"Damn, is it really that scary? Shit, the monsters actually eat people?"
"This is insane! There are terrifying things on the clouds—how are we supposed to survive this?"
"Thank god, I just got a blueprint for a stone sword and crafted one. It boosted my attack power by 5 points. Maybe I can fight back against the monsters."
"Looking to buy weapons! I'm willing to trade water resources!"
"Me too!"
"Stop begging who in their right mind would sell their weapons right now?"
…
The two of them stared at the chat log in silence.
Especially Charlotter's big, beautiful eyes were filled with fear.
"C-Calvin… what should we do… I don't want to die…"
Charlotte clung to Calvin's arm, sobbing.
Seeing the cute girl next to him acting all clingy, Calvin felt a bit stirred. He gently patted her head.
"Don't worry. If we really run into a monster or beast, I'll definitely…"
"You'll definitely offer yourself as a sacrifice to save me, right? Calvin, thank you! You're the best~"
Charlotte's eyes lit up as she giggled.
"Later, I'll just strip you naked and feed you to the monster…"
Calvin facepalmed.
"Get lost, you pervert!"
"Damn it, I should just 'play' with you first, then toss you to the monster!"
Calvin speechlessly pinched Charlotte's cheek.
He twisted it into all kinds of shapes.
Charlotte glared at him and started pulling on Calvin's cheeks in return.
They looked like bitter enemies locked in a fierce battle.
Both pulled with all their might, their faces turning red.
Just as Charlotte was about to say something else, a cloud drifted by in the distance.
She looked at it, nothing on top. Just a normal cloud.
So the two had to let go of each other.
After some fishing, they caught a bottle of milk and two eggs.
"Hey, Calvin, stop fooling around. It's time to eat!"
Charlotte shared an egg with Calvin.
Calvin looked at her, sitting on the platform, swinging her little feet while sipping milk. He sighed and sat beside her to eat.
Charlotte was great, really. Just way too chaotic.
And when she pulled his face, she used way too much force. Definitely not ladylike.
Although… when her small hands pinched his face… it didn't feel that bad?
After they finished eating,
Calvin pulled out the hammer he crafted.
[Hammer: +5 Attack Power]
"Maybe this hammer could actually help…"
Calvin murmured.
But in the next moment, Charlotte suddenly screamed,
"Calvin! Calvin! The wolf is coming! The wolf is coming!!"
Tears streamed down her terrified face as she quickly hid behind Calvin.
"Are you Little Red Riding Hood or something? What wolf?"
But when Calvin followed the direction she pointed, he froze.
Then he immediately ducked behind Charlotte's butt.
"Charlotte, quick! Take it down, defeat the wolf!"
"Screw you, why don't you go!?"
Just ten meters away, a grayish-blue wolf stood on a cloud, eyes locked on them.
Meanwhile, the cloud drifted closer to their platform.
Once it got close enough, the wolf might leap at them at any moment.
Calvin stopped joking around.
He stepped out from behind Charlotte and shielded her.
Usually, he'd tease her and mess around.
But when it came down to it, this was his moment to step up.
Charlotte, a useless college girl like her, had no chance against a wolf.
"Ch-Charlotte… you think I could take this wolf with a perfect slide tackle? Maybe like… a 70/30 chance?"
"You mean you die in 3 seconds and fed it with 70% full?"
Charlotte asked curiously.
Her sarcasm earned her two light slaps from Calvin.
This girl…
Can't she give a little encouragement in a critical moment?
Charlotte was secretly touched by Calvin's protective gesture.
But deep down, she knew facing this gray-blue wolf might be the end for them.
"Calvin, maybe you should check the wolf's stats, and compare them with your hammer… see if we stand a chance."
After getting slapped, Charlotte spoke more seriously.
As the cloud got closer, a notification popped up:
[Beast Cloud]
[Blue Wolf:
HP: 70
Attack: 17
Defense: 13
Speed: 19
A common beast—not too hard to deal with.]
Seeing the stats, Calvin breathed a sigh of relief.
The wolf's HP was lower than his.
With his hammer, his attack reached 14.
The rest, defense, speed was close. The wolf was faster, though.
"Maybe I can win…"
Calvin murmured.
Seeing Calvin's tense expression, Charlotte started getting nervous too.
"C-Calvin… you can do it…"
Charlotte said softly.
Calvin nodded, standing firm in front of the big-eyed girl behind him.
As the cloud inched closer to their platform,
they could clearly hear each other's heartbeat.
Charlotte swallowed hard, her eyes full of worry as she stared at Calvin's back.
Calvin… you have to win…
You can't die…
If you die…
I'll be heartbroken…
At this moment, Calvin's palms were drenched in sweat.
This wasn't a novel. It was reality.
If they were on solid ground, there would be more ways to defeat the wolf.
But this was happening on a platform!
What if the wolf used its body to knock both Calvin and Charlotte off the edge?
Calvin's mind was racing.
As the clouds drew closer, the Blue Wolf leapt onto the platform and lunged at Calvin.
Behind him, Charlotte quickly shut her eyes and crouched down.
She tried her best not to be a burden to Calvin!
There was no way she could fight. It was impossible. Her attack power was only seven.
The Blue Wolf slammed into Calvin, pinning him hard against the platform.
It opened its gaping jaws and bit deep into Calvin's shoulder. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining his clothes red.
Charlotte had been crouched on the wooden cube. Hearing the noise, she opened her eyes and the sight before her terrified her.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Calvin and the Blue Wolf, letting out a piercing scream.
"Ahhhhhh!"
At the same time, her gaze was filled with deep concern, locked firmly on Calvin, silently praying he would be okay.
Though Calvin's vision blurred from the pain, Charlotte's scream snapped him back to awareness.
Maybe it was fear of death, or maybe it was worry that Charlotte would get hurt.
He suddenly erupted with a burst of strength.
Without hesitation, Calvin raised the hammer in his right hand and smashed it down on the wolf's head with all his might.
That strike carried all his rage, as if trying to release every ounce of fear in him.
"Awwoooo!"
The Blue Wolf staggered, dazed, just as another blow from the hammer came crashing down, again and again!
Charlotte, having screamed her heart out, gathered her courage and quickly stood up, kicking hard at the wolf's belly!
Of course, with the Blue Wolf's 13-point defense, her attacks did no real damage. But she still stood by Calvin, relentlessly striking at the beast!
Each of Calvin's hammer swings only dealt one point of damage.
In five minutes, he had landed sixty or seventy blows.
Finally, overwhelmed by the two of them, the Blue Wolf let out its last breath.
Though the bite on Calvin's shoulder looked gruesome,
thanks to the game world's mechanics, the wolf had only dealt five points of actual damage.
Of course, for the sake of realism, the game included continuous blood loss, slowly ticking away more health.
Even so, Calvin still had around seventy to eighty HP left.
This was probably the game's way of helping players.
Everything was data. As long as your HP wasn't zero, you wouldn't die.
At first, Calvin thought that bite to his shoulder meant the end.
After all, the pain and trauma could easily trigger a chain reaction.
But seeing the damage was only four points,
and hearing Charlotte's desperate cries,
worrying about her safety.
Calvin chose to fight back!
Now, he realized that wild beasts were tough, but not invincible.
Of course, without the hammer,
he wouldn't have been able to break through the wolf's defense. He'd have been no match.
But then again, they were on a platform.
If it really came down to it, he could try to push the wolf off to the cube .
…
Afterward, Calvin's arm gave out, and he collapsed onto the wolf's soft fur, his face pale.
Seeing this, Charlotte panicked.
She rushed over, eyes full of worry.
"Calvin—Calvin, are you okay? You can't die on me…"
Seeing the delicate, cute, and slightly sexy girl so worried about him,
Calvin, who had planned to rest a bit, suddenly got the idea to mess with her.
He tightly gripped Charlotte's hand with his left,
"Char—Charlotte… I… I think this might be the end for me…"
He covered his shoulder with his other hand, putting on an exaggerated expression.
Hearing that,
Charlotte could no longer hold back. She threw herself into his chest, her tears, snot, and drool soaking his shirt.
Making a total mess of it.
"Uwaaah… Calvin! You're not allowed to die! I shouldn't have hidden behind you… You can't die… Calvin…"
Hearing her weep so bitterly, Calvin was a little moved.
This girl wasn't she always telling him to get lost, or go die?
Still, even though Charlotte blamed herself, Calvin knew she had tried her best.
Especially when he bashed the wolf's head. Charlotte had stood up and helped him gang up on it.
Even if her attacks were useless, it proved she wasn't just decoration.
At least not in spirit, she was afraid of the wolf, but more afraid of it hurting Calvin.
Calvin, his hand trembling, gently patted Charlotte's head.
"Charlotte… you did great…"
He patted her back, pulling her into his arms to comfort her.
"Uwaaah…"
Charlotte continued clinging to him, crying uncontrollably.
Soon,
she noticed something strange. Calvin had stopped talking, and the hand on her back had gone limp.
"Calvin! Calvin! You can't die!"
She touched his face with trembling hands, choking on her words,
"Calvin, you know… the first time I saw you, I actually…"
But the next moment, Charlotte froze.
A loud snore rang out beside her.
"Snrrr… honk… snrrr… honk…"
Hearing Calvin's snores, she stared at him, speechless.
She pulled herself out of his embrace, burning with rage, and opened the game panel to check his HP.
Since the bleeding had mostly stopped, Calvin's health was steady at over seventy,
occasionally dropping by one point due to minor bleeding,
but overall, the danger had passed.
Charlotte now understood clearly. Calvin was totally fine.
That wolf had only managed to injure him.
And yet just moments ago, Calvin had acted like he was dying, holding her like a lover, even rubbing her back…
And his hand even…
Aaaahhh! So embarrassing!
Charlotte felt like dying.
She wanted to stomp Calvin to death with her bare feet!
Still, she was glad that Calvin had fallen asleep before she blurted out her feelings.
She calmed herself down.
Though furious and ashamed more embarrassed than if she had used the toilet in front of Calvin. The fact that he was safe filled her heart with joy and relief.
"You silly…"
Charlotte sat down beside Calvin, gazing at him tenderly.
"You silly… just this once, for being so brave and cool… I'll let you off the hook."
She whispered softly, afraid to wake the sleeping Calvin.