บท 21: Chapter 21: Wolves

-[Morning]-

I woke up and began stretching. Aliyah was still asleep but that's fine.

Just as a safety measure I used my skill [Danger Detection] to check a 100 metre radius.

Nothing showed immediately but after I waited a little bit longer, three red dots appeared on the mental radar.

"Shit. Why now?" I said frustrated. Should I wake Aliyah up or go by myself? Fuck...

I decided to wake Aliyah up and told her about the nearby danger. She got up and grabbed all of her things and I grabbed my stuff as well.

We started to head in the direction of the danger to check it out.

-[At the pinged location]-

Currently I am hiding in a bush about ten metres away from the dangerous beings. I saw that it was two dark wolves. No...one of the wolves was a slightly stronger version of the dark wolf. It was a "Hell Hound".

Here is the information on the Hell Hound:

[Hell Hounds are the evolved form of dark wolves. The Hell Hound is slightly larger than the dark wolf and is more powerful. The attributes of Hell Hounds is usually the fire type of magic and in rare cases; dark type magic.]

That's all I currently know about that species.

"Hey. That's a dark wolf and...a Hell Hound?!" Aliyah whispered.

I nodded my head 'yes'. Aliyah looked slightly frightened about the Hell Hound but I was more worried about the third target.

I can't see it from where I am because of another bush up ahead. For now I'll use [Inspect].

[Hell Hound]

[Level: 15]

[Attributes: Fire]

[Skills: Flame Field]

[Dark Wolf]

[Level: 9]

[Attributes: N/A]

[Skills: Flash Step]

Damn. They are decently strong but we are stronger.

I turned to Aliyah and whispered, "They are both weaker than us. We can win this."

Aliyah seemed to relax hearing that so I slowly crept towards the wolves whilst staying hidden in the bushes.

When I got close enough to the dark wolf I prepared my sword and readied wind magic at my feet to propel me forward.

I then quietly said, "Now!" Aliyah sprang up with decent speed and I used wind magic to propel me towards the targets.

I swung my sword at the head but due to my lack of physical strength, the sword veered off course and cut off the front right leg of the dark wolf.

I landed a few metres away and kept tumbling. After I stopped tumbling about, Aliyah had made it to the wolves.

And now I could easily see what they were attacking; a fox cub. I'm saving that damn fox!

I got up and ran towards the wolves and was readying earth magic to shoot a "rock bullet" at the injured dark wolf.

The Hell Hound had began to use fire magic and it was aimed at me. Shit.

I tried my best to dodge it but it had hit me on my left leg. It stung like a bitch!

I tripped due to the burns but I used wind magic to propel myself once again.

"Bastard!" I yelled furiously. I pointed my blade at the dark wolf and I managed to jam the sword into the neck of the dark wolf, killing it.

Aliyah was dealing with the Hell Hound but struggled for a second due to the fire magic.

I shot another rock bullet at the Hell Hound to distract it.

It hit the abdomen of the Hell Hound and that made it flinch. Aliyah found an opening and cut the Hell Hounds head off. Quite grotesque don't you think?

I limped over towards the fox. It had a decent laceration across it's left hind leg so it was rendered immobile.

I tried to pick up the fox but it started to growl at me. I layed down my sword and proceeded anyways. It bit me but oh well.

I limped over to Aliyah with the fox cub in my hands and she noticed it's injuries alongside my own.

I handed Aliyah the fox and took a roll of medical bandages out of my inventory. I was more worried about the fox so I tended it's wounds first.

Aliyah then said, "You should be worried about yourself! Your leg looks like a cooked slab of meat..."

"Thanks for the compliment." I said jokingly.

After I finished up tending to the fox I then tended to my own wound.

It would need to heal on its own since I haven't learned healing magic yet. I probably should have learned it months ago. Yet again, I'm a dumbass.

I practically fell to the ground after bandaging my leg due to being tired from that fight. I had the fox in my arms and it had fallen asleep. How cute!

I didn't notice until now but the fox had white fur with a single orange stripe on the left area of its head.

I decided to just take it easy and rest for a few minutes.

Aliyah had checked up on me a few times but she was on guard duty since she didn't want to be surprise attacked.

The wolves bodies were right next to me. 'Hey Gem? Can I steal the skills of monsters I've killed?' I said in my mind.

[Answer: Yes. By killing a monster with a skill you don't have, it gives you the skill to use. So you have earned the skills "Flame Field" and "Flash Step". Would you like to know more about these skills?]

"Yes." I said aloud.

["Flash Step": The user gains immense speed and can travel up to 5 metres in a single instant. Every 1/5 times used it could levy a physical toll on the users body and make the user sore. "Flame Field": The user can control all fire in a 10 metre radius and can set fire to anything inside of the radius of the attack.]

I then thought, 'Thank you.'

Both of those skills seem equally powerful and useful for battle. I'm glad I gained these.

I began to pet the fox cub. Wait...what gender is this little ball of fluff? While it is embarrassing to check, I must do it.

I began to slowly turn the fox onto its back...

[The fox is male.]

Oh thank goodness I didn't have to look myself. Thank you, Gem!

I laid the fox back in its original position and petted it some more.

-[30 minutes later]-

I had regained some of my spent mana and I stood up ready to continue our journey.

"Are you ready to leave, Pearl?" said Aliyah.

I nodded my head. I began limping back towards the path but Aliyah then picked me up.

"I'm not having you limping around and just worsening the wound." said Aliyah.

And so, I was carried for the rest of the day.

-[The Next Day]-

I woke up to see the little fox cub I saved laying on my chest. He was originally next to me. The little scoundrel, haha.

I decided to lay still for a little longer and pet the fox. After about four minutes of petting it had begun to wake up.

It slowly stretched its legs out and yawned. Oh and one thing; it was fucking adorable.

I smiled and said, "You are just way too cute."

Aliyah had already been awake apparently and was just watching me and the fox cub.

I decided to now get up. My hair was in a sort of messy state so I began to brush it out with a hairbrush I brought. My hair is a little past the middle of my back right now so it's quite annoying to deal with.

I'll live though. Might as well have longer hair in this life.

Aliyah had already changed into a new outfit and I went into the bushes to change as well. The fox cub followed me over while limping.

It felt a little embarrassing to change in front of what I am half part of but I had to. After I had finished changing I tied my hair into a high ponytail.

After I changed clothing I used a combination of wind and water magic to wash and dry the dirty clothing. I did the same to Aliyah's.

I picked up the fox cub and put him on my head as an experiment. He was pretty small and young so he was able to stay there easily. He's an adorable little hat now!

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(Aliyah POV)

Pearl put her hair into a high ponytail and it made her even cuter! She also put the fox cub on her head. And well? I'm going to die from a cuteness overload...

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(Pearl POV)

Aliyah had begun preparing breakfast and she even made enough for the fox cub as well! That's really considerate of her.

Today's breakfast consists of a sandwich with a slice of tomato, a slice of cheese, some lettuce, and a strip of bacon. We of course cut the sandwich for the fox so it'd be easier to eat.

After we were done with breakfast I put all of our current supplies that were out into my inventory.

Aliyah then grabbed me and put me up on her shoulders and I held on so I wouldn't fall off. And with that we headed out for today.