"Etta!?"
I shouted in surprise at the Severely Injured Etta, who was not only Bleeding beyond Control, but also missing her entire Left Arm.
'What the hell happened to her!?'
"...Sett…"
Suddenly, she collapsed.
"Etta!"
Quickly taking off my Suit and Shirt, I use my Shirt to cover her Wound.
'What the Hell What the Hell What the Hellll!! Did they attack Etta as well!?'
"Etta, what happened!? Did Arlo and Blake do this!?"
She didn't respond.
She was Unconscious.
"Damn it… DAMN IT!!"
Suddenly, another Rustle came from behind me.
Looking over my Shoulder, it was a Kobold.
'…Damn it…'
Sitting Etta up against a Tree and tying my Clothes onto her Wound, I turn around, and brandish my New Marrow Blade.
'My Body is screaming to sit down… But that's not an Option.'
The Kobold hasn't noticed me yet, so I made the first move.
I charge towards the Kobold, catching it off guard, and with an Upward Slash…
The Kobold was taken out in one hit, leaving a large Gash on its Chest.
----------------------------------------
[Killed a Kobold]
{+4 EXP}
----------------------------------------
'Phew. This Blade is seriously sharp. I'm lucky that a Blue Kobold didn't attack…'
Walking back to Etta, I check on her Wound…
It didn't seem to stop bleeding, and I can't tie something around her Shoulder to stop the Blood Flow, since the Arm was cut all the way from the Armpit to the Top of the Shoulder.
'This is bad. If I don't stop the Bleeding, she'll die of Blood Loss… Is there anything I can do about this?'
Thinking hard about it, I was only able to think of one solution…
Fire.
If I could make a Fire, I could Burn the Wound, and Stop the Blood from flowing.
'First thing's first, Firewood. It would be best to take her back to the Cave. But it's too far… I don't have much time. Let's start by gathering Firewood.'
Doing just that, I began collecting Firewood from the surrounding area, picking up Dry Twigs and Fallen Branches, and placing them all in a Pile.
'All that's left is to START the Fire… How do I do that?'
I tried a few things, from hitting Rocks against each other to try getting Sparks to appear, to spinning a Stick back and forth on a piece of Dry Wood to cause Friction, but there wasn't any Dry Grass, so it wasn't working either.
'Damn it… Do I just leave it as is? …Do I just let Etta die like this?'
As I frantically looked around for something Flammable…
I heard a Crunch right beneath my feet.
Looking down, there were a few Fallen Leaves that seemed to have been there for a Day or Two.
'…Will this work? …Might as well try.'
Taking what few Leaves I could find, I bring them back to the Dried Wood, and place them on top.
'…I hope this works.'
Taking the Stick, I began grinding away at the Leaves as hard and fast as I could…
But, it ended there.
All it did was Grind the Leaves.
"Damn it… DAMN IT!!"
Suddenly, with my sudden outburst, the Speed and Strength of my aggression…
Accidentally started a Fire with the Burning Leaves.
'…I did it! I- Wait, the Leaves won't last forever!'
Quickly and carefully, I place the Burning Leaves into the Pile of Firewood.
And just like that…
I successfully started a Fire.
'Good. The Smell and Smoke might be a Problem though… Let's not think about that for now. Saving Etta comes first.'
I place my Marrow Blade into the Fire and wait for it to Heat Up.
Unlike Metal, I couldn't tell if it was Hot Enough by just looking at it, so I waited a few minutes to let it heat up.
Finally, after a couple of Minutes, I take it out.
Hovering my Hand over it, I could feel the Vibrant Heat emanating off the Blade.
'Good.'
Before it could Cool, I hurried over to Etta, and carefully took off the Clothes tied to her Wound.
As for me…
'…Please don't kill me, Etta.'
I place the Heated Blade along her Wound, and Immediately began to hear Sizzling.
Etta flinched, but she seemed to be in a Deep Sleep, unaware of the Pain.
'At least she doesn't have to feel this…'
Inspecting the Wound, I burn the Parts where Blood would start seeping through, eventually needing to Reheat the Blade, and finishing what I started.
…Etta's Wound was finally Sealed, and there was no more Blood leaking from her Arm.
'Haaa, finally… She's safe… That was stressful.'
Just as I relaxed, my Stomach growled loud enough for the entire Forest to hear.
I looked around for anything to eat, and my eyes locked onto the Kobold.
'…I don't want to-'
So then I ate the Kobold.
I strictly didn't want to eat more than I could muster, so I just went for the Thighs.
'…Surprisingly, Kobold Meat is pretty good. It's salty without even being Seasoned.'
I did my best to ignore the fact it was more Human-Shaped than I would like, and instead tried to make it as comfortable as I could for Etta.
I took as many Leaves as I could and made an Enormous Pile of them for her to lay on. I laid her into them gently, and made sure she could still be warm from the Fire without the Leaves lighting on Fire.
'And that's that… Maybe I should practice more of my Skills before more Kobolds come by.'
Before I could even begin, I spot more Kobolds past some Trees.
3 of them, and they were straight towards me. …Us.
'2 is manageable, but 3? …I guess I'll have to really put my Skills to the Test.'
Just as I was about to Ambush them…
A Pair of Wolves come out of nowhere, and immediately Kill 2 of the Kobolds, and soon after killing the last remainder before I could even take a step back.
It was then that I understood why Wolves are only 3 EXP…
It's because they hunt in "Packs".
From the Shadows, 3- No, 4 more Wolves appeared, bringing that count up to 6 Wolves.
'…I should be careful. If they notice me, I'm dead meat.
Carefully making my way back…
I crawl over to Etta's Bed of Leaves, lay down next to her, and continued to cover us in Leaves.
'Hopefully the Smoke from the Fire will cover our Scent… And hopefully they won't smell Etta's Wound.'
After I made sure we were perfectly covered…
I could hear the wolves begin to enter our Camp.
Calm down… Actually, I'm already calm. But, Calm down anyways.
It was then that I noticed…
I'm laying down in a "Bed", face-to-face with a Girl.
'…Well this just got awkward. …Ah, there was "That", wasn't there?'
Carefully bringing my Hand up to Etta's Right Arm…
'…{Exchange}.'
----------------------------------------
{Exchange}
[Unique Skill : Assassination]
(Copy Cost : 9999 EXP)
[Skill : Soul Weapon - Dagger]
(Copy Cost : 99 EXP)
[Magic : Wind]
(Copy Cost : 100 EXP)
----------------------------------------
'Tch. Expensive… I guess I should aim for "-Dagger" first, huh?'
Then, I noticed…
The Wolves were gone.
I couldn't hear anything happening outside. Not even a Sniff or the sound of Breathing.
Making a small hole to peek through the Leaves…
The Wolves were really gone.
'…They just Came and Went.'
Standing up, I brush the Leaves off of Etta, and take a look around.
Nothing seems out of place…
'I need EXP… a Lot of it.'
Taking my Marrow Blade…
I Steel myself.
"…It's time to Hunt."
. . .
. . .
. . .
'Is what I said, but…'
Right in front of me…
Was a Full-On War between Kobolds and Wolves.
There were roughly 50 on each side, with both sides slowly losing numbers. There were also a few Blue Kobolds, as well as a few Dark Gray Wolves, which had Darker Fur than the usual Wolf I've seen.
'Crap. How am I supposed to earn EXP like this? …Ah.'
An idea came to mind…
If I killed the Kobolds while they're distracted, then the Wolves might show me a bit of Respect.
'I also need EXP… Argh! Let's just go! If I Die, I Die!'
Rushing out of the Forest and into the Open Battlefield…
I immediately slash one of the Blue Kobolds in the Back, catching them completely off guard.
----------------------------------------
[Killed a Blue Kobold]
{+8 EXP}
{Drop : {Fang} Skill Crystal}
----------------------------------------
The Blue Kobold turned to Dust, and the Crystal was all that was left.
'I already have it… What happens if I eat more than one?'
Shaking that thought, I grab it and quickly place it in my Pocket and shifted my focus to another Kobold.
'The Kobolds seem to have not taken notice of me somehow.'
I immediately Slashed the Back of a Normal Kobold, and Stabbed the Back of another, killing 2 of them.
----------------------------------------
[Killed a Kobold]
{+4 EXP}
----------------------------------------
[Killed a Kobold]
{+4 EXP}
----------------------------------------
'Alright! Let's keep this Momentum!'
Spotting another Blue Kobold, I rush over as fast as I could.
{Fang}.
With one big Slash, a large Gash was made on the Kobold's Back.
----------------------------------------
[Killed a Blue Kobold]
{+8 EXP}
{Drop : {Fang} Skill Crystal}
----------------------------------------
'And that makes 3…'
To test it out, I consume the Skill Crystal to see what it would do.
Just like before, it immediately melted in my Mouth.
----------------------------------------
[Consumed {Fang} Skill Crystal : 1/2]
----------------------------------------
'1 of 2? Does that mean it can be Upgraded?'
Before I could test that Theory, some of the Kobolds began to take notice of the Enemy behind their Lines.
'And Up goes the Difficulty.'
Looking on both sides, Kobolds were running towards me…
But, because of their sudden Loss in Numbers, even if it were small, the Wolves immediately began to push through, stopping the Kobolds from both sides in their tracks by biting into their Necks.
'I need to hurry, or else they'll take all the EXP!'
Finding 2 Kobolds nearby, I slash one of them in the Back…
And a Wolf came out of nowhere, killing the other immediately.
'Ugh. I'm grateful, but…'
----------------------------------------
[Killed a Kobold]
{+4 EXP}
----------------------------------------
Before I could even look around to find another Kobold to kill…
The Wolves began to Howl.
I looked around the Battlefield, and with just the few Kobolds I killed…
The Kobolds lost the War One-Sidedly.
…Wow. That was… Fast.'
Although I was disappointed…
It felt somewhat relieving to see that the Wolves weren't hostile towards me.
'Ah! I should check how much I've earned. Status.'
------------------------------------------------------------
[Level : 1] [EXP : 36/(NULL)] [Unique Skill : Exchange]
[Stats]
{Strength : 2} {Endurance : 1} {Agility : 1}
{Dexterity : 1} {Intelligence : 1} {Magic : 0}
[Skills]
{Soul Weapon : Gun} {F - Fang)
[Elements]
{Space}
[Status]
{Minor Muscle Destruction}
------------------------------------------------------------
'Wow… That's not a lot… At least my Muscles recovered some. It might be because of the Adrenaline or because I'm getting used to it, but my Muscles don't ache as much as they used to- Ah, nope. There it is.'
The Adrenaline I had during the Fight subsided, and the usual Pain returned to me.
While I was aching…
The Wolves began to surround me.
'…Uh oh.'
Although I thought that…
I didn't sense any Hostility from the Wolves.
After a moment…
A Larger, Bright White Wolf appeared from the Forest, and the other Wolves stopped, leaving a Path for the Large Wolf to head straight towards me.
'Is that the Pack... Leader!? HE'S HUGE!'
And finally…
I was Face-to-Face with the supposed Pack Leader of the Wolves.
. . .
. . .
. . .