Something had sounded wrong about the name “Tomar” from the start. It did seem familiar, but not like it was my own. Though I ignored the feeling to the best of my abilities when everyone called me that. Hearing the name “Miles,” however, was as if I had been struck by lightning.

That’s it... That’s the name I was searching for!

I turned around and found the source of the outcry. The girl had woken up and was desperately trying to stand, but she seemed to still be weakened.

“Careful, Riala!” Berla warned as she got up, just for her to fall back to all fours right away.

Riala...

Unperturbed by gravity doing its best to keep her down, Riala staggered to her feet once more, but I could clearly see that it wouldn’t last. Her legs shivering and her body swaying like a child who just learned to walk, I went back.

From behind, I heard Hayla ask, “Tomar?”

No. Tomar is... someone else.

Quickly approaching the girl, I arrived just as her legs lost the battle and caught her in my arms. She had been entirely focused on trying to walk in my direction, but now she was looking at me properly.

“Miles!” she exclaimed full of glee as she embraced me. “We thought you wouldn’t come back!”

I had been unconscious for a few hours and neither the doctors nor Hayla knew why. Neither of them had seemed overly concerned about this, however, nor about my loss of memory—as if I had just been down with a heavy cold or something. It was entirely unlike Riala and Berla. Elated that I was fine, both had embraced me when they first saw that I was okay. Riala I could pass off as her being a child, and Berla as us having some kind of semi-hidden relationship, but a pattern was starting to emerge, indicating that they might know more. That’s when I remembered one of the first sentences Hayla said to me after I got back to.

“You collapsed, but we don’t know why. Well, Berla knows something.”

I’m so stupid. She told me that her cousin knows more about what happened to me. Maybe that’s what Berla wants to talk about.

The girl looked up at me happily. “Are you feeling better? And what about Tomar?”

“Riala!” Berla said admonishingly.

Realizing that Hayla was standing right behind me, Riala pressed her lips together. Something about this was apparently a secret, though I couldn’t even quite make sense of what she just said.

“I’m feeling okay,” I said, answering at least one of her questions. “But I don’t remember a few things. A lot of things, actually.”

“Like what?” she asked curiously.

I thought her question over for a moment. She was a kid, and telling her directly that I had no idea who she was might’ve hurt her feelings. I decided to not spell it out directly, and address my main question instead.

“Like... my name. Can you tell me why everybody else is calling me Tomar?”

“Uhm...”

She glanced at Hayla again and then at Berla, clearly searching for permission to say something or for someone to tell her what to say instead. However, Berla did not budge.

“We can’t share that information with anyone but you,” she told me. “Can’t we go to the office for a few minutes and talk in private? Please.”

Berla’s expression had changed slightly after Riala woke up. There was now a sliver of hope in her eyes, and I did want to know what all this was about. At the same time, I wanted to stick with Hayla for the moment, trying my best to treat carefully, to not step on anyone’s toes or get caught between two camps while I didn’t know... anything.

I didn’t want to make any mistakes, I wanted to please everyone, but it was paralyzing me. What was going on? Could I trust her to tell me the truth? What would happen if I learned something that endangered my contract with Hayla? What was the right answer? After a lot of internal back and forth, only one response seemed sensible.

“Ugh, I’ve got enough of these fucking guessing games,” I said while standing up decisively, carrying the girl still in my arms. “Hayla, could you help your cousin walk, please? I’m taking Riala.”

“Huh? Uhm...” She glanced at Berla. “I suppose so...”

Turning around, I looked at the wolf. “You’re part of this group as well?”

“I am!” he said, wagging his tail. “I’m Hati!”

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“Nice to meet you.” I nodded and waited a moment for Hayla to pick up and support her cousin. They eyed each other with suspicion, but complied with my request. “Alright. Let’s go.”

“What are we doing?” Hayla asked.

“We’re going to talk in private. All of us.”

***

From a distance, a series of glowing eyes were watching the group depart from the camp and walk towards the safety offered by the town’s walls.

“That’s not Tomar...” Arax said dubiously.

“Told you,” one wolf whispered.

“Tsk,” another grunted.

As not-Tomar and the others disappeared from view, Arax turned around to the group of four intelligent wolve-type beasts she had recently recruited.

“Were there any other humans with auras, aside from him and the girl?”

“Yes, Arax!” one of them said enthusiastically. “There was a female human. She went into the door too. And then she came back out and left.”

“Gate,” another whispered.

“Yes! The gate!” the former corrected.

“Was she a magic user?” Arax asked.

“I don’t think so...” wolf 1 said, sounding unsure.

“Huh? What is that?” wolf 3 asked curiously.

“A human who can fight with their mana! Arax already explained that!” wolf 2 admonished.

“I thought that was a scripter!”

“No, that’s a human who can create new scripts!”

“Oh, right! But wait... don’t Awakened do that too?”

“What was an Awakened again?” wolf 4 asked carefully.

“They’re like magic users, right? But if they’re not also scripters, they’re harmless.”

“Yeah, yeah! And they’re the ones who can ascend!”

“No! They can all ascend, idiot!”

“Don’t call me an idiot!”

“There are too many words for the same thing...”

“It’s not the same!”

“Don’t act like you actually understand it!”

“I understand it better than you!”

“As if!”

Listening to the wolves bicker, a sigh escaped Arax’s lips. I forgot how exhausting a fresh group of them is. I should’ve had the other two raise more omegas before they were killed. That’s what I get for being complacent.

While the first wolf kept quiet and looked up at its alpha, the others got into a heated debate about who knew what and started attacking each other, until an ominous feeling crept up on them. All three fell silent on the spot. Ears laid back and tails tucked in, the heads of the three turned to Arax with trepidation.

“Sit,” Arax barked, and they hurriedly sat down in a line in front of her. “We will go over it again later. For now, you will tell me what her aura looked like.”

“It looked like ours,” wolf 1 said, “but much larger.”

“That was an awakened human then. Anyone else with an aura?”

“No, Arax.”

She fell into thought. If there was a magic user in Alarna, they would have almost certainly brought them here to help with the dungeon. Not doing so wouldn’t make any sense to the humans. After all, they had struggled. But something weird was going on with Tomar as well, who felt different to the boy Arax had left behind on the clearing. So much so, that she wouldn’t call the two the same being.

If that’s not Tomar, who is he? And why did he arrive so late? He could have dealt with the dungeon on his own. Instead he let weak Fighters try clearing it and die in the process.

She certainly wouldn’t complain about more food, but it was illogical, and this also didn’t match Tomar’s normal personality. Unless he hadn’t been able to be there.

Hm... New magic users were spirited, weren’t they? What if there was a disagreement? Maybe they fought and then imprisoned them or some such nonsense.

“Uhm... Arax?” wolf 4 spoke up. “May I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“That human who defeated the large beast has awakened, right? He seems strong... Wouldn’t it be better to kill him? Before he comes for other beasts?”

“That’s a moderator’s mindset,” Arax said. “Or the admins’ rather. Kill them as soon as possible, before they even realize that they’re able to oppose you.”

She nervously met Arax’s piercing gaze. “R-right. But why would you let such humans become stronger and risk that?”

“That is a valid question,” Arax praised. “Because killing him offers absolutely no benefits to me. Do you care about that kobold that was stupid enough to let himself be killed? Or whether this boy will kill other wild beasts?”

“Well... not really. But I’m scared that... he might kill me.”

“Wimp,” wolf 3 scoffed.

Arax’s head snapped in his direction, and before he could process what was happening, he was already flying backwards from a strong, but controlled kick. Hitting the dirt with a whimper, he immediately stood back up and limped back, sitting down in line once more, his head hung.

“What was wrong about what you just said?” Arax asked calmly.

“I don’t know...”

“The moderators offered you protection, but that’s over. You’re back in the real world now. There’s nothing wrong with fearing someone who’s stronger than you.”

“But Arax... The four of us could easily kill him if we surprised him alone...”

“That’s three requirements you have to establish first. You need others, you need the element of surprise, and he needs to be alone. The chances for that are low, and even then, you’re almost certainly going to suffer casualties. Would you be that cocky if I ordered you to attack him alone?”

“No...”

“That’s something at least. All of you, forget everything the moderators taught you. Use that brain you got and think things through. Go back to your roots and don’t pick a fight with someone who could easily kill you. And also think about how you can use potential enemies to your advantage. Understood?”

““Yes, Arax!””

Teaching new omegas was a hassle, yes. However, Arax was not going to underestimate her enemies. She wanted capable backup, and seeing the recent developments, she knew she had made the right choice.

“Good,” she said. “Let me tell you how you’re going to become powerful enough to deal with someone like him then.”