Chapter 2

Hey guys! Chirith here and I am back with a new chapter. Just to clarify, this fic takes place a few years before canon.

The first few chapters would probably be an introductory arc and there won't be much timeskips here. Also, there are some things different from the canon timeline.

Ren Cruz, a hunter of the companions, found himself in a precarious situation. Namely, he was slung over the shoulders of a beautiful woman with hair kissed by fire. While the woman wore clothes that would arouse many men, Ren found himself staring blankly at the ground.

"Come on, Whelp!" The werewolf said with a smirk on her face. Her clothes were primarily made of fur with several pieces of iron that made it easy for her to move.

"Help me," Ren said to his shield brothers. Sadly, they all smirked and waved at him mockingly.

"We'll prepare your bed. Good luck and stay alive." Said Vilkas as he waved at them while Farkas remained silent, his face showing his desire to help his friend but was stopped by his innate fear of Aela.

The young man was dressed in an olive green Gambeson with stripes similar to a tiger's and a pair of black pants with padding covering his legs. Strapped to his back is a crossbow, and a dagger can be seen sheathed behind his waist, sewn on a belt.

"Aela, don't let him die," Skjor, one of the veterans of the group, said with a smirk.

"Damn it, Old man! You all were supposed to help me!" Ren shouted as he tried to get off Aela's shoulder to no avail.

"No can do, pup," Skjor said with a chuckle. "We helped train you, and despite spending the least amount of time training with Aela, your fighting style is similar to hers."

"Worry not," Kodlak said with a smile, and immediately, everyone listened to him with attention. "Lord Hircine told us to pair you with Aela for the rest of the week. After that, you will be free to go to the dungeon alone or take on contracts." The oldest member of the companions said with a gentle voice.

"If she eats me, please make sure she'll get punished," Ren said, causing laughter to erupt from everyone in the room. Even, Aela, who gently let him down.

"As if, kid! You're still a milk drinker. Besides, you're a brat!" Aela said; while her words were harsh, she had a smile.

"Hey! Milk is good!" With that reply, laughter soon erupted once more from every person inside the hall along with him. The red-haired werewolf fondly messed with Ren's dark hair. "Besides, you might be beautiful, but you are not my type."

A loud gasp from the redhead, followed by a smirk and a dramatic sigh, and a look of anger appeared on her face as she pinched his cheeks.

"Now, now. We can have fun later. You two should get going now." Kodlak said as he handed them a pair of backpacks. "I had Tilma fill it up with supplies good for a week. Stay safe out there." The old man said, and both the human and the werewolf nodded as they put on the bags.

Saying their goodbyes and threats to keep their hands away from their things, the rest of the group could not help but chuckle at how similar they were. They seemed like full-blooded siblings.

"Before you leave," An old man with long white hair said. Dressed in fur without a shirt, the old man handed Ren an axe. "Here, a personal war axe. Sharp enough to be useful against any monster in the dungeon."

Holding the axe, the young man gave it a few practice swings and did a hooking maneuver before nodding.

"Thank you, Eorlund." Ren said with a smile getting a nod from the old man. The young man put the axe in the holster on his waist and ensured his gear was ready. "See you guys in a week." The young man said with a smile, reaching under his gambeson to pull out a mask and put it on.

"Do NOT mess with our things," Aela said with a glare aimed at the others. Shaking his head, the young man went ahead, followed by the woman beside him. "Remember, we are heading to the safe floor and spending the rest of the week there. You might just be a level one, but you can handle it."

"I know. I have the teleport crystals ready." The young man said, patting a pouch on his belt. Aela nodded at him. It took 15 minutes for them to reach the tower, and both of them had already put on their cloaks.

The red-haired woman's cloak was dark brown, while the younger male was colored a dull and dark green. If one looked closely, one could notice that the young man now wore a pair of silver rings on his right pointer and ring fingers. Nodding at each other, the duo took out their weapons, a bow and an axe paired with a dagger, respectively.

Once the elevator leading to the entrance of the dungeon floor arrived at its destination, the cloaked duo ran towards the dungeon. Aela, the more experienced of the two, moved in a brown and red blur with arrows launching from her while Ren ripped and tore with his dagger and axe. The two worked quite well, with Aela leaving enough monsters for Ren to fight as he savagely used his blades to kill those monsters that came near him.

Once they were done, the young man flicked the blood on his weapons before sheathing them.

"Not bad, you got faster. But you still lose yourself." Aela said with a grin as she watched the bloodstained coat of the younger male. "Although, you do bring yourself back a lot faster." chuckling, the young woman caught the bundle of arrows the young man threw at her.

"Need to work on that," Ren said with a sigh before drawing his crossbow. Aiming it on his left without looking, the young man pulled the trigger, releasing a bolt. The projectile launched itself from the crossbow and ripped through the air until it pierced through the head of a Kobold.

"Switch," Hearing the voice of his companion, the young man threw his crossbow toward Aela and caught the bow she was using. "From now on. You're using a bow until we get that bounty."

"Jack Bird," Ren said as he pulled the string before letting go.

"Yes, after that. We will be hunting an infant dragon that arrived on the fifth floor." Aela said, her red wolf ears on top of her head twitching slightly. "You remember its name, right?"

"I do, Bloodwyrm Newbane." Ren said as he looked at her, dark eyes hard with one thing. The same thing that made Hircine accept him in the Familia after Kodlak introduced him half a year ago. Excitement.

"Very well," Aela said as she took out a small book from her bag and opened it. "The time limit for both hunts is a week. We also have to compete with other Familias." Hearing those words, the young man's dark eyes narrowed as his skill activated.

Aela watched as her companion pulled his hood up and moved. Using her enhanced senses, the young woman followed him, using her sense of smell to track him as he seemingly melded with the dungeon.

So, any ideas or suggestions? I am thinking of slowly introducing some girls for him to pair with. But to make it clear, he will not be paired with anyone from Hestia Familia, Ishtar familia, Freya, Ainz, and several others.

Also, it might take around a few more chapters until we are at the beginning timeline as this takes place about a year or two at most before Bell arrives at Orario. And there might be bashing included to some characters... looking at you Apollo.

Here are his stats if you are curious.

Ren Cruz

Hircine Familia

Strength: D545

Endurance: C600

Dexterity: D550

Agility: B750

Magic: G269

Magic

1. Restoration

Skills

1. Outsider's Mania

-Increased growth of basic abilities the more manic the user is. The more intense the mania of the user is, the higher the growth they will receive. The growth only increases if the actions done are needed to attain the user's ambition. Not used as much as the owner of this skill has a lot of ways to stop his obsessions and manias from growing and manifesting.

For example, if the user is obsessed with finishing an activity as fast as he could, this skill would only increase his agility and endurance abilities and nothing else.

It has a dangerous side effect of making its user lose themselves to their current obsession.

2. Mad Enchanter

-Allows the user to put on enchantments on anything he can use but has a carrying amount of charges or success. The more powerful the enchantment, the more items should be used to power it. Most of the time, monster crystals are used to power these enchantments. To enchant something, the user must first have an understanding of what he wishes to enchant an item with.

3. Beast Blood

-A special skill that increases its user's abilities at the cost of his magical ability. It uses 90% of the user's magic to increase the basic abilities and senses of its user and the more magic and mind the user has, the more powerful the increase in abilities he will have. Might cancel Outsider's Mania depending on the circumstances.

Stage 1: 90% Use of the User's Magical capability to increase abilities and senses.

4. ?

A special skill only available to him and sealed by Hircine. It has several conditions needed to be met before being allowed to use.