Waking up in the cave, I looked over my children and grandchildren before moving to the main area to get some water to drink. The kids were snoring happily and the youngest was even breathing small fumes of flames while his older sister was freezing things around her. They were even more advanced species than Shadow Wolves, some of my children were.
Who would've thought that I, the heir of the most powerful Black Wolf pack would end up tamed by an Ancient…
It was two winters before I met my Master that I was born in Kassena Forest. My father was a powerful wolf who even challenged a Skull bear and walked away unscathed and my mother beat the smugness out of him every time. We were the top of the pack, hunting even monsters that were way above our league. It was a happy time… but there was a major shift in power, when a pack led by a Shadow Wolf came from the south mountainside forest.
The further you went south, the stronger monsters would find. It is a basic rule that you, as a hunter will not be tolerated on turf of another hunter and same went for this pack of newcomers. A bloody battle soon started and we dominated it from the start to the end. The powerful Shadow wolf and my father killed each other, but I stood up for our pack and secured us a victory. The smaller numbers meant that we could take some of the survivors among us. I definitely didn't do that because I fell for my future wife in that battle or anything, I swear!
I soon became the leader of the new and stronger pack. We had some misunderstandings, here and there, but nothing a good chomp couldn't fix. I became a leader… but I wasn't a Lord, like my father was.
The title of Lord always goes to the strongest monster in any given area and for ten long winters, my father was the Lord of the forest. But his death brought us more grief further down. Bear attacks became much more common and we did our utmost to defeat them, but the young and foolish in the pack blamed me for being weak. I was strong enough to beat them all, but beating a Skull Bear? I could never do that.
Maybe because of that they all left us when that monstrosity attacked us…
It was a few weeks before I met my master. We hunted some Flamdeers and were feasting on them when a monster like any other appeared. It was a Spider Skull Bear. That beast towered above us and was attacking relentlessly. Its six arms swung left and right, it was an even worse massacre than when we fought the second pack of Black Wolves. I attacked the beast, protecting my wife who was with our first children. Sadly, I was not even able to scratch the beast and the young wolves ran away in the forest. Some of us older wolves fought valiantly, but in face of defeat, we retreated. Abandoned by the pack, I continued protecting my wife and that was when we met our master who gave me the name Kuro. Soon, the children were born and a new pack started forming.
To my great surprise, our new master was much more than just capable of taking on Skull Bears. I believe it was about this time that I developed respect for slimes which I believed to be weak and pathetic.
The Cocoon Slimes our master was taking to hunts learned how to move around with their strings and could even control the strings with [Thread Control] skill. Honestly, the more time our master spent with them, the more powerful they became. Unlike us, who could not evolve, they were ever changing and much more interesting. However, the power of us who didn't evolve was in our ever growing strength. I could tell that since starting living with the Master, I became much stronger.
I wished to test myself, so one night I went to the forest with my children and we attacked a Skull Bear. It didn't even count as a battle as I dominated it from the start to the end. We brought the bear back home and got praised a lot by the Master and the young Mistress that followed him everywhere. I knew my father would be proud of the male I became, though he might've been angry with me for just being a second-in-command, however I like my position.
"Hey there, Kuro, want some drink?" Master walked next to me holding a bottle of blue liquid.
"Grr!" I nodded to his words and pushed my bowl with water towards him.
"I must say, you are one weird wolf drinking alcohol like this and not even getting a hangover. Do you have protection from the Alcohol God? Must be it, since I always meet you when I open my secret Blue Liquor stash," Master smiled as he poured some of the liquid in the bowl, which made me reminiscent of the past when I drank a similarly tingly water from a pond with my father.
"Well, let's keep this between us two men, what do you say?"
"Grr."
"Heheh, I knew you would be on board, buddy."
We enjoyed the midnight drink while stargazing. The town was below us, so the night sky was a little obstructed by the light, but I didn't really mind. I was here, next to my master, drinking my favorite tingly water and enjoying the atmosphere. The memory of the Spider Skull Bear might haunt me every now and then, but with the Master by my side, I don't need to fear it. I am Kuro, leader of the strongest pack and a guaranteed good boy.