It was night, and the area was dimly lit under the silver glow of the moon. Shadows danced between thick trees and tall bushes, their leaves rustling gently in the breeze.
Hidden behind a curtain of overgrown grass, Jeff had found a secluded spot. It was quiet, wide, and perfect for training.
He took a deep breath, standing in the clearing with his hand outstretched.
"Now I'm not the same anymore" he said with a wide smile.
With narrowed eyes and steady breath, he began to summon his fireball. Then a warm glow formed at his fingertips, slowly condensing into a small, burning orb.
Unlike the flickering ember from before, this one pulsed with intensity.
Even though it was only the size of a marble, the fireball shimmered with a fiery red core, crackling softly like a restrained storm.
Heat radiated from it, warping the air around his palm and making it feel alive.
Even the night bugs fell silent. He raised his arm, eyes locked onto the rough bark of a thick tree a few meters away.
"Fireball in Explosion," He muttered as he released it.
Fwoosh!
The tiny marble of fire shot forward with a high-pitched whistle, like a bullet cloaked in flames. It struck the tree with a resounding explosion.
The explosion wasn't massive, but it was sharp and violent.
The bark where it hit instantly blackened and cracked, chunks blown clean off as smoke curled into the air.
A small crater was etched into the wood, glowing faintly from residual heat. It was about four inches deep and two inches wide.
[You have used Fireball for the 76th time]
[Compounding initialized +1% per cast.]
"You see that, little bas— I mean Blue," Jeff said with a happy smile as he looked at his slime.
Blue was jumping on the grass, clearly very happy from his power ups. Jeff couldn't help but touch his hair, dragging it there like he was trying to act cool or something.
Opening the system, he glanced at his current stats.
Name: Jeff Anzon
Rank: First-Half Mana Awakening (Currently cannot be considered as an awakener)
Attributes:
Health: 10.70 | Strength: 9.63 | Agility: 8.56 | Stamina: 7.49 | Mana: 32.10 | Magic Power: 13.91
Skills: Fire Ball
Passive Skills: None
---
Skill: Fire Ball
Description: Fire ball in explosion (System: Since you like explosion there you have it)
Compounded: +76% Damage
Mana Cost: 10
...
With this, he was now confident to battle those beasts. But now it was night, and suddenly he felt very hungry.
With that, he moved cautiously. Since it was night, every step had to be calculated and silent.
The moonlight barely filtered through the thick canopy above, casting shadows that danced with the wind.
With Little Bastard Blue, the nickname he'd lovingly given the blue slime or rather the system had lovingly assigned that name, Blue perched on his shoulder like a jelly backpack as they began their hunt.
After a while, crouching low and brushing aside tall grasses, Jeff peeked through a small gap in the bush.
Just a short distance away, a fluffy white rabbit nibbled at the grass, occasionally twitching its nose and batting at a leaf with its paw.
His eyes sharpened as he salivated at the sight. "Target acquired," he whispered like a seasoned assassin.
Just then a wild rustle was heard. Something moved right beside him and it was a large shadow creeping close, just beside him.
He slowly turned his head. "You ready?" he whispered.
From the darkness, a shape leaned in and howled in reply. It was a low and deep as a rumbling sound that echoed through the trees.
"...Huh?" He blinked, totally stunned. Since when did Blue learn how to howl?
Then came silence as they stared at each other. They were very close, and Jeff realized it wasn't Blue nor a slime.
It was a big black direwolf, muscular with glowing yellow eyes and drooling fangs.
Both of their faces were only inches apart.
"…"
"…"
Then without thinking maybe out of panic or some kind of brain malfunction Jeff slowly leaned back in silence.
But suddenly he slipped as he leaned forward and accidentally kissed it on the snout.
Mwah.
The direwolf's eyes went wide, as for Jeff his brain felt like it exploded.
"ARRRRHHHHH!!"
He screamed and flailed backward, scrambling like a crab on caffeine as the direwolf blinked, equally stunned.
Even Blue, the real slime, bounced out from the bushes behind him as if to say something like
"Yo, what'd I miss?"
"Where the heck did you go" Jeff yelled at Blue, who jiggled innocently in reply.
From behind a tree, a squirrel choked on a nut while watching the scene. It died as it fell to the ground, which scared the rabbit and made Jeff angry.
The direwolf stood frozen like a statue, its mouth slightly open, ears stiff, and eyes wide as if its soul had left its body.
It had just been kissed by an ugly human. It wasn't ready for that level of intimacy. But the human had just sexually assaulted it.
As handsome and beautiful beast, he was actually took advantage.
Jeff, on the other hand, was already red-faced with fury, "You perverted dog! How dare you pretend to be Blue just to steal a kiss from me!" he shouted, pointing accusingly at the direwolf like a betrayed anime protagonist.
The direwolf blinked twice, not knowing what was going on. "...Grr?" it growled clearly confused.
But Jeff wasn't having it. "Don't give me that 'Who me?' look! You knew exactly what you were doing!"
He replied as if he understood dog language. The direwolf let out a series of barks and growls.
"BARK! Grrrr! WOOF!" it shouted, trying desperately to explain its side of the story.
But to Jeff, it just sounded like an aggressive remix of "I did it and I liked it."
"OH, SO YOU'RE DEFENDING YOURSELF NOW? YOU THINK BARKING MAKES YOU INNOCENT?" Jeff roared, jabbing his finger in the air.
Blue jiggled behind him like a confused blob watching this scene.
"Acting all surprised like 'Oh no, he kissed me!' You crept up next to me in the dark like a freaking ninja and took advantage of me," he said, like tears were about to fall.
The direwolf's tail twitched at his words. It barked louder, trying to protest.
"Yeah yeah, keep barking, you perverted dog," he shot back.
The wolf's eyes twitched as it glanced at Blue, then back at Jeff. Slowly, it growled, as if it had reached its limit.
He was a beast. Why should he explain? For that he would make sure this human would regret it.
Seeing the wolf's anger, Jeff suddenly grew serious. "Uh-oh… maybe I went too far."
The Dire Wolf slowly crouched, growling low like a coiled spring, clearly one bark away from launching into a full attack.
...