Winston leaped to the side, dodging the pup as it launched itself at him. The scrawny wolf yipped angrily and launched itself at Winston again.

  Winston dodged again, only half paying attention. It was sad that the pup had to play with him. Its littermates were growing far faster than it, and it was too dangerous for it to play with them. Winston let the pup crash into his chest and feigned defeat, falling on his side. His body was fully healed, and he’d been on several hunting trips in the past week.

  He was about to go on another, but there was time to spare, and the pup wanted to play. As the pup landed on him, Winston flipped around, gently pinning it down. It howled indignantly, but it couldn’t escape.

  The pup was saved by the alpha calling the pack. Winston let the little wolf go and turned to join the other wolves.

  The wolves filed out after the alpha, forming a neat line.

  Thanks to his increased toughness, Winston’s paws had grown accustomed to the cold, and he no longer needed to form his little boots. Still, the snow burned his eyes after too long, and he had to form his makeshift glasses.

  After just half an hour, the pack encountered its first prey. Winston tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the beasts. It was a pack of six, but Winston had never seen anything like it. They looked like a cross between an elephant and one of the dinosaurs he’d seen on the TV. They were massive, scaled beasts. Each one had a long, spiked tail and four tusks.

  The largest was easily a dozen feet tall, each of its tusks a meter long.

  As the wolves encircled the herd, Winston focused on the beast.

  [Thornodon - Acolyte 1]

  Winston inspected each Thornodon in turn, finding that the two largest were Acolyte 1, while the rest were late Initiate-tier. It seemed to be a family, with the two Acolyte-tiers being the parents.

  Winston felt a pang of guilt as he watched the beasts. These weren’t creatures from Earth, he knew that, but he also knew that they probably had no choice but to be here. Still, in his time with the pack, he’d grown fond of them, and he would rather kill than watch them starve. He didn’t even know if the Thornodons were naturally aggressive or not.

  Despite the deadly appearance of the Thornodons, the fight ended quickly. The largest of the beasts charged at the wolves, but they easily dodged. As they leaped on the beast, Winston fired projectiles at it, shattering its scales.

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  [You have slain Thornodon - Acolyte 1]

  Winston glanced around, but the other Thornodons were nowhere to be seen. Winston turned back to the beast, looking at it with new eyes. He didn’t know if it was the mother or father, but he knew that it had sacrificed itself for its mate and children. Winston felt a pang of guilt shoot through him. The beasts hadn’t had a choice. The System had forced them to come after him, and the children had followed. Winston growled, trying to clear his head. It didn’t matter.

  The wolves stepped away from the body and looked at Winston expectantly. Obliging, Winston stepped forward and began sawing apart the beast, putting each chunk into his spatial ring.

  When he was done, he cut the rest of the beast into smaller pieces and stepped back. As the rest of the wolves moved in, Winston looked up. Dark clouds were swirling up above. It was going to snow again.

  Winston didn’t know exactly how often it snowed, but since he’d reached the mountain, there’d always been some snow.

  As they walked, it began to snow, just like Winston had predicted. The nice thing about the constant cold was that even when the meat was left out, it would stay fresh.

  As the snow continued to fall, the sky got gradually darker, impeding Winston’s vision. Still, the wolves around him seemed to be able to see just fine.

  When the wolves stopped for a break, Winston shook himself aggressively, trying to get the snow off his back. Still, some remained, buried in his fur. Shivering, Winston followed the wolves as they headed back out.

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  As they made their way closer to the cave, the alpha made a sudden stop. The wolves around him sniffed the air as well, alarm obvious on their faces. Winston smelled it too. Blood. And not from the Thornodon meat.

  A moment later, the alpha took off running, leaving the flesh it’d been dragging behind. The rest of the wolves followed suit, dashing after it. A second later, Winston followed.

  The wolves were fast. Winston pumped his tiny legs with all his might, but just couldn’t keep up. Soon, Winston could barely see the wolves, and a minute after that, they vanished into the darkness.

  Winston took a deep, calming breath. He could make it back—he knew that. The real problem was how long it would take him, especially with almost all natural light cut off by the clouds.

  Wandering around, Winston looked for anything that could help lead him back. Eventually, he stumbled upon the path through the snow the pack had taken earlier. It wasn’t direct, as they’d been following signs of prey, but it would have to do.

  As Winston plopped along, his worry only grew. What had happened? Why were the wolves so worried? Winston could just barely make out the distant scent of blood. One thing he’d noticed was that his senses had greatly improved since he’d advanced to Acolyte. The problem was that it made it so he couldn’t tell how far he was from the smell. He was yet to adjust to his enhanced senses. Sometimes, it was even hard to tell how far away sounds were.

  Winston made his way along the trench, running as quickly as he could. It was already filling up with the pouring snow.

  He was so close. Winston could hear the howling of the wolves, and the smell of blood was stronger than ever.

  Winston was just seconds away, but as he ran, a sudden movement made him freeze. The figure appeared in his peripheral vision for just a moment before disappearing into the darkness. A moment later, several wolves followed, stirring up snow as they ran, eyes mad with anger.

  Winston had only seen it for a split-second, but he knew what he’d seen—no, who he’d seen. Thalysar.

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