Chapter 4 – First Battle

The ferocious hound lunged forward at them with its jaws wide open. Its movements were very agile and unpredictable.

Griffin and Isabella immediately dodged to the side, letting the ferocious hound rush forward just like that. The dog stopped, then turned and looked at the two of them.

"What should we do now?" Griffin asked.

"Distract its, I'll try to overcome it using my skills."

"Hey, you're kidding right? You want me to be the bait of such a big monster?"

Isabella ran away in response. It seemed that she really wanted Griffin to be bait.

"This is crazy!"

Griffin looked the Ferocious Hound straight in the eye.

"Get over here!" Griffin shouted very loudly, then quickly ran away before being chased.

Provoked by the sound, the Ferocious hound quickly chased after Grifffin. As before, its large and agile body quickly brought the two of them closer together.

"Damn, how can he move so agilely?"

The tall trees around were not an obstacle for the Ferocious hound at all, it could quickly dodge to and fro with his swift feet.

"In this state it will catch me immediately."

Feeling that he had no other choice, Griffin stopped running and faced back. He looked directly at the ferocious hound that was approaching him very quickly.

Griffin gripped the sword in his hand tightly. He knew it was risky, but his entire life had been a life-and-death battle, so doing crazy things was normal for him.

When the Ferocious hound got very close, Griffn dashed forward towards the dog in front of him.

The ferocious hound opened its mouth wide, preparing to eat the food that was running straight in front of it. But all it got was empty air.

In the moment before the sharp teeth hit him, Griffin ducked under the ferocious hound's belly, between the monster's furry legs.

He swiftly slashed at the monster's left hind leg, causing blood to hit his sword and the ground.

The ferocious hound that received the attack roared loudly.

Griffin's plan worked, with this the monster's movement could at least be reduced. In the first place the problem was this creature's nimble movement, so the wound on its leg would certainly have a huge impact.

But the problem is now, the distance between the two of them has become too close. The furious ferocious hound was right before his eyes.

The ferocious hound rushed forward trying to bite the boy in front of him. Meanwhile Griffin had prepared his sword to face this monster.

"Ice Control"

The monster's mouth stopped right in Griffin's face. The long fangs moved to reach the man, but did not reach him.

"Why did it suddenly stop?" Griffin stared in surprise.

When he looked down, apparently this monster's feet were stuck and couldn't get off the ground. The reason is because there is a layer of ice that holds the monster's legs.

"How could that be? But there was nothing there."

Isabella ran from the side.

"What are you doing? Quickly attack him!" Isabella shouted at him.

Griffin immediately realized that now wasn't the time to think about that. He held his sword tightly and slashed at this dog's head.

A pretty strong slash, but unfortunately only scratched the ferocious hound. When the tip of Griffin's sword hit the monster's head, it immediately backed its head and reduced the effect of the damage it received.

Griffin readied his sword and attempted to slash once more.

Brak

The layer of ice on the ferocious hound's feet suddenly shattered, its legs immediately moved freely and kicked straight at Griffin.

Receiving the attack, Griffin was blown away several meters.

The ferocious hound had intended to directly eat the defenseless Griffin, but Isabella suddenly appeared and slashed from the side.

Although her hands were small and delicate, her slash managed to make a very large wound line on the ferocious hound's stomach.

As the ferocious hound groaned in pain, Isabella nimbly jumped up on top of the monster's neck.

"Ice control"

Isabella took out the skill earlier. Her hand emitted a very cold white smoke.

The moment her hand touched the ferocious hound's neck, it instantly spewed out thick ice that ran down its back. Causing the monster to be in more pain because of the cold layer on its body.

Griffin who was originally falling, saw what just happened. This woman's fighting ability is truly extraordinary. And for the glacier just now, Griffin could deduce that it was a skill.

Then he suddenly remembered, he also had one skill called "flame sword" in the skill list he just saw. But the problem is he doesn't know how to activate it.

Griffin tried to pronounce the word "flame word" in his mind.

[You activated the skill "Flame Sword" Level 1]

[20 mana points used every minute]

The sword in Griffin's hand suddenly let out a hot flame. Even though it was hot, Griffin didn't think this fire was dangerous, at least to himself. The flames also moved normally, as if wrapping the entire blade neatly and perfectly. The light produced looks so beautiful, that anyone will be amazed when they first see it.

While Griffin was busy activating his skills, the ferocious hound went berserk by smashing its body against the surrounding trees, wanting to crush the ice cold on its body that way.

Isabella, who was still on the ferocious hound, swayed along. She jumped down while the monster was running around incoherently.

But what she didn't expect, the ferocious hound suddenly bit her when Isabella had just come down. Her entire left hand was pierced by long, knife-like teeth. It made Isabella feel such excruciating pain.

"Isabella!"

Griffin immediately dashed forward. He swung his sword at the monster's head.

Seeing that there was a flaming sword aimed at it, the ferocious hound had no other choice. It let go of its bite and backed away before the sword hit it.

Isabella sat on the ground in pain. Her blood kept pouring out.

"Are you ok?" Griffin asked while watching the ferocious hound.

"I can still stand it. What about you?" Isabella answered while enduring the pain.

"Well, at least no broken ribs."

The ferocious hound looked intently at the two of them. It wanted to attack now, but it seemed the monster was still trying to crush the ice on its body before eating them both. Its head and body continued to move making the ice made by Isabella thinner.

"How about now?" Griffin asked.

Isabella thought for a while breathlessly. Her face was also pale indicating that her condition was not good enough to fight. When she saw Griffin's sword filled with flames, she could tell that Griffin had activated one of the skills.

"I won't be able to fight properly now. While my mana was running low, I'd roughly be able to issue one more hit at the monster, but definitely wouldn't be able to kill it. Can you handle it yourself?"

Griffin thought for a moment.

"Can you use your magic to close its eyes for a while?"

Isabella was shocked when she heard the question.

"You want me to close its eyes instead of attacking it?"

Griffin nodded in response.

"I can do that, but how are you going to deal with it like that?"

Griffin smiled. "Don't worry, I know how to deal with it."

Isabella sighed. It seemed that this time she had to entrust her life to the man she had only met an hour ago.

"Well, I hope you know what you have to do."

Griffin started to get ready. At the same time, the ferocious hound had crushed all the ice on its body. Now it could freely attack the two of them.

The two of them stared at each other for a second, until both of them suddenly advanced at the same time.

Griffin gripped his sword shrouded in flames, preparing to slash forward.

As the two of them got close enough, Griffin swung his sword forward. His hands that were used to holding the sword became very fast.

It was just that the much more agile ferocious hound managed to dodge it. Even though the fire had just hit its head, it wasn't fatal.

The ferocious hound immediately turned its mouth to bite Griffin.

Klang

Griffin held back the teeth of the monster with his sword. He was slowly pushed back due to the huge difference in strength.

"Now!" Griffin shouted loudly.

Isabella pointed her hand forward.

"To the wind, I give my mana as an offering to make this area my territory."

After Isabella said those words, the area was covered by a white mist.

Griffin who was still facing the ferocious hound immediately dodged to the side.

The monster lost track of Griffin. Its vision was obscured by the mist around. A chill ran through its body, making it unable to sense other creatures around.

Meanwhile, Griffin is hiding somewhere. He was waiting for the right time to launch an attack.

Isabella who cast magic just now couldn't look around either. This lonely condition made her a little worried. If Griffin didn't finish off the ferocious hound soon, things would get serious for both of them.

A minute later, the mist around them began to dissipate. Isabella had run out of mana.

Her eyes stared ahead, wanting to see what had happened. But when the fog dissipated completely, all that could be seen was the ferocious hound that was still fine. While Griffin is nowhere to be found.

Isabella started to panic.

"Don't tell me he ran away." Isabella thought of the worst.

The ferocious hound saw Isabella in a helpless state, a fine meal that was very easy to obtain.

Without warning, the monster charged forward towards Isabella.

"Damn!"

Isabella held her sword tightly. Even though she knew, with her one arm unusable and out of mana, it would be impossible to defeat this monster.

"Gotcha."

Griffin jumped from the tree.

[You activated the skill "Flame Sword" Level 1]

SRAT

In a single slash, the ferocious hound's neck was instantly separated from its body. The big monster just lay on the ground, a sign that it was dead.

Previously, when the fog still filled the place, Griffin turned off his skill and climbed the tree that was near Isabella. He knew when this mist cleared, the ferocious hound would attack the defenseless Isabella. As the monster approached, it was not difficult to cut its neck after activating the 'flame sword'.

Isabella smiled at the arrival of Griffin. Fortunately this man is not one to leave friends alone. Otherwise, Isabella would definitely become the lunch of this beast.

"Thank you"

Griffin couldn't hear the words, his consciousness slowly fading away.

"Hey, are you all right?" Isabella asked when she saw Griffin. The man couldn't even stand up properly right now.

Griffin felt his head slightly dizzy. Suddenly his vision became blurry.

[You experience side effects from overusing fire skills in the first use]

[Vitality points are still low to withstand side effects]

Griffin's vision darkened completely. He fainted and lay on the ground.