Provoking the Werewolves
Grrr.
As we crossed the plains and drew nearer the forest, a bipedal wolf emerged into view.
A monster called a Werewolf.
It walked on two legs, yet its form was too ambiguous to simply call it a wolf-man—more a grotesque hybrid of beast and something else.
This was the monster we had to face in the dungeon today.
Combat went smoothly. In truth they were on roughly the same level as Red Devils, so there was no need for panic or worry.
Still, one point demanded caution. The dungeon was so vast that, unlike the Red Devil Cave, it had never been thoroughly cleared. Something unknown might still be lurking out there.
According to known information, no monsters other than Werewolves appeared in this place. Early after the gate formed, a boss monster called a Lycan had shown up, but it had not been seen recently. Like the Red Devil Cave, repeated clearances had apparently stopped the boss from spawning any longer.
Even so, they were wolves. The chance of being attacked by a pack remained high, so we could never fully relax—especially non-Awoken like me.
This was one of the dungeons famous for the number of injuries suffered by ordinary people who entered as Supporters. Yet as long as a healer was present, no one lost their life. I had chosen this dungeon precisely because I trusted Lee Donggeul.
Without shouldering risks like this, earning a high evaluation was difficult.
"Kim Isol."
"What!"
"You'll hunt the next wolf alone."
"What? I don't mind, but are you sure?"
"Yes. For some reason you seem stronger than last time, so I want to test it."
I spoke with a full smile. Kim Isol, hearing me, looked brimming with confidence. She seemed to have noticed her own growth as well. Of course she had—I had increased her mana the night before—but more mana did not automatically mean greater strength. In the previous fight she had shown almost no change from before, so I intended to watch her fight solo.
"If possible, sever them clean through the bone in a single stroke. Don't attack so lightly!"
Over the past week I had hunted down every scrap of video footage of our team members and reviewed it repeatedly—Academy mock duels, fights against clone goblins, all of it. As a result I had a rough grasp of Kim Isol's strengths and weaknesses.
Purely in terms of swordsmanship she was not far behind the other Academy students. Her swing speed, considering her mana capacity, was even top-tier. Yet in the Red Devil fights and elsewhere, her blade had always lacked power. A close-range dealer facing low-tier monsters like Red Devils ought to be able to cut bone in a single stroke. Instead she had piled up shallow wounds until the enemy bled out. Even now the method struck me as absurd.
There were several reasons her power fell short, but the first was almost certainly insufficient mana. That mana had now doubled, hadn't it? Just as Lee Donggeul had jumped ten ranks and could use ten times the heals, my guess was that Kim Isol's mana volume had likewise doubled. I meant to confirm it right now.
Grrr.
The moment another Werewolf appeared, Kim Isol shot forward like an arrow. I watched her every move.
The Werewolf had been weaving left and right, testing the waters; once it confirmed its only opponent was Kim Isol, it charged straight in, clearly intent on tearing out her throat.
Kim Isol gripped her sword in both hands. She sidestepped half a pace, twisted her body, and slipped past the attack. In an instant she was behind it.
Slash!
Her blade carved a sharp line across the Werewolf's back. Blood sprayed; the sword ran red. Yet the beast was still standing.
Kyaoh!
It recovered its stance at once and lunged this time for her thigh. Dropping to all fours, it ran like a dog. The low posture would make a clean cut difficult.
Huh?
Kim Isol dropped into a matching low stance—then launched herself skyward with all her strength. In a blink she rose nearly two meters into the air. The Werewolf snapped at empty space; as she fell she brought the sword down in a single decisive stroke.
The Werewolf's neck parted cleanly in two, sending up a spectacular fountain of blood. The fight was over in an instant.
Clap. Clap. Clap…
I applauded her.
What do you know—she can do it when she tries.
She could sever a neck in one stroke, so why had she fought the earlier way? She had dropped the enemy twice as fast alone as she had with the team.
"Hmph. This much is a piece of cake."
Oh, is that so?
What a fucking joke.
This girl showed not the slightest hint that she owed any of it to me. Infuriating.
"Next we'll face them as a team again. Baek Hwayeon and Lee Donggeul, stay by my side. While Jang Yong tanks, Kim Isol will drop them in a single stroke."
The following fight took twice as long again. Kim Isol failed to cut the enemy down in one blow. I spent a long while wondering why.
"Kim Isol. Are team fights uncomfortable for you?"
It was true that at the Academy her tactical comprehension scores had been low and her team-mission grades rock-bottom. Even so—why could she bisect an enemy alone yet fail to do the same with a tanker present?
While I fretted, another Werewolf charged in and the fight proceeded exactly as before. Watching, I furrowed my brow. I could find no answer at all. At this rate we would never earn a good evaluation.
Maybe I should put them through the wringer a little.
The moment combat ended I suggested we move closer to the forest. The nearer the trees, the more enemies we would have to face; the forest was their stronghold.
"Will that be all right?"
"Yes. We have heals, so there's no need to worry."
I knew Lee Donggeul still had nine heals left. Jang Yong, who did not know that, looked uneasy, but I told him it was only an F-rank dungeon and to stay calm. Kim Isol, buoyed by her increased mana, was more confident than ever, so no persuasion was required.
I picked up the Werewolf head Kim Isol had severed earlier, lying on the ground. It was a little larger than a human's and fairly heavy.
"Why are you…?"
"It's nothing. Let's go."
Carrying the dripping wolf head, I set off; everyone looked at me as if I were some kind of freak. Fair enough. They might call me a madman. But I had a reason for bringing it.
After a few minutes we stood at the very edge of the dense forest. Massive trees stood packed so tightly that the interior was dark enough to make one hesitate to enter. I had no intention of going inside on the first day—getting lost would be all too easy. I simply hurled the wolf head deep into the trees.
Only Jang Yong looked truly horrified.
"T-Team Leader? What are you doing? If you provoke them like that…"
"You already knew, didn't you? Correct. At least five will show up, so everyone prepare for combat."
Jang Yong had claimed he had studied this dungeon; apparently he understood exactly what I had done.
Werewolf provocation.
Up to the plains this dungeon was quite easy—just pick off the occasional charging wolf. Inside the forest, however, was pure Werewolf territory. Simply setting foot there was dangerous, and they especially hated the scent of their own kin's blood within the trees. Every nearby Werewolf would come running in moments.
I smiled lightly and called out to Kim Isol.
"Kim Isol. Minimum of five. There could be more. If you don't cut them down in a single stroke, we might all be wiped out."
"Whaaat?!"
She turned an incredulous face toward me; I added one more line.
"If I die here, you know what happens, right? The cloud."
The words had barely left my mouth before Kim Isol sprinted up to me. She grabbed me roughly, dragged me a distance from the others in a flash, and hissed into my ear.
"Do you seriously want to die?"
"No. I want to live. Please save me."
Seeing my smiling face, she clenched her teeth and trembled with rage. Watching her like this made me want to torment her further, but I had to restrain myself here. The wolves would be on us soon.
"Hurry and take your position. The wolves are about to charge. Understood? If you don't cut them down in one stroke we won't hold and we'll be wiped out. Thanks to me, Kim Isol, you've become this strong. Show us that power."
"……"
I stopped whispering and raised my voice.
"Even if you need to piss, you don't get to until every last charging wolf is dead! Drop them as fast as you can!"
Kim Isol, face flushed red as a Red Devil, glared at me once and returned to her place. Watching her, I couldn't help a quiet snicker.
Then the forest grew ominous. They were definitely drawing near. I quickly moved between Baek Hwayeon and Lee Donggeul and stood in the center.
"You two stand on either side of me and block anything that comes this way with everything you've got. And Donggeul—do not use a single heal until I give the signal."
"Yeees~."
Jang Yong was already banging his shield of his own accord. Most monsters were sensitive to noise, so that should draw their attention at the start. This was only an F-rank dungeon, after all. And no matter how foolish or weak these kids were, they wouldn't die here… would they? Heals were plentiful, and the shields had been fully charged over the past week. In a true emergency I could dump every one of Lee Donggeul's points to push her mana to the absolute limit and somehow manage.
"Huu…"
Without drastic methods like this, this team had no hope. I had heard that one way Awoken grew stronger was by overcoming crisis. If I forcibly created even a small crisis, wouldn't they grow a little while thrashing about to survive? If they couldn't manage even that, they could die, stagnate forever at E- or F-rank, or simply retire on the spot.
Suddenly Lee Daeman came to mind. That Diamond Guild man who had charged in to save his sister had already pushed himself close to his limits. How many bloody battlefields had he crossed? People like that existed, yet our team members were far too carefree—despite possessing potential equal to or greater than his.
While my thoughts wandered, the monsters finally began to appear one by one. Creatures that were neither human nor wolf.
Grrr.
Clang!
"Over here, you bastards!"
Jang Yong roared, trying to pull them onto himself. As expected, the stupid monsters all charged him first.
One, two, three…
Fully eight Werewolves.
Would our little piss princess manage to cut them down in a single stroke?
The battle that would give us the answer had just begun.
One.
Two.
Fully three Werewolves had their bodies severed in a single stroke.
Jang Yong's taunt had worked; every Werewolf charged him, and Kim Isol, racing in from behind, cut them down one by one with single blows. She failed a few times, yet even then two swings were enough to end their lives.
I watched alongside the others, unable to keep the corners of my mouth from rising. Kim Isol was performing even better than I had expected.
"Donggeul. Give Jang Yong one heal right now."
"Yes!"
Even across thirty meters, Lee Donggeul's heal landed precisely on Jang Yong. Multiple wolves had bitten his legs and shoulders, but the heal would have restored everything. No matter that it was only C-rank Schutra gear, attacks of that level would never punch holes or tear it open. The wearer was Awoken and the enemies were mere F-rank dungeon monsters. The bites would have left only bruises or shallow cuts.
"Team Leader."
Baek Hwayeon, standing beside me, opened her small mouth and asked softly.
"Do I not need to do anything?"
From her perspective it must have been frustrating. Since entering the dungeon today I had given her no role at all—except to stay by my side and protect me. My purpose had been to grow Kim Isol; for the moment Baek Hwayeon had been pushed to the back burner. Aside from the previous expedition and last Monday's meeting, we had neither spoken nor met. Out of sight, out of mind—interest and curiosity naturally faded. Still, I had no intention of leaving her like this forever. On this expedition I planned to raise everyone and leap to the next stage.
"Today is fine as it is. Kim Isol is carrying the fight. Your role today is simply to stand beside me."
"Is that so…"
"Don't let your guard down. This isn't child's play."
"Understood."
She answered, yet her voice lacked strength. Right now, however, I had no leisure to spare for her. Kim Isol, having already bisected every last Werewolf before our eyes, was walking toward me.