Rain and Helen gazed at the blood moon with growing unease. Rain's confusion bubbled over as he whispered, "What just happened?" Before Helen could respond, a chilling howl echoed through the night, sending a wave of terror through Rain's body. He froze, fear rooting him in place for a few seconds, his limbs unwilling to move. The sound seemed to carry a sense of doom.
Helen broke the silence, her voice steady despite the eerie atmosphere. "This phenomenon happens when a wolf of C-rank realm enters the domain. The domain turns into night, illuminated by a blood moon. The exit and entry are sealed, and it won't return to normal until the C-rank wolf is killed."
Rain's heart sank. Fear swirled in his mind as he processed her words. A C-rank wolf was far beyond anything he could handle. Just ten days into his new life in this incredible, dangerous world, and now death loomed closer than ever. Despair clawed at his thoughts.
"I'm going to die," Rain thought, his mind spiralling in panic.
But Helen's calm tone cut through the haze of fear. "Don't worry. Judging by the howl and the time it took for the transformation, it's a newly advanced C-rank wolf."
Rain's thoughts raced, his fear warring with a flicker of hope. None of his team members were at C-rank, but Helen's calmness implied there might still be a way. Desperation made him ask, "Does any member of your team... anyone at all... have C-rank strength?"
Helen shook her head slightly. "No."
The word shattered his fleeting hope. A cold weight settled in his chest. Rain's voice faltered. "Then how can we survive this?"
Helen gave him a knowing glance. "You don't know much about your leader Sky, do you?"
Rain blinked, confused. "What about Leader Sky? Isn't she at the middle True Body Realm?"
Helen smiled faintly. "So, you really don't know much about the True Body Realm, do you?"
Rain furrowed his brow, still confused. "The True Body Realm is important because it increases the chance of breaking through to C-rank, right?"
Helen's smile deepened, a knowing glint in her eyes. "If that were the only reason, why would I waste an entire year entering the True Body Realm? There are plenty of resources out there that can do the same—boosting the odds of reaching C-rank."
Rain fell silent, his thoughts racing. What else could the True Body Realm offer? After a moment, he ventured a guess. "Does it help in reaching A-rank?"
Helen nodded but with a caveat. "Only if you achieve the Perfect True Body Realm."
Rain stared at her, realizing he didn't understand the full extent of what this realm meant. Sensing his confusion, Helen continued, "Let me explain. You saw how I was just defending against that peak D-rank bone wolf, right? But then, with a single strike, I killed it."
Rain's eyes widened as the realization hit. "You've reached the Beginning of the True Body Realm."
Helen nodded. "Yes. The Beginning of the True Body Realm makes you invincible against any D-rank opponent. It also gives you the ability to hold your ground, for a while at least, against a beginning C-rank. Sometimes, it even lets you escape from one."
Rain's mind was reeling, but Helen wasn't finished. "Your team leader, Sky, is at the middle True Body Realm. His combat power is strong enough to fight a beginning C-rank to a standstill. And now, with the two of us, we have a real shot at taking down this newly advanced C-rank bone wolf."
Rain felt a spark of hope rekindle, realizing they might not be as doomed as he first thought. "What do we do now?" he asked.
Helen glanced in the direction of the distant howl. "The sound is coming from the main building of the farm, near the domain's gate. Sky must be there."
Rain nodded, but his gaze fell upon the two lifeless bodies of Helen's fallen team members. "What about them?" he asked, pointing to the corpses.
Helen's expression remained steely. "Leave them. We'll retrieve them later."
Without another word, they started running toward the source of the howl. After some time, they reached a tower overlooking the main building of the farm. It was surrounded by wolves. They could hear the ominous howling but couldn't see what was happening on the ground from their position.
Seeing the tower beside him, Rain quickly climbed up, with Helen following closely. From their new vantage point, Rain's breath caught in his throat. The C-rank bone wolf stood in the distance, its size immense, like a horse, with black armour gleaming in the eerie red light of the blood moon. It stayed back, allowing its pack to relentlessly attack the main building. The scene below was gruesome bodies of slain wolves littered the blood-soaked ground, with Rain's teammates desperately defending the stronghold.
Helen stood beside him, her sharp eyes assessing the situation. "The C-rank wolf must feel threatened by Sky," she muttered. "That's why it's letting its pack wear her down first."
She turned to Rain. "You stay here. I'll go down, help thin out the wolves, and find a way to join up with Sky."
Rain began to object. "But—"
Helen cut him off, her voice firm. "You're only a beginning D-rank, Rain. The weakest wolves down there are middle D-rank, and there are probably over a hundred of them surrounding the building. If you go with me, you'll only be a burden."
Without giving him a chance to respond, she leaped from the tower, vanishing into the chaos below.
Rain clenched his fists, knowing Helen was right. If he joined the battle now, he'd only slow her down. He watched as she circled around the wolves on the right side of the battlefield, heading toward the gate of the domain. The C-rank bone wolf stood on the opposite side, keeping its distance, and the number of wolves on Helen's side was fewer. There were about twenty wolves—two peak D-ranks, five late D-ranks, and the rest middle D-ranks.
As Helen approached, the wolves quickly surrounded her. Both of her arms moved, and from the knots of vines, her shields transformed into vine whips. In a flash, she spun in a circle, the whips lashing out like serpents. Most of the wolves stepped back to avoid the attack, but four were too slow and were knocked to the ground.
Before the downed wolves could scramble to their feet, Helen stopped her rotation, and the vine whips hardened, straightening into wooden spears with sharp, pointed ends. With precise control, she impaled two of the middle D-rank wolves through their bellies, killing them instantly.
Rain watched in awe as Helen continued her lethal dance, thinning the wolves' ranks with graceful precision. The remaining wolves, wary of her vine whips, kept their distance. Every time Helen approached a group, they stepped back cautiously, creating a standoff. Yet she had strategically cornered one late D-rank wolf and two middle D-rank wolves with their backs to the main building.
Suddenly, Helen turned her back to the cornered wolves, an odd move that puzzled Rain. But his confusion was short-lived. Three figures dropped from above, landing on the backs of the three wolves. Rain recognized them as members of Helen's team.
One man, with energy gloves ablaze, drove a fiery punch straight into the wolf beneath him, causing it to collapse instantly. Another, his hand glowing with white energy, delivered a precise karate chop between the head and neck of the second wolf, severing its head cleanly. The third man, straddling the late D-rank wolf, formed a large ball of water between his hands and submerged the wolf's head in it. The beast thrashed violently, but its struggles grew weaker as it drowned.
Meanwhile, Helen had moved to engage the peak D-rank wolf in close combat. Rain could barely follow their rapid movements. Helen's vines snapped and lashed as she fought, but as the battle wore on, the vines from her hands began to wrap around the wolf, slowly binding it. The wolf struggled, trying to break free, but the vines were too strong. Finally, a vine coiled around the wolf's neck, and with a sickening crack, its neck snapped. The once-mighty beast fell limp.
The battlefield fell silent as Rain realized they had turned the tide. The remaining wolves, sensing their defeat, scattered into the night, retreating from the scene. Helen and the three men who had assisted her didn't bother giving chase. Instead, they quickly climbed through a window, joining the others inside the building.
Rain shifted his gaze toward the main battlefield, where the wolves had launched their assault. The building itself was too sturdy to be breached, but the wolves had exploited its weak points—the windows and doors. He saw Damian at one door, holding the line alongside another member of Helen's team, repelling the wolves trying to force their way in. After a while, they switched with two others, maintaining their strength in a cycle of defense.
At one point, Lily took her turn guarding the door, fending off the relentless attacks. Then, to Rain's surprise, Sky herself stepped forward, not to guard but to confront the wolves directly. As she stepped out alone, the wolves hesitated instead of attacking. Seizing the opportunity, Sky summoned two ice swords formed from her genetic energy. In a graceful yet deadly dance, she cut through the wolves, her movements efficient, precise, and brutal.
Rain's attention shifted when he noticed the C-rank wolf, which had been watching from a distance, beginning to move toward Sky. However, before it could strike, Sky returned to the safety of the building. At that moment, vines surged from the left side, where the C-rank wolf lurked. The vines lashed out, striking any wolves in their path before pulling two peak D-rank wolves into the building, forcing the C-rank wolf to halt, unwilling to advance. Sky quickly re-entered, and another fighter took her place at the door.
Surveying the battlefield, Rain now had a clearer understanding of the situation. On the right, where Helen had attacked earlier, no wolves dared to approach. The front was quiet too, Sky's devastating assault had left the wolves fearful, and on the left, where the C-rank wolf stood, there was no movement as Helen's deadly vines discouraged any advance. Rain couldn't see the back of the building but felt confident their position was secure for the time being.
Then, the silence broke. The C-rank wolf howled, its growls reverberating through the air, commanding attention. The scattered wolves, which had hesitated before, began to regroup and rally under their leader's command. With the pack now united, the battle reached a tense stalemate. Sky and the others inside the building were unable to attack because of the overwhelming number of wolves now massed together. Rain realized with growing dread that the C-rank wolf had completely disrupted their strategy. Their original plan—to gradually weaken the pack before confronting the C-rank wolf—was falling apart right in front of him.
As Rain scanned the battlefield, he noticed Siobhan appear at the door of the building, her eyes searching before she waved in his direction. Relieved, Rain waved back, thankful that she was still safe. He saw Helen's team members standing guard by the door, ready to fend off any further attacks. Despite his relief, Rain felt the weight of helplessness—he was too far from the building to join them, the distance too great with wolves still resting nearby to his left. Descending from the tower would be a death sentence.
Accepting that he couldn't leave his position, and with the fighting momentarily paused, Rain sat down in the tower, frustration gnawing at him. He began to meditate, retreating into his soul space. There, he focused on removing the remaining three blocks in his genetic energy pathways. The danger and helplessness he had felt throughout the day weighed heavily on him. Without Helen's help, he knew he might not have survived. Determined to grow stronger, Rain channelled his frustration into his meditation, vowing to never be this powerless again.