The Ironhide Wolf

"Wood Magic: Genovah's Flying Ark!" A young human man wearing a set of fine grey silk robes yelled aloud, holding his hands in front of him. He had a slim, handsome face with piercing blue eyes and a warm, friendly smile. A handsome face that would be forgettable if not the passionate gleam in his eyes.

An instant after he finished speaking, a mysterious cluster of symbols appeared in front of him. An enormous amount of wood burst forth from this cluster, bending and stretching, twisting into the shape of a mid sized ship. It stood around twenty meters long, and a dozen meters wide, built entirely out of a dark brown wood. A large pillar rose from the middle of the boat, an empty mast. A small cabin could be seen on one end of the boat, leading towards the inside.

A smattering of applause rang out as the young man, a bit pale faced now, turned and smiled.

"What did I say to you earlier, Captain Lancaster?"

The wooden boat was floating just outside a large forest of trees. In the background, several dozen mountains could be seen, rising high into the sky. Two mountains stood out in particular, with great, shattered rocky peaks, obliterated by some outside force.

A long, paved stone path ran up to the forest, a path that continued but transformed into a lesser dirt version.

Currently, a quartet of men were standing on the stone path, looking at the wooden boat the handsome man had just raised.

"It's certainly larger than last time, sir! You were deadly accurate!" A gruff, muscular man wearing a set of black leather armor, with a large broadsword strapped to his back, nodded and laughed aloud. He had a grizzled and wrinkled face, looking as if he was in his mid-40s. A small greying black beard complemented his strong jaw and a nose that had been broken several times before. His short, completely grey hair was at odds with his still mostly black beard, but went well with his six and a half feet of height.

Two of the men beside the Captain were dressed in similar black leather armor, but with younger, tanned faces looking as if they were in their early 30s. They were equally muscular, and both had a pair of short swords strapped to their waists. According to Lancaster, they were twins from one of the lesser 30,000 worlds that had left their world seeking fortune, and ended up among the Universal Kinto Guard alongside him.

The last observer gave a friendly nod to the young man, stating,

"This will certainly be of aid in transport over the forest and save us a great deal of time. We'll still need to step down and travel on foot once we near the mountains, however. There are Grandmaster Class beasts there, after all." A man dressed in faded green armor, with a longbow strapped to his back, the picture of an adept forest ranger. He had a mixture of green and grey paint covered his face, making his features indistinguishable, save for a bushy brown beard.

"Of course, of course." William Robel nodded, understanding. As a Wizard that had just reached the Sky Stage, specializing in Wood Magic, he well understood the threats that powerful beasts could muster, especially those with a powerful Soul. His spells were powerful, and the strength of one's Soul wasn't everything… but it was better to exercise caution.

In the 30,000 Worlds, there were tens of thousands of different types of Magic. The vast, vast majority of Wizards would choose to focus on a singular type. After all, each different type of Magic required incredibly complex concentrations of energy, using the power of one's Spell Soul Matrix. Spells from one type would all have relatively similar symbolic incantations and concentrations, though the stronger spells or more complex spells would require more and more effort and precision.

William studied Wood Magic, a versatile type of Magic that functioned as an efficient jack-of-all-trades, suited for someone like himself who preferred to function without other mages. It wasn't the most powerful type of Magic, nor was it the flashiest, but he hadn't exactly had many choices open to him when he picked it. His lot in life had been decided at his birth. He was a bastard.

He shook the irrelevant thoughts from his mind, however, focusing on his current goal.

Hunting down the legendary Ironhide Wolf that thrived within the depths of the mountains.

..

Dorian huddled behind a small set of boulders, sliding his body between two of them and keeping absolutely still. He didn't even dare to breathe as he lay there, completely silent.

THUD

THUD

Heavy footsteps set the ground to shaking as a huge beast passed by the boulders he was hiding at, moving down the mountain.

'That's… a dinosaur. Are you serious?' Dorian mentally yelled, making sure to still not make a sound.

A huge, 10 meter tall dinosaur, covered in feathered green scales continued to walk, hunching forward as it turned and made its way alongside the mountain Dorian had been climbing. It looked extremely similar to the Tyrannosaurus Rex of Dorian's home world, with a large face full of sharp and deadly teeth, a hulking, muscular body, and two undersized arms.

The beast gave off a powerful, horrifying aura as it moved, the strength it held far surpassing Dorian's own.

'Ausra' Dorian mentally whispered, staring at the beast with vivid interest.

'You said you can help me with the Absorption Process 3 times, right? Can you help me Absorb that beast?"

In his head, Ausra's cool voice responded,

'Your Soul would collapse upon trying to form a beast of that scale. That appears to be a pureblood Grandmaster Class Green Scaled Ground Dragon. As of right now, you may only target Sky Class beasts and below for Absorption. Anything else will go beyond the safety parameters set by His Holiness.'

Dorian grumbled a bit in his head before accepting it. There was nothing he could do about it, it seemed.

He waited a few more moments as the beast moved past, out of his sight. He sighed, and then looked up towards the distant shattered peaks.

The creatures in the mountains were much deadlier than those in the forest it seemed.

He resumed his scampering regardless. Once his mind was set on something, he would stubbornly pursue it till he reached whatever it was.

His Red Salamander body was quite useful in traversing the rocky landscape. His feet were padded with tough scales, and he could use his claws to dig in to the sides of the mountains if he felt he was slipping.

He spent several hours moving carefully through the mountains, from ledge to ledge, boulder to boulder, outcropping to outcropping. Twice he had to hide as massive, powerful beasts moved past, emitting terrifying auras.

Along the way, he also discovered several mystical looking plants. When he'd walked up to them, he had been informed that they were Magic Herbs or Magic Plants that naturally spawned in mountainous areas.

According to Ausra, these herbs served as an excellent source of energy and food for local wildlife, and after devoured would naturally respawn, operating under some mysterious law of existence that even Ausra was unaware.

Dorian had tried one of the Magic Herbs, a Brilliant Red Holjop Fruit. The fruit had tasted delicious, and sent several warm rays of energy into his body. It was an incredibly luxurious feeling, making him shiver slightly.

He'd checked his growth progress right after, feeling a small change.

-Red Salamander - Growth Stage: (4/5) Mature Adult

- Growth Progress – 721/956 -

The fruit had increased his growth by a decent amount. It seemed they truly were good things to eat.

After eating one fruit, however, he'd realized that his appetite had been mostly sated. It seemed he wouldn't be able to eat too many of these fruits or herbs in succession.

Apart from the massive beasts that he hid from, he also ran into several large flocks of Mountain Deer, tough and agile deer that inhabited the mountain area, a small group of Scaled Vultures, and a herd of Iron Oxen.

He decided to avoid all of them for now. If he wanted their bloodlines, he could always go back for them later. Right now, his focus was on finding the mysterious treasure the fallen wizard had left behind.

He did take the time to ask Ausra about each beast, however. According to Ausra, all beasts had a limit placed on them, limiting their ultimate level of strength and growth. Dorian's Red Salamander had a limit that would be reached in his next growth stage.

In terms of strength, he would forever be limited as a Sky Class Beast at most. The Mountain Deer he saw were limited to the Earth Class, as were the Scaled Vultures, while the Iron Oxen could grow to the Sky Class.

What he needed to find was a beast that could grow to a higher level, absorb its bloodline, and transform into it, growing stronger and stronger. The more powerful his Soul grew, the stronger he could make even weak beast forms.

Dorian could already see a bright future before him. A future where he would be absolutely free from danger, able to laze about and relax. He might even be able to become human again, if his powers worked how they appeared to.

Soon, Dorian made it to his destination. The valley between the two shattered mountains.

By the time he got here it was already mid-afternoon. The valley was sheathed in shadows from the peaks overhead, giving it a dismal, dark appearance. Apart from that, it didn't seem any different than any other valley. A small stream ran through it, and there was a small forested glade alongside either mountain.

He shrugged and moved forward, picking his path carefully. He tried to avoid any used trails, forging his own as he kept to the shadows.

He entered the valley, creeping alongside the underbrush. He moved down the slope, heading towards the stream.

As he moved, he felt an eerie feeling of being watched. His eyes flickered left and right, staying on alert as he strained his senses.

"Grrr…" A low, rustling growl assault his ears, drawing his attention. He looked forward to the source of the noise, his eyes picking out a large dark skinned wolf, standing nearly a meter tall. A strange aura seemed to be surrounding it.

'Ausra, what is it?' He mentally asked, keeping his eyes on the creature. His own body was larger, but he felt an odd feeling of danger coming from the wolf.

'An Ironhide Wolf, a much rarer version of an Iron Wolf. They have the Ability to naturally strengthen their hide to incredible levels, making older Ironhide Wolves extremely tough creatures to defeat. Their hides are extremely coveted among intelligent creatures in use for crafting powerful defensive tools. This one appears to have just become a Sky Class Beast, an impressive feat for one so young.'

Dorian frowned intensely. A beast like this seemed like a perfect target for his next Evolution. However, it also seemed much stronger than he currently was.

'What are my chances of defeating it right here, in combat?' He asked.

Ausra didn't respond. Dorian mentally rolled his eyes, and then began backing up slowly.

He could use one of his two remaining Absorption's to take in the bloodline of the beast, but he decided he wanted to save those for moments when he needed them. He would come back here when he was fully grown, and then try to take the wolf out naturally first.

Slowly, he began to back up. The wolf didn't follow, only staring at him with its gleaming black eyes.

Just as Dorian finished backing away, and was preparing to turn around, he heard something he hadn't heard in a long time.

A human voice.

"Wood Magic: Goliath's Fist!"