Kael didn't sleep that night.
Not because he wasn't tired. Trust me, he was exhausted. His body felt like it had run a marathon, then wrestled a bear, then ran another marathon just for fun. But every time he closed his eyes, he saw that blue screen again.
Welcome, User.
You have been chosen.
Dangerous enemies may be searching for this wolf.
Yeah. No pressure.
He was lying on the hard ground next to the Moon Wolf, using his thin blanket to cover both of them. The wolf's fur was warm, at least. Warmer than anything Kael had felt in a long time. It rose and fell with each breath, slow and steady now.
The leg splint seemed to be holding up.
Kael stared at the dark canopy above. Somewhere up there, stars were probably twinkling. He couldn't see them through the leaves, but he imagined they were there. Doing their star thing.
What am I supposed to do now?
He had no house. No money. No food left except a handful of berries he'd saved for morning. And now he had a wounded magical wolf that someone out there—someone dangerous—was looking for.
Oh, and a floating blue screen that only he could see.
Great. Just great.
He turned his head to look at the wolf. Its amber eyes were open, watching him.
"You awake too, huh?"
The wolf blinked. Then it shifted its head slightly, resting its chin on Kael's arm.
A strange feeling washed over him. Not like before, when the screen exploded into light. Softer. Like a whisper in the back of his mind.
Trust.
Kael sat up slowly. "Did you just… talk to me?"
The wolf just looked at him.
But the feeling was still there. Not words, exactly. More like… emotions. A warm, fuzzy sense of safety. Like the wolf was saying, It's okay. I'm here.
Kael remembered the notification from earlier. Beast Empathy unlocked.
"Oh. Right. That's a thing now."
He reached out and scratched behind the wolf's ear. The creature's tail thumped against the ground once. Twice.
"Okay," Kael whispered. "We need a plan."
---
The plan, as it turned out, was pretty simple.
Step one: Don't get caught.
Step two: Find food.
Step three: Figure out who hurt the wolf.
Step four: Don't die.
Kael was pretty confident about step one. He'd been avoiding people his whole life. Step two… well, he'd figure it out. Step three and four? Those were the tricky ones.
At sunrise, he left the wolf hidden under a thick bush near the old oak tree. He covered it with ferns and moss until it looked like just another pile of forest debris.
"Stay," he said. "Don't move. Don't make noise. I'll be back."
The wolf's ears drooped slightly. A sad feeling pulsed through their bond.
Don't leave.
Kael's chest tightened. "I have to. We need food. And I need to find out what's going on."
The wolf whined softly but didn't follow.
Kael walked back toward Oakhaven, his stomach growling louder with every step. He hadn't eaten properly in days. The berries and fish from yesterday were gone, burned up by his hungry body like paper in a fire.
First, food. Then, answers.
---
The morning market was already busy when he arrived.
Merchants shouted over each other, trying to sell vegetables, bread, and smoked meat. Housewives bargained loudly. Children ran between legs, chasing each other with sticks.
Kael blended in like he always did. Invisible. A ghost.
He found a bakery at the edge of the market. The owner, a fat man with flour on his apron, was busy yelling at his apprentice. A tray of day-old bread sat on a low shelf near the back.
Kael waited until the man turned around. Then he moved.
One loaf. Small enough to hide under his shirt. He slipped it out and walked away without looking back.
Sorry, he thought. I'll pay you back someday.
Guilt sat heavy in his stomach, heavier than the bread. He hated stealing. But the wolf needed food. And Kael needed energy if he was going to protect both of them.
He grabbed a few apples from a different stall—just two, when the seller wasn't looking—and hurried back toward the forest.
---
The wolf was still there.
Kael let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Told you I'd come back."
The wolf's tail wagged weakly.
He sat down next to it and tore the bread into small pieces. The wolf ate hungrily, its teeth gentle as it took the food from Kael's palm. Kael munched on an apple while watching the forest around them.
No one followed me. Probably.
"Okay," he said between bites. "We need to talk."
The wolf tilted its head.
"I mean, I need to talk. You just… listen. And feel stuff."
Another head tilt.
Kael took a deep breath. "Who hurt you? Do you remember?"
He focused on the strange bond between them, trying to push the question through. Not words—just the feeling of asking.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the images came.
Darkness. A cage. Men in gray cloaks, their faces hidden. One of them holding a silver knife. Pain—sharp and burning—in the wolf's leg.
And then… running. Bleeding. Hiding.
Kael gasped. The images faded, leaving him with a pounding headache.
"That's… intense."
The wolf whined.
Sorry, came the feeling. Didn't mean to hurt.
"It's okay." Kael rubbed his temples. "So, gray cloaks. Silver knife. That's not creepy at all."
He thought about the system's warning. Dangerous enemies may be searching for this wolf.
Gray cloaks. Definitely dangerous.
Why do they want you?
He pushed the question gently this time, trying not to trigger another flood of images.
The wolf's answer came as a single feeling.
Secret.
"Great. Very helpful."
---
The rest of the day passed slowly.
Kael stayed in the forest, keeping the wolf company. He gathered more moss and ferns to make their hiding spot more comfortable. He found a small stream and refilled his water bottle. He even managed to catch another fish, though it took him almost an hour.
The wolf's leg was healing faster than it should. Kael noticed it in the afternoon when the creature stood up for the first time—slowly, carefully, but it stood.
"You're not a normal wolf, are you?"
The wolf looked at him like he'd just stated the obvious.
Magic, came the feeling.
"Yeah, I figured."
As the sun began to set, Kael heard something that made his blood run cold.
Footsteps.
Not animal footsteps. Human. And not just one person—several. They were moving through the forest, heading in his direction.
Kael's heart slammed against his ribs.
He looked at the wolf. The creature's ears were flat against its head. Its eyes were wide.
Hide, came the feeling. Hide now.
Kael grabbed the wolf and dragged it deeper into the bushes. He covered them both with ferns and leaves, pressing himself flat against the ground.
The footsteps grew louder.
Voices.
"…said the tracks led this way."
"Then keep looking. The master wants that wolf alive."
"And the boy?"
A pause. Then a cold laugh.
"Nobody will miss a Nameless."
Kael stopped breathing.
The footsteps passed within ten feet of their hiding spot. He saw gray cloaks through the gaps in the leaves. Silver knives glinting at their belts.
Three of them. Maybe four.
Then, slowly, the footsteps faded.
The voices disappeared into the trees.
Kael waited. One minute. Five. Ten.
When he was sure they were gone, he let out a shaky breath.
"That was too close."
The wolf pressed its nose against his cheek.
Scared.
"Yeah," Kael whispered. "Me too."
He looked down at the wolf. Its leg was still healing. It couldn't run fast yet. And Kael—Kael was just a Nameless boy with no magic, no weapons, and a system that had given him exactly one talent.
Beast Empathy.
Great for talking to wolves. Not so great for fighting gray-cloaked psychopaths with silver knives.
He needed to get stronger. Fast.
As if on cue, the blue screen flickered to life.
```
═══════════════════════════════════════
NEW QUEST DETECTED
═══════════════════════════════════════
[Survival Instinct]
The hunters are close. You need to prepare.
Objectives:
1. Find a safe hiding place for the wolf (0/1)
2. Gather resources for 3 days (0/3)
3. Learn one new skill from the System Shop
Reward: 150 XP + Basic Defensive Skill
Time limit: 2 days
Accept? [YES] [NO]
```
Kael read the quest twice.
Learn one new skill from the System Shop. So the system had a shop? Like a store? What kind of skills could he buy?
He pressed [YES].
```
═══════════════════════════════════════
SYSTEM SHOP UNLOCKED
═══════════════════════════════════════
Available Skills (Basic Tier):
1. [Keen Hearing] – 50 XP
- Hear sounds from twice the normal distance
2. [Light Feet] – 50 XP
- Move silently. No sound from footsteps.
3. [Weakness Detection] – 80 XP
- See weak points in enemies and objects
Current XP: 100
```
Kael's eyes moved between the options.
Keen Hearing would help him detect hunters before they got close. Light Feet would help him escape without being heard. Weakness Detection… that one sounded like it could be useful in a fight.
But he only had 100 XP. He could only afford one—or two of the cheap ones.
What do you think? he asked the wolf through their bond.
The wolf's answer came as a feeling. Not words. Just a sense of… listening. Being quiet. Hiding.
Keen Hearing and Light Feet, then.
He bought both.
```
═══════════════════════════════════════
SKILLS ACQUIRED
═══════════════════════════════════════
[Keen Hearing] – Active
[Light Feet] – Active
Remaining XP: 0
New total abilities: 3
Locked talents remaining: 2
```
Suddenly, the forest sounded different.
Kael could hear everything. The drip of water from a leaf fifty feet away. The scratch of a mouse digging under a tree root. The distant call of a bird—no, two birds. No, three.
It was overwhelming at first. Like someone had turned up the volume on the whole world.
But then, slowly, he learned to filter. To focus.
He heard the wind moving through the trees. The rustle of leaves. And—
Nothing else. No footsteps. No voices.
They're gone. For now.
Kael stood up, brushing leaves off his clothes. "We need to move. Find somewhere safer."
The wolf struggled to its feet. Its leg still hurt—Kael could feel the pain through their bond—but it was determined.
Follow, came the feeling.
The wolf limped forward, nose to the ground. Kael followed close behind, his new skills already working overtime. Every crack of a twig sounded like a gunshot in his ears. Every shift of his feet felt deafeningly loud.
Light Feet, he thought. How do I activate it?
The system answered immediately.
```
[Light Feet] – Active. Move silently.
```
Kael took a step.
No sound.
Another step.
Still nothing.
Whoa.
He walked behind the wolf, his footsteps completely silent. It felt like floating. Like he wasn't even touching the ground.
This is amazing.
The wolf led him deeper into the forest, past trees Kael had never seen before. The sunlight faded as the canopy grew thicker. The air turned cooler, damper.
After what felt like an hour, they reached a small cave hidden behind a curtain of vines.
The wolf pushed through the vines and disappeared inside.
Kael followed.
The cave wasn't big—maybe ten feet wide, fifteen feet deep. But it was dry. Sheltered. Hidden.
Perfect.
"Good job," Kael said, scratching the wolf's ear.
The creature's tail wagged once.
Kael looked around the cave. It wasn't home. But it was somewhere.
Somewhere safe. For now.
He sat down against the cave wall and pulled the wolf close. Its warmth seeped through his thin shirt, chasing away the evening chill.
Outside, the sky was turning dark.
Kael closed his eyes.
Two days. That's how long I have to prepare.
He thought about the gray cloaks. The silver knives. The cold laugh.
Nobody will miss a Nameless.
"We'll see about that," Kael whispered.
The wolf pressed closer.
And somewhere in the darkness of the forest, the hunters kept searching.
Proceed to Chapter 3.