The closests wolf pounced forward.
Alan’s hands were shaking, and his heart was about to beat out of his chest.
But he ravenously welcomed the wolf’s assault: with a wide, almost maniacal grin; with his falchion and its sharp edge; each as eager as the other to carve through the unsuspecting victims…
Alan easily dodged the attacker and whacked it in the head as it passed by.
I can take them! Yes I can!
Immediately, the second wolf leapt high in the air. Gripping the hilt of his sword as tightly as he could, Alan patiently awaited the wolf’s descent. It was a strange sensation, but it felt good. He saw the fear in the wolf's eyes when it realized it was about to be impaled and there was nothing it could do to change its course.
The third wolf managed to latch itself onto Alan’s forearm. Its teeth ruptured his skin.
Now we’re talking!
Everything else happened in less than 10 seconds.
The blade skewered the wolf that fell from the air. The animal convulsed as it slid down to the hilt of the sword, painting it red from the tip down in the process.
He guided the body of the dead wolf down, allowing it to land on the wolf that was munching on his forearm. It let go of Alan’s limb as it was drenched in the gore of its companion.
He felt the pressure in his arm ease.
He pulled his falchion out of his first victim.
Before the creature could get back on its feet, Alan had stabbed it in the chest through the dead wolf’s body.
He bent his right knee up, lifting his foot as high as he could.
Alan had anticipated the first wolf's next attack, which targeted his right ankle. Using the same foot, he kicked the wolf in the head, startling it.
But then he panicked.
Realizing he couldn’t easily dislodge his sword from the two dead wolves, Alan instinctively dropped to the ground, securing a stranglehold around the wolf’s neck. As it snarled and fought fiercely beneath his weight, the creature thrashed, causing saliva from its menacing fangs to fly everywhere. In mere seconds, his face was drenched.
It could almost lift Alan and carry him—the beast was laboriously dragging him around the clearing. But he pulled back, putting more pressure onto its neck.
This was the ‘Shadowpelt Wolf - tc 3’, whatever that meant, but Alan suspected it was most likely their power level or something similar.
But now wasn’t the time to analyze something that wouldn’t be immediately useful. Yet, it was hard to ignore that his pitiful 'three strength' was evident. The wolf, though only slightly larger than its Earth counterpart, felt like riding a bull. Had it possessed arms and hands, it would have easily manhandled him.
But he held on tightly awaiting its final breath. Before he knew it, the beast beneath him stopped struggling and crumpled to the ground. But he maintained the pressure—in case the wolf was... unconscious and not dead, perhaps why they'd once dubbed him “Mr. Cautious”—for another minute before letting go. When he finally released, pride swelled within. He'd faced three of these monsters. And emerged unscathed. Mostly.
For a while, he simply lay there next to the dead wolf on the brink of passing out from exhaustion.
Noticing his total health more than halfway down, Alan felt a burning sensation in his forearm. When his gaze landed on it, he realized the extent of the damage from the bite. At least he still had feeling in his hand and fingers. Yet the skin was heavily mutilated, with white bone visible; it looked like the raw, torn edge of a frayed cloth.
And then he noticed: although slow, his health was still depleting. He didn't feel like moving, especially with his stamina dipping below the halfway point. Nonetheless, he reached for the health potion with his uninjured arm, uncorked it, and quickly brought it close to his nose.
It didn’t smell bad; in fact, it had the pleasant aroma of fruit. He took a hesitant sip. The juice-like concoction had a citrus flavor that first warmed his mouth, then his neck, and finally his chest. After the welcome warmth reached his stomach, he felt it spread to each of his limbs.
He felt the potion particularly targeting his forearm and immediately felt better. His health rose above the halfway point, so he decided to take another small sip, which almost topped him up. He placed the cork back on.
The nice thing about having low health points is that these health potions last longer, he thought, chuckling.
While all of that was taking place, the skin around his forearm was both reforming and stitching itself together. Alan thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but he didn’t complain and moved to the system messages he had missed.
Alan laughed heartily as the notification popped up declaring his victory over the wolves. “Well that was anticlimactic,” he mused aloud. “Here I was all geared up for an epic multi-chapter struggle against the tutorial boss. But a few measly wolves and it's done? What happened to the tried-and-true formula of steadily leveling up while unveiling bits of lore and worldbuilding?”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
You have vanquished [Shadowpelt Wolf - tc 2] — Myst has been assimilated.
You have vanquished [Shadowpelt Wolf - tc 3] — Myst has been assimilated.
You have vanquished [Shadowpelt Wolf - tc 4] — Myst has been assimilated.
DING! Myst Accumulation Threshold Reached! You have successfully assimilated ample Myst to enhance one of your boons. Boon Upgrade Available! Channel the gathered Myst to fortify and elevate your chosen boon to its next tier of power.
Eligible Boons:
[Boon of Manafestation]
That’s new, Alan thought as he mentally selected Manafestation.
Do you wish to weave your accumulated Myst into [Boon of Manafestation], elevating its potency? Confirm to allow the cosmic forces to intervene.
A subtle glow enveloped Alan.
The universe resonates with your intent...
He felt it. Something within him burned bright. It wasn’t painful.
Blessings bestowed! Through the nexus of Myst, [Boon of Manafestation] has transcended. Embrace your newly acquired [Boon of Manafestation x2] and let its power guide your journey.
Upon inspecting his status, the only differences he noted were 'tc 3' and, under Boons, ‘Boon of Manafestation x2’.
He didn't fully understand what had just transpired. However, the crux was clear: he had fought and defeated creatures, earning enough of this “myst-thing” to upgrade his abilities. That’s what he was supposed to be doing and what he wanted to do, so Alan dismissed the mystical i6nterface and carried on.
More wolves died. It proved easier than before. Over the last hour, he encountered and defeated three more groups, each with two Shadowpelt wolves ranging from tc 2 to tc 5.
And just like before, his Manafestation boon underwent another upgrade, now displaying as Manafestation x3 – or so it stated. And he was level 4 or ‘tc 4’, if terminology mattered.
The upgrades were real. Using Resonance Reveal felt like tapping into a sixth sense. But it was only after his boon was upgraded to x3 that he truly recognized its advantages.
Alan found it strange that he was able to keep up with wolves. In most scenarios, a wolf would have the advantage due to its natural weapons and hunting instincts. Obviously if it weren’t for his sword he would have died in every encounter, but his reflexes surprisingly matched those of the beasts. He concluded that he had been reacting to their mana through Resonance Reveal.
And it had to be. His mana had been depleting steadily and was now nearing the red zone. But Alan's early gamble on items with +1 to mana regeneration was beginning to pay off. He had chosen them proactively, aiming to reduce downtime. While he could afford breaks for eating and sleeping to restore health, he didn’t want to miss out on the action waiting for his mana to replenish. By being judicious and not keeping Resonance Reveal active constantly, he avoided most mana issues. A quick estimate told him he'd fully recharge his mana in roughly three to four hours, but using Resonance Reveal would deplete it in less than three.
He was also down one health potion. True, the last three skirmishes with the wolves had been easy, but he had still taken plenty of bites and scratches, leading him to sip the health potion after every fight—
“HELP! ANYONE! HELP!” a frantic voice cut through the foliage.
Who is that? Another…human? Awesome! Maybe he wants to form a party, Alan wondered while he examined the scene. He squinted toward the commotion, but couldn’t tell what was going on aside from the newcomer apparently being in distress.
[Human - tc 2]
Was he running away from something? Could he trust another human within the tutorial? He hadn't considered how he would approach the situation if he encountered another human.
Then he saw it.
[Thunderhowl Wolf - tc 10]
The wolf was larger and bulkier than its shadowpelt counterpart. Electric blue streaks, reminiscent of lightning bolts, ran through its stormy gray fur. A few seconds later, its vibrant, glowing blue eyes came to view.
Noticing Alan standing in the middle of the jungle, the man steered to the right and ran toward him.
“YOU THERE!” yelled the frantic man from the distance. “PLEASE HELP!
“Ok…ay,” Alan muttered, too quietly for the man to hear. Gripping his falchion like a baseball bat, he took a step to the left, planting his feet and squaring his shoulders to meet the big bad wolf head-on.
For his size, that guy sure runs fast, he mused, waiting for the sprinter and his assailant to reach his location.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”
“You’ll see, just—Um, JUST RUN PAST ME!”
Alan took a deep breath.
The runner dashed past him so quickly that a powerful gust whipped his jacket's drawstrings, making them lash against his face like a whip. But Alan didn’t flinch.
He swung his falchion with a grin.
Alan's sword penetrated the beast's thick fur, but did not cut deep enough to cause serious damage. The thunderhowl creature began to slow its charge as it sensed Alan's attack coming, but its momentum carried it forward past him. It shoved Alan hard in the chest with its shoulder as it blew by, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Alan dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
Behind him, the giant animal skidded to a halt and turned around, rising up on its posterior legs to tower over the wheezing man. It let out a bone-chilling howl.
Regaining his breath, Alan got to his feet and gripped his falchion tightly.
The other human threw a heavy rock at the wolf, garnering its attention, if only for a second. That was all Alan needed.
He swung at the beast's front right leg and managed to sever it off. The wolf, already unsteady on its two hind limbs, lost its balance and crashed head-first to the ground with a heavy thud.
Sure of his victory, Alan cautiously approached the fallen creature for the killing blow. But as he drew nearer, the animal's glowing blue eyes met his, and it unleashed an ear-splitting howl that reverberated in Alan's head. The painful sound disoriented him, making him stumble and sway dizzily.
The beast, adapting quickly to three legs, rose up again. Alan held his falchion in both hands, steadying himself before the animal. He thrust the blade forward just as the wolf released another debilitating howl. The sound reverberated through Alan’s skull. His sword pierced the beast's open maw and emerged from the back of its neck, cutting off the piercing cry.
After a moment, both Alan and the creature toppled over sideways to the jungle floor.