Chapter 32 – Dawn
When I got closer to the noise, I sensed multiple living beings.
In front of me was a wolf pack. I used [Camouflage] to stay hidden. More than fifteen level 5-8 wolves were surrounding a person. I wasn't close enough to use [Appraisal Analysis] on him but I could see with my enhanced sight that he was bleeding.
A wolf that was behind him rushed up and jumped at him from his blind spot. I was about to activate my buffs and save him but before I even got the chance to, he suddenly swung his weapon around.
Now that I got closer, I could see that the person was a young looking boy who was wielding a sledge hammer-like weapon. He started spinning around like a tornado which caused the wolf that jumped at him to be smacked right in the head. The wolf was flung back and landed near my feet. It wasn't dead yet but was knocked out.
I took a look around and saw more wolves lying on the ground in a similar state, with a few of them already dead. After the boy stopped spinning he dropped to his knees. Looks like the move caused the injury on his right arm to get worse as blood started to flow down his arm. He tried using his hammer as a crutch to get up but failed and fell down face first.
"Awoooooo."
A wolf that was twice as big as the other wolves howled. He must have been the leader.
The other wolves rushed toward the downed boy after hearing the leader give an order. The boy who was on the ground looked at the wolves in despair. He never thought that today was the day he died. He closed his eyes as the wolves jumped to tear him to pieces. He waited for the pain to assail him but even after a few seconds nothing happened. He opened his eyes only to see a girl's back with her skirt fluttering in front of him.
It was my skirt of course. I always wanted to make a heroic entry and save the damsel in distress. But in this case the damsel was a cute shota (little boy). I would not be surprised if he fell in love with me on the spot. I took a peak behind me with a gentle grin on my face to see his reaction. He started shivering as he looked around and when he saw my face bubbles formed from his mouth and he passed out.
"… Not the reaction I was expecting. Is it because of blood loss?"
I took a look around to appreciate my handiwork. All the wolves around us were raised almost a meter high by mud spikes piercing their bodies. None of them were dead yet because I made sure to not hit any vital spots. Sounds of wolves crying and whining could be heard as their blood started to flow down the spikes. I started to control the mud that extended from my feet to wrap around the wolves so that I could dissolve them for mana. I looked over to the leader wolf.
Name: Alpha Wolf Lv. 10
Class: Pack Leader
Race: Mammal Demon
"Grrrrrr…"
It was snarling at me but couldn't do anything else because there were two mud spears pinning him to the ground. It was too far from the boy for my extended mud to reach so I just threw mud spears that I spawned at it. I dissolved the wolves one by one but didn't get a skill. When only the Alpha Wolf was left, I remotely controlled my mud to dissolve him while I took a look at the boy. With the mana I got from the wolves, I started to use [Lesser Heal] on him. This skill required me to come into contact with the intended target in order to use it on them.
Name: Dawn Lv. 10 (Max)
Job: Commoner
Race: Half-Human
"What?!" I was surprised when I saw his race because it was similar to mine, but without the question mark. I carefully used [Appraisal Analysis] and [Sensing] on him, however I couldn't find anything that made him different from other humans that I have examined. I only noticed that he had more mana flowing in his body than average people. I was surprised yet again when I discovered that 'he' was actually a 'she'. What I thought was a shota was actually a loli. The short brown hair and wrapped up chest had fooled me. To be honest though, her chest was almost flat in the first place. I don't know why but my favorability for this girl just increased.
I reabsorbed the mud which dissolved the Alpha Wolf to recover my lost mana.
[Skill Share Senses acquired through Assimilation.]
[Skill Spawn + Share Senses combined into Cloning.]
I got a skill from the Alpha Wolf and it unexpectedly combined with my Spawn skill. The Alpha Wolf must have been using this skill to command the other wolves.
Testing out [Cloning], I found that I could separate mud from me much faster than before. I could also share my senses with the separated mud unlike before. The mana consumption increased as a result though. I wanted to see if I could create a complete clone of myself but the amount of mana I currently had was nowhere near enough. I imagined a future where I commanded an army of mud girls.
"Hehehehehe…"
The thought excited me and made me forget about what happened earlier back at guild. Killing wolves which reminded me of that Guild Master only made me feel better.
It took a while but I was finally able to fully heal Dawn with some wolves to spare. Since my MP was also full, I decided that it was better to practice dissecting these wolves and maybe sell their meat somewhere. I should look for any source of income I could get my hands on since I can't earn money as an Adventurer. Spawning a mud knife, I started to work on the wolves. I put aside the wolves that Dawn had already killed. I'm not the type of person who steals the work of others. It's a different story of that person offends me or is a bad guy though.
###
"Hnng… What…"
Dawn woke up feeling groggy. She found herself lying on the ground in the middle of the forest. She got up while trying to remember what happened before losing consciousness. She looked around and saw another person in the distance. Just as she was about to call out to the familiar figure who had her back turned to her, she remembered what happened.
While fighting for her life against a wolf pack, her arm got badly injured and she had fallen down. When she thought she was going to die, a person had appeared in front of her. Wolves were impaled and crying all around, the scent of their blood slowly filling the air. The one responsible for the horrifying scene slowly turned around and looked at her. The image of that devilish smile she saw back then was imprinted in her head. And the owner of that smile was standing a short distance away from her.
She wanted to run but her legs started shaking uncontrollably.
"So you're awake now."
She heard a gentle voice coming from the person. Hearing it made Dawn think that maybe she wasn't a bad person. She did just save her life after all. She even healed her injury somehow. Her legs started to stop shaking.
"Th… Than-"
She was about the thank the person when they suddenly turned around.
Red. The first thing that came into her mind was that word. Red hair and red eyes. Red hands, red clothes, red splattered all over. It took a second for Dawn to realize that all that red was actually blood. She saw mangled corpses of wolves behind the red person. White rows of teeth were the only thing that wasn't red as that devilish smile showed itself once more. It was at this point that Dawn started to regret ever coming to the forest today.
"KYAAAAAAAA!"
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen Lv. 13
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Class: Half-Magical Creature
Job: - Lv. 13
HP: 10 [32%]
MP: 15 [98%]
STR: 10 (+5)
DEF: 10 (+25)
INT: 17
WILL: 15
SPD: 10
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
Foresight
Shapeshift
Mana Absorption
<
Dissolve
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Camouflage
Sculpting
Detonate
Appraisal Analysis
Lesser Heal
Mana Coating
Cloning
<
Tongue Enhancement