Chapter 13
In front of Rowan stood a Shadow Wolf, its back burning with dark flames that flowed like living shadows. Rowan slowly drew his dagger, tightening his grip as he prepared himself.
In the blink of an eye, the wolf lunged forward, its claws flashing toward him. Rowan stepped to the side just in time, but one claw grazed his face, leaving a thin scratch.
A nervous chuckle escaped his lips.
"Okay… I might actually be in a real tough match," he muttered.
Suddenly the wolf sank into the shadows and vanished.
Rowan's eyes widened slightly. "Oh damn… it's already using one of its strongest skills."
A moment later the beast appeared behind him. Its claws tore across Rowan's back, sending him stumbling forward as blood flowed down his shirt.
"Argh!" Rowan shouted in pain.
The wolf disappeared into the shadows again, leaving Rowan turning quickly in every direction as he scanned the darkness around him.
"Damn it… how am I supposed to predict its attacks when all it does is hide in the shadows?" he thought.
Suddenly the wolf appeared to his right and slashed his hand before sinking back into the darkness again.
Rowan grabbed his injured hand. Almost instantly his healing ability activated, soft blue Atherion flowing through his body and closing the wounds on both his back and hand.
He exhaled slowly and forced himself to focus.
"Okay… think. The first attack came from behind… the second from the side… so the next one should come from above."
Rowan lowered his stance, placing his right leg forward and his left behind while lowering his head.
Slowly he closed his eyes and concentrated.
Then suddenly he jumped upward.
"Up there!" he shouted.
At that exact moment the wolf burst from the shadows above him with its claws ready, but Rowan's dagger struck first, piercing straight into its chest even as its claws grazed his face again.
The wolf let out a final howl before collapsing onto the ground.
Rowan stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
A small smile appeared on his face.
He grabbed the wolf by its paw and began dragging the body toward the safe zone.
Before he could move far, he heard footsteps behind him.
Rowan stopped and slowly turned around.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
Three more Shadow Wolves stood there staring at him.
One of them charged instantly while another melted into the shadows and the third circled to his side.
Rowan quickly stepped aside to avoid the first wolf's strike and kicked it hard in the torso, sending it crashing into the second one.
The third wolf attacked from behind with its claws ready, but Rowan turned instantly and stabbed it straight through the neck.
"Sorry," he said with a smirk, "but the same trick doesn't work twice on me."
A faint blue aura glowed in his eyes as he turned to the remaining wolves.
"Now then… who's next?"
The wolves slowly surrounded him.
Rowan lowered his stance again, smiling slightly.
"This better be interesting."
Before they could even attack, Rowan dashed forward and caught one of the wolves off guard, driving his dagger straight into its skull.
"Always prepare for the unexpected," he muttered.
The last wolf stepped back slightly.
Rowan tilted his head mockingly.
"What's the matter, buddy? Losing your nerve?"
The wolf suddenly roared in anger as dark flames erupted around its body. The flames slowly turned orange like a burning sunset, and its eyes glowed with the same color.
Rowan sighed.
"Oh, I've heard about this form… second evolution. Nothing special thou—"
Before he could finish speaking, the wolf was already behind him.
Rowan felt a small scratch on his neck.
He slowly touched the wound as he turned to face the beast.
"You think that would—"
Suddenly his eyes widened as blood began pouring from the cut.
His vision blurred.
His body collapsed to the ground.
"What's… going… on…" he muttered weakly before everything went dark.
When Rowan opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in an endless blue sky.
He looked around in confusion.
"Oh boy… I'm dead, aren't I?"
A calm female voice echoed through the sky.
"How sad… even after my blessing you with a second chance of living you still failed to live long."
Rowan quickly turned around, searching for the source of the voice.
"Who's there?" he shouted.
"That doesn't matter," the voice replied calmly. "What matters now is whether you accept that outcome… or change it."
A glowing screen appeared before him, showing Rowan's lifeless body lying on the ground while the wolf slowly approached it.
Rowan clenched his fists tightly.
"How the hell am I supposed to change that outcome now?" he said angrily.
Tears began falling from his eyes.
"I got cocky… I defeated three of those beasts and thought I had become incredible. And now look where that arrogance brought me."
His voice trembled.
"I wanted to prove something… I wanted to prove that someone born with low Atherion could still become strong."
"I wanted to break the chain of nobility that says only the gifted deserve power."
"I wanted my family to see… to see!"
The voice responded coldly.
"Then change the outcome."
Suddenly everything went dark.
Rowan felt the ground beneath him again.
His body was numb, but he could still feel Atherion flowing through his veins.
"This is my third chance… and I won't waste it," he thought.
Red energy began glowing around his body as the wound on his neck slowly closed.
The wolf stepped back in shock as Rowan pushed himself to his feet.
"I… am… not… going… down… that… easily," he said slowly while lifting his head toward the beast.
His eyes burned red.
He cracked his neck and released a long breath.
"I made the mistake of letting my guard down… but not anymore."
"Bring it on."
The wolf howled loudly and suddenly created multiple shadow clones of itself.
Rowan exhaled slowly.
"Clones, huh…"
The wolves attacked together, claws slashing from every direction.
One clone scratched his arm.
Rowan frowned slightly.
"Oh… so they can attack as well. This is going to be tougher than I thought."
Rowan fought back fiercely, destroying one clone after another as they burst into smoke.
Finally only the real wolf remained.
Rowan's body trembled from exhaustion. His legs shook and his vision blurred.
"I underestimated those wolves," he thought.
"I might have to use my last resort."
Atherion began gathering around his body.
But suddenly Rowan paused.
"No… there's something else I haven't tried yet."
He transferred the energy into his dagger instead, causing the blade to glow brightly.
Across from him the wolf prepared its final attack as its claws glowed orange.
"More… gather more," Rowan whispered while focusing all the energy into the weapon.
The wolf attacked first, unleashing a massive vertical slash of energy.
Rowan jumped into the air, twisting his body to avoid the attack before swinging his dagger forward.
His strike moved twice as fast.
A horizontal wave of energy shot forward and sliced straight through the beast.
The wolf froze for a moment.
Then its body split clean in half.
Rowan landed on one knee, breathing heavily.
"It worked…" he muttered.
"I won… but I'm exhausted."
With great effort he forced himself to stand.
He gathered the bodies of the four wolves and slowly dragged them toward the zone.
Every step felt heavy, but his eyes burned with determination.
"I will get stronger… no matter what."