As this was happening, Lupa was about to bite its opponent.

However, Lupa noticed a pair of fangs ready to welcome it.

Lupa suddenly remembered the weak spots Vincent taught her.

Lupa turned its head to the opposite side and shoved its shoulder first.

Soon, Lupa felt pain as the gray wolf viciously bit its shoulder and painting the white fur red with its own blood.

Without hesitation and with a contorted vicious glare, Lupa swiftly turned its head, ignored all the pain, then its sharp fangs bit the gray wolf's neck.

The gray wolf released its bite and let a pained whimper with its eyes dead set on Lupa.

Lupa released the hold as it taught the gray wolf was about to counter bite as well.

Lupa and the gray wolf stood in front of each other, staring with a glare that could kill.

On one side stood a white wolf bigger than the other and a minor injury to its shoulder.

On the other side was a smaller gray wolf bleeding from its neck and throat. The injury seemed more severe as blood was slowly dripping on the floor.

Lupa won the exchange, and it thanked Vincent for this. Lupa averted its gaze and took a peek at Vincent's fight.

Lupa frowned and decided to finish the fight as quickly as possible. If Vincent dies, then the promise as well.

On the two sides, two different fights took place.

Lupa fought with instinct and opportunity, while Vincent fought with planning and emotions.

Vincent was trying to hit the gray wolf with the short sword, but the fear of getting bitten made him miss multiple times.

He would take a few steps back every time to reposition himself. Maybe an opportunity would arise.

The gray wolf noticed the situation was different than usual, so it didn't want to play with its prey anymore.

It became deadly serious, revealed a vicious glare at Vincent while exposing its fangs.

A second later, it lunged at Vincent, ready to kill its prey.

Vincent threw the short sword at the gray wolf. Momentarily the blade reached its head, and the gray wolf bit the blade instead.

The gray wolf was still in mid-air; all it could do was to slam its body against the shield.

*Thud

The gray wolf fell on the floor with a loud thud. Its predator's eyes noticed that the human didn't possess a weapon.

The gray wolf opened its jaws as it chose to finish its human prey. Then it continued with the assault.

Vincent was surprised by how quickly the gray wolf was going to launch another attack.

They were less than a meter apart, and a pair of jaws was approaching his legs.

Vincent didn't feel any strength in his legs. To take another step back seemed impossible, so he decided to take a gamble instead.

Vincent decided to fall shield first on the gray wolf's head as the fangs were close to his leg.

A high-risk, high reward gamble.

Soon the gray wolf met with shield falling on it. Vincent placed all his weight to trap the gray wolf underneath. That way, he could stall as much as possible until Lupa's fight ends.

As a winner or a loser, Vincent placed all his trust in Lupa to be the winner.

*Thud

The gamble worked. The gray wolf successfully remained pinned down and unable to bite anyone.

Vincent quickly used his knee to hold the shield down with greater force.

As this happened, the gray wolf felt its head was about to be squished and panicked under this hold.

The gray wolf struggled, but it was trapped. Then with its hind legs, it tried to claw a way out.

Vincent was scratched multiple times. Many small wounds began building up, and bleeding followed. He could only grunt in pain.

However, Vincent knew that if he released the hold, the gray wolf would be in his face.

Vincent didn't have time to plan nor pull his sword back to his hand. So he lowered his hand to his pocket and pulled a knife.

Vincent stabbed the gray wolf in its thigh. It let out a pained whimper attracting the attention of the other gray wolf and Lupa.

Lupa took this opportunity to leap at the distracted gray wolf. But regrettably, it failed.

The claws didn't hit the gray wolf. It took a step to the side and dodged this perfect opportunity.

The gray wolf turned its head at Lupa, then revealed a more violent contorted face.

This time it was enraged and wanted to kill at all costs.

Lupa got distracted after it heard Vincent grunt from being scratched.

Now it was the gray wolf's turn to take the opportunity.

[Ahh its hurts]

Lupa blurted out while it whimpered as it felt pain rushing from its rear.

Vincent raised his gaze and saw Lupa bitten by the gray wolf.

The fear was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of hate and anger.

Such emotions guided Vincent to twist the knife viciously. The gray wolf whimpered and struggled even more, but it was stuck at the mercy of his raging emotions.

With one mistake from Vincent, the gray wolf could escape. These emotions were a double-edged sword while his mind was clouded with the feeling to kill.

Suddenly out of nowhere, two blades fell in front of Vincent. Along with them soon followed a painful squeal.

The pinned gray wolf now had two knives stuck in its belly. Unfortunately, they missed the vital spots letting the wolf live longer.

It was Ester who held these knives.

As the fight was underway, she had slowly pulled herself up. Then without making a sound, she closed the door.

Ester took her sweet time to build enough courage and help Vincent out. Fortunately, her aid gravely injured the gray wolf.

The gray wolf biting Lupa's rear released its jaws a the sound of its companion's squeal. It was in mortal danger and had to help.

Ester's courage soon disappeared, loosened her grip on the knives, and fell on her bottom. She raised her trembling hands; on them was the gray wolf's blood.

Vincent released his hold to pull the short sword to his hand, but the pinned gray wolf slipped away as it was frantically trying to escape.

The gray wolf at death's door slowly stood up while blood leaked on the floor. The surprise attack made by Ester was a lethal critical hit.

Vincent held his short sword with a tight grip and swung it down at its neck.

The injured gray wolf couldn't move nor dodge quickly because of the pain. It was at the mercy of Vincent.

The blade soon met its neck, but his strength was weak. The blade stopped one fourth in.

The other gray wolf turned its full attention at Vincent. The human who was about to behead its companion.

However, it didn't move since it couldn't give its back to the healthy and strong white wolf.

Lupa took this opportunity to prepare for an attack. As the attention wasn't on it, Lupa approached with caution without making a sound.

Like a predator waiting for its prey to make a move. Then attack when it's distracted.

Vincent had to do something, or the gray wolf at death's door would bite back.

A cornered rat is the most dangerous, and Vincent had to end it fast.

Suddenly the thought of a nail being hit by a hammer resurfaced in his mind.

Vincent raised his shield with a firm grip. Then he swung it down as quickly as it rose.

*Clang

The shield hit the short sword, and the blade entered deeper in the gray wolf's neck.

The gray wolf screeched in pain at the mercy of Vincent.

*Clang Clang Thud

On the third strike, the head fell on the floor with a loud thud. The short sword got stuck in the wooden floor with force.

The last surviving gray wolf became blindly enraged. It momentarily forgot Lupa and prepared to charge at Vincent for revenge.

At that specific moment, the conditions were met.

Lupa, who was at a close distance, sprang forward and bit the distracted gray wolf in the throat with its sharp razor fangs.

Lupa violently tossed its head. With a few swings, another fountain of blood painted the floor red.

The gray wolf stood still glaring at Vincent until its eyes became lifeless. Then it fell on its own puddle of blood.

The violent fight was now over, and the three could breathe in ease.

However, the terrifying danger was still lurking outside, and the door stopper was broken in two.

[We did it! I sacrificed my shoulder, thanks to you, I'm barely injured.]

Lupa approached Vincent and nudged his leg with its head.

Vincent lowered his gaze and used inspection. A smile crept on his face because Lupa wasn't seriously injured and was brimming with energy.

[Name] Lupa

[Condition] Injured, Energised

[Soul Synch] 6%

Vincent fell on his bottom as his legs couldn't stand anymore. He rested his head on Lupa's uninjured shoulder. His eyes felt oddly clam as they gazed at the ceiling.

"You are very strong, my little wolf. " Vincent loved the touch of the soft fur while it strangely calmed him.

[Now what's next?]

Lupa asked energetically, but Vincent replied with a different answer.

"If we can, I wish for us to stay inside. Three gray wolves gave us a hard fight. What about something bigger and stronger? Death would be certain." Vincent said with a hopeless frown.

He couldn't be optimistic that they could win and all survive. This wasn't a game but real life.

The hero in the story was a thin, weak, and fragile mutated human with the ability to use basic inspection. Mutation? It was there for show.

"Vincent, can you ask how big the great gray wolf is? I only saw it from a distance, and it was big." Ester said in a trembling voice. She knew that the next fight would be inevitable.

[Hmm... I think a little bit more than double my current size.]

"Lupa said its probably a little bit bigger than five feet. Do you think the cabin can hold against its attacks?" Vincent felt a shiver as he repeated this information. Such size must be physically strong and very fast.

This time he didn't want to measure its height with his hand.

Ester gasped in terror at the size. On her face was despair. She felt like tears weren't enough to express the situation.

Vincent saw Ester and felt worried. He stood up, approached her, and placed his hands on her shoulder. Then with a reassuring grip, he said, " Tell me. What do you know?"

Ester stared at Vincent's eyes. She couldn't see the same fear she felt. As a person not from this world, he didn't know its true strength.

"I heard the guards say that a nearby great gray wolf was spotted and a quest for its slaying was created. Unfortunately, it mercilessly killed many low rankers and became stronger in a shorter time." Ester glanced at Lupa since it was a part of their pack.

"The quest requirements became higher. Last time I heard the rumors, a full team of D Rankers was the minimum to accept the quest." Ester said information about a game-like setting. Quests, ranking system, and teams.

Vincent was intrigued, yet her words made the great gray wolf more of a hopeless struggle to survive the night.