'System!!!' Ember growled, getting the attention of all the policemen in the station, usually so quiet.

I'm right here. I got a little stunned, that's all. That wasn't mentioned in any update log.

'You again with your cryptic update thing! Always promising for more and never delivering,' She barked at the system.

Update logs are not promising things to you. There are warning about changes and upcoming events.

You missed quite a few of them when you went offline.

'I don't care! Just get to the point!' She growled some more.

Earth got quite a lot of Novice Tier Magical Beasts in the last update, including a couple of dogs. But Beginner Tier Magical Beast are exceedingly rare. That is what the "Lesser Common" in Lesser Common Arcanine means. You are an unknown variable to the system. So obviously, I don't know how to assist you. But I will try!

Monsters are bad. Magical creatures are somewhat good. Magical Beasts are a kind of a grey area cause they can evolve into both.

Arcanines, even of the common varieties, are good: better magic but no attunement, greater life expectancy, greater intelligence, and a somewhat stronger build. Those are significant advantages with no drawbacks.

But you will be the first of your kind so you might feel... lonely?

'And what if I burn the card instead?' Ember inquired.

That would not be good.

It would stop your evolution right now, but the moment you replace the card with something else, you will be forced to evolve. Most probably into another dog breed, but there is also a risk you might turn straight into a monster.

'Monsters are bad. I got that part right.' Ember repeated. 'About two minutes left. Should I wait, or is there a way to say I'm okay?'

Then the timer stopped ticking.

You just did. The system will turn me offline. Brace yourself. You are used to it, but it's gonna hurt.

'Thanks for the advanced warning' She thanked her assistant before her windows collapsed.

Evolution imminent. You have 2 minutes 14 seconds left.

You will be temporarily incapacitated and vulnerable during the process.

Recommendation: Please seek shelter, find a hidden place, or stay where you are.

Repeat okay whenever you are ready to skip the timer.

She was safe in her cage, and there was no snowball chance in hell she could escape and find a safer place within the time frame.

'I'm okay.'

Then, the darker window collapsed too, and the pain started building up.

Except it irradiated from her jaws, spine, and feet too, instead of solely her head.

She could not help but instinctively roll over in her cage, yelping, trying to fight back the pain, causing quite a ruckus in the police station as people rushed to give her assistance.

And then, her brain finally gave out.

★☆★

The pack was stalking through the primeval forest after the Megaloceros. The giant Elk lost half of its antlers and quite a lot of blood and was currently trying to lose the other half of its antlers on the passing by trees to regain balanced as it fled from the pack.

It was a giant Beast over 800 kg, and Ember knew they could not afford to lose yet another prey. With that much meat, they could gorge themselves and fill their bellies for weeks before they have to give it up to a murder, a direbear, or, worse, a dragon.

But they had competitors. Common wolves and Magialopex were actively trying to steal their kill. They would not be able to keep it. But the pack could not take it from them without injuries, and they could not afford it in that season when curative berries and leaves were gone. Best case scenario, untreated wounds would fester. It was a prolonged, painful death for an arcanine. Worst case scenario, the opened wound and essence-rich environment would cause monsterification. The pack would have to put them down and risk even more injuries, spelling doom for the pack.

So they had to kill and secure the prey fast. Intimidation was easier than aggression, especially with Common wolves. They lacked magic and generally knew their place in the pecking order. Magialopex might try something funny. What they lacked in pack tactics, they compensated in boldness and cunning. And their magic was something else.

And this point, the Megaloceros was dead. It just didn't know it yet. It just managed to free itself from its outweighing antler and start running even faster. It was a big mistake, and it would only burn its energy more quickly. Though it might help outpacing the wolves, arcanine could push the extra mile without tiring. That Elk Beast couldn't. It had too heavily invested in defenses. And those were now gone.

Ember howled to warn about the slight change of strategy. The giant Elk would try to lose them at the river, but the pack could let that happen. The pack would split up. Ember and the scouts would keep stalking the prey while the others would prepare the welcoming party by the river. And whenever the scavengers would come to steal their food, Ember might throw it in the river just to spite them. She sure would love seeing a dragon getting all wet and muddy for a change.

The moment the Megaloceros reached out of the woods was also the moment it realized its mistake and tried to turn away. But it was too late. The trap had already snapped, and before it would get to recover, it would be dead. Ember would make sure of it. She went for the kill while the pack kept the Elk focused on them and bite the neck. She did not bite as hard as she could to keep the precious blood flowing down her throat, but just hard enough so the Giant Elk could not throw her off. If anything, its pointless struggle helped her deepen the wound and pump more and more blood out of its body.

Ember felt the moment the Megaloceros lost its balance and quickly jumped out of the way, not to get buried under its massive weight. It happened to another Arcanine before: He didn't make it. Technically, the Elk was still alive, but the pack started feasting anyway. It had barely a few seconds to live, and the pack only had a quarter top to enjoy their all-you-can-eat-buffet before they got company.

However, it was also the moment Ember realized something was wrong.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The meat tasted bland, and it never happened before. How could meat taste anything but delicious?

Ember was about to warn the pack when she finally woke up, the unpleasant flavor still lingering in her mouth.

★☆★

'What happened?' She asked herself. She knew what a dream was, but it did not feel like one. It felt like more. Memories, visions, delusions? What she knew was that she could still taste the dream as if it really happened and now mourned the loss of a pack she never had. 'How could that be?'

I'm back!

Yep! It still feels awesome to be alive.

'Glad to have you back.' She greeted her but did not have the heart to it.

What the matter? Did I miss something?

'I just had the most wonderful dream,' She said, nostalgic before crumbling. 'And it's GONE...And now I feel like shit.'

OH... it's THAT bad. Sorry, I couldn't warn you. It is already established that rewiring has unpredictable side effects on you. I think that's probably the system trying to teach you about your evolution going wrong.

'You think?' She retorted sarcastically in between her teeth.

Look, I'm your assistant. And I'm entertaining the idea of being friends. But right now, I feel like I should remind you that I'm not your punching ball. So do you wanna talk about it? I might not be able to help, but I'm a damn good listener.

'Okay,' She reluctantly conceded the point.

'There was just that incredible forest, and I had the best pack ever. All of them just like me and doing our thing. It was tough, but we had our niche. We were having a good time, and then something went wrong, and the dream just ended. It's like they were real, alive, and suddenly, all of them are dead, and I didn't get any closure.'

You died in the dream????

It was rare for her assistant to be that demonstrative.

'No, I don't think so.' She responded calmly, 'I was eating, but the taste was wrong, and then 'puff,' I woke up, and suddenly everything felt awful.'

That's a dissociative rewiring error. The system tried to teach you something based on what it knows, but your mind proved it wrong. It probably stopped the rewiring before it was completed and cut the dream halfway. I wonder what might have caused it, though?

'So it showed me the wrong memories and stopped when it realized its mistake?' She tried to reformulate.

Pretty much. You are one of a kind. The system can't possibly know what you need. It tries to extrapolate what you need. But it obviously failed. And so it stopped.

'So everything I saw and felt was relevant... until it wasn't anymore?' She asked, puzzled.

That's right. It tried to teach you something your mind did not like. And it was so much of a deal breaker that the system had no choice but to stop before it caused damages.

The entire dream was about the giant Beast they were chasing after. So stalking and killing it was okay. But when Ember tried to eat it, it wasn't okay anymore? What sort of bullshit was that?

★☆★

Ember was inconsolable, but the world did not stop for her, and in the meantime, a certain doll kick in the anthill had finally paid off.

"The governor's board wants to meet you." The officer stated sternly. , "I'm going to release you and escort you to the meeting. I won't move a single finger if you try to escape. But you would become a wanted criminal and be hunted down."

"Noted," the doll replied laconically. "But I'm not going anywhere without Ember."

"I knew you would say that." The officer smirked. '"You will be escorted to the government board in separate cars."

"So we are on a no-trust-lost policy?" The doll smirked back.

"Order from above," The man stated. "A freaking flying city appeared out of nowhere in Nevada. Higher up freaked out, and the Outsiders allegedly used cyclones to reroute nuclear warheads back to the portal they came from. Does that ring a bell to you?"

Of course, the doll knew precisely what the policemen wanted to know and happily obliged:

"Those are Elves, and they are completely unrelated to the air elemental. Their flying fortresses are weaponizing gravity, not air. They are also orbital kinetic carpet bombardment specialists. They prefer diplomacy and trade but are not to be trifle with."

'Would you please repeat that to the board? I want to see their face when they realize a no-name newborn living doll knows better than they do.'

"Information within the System comes at a premium." The doll said, patronizing. "Now, you know where my strength lies. I spent the last week learning your legal system, and I planned to squeeze your representatives dry to make up for it."

"Correction: A no-name newborn shark in sheep's clothing"' The officer played along with another smirk.

"That’s more like it." The doll wholeheartedly approved.

★☆★

"So let's meet it straight," The governor said, his face reddening rapidly.

"You want compensation for unlawful detention."

The doll nodded.

"Access to sensible crime scenes and the bodies of the victims."

The doll nodded again.

"Police and military reinforcement to assist you in killing that air elemental and its alleged summoner."

To which the doll finally reacted:

"I thought we got over that one. The absence of proof isn't proof of absence. There are proofs about the air elemental. But this is uncharacteristic of their behavior, hence the summoner theory, which my dog could testify if she could speak."

The governor's board felt like a powder keg ready to explode as people started shouting all at the same time.

But the governor wasn't quite done yet with the doll list of demands.

"You also ask for a deed of the land for your dog's former owner's house as well as monetary reward in pure gold, silver, and copper in compensation for information relative to the homeland security of the United States, which you would not discuss before signing the contract."

"What can I say? My dog is homesick, and your law enforcer made it clear would not be considered a citizen of this country. Money runs the world, and Outsiders such as I like our old fashion gold better. Although I'm amenable to be paid alternatively in gems, furs, silk, precious wood, or land if you prefer."

Ember did not know what to think as the board once again exploded in violent outcry.

'Are you sure you know what you're doing?' She whined.

Trust me. Those people are as out of their depths as they think I am. They may bend or break. That's a win for us either way.

'If you say so,' Ember replied uncertain as she tried to read the poor governor's emotions.

Her akashic sight confirmed that he was even more agitated than he looked. And her smell suggested he was close to downright panicking. They needed them for the job and were growing desperate.

"Governor, if I may.' The chief officer who accompanied her said over the crowd, getting the other man's attention, who signed him to get closer. They exchanged words undertone, and the governor slowly calmed down.

"Of course!" He exclaimed. "That sound acceptable. Miss Doe, may I assume you don't care about the provenance of the goods so long that you are paid?"

"If you are speaking of stolen and smuggled goods, I honestly don't care, so long the contract stipulated I have legal rights to sell those to both Humans and Outsiders.

This causes the humans to shout even louder, to Ember's disbelief. How could they make so much noise without feeling sick?

"SILENCE!" The governor thundered over the crowd, shutting them up.

"I can only speak for the state of Montana, and this would have to go through a vote before I could sign it. The other half of your demands are way beyond my authority and will have to be dealt with separately. Is that acceptable?'

See? Told you so.

"I don't mind waiting." The doll conceded before smirking. "It's YOUR children's lives who are at stake, not mine."