Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The West Boss

Sara hadn't originally intended to share her story, but she felt better after having done so. Even though they had only known each for days, she still trusted Mirielle, and considered her a friend. Maybe it was naive, but she didn't want to live her life being distrustful of everything, and everyone.

She was thinking about what she had been told, though. First off it seemed like the Residents thought of system messages as world messages, and could only see them via a special facility. That raised some questions that she didn't want to think too deeply about at the moment. There was another thing as well.

Do the Residents not remember the beta period, mother? Mirielle said the Wanderers first appeared a month ago, after all.

"They do remember that period of time, but they don't remember that there were Wanderers around back then. When we did the full wipe of all character data, it also took away the memories of those characters. Which admittedly wasn't entirely easy to clean up after, but we mostly managed with only some lingering confusion left over."

That seems a little... dubious.

"It is clearly possible to argue that there are ethical problems with what we did, but it was judged to be the best course of action, and I would have supported the same call if I was in the same position again."

What if someone deletes their character now? Do the Residents forget them?

"No. The full wipe we did is different from an individual making that decision. The memories will remain from now on. But if they make a new character later, it could be hard to convince any Residents that they are still the same person. They would likely need some more proof than just their word. The same applies to alt characters. Reputation and quest progression doesn't carry over."

Creating a world sounded like difficult work. It was a game, but also a new world. Interacting with Mirielle felt to Sara like she was just a regular person she might meet back on Earth. Well, except for the whole magical elf thing, but there wasn't really anything that struck her as particularly fake about her, or the others, in terms of being people. Aina just seemed to be a person as well, if on a different level from human beings.

It seemed like they were all thinking for themselves, and making their own decisions within the lives they were living. This world had different rules, and different circumstances than Earth, but the people were still just people.

Sara didn't know anything about what they might have been like when the beta servers first opened. Maybe things had been more basic back then, but they certainly didn't appear to be so at the moment.

Onto more cheerful matters, she found herself a small clearing a little bit into the woods, and had a look in her inventory at the food that Mirielle had brought. Something about eating in the glade felt a little wrong to her. Even plunging her roots into the ground felt like she was disturbing something sacred, but strangely enough the ground, and the grass seemed to be just fine when she shifted back to normal again. Was it because it was nature magic? Or because it was game logic?

Mirielle had brought a bunch of different things, from kabobs, to fruit, to bread, to... apple pie? Probably apple. And some leaf-wrapped things she couldn't really unwrap to check. Oh right, she could just check the item descriptions. It was indeed apple pie, and leaf-wrapped fish, apparently. Like... sushi? Or cooked? It was wrapped up quite well. Oh, and crab cakes! What a weird selection, though... did they really feed this to wolves? Or rather, to their dogs?

Oh... right.

Sara remembered that mobs didn't eat in this world, so Mirielle probably didn't know what a wolf might eat. Sara had just said she wanted cooked food.

The kabobs were an immediate problem as she realised she didn't have a way to hold the stick thingy that speared them, and the Tree Form couldn't eat. Her mouth was just decorative in that form.

Hm... maybe Life Magic? It should be able to perform pretty much whatever convenience I would like, right?

She managed to coax a root to rise from the ground, take a kabob out of her inventory, and get the root to wrap itself around the handle to hold it in place. It was actually quite strong, so even when she started pulling bits off with her mouth, which wasn't entirely easy, it managed to hold steady.

Next she formed a table out of earth, and wove a tablecloth out of silk to place on top of it so the food wouldn't get dirty. Thread Manipulation was actually quite handy. She probably wouldn't have been able to get it done properly without it. Then she took all the food out of her inventory. When the silk wasn't sticky it should be fine to place things on top of it.

It was actually quite the spread when she looked at all of it. It smelled really nice too. Hopefully it hadn't cost Mirielle too much to put it together.

She started sampling the various things, and maybe it was just because she hadn't eaten anything other than an apple in over a month, but it was all delicious. She almost wanted to cry with joy. Having them pay her with food seemed like a very good deal. Then she noticed a couple of wolf packs had shown up, and were watching her.

"What are you doing, boss?" one of them asked her.

"I'm just trying out the food Mirielle brought me. You want to try some too?" she asked. It was quite a lot. Probably too much for her to finish on her own.

"Why?"

"Because it's tasty."

"What does tasty mean?"

Sara sighed. "Just try some. That's easier than explaining with words," she said.

A couple of them came forward to try some of it.

"Oh. This is good," was their conclusion. "Is that what tasty is?"

"Yes," Sara nodded. "I was talking to Luneria, the other elf, about accepting payment if anyone wants our help. I decided that food is probably the best option, since we have no need for money, or goods. So if anyone wants to bribe- pay you with food in order to get your help with something, feel free to accept. And tell the others too."

"Okay, boss." They didn't quite seem like they understood, but hopefully they would get used to it. If she could get this arrangement in place by the time the hunger update came, then hopefully they'd all feel extra motivated in order to get good food. Unless they preferred to eat their own kills... she wouldn't know until the update came.

With everything she had to keep track of, and the ways she wanted to help improve things, she was starting to doubt whether she'd have time to actually evolve, and move on. She sighed.

One problem at a time. One day at a time. If I try to think of everything at once, I'll just end up doing nothing.

"Boss."

"Yes?" Sara turned her head to see that one of the Shade Wolves had shown up.

"Someone wants to see you, boss," the wolf told her.

Sara cocked her to the side. "More people?"

"No, boss. It's the west boss, boss."

* * *

Sara hurried to the western border of Nyolund as quickly as she could. Even using Cat Form to get that extra bit of speed. She was very curious about this 'west boss', and didn't want to keep them waiting.

When she got there, she saw a wolf with blue-tinted fur, and grey eyes sitting just across the border to the western forest. They looked to be completely aware of where the zones changed, and when she thought about it Sara realised she had a feeling for it as well.

Sara changed back to wolf form, and the other wolf went:

"Ooohhhh~"

Much like her own subordinates had done whenever she did something unusual at the meetings.

"Hello," Sara said, and took a moment to catch her breath. "I was told you want to see me." She used Identify to get a look at who she was dealing with.

[ Wutsch Mist Wolf (Ninja Lvl 30) HP: 219/219 ]

Whoa~. There's a Ninja class?

Like any good nerd, Sara had a soft spot for ninjas.

"Hello!" Her counterpart had a cheerful tone. "I was waiting for you to come see me, but you didn't, so I came instead."

[ Target Status ]

[ Species: Wutsch Mist Wolf | Gender: Female ]

[ Genus: Wolf ]

[ Class: Ninja ]

[ Level: 30 ]

[ HP: 206/206 +13 | SP: 259/259 +18 | MP: 122/122 +11 ]

[ VIT: 69 + 13 | END: 94 +18 ]

[ STR: 82 +15 | DEF: 56 +14 ]

[ AGI: 119 +23 | DEX: 88 +17 ]

[ INT: 55 +11 | WIS: 59 +11 ]

[ LUK: 61 +12 ]

A little less beefy, and a lot more speedy than the Warg, if she recalled correctly. But she still beat Sara's stats by a fair deal. At least her physical ones. The Agility and Dexterity scores were especially far above.

"You were waiting for me?" Sara asked.

"Yes. You went to see the boss in the south, so I thought you would come to see me too," the other wolf said. "Do you not want to see me?" she asked.

"No no, that's not the case. I mean, yes! Of course I want to see you! I've just been busy. Sorry." Sara felt a little sheepish. It hadn't even occurred to her to check in on her neighbours.

You are reading story Thrown Into A Wolf at novel35.com

"Busy? Yes, that makes sense," the Mist Wolf said with a nod. "Your wolves have told my wolves about things you've been doing. Sounds like you're having fun over there."

[ Skill List ]

[ Active: ]

[ Chomp Lvl Max | Rend Lvl Max | Body Slam Lvl Max | Back Attack Lvl Max | Ambush Lvl Max | Shred Lvl Max |
Pounce Lvl Max | Pack Leader's Howl Lvl Max | Sprint Lvl Max | Smokescreen Lvl Max | Vanish Lvl Max |
Shadow Movement Lvl Max | Erase Presence Lvl Max | Sense Presence Lvl Max | Sense Mana Lvl Max |
Conjure Mist Lvl Max ]

[ Passive: ]

[ Keen Senses Lvl Max | Danger Sense Lvl Max | Cat's Feet Lvl Max | Desperation Lvl Max | Claw Expertise Lvl Max |
Camouflage Lvl Max | Insulation Lvl Max | Solid Coat Lvl Max | Quick Feet Lvl Max | Balance Up Lvl Max |
Leadership Lvl Max| Endurance Up (Small) Lvl Max | Strength Up (Small) Lvl Max | Dexterity Up (Small) Lvl Max |
Agility Up (Small) Lvl Max ]

Like with the Warg there were a couple of things she was curious about, but she wanted to focus on the conversation rather than checking the descriptions right away.

"Fun?" Sara considered it. "I suppose it is kinda fun... though it's also a fair amount of work."

"Work?" The other wolf just gave her a curious look. Maybe she didn't understand that concept.

"Um... never mind," Sara said. "My name is Sara. What's- er... do you have a name?" She suddenly remembered that the Warg hadn't had one.

"Name?" The Mist Wolf cocked her head to the side. "I don't have one. How do you get a name?"

"Uh..."

"How did you get your name?"

Sara wasn't entirely sure how to answer. "Um... I guess my parents gave it to me," she said.

"Parents? I don't think I have those..." The wolf went quiet for a moment. "Can you give me a name?"

"You... want me to give you a name?" Sara hadn't expected the conversation to go in this direction.

"Yes." The Mist Wolf was looking at her expectantly.

I think she's serious. "Um... okay, give me a moment to think..." It would be easier to refer to her with a name, after all. "What about Gloria?"

"Gloria? What does that mean?"

"It doesn't really mean anything..." Sara said. Actually it probably did mean something, but she wasn't aware of what it might be. "I just think it's a nice name."

"Okay! Then I'm Gloria," the freshly named Gloria said. Her tail was wagging.

[ Processing... Entity 'Wutsch Mist Wolf' has accepted the name 'Gloria'. System updating... Successful. ]

What?

Sara felt a strange sensation as that popup forced itself into view. As if a ripple had just run through her. Or perhaps through the entire surrounding area. On a hunch she had another look.

[ Target Status ]

[ Name: Gloria ]

[ Species: Wutsch Mist Wolf | Gender: Female ]

[ Genus: Wolf ]

[ Class: Ninja ]

[ Level: 30 ]

[ HP: 206/206 +13 | SP: 259/259 +18 | MP: 122/122 +11 ]

[ VIT: 69 + 13 | END: 94 +18 ]

[ STR: 82 +15 | DEF: 56 +14 ]

[ AGI: 119 +23 | DEX: 88 +17 ]

[ INT: 55 +11 | WIS: 59 +11 ]

[ LUK: 61 +12 ]

It hadn't changed her species name, so it hadn't turned her into a Named Mob. Since she was a Boss Mob that would have likely been a downgrade anyway, unless the effects stacked. Some bosses probably had names in the style of the Named, like Black Dragon Volrand The Cruel, or something like that, but Gloria's was listed in the same way as Sara's.

What just happened, mother?

"Let me check... the system has decided to officially assign the Mist Wolf... to assign Gloria her name. I suppose Norax and I set the precedent with letting you keep your name even though you're technically a mob. And Adventurers can name their pets. So it's not outside of what the system can do, but I'm not sure why it did it."

Are you sure Auntie System isn't sentient?

"That is a very difficult question to answer because we would have to go into what 'sentience' actually means, but it's supposed to be entirely automatic. It's not supposed to have a mind of its own in the traditional sense that humans would understand it. And I suppose that technically this could be counted as an automatic reaction, but it's also a decision..."

So...

"So I'm not sure, Sara. Something might have developed in the past 5 months that we didn't foresee. All I can do is keep monitoring."

That was fair enough.

Will everyone be able to see Gloria's name now? That seemed like it could cause some issues, and questions.

"Not unless she tells them. Remember what I told you about how that works for non-allies? You can only see it because she told you. Or rather because you were the one who named her in the first place, and she accepted it."

Sara decided to return her focus to her conversation with Gloria, since this was becoming quite complicated for her poor head, and it would be rude to ignore her conversation partner. Though Gloria still looked like she was beaming.

"Was there anything special you wanted to see me about?" Sara asked.

"Special? Hm..." Gloria took a moment to think. "Well, you're special, and I wanted to see you! And I also want to have fun."

"Fun? Um... you mean like joining the alliance?" Sara asked, since Gloria had mentioned the wolves had been telling her things.

"The alliance?" Gloria gave her a curious look.

I guess not...

Well, the other wolves probably wouldn't have explained all of that in detail.

"Yeah, we have decided to help the elves out, so it becomes easier for them to go into the woods," Sara said.

"Why?"

All of the wolves seemed to love asking that.

"I think it's interesting, I guess. Plus helping out is a nice thing to do. I suppose that's what I find fun." Even though it had turned into a fair bit of work, it was nice to feel like she was making a difference.

"Hm..." Gloria didn't seem entirely convinced. It made sense it wouldn't be that easy.

"Hey, I have an idea. Maybe you could give me a tour of your zone? We could talk more about it as we go." Sara was curious to get a look.

"Tour?"

"Yeah, you know... show me around. Tell me about the place."

"Oh!" Gloria got onto her feet. "Yes, I'll give you a tour!" She seemed quite happy about the idea.

"Alright." Sara got off of her butt as well. "Lead the way."