It was a bit difficult for me to pay attention to the fox. Calling him a "fox" in my lexicon hardly seemed normal.

As we walked in the darkness of the forest, I felt some doubt. I wanted to give him some sort of distinction. After all, he was now my companion.

It was strange overall; I didn't understand how I managed to tame this thorn in one place so quickly.

I placed a wing on his head. The fox didn't have a name. I was of higher status. That meant I could address him differently.

[Attention!]

[Do you want to give a name?]

"Oh?"

When I thought about a name, the next notification appeared before my eyes. I could give him a name.

It hadn't even been a day since I contemplated this moment. It felt awkward to refer to him simply as a fox.

"Yes, I want to give a name," I said to the system, looking at various notifications.

[Say the name aloud!]

My eyes changed emotion. I was surprised. Could I speak? It never occurred to me during these weeks that I could say anything.

"Do I know how to talk? I never tried during this time..."

[Your species is magical! Your energy allows you to start speaking!]

I swallowed a large lump. Indeed, I had never tried to speak. My beak opened a few times as I looked at the fox.

— He-llo, — I croaked with my hoarse, elderly dialect.

The fox was surprised. He seemed to understand me, becoming even more amazed. Initially, he recoiled in fear, then approached again, studying me from paw to head.

"Oh! Damn, it's so painful, exhausting..." — my wings gripped my beak, which was throbbing with intense pain.

It was difficult for me to say anything. This speech was draining something warm from me.

I had just started talking. It was my first word, like that of a small child.

I had to just give a name. I thought it best to remain silent for a while. If I spoke again with my buzzing voice, it would only hurt more.

"I'm giving a name!"

Once again, a system window opened before me. I looked at the fox. He was trying to understand what I was doing, raising his paw to his mouth.

— Garvus! - I said smoothly.

It felt like I was struck by lightning. I felt a strong pain in my beak. Nevertheless, the name was accepted by the system.

— Caw! Caw!

I felt unbearable pain, pressing my head to the ground.

Once again, I was slowly losing consciousness. I disobeyed the system again. I didn't have enough energy to use such magic.

[Learned skill: Dialect]

I fell to the ground. My eyelids closed very slowly. Everything began to blur before my eyes. I was losing consciousness. Even the Gorgon's voice echoed from different sides.

"Damn! Again?"

Sometimes I saw through half-closed eyelids as Garvus dragged me somewhere. It was dark. He tried to hide me in some cave. I fell back into the darkness of sleep...

When I came to, I found myself in a cozy cave surrounded by dark yet beautiful light emanating from a small opening. My head was cushioned with soft grasses, offering some relief from the pain that enveloped my head.

With difficulty, I rose, feeling all of my energy intact. Looking around for Garvus, I found him nowhere in sight.

Clearing various leaves from my head, I exited the cave and tried to find him. Nothing of what I saw reminded me of the small forest creature.

I only saw a huge white fox, whose muzzle was all bloody from its prey. It was impossible to discern what exactly he was eating, as all of this mixture was mixed with blood and his white fur.

The fox turned to me, looking at me with his dark, empty eyes. He licked his lips at the sight of me and obediently sat on his haunches.

"Th-this... Garvus?"

Before my eyes, a new problem arose: he had become much larger, even I seemed smaller in comparison to him.

There was something unimaginably complex in the magic of this world. Even after the second evolution, I found it difficult to control the sand. Magic did not come easily to me.

I tried multiple times to imagine something pleasant in my hand, but I couldn't create anything decent from magic on the first try.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

The magical name I created took away my consciousness. I was warned about the consequences, but I didn't listen.

After the evolution, I began to feel weak streams of mana, and now they seemed to be near me. I wasn't sure what this magical flow, energy, mana was.

These terms were incomprehensible to me, as I lived in another world, where there were phones, computers, and even huge plasma TVs.

But this magic was new to me! I could see the magical aura from Garvus - he emitted around himself a red light, which showed his strength.

He evolved, but when and how it happened remained a mystery to me.

— Oh my lord! You've awakened...

The fox respectfully lowered his head, bowing to me like some high-ranking count. He looked restrained, meek, even trying to hide his strength.

It touched me that he looked so serious, while his long white tail betrayed his identity.

"Stop! Can he talk? And in such a calm tone..."

This confused me. I approached closer, swallowing several times. It was amazing: he kept his head at ground level.

— I-it hurts to speak...

I tried to say, croaking with my cold, monotone voice.

[Dialect increased to level 2!]

Perhaps I should talk more now to continue to improve this skill. After all, every word influenced its level.

I took a wing to my throat, feeling a little better, but still feeling pain throughout my beak.

This time, I undoubtedly saw reasonable thoughts in him, even though his speech was very formal towards me.

— Sir, if it's more convenient for you, you don't have to speak, but I would like to tell you so much...

Garvus said in his calm tone, his head was lowered, while blood continued to drip from his muzzle onto the ground.

— Speak.

I said, folding my wings together, feeling awkward listening to such praise, as I had never perceived compliments about myself as something good.

These pleasant words irritated me, but I tried to understand him as best I could.

— You gave me life, sir, you are so strong, even now I can feel your aura!

"Oh! Again, he addresses me with his formalities, how awkward."

It embarrassed me. And what's more, did he really see the same energy cluster as I see around him?

— How?

— How do you feel about my aura?

I was curious to find out, as I also wanted to see myself from the outside. I wanted to feel mine, not his.

— I don't know how to explain it to you. Just close your eyes, imagine something pleasant around you. Then open them, and you will understand.

He continued to hold his head down, looking only at the ground, showing respect towards me, but such flattery did not appeal to me.

I did as he said. I closed my eyes, hoping to feel something. It didn't work the first time. Only on the third try did small spots, clusters of energy, appear before my eyes.

Opening my eyes, I saw a flow of energy under my feet, its sticky threads wrapping around my body. And indeed, I could feel it, it was so daunting.

That's why Garvus kept his eyes down, he was afraid to look at me under such pressure. I just needed to cut off this flow.

"Gorgon, turn off this flow!"

I commanded the system, and the command was immediately confirmed. All this energy vanished somewhere, making me an ordinary crow.

Such strong pressure even on me ceased to have an effect. Garvus noticed this, lifting only his ears up.

— Sir! I am grateful to you for the name, I was able to evolve because of you!"ю

Garvus continued to bow to me, thanking me for such mere trifles. It turns out that the name for these creatures was something very important.

— Oh my lord! What will you do next?

— Oh, firstly, lift your head. Secondly, be with me on equal terms. And thirdly, I'm not going to kill you. Just come with me.

— I want you to be my shield, to protect me no matter what. Since you decided to be with me to the end.

It pleased me to see how he raised his muzzle, his green eyes turned snowy white after the evolution. He looked at me with such trust, he seemed quite strong.

—Sir! I will protect you even at the cost of my own life!

He approached me, pressing his head against my body as a sign of trust.

— How did you learn to talk? — I asked Garvus.

— Not sure, maybe all adult magical creatures with reason can talk...

I nodded in approval. So some could talk too, though the monsters I fought just wanted to kill.

[Dialect increased to level 3!]

Species: Ashen Fox

Name: Garvus

Level: 11/50

HP: 80/80

Energy: 20/20

Strength: 19

Intelligence: 10

Defense: 30

Agility: 56

Endurance: 45

Wisdom: 34

Development Path: God

Titles: [Defender 1.lvl], [Unyielding Courage 3.lvl]

Skills: [Sharp Teeth 3.lvl], [Sharp Claws 4.lvl], [Stealthy Stealth 5.lvl], [Howl 2.lvl], [Dialect 1.lvl]

Other Skills: [Obsession 1 lvl]

"When did he change so much? Even the characteristics are different!"

"And what's this?!"

His new skills intrigued me; some of the old ones became much stronger. Overall, I needed to understand how much time had passed.

— Garvus, how many nights have passed while I was unconscious?

I folded my wings together, looking at the fox with my serious gaze. I was curious how much time had passed for him to become so strong.

— The moon rose only twice.. — He looked at me questioningly, trying to understand what had happened.

So Garvus spent only two days on this, judging by what just happened. He became like me, so the name could have granted me privilege.

[Howl - increases opponents' defense by 2%, this lasts for some time.]

"Oh, this looks useful..."

I saw another interesting skill in Garvus, it was very tempting at first glance.

[Obsession - allows merging with someone to enhance abilities. Control over white flame for a short period.]

— Sir, what do you want to do now?

I looked at Garvus, pressing my wing to my beak. My goal now was to become stronger. As such, I had no other options but to become even stronger.

— I have a question for you. Can you see your characteristics?

It was a cruel, direct question to the massive fox standing in front of me, trying to understand what nonsense I was asking him.

Garvus didn't even understand what I was talking about; he shook his head negatively, looking at me with his white eyes.

— Nothing like that, sir. What is it? — Garvus inquired.

I just waved my wing, sighing heavily. So only I could see this system. That was the only thing that distinguished me from all the creatures in this world.

— Sir, may I know what we will do next?

"Well, damn if I know, I don't know what to tell you. All I did was kill, eat, and sleep. Seems pretty clear, doing it together."

Oh God, this looks like some kind of confession of love, a strange thought, of course. What else to suggest to a wild wolf besides killing wild monsters.

Since he can't see the system, I'll have to level him up by battling other creatures.

I scratched my head, looking at Garvus, sighing heavily, then lowered my gaze.

— We'll hunt, become even stronger, is there a choice?

"Haha!" — A new idea sprouted in my head.

I spat out the Key of Echidna from my beak, retrieving it with my wings, then looked at Garvus again.

Garvus felt disgust, sticking out his tongue, experiencing a gag reflex, and covered his mouth with his paw, hiding behind the bushes.

~ Rainbow Release ~

I turned, examining this key. Isn't this an option? To become even stronger, you can enter a place where there will be much more prey.

I approached Garvus, watching him try to cope with this reflex. I showed him this key.

— I know a place where there will be much more food, want to go with me?

I extended my wing into the air, waiting for Garvus to accept this offer. And he placed his white paw on my wing with a cute smile on his face.

— Sir! I will go with you anywhere!

"Oh God, these nauseating formalities again?"

I rolled my eyes, feeling disgusted, then threw the key on the ground. It seemed to be able to activate upon my command.

A large portal formed on the green meadow, which could transport us to another place called Echidna. I didn't yet know that this place could be so cool.

With a sly smile, I jumped inside, followed without hesitation by Garvus, awaiting new adventures.

The portal evaporated into the rusty ashen sand after the white tail disappeared completely.