[The Lair: Cave of the Night Wolves]
A girl who looked about sixteen stepped into the dungeon. Her white hair was disheveled from the portal jump. She wore white-jade armor that gleamed softly in the dim light, and an elegant straight sword hung at her hip.
She had come here today to train one last time before leaving for the academy.
The dungeon itself was an enormous cavern with a complicated network of tunnels, each roughly ten meters in diameter. Its permanent residents were night wolves — among the most dangerous awakened monsters. Not because of raw power, but because of their cunning and perfect night vision. There was not a single natural source of light inside the cave. Their eyes saw effortlessly in total darkness and possessed thermal vision as well.
Which way should I go? she wondered, scanning the several tunnel mouths ahead.
Walking down one of the passages with her lantern, not far from the entrance she noticed something strange on the floor.
A Rubik's cube? What the hell… That means this tunnel is already taken.
Understanding that someone else was already hunting here, she decided to turn back. There was an unspoken rule among dungeon explorers: you don't take a path that's already claimed.
But before she could leave, footsteps echoed from deeper inside. Not knowing whether it was monster or human, the girl drew her sword and dropped into a ready stance.
Soon a young man appeared in the circle of lantern light. Green eyes. Worn leather armor. A sheathed sword at his waist. Many parts of his clothes were stained with blood — some dry, some still glistening fresh. His gaze was cold, pupils slit like a beast's. After a brief once-over he met her eyes and spoke:
"Hey. Sorry. I forgot to mark that I'd taken this path." He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "You'd better pick another tunnel… or wait a bit. I'm almost done."
Huh. He looks young. Probably preparing for the academy entrance exam too. Interesting — he came here alone.
"Alright, I'll take another one then. By the way… could you introduce yourself?"
"Oh, right. Name's Lick. I'm just here to train."
"I see… I'm Elysia Weiss. Nice to meet you." She nodded toward the cube on the ground. "That yours?"
The boy froze for a second with a genuinely puzzled expression, then followed her gaze and gave an embarrassed cough.
"Ah… that. I just grabbed it to kill time, you know? Sometimes waiting around gets boring. Thought I'd mess with it… but quickly realized it doesn't really work that way and tossed it aside."
"Weird choice. My advice — if you're bored, bring someone with you next time."
"And why are you alone then?"
"What exactly are you implying…?" She waved her own question away. "Never mind. I don't need long breaks in a low-rank dungeon like this anyway."
He gave her a long, appraising look, then nodded once.
"Fair enough."
"Then I'm off. Next time — don't forget to mark your tunnel."
"Good hunt."
And that was the end of their conversation. Elysia headed down a different passage, still thinking about the strange boy she'd met.
We'll probably run into each other at the academy. If he turns out to be talented… I should recruit him.
Elysia had enrolled in the academy with one clear goal — to gather a group of exceptional awakened talents and place herself at the head of it.
Deeper in the tunnel she encountered five night wolves. Each fight was unpleasant, but none too difficult. Her armor held perfectly, and her blade cut through their hides like a hot knife through butter. Still, that didn't make the battles easy.
"Gods, I'm exhausted…" she muttered after finishing off the last pair.
Seven wolves in total. Deciding that was decent enough, Elysia turned back toward the exit.
Right before the portal, a sudden thought struck her. She glanced toward the tunnel where she had met the boy called Lick and decided to check his results out of sheer curiosity.
Let's see how many you actually killed.
The smile that touched her lips didn't last long.
The farther she walked, the darker her expression became.
"…Eighteen."
She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached.
Eighteen… And you said you were bored?
What she saw stunned her. Lick had no artifacts — just cheap, basic gear. Yet there wasn't a single scratch on him. He looked like someone who'd just taken a casual stroll through a park.
"…Alright." Elysia clenched both fists; a wide, almost predatory grin slowly spread across her face. "I've remembered you, Lick."
***
Two months have passed since my first dungeon dive. A lot has happened.
First — I got accepted into the academy. Theory went fine. The practical exam, though… I couldn't reveal my real talent, so I just demonstrated my mana level and sword technique. It might not have been enough, but I stated that I possess a talent related to extremely efficient training, and the examiner confirmed I had one. They didn't ask for proof.
Second — over these two months I've cleared about seventeen different low-rank dungeons and managed to absorb only eight mana cores in total. No new skills, but I did become noticeably stronger.
Third — because I'm moving into academy dorms, I had to make preparations for Fenrir's separate identity. I already arranged fake documents for him. The only thing left is to rent a place not too far from good hunting zones.
So today is our last joint dungeon run for the next few years.
The dungeon is called the Cave of Night Wolves — creatures that see perfectly in darkness… but very few people know their one critical weakness.
Inside, I immediately took out two powerful flashlights and set them up. Picked a random tunnel. Walked in. Not far from the entrance I pulled out the Rubik's cube. Today's training objective: simultaneous fine control over two separate bodies. Solving the cube with one while killing wolves with the other — perfect drill for improving multitasking. I drew my sword with the second body and kept moving. About five minutes later — first monster.
Night wolf. Awakened-rank monster, though enlightened ones appear quite frequently too. In truth there's almost no difference except that enlightened specimens are two to three times stronger.
"Grrrrr!"
The wolf bared its fangs.
"Come on then!" I shouted, gripping the hilt tighter.
It lunged, claws aimed at my throat. Easy sidestep. Over the past two months I've fought so many monsters that reading their attack trajectories has become second nature.
I thrust straight for the eye. The wolf jerked its head — the blade only grazed its cheek. Another growl, another charge. This time I met claw with steel, blocking.
And at that exact moment, somewhere behind me, an irritated teenage voice muttered:
"Fuck… Fucking cube!"
Controlling two bodies doing completely different things is still way too hard for me.
I tossed the Rubik's cube aside and focused entirely on the fight.
Sidestep, jump back, create distance. The wolf lunged again. This time I slipped under its bite, shifted stance, and with one clean motion — severed its head.
"Phew. That was harder than I expected," I muttered.
The voice behind me finished the thought for me:
"I think the problem is poor visibility."
"Fine, let's go. We need to finish training fast today — still have to look for an apartment."
I drew my own slightly shorter sword, and the two of us moved deeper.
Mostly we encountered wolves in groups of three. We used the same strategy every time: Fenrir distracts — dodging or blocking — while I deliver the killing blows. Our movements were perfectly synchronized, almost like a dance. No need for verbal commands. Blind spots were practically nonexistent compared to fighting alone. And very deftly using [Soul Link], I transferred strength from one body to the other at critical moments.
Against two coordinated fighters the wolves were helpless.
Of course I'd understood long ago — my talent truly shines only when both bodies work together toward the same goal.
Blood, limbs, entrails — everything flew, painting the tunnel red. We took wounds too, but mostly on Fenrir. Quick treatment, and we pressed deeper.
And finally — the huge one appeared.
Standing on all fours, its head was level with mine. One swing of those paws could rip me in half.
Time to exploit the universal weakness of all night wolves, I thought, and a smile crept onto my face.
"GRRAAAAAHHHRRR!"
Its roar shook the entire cavern.
"Bring it!!" I roared back, lungs burning.
The wolf charged, claws gouging furrows in stone. Time slowed. I saw saliva spraying in droplets, saw the claws tensing for the strike…
At that instant Fenrir — who had grabbed one of the flashlights — turned it on maximum power. A blinding white beam struck directly into the creature's eyes at the peak of its leap.
The wolf froze mid-air. Pupils bleached white. A blind beast crashed uselessly into rock. I slid underneath and drove my sword straight through its throat.
Obviously, the critical weakness of night wolves is that they spend their entire lives in absolute darkness. Sudden, overwhelming light doesn't just stun them for a moment — it actually damages their eyes, leaving them blind for quite a while. I didn't need long. A split second was enough.
The wolf with the pierced throat shuddered and collapsed. Its eyes slowly cleared again. Blood poured from both mouth and wound. It looked at me — stunned, incredulous. Perfectly understandable: it had lunged to tear my head off, suddenly went blind, and when vision returned… its throat was already skewered.
"Don't give me that look. You have only yourself to blame for not being prepared for this."
The light finally left its eyes.
Perfect. An enlightened monster — which means there has to be a core.
I quickly cut it out and held the glowing orb in my palm. Yellow tint — high chance of gaining a skill, and a small chance of mutation (though unlikely).
I began absorption.
Power surged through me. And suddenly I felt runes being carved into my very soul. The soul itself started changing shape.
"Yes! Yes! YES! A skill! My first skill!"
[Skill: Predator's Sight]
Passive — [Night Wolf Eyes] Allows perfect vision in complete darkness by adapting to zero light conditions.
Active — [Predatory Gaze] When activated, consumes mana and temporarily transforms night vision into thermal vision. Reveals heat signatures of living beings.
As soon as the last rune settled, my vision changed. I could see the entire tunnel clearly — without any flashlight.
Vision in total darkness? That's insanely useful. And this is just the passive part… what about the active one?
Every skill has a passive and an active component. Passive alters the body permanently and requires no extra effort. Active ones consume mana — and sometimes soul power.
"Time to wrap up. I've already overfulfilled the plan today — eighteen monster corpses. Just need to harvest the hearts and we can head home."
I sent the clone to finish carving the bodies at the far end while I returned to the entrance to save time and reduce the risk of someone stealing my loot. I'd forgotten to mark the tunnel as occupied, after all.
Right when I reached the last wolf corpse, I noticed flashes of light near the entrance.
Someone actually came in. A little later and I really could've lost part of the haul.
I decided to meet our unexpected guest. Approaching slowly so as not to startle her, I saw her clearly before she saw me.
White hair like fresh snow. Azure eyes — deep as the ocean abyss. White-jade armor plates that concealed her figure yet somehow still revealed its graceful curves. At her waist — a simple, unadorned straight sword whose blade seemed to thirst dimly in the darkness.
She stood with her head slightly tilted, as though listening to the echo of my footsteps. Even in the half-light of the cave, she radiated a cold glow — not magical, but something innate… the aura of an apex predator.
She looks like a brilliant flash of light, was my first thought.
When I came close enough for her to see me, I spoke.
***
I gathered the loot and headed to the trade district to sell the hearts. Night wolf hearts fetch a pretty good price — alchemists and potion-makers pay well for them, since they're a key ingredient in a lot of high-grade brews.
I sold everything quickly and walked away with 675 dollars. Not bad for a single day's work. That was more than enough to cover rent for the next six months.
I handed all the cash and gear over to Fenrir, then went home. From now on, we would each live our own separate lives…
When I walked through the door, my parents were waiting. Dad called out right away:
"So, son! How'd the hunt go today?"
"Not bad. Even took down a couple of wolves."
"You're not hurt, are you?" Mom asked immediately, worry already creasing her face.
"I'm fine," I said, shrugging off my jacket and heading for the bathroom.
Mom's been on edge ever since I got accepted to the academy. For the next four years I'll be living there, coming home only on holidays. We won't see each other for long stretches of time.
After dinner I went to my room and started packing.
So… tomorrow morning, huh?It's already been seven months since that incident.I'm not the same person I was back then, but that doesn't mean I can survive another encounter with him.He could kill me just by releasing his mana pressure. No question.Training can't stop. Not even for a second.
***
In a dimly lit office, a man took a slow drag on his cigarette and stared out the window. Black shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, face framed by careless stubble.
The silence was broken by the sudden ring of the phone. He picked up reluctantly.
"What is it?"
"The boy went back into the dungeon today. Killed eighteen night wolves. One of them was enlightened."
"Mhm. Anything else?"
"Yeah. He wasn't alone. Had a friend with him. Most likely that's how he managed to take down so many."
"I doubt it," the man said, exhaling smoke with a faint, crooked smile. "Start keeping tabs on the friend too."
He was about to hang up when the subordinate spoke again:
"We also located the person from the anomaly half a year ago. He's in Lunum right now. Sending coordinates."
The Shadow Blade set the receiver down. He looked out the window again and murmured under his breath:
"Well, well… there you are at last. Don't disappoint me."