When Elanore descended back to the world, it was like no time passed at all. The sun was still high on the sky, and they were still in the woods near the city. Ella remembered the end of her conversation with the goddess with a shake of her head and a sigh.
"Have you ever been to these dunes?" She asked Naela.
"Yes, mistress."
Elanore looked towards Naela and gazed at the wyvern's face. She wore a distant expression. She stared blankly ahead at the trees. Elanore wondered why that was, but she also had her own thinking to do. Synnaria proved to be stranger than the vampire expected. Her mannerisms, code, and everything else was different than Elanore imagined.
Not to mention, Elanore had no idea why this place would have a universe map hidden in the desert. She wanted to bring her mom here or teleport herself to Earth somehow. She was sure that she'd be able to do it with her overpowered stats, but there was a critical mistake. There were no coordinates she knew to teleport to.
Elanore spread out her senses across the land, but the further she saw, the weirder she felt. Her mind struggled to process so many things happening at once. Yet again, no matter how strong she was, her mind lagged behind. It was the same as her feelings. Immature.
The vampire breathed a sigh again and looked at Naela before smiling. "I guess it's time for another adventure."
Naela's eyes flicked to the ground, but she gave Elanore a small smile. "Yes, mistress. We should."
Elanore felt a small twinge of pain in her chest seeing the wyvern act distant. Something had changed in a short period of time. Before, Naela was being clingy and wrapping her tail around Elanore. Now, she was staring oddly into the distance.
The vampire traipsed towards Naela and placed both of her hands on the wyvern's cheeks. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? We didn't become closer for nothing. Was it something the goddess said?"
Naela nodded faintly. "I'm okay, mistress. It's just that the conversation brought back some memories?"
Memories, huh?
It seemed that the both of them were going through their own memories at the same time. It was in times like these that Elanore realized Naela acted much younger than her true age. For someone that was supposed to be over 100 years old, she was more like a young adult.
Elanore looked at her own stat sheet, showing that she was 1500 years old. Looking at it this way, I am even less mature than Naela for my age.
Though, the vampire had no recollection of living for that many years. For one thing, it made no sense. It was all lore for her character in game, and there was no way it could be reality. She felt like 1500 years wasn't even long enough for someone on this planet to get as strong as she was.
Naela moved to Elanore and grabbed onto the vampire's hand. She showed a more genuine smile before leaning down to kiss Elanore on the cheek. "No matter what happens, I will be by your side, mistress."
Elanore smiled, and the two of them shared a brief hug. They left the city behind them, walking hand in hand. No matter what, I will always keep her by my side.
The vampire was new to relationships, but she knew her feelings for Naela were strong. Elanore wasn't the type of person that believed in love at first sight, or love at all for that matter. She never had a romantic attraction to anyone in her past life, yet here she was.
"Is the desert really that far from here?" Elanore asked.
"It would take months on foot. If we start flying, we could make it there in much less time, mistress."
Before either of them could continue the conversation, they ran into two wolves. The wolves sat in the middle of their path, blocking the way. Of course, Elanore recognized them immediately. How could she not with their three eyes? Don't tell me.
The two wolves lowered themselves towards the ground. "Great one, could you please accept us lowly creatures into your pack?"
Elanore glanced at Naela, and she saw that the wyvern was struggling to contain her laugh. The vampire breathed another sigh. They say laughter is the best medicine, and I guess, these two dogs are like clowns.
The park came back to the forefront of Elanore's mind. These wolves were just like that homeless person or the dog that she'd often seen. Both of them looked pitiful. She supposed she should have expected them to come crawling back to her after their last meeting, but she wasn't certain. The wolves looked extra silly with their enormous size. Even while laying down in front of her, their bodies were still half the size of Elanore. Naturally, when they were standing upright, they would tower over her slightly. No matter how hard she tried, Elanore couldn't find it within her to be mad at two earnest wolves.
She crossed her arms. "You want to be part of my pack, you say? But do you not remember the last command that I gave you? What happened to not using that magic?"
"My apologies, great one! But speaking needed."
Elanore gave the wolf a smug grin, until she felt a small pinch on her arm. She turned towards the cute culprit with a fake glare. Naela was shaking her head at Elanore even while smiling. Both of them knew what Elanore was going to say.
The vampire pointed her staff towards the wolves. "The two of you shall be anointed into my pack, but don't think that the job will come easy! It will not be free food and drink for everyone. Those who don't work, won't eat!"
"Yes!"
Congratulations! Your [Beast Tamer] Class has gained a level! You are now an [Adept Beast Tamer!]
And then, their transformation commenced. No matter how much Elanore wished it wasn't true, it happened.