The wolf was almost upon me. I could feel its ragged heavy breaths on my skin as I continued to evade it.

I weaved erratically through the leaves of low bushes, concealing myself as I tried to confuse it.

I had run in the direction away from its pack, hoping it would give up and return when away from the safety of numbers, but the bitten wolf was determined to continue its dogged pursuit.

It only stopped occasionally to sniff the air for my whereabouts. I was thankful for the masking I'd done earlier.

The wolf's sense of smell that it always relied on was ineffective this time. It looked confused at the lack of scent and continued to follow in my general direction.

But, It could not keep its eyes on me as I darted through the vegetation. It resulted to scratching at the plants with its claws, hoping to beat me out.

If I was a normal creature his action would cause me to flee the shrubs I was hiding in, but I felt no fear for a creature who didn't even know where I was.

He was scratching the branches of the low shrubs when really I was buried under the ground.

The chase had driven us away from the other wolves, but as I ran I kept circling around the area, keeping them in sensory range so when they decided to follow after their missing pack member I would know.

I observed the vibrations made by the five wolves. They were all gathered around one large cold object. I realised they had started eating the bison and felt satisfied.

The wounded wolf chasing me would receive no back up, at least for now. I shuffled in the sand to reveal a bit of my head. I watched the wolf sniff around the trees in confusion. It still hadn't noticed I was close by.

Soon the frantic wolf shuddered, releasing a frightened yelp before falling over in painful spasms right next to the undergrowth I was hidden in.

The venom's effect had finally kicked in!

Wary, I watched its body with caution without coming out further. I was unsure if it was really dead, fully weakened or just pretending. Wolves were known to be very smart. I wouldn't put it past it to try and play dead.

Had only one shot of venom done this?

It acted much quicker when compared to the bison that had taken three shots to even show a noticeable effect. Was it because it was already wounded before I bit it?

At the wolf's yelp I turned my eye towards its pack. None of the wolves seemed to have heard it, except the alpha whose long ears twitched. It turned towards the direction where the wolf had fallen, his eyes staring directly at the low shrub I was hidden in.

Our eyes met.

The alpha's startling blue eyes stared directly at me like he could see through the leaves, causing me to nearly jump in fright.

My little snake heart snagging in my throat.

Had he seen me?

Shit shit shit. I need to get out of here!

But at my right lay the wolf, its hairy chest moving up and down even as its head was buried in the soil. It was wounded, but still very much alive.

My eyes were filled with the view of those glowing jagged fangs that could tear me in half with a single bite.

However weak the wolf seemed right now. A cornered animal was always the fiercest. It only needed to move its head to kill me.

Still, I couldn't wait anymore!

Damn playing it safe. If the alpha reached me I was dead anyway.

I crept out of the undergrowth, moving away from the striking range of the wounded wolf's teeth, towards the chest that was still heaving up and down in its laboured breathing.

I quickly sunk my fangs deep into its warm body pumping in another shot of venom to finish it off. This time it howled painfully.

The wolf's body spasmed, bleeding copious amounts before becoming still. The pack who no longer had to fight with the bison were all relaxed, so when its howl shattered the silence all the wolves heard.

〚You have defeated LV7 Iuvenis Lupus〛

〚You have gained a level〛

〚You have earned 25XP〛

Ignoring the flurry of system announcements. I risked a look back at the pack. To see the alpha stalking in my direction!

Its fiery blue eyes fixed on me with fearsome maws open, showing glowing jagged teeth that leaked a blue saliva.

〚You have gained a level〛

〚Skill Aptitude Increase『Poison Fang LV 1』has become 『Poison Fang LV 2』〛

I darted out of the undergrowth cursing the corpse of the dead wolf as I ran. Its last howl had been deafening. It was impossible for any of its peers to ignore it. They would all be coming in my direction right now.

The wolves did not pursue me at once. The alpha growled out commands at the four remaining wolves, leaving three to guard the bison's corpse while it approached my hiding place with one other.

I ran as fast as my nimble body could take me, my vision nearly a spinning blur.

The steady vibrations in the earth made by the two wolves showed them following the alpha's direct sight of me to my last location where I'd been hidden in the sand.

Seems they didn't know I'd left.

I curved as I passed the wide trunk of a tree, changing direction, hoping they would continue to think I was running straight. They couldn't smell me. The wolf I'd killed faced the same difficulty.

Somehow I had a sinking feeling.

It was confirmed when the other wolf continued to run in a straight line, and the alpha did not. His senses were a lot keener than the rest having managed to hear the wolf's small yelp when the others didn't.

He stopped at the base of the tree I had turned at, sniffing twice at the undergrowth before sharply turning in my direction.

Fuck.

I had hidden myself under some rocks, diving into the sand underneath to cover myself. I had been confident in this hiding place expecting the wolves to run past it, but who would've thought one wolf would actually act smart. Now i was stuck.

The alpha approached the shrubs sniffing at them with his keen nose. I could feel the hot breath of its mouth through the rocks. I cowered deep into the sand.

Although, I was already buried my instincts screamed at me to dig myself deeper, but how could I dare to. If the alpha saw a single grain of sand move he would know I was right there.

I held my breath. In the dark hole I could not directly see the alpha, but the vibrations in the air caused by his breath told me he was still close.

I shrunk my body, willing myself to completely disappear in to the darkness.

I stopped every bodily function becoming as still as the rocks around me. My body mimicked the temperature around me becoming cold like that of a dead corpse.

〚Skill Aptitude Increase『Stealth LV 1』has become『Stealth LV 2』〛

Suddenly, I felt the sands give way. The alpha had begun to dig the rocks!

The vibrations cause by its claws digging the dirt were like metals grating. The screech of sharp claws on rock like nails on a chalkboard.

My heart pounded in my chest. Just a little deeper and his claws would reach me.

Should I bite him?

Poison Fang was now LV2 but the other wolf had taken two bites to die and only after getting weakened by the bison. From what I could see, the alpha suffered no damage.

I had five shots of venom left. Would that be enough to kill the alpha if I pumped in all five?

Even then, I doubted he would die instantly.

I didn't know what level the bison was but the Alpha wolf's abilities placed it much higher than it and its peers.

I wasn't hopeful I could escape from him fast enough after my bite, without taking any damage.

It wouldn't even be a battle of attrition.

A single bite from me might kill him but a single bite from him would definitely kill me.

I could bite him with all my venom but was I quick enough to evade his bite after?

I would die instantly if I was caught by his fangs, while he would suffer from my venom and die later. Either way I would die first.

Victory solely depended on who could outwit the other with their speed.

Should I run?

If I dug deeper, the rocks would move, and he would know exactly where I was! If I came out he would catch me in less time than it took him to breathe.

What should I do!

I had two options, fight or flee.

One option left my chances of surviving at a dismal 30 percent, the other a pitiful 0.

If I managed to escape from the rocks without attacking him there was a chance he wouldn't catch me quick enough, a very slim one.

I'd seen how quickly he managed to kill the bison, crushing its jaw bone with his fangs before the bison could even land a kick. If I tried to bite him both of us would certainly die.

I was fast but so was he!

My thoughts turned to Sensei, should I risk it all and ask for help.

I thought of the three skills available in the store. Which one would help me right now? Could dragon scales resist the claws of the Alpha?

As I'm about to ask Sensei, I sense a disturbance in the air that causes the alpha to stop digging.

The air pulses with intense vibrations as something large moves around creating soundwaves. I hear the beating of large wings as a creature descends from the thick clouds of mist, in the direction where the bison had fallen.

The alpha sniffs the air, the new scent causing him to snarl, revealing vicious glowing teeth. He leaves.

Immediately taking off towards the direction of his pack in large bounds quick as lightning.

At his departure I am stunned.

I still felt intense fear over what just happened. I couldn't believe he left just like that. Disappearing so quickly like he lost interest after terrifying me so much.

My heart was still pounding. I was so scared I still didn't dare to move.

I wonder what had caused it.

Soon my question was answered when the sounds of another battle raging in the distance reached me.

Curious to what had startled the alpha. I slowly crept out from the rocks looking towards the direction it had run.

My body shook like trembling jelly but I persevered, managing to drag myself out. I didn't need to look far to see the new arrivals.

Falling from the misty clouds in a gust of wind created by massive wings were two bird like creatures.

Pitch black in colour with a fiery red head like the crown of a cockerel, their enormous wings spanned twice the length of the bison, with a section of each wing marked in startling white fur in an ominous shape that looked vaguely like a skull.

They floated down slowly at their leisure, like nothing on the ground could bother them. Their gliding would have resembled the graceful flight of a hawk if not that the birds were so ugly.

The overgrown things had the head of a turkey, the body of a vulture, the massive yellow claws of an eagle and carried the fowl odour of rotten flesh on their wings.

A complete mismatch of various parts that made them unnaturally hideous.

Once down they began a fierce battle with the wolves over the bison's corpse. The three wolves that remained to guard the quarry were instantly knocked down by the fearsome force of wind from their wings.

Just as the alpha arrived.

He quickly attacked one of the birds that grasped a member of its pack with its talons, angrily biting down on the foot of the opportunistic scavenger that had come to steal his food.