The wolf slashed Edward’s chest with its claws, making him wince. It bit off a chunk of skin and flesh from his shoulder, making him yell, and pushing his HP down to 90%.

But when Edward leapt at the wolf and smashed his fist against its ribs till he could hear a squeal and a crack, the wolf spun and flew till it tumbled on the grass next to the river.

That one punch dropped its HP down to 60%.

Dribbling blood on the grass, the wolf whimpered as it rolled onto its feet. Then it growled and flung itself at Edward.

Barking boomed from behind him. The rest of the pack approached. He needed to defeat the wolf in front of him quickly.

The wolf leapt at Edward. He leaned to the side to do it, but it was too fast. It slashed blazing wounds across his stomach and chomped another chunk of meat off of his thigh, drenching his left leg with blood. Edward groaned and grimaced as pain burned all over his torso and shot up his leg.

His HP dropped to 80%.

But despite that, he leapt at the wolf and flung his foot at its furry skull. The kick crashed against bone with a crack and inspired a screech. The wolf spun and crashed into the dirt, splashing blood out of its shattered muzzle.

The wolf’s HP dropped to 20%.

Its growling grew gravelly as its situation became more grave. But it grew confident and rushed at Edward with reckless abandonment because the bush behind Edward rustled. Its pack approached. So the wolf zoomed at Edward. He tried to duck, but it pounced on him, tackling him to the ground. In a flurry of claw slashing and fang snapping, it ripped skin and muscle, and rammed Edward’s HP down to 70%.

But just as the wolf’s pack burst through the bushes and stampeded towards him, Edward snatched the neck of the wolf that was on top of him, and shoved his fist down its bloody muzzle, smothering his arm with more blood as he plunged his fist through its skull.

It’s HP dropped to 0%.

‘ding’

[Congratulations! You have killed a Level 5 Direwolf!]

[Reward: 200XP]

[Progress to Level 9: 48%]

Three wolves left.

Edward leapt to his feet, spun, and a stampede of three wolves devoured his vision. One of them pounced on him, slashed his neck, smothering his shoulder with blood, and bit his bicep, surging a stabbing pain up his arm.

His HP dropped to 60%.

He snatched the wolf’s ears, pushed its head down onto his upward-thrusting knee. The wolf squealed and spat blood out of its muzzle. The impact shoved its HP down to 60% and knocked it into a daze.

Another wolf leapt at him. He pushed off the floor, trying to do dash away from it. The wolf passed him, but not before showering his body with burning cuts and stinging bites, and pushing his HP down to 50%.

Edward ground his teeth to shove down the pain, and shot the sole of his foot at the skull of the bleeding wolf, smashing it to the ground and ramming its HP down to 20%.

The third wolf rushed towards him, bit his thigh, slashed his oblique, zoomed past him, and slid across the dirt as it spun, dropping his HP to 40%.

The dying wolf shook its head and lurched to its feet as it woke up from its daze. But Edward’s fist already shot at its skull and crashed against it, splashing broken teeth, shattered skin, and glinting blood.

It’s HP fell to 0%.

‘ding’

[Congratulations! You have killed a Level 5 Direwolf!]

[Reward: 200 XP!]

[Progress to Level 9: 78%!]

Two wolves left.

Giving Edward no time to celebrate, a wolf zoomed towards him. He tried to duck, but it chomped a chunk off his cheek, slashed searing cuts across his chest, and dropped his HP down to 30%. Edward yelled and gripped his face, and during which the wolf tried to dash away.

But it wasn’t fast enough. As soon as its paws landed from its dash, Edward was already upon it, smothering its body with his shadow. Edward swung two clenched hands at its head, batting it to the side, splattering blood out of its muzzle, and dropping its HP down to 60%.

The other wolf retaliated. It bit down on his wrist, tore off skin and muscle, and sliced deep wounds up his chest with its claws, shoving his HP down to 20%.

Edward groaned, shuddering in agony, but plunged past that wolf and back at the one he attacked before. He swung his leg at its stomach and smashed his foot against its ribs till he could hear a crack and a squeal. The wolf’s HP dropped to 20%.

Sensing its doom approached, it ravaged the forest with a heart rumbling roar, covered Edward’s face with cuts, and sunk its fangs into his shoulder, pushing his HP down to 10%.

Edward’s heart hammered and hurt his sternum. Each pant felt like it ripped the skin inside his throat. It felt like anchors dragged every limb down to the ground. But Edward’s adrenaline infested body kept moving. His eyes snapped wide and turned wild. He growled and pushed his body forward, snatched the wolf’s arm, flung its flailing and furry body in the air like a doll, and slammed it down on the ground, splattering blood and brains out of its wrecked skull.

The wolf’s HP dropped to 0%.

‘ding’

[Congratulations! You have killed a Level 5 Direwolf!]

[Reward: 200XP]

[Progress to Level 10: 8%]

‘ding’

‘ding’

‘ding’

[Congratulations! You have levelled up!]

[You are now Level 9!]

[You have been given +3 Stat Points!]

[You have recovered 100% of your HP and Stamina!]

Level: 9

Stat Points: 3

Strength: 18 | +

Defense: 14 | +

Agility: 13 | +

Magic: 8 | +

Whilst the last wolf rushed towards him, Edward smiled, basking in the fuzzy feeling that coursed through him and the satisfying feeling of his muscles, veins and skin throbbing and growing and folding on top of itself. Before attacking, Edward allocated his stats.

Level: 9

Stat Points: 0

Strength: 18

Defense: 17

Agility 13

Magic: 8

One wolf left.

Edward gazed at the wolf slashing his chest with a wide grin, letting it reduce his HP down to 93%, only taking away a measly 7%. Spinning, he swung his foot at the wolf’s neck. He heard a crack, a squeal, and shattered teeth patter through the grass. It’s HP dropped to 60%.

The wolf rolled on the ground, rushed back up to its feet, and leapt at Edward again. He leaned toHe began getting used to the wolf’s claws’ scratching of skin and mauling of muscle, and at watching his HP reduce to 86%. He grimaced and groaned, but his following attack didn’t stutter an inch.

He rammed his fist down onto its back, flattening its body onto the grass and dropping its HP down to 20%.

The wolf rushed up to its feet, slashed, and bit Edward again, pushing his HP down to 79%, but its retaliation was futile. Edward swung his foot at its skull. The wolf’s eyes bulged and its HP plummeted down to 0%.

‘ding’

[Congratulations! You have killed a Level 5 Direwolf!]

[Reward: 200XP]

[Progress to Level 10: 28%]

Edward smiled and fell onto his back, laying on the muddy grass and staring up at the rain as it pattered his face. Letting out a sigh, he waited for his HP and Stamina to regenerate to 100%, and for the adrenaline to stop clenching his heart. After 30 minutes of doing so, he hopped back to his feet and walked back into the forest. He climbed up to the top of a tree and leapt between branches, delving back into its depths.

Even though he got lucky by levelling up during the fight with the direwolves, they still took a lot more HP than the slimes. However, they also gave a lot more XP. So despite having to suffer through so much pain whilst fighting them, losing so much HP and probably having to rest after each fight with them, he believed that it’d still be much more efficient than fighting the slimes.

So he leapt through the forest trees, searching for monsters. But this time he didn’t scour the area for direwolves, but for arctotheriums. He wanted to test how efficient fighting them would be compared to direwolves.

Whilst delving through the forest, he happened upon a dead-end. A cliff boarded the edge of the forest. Shadow showered a cavern entrance that was embedded on the cliff face. In the entrance’s shadows, an arctotherium curled up and slept.

Edward hopped off a tree branch and landed on the grass. He crept towards the sleeping arctotherium’s back, fists clenched. Its bassy and gravelly snoring rumbled his ears, louder and louder as Edward approached. Every sleeping fidget echoed through the cavern. This time, Edward made sure to look down on the floor and avoid stepping on anything.

Twigs appeared in his path and he’d step past them. He nearly kicked pebbles, but froze and crept around them. So he eventually made his way to its back. He lunged at it, swinging his fist.

His knuckles crashed against its skull. The bear lurched, grunted, and roared. It rushed to its feet and spun to Edward. But by then he already slapped its nape with his foot, and thrust his fist up at its chin, splattering blood onto the cavern’s rocky ceiling. But he gaped at the beast’s HP after suffering those three attacks.

It only dropped to 75%.

The arctotherium pummeled Edward’s ears with a heart-thumping roar, and swung its tree log of an arm at his torso. He crouched to dodge, but despite it having such low agility, it slammed him into the air. Edward flipped out of the cavern, tumbled, and rolled across the muddy grass. Skin shattered and ribs rattled in his torso. Blood dripped out of his mouth and nose. He snorted and spat some out as he stumbled to his feet. He gasped when he checked his HP.

It fell to 70%.

Edward’s trembling legs, sweating body, and burning torso begged him to run and go back to fighting the slimes. But he ground his teeth, clenched his fists, and stared down the arctotherium as it bellowed another ground shaking roar and rippled the grass as it galloped towards Edward.

He shook his head, steeled his resolve, and ran at it.