As Aurora gazed into the distance, past the countless trees, her eyes fell on nothing. No, seriously, she didn't see anything of note. Just the same old trees and lush, vibrant grass. Some rocks here and there, but that was it.
The reason she looked that way was mostly because she didn't feel really comfortable around Rejoke yet. It may seem weird, but that's how it is. She didn't have a problem yesterday because not only was she really tired, but she also wasn't paying much attention to Rejoke in the first place.
But now that she was full of energy again, she would be lying if she said that she's not uncomfortable at all.
Though he was just a wolf and not really an 'intelligent' being like a human, to her, it hardly made a difference. Not only was he a male, he was also way more intelligent than your average wolf.
Aurora wasn't a social person to begin with. At least not in her previous life. And by the looks of it, this didn't seem to change, even though she doesn't remember how social she was, or rather wasn't, in her past life.
So, when she woke up today and got startled by Rejoke's presence, she felt quite awkward around him. This was also because of her natural distrust and wariness towards others.
It doesn't matter that the system told her that it is basically impossible for Rejoke to go against her; Aurora was still very catious. By the looks of it, it would take some time for her to get used to the wolf's presence.
This was something that would inevitably have to happen, considering that Rejoke probably won't leave her side unless she specifically tells him to do so. But of course, as I said before, just because it will have to happen at some point doesn't mean it will happen anytime soon.
But it seems that luck was on her side today because she suddenly felt something. Her aura picked up something. An aura of another being, and a strong one at that.
'Perfect timing.' Without any second thoughts, she dashed off in the direction of that presence she felt. This was exactly what she needed to get out of the awkward situation.
As Aurora ran away, Rejoke quickly followed suit. Though he had no idea where they were headed, he didn't doubt his leader for even a second. And so he did what he could to keep up with her speed.
You can't forget that Rejoke is still quite badly wounded from his clash against Aurora. Such wounds wouldn't heal in one night. Unless he leveled up, it would probably take about a week for all the cuts and deep scratches to heal.
The problem was that these wounds hindered him and his movement quite a bit. Because of that, he was barely able to keep up with Aurora's current speed, and even then he was pushing his limits.
Unfortunately for the poor wolf, Aurora didn't even acknowledge the fact. She was so focused on somehow avoiding an awkward situation that she failed to realize that she probably shouldn't be running so fast.
Well, be that as it may, the two are soon to face what Aurora was looking for. The beast was a large bird, and when I say large, I mean LARGE!
The bird's body was probably even a bit bigger than Rejoke's, so you can imagine just how huge the wingspan of such a creature must be. Even then, however...
'This isn't that source of that aura I'm feeling. That creature is nearby, but it's not this bird.' Aurora thought as she 'observed' the large bird.
With her own aura, she could feel a massively powerful presence around them, but it was definitely not the bird. Yes, the bird was strong; the proof of this was its own aura, but it wasn't as strong as the immense aura she was feeling.
'Whatever, let's deal with the bird first.' Shaking her head gently, Aurora gazed up at the massive frame of the creature above their heads.
'It's probably only a bit stronger than Rejoke, maybe one or two levels higher. The problem is that it can fly, which can make this quite tricky.' She grumbled internally as she realized that this might be a tougher fight than she originally thought. Not like that ever stopped her, did it?
And so, Aurora took a deep breath, retracted her aura, condensing it around her, and got ready to roll. But just as she was about to lunge forward and show herself to the large bird that, for some reason, hadn't noticed her yet, she finally remembered something.
'Wait a second. Are you...?' She turned to the side and noticed exactly what she was looking for, or rather, who. There, right next to her, Rejoke was standing right next to her while panting heavily.
'Ahem. I definitely didn't forget that you existed for the second time in one day.' Aurora thought akwardly as she realized that she unconsciously completely forgot about the wolf once again in a single day.
And seeing his current state, she realized that she might have pushed him a bit too much with her little run. He was breathing heavily, and his body was riddled with wounds.
'Tsk, whatever. If he can't handle this much, he isn't worthy of fighting alongside me.' She snorted internally and turned back to the bird in the sky.
But that was all she did. Unlike before, she didn't get ready to lunge forward into the battle. She just gazed at the massive flying creature, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
'Fine, whatever.' Heaving an internal sigh, Aurora turned her head to the side, her eyes locking onto Rejoke.
"Kyu." Letting out a very cute sound, she motioned her head, as if trying to tell him to get ready to fight. Honestly, she had no idea whether or not the wolf could understand her intentions. But well, if he couldn't, she wouldn't really even care.
Thankfully, it seemed like Rejoke's intelligence wasn't just for show. Even though it took him a second, the wolf took a deep breath to steady his breathing and turned to look at the bird.
Seeing that he probably understood her, Aurora wasted no more time and didn't continue to bother with Rejoke. Instead, she charged right in, casting and throwing an Ice Bolt at the winged beast's large body.
As if sensing the incoming danger, the bird quickly tilted its body, dodging the attack. As its eyes swiftly scanned the ground under it, it easily managed to find the impudent beast that dared to attack it while it was flying.
Locking its eyes on its target, the bird dove down towards the ground, intent on making a quick snack out of that small, white creature. Clearly, the bird was a predator.
Sharp instincts and an even sharper sight. Its body was clearly made to hunt and kill. A pair of large claws that also served as its legs. A beak big enough to swallow half of Aurora's body in one go and fast enough to outspeed even the quickest of prey.
But, unfortunately for the bird, the prey it met today was Aurora, which only meant that he would be the prey today.
As the bird approached, it opened its beak wide, ready to bite the impudent white beast apart. However, as it got close to the ground, its eyes contracted to the size of needles as it quickly turned its head to the side.
As Aurora watched the large beast crash onto and drag its body on the ground, annoyance bubbled inside her.
'Tsk, I thought I could kill it with just this one. Unfortunately, it's a fast one; I'll give it that.' She clicked her tongue, clearly frustrated about her failure.
As it turns out, when the bird was plunging in on her, she jumped aside at the last second, evading the attack. Not only that, she also cast an Ice Bolt right on the spot where she was previously. This was why she only dodged last second; otherwise the bird would have noticed the attack.
And it worked, kind of. Yes, the bird did get hit by the spell, which subsequently caused it to crash land onto the ground, but he was still alive. What Aurora was aiming for was it actually swallowing the fast-moving spell.
This would have most definitely killed the bird on the spot. After all, just from the few interactions she had with it, she was able to gauge that the bird was mostly an agility-focused beast.
This meant that its defense was most probably quite low, and that's talking about the outside body. If we talk about its internal body, well, let's say that if it really swallowed the Ice Bolt, Aurora would get to see some fireworks.
Unfortunately, the bird's agility was really high, which was also reflected at its reaction speed. In just that nick of time, the bird managed to move its head aside to avoid the ice bolt.
Still, this didn't mean it came out unscathed by any means, as not only the spell hit its body, but the crash it suffered was anything but light. Considering the speed at which it was coming down, Aurora was basically sure that the bird must have broken at least a few bones.
As the bird slid across the ground, a lot of dust rose up into the air, together with chunks of soil and dirt. Only after sliding about ten meters away from the spot it crashed at did the bird finally stop.
As the dust settled down, the bird remained motionless for a few seconds before it started to stand up. Normally, Aurora would take this opportunity and just finish the beast off. But right now, she had a different goal in mind, so she wouldn't be killing the bird. Not yet, at least.
Just as the bird was about to fully stand up, it felt a sudden surge of pain on its right wing, which forced it to screech loudly in pain.
"Screeeee!"
Even before, the bird was barely holding on after the first crash. Its entire body was in so much pain, pain unlike anything it felt before. And just as it thought that it wouldn't get any worse, that horrible pain that assaulted its wing appeared.
Fueled by rage and pain, the bird angrily glared forward, only to see another beast standing in front of that annoying little white creature.
However, unlike the white one, this new beast wasn't small by any means. Its body was almost as big as the bird's, if we don't count the wings. The beast's fur was black and its eyes blood-red.
This beast obviously Rejoke. When the bird fell to the ground, Rejoke sensed an opportunity to jump into the battle and help his alpha. So, ignoring his wounds, he swiftly jumped towards the bird just as it was about to stand up and slashed at its wing.
Now, even though he was greatly weakened due to his wounds, Rejoke's strength was not to be underestimated. This meant that once his claw collided with the bird's wing, not only did it cut off a large piece of flesh, it also further damaged the already fractured bone of its wing.
This was also the reason why the pain that the bird was feeling was so intense.
"Grrr." Rejoke growled at the screeching beast, clearly trying to warn it not to try anything funny.
"Kyu." Suddenly, just as he was about to lunge towards the bird once more, he heard a soft sound coming from behind him.
Turning around, he looked at Aurora with visible confusion. This action only earned him a slight shove of her head from Aurora, as if telling him to go ahead and kill the bird himself.
Sensing her intent, Rejoke barked light and rushed forward, completely ignoring all the pain he felt. Pain didn't matter. If his alpha told him to do something, he would do it no matter what!
Seeing the black beast rushing towards him, the bird glared at him with fury-filled eyes and also charged forward. The two soon met each other head-on and began to fight.
The two fought fiercely, neither of them willing to lose. However, in the end, the bird could not compare to Rejoke. Yes, the bird was fast, but that was mostly while it was flying.
Now that its wing was damaged to the point where it could no longer fly, the bird could only rely on its two legs. Not only that, but its body was also badly wounded, something that was true for Rejoke as well, but not to such a degree.
So, faced with Rejoke's overwhelming physical strength and its own lack of defense, the bird soon succumbed under the force of Rejoke's relentless attacks.
[You have defeated the Great Wind Bird level 22.]
[You have reached level 16.]
[You have reached level 17.]
'Hmmm, so I still got exp? Though I feel like it's less than what I would normally get.' As multiple messages flashed in front of her eyes, the battle got concluded. And just as Aurora expected, the winner was Rejoke.
'The bird was seven levels above me. Normally, that would give me about three to four levels, but I only leveled up twice.' Actually, Aurora was really curious about how exp worked when there were multiple beings fighting against one.
'It's probably based on contribution. Well, not like it matters much at the moment.' Closing as the messages and screens she had opened up, Aurora glanced towards Rejoke.
And seeing how all the wounds on his body have disappeared together with the slight increase in the strength of his aura, she easily concluded that he must have leveled up.
'Good.' She nodded to herself once she saw that she managed to fulfill her main goal for this fight.
'Now he's back at his peak.' She normally wouldn't really care about it much. She would probably kill the bird herself so she could get more levels; however, she needed Rejoke to be in peak condition for what was to come.
'Preparations done. Let's get to the real deal.'