The pack of wolves didn't just stand there after locking on their target, they split into different directions forming a circle around the Senior and Junior duo before launching an attack from all corners.
Six wolves coming from six different directions, four eyes locked on Mr. Jaggers while two had their gaze on Socrates.
"Go for the nearest… Let the dagger lead." Mr. Jaggers coached Socrates as he lunged towards the wolf that was closer to him with the dagger before him.
'What does he mean by that? Should I let go of the dagger?' Socrates was confused as he tried his best to calm his heart.
The wolf pounced on him when he quickly backflipped, dodging the assault and then counterattacked by striking forth with the dagger.
But unfortunately, he had taken the idea of letting the dagger lead too seriously, that as he struck forth, the dagger slipped out of his grip and launched straight to the wolf.
The wolf with his glowing red eyes was able to see this attack clearly as it jumped sideways, dodging the dagger.
'Shit.' Socrates muttered, but he didn't get time to ponder on his failure as he heard Mr. Jaggers scream.
"Behind you boy."
The word reached deep into his ears as his five senses flared up.
He didn't even need to turn to know something was beside him.
Socrates didn't turn, he didn't panic nor jump sideways. Instead he just moved, running straight ahead without looking in any direction.
His eyes were solely fixed on the dagger who had fallen to the laws of gravity. The speed he harnessed was far beyond his normal capacity as adrenaline rushed through his body, causing him to blend with the wind.
The wolf was naturally behind him.
It had calculated, waited and baited for the perfect opportunity. And when that opportunity had arrived, the period Socrates had let down his defenses, it made its move… a clean swift move, a leap through the air pouncing on the body of its target, chomping off its head in one fell clean swoop.
But when it had pounced, what it didn't expect was to fall off its target by mere inches. The mistake didn't come from miscalculation but from the fact that its target's body had naturally reacted even before his mind could, which made its fall short by some inches.
Wasn't it just some inches? How could the wolf just let go?
Naturally, it wouldn't.
The moment its claws scratched the ground, it moved again dashing after the boy who seemed to have blended with the wind.
Any stop, any change of movement now and the boy would slip out of his grip. Although there's another target, it believed its companions would take care of him. This prey right in front of it, it would make sure to see the end of him.
When it dawned on the wolf that it was close enough, it stopped chasing and launched an attack instead.
Its four limbs held tightly to the ground as it struck forward with its head, its mouth opened wide revealing its sharp canines which it intended to use and shred Socrates into pieces.
At that same moment, Socrates bent forward and picked up the dagger that was lying on the ground. That was what he was after all this while, the dagger that he had mistakenly let go of.
He was aware of the fact that there was danger lurking dangerously behind him. He knew he was more closer to death than his eyebrows were to his eyes, the saliva of the wolf dropping dangerously on his body.
But still he didn't panic, and in that short brief of time he picked up the Antler Dagger and turned around instantly.
CLENCH…
The teeth of the wolf met resistance as instead of biting on bone and flesh, it bit on metal whose quality surpassed the properties of its teeth.
'What kind of prey is this?' it thought as anger clouded its judgement, causing it to raise one of its forelimbs and slash hard across Socrates' chest.
Socrates, who was only putting on boxers and nothing else to cover his chest, received the full brunt of the attack as the claws of the wolf pierced right from the left angle of his nipple to his right ribs.
The claws drew three lines of blood as the force sent him bouncing and tumbling backward.
He didn't just scream but let out a howl as if he was a descendant of the wolves while trying to regain balance and get a grip of himself which seemed almost impossible.
But despite his fall, the pain, Socrates never let go of the dagger because he knew that his survival was naturally attached to the dagger.
The wolf wasn't ready to let its prey get far away from it nor was it willing to give its prey breathing space. It didn't linger around but instead charged forward, rushing towards the direction Socrates had fallen.
'Don't give in to pain… Don't give in to pain… Don't give in to pain.' Socrates' mind was the only thing working, the wound on his chest had caused all his body to go numb as his eyes slowly closed up.
His ears screamed at him at the closing in of the predator but his body wasn't complying with his mind.
'FUCK YOU SOCRATES…' Socrates cursed himself as he tightened his grip on the dagger. 'NEVER KNEW YOU'RE A WOMAN.'
With that said, he directed the dagger into his butt… stabbing his buttocks as hard as he could.
"AAAH…" he cried out loud, the pain jolting him awake as with his clear eyes he could see the wolf pouncing on him.
He rolled sideways instantly while dragging himself up and then turned, facing the wolf instead of running.
The wolf also turned to its prey and was a bit surprised to see that the young man was facing it instead of backing it and running with his tail between his legs.
The surprise escalated when Socrates without hesitation pounced on the wolf, his smaller frame leaping into the air with the dagger pointing straight at the wolf's head.
ANTLER PIERCE!
It was as if the dagger had a will of its own, a judgement that directed Socrates' movement as his hand moved a bit faster than his body.
Before the wolf could react, the dagger had already pierced straight into its left eye, sinking deep almost touching its brain.
HOWL…
The wolf let out a shrill cry as it pounced left and then right wanting to get the boy away, but Socrates refused to let go of the dagger. He had left the dagger the first time and it had cost him much, this time he wasn't letting go at all.
And with that notion, he tightened his hand around the hilt as he pulled hard, causing the metal to cleave high from the eye down to the mouth of the wolf, splitting it into two before finally giving way.
Socrates stumbled backward and fell to the ground as the dagger didn't have anything to hold onto.
The wolf grunted loudly, thrashing around, thick red blood spraying before finally dropping to the floor.
Socrates laid still, his gaze fixed on the dropped body, his grip tightened on the dagger as if expecting the wolf to be pretending.
In his thoughts, the moment he dropped his defenses, the wolf would rise up again.
It was only after the wolf burst into blue particles that he finally heaved a sigh of relief. The wolf's body dissolved into light fragments leaving behind two items.
"You managed to kill a wolf by yourself… so so impressive."
Socrates heard the voice of Mr. Jaggers as the middle-aged man walked up to him and then picked up the two items that were gained from killing the wolf.
"What great luck you've, boy… to gain a bottle filled with wolf blood."
He chuckled as he threw the bottle at Socrates.
"Drink up, boy."
Socrates didn't argue or even ask what it was or what it did. He just grabbed the bottle, uncorked it and drank down the contents.
A fiery taste enveloped his mouth as the liquid rolled down his tongue into his throat while passing through his intestines.
[You've consumed rich wolf blood]
[Passive healing +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +2… +2… +1]
During those moments, Socrates felt his energy return back to him as it even grew stronger than before. The injuries on his chest and his butt also slowly healed up.
"Can you get on your feet, boy?" Mr. Jaggers asked, and Socrates didn't waste any time on the ground anymore.
He got on his feet to see that his senior was fully equipped. The middle-aged man was no longer just in boxers.
He was now wearing black leather pants and black feral boots. There were two axes in his grip while a pair of Antler Daggers was strapped to his back.
Although his chest was still bare, he had black wrist guards which covered both his arms up to the elbow level.
"Do I look great, boy?"
"You look fantastic, Senior."
"Hehehe… these are for you." Mr. Jaggers threw him a bunch of items.
One was a black leather robe which he put on immediately and the cold around his body dispersed. The second was a knee guard which he strapped onto both knees while the third was a monocle which he wore on his left eye. He also noticed that the same monocle was in the eye of Mr. Jaggers.
The moment he put on the monocle, the darkness around him dispersed as his night vision was enhanced.
Socrates gasped as he looked at Mr. Jaggers in surprise.
"Hehehe… you've seen the effect, right? Now tell me, does it all worth it?" Mr. Jaggers asked.
"With this monocle, we will have an advantage when searching for the token… so it does worth the heist. Senior is sure amazing."
Socrates bowed slightly, causing Mr. Jaggers to smile.
"Enough of the courtesy, boy. Take the second pair of the Antler Daggers to increase your damage output… let's go further into Bermutha Island and get the search for the token started."