The Hunt Begins

The air was thick with tension, my breath misting in the icy night. Snow crunched under my boots as I slowly turned my head, taking in the dozen glowing blue eyes peering at me from the shadows.

Snow wolves.

A pack of them.

Frozen Raven (perched smugly on a tree branch): "Oh? Twelve of them? You must be blessed by fate, little chick. Normally, they'd only send eight to kill a lone traveler. Congratulations, you are officially hated by nature."

I sighed. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?

The wolves circled, their white fur blending seamlessly into the snow. Their breaths came out in visible puffs, ears twitching as they sized me up.

I adjusted my grip on my sword, mana already surging through my dual circles. My coat flapped slightly in the wind, my masked face unreadable.

Averis (muttering): "Twelve wolves. Aura Stage 1 or Mana Circle 1 needed to handle them. And I'm…well, technically qualified?"

Frozen Raven: "Technically? You're either a prodigy or a frozen corpse in five minutes. Guess we'll find out."

I rolled my eyes. Encouraging as always.

The largest wolf—clearly the alpha—let out a low growl, and in an instant, the entire pack lunged.

The First Clash

I dodged the first wolf by a hair's breadth, twisting my body and slashing in a smooth arc. My blade met its fur, slicing deep into its side, sending it tumbling into the snow with a pained yelp.

Another wolf pounced from behind. I spun, mana surging to my legs, enhancing my speed. With a sharp flick of my wrist, I redirected its momentum mid-air, sending it crashing into a tree with a solid thud.

Frozen Raven (clapping its wings): "Oh, nice. You're not completely incompetent."

A third wolf lunged low, aiming for my legs. I sidestepped, bringing my sword down in a brutal overhead strike—only for another wolf to come barreling toward me from the side.

Damn. Too many at once.

Averis (gritting teeth): "Guess I should stop playing fair, huh?"

Calling Upon My Spirits

I stepped back, raising a hand.

Averis (commanding): "Ignis, burn them down!"

A pulse of mana shot from my core, and in a burst of flame, Ignis, the Ember Wolf, materialized beside me. Its molten-orange eyes glowed menacingly, its fiery mane flickering against the cold air.

The wolves hesitated for the first time.

Frozen Raven: "Ha. Wolves hate fire. Enjoy your nightmare, mutts."

Ignis wasted no time. With a savage snarl, it lunged at the nearest wolf, flames bursting around its claws as it tore through fur and flesh. The beast yelped, rolling into the snow to extinguish the flames, but it was already too late.

The rest of the pack, realizing the threat, split up. Four wolves broke off, moving in to flank me.

Averis: "Tch. Then let's add some defense."

I slammed my sword into the ground, pouring mana into the frozen earth.

Averis (calling out): "Teraval, rise!"

The ground rumbled, and a massive figure emerged. Teraval, the Earthen Guardian, materialized from the frost-covered ground, its body formed from ancient stone and permafrost. It let out a deep, guttural growl, swinging its massive arms like hammers.

One wolf was too slow to dodge. A direct hit from Teraval sent it flying into a tree so hard that snow rained down from the branches.

Frozen Raven (laughing): "That thing is playing snowball with their corpses. Fantastic."

The remaining wolves snarled but didn't retreat. Their instincts screamed at them to run, but their alpha's presence kept them in place.

The leader of the pack let out a chilling howl, and suddenly, the air shifted.

Averis (narrowing eyes): "Reinforcements?"

The wolves became faster. Stronger. Their breaths became visible clouds of ice, their fur shimmering with faint mana.

Frozen Raven (mocking tone): "Ah, now they're using pack synergy. Cute. Meanwhile, you're just some kid waving a sword around."

Averis (grinning): "Then let's see which 'pack' is stronger."

The Final Assault

I activated my Frost Crescent Blade, mana-infused ice coating my weapon. The moment a wolf lunged, I sidestepped and swung, my blade slicing cleanly through its neck.

One down.

Sylphiel, my wind spirit, whispered through the air. A sudden gust of razor-sharp wind sliced through the battlefield, forcing the wolves back momentarily.

I took the chance.

Mana surged to my legs, propelling me forward with unnatural speed. My sword became an extension of my will, each strike clean, precise, lethal.

Another wolf down.

The alpha finally made its move.

It lunged, its body coated in freezing mana, jaws wide open to tear out my throat.

Averis (smirking): "Nice try."

I ducked low, driving my mana-coated sword straight into its exposed belly. With a sharp twist, I ripped through its core, the beast letting out a final whimper before collapsing into the snow.

The rest of the wolves? They took one look at their fallen leader and bolted into the darkness.

I exhaled, my breath ragged but victorious.

Frozen Raven (mock applause): "Oh, the mighty hunter prevails. What will you do now, great hero? Eat them?"

I shot it a glare.

Averis (deadpan): "I was planning on skinning them first."

Averis with excited face: " After skinning them, I sell their fur and wolves bodies and the core of Alpha wolf.

The system window popped up.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ [ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]

Task Completed: Defeat the Snow Wolf Pack Rewards:

+2 Strength

+2 Agility

+150 System Points

Bonus:

Additional rewards based on enemy power → +1 Endurance, +50 Bonus System Points ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I blinked at the numbers.

Wait... So I get stat boosts and System Points for killing monsters? I thought to myself, feeling a growing sense of realization. That's something I can definitely take advantage of while I'm out here. The more I hunt, the stronger I'll get...

The idea seemed almost too good to be true. As much as I hated to admit it, it made sense.

Averis (grinning): "Hunting season isn't over yet."

End of Chapter 43