Elegy For An Epilogue

With an annoyed sigh, Cecillia walked over and began preparing the deer’s carcass. She kept a watchful eye on the wolf while she cut through its flesh. Of course she was always ready to run as the wolves back on Earth were said to be creatures belonging to a pack, but the one in front of her didn’t call for any help or nothing. It was certainly a strange behavior, and she expected the creature to at least fight back before it would inevitably die.

Thinking to herself, Cecillia stared at the wolf and narrowed her eyes. Perhaps this guy was an introvert and didn’t get along with the others.

“What am I thinking,” she mumbled.

Once the skin was removed, she set it aside and retrieved some sticks nearby to start the fire. She wasn’t afraid of the wolf as she had dealt a fatal wound, but she made sure to always keep its body within her sightline. That skill she knew the wolf had—it was always best to be cautious.

After portioning the meat, Cecillia continued to stoke the fire as the kindling charcoal grew to a small blaze. She skewered several pieces on the wooden sticks, and held it over the fire. It wouldn’t be tasty without any seasonings, but she was thankful for the food nevertheless.

The fire crackled and the warm heat washed over her as tiny embers danced in the breeze of the night. The chirping of the crickets along with the occasional hoots of owls sounded over the faint backdrop of the little stream. As for the wolf's whimpers and whines, Cecillia had long drowned out the sound.

She sighed softly, leaning back as her head tilted to the sky. The stars reminded her of Earth, while the two moons made it clear that she was in another world.

She reached out with a hand, touching the outline of the twinkling stars as she wondered whether her planet Earth was still out there somewhere. Even if she despised the people, she wasn’t outright cruel, there was still one man…

A bitter smile appeared on her lips, the person she remembered was entirely gone. After what had happened it was understandable. She knew that man had felt it too, an emotion that cannot be described with any sentence, maybe even more so than her. And there was the fact that she didn’t know if time flowed differently. The planet could’ve fallen already, and her entire past would be gone along with it. Still though, she hoped that Earth could prevail against the Nightmare Legion, and maybe they could even be reunited as a family again one day…

“Good luck, Dad. I hope to see you, Mom and Alice soon.”

Her whispers rang out in the night like a silent wish. It wasn’t necessarily what her mind wanted to say, instead it were the words of her heart.

The crackling fire interrupted her thoughts and she smiled. By now, those skewers should’ve been finished cooking and were ready to eat. Picking up one of the skewers she brought it to her face and blew away the steam. Cecillia’s mouth watered as she breathed in the savory smell before taking a small bite.

Despite not having any salt or any spices like that, Cecillia was met with satisfaction. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she hastily shoved the rest of the skewer down her throat.

“Man that’s good,” she muttered.

The juices of the meat dripped down her chin and she wiped it away with the hem of her blouse. It had been a long while since she had eaten anything close to meat. Even if the texture was tough, and the taste was bland, it was far better than any of the artificial food Earth had to offer in its last moments.

“Can’t beat meat.”

As Cecillia sat back and relaxed with her skewers, her mind began to wander. The atmosphere with the food was nice and all, but she figured that she had to be more proactive with her time. Mumbling, she placed a finger on her lips and frowned before opening up her status screen.

Name: Cecillia Black

Class I: Cryomancer

Class II: Locked

Job/s: 1

Level: 0

Status:

Afflictions: Mana Corruption, Divine Seal (XX)

Health: 125/130

Mana: -/-

Stamina: 98/100

Attributes:

Available stat-points: 0

Strength: 10

Constitution: 13

Endurance: 10

Agility: 17

Wisdom: 18

Intelligence: 22

Soul: 0

Skills:

-Active: Identify

Glean the basic information of any creature, construct or environment within direct line of sight.

Limited to: 50 m

-Passive: Elysian Standard Language

You can speak Elysian fluently.

Class Skills: [Collapsed]

As expected, inhabiting her sister’s body caused the predisposition of her stats to be in an overwhelming favor of the attributes of a mage. Her strength and endurance were lacking while her most prominent stats could not be used at all. The distribution caused a sour taste to melt in her mouth but it wasn’t all too bad. At least she had a decently high agility going for her, which fortunately matched with her fighting style and current weapon. She assumed that it wouldn’t matter later on, but for now when her only combat class was locked.

It was a cruel curse indeed.

Continuing to scroll through and confirm everything within her status page, she came across something odd and let out a small gasp.

“Eh? That’s new.”

Cecillia saw a new tab beneath the classes, something that wasn’t in this strange thing earlier.

“Job? How come I didn’t—”

[Job has been Accepted]

[Job Obtained: Cook]

[Cook Level 1!]

[Skill - Sizzle has been obtained!]

There it was, the notifications that she should’ve seen earlier had she not been so immersed with the taste of the skewers.

“This is very interesting,” she mumbled, blinking as her eyes scanned the page. The job menu had an entirely different section for itself and was quite small compared to the rest of the status. But Cecillia thought it was something really special. The ‘Cook’ job wasn’t what really mattered to her, no, it was the possibility of obtaining more jobs.

Cecillia could see she had two more slots that were empty, and she figured that it could be replacable based on the primary feeling that she could. The idea that she could become a master in multiple fields was jarring. So many opportunities had just been opened up to her, the people back on earth would kill for something like this. The ability to be like a novel character—

‘Isn’t this a ripoff?’

Cecillia shook her head, that was what wasn’t important. She already came to the realization that classes were for combative growth, and occupied the major section of the status menu. However, life wasn’t really all about fighting wasn’t it? In this world where the law of survival of the fittest took precedence, other people still had to fill in the other roles. Without it, there would be no social structure and all that would exist was endless bloodshed.

Certainly in this world it was a possibility, but with news that human civilisation was nearby, that theory was already out the window.

“Now maybe I can do something about that annoying guy,” Cecilia said with a growing grin.

Her face was cast under a shadow and the wolf felt a shiver run down its spine. The creature must’ve enjoyed its life being the hunter, but now, it was time for the predator to become the prey.

Cecillia grabbed three of the skewers with a hand, the dagger of precaution in the other and approached the wolf. Its head and eyes turned to follow her movement, twitching with every step she used to advance. When she was just five paces away, it released a low growl and bared its fangs. Cecillia only smiled, the fear flickering in its eyes and its rigid movements told her that the wolf had already acknowledged its fate. Now, it was only acting on a thread of hope that it could survive.

She glanced at the wound on its abdomen, a faint shock running through her being as she examined the flesh. A frown appeared on her face and she took a step back in caution.

“Unreal, that’s just, really not fair.”

She stared at the wolf in disbelief as she peered past its limbs. The wound she had inflicted just hours earlier had healed a considerable amount, maybe almost thirty percent. The gash that had once been overflowing with blood had dried, and the clotting had formed a large scab around its fur.

Cecilia released a groan, she had been wanting to wait for the morning where the wolf would’ve inevitably bled out. She just didn’t take into account that it might’ve had any regenerative abilities. Well, what kind of crazy person would be so pessimistic.

Regardless, it would now pose a significant threat to her life. She didn’t have any sure way of disposing of the creature, getting close was an impossible task, finishing it off on the other hand wasn’t an option. Thus, she made a mental note for the future, it was to always expect the unexpected.

Cecillia looked over her shoulder at the deer’s carcass and then back at the wolf. She wouldn’t be able to protect her food once it fully healed, and even sleeping was made into a difficult task.

“All cus this damn dog,” she cursed.

Well, at least there was one option left and she was praying that it would work. Cecillia approached the wolf with another step and made a mental line within the dirt. She wouldn’t cross this line no matter what as the creature could very well just leap out at her. But this distance, four steps away, she trusted herself to that extent.

Waving the skewer in front of her, the wolf released another continual growl, this time with more power and maybe even with a hidden threat. Though, Cecillia didn’t miss the twitching of one of its two tails. She could see its eyes following the skewer’s movement as she waved the meat in the air.

‘Come on, bite the bait.’

The wolf’s growl grew louder and Cecillia knew that she couldn’t act rashly. What she had to do was showcase her superiority over the mutt, and that was the only way this could end well. Grinning, she brought the skewer to her face and opened her mouth wide. The savory juices dripped to the ground in front of the wolf and its growling subsided considerably. The creature’s twin tails started to wag in unison and its tongue lolled out of its mouth. Saliva leaked out of its open maw and Cecillia thought the creature looked like a puppy at that moment.

[You are attempting to tame a creature six levels higher than you.]

‘Seems like it’s working.’

Cecillia’s eyes gleamed and she carefully moved her arm forward. The wolf’s gaze was locked on the skewer, its growls now turning into weak, sharp whimpers. She could see the hunger and desperation in her eyes, and at this close of a distance, she just noticed how skinny its body was.

[You are trying to tame a creature six levels higher than you.]

“Easy now little puppy,” Cecillia whispered as she inched even closer.

The wolf’s ears perked up and its whimpers grew more insistent. The wariness within its movements was still there, but Cecillia saw through the cracks. Even if it seemed to be torn between its instincts to attack and its desire for food, the wolf didn’t even make the slightest movement. All humans had a breaking point, wouldn’t it be fitting if a simple wolf had one as well?

The wolf sniffed the air as it extended its snout, and it hesitantly moved forward. Cecillia paused, now it was the easy part, playing the waiting game. Her form was like a statue as she simply held out the skewer, no emotion was on her face as she became one of the actors that made up the forest.

The twin-tailed wolf moved again, its steps causing the creature to wince from its wound, but the prospect of eating reduced its rationality. It inched closer, just a few centimeters away before taking a small, uncertain nibble. Seeing as Cecillia did not move, it acted with more courage this time. Again it went forward and took another small nibble, except this time the nibble was a bite.

Cecillia inwardly smiled, the sight was honestly pretty cute. She wasn’t great with animals on Earth, but she could see why people cared so much about their pets.

And there it was, the moment she had been waiting for. As the wolf took its final bite, cleaning the entire stick of meat, a flash of words appeared before her eyes.

[The Twin-Tailed Wolf wants to create a contract with you.]