Nathan braced for impact as the wolves crossed the distance between them within seconds. The alpha and another wolf stopped mid-charge, settling to watch from behind—far enough to observe but close enough to join in within seconds. He was left with nine wolves, all larger than the three that had attacked him earlier, charging at him.
Those were scouts.
Nathan had a feeling that those three had been sent to probe him, to find the chinks in his form. The wolves seemed well-organized, just as the imps were, each having their own strategy for taking out problems like Nathan. With the attacks closing in, Nathan focused intently on the nine wolves, hoping to find something to tip the power scales. What he got instead was a notification indicating their levels:
[Shadow wolf
Level 8]
[Shadow wolf
Level 9]
[Shadow wolf
Level 8]
[Shadow wolf
Level 8]
[Shadow wolf
Level 9]
[Shadow wolf
Level 10]
[Shadow wolf
Level 8]
[Shadow wolf
Level 9]
[Shadow wolf
Level 9]
Oh, come on!
Nathan couldn't help but lament at the levels of the wolves. They were levels higher than his first attackers, with the least of them about the same power level as the Master imps, making this somewhat of a challenge for him. Challenge or not, Nathan was here, and he might as well take advantage of this opportunity.
Leave it to me to call a suicidal situation an opportunity.
The first wolf that got to Nathan received a fist aimed at its snout as a reward. The punch only managed to knock a few teeth out of its mouth and daze it. While Nathan would've hoped for a one-attack kill, it seemed like these wolves were going to be a tough nut to crack—but no worries. He was the Nutcracker after all.
More like a skull crusher.
More like Skullcrusher!
Nathan had already repositioned his arm, waiting for the next in line to get there. This time, he aimed for the skull of the charging wolf.
Crack!
Nathan's fist hadn't even broken through the skin on the wolf's head, but he was pretty sure he'd taken it out of the fight for the time being. A crack like that coming from its skull area probably didn't mean anything good for the wolf.
He couldn't dwell on it. The other wolves seemed to have slowed down mid-charge, watching Nathan and letting out low growls. They circled him, the seven of them. He was tempted to lash out at one but restrained himself, as that would leave him open to the remaining six, and he had the feeling that their canines would do a lot more damage.
Nathan kept his fists at the ready, the knuckles already bleeding again as he braced himself for the next attack. His fists might've been his most reliable weapon, but he'd rather use them as a last-gasp approach rather than from start to finish like he was doing. The area around them was raw, and he doubted it'd be good if he broke his hands fighting these things—he needed his sword back.
There.
The sword was a few paces to the right of the alpha, meaning that even if he managed to break out of this circle, he'd have the Alpha to contend with. He wasn't even close to breaking the circle as it was, with the wolves keen on taking their time analyzing him while the alpha and the other wolf beside it did the same.
Alpha and Beta.
That was Nathan's conclusion—the pair had to be the fabled alpha and beta hierarchy in the wolf structure, the leaders of the pack, per se. They seemed to watch him without doing anything themselves. If Nathan were to hazard a guess, they were probably trying to get their pack mates to level up.
Nice.
Nathan wasn't planning to die here though, so they were probably going to be on the raw end of that plan. He couldn't stand and wait for them to figure out a strategy—no, he had to attack. And he did. A flying fist made contact with one of the wolves circling him, breaking it out of formation and tossing it away from the circle as it rolled to a stop a few paces away. It was already starting to get back on its feet, making Nathan glance at the other two who'd survived his initial attack. They'd stayed down wisely, one probably having a skull fracture, the other already had its fangs knocked out, essentially turning it into a dog.
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Just how strong are these things?
Nathan didn't have to wait long to find out. Multiple claws latched onto his back, pushing him to the ground face-first as they tore into whatever part of him was exposed—which was all parts of him at this point. His pants were being shredded just like his skin. Claws and fangs alike tore into his body, opening new wounds and causing Nathan to do something he hadn't done in a while: scream.
"Arrrgh!" Nathan screamed at the top of his lungs.
[Warning: Health below 75%]
Nathan couldn't even see the system message properly; he had tears streaming down his eyes as the wolves continued to tear into him. He'd barely managed to cover the back of his neck with his hands, and even that defense wasn't going to last long. If he didn't do something, one of these wolves would kill him, maybe by finally tearing through his neck or by biting off his nuts.
[Warning: Health below 50%]
He couldn't lose his nuts, not today at least. With the mental image of such a loss to motivate him, Nathan stood up, shaking off the wolves with a growl of his own.
"Rarrrrrrgh!"
One bit into his thigh, the fangs going deeper than the last wolf that had tried that. Nathan handled it like he always did—he punched downward, his fist not missing from such close range.
Crack!
His punch connected with the wolf's head. The others had already started to close in, but Nathan was outraged at the dumb beasts' attack on him. The others howled, growled, clawed, and bit at Nathan, but he focused solely on the wolf that had bitten into his thigh. He pounded on the wolf's skull until it turned to mush, his brain going into overdrive. With each and every punch, he said a word in his head:
I. Will. Not. Die. Today.
Life-steal triggered
He didn't pay any attention to the notification. Nathan had fully given in to his Berserker urges, and now he wasn't going to hold back and be civilized by going the strategic route—not when he could just punch and punch these damned beasts until they were done. Nathan picked out another wolf at random and continued his mindless onslaught even as the other wolves continued to attack him. He had barely finished destroying the skull of the second unlucky wolf when a notification hit his screen—the notification he'd unconsciously been waiting for:
[Critical Warning: Health below 25%]
Blood rebellion triggered
"Hahaha!" A maniacal laugh left Nathan's lips as he felt himself become stronger, faster, tougher, and most importantly, his eyesight became sharper. It was over for these wolves.
Nathan pounced at the remaining wolves, his rage fueling him, making him oblivious to all the cuts and wounds that were opening up on his body. He couldn't care less at the moment—he had targets in front of him, and Nathan wouldn't rest until they were all down for the count.
Where Nathan's punches had failed to pierce skin before, they now went through easily like it wasn't there, ripping through their skulls as if they were made of foil. Full Berserker mode made Nathan feel good with every kill he completed. One of the wolves that had survived his punch the first time around had managed to sneak up behind Nathan, but he didn't even bother going for it with his fist—he simply booted it toward the alpha and beta.
Crack!
The ribs of the wolf had probably broken on contact with Nathan's shin, the wolf coming to a stop before the Alpha and Beta. The second wolf, which he assumed was the beta going by its size compared to the alpha, let out a growl at Nathan as it got ready to charge. A clipped growl from the alpha was all it took for the beta to relax, its eyes tracking Nathan as though it wished to rip his throat out with its claws.
You can try.
Nathan focused on finishing off the rest of his opponents, their claws struggling to pierce through his tougher skin, their movements seemingly sluggish when they'd been faster before. The most important change, though, was the clarity that his temporarily improved eyesight provided. The best thing was that he knew he was close to another level.
He only needed one of those stats to take on what was left of the attack squad. A fist here and a fist there, and all the other wolves were dead. Nathan's ragged breathing once more became the only sound that disturbed the silence of the den.
The alpha wolf had sat on its haunches throughout the fight—watching, learning, calculating—but the beta wolf had been on all fours since he'd booted the wolf to them. The sight of the wolf brought a maniacal smile to Nathan's face; he'd definitely riled it up, which would probably make it rash.
Good.
Rash, Nathan could work with. Calculating and cunning, he'd have to watch out for. The alpha seemed unperturbed by what Nathan had just done to its kin, and it made Nathan feel a little uneasy. Just what kind of monster was this? The Alpha showed no emotion of its own; it had just watched with a passive face, its eyes the only thing that had moved throughout the fight, if you excluded the one time it let out a clipped growl to restrain the beta.
Nathan shrugged off the unease as best as he could. His adrenaline had started to wear off and with it the Berserker rage that had helped him mop the floor with those wolves. He tried to keep hold of the rage but felt it slipping away as his rational mind came to the fore. The first thing his rational mind made him do was focus intently on the two wolves.
[Shadow wolf (Beta)
Pack Member
Level 11]
[Shadow wolf (Alpha)
Level 14]
Shit.
Both wolves seemed to be of a higher level than him—level eleven for the beta and level fourteen for the Alpha. No wonder the Alpha hadn't felt threatened by Nathan; it probably knew that it outclassed him. The beta, on the other hand, was close enough to his level that he felt he could go toe-to-toe with the wolf and come out alive if he was smart enough.
Nathan's eyes drifted to his sword a few paces from the Alpha. He didn't know if the alpha would let him take his sword; after all, it had been really chill for the past few minutes. He took a step toward his sword, his eyes trained on the Alpha.
He watched in fascination as the muscles of the wolf tensed, his improved vision helping him pick up on all these new details. Nathan stepped back and watched as the wolf relaxed its muscles as it continued to stare at him.
Okay, no sword for me.
That would certainly make things a lot harder than they had to be. The sword would've given him a little edge, and the alpha probably knew that too. The thing was smart and calculating. His health pool was still dropping, and Nathan could feel himself slipping. The blood rebellion didn't take care of his wounds; it just gave him a boost.
The damned thing was waiting for Nathan to die on his own.
That was clever as fuck—Nathan had to applaud its fight-adverse tactics. Time was on its side, and it knew it. If Nathan wanted to leave this place, he'd have to do something and do it fast. Seeing as the alpha wasn't planning on allowing him to retrieve his sword, he'd have to boost himself the only way he knew how—he had to level up. With the beta in his sight, Nathan charged.