Wolf Canyon (3)

It was just like the frenzy that overtook the monsters during the Night of Despair. Though uncommon, environmental shifts like this occasionally happened inside gates.

So that was why there had been so many wolves lurking around.

Perhaps the gate had sent out common grunts beforehand because the difficulty was scheduled to spike later. Lee Shinhee quickly grasped the situation as well.

"No wonder. Even when their howls echoed all across the mountain, they never swarmed us all at once."

"The scattered packs that ambushed us along the way must've been because of this too."

"Right. Since the difficulty is about to shoot up."

Any ordinary party of hunters would have broken into a cold sweat. After all, a mid-raid surge in difficulty was usually a death sentence.

We, however, were not ordinary hunters.

"Actually, works for me!"

Uncle, who was having the time of his life testing out his new spearmanship, grinned broadly. He had already gone toe-to-toe with an awakened werewolf earlier.

Once the red moon empowered the monsters, wouldn't they make the exact live sparring partners he loved so much?

"Not bad at all," I agreed.

It was also a prime opportunity for me to test blending the Fighting Rooster martial arts with Cresea Swordsmanship in genuine combat.

"Whoa! The edge of the moon is changing color!" Minjae pointed toward the sky. Sure enough, the crescent rim of the massive full moon was already bleeding crimson.

Awooooo!

As if heralding the advent of the blood moon, a long, mournful howl echoed through the distant ridges.

Yet the successive howls that followed seemed to be drifting steadily farther away.

"Wait, is it just me, or does that sound like they're backing off?"

"Sounds that way to me too."

The cries were definitely receding from our position. Lee Shinhee's eyes sparkled.

"It looks like they're laying low until the red moon fully rises."

"Well, works to our advantage," Uncle said with an easy shrug. "Twenty-nine left. We'll be able to have some real fun."

Seeing Uncle so thrilled brought a smile to my face.

"Let's level up your spearmanship here, and then we'll head out for some sparring."

"Sounds great. Let's start with Sang-yeop first, though. Going straight to Shin Chang is a bit intimidating."

Uncle probably felt that way because Shin Chang was the pinnacle of spear wielders—a man who had defeated an S-rank spear technique back when he only possessed an A-rank skill. Since he was the undisputed number one spearman in the world, Uncle naturally wanted to show him a more polished version of himself.

"Alright. I'll contact Mr. Sang-yeop as soon as we clear this place."

With that settled, I opened my Subspace. Looked at another way, we had just been granted a thirty-minute intermission.

"They're going to swarm us relentlessly in a bit, so everyone rest up as much as you can."

The moment the words left my mouth, Uncle plopped straight onto the dirt.

"You know I have folding chairs."

"Then pull them out first!"

"Is this your first day?"

I unfolded the chairs and handed out bottled water and light rations.

"Shinhee, once the red moon rises, live combat training might be tough. Are you alright with that?"

"Of course! What we did earlier was plenty. That was exhausting enough as it is—anything more would be pushing it." Lee Shinhee waved both hands in surrender, shaking her head. True enough, she had pushed herself hard earlier.

Minjae, on the other hand, raised his hand with a grin.

"Heh heh. Does that mean it's finally my turn to step up?"

"Sure is. When they swarm in, feel free to beat them half to death before we even start."

Before the sentence was even finished, Minjae leaped to his feet and began stretching enthusiastically.

"Minjae."

"Yes!"

"There's still thirty minutes left. Save the warm-up for later."

"...Understood."

The full moon hung suspended in the night sky.

Beginning from its outer edge like a crimson crescent, the red hue crept steadily inward until it swallowed half the sphere, eventually becoming a gleaming blood-red orb.

Awooooo!

Awooo!

Instantly, savage howls erupted across the mountains. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cries were on an entirely different level from before—a cacophony so deafening it felt as though every single beast in the canyon was baying in unison.

"Everyone ready?"

"You bet."

"Yes!"

We hadn't just been idling away during those thirty minutes. Once monsters went berserk, they were almost guaranteed to charge straight at us, likely having pinpointed our exact coordinates just like during the Night of Despair.

With Kim Hancheol absent, waiting out in an open clearing was an invitation to disaster. After a brief rest, we had scouted and secured an ideal defensive position.

This should do nicely.

While scouting, I had found two massive boulders leaning against each other. Between them lay a narrow crevice, providing a secure pocket where Minjae and Lee Shinhee could take cover and cast spells safely.

"Minjae, when they arrive, thin out the grunts with magic. Got it?"

"Understood!"

"I'll guard the rear. Uncle, go wild to your heart's content."

"Thanks, Hye."

Since Uncle was itching for combat the most, I positioned him where he could rampage unhindered. Handling whatever slipped past him would be more than enough action for me.

Lastly, there was Yongyong. Since Uncle wanted to wield his spear on foot rather than mounted, he would fight without his dragon this time, but I wasn't particularly worried. These days, Uncle held his own remarkably well even unmounted.

With Lee Shinhee's buffs and heals, plus the Sand Soldier's armor, he wouldn't suffer any critical injuries. Not to mention I would be covering him from behind.

"As for Yongyong..."

Just then, a fierce rustling tore through the surrounding undergrowth. Our location had definitely been compromised.

Sensing the approaching clash, Yongyong bared his fangs and growled into the shadows.

"Grrr!"

"Circle overhead and breathe fire if you want, or give Uncle a hand. Just do whatever you feel like."

"Krr!"

Seeming to understand, Yongyong let out a sharp rumble before taking flight with a powerful beat of his wings.

At the same time, my spatial awareness caught the incoming host.

Werewolves. Not a single ordinary wolf among them.

What stood out immediately was that their frames were slightly larger than before, and their approach speed had surged dramatically.

"They're coming."

"Where?"

"From all sides!"

Uncle stepped forward alone, planting his feet and leveling his spear. Standing solitary against the dark, he looked like a warrior daring every enemy in the forest to charge him at once.

Minjae gasped in admiration.

"Whoa, big bro! Looking sharp!"

"Minjae, focus."

Uncle didn't respond, clearly locked in deep concentration, so I issued the warning to Minjae instead. He was diligent and capable, but his youth sometimes showed in moments like this where his attention drifted.

"Yes, Hyung."

Minjae's expression instantly tightened.

I focused on my spatial sense. Although it was deep in the mountain night, the moon cast enough radiance that visibility wasn't an issue—even if the landscape looked as though viewed through a crimson filter.

"Hye. Watch out for the ones dropping from above."

Uncle threw a quick warning over his shoulder, but I merely smirked. My spatial awareness had already mapped them out.

"Don't worry about me."

In the next breath, werewolves lunged from every direction. The pack perched on the boulders above leaped past our heads, hurtling straight toward Uncle.

"Chain Lightning!"

Sparks violently crackled from Minjae's staff.

Golden and azure brilliance shattered the crimson-filtered gloom. Like countless sprawling branches, blue arcs of electricity scattered across the air.

Szzzzzzzt!

With a terrifying sizzle, the lightning engulfed the leading wave of werewolves, spreading in all directions like a spiderweb of raw electric death.

Uncle remained completely unscathed. Lee Shinhee had preemptively shielded him as planned, and Minjae had calibrated the spell's output.

"Grr... K-kyeeng!"

Even after taking the direct brunt of Chain Lightning, the werewolves didn't immediately collapse. Part of that was Minjae dialing back his power, but more than that, every single beast charging us under the red moon was an awakened variant.

"They're all awakened!"

"No problem!"

Uncle swept his spear in a wide, whistling arc. I also swung my blade toward the paralyzed beasts directly in front of our position.

I kept track of the tally even as I cut them down.

"Uncle! Keep count! Don't overdo it if you don't want any regrets later!"

"Got it!"

I have to make the most of this opportunity.

Choi Cheol-gi was currently overflowing with immense gratitude toward Han Hye. Of course, he was always thankful.

A dragon mount, elixirs, secret technique manuals, and even his own son's awakening.

Leaving aside debts of gratitude that could never be repaid in a lifetime, his current thankfulness stemmed from something else entirely.

Han Hye had entered this gate specifically to grant his request, and had even yielded the combat opportunities to him.

Hye must have wanted to fight too.

Discussions about entering combat-focused gates had been circulating within the Dinosaur Guild for a while. Though they had put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it off because better opportunities kept presenting themselves, both he and Han Hye felt the need for real combat.

Yet in the very gate they chose for that purpose, Han Hye had completely stepped aside to let him take center stage.

Choi Cheol-gi believed this was Han Hye's considerate way of looking out for him, knowing he lagged behind in strength.

Saying he could just train through sparring...

Of course, there was a slight misunderstanding.

Han Hye had stepped back because he genuinely found his sparring matches against Shin Chang and Lee Sang-yeop tremendously helpful. Since Choi Cheol-gi didn't have access to sparring partners of that caliber, practical combat was far more beneficial for him. Moreover, Han Hye's stats were significantly higher than Choi Cheol-gi imagined.

Unaware of this, Choi Cheol-gi added this small, thoughtful gesture atop an already mountain-sized pile of gratitude.

I have to repay this favor, no matter what.

Han Hye always said Choi Cheol-gi had saved his life in the past, but Cheol-gi knew full well he had received tenfold, a hundredfold more in return.

Failures, shattered dreams, and the public scorn he had endured instead of honor and praise—everything had been reversed. And on top of that, he was continually cared for even in the smallest details.

"Twenty-two! Twenty-one!"

Thus, he poured every ounce of focus into the fight.

He thrust with his spear, dodged, slashed, and activated Swiftness to slip past incoming claws.

Against enemies strengthened by the red moon, they made the ideal opponents. This was raw, direct combat experience he could never gain from simply piercing through lines with the dragon's charge.

Amidst extreme concentration, Choi Cheol-gi etched every single motion into memory.

"..."

Soon, he attained such intense focus that nothing existed in his world except himself, his spear, and the enemy. He even forgot to count.

Instead, movements that he had understood only conceptually in his head began to click into place, their underlying mechanics finally revealing themselves to his instincts.

A notification flashed indicating the skill's level had risen, but Choi Cheol-gi didn't even notice.

Driven by the conviction that he could not squander the opportunity Han Hye had granted him, his concentration was absolute.

· · ·

"Uncle! Stop!"

Before we knew it, we were fast approaching the gate's objective of fifty monsters.

Minjae had spent the entire time watching with his mouth agape after that initial spell, leaving Uncle to handle almost all the werewolves alone.

Uncle had been swinging his spear in a trance-like state, making it nearly impossible to pull him out of it. He was so absorbed that he didn't even register taking hits during the melee—fighting almost like a berserker.

Thanks to that, Lee Shinhee was frantically chanting healing spells non-stop.

Still, the results spoke for themselves. At some point during his trance, Uncle's spearmanship had grown distinctly sharper and deadlier.

"Kyeck!"

Now, however, it was truly time to stop.

Using Leap, I closed the distance and caught Uncle by the arm.

"Uncle! That's enough!"

"...Huh?"

Uncle finally snapped out of it. He blinked in dazed bewilderment, looking around at the carnage with wide eyes.

"That's plenty."

"Did... did I do all this?"

"Who else, me? You were fighting like a demon. You entered a state of complete self-transcendence. That kind of flow state is rare even for masters."

"Me? But it felt like I only fought for a minute..."

Searching his memory, Uncle seemed to realize something as his eyes went round. Then he thrust both fists into the air.

"My spearmanship went up two levels!"

"Two whole levels? Just like that? Whoa..."

"Thank you, Hye. It's all thanks to you."

"Pardon?"

I tilted my head, bewildered by his sudden gratitude, but Uncle merely patted my shoulder with a broad grin.

I had no idea what he was thanking me for, but either way, it was something worth celebrating. Uncle let out a faint breath.

"Whew, I nearly wiped out every single one of them."

There were exactly two werewolves left standing. It seemed the system had carefully calibrated the spawn when the red moon rose to match the fifty-monster quota precisely. A bit of gate balancing, so to speak.

Both surviving werewolves kept their distance, trembling and staring warily at Uncle.

One look at them made it obvious: they were terrified out of their wits.

Hardly surprising, considering the awakened werewolf we had encountered when first stepping through the gate had long since been impaled and slaughtered by Uncle's spear.

"Just in case, let's look for a hidden objective," I mused, looking between the two survivors. "I think we can tie one up and drag it along while we search. Shinhee, want to take on the other one?"

Lee Shinhee recoiled in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠horror.

"I'm good, really! I'm completely wiped out from chanting healing spells."

Come to think of it, Uncle had sustained quite a few injuries himself.

"Well, the gate won't close until we kill them all anyway, so Uncle, take a break. You took a lot of hits."

"No wonder... now that the adrenaline's gone, my limbs feel like lead."

Before I could even set up a folding chair, Uncle slumped right onto the ground.

"Let's catch our breath first, then go see if there's any hidden element tucked away."