Luck yawned as he lazily propped himself off his bed, switching off the alarm on his communicator.
Walking over to his brother's bed, he saw that the sun hadn't risen yet.
Luck lightly shook his brother, but like always, he rolled over and fell back asleep.
Luck rolled his eyes. He then leaned, whispering a set of words into his ear.
They worked like a charm.
Luke literally leapt out of bed as he glared at his brother with a mixture of contempt and fear.
Luck was indifferent to his stare as he simply motioned towards the bathroom.
Luke stared at him incredulously."It's not even morning yet!"
Luck just stared at him as if he were a fool, entering the bathroom without a word.
The message was clear: "Whether you're ready or not, I don't care."
With a sigh, Luke followed him.
Before the hour was over, they were heading downstairs. Since they had already dealt with and placed everything important in their spatial storage, they didn't need to pack.
Unsurprisingly, Dan and Vera were there, solemn-faced.
It seemed they had been waiting for the duo to show up.
Vera smiled softly at them. "My babies are going to the best school in the Southern Continent."
Luck watched silently as a lone tear slid out of her eyes and onto her cheek.
Luke wasn't idle, though. He ran to her, embracing Vera, and soon both of them started to bawl like infants.
Luck watched all of this with a deadpan expression. (Bruh.)
He briefly glanced at his father, who was standing by him. His facial expression was also hard to read. He felt all the complicated emotions that hid behind those unreadable eyes, though.
"I'm gonna miss you, Pops," Luck said lightly, causing Dan to almost jump in surprise.
He quickly regained his composure, though, "Take care, son."
Luck grinned, "That's one of the things you should never worry about when I'm concerned."
Dan smiled slightly, but he said nothing else.
Soon, Vera had moved on from Luke and was now enveloping her second son with another so strong, he was finding it troublesome to breathe.
(I guess it makes sense. We're her only children, after all.)
With much coercing done, Vera finally released Luck, albeit reluctantly, as she handed them the massive food supplies she had made to keep them company on their journey.
After staring at their parents one more time, Luck and Luke finally approached the door.
Luck paused. He took a deep breath as he grabbed the handle and slowly turned it to reveal the outside.
They made their way towards the village outskirts. Harry and the rest were also present, which baffled Luck.
If he had not seen them here, he would have gone to their houses to find them, and although that would have been annoying, to say the least, it was still somewhat confusing that they had gotten here before him.
Terra glanced at his confused face and scoffed. "What did you expect? With your personality, you would have made us play catch-up all the way to Lysarrieth."
Luck scratched his sheepishly. He had to admit: the thought had crossed his mind. His mind was still debating even as they left for the village outskirts.
"That doesn't matter. Anyway, did you guys pack everything you need?"
The party collectively rolled their eyes at Luck's blatant attempt to change the subject, but they didn't call him out.
They had other pressing matters to attend to.
Looking at the massive forest in front of them, the group's eyes hardened, determination brewing in their depths.
(This is where our journey begins.) Luck thought solemnly as they began their long trek to the city.
...
They had reached the entrance of the forest before the morning sun could fully establish its position, allowing the trees to give them much-needed protection against the burning star.
It was at this time that Luck finally decided to call out Kira.
"Awwwwwooooooo."
A monstrous howl pervaded the air as a three-metre black wolf emerged from the shadows.
Her crimson eyes shone with animalistic ferocity as the horn on her forehead throbbed with power.
"You've gotten bigger, Kira," Luck commented absently as he leapt onto her back.
Kira let out a low growl. Kira clearly showed her displeasure as she looked at Luck, as if to say: 'So that's all you noticed?'"
Luck chuckled at her antics as he petted her silken fur. It had gotten more luscious since her evolution. "Relax. Of course, I've noticed my darling Kira has gotten more beautiful."
Her tail wagged with joy, though she tried to hide it as she turned her face away from Luck. He could hear her scoffing.
"Status."
Name: Kira Raizer
Race: Wolf Bloodline: Horned Shadow Wolf
Rank: C [Low-tier] Progression: (0/500)
Class: Shadow Mage Grade: Alpha
Health: 500/500 Mana:500/500
Strength:50 Affinity: Shadow
Agility:60
Dexterity:60
Endurance:50
Intelligence:100
Vitality:100
[Skills]
[Passive Skills]
[Shadow Manipulation(Av)], [Alpha's Will(R)],
[Active Skills]
[Shadow Whip(Av)], [Evading Shadow(Av)], [Shadow Shell(R)], [Shadow Sphere (R)], [Shadow Wall(Av)], [Charge(Av)], [Horn Blast(R)}, [Stalk(R)], [Sprint(R)], [Shadow Space (R)], [Dig(Av)].
Luck whistled with pleasure as he read through Kira's status. Just like that, she had become his strongest card once again.
Luck turned around to see the rest of the party looking at the Shadow wolf with wide eyes and mouths.
"I-is that Kira?" Harry finally managed to croak out.
Luck only shrugged in response, adding to their already growing curiosity as he faced Luke.
Even in his surprise, Luke understood the message as he summoned Fenris and the other lightning wolf spirits.
Fenris had gotten noticeably bigger as his coat now had patterns of black lightning bolts running across his fur.
Without wasting a moment, the group leapt onto the wolves as they began their ride into the forest.
Their journey was mostly swift as they were able to avoid most beasts through Luck's keen Perception. The ones that did get in their way ran away from them.
Or Kira.