As Ark gazed at his hands, his eyes started to tear up, he couldn't help it, this was a major moment in his new life. He could finally feel like a human again if he wanted to, and he could talk to Thufrat like he had been wanting to do for a while now. He didn't even know the dwarf's name now that he thought about it. Thinking about this, he turned his head to look at Thufrat, just to see his jaw almost dropped to the ground, with eyes wide. This was to be expected though, a wolf had suddenly turned into a human after all.
"Yo" Ark said as he waved his hand, he didn't really know what to say, as the atmosphere was quite awkward.
"Uhm, hello there" Thufrat replied as he was jolted back to reality.
"My name is Ark, you never told me yours."
"Ark huh... my name is Thufrat, nice to meet you!"
"What a unique name... does it have a meaning?" Even though the question was a bit weird, Ark was actually intrigued.
"It essentially means to have faith in what you do, weird isn't it?" Thufrat said as his expression turned a little crestfallen. His name had always been a sore spot for him since he got mocked for it, even though he originally liked it himself.
"I think it is really cool!" Ark answered enthusiastically. He liked names that meant something, his own name was decided by his parents since lightning had struck just as he was born. Even though he had basically no memory of his parents, he did know this much. And he quite liked his name, at least compared to the other normal Swedish names that existed.
"Are you really that wolf from just now?" Thufrat didn't really know what to think, and he had to ask this question since he needed to clear his mind.
"Yeah, to be honest, I didn't really know what you would think of me when I used this skill. And I was a bit scared." As Ark said this, he looked a little hesitantly at Thufrat, seeking for an answer.
"Don't worry, I don't care if you're a human or a wolf, or whatever really, as long as you're still the same." This was what Thufrat truly believed in, he had seen the worst sides of people, and he didn't really care as long as someone was a good person in his eyes. So what if you're a demon? Does that make you any less than everyone else? No. It was simple, you shouldn't be judged based on race, but instead, be judged by your actions.
As Ark heard this, he was relieved. He did trust in his own judgment of character, but he still couldn't be completely sure. Since that would just be stupid anyways. As Ark tried moving around a little more in his body, he noticed that he was weaker in the form compared to his wolf form, a lot weaker. By his own judgment, it was approximately halved, which meant that he was still strong, just not nearly as strong as normal. As the topic of combat strength emerged in his mind, he realized that he might be able to use his [Holy Spear: Dawn] skill now.
Since he could speak now, he decided to be a little considerate of Thufrat and tell him about it first, since it would be weird seeing someone randomly summoning a weapon out of nowhere.
"Thufrat, I'm going to test out another skill, so don't worry."
As he said this, Thufrat nodded, and he summoned out the spear once more. The spear had a lot of intricate designs on its body, and it radiated a holy air as it landed softly in his hands after it condensed. Feeling the sensation of cold steel against the palm of his hands, Ark's blood started to boil a little.
Testing his luck, he tried to move the spear around a little, and to his delight, it was as easy as any other spear would be, with no obstructions whatsoever. Feeling delighted, Ark started to swing the spear around a little, and after a couple of swings, he heard the same old monotone voice in his head once more.
[Due to certain actions, the host has obtained the skill "Spear Mastery: Beginner Lv.1"]
As Ark saw this, he wasn't really surprised. This was a normal skill that almost everyone had after all, of course, the weapon differed with every person. Since he had never used a spear before, he went through some basic movements he had seen on tv and that he thought would work, and after another minute, his mastery went up to level 2.
As Ark was about to get engrossed in training, he realized that he only had half an hour in this human body, until it leveled up. Therefore, he decided to talk some more with Thufrat before it ended. As he was about to initiate a conversation Thufrat suddenly started talking.
"So Ark, where did you get your name from?" Thufrat had been puzzled ever since he heard it, how did this wolf manage to get a name?
"It might be hard to believe, but I actually don't know, it feels like I've always had this name, and I don't know why." Even though Ark said this, he still trusted Thufrat. He just thought that his real story would be too hard to swallow, and decided to cover it up for now.
"Hmmm, that's odd, but that might be why you are so special, named monsters are a lot more powerful after all" Thufrat said as he put his hand to his chin and pondered a little.
"What's the difference between a monster with a name and one without a name?" Ark asked as he was quite curious.
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think it has to do with whoever named the monster, like their Mana and stuff." Thufrat answered earnestly, he wasn't some noble's child that could get a good education, he only knew what he heard from other people, and what he discovered himself.
Ark was a bit surprised by this answer since it didn't really help him at all, but it did give him some key points at the very least. Named monsters were more powerful, and their power came from the Mana of the one who gave them the name, that's what Ark gathered from this answer. But he wasn't sure at all, and he could be completely wrong. It was a bit hard to understand after all.
As Ark was still thinking, Thufrat hesitated a little before he asked another question.
"So, Ark, what exactly are you?"
"Uhmm, what do you mean?" Ark was a bit taken aback by this question since he didn't really know how to answer it.
"You don't really seem like a typical monster, and even though you can turn into a human, how would you know how to speak on your first try?" Thufrat asked a little apprehensively.
"I don't really know myself, all I do know is that I have memories from a previous life, where I was a human. And since I've told you this much, that's where I got my name from as well." Ark answered pensively.
As Thufrat heard this, he was astounded, this wolf was even more extraordinary than he thought. It turned out to be a human in its previous life. He wasn't really put off by any of this though since it made so much sense when he thought about it. How else would this wolf know how to speak almost instantly? And why else would this wolf show him hospitality? He had heard about myths about people from other worlds as well, like the heroes for example!
"Do you not believe me? I don't blame you if you don't." Ark fired a question since Thufrat didn't react to his statement.
"Oh, it's not that I don't believe you, I was just thinking a little, sorry about that mate" Thufrat answered earnestly.
As Thufrat said this, Ark was a little apprehensive, and he stared straight into his eyes. Seeing his earnest and honest look, Ark didn't think he was lying. He started smiling at the thought of him making a new friend in this completely foreign world. He only had one friend in his former world, and he now got his second one in this world.
"Did I do something wrong?" Thufrat asked as he saw Ark's sudden smile.
"Oh, quite the opposite, I'm just happy that I managed to make a friend!"