บท 28: William’s Secret
The Dire Wolves growled, not in challenge, but out of fear. Jekyll glanced at these delicious treats with a smile. If one were to look closely at the only dentist in Lont, pieces of wolf flesh could be seen stuck between some of his teeth.
However, before he or the Dire Wolves could even make their move, someone fell down from the sky. His landing created a dust storm that made everyone back away. When the dust settled, a man with gray hair stood at the center of a four-square-meter crater.
James scanned his surroundings as if looking for someone. Soon, his gaze landed on a boy that was standing on top of a tree branch, while hugging the tree bark.
His gaze softened a bit as he shifted his attention to the few Dire Wolves that remained on the battlefield.
"Helen, clean up these pieces of trash," James ordered.
"As you wish, Master," Helen replied with a smile.
The sounds of dying howls echoed through the forest as the remaining Dire Wolves breathed their last.
Seeing that the situation was now under control, William climbed down from the tree and ran towards his Mama Ella. The Angorian Goat licked William's cheeks as if to tell him that she was fine.
Even so, William used First Aid on her to help her recover her injuries. Afterward, he also administered First Aid to the remaining goats in his herd. These were the survivors of the Wolf Tide and he didn't intend for them to die after getting this far.
Mr. Bond, the town's barber, had located Theo and the other apprentice shepherds. He took it upon himself to escort the kids back to Lont, while the others went to assist their comrades in battle.
William was so focused on his task of healing the goats that he didn't notice that his Grandfather had arrived beside him. The others had already left to support the senior Shepherds on the other side of the forest.
The battle was still not over. There were still a few thousand Dire Wolves that were still under the command of the two Centennial Beasts.
Also, there was still the threat of the Thousand-Men Beast that was equivalent to a one-man army.
"Go back to the residence," William ordered the thirteen goats.
"Meeeeeh!"
"Meeeeeh!"
"Meeeeeh!"
The goats pawed their hooves in protest. They felt that William had no intention of going back with them. Since that was the case, they decided to not go back as well.
"Don't be stubborn!" William glared at the restless goats. "Ella, make them understand."
"Meeeeeeh!" Ella bleated and the goats stood in attention.
"Meeeeeeeh!"
"Meeeeeeeh!"
"Meeeeeeeh!"
After being reprimanded by Ella, the thirteen goats reluctantly bowed their heads and started to walk towards the direction of Lont. These silly goats would look back at William every ten steps with pitiful eyes as if they were little children being bullied.
William ignored them. Since he had already made up his mind, he would not take back his word.
James watched all of this with amusement. With just a glance, he noticed that there had been a significant change on the goats' demeanor. This confirmed some of his suspicions.
"William, can I ask you a question? Of course, if you don't want to answer then you don't have to say anything," James said with a smile.
William looked at his Grandfather's eyes and saw how serious he was. After giving it some thought, he resolutely nodded his head.
"Do you perhaps get stronger after killing monsters?" James asked.
This question caught William by surprise. This was one of his secrets and he wasn't sure if telling this to James was a good idea. However, something deep inside his heart was telling him that it was fine to put his trust in his family.
"If you don't want to answer, that's fine too." James sighed. 'I might have been too hasty. Perhaps, this was not the right time to ask.'
"Yes," William answered. "I get stronger when I kill monsters."
William had thought of many reasons to lie, but in the end, he decided to share one of his secrets with his grandfather.
James wasn't expecting William to give him an honest answer. But the answer still gave him a shock. His face immediately became serious as he placed his hand over his grandson's shoulder.
"Thank you." James smiled. "Don't tell this secret to anyone aside from our family."
"Understood," William replied.
"Come. This is a perfect opportunity for you to get stronger." James beckoned as he ran towards the valley.
William wasn't stupid. He understood what his grandpa was trying to tell him. The boy excitedly climbed his Mama Ella's back and followed his grandfather to battle.
"Make sure to pick a strong skill. Something that hits hard," James said without looking back. "Don't miss out on this rare opportunity."
The corner of William's lips twitched. His grandpa was acting as if he fully understood William's circumstances. William didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing. However, he was sure of one thing.
HIs grandpa was doing this for his own good.
'I think I need to have a heart-to-heart talk with grandpa once this is over,' William thought. James' demeanor had surprised him, but since he was his grandfather, and he had already told him his secret, William's would just go with the flow for now.
Remembering his grandfather's words, William checked his status page. It was time to pick a strong offensive skill. His Ice Mage Job Class had gained a few levels after the battle with the Dire Wolves.
With Gavin's blessing, he now had several skill points that he could use to pick a skill that could deal massive damage. After checking the available skills in his Ice Mage Skill Tree, he decided to max out the Ice Spike skill.
< Ice Spike ( 10 / 10 ) >
(20 Mana Points)
-- Create razor sharp ice spikes from the ground in a line to inflict damage. Has a chance of freezing enemies.
-- Damage dealt is equivalent to Intelligence x 6
-- Cannot Freeze Boss Monsters
As for his remaining skill point, he decided to put it on his Ice Wall Skill.
< Ice Wall 5 / 5 >
(10 Mana Points)
-- Creates a Wall of Ice at a target location.
-- Ice Wall is three-meters tall and four-meters wide.
-- Ice Wall has a thickness of one meter.
-- Skill Duration: 40 Seconds.
As soon as James and William exited the forest, a moving black sea appeared in front of them. Compared to the hundreds of wolves that William had faced in the forest, this wolf tide was the real deal.
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