CHAPTER 21: “WOLF VS. OWL”

It was a different feeling to when he faced the owl’s mirage at the underground temple. At that time, he knew deep down that that was just a beginner quest. If he failed, he could simply try again without too much consequences. 

Now, faced with the wolf, Ai recognized that the stakes were higher. If he died, he would have to return to...he didn’t even know. The entrance of Pymule maybe since he didn’t have the Golden Suite key anymore. How many levels would he lose? What would happen to the owl if he was sent back? Ai shuddered to think that the owl would have to resort to wander around without him or maybe even die from the wolf. 

As Ai’s mind raced with thoughts about the things he could lose if he died right now, the wolf folded its front legs and then leaped forward, its jaw open with sharp teeth shining, ready to bite and pounce.

Ai managed to dodge aside, but the sheer reach of the wolf had caused one of its claws to rip through his sleeve and scratched him. A long shallow gash bloomed from his elbow to his wrist. Though he set the pain receptors to low, he could still feel the sting and the flow of his blood as it dripped onto the ground.

He took out his dagger to fight, but doubt and uncertainty made him unable to confidently grip the hilt. Compared to the mirage, the wolf’s movement was much slower, but its size and reach made it even harder to dodge. He also didn’t have a peace vial to use or any sort of plan that he could put into action.

He could run ahead and hope that the wolf decided that he wasn’t worth a chase, but he had a feeling that it would kill him before he even reached the distance where it would stop chasing him. There wasn’t anything in the environment that he could use either so that left fighting this wolf. 

Ai dodged under its swinging claws once more as it bound towards him.

Wiping his mouth, Ai concentrated and picked his only offense skills. He felt some pain as the skill took a part of his HP. A red magic circle appeared from beneath the wolf’s feet and blasted a burst of magic damage. Unfortunately, the damage wasn’t even substantial enough to make a difference since his HP was still pretty low and this wolf seemed to be around level 30 to 40. 

Ai thought to himself. What should he do now? He couldn’t dodge this thing forever and he couldn’t escape easily. Though he raised his SPD recently, it wasn’t enough for him to be able to outrun the monster easily.

Lost in his dilemma, Ai reacted too late to the wolf’s next attack. The big clawed paw swiped once more and him and this time his poorly timed dodge caused the swipe to slam into his body with enough force to send him sprawling on the ground. He couldn’t feel the full pain, but the force and shock of it brought tears to his eyes. He could hear the wolf running towards him, ready to deliver the final blow and send him all the way back to the beginner village.

Gripping his middle and tightly closing his eyes, Ai waited for the white light to deliver him back.

He waited and waited and waited...but nothing. He realized that he couldn’t hear the wolf’s paws as it ran either.

So very slowly, Ai peeked through his eyelids. His jaw fell open into a gape as he watched with his own eyes that a giant shadowy figure had the wolf’s legs tightly gripped in its jaw. Looking around and seeing no owl, Ai came to the realization that he was looking at it.

It longer had the form of an owl. Its current form was much closer alike to the mirage that he fought at the temple. An almost shapeless, shadowy beast with piercing eyes. Only this time it was much bigger, following the shape of the wolf.

Pulling at the wolf’s leg, the shadow beast swung his opponent onto the ground and lunged towards it with its sharp teeth and claws, ready to kill and slash it. The wolf responded, putting its own claws up to block the shadow beast’s attack. The two wrestled each other, each clawing, biting and growling at each other.

Ai slowly recovered his wits and pulled himself at the ground. In his heart, he apologized profusely to his companion for ever thinking that he was just a simple décor.

Ai really didn’t know if he had any skills that could help the shadow beast too much in its fight, but he did have potions. He pulled all the potions he bought from Bren and threw them at timely manners. When the shadow beast took damage, he would throw HP potions and when the beast was slowing down with its charged attacks and skills, Ai would throw MP potions.

The fight went on for quite some time and it seemed like it was going to continue. Soon, Ai ran out of HP potions to use and he could only worriedly watch the two beasts fight each other. Each slash against the shadow beast had Ai shuddering. He didn’t want this beast to die, he didn’t know what would happen if it did. It would be a shame to lose his journey companion without even getting to know the extent of what it could do.

Ai began to realize something as he watched the shadow beast’s. Since it was a shadow beast, it didn’t bleed, but he could see that some bits of its body were starting to drip onto the ground then vanishing before it reached it. Looking at his own bleeding arm he now knew what it was. 

The wolf’s claws had caused the [Bleed] debuff. He didn’t notice before but the shadow beast’s HP dwindled too fast and even Ai was slowly losing a little bit of HP even though he wasn’t getting attacked.

At once, Ai selected his new skill that he obtained after he finished reading the first chapter of the Book of Languages. 

[Facilitate] 

A mediator must be able to facilitate a discussion forum between opposing parties

Creates an area that removes all debuffs and buffs from self, allies and foes.

Slowly, the blood flowing out of the wound in his arm stopped. He could still feel the slight sting of it, but at least he wasn’t losing HP anymore, so he would die. The shadows beast, now healed, was taking less damage from the wolf now that he wasn’t slowed down by the debuff. 

The two beasts tangled further. Now, each time Ai noticed the shadow beast losing HP faster, he would cast his [Facilitate] skill and fix it. Though he couldn’t restore HP anymore, the shadow beast handled itself well enough. 

After many slashes, bites and claws, the shadow beast managed to pin the wolf underneath its shadowy form. Growling, it roughly brought its jaw down on the wolf’s neck, killing it promptly. The wolf didn’t even have a chance to turn the tides and fight back. It was over in an instant.

Unsure of what to do now, Ai stayed where he was. He stared at the shadow beast that still stood over the body of the wolf. Eyes wide in surprise, Ai watched as the shadow beast slowly dispersed its shadows. It didn’t disappear but the misty shadow slowly covered the wolf’s body in its entirety. Slowly, it shrunk and shrunk, consuming the wolf. To do what, Ai wasn’t sure, but he assumed that maybe the shadow was absorbing the wolf’s power.

The shadow clumped into a small ball before finally dispersing and releasing the owl. The wolf’s body was no longer there but Ai received the notification.

Obtained 1 Sturdy Wolf Fur 

Fur obtained from a mighty guardian wolf of the land. Used for armor crafting. 

Ai didn’t know what kind of armor this heavy wolf fur could turn into. It was quite heavy and it was described as sturdy, so most likely it was used to create heavier armor for the more melee classes. To that, Ai was slightly disappointed. He hoped he was wrong and he could have a good powerful armor from this fur, though he wasn’t actually the one who defeated the wolf.

The owl seemed happy with its feat. It hooted pridefully, perching on its usual spot on Ai’s shoulder.

Smiling, Ai touched the owl’s head gently.

“I should probably give you a name or something.” He muttered. The owl simply stared at him. “Hm….”

Ai thought about it for a while, his mind going through names that would sound cute for the animal, but honestly, he was bad at naming things. Pouting, he decided to think about it more. It was also a bit of a chore to keep referring to it simply as the shadow beast.

Truthfully, he was reluctant at first to create a connection with the beast. He had assumed that after he finished the beginner quest, the owl would simply soar away into the clouds and then they’ll never meet again. Yet, it stayed and now it just fought for him. Ai still felt scared, but he had a bit more confidence in their connection now. By protecting him from danger, that meant the owl at least liked him enough to not let him die, right?

“I’ll think of something.”

Chapter 16 Scene