time. This was his normal night vision. To see it like this, he had to activate his bloodline power. If he didn't activate his bloodline power, the maximum distance he could see was twenty meters. Even that was good. His old eyes could not see more than five meters in this darkness.

When his bloodline activated its power, everything beyond a hundred meters was just a sight mixed with feelings. It wasn't clear. The limit was two hundred meters. He could see no further.

Smell, on the other hand, had become a completely different matter. If he wanted to map objects in his mind with his sense of smell, he had to be familiar with the smells in that area beforehand. For example, he could now smell some creatures from a few kilometers deep in the tunnel, but he didn't know what kind of creatures they were or details like their size. First, he had to see them and memorize their scent.

For example, there was probably an earthworm ahead, because it smelled the same as Baldur.

At the moment, William had earthworm blood with a purity of 18 percent. A few iron levels and a bronze-level worm were enough for him to purify a crystal.

With careful steps, they walked about three kilometers further and deeper. William felt that they were very close. Now he could smell some worms five hundred meters away. Although the worms' eyesight was not very good, their senses were extraordinary. They would soon sense them, so William asked Baldur to cast the light spell.

The size of the light spell was smaller than before, in this pitch-black underground. Soon William stopped both Comrade and Baldur. Comrade had discovered the worms before William and told William in his mind. William had discovered only three earthworms, but Comrade told him there were two more five hundred meters from the three.

The war they were about to enter could be intense. So they would have to stop and report the situation to Baldur and make a plan.

After telling Baldur about the situation, Baldur nodded and spoke, indicating that he understood. "Then I will control all three with the earth nails. You two must kill them quickly. We must kill these three before the others arrive."

"Okay, we will do as you say. Do you hear, comrade? Quickly!" he looked at the Comrade.

The Comrade gave a slight howl as if to indicate that he understood, and raised his head.

" Avuuvu ... Okay..." The Comrade spoke.

Then the two of them began to run towards their prey, silently, like a real predator, from the front. Since Baldur was very heavy and would make a lot of noise while running, he started to run after they had gone a certain distance. The distance of his spell was already long enough, and there was nothing here but the earth element.

Once he was within two hundred meters of the worms, William pulled the Firebringer from his dimensional bag. He quickly put the scabbard back. Then he looked at the Comrade who was running alongside him at the same speed. Since wolves usually hunted in packs, they were used to teamwork. He adjusted his speed and strength to William's.

He could see the three worms clearly as they entered the last hundred meters. All three were crawling about twenty meters apart. They were extremely slow and probably just resting. As soon as they crossed the hundred-meter line, they both accelerated. William activated the foot technique and the bloodline power at the same time. As soon as they crossed the hundred-meter line, the worms immediately spotted them and looked up.

William saw the spell forming in front of him as he was about to be thrown. Baldur had already placed his hands on the ground and began to cast his spell with all his might.

Huge earth nails appeared in front of them between the three worms. It came out of the ground like a spear and pierced one of them right through the body. The other two worms barely escaped. They survived the attack with only a few scratches. As a result, one of them was immediately eliminated from the battle. William and Comrade adjusted their direction to the other two worms.

William tried his best to cut through the one in the middle. But halfway through, the worm changed its head and moved the cut part. William was unable to kill it in one cut.

The comrade, on the other hand, was faster and stronger than William, and with his right claw, he sliced through the slow worm that was waiting for him like a sacrificial lamb. As he extended his claw forward, it was as if his three front claws were surrounded by a stream of air. This air stream had increased the size of his claw many times over!

William hadn't been able to see it, but if he had, only one thought would have immediately come to his mind. 'Wind Blade' [1]

However, this blade[1] was different from the one described. Just like the ability William was trying to learn, it had affected the size of his claw. It wasn't something that was ejected from his body.

Comrade had killed the worm in a single attack. William looked at Comrade for a moment, saw that he was more successful than he was, and frowned. It was as if the pride of the consciousness, the moon-swallowing wolf bloodline within him, had been offended.

After a brief moment of jealousy, he quickly resumed his attack. He wanted to finish it before the Comrade came to his aid. He activated his sword's strenghtens, and the partially slowed sword slashed down the middle of the worm.

"RIIIIPPP!!

As his sword entered the worm, it encountered no obstacles. With the heat of the sword, it both cut and cauterized. " The worm could no longer stand the pain of being cut off and screamed.

"Ziiiiiiiiiii!!" Then it began to struggle on the spot. William saw his chance and jumped from the middle part, which he had cut in half, to the head part. The moment the worm lifted its head, William was over its head. He plunged his sword into the worm's head and used the full weight of his body to throw himself down.

As a result, the worm's head was split in half. Then the worm's lifeless screams continued for a few seconds, and it died.

Meanwhile, Comrade had joined him. William frowned at him, then forced himself to forget the situation. It seemed that he had a consciousness and pride of his own, even if the bloodline in him came from the Comrade anyway. He would have to wait before he could ask Reyis, who could be considered superior to all of them in terms of knowledge.

The Comrade sensed no malice or change in William. He turned his eyes to the deeper parts of the cave and growled. "Grrrrrr!!"

The expression on the Comrade's face indicated that the approaching enemy was of equal strength to him. William felt it too. This place was about to get messy. Meanwhile, Baldur arrived.

William immediately yelled at him. "Take all the blood, don't waste any of it. Don't forget to join us later!"

Baldur quickly agreed and began to take the barrels out of his dimensional bag. When he tried to look back at William and Comrade, he saw that they had already disappeared into the darkness. He had to finish his job here as soon as possible and help them. He quickly killed the worm, spiked it with a few earth spears of his own spell, and began to collect its blood. Too much blood had been wasted already. "I hope this is enough," he thought.

[1] Wind Blade: Actually, it's not a blade. Like a knife, but 'blade' is more illustrative and easier to imagine.