Elanore tried to focus on walking, but doing so proved challenging. Loud thumping footsteps echoed behind her and rumbled the ground beneath her. Indeed, the large feet of a beast trailed her.

  The vampire turned around and sighed, staring into large slit and kitten like eyes. The two black lines stared into her, and she stared back, completely unwavered by the fact she was staring at a wyvern.

  “So you decided you would follow me? How did you even catch up to me?”

  To her surprise, the wyvern answered right away. Moreover, it wasn’t with a grunt or a growl. It was with actual speech. “I woke up right after you were finished with your spell, but I was playing dead. Please forgive me?”

  “Huh!? What do you mean...Wait, more importantly! You can talk!?”

  “Of course I can. Is it not the right of sentient beings to form words? Psevalis may not be on the same level of other gods, but she gives us the ability to speak.” The wyvern lowered its snout and bowed deeply. “Regardless, I must thank you for rescuing me. It seemed that I bit off more than I could chew.”

  Elanore paused and stared at the creature that easily dwarfed her. The wyvern was easily as long as a school bus. Brownish red scales trailed up and down her body, and she was slender framed. Her wings were attached to her forelegs, answering the question Ella had in her mind.

  “What do you mean you bit off more than you could chew? Did you do something to them to cause them to attack you?”

  The wyvern shifted onto her back legs as if she were a puppy sitting down for a treat, but she shook her head. “I didn’t do anything to provoke their ire, but being in the vicinity of humans causes them to act in such a way. I am sure you understand.”

  “Why would I…”

  Laela narrowed her eyes. “You’re a vampire are you not? A very profound one at that.”

  “Profound...Yes, you could say that. More importantly, can you give me the whole story?”

  The wyvern grumbled but relented. “I was flying down the mountain in search of food. The thing is, this fort was only recently constructed. It’s pretty rare for humans to build anything this far away from their cities. The only ones that dare to come out here are those that know what they are doing or fools. My intention was to warn them, but they took my advances as a threat.”

  Elanore watched as the wyvern finished with licking her wing. It really is just like watching a dog…

  The vampire shook her head. “I get that, I guess. You should not even bother yourself with people. I don’t see the point of doing such a thing. Unless you want them to lie or take advantage of you.” She paused and started to turn away. “Anyway, if that is all, we can both go about our own lives.”

  “Wait!”

  “Ah...Is this that stereotype in movies?” Elanore turned around and was ready to wave her finger in front of the wyvern’s face. But when she saw the sad looking eyes, she had to swallow and stop herself. “So what do you want?”

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  “Um, you are someone very strong, right? Can I please form a contract with you?”

  “No! No way, not this contract situation. Do you understand how painful that would be for me? Giving me a responsibility like that is awful. I can barely provide food for myself in the form of mana crystals. You expect me to cook for you as well? I am not gonna take care of a pet.”

  Elanore turned around and started walking away.

  Though, the large footsteps came back again, only this time they were faster. The beast ran to get in front of the vampire. “Please! This would be a boon for both of us, I’m sure.”

  Ella pushed the wyvern’s snout away from her face. “Really? Why do you want me to make a contract with you? Do you understand how random that is?”

  “It’s not random. Ones who take contract with others are given an increase in their capabilities proportional to their master’s strength, and I can practically see power radiating from you.”

  “Huh?”

  The wyvern’s eyes widened. “How do you not even notice? I thought you were doing this in an effort to keep people away from you. Even standing in front of you is making me feel weak in comparison.”

  Ella focused her eyes on the surroundings once more, this time allowing her own mana to seep into them. What she saw baffled her. It was almost like that sight she had when she first arrived here. She saw waves of mana pulsating from her body in vivid pink and purple. It was like a war was going on in the air. Compared to her, the wyvern was much less impressive.

  Around Naela, only sparks of red light could be seen. It was pretty on its own but completely drowned out by Elanore’s mass of mana.

  Elanore sighed and remembered that she came from an MMO, and in that game there were some passive skills or spells that people would activate. One of them was the ability to scare foes with much lower levels than you. It was a useful effect for making others not aggro to you. But why did the bear attack me in that case?

  “[Dispel – Fear].”

  Elanore’s words had an immediate effect. The skill dissipated, and the surroundings normalize. For her, it felt like sucking in a deep breath and holding it, but even that feeling soon faded.

  She watched as the wyvern in front of her visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “It feels like I can breathe again, Mistress…”

  “Mistress? I told you you’re not my…”

  [New Class Acquired: Novice Beast Tamer]

  [Updating Status…]

  Elanore frowned and readied herself for what was to come.

  [Congratulations! You have tamed your first beast.]

  “Are you fucking serious!? Status!”

  There it was in all of its grimy glory. The thing sat there as a new class, taunting her. Though, at the same time, Elanore could only shrug. If she started getting worried about new classes that would be antithetical to her purpose in coming here. I guess this too is about getting stronger.

  However, the real show had only just started. Upon the activation of this skill, the wyvern in front of her started transforming in a plume of pink smoke.

  Don’t tell me…

  And indeed, the world did tell her. No matter if she wanted to will it away, the wyvern was transforming into a woman right before her very eyes.

  In the clearing, across from the vampire, the woman stood there. Two tiny horns adorned her head, and her eyes had shifted in their color. Rather than the dull brown eyes from before, they became a vivid purple, the slits remaining. New pink scales crawled down the girl’s elbows and along the side of her neck, and a small pink tail graced her rear.

  Long pink hair trailed from behind the woman, but her legs and feet were more like a lizard’s.

  The woman smiled. “Thank you, my mistress.”

  “First...put on some clothes!”