Chapter Seventeen: Song of the Pack

“What is that thing?”

［It’s… I don’t know. It looks like a wolf, kind of. It’s not a wolf, though. Definitely not a wolf.］

“Not a wolf? Is it a… ghost?”

［Hmmm. That’s an interesting idea. I don’t think so. Ghosts shouldn’t be able to bite you. Then again, I’m not an expert at ghosts, so what do I know.］

“Then how do you know it is not a real wolf?”

［It’s just… There is something familiar about it. Anyway, what it is doesn’t seem to be our biggest concern right now, right?］

They were watching the view from the totem Rook had dropped before getting pulled into the soul space. The black, wolf-shaped thing was there, pacing back and forth. It would disappear into the shadow of a tree, but later would emerge from behind another tree.

They could also track it on the map, and for now, it was sticking to the place that Rook had disappeared from. They could also see that all the other wolves were now converging on the location. Altogether, eight predators were hunting him, including the black one.

Watching the scene outside, Rook despaired. He was trapped again. He was safe, but as long as they waited outside the exit point, he was stuck. It appeared that they were not going to let him go, either.

Rook tried to remember what he knew about wolves. He had never actually seen one alive before, but it was always a big deal when they were seen near the village. From the stories he had heard, they hunted in packs. They would surround their prey and coordinate their attacks. With nobody to watch his back, other than Obi, Rook was at a strong disadvantage now that they were moving together again.

They also seemed to have keen tracking abilities. They could easily follow him, and somehow, the black one could even communicate with the rest of the pack. Perhaps that one was the leader.

Once the wolves arrived, they inspected the spot where Rook had disappeared, and then started to patrol the area. Strangely, the big black wolf had again disappeared. It seemed strange if it was the leader that it did not even stay to greet the others. The purple symbol did not appear again, but now Rook was once again surrounded by the orange dots on the map.

［Okay, I think I might have an idea.］

“Really? What is it?”

［First, you should level up your stealth skill. Just keep using it when your mana recovers enough until it reaches tier two. Then we can see if my plan will work.］

”Yeah, I can do that, but I don’t think I’ll be able to finish by the end of the day.”

［It’s going to be a long night. I know you must be pretty exhausted, but if this works, we might finally be able to shake these mutts and find a place for you to set up a proper camp.］

Rook activated the stealth skill, while Obi explained the plan. It was a crazy idea, and he had several objections, but they talked it through until both agreed that this was the best plan to quickly resolve the situation.

It was well into the night before they were ready to execute the plan.

After finally raising the proficiency of stealth to 100%, the results were close enough to their expectations. Hide presence, had evolved into the skill, Invisible at tier two. It made it even harder for anyone to detect him, and would even hide him from anyone unless they were looking directly at him.

Concealing his smell and sound was most critical for this plan, and if things went the way they hoped, this should work.

Once he had evolved stealth, Rook stopped using his skills entirely, except for occasionally triggering cure to negate the effects of spending so much time in the storage space.

Once his HP, MP, and SP were all over eighty percent, Obi said they were ready to start.

Checking on the map, the situation was as expected. This was both reassuring as well as concerning.

Huddled in a small area, near a large fallen tree not far from the exit point, all seven wolves were stationary on the map.

“So they are sleeping? Are you sure?”

［They must be. They have to sleep sometimes, and as social animals, they will usually sleep together. Only anti-social paranoid humans do stuff like post guards at night.］

“Then they won’t wake up?”

［Oh, I’m sure any large noise will wake them up. They are hunters, after all. But as long as you keep quiet and don’t do anything to disturb the atmosphere nearby, they will probably snooze away.］

“Disturb the atmosphere? Isn’t that exactly what the plan is?”

［Of course. And they will wake up before we are done for sure. Don’t expect them to sleep through the whole thing. But if it works according to plan, then we should be able to pull this off.］

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Rook was nervous. The plan seemed simple when Obi laid it out, but now that he had to go out and execute it, his mind races with second thoughts.

［Look, I’ll place an overlay. You just have to follow the markers. I’ll take care of the rest. Don’t move too fast, and definitely, don’t go too slow. We can’t afford any gaps.］

Nodding, Rook prepared himself mentally to exit the soul space. He was more than eager to leave the uncomfortable environment, but stepping out a handful of strides away from a pack of wild killers had its own issues. Not to mention the mysterious eighth wolf.

“Still no sign of the black one?”

［Nope. Not since they arrived. Just keep your eyes peeled.］

“I have to watch the path, the map, and the trees in case a killer black wolf appears in the totally dark forest. Then move quickly, but not too quickly, through the trees, roots, branches, bushes, and rocks while not tripping and falling or making any undue noises.”

［See, you got it. Should be a piece of cake.］

“What does cake have to do with this?”

［Alright! Ready? Make sure to use invisibility and sprint before you exit the space. Moving too fast will negate much of invisibility’s effect, but you’ll need every bit of luck you can muster for this to work. If it looks like you won’t make it, I’ll pull you out, but just remember, if you don’t finish, the whole thing fails. It’s all or nothing.］

The knot in Rook’s stomach twisted. He was mentally and physically weakened by the events of the last few days. He just wanted to find someplace to rest and put this all behind him. Even the thin straw bed of the stable would have been a welcome sight right now.

［Ready?］

Rook activated the skills as they planned and mentally acknowledged that he was ready to go.

Rook appeared, facing the direction of the wolves. There was no movement he could see in the darkness, and a quick glance at the map confirmed that, so far, things were working as they had hoped.

Turning around, he saw a glowing path on the ground. This was the marker set up by Obi. He had been assured that only Rook could see the floating windows, flags, and other markers that now filled his vision. Putting all his trust in his eccentric partner for this operation, Rook started to run along the glowing path.

He reached the end, and a new path appeared. This one was at a corner turn from the previous glowing path. Taking the first step, Rook felt a strange sensation. Two things happened at nearly the same time.

In the space to his left, a giant black pit appeared. To his right, a blanket of dry yellow grass now covered the forest floor.

［Go!］

Rook started to jog steadily along the glowing path. As he did so, the empty space to his left grew, following him as he moved. Likewise, the yellow road of grass grew to his right.

It was hard to navigate in the dark, but the glowing path helped, and sometimes, Obi would highlight some of the larger obstacles that might block his path.

Whole sections of trees disappeared, along with a snake-like canal that was appearing alongside his journey.

Faster than he had imagined, Rook finished the pattern. He had run in a complete circle, and arrived back at his starting point. Only a thin bridge of land was left, connecting the small island inside with the forest beyond the trench.

［Alright! Light her up!］

Pointing his finger at the yellow hay, the entire supply of extra feed for the bubals that he had also loaded into his soul space for some reason, he activated the spark skill.

It wouldn’t do more than singe the fur of the wolves, but the basic level skill ignited the dry grass with ease.

［Good! Now run!］

Rook poured it on this time. He made an even quicker second loop, igniting more of the hay every few steps before quickly arriving once again at the starting point.

［You got it, go!］

The thin bridge of earth glowed brightly as Rook leaped across in three long strides. As soon as he landed on the other side, the bridge disappeared.

Catching his breath, he quickly checked the map again. Now, there was a red circle surrounding the orange dots. A few of the dots appeared to be stirring. Rook studied the entire map, watching for signs of a purple dot anywhere nearby.

Howling drew his attention, and he turned around to a shocking sight.

The plan had worked. In fact, it had worked very well indeed. Before him, on the other side of the moat, was a wall of fire. He was surprised and terrified at how well the grass had ignited. Perhaps the spark skill was more powerful than he had thought. Rook was suddenly humbled by the power of magic as he faced the inferno engulfing the entire artificial island he had created.

［Wow. That worked… better than I thought it would.］

Rook detected both embarrassment and pride in the voice as they continued to watch the fire burn. He also felt guilt as he heard the howls growing louder. They seemed angry and frightened. Looking at the map, however, it appeared that the fire was indeed keeping them all toward the center of the circle.

It wasn’t long, however, before the howling started to subside. One after another, the orange dots disappeared. Soon, only one remained, and the purple dot had still not appeared.

Just as Rook was starting to feel that this was almost over, several things happened so fast that he almost failed to react.

Directly in front of him, also on the outside of the moat, the black shadow wolf appeared. It was sitting on its hind legs, staring directly at Rook.

At the same time, the last orange marker suddenly moved straight toward where Rook was standing. Rook was shocked when the last of the grey wolves jumped through the flames and over the moat in one giant leap.

It was so unexpected and majestic, that Rook took a step back, but did not call for Obi to pull him inside. It was simply the most impressive sight Rook had ever seen in his life.

Then the black wolf stirred, and Rook prepared to hide back in the soul space, but suddenly stopped, captivated by what he was seeing.

Instead of moving aggressively, the black wolf moved slowly and deliberately. It stood up and walked over to the side of the large grey wolf, which had collapsed as soon as it had landed.

Rook could see that the wolf was gravely injured. Its fur was singed off in places, and its red, exposed skin was bleeding. It appeared like it could not breathe properly, as its mouth hung open and its chest pumped with difficulty.

The black wolf simply sat down beside the grey wolf without making a sound. It ignored Rook entirely and simply stared at the injured grey wolf.

Rook was on guard, but he felt his heart ache. There was something tremendously sad about what he was witnessing. He couldn’t put what that was into words. Only that he suddenly felt a deep sense of guilt and embarrassment, not for having caused this event, but simply for witnessing this scene at the end.

After a moment, the breathing of the injured wolf ceased altogether, and it lay its head down. As it succumbed to its injuries, it stared directly at Rook, chilling him more than the cold, lifeless atmosphere of the soul space did.

Finally, the last orange marker disappeared from the map.

As it did, Rook was immediately on guard. If the black wolf turned its attention back onto Rook, then he would need to respond in an instant.

But it did not turn to look at Rook. As soon as the grey wolf stopped moving, its companion turned up to look at the sky. It had a sad look, like it wanted nothing more than to howl to the moon, but instead, it silently stared at the stars before it faded away like a reflection in a pool of water.

Rook blinked as he looked at the map. All the orange dots had disappeared, as had the single purple one.

As he watched the fire burn into the night, he had a sick, empty feeling in his stomach. Happy to be alive, but carried away by the image of the last wolf’s end.