>Time-Stop Activated
>5 Seconds Remaining
The Iron Wolf stopped just as its sharp fangs were about to land on my right foot.
Heh, it seems I've been playing so long that I forgot the Time-Stop Cooldown is over.
It's time to Snatch the Red Orb.
>Iron Wolf's Red Orb Snatched: 100 Red Orbs!
With the remaining two seconds, I immediately closed and locked the steel door again.
Time-Stop ended, time returned to normal, and five Iron Wolves immediately shot out and slammed into the iron fence I had just locked.
They all roared and barked, wanting to devour me, but were all held back by the iron fence.
"Just you wait. I'll take all your Red Orbs at the right time," I said, retrieving the piece of frozen meat I'd used as bait.
*
Ah, why does everything feel so easy now?
Ever since I found a way to trap those Iron Wolves, everything has become so much easier.
The strategy remains the same: open the steel door, lure it with frozen meat, wait for the group of Iron Wolves to enter through the narrow iron gate, perform Time-Stop, perform Snatch, and finish.
It's already the seventh day, and I've Snatched almost 68 Iron Wolves using the same strategy.
In the village yard, there are even many Iron Wolf corpses without the Red Orb.
Usually, I deliberately let one Iron Wolf goes in through the steel door while waiting for the Time-Stop cooldown.
I do this to train my reflexes and evasion skills.
Of course, there are a few times I've been injured from failing to evade their attack.
The scars along my back and shoulders are proof of that.
But of all the attacks, I roughly estimate that I've only managed to avoid about 99.5% of them, and I think that's more than enough for my agility.
Currently, in the yard, I've just Snatched six Iron Wolves.
While waiting for the Time-Stop cooldown, I checked my Hunter's Watch, a handy watch that allows Hunters to view statistics on missions or areas currently under monster control.
>Ashwick Village
>Iron Wolf (E-Rank) killed: 86/100
>Steel Wolf (D-Rank) killed: 0/1
I thought for a moment.
In my seven days of hunting in Ashwick Village, I hadn't encountered a Steel Wolf.
According to the monster database, the Steel Wolf is the leader of the Iron Wolf pack.
Well, even though I couldn't gauge how strong that D-Rank Monster was, I should at least be prepared in case it came.
"HHRRNGH…!"
Ah, that roar.
A sign that an Iron Wolf was coming.
The sound of rushing, approaching footsteps immediately alerted me.
I reflexively jumped back, narrowly avoiding the claw attack of two Iron Wolves that nearly ripped off both my arms.
Now it's two Iron Wolves.
I remember the first time I faced two Iron Wolves at once, and I ended up with a serious wound in my waist.
Luckily, I managed to use Time Stop and finish them both off.
>Time-Stop Cooldown Remaining 35 Seconds
"Okay, I have 35 seconds to deal with you two, you stinking wolves! Come on!" I shouted.
The two Iron Wolves immediately advanced, aiming for my left arm and right leg.
I jumped and rolled forward, successfully dodging the two Iron Wolves' attacks.
I quickly turned around as the two Iron Wolves went for the same area again.
I understood the Iron Wolves' pattern of targeting the arms and legs to immobilize their prey.
But I also understood that the Iron Wolves couldn't anticipate a preemptive attack yet.
I drew my Hunter's Dagger and advanced faster to close the distance.
The two Iron Wolves were suddenly startled by my sudden approach, and then—
STAB!
SLASH!
A stab to the eye of one of the Iron Wolves, and a slash to the other Iron Wolf's neck.
These two preemptive attacks succeeded in making the two Iron Wolves retreat, groaning in pain.
But neither of them was backing down.
They glared at me with gritted teeth, planning to attack me, even though I could already sense their fear from my preemptive attack.
>Time-Stop Cooldown Completed
Well, it looks like enough messing around with the Iron Wolves for today.
Now I want your Red Orb, which—
"Awooooo—!"
Suddenly, a loud, piercing wolf roar was heard.
I looked to see the source of the sound; it came from the wolf on the northern hill, still roaring loudly, surrounded by other Iron Wolves.
The two Iron Wolves fighting me heard it and then headed towards the source of the sound.
This was the first time I'd seen a Wolf monster give commands.
If I looked more closely, this Wolf monster was covered in wounds on its face and stomach, but its body was much larger and more powerful than the Iron Wolf I usually fight.
>Steel Wolf
>Red Orbs: 2,000
Oh, so my suspicions were correct.
After observing with my Detection Orb, it turned out that the roaring wolf monster was the leader of the wolf pack that filled Ashwick Village: the Steel Wolf.
Even from a distance, I could feel its piercing gaze fixed on me.
It seemed like it was targeting me, but it had its own plans.
A few minutes passed in silence, and the Steel Wolf left, followed by the rest of the Iron Wolf pack.
Even the Iron Wolves, who had been targeting me, are already left.
Well, maybe I'll have to face it another time.
Now I have to return to town.
My Recovery Potions and Healing Potions are almost depleted.
I looked at my Hunter's Watch again to look at the data statistic of Iron Wolf killed and compared it to the pile of Iron Wolf corpses in the village yard.
Wait a minute, it's strange..
Why is there such a difference?
If I count again, there are 74 Iron Wolves in the village chief's yard.
I snatched five Iron Wolves outside the village chief's house.
That means I've snatched 79 Iron Wolves in total.
But the statistics show that the total number of Iron Wolves killed is 86.
That means 7 Iron Wolves have been killed by other Hunters.
Where is that other Hunter?
Is he/she hiding in one of the ruins of that house?
I don't know.
Actually, I'm intrigued to hunt down the remaining Iron Wolves.
If there are 14, I can hunt them for a day.
I heard there's a special reward for successfully killing the monster that's occupying the area.
Unfortunately, my potions are almost out.
For now, I'd better focus on getting back to town to restock my nearly depleted potions.
It'll be a long journey, as I'll be running 60 km to town, but I'll consider this an endurance workout.
Over the past seven days, after grappling with the Iron Wolves and daily training aided by Recovery Potions, I've felt significant and rapid improvements in my speed, agility, and endurance.
On the way home, things felt calmer because most of the Iron Wolves were dead.
I remember the first time I arrived here, the Iron Wolves were already targeting me.
Now, things were calmer, although there were still a few Iron Wolves remaining, including the Steel Wolf who led the wolf pack.
On my way, I passed a church.
From the village chief's house, I used to watch this church from a distance.
Of the many destroyed houses in this village, only the chief's house and the church remained intact.
"SKKRRAAA-!!"
"SLASH-!"
Suddenly, I heard the howl of a wolf, accompanied by a slash inside the church.
Was there another hunter fighting an Iron Wolf there?
I quickly crept into the church, hiding behind a long wooden chair in the hall, and then looked out at the chaos in the center of the room.
A woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes in a black hunter suit was performing swift slashes, taking out the charging Iron Wolves.
The sharp katana slash was so fast, powerful, and precise, it split the Iron Wolf in half in one fell swoop.
"Aveline...?"
My gaze remained fixed on the exhausted Aveline, her stamina nearly depleted.
Although the surrounding area was littered with Iron Wolf corpses, there were still about four Iron Wolves and one Steel Wolf.
Damn it.
It turned out the Steel Wolf had summoned his Iron Wolf army to this church to target Aveline.
Fighting five wolf monsters at once while being exhausted was too dangerous.
But Aveline still appeared calm under the pressure.
She controlled her breathing, then raised her katana again.
She prepared to attack.
"SKKRRAAA-!!"
"SLASH-!"
"SLASH-!"
Two swift slashes instantly bisected the Iron Wolf charging at Aveline.
Behind Aveline, the Steel Wolf lunged for her neck.
Aveline immediately turned around and executed a swift slash, but I could already tell it wasn't fast enough.
Aveline was running out of stamina!