Hearing the familiar growl, John turned to his nemesis. The moment his saw the beast, he instinctively knew that was a normal wolf. He didn't know how or why he knew that, but he did. Maybe it was due to his newly acquired Animal Handling, or maybe it was due to a combination of multiple skills. Either way, what was important was that he knew he had very little chance in taming the beast. Wolves were wild animals after all, and unless he did something to gain the wolf's trust, his low-ranked skills wouldn't work on it. That, however, didn't stop him from trying.

"Good doggie." Said John, slowly backing away, but the wolf continued towards him, its mouth opened slightly, ready to pounce on him.

"You don't want to eat me." John dearly hoped his skills were enough to pull off a Jedi mind trick. Had they been a higher level, this might've worked. However, as things stood at that moment, his attempt failed miserably.

With a growl, the wolf jumped at him. Time almost slowed down as John watched the beast flying towards him. He took a step to the side and spun around, avoiding the wolf's pounce by the skin of his of teeth.

'What the…' He questioned, as he had never performed such a move before, yet he did it with… ease. There was only one explanation that came to his mind. 'It has to be the Martial Arts Skill.'

The wolf was obviously faster and stronger than John, but it saw him as an easy prey, not taking him seriously. He could use that to his advantage and possibly try to use his newly acquired skills. Weapon Proficiency was out of the question since he didn't have a weapon. Martial Arts, however, was a different story. If he could dodge the wolf's attacks like he did and get a few strikes in at the same time, maybe he could take it down. John was ready for the wolf's pounce, but the beast surprised him by rushing at him.

'Now what?!' John tried thinking of any way out of this situation, but nothing came to his mind. However, his body reacted on its own. Crouching down slightly, he turned to the side as his leg shot out towards the wolf, hitting its muzzle.

The beast let out a yelp, and John's eyes shined. 'This is my chance. I can actually do this!' He swung his fist, planning to continue his assault and overpower the wolf. However, the beast's menacing yellow eyes narrowed down, finally taking him seriously. Its mouth turned to the side and bit down on his arm lightning quick.

"Fuck!" John cursed out in pain. His first instinct was to pull his arm away, but that made it even worse, as the wolf tugged back. John's other hand flew out, sending a flurry of punches at its muzzle. The wolf did end up releasing his arm, but it was bleeding heavily. John's blood dripped on the grass as the beast backed away from him.

'It plans to let me bleed out.' John concluded, but there was nothing he could do to avoid it. He couldn't escape as there was no way he could outrun it. John knew that much from his previous experience. The only option was to fight until his dying breath, which was no doubt coming soon.

John charged the wolf, but the beast simply ran around him, staying out of his reach. No matter what he tried, it simply kept its distance, not letting him near it. As a last ditch effort, he used his Mage Hand and poked the wolf in its eyes. John lost consciences from his blood loss, but he had a satisfying expression on his face, knowing that he had at least managed to annoy it.

Waking up on the ground, he stood up quickly, replaying the previous fight in his head and thinking what he could've done better. The spells he had were his only real advantage that he didn't really make use off. However, they were practically useless. He needed better ones to have a chance at taking down the wolf. With that in mind, he selected Wizard as his class.

[… experience has been added to All-Spellcasting…]

[Minor Illusion added to Spell list.]

[Investigation(Novice) added to Skill list.]

"God damn it!" John got another nondamaging spell. He needed something more useful, something with more power behind it.

'Maybe there is something I could do with this.' He thought after checking the description of the spell.

John turned to the side, just as he heard the familiar growl. "Good doggie." He backed away fearfully, hoping to replicate the previous encounter. The wolf pounced on him as he expected, and he avoided it with ease like the previous time.

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Afterward, John waited for it rush him. The beast dashed towards him, and this was when he changed up his previous strategy. He used his new spell Minor Illusion, replicating the bestial roar that woke him up every time right next to the wolf's head. He also cast Mage Hand, tapping the beast on the head, startling him even more.

The wolf stopped in its tracks, looking around in confusion. John didn't hesitate and rushed the beast, sending a flurry of punches and kicks. He'd never fought in his life, and never practiced, but with each attack, his strikes were getting better and better. At the same time, John kept using his two spells, confusing the wolf with his illusions while also punching him with his Mage Hand.

'I can do this!' John taught as he continued his assault. He could feel himself winning, but something unexpected happened before that. John suddenly started feeling drowsy, and his thoughts became as slow as a snail.

'What's going on?' He was confused, as he stumbled, losing his balance due to the sudden fatigue that overtook him. This was all the wolf needed to turn the tables around. John couldn't even raise his arms to defend himself as the beast pounced on him and toppled him down. The wolf's razor sharp-teeth pierced his neck, quickly ending his life.

Getting up from the ground, John was frustrated with himself. Everything was going his way, the constant use of his spells kept the wolf confused… 'Was that it? Overusing my spells mentally exhausted me.' He concluded. Nothing else could explains his sudden drowsiness.

'I have to be more careful with my spells, but… without them, I don't stand a chance. I need a better spell, a damaging one.' With that in mind, he selected Sorcerer, hoping for something better than Dancing Lights.

[Chill Touch added to Spell List.]

[… experience added to Persuasion(Novice)…]

John had to blink his eyes a few times, almost unable to believe that he actually got an attacking spell. He quickly checked the description, making sure that really was the case.

[Chill Touch: You create a ghostly, skeletal hand, within 120 feet of you, which can assail a target with the chill of the grave.]

"No freaking way!" John exclaimed, happy that he finally had an attacking spell. "It's like a much better Mage Hand!" Happiness engulfed him, as he felt optimistic about the encounter that was bound to happen.

"Good doggie." John backed away, almost failing to hide his smirk. With practiced ease, he avoided the wolf's pounce like a professional dancer. The beast turned towards John, ready to rush him, when he used Minor Illusion on it. The wolf's head swirled back and forth, searching for the bestial roar that it just heard.

John then followed up with his new spell while the beast was distracted. The skeletal hand formed right next to the wolf's head and quickly grabbed onto it. The grey fur visibly started to darken from his spell, and John got excited seeing that.

Not willing to let this chance go, he rushed the wolf that was trying to get out of the skeletal hand's grasp. John cast Chill Touch once more before he reached the beast, gripping its head from the other side. He didn't use any more spells, as he already started feeling slightly drowsy, and simply sent a flurry of punches and kicks, careful not to touch skeletal hands, as he didn't know if his own spells affected him as well.

One of the hands shortly disappeared, and John reluctantly used Chill Touch once more while continuing to attack the wolf without stopping. He was not giving the beast any chances of retaliating, knowing it could end his life very quickly. The wolf struggled for a bit more, but in the end, John took it down. For a moment, he just stayed in place, unable to believe what he had done. John didn't feel bad for killing the wolf, not at all, especially when it had killed him numerous times already. He was simply baffled he actually managed to accomplish it.

"I did it! I actually did it!" John exclaimed as happiness engulfed him at his achievement. When he first saw the wolf, it looked like a demon from hell, one he could never imagine fighting against. Yet, now he stood above said demon's corpse as the winner of their fight. He had the means to fight the beasts in this forest! He could do it! Finding a way to safety seemed possible.

"I really did." John repeated and focused on the screen that had popped in his vision after the fight.

[Sorcerer has leveled up.]

[+1 CON and CHA]

[Comprehend Languages added to Spell List.]

[Johnathan Williams]

[Class: Sorcerer lvl. 2]

[STR: 7

DEX: 7

CON: 8

INT: 7

WIS: 7

CHA: 8]

[Skill List:

All-Weapon Proficiency(Novice), All-Spellcasting(Novice), Insight(Novice), Survival(Novice), Deception(Novice), Intimidation(Novice), Persuasion(Novice), Perception(Novice), Stealth(Novice), Animal Handling(Novice), Investigation(Novice)]

[Spell List:

Cantrip: Gust, Mage Hand, Dancing Lights, Vicious Mockery, Minor Illusion, Chill Touch

Level 1: Comprehend Languages]

John was happy to see the increase of his stats. All of them went up by at least one, thanks to two of his skills. However, the spell that he acquired, which also happened to be his first Level 1 spell, severely disappointed him.

"What am I even supposed to do with this?" John questioned out loud, looking at its description.

[Comprehend Languages: For the duration of the spell, you understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that you hear. You also understand any written language that you see, but you must be touching the surface on which the words are written.]

John could see how that could be useful if he managed to escape this forest and find other humans. Chance were, they won't speak English around here. However, he first had to get out of this forest for that to make a difference. Out of all the spells he could get, not that he knew what was available, he got the worst one.

"At least… I just proved to myself that I have a chance of escaping. I got my first level so that has to mean something." He uttered, looking at his status for a bit longer. "I do feel stronger… I think." He wasn't sure, but he felt something was different about him. Maybe it was because his drowsiness was gone.

"Okay… Okay…" John repeated as he closed his status. "Now what am I supposed to do?" He questioned no one in particular before remembering he still hadn't explored to the East since the wolf always chased him away. A giddy feeling overtook him, just thinking about the beast.

"I finally took you down stupid mutt." John declared with a proud smile before he suddenly froze in place, hearing something behind him. Mechanically, he turned his head back to see, and his face lost all color.

"You have to be kidding me!" John yelled, seeing not one, not two, but a whole pack of wolves, with one far larger than the rest leading them. His last thought before they pounced on him was. 'At least I know what's East of my starting location.'