I had to be honest, even though I was all worked up on having to be alert, I slept like a baby. After having a short - bearable - meal of simple bread the night earlier, I cleaned up the campsite, buried the dead corpses of the previous campers - thus gaining another point to my strength and endurance stat - and secured the perimeter in case of any sudden attacks by more wolf packs.
I was awoken by the golden rays of light from the morning sun and perhaps due to the fatigue, I did it lazily if not a little bit grumpily. I sat still for a good few moments under the sheepskin blanket as the sounds of the fires snapped me back to the reality that I was in an alien world filled with creatures that wanted to make me their meal. This made my determination resurge and I immediately was alert again. I began my usual daily prayers before getting up and doing a couple of morning exercises to keep me at least healthy. I did a set of squats, sit ups, and push ups for a good half hour and it was good progress though it still hadn't yet reached the level of me gaining a stat yet.
Being done with the exercises, I distributed my unused skill points from the night before and as usual, I mainly put it to my strength and agility. Just as I was admiring the weird tech-looking panels, I had negated the fact that I was famished. I quickly went to my bag and the stale bread from yesterday. As I bit into the chewy dough, the staleness of it just continued to invade my senses and not in the best of ways. It was miserable but for survival, there wasn’t much else to say.
Besides the crap bread, my sense of scent was also being invaded by my own bodily odour. Leveling up may help with healing from the inside and re-energising myself but it did absolutely nothing for my outside hygiene. One of the horrors of the past was that there weren't as many readily available sources of hygiene at least to the standard of the modern era. I didn’t catch any sight of a spring or a well near the area and I didn’t want to waste precious drinking water on vain hygiene. I was beginning to rethink why I even decided to exercise. Putting all that aside, I worked to pack up the camping site after dousing the flames. This really made me nostalgic back to the days where I was constantly out on military campaigns in war camps.
After spending about a half hour packing up the campsite, I once again returned to the road. I thought that perhaps I would even find a good source of water to resupply myself. I had nearly reached the end of the forested area after walking a little over an hour and along the way out had encountered another small pack of four wolves. I'm bloody surprised they aren't letting up on their attacks. With these many wolves, I am in sheer wonder of how the local ecosystem is faring. Well, a chance to level up is always good if I do say so myself and level up I did. Although this time, it was special.
[https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/647x405q90/923/OlK0N4.png]
I had gained a new passive skill, 'Plus Ultra'. I can't help but smile at it. Not just because of its unashamedly broken effect of giving me an extra 5 points of skillpoint on top of my usual 10, but by the fact that the interface gave me a skill that's named after a famous quote that actually pertains to me. It was my personal motto, Latin for 'further beyond'.
The original saying goes that across the pillars of Hercules, it was non plus ultra or nothing further beyond, but during my reign over Spain, I expanded my small kingdom on the corners of Europe into a continent-spanning Empire where the sun never set which was why I said 'Plus Ultra'. The sky was the limit... In fact I was amused to learn that modern Spain had adopted my saying as its national motto. I have to admit that I wasn't all that true with my motto when dealing with this new world, but no more. I was going to go all in here and if there wasn't a way back home, you'll be damned sure I was still gonna find it, even if I have to beat down the so-called 'gods' of this world...
And there I was blissfully forgetting the fact that I was a pathetically weak newbie. I would have to train more if I even wanted to survive, and there's no chance in hell that I would be testing out whether there's a respawn system or not in this world so, again, caution was everything.
Leaving the damned forest, I was met with a large open plains which reminded me a lot of the plains of old Europe. A vast open space filled with many beautiful meadows for as far as the eye can see ( Though the few hills in the way didn't do much to help with that). I could also see what looked like a smallish village of maybe a few dozen buildings.
According to the journal I'd picked up from the dead family, they were originally a family of peasants from around this area which I'm guessing was the village I'm seeing right now though they could also be refugees from another village. The land I was in was part of a medium sized county and about half a day's travel to the opposite side of where I was walking from. I would've reached the residence of the local ruler of the area, a petty nobleman going by the name of Baron John Surlock. It seems that I've found myself in an analogue of medieval England... well it could've been worse. I could've been transported to a France-like country and God forbid I had to be subservient to the damned French, no matter the world. I shudder at the mere thought of it.
As I had explored and learned more of the land around, my world map interface was also updated to accommodate the surrounding area. One of the things I found out was the name of the village I was headed towards was Dansville. This interface would surely come in handy when I need information and the like at the click of a button. My long term plan would be to try to find a way back to my previous world and the best way for that must be at some major magician's guild or academy at an important capital center but for that, I needed to make a name for myself. Obviously, no one in their right mind would just randomly trust a random bumpkin they’d never met before. Besides, this might be where the fame and rank mechanic would come into play. Pfft, ‘mechanic’. There I go treating this like a game again.
Focusing back on the road and the general area, I felt something thoroughly odd about it. There were a few farm houses here and there along the way, but I saw that they were pretty much abandoned, with broken fences and the corpses of dead livestock and even the corpses of some people just beig left to the elements. I had a very bad feeling about this. I was really looking forward to finding a nice quiet and peaceful place, but judging from the looks of things, I've only found a quiet place like a ghost town.
I realised hoping to find a peaceful village in this place might just be little more than wishful thinking. Just when I caught sight of the village gates, I saw the palisade walls were being battered by numerous ferocious-looking wolves, with some looking even tougher than the ones I've faced before. The bells inside of the village were ringing and I could see a few dozen of the villagers defending from the palisade towers, shooting down some of the wolves.
This may seem a little odd, but I could've sworn those wolves were acting like a sort of organized army. Some of the smaller wolves were acting like fodder, trying to jump atop of each other to get over the walls whilst a few of the larger and more ferocious looking wolves were busy battering down the gates. I could see that there was a single large wolf in the back acting like some sort of commander of the army.
Assessing the situation, I could tell that the village was in a dire situation. All in all, there were over a hundred wolves besieging the city. I have no idea how so many wolves managed to gather there. If I saw correctly, it looked like an amalgamation of many packs. In this situation, a smart man would most obviously run... But I just feel wrong leaving the people to their fate in a situation like this.
But maybe, I actually had a chance at trying to lift the siege on my own. It sounds completely insane, and perhaps it is, but most of those wolves I can destroy in a few solid hits. My main concern is taking out that large bastard at the back. Well, at least now it's decided. If this wolf army was really like any other army, murdering the general would help make the army melt away faster.
Using my sneak skills, I closed my distance to the black wolf general who still failed to notice me. I had a quick glance at its stats, and its power level was a frightening level 12. It had about five times the health and stats that I had... I might have bit a little more than I can chew, but no matter, a chance is still a chance.
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I'm going to try and find a way to lure that beast and isolate it. It's the only way this could work. Luckily unlike a real general, the beast looked to originally be a lone wolf and had no bodyguards close to it. Invoking the wind attribute of my blade, I immediately lounged at the beast and struck it good. It looked like it hurt it but due to its thick hide, I think I only managed to make it lose 20% of its health with my strongest strike. I already spent like a third of my energy doing so.
This is gonna be a long day. Without delay, the wolf bit back and damaged me on my left shoulder. Lacking any proper armour, it clearly damaged my clothes and did quite a number on me. Gritting my teeth in pain, I landed a couple of good strikes on it before feigning a retreat. I was gambling on the beast to underestimate me and chase me alone.
Well I knew I was lucky, but clearly not that lucky as my theory of the lone wolf went out the window when it called in aid from three alpha wolves. Great, just great. Although, this might actually work in my favour. Dealing with four wolves, though stronger than regular ones, is much more manageable than dozens of smaller ones.
I led the pack chasing me away from the main body and they chased relentlessly and due to my agility, I could keep a distance from them. After leaving a manageable distance between us and the village, I quickly turned around to let out a powerful slash towards the black wolf. The slash generated a powerful gust due to Galesword's effects and it damaged the wolf general a bit but most importantly the gust sent it back allowing me some breathing space to deal with its bodyguards. Not being conservative with my attacks, I quickly struck at the three flabbergasted wolves, striking them in their vital areas. Parrying attacks with my dagger and wreaking massive damage with Galesword, it took me a good five minutes to dispatch those damned bodyguards.
*You have gained 50XP!*
*You have gained 50XP!*
*You have gained 50XP!*
Without giving me a breather from dispatching three wolves at once, the black wolf lounged at me. I was barely able to dodge while at the same time stabbing it on its exposed stomach, dragging the blade through its body. It was a masterstroke if I do say so myself as that counterattack which definitely was skill and not dumb luck did away with a quarter of the wolf’s health. The beast was now at half strength though I wasn't in any better shape.
But nevermind that, I had to capitalize on this chance. Using my sword's special abilities, I instantly spent what little of my energy I had left on a flurry of attacks, chipping away at its health bit by bit until it was finally at but a fraction of its full health. The downer side is I was as well at an impasse and could barely afford to do another full strike. Using a health potion won't return my energy and I can't afford to wait around in case this beast escapes... ah, that's it! Why am I going about this in such a linear way?
I held my dagger at its hilt and with my remaining strength threw it like a dart at one of the wolf's eyes and landed an accurate hit before throwing up some more dirt and sand, blinding it momentarily as it whimpered and flailed around. I closed in on it and struck at its front legs, managing to damage it to the point that the beast was incapacitated. Finally, using this chance, I dealt the final blow to the beast, killing it.
*You have gained 400XP!*
*You have leveled up!*
Now we mean business. From the corpse of the wolf general, I gained a rarer-looking blue soul essence than the white souls that I gained from killing alphas and immediately put it in my inventory. After dealing with my skill points, I quickly made my way back towards the village and I saw the wolf army beginning to let up on its attacks as the villagers were finally putting up a decent fight.
Without further ado, I rushed into the fray and began my killing spree with my renewed vigor. At first the wolves were still busy, placing their focus on the village and its watchguards, and boy did I take advantage of that situation. With my quick strikes and wind gusts, I had dispatched several alphas and almost a dozen wolves in the matter of a few minutes. My interface notifications were ringing like crazy!
*You have gained 50XP!*
*You have gained 50XP!*
*You have gained 50XP!*
...
*You have gained 30XP!*
*You have leveled up!*
It was in crude words, like a glorified XP farm for me. Constantly gaining XP and leveling up as I go. Almost like I didn't have a care in the world, I just cleaved left and right though I still had to afford some amount of care to dodging the ferocious clapbacks from the wolves. Even those grey beast wolves I first fought when I came to this land, I had cleaved through a few of them already along with a few more alphas and regular wolves.
But, things started turning a little bit for the worse when all the wolves started focusing their attention towards me. I had been a little too consumed within my hubris and forgot about the little fact that I was still just an armorless newbie. And soon I was beginning to be pushed back. I managed to kill several more regular wolves and a few alphas, but it was beginning to show that my health and energy was diminishing at an alarming rate and I wasn't gaining XP as fast as I was before so I couldn't exploit the full recovery leveling up gives me. It wasn't until I was surrounded by four grey beast wolves and a dozen other alphas did I realise I might have bitten a bit more than I could've chewed and was in a proverbially fucked situation. The beasts were a bit more docile with lessened ferocity but they didn't break like I had expected them too.
Continuing to tire as I took down as many beasts with me as I could, I really felt like it was getting close to the end of the line for me. There were still about ninety wolves left and the experience I need to level up is getting higher and higher.
As I kept on dragging myself on against the wave of feral wolves, God showed his grace to me once again when I noticed the gates of the village had opened and a few dozen lightly armed peasants had charged out to meet the wolves head on. It was clearly a much needed help. With the beasts having their attention split, I took the chance to go back on the offensive and continued my slaughter. I think this was a way to tell me that I shouldn't get too cocky just yet. Lesson learned.
And Just like that, more beasts fell under my sword and I actually broke through to the tenth level. There, I unlocked a special skill in the middle of the battle. I actually gained an elemental attribute, which judging from what I can tell imbues my regular attacks with the powers of a certain element. Maybe because of my use of Galesword, I attained affinity with wind, giving me an innate boost in agility and stamina as well as bringing my sneak skill to the next level.
When this is all over, I'm definitely getting a class change, no doubt about it. My newfound strength allowed me to turn the tide quickly on the mangy mutts. I immediately targeted all the remaining Grey Beast Wolves and Alpha wolves. If they are all eliminated, this time I'm sure they'll falter and all I need to do is clean up the stragglers.
There were about over a dozen grey beast wolves and another almost two dozen alpha wolves left. I took in my breath, calibrated my breathing and focused it all on my targets. With a gust of wind I immediately set out and began to kill the beasts one by one. As if a bird, I flew with the wind, leaping from one wolf to another and slaughtering regular wolves along the way. In about fifteen minutes I managed to kill all my targets and level up again. No matter how many times I do it, leveling up will always feel great.
But the most important thing of all was a certain notification.
*You have killed more than 100 wolves! You have gained a new title, 'Wolfslayer'*
*Wolfslayer - You deal more damage against beasts, especially more so for wolves. You gain the characteristics of wolves, you see better at night, sneak better, and gain a permanent boost to strength, agility, and stamina.*
*You have gained 1000XP!*
Wow. Just wow. This day couldn't get any better besides the fact I almost died an hour ago, but hey, that's life. My new abilities gave me more leeway with the surviving wolves and I managed to deal with the surviving regular wolves myself, giving relief to the villagers. Out of the forty or so wolves left, between the ones that the villagers killed and the ones that I slaughtered, only three managed to escape. I was pretty beat so I didn't bother giving chase.
When the situation settled down, and the last of the wolves had run away with their tails between their legs, I breathed a sigh of relief and was stumped to the ground. All of a sudden, the villagers behind me blew up in cheer and revelry as their village was safe with what I can tell was only minor damage and no lives were lost. The men behind me immediately took me up on my feet and cheered. Some even embraced me as they patted my back not caring how dirty my clothes were from a mixture of my own blood, the wolves's blood and the grime and dirt from running around and falling everywhere.
To think that they would embrace me, a complete stranger. But hey, I'm not complaining. It actually felt pretty nice...
A few notifications even popped up which brought an even bigger smile to my face.
*You have successfully defended Dansville village! You have gained 2000XP! You have gained 50 Fame!*
*You have leveled up!*
My days in the world were starting to look brighter and brighter.
[https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/529x387q90/924/lEgZPh.png]