While I had the thought that going back to our camp would be just something ordinary from my daily routine, I was totally wrong.
Swallowing dryly as I tried to figure out a way to escape the current situation, I kept my attention on the five wolves that surrounded us.
The reason we got ourselves into the current situation was simple.
When we reached the halfway point on the way back to camp, we encountered some unexpected prey, it was a small group of wolves with the levels between 4 and 5. They were not our usual type of prey, but since my level and Rin's level were higher, I believed they were an easy source of XP.
To my dismay, I couldn't have been more wrong.
At the moment of our contact, unlike the other creatures, they didn't run away or attack us immediately, they just watched us in a state of alert.
Since they didn't want to take the initiative, I took the initiative to attack them myself, but it was hard to hit them due to their reflexes and agility. In the end, Rin and I ended up with our backs to each other, surrounded by the five wolves.
They weren't close enough to be hit, but they weren't far enough away to let us escape either.
Compared to the goblins and boars we've killed so far, wolves are far more intelligent. Besides being cautious and patient, they do not attack blindly and work as a team.
My hope was that the Calm Down sub-skill would come into effect, but although the wolves are being patient, they don't seem to have good intentions toward me. It seems that this ability has some limitations that I am not aware of.
Looking for a way out of the situation I had gotten us into, my mind was working at full speed. Unfortunately, there weren't many ideas that would be useful in this situation.
Even the tactic of running and then catching them by surprise I used against the goblins wouldn't be useful, since the wolves are faster than us.
Wait!
Despite them being faster than me and Rin, that might not be the case for Kurama.
With something on my mind, I looked at him at the edge of my peripheral vision. He was at my feet. Although he had a shrunken posture, he was fiercely displaying his small fangs.
If I had to say, he didn't look the least bit threatening.
Back to the main point, I'm not sure if my plan would work, but at the moment, I didn't have a better idea.
"Kurama," attracting his attention, I continued, "Pay attention."
Pointing away with my index finger, I spun it and then repeated the movements once more.
"Go!"
Despite my command, he didn't move from his spot. He was probably afraid to pass between the wolves.
Looks like I'll have to create an opening for him.
Knowing Rin's impatient temperament, I warned her to keep calm while I put the plan into action.
To make sure Kurama had understood, I ran the command again. The only thing that worried me was the possibility that he wouldn't run when the opportunity presented itself.
"Well, I have no choice but to try..."
Taking a deep breath, I looked at the wolf that was about two feet in front of me and braced myself.
Time to get started!
Giving a short forward stride, I stretched my arm to its fullest as I tried to stab the wolf with my sword.
As expected, he easily dodged it by jumping to the side.
"I'm not done yet!"
I shouted to attract the wolves' attention.
At the same instant, I quickly pulled out a club I'd grabbed from the goblins and hurled at the wolf, forcing it further away.
Proving that my worries were in vain, a small orange flash passed through the hole created in the wolves' circular formation.
Seeming unwilling to let him get away, the wolf I tried to stab chased after him.
At the same time, one of the nearest wolves advanced on me, but I managed to avoid a bite on my arm and went back to being back-to-back with Rin again.
Looking at the four remaining wolves, I was a little unhappy. The wolf I attacked was the only one that chased Kurama.
Well, considering Kurama wouldn't be able to handle one of them in one on one, this will ease some of the pressure Rin and I are getting.
That said, I think I can consider the first step of the plan a success. All that remained for us now was to get the four wolves to a place where they could not keep the circular formation and were forced to come face to face with us.
This would be no easy task, but I planned to take advantage of the wolves' wariness. Since they would only attack us when there was an opening, I would walk slowly while looking for a more advantageous place for us to fight.
"Auuuu~~~~"
"""Auuuu~~"""
Before I could even put the second phase of the plan into action, one of the wolves howled and was soon followed by the others.
Feeling a shiver run down my spine, I swallowed dryly.
I had a bad feeling that this was to summon more companions. They had probably split off from some pack that wasn't too far away.
If more of them came, we'd be screwed!
Oh shit! Shit! Shit!!!
Not wanting to wait and see, I screamed.
"Rin, let's take them down!"
Yelling in response, Rin's back pulled away from mine.
Preparing myself, I advanced against the wolves in front of me too.
***
In the end, even though I almost died, we managed to kill them all.
"That was a pretty long recap."
I muttered to myself after going over all the events from the time I arrived until now.
If I may say, that even seemed like an author's way of recapping events after starting a story at a point he thought would be cool to draw readers in.
"Well, the important thing is that I'm alive."
Looking around, the cave, which was dark before, now had sunlight streaming through the gaps between the solid wooden door and the wall.
"Looks like the sun's up already."
Rin, who was next to me, somehow ended up falling asleep still crouched down and was now leaning towards me with her head resting on my shoulder.
"Hey, it's time to wake my sweet sleeping baldy."
I said as I gently patted her almost bald head.
"Gggg~~~"
Waking up in a groggy state, she made some strange goblin noises and dropped her head onto my thigh. As if not satisfied, she crawled slowly, bringing her chest up over my legs and lay still.
"Don't be stubborn, the sun is out."
I said as I shook her shoulders, but all I got were incomprehensible moans.
Looking at her acting like that while letting her drool drip down my pants, she doesn't even look like a hideous goblin that eats anything it sees in front of it.
Even though she's dumb as a rock and has a short temper, it's nice to have her by my side. Not only her, Kurama too, I just hope he's okay.
Since it looked like she wanted to sleep that way and her drool was running through my pants, I made a little threat.
"If you keep sleeping, I won't be able to get up to make food."
The moment she heard the magic word, even though she staggered, Rin immediately got to her feet.
"Good girl."
I said as I also stood and walked over to the block of solid wood that I called a door. Touching it with my fingers, I put it away in my inventory and let the sunlight bath the entire cave as I took a deep breath.
Seconds later, I noticed an orange blur approaching at full speed.
Bending down, I opened my arms and received Kurama who jumped on my chest. After a brief check, I couldn't see a single wound.
"Good to see you're back safe and sound, buddy."
I stroked his soft fur as he rubbed his head avidly against me. Interrupting our reunion, Rin took my hand that was stroking Kurama and put it on her head.
A goblin jealous of a fox, that's a pretty unique situation...
"Fine, if you want me to stroke your head, then give me a smile."
Despite my request, she didn't move a muscle from her face, but not because she didn't want to. Because of our connection, I understood that she simply did not understand my request.
Since she didn't know the concept of smiling, I tried to teach her, but the end result was not really pleasant.
Seeing her showing her yellow, pointy teeth with an expression that was supposed to be cheerful, made it look like she was eager to devour me. The biggest proof that it wasn't a wrong impression of mine was the fact that Kurama started trembling in my arms.
While spending some time with the two of them, I reflected a bit and realized that I became quite attached to them.
Currently, I should not only worry about my safety, but theirs as well. From now on, I will have to think twice before getting into a fight.
As Rin's tummy was rumbling and she was looking at me with eager eyes for food, I stopped playing with them and I made breakfast.