Boran followed the mission marker through District D with his shield on his arm.
Portal districts had been named in the order they were established. Some were small towns with only a few gates. Others had grown into cities around dozens of them. The newest district was M. D was still small enough that they could reach their assigned portal on foot, though the crowd made it difficult to stay together.
Kerem walked beside him. Sude and Deniz followed close behind, moving around adventurers checking equipment or waiting for their parties. Blue light marked the portals between the buildings and inside the transit halls. Through one, Boran could see sand. Another showed trees covered in snow.
Their marker led into a crowded chamber.
“There,” Sude said.
Portal 9-D stood against the far wall. Dark tree trunks and low bushes were visible through its surface. A board beside it listed the destination.
[PORTAL 9-D: ASHWOOD THICKET]
[Recommended Level: 1–5]
[Environment: Forest / Moderate Visibility / Multiple Threats]
[Active Missions: 3]
Five adventurers passed through ahead of them. The first carried a metal shield with dents along its lower edge. Boran looked down at his own wooden one, then adjusted the strap around his forearm.
Kerem stopped near the portal. “We just walk in?”
“Apparently,” Deniz said.
Boran waited until the other party had disappeared.
“I’ll go first. Kerem, stay behind me on the left. Deniz on the right. Sude, keep some distance behind us.”
“How much distance?” Sude asked.
“Enough that you can cast without hitting us. Not so far that we can’t reach you.”
She looked through the portal again and nodded.
Kerem drew one dagger. “If something goes around you?”
“Tell me. Don’t chase it into the trees.”
“You have Taunt, right?”
“Eight seconds. But it costs five mana, and I only have ten.”
Boran checked the emergency exit button at the lower right of his interface. It was still available. Using it would fail the mission and remove their loot, but it would take them out of the mission area immediately.
“If we need to leave, we leave,” he said. “Don’t stay because of the reward.”
Deniz checked his rifle and took his place behind Boran.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Boran tightened his grip and stepped through.
His stomach dropped. His next step landed on soft dirt instead of the chamber floor, and he stumbled before catching himself.
The forest smelled of wet soil and old leaves. Thick branches covered most of the sky. Ferns reached his knees, and roots crossed the ground beneath them. He could hear insects close by, but he could not see more than a few tree trunks in any direction.
Kerem appeared on his left.
“Holy shit.”
Sude came next, holding her staff in both hands. Deniz stepped through last and looked back just as the portal closed.
[MISSION ZONE ENTERED: ASHWOOD THICKET]
[Objective: Eliminate 8 Corrupted Wolves]
[Progress: 0/8]
[Time Remaining: 47:58:23]
Boran turned toward the place where the portal had been. Only ferns remained. He knew it was supposed to close after the whole party entered, but he still checked the exit button again.
“Stay close,” he said.
They followed a narrow trail between the trees. Boran had to watch the ground as much as the bushes. Twice, his boot caught a root hidden beneath leaves. The shield was not heavy yet, but keeping it raised made his shoulder ache sooner than he expected.
“Right,” Deniz whispered. “Something’s moving.”
Boran stopped.
A dark shape passed behind a tree about twenty meters away. It disappeared into the bushes, then emerged closer to the path.
The wolf was broad through the shoulders, with dirty fur and thin purple lines visible beneath it. One ear was torn. Its nose lifted toward them, and saliva hung from its lower jaw.
[Corrupted Wolf — Level 3]
[HP: 45/45]
Boran looked behind it. Nothing else moved.
“One wolf,” he said. “Let it come to me.”
The creature lowered its head.
Boran’s mouth went dry. He had trained with a shield before, but the people hitting it had known when to stop. This thing was looking at his legs.
It ran at him.
Boran raised the shield just before the wolf jumped. Its forelegs struck the wood, followed by its chest. The impact bent his arm toward his body and pushed him back a step. Pain ran from his wrist to his shoulder.
[HP: 68/75]
Seven Health. From one hit.
The wolf landed close enough that he could smell its breath. Boran lowered the shield when it snapped at his knee. Teeth scraped the wood before the creature pulled away.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 19/20]
“Fortify!”
[Mana: 5/10]
[Physical Defense increased by 5 for 15 seconds]
His body tightened beneath his clothes. He planted his boots farther apart and pushed the shield forward.
“Shoot!”
Deniz fired twice. Boran flinched at the first crack despite expecting it. Both bullets struck the wolf’s side.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 35/45]
The wolf turned toward Deniz.
Boran stepped into its way. When it lunged again, he used Shield Slam and drove the shield into its head. The creature fell sideways, its legs scraping through the leaves.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 26/45]
[Mana: 3/10]
“Now!”
Kerem came around Boran’s left side. He cut twice across the wolf’s flank, then jumped back before its jaws reached him.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 8/45]
“Flame Bolt!”
Fire passed over the wolf’s back and struck a tree. Sude swore. The creature had already begun dragging itself toward the bushes.
Deniz shot its rear leg. Kerem reached it before it could stand and drove both daggers down behind its head.
The wolf kicked once and stopped.
[CORRUPTED WOLF DEFEATED]
[+25 XP]
[Progress: 1/8]
Boran kept the shield raised until Kerem stepped away from the body. Then he lowered it and flexed his aching fingers.
“We killed it,” Kerem said.
Blood covered one of his hands. He wiped it against his trousers, looked at the stain, and stopped.
“Everyone okay?” Boran asked.
Deniz nodded. “Three bullets. I’ve got enough.”
“I missed,” Sude said.
“It moved.”
“I know. Next time, hold it still longer.”
Boran checked his mana again. Fortify had used half of it. Shield Slam had taken another two. He had three left after fighting one wolf.
“I panicked,” he admitted. “Used Fortify too early.”
“It was our first fight,” Kerem said. “At least you blocked it.”
Boran looked at the corpse. The purple lines were fading beneath its fur. Its mouth remained open, with dirt caught between the teeth. He did not like looking at it now that it had stopped moving.
A loot notice appeared when Sude approached.
[Corrupted Wolf remains available for looting.]
She touched the body and opened the list.
[Corrupted Wolf Fang x2]
[Corrupted Wolf Pelt x1]
[Wolf Meat x1]
Sude collected them.
“We split everything when we get back,” Boran said.
Nobody objected.
They continued along the trail more slowly than before. Deniz watched the right side. Kerem kept checking the ground for tracks, though he admitted he did not know how to read them.
The next two wolves came together.
Boran caught one with Shield Slam while Kerem moved aside to avoid the other. Without Fortify, the strike barely damaged the creature, but it stopped moving long enough for Deniz to aim.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 43/45]
[Mana: 1/10]
Three shots brought it down to twenty-three Health. Sude’s Flame Bolt hit this time, and Deniz finished it before it could reach her.
Kerem cut the second wolf’s throat as it turned. He backed around a tree instead of trying to block its next bite. Boran pushed between them, keeping the shield low while Deniz found another clear shot. They killed it without anyone else getting hurt.
[Progress: 3/8]
Kerem bent over with his hands on his knees.
“That was better.”
Boran wanted to agree. His arm still hurt from the first wolf, but he had stayed on his feet. Deniz and Sude had waited for openings instead of firing as soon as anything moved.
He opened his status.
“I have one mana left.”
“How fast does it come back?” Sude asked.
“One per hour.”
Kerem looked at him. “Then we’re sitting down.”
They found a clear patch beside the trail. Boran sat with his back against a tree and kept the shield across his knees. The others took out bread and water. Deniz ate with his rifle beside him, stopping halfway through each bite whenever the bushes moved.
They stayed there for about an hour. The first few minutes were uncomfortable. After that, Boran’s breathing settled, and his hand stopped gripping the shield so hard.
[Mana: 2/10]
Enough for one Shield Slam.
He would have to make it count.
The trail climbed toward a low hill. Loose stone appeared between the roots, and the trees thinned near the top.
Deniz crouched before reaching the crest.
“Down there.”
Boran lowered himself beside him.
Seven wolves occupied a clearing below them. Three lay near a den beneath the roots of a large oak. The others moved around the open ground, stopping occasionally to smell the air.
[Corrupted Wolf — Level 3 — HP: 45/45] x7
Boran counted them twice.
“We need five more,” Kerem whispered.
“We’re not going down there,” Sude said.
Boran agreed. He could keep one wolf in front of him. He did not know what he would do if seven came from different directions.
Deniz pointed his rifle toward the clearing.
“I can shoot one from here.”
“And then?” Sude asked.
“Run.”
Kerem looked down the slope. Two large rocks stood close together beneath them, leaving a narrow gap along the trail.
“We could wait there. They’d have to come through the gap.”
Boran studied the ground around it. The rocks were too high for a wolf to jump over easily. Bushes and exposed roots made the sides harder to cross, though not impossible.
“How many follow if you shoot?” he asked Deniz.
“I don’t know. Maybe the ones outside the den. The others might stay.”
“Might,” Sude repeated.
Deniz lowered the rifle slightly. “I don’t know what else to try.”
They still had time to look elsewhere. Boran glanced back along the trail, then down at the wolves. They were here already, and the gap would keep anything charging from reaching all four of them at once.
“If all seven come, we leave,” he said. “Don’t wait for someone to tell you.”
Sude checked her exit button.
Boran pointed to the rocks. “I’ll stand in the gap. Kerem, beside me. Sude and Deniz behind us. Don’t go around the rocks unless you have to.”
He moved down first.
The gap was narrower than it had looked from above. Boran could hold his shield between the stone faces with only a little room on either side. He tested his footing, moved a loose rock out from under his heel, and looked back.
Sude stood a few steps behind him. Kerem waited on his right. Deniz remained on the hill.
“Ready?” Deniz called softly.
Boran nodded.
The rifle cracked.
A wolf beside the den yelped and twisted toward its injured shoulder.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 35/45]
Four wolves ran toward the hill. The other three stayed near the oak, growling after them.
“Four!” Deniz shouted.
Boran’s fingers tightened around the grip.
Deniz came down the slope too quickly, slipped on loose stone, and caught himself against one of the rocks. He squeezed past Boran as the first wolf jumped into the gap.
“Shield Slam!”
[Mana: 0/10]
The wolf struck the shield and fell backward into the next one. Boran pushed forward before either could recover.
“Hit that one!”
Deniz fired twice from behind his shoulder. Kerem reached past the shield with one dagger and pulled back immediately. The wolf struggled to stand, exposing its head. Boran struck it again, and Kerem drove his blade through its eye.
The first wolf stopped moving.
The other three did not keep charging in a line.
One pressed against Boran’s shield. Another turned toward the bushes beside the right-hand rock. The third had fire burning along its muzzle where Sude’s bolt had struck it.
“Right side,” Kerem said.
Boran tried to turn without opening the gap. The wolf in front of him jumped against the wood, forcing it toward his chest. Claws scraped down its face.
[Wooden Shield Durability: 18/20]
[HP: 61/75]
He pushed it away, but the second wolf reached him around the rock. Teeth closed on his calf.
[HP: 54/75]
Boran shouted and brought the shield down against its snout. It let go. His trouser leg was torn, and blood had already begun soaking through the cloth.
Deniz shot the wolf in front of him. When it turned toward the rifle, Kerem cut across its side and drew it away from the gap.
The burned wolf went around the other rock.
“Sude, back!” Boran shouted.
She raised her staff.
“Flame Bolt!”
Nothing came out.
She looked at the head of the staff, then at the wolf.
“I’m out!”
It jumped before she could retreat. Its teeth caught her forearm. Sude screamed and pulled back, tearing her sleeve as the wolf dragged her down onto the stones.
[Sude HP: 16/25]
Boran tried to move toward her. The wolf beside his leg snapped again, forcing him to put the shield between them. He could see Sude on the ground beyond the rock. He could not get there.
Deniz dropped his rifle.
He drew the knife from his belt and ran at the wolf as it bent over her. The blade entered beneath its jaw. Deniz held on, stumbling against Sude’s legs when the creature twisted.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 15/45]
Claws tore across his chest.
[Deniz HP: 26/35]
Sude grabbed a loose stone. She hit the wolf with both hands, striking behind its ear. Deniz pushed the knife deeper while it was turned away from him.
The creature collapsed between them.
Boran barely had time to check that they were moving. His own wolf came at him again. He lowered the shield and forced it toward the rock, stepping carefully on his bitten leg.
“Deniz!”
The Gunslinger retrieved his rifle. Blood covered the front of his shirt. He had to brace the stock twice before finding his aim.
The shot struck the wolf in the chest.
[Corrupted Wolf HP: 10/45]
Boran hit it until it stopped getting up. The first blow drove its head against the stone. The next caught it along the jaw. He held the shield in both hands and kept striking while Deniz stood behind him with the rifle ready.
By the time Boran stepped back, Kerem had finished the remaining wolf.
[Progress: 7/8]
Boran leaned against the rock. His leg hurt every time he put weight on it, and his whole left arm shook.
Sude sat on the ground with one hand over her forearm. Deniz crouched beside her, breathing through his mouth. Neither looked ready to stand.
“Can you move your hand?” Deniz asked.
Sude opened and closed her fingers. Blood ran between them.
“Yes.”
“Everyone alive?” Kerem asked.
Sude stared at him.
“Barely.”
Boran lowered himself beside her.
“I couldn’t reach you.”
“You had a wolf biting your leg.”
“I know. I should have kept you closer.”
She looked at the torn cloth around his calf, then at Deniz’s chest.
“We should have checked my mana before that.”
Nobody argued.
They collected the loot without leaving the rocks. The three wolves near the den remained in the clearing, though one had moved closer to the bottom of the slope.
Boran watched it while Sude tore a strip from her sleeve. Her hands were slippery with blood. Deniz held the cloth against the wound while she tied it.
“We rest,” Boran said. “Nobody goes anywhere yet.”
Boran sat with his injured leg stretched out. He had wrapped the bite with cloth, but it still throbbed beneath the knot. Bread tasted dry in his mouth. He ate it anyway and checked the trail between bites.
Kerem sat opposite him with both daggers on the ground.
“We only need one more.”
Boran looked toward the den. The remaining wolves had gathered near its entrance.
“If one comes alone, we take it. But I don’t think they’ll separate now.”
“Then we wait until Sude can cast again,” Deniz said.
Boran nodded. He had no mana left himself. There would be no Taunt if another wolf reached her, and no Fortify if something hit him harder than the shield could take.
For a while, nobody spoke.
Deniz checked the claw marks on his chest and pulled his shirt away from them.
“I was fixing cars two days ago.”
Kerem looked up.
“What?”
“My uncle’s shop. I spent half the day under a van. Now I’m stabbing wolves.”
Sude gave a short, tired laugh.
“Did you work there before the military?” Boran asked.
“Before and after. I did the six months first, went back to work, then volunteered for the other eighteen when I decided I wanted a Gate pass.”
“Why leave?”
Deniz looked down at his shirt.
“Money. The shop was steady work, but it wasn’t enough. My sister’s still in school. I’m twenty-six. I wanted to start sending something useful home.”
Kerem leaned back against the rock.
“I was at İTÜ. Computer engineering. Third year.”
“You finished?” Deniz asked.
“No. I’m twenty-four and still explaining that to my parents.”
“What did they say about you coming here?” Sude asked.
“Dad wanted me to stay at university. He works at a bank. Mom’s a nurse, so she had a longer list of reasons this was a bad idea.”
Kerem looked at the blood drying on his blades.
“I didn’t tell them this part would happen on the first day.”
Sude tightened the bandage around her arm.
“My mother begged me not to come.”
“What were you studying?” Boran asked.
“Literature. Boğaziçi. I wanted to teach.”
“Still do?”
“Maybe. I’m twenty-three. I don’t think that’s too late.” She looked toward the clearing. “After the attacks, sitting in class felt strange. Everyone was talking about the same things. Portals. Monsters. Who was leaving. I thought I should do something too.”
“So you picked Mage,” Kerem said.
“Because I wanted to stay far away from the monsters.”
Deniz glanced at her bandage.
“That needs work.”
“I noticed.”
Boran shifted his leg, trying to find a position that did not hurt.
Kerem looked at him.
“What about you?”
“Twenty-two. I studied for two years, then dropped out after the attacks. Did my military service and came here.”
Deniz looked him over.
“You were this big before?”
“Mostly. I worked construction when I could. Part-time.”
“That explains the shoulders.”
Boran looked down at his hands. He had never expected a wolf bite to become part of a conversation about his old jobs.
“Why Tank?” Sude asked.
He hesitated.
He could tell them the System had refused every other class. They had just trusted him to stand in front of four wolves. He did not want to explain that he had never really chosen to do it.
“Someone has to take the hits,” he said.
Kerem looked at the wooden shield.
“I’d rather move out of the way. That’s why I picked Rogue. I liked stealth games, and running seemed useful.”
“It is,” Boran said. “I could have used some of that.”
Deniz smiled, then winced when it pulled at his chest.
“Your family still back home?” he asked Boran.
Boran stopped turning the bread in his hands.
“My parents are.”
“Any brothers or sisters?”
He did not answer immediately. Then he put the rest of the bread away.
“I don’t really want to talk about that.”
Deniz nodded.
“All right.”
The conversation moved on. Kerem asked how much ammunition Deniz had left. Sude opened her status several times, waiting for her mana to rise.
When it reached roughly forty percent, she showed them the remaining amount.
“I can cast again. Not much.”
“Then wait until you have a clear shot,” Boran said. “If it misses, don’t throw another one immediately. Tell us what you have left.”
“And nobody runs around the rocks alone,” she added.
They stood slowly. Deniz checked his rifle. Kerem cleaned the grips of his daggers. Boran tested his leg before moving back toward the gap.
They needed one more kill. The three wolves below them stayed together.
Deniz shot from beside the rock this time, with no long run back to the others. The wounded wolf came first. The other two followed it up the trail.
Boran held the narrowest part of the gap and kept his shield low. He did not try to chase the first wolf after blocking it. Deniz finished it while Kerem cut at the next one from beside the rock.
[Progress: 8/8]
The objective was complete. The wolves were still attacking.
“Two more!” Boran shouted.
Sude burned the one trying to reach Kerem. Boran hit the other across the snout and pushed it back into the gap. Kerem stabbed it from the side while Deniz kept the last wolf away from Sude.
They killed both without anyone leaving the rocks.
Boran remained behind his shield until Deniz lowered the rifle.
“All down.”
Sude leaned against the stone and laughed once. Then she covered her face with her good hand.
“I want to go home.”
“To the Hub?” Kerem asked.
“To anywhere with a chair.”
Boran checked the completed objective again. Eight required. Ten killed. They had done it.
He let his shield rest against his leg.
“Loot them. Then we leave.”
Deniz sat down long enough to reload. Kerem collected the last materials while Sude checked her bandage. Boran watched the den, but nothing moved inside it.
He was already thinking about food and someone who could treat the bite on his leg when the birds stopped calling.
A low sound came from beneath the oak.
Boran lifted his shield.
“Did you hear that?”
The ground shook under his boots. Dirt fell from the roots above the den entrance.
“Back,” he said.
Deniz rose with the rifle in his hands.
Something struck the inside of the den. A stone rolled out, followed by loose soil. Two yellow eyes appeared beyond the roots.
“Back!” Boran shouted. “Away from the entrance!”
They retreated into the clearing. Boran stayed in front, trying to keep all three behind him while watching the thing force its way out.
Its muzzle emerged first. Teeth longer than his fingers pressed past the roots. Then one foreleg reached into the open ground, and its shoulder broke away part of the den’s outer wall.
It was a wolf.
Boran kept waiting for the rest of its body to stop coming out.
When it finally stood, its shoulders were about four meters above the ground. Black fur covered most of its body, broken by silver streaks and old scars. One paw was wider than the shield on his arm.
Sude made a small sound behind him.
A red window opened.
[SYSTEM ALERT: CLOSED BETA CONTENT DETECTED]
[WARNING: You have encountered an untested Boss Entity]
[Entity: Alpha Wolf — Corrupted Variant]
[Threat Assessment: UNKNOWN]
[Combat Balance: NOT FINALIZED]
[This entity has not completed playtesting protocols. Difficulty scaling may not match your current party level. Exercise extreme caution.]
Boran read the warning twice. No level. No useful number. The System could not even tell him what they were facing.
“Boran?” Deniz said. “What the hell is that?”
He had no answer.
The Alpha Wolf raised its head and howled. Boran flinched so hard that the shield struck his chest. Behind him, someone stumbled over a stone.
He wanted to run. His bitten leg was shaking before he had taken a step.
The wolf lowered its head and looked directly at him.
Boran raised the wooden shield anyway.