Chapter 6: Wind Magic Awakening

“Ahh!”

I crashed into a tree with tremendous force, my body slamming against the rough bark. The hungry-looking wolf loomed over me, its massive jaws snapping open, ready to tear me apart. Its sharp teeth gleamed, and in that terrifying moment, I realized just how horrifying this world truly was. I’d only lived here for a single day, and now, it seemed I was going to die.

“I don’t want to die,” I thought desperately. “I want to experience magic… and find Elara.”

I tried to stand, but my body wouldn’t move. My strength had drained away, leaving me helpless. Fear and frustration bubbled up inside me.

“Why is this happening to me? Why? Why?”

Just yesterday, I had died and somehow come back to life. Now, I was going to die again? I just wanted to see Elara one last time before everything faded. As I gave up the last of my strength, my eyes fluttered shut, resignation washing over me.

But as I closed my eyes, something shifted. Deep within me, I felt something stir in my heart, like a hidden force begging to be unleashed. I didn’t know what it was, but somehow, I sensed I could release it. I focused inward, to the place where my mana core resided.

There it was—my mana core, shimmering with different colors, swirling together like a cosmic storm. One of the colors began to glow brighter than the rest. It was cyan—a striking mix of blue and green, radiant and powerful.

A cyan-colored, cloud-like ball formed and shot toward me, moving with incredible speed. It struck me right where my heart should be, and as it did, the cloud burst, scattering into thousands of tiny cyan particles. They flew into my body, filling me with warmth, coursing through my veins.

Suddenly, my strength returned. My body felt renewed, energized by the strange power. I opened my eyes, just in time to see the wolf’s sharp fangs descending toward me, ready to rip into my flesh. Panic surged through me, but along with it, something else—a sense of power. I could feel something in the air around me, something I had never felt before.

“Feel it,” a voice whispered in my mind. “Feel the power in your body.”

In that moment, everything clicked. The energy within me surged, and I instinctively tapped into it. My wounds healed in an instant, and the wind around me swirled, forming a protective barrier just as the wolf’s jaws clamped down.

The wolf’s teeth shattered against the wind shield. With a howl of pain, the beast recoiled as wind blades shot from the barrier, slicing through its thick fur and flesh. Blood gushed from the wolf’s wounds, painting the ground crimson. Despite its injuries, the wolf still stood tall, its pride as a king of beasts evident in the way it refused to back down. It dodged some of the wind blades, but others struck true, carving deep cuts into its body.

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Inside the wind barrier, I sat up, overwhelmed by a mixture of shock and elation. I had done it—I was using magic! I could feel the wind around me as if it were an extension of myself. I raised my hand, and a small typhoon began to form in my palm, the air swirling rapidly at my command.

As the barrier around me dissolved, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. The wolf, now badly injured but still enraged, snarled at me, its eyes filled with fury. It must have sensed that my magic was not limitless.

That’s when I realized my mistake. I had been too caught up in the thrill of using magic. Every spell required mana, and my reserves were dangerously low.

“I’m screwed,” I muttered, feeling the depletion in my body.

The wolf lunged toward me, its claws tearing up the ground in its rage. I only had enough mana left for one last move. I gathered what was left of my strength, forming a final spell—wind blades in one hand, the typhoon still spinning in the other.

With a grunt, I combined them. “Typhoon Blade!” I shouted, as the swirling storm of wind and blades merged, growing larger and larger. The typhoon expanded rapidly, reaching a hundred meters in height, its winds howling like a furious storm.

Wind blades shot out from the typhoon, slicing through everything in their path. Trees were uprooted, rocks shattered, and the wolf—unable to dodge such a massive attack—was torn apart by the relentless onslaught. Blood splattered across the battlefield as the wolf fell, defeated at last.

I stood there, panting, as the typhoon finally dissipated. The area around me was a wreck—trees lay in splinters, the ground torn up by the violent winds. I stumbled toward the wolf’s corpse, my body aching from the many cuts I had sustained during the attack. Blood oozed from the wounds, soaking my clothes. I could barely walk, and I was lucky to still be in one piece.

At least, most of me was in one piece.

I glanced down at my hand—or rather, what was left of it. In my attempt to protect myself from my own magic, I had lost a hand. My fingers had been sliced clean off by my own wind blades, and I could only laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“I’m never using that move again,” I muttered. “I need to come up with something new.”

The growl of my stomach echoed through the now-silent clearing. My eyes turned to the massive carcass of the Wolf King in front of me, its once-proud body now lifeless. I winced as I took a step forward, each movement sending waves of pain through my injured limbs. But I couldn’t afford to stop—not yet.

Ignoring the throbbing ache, I extended my left hand toward the dead beast. My right hand was sliced by typhoon blade magic move, I need to learn to use my only hand that is left. Channeling what little mana I had left, I released a gentle pulse of wind magic.

The breeze swept over the wolf’s body, meticulously stripping away its fur in an instant. The creature was left bare, its thick hide peeled away to reveal the raw meat underneath. This new magic I had just invented—I called it Shave. It was a simple, practical spell, one that required only a fraction of the mana I had left.

The relief was short-lived, though. My mana reserves had only just begun to replenish, a mere trick compared to what I had spent earlier. I had maybe 1% of my original mana back, but thankfully, Shave didn’t need much.

I knelt beside the wolf’s exposed flesh. I didn’t care about taste anymore; I couldn’t afford to. Survival was all that mattered. The raw meat in front of me was my only source of sustenance now.

Back when I first got reborn here, I’d found a tree with edible fruit, but I hadn’t seen anything like it since. Out here, in this wild world, a meal was a meal.

I tore the meat using my left hand without hesitation, not letting the metallic tang of blood or the slimy texture slow me down. I started eating it without caring about anything about how it tasted.