It was now a few hours after dusk and the two stood at the entrance to Palio Forest, prepared to complete their quest.

“Are you ready?”

“Haha, you better not ask me every time. I’ll be fine.”

“I was just checking, but it seems you’re okay, so we’ll start moving.”

Aliza started moving into the forest, Ace following behind.

“The Welfio will probably be deeper into the forest. They don’t like lights, so they tend to stay away from villages.”

Ace nodded and continued to follow behind.

“We’re only getting 2 ears, right?”

He asked, wanting to know if he had to defeat all the monsters if they were in a pack, like Aliza said.

“Yeah, only 2, so for the quest, you only need to beat one monster.”

“*sigh*”

He was relieved to hear that. He may have been acting confident, but he didn’t want to fight more than he needed to right now.

“But--!”

“---!”

--There had to be a but...

“You’ll be fighting any Welfio we come into contact with.”

“*sigh* I was expecting something like that... Can you explain why?”

Aliza turned her face as they were walking to look at Ace.

“I’ve already told you; you need the experience.”

He thought that would be the reason...

“I guess, but won’t it just accumulate as I fight?”

“It will, but I want to get a head start early. Plus, we can make some money off the gems that are on their ears.”

“Oh, okay, I guess it will help then. We need the money to travel, right?”

“Yeah, it’ll be a big help.”

“Okay, then I’ll do it!”

He said, flexing his muscle to show that he was confident in getting the quest done.

Aliza flipped her light blue hair back and they made their way deeper into the forest.

---

------

After walking for about 20 minutes...

“---!”

Aliza threw her hand in front of Ace to stop him from moving any further forward.

“What is i--”

“AWHOOO!!”

A howl was heard in the distance, not too far from where the two stood.

“Is that them?”

Ace didn’t want to rely on the information from his world because it was untrustworthy, so he confirmed with Aliza.

“Yeah, they’re close by. We’ll move as close as we can, then you’re on your own from there.”

A sweat trickled down Ace’s forehead as they moved closer to the source of the howls.

“You have any last tips?”

“Hmm... I want you to be able to adapt so I’ll keep it at a minimum.”

Ace nodded, accepting any information he could get.

“Try not to let yourself get surrounded by them, watch out for their necks, and remember that they can use illusion magic.”

“Got it, thank you.”

Aliza gave a small, serious, “you’re welcome”, nod and they moved closer to the howls.

---

They continued to walk for a few minutes, before Aliza jerked her hand in front once more.

“We’re here.”

She pulled him behind a tree and observed the monsters, the moonlight illuminating them.

Ace also peeked behind the tree to see three wolf-like monsters, a few meters away.

“Woah, those are bigger than I expected.”

The Welfio were quite tall, their heads looking to reach the base of Ace’s neck.

“And I see what you were saying about their necks.”

After looking at their height, Ace focused on their head, specifically the neck.

Their necks branched off into two heads, similar to a toy slingshot, with the handle and the v-shaped top piece.

Each head had normal wolf facial features and the body was also almost identical to that of a wolf.

“Can they really move their necks that fast though?”

He thought the neck looked pretty normal and didn’t look like it could do anything special.

“Don’t let looks trick you. They can move their necks very quick and they take advantage of that in a fight.”

“Okay... I’ll keep it in mind.”

Aliza looked at Ace, who was still observing the monsters.

“I’ll ask again. Do you think you’re ready?”

Ace looked back, hearing the seriousness in her voice.

“Yeah. I’ll do it.”

Aliza gave a small smile and put her trust in Ace, who answered just as serious as she did.

“Okay, we’ll start to move closer. From here on out, we’ll use easy hand signals. Their hearing is good, so we can’t risk anything.”

“Got it.”

They moved closer to the monsters, carefully and silently.

They moved even closer...

And closer...

And clos--

*CRACKLE*

“Oh sho--.”

“---!”

His mouth was covered by Aliza’s hand and his body was brought to the floor so they couldn’t be seen.

Ace stepped on an abnormally loud twig that could be heard from where the Welfio stood.

Aliza kept her hand on his mouth and scouted to see where the monsters were.

“Safe...”

She said as she viewed the monsters.

The Welfio stood in the same places they were before, the only difference being their heads facing in this direction now.

“Wait...”

Aliza glanced at the monsters once more, thinking something was wrong.

“1, 2...”

She immediately swung her head to look behind her instead of in front.

“Ace!”

She rose up and held her sword in front of her to lessen the attack coming at her.

The two heads swung at her at a great speed, as if it was a whip.

“NGH!”

It struck her waist and sent her crashing into a nearby tree.

“Aliza!”

Ace, who sat there, watched himself be protected as his partner took the force of the attack.

He ran over to Aliza and knelt down beside her.

He sat her against the impacted tree and started to shake her shoulders.

“Hey! Aliza! Wake up! Now’s not the time!”

He continued to shake her shoulders and panic, not receiving a response from the unconscious female in front of him.

“Aliza! Get up!”

His shouts were bearing no fruit, Aliza continuing to sleep in front of him.

After unsuccessfully trying to bring her to her senses, he turned around to see where the monster was.

It stood in the same spot where it attacked Aliza, it’s head now pointed towards the sky.

“AWHOOO!!”

It howled to call out to its comrades, who were a few meters away.

“AWHOOO!!”

The other two monsters howled back and slowly made their way towards Ace, who was sitting beside Aliza, who was still unconscious.

“Shoot! What do I do?!”

He thought that he had to stay calm, although he was having trouble doing so.

He wasn’t expecting the quest to go like this at all.

She was supposed to be watching over him, not the other way around!

“No!”

He rapidly shook his head to stop himself from thinking too much about the desperate situation he was in.

Instead, he needed to find a way out.

He took a deep breath and tried to analyze the situation.

“Okay... Hah... 3 dogs, one down Aliza, one Ace, 3 necks, 1 dagger, and 2 skills.”

He had no idea what to do with this information.

He tried thinking once more about what he learned about them so far.

“Okay, they don’t like lights, I can’t let myself get surrounded, and they can use illusion magic.”

He focused on the suggestion on not letting himself getting surrounded.

As it stood right now, two of the wolves were next to each other, while the other one was closing in on Ace by itself.

--I need to use that to my advantage.

He needed to fight the lone wolf and take him out right away.

But... how...?

Aliza, the stronger one of the group, just got knocked unconscious by one hit.

How was he, an E rank, supposed to fight monsters that just knocked a B rank unconscious with one attack.

*SLAP*

He hated himself for losing confidence right now.

He slapped his cheeks and focused once again.

--I just need to do it! If I don’t, we’ll both die!

He targeted the lone wolf and observed it as it moved.

It was slowly making its way to Ace, just like the other two.

He still had time before the monster made it to Ace...

“Wait...”

--Why is it moving so slow...? It’s a wolf...

A wolf would be running towards its prey, not giving it time to think.

So why was this monster moving so slowly towards Ace?

--Oh shoot... I’m giving it time to prepare, aren’t I?

He thought that was the only logical conclusion...

The monster was doing some form of preparation to activate its illusion magic.

If so, he had no time to spare.

Ace unsheathed his dagger and took his usual stance that felt comfortable.

He locked his eyes with the monster’s and resolved himself.

--To complete the quest... to return back to the village... to live... to save Aliza... to return home...

He thought of all the things that gave him motivation right now.

He turned around once more to see Aliza’s face.

“I will protect you.”

And he faced the wolf, holding his dagger out in front of him.

--Here I go.

He started to run towards the monster, trying his best not to hesitate or look back at the other wolves.

“AHH!!”

The battle cry from his first trial returned as he ran, wanting to slay the monster and go back to the village that he once despised.

He ran a few meters and got close enough to the monster that stood in front of his eyes.

He kept his dagger low at his right side, thinking it would be easier to strike his body instead of his head.

He took a few more strides and was now in striking range.

“AHH!! SHARPER TIP!!”

He called out to the skill he had just recently gained and swung at the monster who was trying to take his life.

The dagger gave off a small red light as it was brought towards the wolf’s torso, ready to connect.

The monster didn’t just stand there though...

“Ah-!”

Its two heads brought themselves together and lowered themselves towards the ground, then quickly swung around clockwise to strike at Ace’s right side.

Just as it was about to connect, Ace lifted his right arm to block the attack.

“AGH!”

The two heads smashed into his right arm, ready to send him flying.

“NOT... YET...!!”

Just as his arm clashed and he was about to be separated from the wolf, he extended his arm to slice one of the heads with his dagger.

He couldn’t waste the skill he used, so he made sure to get a hit in before it ran out.

His dagger made contact with the head, but his body was sent a few meters away.

The dagger slashed one of the eyes as it dragged along the monster’s face, following the body that was impacted.

*GROWL*

The wolf let out a growl of aggression and pain as the dagger was removed from its face.

Ace was on the ground, away from the monster, trying to recover from the blow to his arm.

“Agh... that... hurt...”

He rose from the ground and got back into his stance, continuing to hold his dagger in his right hand, despite it getting injured.

*GROWL*

The wolf growled once more as Ace stood up, baring its fangs at the one who caused it to lose its vision in one eye.

“Shut up... We’re both in shitty situations.”

The wolf losing sight in one eye and Ace’s arm being damaged, the fight continued on.

Ace charged at the wolf once again, not letting out a battle cry this time.

He moved slower this time, wanting to give himself time to react if the monster struck again.

He closed the distance and watched the wolf...

“---!”

The monster lowered its head and stuck its two heads together as it moved forward, readying itself to swing its neck once again.

Ace noticed this and moved slower, to a speed that allowed him to backstep.

He got even closer and kept his eyes on the monster...

And even closer, until the two were now in striking range...

“---!”

The neck he was waiting for swung clockwise at a speed that looked insane to Ace.

“I got it... this time...!!”

He backstepped and let the wolf swing at nothingness.

After avoiding the attack, Ace rushed once more at the monster and plunged his dagger into the wolf’s chest.

*ARFF...*

The monster let out a cry as the knife made its way into its body.

But Ace’s assault hadn’t finished...

“HARD HITTER!!”

He called upon his second skill and made his left hand into a fist, clenching it tightly.

His fist was now the one to emit the red light, signaling the activation of the skill.

He pulled the dagger out and swung at the wound he inflicted, doing more damage because of the cut.

*AWHO...*

The wolf let out another cry as it was being assaulted, but it came back to its senses.

It saw the prey in front of it and one of the heads went in for a bite...

But Ace pulled back and put some distance between him and the monster.

--How many seconds has it been?

He wanted to call on his dagger skill once more so he could do the damage he needed to finish it off.

--Please tell me you added this...

He quicky closed his eyes...

361 Days

11:15 PM

Level

Map

Support

Skills

He opened the menu and focused on “Skills” to see the words “Hard Hitter” and “Sharper Tip” printed in his mind.

“Thank god...”

Beside each of the skills was a number, specifically a time, that was counting down to when the skills would be available.

Beside Sharper Tip was 0:07 and beside Hard Hitter was 0:24.

“7 seconds left. That’s when I’ll finish it off.”

Ace observed the monster once again.

*AWHOO*

The wolf was howling and flailing its heads around at the pain.

As it was panicking, Ace took the time to check on the other monsters.

“FUCK! I took too long!”

The two monsters that were slowly making their way to Ace...

Had now turned to 6 monsters.

“I need to wrap this fight up... fast.”

He focused his gaze back on the wolf in front of him and readied himself.

The 5 seconds were now over, so he could finish off the beast in front of him.

“...”

He kept his dagger low and started to run, repeating the same movements as earlier, giving himself room to backstep.

He closed the distance and waited for the wolf to prepare to spin.

“---!”

The wolf saw Ace run at it, but it just stood there instead of preparing for an attack or moving towards Ace.

Ace continued to run, thinking this was an opening and that it was just confused.

He increased his speed and went for the final strike.

The dagger was quick as it went to deal the final blow, but--

“AGGHHHH!!!!”

Ace’s left shoulder was bitten by one of the heads before it could make contact, and his blade stopped in reaction to the pain.

“GET OFF MEEE!!”

It was the same as his first night against the Toriel.

The pain was unbearable as it dug into his skin, latching onto him as if he was a piece of paper and its jaws were a barrage of staples.

“AGGHHH!!”

The beast dug even deeper, letting the 16-year-old in front of it feel the pain.

Ace couldn’t let it continue rip its jaws into him or else he really would die.

“SHARPER TI-- AGH!!”

He went to call out to his skill, but the wolf reacted by clenching its jaw even tighter than before.

Ace felt like if it kept going, its mouth would close completely on his shoulder.

He needed to get it off... get the pain off...

“SHARPER TIP!”

He tried again at calling for his skill and said it successfully.

With his free right hand, he swung his now-red dagger as fast as he could into the wound from earlier, causing the wolf to howl and releasing its jaws from Ace’s shoulder.

Ace immediately dug the dagger even deeper, not letting it get a chance to fight back.

After drilling his dagger into the monster, he took it out so he could attack once more.

“AHH! TAKE THIS!!”

He swung over and over into the wound with his knife, not giving the wolf a chance to counter.

“DIE!!”

After swinging repeatedly at the wound...

The wolf fell to the ground.

--

Ace looked down at it from above, confirming that it wasn’t moving and that it really was dead.

But, he didn’t have time to fully confirm it.

“Whatever... it shouldn’t be able to move with those injuries either way...”

His eyes moved away from the beast to the bite on his left shoulder...

“Shoot... I need to finish this while I still have the energy to move.”

Now, from his left shoulder, to the monsters who have been duplicating themselves...

“Again--!”

Now, from 6 monsters, there stood 8.

Once again, his eyes shifted.

“Seems like they’ll leave her be for now and come after me... thank god...”

Aliza was still sat up against a tree, free from harm.

Ace gave a small snicker at his words, specifically at the two words at the end.

“Haha... “thank god”... I’m starting to hate those words.”

After observing everything around him, his eyes focused on the 8 beasts away from him.

“Let’s do this...”

He got back into his position from earlier, holding his right arm in front of his body.

He fixated on the monster on the very left, thinking that it was the safest option.

If there were monsters on only one side of his body, he wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked from both sides.

“Here I go...”

He started charging at the leftmost wolf and gradually closed the distance, but...

“Huh?!”

A few of the other monsters started charging at Ace, and quickly, a speed similar to that of an actual wolf’s.

“Ah-!!”

Ace immediately backed off and started running away from the monsters.

He couldn’t face off against that many of them at once.

He looked back to count how many were chasing him.

“2... 4... 6...”

6 of the wolves were chasing him, while 2 others were sitting back, gradually making their way in Ace’s direction.

“Those must be the real ones... how am I supposed to get to them?!”

He continued to run away, not knowing what to do about the situation.

“Ahh...! I can’t keep running like this!”

He started to think properly, remembering back on what Aliza said about them being illusions...

--If they’re illusions, then they must be somewhat weaker than the real bodies, right?!

That was the only thing Ace could cling to right now...

If each wolf was as strong as the main body... there would be no way out.

He clung to that hope and looked back once more...

*GROWL*

The 6 monsters continued to follow him.

He chose the monster closest to him to lock onto and prepared himself.

“COME AT ME!!”

He turned around and started rushing at the wolf.

He held his dagger out and ran, not wanting to die in this forest.

“SHARPER TIP!!”

His dagger glowed red and the distance between him and the monster vanished.

The wolf jumped at him, opening both of its mouths simultaneously, to take a bite of Ace.

Ace held his dagger low but swung at the air where the monster was approaching from.

His dagger was the first to make contact, avoiding a chow down from the monster.

“Ah--!”

The monster vanished from in front of him, a small amount of black smoke being released when it disappeared.

Ace instinctively looked around to check where it had teleported to.

The other 5 wolves stood there as their comrade attacked, but the sixth was nowhere to be seen.

“No way... Did it... die?”

If it wasn’t anywhere to be seen... instead of teleporting..., did it die...?

Was what Ace was thinking to himself at the time.

A small, hopeful smile made its way onto Ace’s face.

“If they die that quick... they’re probably super weak...!”

When his dagger made contact with the illusion, he couldn’t feel it physically touching anything.

“Does it even have a physical body...? Does that mean... it can’t hurt me?”

Ace started coming to conclusions about the illusions that had been chasing him.

He was now confident that he could fight these illusions, no...

Not fight... he could beat these illusions... by a landslide.

If they couldn’t hurt him, they had no chance.

He fixed his gaze on the next wolf that his eyes fell upon.

“Here I come...”

He started running towards it, not worrying about a backstep or calling out to a skill.

He closed the distance and immediately started to swing at the monster.

He noticed it preparing to reach in for a bite, but he didn’t pay it any attention, fully confident that he would be fine.

His dagger started to rush in towards the monster’s ches--

“AAGGHHH!!”

His dagger never reached the monster, and the sharp pain reappeared in his left shoulder, as if his shoulder was going to explode.

He looked over to see that one of the heads had chomped into his shoulder.

“Why...?!”

His conclusions were thrown out of the window.

These monsters could still cause pain, and an insane amount at that.

“Why...?!”

Why, was all he could think.

--THEY’RE ILLUSIONS! WHY CAN THEY HURT ME?!”

Negative thoughts and emotions filled his head as his shoulder was being used as dog food.

--JUST LET ME WIN AND LIVE! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!

His thoughts may have been negative, but his desire to live was still there, along with the strength in his right arm.

Although his body was being drained of its strength and blood... his right hand still worked, and his dagger was still in it.

That was all Ace needed for him to fight back.

“GET OFF!!”

He raised the dagger and swung at the monster, wanting to get it off as fast as possible.

The dagger struck the monster’s face, which was latched onto Ace’s shoulder.

“AH--!”

The minimal amount of black smoke reappeared as the dagger struck the Welfio.

Ace fell to the ground, not expecting the monster to disappear.

He sat on one knee and took a quick glance around.

“Only 4...”

He counted the monsters that pursued him.

“It’s dead...? How...?”

He wondered how the wolf died.

His head was starting to hurt because of the confusion.

He tried to collect his thoughts.

--It dies in one hit and practically doesn’t have a physical body, but... it can still attack?

This seemed insane to Ace, but right now, he was not in a situation where he could question it.

That was the only information he had, so he had to move forward relying on it.

He stood up and looked around...

“Oh shoot.”

He remembered Aliza’s tips, then took one more look around.

The 4 monsters left had surrounded him.

“I was supposed to avoid getting surrounded...”

He gave a quick shake to his head to stay focused on the fight.

--I need to attack one of them before they attack me, to get myself out of this...

He focused on what he should do next instead of worrying about the situation itself.

He looked at the monster closest to him and raised his dagger.

He started dashing at it, not giving them a chance to corner him.

This time, he didn’t make a mistake, and properly observed it as he charged.

His eyes focused and his legs running, he watched.

He watched and waited for the monster to do something that seemed like an attack...

--Wait for it... Wait for it...

He continued to watch...

--There it is...

The wolf stuck its two heads together and lowered its head to the right side of its body.

Ace didn’t know how to react to that, it was a different stance than the one from earlier.

Would it do another spin...?

He slowed down to give himself room to react.

Then, he closed the distance and went in for the strike.

Instead of focusing on his strike connecting, he focused on the wolf’s head, where the attack would be coming from.

All his dagger had to do was touch with some force... Ace could do that without having to focus on his strike.

The problem was taking more damage than he could take.

“...”

He continued to run, until he got in arms-distance of the monster.

Then, he got close enough for the monster to attack him, until...

“WOAH!”

The wolf rapidly swung its neck left, going for a horizontal attack instead of a swing with more build up.

Ace knew an attack was coming and backstepped before it got the chance to attack.

He could tell... if he got hit by that attack... him and Aliza would probably be done for.

But now that he dodged, there was an opening, and all he had to do was get in one hit.

“AHH!”

His trusty battle cry was called upon, and he rushed forward to slash the monster.

“TAKE THIS!”

He swung at the monster, and the black smoke returned, signaling that he finished it off.

He was ready for it appear this time, so he didn’t fall to the ground like last time.

Instead, he quickly looked around after slaying it, wanting to check the locations of all the other monsters.

“1... 2... 3...”

He located the other 3 wolves and quickly focused on one to attack.

As if he had Aliza’s skill, his first step was quick, and the distance was closed in a few seconds.

He watched the monster’s movements, now knowing three different attacks that it could let out.

“There it is.”

The monster brought its heads close together and lowered its head towards the ground.

“A spin attack.”

Ace got ready to backstep once again, this time more confident in his ability.

“Here I come...!”

He got into striking distance, waited for the attack, and...

“Too close...!”

He backstepped to dodge the incoming attack.

Then, he went in for the kill, repeating the same thing as last ti--

“NGHH--!!!”

His body was sent flying from a sudden impact at his waist.

“What... hap...pened...?”

Now on the ground a few meters away, he struggled to raise his head and see who attacked him.

He was sure that he had a sight on all 3 wolves...

“Fu...ck... I... forgot...”

Beside the wolf he went to attack...

Stood another wolf.

He slowly turned his eyes to find the other wolves.

“1... 2... 3... 4... 5...”

The two main bodies had doubled again.

--I need to keep fighting...

He placed his hand on the ground to support himself when he got up...

“Huh...?”

His legs wouldn’t work.

They wouldn’t listen to the commands he was giving them to stand up.

“Cmon... not... now...”

Just as the power in his legs was drained...

So was Ace’s hope and determination.

No legs, no strength in his left arm, and nobody left to support him.

He looked around once more.

“Cmon... not... now...!”

All five wolves were closing in on him, moving to finish him off.

Ace felt powerless as he sat there, unable to stand... unable to fight back...

He needed to stand, to protect Aliza, to protect his goal, to protect himself...

So, why weren’t his legs working?!

Were the thoughts going through his head.

He continued to watch as they slowly, carefully made their way towards him.

“Please... work... legs!”

He dropped his dagger to free his right hand and started pounding at his legs.

“Work! Work! Why stop working now?! When I need you most...!”

He continued to watch as the wolves came to bring him to his end.

It now felt inevitable and felt as if there was no way out.

That feeling of despair...

Is what brought Ace to tears once again.

As he laid there, powerless and incapable to do anything, tears fell from his eyes.

“Please... someone... help me...”

Now, not trying to save, but to be saved.

He wanted to live.

The monsters inched closer...

And his tears flowed faster...

“Please... Someone...”

And closer...

And faster...

“Please...”

And the monsters were now in range to finish him off.

The closest one reached its two heads down to take a bite out of Ace’s leg.

Ace didn’t have the motivation to raise his dagger and call out his skill anymore.

He just hoped...

That someone was going to come.

But, there was only about a second until he would be chewed on, so he closed his eyes and braced for the pain that was going to come...

For the pain that he was unable to avoid...

And so... he was chewed on... and slowly sent to the afterlife...

Or so he thought.

After a few seconds of darkness from his closed eyelids, he slowly opened his eyes to see what was happening.

“...!”

The monster that had come to bite him had disappeared.

He raised his head a tiny bit so he could look around a little better.

Now, instead of the original 5 monsters, there were only 2 illusions, a few meters away, coming to finish him off.

“What... happened...?”

He looked around, looking for the source of the monsters’ disappearance.

After a few more seconds of the wolves inching closer...

“--!”

They disappeared.

“What... is... happening...?”

There was definitely nobody in front of him who was killing the monsters... so what happened?

After feeling a sense of relief that there were no monsters left to kill him... his high from staying alive started to fully disappear.

He started to have trouble staying conscious, and his bleeding wasn’t stopping.

He has had two bites in his left shoulder and two impacts from the wolves' heads.

He needed to get healed, or he would die.

He clung to his consciousness, hoping he would see who saved his life.

A few more seconds passed, his consciousness continuing to fade.

“A...!”

--Is that... a sound...?

Ace couldn’t fully tell because of his physical state and how far away the sound was.

“Ac...!”

There was definitely a sound there, but he couldn’t make out who’s it was or if it was even a person.

“Ace...!”

--Oh... my name is being called... only one person knows my nam--

And his consciousness faded out, Ace catching a quick glimpse of his savior's beautiful light blue hair.

---

------

“I finally found you...!”

Aliza dropped to her knees and her eyes started to let out tears, just as Ace’s had a few moments earlier.

“I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”

“I let you go through something like this again...”

She immediately hugged Ace’s body and emitted a blue light from her hand.

She had too many emotions swirling through her head right now.

The three feelings that overpowered the rest were...

Hate, relief, and sadness.

Hate for herself and letting him go through a situation like this without being able to help him.

Relief for seeing him alive.

And sadness, for seeing the bites and bruises on his body.

These emotions filled her brain as she hugged him, flowing out through her tears...

She sat there and continued to heal him...

Until his wounds were patched up, and she was left there... alone with her feelings for the rest of the night.