I rested next to the stream, watching the river flow for about 15 minutes until I regained my stamina back. Once my legs no longer felt sore, I got up and prepared for another agonizing run.
The constant screech, to my relief, ended soon after I fled the shadow stalker. The only sounds I could hear now were those from nature itself.
The peace was nice and all, but I was stuck with no direction to go.
There was a general knowledge that one should follow the path of running water if they were lost in the forest since there was a good chance that they might encounter a civilization.
Well, of course, This only works if there is a civilization here in the first place.
I clicked my tongue and walked along the stream, vigilant about any potentially unwanted visitors.
Eventually, the river widened, splitting evenly into 2 directions. I dipped my feet into the running water, enjoying the sensation while I determined which path to choose. They both looked and felt the same to me, so I picked the closest path out of the two.
Time passed as I ventured further. The once dense forest gradually thinned out, as I was able to see slightly further into the surrounding area now. The sounds of the stream and the calm forest gave an eerie sense of peace to the scene, which I wholly appreciated.
But that only lasted until I saw a headless body floating on the river. The Shadow Stalker had claimed another prize again.
I was about to ignore it until I saw a backpack on his back, the same one that I was wearing, securely hoisted behind the body. I ran to the side of the river, carefully reaching over with my spear and dragged the headless corpse closer.
“What am I doing?”, I repeatedly muttered under my breath as I struggled to pull the backpack away, eventually succeeding after a few tries. A closer look determined that this corpse belonged to a male office worker, judging from the outfit he was wearing.
Rest in peace.
The corpse laid still, unmoving as I checked the insides of his backpack. I grabbed whatever contents that were still intact, then threw away the bloodied backpack, scrunching my nose with disgust over my own actions.
[You acquired 2x minor healing potion]
[You acquired 1x ration]
The find itself was great, but the idea of looting a dead body from someone I never knew threw me off. While I’ve never been squeamish around dead bodies, the fact that I felt it was necessary to do what I just did bothers me.
I shook my head, telling myself that this was the nature of the world I lived in now.
Perhaps from the karma of my actions, or perhaps from the stench of a dead body; I caught the gaze of another creature right on my back. The bushes a few meters behind me shook violently, then froze as I bolted upright, pointing my spear towards the source of the noise.
The head of a wolf emerged from the bushes. Its green hide perfectly matched the leaves and bushes that covered its torso. The green fur was one thing, but on its head was a distinct horn, unlike the wolves we find back on the earth.
[Lvl 5. Greenhorn wolf]
Unlike the stalker I met prior, this wolf was considerably less threatening than that creature. However, I was still far under-leveled, even if it was only by just a few levels behind.
The wolf growled, its eyes sorely locked on the lifeless corpse beside me.
Is it only interested in the body? If so, I can back off.
Unable to sense my intent to run away, It walked closer, vigilant about my presence.
Then, a few more heads peered through the bushes from the forest. My eyes counted that there were at least 4 of them surrounding me and the body.
[Lvl 4. Greenhorn wolf]
[Lvl 3. Greenhorn wolf]
[Lvl 6. Greenhorn wolf]
[Lvl 3. Greenhorn wolf]
Their levels varied, but the threat level exponentially exploded by their sheer numbers. My instincts immediately told me to run and find refuge somewhere else, but the only direction I could go to was across the river.
Fuck. There’s no way to go to.
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The stench of the dead body must’ve lured them here. I made a mental note to myself to not repeat this mistake again next time.
With no warning, the first wolf I found lurched toward me, catching me by surprise. I ducked my head sideways, dodging the bite from its maw, and sidestepped a few feet to the left. The rest of the wolves also lunged forward, closing the gap between us with each patter of their paws.
“Graahh!!”, abusing the first wolf’s recovery time from its attack, I pounced at it, executing a quick thrust directly straight at its neck. My aim was slightly off because of my lack of skill, stabbing it in the left shoulder instead. It wailed and jumped back from the pain, limping since it lost the use of its front left leg.
The rest of the wolves didn’t take my actions kindly, turning up their aggression a few notches up. Two of the wolves dashed and aimed their bites straight at my legs, attempting to crunch the bones under my skin.
From their actions, it was becoming obvious that they rely mostly on their bites, which I should use to my advantage.
I hopped backwards, barely avoiding their nasty bites, landing just a few inches away from the river. Another wolf circled me from the side, preparing for another set of attacks.
Wait, where’s the other one?
A bright, greenish glow directed my attention away from the wolves. My sight switched to the last wolf standing far, far behind the others. Its horns gleamed vividly and pointed directly at where I stood.
That’s not good. Is it magic?
As if it was trying to confirm my suspicion, a bolt of green energy flew out from its horn and hit me square in the chest. The impact pushed me back a little and I nearly fell into the river.
“Ghahh!!”, A sharp sting flooded my pain receptors as I nearly bit my lips off to not scream. I heard my chest hiss from the attack as if I was covered in some sort of acid.
The wolves charged, assuming that I was distracted. My eyes flared in anger as I somersaulted backwards, a feat that I’ve only occasionally done before, but it felt so much easier after I gained a couple of points in dexterity. The act caused the first 2 bites to miss, but the third wolf was poised to strike right after I landed.
Anticipating its attack, I purposefully lowered my spear, feigning as if I was trying to run away. Taking the bait, the beast immediately took off, only to realize that I grabbed the spear with both of my hands and thrusted forward as hard I could.
Because of the wolf’s inability to change its direction in the air, the spear cleanly went through its maw and cleanly ruptured through the soft organs inside its body. The tip of my bloodied spear pokes through the other side, killing the wolf almost instantly.
[You killed Lvl 3. Greenhorn wolf]
Witnessing the death of its comrade, the other wolves howled with fury, swearing vengeance upon the one who killed their kind.
Another green gleam appeared from the horn of the same wolf again, but this time, it was not alone in its attack.
The magical energy ripped through the air, accompanied by the attacks from other wolves. I threw the corpse of the dead wolf hanging from my spear at the projectile, hoping that it’d block the attack or change its direction, then shifted my focus on the other wolves.
Groaning in pain, I deduced that the wolves had a tendency to aim at my longest limb, which would be my legs. With a few good guesses and superb reactions, I cleanly dodged the next few bites while studying their movements and tactics. The magical attack never made its way to me, which meant that the body I threw intercepted it.
The next point I realized about the wolves was that their magical attacks take a while to charge, which meant I could fully focus on the two vengeful wolves for at least a few seconds.
The wolves aimed at my feet again, which I expected to happen.
Purposefully sliding my right foot slightly too far forward, One of wolves immediately lunged at the supposed opening. To its surprise, its skull met my spear on its way to bite my leg, halting the attack halfway with its brains skewered by my spear.
[You killed Lvl 3. Greenhorn wolf]
The other wolf, realizing what I was up to, aimed at my neck this time. I swerved around my spear, leaning my body to the other side, causing the bite to pass by harmlessly in the air. I grabbed the beast’s leg, hurling it at another projectile coming toward me.
The wolf whined as it collided with the energy, the burst propelling it upwards.
[You killed Lvl 4. Greenhorn wolf]
I yanked the spear that was stuck in the wolf’s head and rushed straight at the last of its kin. Our eyes met, both filled with frenzy, and it leaped to meet me halfway. I was certain that it’d watched my feints from my fight before, so the same feints were off my list of choices.
As our distance shrank, the lvl. 6 wolf charged another magical attack.
This is it. I knew that if it struck me with that attack again, that would spell the end of me.
The wolf knew that too and confidently pointed its horn toward me. In retaliation, I aimed my spear toward its horn, poising to strike once I was in range.
Shooting its magical bolt, it recoiled backward from the strength of its attack. My eyes strained open as I focused on the bolt approaching with my spear, closing rapidly at the middle of the point of impact.
Despite the tension from my heartbeat, my mind remained focused. The tip of my spear allowed me to see precisely where the magical energy was heading, which made predicting its trajectory almost laughably easy.
Did I say laughably easy? Because I sure as hell couldn’t explain the smile on my face right now. Here I was, in the middle of a forest in god-knows-where, smirking at the face of death.
I slid below the projectile, my face nearly scraping the ground as I did so, the momentum carrying me forward and dodging the projectile in the same motion.
An unmistakable expression presented itself in the wolf’s eyes. Anyone sane in the world would say that the wolf was feeling one thing.
Terror.
I used the remaining momentum to charge ahead, feinting a thrust at the wolf’s head. It reacted according to my expectations and strafed to the side, but my spear followed its movement, catching its head on the tip of my spear as its feet landed on the floor. A weak growl bellowed as my spear passed through the side of his jaw with relative ease, poking a hole through the other side of its head.
[You killed Lvl 6. Greenhorn wolf]
The message relieved me of my tension, and I looked aside at the first wolf I wounded. The wolf cowered its head in fear, unable to run because of its injuries. I walked over to it, adrenaline still running its course through my body, and ended its life.
[You killed Lvl 5. Greenhorn wolf]
[Congratulations! You leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You leveled up!]
[Congratulations! Death’s door achievement upgraded.]
I smiled. Damn, it feels good to be alive.