113 ASOIAF - Chapter 2 Part 1

AN: I am back! Took me long enough, eh? I know, I know, I'm one lazy asshole, but to be fair I was pretty busy, and I didn't have much motivation for the last 2 weeks.

To remind you of what happened in the last chapters: Aragorn, formerly Xenon, is now in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, as a wildling nobody. He saved a pretty girl called Lagertha (The hot chick from Vikings) from being raped and then probably eaten by cannibals after a gruesome fight, and now they were on their way to her tribe since he explained to her that he doesn't remember anything. After [Empower] reached the MAX level, he is now capable of using Aura thanks to his newly unlocked class: Warrior. That's pretty much it.

- Narrator -

He woke up early and resumed his meditation. It was not an easy process, and the fact that his [Aura Manipulation] was still at level 2 meant he had a long way to go. It wasn't until he heard Lagertha get up that he stopped.

"Slept well?" He asked Lagertha, who was stretching to relieve her stiff muscles, thanks to the fights and the ruff surface she had to sleep on.

"Yes." She nodded while she started setting up their next meal of the day. "We should get moving after breakfast. It would do us no good to stay here by ourselves." She's explained to him that it was rarely a good idea to move around in small groups. Large numbers would deter any predators from attacking them, and those who were dangerous to them usually attacked in packs. Aragorn nodded and proceeded to help her.

They departed briefly after, talking constantly on their journey, though their conversations consisted of mostly questions asked by the ignorant Aragorn and the knowledgeable and wise Lagertha, who had been surprisingly patient with him, something Aragorn easily made note of. He assumed it was the gratitude she felt towards him that fueled it, but he was not ready to look a gift horse in the mouth. They were walking at a moderate pace most of the time, until they came to an abrupt stop, after having heard an unusual sound. Aragorn immediately made use of his [Detect Presence], and the results did not bode well for them.

"Wolves... Three... Four... No, five of them! They're surrounding us!" He exclaimed, taking out his ax and readying his throwing knives.

* DING *

< Emergency Quest Received! >

< Title: Against The Predators. >

Description: You are a tasty meal for a pack of hungry wolves. They will do everything in their power to eat you.

Requirement: Survive the wolves' attack.

Bonus Objective #1: Kill the leader.

Bonus Objective #2: Kill 4 wolves.

————————————————————————————————

"How would you know that?!" Lagertha frowned but got ready nevertheless. Aragorn did not bother answering that question, it was neither the time nor the place for that, and he was certain the wolves wouldn't stay idle as he made up some explanation on the spot.

"Stand your ground! They'll get excited if you try to run away." Lagertha cautioned, placing her shield in front of her, her back against Aragorn's, having already disposed of their luggage, each taking about half the wolves. Though he did notice something strange about them. He'd never seen a wolf in his life except in movies and pictures, but he was pretty sure they are not supposed to be this big. One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the pack, was almost as tall as him. They were a distance away from them, eyeing them hungrily, waiting for an opportunity to strike, creeping closer and closer.

The big grey wolf hid intelligence behind those crimson red eyes, feeling a sense of dread emanating from Aragorn, whom he marked as a fellow predator... But he'd never shied away from a dangerous foe before, and in these trying times when food was scarce, he had no choice but to push himself to fight stronger foes. He grew impatient with the stalemate but did not wish to engage them himself. All that mattered in the end for him was who survived in the end, and he had every intention to live through this. If the others die, he would breed more wolves with the rest of the females, so they were all expandable for him.

He growled once, and it was all his minions needed to hear before they started jumping the two humans. Aragorn was ready for them and wasted no time making use of his knife-throwing abilities, quickly hitting the wolf at the front in the skull. The others froze momentarily at the unusual event. They've experienced bows before, but they didn't see any of them with those humans, which is the reason that made them easy prey when you factor in their insignificant number. To think that humans could also throw sharp objects that way... Though they quickly understood that the same countermeasures apply... All they had to do was dodge the flying objects.

Aragorn turned to the other side and threw another one at Lagertha's enemies to even the field for her, and since they did not expect it, it worked like a charm, as the wolf whimpered and began running away with a wounded neck. Aragorn tsked in annoyance at his lost knife, before turning to his own problems.

It was an unusual scene for him to see a couple of animals jump sideways as soon as his throwing motion is about to finish, something he did not expect, making his knife miss the mark completely, buried in the snowy ground. He quickly understood that it was no longer an option, especially since he can only risk a single throw before one of the wolves jumps at him. He summoned the knives back to his inventory.

As soon as the wolf came into range, he took a swing at him with his ax, but it backed off immediately, before jumping at him again. A peculiar scene that could also be observed with Lagertha.

"Keep scaring them off! They'll eventually back off!" She shouted at him. Little did she know she heavily underestimated their leader's motivation to fill his hungry belly. He growled angrily at his underling, prompting him to become more aggressive.

Aragorn vertically slashed at the attacking wolf, who dodged nimbly to the side, before darting toward Aragorn's leg. The latter kicked him with his other leg before he had a chance while keeping an eye on the bigger wolf waiting for an opportunity to strike. But the kicked wolf was undeterred, afraid of his leader who ordered him to attack, so he pressed on fiercely, jumping at Aragorn's throat. The latter brought down his ax with all its might, understanding the beast was adamant about killing him, hitting it straight on the shoulder, as the whimpered in pain.

The grey wolf recognized his opportunity immediately, as he instinctively dashed at Aragorn with his big stature, who could not get his ax out in time, so he abandoned it buried on an injured wolf. Aragorn was pushed back by the impact, laying on the snowy ground with the bigger wolf on top of him, who wasted no time at biting the nearest target, namely the human's arm attempting to stop his advance.

Aragorn grunted in pain but did not let it halt his movements, taking his trusty bowie out of the inventory and thrusting it in a horizontal motion at the wolf, who was alerted to the pointy object's danger immediately. He backed off momentarily, dodging the thrust knife that was now in an awkward position beneath him, making Aragorn defenseless to the wolf's advances. The grey wolf opened his giant maw, ready to bite off his throat.

Time slowed for Aragorn, who summoned the knife back to his inventory for better movement and put his whole being into pushing back the giant wolf about to tear his neck apart, but it was futile. It was bigger than him, faster than him, stronger than him. If only he still had [Empower], perhaps it would've made a difference... In a desperate attempt, he brought out all the Aura he could muster to his arms. The excessive energy wreaked havoc on his body, its chaotic nature made it uncontrollable to any novice foolish enough to try, but desperate situations call for desperate measures.

Surprisingly, he could now feel himself pushing the wolf back with more force than he expected. Yet the wolf did not relent, pushing forward as desperately as him, albeit he was losing the contest miserably now that the tables have turned. Aragorn pushed the offending wolf to the side, rolling in the snow, now on top of the beasts that scratched his body with its claws, while doing his best to bite him should the opportunity present itself.

With one hand pushing the beast's head to the ground, he brought his bowie back from his inventory as the wolf momentarily pushed forward because of the lack of effort, but his struggle was brought to an end as the materialized knife was buried in his throat whilst he could only look at the tinier human with disbelieving eyes, unable to comprehend how he lost... But surprisingly, the wolf was not resentful of dying at his hands... No... In the end, it was his fault for being weaker than the human... Recognizing his fate was set in stone, the wolf closed his eyes, embracing death in his last moments...

< 10 EXP Gained! >

< 10 EXP Gained! >

< 10 EXP Gained! >

< 20 EXP Gained! >

< You have leveled up! >

< Evaluating performance… >

* Ding *

< You are eligible for rewards! >

< Skill Gained! >

< [Aura - Enhance (Active)] LVL 1 >

Project your Aura explosively outward, providing a significant boost of strength and speed. Amplifies the user's durability when balance is achieved.

< Quest Complete: Against The Predators. >

< Reward: [Blacksmith - Mend] >

< Reward: 20 EXP >

< Bonus Reward #1: Minor Regeneration Potion >

< Bonus Reward #2: A Beginner's Guide To Alchemy >