Surrounded by a group of ravenous wolves, a young adventurer, clearly a novice, was shaking the battle-axe in his hands with ferocity but deadly precision.
The weapon's blade was already soaked with the blood of some enemies, but nothing seemed to be able to stop his irrepressible bloodlust.
Each time it ripped through the demonic creature's tenacious skin, an almost imperceptible rune placed on the base of the icy metal glowed red, and a faint bright mist flowed toward the young man's nostrils.
Every second, the young man could feel a faint life force enter his body and partially mend minor wounds.
The energy was negligible but more than enough for such a simple battle.
The number of wolves initially was still manageable for a single person, but as time passed, the pack joined the battle against the intruder.
And the intruder was clearly Atlas...
His journey had begun a few hours ago when, at the edge of the forest, a Howling Leaf Wolf attacked him without warning.
For the past few years, the young man had always tried to avoid the monsters along his journey. In fact, the only way to survive a fatal encounter was to run away or use particular artifacts given to him by his grandparents, such as special potions, sturdy artifacts, and other little tools.
But now, Atlas had no more problems. He did not have to run away from a low-level chaos creature because, with his faithful companion in his hands, he could finally face the dangers like a true warrior.
Astra changed its form into a battle ax, thanks to the Nameless Technique, and with the blade directed toward the deadly jaws of the beast, Atlas blocked the enemy's first assault.
The blade was very sharp, and as the beast devoured the sturdy and gelid metal, it could not save itself from the inevitable laceration.
Blood began to flow profusely from the wolf's snout, but Atlas was unfazed by that brutal scene and coolly thrust the blade forward, cutting the creature's head clean.
The creature died instantly, and the young man felt a strange power flowing inside his body.
The insatiable thirst of the Devourer of Chaos was madly absorbing a small part of the creature's residual energy. It was slowly being purified and absorbed inside the young man, stabilizing the Chaotical Core a step further.
It was an incredible and unique process.
The adventurer knew that he could not stay long in that place where death had just passed because the smell of blood would inevitably attract the forest's wrath.
In fact, Atlas collected the corpse inside Nihiste, the space artifact gifted by Nihilir, and quickened his pace by increasing the distance from the battle site.
Unfortunately, it was too late...
The forest began to quiver, shaken by the stench of fresh blood, and creepy howlings shook the ground.
The creatures in the shadows had awakened again and were searching for the killer.
"Man... there seem to be so many of them. I have to hurry..."
Hearing those ominous noises, Atlas began to run faster, looking around on guard against a possible attack.
Fortunately, he was wearing light equipment, which allowed him to move freely. There would have been trouble otherwise.
In a matter of minutes, he had strayed far from the battle site, but his pursuers, endowed with their portentous noses, had easily found his tracks and continued to follow the young man.
Suddenly, dozens of bright green eyes appeared around him.
The creatures were trying to hide their forms behind the dense bushes to strike their prey at the right time, but those eyes betrayed them, revealing their location.
"Damned dogs..." Atlas did not let the group of enemies intimidate him and instead gripped his faithful companion firmly: "Come, you bastards!"
The young man's mighty battle cry didn't frighten the beasts. On the contrary, it stimulated them to respond ferociously to his boldness.
Six Howling Leaf Wolves assaulted the lone adventurer, leaving him little room to maneuver.
Even from above, he could smell the pungent stench of a beast's throat, but Atlas remained calm and boldly launched himself at the smaller animal.
The young man hurled the icy blade and brought all the weight of his body forward, amplifying the clash between the two.
The impact was tremendous, but it was not enough to kill the tenacious beast with one blow.
The wolf in front failed to hit him, but the others' claws nicked the light armor, causing him minor wounds.
"Man... there are too many of them... it will be an arduous battle..."
Atlas did not allow himself to be distracted by those tiny scratches and instead continued to deliver powerful lunges against the previously wounded beast.
The first blow was successful, but the second and third missed the target because the Howling Leaf Wolf used its inner energy to avoid the deadly blow that was dangerously falling from above.
From the start, the battle was disadvantageous for Atlas. Still, he didn't flinch even for an instant and instead immediately activated the Chaos Rune on the weapon, recovering a small amount of life force with each blow.
The wolf's speed had become faster, but his movements became predictable in the young man's eyes after a while.
The beast's skull finally shattered on the fifth strike, slightly reducing the pressure around him.
Atlas was elated, but the death of the animal triggered the anger of the others...
Three wolves attacked the human with even more ferocity. Meanwhile, the other two started moving cautiously around the group, ready to attack Atlas at the best moment.
The wounds increased by leaps and bounds, but Atlas could sustain the battle comfortably thanks to the armor and the rune's regenerative power.
The deadly blade of Astra tore precisely into the flesh of the ravenous beasts, nicking their baleful spirits with every strike.
"What an incredible weapon...and to think it is only a Mortal Artifact..."
The battle with the three monsters continued unceasingly, but suddenly, one of the creatures, observing from the side, found an opportunity and bit the young man right from his blind spot with ferocity.
During the battle, Atlas managed to avoid some attacks, but there were too many enemies around him, rendering him helpless against the most devious ones.
The battle was bloody, but in fits and starts, the three of the remaining wolves eventually fell one by one under the deadly blade of Astra.
With the death of the last wolf, the young man felt a stupendous sensation assault his body and couldn't help but moan in pleasure: "Intermediate Stage of the Primordial Chaos Realm... amazing..."
Indeed, he had advanced by a minor realm thanks to the residual energy collected by the beasts.
It was definitely a moment to celebrate, but there were still two demonic beasts nearby, so he remained focused on the battle and leaped arrogantly at one of the two wolves.
Enraptured by the death of their comrades, the wolves pushed their fighting potential to the maximum and bit the prey with cruelty.