Summoned and Unwanted

The darkness of night was slowly approaching, and it was about to begin hindering their sight. They decided to call it a day and set your usual camp with a small campfire instantly lit with the combustible Mutated Ash and a couple of large cloths to sleep on.

“Can I train with you?” Lupa asked with a pair of gleaming puppy eyes. She didn’t want to be left out because of the previous day. More so, after hearing how Vincent and Ester held hands to train, Lupa became interested to see if holding hands with Vincent could help her improve.

“But we are training with magic stuff. ” Vincent said before he remembered her about Primal Insight.

He moved a few meters away from them and summoned the large damaged mudcrab shell. ‘It is hard and can be used for training. Lupa should improve her skills with a sharpness resistant training dummy.’ He thought before continuing with a smirk, ‘It can keep her occupied.’

“Pick a spot and try slashing it. You can also try hitting the same spot every time to improve your precision. Maybe this way, your Primal Insight will become better. Precision and accuracy are important to deliver a critical hit. This training should also improve your focus as well.” Vincent suggested to Lupa in hopes of getting her excited.

And excited she got. It didn’t take too long for Vincent to notice Lupa’s tail excitedly wagging under her long skirt. Lupa opened her arms, hugged him then proceeded by licking his cheek.

“Hehehe. My mate loves me!” Lupa stated in utter joy. She quickly shapeshifted her hands and extending her sharp claws one after the other.

.....

*Grate, grate*

“Looks like our wolf girl is busy. Shall we try again?” Vincent extended his hand after confirming Lupa was happy. She was like a cat scratching her personal heavy-duty scratching post.

Vincent then turned his gaze on Ester and said, “Remember to stop when you feel your mana about to reach the bottom. Don’t make us worried.”

Ester nodded and started casting Frost Sigils. Her hands became cold, and after waiting for Vincent to use Overheat, both hands touched and vapor with a hint of green rose.

A few minutes later, Ester asked to stop after she felt almost sucked dry. Ester didn’t want to cause any more unwanted concern.

“Good for listening to your body. Now, let’s meditate and restore our mana.” Vincent said with his Overheat hoarse voice. He wanted to use the remaining time to master Overflow as soon as possible.

Vincent moved slightly away from Ester and sat down to have their personal space and concentrate better. Vincent wanted to hurry because he still could sense the fresh feeling of absorption.

Vincent closed his eyes and said, “Let the cultivation begin.”

Three hours passed, and it became dark. Lupa felt tired after swinging her arms for three hours. She decided to stop and wanted to check if Vincent and Ester were sneakily holding their hands again without including her.

“I finished. ” Lupa announced after she carefully looked at both Vincent and Ester. ‘Sister isn’t doing funny businesses without me, is she?’ Lupa thought, feeling relieved she wasn’t going to be second.

Vincent opened his eyes. He could feel a different cool breeze glazing his body. ‘What is this feeling?’ He questioned.

.

[Stats] Strength 9 || Agility 8 || Perception 8 || Mana 8

.

“Huh? I improved one mana extra! The mana cultivation is working, yes! Absorbing mana will make me absorb more, hahaha!” Vincent stood up and jumped in joy.

Vincent felt he was becoming more proficient in condensing the mana of others as his own. Vincent hoped he might one day be able to absorb all the mana of the spells he touches.

However, Kazumi realized that Vincent forgot about the absorption rate. Similar to a car with top speed, it has top acceleration. Vincent was only looking at the top speed. The maximum mana he could absorb from the spell or magic he touches with Overflow active.

Kazumi decided to keep it a secret for now. She wanted to see Vincent’s face after he finds out. ‘I wonder how his face will look, hahaha.’ She thought while resting on Wolfie’s soft fur like a queen.

“My mate. Look at me. Did I improve?” Lupa wanted to share the joy with Vincent.

“Yes, you look stronger.” Vincent slightly averted his eyes. He did not want to mention how her stats remained the same.

“But Ester is...” Vincent looked at Ester’s stats a secretly felt jealous, and his status window betraying him.

.

[Stats] Strength 7 || Agility 10 || Perception 9 || Mana 145

.

“What’s wrong with my sister? Did Ester train very hard again?” Lupa frowned at the cliffhanger of a statement.

“Ester is becoming stronger faster than us. ” Vincent revealed.

Ester felt happy that she was improving at a faster pace. She curved a smile after imagining Vincent and Lupa standing behind her while she protects them with her powers.

Vincent looked at Lupa with an encouraging smile and decided to state, “Looks like we will need to up our game. What do you say, Lupa?”

Lupa vigorously nodded and quickly changed the subject. “Since we became stronger... it is the right time then? I want a reward, please.” Lupa asked with a grin.

Vincent looked at Ester and Lupa a few times. Ester didn’t shake her head nor decline while Lupa insisted on this matter. Adding to the situation, Kazumi started teasing about having multiple viewers this night.

“Reward it is then.” Vincent accepted the night event in the wilds.

*Day 59 – Morning*

Morning arrived with a warm welcome from the sunlight, yet Vincent opened his eyes as his feet felt cold. Shortly, he discovered the reason why the air felt cool in the summer warmth.

Near the extinguished campfire were Ester and Lupa sitting on a rock. Ester appeared to be training in the morning because a white light and a small cloud of cold mist were visible in front of her.

On the other hand, Lupa held a large frozen leaf and fanned it to feel the slightly cool air brushing against her skin.

[Looks like yesterday’s night motivation made someone energetic, hehe.]

Kazumi teased.

“Good morning, my mate. Look! The leaf is cold. It feels like winter.” Lupa cheerfully said with a beaming smile.

“Good morning to both of you, but Ester... are you already training in the morning?” Vincent asked.

“I felt like copying your morning. So, like how you exercise, I want to train and experiment. Kazumi suggested this after I asked her this morning.” Ester spoke with a determined gaze.

Ester wanted to believe in Vincent’s words. By improving quicker, she could protect them, Ester hoped. The dream she dreamt last night added to the fuel of determination currently dwelling in her.

-I hope you didn’t push Ester too far. Sometimes, your interest to know brings trouble.-

[Do I look like a beast to you? Hump!]

[I simply told her some encouraging words from multiple famous books and movies. On the other hand, Lupa wanted to see and play with Wolfie instead of meeting me. It broke my heart.]

-Babysitter Kazumi is jealous of Wolfie is see, hehe.-

Vincent couldn’t waste such occasion to tease Kazumi.

Vincent chuckled after hearing Kazumi grumble and mumble a few words. Not even the telepathic communication could translate her mumbling into words.

“I won’t persuade you to stop, but I will warn you to keep everything in moderation. ” Vincent stated. He didn’t want Ester to get hurt. Furthermore, he secretly wanted Ester to have a lot of mana for him to absorb later in the day.

Vincent moved a few meters for some personal space and started his morning exercise routine with the hope of raising his stats. In the meantime, Kazumi hovered next to Ester and memorized her progress and freezing acceleration time.

‘It seems Ester is improving. She can now control mana much quicker than before. Could it be that having her mana drained and later meditate with the possibility to self-reflect for a few hours help? This needs further investigation.’ Kazumi pondered.

One hour later...

Vincent changed his bandages and prepared to continue traveling to their destination. It was about one day of walking remaining, and he hoped to sleep in the cave if possible as it is strategically safer to look out for one place instead of everywhere.

[I observed Ester practicing, and it seems the freezing speed has now reached roughly ten percent of the artifact grade hiltless sword Elsir’s freezing rate.]

“Well done, Ester. Kazumi is praising your progress right now.” Vincent complemented.

“Thank you. I’m happy.” Ester cheerfully smiled.

Lupa pouted and looked unhappy. “I would do better if I have mana.” She played the pity card.

Vincent laughed and tussled her hair, “I believe you, my little wolf. You are my right-hand girl, after all.”

“Hehehe.” Lupa chuckled while her tail wagged.

“Let’s continue our day.” Vincent pointed forward and started walking. Lupa skipped behind him, and Ester followed them, but not before grabbing a few leaves to practice on the move.

Later, at around mid-afternoon, Kazumi urgently told Vincent to look at Ester. Vincent’s heart raced at the possibility of something terrible happening to Ester, but the opposite entered his sight.

Ester’s hands were raised chest high and between them was a small sphere of transparent yet visible condensed wind spinning like a turbulent cyclone. Furthermore, the sigils at the back of her hands had a greenish tint. A breeze was blowing instead of a cold mist.