The mist was a lot thicker than it initially looked like. While the freezing cold temperature caused massive discomfort with each step I took, I was able to avoid death due to my naturally high constitution. It appears that constitution affected more than just giving me more hp and stamina, but to what extent it affects my durability was unknown.

Eruptions from Julie’s flames resounded in the air as the screams of the other players were matched by the collective howls of the wolves. I wanted to so dearly watch what was going on behind me, but my focus had to remain on the target I was looking for.

Ariandel… Where are you?

The thick mist clouded my vision in a way that none of my advantages were effective against. Usually, the biggest deterrent to my sight was darkness, but this time, it was different. My eyes couldn’t pierce the mist, even with innate senses.

As my body shivered, I kept my pace and went deeper into the mist, hoping to find more clues about her whereabouts. As stumps appeared on the edges of the visible part of the mist, I realized I had reached the part where the forest appeared.

Not here? Or… is she even deeper?

“I smell its scent on you.” Ariandel’s voice caused me to snap backward. “You are his minion, are you not?”

From the mist, Ariandel’s form reappeared once more. I knew to not attack her this time, since her actual body was probably located somewhere else. “Who are you talking about?” I remarked, trying to find some sort of clue from her answer.

“You don’t have to lie to me. It is impossible that you’re not involved with Ezekiel when you smell just so strongly of it.”

The wolf turned her head to the side. “Light and shadow. To think that both of them were involved here… But you’re not nearly as strong as the other one. Her light dispelled my mist, and her army was bathed in Uriel’s glory. It was a sight to see.”

The one that was bathed in light. I don’t have to guess; she’s talking about Aria White.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Conjuring a spear in my arms, I entered a cautious stance, preparing myself for whatever bullshit she was about to throw next.

“Surely, you have seen it. The death itself.”

No matter how quick she was, her size meant that my spear throw will hit her. I knew it was futile to deal any sort of damage to her, but I wasn’t equipped with any other options either. Perhaps killing this spirit of hers would give me some kind of clue of where her real body was…

“I admit.. You possessed quite a strong combination of attacks. It was enough to harm me in this form, but there is a difference between harming me and killing me, Zane.”

A long howl roared as she raised her maw up high. She formed formations of crystals all around her torso, morphing into shapes of sharp icicles that were aimed right at where I stood.

With no warning, the sharp crystals shot towards my figure. Sensing imminent danger, I shadow stepped out of the first few volleys of the icicles, creating enough distance to be safe from the innumerable amount of ice that was looking to ravage my insides. Ariandel never searched for me as another set of icicles were formed again, and without the use of shadow-step, I had to dodge each of them individually.

The icicles whizzed past as I rolled and weaved my way through them. A few of them scraped the outside of my chest-piece. The sheer number of the icicles proved to be more than a challenge for me to avoid cleanly, but I managed to get by her attacks with minimum damage.

Ally of Darkness was helping me immensely. Without the bonus speed, I wouldn’t be able to stand without having my body eviscerated by her icicles.

“Not too bad…” She telepathically said. “We can keep this dance going as long as you want to, but what about your friends?”

Throwing the spear with all the buffs that I could put into it, I then shadow-stepped along the spear that tore a hole in the mist, leaving a trail of its trajectory on its way towards her torso.

She was aware of my throw this time and adjusted her strategy accordingly. Using all the limbs on its body, it sidestepped my throw right as I reappeared at where her feet eventually landed with another spear ready.

My spear passed her by harmlessly, but she failed to anticipate my next attack, which resulted in my spear ravaging her right-front limb, resulting in another gush of bright mist spouting out from where I struck.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The bright mist coalesced with the regular mist around us, evaporating into nothingness.

“An exercise in futility…” Ariandel shrugged my attack off and answered my assault with a quick bite. I rolled backwards and watched her limb dissipating as she limped.

Where is her real body?

I scanned the mist that surrounded us once more. Replaying the events that had led to where I was at this moment, I came up with multiple plausible explanations of the events that were happening. But only one of them made any semblance of sense.

The system never once mentioned that Ariandel’s bewitchment was dispelled. The last time I was involved in a willpower check, the system constantly reminded me of my status condition. I assumed the heat from Julie was the reason we could move again.

What if… Everything that I am looking at is an illusion?

But if I was wrong, that meant that I would be susceptible to any other willpower checks that could prove fatal later.

I had to take the risk.

[You used Necklace of unyielding will]

The necklace that was hung below my neck glowed, floating slightly above my neckline. The mist that surrounded me thinned out right after, and along with it, the freezing temperature was completely gone, too. My eyes went wide from the sudden revelation :

None of the mist or the temperature was real.

Once the mist lifted, the form of the massive wolf also disappeared. What I saw next was something that I’d never expected.

A lone wolf stood in the middle of the empty field. The fur on its form was gleaming with a shimmer of bright light, perfectly matching its naturally white coloring. Its size wasn’t nearly as big as the translucent being that I saw before. In fact, it had a similar size to the other smaller wolves that I’d seen countless times before. Unlike the horned wolves, there were no horns present between her eyes, which were glowing with a strange blue-ish tint.

[Lvl 32. The Mother Wolf, Ariandel]

“You dispelled my illusion? That necklace… I see now.” I was shocked to hear her voice. She was still speaking inside of my brain? That meant that her telepathy wasn’t an illusion.

I conjured a spear in my arm right as the previous one dissipated. While the things that she spouted were at least partially interesting, I didn’t have the luxury of listening to her. The gate’s safety was at stake.

With a roar, I charged towards her.

“Tell me, Zane. Have you spoken to Ezekiel?” She tilted her head sideways, cautious of the obvious tell of my attack. “What does he look like?”

“I don’t care for him.” My reply was curt while I stabbed at her white figure. Her silky fur flowed in the air as she dodged my attack and created some distance between us. Ariandel howled once more, conjuring the same icicles all around her. I counted that there were at least 10 of them this time, and each one of them fired after each other, limiting the spot where I could move within her range of attack.

I need to save shadow-step until it is absolutely necessary to use it.

Avoiding each of her projectiles one by one, I caught up to her retreating figure after a few seconds had passed. She released another howl, conjuring another set of ice shards all around her. But this time…

Distracted by the exchange of our attacks, I didn’t notice the approaching figures from my behind. It wasn’t until their claws were a few inches away from slicing my head apart before I realized what was happening.

Ariandel wasn’t alone.

Four elite werewolves appeared from the sides, massively disrupting the balance of the fight. I was thankful that I kept my shadow-step for this very occasion.

Their claws sliced through nothing as my figure disappeared. I was wary about the fact that she was alone before, but I simply shrugged that possibility off since I’d assume that she was looking down on us. Now, I wasn’t sure.

“Impressive reactions… No wonder you’d achieved as much as you did on your own.” She said, snarling at the werewolves that stood by her side. “It’s such a shame that none of the deities granted you their blessings. If they did, you’d be on a whole other level. Perhaps you’d even match The Light’s wielder.”

The new line of information completely took me off the fight. “What are you talking about?”

“The blessings of a deity are powerful, Zane. So much more than any of the achievements anyone can get in this tutorial. They are far more useful than you can ever imagine.”

She commanded the werewolves to do something, but since I didn’t understand wolf language, I did not know what she was planning.

The werewolves then split up, circling me as they kept a safe distance between me and them. I could use the spear of Tzatch, but I heavily doubt that it’d affect Ariandel. It would stun the wolves for a few seconds, however, so I’d keep it as a last resort.

Firing the icicles that were floating on her, the werewolves immediately leaped towards me as I frantically dodged the projectiles that were heading in my direction. The werewolves came right after, and I was clawed more than a few times before I was forced to shadow step away.

Ariandel’s eyes tracked my whereabouts perfectly when I reappeared. The werewolves who’d struggled with locating me before now simply chased after me.

I could use this…

I let go of my spear and summoned a set of daggers in each of my arms, throwing them towards the approaching werewolves repeatedly. They hit the black figures squarely, resulting in them slowing down as their bodies were riddled with my daggers.

While my course of action costed me a ton of mana, I had a way to restore my mana and health now. Besides, Mana cells were helping immensely in the regeneration aspect.

Once they were slowed down enough, I rushed towards their figures and cleaved them one by one. Ariandel’s icicles were constantly firing the entire fight. But since I could use the werewolf’s torso to block some of her projectiles, none of them scraped me this time.

Siphoning off the dead corpse of the werewolves, I regained enough health and mana to top myself off once more. It was possible that she was keeping more surprises in store, and I had to be fully prepared for that.