He exhaled slowly, his white hair shifting in the faint dungeon breeze. Maybe defeating them will finally push me to level 4.
The red wolf he had punched earlier growled low in its throat and began stepping toward him again, its eyes glowing faintly. The other four tensed and started circling, claws scraping the stone floor, moving closer with each step.
Raito planted his foot on the ground, lowering his stance. His fists tightened. His heart raced.
"Alright," he whispered to himself. "Let's do this."
Instantly, two red wolves lunged at Raito, their jaws snapping. He bent low, dodging their attacks, then whispered, "Victory." In a flash, two daggers appeared in his hands.
The wolves that had missed him spun around and charged again. Raito leapt high into the air, vaulting over them. But as he hung mid-air, three more red wolves leapt upward to meet him.
He smirked. "Come on then."
But his confidence wavered when he felt the searing pain of fangs—one wolf bit deep into his right leg, another into his left. His cry echoed through the dungeon. He raised a dagger, aiming to stab down into their skulls, but somehow they sensed his movement. Both wolves released him, twisting back before his blades could strike.
Raito crashed to the ground. "Shit! My legs… I'm bleeding bad…"
He staggered, pain ripping through him. His mind raced. My LP… since fighting the white wolves, it increased to 500 in total. How much do I need to heal this?
The status window opened before his eyes, glowing faintly. He scrolled quickly, tapped on healing.
[Injury detected. Required LP to heal: 200.]
"What? Two hundred? That's insane! The goblin injury only cost me thirty-five. Maybe… maybe because this wound is deeper."
His teeth clenched as the wolves growled around him. I can't waste time debating this. I'm in severe pain.
Two red wolves lunged again. Gritting his teeth, Raito kicked upward with his injured leg, smashing one wolf's jaw and sending it tumbling across the floor. The other lunged straight into his grip. With a furious roar, he slammed its head into the stone ground, crushing its skull.
Pain surged up his leg with every movement, white-hot and relentless. He finally tapped "Accept."
A green light surged from beneath his skin, wrapping around his wounds. In seconds, the gashes sealed shut, the pain faded, and even the blood that stained his legs evaporated into nothing.
From the distance, Daichi and Haruya watched in shock.
"Wait… wasn't it still bleeding just now?" Daichi whispered, eyes wide. "The blood was everywhere—but then it just… vanished."
"Not only that," Haruya muttered, his voice tight with disbelief. "Didn't you see? Even when he was injured, he used that very same leg to crush a red wolf's head into the ground."
The two exchanged uneasy glances, their breathing shallow.
"Who… who is this guy?" Daichi asked, his voice trembling. "I thought he was only a rank E hunter. What the hell is he really?"
Their eyes stayed locked on Raito, who stood tall again, white hair glowing faintly in the dungeon light, his daggers dripping with the blood of monsters.
Raito was breathing hard, chest rising and falling as he raised both daggers. "The pain's gone… good. Two red wolves down. Three left." His voice was low, heavy with exhaustion.
The three wolves growled, eyes glowing faintly as they advanced. Raito backed up slowly, pressing one foot against the dungeon wall. At the exact moment they charged, he pushed off the wall with explosive force, propelling himself forward like a spear.
He aimed straight for the wolf in the middle, but it twisted aside, narrowly dodging his strike. The two on the flanks snapped their jaws at his arms.
"No… not this time!" Raito snarled, leaping forward. One wolf's mouth clamped over his forearm, teeth sinking deep. Pain exploded through him—but instead of pulling away, Raito shoved both hands deeper into its jaws. With a roar, he tore outward, ripping its mouth apart. Blood sprayed as the beast gave a choking cry and collapsed, its head split wide.
The second wolf lunged, but Raito twisted midair, slamming his dagger into its chest, piercing through until its body went limp. The dungeon floor shook as it fell.
The last two wolves froze, their instincts screaming danger. They backed away, eyes locked on Raito, before suddenly turning to flee—straight toward Daichi and Haruya.