Aria stared down the wolf hiding at the back of the pack; that's the one. This one is especially clever.
[ Aetheric Flash Skill Activated ]
With her speed now tripled, Aria dashed straight ahead for the wolf leader. The four other wolves reacted and intercepted her advance. One wolf on the right side clamped down on Aria's forearm; it's teeth ripped her flesh apart. Not letting go, the wolf kept its jaws clenched tight.
[ HP: 274/300 -> 238/300 ]
Aria felt the pain of the wound, her blood ran down her arm and to her fingertips. Suddenly, the pain lessened by a slight degree.
[ Sovereign Resistance Skill Activated (Passive) - Resistance to pain is being increased slightly due to continued exposure to pain. ]
As the pain slowly began to numb, Aria could think a little more clear and she dug her fingers into the wolf's eyes. It yelped in pain, as it released its vice grip on Aria's arm.
Not letting the wolf go, Aria reached for the wolf's neck and grabbed the scruf of its fur. Feeling the adrenaline and strength of Titans pump through her body, she twisted her body and threw the wolf hard against the trunk of the very tree she was cornered by.
Its neck broke on impact and its body lay by the roots of the tree, motionless.
[ D-rank Monster Everwolf has been defeated, earned 70 Exp. ]
While the pain from her arm was less, it was not gone. Her hand shook as Aria tried to clench it. Aria forgot she was a titan bloodline, perhaps she should act like it.
Another wolf lunged at Aria while she focused on her injury for a moment. With Aetheric Flash, she was able to see the attack coming. She stepped to the side and when the wolf was next to her, she threw a kick right at its torso.
Another yelp went out as the wolf flew into a tree about 5 meters away. A crack resounded from the impact. It wasn't dead, but its back had broken. It weakly layed by the tree as the rest of the wolves got even more aggressive.
Aria didn't want to injure these creatures, but she needed to defend herself. Maybe the rest will run away if I just kill the leader. She always wanted a dog, and this just pained her.
Trying to avoid more bloodshed, Aria locked onto the sleek green wolf that stayed far away from her. You're dead.
Thinking outside the box, Aria activated her Celestial Cloak Skill. Disappearing from the sight of the wolves, they looked all around. They could smell her scent still, but couldn't accurately pinpoint where she was due to how fast she was moving. Arriving behind the leader of the pack. Aria slammed her fist into the side of the wolf's face. A crunch was heard, and the wolf's skull caved in.
[ D-rank Monster Everwolf Pack Leader defeated, earned 100 Exp. ]
The remaining two able boddied wolves saw their leader get killed, they scattered to the woods around them in fear.
Glad the battle was over, Aria looked over the dead wolf before her with a hint of sadness. Why would you attack me?
She heard a whimper close by; the wolf that I kicked earlier?
Aria approached the wolf that had a broken spine, it was limp as it layed in the same spot it fell. When she got close, the whimpering turned to growling. "Still have some fight left huh?"
Not wanting to pointlessly kill everything in her path, Aria considered letting it live. With a broken spine, it won't live long.
Aria pondered what to do, before she did something that was possibly stupid.
[ Celestial Healing Activated ]
Aria's golden hair glowed and her skin was luminescent, light surrounded her hands as the skill was activated on the wolf. "First time healing something other than myself, and it ends up being my enemy."
Aria sighed as she questioned her life choices. Within a few seconds of her healing light reaching the wolf, the bones mended together and the wolfs pain dissappeared. It's growling ceased for a moment and it realized that it could move again.
Instantly the wolf jumped up and toppled Aria who was unbalanced on her knees. The wolf growled and stared at her before bolting back into the woods.
"Thankfully it just ran away," Aria said as she got up from the ground. She noticed a new system notification popped up.
[ New Achievement Unlocked and new Title has been awarded ]
[ Healing Mercy - by healing even the enemy, user has shown they are benevolent and truly embracing the grace of the celestials. New Title "Healing Mercy" has been activated. ]
[ Healing Mercy - Title effect: Earn Exp when user heals any living creature. Amount of Exp earned is based on the severity of the wound healed. ]
Aria was suprised at the new development, "More ways to earn Exp won't hurt. I do however, have a boss to find and a crystal to destroy. I have wasted too much time so far."
Aria healed herself with Celestial Healing, and regained her full health back. Her AP took a serious hit from all of the usage so far. "I need to get that upgraded soon too," she grumbled.
[ AP: 28/150 ]
Looking at her pathetically low AP, Aria sat down and waited to for her AP to regenerate.
Waiting for about 20 minutes, Aria decided to take a chance. "I can't dawdle around here for too long, I need to keep moving. FBA agents could arrive any minute."
[ AP: 69/150 ]
She continued forward, finding another trail in the forest. She didn't encounter any other obstacles on the way and felt an erie feeling come over her. She followed the trail for a while and came to a cave that was formed in the side of a hill. "Well this screams that a boss monster is inside."
Aria activated her Light Manipulation Skill and illuminated the area around her before entering the cave. The cave looked like a normal cave and had a musty smell to it. A damp scent, and the smell of wet fur entered her nose. A gutteral noise came from just ahead of Aria.