Chapter 24 - Wolves

Oliver did a little stretch to limber up for the upcoming trek in the woods. Meanwhile, Rynold was just yawning, it was the middle of the night after all.

The group decided to leave Jack and Skye to guard the truck. The moment that something goes wrong, they are to drive and leave the two guys alone. Out of everyone, though, Jack was probably the best fit to guard the truck since he specialized in long-range combat — something that would only be a problem in the thick woods.

"Ready to go?" Rynold asked Oliver while checking his equipment one last time. It was the first time that they actually went hunting outside the city in the New World. Who knows what sort of problems could come up?

Oliver nodded in reply and headed first into the woods, his Agility stat was a lot more than what Rynold has. It was actually noticeable when Oliver was merely jogging and Rynold had to nearly sprint just to catch up. It's not ideal for them to make a lot of noise so he tried to tell Oliver to slow down.

But it was for naught as the amateur assassin left his best friend behind.

"Well, that's just great," Rynold murmured as he ran towards the howl that he heard before with Oliver leading the way.

Oliver, meanwhile, was actually having a lot of fun. This was the first time he felt unhindered for a long time, the sound of the wind rustling as he sped into the night. Dagger in hand, he felt as if this was where he was meant to be.

He ran deeper into the forest and raised his hands at how much fun he was having, until —

Thud!

Oliver didn't even get the chance to see what the hell happened, all he knew he was hit by someone or something. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rynold trying to hold back his laughter while running towards him.

Oliver looked to see what sort of creature could actually tackle him in the middle of the night, only to see a wolf but its size was certainly not of one.

The wolf was circling Oliver like a hunter stalking prey. Its enlarged size was more threatening than what a normal wolf looked like and it was actually big enough for somebody to ride on — like a horse-sized wolf. Fangs and claws were enlarged, making for an added fear effect.

But Oliver didn't waver.

He pushed himself off the ground and took a fighting stance with the dagger in hand. It was a fight that was way too fight for the naked eye to see. In fact, Rynold tried to help but he could only stand in awe as sounds of metal against bone were heard.

Oliver was fighting the wolf. Paired with the dagger's passive skill [One with Darkness] and his agility was something to be feard, for a normal person that is.

The wolf was standing on its own ground, capable of withstanding Oliver's hits but actually hit him at every exchange. Oliver was losing. That much was certain since the wolf was naturally aligned with its territory while Oliver was merely surviving every exchange in the unfamiliar terrain.

"Crap."

Oliver let out a curse as the wolf's paw hit him from behind, forcing him to fall down to the ground. Rynold finally managed to spot his best friend but covered in cuts and wounds. The wolf wasn't so well-off either.

It was noticeably tired from all of the excess movements of the fight. Not only that, there were visible wounds and cuts that came from Oliver. But something didn't seem right.

The wolf didn't end Oliver as it is and instead circled the young man. It was as if the wolf was eyeing Oliver. Rynold noticed what was going on and tried to quietly observe the situation and chose to attack once the wolf tried to end it.

"Heh," Oliver coughed up some blood and tried to bring himself up. "You're hurt, right?"

Oliver tried to use reason on the creature, hoping that its intelligence would have evolved along with its mutation. The wolf didn't respond, well, how could it possibly respond to a question?

"I noticed the bite mark on your heinie there, little wolf," Oliver continued. It was going well, as much as the word "well" would mean in this type of situation. The wolf didn't attack and still eyed Oliver as if it was staring directly into Oliver's soul.

Oliver dropped his guard and made himself welcoming for the wolf to come near him. It was an awkward situation for Rynold to watch since this was practically the first time that he saw his best friend being welcoming.

Oliver took a step forward to the wolf that was still glaring its fangs towards him. The situation was tense, to say the least. He took another step towards the wolf, making it retreat a small step back.

Slowly, but surely, Oliver was approaching the wolf. He knew he couldn't win in a direct confrontation and the aggression that the wolf was showing was his fault. Oliver probably stepped into the wolf's territory without even knowing it.

Eventually, the wolf lowered its guard, as if acknowledging the stranger's motives. Both parties approached each other with shifty eyes. Oliver raised out a hand, motioning the wolf to come near.

It reacted naturally and approached the hand, snout first. The wolf sniffed the hand before anything else before letting him pat the wolf on its head. As peaceful as the exchange was, Rynold was seriously skeptical of the situation.

'Did he get hit in the head or something?' Rynold was genuinely surprised that his best friend, who was usually cold and aloof, could do something like this.

Oliver and the wolf were bonding, although it was a weird sight to behold since the wolf was taller than him. Regardless, the wolf still didn't seem to trust him completely and decided to lead Oliver deeper into the forest.

Picking up what the wolf was putting down, Oliver followed it deeper in the woods with Rynold not far behind. Both of them were injured, after all, so Rynold finally didn't feel the need to run to catch up.

The group went deeper into the forest with the wolf leading the way. Oliver was trying to nurse himself to health while slowly moving towards where the wolf needed to go. It was then they reached a clearing that was littered with dead corpses. They were a pack of wolves, or at least what was left of it.

"This is your pack?" Oliver asked the wolf. It let out a low bark, signifying its grief at what happened to its family.

The wolves were large in their stature and it looked like the wolf that was with them was adolescent, still young compared to the larger ones. It must've been able to escape while the others were fighting something that was even more terrifying.

The corpses also had bite marks that were spotted on their bodies. The fight must've been gruesome for their deaths to be something like this.

Suddenly, another howl was heard just up ahead from where they were. It was another wolf.

Thinking, Rynold was confused as to why another wolf would still be alive while the rest were dead in the clearing. Wolves were territorial creatures and loyal to a tee unless a pack of wolves trespassed onto another territory.

The bite marks were roughly the same size as a mature wolf's fangs in the New World but some of the marks were bigger in comparison.

'Maybe, another pack of wolves decided to expand its territory?' Rynold was guessing what the reason could be to lead to such a devastating conclusion. He continued to monitor the situation until a wolf that was bigger than the rest showed up in the clearing.

Both Rynold and Oliver almost swore at the same time when they saw the wolf came out and presented itself to them. The new wolf had slightly reddish fur with bloodshot eyes, definitely something that was not friendly.

'Scan.'

Rynold used his scan ability instantly and saw that the name of the creature was not something to joke about.

[Rabid Alpha Wolf Lvl. ???]

An alpha wolf of a pack that was evolved by the Red Rain. The resulting evolution mutated into losing its sense of reason and loyalty and acquired its rabid nature.

"Oh, shi-" Rynold couldn't even finish the sentiment because the Rabid Alpha Wolf instantly charged towards them. It moved significantly slower but the pressure it gave out was no joke.

Oliver and the smaller wolf ran to dodge the attack while Rynold shifted his body ever so slightly to the side, dodging the incoming attack by a hair's width.

"This is bad. Bad. Bad. Bad," Rynold panicked as he ran straight towards the clearing. The trees in this situation would only be a hindrance than being helpful.

Without much delay, he summoned his Mech Knight once more so that they could at least have a fighting chance against the rabid wolf. Oliver readied his dagger and stood in front of the adolescent wolf that he befriended.

The smaller wolf howled into the night.