Mike and company at breakfast in silence. A good part of the reason was the terrible, and now cold meat they had to eat. As long as it was edible, they would eat. None of his group had addressed his outburst from earlier in the morning, and he was comfortable not talking about the ill feelings he released on that tree. He also knew that none of them were fans of his new outfit. Screw them, he worked hard to make it, and they would have a change of heart when they started shivering again the next night. John spoke, breaking the awkward silence that hung in the air.

“I saw the burns on that tree, did you learn to make mana bullets?”

“I did, though even with my several levels over you, I couldn’t make anything comparable to that mana blast you used.” Mike had tried replicating the mana blast that John had used to eviscerate the wolf that had threatened Hailey, but found himself sorely lacking the mana to do so.

“Several levels?” Martin cut in, making Mike realize he had never told them where he got the fox corpses from. They had just seen him arrive with 3 brutalized fox bodies, while also being covered in blood. He explained the fight he had with the foxes, not leaving out many details. They listened, paying attention to the details, especially about how the foxes were level 5, yet weaker than the wolf alpha. When Mike was finished, he got a few questions from the group.

The first was from Hailey, asking him about how he had gained two levels from the comparatively weak creatures. That one was easy, as he was the only one who had fought them, thus not needing to split the gains from the fight. The next was a little tougher, and completely unrelated to the fight. It was from John asking why he got the crafter profession, and not something related to armor making. It took a moment of thinking, but Mike figured it was probably because he had just put two things together, not actually made armor from scratch. The last question was from Martin, and it was a question that Mike had honestly expected to be asked much earlier.

“Why the hell didn't you wake someone else up for their shift? You seriously stayed up for all that time after just two hours of sleep?”

“I lost track of time, and as to why I seemed to not need as much sleep as usual, I think it's just a natural effect of our stats getting higher, similar to how we felt filled for the night after just one meal.” Mike had noticed how little everyone had eaten, including himself. As far as he was concerned, the less wolf meat he needed to eat, the better.

The conversation switched over to what they would do from there. Martin was really firm on what he wanted to do. He wanted to stay and care for the cubs, as well as Kenny. John and Hailey wanted to go find more people, reasoning that more people would mean more safety. Mike knew that no matter what the group decided, he was going to end up aiming to get stronger. He wanted to chase the high of a good fight, of growing and becoming more.

The back and forth between the group lasted quite a while. Martin settled on splitting from the group. He felt responsible for the cubs, and didn't want to tear them away from their home. John and Hailey decided to search for more people, and if possible, bring them back to the cave. It was an easily defendable location, with a stream nearby for water and plenty of wildlife for food.

Mike decided to do the same thing, splitting from the group to pursue his own goals. He was a bit sad to see the group splitting up, but in reality he really wasn't that close to any of these people. They had only met a day ago, and while they had all bonded over the struggle for survival they found themselves in, they were still practically strangers.

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With not much more exchanged between the group, they split up. Mike decided that if he wanted to explore, the best way to do so was to pick a direction and begin running, and run he did. He ran at a speed that would have been unfathomable for a human to run at before the system, and even now was a little jarring for Mike. He didn't need to run long before finding his next conflict. It was another group of foxes. Mike repeated his previous mistake of not identifying his enemies before attacking, instead running in with a smile. He swung his hammer, making contact with the first fox.

*Forest Fox (level 1) slain*

Unlike last time, the hammer all but disintegrated the poor fox, killing it instantly. The other two foxes, upon seeing this, turned and ran as if the devil himself was chasing them. Mike felt bad for the fox he killed. It hadn't even been a fight. He enjoyed the fights for the thrill of battle, not for the enjoyment of killing. Brushing it off, he continued running. He ran for a long time, finally coming across something that he stopped for. It was another wolf den, with another alpha wolf sitting perched by the entrance. Not wanting to accidentally commit another slaughter, he identified the wolf, confirming it to be the same level as the last one he fought.

He stared at the wolf, and he felt it look at him. More specifically, he felt it look at the wolf fur sticking out all over his armor. It turned to the sky, howling the same high pitched howl the last wolf had.

*debuff gained. Wrath of the pack*

“Well shit.” Mike muttered, though he didn't think the debuff would do much considering he was the only one present. The alpha stayed back, several wolves coming towards him at top speed. He quickly dispatched them with swift swings of his hammer. Wanting to regain the initiative, he began running after the alpha as soon as the others were dead. Previously, it had taken the combined effort of four people to kill the alpha.

This time, Mike was the same level as the wolf, and felt evenly matched as he began fighting one on one with the creature. Its sharp fangs tried to pierce his armor, but were unable to penetrate the double layered leather offered by the armor he had improved. His hammer landed solid blow after solid blow. The alpha slowed, becoming progressively more and more injured, until eventually succumbing to the might of Mike's hammer.

*Alpha Wolf (level 4) slain*

*forest wolf (level 3) slain x5*

*Class level up! Warrior (level 5)*

It was a good fight, but ultimately had not been the challenge that Mike had begun seeking. Wanting more materials to craft with, Mike took the two largest fangs from the mouth of the alpha. They were sharp, with razor edges on both sides of them. They would make good weapons for anyone who used daggers. Just then Mike remembered that he needed something exactly like this for cutting pelts.

For the next several hours, Mike attempted to work the pelt of the wolf into something useful. He carefully removed the pelt from the alpha, trying to keep it in as large of a single piece as he could. If he could fashion it into some sort of protection, it would certainly be better than the leather protection he had now. He used the teeth to remove chunks from the pelts, before getting prepared to start a fire for the frying process. He realized at that moment he had never asked Martin how they started that fire back at the cave.

Gathering some dry leaves, branches, and twigs, he put them in a pile before sending a mana bullet to the leaves. They lit ablaze quickly, spreading the fire to the other materials. He dried the pelt, and began shaping the pelt to fit exactly what he was looking for. He used small pieces he had cut off as straps to tie pieces together and help it keep its shape. After several tries, and more than a few profanities, he had a well fitting, sturdy, and flexible tunic. He took off his old leather protection, slipping on the new fur armor. He still only had his upper body covered, and began working to rectify that.

Another few hours later, he had a brand new set of protective armor. In his completely unbiased opinion, this set looked quite a bit better than his old one. He was covered from neck to toe in gray wolf fur, with the joints trimmed thin to allow for increased mobility. He ran around, swinging his hammer in the air to test his mobility in the armor. Thankfully, his movements were completely uninhibited by the armor. Satisfied for the moment, he climbed a tree and began reading through his notifications.

*Profession level up! Crafter (level 3)*

*Profession level up! Crafter (level 4)*

*Skill gained. Armor creation (uncommon)*

While sitting on top of the tree, he felt safe enough to do something he had been looking forward to doing again for a while. He crossed his legs, entered meditation, and entered his soul, ready to see all the fragments he had gotten and improved.