Chapter 3: Strike X Survive

The wolf had jumped to where it originally stood amongst the other two that remained. Probably feeling compelled to do so by the system. Felicia had felt a similar sensation when she had attacked the first wolf.

It was almost like a mysterious force was tugging at her until she stood where she was supposed to be. She suddenly felt another sensation, almost like someone was pulling her away. Eunice took the reins once again.

“I told you coming here was a bad idea! Look at what you did to us!”

Felicia snatched back control and the body jerked from the sudden shift. “I told you we can’t just leave someone in danger!”

The body jerked once more and Eunice took control. “We’re in danger now! Those things are gonna kill us!”

The body jerked again and Felicia took control. “Unless you want to be out here being a chew toy for these things, then sit back and let me work!”

Nothing happened for a brief moment and Felicia noticed the disturbed look on the boy’s face. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his head other than the fact he must think she’s crazy.

“You good? Cause I want to take my turn before the timer runs out...” His voice trailing off from the uncertainty of how to proceed.

Felicia, knowing there was a timer, and couldn’t think of a way to summarize what had happened to her, instead decided to respond by gesturing for him to continue.

The boy focused his attention back on the enemies in front of them and struck down the wolf closest to him.

A notification popped up just as the wolf died from the attack. “Critical Hit!”

Both wolves turned their attention to him. One after the other they both used up their turns with an attack.

“Guess I really got on their bad side. Or maybe they see me as a bigger threat.”

Felicia got her turn once again. She struck one of the wolves, but it remained standing. “Come on!” she yelled in annoyance.

The boy got his axe ready and took out the same wolf she failed to defeat. They both gained some experience points, but she gained more than him.

“I got points for that too?”

The boy shrugged. “I took it out, but you did most of the work. So it makes sense.”

The last wolf made a large notification pop up in the air above it. “Activating skill: Berserk!”

The wolf's fur became more messy and wild. It doubled in size and was foaming at the mouth.

Felicia could hear Eunice's voice in her head “<It used Berserk. That skill will improve its attack power, but have negative effects on its mind and defenses>”

Felicia braced herself for the upcoming attack, but the wolf turned its attention to the boy.

“Shoot!” he said now realizing he was the first to feel its uncontrollable wrath.

He blocked with his makeshift axe, but still took 25 points of damage. He let out a cry of pain before falling to one knee.

The wolf focused its attention on Felicia as her turn started up again. She gave the wolf an uneasy look as fear began to overwhelm her.

She took a deep breath to calm her nerves a bit before charging in and striking the wolf. She dealt a total of 25 points of damage.

“Did I get stronger?” She said in disbelief. “<I said it's defenses are weakened! But it's attack is more than enough to kill you in one shot!>” Eunice shouted in her head.

Felicia’s heart sank as the wolf got ready to finish her off.

“If only I could…?!”

“<Dodge now!” Eunice screamed out in her head.

Felicia made their body quickly move to the side and got grazed by the attack. She lost all of her HP except one point.

She fell on her bottom and looked up at the wolf in horror. “Damn, that was close…!”

The boy struggled to his feet. “Barely alive is still alive! It's too late to back down now!” He got his weapon ready. “My turn!”

He lunged and attacked, but his foe managed to dodge at the last second. The boy fell back down this time on both knees in complete defeat. Alicia struggled to stand with trembling legs. She almost fell over multiple times.

Eunice bit her lip in the mental world. “<Whatever happens next, is all up to you. Because of your actions and the circumstances of the situation all three of our lives are at stake.>”

Felicia tightly clenched the two branches in her hands.

“So in other words make this next attack count… Just so you both know, I don't regret my actions. The way I see it, there aren't enough people in the world and apparently this one too, who are willing to actually help each other. If there is a chance for all of us to get out of this okay then it was definitely worth it.”

She charged forward, getting ready to strike down her enemy. The wolf braced itself for impact but she suddenly stopped for a brief moment. Instead of swinging the branches like bats or clubs, she turned around them so the sharper end was pointed towards the wolf.

she jammed both of them into the wolf's mouth. the wolf howled in pain as the branches shattered in its jaws leaving behind many splinters. Felicia jumped back and saw the notification from the system indicating that she had done 23 points of damage.

She checked the HP marker for the wolf and noticed it still had two points left, but there was also another notification that indicated it was suffering from bleed damage. According to the system's explanation, bleed damage causes passive damage each turn to a Target.

A cocky smile formed on Felicia's face. “I end my turn.”

The wolf let out a howl as it suffered from the bleed damage. The moment it fell over and collapsed from its defeat, a sudden fog exploded out from the ground right where it landed. It smothered the entire area.

The Joint body of Felicia and Eunice fell on their back from exhaustion and the stress of the situation that they just survived. she was gasping for air but also had a smile on her face. A system notification appeared before her eyes.

“Congratulations! You have survived!”