Alpha Dark Forest Wolf (Male) - Level 45
Health: 3,200 / 3,200
Elite Creature - Territory Boss
Mike's mind raced as he processed the situation. The Alpha Wolf stood before him, its massive frame radiating menace. But movement in his peripheral vision made him realize this was worse than he'd thought. From the shadows emerged another massive wolf, sleeker but no less imposing.
Alpha Dark Forest Wolf (Female) - Level 45
Health: 2,800 / 2,800
Elite Creature - Territory Boss
Behind them, four more wolves emerged in pairs. Two were nearly as large as the alphas:
Dark Forest Beta - Level 37
Health: 2,100 / 2,100
And two smaller but still formidable:
Dark Forest Hunter - Level 32
Health: 1,650 / 1,650
"Oh, this is bad," Mike muttered. He didn't think he had enough mana to sustain Thread Manipulation. The mana cost would scale with their levels, and even a few seconds would drain him completely.
The men behind him had gone silent, frozen in terror. Even Adrian, who'd seemed brave enough earlier, was trembling.
"Run," Mike said quietly. "All of you. Get back to the farms. Now."
"Butâ" the leader started.
"NOW!" Mike roared, never taking his eyes off the alpha pair.
The wolves' intelligent eyes tracked the fleeing men but didn't pursue. They were focused on Mike, recognizing him as the real threat. Or perhaps the real prize.
The male alpha's lips pulled back, revealing fangs the length of Mike's fingers. It spoke, its voice a grinding rumble that somehow formed words. "You killed our lesser kin. You smell of their blood."
Mike's Enhanced Perception screamed warnings as the wolves began to spread out, attempting to surround him. His Analytical Focus kicked in; he'd been studying them for several seconds now, gaining that five percent boost to his reasoning abilities. Not much, but every edge counted.
"Your lesser kin attacked human settlements," Mike replied, buying time while he formulated a plan. "They broke the natural order."
The female alpha laughed, a sound like grinding stone. "Natural order? We were driven from our ancestral grounds by something that defies nature itself. Now we take what we must to survive."
Interesting. So their theory had been rightâsomething else had displaced these wolves. But that was a problem for later. Right now, he needed to survive this encounter.
The first attack came from the Level 32 hunters, coordinating from opposite sides. Mike's Combat Flow kicked in, his perception of time slowing by about fifteen percent. He couldn't afford to let them surround him. Mike made a split-second decision and activated Reality Stitch. The air in front of the left hunter suddenly tore, a jagged rift appearing in the fabric of space itself. The wolf tried to abort its charge, but momentum carried it partially into the tear. It howled in agony as the rift's edges seemed to grind against its flesh like invisible teeth, dealing damage that seriously injured it..
The right hunter reached him, jaws snapping toward his throat. His Adaptive Patterns flared, the golden threads absorbing the impact, but he could feel them weakening. These weren't Level 15 farm wolves; their attacks carried real weight.
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Mike grabbed the wolf's throat mid-bite, his enhanced strength allowing him to hold it at bay, but the Level 37 beta was already moving. He threw the hunter at its packmate, buying himself a precious second while also dealing damage to both of them.
The female alpha hadn't moved yet, studying him with those unsettling intelligent eyes. "Interesting abilities," she mused. "You're not like the usual humans we encounter."
Mike didn't waste breath responding. The injured hunter was recovering, black blood dripping from where the reality tear had savaged its shoulder. His Weakness Threading passive highlighted the wound: a critical vulnerability he could exploit.
But first, he needed to deal with the immediate threats. Both betas were flanking him now, and his Adaptive Patterns were already showing cracks. Another hit from these levels would shatter them completely.
The betas struck simultaneously. Mike's Combat Flow let him see it coming, but seeing and avoiding were different things. He managed to dodge the first beta's bite, but the second caught him across the back. His Adaptive Patterns shone one last time and then disappeared, and claws raked across his flesh. He knew it would take some time for the cooldown to wear off.
Health: 2,487 / 2,600
The pain was intense, but Out of Chaos Comes Order immediately converted ten percent of that damage into temporary stat boosts. He could feel his muscles responding faster, his mind processing clearer. The thirty-second boost wouldn't last long, but it might be enough.
Mike spun, using his Precision-enhanced accuracy to drive his elbow into the beta's eye. The wolf reeled back, howling. He followed up with a devastating knee to its ribs, his Might-enhanced strength cracking bone.
But there were still the two alphas that hadn't even engaged yet.
"You fight well for prey," the male alpha rumbled, beginning to circle. "But you're running out of tricks, aren't you? I can smell your energy depleting."
The injured Level 32 hunter limped forward, favoring its Reality Stitch-damaged shoulder. Mike's Weakness Threading passive practically drew a target on that wound. If he could just...
The female alpha moved. One moment she was standing still, the next she was simply there, massive jaws clamping down on Mike's arm. His enhanced Vitality was the only thing that kept it from tearing clean off.
Health: 2,023 / 2,600
She's got a stronger bite, Mike noticed.
She tried to step away to avoid a counterattack, but Mike was too fast. He countered with his good arm, dealing a blow which, although it didn't fully connect, was enough to push the wolf back, howling bitterly.
Mike clutched his mangled arm, using Biorhythm Restoration to heal back up. Because of his mana concerns, he used a ten-second cast to leave enough for his offensive abilities. He hoped that would be enough; he still had a large buffer because of his high level.
All the wolves apart from the alpha male have sustained various degrees of injury, and they started to act cautious. They stopped circling, bunching up to protect each other and their injured alpha. This was how they'd survived in the deep forest: pack instincts at their finest.
Mike saw his opportunity immediately. He used his Pattern Bomb to conjure what seemed like a ball of yarn made of blue shimmering strands that pulsated slowly. He was surprised at first but soon regained his focus and threw the bomb at the pack. He could see how the strands turned from slowly pulsating blue to quickly pulsating red. When it hit the alpha female, who was right in the center, it blew up.
Mike quickly surveyed the results. The injured wolves, including the alpha female, were lying motionless on the ground. In the back, the alpha male stood alone, howling to the skies. He soon turned his gaze back to Mike, his eyes washed in red. He seemed frenzied and immediately charged Mike.
Mike tried to prepare, but the wolf was fast and launched itself at Mike, bringing him down to the ground with its impact. It started attacking Mike with its talons at an unbelievable speed. Its talons also emitted a red shine, like its eyes. Mike suspected this was an ability or something equivalent. Without giving it much thought, he activated Mirror Weave. Fortunately, he had just enough mana left for it to work. Blue threads sprouted from his fingertips, assuming the shape of talons. He struck back at the wolf in the exact same manner the wolf had just attacked him. He tore at skin and flesh, drawing blood from the wolf, which spilled all over his face. The wolf retreated, or at least tried to, as soon as it felt its injuries. Its eyes went gray, and it lost its frenzy completely. Mike assessed his own injuries.
Health: 1,037 / 2,600
He'd lost more than half his health, and he was completely out of mana.
He went over to the wolf, which was whimpering and trying to get away.
"You should have backed off and left me alone," Mike said and threw a punch at the wolf's head.