Finding The Den, Part 1

After all the ordeal with Konnor, Astaroth was hoping they would still patrol today. He didn't want to miss out on leveling, even after what had just happened.

Sadly, his health was almost depleted, and he had nothing to refill it. He looked at the casters nearby expectantly, hoping one of them would heal him, but none did such a thing.

Astaroth turned to look at Kloud, hoping to get some answers. What greeted him as he turned shocked him.

*Slap!*

A crisp slap to his left cheek, leaving a slight hand print. Astaroth's eyes went wide, as Kloud's hand was still extended.

Kloud's face was a frown of disappointment.

"You didn't need to provoke so much. We lost a good fighter today, because of a childish pissing contest. I am not proud of you, Astaroth. That was very dishonorable of you." Kloud scolded him.

"But, sir. I only responded to his roughness. How am I to blame? Is a duel not an honorable way of quelling a dispute?" Astaroth replied, still in shock.

"It is, but not this one. You could have ended matters quickly. Yet you toyed with him." Kloud said, turning to leave.

"I cancel your patrol for the day. Go home, reflect on your actions." He added, walking away.

"But, teacher, I..." Astaroth stammered, watching Kloud's back get further away.

Chris, from the side, saw the interaction and felt pity for the kid. He walked over and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid. He is just a little disappointed. You could have ended this fight sooner, but you played catch with your opponent instead. The captain is very strict about how honorable his pupils should be." He said, looking at Kloud leave.

"But, Colonel. I was fighting as best I could. I don't understand why you say I could have ended this sooner." Astaroth replied, still confused.

"Son, I have fought mages with soul aptitude. Me and Kloud both. As soon as we saw the wolf, we knew. That was the Alpha's soul, was it not?" Chris asked, looking Astaroth in the eyes.

"It is, but I." Astaroth started saying.

Then it hit him. Spirit Melding!

Had he used that instead of summoning White Death, he could have overpowered Konnor rapidly with the combined stats? It had slipped his mind completely.

Chris watched Astaroth's face as realization made his eyes go wide.

"You finally understand your mistake. Good. Go reflect on it. I'll go talk to Kloud and make sure you can patrol tomorrow. Now scamper." Chris said, shooing Astaroth away.

Astaroth stood in the courtyard for a while, dejected at losing a day of leveling.

'At this rate, I can never compete' He thought.

'I can't just lose a day.'

He formed his resolve and walked out of the barracks. He would absolutely not waste his day.

He was going to level with or without help. He walked in the village's entrance direction .

He stopped in front of the barrier for a bit, wondering if this was just reckless, but he quickly threw that thought aside. He didn't care.

He wanted to get stronger. He NEEDED to get stronger.

Thus he walked out and started running into the forest, direction, the wolves' territory. As Astaroth had walked out of the barracks, someone had been staring at him.

Korin had seen his eyes go from shaken to steeled. He recognized that look on Astaroth's face.

The look of a fool about to do something stupid. Korin had blended with the shadows around him and started tailing Astaroth from a distance away.

When he saw the young man stop at the barrier, he thought Astaroth had gotten cold feet. But Astaroth quickly proved him wrong about that, and right about his assessment.

The kid was going to do something stupid. He watched as Astaroth walked across the barrier and started running into the wilderness.

He thought of going to warn the Colonel but quickly brushed that idea aside, knowing that he would lose the trail of the boy quickly if he didn't directly follow him. And so he did.

He stayed as best hidden as he could and followed Astaroth. After running for a few minutes, Astaroth could already hear the howling in the distance.

He didn't slow down and re-oriented himself towards the closest howl he heard. He no longer cared about his safety, only leveling.

He would use his skills to the limit and drain his mana dry if that meant he could fight alone. He soon found a small group of three wolves lazing about in a clearing.

Astaroth didn't stop running. He pulled out his longsword, wielding it with two hands, and cast 'Mana Skin', 'Spirit Melding', and 'Enhance Weapon' one after the other. After casting 'Spirit Melding', he felt all his stats go up.

He felt stronger, faster, and sturdier. Like he was unbeatable.

His hair turned white, and he could feel some fur had grown on his cheeks. His canines had also elongated, and he could feel them poking out of his lips.

He almost looked like a half-transformed werewolf! He looked at his status window really fast.

Status:

Name: Astaroth

Melded: White Death (Time remaining: 2m28s)

Race: Ash Elf

Level: 14 (4'995/6'450)

Stats:

HP: 6'325/6'325 MP: 953/1'150 Stamina: 100

Health Regen: 1% / second

Mana Regen: 1/second in combat, 5/second out of combat

Strength: 17 (+47) Agility: 20 (+27) Constitution: 20 (+55)

Intelligence: 20 (+20) Wisdom: 15 (+20)

Attack Power Str: 320 Attack Power Agi: 235 Magic Attack Power: 200 Healing Power: 175

Natural Defense: 7.5% Armor Defense: 14%

Luck: 0 (Stat unaffected by Level up and free points)

Available stat points: 0

Available skill points: 1

Physical Condition: Normal

Mental Condition: Normal

Skill Gained: Wolven Heart (Passive), Alpha's Howl (Active), Hyper Senses (Passive)

Wolven Heart (Passive): Gain the heart of a wolf, granting you high survivability. +1% Health regen per second.

Hyper Senses (Passive): Your senses become one of a canine. Your hearing, smell, and sight are greatly improved.

Alpha's Howl (Active): Howl to establish dominance. All enemies in a 50m radius face genetic fear of the Alpha (50% chance of fear for 5 seconds). Can only be used once per meld.

'What a monstrous boost.' He thought.

'I almost have the same stats as a level 36!'

As he was looking at his status screen, he never stopped running toward the wolves. Now he was right in front of one, and it was jumping at his throat.

The wolf was still quicker than him, but that mattered little, as he was prepared for them. He leaned his body to the side, barely clearing the wolf's lunge, and sliced upwards with his longsword.

*-343*

Astaroth looked at the number with wide eyes.