William readied himself to repeat the previous success, coordinating himself and Echo in the process. The beast started padding faster towards him, an involuntary limp present as the beast struggled to keep its heavy weight supported. William commanded Echo to use his Mana disruption on the Direwolf’s right side and with a weave under another snap of teeth, William darted to his target and upon feeling the vibration of Echo’s attack, sliced cleanly into the beast’s side. The fur began to turn to a reddish sheen from the blood matting it.

He dodged back as he saw the tail of the beast swishing his way. William had succeeded in dodging the initial swish, but couldn’t react to his [Danger Sense] in time as it whipped back and struck him across his shoulder, knocking him off of his feet. He clenched his grip as hard as possible on Absolution so he didn’t lose it and with a grit of his teeth, endured the two bounces across the rough rooted terrain beneath him. William’s body felt numb for the briefest of moments and his vision flared white, but he was able to get to his feet and move back into the area of open space he had just been in before his foe could reach his downed state.

In fact, the beast was at least seven meters away and was doing the semi-limping approach from before. William still felt little feeling from the side that had been hit by the tail, but he could work with it. He felt for Echo, and detected the bond sitting on a nearby branch waiting for their next move. He was the goodest of good Phaselings, William affirmed to himself as he shifted to take his stance. The attack he had made a moment ago was on the beast’s less injured side, and was made with the intent to wear the beast down. William decided that the next plan of action would be to remove the danger of that tail.

He commanded Echo to ready himself to use his disruption on the tail. With the order issued, William began running at the Direwolf. As the pair met, William slid underneath the beast’s bite attack and travelled a good way under the massive creature. He had unfortunately slid through the dripping blood form the earlier chest wound, grimacing as the fluid coated him, then picked up his pace in a scramble as the underside of the beast began to shine blue. He was just in time to get out from under the beast as its weight dropped down, in what William guessed was some type of crushing attempt. Echo was there then and with the disruption attack executed on the tail, William brought Absolution down and severed the appendage with ease.

The beast roared in pain and with its one remaining back leg, kicked it up at William’s chest. Being on the ground had given the Direwolf enough stability to kick back, and if it wasn’t for William’s shield, he may have very well died from the attack if he had been any slower given that the force launched him airborne once again. He wasn’t able to keep his grip on absolution when he hit the dirt this time however, and heard a clang as it hit the ground, followed by a thunk of metal on wood. Before he stopped, he glimpsed his sword stuck in the nearby tree. A moment later, he had skidded to a halt, coughing up some blood and gasping for air.

He took an extra few moments to get to his feet and when he did, he saw that the beast was still approaching, but had slowed significantly and seemed to be struggling in its gait. William did a mental check as he stood and other than some scrapes, bruises, and loss of feeling in his shoulder and opposite arm, he was mostly fighting fit. He had no MP left and was halfway empty on his SP. He could use [Dagger Toss], but he had a feeling that on a beast of the Direwolf’s size, they wouldn’t do too much. He also had no way to amplify it with [Mana Investment], otherwise the daggers might actually do some meaningful damage. All that was available to him at present was [Indomitable Parry] and [Shield Bash]. William decided that a successful parry would be better for his success than just another shield bash. A parry should also make the head shift to another angle, hopefully exposing its neck. Decision made up, he quickly jogged, noticing that his left calf felt tight and he had a feeling that a muscle was pulled somewhat.

William collected Absolution and ran at the Direwolf, commanding Echo to aim his Mana disruption at the beast’s neck. William felt like an injury there even if not immediately lethal would hopefully make the beast bleed out with its other wounds accumulating. His heart raced as the gap between the two beasts shrunk, each beat echoing in his ears. As the Direwolf’s raspy breath heated his body less than a foot away from the maw, William brought his shield forward and used [Indomitable Parry], and what happened next shocked him.

Echo had used his skill on the beast’s neck just before William’s blow connected. What he expected to be a knock of the head to the side, instead was a sudden snap of bone from the beast’s neck and a final yelp before the beast succumbed, collapsing to the floor dead. William stood there motionless for a long moment then a grin plastered his face and he roared in triumph. He had done it. He had beaten the beast without his MP and most powerful attacks available to him. It was a battle between beasts and he was the predator in this bout. Echo was the best little sidekick he could ask for and even had an obscenely useful ability. The fact the little guy could shift between physical and metaphysical was already over powered, but he did expect that it wasn’t an infallible trait.

William heard a soft weight drop from a nearby tree and turned to see Stacey running over to him with worry. He was about to speak when he was tackled to the ground in a big hug. He felt her soft hair on his face as she kissed him passionately, and forgot about everything else for a few long and wonderful moments. After what felt like a heavenly eternity, their lips parted and Stacey wore a sheepish grin, letting him get back to his feet, only now realizing she had just floored him.

William looked over her body for any injuries and when he couldn’t see any, he asked if she was okay.

“Never better. Well...okay, I’m still calming myself after watching that fight. It was...amazing...and horrifying,” Stacey said, shuddering slightly as she finished the sentence.

“It did feel amazing, I’ve not had many fights as exhilarating as that one since coming here,” William replied, as he leaned against the shoulder of the dead Direwolf, massaging his aching calf muscle.

“Don’t turn into a battle junkie William, I don’t want to have to worry about you every time something dangerous pops up.”

“Are you saying, that you don’t want me to be the gallant, noble, and chivalrous hero? Rushing to the aid of the weak and scared?”

“Not if it means you die, I’d rather have you than lose you.”

“And thus the thousands in need succumbed to the demon lord because the noble hero was busy paying attention to his girl.”

“And would that hero, abandon the one who stole his heart? To give his life for a bunch of strangers?”

“That hero would unfortunately be unavailable for hero work for the foreseeable future.”

Stacey chuckled and as she stroked the unbloodied fur of the dead beast, replied, “You would choose me over thousands?”

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William felt some relief as he pressed his leg into the ground, the pain subdued for now and he walked over to Stacey, putting his arms around her waist and said, “Not for millions.”

“You know William, as fucked up as that is, it’s really romantic.”

William answered that with another kiss, making Stacey melt in his arms.

William stopped kissing her when he felt Echo doing something with the beast’s corpse behind him. Stacey seemed to hear the noises too and the pair turned to look at the little guy.

Echo was tearing chunks from the wound on the fallen beast’s chest and gorging himself on the meat. Ashen was also nearby and looked at the meat longingly. William pointed at Ashen with a nod of his head and Stacey got his meaning.

“You can join in Ashen,” Stacey said, encouragingly.

The little falcon let out a happy chirp and got stuck in on the other side of the sword wound William had made.

William and Stacey watched their bonds enjoy their fill for a few moments until something shimmered further inside the wound. William waved his hand between the two little bonds and they paused, allowing him to jam his fist through the wound. He reached in and pulled a quartz shaped blue crystal from the wound.

He thought back to when he had seen one like it before, though that one had been smaller, a peanut sized crystal that was nothing like the fist sized version he beheld now. William remembered something from an earlier prompt as he held the object.

Material – Blue Mana Essence Core

{Description}

Mana Essence Cores are typically found from slain creatures of speed such as Wind Eagles, Man-stalker Hounds, and Death-Scythe Hornets. Often used in Enchanting, Alchemy, and Witchcraft.

If this was the same thing, it should theoretically be a more potent version. William decided that he would meditate a bit later to recharge his MP and then he would use [Identify] on it. Something else came to mind then as he saw Stacey had started stroking the fur once again. William assessed the beast and its fallen position, then nodded to himself. He stepped around to the lower half of the beast and started to skin it, making sure to not damage the fur too much. There was a lot, but he knew that it would fit in his Spatial Storage just fine. He had some ideas as to what he could use the fur for, but what he wanted the most was to get some of it made into a fur coat for Stacey. She was primarily a Mage, so it should be more compatible than armor, and if it held the same properties of Mana infusion, it would offer a good amount of protection on its own. Add her [Mana-Ward] to that, and he wouldn’t be as worried about her safety in future battles.

Stacey worked out what he was doing quickly and said she would keep watch while their bonds continued eating. Thirty minutes later, William had finished. The fur was quite heavy and even with his Strength being what it was, he struggled to move it easily. William decided to cut the lower half off and after another five minutes, both halves were in his Spatial Storage. The magic inside would deal with wet blood on the inside of the fur, so he didn’t have to. Getting the gift for Stacey made was his first thing on the mental to do list when they got back to Everglade. He could also feel that even after the battle with the normal wolves and the Direwolf, he hadn’t gained a level. The only silver lining was that he felt that the next Fighter level was near and another battle with as many wolves would most likely be enough to finally level up again.

The soft cap on levels in the region was annoying, but he had decided to make sure his party at minimum were all near the cap before they set out, provided that John and Jane would come along. He hoped they would, but if it was just him and Stacey, he wouldn’t mind that either. Those were all things for later him to deal with though and he decided that with the amount of meat on the beast, they could eat something that wasn’t dried meat. The fire by their shelter was still going after all, so it would be wasteful not to make use of the perfectly good meat.

William cut a few decent chunks from the beast’s shoulder and carried them over to the fire, placing them on a long and flat stone that Stacey had cleared for them earlier. He splashed some water from the water-skin he had onto his hands to wash the blood off before starting the process of skewering the chunks and dangling them over the fire. He felt Echo calling out over his bond and glanced towards his bond. The guy had gotten curious about the other wolves and was by one that still barely clung to life. William noticed it was the one with two missing legs from earlier. He was impressed that the creature had lived for so long, but he affirmed to Echo to finish the beast and after hearing a faint vibration from that direction, Echo had finished and sent as much down the bond.

William was still looking in that direction when he saw Ashen flying over to the fire, laying down near it with a bloody beak. The creature seemed content and dozed off quickly. Echo was quick to follow and landed beside Ashen, curling up next to the bird and drifting off to dreamland. William couldn’t help but smile at the scene. Stacey leaned into him and he caught the same smile on her face. It was like two parents were out camping with their fur babies...well, leather and feather babies to be specific.

The rest of the evening was more relaxed as the two alternated in their meditation and night watches. William had learned that Stacey had unlocked [Fire-Wall] from the levels she gained and congratulated her. He was relieved that she also had the skill now. He had worried that only [Fire-Bolt] wouldn’t be sufficient for much longer if that last fight was any indication.

She even got to use it in the night, abruptly waking William. He had stirred and by the time he had sword summoned and shield raised, the attacking creatures were charred husks form the new spell. Stacey had apparently got three more wolves that had come sniffing by, and given that they were two level fifteens, and a sixteen, she had gained three whole levels. She was now Mage Level thirteen and Scout Level three. The kills with the dagger earlier had made her level, but as the Direwolf had rudely interrupted them, it had been forgotten until William had asked about her level. It also meant that her Human level was now fifteen. William had asked what skills she picked for hitting Human Level ten and she hadn’t yet.

Apparently, she was offered [Mana Bind], [Danger Sense], and [Ley-line Affinity]. William explained that john had picked something similar in [Ley-line Affinity] and she grimaced. Stacey was adamant that she didn’t want to copy John and so picked the two other suggested skills, [Mana Bind] and [Danger Sense].

William had been surprised that she was offered the same skill as him as well as the fact she was offered [Danger Sense] instead of [Aura Sense]. He assumed it was because she had a close range secondary class, but couldn’t be certain. She had made her mind up though, and both were good picks. Stacey had explained what [Mana bind] did and it was not too surprising to William. The skill created tight Mana strings that restricted the movement of a specific target within range.

The possible combos she could do with fire magic were significant. He pictured her trapping foes in place then cremating them with [Fire-Wall] or maybe [Fireball] if the skill was a thing. He expected it to be otherwise he would be greatly disappointed in the fantasy world. With those decisions made, they finished the rest of their night in peace.

William had awoke during his slumber, and remembered to look at his new resource; Grit.

Grit: 160

He smiled then, feeling that it had been a very lucrative night, before falling back on the bed and went back to sleep.