Days had passed and turned into a week. Ember slowly but surely got included in the officers' daily routine, each one of them taking her out for a walk, run or play, or whatever they felt comfortable with whenever it was their turn to "walk the dog," which they would do consistently an hour each, four times a day: early in the morning, before and after lunchtime and after work.

Her first partner of the day was a runner. So Ember kept calling him that. Runner was an early bird who had too much energy in the morning and was in desperate need to burn it up fast so he could focus on his day. He also liked running with her in the forest, so she happily obliged. Ember could tell he was decently faster than her previous owner and that, just like her, he liked running a lot. So she thought they were a good fit, although he was not much of a player and didn't like running off the intended path.

Her late-morning partner love to go to the park and play all sort of game with her while eating the exact same sandwich every day. She called him Treat Guy cause he also loved to reward her with food, especially when they were playing Lost and Found, her new second favorite game ever. As the name suggested, Ember always had to find things Treat Guy had purposefully "lost" earlier that day, as some objects were freshly buried under various kinds of other things. Among other things, Treat Guy had her search for food, bones, spices, newspaper, knives, and his own personal gun, always giving her a small smelly sample of what she was supposed to find.

Her early afternoon partner, however, like to show her around the city and teach her some new tricks, like barking or keeping quiet on command. Ember got the idea that he wanted to use her to intimidate whoever she was barking at, so she called him No Bite cause he was all-bark-no-bite. He was the partner she appreciated the least cause he kept forgetting she actually had ears, and he always fucking pulled on the leash to get her attention.

Finally, her last partner of the day was also the most tired and so she called him that. Old fashion walk around the police station was his thing. And she could tell that even that was draining his energy, though it also helped him feel better. She could tell by his smell that something was wrong with the guy, but she could not figure out what it was. He was young and healthy, and his emotions were all over the place, as he liked to talk to her endlessly, although she could not understand a thing without the bonded puppet to translate. So she guessed that whatever his issue was, physical and mental health should not be it.

Then, whenever she would be back in her cage, her system assistant would be right on her tail to harass and teach her about magic, which wasn't half as bad as it once was. Now she had matured. She wasn't an excited puppy anymore and had grown into an eager-to-please working dog, which reflected in her magic.

Aside from games, she now had a better understanding of tricks and praises, which helped her convince her magic to do her binding more efficiently, although she felt like the learning process for each new trick was less and less efficient the more tricks her magic learned. Yet, she finally managed to circulate magic through her four legs simultaneously and got rewarded for her trouble.

Akashic Trickster

You learned twice as many akashic cantrips or spells with high synergy with one another that you have slots to use them. For this feat, you gain a knack for combining any known cantrips or spells to create new ones. The mixing of akashic cantrips and spells produces fascinating, albeit dangerous and unpredictable results. Be cautious cause you are discovering and experimenting with unique Akashic effects at your own risk.

'So that's why you were so adamant I should learn so many cantrips! You wanted me to get that specialization card that badly."

You are far from catching up with your peers. But this new specialization will help tremendously!

You should give it a try!

Feeling bored, Ember complied immediately and opened her spell list to evaluate her options.

Akashic Sight

You can now perceive the mind activity of those around you as a 360-degree overlay supplementing your vision at an effective range of 5 meters per tier.

Akashic Whisper

You can now perceive errand thoughts, allowing you to detect mind Manipulation on yourself and those around you (5 meters per tier).

Critical Thinking

Allow you to trigger a state of mind overdrive for up to 3.6 seconds at a time, increasing your natural ability for critical thinking. Be careful to let your mind recover between use, or you might incur brain damage.

Retroactive Override

Sometimes, you need to move fast without regard to safety. This cantrip allows you to deactivate retroactive correction to move faster. While it might save your life, there is a significant risk of self-inflicted injuries.

Disarming Tail Wagging

You are so cute, wagging your tail that friends or foes alike in line of sight cannot think straight! Increase your threat reduction and improve your odds of making advantageous negotiations.

Mind Tracking

You can now smell magic and track magical signatures left by powerful spells. The higher tier a spell, the longer its signature would linger, allowing you to track it back to its caster.

Food for Thoughts

You can now absorb and repurpose foreign Akasha while eating, giving you insight into understanding the psychology of befallen foes better.

Mind Fortress

Your mind is only as strong as its primary defense. And this cantrip allows you to build it from the ground up, one bit at a time. While it might sound tempting to build an impenetrable fortress, keep in mind that what prevents other from invading your mind also prevent you from counterattacking effectively.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Debilitating Bite

While your Akashic offensive power is still limited to a range of touch, you still found a creative way to weaponize it! While using your primary natural weapon, you can now inflict your enemy with debilitating fear.

ERROR: incompatible innate talent detected!

Balanced Mind

Even the most extraordinary mind has to account for one's body. You can choose to trade physical damage for mind damage and expend akashic power to help your body go the extra mile. This cantrip also allows you to grasp better how your body influences your mental performance and recovery.

And so Ember ended up staring at the last cantrip that eluded her for so long, as it asked her to circulate her magic through the four legs at once, effectively demanding her to achieve a threatening balancing act. It made all the more sense she struggled so much one that one cantrip for its sheer superior utility. Although she already had slotted akashic sight as her akashic talent, keeping it active at all times to improve the utility of her innate talent, she had second thoughts about this new one.

It's indeed excellent, and you do want to keep this cantrip slotted at all times. But so you do need Akashic Sight too.

I would advise Mind Tracking too, as you are going to need it sooner or later. I would advise you to keep the last two slots for combined cantrips, as some options are somewhat subpar or utterly useless for you.

Ember did felt disheartened when she discovered that one cantrip she had worked for had been rendered ineffective by her innate talent, negating all fear effects, including her own. That and her subsequent failure at unlocking Balanced Mind had made her give up on magic for months as one of those cantrips could help her with her past predicament.

It took her some time to realize nothing could help her previous owner as it was impossible to help her against her will, especially since she kept on indulging in self-destructive behaviors. And by the time she realized that, she had shut down her system for months. And she had been too prideful to turn it back on until she felt like she had no other choice.

I like that you are reflecting on your past mistakes. But you can do so much more!

Like, say, keep up the good work now that you have the best possible foundation for your mind magic!

'You do have a one-track mind,' Ember playfully retorted. 'By the way, how do you feel about your current self-inflicted predicament?'

I admit I might have been way too optimistic. I'm pretty sure what they've done to me would cause a public outcry if it goes public. I think we will have to bide our time until the next murders.

'How can you be so sure there would be another one?' She asked, tilting her head, still curious about that.

With full access to the system and both our memories, it wasn't hard to make an educated guess. There is definitely one human helping this air elemental, and there is only one reason they would do something like this. I'm betting for two to three more attacks.

'I'm going to trust you on this one.' Ember concluded, still unconvinced. 'But if you are wrong, I'm not sure I can help you out.'

If I were wrong, you are going to leave me behind and escape. And I won't take no for an answer. Your freedom and well-being are my utmost priorities. Give me one more week, and that's all.

'That’s your life,' Ember shrugged, though she felt a little bothered it would throw it away like that, only days after acquiring that body. But she agreed to that plan, and so she would see it through.

She did not feel like she could survive on her own. And while she enjoyed the newfound freedom of being her own master, she knew the appeal of living among humans and missed it. That was what all the plan had been about.

The puppet, possessed by her system assistant, could act as her spokesperson and allow her to live among humans. The only issue was getting the animated doll accepted by the locals. And to do so, they agreed on that plan, although, so far, it had failed spectacularly.

But her system assistant still had hope they could track and kill those murderers.

How exactly that would help their case, Ember had no idea. But she guessed it was a human pack thing. And she was all the more eager to prove herself useful to the pack by whatever means necessary.

And so she stuck to the plan and kept showing the policemen what a good girl she was.

★☆★

'You claimed you were born to track and kill those fuckers.' The officer confronted the doll again. 'Do you have the skill to back your claims?'

'I do.' The doll responded laconically, meeting the man's eyes with fierce determination.

The silence fell between the two for a long, excruciating minute before the cop exclaimed in one laughing outburst:

'That’s it? You are not even trying to negotiate?'

'You will need to free my dog and I if you want me to do your bidding,' The puppet shrugged. 'So that much isn't even up for negotiation. Besides, it's a bad form to negotiate with underlings. Tell your leaders I have resources I'm amenable to share for a price. And that I expect proper compensation for this indignity. Then THEY and I can talk.'

The officer took a step back as if he just got slapped in the face. The doll's personality certainly did not match up with its appearance.

Yet, what the puppet said was absolutely true. Only a judge, the governor, or both had the accreditation for such negotiation. Any deal the doll would make with him would be worthless. And so she did not even bother trying.

'I would see if I can arrange such a meeting.' He promised.

'Then, you should hurry. Lives are at stake after all,' The doll mused coldly.

Then the officer slammed the door once again.

'Do you think it was wise to taunt the poor man like this?' Ember asked from her cage to the doll cell.

I have done "wise and reasonable" already and see what good it did us. It might be a bitter pill to swallow, but those people needed a taste of their own medicine. They will come around. And I will re-educate them. All for your benefit, of course! (Winking)

'I won't say anything since it turned out you were right,' Ember concluded. 'Just don't screw it up going too far.'

Sure thing, boss.

However, now that negotiation is on the table, we need to discuss what you might want out of it.

What Ember wanted was very simple. She wanted to get back home with enough food to last her weeks. Then she wanted to play with humans some more and maybe work with them so she could get herself some more food and toys. Finally, Ember would gladly help track and kill that air elemental, if anything, to get revenge for her late owner.

The concept of revenge was still new to her. But they discussed it for hours, and she decided that she did wanted to do something about her human's death. Her entire life, she had tried to help her and failed. If revenge could help Ember find some closure, then she had to give it a try.

Cause no matter how many humans she met and all the new experiences she had, the loss was still burning in her chest.

And she would do anything to have it gone.