The Ice Wolves began spreading across the clearing in a loose crescent, their pale fur somehow blending in with the soot-dusted ground.
Frost crept out from each set of paws, spreading across the dark earth in pretty formations that would have looked nice in any other situation.
Lukas rolled his neck and raised his sword.
Four of them peeled away from the pack immediately, circling wide to try flanking him. This already told him they were an experienced pack, used to hunting together, which was rare in the Scorched Forest.
Melody stepped into their path, three [Hex Shields] appearing in rapid succession, cutting the clearing in half and boxing the flankers out.
The wolves slammed into the shields and recoiled, snarling in result, their attention shifting to the new obstacle.
That left thirteen for Lukas.
They came in two waves, with the first four rushing in with their bodies low to the ground, and the second wave hanging back to read what he did.
But this time, he dashed straight into the first wave instead of waiting for it.
He swung his sword, taking the lead wolf across the chest before it could adjust, opening it from shoulder to hip.
He used the momentum of the swing to spin into the second wolf, catching it with a reverse slash through the neck. Blood sprayed into the air, and his [Blood Armor] drank it immediately, the shell thickening across his shoulders and arms.
The third wolf hit him before he could fully reset. Its paws connected with his chest, frost spreading across the shell on impact, and he staggered back two steps before catching himself and driving his elbow into the wolf's skull. It dropped.
He pivoted and took the fourth wolf's claws on his forearm, the shell absorbing the rake, then ran his sword through its jaw.
Four down, thirteen to go.
He was already breathing hard, the exercise from all the fights finally catching up. He hadn't even rested from fighting all day. Even his arms were beginning to feel sore, but it could still be ignored.
He gripped his sword tighter, dark mist drifting off the blade. The sword was very dependable, but it was still melee.
He had to fight at close range all the time, which meant he had to get up close and personal to kill his opponent.
And so he found himself thinking, not for the first time that night, that a destructive ranged skill would be the perfect addition to his arsenal.
Something that could reach out across a clearing and end three problems at once instead of requiring him to be standing on top of each one individually.
He filed the thought away and kept moving.
The second wave hit him from three directions at once. He blocked left, dodged right, took a glancing hit across the back that cracked the shell but didn't break it.
He spun through the gap between two wolves, opened both their throats on the way through, and kept his feet.
Then a wolf caught his ankle.
The frost came instantly, the hard snap of cold locking his boot to the ground in a solid block of ice before he could pull it free.
He felt it travel up his leg as two more wolves closed in on where he stood.
He roared through gritted teeth as he drove all his strength down through the frozen leg in one explosive push, and the ice cracked, then shattered, the block breaking apart as his boot tore free of the ground.
He caught the first wolf with a straight slash across the face. The second one he grabbed by the scruff and swung into the third, the impact sending both of them down in a tangle.
He was already on them before they untangled.
The [Blood Armor] had never been thicker. The shell was a deep, solid red now, fed by the blood of his enemies.
He moved through the rest of the pack like a red tide, slashing and hacking away.
All he could see in front of him was fur and blood. And of course, Melody in the corner, making sure that when he took care of the main pack, she released the flankers for him to fight.
He dove within their midst like a storm, sword flashing this way and that. And he had to admit, even though he would rather do this on his own time instead of a quest, he was enjoying this.
When it was over, he stood in the center of the clearing, chest heaving and surrounded by corpses.
But there were more beasts to be slain.
***
Eight hours later, the sun was crawling up the horizon, painting the sky in pale grey and orange.
Lukas was slowing down.
He could feel the fatigue in his arms. The specific heaviness that came from hours of continuous fighting with no real rest.
Sweat ran freely down his face and neck, soaking into his collar.
His breathing was loud in his own ears, coming in and out in ragged pulls, and his feet were moving just a fraction slower than his mind was telling them to.
The Silver Ape in front of him hadn't slowed down at all.
It circled him, reading his reduced speed and recognizing that something had changed. It feinted an attack from the left, and Lukas moved to cover it a beat too late.
"Do you need help?" Melody called from the side.
"I've got it," he said.
He watched the ape reset. It was getting ready to commit. He could see the way its weight shifted back onto its heels, loading up for a full charge.
He waited, feet planted and sword low.
The ape surged forward with both arms raised.
Lukas moved. He blurred forward with a sudden burst of speed, stepped inside the ape's guard, and drove his sword upward through the soft underside of its jaw.
The ape's momentum carried it into the blade, and then everything stopped.
He pulled the sword free and the ape collapsed.
A second later, so did he.
He hit the ground and stayed there, chest rising and falling, staring up at the pale morning sky.
Melody crouched beside him. "We're taking a break. You need to rest."
"Agreed," he said immediately.
He lay there for a moment, then pulled up his status. His eyes found the experience bar and stayed there.
[Exp: 27.48%]
He closed the screen and told her the number.
Melody was quiet. They were almost halfway through the quest window, and just barely more than a quarter of the experience bar was filled.
"What do we do?" she asked.
Lukas sat up slowly, rolling his shoulder.
"This means we have to hunt bigger prey," he said. "It's time to move up to B-rank beasts."