After thinking for a moment, he took a deep breath, walked over to the wolf, and squatted down in front of it.
Extending his hand, he gently and carefully caressed its forehead and asked, "Can you hear me?"
The wolf didn't react.
'Is it already dead?' He thought before shaking his head. If it had died, the system would have notified him of the mission failure. Since it did not, the wolf was still alive.
"Do you want to live?" He asked.
He didn't know if it was capable of understanding human language; heck, he wasn't sure if it could hear him at all in its current condition, but he had no choice but to try his luck.
The wolf's eyelids twitched a little before it slowly opened its eyes, which had become a lot dimmer than moments ago.
Seeing this, Vesper sighed in relief and hurriedly said, "If you agree to become my contracted beast… I can help you and save your life."
The wolf looked at him in silence, making him think about whether he could really understand it or not.
But a moment later, he watched as the wolf slowly blinked its eyes as if agreeing.
Immediately, the system screen appeared in front of him again.
[2-star Silver Moon Wolf agrees to become your tamed beast.]
[Exchange a drop of your blood with its blood to complete the bonding ritual.]
'Huh? It worked.' He thought in surprise before trying to bite his finger to take out a drop of blood, but…
"Ah!" He cried out in pain. His teeth only caused him pain but were unable to cut his skin.
'Damn it. Not all things I saw or read in fantasy movies and novels are true, huh?'
He looked around for something sharp, but he didn't see anything.
In the end, his gaze landed on the wolf's mouth, where he could see one of its sharp fangs.
Since it had already agreed to be his contracted beast, he was sure it wouldn't harm him. So, without any hesitation or fear, he slit his finger with its fang while wincing in pain.
Then, he squeezed his finger, allowing his blood to drop into its mouth before scooping some blood from the bleeding wound on its neck and licking it off.
The moment the wolf's blood went down his throat, he felt a burning sensation envelop his body.
"Ahn~"
Instead of being painful, the sensation was so comfortable and soothing that he couldn't help but let out a moan.
Just like him, the wolf also seemed to feel the same as its body writhed.
A few moments later, the system screen flashed with messages.
[Congratulations! You've bonded with your first beast, Silver Moon Wolf. You can now access her status.]
[Congratulations! You've completed the mission: Tame her and save her life.]
[You can now access the Beast Space and store your tamed beast inside.]
[Congratulations! You've unlocked system inventory.]
[The reward, Basic Beast Energy Cultivation Technique, has been stored in your system inventory.]
'Hm? I have already saved its life?' Vesper raised his brows in confusion. Though its, no, her eyes had become a little brighter, he didn't notice any change in her condition.
"..."
The system didn't give any response.
Since it didn't bother to explain, he shrugged and stopped thinking about it.
"Alright. How do I store her in Beast Space? Do I just touch her and think about doing it?" He asked. Though her life was saved now, given the extent of her injuries, if he didn't send her into Beast Space, where she could heal at an accelerated rate, she could still die—or at least that's what he believed.
He thought the system was going to ignore him this time too, but fortunately, it responded.
[Yes.] The system curtly responded.
Nodding, he put a hand on the wolf's head and muttered, "Next time we meet, you will be healthy again. Let's get along well."
The wolf gazed at him and lightly nodded her head.
Zoop!
Immediately after that, she vanished into thin air, entering the Beast Space.
Phew!
Exhaling a deep breath, he willed the system to show his status screen.
[Name: Vesper Ironhart]
>Age: 20
>Species: Human
>Cultivation: None
>Bloodline: None
>Beast Energy: 0.
>Tamed Beast: 1
>>Physical Stats
>Strength: 7
>Endurance: 9
>Agility: 8
>Vitality: 5
>Defense: 6
As he focused on the [Tamed Beast] section, the Silver Wolf's information appeared in front of him.
[Tamed Beast: Silver Moon Wolf (Female)]
>Species: Wolf
>Cultivation Level: 2-star
>Bloodline: Silver Moon bloodline (Grade Two)
>Innate Abilities: Unrelenting Chase, Super Senses, Berserk Howl, Crescent Moon Slash.
Current Status: Severely injured.
When he saw her cultivation level, his lips curled up into an excited grin.
"With her by my side, I don't need to worry about my survival in the Ironhart family. I just need to wait until she is fully recovered."
Nodding in satisfaction, he was about to close the system screen and check out the system inventory and the Cultivation Technique he got when the system screen flickered and the text changed.
[Congratulations! As a bonus for taming your first beast, you have been rewarded with one of your beast's traits—Pack Leader.]
"Hm?" Vesper raised his brows in surprise when he read this before focusing on the newly received Trait.
[Pack Leader: You are the leader of your pack. You have full authority over your pack, but you are also responsible for them. Charisma +10%]
Reading the description, he sighed and complained. "Couldn't you have given me something more useful, maybe her natural speed or one of her innate abilities?"
The system didn't respond, which made him shake his head. 'Well, at least 10% increase in charisma is good.'
He then got ready to leave the forest, but right then…
Clang! Rustle! Clang!
The sounds of hooves clattering and leaves rustling sounded, coming in his direction.
Before he could react, a group of three—two males and one female—riding on horses appeared in front of him. All three were young, around 20 years old.
The man in the lead glanced at the blood puddle near Vesper's feet before looking around with a frown on his face. After that, he turned his gaze toward Vesper and asked,
"Where is it?"