Elias stepped through the barrier as it rippled slightly around him.
Without any hesitation, he charged forward. His feet pounded the ground with a force that even surprised him. The sudden burst of speed nearly threw him off balance—his body tilted forward too much, and his right foot almost missed its step.
"Shit—!"
He had badly underestimated how fast he was. Gritting his teeth, he quickly began to adjust, leaning into the momentum, arms pumping in rhythm as he tried to regain control. Thankfully, he didn't fall flat on his face. The adrenaline rushing through his veins burned away the panic. He steadied himself and let out a hard breath.
At that moment, all the Dire Wolves were focused on Vael. Their fury burned bright, aimed completely at the human who had killed their alpha. Their hate was so intense, they didn't even notice the new threat racing toward them.
But that changed quickly.
As Elias got closer, the Dire Wolf nearest to the dome suddenly stopped growling at Vael and snapped its head toward him.
It saw him.
Its dark yellow eyes widened, and a deep, angry growl rumbled from its throat.
Then—it roared and lunged forward.
Elias caught the movement. His heart leapt to his throat, and a flash of fear gripped his chest as the beast charged straight at him.
It was big.
No—huge. About the size of a massive dog, with thick fur rippling as it moved. Its jaws opened wide, showing rows of sharp, jagged teeth stained with yellow and red from past kills. Drool sprayed from its mouth as it came for him.
A chill shot down Elias's spine.
What the hell had he been thinking?
He was just a regular guy from Earth. He lived a soft life—with electricity, a warm bed, and nothing serious to fear. He was the type to scream when a cockroach crawled near his feet. A rat in his kitchen once kept him away from it for three days.
And now, here he was.
Charging straight at a monster out of a nightmare.
The realization hit him like a slap to the face. For a brief second, he froze. Not because his body was weak—but because his heart wasn't ready.
This was why fantasy heroes always trained first.
Power meant nothing if the heart couldn't follow.
He understood that now.
In all those novels, people came from Earth and started fighting monsters like it was just another day. He had believed that was how it worked too.
But reality hit different when the monster in front of you had teeth sharp enough to chew your head off and claws that could smash your skull in one swipe.
This wasn't a game or a story anymore.
This was real.
And if he didn't get a grip—he'd die.
Just then, the Dire Wolf reached him.
Its claws sliced through the air, aiming straight for his head.
"FUCK!"
Elias twisted his body at the last second, dodging left. The claws whooshed past him, cutting the air with such force that a sharp breeze brushed against his face.
Fear tightened in his chest. The attack had missed by just a few inches. But this time, he didn't freeze.
He clenched his fist.
Raw power surged through his arm.
He twisted his waist and swung with full force at the beast's head.
"Eat my fist, you bastard!"
His knuckles smashed into the side of the wolf's skull.
The impact was thunderous.
The wolf's head exploded—blood and shattered bone flying in every direction. Its body collapsed mid-air, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Elias stared, eyes wide.
"Woah… how powerful."
He looked down at his trembling fist, then at the corpse. His heart pounded—not with fear this time, but excitement. His strength… he had truly underestimated it. That punch had completely destroyed the wolf's head.
> [You have killed a 1-Star, Level 2 Dire Wolf...]
The system notification floated before him, but Elias barely looked at it.
His eyes were still fixed on the twitching body, blood leaking in small streams. His clothes were already stained with gore.
But he didn't seem to care. He just grinned.
The moment didn't last long.
A ripple of danger came from his right.
He reacted instantly, twisting to the side—just in time for a red, translucent claw to slash through the air where his head had been.
The force of the attack vibrated the air.
If he had moved even half a second later...
"Damn!"
He turned quickly toward the new threat.
A Dire Wolf, about five feet tall, stood there with its fur bristling. Its brown coat was darker than the others, and its glowing yellow eyes burned with rage.
Elias narrowed his gaze.
"Great. A two-star."
He wasn't surprised. A pack led by a 3-Star alpha would definitely have stronger subordinates. It made sense that some two-star elites were mixed in.
It also meant the fight just got harder.
But Elias no longer felt fear. Not after crushing a wolf's skull with his bare hands. Now he knew what he could do.
He dashed forward.
The wolf slashed again—another red claw burst through the air. Elias dodged to the side, avoiding it by inches.
Then, he appeared right in front of the beast.
Without hesitation, he threw his fist forward—hard.
Crack!
The wolf's skull caved in. Its body went limp, flung backward by the force of the blow.
"How you like my fist?!" Elias roared, a huge grin spreading across his face.
> [You have killed a 2-Star, Level 5 Dire Wolf...]
But there was no time to enjoy the notification.
A loud chorus of howls erupted across the area.
The rest of the pack turned their glowing eyes on him.
Dozens of them.
But Elias only laughed wildly, spreading his arms wide.
"Come on, then! Let's dance!"
He charged forward.
The wolves answered, rushing at him from every direction.
But they were too slow.
Elias ducked under an attack, twisted through another, and countered with a brutal punch.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sound of bones breaking echoed around as Elias unleashed his fists, smashing through skull after skull. Blood and brain matter splattered the air.
> [You have killed a 1-Star, Level 2 Dire Wolf...]
[You have killed a 1-Star, Level 4 Dire Wolf...]
[You have killed a 2-Star, Level 3 Dire Wolf...]
One notification after another appeared, but Elias ignored them all.
His fists were like hammers of destruction, tearing through anything in his path.
His heart pounded with adrenaline as he kept swinging. His grin was wild—like that of a beast finally released from its cage.
Vael stood off to the side, watching silently without emotion. Elias had told him to leave the rest of the wolves to him and only take care of the alpha. Since the alpha was already dead, there was nothing left for Vael to do but wait.
Of course, he was ready to step in if needed, but from the way things were going—it didn't look like that would be necessary.
Elias was handling the pack just fine.
A few minutes later, with one final crunch, the last Dire Wolf collapsed.
Blood soaked the ground, mixing with the mud. Corpses were scattered everywhere.
Elias stood among them, chest rising and falling heavily, hands shaking—not from fear, but from the raw power still surging through his body.
> [Ding!]
✅ Quest Completed: Territorial Threat Annihilation
Reward: +3 Attribute Points
+50 Karma Points
+100 Experience Points
Elias glanced at the notification, then slowly looked down at his hands—dripping with blood. His shirt was soaked, his face smeared with gore. Some of it had even gotten into his mouth.
But strangely, he didn't feel disgusted.
Instead, he felt… alive.
And somewhere deep inside him—a small, dangerous part—wanted more. It didn't want the gore to stop.
He chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"Am I turning into a freak?"
He took a deep breath and opened his status screen.
---
> STATUS WINDOW
Name: Elias Ashbourne
Level: 3
Class: Undead Summoner
EXP: 430 / 600
Health: 198 / 200
Mana: 162 / 162
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 48
Agility: 62
Intelligence: 58
Endurance: 41
Willpower: 46
〔Attribute Points: 9〕
[TALENT & SKILLS]
Unique Talent: Legendary Extraction
Base Skills: Undead Awakening, Undead Summoning
Skills: Shadowmeld, Smoke Veil
Craft Skills: Cooking [Lvl 1], Construction [Lvl 1], Woodworking [Lvl 1]
[SPECIAL TRAITS]
Commander's Bond
[RESOURCE POINTS]
Extraction Points (EP): 58
Summon Capacity: 1 / 5
[SYSTEM CURRENCY]
Karma Points: 1,780