Mud splashed in all directions as Kaelor raced toward the Wolf King, his heart pounding like a war drum.
The towering beast stood amidst the trembling townsfolk, its maw already stained red, one of his Guardsmen lay dead, body discarded like refuse. The massive creature prowled forward, its golden eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction as it fed on their fear.
Kaelor didn't hesitate.
He didn't think.
He charged.
Something in him, some primal force buried deep within compelled him forward. He couldn't explain it. He was a man from Earth. A man who once lived with screens, peace, and cars.
And now he was sprinting headlong at a monster that towered over any human.
Just a man with a sword.
He knew he had ascended to the Adept rank, a step above the Novice but this was only in strength and speed. That alone wasn't enough. In truth, the ranking system emphasized weapon mastery, and Kaelor, though growing fast, still lacked proper training.
In battles between Adepts and Experts, when skills were equal, physique often tipped the scale, that was where it came into the picture. But this opponent, this enemy, wasn't human.
He let out a defiant war cry, and the beast finally turned.
Its massive head snapped in his direction, eyes narrowing as it recognized the threat. Kaelor lowered his body and let momentum carry him.
With the slick mud beneath his boots, he slid.
His body glided beneath the hulking frame of the Wolf King, and with both hands gripped tightly around Ignis, he slashed upward, aiming straight for its underbelly.
The blade connected.
Kaelor's eyes widened as Ignis rebounded violently off the wolf's fur. It was like striking steel.
The blade didn't even pierce the hide.
Pain shot through Kaelor's arms, the reverberation numbing his elbows. He gritted his teeth and forced himself into a roll as the wolf, snarling in fury, brought its massive forelimb down onto the mud where Kaelor had knelt only a moment before.
Boom.
The ground shook. Mud exploded outward. The weight of the beast was immense, its strength terrifying.
Kaelor came to a halt several feet away, panting, arms trembling from the shock of impact. His heart hammered against his ribs, but he didn't falter.
The Wolf King's growl deepened, low and resonant, like thunder rolling across the land. It closed the gap, and Kaelor countered with a horizontal slash backed by flames.
The Wolf King's jaws clamped down on the longsword with savage stubbornness, its massive head twisting violently as it tried to wrench the blade from Kaelor's grip.
Kaelor held firm, muscles screaming in protest, but the sheer force of the beast's movement sent him crashing against the wall. His back struck the unyielding wood with a thud, the impact rattling his bones.
Before he could recover, the Wolf King's claws raked across the Earthenwood Palisade, gouging deep furrows mere inches from his head, splinters flying like shrapnel.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Kaelor forced himself forward, planting one foot heavily into the mud. He channeled all his strength into that single step, then lunged, his sword erupting into roaring flames.
There was no precision in the strike, only desperation yet fate guided the blade straight into the Wolf King's right eye. The flames surged, hungrily devouring flesh and fur, flaring brighter than ever before.
A deafening, agonized howl tore from the beast's throat as it lashed out blindly, its massive paw slamming into Kaelor's chest like a battering ram.
The force sent him flying, dozens of meters, his body tumbling across the churned earth before finally skidding to a stop in the mud. Every breath was fire. Every movement, agony.
Nearby, Jon kicked a snarling direwolf out of his path, sprinting toward the Wolf King, which now staggered toward Kaelor with slow, menacing steps.
Kaelor struggled to rise, his limbs leaden, his vision swimming. But before the beast could strike again, its body swayed. Then, with a ground-shaking thud, it collapsed.
Jon's breath caught in his throat.
The right side of the Wolf King's face was gone, reduced to blackened bone, the eye socket hollow, the flesh seared away by unrelenting fire. The stench of charred meat and burnt fur hung thick in the air.
Heavy footsteps pounded behind Jon as Hound arrived, his massive frame splattered in blood, his breaths ragged. The hunter's gaze remained locked on the fallen beast, disbelief warring with satisfaction.
Kaelor, still panting, slumped onto the ground, his fingers trembling as they traced the deep claw wound across his chest. The pain of his bones drowned out everything else, even the gaping gash seemed distant, a secondary torment beneath the crushing weight of his injuries.
"How many fusion points do I have left?"
[200.]
"Fuse the muscles and bones of the wolf with me. Try not to change my human looks, though."
He had already felt the changes from merging with the alpha direwolves. If he wasn't careful, the fusion might twist him into something monstrous, something like Hound. And he wasn't ready for that. Not yet.
[100 FP deducted.]
The cost didn't surprise him. This was no ordinary beast, it was the apex predator, the king of its kind.
As flames consumed the giant wolf's corpse, Kaelor's gaze swept across the battlefield. Dozens of wolf carcasses littered the ground, their blood seeping into the mud. Ten of his Guardsmen were wounded but still standing. His eyes flicked to the massive white direwolf, the one that had nearly torn Hound apart. The warrior bore three deep gashes across his chest, the wounds no longer bleeding but his fur matted crimson.
Yet, despite his own injuries, Hound's gaze was fixed on Kaelor, concerned.
"Fuse the white wolf with Hound."
[Cost: 50 FP.]
"Do it."
A moment later, Kaelor rose to his feet, his body thrumming with newfound power.
His frame had expanded, his height now a solid 1.8 meters, his once-lanky build replaced by corded muscle and reinforced bone. His face, once that of a pampered noble, now bore the sharp angles of a hardened warrior, a commander, not a spoiled brat.
His strength had exceeded the Adept rank!
But when he looked down, his breath hitched.
His fingernails had lengthened into inch-long claws, dark and razor-sharp. His toenails, too. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he realized the claw wound on his chest had vanished, only a pale scar remained.
Then he looked up and froze.
Hound stood before him, his fur now pure white, gleaming like fresh snow under the dim light. His size hadn't changed, but something in his stance was different, more feral, more predatory. His eyes, once fierce but familiar, now burned with an almost beastial gleam.