NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74: It's like Gacha!
After taking a different route, Ace and his team picked up their pace and bolted through the forest. No one cared about the noise. If anything, it was better if monsters heard them and closed in.
That wish was granted when two-headed wolves spotted Ace's Sixteen and pounced.
The pack had enough targets for everyone in Ace's Sixteen, but Tyler didn't plan to fight. Ace conjured a long spear from his Armament, took two two-headed wolves for himself, and led them by the muzzles to their deaths.
He kept an eye on Mercer; Chaewon did the same. At her feet, a two-headed wolf bled out, deep slashes running across its hide. Her Aquasteel Skills were growing formidable.
They met eyes, shared a quick smile, and went back to watching Mercer's development. Near Big Alex, Mercer set the guard he'd learned from Chaewon's Geomdo. The wolf howled and pounced, then stepped back to bait him—Mercer didn't bite.
The two-headed wolf couldn't find an opening in Mercer's stance. Both brains worked for one, but Mercer gave them no chance. When it overthought the exchange, he stepped in and delivered a powerful diagonal slash.
Unlike Chaewon and Ace, Mercer didn't capitalize on this win and quickly returned to his guard.
As a future Paladin, I must always keep my guard up in case Big Bro or our friends need me.
Mercer looked to the side. Alex and the others were fine. The sight eased Mercer's mind and let him finish the wolf with slow, deadly precision.
Alex stood closest, so his voice reached Mercer first. "Good job, lil bro. Didn't get to heal, right? What's the plan for it?"
Mercer brightened. "Thanks! I can exude Rejuvenation Flux from my body and weapon. When I enter my guard, the skill's effect spreads in a 360‑degree aura around me. I can heal anyone around me while fighting! I didn't get a chance to use it yet, like you said."
Ace chimed in. "Slow, effective. I like it. It suits you."
"Thanks, big bro!" Mercer beamed.
Then they checked Seraphina's Loot Options.
Everyone gathered around her. She tapped her system window and shared the options with the team.
[You have killed a two-headed wolf.]
[You have three options to choose from to extract a loot: Lean Wolf Steaks, Blood Pouch, Alpha-Cleave Axe.]
[Your teammate has killed a two-headed wolf.]
[You have three options to choose from to extract a loot: Split-Howl Hatchet, Pack-Hunter Spear, Wolf Heart.]
"We can't see the item descriptions?" Chaewon asked.
"No." Seraphina shook her head.
"It's because her boon is still level one. She'll get an upgrade in the upcoming Ranker Ranking Update. Names are enough. She can also choose an ingredient for cooking or alchemy. That's useful. I find the Pack-Hunter Spear intriguing," Ace explained.
"Want it?" Seraphina asked.
"Yeah, why not? I need a spear," Ace replied.
When Seraphina clicked the name in her system window, an item appeared on one of the wolves' corpses. Ace went over and picked up the spear.
The spear was made from polished bone tipped with a claw. It looked primordial, from the Stone Age, but its stats and active skill were impressive.
[Pack-Hunter Spear(Spear)(Durability: 100/100)(Requirement: Spear Proficiency(III))]
[Skills: Pack Instinct(Active)—For 10s, your spear attacks deal +8% damage per hostile within 8m that is actively fighting you or your teammates (max +40%). Ends early if fewer than two hostiles remain or no teammate is within 10m.]
I can only hope I'll grasp Pack Instinct and upgrade my Spear Efficiency with it before the spear breaks.
He turned back to the others and showed the spear and stats; they nodded. Solid for a weak monster. With his Armament, it would be deadly, but he'd already told them he was only interested in the active skill.
"Our focus should be equipping ourselves first. If there's nothing worth taking for us, we'll grab bows or other gear for the camp hunters. Fine with that?" Ace asked, and everyone nodded.
Thanks to Seraphina's skill, everyone was excited about the hunt. It felt like opening gacha pulls or loot boxes—addictive. A legendary armor or weapon could drop, after all—Seraphina's skill only increased the odds!
Some monsters dropped nothing, which was a bummer. When someone got no drop, the others teased them. Alex had the most no-drops.
He harrumphed and complained the loudest, like he always did when emotional.
"I already knew my luck ain't the best. Otherwise I'd have a cool shield skill like Aqua Shield, y'know? Hell knows what'll happen when Alex Belvaro gets his signature skill! The world will tremble!" Alex laughed aloud.
"Yeah, we all can't wait for that day to come," Chaewon replied. Her Aquasteel-marked blade caught the light as if showing pearly teeth.
He harrumphed again.
They kept moving until a familiar view opened ahead.
A narrow creek threads through the forest, its voice steady and close. The bank on the near side rises a man's height above the water, packed with roots that hold the soil like fingers.
Two old willows lean from the high bank toward the far shore until their crowns meet the air above the channel. Long fronds trail low, combing the current and brushing the path that runs along the rim.
The ground is springy with moss. A footpath cuts the slope, edged by flat stones and the pale tips of exposed roots. Damp earth smells sharp and clean.
Near the bend stands a simple wooden sluice and post, dark with water stain and rope wear. A few red ribbons hang from the willow boughs, faded by sun and rain, moving when the creek's breeze passes.
Light pools here. In the day it falls through the green canopy in broken shafts; at night the fronds take on a soft silver and the water throws back the moon. Mist gathers where the current slows, and the whole place holds a quiet that makes voices drop on instinct.
Just like Ace had heard in his first life, this creek was the two-headed wolf boss's location.