Winston growled as the wolves encircled him. The beasts were huge, some of them the height of humans.

  The wolves kept howling at the dark sky above, but none made a move to attack. So Winston sat, dumbfounded as he watched them. What were they doing? He tried to sneak away while they were distracted, but he was cut off immediately.

  With his vision constrained by the dark, Winston couldn’t tell exactly how many wolves there were, but there were a dozen just in the small area that he could see. Finally, the howling stopped, but with it came an eerie silence. Winston whimpered in fear.

  The only sound to be heard was the crunching of snow as something approached. The wolves stepped back, clearing the path for the newcomer. Winston’s eyes widened as he saw it. It was a wolf just like the others, except that it was easily the size of a small car.

  [Snow Wolf - Acolyte 3]

  Was this the alpha? Winston scrambled back as it approached, but it made no move to attack. Instead, it sniffed him curiously.

  Winston closed his eyes, trying to stave off the panic. He couldn’t forget that he was powerful, too. He was Acolyte 1. He couldn’t let his fear overwhelm him, no matter how many wolves there were.

  Winston stood and growled at the massive wolf, glaring up at it. Instead of reacting, it just tilted its head and kept sniffing at Winston.

  [Passive Charm lvl 9 → Passive Charm lvl 10]

  The wolf looked at Winston for a moment longer before turning away. As the wolves filed away, Winston waited for them to all leave, but after a moment, they all stopped.

  The wolves turned and looked at him curiously as several others ran back towards Winston. Understanding dawned upon Winston as the wolves nudged him. The wolves wanted him to come with them.

  After a moment, Winston got to his feet and ran up to the rest of the pack. They seemed friendly enough, and more than anything, he was lonely. So very lonely.

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  Winston trotted along with the pack. They’d been at it for about an hour, and while it was still snowing, the blizzard had mostly passed.

  The wolves marched single file through the snow, those at the front carving a path for those behind them. Winston was near the middle, with roughly the same number of wolves before him as behind him.

  Now that light had returned, Winston saw that they weren’t as numerous as he had first thought. There were still more than twenty of them, but in his panic, he’d thought there were dozens upon dozens.

  Eventually, the pack came to a stop before a cave. A wolf that had been keeping watch by the cave mouth barked excitedly and ran up to greet the alpha.

  As they made their way into the cave, more and more wolves came up to greet them, most of them pups. As Winston watched the exchange, he tilted his head. When he’d fought the fringillades, the alpha had had ‘alpha’ in its name. The wolf before him was simply called a Snow Wolf. Was it because the wolf alpha was just a strong wolf? Was the alpha fringillade a different creature altogether?

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  Winston’s thoughts were interrupted by a tiny pup running up to him and playfully batting his leg. Winston yelped in surprise and gently tapped the pup. The little cub was far smaller than the others Winston saw in the cave. Was it the runt of the litter? The wolf yipped happily and began running in circles around the cave.

  Looking away, Winston followed after the alpha. Eventually, they arrived in a different part of the cave. All of the cave was well-lit. While it was wide, it wasn’t deep, letting in natural light.

  The new section of the cave was mostly made of dirt, with several wolves and pups curled up in it.

  The alpha looked at Winston before turning and walking to the corner, tapping its paw on the floor. Winston supposed the dirt patch would be where he slept for a while. Following the lead of another wolf, he dug and clawed at the earth until it formed a small indent that he could rest in.

  He considered resting, but he wasn’t too tired, and wanted to explore the den.

  Careful not to disturb the sleeping mothers and pups, Winston waddled out of the sleeping area and back into the main chamber. Some of the wolves eyed him curiously, but none with hostility.

  Winston knew what wolves were, but he’d never seen one before this. Why were they accepting him so easily? Was [Passive Charm] really that powerful? Winston settled down against a cave wall, trying to gather his thoughts.

  Deciding to enter his soulspace, he closed his eyes. Before so much as a moment had passed, he felt something land on his back. Barking in alarm, he spun around. It was the same scrawny pup from earlier. The little wolf yelped and batted at him with its minuscule paw. With a huff, Winston indulged it and batted back at it.

  As they played, Winston made sure to hold himself back. He doubted the pup could do anything to him, but he knew he could accidentally harm it.

  In what seemed like no time at all, Winston found himself on his side, play-fighting with several pups at once. Finally, Winston pushed them off of him, standing up and stretching. Glancing around, he found the alpha and several other wolves watching him. He tensed for a moment, but then relaxed as he realized they didn’t mind him playing with the pups. If anything, they looked amused.

  The alpha approached Winston, and the cubs scattered, chasing each other as they ran. Winston looked up at the alpha, trying not to let himself feel scared. Despite the lack of aggression, the size of the alpha was still intimidating. Winston barely reached a third of the way up the alpha’s legs.

  The massive wolf slowly lowered its head towards Winston. As the alpha’s head grew closer and closer, Winston began to tense once more. Then, the beast touched its nose to his. Winston relaxed as the alpha turned away. He was just on edge from the constant fighting since he’d arrived at the Tower.

  Winston yawned. Playing with the pups had been surprisingly tiring. Most of them were nearly the size of him, and when several of them piled up on him at once, Winston struggled to get out.

  Before he went to sleep, Winston exited the cave, looking for a place where he wouldn’t be bothered by the pups. Shivering as he waded through the snow, Winston found that the alpha was also outside. The wolf’s eyes were closed as it stared up at the sky. Giving the alpha some space, Winston moved a few dozen feet away before hopping onto a rock.

  Pulling out the stone he’d bought a couple of days prior, Winston infused it with energy and plopped it under his belly, taking in the warmth.

  [Mana Stone(Inscribed) - Uncommon]

  Winston closed his eyes and entered his soulspace. As always, he took a moment to take in the beauty of the endless fields.

  Walking up to the stone pedestal, Winston looked up at the swirling mist. He’d been killing the occasional beast as he made his way up the mountain, but it hadn’t amounted to much. Winston closed his eyes, imagining his jaws closing around the emerald green fog. Winston squeezed his eyes tight in concentration. One drop fell. Then another. Winston gritted his teeth.

  When he’d finally finished, Winston found his mind completely drained. Winston shook his body, trying to re-energize himself. Was advancing to Acolyte what caused cultivation to grow so difficult?

  Winston looked at the foundation of bricks that had been slowly building over the past few weeks. The first layer was nearly complete, with just a few blocks missing. Still, despite how familiar it felt, Winston couldn’t quite place what it was.

  When Winston opened his eyes, the alpha was gone. Picking up the warm stone sitting beneath him, he trotted back into the cave.

  As he settled down to sleep, Winston considered distributing his free points, but decided against it. It could wait until tomorrow. For now, he would sleep.

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