player POV-Chapter 65: for the test 7

"If I’m not mistaken, those are black wolves with blue fangs."

Aron said it while staring into the distance with narrowed eyes. I followed his gaze, and after a few moments, I nodded in agreement.

"Yes... they do indeed look like black wolves with blue fangs."

Those wolves were monsters classified under Rank E, and they earned their strange name because of the blue fangs that completely coated their teeth. They were not large in size; each one was no more than half the height of an adult human. However, their small size was not a reason to underestimate them.

On the contrary, they were infamous for their danger due to those blue fangs, as merely touching bare skin was enough to paralyze the victim for a few seconds—seconds that could be fatal on a battlefield.

"How many are there again? I can’t see them clearly from here."

Aron asked cautiously without taking his eyes off the front.

"It looks like there are about five of them."

I replied while standing beside him. He nodded slowly, then turned his gaze toward Alisa, who was standing at the front, watching the path with focus.

"Great... that means we can avoid them, right?"

Alisa shook her head immediately.

"No, we can’t. It’s impossible to go around them without them noticing us, and our destination lies straight ahead. If we take another route, we’ll waste a lot of time."

She paused for a moment, then added in a firm tone:

"So... we’ll fight them."

"Yes."

"But how are we going to do that?"

The attack method of the black wolves with blue fangs was simple and straightforward; they would first restrain their prey by biting or scratching it, then pounce with their sharp claws to finish it off. What made them truly annoying and dangerous was not their physical strength, but the poison in their blue fangs.

A single touch was enough to paralyze movement for a few seconds... and seconds like that were enough to mean death.

In short, they were extremely annoying monsters and not easy to kill.

But fortunately... Alisa was with us.

She had a solution to overcome the most dangerous trait of these wolves, and she knew it well.

"I have pills that prevent paralysis, and with them we can get rid of them easily."

She then slipped her hand into the small pouch hanging at her waist, pulled out five green pills, and handed one to each of us.

These pills were originally made from the blue-fanged wolves themselves, since their bodies possessed a natural immunity to their own poison.

That’s why hunters would melt down parts of those wolves and create these green pills, which were called Black Wolf Pills.

Every time I thought about that name, I felt embarrassed.

It was truly a stupid name.

Whoever came up with it must have been incredibly lazy... couldn’t they think of a better name than that?

Alisa said while pointing at the pills:

"Thanks to these pills, you’ll be able to resist the poison and eliminate the black wolves with blue fangs without worry."

Everyone nodded in agreement with her words.

I touched my chin thoughtfully, then slowly shook my head.

We were five, and in terms of numbers, we were certainly enough to kill two black wolves with blue fangs.

But what truly worried me... was the fact that there weren’t two of them, but five.

I swallowed, then said after a moment of hesitation:

"Can I say something?"

After a brief moment of thought, I decided to voice my concern. As soon as I spoke, I drew everyone’s attention.

"Honestly... if we fight them without any clear strategy, we’ll die. Even if their poison doesn’t affect us, they can still kill us without it. So if we don’t come up with a solid plan... the outcome will be very bad."

I said this with a serious expression, without exaggeration or dramatization.

It’s true that we wouldn’t literally die; the mark placed on us since entering the rift would automatically eject us if any of us came close to death.

But I wasn’t willing to gamble my life on that possibility.

What if the system malfunctioned?

What if I received a single fatal blow and didn’t even get a chance to heal?

No... it was better to be cautious.

"What are you talking about?"

Drake said in an annoyed tone.

"If you want to say something, at least say something useful."

He was about to continue, but I cut him off immediately:

"No, just listen to me... you understand, right? Didn’t you notice something?"

"Notice what?"

I shook my head, then pointed toward the area where the wolves were and began explaining calmly:

"They’re not spread out. Their positions are close to one another. The moment we attack one of them, the others will move immediately and surround us without hesitation."

I paused, then continued in a low voice:

"And the fight will turn into five against five... and I seriously doubt our ability to fight all of them at the same time. Even if we tried to run, it wouldn’t be easy. As you can see, this place is already narrow... getting in is easy, but getting out is difficult."

I tightened my fist unconsciously.

"And if we get trapped here... that will be our end."

"..."

"..."

Silence fell over the place.

The excitement that had filled their faces moments ago disappeared, replaced by heavy contemplation.

Even Drake, who had argued with me earlier, fell silent this time.

Finally, Alisa was the first to break the silence:

"So... what do you suggest?"

I answered calmly. I had been expecting this question, which was why I already had an answer prepared.

"In fact, we can still fight them."

A few heads lifted in surprise.

"But not all at once. We need to target each wolf individually. In short... we need to lure them to us instead of going to them."

I continued explaining:

"If we fight only one wolf at a time, and their poison doesn’t affect us, it’ll be relatively easy. The real problem only begins when they gather together."

A brief moment of thought passed.

Then Alisa raised her head and said:

"But... who will be the bait to lure them?"

I smiled faintly and answered without hesitation:

"Actually... I can do it."

Their eyes widened slightly.

"Are you sure you can?"

"Yes, I can."

Alisa exchanged a quick glance with the others, then said in a decisive tone:

"Alright... then start."

I placed my hand on my head, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

It was time to act.

"Alright... let’s begin."

I released the Altaria threads from my hand, sending them out like barely visible transparent strands. I calmly guided them toward the nearest black wolf, then picked up a small stone from the ground. I wrapped the stone tightly with the Altaria threads, fixed its direction, and hurled it forcefully at the nearby wolf.

The stone struck its side directly.

The wolf let out a sharp, startled howl and recoiled backward in clear rage. Naturally, the other wolves noticed the sound and raised their heads toward it, but since they didn’t detect anything unusual, they ignored it after a short moment, treating it as an individual outburst from one member of the pack.

As for me... I didn’t stop.

I continued pelting it with stones one after another, using the Altaria threads to guide them with precision. With each hit, its rage grew, its howls becoming louder, until it finally separated from the pack and charged toward us with eyes burning with hostility.

I lowered my voice and said quickly:

"Get ready... it’s coming."

Everyone moved immediately, each taking their position as planned. Only moments passed before the wolf was right in front of me, lunging at me without hesitation with its sharp claws, not giving me even a second to think.

But I was ready.

I released the Altaria threads at the perfect moment, catching the claws that were coming at me and tightening them forcefully, causing the wolf to miss its strike and crash violently to the ground.

At that very moment, everyone attacked it together.

"Strike its neck! That’s its weak point!"

The wolf roared in rage and pain as it struggled against the combined assault. Its claws flailed violently, and it nearly scratched Anzai, who was closer than he should have been.

Without hesitation, I used Ghost Step.

My body vanished for a brief instant, then reappeared directly behind the wolf, taking advantage of the moment it was distracted. In one decisive motion, I raised my weapon and severed its head instantly.

The body collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Silence filled the area for a brief second...

Then everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright... I guess we’ll have to do this five times, after all."

....

Four minutes had passed since then.

—Clang—

With a quick and decisive strike, the last wolf fell to the ground without a sound. I planted my feet firmly, then slowly lowered my sword, placing my hand on its hilt before returning it to its sheath. Only then did I allow myself to take a deep breath.

"This is the last one... I suppose, right?"

I asked, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

Aron replied in a weary tone, though he tried to hide his relief:

"Yes... it’s the last one. Ah... we’re finally done. I thought the fight would go on forever."

A light feeling of relief spread among us. The tension in our shoulders eased slightly, and some of us relaxed, even if just for a moment. We desperately needed this short break after the continuous fight with those annoying wolves.

But... our joy did not last.

Suddenly, a strange sound echoed throughout the area, a cold metallic resonance that reverberated in all directions, as if coming from the void itself:

[ Five more minutes have passed without any team being eliminated.

Therefore, a Rank D monster will be added.

All teams, prepare.

The monster has already been added. ]

Blood ran cold in my veins.

"Damn... what’s happening?"

I muttered softly.

We had exerted tremendous effort just to kill Rank E monsters, yet we barely came out alive.

And now... a Rank D monster?