“So how do we do this, grandpa?”

Lissome Shot addressed Fleeting Time sincerely, hinting at Carl. They were probably adventuring as a squad for some time and worked out a strategy that suited them. Now, they had to deal with an unknown, while the enemies were numerous.

[Black Wolf] (common, mortal)

HP: 100

[Albino Wolf] (common, mortal)

HP: 80

[Black Wolf] (alpha, mortal)

HP: 150

Carl, who previously moved to the front, turned around and gazed at his companions solemnly. His heart rate was already elevated and he was breathing faster than usual. It was going to hurt … a lot. But he was still able to stomp out the anxiety with a desire that now seethed within him. One way or another – this …

… was going to be a glorious bloodbath!

“I'll charge in, and you do what you normally do. Don't worry about me, I don't care if I die. Just … try to heal me, if I get all the aggro.”

Fleeting Time raised his brows at the proclamation, and the other three were surprised as well.

“Alright, we'll be right behind you.”

“Grandpa?” Merciful Breeze asked with blatant skepticism.

“Let him do his thing. He seems like he knows what he wants. Just a fair warning to you, brother Carl – even if you can take it, your avatar might faint. Don't bite more than you can chew. They usually only attack a few at a time, while the rest circles around waiting for an opening. We'll cover your back, and you take it slow, okay?”

“Will do,” Carl nodded, and decisively run towards the slowly moving pack of lupines, having discarded his nearly empty backpack.

“Friend!” Merciful Breeze shouted behind him and stopped him in his tracks.

“Yes?”

“Why aren't you wearing your helmet?!”

Carl smiled, as he remembered the real world rules of traffic, construction sites, and extreme sports.

“Because I don't have one. I've tried some on, but they're too unwieldy, and they don't offer much protection anyway. I can't yet afford a good quality light helmet that won't interfere with my style.”

With that, he was off. While his support team followed closely, a hushed conversation ensued.

“This is a bad idea,” Lissome Shot said with discontent. “We should have led him to fight smaller numbers first. He has no clue what he's getting into.”

“You worry too much, sis. We'll handle it,” Looming Oak appeased with confidence.

“Like we've handled it the last time? I can still hear the poor guy wailing as his throat was being ripped out. Gives me the shivers.”

“I've kept you alive, didn't I? And the man just said he doesn't mind, so give him the benefit of the doubt, at least.”

“Focus!” Fleeting Time ordered. “Keep a tight formation and heal Carl for now. Let's see what we're dealing with, and let him see what he's dealing with!”

It only took a few seconds for them to get noticed, as the trees were very sparse in this area, and they were following a trodden path. The wolves stopped and turned to look at the incoming intruders with alarm, and a moment later, realizing that they were under attack, they began baring their teeth and growling. Their fur black as night, in stark contrast to their pearl-white teeth, made them look nightmarishly ominous.

Soon, the alpha took to the front, backed by its kin.

Carl's heart was racing like a drum. This wasn't the attitude he had earlier – one without any inhibitions, seeking to destroy or be destroyed. He was now more calculating, as he wasn't alone and didn't want to make trouble for his benefactors. He was more apprehensive about causing harm to others than to himself.

“Alright, my agility may make me frequently trip over like a clown, but at least it doesn't influence running speed too much. They're about as big as a human, while the alpha is slightly bigger. I definitely have to go for it first, and it seems it's eager to meet me, too. I just need to tackle it somehow. Let's see how good those skills are at tearing flesh!”

Pain was coming at him like a train. With every step he took, he was bracing himself more and more. But deep inside … he was ecstatic! His spirit ignited like a raging infernal tornado and pushed him forward.

He could clearly see the reactions of the alpha, as if in slow motion. It was shrinking, but not out of fear. It was getting ready to pounce. And then it jumped …

… landing right before of Carl, leaping for another stride supported on hind paws, lunging with its jaws at Carl's right hand, which was the closest to it.

Carl got jolted, as the sharp fangs pierced his pitiful leather gauntlet, and the teeth squeezed the pliable material. He distinctly perceived the overpowering momentum of the black beast ramming into him, and the speed of the onslaught left him with no time to defend.

But that was never the plan …

Vicious Hook!

Carl could sense the power gradually welling within his left hand as it traced an arch toward his right arm. It felt so unnatural, so … good! He also caught the glimpse of a pale-blue shimmer moving ahead of the blade.

BAM!

The tip arrived on top of the alpha's skull and entered it without much resistance, loudly crushing bone and cutting tissue.

Before Carl realized it, he fell on his back, with a hundred kilograms of mass collapsing onto him. But he immediately discovered, that it wasn't so bad – compared to being trampled by an opponent five times his weight, this was nothing, and the leather armor neatly cushioned the fall.

“It's … dead? Just like that?!” Lissome Shot goggled, and she wasn't alone.

“Heal him, quick!” Fleeting Time commanded with a cool head.

Fueled by the thrill of the kill, Carl only felt intense heat in his wounds at this point. He scrambled from under the fallen wolf as fast as he could, trying to pull the knuckle dagger out from the hard skull, to no avail.

“Err, brother Oak?” he shouted with trepidation.

“Just use your feet and pull!”

Seeing the other wolves rushing in from the corner of his eye, and the two men moving to intercept, Carl didn't dawdle and followed the instructions, placing both his feet against the wolf's head and jerking his weapon out, causing a drizzle of blood in the plane of motion. Just as he succeeded, a pleasantly soothing coldness doused the flames of pain in his right hand, which still held on to the karambit tightly.

“Show them their place, brother Carl! We're going all out!” Fleeting Time howled frenziedly.

But Carl was too focused on his predicament, as several wolves were upon him, and one was already in the air, coming for his scalp, before Carl could assume a stance.

Jarring Fist!

As his knuckle dagger burst forth and met the gaping, pearly jaws, Carl felt a satisfying crunch, indicating broken teeth. The strike wasn't accurate at all, but the simple-minded animal with sharp reflexes tried to bite the object assaulting it. This ended badly for it, as the empowered fist traveled deep into the maw, the protruding blade cutting it apart at the seams.

Ripping Claw!

The recovered right brought the karambit over to the left, hacking blindly at the wolf's neck. Since the cross-sectional area of the edge was so much longer than its thin width, the pale blue shimmer was now visible for all to appreciate.

What came after … was gory!

The skill did exactly as its name implied, ripping through the neck, and spraying a fountain of blood.

As Carl freed his left from the wolf's muzzle, another set of teeth latched on to it by the bicep, and more came from the right, which was momentarily exposed.

Carl twisted his wrist, and the karambit went flying in a backhand motion at the lunging enemy.

Ripping Claw!

Overreacting to the accelerating limb, the wolf, which could not arrest its own momentum, shrunk its head with a grimace and bared its fangs, trying to evade the blow, but it was too late for it. The empowered blade, which cut the air audibly, landed on its shoulder and carved its flesh diagonally, cleaving the chest and prompting a terrible whine.

Immediately afterward, Carl used a similar backhand motion in the downward direction on his left arm, attacking the beast that was holding on to it from behind him, and aiming for the general vicinity of the belly …

Vicious Hook!

… And the knuckle dagger found it.

Taking advantage of the nasty lupine's loosening clamp, Carl pulled forward, sensing a familiar resistance as he gutted his adversary. After all, cutting flesh required some effort, even when there was no bones in the way.

Another agonizing wail annunciated a victim …

“Yes, brother Carl! Give them hell!!” Fleeting Time yelled frantically from somewhere nearby.

Carl fell into trance. This feeling of power … was mesmerizing!

The leather armor did its job, mitigating the bites to a manageable level, and although the bicep wasn't covered and stung quite a bit, the thick material of the sleeve helped a lot. It may not have stopped the piercing, but it reduced the tearing of skin and muscle.

His abysmal agility became less and less of a factor the closer he got, and he couldn't get any closer than that.

The grip he had on the weapons in this healthy, adult body was so solid, he wasn't afraid of losing them at all.

The three skills he chose were just wonderful, resulting in several hundred percent of improvement over unaided attacks. And the slaughter …

… it was something else, indeed.

It awakened something within Carl. But it wasn't primal – on the outside, he was calm and collected, the opposite of a berserk rage. But somewhere deep down within the confines of his soul … there was an urge to crush and eviscerate!

Finally getting a tiny breather, Carl noticed Looming Oak shielding the two girls a few meters away, one of whom was targeting him with her staff and healing him over time, while the other was launching her arrows. He could also hear Fleeting Time close by having a blast, so he didn't have to worry about the old man.

Understanding that every second was precious, Carl didn't want to waste a single one. He ferociously jumped on the wolf with wounded chest to finish it off. While it tried to defend itself with desperation, Carl brought his knees forward to block the snout, which ended in him clumsily falling on top of the animal, but that didn't harm him. As they both tried to recover, Carl was already holding onto it by the knuckle dagger plunged all the way to the hilt, which the hopeless beast unsuccessfully attempted to fend off with its bite, and he rapidly stabbed and slashed with the karambit until it run out of health points and was pronounced dead by the system.

“Watch out!”

The warning came right on time, as Carl couldn't see the wolf charging him from his blind spot, and so he subconsciously raised his hands to protect his vulnerable head, tucking it between his shoulders. The animal, which weighed between seventy and eighty kilograms, easily toppled him, since Carl didn't know which direction was the impact going to arrive from, and couldn't prepare to counteract it.

“This is bad!”

Carl realized he was in trouble. He knew all too well, how unfavorable it was to be grappled and pinned down by an armed opponent, especially one with sharp teeth – his range of motion was going to be impaired severely. And although the wolf was a bit lighter than him, this wasn't important. He was confident he could kill it easily …

… but there was also a dozen of its brethren waiting for this exact opportunity.