The Demonized Wolf King (Page 2/2)

Having mastered the art of dealing with gray wolves, Jack began prowling the outskirts of the valley, carefully seeking out lone wolves and luring them away to isolated areas where reinforcements couldn't reach them.

Time ticked by slowly.

"Awooo!"

The mournful howls of gray wolves echoed through the valley every so often.

Too bad for them, Jack remained utterly ruthless, grinning wickedly as he taunted his prey: "Go ahead, scream your lungs out. Even if you shout until your throat bleeds, no one's coming to save you."

(For the record, under normal circumstances, he wasn't usually this sadistic.)

"Whoosh!"

Two hours later, after taking down over twenty wolves, golden light enveloped Jack as he leveled up to Level 9. One more level, and he'd officially leave the starter village behind.

Unfortunately, thanks to the contract binding him, escaping the village anytime soon was about as likely as finding a unicorn riding a rainbow.

Sit around twiddling his thumbs?

Not Jack's style.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, his sharp eyes caught sight of something extraordinary: a massive black wolf shrouded in eerie mist, towering over the other wolves like LeBron James at a middle school basketball game. Its mere presence commanded submission from the pack, and its size rivaled Jack's chest height.

No doubt about it—this was the Gray Wolf Boss!

First things first: clear the minions.

Jack stayed calm. Even though the boss looked tempting, charging in blindly would be suicide. Instead, he picked up a few rocks and cautiously approached, using tried-and-true tactics to lure smaller wolves away one by one and dispatch them cleanly.

After several rounds of careful maneuvering, only one pesky wolf remained near the boss—too close to separate without aggroing the big guy.

"Good enough!"

Taking a deep breath, Jack steadied himself and crept closer, casting Scouting Skill on the boss—

[Demonized Wolf King] (Bronze-Class Boss)

Level: 12

Health: 25,000

Attack: 35-40

Defense: 25

Skills: [Bloodlust], [Wolf King Intimidation], [Rending Claw]

Description: Once an ordinary gray wolf, it was transformed into a monstrous demon-beast by a fleeing necromancer's forbidden magic. Now serving as the necromancer's guard dog, it wards off intruders with brutal efficiency.

...

Jack frowned. "That's a lot of HP. Grinding this thing down will take forever."

Then again, it was a boss. No surprises there. After weighing his options, he grabbed a rock and hurled it—not at the Demonized Wolf King, but at the lone wolf beside it.

Leaving minions alive during a boss fight was a rookie mistake, and Jack had played enough games to know better.

-103!

The moment the rock hit, both the wolf and the Demonized Wolf King turned their murderous gazes on Jack, launching themselves at him like rockets.

"Shhht!"

Jack kept his eyes glued to the Demonized Wolf King's movements. Just as it reached him, he sidestepped—but to his shock, the beast abruptly changed direction mid-air, swiping down with its pitch-black claws.

"!!"

Jack's expression shifted. There was no time to dodge. The claw grazed his chest, leaving searing pain in its wake.

-219!

His health bar plummeted by a quarter.

Gritting his teeth, Jack thrust his Bison Sword into the belly of the trailing wolf, following up with a Basic Combo that sent the creature yelping backward.

+50!

+50!

Without hesitation, he popped a healing pill into his mouth. His health surged back up faster than a Tesla accelerating from zero to sixty.

"Damn, these pills are potent!"

"Awooo!"

The Demonized Wolf King roared, pressing its advantage and charging at Jack again.

Faced with the relentless onslaught of the boss—and remembering the remaining wolf—Jack furrowed his brow. Then, realization dawned on him. Turning to look at the lone wolf, he muttered, "I've been thinking about this all wrong!"

(End of Chapter)