This was the first time I entered the forest since my encounter with the cursed thunder bear and the atmosphere was entirely different. I enjoyed the rustling of the leaves as a gentle breeze brushed through the branches. The ground beneath my feet was firm and covered in a carpet of fallen leaves and branches; hearing the buzzing of the insects and the chorus of singing birds eased my nervousness. I could clearly hear and see how much livelier the forest had become since my encounter with the cursed thunder bear. Even Jack seemed to enjoy it a little bit.
"So where do I fight these wolves?" I asked as I watched a squirrel jump through the trees.
Jack pointed at a cave, which was quite hard to see through the trees and bushes. "There is a cave up ahead where these wolves supposedly live."
It didn't take us long to reach the small cave. The dark and cold small entrance of the cave stood in contrast to the warm, bright outside world. I could feel the cold air emitting from within the cave, which gave me the chills but also evoked a sense of curiosity inside me; it beckoned me to explore it. But I was still hesitant.
"So, there we are, boy." Jack looked at me and as if he knew that I was hesitant, he gave me a slap on the back and laughed. "Never hesitate. You have trained for something like this, and the only thing that will await you are some wolves."
I took a deep breath and gave Jack a firm nod. Then I slowly stepped towards the cave and carefully entered it.
The sounds from the forest went silent and I was now met with the silence of the cave, which was occasionally broken by the sound of dripping water rhythmically echoing through the cave. It was pitch-black inside, so I cast torch with my left hand to illuminate my surroundings. Now I was able to observe the cave's interior. It was a big circular room with jagged walls rising high above, and stalactites hung from the ceiling, glistering with moisture. At the end of the room was a narrow tunnel, which led me deeper into the cave. But before I entered the tunnel, I pulled out my sword with my right hand in order to be prepared for everything.
In this narrow tunnel, every move required caution in order to avoid tripping. As I slowly walked through the tunnel, a wolf's howl echoed throughout the tunnel, and I immediately readied myself for battle. Firmly, I gripped the hilt of my sword, readied myself, and waited.
Suddenly, without warning, a wolf jumped out of the shadows, catching me off-guard, and I carelessly tried to swing my sword at it. But this seemed to prove fatal, as I completely forgot to account for the tunnel's narrowness. This small error led to my sword crashing against the wall, and bouncing back, producing a loud clanging sound which reverberated through the tunnel.
I panicked and dropped my sword, which gave the wolf a chance to push me down with its fangs dangerously close to my exposed throat. I struggled to fend off its attack, keeping its fangs merely centimeters away from me. Think, think, think. I can't use fire magic inside the cave, so what else can I do? Wait, that's it! I can use my wind magic!
I placed my palm on the wolf's chest and gathered wind around my hand. Then, when I had enough wind stored, I released everything at once, creating a small vortex of wind and pushing the wolf a couple of meters away from me, slamming it forcefully against the wall. After that, I I immediately picked up my sword, regained my footing and sprinted towards the wolf. It struggled to stand up, which gave me an opportunity to bring the fight to a quick end with a swift stab to its head.
Exhausted, I pulled the sword back out, which led to a spurt of blood that painted the surroundings After that, I sat down next to the dead wolf and leaned my back against the wall.That was too close. I need to keep my surroundings in mind when I swing my sword. But not only that, I also need to better control my mana output. It's not good that I already used half of my mana.
I took out a piece of cloth to wipe the blood of my sword before it began to dry. I then took a quick break to regain some stamina and after a couple of minutes, I resumed my exploration of the cave.
The tunnel seemed never-ending, but after what felt like hours, the distant sound of rushing water reached my ears. And finally, as I reached the end of the tunnel, and I was greeted by another yet bigger circular room. At the end of the room was a powerful river, it's currents leading deeper inside the cave. Stalagmites reached towards the ceiling and next to the river On a ledge was a pack of wolves, carefully watching my every movement. Behind Them was another tunnel. Maybe this is where they live. This time I was aware of the wolves. So, I tensed my fingers around the hilt of my sword gripping it more firmly than before as to not drop it again.
The wolves leaped down from the ledge, their paws hitting the ground with a thud. Then they began to cautiously circle around me. Their curios eyes bore into me as they analyzed my movements. Each low growl sent a shiver down my spine.
As I watched them circle around me, I waited for their first attack. Then one of them lunged at me from behind. Luckily for me, it's growling gave it away, allowing me to make a quick sidestep and cut its throat open with a swift strike. Two more to go.
The other two wolves unleashed a piercing howl and prepared for a pincer attack. I gathered wind in my left-hand in anticipation for their attack and waited. As they drew nearer, I released a gust of wind from my left hand at one of them, propelling it away from me with force. Then I jumped back, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of the other one and intended to cut it in half with a downward slash. But to my frustration, my sword stopped halfway through its flesh and got stuck completely. Dammit! The cut wasn't clean enough!
Throwing a worried glance at the other wolve which slowly regained its footing, I put my right foot on top of the wolf's lifeless body and tried to pull the sword out with both of my hands. Gradually the sword began to loosen but I was too slow. The wolf had already regained its footing and I slowly began to panic. I thought that I had to fight the last one with my bare hands. But, instead of attacking me, it jumped up the ledge and vanished inside the darkness of the tunnel. I let out a sigh of relief and slowly pulled out my sword.
Why did it run away? Did it get scared? With my gaze still fixated on the tunnel entrance -which was just out of my reach- I thought of ways to get up there. I still needed to eliminate the last one to complete the assignment.
Suddenly shortly after, the wolf appeared again. What? Why did it come back? The sudden reappearance didn't bode well and after it unleashed a piercing howl, an ominous shadow appeared behind it. Red glowing eyes pierced the darkness, sending shivers down my spine and each step it took raised the tension in the atmosphere. My knees were shaking but instead of being filled with fear, I was excited. I knew that I couldn’t win this fight, I was almost out of mana and completely exhausted. But even though my body told me to fight; the best thing would be to escape, so I turned around ready to sprint with full speed, but 5 other wolves blocked my way. Shit
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