Samuel turned, giving me a look. He opened his mouth as if to say something. But in the next moment, he stopped, turning his head away to focus on the direwolf.

My gaze shifted to the direwolf in front, observing what was happening.

The direwolf let out an ear-piercing growl as it shakily stood on its feet, about to fall down at any moment. A colour of blood filled its eyes as it shot us back a glare.

However, it didn’t charge forward to attack. Instead, cracking sounds began filling the area. The direwolf shrieked and howled, its body trembling.

My ears picked up that the source of the cracking sounds was none other than the direwolf itself.

W-what’s happening? My brows furrowed, a deep unease filling my chest.

As if reading my thoughts, Samuel muttered, “A… mutation? Is that direwolf a mutant? But then… How? No, that’s not the correct question. I was careless. It had blood gushing out of its wound. So what is its ability?”

Samuel’s words progressively lost me, as I couldn’t understand what he was saying the more he spoke. Helplessly, I worked hard to recall the only bits I had read about the mutant beasts: ‘When a beast breaks out of its racial restrictions, diverging and mutating beyond what their race can accomplish, it becomes known as a mutant.’

‘Mutant beasts can have abilities which vary to the point the beast can have an entirely distinct element under its command, unlike the usual one its race commands. Thus, a mutant’s abilities are hard to pinpoint without any prior observations. Therefore, it is recommended to treat them from half a class to an entire class above the recommended threat level for their species at the very least.’

Recalling the information, I cursed the maker of the book where I read that in my head. What am I supposed to make out of that? At least, point out the abilities a mutant beast has or how to fight it?! Just how difficult is that to—

Before I could complete my train of complaints, the change in direwolf shocked me back to reality.

Veins bulged all over the direwolf’s body, contrasting against its dull white fur. The direwolf let out a piercing howl as it charged forward.

Samuel, on the other hand, bent down, his hand touching the ground. He chanted, “The boulders quake in a tempestuous storm, breaking the ground into a million pieces. The ground erupts with might far beyond, tearing up beyond the normal creases. The world shakes and fear permeates as the ground shows its might. Shake the world and destroy all in sight.”

A dark earthy hue began gathering around his hand, spreading down on to the ground it touched, growing brighter by the moment. A faint sense of pressure enveloped the surroundings, making it harder to breathe.

Whoa…. A spell with a full chant! And he is still not releasing it. I couldn’t help but feel excited about what was going to happen despite the current situation. However, as soon as I realised what went through my head, my eye squinted and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of repulsion towards myself. A bitter taste filling my mouth.

In the end, despite what all went through my head or how I felt, I simply couldn’t tear my eye away from the battle about to continue up ahead.

The direwolf opened its mouth as it lifted its head up. A loud howl pierced through the air. But by the time the howl died out, the direwolf was no longer present. Like an arrow released from a bow, it shot straight towards Samuel.

Arriving in front of Samuel in an instant, it raised its head to the sky. The muscles on its body bulged as it grew in size, going from a head taller than Samuel to being taller by at least an arm’s length taller. Its dull white fur began darkening as the veins on its body grew even clearer.

In a matter of seconds, its fur turned a colour reminiscent of blood, a shade darker than its bloodshot eyes. A steam-like smoke rose from the wound on its back as it began closing at a rapid speed.

The direwolf plunged down, fiercely biting down into Samuel’s shoulder, as if to vent out and repay all the frustrations caused by the human brat before it. Blood trickled down on the ground like flowing sweat, slowly forming a tiny puddle around Samuel’s hand.

However, instead of a shriek of agony, a derisive sneer echoed through the air instead.

The corner of Samuel’s lip curled up as he said, “Heh. You like to bite? Bite as hard as you can! SEISMIC SHOCK!”

The earthen hue around Samuel wriggled as it began dispersing like flowing smoke. Next, the ground shook as spider-web-like cracks crawled out the boy’s arms, as if someone hit the ground with a hammer heavy enough to crush boulders.

Zack’s eye went wide as he thought, ‘An earthquake?!’

The ground beneath their feet began shaking as the cracks grew wider, turning the solid ground into a mess. Coupled with the shaking, it began tearing apart, turning into rocks both large and small as they littered the ground, making it uneven.

Clawing at the ground with his other hand, Samuel picked up a fistful of mud. Next, he thrusted his arm towards where the direwolf latched onto him, shoving all the mud into its eyes, causing its grip on Samuel’s arm to weaken.

Gritting his teeth, Samuel took the advantage of the direwolf’s moment of weakness, grabbing it by its front leg as he tore it away from his shoulder. Spinning like a top, Samuel threw the direwolf away, like he was throwing around a sandbag.

*THUD!*

With a thud, the direwolf hit against a nearby tree, plopping down on its side. On the other hand, Samuel was not in a state any better than the direwolf. His shoulder bled and the feeling he got when trying to move it was a cold numbness.

‘Mom, where are you? Please come fast. I can’t hold on any longer.’ He couldn’t help but think as he glanced at his shoulder.

However, no one answered his prayer. Anxiety crawled all over his heart. Yet, he didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it. All he could do was to rely on hope that he could move his fingers and his arm would be alright.

While he drowned in his worries, a thrumming broke his reverie.

He looked up to find a direwolf a few sizes bigger than his own, charging towards him, its eyes burning with madness.

Samuel felt a chill down his spine. His hands and feet froze from the imminent sense of crisis, and all he could muster in response was to lift his other hand up in a futile attempt to block.