‘

  "You want me to fight not one but two wolves?"

  'Why not?' Val asked. 'You are fully capable of doing this. You have a sword and a powerful new combat skill. Unless you are completely incompetent, dispatching those beasts should be a simple task.'

  If I wanted Val to fill me in on her grand plan, I had to prove to her that I could follow this journey through to the end. Fighting a couple of wolves would likely fall among the easiest of my upcoming trials.

  At her direction, I adjusted my path slightly northward. Tara didn't even seem to notice our altered course.

  Val and I conferred as we walked and decided that taking them by surprise would be the best course of action. I would warn Tara when we were closer and make up some lie about how I knew the wolves were coming. It felt wrong to lie, but if I told her I was going to hunt some wolves, it was unlikely she would be keen to tag along.

  We found a spot directly in their path, and Val calculated that I would have about eight minutes to set up my ambush before they passed by.

  I quickly surveyed the surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that the wind was in our favor. It was either good luck or good planning by Val, but I leaned more toward luck. There were plenty of thick trees to hide behind and a clearing where a section of a creek had widened, forming a small pool.

  I took a breath, preparing my lies. "Tara, wolves are coming from the northwest. They're on the hunt, and I don't want you to be their next meal."

  I pointed to a nearby tree. "Climb that and stay quiet. And I mean dead quiet."

  Tara's eyes went wide with fear, and I could see her thoughts churning behind her brown eyes. "Wolves? How? What?"

  "My job is to keep you safe, and your job is to trust in my ability to do so. So, I need you to trust me and climb that tree. Now. We're running out of time."

  She looked to the north, presumably for the incoming wolves. I could see the doubt on her face, but she turned back to me and nodded.

  Tara scrambled nimbly up the tree while I hid behind the trunk of a thick oak nearer the creek.

  I bolstered my hiding spot with a few fallen branches, allowing me to peek around the trunk and stay relatively hidden.

  We waited, unmoving. The silence during those few minutes of growing tension was deafening. It was a soft sort of silence where all small sounds seemed to disappear. I didn't hear the bubbling of the creek or the whisper of the wind cutting through the trees. I was waiting for another sound—one that didn't belong.

  In quiet, anticipatory moments like this, it was easy for one's mind to wander. Thankfully, my rising adrenaline helped me keep my thoughts focused on the task at hand. I was about to engage two wolves with only a melee weapon. My strategy was violence of action. In nearly all fights, the winner was the one who acted the most savagely in the shortest amount of time. The longer a fight went on, the more likely it was that I could get hurt, so I needed to end this quickly. No hesitation, only unrestricted aggression.

  When doubt tried to worm its way into my mind, I reminded myself that Val wanted me to do this. She had pushed me before when the bandit came for us in the night, and not only did I stop a potentially deadly situation for myself and Tara, but I also leveled up. If Val thought this encounter would benefit me, I trusted her.

  I breathed slowly, my ears sharp and tuned in for the slightest variation in sound.

  It wasn't long before I heard it. Just the gentle rattle of leaves as something scraped against a bush. Then I heard the muffled patter of paws hitting the ground. They were here.

  I glanced at Tara. From the look on her face, she could see them from her vantage point in the tree.

  Through my cover, I saw a flash of silver fur about twenty yards away. They were on our side of the shallow creek and were heading directly toward me.

  One was far bigger than the other. Its counterpart looked to be about half its size, and its fur was a few shades lighter.

  Ten yards away, they came to a stop. The smaller one took a few tentative steps toward the creek while the larger wolf sniffed at the air.

  My heart hammered in my chest as I stood frozen, hands gripped tightly to the hilt of my sword. I didn't even dare take a breath.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  I focused my attention on the other side of the creek and cast my Simple Distraction skill. I heard a pitched flutter, like the sound a quail makes when flushed out of hiding.

  Both of the wolves turned their heads in that direction and away from me.

  In this moment of distraction, I made my move. Violence of action. Fast and brutal.

  I sprang from my cover and slipped on the damp, decaying leaves that had packed themselves into the forest floor. I fell to my knees and used a hand to stop myself from face-planting.

  The small wolf jumped in surprise and darted away, but its larger companion showed no signs of fear. As I scrambled to my feet, I could see the wolf preparing itself for action, my opportunity for surprise ruined in an instant.

  The wolf snarled as it darted toward me. I screamed back. It leaped; white fangs bared.

  I activated Devastating Strike and swung my sword laterally with both hands, but the wolf was already too close, and instead of the blade, it was my arms that made contact with the wolf’s body. Its jaws were inches from my throat when my unnaturally amplified attack launched the wolf to the side. We both yelped, and pain shot through my left arm, which had taken the brunt of the impact.

  The wolf had landed hard on its side, but it didn't stay down. It stood but favored one of its back legs. At least a part of my blade had hit its mark.

  Devastating Strike was now on a five-minute cooldown, and there were no more inhuman skills at my disposal. It was just me against the wolf.

  Where was Liam Neeson when I needed him?

  That stray thought brought forth an idea, and I shouted at the wolf, cursing it and begging it to attack. It growled with hatred but didn't make a move, so I did.

  I took a hard step forward. The wolf reacted immediately and lunged toward me.

  I fell to my knees and plunged the hilt of my sword into the ground, braced the base of the blade with my hands, and hid behind the pointy end.

  Unable to arrest its momentum, the wolf impaled itself onto the tip of the sword while one of its claws raked across my left arm.

  It yelped and kicked itself back, trying to escape the pain. It managed to dislodge itself from my sword and backed away, but the leg it had been favoring gave out.

  The wolf looked at me, and I could see the pain and primal fear in its eyes. It wanted to keep fighting, but the wound on its chest was too devastating to overcome. I dashed forward and swung my sword down on the wolf, catching it where its neck met its shoulders. My sword didn't cut very deep, but it was deep enough, and the wolf collapsed to the ground.

  I watched as it died. Its breaths came quick and shallow before it shuddered one last time and finally passed.

  I hated this fucking game.

  "Is it over?" Tara asked from up in her tree.

  I glanced around for the other wolf, but it seemed like it was long gone.

  “It's over. You can come down.”

  I clenched a fist with my left hand, but the motion sent lances of hot pain up my arm. Thankfully, my radius didn’t break, but the bone was definitely bruised and would take a few days to heal.

  There were two red gashes on the backside of my left bicep where the wolf's claws had found purchase.

  “Is it bad?” I asked Val.

  ‘Your vital signs are perfectly fine. All your wounds are superficial. A few stitches wouldn't hurt, though.’

  “Can I make a potion or something to heal myself?”

  ‘There are potions that can speed up the healing process, but you lack the prerequisite Competencies to create them. Also, you have no alchemical tools, which makes me wonder why you would even ask. Did that wolf hit you in the head?’

  I couldn't help but laugh. The adrenaline rush had finally subsided, and the realization that I survived this trial was setting in. "You really need to work on your bedside manner."

  "John?" a small voice rang out from behind me. "Who are you talking to?"

  It was Tara.

  I spun around and tried to project sanity. "Hey."

  "Hello," Tara said slowly.

  We stared at each other for a long moment before she spoke again. "Who were you talking to?"

  "I wasn't talking to anyone."

  She shook her head. "You’ve done it before. At first, I thought I just misheard you or that you were thinking aloud, but you were just talking to someone. Who?”

  She obviously thought I was crazy, and I wasn't about to reinforce those beliefs by telling the truth. I had to shut this down for good.

  I relaxed my posture and met her eyes. "We have an agreement. I don't dig into your secrets, and you don't dig into mine. If that's no longer acceptable, you can find your own way to Danver."

  I was a baseless threat, but I thought it sounded convincing.

  Tara looked at me appraisingly. A slight grin appeared on her face. "You may be crazy, but you're not the type of person to abandon a young girl in the woods. You're bleeding. Let me help."

  She produced a cloth and approached. I winced as she wrapped it tightly around my wound.

  "We should boil water and clean it," she said. "The cuts aren't too deep, but you don't want to risk an infection. It's getting late. We can camp here tonight."

  I gave her a half-hearted smile. "Try to find us some dry wood. I'm going to rest here a moment."

  When she was gone, I focused on my mental interface and checked my experience bar. It was almost to level three. Shame that second wolf ran off.

  I noticed I had some notifications and opened one of them.

  COMPETENCY UNLOCKED: HUNTING

  You just killed your first wild animal using a weapon. 92% of all Players who have unlocked this Competency used a bow and arrow for their first hunt. But not you! No, you’re in that special 8% of Players whose balls outweigh their brains. Upon achieving Tier 1 of this Competency, your scent will be slightly more difficult for large animals to detect.

  Not the most useful Competency, but then again, none of them had seemed that special so far. I clicked on my other notification.

  NEW ACHIEVEMENT!

  MAN VERSUS BEAST

  Congratulations! You defeated a wolf in close-quarters combat, proving yourself to be the apex predator. This achievement unlocks access to the Primal Awareness passive ability.

  PRIMAL AWARENESS: Your subconscious senses have been heightened. If you ever experience scopaesthesia or feel that you are being watched, you should trust your instincts. This passive ability only works when being tracked by a predatory creature.

  Apparently, I had a built-in spidey sense now, at least in regards to some animals. It wasn't flashy, but it might save my hide someday. I'd have to remember to trust my gut.