Yale's Choice

Yale carefully proceeded while hunting 1-star beasts. He didn't want to be overconfident and enrage many at the same time.

Yale was very efficient while hunting. It was difficult to believe that he didn't have any experience because although his traps were ineffective, his arrows were deadly because they hit the weak points of the beasts.

A few days after starting his hunting, his Agility points reached nine. However, even though reaching nine points was difficult, the true challenge was reaching ten.

The Beast Trial didn't disappoint Yale. In a month since starting the Beast Trial, due to his constant use of archery, his Archer's Senses reached level three, and Stealth reached level two.

That was very good, and after a few more days, Yale finally reached ten points in Dexterity, reaching perfection in all the mind stats, and upgrading his Magical Talent to high grade.

Until that moment, the requirements to upgrade the Magical Talent had been progressive, but when Yale tried to know how to upgrade the Magic Talent to perfect grade, he became shocked.

[The system won't upgrade the Magical Talent to the perfect grade; the user should find a way to upgrade it himself or be satisfied with the high grade. The only reward which can upgrade the Magical Talent to perfect grade is in the Main Chain Quest of the Magus Path. Since the user has chosen the Origin Path, that reward is unobtainable.]

That was the first time that the system showed no way to help Yale. Upgrading it by himself to the perfect grade was something that Yale considered virtually impossible because he didn't even know how to start. Until high grade, there were records of people who upgraded it in the past, but in the books, Yale didn't read about someone who had reached the perfect grade in Magic Talent by upgrading it.

Yale was depressed, but he could only stop thinking about that and continue with the hunt. Yale sighed as he looked at the good part of the situation, he only needed two more stats to reach ten points to fulfill the Origin Path's conditions.

A few hours later, Yale didn't have time to think about anything related to his stats or Innate Talents anymore as he found a 2-star beast. The beast resembled a tiger, but its body was bulkier than a normal tiger, and its fur was brown and red.

Yale also knew about that beast; it was a Fire-wood Tiger, a beast with the ability to morph itself into something resembling wood, and then, it ambushed the preys by exploding with fire. It was quite infamous among the travelers in the outside world.

Of course, that Fire-wood Tiger was only a weak variant with only 2-stars, but it was enough to cause despair to anyone who did the Beast Trial and met it.

It was very strong, but that wasn't something impossible to solve. It wasn't a 3-star beast, so it was possible to flee or defeat it in a normal battle. The worst part of that beast was that usually, the challengers were ambushed by it.

Yale was very cautious, so he didn't get ambushed. He noticed the Fire-wood Tiger ambushing a 1-star beast and set the tiger as his next target, he planned to ambush the tiger while it was distracted with its hunting.

The Fire-wood Tiger liked to ambush but also liked traditional hunting. Yale followed it for some days and became used to its habits.

The Fire-wood Tiger morphed into a wood-like form when resting and ambushed any beast who came near it, and when it wasn't resting, it acted like a normal tiger as it went hunting.

Sadly, it didn't get distracted when hunting since its preys weren't enough to make it spend any effort in hunting. However, Yale continued stalking it silently, waiting for the best timing to attack.

Fortunately, Yale had the Stealth skill and was very good in archery, so even while following the Fire-wood Tiger, he didn't need to suffer any hunger. Yale only needed to be careful that the Fire-wood Tiger didn't discover him. Anyway, Yale hunted only the minimum possible to survive.

One day both Yale and the Fire-wood Tiger stopped as they encountered a very big white wolf. Yale wasn't sure of the exact species since he was still some distance away, but it was, without doubt, a 3-star beast, although it seemed to be very weakened. Near it, there was a black wolf with red stripes on its body. However, this one was only a 2-star beast.

Finally, there was a small white wolf at the side of the big white wolf, that small wolf was only a newborn cub and the reason for the weakening of the big white wolf.

Yale thought that even in the current weakened state, the Fire-wood Tiger wouldn't be so stupid to attack as there was still the black wolf. If it joined the fight with the weakened white wolf, the Fire-wood Tiger would be doomed.

However, the Fire-wood Tiger betrayed Yale's expectations as it made a sneak attack on the black wolf, hoping to end it with one hit. The allure produced by a newborn prey was something the Fire-wood Tiger became unable to resist.

Yale felt that the Fire-wood Tiger doomed itself, but again, it didn't go as Yale expected. The black wolf got injured in the clash, but there were only small injuries, so they weren't something that diminished its power.

However, the black wolf turned around and fled, abandoning the big white wolf and the newborn cub. Even Yale was cursing the black wolf because if it fought, it would suffer some pain, but it would still win. However, it preferred to abandon its family to avoid some pain.

After the black wolf fled, the big white wolf started battling with the Fire-wood Tiger. However, the Fire-wood Tiger held the advantage in the battle.

If that battle continued, Yale would be able to kill both of them when they were nearing the climax of the battle, and both were injured. He was sure that a 3-star beast would give him a very good reward in the Dynamic Quest.

Yale killed a lot of beasts and never felt any pity for them, but he had a strange feeling towards the little wolf family's situation because it reminded him of his own family situation.

In both families, the father abandoned the child, even though Yale's father didn't abandon him in a literal sense as Yale was still living in the clan, Yale always felt that way.

Yale's mother died soon after he was born, and the wolf's mother would also die soon after the small wolf cub was born.

And the situation of the small wolf cub was even worse than Yale's, who at least still had some protection and the love of his sister, but that wolf cub could only wait for death as no one would care for its life.

That provoked hesitation in Yale, he did a lot for killing the Fire-wood Tiger, and he obtained a chance also to kill a 3-star beast, but his emotions were battling with the benefits he could obtain.

The battle continued, and Yale knew that he needed to do something soon, or he would lose his opportunity.

The Fire-wood Tiger got to bite the big wolf when an arrow hit it right inside its jaw, provoking a low howl from it. Of course, that only stopped it as the Fire-wood Tiger wasn't that easy to kill.

Yale stepped forward, drawing his sword toward the Fire-wood Tiger. If he waited a bit more, he could have killed both beasts, but in the end, he chose to help the family of the wolf cub.

"I'm too soft-hearted."

Yale muttered to himself as he decided to risk his life to kill the Fire-wood Tiger, he felt that it was possible to win by joining hands with the big wolf, and he couldn't ignore that small wolf cub, with which he identified.

He wasn't sure that the big white wolf wouldn't turn back and attack him afterward, but that time, Yale chose to be impulsive and follow his feelings.