4 - Killing Wolves!

Tang Han didn't descend from the tree immediately.

He felt a blazing gust of wind rushing toward him at lightning speed!

Instinctively, Tang Han reacted in the blink of an eye, using [Instant Agility] to leap away from the tree!

"Boom!!"

A fireball exploded where he had just been standing on the tree, turning the branches into a burning mass slowly cascading toward the ground. Black smoke rose into the air, and the scent of charred wood filled his sharp nose.

'A fire attack?!'

He was stunned for a moment but quickly moved toward a nearby elevated rock, his golden eyes scanning the surroundings carefully. In his line of sight, three dark gray wolves appeared, their glowing red eyes locked on him with focused attention, as if weighing their next steps carefully. Their cold breaths condensed into steam under the sunlight.

But what caught his attention the most was the wolf in the center… Its mouth was still releasing smoke after launching the fireball!

'Three wolves and the one in the middle has fire a skill? To think something like this exists... This isn't good…'

'He might be the alpha among them, making him stronger, but that doesn't mean the other two don't have it too…'

'And there are three wolves.'

'My strongest advantage is my high Agility and movement, not to mention [Instant Agility], followed by my offensive Attack.'

'I have 8 attack points, and my [Cat's Claw] has already reached Lvl4.'

Tang Han didn't move immediately. Instead, he calmed himself. He wasn't afraid. In fact, his blood was boiling with excitement.

'Let's fight!'

He summoned the system screen, adding the stat point he had earned from striking the tree earlier to "Stamina." This increased his health by 5 points automatically!

[You've added 1 stats point to "Stamina"!]

'I'll level up at least 3 levels before the day ends...'

'I'll start with these wolves!'

Tang Han's eyes gleamed with fierce light. He was about to look for an opponent, but they had come to him instead. He was pleased!

It was amusing to think of it, with his cat body, compared to the size of these wolves that were three times his size. Did they think he was a tiger?

Tang Han extended his claws, which had healed on their own with the increased skill level, now stronger and gleaming with a fierce shine!

"Whoosh!"

'I need to end this quickly!'

Tang Han wasn't oblivious to the danger or afraid of the wolves. What worried him was the spread of fire!

"Growl..."

The wolves split immediately: one moved to the right, another to the left, while the one with the fire skill stayed in the middle, its glowing red eyes tracking Tang Han intently.

'Trying to corner me? Not bad.'

"Awooo!"

A low howl echoed as if the wolves were communicating. They moved like an organized unit, forming a half-circle around Tang Han, each one moving with caution.

The wolf on the right growled low, while the one in the middle was crouched, seemingly ready to attack. The third wolf circled carefully around Tang Han as if trying to distract him.

Tang Han felt the urge to laugh.

'What level of cooperation and intelligence is this? Impressive!'

Suddenly, the temperature around him rose. The wolf at the front opened its mouth, small flames dancing inside it.

"Whoosh!"

'About 20 seconds... very good, that's the time needed to recharge the fireball, huh?'

Tang Han had anticipated this attack and darted forward faster than the alpha wolf could predict!

He veered away from the incoming flaming fireball that sped toward him, hitting a tree behind him and turning it into a blazing inferno.

[Instant Agility!]

"Whoosh!"

The second wolf on his right shot toward him, taking advantage of Tang Han's sidestep to strike. Its sharp claws aimed to tear into his small body, but Tang Han leaped high at the last moment, using a nearby branch to pivot above the wolf's head with high agility, before landing his claws on its back!

"Craack!"

His claws tore through the wolf's fur, leaving a deep wound as blood gushed out. But it wasn't lethal. The wolf howled in anger and quickly retreated, regrouping with the others.

'At this level? Unexpected, my claws only without any skills have this much power?'

This strike was a test from Tang Han, to assess his raw offensive strength without using [Cat's Claw], and he was somewhat surprised.

'Very good, that means my instincts were right… these wolves aren't a threat.'

Suddenly, the alpha wolf launched another fireball!

[Instant Agility!]

"Boom!"

The fireball barely hit Tang Han's shadow before it realized, and the alpha wolf saw Tang Han appear below it!

"Swish!"

[Cat's Claw!]

In the blink of an eye, Tang Han lunged at the alpha wolf, his right claw embedding into its neck with deadly precision. The wolf howled in pain, but Tang Han didn't give it a chance to escape. He dug his claws deeper, feeling the bone crack under his grip. After a moment, it fell motionless.

'The first one's down.'

The remaining two wolves didn't give Tang Han a chance to rest. They quickly surrounded him. The second one on his left growled with hate-filled eyes, while the third one raised its mouth, sparks gathering inside, like a furnace!

'Hmm? Even it can use fireballs?'

Tang Han wasn't surprised by that and scoffed inwardly. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and he grinned wickedly.

[Instant Agility!]

Before the second wolf could react, Tang Han disappeared from its sight, reappearing beside the wolf with the fireball. The cat smirked and leaped!

The fireball was ready to be launched, aimed at Tang Han's previous position. The wolves had positioned themselves to trap him.

[Cat's Claw!]

Before the wolf could release the fireball, it felt a burning sensation in its mouth as Tang Han's claws cut deeply into it, causing the wolf to raise its mouth slightly higher than intended!

"Whoosh!"

The fireball flew from the wolf's mouth directly at its companion!

"Awoo!!!"

"Awooo!!!!"

The wolves howled in distress before the orange flames engulfed the second wolf, turning it into a blazing tree-like figure behind it, releasing the smell of burning flesh that disturbed Tang Han.

'Ah, sorry, but I just wanted to try it...'

'Oh well, it doesn't matter. Rest in peace!'

Tang Han, mercifully, didn't give the wolf a chance to mourn its companion. He drove his claws deeper before the wolf fell, lifeless.

"Whoosh!"

[Instant Agility!]

Tang Han didn't hesitate and quickly left the scene. He feared the fire might spread and consume him as well — that would have been unfortunate. After two minutes, he lay exhausted on a tree branch.

He opened the system screens that had been persistently bothering him.

[Your "Instant Agility" skill has leveled up!]

[You've acquired the skill "Ignition"!]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've gained 4 stat points!]

Tang Han nodded to himself before summoning his [Status].

Name: Tang Han

Level: 4

Type: Ming Forest Cat (Common)

Class: None

Attribute: (Perception), (Wisdom)

Health: 60/60

Qi: 13/5

[Stats]

Attack: 8

Defense: 4

Intelligence: 6

Agility: 11

Stamina: 6

Stat Points: 4

[Skills]

Passive Skills:

- Life Steal

- Assassin's Sense

Active Skills:

- Cat's Claw (Lv4)

- Instant Agility (Lv2)

- Ignition (Lv1)

The [Ignition] skill was an unexpected reward for killing wolves, and of course, Tang Han was happy with it!

[Ignition]

Level: 1

Description:

An active skill that allows the user to generate flames within a 5-meter radius of the user. The duration depends on the size of the flames.

Consumption: 5 Qi points per use.

Tang Han was speechless.

'Oh, god...'

'This skill isn't the common "Fireball"! Generating flames anywhere within my range? Heh, this is cheating! Cann't I just generate them in my enemy's face?'

'Good, good!'

'It's an excellent trump card!'

'And most importantly, I can cook now!'

"Grrr..."

Thinking about cooking, Tang Han's stomach couldn't help but growl loudly.

He was hungry and tired.

He hadn't eaten any breakfast, and the continuous use of [Instant Agility] while moving through the forest and fighting the wolves had drained him.

'Unfortunately, I had to change my place...what a stinky smell there.'

Tang Han sighed inwardly.

He quickly moved, and a few minutes later, his [Assassin's Sense] skill were activated!

He frowned deeply, very annoyed.

'What now?'

He stopped, moving quietly, looking around. The wind was calm, and the surrounding grass and trees appeared normal. Unlike the previous time, there were no wolves. Tang Han looked intently, sensing something was off when he saw slight vibrations in the air in front of him.

'Oh?'

Tang Han felt strange. Suddenly, he focused on the vibrations and realized: he found a hidden snake right in front of him!

'I see, my ability to sense those vibrations of Qi is thanks to my "Perception" attribute... I remember it's related to understanding the environment and gathering information.'

'Hehe, bad luck for you, snake.'

The concealed snake was slithering slowly toward him, unaware that Tang Han already knew of its presence!

'But... wouldn't it be a waste to kill it?'

This forest was fascinating. Counting him, this was the third monster with a magical ability.

'How could I get its skill? Or even mimic it? I don't think the system will make that difficult...'

As a former assassin, this "hidden" ability was very seductive for him.