Caesar chased after his wolf summon as it ran after his former prey. The wolf’s sheer bulk broke branches and crushed plants underneath. A clear path formed in its wake, allowing him to keep it within sight. Within a minute, the wolf pounced on the fleeing wolf’s back and clamped down on its neck. The prey buckled without a fight and fell limp. When he managed to catch up, pieces of flesh and blood littered the soil. He stared at it, awed.

“Identify.”

Gray Wolf: Mundane

Level 0

Ability: None

Strength: 7

Agility: 7

Vitality: 7

Magic: 0

Willpower: 5

Spirit: 2

Caesar felt pleased. A small smile hung on his lips, and he walked forwards to rub his wolf’s warm neck. It acquiesced and lowered its body; its obedience made clear. They rested there for a few minutes, recovering their stamina when suddenly a loud snap rang out in the distance. He readied his spear for battle.

Seven wolves appeared from the undergrowth. Two teams of three split off and circled towards the left and right, rustling bushes as they went. One wolf who appeared to be more well-fed than the others stood straight in front. He studied them. Stronger than before, but still not a challenge.

Gray Wolf – Rank 0

[Rarity]: Mundane

Caesar remained confident while his wolf stood up and growled. The noise pierced through the air, startling the pack a few steps back. A few tense moments passed. He closed his eyes and willed his power to explode outwards. The red orb flashed, dulled, and burst apart into red shards scattered around his head. They merged into a black crown dotted with red lights.

Strength: 6 -> 9

Agility: 6 -> 9

Vitality: 7 -> 10

Magic: 5 -> 8

Willpower: 9 -> 12

Caesar rushed at the right three wolves, emboldened by the new wave of power flowing through him. A low growl from the wolf leader urged the other wolves into the fight, but his wolf summon responded with a charge.

His spear tore through the air and bit into the throat of one wolf. In response, another wolf shot at him, but Caesar stepped lightly backward and rammed his spear into its eye. The earth shifted under his feet as he then pivoted and lashed out with a kick at the surviving wolf, shoving it into the dirt and crushing bone. Closing in, he started stomping – one, two, three – then turned and grappled with a fourth wolf, its fury and madness forcing him to struggle to defend.

Three other wolves confronted the wolf summon, biting and ripping away at flesh. But for every two wounds that appeared, his wolf inflicted another, fighting with a ferocity that outmatched all other wolves. As their gashes began to bleed more and more, Caesar slipped out and smashed his knee against the frenzied wolf’s ribs, stunning it. He wrenched his spear from the eye of the dead wolf, gripping it with all his might, as the wolf came and impaled its jaws onto it.

With three wolves fallen, and four injured, the pack began to flee. He took a deep breath and hefted his spear onto his shoulder, preparing to throw. Eyes narrowed, he suddenly tensed; then, he lowered his weapon and tracked the dripping blood.

[Notice]: Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 2! +2 Free Stat Points

He thought back on the condition of the earlier wolves he fought and noticed their physical conditions.

What could make a full pack of wolves starve?

His wolf summon snorted and made its way over to him. It whined, blinked its eyes, and sniffed Caesar’s bite marks over his arms and torso. He smiled at it and ran his eyes over its wounds as well. Invisible black energy collected from his kills washed over each bloody injury and began to stem the bleeding. Cuts began to knit, and flesh could be seen growing bit by bit. He patted its head, then turned around and began journeying around the area to find details about the wolf pack. He closed his eyes and focused to recall his wolf’s essence core into his crown, dissipated his ability, and stalked off.

---------------

Caesar moved across a fallen tree where wriggling bugs writhed and fought for dominance. He stamped some with his feet, some with his minor ability active and some without, testing if their essences could be collected. He frowned. Nothing could be felt. He believed that these life forms were too weak to power his crown.

Additional increased stats and access to stored essence for regeneration became available during the final stage of his ability, the Essence Crown. However, he could still summon and dismiss his essence cores without even manifesting the red light of Dominate.

A new urge began to rise within himself, letting Caesar’s mind wander. His parents had once told him a story about a mysterious insect dungeon filled with a variety of dangerous bugs with aberrant abilities. Did that apple come from there? Other stories heard around town also came to mind. Places with endless hordes of undead, gargantuan animals who breathed elements, and ancient unexplored ruins itched at his thirst for improvement. Exploring these deadly places and collecting their powers would be a major help for his future endeavors.

Abruptly, he stopped. In the distance, the almost silent sound of a wolf howl pierced the air.

More wolves?

Caesar hid behind a tree and strained his ears. He scrunched his brows in thought. After weighing his options, he began to withdraw. As of now, he didn’t believe it possible for him to survive a fight against a large, well-fed wolf pack. If a rank one wolf leader worked together with a pack about the size of his previous fight, it would rip him apart.

He took a detour around the area of his earlier battle, avoiding any scavengers in the process. Under the setting sun, he ached to summon some kind of mount to travel back home. Unfortunately, his wolf’s injuries remained, and he knew nothing about riding wolves or fashioning a vehicle to ride in. With the only option being to find shelter, he at least felt assured of his companion and pleaded for it to have the same tenacity in staying awake as it did during the fighting. His next best move would be to head towards the nearest shelter, somewhere on the other side of the carriage road.

Crickets chirped as Caesar arrived at a small cabin with a roaring fireplace, a dried meat pantry, and freshwater barrels. Built by a previous manager of the carriage company, the building served as a resting place for travelers, teams, and employees. Supplies were restocked once carriage personnel passed by the area and registered deficient reserves.

He took out three silver coins and dropped them into a small box near the front door. The door swung open. He suspected a rare utility ability maintained this mechanism instead of a skill since its strange versatility in its specialization matched ability characteristics listed by his teacher. Caesar wondered about his own growth potential, as he recalled interesting rumors about these locks and their ability to recognize different currencies, barters, and even people.

They must’ve been rank two at least – abilities improve differently after each rank up.

He settled down in bed. While he didn't like being alone, the wolf had to remain inside his crown as a core to heal during sleep.

--------

Caesar awoke to bright sun rays in his eyes and summoned a healthy wolf near the fireplace. After scarfing down a quick meal, he whistled to his wolf to follow and left the cabin in the opposite direction. With his mind less tense, he began thinking about ways to scope out the situation.

According to notes from Wilderness hunters, sudden changes in an ecosystem could mean something dire. Sometimes, it would be the result of a sudden appearance of a new species from another part of the Wilderness, called migration. Other times, a local animal leader would find some catalyst or dungeon and gain the chance to awaken. And finally, the worst outcome: an invasion from something far beyond the level of the area.

Caesar weighed his options. Abnormalities that seemed to be from other unrecognized animals would indicate a migration. Signs of a dungeon in the area would indicate an Awakened animal, likely a wolf, driving out other wolf packs. Thus, he chose to continue investigating for dungeon phenomena. If he simply left, the possibility of a new dungeon might begin to drive crowds of hunters to the area.

Caesar walked and walked into the rank one zone until the sun began to set again. A mark had regenerated earlier, taking around a day to replenish. He didn’t want to give up. Every day spent without clues gave other Awakened a chance to find the dungeon first.

“Max. Quickly go on ahead and come back if you sense anything abnormal.”

His wolf whined a little. Caesar persuaded it to leave by petting its neck and feeding it some dried meat. As it left with quick strides, he took out the pouch containing the healing potion Arnold gave him. He checked it for any abnormalities. Although his Identify cleared it as a common healing potion, he suspected the system’s information could be wrong if a rare poison he didn’t know about was mixed in.

However, it did look normal. Having this potion gave him much more confidence in confronting a rank one dungeon alone. If a simple Common animal had managed to awaken using materials from a dungeon, the dungeon’s entrance shouldn’t be too life-threatening.

Small spots of sunlight began to appear over the horizon. Caesar kept a watchful eye sitting on a tree. Then, he heard four legs running and grinned. Max was back.