"Tsk."

Leo clicked his tongue as he landed on the soft, debris-scattered soil.

Even with his strength tripled, none of it mattered if he couldn't land a clean hit. And with agility being his weakest stat… it showed.

Fhissszzz—frushhhh!

The massive wound suddenly ignited, violet flames licking outward with a one-second delay before the wolf fully vanished into the shadows. Leo could still hear it—faint, stifled whimpers slipping through the darkness. And because staying still would expose its position to the creeping flame, the shadow wolf kept darting around the clearing, making its cries echo from every angle.

He had held back—only applying the 300% boost through the dagger. Even so, the blade was already chipped from a single strike. He remembered the merchant bragging that the dagger wouldn't lose its edge until the moment it shattered.

Well… that guarantee didn't account for Leo's current nonsense.

"I guess Pseudo 4-star is a bit too much…" he muttered.

A proper 3-star beast demanded Blue-tier weapons; a 4-star required Purple. Of course, a Green-tier dagger would break under this kind of power.

He was still mulling over it when he felt mana compress above him.

"Shit!"

He leapt sideways, activating [Umbral Rift Pounce] mid-air.

Crackle—BOOOM!

A thick lance of black lightning slammed down where he'd been standing. The skill had triggered a fraction too late—he caught the edge of the blast and was thrown back several meters, boots digging trenches through the soil before he steadied himself. The burns healed quickly, his regeneration knitting flesh without pause.

A faint purple glow flickered at the corner of his vision. When he turned, the flames vanished again. The wolf was waiting and biding its time until the fire burned out.

"Heh. You wanna play your own game? Fine. Let me play mine."

Leo activated [Stealth] on its own—200 mana per second.

A few moments later, the Pseudo 3-star wolf corpse vanished into his spiritual space.

That's right—he was taking the bodies. If he couldn't drag the wolf out of hiding, he didn't have a skill to do so; he'd force it to come out on its own. And nothing would agitate it more than watching its spoils disappear one by one.

The moment he stored the corpse, the forest dimmed—as if the shadows themselves snarled.

Leo didn't stop. Cloaked in stealth, he sprinted toward the Alpha's corpse.

But before he could reach it—

BOOM!

Black lightning hammered the ground in front of him. He barely pivoted aside, heat brushing his cheek.

"That's your sore spot? Then take this!"

Skidding, he flipped sharply and bolted straight for the Alpha's body again.

This time, the wolf materialised right in front of him—appearing out of nothing—its jaws splitting open wide enough to bite him in half. It could sense stealth. Unlike Leo.

[Violet Hellbrand]!

The chipped dagger erupted in violet fire as he thrust it upward, aiming for the upper jaw of the advancing maw.

But before the strike landed, the wolf dissolved into scattered black motes—like its body had only been an illusion.

Leo instantly retreated, boots scraping against the dirt.

His danger sense screamed.

Eyes widening, he slammed his heels into the ground, halting abruptly with a spray of dirt, then launched himself forward in a powerful leap.

Behind him—the real wolf's jaws snapped shut on empty air. He had narrowly avoided being swallowed whole.

Landing atop a thick tree branch, he exhaled slowly, gaze darting to the wolf below. The wound he'd inflicted still burned fiercely, violet flames eating at raw flesh that quivered desperately as regeneration struggled to keep up.

"It even has a regeneration ability…" he murmured, staring down at it from the treetop.

"Just what the fuck is this wolf? Isn't it supposed to be a Low 3-star? How the hell is it matching me at Mid 3-star—after having a whole damn boss fight before this?" Leo almost laughed. No way something like this was just a "variant creature."

For a second, a wild thought poked his mind.

"Should I tame it?"

But after thinking it through, he snorted. Shyra was practically the same type—just without the dramatic thunderstorm nonsense. He cast a wary glance upward, watching the swirling black clouds churn like a massive hurricane above his head. He kept expecting another bolt to spear down any second… but nothing came.

Either the wolf was truly running on fumes, or it had lost the juice to call down lightning like it did earlier when he was still heading toward the commotion.

And honestly… the thing felt drugged. With a 7–9 meter gash burning down its body and poison numbing the flesh, it was still moving as it got stung by a mosquito. If the skill didn't explicitly mention poison, Leo would've thought there was none. There was no way the thing would allow itself to be tamed.

Then, he spotted violet flames flickering toward the Alpha's corpse.

"You want to eat the core for energy? Like hell I'm letting you!"

[Spike Pores]!

[Vine Estranglement]!

A thick, green mist erupted around the clearing, spreading in humid waves. Two coiling vines burst from the ground beside the Alpha's body, gripping it tightly before whipping it through the air toward Leo.

"Avo?!"

The wolf actually froze—its shadow-melding flickering out for a heartbeat, eyes widening in shock.

The corpse hurled toward Leo like a heavy sack. The moment his fingers brushed it, the body vanished into his spiritual space.

And in that brief moment of disbelief, the wolf inhaled deeply—drawing in the dense green pores through its mouth and nose.

Thump!

Its dark eyes shrank to tiny points. Its heart stuttered.

Pisch! Pisch! Pisch! Pisch! Pisch!

Krrr—krhh—whuine…

The internal spikes detonated inside its chest—shredding organs, tearing its throat, puncturing lungs, finally driving one straight through its heart.

Yet the beast still refused to fall. Bloodshot eyes bulged with maddened fury, its vitality refusing to let go. Pain was barely registering.

Leo didn't wait, jumping down--

[Critical Strike]! – 100%

BAM!

His fist rocketed downward, slamming into the wolf's head with a bone-crunching crack. The skull snapped. One eye burst. Blood sprayed from its nose and mouth as the massive creature toppled like a collapsing hill.

Tempest Starwolf (Low 3-star) [Shadow Variant] Killed – 10000xp

Additional bonus for killing a Variant – 5000xp

Level 23: 10340 / 24772 → 24772 / 24772

Ding!

Level Up!

Level 24: 568 / 32207

Base Stats increased by 50%.

He didn't even bother checking the stats. The scent of blood was going to turn this place into a beacon for hungry beasts.

He quickly stored the shadow wolf's corpse, then dashed toward the female Alpha's statue-like body, ready to take it as well.

But halfway there—

A magic circle erupted beneath him, red sinister lines spiralling outward like burning veins.

"Wha—"

---

A/N: Guys, I know I correct myself quite a lot, but sometimes I need to change something to keep the storyline intact and in proper line with future events, sometimes even the maths is miscalculated, which creates inconsistencies.

I know, the maths might seem complicated, but it's just the intelligence that is. I will soon publish a chapter purely for math, where it will be simplified and make sense, I promise.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.