Mathew awoke to a horrible pain in his chest along with the sounds of scratching on rocks. He blinked and remembered where he was. He instantly woke up, adrenaline once again pumping through him. The sudden movement caused a wave of pain to wash over him. He looked down to see a blood soaked robe.

He reached for his bag, thankful it was still on him and rummaged around for the strongest pill he had. It was called [Second Chance], and cost him a whopping 10k UC. It would help fix up a lot of his injuries, but in a few hours, he wouldn’t be able to move. Was it risky to spend money he would need to give to Payne if he violated the contract? Yes. Was it a calculated one? Absolutely.

Di said it was used when someone in battle suffered a great injury, or worse a loss of limb. Mathew bought it for something exactly like the situation he was in now. Ever more thankful for spending the money on it, even if it emptied a huge chunk of his savings.

Mathew looked around as he let the healing properties of the item fix him up slowly. He realized he was on a small ledge along the cave walls. Below him were the rest of the wolves that had yet to die. Mathew counted eight Infernal Wolves plus the horned one.

They locked eyes, a predator that was leader of it’s pack, and a sole human, who was on death's door just minutes ago.

“Well, shit. How do I get out of this situation?” Mathew asked as he looked around. He noticed the bodies of Washington and Tank were gone, either eaten or perhaps taken away by the rest of the team.

That was if the others got out, leaving him behind. At first, he was angry they left him, but a few more moments of thinking made him realize he can’t fault them. Either they did what he was going to do anyway, or assumed he was dead.

In either way, they did nothing wrong. It still made him feel a little hopeless. Mathew did notice he had a notification, including that he Leveled up to 13. He placed all 3 points into Dexterity, knowing he would need it now.

Combat Summary:

2x Infernal Wolves, Level 10

3x Infernal Wolves, Level 11

Knives Novice 7 -> Novice 9

Staves Novice 6 -> Novice 8

Mana Bolt Novice 4 -> Novice 6

Summon Wisp Beginner 0 -> Beginner 1

Universal Currency Earned: 5,412

He whistled at the improvements, most going up two whole ranks. “Maybe I should get into deadly fights more often.” He joked, then put away the thought process of how to better improve himself for now.

Mathew looked down at the wolves in time to see the horned one leap up at him, it’s claws digging into the stone. The wolf slid down but stopped halfway. Mathew gulped and fired two bolts of mana into its face, forcing it to jump down and away.

It was at that moment, Mathew realized he was on a timer. He would have to kill the wolves to escape alive, and do so before any of them could get up to him. He did a mental check over his body, and saw he was low on everything. He grumbled, and summoned his two wisps back.

The drain of mana left him feeling a bit winded, but he couldn’t wait till he was back at his maximum. The wisps stole a portion of his mana, but he was not even halfway full yet. The two blue orbs appeared and danced around him as he regretiblly took another pill, this one that would temporarily increase mana regeneration, with the side effect he loses all his regeneration in four hours. Another timer he would need to be aware of.

Mathew sat and watched the wolves walk back and forth, each of them looking at him, including the horned infernal one. “I wonder…”

With limited options, Mathew decided to use a spell that he has yet to try. The spell was by far the simplest he had yet to use. [Bind Familiar] required Mathew to form a mental connection with his target, and then the process started.

Mathew focused on the horned wolf for a moment before the spell triggered. His surroundings dulled away, as he heard a voice in his mind.

“Food! Prey! Die!”

“Do you accept to become my familiar, Wolf? We have no need to fight. I can offer you food and shelter. We can become the pairing as old as time. Man and Wolf.” Mathew had no idea if the wolf could understand him. He took no risks with the spell. A ten day wait could be bad. What if he found another creature in that time frame that he wanted to bind?

“FOOD DOES NOT TALK! I DO NOT YIELD! COME DOWN AND ACCEPT YOUR DEATH!”

At those loud words, a mental snapback happened, causing Mathew to wince. He heard the yelp of the large wolf who too felt the whiplash of the spell failing. He sat down and held his head, feeling the sharp pain slowly fade away.

A new plan was needed to survive this. Mathew glanced down at the wolves who continued their attempts to climb up to him. His two wisps floated into view, looking at Mathew with blank expressions. “Hey, I'm going to need you both to do some heavy work today, okay?” Mathew had no idea why he was talking to the orbs, but it made him feel better about the situation.

Mathew’s new plan was simple. Barrage his attacks down at the wolves, and pick them off one by one. He pulled out a backup staff from his bag. He could see his main one on the ground, and grumbled in annoyance. This one was nearly on par with his first, it would be weaker, but it would have to make do.

He lined up his aim, and started to fire at the pack of wolves, aiming for the little ones first. After several attacks from himself and the two wisps, the larged horned wolf ran back. “Ha! He’s scared of us.”

Once it reached halfway across the room, the wolf turned and started to run back toward Mathew and jumped once it was close enough. It’s height was near the edge of the outcropping Mathew was safely standing on.

“No no no no” Mathew said over and over as he blasted more attacks at the big wolf. “You will not get me!” He was firing erratically and forgot he was still holding his staff as he tried to cast [Mana Bolt]. Instead of the staff blowing up, as he had always feared of happening, Mathew felt the spell travel through the weapon and out the front. Forcing the horned wolf to fall down, or suffer more attacks.

Mathew glanced at the staff but shook his head. “No time to worry about it, just need to keep blasting away.”

Enjoying the new way to cast his spell with stronger effects, Mathew continued to shoot his [Mana Bolt] through his staff. He cheered as one wolf died.

The wolves did not like that one of their own perished, and increased the ferocity. The horned wolf snarled and let out a series of barks. He picked up one of the smaller wolves and threw it up at Mathew.

Mathew was surprised at how smart the wolves were, but thankful it’s aim was horrible. Seeing no other choice, Mathew continued his barrage of attacks, worrying slightly at his dwindling mana reserves.

Wolf after wolf started to die, either from his own attacks, or falling to their death after being thrown. Mathew just ignored any notification he received from The System. Nothing would do him any good until the fight was over. It was Man versus Wolf.

During the fight, something clicked in his mind that he hadn’t felt in years. An emotion he kept down, in fear of a repeat that caused his family to eliminate him from the family.

It was a sense of glee in the fight. Mathew only had his own skills to ensure his survival, and he enjoyed it. The sense of living on the edge of life and death. A feeling he felt minorly in a courtroom due to the fact his career was on the line. He hated losing.

If he was going to lose, he would run away in the past. Avoiding conflict if possible, unless he knew he would win. Underhanded tactics were welcomed to his arsenal. Bribery, blackmail, threats, and more were used in his career and life.

He was a McGonald. A family name that if one looked hard enough, would pop up numerous times throughout history. Going back to the times before even America existed, the family name has prevailed. Each time, the side that had a McGonald won. They didn’t always win with honor, but won with absolute victory. Poisoned watering wells, mustard gas, assassinations, you name it the McGonalds have done it.

Mathew welcomed the mindset with open arms, as he smiled down at the wolves. “I am your death bringer! You mutts are nothing but stepping stones for me.” He laughed at the attempts the wolves made to get up to him.

Only two wolves and the big one remained when Mathew stopped attacking himself. He needed to save his mana for the next part. He was no idiot, he couldn’t kill the horned wolf with his spells alone. It was too fast, avoiding attacks unless it was clutching against the stone below him.

Letting his two wisps finish off the last of the wolves, Mathew pulled out his knife. “Just you and me, big guy. Don’t suppose you are willing to just let me kill you without a fight?”

Mathew had to fight this on an uneven playing field in his favor. It was a 3v1, and he wasn’t going to lose if he could help it.

For the next few minutes, Mathew continued to let his wisps fire down at the only living wolf left. He watched it dart back and forth avoiding the attacks. He pulled out a basic healing pill and swallowed it, letting himself heal up to the most he could be.

While the effects washed over him, he pulled out a vial of dark green slime. “I had other plans for this, but I can always get more.” It was a bottle of poison. If it gets into a creature's blood stream, it was basically just time before the creature died. That is, if they didn’t have some way to resist the effects or an anti-toxin pill.

It was at this time he slightly regretted his choice of class. The assassination one would be perfect, as would the Cryomancer. Both perfect for fights like these. Yet, Mathew knew the Summoner would be the long term goal. Once he found a creature worthy to be his familiar, he would continue to grow more powerful.

Mathew had the wisps stop firing, and stepped back out of sight of the wolf. He waited and listened. He heard the horned wolf jump up to clutch to the rocks and still waited. When he heard it start to climb, that’s when he made his move.

He ran to the edge and jumped off, narrowly avoiding a snap from it’s giant maw. As he fell down, Mathew spun in the air to plunge his weapon into it’s eye. He needed to hinder the beast to ensure he could survive long enough.

Mathew felt the blade pierce through, and smiled. He tried to keep the blade running down its face and the rest of its body. It let out a resonating yelp of pain, letting go of the rocky cliff face, following Mathew to the ground.

He landed and rolled, instantly getting back on his feet. His increased stats made him faster than he was over a month ago. He didn’t look back and continued to run. His two wisps hovered high into the air, firing their attacks.

The wolf was forced to either take the attacks, or dodge. Dodging made it move slower toward Mathew, and risked the extra attacks. Mathew turned as he heard the icy bolts slam into the crimson colored fur. The thickness of it gave the wolf a little padding against the attacks, showing it was the leader of it’s pack for a reason.

He noted the wolf’s eye was completely ruined. Goop and blood oozed out of the socket at an increased rate thanks to his knife. He also noted black lines slowly growing over it’s body from it’s wounds. The missing patches of fur seemed to follow the lines, as if the poison was causing the hair loss. “Should call you a One Eyed, One Horned, Red Furred People Eater.” Mathew joked right as the wolf lunged forward.

Mathew was expecting it, and lunged to the side to avoid it’s paw. He turned and fired two [Mana Bolts] into its wounded eye. He missed one, landing it at the base of it’s horn. The wolf reeled in pain, allowing Mathew to continue his run.

He would be a dead man if the wolf was able to touch him. Speed and avoidance were the two words of the day for him.

Mathew ran past where the wolves slept and turned around again to ready and avoid another attack. He fired another blast of mana before dodging. The wolf was faster this time, landing a single claw raking across his leg.

Crying out in pain, Mathew continued to run. Each step sent a wave of pain, but he continued to run and suffer. His robes helped mitigate the damage, but only a little bit. He would need to invest in either stronger robes, or improve his dodging abilities in the future, if he survived this encounter.

Mathew was now back under the ledge where he was safe. The exit was within his eyesight, but if he ran for it, he would be easily caught. The wolf might have a hard time in the tunnels, but once outside he was doomed. Add the fact his leg was bleeding out, it was now a war of attrition.

Mathew readied his knife, his knuckles bone white from how tightly he was holding it. He glanced and saw his main staff, an idea formed in his head. Mathew turned back to the wolf that was charging at him to impale him on the horn once again.

“You think I’m not worthy to be served? You could have lived a good life next to me! Instead you wanted me to be your food? Fine, come on, come and get me!” He taunted.

Banking on the fact the wolf only had a single eye, Mathew narrowly dodged out of the way. Lashing out with his knife to leave another slice on its body. He left the knife behind stuck in its side.

The wolf crashed into the stone wall, giving Mathew the time he needed. He ran to his staff and picked it up. He turned and put all the mana left in his body into a [Mana Bolt] and channelled it through the staff. Just as he finished the wolf was right on top of him. Mathew screamed as the maw was almost around him and released the spell.

A resounding crack of bone, wood, and stone reverberated through the cave. A wave of energy pushed Mathew away from the wolf. The now dead body slammed into the wall on the other side of where Mathew landed.

Though heavily and with great effort, he was still breathing. Firstly his hands were a tattered mess, since the staff had blown up in his hands from the overcharged spell. Secondly he was covered in blood and wolf brains, as the top of the wolves head had exploded from the spell.

Mathew shook as the adrenaline that was pumping through his body continued to do so. He sat up and started to laugh. “Ha, I did it. I won.” Mathew looked up to the ceiling of the cave. “I WON!”