"Stay behind me."
The hulking monstrosity of a man didn't bother turning around as he spoke. His titanic frame blocked Aris from view, a living wall of muscle and armor between him and the pack of dire wolves cornering them.
Thick saliva dripped from elongated fangs. Their legs moved in precise, measured steps, claws scraping softly against stone. Hollow eyes studied them coldly, the hunger in them primal enough to send a shiver down the spine of even the bravest of men.
"But captain—!" Someone called out from behind, only to be cut off midsentence by the violent sound of steel piercing rock.
Aris blinked.
The wolves answered with a low growl.
The titanic man pulled his sword free from the crater he just made, slowly leading his team deep into the cavernous depths of this godforsaken dungeon.
All Aris could do was bite back the urge to let out a sigh.
This man, he was a brave one.
Especially for an A rank.
The wolves continued their slow advance.
Aris let his gaze drift, counting them without meaning to.
Five in front.
Four hung behind, and he could send four more waiting in ambush.
And the one leading them, larger than the rest, shoulders broader, fangs longer. It's eyes were fixated on them, studying the group with profane intelligence.
Though it wasn't looking at the titanic man.
It was instead looking at Aris.
Aris met its stare, with a kind of confidence one wouldn't expect from something that looked as meek as him.
The world slowed down for a long moment.
The wolf looked like it was hesitating.
Then chaos broke out.
One of the wolves from the frontline jumped towards them, twisting its body in an attempt to snap its jaws at the Captain's neck. The giant swung his sword in a brilliant arc, the blade slicing through the beast without meeting much resistance.
Two other wolves had already sprang forward behind the first, managing to slip around the captain who was a little too late to recover.
A B rank, one of their archers, screamed as the claws of the beasts plunged deep into his armour. The wolf pressed his weight down on him, and both of them collapsed on the ground with a metallic clang.
It's accomplice was beelining straight for Aris.
The lightest hint of amusement flashed through his prismarine eyes.
Letting out a terrifying bark the wolf lunged at him.
He took a step forward, raising his hand.
There was no flashy move. No cuts. He hadn't even drawn a weapon to be able to do that.
He simply just gave the wolf a light touch in the forehead. And all of its momentum vanished, the vitality of a living being snuffed itself out of its eyes. It's lifeless body crumbling to the ground.
The captain was by his side a moment later, bringing his sword down towards the wolf that he thought was still going for Aris.
The wet squelch of meat being sliced.
Then silence.
When Aris raised his eyes to look at the rest of the pack, he wasn't surprised to see that every single one of them had disappeared from the site.
'Smart.'
Time started moving again.
"You okay?" The man, Gareth, huffed, lowering his sword.
Aris looked up, he barely came up to the chest of the man, so it was quite the task to angle his face up.
He gave him a small nod.
A faint smile appeared on his hardened face riddled with scars, and he turned to look at his companions.
The rest of the group had already managed to slay the wolf that had lunged at their archer. Who was now laying flat on the ground, his chest still puffing heavily as he struggled for breath.
"Start moving! We still need to find the boss." Gareth called out, only to be met with a chorus of groans.
"Get up!"
The tunnels narrowed the more they headed inside. The walls and rock took on a strange colour, and all forms of vegetation was slowly disappearing the deeper they went.
The mana was also slowly starting to grow thicker, to the point that even the A ranked Gareth looked like he was on the edge.
It was after a few minutes of silence when their mage finally spoke up.
"My navigation spell stopped working."
They emerged in a cavernous cavity, only to meet another pack of wolves.
The wolves did not pounce this time.
They spread.
One drifted left. Another right. The largest remained in front, not as large as they earlier one, but still enough to be a threat. Its head was slightly lowered, yellow eyes fixed on the captain's throat. Not on Aris this time.
They were testing the perimeter before they attacked.
The captain adjusted his stance.
Too wide, Aris thought.
Too committed to a frontal clash.
He noticed it the way one notices a crack in glass. Instinctively. Quietly. He didn't say anything.
The rear guard tightened formation.
"Three at nine o'clock," someone whispered from behind.
Late.
They were already there.
A shadow peeled off the cavern wall, not magic, just timing. One wolf lunged.
Steel met flesh.
The captain moved faster than his size suggested. The sword carved downward, splitting fur and bone. The impact drove the beast into the ground with a wet crack.
The others didn't flinch.
They watched their fallen companion twitch once… then go still.
Then they advanced.
Not enraged.
Not afraid.
Adjusting.
Aris felt it then.
That thin, suffocating pressure pressing against his skin. The dungeon reacting. Responding.
It had judged them.
A-Rank party. Competent. Predictable.
Insufficient with the power it had thrown at them.
The air thickened.
From deeper within the cavern, something shifted.
Not loud.
Just enough for it tremble through their bones.
The wolves halted as one.
Then, slowly—almost obediently—they stepped back.
Retreating into the darkness they had come from.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
The captain frowned, blade still raised.
"…That's not normal."
No.
It wasn't.
Aris stared into the tunnel the wolves had cleared.
Then he finally let out the sigh he had been holding back all this time.