CHAPTER 12

"TAKE THIS!" A voice exclaimed from the side, attracting the attention of both, the beast and Sapphire.

The human whom the beast was threatening stood there, his hands cupped around his mouth. The beast looked to him in confusion, but Sapphire noticed the reason.

She launched herself towards the beast. He glanced at her in confusion, but felt no need to move out of the way. Without her katana her attacks were nowhere near strong enough to even tickle the beast.

Sapphire reached her right hand in front of her, her hand prepared to hold onto something. The beast raised an eyebrow at her. A sharp blade reflected the moonlight as it barely missed Sapphire's hand. Just as the handle of the katana came by her hand she grabbed it and sprinted ahead with another burst of speed.

The beast's eyes widened as he realized what just happened. He brought his axe down at her in a diagonal arc. Even if she jumped from her position the axe will still hit her, leaving no room for escape.

She steadied her feet and stood her ground in the axe's path. Drawing a deep breath she focused all her strength to parry that one attack. Though Sapphire failed to notice it, the other two present there did.

As she stood her ground a dark blue aura enveloped around her body and katana, similar to an exoskeleton. She swung her katana in an upwards diagonal arc to ward off the axe. Both the weapons collided briefly and sparks flew as the axe was pushed to the side with relative ease.

Sapphire jumped up to the beast's neck as it stared in a mixture of awe and horror. She landed on its shoulder while bringing her body lower and sliced right through its neck. Sapphire jumped off and landed on the ground on her feet as the beast's body crashed onto the ground. Sapphire flicked the blood off her katana and sheathed it, turning back and looking at the body, breathing heavily due to her injuries and exhaustion. The aura around her had also faded by then.

The pain in her body was starting to ease, little by little but still pretty fast. The bleeding from her mouth and head already stopped as well. As she wondered how she was recovering so fast her bracelet lit up eleven times in quick succession, attracting Sapphire's attention. She stared at the bracelet in shock and flicked her finger and tapped at the gemstone a couple times to ascertain that it was still working. She smiled after confirming she did actually level up eleven times from just that one enemy.

"Are you alright?" The human asked rushing to her, carrying her hat in his arms.

He was neither old nor young, his hair was black, and a beard with a thin moustache were present on his face. His eyes were jade green and he wore a sleeveless coat of a similar color over cream colored shirt and pants.

"I am alright, worry about yourself." Sapphire replied, snatching her hat from his hands and putting it back on.

"My apologies, it seems you prefer to keep your ears hidden," The man apologized, "Do you belong to a clan of felines?"

"Not your concern." Sapphire said turning to walk away. Did he not hear when that thing said I was a wolf?

"Wait!" The man exclaimed blocking her way.

She coldly glared at him, causing him to flinch.

"I understand you may be in a hurry, but please, accept a reward for saving such an important relic," The man requested.

"What is this relic you are speaking of?" Sapphire inquired.

"This relic can bestow the skill 'Appraisal' to anyone who the wielder of the relic wishes to bestow it to. It is a very rare skill and thus a relic like this will be very useful, even more so in the upcoming war. The relic grants its wielder an even greater version of the skill, though it is required to level it to reach maximum potential," The man explained.

"War?" Sapphire echoed.

"Yes, the war against the wolves. Reports say they have been gathering in the tundra region, their number and power unknown. With this relic, we will be able to send some scouts who will assess their numbers and power and report it back," He explained.

Sapphire remained silent.

"If you wish, I can use it to give the skill to you as well, it will surely aid you in your travels," The man offered.

"Very well then, where is the relic?" Sapphire said with a cold glare.

"Right here," The man said pointing to a bracelet on his hand.

It was similar to Sapphire's in appearance. The difference being the bracelet was completely black with silver and dark blue linings. The gemstone also seemed a lot bluer and brighter than hers.

"Now, allow me to bestow you the skill," He offered with a smile.

"No need, I will prefer the relic itself," Sapphire replied with a smirk.

The man glanced at her in confusion, not being able to react as Sapphire unsheathed her katana and sliced his chest in an instant. The man fell back towards the ground and screamed in pain.

"Shut up." Sapphire said coldly as she stabbed her katana into his heart. "The audacity to explain to me how they plan to attack my family."

He instantly fell silent and the gem on her bracelet lit up once.

Does killing humans level me faster? This guy was so weak and I still leveled up once, Sapphire thought glancing at the guy.

Shrugging, she crouched down and took his bracelet off. Taking off her own bracelet she wore the relic on her hand. She didn't feel like anything changed, making her question the credibility of the relic. She wondered if it needed an incantation like Lesser Spells or she did something wrong.

"Appraise," She said looking towards the dead man.

"Human (male)," A voice replied after a moment.

"What?" Sapphire exclaimed jumping back slightly.

"Human (male)," The voice repeated.

Sapphire looked at her bracelet in confusion and took in a deep breath. "Appraise," She said looking at her bracelet.

"Bracelet of Wisdom," The voice replied.

"So that's how it works, seems pretty useful," Sapphire said to herself, "Appraise." She said lifting her hand over her head.

"Wolf (female), name: Sapphire," The voice replied.

"I also know I am a wolf and my name is Sapphire, don't you know more?" Sapphire asked.

"Greater details are added at higher levels." The voice answered.

"How do I level you up?" Sapphire questioned.

"Skills are leveled when the wielder levels up and when they are used."

"How much do I have to use a skill to level it up?" Sapphire inquired.

"The usage varies from skill to skill, the higher level a skill, the higher the required usage to level it further," Appraisal answered.

"Proficiency threshold has been reached, Appraisal is now level 2."

"That... was easy," Sapphire mumbled, slightly startled. "Appraise." She again tried to appraise herself.

"Midnight wolf (female) name: Sapphire, level 17."

"So now it tells my level and species name as well, not a bad upgrade. And level 17? I was expecting to be higher level," Sapphire sighed, "Regardless, I should keep moving, I am still very far from my destination."