Chapter 3: the man and the wolf
Mark swallowed dry, after squinting due to shock, the hand holding Beretta shook slightly as the young adult in a dark jacket looked directly into the eyes of the ferocious creature in front of him.
'Damn, a level 5. What am I going to do now?' thought the 21-year-old man as he slowly stood in a higher posture, but not so high as to appear intimate or threatening to make the wolf attack him immediately.
Mark knew from his short experience with the system that the levels, until then, did not act as a creature's power marker, but rather a general danger meter that she offered. This was practically proven when he compared the level 1 deer he will just kill, with the level 2 tarantula he had killed and consumed when entering the hunting zone. However, this did not decrease the level of threat of the wolf in front of him at all, in fact, it served to remind him and if it were not for his pistol, Mark would probably die easily in a situation like this.
With that in mind, the dark-haired man knew that everything he needed to end the animal's threat just ahead would be a sure shot. After all, a shot to the head is still a shot to the head. However, this did not make his task that easy, because as far as he could remember, wolves are excellent predators with great senses, in addition to being faster and stronger than a normal human, its claws and sharp prey could very well tear the flesh of its prey relatively easily. With that in mind, Mark decided to bet on being smarter than the animal to kill him.
Tired of the staring contest, the dark-haired, bristly-haired animal growled threateningly as it bent its knees before jumping towards Mark.
Once again, the world around him seemed to slow down, his ears ring again as his eyes injected with blood as his pupils contracted. His lungs filled with air as his muscles tensioned as danger approached, sighing, Mark felt an injection of adrenaline sweep his body when his sympathetic nervous system went into action.
Between hitting or running, Mark was quick to decide whether to lower as soon as the animal's robust body began to invade his personal space. The man with green eyes felt the air moving when the gray-skinned wolf passed over his head, with a rapid movement, Mark got up quickly while using his shoulder and back to propel and throw the animal as high and far as possible.
The bristling animal spun in the air a few times, before falling to the ground with a muffled thump as it rolled across the leafy soil. Before the wolf could recover, Mark had already turned and aimed the gun at him.
With his breath still stuck, the young boy took a sequence of two shots towards the quadruped animal. The high shot of the shot resonated between the trees, the retreat of the weapon affected the second shot. Mark took a few steps back to create a greater distance while breathing again.
The animal garnered with pain when it felt the first projectile pierce the meat from its hind paw, while the second just scraped on its flank. However, this did not even seem to bother the grayish-haired lupine, who soon stood up before looking intensely at Mark.
The animal showed its teeth in a clear sign of anger and hostility, with slow and cautious steps, the dark-haired wolf began to circulate its prey in search of some opening in its defense.
Following the animal with Beretta's sights, Mark saw him limp around him as he slowly diminished the circumference of the circle. When the wolf was about to finish a lap, the slightly dark-skinned man decided to act and shoot.
Much more attentive this time, the animal was able to jump to the side with enviable agility, thus diverting from the single shot before running towards its prey. The tall wolf hurriedly trotted towards him, without a second thought, Mark fired another shot, just to see how the animal jumped aside when it deflected its attack.
The wolf snarled fiercely as it jumped again towards Mark, after narrowing the distance considerably. The brown-haired man tried to jump to the side, only to fail miserably when stepping and slipping on a tree branch. The young adult with green eyes was able to quickly regain his balance, unfortunately, he was not fast enough to deflect his attacker's onslaught.
'Damn it!' Mark screeched mentally when he saw the animal a few centimeters, acting practically on instinct, the man with slightly dark skin raised his arms in front of his body in a defensive posture.
Recognizing the object not the man's hand in front of him as a major threat, the cunning wolf was fast enough to bite Mark's right forearm. The young adult in a dark jacket hissed with pain when he felt the animal's sharp fangs stick to his skin, piercing the sleeve of his jacket.
With an angry growl, the bristling animal began to pull Mark's arm violently as it struggled and squirmed. Grunted with pain, the man in the white T-shirt tried to get rid of the wolf by shaking his arm, almost as if he believed the animal was some insect that went up on his shoulder.
The acute pain in his limb was momentarily relieved when Mark felt the skin on his forearm, right in the region where he was being bitten, start to create a very thick and resistant crust, very similar to an echo skeleton of an invertebrate animal. A slightly relieved and surprised sigh escaped his lips, at the exact moment when he felt his pain relieves momentarily. Without a second thought, Mark pulled his right arm against his body before taking his gun.
Taking advantage of the proximity, the man with dark hair decided to shoot the creature correctly. The young adult in a white T-shirt pointed the Beretta's barrel at the animal's skull, which in a moment of demonstrating its intelligence, he opened his eyes briefly in a clear sign of recognition, fear and surprise. However, that moment lasted only a second.
According to the one that was used by the animal. Growling, the wolf pulled Mark's arm aside before striking his thigh with his sharp claws. Tearing his dark jeans while piercing his skin and pulling out some meat and blood. With a sore scream as he clenched his teeth, Mark destabilized and fell back to the side with a small thump muffled by the bark and growls of the animal that attacked him fiercely.
Before he could even understand what was happening, Mark was already lying on the floor clad with the wolf hovering over his head. The animal, which had let go of its arm, snarled again before trying to bite its jugular, once again its survival instincts took over its body, when Mark protected his neck with his arm.
'Damn it again?' He screeched the young boy in annoyance when he felt the animal's teeth again stick to his skin, the dark-haired wolf snarled in annoyance before trying to use its sharp claws to smash Mark's face.
The man with brown hair struggled to keep the animal as far away as possible, unfortunately, it was still not far enough. Sore growls and grunts escaped his lips when the man with green eyes felt the sharp claws of the quadruped animal start to tear his skin and his garments.
Mark was snapped with pain when he felt the wolf's claws stick to his chest, an audacious idea came to his mind almost as a measure of despair. Clenching his teeth hard, the man in the dark jacket looked at his left arm and the gun in his hand. Without a second thought, Mark dropped Beretta on his chest before taking it with his other hand and pointing on the side of the quadruped animal's head and quickly pulling the trigger.
The animal opened its eyes in shock and surprise, before briefly hearing the loud shot of the shot. The projectile fired out of the gun barrel, and quickly made contact with the animal's skull. The dark fur lupine briefly garnered in pain, before falling loosely on Mark.
A slightly trembling sigh escaped his lips when Mark pushed the wolf from above him to the side. The dark-haired animal fell to the leafy soil with a deaf thump.
"Thank God." Whispered the man with green eyes with a slightly trembling sigh and a relieved smile, feeling a little dizzy and disoriented by blood loss, the young adult with dark hair tried to get up, only to fail miserably and fall again on the grassy floor covered with leaves.
His vision became somewhat blurred and gray, his ears began to rise, making the sounds of the forest more and more distant, while he slowly felt his consciousness lost.
'Damn it. I will die? Is this how I'm going to die, killed by a wolf?' the boy thought as he felt his senses more and more cloudy and confused, before he could do anything, Mark felt his body act for him.
The young man with slightly dark skin felt his arm tingling slightly, before turning his head slightly to the side and seeing how tapeworms and loners came out of his arm towards the corpse of the animal beside him.
The black lines and ropes meanded between the leaves on the grassy floor to the creature, before slowly wrapping it and pulling it towards Mark. The man with dark hair observed with admiration and a certain surprise, the involuntary moment of his body. Just like last time, the man in tattered clothes saw the animal's body become pure biomass, before being absorbed by his body. A wild howl escaped the wolf's mouth when its skull was fully absorbed by Mark's arm.
Not a second later, the dark-haired man saw his vision clear as his hearing returned to normal. His injuries and cuts closed quickly as the feeling of dizziness fades as Mark felt sober again.
"But huh?" The young adult was surprised before he got up with a small start.
With a totally shocked expression, Mark looked at his body. His clothes were still in tatters, his torso was almost fully exposed while the sleeves of his jacket were in a deplorable state with the marks of the wolf's teeth in tears. On the other hand, his body was perfectly intact, in fact, his skin looked somewhat pink after healing.
However, what really caught his attention the most were his arms, which had taken the form of blackened muscle mass with details in red lines and stripes, however, different from the last time, now a small thorny crust covered his arms as sharp blades, or rather, sharp claws came out of his fingers.
The green-eyed man whistled in approval as he nodded when he saw the classic clutches of the prototype franchise, taking his hands to his line of sight, Mark briefly played with his new power as he opened and closed his hands.
'This is really cool. thought the young boy with a fun laugh, before frowning slightly and looking around, looking for what he was looking for initially.
A resigned sigh escaped his lips when he saw nothing but the common vegetation around him, whatever he had seen initially, had long since left.
"And now? What am I going to do?" He asked the man in the dark jacket before he felt anything strange, but slightly familiar.
The strange electrical sensation ran through his spine once again, until it reached his brain. It was at that moment that a holographic screen opened before his eyes.
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! After slaughtering and consuming a gray lobe ( black ), its bio mass increased. ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! By killing and consuming a gray wolf, you have gained your powers and abilities. In addition to a considerable boost in your senses. ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! You won + 125 XP after killing a forest creature. ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! You went up from level 1 to level 2! ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! After consuming an animal from the forest, its ability to metamorphose and consume gained + 50 points. ]
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations! Their metamorphosis and consumption skills rose from level 1 to level 2. ]
'Incredible, I leveled up!' thought the young adult with a satisfied smile on his face, before looking at his mission status.
[ Mission status:
3 out of 15 different slaughtered animals;
1 of 3 slaughtered deer;
2 out of 5 animals slaughtered with a shot of at least 25 meters;
That of 1 slaughtered bear; ]
"Okay, except for the fact that a wolf almost killed me, until I'm doing well." He commented the young adult with a slight shrug before looking at his hands.
'okay, let's try to make it a fuss.' rationalized the boy, before returning his hands to normal with a small mental command.
Satisfied with the increasing and growing control over their powers, as well as their constant evolution, Mark looked in a random direction before heading his way in search of more prey to complete his task. But not before he quickly checked his Beretta's condition, and found out that he only had 8 more bullets in the magazine inside the gun.
Olfying the air as he walked, Mark tried to find out how his superhuman senses worked now that he had gained momentum thanks to the characteristics of the wolf he had consumed. However, the boy was not so lucky to find out about his recently evolved limitations and ability. In contrast, his hunt proved to be more fruitful now that he had his new skills.
Mark did not know if it was due to the wolf he had consumed or not, but now it had become much easier to find animal tracks through the forest. A quick look at the states of his mission proved this.
[ Mission status:
6 out of 15 animals of different slaughtered species;
2 out of 3 slaughtered deer;
4 out of 5 animals slaughtered with a shot of at least 25 meters;
0 out of 1 slaughtered bear; ]
The 21-year-old man smiled slightly as he remembered the body and the rabbit he had killed and consumed, however, soon his mood changed when he saw the last topic on his mission's task list.
Mark knew that was just a bonus, yet it was a bonus that he feared would have to conclude if the animal came out of his way out of nowhere, just as the wolf had done.
Shaking slightly with that thought, Mark stopped his walk before any trail or animal that could be easily slaughtered. Luckily or unlucky, Mark just found another squirrel at the top of a tree.
Knowing that the species of the animal had already been consumed before, and that the biomass bonus was very small. Mark decided to ignore the animal and continue on his way, however, seeing a large claw mark on a tree made him stop abruptly.
"Oh no." He murmured the boy when he recognized what a bear's claw mark was.
"You can only be slutty with me." He commented the man with dry green eyes while he denied with his head, his annoyance and irritation only grew when Mark heard a fierce roar in the distance.
'Damn it!' thought the boy was alarming before running at full speed in the opposite direction to the wild animal's howl. If he almost died fighting a wolf, Mark didn't even want to think about what would happen to him when facing a bear.
The brown-haired boy ran as fast as possible, his hair flowed in the wind as Mark ran almost as fast as an Olympic athlete. Making his way through the trees, while jumping through the rugged and uneven terrain of the forest, the young adult with dark hair only walked again when he thought he was truly safe, seeing in the distance the mound on which he had faced the wolf.
Without wasting time, the boy climbed the mound before heading in a random but opposite direction to the bear's wild howl.
X
Hello, how is everyone doing? I hope everyone is well.
I would like to use that little footnote to ask you a question, or rather a vote. In this last chapter I realized how difficult it is to write a fanfic, especially when you are a beginner like me. With that in mind, and taking Tsugikuni_Yoriichi's advice seriously, I started to consider rewriting the first two chapters, plus this one, and withdrawing the system. Leaving only a "recurring" fanfic, and making my job a lot easier.
However, as I have always enjoyed taking the consideration of others above mine, I would like to ask you, dear readers, what do you think of that idea and help me decide if I'm going to rewrite the chapters or leave them as they are.
1-keep the fanfic like that.
2-can change, so maybe it will be more interesting.
And yes, I'm kind of stupid for doing that.
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
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