With bated breath, Nicholas watched the dire bear stroll back into its domain.

  Thank the gods that beast is territorial—it probably won’t leave unless it needs to hunt.

  Nicholas spent some time contemplating whether he truly wanted to fight the bear for the cave.

  It would be the perfect shelter—plus, the bear would have already marked its territory, so he wouldn't have to worry about weaker beasts wandering in.

  He sighed and looked at his two companions, who sat next to him, eagerly awaiting orders.

  But by the size of that thing, I don’t think we’d win in a head-to-head fight.

  After a while, a sly smile spread across Nicholas’s face as a plan began to form.

  On my home world, if anyone saw what I’m about to do, they’d call it cruel and cowardly, he thought. Watching his two undead wolves dig a pit not far from the hill, Nicholas hacked his sword against some of the thinner trees and toppled them, creating obstacles to trip on.

  But I’m not hunting for sport—only survival. I’m sure they’d understand. I wish I did not chop Pepper's leg off, this would have been faster.

  As Nicholas watched his trusty underlings work, he noted with quiet satisfaction how they dug shallow pits at the choke points between the trees. Pepper, ever eager, loosened the soil with a swift scrape of her single paw, Stil helping ever still.

  The pits wouldn’t be deep enough to trap a creature of the bear’s size—but they didn’t need to be. A stumble, a moment’s hesitation, was all he needed. With the terrain working in his favor, he could keep striking when the bear couldn't retaliate, wearing the beast down with hit-and-run tactics.

  And continuously unleashing his necrotic bolt—a spell that would turn the tide in his favor. With a plan in motion and the groundwork laid, the coming battle felt just a little less impossible.

  All things prepared the best they could, Nicholas sends the same command to Rodrick to enter the cave.

  Rockdrick, go in the cave, bark, bark, then run back to me.

  “Pepper, you wait over there,” Nicholas said, pointing to a position behind a wide-trunked tree near one of the shallow pits, partially concealed by the trunk.

  Just like before, Rodrick ran up the hill, entered the cave, and let out his signature howl before sprinting back toward Nicholas. As before, a steady pounding echoed from within the cave—the dire bear giving chase, eager to catch the intruder.

  Rodrick reached Nicholas just as the bear appeared at the cave’s mouth once more. But this time, Nicholas issued a new command from behind the cover of a tree.

  “Rodrick, bark at the bear.”

  The bear’s eyes locked onto the wolf instantly. It began to descend the hill cautiously, closing the distance between them.

  Nicholas didn’t wait. He summoned a necrotic bolt, focused on the beast’s snout, and let the spell fly.

  The bolt struck true, landing dead center. Nicholas allowed himself a quiet moment of celebration—

  —but then the necrotic cloud dissipated, and the bear was not amused.

  With a furious roar, the dire bear challenged the intruders in its domain and charged toward Nicholas, who was peeking out from behind one of the trees.

  “Ah! Why are you so fast?!” Nicholas yelled, sprinting toward his improvised obstacle course.

  With a mental command, he sent Rodrick toward another pit and jumped over the first one himself. Slowing just enough to gauge the bear’s reaction, Nicholas launched another necrotic bolt. It struck the bear’s leg just as it stepped into the pit, sending the beast stumbling forward onto its stomach.

  “Go, Pepper, go!” Nicholas shouted, pushing the command to bite into his thoughts.

  Pepper launched herself forward, pushing off with one paw and sinking her teeth into the bear’s face. A vicious tug-of-war followed, the undead wolf trying desperately to tear loose the skin—until the bear, stronger by far, swiped with one paw and sent Pepper flying.

  Nicholas managed to fire off another necrotic bolt before the dire bear regained its footing—and the chase resumed.

  As he ran toward where Rodrick lay in wait, Nicholas quickly checked his mana core.

  Already over half depleted, he realized with a sinking feeling.

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  He mentally commanded Pepper to trail behind the bear, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

  But the bear was faster than expected—gaining ground at a terrifying pace.

  Nicholas glanced back to gauge the distance—

  —and tripped over one of his fallen logs.

  He landed hard, face-first, then onto his torso. Gritting his teeth, he rolled over, sword in hand, and pointed it at the oncoming bear. The first thing he saw was the beast’s maw, wide open and lunging for his leg.

  Nicholas screamed in pain as the bear clamped down, gnawing his calf like a chew toy.

  “Get him! Aaaaaaah!” he screamed, too overwhelmed by agony to issue clear mental commands.

  Pepper caught up and bit into the bear’s hind leg, but it didn’t stop.

  Rodrick burst from hiding, following orders—

  —but latched onto the bear’s mouth, unintentionally helping it clamp down harder on Nicholas’s leg.

  “Not there, Rodrick!” Nicholas yelled between pained screams.

  The wolf quickly adjusted, sinking its teeth into the bear’s throat instead.

  Nicholas pierced the bears face with his sword twice–the bear did not stop..

  Desperately, he poured the rest of his mana into necrotic bolts, firing them in rapid succession.

  The final bolt emptied his mana reserves—and both wolves collapsed, no longer sustained by his energy.

  “No! Shit!”

  Nicholas was alone now—but not down yet.

  Gripping his sword in a reverse grip with both hands, he drove the blade into the top of the bear’s skull—again, and again, and again. With a final crack, followed by a sickening squelch, the bear’s brains splattered across Nicholas’s lower body.

  Still in panic, Nicholas stabbed several more times until the beast finally lay still—his mangled leg still locked in its jaws.

  Panting in pain, Nicholas fell back and passed out.

  Some time later, he awoke with a groan, hissing through his teeth as pain flared in his leg. The bear was still on top of it.

  Muttering curses, he summoned his strength and pried open the creature’s mouth, finally freeing himself.

  As soon as he did, the agony overwhelmed him once more, and he collapsed backward—unconscious again.

  More time passed, and Nicholas’s eyes fluttered open to a dark sky. It took him a second to remember where he was—then he leaned forward in a panic, spotting the bear’s corpse in front of him, still as dead as he’d left it.

  He let out a long sigh of relief before checking his leg. To his surprise, the wound was now only minor. The bleeding gashes were gone, replaced by deep but manageable cuts.

  This must be the regeneration. It’s one thing reading about it, but seeing it with my own eyes...

  Nicholas slowly tested his leg, rising to his feet while avoiding putting too much weight on it.

  This should be healed by the end of the night—unless I’ve been out longer than I think.

  He checked his core level. It was over half full. Then, casting a glance at his fallen undead, he issued a simple mental command. Both Rodrick and Pepper rose to attention, awaiting orders.

  Next, he turned his attention to the bear's body.

  Something tells me the brain needs to be intact for me to reanimate it… but even if it was, I doubt I have the mana capacity. Not yet, anyway—comparing its size to the wolves, maybe after a few more levels.

  Ah—that reminds me.

  A blinking light appeared in his vision, awaiting his attention.

  You have gained a level

  You have gained a level

  You have gained +4 intelligence +2 wisdom +2 willpower +6 unspent stat points

  Spell: control dead is now lvl 2. Please choose an available upgrade

  Oh a spell upgrade?. Nicholas focuses on the notification and a list appears.

  Option 1: Greater control range, you can control your undead at further distances.

  Option 2: Greater strength, the undead you control are 10% stronger.

  Option 3: Share intellect, your undead share 10% of your intelligence stat.

  Option 4: Mana efficiency, the undead you control are 10% more mana efficient.

  Option 1’s not useful right now… and Option 4 probably isn’t either—at least not unless I start raising more mana-hungry undead. Option 2 could be nice for combat, but… sharing intelligence might be even more helpful when I finally find that goblin camp.

  Ugh. Why is this so hard? I wish I could have them all.

  He let out a heavy sigh and selected Option 3. The notification vanished.

  I don't want to think about my unspent stat points yet, i don't know enough about the system to make an informed choice.

  Turning to his undead, he gave them a command.

  “Go find me a stick.”

  They didn’t move.

  Maybe they need more information… okay, let’s try this.

  Nicholas picked up a stick from the ground and pointed to it. “Find me a stick.”

  Rodrick and Pepper both locked onto the same stick a few feet away. They stumbled over each other trying to grab it, then awkwardly carried it back in their jaws—bumping into one another the entire way. Finally, they dropped it at Nicholas’s feet.

  He palmed his face with a groan of resignation.

  “…Okay. I’m going to die here.”