Assimilate All Talents

A pair of humble peddlers walked along the dirt road at a leisurely pace, unbothered by the passing time. They were in no rush.

As they made their way to their next destination, a faint rumbling echoed in the distance.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah… could it be magic?"

They weren't too concerned. It wasn't uncommon for mages to practice their craft in the wilderness, especially the destructive kind.

They were about to continue on their way when the sound came again, this time much louder and much closer. Birds erupted from the trees ahead, scattering in a panic.

That was enough to finally alarm them.

"It's coming this way!"

Their survival instincts kicked in, and they immediately sprinted toward the nearest bush, but whatever was approaching was far too fast. Before they could even find cover, an invisible force suddenly enveloped them and yanked them to the side of the road.

Just in time.

A white streak tore through the air where they had been standing, leaving behind a slightly scorched path with two deep lines dragging through the ground.

The unseen force released them, and the two peddlers turned to each other, wide-eyed and breathless.

"W-what was that?!"

"I… don't know…"

They stood in stunned silence, staring at the charred trail left behind. Then, as if just remembering something vital, one of them suddenly gasped.

"The goods! Are the goods okay?!"

Panic set in as they tore open their backpacks, frantically checking the contents. A collective sigh of relief escaped them when they saw that the remedy potions, concoctions capable of curing most common diseases, were unharmed. These potions were their ticket to a huge profit in the remote villages they were headed to. It was a gamble, investing in twenty of them, but the potential return was triple their initial cost. If they had broken… well, they would have been heading home ten gold in debt.

"Thank the gods… I can see why people only transport these in spatial rings."

The other peddler rolled his eyes. "If we could afford a spatial ring, we'd be moving better products, wouldn't we?"

"Hah! Fair enough. But if we make a few more trips like this, maybe we will be able to."

Still shaken but grateful to be in one piece, the two peddlers picked up the pace and hurried along, this time moving much brisker than before.

...

Less than a minute ago.

Sol and Amber clung tightly to the frame of the carriage as it hurtled down the road at ludicrous speeds. The one pulling it? Thorwyn, his entire body crackling with white lightning as he enhanced his speed with his law technique. The weight of the carriage did almost nothing to slow him down.

"Hey! Slow down!" Sol shouted, using [Terra Manipulation] and [Umbral Domain] to reinforce the shadow stone reins attached to Thorwyn while simultaneously reinforcing the carriage itself with psychic energy to keep it from falling apart.

"Awooooo! (This is fun!)" Thorwyn howled gleefully, picking up the pace even more.

'Is he even listening?!'

Sol was starting to regret giving in to Thorwyn's request. Originally, the Raijin had been running alongside the carriage, but he kept complaining that the shadow horse pulling it was too slow. After half an hour of relentless pestering, Sol had caved and let him take over.

At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Thorwyn was much faster, and with his speed, they could cut their travel time by more than half.

But he had forgotten one very important thing.

Thorwyn had the mentality of a child.

Suddenly, Thorwyn screeched to an abrupt stop, causing the carriage to lurch violently. Sol and Amber barely managed to hold on as the entire frame nearly flipped over. Sol caught it with his psychic energy just in time.

"Awoo? (What's that?)"

Thorwyn's ears perked up, his gaze locked onto an animal in the distance, a creature with long legs and three horns.

"...That's a Tri-horn Deer," Sol said, catching his breath. "Now, before you go agai—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Thorwyn bolted again, pulling them along for another whiplash-inducing ride.

"WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO MEEEE?!" Sol howled.

"Awoo! (I am listening!)"

"THEN STOP!"

"Awoo! (But it's fun!)"

Unlike a normal tamer and their beast, who had various skills to help control their companions, Sol had zero means of controlling Thorwyn other than brute force, which he would rather not do. His only option was to reason with him, which was like trying to convince a hyperactive child on a sugar rush to sit still.

The carriage tore across the dirt road once again, leaving a crackling white streak in its wake. Sol gritted his teeth, reinforcing the frame even more to keep it from collapsing under the sheer force of their speed.

Amber, seated beside him, had long since given up trying to keep her hair under control as it whipped wildly in the wind.

"Thorwyn, STOP! Look where you're going!"

Thorwyn, completely caught up in the thrill of his own speed, failed to notice the pair of peddlers up ahead.

They were trying to get out of the way, but they were too slow.

Sol's eyes widened. He acted instantly.

Suppressing his law technique, [Lightning Incarnate], he immediately followed up with [Impact Bubble].

"Awoo? (Where did my lightning go?)"

With his law technique disabled, Thorwyn lost the primary force accelerating him. Then, a translucent bubble materialized in front of him—only to shatter on contact. It barely slowed him down.

'Damn, not enough—!'

Without hesitating, Sol surged his psychic energy forward, enveloping the two peddlers in a protective hold and yanking them out of the way just in time.

A heartbeat later, the carriage blasted past where they had been standing.

Only as they passed the peddlers did Thorwyn finally register their presence. He dug his paws into the ground, slowing their momentum until the carriage skidded to a complete stop, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Sol exhaled sharply, willing his racing heart to slow. "That was way too close," he muttered.

They had gone three miles before finally stopping, and the peddlers were now long out of sight. Using [Seeker's Map], he checked on them and let out a relieved sigh when he confirmed they were safe… and so were their goods.

Disaster averted.

Sol climbed off the carriage and approached Thorwyn, arms crossed.
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"Did you forget our deal already?"

"Awoo? (Deal?)"

Thorwyn tilted his head, confused at first. But as Sol's glare intensified, realization dawned on him.

"Awoo! (Oh! The deal! Yeah!)"

His tail wagged for a brief moment… before it drooped as he fully remembered.

"Awoo… (Oh… that's bad.)"

"Yes! Very bad! You almost killed them!"

Thorwyn's ears flattened, his head lowering under Sol's scolding.

"Awoo… (But I didn't mean to...)"

Sol let out a sharp exhale, rubbing his temple. "I know you didn't mean to, but that doesn't change the fact that you nearly ran them over! If I hadn't reacted in time, we'd have had blood on our hands, Thorwyn."