Wolf's Den [4]

"Hahaha! Get fucked, you shitty dog!"

With my body still locked to the ground, I was filled with an insane sense of euphoria, having been able to lure the stupid animal into the mist that held the ability I was granted by my artifact.

[Ring of Ascension]

Description: A strange ring dropped by the Kobold Foreman. Let's the user's Manual temporarily increase to the next level of Understanding.

The description was simple yet very transparent. It just allowed me to use the Skill I would get from having an [Major] Understanding of the [Trickster] Manual, which in this case was [Detonate].

Just like before, I had no idea what the Skill would look like when I used the ring and artificially increased my Understanding, as there were four different Skills one would get when reaching level 50 in the game. Still, I was certain that it would be an offensive ability, as three out of those four were combat-related Skills.

However, although [Detonation] sounded pretty straightforward, it was hard to feel how the detonation would occur. As it turns out, it wasn't based on fire, as one would intuitively assume. Instead, it was just a physical detonation, where a pulse of pressure would get sent out from the element or clones I decided to detonate.

And as the boss had been in the middle of my mist, already injured from my earlier attacks, there was no chance of survival as its body got ripped into pieces, making its flesh spread out in chunks around the trees.

It was lucky that the werewolf wasn't as sturdy as the skeleton bishop, or it might have survived and rid me of my life as I was now completely defenseless, unable to even press the button to call for help. There was now zero mana to fuel my body, after all.

'I'll guess I'll just sleep for a moment and hope I don't get torn into pieces by any wolves...'

Just as my eyes were closing, a worried voice could be heard from a distance.

"JAMES!"

****

[Sarah's Pov]

'What happened?!'

We arrived in a small glade covered in blood with body parts spread around, the painting crowned by a big crater in the middle.

On the side of it, James was lying on the ground, unconscious and limp, "JAMES!"

Running passed my party members, who were still hesitant to enter the battlefield, I ran over and checked on James's state.

'His back is completely torn apart...'

When I turned his frail body, my eyes were met by a hideous sight. His whole back was ripped up with three huge gashes, almost reaching his bones.

"[Healing Winds]!"

I didn't waste any time before I sent out the green winds to heal him, and although the bleeding stopped, it was nowhere near enough to completely restore him.

Therefore, I turned to my party, with urgency coloring my voice, "We have to take him out of the dungeon! He needs medical attention from an expert!"

However, the response I got from our leader wasn't what I expected.

"Tsk! We still haven't killed the boss! How can we retreat now?! Just keep him alive for now, we will carry him back after we are done!"

His eyes were screaming with the determination to not give up until he had brought down the boss, but to me, it was madness.

"What are you talking about?! He might die! I don't care what stupid ideas you have in your head, I won't let James die!"

Having already decided, I started to bring my hand towards the button on my belt. "Don't you fucking dare!" "Ugh!" Before I managed to request help, he somehow grabbed my hand, making me unable to move it.

"What are you doing, Sebastian?!"

"I'm doing what I have to do! This is all his own fault in the first place! If he didn't want to die, he shouldn't have gone by himself!"

Holding my hand in an iron grip, the man in front of me appeared to have gone insane. "So you are ready to sacrifice his life because you don't agree with his decision?!"

"I AM READY TO LET HIM DIE BECAUSE OF HIS OWN ACTIONS, AS LONG AS I CAN KILL THAT DAMN BOSS WITH MY OWN HANDS!"

The man was truly insane, his face warping completely in anger. He was scary, frightening even, as he seemed completely obsessed with his inner desires.

"Guys... Stop it. Look around you.

Suddenly, a rare voice rang out, saving me from my distress as tears were starting to form in my eyes.

Turning his head toward Trisha, Sebastian's agitation didn't calm down in the slightest.

"What are you talking about?! She is trying to stop us from clearing the dungeon!"

Trisha just let out a sigh, as she pointed to one of the pieces of flesh on the ground, "Haa... It's too late, Sebastian. The boss is already dead. Can't you see that the head is lying right there?"

Both of us focused our gazes, finally noticing the wolf-like head that was too big to be a part of one of the normal monsters.

Releasing me from his grasp, the purple-haired maniac accepted the situation eerily fast.

"Tsk! Fine. Let's get out of here."

It was a complete shift in dynamic, going from completely furious and frenzied, back to the calm and neutral state he almost always was in.

'What is wrong with him...'

Not wanting to accidentally trigger him again, I bit my tongue and started to grab James in my arms. Lifting him up, I couldn't help but be surprised. 'He is so light...'

It wasn't weird for a woman to be strong enough to carry a man, but somehow I was almost sure that the man in my arms weighed less than me. It was just so bizarre how someone so frail could be so strong, even managing to bring down the boss by himself.

However, this time my cheeks didn't flush while thinking of how amazing the man was. Instead, I couldn't help but think of how pathetic I was. I had performed badly in both of the ranking events, justifying it by telling myself that I'm a healer, and that was why I was so weak. But if James, who was probably physically weaker than me, could become strong, why couldn't I?

Therefore, I made a promise to myself. A promise both in order to get to stay in the same world as him, but also a promise for my own sake.

'I need to become stronger...'

****

[Sophie's Pov]

"Well done! You even managed to bring down the boss, very well done, you guys!"

When we met up with Mr. Brown and showed him a fang from the boss, which was made intentionally to be retrievable, his face lit up with pride. "Now, let's get out of here!" Walking behind our teacher, I thought back at the fight we had just concluded.

The werewolf had been pretty powerful, but thanks to the fact that we could always keep him busy with arrows and backstabs, it had been a simple fight. A lot thanks to the fact that he wasn't as strong as the skeleton bishop, meaning I could fight him head-on on almost equal terms.

Even when he had become enraged, it was still just a matter of keeping him busy so my party could launch attacks freely at him. Oh, and John helped a bit too.

Making our way through the portal, I readied myself for the slight feeling of nausea that was about to hit me. *Woam!*

On the other side, back at the academy, I was expecting to see the other two groups waiting for us, with James's party still struggling with the boss. In terms of combat efficiency, I didn't hesitate to believe that my group was superior, as James wasn't necessarily suited to fighting with a group.

However, what met our eyes was something completely outside of my expectation.

James was lying in the middle of the room with some person in a white coat continuously sending out purple pulses of energy that appeared to repair his body. On the side stood all the other students and Ms. Turner, making sure to keep an appropriate distance and make space for the medic.

In the group, Sarah was standing with tears falling from her eyes, as Arthur had his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"What happened?!"

I was unable to stop myself from yelling, making Ms. Turner quickly make her way to me and lead me to the side to explain. "Mr. Jackson received a pretty grave injury. Thankfully, they made it here in time for him to get emergency treatment, so his condition is completely stable. There is nothing to worry about."

Even with her reassuring words, I couldn't help but feel an agonizing mental torment. Looking at the man who had so often acted like he had everything under control, at all times, lying unconscious on the floor was insane. "How did that happen?!"

Scratching her head, Ms. Turner looked a bit ashamed as she spoke, "It turns out that he defeated the werewolf by himself, and when his party found him, he was already unconscious. That's all we know."

Turning my head back to the insane idiot, it was hard for me not to tear up like Sarah.

'You fucking stupid goblin! I swear to god, when you wake up, I'll make you wish you didn't!'