Chapter 14

Pushing those thoughts aside, I walk a few minutes down into the trail before looking around to see if anyone was nearby.

Putting down the backpack onto the green grass, I take off the clothes that were given to me by the village chief.

Stuffing them into the small grey bag, I mobilized my mana around my body into intricate pathways.

Creak.

I could hear my bones shifting around in my body. It was a painful process but I bore with it, face ever unchanging.

Using [ Transformation ] to transform back into my original body, I feel much lighter and less stuffy than before.

Although on the surface, [ Transformation ] was an overpowered skill, it still has some hidden short-term effects.

The first one would be the pain, the trials, and the other was weakness.

Every time one transforms, they would endure unbearable pain.

The trials when unlocking different forms were traumatic.

And being in a new form will bring weakness.

Partly because of the adjustments, another was because mana was used to forcibly change the structure and function of the body.

That was especially true for the Lympha transformation, at that stage, it would be an aquatic beast.

And just imagine forcibly converting your body into that suitable to breathe and swim in the water.

Though I didn't have plans on doing so as of now.

After transforming back into my feral self, I stood on my four legs and moved my tail to wrap around the strap of the bag, having it dangle in the air.

Turning back, I continue to walk on the trail at a moderate speed, onto the nearest village.

---

It had been a few hours of walking, with some breaks in between, and that included some small hunts for food.

Val was resting under the shade of a pretty young tree, that was only about 5ft tall.

She was just finishing a meal that was freshly hunted, a horned rabbit the size of a small dog.

Splatters of blood dotted her silver paws and claws.

Picking up the bag with her tail, Val continues on the trail, that had grown to the size of a two-way road.

The grass was sparse now and tracks of vehicles were more apparent on the ground, though they were faint and old.

Val was walking off to the side when faint thuds vibrated through the ground.

Ears perked up, she quickly ran off into the forest and onto the branches of a tree, the winds move in her favor and pushes her up.

Extending her claws, Val quickly climbs up the tree, tightening her grip on the backpack with her tail.

Just as she melds with the trees' shadow between the leaves, a faint yell enters her ears.

Amber eyes stare in the direction of the noise.

'It's better to wait it out.'

Getting involved in something unnecessary, and sometimes the best thing to do was to mind your own business.

Looping the strap of the bag onto a branch, Val extends her wings and jumps, flapping her wings as the winds around her flow to her favor.

Looking below her, she finds a large brown bear, likely a magical beast.

Farther away was another smaller bear cub, the larger bear was likely its mother.

The mother bear was chasing a male human.

He had grey hair and tanned skin, his face was also pretty handsome, yet he had a disheveled appearance as of now.

But that wasn't the focus of attention, Val was looking at what was displayed above him.

[ Indrid lvl 5 ]

It was something only people with access to the system were able to see.

A player, one of the only players as of now.

And his name was something that Val recognized from her past life, a closed beta player, and the heir to one of the world's largest aristocratic families.

Indrid, real name Aristaeus Kami, eldest heir to the Kami family.

He was the uncrowned king of VANHA, someone who used to be an unknown pro gamer that rose to the throne unknowingly.

'This...'

Val hesitated, if she ignored this and left him be, then there wouldn't be any changes from what she knew in her last life.

But if she intervenes then there would probably be a butterfly effect in future cases.

'But I cannot have this chance slip through my fingers-err... paws.'

Saving Indrid now can have me gain his goodwill, and allow me to interact with the players earlier than planned.

'After all, relying on knowledge from the future too heavily would be bad, it's best to utilize it now before it becomes useless.'

Val died on her 16th birthday, so she had 3 years of future knowledge.

Coming to this conclusion, Val flew closer onto a tree, transforming into her partial humanoid form midway.

Rather than the form she took on from before, Val looked like a 16-year old that was 7 points similar to her past self.

With long and fluffy black and silver hair flowing behind her, large wings extending from her shoulder blades, and sharp amber eyes.

She was 'wearing' clothes that were colored black and white, a white dress that had long sleeves and a tight turtleneck and black stockings.

A black cloak with silvery grey fur lining the top coated her back, it was a simple attire that matched her hair.

The clothes were made of condensed mana, it was maintained using Val's mana but wouldn't take up too much other than the initial usage.

When using transformation magic, physical clothes won't transform.

The reason Val took the shirt from the unnamed village before was mainly because she was sure that they would replace her clothes later.

Bright sunlight shone from behind her, casing a shadow that loomed over the two figures below her.

The large bear was very close to Indrid, its jaws were open wide and aimed at the players head.

Indrid had already closed his eyes, he looked exhausted and worn out, which was probably the result of some earlier activities.

Space slightly distorted around Val as her descent quickens before she lands on the mother bear's head, directly slamming it onto the ground.

The earth shook, and small pebbles jumped at the sudden vibration, dust fogged the air for a few seconds before calming back down.

Thud.

Indrids' black eyes opened widely, as he stumbles backward from the impact.

He looked at the beautiful youth before him, jaws agape before snapping back out of it, closing his mouth.

Standing up straight with hands to his side, he bows and looks at the ground with nervous eyes.

"Th-thank you!"

Stammering, the player sincerely thanks the person who had just saved him.

"Mn."

Val only hums in response, stepping off the bears' head and using her status as a primordial, scaring it off.

Indrid could only look up in awe, as the bear who had once been chasing him with fierce eyes was seen whimpering as it ran off as though its life was on the line.

Turning his attention to the youth dressed in white, he opened his mouth, wanting to know why she spared the bear.

As though already knowing of his intentions, Val had already begun to explain her intentions.

"The bear was only trying to protect its child."

Indrid looked at the younger female, only now did he notice her amber-red eyes with white pupils

The pressure that was radiating off of Val was immense and heavy, Indrid dare not say anything else which caused an awkward silence to loom in the air.

Val, only noticing the oppressive aura that was leaking from her, recalled it.

The pressure immediately dissipated, making it as though the feeling from before was all a fragment of ones imagination, though Indrid knew that the feeling from before was real.

'It felt like I was facing a god'

Indrid was sweating profusely, the hunting, running, and near death had exhausted him and his vision was getting blurry.

Stumbling a bit, he opens him mouth, attempting to say something to the youth before him.

Though the words never got out, as he had long passed out on the ground before him.

'...This will be troublesome.'

Val could only sigh and utilized a small amount of the mana which layed dormant in her body to carry the unconscious player.