Luka flung into the air every time the massive wolf cleared an obstacle, her swift movements making the inner and outer walls of their outpost seem like toys.
However, it also gave him a moment to catch a glimpse of the entire sphere as she jumped the eastern wall, then dashed clockwise around the outer layer. Her tongue hung free, covered in drool, as she scanned the western gate.
"Go on, girl, you can do it!"
He slapped her soft neck and gripped the silky fur between his fingers.
"Awoooo!"
She howled before jumping.
Her body arced through the air and slammed into the wooden poles, shaking them violently as she dug her sharp claws into them and scampered up over them.
Luka felt his stomach drop as the beast dropped from four metres.
His vision warping in a disorientating swirl.
"..." Luvia, on the other hand, remained silent while ruminating on the meaning of stealth. At this point, her hands and feet began to fade from sight, making her resemble an incredibly seductive spirit.
'She's pretty perceptive.'
He clung tighter, burying his face into the wolf's silky fur as his stomach lurched, forcing himself to endure the constant jolting. 'Damn this body..' Whether it was his pathetic riding skill or the loss of his omnipotence, he hated every second of it.
Luka gritted his teeth, snapping his head up to face it head-on. The wind lashed his cheeks, with sharp, frigid winds biting into his skin.
"Keep going, Reina! into the forest!"
"Wuwu!"
Reina.
The name is taken from a dead language, meaning 'Queen'. No one in the world could recognise this anymore.
It fit her, a regal and proud wolf.
That nation had boasted fleets that ruled the entire eastern coast, yet they burned all the same once human greed spread through the land.
The distance on foot might've taken a good hour, but thanks to the direwolves, Luka and his group arrived at the outskirts within a few dozen breaths.
"Halt!"
Luka raised his hand and jumped from Reina's back. He landed with the crunch of broken twigs and branches before placing his hand on the cold, mossy trunk.
"Vaun, Brea, are you well-versed on what enemies are inside?"
The elf's eyes shimmered with a green glow.
Naturally, a sign of him using his racial ability. To 'see' into a forest and roughly estimate the layout and population.
"There are a few wild goblins, inferior grey wolves, and maybe some other exotic monsters; the mana within the forest is thick, but—" Vaun's words trailed off as he stared towards the southwest. "There is something strange, sinister inside this place. My eyes cannot see. As if shrouded by a thick miasma."
'So there is something here.'
Luka felt his past life debts only growing, while the image of a dirty, introverted mage who lived in her tower, no matter what happened in the world.
"And you, Brea?"
The former Templar rolled her shoulders with a subtle crack before glancing at Luka with a disdainful snort, which he took as an insult at first.
But then she pointed to the west and north before speaking.
"Boy, I can smell the foul scent of those green bastards all over the place! Several small camps are loitering around those areas; for some reason, they are avoiding the south and southeast." She peeked at Vaun's eyes. Her eyes narrowed, but Brea ultimately remained quiet after that.
'Luckily, this place counts as my territory. I can leech experience and desire from them up to 1,400 metres.'
He'd started to enjoy being half-fallen.
The limitations vanished, and his ability to move grew.
'However, I have to stay closer to Luvia... will these two accept that?'
Woosh!
Luka shook his head and abruptly turned. He slashed the air behind him, sure something just tapped his shoulder.
He watched the darkness, which took a faint green hue thanks to his dark vision.
Nothing.....
Rustle... Crack!
The twigs beside him snapped, revealing the opponent's faint outline.
"There!"
Luka's blade swept through the air in a crescent arc.
"W-Wait, wait, waiiiit!"
A pair of large, chocolate brown breasts with peach coloured areola bounced and jiggled in front of his face.
"H-Huh?!" He stopped the blade less than an inch from Luvia's throat upon hearing the familiar voice.
"W-Why are you naked?!"
"T-That's——Isn't that your fault!"
"The hell are you talking about, you filthy woman? Stop trying to seduce me!"
He pressed the black steel against her soft flesh.
The blade sank deeper as she quivered.
"W-Who wants to seduce you?! I couldn't make my clothes vanish—that's all!"
Luka raised his brows before shaking his head dismissively, "What a useless dark elf, can't even perform an inborn skill."
"Hey. You're the one who taught me this strange method, take responsibility!"
"Haha, sure, sure."
"I didn't accept your damn invitation to watch you flirt with that overweight whore, so hurry up so we can go hunt!"
He heard the complaint of Brea behind him while Vaun averted his gaze, never once looking at Luvia for some strange reason.
"Listen, if you appear like that in front of goblins, there won't be a fight. Each one of them will instantly attack you with their flesh swords, and penetrate every hole between on your body, relentlessly without pause."
"B-But..."
She pressed her lips together, facing him with a glint in her eyes as she closed her eyes.
"Oh? impressive."
Luka didn't scold her to be nasty.
Yet her reaction to his words surpassed any of his possible expectations.
Her figure vanished in less than a second, along with her floral scent, the heat from her body, and the subtle jiggle of flesh.
This time, he could barely trace her outline, and her steps didn't touch the leaves.
"Strike me." He ordered with half-closed eyes.
Instinctively, he didn't feel danger from Luvia, though her loyalty remained invisible, and he chose to trust her in the moment.
Swish!
A small dagger thrust from the air behind his neck.
Woosh!
He retaliated with the fake oblivion, cutting across the air with a neat cleaving strike.
The sword acred full, hitting nothing.
But the dagger also vanished after hovering for a few moments.
Luvia managed to attack with her dagger.
At the same time, she remained cloaked in shadow. Her naked body now sat in the tree above Luka, dangling her legs a few inches from his head.
[Luvia's Skill Evolved Intermediate Stealth --> Prowl]
[Active Skill: Prowl (Growth)]
[Growth skills have no level and improve with constant usage and development]
However, it wasn't perfect.
He could smell the subtle hint of her musk lingering in the air around his neck.
"I'll give you seven points, Luvia, come here." He opened his arms and glanced up at the tree with a broad smile. "I've decided to hunt with you tonight, let's go."
"What?! Then why did you drag me here?"
Luka couldn't ignore Brea.
Lest she shout enough for the goblins in the entire forest to find them.
"Don't act like you don't understand.
Take a moment to digest the changes in your body, and when you come, find me later. I will accept your enthusiastic gratitude."
Her face twisted at his words at first, but as she clenched her fist, a subtle resignation spread across her face, and she grumbled as she turned towards the west. "So you did do something to us back there... Iris didn't notice, but I did."
Brea glanced at him with a fleeting look, her lips parting, but she didn't speak, and she faded into the forest with one last shout.
"A Templar's Oath isn't something a normal human can nullify... I want answers!"
Luka grinned at her fading back, admiring her curves.
He peeked at Vaun, but the half-elf was quite boring and sat quietly maintaining his shortbow, daggers and boots.
The elf showed zero interest in the things Brea doubted.
But he couldn't help but ask.
"You don't have any questions for me?"
Vaun glanced at Luka and smiled.
His old figure slowly dissipated in a blur of mist.
First, the old grey hair rejuvenated into a glossy black length that curled around the figure's ankles. Vaun's height shrank several inches, his shoulder grew narrower, and his silhouette became delicate, with an aura of elegance.
'Is this a man?!'
A shockingly large pair of silver irises stared back at him.
"My Lord, allow me to apologise for hiding the truth, for I am not what you think but quite similar to that dark-skin behind you."
'He's a woman?!'