Rudis Forest

Rudis Forest was home to a series of weak monsters. It was located northwest from Ulya, and only needed around ten minutes of walking to get there.

Cecily instructed him to find a pack of Silver Wolves to be his first hunting target.

Although Silver Wolves were relatively weak creatures, they attacked in hordes and had great cooperative skills when battling.

Cecily's reason for it was because the wolves did not have any troublesome variables that Elgin needed to pay attention to. They could be taken down with enough endurance, attention, and brute force.

For the current Elgin, they were decently challenging opponents to get him used to active fighting.

He would be surrounded by the wolves in an instant due to the wolves' tendency to encircle and trap their prey with their numbers.

During that scenario, Elgin's mind would be forced to think of all the possible things he could do and take necessary measures, honing his fighting mindset.

With this goal in mind, Elgin walked to the places marked in the map.

People from Ulya regularly came here to gather herbs or other ingredients, so they'd want to avoid monsters using the path traced on the map.

Elgin strayed off the path and went towards the nearest location with a Silver Wolf symbol drawn around it to fight.

"Let's see.." Elgin hopped over a ledge that segmented the areas and stepped into the supposed Silver Wolf territory.

The forest had an eerie feel to it. Within the sea of trees, one could get lost in a matter of minutes, devoured by the terrain and never to be seen again. The 'safe' trail was more cleared up for the safety of the people, but the uncharted regions were completely unkempt.

It was hard to navigate around the place with the amount of blockages suffocating the place.

Elgin also had to keep the sound he made low, as to not attract any undesired monsters. Walking at a slow, but steady pace, he slid through the narrow path between countless trees blocking his sight until he was in a more spacious area.

He pulled out his map and marked another checkpoint on it. Getting lost was something he didn't want to do. He also had to survey escape routes and safe zones in case something bad happened to him.

"This should be it, right?" Elgin whispered.

The breeze was colder than usual. The trees swayed left and right, as if welcoming Elgin.

Swish!

Shortly after, the bushes not far away from him started to rustle.

Elgin pulled out his sword, brandishing it towards the direction of the sound right away.

[Don't rush. Take it easy, don't ever panic.] Cecily reminded.

No matter what, the best way to get stronger was through defeating monsters and levelling up. A knowledge he had learned long ago from one of the Players that visited his abode.

These Silver Wolves were nothing but easy experience points. Elgin convinced himself that it was the case.

Awoo!!

A loud howl. Followed by a creature leaping out of the bush with a high speed, pouncing at Elgin.

Elgin finally caught a glimpse of what a Silver Wolf looked like. The wolf, knowing that it failed its attack, growled and howled even louder.

[It's calling for the pack. Mind your position, don't get cornered.]

Elgin retreated to a safer space after detecting where the rest of the pack was starting to come from. His heartbeat was already starting to spike up, a tingling sense of fear creeping into his heart.

Even though he thought he had prepared himself mentally quite well, it turned out to be nowhere near enough now that the ferocious, demonic creatures actually faced him head on.

He had to trust himself, trust his guide Cecily, and trust the Goddess who gave him powers.

[Silver Wolves look scary, but they're not that strong. They're agile, but even for a Level 1 Player like you, it's possible to parry their strikes completely. They don't have high defenses, so striking at any location would be good enough, but it'll be even better if you can aim at their vitals. Just be careful, and you will be alright!]

'I just need to kill them before they can kill me.'

The wolves were fearless as they gathered around the largest wolf, which seemed to be the leader. A good number of seventeen wolves were present.

Elgin gazed at his enemies and knew that these guys were going to start a very predictable pattern soon. They would hide behind the bushes and try to flank him from all sides.

Before that could happen, he needed to break their formation and take them down.

Elgin charged towards the nearest wolf standing in the sidelines, knowing that the pack wouldn't put the strongest vanguard far away from the prey.

He hacked down at the wolf's head, hoping for the best.

Slash!

A fatal wound was made on the creature's neck, a heavy stream of blue blood spurting out.

Elgin's longsword was smeared with the liquid.

[1 Silver Wolf successfully killed.]

[Experience points increased by 1500.]

[Level increased by 1.]

[Status points increased by 5.]

[Player's health was restored.]

The effect was almost instant. A power up from the System. Elgin was in a fight, so he didn't bother checking the status right away, but he felt his body get stronger.

The wolf that he took down slouched down to the ground, becoming lifeless. The other wolves watched as Elgin turned his head to them.

Even though it was just one person, they felt threatened. Their comrade was dead, setting an example to what may be their outcome soon if they didn't run away.

Demise.

Elgin felt natural wielding the thin blade. His movements were fluid, almost like flowing liquid. He relinquished his mind filled with dooming thoughts, and let his senses take over the decision making process.

He didn't need to think.

Just fight.

'If it's like this, I can do it all day.' Elgin's confidence began to rise up.