An Extra's POV

43  Rey Vs The NightWolf

~WHOOSH!~

The NightWolf lunged at Rey with primal ferocity, opening its jaws wide as it desired to rip him to pieces.

'It's faster than I expected…'

Of course, its speed was nowhere close to Rey's, as he easily evaded the beast.

Despite the NightWolf's bony legs and malnutritioned body, it was just as fast as an average Hobgoblin adult.

'I can only imagine how fast it would be if it was in perfect condition.'

Of course, there was no way to find out about that now.

Perhaps he could discover more about the NightWolves if he tried, but Rey genuinely had no real interest in them.

He just wanted to know their Skills.

'I have limited time. In between training myself and experimenting with the Hobs, I don't think I can handle another commitment.'

Besides, the NightWolves were the major source of nutrition for the Hobgoblins. There was no way he could just use them as he pleased.

… Not unless he had some way to substitute them for something else.

'I'm currently broke, and I don't have access to a large quantity of food.'

Since he wanted the Hobs to grow healthy and strong, forgoing the NightWolves was a necessary sacrifice.

'Even this single NightWolf has enough nutrients to feed dozens of Hobs. I have to leave it in good condition after I kill it.'

"GRRRAAAAHHHH!"

The NightWolf charged towards Rey once again, it's eyes now glowing purple for some reason.

'Could it be… a Skill?!'

~BZZTZZZ!~

Crackles of lightning flashed around the NightWolf as it rushed towards Rey.

With its body coated in purple currents, its speed drastically increased, and charred marks appeared around the very ground it trod.

'I see! So that's its Skill…'

Rey wasn't particularly disappointed since he didn't have a lot of high hopes for the NightWolf, to begin with.

'My [Greater Lightning Magic] Skill can do the same, and a lot more too…'

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Still, Rey wasn't done with his research.

'Let's see how much damage it can deal.'

Rey planted his foot on the ground and waited for the blow to come.

'This is the first time I'm intentionally taking a hit from a monster…'

He wasn't particularly frightened since he had Skills that could come to his aid if he was ever injured.

However, it still felt weird.

All of Rey's instincts told him to kill before got killed, or harm before he got harmed.

Anytime he was in such a zone, he went on a frenzy.

But this time, he was still.

'I genuinely want to know!'

The NightWolf closed the distance between it and Rey within a mere second, its claw raised to deliver vindictive justice.

~SWISH!~

The claw slashed through Rey's baggy shirt, and his eyes instantly widened the moment it happened.

'N-no…! How could I have been so careless!'

Rey instantly regretted his decision to stand still. It had backfired in the most unexpected way!

And no, it wasn't because he was hurt in any way.

Not even a scratch was on his body

The reason for his current distress was something far more serious.

It was…

'My favorite shirt! Goddamn it!'

Rey honestly felt like crying.

He hadn't been paying attention to what happened to his outfits too much since his defenses always ensured he would never get touched.

He had worn this current shirt because he felt great today, and now it was in tatters.

'You… it's all YOUR fault!' Rey glared at the NightWolf.

The Monster instantly felt the bloodlust that radiated from its supposed prey.

It could feel every hair on its skin stand, and all of its instincts told it to run—flee as fast as it could.

The resounding crackles of electricity danced around the NightWolf as it turned tail and deserted the fight. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Rey yelled, but the NightWolf did not listen.

It was too busy following its internal directive.

"Oi…" Rey's voice suddenly took a dangerous turn.

~ZZZTTZZ!~

"… I asked you a question."

Purple flashes of lightning began to dance around Rey's body as he activated the same Skill that the NightWolf just displayed.

A C-Tier Skill called [Lightning Coat].

It wasn't a particularly weak Skill, though its base damage output was quite low.

What made the Skill considerably useful was its 'Buff' attribute.

It increased the user's speed and strength—though not by an extremely crazy amount.

Just a 25 percent increase.

For a weakling like the NightWolf, that number wasn't a lot.

However, for someone like Rey… it was overpowered.

~WHOOOSH!!~

Rey instantly swept through the gap between himself and the fleeing creature.

In a flash, he was right in front of the pathetic thing.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Rey grabbed the NightWolf by the throat, heading the creature whimpering instantly.

He could feel the blood and bones that stuck to the beast's trembling body. Its fur was hard and rough, but none of that conceded Rey.

Even with the crackles of electricity from the NightWolf, Rey was unbothered.

His own burst of purple electricity seemed to do the one damaging the NightWolf.

"Now I see why the Hobgoblins were able to defeat you guys…" Rey whispered.

The NightWolves were by far superior to the Hobs, but they were also straightforward creatures.

'Their attacks are predictable and usually center around my lower abdomen to my leg area.

For the Hobs, that was around their chest.

'It's no wonder their armor mostly covers their chest.'

Speaking of the Hobgoblin armor; it was made of Orichalcum, which was a nonconducting mineral.

'Add that to the Mana-dulling effect it has… the NightWolves didn't stand a chance.'

It was quite an amazing thing—how strong predators like these could lose simply because of the innovation of a weaker species.

'I wonder if the same can be applied for the Dragons…'

When it came to power versus adaptability, which would emerge superior? From what he was seeing, the latter seemed to be the case.

Rey couldn't say for sure, though.

After all… he still hadn't met a Dragon.

At least, not yet.

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

What are your thoughts about the proposition?

Would you rather have power or innovation?