Serah continues to stroll forward, challenging what beasts came across her path. She was quite getting the hang of fighting animals. The range for her sword wasn't great but she was making do with short hit and runs, and if necessary, or if it was easier, she used her magic swordsmanship.

Skill points available: 8

“Hmmm…” Serah hums, pondering her options. What do I need right now? Or what do I need to be more badass? She thinks, trying to figure out what she lacked. She hasn't quite been battle-tested against the men of this world, so she wasn’t sure what she needed to be able to ruthlessly demolish any she encountered. Well, for the beasts, all that running during the fight is pretty tough on my body. And there’s no endurance stat or anything to increase… She thinks, hoping to think of something useful.

“Can you show me, like, haste spells? Or maybe like strengthening skills?” Serah asks the floating words.

The list was immediately narrowed down.

Magic Augmentation? And there’s a skill that’s just Strength. Man, that’s not a skill, that’s a stat. Well, I guess Magic Container isn't really a skill. Alright, whatever. I think I might go a little far in the magic route… Serah thinks. She puts 5 more points into Magic Container and she puts the remaining 3 points into Magic Augmentation.

Serah tries it out. Her body begins to glow purple. She runs forward, sprinting as hard as she could. She moves swiftly through the trees, her figure blurring against the background. Serah stops and smiles. I’m not even tired. She thinks, satisfied.

Shadow materializes on a tree branch. “Meoww!” She calls out before making her monster pose.

Serah’s eyes widen and an eager grin blooms on her face. “Lead the way, kitty!” She calls out, gathering what mana she could in the meantime.

“Meoww!” The kitty calls out before jumping to the ground and leading the way forwards.

…

…

Serah slashes down and a purple energy blade catches a wolf in the face, halting it’s approach. But another wolf was unhindered; it pounces onto Serah, its mouth already drooling for her flesh.

A purple glow covers Serah’s body and she rams her shield onto the wolf’s face, causing it to fall to the ground. Serah immediately plunges her glowing sword into the wolf’s throat before leaping back to avoid another wolf, allowing the one on the ground to bleed to death.

Serah slashes down once again, her energy blade catching the same wolf in the face, in the same spot. She leaps into the air, jumping over a wolf that was charging at her, and catches up with the unlucky wolf who was hit in the face twice. She leaps to the side after landing, avoiding the cornered wolf’s backlash, and plunges her sword into the wolf’s throat before leaping away.

Serah slashes once, twice, then three times. Three energy blades connect with the remaining wolf’s limbs, causing it to collapse to the ground. Serah walks forward and without hesitation, ends its suffering.

Serah lets out a breath as the purple glows leave her body and sword. She looks at the 5 dead wolves on the ground and sighs. What am I going to do with all these wolf bodies? She ponders, thinking it was sort of a waste to let it rot on the ground.

“Hey, little girl. The town’s nearby. Find a leatherworker or a butcher to sell the wolves to. They’ll probably be willing to make the trip for the bodies.” The deity of war calls out.

“The town’s nearby? How long have I been traveling?” She wonders. She was just kind of going with it there for a while and lost track of how many days had passed. At the thought of the town, Serah smiles. Finally, civilization. She thinks, looking forward to the experience.