11. Nearly Died

“Haa…!”

No need to approach them first. But I can’t just stand still, either.

Dire wolves tend to surround their prey. Quickly checking my rear, I turned and ran backwards.

Two wolves were coming from the left. If I just kept running, it’d just drain my stamina. Before they get behind me, I gotta hit them first.

I charged towards the ones that were keeping their distance, and the ones on the right started chasing after me. I have to deal with these ones before they get on my back..!

“Come on!”

The forest is like a four-story building, the trees grow thick – a slightly better environment for me. I darted past a tree trunk, disappearing from view for a moment, and rapidly closed the distance.

—THUD!

I kicked the left one in the stomach with my steel-toed boot. And immediately after, I raised my sword towards the face of the remaining one.

*Shick-*

Twisting his entire body quickly towards the two clinging to his right, he struck the nose of the charging wolf with the edge of the shield tied to his left hand.

With a yelp, the wolf fell back, and just as he was about to swing his sword at the remaining one.

“Argh!!”

A direwolf leaped from behind and bit his shoulder. He quickly removed the shield from his left hand and moved his hand to his back to grab the hind legs of the beast,

“Let go, you crazy b*stard..!”

But it wouldn’t let go, biting down hard on his shoulder. There was no other choice.

“Hup..!”

He ran like hell to a place where there were no wolves, twisting his upper body to the left and scraping his back against a tree trunk as he ran.

Screech!!

The wolf that had been biting his shoulder fell off with a great impact, and he immediately grabbed its tail and swung it madly, smashing its head against the tree trunk.

Thud!

“Couldn’t you just fall off nicely..!”

Thanks to the gambeson, the teeth didn’t pierce his shoulder. The pressure from the bite was strong enough to leave a bruise, but it didn’t matter.

While spinning, one of the three direwolves that had approached aimed for his shin, but its teeth were knocked out by the hard leather boots. Instead, the tightly bound laces snapped, and the right boot was at risk of coming off.

While blocking the approaching wolves with threatening kicks, he pulled out the shield again with his left hand and struck the snout of the approaching beast.

“Ugh..!?”

He had wasted too much time. The direwolves had already surrounded him. The leader was growling at him. What was the safest way?

No, it wasn’t about finding the safest way.

‘What’s the way to survive?’

They were living creatures too. Think carefully. A way to create a gap.. The best way was to get rid of the leader. Four wolves were already down. There were ten left, including the leader.

If it weren’t for that b*stard, it would be doable. If the leader is dead, they might get scared.

Yeah. Nothing else matters.

ㅡChuk

He extended the sword in his right hand forward, pointing at the leader, and said,

“I’ll kill you. Got it?”

The leader bared its teeth and began to growl low. Did it understand?

‘It has wounds.’

There are a few wounds on its right hind leg. So that’s why it hasn’t joined the fight.

‘Then… it’s less difficult.’

I held back from saying it was easy. No matter how wounded it is, it’s not an easy opponent.

“Sss…”

I supplied oxygen and quickly lunged at the leader. There’s no need to worry about the direwolves charging from the sides.

They don’t have the precision to bite my rapidly moving legs. I swung my arms to fend off the approaching wolves and thrust my sword straight at the leader.

“Just die already..!”

The leader’s quick evasive maneuver caused the sword to only graze its snout. It retreated, and other wolves began to close in.

I swung my sword, slashing throats, and kicked heads. I struck the back of a head with my shield and grabbed and threw the foreleg of one trying to latch on.

I got bitten on my right forearm, but fortunately, my new gambeson effectively blocked its teeth.

I got bitten on my thigh once, but luckily it wasn’t a major bleeding area. When I was on the verge of being surrounded by wolves, I shouted loudly and swung my sword in a wide arc, shaking off the ones around me.

“Come on, you b*stards!”

The number of uninjured wolves dropped to four, and I was bleeding profusely from bites on my right thigh and left shin.

As my wound deepened, the leader finally opened its massive jaws wide and lunged at me.

Thud—!

The enormous body knocked me over. I desperately defended myself, but another wolf bit into my right arm, which I had swung to stab with my sword.

– Crack

The stitching burst open, and my gambeson was torn. All that was visible underneath was a single thin linen shirt, leaving my arm defenseless. As the gambeson was ripped away, I dropped my sword.

Struggling, my right boot flew off, and another wolf bit into my right shin. With my left hand, I grabbed the leader’s lower jaw tightly.

But it wasn’t long before the creature shook its head, loosening my grip, and its mouth aimed at me.

– Crunch

“Ugh..!”

My entire left arm was inside its mouth. The pain of its fangs digging into my upper arm was transmitted clearly.

I couldn’t use my right hand because another wolf was biting and hanging onto my right forearm. My lower body thrashed wildly, preventing the other wolves from approaching easily, but the wound on my thigh had already burst open, causing blood to flow even faster.

The leader had my left forearm in its mouth and was about to shake its head from side to side.

‘This is it..!’

My left hand, which had reached near its throat.

I infused magic into the ring on my middle finger and summoned a shield.

– Gag! Gag..!

A round shield with iron edges lodged itself in the leader’s narrow throat. The visibly swollen neck soon made a tearing sound as blood poured out,

Splat—

The creature, with the shield stuck in its throat, fell to the side, yelping. Its jaw loosened, freeing my left hand, and I quickly stood up, grabbing my fallen sword with my right hand.

Both my arms were useless, and I couldn’t muster any strength in my hands. My right hand was in slightly better condition. To get rid of the wolf clinging to my back, I jumped into the air and fell with my back to the ground.

ㅡKkeek..

The one crushed under my weight had its ribs shattered and died. Three ordinary ones left.

The shoelace of my right boot snapped and came off, and the gambeson I had newly attached to my right forearm was torn off. Though I couldn’t muster strength in my bitten hand, I forced the sword into the back of the one gnawing at my left shin.

The remaining wolves fled. Yeah, with their boss down, why would they keep fighting?

“Ugh!! Damn, it hurts like hell!!”

Both my arms and legs are a mess. With this amount of blood loss, there’s no way I can return through the portal.

“Eat this..! You b*stard leader..!”

It’s not even offensive since it’s literally a b*stard. Half of the round shield stuck in its throat greeted the outside air.

When I grabbed and pulled the iron-reinforced edge with my right hand, part of its esophagus came out with it.

“Yummy. You b*tch.”

It’s big, and with both arms wrecked, I can’t use my strength properly. I braced the ground with my left foot and kicked its chest with my right foot, flipping it onto its back.

Crunch-

I mercilessly slashed its chest with the sword in my right hand, exposing the inside of its ribcage.

“Phew, I’m gonna die.”

Even standing is hard. I climbed onto its belly, shoved my right hand between the shattered ribs, and tore out its heart.

“I’ll make good use of this. You dog-like thing.”

The heart, as big as my face, was still beating. Is it because of Rubica? Even this seems like a small amount.

With my utterly wrecked limbs, I swung the sword with my relatively intact right hand, tearing and biting into the direwolf leader’s body here and there.

Since my dangling left arm wasn’t functioning properly, the work was slow, but eventually, I pushed my legs into the ribcage and spread them, burying my face in the blood pooled inside its belly.

“Grr. Fuck yeah.”

A ghastly, fishy smell stings my nose. I tear out the lungs of the creature, its shattered ribs covered in bone dust, and shove them into my mouth. I rip off one of its legs, roughly peel off the skin, and chew the meat. Tough tendons catch in my teeth, but I swallow them whole without chewing.

It would be much better if I could light a fire. Still, covered in the blood of the warm-blooded wolf, my body feels hot despite losing a bucketful of blood.

“Ugh. Tastes good, you b*stard.”

“Ugh, what is this?”

As I opened my eyes, the darkened sky came into view. Someone next to me seemed to be holding a lantern, casting a reddish light on the faces of the people in front of me.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Wait a moment…”

As I got up, the corpse of the direwolf leader that I had been leaning on was gone. Was I just lying on the ground?

“Huh.”

No, it seemed someone else had placed my head on their lap.

“How’s your body? Can you stand?”

“Just a moment… I’ll try.”

My arms and legs were all fine. Did it work as expected?

My left field of vision was no different. I didn’t feel dizzy or anything. Despite the blood loss, this condition meant…

‘It seems the direwolf’s blood has replenished.’

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I think so.”

My bangs were clumped with dried blood, and red flakes fell off every time I moved. After shaking it off once, I sat back down and looked at my body.

‘My left arm moves too. It seems there’s no problem.’

“No problem. You don’t need to worry.”

“R-really…?”

The explorer in front of me looked at me with worried eyes.

“Yes. Do you have any water?”

“Ah, here…”

The feeling of dried blood clinging to the inside of my throat is unpleasant. I filled my mouth with cool water, gargled, and swallowed. Water is precious, after all.

It seems someone found me collapsed and moved me to a safe place, but in the distance, bodies are strewn about.

“We’ve captured the direwolf leader.”

“Oh, uh… it seems so.”

“What time is it now?”

“It’s 8 o’clock.”

“Perfect timing to get some strength.”

At night, I feel invigorated. Having just woken up, I’m a bit groggy, but moving around should help me regain my condition.

“I’m heading to the portal. I need to level up.”

“Level up..?”

“I need to go to the lead rank.”

The five explorers around me were all shocked by those words.

“You’re still at the bronze rank..?!”

“Yes… well, I made it to the fifth floor alone. Now it’s time for lead.”

“Oh, oh…”

Thanks to the tar smeared all over, I easily found my boots reflecting the light and put them back on my right foot.

The shoelace was broken, but it wasn’t loose enough to fly off my foot.

“Wa-wait! Where are you going?”

“I told you, I need to return.”

“Isn’t it night now..?”

“I’m stronger at night.”

I pulled down my left lower eyelid with my index finger, revealing the yellow pupil embedded within.

“Is that.. a direwolf’s eye?”

“Yes. It turned out that way. It’s a condition for promotion, so I have to go alone. You know that, right?”

“Then what about that..?”

The female explorer pointed to the corpse of the direwolf leader with her hand.

“Oh. Right.”

I slowly approached the leader’s corpse.

“I need to eat more. My stomach is empty.”

I almost died. I need to make the most of it.