Everybody jumped up to their feet in haste.

"What! A sub challenge?" shouted Elizabeth.

"It's not the time to be thinking about the details! Gather around!" I replied back in a raised voice.

The entire team gathered around me in an instant. But, weirdly, the Great Wolf was just standing in front of the trees, not moving an inch.

What was going on? Was it examining us?

"What should we do?" asked Ignis as she moved closer to me.

Before I could reply, the wolf howled an ear-piercing howl. My legs trembled as I tried my best to stay on my feet. Ignis and Liam had already fallen to their knees. Elizabeth grabbed my shoulder as she supported herself from falling down.

Two wolves appeared from either side of the Great Wolf. They were more prominent than the wolves we fought yesterday but smaller than the Great Wolf. One of the wolves displayed beautiful white fur, while the other had ragged black hair.

The Great Wolf finally stopped his howling. The 2 wolves who were beside him started sprinting towards us.

Liam, who by now was already back up on his feet, shot an arrow at the white wolf. With what seemed to be minimal effort, the white wolf dodged to the side.

These wolves seemed to be swifter and more robust than those we faced before.

I sprinted towards the White wolf, hoping to intercept it, but it somehow managed to lunge right over my head. Without giving me a negligible amount of time to think, the black wolf lunged at me.

It slashed its claws at me, but I could barely parry it with my sword.

Jumping back a step, I hastily glanced behind me. The 2 ladies and the boy were engaged in what seemed to be an equal battle with the white wolf.

Taking advantage of the fact that I was distracted, the black wolf swiftly got right in front of me.

It aimed its jaws at my shoulder; I swung my entire body sideways, hoping to dodge the wolf's fierce teeth.

Even though I successfully avoided its Jaws, it slashed its dagger-like claws at my waist.

I unintentionally let a groan of pain escape my mouth. Fortunately, the wolf only managed to inflict a shallow cut on my abdomen.

Gripping my sword, I exhaled deeply. This wolf was far more potent than the ordinary wolves. Will I be able to defeat it? Plus, the sub-challenge was to defeat the Great wolf. If its underlings were this powerful, I could only imagine how powerful it would be.

Shaking these thoughts, I lunged toward the Black Wolf. The black wolf didn't dodge or hesitate but thrust back at me.

Shifting the weight of my body to the region around my abdomen, I kicked my leg towards the sky. The jaw of the black wolf soon met my leg. I felt some of the bones in my leg slightly crack due to the unbelievably hard jaw the wolf had.

The wolf howled in pain as it fell to the ground. Fortunately, my kick had some effect. I, too, fell to the ground on my back but soon managed to get back on my legs.

Still whimpering in pain, the wolf stood up. Its eyes had now lost the confidence that they showcased before.

Taking advantage of this moment, in which the wolf was in doubt, I rushed towards it. The wolf barely dodged as I tried to slash its back.

I quickly rotated my entire body in the wolf's direction; I slashed at it again. Even though the black wolf managed to dodge, my sword could inflict a deep cut on its back.

Not wasting any more time, I jumped towards the wolf and tried to strike its leg, but it was able to parry me with its claws. Without recoiling my sword too much, I slashed the wolf's foreleg.

Bright red blood flowed from the black wolf's foreleg and back. The wolf slowly started to move backwards. Finally getting the opportunity to glance around, I looked at where the white wolf was being held.

While Ignis and Elizabeth were engaged in direct combat with the wolf, Liam provided support from the back. As an arrow pierced its back and a cut ran from its neck to its leg, the beautiful white fur of the wolf was now tainted with its blood,

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Ignis and Elizabeth were both wounded in different regions of their body. The trio was all out of breath, but they continued fighting.

A deafening howl made me look away from the battle. The Great wolf was howling again.

The Black, as well as the white wolf, disappeared into the forest behind the Great Wolf.

[The Great Wolf Has deemed you worthy of fighting]

A message suddenly popped up.

"What does this mean?" Said Liam as he rushed to my side.

"It means the real battle hasn't begun yet," Elizabeth replied.

"What? How is that even possible!?" Shouted Ignis.

"We can think about that later! Focus on that wolf for now," I replied.

The great wolf started to march towards us slowly. There were numerous openings in its defense. Was it so confident in its own power?

"Stay Calm! Liam, go to the back! Elizabeth and Ignis, stay with me!" I ordered. Liam rushed to a position further behind us as Elizabeth and Ignis took their places beside me.

All three of us assumed defensive postures. The Great Wolf, still marching slowly towards us, was only about 30 feet away. Sweat trickled down my forehead as I tried to anticipate what it would do next.

Was it planning on lunging on us if we let our guards down?

"Liam!" I shouted. Understanding what I meant, Liam fired an arrow toward the Great wolf.

Before our very eyes, the humongous wolf just disappeared!

"Wha-" Before Elizabeth could finish what she was saying, a giant paw hit her.

The wolf had somehow appeared right beside me!

Unable to think, I instantaneously jumped back. Elizabeth had been flung to a nearby tree on impact with the Great Wolf's paw. She lay without moving a muscle, most probably unconscious.

The wolf was too strong! Was it even possible to fight such a being?

It glared at me with its lava-like eyes. It radiated an aura of dominance I had never encountered before. It was like its very being was on the pinnacle of evolution.

"This is crazy!" shouted Ignis as she jumped back.

Liam kept shooting arrows at the colossal beast, but none of them hit their mark. The wolf would dodge or tackle the arrows every time with unbelievable speed.

The wolf sprinted towards me. Instead of jumping back, I lunged toward the wolf. The huge beast didn't disappear this time; maybe the thing he used before, to move beside Elizabeth instantly, couldn't be used often. Was it a 'skill'?

I slashed my sword towards the Great Wolf. It somehow managed to evade my attack and slashed its claws at me.

I parried the wolf's claws with my sword; unfortunately, my blade was not sturdy enough. After receiving just one claw strike from the wolf, the edge of my sword chipped at many places.

This battle should not be prolonged!

"Come with me, Ignis!" I yelled, jumping back a few steps.

"What should I even do?" shouted Ignis as she rushed to my side.

"Just help me! Strike the wolf if you ever find an opening!" I replied as I sprinted towards the wolf. Ignis soon started racing behind me.

Liam kept shooting arrows at 2-minute intervals. Most probably, he was running out of arrows.

"How many arrows do you have left?" I shouted.

"Nineteen! I started with eighty," Liam shouted back.

"Save them! Don't use it all up," I shouted as I lunged towards the Great wolf.

The beast lunged at me too and slashed its claws at me. Fortunately, I had already anticipated this attack. I pushed my body towards the ground, dodging its fierce claws.

The wolf was still in the air. Pushing the ground with all the strength in my legs, I jumped up. I slashed my sword at the wolf, but it managed to evade. Luckily, my attack managed to inflict a shallow cut on its foreleg.

Ignis tried slamming the wolf with her staff, but it managed to evade her attack effortlessly.

The beast landed on its feet and looked at me menacingly. It growled, showcasing its knife-like teeth.

Suddenly, the wolf howled! It was the same ear-piercing howl as before. Ignis, who had managed to run towards Liam, fell to her stomach, shutting her ears with her hands.

Liam, the furthest from the wolf, dropped to his knees as he tried to crawl toward his sister while covering his ears. Elizabeth was still lying unconscious in front of the tree.

Blood started to pour out of my ears. While looking at my teammates' state, I forgot to examine myself.

The howl of the Great wolf was unbearable. This howl was stronger than the one it did before. Barely staying on my feet, I tightly shut my eyes and covered my ears with my palms.

The pain was excruciating! It felt as if a hundred needles were piercing my ear drums. My head felt like it was on the verge of exploding, my teeth were shivering, and my eyes could not perceive light. Somehow, I could still think clearly despite everything happening to me.

The howling finally stopped! Even though my eyes could only see blurry images, I looked toward where the wolf was standing before.

What!? The beast had disappeared. Before I could examine my surroundings more, I felt a sharp pain in my back. It was as if a hundred hammers hit my back with unbelievable force.

I was sent flying towards a tree. I tried to look back, but my chest crashed into the tree before I could.

.

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[You have been knocked unconscious]

.

.

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[Ability to enter the Eternal Library will be activated]

.

I opened my eyes abruptly.

What happened to me!? What were those system messages?

Calm down! My ears had stopped ringing, and my eyes could now see clearly. Examining my surroundings, I discovered that I was in what looked like a dark room.

I was on my knees on a floor covered with around 8 inches of water. I was still wearing my tracksuit, and the bruises on my body were still there.

Looking around, I couldn't see anything other than darkness. The only luminous source that provided some light in the dark was what looked like a shining white ball that was high up. How was it so high up? It was almost like the moon. Was this no average room?

A presence. I felt a presence behind me. What is this? I have never felt anything like this. The presence behind me felt like an insurmountable mountain. No! It didn't feel like a mountain. It was much more than that.

It felt as if I would instantly die as soon as I turned my head. My entire body shivered in fear, and my heart rate increased to a pace I had never felt before.

"I was notified that a new librarian had been chosen. I didn't think he would arrive so soon," A hoarse voice said behind me.