Stats
[ level 3 ]
[ XP 320/400 ]
[ HP 400/400 ]
[ Attack 50 ]
[ Defense 60 ]
[ Agility 10 ]
[ MP 150 ]
[ EP 19 ]
....
One more thing so that it won't be a headache for me later , he can't enhance other's or stuff belonging to others. Meaning that if he enhances something it's bound to him and others can't use it.
If he wants to enhance skills he needs to learn them. In this way it would feel more personal.
...
The Alpha's legs buckled mid-lunge and it hit the ground chest first, momentum carrying it a few feet before it stopped. Its body twitched once. Then it was still, steam rising off its fur in thin curls.
Victor lowered his sword as the notifications came in fast.
[ You have defeated an Elite Level 3: Mistwood Alpha Firewolf. ]
[ XP Gained: 150 ]
[ EP Gained: 15 ]
[ Achievement Unlocked: Pack Breaker — Solo kill an Elite monster and its entire pack. ]
[ Reward: All kill rewards doubled! ]
[ XP Gained: 300 ]
[ EP Gained: 30 ]
[ Current EP: 49 ]
[ Level Up! You are now Level 4. ]
[ Current XP: 220/800 ]
[ HP 450/450 ]
[ Attack 55 ]
[ Defense 65 ]
[ Agility 15 ]
[ MP 200 ]
Victor closed the windows and looked at the wolf. Up close it was massive , its shoulder would have been at his chest height standing. And the scarlet streaks in its fur were still faintly warm like glowing embers.
He crouched beside it and checked for drops and found two things.
[ You have obtained: Firewolf Fang x1 ]
[ Grade: Ordinary — Crafting Material ]
[ You have obtained: Fireball Scroll x1 ]
[ Grade: Ordinary — Consumable ]
[ Effect: Releases a concentrated fireball dealing 300 fire damage to target on use. Single use. ]
It wasn't and equipment but Victor wasn't too dissappointed as he pocketed both and straightened up.
Then he heard the familiar sound of wheels moving through the dirt
Victor turned around and saw the sight of Sakura pushing herself across the uneven ground toward him, navigating around the fallen bodies with her eyes fixed on him the whole way. Her expression was different from her usual mischievous one, the ease was fully gone and she was looking at him the way someone does when they're checking for something they don't want to find.
She stopped the chair right in front of him and without any ceremony reached out and grabbed his forearm to check it, then his wrist, then she got a hand on the front of the robe and leaned forward to look at his neck.
"I'm fine." Victor said helplessly but he felt a hint of warmth at her concern.
Sakura ignored him completely as she shifted her weight and used his arm to push herself upright, getting a better angle to look at his face, and Victor put his hands on her hips without thinking about it, steadying her before she could tip.
Sakura ran a hand along his jaw, turned his head slightly to check any regions she might have missed. After seeing nothing wrong Sakura relaxed as she let out breath she was holding.
"The fireballs really didn't do anything." Sakura said in a curious tone , she already kind of understood that their bodies no longer experienced extreme pain or wounds and like in a game they just lost HP.
But still seeing is believing and gazing at Victor who showed no signs of being burned alive , Sakura felt relieved.
" Well if you already knew , then there really isn't any reason to get worried right ? " Victor asked in a lighthearted manner to which Sakura just tilted her head while studying him with her rose coloured eyes.
"I wanted to check myself." She said it like that was a completely reasonable thing that was not worth discussing further.
She was still standing, his hands still on her hips, and the clearing had gone fairly quiet except for the distant sounds from beyong the fog. Victor became aware of the position a beat after she did and the fussing had long since stopped.
Sakura glanced down at his hands, then up at his face as she slowly blinked. The worried expression on her face had been replaced by something else entirely and the corner of her mouth curved up in a way that didn't bode well for Victor.
"...Hello there~ " Sakura leaned forward as she msicheviously said in a breathless manner, her tone and actions purposeful as her chest pressed against his.
Victor held her gaze for a few moments before he lowered her carefully back into the chair and let go.
Sakura settled back with a smile that she always wore whenever she was able to successfully get one over Victor, she folded her hands across her lap like a demure and proper girl , like she wasn't the one pressing herself and trying to meld into his frame just a few seconds ago.
"You know," she said pleasantly, "you could've just let me fall."
" Your clothes would have gotten dirty and the ground is too hard..." Victor replied calmly making Sakura's smile widen.
"Thoughtful as always." She tilted her head, her rose-colored eyes bright. "Your hands are warm, by the way." Sakura said innocently trying to act like she didn't mean anything by it.
Victor didn't bother responding as he just sighed internally while his mind replayed the warmth and softness of her hips, he didn't have ED so he definitely felt it when Sakura pressed her soft body against his but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
And it would really be messy with the relationship they had , Sakura wasn't a stranger but the sister of his ex girlfriend and someone he used to treat like his younger sibling.
Even if Sakura was mischevious and always tried to get a reaction out of him by doing the most absurd things...
...
Yuki had stopped a few feet behind them.
She wasn't sure when exactly. One moment she had been moving to follow and the next her feet had just... stopped, and she was standing there watching Sakura fuss over Victor like she hadn't just witnessed him shrug off four fireballs and catch on fire and come out unscathed.
She watched Sakura take his arm, then stand up. Watched how Victor's hands found her sister's hips without any hesitation, like steadying her was just a reflex.
Something moved in her chest.
It went away as quickly as it came and she recognized it immediately for what it was, which made it worse. Her grip tightened around her own arm, fingers pressing into the fabric of her sleeve, her nails digging into her skin.
'He's not yours.' Whether she said it for herself or to Sakura only Yuki knew.
Sakura said something and they were even closer now and it was at this moment that Yuki decided to shift her gaze to the treelines that was obscured by the mist.
It wasn't really pretty but it was useful to stare at now , as she waited for that heavy tightness in her chest to recede.
It did... mostly, and she only looked back after she heard the sound of the chair move and Sakura was back on it.
Her younger sister met her gaze and that damned smile on the former's face made Yuki sure that she would have to hear about something she didn't like... But she took a deep breath and moved towards Victor who had his back to her.
...
Yuki walked up beside him as she said in a calm tone.
"I agree."
Victor turned his gaze to the side to look at her and he found her staring somewhere into the distant foggy scenary with her arms folded across her chest.
Victor blinked as he waited for the rest of her sentence but nothing came so he was a bit confused."...To what?"
Victor's question was answered with a forceful inhalation of breath "What I said."
"You didn't say anything." Victor's lips twitched as he felt like she was speaking some other language.
"I did." Her words came out clipped the frustration very much visible. "Just before,...I said it."
Victor genuinely could not think of what she was referring to and it must have shown on his face because Yuki's expression shifted, the composed look cracking slightly as color climbed up from her ears.
"Earlier..." she said her words quiter and softer . "I-It was implied."
"It really wasn't."
The blush hit her cheeks fully , it was equal parts embarrassment and annoyance, and she finally turned to look at him with an expression like this was somehow his fault.
"The party." The words came out through her teeth. "I'm saying I'll join the party. The same one that you asked about, I agree to that."
'Cute.'
Victor's heart skipped a beat as the thought surfaced in his mind almost on instinct and with it came a flash of memories, the way she used to get when she was flustered and always tried hard not to show it and how it always made him wanting to say something just to keep the expression going a little longer,her laughing at something stupid he'd said or the way she used to tuck her hair back when she was concentrating or the specific expression she made when she was trying very hard not to smile.
" Okay..."
Victor quickly turned around as he would just end up gazing at her for too long and he was sure that the warmth on his face had nothing to do with heat of the surroundings.
Sakura watched from beside them with a cheshire grin her mind already cooking up multiple scenarios....
...
Thanks for the Votes 🦭