NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 37: Wolf Hunting
"Did they notice my scent?" One after the other, all three wolves got up and started running toward him.
"Oh..." As one of the wolves jumped up and dug its claws into the tree large he crouched on, he stood up and prepared for a switch.
"You really want to eat me... then shell we dance, Beast?"
'The fuck you called me!?' As Persona switched with Feral, he shouted at the name he was called with.
*GRR*
"Know your place, puppy!" The wolf propelled itself forward and Temorsth jumped up so only the bench was bitten down.
"Something like..." As he was still flying up from the big jump, he fired a Guiding Shot at the wolf on the tree.
*GRR*
As it was the first time that Fearl used Guiding Shot, he still wasn't used to it and the wolf easily dodged the energy blast by pushing its body away from the tree.
"Oh, now is see how this works!" As he finally started to fall back, he sifted his position so the falling wolf couldn't dodge this time.
*GRRR...* As the shot of energy which looked like a blade closed up on the wolf, a greenish-white aura appeared around its body and tried to divert the attack.
'Is that the aura of its HP?' As Temorsth landed on the ground, he looked at the wolf whose entire side was cut open, and as it went even further, even a tree trunk got destroyed.
[Dealt: 1,693 Radiant damage]
[Target's HP is 0]
[Any further attacks can be fatal.]
'Hm? I see, think I understand this HP system.' Seeing all the aura around the wolf dissipate at the same time the system notice appeared, Temorsth finally understood what Aidana tried to explain to him at that time.
"Oh, you aren't stupid!?" Seeing the wolf start to run away, he understood that these beasts had some intelligence.
"Then run!" He didn't even hesitate and threw his spear after the shot.
*GRRR* Noticing the energy of the spear flying towards it, the wolf started to run away while zig-zagging.
"Futile!" The wolf didn't expect or couldn't understand that the throw was a skill too. And despite the efforts, the spear easily followed the wolf and since it was much faster, it caught up and stabbed it in the side in just a second.
[Dealt: 1,755 Piercing damage]
[Killed: White Fang Wolf!]
[Acquired: 0 Experience]
"What!?" Hearing the system, a slight frustration spread on his face.
"Hm?" But since he didn't have the time to deal with this, he jumped to the side to dodge the bite attacks of the other two wolves.
"You are big yet agile... Irritating!" After the dodge, he turned and started to run away from the two wolves.
"Oh!? I'm faster? Good...!" His speed was about the same as the wolves, so they couldn't catch up.
*GRRR*
"Hey, bite your ass!" As he sidestepped one of the wolf bite attacks, he looked back to see his spear coming back to him.
'Alright!' Temorsth positioned himself so that the spear would cross one of the wolves.
*GRR...* And as his spear came closer, the wolf to his left dodged it. The wolf couldn't notice that the spear coming by its side wasn't an attack, it just noticed that the enemy's energy was coming toward him, so the beast instinctively moved.
"Stupid!" Noticing that one of the wolves had fallen behind, he thought for a moment and came up with an idea to test something.
'Let's see it then...!' Temrosth jumped forward then with a quick sidestep turned around and jumped at the wolf right before him.
*GRR*
"HOW STRONG..." The wolf got surprised by the jump and halted for a moment. Using this chance, he bent his knees and clutched the wolf's neck between his arms.
"I AM!?" As Temorsth strengthened his hold, the same greenish-white aura appeared around the wolf's neck.
[Dealt: 445 Blunt damage]
"Uh? Fuck!"
*GRRR...* Since the damage wasn't enough to bring the wolf to zero HP, it could react to the damage. It raised its front leg and with a quick movement slashed Temrosth's thigh and leg.
[Received: 248 Slashing damage]
*Ugh* "My clothes!" The pain quickly vanished as the greenish-white aura of HP appeared and healed the wound at the same time as it formed.
"You little!" Temorsth was angry from both his plan not succeeding and from getting his black trousers damaged, he liked no one and nothing that tried to take away things he got from his parents.
"You will regret this!" Even though he knew that his clothes could and were already repairing themself, he was truly angry.
*GRR...* As the wolf felt something like... fear? It tried to get away from Temorsth rather than attack him.
"You can't run!" Since his spear was close enough, first he firmed the hold with his right hand then reached out with his left.
The spear landed precisely in his hand, and with a slight twist of his wrist, he stabbed it into the wolf's side but with such strength, the aura of HP appeared for only a moment before it dispersed to nothingness.
[Dealt: 2365 Piercing damage]
[Killed: White Fang Wolf!]
[Acquired: 0 Experience]
"Uh? It didn't say its HP hit zero...?" As the wolf's body fell to the side, he hesitated for a moment.
"Anyway, let's test this too... Will of the Weapon!" He called out and the transparent copy of the spear appeared next to him.
'Attack?' As this was the first time he actually used this skill, he experimented with how he could control the spirit weapon and how would it react to his orders.
The wolf left behind was already near him when the order was received from the thought, and following it, the spear moved of its own accord and flew to the running beast then attacked it.
*GRRRR* The wolf noticed the energy of the spirit weapon and was able to dodge it, but it didn't know that the cut of the free-moving and flying weapon was inevitable.
[Dealt: 2093 Force damage]
[ -12 Durability ]
[Target is at 0 HP]
'It said it this time... Hm...'
*GRR...* The wolf lost its momentum after losing all of its HP, even its growl sounded more like whining.
Because the wolf had some intelligence, it knew it couldn't run away, and like any other living being, it didn't want to die, so it pushed with all its strength to survive and after a second, it started rushing toward Temorsth again.
"Oh, you don't want to die?" Noticing its fighting spirit, he stood still and raised his right hand toward it.
"Then come!" With a slight smile, he beckoned to the wolf.
*GRRR* As the beast raised its forelimbs and tried to tear at his body, he changed his hand sign to show a handgun.
"Water Bullet!" A water bubble the size of a bullet appeared at Temorsth's fingertip, and as he pointed it at the wolf's defenceless chest, he shot its heart right through.
[Dealt: 233 Magic Piercing damage]
"Sorry, puppy... The strong lives, and the weak die..." Temorsth only took a step back, and the wolf's body fell down right before him.
[Killed: White Fang Wolf!]
[Acquired: 0 Experience]
"Hmh, it looks like it's over."
[Yes it is.]
*Sigh* "I thought it will be harder." As Persona switched back, he sighed with relief.
'Aidana.'
[Yes?]
'Why didn't I get any exp for killing the wolves?'
[You don't have a class yet which could level up.]
'Then, I can't get stronger? You said I should wait with choosing a class.'
[No, since the system is adapting to your situation, instead of experience you get a bonus to your skills leveling and to acquiring new skills.]
'Oh, so it's like an exchange, cool!'
[Yes. I advise collecting those wolf cores before they dissipate.]
'Wait, before that. Why didn't it say that the second wolf's HP reached zero before it died?'
[Oh, you remember that I said that Health Points works differently from the games you brought up as an example right?]
'Yes? You said it's more like constant healing or something.'
[Yes. Now, can you heal something that is dead?]
'Hm? You mean it died before its HP could heal its wounds?'
[Yes, the wolf's Health Points didn't reach zero because it already died from severe wounds.]
'Ah, I see. Thanks. Now, what was this core thing again?'
[Collect them, they will help you. It is placed to the right of the heart.]
"Hm... I have to open them?"
[Yes.]
"..."
...
A few minutes later, after opening up all three corpses.
"It is good that creating normal water only needs a little mana." Temrosth was cleaning his hands and the three marble-like yellow cores.
'Does the colour represent anything?'
[Yes, it shows what type of energy the being used and at what level he was.]
'Hm...'
[For beasts and wild energy users, it is the yellow colour spectrum, and from weak to strong, it goes from white-yellow to almost completely black.]
'And for Vampire Cores?'
[It goes from pinkish-white-red to burgundy-black.]
'Thought so... you said it is useful for me, I do feel some energy from it, but what is its use?'
[You can absorb its energy much faster and more efficiently than from the surrounding, after all, it has already been absorbed once before.]
'Hm... I feel if I can get around twenty of these, I will advance to the Body Tempering realm.'
[You shouldn't do it so quickly. You just had a breakthrough not so long ago, you still need to wait for all the stats and bonuses to get integrated before advancing forward.]
'Ah, right... I forgot since so many things started happening nowadays. Where should I put these cores? Is it enough to put them into my space ring?'
[They will dissipate slower in there, but it is much better to use Sealing Bottles. You got a few hundred with that ring, put them in one of those.]
'You know what I got?' As he brought out a long-necked porcelain bottle, he asked back with a raised eyebrow.
[Of course, the system knows everything!] It was true that the system does know, but it wasn't that Aidana too.
'Hm...' Temorsth didn't like this, even though he was thankful to her, he still didn't know why she helped him in the first place.
"Let's go hunt some more beasts!" After he placed the cores into the sealing bottle, he started going into the depths of the forest with a raised voice to divert his thoughts.
...
"I should go for a bigger hunt..." A week later, Temrosth stood in a clearing deep within the forest.
"Even though they are a realm higher than me, they pose no danger at all now." Around him, there were at least a dozen wolf corpses.
"Kya!!" And right at this moment as he heard the scream of a girl.
[Notice: A story quest is taking place nearby!]
"Hm?"
[Notice: Event quest acquired "Save the Beauty"!]