With my newly acquired improved status, I underestimated the situation again. Inside, I thought that if an average guy like me had survived, the rest of the people here would have no problem, other than those few unlucky ones who had the misfortune of appearing in the middle of a horde, or in my case, a large ogre appearing in front of me.
I looked at the sword and survival kit at my waist and couldn't help but grimace.
"If it hadn't been for the sword and this kit I got, I wouldn't have made it. Not only did they give me inner peace, but they were also very useful tools."
It was a hard truth to accept, but with the two level ups in both cases, I healed from wounds that would have been fatal. And thanks to the tools, I was able to find refuge in the cave.
"But... isn't 10% too much? It's only been the damn first day, damn it!"
It was a really alarming thought. What the hell was this about having ten years for the mission? At this rate, they were going to exterminate us in just ten days.
"Aggghh, I have to relax. My head is going to explode thinking about this."
As I said before, from now on I would only check it at night and at dawn. Keeping an eye on this would only give me extra worries, and in my situation, adding more stress would be exhausting.
The forest is vast. Until now, I hadn't seen much of this new world. The cave was located on a small flat mound of earth surrounded by forest in all directions except for the back where the second exit was, but that area was dangerous.
It was a rocky hill that seemed to lead to the mountains. Looking up from below, it looked quite steep, and although it didn't seem impossible, a fall from a decent height would be the end. The sharp rocks would tear apart the flesh of anything that fell there.
In front of the first entrance was the river, surrounded by pure forest, but if you followed the river downstream, you would find the lake where I fell, which also led to another hill, which is where I arrived. It seemed that at least two of the four directions had hills.
If I was unlucky enough to find another steep path in this direction, I could assume that I was trapped in a natural pit, which would be horrendous considering that the first two options I have are almost a death sentence.
In my investigation of the forest, while using [pulse] every time I heard a sound, I noticed something: there are animals here, not just beasts considered a challenge, but common animals such as deer, rabbits, or birds... food. I had made a few trips, so I already had enough wood for a few days, but food was a different matter.
"I'm glad, I was starting to find the goblin's corpse in the cave quite tasty."
I kept the corpse of this second goblin in case I couldn't find food, but now as long as I can hunt something, I won't have to go through with it.
"I really, really hope I don't have to. Its blood stinks, I can't even imagine what it tastes like."
As I walked a considerable distance from the cave, perhaps twenty minutes away, I heard a loud crash, as if a large animal had hit a tree and shattered it. The sound of wood breaking wildly echoed through the forest.
I quickly placed my hand in the direction of the sound and extended my palm, ready to launch a strong probe with up to eight of my ten mana units. With the tests done, I finally understood this ability. It is related to strength, but injecting magic can extend the range, and the further the wave reaches, the more it expands, revealing the surroundings.
Then I heard them. They sounded like the voices of two people running and calling for help. The voices were drowned out by the sound of a large number of footsteps, some light as if they belonged to an animal and some incredibly heavy. Those footsteps were so loud that they seemed to shake the ground like a small earthquake.
That's when I saw a boy and a girl running out of the bushes slightly off to my side. The boy's gaze and mine met for a moment, then I recited in my mind.
"Pulse!"
Spending eight mana, I cast a strong probe without getting dizzy from the mana drain. The wave showed me what was following the kids: two large four-legged beasts, their backs reaching a human waist and at least two meters long.
"That doesn't explain the noise."
Almost as if they had read my mind, the last trace of [pulse] allowed me to see a huge figure, at least four or five meters tall, with a truly hideous appearance, fat legs that could easily crush a car, and arms that reached almost to the ground. With a certain horror, I thought to myself.
"Damn, damn, if this is the silhouette, I don't want to see its owner."
I could see the boy still looking at me, starting to say something.
-Aaaaaayu... Help!
Just as he finished calling for help, I took a deep breath and shouted in his direction.
-Come here!
I saw both boys turn to look at me and change course in my direction. I gritted my teeth and started running back toward my shelter, now leading the two boys and whatever was coming behind them.
The distance between us was about forty meters, a little less than the range of my last pulse. The four-legged beasts were following them closely, but unable to close the gap. Both boys were incredibly fast.
In fact, too fast. I began to see the distance between us slowly closing. If it weren't for the cave being nearby, they might even pass me and use me as bait for the monsters.
As I glanced back, I could see the beasts more clearly. They were like two large wolves with reddish fur that looked quite rough to the eye. Their fangs were pronounced, like those of a saber-toothed tiger, protruding fiercely from their snouts. Their claws were incredibly long, almost as long as a goblin's daggers.
Before I could even tell the second system to analyze them, the screen appeared in front of me as if it knew what I was thinking.
{Name: Blood Wolf}
{Level: 4}
{Attribute: Fire}
{Health: 16/16}
{Magic: 10/10}
{Stamina: 17/25}
{Strength: 20}
{Speed: 15}
{Defense: 12}
{Perception: 12}
{Skills: [Bite] [Evasive Jump] [Fireball]}
Really crazy stats, its total was well above mine, clearly focused on hunting, great speed, endurance, and fierce strength. It was already obvious from its appearance, but seeing it in numbers made it clear: if they caught me with those teeth, it would be the end.
The speed of the beasts was to be expected, but that of the two boys was incredible. They were already only about five meters behind me when I finally caught sight of the river in front of the cave. Gathering what air I could, I explained.
-There's a fairly calm river ahead. Across it is a cave with narrow passages. Once inside, we can face the two wolves.
With an expression somewhere between fear and determination, they replied at once.
-Yes!!
-Yes...
Suddenly, a muffled roar began to be heard, as if a volcano were preparing to erupt from behind us. With a quick glance, I could see flames beginning to form between the sharp teeth of both wolves, the roar from their jaws growing louder and louder until suddenly they spat them out.
Two large fireballs the size of bowling balls shot violently toward us. The boy had also noticed and shouted to everyone.
-Get down!
The two boys threw themselves to the ground while I moved a little further forward to jump into the river, narrowly dodging one of the fireballs. Amidst the chaos of the situation, I glimpsed a white glow that hadn't been there on my previous visits to the river. It was a common skill stone.
I quickly picked it up and, without reading what it said, stood up. The two boys fell down next to me a moment later, and together we ran to the cave without looking back.
"Yes!"
We managed to enter the cave. I turned around to draw my sword, ready to fight. Both the boy and the girl also had weapons in their hands.
"It looks like they're at least level one each. That's great!"
It would be my first confrontation with other people against two monsters that I knew nothing about beyond what the system had told me.
With tense looks, exhaustion, and sweat running down our foreheads, we watched the wolves that could barely move freely along the narrow path.
Suddenly, the earth began to rumble. Behind the wolves, far away in the forest across the river, the trees shook violently, some of them even falling from the strong push. The birds in the surrounding area fled in terror in all directions. He had arrived.
Just seeing him, the faces of the three present darkened with panic.
-The damn owner of that chilling silhouette, huh.
-...
-...