Hazel realized that she was in deeper shit than she initially thought. She believed that it would be simple to take down the pack of dire wolves that were surrounding her, but that was a mistake. Her attention was so focused on the pack that she didn’t consider that they had a leader.
And now Hazel was face to face with it. The Beacon of Power and Authority of this Wolf pack—the Fractured Alpha Dire Wolf.
The novice mage stood before the giant dire wolf with trembling eyes. Her legs were frozen in place as if she were stuck in cement, preventing her from making a single step.
The Alpha Dire Wolf glanced behind itself, focusing on the remaining dire wolves that Hazel failed to kill before it appeared out of nowhere. All of them were lying on the ground, looking vulnerable and weak, as if a mere breeze from the wind could kill them.
The Alpha then turned back to Hazel and snarled at her. Its lips peeled back, revealing razor-sharp teeth that could easily tear her to shreds if she got too close to it. With its left paw, it stomped on the dirt, causing the ground to vibrate slightly.
Hazel stayed on her feet as her knees buckled from the shaking. Her eyes trailed down to the ground before returning to meet the Alpha’s gaze with a terrified expression.
All it did was slam its paw down, and that was enough to create a small tremor?!
“Dammit…” Hazel grumbled, gripping her staff as her mind raced to come up with some kind of plan.
While keeping her eyes on the beast, she winced in pain. She then moved her hand over to the wound on her side, clutching it tightly in response. Blood oozed between her fingers while dripping on the ground.
The claw marks from the Alpha were deep. Not enough for stitches, but still dangerous to leave alone for too long. The pain wasn’t as unbearable as she initially thought, possibly thanks to her Endurance Stat being high enough to reduce it.
But that didn’t mean the novice mage was out of the clear yet. Not by a long shot.
This would usually be the time when she would reach into her bag and grab a healing potion to fix the problem. However, her pack was currently somewhere else in the forest away from Hazel.
So, she was in an even more precarious situation than when the pack of dire wolves were chasing her before.
The Alpha Dire wolf released another snarl, glaring at Hazel with its menacing, purple eyes. It boldly took a step forward, closing the distance between it and her. However, not wanting to get anywhere near the beast than she already was, the mage hastily took a step back.
All the while, her brain was kicked into overdrive, attempting to find a way to get out of this situation alive.
Fighting the Alpha Dire Wolf wouldn’t end well for Hazel. Its speed and power were far beyond what she was capable of tolerating, even with her augmented Endurance Stat.
Then again, running away wasn’t much of an option either. Not after witnessing this creature’s frightening speed firsthand. Hazel barely reacted in time to dodge its attack, and the beast still managed to inflict a severe wound on her.
The pain once again stabbed Hazel’s wound, forcing her to grunt in pain. Despite the discomfort, she held her ground against the beast, not wanting to display weakness before it. A part of Hazel feared that doing so would provoke it to attack her, and that was the last thing she needed.
With her staff in hand, Hazel hastily pondered over her options.
All of her skills were currently no longer under their cooldown. So, if she played her cards right, there was a chance for her to get out of this. But that was only if things went exactly the way she wanted them to.
In a split second, Hazel raised her staff at her enemy before firing a single mana bolt. The Alpha witnessed the spell materialize and barreled toward it with malicious intent.
Staring at the bolt for a moment, the monster blurred to the side, easily avoiding the spell as it blitzed past it without a second thought. Hazel watched this unfold with a perturbed expression.
“Light on your feet, huh?” She muttered with disdain. “Let’s just see how light those paws of yours are then!”
Making this declaration, the novice mage then hurled several more mana bolts at the Alpha, bombarding it with her magic volley. Much like before, the Alpha dire wolf blitzed from side to side, effortlessly avoiding her spell with each step.
It was almost like it was teleporting, but in reality, it was just too fast for her to fully comprehend its movement.
Hazel fired more bolts at the beast before it suddenly blurred forward and appeared right in front of her. The mage stumbled back in response with wide eyes as she watched the Alpha raise its paw to attack her.
Her legs tensed as she hastily dove to the side. Rolling along the ground, she turned around and watched the Alpha Dire wolf slam its paw on the dirt, creating a massive crater. Sharps of rock and dirt pelted her, to which she raised her arms and staff to shield herself.
The Alpha let out a vicious howl while shifting its body to face the mage. Meanwhile, Hazel readied her staff to cast a spell. The monster leaped toward her, its claws extended and ready to tear her to shreds.
In a split second, Hazel cast Mana Shield and watched the transparent dome barrier materialize around her. Even after witnessing the shield being erected, the alpha maintained its course and reached its claw toward it.
Its paw made contact with the barrier, causing cracks to appear in an instant. Hazel stood there wide-eyed at the sight. The cracks continued to spread along her shield, spiderwebbing all over.
Hazel braced herself, realizing that the barrier was about to break. And she was correct. She then watched it shatter to pieces while she raised her staff to defend herself.
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Despite the shield obstructing most of the Alpha’s momentum, it still had enough speed and force for its claw to clash against Hazel’s staff, throwing her back. Slamming into the ground, the novice mage attempted to pull herself off.
However, the Alpha wasn’t done and stood before her. Hazel caught a glimpse of the beast as it raised and dug its claws into her back. Hazel screamed in pain, feeling the Alpha’s sharp claws carve into her skin.
She tried to lift her staff to cast a spell, but her arm felt heavy like something was crushing it. And that was because the Alpha was using its other paw to pin her limb down.
Just then, the Alpha lifted its paws off of the mage. Hazel wanted to feel relieved, but couldn’t as she felt the monster kick her to the side with one of its paws again. She tumbled across the ground, her body scraping against the rough surface filled with jagged rocks, exposed tree roots, and more.
Coming to a stop, Hazel lay there in a daze. Her vision was blurry, making her see double everywhere she looked. When she spotted the Alpha, there were two of them, but that was because of her hazy vision.
Trying to see straight, Hazel violently shook her head. That seemed to have done the trick, and when she saw the Alpha again, there was only one of them this time. Sadly, Hazel didn’t have the time to celebrate with the alpha charging at her once more.
The novice mage gripped her staff before rolling to the side as the beast missed her. Repositioning herself, Hazel whirled the gnarled wood at the alpha and fired a Mana Bolt.
The rod made of pure energy hurtled toward the alpha, threatening to cut the beast. However, the Alpha spotted the spell coming its way and narrowly avoided it. Only its shoulder was nicked by it.
The Alpha Dire wolf glanced at the wound she inflicted and turned back to snarl at her. Hazel’s blood froze at the beast’s reaction, knowing that she only managed to piss it off rather than severely wound it.
“Damn…” Hazel muttered a curse while raising her staff defensively.
The Alpha then howled and lunged at the mage. Its gaping maw was open, ready to take a bite out of her. Before Hazel could try and run away, the beast closed the distance in a second, appearing right in front of her.
Hazel was wide-eyed at the absurd speed. Seeing no other option, she raised her staff in front of the beast, as if using it as a shield.
This worked since the Alpha then latched onto the gnarled wood with its mouth. The sudden force of the monster pushed Hazel down to the ground. Her back flared with pain when it smacked against the dirt with a loud thud.
All the while, Hazel struggled to keep the Alpha from eating her. She held her staff out as the beast continued to gnaw at the wood, aggressively griding its sharp fangs against it. The sound of wood snapping was incredibly concerning for Hazel.
If she didn’t do something or at least get this beast off her, the gnarled wood would end up a casualty in this scuffle.
“You…damn mutt!” Hazel growled.
Pulling one of her hands away, she thrust it into the beast’s fur. Her palm snuggled against the purple coat, blessing her with comfort. However, Hazel ignored the pleasant sensation and quickly cast her spell Decay.
Purple ethereal tendrils trailed around her arm. When her skin touched the wispy appendages, a sharp chill caressed her as she was filled with a sense of dread. Before she could process this feeling, the tendrils latched onto the Alpha’s pelt, sinking into its body in an instant.
The Dire wolf flinched in response as if feeling some kind of foreign being was inserted into its vessel without permission. Its eyes widened in shock while it instantly released the staff. A moment later, the alpha jumped back, putting some distance between itself and Hazel.
The mage felt relieved since she was no longer pushed down by the full weight of the Alpha. She couldn’t relax just yet. Not when her opponent was still alive.
Hazel initially wanted to use Baneful Sickle but didn’t know if the skill could completely cleave the alpha in two. Which was why she resorted to using Decay first. As a way to weaken the creature before attempting to finish it off.
And she made the right call. Glancing at the Alpha, Hazel watched as the purple cracks grew more severe by the minute, spreading across its body. The monster noticed its cracks worsening and panicked.
Its body trembled as it hastily moved around. Hazel watched for a little bit in complete confusion. She had no idea why the beast was acting in such a way. When the Fractured Rogue was affected, its behavior was normal. It only staggered from the effects before trying to kill Hazel again.
But the Alpha seemed different. Could it be because the Dire Wolf was an Alpha? Or was its status under the same evolution as the Classed Fractured humans?
Hazel abruptly shook her head. There was no time to think about something like that right now. Hazel needed to focus on only one thing; killing the alpha.
Steeling herself, the mage raised her staff and then fired multiple Mana Bolts at the beast. This seemed to have stirred the creature back to its senses as its head whipped up to notice the rods of mana coming its way.
It then proceeded to effortlessly dodge the spell barrage, blurring from side to side. And much like before, the Alpha closed in on Hazel; attempting to kill her like before.
Just as it lunged at her, Hazel pointed her staff at the monster’s head. Unknowing to the Alpha, Hazel had her free hand raised toward it as well, waiting for the right moment.
Hazel then cast a Mana bolt with her staff, hurling it at the beast’s head. Unsurprisingly, it shifted its head to the side, narrowly dodging the spell. A split second later, a malicious purple sickle appeared and easily severed its four limbs.
The Alpha’s bewildered expression was all Hazel needed to see to know who won the fight. Stepping to the side, the mage watched as the giant dire wolf crashed on the ground, skidding across the dirt.
Lying there, the Alpha attempted to get up, but its limbs were gone, preventing it from doing so. It snarled and growled while struggling to move on the dirt ground.
Hazel stared at the beast for a few seconds. Then, with a relieved sigh, she slowly approached the creature; her staff slightly raised and cautiously directed at her enemy.
Getting closer to the monster, its eyes turned to face her. She could see that Its gaze was filled with resentment and anger toward her. If looks could kill, Hazel would’ve been dead ten times over.
Instead of averting her eyes, Hazel instead maintained eye contact with the monster, as if asserting her dominance. The cold chill she would get every time her eyes locked on the monster was no longer present.
Nor did she feel a sense of relief or accomplishment. She only felt grateful that the victor in this fight was her, and not the other way around.
Hazel and the Alpha stared at one another for a few moments. Then, the monster finally closed its eyes with a calm expression, as if it was accepting its fate.
No words were uttered from the mage as she trained her staff on the Alpha. Then, a malicious purple scythe materialized in front of the monster, ready to finish off her enemy.
A moment later, the Baneful sickle was hurled at the creature, tearing it apart with its vicious rotating blade.
[Level 15 Alpha Dire Wolf has been defeated!]
[You have Leveled Up! You are now Level 12!]
[Baneful Sickle is now Rank 4!]
[Mana Bolt is now Rank 5!]
Seeing the stream of notifications, a small grin formed on Hazel’s face. Behind her, the sound of snarls and whimpers could be heard, forcing the mage to turn around. As she did, her eyes laid upon the remaining Dire Wolves she still hadn’t killed yet because of the Alpha.
The remaining monsters glared at the mage, knowing that they were next. As for Hazel, her smile faded as she raised her staff in response.
“Time to finish off the rest,” She declared, coldly staring at the vulnerable dire wolves.