Chapter 6: The Brutal Start (VI)
The wooden sword that he once held was countless meters away, much too far away from his reach. The wolves knew this as they started surrounding the sword, making sure that he could not retrieve it.
Not only was he severely injured but also lost his only weapon. In short, Astrid was in serious trouble.
The atmosphere was greatly poisoned as he started to feel weird.
Bleeding from major wounds made him feel a bit vertigo and light-headed and he couldn't help but feel tired. At the same time, he felt that he was plain naive rushing into a battle that he thought he could win.
Surely, it was the end of him, he thought as the wolves started to creep up the ramp. Making no haste, they began to approach in a way that showed off mockery and disgust. Tantalizing steps that told him that the wolves showed no mercy when they would kill him.
The wolves had a great sense of amusement watching a trespasser die by their mouths as they drew ever so closely.
Astrid was on the verge of giving up, there was no hope left. Before giving up, he reminisced about his life. It was unfulfilling and awful. A path that was full of injustices and oppression.
It could have been punitive from his previous life but he certainly didn't want to give up on this one. Trying once more, he pushed himself off his knees and stood up.
- 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖗𝖚𝖙𝖆𝖑 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖙 (VI): 𝕭𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝕬𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖑𝖋 𝕷𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗
He stood right back and tried to mimic a stance he saw on TV when he was young. Centuries ago, there was this sport called boxing that humans used to enjoy watching. However, the sports and tournaments died when a new neo-like age emerged from the primogenitor roots. It looked awkward with his hands positioned weirdly as he couldn't rely on memories that were like slices of swiss cheese.
However, this time Astrid wanted to try something. It was a large gamble but an eventual and imminent gamble he still had to take in the future. He drew his mana from his core like he has usually done but this time he tried to draw it from the dove's door.
Slowly he found pulsating energy that felt alive and vibrates with vitality. His hands began to glow black as he felt the energy coat his hands. It seemed to boost his strength as he wanted to try something.
Some of the wolves stopped drawing closer. Anticipating that the blackish aura coating his hands felt terrifying. At the same time, they felt like the aura was screaming, shrieking in pain. It felt awful to witness and too similar to their fallen comrade.
However, a courageous wolf took one for the team. Leaping he used his claws to slash Astrid but he dodged and punched the wolf in the stomach
The wolf was sent flying falling back into the glorious canyon The impact of its fall was met with silence as the wolf did not get back up. It was dead.
"Come along, you fuckers- " Astrid said as he gestured towards the wolves.
The wolves all ran towards him at frightening speeds but at the same time, Astrid used some of the blackish energy and sent it to his legs. With a big jump, he boosted himself into the air just before the wolves reached their spot.
Doing a small arc, he jumped past of the wolves who was visibly startled and swiveled their body towards the other direction. Astrid landed with a loud thump and raced towards the wolf on the ledge who too was surprised by what Astrid just did.
Hopping off the lodge, the Astrid observed attentively as the wolf signaled for the others to back down from the battle. The wolves in unison listened with great reverence towards the leader. Obeying his orders, some of the wolves backed off and went to perch on top of the canyon and rest. Some just lay down where they were while some just stood and circled Astrid and wolf-pack leader.
'To have a 1-1 on the battle, that must mean the wolf pack leader must have acknowledged me as a fairly decent opponent.' Astrid thought as he went to retrieve his sword which had to lie in the dust and sand.
Picking it up, he noticed that the sword had been chipped away and was starting to wither away. There were noticeable pieces of holes in the sword and Astrid near that it wasn't going to last either way. Its expiration was subsequent and close. It was better for him to change and even scrap the mutilated or even mangled sword and buy a new one.
Both opponents stared daggers at each other as they walked closer and circled around each other. Astrid decided to pounce. He paced and slashed the sword he blocked with his paw making the sword slice through the cold air. In retaliation the wolf swiped with a paw and Astrid instead of blocking with his sword, dodged.
His assumption was right as the wolf's paw landed on the ground, dust and sand were launched into the air as the force of his wolf's paw caused it to fly.
This triggered several consecutive attacks from both opponents. The battle between the human and the wolf-leader continued on as neither one would give up. They traded blow to blow which made Astrid impressed at the wolf's strength. The same exhilaration was marooned as it was an amazing battle. They both did not let their guards down fearing the worst. Only time could tell when would make a blunder or miscalculation causing their own deaths.
Astrid also had wrapped around some of his soul power around the sword giving off a ink-like aura surrounding his sword.
Astrid now solely relied on his enemies soul power as a boost of energy as his real body was had zero energy. Every once in an while he would replenish his strength with more soul which granted him more pleasure and vitality. With around 20 more souls left to use, he had plenty left for the ride. Though he did want to use his souls sparingly with some hesitation.
After a while, the wolf was starting to felt bitterness seeping out of his wounds as he realized that he wasn't winning at all. Every time his opponent started to slow down on his onslaught of attacks, his attacks a minute later would be twice as strong. It was strange.
His canine sense picked up a strange being emanating from his sword. It was a familiar feeling but at the same time, he felt grief and terror coming from it.
Ignoring the best of its could, the wolf continued to battle as his attacks felt less vibrant and started to become dull. His speed diminished heavily as he felt a lump forming in his attack.
Eventually, Astrid broke through the wolf's intricate defenses and pierced the wolf's hide. With a shriek, the wooden sword was pushed through as the wolf it finally collapsed.
The wolf was dead.
With a sigh, Astrid fell down as he had exhausted a large number of his resources. Weighed down by the accumulated fatigue, he breathed in heavily as it appeared that he was staring into space.
In reality, he was looking at his quest.
[Quests:
(Hunt in the Woods
// The Dreadberry woods are known to be over-filled with monsters.
- Slay 10 Dreadberry Wolves: 27 / 10
- Slay 1 Dreadberry Pack leader: 1 / 1
Status: Completed
Reward: + 10 XP ; + 10 Point
[Level UP!]
"Yess! I did it!" He yelled as he lifted a fist in victory. His first major quest had ended with a victory and a level up. Checking his status, he wanted to see what new changes had came.
{Name: Astrid Whitlock
Level 1: 5 / 10 Points: 10
Strength: 8
Agility: 7
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 10
Charisma: 1
Mana: 4
Extra Stats: 12
Innate Traits:
- Isorropian's Chosen One (SSS)
Skills
{Deathly Swordsmanship Lvl 1:
A unique swordsmanship style created by Satan himself. This swordsmanship will teach the true meaning of the way of the sword. As you practice each stroke with dedication, the higher the understanding and the skill will get.
// As you reach Level 1, you show novice understanding of the way of the sword}
{Burner of Souls Lvl 1:
Souls are the essence of living beings. You are able to harness the power of souls and convert them into the power and strength of your own. This skill is deprived of the innate trait of Satan's Chosen One.
// As you reach Level 1, you are able to consume and burn souls in exchange for power.}
Sure enough, it looked like every level up gave him 2 extra stat points. Though there may be possible in the near future that, that amount would increase.
Furthermore, what lit Astrid's day was the fact both skills had leveled up. His conjecture was that milestones or key-defining battles would cause it to level up but he would never expect something like this to happen this early.
After inspecting his stats a little more bit, he got up and noticed something. The wolves didn't even attack him.
Glancing around, he was quite amused that the remaining wolves that were still alive, were all bowing to him?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone