The howling wind blew snow across the icy plain as Evren stepped into the frozen pine forest.
Massive pine trees, coated in thick sheets of frost and icicles, rose thirty feet into the turquoise sky. The canopy blocked out most of the pale light, casting long, eerie shadows over the deep snowbanks.
Evren walked forward, keeping his senses alert. Even with the sub-zero chill biting against his face, his insulated suit kept his core warm.
The translucent golden system screen blinked softly in his field of vision:
[WARNING: Entering Level 25–30 Hostile Zone — Frost-Wolf Territory!]
[Multiple High-Speed Mana Signatures Detected!]
CRACK.
A faint snapping sound of dry twigs echoed from the dense trees to his right.
Evren stopped in his tracks, his hand moving to the hilt of the Glacial Trench Blade on his back.
From the shadows of the frost-covered pines, eight massive beasts stepped out into the clearing.
They were easily six feet long, with thick silver-white fur that blended perfectly with the snow. Their eyes glowed with blue mana, and curved icicles stuck out from their jaws like extra fangs.
Leading them from the center of the pack was a beast nearly twice their size... a Level 32 Shadow-Frost Alpha Wolf. Its silver fur was streaked with dark mana lines, and its breath formed clouds of freezing vapor that crystallized in mid-air.
GRRRRRR...
The pack spread out instantly, forming a wide hunting circle around Evren, blocking every path through the trees.
Unlike the clumsy Frost Goblins from earlier, these wolves moved like true predators. They stayed low to the snow, circling him like they were testing the perimeter and waiting for the slightest opening.
SHING!
Evren drew his blade. The dark steel hummed as golden mana flowed into the edge.
"Come on," he whispered.
AWOOOO...
The Alpha Wolf howled a command.
Instantly, three Frost-Wolves lunged from the front in a staggered formation, while two more leaped silently from the snowdrifts behind his back.
Evren reacted with raw S-Rank speed. He planted his foot, swung his blade with all his physical strength, and aimed to cleave the lead wolf in half.
SLASH!
The heavy blade ripped through the lead wolf’s chest, tearing the beast into blue mana mist.
However, Evren had put too much force into the swing. The momentum of the heavy trench blade pulled his balance forward, and the dark steel buried itself four inches deep into the frozen trunk of a massive pine tree.
THWACK!
"Tch!" Evren grunted, pulling hard on the hilt.
Before he could wrench the blade free, the second flanking wolf closed the distance from his blind spot. The beast leaped into the air, aiming straight for Evren’s exposed neck with its icicle fangs.
Evren didn’t have time to pull the blade.
Relying purely on his S-Rank reflex speed, Evren let go of the sword hilt with his right hand and threw an explosive left hook straight into the wolf’s snout.
CRACK!
Evren’s bare fist smashed into the beast’s skull like a cannonball. The wolf’s head caved inward, and the monster flew fifteen feet across the snow, dead before it hit the ground.
SKRRRR!
At the exact same second, the third wolf swiped its razor-sharp ice claws across Evren’s left shoulder.
The sharp claws screeched against his S-Rank combat suit, tearing through the outer fabric and leaving a stinging, frozen scratch across his upper arm before Evren kicked the beast backward into a snowbank.
Evren ripped his Glacial Trench Blade out of the tree trunk with one swift jerk, stepping back into the center of the clearing.
His breath plumed in the freezing air, his heart thumping in his chest.
Evren looked at the five remaining wolves circling him with caution, then glanced down at the torn fabric on his sleeve.
’I was swinging like a madman,’ Evren said to himself. ’I have S-Rank strength and speed, but I’m wasting momentum. In a street fight, raw power is enough. But against coordinated beasts, wild swings leave openings.’
Having overwhelming power was useless if he couldn’t control the flow of the weapon.
Evren loosened his grip on the hilt slightly, lowering his center of gravity. He slowed his breathing, syncing his senses with the rhythm of the wind. Instead of forcing his raw strength into massive wild arcs, he focused on precision, balance, and clean recovery.
The Alpha Wolf lowered its head, sensing the shift in the human’s stance.
ROAR!
The Alpha opened its wide jaws, gathering dark blue mana in its throat. An instant later, a concentrated beam of sub-zero frost erupted from its mouth, blasting across the snow straight toward Evren’s chest!
At the same time, the remaining four wolves lunged from four different angles to trap him in place.
Evren didn’t panic... nor did he swing his sword early. He watched the frost beam tear across the snow, waited for the exact fraction of a second, and sidestepped smoothly.
WHOOSH!
The frost beam grazed past his shoulder, flash-freezing the pine tree behind him into solid, brittle ice.
As the four wolves closed in from all sides, Evren stepped into their blind spot with fluid footwork.
SLASH! SWOOSH! CRACK!
Evren didn’t use excessive brute force like he did earlier. His blade moved in controlled arcs, letting the sharpness of the steel and his natural speed do the work.
He severed the neck of the first wolf with a clean horizontal flick, spun his body to parry a set of lunging claws, and thrust the tip cleanly through the second wolf’s heart.
Without pausing his momentum, Evren turned on his heel, sweeping his blade upward to bisect the third and fourth wolves in a single crescent!
Four wolves dropped to the snow simultaneously, dissolving into blue mist.
The Alpha Wolf’s eyes widened in shock. It tried to leap backward into the trees to escape...
BOOM!
Evren’s boots shattered the frozen ground beneath him as he moved and closed a twenty-yard distance in a heartbeat, appearing directly above the Alpha Wolf.
With a vertical downward strike powered by a controlled burst of golden mana, Evren brought the Glacial Trench Blade down cleanly.
SHING!
The blade cleaved through the Alpha Wolf’s skull and core in one perfect line, splitting the beast in two.
The Alpha Wolf let out a final whimper before dissolving into a thick cloud of blue mana particles.
Silence returned to the forest.
Evren landed lightly on the snow, breathing out a cloud of mist. He flicked the blade clean and slid it back into the scabbard on his back.
His movements felt noticeably smoother, lighter, and far more balanced than when he had first entered the Rift. His raw S-Rank body was finally learning how to move like a real combatant.
On the snowbank lay eight D-Rank Frost Mana Cores and one fist-sized, dark blue C-Rank Alpha Beast Core radiating dense magical energy.
Evren picked them up, tossing them into his Spatial Storage Ring.
He walked out from beneath the forest canopy, reaching the base of the massive Glacial Peak. The icy mountain rose sharply toward the sky, its summit hidden behind howling blizzards.
The System Radar pulsed in his vision:
[Glacial Lotus Essence Located at Summit Crater — 2 Miles Up!]
Suddenly, Evren’s ears twitched.
His enhanced S-Rank hearing picked up the faint crunch of boots on snow and low, whispered voices roughly three hundred yards behind him in the trees.
"Quiet down! The delivery boy’s blood trail leads this way..."
"Look at these dead wolves... did the monster pack tear him apart?"
"Young Master Prescott wants his head verified before we harvest the boss..."
Evren glanced back over his shoulder toward the dark forest, a cold, sharp smirk touching his lips.
Prescott had actually brought an elite kill-team inside the Rift to hunt him down.
Evren turned his gaze toward the snowy mountain path ahead, his golden eyes glowing with dark amusement.
"Following my trail?" he murmured into the howling wind. "Good. Let’s see how much I’ve improved."