46 The City Lord 3 (1/2)

Back in the room where Woof had been charged with watching Aaron's back, the husky was pissed off as it had been unable to stop something from happening to his partner.

As soon as this man had raised his hand, that thing inside it had caused some sort of being to appear in the room.

Woof had been able to sense that, but the creature hadn't even been visible, which led it to believe that it was probably of the type which they had encountered only once or twice during their journey.

Each time, though, they had had to flee as they had no means whatsoever to defend themselves from it. All they knew was that it was invincible, and that it was capable of draining any living being of all vitality if they stayed in its territory for a prolonged time.

Woof knew that the culprit was the man in front of it, as it had also been learning quickly since coming to this world. Adaptation was its strong suit, just like it was the case for most Teras, but that was more so the case with Woof due to everything it had been through.

It considered whether to leap forward and attack him, but it could tell that that might be a bad decision, as it had seen that leopard from before.

Its senses were much more acute than Aaron's, and hence, it had been able to tell right away that that Tera had been concealing its power. If it struck out, it would surely be so devastating that they might not be able to get away unscathed.

Besides, Woof could also tell that it was possible that the man could have even more Teras stuck inside its palm.

It currently had mixed feelings regarding these 'Cores'. It knew that Teras inside Cores could grow stronger, as it had seen the growth in that Fox even though it had been inside a Core for a limited time.

Of course, it didn't think too much on it, as it knew that whatever the case regarding it was, Aaron would tell it everything and they could take a decision together, just like they always did in most matters.

Right now, though, it decided that the best thing to do was watch carefully if what they had seen in the forest came true. If Aaron looked like he was being harmed, it would pounce and at least try to give him a moment which he could use to escape.

As for abandoning him…that thought didn't even cross its mind.

Woof didn't even have to turn around to check on Aaron. It kept looking at the old man menacingly while he smiled at it, and for a while, it looked like everything was normal.

However…after a few seconds, Aaron started to shake violently.

”Rrrrow! Rrrrrrra!”

As soon as it made these sounds which typically scared weaker Teras, though, the old man simply raised his hands and said, ”He's all right. Don't panic. I don't want to hurt you. Just keep looking at him.”

It could vaguely understand what the man was saying, as, over the years, Aaron often liked to speak out even if they were alone. He had used to say that saying things out loud kept him from being afraid that he would forget this language that was in his head, which he also treated as a clue regarding his origins.

And every time he did, he would send Woof what he meant using images and thoughts so that it would understand.

So, Woof turned around partway and kept observing Aaron, and after a few more seconds, when it saw him calm down and just lie there again, it turned its eyes back toward the old man.

Chuckling, the old man pulled a chair to himself from the table nearby that was situated to allow the light from the fireplace to fall on it so that any tasks such as reading or writing could be done easily.

Sitting down and putting one leg on top of each other, he looked at Woof with a pondering expression on his face.

Woof didn't like that look. Before it could make its displeasure known, though, the man spoke up.

”You're not normal, are you? Even the advanced AA I have can't scan your Potential. There can be only one reason behind that: you have a unique mutation even among your species. But…such a mutation can make a Tera stronger or weaker. I wonder which is the case with you?”

That other statement had been simpler, so Woof had understood it. This one, though…was a bit more complex, and it had to cock its head for a few moments before understanding a few bits and pieces.

The man was basically saying that it was unique?

Well, of course it was! It was Woof, the one and only Tera that had survived for so many years even in parts of the forest where all other Teras comparable to it had perished!