Ash sat up, feeling slightly disoriented, but quickly remembered that he was inside the hut on Mount BliezzViel.
The growling sound came again, and this time, it seemed like whatever was making the noise was pacing around the hut.
Jagu was already seated but stayed calm, tilting his head slightly whenever the growls echoed.
'Why isn't Jagu growling? He usually does,' Ash thought.
Suddenly, the hut shook violently.
The creature outside was now pushing against the hut, nearly toppling it over.
In a panic, Ash flung the door open, and he and Jagu leapt out.
Ash tumbled onto the snowy ground, stopping in a prone position. From there, he saw Jagu standing in front of him, growling.
Through Jagu's legs, Ash saw a creature that looked like a tiger. Its fur seemed to be made of scales resembling blue ice.
The creature had two long blue fangs similar to those of a sabertooth. Its claws were black, and its light blue eyes shone.
The creature was half the size of Jagu when fully transformed, but there were three of them, which made Ash uneasy.
Ash quickly ordered Jagu to transform into its larger form. He stood up and drew his sword.
As soon as Jagu finished transforming, the three creatures charged at him. Jagu immediately fought back with claw swipes and bites.
One of the creatures, after being knocked away by Jagu, turned its attention to Ash and started moving toward him.
Ash readied himself and dodged as the creature lunged at him.
With his Shadow Sword skill at level #39, Ash was able to move faster and more effectively in battle. The snow no longer slowed him down much.
He moved between the creature's legs, slashing at them with his sword.
However, his sword only caused minor wounds, and the creature let out a loud roar.
It lunged at him again, catching him off guard after his failed attack.
Ash quickly rolled to the side, dodging the attack, and stabbed his sword into the creature's neck.
The sword got stuck in the creature's tough scales, and Ash had no time to push it further as the creature's jaws came at him again.
He rolled under its legs, aiming to stab its belly, which usually had fewer scales.
The creature moved its hind legs, leaving Ash exposed again.
It lunged at him, and Ash thrust his sword into its mouth.
The sword hit the upper jaw, causing blood to flow from the wound.
Ash quickly pulled his sword out and rolled beneath the creature.
The creature roared in pain, its head thrashing back and forth. Its front legs stomped up and down, barely missing Ash.
Ash kept moving to stay under the creature and finally jumped up, driving his sword into its belly.
Blood gushed from its belly as Ash clung to his sword.
Shouting, he swung his body back and forth, widening the wound he had made.
The monster thrashed wildly in pain, trying to break free.
Unable to hold on any longer, Ash gave a powerful tug, pulling his sword out. He dropped to the ground and rolled away from the creature.
The monster thrashed around even more wildly in pain, with blood pouring out from its wounds.
Before long, it collapsed.
Ash wasted no time. He approached the monster and drove his sword into its eye, pushing it in all the way to the hilt.
The monster let out another loud roar, its body flailing violently, and then, it stopped moving.
Ash pulled his sword out and turned to look at Jagu.
From his experience dealing with wild beasts in the savannah, he knew that in a fight, he could not afford to let his guard down, especially when outnumbered.
He saw that Jagu was still battling the other two monsters, so he ran to assist.
When Jagu managed to clamp his jaws around one of the monsters' necks and slam it to the ground, Ash quickly sprinted forward and drove his sword into the monster's eye.
This time, he jumped as he thrust the sword, causing it to penetrate quickly. The monster roared in pain and stopped moving.
Jagu then bit the last monster, slamming it to the ground and snapping its neck with a horrifying crunch.
Ash stood atop the head of one of the fallen monsters, breathing heavily but feeling immense relief that all the creatures were finally dead.
He then walked toward Jagu, who was licking his wounds. Miraculously, the wounds healed instantly, leaving no trace behind.
Exhausted, Ash sat down in front of Jagu, his sword planted firmly in the ground before him.
He regulated his breathing and calmed himself.
This was his first battle involving large, formidable monsters that were difficult to kill.
Jagu, still in front of Ash, licked his wounds. Once finished, Jagu lay down, resting his massive head right in front of Ash's feet. Ash gently stroked him.
"We did it, buddy," Ash said.
Jagu purred in contentment.
Ash smiled and said, "Let's go."
He stood up, climbed onto Jagu's back, and they began descending the snowy mountain. The wind blew harder, carrying snow into the air, as they left the lifeless monsters behind.
***
They descended the mountain at a steady pace.
Ash had consumed one of the healing potions he had brought along, rejuvenating his body.
As he was about to discard the empty bottle, his eyes caught the wristband given to him by Gabriel.
Gabriel hadn't had the chance to explain its purpose, and Ash had only now found the time to check his System after several days.
He called up his System:
[Player: Ashborn Locke]
[Player Number: #23875]
[Level: #3.4]
[Stats:
⇒ Strength: 25
⇒ Endurance: 25
⇒ Agility: 25
⇒ Intelligence: 25
⇒ Magic: 75]
[Extra Point: 250]
[Skills: ⇒ Hunter: Level: #8]
[Sword Skill: ⇒ Shadow Dance: Level: #42]
"Not bad," he said, as he allocated 50 extra points to each of his stats.
[Stats:
⇒ Strength: 85
⇒ Endurance: 75
⇒ Agility: 85
⇒ Intelligence: 75
⇒ Magic: 125]
Then he searched his Inventory for the description of the Wrist Band he received, and the description read:
[Magic Shield Wrist Band: A wristband that can generate a protective shield to guard its wearer. The shield can be activated simply by calling it. Players who use this wristband will gain an additional 300 points to their Defense Stat.]