LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 17: Chapter 17
Apparently, I couldn't sleep much last night despite being exhausted from dragging a cart all day. I guess part of the blame lies with the unconscious firebender who had arrived in the village.
The firebender was currently inside a large metallic base, which housed the prison for earthbenders. The entire prison was made of metal and resembled a castle. The interior was complicated, and killing the firebender would be foolish now. If I killed him, they would link it to me. The worst case wouldn't be linking it to me, but sending them to the South Pole. Really, what would anyone think if a survivor from the South Pole was killed? They would definitely go to the South Pole to investigate.
My agenda was to cause havoc here anyway.
And since the firebender was in a dire physical state, he would likely remain unconscious for a few days, maybe weeks. I wasn't sure.
'When I saw him, his fingers and limbs had turned purple. They're going to sever his limbs,' I thought. 'I feel like a bad person. I could have relieved his pain a long time ago. Poor guy. In that case, I'll use his existence as motivation to gain as much power as possible.'
I thought as I walked in the direction of the forest that Haru had advised me not to enter.
A drop of water circled my finger, moving quickly, creating sharp pressure that made a cut, causing blood to drip from it. I tried to control the blood, and I could, but the system didn't signal the discovery of Blood Bending.
It seemed my waterbending skill was too low to achieve bloodbending, or the training method I was using to unlock it wasn't correct.
"Tsk." I clicked my tongue. The small amount of water that had cut my finger calmed down and glowed faintly, healing the cut. "I hope the beasts here aren't too difficult to deal with."
After hours of walking, I stopped in front of a large forest. The trees were at least 5 to 15 meters tall.
I looked at the ground and noticed there was no grass.
'The tree leaves are high, so the herbivorous monsters must be either large or have long necks. In that case, the predators would be huge as well,' I thought to myself.
Nature has a balanced system. Without carnivores, herbivores could breed uncontrollably until they eat everything, leaving nothing behind. Predators must be stronger than their prey. Since this forest seemed like a good place for large animals, I believed they would be worth a lot of experience.
"Okay. Let's have some fun," I muttered. I extended my hand to the left, and a long spear with a sword-like blade appeared in my hand. I turned around the forest and saw a few docile animals that resembled giant 7-meter-tall giraffes with wool-like fur. They were eating the leaves from the trees.
They didn't attack me on sight, so I ignored them.
I continued exploring until I encountered another creature, which was growling. It was about 4 meters long, with a long neck that extended for a meter. It looked like a wolf.
"Let me guess its name: Long-Neck Wolf. Smaller than the giraffes, but big enough to hunt them when in packs," I muttered to myself.
The long-necked wolf turned to me. Its eyes lit up. It didn't seem interested in devouring me, but I looked like a suitable toy. It approached while jumping in a zigzag pattern.
But I wasn't foolish enough to think it wanted to be friends with me.
I had cats and dogs in my previous life. They do regard smaller species as toys—I knew that for certain. Even a full-grown cat would play with a mouse to amuse itself before killing it.
I thrust my spear forward.
The wolf reacted quickly and jumped backward, getting only a shallow cut on its neck.
[Hunting. ++exp]
'Shit,' I quickly opened the system and muted the notifications. I didn't need any unnecessary distractions.
"Grrrr." The wolf-like creature growled and crouched, shifting from playful mode to vengeful mode.
At times like this, I would miss the South Pole and its endless water supplies. It reminded me that if I had fought the firebenders on land like this, I would have been killed long ago.
I waved my hand, and a bottle of water appeared. I squeezed the bottle, and the water inside shifted shape, turning into a long spear that split into three.
The wolf seemed wary and circled around me, looking for an opening.
'Combining hunting with Chi bending and waterbending should do it,' I thought to myself as the three spears floated around me. Controlling all three at once was mentally taxing, but this was nature. The moment I let my guard down, I would die.
I threw one spear at the wolf, and it dodged by jumping. Assuming it would land slightly to the left, I aimed there. One of the spears pierced its neck but didn't kill it, while the other struck its eye.
The wolf dashed at me. It seemed to be telling me that if it fell, it would take me down with it.
I waved my arms, defrosting the water and gathering it inside its system. I condensed all the water into a single chunk before freezing it.
The wolf stopped and lurched backward before falling, hitting its long neck repeatedly. It tried to howl, but no sound emerged.
"I'm sorry," I murmured as I retrieved my spear and sliced through its neck.
I opened the system and checked the notifications.
[Defeating Long-Necked Wolf.]
[+1200 accumulated experience]
[Hunting up to level 8]
[Freeze up to level 6]
[Waterbending +200 exp]
[Chi Bending +200 exp]
[Chi Bending up to level 6 (100/800)]
[The power-ups from Chi Bending have improved by 5%]
I stroked my chin, thinking that it wasn't a bad gain: 1200 accumulated experience, plus the skills I used leveled up or gained experience.
If I spent time here hunting seriously and carefully, I could make a lot of progress.
But I couldn't stay here forever.
I needed to return to Haru's village to find out when the firebender would wake up.
Because if he woke up, I would cause havoc. The best way to do so would be to wait for them at the ocean and flip their ships upside down. Easy kills and free experience.
"I'll call it a day after a few hours," I muttered to myself.
Just as I was about to leave, a chill ran down my spine.
When I turned my head, I saw something that reminded me of an important piece of information:
Wolves travel in packs.
Around 17 wolves stood before me. Most of them appeared larger than the wolf I had just killed.
They all stared at me intensely. I could feel the killing intent in their gaze.