NOVEL NEXT 62. Summer of the Wolf: The Final Exam
[-traces of another attack by the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Daddy says it's too early for me to see this, but a Magozoologist must be ready for anything! Sometimes I don't understand him at all, what's so scary about dead people? It seems to me that living people can be much scarier.
How is your training at Summer Camp going? Have you already learned the secrets of kung fu? Why do you refuse to tell me the woman's name? She's been training you for almost a month, how can you not know her name?
P.S: when should I expect a visit from you? Dad is learning to cook the Russian drink "chefir".
P.P.S: should I expect a souvenir?
P.P.P.S: Mantis misses you very much too. I think he doesn't get enough attention, even Billy looks sad.
- With love,
Luna Lovegood.]
Danil carefully put aside the last letter from Luna and began to think about his answer. For him, writing letters was no longer new; months of practice in writing replies made it easy for him. At first it was a little difficult to get used to the absence of phones and instant messages, but he managed. The stack of hundreds of letters from friends that lay on his desk was confirmation of this.
True, sometimes it seemed to him that in her free time the moon was writing a book, and she was sending him draft versions of her articles.
However, he was not against this option for anyone, and he was always ready to help Luna. Only they didn’t let him write an answer; there was a knock on his door.
Danil got up from his chair; the last month had been very productive. From a dry, skinny, black monster with arms reaching to the floor, he transformed into an Apollo monster with arms reaching to the floor, capable of shooting fireballs from the tips of his fingers. Constant training, both physically and magically, made him a machine capable of withstanding even the most insane loads.
Only he couldn't figure out how to cast more advanced magic. The magic of endermen and wizards wasn't very different, but it was these small differences that did not allow him to advance further. And it wasn't yet possible to find the magic that members of his race used. There was no way for him to learn something new by taking information out of nowhere.
But now he knew how, with the help of "Flippendo", to force an enemy's heart to do a backflip. And if he applies a little more force, he can even tear someone in half.
Opening his eyes, Danil looked down and met the gaze of little Sarah. The curly-haired girl looked a little nervous, but it was understandable, today was the day of the full moon.
"Hey Danny! Grandpa Silver is looking for you."
"I know, little one, you don't have to worry." He patted the girl on the head, but she threw his hand to the side, wrinkling her nose with displeasure. "Yes, yes, you're not little, it's just that everyone else is too tall."
"By the way, I'm already an adult! Last night I defeated my Beast!" Deciding to prove that she had grown up, Sarah stuck her tongue out at Danil, and then turned around and ran to her friends who were waiting for her nearby. "Don't be late! Today is an important day!"
Hiding his chuckle, Danil turned around and entered his house again.
"... where do I need to go?"
Shrugging his shoulders, the teenager decided to change clothes first, and then solve the remaining problems. Going to the exam in pajamas was at least inconvenient. It was worth at least changing my pants.
Some things do not change immediately; they are stubborn, like a ram before a new gate. Little can be changed in just one month, so Danil did not succeed in many things.
The forest still refused to accept him as part of itself, hiding its secrets from him. He was never able to hit Silver during their sparring sessions, where the old werewolf usually put the teenager on his shoulder blades. Remus never fell for one of his pranks, and the Bitch never recognized him as her equal in martial arts.
There was too much to do and too little time.
And there was still the Beast. The avatar of primitive instincts never warmed to the idea of cooperation, refusing to accept Danil out of fear of himself. Something in the human subconscious violently protested even at the very thought of entering into cooperation with an enderman, even if this person and the enderman were the same person.
Today, Danil wanted to fix this.
"The student has finally arrived." Silver said from his place on the tree stump. "Great, you can move on to your last attempt. Remember, your next opportunity won't come until next year."
For a whole week he didn’t even try to enter his mind, giving himself time to collect his thoughts. To both of its parts.
"You've been given until sunset. By moonrise, you and Remus should be as far away from here as possible. This isn't your war, after all." Silver looked at his students carefully and waited for them to nod. "Great, get started."
Closing his eyes, Danil fell into his own mind, not even having time to exhale. The boy was cut off from the outside world.
"Silver, why didn't we leave yesterday?" Remus finally decided to ask, finally having his ward in sight. "We had an opportunity."
"I have a bad feeling, Remus." The old werewolf admitted, surprising his apprentice. "It was impossible to let you go, it would have ended in death. You are where you should be, here and now."
A field, lush green grass, a blue sky without a single cloud, giving an excellent view of the bright Sun and Moon. Since Danil’s last visit to his consciousness, almost nothing has changed. Only complete silence stood out from the picture he was accustomed to; his instincts did not scream.
Smiling, Danil sat down in his hybrid form directly on the ground and began to wait. Previously, he always took the first step, always. Being patient, he fell onto his back. The beast will not touch him. They both knew it.
Lost in thought, he raised his hand in the air and began to examine it. Before, he had never seen himself from the outside in this guise and could only speculate about what his face looked like. But he had a nose, which was pleasing, and his hair grew where it should.
"I wonder why there's no lake here? I love lakes, which means you do too." Danil lowered his hand and looked to the left. "Can you tell me why?"
The animal stood motionless, looking at Danil as if he were a new exotic animal in the zoo. The Avatar slowly sat down next to him, keeping his empty eyes fixed on his target. He was alarmed by the fact that his main consciousness had not visited him for several days. After three weeks of daily visits, willy-nilly you will begin to get used to them.
Animals can be difficult to communicate with. They are not as intelligent as humans; they cannot speak to express their sadness or happiness. Only their behavior could tell about their true thoughts.
There are many ways you can use to gain an animal's trust. Feed the animal, give them love, talk to them; but what to do when, at any slightest movement, the animal runs away?
Nothing. All you have to do is be nearby and show that you are not dangerous. This is what Danil did, especially since his work was much easier, because the Beast could feel his intentions.
Although this was not entirely true, he did not just sit around doing nothing. He talked, talked a lot.
"You're part of this world, right? At least you know the area better than I do." He didn't move much, trying not to scare the Beast. "Can you make a lake here? We both love them, I know it, you know it. Just one small lake of cool water."
And for the first time, the Beast did something other than run. He tilted his head and scratched the back of his head. Apparently, the avatar of instincts had never thought about this, and he couldn’t think like a person. The part of consciousness that was now sitting in front of the Beast was responsible for this process.
Both parts of consciousness blinked and a lake appeared below them, as the Beast usually appeared. Just appearing out of nowhere.
Danil and the Beast fell into the cold water, their projections immediately got wet from head to toe. Spitting out the water, Danil floated to the surface, continuing to look at the blue sky.
"This is much better, have you thought about adding a couple of trees?"
Danil had been sitting motionless for ten hours. His breathing slowed to one breath every two hours, and his eyes did not twitch at all, although it was difficult to notice behind the thick lenses of his goggles. Silver didn't leave his post either, nor did Remus, both men prepared to sit still until the end of the final exam.
"The moon will rise soon." Remus said. "We should wake up Danil and leave before it's too late."
"Sit on your ass straight and don't rock the boat, the boy has come up with something. We shouldn't disturb him." Silver looked around. "Kendrick and Bitch are already leading people away from the village, and we're close enough to respond to the attack."
Something clicked in Remus's head.
"Respond? Silver, I hope you're not going to fight an enemy whose strengh you don't know?!"
Silver didn't answer immediately. He pulled out a long two-handed sword from behind his back and stuck the blade into the ground. A long cloak fell from his shoulders, revealing that underneath was leather armor with steel inserts inscribed with runes.
"Superhuman strength, night vision, free teleportation, extremely fast reaction speed." Remus' eyebrows went up. "With them come zombies, acromantulas, skeletons and some green exploding things. We call them creepers."
Now, in Remus's head, there were no clicks, there were sounding alarms, ringing all the bells and screaming in horror.
"You're going to fight." He said quietly. "While Danil is still here. Gerasim, are you crazy?!"
Hearing his real name, Silver felt like he was doused with cold water. He immediately stopped checking his armor and stared at Remus with narrowed eyes.
"All the children and other non-battalions have been evacuated, an ambush has been set up in the Haven, and they won't get here so easily. Why am I crazy? The counterattack plan was created two months ago."
Remus began to seethe. That's why he could never stay in Silver's pack for long. Gerasim's self-confidence crossed all boundaries, even if he was right in most cases.
"Who is their leader? They appear once a month, always on the full moon. Don't you think that this is for a reason?"
Silver stood up from the stump, straightening his shoulders and drawing his sword from the cold, hard ground.
"That's why," he said, "I get the front row."
"Now it's much nicer here."
The world of instincts has changed almost beyond recognition. Now it was filled with a variety of biomes, full of colorful vegetation and animals. Each of them personified their part of the instincts that existed in human genes. Snowy tundras with bears, coral reefs full of colorful fish, oak forests with their own separate ecosystem, and all this is located just steps away from each other.
“Yes, and you look somehow calmer. Have you finally taken the burden off your shoulders?”
The Beast actually looked somehow calmer. He tiredly sat down on a small island in the middle of the lake next to Danil. The teenager never moved, preferring only to give ideas and watch how the Avatar of Instincts worked. It seemed that the Beast was pleased with the work done, like a librarian who had finally brought order to the old library.
"I think we're done for today. It was nice spending time with you, friend." Danil grinned. "Grandfather said it right - there is no better friend in this world than yourself."
Starting to slowly get up from the ground, Danil felt a hand on his shoulder. The beast finally stopped him, finally understanding the underlying consciousness's intentions.
The two sides of one person looked at each other, no longer trying to read the other's intentions. Time inside consciousness flowed much slower than in the real world. If only ten hours have passed outside, then a whole week has passed here. During this time, it was possible to gain, if not a drop of trust, then at least understanding.
"So you agree to work together?"
The beast shook his head, they worked well together, there was no arguing with that. But this was not enough.
"What then-"
The Beast's hand entered Danil's chest up to his elbow.
"Do you hear yourself, Gerasim? Where do you have confidence that you can kill their leader? You have never seen him, you cannot prepare for battle without knowing your enemy. I know how you win your battles! People will die!"
"Half of us are all that's left!" Silver lost his patience. "What do you suggest we do? What?! Run from the enemy for the rest of our lives, while the creatures kill us one by one? Or maybe you'd just say leave the forest? Ha! The only way out is to kill the enemy. Crush them utterly and completely, leaving no survivors. I'm willing to die if it means keeping my pack safe."
Remus fell silent. Forty people. Women, men, old people, children; the creatures didn't spare anyone. How many more could die? How many will die protecting others?
"Then why let us into the pack? You could have refused us, sent us to another pack."
Silver laughed quietly and bitterly, twirling his sword in his hands. It was the laughter of a man who had carried the weight of knowledge for a long time.
"Do you think these attacks are happening only here? The packs of Fenrir Greyback, Vazozh Efrator and Colon the White suffered losses. And smaller packs were destroyed, wiped out from the face of the earth. Even the damn vampires couldn't fight back the first time!"
There were no winners here. Attacks were happening everywhere, no one was safe. The pack of creatures was looking for smaller prey, testing their strength and killing all living things in their path. Only protected settlements and large cities were untouched.
"Wha-" Remus couldn't finish.
A long wheeze, full of pain, escaped from Danil’s throat. The teenager curled up into a ball and began scratching his chest with his claws.
And then the first explosion was heard from the direction of the village.
In the world of instincts, everything worked like a clock. The recent reshuffle has brought order to a chaotic system. The sight of two creatures trying to merge into one was not at all compatible with this innovation.
The body of Danil and the Beast are fused in the middle, in the chest area. Now they resembled Siamese twins with three legs, two arms and heads.
"Fucking idiot!" Danil groaned, writhing in pain. "Couldn't you have at least warned me?!"
The Beast looked at him with wide eyes. Isn't this what he wanted all along? And in fact they were one person, he should have expected something like that.
"Come on, faster, my head is going to explode!"
The beast didn't need to be told twice. Leaning his head back, he bumped heads with Danil. The teenager almost had stars falling out of his eyes. Blinking a couple of times, he realized: the Beast was not nearby, now it had become a part of Danil.
It was time to wake up.