Chapter 152: Wolf Pup

"Ugh!"

Accompanied by a muffled groan of pain, Grasshopper's avatar in the party list quickly darkened, and Master Red abruptly whipped his head around.

The dwarf rogue Grasshopper, who had been tasked with retrieving the monk's loot and had already crossed the great hall to rendezvous on this side, was now sprawled motionless in the mire. Three feathered arrows protruding diagonally from his back bore silent testimony to his demise.

Over a dozen meters away behind him, Lu Kuan stood quietly among the temple ruins, a red name floating above his head, his lightweight cloak fluttering in the breeze. From afar, he raised his middle finger at them.

The members of the Flame Sword looked somewhat dazed, subconsciously glancing at Lu Kuan and then back at their captain.

What was going on? Could this Ranger possibly know stealth? They had just scoured the surrounding area thoroughly!

Master Red narrowed his eyes at the human Ranger in the distance, his expression grim. The two stared each other down across the space until Lu Kuan waved casually, turned around, and sprinted away, eventually vanishing into the jungle without Master Red issuing any further commands.

"Captain...?" Someone couldn't help but speak up.

"Regroup the team, head to the other side of the river, and prepare to rendezvous with the boss's people," Master Red said in a flat tone.

"Why aren't we chasing him? Are we just going to let this punk go like that?" someone asked anxiously.

Master Red shook his head and said, word by word, "With what are we going to chase him? The last rogue in the party is dead. Did you learn tracking? Or is your speed greater than Old Deer's?"

With this single question from Master Red, the remaining few instantly fell silent.

Indeed, their relentless pursuit and interception of Old Deer all the way here relied entirely on the rogues. In a professional guild like the Flame Sword, every player's skill point allocation was strictly planned.

For instance, the rogues undertook the team's pathfinding, scouting, and tracking duties, so their skill points were heavily invested in related abilities, leaving their teammates with more points to spare for boosting damage or defense.

At this thought, someone in the party muttered, "Could he have foreseen this and deliberately showed his face twice just to take out the rogue?"

Hearing this, everyone shuddered, a chill creeping up their spines.

Someone forced a awkward laugh and said, "No way, you're overthinking it... It's true the kid has good gear, and with agility that high, who could catch him anyway?"

Master Red offered no opinion. Unseen by the others, his grip on his twin axes tightened until his knuckles turned faintly white.

...

After leaving the temple ruins, Lu Kuan crossed the river without mishap and reached within a ten-mile radius of White Water Village. Instead of rushing back to the town, he circled around for a bit, killing monsters to clear the red hostility tag from his name.

During this time, Lu Kuan carefully checked his quest log and discovered that he had managed to hold out in the great hall for just over twenty-three minutes—three minutes longer than that legendary expert from his past life.

Only then did Lu Kuan breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, passing this phase of the quest was no longer an issue.

Half an hour later, having successfully washed away his red name, Lu Kuan used a town portal scroll.

Inside White Water Village, outside the temple of Pelor, a rogue player stood guard beside the old man, looking with bored indifference at the novice players coming and going. But the moment he saw Lu Kuan walking over, the rogue's expression instantly darkened.

Lu Kuan directly ignored this member of the Flame Sword and approached the old man.

"Old sir, I'm back," Lu Kuan greeted him with his previous courtesy, holding the golden candelabrum retrieved from the temple in both hands and respectfully handing it over.

The old man, who had maintained a look of utter listlessness, lit up the moment he saw the candelabrum.

"Quite promising, young man~"

The old man fondled the candelabrum for a moment before handing it back to Lu Kuan, asking lazily, "What do you want to know?"

Lu Kuan smiled and politely replied, "I'm very interested in the matters concerning the giant wolf Dom. How did things turn out after its battle with the giant dragon back then?"

"Answer me one question, and I'll tell you."

The old man looked Lu Kuan up and down carefully instead of answering, then asked with profound significance, "A benevolent demon and a fallen angel—if only one can survive, how would you choose?"

The moment the old man's voice faded, a countdown system prompt appeared in front of Lu Kuan. He had to reply to the elder's question within twenty seconds, or it would be counted as an abstention.

Lu Kuan pondered briefly and stated directly, "What race someone belongs to doesn't matter. As long as they yearn for the light and stand on the opposite side of the darkness, even if they're a demon, what's wrong with being friends with them?"

Lu Kuan's answer could be described as quite daring, because this was right outside the temple of Pelor, the Sun God, and the question was posed by an unidentified old man!

One had to know that Pelor was the eternal enemy of all darkness and evil in the world, particularly loathing evil creatures like demons and the undead.

"Heh heh, somewhat interesting~"

The elder revealed a smile of ambiguous meaning and nodded. It was unclear whether he approved or disapproved, and after a moment of silence, he waved his hand at Lu Kuan.

Lu Kuan was startled, failing to understand what the other party meant. Just as he was about to ask again, he heard a faint whimper come from inside the temple, and a black figure darted out "whoosh" from the doorway, running straight to the old man's side.

Lu Kuan was first startled, followed instantly by a surge of wild elation: It's him!

Crouched at the old man's feet was an underage wolf pup, about a meter in length. Its fur was half grey downy hair and half dark cyan long hair, clearly in the midst of transitioning from a cub to a juvenile.

Unlike ordinary wolves one usually encountered, though this wolf pup possessed a physical form, its entire body gave an illusion of transparency. Deep cyan, ethereal light slowly rippled across the young beast's entire body, dazzlingly brilliant!

Moreover, right in the center of the top of its head was a cute little grey horn—short, sharp, and curved, overflowing with cuteness.

"Back then, the giant wolf Dom fought the giant dragon and plummeted to the earth. The approximate location is the Nightfall Crater," the old man said slowly, affectionately stroking the wolf pup's spine. "I chanced upon this little wolf pup there. If you want to know more stories about the dragon hunters, let it guide you there. Dimi, go~"

With that, the elder patted the wolf pup's head, and the wolf pup obediently trotted over to Lu Kuan's feet. However, its attitude was quite aloof, keeping its head held high as it squatted there, paying Lu Kuan no mind at all.

"System Prompt: Diahil has become your temporary animal companion."

As the system prompt flashed before his eyes, Lu Kuan took a deep breath, squatted down to stroke the wolf pup's neck, and its attributes instantly appeared in his field of vision.

"Diahil, Son of the Dragon Hunter (A+, Mutated, Unique in the World)"
Level: 10
Category: Beast, Demon
Attributes: Shadow, Frost
Health: 460/460
Strength 10.9, Agility 14.4, Constitution 9.8, Intuition 8.7, Intelligence 6, Charisma 9.8
Growth Rate: 0.887 + 0.1 (Mutation Bonus)
Resistances: Shadow 110, Fire 60, Poison 60, Frost 110, Acid 60
Skills:
Half-Demon Bloodline (Innate Skill, Level 1): Shadow and Frost resistance +50, Dark vision range +100%, Strength +10%, Agility +10%. Upgrading the skill increases resistance bonuses.
Shadow Instinct (Innate Skill): Unlocked
Demonic Frenzy (Innate Skill, Unupgradeable): Unlocked
Transcendent Twin (Mutated Bonus Skill, Unique, Unupgradeable): Unlocked
Call of the Wolf Pack Lord (S+ Pet Exclusive Skill, Unique): Unlocked