Wolves

Chapter 14: Wolves

When Mercury came home, he took some time to recuperate. He got himself another rabbit to eat and had a bit of a rest in the log. Then, he drank some stuff and got a good night's rest in. Exhaustion is one of the best helpers for falling asleep after all.

But the next day, Mercury was already back on track. After finishing what was left of the rabbit for breakfast, he started strategizing. He had to figure out a way to beat the royal Wolf. It was actually paramount for him, since that was his current main quest. Essentially, there were no two ways about beating him, but at his current level he simply stood no chance.

Now, Mercury was guesstimating the levels of the enemy as per usual, but he presumed the stats of an average wolf to be around 50 in the physical categories and maybe around 25 in the magical ones. To compare it to the bear, he set that one's stats to be about 100 Strength, 15 Agility and maybe 20 in Intelligence. He would have also had far higher Vitality though.

To sum it up, the bear was stronger, but the wolves were smarter. And they were probably in a pack. In addition, there was hardly any way to separate them, since they could call for help by howling. And to add some more to that, he would have to treat each and every single wolf almost like a boss. He also really doubted he would be able to charm them.

This put him in a predicament, and Mercury spent multiple hours thinking about how he would combat the wolves until he arrived at a solution. His only advantage was height. No, he wasn't taller than them, but he thought that wolves probably couldn't climb a tree, so that was the only way he could hide. They would also be susceptible to rocks again, so he would be able to throw those. It was a simple strategy. Take down a few wolves and run away. But before he could put it into practice, he would have to actually find the wolves' territory.

He started scouting that very night, going towards and then past the pond, moving further along the side of the mountain instead of moving up or down. He didn't find anything. He slept on a tee and continued fruitlessly searching for another day, since he now also had to scout the entire area and try to memorize it as much as possible.

After not finding anything for a third day, he decided to head home. Well, at least he began his trek home then. It took him another day to get back. There, he was met by a nasty fucking surprise.

There was a wolf next to his log, sleeping in the grass. It was light gray, with white legs and a white strip of fur along its spine, as well as white markings around its eyes. This scared Mercury shitless. He immediately activated <Sneak> and made his way closer as slowly as he could. How the fuck did the wolves find him first? And why the fuck were they here? Like, why would there be a single wolf instead of an entire pack waiting for him?

Now, these questions were actually secondary. The most pressing matter was how the fuck he was going to get his log back. He only had two rocks and nothing more in his inventory. He was completely and utterly unprepared and outmatched, but more than that, he was absolutely unwilling to give up his home.

Right, he had earned this log fair and square and he wouldn't give it up! So, like a brave fighter, he scurried up a tree and threw a rock at the curled up wolf. Or at least he threw a rock where he remembered it to be. When he looked down towards the base of the tree he saw two black pupils staring at him from yellow eyes.

But, when Mercury flinched back in shock, the wolf lowered its eyes to the ground. Then, it took a step back. It didn't growl or bark or howl. It silently pressed its head against the ground and whimpered.

Mercury was stunned. This beast with teeth like knives that was more than five times his height was bowing to him. But even as Mercury hesitated, the wolf didn't move an inch. It still waited when he climbed down from the tree and walked up next to it. Then, it raised its head again, blinked at him a few times and brought its head closer.

This made Mercury jump back slightly, but the wolf didn't relent. Instead, it came closer again, albeit a little more slowly and sniffed Mercury. It then sniffed a few more times, before beckoning in a direction, looking back at Mercury and then walking off, checking if he was following every few steps.

Given that he wasn't left much choice, Mercury followed. The wolf didn't seem exactly hostile, given that it hadn't tried to attack him even a single time, and with the way it behaved it felt more like a guide than a scout. He felt that was quite accurate. The wolf was sent here alone to bring him back to the other wolves.

Now, this might be a really shit idea on Mercury's part actually. He could currently be following right into an ambush. He could even just be killed on the way, but Mercury didn't even think of that. It wasn't because he was exceptionally stupid or anything, but because of a simple feeling. Well, that and a message.

He was trusting his gut feeling for one simple reason.

[Acquired the Skill <Intuition lv. 1> through a specific action.]

In this world, intuition was a fully fledged skill that could be trained. One's intuition could be summed up in numbers, which made it actually trustworthy. It thus went beyond a "gut feeling" and continued right on its way to "very general, fairly reliable information" in Mercury's book.

So, he ended up following the wolf for a few days. His decision was proving to be right more and more when his guide also brought him food every day. He didn't even need to go hunting anymore, though this way he also no longer gained any experience. They actually went in the opposite direction of where Mercury was going and headed past the great Stag's territory, when the air changed a little.

It wasn't that the sound stopped like in the territory of the spiders. It also didn't really taste any different, it was still earthy and fresh forest air. But the foundation was different. There was a distinct smell of wet dog in the air. So he knew he was in the wolves' territory.

Then, after another half day, they arrived at a clearing and the grey wolf left his side.

There he saw a total of three wolves actually, including his guide. They were seated on a podium, a rock that formed a slight overhang a little higher up on the mountain than him. From his perspective, his guide had the seat to the right, her light gray fur melding with the night sky. To the left he saw another wolf, this one larger and fiercer than his guide, with black fur and many scars where little hair grew.

In the middle, there was a final wolf, a little smaller in frame but lean and with clearly defined muscles. Its fur was a blueish grey, with white, almost flame-like pattern across its legs and face. Its spot on the podium was a little higher than those of the other two wolves, but a moment later that didn't matter anymore. The three of them jumped down from the rock and slowly advanced towards Mercury.

They weren't sneaking or preparing for battle. It was more of an elegant walk, with the blue wolf standing the tallest and the black one closest to the ground and the most wary. He apparently didn't trust our silvery cat-friend very much.

Then, the three stopped before him. First, the one who was his guide gave a nod. Then, the black one warily moved forward and sniffed him twice before stepping back again, probably giving his approval. Then, the blue wolf stopped forward. It leaned towards Mercury and he could see the glint in its black pupils, shining like holes in its light face. It also sniffed him once. Then again and then a third time.

And then, all at the same time, the three of them bowed down, pressing their heads onto the ground like his guide did the first time he met it.

[Main Quest: "Defeat the royal Wolf!" completed. You have received: 2 Ability points, 100 Skill points, 250 Exp.]

[Level Up!]

… what? Huh? What what? Ex-fucking-scuse him?! WHAT?!

He just "defeated" the royal Wolf. Just like that. How. What the actual fuck. This was insane!! Wait, maybe they sniffed him for the smells of the other bosses and decided that yup, he took all of them down, so acknowledging defeat might be smarter? Holy shit! That was more than impressive! Lucky!

With the three of them cowering before him, Mercury instinctually felt a pull on his heartstrings. He wanted to make these his familiars. But currently <Tame> only made animals friendly to him, so there was little point. Was it time to acquire the <Beastmaster> Skill? Yes. Yes it was.

[Acquired the Skill <Beastmaster lv. 1> from the Skill shop.]

[<Beastmaster lv. 1> and <Tame lv. 1> can be fused into <Beast Commander lv. 1>. Fuse Skills?]

Yes please.

[Fusing Skills.]

[Acquired the Skill <Beast Commander lv. 1> through fusing Skills.]

[Added: The ability to command your familiars.]

Then, he used his new Skill on the grey wolf who was his guide first. He gently touched her head with his paw and a silver mist gently enveloped her, before flashing with a sliver light and dissipating.

[Taming successful! Get: 125 Exp.]

Beast familiars: 1/1

But at the same time he realized something. He could see the light in her eyes fade. No, that wasn't quite right. It didn't slowly fade out like drops of blood from a small wound, but was instantly extinguished. He took over her mind before he even realized it was happening. Then, Mercury felt disgusted with himself. What the hell was this Skill? How fucking gross was this? This was like... slavery. What the fuck. No, he didn't want anything to do with this. Get out. Without even hesitating for a split second, he bought the <Familiar Intellect> Skill.

[Acquired the Skill <Familiar Intellect lv. 1> from the Skill shop.]

[<Beast Commander lv. 1> and <Familiar Intellect lv. 1> can be fused into <Beast Leader lv. 1>. Fuse Skills?]

Pretty fucking please!!

[Fusing Skills.]

[Acquired the Skill <Beast Leader lv. 1> through fusing Skills.]

[Added: The ability to interact with your familiars' status. The ability for your familiars to think independently of you. The ability for your familiars to share Exp gain with you and each other (amount shared dependent on loyalty).]

In an instant, the wolf's eyes cleared up and it blinked a few times before nodding happily. She seemingly was satisfied with knowing that their future leader wants them to be more than mindless beings. After seeing the lean, grey wolf raise its head and nod, the black one stepped forward a little.

But Mercury took just a second more to buy the remainder of the <Beast Army> Skills, adding them one by one to understand what they did.

[Acquired the Skill <Familiar Growth lv. 1> from the Skill shop.]

[<Beast Leader lv. 1> and <Familiar Growth lv. 1> can be fused into <Beast Mentor lv. 1>. Fuse Skills?]

[Fusing Skills.]

[Acquired the Skill <Beast Mentor lv. 1> through fusing Skills.]

[Added: Familiar grades. Ability for familiars to increase in level and grade by acquiring Exp for themselves.]

[Acquired the Skill <Familiar Skilling lv. 1> from the Skill shop.]

[<Beast Mentor lv. 1> and <Familiar Skilling lv. 1> can be fused into <Advanced Beast Mentor lv. 1>. Fuse Skills?]

[Fusing Skills.]

[Acquired the Skill <Advanced Beast Mentor lv. 1> through fusing Skills.]

[Added: Ability for familiars to level-up their Skills and acquire new ones.]

[Acquired the Skill <Store Familiar lv. 1> from the Skill shop.]

[<Advanced Beast Mentor lv. 1> and <Store Familiar lv. 1> can be fused into <Beast Army lv. 1>. Fuse Skills?]

[Fusing Skills.]

[Acquired the Skill <Beast Army lv. 1> through fusing Skills.]

[Renamed Skill to <Beast King lv. 1> due to individual's preferences.]

[Added: The ability to store creatures in a subspace that can be customized to fit their habitat. The ability for creatures to leave said habitat at will near the individual's location. In order to store the creatures, the user must physically touch them.]

It cost him a solid 1400 Skill points but it was worth it. He was now able to transport familiars with him to any place at any time and level them up alongside him. In addition to that, he would also gain Exp when they gained some, which was totally awesome. But back on track for our silvery friend.

He placed his paw on the head of the black wolf, its fur surprisingly soft, and it was also enveloped in the silver mist. After a flash of light the taming had completed.

[Taming successful! Get: 125 Exp.]

The black wolf was still just the same as before, the wind brushing its fur and a glint in its eyes. This was what Mercury wanted. He wanted them to think and act by themselves while simply being loyal to him so they could mutually benefit from each other. He wanted to be a king, to be followed, not obeyed. To be beloved, not feared.

In any case, the black wolf raised its head and looked satisfied with what had happened. So, the blue wolf stepped forward.

Once more Mercury moved. He placed his hand on the blue wolf's head, just as he had done with the two previous candidates. And, just as before, a silver mist laid itself around the wolf and, after a flash of light, a message popped up.

[Taming successful! Get: 175 Exp.]

It all worked out perfectly. All three of them were tamed. He could now view their statuses and command them as his followers, but before he got a chance to do it, another notification popped up.

[You have gone above your maximum familiar count! This will limit the growth of your familiars as they are not intended to form your entire army or kingdom. In order to limit exploiting the familiar system a total-level cap will be instated in cases such as this one! This limit is dependent upon your level, Skill level and stats. While you can still make people who volunteer into your familiars, they will be unable to level-up until the cap increases. They can continue to get experience. Experience settings themselves are adjustable. The current total-level cap is 150. It will be displayed in brackets next to your familiar count by default.]

This was a bit of a bummer but it also made sense. Imagining a scenario where many powerful people just become each others' familiars to exploit the sharing of experience seemed highly unfair, especially when it came to them absolutely curb stomping newbies. So, in some ways, having this cap on other people actually helped him out. It was also fairly high right now, meaning he didn't have to worry too much about it. Instead, he had time to view their statuses.

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 11

Species: Royal Wolf

Titles: <The Leader>

Nicknames: Mister Woofers, Woofles

Hp: 155/155

Mp: 105/105

Sp: 205/205

Strength: 45

Vitality: 36

Dexterity: 46

Agility: 48

Intelligence: 26

Wisdom: 29

Willpower: 38

Luck: 11

Ability points: 135

Loyalty: 5/100

Skill points: 4855

Grade: Unique E

The first profile he looked at was the one of the royal Wolf, of course.That one was the goal of his quest after all, so it was only logical for him to wanna see his stats. And, well, it wasn't exactly disappointing. Holy shit. Just straight up wow. 135 Ability Points. That was absolutely motherfucking insane, actually.

Mercury always prided himself on using his points smartly, making sure to have some when he needed to invest them. But this was just on a wholly different level. Now, this wasn't because of any conscious choice of course, but simply stemmed from the fact that, well, wolves couldn't exactly use the system without knowing a language and being able to read. In essence, the system applied to everything that was sentient, but it could only be utilized by things that were sapient as well.

So, in order for them to be able to use the system on their own and actually have them utilize their potential, he would probably need to fulfill two requirements. The first one would have to be getting their intelligence high enough and the second one would be getting skillstones that would allow them to actually speak.The second one could prove a bit of a challenge, but at least the first one was easy to execute, with how many Ability points they had accumulated. The status pages of his guide and Scar over there weren't much different.

... hey wait a minute! This man is just ignoring the nicknames!! Turns out, the system also displays nicknames that are frequently used for someone. Mercury's probably only showed up, because he was the only one to ever use them.

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 11

Species: Whisperstep Wolf

Titles: <Still>

Hp: 115/115

Mp: 120/120

Sp: 205/205

Strength: 37

Vitality: 28

Dexterity: 46

Agility: 53

Intelligence: 29

Wisdom: 30

Willpower: 31

Luck: 13

Ability points: 135

Loyalty: 5/100

Skill points: 4780

Grade: Unique E

First he looked at that of his guide and he could immediately discern that she was probably more stealthy given her species. Also, she was faster and a little smarter, but weaker and less headstrong. Overall the differences were slight but distinct.

Status:

|Unnamed|

Lv.: 11

Species: Direwolf

Titles: <Scarred>

Hp: 190/190

Mp: 100/100

Sp: 205/205

Strength: 54

Vitality: 43

Dexterity: 46

Agility: 41

Intelligence: 25

Wisdom: 29

Willpower: 33

Luck: 10

Ability points: 135

Loyalty: 4/100

Skill points: 4910

Grade: Unique E

Then the scarred wolf, which seemed all the more appropriate given his title. All three of theirs were actually pretty unique, especially compared to his own, making him want to check it out. Still, he read the status through before checking it out. It was clear that this one was moving more into the direction of a warrior and, given his lower loyalty, probably didn't trust in Mercury's strength as much as the other two. And simply put, he wasn't wrong.

All three of them outranked Mercury on their own, not to mention as a group. They could easily take him down one-on-one and if they were to attack him together right now, they would tear him limb from limb. Luckily, they decided not to do that, because that would have proven more than troublesome. Being torn apart isn't exactly beneficial for your health, you know?

Anyways, he had their directions figured out. One was moving into a leadership role, one into a stealthy direction and the third one was aiming to become a warrior. Now, what did their titles mean?

[<Leader>: This title has been awarded to the individual after they formed their own pack, making the other members acknowledge them as the leader and thus achieving a personal goal. It increases the stats of the individual by 10% if they are hunting with others or defending their title as the leader. In addition, they give off a sophisticated aura.]

So it was stronger when it came to make use or defending its leadership and the hidden stat for swag was reduced in exchange for seeming "royal". Pretty cool.

[<Still>: This title has been awarded to the individual after they spent an entire weak breathing and stepping soundlessly, not losing focus for a moment even during sleep, thus achieving a personal goal. It allows all Skills revolving around stealth to gain mastery at a 15% increased rate.]

Yo, this title was awesome. Wasn't this one awarded at the end of a trial or something the like? The wolf put itself through peril and was rewarded, so basically it was a trial. But damn was the reward worth it. An increase in mastery gain for all stealth Skill was absolutely stellar. Though it did also raise a question: How was potential handled in the game?

Like, did some people just gain mastery or stats quicker than others? Or was it the same for everyone to establish an equal playing field? This was really intriguing to Mercury, so he reminded himself to ask Cherry about that next time. He also made mental notes to ask for the skillstones and the average Intelligence stat of humans.

Then, he moved on to the last title.

[<Scarred>: This title has been awarded to the individual after they survived 100 deep wounds, thus achieving a personal goal. It increases their stats proportional to health lost, increasing them by a maximum of 33% (rounded down).]

A third awesome title! Increasing stats the weaker one gets was very beneficial for basically any combat, but even more so when facing equal or even superior opponents, since it would make you stronger over time. The big downside was that if you healed, the stat boosts would disappear, so it was also very risky to attempt to utilize this title.

Mercury then also realized another thing in addition to the awesomeness of the titles and it wasn't that they were, like, five times as cool as his own. It was the fact that all of them had to do with a personal achievement rather than a reward for a tutorial. So theirs were more like the <Trialist> title he was currently working on rather than his already earned <Tutorial Completer> title. That also made him wonder what happened to the tutorial if the person was unable to actually read or speak. Did it just… not appear? In what language would it appear if the target doesn't know one?

And then he realized something else. There was a certain amount of potential that maybe someone else also reincarnated. This would then, in turn, result in them also being able to do the tutorial. This made <Tutorial Completer> basically a mark for reincarnated people. If there were any besides him, of course.

So many questions and so very few answers. Seems like every time he actually got an answer more questions popped up as well. Truly unfortunate. So, instead of spending his time on things he currently had no way of finding the answer for, Mercury let his rationale drag him back into the present.

Because he had something to do.

He had names to give.