-Black Wolf POV-
If he didn't kill her, the [System] was going to kill him.
[Skill: [Time of Death] has ended!]
Her body slammed against hard earth. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust. The wolf fully expected the strange creature to disappear when the dust cleared, but she just... lay there.
[Health: -8]
The strange, crimson glint of her eyes was gone, fading to a dull red. Her legs were mangled, and her torso twisted at the wrong angle. She looked at him without seeing, her pupils too hazy with pain to focus.
[Too much internal damage has been sustained! Organs are shutting down.]
She was alive, the wolf realized with growing horror. He had only attacked her because he thought her death was certain, but what if she could've lived-
[System: Come on, now. What are you waiting for?]
The quest appeared above her broken body, a reminder of why he should finish the job.
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-Tutorial Quest: Hunt or be Hunted-
As a predator, the only way to survive is to get stronger by hunting down your prey.
Time Remaining: 12 hours
Criteria for Completion: Hunt one Creature
Reward: Unlock status window, new ??? skill
Penalty for Failure: Death
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The wolf had accepted his death when the quest had appeared. He knew he wasn't a hunter, so the wolf wandered around, nibbling on anything remotely edible he came across. He had been on his way back to the patch of floating daisies he had discovered that morning- difficult to catch, but the petals were surprisingly sweet- when he saw the bunny.
The bunny was trapped in a thorn bush. The scent of blood so thick he could taste it.
Killing her would be a kindness, he thought to himself. If she did not die from her injuries this night, she would succumb to hunger the next.
And if killing her answered his selfish wish to survive-
Was he worthy of living? He had always wondered, when the nights grew long but not cold enough to kill him. Finally, the universe had shown him this sign as a yes.
He struck the thorns away with his paw. The bunny slipped under his body. He whirled around to catch her, and the bunny-
The bunny leapt into the air, and she started flying.
Blood flowed from marks clearly left by talons- perhaps the bunny had tried to fight one of those huge owls? He wouldn't put past anything past her, not when she was flying. He watched, transfixed-
Then the bunny fell from the sky.
Wake up.
He nudged her with his nose, but she didn't so much as stir. Her eyes were screwed tight in pain. Her breaths came in slow, laborious rasps- rasps that seemed to grow more uneven with every passing moment. Blood soaked through her fur and into the dirt.
[Health: -1]
He should just kill her, but-
He had already made that mistake once. He had thought he was helping, but- in truth, how could he know whether it was better for her to live or die? Only the skies and the earth could answer such a question.
... still, if she kept bleeding like this, she really wasn't going to make it to the morning. His chest tightened. If she died because of him...
He bent down to her, doing what he should've done in the first place. He licked the edge of her wound, lapping away the blood like his mother had always done when he was injured.
[Lvl 6 [Healing Kiss] has been activated! [White Bunny] Health: +4! The condition of [White Bunny] has been stabilized!]
The wolf glanced at the windows. He had never been particularly clever, but- she had lost health when she fell, so reversing that was good, right?
Sure enough, the strange angle of her paw straightened out, and the bleeding from her back slowed to a trickle. He licked the wound again, hoping she would heal some more.
[[Healing Kiss] Cooldown: 23 hours.]
The wolf sighed. Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Still, he lapped the rest of her blood away. Strangely enough, her fur began to turn white. The bunny didn't stink, so she shouldn't be that dirty. Unless she had gotten herself dirty on purpose... to hide? He licked the rest of her clean.
[System: Well, isn't this cute.]
The wolf ignored the voice in his head. Evil, his mother had warned him of the windows, and considering she had died half a moon later-
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
He pushed the thought out of his mind, focusing on the bunny. Her fur had turned white, visible as a full moon in the sky. She made him wish his coat was white, too.
[Pre-requisites have been met! A new quest has been unlocked!]
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-Side Quest: Form a Pack-
It's hard being a lone wolf, isn't it? Oh, and by the way- I expect a show.
Time Remaining: Unlimited
Criteria for Completion: Accept [White Bunny] into your pack!
Reward for all members: +8 Health, +1 Speed, +1 Strength... (see [Status Window] for more details)
Penalty for Failure: None
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Eight health... that was the same amount she had lost on the fall. The wolf glanced back down at the newly-white bunny. Her fur was already tinging red again. The coppery taste of her blood lingered on his tongue, and if this quest meant there wouldn't be any more blood...
Evil, the wolf knew, but how evil could saving someone be? The wolf pressed his paw to the word accept. Instantly, a flurry of windows appeared all around him.
[You have accepted a new member into your pack! Max Health: +8... (see status window for all stat changes)]
[New skill: [Communion] has been unlocked! The quest [Hunt or be Hunted!] has been updated!]
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-Tutorial Quest: Hunt or be Hunted-
As the leader of a pack, the only way to protect your pack is by hunting down prey so they can get stronger.
Time Remaining: 12 hours
Criteria for Completion: With your pack, hunt one Creature for each member (Number of Kills Remaining: 2)
Reward: Unlock status window, ??? skill points, new ??? skill
Penalty for Failure: Death
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Two kills. The wolf let out a quiet huff. He settled down beside the bunny. At least it seemed like she would survive. Her eyes were still closed, her breaths now came in slow, even intervals. Even better, the wound on her back had stopped bleeding.
The wolf curled his tail around her, making it clear to any passing predators that she was his. Perhaps the wolf wasn't so utterly exhausted, he would've considered how the white bunny would react to waking up beside him.
Instead, he closed his eyes. The sun had fallen many hours ago, and he let the soft sound of crickets chirping sway him to sleep.
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-White Bunny POV-
The last thing she remembered was the world going black, but this...
Oh, it was still black; the only problem was that it was fur.
Wolf fur, to be exact. His body was curled up around her, blocking her vision of everything except the sky.
The sky was blue. The sky also held three large birds who stared down at her, a familiar glint in their eyes. She knew that look- she had become acquainted with it after hours of staring into the pond, trying to force herself to swallow more dirty water to numb the sharp ache in her stomach.
Hunger.
The birds were perched on the branch. Like all true hunters, they lied in wait, utterly still. The birds were rounder, softer along the edges than the hawks she was used to seeing. Their talons looked just as sharp, and the bunny doubted these birds would be any less deadly in motion.
The birds hadn't moved, not when there was a fucking wolf next to her. The birds were confused by the situation, but still opportunistic to see if they could get an easy meal.
Wonderful.
She had no idea why the wolf was sleeping beside her, but her first guess was breakfast and her second guess was dinner.
She glared back at the birds in the sky, feeling less cowed and more pissed. The eagles and wolf weren't enough? Survive, the quest demanded, but the [System] sure fucking wasn't making it easy.
The bunny summoned the [Tutorial Quest] window. Instead of materializing as it had before, the window fizzled, sparking dangerously.
[Your status cannot be determined! A suitable tutorial quest cannot be found!]
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- Tutorial Quest: Hunt or be Hunted -
As prey, the only way to survive is to outlast fight tooth and nail against your predators this forsaken world.
Time Remaining: 6 hours
Requirements for Completion: Survive for 24 hours at any cost.
Reward: Unlock status window, ??? skill points, new ??? skill
Penalty for Failure: Death
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The words glitched, flickers of green and pink distorting the edges of the window.
Strange. The quest changing, her wounds healing, the wolf sleeping beside her- each occurrence was as inexplicable as the last. Most strangely of all, she felt almost... comfortable. The warmth emanating from the wolf brought back hazy memories of childhood. Stretching lazily under the afternoon sun, belly full of overripe berries, knowing she could just lie around until morning.
She shook herself. Surviving would be difficult enough on its own, even without memories weighing her down. Firmly locking away those feelings in the back of her mind, she glanced back at the birds. One of them had gotten impatient, but two of them remained. Their black, beady eyes bore down on her, sinking through her white fur.
[Class: Owl, Predator. Specialization: None. Skills: [Wingblade], [Glint of the Sun]. Attributes...]
Her eyes narrowed, recognizing [Wingblade] was the skill that the eagle used to deflect the coyotes' fangs. Quickly, she scanned the rest of the skills. It was really too bad she hadn't gotten to read the eagle's skills, or else she could've compared the two...
Still, for a diversion, [Wingblade] should be enough.
[System: What lovely, wicked schemes are you thinking of now, little bunny?]
She kept her eyes focused on the owls, not allowing herself to react. Whatever the [System] wanted... well, she doubted the [System] would be satisfied with just talking. No, the prickling along her spine warned that the kind of the monster that would just take.
She vanished the [Tutorial Quest] window. It was useless without [Time of Death], and she was not particularly inclined to trust the [System] right now. No, she would have to do the old-fashioned way: her wits, against their monstrous strength, speed, and size.
Oh, and the wings, talons, and teeth. Couldn't forget about those, or [Wingblade] and whatever overpowered skills the wolf had.
[Sixth Sense] alerted her that the wolf's heartbeat was increasing as he began to stir. The wolf was asleep enough that he wouldn't move too fast, but awake enough that he notice her slipping away- or she hoped so, at least.
There was no sense in waiting, no point in fear. The bunny leapt onto the wolf's body, making sure to give his head a firm kick before jumping off. She skidded across the dirt, quickly regaining her balance. From there, it was a mad dash. The owls instantly snapped into action, taking off in a terrifying dive from their branches. The nearest bush- yet another thorn bush, it seemed nothing in the forest grew without thorns- was still over a dozen yards away.
[Lvl 1 [Wingblade] has been used! Lvl 1 [Wingblade] has been used!]
The distance between them seemed to fold as they cut through the air even faster than before. Her feet pounded across the brutal earth, [Sixth Sense] alerting her of their presence. Two of them, pressing in from each side to cut off her escape.
The bunny was mere inches from turning to a smear of blood against the dirt, so she didn't waste time by looking back at the wolf. Whether he was still sleeping soundly or about to rip out her throat, she had already made her gambit.
All she could do was keep running.