MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

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Dito, the shape-shifting wolf, ran in fear while being chased by an incredibly perverse enemy.

Something crazy had happened in the village.

Before, there had only been demotivated and scared villagers fearing to leave their homes. They considered themselves valiant, yet they remained cooped in what they considered safe.

Little did they realize that the only reason they were even left alive was that he loved the wine that they produced. It had all started long ago from an accident, one that had left him addicted to the taste.

Everything was perfect, and it should have stayed this way. But then HE came along! HE was a hateful human who called himself a wolf hunter yet owned a tiny wolf pet!

The little creature was happily serving the man, seemingly not realizing that he was killing its brethren. How ridiculous!

Somehow, this man had managed to win over the villagers. He wasn’t even sure how he had done it either. He had just been so convincing as he had displayed his power! Dito already knew that something bad was happening back then, but he hadn’t known how to stop it.

Then their group had gone out to hunt wolves. That’s when he witnessed the man’s strength for himself. He could fight three wolves alone. How was that possible?! Even he wasn’t confident in doing it!

Then they kept going, all until they reached the limit to the village’s territory. He protested and managed to convince the others not to follow the man, but it came at a cost: the man began staring at him in suspicion.

As a wolf, he wasn’t actually that good at analyzing the humans’ facial expressions, but he was 99% sure that the man became wary of him.

As the man’s piercing eyes rested on him, he almost had a heart attack. He had to calm his nerves forcefully not to revert to his usual appearance. Transforming into a wolf meant instant death for sure!

Afterward, the scary man left toward the wolf territory, giving him a small respite. As he saw his back becoming smaller and smaller, he felt so much relief. He naively thought this would be the end of this encounter.

But then the madman came back, chased by ten brethren.

That’s when began a clash between the two groups, one that made obvious how abnormal the man was. He was so goddamn terrifying! It was just a question of time before he figured out his true nature. Then it would be too late.

He didn’t want to risk being in his presence anymore, so he resolutely chose to leave as people fought. He was supposed to leave sneakily, but then the crazy man noticed him and even attacked him!

Every hit felt like he would perish, the attacks so painful and mighty!

The pain was so intense that he completely lost control of his transformation. He knew it was all over and that he’d die! The god-like man would slaughter him!

Even as he knew this was pointless, he ran, ran, and ran some more. All until he finally realized something wonderful: the man was so damn slow! At that moment, he decided to run every time he saw the man, which he did.

That’s how he had survived until that very moment…

He was now roaming in their territory, deploring the horrifying scene. All the wolves were gone. Blood stained the ground, there were traces of the army’s passage, and the air was as still as oppressive.

He could only shudder in fright. This human really was bad news. He doubted that even she would be able to fight him, her that he had always considered invincible. He lightly and unconsciously tapped his paw against his necklace while thinking of her.

— Sigh —

The whole world was going crazy.

Humans were defeating wolves. Who would have seen such an insane reality coming?! Not him— nor anyone.

But just as he was pondering, he suddenly sensed something. Amidst the desolation and the iron smell, there floated a faint scent. What was it?!

He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but it felt like…happiness? How was this possible? He couldn’t understand it, but he unconsciously began walking toward it.

This scent was so damn alluring that he didn’t even cry upon seeing the bare and destroyed Wolf Berry bushes. It was as if this scent was what he had been searching for all his life. It was truly too hard to explain.

Then he finally found it.

Next to a cluster of bushes, a bottle was lying on the ground, looking lonely. This sure was familiar and yet strange. This was…wine?!

He couldn’t help but jump in surprise. Had it always smelled so heavenly? No, right? Or perhaps he was just missing it too much?

He carefully observed his surroundings. With every wag of his tail, he would check another time. After a few minutes, he finally relaxed: it was safe.

He slowly pieced what had happened here. There had been a fight with the bottle being dropped in the confusion. Then the humans had pursued some wolves and forgotten about the item. How lucky!

He happily approached it, grabbing it in his mouth…only for it to slip back down. Right, this was why he had adopted a human appearance in the first place.

All around him, there were bushes. If he remained low enough, no one would see him transform, right?

He had to be very careful because it took longer to go from wolf to human than the opposite. After all, reverting to one’s true form was always the easiest.

Lulled by the safety and the sweet aroma of the wine, he initiated the transformation process.

His fur started rescinding, his bones changing, his skin itching, and his claws disappearing. He was used to it by now. But suddenly, there came a rustling sound, one that sent tremors in his heart.

What was that?! The bushes were shaking! Why?!

But the cause soon revealed itself as villagers began popping out of the bushes. They had been hiding all along! As he saw them, he was instantly filled with dread.

Oh god! Oh fuck! No! Nononononono!

That’s when HE also popped out. HIM of all people! The man jumped out of the bush with a sadistic and victorious grin. Then he gave a fake pained expression.

“Hey, it almost seems as if you’ve been avoiding me lately. My feelings will get hurt at this rate!” He shook his head.

He was avoiding him! He wanted to live! That’s why he was running! Feelings, what feelings?! He was the one who wanted to cry. Why was life so cruel!

.

.

.

The Shape-Shifting Wolf began to sob as it despaired.

It would have almost looked cute if it wasn’t currently in half-wolf, half-human aberration form. It wanted nothing more than to run, but it couldn’t, not in this shape.

All that it saw was the visage of the demon. This guy was completely and utterly evil.

The Mini-Boss knew it was doomed. As it was about to perish, it extended its paw-hand toward the entrancing alcohol. It wanted to at least take a sip before it left this world. It needed to—

“Game Over!” A warm voice resounded, one that didn’t fit the cruelness of the act committed.

— SLASH!!!—

The white feather-looking blade sunk into the creature, snuffing its last breath out. Blood droplets flew in the air, landing on a devilish smiling face.

The corpse looked so anguished. It was bound never to reach that bottle it had so very much desired.

As for Jack, he was already standing atop the bloodied victim, checking for loot…

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[A/N] Hype! PRIV Mass Release Time! ??

Day 2: Spooky Scary Skeleton Tier (3/4) ???

Creator’s Thought

Sometimes I wonder about monsters. Are they feeling simulated emotions or nothing but empty husks expertly mimicking living creatures? I spent so much time in Infinite and even I can’t tell for sure. But Infinite has a way to suck you in and feel so damn real at times…