A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 262: Chapter 262 - Loose ends [2/2]

Before Erik left, Elora waved her hand and a dark green flash of light conjured some clothes onto him. "I'll join you in a bit," she smiled.

At the same time, Erik passed his armor in the corner, and pulled something out of its storage space.

When he stood outside the room, he held a memory stone in his hand. This one was yellow, a different color from the one that delivered Björn's message to his daughter. The color didn't actually mean anything, Erik simply didn't want her to get them confused.

He walked towards Alice's room while squeezing the stone in his wrist and closing his eyes in concentration. A flash of yellow passed through his fingers, and when he reached Alice's door, he opened his eyes again and knocked on it.

The door almost flew open, and an excited Alice was on the other side, ready to go. "Teacher! Is it time to get started?!"

"Yes, Alice, it is," Erik chuckled. "But remember, advancing is a marathon, not a sprint, alright?"

"Yes, teacher!" she quickly curbed her excited expression, furrowed her brows, and pursed her lips. Yet, her eyes still sparkled with impatience.

'Cute,' Erik inwardly laughed softly while grinning slightly.

"Alright, take this," he said while handing her the yellow memory stone. "I've put your schedule on there, as well as several tips, tricks, and exercises. Now follow me!"

Alice eagerly took the stone, knowing what it was, albeit a little surprised it could be used in this manner as well.

Erik than took off towards the training room, and Alice quickly followed, allowing her excitement to slip back into her expression now that Erik's back was turned.

When they reached the training room, Erik began teaching Alice all the basics from his experience as a Runebound. He also told her about his intentions to focus on his fusion for a while, which would mean minimal breaks or time for anything else.

That dismayed her a little, of course, but luckily, the memory stone was packed to the brim with information and her schedule was clear, so she didn't mind too much.

Besides, Astrid would still be able to answer some of her questions as well.

Speaking of Astrid, the strawberry blond vampire entered the training room about an hour later, pointing at Erik with part excitement and part fury. "It's time to pay for your misdeeds from last night, Erik! Prepare to call me big sister!"

After waking up with the memories from last night, her embarrassment was high and she intended to vent her frustrations on Erik.

"Misdeeds?" Alice wondered out loud while tilting her head curiously. She was currently sitting on the ground and resting a little.

Erik almost choked, before laughing sheepishly. "It's nothing, Alice. Keep going, alright? I'll have a quick spar with your big sister Astrid before beginning my fusion."

Alice may be far more mature than others her age in some matters, but she still had her gaps. So she simply nodded and stood up again, before continuing her exercises.

Erik wanted her to focus on her foundation for a while, especially due to her younger body, and thus had forbidden her from exploring her rune for now.

Not to mention that she still didn't even know what her first ability was.

Seeing her simple acceptance, Erik sighed in relief and turned around to look at Astrid accusingly. The vampire, however, didn't care, and could barely contain her laughter.

Rolling his eyes and mumbling something under his breath, Erik beckoned for Astrid to follow him to the area in the middle, designed as a heavily protected fighting stage. Several sigils and other measures were in place to ensure the survival of all combatants, the stage itself, and the surrounding room. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin.net

When they stood opposite each other on the stage, Erik tauntingly beckoned Astrid forward. "Come on then, Astrid," he grinned malevolently. "Show me how you're going to make me call you big sister."

"Gladly!" Astrid growled with excitement. The ring on her finger flashed, and two swords suddenly appeared in her hands. The same swords Erik had created for her.

At the same time, Erik transformed into his wolf form and brandished his claws. Luckily, Elora's conjured clothing quickly adjusting to his new shape.

His hammer was still in his armor, and his claws were arguably better against an agile dual wielder like Astrid anyway.

So they charged each other, both wearing excited grins full of fighting intent. Erik howled, Astrid roared. Swords clashed against claw, but a groaning Astrid was quickly pushed back.

Despite currently missing Elora's physical essence Erik still easily won in a contest of strength. At least while in his wolf form.

The main problem was his lacking speed and agility. A werewolf originally was sort of a jack-of-all-trades when it came to physical stats, but while the raiju bloodline leaned more towards strength, the winter wolf bloodline leaned more towards endurance.

So, an agility and speed focused vampire like Astrid was still faster than him.

A fact that Astrid quickly started using to her advantage by starting to dance around him.

Their fight raged on for a while. Many small wounds appeared on Erik's body, but they were shallow and barely slowed him down. Meanwhile, Astrid received heavy blows each time Erik actually managed to hit her.

She never stopped, however, and the smile never left her lips.

This is what she loved. Fighting for the fun of it, without any real stakes or danger.

After an hour of fighting, Erik panted a little, and some blood caked to his fur. His body hurt, but he stood upright, seemingly none the worse for wear.

Meanwhile, Astrid was panting heavily, and down on one knee. Her body was marred with many cuts, bruises, and dried blood while she stared defiantly at Erik with a wide, bloody grin.

"F— Fine…! Yo— You win again! Bu— But I'll g— get yo…" before she could finish, she started keeling over, and Erik quickly caught her with a chuckle.

"Alright, Astrid. Let's get you back into bed for some rest," he said while leaving the stage. Astrid was still awake, and smiled a little as she snuggled into Erik's chest.

At the same time, a white light flashed, and both Erik and Astrid had their wounds restored by the sigils encircling that place.

Or, at least, their external wounds. Internal wounds would take longer to heal, and exhaustion stayed as well.

Meanwhile, Erik directed a stern gaze at Alice, who had abandoned her training to watch the fight long ago. Sheepishly, the girl quickly went back to training.

After putting Astrid in her bed with a soft kiss, Erik went to his own bed as well, to grab Elora and get a few hours of rest before starting his fusion.