However, Yori had not come out unscathed, the cost being a few teeth marks and a cut from his own dagger in his left forearm. Crimson dripped from his fingertips as the wounds continued to bleed, staining the dirt and vegetation at his feet. Planting his right arm in the ground beneath him, Yori wiggled his way out from under his defeated foe. Grabbing the already torn cloth of his left sleeve, he ripped a piece up to his elbow. With some difficulty Yori tied the detached cloth around his wounds to staunch the bleeding. Gazing at his injured arm and the blood-soaked makeshift bandage, he remembered Kana’s lecturing.

I should really go back and get some healing.

He should…. but he wouldn’t. He still had one good arm, which meant he could still fight.

Now, how do I approach quieter…

The first issue fighting the wolf was that it had heard the branch Yori jumped off of creak as Yori’s weight left it. He decided to remedy this by finding a thicker branch with less give, hopefully reducing the sound his launch would make enough to catch the animal off guard. The second issue Yori wanted to tackle was the fact that his dagger was too short to be effective when aimed at a wolf’s neck due to the thick fur in that area. All he would have to do for that would be to aim for an area with thinner fur, but would still give him an edge. Yori’s eyes wandered over to the dead wolf next to him for inspiration.

Perhaps its spine would be a good target. If I get them good enough it may even paralyze them.

The wolf’s limp body was dragged and placed under a large bush with thick leaves. Taking note of where his hiding place was, Yori took to the trees, in search of a stronger branch to perch on. He located one about fifteen feet away from the previous area and prepared for his next target.

Hopefully the smell of the other wolf won’t scare away the others.

Not knowing very much about wolf behavior, Yori found it difficult to anticipate whether they would be attracted or repelled by the smell of a wounded companion. Hours passed. Too stubborn to give up his current tactic, Yori stretched on the branch occasionally, careful not to fall. His arm throbbed as the adrenaline had faded long ago. At one point through the trees quite a distance from where he waited he saw what looked like a pack of wolves wander passed. They were distracted by a passing rabbit and took off on the chase. Yori continued to wait. There was no way he could fight all of them.

Night threatened to end Yori’s hunting expedition as the sun sank closer to the earth.

Rustle, rustle.

Gasping quietly in anticipation, Yori stared at the rustling bush to his right. His dagger was help ready in his right hand, using his left for balance on his branch. A wolf emerged. It was considerably smaller than the last one, especially in its mane, so he assumed it must be a female. This time there was no doubt, no fear. He had cleared this hurdle before, so he could do it again. Yori got ready to launch at his new foe, but the bush began to rustle again. The gray-furred animal sniffed the ground and looked behind it, towards the bush.

Crap, it has a mate!

Yori halted his advancement. He was not prepared to fight two wolves at once. He would have to wait until the next one. A small nose poked out from the shrubs, a nose much smaller than the other. And another. And another. He had been wrong. It was not a mate, but her pups instead.

A moral dilemma stood faced the boy, still watching from above.

They would be easy prey. The mother is much smaller than the last wolf, but she would also prioritize protecting her young.

Was he capable of murdering these pups? They would likely run if he attacked their mother, would leaving them orphans be a better option? These thoughts left his mind as soon as they entered. As Yori looked into the innocent eyes of the pups he immediately realized there was no way he could bring himself to do something so heinous. He had his mother taken from him. There was no way he could do that to them. Yori decided to just let them be and wait it out. Pragmatism had lost to his morality. The miniature pack left his field of vision, heading in the same direction as the wolves he had seen before. Perhaps they had gotten separated somehow. He was once again alone. The only things that stirred were the birds singing the day to a close.

Time continued to drain away the daylight. As the sun hit the treeline, Yori’s last chance finally arrived. Another wolf crept into view. Yori lingered a moment before advancing, waiting for if any friends or family were accompanying this animal. He appeared to be alone. No mate or pups emerged. He would finally get a second true opportunity.

The wolf made its way swiftly through the brush in Yori’s direction. Springing into action, Yori pushed himself from his perch. As planned, the tree did not give him away this time. Managing to barely be noticed by the wolf, his dagger slid easily into the animal’s back. It was a clean stab, narrowly missing its spine. His weight crashed down on the wolf, slamming it to the ground. The creature was off of its feet, but it would not die that easily. The wolf struggled, flailing its paws, frantically trying to get its foothold back. While doing this, it also spun its head around, attempting to bite at Yori’s shoulder. Managing to scrape its teeth off Yori’s shoulder repeatedly, it could not get a solid grip. All the wolf’s struggling allowed it to flip onto its back, dislodging the blade from its flesh. Now facing Yori, it kicked at him in an attempt to push the boy off itself. Dull claws dug into Yori’s chest, raking his skin. Blood oozed from deep gouges as he struggled to keep the wolf in a vulnerable position. He held the animal there long enough to get a shot at the wolf’s throat. He plunged to weapon as fast and deep as he could muster. A sharp yelp and a few more kicks of the wolf’s legs signaled the end of the battle.

As soon as his defeated foe went limp, Yori jumped to his feet. An astonished look adorned his bloodied face. He had won while only sustaining comparatively minimum damage. If he could keep this up, he could reach the mountain top. He was anxious to return to the Church and see how much experience he had gained. A new rush of adrenaline had carried him through the fight, but exhaustion was catching up with him. He still needed to return to town, while carrying his prey, no less. Collecting the two corpses he headed back for Esaron. His first order of business would be to see how much Garl would pay him for these wolves.

Walking past the guards on his way back in he got a few quizzical glances, but nothing as extreme as the previous day. Luckily for him, there had been a change of guards at the gate. Yori headed straight for Garl’s shop to sell the wolves. He was looking forward to seeing the look on the shop-owner’s face. It was closer and he would not have to carry the corpses around with him that way. Although it did sound logical, it was also a tactic to procrastinate going to the Church for healing. He knew good and well that Lady Kana was going to give him an earful for not heading there immediately. As Yori arrived at the shop, he felt both excitement and dread. He was about to find out if the wolves would be the answer to his financial woes. He was not sure if he could defeat anything larger.

He entered to see Garl sitting at the front counter, parchment in front of him and a quill in his hand. He looked to be concentrating on something but looked up when he heard the door open. A large smile spread across the stout man’s face as he crossed his arms in front of him.

“Hohoho, you sure know how to make an entrance, don’ ya lad?”

Garl burst out in laughter seeing Yori dragging two whole wolves into his shop. The image of the young boy covered in scrapes and bruises that had made Elina and Kana worry themselves sick just made the bearded man chuckle. Yori felt a bit bashful at the reaction. He held up the limp bodies for Garl to see properly.

“Excuse me Mr. Garl, but how much can I sell you these wolves for?”

“Well, let’s see. You’ve got two wolves there. Good size, too. That’d be worth 20 copper, lad. 10 each.”

“That’s it!?”

Garl could see the panic set in as Yori’s eyes involuntarily widened. Yori’s heart dropped to his stomach. He suddenly felt physically ill. While it was twice what he had made the day before, he would have to keep this up for 3 months at this rate just to pay for the Guild entrance fee.

“In need o’ money fast, are ya?”

“Yes, I need to make 10 silver in order to join the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Ten silver, eh!? That’s gone up since last I heard.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware. I’m sorry to bother you with my issues, that’s not your problem.”

“Come o’er here lad, let me show you how to save yourself some money. I’ll show you how to process these beasts yourself, then you can avoid payin’ me ta’ do it. And it cuts back on the things you need to carry back to the city. Now, watch how I do the firs’ one and then you do the second one.”

Garl gestured for Yori to follow him, leading the boy to the doorway behind the counter. Yori was surprised to see how large the room was. He thought it was going to be no bigger than the front of the store, but it was several times bigger. The smell of blood assaulted Yori’s nostrils as he adjusted to the strong scent. There were all sorts of magic gems, meats, hides, every part of an animal, being moved and processed by Garl’s staff. Several of them were short and stout, like Garl, but they varied in height and build. The stocky older man brought Yori to a table at the very back. Some of the tables that his employees used were made of steel, but his one had large, wooden tree stumps as legs, the bark still adorned their surface. He tossed the wolves on the wooden tabletop effortlessly. The surface had to be at least half a foot thick, and longer than Yori was tall. Garl took out the most beautiful knife Yori had ever seen. The wooden handle was a deep chestnut, and the blade was long and thin, slightly curved and appeared to have some kind of design etched into the metal. He began skinning the wolf like he was taking the skin off cooked chicken. The connective tissue held no contest to the stunning piece of art. Creating neat piles and clean cuts, Garl removed the pelt, meat, and fangs of the carcass. Placing the meat and teeth inside the pelt, he also showed Yori how to make the items into a neat bundle to make carrying them easier, and more organized.

It was Yori’s turn to make an attempt. The stout man had gone so fast, it was difficult to recall all of the steps. Garl had definitely made it look easy when it was clearly not. He struggled through, occasionally asking questions for guidance and clarity, but eventually managed to do a half decent job of it. Proud of the job he had did, Yori recounted the steps in his head to remember for next time.

“Hah, you’re a natural, boy. Let me know if you ever want to give up on this Adventurer thing. I’d ‘ave a job fer ya’ here, that’s for sure.”

With that statement, Garl wiped his hands on a towel hanging on the wall and patted Yori on the back.

“If you don’t mind, throw the bones and organs into that chute o’er there.”

Yori nodded and picked up the leftover pieces of the wolves and tossed them in the chute in the wall that the older man pointed at.

That must be the garbage.

“There, bring em to me like that and I’ll pay you 20 copper each.”

“Really!? Thank you so much, Mr. Garl! That cuts down how many I have to collect in half. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

Or anyone else, for that matter.

“Hohoho! Just bring me lots o’ business when you’re an Adventurer, k?”

“Of course!”

This was the first time anyone had not laughed at his dreams, as gruff and brash as Garl seemed he was the first person to ever acknowledge that Yori’s dream could come true. Feeling the tears well up and not wanting to lose the respect he had just gained from the old man, Yori promptly excused himself and went outside before the tears could start to flow. For the first time in a while, they were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

Yori’s next order of business was getting healed, once again. He made his way to the Church of Light to visit Kana and have his arm looked at. Although he did not look forward to losing a quarter of his money, he would not make anything if the wound got infected or injured further. Yori had no time or fortune to be on bed rest. He would just have to pay up, and take his daily scolding from Lady Kana as well. The Church was impressive as ever, light sparkling off of the white and gold spired roof. As he entered he was once again greeted by the friendly face of Kana, whose brow quickly furrowed and arms crossed at the sight of Yori in a, once again, injured state.

“Sigh… Yori! What did you do now!? Get over here right this instant!”

“Yes ma’am.”

Yori ducked his head and looked at the floor as she pointed to the covered area for medical treatment, her other hand still on her hip, as though he was a child being put in time out. A chill ran down his spine as soon as her tone switched from pleasant to concerned. It reminded him of when he was in trouble with his mother. It scared him far more than the wolves did. Kana lead him back to the bed, instructing Yori to lay down as she began looking over this new set of wounds.

“Well, this certainly isn’t from a jackalope. What stupid thing did you do now? Did you get ambushed by a bear or something?”

“Well…haha… I killed a wolf. Well, a couple of wolves actually…”

“Ugh… you’re so reckless! At this rate I’m going to have to name the bed after you since you’ll be practically living in it.”

“I’m sorry, Lady Kana.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. Yori decided to try and smooth things over with the young maiden.

“Would it make it any better if I said it seems to be paying off? I’m starting to make a little bit of money and I am getting better at fighting, too…”

Yori’s voice trailed off as he met Kana’s disapproving violet eyes. He once again stared at the floor.

“No, it wouldn’t, because your arm doesn’t care, your other wounds don’t care, and I don’t care for you getting hurt so often. Just stop getting injured, okay? I’d like you to come by without being covered in blood some day.”

“I’m sorry. I must make a lot of work for you…”

“Sigh…that’s not it at all.”

Looking up at the young woman again with a puzzled look on his face.

Kana’s combination of exhausted sighs and blunt scolding made Yori very confused as to what he had done wrong, but he was glad to have her around none-the-less. He would gladly listen to her concerns. It meant someone cared about him. His goal would have been over in an instant if he could not be healed.

“Lady Kana, would it be ok if I checked my stats again to see how much experience I got?”

“Hmm? Oh sure, there is no charge for using the stone, so you can pop by any time to look at it. Anyways, you better get going, there are others waiting.”

The silver-haired girl walked over to the curtain and pulled it aside, waving Yori over to usher him out into the Church entrance. A line had started to form for healing services along the adjacent wall. It seemed as though there were Adventurers of a wide variety of experience levels present. One man had pulled up a chair to rest at his place in line as crimson blood dripped from a wide gash on the man’s upper thigh. His shoulders were hunched as he was clearly in pain. Yori pondered what had caused such a wound as he made his way into the main area of the Church of Light, heading for the glowing stone. That same feeling of dread and excitement he had at Garl’s shop overwhelmed him once again. He was about to get a much clearer benchmark of how far he was from his goal.

Yori Yoshinaga

Level 1 Villager

Xp: 16 Xp to next level: 34

HP: 7

MP: 7

Brawn

12 Ap: 0

Agility

15

Endurance

13

Awareness

15

Charm

17

Magic

11

Skills:Sp: 2

·Animal Empathy

It looks like a wolf is worth two experience each, so I’ll need to kill another seventeen to level up.

Making his way back to the entrance, Yori waited off to the side while Kana continued healing the other Adventurers. Other than the seated man, the others only took a few minutes each, having only sustained minor bumps and bruises. When she was finished with her clients, Yori walked over to ask her some questions.

“Lady Kana, I noticed I need another 34 experience to get to second level. Do you know how much experience it takes to level up to third level?”

“Same as from one to two, 50 each for the first two. Then it starts getting harder.”

100 experience. That is the amount he would need to get to the statistical requirements to enter the Guild. He could make enough money off of the number of wolves it would take to level up as well, if it were not for lodging and healing expenses.

Hah. If that’s the case I will just have to get rid of the lodging and healing expenses. Maybe I’ll find somewhere to camp out and try harder not to get injured.

The bar he needed to reach suddenly seemed much more attainable. More determined than ever, Yori snuck back out the South gate and into the foothills in search of an empty cave suitable enough to use as a dwelling. These foothills were grassy and heavily dotted with trees. Between the trees were large patches of rock faces, some sloped and others sheer cliffs.

Using one of the less forested hills to scan his surroundings, Yori observed the most likely areas for there to be a suitable cave. He visited a few different potential spots before landing on a cave large and deep enough to protect him from poor weather conditions. Luckily this did not take long to find. He crouched, dagger held out in front of him as he slowly stepped forward into the cave. The back was dark and he was unable to see if it was uninhabited currently. Continuing to sneak forward, he misstepped and accidentally kicked a small stone on the cave floor. He heard something stirring and as his eyes adjusted to the low light, he took in the image of a lone wolf taking a defensive stance, its exit blocked. Panic crept up Yori’s throat before he took a deep breath to quell it. This would be the first time he would face a wolf without the element of surprise to aid his efforts. The creature growled and tried to make distance between them, backing up further into the cave. It had run out of room as its tail touched the back wall of the rocky indent. Yori took advantage of the wolf’s predicament as it was essentially stuck in a corner, and went on the offensive.

I have to kill it without needing healing afterwards.

As the wolf bumped into the back wall it turned to see what was in its way.

Now!