Thunder Wolf

Ben staggered along the small path towards Mist Village, with the help of a sturdy piece of branch he had found, which he fashioned into a temporary crutch. His day had started well, with him encountering four beasts in the three hours he had spent searching, after breaking up the camp where he had spent the night. The night had been uneventful thankfully, so he had been able to rest well after his escapades on the previous day. With such a number of beasts encountered so early in the day, he contemplated returning to the village early and cashing in, so that he could start his return journey as night fell. Unfortunately, he had decided to press on ahead with his hunt. He met more aggressive and powerful beasts in the afternoon as he progressed more towards the north along the edge of the forest.

He had felled a hell spider and a scale armored raccoon. He disposed off both beasts with some difficulty and sustained some minor injuries during the process. Although the hell spider had seemed more intimidating, with it's 2 pairs of pincers and 8 eyes, along with it's midnight coloured, thick exoskeleton, it was the raccoon that had caused him more problems. It's brown scale armor gave it decent defense, which he found difficult to penetrate, but it's speed was the real issue. It was the fastest beast he had met as of yet, easily outspending him. He had been raked by it's sharp claws twice before he could think of a strategy to take it down. He slowly realized that the only way was to land a blow to it's head or neck which had no scale armor protection and he managed it somehow and he sported two more scratch marks as proof of the effort he put in. After these two encounters, he decided that it was wise to head back, the injuries were starting to take a toll. It was on the return trek that he faced what he had prayed he wouldn't, a Thunder Wolf, a spirit beast!!. He really doubted whether he could get out of the fight alive. He tried back away slowly, but the wolf had no intention to letting him go, as it advanced. He saw an odd gleam in it's red eyes, which made him suspect that this beast was more intelligent than the beasts he had fought before. Thunder wolves, as the name indicated were associated with the thunder element, and usually hunted in packs of about ten in number, so encountering a lone wolf was fortunate, although the pack could be nearby. He needed to end the fight quickly which was why he opted to meet it head on. The wolf leaped closing the distance between them quickly going straight for his throat. He frowned at the speed and dexterity it displayed. He swayed to the side to avoid the front paws and it's jaws and slashed late as it passed him at it's hind legs, he intended to restrict the wolf's mobillty first. He pushed ahead as he passed the beast to create a safe distance between them. He whirled around to see that his blow had infact connected, but the wound was not large enough to cause it any discomfort. It's hide seemed unnaturally tough. The wolf charged again, this time Ben aimed for the head, hoping he would get lucky like the first time he fought the boar. The wolf dipped it's head at the last second, he had missed. But the wolf didn't. He felt it's claws sink into his flank as he desperately tried to regain his balance as he missed his strike. Again, he somehow managed to create some space between them. He felt his right side, the wound was deep and was bleeding quite profusely. He didn't wait for the wolf to make a move, he charged in, it was a do or die moment. But wolf then did something he never expected, it howled loudly as spark of thunder shot straight towards him, it had unlocked an innate ability much to his despair. The spark stunned him, halting his charge. It seemed have some kind of paralysing effect, designed to restrict the prey, as the wolf moved in for the kill, which it was doing at the moment. He somehow managed to raise his sword hand up, as the wolf pounced on him. The sword, pointing forward, pierced it's soft underbelly, and went straight through it's heart, as it land on him. His head hit the ground hard as he landed heavily on his back, the dead wolf on him, which dazed him for a few minutes. Immediately as he regained his senses, he pushed off the wolf lying on him and staggered to his feet. He was soaked in blood, both his own and the wolf's. He quickly pulled out his knife and carved open the wolf to remove it's core, he would be foolish to leave such a precious thing behind. Beasts unlike human cultivators formed their core early. He didn't spend anymore time loitering, he needed move away from the area before the rest of the pack arrived. He hobbled away with the help of a branch he found which he used as a crutch, and didn't stop for an hour and half. He laid down his packs as he sat down, and started the painful process of cleaning himself up as much as he could. His flank wound was still bleeding, but the amount of bleeding had decreased. He smeared the wounds with some medicinal pastes he had brought along with him as part of his provisions, and bound them up. He then, discarded his bloody clothes and put on a spare set he had brought along. He hastily wolfed down some food rations he brought, before pressing on towards the village, leaving behind his pack of provisions, as he wouldn't need them again. As he neared the village, he threw the poorly made temporary crutch away, and tried to disguise his limp as much as possible, as he didn't want anyone realizing the extent of his injuries. He entered village by late evening, with his head held high, he had killed his his spirit beast!