The Wolf King's Last Howl
The forest was dense with trees, each one towering nearly a hundred feet tall.
This was the western woodland region of Rainbow Island.
“Kiiik...”
The ruler of these woods, the Rage Ape, lowered its head.
With a wet shunk, Park Jongwon yanked his blade free from the monster’s nape.
“Wow, as expected from Hwarang Guild’s star prospect, Mr. Park Jongwon. Truly in a league of his own.”
“To slit the Rage Ape’s throat in a single strike… incredible.”
“Wasn’t that Swift Charge just now? To wield a 3-star skill with such mastery.”
“Not only learning a 3-star skill, but striking the vital point with perfect timing! You’re truly amazing, sir!”
The players in his party showered him with praise in unison.
He was the promising rookie nurtured by Korea’s top guild, Hwarang. Every piece of equipment he wore was top-tier gear for the low-level range. With both outstanding talent and high-performance items to match his status as a rising star, it was no surprise he had slain the Rage Ape on the very first day of the tutorial.
Yet the one who had accomplished that difficult feat wore anything but a bright expression.
You are currently on Floor 0, Rainbow Island.
Giant Serpent Nessie — Alive
Wolf King Seorin — Alive
Deep Slime — Dead (Hunter: Yu Jinho)
Respawn in 163:52:19
Rage Ape — Dead (Hunter: Park Jongwon)
Respawn in 167:59:31
1st — Yu Jinho (407 pts)
2nd — Park Jongwon (131 pts)
3rd — Jeong Sinho (63 pts)
4th — Oh Jiwon (53 pts)
5th — Lee Doyoung (45 pts)
Park Jongwon’s eyes grew icy cold.
I’m not in first place?
131 points.
It was an overwhelming score compared to the other players in the rankings. Ironically, that same description applied to himself. The gap between him and the person sitting at the top—Yu Jinho—was more than double.
This is impossible.
Deep wrinkles carved across Park Jongwon’s forehead.
In the tutorial stage, hunting normal monsters gave 1 point, while field bosses gave 100. The only reason he had shot straight up to second place was because he had taken down the Rage Ape.
That bastard named Yu Jinho. How the hell did he rack up 400 points in such a short time?!
Park Jongwon combed through his memories from before entering the Tower.
Oh Jiwon, Jeong Sinho, and Lee Doyoung were all promising players backed by powerful guilds, just like him. Maybe Yu Jinho was the same.
He thought long and hard, but the name Yu Jinho didn’t ring any bells.
He didn’t receive any guild support, yet he hunted the Deep Slime?
“Hah.” Park Jongwon let out a dry chuckle. “No way in hell.”
“Player Park Jongwon, is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
Park Jongwon shook his head. The player who had called out to him simply shrugged and walked over to the Rage Ape’s corpse.
This is bad.
Hwarang Guild had poured massive resources into this tutorial stage. If Park Jongwon failed to produce results worthy of that investment…
I’ll plummet straight to the bottom.
Hwarang demanded results equal to what they invested. In the previous batch, a rookie who had drawn attention made a critical mistake during the tutorial and was immediately cut off from all support. The gear the guild had provided became debt, and he couldn’t even sell it elsewhere.
Crack.
Park Jongwon’s molars ground together.
With dry, hardened eyes, he stared at the ranking window once more.
Yu Jinho, was it?
A rival he absolutely had to crush if he wanted a rosy future. Park Jongwon glared at the stage status as if he could burn the name into his memory forever.
* * *
“Grrrr! Woof!”
“Awooooo!”
The Silver Fang pack charged forward, tails wagging wildly.
These little shits. Aren’t you a bit too happy to see me?
I activated Sharp Claws.
Long claws burst from my fingertips as I infused them with mana and swung them forward.
A blue arc carved through the air. Droplets of blood followed a beat later, scattering across the sky.
“Grr!”
“Woof! Woof!”
The Silver Fangs circled around me, forming a perfect encirclement. They bared razor-sharp fangs and raised their claws.
A formation specialized for pack hunting.
But here’s the thing—I’ve got claws too, you know?
I activated Carapace.
I poured mana into my Sharp Claws.
As long as I had the means to end a Silver Fang in a single blow, there was no reason to fear an all-out brawl!
Splat!
Blood sprayed in every direction.
One strike, one kill. I tore through vital points like throats and hearts with my claws.
Carapace durability reduced by 26%.
Carapace durability reduced by…
On the other hand, the Silver Fangs’ teeth and claws couldn’t even touch me.
“Grr?!”
A few of them turned tail and fled in the opposite direction.
The moment they sensed defeat, they chose to run.
Well, go on then.
I didn’t bother chasing after the fleeing Silver Fangs. If they brought back more friends, it would only make things more annoying.
I used Devour on the Silver Fang corpses.
Even though I had already absorbed their essence, the skill’s utility didn’t drop. It restored both stamina and mana.
This was where Dissolution and Dragon Heart truly shined.
The mana I had spent fighting the pack was only about one-fifth of my total. After using Devour on the scattered corpses, it recovered in no time.
The value of the Silver Fang corpses dropped to zero, but right now, getting stronger quickly was far more important.
I kept advancing while slaughtering pack after pack. My level rose by four in the process.
At this point, that guy should be showing up soon.
“Awooooooo!!!”
A beast’s roar echoed through the forest like thunder.
You have been exposed to the Wolf King's Howl.
Strength and Agility reduced by 10%. Lasts for 20 seconds.
My body tingled. The howl’s debuff had taken effect.
“Not exactly a gentleman, are you?”
I frowned and turned toward the source of the sound.
Wolf King Seorin.
Unlike regular Silver Fangs, this one walked upright on two legs like a person. It stood roughly ten feet tall. Forty Silver Fangs flanked it as it looked down at me.
“Grrr. Human. Alone.”
The Wolf King’s voice sounded distorted, like a warped mechanical growl.
“What, you think I’m easy prey because I’m by myself?”
“Grr. Prey. Tear apart.”
The forty Silver Fangs spread out wide, pressuring me from every direction.
The Wolf King watched with its arms crossed. True to its title of “King,” it wouldn’t step in until its minions had worn down the prey’s stamina.
What an idiot. That arrogance is going to cost you your life.
I activated Sharp Claws.
I activated Carapace.
A gray carapace covered my entire body, and my claws extended to their full length.
Three minutes later.
The only ones still standing on two legs were the Wolf King and me.
Even with Carapace, I couldn’t block every attack, so blood was flowing. But despite appearances, my condition was excellent.
I had used Devour intermittently even while fighting the Silver Fangs. The bleeding was fairly severe, but it wasn’t enough to hinder me in immediate combat.
“Stop posing and come at me already, you mutt.”
I crooked my right index finger.
* * *
The Wolf King Seorin had judged the situation by instinct.
King. Steps in. Last.
It planned to enter the fray only after the Silver Fang pack had drained every last drop of Jinho’s strength.
Subordinates could always be replenished.
What mattered was the King’s safety!
The Wolf King did not join the battle until every last Silver Fang had fallen.
“Yelp!”
The moment the final Silver Fang collapsed, Jinho crooked his right index finger.
“Stop posing and come at me. You mutt.”
“Grrrr!”
The Wolf King unleashed another howl.
Jinho’s shoulders trembled faintly. The howl’s debuff shook his body.
The Wolf King kicked off the ground. The distance between them closed in an instant.
Grrr. Prey. Very tired.
Jinho was drenched in blood. The Wolf King judged that he must have exhausted a great deal of stamina fighting forty Silver Fangs.
Even for a King like itself, facing forty Silver Fangs was no easy task. No matter how impressive Jinho’s abilities looked, it was certain he couldn’t win in such a fatigued state.
“Grr!”
The Wolf King swung its right arm.
Jinho crossed both arms in an X-shape to guard. Gray carapace covered his skin.
Clang—!
The instant claw met carapace, sparks flew in every direction.
The force was overwhelmingly stronger than a Silver Fang’s. The carapace’s durability dropped by a staggering seventy percent.
Yet the Wolf King was not satisfied with that result.
One strike. Not enough to break.
Ordinary attacks wouldn’t inflict a fatal wound on Jinho.
The Wolf King raised its left arm high.
Strike Shot
White energy wrapped around its claws.
Strike Shot was a skill that partially ignored equipment defense and dealt direct damage to the target.
Strange carapace. Use it again.
The Wolf King swung its foreleg with a confident grin.
Whoosh!
Its claws sliced through empty air instead of Jinho’s carapace.
Jinho had taken a single step back, narrowly dodging the strike.
“Just as I thought.”
Jinho immediately stepped forward. He slipped into the wide-open gap in the Wolf King’s chest and thrust his straightened hand forward like a spear.
Sharp Claws.
Monstrous Strength.
Claws reinforced with mana for even greater cutting power, now carrying the Monstrous Strength manifested through the Utu-ri Snowflower technique. They pierced straight into the Wolf King’s heart.
Shunk! The Wolf King’s eyes flew wide open.
A searing pain as if its chest were being branded with fire. Jinho’s claws tore through muscle and drove deep toward the heart.
“Kaaaaaah!”
The Wolf King twisted its body. It had barely avoided a fatal blow to the heart, but it had already sustained a wound severe enough to cripple it in battle.
“What’s wrong? Something not going your way?”
Jinho shook the blood from his right arm and sneered.
“Grrrrrr.”
Several blood vessels burst in the Wolf King’s eyes, turning them crimson.
It swung its forelegs relentlessly.
“Looks like the pain’s blinded you.”
Clang! Clang-clang!
Jinho calmly blocked each of the Wolf King’s attacks with his Carapace.
Regenerating the carapace on the same spot required a full minute. Therefore, he blocked incoming strikes with unprotected body parts and tore the Wolf King’s hide open with his razor-sharp claws.
The longer they exchanged blows, the more wounds accumulated across the Wolf King’s body.
“Grrrrr. Human. Weak. Then why?”
The Wolf King activated Strike Shot once more.
It was confident that even a single clean hit would rip the flesh protected by that carapace to shreds.
But Strike Shot would never reach Jinho’s body.
“You’ve got a habit when you fight, you know.”
“Grrrr?”
“Whenever you’re about to use a skill, you pull your arm way back.”
Jinho already knew the Wolf King’s stats and skill composition like the back of his hand. Even if he weren’t a regressor, any player in their fifth year would know this information.
The real question was whether one could internalize that knowledge and put it into practice…
But for Jinho, the strongest player who had once reached Monarch rank, it was as easy as eating cold porridge.
“Grrrrrr! I. Am. King!”
The Wolf King’s silver eyes flooded with despair.
This couldn’t be happening.
It had used its subordinates to sap his stamina, yet Jinho showed no signs of exhaustion. On the contrary, the longer the battle dragged on, the more labored its own breathing became.
“Awooooooooo!!”
The Wolf King charged with a monstrous roar. This was its final, all-or-nothing attack.
Its speed was like a bolt of lightning. Since the charge carried twice the usual power, it was certain Jinho could not dodge.
“Thanks a bunch. You just made this a lot easier on my hands.”
In that instant, the smile on Jinho’s lips filled the Wolf King’s entire field of vision.
Agile Hind Legs
The Horned Rabbit’s ability manifested within Jinho’s body.
Thud! The rapidly closing distance between them suddenly stabilized at a fixed gap.
Jinho pulled his body back in perfect sync with the Wolf King’s charge.
When the Wolf King’s strength finally began to wane—
“You become my food too.”
Jinho stabbed once more into the wound he had opened earlier.
The Wolf King Seorin—infamous in the tutorial stage as a player-slaying monster. A boss that normally required at least two skilled parties working together to defeat had been slain by a single man.