The Madaya pack had its own ranking. Excluding the Alpha, his sons, and his Luna. The high-ranked wolves were the highest. They were either blessed with stronger physical abilities, or they came from a family of mighty wolves. The middle-ranked, however, were the ones who stood below the high-ranked. They were the wolves classified as average. Wolves who were neither fortunate nor unfortunate. Wolves whose abilities were good, but not extreme. And lastly, the low-ranked. The weakest among the ranking. The most depreciated. Wolves who were low-ranked were commonly designed to be on the defensive guard. Since they wouldn't be able to help much in an actual war, their numbers were used to support the high-ranked and middle-ranked.
Back in the day, there were at least six rankings that existed to differ between each of the wolves. The Alpha. Beta. Gamma. Epsilon. Zeta. Omega. It was the wolves' original ranking, not just in the Mandaya pack, but for other packs as well. But it was only until one thousand and five hundred years ago. In the long run, the new age had come and nature called for a change. Thus, the six rankings became three.
"Don't get yourself killed, young Miss." Amon let out a grin, teasing Hanan who was just about to enter the zone where she was supposed to fight the opponent Bathala had chosen.
If it was any consolation, since the Beta, Gamma, and Episilon had joined hands, it bred for an even stronger wolves. The high-ranked wolves the Mandaya pack had today were wolves whose strength was incomparable. Some were unanticipatedly tricky, and good in weapons. In fact, Bathala's group right now was a compilation of Beta, Gamma, and Epsilon. Except they were stronger and more invincible.
It made Hanan wonder what kind of tough wolf her opponent would be. Since Bathala was extremely careful and picky in choosing his wolves, the one he selected must be powerful. His right hand, perhaps?
Hanan lifted her brow, ignoring Amon's taunt. She turned her back towards the opposite direction, to get a better skim to the dungeon. In general, it was wide. Though she still hadn't crossed the gate, which served as both the boundary and the barrier, she could clearly tell what it was for.
With the open space just in front of the gate, dry blood on the floor, and an axe ingrained on the wall, Hanan figured out the underground dungeon was one of the zones Bathala had built for training purposes. And now, it will once again serve him.
As if on her own cue, Hanan started walking towards the gate. Her hands went up to comb her long blonde hair with her fingers, before tying it to a messy bun. She didn't even wear a hair tie. Afterwards, instead of changing her clothes, not like she could, since there was no woman on Bathala's turf, Hanan ripped off the sleeve of the dress she was wearing. She leaned down, and pulled the hem to tear the bottom part of her cloth. Hanan considered it a hindrance. Had it not been for a fact that she was meeting the Councils and the other Governor General— supposedly, she wouldn't have dressed herself like this.
"You didn't have to tear it, Hanan." A familiar cold voice from her back spoke. "You're free to transform into your wolf form."
Hanan threw the torn pieces of her white dress to the ground. "I'm not going to."
Though the wolves have more access to their abilities when they were in their wolf form, Hanan wasn't going to, today. Not only did she want to provoke the enemy, but Hanan was more comfortable fighting in her human form. She believed it allowed her to move more freely. Though she wouldn't be as strong as she was in her wolf form, she was convinced she could still win this one.
Hanan's eyes wondered inside as she walked passed the gate. Engrossed with the dungeon's details, she did not even look back, even when she heard the gate closed. An indication that she can no longer go back, unless she win.
"Camper is already in one of the passage ways, young Miss. No rules. Unless one of you surrenders, the fight will not end." Amon informed her from outside the gate. "Camper is Bathala's strongest warrior. Be careful."
Hanan gave no response. She continued to trudge in, tracing the carved drawings on the wall with her cerulean eyes. Her posture showed no signs of alertness. Nor was she looking in one of the passage ways that Camper may appeared from. She was rather calm, despite Amon's warning.
Hanan's silence and composed behavior piqued both Amon and Bathala's interest. They felt invested. On the outside, Hanan was naturally acting her age. Curious of many things. Friendly. Bold. She didn't seem to be the same person the rumors about her imply. At the same time, they actually had never seen Hanan's fighting skills. They had only ever known her by the wolves' hearsay.
But looking at her now made them feel impatient. Who was Hanan, and what could she do? Was she really capable? Was her sheer abilities and physical strength the reason she managed to climb up the rank? What was she made of? Was she really strong enough to be a governor general, or….
The intense atmosphere in the underground dungeon was heightened when a growl echoed. In one swift move, Camper, who was in his wolf form, jumped with speed and precision from the second passage on Hanan's left. But though Camper's presence wasn't sensed by the sound he made, Hanan was able to move in time.
Snarling, Camper showed his canines. He stood in front of Hanan, who was, by size, inferior to him. He tried to overwhelm her by going forward, not considering the fact that she was also a high-ranked wolf, with big steps. But Hanan wasn't showing any signs of vigilance.
Subtly insulted by fighting someone who was not even willing to transform into his wolf form, Camper, without further, tricked Hanan by using his speed to create an after image, to make it seem like he was going to attack on the right. But Hanan saw through it. Instead of going to the left, where Camper would surely take her head, she jumped high and used Camper's head to pushed her body back on the wall. Hanan jumped from the wall into mid-air to escape the corner Camper had led her to.
Pressed by how Hanan outsmarted him, Camper reacted as soon as Hanan jumped on his head to catch her with his speed, but as soon as he turned, she was nowhere to be seen. Camper growled even louder. He looked right and left, sensing her using his sense of smell in the process. But Hanan had completely concealed her presence.
Camper didn't even know it was possible. As if Hanan was suddenly gone. It irked him more.
But before Camper could even find out Hanan's stunt, she appeared and kicked him on the side of his stomach. It was sudden, and he didn't know where she came from, so he wasn't able to dodge it. Not to mention, Hanan used enough speed for him not to see it through.
Camper's body was slammed into the wall because of its impact. But even then, Camper wasn't a bit intimidated. He picked himself up, and tilted his head to both sides. Though Hanan was sure her kick was strong enough, Camper was able to get back from it in a mere minute.
She didn't disappear. She was hiding in my blind spot.
Realizing the trick behind her disappearance, Camper took note of it. Now that he had seen how much speed Hanan could use, he wanted to be careful. He slowly forged in again, not taking his gray eyes off Hanan. But just as he was expecting that Hanan would wait until he attacked, Hanan proved him wrong.