Elian entered the dungeon and marveled at what he saw. In contrast to the Red Swarm Dungeon, this one resembled a snowy mountain. A high peak reached for the heavens while a bright sun shone overhead. White stretched in every direction.
Good, darkness will not be an issue.
"Sir Pen! Sir Pen!"
A chirping voice raced forward. It was Sera. She was waving a pink phone as she scrambled after him.
"Huff… You walk really fast."
The priest then presented her phone with both hands.
"Sorry for what Ryner said. Everyone has their own circumstances—asking about them is a breach of Breaker etiquette. He is a bookworm, he's a good guy but lacks manners when he finds something interesting. Please do not take it against him," she quickly tried to explain.
Elian shook his head, "Why would I even care about that?"
Sera smiled at his gesture and again presented her phone respectfully, "Thank you! I have already told the rest of my party, we'll support you as much as we can. We won't touch your loot—and we'll treat you as the main party. We only need one Snow Wolf. We can decide what happens afterwards."
"Sigh. I'm weak to people like her. She is too bubbly and happy."
"Accept their help, Elian. They might still be useful. Be it as bait or cannon fodder,"a beautiful voice instructed.
"Fine."
The black knight took the phone and began typing on it.
"[Thank you for your understanding. I look forward to working with your party, Sera.]"
Hearing the simple message, the priest blushed scarlet and nodded. Elian was about to return the phone but she stopped him.
"Please keep it! I have a spare, as our party member, we need to be able to communicate! Ah that reminds me! I think Ryner can help! Let me get him!"
Energetically she ran back to fetch her party member. Seeing her positive personality, Elian couldn't help but smile.
Sera is a good person. Even after nearly dying, she still moves forward with everything she's got. She really is like Mom.
Elian then suddenly felt a comfortable cold in his hand. As if something gently grabbed it.
"So you like young girls who have bright personalities like that? She should be around your age. Being a breaker, she is quite cute. Pink hair, a bob cut and dainty like a pixie."
Amused at his master's reaction, the knight shook his head and countered.
"Not really, she's a bit too young for my liking. I've always preferred older women—someone colder on the outside but sweet where it counts. Also… she's kind of loud. And flat. My ideal woman would have curves in all the right places. Long hair, too—ponytails are a must."
"W-Wha… Aren't you just describing m-me?"
Elian made a goofy grin as he gazed at where Bianca's eyes would have been.
"Oh? Would you look at that? What a coincidence!"
He then brought Bianca's hand to his lips and kissed it.
"Ah!"
With a short yelp, Elian felt his master's presence vanish. Imagining her face blushing made him feel pleased. The fastest way to win in their little spats was to shower her with affection.
How adorable.
AWWOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Out of nowhere, a piercing howl reverberated. Then sharp growls came from in front of him. Four legged creatures stepped forward. They all looked like Giant wolves with manes made of ice. The hair on their backs stood on end. Elian knew they weren't happy he was here.
"System, scan them please."
___
Name: Subadult Snow Wolf (M)
Talent: Unfettered (E)
World: Fralhame
Species: Snow Wolf
Class: Vassal
Lvl: 17 | (Mid Dawn)
HP: 1,200/2,000 | MP: 400/400
Strength: F | Intelligence: F | Agility: D
__
"…"
Despite scanning all of them, the boy still had the same conclusion.
Why are they so weak?
Elian heard the sounds of footsteps and saw Sera's party dashing forward.
"Snow wolves! They look like subadults!" The mage reported.
Sera also added, "Everyone, Snow wolves are fast and capable of magic! Be on your guard!"
The shielder rushed forward and stabbed his large kite shield onto the floor, "COME AT ME!"
Behind him the archer began sending mana into her arrows. Sera and the Mage kept back, but Elian who saw their hands gripping their staffs. Their faces were tense.
Unable to comprehend why they were acting like this, Elian felt like he was watching toddlers playacting. He kept checking the wolves to see if they were hiding some secret move. But they just bit and created ice balls.
"CHARLIE! NO!!"
The shielder, who had taunted the wolves, failed to hold them back and was sent flying. Sera quickly healed his wounds. The mage and archer bombarded the wolves in response. But every shot missed.
Why are they having such trouble? Are breakers supposed to be that weak? What rank are they at?
"Elian, before you judge them for their pitiful performance know that this dungeon applies a debuff. It reduces the base abilities of any living being who enters it by half. It's why few people can manage to capture Snow Wolves."
"Huh? Then why aren't we affected?"
"Look at this foolish boy, we are not part of the living, are we? Not anymore."
"Ah, right," Elian nodded as he brushed the back of his head. "Oh, that reminds me. Didn't you say you wanted one, Bianca?"
"I did. In my youth Snow Wolf pups were worth a fortune but were incredibly rare. Despite having the money, I couldn't get one. And when I roamed, I couldn't find their dungeon, it feels like I wasn't meant to have one,"She replied in low spirits.
"Nonsense. We are here now, I'll get you the best wolf."
"Elian, Unfettered is a talent that prioritizes free will. Mind magic like hypnotism and love potions have no effect on them. Snow wolves cannot be subordinated."
"Oh, I see. That's okay. I never meant to tame them with such tricks."
"I am afraid to ask, how do you intend to tame them?"
"The old-fashioned way. By beating them up until they do," the boy said with a smile.
Elian observed the Wolves playing with Sera's party. Charlie, who should have handled the aggression, was injured and on the ground. Sera tended to him. Meanwhile Ryner had his eyes closed as he chanted, Bridget protected the entire party by switching from her bow to a pair of long daggers.
She was panting heavily and had a long gash on her left arm. Of the four wolves attacking them, only one had its hp reduced to half. However, Elian hardly worried about Sera's party. Instead, he was worried about the wolves.
"Hmm, they would all die in one hit, wouldn't they?" Elian thought aloud.
He looked at his weapon. A large greatsword the color of onyx. Considering its massive weight, it was more a bludgeon than an actual sword. The reason he chose a sword was primarily because it looked cool and Red Ants were incredibly hard.
But to Snow wolves it would be too much.
Making up his mind, Elian lowered his oversized blade and stabbed it into the ground. Keeping up appearance, he moved his hands back to Bianca's magic bag. Drawing Living Metal from his cape, Elian began to form small tomahawks. The edges were blunted to be even duller than wood.
"Elian, what in the world are you…"
And then he threw them.
Like boomerangs, Elian's body twisted and threw the small axes with devastating force. Loud booms echoed as the spinning blades raced toward the Snow wolves. Taken by surprise, one of the wolves couldn't evade and got smacked on its side.
"KYUNN…"
___
Name: Subadult Snow Wolf (M)
HP: 40/2,000 | MP: 400/400
___
With a sad whimper the Snow wolf crashed along the wall and collapsed. The other three faced Elian as they snarled. The black knight reached back and formed two more tomahawks, hurling them a second later.
Two of the wolves charged intent on tearing Elian apart. They leapt over the two new axes, but then the boy smiled as he whispered.
"Return."
At his command, not two, but all four tomahawks flew back. The attacking predators both cried in pain as the tomahawks smashed their bodies like vengeful hammers. The wolf struck twice had its body torn in two like a sheet of paper.
Not yet done, Elian grabbed his greatsword and bashed the returning axes in midair. With a loud clang, they again soared towards the last wolf like eagles. Terrified of the flying weapons, it turned around and ran. Unfortunately, it also died when an axe slammed on its head.
"Tsk. Holding back is hard. I guess I should be happy two survived."
"Elian, I think you have a more immediate problem at the moment."
At Bianca's warning, he turned to his allies—only to find them trembling. Earlier, it had happened too fast to understand. But now, they saw him clearly. And the fear in their eyes wasn't meant for men—it was meant for monsters.