Battle with shadow wolves (1)

"Grawl, Grawl, Grawl."

A pack of four wolves moved towards Mark's beacon, after sensing the presence of weak prey.

The unharvested herbs cushioned their steps and made it hard for Mark to figure out where they would appear as they snuck up on him from behind.

Mark moved closer to the trunk of the tree, his back against it as he held the dual daggers.

After the crafting was successful, the claws had taken a new form. They were smoother and narrower at the edge, still slightly curved with a pointed tip that looked as if it could easily puncture a hole in someone's body.

Its hilt was made out of the wood Mark merged with it and looked a bit sturdy but not unbreakable.

It was as plain as plain could be, with no markings or patterns adorning it.

Mark had them by his side, trying not to give the creatures any angle to spot him as he strategized.

He looked at his new weapon, appraising their status as the system spoke out.

{Forest Rabbit's Dagger}

[Attack: 5-8]

{Durability: 50}

"Durability? That wasn't there before," he muttered under his breath as the system replied.

(The game is still in its development stage. Hence, new features are and will be added up until the official release date.)

This puzzled Mark even more, pushing him to inquire.

"Why, is this a demo?"

(No, player entered the game through early access. The completed Level 1 will be released two weeks from now: in-game time.)

Mark still wasn't satisfied with the system's reply but ended his inquiries, as he knew that wasn't the most important thing yet. As long as he could pay off his debt, even if it was a demo, he was cool.

"Well, at least these weapons are stronger than my actual strength and wooden sword. But after fifty strikes, they'll be gone. I just have to finish before then."

He thought as he noticed the wolves finally leaving the herb field. Their footsteps were shallow, almost impossible to hear even though they were in the dusty and rough part of the field that was created by his harvest.

But Mark could track them since he had learned tracking skills back in the real world. After getting into range, he slightly pulled out his head to look at one of the wolves, his appraisal skill still active as the info was spoken out to him.

{Name: Shadow Wolve}

{Level: 12}

{HP: 70/70}

{Reward}

(12 EXP)

(5 Dollars)

Mark was startled by the info he had gotten, as he checked his own HP.

{HP: 58/58}

{MP: 38/38}

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he thought he would be short on HP, forgetting the hours he spent harvesting.

His sigh, one that he himself could barely hear, alerted the wolves, as their ears twitched, shifting their gaze to Mark's location and spotting him in an instant.

Knowing his current hiding spot wasn't convenient for a battle, he quickly moved out into the open. He shifted his gaze from wolf to wolf, strictly monitoring their every move.

There was one on the right, with the rest of them on his left. They remained calm, seemingly not rushing to attack, which got Mark puzzled.

Knowing it would be better to take out the one who stood alone, he moved closer to it, walking with shallow steps, seemingly not trying to startle the predator who was already aware of his actions.

As he moved closer, the jaw of the wolf could be seen loosening, but not feeling intimidated by it, he still proceeded with his actions.

He constantly flashed glances at the three behind him, trying to prevent any sudden attacks.

After reaching about one-third of a meter close to the wolf, the ones behind him howled simultaneously, their actions being a distraction. Mark, who was oblivious to this, shifted his gaze to them, seeing that they were not preparing for an attack.

He realized it instantly and shifted his gaze back to the one in front of him but noticed it was gone. Increasing his guard to the max, he began to rapidly shift his gaze around all angles, seemingly no longer caring about the other three as they moved back, seemingly giving space for their alpha to battle.

The wolf jumped out of the blue, pouncing on Mark and sending its jaws straight for the kill as it aimed for his neck.

Mark noticed he was a goner if he didn't act quickly, as his reflexes kicked in. Out of his split-second struggle, he pulled out his dagger, slashing the face of the wolf. His attack managed to change the wolf's aim as it bit his shoulder.

{Enemy HP: 64/70}

{Player HP: 23/58}

Mark was frightened in that instant, as he knew it might have been an instant kill if it had gotten his neck.

The pain he felt was nothing like he'd ever felt, as he almost cried. He lost strength in that instant and fell flat on the ground, enduring it and waiting for it to die down. As he waited, he remembered his critical hit skill.

The wolf didn't seem prepared to let him go. As the pain vanished after a few seconds, he raised his dagger from the ground and aimed his second attack at its eyes. Landing a precise hit and taking out one of its eyes, he thought it would deal an instant kill.

The wolf released Mark, moving a few steps away, and shook its head vigorously, trying to endure the pain of losing its eye.

Mark stood to his feet, placing his hand on his shoulder as he could feel some amount of pain due to the wolf letting him go.

As the wolf still suffered, it let out a growl, alerting the others who were seemingly on standby to attack.

{Enemy HP: 56/70}

{Player HP: 24/58}

"Why isn't it dead yet?" Mark asked as he turned to look at the other wolves who were dashing towards him at incredible speeds.

{Crafter's Skill}

{Available Craft}

[Skill Craft]

{Critical Appraisal}

(Craft)

"Craft," Mark muttered as he positioned his daggers, ready for another battle. He felt a sharp pain in his eyes that lasted for a second, causing him to blink several times. As he opened his eyes after the final blink, he saw red lines drawn over the creatures at specific places, all of them bearing the same outline as they reached arm's length.

"Nice," Mark muttered, ready to wrap up the battle.