NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: [5]: Gray wolves and civilization
Elicia World.
Belfast Kingdom - Eastern Forest.
[***]
"Seriously, I arrive in this world and some weird monster attacks me already. For some reason, I don't feel scared, though I'm a little nervous," Aiden murmured to himself as he observed the two wolves he had encountered in the forest.
He had been exploring and walking all day, but by nightfall, he had found no food.
He needed to start a campfire and look for something to eat afterward.
With [Michael], hunting an animal for food shouldn't be a problem.
But who would've thought he'd run into these rabid wolves?
"Grrr..."
The wolves, with ominous gray fur, had blood-red eyes that glowed brightly in the dark.
Upon seeing those eyes, Aiden instantly knew they weren't ordinary creatures.
"I wonder if they're edible…?" he wondered, feeling the pressure of hunger.
He had already explored quite a bit and had gotten far from his temporary camp.
He didn't want to find another spot and have to light another fire, especially after how difficult it had been to make the first one.
"Grrr...!"
Suddenly, one of the wolves let out a guttural growl and charged at him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
—Tap...! Boom!
In an instant, the wolf reached his side, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth and saliva, its red eyes glowing with ferocity. Without wasting time, it tried to devour its prey.
"Woah...!" Aiden panicked, dodging the wolf's bite and rolling to the side.
The wolf crashed violently into a tree.
—Thud!
Disoriented, the wolf let out a pained whine as Aiden got back up, feeling pure adrenaline rush through his body.
"Seems like you really can't wait to be roasted and eaten, huh?" Aiden mocked, determined not to let the opportunity slip by.
Without wasting more time, he lunged forward.
The [Falna] had granted him superior physical abilities compared to a normal human, and with an agile movement, he reached the side of the wolf.
With a branch he had been keeping in his pocket, Aiden thrust it forcefully into the wolf's red eye.
—Shhhk!
The wolf howled in pain, its eyes reflecting surprise and fury.
"This one's for dinner," Aiden murmured with determination, as the other wolf prepared to attack.
Aiden gripped the blood-covered branch tightly and looked at the wolf that stared at him with a fierce gaze.
"Ugh... this is disgusting, but I'll have to get used to this. They're just two wolves, the first enemy you encounter in the tutorial. You got this, Aiden!" He encouraged himself as he muttered, but when he looked at the blood again, he couldn't help but think it was disgusting once more.
The wolves, now alert, began to circle him, growling as they lunged at him simultaneously.
"Grroooar!"
One aimed for his arms, while the other went for his neck.
"Alright, I can't win against you with this little twig!" Aiden dropped the nonsense.
He wanted to learn hand-to-hand combat, but now he realized that wasn't the priority. If he made a mistake, these wolves would devour him alive.
And if he died because of these weak wolves, how could he face all those Phrases?
First of all, Aiden wasn't a hand-to-hand fighter.
"[Michael]!"
Aiden's right hand glowed with a golden light as a giant key resembling a staff of rings appeared in his palm.
With an agile movement, he spun the key and used it as a spear, preparing to strike the wolves.
—Thud! Thud! Thud!
The wolves howled in pain, their screams echoing through the forest as Aiden used a trap skill against tutorial monsters like them.
They could only suffer in silence until they died, their bodies falling heavily to the ground.
—Thud! Thud!
Aiden watched as the wolves lay motionless, a mix of relief and adrenaline coursing through his body.
Aiden looked at the bodies of the two wolves, their heads crushed and covered in blood.
He felt a pang of nausea, but managed to hold it in. A sigh escaped his lips.
"Maybe I can use this to eat or sell when I reach a village. What part of the world am I in now?"
Turning around, golden portals began appearing under the wolves' bodies, absorbing them.
It was the [Gate of Babylon].
Aiden smiled to himself; having almost infinite storage was incredibly convenient.
According to the information he'd read in the [Falna], that magic could also be used offensively. He imagined launching a bunch of swords from there.
'That would be pretty cool.'
He continued on his way to the camp, which was quite far away.
Along the way, he encountered more wolves, which fell in a single headshot, thanks to [Michael], who could also fire energy blasts made of reiryoku.
Aiden practiced with those wolves, feeling his skill improve with each victory.
After dealing with all the wolves, he collected them using the [Gate of Babylon] and continued his journey toward the camp.
Upon arrival, he set out to cook the wolf meat using a sharp stone he had found during his return.
When he tried the meat, a single thought crossed his mind:
"Disgusting."
Despite his dislike, he kept eating, knowing he needed strength.
He wasn't concerned about the meat being poisonous.
According to Yog-Sothoth, Aiden's body had changed and strengthened upon awakening his magic [Tree of Life/Death Sephira/Qlipha], increasing his resistance to such things.
Though he wasn't completely immune, he was confident in his newfound strength.
After eating, he climbed a tree to try and sleep. However, the discomfort woke him up several times during the night.
[*]
"Ah… when will I reach a village?" he murmured softly.
Two days later, Aiden walked along a dirt road showing marks of wheels.
He assumed those tracks were from horse-drawn carts. He decided to follow this path, hoping it would lead him to a village or civilization.
"But seriously, why are there so many gray wolves? Aren't there other kinds of monsters? I feel a bit bad using [Michael] to hit these enemies. It's supposed to be some divine power or something…" Aiden muttered to himself while cleaning the blood off the tip of the key.
At that moment, he felt the key respond, as if it agreed with him.
"Well, I'll try not to use you as a stick to slap these monsters," he said, and the key glowed, as if approving his decision.
Aiden gathered the wolf bodies and continued on his way.
Five full days passed before he finally glimpsed a village in the distance.
"Haha~, finally! I want to sleep in a bed… and eat something that isn't roasted wolf," he exclaimed happily.
Without wasting any time, Aiden headed toward the village while humming a song from his past life.
"If the sign of our goodbye~♫."
"Echoes in the night sky~♫."
"Soon we'll be far away and weak~♫."
"And our paths will light up~♫."
"Until we meet again~♫."
While humming, almost without realizing it, Aiden caught a glimpse of his status, remembering the wolf packs he had defeated along the way.
[*]
[Name]: Aiden Avalon
[Race]: Human/???
[Level]: 1
[Basic Skills]:
-Strength: (I) 0→ (D) 586
-Endurance: (I) 0→ (D) 544
-Dexterity: (I) 0→ (G) 202
-Agility: (I) 0→ (G) 278
-Magic: (I) 0→ (E) 533
-Reiryoku: (I) 0→ (B) 702
[Development Capacity]:
-
[Magic]:
[]1[][Tree of Life/Death Sephira/Qlipha]
[Astral Armor]: ???
{Lord who removes the seals}
[Angel]: Michael
[Demon King]: Belphegor (Sealed)
[Weapon]: Key
[Released Form]: Spear/staff
[Ego]: ???
{???}
[]2[][Gate of Babylon]
[]3[][Kaleidoscope]
[Skills]:
-[Eiyū (Hero)]: It is a unique skill that allows the user to accelerate their personal growth impressively, while protecting everything around them: from people and towns to cities, kingdoms, and even entire worlds. Additionally, it has the power to break the limits of basic statistics, bringing the user to an unprecedented level of evolution.
-[Reverse Spirit] (Sealed): It is a dark skill that grants the user access to an inverted version of themselves, giving up part of their feelings and humanity in exchange for formidable power. When activated, Demon Kings are no longer sealed, while Angels are inverted in their essence.
[*]
'As expected, the stat that has risen the most is 'Reiryoku', since it is the energy used by [Michael]. The other stats have also risen quite a bit,' Aiden thought, feeling pleased.
He realized that he felt stronger than the first day he arrived in this world.
If those two wolves he killed appeared again, he could slap them without needing to rely on [Michael].
"I won't need to use a cheat power on those little bastards anymore," he said with an ironic smile.
A few moments later, he arrived at the village entrance, where there was a kind of gate guarded by a few soldiers.
"Ah, finally some civilization!" Aiden exclaimed, feeling a surge of joy at seeing signs of human life.
[***]
End of Chapter.
(•_•)
A/N:
In the upcoming chapters, there will be several time skips to show Aiden's progress.
I plan to make this mini-arc a maximum of 10 chapters, so it's likely that by Chapter 16, Aiden will already be in another world.
This mini-arc is simply to show where his powers come from and how he meets the first members of his harem.
I think the cover of the fanfic already gives a little spoiler, and Yog-Sothoth also mentioned something about the "Egos".
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'd appreciate it if you could let me know if the grammar is correct, since, as I mentioned, my native language isn't English and I'm translating this with ChatGPT.
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[Image of Aiden] ←
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[Image of Michael] ←
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[You can put images of wolves here if you want] ←
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