Mason Waited till his stamina had completely recovered, and waited as much time as he could. The system told him that the mana stat was required to use the healing and spells, and that this stat would naturally recover over time. Nearly an hour later, his mana rose from 1(2) to 2(2), filling up his mana pool completely.

With his hardened resolve, Mason neared the entrance of the cave with silent footsteps. The entrance was incredibly small, just enough for him to barely squeeze through sideways. This had prevented the wolf-monster from entering and had kept him safe so far.

Limping closer, Mason picked up a small pebble and the it out the narrow opening, making it land on the layer of snow that had accumulated outside.

*Whoosh*

All Mason saw was a white blur as the place where the pebble fell was destroyed, some of the snow parting ways to reveal a white fur wolf a few times larger than the ones found on earth. It also had bright red eyes and its canines were nearly double the length of the other teeth, slightly showing through the closed mouth.

‘Dammit! It was still waiting for me’ though Mason.

This situation had started with his regular excursion into the woods to bring fire-wood to sell at the town. He had entered with his trusted axe and a fur coat.

A long hike later, he reached the part of the woods with the least snow and the driest wood. A long time later, he had chopped off the tree and it fell with a resounding thud.

However, in the process, he heard a yelp of fright and pain.

Moving closer to the sound, he found a white wolf cub, impaled by one of the branches of the tree, laying on the more or less snowless ground, covered in blood and leaves.

Mason had remembered a saying said by everyone in his town, ‘Any child is accompanied by their parents in the wild.’

Realising the situation, Mason had tried to run away towards the path to the town, but from the bushed, an extremely large white wolf came out, bearing its fangs at Mason.

Instinctively, Mason had swung his axe at wolf, which was already mid-air in its attack. The axe lodged itself deep into the front foot of the wolf, making that limb nearly useless.

However, the problem was that his axe got stuck in between the muscles and bones of the leg, and Mason was unable to pull it out to protect himself any further.

The wolf, that was in the air, finally descended and bit off his leg, and began to feast on it instead of going for the kill. It seemed as though it was toying with its pray.

Mason did not turn back and just began running, the adrenalin in his body keeping the pain of his leg at bay.

Running away from the wolf, he found himself against a cliff, and looking backwards, he could roughly make out that the wolf had finished its snacks and was coming for the main course. He could also make out that the axe was no longer lodged into the wolf through the chape of the distant silhouette. Not wasting any time, Mason had tried looking around for a way out and had luckily spotted a crack in the cliff, small enough for himself to fit into.

And that led to the current situation.

From the snow around it, it was clear that the wolf was still bleeding slowly from the deep wound his axe had created. However, it wasn’t enough to put its life in danger.

Noticing Mason’s look, the wolf charged towards the entrance to the cave as though it was possessed.

However, Mason did not step back this time. There would be no other rescue for him. No one to save him. No one was left in this world to look after him.

He raised his right hand and extended his index finger to form the shape of a gun using his hands. He did not know what a gun was, but due to Jack’s thoughts, the skill was formed in this manner.

[Wind Bullet]

Mason chanted as the wolf was just a meter away from him. His aim was the softest part of the wolf, its eye.

*Baang* *Baang*

Two shots occurred on after another, one missing the eyes and hitting the check slightly below the eye, but still penetrating deep into the bones, and nearly taking half the wolf’s mouth with it.

The other hit the eye, went through without resistance, and followed a straight path to leave the back of the Wolf’s head, bringing white brain matters and fresh blood along with it.

The Wolf, that hap pounced at Mason, lost its momentum and fell to the ground just short of Mason. The light in its eyes dimmed as it breathed its last.

Mason looked at the dead creature and sighed with indistinct emotions.

‘Mother, Father, did you see that? I stood up for myself. I did not back down. And I won…’

Mason looked up at the sky as though to give his late parents a last goodbye. Letting the emotions he had held within, flow freely for the first time in the years since his parents died.