When she lost her pack, she certainly didn't expect this; whatever that meant.

Surviving against six goblins on her own was impossible, no matter how she spun it. No, even running away would have been hard, though she had managed to do so once.

The only reason she survived was because of this little furry menace. She didn't even know the cat, yet he risked his own life for her. She didn't think she would do something like that for someone other than her packmates, let alone succeed.

Knowing very little about the cats, she couldn't understand why he'd helped her, but she owed him her life. Also, looking at the defenseless cat, she couldn't help but want to protect him.

She was still a little sore from the fight, but for the most part she had healed. As for the cat, he had been badly injured by the elder warrior. She had the impulse to tear its corpse to pieces, but wasting good meat was beneath her no matter what.

Speaking about goblins, the fight had brought her closer to her evolution than she'd expected. Granted, almost every single goblin she killed had been higher level than her.

She gained three levels in that fight, going from level 11 to level 14, something that would normally take months of hunting with her pack, maybe even longer if the circumstances weren't favorable.

But the system was fair if nothing else, rewarding risk to an almost unfair degree. She was so close to level 15, she could almost feel it. She knew that level 15 was important from the few that she'd seen reach it, and soon she would know what it meant for herself.

But she could not get up and go hunting, not when she saw the smaller cat shiver in the absence of the sun. So she sat down by his side and protected him from the cold.

It was two night-falls later, that he could stand on his feet, and that was with her help. Being able to drink water, however, was important and she was glad he could do so on his own.

Getting injured was a good way to advance certain aspects of the body, but he went to the other extreme. Still, now that he had woken up for more than a few minutes at a time, she needed to hunt. In the two days it took for the cat to recover somewhat, she'd stayed by his side the entire time.

She made sure he was well hidden and in a safe spot and went further inside the forest.

She needed to go further away than she thought to find suitable prey for them, which hadn't always been the case. She did manage to find a salamander the same size as her, however, which was perfect both as prey as well as an opponent.

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Back on the river, Kiel was lying hidden between a small tree and some foliage. He got up a bit after the wolf left, moving to drink more water.

Every step he took sent lances of piercing pain across his entire torso. He wanted to curl up and cry, but he wasn't alone. If he was, he most certainly would have, but the wolf stood by his side at all times. Though he wouldn't and couldn't say it to her, he was glad for her presence.

He honestly believed she would have left him after the fight. But she didn't and when she left, she returned with an enormous lizard in her mouth.

If he wasn't feeling gratitude before, he was now.

He wondered how she felt about the goblins, because he knew he was ready to rip them a new one after the fight. Though maybe after he got a few more levels under his belt. He preferred feeling angry than hopeless.

He hadn't checked his gains from the fight, however, and now that he could walk a bit unassisted, it was the perfect thing to check while they ate.

The wolf tore half of the lizard's tail and left it in front of him while she took all the rest of it for herself. It was like she could read his mind! His gratitude could only increase so much.

Those lizard tails were about the only thing this forest had that he could consider tasty; food that could still use the invention of cooking though.

He knew what he was doing after he escaped this forest, and that was having a proper meal. Probably stealing it, cause he wouldn't have money to pay, nor was he able to communicate what he wanted to do.

Maybe he could steal from bad people and use that money to pay... it was an idea.

Name - Kiel

Level - 9

Titles - Traveler, Indomitable

Body - 15*

Mind - 14

Spirit - 18

Skills - Body Adaptation (Lvl 10) [Max], Climbing (Lvl 5), Ether Sense (Lvl 3)

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

His attributes in body had actually more than doubled! Getting hit halfway to oblivion hadn't been fun, but if it was responsible for the stat boost, he felt a little better about it.

And for the first time in a while, he had a few more unique messages to look at.

You survived a fight with less than 5% of your body attribute's protection! Title gained; Indomitable.

Checking on the title, he saw the true reason he was able to walk on his own four paws instead of being disabled for life. It allowed his body to heal with no complications. That meant broken bones would mend right. He had to wear a cast once as a kid when he fell from a swing, and it had not been fun.

If he was being honest, he hadn't even considered how big of a problem broken bones would have been before the title solved it.

Thank you, system.

As for the other message... that one was more complicated.

You have maxed out your skill, Body Adaptation! You have gained +3 in the Body attribute and increased attribute acclimatization.

He would love to know exactly what attribute acclimatization was, but he could make an educated guess. Even when his stats didn't increase he felt like he could push himself just a little harder than before. When his stats did increase, he could feel the difference instantly, but it wasn't as big of an increase as he expected.

Each increase boosted his strength differently, though he hadn't been certain until now where his body increased by nine points, more than he even had previously, yet it didn't feel like he was that much stronger. On the other side, his body had a lot more energy to it... more vitality to say. He wouldn't have been up and walking, no matter how feebly, otherwise after such an injury.

He wouldn't test it now, but he felt more durable too.

He had a hundred different ideas for how to get stronger from what he'd just learnt, and the boost from Body Adaptation would make everything a lot faster. He only wondered what other skills would offer when maxed. He also couldn't help but wonder how much easier his life would have been if he knew those little details from the very beginning of his arrival here.

Though for what he'd managed to do, he felt proud for himself.

Then the most important increase... Ether sense had reached level three from that fight, and he couldn't wait to find out if and how he could use magic. And if he gained a skill, he could also get the sweet bonus at the end of its mastery!

Oh, he would grow stronger, and he would have fun!

Ether and affinities were different things, but one had to lead to the other. There was no way goblins had managed to do it and he couldn't. With that in mind he calmed himself and focused on sensing his affinity.

The first few times he tried he failed, in part because he was too excited and in part because his mind couldn't help but wonder on all the things he might be able to do with magic.

After he calmed his head a little, however, he felt the energy around him. It wasn't the same as what he could feel from the goblins; where they smelled like earth, his was a dissonance in the space around him. His whiskers tingled a little at the feeling and he couldn't help but sneeze, throwing him out of his concentration.

He now knew what it felt to be annoyed and ecstatic at the same time.

He couldn't capture that feeling every time perfectly, but he'd felt something similar before, and quite recently at that. He imagined what he was sensing was his spatial affinity in effect, which felt oddly familiar to the few quiet zones he encountered in the forest.

He was going to come back to that, but first he checked to see his skills. And would you look at that, he found a new one called affinity sense!

He spent the rest of his time exploring the new skill and trying to connect it with how he could sense the ether. He still couldn't control the ether yet, but he could sense it with greater and greater ease as time passed. Before he knew it, it was already getting dark and he was barely tired.

He didn't have anything better to do though, so he continued practicing until he was tired. He barely noticed when the wolf laid next to him, though when she did, he saw that she had new injuries from when he last saw her.

Thankfully she was okay, and she even seemed a bit happy as she wagged her tail. Though when she licked his entire face off, that made him less than happy.

While he didn't know how long she would stay with him, it was nice to have her company. And when she slept she looked so peaceful it was hard to imagine she was the same wolf that tore apart five goblins almost by herself.

Resting his head on her fur, he too fell asleep after a while.

When he woke up the next day, he saw that he was feeling much better, able to move with only a few stabs of pain intermittently. When he started to get up, the wolf shifted and opened her eyes too.

He felt a little bad for waking her up, but she stretched her body and stared at him with interest. He didn't know how to communicate with her, but she seemed content to follow him for the time being, and he didn't protest having a bodyguard. If anything it felt nice, and he didn't bother hiding his presence as much when walking through the forest, though he still paid attention.

He was searching for one of the quiet zones he found in the forest in his few walks around it. The wolf wouldn't be too interested in that, but when they found a three man goblin squad, the priorities changed.

It was time to see how much stronger he'd gotten.

They spotted the goblins first, so they had a small advantage, but they would likely not have needed it either way. They ran so fast that the trees blurred as they passed them by, reaching the goblins in a matter of seconds.

All three of them were warriors, but they may as well had been mages for the resistance they put up.

His muscles flexed, and he could feel the ground give a little each time he pushed against it, speeding up even more. He had to be at least three times stronger than he was on his first day here, and that was only a rough estimate.

He aimed for the goblin on his right, and the wolf took the one on the left. Running straight at the goblin in front of him, he jumped once at its legs and once more to reach its throat, slicing it open before it had a chance to react. It still tried to grab him as blood poured down its body, but when its hand came near him, he damn near sliced it off with his claws.

It couldn't help but stare at him in horror as light left its eyes.

As for the wolf, the poor goblins never stood a chance. She was a lot stronger and a lot bigger than him, and by the time he took care of his warrior, she took care of the other as well. Though in his defense she reached the goblins first so she had more time for her fight.

She was the sweetest wolf he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing, but as it was now, he almost pitied the goblins. Almost.