The three students tensed as the monster drew closer. Yuyan scurried behind Evan, using him as a shield.
He pried Yuyan's hand from his sleeve and shot her a glare. "I'm not your knight in shining armor."
"You killed that thing once. I believe in you!" Yuyan said, refusing to budge.
Marcus readied his knife, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple.
Evan assessed the wolf as it slowly approached. With every step it took, its features became clearer. Those eyes weren't focused on them. No. The creature was staring at the small pot lying near Marcus's feet.
"Marcus! Throw the pot away!" Evan shouted.
Marcus blinked but quickly followed the order. He flung the pot to the side, and the wolf's head followed its trajectory. As the scent of the lure spread through the wind, the creature lunged after it.
It clamped its jaws around the pot and began chewing on it like a dog toy. Its long tongue slipped into the pot's interior, trying to lick up the remains of the lure sticking to it.
"Now!" Evan shouted as he charged forward.
He could only hope the three short blades would be enough. Harlan had explained that they were forged from special materials used by Awakeners, making them far stronger than ordinary weapons. If he was right, they should be able to pierce the monster's tough hide.
A figure shot past him. Yuyan let out a battle cry and drove her knife into the wolf's neck. "Aaaaaaaarrrghhh!"
A moment later, Marcus slammed his own knife into its skull. "Die, you bastard! Die!"
Evan's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe these two teenagers were fighting so boldly. Shaking off his astonishment, he joined the assault and slashed at the monster's torso. Under their combined onslaught, the wolf soon collapsed to the ground.
"That was... weirdly easy," Evan said between heavy breaths as he stared at the corpse.
"The lure has a temporary sedative effect when consumed by the wolves," Yuyan said, wiping the sweat from her temple.
"That thing was too high to even feel pain," Marcus added.
"Even with the sedative, it's strange that we managed to kill them at all," Evan muttered, nudging the carcass with his foot. He had defeated one himself, though he had been badly wounded in the process, and now another had been ganged up on and taken down by them.
"Did you forget everything we've been learning?" Yuyan asked. "Six-Eyed Wolves can barely be considered B-rank when they're alone. They're a nightmare when they're in a pack, though."
Marcus nodded. "Crazily smart when they work together."
"Then can't Awakeners just dump these lures around to make them easy to kill?" Evan asked. The creature hadn't even fought back as they stabbed and slashed it to death.
"Won't work. If you try to drug all of them, they just become rabid after the sedative wears off," Yuyan said. "Ooh! I remember that one time Junhao blasted a hundred of them into pieces with a single move. So cool." She sighed dreamily.
"What she's trying to say is that unless you've got a large area-of-effect skill, it's too dangerous and not worth the effort," Marcus said.
"And most lower-rank Awakeners don't have those skills," Evan added.
"Bingo."
"Really, only weaklings and civilians like us would think of using lures against these dumb wolves," Yuyan said. "An S-rank like Junhao can just pow! And kapow!"
Evan let Yuyan's fangirl rambling go in one ear and out the other. His attention shifted to the sound of approaching footsteps. Harlan emerged from the forest, his bushy brows rising at the sight of the wolf's corpse sprawled on the ground and the three students' blood-soaked hands.
"You guys okay?" Harlan asked.
"We're fine, Mister!" Marcus said. "And look, we finished the lure!"
Marcus then handed the wrapped bag to Harlan, who examined it in his hand and nodded. "Good. I found the wolves' nest. They're all hiding inside a big cave."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Mister?" Yuyan asked.
Evan looked at Harlan. Their survival depended on the man successfully drawing all the wolves toward the boss. Once the monster was weakened, Harlan would deal the final blow.
"Don't worry. I've actually done this before," Harlan said with a grin, though it shifted into a frown. "Though I have to warn you, something has been bothering me about this dungeon."
"Besides it being about to collapse on our heads?" Evan asked.
"Besides that," Harlan said. "So far, this dungeon has been rather welcoming to us."
Evan would very much disagree with that. He had almost died twice since being sucked into this place.
"We've only encountered lone wolves, most of them hiding in their nests. Even the pixies have been unusually withdrawn. Something about this feels wrong. Since this is an Irregular Rift, I'm worried the boss may be something we're not prepared for," Harlan said.
"But it's not as if we can do anything except challenge the boss," Evan said. "There's no sign of rescuers anywhere."
"You're right," Harlan replied. "That's why I want you three to keep your distance and let me handle it. As long as you stay hidden, the boss won't notice you. And if I get killed, run away and don't look back."
"Mister..." Yuyan murmured.
Marcus nodded. "Yes, sir."
Evan only grunted in agreement. There was no point pretending to be heroic and swearing they wouldn't abandon Harlan. In this dungeon, they were barely more than walking sacks of meat. If they tried to help, they would only become a burden, forcing Harlan to divide his attention between fighting the boss and protecting them. If Harlan died, though, Evan figured it wouldn't make much difference. The three of them would probably be dead soon afterward anyway.
With the lure in hand, Harlan headed back toward the Six-Eyed Wolves' nest while the three students hunkered down in a safe spot within the forest, some distance from the open field that marked the boss arena. They waited for what felt like an eternity, barely moving or daring to speak above a whisper. Even the slightest sound might attract the attention of a passing monster.
"Awooooo!"
The three students snapped their heads up at the loud howls echoing in the distance.
On the far side of the open field, Harlan came out of the forest and sprinted across the clearing. The lure bag in his hand hung half open, its contents lit by a small ember. Smoke trailed behind him, carried by the wind as the rank stench spread through the air.
A large pack of Six-Eyed Wolves chased after him in a wild pursuit. As Harlan neared the tree at the center, he hurled the lure high into the air. It struck the middle of the trunk, and the makeshift leaf bag split open on impact, scattering its contents across the bark. Harlan dashed away, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the enemies.
The pack ignored Harlan and swarmed the tree. Some scrambled up the trunk, digging their claws into the bark to reach the spots where the lure had landed. Their long tongues swept over the substance while others snapped at pieces carried away by the wind.
The more they consumed, the more frenzied they became. They scraped and chewed at the trunk in desperation, while more wolves piled onto the plant, sinking their claws and teeth into the wood. Thick chunks of bark were ripped away and devoured.
"It's working!" Yuyan whispered.
The pack kept tearing at the tree, and a few moments later the boss answered. The trunk shuddered, and the wolves clinging to the bark lost their grip and tumbled into the grass. A volley of needles dropped from the canopy while they were still scrambling to stand. The needles punched through fur and flesh alike, pinning several monsters.
Then a figure rose above the sea of leaves. It stood taller than a grown man, its limbs unnaturally thin and elongated. Dark veins pulsed beneath its semi-translucent skin. Four pairs of translucent wings unfurled from its back. Like the other pixies, its face was almost human, yet unmistakably wrong. Black eyes consumed nearly half its face, while a wide smile revealed rows of tightly packed, needle-like teeth.
The boss waved a hand. Needles shot from the trunk, impaling several wolves. A few collapsed, but the rest barely reacted. Their favorite prey was right there, and that was all that mattered.
Some leaped over the spikes that had sprouted across the bark and pounced on the flying pixie. It dodged their attacks, but more and more wolves climbed the tree and hurled themselves at it, trying to drag it down.
The boss twisted and darted through the air, narrowly avoiding their attacks, but the wolves were relentless. Eventually, one managed to latch onto its lower body. It swatted the beast away with a long arm, only for another to leap onto its back. The wolf bit into one of its wings, sending the pixie tumbling. The pack seized the opening, swarming over it and sinking their teeth and claws into its flesh.
"Eeeeeee-KEEEEEE!" The pixie whipped up a powerful gust, knocking the wolves loose.
Sadly, it was already too late. The wolves had torn and gnawed at its wings, leaving them too damaged for it to maintain flying. Unable to stay airborne, the creature descended from the canopy and could do little more than hover a few feet above the ground.
The remaining wolves attacked with even greater ferocity. They converged on the boss from every direction, snapping their jaws and raking it with their claws whenever they got close.
The pixie retaliated with another barrage of needles. Wolves collapsed in rapid succession, their bodies torn apart and riddled with holes. Yet the survivors did not falter. Even after more than half the pack had been slaughtered, they kept throwing themselves at their prey with reckless abandon.
The battlefield had become a slaughterhouse. Corpses littered the ground, blood stained the grass, and countless needles jutted from the earth like a field of iron thorns.
Deep gashes crisscrossed the boss's body, and chunks of flesh were missing where the wolves had torn into it. Two of its wings had been ripped away entirely, while the remaining ones hung tattered.
The boss let out a shrill screech. The glow beneath its skin intensified as it gathered the last of its strength. All around the clearing, the needles began to tremble. Then, they rose.
With a chorus of splintering sounds, the needles swelled into spikes and surged upward from the ground. The remaining wolves had no chance to evade. The spikes burst through their bodies, impaling them where they stood.
"Kekekekekeke!" The pixie's laughter pealed as the last wolves hung skewered upon the spikes, their corpses swaying like grisly decorations.
Harlan dashed forward with explosive speed. His hand tightened around the hilt of his broadsword, and in one fluid motion, he swung at the boss's neck.
The blade sliced cleanly through. The pixie's head spun through the air, its crazed smile frozen on its face, before landing with a muffled thud. Yet the creature refused to fall, remaining upright and swaying slightly as though it had yet to realize it had been beheaded.
"Is it dead?" Evan muttered. His eyes remained fixed on the floating corpse. After everything they had witnessed inside this Rift, it was hard to believe the boss had fallen so easily.
Could it really be over? Could they finally leave? For a brief moment, another thought surfaced. Would he even receive any rewards when he hadn't been the one to kill the boss? Evan pushed the thought aside. Surviving was already more than he could have hoped for.
Harlan apparently wasn't convinced the fight was over either. The Awakener drove his sword into its torso. With a powerful upward slash, he nearly split the creature in two.
This time, the creature collapsed. Before it could hit the ground, it dissolved into glittering particles.
"We did it!" Marcus cheered.
"Great job, mister!" Yuyan shouted.
The three students came out of their hiding place and approached Harlan. Meanwhile, the man scanned the battlefield, searching for any surviving monsters.
"...But where's the portal?" Evan asked. "The boss is dead, right?"
Or would the System automatically teleport them out? Maybe they had to wait until Harlan collected his reward for clearing the Rift.
"We'll need to burn the tree first, I believe," Harlan said. He dug into a pouch on his belt and drew out a red crystal, frowning at it. "Here I was hoping I could use this to enhance my sword, but I guess it can't be helped."
The crystal held Evan's attention. It was an uneven shard about the length of his index finger, with a translucent core where crimson light curled and flowed like molten lava sealed under glass.
"Ignara!" Harlan shouted.
He flung the crystal at the tree. Symbols flashed across its surface for an instant, and then it burst. Fire roared outward and swallowed the trunk, racing up the bark to devour branches and leaves within seconds. The heat slapped Evan in the face and forced him to throw an arm over his eyes.
The burning trunk shuddered. A deep groan rolled out of the wood, and cracks spread along its length until chunks of bark split away and dropped to the ground. The whole form writhed, and something inside it seemed to be fighting its way out.
GRAAAAAAK!
The crack that followed was sharp enough to ring over the field. Two arms of knotted root and thick bark wrenched free. The ground trembled as legs of root ripped themselves out of the earth. The creature rose, its branches curling upward and knotting into a jagged crown above a head of split bark. Two hollow sockets glowed in the wood like furnaces.
Evan's stomach dropped.