Danger!
“Shut up.” The crouched figure dismissed the chirp from her Skill with a grumble, crawling closer while trying her best not to rustle the foliage around her too much. She barely cared about the streaks of brown growing on her light-blue skirt as she raised her hand above her head with practised flair.
“Ice Shard: Class Two!”
A cylinder of ice the size of a mid-sized cantaloupe coalesced at the caster’s command, rotating slowly as unseen forces lazily shaved it away into an oblong spike. The caster winced as half her mana pool vanished in an instant. Class Two spells took a little more mana than Class One spells, but more mana consumed translated into more density – more stopping power.
Probably necessary when you were about to senselessly provoke a level twenty seven King Wolf minding its own business.
She flicked her finger sharply at the hound, finger pointed dead on at the back of the animal’s neck, sending the newly formed icicle whistling dangerously through the air, picking up speed, finding its mark… only for it to shatter uselessly into a thousand splinters on the pelt of the beast.
The wolf yelped out in surprise, leaping back in confusion, head shrugging restlessly from side to side to whip away the impromptu bath. The sudden jolt of cold had stunned it momentarily… for just about two seconds.
If one had to score it as a sneak attack… the feeble strike would have earned a four out of ten. A complete, disappointing failure. She would have gotten bonus points for flair, though – since it was an amusing way of courting your own death.
Because other than being showered in harmless little pellets of ice… her opponent had emerged from this attack completely unscathed.
Qin swore – ice was supposed to be her best element, too. She went stock still. Since her sneak attack had failed, she’d bet on the stupidity of beasts and hope that perhaps it might mistake that sudden avalanche of hail as a freak weather event.
No luck there, as it didn’t take long for the dynamic vision of the annoyed King Wolf to pick out the discrepancy in the shadows shifting behind a bush just two meters in front of it, an obvious silhouette vaguely outlined. And now that it was actually paying attention, it could distinctly make out the scent of prey – all sweat and anxiety and fear. It began to snarl – the insolence of its would-be prey to strike its superior!
It had been in a good mood tonight. Two Sneaky Rabbits; and a Camouflage Snake as a side. A personal best; if you went by quality of meal alone. It’d taken down a Timid Deer or two in its time – certainly a bigger amount of chow, brought down by its more gamey taste. You’d get tired of it in two or three bites, max. The Rabbits were way more tender and juicy, and the Snake served to add a creaminess to the meal that was hard to come by.
But just as it’d been lazing off that feast, nary a worry on its mind, it’d been rudely drenched in a shower of cold pellets! The Wolf narrowed its eyes, squinting through the gaps in the leaves to get a better look at its attacker. What it glimpsed brought its spirits up considerably. Oh… it was one of those humans! Its snake-like tongue flickered across its mouth, pre-emptively catching the salivation escaping from the sides.
Plump, juicy, meat like this one didn’t exactly wander into Sucker’s Demise on a daily basis. In fact, the last human meat it’d eaten was almost three years ago. And that had been some old fogey – skin and bones; hardly satisfying.
The mind of the apex predator raced, flitting through hunting game plans, formed from instinct and honed by experience. How about if it decided to savour the kill; toy around with its prey a little? Maybe nip at her heels, get her to run? Watching this arrogant interloper spluttering and sobbing could be immensely satisfying. It had been a long time since this particular King Wolf could exercise its repertoire of life-enders – the thrill of the hunt wasn’t exactly a thing when most of the prey here were rabbits and squirrels, little creatures that couldn’t compare to the agility and ferocity of the King.
After getting the human all tired out, perhaps it’d conceal itself a distance away; watch on as she collapsed in exhaustion, perhaps relieved at getting away, crying and thanking her lucky stars for her safety – and at that very moment… It’d pounce! And rip out her jugular!
But… it all came back to that first strike. Hardly even gave it a bruise; the pride of the forest sovereign just couldn’t abide that insulting splash of ice and puddle. No, no, no. Taking its time wasn’t the game plan; not tonight. She didn’t deserve the VIP treatment.
This human just deserved to die as quick a death as it could provide.
It took a haughty paw towards the caster hidden behind the bush, a silent taunt towards the still-hidden Qin, as if to declare that even if this warning gave her a headstart, it was not going to fare any worse. Glowing, yellow eyes fixated solely on her neck, a low growling serving as a backdrop for what came next.
Qin knew exactly what that meant – she was, for lack of a better phrase, screwed. What, did she think the woods christened “Sucker’s Demise” had earned that name for no good reason? Of course not moving wasn’t going to magically stop what was effectively a bigger, stronger, faster dog from catching a whiff of her scent.
So.
There was only one thing left to do, however futile it might seem.
She turned and ran.
The King Wolf, of course, followed.
Dead of night, deep within the forbidden woods behind Orth Academy. Not a soul would be awake at this hour, save for the hungry King Wolves that called the forest home and the scampering, frightened meals it hunted.
Why might a level six Magic Trainee, then, be running for her life within these woods; especially at this time of day, in this accursed place, all alone, equipped with magic that would hardly be capable of wounding the prowling killers that stalked the forest – let alone defeat them?
To train, of course.
Danger!
Her Skill took this opportunity to chime in once more, alerting her to the imminent danger approaching.
Shut up; I know! It’s pretty damned obvious I’m in danger, isn’t it?! What kind of idiot wouldn't know that?!
Still running, legs smushing dead leaves and branches underfoot, Qin twisted her head to glare at her pursuer and aimed her finger at the Wolf, one eye shut to sharpen her targeting.
“Ice Shard: Class One!”
A ball the size of her pinky popped into existence, and wobbled out of her control, plinking to the ground before she could even fire it.
Great, she groaned silently to herself, returning her focus to maintaining pace and avoiding tripping hazards. So much for brushing up on mobile casting. Can’t even fire off a Class One without it going Out of Range.
And then all too quickly, the chase was over.
There was, after all, nowhere left to run – the King Wolf had her cornered against the edge of a cliff, beyond which lay a fifty foot drop down into a less dangerous portion of the Demise – although less dangerous didn’t exactly mean no danger.
Qin was currently about twenty mental face-palms deep in her inner monologue.
Right right left left – not right right right left! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Knew I should have read the map a few more times!
Qin could swear that that was a victorious grin on the beast’s face as it inched closer to her; as if it knew that her death was assured. She took a cursory glance down over the lip of the cliff at the treetops below as she backed up slowly, dirt accumulating at her heels as they dragged along the ground. She gauged her chances.
Survivable? Probably. The initial impact, at least.
The injuries from that impact, however? Two broken legs? Multiple lacerations; cracked rib or two? In that hostile environment, with predators skulking about, looking for their next meal?
Those would be lethal.
Ok, ok, calm down, Qin; what’s that they always tell us in class? Assess the situation, take stock of your resources, then find a way to win or retreat. Right, ok; first, the situation. How’s it looking?
She watched the Wolf bare its fangs and take another arrogant step forwards.
Yep. Hopeless. No help there. How about resources at hand?
“Status,” she intoned urgently.
Name:
Qin Sa
Race:
Human
Level:
6
HP:
520/520
MP:
67/223 (+1/20s)
Attributes:
LVL
STR:
2
DEF:
9
INT:
16
SPD:
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
8
LUK:
10
Skills:
LVL
Mask Generation
-
Intermediate Magic Grimoire
2
Endurance Mastery
3
Her eyes alternated quickly between the translucent screen and the approaching threat, doing some mental arithmetic. Class Ones were about 30 mana points, even if the one she’d fired off earlier wasn’t fully shaped. Class Twos were just over a hundred fifty… and Class Threes weren’t even an option.
Mhm.
Yep.
No way was she going to beat a level twenty seven with two Class Ones.
Another three or four pointless ideas later (what if she kicked dirt at the agile powerful dog and ran while it was blinded?), and with the wolf ruthlessly reducing the zone of safety left to her with every second she wasted, she had to face the facts.
There simply wasn’t any more leeway for pride.
Time for the safety net.
“Alright, guardian spirit.” She spoke aloud, eyes locked with the predator in front of her. “It’s your turn now.”
put it on first
“What?” Qin replied in stark confusion. What was he talking about?
put on the mask
Oh.
“No, I’m not putting on the mask!” she hissed at the disembodied voice. “Can’t you see that we’re in trouble right now?!”
do it it’ll be cool
“Don’t even have it on me; tonight was just supposed to be training! Why would I have brought it?!”
make another one
She couldn’t help but retort incredulously at the spirit.
“Or what, you won’t help me?”
yeah
Damn it.
“Rrgh- fine.”
She lifted her right hand above her face in defeat, momentarily obscuring her vision. “Mask Generation.”
With that, the last dregs of her mana left her completely, immediately draining the power from her limbs and sending her stumbling backwards with a gasp. Her back dangled precariously off the side, with only her lower half barely able to hold on, legs scrabbling frantically to gain purchase. A little more effort and a few grunts of exertion later, she managed to pull herself back into a seating position, heart thumping in her chest a little more quickly.
Look what you made me do; I almost fell off!
heheh nice
The Wolf was, at this moment, utterly bewildered.
It was certainly the first time it had seen cornered prey act like this – with absolutely no self-preservation at all. If anything, this strange act instead made it wary, body crouched close to the ground as it reduced its center mass, to lower the number of weak spots exposed to attack. The keen eyes it possessed quickly caught something else that had changed about the lowly prey. Hadn’t the top part of the human’s face… changed, somewhat? Like it was shinier somehow?
Instinct warned that caution was vital at such crucial junctions like the finishing blow – when given no choice but to fight, prey could surprisingly pack a real wallop. Plus, the prey knew some sort of ice creating, unpleasant feeling, liquid magic. Who’s to say they didn’t have another more lethal spell up their sleeve?
It would hang back momentarily and watch how things developed.
There, Qin huffed in irritation, tapping angrily on the golden Masquerade Mask aloft the bridge of her nose. I’m wearing your stupid mask.
Now will you help? That King Wolf isn’t exactly going to let us do what we please for much longer.
okie
Thank you. Can’t believe you’d play around at a time like this.
“Status.”
She scanned down the words that had reappeared.
N4me:
zary
RaC3:
yes
LeVe1:
?
5p:
wouldn’t you like to know?
M3:
?/?
AriBots:
Lve
2t7:
?
D39:
?
1N7:
?
sPe:
?
1u4:
?
skl0iz:
Level
InSp3t
?
D4n53r s3nZ
?
Fiz1Ca1 B0oz7
3 (or is it?oOh~)
br4w1r M3stRy
?
proF11e sW4pz
---------
“Wha-”
Her voice caught in her throat, as a vital part of her entire strategy to turn the tables failed to appear on the new Status Page that had replaced her old.
Where was it?! It had been there every time she’d tested out her guardian spirit’s skills; and more importantly, it was still there yesterday night!
Damn it; where’s Charge Fist, you dick?!
wanna do it myself
Qin couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Child! That's what he was - a shitty, petulant, unreasonable child! All because he wanted to be the one to do the cool punchy strike, he was willing to let the both of them perish?
There’s no time for this, guardian spirit, she stressed urgently. That Wolf’s going to figure out I’m all out of MP sooner or later – give me Charge Fist!
no
Come on! I’ll… let you have an ice pop back at dorm? Ugh. Even she thought her cajoling sounded weak. What did kids these days like again? Ah… er, how about a couple of candies?
just let me do it
She balked at the simple response. Absolutely not. After that one time she’d let the guardian spirit take over… the things that kid did in her body… no way. That was where she was putting her foot down.
No! I'm not letting you take over again!
then you die
Qin let out an exhale of exasperation. She was stuck. There was no reasoning with him. It was the one-track mind of a toddler; hell-bent on getting his way and not budging on it in the slightest until he reached that goal.
Then it finally happened.
The Wolf, having paced back and forth enough times, judged that the antics Qin had been getting up to were simply just that – antics. A stalling tactic to preserve her worthless life as long as possible. And having made up its mind, it pushed its body as far to the ground as possible, building up power in its hind legs…
And pounced.
Qin yelped in fright, instinctually bringing up both arms to shield her face. Time seemed to slow as she watched the gnashing, growling predator lunge towards her, paws outstretched. The sight of impending death literally flying at her made her decision easy.
OK OK FINE BUT I GET CONTROL BACK AFTER YOU WIN
You have dealt 5569 damage.
Experience gained +536
Level up!
Level up!
Two seconds later, the King Wolf was thrown fifty meters back from the edge of the cliff. It let out a yip of surprise as it flew backwards. The human had been hiding something up her sleeve! Fine, the puny human won this round. It would run; slink away for now, gather its brethren with all haste and return to finish-
Wait, what was all this red on him?
yay I won!
The guardian spirit, now fully in control of Qin's body, did a little jump of celebration, grinning dumbly as he regained a motor control he hadn't been capable of in sixty two days.
Qin couldn’t believe what had just occurred, despite having had a first-hand account. Within the split second that she had relinquished control to her guardian spirit, he had released the lock on the Skill he’d been hiding, wound back her tiny balled-up fist, and delivered a devastating blow to the chest of the King Wolf, striking it with such force that a fist-shaped hole had been hollowed out, obliterating it so thoroughly that the viscera was shot past the visible trees and deeper into the forest.
Ow!
She involuntarily winced, pain shooting through her right hand. Qin wasn’t fully in control of her eyes right this moment – that had been the price she paid for gaining his assistance – but out of the corner of her right eye, she could see that the fingers had blackened, blackish-red clots forming where the spirit had impacted the beast, blood pooling where vessels had burst.
Crap, how am I going to explain this to the academy nurse? Well, on the bright side, at least a finger didn't break off. And it'd be harder to explain a broken leg, anyways. I'll take a broken fist any day.
Contrary what one might do when their entire hand had been crushed, however, the guardian spirit was instead humming a tune, swinging a stick he’d picked up off the ground as he crouched down in a decidedly unladylike fashion, inspecting a ladybug with interest.
Of course he doesn’t feel it, she thought bitterly. He’s a spirit, after all.
Danger!
…and why is that still going off? I thought we got rid of the King Wolf. It’s been doing that for the past – well, ever since you arrived, actually.
cause there’s still danger duh
Danger?
She’d had time to Inspect the Danger Sense Skill the guardian spirit possessed earlier; it was a Skill that only triggered when the owner was faced with an incoming threat that they had little chance of prevailing against. It could be toggled off, of course, but it seemed prudent to have a warning of potential aggressors coming for her life.
But… the King Wolf had been killed - it was why she'd come out tonight, despite not having the guts to do so two months earlier. A test to see if it was the proximity to Sucker's Demise setting it off. Besides a chance to gain a couple of experience points, too.
The Wolves were effectively the peak of what passed for danger around these parts. Even if she was basically down a hand, the guardian spirit seemed strong enough with what he still had in reserve to fend off anything weaker than that.
So if it wasn’t the Wolves setting off her Danger Sense…
What was?
Something more dangerous than that?
Something coming after her?
What could be more dangerous than-
Damn it.
Qin proceeded to sigh deeply, her train of thought completely shattered by what the spirit was doing now.
It was… to be expected, she supposed – he’d done it basically the entire time she’d been testing out his Skills back at dorm the very first time she had been tricked into giving him control – but it was still wildly distracting. And demeaning.
Please stop fondling my breasts.