I turned to face the speaker. It was the same guard from the day before, his grin wide as he waited for my response. A quick glance to the other side confirmed he was with the same colleague as last time, and her expression was grim as she glared at the man.

“Not today, no.” I turned to walk away. “See you later.”

“Seriously, every single time. Can’t you leave people alone for once?”

“Ah, I’m only playing with him. Hey, ain’t that right, friend?” The man called out for my assistance, but his colleague cut him off.

“Don’t you dare. Let him leave in peace or I swear I’ll-”

The pair argued behind me like an old married couple. I walked into the fields and pulled out my staff once more. It shrunk when placed into the holder on my back, which was an unexpected but helpful feature. It sprung back to its original length as I lifted it in my hands. A few groups wandered the fields in different areas as they searched for their targets. Their paths meandered back and forth, without much direction to my untrained eyes.

“Level Five.” I repeated to myself. That was my aim, my goal. As friendly as Claire and the receptionist had been, if they heard my random questions that proved my lack of basic knowledge, they might turn away from me. How would you react if someone walked up to you in the street and asked you to explain the most basic principles of reality?

I only had nine days, after all. Basic information was helpful, but a quick test by myself would probably explain it more efficiently.

I wandered through the fields in search of a target. It was difficult to convince myself the Slimes were fair game, but it was needed for my progress. They were similar to the pests from my old world, a target for me to hone my skills on. I ignored my internal disquiet and walked further from the town. My path avoided the trails of the groups around me as I waited for a slime to attack.

Ten minutes passed without a single find. In the same time, each of the groups around me fought against small packs of slimes, but it wasn’t clear how they lured them out. The number of people in the area would scare off most predators, nevermind a tiny creature like a slime. I moved away from the groups, towards the forest in the distance.

Rose did say it was better in the forest. I'll go in a bit and give it a go, how bad could it be?

The number of people in the area shrunk. As the forest drew nearer, two slimes leapt out which were easily defeated. It was nowhere near the packs of five or six the others had found, but it was something at least. The voice remained silent, so it was clear I would have to work harder for the next increase in level.

I kept my guard up and walked into the shade of the forest. As the open fields were left behind, I glanced around at the bushes and trees. Any one of them could hide a dangerous ambush. Though my goal was to find more enemies, even slimes could be dangerous if enough of them showed up at once. Whilst I wanted to level up as fast as possible, I still had to keep in mind my level of skill. Transferred people gained an advantage, but I had no experience with weapons before today.

A pack of slimes could appear at any moment, never mind the fact other monsters could be hidden in the shadows.

Before my brain could force me to back away, the bush to my side rustled. I spun around, my staff raised and ready for combat. Hopefully, it would be two slimes, or maybe three at a push. Any more and it would escalate beyond what I could handle alone, at which point the only option would be to flee from the battle without any reward for my time.

The bush parted to reveal its contents. A cold chill shot down my spine as a wolf wandered out into the open. It was a little larger than any wolf on my own planet but, for its size, it was quite scrawny. The beast turned to face me, it’s eyes narrow as it stepped into the open. It was young and skinny, but it was still a deadly foe for someone like me.

From predator to prey in a single moment.

I readied my weapon as the wolf padded towards me. Its saliva dripped from its jaws as it stared me down. It showed no fear as it looked me over, only a sense of hunger and barely contained ferocity. My hands clenched on the weapon as the beast prepared to attack. My staff’s rough wooden surface dug into my palms as sweat ran down my face. Without details of its capabilities, I dismissed the idea to launch a pre-emptive strike.

The wolf dashed forwards and leapt towards me. Its speed shocked me as it flew through the air. I shifted my staff, braced my legs and pushed it towards the beast’s open jaws. The force of the impact knocked me from my feet, despite my preparations. The wolf landed beside me, its eyes narrow as it growled and leapt towards me once more.

I rolled away from its attack and stumbled to my feet. A deep gash marked the floor, which showed the power of its blow as the wolf pulled itself up once more. We faced off again, but this time there was a change. The wolf had lost the bravado it had earlier shown as it paced towards me. I raised the staff up and prepared for our next exchange.

The wolf paused, its mouth wide as it glared at me. It panted heavily, its chest expanded further and further with each breath it took. As it looked ready to pop, it blew out towards me.

A moment later, a heavy weight slammed into my chest.

The attack was invisible, so I failed to defend in the slightest. The ball of wind lifted me from my feet and knocked me into the air before I landed with a thud on my back.

My vision buzzed as I tried to collect my bearings. The wolf howled as it sprinted towards me to finish off the combo.

It was too fast.

I would never be able to get up in time to block its strike, nevermind the opportunity to launch a counter-attack.

Damn it!

I closed my eyes, gripped my staff as tightly as I could and sent a prayer to the gods above and swung it blindly in the wolf’s direction.

The wolf whined as my staff smacked into it. The expected pain didn’t occur, which proved my defence had been successful. My eyes sprang open as I looked around for the wolf.

It lay on its side a few feet from me, its eyes closed as it twitched on the floor. I pushed myself up and stepped towards it with my staff raised high.

The beasts eye cracked open. It stared at me as I approached, its ferocity replaced by terror. Before my strike could land on its heard, it made a peculiar noise.

One that reminded me of the family pets back home.

It was the same noise our dogs made when we left them in the kennels as we moved house. The wolf whined pitiably at me. Its paws scratched on the ground as it fought to crawl away as its claws left long gashes in the dirt. My chest heaved as I took another step towards the wounded beast. My staff dropped towards the ground as guilt tugged at my heart.

It’s me or you, little guy…

I berated myself for the sympathy, but my body froze above it again. This thing had attacked me, it had tried to kill me. I had to finish it off, I had to. I raised my staff once more.

Before I could land the final strike another blow crashed into my side. Once more my body was sent through the air like a rag-doll. It was close, but I was barely able to keep my staff in hand as my back crashed into a nearby tree. The impact sent a shock through my system. My lungs were forcefully emptied as my knees buckled.

One wolf, two wolves, five wolves. An entire pack moved into the open from all sides. The injured wolf’s howls had acted as a signal to its comrades, who had come to its rescue. The largest wolf padded towards its injured ally, the dark black fur a stark contrast to the grey sported by the rest of its pack. The alpha nuzzled the wolf before it turned to face me.

Slightly more dangerous? What a load of crap! If I get out of this, I'll find some way to pay her back...

If there was only two or three, I would have stood a chance. I now knew the main strengths and abilities of these creatures, so I wouldn't get caught off guard again. My staff gave me an advantage in reach, so it wasn't impossible for me to fight that many off... but their numbers were far too high for that. I tried to push myself up, but the pack rewarded me with a deep growl which chilled me to the bone. Their message was obvious.

Stand, and you die.

I searched the area for a weak point in their net, but no gaps could be seen. Their numbers had swelled to over twenty, each and every one of them ready to devour me the moment the order was given. Their leader stepped towards me, its fangs bared as it moved closer. Its hot breath huffed against my face as a low growl echoed out from its chest.

I didn’t even get to Level Five. What a waste.

I closed my eyes and waited for the end. I should have taken Claire up on her offer. The trust issues that had plagued me for my entire life had killed me in the end. If there was a choice between a group activity or a solo struggle, I would always pick the latter. Now was no different, though the end results far exceeded my expectations.

The most painful part was that I would never see my friend again. She was in danger because of my decisions and here I was, about to be taken down by a pack of mongrels. I couldn’t even remember her name because of the damned transfer. My anger built up as my eyes snapped open once more. The alpha of the pack stood before me, it’s jaws less than a foot from my face.

There’s no way I’m going down like this.

My grip tightened on the staff as a plan formed in my mind.

Knock down the leader, take it hostage, escape. Animals respected strength, so maybe it would work. The black wolf glanced at my hand before its jaws widened into a vicious grin.

Then, it jumped back.

It was out of range… but how had it figured out my plan? As I stared on in confusion, a strange noise rose up around me. It was as though a set of bellows were being pumped on all sides.

The wolves had started to pant, their movements a carbon copy of the first wolf before it had launched its sneak attack. They wouldn’t even give me the honour of a real fight. I laughed aloud as I realised the parallels to the children's story about three pigs and a wolf.

They wanted to blow me apart with their wind attacks alone. I lifted my staff and prepared for the storm.

I would go down fighting, at the very least.