"The system's fireball is completely useless!" The sharp pain made him suck in a breath of cold air. "Zero combat power is no joke!"
He abandoned any hope in the unreliable magic, tightened his grip on the dagger, and charged forward the moment the wolf landed and turned!
The wolf opened its blood-soaked maw to bite. Ethan ducked into a roll, thrusting the dagger upwards into its abdomen!
*Psh!*
The blade barely pierced the tough hide, drawing a string of blood beads. It was far from a fatal blow.
The wolf, stung by the pain, whipped its tail around in a powerful sweep!
*Thud!*
Ethan hastily raised his arm to block but was sent flying by the immense force, slamming hard against a large tree.
"Cough..." A searing pain shot through his chest. He felt as if his organs had been rearranged.
[Endurance -2.]
"Hah... hah..."
Panting heavily, Ethan struggled back to his feet. He knew he couldn't win with brute force; he had to be smarter!
He summoned another fireball. This time, he aimed for the wolf's eyes!
While the feeble flame had no killing power, it struck the wolf's left eye with pinpoint accuracy!
"AWOOOO—!"
The beast let out a piercing howl of agony. Temporarily blinded on one side, its movements slowed.
This was his chance!
Clenching his jaw, Ethan ignored the excruciating pain in his chest and charged again, frantically stabbing the dagger at the wolf's neck and abdomen!
The wolf thrashed wildly, swiping its claws in retaliation.
*Slash!*
A deep, bone-exposing wound was torn into Ethan's shoulder. Blood instantly stained half of his body.
But he didn't retreat an inch. Enduring the agony, he twisted his hand and plunged the dagger deep into the wolf's throat!
*Gush—!*
Hot blood sprayed out. The wolf struggled for a few moments before its massive body crashed to the ground.
[Ding! Quest Complete: Kill a magical beast (1/1).]
[Rewards distributed: Desire Points +0.005, Experience +50.]
Completely drained, Ethan collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
He opened his status panel and looked at the changes:
[Desire Points (DP): 0.005]
[Combat Power: Mana Points × Desire Points = 120 × 0.005 = 0.6]
[Experience: 50/1000 EXP]
"Finally... some progress," he murmured. The wounds all over his body burned, but a wave of post-battle exhilaration washed over him. The Desire Points were pitifully low, but at least they were no longer zero.
Just then, the system's notification chimed again.
[New quest activated:]
[Quest: First Domination. Use the 'Slave Seal' on any sentient being and make it submit to you.]
[Reward: Desire Points +0.005, Mysterious Reward ×1.]
"Slave Seal?"
Ethan read the quest description, his mind flashing back to the strange item from the starter pack.
Control a person?
This quest... felt kind of evil.
But what was this "Mysterious Reward"?
Ethan frowned. Before he could ponder it further, the intense pain from his wounds and the dizziness from blood loss surged like a tidal wave, pulling his consciousness under.
He had to find a safe place to treat his injuries, and then... survive in this godforsaken world.