BOOOM!

“Shit, aim that thing better, you almost hit me!”

“Sorry.”

“At least show some sincerity, would ya.”

“Enough. Concentrate on the enemies, you idiots.”

Damn it. How come others get to lead a party that is at least capable of cooperating. But I get these idiots.

And this fucking mandatory quest from guild. I’m sure that those fucking royalties forced this quest on the guild and we are suffering for it. Asking forcing us to come to this godforsaken place and collect stone snakes’ hearts.

We should have left after killing one of them, but no we got greedy after killing one by luck. Now we are surrounded by bigger two since we killed their baby and took its heart.

Our priest is injured and out of consciousness. So, we can’t hold on for much longer. And our paladin is almost useless since he focused on tanking. And warrior is doing his best to tank.

And our mage is only capable of casting fire element offensive magic. So, in other words she is useless too.

As for me, since I’m an assassin I can’t deal much of a damage to a ten meters long snakes with scales of stone.

“Did you send out a help wave?”

“Yes, I did.”

“If we don’t get some help soon I think we will die here.”

“As a leader you sure know how to inspire you party members.”

“Whatever just keep enduring till help arrives.”

Snake our paladin was fighting manages to trip off him with its tail and he falls on his ass. Just as the snake was about bite his head of our mage manages to hit its head with fireball and distract it long enough for paladin to stand up.

“Thanks Lina. That was a close one.”

While my party members are distracting the snakes, I manage to get behind one of the snakes. After coming close enough I try to stab it in the back in hopes to kill it but unfortunately, my dagger fails to penetrate its stone scales.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Snake discovers my sneaking behind it and immediately changes its target to me and starts to chase me even after I went stealth.

Just like the guild warned stone snakes sense its surroundings by their tongue.

While running I pass by a big boulder and while passing by it I hear someone say something.

“They are so dead.”

There is someone on the boulder.

After circling around while running from the snake I lure it back where our tanks are and our warrior draws its aggro by slamming it with his shield.

After getting rid of the snake’s pursuit I look to the boulder and try to see whatever on it. And fail to see anything on it.

“What are you looking at Riki?”

“I think there is someone on that boulder.”

“What makes you say that?”

“While running from the snake I passed by that boulder and heard someone saying ‘They are so dead.’”

“Dude do something I’m running out of both stamina and mana.”

“Whoever’s on that boulder please help us we will compensate you if you can!”

I shout to the top of the boulder while looking at it. After a few seconds someone really starts to materialize on top of the boulder.

I see a tall man almost 1.9 meters with black short hair and pitch-black eyes. Can’t see the face since he is wearing a metallic mask. He is wearing a rattan shirt with black gauntlets on his arms.

“What can you give me if I save you?”

“We will give you a hundred gold coins.”

“I don’t know value of a currency around here. Is that supposed to be a lot?”

“Yes. It is a lot. Hundred coins is money all of us collected after toiling for I three months.”

“Okay. I will help you. But if you lied to me I will kill you all.”

As that man said those word with his deep voice it sends a chill down my spine.

After saying that the man raises his hand and pitch-black wolf five meters tall materializes in front of the boulder.

“Kill those snakes.”

After wolf got its command it walks to the snakes. As it approaches snakes ignore our party and face the wolf together.

As wolf closes in snakes are actually afraid. They are retreating. Wolf growls loudly and pounces on the bigger snake.

Snake strikes back at the wolf too biting it in the shoulder and injects its deadly poisonous venom in wolf’s body.

But wolf doesn’t care about the venom and simply bites the snake into two in the middle. After getting ripped apart snake falls to the ground lifelessly.

Other one goes behind the wolf while its mate was distracting the wolf. But after seeing its mate die it goes into rampage and immediately coils itself around the wolf, starts to slowly crash the wolf. But even after pushing itself to its limit it fails to crush the wolf.

As for the wolf it simply shrinks itself a little bit and gets out of the snake’s death hug. After coming out it simply crushed the snake’s skull in its jaws.

Wolf manages to kill the snakes in only thirty seconds. That is one scary wolf.

“So, since I helped you, it is time to pay up.”

Man jump down from top of the boulder and walks to us. As he said that the wolf turns its gaze upon us. And as soon as it did I feel scared from bottom of my being.

So, this is what it feels like to be watched by a predator.

“Of course, we said we will pay you. Here.”

I take out the money sack and give it to him. After getting it, he opens it and looks it over and closes it. after closing it he throws the sack back to me.

“I would like to buy an information from you.”

“Sure. But before you ask you question can you restrain your wolf?”

“Oh.”

After that his wolf simply vanishes into the thin air like how it materialized first.

“Thank you for that. So, what do you want to know?”

“Everything.”