When Rino returned to his hut with his shredded cape, he could not help but feel gloomy. He did not notice a pair of glowing eyes watching him from his roof, waiting for the right moment to pounce.
The lich was so lost in his thoughts that when a black blur fell on top of his head and covered his eye sockets, he thought it was an ambush all over again. The panicked lich launched an area fire attack in retaliation that Ace quickly negated using some divine powers.
"Easy there, kitten. You could have singed my fur."
Hearing the lazy voice, Rino gasped mentally. There was only one cat who spoke so classily! Noir was finally here!
"Noir!" Rino projected his thoughts and tried to grab the cat for a hug but was rewarded with a swift kick in the skull.
Ace put some distance between himself and Rino now that the item he requested from Ark to reward Rino was delivered.
"Shut up. Who are you calling Noir?"
Rino removed the large fabric from his face and dropped his jaw when he found out what that was.
"Noir... this is...?"
Looking away, Ace made up a story quickly to avoid suspicion. "Just something I found. If you don't like it, then you can throw it into the fireplace."
Turning away and entering from the kitty door, Ace let Rino take time to admire the new cape. The needlework was good, as expected from Phil. It was also given some enchants using some divine points. Ark thought that Rino might need a sturdier cape. The new monarch could not be seen going around with a torn cloak. He could go around without pants and underwear beneath the mantle if he wanted. That was entirely up to choice, but a cape represented status.
"I will treasure this!" Rino projected his thoughts to the black cat and hugged it close to him. "What a precious gift from Noir!"
Ace wanted to protest at the name, but when his eyes landed on the blanket in his cat basket that was embroidered messily with his 'name', the God of Prayers paused. He felt slightly bad for ruining Rino's original cape, even if it was necessary to awaken the darkness within the lich. His initial plan was worse. Ace wanted to lead the wolf monster all the way to Rino's farmhouse and wreck his cosy abode. It would have woken the dark magician in Rino but at a hefty cost. Thankfully, Rino headed to the forest after sensing something amiss. He hated feeling too guilty, so the God of Prayers reluctantly accepted his new name. Apart from sounding like a girl's name, he had to admit Rino had a good naming sense when he actually tried. Noir was a thousand times better than Mutt.
Rino examined the cape that Noir gave him. The talking cat was definitely not ordinary. This cape was enchanted with magic. While Rino had questions about its origins, he did not want to expose Noir's secrets. It was better to pretend to be oblivious to them for now and make the cat feel safe with him.
Now that he thought about it, Noir used the kitty door he made. That alone sent Rino into giggles. Thankfully, he had no voice, or the black cat would be judging him.
Rino shut the kitty door with his wooden panel after he entered. The black ball of fur was already making itself comfortable by the fireplace that Rino kept going constantly. Noir was already yawning in the basket, curled up beneath the blanket. The cat's half-lidded eyes made Rino coo inwardly. It was such a shame he did not have painting materials here. The ex court magician would have painted to capture the tranquil moment.
As it was, Rino decided to make do with the second options and stared intensely to burn the sight into the back of his eye sockets.
Ping!
It was midnight, and the daily quest finally updated itself.
===
Daily Quest #5
Objective: Acquire 10 more helping hands
Time Limit: 24 Hours
Tutorial here.
Reward: Soul Splitting Magic.
Penalty: NA
===
Curious by what helping hands meant, Rino checked the tutorial. It was currently midnight, and Noir was asleep near his fireplace. He assumed that the cat was fond of his new abode and decided to focus on reading the daily quest's requirements.
The task wasn't difficult. If anything, this was exactly what Rino intended to do. Mutt was still searching for corpses that Rino could devour and summon as slaves. He hoped that his dumb dog could work quickly. There wasn't a lot of time to get ten new slaves. If this wolf monster could not find a single corpse, it should start hunting before Rino used it as a live target for his newly learned dark magic.
At the same time, Rino looked at the reward for his daily quest. Soul Splitting magic sounded like a lich speciality. Initially, he wanted to find spare bodies for this. However, the little grey rat became his bone knife. The knife was very worn out by now after cutting so many hemp stalks. It was about time for Rino to toss it away and repurpose it. Besides, there was an organic bone farm that would never run out if he ever needed bones. The method of acquirement was morally questionable, but it provided splendid results so Rino wouldn't complain.
After locking the doors, Rino left the farmhouse while it was still dark. This wolf monster was revived by someone near his area. There was no coincidence involved, and the danger wasn't truly over. To keep Noir safe, Rino decided to venture further from his territory.
Mutt must know a thing or two. That rage in his eyes when they first met told Rino what he had to know. The wolf monster was hunted and manipulated before he became undead. Assuming that the wolf faced his enemies, Rino should have at least one more corpse to devour if he could find it.
Thankfully, the bond between the summoned and the summoner was not affected by distance.
"Where are you?" Rino asked the Mutt through their link.
Although the wolf monster was not intelligent enough to form words or hold a conversation, it gave Rino accurate responses to his questions.
As Mutt guided his master to his present location at the goblin grave, Rino told him to stay put. It was easier for him to witness it with his own eyes and get to the body than entrust his dumb dog to bring it to him without destroying the corpse.
Rino still didn't trust dogs, and Mutt whined in sadness when he read his master's feelings.