New Beginnings

"Being scolded by a brat, I must really be old." Leon grumbled after the system stopped giving him messages.

*ding!* [aoghwaeighfoaw FUCK YOU BASTARD!!!]

*ding!* [Never helping you ever again!! *flips the bird*]

"Good. I don't need your help." Leon replied as he finally got to see the new item he got.

'Its just what I need. I hate being wrong.' He thought as the system continued to bombard him with hate messages.

Even though it seemed like Leon was being an ass, the system was actually quite helpful to him. It provided him with very useful information and answered most questions he had about the inner workings of Universal Law that other humans, and probably even other God-like beings, could only hope to have.

It may have been annoying and try to tamper with his life more than he liked, but he might owe his life to it. Looking back, he wasn't so sure he would have been able to survive on his own in this new world.

If he had continued living the way he did without the system forcing that information into him, he might have already been killed. He definitely would have if he ran into the Deer King without things like the Cloak of Concealment or the knowledge he used to make new equipment rather than struggle with the old man-made ones.

The system continued to annoy him as Leon went over to Kona and picked her up. She snuggled up into his arms as he carried her back into his tent and laid down for the night. The little pup cuddled up closer to his side as he laid on his back staring at the pitch of the tent before turning to look at the picture hanging nearby.

His gaze softened as he looked at the memory of his wife and son before he looked down to the sleeping pup and patted her head. He continued to think of what he wanted to do in the future, now that the world was over.

Things were changing by the second and he would need to conform or die. While he wasn't afraid of death, he didn't want to die either. If given the option, he would want to live even if he was alone in the world.

He had been doing so for the last 20 years so what was 20 more, 30 more, 100 more? As he continued to think of his future, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was an old man who had lost so much, forgetting how to live.

Maybe the Universal Law was a blessing in disguise that it came to be to give him a new purpose in life. Maybe he was overthinking it again, maybe not, but he fell asleep, thinking it might not be so bad to try and aim for the strongest in the Universe.

Maybe that way he could smack some sense into the brat.

- - -

"Foooo" A pair of lips released a thin stream of steamy air slow and steady.

In the far distance, a giant mass of fat and muscle lazed about against a rock as it attempted to sunbathe in this winter wonderland. The sun reflecting off the snow was blinding, so it kept its eyes closed but opened them when it was bumped by another mass of fat and muscle.

"Raaahh!!" It growled and swatted its giant paw at the one who bumped it.

The giant paw hit the other creature hard yet barely did anything to it other than annoy.

"Raaahh!!" the creature that got hit growled back and the two began to tussle about in the snow.

While those two fought, a third mass of fat and muscle stood up on its hind legs, easily reaching over 8 feet tall. Its small, round ears moved around and its nose twitched analyzing its surroundings curiously.

"Fooo" another breath came out far from where the three bears were in the same slow and steady rhythm.

A pair of hands hardly moved a millimeter as it held something taut while a hairy face gently rested against one of the hands. The face continued to breath in and out calmly and silently while keeping itself still.

"FOOOO" another breath came out, a bit more forceful than the last few.

The standing creature's ears darted in the direction of the breath before its head followed.

*Boom!*

The two creatures that were fighting got startled from the loud noise, scrambling to get up and look around. One looked into the distance while one looked behind, only to see the third creature that was standing up, was now crumpling to the ground headless.

*ding!* [Critical Aim has been activated]

*ding!* [You have slain a level 6 Black Bear ! +48 exp gained!]

*ding!* [You have leveled up!]

The other two creatures became agitated as as they saw their brethren's blood seep into the snow. They growled and roared but they couldn't find the killer in their immediate vicinity.

"Kona." A deep, monotone voice spoke softly from the same place the breathing came from, as its hands grabbed an arrow from within the bow-mounted quiver it held.

Without answering, a quadrupedal creature dashed away, headed straight toward the two Black Bears.

*Woof!* *Woof!* <I'm right here idiots!> It began to bark as it drew near, grabbing the attention of the two bears.

The bears quickly brought their attention on this creature that willingly showed itself, roaring in intimidation before one of them was suddenly cut off.

*Boom!* Its head exploded just like the third bear before.

*ding!* [You have slain a level 6 Black Bear ! +48 exp gained!]

The bear closest to the four-legged creature turned around in shock as the explosion splashed bright red blood all over its back. Its red eyes widened in surprised before it remembered that it had an enemy right in front of it.

It could hear the paws of the creature pounding against the snow, closer than ever and wanting the advantage, made the first attack by swiping widely in its direction. The wind shook as its now glowing paw hit nothing but air, leaving it stunned for a moment as to where its prey went.

*Woof!* <Wind Blade!> A bark echoed from above the Black Bear.

It attempted to turn up to find its enemy, only to be met with an extremely sharp gust of wind that felt like physical blades striking its body hard.

"Graaahhh!!" The bear roared in pain as 4 parallel lesions formed between its shoulder and neck.

The wounds were deep as blood poured out of them quickly. It was possible an artery had been hit but the Bear didn't care, as it wouldn't have known either way. It only swiped its other paw, glowing as well, at its now airborne target.

However once again, the target vanished, but this time the bear could see that it seemed to vanish like a breeze blew it away and it was only a figment of his imagination. This frustrated it more as it roared again, only to feel searing pain on the back of its legs the next second.

The bear was forced down to all fours as it struggled to keep itself up. It tried to turn and follow its enemy but every time it attacked, the wind blew away the blurry image of a fluffy creature.

The struggle went on for about a minute more before the bear collapsed, too injured and losing too much blood. Its vision became blurry but it spotted its enemy that stood silently just out of reach of its {Swipe} skill.

Its brow knitted in anger as it looked at the majestic, fluffy wolf that was no older than a year in age. How could it, a full grown Black Bear that was level 6, be bested by a pup that had only recently stopped drinking its mother's milk?

The Bear was terrified and frustrated as the wolf began to bark at it, as if it was trying to say something.

*Woof!* *Woof!* *Woof!* <Don't underestimate your enemies, regardless of size and adorableness!> The wolf pup barked before it became the wind again and suddenly appeared on top of the Black Bear.

The bear widened its eyes as it couldn't react with that sort of speed while the wolf pup's paw glowed similarly to the bear's {Swipe} skill, only it had a more mystical power mixed in.

From such a close range, the pup was able to easily aim at the bear's neck, cutting it clean off its shoulders with the sharp blades of air.

*ding!* [Kona (F) has slain a level 5 Black Bear! You have both gained +24 exp!]

*ding!* [Your tamed monster Kona (F) has leveled up!]

Several notifications went off for both the wolf pup Kona and her master Leon as he stepped into the small clearing that was now dyed red with blood.

"Too many Wind Blades used. You could have killed it quicker than that." The old man grumbled as he tossed his bow to the side like he was throwing it away, only for it to fade out of existence before it hit the ground.

*woo* *woo* *woo* <But it was fun! You make hunting boring Master.> The wolf pup woo woo'd at her master as she sat on her hind quarters licking herself.

"Hunting isn't about fun," He retorted like he understood the animal, "Its about survival. You kill to live and you eat your prey to live or you become the food for a predator. Circle of Life."

*woo* *woo* *raa* <Circle of Boring! I don't even know what a circle is!> The wolf pup shook its head around as it rolled its eyes sarcastically.

"Check for souls." Leon ordered, ignoring the pup's attitude as he went to headless bears.

As he got closer, the smell of iron assaulted his nose, bringing up memories of his soldier days which he pushed down before chopping off the limbs in what seemed like a single swipe. Blood took awhile to leave the limbs as the swiftness in the strike left the cells in the bear's body unsure whether it was bleeding or just a trick of the 'mind.'

As the Bears bled out faster, Leon also went around to where the explosions happened. Following the trail of kicked up snow, he found arrows stuck in the ground that he pulled up and threw away similar to his bow before they disappeared.

As he was doing that, Kona scratched and bit her way through the chest cavities of all three bears, getting her pristine whitish-blue coat stained red. Searching for a similar stone to the one that was hanging around her neck like a collar, she eventually found one in the body of the first Black Bear that was killed.

As she came out, she shook her body, spraying blood everywhere and making her fur stand up but the look in her eyes said that she was ecstatic.

*woff* *woff* <Mather I ffond one!> the pup tried to bark with the stone in her mouth.

"Good. Let's go." Leon said as he took the stone and threw it in his inventory without even looking at it as he walked away.

*woo* *woo* <I did a good job. Praise me!>

"No." the old man said as he and the pup walked away.

As they did, the chopped up bodies of the bears disappeared just like how his bow and arrows did when he tossed them aside and began to fill up his inventory with new items.