Chris

It didn't take me long to run into the first of the wolves around our camp as I walked out. They kept a tight perimeter around us and once I broke it, they made themselves known.

I liked to believe I had worked through everything since the change but it was times like this that made me wonder if I hadn't. I wouldn't call it a thirst for bloodlust, but my desire for battle wasn't seen in the best light.

Typically, people who threw themselves into unnatural danger didn't have everything sorted out up top, but that wasn't how I looked at it. It was something I liked doing, and it was something I would continue to do.

It made me feel alive in a way nothing else did and I enjoyed the excitement it gave off, even if it would be the death of me one day.

The feeling of my hammer descending with [Mighty Blow] or the Ice swirling around me with my new Wind Law, it was almost euphoric.

The blood was less pleasant, but I had long gotten used to the messy bits of fighting. It was hard not to with the amount of bodies I had waded through and the amount of... destruction a blunt weapon swung at speed caused.

It felt right to finally let go. To go all out in a way that felt refreshing. The wolves tried to group up but numbers had always done little against me. If that weren't the case, I wouldn't have made it through the tutorial.

I treated the pack like a 31st wave. Another one to fight through until one of us was left standing. I did feel bad about killing so many, but they would repopulate and grow back in now time. I didn't plan to hunt them all down if a few ran away and there were surely more packs out there other than this one.

[Momentum of the Avalanche] began rolling behind me as I attacked the first wolf and started the onslaught. [Glacial Presence] was already giving a small boost just because of how cold it already was without any of my other skills taking effect.

[Permafrost] billowed out easier than ever before, taking to the ground quicker than even when I fought with the Frost Rune. It pushed out, freezing the earth and driving the temperature lower.

My next skill was the upgraded hail, [Desolate Blizzard]. It was the first time using it for a fight like this and I couldn't wait to see how well it did. [Hail] had been mostly relegated to ice creation at the end of the tutorial and it felt good to have another skill to use.

Activating it felt much the same as [Permafrost]. Almost like the environment wanted to be changed in the way I was asking it. Like the air and ground wanted to be that way and it took my nudge with vigor instead of fighting against it.

The winds built up and buffeted the bare trees around the wolves and picked up the snow on the ground. I channeled the skill more toward the winds and cold, laying off the ice generation.

I had a different way to do that now.

The skill sucked up mana at a dangerous pace but the area around me came alive at its prodding.

The first few wolves were already dead by this point, falling to my hammer while my other skills built up for the long haul. While the wolves were strong, my hammer was greater.

The legendary skill was one of if not my best. It was certainly my favorite.

The whipping winds picked up the snow off the ground and it turned into a legit blizzard as the flakes blew through the air. My ability to master the Winds wasn't enough to direct them yet so they tumbled this way and that, almost like it was a natural phenomenon.

Just like I could control Ice without [Ice Manipulation], I could control the Winds without the skill but it was harder. I was just getting the hang of it with Ice, and Wind was far behind where I wanted it to be.

My affinity helped, but that only gave me the barest hints of control rather than absolute control I wanted.

The Wind would always play second fiddle to my main element, Ice, but it was unbecoming to leave my control in such a sorry state. Thinking that made me sound pretentious, but if I was going to use it in a fight, I needed it to be controlled and calculated. It wasn't worth it if I could do neither of those things.

More wolves came in response to the scene I was causing and it made me feel nostalgic. Having a mass of enemies come to me while I stood and fought. It wasn't the one-off fight that only took a few swings and barely got me in the spirit.

It wasn't the low-level beasts quickly crushed. It was challenging enough I felt the need to use [Frost Armor], and the familiar layer of ice froze over my form. It was nice to be back in fighting shape again. To actually need to push things again, rather than forcing myself to hold back.

The wolves were mostly above level 60, with some nearly 70 and above. Over 10 levels above where I was, but that was what it took for me to feel a challenge.

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If the pack were any smaller, I would have left it to the others. But it wasn't, and I got to feel my heart beating again.

The fight was only beginning, but it felt good to release a bit of pressure inside, so I went with it and pushed harder. To see how far I could take it.

My bloodline hadn't changed since the tutorial and it was still the same as the last time I used it, but it felt... more. Cold spread throughout my body as my strength increased and my form grew ever slightly. My hammer whistled through the air a touch faster and the nip of my skills increased even further.

This was the first time I was calling on my bloodline in a truly Arctic environment. Every time before it was in an artificially curated one and somehow, I could feel the difference. It was like the mana meant more compared to being the result of a mana stone and Rune. Like it held more weight even though the mana density was at a level I was familiar with and fought in before.

Feeling this increase even though nothing notable had changed, I pushed against it as hard as I could. If the area was so keen on taking to what I was asking it too, I wanted to see how far I could push it. Light blue mana rushed through me as I pushed my Law and mana into my skills harder, pushing against the confines of where they usually stopped.

The trees started to groan from what I was doing. Creaks and pops fired off from the ones nearby from the water inside them freezing and expanding quickly. After that, while swinging at any of the wolves that came close, I ventured out into a new way to use a skill. It wasn't only [Permafrost] and [Desolate Blizzard] that I pushed against.

[Sweeping Snow] created its own snow to work with, but I already had some readily available swirling around me. It would be a waste not to use what Mother Nature so helpfully provided.

The skill pushed out past the ends of my hammer, where it usually stopped, and the mana carried outward into the flakes in the air. For the first time, the skill extended past the extent of my body and hammer, activating on something I wasn't directly holding.

I couldn't spend my attention on it now, but I would be testing that later.

The snow came alight as the mana enhanced the flakes, making them sharper and harder. They blew around a touch faster and were a lot easier to control, but I left them to blow erratically like before. There was a certain beauty in the chaos.

Drops of blood started falling before the winds picked those up too. The red drops of liquid quickly froze into pinkish snowflakes and joined with their not-so white anymore counterparts. The group sliced through the fur of the wolves, causing more blood and fur to get picked up by the wind and coating the area in red as they revolved around me.

While calling on my bloodline boosted all of my skills, I refrained from using [Righteous Fury]. I was feeling the current of the fight pull on me to do more but I wasn't willing to deal with the backlash of the skill or the timer it forced me to fight on.

Secondly, I wanted to hold a few things back just in case.

I also didn't use my Anchor, only pulling on my Law to strengthen my Ice and make the cold even greater.

The wolves tried and failed to attack me and I pushed on to where I felt the strongest was. It was nice to get back into feeling like this, like I could take on the world and come out alive.

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Elliot

After watching the man wade into the dark forest, he sat there silently wondering what to do. He and Samuel were both speechless and at a loss.

If it were anyone else, he would say they were mad. Going to fight the entire pack alone was insane but this was the leader they were supposed to be following. While he didn't care much about who led the caravan, he did still feel indebted a touch for the opportunity.

He wanted to help if there was a chance for him to do good, but doing so now was suicide. He wouldn't even be able to take on two of the wolves, let alone the entire pack.

Even if his whole town went out together they would fail to defeat them. But he was just one person and he walked so confidently out into the forest.

He wasn't crazy, was he?

With only a few interactions with the man, Elliot wasn't accustomed to him that well, but he didn't come off as insane. He only came off a bit gruff and steadfast.

Not throw yourself to the literal wolves batshit insane.

Still, he had to huddle up to the fire a bit closer because a bone-chilling wind blew in from the forest. It put goosebumps up and down his body and it felt like the furs he was wearing did nothing to break the windchill. Being in the cold as long as they had, and being from Canada to begin with, Elliot had gotten good at dealing with the chill, but this was different. Even with all the layers he had on and the outer coat of thick fur to blunt the wind, it didn't help. Even the heat from the once roaring fire couldn't be felt as the cold overtook his body.

The fire even sputtered slightly from the wind, threatening to wink out until Samuel put another log on it, feeding it more.

Growls, yelps, and barks sounded out not that long after the chill blew through and people everywhere in the camp became alert at the sound of wolves.

Some jumped to their weapons and armor, getting ready for the attack they knew was coming, while others arose from slumber already dressed for battle. Just as people were about to rush off to their posts, a flash of light caught everyone's attention. The light easily pierced through the dark night and everyone turned to its origin. At the source, they found one of the leaders of the caravan standing on a cart with his spear glowing slightly at the tip and waiting to speak.

The people gearing up turned to him for direction and he waited until it quieted down, "Settle down everyone, there's no need for panic."

The words did little against the barks and yelps sounding out in the forest. Everyone knew the wolves would come and it sounded like they were attacking something already.

People's eyes shifted out to where the noise was coming from before focusing back on the man with the spear, "Everything is under control, try to get some rest while the wolves get cleaned up."

Confusion spread about what was going on but Elliot knew. He knew who was out there battling the wolves but everyone else was unaware.

"What's going on!?"

"Why are there sounds of battle?"

Questions sounded out from the crowd and from beside him Samuel shouted out one of his own, "Does he need help?"

Hearing someone was out there fighting, it didn't take people long to put two and two together. Christopher was the one who usually led but another man was standing in his place instead. It wasn't a far leap to realize who was out there.

"No, he does not need any help." It was almost said with an audible sigh, "Try to get some rest before we continue traveling in the morning."

Everyone was a bit stunned and nobody knew what to do. They were told to try and get some rest but there was no way they were doing that now.

Especially with some of the sounds they were hearing from out in the forest, let alone the ground shaking at irregular intervals.