Mc Pov :
I walked out of Loya with a determined stride despite the dangers that awaited anyone stupid enough to go out exploring on his own.
Plenty of dumb kids had left to explore, only to never be seen again.
And yet here I was, leaving the safety of the village walls in search of a monster of all things.
Or just a normal animal. That should work for my plans.
At least I thought it should.
I was very new to this Magic thing and was mostly relying on my instincts.
It's been no more than a week since I got it and a part of me still thought that I had eaten something bad and was just imagining it all–it wouldn't even be the first time this had happened.
However, I knew it was different this time.
The invisible box that only I could see proved as much, and it appeared just by me thinking about it.
It was filled with tiny boxes that had pictures of the items I stuck inside it; a bunch of cloth that I used for a bed, my only other pair of clothes, a few different types of fruit, and a hunter knife I stole yesterday just for this.
There were letters above all of the pictures, but I couldn't read so I didn't know what they meant for sure.
I reached into the last box and grasped the weapon before pulling it into existence.
Again, I proved that I wasn't just imagining it. I really had Magic.
Which was weird.
I was no expert, but I thought people were supposed to awaken their Magic at an early age.
All the older people said so, and I had seen two young kids leave the village once they got their Magic.
Maybe I was just a late bloomer?
I could maybe ask some of the older villagers, but I didn't want to show them I could store things in my invisible box.
Some would call me a bad person, but I planned to grab a few things that weren't necessarily mine.
Not like I had parents to leave me something behind or teach me their trade like the rest of the villagers.
Some of them did give me the odd job here and there, paying me with food for the work, but most treated me like an outsider.
Loya was the place I grew up in, but I had no future here.
That's why I was leaving its safety.
To build my own future and to also test that other Magic I had.
Or die horribly to the first monster I encountered, but I tried avoiding that thought.
The nearby forest was dangerous even to the few hunters of the village.
Even the normal animals were a threat to most people, but there were a few Magical creatures in it as well.
They usually didn't bother us unless they got really desperate for food.
Even then, most tended to avoid us since Loya had nearly a hundred villagers.
We might not have any Mages, but we had enough people to scare away most monsters.
However, I was on my own now and I barely knew any Magic.
It was stupid of me to attempt this, but there wasn't anyone that was willing to follow me.
However, I should be safe since I didn't plan on going deep into the forest.
Carefully, I moved from tree to tree, sticking to the outskirts of the forest.
My sneaking could use some work, but it was good enough for me to steal the hunter knife without anyone finding out.
I looked and looked, trying to spot anything moving.
However, there was nothing.
Just green, green, and more green.
Wait! There!
I saw something in the distance.
I nearly missed it since its color was just as green as its surroundings.
I held my breath as I observed the Grass Wolf.
That was a Magical creature, but it was one of the weaker ones and a young one at that.
I… could take it on if I used the thing I figured out earlier this week.
Maybe I could even sneak up on it?
I stood in place, just watching it for a moment before making a decision.
I would try to sneak up on it and get an attack in before it notices me.
Carefully, I moved from behind the tree and made my way to the next one.
The grass wolf twitched and its head shot up, looking around as if it heard me.
I quickly hid behind the tree, hoping for the best as a I held my breath.
After a moment, popped my head and looked over.
The monster was back to eating grass.
Thanking my lucky stars, I slowly began moving towards the next tree while keeping my eyes on the target, but a cracking sound echoed out as I stepped on a branch on the ground.
The Grass Wolf jumped up and turned towards me as it released a threatening growl.
However, it didn't immediately charge me, leaving me with yet another decision to make.
Should I turn around now and try to find an easier target or even return back to the village? Better be safe than sorry and all of that.
Or should I attempt to follow my instinct and do that weird Magic thing?
My instincts did lead me to figuring out my invisible box, after all.
Yeah, there was no way I was backing away now. I knew deep down that if I ran away now, I would never be able to face off against another monster in the future.
I would continue to run away from any encounter, and I would never grow as a Mage.
What little I knew about them was that they fought and eliminated monsters everywhere they went, so I had do this!
I straightened my back and took a deep breath as I followed that feeling inside me. Trusting my instincts, I released the energy inside me, aiming at the Grass Wolf.
The monster growled louder as if I sensing that I just did something, but it couldn't do anything to stop it.
Now, to see exactly what my spell did. I felt my energy connect with the monster and was waiting for the creature to explode, freeze, catch on fire, or anything, really.
However, nothing like that happened, and the Grass Wolf just got angrier as it charged me after releasing a howl.
I panicked when the wolf charged me.
There was no other explanation for why I stumbled on my own feet and nearly fell down. I expected my Magic to actually do something to it other than making it angrier.
Surprised as I was, I became an easy target for the monster, and I couldn't react when it reached me.
"GAHHH!" I screamed in pain as the creature plunged its small antlers into my left thigh, burying them as deep as it can before beginning to trash its head.
My pained cries filled the forest as I tried to get it off me, but I had little luck with that.
At some point I did remember that I actually held a knife in my hand, but just before I attempted to stab the wolf, it quickly dashed back while opening a large gash on my left thigh.
Panting hard, I barely held myself from falling down.
Fuck! I should've turned around earlier, but I no longer had the option now.
I had to fight and somehow survive the monster that was circling me around and watching me as if I was prey.
The monster circled around me, eyeing me for any weaknesses it might spot while I struggled to stop myself from whimpering due to the pain.
It hurt so much, and I wanted to curl up and fall asleep in hopes of it disappearing.
The young Grass Wolf wouldn't give me this opportunity, and I was proven right as it charged again with a howl.
I wasn't sure if it was due to the agonizing pain somehow keeping me focused or if it was due to something else, but I managed to easily track the monster this time.
Sure, it was fast, but it wasn't that impressive, and I could actually track its movement.
So when the wolf neared me and lowered its head to stab me in my already injured leg, I just turned my body sideways while lashing out with the knife, stabbing the creature in its shoulder blade.
It howled in pain and jumped back, which only served to open the wound even more.
Green blood oozed out of the monster as stared at me with enraged red eyes. It rushed at me with pure anger, but I was prepared this time.
Especially, when it didn't even try something new and attempted to headbutt me in my left thigh.
I moved away just as easily as the previous time, but since I was prepared, I managed to strike the wolf in its stomach, opening another large wound on its body.
This time, it didn't jump back, but the pained howl it released told how close it was to death.
Excitement filled me!
Just one more attack and it would die. I was this close to killing my first monster as a Mage.
With enthusiasm pulled the knife out of the monster and prepared to finish it right there and then.
However, the wolf was faster. I could barely react as it leapt, its mouth opened wide as it tried to bite my neck.
The wolf almost succeeded, but I managed to raise my left arm to give it another target.
It latched onto my arm with its razor sharp teeth and proceeded to ram its antlers right into my shoulder before beginning to trash its head left in right in a frenzy.
"GAHHH!" I screamed as I felt myself black out and nearly dropped my knife.
My short life flashed before my eyes, and I grit my teeth in anger.
I hadn't accomplished anything!
I was a measly villager that was treated almost like an outsider in village I grew up.
I had just awoken my Magic and was about to start my journey as a Mage!
There was no way I was dying here!
"Die!" I grit my teeth and tightened my grip on my knife before I plunged it in the wolf's head. Over and over again until I felt it loosen its hold on my arm.
Even then, I continued stabbing it until it dropped on the ground, pulling me down with it.
My vision was slowly turning black, and I knew I had to do something about my wounds.
However, before I could take any action, a bright light flashed before me, and formed into a couple of objects right next to the fallen wolf.
A scroll and a book.
Seriously? Was that a joke? I couldn't read or write and I got a scroll and a book?
How did they even appear in the first place?
I might just be seeing things due to losing so much blood.
However, I reached out to touch them just to make sure they were there, and they really were.
A bunch of words even appeared in front of me when I touched the book.
[Would you like to consume the Skill Book for Allspeak?]
[Y/N]
Words also appeared after I touched the Scroll, but, again, I couldn't read them and didn't know what they meant.
Worst of all, this wasn't what I needed at the moment as I was still bleeding out of my arm, shoulder, and leg.
And just as i thought about my wounds, they flared up in pain, and I had to grit my teeth.
Fuck! It hurt so much!
I needed to do something, but what could I possible even do? I tried to think and remembered that I had a bunch of cloth in my invisible box.
That was my bed, but I would rather not die that dirty my bed with blood.
The invisible box appeared in front of me, but just before I could reach for the cloth, I heard voices coming from somewhere nearby.
The villagers must've heard all the howling and the screams.
My eyes immediately went to the Grass Wolf and the two objects that appeared from nothing, wondering if I should hide everything in my Inventory.
Quickly, I grabbed the Scroll and Book, ignoring the words that popped upon touching them before I threw them in my invisible box.
The corpse I left where it is, right next to me with the knife stuck inside its head.
Maybe I should have hidden the weapon as well, but the wounds on the monster would make it obvious I had a weapon with me.
Not that I had much time to consider my options as three of the village hunters came into view.
All of them were vigilant as they slowly moved with their bows in their hands.
One of them spotted me with the wolf next to me, and immediately sprung to action.
"Shit! Juro, get the bandages. We got an injured. Chapa, stay vigilant. There's a dead young Grass Wolf here. More could be around," the leader spoke in a commanding tone.
He rushed over to me, crouching down to check me over.
"Hurry, Juro. He's still alive," he said and took out a knife, one very similar to the one I used to kill the wolf.
He cut open my clothes, displaying the gruesome wounds they hid.
I gagged at the sight of all the blood, barely keeping my lunch in my stomach.
The hunter quickly cut some more of my clothes before shoving a piece of it my mouth.
"Clench your teeth and don't let go of that," he ordered as he took out something from his pocket and poured it right over my wounds.
I screamed, or tried to at least, which resulted in me just biting hard on the cloth in my mouth.
I screamed some more when the other hunter began bandaging my wounds.
Before I knew it, I was being carried away by one of the hunters as they quickly got out of the forest and returned back to the village.
That's the last thing I remember before I passed out from all the pain and blood loss.