Chapter 8: Leveling

After his fight with the 'stray', Red didn't immediately continue to the wolf's area.

Squatting down, he searched for a stone with a pointy end. Putting it in between his thighs, he brought out the wolf hide and scratched it on the surface of the rock. Time passed and in his hand are now two pieces of wolf hide.

He used them to cover his biceps and forearms, avoiding the elbow to not hinder his hand's mobility.

Patting his makeshift armor, Red nodded and pressed forward toward his objective.

When he was only meters away from there, he stopped and surveyed the surrounding trees. Picking one with the lowest elevation, Red didn't hesitate to scale it. Stabilizing his footing, he took out snake meat from his bag and hurled it on the edge of the wolf's zone.

Suddenly, the sounds of leaves crunching could be heard. Ahead of him, a creature with furs all over its body was using its nose in search of something. It caught sight of the meat on the ground and warily approached the delicacy.

When it reached the meat, it didn't forget to gaze to its left and right before slowly opening its mouth. Unfortunately, it didn't take into account that an enemy could appear on top of it.

Chewing sounds resounded as the wolf gobbled the meat of unknown origin. As it was in the process of swallowing, it heard a 'Whoosh' before it felt a solid object kissing its head.

Red didn't have to spend so much time finishing the wolf. Because of his intervention, the wolf choked on its food causing it to be unable to offer any resistance.

Red repeated his modus operandi until he leveled up to 3 and ran out of snake meat. Using the stone he found on the way, he cut all the hides he obtained into equal portions. Climbing down from the tree, he didn't immediately head deeper into the forest instead he stayed on the fringes hoping to spot lone wolfs.

Red was not disappointed, he managed to notice 5 wolves and finished them off with the price of his original and another makeshift armor. When he couldn't find any more wolves, he braced himself and slowly made his way inside.

After some time, Red halted and hurriedly hid his body behind a tree. He didn't imagine his luck to be so poor. The first three wolves he encountered were in a group.

Noticing an unfamiliar smell, the wolf on the forefront used its head to signal his companions. They disperse as two members cover the left and right while the wolf that issued the command watched its kind for some time before slowly pushing forward himself.

Peeking from behind the tree, Red's lips twitched. He took a glance at his equipment before taking a deep breath and climbing the tree guardedly. Attacks performed from higher elevations would deal more damage and had an additional chance of inflicting a debuff when they hit an enemy's weak spot.

With their enhanced sense of smell, the wolves would be able to pinpoint his location sooner or later. When that happened he would be forced to fight a 1v3. Instead of that scenario, Red would very much prefer to seize the time when they disperse to wipe off the floor with one of them.

Red bide his time as he watched the distance between each wolf increase. Noting that they reached the maximum distance, Red didn't dally and exerted force from his feet.

Even with the wolf knowing that someone sneaked into its territory, it wasn't able to predict the angle from which the intruder would come.

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Stunned, the wolf watched in horror as Red was about to deliver the final blow. Unfortunately, the wolf's companion already reacted and pounced on him. If he continues his attack he would be able to effectively make the fight into a 1v2, however, doing so would make him suffer two attacks.

In the end, the wooden club didn't stop its descent as it viciously turned the middle wolf into specks of light.

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"Argh" Letting go of his weapon, Red used his right hand to grab at the wolf on his left. Grasping its neck, he yanked it and hurled it on the ground.

Not wanting it to get away, Red followed up with a series of kicks.

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"Tsk"

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The last wolf, witnessing the fate of its companion tucked its tail and fled. Seeing the wolf disappear from his sight, Red shooked his head and didn't bother to follow.

First of all, he already achieved his goal by surviving the potential danger. Secondly, he's not as fast as the wolf as he put all of his stats on strength. Lastly, the moon is already setting down on the horizon.

In Overworld, monsters in the wild would gain a buff at night. Coupled with lower visibility due to darkness, few would choose to farm monsters at this time.

Climbing another tree, Red used his spare hide to make a crude rope. Using it he tied his body to the three ensuring that he won't fall no matter how much he moves his body. Afterward, he opened the system panel and chose to sleep.