The Heat-Weak Half-Elf
Oh, this must be what they call linkage. Hypno's quickened reflexes, boosted by points poured into agility, picked up the movements of the wolf pack charging straight at him. There were eight in total. Four were lunging at Hypno all at once, while the other four hung back, watching his every move.
If I slip away, they'll pounce immediately. In that case... Hypno floated the Cheonma's Orb above his head, then channeled a hefty surge of mana and unleashed a spell.
Since I'm using the Cheonma's Orb for this...
"Cheonma Lightning!"
Hypno shouted a flashy name straight out of a wuxia novel as he cast Lightning.
Bzzt-crackle!
A thick bolt of blue lightning, brimming with mana, erupted from the Cheonma's Orb and spread out in all directions. The four wolves mid-lunge at Hypno didn't even manage a proper yelp before they were charred and plummeting to the ground.
-!?
The sudden death of their comrades left the remaining wolves visibly rattled, but they quickly bared their fangs and charged at Hypno in unison.
-Awooooooo!
One of the wolves threw its head back and let out a howl.
No learning curve, huh. Hypno found it almost comical how they refused to back off even after losing four at once, now coming at him with just three.
Let's try something other than magic this time... Hypno poured mana directly into the Cheonma's Orb and directed it with sweeping hand gestures. The orb above his head darted forward in response.
Thwack-thwack!
-Grahhh!
The Cheonma's Orb slammed into the heads and torsos of all three wolves in rapid succession. Accelerated by its weight and infused mana, it shattered skulls or cracked ribs, pulping organs on impact. They died instantly or within seconds.
"Whoa, this thing's performance is insane."
Hypno hadn't expected the Cheonma's Orb to move that fast. He'd been ready to follow up with another Lightning if it lagged, but no need.
One wolf left. Hypno spun the orb furiously.
"Time to test a spinball."
As he prepared to launch the whirling Cheonma's Orb at the final wolf—
-Grrrrrr!
Thud-thud-thud! The sound of multiple more wolves approaching reached his ears.
That howl earlier was calling reinforcements, huh. But no matter how many you bring...
Hypno fired the orb at the wolf in front of him first.
Wham!
The spinning Cheonma's Orb smashed into the wolf, sending it tumbling end over end without a scream until it crashed into a tree and collapsed.
-Awooooooo!
A few of the incoming wolves howled to summon even more packs, while the rest lunged at Hypno. In normal circumstances, this endless wave would be deadly. But Hypno felt zero panic.
Perfect chance to test out a bunch of different spells!
To him, these charging wolves—endlessly reinforced—were just practice dummies for skill trials.
20 minutes later.
Hypno kept mowing down the endless wolf packs. But he wasn't fighting desperately back-to-back. Using his boosted agility, he dodged nimbly, sometimes wreathed the Cheonma's Orb in flames to incinerate them, sliced them with wind blades like he had with goblins, blasted them away with high-pressure water cannons, or impaled them on stone spikes rising from the earth. He tested every spell at his disposal.
He even gave the survivors time to call more packs. To stave off boredom, he switched positions now and then. Those 20 minutes were pure, joyful magic experimentation.
Getting kinda boring now.
Unlike reforming or fucking women with hypnosis, the thrill never lasted forever. Time for cleanup.
First, harvest the ears from the corpses... Ah, shoulda cut 'em off from the start and moved on.
Sighing at his own negligence in the heat of testing, Hypno fired a spell at the last barely-alive wolf.
"Wind Demon Slash!"
A plain old Wind Slash. Bored with basic chants during trials, he'd just yelled whatever cool name popped into his head.
Shwick!
The wolf couldn't dodge the blade of wind, its body cleaved in two. Guts spilled out, and Hypno stuck out his tongue.
"Eugh. Wasted that one. Oh well, time to collect ears."
For the next 10 minutes, Hypno used Wind Slash to sever the ears from his kills, storing them in the Cheonma's Orb. Magic cuts still meant blood splattered on his robe during the process.
Power Clean will handle it later anyway.
With ears gathered, Hypno headed back to Jenid. Conveniently, he was near where he'd first entered and met the pack, so he knew the exit direction and started withdrawing.
Thud-thud-thud!
-GRRROOOO!
Suddenly, a wolf larger than the rest—scarred all over—burst from behind Hypno with a savage roar.
By the time Hypno turned, it was baring razor fangs, two seconds from pouncing.
Hypno shifted the Cheonma's Orb in front, sparking Lightning to fire—
"Icicle Needle."
Enormous icicles erupted from the ground in a row, skewering the scarred wolf.
-Gr... rah...
Bleeding from the icy spikes, it collapsed dead.
Stunned by the sudden intervention, Hypno blinked at the corpse.
What the...?
"You... al... right?"
A drowsy female voice drifted from the direction of the forest exit. Hypno whipped his head around.
"Uh...!?"
His eyes widened at the woman who'd likely cast the spell.
"Not... hurt...?"
She perfectly matched Hypno's tastes below the waist. White hair tinged with sky blue, falling to mid-calf in a massive side ponytail. Stray locks stuck out wildly here and there. Sapphire-blue eyes like glittering gems. Slightly pointed ears.
She was an elf.
Her blank expression stared right at him. But her outfit was outrageously bold, clashing with that vacant look.
A tiara-like headpiece and white cape draped over a leotard—barely-there, clinging just enough to cover her privates. Her waist, ass cheeks, sideboobs, and back were fully exposed in a high-leg cut. The back covered only from nape to a sliver down the ass crack, connected by thin straps at the waist.
The white-based leotard turned sheer from lower belly to cleavage, revealing her skin transparently. She wore ringed gloves exposing all but the middle finger, each hand gripping an identical sword—she was a dual-wielder. Chokers bound her thighs, linked to white stockings like makeshift garters.
And she pulled off the slutty getup flawlessly, her voluptuous body highlighting its design. Massive, watermelon-like tits bulged from the sides alone. Plump thighs showed deep curves at crotch and ass, the chokers making them pop with healthy, fuckable allure.
Hypno took one look and thought:
Fuuuuck, so hooooot!
What the hell, is she a total slut? Guild girls were decently sexy, but this is next level! That blank face with this outfit—what's the gap moe! My dick won't go down!
Internally machine-gunning praise, he watched her approach.
"Hel... lo?"
She waved a hand in front of his face to check his reaction.
"Uh, y-yeah. What?"
"You... al... right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Totally fine."
"Good... that's a relief."
Her voice matched the blank expression—slow and languid. She sheathed her swords in the belt hooks at her waist.
"That was close. The wolf pack leader... jumped you."
"Yeah?"
So that was the alpha. Makes sense, it was huge. But screw that—
Hypno pieced it together. She clearly thought she'd saved him from danger. From her view, he was the innocent guy rescued from peril. Basically, his benefactor.
Not really in danger, but if she 'saved' me... gotta say thanks and offer 'repayment,' heh heh heh...
"That was... dangerous."
She murmured at the alpha's corpse. Perfect timing, Hypno thought.
"Yeah! Super dangerous. Whoa, thank you so much! You're my lifesaver!"
He switched to a polite tone, grabbing both her hands and shaking them vigorously.
Ooh, soft as hell for sword hands.
She didn't flinch or pull away, just kept her blank look.
"Really...?"
"Totally! I wanna repay you someday!"
"No need... to."
"Nah! Can't just let this slide! I'll definitely 'repay' you!"
"Okay... then."
She nodded, sensing he'd keep pushing.
"First... let's get outta here. Blood smell'll draw more wolves."
"Right! Let's go!"
After harvesting the alpha's ears, Hypno and the woman exited the forest. Along the way, Hypno learned why she'd helped.
Returning to Jenid from a distant quest, she'd heard the howls. One might've been ignorable, but they kept multiplying, so she checked it out. Right as she entered, she spotted Hypno—robe bloodied—and the alpha charging him. Thinking him in peril, she'd struck immediately.
"The blood on your robe... all from wolves."
"Haha, traces of my fierce battle."
"Didn't... need my help... huh?"
"No way! Even I thought I was done for with that alpha ambushing. You're my lifesaver!"
Hypno shook his head emphatically, forging their connection.
Hypnosis-fuck her now? Nah, something about her makes me wanna savor it slow. Though if she's this hot, I'll probably rail her anyway.
"Oh yeah, haven't caught your name yet! What's yours?"
"Me...?"
"Yeah! You! Oh, I'm Hypno. E-rank adventurer."
The woman who'd saved him from the alpha opened her mouth, still blankly.
"I'm Wintineas... Rank... D."