The origin of familiarity

Ten days later.

"Why did you decide to leave all of a sudden?" Robin's voice echoed inside his helmet. Aiden, who was sitting on the roof of the transporter, didn't respond.

His eyes gazed at the dark grey cloud overhead. The thick curtain of cloud hid the giant dwarf star that was supposed to cover half of the sky. Looking at it, Aiden couldn't help but wonder why they always create clouds to block out the star.

"Hey! Are you still here or have you fallen off the carrier?"

"Just focus on driving."

"By the way, why are we going to another research post instead of going to the stronghold?"

"There is something I want to check." Aiden didn't clarify it. It was just that he had this feeling for a long time but never got the chance to confirm.

He wasn't sure when it first happened, but the feeling was very strong when he came out of the mountain prison cave. Even these things were a long distance away, he could still sense their presence.

Sometimes it's intense, sometimes it's weak, yet there is a sense of familiarity like these presences have no intention of harming him. However, the most annoying thing he could neither undo these feelings nor he could stop sensing them.

After training inside the guardian beast's domain for almost four weeks, he felt he had hit a bottleneck in comprehending his first mana circle. He came out to hunt some beasts under Mraz's advice. He chose to check these presences in the process.

"There is something in the front, about 2.2 km at 11 O'clock. Can you see it?" Robin asked. As Aiden looked towards the direction, he noticed that his feelings got stronger but couldn't see anything. He simply said, "Go on."

Aiden stared at the direction. The ice dune on the path didn't let him see it, yet he could hear something. The mournful cry of dogs, the low growl of an angry wolf, and the jaw cackling laughter of humans.

Aiden retrieved his dwarven rod as the transporter stopped at the edge of the dune. He knocked on the roof of the transporter and said, "Back it up now. Park it behind the dune and take out the gun."

Aiden jumped off the transporter as Robin backed it up. He looked over to find there was no dog, no human. Two wolves were fighting against five beasts.

They are larger and bulkier than the wolves. Even though it appeared similar to the jagged wolf, the ice on the back of ice looked more like ice needles.

Only when one of them opened its mouth, did Aiden know where the cackling laughter had come from. Looking at the weeping wolf riddled with ice needles, Aiden could grasp the effectiveness of those weapons.

Aiden was sure that the sensation was coming from that cluster of beasts, but he couldn't understand which one is giving him the sense of the similarity.

"What are you planning?" Robin said while he was holding the gun.

Aiden pointed to the distant research post and said, "there is something in there that I need to check."

"Huh!" Robin wasn't sure what he had heard right, "are you thinking of attacking the outpost?"

"Isn't that better?"

"What better?" Robin wanted to ask, but he didn't get the chance to confirm it. As Aiden disappeared from his side, he could only wonder, "when did he become so brave and duty-bound?"

Somewhere within his head, however, he was also excited. He wanted to see the extent of Aiden's power. But to think he would choose a place which was a company of 150 soldiers had failed to defend...

Yet it wasn't his most shocking act, and the movement of Aiden was more incredible. With each step, he traversed almost two hundred meters of land. It was as if he had reached the fighting beasts with three steps.

The next moment, a pair of wolves, made of ice, appeared beside Aiden. The black rod in Aiden's hand stretched out and turned into a scythe with a blade made of blue ice.

The ice wolves charged at the needle-back hyenas, but a shower of ice needle decimated them with little effort.

"Oh! These wolves aren't strong enough. It looks like more than the number I need to concentrate on the quality of the ice wolf." Aiden mumbled as he looked at the hyenas like beasts as they turned their focus on him.

It took a blink to make the preparation, and the ground underneath them glowed as the mana circle formed.

"That was good." Aiden couldn't enjoy the moment of Mraz's praise as foreign essence flowed into his body. By the time the hyenas had realized that some kind of mana circle was affecting their ability, it was too late.

However, Aiden underestimated the instinct of a beast. They ignored the heaviness that was slowing them down, charging at Aiden with crackling laughter.

Aiden grinned and whispered at them, "Too late!"

Somehow, they were able to escape from the effective area of the first mana circle, yet another mana circle lit up under their feet. In a blink, countless numbers of spikes emerged from the ground, turning the bodies into minced meat.

"Huh!" Mraz snorted, "It's the same thing. Even if it's within a mana circle, you are still using essence mana to control the surrounding mana. To think you need to use a mana circle for such a simple thing…"

"That is because the spell, 'Mana Manipulation', I found on the wolf's stele. Rather than making an ice bomb, it is better to use a mana circle." Aiden smiled and added, "Just accept it, you suck at teaching and I am better at using spells."

On the other hand, his unexpected assault did not give the hyenas a chance to breathe, and their souls fled their bodies. With the "Essence Absorbance circle" still under their feet, their essence rushed to Aiden. And even before their blood could stop flowing, he absorbed the essence of his victim.

"Wow, that is fast." Compared to the time when he would need almost 50 secs of vulnerable states to consume the essence of one beast, he could now do so while blinking.

"Too weak." But someone within his mind wasn't too pleased, "The effect on the living is too weak."

'What were you expecting? You expect me to draw the entire essence out of a living being? Is that even possible?'

"As long as you are powerful enough and your comprehension is deep enough, you can do it." But before Aiden could dig deep in his imagination, Mraz added, "Don't you dare to think you can draw the essence of three circle beasts when you are just one circle."

Aiden was about to ask more, but the weak cry of pain drew his attention. When he got closer, he realized that it was this pair of wolves that gave off the familiar sensation. Still, he didn't hesitate to freeze their legs, just to be safe.

Aiden looked to find one of the wolves staring at him, while the other one looked like it would faint from the blood loss.

After confirming that this pair of wolves didn't pose any threat, he tapped his foot on the snow. With the tap, the ice that was wrapping around their legs vanished, and the bigger one came towards him.

He never had a dog before, so he wasn't sure, but he felt that the wolf was bowing to him. On the other hand, the small one fell on the ground.

Aiden moved towards them, not knowing whether he could help. He moved closer to it and guided his mana through its body. 'Are you sure it can heal?' he questioned in his mind.

"Of course not. There is no way you can do that, but don't you know it?" Mraz snorted, "the mana, check its mana."

Aiden sighed, not understanding what Mraz was trying to suggest. But as he directed his mana through its body, he felt the mana of the wolf felt similar.

He did not know of a wolf's mana channel, but still, he felt the mana was chaotic. Yet as soon as his mana entered its body, the wolf's mana followed his mana like bees to a flower.

"So that is the case," said Mraz, as if he had solved the mystery, "don't worry about them, they will not hurt you."

Aiden, on the other hand, guided his mana through the channel while devouring the foreign mana released by the ice needle. As he did the ice needles melted too. Hearing Mraz, he asked, 'what is it?'

"Those ice needles are mana poison needles. It releases mana poison inside the body…"

'Not that.' Aiden cursed, 'I'm wondering why they're not hurting me? What are these feelings of similarity?'

"Yeah, it's because of the totem." Mraz explained, "the wolf which you had bestowed the totem to is the leader of these wolves. So, as long as the pack leader recognizes you, the other wolves too."

'So is it because of the totem?' Aiden had understood it. 'So all the senses of similarity are because of the totem?'

After thinking about it, Aide realized that the reason he could feel Robin's location, no matter how near or far he was, was because of the totem.

The wound didn't close on its own, but the blue blood leaking out of its wound had stopped. Though Robin had brought some medical supplies, Aiden wasn't sure that it would work on them.

"So is that how you make friends with them?" Robin asked from a distance. He never dared to come near. After all, even if the wolves are smaller than the hyenas, they are still almost the same height as Aiden.

"By the way, don't these wolves look similar to the wolf in the cave? I mean, the patterns are distinct, but it's still white and grey."

"They are of the same pack. Don't worry, they won't hurt you." Aiden wasn't sure whether Robin believed him, but he never came close.

From a distance, Robin asked, "Are you serious about attacking the research post? We don't know how many of the beasts are there."

"Can you hit the target from here?"

"Huh!" Robin took another look at the research post, which was about 600 meters away from Aiden's position, "it won't be a problem with mana. And it will be a breeze with ice enchantment."

"Come over here, stay with them. If necessary, support me."

"What? From the side of the wolf?" Robin's fear made him stammer, "won't they attack me?"

"They are like your totem brother." Robin couldn't see the smile under the helmet, as Aiden vanished from the spot.

It took him just two steps to close in. Soon arrows and many spells rained down. Aiden grinned, and the surrounding snow shifted on his own, shielding his body from all sides.

Aiden, however, underestimated the impact of the assaults. The thin arrow transformed into ice spears, the magic circles spit on him with massive ice fragments. His snow-coffin-like fortress crumbled like a house of cards, burying him with it.

"That is quite a welcome." Aiden grinned as he reappeared in the center of the enemy, "If you want to touch me, you need to be faster."

Multiple mana circles spread from his foot, and in a blink, all the snow goblins, ice dwarves, and even a two circle ice-troll, who were within 7 meters around him, were all frozen solid.

With the amount of essence come rushing into the body, Aiden was sure that none of them were alive. But that didn't deter those who were outside the area of effect, and they came charging towards him with their weapons.