Howl! Howl!
Grimacing, the wolves let out a chorus of howls, their fury palpable as they glared at the contemptuous human. Despite wielding potent fiery magic, the lesser creature dared to incite them to attack. The pack fixed their eyes on the alpha, awaiting his command to unleash their wrath upon the impudent foe.
Some members of the pack appeared to be biding their time, anticipating the signal to retreat from their leader, which would give them an excuse to turn on him and vie for the position of sub-alpha. Dante's predictions had been accurate.
From the limited knowledge he had gathered since his arrival, he realized that every horde of beasts had a leader, and in the case of the fiery wolves, the alpha was the head of their species in that dimension.
Although he might have been proven correct, he wouldn't have cared. His only objective was to vanquish the beasts and receive his prize, all while dreading the agonizing pain that awaited him upon his return to reality, hoping it wouldn't drive him insane.
After realizing that his strategy of belittling the beasts had failed, he chose to take a more aggressive approach and engage them directly.
Unfortunately, his initial plans of ending the battle quickly and without exerting too much energy had gone awry. Despite the seemingly infinite energy he had harnessed from the Altered Psyche, the truth was far from it.
His physical condition was feeble, and his ability to convert mana into usable energy was subpar. In fact, despite his earlier show of bravado and his speech to Elrid, he was struggling to remain conscious.
Although one might have expected him to falter, knowing that his defeat would result in his return to the real world, he was resolute in his determination. Even as his vision blurred and his perception became distorted, he meant every word he had spoken and resolved to keep his intentions to himself.
His leg muscles bulged with the aid of Oppressive Control as he charged toward the wolves. With a repetition of the 'Ignition' spell, the blade of his katana ignited in flames.
However, instead of opting for any other form of the initial movement of his sword technique, he chose to employ the Fiery Eclipse.
As the human approached with arrogance and confidence, the wolves sensed his presence and redirected their attention from their previous thoughts of usurping the position of pack leader.
In unison, they growled, and the flames surrounding their seemingly intangible bodies burned even brighter. The dense aura of beasts and their deadly intent filled the air, their sole focus set on expelling the human invader and purging the dimension of his stench.
Upon closing into a distance of approximately four meters from the growling wolves, Dante narrowed his usual maximum perception range of twelve meters down to five meters, significantly increasing his perception ability.
It would have been impossible for an ordinary human or even a mage to narrow down their maximum perception range in such a manner, as it is not possible to choose to concentrate the maximum range. Instead, one could only choose to utilize a portion of the range available to them.
In Dante's case, he extended his maximum perception range to its full extent and then compressed it into a much smaller range, thereby significantly increasing his sensitivity within the five-meter range.
This unique ability was made possible through his use of Oppressive Control, which allowed him to control his consciousness and mental faculties to seemingly affect the effects of his perception ability.
Dante had deduced this method during his first encounter with the sub-alpha wolf when he was unfortunately defeated. He had a reason to be confident enough to try attacking the wolves again. He wasn't relying solely on his Altered Psyche as a backup.
Dante discovered the reason why his first fire-type sword attack had failed. It all boiled down to his proficiency with the way of the sword. He had not yet reached the level of swordsmanship required to combine two elements in a single attack.
While the Third Form: Earthen Slice was not technically an elemental-type attack, its creation was fundamentally built upon the properties of Earth, such as its weightiness.
Therefore, attempting to mix it with the fire element, which had a high probability of damaging the flaming wolves, would have made Dante's effort null and void.
Due to Dante's higher proficiency with swordsmanship compared to fire magic, he repeated his mistake of attempting to mix the Earthen Slice with the fire element during his second attack just before the barely stable fiery mana was snuffed out.
As a result, the Earthen Slice phased through the fiery body of the wolf without causing any significant damage.
The error provided an opportunity for the wolf to mount a counter-attack, ultimately leading to Dante being swept away and impaled by a branch. Nevertheless, Dante adapted his strategy in his subsequent confrontation with the wolves, which triggered the bold speech, and that brings us to the present moment.
Dante wielded his katana, engulfed in flames, and swung at the nearest wolf with a straightforward slash, lacking any specific technique. He utilized his tremendous strength, evident from his bulging arms, to deliver a forceful blow at the wolf.
The flames enveloping the wolf seemed to blend with Dante's own, and his katana sliced through the fiery shield with ease, taking the wolf's life in an instant.
The sudden strike, coupled with Dante's confidence in his newfound approach to dealing with the troublesome canines, struck fear into the hearts of the remaining wolves while filling Dante with an incredible sense of triumph.
[Ding! The host has defeated a level 12 Flame Wolf in The Flaming God Valley, earning 120 experience points.]
(A/N: If you're not already aware, I essentially created the term ''signature points'' to refer to what is commonly known as Exp.)
As the blood spurted from the wolf, Dante's excitement clouded his vision, and he momentarily struggled to see clearly. This prompted him from being unable to see the flickering green light that signified that he had received signature points.
The rush of victory sent Dante's spirits soaring, and his previously focused expression gave way to a broad grin that spread across his face.
Unaware of his countenance in the heat of battle, he had forgotten his usual apathetic demeanor and couldn't even tell whether he had maintained it or not.
Dante's grin still in place, he muttered, ''They're now down to seven.''
Witnessing the demise of their comrade, the remaining wolves lunged at Dante with ferocity, their eyes blazing with hatred.
Their initial disdain had transformed into wariness, and they attacked with everything they had, launching volleys of flames from their paws and mouths with the sole aim of reducing Dante to charred remains.
Dante's perception slowed down the movements of the attacks, allowing him to swiftly evade them by sidestepping left, right, and occasionally backpedaling.
The attacks missed narrowly, scorching the patches of land where they landed. Dante's continuous movement brought him perilously close to the wolves, and sensing an opportunity, they immediately encircled him, staring him down with unflinching eyes.
Unable to bear the palpable tension in the atmosphere, a wolf leaped towards him, its blazing claws illuminating the surroundings.
Reacting quickly, he blocked the incoming attack with his katana, causing a screeching sound to reverberate throughout the dimension. Meanwhile, noticing that his companion was engaging with the human, another wolf with fiery jaws lunged toward Dante.
Taking his opponent by surprise, Dante made a sudden move and cast "Burning Hands" using his left arm. The concentrated mana took the shape of a flaming arrow, which he shot at the beast with the clenching and abrupt opening of his left hand.
The arrow traveled at an intense speed and pierced the chest of the wolf before exploding in a beautiful display of wisps of flames.
As the flames dissipated, a smoky black aura enveloped Dante, blending with the bright orange hue of the flames. The aura quickly stripped the mana coating from the paws of the first wolf that attacked him, leaving only its head engulfed in flames.
Displaying dextrous and precise movements, Dante retrieved his katana from its blocking stance and plunged it into the heart of the flaming wolf.
Within seconds, the beast fell lifeless to the ground. With this swift and calculated move, Dante had eliminated another two wolves, leaving the air still heavy with the remnants of their fiery presence.
[Ding! The host has defeated two level 12 Flame Wolf in The Flaming God Valley, earning 240 experience points.]
With a menacing growl, the leader of the wolf pack ordered the remaining four wolves to attack Dante simultaneously. Driven by their primal instincts, the beasts obeyed without any means of disrespecting the hierarchy, lunging towards Dante with their bodies engulfed in flames.
''Just a single push. I can do it.'' With a determined mutter, Dante prepared to face off against the pack of wolves. He knew that unexpected moves like the flame arrow would give him an edge in battle, and he also recognized the importance of using regular mage spells to maintain spontaneity in his attack patterns.
Additionally, combining magical abilities with his swordsmanship could further increase his attack power and make him a more versatile fighter.
Dante understood that mastering the sword alone was not enough to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
True greatness in sword fighting came from blending various techniques, powers, and abilities seamlessly with one's swordsmanship to elevate it to new heights...
This was the essence of being ''One with the sword,'' a concept that Dante was determined to embody.
As a group of wolves approached, some of them launched fiery strikes with their claws and jaws, while others conjured flaming spheres that hurled toward Dante.
However, Dante remained fully present at the moment and nimble as he dodged each assault. He responded to each attack with either swift evasion or a well-timed counter-move.
The intense exchange continued with a flurry of attacks, and Dante demonstrated his extensive knowledge of sword fighting by adopting various stances.
As a wolf lunged forward with a claw strike, Dante quickly blocked the attack. However, at the same time, a fireball was hurtling toward him, aimed directly at his head. Despite feeling the strain on his body, he managed to convert a small amount of the fireball's energy into fuel for his movements.
With a powerful thrust of his arm, he sent the wolf he was currently battling backward, while simultaneously slicing through the remaining portion of the fireball with his sword. The surrounding darkness absorbed the residual energy.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the other two wolves launched a coordinated assault on Dante, aiming to wear down his stamina.
As Dante continued his deadly dance with the pack of four wolves, the leader of the pack revealed itself by lashing out its massive paws engulfed in flames towards him.