Becoming Legend

Chapter 8: Saved

"ICE engage Predictive Combat Emulator!"

[Predictive Combat Emulator engaged!]

[Tear them apart Ned.]

With the Emulator activated, digits appeared on Ned's point of view. Ned saw digits pointing to the eyes of the Wargs, their limbs, and some to their tails and guts.

Coupled with Howl, Ned started to move.

"I challenged you equally, now that you lost an eye, you asked the help of your pack," using his knife, Ned started to precisely cut, stab, and, slash the Wargs that are trying to attack him. "Now you'll see how your pack gets annihilated!"

Ned, being able to see their weaknesses, became a thread that surrounds the Wargs. Whenever Ned passes one of them, eyes bursts opened, their neck splashed of blood, and ground dyed of crimson red.

"I don't need someone whose not true to their intentions. I'm not going to tame you! I'm going to eat you!" Ned having killed a number of Wargs, momentarily stopped at the top of the hill where the boss laid before. "ICE how many seconds left?"

[51 seconds left Ned.]

"How many Wargs left?"

[According to my record there are 167 Wargs before, now that you have killed 31 of them, there are 136 left. Not counting the leader.]

"136 in 49 seconds, that's more than enough time."

Ned at the top glaring at the bottom, like he was a king, used Leap and instantly disappeared in front of the coming Wargs.

He violently cut those he passed by. One after the other they all dropped down.

The leader, whose eye was still stuck by an arrow, saw that his pack was being cut to death one by one. Looking no other way, he howled once more.

"That will be your last Howl!" Ned cried.

After a moment of cutting and stabbing no Wargs was left standing. Nine seconds left on Ned's Howl, he then approached the pack leader.

Determined to kill the leader, his dusty blue eyes shone in the sea of darkness.

With his muscles enhanced, he instantly disappeared in front of the pack leader.

Unknowingly, Ned now stood beside the leader. He raised his hands and stabbed the knife right to its body. But the Warg was fast enough to dodge Ned's attack. It pivoted, now the leader faced Ned and used its paw to scratch Ned. Using Leap, Ned dodge.

Both were equal in terms of speed and strength. Ned seeing that the fight is going to a stale, he used Leap to increase his speed even further. Leap after leap. Scratch after scratch. They both fought fiercely. Ned had the experience of countless battles and trained by his Master, he showed its advantages.

Eventually, the pack leader ran out of stamina. With it cornered on the side, and with Howl coming to an end. Ned must end the fight. Using his rusty knife, Ned stabbed the drained pack leader. It went halfway through the pack leader's neck. The knife being worn, broke apart before it could reach the neck's vital parts. The Warg snickered.

"Not so fast." Ned then pulled the half-broken arrow on the Warg's eye. It growled and blood squirted all over Ned's face. "I bet you'll taste good if you're roasted."

But before Ned could stab the pack leader. A Butriki appeared from the woods and used its lizardy mouth to bite Ned.

Ned with still a second remaining of Howl used Leap to jump backward.

[Warning: Howl skill disengaged.]

[Predictive Combat Emulator disengaged.]

Ned's long hair started to turn back to normal, his hairy bulky body now losing its mass. Ned's body was back to ordinary.

"So you made a pact with the lizards. No wonder they were in your territory." Ned with his underpants remaining pulled his bow, the only weapon he had left. "I wonder what event made you consider making a pact with the lizards. Well, not that you understand me. There's only two of you, what made you think you'll win against me."

So that's it. The howl before was to signal the lizards. Focus! There are only two of them. Evaluate the situation. Shit! there were two of them. And I'm at my limit. Without magic my options are limited. With 3 Leaps remaining, I could still escape from here, and 6 arrows and 3 Hide more.

The Butriki that saved the pack leader appeared to be a leader too. With its yellow scale and a hair that grow on its back. And a slightly bigger buildslightly bigger, but its size was double than Ned. It then signaled the other species to show themselves.

The den that was littered with dead Wargs was now filled with lizards slowly approaching Ned.

Cutting his way, Ned had to reevaluate his strategy.

[ICE how many?]

[According to your point of view, there are 67 of them.]

67 with no Howl remaining. Ned thought. I'm really on a pin here.

Ned saw that a dead Warg was on his feet. Its chest was fully intact, which means its Core was complete too. Ned had an idea. He hurriedly used the arrow to stab open the chest and used his hands to pull the Core. Without hesitation. He ate the Core.

[Linking complete.]

Seconds later, ICE prompted.

[Sniff skill learned.]

[Sniff skill can be used 5 times. Depending on the host's constitution, sniff skill usage may increase from 5 to 7 times.]

[Sniff skill enhances the host smelling range and increases sensitivity to certain smells.]

If Ned could find a hole, he would hide in that hole right now.

This randomness! What would I do with that skill? Sniff all the lizards?

With the yellow lizard leading the charge. The ground trembled.

Ned used his six remaining arrows to shot down the first six that charged. All precisely to the lizard's neck.

He then uses hide.

The lizards stopped for a second. Then charge again towards Ned even though he's at Hide. The lizards used its tongue to locate Ned's heat signature.

Without any weapons left, Ned had to contemplate to use Overclocking. But with no way out, he had to.

"Activate Overclocking!" With the lizards closing in, Ned cried. "Activate Predictive Combat Emulator!"

[Overclocking activated.]

[Predictive Combat Emulator activated.]

Steam started to sizzle out of Ned's body. With no shirts remaining, his body slightly turned red.

With only three seconds to use Overclocking. Ned spared no time. He started to move. With a boom on his feet. He disappeared before the crowd of lizards.

Ned with only his bare hand, and in less than a second almost nine lizards lost its limbs, eyes gouged out, and blood flowed from their neck.

With Ned's body steaming, a mist was now visible on the battlefield. Encircling the lizards.

With them on the way, Ned had a hard time approaching the two leaders. Killing the two would lower the morale of these creatures. Ned juggled his memory.

[Overclocking disengaged.]

With the Overclocking finished, Ned killed almost half of the lizards. 31 lizards left, and Ned was totally exhausted. Still conscious but unable to move. Ned's body was filled with bruises and cuts and blood was dripping out of it.

Ned was now being encircled by the remaining lizards. Determined to kill him to avenge their comrades. Slowly they approached.

Then, out of nowhere, a feline jumped out of the darkness protecting Ned.

Meow!

The cat then uses lighting magic to attack one of the lizards. The cat's body buzzed of electricity and sparks flew all over the place.

It then jumped towards the crowd of lizards and attack them eagerly. But with its magic still charging, the cat had no other means of attack that could kill them.

The lizard leader was surprised to see the cat protecting the human. Together with the Warg leader, they made an alliance in order the capture the cat, because of its leaking magical Core, they thought that the cat would help them evolved if they eat it's Core. So they have been hunting the cat but none had caught it because of its swift runways. But now, right in front of them, the cat showed itself. Protecting a human.

The yellow reptile saw that the cat was now cornered and losing focus because of the number of its enemy. It then used its tail to whip the cat. Fast and heavy, the cat was thrown off straight to Ned.

Thudding on the ground, the cat was caught by Ned. "You've done well, little thieving cat."

Meow?

Unable to move, the cat licked Ned's face. Both of them are now incapable to fight. But losing hope would kill the two of them. The cat was still licking Ned's battered face. Until it accidentally licked the blood dripping from his face.

The cat felt a surge of strong energy. Surprised, the cat evolved.

Ned felt that his body was tingling, he then saw a flow of electric current surging out of the cat's body.

The cat then jumped and instantly the ground boomed. Binding light enveloped the battlefield. What Ned saw next was a tiger bigger than the Butriki leader and bigger than him. Electric current surging out of its four paws. Fur white as snow and azure eyes glaring at the lizards. The cat turned tiger, growled. Then all the current that was visible suddenly disappeared, it sipped right through the tiger's body.

The ground, trees, and even the blow of the wind were silent.

In an instant, the tiger's body let out a deafening roar.

Groar!