The massive wolf just sat there, yawning lazily as it enjoyed the mid-day sun on its fur.
Alex observed it with hawk like intent, watching for any sudden movement. As he gazed on, the wolf lazily turned its head, and locked eyes with Alex.
A tense moment followed as the wolf stared Alex down, a look of boredom on its face. Alex could feel his heart in his throat, it had seen them, they were dead, they had no planning, no preparation, they would have to fight it here and now.
Alex's mind raced as he went through thousands of possibilities in his head.
Running? no, it's most definitely faster than us, it's a boss after all.
Hiding? No, it's already seen us, no point in hiding now.
Fight? seems like the only option as running isn't a choice, but how?
Sweat dripped down his brow and his hands began to tremble.
But the wolf simply turned away, as if disinterested, letting out a long yawn as it turned.
This caused Alex's mood to do a one eighty, no longer did he feel fear or rising tension, no, he just felt pissed. Ignore me will you, you dumb mut, let's see how apathetic you are once I tear you limb from limb and use your internals to redecorate the forest.
Nicolas grabbed Alex's arm before he threw himself into the den.
"We do not have the chance to do this with no plan" Nicolas insisted, "we go in there, we die, so we have to make sure we have at least a chance"
"It's just a game" Alex replied in a hushed whisper, "We die, so what, we, we create a new character, it's not the end of the world"
Nicolas let out a sigh of annoyance, "you might as well lop your own head off and hand it to that damned wolf on a silver platter, at least plan so you can get in a few good hits before you die"
Alex gave a begrudging shrug and moved away from the den.
"Well, let's start, no time like the presence"
-------------------------------------
After a good hour of planning, they had come up with a basic, but hopefully effective plan to put down the oversized mutt, they had no conformation on what the dog's powers where, but they could guess.
"So" Alex stated slowly, "I, deal with the big wolf, Blanc takes care of the mobs, and you do the sniping at the back, remember, you initiate the fight by taking out one of the stronger looking ones, maybe cause some panic"
"And you are sure this thing will kill?"
"Most likely"
"Right"
"You know what, let's just do this, the more we talk about this, the more things I see going wrong"
"Sure, so where is my perch again"
Alex pointed at a large tree that blanketed a small stretch of forest, "should be fine over there, take them a while to get you"
"Ah yes" Nicolas said in a monotone voice, "point the legless man to where he must go, do not help him, let him struggle"
"Fine, fine, fine" Alex muttered, placing Alex on his back and carrying him to the tree, "I get the point"
As Alex helped Nicolas up onto a sturdy branch, he purposely used his working leg to use Alex's skull to step up onto the branch.
"Thanks for the leg up" Nicolas drawled.
"Anytime" Alex said through gritted teeth.
Alex moved toward the den, muttering about what he would do once he got out of the forest.
A sharp whizzing sound alerted Alex to the commencing of the plan, a thud and a yelp told Alex that a wolf had been shot.
[Teammate Nicolas Flammel has slain a lvl 15 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
375xp awarded]
Alex found a bush near where Nicolas was sniping, and hopefully, in the path the wolves.
A minute later, another shot flew, and another wolf dropped.
[Teammate Nicolas Flammel has slain a lvl 14 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
350xp awarded]
Alex heard a rustling, and a wolf jumped over his head.
Alex grabbed the wolf by the throat and slammed it into the ground, He brought out his knife and began to stab repeatedly.
The wolf yelped and cried, lashing out at Alex and trying to bite him. The wolf's jaws clamped down on Alex's gauntleted hand, causing shockwaves to ripple through his arm.
Alex gritted his teeth in pain and slammed the wolf down harder, feeling the wolf's jaws fracture under his arm, stabbing the wolf with increased vitriol.
[You have slain a lvl 13 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
650xp awarded]
Alex wrestled his arm out of the dead wolf's mouth, snapping the wolf's jaw in the process.
suddenly, a message appeared in front of Alex.
[You have been given a new quest
Quest name: A wolf's pride
Details: The leader of the blood-red dire wolf tribe is disappointed by your lack of honour and pride, as such, the chief has offered you a chance to restore your honour, fight the pack with honour, the quest only applies to how you fight, any allies' actions will not be taken into consideration for the quest conditions
Clear conditions: Fight the pack with honour
Rewards: While fighting the pack, all xp will be doubled, once the pack is defeated, you will gain the title 'One with the honour of the crimson wolves'
Failure penalties: While fighting the pack, all xp is halved, you will gain the title 'Scorn of the wolf pack'
Do you accept]
Alex stood up from the bush he was hiding in and strode confidently toward the pack, around twenty wolves stood in-between him and the leader of the pack.
"Well," Alex muttered, "I'll play along with you"
Alex was sure he saw the boss give a little smile, but he didn't care, he would be skinning that dumb mutt all the same.
"What are you doing" Nicolas called.
"What" Alex retorted, "it's a good deal"
"No it is not"
Alex shrugged and just continued forward, "just make sure I'm covered"
"Okay your lordship" Nicolas retorted.
Alex strode confidently forward, pulling the void chain out of his inventory.
"Do you know how to use that?" Nicolas called.
"Nope" Alex answered confidently, "Doesn't seem that hard though"
Alex could hear an audible face palm, what was he so worried about, he was sure he could hit them with it.
Alex raised the chain above his head and brought it down hard.
The chain whistled through the air, creating an audible crack upon landing, however it only to hit a single wolf on its toes. Yowling in pain, the beast recoiled, but the other wolves did not flinch, and simply continued forward.
"Shit", Alex was slightly taken aback, he tried to pull back the chain, only to find a wolf had stepped on the chain, preventing Alex from retrieving the chain, "Shit"
One of the wolves leaped forward, jaws outstretched, strings of drool wiping off of its razor fangs.
Alex raised his hands involuntarily, still gripping the chain.
The wolf's jaws clamped down hard on the chain, creating a dull ringing that echoed around the woods.
In that single moment, Alex's body responded, almost involuntarily, sliding his hand further down the chain, and gripping it hard.
Within one swift motion, Alex wiped the chain around the slathering wolf's mouth, and yanked down hard.
A sickening crunch of breaking bones was let out from the wolfs jaw, accompanied by whimpers of pain.
Another crunch was heard as Alex flattened one of the wolf's legs under his boot to prevent it from retaliating with its claws. The pained whimpers made Alex feel sorry for the poor creature, so with one quick movement, he drew his dagger and rammed it through the wolf's neck, piercing its brain and killing it instantly.
[You have slain a lvl 14 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
1400xp awarded]
This time, four wolves leapt at Alex at once.
As the wolves leapt toward Alex, a light purple energy began to arc and leap off of him in a chaotic dance, small pebbles and debride on the forest floor began to move upwards, flickering in and out of existence, a faint purple barrier began to form around the point where the wolves' slobbering jaws hung open.
[Void devour]
A high-pitched screech burst into existence, and the light purple orb became a much more solid colour, obscuring all inside the globe, and then it simply flickered out of existence, revealing an empty space.
Three lifeless wolf corpses dropping limply to the forest floor, all forward momentum seemingly evaporated.
[You have slain a lvl 13 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
You have slain a lvl 12 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
You have slain a lvl 15 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
4500xp awarded]
One lucky, or unlucky, wolf had survived with the front of its snout shaved off. Alex rushed the beast and delivered a devastating uppercut its throat, snapping the creature's neck in the process.
[You have slain a lvl 13 E rank 'Blood-red dire wolf'
1300xp awarded]
At this point, the pack leader had risen from its previous, nonchalant lounge and was now staring at Alex with deadly intent.
"What" Alex taunted, "Finally taking action now that your precious pack is in danger, finnaly see me as a threat"
As the wolf approached, an arrow whizzed through the air and struck the wolf in its shoulder.
"You know" Alex shouted, not taking his eyes off of the wolf for a minute, "you usually aim for important parts when performing sneak attacks, kinnda defeats the purpose if the target survives"
"Oh shut up" Nicolas retorted, "at least I hit it"
While the two bickered, the clattering of the bolt upon the floor drew both Alex and Nicolas' attention back to wolf, the arrow had Harmlessly bounced of the wolf's skin, a bark like material retracting from the spot where the bolt had struck.
So it can create bark armour, duly noted.
"Keep the extras out of the fight" Alex hollered at Nicolas, "I'll take care of this big fucker"
"Sure, you want blanc to help?"
"Nah, your pet can be on the same duty as you"
"Yes, my lordship, this humble servant of yours merely lives to carry out your most petty of tasks"
Alex pulled the void circle out of his inventory and let it fall to the floor, as the metal disk tumble through the air, Alex calmly caught the circle with his foot and kicked his leg upwards at full force, light purple energy coursing through the metallic disk.
[Void skip]
Suddenly, the disk collapsed in on itself, vanishing, seemingly, into nothingness.
The wolf became alert, wiping its head in every direction, searching for some form of attack.
"Don't worry you dumb mutt" Alex taunted, "just remember where it is and you will be fine"
The wolf let out a low growl, daring Alex to come closer.
Alex retrieved a spy glass from his inventory, raising up to his eye so it covered the wolf from his vision, Alex hoped he was pointing it at the wolf, he couldn't really tell.
Light purple energy coursed through the spy glass, the tendrils of energy snaking over to the wolf in a fraction of a second, once the tendrils touched the wolf, its outline became hazy and unfocused.
[Spatial lock]
The wolf began to open its mouth to let out a surprised yelp, but froze half-way, becoming a freeze frame.
Alex wasted no time, dashing forward with inhuman speed.
"Release" he muttered under his breath.
The wolf continued its previous movement, jumping slightly while letting out a yelp of shock. When Alex saw the opening, he took it, light purple energy began to course through the spy glass, completely enveloping it in a light purple light.
[Void sprout]
The spyglass erupted into a writhing mass of purple wood, bursting forth like a tidal wave of bark and fiber. The horrific mass surged forward, engulfing the head of the startled wolf.
When it dispersed, a wooden muzzle made of the same purple wood was left over, clamping the wolfs jaw shut and extending to cover the poor beast's eyes, completely blinding it, Alex had even added a collar around the wolfs neck, just to add insult to injury.
"What's wrong?" Alex drawled in a mocking tone, thrusting his clawed right hand into the wolf's throat, a toxic looking purple liquid dripping from wounds, "I made this specially for you, do you not like it, after all, a rabid dog like should be properly muzzled"
As Alex was busy taunting, he only noticed too late that the woody growth had sprouted a root like appendage.
"Oh" was all he could get out before he was swatted to the side, spinning through the air like a ragdoll and smashing through two trees before finally landing in a crumpled heap against a tree a few meters away.