CHAPTER 34: DESIRE FOR SURVIVAL

Chapter 34: Desire for Survival

Terius:

Is there hope? I stared at the giant wolf. I used a skill with penetration ability, only to be humiliated like this.

I sensed many mana points above my head.

Is this your revenge? I raised my head to see dozens of small moons descending toward me.

To avoid them, I used one of my basic skills of rank D — it doesn’t consume much mana and is perfect for a short, fast movement.

"[Wind Ability] – Light Wind Steps."

"[Wind Ability] – Light Wind Steps."

"[Wind Ability] – Light Wind Steps."

"..."

Each time, I changed my position quickly to avoid the falling moons. After dodging dozens of them, I finally managed to breathe.

I gasped for air, happy that the attack had ended — but my joy didn’t last long.

"What??? You’re not stopping?"

I saw the wolf open its mouth at the center, forming a small white orb with a bluish hue that kept growing and growing with time.

You won’t give me time to rest, huh? Feeling the great threat coming from the skill he was forming, I also used my strongest defense.

"[Wind Ability] – Great Twin Wind Shield."

Two green shields appeared, protecting me.

The wolf finished charging and fired a white beam toward me, colliding with the first shield.

It resisted for a while, but not for long — it began to crack and shatter, transferring the pressure to the second shield.

It couldn’t hold either; cracks started to appear on it.

I plunged my sword into the ground, resisting the wind’s force, until the second shield broke, and the beam struck me, sending me flying through several tents, carving through the ground with my body until I stopped.

I vomited blood from my mouth while looking at the black sky dotted with stars... how beautiful it is, the sun hasn’t risen yet.

I clenched my teeth, trying to lift my upper body with difficulty. With sheer willpower, I succeeded in standing on my feet, using my sword for support — the one that never failed me.

—

Arthur:

What an attack... who launched that light strike just now?

I continued running toward the front wooden wall, despite the random encounters trying to stop me.

For example, a mercenary surrounded by four wolves. That man was covered in wounds and blood, gasping for air.

As soon as he saw me, he asked for help, but with a hardened heart, I kept running as if I hadn’t seen him — even though I could’ve saved him from what was surely his end.

I muted my ears — mercenaries here are all scum.

There were also wolves cutting across my path, lunging toward me. I simply used my Street Fighting skill to wound them just enough to prevent pursuit.

It went on like that until the outlines of the wooden wall became clear before me. I saw the destroyed exit that showed me the unpaved road — the road to my freedom.

And among all of this, the thing that delighted me most was the stable — it had horses. Yes, horses. Even though the previous owner of this body was weak, he didn’t neglect noble training. Among all that training — horse riding. I have the former owner’s memories of how to ride and calm one.

I quickly went toward the stable; no one stopped me from choosing a horse, calming it, and placing the saddle.

I mounted it swiftly, grabbed the reins, and directed it toward the exit.

The moment the horse began moving, I felt an overwhelming killing intent behind me. I turned my head quickly to see who was threatening me like that.

At first, because I was focused on the exit, I hadn’t noticed it — a giant wolf turned its head toward me and fixed its gaze on me.

As if looking at a meaningless insect trying to escape.

In front of it was a person in green armor, panting and full of injuries, kneeling in confusion and disbelief.

I clenched my teeth — you’re not the one who can scare me.

I turned back and ordered the horse to run.

As soon as it started running, the giant wolf howled loudly, causing all the distant wolves to stop and turn toward me.

Now I understood why the other wolves had stayed away from this area — to avoid disturbing this giant one’s battle.

Suddenly, all the distant wolves began running toward me, trying to chase me down.

After five minutes of galloping, I was on a dirt road surrounded on all sides by massive trees.

The darkness was thick, only the faint blue moonlight illuminated the path slightly.

The wolves ran behind me, trying to bite the horse or me. Some I kicked in the face, others jumped trying to bite the horse’s rear — I barely dodged them.

It continued like this for another five minutes until I saw a faint fire in a wrecked carriage blocking the road. Even worse — a large wolf with white fur was standing there.

It opened its mouth, gathering a small white orb that grew until it filled its jaws.

[Advice: Avoid it, now, immediately.]

[That’s a Royal Night Wolf — one of the Lord’s guardians. Stronger than anything you’ve killed before. Better not to fight it.]

It fired a white beam from its mouth toward me, so I turned to the right, entering a forest of large trees wrapped in deep darkness.

The horse managed to see the path through the gaps in the branches where moonlight seeped through.

The wolves kept chasing without giving up for twenty minutes straight.

Come on, give up already, you damned wolves...

The horse was exhausted from my constant urging to run at full speed.

I felt it could collapse any second, and on top of that, I was getting deeper into this forest — I had lost the path I came from.

As if the horse had read my thoughts, in a blind spot where moonlight didn’t reach, there was a tree root it didn’t notice. It tripped, and I fell with it.

The horse stood up and kept running.

"Wait! Don’t leave me here alone!"

"Tch..." I grumbled, lifting myself and trying to chase the horse — and escape from the wolves whose glowing eyes began appearing behind me.

After running for a single minute, I heard a faint howl — and the rustling noises behind me vanished.

I stopped to catch my breath.

I lifted my head and looked around.

"Where the hell am I?"

—

End of Volume One: Evolution

—

Author:

First of all, hello.

This is the author, Dark_Moon_a4, I thank everyone who reached this point from the bottom of my heart.

I hope you enjoyed it, and that it was worth your time.

And if not, I apologize — everyone has their own taste.

Naturally, everything revolves around my performance.

I’m the editor, writer, reader, and thinker.

I control the story and where it goes.

I won’t lie — I wanted it to be better than this.

But yes, this is what I could produce.

I’ll try to improve myself — humans learn from experience.

So, to know whether this novel is bad or good,

that decision is yours, dear reader.

With this, I’ve finished the first volume — or the first arc — of John’s (Arthur’s) story.

I hope I didn’t talk too long.

It’s an honor that you’ll continue reading toward the second volume.