006 | Rudif

The boy then loosened up. He seemed to have let go of all hostility.

"I'm sorry", he says.

I didn't expect an apology to be his next answer. I have an even greater interest in him now. A kind and yet powerful individual. I can just see it from him.

"I never knew. It must have been...pretty bad. I was just really hungry, I'm sorry."

Well, I can always welcome another stomach. I did catch TWO birds. I asked him a question I was concerned about in the beginning. My scenario is most likely a noble child being abandoned. Though, this boy was dressed in rags and had bruises and small cuts all over him. I'm surprised he even managed to put up a small fight against me.

"You. Did you run away from somewhere?"

That question must've nailed a spot. The boy flinched.

"Y-yes. I came from the Dark Elf nation, I was about to be branded with a slave mark but the other slaves started to riot. Somehow, one of them used some sort of magic to break the cage I was in. I saw the door and I ran for it. They chased me for a few days but I hid and ran for my life. A few times, they almost got me, but the Dark Elves aren't as persistent as the humans."

More information about this world. I'm glad he's useful. He verified the existence of other races. There is no doubt that this world shares an incredible sense of racial diversity, perhaps even more so than my old world.

"How long were you a slave? What about your parents?"

"M-my...I am a Brown Wolf Half-Beast. So are my parents. We are like commoners in the Half-Beast hierarchy. The Brown Wolf variant doesn't possess any special power, unlike the other wolves. My parents and I were kicked out one day from the tribe we lived in. Humans caught us but my parents...fought so I could escape. They told me to live and I-"

I stopped him from talking more by putting my finger over his lip. I could already sense what happened. Another tragic tale of parental sacrifice. Whoever this boy's parents are, I hope you rest in peace. I'll make you proud of him as you watch over this boy. I will turn this boy into a true beast. The boy's eyes were teary.

"I apologize for crossing the line and getting too personal. Why don't you stay with me? I'm more than capable of watching over you."

The boy nodded slowly and I patted his head. Instinctively, I thought he was a dog. He DID say he was a Brown Wolf, and wolves are similar to dogs.

"What's your name, mutt?"

"M-mutt?"

"That's right. You smell awful. You must not have had many opportunities to take care of yourself. It was hard getting out wasn't it?"

Dang, what did I even say? The boy started crying when the whole reason I diverted the topic was to STOP him from crying. This is going to be a long day...

* * *

The two of us sat across from each other in a small hole in a hill. I saw that spot when I was running through the forest and earlier and thought that this would be a good location to set up my camp. I cooked up the bird meat already and split the food in half with him. The boy ate well. He was older than me and he was also at the age where he would be getting a large growth spurt. He glanced at me while he nibbled the bird meat.

"This is delicious..."

"You don't have to conserve yourself. Devour it. No one here will beat you for eating. It's just me."

The boy smiled cheerfully and downed the bird meat in a few bites. He was reminding me more of a dog than a wolf.

"So, mutt, you never told me your name."

"My name is Rudif! I'm seven!"

"I see. Do you think you can read this?"

I pulled out the piece of fabric with something engraved on it. Although the language was the same in terms of actual speech, I can't say the same for everything else.

"I can try, my mom and dad did teach me a bit of how to read."

Rudif looked at the engravings and sounded it out to himself. He returned it to me and told me what I believed to be my name.

"Asher!"

"Well, that's my name then. Asher. I'm...four?"

"You don't know your name and how old you are?"

"It's complicated."

"..."

"..."

"Okay!"

Seems like kids aren't that talkative as Rudif just went back to eating. I was full after one portion so I gave everything else to Rudif, he liked that quite a bit. It was adorable to see his ears twitching from how happy he is while eating.

My name is Asher...Interesting.

"Rudif, where do you plan on going?"

Rudif swallowed his food and itched his back. Sitting in a small cave opening is probably not the most comfortable.

"I don't know..."

Crap, I shouldn't have said that. Rudif looked gloomy now, he must be thinking of his parents.

"Do you want to get back at those people?"

"T-the people who made us slaves?"

"That's right. The people behind it all. Do you want to take revenge?"

"I want to! They took my mom and dad away from me!"

Ah, this kid is ripe. I can tell he'll be a great combatant. Although, I should learn more about this world before doing anything big. Magic works differently here than in the world I was in. Perhaps it's due to the compatibility of mana. No, I take that back. I know the answer.

Mana flows differently here. It's much rougher and coarse. Mana is much harder to control in this world. Despite me having broken three of the Twelve Seals that were placed on me, I should have had more than enough mana to easily take out those birds. Instead, I resorted to different strategies all because I lack the proper control over my mana.

"And this is all due to how differently mana flows..."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, mutt, keep eating."

If that's the case, it will take a while to have complete control over my mana. Just having a large pool of mana isn't everything. If you can't even handle the power that you possess, then what is the point of having it?

The current "me" right now has more mana than I can properly utilize to my will. I'll have to spend some time cultivating to have more control over my mana.

Rudif finished eating and drank some water from the wooden bowl that I made for him. I don't know why but I expected Rudif to drink with his tongue like a dog. I should stop having these thoughts, I feel like this is racist towards Half-Beasts.

"So, Rudif. How come you're so strong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your movements are like a rookie on a battlefield. You have the strength of an adult male, and yet you're only seven."

"Ah! Dad told me that I have a lot more power because I'm a Half-Beast! My dad also taught me how to fight a bit! He also taught me how to transform."

"T-transform?"

Rudif nodded as if I was praising him. The Beastmen from my old world could not transform. Needless to say, I was curious.

"What do you mean by transform?"

"Ah, I can't do it yet!"

Damn it, Rudif. You got my hopes up for no reason. How cool it could have been to see a transformation in action. Though, Rudif continued explaining it to me. At least I'm learning something.

"My dad said once I'm older, I can become a big wolf!"

"Is that so? It's a matter of time then."

"But my mom also told me some kids can transform earlier and it's because they are gifted!"

"And I presume you're not one of those "gifted" children are you?"

Rudif's tail lowered. He was not a happy mutt.

"I'm not...But every day I'm trying my best to! I feel like I'm getting faster and stronger! I'm just very hungry!"

With those details I think I might create a life or death situation for Rudif. That way I can forcefully turn Rudif into a gifted Half-Beast. Haha, I can already imagine how nice it would be to have a companion which can turn into a ridable wolf.

I must have smiled quite devilishly as Rudif was creeped out.

"A-Asher, why are you laughing by yourself?"

I quite literally wiped the smile off my face. It seems my fantasies will take a while to complete. After all, Rudif is still only seven. He has some skill, but everything takes time to foster. Building up a solid foundation for him should be the first plan before anything else. However, even before that, I'll need to sort out the basic necessities. I looked at Rudif.

"Food. Water. Shelter. Do we have all of those at all times?"

"Uhm..."

Rudif muttered to himself while counting fingers.

"Maybe?"

"This cave can be altered. We could dig deeper in to avoid heavy rainfalls or the cold winters. However, what about food and water?"

"The birds?"

"Unreliable. If we have them every meal, not only will we get bored from the lack of diversity in our cuisine, but the birds will also stop perching near this area, forcing us to move shelter."

"There are other beasts too! Like the piggies!"

"There are boars?"

Rudif nodded. Ah, hold on, I just got a brilliant idea. Free child labor!

"Rudif, I'll leave the food to you, alright?"

Rudif declined at first. He shook his head and waved his arms in front of him in rejection.

"No, no, no, no! I don't think I can do it all by myself!"

"Then start off with the weaker beasts and slowly move up. Surely there are not ONLY boars that live in these areas."

"If Asher says I can do it, I will do it!"

Hold on there. I never said that, but if that makes you more motivated, then by all means. I'll make full use of you.

"I believe in you!"

Rudif smiled. I patted his head and he seemed to like it, notably, his tail was wagging.

"As for water and shelter, you can leave that to me. You just focus on food. You can still catch the birds, just not too often."

Rudif nodded his head. I looked outside and saw the sun slowly setting. I got up in the cave and went to the very back. Rudif followed me. My goal was to expand this cave. As of right now, rain could easily reach every spot of the cave if blown the right way. It would be much more reliable to dig further in than to do something difficult outside.