Even though Thufrat had just woken up, he was still tired, and after eating their fills, both Ark and Thufrat decided to get some more rest before the next day. Even though they weren't entirely sure what awaited them the next day, it was for the best if they were well-rested. Ark didn't know if they would get another mission immediately, but he knew for certain that he was going to inject his mana into the scroll he had gotten from Ulfig, and he would know what to do from there. At least that's what he assumed.
After evolving into an Overlord Elemental Wolf, Ark had noticed that his newfound powers weren't as simple as an increase in affinities. The elements in the air spoke to him, or at least that's what he felt like. This was something amazing for him when he wanted to sleep since he didn't need to sleep lightly. He could sleep as deep as he wanted since the elements would warn him if anything were to happen. This didn't have a direct impact on his powers, but the elements in the air felt like family to Ark, and controlling them was like controlling his own body, easy as can be.
Waking up the next day to the chirping of the birds, both Thufrat and Ark were in good moods. The weather was nice, the smell of freshly bloomed flowers permeated the air, it was a good day to be alive. Before anything else, Thufrat removed some simple breakfast from his spatial bag, namely some sandwiches, and some milk. Ark couldn't drink the milk in his wolf form, so he transformed to gulp it down, and then just sat there for a minute, enjoying the mood of this spring morning. He did put on clothes, of course, he wasn't just sitting there naked. After that, he chatted a little with Thufrat, and he got to know the reason for Thufrat's mood the day before. He had apparently been thinking of the lich which had nearly taken his life.
When Ark heard him mentioning this lich, his eyes also glowed with discernible killing desire, but he restrained it before it started to affect his surroundings. After some more chatting, Ark pulled out the scroll he had gotten from Ulfig from his spatial bag. After looking at it for a little bit, he glanced at Thufrat. "You ready?" He asked politely. Thufrat only nodded, before turning his gaze toward the scroll, looking at it with clear interest.
Ark didn't hesitate and instantly poured in his mana into the scroll. As he did so, the scroll started glowing with clear, liquid-like blue lines. These lines crisscrossed and snaked across the scroll, before finally turning into letters, and a small map. The message these letters formed was clear, it depicted Ark's and Thufrat's next mission, and the map led to the town the mission was in. Underneath the map, was both a yes, and a no. This was to confirm if they wanted to accept the mission or not.
The mission itself was a little odd. Ark and Thufrat were supposed to travel to the city of Ravenfront, whilst there, they would be assigned to work as bodyguards of the daughter of a noble. The mission itself was pretty weird, and both Ark and Thufrat was a little disappointed in how simple it was. But, the pay was exceptional! They only had 3 days of work, yet they were supposed to be paid 10 rose-gold! This sum was astronomical considering the fact that they only had to work as bodyguards.
Even though they would rather do another mission, the pay was too lucrative to pass up. After a small talk, they both agreed to accept the mission. Ark willed his mana to pour towards the "Yes" inscribed on the scroll, and after a second or two, the whole scroll suddenly turned into a map toward Ravenfront, where the mission was supposed to take place. Ark and Thufrat weren't stupid, they knew something was up, how could this mission be easy with pay like that? The mission was assigned by Torment of the Fallen though, and all they could do was have faith.
It was stated in the mission that they were supposed to be in Ravenfront in two days, where they would meet up with the entourage of the noble daughter outside of the city gates. Even though two days seemed like a lot of time, Ravenfront was a considerable distance away, and it would take Thufrat and Ark about half a day to travel there on foot. Since they had nothing better to do, Ark transformed back into his wolf form, before they set off towards Ravenfront.
The trek through the forest was actually quite relaxing for both Thufrat and Ark, albeit a little tiring. After walking for almost 6 hours non-stop, both Thufrat and Ark were exhausted and hungry, and they decided to rest a little and eat some food. They quickly found a pretty nice clearing and settled down, starting a fire after gathering some nearby twigs and wood. The fire was quickly lit, and meat was roasted on top of it, even though they could hunt for food, they were both tired, and they just used some that they had stored away in their spatial bags.
When the meat was ready, and a delicious smell permeated the air, Ark and Thufrat were ready to dig in straight away. But as they were about to start eating, they could hear some rustling coming from some bushes not far away. Out from these bushes wandered a lone white wolf. This wolf was almost as thin as the twigs they had used to lit the fire. The wolf didn't show them any hostility though, and it only desolately looked at the meat that was being roasted.
Ark was a little surprised seeing this, this was the first time that he had ever seen a monster of this world that didn't show him any hostility, all the other monsters he had run into had always shown him hostility. This was also a wolf, one of his own kin you could say. he didn't hesitate at all and quickly gave the wolf his share of the meat. The wolf was hesitant at first but quickly gobbled up the meat after seeing Ark's expectant look.
After gulping the meat down, the wolf was super happy, it hadn't eaten in a long time, and was on the verge of starving to death. After the death of its pack, it hadn't been able to look after itself, which ended up in its current predicament. Seeing the euphoric look on its face, Thufrat threw his share of the meat at the wolf as well, after laughing a little. The wolf was ecstatic seeing this, and quickly ate the rest of the meat as well.
Even though it still looked meager, it was full of spirit and vitality rushing through its blood. After eating its fill, the wolf howled loudly up into the sky, before turning around and disappearing into the forest again. Ark and Thufrat only looked at each other with a smile, before laughing a little and taking out some more meat from their spatial bags.