Stepping into the deeper part of the forest, the light around him noticeably dimmed.
The interwoven crowns of ancient trees nearly blocked out the sky, allowing only scattered shards of light to filter through.
The air turned damp and heavy, carrying the scent of wet earth, decay, and something else… an indescribable, feral stench.
The silence here was unlike the peace of the outer forest.
It was the suffocating stillness that came before danger—quiet enough to make one's heart pound.
Kiriya slowed his pace, adjusting his breathing until it was nearly imperceptible, ears attuned to every faint sound in the woods.
He knew he had stepped into the Shadow Wolves' territory.
He hadn't gone far before a low, rumbling growl rolled out from the thicket ahead—like a sound rising from deep in a beast's chest.
Kiriya's eyes sharpened. He crept forward without a sound.
Parting the leaves, he spotted it, a massive wolf, crouched low and gnawing on the remains of some unfortunate animal.
Its frame was far larger and more muscular than the forest panthers he had fought earlier, its fur a dark, smoky gray that almost blended into the shadows themselves.
But its most striking feature was its eyes, just as the mayor had described, glowing with an ominous, blood-red light that made one's skin crawl.
[Enraged Shadow Wolf LV-8]
The level difference weighed on him, a faint pressure settling over his chest, but more than fear, it ignited his fighting spirit.
"Let's try the strength first."
He didn't summon his clones immediately.
Instead, he observed.
The wolf suddenly froze, as if sensing something.
Then its head whipped up, and those crimson eyes locked onto Kiriya's position!
"ROAR!"
Without warning, its hind legs kicked off the ground with explosive power, hurling its massive body forward like a cannonball.
Its speed was even faster than the panthers'—and those were speed-type monsters!
Kiriya's pupils contracted.
"Blink Step!"
The instant the word formed in his mind, his body flickered, sliding to the rear flank just in time—
Shhhrrrk!
Even so, the wind from the wolf's claws grazed his arm, leaving behind a burning sting.
[-35] (Claw Graze)
[Alert: You have been infected with 'Minor Lycanthropic Toxin.' Natural HP recovery halted temporarily.]
"So it really is poisonous—and faster, stronger, too."
Kiriya's mind stayed razor-sharp.
Had he been even a tenth of a second slower, that strike would have landed squarely.
The wolf, unfazed by its miss, twisted in mid-air, landing and immediately lunging again, this time aiming its snapping jaws straight at Kiriya's throat.
Its movements were a blur, driven by pure killing instinct.
"Clone Summon!"
MP dropped by 100. Two clones sprang into existence, flanking him left and right.
The sudden appearance of new targets made the wolf hesitate for just a fraction of a second.
"Now!"
Kiriya darted in from the side, black iron sword flashing—
"Phantom Thrust!"
-198!
The damage number floated up—lower than expected.
Its defense was higher than ordinary beasts.
"AWOO!"
The wolf howled in fury, completely ignoring the clones and locking its crimson gaze on Kiriya.
Its next leap came even faster!
Kiriya instantly moved a clone into its path.
Thud!
-105!
The clone took the brunt of the strike, its HP chunking down drastically. The wolf's attack power was terrifying.
"Switch!"
In a flash, Kiriya swapped positions with his intact clone, appearing at the wolf's flank—and stabbed again!
-201!
The wolf's HP bar dropped by nearly a quarter.
Its rage peaked.
It scraped its claws against the ground, black miasma beginning to seep from its body. When it pounced again, its claws glowed faintly with dark light!
Kiriya dared not block it head-on.
He kept weaving through the battlefield, using clones to intercept and switching positions at the last moment.
The fight became grueling.
The wolf's aggression was relentless—its aggro almost impossible to peel away from the real Kiriya for long.
MP and stamina were burning fast.
I have to find its weak point… eyes? Throat? Or—
His mind raced, watching every lunge, every snarl.
Finally, as the wolf reared on its hind legs to deliver a devastating claw strike, Kiriya caught it—a crescent-shaped patch of white fur on its chest, pulsing with its breath, the miasma thickest there.
"That's it!"
The moment Blink's cooldown resets.
"Blink Step!"
He appeared right in front of it, black iron sword already thrusting forward—
"Phantom Thrust! Hit it!"
He put his full weight behind the strike—
Thunk!
-405! (Critical Weak-Point Hit!)
A golden critical number burst into view.
"AWOOOO!"
The wolf's scream was sharper than before, its body freezing mid-attack.
The black miasma around it faltered, the glow in its eyes dimming.
Its HP bar dropped to less than half!
The strike had worked—and even disrupted its enraged state!
Kiriya's focus sharpened.
"All in!"
He and both clones unleashed a flurry of strikes—
-199! -98! -203!
The wolf staggered, its speed and power sharply reduced.
Kiriya pressed the assault mercilessly, his sword flashing like a net of cold light.
At last, with a final clean slash, the wolf let out a dying howl and collapsed, its form dissolving into white motes.
On the ground lay several copper coins and a small tuft of wolf fur, faint black mist still curling off it.
[EXP Gained: +180]
[Quest Item Acquired: Contaminated Wolf Fur 1/8]
[Enraged Shadow Wolf Kill Count: 1/10]
Kiriya exhaled deeply, sweat trickling down his temple—the neural feedback simulation making the exertion feel all too real.
"One wolf… and it cost me a third of my MP and one broken clone."
He frowned slightly. "No way I can handle two or more at once."
He picked up the quest item—the fur was icy cold to the touch, carrying a faint, unsettling energy that made his skin crawl.
After chewing on a piece of mana bread to recover MP, he cautiously pushed deeper into the forest.
The battles only grew harder.
The wolves hunted in pairs or trios, forcing Kiriya to use every scrap of terrain—tree trunks, slopes, ridges—to separate and pick them off one by one.
Again and again, he used Blink to weave between claws, commanded clones to intercept killing blows, and in those split seconds where death loomed—he found the openings, driving his sword into that crescent-shaped weak point.
When MP ran dry, he fell back to safety, chewing bread and waiting.
When HP dropped low, he patiently let natural regen do its work.
It was exhausting, dangerous, repetitive—yet under this pressure, his understanding of the Phantom Walker class deepened rapidly.
His clone switches became seamless, even serving as feints.
Blink was no longer just an escape—it became part of his offense.
His predictions of enemy attacks grew sharper with every fight.
[EXP Gained: +180]
[Quest Item Acquired: Contaminated Wolf Fur 2/8]
[Kill Count: 2/10]
...
[EXP Gained: +180]…...
[Level Up! Current Level: 7!]
Golden light washed over him, fully restoring his stats and granting another stat boost.
[EXP Gained: +180]
[Quest Item Acquired: Contaminated Wolf Fur 10/8]
[Kill Count: 10/10]
[Ding! Quest "Investigate the Shadow Wolves' Anomaly" Updated: Explore the Shadow Wolf Den and Find the Source of the Corruption (0/1)]
Finally, the last wolf fell.
Kiriya watched the quest update flash across his HUD and exhaled a long, slow breath.
Soloing ten of them had pushed him to the limit, but left him filled with a deep, exhilarating sense of accomplishment.
He wasn't just alive—he was stronger, smarter, faster.
His level now sat at seven, more than halfway to eight.
His inventory held not only the required quest items, but several white-grade gear pieces and a good handful of copper coins.
He lifted his gaze toward the forest's darkest depths.
Judging by the wolves' tracks and the increasingly thick, oppressive miasma, the den was close and with it, perhaps the answer to the forest's strange unrest.
Instead of rushing forward, Kiriya sat down calmly, repaired his equipment, and restored his state to peak condition.
Then, he stood, tightened his grip on his sword, and strode toward that deep, waiting darkness.