Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Magical apples

Lupa decided to try climbing with the new set of brand sharp claws. However, a problem soon arose. The claws were too sharp and made the wood seem like clay as they penetrated without difficulty.

“I’m stuck on the tree, but I don’t want to get discovered like this in the morning. It’s embarrassing.” Lupa found herself in a predicament. She tried to unstuck herself from the tree but found out she couldn’t.

Lupa kept trying to find a way until one of her claw retracted inside, hiding under her white fur. Her lips raised a confident smirk as she figured out her ability.

Lupa focused on retracting all her claws. Soon each claw followed her every command. It allowed her to fall on her feet while the adrenaline from this discovery made her try this again.

“Claws out.” Lupa extended her claws while excitedly saying her wish out loud.

“Claws in.” Lupa retracted her claws with a smirk.

“Hehe, now you’re mine red fruit!” Lupa proudly announced to the apple while raising her gaze and locking the pair of golden eyes on the target.

.....

Soon, a set of claws on each side, from left to right, worked together as they allowed Lupa to reach her goal. In a matter of minutes, the destination was reached, and she excitedly plucked the apple and jumped down on the ground.

“I did it!” Lupa proudly raised the apple as if it was a valuable treasure and an achievement worth boasting about. She could already imagine Vincent praising her for such a feat.

Lupa twitched her nose as she caught the scent of more. Her golden pretor eyes opened to search for more apples. In the end and some hours later, she returned with ten apples lying on her skirt.

Lupa rested on the grass while returning her hands to normal. Unlike the normal shapeshifting, this new combat form drained her stamina. Wanting to surprise Vincent in the morning, she placed the apples in an empty bucket.

Until the sun dawned, Lupa had a hard time resisting the succulent apples. But the determination to present the ten apples to Vincent for praise won over her stomach.

*Day 7

Vincent opened his eyes. He gulped while noticing Lupa staring at him with a strange grin as if wanting something from him.

Vincent quickly checked on Ester, but she was still sick. Then with curiosity asked, “Amm... Did something nice happen?”

Lupa placed a bucket in front of him with the ten apples in it. Her eyes sparkled while she waited for praise.

“Apples?” Vincent became surprised by the new food supply. While wanting to ask how she found the fruit, he noticed some cuts on her arms and legs.

Vincent hurriedly climbed down the cart with a worried frown. He picked a small piece of cloth and soaked it in water.

“Thank you, my little wolf. Next time wait for me. I don’t wish to see you get hurt.” Vincent said with a worried and caring expression. Lupa became surprised by this kind of care as she felt both the wet cloth and warm worried expression.

Vincent soon cleaned her cuts while Lupa waged her tail. Other than her parents, this was the first time someone worried about her. Vincent had gotten used to Lupa, so he wasn’t nervous to touch her.

“Thank you.” Lupa happily gave him a peck on his cheek while feeling this wasn’t a bad reward. A while later, Vincent cleaned her arms and legs. Then asked with curiosity, “How did you get the apples. Are you a good tree climber?”

“Hehe, I can protect us with my new strength.” Lupa proudly puffed her chest while boasting of her new combat shapeshifting arms. Soon, luscious white fur grew on her arms as they slightly grew larger in size. Then one by one, ten claws emerged from the fur.

“What do you think? I can climb trees now with these sharp claws.” Lupa retracted and extended her claws showing her mastery of the apple hunting training.

“Awesome.” Vincent excitedly touched her smooth white fur and then though out loud, “Half your arms almost look like that of werewolves. Like the ones in my world’s fantasy stories. Maybe one day, you can become one too.”

“Are werewolves strong?” Lupa asked with a hint of curiosity and proud to make Vincent happy with her ability. That way, she could become the top dog and receive the most praise.

“Yes, but don’t become too arrogant. There is always someone stronger than you in life. ” Vincent had gotten used to her impatient character. He knew Lupa was a trouble maker that needed to learn how to hold back.

“So, how did you get this ability?” Vincent asked, filled with curiosity.

“I suddenly felt a headache, and then I saw a vision of myself with a pair of shapeshifted arms. It felt like a flashback of something that I could always do. When I tried, my hands changed.” Lupa explained what she felt and understood. Unfortunately, she knew as much as him.

Vincent had a feeling the deja vu dream sickness had a similar effect. To suddenly learn of something that you never knew before. As if there was another copy, or to see the past or the future.

Vincent then turned his gaze back at the apples. Now he could notice that they might be poisonous yet felt full of life and a strange freshness.

On the apples were a lot of blue dots and a few faint blue stripes like a lightning serpent. The strange apples looked fresh as if they recently became ripe to pluck and unable to tell when they grew.

.

[Name] Sage Apple

[Condition] Healthy

[Effect]

*Mana ???

*???

.

Vincent became surprised by how strangely his inspection improved after the soul egg incident. At least now he had a hint of this strange apple effects.

“Is it safe to eat?” Lupa asked while she noticed Vincent enter into a profound reflection. He had to pick the correct choice. Eat or not.

“Hmm... It might not be poisonous since it seems to have some kind of mana effect.” Vincent said; he felt conflicted about what he should do. These fruits might help or kill Ester, and there was an additional unknown effect.

“Then, I will take the first bite. We white wolves have a good stomach for poison.” Lupa swiftly picked a Sage Apple. Before taking a bite, Vincent took it from her.

“Fine, but first, I will crush it into a puree and then taste only a little. I will inspect your condition every second to make sure you are fine. If it’s bad, then immediately puke, understand?” Vincent demanded to uphold these conditions. He wanted to keep the impatient hungry Lupa from getting poisoned. One sick person was enough in the group.

Soon, Vincent crushed one Sage Apple into a puree. Lupa then picked a spoon with an excided grin while her nose danced, along with the inviting aroma. Then took a small sample while peeking at Vincent. She wanted to see if she could continue or stop, but Vincent kept quiet as he gazed at her attentively.

“It’s very sweet and good!” Lupa raised a smile, excited to continue licking the apple puree. However, Vicent was still not convinced by the taste alone. He used inspection to check if Lupa was actually safe.

.

[Name] Lupa

[Condition] Healthy, Mana Regen[0:02]

[Soul Synch] 21%

.

Vincent stared at the buff looking condition until the seconds became zero and vanished. With a bright smile, he excitedly exclaimed, “It’s a mana regen fruit! If this is some kind of magical fever, then it will help Ester!”

Lupa suddenly became excited with him. She gazed at Ester while thinking, ‘Sister, last night’s hard work has paid off.’

This was good yet bad news for them. Vincent and Lupa had no food to eat if the Sage Apples were all for Ester.

“Sadly, I can’t smell any more apples here. We need to find food for us. heh.” Lupa sighed as most likely; they had to spend a day without food.

Vincent shared the apple peels with Lupa. At least there would be something in their belly. Unfortunately, the Sage Apple skin gave them no effect as Vincent used inspection to check.

Lupa went to feed the apple pure to the weak Ester carefully. A while later, Ester opened her eyes, but she still couldn’t recognize Lupa.

“Worry not sister. Lupa will feed you the tastiest apple you have ever tasted.” Lupa, with her warm smile, made Ester accept the food.

Spoon after spoon, Ester slowly ate a whole apple. Vincent inspected her condition. She had a five minute Mana Regen Buff. Also, her pale face became relaxed while it regained a little color by the result. Ester fell asleep again after eating.

‘So it was a magical fever!’

‘We need to find more of this apple, but it might be a rare find. I hope this isn’t a once in a lifetime treasure and won’t find more Sage Apples.’

Vincent thought while trying to muster hope to find more. Then he placed the seeds in a small bag keeping them safe. Maybe they could be used for medicine or even eat them as a last resort.

.

[Name] Vincent Agius

[Condition] Healthy, Tired, Soul Nurture 60%

[Soul Power] 0sp

.

Vincent checked his stats, but in two days, he would know what the hundred percent Soul Nurture would do. Then one more day to regain Soul Power and heal Ester.

Nine Sage Apples remained. Vincent decided to feed Ester three a day since easing her pain was all he could do. The last apple would be used as an emergency.

It was a three-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner Sage Apple puree for the sick Ester. As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Lupa turned to a white wolf while Vincent stretched, preparing to pull the cart. The breakfast of half an apple’s skin wasn’t much of a fill.

This day proved changeling for Vincent. He abused his body more than it could repair itself. Not eating or resting enough made it worse. His thighs and calves would sometimes spasm.

Vincent fell many times on the ground while Lupa would worryingly ask if he was okay. However, Vincent always hardheadedly responded with a pained contorted face, “Don’t worry. You rest while I take a little break, hehe.”

Lupa could hear his faint moans but decided to respect his wishes. She could feel his burning determination not to back down. As if he was fighting against his fate.

The day was a painfully long one for Vincent. He needed to find a suitable location to care for Ester, so he kept going forward, forcing his body pained to its limits. In one of his breaks, Vincent made another apple puree while both he and Lupa ate the Sage Apple skin again.

The sun left, and the moon rose. It quickly got dark, so he decided to stop for the day.

The exhausted Vincent fell on his bottom. Then inspected their surroundings. It was an area surrounded by trees, but no food could be seen.

Lupa jumped down from the cart after wearing her clothes. Her nose twitched as it caught the scent of food nearby.

“Look, Vincent! I found food!” Lupa excitedly approached Vincent with a few mushrooms in her hands.

.

.....

[Name] Red Numb Mushroom

[Condition] Healthy

[Effect]

*Minor Numbness

.

Lupa didn’t have any idea what was in her hands. However, Vincent with inspection did. The Red Numb Mushroom seemed like a narcotic fungi.

“Place them in a bag, but don’t eat them. You might not be able to move for a few minutes if you eat one.” Vincent warned the drooling Lupa. With a sad puzzled frown, she had no choice but to listen to his words. Only he could see the good or bad effects.

While Lupa placed the mushrooms in a bag, her ears twitched from a nearby sound. It was the faint sound of chewing. Something was nearby.