"Absorption completed.
Soulforce absorbed: 969k/969k."
A cold breeze kissed my face as I opened my eyes.
"Oh boy, it's been so long since I had this feeling," I announced as I stared at the eternal night sky of the Forest of Gumiho. "I'm finally back—"
"Th...thank goodness," Nyria wept, hugging tightly.
"Pretty lady, you alright?"
"I should be the one—sob...sob—asking that. You shouted sothing about dying and then—sob...sob—your whole body turned purple like those cursed beasts," she murmured between gasps. "I thought... I was going to lose you again."
"Again?" I thought inwardly but decided not to ask her and accepted her embrace, gently touching the back of her head.
"Don't worry, pretty lady. I'm not going to die that easily."
She remained like that for a few minutes before finally letting go.
"Congratulations!! You have completed the Subquest.
Subquest:
→ Free Gumiho from her agony by absorbing the cursed Soulforce: completed
[Claim the reward]"
A proud smirk appeared on my face as I declared, "Vyaghra, your goddess is safe now."
Vyaghra and Jambavan's eyes lit up the mont they heard my announcent. Both of them bolted toward us simultaneously.
Gumiho's body had stopped disintegrating and turned into a small one-tailed pink fox barely the size of a cat.
She was sleeping without a care in the world, so I picked her up gently. She buried her mouth in my chest and fell asleep again, clutching my chest with her little paws.
Vyaghra didn't ask how I saved her or why she had taken this form. The only thing that mattered to him was that his Queen was no longer in danger.
"You have my utmost gratitude, Raj," Vyaghra bowed his head, his tone laced with gratitude and guilt. "Please forgive for my earlier insolence."
"Sigh, I don't know, man," I shrugged my shoulders. "I risked my life to cure you, and the first thing you did after getting better was put your claws on my neck. Then you asked to help your Queen; I did that as well, and what did you do? You punched the heck out of ." I wiped a fake tear from my eye as I declared, "I've only been suffering and getting nothing in return."
"Raj's right, Vyaghra. Yer exhortin' the poor kid," Jambavan said, adding pressure.
"Due to my worries for the Queen, I have been ignorant and didn't treat you justly," Vyaghra replied. "Is there anything you wish to have, Raj?"
I placed my hand on my mouth, hiding my obviously visible smirk beneath it, and mumbled, "No idea, buddy. You tell if there's sothing you possess that can be deed worthy of my accomplishnts."
Vyaghra sighed dejectedly. "You have saved the Goddess of all beasts. There is no treasure in this world that can be worthy of your achievent, nor do I possess anything valuable that could be greatly helpful to you." He drew a pair of obsidian daggers from his robe and spoke further, "I only have myself and these weapons, given to by my late father."
"I don't need these ugly daggers."
"Ug... ugly?" He stamred but decided not to throw a tantrum.
"If you don't need them, then I only have myself to offer you."
"Sorry, Vyaghra," I touched his shoulder. "But I'm not into n—or male beasts, if I have to clarify for you."
"Bwahahaha, did ya just get rejected? By a man? Bwahaha!" Tears rolled down Jambavan's face as he repeatedly hit his stomach while laughing.
Vyaghra gave a quick death stare to Jambavan before clarifying, "I ant that I am willing to serve you as my lord and obey your every order without question."
"What if I tell you to kill Gumiho?"
His expression imdiately flipped, and his golden eyes gazed at , warning to say that again.
"Just look at your face, and you said you can follow my every order without question," I said in a sharp voice. "I don't want soone who'll blindly follow my orders. I already have Vajra for that. I need soone who can guide along the way, who can stop if I start going down the wrong path. I don't need a weapon—I need a friend, because I don't have any in this world."
"Fr... friend?" Vyaghra whispered.
It was a difficult request for him. He had never had soone he could call a friend. And the reason was obvious; he just hated the very concept of friendship. I rembered how he bickered with Ruru about the topic in the mories.
"But-but friends are—"
"A superstitious relation?" I completed his sentence and spoke further, "I don't care. That's what I want."
Vyaghra gave a puzzled look, as if asking if that's what I really wanted, but after seeing the determination on my face, he let out a sigh and replied, "I don't know what being a friend really ans, but I heard they share gifts when becoming one."
He moved towards and, touching my forehead, declared, "So this is the token of my friendship."
A black energy erged from the contact and absorbed into my mark.
Ding...
"Congratulations!!! You have received the Blessing of the God of Hunt and Stealth – Mystic Tiger Vyaghra."
"Blessing of Vyaghra: When activated, the Host's body rges with the rhythm of nature, rendering the Host undetectable by sight, sound, or Soulforce detection. The effect breaks if the Host makes sudden movents or interacts physically with the environnt."
"Heck yeah, finally got it," I shouted inwardly. "This kitty was the only one who didn't give a blessing and also almost dislocated my jaw."
I tapped his shoulder and spoke with an irrepressible smirk on my face, "Since you've beco my friend, I'll properly use—ahm...ahm—I an, teach you what friendship exactly ans."
At that mont, Vyaghra, who had feared no one, felt a chill down his spine. He wondered as I moved past him, "Have I really made the right choice?"
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