“Alright, everyone whose spear skill is at level 15 or higher, come forward” said Luke.
“Each of the skilled spearmen should be between two people who aren’t as good as you so you can help them out if the need arises” he said, looking at the eight people who’d stepped forward.
“How far apart do we need to be?” asked Emma.
“Use your own judgement. Be close enough to help them if you need to but not so close that it interferes with your movement” said Luke.
“How much longer do you think we have?!” called Jim from the roof of the champion’s cabin.
“Less than an hour” Luke called back as he walked away from the cabin and towards Matt and Johnny.
They were unusually solemn as they stood at the edge of the woods and scanned the treeline for any signs of the upcoming threat. Matt turned around when Luke approached but looked past him instead of at him.
“How many of them will survive?” he muttered, looking at the spearmen around the cabin.
“As many as we can save.” replied Luke.
“I think we’re being too pessimistic. It’s called a trial, not a massacre and that implies a level of fairness” said Johnny, forcing a smile.
“I think you’re right. We have four rankers, I don’t see how we could have done any better” agreed Luke.
“Yeah” murmured Matt without any real conviction.
“C’mon Matt, instead of worrying about the trial, let’s hope for good things after” said Luke.
“Yeah, we might get magic as our reward” said Johnny.
Matt smirked slightly and was about to reply but before he could, they heard the dreaded warning from Jim. It was just three words yet they sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
“I see them!!”
Luke and Matt readied their weapons, Johnny extended his claws and the three of them waited, looking around for any sign of the monsters. They heard it first, the many howls filled the air before Luke saw the wolves charging towards them.
*The trial has begun*
*This is only the beginning, survive till dawn to earn your reward*
Luke willed the screen away, he didn’t even have time to ponder the contents of the message before the wolves were upon them. Strangely, he found himself having to chase after the beasts as they avoided the three rankers and made a beeline for the weaker spearmen.
As the monsters poured out from every direction, the three rankers moved about and killed them with ease but there were just too many of them. Several wolves were able to make it past the rankers on the ground and avoid Jim’s arrows until they reached the champion’s cabin.
Luke didn’t look back, he could only hope that Mary and the spearmen could handle it. Right now, his focus was on the much larger wolf he’d spotted. It was a darker shade of grey and had blue eyes, the other wolves gave it a wide berth.
By now, Luke had wandered far away from Matt and Johnny but he wasn’t too concerned. The beast looked strong but he felt like he could handle it alone. He used analyse on it just to be sure and his suspicions were confirmed.
[??? (Lvl.10)]
Without any more hesitation, Luke charged the dark wolf as he infused his sword with mana. The creature watched him calmly, as though he was holding a twig instead of a sword. It didn’t even let out a growl as he approached but as soon as he was within a few feet of it, a fierce roar was released.
This shit again thought Luke with a wince. It was an unnaturally loud roar, just like he’d experienced with the bear he fought a few days ago. Luckily, it didn’t daze him like it did back then thanks to his higher stats.
The roar turned out to be a rather stupid thing for the wolf to do as an arrow crashed into the monster’s side. Jim had been alerted by the loud sound and gifted Luke a valuable distraction.
Luke used [Cut] on the wolf as fast as he could, hoping to behead it while it was distracted. Unfortunately, the arrow didn’t stop it from reacting and the beast ducked down to avoid the blow. Luke’s sword passed over its head but was able to cut the tip off its ear.
He didn’t have any time to celebrate the small success as the wolf pounced towards him without hesitation. Luke leaped back, avoiding getting his throat ripped out but the beast was able to claim a portion of his shoulder.
Luke groaned in pain but got into a defensive stance at once. The monster looked at him hungrily, with his blood dripping out of its mouth. A second arrow whizzed past Luke but the wolf was able to dodge it.
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw Matt start to run towards him but the beast wasn’t about to let him have back up. It let out another roar and pounced at him.
In that moment, he felt a strange sensation. Something made him ignore his urge to use [Cut] or sidestep and had him step forward instead. A limit seemed to have been broken, Luke was able to infuse more mana than ever into his sword as he thrust it towards the wolf’s throat.
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He winced as sharp claws dug into his arms but the blood that the beast drew was nothing compared to the red fountain that had been unleashed onto him. Luke’s upper body was covered in blood but that couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he drew his sword out of the beast’s throat and let its body collapse in front of him.
That might have been a level up but I haven’t gotten a single notification from the system since the trial began thought Luke but he quickly forgot about it as Matt reached him.
“What the fuck?! We need to get you into a cabin or something!” he shouted.
“Don’t worry, most of the blood isn’t mine. It did get a bit off my shoulder though” said Luke regretfully.
“Can you still fight?” asked Matt.
“Not as well but yes” affirmed Luke.
The two of them didn’t speak any longer and continued to hunt down the wolves. Luke still didn’t face any difficulty in cutting the regular sized wolves apart. A few minutes later, another “special wolf” appeared but Matt and Johnny were able to make quick work of it by double teaming it.
Eventually, the number of wolves trickled down until Jim shot down the last one which prompted a loud cheer from behind Luke. He turned to look at the spearmen, glad to see that none of them had died but he knew that the trial was not over yet. Indeed, as he thought that, a message appeared from the system.
*The first wave has ended, the second will commence in an hour’s time*
As soon as that text flashed out of his vision, Luke’s pain and fatigue disappeared with it. He touched his shoulder in shock but it was as good as new. Even his clothes were free of blood and looked brand new but Luke had already observed their self-cleaning properties before.
*You have slain [Greater Direwolf (Lvl.10)], 24,000 EXP earned*
*You have slain 38 [Direwolf], 9950 EXP earned*
*Your skill in [Mana infusion] has reached level 2*
*Your skill in [Swordsmanship] has reached level 23*
*EXP will be held until the end of the trial*
Well that’s unfortunate thought Luke as he read the last line of the new notifications.
“Why can’t we just level up!” complained Johnny, coming up behind him.
“We’ll get all the exp at the end of the trial. Though, it would be nice to level up now” said Luke as they walked towards the champion’s cabin.
“We might not need to level up. If the next wave is on the same level as this one then we might actually have no casualties” said Johnny.
“This one only had two monsters that required a ranker to take care of them so that might be true” muttered Luke, though he doubted the next wave would be as easy.
“Three actually, Jim and I took out one of the big wolves at the same time you did” said Johnny.
“By the way, did Jim tell you abo-” Luke was cut off as Emma ran up to him and threw her arms around him for the first time in years. He hugged her back in an awkward fashion, having forgotten how to embrace people after his years of loneliness.
“Oi, I almost died too” said Johnny.
“Yeah, but you’re weird” retorted Emma as she stepped back from Luke.
“She has a point. I wouldn’t hug a reptile obsessed femboy either” said Luke with a laugh.
“You wouldn’t hug anyone because you don’t have feelings” muttered Johnny.
“That’s the truest thing you’ve ever said!” called Jim from the roof.
“Why are you still up there?” asked Luke.
“Because Mary’s being a baby” replied Jim.
“I can’t jump, it’s too far!” she whined.
“You’re level 8, it’ll be fine” said Luke, right before he entered his cabin.
“I’m pretty sure she wanted you to catch her” said Emma.
Luke didn’t know what to make of that so he ignored it and shut the door. He wanted a quick shower before the next wave started so he stripped naked and entered the bathroom. Soon, the hot water was gently washing away the sweat and dirt that remained on his body.
As the water flowed, Luke fell into a meditative state. He’d been practicing this in the shower for the last week under Jim’s advice. Today though, he was unusually distracted. He kept thinking about the strange sensation he’d felt in the fight, the feeling that some limit had been broken in his body.
Without even meaning to, Luke started to sense the flow of mana within his body. He could feel it far better than before, and he realized that his suspicion had been correct. The strange blockages he’d felt the first time were greatly reduced and in a way, his mana felt more potent.
When he came out of his focused state, Luke turned off the water and was about to dry himself off but something stopped him. He looked at his right palm, seeing the small bit of water on it and felt the urge to try something.
Luke shut his eyes and sensed his mana once more. He drew the mana from within him and sent a portion of it to his right palm. It started to pool underneath his skin and eventually, Luke released it into the water on top of his palm.
He didn’t know what he was expecting, but the sensation of both hot and cold that he felt was truly bizarre. Luke withdrew the mana from his palm and spread it throughout his body but as soon as he did, he felt a freezing cold pierce his entire being.
In a panic, Luke pushed all his mana outwards and released it from every inch of his body which seemed to fix the problem. But when he opened his eyes, the first thing that caught his attention wasn’t the notification from the system but the fact that he was somehow bone dry.
Luke turned to the screen in front of him, hoping it would explain what had just happened.
*Your skill in [Mana infusion] has reached level 3*
*Gained ability [Mana shield (Lvl.1)]*
Is this what I think it is?! he thought, he couldn’t believe his luck! Luke burst out of the bathroom and almost ran out of the cabin before he remembered he was naked. He clothed himself in record speed before throwing the door open and calling out to Matt, who was standing nearby.
“What? Did you see a ghost?” asked Matt.
“I got the mana shield ability!” said Luke.
“Is that what I think it is?!” exclaimed Matt.
“I haven’t tried it yet but it definitely is!” declared Luke.
“Alright then, give it a shot” said Matt.
Luke activated the ability and once again, he felt his mana being pushed out. However, this time it didn’t leave his body like it did before and simply pooled under his skin, creating a barrier of sorts.
“Alright, punch me as hard as you can” said Luke confidently.
Matt didn’t need to be told twice and socked him right in the face but it felt like a light pat.
“You punch like a girl” said Luke with a grin.
“Screw you and your abilities” muttered Matt.
“I guess I won’t be teaching you how to get the ability” said Luke.
“I take it back, you are my lord and saviour!” declared Matt loudly.
“What’s going on here?” asked Jim as he came over.
“I got the mana shield ability” said Luke.
“Is that what I think it is?!”
“Yep. You guys don’t even need to fight in the next wave, I’ll handle it” bragged Luke, having forgotten the importance of keeping his mouth shut. Right as he said that, a notification appeared.
*The second wave will commence in 5 minutes*
“Alright, I think I’ll head to bed, have fun handling it yourself” said Jim with a grin.
“…”