Ryn, seeing the MoonHowl charging at him with its fierce fangs, took a stance, placing his left foot slightly forward, both weapons raised to chest level, and waited until the MoonHowl almost reached him with jaws wide open, about to snap at him.

Pshh!

Whimp!

Just before it closed its jaws on Ryn’s neck, he dropped his training swords, sidestepped it in a fluid motion, and struck its side right under the neck. The force of impact derailed the MoonHowl, and they both tumbled.

WHIMP!

This time, the MoonHowl whimpered louder than before but didn’t give up.

The Moonhowl snapped its head back in an attempt to bite Ryn’s head, who was still holding onto the dagger that penetrated its skin.

“Ugh.”

The sudden attack caught Ryn off guard, reaching his other arm, biting onto it.

Wincing in pain, Ryn took out the dagger and stabbed it again, and again, and again until it let go.

“Argh... My arm!”

Blood was profuse everywhere, and he was in so much pain that he thought his arm was gone.

His forearm was slashed in the ambush, and now his upper arm was almost bitten off.

The only thing that was keeping it together were the bones, visible even through the clothes he wrapped around it to stop the blood. Ryn, in pain, crawled on the ground and lay on his back near the kitten.

‘This will heal too, right?’

Though he hadn’t given it much thought yet, Ryn could sense something was changing within his body.

He felt that something had been off a couple of days ago with how fast he recovered his stamina and energy every time he meditated after his morning regimens.

It was even more apparent yesterday when his body recovered faster than he would have anticipated.

“I need to stop the bleeding.”

Ryn was losing so much blood that he was slipping into unconsciousness.

His upper garment was already drenched in blood, wrapped around his arm. Unaware due to the pain and the situation, he noticed that the gash on his forearm had stopped bleeding and was recovering.

Just as he thought he should get up and go near the tree where his satchel was, he heard a rustling noise coming from where the MoonHowl first appeared.

Right when thought he should get up and go near the tree where his satchel was, he heard a rustling noise coming from where the Moonhowl first appeared from.

Directing his attention toward the tree, he saw the leaves parting, revealing another Moonhowl jumping from it.

“Ugh... another one.”

Thinking that fighting another wolf in his state would be dire, he instinctively reached for the dagger stuck in the dead Moonhowl.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

But before he could even shift his gaze away from the first wolf, another appeared, then another, and one more.

He could already see four of them running towards him, and the first one was almost upon him. He didn’t have time to draw his dagger, protect the kitten, and defend himself, as his left hand was already out of commission.

“You better stop hissing at me if we survive this,” Ryn proclaimed, jumping and curling his body over the kitten to protect it. Then he rolled towards the dead Moonhowl to use its body as cover and retrieve his weapon.

By that time, the first Moonhowl had already leaped over and beyond him. The second followed suit, and by the time Ryn picked up his weapon and was ready to fight, two had vanished, and the remaining two raced past him at full speed.

“What...” Ryn was bewildered at what was happening.

Although those Moonhowls weren’t as big as the one he had taken out, he couldn’t understand what they were fleeing from.

Suddenly, his ears picked up footsteps heavier than those of the wolves, almost behind him. They weren’t approaching fast but slowly and steadily, with a rhythmic yet occasionally irregular pace.

Time seemed to slow, almost stopping. The air around him grew heavy suddenly, and then its shadow enveloped him, swallowing him whole.

Ryn whirled around fast, attacking first.

There he could see it now, his eyes landing first on a huge wolf—bigger than the one he had killed—falling on him with its neck bending in a strange way.

Ryn couldn’t comprehend how the wolf was using its body to attack, but he didn’t have time to think, so he stabbed it without hesitation.

He didn’t stop at one attack either; he had learned his lesson earlier.

Only after the third strike, when it lay motionless on the ground, did he pause.

“Is it dea-”

Ryn couldn’t even finish the sentence when his peripheral vision caught the huge dark silhouette that lingered where the wolf had emerged from.

Not unlike the shadows of the trees, if it were dark outside, it would have been nearly impossible to see except for its silver eyes.

Following the shadow that enveloped him, Ryn turned his peripheral vision to the majestic creature with jet-black fur, glistening like a moonless night and eyes that mirrored the silver essence of the soul. Its muzzle bloody, its paws drenched with each step it took.

‘So that’s what they were running from!’

Ryn now could see why those wolves didn’t give any attention to him.

“GROWL!”

The black panther growled at him, observing him, its eyes darting around.

Ryn instinctively took a step back. He didn’t know what had brought it out of the forest or if it would attack him, but he didn’t want to stick around to find that out anyway.

“Meow”

The timid meow cut through the tension, signaling the emergence of the kitten Ryn had been shielding. Enticed by the call of its mother, the small feline cautiously approached.

With a heartfelt reunion, the mother panther and her offspring came together once more. As the black panther lovingly licked her kitten, a sense of peace settled over the clearing, easing the tension that had hung in the air moments before.

Ryn slowly backed up to where his satchel was, preparing to vacate the premises as quietly and slowly as possible, so as not to disturb the family reunion.

“Growl.”

However, to his detriment, the big cat caught on to him and growled furiously.

“I guess you won’t let me leave, huh?”

Ryn wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He took a stance and readied his dagger.

But contrary to what he expected, something quite different happened.

The Panther picked its kitten and brought it to him, pushing it towards him.

Ryn was gobsmacked and kept staring at it.

The kitten started meowing and followed behind its limping mom.

“HISS!!”

Only to be hissed back at and forced to stop.

‘Where is it going, leaving its kitten!?’

Ryn picked up the kitten, brought back from the shock by the hiss, but he still couldn’t understand what was going on.

He kept staring at the black panther mom that was limping on its way back to where it came from until it disappeared into the push.

"Ha! Did it just abandon its baby?"

Ryn was flabbergasted by the mother cat's actions.

‘Maybe it will come back, so I should wait, right!?’

...

...

...

‘It will come back, right?’

After waiting for some time and not hearing any rustling from the bushes or any signs of return, Ryn was even more dumbfounded by what the black panther had done.

‘It can't be, right!?’

The only thought swirling in his mind was the mother cat abandoning its kitten with him.

"If it was already going to abandon it like that, why did it come searching for it in the first place?"

Ryn didn’t have much experience outside the village, especially in this forest, so he didn’t know much about the flora or fauna except what he had read in books.

Even then, he knew that most animals had great maternal instincts, but seeing what had just happened made him question the authenticity of what he had read in those books.

RUSTLE!

The gentle sound of leaves and branches rustling in the bushes reached his ears. Ryn anticipated, glancing in its direction, only to spot the Black Panther’s return.

“Ah!, it is back. Maybe it just wanted me to watch for its kitten for a while.”

Ryn was assured to know that what he read in the books was indeed right and no animal would leave its offspring with humans that easily, even more so if its wild Knightshade.

That assurance didn’t last long whatsoever.

“HA!?”

Ryn could now see what the black panther was holding in its mow, after it approached him.

“No way!?”