The deep, hoarse voice echoed from the pitch-black stone staircase.
Revista ascended with heavy, predatory steps. The man hadn't had the chance to bathe; he was still shirtless, flaunting a broad, muscular torso littered with gruesome battle scars. However, his glowing red eyes now glared sharply at Stephanie, completely unamused by her sudden interruption.
"Unfortunately, yes," Stephanie answered his silent question calmly. She didn't even flinch at his murderous aura. Instead, she glanced at the pale, trembling thugs. "Titus, Rufus. Find any weapons you can. Iron pipes, sharp wood, rocks. Protect my maid."
"M-My Lady, those are Frost Wolves!" Rufus whined, his knees knocking together so hard he could barely stand. "Tier 5 Monsters! The Kingdom's regular soldiers need five armed men to take down just one. We're all going to die!"
Awooooo!
A chorus of blood-curdling howls echoed through the howling blizzard outside. The sound was very close. Too close.
The next second, five massive white shadows darted in through the gaping castle windows and the shattered main doors. The giant wolves, easily the size of full-grown calves, landed in the hall with their thick claws scraping loudly against the marble floor. Their fur was as pristine white as the snow outside, and their long ice fangs dripped with freezing, venomous saliva.
The monsters' ferocious eyes immediately locked onto the strongest scent of blood in the room: the crushed, bleeding arm of the thug boss, who was still lying unconscious near the pillar.
The largest wolf—the Alpha of the pack—pounced forward with jaws wide open.
Time to prove your valuation, Stephanie thought clinically.
"Don't just stand there, Revista," Stephanie called out flatly, her voice ringing clear over the growls. "Clear the room."
BAM!
The heavy stone floor of the hall trembled violently.
It wasn't the giant wolf that landed, but Revista. The silver-haired man moved faster than lightning, intercepting the Alpha's path in mid-air. His bare, scarred hands clamped around the giant wolf's upper and lower jaw in a single, fluid motion.
CRACK!
The sickening sound of thick bones snapping echoed loudly. Revista shattered the Alpha's massive jaw using pure, terrifying grip strength alone. He then mercilessly slammed the hundreds of kilograms heavy body into a stone pillar until it was completely crushed.
Blackish-blue monster blood splattered onto the marble floor.
The other four wolves halted their advance immediately. Their sharp animal instincts screamed at them to flee from the overwhelming danger, but starvation made them desperate. Baring their fangs, they attacked Revista from four different directions at once.
Stephanie stood her ground near the stairs. Her eyes narrowed, not showing a single speck of panic or fear. Instead, her brilliant CEO brain began to calculate rapidly.
One intact Frost Wolf pelt is worth at least fifty silver coins in the capital's black market. The magic core inside them? Easily two gold coins each, Stephanie thought, a genuine, terrifying smirk creeping onto her lips. This isn't a monster attack. This is a free, door-to-door raw material delivery.
"Revista!" Stephanie shouted, cutting through the chaotic growls and the sound of tearing flesh. "Watch the merchandise! Don't crush their heads! Their pelts are highly valuable. Kill them without damaging the fur!"
Revista, who was just about to rip the second wolf's stomach open with his bare claws, clicked his tongue in severe annoyance. Strangely, however, his body instinctively obeyed her command.
Instead of using his brutal, messy claws, Revista gracefully dodged the wolf's desperate bite, sidestepped with unnatural speed, and landed a single, highly precise and lethal strike right at the blind spot behind the wolf's ear.
Thud. The monster died instantly from severe internal brain trauma. Its expensive white fur remained perfectly, flawlessly intact.
In less than a minute, the grand hall was littered with massive wolf corpses. Three were dead, one Alpha was dying, and the last surviving wolf retreated in absolute terror, its tail tucked tightly between its hind legs as it whimpered in the corner.
Revista's breathing was heavy and ragged. Lethal, scorching heat radiated fiercely from his body, distorting the cold air around him. His red eyes now glowed blindingly bright, entirely losing their rational focus. The Abyssal Curse in his blood reacted violently to the thrill of the kill, provoking his feral instincts to slaughter anything that still had a pulse.
He turned slowly toward Titus and Rufus. The two thugs immediately wet themselves on the spot, dropping their makeshift weapons.
Revista growled deeply, taking a menacing step forward.
"Enough."
A small, unbelievably cold hand pressed firmly against Revista's muscular, blood-stained arm.
Revista flinched violently. The suffocating, murderous aura around him evaporated the exact millisecond Stephanie's skin touched his. His tightly clenched jaw slowly relaxed, the tension draining from his massive shoulders.
Assets secured, Stephanie thought with immense satisfaction.
"That's enough. Stand down," Stephanie said softly, yet her firm tone successfully locked Revista's fleeting sanity, keeping him anchored to reality. "Good job."
The man's red eyes blinked, slowly regaining focus. He stared down at Stephanie's face, which was incredibly close to his chest. Revista's hot, heavy breath hit Stephanie's forehead, but the fearless woman didn't step back even an inch.
[Ding! Emergency Quest Completed! Rating: Perfect.]
[Reward: +500 WP, Basic Space Heater Blueprint.]
[Loot Items detected: 4 Frozen Magic Cores, 4 Intact Pelts.]
Stephanie smirked looking at the glowing blue screen. Fantastic initial capital.
She smoothly removed her hand from Revista's arm and turned her attention to the fifth wolf, which was still alive and trembling pitifully in the corner of the room.
"Titus, grab a rope and tie up that surviving wolf. Make sure the knots are tight. We're going to keep it," Stephanie ordered casually.
Titus gaped, his eyes wide in disbelief. "K-Keep a monster, My Lady?! It will eat us!"
A free draft animal for future logistics operations, Stephanie calculated.
"It's going to pull our sleds and cargo carts," Stephanie answered without a care, crossing her arms. "Dead, it's worth fifty silver coins. Alive, it's a lifetime of free labor. Tie it up before I change my mind and let Revista eat you instead."
Titus scrambled to find a rope immediately.
However, before Stephanie could give further structural orders to her new workforce, a sudden, devastating blast of ice-cold wind slammed into the hall. The remaining embers in the wall torches died instantly.
The air inside the castle rapidly turned into a thick, freezing fog.
[Critical Warning!]
[The 'Winter Tide' Blizzard has arrived early. Room temperature plummeted to -25°C.]
[Estimated time of death from hypothermia: 10 Minutes.]
Vespera let out a soft, choked shriek before fainting directly onto the floor from the extreme temperature shock. Titus and Rufus curled up into tight balls, their lips turning a sickening shade of blue instantly.
Stephanie's slender body began to tremble violently. The unnatural, magical cold pierced straight through her fur coat and into her bones, causing her vision to darken rapidly.
Suddenly, a massive, muscular, and scorching-hot arm grabbed her waist roughly.
Stephanie gasped loudly as her body collided hard with Revista's broad, burning chest. The intense, lethal heat radiating from the man's Abyssal Curse immediately enveloped Stephanie like an incredibly comfortable, life-saving thermal blanket.
Revista hugged her tightly against him, lifting her slightly off the freezing floor. He rested his heavy jaw firmly on the top of Stephanie's head. His deep voice trembled, vibrating against her chest in a half-growl.
"Don't you dare die," Revista whispered, his tone dripping with absolute, primal possessiveness. "You promised to feed me."
[Nymphaearoot the Author]: The Winter Tide waits for no one! Our CEO finally got her free heater, but how will they survive the night? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!