Martial Destiny

Julius was surprised by the capabilities of the other members of the group, but that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

Looking at the forest from the outside, it seemed like the environment was much darker than it appeared from the inside.

It was as if the forest was trying to create a darker and more deadly image of itself to prevent outsiders from entering.

He just didn't understand if a forest could have such a capability in this world, but he didn't doubt that something like that could be possible. And if it did have such a capability, what would be the reason for the forest to do something like that?

Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to think much about it, as Frans made a comment that pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Are you sure you're not a professional in virtual games? Your understanding of the game is quite advanced," Frans questioned, and Eleonor agreed with her father's question.

Julius's reading of the family's battle formation was extremely insightful and precise, making Frans and Eleonor doubt that he really had no professional experience in virtual games.

"Yes. In fact, it's been a few years since I last played any of those types of games." Julius remembered something and sighed sadly. "If it weren't for [The Gates], I probably wouldn't have had the time or the enthusiasm to play any virtual reality games."

In any game, leveling time was extremely important. The idle players would always have a clear advantage over the other players simply because they had more time to play.

Unfortunately, Julius had to work since he was 18, as the inheritance his father left him wasn't enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

'Besides, I made some very wrong decisions in the past.' He couldn't help but remember with bitterness and anger some faces of people he thought he could trust, but who unfortunately proved him wrong, causing him to lose part of the humble inheritance he had received.

Seeing that Julius didn't want to talk more about it, father and daughter didn't insist on the matter, although they found it slightly suspicious how good Julius was showing himself to be in the game.

"Well, let's continue with our adventure! It looks like it's going to be so much fun! The sun just rose, but we need to get back to the village before it gets dark. We should go deeper into the forest while we still can, as we don't want to waste even a single second of our precious time inside the forest!" Katharina had just removed the [destiny Core] from the wolf's body and was already thinking ahead, quite excitedly.

Julius, although finding Katharina to be an increasingly strange woman, agreed with her.

They had all agreed to enter the forest to level up and become stronger, and even though they had taken only a few steps, they had already encountered a wolf.

What would they find if they ventured even deeper into the forest?

That was the question everyone asked themselves.

And, as if it wanted to answer its guests, the forest seemed to want to give everyone a small warning.

Such a warning would likely work on many adventurers, but not on this group.

AWOOOO

A furious red wolf came from a spot not too far from them, but not so close that the group thought they were the target.

"Should we go over there?" Eleonor asked, with some doubt in her voice.

"Are you scared?" Julius teased her a bit, thinking it would be a good way to get closer to the family.

"Hm? Of course not! But what if the wolf is calling the rest of the pack? Normally, in games, when a creature has control over the others, it means it's the Boss of that area!" Eleonor looked at Julius as if he were an idiot. After all, who wouldn't know something so basic?

"Hey! I had to work to pay the bills!" For some reason, Julius felt the need to defend himself, but unfortunately, Eleonor didn't have the [Path] of a psychic.

"No, I think it's better if we go. So far, this game isn't following the same logic as other games. Plus, if more monsters gather, doesn't that mean more experience for us?" Katharina offered her point of view to the group, showing she was in favor of the hunt.

Frans said nothing, but as he began to walk toward the howl, he showed where he stood on the matter as well.

In the end, Eleonor was outvoted and had no choice but to follow the others.

'Take that!' Julius couldn't help but celebrate the small victory over the girl. Of course, he only said this in his mind.

After a few seconds of walking, Julius and the others found the source of the howl they had heard earlier.

In the middle of the forest, on a rock about 4 meters high, a wolf was resting there. The wolf on the rock was almost 290 cm tall, even on all fours, weighed 220 kg, and had fur much whiter than the other wolves.

The group breathed heavily when they saw the white wolf. For some reason, that wolf seemed to emit a pressure on everyone in the group.

Even Julius felt some discomfort being there.

[Alpha Wolf] [Level: Mortal]

Even though it had a different name from the others, the group sighed in relief when they realized the wolf was still at the same level as them.

'We can hunt it.' Everyone thought in unison, but the main problem was the unfavorable numbers.

On the ground, just below the white wolf, a total of 6 wolves were surrounding the rock, watching the white wolf as if it were their leader.

"Should we attack?" Eleonor whispered to the others. They were close to the wolves but not close enough for them to hear.

At least, that's what they thought.

"No. Let's observe a bit more—"

"Too late!"

Before Frans could finish, Julius noticed the yellow eyes of the white wolf staring directly at the group.

The wolf locked eyes with the group and stared for a few seconds before a deafening howl sounded from the animal's mouth.

AWOOO

With the white wolf's howl, the other wolves shifted their yellow eyes toward the group.

ROARR

ROARR

All the gray wolves bared their sharp teeth and snarled at the group, showing hostility.

In the next second, all 6 wolves started running toward the group. Fortunately, Julius and the others were at a relatively long distance from the wolves.

So, they still had enough time to prepare for the animals' attack.

The first to move was Frans, who quickly positioned himself at the front, acting as a true [Guardian] for the others. He placed his shield in front of his body and held the mace in his left hand.

Quickly, Eleonor positioned herself behind her father, in a way that she could always keep her father between herself and the enemies. As a healer, she would be the team's main support, so she couldn't be the first to fall under any circumstances!

Katharina had disappeared as soon as she realized the white wolf was focused on them.

Julius, on the other hand, was in combat position, waiting for the moment he had been expecting.

He watched calmly until the wolf in the front reached the distance Julius wanted.

[Charge]

Using MANA, Julius gained enough momentum to get right in front of the lead wolf in the pack.

He leaped toward the wolves with his sword in hand, already prepared for the attack.

The large dark sword was wielded and pointed toward the sky. Julius held the sword above his head, and as soon as he got close enough to the wolf, he brought it down, making sure the wolf couldn't react in time, even with its impressive agility.

RIP

"What!?" Julius shouted in disbelief at what he had just witnessed.

The sword sliced through the air as it descended, quickly closing the distance to the wolf, but it was only after this that Julius was surprised.

As soon as the sword reached the wolf, Julius expected to feel some resistance from the animal's muscles and bones, but with no difficulty at all, the sword passed completely through the wolf, killing the poor creature instantly.

Julius was stunned by this.

'I didn't even need to use [Supernova].' Julius's goal with this, even though it possibly put him in a critical situation, was to reduce the wolves' advantage over the group.

The wolves outnumbered the humans 2 to 1, meaning there were 2 wolves for every human. This calculation didn't even take into account the presence of the large white wolf leading the pack.

So, Julius had intended to injure the animal and then use [Supernova] to finish it off, but it wasn't necessary.

The power behind his strike was much more lethal than he had expected!

'That wasn't because of my physical strength!' Julius contemplated as he observed the animal split in half.

'It was the sword.' He couldn't help but look at the sword, somewhat awed by all the cutting power.

'The sword has no other information besides absorption power and Supernova...' The cutting ability that the sword [Star Devourer] displayed was something terrifying, something Julius hadn't even thought possible.

The dark sword was stained with red, but the redness didn't last long as the sword seemed to be 'devouring' the blood. Soon, only the blue glimmers of stars inside the sword remained, as the only distinguishing feature of the weapon.

All the wolves had stopped running toward the group, instead staring almost hypnotically at the sword. None of the wolves showed any sign of fear; instead, clear hostility could be felt from them, indicating that the group was still not safe.

Still, none of the wolves took a single step forward, as if they were merely observing, waiting for something to happen.

Meanwhile, the white wolf watched the entire scene with a certain cunning in its eyes, almost as if it had a higher level of consciousness than the other wolves.

Seizing this moment, Julius positioned himself behind Frans as well.

"Good job, kid!" The [Guardian] praised the boy who never stopped surprising him.

AWOOO

The white wolf howled, causing all the other wolves to attack as if that howl served as a command for the others. Still, even commanding the others, the white wolf remained in the back, just observing everything.

With the white wolf's howl, the other wolves began running again, but this time with much more caution than before.