Chapter 21: "Who is there...!"
"Who is there...!"
Gemini dropped the bundle as he quickly turned,his hands reaching for the bow strang over his left shoulder.
This bow was two thirds his size.
"Grrr...!"
Out of the trees jumped out a forest dire wolf. Just like the other two,its fur was dark grey, almost black,,and it had long sharp canines and red eyes.
Gemini felt a chill run down his spine.
If one were to say he was not scared,they would be lying. The boy’s leg almost failed to support him. He wanted to run,but the distance between him and the wolf was less than twenty strides.
Though he had been cautious all the time,he had failed to hear the forest dire wolf sneak on him, until it mistakenly stepped on the dry twig.
"Grrr...!"
The dire wolf growled at him as it eyes laid on the bundle he had dropped. It was the fur of its companion,and tied within was the meat.
The forest dire wolf pitch dark eyes burned with rage.
What Leo and Gemini did not know was that for the forest dire wolf,they traveled in packs,but each pack had a scouting team made up of two level one dire wolves and a leader,a level two dire wolf.
The previous two forest dire wolves slain by Leo,were part of a scouting team. The current dire wolf facing Gemini,ready to pounce on him and tear him into a thousand bloody pieces,was their companion.
The three wolves had been sent out by the packs alpha to scout for prey.
"I can only fight..."
Gemini thought as he strengthened his resolve.
"If big brother can do it,I can do it...!"
The little boy,only nine,glared at the ferocious beast before him and his eyes shone with a trace of bravery.
He slowly reached for an arrow from the quiver,not breaking eye contact with the forest dire wolf.
He had observed the fight between Leo and the previous dire wolf,and had a little understanding of the dire wolf fighting method. The forest dire wolf would mostly open up an attack by pouncing on the opponent. It front paws sharp claws would gravely injure the opponent,while the momentum from the pounce would strike them down. And on the ground,the sharp canines would come into play, accompanied by powerful paw strikes,that would shred the opponent to pieces.
"Not today...!"
Gemini said to dire wolf as he watched it lean on its hind limbs,preparing its opening attack.
"Twang...!"
Gemini knocked and released an arrow in a matter of seconds. He had waited until the forest dire wolf had generated enough strength for the jump before releasing. Though the arrows were made from sticks and the forest dire wolf fur was as tough as two layers of cow hides,the arrow was still strong and sharp enough to penetrate at least half an inch.
"Grrrrr...!"
The forest dire wolf growled in pain as its jump was interrupted by the stinging pain on its left hind limb. Gemini had aimed for the hind limb,since all the dire wolf strength was concentrated there for the jump.
The goal was to destabilize the dire wolf.
And as planned,the dire wolf stagerred, loosing it’s gathered momentum, giving Gemini time to make a quick retreat. He made for a tree with a low hanging branch,reached for it and pulled himself up.
"Come and get me...!"
The boy sneered at the dire wolf from the safety of the tree. He drew another arrow,aimed at the enraged dire wolf that was rushing,with a limp,towards the tree.
"Twang...!"
Another arrow found its mark. It burtied itself on the dire wolf’s back.
"Howl....!"
The pain made the dire wolf howl.
"Twang....!"
"Twang...!"
Two more arrows were planted on its back. The dire wolf forgot about the boy and focused on trying to bite the arrows from its body. Seeing this,Gemini had a cheerful grin on.
"A little bit closer..."
He thought as he knocked a forth arrow. He stood firmly on a wide branch,his small back supported partially by the tree, while the knocked arrow pointed at the dire wolf.
Taking a deep breath,Gemini,waited for the dire wolf to move closer. He was waiting for it to turn it head, leaving the eyes in his line of aim. To the dire wolf,the eyes were a weak point,and if he could get a lear shot,the arrow would penetrate dipper,piercing the brain and killing the dire wolf in an instant.
"Twang...!"
Gemini released the arrow the second he had a clear shot.
System Alert: Your subordinate has killed a level one uncommon ranked Forest Dire Wolf.
System Alert: You are not in a party.
System Alert: Your subordinate will receive all the experience points.
System Alert: Gemini has received two thousand five hundred experience points.
System Alert: Gemini has leveled up.
Alert: Level 3 (2,900/12,500)
System Alert: Gemini has received a hundred copper coins.
Back at the clearing,Leo was startled by the system alert.
"That little boy had it in him..."
He smiled as he settled back on his work.
He was currently digging up the pool. It was not quite big,just four feet deep and three feet wide,just the right size for a small camp.
"That one more beast core that I can not use..."
Leo thought as he scooped up the soil from the hole. He had already dug a foot deep.
The question on cultivation was still weighing on his mind. To him,it was logical that he could not utilize the beast core to improve his strength,since he already gained experience points from killing the beasts. But what of his summoned. If the experience points system was applicable to him and his system issued summons,did this mean that he will have two groups of subordinates who would practice two different methods.
There would be the cultivators of spiritual essence,and the experience points gaining subordinates.
Leo wondered wether the limitation on beast core applied to other cultivation resources. Could he learn cultivation skills or not.
This was something that he was looking forward to trying.
