How? How did he cover that distance so quickly? I should have known better. Sure, he may have been big, but he didn't come off as overly bulky or clumsy. Maybe it was just foolishness or dumb hope that I would have had the speed advantage. Either way, it hardly matters now.
I'm amazed that I'm still alive. For whatever reason, the wolf decided to inflict non-lethal damage which, as we all know, is incapable of killing, even by accident. Still, I suspect that I won't be alive for long. I'm sorry, master. I guess I was too weak after all.
I look up, barely conscious to see the alpha wolf pad away, walking towards the rest of his pack. "Aren't you going to finish her off?" the feminine wolf who had spoken up earlier asks him.
"Why bother? I'd feel weird eating dog meat. I got to have a little bit of fun. I figure she's earned her life in exchange."
Fun? Is that all my efforts amounted to? It's bad enough that I didn't win, but I didn't even put up a proper fight? Wasn't even a worthy foe? My desperate efforts and ambitions amounted to nothing but a game for this wolf?
I awkwardly rise to my feet, panting heavily, my sword feeling particularly heavy in my jaws. My vision is blurred and I feel like I could collapse at any moment. Still, I make my best effort to a growl through my gritted fangs. My opponent casts an apathetic glance over their shoulder, clearly unimpressed. "Get lost. These woods are a place for survivors, not pampered pets."
I rush towards him to attack, or at least I intend to. My weakened legs have other ideas, however, and I instead collapse after only two paces. I hear more canine laughter as the pack withdraws. I have no doubt that they'll return to finish me off if I keep moving deeper into their territory, but even if I wanted to, I can barely move. It takes a few minutes to even regain the energy needed to use Lay on Paws, and even after using it twice, I still feel sore and exhausted.
I want nothing more than to finish this fight, but if I'm going to do it, I need to do it right. I'll need to become much, much stronger. I pick up the scent of humans not so far away. It must be another village, naturally in the opposite direction of the wolf territory. I was planning to avoid human settlements, and continue forward, but I need a safe place to rest, recover and plan. Even if I wanted to, trying to circumnavigate the pack territory isn't an option. I'll lose my scent trail, and might never be able to find it again. Sneaking through? Even less of an option. Even putting aside how dishonorable it would be, there are too many eyes, and too strong noses. I'd never make it through undetected, as I have a sneaking suspicion that their territory is very large.
The only option is to challenge the alpha again. He made a mistake, both challenging me one on one, and dismissing me as not worth killing. A mistake that I vow he'll pay for.
The village is larger than my home town, but still rather rustic and low population, built along a river. There are no shortage of floating exclamation marks, not to mention people wandering below them, but I had no intention of stopping here, anyways. Quests don't give an abundance of experience points, at least not compared to fighting, and most physical rewards are, for obvious reasons, designed to aid humans, not dogs. There will be plenty of time to help people after I find my master. For now, however? I need to get as strong as I can, as quickly as possible.