The Dark Lycan Kael was gone, but the trail of destruction he left in Kaito's apartment was total. The air smelled of burnt ice and ozone, and the night's darkness poured into the room through the shattered window opening. On the floor, in the middle of that disgusting mix of organic trash, reheated instant noodles, and important spreadsheets, Kaito was crawling. His breathing was shallow and fast, his body shaking, no longer from fear of the Dark Lycan, but from the urgency of the mission ahead.
Wulfrina was fallen, pale, almost lifeless. Kael's Dark Frost had burned away her Eternal Frost Lycan energy, leaving her on the brink of death. The General, who moments ago was an imposing warrior, now seemed like nothing more than a fragile, frozen shell.
"Wulfrina! Wulfrina, talk to me!"
(Kaito shouted, his voice filled with real panic, the gamer tone gone, replaced by human anxiety. He grabbed her, resting her head on his lap, feeling the temperature of her skin, which seemed to be sucking the warmth from his body).
"You're too cold! Don't shut down! Don't shut down, General!"
The Lycan opened her yellow eyes, which were clouded and dull. The fabric of her magic tunic, where Kael's ray had hit, was not just torn, but cracked like porcelain, revealing skin with frostbite marks that looked like black spiderwebs. The silver ice, which was her natural aura, was almost extinguished, leaving only a pale, intermittent glow.
"Master… (Wulfrina whispered, her voice weak and almost inaudible, each word an effort that made her choke). He… he overcame me. The Dark Frost… it doesn't destroy the body, it cracks the Lycan soul essence. I failed the mission. My… my Master… I am so sorry… The servant did not protect her Lord…"
"Stop with that failure nonsense! You saved me! (Kaito shot back, his voice full of urgency and frustration, trying to make the Lycan General focus on his voice). You gave me XP, Wulfrina! You bought me time! Now shut up and let the Master execute the cure! We have to reset this damage! I am not losing such an awesome Status upgrade like you!"
The Data Analyst Kaito took control of the Human Kaito. Emotion was channeled into logic. He accessed the System panel, ignoring the stench of the trash and the destruction around them. He had 83.1 XP (Cultivation Points).
"It's now or never," (Kaito muttered, his thumb trembling, but determined). "If I don't spend it, we die. If I spend it, we get a chance."
He opened the 'Master Services' tab.
[Option: Partial Cure (Near Death Status) – Cost: 80 XP]
[Description: Initiates an emergency Pactum regeneration ritual. Does not reverse the Soul Wound, but stabilizes the vital essence, taking the Anchor General out of critical state]
[ Risk: Minor Instability in Primary Essence. CastingTime: Immediate]
(Kaito didn't hesitate. The 'Minor Instability' warning was irrelevant compared to imminent death. He pressed the button instantly, the desire to protect Wulfrina and restore his Status buff was absolute)
"Go! Cure! Spend it all!"
[System Notification: PartialCureExecuted! 80 XP Deducted. Remaining XP: 3.1. Wulfrina's Condition:
Stable (Medium Wound) ]
The moment the XP deduction was confirmed, a wave of golden, warm energy erupted from Kaito's chest, not from his physical body, but from his 'Self' in the System. The light, intense and soft, dramatically contrasted with the room's glacial cold.
The energy enveloped Wulfrina. Kaito felt the Pactum calm down, as if a high-voltage electrical current had been stabilized by a fuse. The pain in the Lycan's eyes changed into an expression of deep relief. The broken fabric of her tunic began to regenerate, and the black spiderwebs vanished.
"I… I don't feel the soul pain anymore! (Wulfrina exclaimed, her voice stronger, a silent cry of surprise and relief). Kaito! What was that? My body… it's regenerating! It's an S Rank Regeneration spell! I no longer feel the cracked soul, just… unstable."
The mention of instability made Kaito frown, but he had won the first phase.
"It's the magic of my XP loot, General,"
(Kaito replied, gasping with relief, with a cynical winning smile, looking at the restored General)
"We solved the Critical Status Crisis. The General is back in the game! Now, sit down. It's my turn to level up."
Kaito opened the Master panel. The Level 1 notification was blinking, glowing aqua-green.
[Master Level:1 -> 2. Received 5 Status Points (Unallocated). Unlocked Exclusive Passive Skill: Lycan Analyst Eye (Rank E) ]
"Holy cow! A real Level Up! (Kaito exclaimed, his eyes wide, the excitement returning amidst the destruction). This is incredible! I'm going to put those 5 points into… Wait! Lycan Analyst Eye? What is that?"
He clicked on the new Skill, feeling a cold tingling in his brain, as if millions of data points were being compressed into his mind.
[Lycan Analyst Eye (Rank E): The Master can see and analyze the lineage, emotional weaknesses, and hidden status of any Lycan being. Mana Cost: 0. Target: Beings connected to the Frost or Shadow LineageLineage ]
(Kaito felt a chill. His analyst mind saw the potential of this. This wasn't a combat Skill; it was a hacking tool for the game's lore).
"Wulfrina, this isn't just a Skill. This is a game cheat! I can see your brother's complete character sheet! We'll know his fear, his hate, his Code of Honor! We will win with Metadata!"
Wulfrina got up abruptly, leaning on the broken wall. She was cured, but the terror on her face was deeper than the fear of death. She saw the Skill description on the screen that only Kaito could see.
"Kaito! No! (Wulfrina yelled, her voice stronger, full of urgency and a deep fear, stumbling toward him). You cannot use that! That Skill… it is forbidden! Not even the Lycan Elders use it! You cannot look into their soul!"
"Why not? It's a free buff!"
(Kaito retorted, ignoring her panic, his eyes glued to the screen, the desire for optimization dominating).
"That's why it's good, General! It changes the game!"
"It changes the game to destruction! (Wulfrina screamed, her body visibly trembling, not from cold, but from terror). Kaito, listen to me! The Lycan's Hidden Status is our Primitive Essence! If you see a Lycan's weakness, the Lycan System reacts with Primitive Fury! It's an ancestral defense mechanism! If you try to analyze Kael, his body will explode with uncontrolled fury and it will kill us! That's not tactics, it's Cultivation suicide!"
"But what does that have to do with you?"
(Kaito asked, frowning, trying to process the new lore rule).
"I'm not looking at you, General! It's your brother I want to analyze!"
"The Pactum! (Wulfrina roared, her voice cut short). The Pactum links us! If you activate a forbidden analysis Skill, it passes through my Essence! It contaminates me!"
He didn't have time to process the information. The instant he hesitated to distribute the 5 Status Points, Wulfrina's body began to convulse.
The veins in her forehead, which had returned to normal, became black and bulging again, but this time, the color spread down her neck, like shadowy ink. The relief of the cure vanished, replaced by an indescribable pain and a rising fury.
"I… I feel a fury! (Wulfrina shouted, her voice distorted, holding her head with both hands, the scream becoming guttural). What have you done, Master! The forced cure, the link with this forbidden Skill… activated my Primitive Fury Heart of the Eternal Frost!"
The General's body swelled, becoming visibly more muscular and taller. Her yellow eyes turned blood-red, filled with hate and chaos. A tremendous roar escaped her throat, making the few remaining shards of glass in the broken window vibrate. She seemed not to recognize Kaito.
"Filth! (Wulfrina roared, her voice now two—the General's and the Primitive Beast's—deep and icy). Dishonor! Chaos! My body is contaminated by this human weakness and this Abominable Skill! I must Purify! Destroy! Purify the source!"
She was no longer looking at the destroyed apartment, but at Kaito, the Master. He was the Source of the chaos and the forbidden Skill.
(Kaito backed away, crawling backward, his face pale, feeling the icy fear again, but this fear was more intense because his only ally was attacking him). "Wulfrina! Calm down! What the hell! I just wanted to heal you and level up! I am your Master!"
The Lycan General raised her hands. The Eternal Frost aura was out of control, but it was no longer silver. It was a chaotic, icy-blue, full of spikes and cracks. The Eternal Frost was aimed at Kaito.
Kaito saw the System panel blink, a final warning.
[CriticalAlert: Uncontrolled Primitive Fury Activated! Master Annihilation Risk: 99% ]
He had 5 unallocated Status Points. He had the forbidden Analysis Skill. He had 3.1 XP. It was all he had. The Lycan General was one step away from killing him.
(Kaito squeezed his eyes shut, desperation forcing him to act in a final flash of logical reasoning. If he put the 5 points into Strength, he might resist the blow. If he put them into Intelligence, he could try to activate the forbidden Skill and hack her fury… but Wulfrina had warned that it would destroy her. The only certainty was that he would die in seconds.)
"What do I do? What do I do? (Kaito screamed mentally, his voice full of agony, looking at the General advancing to kill him, her roar deafening). The only way to stop the Beast is… is…!"
He opened the Status tab, forcing the distribution of one point, any point, to buy a millisecond of time.
The Lycan General Wulfrina was one meter away.
The Lycan General Wulfrina, dominated by Primitive Fury after the forced cure and the activation of the forbidden Skill, roared and advanced on her Master with murderous intent. Kaito, Level 2 with 5 Status Points and 3.1 XP, had to choose: invest in Strength to resist the blow or in Intelligence to hack the Beast's mind, risking the General's destruction. The Lycan General was about to unleash the final attack, and Kaito had to distribute the Status Points NOW!