The Divine Wolf... or?

Chapter 152: Reunited at last!

Whilst Ark was silently resting, an eerie quiet had started to envelop the surroundings. There was nothing out of the ordinary, it was just way too quiet. This wasn't too odd though, as no one wanted to get close to this cave, considering the strength and aura of the monster that rested within.

Magical beasts had very sharp instincts, and if Ark wasn't actively trying hard to supress his aura, then the chances of other magical beasts sensing him were rather high. Nonetheless, Ark didn't care at all, since the magical beasts were able to sense him, they didn't make any sort of trouble.

Few magical beasts could contend with him in this forest after all. After waiting around for an hour or so, he could feel Atar and Ephine waltzing toward the cave. They were still in their human forms, but unlike the two of them, Ark could feel another aura a little further away. He was a little confused for a second, before he realised that they had been followed! What did this mean?

Someone was after his family! Ark didn't know the reason why someone would be after Atar and Ephine, but he wouldn't allow anyone unknown lurk around in the background, potentially with ill-intentions.

The small amount of rage he was feeling quickly grew out of control, and he couldn't rein in his aura for any longer. With the unknown presence in the distance within his sight, Ark's aura went out of control, and a stifling pressure suffused in the surroundings of Atar and Ephine.

Naturally, Atar and Ephine were both astounded by the sudden pressure, but it quickly left them alone, almost as if it intended to crush everything in its path except for them.

Since Ephine was fairly intelligent, she knew that something was not right, and that they were probably not alone, since that was the case, she threw Atar onto her shoulder and rushed into the cave as fast as she could. Even though Atar was actually faster than her, he was still young, and he had no idea about what was going on. It was for the better if she just helped him for now.

Ark felt a little relieved when they had run into the cave, as it was far easier for him to defend them here, sure, there were less escape routes, but considering the strength of the enemy, Ark didn't believe there was a need to run.

When Ark's full aura enveloped the shady figure in the distance, he could feel something, much like a spark igniting. The stifling pressure that would be enough to make most people kneel was being pushed back a little, as a familiar aura surged from the figure. The familiar was unruly and fierce, not willing to lose out in this exchange. This aura… Ark had only felt it from a single person before.

Before he could react, the figure that had been hiding for this entire exchange took a step out of the shadows, and a couple of sunrays hit his face as a result. The sight of a dwarf that had seen better days was now standing in front of the cave, staring into its dark depths. This was Thufrat!

The stifling pressure he had felt just then, and the familiar aura… only a single person could make him feel like that! Since he knew that Ark wasn't alone, he didn't enter the cave out of respect, he just stood outside and waited gleefully.  Ark wasn't much different from Thufrat, and his face was full of glee.

He had intended to look for Thufrat sooner or later, but he didn't expect Thufrat to find him first, in the middle of this random forest as well.

With that said, Ark didn't wait for long at all, instead he instantly turned into his human form, and rushed out of the cave. Once outside, he didn't even get to say hi before Thufrat gave him a bear hug, but due to his short height, it looked quite funny. Naturally Thufrat was very strong, and he just lifted Ark up and spun him around a little while laughing heartily.

From an outsider's perspective, it probably looked quite humorous, but Thufrat was just happy upon seeing his friend once again, and he couldn't care less about how they looked.

Even though Ark was a little surprised by this sudden hug, he just found it funny, and he was happy that he was reunited with his best friend once again.

Laughter echoed throughout the forest, and anyone sane enough to think straight didn't want to get close to such loud laughter in the middle of a forest filled with magical beasts, most people that were close enough to hear it just assumed that it was someone who had gone insane. Nevertheless, the most shocked people were Atar and Ephine.

They had no idea who this short man was, and they didn't know why he was that short either.

Growing up in this forest, neither of them had seen a dwarf before, not even Ephine had heard of one. The hug lasted for a second or two before Thufrat let go, although he kept laughing for quite some time. "It's been a while buddy, how did you manage to find me in this random forest?"

"Ah, I heard about a peculiar elemental wolf in this forest, and when I came here, I just looked around for a couple of days, before I ran into those two." Thufrat pointed at Ephine and Atar, still a little unsure of their identities.

Ark was kind of surprised, why had he decided to follow Atar and Ephine all of a sudden? Before he could ask, Thufrat had already started talking again. "I sensed a familiar aura around them, and so I decided to tail them for a little while, and it seemed that my intuition was the right thing to follow in the end!" When he finished speaking, Thufrat laughed heartily once more.

He was truly happy for once. He had been separated from Ark for too long, and he really needed someone to talk to.

Since Ark knew that Thufrat wouldn't just come here to say hi, he decided to introduce Ephine and Atar, he didn't want their relationship to be awkward and weird, this was his friend after all, someone they could trust.

Even though Ark knew that he might've been a little too quick to put his trust in Thufrat in the beginning of their friendship, now that they had known each other for a while, Ark knew that Thufrat was a trustworthy comrade, someone who had been with him through thick and thin.

Ark nodded at Atar and Ephine, and they both stepped forward as a result, inspecting Thufrat closely and curiously. "The name's Thufrat, hope we can get along." Since neither of them were introducing themselves, Thufrat decided to break the ice.

"My name is Ephine, nice to meet you Thufrat!"

Atar was a little reluctant at first, but upon seeing both Ark's and Ephine's expectant gazes, he just decided to do it. "Hello, my name is Atar…"

His voice was a little quiet, but Thufrat was able to make out what his name was, and he understood that the kid was probably just nervous. Seeing everyone introduce themselves, Ark smiled to himself.