『Welcome, Wolf.』
The first words she had ever heard as her eyes opened to the harsh white light above. Letting out a groan, she raised her hand to block the light, quickly noticing the black fur and claws that had replaced her flesh and nails.
Realizing something was off, she quickly sat up to look down on herself. Judging the lengthy, orange and black furred legs, her orange colored waist and cream fur that melted from her chest to her stomach, she knew she wasn't human. Yet, it didn't feel unnatural.
『Please flex your fingers and toes.』
A voice called out to her from somewhere in the room, though she was to enamored by her body. Not only did it feel natural, her human mind seemed to think that this was a vast improvement.
[Improvement? Improvement of what?]The thought raced through her head as she looked down at her toes.
Unlike her hands that were human, her feet were definitely like that of an animals. Judging by the looks, she guessed they were that of a wolfs. Which what, well, strange.
"How do I know-"
『It seems you have already realized. I apologize, Wolf, but those questions will have to come later.』
Looking up, she realized that the voice belonged to a small human made up of a dim light. She instantly recognized her as an AI hologram, but had know idea how that was possible. As if reading her mind, the AI held up her small hand and shook her head.
『I apologize, but we do not have time. Behind you are some weapons that you can use. Please associate yourself with your new armaments as quickly as possible, for the enemy will arrive soon.』The AI said as she gestured to the shelf on the wall.
Turning her head, she eyed the items the hologram mentioned. As her eyes scanned each one, she found each items name flashed behind her eyes. The sword was and Aether Blade, used to channel Mana to allow the user to easily create a Mana Blade at a cost.
Next to it was an Aether Shield. Much like the blade, the user could channel Mana into it to make a Mana Shield whenever necessary. And finally, the Aether Charger. Unlike a conventional pistol, this required the user to charge their Mana into the Aether Capsule, making the Shield an effective partner for uptime.
"What...why do I need these?" Wolf asked as she swung her legs over to hop off of the bed. Thankfully, she was already used to taller height, though her legs were a little wobbly.
『Motor functions nominal. The enemy will reach the Blast Door in 30 seconds. Please equip your armamants.』The AI urged once more as she turned to face the several screens before her.
After a few cautious steps, she realized that it was much easier to manage than she thought. In fact, it made her quite excited to move around in this body. Though her excitement was interrupted when she felt something along her back move. Turning her head to look back, she found she had an orange tail that melted into a similar cream color fur to her chest. It seemed being happy caused it to wag like a normal animals tail would.
"Huh, that's pretty cool." She smirked at her tail. Wondering what it would feel like, she reached down to gently grip the base.
Boom, boom boom!
Several loud thuds startled her, causing a yelp to leave her throat as she fell. Luckily, she caught herself on the shelf. Unluckily, those banging sounds caused her to flinch each time.
"What was that?" She yelled as she looked for the source.
『Those are the hostiles. They will break the Blast Door in 10 minutes. Please eliminate them before that happens.』The AI suggested, continuing to type on her screens.
"H-hostiles? Why are there-"
『User is advised to move first and ask questions later.』
The advise was deemed more of a threat than anything to Wolf. Swallowing hard, she turned back to the weapons and grabbed the Aether Shield. As soon as she touched it, instructions on equipping, usage, and how to manipulate her Mana to make it work flashed behind her eyes. The sudden information caused her to stumble a bit, but the banging at the door quickly brought her back.
"I better get some answers." She snapped at the AI as she picked up the Pistol and Sword. Once more, the instructions flowed through her mind. Thankfully, it was less demanding than before.
『Please test your equipment. Once you are ready, I will open the door.』The AI nodded as she pointed to an empty wall.
There were plenty of things she wanted to complain about, but Wolf could only grit her teeth and close her eyes. The instructions that flowed in her mind allowed her to pinpoint where the Mana was stored in her abdomen. The hard part, manipulating it to flow into the weapons.
It didn't help that the banging kept interrupting her progress, taking her several minutes just to charge the Capsule in her pistol. Instinct told her the amount needed, allowing her to point at the wall and pull the trigger.
The recoil in her mind was much different compared to reality. As the shot went out to explode against the wall, there was almost no sensation in her hand. In fact, using it in battle seemed much more useful than the strategies laid out in her head.
『Blast Door integrity at 63%.』The AI warned, bringing Wolf back from her sense of awe.
"How many?" Wolf asked as she began to charge her sword and shield.
『3 hostiles. By their signatures, it seems they are simple Thralls. Please eliminate all of them, as a survivor will bring along more.』The AI warned as the door began to open.
Wolf breathed heavy to psyke herself up for her first battle. She could not pin why, but the fear she had felt earlier was slowly melting away. Perhaps it was because of the strange instructions in her mind on the basics of fighting, or possibly due to this body.
It was just as her sword grew to a deep blue hue and her shield began to form over the circle on her arm that the Blast Door raised enough to see outside. Immediately, a sharp, almost tentacle like limb pierced the glass and scattered the shards around the room.
Surprised by this, Wolf raised her left arm to fire off a charged round at the source of the spike. A screech followed the blast, one of something that did not sound quite alive. A hand that looked like a human skeletons covered in black tar pierced the opening hole next, making Wolf shudder. Gritting her teeth, Wolf raised her shield and rushed towards the opening at the heads of the enemy came into view.
Horrifying was the first word that came to her mind. At first, they looked like human skulls dipped in tar, but their teeth were dangerously sharp like that of a piranha. Their bodies had twisted at unnatural angles, forming abominations it called limbs that had either human hands, spiked tendrils, or animal like claws of various species.
The sight was enough to make Wolf stagger a few steps in fear. Sadly, this gave the enemies enough time to force themselves through the opening and rush at her.
Instinct took over her mind as the first one approached. Blocking it's animalistic charge, she held it in place with a deep growl of her own. Noticing the second one, she bent her right knee to help angle her left arm. With her pistol aimed at the second one, she fired off a weaker blast to send it flying off course into the glass container she was in before, shattering it.
She ignored the howling enemy for a moment to throw her left arm up. As the one she was blocking stumbled back, she stabbed her sword into the human-like skull. Thankfully that seemed to do the trick, as a gurgling noise flooded out of the Thralls throat while it melted along her blade.
Just as she was satisfied, a searing pain on her right calf caused her to yell and stumble forward a little. Looking down, she found the other Thrall had recovered enough to dive at her leg and sink its razor teeth into her flesh.
What was more surprising than the pain was how calm she was otherwise. Flipping the sword, she stabbed down into the back of the Thrall, causing it to let go and screech in pain. The noise didn't last long as she knelt down to slam the muzzle of the pistol down its throat to fire another round.
Just as the round blew the Thralls head into a black and blue mist, one of its claws made contact with her right side. A yell of pain left her maw while her body fell to the floor. Dropping her sword, she held her side and pulled her hand up to see her fur had darkened due to the red blood leaving her body.
Just as she went to ask the AI what was happening, a loud screech was heard outside of the lab. Looking up Wolf noticed the Thrall she had shot earlier had risen to its feet. Half of its head and left shoulder were missing. Though what horrified her was how quickly the black tar was forming over the rotten muscle and bone beneath.
Letting out a snarl, she raised her pistol and fired a few shots at it with low output, narrowly missing it as it scampered away from the fight.
"Fuck!" Wolf snarled as she tried to stumble to her feet. Though her efforts were rewarded with getting slammed into the lockers, feeling much weaker.
『Congratulations, Wolf. You have survived your first battle. The Flame lives on.』The AI congratulated Wolf just as her conscious faded to black.