Chapter 27: Wolf Hunting

Chapter 27: Wolf Hunting

Jack and the monkey army prowled through the morning forest. The pleasant chattering of birds, the last drops of moisture rolling off leaves, the vivid colors, these all formed a joyful mood that contrasted the soberness of the situation.

They had chosen the morning because wolves enjoyed hunting at night. Also because Jack was getting tired of all the monkey business in his cave.

A howl cut through the forest. Their bones rocked, their eyes narrowed. This howl hid fury and determination. The wolf was no longer playing around. It was out to get them.

Unless they got it first. It didnt sound like the wolf was sleeping, as theyd hoped, but maybe it was still in its caveplacing the howls origin was difficult. With any luck, they could ambush it; if not, they would just wait for it to return.

The dungeons final battle was arriving, swiftly and unavoidably.

Harambe led them through the trees until they reached a rocky hill in the middle of the forest. It stood only a few dozen feet tall but many dozen wide, and its back hid a shallow cave.

Fun fact: When the System arrived, Jack was on a tour to inspect two caves. If the coin had just flipped the other way, it wouldnt be a Level 2 goblin spawning beside him, but an Elite Level 49 Black Wolf.

Jack and Harambe walked ahead. They found a hidden alcove in the rock and crouched to watch.

Wait, Harambe, Jack whispered, the wind is blowing towards the cave. It may smell us. Lets circle around the hill and approach the other way.

Harambe growled. They retreated, took the monkeys and approached from the north-east, where the wind wouldnt betray their presence. Again, Jack and Harambe went ahead to scout. They hid behind a large rock.

The wolfs cave was a gaping maw in the side of the hill. It was pitch-black inside as the towering rocks blocked the sun rays, giving the impression that the cave was endless. It could lead anywhere from two feet deep to China.

That they couldnt see inside was a bummer.

Its probably empty, said Jack. Why would the wolf howl from inside its cave? Lets see if this hill can hide forty monkeys, Harambe.

However, the big brorilla shook his head. His nose twitched, and he mimed jaws as he pointed in the cave.

Its inside? Jack raised a brow. Harambe nodded. Very well. Then, we go with the original plan. We cant ambush it, but we can smother it. Lets fill the cave with gorillas.

They retreated to prepare. Two minutes later, the entire monkey army stood arrayed with the gorillas at the front, watching the caves opening from just where they couldnt be seen.

Get ready, everyone. Jack commanded. We go quietly, and when I give the signal, we run. Got it?

The monkeys nodded. He took a deep breath. Memories of his struggles passed through his mind; the goblins, the bears, the wolf that insta-killed anything it wanted

Lets go.

A gentle rocky incline led up to the caves mouth. The monkey army crawled over it, trying to stay silent so as not to spook the wolf. They wanted to reach the cave before it noticed them and exited. In the open space outside, the advantage would belong to the wolf. In the narrow cave, to them.

Jack was first, with the big brorilla further behind due to his large size. He leaned on a rock and peeked over it. He was only fifty feet away from the cave now; close enough to notice the two yellow eyes glaring at him from the darkness.

Jack froze for a single moment, then jumped forward like a spring. Charge! he shouted, initiating the battle, and waves of monkeys rose behind him.

The wolf didnt expect the monkeys. It released a low growl and stepped outside its cave, making to escape.

Unfortunately for the wolf, the cave mouth was preceded by a short corridor of rock. Under normal circumstances, a few feet were nothing. But right now, Jack was bounding forth with long steps, jumping over the rock at speeds that would make any Olympic athlete jealous.

The wolf wouldnt make it in time. Its gaze landed deep inside Jacks eyes, who stared back. Theyd met twice in the past; this was the third and last.

Name: Jack Rust

Species: Human, Earth-387

Faction: -

Grade: F

Harambe had arrived, and he was fucking pissed.

With a massive roar of rage, he swung the wolf from its tail and smashed it into the ground, showering the approaching Jack with gravel. He raised the wolf, then slammed it down again. And again. And again. Harambe had just seen one of his bros get killed; his rage could not be put into words.

He howled as he planted the wolf deep into the ground with each strike, making its bones groan. It couldnt do anything; it was getting swung around by its tail. Finally, Harambe reached a boiling point. He smashed the wolf into the ground a final time and let go of its tail to beat it up with his bare hands.

A rain of punches and kicks landed on the wolf amidst gorilla growls. Harambe had turned into a beast; Jack didnt dare approach.

However, in the end, the wolf was stronger. Despite getting smashed like an octopus, it could still fight, and its claws glinted in the sunlight. Its fangs were bared, and it growled while showing all of its teeth. Harambe was sliced by the right, then a pair of jaws wrapped around his left leg and broke it.

He screamed, letting the wolf squirm out of his grasp. It was bloodied, panting, injured, and with multiple broken or cracked bones, but it could still fight. In fact, as it was cornered and near death, this wolf was currently at its most dangerous.

However, it still tried to escape. It charged to the side, smashing head-first into Raza, a brorilla, and sending him flying, thankfully without other injuries. It then headed for the group of gymonkeys, who fearlessly showered it with stones.

Stones thrown by gymonkeys were nothing to scoff at. They were heavy, fast, and precisely aimed. The wolf received two in each of its eyes and many more all over its body, aggravating its wounds, but it didnt stop. It barreled into the monkey army and started ripping them apart, clawing blindly at all sides.

A few monkeys were bisected and many more were injured. The rest ran away with screams, letting the wolf claw away at nothing for a moment. Just as it was about to escape, a heavy fist slammed into its side. Its hard fur was useless against this fist; its skin shook, and the broken ribs underneath sent burning pulses all over its body.

The wolf howled in pain as it flew sideways to land on a heap of rubble, and Jack was already upon it.

Hed seen what it did to Harambe, Herom, and the monkeys. His rage was boiling, but he wouldnt repeat Harambes mistake. He wouldnt give the wolf a chance to fight back.

As it lay in pain and defenseless, Jack clenched his right fist. He reared it back, gritted his teeth, and as he was falling from the sky, smashed it into the wolfs face. It recovered from its pain just in time to see the fist landing.

Calamitous Punch!

There was an explosion. Rubble flew everywhere, along with blood and pieces of fur. The wolfs head was mangled, its body unmoving. It was dead.

Jack stood beside it, panting like hed just run a marathon, and his fist was shivering. It wasnt broken like last time, when hed calamitous-punched solid ground, just slightly injured.

But hed done it. The wolf was dead. Theyd won.

We won! he roared. Some monkeys cheered; others, not so much. It was a pyrrhic victory. Harambe was out of commision, Herom had died, Raza was injured, many monkeys were killed or wounded, and the army was disorganized. Ironically, Jack was almost fine.

But theyd won.

Level Up! You have reached Level 26.

Level Up! You have reached Level 27.

Level Up! You have reached Level 28.

Level Up! You have reached Level 29.

Jack roared again.

A terrible, soul-stirring, wolfs howl answered him. His eyes widened as he looked down, but the wolfs corpse was still unmoving. He looked up.

Beyond the injured gymonkeys, beyond the mourning brorillas and Harambe who was nursing his wounds, beyond the other half of the gymonkey army, stood another wolf. It looked identical to the first one, with two key differences; it was completely uninjured and absolutely furious. And its yellow eyes were trained only on Jack.

Black Wolf, Level 49 (Elite) (Dungeon Boss)

Black wolves are mostly solitary creatures. They are also territorial, proud, aggressive, and infamous for being a scourge at the peak of F-rank. If a Black Wolf is spotted, experienced hunter squads should be dispatched quickly, or all big game of the surrounding area will disappear.

There wasnt one dungeon boss. There were two. And Jacks army was not ready to deal with the second one.

Oh, fuck me.