I didn’t have a combat technique. My only active Skill was Mirror. Luckily, though, I had plenty of practice with it. I cast the original version of it, the Mirror-wall, forming a barrier that completely separated me from the charging rat. My last Mirror-shield had only hit it on the nose, stopping it from eating the poof and getting it’s attention, but not really doing much damage. My Mirror Skill was still at Level 1, as I had only been practicing for a few minutes and hadn’t seen any real combat with it, so I didn’t want to test my Mirror-wall agains the might of the gigantic rat with its foot-long teeth and extremely sharp nails, making grooves in the dirt wherever it stepped.
The key was making as many Mirror-shields as possible so that it would never even reach my Mirror-shield.
It tried to go left, but I put a Mirror-shield in front of its feet, a much bigger target, so that it just bounced off. It tried to lash with its tail, but with a Mirror-shield in front of it, it ended up accidentally stabbing itself as it’s tail rebounded. I created Mirror-shields as soon as I dissolved them.
Mirror is now Level 2!
Mana Manipulation is now Level 3!
This was really, really great practice.
And then… I had another idea. What if I could use my Mirror-shields to slice through someone? Or, more realistically, putting the shield inside someone’s neck? This could be my greatest offensive spell.
Or… it would’ve been. But no, as I cast Mirror, aiming for the middle of the rat’s neck, I got a notification.
WARNING: SKILL FAILURE.
And so my Mirror-slice was not meant to be. I could tell it wasnt that I had messed up with my formation, or that I was just not manipulating mana properly, or that it was too complicated. Mirror was simply just not an offensive spell- and while you can alter a spell, and can’t completely change it.
But, on the other hand, when the Mirror-slice exploded, it didn’t explode near me- no, it exploded where it was supposed to manifest. Right inside the rat’s neck.
The rat’s head rocketed off from it’s body, exploding outwards in a shower of guts and blood that smelled, to the suprise of no one, absolutely terrible. The head shot up like a firework, captured within the tangle of undergrowth above us.
So I decided that, until I got a true offensive spell, my makeshift failed Mirror-slice would become my Mirror-bomb. While it would never be as strong as some more offensively-specialized Skills, it would do. A failed Mirror that exploded instead of manifesting where it was supposed to would indeed work as an offensive spell, even if it’s not exactly how I envisioned it.
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You have killed a Giant Forest Rat Guard of the Mulberry. You have received: 0 xp.
Mirror is now Level 3!
And that right there was the problem. While fighting monsters was still the best way to level up Skills, it doesn't get you any xp and thus doesn’t help your Class level up, getting you more skills and more overall strength. I did all of that- and I got 0 xp for it.
To go back to my story, however, after I caught my breath, I remembered the tiny white poof I had fought to protect.
As I crawled over my belly, I realized that it was not in fact a poof with legs, but a pup.
You have Identified: Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup.
While I couldnt really tell what color it truly was, what with it being covered with a mixture of the crusty red of dried blood and the murkey brown of mud, it’s coat beneath the muck was mostly white with grey stripes, darker in the middle as it radiated outward, fading to white.
It had clearly been through hell. Dark brown haunted eyes opened, looking into my soul. A large scrape, quickly leaking blood faster than it could slowly stitch itself together, courtesy of the System, on it’s hip explain most of the blood, while large puncture wounds all over it’s back explained the rest. I reached my hand out, petting it, trying to make it’s last moments as bearable as possible. Despite the System’s regenerative abilities, the pup was simply too low-leveled to make use of it, it’s many wounds being too critical for it to handle.
And then I got a message that would change my life forever.
••••••••••
Hello, Awakened!
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup would like to Soul-Bond with you.
Do you accept? Y or N.
I, obviously, clicked yes. I didn’t even have to think twice about it. While this was my life, and not one of your silly mortal epic fantasy sagas, I had always loved the idea of having a loyal wolf companion to fight along my side.
Hello, Awakened!
You have chosen to Soul-Bond with Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup.
This is your only Soul-Bond.
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup needs a name. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, wants to keep on reading/writing Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup.
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup is critically injured. Do you wish to sacrifice half of your health and avaliable mana in order to heal it completely? Warning: you will be incapacitated for 1 hour. I suggest you get somewhere safe before you click Yes. Y or N.
You and Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup will split all xp gains. Luckily for you, because I’m a bitter, neglected, broken, dying old man and not happy about it, monsters gain xp for killing other monsters. So now… you do too.
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup will gain 5 active and passive Skill slots. He will be able to choose one of your passive Skills to take and will receive 1 active and 2 passive skills.
Soul-Bound Skills learned:
Communication: telepathy with range of the strength of your bond.
Emergency Exit: teleport Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup to a pre-determined location for 10% of total MP once a day.
Energy Transfer: willingly give/ exchange mana and health to each other.
Status Vision: see each other’s Status Sheets with or without permission.
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup has chosen passive Skill: The Wave Crashing Against the Mountain.
Warning: because The Wave Crashing Against the Mountain is a humanoid combat technique, it has been converted into: The Foam Digging into the Sand wolven combat technique. Because it is instinctual, Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup can learn it on its own.
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup has chosen to accept the following passive Skills:
Sixth Sense
Regeneration
Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup has chosen to accept the active Skill:
Chomp.
Well… okay then. First thing’s first, though- I needed to give the Awakened Wolf of the Winter Pup an actual name.