The wolf streaked forward, aiming to bite down on my neck but I turned to the side. Taking a quick step back I stabbed out with my spear.
*clang*
Sparks shot out from where my spear bounced off the fur of the steel wolf.
"Tsk!"
I jumped back to create distance again. The wolf was looking at me with a smug look on it's face. It was relishing the fight since it now knew I had no way to penetrate it's fur.
I began wracking my brain as I tried to come up with a way to land some damage on this wolf. The speed of the wolf forced my to exert a lot of energy to dodge, but I could at least avoid major wounds.
However it was never as easy as I imagined it to be.
Wounds accumulated on my body rapidly but I still wasn't able to find any weaknesses. I attacked everywhere I could think of but the fur covered it's whole body. I even tried to attack the bottom of the wolf's stomach but even that wasn't soft.
I desperately searched for something but I couldn't penetrate the skin at all. My enchantment was useless if I couldn't create a wound at all. My [Regeneration] talent was only F-Rank, so the most it could do was close shallow wounds or scratches, it wasn't enough to allow me to heal all wounds.
I was at least able to keep fighting longer because I wasn't worried about blood loss.
"Shit... I can't keep this up. I'm getting fucking worn out and I'll just lose in a battle of attrition... But where can I hit that doesn't have fu-"
I was pulled out of my thoughts as the wolf charged at me once again. I started to move to the left, but the wolf had feinted the attack, suddenly the wolf pivoted towards me during the middle of my dodge.
Panicking, I had no other options, so I used my only skill.
[Dash]
The moment my foot landed I was thrown backwards by the skill. I was moved completely out of the way from the attack but I didn't know it would do that so I ended up falling onto my ass.
I rolled a couple times from the momentum before I landed on my elbows and knees. The wolf charged again so I quickly rolled to the right. I spent the next five minutes frantically dodging the follow up attacks before I finally got back up to my feet when the wolf tripped over a tree root.
Panting heavily I tried catching my breath. The wolf was not only fast but it truly behaved like a predator. The other wolves were acting on a basic instinct to hunt for food but this wolf...
It was trying to hunt me for sport.
It relentlessly charged at me while I was still unbalanced to cause me to tire myself out even more.
"This bastard..."
I was angry but I was also extremely surprised by the way the [Dash] skill worked. I had realized two things:
First, the skill only activated once I touched the ground, potentially even any surface.
Finally, and most importantly, was that I didn't lose momentum. It transferred the momentum of the direction I was going to where I wanted to go.
This meant I could potentially fall off a sky scraper and use the skill to survive the impact. Of course I wasn't insane enough to test that out but hypothetically it could work.
'But how can I use this to kill this fucking wolf... Wait... That could work?'
I realized one way I could.
I stood up straight and shook my body loose. I had been incredibly tense the entire fight and it was making my movements take more energy than needed. So I shook my body and let that tension fall out from my fingertips.
Cracking my neck a couple times I raised my spear and pointed it at the wolf.
"I'm coming for you."
Agitated the wolf leaped at me. I had been fighting this wolf for well over ten minutes now, so I recognized that the wolf's attack wasn't a lethal one, so I simply let it hit me as it dashed by me. I dashed forward, passing the wolf, before immediately activation my skill.
My body flew backwards, but I knew to expect this so I turned my body in the direction of the wolf, and saw my target closing in.
With an accurate stab with the full force of my dash I was able to land my first attack.
*YIP*
I yanked my spear back roughly as the wolf desperately separated from me while limping.
Blood rapidly dripped from the wolf, but I couldn't see the wound. If I were to walk behind it though, and lift up its tail... You could see how I managed to get past it's fur. The one spot it didn't have any covering.
I stared silently at the wolf that was glaring at me with a burning anger, but I smirked at it while shrugging my shoulders.
"It's all fair in war."
The wolf couldn't put any strength into it's movements anymore, causing the fight to turn for the better for me. Since it was so scared and dealing with so much pain I decided to start going on the offensive.
My goal wasn't to actually deal any damage, but instead force the wolf to move causing it to bleed more. The fight was a slow battle of attrition from then on but it was already over in a lot of ways.
The wolf finally started to stagger as it tried to dodge my attacks, and with that I was able to create more openings.
In a last ditch effort the wolf used the last of it's energy to make a desperate attack, but it was a lot slower than it must have thought it was. My spear swiftly pierced through the roof of the wolf's mouth and lodged itself into the wolf's brain.
The wolf went limp midway through it's leap so I simply let go of my spear and watched the wolf fall to the ground.
Dead.
I waited for a moment just to be sure, and when it still wasn't moving I walked forward. Grabbing my spear with one hand, and pushing down with my foot, I pulled my spear out of it's mouth.
As my foot rested on the wolf, I felt a string of thoughts and emotions enter my mind. I looked down and saw the parasite wriggling within my arm making it's way to my hand.
"You want to eat the wolf? Is this like the same thing with the criminal?"
Not getting a coherent response I decided to just let the parasite do it's thing and eat the wolf.
I realized there was a difference between when I planted an egg and when the parasite itself consumed the brain of a creature.
The parasite would kill the target creature, and only give a lower rank version of the original skill. This was evident by what happened with the criminal I killed.
His regeneration was much better than mine. He was able to heal really serious burns in seconds, while mine was only able to close minor wounds.
The egg, with a fully hatched parasite, was supposed to be able to transfer the talent at it's original rank. This wasn't important now since I could only plant eggs in F-Rank hosts but I could harvest rare monsters it seems.
I wasn't planning to kill any innocent people just for their Talents, but if I ran into more criminals... I'd consider it.
The parasite shot out of my hand, wriggling it's way into the skull of the wolf through the hole I had made, and slowly began eating the brain of the wolf. While I waited I checked over my body and was glad that almost all the wounds had began closing already or were almost completely healed.
I still had some scars from the claw marks on my arms, since they were deeper, but it wasn't a big deal to me.
I felt a weak thought enter my brain. I crouched down and from the hole in the wolf's skull my parasite came out. It climbed onto my hand and burrowed into my skin.
It felt unnerving to see it but I really didn't feel a thing from it. If anything I felt like having the parasite in me felt right. Like it was a part of me.
[Steel Hair (F-Rank) learned.]
I was grabbed my hair and felt it with my fingers. However it didn't feel hard. Instead it felt smoother than it had ever felt before. I pulled a clump of hair and tried cutting it with the tip of my spear.
Sparks shot out and I let go out of surprise. My hair was soft but it was as hard as steel. I wondered how I would get a haircut now but I guess that would be a problem in the future when it got really long.
I wiped some blood off my hair and checked around the wolf's corpse. I checked around but didn't see anything. In a bit of frustration I pushed the wolf with my foot.
"This bum..."
I swallowed my words as I saw a soft glow from under the wolf. Squatting down I used both hands to push the wolf completely over, discovering a skill book and a dagger.
First I inspected the skill book.
[Triple Stab][F-Rank]
It was a good skill, actually a skill that many people wanted, but I didn't think it fit my fighting style. I was slowly leaning into a more methodical style. I decided I would sell the book.
Picking up the dagger, the system quickly identified it and I read out the information.
[Steel Fang][Normal Grade]
[A sharp and durable dagger made from a Steel Wolf's fang.]
I put the dagger into my waistband I made my way towards the entrance of the dungeon.
"I'm tired as hell. Got another crystal. I'm going to eat somewhere good. A real place that doesn't just serve me overpriced visual art."
Still a little upset about the burger I paid for earlier, that didn't taste like anything special, I grumbled about it all the way to the portal. Once out I went to the store where I traded my crystal and asked about where to buy skill books.
I noticed there were a few nasty gazes as I brought up skill books, but when they heard I was trying to buy one they went back to their own business.
'Scumbags. Trying to rob the weak just to make some money.'
I was glad I was cautious and decided to ask where to buy not sell a book. The clerk told me there were two legal options. Of course there was the black market, but if caught I could face a large fine.
Instead she recommended that I head to the Foundry. The Foundry was a government owned market that dealt in two currencies. Either with dollars or in their own currency of Honor.
Honor Points were something that could be earned by doing contacts for the government or the city. They were offered during defensive battles, to protect the city, or subjugation contacts to hunt outside the city walls.
This would seem like a waste but that was where the artisans came in. The items made by the artisans were of great quality and the best ones were only available to buy with honor points.
This was how the government enlisted peoples' help. If I sold them a book I could trade it for another book of similar value, or trade it for honor points to buy weapons and armor.
The other option was to go to the Free Market. It would give me the most money but it functioned like an auction. This meant that it might take a while to receive the actual funds.
Deciding that the Foundry sounded like the best option I thanked the clerk and left the store. Being careful not to reveal the book tucked under my shirt I boarded the bus and headed to the market district.
Still having a paranoia of buses I gripped my spear tightly as I watched everyone on board. I carefully scanned everyone on board and people that were coming onboard. I thankfully didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and soon I heard that the next stop was going to be the Foundry.
I made my way towards the font of the bus, to get off quicker, when I heard a small voice beside me.
"Mister?"
I stopped and turned to see a little girl sitting next to a middle aged man with a thick beard.
"Do I know y-"
That's when I recognized the girl. It was the girl I had saved last night. Dropping the tension I had in my body I sat down in the seat across from them and put on a smile.
"I didn't think we would run into each other so soon, on a bus of all things as well... Is this your father?"
I looked at the man who held out his hand.
"My name is Francis Ripley. I... I can't thank you enough for saving my daughter."
I took his hand hesitantly.
"I'm... sorry that I couldn-"
"Don't. Please don't blame yourself for that... I heard about all that happened and you did the best you could. You just awakened after all... I heard your name was Desmond Caine?"
"Uh, yeah. My name is Desmond."
Francis smiled and patted the girl on the head.
"This is Riley. She's become a huge fan of yours. We looked you up and found out you're a student at Central High School."
[We have arrived at The Foundry. Next stop is Downtown.]
Turning to look at the front of the bus I pointed and turned back to the duo.
"I have to get off here."
"Haha, it's alright. It was just such an honor to run into you and be able to thank you. Heard you have an end of the year exam coming up, we'll be cheering for you."
I smiled and thanked him. I stood up and as I was leaving I heard a small voice.
"Fighting!"
I turned and saw Riley giving me a small air punch. I smiled brightly and punched the air.
"Fighting!"
The bus took off but I stayed to watch the little girl waving at me the entire time. I felt a bubbling feeling of elation rise in me as I watched the bus turn a corner and disappear.
With the remnants of a smile on my face I turned around and entered the Foundry. It was a large multifloored building. The moment I stepped in I felt like I was on the top floor of a shopping mall. The center of the building looked down on the main floor.
Finding an escalator to my left I walked over and stepped onto it. As I slowly went back I looked at the different store fronts and found the book store. I continued looking around and my eyes noticed a storefront that was filled with weapons.
When I got to the bottom of the escalator I went to the weapons store. I traded in my spear for 500 Honor Points. I kept the dagger because it was much sharper than the spear. I would have to spend some time practicing the dagger arts but I felt it was worth the trade.
No matter how I tried the spear couldn't pierce it's fur at all. This dagger should do me well enough until I got another good weapon.
Satisfied with the trade I made my way to the book store. Having a little extra money would open my options for better skills.
Stepping inside the store I was immediately pushed out of the way as a girl bumped past me.
"Watch it!"
"Lily! Relax. I'm sorry sir."
Two girls quickly walked past me. The first girl, Lily, scoffed and made an annoyed look while she bumped past me. The second girl gave me a much warmer and apologetic smile. I didn't show it but I was a little flustered when she smiled at me.
I watched her walk by quietly.
'She's pretty...'
A soft breeze passed me and the smell of lavender perfume entered my nose. I moved out of the doorway and watched through the window the two girls walk away.
I walked to an open podium where a tablet was sitting. I scrolled through the different books that were there. I wanted to have a better understanding of the going rate of skill books.
[Swift Slash][F-Rank] - $3,000 or 3,800 Honor Points
[Power Smash][F-Rank] - $2,000 or 2,650 Honor Points
[Wind Bullet][F-Rank] - $3,800 or 4,550 Honor Points
...
The books ranged from $1,000 - $5,000, but depended on the popularity of the skill. More than 60% of awakeners chose to use swords and sword skills. The other 40% was comprised most by mages and the other types of fighters made up the rest.
I was sure that the [Triple Stab] skill book could sell for at least $2,500. Anywhere around that range would be acceptable for me, but if it was too low I would just sell it on the Free Market.
I walked up to the clerk and pulled out the skill book.
"Oh, are you looking to trade or sell that?"
"Yes, thank you. I wanted to exchange it for points."
The clerk took the book and inspected it for a moment.
"It's a pretty decent skill. It's a must have for spear users, but it is actually sought after by people who use rapiers. I can definitely sell this easily. Um... How does 3,100 points sound?"
I did the math real quick and nodded. It was more than what I expect and I was more than happy to accept. The clerk asked for my license. She opened an account for me, which would hold my Honor Points, and handed me a new card. It had a beautiful golden anvil on the front.
I smiled at the clerk and went back to look through the catalogue they had on the tablet. I typed into the search bar a variety of different skill effects to narrow them down.
[Sneak][F-Rank] - $2,400 or 3,000 Honor Points
[Throw][F-Rank] - $1,200 or 1,500 Honor Points
[Spear Hand][F-Rank] - $1,000 or 1,250 Honor Points
[Blood Spear][F-Rank] $2,900 or 3,500 Honor Points.
These were the skills I thought would be most helpful to me as of right now. Being able to sneak around would make use of my dagger's incredibly short range and guarantee the use of [Lesser Bleed Enchantment].
[Throw] was great because it could catch people off guard, but I didn't want this one as much because I wouldn't be able to retrieve the dagger easily. [Spear Hand] hardened my hand to allow me to use my own hands as a hidden weapon, but it didn't exactly make my hand harder.
It just made the tips of my fingers sharper. Instead I wanted the last one the most. It would allow me to summon a spear made of blood. This could either be used as a weapon or more interestingly it could create a spear from a pool of blood.
Suddenly having a spear stab you from underneath could be incredible for catching someone off guard. I could always make more money and buy the other skills later. [Blood Spear] would be the best for increasing my options in battle.
I went back to the clerk and asked her to buy the [Blood Spear] skill. She walked into the back armory and came out a moment later with the skill book. She swiped my card and I watched as all the points I made today was gone in a moment.
She handed me the book and I quickly learned it before leaving the store.
[Blood Spear (F-Rank) learned.]
'Sigh... I'm going to call it a day. I might cry if I buy something else today.'
I left the Foundry and made my way to a local burger joint. I was waiting in line when I heard a familiar voice ahead of me.
"Your ice cream machine is down?! UGH!"
"Lily... We can just get ice cream somewhere else!"
"No! I wanted to eat my burger with ice cream and if I have to go somewhere else it'll ruin the experie-"
The second girl smacked Lily in the back of the head and pulled her out of line. She turned around to apologize to the line when she made eye contact with me.
'Is this... Fate?'
I thought to myself. She walked up to me, and I felt like I was in a dream come true as she looked up at me with her shiny round green eyes.
Her soft voice entered my ears like an angel singing, when I was snapped out of it by what she said.
"Are you following us? Pervert."
My face fell.
'What??'