For your survival in a dangerous and unknown land, you first have to adapt to its basic environment.
If it’s a desert, you have to preserve the water in your body in normal circumstances.
If it’s a cold place with consent snowfall, you have to protect your body from cold.
In a forest, you have to protect your body temperature and be safe from wild predators.
And these are in normal circumstances, in normal places, and for normal people.
I was none and my situation was unbelievable too.
Not everyone had to run from a large wolf with some chains flying around its body!
“Shit dude! Just stop now! I can’t kill you even if I want to!”
I don’t know how long I have been running like this but, at least half an hour has passed.
It started when I finished butchering the ants.
It was a safe place and there was nothing dangerous.
But than… I heard some movements.
From the other side, a huge wolf with gray fur and silver chains floating around its body jumped on me.
It was a very close call. I barely managed to survive there.
Fortunately, I didn’t get caught there.
With whatever I could save in my storage device, I ran with (speed enhancement), (Wind speed), and (wind shield) magic.
This wolf was at least an (Orange) ranked beast from its Mana.
Not that I had any way of knowing what rank or how powerful this unknown beast was.
‘It would be much easier if I had an [Appraisal] skill like dad.’
But where would I find a (Blue) ranked skill stone?
Even dad was extremely lucky to find something like that from an already corpse of an (Indigo) beast.
What were the chances that something like that might happen to me?
I am not hoping anything like that to happen. It would be a miracle if it happens.
‘Well, I might still get something similar…’
If I had mystic eyes then that meant I had a chance to get something of a higher level in (Stage-2).
An [Origin Skill] related to eyes and in that, having the ability to see your opponent’s skills and stat was… normal?
How should I put this…
Most people with Origin skill related to eyes had something similar to [Appraisal] in their (Stage-2).
I knew it would take time but I believed I could do that.
(Stage) of an [Origin Skill] was difficult to raise and it wasn’t actually up to us.
It would go up in some unexpected situations like fighting a bloody battle or cooking some food.
It was really unexpected.
I knew about the sun as a star and how it functioned.
If that knowledge was of any use, I can look through it after finding a safe place.
But this damn wolf wasn’t going to let me go after chasing me for this long time.
And why were there chains floating around it?!
It wasn’t even using them!
Maybe they were used as a defense or maybe to climb a tree, damn they could be just armor to protect the vulnerable body!
The wolf had red eyes and it was definitely looking at a prey.
This scenario was life-threatening.
Running more than this was also a problem.
My stamina was about to run out and my Mana was depleting with each passing second.
I wasn’t just mindlessly running; I was scouting ahead with my [Mystic eyes].
My mind was calm so I was at least thinking straight.
And I knew I can’t win against that thing as I was right now.
I had to somehow lose him.
At that moment… I saw something ahead of us with hope-filled eyes.
‘Can I pull that off…?’
What came to my mind was definitely dangerous.
‘Let’s give this a try! Worst is my death anyway.’
I readily made a plan and thought about it for a second time.
Biting my lips, I took out a basic stamina potion and downed it.
Increasing my speed, I reached an almost dead tree with low branches.
Taking out my bow, I shot a black arrow at the other side of the tree and a yellow arrow behind me.
A bright light flashed before the wolf and for three seconds, it closed its eyes.
That time was more than enough for me to climb that tree and reach a somewhat safe space.
I knew anything could happen right now that’s why I chose this tree without any leaves.
I can hide from them better here than some tree full of leaves and unknown creatures.
When the wolf came back to its senses, it looked at a shadow that moved to the left side and followed it.
From the left side, another wolf similar to him appeared.
Hiding in the shadows, I smiled.
My brilliant plan was totally simple.
Let the strong fight among themselves.
There was a chance that something like this might not work and they might join together to attack me.
But from what I saw this last half hour, I knew they were lone wolfs.
Fighting alone and hunting alone.
They didn’t like the intruding of others.
And they will attack senseless whoever tried to steal their food from them.
And just as I thought, the wolf that chased after me bore its teeth at the other wolf.
The other wolf jumped backward and looked at the other wolf furiously.
“Wooooooo!”
The first wolf roared in a hungry, furious voice.
Without giving the other wolf any chance, it jumped forward and extended its floating chains.
The other wolf was surprised and furious.
One blocked it by wrapping the chains around its body.
-KLANK!
With a loud crash of metal and blue sparks, the fight between two ferocious dogs begins.
One wolf had silver chains but the other had blue.
They only fought with these chains, eyes shining in red.
This two didn’t even use any claws or teeth in this fight.
Their green blood splashed out from the deep wounds around their bodies
The chains contained a sharp wind attribute and their sharpness was no joke.
They weren’t even actual chains of metal but a passive skill.
I only realized that after the chains started integrating after their long battle.
Sitting on the tree, I made glass from earth magic and poured some water into it.
I was burning after running like that.
Cooling the water was also important so the (Cool wind) decreased the temperature somewhat.
The mindless wolfs were definitely scary.
The way their chains pierced their skin so easily was enough to tell me they were weak without the chains.
Time passed and the wolf that chased me all the way here was now laying on the ground, lifeless.
The results were as I expected.
The chains around its body were gone and no moment could be seen on its body.
The other one that had been attacked out of the blue was breathing heavily, fallen on one knee.
The chains around its body were also almost gone.
But, I couldn’t take any chances.
I took out three arrows with green enchantments and aimed them at him.
Unknown to my presence, the wolf just stood there in the middle of blood.
I channeled some Mana into my bow and fingers and released them.
The arrows shot forward with a booming sound.
In the mid-air, they formed a triangle and then joined together.
With more force than before, they struck the pitiful wolf.
Blood splashed even more as the arrows had struck the belly part without chains.
The wolf fell to the ground.
“Woooooo!”
With a pained cry, the half-dead wolf took its last breath.
My mind was still calm and my heart was beating equally as it had been.
But, I felt bad for the wolf.
What did he even do to end up dying?
I pitied him but a thought crossed my mind.
‘Survival of the strong, huh?’ I thought, looking down at it.
Dwelling too much on that feeling wasn’t something I could do in this place.
I had to go back to my family and to do that, I would do anything possible.
Even if I had to kill a village full of monsters.
But, that was the worst-case scenario.
‘I have to refrain from fighting unnecessary and difficult battles.
If there is even a tiny possibility of failure, that fight shouldn’t be fought.’
With those complicated thoughts, I looked around the area to find out if any more beasts were around.
Fortunately, there were none so close that they could be dangerous.
I quietly jumped on a lower branch but then… my heart started beating wildly.
Without thinking, I moved up and casted a (Shadow curtain) around me.
I was small and fortunately could fit in a small gap inside the tree.
I looked out to see what that strange feeling was and my eyes widened in surprise, utter disbelief clouding my eyes.
‘I might actually have died without knowing what hit me just now.’