“Can you at least tell me what the test will be about?” He pried at the girl.

  Still facing him with her back, Folvana wondered silently for a few breaths. “No, you wouldn’t be willing to do it, then,” she said, slowly losing speed before turning her head at him.

  “I’m not sure I am now that you said it,” he added, making the girl shake her head in meek annoyance.

  “Did you develop some fantasy about me hitting you? It seems that’s all you want to do right now,” she said, raising an eyebrow while staring at him. However, the man didn’t find her amusing in the slightest.

  “Maybe, I’m sure I want to land one of my attacks on you,” he replied, briskly creasing his eyebrows as she chuckled away.

  “You will need a while for that to happen. However, it’s good for you to think that. That’s why we’re here,” her voice trailed along his ears, making him deepen the brows even further.

  “What do you mean?” Lutile asked swiftly, to which she simply kept staring at him with her golden eyes. Feeling his skin tighten around the back, the man wanted to break away from her gaze, but he simply couldn’t do it.

  “You will be fighting against a wolf today, that is your test. You will have to win if you don’t want a harsher routine,” she explained with a blank face, on the verge of sternness.

  “By winning, you don’t mean-” He started speaking right after, a confused glare surrounding his face. Yet, before he could finish, she swiftly cut him off.

  “Yes, I’m sure you know what I mean,” the girl said, to which he soured harshly. Burying his eyes into the ground, as well as the sword in the scabbard around his waist, he couldn’t help but sigh.

  “Haa, I’ll try my best,” he replied, finally glancing up at the lady. Yet, seeing the light smile she garnered, shock sprouted around his face.

  “What? Why are you staring at me like that? Do I look weird?” Folvana asked suddenly, returning to the stern. Crossing her arms as well, she awaited the response with a raised eyebrow.

  “No, I was just surprised. Let’s go already,” he talked swiftly, his tongue igniting a hesitant nod from the lady.

  Having spouted the words, Lutiel once again followed her steps, at the same time trying to ease his breath as the chest became rowdy inside him. ‘It’s just a wolf, it’s not a human, okay?’ He thought to himself, clenching his jaw before reaffirming the gaze around Folvana.

  Still, the lingering feelings within hardly allowed him to focus. Before he could even know it, the surroundings had changed. “We’re here, wait a second,” the girl suddenly whispered, making his face flinch as they stood behind a tree able to veil their figures.

  She quickly leaned to the right, Lutiel doing the same. Immediately, the man stared ahead with solemn eyes, a beast reverberating within his eyes.

  Long strands of silvery grey coated its body fully, its mouth tainted bright red as the wolf kept its jaw working around the mauled corpse of what only resembled a rabbit. Looking down at the corpse intently with its bark-shaded eyes, the large, lone wolf steadily devoured the prey.

  Yet, the man that kept sight of his potential opponent suddenly staggered through the space, soundly announcing his presence to the wary beast. Immediately, Lutiel glared back, searching for the girl that pushed him.

  Nowhere to be seen however, he could only sigh, turning to see the wolf lowering its body whilst tensing the jaws. Its muzzle wrinkled and eyes opened wide, the animal stayed still only for a moment, taking gingerly steps towards the man right away.

  Breathing out louder than usual, the man moved his hands to the side, swiftly catching hold of his weapon. Unsheathing the sword, a meek shine fell upon the two. While the wolf slowly approached the human, baring its teeth, Lutiel took on a stance of his own.

  Lowering his legs like usual, rather than pointing the sword behind him, he held his arms firmly around the right hip, the blade’s tip blaring directly at the wolf’s mouth.

  Regardless, the animal didn’t hesitate in its moves at all. ‘Of course. You must be hungry, huh?’ The man thought to himself, staring at the beast’s slightly protruding ribs along the emaciated body, however, his stance didn’t waver.

  He also walked through the forest’s rough terrain, making sure not to stagger about on the soil. Yet, seeing as the wolf got closer and closer to him, Lutiel’s heart couldn’t help but reverberate its cries.

  The beast lurched forward suddenly, the man failing to respond immediately. Nonetheless, the beast practically invited itself to the man’s weapon, the eyes moving directly in the sword’s path.

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  Through dubious thoughts, however, Lutiel failed to arrive in time, only grazing the wolf’s cheek before a faint stream of crimson flowed down the gray hairs. Whimpering momentarily as it jumped back, the eyes descended in fury.

  Growling and immediately running at the man, the animal jumped to the side vehemently, evading the painful metal and jumping once again, this time right at the human. “Ugh,” albeit groaning as he had to move away too abruptly, the jaws couldn’t reach his flesh.

  Still, he couldn’t afford to think. The fur flashed in his eyes, its sharp teeth glaring their presence whilst ready to bite down for the sweet blood. Putting the blade in their way swiftly, Lutiel made the beast bite the metal down.

  Wails filled the area anew, but he didn’t follow in with his attacks. He simply stayed there, his stance readied, yet he did nothing to attack the beast. He waited incessantly, watching as the enraged animal growled deeply before running at him for the third time.

  Deepening his glare around the wolf’s limbs, Lutiel moved to the side as a failed attempt couldn’t reach the wounded cheek. Dodging the ferocious teeth, he could have swung down to the side, however, he hesitated once again.

  ‘Damn it!’ Exclaiming internally, the blade pointed its sharpness at the ground, successfully blocking the beast’s pounce.

  Or rather, he thought he did. Briskly changing directions, the wolf headed for his left leg, making him panic in response. With a sudden move to the right within his stance, his eyes hadn’t scoured the ground.

  Hitting a root beside him, Lutiel stumbled through the space. “ARGHH!” His scream bellowed throughout the forest, reaching every creature scattered throughout before they flew away. Glancing down to witness his ankle engulfed in the maw of the wolf, blood glided along the yellowish canines before the beast started to shake its head.

  Feeling the teeth pervading deeply through his flesh, Lutiel swiftly kicked his right leg, thrusting at the wolf’s neck.

  Immediately, the beast let off, but not without pulling away some of the skin and the fabric. Rolling around through the forest at his strength, the animal only stopped as a tree stood in its way, whimpering when its ribs hit the tough trunk.

  “UGH! Ugh! Fuck!” Cursing as he saw the deep grooves pool with dark red blood swiftly, he touched the bottom of his calf gently, once again groaning as he did it.

  Supporting himself with the sword, Lutiel slowly stood up. His stance could no longer keep the same, limping and squealing from the sensations. Putting too much weight on the leg made him stop whatsoever, so he solely relied on the right one.

  ‘Come on, just do it already. I can’t keep having Raeyine waste her powers on me,’ he said to himself, seeing as the wolf once again raised its head to scour through its surroundings. Despite limping slightly however, it swiftly regained its nimbleness, already running at the man with a clenched jaw.

  Jumping at the human straight on, he finally tensed his arms freely, slashing away at the muzzle. Cutting through it with utter ease, the wolf fell down, getting away before sobbing through howling whimpers. Blood dripped swiftly from the halved nose, but it still wasn’t enough for it to stop. Wrinkling the dark, glistening skin even further, it ran through the space yet again.

  But, the man was able to land another slash. Grazing along the wolf’s torso, his blade garnered blood on the cusp of its edges, promptly cutting through the air as Lutiel pulled the sword back.

  Seeing the opportunity, despite the lingering pain that radiated through its body, the wolf jumped at the man, easily grabbing the forearm before doing the same as it did with the ankle.

  “AAAGHHH!” Lutiel screamed anew, feeling the wolf pull and jerk away at his flesh. Letting go off the sword with his right, he swiftly pierced the sword through the animal’s stomach, clenching his face. With angered brows, he slashed to the side, feeling as the tense jaws gradually abated.

  The wolf, roughly as long as his height, fell down on its side, breathing harshly as the blood spilled away down to the ground. With its stomach cut open, the organs inside were nothing but destroyed. Finally lowering his sight at what he had caused, the man stared at its chest, heaving up and down intermittently.

  The mouth whimpered through whispers, respiring poorly in its state. Shutting his lips before looking at the beast, Lutiel walked gingerly, soon standing over the wolf. Raising his sword, it hovered over the heart, almost touching the fur.

  However, despite lingering around the area, he simply remained there, watching as the animal stared at him with hateful eyes, still alive.

  “Just kill it. You’re only prolonging its torture,” a voice from the back suddenly met his figure, swiftly intensifying the whimpers from below. Heeding the advice, although he still needed a couple of breaths, Lutiel finally pushed the blade down, hearing a heightened whine before the light in its eyes died out. The head falling lifelessly to the ground after a few moments, the wolf no longer replied, making Lutiel stare at it as though in a daze.

  Parting his lips whilst watching the blood that stained the fur more and more, only to pool around the grass, he couldn’t help but sway back. Losing grip of his sword, he quickly fell to his knees, staring at the floor of the forest before fully parting his mouth.

  Gruesome noises reverberated through the place as he emptied his stomach, the girl on the side watching attentively. “It’s going to take a while, but at least you’re moving forward,” she said to the man, but he didn’t listen whatsoever. Taken over by the barf to the hilt, his only reaction was to vomit continuously.

  Still, there was a limit his stomach had imposed. Groaning and gasping at the sudden need of a fresh breath, he swiftly spat out the lingering substance along his throat. Smearing his lips away with the clean side of the jacket, Lutiel raised himself, supporting the hands on the knees whilst his breath calmed itself slowly.

  After he stayed that way for a few moments did his face finally sour. Staring at the puke with creased eyebrows, he quickly got away from the scene, turning back to Folvana instead. “Was it so bad?” She asked suddenly, but the man didn’t reply.

  Glancing into the golden eyes of hers for a while, his silence scattered throughout the forest. With leisurely pace, he finally started walking towards the animal’s carcass. Despite faltering from every step he put pressure onto the tattered ankle, he still got there in the end.

  Firstly, with a deep inhale, he grasped the sword’s pommel before pulling it out from the body, lightly cleansing it through his pants before sheathing the blade away. Staring down for a few more breaths and fighting the guttural urges coming from deep within him, Lutiel’s lips finally broke away.