Chương 12: Carnival Fang

Ch 12 - Carnival Fang The dire wolf lowered its body, a deep growl rumbling from its throat. Every muscle stayed tense, ready to spring, yet there was something else hidden in its crimson eyes. It looked almost like hesitation. Whether it was doubt or simple confusion, it was there for only a brief moment before the beast bared its fangs once more.

"Why are you raising your voice in front of your master?" He slowly stepped forward instead of backing away from the dire wolf. [The Dire Wolf is preparing to attack.] [The beast remains hostile, though traces of hesitation have appeared. One wrong move may trigger an immediate assault.] Even so, the dire wolf continued to glare at him with open hostility, its low growl echoing across the clearing despite the hesitation that still lingered beneath its fierce expression.

This beast should have been able to tell that the person standing before it was a fake. Or had even a creature like this been fooled by the Harvested Mask's disguise? [Warning: The Dire Wolf is on the verge of attacking. Your next action will determine whether it accepts or rejects you.] Jester slowly raised his hand as the monster let out another threatening growl. Without showing the slightest fear, he reached toward the beast's jaw.

Inch by inch, he closed the distance until his hand finally rested against the thick fur covering its face. The beast continued to growl, though it made no move to pull away.

"I defeated your master. That means I'm stronger than he was," Jester said quietly.

"Come with me instead. Stay by my side, and you will never be abandoned again. As long as you walk with me, you will never have to fight alone." [The Dire Wolf's hostility is decreasing.] [The beast has begun accepting your presence. Its resistance continues to weaken as trust slowly replaces hostility.] The deep growl gradually faded until it became nothing more than a quiet rumble. The dire wolf's tense posture slowly relaxed, and the killing intent surrounding it disappeared little by little.

[The beast now recognizes you as a potential new master. Loyalty can now be established through a binding contract.] [Epic Monster Bound Available] [Target: Dire Wolf] [Grade: Epic] [Level: 115] [Chaos Cost: 35]"Chaos cost?" Jester muttered. Chaos points truly reacted to everything happening around him. And with a cost of only thirty-five, wasn't that far too cheap for forming a contract with an Epic-grade beast like the one standing before him? Jester nodded.

A large magic circle immediately spread beneath the dire wolf's feet, its glowing symbols shining with dark crimson light. [35 Chaos consumed] [Binding Process Initiated…] [The Dire Wolf is forming a permanent bond.] [The beast will receive the influence of the Evil Clown, allowing its instincts and abilities to synchronize with its new master.] [Please assign a name to your bound beast.]"Name?" Jester repeated.

"You have fangs sharp enough to tear through steel, but from this day onward, I want you to stand beside me as my friend. Your name is Carnival Fang. I'll simply call you Fang." The beast answered with a low, gentle rumble. [Bound Beast Confirmed] If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. [Name: Carnival Fang] [Carnival Fang has acknowledged its new name and completed the binding contract.] [Companion Feature Unlocked] [Carnival Fang can now enter the Companion Space, allowing it to retreat into a protected dimensional pocket. It can be summoned instantly whenever commanded by its master.] [New Skill Unlocked] [Carnival Mode (Epic)] [By synchronizing with the Evil Clown, Carnival Fang transforms into its Carnival Mode.] [Appearance changes into a sinister carnival-themed beast.] [Synchronization with the Evil Clown greatly increases.] [Physical Strength, Agility, and Intimidation are enhanced.] [Fear-based abilities become significantly more effective while Carnival Mode is active.]"Carnival Mode... interesting," he said.

"Show me your Carnival Mode." [Carnival Fang activates Carnival Mode.] The dire wolf let out another low roar as its fur began to change. Its dark gray coat quickly faded into a spotless white, the transformation spreading across its body in a matter of seconds. Jester frowned.

"Why white?" The transformation, however, did not stop there. The fur running along the wolf's back, which had been standing on end like sharp spikes, gradually turned jet black with vivid crimson streaks woven through it. Matching black-and-red markings slowly spread across its face, framing its eyes like a mask, while similar patterns appeared along both sides of its body, giving the beast the appearance of something born from a twisted carnival.

The dire wolf now stood before him with an entirely different appearance.

"Well," Jester said with a slow nod, "your new look is much cooler than before." He studied the transformed beast for another moment.

"I'll assume you can switch back to your original appearance. I'll need that later whenever I use your master's face." Jester gently stroked the wolf's jaw. Fang immediately leaned into his hand, rubbing its soft fur against him in response.

"So I have a pet now." A small smile appeared on his face.

"I can ride you to the nearest city. That should cut our travel time by quite a bit. Once we reach the kingdom, we'll finally get to enjoy life as the Eighth Prince of the Valtherion Kingdom." Jester slowly lowered his hand before taking a few steps back.

"If I'm going to disguise myself as Caelan, I need to learn everything about the royal family first. I also need to understand his relationships with the people around him. Only then can I act naturally without exposing myself." Unfortunately, Jester had inherited none of the man's memories. He could not access any of the skills Caelan had possessed during his lifetime either. Still, that was not a serious problem.

As long as he could perfectly imitate Caelan's personality and continue growing stronger with his own abilities, everything else could be learned over time.

"We should still have enough time today." Jester glanced at the clock in his game panel, checking how long he had been logged in. Originally, he had planned to stay online for only three hours. That had sounded like more than enough, but now he wasn't so sure. If he decided to head to the nearest city and gather everything he needed, those three hours might not be enough after all. Maybe he could extend his session by another hour if necessary.

There should still be plenty of time, and afterward he could simply grab some instant food on the way home for dinner. Once Jester returned to his original form, he climbed onto the dire wolf's broad back.

"Let's go, Fang. Take me to the nearest city. Nice and easy, though. This is my first time riding a giant wolf." The dire wolf answered with a low growl before breaking into a steady run, leaving behind the prince's body as it dissolved into countless pixels before disappearing completely. A few items had dropped from the prince's body before it vanished, but they were automatically collected and stored inside Jester's inventory.

As Fang carried him through the forest, Jester began organizing his thoughts and planning everything he intended to do next. Everything had changed in such a short time. He had gained dozens of levels, obtained incredible abilities, and acquired powerful tools. With everything now at his disposal, he was confident that he could become one of the strongest players in Eternal Legacy, using deception, strategy, and every trick available to him. He had already made up his mind.

From now on, he would log in every day and devote himself to this game. A future filled with opportunities awaited him here. Power, wealth, influence, everything he had ever wanted was within his reach, as long as he kept moving forward. This truly felt like a blessing. Perhaps Jester was the only player who had been given an opportunity like this. At least, that was what he believed, and he had no intention of letting this chance slip through his fingers.

Even so, one question continued to linger in the back of his mind. Would the Goddess of Chaos really allow all of this to happen? It didn't seem possible that she would simply let him walk away with her Divine Artifact without doing anything. Or were Divine Beings truly limited, unable to interfere directly with the world of mortals? Surely there was something he needed to prepare for. Whatever was coming, he could not afford to be caught off guard. Jester needed to become stronger.

And he needed to do it as quickly as possible. Because if any threat came after him, he had to be ready to face it. Jester opened his inventory once again to check what he had obtained from the prince. There were several coins, along with what appeared to be two weapons. His attention immediately shifted to the currency. The moment he saw the amount, his eyes widened. [21 Gold | 55 Silver | 50 Bronze]"Wait... twenty-one gold?!" Jester swallowed hard. Before this, he hadn't even owned a single gold coin.

The world's currency worked on a one-hundred-to-one conversion. One hundred Bronze equaled one Silver, and one hundred Silver equaled one Gold. He swallowed again as his hands began to tremble. He could convert this into real money. At the current exchange rate, one Silver was worth approximately 1 Eurasia Dollar (EUD). That meant the coins in his inventory were worth roughly 2, 155. 5 EUD in total.