Chapter 53 - Infernal Alpha Wolf

----

The change in Quinn's Mana flow surprised everyone. Although the strength didn't change, the output stabilized beautifully now that Lucian promised to assist him in acquiring revenge. Even though laws existed to govern situations like this, punishing a Guardian was hard to enact.

It was similar to reprimanding a corrupt government official at the highest level. While they seemed to receive punishment, in reality, it was only a slap on the wrist compared to what a civilian would receive. Likewise, Guardians were held with the highest renown, allowing them to escape the repercussions of some actions.

For example, if provoked, then their retaliation wasn't on them. Even if they were deemed a lethal weapon, it was the confrontational party at fault. Therefore, the authorities weren't too keen about intervening.

Finally, Lucian assessed Quinn's stats. Since people with the healing ability fell under Natural Users, their ability required the use of the Spirit and Wisdom attribute to affect their output. At the same time, Dexterity and Agility were advised as well.

This affected the fine control of Mana flow and the speed of the user's manipulation. After all, the attributes weren't limited to just honing the body. It influenced all of the traits that appeared after the Priming.

Instead of allowing them time to marvel at this development, the team was instructed to expedite their actions.

Until now, they had already consumed 13 minutes but have yet to enter the den of the boss. If they followed this pace, it would be hard to accomplish his goal. At the very most, they'd accomplish the goal that rewarded the tier 2 bonus.

Although the specifics were still was a mystery, it was a downgrade, and that wasn't what Lucian was aiming for.

Suddenly, Lucian opened his inventory and downed a Lesser Mana Potion. After using Duplication, he was only left with 40% of his Mana Quotient.

Mana was an indispensable tool if he wished to clear the den. It was an indispensable tool, proving to be the single most effective weapon in his arsenal. After all, his abilities depended on Mana even more heavily than the rest.

"Desmond, Adonis; go!" Lucian ordered.

Both of them gave a nod before rushing off towards the bend up ahead. Moments before disappearing behind it, Desmond gave a signal. Understanding its meaning, Lucian withdrew his bow before nocking it with 3 three arrows.

Each of them were empowered by his Amplification ability before firing towards the bend's wall. After making direct contact, the arrows ricocheted off the walls before producing a solid piercing noise.

"Proceed," Lucian advanced before stomping his foot. His monstrous speed burst forth, allowing him to approach the bend in 4 seconds. As he slid towards the opening, Lucian caught a glimpse of the battle and fired arrow after arrow while still in a sliding motion.

Afterward, he stowed his bow and withdrew his dual daggers. With the others close behind him, Lucian launched himself off the wall before throwing the daggers into the spines of the wolves below himself.

Upon touching the floor, he took notice of a few objects of use. Lucian maneuvered a collection of stones deluged with Mana between his fingertips before hurling them towards the incoming wolves.

Their savage expressions turned wary when they realized the stone blitzing towards them.

Even the wolves coming from the depths of the den were subject to being Lucian's targets.

Meanwhile, Desmond enshrouded 4 projectiles in thick smoke before launching them. One dagger shadowed a few of Lucian's stones after crossing paths. These particular stones sniped the eyes of three larges wolves in the back.

However, despite his actions, their eyes healed quickly after and filled with fervent malice.

Howl!

A large sound wave demolished the walls and floors as it rushed towards Lucian and his party. Aeran's eyes widened when he saw this. As his ability was comparable to the attack closing on them quickly, Aeran intercepted the responsibilities of handling this assault.

A vibrating orb the size of a marble appeared between his thumb and forefinger as he extended it forward. While it didn't grow any larger, it continued to condense until all the spacious holes filled themselves. Once that happened, his expression turned solemn.

"Cover your ears!"

Zingg!

Adonis's actions produced an unprecedented sound attack. The attack sped towards the ensuing sound wave before clashing together. Numerous cracks appeared when the violent vibrations caused the stones to crumble to ground-up minerals. The intensity of the collision was evident.

Even Lucian was surprised because he had no idea the ability Aeran held was so powerful. If they had better team management, surely they would've cleared the second floor without Lucian's help. While it is a tragedy, it seems improvement required a death in the team.

Sometimes it took the direst of situations for change to commence.

Nevertheless, while Aeran's retaliation dealt with the attack, it didn't deal with the source. The three massive wolves glared at the team while revealing their oversized fangs. In fact, each fang bubbled until it presented a sweltering cyan flame.

"Damn, what the hell is that? Are those Alphas?!" Olov exclaimed. Compared to the earlier wolves, these ones were in another league. Their fangs produced flames, but it appeared it wasn't only limited to that!

"No. Those can't be the Alpha. A pack can only have one alpha," Lucian answered with a thoughtful expression. "I might have been wrong. These might be the Betas. The earlier ones might've just been older wolves."

"You think?!" Olov guffawed. His grip on his shield instinctively tightened. Something about these wolves didn't feel like mere D Rank monsters. Perhaps they were like the Knoll Chieftain! After all, how would the difficulty between floors remain the same when growth was imminent?

"Calm down. Your defense is much stronger than it was before. Be confident," Lucian responded. At the same time, he also retrieved his two daggers from the spine of the wolves while locking sights with the newcomers.

Perhaps they took this as an instigation, but a deep snarl exited their throat. In light of this snarl, a sea of wolves appeared behind them one by one. From what they saw, the numbers seemed equal to the total wolves slain thus far!

"Oh, what in the fuck. You've got to be kidding me," Olov groaned.

"Yeah...that's like...at least 150 wolves. What do you expect us to do?" Desmond added while taking a step back.

"We fight," Lucian said as his gaze grew frigid. A crimson sheen emanated from his eyes as he subconsciously heightened the activation of his Hypervigilance. Mana flooded his eyes and the internal flow of the wolves became visible.

"Raise all stats to D+," Lucian muttered to himself.

〈Alert: Endurance: E+ → D- → D → D+ [10 Enhancement Points consumed.]〉

〈Alert: Dexterity: D → D+ [4 Enhancement Points consumed.]〉

〈Alert: Vitality: E+ → D- → D → D+ [10 Enhancement Points consumed.]〉

〈Alert: Spirit: D → D+ [4 Enhancement Points consumed.]〉

〈Alert: Wisdom: D → D+ [4 Enhancement Points consumed.]〉

...

Name: Lucian Salvatore

Title: N/A

Archetype: Variant (Hybrid/Evolver)

Fractal Rating: D+ (C+)

Authority: Delta

Health: 100%

MQ: 175/225 (3.75 MQ per min)

[«Attributes»]-

»Strength: D+

»Agility: D+

»Endurance:D+

»Dexterity: D+

»Vitality: D+

»Perception: D+

»Spirit: D+

»Wisdom: D+

----

[«Enhancements»]

»Points: 51.6

----

[«Abilities»]-

»Limitless [??? Rank Trait]

»Hypervigilance [SS Rank Trait]

»Manifestation [D+ Rank Ability]

»Duplication [D+ Rank Ability]

»Amplification [D+ Rank Ability]

»Assimilation [??? Rank Ability]

…

Over 30 points vanished from Lucian's collection of points, but the power-up was worth it. Just a single upgrade for his wisdom stat, yet Lucian's MQ rose by a great deal.

The feeling of reinvigoration filled Lucian's body as he took off. Lucian moved without restraint as an endless stream of Mana inundated his daggers. While the wolves held the advantage in numbers, this was in fact their disadvantage as well.

Although the wolf den was large, this pathway could only hold so many bodies at once. With the large influx of wolves, they could move within a limited area. Seeing as Lucian's specialty was being a sharpshooter, a motionless target was the best scenario for him.

Preparations weren't even needed as Lucian threw the daggers into the midst of the wolves. At least 5 of them fell in quick succession once the weapon passed through their skulls and continued forward.

As the others noticed this fact, they stopped being as scared. "Damn it! How embarrassing of me. Even if there are many, what good is it if they can't move?!" Desmond chuckled with a light blush on his cheeks.

Following in Lucian's footsteps, he also unleashed a torrent of projectiles into the mass of wolves.

Now that the team found their opening, they all moved to capitalize on them. While they took care of the outskirts, Lucian advanced towards the three large wolves. However, he froze unexpectedly.

He could feel a dreadful presence directing its attention at him. Two enormous eyes stared at him not too far away. The piercing silver eyes bore into him, but Lucian returned the same gaze.

He had located the Alpha!