Damian stared at the wolf from afar, relieved that it was not charging towards him like a blood-starved beast.
"I hope you have a plan," Frederic said.
"Me? A plan? Of course I do."
"Enlighten me."
"Go forward and fight it!"
Frederic was silent. He had seen Damian fight in two tough battles against draugrs, and he knew that the giant was confident in his abilities. However, the draugrs were weak when compared to the wolf standing before them. Frederic was not sure if Damian could defeat the wolf on his own.
"Mortals," the white wolf said. "What are you doing in my domain?"
The wolf's voice was deep and resonant, and it echoed across the mountaintop. It was not a mental message like some other beasts had used. The wolf was speaking aloud in a language that Damian and Frederic could understand.
Damian heard the wolf's voice and replied, "We are not mortals. I am a giant, and the old bones beside me, though they may not look like it, are those of a dragon. Crazy, right?"
The wolf was surprised. It had not expected to find other powerful creatures on the mountaintop.
"What? Let me check this," the wolf said.
It jumped from its current location and appeared right in front of Damian and Frederic. Frederic looked fearful, but Damian stood his ground.
"Damian, are you sure this one won't attack us?" Frederic asked.
The wolf sniffed both of them, and after a minute, it said, "Freaking hell. You're a giant and this one is a dragon! How? More importantly, what are you doing here?"
"We came here to speak with you," Damian said. "We may have to fight if things don't go our way, but we would like you to join our adventurer party and become our mount."
"What?" the wolf said, its voice rising in volume. Damian prepared to block any attack.
"Of course I want to join! Fight? Me? No way."
"Why not?" Damian asked.
"My power is sealed," the wolf said. "So we're pretty evenly matched, though I think I have the upper hand. But there's no reason to fight. One day you two will reign supreme, so it's better to have a friendly relationship, right?"
"You're not stupid like the other creatures," Damian said.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Damian was surprised. He had expected to have to fight the wolf, but now it seemed that the wolf was willing to join them of its own free will. He wondered if he could trust the wolf, but he decided to take a chance.
"What's this talk about sealed power?" Damian asked.
The wolf looked like a beast that should not be on the tenth floor of the dungeon. Maybe that was why no one had seen it or been able to fight against it.
"Oh, that. It's quite simple. A powerful adventurer once fought against me. We ended up hurting each other, but at the cost of my power," the wolf said.
Damian could feel the sadness in the wolf's lifeless eyes, a once-powerful creature now locked in a weakened state. It reminded him of how he had felt when he was the only person without an ability.
"Don't worry about it. I have to find a way to give this old bones his power back," Damian said, pointing at Frederic, "so we can find something for you too."
"If you do that, then I will be forever in your debt. So, what are your names?"
"Damian, and he is Frederic."
"Damian and Frederic? That doesn't sound like a giant's and a dragon's name…"
"It is what it is. How about you?"
"Raikono, the god of thunder."
Damian said nothing, only staring at Raikono's serious face.
"God of thunder? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am. There were tribes on the deeper levels of the dungeon who worshipped me, but that's long gone, and I am all but a puppy now…"
The connection Damian felt with Raikono increased even more! He was once a majestic being, yet the higher one is, the higher the fall is.
"Now enough of this sad talk. Wanna ride?" Raikono asked.
"Hell yeah!"
"Hell yeah? What does that mean?" Frederic asked.
"Now that I think about it…"
After the introductions were over, Damian and Frederic hopped on Raikono's back. It was big enough to fit a lot of people, and the thunders around Raikono's body did not hurt them at all.
Raikono could choose where the thunders would go, and if they were supposed to hurt. There was no reason for him to damage Damian nor Frederic.
"Are you two ready?" Raikono asked as he jumped and started flying!
Damian and Frederic were used to flying — because of their telekinesis — but Raikono's speed was way superior!
"It feels nice to fly without having to concentrate," thought Damian as he watched the scenery from the sky.
They flew around for a few minutes, talking to get to know each other better. Never did Damian think he would have a moment like that with a wild beast.
"Our team is a giant with little to no control of its powers, a dragon who lost its powers, and me, a fallen god of thunder? This is wild!" Raikono said.
Damian took out a map from his spatial ring, looking at a destination he had previously marked on his map.
"This is where we will find goblins to kill and complete our first mission. Let's go there!" Damian said.
"I am on it."
A commotion happened that day inside the dungeon's tenth floor. Some adventurers who were either inside settlements or outside in the wilderness doing their quests saw a massive white wolf with thunder around its body, flying in the sky!
That scene was more than enough to shock anyone, but the most surprising thing was the two people on the wolf's back.
"Look at that! The size of that creature! Wait, am I crazy or there's someone riding that thing?"
In one night, Damian went from unknown to be the person everyone talked about.