As I heard the girl talking I looked at her. She was standing there in the same way I left her when she was unconscious. She wasn't moving at all nor did she change her facial expression.
I thought I was going crazy, so I took a quick look around my surroundings and continued what I previously began doing; upgrading my skills. Just as I tapped my timepiece I got a strange message:
'You cannot upgrade your skills when you are in combat.'
"Keppy, why am I seeing this...?"
"A creature is about to attack you. Prepare yourself."
"What?! How am I even supposed to act in this situation?"
As I said that I grabbed my service rifle, yet I was still sitting on the grass. If it was an armored opponent this weapon would be pretty much useless, but I decided to take the risk.
I looked around once again.
The wind around me began blowing like in a scene from a horror movie. Leaves were getting dazed into the sky, all moving around in a circular pattern.
I felt an immense power approaching me.
A blonde girl was standing in the forest, with her face covered by her hair. Her figure was shining through the infinite darkness spanning the dense forest. Leaves were rotating around her figure at an incredible speed. Was she a goddess?
I blinked.
She disappeared. Nowhere to be found.
I decided to look around myself for the third time, and as I turned to my left, I saw the girl from the forest. Right... in front...of me...
"They are very hungry today." she said
"H-Hungry?"
"Don't worry. I will help you this time. For her own sake too. I cannot do it myself so you're the only one I can rely on."
She then pointed out at the girl. I was confused. Do they know each other? Who is she?
"You are very confused, but do not worry, you will learn everything with time. I am not here to kill you. But he is."
"He who?"
She came closer to my face; so close that we were almost touching our noses.
"This power, should help you tame and capture him. Now it is time to wake up Michael."
And soon after, our foreheads touched. My vision shortly after became entirely blank and I finally snapped back to reality. I was standing in the same place I was in before the vision.
"Was it even real? It was all so surreal."
'New Magical Skills Unlocked. Lathander's Cage and Animal Taming have been added to their respective branches.'
"It wasn't a dream after all..."
I grabbed my rifle almost out of instinct without even thinking. Something or someone was staring at me, a strong presence was nearby. So I turned aroun-
"Gah!"
It noticed me. I stood there paralyzed. Not able to move. I was horrified.
It was a werewolf. No doubt about it.
That creature was near the girl, staring at her almost as if it was its prey; it growled its teeth at me as soon as I looked at her.
"A-Are you trying to protect her?"
As soon as I said that its gaze pierced through my soul, thus moving into an attack position. Its claws were as long as a sword, and there were four on each of its pawns. If it hit me, I would certainly be sliced in half. That foe was something I couldn't handle. Yet here I was, in front of one.
Its enormous figure and robust physique were the least concerning. The face was by far the most terrifying of them all. Not only did it have a different eye color for every eye, but its teeth were as big as a pencil. All it would've taken him was a single bite to tear one of my limbs apart.
I had to do something. Yet what could I do?
Kill it? Out of the question
Escape? In the blink of an eye, it would tear me apart.
Call for help? No one would've even heard me.
I refuse to die. I must come up with a solution. But what the fuck should I even do?!
My rifle was pointed at it, blank range. So if I should've opened fire on it, at least one bullet was guaranteed to hit it. My only hope was that if I shot an entire magazine, at least one bullet will hit its face, particularly one of the eyes. Just so I could gain enough time to escape. With or without the girl.
That or certain death.
I put my rifle on full auto and began shooting that creature like I never did in my life.
At that same moment, the creature disappeared into the thin air as if it was an illusion.
And now, it is in front of me at one arm's distance. Standing on its two enormous feet, motionless.
"Wha-"
It fell on its back, its body was barely pierced by bullet holes and its face was completely soaked in blood. Did I just kill a werewolf using normal bullets? It was very unlikely since it was groaning in pain.
So, I somehow captured this beast, and I am supposed to tame it...
How do even I use magic? Maybe I should try that thing I used to see in a lot of animes. I remember a series called The Rising of the Hero's Shield, where all they had to do was simply shout the name of the spell, put their hand forward, and...
"Lathander's Cage!"
Miraculously, a cage the size of the animal appeared out of thin air and trapped the beast inside of it. Unlike in the anime, this cage wasn't round and green but it was rectangular and grey. I felt slightly weaker after the spell. For some reason, I didn't use any moxie...
So, I began taming this beast. It took me some time and a lot of concentration, but here I was. Finally, I could name it.
'Level 3 male werewolf successfully tamed, please insert a name.'
"Your name will be... Arrax."
'Name inserted. Replenishing the creature's stats.'
'Replenishing complete.'
As I read that on the screen I saw Arrax healing its wounds almost immediately. The cage covering the beast was rapidly dissolving into the thin air, so it was safe to assume the beast was now under my total control.
I placed the menu of the timepiece at the center of my vision. A new menu was added before the Notes button, it read 'Party'. So now, he was a part of my party?
I could see most of his stats and class and everything. Yet it had a baby icon next to his gender, what is that all about?
"Don't tell me... it is only a child?!!!!!!!!!" I shouted almost at the top of my lungs without even noticing.
Those things are THAT strong from such a young age? My god.
I didn't even have a moment to think because I felt my spine shivering once more. Deep inside the forest, I heard dozens of howlings. I almost lost my composure due to the sheer pressure I had on me. Death was certain if I stood there any longer. Without even noticing it, Arrax was standing on its four pawns, staring at me. I don't know what he may think of me or what in the world he wants from me. But I had to use him, whether I like him or not.
I began running to grab my bag and the girl. Arrax was right behind me, so I put the girl on that beast and made a run for it.
"Arrax, run as fast as you can."
So I grabbed the beast from the spot and eventually rode it almost like a horse. Arrax was surprisingly fast despite being a toddler at best.
We were going somewhere far away, to a foreign land. I had some mixed feelings boiling inside of me. I felt fear and anger for abandoning my quest and the forest, but also sadness because I may die and never get the chance to meet my family in the old world once again. I hoped this entire time that I could somehow create a marvelous adventure for myself like those in the movies and animes I used to watch back in the old world. Where I could become powerful enough to defeat entire armies under the command of the Dark Lord or something.
Yet here I am, immersed in depressing thoughts. My family, my life, my job.
"What the hell did I do to deserve all of this..." I said sobbing to myself
Little did I know I began crying since I lost my composure the moment I fled.
"To hell with it."
I am simply too pathetic to even do anything right. Despite the training I received in my old world, I am as useless as a mosquito here. The enemies are so strong, that I don't know how I even managed to survive during this mess.
Whilst I was crying like a baby I didn't even notice the werewolves who were desperately trying to reach and kill us. They were close but Arrax was keeping them at bay with his speed.
We were approaching a different forest. It was very large and dense. So large in fact that the entire horizon was covered in lush vegetation. The werewolves stopped in their tracks and so did Arrax. The beasts in the back were growling their teeth and were slowly backing away, almost as if they had no choice but to submit to the forest's will.
A strange being began to form out of the trees, assuming a humanoid aspect. Slowly it began composing itself until it reached its form. It didn't have legs, but sure as hell, it had the power to wipe an entire capital in a matter of seconds.
It was gigantic; Its head almost reached the sky... Was it the king of this forest? A spirit? A god? Or simply an enemy? I'll never know.
I was certain of one thing, if I were to die someday, it would be now.
Paralyzed as I was, I didn't do a thing, but Arrax tried its best to escape.
But it was all... useless.
In the blink of an eye, the creature grabbed us whilst the enemy werewolves were running for their lives deep on the far horizon. It stared at us for a brief moment before launching us at enormous speeds deep into the air. Whilst at the same time, it threw dozens of tree trunks and branches our way.
Thus paving the road to certain and painful death. I grabbed it as hard as I could the girl and held on for dear life, whilst Arrax was trying desperately to attach himself to one of the trunks.
"Arrax, it's not worth it. We are going to die either way."
The werewolf gave a furious bark in response. So I guess he couldn't even talk, but it could certainly understand human language.
Somehow, Arrax managed to climb up on the flying trunk, thus gaining a solid center of balance.
Time has slowed down. Every second felt like a minute, and every minute felt like an hour. It didn't matter anymore. Death was almost certain. Michael could feel it deep inside his bones. But he had one thing that despite his fears, never disappeared: Hope.
Deep inside, he hoped he could cheat death and get a third chance at life. He wasn't aware, but that feeling was the only thing he had left to cling onto. One last chance at life, one that will shape him to be the hero of tomorrow.
The balance of Fate had shifted in his favor. And the Universe has decided. He was to live a new life, with a new beginning. One that would change him completely, one that could make him a legend among legends. He was to be reborn as a new man.
And yet, he was desperately clinging onto dear life. Flying through the skies of a foreign land, one he hasn't been to yet. He was close to death, but his dear companion Arrax had one plan in mind. One that would save his master and the lady he rescued long before they met.
Graciously jumping through the dense volley of trunks one by one, he managed to reach the farthest trunk where if he jumped he would land roughly, yet safely on land. And the time came; now it was all depending upon the skills of the werewolf. The master was desperately clinging on to his companion, whilst heroically sheltering the young lady's body from any of the incoming debris.
At the right moment, Arrax jumped at a distance safe enough to avoid the initial impact of the volley of debris, but he didn't take into consideration the massacre that would ensue, with dozens of wooden pieces large or small, flying through the sky almost as if was raining down on them.
Michael has been hit in the process, but his helmet managed to save his life at last. The air was densely filled with dirt and dust, making any object nearby invisible. The girl was unscathed thanks to Michael's heroical defense, but both of them were unconscious.
Arrax decided to do one thing to save his master and the lady; take them somewhere far away from the site. For a couple of days, Arrax would roam the land desperately seeking shelter, until he found one, a cave inside a small mountain, close enough to a forest and a river. It was a perfect shelter and he knew it. So he placed the young humans in the cave whilst he protected them as if they were the last thing he had in this world.
He began licking all of their wounds whilst spending magic in the process. Not all of it, just enough to heal his master and the lady that was with him.
Now all he had to do, was to prepare some food so his companions could replenish their drained energies. He knew deep down that humans would probably get sick if they ate raw meat, so he tried his best at gathering every fruit the forest could offer. Once he took them back home, he had one last thing to do.
To stand beside his master, waiting for the moment when he would wake up...