Time of Dogs and Wolves
[Shepherd Girl's Request - Wolf Pack]
From ancient times, shepherds leading their flocks across the plains have been the subject of many superstitions. With a staff in one hand and a horn pipe in the other, commanding a great herd of sheep with ease—they sometimes looked like sorcerers.
There were rumors that meeting a shepherd on your travels could earn you the blessing of the earth spirits, keeping you safe from accidents. Others whispered that shepherds were demons in disguise, trapping travelers' souls inside sheep to seal them away.
But this shepherd girl is just a fragile child. She has only a small knack for driving off wolves. And that trick doesn't work on the newly appeared king of the wolves.
The girl can no longer protect the sheep on her own. Protecting herself will be impossible too.
That's why she's asking for your help.
[Quest Objectives]
1. Protect the girl.
2. Protect the girl's dog (optional).
3. Protect the flock of sheep (optional).
4. Defeat the wolf pack's king (optional).
The quest content was similar to what was known in the open community, but there were many differences too.
The original quest from the shepherd girl NPC was called [Wolf Extermination], a hunting quest spanning five stages in total.
But the one given to me was some kind of escort quest. And the format of the quest description was a bit different from the usual.
I'd thought long descriptions like this only appeared for major campaign quests, but apparently not.
The quest objectives were suspicious in several ways too. Three optional ones? Quests like this usually ramp up the rewards the more optionals you complete.
The standard [Wolf Extermination] from the shepherd already had pretty good rewards—what could they possibly give for more?
And the final optional: defeating the wolf pack's king. Did that mean the field boss [Wolf King Robo]?
From what I'd heard, excluding the Floor 2 labyrinth boss, it was the strongest single monster around. Asking for that right off the bat? For a quest you pick up at the Floor 2 entrance, the implied difficulty was way too high.
Everything about this screamed massive rewards. No reason to turn it down.
"I accept."
Even if the difficulty was high, considering my level and specs, it shouldn't be that bad. Worst case, I could ditch the optionals and just take the base reward—no loss there.
As soon as I accepted, the quest window vanished, replaced by a new alert.
[All wolves in the field have begun watching you.]
It wasn't the usual blue interface—this was red.
[All wolf-type monsters have entered 'Berserk' state. Attack and defense increased.]
[All wolf-type monsters are tracking you. They gain first strike.]
[The Wolf King is tracking you. The field boss can now move outside its designated field.]
This quest is bigger than I thought. From now until we reach the village, the field boss itself will be hunting us down.
Now I get why there are so many optional objectives. Completing them all in this mess would be insanely tough. Maybe with a big raid party, but solo? Protecting the shepherd NPC, her dog, and the sheep?
"I'm so relieved the adventurer is helping... I'll definitely repay you once we get back to the village."
"Don't let your guard down. Let's move—fast."
"A-ah, yes, of course... I'll call the sheep. Come on, Flanders, let's go."
The shepherd girl took off at a trot, staff in hand and black dog at her side, then returned herding the sheep. Fourteen in total.
Fewer than I'd imagined, but still a lot when you had to protect them solo. And the village was pretty far. I could sprint there in no time, but herding sheep? The effective distance just ballooned.
Performing the quest for real brought up all sorts of annoyances. But I had no intention of quitting.
"The village is that way."
I followed the shepherd girl's directions silently, heading toward the village.
How long had we walked? A few minutes later, a pack of wolves charged at us.
I halted the sheep trailing behind her and rushed forward, weapons drawn.
-Grrrrr!
Again, the two types of field wolves. The only difference from before? Numbers.
From afar, it looked like six or seven, but they were in groups of similar size—two or three packs hanging back. Maybe twenty total?
Mob trash was no real threat no matter how many, but I wasn't alone—that was the problem.
"Come at me—all of you!"
I bellowed to draw aggro and charged the wolves first. Had to dive deep into the pack. No letting them flank around to the shepherd.
-Crunch!
I bashed the lead wolf with my shield, sending it flying, then hurled myself forward like a locker diving into the crowd.
Landed on a big wolf's back and stabbed its spine with my dagger, just like with the goblin lord. Daggers didn't hit hard, but wolves weren't that tanky—down in seconds.
-Kyaaang!
Reacting to their kin's blood? Or that berserk effect? Fortunately, the wolves focused on me without distraction.
After that, it was smooth. I swung sword and shield like a street brawl, butchering over twenty wolves.
"Kyaaak! Adventurer!"
Then the shepherd screamed from behind.
I trampled wolf corpses rushing back. A gray-furred wolf—not like the ones I'd killed—was facing off against her dog.
"Hup!"
I eyed the distance, then frisbee'd the shield off my left arm.
-Thwack!
The wolf tumbled, but more appeared, lunging at me. I snatched my shield mid-retrieve and dove into the pack again.
Fuck, this quest is impossible.
"Huff, huff... fuck, you little shits."
Couldn't help swearing. The quest design was straight-up screaming "don't do it solo."
Clear one pack, and another pops from the opposite side like they were waiting. Sprint to smash them, and yet another hits the sheep from behind.
No idea how many times I'd repeated this bullshit. Dog training wasn't this bad.
If my agility was a few levels lower, I'd have lost the whole flock by now.
Worst part? This endless loop meant no progress toward the village.
"A-adventurer... sh-should we rest a bit?"
"Hoo, no—just keep going."
The shepherd fidgeted, glancing at me nervously and suggesting a break, but I refused and pushed on.
Sit down once, and I might just abandon the quest. I couldn't trust myself.
Sloth doesn't just vanish once you shake it off. Lose momentum, and it's over.
Besides, I couldn't rest long anyway. Who'd guard the sheep if I did? That black dog?
"Th-there, just a little farther—there's a good spot to hide the sheep up ahead."
I remembered too. A safe zone in the Floor 2 field area, not much longer.
Best place to rest. Dragging my exhausted body onward, suddenly a blue alert popped up.
[Passive skill acquired: Combat Stamina LV.1]
"Huh?"
What the hell was this all of a sudden?
After a grueling forced march, we finally reached the safe zone in the field area.
"If we tuck the sheep between these rocks, even the wolves won't get them."
The shepherd girl herded them into a crevice with her dog and said so.
Yeah, figured. I slumped against a nearby rock, opened my status window, and checked the new passive in the skills tab.
Combat Awakening LV.1
Combat Stamina LV.1
[Combat Awakening], which I'd gotten from the goblin lord fight, now sat alongside the new [Combat Stamina].
Messing with the interface didn't reveal any effects or explanations.
I opened the open community and searched the skill name. Surprisingly, a bunch of info posts came up.
"Improved focus... and stamina boost?"
Other challengers' versions of the same skills had proper descriptions—unlike mine. And clear acquisition methods too. No one else seemed to get them out of nowhere like this.
They didn't show numerical values in the status window, but the effects were definitely real.
"What the hell is this."
Search results were too sparse. Better to ask directly. The rankers glued to the Tower of Trials would know something.
I opened the community and started writing a question post for the first time in ages.
That was when it happened.