SSS-Rank Bloodline: Wolf Evolution

Chapter 53: The Endless Lake

Arthur spent a very long time hunting and eating fish, and did not return to the nest until the night had passed its midpoint.

As though he were in his own home, he entered without asking permission, and headed directly to the room he had previously woken up in.

From sheer exhaustion, his steps were heavy and stumbling, and he also faced difficulty keeping his eyes open, and his mind clear.

He fell to the ground in a strange position the moment he reached his room, and without thinking about anything, fell into a deep sleep.

After a short while, the silk threads around him trembled, and out of nowhere, a hazy black projection of the spider woman formed beside him.

She stood silently where she was, observing him closely. Her expression was unclear because her features were shrouded in haze, yet, her puzzled red eyes revealed a glimpse of her inner thoughts.

"What are you?" Her faint voice echoed like a whisper through the room.

She reached out, intending to take a little of his blood to examine it, and before she touched him, Arthur let out a strange moan, and curled into himself, then began speaking in a muffled voice.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and with a kind of hesitation she withdrew her hand. It took her a few seconds to realize he was talking in his sleep, this surprised her, and made her curiosity grow further.

She listened to him with great interest, but, despite the strength of her sense of hearing, she was unable to understand most of what he said, and what she did understand was just a few unconnected words.

"Don’t leave." His voice suddenly grew louder and clearer, and in the next moment it turned into a strange snore that seemed oddly unfitting for a wolf.

The spider woman clicked her tongue in annoyance, then dissipated her projection.

Unaware of anything that had happened, Arthur continued sleeping deeply like a newborn baby, and did not wake up until noon approached. He yawned at length, and stretched his stiff body.

’Now I feel better, and even my bloodline is no longer dormant, with more food and another day of rest, I think I’ll recover about eighty percent of my strength. The only problem is that the system is still not working.’ He dissipated the crack-filled blue screen he had summoned, and let out a short sigh.

The fish feast he had eaten the previous night was somewhat large, so he did not feel very hungry. Sluggishness and laziness took control of him, and he decided to sleep for two additional hours.

He changed his lying position, and closed his eyes again. Time passed slowly, and no matter how hard he tried he could not sleep. A feeling of unease came over him, growing with every passing moment, and the reason was the spider woman.

’She has been watching me for a while, it seems she wants me to go out hunting for her, but she is unable to say so because of our simple agreement, tsk, can she not be patient for just one day?’

In a way, he found this amusing, for it reminded him of the displeased looks his boss at work used to give him whenever he saw him relaxing during his break.

As though she had read his thoughts, he suddenly felt her gaze become sharper, which made him shiver. Surrendering, he decided to follow her wishes, for after all, she was in control, and he could not afford to displease her.

He stretched his body again, then got up, and walked toward the exit, and before leaving he said to her politely: "With your permission, I will go hunting for us."

"Go." She replied tersely.

Arthur noticed a hint of relief, or perhaps happiness, in her cold and indifferent voice, but he did not take it seriously, for it was possible that was just his imagination.

In any case, because of the long exploratory tour he had done the previous day, he realized that the lake was the best hunting spot in the area, so he headed directly toward it.

When he arrived at its surroundings, free of the suspicious mushrooms and filled with lush green trees, he took a deep breath of the fresh air, letting it refresh his lungs after the stale and oppressive air of the mushroom region.

A spring breeze caressed his fur, and the faint rustling sound of the trees pleased his ears, and the humidity coming from the lake made him feel a kind of relaxation.

"Nature is truly beautiful, as long as there are no monsters wanting to eat you." He smiled sarcastically, and enjoyed the atmosphere for a little while.

After a short while, seriousness returned to his face. He examined his surroundings well, and as expected, he found a large number of crocodiles lurking near the bank.

He had no intention of approaching them, so he simply ignored them, and directed his attention to the lake itself. In the past he had been mentally exhausted, so he had not noticed how vast it was.

It stretched as far as the eye could see, painting the land blue like an endless sea. Sunlight reflected on it, scattering some shimmer on its waters, and in the distant horizon, faint mist appeared.

It was beautiful, and at the same time eerily mysterious. Arthur felt curious, and wished he could explore it and find out how far it extended.

’A place like this must contain a fair number of treasures and very precious materials, and also, who knows what kind of dangers exist inside? It seems even the crocodiles are afraid of going deep and only stay near the shore.’

Without thinking about the matter further, he redirected his attention to his priorities. "Well, time to hunt."

He had noticed many hoof and footprint tracks, of various shapes and sizes, in his surroundings, and this meant he did not need to search for prey, for it would come to him on its own.

He hid among some dense shrubs, and waited silently for the thirsty monsters to come and drink. After just half an hour, he saw a massive tiger of the same Rank as him heading toward the lake.

The tiger’s massive body was filled with several scars, and its features looked extremely fierce.

Arthur was capable of defeating it, yet he ignored it and waited patiently for the arrival of prey he could hunt without sustaining any damage. In addition, predator meat tasted bad.

The tiger was aware of the crocodiles’ presence so it drank quickly and fled before they pounced on it.

Time passed slowly, and after approximately another hour, his senses picked up several familiar sounds and scents.

At first he thought they were just a few buffaloes, but the sounds of hooves and scents quickly began to multiply, until he estimated their number in the thousands.

’What is all this?’ He wondered. He retreated a few meters, and concealed himself better.

Moo!

The ground shook beneath him, and little by little, buffaloes of various sizes and Ranks began flooding toward the lake like a torrent.

A huge cloud of dust rose behind them, and they knocked down a fair number of trees in their path.