The Games We Play -Shaman c54

“Sister, are you okay?” Sona asked Serafall as she walked over to her older sibling.

“Of course she is. I am taking care of her,” Raynor replied instead.

He got the older sibling of the Heiress on his lap, making Serafall fight her embarrassment.

Thankfully, there were no guests in the hall; the black haired devil was thankful for that.

“I see. Apologies for asking.” Sona replied in her professional tone. The Sitri devil realised that her big sister had been with Raynor the whole night.

Most likely doing…things she can’t only blush about.

“No worries, you can relax and enjoy your breakfast. I will be leaving the castle and the island to you and Rias. While I will be going to the Crackclaw Point.”

“...You will be leaving us behind?” Rias chipped in. She looked devastated!

“Well, duh. I need someone to watch over it.” 

“You can leave, Grayfia! She is an Ultimate Class Devil! She is more than capable of doing such a thing.” The crimson-haired Heiress had a good point.

Her response made him look at Grayfia.

“I will watch over it. Don’t worry about it.”

“And I will continue with my work.” Serafall quickly added her two pieces as she didn’t want to be pulled into his bed for at least a couple of days!

“Hmm, I suppose.” Raynor slowly nodded at her words.

“I will deepen the water stream; you only need to add pipes.” 

The black-haired devil slowly nodded. Internally, she was happy that she would have barely any work after doing this!

“While you two, I hope you realise that there could be a bit of killing coming your way.”

Both Sona and Rias smile at him.

“We killed already.” Rias declared in a proud tone.

“The question is, do you have means to fortify your bodies, or can stray arrows hurt you?” His question made the pair stop and look at each other.

“Umm…”

“...We never needed anything like that; however, theoretically, we can channel demonic energy through our bodies.” Sona reasoned.

“So that is why I was able to defeat Serafall.” He looked at the devil in his lap.

“In other words, devils are fragile like ice,” Skadi said in a mocking tone.

“Not quite.” Serafall defended herself.

“We can channel demonic energy and make it harden like another layer of skin.” She said with a huff.

“We can!?” Rias exclaimed in surprise.

“...I am surprised you don’t know.” The older sibling of Sona looked surprised.

“However, you need to actively defend yourself to activate. A surprise attack could hurt you.” Raynor added his part as he killed enough devils by a surprise.

“...Yes. At the same time, your magic is dangerous as you can negate it.” The twin-tails in his lap sighed in resignation.

“So it doesn’t mind if we use demonic energy to harden our skins.”

The Shaman smiled internally. The poor devil girl has no idea that he can negate elements other than magic and his weapons, which are meant for killing. So, while they technically can bypass hardened skin, they can be easily negated by objects in their trajectory.

Not that he will advertise his weaknesses…

“I see.”

He nodded before looking at Rias and Sona.

“Learn to protect against conventional weapons, then we can talk about joining me in this expedition.”

The Wolf King gave them an ultimatum.

“O-Okay!” Rias nodded as she looked at Grayfia. The silver-haired maid already knew that she would be enlisted to be their instructor.

“Grayfia, you will teach them while I do my preparations for the trip.”

“Understood.”

~~~

Raynor checked his inventory, arrows, and knives, double-checked his bow, and then checked his leather clothes and the charms attached to them.

“Do you need so much preparation for something as basic as visiting human fortifications?” Skadi asked him curiously as she didn’t need a thing; she could easily pulverise everything in this place… in her opinion.

“I will be hunting animals too.” He said in a more serious tone.

“...Oh…” The Goddess had a flashback of a totem in her last fight against Raynor.

That aura… it was souls in a form of power.

“You ritualise regular souls to give you power. That means that even basic things like simple animals can continuously strengthen you.” Skadi realised midway what this meant.

“And they give me unique powers along the way.” He smirked when he saw her look.

“So if they have woods, that means they have animals.” Raynor began to collect his tools, sheathing daggers and strapping the quiver on his back, followed by the bow.

Once that was done, he went outside. He knows that Velaryons are coming to pick him up, and it should be today or the day after.

So he has more than enough time to get his hunting sense back in the woods.

‘There should be some minor criters in these forests.’

Dragonstone has some small woods, so they should not be empty. He can recall rabbit tracks and some foxes. 

So it’s not completely empty.

“Hey, I'm coming too!” Skadi quickly caught up to him. She was baffled by his flip. It reminded her of the time she first met him in Niflheim. He was always on edge, ready to pounce and fight.

After getting her, he became all cute and cuddly. Now he was back in that ‘form’.

“I am going to explore the island. I haven’t done it properly yet.”

“Then I am coming too!” The Goddess puffed at him. How could he leave her out of it?

“Sure.”

The pair walked out of the keep. Inside the castle walls, they could see Grayfia instructing Sona and Rias about their demonic energy.

“Good, they might be more useful than just accessories,” Skadi said with crossed arms as she saw where he was looking.

“They always have a use, Skadi.” Raynor chuckled, hinting at something.

Scoff

“I can always warm your bed.” She immediately thought about sex…

“Not that. They are summons that I can use as a meat shield.” He shrugged before starting to walk towards the gates.

The Jotun Goddess needed to process that for a second! She never imagined that! 

‘To think that he could be that cold!’

Of course, Raynor hinted at Rias and Sona, as Grayfia and Serafall had a bit more use, not because they were strong but because they were pregnant with his child.

Raynor wants to see how strong they will be. As their mothers will be Ultimate Class Devils, they should inherit their potential.

The question is what kind of his abilities they will have. Affinity towards Nature? Maybe more affinity towards Souls? As devils are known to tinker with souls, and combined with his affinity, it could be double of it.

Or maybe blood magic…

Well, that is why he is interested; he wants to see their potential.

After leaving the castle, Raynor summoned his list of summons and selected his trustie… and useless dog, Dogo.

The wolf manifested next to him. There was a bit of confusion in his eyes as he needed to smell him.

His pet wolf needed to realise that his Master’s smell had changed a bit.

“What? You forgot how I smell? What a useless dog.” Raynor commented, forgetting that his clothes were different… and that Serafall’s and Skadi’s smell was all over him.

The wolf barked at him for a second before getting used to the new smell.

“Good, now let’s go. I need to explore and get back to my peak condition.” The Shaman began to walk, wanting to see the other side of the Volcanic island.

~~~

Midway, Raynor summoned his birds, as he needed aerial vision. He quickly noticed that there were a couple of small forests deeper in the island. They looked decent enough for wildlife to flourish.

From the sky he could see some deers, boars and even a pack of wolves.

If wolves are around, then there is a decent population of prey to hunt. 

“From the markings and fur, I can say that they have been transported from the mainland.” The Shaman opened his eyes as he canceled the skin change.

“I am more surprised that you can take control of your animals,” Skadi commented, as the regular animals didn’t mean a thing to her. Still, the ability was interesting, and she wondered about its limitations.

“Northener blood.” He smirked at her before continuing to walk. He had already walked around ten kilometres. There is still no end to the island.

On the map, it looks decent enough. But if he could measure it properly, his wild guess is that it's around 50 to 70 square kilometres.

‘Right, let’s see if I can order them to circle the island.’ 

Raynor decided to test his birds a bit. He wants to see if they can measure it for him.

The Shaman pulled on the connection he had with his pets and used intent to order them.

After doing that, he looked into the sky and saw the birds fly away.

‘Good, that could come in handy in the future.’

As the birds flew away, the Wolf King decided to begin improving his core totems.

‘Female Boars usually live in groups.’ 

He smiled as he recalled what he saw through his Falcon’s eyes.

The pair arrived at the edge of a decent-sized forest.

“This does have a feeling of wilderness; I approve,” Skadi said with slightly narrowed eyes. Her hunter's instincts are reacting to this place.

“If I have the approval of a Goddess, then I am certain that I will get something decent around here.” He joked as he pulled out his bow and got one arrow ready.

“You should.” The Jotun Goddess didn’t understand his joke.

Raynor rolled his eyes as he began to look for tracks. 

He didn’t need to look for long as he quickly found holes in the dirt.

“Boar, exactly what I have been looking for.” He commented as he inspected the dirt and then checked the tracks.

“Hmm, the dryness of this place is a bit concerning.” The Shaman mumbled to himself.

The thing about such a volcanic island is that there should be several mountains around it. But there is only one volcano and no mountains or hills to stop the clouds. 

That means that rain here is not a common thing.

‘But then how do the trees flourish here?’ For a second, he ponders as the way he sees is it is the water in the deeper parts of the soil.

But water is still needed for the grass and bushes.

Raynor and Skadi continued to explore and follow the tracks. 

His ears quickly perked up; after a while, he could hear running water.

“A water stream.” The Shaman said to his Goddess Wife.

“Yes, I can sense it.” She said while looking towards that direction.

“You can sense liquids?” He asked her curiously.

“Yes. I could sense strange water flow outside the castle.” She said in a pondering tone.

“I can assume you made it, as nature doesn’t work like that.” The Goddess noticed his Water Totem.

“I could sense that it rose from the depths then rapidly stopped before gently flowing out.”

“That is my Water Totem.” He looked surprised for a second. To think that she could sense water like some sort of compass.

“Yes, that. This is a bit different, as I could sense a network of water streams. This place is like a valley, and water is gathering here.” She looked around, noticing that they were going downwards.

“Yes. Not bad. I didn’t expect you to do that.” He commented on her ability.

“I am a Jotun. It should be obvious that Water and Ice is second nature to us.” She flicked her hair for a second, looking proud.

“Yes, a convenient power.” Raynor nodded at her before accepting that on this dry volcanic island, forests can grow as there are water streams that keep them alive.

After learning about her impressive sense, the Shaman returned to his hunt.

The boars didn’t have much chance of escaping him as the Wolf King discovered their nest.

It was next to a fallen tree, a small cavern where five boars were living.

“What are you going to do?” Skadi asked him as she wondered if he would catch all of them.

“Leave one matured alive,” Raynor replied without looking at her. He picked up a rock and threw it at the entrance.

This caused a reaction as brown boars rushed out looking for targets.

The Shaman smiled as he smoothly released the first arrow that slammed right into Boar’s face, killing it on the spot. With one down, the second rushed towards the source.

It would seem it smelled the enemy.

Instead of ending the wild pig, Raynor dodged the charge and picked the pig away. Causing it to scramble away after realising how dangerous he was.

After making the other boar run away, the Shaman walked towards the nest. As if sensing the threat, the piglets rushed out and tried to ram the Wolf King. 

The Hunter smiled at their attempt as he pulled out one of his daggers and began slaughtering the three piglets.

With several casual swings, all three of them were down.

But then one of the mama boars returned, as if sensing danger for babies. 

The wild pig dashed towards Raynor. It was a reckless and furious charge.

“For love of…” 

The Shaman side-stepped as he was thinking to kick the pig again.

But at that moment he realised that it wouldn’t work for long.

As the boar would return. So he wondered if he could… alter something.

‘Oh…’

‘Voodoo magic… no charms would do here.’

At that moment, Raynor dodged another charge and then sidestepped before kicking the animal into a tree. He quickly approached it and then used his strength to keep it against the trunk.

He then used his knife to carve a rune.

Not that it was easy as the animal struggled… a lot.

But then his tattoo that he got from victory spoils glowed, and soul magic rushed into the boar.

Once it settled down, the boar dashed away into the depths of the forest.

“What was that?” Skadi looked intrigued as she sensed that something big had happened. Carving on living animals like that… 

Is… well, new to her.

“I used soul intent-based magic, or you can call it a charm or something more…” He looked towards where it had run away.

“What kind of charm?” The Jotun Goddess was a bit curious about what he cooked up with it.

“It will be horny and will breed more wild pigs for me.” He smirked while saying that.

“...Oh… curious…” Skadi looked surprised. This was… like farming? Is it? She is not knowledgeable about farming practices.

“Yes. The pig will generate more piglets for me so that I can improve my Shaman Totems.” He shrugged at his basic idea.

After all, his island doesn’t have that big a population, so using a soul as a sacrifice and his fertility magic, he could get some good results.

Well, time will tell.

After the explanation, he returned to Piggy Killing as there were more boars inside the makeshift cave.

~~~

That would make eight in total. Raynor checked his loot. He got seven small to medium size and one big mama boar.

Sadly, female boars don’t have large tusks. As more tusks would mean he could make more daggers. Still, it was good. He has leather and meat for his growing wolves.

After all, he has Deimos pack out all the time now so that those puppies can grow and become stronger by absorbing the natural energy from the totem.

With loot secured and stored away in the inventory, Raynor and Skadi continued to explore the forest.

Around twenty minutes later, he picked up a trail of his favourite predators.

“Wolves, this is wonderful.” The Wolf King grinned from ear to ear.

He wants to get rid of them. This island was his turf; the only predators that could feast here were him and his wolves.

No other canines are needed on Dragonstone.

“Are you going to add them to your packs?” 

Marcus and his dog looked at her as if she were stupid.

“No, my packs have reached a sustainable size and big enough gene pool for a healthy population; by this point, any other ones should be exterminated," He said while looking at his pet wolf.

“Be useful and locate them for me.” 

With a nod, the wolf dashed towards a certain location; it already knew where to look. 

“I see… so you need their souls and not the wolves,” Skadi commented with crossed arms. She already understood a good portion of Raynor’s shamanic powers, but there were still considerable gaps in her understanding.

One of them is how he converts these souls and can just weave magic like that. 

Is his soul so attuned to nature that he can wield it like that? Or did he go through another ritual?

Regardless, after a while, they needed to dash as Dogo howled, and moments later, Raynor saw his pet getting surrounded.

“Not on my watch, only I can bully my dog!” A Spartan kick sent one of the wolves flying into a tree trunk, then followed several knives which killed another three.

This left the pack less than half of the original size.

The wolves growled and barked at the newcomers.

“Well, someone is not happy~,” Raynor smirked as he pulled out his bow and prepared his arrows.

For a second, none of them moved; there was a stand-off. Raynor and the pack leader gazed at each other, their eyes digging into each other for a second before the remaining wolves turned around and tried to run.

But the Shaman had other ideas.

He quickly opened fire, and the arrows disabled the canines.

Hitting in the back legs or spine, causing the wolves to collapse just a few metres away from Dogo.

“And just like that, I got another seven~” The hunter hummed as he pulled out his knife—time to end their suffering.