Power of a Hero

Nyx grinned. "Time to play."

She moved like a black blur against the white snow, closing the distance fast. The three Frost Wolves, made of snow and ice, leaped out from the ridge, their howls sharp in the cold air.

Sunny watched, his eyes wide. 'She's so fast.'

Nyx met the first wolf. It snapped with jaws made of jagged ice. She didn't dodge back. She weaved to the side, so close the ice almost grazed her cheek. Her daggers flashed. Not to kill, not yet. 

One dagger scored a line across the wolf's snout, the other danced along its flank, leaving shallow cuts. The wolf yelped in surprise and pain, swiping with claws of packed snow. 

She laughed, a sharp, excited sound, and ducked under the swipe, fluid as water.

'She's toying with it,' Sunny realized. 'She enjoys this. It's not just a job for her; it's a thrill.' He saw that look before.

The second wolf, seeing its packmate struggling, lunged from the side. Sunny tensed, expecting Nyx to be caught off guard. 

But she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Without looking, she kicked out a leg, her boot connecting with a loose shard of ice on the ground. The shard flew up, spinning, and struck the second wolf in the eye.

It howled, momentarily blinded. 

In that instant, she finished the first wolf. Her daggers became a blur, sinking deep into its chest and throat. It dissolved into slush with a final gurgle.

'Incredible focus,' Sunny thought. 'Fighting one, disabling another, all at the same time.' He was used to the desperate, clumsy brawls of the cleanup crew. This was art, brutal and deadly.

The second wolf, now with one eye streaming melting ice, charged again, enraged. She met it with a low growl of her own. She stomped her foot, sending a spray of powdery snow into its face.

As it recoiled, she darted in, her daggers a flurry of strikes. This time, there was no playing. Each hit was precise, aimed at vital points. The wolf shuddered and collapsed, joining the first in a rapidly growing puddle.

The third wolf, the biggest of the pack, had watched its companions die. It backed up a step, a low whine in its throat. Then, with a desperate roar, it gathered itself and leaped, aiming to crush her under its weight, its icy claws extended. 

She stood her ground. Just as the massive wolf was about to descend, she moved. Not with flashy dodges, but with a single, powerful upward thrust of both daggers. They met the wolf's underside with a sickening crunch. 

The wolf's momentum carried it forward, impaling itself further. For a moment, it hung there, suspended on her blades, before its form flickered and began to disintegrate. Nyx let the dissolving remains slide off her daggers with a grunt of satisfaction.

She stood there, panting slightly, a wild, almost feral look in her eyes. 'That's B-Rank power?' Sunny thought, a shiver running down his spine despite his thermal gear. 'Effortless, overwhelming. She didn't even break a sweat.'

His mouth was dry. 'They could kill me before I even blinked.' The casual way she dispatched monsters that would have been a life-or-death struggle for him, or even his whole Gamma team, was sobering.

Aria and Brynn were already checking the area, their expressions calm. This skirmish was clearly beneath them. 

Lina, however, glanced back at Sunny. She saw the undisguised awe on his face, and a small, knowing smile touched her lips. 

Then, her gaze drifted down to Sunny's feet. His shadow seemed to ripple for just a moment, an oily, unnatural movement, before it settled and looked normal again. 

Lina's smile vanished. Her eyes narrowed, suddenly sharp and analytical.

'Where did SEM find a guy like him?' she wondered. And more importantly, 'what is he?'

The last Frost Wolf dissolved into a puddle of slush at Nyx's feet. She flicked her daggers, shaking off the icy residue, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Porter," Aria called out, not even looking back from where she and Brynn were scanning the perimeter. "Mana cores. Get them."

He nodded, his gaze still on Nyx. 'That was... something else.'

Nyx swaggered over to him, wiping a smear of melted ice from her cheek. "So, pack mule," she said, her voice still edged with adrenaline. "What did you think of that? Impressed?"

He met her gaze. He thought of his own desperate fights in the past week, the sheer terror and luck involved. Then he looked at Nyx, who dismantled three powerful monsters with casual, brutal efficiency.

"You were alright," he said.

Her smirk vanished. Her eyes narrowed. "Alright? Just alright?" She took a step closer. "I just turned three Frost Wolves into slush puppies in under a minute, and you call it 'alright'?"

'Did I say something wrong?' He just didn't want to feed her ego.

"I was trying to be nice, you know," she snapped, her voice laced with annoyance. "Show the newbie how it's done." She scoffed, then turned on her heel and stalked off towards Aria and Brynn, muttering, "Ungrateful."

He watched her go, then sighed and walked towards the dissolving monster remains. He knelt, his gloves protecting him from the residual cold, and began searching for the small, glowing mana cores. His shadow pooled around him, seeming to drink in the ambient chill left by the dead monsters.

As his fingers closed around the first surprisingly warm core, a familiar blue window popped into his vision.

[NEW QUEST RECEIVED] 

[QUEST: UNEXPECTED SAVIOR] 

[DESCRIPTION: THE PATH OF A CHAMPION IS UNPREDICTABLE. YOUR PATRON WISHES TO TEST YOUR METTLE AND RESOURCEFULNESS. ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF YOUR CURRENT PARTY DURING THIS DUNGEON EXPEDITION. YOU MUST BE THE DIRECT CAUSE OF THEIR SURVIVAL.] 

[REWARD: SILVER RANK SKILL (RANDOM)] 

[FAILURE PENALTY: PATRON DISPLEASURE (SEVERE)]

He stared at the notification, his hand frozen mid-reach for the second core.

'Silver Rank Skill?' he thought. 'What in the world is that? My current skills don't have ranks like that.' The system was full of surprises, none of them reassuring.

He read the description again. 'Save them? One of these B-rank heroes?' He glanced over at them who were now discussing their route. They radiated power. They were leagues above him. 

'How am I supposed to save people who could probably kill me with a flick of their wrist? And what does "patron displeasure (severe)" even mean?'

The thought sent a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the dungeon's icy temperature.