Novel Bin Chapter 12: The Wolf that howled at the Moon
Chapter 12: The Wolf that howled at the Moon
In the center of a misty plain stretching from one horizon to another, a translucent dome sat. It seemed immaterial, a simple aether film protecting the interior from the sun's radiation.
"A soap bubble?" was Priam's first thought. The portal had spit him out moments before, right before the protection.
Under the dome, Priam could see buildings. There seemed to be some commotion inside, and potentially human forms were forming groups. Despite his high perception, the dome prevented him from seeing what was happening.
Priam took a breath, trying in vain to shake off his stress. Refusing to lie to himself, he admitted that he was afraid of the proximity of other humans. He didn't know his place in this post-apocalyptic society. He didn't even know if he wanted to be part of it. But maybe my family is right here!
He held his hand forward, but the barrier stopped his advance. He tried to penetrate the protection for a few seconds without success.
"The path seems blocked off this way... There must be an entrance somewhere else."
As he turned around, he noticed that the grass was green. He was almost surprised that he had gotten used to the blue color of the grass endemic to Elysium. One gets used to everything...
While stretching to get rid of the urge to vomit - a side effect of the portal -, Priam took a few steps to get used to the new gravity. His body felt lighter than in Elysium, and the sensation was very uncomfortable. He felt as if he was lifting off the ground every time he accelerated a little. It is going to be problematic to fight. I'll have to get used to it...
To make matters worse, the aether density was much lower than in Elysium. Priam felt like he was running out of oxygen at a high altitude. No matter how hard he tried to breathe, the air didn't agree with him. The young man panicked a little, wondering if he would ever be deprived of traveling to worlds with too little aether.
But if the amount of aether annoyed him, the familiarity of the place made him smile. He recognized the trees, the insects, and even the stars and their constellations. In broad daylight. Stopping short, Priam looked up.
There, next to a single familiar sun, suspended alone in that black sky, was the Earth. The Earth he never thought he would see again. Well, rather a crescent. The part illuminated by the sun was visible, and it seemed, even from its distant position, that it had changed somewhat. But it was Earth.
Priam understood the environmental awareness of the astronauts when they saw the Earth from space. This beautiful planet was just a big pile of rock and metal on whose surface life had developed by incredible luck. Against the black background of the cosmos - the celestial body on which it was located must have had a thin atmosphere - Earth seemed fragile. A desire to protect it won Priam's heart. He wanted to protect the Earth and the humanity it had given birth to.
Blinking at the sun, Priam laughed as he suddenly realized something. It's so obvious!
"I'm on the moon?!" he exclaimed.
It seemed impossible. The vegetation, the atmosphere, the temperature, and the few clouds in the sky were all evidence that he must be wrong. Even the gravity was too high. But he felt he was right.
Uninterested in his deductions, the System manifested itself.
ANNOUNCEMENT
Welcome to the first meeting.
During this week of reunion, a renewed Moon welcomes humanity.
Share, communicate, and explore to defeat your enemies together.
Break free from your chains.
Aspire to a future for humanity.
Your other quests are paused during the Meeting.
Main Quest: Reunited Soon?
Humans are sheltered in domes distributed on the surface of the Moon.
All of them? No, the fighters, protectors of humanity, must prove themselves.
Investigate the threat. Eliminate it.
Reward: Free access to the domes for all of humanity. Potential +10. Bonus depending on your participation.
Difficulty: Variable
"Ah, that would have been too good! Well, I must eliminate 'the threat' before I can reunite with my family. My father is 80 years old, I doubt he chose to be a fighter. My sister... who knows?"
His father had married late in life, and his age had always been of great concern to Priam. It was the son who wanted to protect the father.
After a last look at the inaccessible dome, Priam began to run towards the plains. The plains were not very visible, partly hidden by the ever-present mist. It made it hard to see, but he suspected that if other fighters were nearby, he would quickly detect them. Many humans must have chosen the path of weapons and he intended to find them. I need to know how the other humans survived. Are there many survivors? Am I wrong to hope for my family? I need information!
Less than a minute into his run, Priam stopped. On his left, striding through the mist, were three wolves. White in color, they blended in completely with the mist, and only the young man's exceptional perception had detected them. Strengthening his grip on his spear, he prepared for battle.
As the wolves used their numbers to surround him, Priam tried to reassure himself. He'd had trouble defeating mere horned rabbits but knew that Elysium was the royal road. Humanity would be finished if these beasts were half as powerful as the rabhorns. No fighter could face three such strong wolves simultaneously. The fight was about to begin, and Priam finally convinced himself. These are ordinary wolves, I have nothing to fear...
Without warning, two wolves jumped on him. A part of Priam's brain was instantly reassured. They are almost slow. Priam dodged to his left, moving away from the watching third wolf in the same motion, then swept the air with a backhanded sweep of his spear. The tip of the blade hit the snout of one of the attackers. The wolf fell back to the ground and grunted in pain. Slightly wounded, he began circling Priam again, this time more carefully. The other two beasts joined it.
Despite all his progress, Priam still had no eyes in his back. It would be practical but not very aesthetic. If I had an eye in my back but it was nearsighted, how would I wear glasses?
Before he could find an answer to his foolish thoughts, one of the wolves growled. Priam turned his attention back to the fight. The wolves were not rabhorn level, but a bite could be severe. He could see two wolves clearly, but the third remained behind his back. The wolves always managed to have one of their own in Priam's blind spot, which bothered him. He was forced to turn his head frantically to avoid an opportunity to attack. I can't see them all at once, and when I try to turn quickly so I don't lose sight of them, I leave openings. I can't let them trap me like that. It's up to me to break the status quo.
Shouting for courage, Priam charged one of the wolves. The wolf jumped back to dodge the young man's attack. Priam tried to continue his charge, but the inertia of his blow was more significant than expected, and he found himself off balance. The other two wolves attacked him from behind as he moved back into position.
Lifting his right foot, he intercepted one of the wolves in the air. [Kinetic Control]. The unfortunate assailant was propelled backward. Priam had no time to wonder about his fate. Taking advantage of the opening, the last canine had closed its mouth on his left leg.
Under the shock and speed of the wolf, Priam found himself on the ground and lost his spear. Panicking, he started kicking the wolf. The canine was shaking its head to damage Priam's leg as much as possible. Shit, what am I doing?! They are hardly more powerful than normal wolves. I'm faster and stronger, but if one of them bites me in the wrong place, I'll die!
The wolf biting Priam was trying to tear his leg apart. With its fangs firmly planted in Priam's flesh, it was shaking its mouth, now trying to break the bone. Fortunately, Priam's Constitution and Strength were so high that it did not seem to succeed. It would take him several minutes to overcome Priam's physical strength, and Priam had no intention of giving it that time. Priam continued to kick the wolf in the head to force it to let go. Each kick seemed to ring the beast, and its movements were no longer as brisk.
With a glance, Priam saw the second wolf cautiously approaching. Apparently, the last member of the trio had not yet recovered from his kick. I hope it learns from this! Priam forced himself to calm down. I don't want to be lying on the ground!
"[Kinetic Control]"
The wolf biting on his leg began to slow down, and Priam took the opportunity to knock it over and sit on it. Raising his arm, he threw a kinetically enhanced punch. Then a second one. The second wolf stood still a few feet away from Priam, watching for an opening. He and Priam glared at each other. The wolf knew it didn't stand a chance but didn't run. I guess the System wants us to fight.
As Priam's blows rained down on the immobilized wolf, the second canine began to howl in the air. Its companion was dying, and it didn't know how to save it. The first wolf howling to the earth ever...
On the eighth punch, with a tragic whimper, the imprisoned wolf released his jaw. Priam's shin was a mess, but his vitality was already beginning to heal. He knew he could walk. He started to get up. At that exact moment, as if sensing this was its last chance, the last wolf threw itself on him. With his hand bruised from punches, Priam stopped the canine with a lightning elbow. [Kinetic Control]. With an end-of-the-world crack, the animal was thrown to the ground. A final blow from its paw had opened a gash in his torso.
Priam finished getting up painfully. Lowering his eyes to the ground, he looked at the battered body of the beast who had tried to eat his leg. The novice warrior knelt and took the wolf's head between his arms. The animal stared at him, all violence gone. He gently scratched its head for a few moments. Then, taking a deep breath, he snapped its neck with a sharp blow. The wolf would have died alone, but Priam didn't want to hurt it. He had no hatred for the three animals. He had always found wolves and their behavior fascinating. Their cousin was man's best friend, and Priam loved these animals.
"Did they attack me to eat? Or is that an order from the System? There are no wolves on the Moon - unless NASA has been lying to us - so the System transported them here. It may even have created them entirely, the number of wolves on Earth was quite low. I believe the total wolf population was 350,000. Spread out over the surface of the Moon, it's strange that I'm encountering them so quickly..."
What worried Priam most was that these wolves had attacked him. Wolves normally avoided attacking humans. Either these three wolves were hungry, which seemed unlikely given their size, or... Or they were forced to by the System. I have no desire to become a wolf exterminator... He was angry at the System, at this new order of things that required him to kill innocent creatures.
Priam got up and walked towards the last attacker. The latter was motionless. As he got closer, he realized it wasn't playing dead. It was dead.
"When I think that this encounter could have been over ten times faster..." sighed Priam as he retrieved his spear. He walked away from the corpses and then hobbled for five minutes to a tree. A wild wolf pack is normally composed of five to seven wolves, led by two parents. There is no wild alpha male and female. Perhaps the System knew that a pack would not give humans a chance, so it had reduced the number of enemies. Or maybe the rest of the pack wasn't far behind. Wounded, Priam wanted to recover before continuing to fight. He climbed into the tree to take cover.The sourc𝗲 of this content nov(𝒆l)bi((n))
Leaning against the trunk to allow his leg to heal more quickly, he pulled a fruit from the bag he had made. Made up of a few leaves folded together, the makeshift bag was an eyesore. It contained some resources he had taken with him in case there was nothing to eat at the Reunion. He knew now that he could sustain himself, if necessary, by eating wolf meat, for example. This idea disgusted him, the animal was too close to the dog for his taste. Priam thought that one of the benefits of this new life might be the opportunity to eat new kinds of foods. Since childhood, Priam had been a gourmand and a gourmet. I want to taste every monster in this universe. That afternoon, the young man swore he would eat a dragon.
"That's the kind of promise I like to make!" he laughed. Without taking the time to peel it, he began eating the fruit Log-a-rhythm provided.
His vitality needed calories to regenerate his leg. Priam inspected the damage. His bone was hidden, and the wolf had fortunately bitten him in the muscle. No tendons were damaged, and his impressive physical characteristics had allowed him to get away with it. Priam was not a doctor, but the wound looked like a large dog had bitten superficially. His muscles, harder than steel, had resisted the animal's fangs very well. Such a wound would have healed entirely in a few days on Earth.
Priam was not worried. When his vitality had exceeded 100, a qualitative difference had occurred. He was not only healing eleven times faster than an average human. The real value must have been around twenty-two times faster. Coupled with the fruit he was currently digesting - which also boosted his regeneration - he would be completely healed before the end of the day. The wound itself did not prevent him from moving.
Before continuing on his way, Priam reviewed the fight. He should have won effortlessly. The System hadn't even bothered to give him a few skill levels as his display had been so pathetic. Let alone three wolves, if Priam learned to react and control his weapon well, he would have the ability to trounce an entire pack.
Using his physical advantage, he should have attacked first. The spear had not helped him and even made him lose his balance. Once in close combat, he had lost it, but it would have been ineffective anyway.
"If I want to use this weapon, and I do because some fights require reach, I must master it. Using a weapon you don't know is a big mistake."
Priam promised himself that he would start training with the spear as soon as possible.
"My last mistake was to panic and react instead of acting. To react is to go with the flow of the enemy. I would be dead if those wolves had been more numerous or stronger. I need to become proactive and get some experience."
Priam got up slowly and began to wield his spear. For the next half hour, he went through a series of moves. Forward attack, cutting attack, step to the side, turn around, blocking,... Priam wanted to become familiar with the weight of his weapon. His leg was hurting, but he used the pain to remind himself that every mistake had consequences. Dying stupidly for lack of training was unbearable for him. He knew nothing about handling a spear. A spearman would undoubtedly have been outraged by his exercises, but Priam was convinced it was better than nothing.
Suddenly, in the middle of a particularly classy combo - in his opinion - Priam turned around. He had heard a scream. A human scream.
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Force 58
Constitution 77
Agility 90
Vitality 112
Perception 66
MENTAL:
Vivacity 75
Dexterity 46
Memory 29
Willpower 44
Charisma 36
META:
Meta-affinity 8
Meta-focus 16
Potential: 140
Tier 0