Chapter 73: Thunderstorm

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Thunderstorm

The lone wolf had a scar running from the corner of its mouth to the corner of its eye. A chunk of flesh was missing from its abdomen, and a bone in its hind leg protruded slightly, clear signs of a severe injury.

A lone wolf like this was all the more ferocious. Its injuries prevented it from undertaking long-distance hunts, forcing it to hide in the tall grass. Once prey came within reach, it would almost never give up. For creatures like this, their broken bodies offered no guarantee of a successful next hunt.

If not for Vili’s shout just now, the lone wolf would not have noticed him nearby. Its eyes were fixed solely on the little white bear.

Even before Vili could warn him, Wally’s instincts screamed of danger.

The little white bear’s sleek, bright fur bristled in an instant. It shifted its body to face the oncoming lone wolf head-on.

There was no fear in its eyes, only an indescribable excitement. A faint blue light flashed in its pupils. It opened its mouth wide, revealing teeth that weren’t particularly menacing, and charged forward, swinging its claws.

In the distance, Vili had already readied his Bow and Arrow in a flash. If Wally was outmatched, the arrow would fly like a streak of light and take the lone wolf’s life.

The lone wolf hadn’t expected the bear cub to charge at it. Its movements faltered for a moment, but it chose to press forward. For this wolf, no prey could be spared.

However, just as its claws were about to descend on the little white bear, the cub leaped powerfully, displaying a jumping ability unheard of for a bear.

Wally launched himself into the air, dodging the lone wolf’s strike. He then swung his chubby little paw down toward the wolf’s snout. Just as the blow was about to land, a string of brilliant, dazzling azure sparks materialized on Wally’s paw.

The lone wolf took the full force of the blow. It let out a pained howl as arcs of electricity danced across its body.

A strong smell of burnt fur emanated from the lone wolf. Its body lay on the ground, twitching violently.

Within a few breaths, it was dead.

’So he can already control the intensity of his discharge...’

A flicker of surprise crossed Vili’s eyes. According to the law of conservation of energy, when Wally generated electricity in a localized part of his body, the Energy he consumed would certainly be less than when he electrified his entire body.

Previously, Wally had always electrified his entire body. It looked spectacular, but in a real fight, it wasted a lot of unnecessary Energy. Therefore, Wally’s current ability to generate a localized charge was a huge step forward in his use of Energy.

"Well done, Wally!"

Vili praised Wally, who promptly stuck out his pink tongue and ran back to Vili’s side, panting.

"Remember, you’re a bear, the Thunder Demigod of Freljord, not a dog. Got it?"

Vili crouched down and patted Wally’s head.

As they continued on their way, Wally became even more restless. The moment he saw small animals like wild rabbits, he would take the initiative to attack. The instincts of a High Level Hunter were beginning to emerge.

"Stop. It’s time to eat and get some of our strength back."

Vili picked up a wild rabbit that Wally had electrocuted. He followed a line of trees until he found a small stone cave concealed by boulders.

Vili gathered a few sticks and a small pile of dry twigs, then led Wally inside.

"Stay put right there..."

Vili noticed Wally was acting as if he were hyperactive, unable to stay still. He used the flint he carried to light the dry twigs, then built a simple rack. After butchering the rabbit and rinsing it with the clean water he had on him, he placed it on the makeshift grill.

Wally stared intently at the rabbit cooking over the fire, his thoughts unreadable.

He almost never ate raw food; Vilia had always fed him cooked meals. Vili had noticed this problem earlier. Wally showed no desire whatsoever to eat the animals he electrocuted.

"Here."

Before the rabbit was fully cooked, Vili cut off a piece and tossed it to Wally. He wanted Wally to start with semi-raw food and gradually get used to eating it completely raw.

Wally sniffed the still-bloody rabbit meat, a look of resistance on his face. But after sneaking a glance at Vili and seeing his serious expression, Wally steeled himself and began to tear at the meat.

His movements were slow, and he kept looking at Vili as he ate, as if eating were a chore he had to complete.

Before long, the rabbit meat was fully cooked, and Vili began to eat as well.

’The air is getting humid...’

Vili had barely taken two bites when he suddenly felt the air growing damp.

He went to the mouth of the stone cave and glanced up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to thicken, and birds that fed on flying insects were starting to fly low.

’Is it going to rain...?’

It was now past early autumn, and the wind before the rain carried a hint of a chill.

"Hm?"

Vili looked down at Wally and was surprised to see him also staring at the sky, the blue light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"Wally?"

Vili called out to Wally tentatively, and Wally responded by affectionately rubbing against his pant leg.

But after rubbing against his leg, Wally went right back to squatting and watching the sky.

’You’re something else...’

Seeing Wally in this state, Vili decided not to force him to eat the large, half-raw piece of rabbit meat that was left. He tore the cooked rabbit leg he was holding in half and placed it in front of Wally.

But to Vili’s surprise, Wally seemed to have no reaction to the cooked rabbit leg. He glanced at it, then kicked it aside.

’Is he full already?’

Vili’s brow furrowed.

The sky grew darker and darker as storm clouds rolled in from the distance. The wind outside the cave picked up, howling as it blew into the opening.

Vili could already smell the rain.

"AWOO!"

Wally, who had been staring at the sky, suddenly let out a howl, did a little hop on the spot, and began to devour the piece of semi-raw rabbit meat.

His movements were utterly savage. His claws dug into the rabbit meat as his teeth tore at it violently.

The white fur on his face was stained crimson. In that moment, it was as if his adorable, dorky exterior had been filled to the brim with a wild soul.

CRUNCH. CRUNCH.

Even the bones were ground to bits by Wally’s teeth. Bloody saliva dripped from between his jaws.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light lit up the distant sky.

It was immediately followed by a roar of thunder as the rain began to pour down in sheets.

Wally let out a great roar in his trembling, high-pitched cub’s voice and charged directly into the rain.

"Wally!"

Vili shouted, but Wally only glanced back once before continuing to spin and leap in place, as if he were on stimulants.

Vili hesitated for a moment but didn’t stop him. Wally’s behavior had been strange for a while now, as if his inner beast was slowly being awakened.

’Is it because of the lightning and thunder?’

Vili guessed that Wally was coming into contact with his Origin power.