Albrecht leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse of the tag around Riurgus's neck. All the colors drained from his face when he realized that Riurgus's rank was lower than he had initially thought. He was only a Gold Rank Adventurer, and everyone else was either gold or silver.
"Um... we're going to die, right?" Albrecht asked out of nowhere since he too couldn't move. It's as if the Black Gem Wolves have a skill that stopped them in their tracks.
[Black Gem Wolf has activated the skill 'Taunt']
[Fleeing is not an option anymore. Fight]
[Blessing of the Divine Paladin (Unique, S-Rank)— active skill, negates status effects and boosts 30% of all the user's stats. Passive and active skills are also boosted by 30%. Grants a buff of 30% in party members' defense stat. If the user has less than 50% health points, boost 60% of the user's stats. If the user has less than 30%, boost the user's stats by 90%. Grants a shield at 1% hp. One usage per day.]
This was the first time Albrecht read the details of Yulie's unique skill. It was certainly an overpowered skill, and Albrecht could tell that Yulie would have a great future as an adventurer. She may not be from the past like him, but her unique skill alone can equal the strength of a member of the Heroes of Relics.
"Now's not the time to be thinking about that." Albrecht gritted his teeth as he activated the skill.
[Blessing of the Divine Paladin activated]
As the Black Gem Wolves approached the group, Albrecht felt his body relaxing, and his breathing evened out.
He could move.
"Oi, Albrecht, you can move?!" Riurgus exclaimed as Albrecht assumed the vanguard position of the party.
"I'm going to keep them at bay. Once you can move, I want you all to flee from here. I can't protect you while fighting these two." Albrecht called out.
His victory over the Tri-Horn Minotaur gave him newfound confidence. Subconsciously, though, he was underestimating himself since he was only faced with two C-Rank Beasts. Even with his normal stats boosted by the Blessing of the Divine Paladin Skill, he could take on the two of them with ease.
The two Black Gem Wolves, they're already circling the party as predators eyeing their prized prey.
"There's no way, we're not leaving you behind! The moment we can move, we're going to assist you. Please hold on until then, Albrecht." Riurgus's words resonated with his entire party, and they also agreed with him.
"All right."
During his awakening, Albrecht learned a plethora of skills and now he was determined to try them out one by one. The first skill he tried out was something called the Spatial Slash, and it allowed him to manipulate and compress space in blade form and hurl it through the air at insane speeds.
This time, he wanted to try another skill called 'Sword of the Cosmos'. By opening a small gap in his spatial storage and compressing the edges of that opening, he could create a sword that could cut through anything as long as it wasn't supernatural.
It would've been simpler to call it 'Spatial Sword', but somehow, the alternate versions of himself in other universes unanimously agreed to call it 'Sword of the Cosmos', hence the System called it that as well.
After all, the System only manifested itself thanks to his awakening, which brought about his connection with alternate Albrechts in other universes, timelines, and dimensions.
Vwooo~ vwooo~
A strange sound emanated from the sword that Albrecht wielded. For the lack of a better description, he described it as the sound of vibrating air, which was weird since vibrating air could describe any form of sound.
"Come at me." Albrecht's voice faltered at the last second and he almost squealed his last word. His taunt worked, however, and the Black Gem Wolves' aggro was directed solely at him.
Snarls came out of the Black Gem Wolves, but they didn't jump on Albrecht nor did they go near him. Despite the 'Sword of the Cosmos' being invisible, they could still detect the powerful energy emanating from his hand, and they felt threatened.
Instead, they gathered the twelve other Silverback Wolves who were leisurely resting by the clearing behind the thick undergrowth. Hearing the calls of their pack leader, their ears perked up and a chorus of snarls invaded Albrecht's ears.
He was fairly certain that their snarls were directed at him, and he couldn't blame the Silverback Wolves for it. He did disturb their rest, after all.
Since staying with the group would just endanger them further, Albrecht opted to step forward, wielding his 'Sword of the Cosmos'. He was ready to slash at any Silverback Wolves at a moment's notice.
Luckily, there was one hot-blooded Silverback Wolf amongst the pack, and he jumped at Albrecht before any of them got into their usual formation. Apparently, the Silverback Wolf was faster than he thought, and it was able to pin him down.
"Urgh~!" Albrecht grunted as he switched holds with his 'Sword of the Cosmos'. He then extended the blade of his spatial sword, and it pierced through the stomach of the Silverback Wolf pinning him down.
With a yelp, the Silverback Wolf went limp.
"..."
Awoooo~ awooo~
[Black Gem Wolf has activated the skill 'Wolf's Cry']
[Regeneration is now possible for its pack]
Albrecht pulled out the sword and rolled away just before the Silverback Wolf bit his head off. The moment he regained his balance, all the other Silverback Wolves already surrounded him. They stared at him with great intensity, and Albrecht felt like he was going to die if he made the wrong move.
"Time to try out another skill." Albrecht clicked his tongue. He was cornered, and it was time to try another skill.
[You've activated the skill 'Medeon's Gravity Control']
As the Silverback Wolves all jumped at him at the same time, he jumped upward, activating his skill 'Medeon's Gravity Control' which allowed him to manipulate gravitational effects on him. In turn, his jump was way higher, and he beat the Silverback Wolves in the contest of jump height.
With his elevation, the tides had turned against the Silverback Wolves and he delivered a fluidly smooth slash. The slash cut off all the heads of the Silverback Wolves in an instant, rendering their regeneration skills useless since they were already dead.
A series of snarls came from the two Black Gem Wolves who were left. They were the only ones left, and they doubt that they could take on the formidable porter in front of them.
"You're next." Albrecht pointed his 'Sword of the Cosmos' at them.