Chapter 9 — The Wolf That Wouldn't Die*
The forest went quiet. Too quiet.
Arin stood over the corpse of the poison wolf, his chest rising and falling heavily. The green mist had finally disappeared. But the pain remained.
His veins still burned where the poison had passed through them, and his muscles felt as though someone had poured molten metal beneath his skin.
He had won. Barely.
Arin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked toward the trees. Those eyes were still there. Watching.
He could feel the creature's blood qi through Sanguine Sense. It wasn't hiding anymore. It was waiting.
A branch snapped. Arin immediately turned. Something gray flashed between the trees. He raised his arms.
Bang! The impact sent him sliding several meters across the dirt. Arin's back slammed against a tree. Pain exploded through his ribs.
He coughed. Blood spilled from his mouth.
The ash-gray wolf stood where he had been moments earlier. It was slightly smaller than the wolf he had just killed, but its body was dense with muscle. Its gray fur blended naturally with the forest, making its movements difficult to follow.
Its eyes remained fixed on him. Not wild. Calculating.
Arin slowly stood. "So you're the other one."
The wolf lowered its body. Its fur suddenly trembled. Then— Fwoosh! Several strands of fur shot outward like flexible blades.
Arin's pupils contracted. He jumped sideways. The strands smashed into the tree behind him. Wood exploded.
Arin landed awkwardly and immediately rolled. Another strand tore through the ground where his head had been.
_What the hell?_ He had seen beasts with strange abilities before in the memories of this world's Arin. But seeing one personally was different.
This wasn't spiritual aura. The wolf's spiritual aura was only that of an Early Awakened beast. Yet its body... Its blood qi was frighteningly dense.
Even at the same rank, its physical strength was far beyond his own. Arin clenched his fists. _Humans really are physically inferior to these creatures._ If an ordinary human had taken that first attack, they would already be dead.
Another strand shot toward him. Arin ducked. He stepped forward instead of retreating. His fist slammed into the wolf's jaw.
Bang! The wolf's head moved slightly. That was all.
Arin's expression changed. The wolf swung its head. Boom! Its skull struck Arin's chest. He flew backward. He crashed through a bush and rolled down a slope. His lungs emptied.
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.
_Damn..._ He tried to stand. His legs trembled. The wolf was already coming.
Arin forced himself sideways. A gray blur passed over his head. Claws tore across his shoulder. Blood sprayed.
Arin gritted his teeth. The pain sharpened his thoughts. _I can't overpower it._ He had already learned that lesson. The poison wolf had nearly killed him. This one was even more troublesome.
The wolf's fur wasn't merely defensive. It could extend and attack independently. And unlike the poison wolf, this creature didn't need to expose itself to attack.
Arin backed away. The wolf followed. Step. Step. Step. It wasn't rushing. It was herding him.
Arin suddenly realized what it was doing. _It's forcing me toward the trees._ His eyes narrowed. If he was surrounded by trees, the wolf could attack from multiple directions with its fur while restricting his movement.
_Smart bastard._
The wolf lunged. Arin moved toward it instead. The creature seemed surprised. Arin slipped beneath its head and grabbed a handful of its fur.
The wolf twisted violently. Arin was thrown sideways. He released his grip before his arm was ripped from its socket. He hit the ground hard.
The wolf turned. Its fur erupted again. Arin rolled. One strand grazed his cheek. Another cut his thigh. A third wrapped around his ankle.
Arin's eyes widened. The strand tightened. The wolf pulled. His body was dragged across the ground.
Arin dug his fingers into the soil. The force was enormous. His fingernails cracked. Blood seeped beneath them. The wolf pulled harder.
Arin's body slammed into a tree. His vision blurred.
_Move._ He tried. Nothing. The fur around his ankle tightened again. Pain shot through his leg.
Arin looked at the blood dripping from his fingers. Then he felt it. The blood. His own. He could sense it. Every drop. Every pulse. Every movement inside his body.
His Spiritual Trait wasn't just a weapon. It was part of him.
Arin closed his eyes. He focused. The blood inside his body surged. His heartbeat accelerated.
The wolf suddenly jerked. Its movement became unstable. Arin had reached into its bloodstream. Not deeply. Not enough to control it. The beast was too strong. But he could interfere.
He forced several vessels near its hind leg to constrict. The wolf stumbled.
Arin's eyes snapped open. _Now!_ He pulled himself toward the tree. His fingers caught a broken branch. He wrapped both hands around it and pulled.
The fur around his ankle stretched. The wolf growled. Arin pulled harder. The branch cracked.
The wolf's eyes flashed with killing intent. Its fur shot toward his chest. Arin released the branch. He dropped flat. The fur passed over him.
He grabbed the strand with both hands. It immediately began cutting into his palms. Blood flowed. But Arin held on.
The wolf pulled. Arin pulled back. For a moment, neither moved.
Then Arin felt something inside his mind change. His heart began beating faster. His breathing became heavier. His thoughts became sharper— and darker.
The wolf's blood. Its heartbeat. Its flesh. Its fear. Everything suddenly became fascinating.
_Kill it. Rip it apart._ The thought came naturally.
Arin's fingers tightened. His pupils narrowed. The crimson energy within his blood stirred.
Bloodthirsty. He activated it.
Power exploded through his body. His muscles tightened. His injured leg steadied. His physical strength surged. The wolf was suddenly dragged toward him.
Arin's fist smashed into its skull. BOOM! The wolf staggered. Arin struck again. And again. And again. Each punch drove the beast backward.
For the first time, the wolf was losing ground. Arin smiled. But the smile wasn't entirely his.
His heartbeat thundered. His vision sharpened. The forest became red. The wolf became prey. Nothing else mattered.
Another punch. Bang! The wolf's jaw cracked. Another. Bang! Blood sprayed from its nose.
Another— The wolf suddenly disappeared from his vision. Arin froze. _Where—?_
Pain exploded across his back. The wolf had slipped behind him. Its fur had wrapped around his waist. Arin was lifted from the ground and slammed down.
BOOM! The world shook. His ribs screamed. The wolf dragged him across the dirt.
Arin's fingers clawed into the ground. The bloodlust inside his mind roared louder. _Kill. Kill. Kill._ He wanted to stop thinking. He wanted to surrender to it. Just let the instinct take over. It would be easier.
Arin's teeth clenched. "No."
The wolf pulled him again. Arin slammed his fist into the ground. "I said..." His breathing became ragged. "...NO!"
He forced himself to think. Not as prey. Not as a beast. As Arin. He remembered his mother. Her face. Her voice. The small things he had forgotten while dying on Earth.
His breathing slowed. The red haze receded slightly. _I'm not letting this power decide who I am._
Arin twisted his body. The wolf's fur loosened for a fraction of a second. That was enough.
Arin grabbed the strand. He pulled. The wolf stumbled. Arin surged forward. He didn't aim for the skull. He struck the wolf's injured hind leg.
Crack! The leg bent unnaturally. The wolf collapsed. Arin followed. He grabbed its neck.
The wolf snapped at his face. Arin moved his head aside. Its teeth closed on empty air. Arin drove his elbow into its throat. The wolf coughed blood.
It still wasn't dead. _How much vitality does this thing have?_
Arin's arms were trembling. His Bloodthirsty state was becoming harder to control. The longer he stayed in it, the more the killing instinct consumed his thoughts. He couldn't keep fighting like this. He had to finish it.
The wolf tried to rise. Arin grabbed its head. The beast's claws tore into his side. Blood poured from the wound.
Arin screamed. But he didn't release it. He tightened his grip. Every muscle in his body strained. The wolf struggled.
Arin slammed its head into the ground. Once. Twice. Three times. The fourth strike cracked the earth beneath them.
The wolf's movements weakened. Arin raised his fist. For a moment, he hesitated. Then he brought it down.
BOOM! The wolf went still.
Silence returned to the forest. Arin remained kneeling over the corpse. His entire body shook.
He slowly deactivated Bloodthirsty. The moment the crimson power faded, exhaustion crashed over him. He fell onto his side.
For several seconds, he simply lay there. Breathing. Alive.
"That..." He swallowed. "...was way too close."
Arin stared at the sky through the leaves. He had almost lost himself. Not to the wolf. To his own power. That frightened him more than the beast.
After several minutes, he finally forced himself upright. The wound in his side was still bleeding. He placed a hand over it. The blood responded.
Slowly, painfully, he manipulated the bleeding vessels and forced them to constrict. It wasn't instant healing. It still hurt. But the bleeding slowed.
Arin looked at the wolf's corpse. "Let's see what you were worth." He activated Blood Devour.
The beast's blood qi began flowing toward him. Unlike before, the process didn't feel pleasant. His body was exhausted. His muscles were damaged. Every bit of absorbed energy seemed to collide with the injuries he had accumulated during the battle.
He gritted his teeth. His body trembled. But he endured.
The wolf's vitality disappeared. Its blood dried. Its body gradually became nothing more than a pale husk.
Arin breathed heavily. A familiar sensation spread through his body. His muscles became slightly stronger. His vitality increased. His agility sharpened. Even his spiritual energy felt a little denser.
He opened his status panel.
*Rank:* Awakened
*Strength:* 24
*Vitality:* 26
*Agility:* 16
*Spirit:* 16
Arin stared at the numbers. Two more points. That was all. That was everything the first wolf could offer his stats.
After everything— the wounds, the poison, the bloodlust, the near-death struggle— two points.
Arin let out a tired laugh. "So that's how this works." He closed the panel.
There would be no easy path. Every increase would have to be earned. Every step forward would require him to risk his life.
Arin slowly stood. The forest ahead was still dark. And somewhere beyond it... something was waiting.
He didn't know what. But after surviving two beasts, one thing had become clear.
The Mysterious Realm wasn't going to let him grow peacefully. It was going to force him to become strong. Or bury him beneath its soil.