Chapter 23 – Back On the Road

They stopped outside the swamp to allow Maximus to heal. And as he sat and let Healing Flow fix his broken form, he checked his notifications.

Skill Follow Me! (F) is ready to evolve.

Please choose the evolution path for the skill.

Available Paths: Tame (E), One of Us (E), Obey (E)

Tame (E) – Command defeated beasts to follow you in battle. Chance to tame a beast of any type, 40%, which can increase with the level of the skill. Successfully taming a beast lets you absorb some of its bodily power. No Spirit cost. Slots available 1/2. Moves the user towards the Living Tank path.

One of Us (E) – Command defeated beasts to follow you in battle. Chance to tame a beast of any type, 30%, which can increase with the level of the skill. Your shapeshifting abilities will receive extra forms depending on the types of beasts you have tamed, and last double the time. No Spirit cost. Slots available 1/2. Moves the user towards the Shapeshifter path.

Obey (E) – Command defeated beasts to follow you in battle. Chance to tame a beast of any type, 50%, which can increase with the level of the skill. Tamed beasts will obey every command unquestionably, even sacrificing their lives for their master. No Spirit cost. Slots available 1/4. Moves the user towards the Beastmaster path.

As they sat on the ground, drinking potions and recuperating, Maximus observed his choices. There is only one choice: it’s not even questionable.

Skill evolution confirmed!

Skill Follow Me! (F) has evolved into skill One of Us (E)

Skill Minor Shapeshift updated!

Class Trait Leveled Up [Friend of the Wild (E) Level 10]

—-

Minor Shapeshift (F) Level 8 – Transform part of your body into an animal part. Possible transformations: Lupine legs, Bear claws, Eagle eyes, Crocodile maw. Transformations last for 20 minutes. No spirit cost, but it places a burden on the mind.

—-

Incredible, I am not certain if I want to bite my enemies to death, but it doesn’t hurt to have a surprise hidden just in case. He noted the upgrade and returned his attention to the group as Silex was roaring at Oscar, making it seem as if they were arguing.

“What are you two doing?” Maximus sighed.

“This bloody croc was eyeing me up like I’m a Sunday roast!” Oscar bellowed, pointing his spear at Silex.

“Silex, please leave him be,” Maximus commanded, but the beast ignored him and lashed its tail toward Oscar, who jumped over it.

“Stop it, you two. Let’s not waste our energy on childish things.” Maximus said sternly, but both ignored him completely.

His eyebrow twitched as suddenly his head shimmered and morphed into a white crocodile’s, nearly identical to Silex’s. “I said… Enough!” he hissed, his voice turning into a guttural, ancient rasp that froze Silex mid-snap and drained the color from Oscar’s face.

Oscar stared at him and gasped, “Is it contagious?” he asked as he dashed away from Silex.

Silex turned and stared at Maximus, frozen, jaws slightly open.

Maximus felt a rare spark of mischief. “If it is, Oscar, you should be honored to share my likeness,” Maximus growled as he limped after him, snapping his maw playfully behind him.

Seeing this, Silex joined in, following Maximus like a hatchling chasing after its kin.

“Aaaah, back away! I don’t want to end up ugly as sin!” Oscar screamed as he ran for his life.

“It’s already too late for that!” Maximus growled, almost breaking into laughter as he chased.

Sometimes he really does feel like one of us. Felix thought as he chuckled at the ridiculous scene before him. “Oscar, oh no… The back of your head is turning scaly!” Felix shouted.

Oscar slapped the back of his head and screamed, “I’m losing all my hair! Oh gods, it’s happening!”

“There is nothing to lose, you fool!” Felix shouted, nearly collapsing to his knees from laughter.

Seeing this, Maximus finally chuckled as he stopped. I’m glad I managed to lighten the mood. He smiled. “Silex, my friend. You need to learn how to work with others. You are not alone any longer.” Maximus said, still in his crocodile form, which made Silex listen intently and nod.

Looks like I found a way to make him behave. Maximus smiled, satisfied.

***

“So, where to next? We can handle some big monsters now with this big boy.” Felix nodded toward Silex, who rested beside Maximus which just finished his healing, ignoring the two entirely.

Maximus opened up the map he got from Rose and pointed. “I was thinking we could go here.” He tapped a section of the map where no villages were marked nearby.

“Why there?” Oscar asked, confused.

“If this information is correct, there should be a monster camp here. Goblins.” Maximus said, “There are no villages around it, so the monsters should be stronger than the ones we’ve faced so far. We can get there in about half a day. After that, we head further east; around five days in, we should reach this spot here, the Bastion of Hope, the last village in the northern part before the Wildlands. From there, we can plan our hunting properly.” Maximus explained and sighed, “We should have a little more than ten days to level up together.”

Oscar frowned. “If only you’d been snatched along with our lot at the start,” he said quietly.

“We can meet again on the Third Plane,” Maximus said hopefully.

“We will,” Felix added calmly.

Before they could move, Silex suddenly slammed his tail lightly into Maximus, staring at him expectantly.

“What is it, boy?” Maximus asked, confused.

Sprout nudged him as well, pointing with his leaves toward the crocodile’s open maw.

“He is… Hungry?” Maximus asked, and Sprout clapped his leaves eagerly.

“Don’t look at me!” Oscar slowly backed away.

“I only have this.” Maximus summoned the corpse of a large spider they had hunted earlier.

Silex didn’t hesitate and lunged forward, tearing into the spider headfirst and ripping chunks of meat from its body with brutal efficiency.

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“That’s bloody disgusting!” Oscar gagged, turning away.

“Truly…” Maximus shook his head, though his tone held faint amusement.

Once Silex had devoured the spider, leaving only the head and two swollen venom sacs behind, they were finally ready to move.

Maximus stored the venom sacs carefully for future use, and they set off, following the map deeper toward their next hunt.

***

The group of three humans, a large white crocodile, and a small plant spirit moved through the steppe of the First Plane. They walked for a few hours, stopping semi-regularly since Silex didn’t enjoy moving for long stretches, and Maximus still had issues with his stamina, which luckily was improving due to Spirit Energy fusing with his organs and muscles.

Then suddenly, as they were halfway toward the goblin camp, Sprout started rustling his leaves intensely. Maximus activated Eagle Eyes and zoomed in. A hundred meters in front of them, a pack of a dozen or so golden-furred jackals was sprinting toward them.

“Boys, I’ve got some bad news.” Maximus frowned, “Thirteen jackals, and they look especially vicious. Approaching from the east.” Maximus warned the group.

“We can do this!” Felix muttered, unsheathing his sword.

“Fuck me and call me Mary. Always some fucked up shit happening to me.” Oscar muttered as he pulled out his spear.

“Calm down. Felix, plant Ice Traps on the northern edge and drive some toward you. I will set traps to the west, Oscar, you push a few into the red flowers. Silex and I will take the rest.” Maximus ordered.

“Aye, boss!” Oscar saluted, exaggerating the motion.