The Healing Mage

"It's a mine!"

Irving could clearly see through the telescope that there were numerous gleaming stones on the mountain behind those alien beasts.

Although he was not sure whether there was any [Obsidian] present, this discovery made his heart race.

"What are those alien beasts exactly..." Irving thought, temporarily exiting the game before contacting Anna.

Soon, Anna had received accurate information through a member gifted with the [Eagle Eye] talent.

[Fierce Wind Wolves]

[Introduction: A highly aggressive alien beast that prefers to live in groups. Its claws and teeth are hard and sharp...]

Irving now had a basic understanding of the Fierce Wind Wolves. He was not afraid of a single one. The key point was their tendency to live in groups... Faced with the attack of hundreds of Fierce Wind Wolves, even players wearing heavy armor would not be able to withstand such an onslaught.

"There's less than 13 hours left."

Irving glanced at the countdown for the first wave of disaster and made up his mind.

After returning to the shelter and making a few preparations, he took the magic staff intending to head towards the mine.

"Howl! Howl! Howl!" Just then, the puppy, Little Black, suddenly followed him. Seeing its cute appearance, Irving shook his head with a smile, "I can't take you with me this time, wait until you're bigger."

Little Black was not yet matured, and it would be dangerous if it caught the attention of those Fierce Wind Wolves.

It seemed to understand something from Irving's words and suddenly bit onto the corner of Irving's pants and bared its teeth, looking ready for a fight. Irving burst into laughter at this sight, but the next moment, he couldn't laugh anymore.

Little Black's fur suddenly stood up, and a ball of purple flame ignited instantly. Its eerie glow enveloped Little Black completely.

"What is this..." Irving was taken aback, instantly recalling the scene he had seen on the hillside that day.

Little Black's mother, the adult hellhound, even though she had just given birth to a pup and was in an extremely weakened state, managed to burn the massive mountain leopard to death solely with that ball of purple flames.

The purple flame was incredibly difficult to extinguish once it caught onto something, but the Hell hound possessed a natural immunity to it.

"Alright, I'll take you with me. But you must follow my orders, understand?" Irving said.

"Howl!" Little Black howled, wagging its tail excitedly. Soon, the duo headed towards the distant mine.

...

Half an hour later.

A kilometer away from the mine, Irving halted. He crouched in a bush, his deep gaze fixed intently on the Fierce Wind Wolves not far away. He began to contemplate, trying to devise a way to lure them away.

After all, his purpose for coming here was the mine, not to kill these Wind-Demon Wolves.

Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded not far off, followed by the light of a torch moving in their direction. People were approaching!

Irving's brow furrowed even more. This was the first time he had encountered other players in the Other world - a group of four men and one woman.

"Watch out!" Leading the player-formed squad was a man with a pointed chin and hollow cheeks named William.

Like Irving, he had also discovered this mine and had therefore assembled other players through an online forum to form an expedition party.

Under the leadership of William, all members of the party clutched their long swords tightly until they saw Irving. Only then did they let out a breath of relief.

"You…are you also aiming for that mine?" William squinted as he scrutinized Irving from head to toe.

Irving did not respond. He had no intention of interacting with these players. However, at that moment, the only female player in the group, a tall and sexy beauty, approached him. She was looking at Little Black, "Such a cute puppy. Where did you find it?"

As she spoke, she reached out to touch it.

Little Black bared its teeth fiercely, assuming an attack posture, which made the female player jump in fright.

"Come back." At Irving's command, Little Black scampered back to his side. Irving then turned to the woman, "He's not a mutt and doesn't like being touched."

William gave Irving a cold glance, standing up for the woman, "Kid, mind your tone! You can't possibly think that with that broken stick and this mutt you can defeat those beasts at the foot of the mountain? With your ability, you won't even know how you died."

William and his three men laughed dismissively.

"You're lucky to have run into us! How about this, hand over your mutt for us to play with, and we'll let you come with us to kill those beasts. Once we reach the mine, whatever leftovers we don't need, we'll give you a share." William proposed.

To them, Irving was just an ignorant fool who was perfect to act as their servant.

Irving ignored them, picked up Little Black and walked away.

"What an ungrateful fellow!" William seemed surprised, but he was mostly contemptuous. He made a gesture to his men behind, and they began to clear an open area for rest.

…

It was already late into the night, and it was pitch black in the woods, save for the dim moonlight.

Launching an attack on the beasts at the foot of the mountain now was not a good idea. William and his group planned to wait till daylight to make their move.

Meanwhile, Irving didn't rush to move forward either. He had been observing the pack of Wind-Demon Wolves, his mind working rapidly.

Just then, the beauty from before walked over to him, a grilled steak in her hand. "Hello, I'm Vicky... Sorry about before, I was just speaking off the top of my head. I remember that although the Other world is linked with reality, it's one-way. Things from reality can't be brought in here."

"So... it should be an Other world beast, right?" Vicky handed the grilled steak to Little Black, trying to win its favor.

However, Little Black was not buying any of it. Its dark, round eyes went straight to Irving and only after Irving nodded did it take the food from Vicky's hand.

Vicky looked somewhat disappointed at Irving, "You can't possibly defeat those beasts at the foot of the mountain with just that stick in your hand. Even it might get eaten... You can choose to join us. We have two warriors and one mage in our team."

"Mage?" Irving was somewhat surprised. He glanced at the four men resting not far away and shook his head, "They all hold long blades. Where's the mage?"

"It's me." Vicky sighed, "Actually, my awakened talent is to be a mage, just a little different. I lean towards being a healing support mage. If I hadn't met them, I wouldn't even be able to kill those pigmen outside the shelter. I still don't have decent equipment. I came with them this time just to try my luck."

"Healing Support Mage!?" Irving's heart jolted. He didn't expect the beauty in front of him to have such a special talent. This was akin to the "Healer" in games. A strong team must have one such presence.

"So, will you join us?" Vicky asked.

"No." Irving shook his head.

Vicky felt disappointed at his words. She took another look at Little Black who was enjoying its food. She managed a smile on her alluring face and then turned to leave.

"Since you've brought the roast, I'll give you a tip." Irving continued, "In a pack of beasts like the Wind-Demon Wolves, there's definitely a leader. And they're highly intelligent. They're not as easy to deal with as you think."

Vicky paused, looking shocked.

Wind-Demon Wolves? She couldn't understand how this seemingly weak young man knew so much, but she didn't want to question it further. She returned to her group.

Time passed, and it was soon the middle of the night, one hour before dawn. A breeze suddenly swept through the forest, rustling the leaves.

None of them noticed that the Wind-Demon Wolves, which had been at the foot of the mountain, had suddenly disappeared.

It wasn't until a wolf howl echoed through the night that they realized something was amiss. In the pitch-black darkness, pairs of cool, blue lights began to illuminate their surroundings...