Liam and I continued our walk through the forest after we both ran away from the guild. The further we walked through the forest, I can feel the atmosphere gradually dampen in the air.

   How humid… this part of the forest is pretty damp, way different from the part of the forest that I went through on my walk to the town… the vegetations here are pretty lush and fertile… almost like a jungle… 

“We’ll arrive shortly now,” Liam said confidently.

Rustle Rustle

   What’s that noise..? it’s from my left…

   I then start to concentrate on my hearing.

GRRR…

   I heard sounds of snarl over in a bush that is pretty close to me.

“Liam… I think there are monsters around us…”

“What? You’re sure?” Liam asked curiously as he readies his spear.

   As I take caution of the growl I heard, I also hear another one on my right side.

Rustle!

“GROWL!”

   I then see a wolf that jumped at me, trying to pounce on me with its vicious and ravenous look.

“AAH!” I screamed, reflectively putting my sword towards the wolf as the wolf pounced on me and knocked me to the ground, I managed to block its gaping jaw with my sword. A mouth that is filled with long, sharp teeth that crave for my flesh.

“DIAN!” Liam shouted, quickly taking a stance and stab the wolf in its chest with his pointy spear, killing it in one blow, its blood spurt, covering my face with its blood.

   Ugh! B- Blood…

“T- Thank you!” I said as I quickly get up on my feet and wipe the blood on my face.

Rustle!

“WATCH OUT!” Liam screamed as he points behind me.

   I quickly looked behind me and I saw another wolf preparing to pounce me from behind.

   S- Shit!

“GROWL!” The wolf howled as it jumped and opens its mouth.

“AAH!” I screamed, quickly pointing my sword at the wolf, luckily, the sword stabbed through its neck, the wolf died seconds after.

   After the sudden attack, I was left shocked and started to control my breathing as I try and collect my mind.

DING

   I… get some exp points..?

“Dude! Are you okay?!” Liam asked with a panicked look on his face as he checks my face.

“I- I think so… yeah, I’m fine…”

   W- What was all of that..? I can’t think clearly with this foul stench of blood lingering in the air… and my face covered with it too…

   I stood up again and wipe my face cleanly this time.

“Weird… why did these vampire wolves attack in the middle of the day..?” Liam whispered to himself with a serious and confused look on his face.

   I looked back at the bodies of the wolves, lying on the ground, dead, with pools of blood slowly coming out from the stab wounds.

“Grk!” I quickly cover my nose with my hands as I feel sick and disturbed with what I see.

   Blood…

“Dude, are you sure you’re okay? You look rather pale…” Liam asked worryingly as he puts his hand on my shoulder.

“This… I'm just… not used to blood…”

“Really..? go and take a breather over there, man. I’ll take care of this.” Liam said as he points to a tree and told me to go there.

   Liam then pulls out his hunting knife and started skinning the wolf he killed with his back turned on me.

“T- Thanks, Liam…”

   I want to [Absorb] this wolf… but the stench… it makes me so dizzy and sick… no… I’ve gotta do this…

   I crouched, then put my hand on the belly of the wolf that I killed.

   『Absorb』

DING

 [Absorb] – Activate

   What do you know… a skill… I’m glad it is an active skill, I only got passive skills before…

“Huh? what are you doing, man? Didn’t you say you don’t like blood?” Liam asked as he looked at me confusingly.

“O- oh… I was uhh… just checking if it’s really dead or not… gotta make sure…” I said as I immediately stood up.

“I mean… you stabbed it through its neck, man. I’d be surprised if it’s still breathing.” Liam said with a faint smile on his face.

“I’ll… wait over there then, Liam…” I said as I head to a tree Liam pointed out earlier.

   As I arrive at the tree, the stench slowly dissipates and I’m able to breathe normally and my mind cleared.

   It’s unthinkable that Liam can handle that stench and even skin the dead wolves… I can’t even skin a rabbit…

   I then took a deep breath and exhale it slowly.

   Okay… don’t think about it anymore, me… let’s just check the skill that I got from that… [Skills].

   I pressed the question mark beside [Surprise Strike] and a new window popped up.

   Deals bonus damage..? so, if I hid and an enemy doesn’t take notice of me, I can activate this skill and deal stronger attack towards my enemy..? a pretty useful skill that I can integrate into my combat style… the [Mana] usage is not that much. ‘Can only be used once every combat engagement.’ It is the one I’m curious about… I can’t run and hide, then activate this skill if I’m still in a combat state..?

“Oi, Dian!” Liam shouts behind me, startling me a bit.   

“!!! Y- Yes!?” I said as I look behind me and saw Liam walking towards me, carrying 2 leather bags, filled with what seems like wolf pelts that he skinned.

“I’m done, these will fetch a nice price over in the guild!” Liam said with a happy look on his face.

“T- That was fast…”

   I felt like it’s only been a minute or so when I wait over here, and Liam already finished skinning them?

“Well, skinning monsters around this part of the forest is kind of my thing, but only low ranked monsters though, hahaha!” Liam said with a burst of laughter.

“Oh… yeah…”

   I forgot that he’s a C rank adventurer… 3 tiers above me… it’s should be obvious that he is very experienced in this sort of thing…

“Let’s continue our walk shall we! The location of the herbs is really close!” Liam said eagerly.

“Really now..? okay then, let’s go…” I said, then we both continue our walk to the herb location.

   That was really scary… I didn’t expect that there’ll be wolves ambushing us like that… reminded me of the Demon King’s resurrection… I have a really bad feeling about this, I have to be extremely cautious…

“You know, that was really weird,” Liam said with a puzzled look on his face.

“What was..?”

“I mean, those were vampire wolves, a monster that is at least D-rank… they usually roam this forest around the night when the sun goes down, but they attacked in the middle of the day..? under the sunlight, even. Their attack pattern is also weird, attacking aggressively like that…”

   Now that he mentioned it, vampire wolves… I thought those were regular wild wolves, but when I saw that their fur are really pale and they have red eyes… also, ‘vampire’? like, they suck your blood for sustenance? Thank god I didn’t get bit by them, I don’t know what’ll happen to me if they really did…

“Is the rumor true..? that the Demon King resurrected..? if so, we really have to stay cautious all the time, it seems,” Liam said with a face full of worries.

“…”

   Even Liam thought the same as me…

“Ah, we’ve arrived!” Liam said, back to his cheerful and eager demeanor.

“What?”

   I looked at my surroundings and I can see that a heavy, clear, and cool mist is visible in the deep part of the forest which truly felt like a jungle. The area around this part of the forest is very damp. The trees, plants, and other vegetations are also rich and flourishing.

“Whoa… it’s pretty cold here…” I said as I put my hands inside of my mantle.

   Liam then crouches and signals me to do the same.

“Yea, this is the deep part of the Hickory Forest. This area is very fertile and damp, making it a paradise for herb and rare plants collector, but that doesn’t mean you can come and go that easily… lately, there has been a monster that rules this part of the forest, so we have to be quiet and quickly find the green herbs you’re seeking.” Liam whispered with a scared look on his face.

“…” I silently nod to what Liam said and then we seek the green herbs for my quests we move while crouched here and there.

   A monster ruling this deep part of the forest..? seriously..? is it because of this monster that the potion stock decreases..? that explains why there’s an emergency type quest on the quest board about gathering herbs… wait, does that mean I’m on a suicide mission?!

   Shaken by what I hypothesized, I picked up my pace in finding the green herbs.

   Herbs… herbs… there’s a ton of different plants in this area… I think I still remember the color and shape of the one illustrated on the quest… I haven’t found even one of them…

   As Liam and I hastily try hard to find the green herbs, I checked on a random bush, and then I saw plenty of green herbs behind the said bush, looked exactly like the one illustrated.

   Score! I’ve gotta tell Liam.

“Liam… pst…” I whispered and I got his attention, he then silently crouched towards me.

“Did you find one?” Liam asked quietly.

“Yeah… look.” I said as I point to my discovery of what seems like a whole shrubbery of green herbs.

“Holy! That is a lot! Hurry, take all of it in this bag, I’ll watch our vicinity!” Liam whispered as he tries really hard to hold his excitement, he then watched my back as I grab the bag from him.

   I quickly picked the shrubbery of green herbs while I still question my luck.

   These herbs… the quest said that these will be made into ‘potions’? Different recipe from a game that I’ve played, but not that far off. If potions can restore your [HP], I wonder what happens if I eat it raw, knowing that I have a skill called [Plant Eater] that I received from that mashed potatoes…

   I took a glance behind me and Liam is still watching the vicinity, back turned towards me.

   Okay… let’s try this…

   I picked a green herb and then bit it.

DING

 [Plant Eater] – Activate

   Whoa, it worked… but, I get a [Status]..? like status condition? This is the first time I saw this… 『Status』.

 

 

   I curiously pressed both the question mark symbol, revealing a new window.

   Interesting… so, I can eat plants like this green herb to get a ‘bonus’? this is a pretty useful skill… I thought that this herb will taste bitter or minty, but I didn't taste anything at all…

“Hey, are you done yet, man?” Liam asked quietly.

“Y- Yes, only a few left..”

“Hurry up, man! I’m starting to see monster figures behind the mist, I don’t think it is the ruler, but regardless…” Liam whispered, getting scared by the minute.

   Thankfully Liam didn’t notice me eating an herb… I don’t know what excuse I’d have to explain to him if he did…

   I picked the last few of the green herb shrubbery, filling the entire leather bag that Liam lends to me.

   Whoa… I didn’t think it’ll fill the entire bag…

“Liam, it’s done…”

“Great! Now, let’s get out of here!” Liam whispered and we quickly run for it, trying to exit the deep part of the forest without a scratch.

 

 

…

 

 

   What is this feeling… it’s as if something is watching us…

   I started to concentrate on my hearing and I heard a rustle and a deep, vicious snarl.

“?!”

   W- What was that noise?! It sounded like the snarl of the vampire wolves, but… this one is deeper and even more terrifying…

   I looked on my left and squint my eyes and try to see through the heavy mist, then I noticed a huge figure stalking us behind some bushes.

“L- Liam! It looks like there is a monster on our left! The size of it is humongous!” I said in a panic.

“S- Seriously?! Shit! We have to get out of here immediately!” Liam said with fear and in a panic, quickens his running pace.

   We then ran for our lives, but now it is already too late and the rustle and the growl of the monster grew closer and closer.

“AWOOOOOOOOO!”

CRASH CRASH CRASH

   The monster chased after us, tearing down every small tree and sticks along its way as the thud of its huge footsteps grew closer and louder.

“T- There it is! The exit’s in front of us!” Liam said as we do a final sprint out of the forest.

   We got out of the deep part of the forest, exited the heavy mist on the air, and entered the normal part. Liam then stopped running and turned around, preparing a combat stance.

“Dian! Hurry up and hide! I’ll fight this beast!” Liam shouts with a face mixed with bravery and fear.

“A- Are you serious?!” I asked, shooked by what Liam said.

“It’s impossible to outrun! The only way we’re getting out of here alive is to fight it! Now go! HIDE!” Liam shouts, shaking me with his words.

“O- Okay!” I said as I hastily hid behind a tree far away from Liam.

   Is he crazy?! I mean, the monster is humongous! How will h-

CRASH CRASH CRASH

 

…

 

   The thumping stopped, and I saw a humongous wolf a size of a house, looking rather menacing with its aggressive pose in front of Liam, the aura and pressure it exerts are enough to make my bones shake wildly even looking at it in a far distance. The wolf has some sort of wind pattern on both of its shoulders, all the way to its hind legs. The wolf’s fur is pure-white with light-blue stripes across his body. Its eyes are also glowing with light-blue colors.

   W… what is that..?

“GROWL…” The wolf growled as it looks at Liam with a harming intent.

   I can’t stop shaking and even if I want to run away, I’m still nailed in place.

“Ugh… COME HERE! I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU!” Liam shout, full of vigor as he prepares his stance.

“GROWL… AWOOOOOOOOOOO!” The wolf howled extremely loud, shaking the leaves and scares the birds around the area, then it began attacking Liam with its sharp and pointy claws.

“『WHIRLWIND STRIKE』!”

   Liam shout as he spins his spear at an incredible speed, creating a tornado-like effect in front of it, countering the wolf’s first strike, his spear managed to hurt its front legs and made it flinch a little. Liam tried to unleash a spear thrust into the wolf’s chest, attempting a counter-attack, but the wolf managed to dodge it.

“Damn it! The next one won’t be an easy one to dodge, you beast!” Liam shout, looking annoyed.

   W- What should I do?! T- This is all my fault… if only I didn’t try to experiment a skill… you stupid piece of shit…

“GROWL!” The wolf strikes again, preparing to swipe with its claws.

   Liam noticed what the wolf is trying to do and he instinctively protected his sides as the wolf swipes with its incredible power, hitting Liam on the sides using its paws and sends Liam flying, crashing him onto a tree.

“AGH!” Liam gasped in pain, his back crashed onto a tree, making him spew blood from his mouth.

   No, Dian… now is not the time for this! I have to help him! but with what?! 『Skills』, 『Special Skills』!

 

   … Damn it… I don’t see any skill that looks useful for that humongous wolf! Wait… what if I use my new skill… I’m probably not detected by that wolf, right..? maybe I can use [Surprise Strike] and [Sprint Burst] after and then try to strike it in its vitals... okay, let’s do this, 『Surprise Strike』!

DING

 

   What?! How di-! Is it possible that when he watches us in the deep forest, that counts as ‘detected’..? FUCK! What should I do?!

   Liam got back up and wiped the blood that he coughed, then he takes his stance again as the wolf close in on him.

“I’m not done yet… 『VESPID STING』! HYAAAAGH!”

   Liam performs an incredibly fast multiple spear thrust as he walks towards the wolf. He succeeded in defending himself from the wolf, but the counter-damage Liam did to the wolf is nowhere near-fatal.

“GRAA!”

   The wolf flinched and got hit by a few of Liam’s spear thrust, then it jumped back and does a spin mid-air as he lands in a quite far distance from Liam.

   The wolf looks pretty furious, it lowered his head and widely opens its mouth. The wind pattern on the wolf slowly shines brightly in a light-blue color and releasing a clear, white mist around it. The wind around us gradually gets sucked towards the front of its mouth, creating some sort of ball with a violent flow of winds inside it.

“!!! FUCK! WATCH OUT, DIAN! THAT WOLF IS CHANNELING ITS WIND EXPLOSION!” Liam shouts in terror as he quickly ran and hid behind the biggest tree he could find for the impact.

   E- Explosion?! C- Come on! Think, THINK! THERE MUST BE A WAY!

   The trees and leaves start to sway towards the direction of the wolf’s mouth and there’s an incredible pull pressure as the ball of wind grew larger and larger.

   T- That’s it! Maybe I could use [Pull] as the wolf channels its explosion, maybe I can disturb its cast! This will probably eat a huge portion of my [Mana], but what other choice do I have?!

   I stood up and try real hard to stand my ground as the pull gets stronger and stronger, then I reach both of my hands forward, targeting the wolf.

“『PULL』!” I shout as I focus all of my entire strength at the wolf.

   Both of my hands soon coated in a dark-purple mist, damper and darker-colored than the [Pull] that I’ve previously used before. The wolf soon gets covered in a dark purple-like aura.

“GRAA?!” The wolf growled in shock as it fell on its side, the ball of wind dissipates immediately after its fall. The wolf then slowly gets dragged towards me, unable to move on its own as it struggles to regain control.

“ACK!” I gasped in pain as I felt the utmost pressure on both of my arms as if the mist is squeezing it.

   I-… It hurt- s.. GHH… my arms…

“Wh- what the?! D- DIAN! ARE YOU OKAY?!” Liam asked loudly as he noticed me writhing in an undeniable amount of pain.

“I- F- FINE… NOW… STRIKE IT NOW!” I shout at Liam, still concentrating all of my strength to pull the wolf.

“O- OKAY! HAAAAA!” Liam shouted as he ran towards the now fallen wolf that struggles to escape the pull.

“TAKE THIS! 『HEAVY THRUST』!” Liam shout as he puts all of his strength to his finishing move, then he thrust his spear to its chest, stabbing its heart.

“GRRRAAWOOOOOOOO!! Grr…” The wolf howled its last, then it slowly weakens and ultimately died as the wind patterns on its body slowly turned gray and dark. The dark purple aura soon dissipates.

“ARGH! UGH,” I writhe in pain as the dense, dark purple mist surrounding my arms disappear slowly, revealing my slightly purple turned arms.

   I then catch my breath as I sweat profusely.

   M- My arms… feels numb… I can’t even move a finger…

DING

DING

   5- 543 EXP..? that’s a lot… I leveled up too… 9 stat points..? haha… amazing…

   I then fell to the ground, unable to move because of the exhaustion.

“DIAN! DUDE, HOLD ON!” Liam shouted as he ran as fast as he can to me with a worried look on his face.

“DUDE, COME ON! DON’T YOU DIE ON ME NOW!” Liam shouts at me as he put my back to a tree and shake me violently with a face full of worries.

“Haa… it’s fine… I’m just… a little tired… that’s all…”

“You’re clearly not just ‘a little tired’, man! Here, drink this!” Liam said as he reached in his bag and brings out a flask, he then opens the flask’s lid with his teeth and shoves it into my mouth.

“Mffh!” I muffled as I drank all of the flasks.

   I felt a little better after I drank the flask, no longer extremely exhausted.

   My body… I can move them again..? my arms… fingers, too… what was that flask..?

“Thank goodness I had a spare bottle of Elixir in my bag, otherwise your condition might worsen, man…” Liam said with a relieved expression on his face, then he puts his empty Elixir back into his bag.

   An Elixir?! Aren’t those things expensive?! H- He used it on me… all because I took a long time gathering the herbs… useless… I’m only a burden…

“Thank you, Liam… b- but I don’t know how to repay you for your Elixir…” I said as I stood up and bow my head to Liam.

“Aww, man… don’t be like that! Think of it as my way of thanking you for saving my life from this Great Wolf!” Liam said with a cheerful expression and a big smile on his face.

   He’s too nice… I don’t want him to treat me this nicely… I was the one that brought this upon us…

“I thought I was a dead man… what a bizarre turn of events… first the vampire wolves, now a Great Wolf variant…” Liam said with a glad look on his face as he sat on the ground.

“A… Great Wolf variant..?”

“Well, in short, variants are what you call monsters that undergo a mutation when it evolves… scary stuff if you encounter one…”

   Mutation..? evolution..? I didn’t know monsters could evolve in this world… turns out there are so many things that I don’t know…

“Great Wolves are usually not as big as this one… the regular ones are marked as a C rank in terms of difficulty from guilds around the world, but Great Wolf variants are between C+ to B+ rank, we were lucky to fight the C+ one… I can’t imagine fighting a stronger one than this…” Liam said as he puts his hand on the Great Wolf’s face.

   C+ to B+ rank difficulty..? this C+ variant is already a nightmare, what about the B+ one…

“So… about your quest, Liam…”

“My quest is to hunt 3 Great Wolves for their fangs, but I think this variant is enough for an alternative… not to mention its size… the guild will probably give me a bonus just for this variant’s fangs…” Liam said as he inspects the wolf’s fangs in amazement.

   Thank goodness… I thought we have to fight 2 more of this monster…

“Take it easy and rest for a while, man. I’ll dismantle the fangs, okay?” Liam said as he pulls out his hunting knife.

“O- okay…”

   Judging from how big those fangs are, it’ll take a long time for him to dismantle them… meanwhile, I’ll put my stat points that I got from leveling up. [Info], [Stat].

   Amazing… I leveled up by 3 levels… my [Mana] is at 140… and the cap increased to 460 Mana..? my [HP] also increased to 410… okay, what stats do I want to spend my 9 points on?