Samuel took a step forward instead, a faint grey hue accumulating over his leg. In the next moment, a dull thud rang out.

So there was this method as well.

My eye widened, leaving me at a loss for words.

His foot swung out, hitting the direwolf’s jaw from the side, swatting it away like it was a fly. As if it wasn’t enough, Samuel used the momentum from his kick to twist his body in the air, his leg reaching for the direwolf’s skull from above.

The direwolf coiled its body to the side barely enough to dodge, causing Samuel’s kick to miss its mark by a hair’s breadth.

While it was still in the middle of dodging, a green hue had coalesced around the direwolf’s tail, which was coiled like a snail’s shell. Unfurling its tail in an arc, a blade of wind shot out from the tail, heading straight towards Samuel instead.

Samuel twisted his body to the side, using his left shoulder to take the brunt of the attack.

The sleeve on his arm tore open, a deep wound gouged in his shoulder. Droplets of blood oozed out of the wound, dying his shirt in its own colours. A moment later, a grimace surfaced on Samuel’s face as he began forming a green hue around his other arm.

However, the direwolf made full use of Samuel’s moment of shock to reposition itself before beginning to charge forward.

As soon as Samuel’s feet touch the ground, the direwolf’s head smashed against his chest, knocking all the air out of him. The green hue around his good arm dispersed silently, effectively cancelling his spell.

Samuel managed to keep his balance, his expression distorted in pain.

The direwolf gave Samuel a hateful look, standing up on its hind limbs as it lifted its front paws into the air, in an attempt to stomp Samuel to death.

Gritting his teeth, Samuel’s fingers clawed into the ground as he chanted, “Rise from beneath and pierce to the skies, Rock Pillar!”

A dusty-yellow hue flowed out of his palm, covering the ground like spilling oil. In the next moment, a rock pillar with the thickness comparable to that of an adult’s arm shot out of the ground, hitting the direwolf on its head. The direwolf lost its balance, toppling down on the ground back first.

As soon as the direwolf’s back hit the ground, an ear-piercing howl of agony echoed through the surroundings. The direwolf writhed in pain, twisting and turning to get back on its feet. The wound on its back spilled its blood all around, irrigating the ground with a warm, crimson liquid.

Without letting go of the opportunity, Samuel leapt off the ground, using his elbow to strike at the direwolf’s midsection.

The direwolf flailed its limbs about like a drowning puppy, struggling to escape.

However, a few moments later, its eyes rolled back into their sockets, revealing their whites. It frothed from its mouth, its limbs having lost all power.

Did he win? He did, right? That thing is not even moving anymore.

A weary sigh escaped my mouth. My tensed muscles relaxed as all the mental pressure dissipated. Blinking a few times to confirm the reality, I asked, “Is it dead? And how’s the injury on your—”

However, Samuel lifted his arm, gesturing me to stop. Furrowing his brows, he gave the direwolf an inspecting look. As if unconvinced, he lifted his fist, a dull grey hue coalescing around it.

That has to be the Ki Empowerment. Now that it is, he used a bunch of spells as well, a Fire attribute spell, Incinerate, an Earth attribute spell, Rock Pillar. On top of that, I am sure he backed all those kicks up with Ki arts. If I were to fight him and he could use those…

I sighed in relief once again, thanking Aunt for making things easier for me. At the same time, the gap between me and him became even more clear.

The next moment, Samuel’s punch landed on the direwolf’s midrib, producing a cracking sound.

Direwolf, however, didn’t so much as flinch. Samuel heaved a long sigh, his expression turning to that of the after fear. He opened and closed his fist many times before inspecting his wounded shoulder.

Next, he gave me a stern look as he said, “Why the heck did you not escape? Are you deaf?”

His tone was neither cordial nor reproachful, as if scolding a kid. I wanted to rebut, but found I had no words to do so. Thus, all I did was hold my silence.

Samuel continued, “Don’t you know that it’s common to ask the weaker one to go call for help? And see? I wasn’t in any danger. This thing wasn’t as hard to deal with as you might’ve thought.”

Saying so, he pointed to the collapsed direwolf. Next, he turned to me as he said, “So, from now on, listen more to me as well. I get that you were worried, but all that worry would be for nothing if… just try to understand what I’m saying, alright?”

His voice turned to a whisper as he muttered, “I don’t want another incident like what happened with dad to happen again.”

In an attempt to comfort him, I said, “Don’t worry. I’m still here all fine, thanks to you. But you got hurt in my place instead. I’m… sorry about it. And how’s your shoulder?”

Although my expression didn’t so much as flicker, inwardly, I was in a wreck. That came out more awkwardly than I wanted it to. Would he misunderstand it as me being insensitive? He wouldn’t hate me for it, right?

With a smile, he replied, “Yeah, it’s just a small cut. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

A sneaky sigh of relief escaped my mouth. I said, “Small? It’s bleeding and we need to patch it up!”

“Eh…” Samuel had an odd expression as he waved his hand in air nonchalantly. “It’s just a flesh wound. Nothing too serious. I have been dealing with those and muscle cramps since long ago.”

My brow furrowed as I pushed my point forwards: “I still think you should get yourself patched up. Just in case something happ… happens.”

The hair on my body stood on end. The words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat, with no way of expression. My eye widened and before I knew it, I was grabbing Samuel by his shoulders while jumping to the side.

A blade of wind silently hummed past my cheek, causing a stinging pain. Touching my cheek with my palm, I felt a viscous fluid spilling out of the cut, slowly trickling down my cheek.

My body went stiff in an instant, the realisation that it would’ve been our heads instead of just a graze if I was late by a few moments.

Having misunderstood, Samuel blurted, “Ouch! Alright, it hurts! I get it, I’ll get it patched up. No need to be this forcef—Wh-what?”

Instead of being able to say it directly, I raised a shaky finger, pointing to Samuel’s back.

My finger pointed towards a beast covered in a dusty white fur, slowly getting up from the ground, its tail swinging back and forth erratically as if throwing a tantrum.