Teeth grated, blood spurted, arrows flew and made whimpers spew. Carl was completely surrounded by huge dire wolves – but only because he jumped right in between them!

The weight difference, however, was no longer an issue. While the common ones were double Carl's heft, he was confident he could resist tackling, so long as they were afraid of him. And since the remaining two alphas weighed as much as the overgrown lion, Carl rushed them decisively to take them out of the equation first.

There was a fundamental prerequisite for winning this fight – maintain a tempo that didn't leave any openings. For one, this meant keeping his abysmal agility in check and correcting any erroneous movements before they got out of hand, and two – mana, mana, mana …

“I'll definitely need common mana potions from now on!”

The Black Fang was a power-hungry beast, reaping heaps of lives at a steep price. And the bite sleeve had to be utilized in conjunction with Jarring Fist, because Carl's normal attacks were just too slow. Magic was key, after all, and not surprisingly. The grade 1 skills were far more devastating than normal attacks would be if Carl allocated 20 strength.

As it stood, he had to be careful and ration his magical reserves wisely, while counting on body language and deliberate acts of bold neglect to buy him enough time. After swiftly dispatching two careless commons, he faced an alpha with mere 40 mana left, not enough for a punch-hook combo. Then, he heard a determined charge from behind him …

Ripping Claw!

Lunging underneath the maw and covering himself with the bite sleeve lifted above his head, Carl extended his left fully and hacked at the throat, producing yet another scarlet fountain. Next, he withdrew his right from retreating jaws and turned around to gauge the situation. This made him burst out with uproarious laughter.

Ingolf, who had been the first to clumsily try and climb up a tree with his bulky body, full mail worn over full gambeson, viking helmet, round shield and a one-handed axe, was now the first to join the onslaught. He arrived with a silly bellow, ramming into a common dire wolf and toppling it, before chopping away with comical grunts and childish insults.

“As expected of 25 strength combined with a buff.”

Sheathing Black Fang in blatant disrespect, Carl grabbed a second mana potion from his belt and downed it unhurriedly. His stamina was a resource he had to conserve as well.

“Brother Carl, can I come over?” Looming Oak pleaded loudly.

“Yes, but keep the girls with you!”

“Brother Carl, I have no one to heal yet!” the white-clad female shouted.

“Haha, that's not something to worry about!”

While Carl resumed his work, his awe of the dwarf's prowess grew. Ingolf's physical might, applied through very advantageous leverages and supported with the inertia of nearly two hundred kilograms of flesh and gear, allowed him to tackle the large lupines with absurd ease. He was likely as strong as the alphas with his buff active, and would still rival the commons without it. Raging and yelling, he soon granted Merciful Breeze's wish, getting himself in over his head – the dire wolves, which were visibly apprehensive about attacking Carl, had no such qualms towards the stubby barrel, and converged on the dwarf to overpower him with numbers. He was now resembling a desperate tortoise flipped on its back …

“Uncle!”

“Oh boy … is his agility even worse than mine?”

Both Carl and Looming Oak stormed the encirclement within which Ingolf had disappeared at once, effectively ending the raid. Carl had slain all the alphas and four commons, while the dwarf got three, and the burly human warrior only managed to kill one before the rest fled, but he did so in an imposing manner, crushing its spine with a single strike of his new war hammer.

Lissome Shot, however, was sill insatiate, and she wouldn't let the remaining five go, all the more that they already had arrows sticking out of them. She likewise downed a mana potion and resolutely emptied her quiver, helped out by Carl, who avariciously chased the dire wolves down and executed them with glee, fully ignorant of their bounties.

“Doesn't look like we'll get any more action, does it?” Looming Oak observed hopelessly. Even the countless gray wolf prowlers had no intention of getting involved, what more the alphas and the commons. There were hundreds of them, just insane amounts, and yet nobody felt any danger, emboldened by the scarlet monster in their midst.

“Brother Carl, are you hurt?” Merciful Breeze felt the need to confirm, since Carl was perpetually covered in blood.

“Nope,” the hero revealed with a grin.

“I'll be damned,” Ingolf blurted out, “what a fight! If it's that easy, how come nobody does that?”

“Dad, you oaf …”

“Haha, I'm sure some do.” Carl laughed. “The world is a big place. Toothy, come down! Let's get to skinning and wrap this party up! You guys can loot the gray wolves he killed if you want to, and we will take care of the dire wolves. Chop chop.”

The spoils of the rapid battle were impressive – while Carl got all the pelts from the wolves he had slain single-handedly, Theodore succeeded with all the others, even the four killed by Ingolf and Oak.

“Is expert the threshold in instanced dungeons or what?”

The total value exceeded 5 Gold Crowns, which was more than enough to cover all expenses, but Carl couldn't care less. He was only happy for his Jarring Fist getting promoted to intermediate level.

“So when will we be going to the black wolves' den?” Ingolf inquired nonchalantly.

“Dad, don't push it!”

“Not today.” Carl smiled. “I need to do more runs here first, refine myself, polish my skills and upgrade my equipment. You should continue on your own for now.”

Mere 10 minutes later, the merry team was back at the portal. Carl turned around to glance one last time at their escort. Since the trees were sparse here, he could see them clearly. There was probably half a thousand angry gray wolves in this congregation.

“The power of mental oppression, eh?”

Was it really all him? He couldn't believe the title of Beast Slayer had no hidden effects. But the Cybercore official said so himself, he couldn't have lied. Carl knew he would have to wait and see if there were other freaks like him out there, or at least until the general playerbase caught up in some regards. Until then, he could only speculate.

“You're back already?! But it's been only half an hour! Haven't you visited the administration as well?” Weaving Fate expressed the astonishment for everyone present. It was obvious the hunt was a success from the backpacks, the gore, and the faces.

“Side effects of the scroll I think,” Carl hypothesized. “We weren't bothered on our way to the boss whatsoever. Likely all the gray wolves in the dungeon were there with it. Seventeen additional dire wolves as well.”

“What?! Brother Lionheart, we've tested the scrolls thoroughly, this never happened to us, I assure you!” Radiant Bulwark asserted firmly. This revelation had given him a fright.

Carl smirked genially.

“I must be doing it the right way, I guess. The text mentions a challenge, after all. Have your full-realism players been joining the search, or they just stood at the portal?”

Everyone balked once more.

“Does that mean … ?” the stalwart axeman mutely conjectured the glaring implications.

“That each scroll would guarantee a boss on its own? I doubt it,” Carl admitted. “Maybe one of a higher rank than the dungeon. For a similar rank, the chances should be vastly improved, and an adequate tracker will yet be required to maximize efficiency. But it makes me wonder … there's no dire wolves in black wolves' den, so will there be multiple horrid wolves instead? Or an alpha?”

“No! No! Don't even joke, brother Lionheart!”

“I wouldn't worry about that,” Fleeting Time interjected calmly. “It might be the case in the open world, though I'm not aware of the scroll's function outside of instanced dungeons. But the system explicitly states that bosses are a fixed hurdle in the tutorial. If there are some dungeons with multiple ones, then their number will be constant. As it stands, there will probably be a preposterous amount of black prowlers and alphas with a lone common horrid wolf.”

“Still, this isn't good.” Weaving Fate scowled. “It might put a wrench into our plans.”

“Oh, I think this is just perfect.” Carl beamed. “Will save us a lot of time and make things so much simpler. By the way, we brought the dire wolf pelts for your traders. Guys, unload.”

“Mhm, that's fine, our crafters need them … wait … how many is there?”

“Eighteen.”

“You killed all of them?!”

“Sure. These guys are not newbies.”

“Brother Lionheart, this is really impressive,” Radiant Bulwark praised tentatively, “but won't that significantly raise the bar for anyone who wishes to join you in the black wolves' den?”

“Don't worry,” Carl dismissed with a chuckle. “If need be, I'll just go alone with Toothy and have him climb a tree while I take the situation under control. The rest will wait at the portal.”

“Brother Lionheart … this …”

“But it might not even be necessary,” Carl continued blithely, ignoring the dazed and astounded faces. “With the correct team compositions and ample consumables we should be able to shock and awe, just like every time until now. Right, Fate, I'll need common and good quality mana potions, as well as anything that boosts strength. Is there any combat buffs I can learn?”

“Yes, there are some basic skills available to everyone. Unfortunately, they're only at grade 0. Shame you didn't pick one of 1st grade during character creation, that was a unique opportunity.”

“Nah, my skill selection was spot on, I only need to supplement it now. Where can I find these instructors?”

“Here, in the Colosseum complex. There are old tomes with the formulas and instructions in the gallery, and the custodians will let you peruse them for 1 gold per minute.”

“Great, my mental constitution is enhanced right now, so it shouldn't take long. Your mages still haven't arrived, I see.”

“N-no … I didn't expect you to be back so quick …”

“It worked out, so no worries. Let's go, then.”

The forty or fifty pitiful NPCs who were watching and listening intently all this time suddenly moved.

“Lord Beast Slayer … I mean … Master Lionheart? When will we be going … out there … with you?”

“Very soon, a couple hours at most,” Carl guaranteed earnestly. “You don't have to stay here, either, but I'll keep this place open for you. Uncle Time, how are the prospects shaping up?”

“They're … an honest bunch,” the old cleric graciously summarized with a tinge of helplessness.

“That bad, huh? No matter, it's just a reputation grind. It's probably even better for potential gains.”

“Glad to hear that.” Carl nodded. “Toothy, these immortals are interested in learning from your expertise, so you can charge them what you deem fit. I'll be right back.”

Leaving the venue of savagely battling players spectated by a fearful audience of natives, Carl was led by Weaving Fate to an ancient gladiatorial ludus serving as a museum.

“So which of those are the most potent and how much do they cost to learn?” Carl got right to the point.

“Please don't touch the exhibits!” the old NPC curator warned provisionally, looking at blood-soaked Carl with dread and antipathy.

“They span the subclass grades of the mortal realm, and the higher the quality, the longer it takes to memorize them,” the elven enchantress explained.

“Are there any peak ones?”

The anxious woman sweated. Of course he would ask for those!

“There are two …”

She then helped Carl find the aforementioned gems.

[Champion's Conviction] (activable, cost: 1 Gold Crown per minute)

Empowering skill, grade 0 (peak).

Effects when mastered: x*(1+x/base_vitality)/s mana upkeep for x points of vitality, target: self, augments vitality and improves pain tolerance, exhausts proportionally to the upkeep costs.

[Last Hurrah] (activable, cost: 1 Gold Crown per minute)

Empowering skill, grade 0 (peak).

Effects when mastered: x*(1+x/base_strength)/s mana upkeep for x points of strength, target: self, augments strength and improves acceleration, exhausts proportionally to the upkeep costs.

“Hey, this one will improve my stamina! I won't have to allocate my mana regeneration to Arrest Bleeding when running any more!”

“I have to caution you, brother Lionheart – these will not be easy to pick up. I wouldn't be surprised if you were to spend more than an hour reading and make several trips to the arena to test your progress in between.”

“Oh?” Carl smiled with anticipation. “We'll have to see about that!”