Chapter 4: The Three-Eyed Mahawolf
Chapter 4:
The Three-Eyed Mahawolf
Part 1
THE NEXT DAY, I resolved to go out hunting with the black lizard. Honestly, I just wanted to make pots and statues with the potter orangurang, but the black lizard had attached itself to me ever since I woke up this morning, refusing to leave my side.
It must’ve been feeling neglected with me spending so much time with the orangurangs. Hopefully, a good hunt would relieve some of its boredom.
For myself, I was hoping for the experience to evolve, of course, but more than that I wanted additional materials for home improvement.
“Kssh…” The black lizard didn’t seem too thrilled, honestly. It seemed kind of annoyed. Did I screw something up? The orangurangs seemed pretty happy.
“Ah-ah, ah-ooh!”
“Ahh-ooh!”
“Ahhhhh-oh!”
“Ah, oh!”
They carried the shovels and hammer, walking enthusiastically behind us. They were very excited to be using tools, swinging them around wildly as they scanned the forest for monsters.
I checked View Status—the shovel’s Attack power was +18 and the hammer’s was +28. A 28-point attack boost was a lot, almost three times more than the orangurangs’ base stats.
I attempted to swing the shovel myself, but it only got in the way of my attack. I’d stick to fighting with my bare hands and leave the tools to the primates.
I couldn’t wait to see them go wild with those things.
“Kssh…” The black lizard let out an angry cry and looked up at the sky. Was something wrong? I wished we could communicate with words.
We plodded along the path, picking off monsters and introducing the orangurangs to valuable plants. I was glad to have the monkeys around—there really was power in numbers. They could whack off a graywolf’s head with one swing of the shovel. It was barbaric. The spoils were great, of course, but since I didn’t have to lift a finger I wasn’t getting any experience points.
Wow, I need to make a basket out of branches or something. My hands get full so quickly.
I continued gathering plants, and by the time we started heading back I didn’t have a scratch on me. All this hunting and no experience to show for it.
The black lizard wasn’t going to the trouble of hiding its annoyance and kept glaring at me. It clearly hated this situation. Next time I’d make the monkeys stay home so we could go out on our own.
I had just turned toward the cave when I heard faint screams in the distance. Like someone calling for help.
I’d heard that voice somewhere before… Was it Myria? Had she come back to the forest? But why? She hadn’t seemed too thrilled about it last time she was here. I wanted to go help her, but if I showed up with a bunch of heavily armed wild orangurangs and the black lizard, I had a feeling things would devolve into an all-out war.
They were smart enough to do what I asked them to, but if we were attacked I doubted they’d be able to hold themselves back. I needed to go alone.
If it was only Myria, I wouldn’t need to worry about an attack, but there was no way to confirm she was alone. Besides, I looked different from when she saw me last. My baby dragon form probably stirred some sort of maternal instinct in her or something. But now I was a legit monster. I doubted she’d even recognize me as the small, cute dragon she knew.
“Raar!”
I let out a roar and ran towards the screams. The orangurangs jumped to follow behind me.
“Raaaar!!”
They stopped in their tracks. I turned and pointed towards the cave.
“A-ahh!” They definitely didn’t understand my reasoning, but they still followed my instructions.
“Kssh!” On the other hand, the black lizard didn’t stop. It was far more intelligent than the orangurangs, and I figured it would suss out what I wanted immediately. But I didn’t have time to convince it to leave. Myria could be killed and eaten by a monster by then.
I used Roll to pick up speed, attempting to leave the black lizard behind. But it used Roll and chased after me.
Ugh, come on! I don’t have time to race with you right now!
Chances were it couldn’t keep up with me over this terrain.
“Kssh! Ksssshh!”
It wasn’t as fast as me, but I also wasn’t pulling very far ahead, no matter how well I knew the terrain, how fast I could change speed, or our differences in technique. Man, if it kept going at this rate, it was going to crash right into a tree.
I swung wildly to the left and right, trying to fake it out. I chose the most difficult route and launched myself into the air.
The black lizard was not expecting that and crashed into a rock. It fell out of Roll and hit the ground hard.
“Kssh… Kssh…”
I stopped Roll and ran over to the lizard. “Raar!”
“Kssh…”
The black lizard let out a weak cry, but it had plenty of HP left.
Myria screamed again. I couldn’t stay here any longer. Myria’s voice was the only one I heard. She was either alone or her companions were unconscious. With her stats she couldn’t even take on a graywolf by herself. She was a healer, and she wasn’t that fast, either.
I rubbed the black lizard’s back, trying to impart my apology, then blasted off in the direction of the screams.
Guilt racked me as I ran. I’m doing the right thing, aren’t I? If I brought another monster to save a human, it would complicate things.
The black lizard was mildly injured, while Myria might be dying. This wasn’t even a contest—the latter needed me way more than the former.
Going alone was the only foolproof way to avoid misunderstandings. If Myria got spooked and attacked me, I could deal with it. Hey, if I were a human and a dragon came up to me, I’m sure I would react badly, too.
But the orangurangs and the black lizard…if someone threatened them, they would fight back the same way they’d fight any other monster. I couldn’t realistically ask them to go against their natures and take damage. And I knew from experience what happened when a monster tried to peacefully approach humans—it could end extremely badly. I had to go alone.
As decisions went, it was pretty small-scale. But it alluded to a whole other issue—I couldn’t keep sitting on the fence between humans and monsters forever.
What did I want to do? Did I still want to become human? Or was I satisfied with the way my life was now?
Title Skill “Itty-Bitty Hero” Lv 2 has become Lv 3.
Title Skill “Wrongdoer” Lv 3 has become Lv 4.
A message from the Divine Voice filled my head, interrupting my thoughts…almost like it was taunting me. Really classy, as usual.
Should I cast away all human ties and live my life as a monster? Or could I really keep living halfway between? Well, I wasn’t going to come up with an answer right now, so I cleared my head and ran towards Myria’s voice.
Part 2
MYRIA’S SCREAMS came from across the chasm. I sped up Roll and used Fly to get enough air, and then used a blast of Baby’s Breath to launch myself to the other side.
I found her as soon as I landed. The chestnut-haired girl was surrounded by four wolves. Her clothes were torn, but luckily none of her injuries looked fatal.
I doubted she went looking for a fight; these wolves must have ambushed her. They were covered in tough, blue fur and boasted a third eye on their foreheads. They were much bigger than graywolves, although their stance and bearing made me wonder if they were an evolved form.
Mahawolf: Rank D. These wolves are able to share information gathered from their third eye with members of the same species nearby. They use this power to hunt prey more efficiently.
Since it was a weaker D rank monster, I figured I could manage on my own. But the Divine Voice’s explanation made it sound like they could call allies in very easily. I went ahead and did a status check.
Normal Skill “View Status” Lv 5 is unable to provide complete information.
Huh?
Species: Mahawolf
Condition: ****
Lv: 9/28
HP: 58/58
MP: 35/35
Attack: 52
Defense: 31
Magic: 63
Agility: 62
Rank: D-
Special Skills:
Group Attack: Lv —
Third Eye: Lv —
Magic Energy Transmission: Lv 2
Magic Energy Reception: Lv 2
Resistance Skills:
Earth Resistance: Lv 2
Paralysis Resistance: Lv 2
Normal Skills:
Bite: Lv 2
Piercing Gaze: Lv 2
Fire Nails: Lv 1
Title Skills:
Savage: Lv 2
Wh-what was that status condition?! Did the third eye have something to do with it? Their stats were lower than the orangurangs’, but that hidden status condition made me nervous. It filled me with a sense of déjà vu. Had I seen a status like this before?
I didn’t have time to hesitate.
“Raaaaaaaar!” I roared loudly, drawing the mahawolves’ attention. Myria’s face crumpled with hopelessness when she saw me, all the color draining out of her right down to her lips. Her big eyes grew even bigger with alarm.
“Ιατί συνέβη αυτό.”
Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire. I was prepared for her fear, but it still hurt. She trembled as I approached, taking a clumsy step backwards.
Aw, come on. You don’t have to be afraid!
“Awoooo!” The four mahawolves turned on me.
I let loose a burst of Baby’s Breath, and the two lead wolves couldn’t evade it in time. They ate the gust of fiery wind right in their faces.
“Oooh!”
“Grooowoo!”
They howled and writhed in pain, struggling to escape the fire. Both of their status conditions showed Burned. The other two wolves split up and ran to either side to avoid the attack. Now they closed in on me, attacking from two directions.
“Awoo!” The mahawolves each tried a bite attack, but I blocked with my wings, unfurling them swiftly to send them flying with the back draft. They hit the ground, then scrambled back up and scampered away. I wanted to chase them down, but there was really no point. I’d been afraid they would call in allies, but if they were going to, they would have done it already.
Instead, I focused on the two weakened by Baby’s Breath. I tore into their necks with my claws, delivering the final blows.
Gained 36 Experience Points.
Title Skill “Walking Egg” Lv — activated: gained 36 Experience Points.
Young Plague Dragon Lv 39 has become Lv 40.
Young Plague Dragon has achieved MAX Lv.
Evolution Requirements have been fulfilled.
Ahh, finally. If only I’d leveled a little sooner, Myria wouldn’t have to see me like this. She’s out of danger now, though, so maybe I should just leave? On second thought, there are way more monsters out here that would love a bite. I’m not even sure what she’s doing in the woods. Maybe I should escort her back to the village. If I just evolved, I could be less intimidating.
As I racked my brain, Myria stared at me. “Προηγούμενο…?” She was frightened, but after I took care of the wolves and made no move to attack, she seemed to realize I had saved her. She stood, legs trembling, and reached out to me with both arms.
Huh? What’s going on?
That gesture…I remembered it from somewhere. Was she imitating what I did the first time we met? Back when I was a baby dragon, I was so happy when I saw humans again for the first time that I stretched my arms out and waved at them.
Does she recognize me?
She looked uncertain, though. I’d changed a lot since then. But maybe, just maybe, she was starting to remember.
“R-raar…” Myria imitated my cry.
I raised my hands and waved at her.
Her face sparkled, and she threw her arms around my stomach. “Ευχαριστώ για τη βοήθεια!”
H-hey!
I was so startled by her hug that I just stood there and took it. I wondered if she only saw me as an animal. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but a girl hugging me suddenly made me feel a bit shy.
Still, what was she doing out here in the forest all alone? I thought about taking her back to the village…no, I didn’t want to cause a commotion and make trouble for Myria. I would just take her as close as I could safely manage.
I turned towards the cliff, remembering the injured black lizard. Its wounds weren’t serious, but it hurt my heart to think that I’d just left it there.
I needed to check on it and apologize…and soon. I considered doing it before I even took Myria back to her village, but I just couldn’t leave her in the forest alone. There was no way to take her back across the chasm with me and also no guarantee the black lizard and the orangurangs wouldn’t attack her. I didn’t know if she’d come alone or gotten separated from some other humans. I should start by asking her what happened.
Even though its level was at rock bottom, I did have the skill Grecian Language. Maybe if I tried really hard, I’d be able to make her understand.
“Ra—”
“Awoooo!”
The mahawolves’ howl drowned out my voice.
Five of them appeared out of the trees, their average level collectively higher than the last group. I could beat them, but it would put Myria at risk. I needed to run from this battle.
“Raar!”
I hunkered down and gestured for Myria to climb on my back.
Part 3
I RAN THROUGH the forest, hunched over slightly so that Myria wouldn’t slide off. I was afraid to go too fast, but if I didn’t speed up we’d never outrun the mahawolves.
“Awoo!”
“Graaaooo!”
Dang it! Now there’s six of them!
The new ones must have joined up with the group already chasing us. At this rate, their numbers would just keep growing. I had to shake them as soon as possible. Why were they so intent on chasing me in the first place?
I’d already showed them what I was capable of. Still, they didn’t bring any bigger, stronger wolves; they were all around the same strength. It didn’t make sense. Even graywolves weren’t this dense. They’d keep attacking, I was sure, but as soon as I killed one, the rest would scatter. Did it have something to do with that weird status condition?
Are they excited? Confused?
If I couldn’t even access the information with Lv 5 Divine Voice, it had to be an incredibly strong skill. Maybe something to do with that special skill “Magic Energy Reception.” I didn’t like the sound of that. I was worried they’d use it to call in a really terrible boss or something.
Maybe I should stash Myria somewhere safe and go hunt down this boss? But if it was watching me with their Shared Sight ability, it wouldn’t matter how much I searched. I wouldn’t be able to find it if it didn’t want me to.
“Πίσω!” Myria shouted something. The mahawolves were running faster, closing in on us.
Uh-oh, I got distracted. I needed to put aside all the questions for now and figure out how to handle these guys.
“Raar!” Hang on!
I roared and felt Myria tighten her grip around my shoulders. I pulled away from the mahawolves in a burst of speed, Myria clinging on. I couldn’t keep going this fast—she’d fall off, and I needed to conserve my stamina in case of an attack. If I couldn’t shake them, I’d have to fight them.
I spotted a small cave up ahead. Perfect—this would stop them from surrounding us.
“Είναι ένα αδιέξοδο…?” Myria whispered something into my ear, anxious.
“Raaar!” I tried to roar reassuringly as I sped into the cave. Once inside, I slowed and set her gently down in the corner. Then I turned to prepare my counterattack.
The cave was a little dim, though not deep enough to be completely dark, and my eyes adjusted quickly. This was an ideal arena. As long as I prevented the mahawolves from sneaking past me, Myria would be safe.
“Gaaaar!”
The mahawolves howled. They were here.
“Raaaar!” I ran back and forth in the cave’s opening, flapping my wings, hovering just a little off the ground. My wingtips almost touched the cave walls. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it would be hard for them to get past me.
I curled up my wings and charged, plowing into three of the mahawolves at once.
“Grooo!” They screamed as they were flung into the ceiling and walls. I made a sharp turn, whipping my tail into the remaining three. One of them tried to stand, so I slashed its neck with my claws, raised its body above my head, and slammed it to the ground.
In no time at all, six mahawolves lay dead on the cave floor.
Cannot gain experience points at MAX Lv.
Well, that was a waste. I wished I’d evolved first, although I knew I shouldn’t decide rashly or I’d regret it for the rest of my life. In the heat of the battle, I might’ve gotten frustrated and gone with whatever instead of thinking strategically. No experience is worth that kind of mistake.
I crept toward the entrance of the cave. I didn’t sense any other monsters out there, but I wanted to be sure.
The forest was deserted. The danger had passed.
Still, something felt weird. Why did they track me down like that? And what was that blurred-out status condition they all had? I was probably overanalyzing the whole thing, honestly. Most likely they just wanted vengeance for their fallen comrades.
Should I search for a potential mahawolf boss or take Myria back to the village? If she was being targeted, she would be safest at home. I had no idea what was going on with her, but I needed to find out. She might know something about the mahawolves.
I’d ask her to explain it to me simply enough that I could understand it with Grecian Language Lv 1. I checked outside one more time to make sure we were safe before returning to the cave.
Before I did anything, though, I wanted to check my evolution paths. I needed to know if there were any potentially life-saving special skills among the options. I didn’t want to make a hasty decision, but this was a bizarre situation.
Part 4
THROUGH THE GLOOM of the cave I could faintly see Myria fidgeting. She took a step and promptly ran into the wall, hitting her head and falling down. Could she not see in here at all?
I could see all right… Maybe dragon eyes worked different from human ones? Well, that wasn’t important right now—I could ponder the difference between humans and dragons later. I hoped the place wasn’t so dim that we’d missed any threats, but that probably wasn’t worth worrying about.
All right, Divine Voice. Hit me. Show me my evolution options.
Text filled my head.
Display Evolution Options?
Yeah, go ahead.
Future:
Jormungand Rank C+
Little Arc Dragon Rank C
Artificial Dragon Rank C-
Rolling Dragon Rank C-
Dark Drago-human Rank —
Present:
Young Plague Dragon Rank D+
Past:
Baby Dragon Rank D-
Dragon Egg Rank F
So I had five evolution options this time? And no Plague Dragon? Not that that was a bad thing.
All right then, let’s check them out in reverse order.
Dark Drago-human: Rank —. Low-ranking dragon-human. Not a monster but a demi-human. Its body is covered in black scales.
What? A demi-human? I wasn’t even sure what that meant, but it is a human, right? If I were a dragon/human hybrid, I wouldn’t have to use Human Transformation to speak to people or get shot with arrows when I go to town!
Hang on a second. This is the Divine Voice that we’re talking about. It must be some sort of trap. I really shouldn’t be cynical, though, or I’ll never get anywhere. But still…Well, I had a lot of thoughts on the matter, but I might as well check the rest.
Rolling Dragon: Rank C-. A dragon whose strength lies in its speed. So fast it can’t be seen by the average person. The speedster of the dragon world.
Speed, huh? That must have to do with Roll. Hah, right, it says right there in the name.
I did like using Roll, but not that much. Although now that I thought about it, my speed always was my greatest asset in battle. Even the Giant Orangurang abandoned all its other skills in favor of boosting its speed. So I guessed it was pretty valuable.
So yeah, I’d used Roll an awful lot to get to this point, but I wasn’t sure I wanted it to be the skill I centered my whole life around.
Artificial Dragon: Rank C-. A dragon that possesses six dexterous arms. Has a mask-like shell on its face that offers protection from attacks to its head. Its true stats are low, but unlike most dragons, it can wield weapons.
Dexterous hands…hmm. That would come in real handy when I was crafting. I knew how much weapons could help in a fight thanks to the orangurangs, and the thought of wielding a different weapon in each of my six hands sounded epic.
But I wasn’t going to lie, the thought of gaining two entire new sets of limbs was a bit unsettling. That was a bit of a deal breaker. Though I’d take it over growing a whole new head like the twinheads.
Little Arc Dragon: Rank C. A Light-type Dragon. Possesses extremely high intelligence and can skillfully use both white and light magic. Legend has it that long ago, heroes rode on Little Arc Dragons to travel.
If I remembered right, Little types were strong but didn’t have much room for growth.
But if there were legends about heroes riding them, did that mean people revered them?
That might not be too bad. And I’d love to have white magic—I’m guessing that means recovery magic, right? I’m surprised something good like a light dragon would show up as an option for a Young Plague Dragon, though. It sounds like the complete opposite.
Was it because I leveled up Itty-Bitty Hero?
Jormungand: Rank C+. Also known as the Poison Serpentine Dragon. Resembles a thick snake with scales covered in deadly poison. Its combat ability is low, but it is said that any foe it faces will die of poison. The poison it excretes can form an independent monster that the Jormungand can control. Any patch of ground touched by this monster turns barren.
Wow, that sucked. Another bad draw. A chaser to the Young Plague Dragon, obviously. The Jormungand sounded way worse, the very epitome of evil.
So Artificial Dragon is out, and Jormungand isn’t even in the running. I don’t wanna be some poison-bomb dragon, or a snake for that matter. What’s so C+ about it, anyway? Who the heck would choose this?
So I’m considering the Rolling Dragon or the Little Arc Dragon. That last one sounds best, except for the fact that its growth stops there. And then there’s the temptation of human form and the Dark Drago-human… It was difficult to imagine evolving as a human, but maybe once I did it, the Dark Drago-human would be the final form?
Would the black lizard still like me if I became a human? If I lived in the human village, visiting the lizard would be complicated. It might just leave me altogether.
I was so deep in thought I almost walked right into the cave wall. Whoa, that was close. Hang on, I can’t see Myria. Where is she?
“είναι υπό…”
Her voice came from just below me. Myria lay on her side by my feet. She hadn’t moved after crashing into the wall.
Whoa! Good thing I didn’t step on her. I picked her up and took her out into the light. I needed to figure her stuff out before I thought about anything else.
Evolution options required some very careful thought, after all. Besides, I wanted to evolve in front of the black lizard to make sure it recognized me after I changed. Though, I figured anything could happen between then and now. I knew I might have to make a snap decision if there was risk of another villager spotting me.
Part 5
I SET MYRIA DOWN outside the cave. I wanted her to teach me more Grecian.
I remembered hearing somewhere that non-verbal communication was surprisingly important, so I’d try my best to use body language, gestures, facial expressions, and tone. I already had Grecian Language Lv 1. If Myria could teach me simple terms, I could learn more. If raised my Grecian Language skill, I might be able to talk to other humans more easily in the future. I wanted to use this opportunity to learn as much as I could.
“Αυτό είναι το δέντρο…” Myria pointed to a tree and spoke. I hung on her every word. This continued for about thirty minutes, and with every object she pointed to, I felt like I was grasping more and more. This definitely wasn’t a waste of time.
I was grateful to Myria for not getting sick of teaching me.
“Αυτή είναι η πέτρα…” She pointed to a rock. Hm, I feel like I’m really getting the hang of this.
Special Skill “Grecian Language” Lv 1 has become Lv 2.
There it is! Finally!
If she spoke very slowly, I was able to piece things together.
“Um…and then **** so I ****…” I was still missing some of the words, but I got the gist. And I’d start understanding more and more the longer we talked.
“Raar!” Problem was, I still couldn’t talk.
“**** understand what I’m saying?” Myria looked at me with surprise. I felt a rush of triumph. That’s why you shouldn’t underestimate a dragon!
Well, now that I understood the basics of what she was saying, I could ask her what was wrong.
She didn’t seem to be in a rush or particularly upset, making it seem less likely that she got separated from someone when the monsters chased her. She must have come into the forest on her own, and I couldn’t imagine her doing that without a very good reason.
“Raaar?” I looked at Myria and tilted my head to the side.
She blinked. “Umm…” She paused briefly. “You want to **** why I **** the forest?”
I nodded.
“…I’m looking for someone. I made sure **** wasn’t watching and **** out alone to come here. Um, you haven’t seen any other people out here, by any chance?” Reluctance clung to her words.
She’s looking for someone? Maybe those two girls who showed up to my cave the other day? I thought about the swordswoman and the dog-girl and mimicked dog ears on top of my head.
“Those people came to the village ****! They’re back there now. They said they had to come home because **** and ****. But I’m not looking for them… I’m looking for the **** named Doz, the man I was with last time.”
Doz? I swear I saw that name somewhere… Oh, that’s right! That was the kinda mean-looking dude I saw with Myria when I first met her. I saw his name on his status. I thought the Little Rock Dragon killed him, though?
I didn’t see him die, but his leg was trapped under a tree and he couldn’t move. He couldn’t have gotten out of that situation easily. Even if the Little Rock Dragon had left him alive, with that injury he would have been easy pickings for other monsters.
“Raar.” At least this meant that Myria wasn’t in a real crunch for time. I could bring her back to the village. I only knew a little bit about the situation, but the chances of her finding Doz were incredibly slim. The fact that none of the other villagers were out looking for him just supported my theory.
To be blunt, there was nothing Myria could even do for him with her stats. She just wasn’t safe alone in the forest.
After I took her home, I could search for Doz. Maybe I’d find his body by the site of the Little Rock Dragon fight. It might upset her, but at least then she wouldn’t have to come back into the forest.
Maybe if the black lizard, the orangurangs, and I all worked together, we could defeat the Little Rock Dragon. I didn’t have the recovery magic to go up against a huge attack like Tremor, though.
I couldn’t take Myria with me as my White Mage, so I considered just evolving into a Little Arc Dragon after all.
Oh crap, the black lizard! I abandoned it, injured, in the forest!
I’d been sitting around leveling up my Grecian Language skill this whole time. I needed to take Myria home and go help the black lizard. How could I have forgotten about it? Did I feel guilty, or was I just so excited for the chance to connect to a human again?
Agonizing over it wouldn’t help, though. Right now Myria needed to get home so I could hurry back to my friend. Then I could take the time to solve the problems in front of me and really consider things. I leaned over to let Myria climb on my back.
“U-um, Mr. Dragon? Do you have a name?”
“Raar?” I made a silly noise in response. I couldn’t tell her my name even if I had one I remembered. I shook my head to indicate no.
“O-oh. Well, what should I call you?”
I’d never even thought about it.
“Young Plague Dragon”? Nah, I didn’t want that. Hang on, did this mean she intended to see me again?
That made me happy, but wasn’t it a little dangerous? Or perhaps she meant I could come to the village with her? I doubted the other villagers would be okay with that. But let’s say it worked out somehow—what about the black lizard? Would I go back and forth between the village and the forest?
“Raar!”
“Eek!” Myria jumped when I let out an excited roar. Please! I’d love it if you came up with a name for me! I felt like we were growing closer.
Special Skill “Grecian Language” Lv 2 has become Lv 3.
Ooh, my skill went up again! Maybe I should choose to become a dragon-person. Then I really could go back and forth between the village and the forest.
Myria tapped her chin and cocked her head thoughtfully. Then she clapped her hands together.
“How about Illusia? It’s the name of my favorite flower.”
“Raar! Raar!” I nodded twice in agreement. If I was going to start interacting with humans more, I’d definitely need a name. I should go out looking for an Illusia flower later. Check out my namesake.
Choose “Illusia” as your name? Once a name has been chosen, it cannot be changed.
What? Divine Voice had something to add? Its words nagged at me a bit, but there shouldn’t be anything to worry about…right?
Name has been set to “Illusia.”
I knew all too well how crafty the Divine Voice was, but…how could something like this cause problems going forward? I tapped myself on the chin, snapping myself out of it and pushing through the negative thoughts.
“Raar!” Once again, I leaned down to let Myria climb onto my back.
“O-oh, thank you, Illusia!” She bowed politely to me and climbed up.
Having a name felt good. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had a proper conversation with someone since I came to this world, but just hearing someone refer to me was a little emotional. Really hit me in the heart. The only other time I’d spoken at all was with the Giant Orangurang via Telepathy.
I didn’t count my inner dialogue with the Divine Voice as conversation. That gave it too much agency, which I wasn’t crazy about.
The Divine Voice was definitely useful, and I had no choice but to rely on it. But sometimes the information it gave me felt…biased. Like its own will was peeking through.
Anyway, it was time to figure out exactly where we were. I didn’t know this area very well, although I was pretty sure I’d run through when the Giant Taranturouge was chasing me.
Let’s see, I came from that way, turned a corner, and then found this cave… “Graaah!” A howl interrupted my thoughts. Great. Another mahawolf.
Blue fur, purple gums. Saliva dripped from between its sharp fangs. Its third eye was firmly fixed on me.
Just how stubborn were these guys, anyway? Taking care of a lone wolf would be easy, but I was growing increasingly irritated about missing out on the experience points.
What was driving them to do this? Even if they were all connected by the third eye skill, they had to know they didn’t stand a chance one on one.
I checked its status—its level wasn’t high. Same skills as the other wolves I defeated. And the same strange, hidden status condition.
“Awooo!”
“Eek!”
Myria was so startled by the mahawolf’s scream that she nearly fell off my back. I shifted my body weight to catch her. The wolf used that opportunity to close in on me.
Let’s see…its skills are Bite Lv 2, Piercing Gaze Lv 2, and Fire Nails Lv 1. Piercing Gaze was a bigger danger than any of the close-range attacks. Our stats were unbalanced enough that I wasn’t afraid of skills I recognized.
“Raar!” I roared and felt Myria tighten her grip on my scales.
I kicked off the ground and took flight to evade the charging mahawolf. Flames spewed forth from its claws, slicing through the air. So that was Fire Nails, huh? Pretty cool to look at, but nothing to worry about. I kicked the mahawolf right in the face. I was still a little concerned about Piercing Gaze, but if I made sure to stay away from eye level I would be fine.
“Groo!”
I whipped my tail at the mahawolf and sent it flying. But before it could be thrown out of my reach, I brought my fist right down on its head with a sharp punch and felt its neck snap. It dropped to the forest floor and lay there motionless.
I won. I curled my legs as I landed, lessening the impact for Myria.
“W-wow,” she breathed. I had to admit, it felt pretty good to hear that, but I did my very best not to let it show on my face.
Seriously though, why were they so intent on coming after us? Myria didn’t seem to know, so maybe I was their target? If that was the case, we should split up for safety, before they attacked me in a big group again.
I beat that lone wolf handily, but if a bunch of them surrounded us, it would be difficult for me to protect her.
That was true for any group of monsters, really. But Myria’s stats were clearly not designed for her to walk around the forest alone. No scenario was completely safe here. I decided to go back to the cliff and follow the river back towards my cave.
All right, I just have to go straight from here. The village wasn’t small, so as long as I headed in the right general direction, I was sure I’d find it.
After a while, I heard loud footsteps coming from nearby, loud enough to belong to a pretty big monster. As big as a Giant Orangurang? No, it sounds even heavier. What if it’s the Little Rock Dragon?
No, probably not. The Little Rock Dragon wasn’t the type of monster that moved around a lot. It was slow, preferred long range attacks, and wouldn’t bother to chase after prey when it ran.
I had no real reason to think the footsteps were coming after me, so I tried to put them out of my mind. More importantly, I needed to do something about the new mahawolf. This one was also alone, creeping quietly through the brush as it tailed me.
Was it waiting to join up with its pack so they could all attack me together? It was probably broadcasting my location to its friends. I needed to take care of it right now.
Part 6
THE MAHAWOLF continued to tail me as I ran through the forest. I couldn’t lead it towards the village—I needed to stop and fight it. I’d defeat it quick and easy with Myria on my back.
I dropped my speed, letting the wolf draw in closer.
“Raar!” I let out a little roar and felt Myria clutch tighter. I whipped around, feet skidding across the ground until I came to a stop. Dust flew in all directions.
Realizing I had spotted it, it finally showed itself on the side of the path.
“Awooo!”
These guys sure were assertive. You’ve been found out, so be a good boy and run away, okay? Again, its level wasn’t very high. I could take care of it, run to the village, and pick up its meat on the way back to bring to the black lizard and orangurangs.
The mahawolf lunged at me, and I blew a blast of Baby’s Breath in its direction. It stepped aside to avoid it, but I’d been expecting that. I ceased my Breath attack and whipped my tail at the mahawolf’s feet. It rolled into a defensive crouch and then quickly got back up again.
“Groooooh!” It howled, lunging at me again.
Huh? My attacks didn’t seem to faze it at all. Was this a Berserker type or something? Was it some kind of machine? Surely that was impossible. I saw them bleed.
“Raar!”
It jumped at me straight on, and I countered with a Dragon Punch. I let loose a swift uppercut, knocking it in the chin. It collapsed at my feet, face crushed.
Seriously, give up! Don’t tell me there’s another one nearby. I strained my ears. Hm? Those loud footsteps that I figured were headed in another direction were getting closer.
No, wait—not closer to us. They were just headed in the same direction…towards the village. This was bad. Time to hurry and take Myria home, then double back and figure out whose footsteps those were. And I might have to fight.
From the volume, it had to be at least a D-rank monster. Or maybe C. If it was stronger than the twinheads, I couldn’t take it on alone. At least it didn’t sound particularly fast. Maybe I could rig something up to make sure it didn’t get to the village.
Right now I didn’t have enough information. It was obvious that I couldn’t bring Myria to a fight with this sort of monster. That decided, I started to move again. But then I sensed something—a large group of monsters.
You’ve gotta be kidding me! More mahawolves?! Listen, I don’t have time to deal with you right now!
I figured since I’d knocked out the vanguard and the boss lost its surveillance camera, it would be forced to actually show up.
Five mahawolves surrounded us. This wasn’t good. If I made one mistake, I would put Myria in danger. And I couldn’t waste too much time fighting them while that giant mystery monster lurked nearby. If I didn’t hurry, it would catch up to me. I also couldn’t lead a pack of mahawolves to the village. It wasn’t the worst situation imaginable, but it definitely wasn’t great. I had a feeling their boss would be pretty nasty. Was it specifically targeting me? It seemed to know me well enough to predict my actions.
“Raaaar!” I turned and roared. I know you’re out there! Show yourselves already, mahawolves!
If I had to take on a bunch of them, I’d rather guide them to an enclosed location like my cave, where I could set Myria down and just let loose. But I had to see what I was up against. I needed to know if there was a higher level mahawolf in this group.
I heard them move in response to my roars. Here they come.
“Eh heh heh heh, heh heh, hee hee hee…” The quiet was broken by disturbing laughter. It was hoarse and depraved, yet weak. So thin it might disappear with a gust of wind but filled with incredible malice.
Was it…human?
Suddenly the mahawolves emerged from the trees all around us. One, two, three…four of them. A fifth slowly showed itself. A big one. And riding on top of it was a man so gaunt he looked like barely more than a skeleton. His clothes were tattered and covered in dirt, and even the sword at his hip was discolored. His eyes were unfocused, which, combined with the rest of his appearance, was creepy as hell. He seemed unconcerned by the saliva dripping from his mouth.
In one of his arms he held a small ball of earth, about fifty centimeters across.
What is that? What in the world is going on?
The entire tableau was so weird it took me a few moments to realize that I knew this guy. The skeletal figure riding the mahawolf was the missing man Myria was searching for. This was definitely Doz.
Part 7
“D-DOZ! H-HOW…?” Myria called out to him. He reacted slightly to his name but didn’t lose the
ghastly smile. What was wrong with him? Was he under a weird status condition like the mahawolves? I used View Status to check it out.
Doz Doglemaad
Species: Earth-human
Status: ****
Lv: 21/45
HP: 47/68
MP: 24/24
Attack: 67+5
Defense: 52+2
Magic: 20
Agility: 51
Equipment:
Weapon: Dirty Sword: F
Armor: Golden Copper Armor: F
Special Skills:
Resistance Skills:
Normal Skills:
Title Skills:
Novice Warrior: Lv 7
His equipment had deteriorated, but his level was higher than the last time I saw him. And that wasn’t all. His skills were entirely gone. Was that even possible? I remembered him using Shockwave on me. He didn’t even have his Grecian Language skill anymore. Did that mean he couldn’t talk?
“Hee hee…” The mahawolf carrying Doz came straight towards me. He reached for his sword, but it was so rusted it wouldn’t come out of its sheath. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and raised the sword, scabbard and all. He still held the mysterious ball of earth in his left arm.
The four other mahawolves didn’t move a muscle. Were they gonna leave it up to their boss? I kept my eyes on Doz and unsheathed my claws.
“Doz! Please, snap out of it!”
Doz didn’t listen to Myria. Instead of calling off the mahawolf boss, he urged it faster.
“Raaaar!”
I blew out a spray of Baby’s Breath. The mahawolf boss leapt through it, claws aimed at me. Flames spewed forth from the sharp points. I lunged forward and quickly grabbed its front paws, holding the mahawolf still.
“Hee hee haa!” Doz brandished his sword, taking advantage of my full hands.
“F-Fire Magic! Fireball!” Myria aimed her staff at Doz. Flames shot out of it and flew straight towards him.
“Kee hee! Hee!” Doz deflected the fireball with his sword. At the same time, I shoved the mahawolf as hard as I could.
“Awooo!”
It lost its balance and staggered backward, but managed to keep its footing. Doz, though, was entirely focused on the fire magic and fell off the wolf’s back. The mystery ball of earth was jarred out of his hands, and he scrambled to lie on top of it, glaring at me.
“Hee gee, aah-ahh!” He sat up and pointed his sword in my direction.
Three of the four mahawolves lying in wait came charging towards me, as if obeying Doz’s commands.
The mahawolf boss bared its fangs and howled.
I needed to think about Myria’s safety and find somewhere that gave me more of an advantage. The mysterious footsteps were coming closer, but if I ran, I’d just be letting Doz go. And I couldn’t risk letting him run loose.
The oddly stubborn mahawolves, the unstable Doz, and the mystery giant monster. Something weird was going on.
“Raaaar!”
I backed up, careful to keep the mahawolves in check so they didn’t surround me. Should I run to better terrain or take Doz on here? I went back and forth, finally deciding to drag the situation out. I knew it could be a bad move, but there was no good answer here.
The one mahawolf who hadn’t made a move yet suddenly sprang over to Doz’s side. The swordsman carefully scooped up the ball of earth and got on the mahawolf’s back, then gestured in the direction of the village with his sword.
“Hee hee, heh heh haa!” Doz giggled and then took off towards the village.
So that’s what he’s after? Should I go after Doz and leave the mahawolves for later?
“Awoooo!”
Argh, he left the mahawolf boss here! So he left me with an enemy, hoping to stall me.
That made me want to ruin his plans even more. But going after him would put myself and Myria at risk. Or worse.
“I-I think Doz was carrying a Rock Dragon egg. If he takes that to the village…it’ll be a disaster…” Myria murmured, distressed.
A Rock Dragon egg?! Wait, so then those footsteps…
“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!”
An ear-splitting roar announced the arrival of the Little Rock Dragon. Was Doz leading the dragon to the village on purpose? He was riding a mahawolf, so outrunning
it should be easy. He must’ve been taunting it to get it to chase him.
There was no way I could take on that dragon by myself. I had to get the egg away from Doz before the Little Rock Dragon followed it to the village.
“Raaaaar!”
I knew it was pointless, but I roared at the three approaching mahawolves and their boss. They kept coming, looking for an opening. Now that the Little Rock Dragon had shown itself, I couldn’t risk fighting them here and now. If the dragon attacked while I was in the middle of another fight, I’d be dead.
I needed to put some distance between me and the dragon first, then I’d get the egg away from Doz. That was my only option. Thankfully, the Little Rock Dragon was slow—I would hopefully have enough time.
Part 8
“RAAAR!”
For now, I searched for a good spot to take on the mahawolves as I ran towards the village. But I just wasn’t finding anything.
“Graaaah!” The mahawolf boss was fast for its size. It quickly passed its three minions and chased after me on its own. I couldn’t afford to lose any speed—I booked it at about 80 percent of my top speed, feeling guilty for sprinting with Myria on my back. I thought I’d be able to catch up to Doz at this pace, but I didn’t see him anywhere. Did he change course on purpose?
He clearly wasn’t himself, and I imagined it was because of that weird status condition. I wouldn’t kill him—I thought it might be possible to reverse it and get him back to normal. Still, rendering him harmless while keeping him alive was going to be difficult.
I ran the risk of being attacked on two fronts; I couldn’t face Doz until I took care of the mahawolves.
“Awooo!” The distance between the boss and his underlings was growing. Could I take him on alone? Ahh, but Myria…“If I’m g-going to get in the way while you’re fighting, I can get off. I can protect myself just fine!”
I hated to say it, but I highly doubted that was true. Someone with Myria’s stats would die from one swipe of the mahawolf boss’s claws, and we weren’t close enough to the cliff for me to get her to safety.
“P-please! Save the village! I’ll give you anything! Please, Illusia! If you don’t do something, everyone will…!”
She wanted me to put the safety of the village over her own well-being. How could I deny such a sacrifice?
“Raar.” I gave a little roar and put on the brakes. I used my tail to maneuver in the mahawolf boss’s direction and then let Myria clamber down.
The three other mahawolves lurked beside the boss. Guess they weren’t as far behind as I’d thought.
I wanted the boss alone. Speed was of the essence here.
“Gwooooo!” I blew a blast of Baby’s Breath as the mahawolf leader leapt towards me. It jumped straight up in the air to avoid it, just like it did last time. I whipped out with my tail, and its body twisted, skillfully avoiding that blow, too. It whirled back and slashed its fiery claws towards me. For being so big, it was pretty agile.
“Raaar!” Still, it couldn’t move like a dragon.
I hunkered down, slipping below the mahawolf boss. I took its Fire Nails on my back. It ripped into my flesh down to the bone, but in exchange I tore deep into its vulnerable belly with Paralyzing Venom Claws.
“Raaar!”
The mahawolf botched its landing, slamming into the ground on its stomach. It got up quickly, front legs trembling. The paralyzing venom was starting to work.
I really didn’t want to use one of my dangerous skills like Calamity, but this wasn’t the time to hold back.
I’d never used this before, so it had a low skill level and I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I only needed it to work for a few seconds. I grabbed the mahawolf boss to still its front legs, then dug my claws into its shoulder.
“G-gwooo…”
I kicked off the ground and flew into the air, then spun into Roll as I descended. I slammed the wolf’s head at the ground, falling into a midair Roll combo with a Nutcracker finishing blow.
“Woooogh!” The mahawolf boss let out a scream, strength all but gone. Heck yes, that took care of the boss. Now for the three small fry. Wow, I really felt the impact of Nutcracker on my neck. But that was fine, I’d just have the orangurangs give me a massage later.
The three mahawolves spread out. They wanted to go after Myria, so they were trying to keep me in check. Wow. Jerks.
“Roaaaaar!”
I made the first move, using my speed to give me an edge as I jumped into the sky, folding my legs and arms. I tackled the rightmost mahawolf with Roll.
“Awoogh!”
The mahawolf let out an agonized cry and lay there, unmoving. I made a U-turn and rammed right into the center mahawolf that was aiming for Myria.
“Graaah!”
It didn’t die, but I had its back leg in my grip. If it couldn’t move its legs, it couldn’t come after me.
Now for the last mahawolf, the one chasing Myria. She ran as fast as she could, but she just didn’t stand a chance.
“Graaah!” The mahawolf pounced.
“Eek!”
Its claws cut into her shoulder and tore at her clothes. A raw wound opened across her pale shoulder.
“Awoooo!”
The mahawolf prepared for another strike. I bit hard into its back.
“Aaoooooh!” It howled in anguish and shook its head back and forth, pawing at the ground.
My neck hurt from Nutcracker, but I ignored the pain and kept hold.
“Raaar!”
“Awooo!”
“Grooo!”
“Grawwoooo!”
“Wooogh!”
“Nghooo!”
I held on until the cries stopped, and then I poked at the mahawolf’s corpse. That should be enough to dissuade any other wolves. Now, I’d try to catch Doz at the village.
“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaar!” I had to get that egg back before the Little Rock Dragon caught up, or we’d all be in trouble.
And there, just ahead, was the village.