"An Alpha Silver Moon Wolf," Yuki muttered slowly as she looked at the beast in front of her.
It was at least five times stronger than the Silver Moon Wolves she had killed earlier.
Those wolves had been more or less as strong as she was, but this wolf... It was an absolute monster compared to her current state.
GROWL!
The Alpha Silver Moon Wolf slowly approached, emitting terrible grating noises as if it were in pain.
It growled continuously, and saliva mixed with something red dripped in buckets from the corners of its massive, fanged mouth.
On its head, a crescent symbol glowed brightly in red.
Yuki felt increasingly agitated, but she tried to keep her composure.
The first lesson a martial artist learns is to remain cool even in pressured environments.
Yuki had to act fast. She knew she wasn't strong enough to defeat it alone, so the only option was to run away.
However, wolves were known for their agility, and Alphas were the best among them.
That's why they were Alphas—they were stronger and faster than normal wolves.
There was no way in hell this Alpha wolf would let her go; it was planning on avenging its packmates by devouring her whole.
Yuki gave up on running away.
She decided to fight it head-on.
Her final plan was to engage it in combat and try to create an opening or distract it enough to make a run for it.
Many do not realize this, but beasts like these Silver Moon Wolves have the ability to sense changes in the emotions of their prey.
The wolf knew that the girl in front of its eyes was afraid of it, and this only fueled its hunger to rip her flesh apart.
Aura exploded from Yuki as she brandished her sword and slashed at the Alpha wolf.
An intense and thick ray of white light emanated from her sword, heading straight for the beast.
The wolf whined in a threatening tone before charging at her.
It growled weakly before leaping from the ground, dodging the sword attack, and pouncing on Yuki.
The wolf managed to get close to her, but Yuki used her ability, the Ice Pulse, to conjure an ice barrier just before the wolf made contact with her.
CRACK!
The Alpha Silver Moon Wolf was strong. It easily shattered the ice barrier and continued its assault on Yuki.
"Come on!" Yuki managed to create another ice dome, that covered from all sides, using the last bit of her energy reserves just before the wolf could crush her with its fangs.
The ice dome was beginning to crack under the continuous assault of the alpha wolf.
Yuki was already planning her escape, timing it to coincide with the exact moment the dome would crumble so she could use her full speed.
CRACK!
Finally, the cracks on the ice dome became most pronounced, and the wolf grew more aggressive.
Its teeth and sharp claws began to shine with a red hue.
With one last strike of its claws, the ice dome shattered.
Yuki seized the brief pause in the attack and tried to run.
She didn't get even fifty meters away before the alpha wolf caught up to her.
Desperately trying to evade it, Yuki unleashed a heroic energy ray with her sword, but the wolf was smart; it easily dodged the attack and used its tail to strike at her sword, which she had raised in defense.
Yuki reinforced her arms with Ice Pulse, trying to ward off the tail attack, but it was too strong.
She was sent flying, crashing into a tree that broke in half and fell down.
The wolf let out a screeching noise before charging at her, its mouth wide open and its fangs elongating with a white hue.
Yuki was unable to react, and without a second's pause, the alpha wolf attacked her continuously.
Just before the wolf's fangs could tear through her flesh, it was flung away, thrown in the opposite direction.
"W-What...who?" Panting heavily, Yuki looked at the person who had tossed the beast away from her, the person who had saved her life.
Standing before her was a man with dark black hair and pale blue eyes resembling blue zircons.
He was so handsome, a face she could never forget since she first saw him during the awakening ceremony, a face she had been remembering constantly and randomly for unknown reasons.
"We will talk once I finish him off," Sam said, pointing his sword at the wolf, which had gotten up and was growling at him.
Sam could sense the fury emanating from the creature, angered by the interruption of its hunt.
"Don't... It's too strong. You will die," Yuki pleaded, her face displaying a rare expression of worry.
Sam gave her only a brief glance before turning his gaze back to the beast.
"Allocate half of the attribute points to Agility and the remaining to Stamina," he commanded.
[Agility Stat Increased: +5]
[Stamina Stat Increased: +5]
He felt the mana in the area surge into his body, spreading a warm sensation throughout his physiology.
Suddenly, he experienced a sharp, albeit mild, pinching pain, definitely noticeable but not debilitating.
Yuki watched in disbelief as the aura and presence standing before her transformed abruptly.
She didn't understand what had happened, assuming that Sam must have broken through to another level, explaining the sudden change.
Ignoring her reaction, Sam summoned his status board to confirm the changes.
---
[Name: Sam Tatsuya/Brunheart]
[Hero Level: 17]
[Mage level: 25]
[Titles: An Anomaly]
[Race: Arcanian]
[Class: None]
{Physical Stat(s)}
Strength: 22
Agility: 27
Stamina: 27
Perception: 24
Heroic Power: 42
Mana: 42
Attribute Points: 0
{Rare Stat(s)}
Charm: 15 (Note: 10 is the highest charm level for a mortal.)
Soul Power: 4
[Elemental Affinity(s): Wind, Flame]
[Innate Ability: Extraction (Level:1), Eyes of Truth (Level:1) ]
[Magic: Wind Magic, Flame Magic, Non-Elemental Magic]
[Skills: Heroic Sense, Mana Sense, Swordsmanship, Spearmanship, Spellcasting]
[Techniques: Soul Animation Concealment Art (Level: 2), Infernal Bird Reincarnation Art (Level: 1), Asura Sutra (Level: 1)]
---