NOVEL NEXT Chapter 67: The Duel
In a blink of an eye, both beasts lunged at each other, their collision creating a deafening boom that rippled through the forest and shook the ground beneath them.
The force of their charge cracked the earth, scattering fragments of dirt and stone outward in every direction.
The alpha raised its right paw high and swung down in a diagonal slash meant to tear across the boss's face, but the boss had already anticipated the move.
She halted her charge instantly, claws hovering just inches away from her snout, the strike narrowly missing its target.
Without wasting a second, she twisted her weight forward and rammed her full body into the alpha's chest.
The momentum drove him backward, and she refused to stop there.
Step by step, she shoved him with relentless force, driving him further across the battlefield, her muscles straining with every push as if she meant to crush him into the trunk of the nearest tree.
For the first time in a while, the alpha whimpered, its pride cracking under the weight of humiliation.
But the alpha refused to let that moment of weakness define him.
Swallowing the sting of shame, he reacted swiftly, his instincts and fury guiding him to an opening.
The boss was far too intent on overpowering him with sheer force, her eyes locked on the tree she wanted to slam him against, and in that tunnel vision she failed to notice his counter.
His pupils glowed a menacing red, his rage manifesting in his glare, and then with a vicious surge of strength he brought up his left paw.
The claws tore across her arm, cutting deep and leaving a jagged mark.
The boss let out a piercing, deafening squeal that reverberated through the forest canopy, her voice filled with both fury and pain.
The force of the slash broke her drive, her body staggering as she dropped heavily to the ground.
Yet even in her fall, her earlier momentum had done its work — the alpha's body was still hurled several feet away, crashing hard into the dirt, the impact sending a tremor through the battlefield as both beasts were momentarily forced apart.
Both of them were down, struggling to even push themselves back onto their feet, their breaths heavy and ragged as the dust slowly settled around the battlefield.
The boss forced her head up and realized the alpha had also collapsed, sprawled across the ground with his body twitching from the impact.
Her instincts screamed at her that this was the moment, the small window that would decide who stood at the end.
She could not allow hesitation to rob her of victory, so she pushed herself harder, trying to rise despite the ache that tore through her limbs.
The alpha's thoughts mirrored hers, equally desperate, equally unwilling to be the one who stayed down.
His muscles strained, his body shook, but his pride demanded that he rise, and with sheer stubbornness he managed to push his legs under him.
They trembled violently, yet they held.
By the time he stood upright, swaying and barely balanced, the boss was already up too, limping forward with determination burning in her eyes.
The alpha quickly realized he could not afford another direct clash.
If she rammed into him again, his body would not hold, not this time.
Hesitation flickered in his gaze, but instead of retreating in surrender, he made a choice that would shift the battlefield.
He turned away and headed toward the forest.
But it wasn't cowardice, nor was it fear or a concession of defeat.
He was moving toward his true advantage.
Within the trees, the alpha's unique skill came alive.
His body became difficult to track, his presence nearly erased when concealed among the forest shadows.
In an open clearing, he was in the disadvantage, exposed, but within the dense cover of the woods, he was a predator that could not be easily spotted, waiting to strike from angles unseen.
The boss, however, was not fooled.
She recognized the tactic immediately and refused to chase recklessly into his domain.
Instead, she planted her feet firmly on the cracked ground and stayed where she was, choosing patience over rashness.
Her eyes closed slowly, her chest rising and falling as she forced air into her lungs, regaining composure while the sounds of her heartbeat steadied her senses.
The boss had her own weapon to counter him, a skill designed to make sure she was never caught blind.
Her detection ability expanded outward from where she stood, covering a radius of three meters in every direction.
Every shift in movement, every faint trace of sound, every flicker of intent, all of it was pulled into her awareness the moment it entered her domain.
So long as the alpha set foot in her radius, no amount of camouflage would save him.
It was the perfect standoff.
In this dungeon, the wolf alpha held the most fearsome camouflage skill, a talent that allowed him to vanish within the forest and stalk any prey with impunity.
At the same time, the boss carried the most precise detection skill, an ability that shredded through all illusions and forced her opponent to reveal himself.
They were opposites, two extremes balanced against each other, the predator who could not be seen and the sentinel who could not be fooled.
They were the perfect rivals, two skills clashing on equal ground, both refusing to yield to the other.
One could say they were the best.
... well, second only to Gojo— oh wait, wrong series.
End of Chapter 67.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
ALT SYSTEM — USER PROFILE: ZERO
Level: 15
EXP: 123 / 150
Next Reward: Quick Sever
Global System Tracking: DISABLED
World Rank Association: UNLINKED
Stats:
STR: 20 | AGI: 10 (Affinity) | VIT: 5 | DEX: 5 | INT: 17 | WIS: 5
[Available Stat Points: 0]
[Derived Stat — MANA: 85 / 90]
Skills:
[Crimson Slash Lv. 1]
[Phantom Stride Lv. 2]
[Instinctive Blade Lv.1]
[Predictive Guard Lv.1]
[Skill Fusion Menu: Active]
[Dev Tree: Tier 0 Access Granted]
[Developer Node – Fusion Core Anchor: Active]
[Skill Slot Available — Unassigned]
Equipment:
Aged Blade Fragment (??? Rarity) (Bound)
Training Ring (+1 VIT)
Bag :)
Ring of Genorya - ???