Going beyond the frozen oasis was a mistake.
"Retreat! Retreat!" Tia shouted as they retreated back to a safer area, large chunks of ice following after them as giant humanoid snowmen gave chase. It was lucky they were too dumb to realize that being clustered in one spot wasn't a good idea. The chunks of ice smashed and broke each other, Selina winced as a shard cut her cheek open.
They ran back to the frozen oasis and momentarily sealed off the entrance to the next area.
"...That was close." Selina frowned.
The snowmen, by themselves, weren't that dangerous as they were slow and dumb. However, what made them hard to fight was the fact that nothing worked. Selina gutted them with stone spikes, flattened them against the walls or floor and swallowed them in sphere of stone. Despite all that, the golems simply broke through the stone with nary a scratch, having already recovered.
The witch's geokinesis was versatile, but it didn't pack that much of a punch. It could give out a ton of pressure, but little else. It couldn't puncture through the densely packed snow bodies or the pumpkin helmets on their heads. Her walls were only as strong as the material allowed as well. The snow golems easily broke through it with either a punch or a thrown ice chunk.
The two of them decided to retreat as the area seemed beyond their abilities.
"What do we do now...?" Tia frowned and looked thought about their options. '...Oh right, (Evolution) should be available. Maybe that would be enough to turn the tables. Should I wo- you know what? I should stop caring, its too much of a pain in the ass.'
Selina already thought of he was weird. It shouldn't matter much if he added one more thing to the mountain.
He would work on hiding his abilities on the side.
Having attention as a monster would just be a painful, both literally and figuratively.
'The better question is if I should pick out the evolution that'll help out in my situation... or one that'll benefit me more in the long run.' Both had their own merits, and both were equally important enough to give serious thought over. Tia thought about asking Selina for her opinion... but decided against it. It was likely she wouldn't believe him, so maybe after showing her the first evolution he could consult with her.
Putting that aside, logic dictates that he should go for the long run. Selina was having trouble dealing with the cold, and her rags gave little to no protection against the cold, it was highly likely they would soon turn back so she didn't pass out or get frostbite. Going forward despite that would simply be madness, and inviting death.
Selina's reserved were half-full, or more so, she wouldn't have trouble fighting back the knights if they were still there.
...Not taking that into account, his sister, who he was quickly suspecting was becoming an inner voice that acts like a guide, would tell him that going for conditional evolutions would work better for him... as the skill (Evolution) would probably stick around.
"You're thinking something," Selina tilted her head as she looked down, lime green meeting amber, and nuzzled her face to his fur, relishing the small amount of warmth he radiates. "What is it?"
"Can monsters evolve?" The question was more for the sake of curiosity than anything else. There was a chance that evolving wasn't that uncommon for monsters. That would mean he can evolve as he pleased, not that it being otherwise would stop him if he had his way. A man's got to use everything available to him after all.
Doing anything less in the old world would be insulting.
Doing anything less in the new world would be dangerous.
Monsters roamed the world after all, and direwolves weren't exactly the strongest species.
"...An immortal's energy," She began talking, eyes glazing as she thought back to her teacher's lessons. "According to research, a monster in contract or tamed by an immortal takes in part of their energy. It grows during combat, using a certain drug, or learning a certain magic. A monster evolves when their energy grows too strong for their current body... and through evolution, remake their body into something stronger."
The exact details were unclear to her, who doesn't have a good memory, and the lecture that gave said information being a few years old in a time before the witch hunts. "Those that don't... usually implode, causing a great explosion. There... have been records of wild monsters evolving on their own... but, nobody invested too much into it. There's too few test subjects to formulate concrete information."
Tia nodded as he listened, noting the 'mysterious energy' as the influence of (The Gamer). The direwolf pup was defective as a reincarnatee, but his abilities worked fine, albeit he had nothing to compare it to at the moment. Nodding once again, the direwolf voiced his thoughts.
Her shocked and confused expression made total sense.
Unfortunately, as much as he'd like to explain himself... Tia knew far too little to actually explain anything and he was uncomfortable crediting (The Gamer) for everything. Any subtlety or attempt to keep things secret would eventually be uncovered as long as they spend time together, therefore.
[Initialize evolution, presenting options.]
{Hollow Wolf (Focus) [Elemental Affinity; Void]} (Extremely Rare)
[Hollow Wolves are seen as the Heralds of Calamity and a sign of bad luck. Parents tell stories of them being the lackeys of the mighty Cerberus and relatives of hell hounds. While smaller than any other variants, Hollow Wolves are quick-footed and possess a strong instinct for danger. People who had fought them tell of their attacks which can cause [Wither] in addition to their capability to use the unique element [Void]. It is recommended to use [Fire] and [Light] against these as they possess a crippling weakness to them in addition to their general frailty.]
{Cryo Direwolf (Focus) [Elemental Affinity; Ice]} (Rare)
[Cryo Direwolf, or more commonly known as Frost Wolves, are known as the descendant of the companion of the Great King Steve the I who mysteriously disappeared. With his master's disappearance, the first Cryo Wolf, Raguel, was driven out of his home in the Frozen Northern Kingdom of Zion. They are known for their capability to utilize the Ice elements, and bear almost complete resistance to the element.]
{Geo Direwolf (Focus) [Elemental Affinity; Earth]} (Rare)
[Geo Direwolf, or more commonly known as Earthen Wolves, are commonly seen in the mountainous continent of Dwarvendom and are usually the companions of Dwarves. They possess the ability to utilize the Earth elements and a nose that can sniff ores which makes them perfect partners when mining.]
{[Enhanced Species] Direwolf (Focus) [Instinct].} (Uncommon)
[Direwolves, a canine breed most commonly seen in forests, plains and hills near villages and towns. They are large carnivorous creatures with fangs the size of an adult male's forearm and unmatched ferocity. One of, if not the most popular companion for adventurers as they look like larger and stronger versions of the common wolves. Direwolves possess a strong instinct that warns them of incoming danger. Almost every kingdom utilizes direwolves instead of horses for mounts as they are far stronger and more capable albeit a smaller size.]
Personally speaking, Tia would have liked to choose [Enhanced Species; Direwolf] to build up his foundations and draw the least amount of attention. It wasn't as if (Evolution) would go away if he evolved once, or so he hoped, therefore there was no reason to immediately seek out the greatest evolution, which was [Void Wolf].
In addition to that, Tia had a feeling that further evolution would continue to be [Enhanced] though at the same time, there was no telling if he could become [Enhanced] during future evolutions. The world was vast after all, and as it is, absolutely made no sense.
...Statistically speaking, he should go for [Void Wolf] for the possibility to use the unique element [Void] and the stats he would get from evolving into it. However, logic and instinct tells him to go with the [Enhanced] species, as it would not only draw the least amount of attention but also probably, maybe turn all future evolutions into [Enhanced] genus.
Tia nodded to himself, mentally locking down his choice.
Selina looked like she wanted an answer, but Tia chose to explain himself through action instead of words. It was less bothersome that way after all. The direwolf closed his eyes and felt some unknown and foreign energy swirl around, and into him. A question of why everything he did concerning (The Gamer) mentally hurts floated but was quickly dismissed as the aforementioned pain struck him like the truck that initially killed him.
While [Evolution] tore his body apart and remade it anew, Tia could feel his senses dull and vision go black. Despite that, the process was painful, but it wasn't unbearable. He had suffered worse during the care of his human parents, and was nowhere near the level of pain he endured when he reincarnated.
[(Tia Schnieden) has successfully evolved from (Direwolf) into [Enhanced Species] (Direwolf)]
[[Enhanced Species] (Direwolf)
+25 STR, AGL and LCK.
+10 DEX, END.
+5 INT, WIS.
Level ups will now raise each stats by 2, with the exception of STR and AGL which will be raised by 3. (Temporary)
Status points spent on STR and AGL will raise them by 2 per point instead of 1. (Temporary)
HP has been increased by 20% (Temporary)
MP has been increased by 10% (Temporary)
Due to skill (Evolution), EXP acquisition rate increase due to becoming a [Enhanced Species] has been negated.
Due to evolution to [Enhanced Species] (Direwolf), (Instinct) has evolved to (Instinct I).
Due to evolution to [Enhanced Species] (Direwolf), (Tear) has evolved to (Tear I).
Due to evolution to [Enhanced Species] (Direwolf), user have obtained the traits (Enhanced Physical Body), (Abnormal State Resistance), and (Enhanced Senses)]
[As a result of a successful evolution to [Enhanced Species] (Direwolf), the conditions for (Evolution) have been changed, and have leveled up.]
Selina winced slightly as the harsh light bounced off the crystalline surfaces of the ice cave. It was blinding, as if she was forced to look directly into the sun without protection. The energy surrounding Tia washed over her, causing tingles and goosebumps on her arms and spine. She could tell it was a magic, but at the same time not.
The little witched was pushed back by the zephyrs, the gentle wind strong enough to lift the small and malnourished girl.
She had enough sense to ground herself with a quick ring of stone on her legs.
'Evolution...? But how...?' Selina gingerly rubbed her eyes, careful not to irritate the sensitive organ after being assaulted by the light once it died down. "Tia, what did you do?"
A monster evolving was an uncommon occurrence, as long as there was an immortal present at least. Otherwise, it was something that never happened in the wild. An expert in monster biology theorized evolution was when there was too much energy present within a body, hence why an immortal was needed because they could imbue their energy into another being.
Pacts operated similarly, but rather than grant them a separate source of magic, it was more fitting to say that the mage can be able to access the monster's reserves at any time and vice-versa. An immortal can grant them another source or stimulate something within their own bodies, a pact with a mortal can grant them access to another's magic.
Selina was not an immortal, that she was certain of.
Therefore, why?
"...Thinking about you gives me a headache..." Selina frowned lightly, lifting the unconscious puppy up to her eye. 'I wonder if I can evolve too...'
Witches were both monster and human.
It shouldn't be impossible.
"Every time you do something weird, it make me wonder if I should regret choosing you." Tia stirred in her hold, his warmth becoming stronger the closer he came to waking up. The girl in dirty and torn rags rid herself of her frown and smiled lightly, '...He acted like he knew it would happen... I wonder if he'll trust me with his secret someday.'
Regardless, Selina hoped she wasn't making a bad decision.
Lynn was definitely making a bad decision.
The direwolf patriarch, Arnou, has recovered enough to walk around without aggravating his wounds. The nasty gnashes and puncture wounds have clotted, as long as he didn't move too much, he shouldn't need to worry about dying of blood loss. Yet, that hasn't changed the fact the large canine lost a lot of blood. He was in no condition to fight back.
Accala on the other hand, was.
"Move further back." The large she-wolf growled, barely keeping her temper as she watched her children pay more attention to the Renard than they did their mother. It rattled her nerves, and Tia wasn't in the den to mediate their attention. The pups acted as if they didn't sense the large horde just outside their doors. Lynn sometimes cursed being old enough to not do the same.
Her late mother mentioned that monsters matured faster than humans, Renards more so because of their birthright, which they couldn't explain in detail because of the attack that took their lives.
Still, to mature a week and a few days after conception was asking for too much.
"This much should do." The she-wolf huffed and turned her head to the side, snarling at the entrance where several small critters quickly retreated from. "...They'll strike soon."
"Mhm..." Talking exhausted Arnou, so he could only grunt in response.
'Shuffle, shuffle, grind, grind…' The sound of dirt and gravel mixing with stone repeated over and over outside. The scavengers were preparing the field, and changing the terrain for their benefit. By the time the two of them could come out, the scavengers would have homefield advantage. It wouldn't be surprising if they laid out a few traps as well.
Lynn glanced at the cave further back in the den. The entrance was small, but if the situation worsens... she was prepared to leave through there with or without the pups or their parents. She owed a debt to Tia, not his family. By the fact he hadn't come back, there was a good chance the small pup had also perished, therefore severing whatever connection she might have to the direwolf pack.
Still, for the time being it seemed like Accala was preparing to fight back.
So for the time being, she put her plans to run aside.
'...Why am I feeling so sleepy all of a sudden...?' Lynn yawned lightly, raising a paw to scratch her head. The sudden urge to sleep was odd, especially when considering the timing. The Renard was reminded of something that happened a while back, a fair amount of time before the attack on her den.
She had been playing around the forest, and had encountered what can only be explained as a sentient flower.
It noticed her, deemed her as prey.
Then knocked her unconscious with a spray of pollen.
She was lucky her parents noticed before it was too late.
Lynn sniffed the air and felt a stronger urge to sleep, her eyes growing as heavy as lead. She struggled for a moment, but couldn't hold out. Like the pups in the den, the Renard blinked and promptly fell to sleep surrounded by fluff on all sides.
Arnou watched his first-born's charge finally collapse and let out a strong exhale, blowing away the sleep-shroom's pollen out of the cave. Such weak pollen had no effect on either him or Accala even with their injuries, but it worked wonderfully with the kids. He gestured with his head as his mate nodded.
Then formed a dome of thick ice around the kids.
"Will that be enough?" Accala sounded worried, eye twitching as she glared at the sleeping kit.
Instead of answering, Arnou inclined his head towards the entrance of their home. There were already more than a few heads peeking in as they felt the flux of magic. His mate's eyes narrowed and flared a pale light.
"Bastards…" She quietly snarled, reigning in her magic. She only recovered an eight of her total reserves after all. Allowing it to leak was the same as allowing her children to die.
That can never happen.
Accala stood up on shaky legs, her magic's effects within her body still very much present, but ignored them and charged outside, a cloud of cold air surrounding her.
If anyone were to die, then let it be her.
A vulture-esque monster appeared, its black feathers not unlike that of a karasu tengu of the east, and its face like the hideous monsters of the south that bears the name of Sirens standing on two legs with a human torso. It bore its bloodied crest with pride, taking the life of a few scavengers to boost its strength, then met her in the middle.
Accala tore through the avian with ease, freezing its feet to the ground then tearing it in half with her maw. She glared at the others as they took a step back in fear, despite the situation and her rapidly dwindling reserves, the she-wolf found herself grinning a blood-stained smile.
"...How do you feel?" Selina asked the newly evolved direwolf pup as he spun around his body, inspecting the small changes that happened to his body.
The black strands on his fur had become more prominent, and seemed to give out a very weak light. His silver fur had become thicker, as if to make up for the fact his already small size got even smaller. Moving onto the more important bits on his body, his claws and fangs become smaller, but at the same time sharper and more solid.
He reasoned the glow as a sign of his (Enhanced Species) status.
To test out his new capabilities, Tia gouged out the wall to their right. It surprised him how easily the wall gave in with just a single tackle. If he could compare it to something, it would be like punching a wall and punching a bag of sand. One sounded plain stupid, while the other sounded normal.
That's because it was stupid that something his size could do so much damage, but in the new world, something like this should be commonplace if one looked at the right place hard enough.
Once again, he needed to stop using the old world as the base of his understandings. It worked as a foundation and base, but only that, because the new world was weird to put things simply.
Tia tilted his head, "Tight, but not bad, I feel stronger… I'm not sure by how much… kind of disappointed I didn't get bigger."
He could only gleam so much information from (Observe) and (The Gamer). When he got older, or things calmed down, he should do his own research with Selina concerning (Abnormals) and (Enchanced Species) since one or the other could be monsters like himself, defects who couldn't reincarnate properly. It would be dangerous, but the information he could gain from them would make things worth it.
Besides, he reincarnated into a new world.
It would be a shame if he didn't fully enjoy the experience.
Well, as much as he can as a monster of course.
The newly evolved direwolf nodded to himself as he finished his inspections and re-opened the tabs concerning his evolutions to look things over. He was a bit annoyed that the biggest benefits were temporary and probably tied to his current form, but reasoned with himself that it was the price of having permanent access to (Evolution).
"...Should we try going further? I think I can break the ice surface for you now." Tia was admittedly excited, though, restrained himself because of their situation. He didn't want to rush in and bite off more than he could chew. If he was alone, maybe he would do that, but Selina was with him and he wasn't sure if she would be willing to go along with his suicide-training plan.
The purple haired witch could easily see his excitement just by looking at his rapidly wagging tail. She hummed in thought and nodded. "One room... its getting too cold for me."
'Less than I expected, can I do something about her rags?' Probably not, if he had more sting then maybe making wool clothes would be an option, if he used anything in his inventory as crafting material then he would only get rotten flesh clothes.
Tia blinked once at the odd thoughts that came from nowhere. The former human dabbled in arts and crafts, but mainly focused on arts. He shouldn't have had thoughts about crafting, especially in this situation. It was something that stuck to his thoughts now that it was realized though. Maybe he could try again here.
For now, he focused on sharing his warmth to the little girl that brought him up to her chest for warmth.
"...Warm." Tia heard her mumble. "You got warmer… fire affinity?"
Tia shook his head, the witch hummed but didn't ask again. He expected the increased heat to be a temporary thing, maybe some of the residue energy from (Evolution) lingered around his new body to stabilize it and make sure something didn't mutate.
Or maybe it was just his thicker fur.
The direwolf wasn't sure, maybe his next evolution would give more answers.
Or they could find Selina's teacher.
One or the other would work, but the latter was the best option considering the possibility to improve Selina's morale and possible magic lessons he could get as her pacted monster.
Tia decided to think about locating the woman when they left the pack.
They were coming into an open area with three pure white humanoids donning orange masks around their heads. Snow Golems? According to (Observe), they were all somewhat damaged by something so caution is probably advised… They hadn't noticed them yet, so this was a good chance to look them over.
"Selina," The little girl understood his intention and let him down, immediately embracing herself once she lost his warmth. Tia would try to do this quickly, but in case he couldn't handle it… the ice surface broke easily under his new body's strength, revealing the stone surface underneath.
She couldn't break through the ice surface, but if she funneled the stone through that single area, she should be fine even without him in case of an emergency.
Actually she would be safer since he would be charging at the golems with little to no information.
The new room was fairly wide with a low ceiling, forcing the tall snow golems to crouch so that might limit their mobility. They were spaced out, so unless they had ranged attacks he would be fine as long as he didn't get surrounded. Tia glanced at the shivering Selina and disregarded his initial plan to take things slow and safe.
Beady black orbs glared at the white and black blur coming at them. The former human dragged out any information he might have on golems and placed them on the forefront of his mind. They wouldn't do much, as the golems he knew were made of stone or some other solid material, not snow. Still, they should be fairly similar... should.
Their heads were a pumpkin, Tia mused, and promptly barreled through the one nearest to him.
As he suspected, it didn't immediately perish.
His charge decapitated it, but he suspected it only did minimal damage to construct. Tearing it off would just hurt him as its body was completely made of snow, so the direwolf decided to stick with charges and body tackles. Tia hoped he wouldn't get stuck inside of one though, they were thick enough for it to be a risk.
Waring them out would take too long, and he was just testing out his new body, so killing them would be preferred but not required.
A thought occurred, his sister loved golems and occasionally talked his ear off concerning them. While he tuned her out most of the time, he remembered her mentioning a core sustaining their continues existence somewhere in their bodies. So if he found those out, it would probably be an instant win unless they had more than one core.
Tia was torn out of his thoughts when the golems dug into the ground, taking out huge chunks of ice. Though because of the room's size, they couldn't raise it higher than their torso so it didn't have much momentum when they threw it.
Still, regardless of momentum.
It was a huge chunk of solid ice.
If it hit him, it would either knock him out or hurt like hell.
While he was curious of his durability after his evolution, something told him that taking those head on would be idiotic. Then again... they were too close to go around, and too large to jump over or go under, so going through is his only option. Since they were from the ground and he was half-sure they didn't have a way to make it harder...
Tia should be able to break through.
"Nng!" The direwolf felt the ice shatter against his cranium, for what it was worth, he was thankful he only needed to break one of the four. His HP dropped a sizable amount and suffered a minor concussion.
[You have obtained the skill (Body Charge)]
Convenient.
Utilizing his new skill, a wild and violent shroud of silver energy covered his body with a light shade of amber shadowing it. Tia took a moment to observe the skill, before barreling through the nearest snow golem. There wasn't really much difference from what he could see. Snow Golems weren't probably the best opponents to test it out.
In any case, it did enough to expose the core on its groin. Tia flipped as he passed through and smashed it to bits with his tail.
[You have slain a Snow Golem]
[You have gained a small amount of EXP]
'Did that just take part of my HP?' The direwolf landed with a small slide. He furrowed his brows as he dodged the blocks of ice thrown by the others in retaliation. Was it wrong to assume all skills only took MP? Probably. Tia nodded to himself as he corrected that outlook.
He'll remember to properly look at a skill before using it next time.
In any case... the snow golem stopped all functions and collapsed, unable to maintain its form now that it source of power was now shattered into pieces on the floor. The other golems seemed to stagger for a moment. Tia made sure to absolutely take advantage of that moment, and shattered the cores on their arm and eye. Now that he had an idea on their core smells like...
[You have slain a Snow Golem] 2x
[You have gained a small amount of EXP] 2x
"That was disappointingly easy... I did more damage to myself, I think." (Body Charge) appeared to have a set cost, it never drained more or less of the original amount. Putting that aside for the moment, he felt that the golems would've been much more trouble if they could've moved as they wanted.
The small room they got stuck in forced them to crouch to move, adding that to their general slowness, it was almost laughable how simple of a matter killing them became once he figured out how to find their cores. Tia supposed he would've had trouble prior to his evolution, but without a proper comparison, one could only wonder.
"Let's head back before you pass out from the cold." The direwolf jumped and wrapped himself around the little girl's neck. She felt colder than she used to be a few moment earlier. Did her rags give out so little insulation? Or was his body temperature just that high? Either way, they couldn't afford to go any further. This was as far as they could go.
Tia would definitely make plans to go back once he got a bit older.
The little witch frowned but nodded, realizing her own situation and lamenting her incompetence with other magics, especially heat-based magics. Near the entrance of the cave the cold was similar to the cold nights he spent in Germany as a human, but the deeper they went the temperature went downwards in a steady decline. On the frozen oasis, it felt like what he would've imagined Antarctica would've felt like.
Tia absentmindedly made a note to learn how to make clothes. It would be convenient if Selina couldn't find a permanent place of residence... he hoped the nearby village doesn't discriminate witches, otherwise his plan to kill monsters and strip their bodies for cash would quickly become much more difficult.
Selina was starting to move better the closer they came to the entrance. It was still fairly cold, but no longer as freezing as it used to be. She was probably used to sleeping outside, so this much shouldn't bother her... much.
The little girl paused by the area she sealed off.
"Do you think she's still out there?" Tia tilted his head, ears twitching.
"...I should be able to handle her now." Selina had recovered a significant amount of her mana, if she couldn't fight her off, then the girl was certain she could at least make a tunnel that propels them far enough that the jack frost wouldn't be a concern for a few weeks. If escape wasn't an option, combat was now possible.
If the jack frost was alone, Selina was sure she could hold her off. However, if the other hunters caught up was with the woman then things would get complicated.
She would likely get overwhelmed, then she would be forced to expend more mana than she would like to get out of those situations.
It already happened a couple of times before.
Each time she remembered killing more than she ever wanted to. Selina vividly remembered each of the times she was forced to collapse the ground by sending an intense pulse of her magic through the ground, therefore creating a psuedo-earthquake as the dirt shifted. It did the job, but she was always so tired afterwards it was a miracle they didn't strike during those moments.
Then again, their leader seemed like a dimwit when he bothered to show his face. She wouldn't be surprised if he had ordered a retreat simply because she made a hundred foot deep crater.
The scene they envisioned was much different from the one happening in reality. One of the stronger scavengers, the druidic vulture, was instantly taken out but everyone brushed his death off as simply bad luck. Hanta the Devil Worm had come from the southern region of the Willow Forest upon hearing word of the Lone Wolf and its mate's weakened states, joining with the rest as they gathered a strike force large enough to deter even the largest predators.
He was a Devil Worm, a serpentine-esque creature with sickle-like arms that burrows themselves in the ground and waits for a predator to be weakened from a hunt before striking. His blades were coated in a thin sheet of poison he secreted, it was potent enough to down an elephant… yet, why does that matter then the she-wolf could just stop everything in place?
Hanta was one of the luckier ones.
His sickles might be lost but he was alive. The others fared much worse and even then, that was putting it lightly when death was the expected outcome of a predator fighting back a scavenger.
It didn't make sense, was the information shared and spread by the Andras Owl false? The she-wolf should still be too frozen to fight back, but as it had already shown, it was already more than capable of that and then some!
'I need to retreat.' The she-wolf didn't go too far from her den, and those that tried to ignore her for the true prize inside only got eviscerated. Hanta didn't like their chances. Death only awaits the fools that decide that the she-wolf would die so long as they poke at her long enough.
The Death Worm began burrowing through the ground… but met some unexpected resistance.
"Death Worm, native to the Scorched Earth Biomes…" A youthful and tired voice spoke out, "...What's one of your kind doing so close to the north? Well… I guess it doesn't matter."
'A witch?!' Hanta tried to burrow, but instead of going further, the death worm only found himself being pushed towards them. He grit his teeth and changed course, going along the flow and jumping out of the ground to pounce on the witch.
His mind blanked when a white blur tore at his face. Hanta couldn't even scream as the blur tore through his throat first.
"So… this is why almost nothing attacked us…" Selina mused.
The little witch looked around, somewhat impressed at the amount of monster corpses gathered around the area. Selina could easily match the kill count, but it was still impressive for a single direwolf to do the same, even though they were a frost wolf.
"Can you do anything to help?" Tia finished off the death worm by tearing its head clean off the body. The former humans had heard of worms that could regenerate from being bisected into several pieces, but surely a monster worm, especially one that appeared somewhat humanoid, wouldn't be the same, right?
"Do you think I need to?" Selina reached down and once again carried him in her arms. "Your mother seems to have everything handled…"
The she-wolf was going to town on the scavengers that hadn't tried to escape after they lost their first hundred members. On one hand, Tia was worried about her body since the last time he'd seen her, she was covered head to toe in frost. On the other hand, the bloodthirsty grin of hers reminded him of an old military general friend of his father. The old hawk seriously almost murdered some thugs that thought they could steal from the Schnieden family estate.
He always wondered what else his old family did, because simply being a funeral home, even one that's been around for centuries, couldn't amass that much fortune or influence.
No use thinking further on that front though, Tia had already died.
"I'm still worried," Selina nodded and raised her arms, arm pointing towards the scavengers flanking the she-wolf. She flicked her wrist upwards and formed a dirt wall, surprising the small group. The witch flicked it again to swallow them before they could recover.
'Should I help out…?' Selina and Accala had things handled. The little witch was practically invincible, creating spikes that gouged out the monsters that tried to come close, and waves to swallow the monsters from afar, whilst creating walls to protect his mother from those that tried flanking her. The little girl's focus and battle awareness was amazing.
His initial thoughts about his mother were handily proven wrong. She pounced from one monster to another, conjuring small ice needles around her to distract and freezing their legs to the ground to restrict. While frost had been steadily building up around her, the she-wolf looked like it hardly affected her nor did it look like she cared.
...Maybe she would've been in trouble if Selina hadn't been here.
But now that she was, the two of them combined sent the smart ones running, and the stupid ones six foot underground or bleeding on the floor.
"Nice work." Selina just nodded, smiling slightly. "...How do we deal with mother though?"
The she-wolf was limping towards them, constantly breathing out clouds of ice vapor and fur slick with blood.
"..." Selina grabbed his sides.
Tia found his stomach pressed against his mother's snout as she towered over them. For some reason, frost began forming around his body starting from the point of contact. Slowly, he raised his eyes and met intensely glowing amber eyes with a slight tint of light blue.
The direwolf cub involuntary flattened his ears and coiled his tail around his groin, an act of submission, and to top it all off, utilized a technique that had his human half dying inside.
"...Mommy?"
Accala recoiled back, as if struck by a shotgun.
[Priority Quest Cleared; The Little Witch of Willow I]
[Branch Quest Cleared; The Little Witch in the Willow Forest I]
[Jobs System has been unlocked]
AN; Not much to say at the moment, but let me say a couple of things in response to a certain review. I have something planned to break the cliché monster pet thing, but probably won't happen until later. Separation will happen eventually though, since once Tia becomes of age, its common for wolves to leave their pack in search of another pack or something like that.
There's three reasons why he prioritized Selina over his family. The first reason, which is arguably the most important to him, is because Selina is a cute and powerful girl. The second reason, the one he would say if asked but is actually the reason he thought up as an excuse, is because her strength would be an immense help in case there's another attack and Arnou or Accala aren't enough. The third reason, something he would consider a side-benefit, is the possibility of being allowed within the cities or countries as being uncontracted would quickly result in them throwing the guards and adventurers at the mere sight of him.
I'll try to do things one at a time in the future, no promises though.
[Tia Schnieden] [LvL;11]
[Gender;Male
Age; 0 years old
Race; (Enhanced Species) Direwolf cub
HP; 226/226
MP; 158/158
Sanity: 100
STR: 88
END: 47
DEX: 59
AGL: 77
INT: 30
WIS: 32
LCK: 56
Status Points; 35
Skill List;
[Gamer's Mind] [MAX]
[Gamer's Body] [MAX]
[Body Charge] [LvL; 1]
[Use the shoulders! Not the head, never use the head! Shroud the user's body in a coat of magic then blindly charge at an enemy. After a charge, the user suffers damage equal to a part of the damage dealt to the target. During the charge, the user is temporarily subjected to tunnel vision and experience a speed increase.]
[Evolution] [LvL; 2]
[Instinct I] [LvL; 1]
[Spidey Sense. Accurately determine the intent of individuals targeted in addition to have some sort of sixth sense that allows one to determine the state of being with a certain individual or scenario. Occasionally be able to dodge attacks within blind spots. Level of effectiveness will depend on level.
1% of a premonition.
+4 WIS
+2 INT.]
[Intimidation] [Lvl;1]
[Observe] [LvL;4]
[Sneak] [LvL;4]
[Sprint (Quadrupedal)] (LvL;1)
[Tear I] [LvL;1]
[RnR. Rip and Rend. The user gains a greater understanding on how to effectively disassemble a target.
+10% chance of Bleed [Severity will depend on wound]
+4 STR
+2 DEX
Note; STR is temporarily increased while using (Tear) but does not affect damage]
Skill Points; 5
Inventory;
[Arrow] (2x)
[Bone] (5x)
[Bone Meal] (40x)
[Cobblestone] (20x)
[Death Worm Sickle] (1x)
[Dirt] (30x)
[Gunpowder] (30x)
[Miniscule Beetle Carapace] (1x)
[Small Beetle Carapace] (1x)
[Spider Carcass] (1x)
[String] (2x)
[Sweet Berry Thorns] (40x)
[Rotten Flesh] (30x)
[Zombie Bone] (10x)
[Zombie Skin] (3x)
Traits;
[Abnormal State Resistance]
[More than one person obtained this and thought themselves invincible, only to be killed by a boar. Abnormal Statuses have a harder time affecting the user.
10% chance to not be affected by Abnormal Status.]
[Elemental Affinity; Earth]
[Elemental Affinity; Ice]
[Elemental Affinity; Void]
[Enhanced Physical Body]
[Pride comes before the fall, and arrogance begets self-immolation. Stronger, faster, and tougher than the norm.
+10 STR, END, DEX, and AGL]
[Enhanced Senses]
[Being able to recognize something doesn't mean you can always do something about it. Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch and Taste are slightly increased along with sixth senses and magic sense.]
[Magic Comprehension]
[Reincarnated]
[Witch's Companion]
Reputation;
[Lynn] (LvL; 2)
[Little Sister] (LvL; 3)
[First Little Brother] (LvL; 3)
[Second Little Brother] (LvL; 3)
[Arnou] (LvL; 4)
[Accala] (LvL; 5)
[The Witch of the Willow Forest] (LvL; 5)
[Selina Moonsong] (LvL; 8)