The next few weeks seemed to fly by. I kept track of the days by scratching marks on a piece of wood using my pocket knife as the days started to blend together. Shadow and I made several more trips into the city during this time. We ran into the wolves on a couple occasions and were even chased once but were able to hide in the various buildings and rubble. So far I didn’t need to face them in combat but it was only a matter of time. If you were careful it was possible to notice them before they spotted you as they always ran in a group of at least three and were not the least bit quiet. Their main territory seemed to be farther east but if I wanted to get to East Port then I would have to face them eventually.

I had managed to find some more preserved food but was mostly consisting off fish and other seafood. I still ate some of the fruit, usually for breakfast. I made a couple more attempts at removing the lightning rod and was now just chipping away at the rock that it was attached to. I thought about trying to chip away the runes from the wall or floor but they were somehow magically attached and the stone strengthened so I couldn’t even scratch them.

I thought in another few days I would have enough stone chipped away around the lightning rod that I would be able to move it. Luckily, there had been no other storms since the one on the night I arrived in this world. Today, I had planned on doing some more work at the tower. I had found a replacement door and wanted to get it installed in between chipping away more stone. I had procured a couple chisels and hammers from the blacksmith area of the weapon shop. You would think it would be easy to chip stone, but the stone of the tower was incredibly strong and I had gone through one chisel already.

I yawned while walking out of the master bedroom. I hadn’t been idle around the mansion either and had done some cleaning and even managed to fix the larger holes in the roof. I had turned the guest waiting room on the first floor into a storage room for loot. It included extra weapons and armor, tools, and anything else that I thought worth hauling here. I had always been something of a hoarder in video games.

I had found a couple wooden barrels which now contained my drinking water. I had even hauled one up into the master bathroom to use for cleaning but I had only used the bath once since it was such a pain to fill up, especially if I wanted warm water. I had still made zero progress with my magic training. I just didn’t know what I was doing, even with the books help. I remained undeterred however, and would continue trying.

The previous day I had found a few more eggs so wanted some scrambled eggs for breakfast for a change. I got the fire going and soon the smell of the eggs cooking caused Shadow to finally get out of bed. We enjoyed our breakfast and were about to head out when a shout sounded from outside. This caused me to freeze, not knowing what to do. In all this time I hadn’t seen anyone in the abandoned city so was shocked to hear a voice shouting.

I wasn’t sure if the voice came from someone that was friendly or not, but I already had on my adventuring gear as I called it. I cautiously peeked out the door but didn’t see anyone. I then heard the shout again. It seemed to be weaker this time, but it clearly called out for help in a female voice. I went to the gate and looked out into the street. I was surprised to see two people collapsed in the middle of the street near the mansion.

They were both dressed similar to me in protective armor but neither had weapons. It looked like the female had been dragging the male with a trail of blood marking their path. They were both injured but I couldn’t tell the severity. I carefully approached and was surprised again at seeing wolf like ears and fluffy tails on the pair. The female had light grey fur on her ears and tail while the male had a darker colored grey. Other than the ears and tails, they otherwise appeared to be human. They were both covered in dirt and blood and their armor was scratched and torn.

I was worried the blood would attract monsters so decided to treat them in the house. I first carried the female and laid her on the dining room table. Next, I picked up the male. The female seemed to weigh next to nothing, but the male was definitely heavy. My new strength allowed me to hoist him up without problems though and he joined the female on the table. I had water and some clean towels and cloth I had scavenged but that was about it as far as medical tools.

I was no doctor, so this was going to be interesting. It would be terrible if the first people I meet in this new world both die on me before I can talk to them. The male was clearly in worse shape and I had to check twice to make sure he was even breathing. He had terrible looking slash marks through his leather armor and was bleeding profusely. I took off his armor and cut away the torn shirt. I used some water to wash the blood and grime away and winced at the ugly looking gashes across his torso. I tried to stop the bleeding but couldn’t do much for him. His breathing got ragged and I sighed as it stopped.

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I didn’t have time to feel bad however, as I switched over to the girl. She had a gash on one arm and on her leg. The chest armor had been damaged but it must have been enough to stop the attack as it didn’t look like it reached her body. She was bleeding but not as bad as her friend. I once again cleaned and dressed the wounds then took her to one of the upstairs bedrooms. I had cleaned one of them but hadn’t gotten to the rest.

Neither of the new arrivals had weapons or packs. I could only assume that they were lost in the attack as I couldn’t imagine them getting here without supplies. For some reason I didn’t think they had been living here and I just hadn’t run into them. It was just a hunch, but I thought they must have arrived here somehow. Maybe they had a boat. When the girl woke up, hopefully she could fill me in. Her injuries didn’t seem that severe and she may have just collapsed due to exhaustion.

Another mouth to feed wouldn’t be that much trouble as I had built a jury rigged smoker in the backyard and had been smoking some of the extra fish so they lasted longer. The fish were plentiful and there was plenty of fruit to be found as well. Shadow seemed to be indifferent to the new arrivals but it would be nice to have someone around to have an actual conversation with. Maybe she would be able to teach me how to use magic. While cleaning her wounds, I couldn’t help but notice how cute she was as well. She looked to be about my age or a little older but it was hard to say.

As I was deep in thought, Shadow started hissing. In my haste to take care of the injured beast people, I hadn’t bothered to shut the door. I could hear growling coming from downstairs and was instantly on guard. I had left my spear by the front door but still had my sword which I quickly unsheathed as I peered over the railing. It seemed the injured pair were followed and I silently swore as first one and then another jungle wolf poked their heads into the foyer.

Two of them went towards the dining room where the dead male was still laying on the table. A third and fourth entered after them and stared up at me, growling. I thought about grabbing Shadow and locking myself in the room with the injured girl, but the door wasn’t in very good shape and I didn’t think it would hold against the wolves. My best bet would be to hold them on the stairs where the space was narrow and I had the high ground. I really wished I had my spear.

The wolves and I dashed for the stairs at the same time. Up close they had short, spiky greenish fur and were larger than the wolves from Earth. Only one of them could fit up the stairs at a time and they wasted valuable seconds fighting over who would go first, allowing me to get into position at the top of the stairs. The first wolf didn’t see me as a threat and charged straight up the stairs. I tried to stay calm and waited until it lunged at me and brought the sword down on its head. As with the apes, the sword had no trouble cleaving through its skull.

The dead wolf tumbled back down the stairs, bowling over the second wolf behind it. The angry wolf managed to get itself out from underneath its dead companion and howled. The sound was extra loud inside the house and I winced. The two that had gone to the dining room hurried out and growled after seeing me. After howling, the wolf started back up the stairs but slower this time. I waited with my sword at the ready.

It stopped short and tried getting me with its claws while looking for an opportunity to sink its jaws into me. I was able to dodge and cut one of its paws, making it yip in pain. Then when it thrust its snout at me, with its jaws open wide, I jammed the sword straight down its throat and out the back of its neck. Unfortunately, as the dying wolf twisted around I started being pulled down the stairs and was forced to let go of the sword. The dead beast tumbled down the stairs to join its fellow in a pool of blood. The remaining two had waited at the bottom of the stairs and seemed to grin as I had lost my only weapon.

I swore as the remaining two started up the stairs. Luckily as the second one tumbled down the stairs, I noticed the stairs had about reached their limit. I hadn’t repaired the stairs so there were still rotten sections and the wolves had weakened it further. When they were halfway up the stairs, I ripped the wooden pillar that was at the top of the railing off and threw it with all my might at the steps in front of them. The pillar went straight through the rotten steps which cause the rest of the stairs to start falling in, taking both wolves with it. The wolves and debris broke through the first floor and landed in the cellar beneath the house.

I sat down on my butt and breathed a sigh of relief. I was still a little shaky and covered in sweat as I looked into the hole but didn’t see any movement from the wolves. Shadow peeked out of the bedroom where the girl rested and meowed, seemingly asking if it was over. “Just stay put for now.” I told her and thankfully she just sat down and started licking her paws.

I used what was left of the railing to traverse the hole and make it to the first floor to grab my spear. I was able to get my sword back and after cleaning it off, returned it to my waist. With the spear in hand, I returned to the hole as I didn’t think that would be enough to kill the wolves. I groaned as I realized I would need to enter the cellar to ensure the wolves were dead. I went to the kitchen and groaned again as I looked at the cellar door that was barricaded shut. I really, really hoped the wolves were the only thing down there.