I slowly turned and stumbled back in shock. Before me was the biggest wolf I had ever seen, and it was pissed. It's deep gray and white fur ruffled in the slight breeze. The thing was huge. As in, larger than a horse, huge. Another earth-shaking growl rattled throughout the clearing as it paced, never taking its eyes off of me. My mind raced as I tried to find a solution to my current predicament. The one skill I hadn't tried was [Windburst] and the mana pathways I felt earlier. Then I remembered. [Hunter's Instinct] hadn't detected the wolf, which meant, however implausible, it was not hostile. I decided to risk it and sat down, calmly making eye contact with the wolf. It paused, tilting its head in question. I nodded. A low rumble came from the wolf, and it took me a moment to realize it was laughing.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here? A beast who slaughtered my guards, and yet is intelligent enough to understand that I hold no ill intent, for now. What exactly are you?" A deep, rich voice echoed from the wolf. I cocked my head and motioned to my throat with a paw.
"Ah, incapable of speech, are you? I can assist in that regard, if you would like?" The wolf said. I nodded in response, and the wolf walked closer. He crouched down, setting a massive paw on my head.
"[Tongues]," He intoned. A rush of mana flowed from his paw to me, before condensing in my throat. He stepped back and gestured for me to speak.
"Can you understand me?" I asked. My voice was incredibly different from when I was human. Before, it was slightly high pitched, but otherwise normal. Now, it was a smooth, silky, somewhat deeper voice that sounded almost like a pur.
"Ah, the spell worked. It will not last forever, so let us dispense with the small talk. Who are you, and what is your purpose for attacking my kin?" He said.
"I have no name, but as for my purpose? Your kin stole my hunt. I was tracking a group of rabbits for a meal, and as I found them, your kin bolted through, killing several and scaring the rest away, making them impossible to track. I attempted to find new prey, but their crashing through the brush scared away all the other beasts. The only things I found were the occasional bloodstain and the scent of these four here." I said, motioning to the four normal wolf corpses. He shook his head in disappointment.
"I don't know how many times I have told those four fools to not over hunt, and look at them now, after doing just that. But I must ask, was it necessary to kill my two Guardians as well? They were good wolves, and loyal to a fault." He said with a bit of annoyance seeping into his tone. I shook my head.
"If you saw that four of your friends were decapitated in front of you by an unseen force, would you simply let it happen?" He paused before nodding in understanding.
"I see… As an apology for their mistake, I can teach you a spell, if you like." He offered. I thought for a moment, tail swishing through the grass. Could he teach me the spell he used to allow me to talk? I asked as much, and he shook his head.
"[Tongues] is a master level spell that took me years to learn, and it still only works about fifty percent of the time. I can, however, teach you a spell that would allow you to create a smokescreen, as you seem to be of a more stealth-focused race. You will be able to see a bit through the smoke, and it would make for an easy retreat."
I agreed with him, and the smokescreen would come in handy. He cast a spell, with two runic circles appearing under us. A flood of information entered my mind, and a window appeared before me.
==================
Spell Learned: Smokescreen
==================
I checked my status for the spell and found it.
==================
Spells
Aeroslash
Smokescreen
==================
He looked over to me, now panting slightly from the effort of the spell.
"Was the trade successful?" He asked, sounding strained. I nodded, thanking him.
"'Twas nothing, a simple debt repaid. My pack made a mistake, and I was simply solving it." I said a short goodbye, and then was on my way, heading back to my own cave.
—-
I woke with a bit of excitement, remembering the spell I was taught. I step out of the cave and scour the area for danger. There was nothing, so I use [Smokescreen]. The fur on my tail puffed up, and smoke burst from under it. It was a dark gray color, and somehow irritated neither my throat nor eyes. It also had no scent of its own, though it did block all scents in it.
Now, I wanted to test some skills and the mana pathways I felt. I clear the smoke, once again checking the area. Focusing, I activated [Windburst]. A rush of mana moved to my wings, and in a swirl of air I was launched upwards. So [Windburst] was a takeoff skill, huh? I landed softly, the grass and leaves crunching under my paws.
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I activated [Mana Sense], trying to feel the pathways that I vaguely felt yesterday. There. I could feel them, each going somewhere different. My teeth, claws and eyes all had mana paths leading to them. I felt my mana supply, and then threaded it to my claws. A sheen of blue energy coated my claws, and when I swiped at a tree, they cut through like butter.
==================
Skill Unlocked: Mana Claw
==================
I glanced at the window and then dismissed it. Next was my teeth. I funneled mana down the path, expecting something similar to my claws. I was surprised when, in a burst of blue light, my teeth lengthened and became much, much sharper.
==================
Skill Unlocked: Razor Bite
==================
Oook then, that is terrifying. I looked like some kind of eldritch horror now, claws glowing blue, puffed up tail billowing smoke, oversized teeth that could probably cut through steel, slitted amber eyes and large black wings. I recalled the mana from my claws and teeth, both returning to normal. Carefully, I sent mana down the last path, the one for my eyes. In a blaze of color, everything became a blob of mismatched colors, like a piece of modern 'art'.
==================
Skills Unlocked: Thermal Vision, Night Eye, Tracking
==================
…
I got three skills?! All of which were really good! I deactivated them and pulled up my status.
==================
Name: None
Titles: Lady of The Forge
Race: Felvaxian
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Level: 9
—-------------
HP: 400/400
MP: 259/1320
—-------------
Points: 20
Str: 44
Agi: 54
Con: 44
Wis: 44
Int: 44
---------------
Skills:
Wind Magic Lvl 2
Earth Magic Lvl 1
Language Comprehension
Hunter's Instinct
Enhanced Agility
Stealth
Windburst
Mana Manipulation Lvl 2
Mana Sense Lvl 1
Mana Claw
Razor Bite
Thermal Vision
Night Eye
Tracking Lvl 1
—------------
Spells
Aeroslash
Smokescreen
==================
I quickly distributed my spare attribute points, putting ten in wisdom and intelligence. All that was left was [Earth Magic]. I began sculpting the spell in my mind, only to be interrupted by another window.
==================
[Notice: Skills Hunter's Instinct, Tracking, Night Eye, and Stealth may combine into a superior skill.
Would you like to combine skills?
==================
I immediately agreed after reading it, as it would free up some space on my status and superior is always better. I felt a searing pain radiate from my heart, and fell to the ground, panting. After the pain subsided, I saw another window.
==================
Skill Obtained: Master of The Wild
==================
…
That sounds completely awesome, but it also took four of my skills to make it. I pulled up the description for it.
==================
Master of The Wild: A skill only awarded to those who have mastered the wild places of the world, it grants absolute stealth, night vision, perfect tracking skills, and the ability to sense nearby creatures.
==================
It was just as incredible as the name sounds. And absolute stealth? That sounds completely broken. I was immediately glad that I chose to combine the skills, as this truly was a superior skill.
The only skill I had left to test was [Earth Magic], so I started on that. I began envisioning a wall of stone erupting from the ground. I didn't want it to be just a featureless block, so I added some random carvings. A rumbling, grating sound drew my attention as a barricade of intricately carved stone slid out of the ground. Scenes from myths were carved between pillars, with Perceus raising the head of Medusa in one, a depiction of the Egyptian pantheon on another, and on yet another there was Romulus and Remus being dragged from a river by a wolf and on the last Odin and his ravens, Hugin and Munin, sat on a throne. It was absolutely stunning, and when I used [Mana Claw] to test the strength, not even a scratch appeared on the carved surface. A few system messages showed up.
==================
Title Acquired: Spellcrafter
Spell Learned: Aegis of Myths
Title: Spellcrafter has granted Skill: Spell Creation
==================
That was a lot. I read through them quickly before focusing on the skill I got.
==================
Spell Creation: Allows creation of incredibly complex spells and modification of existing ones.
==================
Great, I can change my spells and create better ones, like my Aegis. I felt exhausted from all the spell casting I had done in the last few hours. I returned to the road I had found yesterday, deciding to wait in a nearby tree for people.