Shockingly, Vriski didn''t forget his promise to Eldrian. Despite having yed for hours, without a care, As if he had totally forgotten why they hade outside.


    But once he had tired himself out, he turned to Eldrian.Of course, that came only after he had conquered the dizzy spell to rule all dizzy spells.


    "Woof!" He barked, tail wagging.


    "Oh, you''re still up for it?" Eldrian asked, and quickly tried a few things.


    None of them worked. As was expected. Eldrian hade to understand that Vriski simply didn''t think like him. Nor like any of those he called friends.


    In fact, the pup didn''t think like humans. Which made sense, he wasn''t one. He was a beast, a wolf of the highest species. It was stranger that Eldrian had ever thought they wouldn''t struggle withmunication.


    And that was because mental links generally eliminated all problems that woulde up with spoken words. Being able to share one''s understanding of a concept, instead of the concept itself, generally meant there was no room for misinterpretation.


    A simple example would be that of the concept of swimming. One person might interpret it as being able to move in water, which was correct. Another might say that simply being able to float was enough. And another yet might say you need to be able to perform certain strokes, move at a certain speed, or with some certainty, to call it swimming.


    yling about and causing movement, they would say, can''t be called swimming.


    By sharing one''s own view through a mental link, no such mimunication should be possible. Why then, did Vriski fail to understand?


    The answer, Eldrian realized, was simple. It was because even those things didn''t mean anything to the pup.


    When it came to casting magic, Vriski had no concept of needing to focus. He shook his mana, and spells came to life. As simple as that.


    There was no spell module. No control. No focus. No effort.


    He simply willed something to happen, and it did.


    That didn''t mean he could cast anything he could think of. Largely because his focus was too vague.


    His image was simple. Which was precisely why he had shot himself into the air when trying to replicate Eldrian''s gust spell. It was too simple.


    Vriski had wanted the wind to lift him. But failed to consider the strength of said lift.


    And when he tried it again, he did the exact same thing. Simply because he didn''t understand the reason why his spell had failed.


    So, when Eldrian asked him what changed after his evolution, Vriski honestly couldn''t give an answer.


    To the pup, he was using his mana in the same way he had always done. His spells were simply more powerful, and his mana never ran low.


    That was not the answer Eldrian sought. And with Vriski being up for the challenge, the two started their ''training''.


    ...


    The first day was a bust. Eldrian had collected plenty of data, but nothing noteworthy.


    For Vriski, it was pure torture. Being told to cast the most basic of basic spells. Time, after time, after time, after...


    It was no wonder more than once he had lost control. It was just too boring. He didn''t use magic because it was interesting.


    He used it because it was fun!


    But he had made a promise. And so he endured. Second after second. Minute after minute.


    Not so much hour after hour. He could only endure so long. But he always came back after blowing off some steam, begging for a snack, andining while enjoying said snack.


    ...


    The second day showed just as little results. Though it resulted in far moreining. Realizing that Vriski was reaching his limits, Eldrian had promised him only one more day of ''training''.


    And this time, Vriski would be allowed to go all out. Though, while he did so, Eldrian had asked that they synched their minds as much as possible.


    Eager to get this done with, the pup agreed. Not knowing what he had agreed to.


    And Eldrian, understanding that he was basically tricking the pup, couldn''t have felt worse. But... he had to get results. He had to.


    ...


    And so the third day arrived. Vriski, like always, was a bundle of energy. Far more than normal. Because today was thest day! After today, he would be free! His promise was fulfilled.


    It mattered little to the pup if Eldrian got what he wanted. Not after he had endured two horrible days of torture and was here for one more (though hopefully a less boring one).


    As far as Vriski was concerned, this was more than enough to repay Eldrian for the Magic Crystal.


    Truly, he could only endure so much.


    "Alright. Let''s see if this will work." Eldrian announced, forming the standard link between them. And as soon as Vriski epted, Eldrian sent more of his soul into the pup.


    With a shiver, Vriski red at Eldrian. Almost leaping at him.


    Eldrian withdrew some, to give the pup time to acquest, and that helped Vriski calm down. ''Just one more day. Then my dept is paid!'' Vriski told himself.


    Eldrian kept it to himself that he heard that loud and clear. The link he had formed this time went far past the standardmunication link. It enabled him to read Vriski''s mind, as well as follow the flow of mana within the pup. Almost right to the point of the pup''s soul.


    Sadly, Eldrian wasn''t versed enough to pinpoint ''that'' with so shallow a connection. But any stronger of one and Vriski wouldn''t be able to shake off the awful feeling Eldrian''s ''search'' caused.


    And that would lead to the pup being unable to cast his magic. Too distracted—or so Eldrian hypothesized.


    Honestly, Eldrian didn''t feel good about going so far. But he needed to get some answers. As much as he didn''t mind helping Vriski evolve, he needed some results from this too.


    Miracle had fumbled the ball. And Eldrian had to pick it up.


    Honestly, Eldrian prayed that what he had been told was false. s, he could still clearly recall the vision he had experienced while trying to unlock his time-controlling powers.


    He knew that the myths were true, and he understood that something had caused gods to go extinct. That it involved the prevention of Earth''s destruction; that was as good a reason as any could be for gods to disappear from the.


    Apologizing in his mind, Eldrian had Vriski cast his first spell. A Tier 3 wind spell that would normally form multiple wind des. Its attack power wascking—it was only Tier 3. Still, it covered arge area and was nearly impossible to defend without counter-magic.


    The spell didn''t matter to Eldrian. What did was how Vriski''s mana moved. And, while he had expected this after his observations, it still shocked Eldrian.


    ''It''s nothing like mine. Nor like any yer or humanoid''s.''


    Eldrian knew he could use mana like this, but control was too difficult. He had to control his mana. Not just wish for something to be.


    Vriski, however, didn''t control it. The pup somehow, just got it moving. Got it forming, and got a spell out of it. No Mageia—at least no conscious formation of Mageia—was involved.


    This was doubly confirmed by how distracted Vriski was while he had cast the spell. The entire time looking at funny-looking clouds and pondering what they would taste like.


    ''I bet it would taste like chicken. And that one like beef. Maybe that one like ribs? Oooh, that looks just like a sausage! It HAS to taste like a sausage. But which type of sausage...


    Mmm... ...MMMMmmm... I got it! Pork! Pork sausages!''


    The ridiculousness of his thoughts, honestly, nearly made Eldrian lose focus. And the shock that Vriski was so distracted while casting a Tier 3 spell was proof of his birthright. As a mythical grade monster, the pup was not one to be trifled with.


    And, as was proven by now, the mana spent on the spell had been replenished in seconds.


    And that flow, Eldrian would need a few hundred more casts to hone in on.


    ''Please hold out, Vriski. There will be a massive reward in store for you!''