Next to the tumultuous river, a small wolf was finishing off some piranhas while a human nearby was regenerating his HP.

  The place was void of any tree. The soil was slightly darkish and seemed sturdy. Most of the area was open, and it was possible to notice their surroundings from a glance. It was the worst kind of environment for sneaking through.

  But the peaceful atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by wolf howls.

  — Howl! —


  — Howl! —


  However, this time there weren’t as many as earlier. This meant that it wasn’t a full pack and that fighting was actually an option. For realistic VR games, being able to analyze the cries of monsters was a necessary skill that Jack had mastered long ago.

  “We need to leave.” He quickly signaled his companion with the two departing hurriedly.

  There were two things that they needed to be careful of:

  1. Not to directly encounter a wandering wolf group. This dungeon was slightly similar to the situation in the New Leaf Forest. The wolves loved to roam around and surprise the travelers.

  2. To make sure the wind didn’t betray their position. This meant that they would have to evade with a small distance margin at times, but a huge one at others.

  Of course, there was always plan B. This one was to rely on luck or battle prowess to overcome this stage forcefully. But, fighting would mean needing a team for most. This was because the wolves never hunted alone.

  Jack would expertly but carefully guide their journey. His expertise gave him an incredible edge over others, but this didn’t make him infallible either.

  Since he didn’t have any unique scouting ability, he would sometimes unknowingly lead them toward positions where combat was utterly unavoidable. But even then, he was still able to navigate toward the smaller enemy groups.

  This time was one such instance.

  In front of Jack and wolf were now three big growling and salivating muscular wolves. Without waiting, they began the fight by savagely pouncing at him.

  Without losing his cool, Jack quickly blocked all their attacks-

  2-

  2-

  2

  That power was pretty insane considering his armor and that he had flawlessly blocked. He hadn’t dealt any damage to them, and he was already down 19% of his HP. How crazy was that!-

  8-

  1-

  9-

  1-

  7

  He instantly counterattacked, but there was only so much damage that he could do. It would take him at least three rotations to be able to kill a single wolf!

  He gnashed his teeth as he realized how painful this would be. He played it perfectly, blocking every single attack that they inflicted on him.

  Killing the first wolf: -18 HP, 14/32

  Killing a second wolf: -12 HP, 2/32

  At this point, he was so very close to death. He still had one goddamn wolf to kill and only 2 HP. Ah, never mind, 3 HP thanks to his regeneration!— As if that would freaking help!

  At this rate, he would need to use a potion….except if he used his secret weapon!

  “Kill him, oh mighty Moon Moon!”


  The little wolf valiantly attacked the creature that was many times its size. It howled victoriously as its small claws hit the target head-on.

  “Take this, hahaha!” Jack laughed madly, only to choke a second later-

  0-

  0-

  0

  Well, rip. His partner deserved an A for effort for sure. As for the actual effect? No comment! The wolf’s hide was way too sturdy!

  Just as Jack resolved to let his life regeneration slowly work wonders, a familiar sound echoed.

  — Howl! —


  — Howl! —


  — Howl! —


  Fuck me! He had to end the fight now! Jack could only glance resentfully at the enemy as he fished a healing potion, gulping it angrily. This was such a fucking waste!

  +23 HP

  He charged with incredible fury. He was akin to a duck that had its bread stolen by a hooligan right in front of its face!

  The poor wolf’s ending was as violent as torturous. Jack made sure to kick it in the face, the legs, the ass, and the nuts. It died with pitiful yelps that didn’t fit its scary appearance.

  Having vented a tiny bit, Jack exhaled as he regained his cool. It was time to GTFO! No fucking way that he would get caught again!

  …Except that a few minutes later, he was stuck between three wolves and even more wolves again. Fuck! This time, he had already done the math and decisively drank a potion, finishing the combat in a jiffy.

  Still, it sure felt bad. He was pretty much drinking silvers like water. On the one hand, he could afford it. On the other hand, he considered being economical a virtue (totally not stingy)!

  The little wolf clearly saw how annoyed he was.

  “Woo—” (Apologetic)

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. Those guys are level 8. It’s also not meant to be soloable. There are supposed to be four more people with us. It’s normal to have trouble.” He sighed.

  How would the other players have reacted if they could hear this sigh? They would have probably spat out blood. He called this trouble?! He was freaking progressing at a steady pace and had only used two potions.

  How many had tried to clear the Fox Grove only to wipe completely? Fucking 100% of the ones who had tried it! Yet there he was, downplaying how well this run was going, even complaining.

  The duo kept going. This time they were luckier as they didn’t encounter any other issue. Was the game pitying them? Then again, from another perspective, perhaps the game pitied the poor wolves.

  After a while, there was finally something that appeared in the distance. Wolfgang was actually the first one to notice it.

  “Woo?!” (Perplexed)

  It waved its little paw toward the air. In the dark, illuminated by a few stars, smoke was visible. It contrasted with the surroundings.

  “Cooking smoke! It means that there are people there.” Jack exclaimed.

  “Woo?” (Pondering)

  “Yes, we’ll check it out. In fact, we have no choice but to go in that direction if we want to clear this place.” Jack explained.

  “Woo!” (Heroic)

  It was time for a new milestone….

  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


  [A/N] Hype! PRIV Mass Release Time! ??

  Day 1: Skeletal Chicken Tier (2/6) ???

  There didn’t seem to be any special change to the small wolf’s abilities. but perhaps this was only the change. Pets tended to have a gradual evolution. Perhaps the orange color was only the precursor to an upcoming power-up? I could only hope…