The initial charge nearly scraped the eyeballs off of his sockets. The rush of air and broken droplets of rain blasted from his left as he scampered to the other side, smashing his shoulder against the rigid bark of a tree. It shook as Theron tracked the boar’s location.

Alright… Stay calm. What do I do?

[Summon your aspect to fight. Aspects cannot be unsummoned if you are in combat.]

Right… the wolf. How do I- Shit-

He raised his arm, feeling the trickles of rain as his eyes found the wolf within his compendium. A lick of Mana escaped his pores from his outstretched palm, producing a low white light coalescing in the form of a dire wolf, made evident by its unique howling. The boar wheeled to face its challenger, now backed with a silhouette of a creature matching its size. Theron considered using his aura right away, but with his limited Mana, Theron shoved that thought away, opting to focus on the moment.

Then, he felt some kind of a link forming between his growling aspect and himself, like a thin thread of a line connecting their innermost thoughts. Its hunger and desire to kill flourished, spilling over to him and turning his vision red. The sudden outburst of bloodlust shocked him, broken by the next blitz of the boar, yanking him back into the world of the living.

Dodge it!

He willed a short command to the wolf, which it heeded with passion. Two pairs of fur-coated creatures popped the beads of water from their blitz, followed by Theron, veering away from the boar’s incoming charge. Attack. He willed another word, and again, the wolf obediently complied. A chilling howl heralded its attempts to bite the boar’s exposed hind. Viscous blood clung to its fangs when the wolf latched onto it, the taste of which entered his mouth, filling his nose with the odor of iron.

Pain erupting its backside, the boar thrashed, wiggling itself away from the maws of Theron’s aspect. The wolf did what it could to keep the clinch of its mouth steady, raising its paws to claw at its furry backside, peeling off strands of dark hair as its limbs slipped from the damp surface. The rain proved too much from its might to handle, and both sides propelled away from each other when the wolf lost its grip.

Slipping on its feet, the boar growled to ward off any further attacks from Theron’s wolf. With its limbs wounded, he knew the scant odds of it performing another powerful rush. A loud rasp of air bolted away when Theron’s wolf resumed its assault despite no orders being relayed. So I don’t have to micromanage it all the time, Theron concluded from its actions as he followed its movements from the corners of his eyes.

The boar’s tusks impeded his wolf’s onslaught of empty bites, barricading itself from further attacks from the length of its protrusions. Theron dredged through the thicket of leaves and trees from the boar’s left side, his figure veiled by the web of vines and the figure of his insatiable wolf. Once reaching a distance short enough for his arms to reach it, he broke the tree line, scampering at the boar with a short leap. Both arms latched onto its tusks as he clambered on its back, grimacing while doing his best to yank this beast backward. His wolf noted Theron’s plans, shifted to the right, then struck the boar’s sides, earning another fresh pint of blood drooling on its jaws.

With its overwhelming wounds, the boar lost its footing and fell. Theron rolled away from its collapsing silhouette while his wolf performed the finishing blow. Chunks of meat and blood scattered about on the forest floor, congratulating Theron on his first victory.

[You gained 10 exp. Points]

[You are currently in Tutorial Zone. Monsters spawned here are weakened. Higher-rarity monsters are set to level 1. Monsters in this zone will only aim at your aspect as long as your aspect is alive. However, this rule only applies if you’re not outnumbered and as long as you do not attack monsters directly. You will gain progressively less experience from each kill as you level up, stopping entirely once you reach level 5. You are advised to leave the tutorial zone after.]

Thank you for that, I guess? Rising from his position, his eyes glimpsed the carcass with a studious look. He’d never seen a boar personally—only from a few images from the Internet—but if he ever met one, this boar would be a near-copy of the boars seen back on Earth. Well, boars typically wouldn’t have tusks as lengthy and imposing as this beast’s, but the resemblance was uncanny.

It didn’t act 100% like a boar, though, more like a… well, like a mix of animal and monster. It’d be best if he stopped assuming that every monster he met acted like pure animals, like what the system suggested. The monsters shared a few of their normal behaviors, though.

[Extract monsters to earn essences.]

Extract… let’s see. He reached out his hand, using his other skill [Extract aspect].

[Extract Aspect fragment? You will gain essences equal to the experience gained. Materias of a monster will drop by chance once a drifter completes an aspect's mastery progress.]

Essences… materia? Completing an aspect? The mention of essences stumped him, but that was explained by the messages right after he pondered about it. It didn’t say anything about materia, though. Perhaps he needed to obtain one first before any further messages appeared.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

[Essences are the primary currencies in the integrated universe, used to trade and to perform other functions from the aspect store, such as synthesizing aspect cores, combining aspects, attuning an element, etc.]

I… see? So I have to find an aspect store? He frowned upon the message, confusion thick in his tense brows. The constant droplets of rain didn’t help his thought process either, so he opted to extract it for now and save his ruminations for later.

Below his reached-out hand, A bright orb formed atop the boar’s corpse, floating. Air seemed to whirl around this queer bright object. A message followed as it dissipated.

[Rank 1: Forest Black boar Aspect learned. Progress: 5%]

5%… I need 19 more before… what, completion? Shaking his head, he opened his status page to see what had changed.

Theron Gray | Class: Novice | Rank: Unranked

Class: Novice| Level: 1 | Next 90 xp

Mana: 7/10

Summon slots : 0/1

Essence: -

-Attributes | Free points: - (+1/level) -

Might: 2 (+1/level)

Speed: 1 (+1/level)

Magic: 5

Toughness: 2 (+1/level)

Resistance: 10

Abilities - Active

Abilities - Passive

Necrotic aura - lvl 1 | Summon Aspect

Extract Aspect | Unsummon Aspect

-

The fields listed made sense to him; 3 Mana was spent upon summoning his wolf, and from its description, the wolf required 1 summon slot for it to be called upon. His aspect core—the wolf—gained the same amount of experience, mirroring his gains.

His companion brushed against his feet, nudging him for his next command. Its sudden act of random cuteness saved him from the harsh, cold drizzle, and he smiled thankfully. “Thanks, you saved me.” He said as he rubbed its wobbling head. It was then he glimpsed at his current state of clothing—unlike his previous outfit consisting of drab, torn clothing, on his skin was a set of dark, verdant leather armor with a hood resting on his collar. Strapped snuggly was a pouch the size of his head across his waist. He pulled his hood up, its damp insides protecting him from the weather as he perused the forest floor.

Undergrowths rustled from their slow trek through the grove; the horned wolf’s gentle taps rang silently compared to Theron’s, prompting him to command it to scout ahead for potential dangers lurking within the cover of trees. Bushes rattled when another boar showed up; Theron and his wolf entered their stance, each performing their tasks to deal with the boar. That process repeated six more times, with every encounter lessening in severity to their party as he learned of the best methods to dispatch those boars.

[You gained 10 exp. Points] x6

[Rank 1: Forest Black boar Aspect learned. Progress: 35%]

The clouds parted to a bright sky when Theron found a safe spot to rest. The moment of calm allowed his eyes to skim over the greeneries, watching dews of water clinging to the edges of the leaves, the wet pools of water gathering atop the roots, and the gentle sway of the calm forest. Unlike the desolation of nature brandished from where he came from, this change lifted his spirits a little. Sure, he could do without the constant danger, but compared to the weight of his death brooding over him every waking moment before, this pressure he preferred so much more.

His wolf rested beside him, its beady eyes studying their immediate surroundings. He reached out to pet its head, rewarded by a soft growl as it closed its eyes. This giant thing couldn’t be a dog, and its viciousness would make most grown men cry, but he learned to appreciate its company nonetheless. Is it even alive? He questioned, hoping for an answer that never mattered.

Yet, no peace lasted forever.

A loud crash emanated from a distance. Theron snapped toward the source, witnessing a large bark shivering under the impact of something. His wolf rose from its snuggle, then dipped its head and growled toward that direction. He gulped a lungful of air before his feet found their will to propel him up, yet his arms protested his will. No black forest boars—the monster variant, not the animal—ever did that much shaking when they crashed against a tree; Theron had seen it done that multiple times, so to produce such an impact…

Yeah… Not touching whatever that is.

He turned around, willing his wolf to retreat. Some day, when he had grown strong enough, he’d return here. If ever. He ogled at his status page as he ducked between the trees—three more for a level-up. And my mana’s back to full.

Within minutes, a few boars made their presence known, munching on mushrooms and lichens, their eyes calm and unfocused. He bit his lips, considering the best method of approach. Of course, taking on more than one boar would be perilous, even for a seasoned hunter equipped with a rifle, but Theron had another weapon up his sleeve—a weapon best used against a group of enemies. With 10 mana, the Necrotic aura lasted precisely 10 seconds, enough to inflict more than 10 damage if he considered its secondary effect. Since his wolf possessed 10 health, he surmised the boars were also within that range, especially with the attribute reduction in mind.

His brows curved to a frown from the hasty calculations running in his mind. For the first 5 seconds, each tick would deal 1 damage, then the first secondary effect came in, adding one damage to the next five ticks before his mana ran out. A grim smile crept up his lips. I can do this.

The wolf circled their position, reaching the direct opposite where he lurked, quieter than the still bushes athwart it. He wriggled his way closer, each step burning his kneecaps, stopping once he reached a median distance between each boar. Four. Four boars… He took a large breath, then activated his necrotic aura.

A whiff of odorless death burst into the scene. None of the boars responded at first, each happy with the food littered about atop the small opening of the grassy sward. Then… one began to note the change in the air. It turned its head around, confused. The other boars followed; their calm burst into panic once blood dripped from their nose. Two pairs of sharp eyes stilled in the distance, each glaring at their exposed position, waiting…

One honked panic as it turned tail and ran. Theron willed his wolf to impede its escape while he kept his distance, hawking the others with careful steps. Its bite crunched its backside before it crumpled on the floor, and soon enough, the other boars followed. They ran a few steps before their legs gave up, each dying the same way he once did.

[You gained 10 exp. Points] x3

[You leveled up! You gained +1 Might, +1 Speed, and +1 Toughness. +1 Free attribute point]

[Your aspect core - Horned Gray Brute Dire wolf leveled up! It gains +2 might, +2 speed, and +1 toughness. +2 free attribute points.]

[You gained 5 exp. Points] x1