His fangs sank into the wolf's head, crushing its skull in a single bite.
[ +6XP ]
But immediately after, another wolf bit into his opposite shoulder. His face twisted as pain and rage surged through him.
Once again, he spun toward the other side and tried to bite back, but the wolf retreated before he could catch it.
"AAAH!"
He screamed—or rather, roared with all the strength he had left—then charged at the wolf in a fury, dragging along the wolves still clinging to him as he lunged forward.
The wolf fought back savagely, managing to tear a large chunk out of Arthur's cheek. The bones of his face were exposed, his features becoming feral and terrifying.
Their fight lasted only a few seconds. Arthur soon killed it, then immediately distributed the Evolution Points he had gained. Without pause, he pounced on a nearby Rank F wolf and killed it with ease.
Once again, he attacked another wolf, but before he could reach it, he felt all the strength drain from his hind legs.
Before he could even understand what was happening, he could no longer support himself and collapsed to the ground.
Even then, he didn't stop.
Dragging his body forward with great effort, he twisted at a sharp angle and bit down hard on the neck of a wolf that was tearing into his belly. Its spine shattered, and its throat was ripped apart.
Before he could finish it off, a wolf bit into the back of his neck. His body convulsed, and instinctively he released the unlucky wolf, which immediately staggered back a few steps before collapsing to the ground, barely breathing.
Arthur shook his head violently and redirected all his regeneration toward his neck, protecting his spine.
The moment he felt the wolf's grip loosen, he suddenly twisted his body, broke free, and without slowing down, pounced on it.
He bit into its face, shredding its features completely, then let go—only to bite again before it could retreat. This time, he crushed its face entirely and killed it.
[ +9XP ]
[ +19XP ]
The wolf whose neck he had crushed earlier also died, granting Arthur some extra XP. His Evolution Points increased, and he quickly distributed them into Endurance and Vitality.
He forced himself back to his feet and continued the slaughter, lunging at a nearby Rank F wolf and killing it swiftly, then charging toward the next. And the next…
'Damn… damn it… fuck.'
Inside his mind, he was screaming like a madman, unable to think clearly. Pain flooded every part of his body, his thoughts grew hazy, and little by little, he felt death closing in on him.
He didn't know what to do or how to act anymore. He wasn't fighting with any strategy, only reacting on instinct.
Most of the time, it was nothing but his survival instinct pushing him forward. From the bottom of his heart, he prayed for some kind of miracle to save him, but seconds passed and nothing happened.
Instead, his misery only deepened, and his physical condition kept getting worse.
His hind legs had been reduced to bare bones, barely covered by scraps of flesh. They were so badly damaged that he could no longer regenerate them.
His belly and back were riddled with holes, and part of his insides had even spilled out, hanging beneath him. His front half was in slightly better condition, but even that was still severely damaged.
Even so, Arthur refused to fall. He bit, tore, and ripped apart anything he could. Bodies dropped around him, one wolf after another. His XP bar rose at a terrifying speed, while his HP bar drained even faster.
He kept distributing his Evolution Points into his Attributes, but it barely helped. At best, it only allowed him to stay standing.
His ferocity, courage, and sheer stubbornness shocked the remaining wolves. Some of them even showed signs of fear, and hesitation.
More seconds dragged by, painfully slow, stretching into minutes. Finally, after five long minutes, Arthur reached his limit.
His strength completely gave out. His blood-soaked body swayed, clearly on the verge of collapsing.
From all directions, the wounded and frightened wolves surrounded him. They stared at him with vicious, hatred-filled eyes, waiting impatiently for him to fall.
His savage fighting style and crazed attacks had forced them to retreat earlier, leaving them afraid to approach him again.
Yet his miserable condition gave them a bit of courage. Cautiously and very slowly, they began circling him, moving in wide arcs while growling the same simple words over and over.
"Fall."
"Die."
"Fall."
Arthur showed a weary smile as he looked at their fearful, hesitant gazes. It filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction. A weak, breathless chuckle escaped his throat as he mocked them quietly.
"Come on… make me fall. Or are you too scared?"
The wolves fell silent, their expressions turning confused.
They didn't fully understand what he meant—limited intelligence and a crude language left no room for deeper meaning. Not that they cared. They didn't even bother thinking about it.
Their hesitation lasted barely a second before the growling resumed.
"Fall."
"Die."
"Heh… idiots." Arthur let out a long sigh. He raised his head and looked up at the star-filled sky.
Then, he deactivated "Regeneration," which was barely functioning anyway. At last, he stopped struggling and allowed his body to collapse among the corpses of the wolves he had killed.
His eyes slowly closed. His consciousness drifted away bit by bit. His breathing grew heavy, his heartbeat sluggish, and only a thin thread now separated him from death.
"He fell."
All the wolves howled in wild delight, their tense bodies finally relaxing. They glanced at Arthur's motionless body, then at one another for a brief moment, before suddenly lunging at him together, eager to devour him.
Their hearts burned with hatred. Each of them wanted to vent their rage by tearing into his flesh and drinking his blood.
More than that, their deepest instincts screamed the truth, Arthur's blood and flesh were different from those of ordinary beasts.
If they ate him, their bloodline would improve, even if only slightly. That alone made him an invaluable prey.
They shoved and collided with one another, rushing forward. The moment they reached him, they opened their bloodstained jaws, sharp fangs bared, ready to sink them into his body.
Then—
Arthur's crimson eyes snapped open, overflowing with ferocity.
Without any warning, he sprang up at incredible speed. Before the other wolves could even process what was happening, he pounced on three of them at once. He tore one apart with his fangs, killing it instantly, while his claws ripped into the other two, leaving them horribly mangled.
When he straightened up, everyone could see it clearly—his body was regenerating at an absurd rate. His size increased, his presence grew more savage, and he looked as if he had lost all reason.
Yet he hadn't.
A cruel smile spread across his face as he looked at the System window before him.
[«[Primal Predator Instinct Supreme Awakened»]
[ From now on, all your Attributes will temporarily increase by 50% for 15 seconds ]
Then he growled,
"Come… to your deaths."
- - - - - - - - -
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