Inside the den, Astaroth could smell the stench of death all around. It wasn't a huge den, so he quickly found the reason.
In the back of the den, the body of a wolf was rotting. It was mangled and torn like many wolves had ripped apart it at the same time.
"That was my mated female." Astaroth heard in his mind.
He could feel a slight tinge of sadness in White Death's tone.
"I'm sorry she had to end up this way." He said, with a bit of guilt.
"The Beta couple in the pack had always hated my female. The fault lies in my never taking care of it. Search for a bit more, please. I want to confirm something." White Death asked him.
So Astaroth kept looking around that cave, not even knowing what White Death was looking for. After a while of looking around, White Death spoke again.
"It is not here. Maybe it's... No, I doubt it. But maybe..." He said.
"What is it you are looking for?" Astaroth asked him.
"It doesn't matter. It probably isn't here anymore, Or alive." White Death replied.
Again Astaroth felt the sadness oozing off the soul remnant. He decided not to pry and walked out of the cave.
It was the middle of the day, and he could still farm more Exp before going back to the village, so he started walking slightly angled to where he came from.
He walked for a while, not encountering much until he reached a small river bend that ran away from the direction of the village. The river was flowing quickly and had many protruding rocks in it, causing waves all over.
Astaroth looked across the river, and what he saw froze his blood. He threw himself into nearby shrubs to hide.
On the other side of the river, a large black wolf was standing. It had a large scar across its left eye and streaks of white fur on its tail. Astaroth inspected it.
Dire Wolf Beta (In Transition to Alpha):
Level: 37
Grade: Special
Health: 83'500 Mana: 880
'So much health!' He thought, panting.
Then he noticed the wolf was carrying something in its jaw. It looked like a little ball of white and red fur from this distance, but then it wiggled.
And he saw what it was: a small wolf pup, wounded and weak. The big black wolf was holding it over the ledge of the river.
Then it tossed it in, turned around, and left.
"Jump in the river! Save that pup!" White Death screamed in his mind.
"What?!" Astaroth replied in his head, surprised at the request.
"Save the pup! Or let me out so I can save it myself!" The soul barked at him.
"Do you want me to die?!" Astaroth replied, not wanting to risk the river's rage.
"SAVE IT OR LET ME OUT!" White Death bellowed in his mind.
Astaroth could feel the panic in its tone.
"God dammit!" Astaroth cursed, as he ran and jumped into the river.
*Splash*
As soon as his body hit the water, he felt himself get dragged away by the current. It was spinning him and tossing him about, sending him dangerously close to many jagged rocks.
Astaroth swam as hard as he could just to stay at the surface of the water, but he couldn't see the pup yet.
"Further ahead, on a dead tree!" He heard White Death yell in his mind.
Astaroth scanned the river with his eyes quickly until he found the dead tree the soul was talking about. About fifty meters ahead of him, to the left, there was a dead tree fallen over the left part of the river.
The current had probably washed the wolf pup against it and was now holding on for its life. Astaroth could see that the pup was running out of energy fast, because of his injuries most likely, and he was slowly slipping off the trunk.
Astaroth swam with all his strength to the left, making his way to the tree trunk. As soon as he got there, the pup slipped away into the current.
Luckily for the little fellow, Astaroth caught it by the scruff of its neck just in time. But they weren't out of trouble just yet.
The river was still powerfully pushing against them, trying to wash them away. Astaroth brought the wolf to him and lifted him onto the trunk.
He quickly summoned White Death onto the tree trunk and lifted the pup to him.
"Bring him to the shore!" He yelled to White Death.
The wolf nodded and grabbed the young pup by the neck. As he grabbed it, the tree trunk shook.
It made a cracking sound and started groaning. The trunk was breaking!
It had probably started rotting after some time in the water, and Astaroth's collision with it had weakened it. White Death dashed the short distance to the edge of the river, but the trunk snapped before he made it.
The summon jumped with all its strength to its hind legs, in a last-ditch attempt at saving the pup. When it saw it wouldn't make it, It turned its head in a quick motion and threw the pup on the shore.
He saved the pup.
Astaroth was getting washed away again. Every time he tried swimming to the shore, the currents would wash him back away.
It was like the river wanted to drown him. After a hundred meters downstream, Astaroth saw something that caused him a minor heart attack.
Ahead of him, the river stopped. It was a waterfall.
And he couldn't see the bottom from where he was.
Not over ten seconds later, he was swung off of it. He fell nearly a hundred meters down until he landed in the water below.
The waterfall's foot was not deep, and when he submerged, he quickly reached the bottom and smacked his head. The world turned dark around him and he fainted.
His last thought had been 'Am I really going to have my first death like this?'