I open my eyes to see the dimly lit room I slept the night in now illuminated by a beam of sunlight coming in from the small aperture in the wall, which comes as a swift reminder that the day before wasn't a dream, and that I'm still here on Dharta. Another reminder comes only moments after I open my eyes, a string of messages filling my vision in a floating translucent window, something that is now becoming a normal occurrence to me instead of the oddity it should be.

[Skill [From The Brink] Has Reached Level 5!]

…

[Skill [From The Brink] Has Reached Level 8!]

[Due To A Special Action, You Have Learned The Passive General Skill [Rest] Level 1!]

[Skill [Rest] Has Reached Level 2!]

[Skill [Rest] Has Reached Level 3!]

[Rest]:

Improves the effectiveness of the user’s Recovery when in a state of relaxation, the effect increasing even further the deeper the state of relaxation the user is in.

Wow, the Dhartic System really has Skills for everything, doesn't it? Well, not that I'm complaining, I'll take free Skills any day.

Sitting up and stretching my arms out above me, I look down slightly to see that my tail coiled snugly around my right leg as I slept, which felt weirdly comfortable to me for reasons I couldn't really figure out. Lifting my leg a little, I uncoil the black appendage to check up on the progress of its regrowth. Which is still kind of weird to me. I'm just accepting the fact that the tail I didn't even have just two days ago will regrow after being chopped in two because some mysterious floating box tells me I have the ability to, and that it actually is. It regrew a decent amount while I slept, now about two thirds of its full 6-7 feet length, up from the halfway point it was at when I went to bed, which is probably both the cause and effect of the two Skills Leveling up.

Getting off of the bed, I start stretching the rest of my body out of habit, even though I feel no stiffness from the less-from-perfect bed I spent the night on. As I do so, I check out the cabin’s interior in the improved lighting, seeing that I didn't really miss anything from the night before except for how the two pickaxes hanging from the wall are extremely rusty, probably to the point that the head of the tool would break immediately if it was used at all. Not that I care whatsoever, not really having any desire to start mining anytime soon.

Grabbing my axe from the desk, I place it at my side again, which draws my attention to the tear in the shirt where it cut me the night before when I got thrown. I stick a finger through and rub at the completely unblemished skin, still amazed that there isn't even a hint of a scar where the cut was just hours before. I don't know, I guess everything just became more real after waking up to still be here, some part of me still thought this might be a dream or something.

Everything yesterday actually happened, I actually became a Demon, I actually used supernatural abilities to fight off undead monsters, someone, or something, actually tried to kill me, and I…I actually killed someone. Who cares if they died once before and were now a skeleton, they understood me, communicated with me, and I just gave them some dumb name from a kids’ story, only to end up finishing off their undead existence a couple of minutes later.

And my “Patron Goddess” had the gall to reward me for that.

Looking up, I give the ceiling above me the middle finger, hoping my message is received by the intended recipient. I got no response for my effort, which I was kind of expecting, but I figured this Iusti lady might say something since I'm pretty sure it was her who tried warning me in the stable house. Shrugging, I head towards the door to greet the new day with newfound resolve, a resolve to get some food as my stomach grumbles slightly.

I unlatch the door, and swing it open to take in my surroundings. The clear blue sky shines down sunlight into the grassy clearing, glistening off the clear blue river to my left, bringing more visibility to the surrounding area allowing me to spot a narrow dirt path at the edge of the clearing opposite me, as well as a few grass-green mounds scattered around the grass area that were most definitely not there the night before.

The door I swung open with a little too much force smacks into the cabin wall, and at that thumping sound, the 4 mounds begin moving. Wolflike heads that were resting against the ground all rise up, pointing right at me as the four figures get to their feet from their resting position, and I use [Eyes Of Aspirations] on all of them as they begin to growl at me.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

{Sunlight Moss Wolf: Level 9}

[Current Desire: Food]

{Sunlight Moss Wolf: Level 12}

[Current Desire: Food]

{Sunlight Moss Wolf: Level 8}

[Current Desire: Food]

{Sunlight Moss Wolf: Level 15}

[Current Desire: Food]

Well shit, looks like I'm not the only one looking for some breakfast.

As I check out my opponent’s Levels, a tingle runs down my spine and tail as the gazes of all four wolves lock onto me, and I bring my hands up, ready to activate [Light Of Justice] at a moment's notice. The two lower Leveled Moss Wolves start to cautiously approach me, whilst the highest Leveled one stays a fair distance away, with the last one staying in between the three. The two higher Leveled ones start to crouch down on their front legs, growling intensifying as they keep their gaze right on me. Wanting to get the upper hand, I dash forward towards the Level 8 wolf that is slightly to the left of the rest and closest to the riverside, at which the Level 9 one on my right begins to rush at me.

I close in on the weakest one, and I dodge to the side as it tries to bite be, and I punch it in its flank with a [Light Of Justice] filled blow, which causes it to stagger back, but to my surprise, only a slight bit of singing on the tips of its grass-like fur can be seen as the result of the attack. Before I can process my obvious mistake, the sound of barking from the two higher Leveled wolves is soon followed by something tightly wounding around my feet, and I look down to see that grass has grown and tangled itself around my feet and ankles, entrapping me in place.

Hearing the Level 9 wolf getting close, I shut off [Light Of Justice] to instead grab the axe at my side, but I get pounced on from behind before I get the chance. I get tackled to the ground, the force of the blow rips the grass at my feet freeing them momentarily, but grass soon starts wrapping around them again, as well as the rest of my legs and parts of my torso. My arms are saved from being bound, but that is because they are currently raised in front of my face as my bracers are getting clawed at by the wolf mounting me. Luckily for me though, my tail is spared long enough for me to activate [Tail Whip] along with [Power Slash] right into the head of the wolf on top of me, as I don't need the full length to hit something right on top of me.

The attack is more effective than anticipated, cutting a deep gash into one of its eyes, and as it yelps in pain, it ceases its assault long enough for me grab the axe at my side and slam it into the side of its skull with another [Power Slash], which thankfully works in tandem with the weapon as expected. The blow hits its mark, and the wolf collapses atop me, but right as soon as I shove it off of me, the Level 8 wolf I struck earlier bites down onto my tail, and I let out a scream of pain as it viciously shakes its head back and forth, tearing at the appendage.

“Fuck… You!”

I yell out and use [Tail Whip] to fling the Moss Wolf away from me a few yards, and I start cutting at the grass entangling me, managing to free my torso enough to let me sit up in time for something bright to strike me in my chest forcefully. Thankfully my leather chest piece protected me from the attack so I didn't take any real damage, but when I glance down, I see that a round burnt spot has appeared at the point of impact. Looking around me, I see that the Level 8 wolf has started to get up from the ground after being thrown, the Level 12 wolf still at a moderate distance away and crouched forward while staring at me, and the Level 15 wolf having its mouth wide open as light starts to emit brightly from its throat, soon followed by another flash of light slamming into me, this time burning a hole straight through my shirt and singing a baseball sized circle on my stomach.

Noticing that the growth rate of the grass is slower than before, I cover my head with one arm and begin to cut at the grass around my legs as fast as possible while nothing is right on top of me. By the time I free myself and get to my feet, I get pelted by three more light rays from the strongest Moss Wolf, one in the arm and two across my armored chest, and the other two wolves start to rush at me together, the Level 12 one that was most likely still using the grass entangling Skill giving up on using it as soon as I freed myself.

The Level 8 beast is the first to reach me, and as it pounces towards me, I step to the side and avoid it, similarly to our first exchange, but this time I use a two-handed [Power Slash] with my axe instead of a punch, decapitating it mid-leap, covering my blade with more sticky, amber-colored blood. Before I can recover from my swing though, the other Moss Wolf manages to bite down on the upper half of my right arm, penetrating down to the bone, and I let out a pained grunt. I lift my axe in my offhand as I get ready to strike down, but as it's raised, another flash comes from the highest Leveled wolf, and knocks the axe out of the hand by striking it directly.

“Damn you're annoying! Screw you.”

The disarming attack only saved its kin a few moments of life, as I instead use a [Power Slash] [Tail Whip] combo from below, slicing into its neck with ease, and I wrench my arm from its jaws as it collapses to the ground, the amber blood oozing out rapidly and staining the grass below it. I probably should have pried its jaws open before yanking my arm out, but I reason that it'll heal eventually, and I don't want my last enemy to just keep pelting me with its searing blows. I grab my axe from the ground by wrapping my tail around it and lifting it up to my left hand as I dash towards the Moss Wolf sending light my way.

Seeing its impending doom heading towards it, the wolf stops its assault to turn and run, but by the time it makes this decision, I'm already too close. I use my tail to slash at one of its hind legs with the slashing combo of [Tail Whip] and [Power Slash], causing it to stumble to the ground right when it starts to run away. It turns to stare at me with a fearful gaze, but I do not hesitate, dropping the axe down and cleaving its skull open with [Power Slash], finishing the final wolf off.

“Guess I'm having wolf steak for breakfast, hopefully it doesn't taste too bad.”

But first, rewards time!

[You Are Now In Relative Safety, Rewards From Combat Shall Now Be Distributed]