Chapter 17 - Expectations and Reality

Sid stood still, blade drawn, eyes locked with the Alpha wolf at the center of the clearing.

Ten other wolves circled behind it in a loose formation, their growls low and rumbling. Their yellow eyes gleamed through the thick underbrush, each step slow and deliberate, as if savoring the moment before the kill.

Sid's breathing was calm. Focused.

"Just like before," he told himself. "Back at home… when we hunted tuskboars and canyon serpents. Same feeling. Same instinct."

Back then, he and the other boys would stalk prey, lay bait, strike clean. Kill fast. He remembered the rhythm. The focus.

"Take out the Alpha first," he thought. "The rest will fall into disarray. Maybe even flee."

His eyes scanned the battlefield, studying the formation. The Alpha stood still, proud and tall, its fur streaked with black and silver. Clearly the leader — the mind behind the hunt.

Sid shifted his weight forward. One step. Two. His blade angled down low. His muscles coiled.

He charged — fast, sharp, clean. Every movement honed by memory.

But before he could close the distance—

A blur.

A snarl.

Shadows moved.

Ten wolves lunged at once.

From the trees. The flanks. Behind. A perfect encirclement.

The Alpha didn't move. It simply watched.

What—?!

The others crashed into him, and Sid was forced into motion.

He ducked beneath a jaw, spun to parry a claw swipe, and kicked away another leaping beast mid-air. One grazed his shoulder, tearing his cloak open. Another nearly clamped down on his leg, but he twisted free just in time.

He gritted his teeth.

What the-

They weren't supposed to fight like this.

They were more coordinated than he expected — low in intelligence, maybe, but guided by pure battle instinct and pack synergy.

Sid kept moving, sliding, dodging, blocking, barely staying ahead.

He lashed out at one, aiming for its neck — a shallow strike. The wolf flinched but didn't falter.

That should've hit deeper…

He switched targets, slashing at the ribs. The beast yelped but remained standing. A back kick caught another in the jaw, and it rolled, stunned but not out.

Their bodies… they're tougher than they look.

His breathing picked up. Sweat beaded along his brow. He had to find a solution — fast.

Sid's mind shifted. Strategy replaced panic. He began targeting specific spots — watching how they reacted to different strikes.

A stab at the back leg — it staggered.

A slash across the eye — it blinked and fell back.

A jab at the heart — blocked by thick ribs.

A cut along the spine — shallow again.

A feint, then a strike to the neck—

—That one worked.

Sid locked in. The neck — it was their weak point. Always moving, rarely guarded, but vulnerable if timed right.

The next wolf came barreling in. Sid dodged low, pivoted hard on one foot, and twisted his torso into a wide, sweeping slash.

Shhhk!

The blade sliced clean through the neck.

Blood sprayed like a red fan through the air.

The wolf's head flew, eyes still glowing faintly until it hit the dirt. Its body crashed down moments later — jerking, twitching, then still.

Sid stumbled back, chest rising and falling. Arms sore. Legs tense.

Then he saw it.

Something small, round, and glowing rolled out from the severed body.

A life core — smooth, blood-red, still pulsing faintly.

He bent down and picked it up, still panting.

"Finally... my first one!"

But he didn't have time to celebrate — not even a breath.

A sudden, unified howl erupted from the pack.

The remaining wolves didn't scatter — they turned rabid. Angrier. Faster. Sharper.

And then —

The Alpha moved.

Its deep snarl shook the ground. It stepped forward, slow and deliberate, head low, eyes locked on Sid with a glare that radiated death.

Sid rose to his feet, raising his weapon again. Blood still dripped from its edge.

The pack repositioned.

While the Alpha made a loud, calling howl.