Ryuji dashed forward, the wolf now bigger than him, but it would surely crush Alicia into paste even with the barrier at this rate. He held his axe tight and fixed his posture to use the whirlwind skill with 40 rage points.
"Whirlwind!"
As he chanted, the wind blew around his body, picking up the mud, leaves, and twigs scattered around him; he suddenly felt invigorated, and a sharp pain jolted across his body as the attack took effect.
Like a deadly spinning top, his axe cut into the wolf's side, not piercing deeply, but it tore off some of the meat and fur.
He kicked into its lower back and attacked with his axe from the side; each time he moved, it tore off chunks of flesh as though he were a machine designed to rip and shred its body.
The axe struck the wolf eight times thanks to his rapid rotation beyond normal, and using 40 rage, blood and guts littered the floor.
However, the boss didn't stop; instead, it turned the rage towards Ryuji, who became covered in the viscous blood that oozed from its body.
'Damn it!'
As it leapt forward, Ryuji noticed a gleaming yellow fang aimed at his neck and he blocked the best he could.
He grit his teeth in pain as his body flew backwards and slammed into the ground with a smack, a significant portion of his health gone, while the wolf chased him.
Simon and Alicia attacked from the rear, chipping away at the wolf's life.
"Come on, do not die, Ryuji! I need you in my bed at night!" Sheila cheered a joke as she saw his eyes appear dazed upon impacting the wall while keeping Paul and his injured body healed.
The moment it leapt, ready to crush Ryuji, enormous jaws full of drool and blood opened wide.
"Get up, Ryuji!" Simon shouted.
He rolled to the left in panic as the massive beast landed on the muddy ground, causing a large tremor to shake the earth. 'Where is it?' Ryuji spotted it again in the wolf's neck when his eyes glimpsed it while rolling; he felt a sudden urgency.
'There! If I cut there, it would be more vulnerable!'
"Simon, distract it! Keep it off me; I'm going in for the kill!" Ryuji yelled out while jumping to his feet in fear of desperation, his arms swinging his axe with a strained expression as he approached the back of the wolf. "I will skin you alive..."
Ryuji's eyes gleamed in the dark room with a strange, dangerous red light as Simon attacked with a rapid flurry of blows and cuts, causing the wolf to howl and become irritated.
The difference was that Simon could block the damage more efficiently because of his battle knowledge, well-equipped gear, and high-level skills. He also had Sheila's blessing, while Ryuji didn't have such luck.
"Alicia, support him! Paul, prepare to cast your earth grasp on the wolf! Sheila, focus on keeping Simon alive!" For the first time, the shouted call was Ryuji, not Sheila, yet they all reacted to his deep and commanding voice as they formed a unit against the black wolf.
Alicia unleashed a flurry of wind arrows that bit into its fur and tore its skin, helped by Simon's close-range assault. "Paul! NOW!"
"Thy holy lady of earth, grab this interloper and hold him still!"
Each pillar rising from the earth sank its sharp claws into the wolf's hind legs and belly, briefly immobilising it.
"That's enough! Good job, Paul!"
Ryuji ran forward, using all his rage points and entering a state of absolute rage as his body gained an ethereal red glow, somehow like a member of the elite battle monkey race.
He then leapt into the air, both hands holding his axe. His legs compressed the earth with a thump as he rose, and he forcefully brought the axe down on its neck with a mighty roar.
"You are dead!"
"WRRROOWWRRRR!" the wolf howled in pain as it turned to notice Ryuji at the last moment and smashed into him with a brutal smash.
"ARGHHHH!" Ryuji screamed in agony as the bones in his arm and leg crunched and squelched horribly beneath the beast's monstrous counter, yet he pushed down his entire force as the blade bit into the wolf's neck.
A splattering of blood from its neck spread in all directions, covering Simon, Ryuji, and Paul as the axe cut through the magic collar that hung around its neck with a snap.
"Graaawr..."
With a powerless growl, the wolf dropped to the ground lifelessly as Ryuji finally could breathe. The first boss battle of his life had ended.
'... Did I win?'
"I fucking love fighting monsters..." He muttered before blood leaked from his lips.
Ryuji lay in the mud with a smile as the world started to blacken and become hazy. The last thing he remembered was the concerned looks of the party rushing to him.
****
"I can't believe we defeated an irregular with this party..." Simon's voice was faint as the group were dismantling the huge corpse with a large golden chest still left closed in the centre of the room.
"True... I thought the boss of this dungeon was the pale kobold, and we could have lost such a promising tank." Paul, who was looking at his broken wooden spells used to reinforce the last rock claw spell to secure the win, now burned after usage.
Meanwhile, Alicia and Sheila were helping to heal Ryuji's several wounds. His chest survived thanks to the bronze armour, only wounding his shoulder and right leg heavily as Sheila's hand swiped across his stomach.
"Eh? What's this hard log? Did he have a second weapon?"
"Really?" Alicia asked before watching Sheila lift his shirt as the pair of women's mouths opened wide upon seeing the identity of the 'weapon' inside his pants.
"So he's an orc. That must be why my Elven blood boils each time he orders me around..."
"It's impressive. He's like a kid, but this thing could kill a woman... his nasty gaze isn't for nothing, huh," Sheila joked as she lowered his shirt and continued her healing spells.
"Let's hope he doesn't feel dejected," Alicia asked as they stopped messing around.
"Why? He survived an irregular those bosses are double the usual level and more dangerous. They are so rare, but he met one in a D-rank dungeon... I hope he doesn't become traumatised."
Sheila smiled bitterly, looking at these wounds; normally, a rookie would resign, and that's why they lacked tanks.
"He probably doesn't know that and thinks this was a usual boss, and he got so injured. That's all." Simon added, carrying the chest as Paul joined them with a bitter smile.
"I want this boy to keep fighting with us." Paul, who never liked others, asked him to stay, which amazed the others.
"Hahaha... so we all want this boy, no matter the reason?" Sheila laughed as they all heard the same ping and realised how big this fight was.
"Ah!? We all levelled up!"
Knight Party
-------------
Simon - Dual Swords: Level 14->15
Sheila - Priestess: Level 20->21
Alicia - Elven Archer: Level 12 ->13
Paul - Wizard: Level 10->11
Ryuji - Berserker: Level 3->5
***
—Level Up + 2
***
Name: Ryuji Vincenzo
Class: Berserker: Lv.5
Rage: 0/40 (60 Reserved)
Rank: C
Attributes
Strength: 16->18
Agility: 6-> 9
Stamina: 12->13
Grit: 16-> 20
Intellect: 8
[NEW SKILL!]
Ravaging Blow - A devastating blow that uses 1-100 rage to deal a devastating blow that causes critical damage and heavy bleeding to an enemy. It leaves the user vulnerable, taking double damage for 5 seconds after use.