Chapter 60: Return
Tyler locked his gaze onto the massive wolf looming before him. As the beast took a single, deliberate step forward, Tyler’s grip on the hilt tightened until his knuckles turned entirely white. His heart hammered a frantic, heavy rhythm against his ribs.
He watched the thick, corded muscles in the monster's legs coil and shift as it took another slow step, prowling toward him. A faint, radiant glow shimmered across its dense red hide. Tyler let out a shallow, shaky exhale.
*Speed is its biggest advantage,* he thought. *It's faster than me, but it's almost on par with my strength because of the rush skill.*
A flash of confusion cut through his adrenaline. He knew his own stats perfectly, his agility was currently higher than his strength. *Wait... is its agility higher than its strength?* he thought. He couldn't afford to hesitate. With a rapid mental command, he dumped two of his unassigned extra points directly into his agility stat.
[Agility: 159 -> 161]
The crippling reality of his dangerously low HP weighed heavily on his mind. His body remained entirely rigid, trapped in the suffocating tension of the standoff. He could physically feel the predatory pressure radiating from the beast, any sudden movement, even a twitch of his boot, would trigger the monster's immediate attack. He desperately needed a fraction of a second to calculate a winning move against such a massive disadvantage.
But time was his absolute worst enemy. The searing energy pulsing through his veins reminded him of the ticking clock. His active skill was running out.
A desperate plan clicked into place in Tyler’s racing mind. He coiled his arm back and hurled the katana horizontally, sending the steel spinning directly toward the monster.
The wolf launched itself forward, becoming a blur of red fur. A faint blue luminescence shimmered across Tyler's open palm as he willed his silver bow to materialize.
*Shit, it's too close!* he thought, his jaw clamping shut.
He aborted the summon and violently pivoted on his heel. The beast's cavernous jaws snapped open, aiming straight for his exposed leg. In a flash of blue light, his standard leather boot vanished from his foot, replaced instantly by the massive weight of an iron boot. Tyler drove his leg upward. The solid metal slammed directly beneath the Alpha's lower jaw. The violent collision sent a harsh, metallic shockwave ringing through the air.
A guttural, pained growl vibrated from the beast's throat. Yet, the devastating kick only knocked its massive head a few inches off course. The monster immediately planted its heavy paws, arresting its momentum with terrifying ease. Tyler’s eyes stretched wide, a cold sweat breaking across his skin. He had put every ounce of his enhanced strength into that strike.
The Alpha lunged again. Tyler threw his palm open. A fraction of a second before the beast's teeth could crush into his flesh, the katana ripped backward through the air and slammed perfectly into his waiting grip. He twisted his torso, driving the blade through a brutal horizontal arc. The razor edge sheared deep into the thick muscle of the wolf's front leg.
But the beast's forward momentum was overwhelming. A massive, saliva-coated canine sank brutally into Tyler's right shoulder. Blinding pain flared through his nervous system. He ground his teeth together, a raw groan tearing from his throat, and violently ripped himself backward. The razor-sharp tooth sheared through his clothing, tearing a bloody chunk of flesh completely off his shoulder.
Tyler ignored the screaming agony in his nerves. The heavy iron boot shimmered, instantly replaced by his standard leather footwear. He dug his heels into the dirt and launched himself straight back at the monster.
The wolf snapped its blood-coated jaws at his face. Tyler dropped his center of gravity, ducking instantly. Foul, scalding breath washed over him. The snapping teeth grazed the side of his head, violently tearing a chunk of cartilage from his right ear. Hot blood streamed down his neck, but Tyler hit the dirt on his knees, sliding rapidly across the abrasive soil. Using the raw kinetic momentum of his slide, he spun his entire body, driving the katana in a sweeping arc that sliced brutally into the back of the beast's hind leg.
A deep, vibrating howl of agony erupted from the Alpha.
Tyler seized the massive blind spot. Before the beast could whip its heavy body around, Tyler shifted his grip. He wrapped his right hand tightly around the hilt and slammed his left palm flat against the back of the unsharpened steel. Drawing on every drop of his remaining strength, he dove forward, driving the katana straight into the wolf's exposed side. The polished steel sank deep into the creature's flesh.
Another agonizing wail tore from the monster's throat. Tyler pushed against the hilt, fighting through the white-hot agony radiating from his bleeding shoulder and battered muscles. But the Alpha violently twisted its massive torso. The colossal head whipped around, and those cavernous jaws clamped down directly onto Tyler's left shoulder.
An agonizing scream ripped from his lungs as the immense crushing pressure shattered his flesh. The beast jerked its neck, violently ripping him away from the embedded blade and tossing him through the air.
Tyler hit the forest floor heavily, tumbling violently through the dirt. He forced his boot into the soil, dragging himself up onto one knee and digging the blade of his katana, which he had managed to yank free during the toss, into the earth to arrest his momentum.
He immediately hurled the steel forward again. The spinning blade chopped vertically toward the monster's skull. The beast jerked to the side, dodging the lethal edge.
In that exact fraction of a second, the heavy Bronze cylinder of a hand cannon materialized into Tyler's right grip, a glowing, red-hot ember of firewood materializing in his left.
He slammed the smoldering ember directly against the cannon's fuse. The powder violently combusted, kicking the heavy weapon back against his palm and launching a solid metal cannonball straight at the Alpha. The heavy iron sphere crossed the distance instantly, slamming brutally into the ridge of bone just above the wolf's eye. The sheer kinetic shockwave halted the beast in its tracks, a furious, pained growl vibrating from its chest.
Tyler’s brow furrowed in sheer disbelief. A direct hit from a cannonball had only managed to stun the monster.
He refused to waste the opening. He activated the return skill. As the katana ripped backward through the air toward him, Tyler blinked, forcing his Mana Sight to flare to life. The glowing blue string connecting his hand to the blade illuminated the battlefield.
Tyler swept his palm forcefully to the side, physically yanking the invisible cord. The airborne katana matched his violent motion, violently altering its trajectory mid-air. The shimmering steel sheared clean through the wolf's left hind leg, severing bone and muscle entirely. The severed limb hit the dirt. Tyler yanked his hand again, and the ricocheting blade carved a deep, brutal gash through the Alpha's front leg before finally snapping back into his bloody palm.
A ragged, high-pitched whine tore through the creature's guttural growl. The Alpha’s severed hind leg and slashed front limb betrayed it. Its massive weight shifted awkwardly, its remaining paws kicking up dirt as it stumbled and swayed, struggling desperately to maintain its balance.
Tyler did not stop.
The silver bow materialized in his grip. He drew the string taut, triggering his active skill, and loosed the shaft. The projectile struck the stumbling beast squarely in the neck. The impact instantly detonated into a blinding, brilliant explosion of white light.
The Alpha thrashed blindly, snapping its jaws at the empty air. Tyler sprinted directly into the fading light, the katana gripped fiercely in both hands. He planted his boots, twisted his hips, and swung. A raw, deafening roar ripped from his own lungs, fueled by pure adrenaline and absolute desperation.
The razor-sharp steel slammed into the Alpha's throat. Tyler felt the thick, corded muscles in his own arms bulge and strain to their absolute limit against the resistance. The blade sheared through the dense crimson hide, tore through thick muscle fibers, and shattered the spine, completely severing the massive beast's neck in a single, devastating strike.
A violent geyser of hot blood sprayed across the churned soil. The colossal, headless body of the Alpha collapsed heavily onto its side.
Tyler stood over the carcass. His chest heaved with rapid, ragged gasps. A massive pool of dark blood rapidly expanded across the forest floor from the beast's severed neck. His heart hammered a frantic rhythm against his ribs. His fingers trembled violently around the hilt of the sword as a cold numbness crept into his extremities.
Then, his active skill died.
The backlash hit him instantly. Every single muscle in Tyler's body violently seized. Searing, high-voltage agony ripped through his nervous system. The heat in his flesh spiked into an unbearable inferno. His muscles coiled tighter and tighter, straining like thick ropes pushed far past their breaking point. His legs buckled, dropping him heavily to his knees. The internal pressure skyrocketed. He could physically feel the muscle fibers beneath his skin beginning to snap and shred, violently tearing themselves apart from the sheer, unnatural strain.
A blood-curdling scream tore from his throat. The agonizing microscopic ruptures spread across his entire body. It was a blinding, suffocating pain, far surpassing the blunt-force trauma that had previously knocked him unconscious. His vision swam, his eyelids heavy, but he fought the darkness, forcing his head up.
Through the blur of agony, he saw James in the distance, lying motionless in a massive, dark pool of his own blood.
*No... please...* he thought, his trembling hands clutching his violently spasming abdomen.
His upper body gave out, but he caught himself on his forearms, his teeth grinding together so hard his jaw ached. He dragged himself across the dirt toward his friend. Every agonizing inch forward felt like a rusted saw blade tearing through his nerves.
Then, a sudden, ethereal green luminescence erupted across his skin.
The microscopic tears in his muscle fibers instantly began to knit themselves shut. The blinding pain, the suffocating exhaustion, and the icy numbness evaporated in a single heartbeat. A rushing torrent of fresh, boundless energy flooded his veins. Translucent text flashed rapidly across his vision.
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
Tyler’s eyes stretched wide. A heavy, shaky exhale of pure relief pushed past his lips. He vaulted to his feet, his fully restored legs launching him into a dead sprint. He closed the distance in seconds and dropped to his knees beside his friend.
James’s skin possessed an unnatural, sickly pallor. The earth beneath him was entirely saturated, his back and shoulder drenched in thick, dark blood. Tyler’s chest tightened in absolute horror. He materialized the first vial and immediately pressed the glass rim against James's pale lips.
He tilted the vial, letting the glowing green liquid spill into James's mouth. The fluid pooled over his tongue, thick drops spilling over the corners of his lips and mixing with the blood on his chin.
"Come on... please work," Tyler muttered, his voice cracking.
He gently clamped James’s jaw shut, massaging his throat. To his immense relief, James’s Adam's apple bobbed. He was swallowing weakly, purely on subconscious instinct.
A faint green shimmer washed over James's skin. Some of the horrifying pallor receded, the skin's natural dark tone slowly returning. The fresh flow of blood from the catastrophic shoulder wound ceased, though the sheer volume already lost painted a grim picture.
*It only heals thirty percent. This isn't enough,* Tyler thought, his pulse hammering.
He instantly materialized the second vial, tilting it past James's lips and forcing him to drink. The green shimmer flared again. Right before Tyler's eyes, the jagged, protruding fragments of James's shattered collarbone violently snapped back into alignment beneath the skin. The mangled, torn chunks of flesh around the bite mark began to pull themselves together, knitting shut layer by layer.
Tyler swallowed hard. He had felt the system heal him before, but watching the biological reconstruction from the outside was deeply jarring. It looked like an impossible miracle. But the rapid knitting halted before the wound could close completely. James was still severely injured. However, his chest now rose and fell with a steady, visible rhythm.
Tyler didn't hesitate. He materialized the third and final potion, tipping the last drop of green liquid into James’s mouth. The healing shimmer cascaded over him one last time. James’s natural complexion fully returned. His ragged breathing deepened into heavy, exhausted, but stable breaths. He remained completely unconscious, his body entirely spent.
*I need to get out of here,* Tyler thought.
He slid his arms under James's limp form. Grunting with exertion, he carefully hauled his friend upward, shifting James's dead weight securely onto his back. He stood tall, his boots planted firmly in the bloody soil. He swept his gaze across the ruined clearing, taking in the scattered, mangled corpses of the wolf pack and the colossal, headless body of the Alpha.
"Extract!" he commanded.