“Sit.”

Shade sat.

“Roll over.”

Shade rolled over.

“Spin in a circle.”

Shade twirled in a circle, his tail wagging nonstop. Once he finished, he sat back down, gazing at me expectantly, awaiting praise.

“Good boy.” I said while patting his head.

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” Shade’s excited voice echoed in my head.

He’s practically a house dog now.

“A spirit house dog, yeah.” Shade is the summon I acquired after absorbing the wolf. He’s roughly the same size, if not larger, with a sleek black coat that emits a faint blue glow. Purple markings trace his back and shoulders, forming symbols I still have no understanding of. And of course, Sys doesn’t know jack either.

It’s not even my fault. My Boogle translation is just bugged right now.

“What’s next!?” Shade’s bright white eyes shone at me with huge expectations.

“Uh, help yourself. I have to figure out something right now.”

Shade then went snooping around, sniffing at every object that his nose could touch.

Level: 53

* Strength: 125

* Speed: 128

* Stamina: 140

* Endurance: 144

* Durability: 126

* Mana: 156

* Soul Rank: Stable

* Soul Color: Purple

Hmm…….Oh, I should show you this first. “Toggle.”

Shade’s form flickered before shifting from his spectral state to that of a normal wolf. His coat had now turned silver, erasing any remains and traces of the past symbols. The eerie glow had vanished, and his eyes had reverted from the lifeless, endless white eyes, to the golden gaze of an experienced wolf.

Like you just saw….well, if you can see, Shade’s changed to now look like an ordinary wolf. This is because of my new command, “Toggle”, which lets me- HEY DON’T EAT THAT!

Shade looked up awkwardly, a shirt falling loosely out of his mouth.

“You can’t eat that.” I tried pulling on the shirt, but it wouldn’t even budge. I looked up at Shade in annoyance, only to see that he was enjoying this.

“Tug of war with Master!” He then reeled back, which caused me to almost fall forward.

“HEEL! HEEL!”

Uh……I’ll continue what Beric was trying to say. Essentially, Toggle enables him to alter the appearance of his summons, allowing them to take on their “mortal” forms. That’s why Shade no longer resembles a ghost but instead appears as an ordinary wolf. Now, is this form visible only to Beric, or can others perceive this seemingly normal wolf? The answer is the latter—these summons appear to any regular person as ordinary animals……..You probably noticed that I said “regular”. Well……..The thing is, there’s a possibility that someone with exceptional mana awareness might notice something off about Beric’s summons. For example, they may notice a surplus of pure mana within them, as if they’re formed completely out of mana.

“Now, stay here. Don’t mess up anything, okay?”

Oh, looks like he’s done. Let’s go check up on him.

Shade sat with his head down, disappointed that he was now banned from moving.

Okay, I think Sys finished explaining Toggle for me, so I’ll just move on. A cool thing about soul communication is that it functions automatically within close range. However, this does mean that if I move too far away from a summon, then I’m no longer capable of conversing with them. I’m guessing this also depends on my affinity, meaning I’ll need to continue hunting more wolves, and any other animals, to strengthen it.

I laid down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. There were no notches to count. What’s next? With all of these new abilities, what’s the next objective? Continue hunting?.......Well yes, but I think I have a new way of going about it. This day was eventually going to come, and now with Toggle, I believe now is the best time.

It’s time to introduce everyone to the family.

Only problem is, how?

Scenario 1: Go right now as is.

“Hey Mom. Hey Dad. This is-”

“AHHHHHH, LUCIAN!!!” Mom screams as her eyes fall on Shade.

Dad suddenly appears and wields an axe. He raises his axe, prepared to throw. “BERIC, STEP AWAY FROM THE WOLF!”

“No, it’s actually okay. See, this is-”

“LUCIAN HURRY! BEFORE HE ATTACKS!”

Dad then throws the axe right at Shade, lodging itself deep into his neck. Shade then collapses, panting heavily, eyes losing focus. Blood spews out from his neck, creating a circle of blood. “Master………..Are you there?”

“Uhm……you can’t die.”

“I know Master…..I know…..but I can’t keep holding on.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“No, you…..you literally can’t die.”

“I’m sorry Master, but you’ll have to accept it. We have to accept it.”

“Oh my gosh, Shade, you’re a summon. As soon as I regain enough mana, I can just resummon you. Stop acting like you’re actually going to die.”

Shade looked up with tired eyes. With one final gasp, he let out his last words. “Goodbye……Master.”

Curtains fall.

“What the fuck was that?”

What?

Nevermind. That scenario is a bit extreme, but I can’t deny that Sys isn’t fully wrong. It might be chaotic, but I can always resummon Shade afterward. The real issue is how I’m supposed to explain my summoning ability. Death said that I was required to keep my soul magic a secret. There has to be a way for my family to meet my summons without trying to kill them, and to hide my soul magic at the same time.

Scenario 2: Show a smaller summon

I walk out of the room, Rogue on my right shoulder. My family turns to me with cheerful smiles, but they all go away upon the sight of Rogue. Screams erupt……mostly from Arthur? Really Arthur?

“Beric, do not move.” Mom says with a shaky voice.

Dad starts to move in, eyes focused on Rogue.

“No, this is my friend, Ro-”

Dad bursts forward, grasping Rogue with his bear-like hands. Rogue squeaks in surprise, but they quickly die down as Dad squeezes tightly.

Mom rushes over. “Are you okay? Do you have any bites?” She checks my body for any signs.

Elaine brings a wet cloth to me. “Use this to clean yourself. Rats are very dirty creatures.” She says with disdain in her eyes.

Arthur’s still shivering from what he just saw.

Failed. Reason: Family hates rats ever since the rat trap incident.

Yeah, that’s right. Damn, this is pretty tough……Should I show Jittear……No, they’ll just want to eat him……..Drill?.......Same thing…….Melvin?........Moles are kind of scary to look at.

Nightclaw? Definitely not. He’s probably the most dangerous animal after Shade.

What to do, what to do…….

Maybe I’m approaching this the wrong way. I could simply reveal them later….but who would I show them? I can’t show the smaller ones, which leaves only Nightclaw and Shade. But the moment they see them, they’ll instinctually fear them and attack out of panic. Wolves are known to hunt small children, and they’ll attack even adults if provoked. I can’t exactly blame my family if they act like this. If Shade appears without warning, they’ll most likely go into a state of frenzy. And if it’s Arthur and Elaine, they’ll run straight to Mom and Dad, who will then come and—

Oh…….that’s it.

“Sys, what forms of magic do elves generally use? Nature, healing, whatever. What are they?”

There’s healing magic, floral magic, illusion magic, body enhancement magic, nature magic as a whole-

“Let me stop you there.” This was taking too long. “Are elves capable of taming magic? Like taming animals?”

Taming magic? Definitely. Elves are actually one of the races that have the most affinity with taming magic.

“How would one use taming magic in this world?”

There are multiple methods for taming animals. Some form contracts through rituals, spells, or mutual agreements, though these are typically reserved for powerful creatures like drakes. Others possess a natural talent that draws animals to them, allowing them to tame them with minimal effort. There are also items capable of binding creatures, and for those who seek a more forceful approach, they can assert dominance through violence and sheer will, compelling the creature into obedience.

“I’m guessing out of these, elves are known mostly for having innate talent?”

Correct. They’re also known for forming close bonds by gaining the creature’s trust, without relying on their innate talents. That’s because even though not every elf is blessed with such an affinity, the race itself has the highest rate of being blessed with this affinity.

That’s what I’ll have to go with. Now, I just need to think of a situation where my family would naturally come upon this realization…….Got it.

There was no school today, so Arthur and Elaine were at home. They were outside, playing and helping with daily chores. Father was at the lumberyard as usual, while Mom was preparing lunch. Peeking out of the room to ensure Mom was still in the kitchen, I gave Shade the signal. He quietly hopped through the window, vanishing into the treeline. It was time to move.

Making my way outside, I left the house and headed to the garden. Elaine was watering the crops, while Arthur was chasing the chickens in the coop. Big C hopped as much as her feeble body could, trying to escape the poised fingers of Arthur. C.C. and Chirpie followed suit, while Lil C was trying its best to catch up. Rod was merely watching everything unfold.

“Beric.” Elaine’s voice called out.

I turned to see her waving me over. Responding, I hobbled on over to her.

“Would you mind helping me water the rest of these crops? It’s just a few more.”

“Okay.” I grabbed a watering can and began watering the rest.

“Thanks. I have to hang up some clothes. I’ll be right back.” She said before making her way to the drying rack.

Now or never.

While watering, I glanced up at the trees. To the right of a nearby tree, I noticed golden eyes staring directly at me. The eyes moved closer, and the owner was revealed: Shade. The wolf let out a quiet growl, creeping closer. That’s when I heard Elaine’s screams in the distance, soon joined by Arthur’s panicked cries and the rapid sound of his footsteps racing toward me. I had to act quickly before he reached me and carried me off, away from Shade.

Unwavering, I raised my hand toward Shade. To Arthur, who was likely behind me, the sight must have been confusing—seeing such a dangerous creature like a wolf gently approach my hand and nuzzle against it. He was probably even more baffled when the wolf laid down and began making quiet whimpers. He wasn’t the only one, as I could also hear the yells of Father and Mother in the distance. Funnily enough, they all fell silent, likely noticing the strange scene unfolding before them.

I finally turned around, seeing their confused and amazed expressions. Arthur was bewildered. Elaine was astonished. Mother was concerned. Father was bemused, though you had to look close to notice it.

“What’s the matter?” I asked upon moving closer to Shade. I started playing with him, trying to show them just how much power I had over him.

Arthur and Elaine stayed quiet, barely moving and just staring. Father and Mother were different. They looked at each other, silently communicating. Was it fear? Confusion? Worriedness?

My questions were answered when I heard the soft voice of Mother saying, “Is it……..his elven side?”

Dad turned back to me. I looked back. We stayed like that for a few seconds, silently wondering what the other was thinking……..until he let out a big smile. Scratching his head and letting out a chuckle, he said just five words. “You really are a genius.”

Those 5 words seemed to have an effect on everyone, as Arthur and Elaine snapped out of their trances and moved closer.

“That’s so cool. You can even tame wolves?” Arthur asked with a shaky voice. It

appeared that he was still scared of Shade, even if he recognized that I tamed him. His arm trembled out of fear as he tried petting Shade, but after seeing how calm Shade was, he regained all of his confidence. He began playing with Shade as if they had known each other for many years.

Elaine seemed to be more composed. She gracefully petted Shade, even tickling him in the neck. “You keep on surprising us, Beric.”

Mother and Father followed suit, getting closer and attempting to pet Shade. Father’s attempt went smoothly, petting Shade and even wrestling with him for a bit. Apparently, he used to have a pet dog as a kid, so I guess that’s why he was used to the idea of playing wrestling with a dog.

Mother’s didn’t go as well. Tentatively, she reached out her hand, facing away while trembling. Her soul must have escaped her body when Shade huffed. She jumped in place, letting out a small squeak.

Everyone laughed at that. Even I did. But I wasn’t laughing at just that. I was also laughing because-

Everything went just as planned.