"You got some nerves, kittens. Who told you that you can lord over this territory?" the dog informed the pack of Spotted Tigers from high above. Over a particularly raised boulder sandwiched between two thick trees.
It looked like a natural throne in which a king of the forest would rule. Well, putting it grandiosely. In reality, it was simply a nice coincidental arrangement of naturally placed objects.
"Rrrawr! Rawr!"
"Mmrrwgg…"
The tigers didn't seem to appreciate the dog's presence, the disconcerting rumble of their rage clearly heard by Senna from close proximity.
"Uhh… It's you talking over there? Doggy?" Senna hesitantly asked. He was afraid that this unnatural phenomenon was a sign of his deteriorating sanity.
"Hello, human bro! You're a human, right? The Elder told me about your kind, but I've never actually met one before!"
It excitedly responded with that characteristic jumpy attitude and drooling tongue, typical of a dog.
"…You seem civilized. Are these your friends?" The problem with the fact a dog was speaking could be shelved for later. Right now, dealing with the threats sitting on top of him was a more pressing issue.
"No way! I'll never deign to befriend these rude pussycats in my life! They're just jerks!"
It sounded very sure of that too. Seemed like the animosity between felines and canines was as strong in this world as the last one.
The tigers aggressively sprung out at the dog as if in response to its mocking words. Freed, Senna hurriedly rolled away and warned the white furball. "Hey, they're coming at you!"
"No stupid pussycats can possibly hurt me!" Jumping in imitation, the Siberian Husky crashed violently with the tigers in midair.
Their bodies tangled with each other messily. Swipes of claws and gnawing of fangs struck the assailants in quick succession.
No injuries were inflicted upon the husky in the altercation.
"Hm. Stupid kittens, failing to recognize my majesty. You need to have a taste of my mythical power," the white puppy expounded in haughty discourse. It stood proudly on all of its four legs like an executioner.
"Hey, Doggy! You alright?" Though even with a glance anyone could tell the dog was not in any way hurt, Senna still worriedly inquired. It was his savior, ultimately.
"I'm all okay, human! These wildcats are in no way close to my level!"
A white most began to leak out of the dog's body. First, it dripped slowly, then soon it started to gush out rapidly as if it was blown by a spinning fan.
"What's happening?" The husky's figure was enveloped by the mist and no longer visible.
The tigers, scrambling to regain their footing after being thoroughly trashed by the dog, were now in apparent fright seeing the foggy phenomenon. They slowly backed away, their faces adorned with terror.
"Only fools are ignorant to the majesty of a Mystic Wolf. Appropriate punishment must be dealt with, and the sole proper one to such grave affront is… death."
Through the mist, barely visible to Senna, a humanoid figure could be seen.
"A… a woman?"
Although it wasn't clear, he noticed a flowing long hair on its back. That gave the most convincing sign that it was a female.
Senna concentrated hard. The sudden appearance of another human was indeed, a reason for concern. But the silhouette also suggested a beauty he had only ever seen indirectly in his previous life. For example, star actresses or magazine models.
From the gap in the fading mist, he could see she had glossy black hair. The outfit adorning her body featured numerous furry accessories like those extravagant winter coats.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to view what lay on her lower extremities. The fog was too thick closer to the ground.
"I curse you to eternal damnation frozen in ice."
«High mana usage detected. Using Analysis to gain information…»
Why did the system choose now to speak up, Senna never had a clue. Where did she go when he was in mortal peril earlier? Though he wanted to complain, the spectacle occurring in front of him took too much of his attention away.
*Cling*
Without any warning, a massive pillar of ice rose out of the ground beneath the tigers' feet. Blatantly ignoring the rule of physics and thermodynamics, they trapped the big cats inside their frozen hold.
«Analysis complete. Usage of skill
This time her voice didn't even register in Senna's mind. It was the first display of magic in its classical definition he saw. Unlike the weird 'vehicle summoning' skill he got, this one looked properly fantastical.
"…Nuts! Can I do that too?" The first thing that appeared in his mind was a bout of excitement along with an egotistical wish for self-fulfillment.
"Serves them right! How about that, human? Aren't I awesome?" That childish mannerism of the dog returned, coming from inside the mist where the beautiful figure had now vanished.
"…Don't tell me…"
Instead, the Siberian Husky was the one who reappeared as if taking her place.
"That one is my best magic. Pretty, right? I used it the most. No sense in holding back!"
It excitedly wagged its tail left and right with an expression filled with the most expectant look Senna had ever seen on a dog. Both on the internet and in real life.
"…Sis? Analysis?"
«Understood. Activating…»
< Mystic Wolf >
< A member of the exalted Mystical Beasts. Possessing a high level of sentient, they are capable of communicating with humans and other speech-capable lifeforms. Has a high charm level and a dangerous amount of fluffiness. Specialize in Ice magic. >
It didn't mention anything about transforming into a beautiful woman, but the Analysis did confirm that the dog was, true enough, sentient.
"What did you do, human? I sense a disturbance in the mana force." The dog approached Senna and circled around him, sniffing the air as it did so.
"Uhh… Nothing? Hey, did you see a woman there earlier? A human like me?"
"There's only me over there, as you can see. Are you perhaps a bit slow in the head? Or is this normal for humans?"
The way the dog talked was a bit annoying, but Senna's hopeless mind was too occupied with the mystery to pay it any mind.
"I see you can use magic too! My superior nose smelled the power from all the way… uh, far away! You must be a strong human!"
"Y-Yeah, I can use magic… I think?" It still felt uncanny to be speaking with a dog, Senna felt. "Sis, what do you think?"
«You do have potential. However, Progression Points are needed for you to realize it.»
The reasoning was logical enough. On the other hand, unfortunately, he had exhausted the points gained from defeating the gorillas, so currently Senna had none remaining.
"…Hmm." Turning his head, the frozen tigers caught his attention. "They haven't disappeared… You think those things are still valid?"
«In practical theory, yes.»
Approaching the icy pillars, Senna inspected them from all over. Even without touching it directly, the ice already sapped enough heat from the surroundings to make him shiver.
"Impressed by my handiwork? I'm always accepting compliments and head pats!"
"Dog. Can you undo your magic?"
"Hmm? …Nope! Never done that before. Why do you ask?"
Looking at the husky with shifty eyes, Senna replied, "I need to finish them off personally if I want to grow stronger."
"Ooh! That sounds handy! If I need to get stronger, I have to practice hard!"
Senna listened to the dog retelling the brutal training sessions it endured (though the words it used were so exaggerated it was hard to take it seriously). As he did, he walked away to the spot where he was pinned and picked up the fallen Bumper Sword.
"Let's just hope this works." Returning to the pillars, he assumed a stance meant to swing the oversized greatsword with both hands.
"Cool sword, that one! Looks evil." Letting the canine's commentary float over his head, Senna took a deep breath and steadied his footing.
"Haah!!"
*Crash*
The pillar he struck splintered into tiny pieces, along with its frozen prisoner. The scattered corpse then glowed briefly before fading away.
«Spotted Tiger defeated. 5 PP gained.»
"Oh, that's a good number!" The tigers were pretty obnoxious as opponents, with how nimble they were and their godly reflexes. 5 PP for one of them was a good reward.
As he was about to take another swing toward the remaining two, the system interrupted him.
«Current Progression Points is enough to unlock a recently studied magic. Category: Thermodynamic.»
"Really? Well, okay." It wasn't something to complain about. No, with this, there would be leftover PP Senna could use to increase his stats. "Status," he spoke out.
< Progression Points: 5 >
• Raise Parameters: 1 PP per 1 increase
• Unlock Skill: 10 PP per skill
• Unlock Magic: 5 PP per magic
Unlike last time, two new prompts appeared on the imaginary screen. They explained themselves simply enough, using predetermined points to unlock a new skill and magic.
Without dilly-dallying, Senna chose the third one. What magic he would learn? The question buggered him non-stop like a bloodthirsty mosquito.
A foreign sensation flooded his mind immediately after. It felt like a book's worth of information was being forced into his brain. It was painfully dizzying and he almost threw up on the spot.
"Kuh… Really? Are you serious?"
The moment it ended, Senna deprecatingly sighed in self-contempt.
«Congratulations. You learned Special Magic: Gaslighting.»