Chapter 9: Blood and Ice

Audi wiped the grease from his lips with the back of his hand, his gaze locked on the massive beast before them. The Big Bad Wolf prowled in slow, deliberate circles, its yellow eyes glowing like twin lanterns in the dark. The air was thick with tension, the scent of blood fresh from the fallen recruits.

"Before we die, I gotta ask," Audi said, keeping his voice steady despite the looming threat. "Why'd you sign up for this? Being an adventurer, I mean."

Dodge glanced at him, her crimson eyes gleaming under the dim torchlight. She exhaled, rolling her shoulders as if preparing for the inevitable fight ahead. "Because I need to get to the vampire village," she said, voice laced with quiet determination. "It's on the fortieth floor of the Tower. My father... he's there. I want to know why he left us. Why he abandoned my family."

There was no hesitation in her words, no attempt to mask the emotions buried beneath them. Audi studied her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "You telling me this 'cause you think we're not getting out of here?"

Dodge let out a short, humorless chuckle. "Something like that."

Audi sighed. "Well, if we do survive this, what job are you gonna take? 'Cause honestly, I have no clue what mine is yet."

Dodge smirked. Without a word, she reached behind her back and pulled out a weapon that gleamed under the flickering dungeon lights—a double-barreled shotgun. She flipped it open, revealing two loaded shells, then snapped it shut with a satisfying click.

"Gunner," she said, leveling the weapon at the beast before them.

The Big Bad Wolf let out a low growl, its muscles tensing as it prepared to lunge.

Audi cracked his knuckles, a grin forming on his lips. "Well then, Gunner, let's make it outta here so you can see that village."

With a deafening roar, the beast charged.

 **The Battle Begins**

Audi remembered his sister's words—*Imagine the hit in your hand.* Clenching his fist tightly, he focused. A chilling sensation coursed through his arm, and when he opened his hand, his fist was encased in frozen energy, a thin veil of smoke rising from its surface.

As Audi clenched his fist, frost crackled over his knuckles, spreading in jagged patterns across his skin. The sensation wasn't just new—it was familiar. A memory, buried deep within his fractured past, surged to the surface.

This isn't the first time I've wielded ice…

Flashes of another life flickered in his mind.

He wasn't just some noob Zombie fumbling with magic.

He was a Lich.

No—The General of Magic.

The title came with weight, power, and responsibility. Ascending to a General Lich had required a trial of blood—defeating a Legendary Hero in combat. He had done it. He had stood at the peak of necromantic magic, commanding the dead, twisting reality with sorcery beyond mortal comprehension.

And yet, somehow, he had fallen.

Not to a grand army. Not to another legend.

But to a party of noob adventurers.

Because his power—his very essence as a Lich—had been stripped away. The Global Silent Skill of a certain Legendary General Hero had sealed him, leaving him vulnerable, and weakened. A godlike being reduced to nothing.

Until now.

As frost pulsed through his fingers, he smirked.

"Looks like I'm getting a piece of it back."

But before they could celebrate, the beast roared again.

Without warning, the Big Bad Wolf lunged forward and snapped its jaws shut—this time, around the heads of fallen recruits. With sickening crunches, their bodies went limp, blood pooling beneath them.

"ROOOOAAARR!"

The wolf's bellow shook the dungeon as two smaller wolves emerged from the darkness—one black, one white. Their eyes glowed with eerie malice.

Dodge wasted no time. She fired at the approaching wolves, but they were too fast, dodging the bullets with agile movements.

"Tch—damn things are quick," she muttered, reloading in a flash.

Audi lunged forward, his icy fist swinging at the wolves, but they weaved through his attacks like shadows. His mind raced. *We can't keep this up. Need a plan…*

Then, an idea struck him.

As the Black and White Wolves leaped at him, Audi didn't dodge. Instead, he let frost spread over his shoulders and feet, hardening into an icy armor.

The wolves clamped their fangs onto his frozen limbs.

"Audi!" Dodge shouted in alarm.

But Audi didn't flinch. He focused, channeling his power into the frost-covered areas. Ice pulsed outward, creeping over the wolves like a living curse. Their movements slowed, then stopped entirely—frozen solid.

Dodge's eyes widened. "Nice trick."

Without hesitation, she leveled her shotgun at the immobilized wolves.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two deafening blasts echoed through the dungeon. The wolves shattered under the force of the shells, their frozen forms breaking apart like brittle ice.

Audi flexed his arm, shaking off the frost. "Guess that confirms it. I can freeze things on contact…" He smirked. "Maybe I am a mage after all."

Before they could celebrate, a low growl made their blood run cold.

The Big Bad Wolf stood a few feet away, its yellow eyes burning with fury.

And it was very pissed.

 **The Real Battle Begins**

The beast lunged—not at Audi, but at Dodge.

She twisted to evade, but it was too fast. Its massive jaws clamped down on her left arm, tearing straight through flesh. A sharp cry of pain tore from her throat as blood sprayed onto the dungeon floor.

"Agh—damn it!" Dodge gritted her teeth, staggering back as she clutched her mangled arm. The wound was deep, muscle and skin torn apart.

Without hesitation, she reached for a Blood vial at her belt. Popping the cork with her teeth, she downed the crimson liquid in one gulp.

The effect was immediate.

Her body pulsed with energy as the wound began to knit itself back together. Within seconds, the flesh restored itself. Dodge flexed her fingers, rolling her shoulder. "Tch… damn thing bites hard."

But before she could ready her shotgun again—

"AWOOOO!"

The Big Bad Wolf let out another piercing roar. The dungeon floor trembled beneath them.

And then—impossibly—the shattered remains of the Black and White Wolves stirred. The ice melted away as if time had reversed itself. The two wolves rose once more, unharmed.

Audi's eyes widened. "What the hell?! We just killed those things!"

Dodge cursed. "Looks like they're not staying dead…"

The three wolves—Black, White, and the Boss—charged at Audi all at once.

He barely had time to brace himself before—

SLASH!

A streak of light cut through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the Black and White Wolves were cleaved apart mid-attack, their bodies hitting the ground with heavy thuds. The Big Bad Wolf reeled back, a deep gash across its chest.

A new figure stepped between them and the monster.

A man, his blade dripping with blood, stood tall in the torchlight. His silver hair gleamed, his presence commanding.

Hundred. The Examiner.

He turned his sharp gaze toward Audi and Dodge. "I can't handle this boss alone." He pointed his blade at the snarling beast. "Help me. Let's party up for this one."

Audi clenched his fists, nodding. "So the boss is the real problem, huh?"

Hundred gave a curt nod. "The Big Bad Wolf's ability is *Summoning*. Its minions will keep coming back as long as it's alive." He gripped his sword tighter. "If we want to end this… we have to kill the boss first."

Dodge smirked, loading fresh shells into her shotgun. "Sounds like a plan."

Audi cracked his knuckles, frost spreading over his fists. "Then let's take this thing down."

Audi asked, "How did you know? Glad you came."

Hundred exhaled. "It was our Guild Adventurer Chairman, Uno. On his tenth expedition to the fiftieth floor, he encountered something unheard of—a Boss Dragon. Legendary heroes said such creatures could only be found on the sixtieth floor, but it suddenly appeared. His entire party of Second-Class adventurers was wiped out. Only Uno survived. That's why he ordered all examiners to check the adventurer takers."

"The Big Bad Wolf let out a bone-rattling howl. Its minions rose again. This time, there was no escape. This time, they had to win."

The final fight had begun.