Leveling Up With Skills - Chapter 213: The Wolf That Destroyed the World (3)
The wolf was fast. Incredibly fast. Its speed was incomparable to anything before.
It rushed at Taesan with such speed that he had no time to dodge. Taesan quickly activated a skill.
[You have activated Random Blink.]
Thump.
Taesan teleported above the wolf.
He used his wings to thrust his sword into the wolf’s back.
The damage displayed in the system window was a mere 64.
Even with spiritual force imbued, the damage was significantly lower than before. The wolf erupted flames from its back, forcing Taesan to widen the distance.
[Growl!]
The wolf howled and charged.
Its claws swung wildly, tearing through half the village. The already crumbling village began to completely fall apart.
Crash!
Taesan barely managed to move his sword to block. However, the loss of health caused by the impact was unavoidable, so he took to the sky to use a potion.
[Howl!]
The wolf let out a cry, as if saying it wouldn’t allow him to use the potion. The howl echoed, spreading towards the sky.
Since the howl contained a considerable amount of force, Taesan had no choice but to defend against it instead of drinking the potion.
He blocked the howl, but didn’t have the opportunity to use the potion. The wolf bent its hind legs and shot towards Taesan like a bullet.
Bang!
In the end, Taesan abandoned the idea of using a potion.
He angled his wings downward, dodging the charging wolf. He swung his sword at the wolf passing overhead.
Crash!
He scratched the wolf’s belly harshly. He almost lost his grip on the sword due to the recoil but managed to hold on with sheer strength.
Rip!
Although he had scraped along the entire belly, it was only a superficial cut; he didn’t penetrate deeper.
The flames blocked his attack, preventing it from being effective.
[Awooo!]
The wolf howled toward the sky, and a portion of the flames that composed it dispersed, forming shapes.
Several small wolves made of fire appeared.
They rushed towards Taesan.
“Tsk.”
Taesan clicked his tongue and moved his wings. However, the flaming wolves pushed off the air, lunging at Taesan in the sky.
“They’re trying to prevent me from using potions altogether.”
With a serious expression, Taesan gripped his swords with both hands.
Clang!
Taesan struck the first wolf that lunged at him. However, it didn’t dissipate with the impact; instead, it retaliated with its fangs.
Each of these small wolves was made up of the flames that composed the main wolf. They were by no means weak entities.
Taesan imbued his sword with spiritual force and increased his strength.
The wolf was split in half.
And then the other wolves attacked.
He moved his sword, fending off the flaming wolves that lunged at him. But it wasn’t easy. Each of these small wolves possessed a formidable presence.
Moreover, the main wolf wasn’t idle either.
The wolf opened its mouth. Fireballs, like embers, scattered everywhere and began to rain down.
Taesan focused his mind.
Clang!
He blocked the attack of a charging wolf.
And he swatted away the falling embers from the sky.
He did both simultaneously. A wolf aiming for his left arm was pierced through the head with his right sword, while another wolf trying to catch the sword with its fangs had its head twisted apart by a swift turn of the blade.
Boom!
He swung his sword wide to fend off the embers raining down from the sky.
Then he pulled the sword back and used the hilt to strike the head of a wolf lunging with its claws.
And he blocked the embers from the sky.
Until now, he had managed to exchange blows to some extent, assuming he could use potions, but the wolf no longer gave him any opportunity to do so.
Although the fairy powder provided continuous recovery, it was difficult to rely on it when thousands of damage points were being inflicted at once.
In essence, he had to block all attacks.
[You have activated Marbas’s Pitch-black Wave.]
He channeled spiritual force into the wave and unleashed it. The flaming wolves collided with the wave and dissipated.
Only a few of the wolves remained, baring their teeth, and Taesan moved his fingers.
[You have activated Frozen World.]
Crack!
A chill surged forward. Most of the wolves that tried to endure and charge were frozen and disappeared.
[Growl!]
Then the wolf moved.
It swung its massive claws to crush Taesan. He raised his sword to block.
Boom!
The ground cracked, creating a crater. Taesan barely withstood the force and twisted his sword, deflecting the claws and slashing at the front leg.
Slash!
However, as before, it didn’t cause a significant wound. Even though Taesan counterattacked, the wolf paid no attention and kept slamming its front paws down.
Boom! Bang!
The ground shattered and crumbled. The entire village was turning into a wasteland.
Clang!
Taesan barely swung his sword to widen the distance.
“Whew.”
He took a deep breath. His eyes sank deeply.
He focused his mind even further.
Taesan charged at the wolf.
Boom!
He dodged the descending claws and closed in on the wolf. The wolf repeatedly slammed its front paws down, trying to crush him.
He narrowly evaded all these attacks by reading their intent with conceptual skills. However, he couldn’t avoid the damage from the aftermath. Taesan drove his sword into the hind leg he had been targeting.
Crunch.
Because he had been targeting that spot continuously, the sword went in quite deeply, but it wasn’t very significant. It seemed nearly impossible to exploit that point.
Although one option was blocked, Taesan moved his body calmly without much agitation.
The wolf trembled, trying to kill Taesan attacking from its side. Sparks flew in all directions like embers.
Dozens, hundreds of embers.
Taesan moved his sword.
The sword moved smoothly, deflecting all the flying embers and twisting their trajectory.
But even the deflected embers bounced off each other and grazed Taesan’s side.
[You take 3452 damage.]
He bore the pain and avoided the sweeping claws, increasing the distance.
[Growl!]
The wolf infused its claws with flames and swung them. The fiery blades rushed toward Taesan at great speed.
Flaming blades rushing at him with nowhere to escape.
[You have activated Deflection.]
He moved his sword to twist one of the blades. He squeezed into the tiny gap that appeared.
[Growl!]
The wolf charged at Taesan again as he narrowly evaded.
It lunged with its jaws wide open, trying to devour him, and Taesan raised his sword.
Clang!
His body began to be pushed back mercilessly. Deciding he couldn’t withstand it, Taesan quickly let go of the sword and escaped.
The sword flew off into the distance. The wolf charged at the now unarmed Taesan.
[You have activated Random Blink.]
He dodged the charging wolf and shifted his position. He quickly launched himself to grab both of his flying swords.
[Growl!]
Clang!
And then he blocked the wolf’s claw as it charged in for another attack. But unable to withstand the force, the claw deeply scratched his shoulder.
[You take 5443 damage.]
“Whew.”
Taesan took a deep breath and widened the distance. His body was drenched in sweat.
There was no room to breathe. Most of his mental energy was consumed just blocking and dodging the wolf’s attacks.
‘What should I do?’
Boom!
He dodged the charging wolf and thought.
As the battle continued, the flames surrounding the wolf’s body gradually weakened. Taesan also grew faster and stronger due to his continuous combat skills.
But these changes weren’t significant. By the time the wolf’s flames weakened noticeably, Taesan’s Apostle Transformation would end, and even if he became faster, the basic stat difference was so large that it wouldn’t matter.
If this battle continued, he would eventually die.
A decision had to be made. Whether it was a gamble or something else.
The wolf opened its jaws. Flames poured out. As he dodged, it lunged at him with its massive fangs, trying to crush him.
Clang!
Taesan barely blocked it with his sword and kept thinking.
The hind leg couldn’t be exploited.
That left the inside of the wolf’s mouth.
Unlike the outer skin, the spiritual force surrounding the inside was quite weak. Observing as he blocked the incoming attacks, even the flesh inside looked much weaker than the outside.
But it wasn’t necessarily the right answer. Attacking deep inside the mouth meant Taesan would also be left in a vulnerable position. It was essentially a gamble.
However, sometimes a gamble had to be made.
You can’t always make the safe choice. Taesan gripped his sword tighter.
Before making a gamble, he had to prepare first.
[Growl!]
The wolf charged. Taesan blocked the attack but was pushed back relentlessly.
The wolf kicked its hind legs at the retreating Taesan.
Clang!
Taesan continued to be pushed back. At the end of his retreat, his back hit the labyrinth wall.
[Grumble…]
The wolf was confident. This human could not escape. More accurately, he showed no intention to escape.
The wolf gathered its strength, intending to secure a decisive victory.
[Awooooo!]
Flames erupted, engulfing everything around. Curtains of crimson fire extended on either side of Taesan, blocking any escape route.
A short path formed, leading only to Taesan and the wolf.
[Growl.]
The wolf scraped the ground with its front paw, as if preparing to charge. Taesan calmly laid down his weapons.
Thud.
And then the wolf charged.
Its movement was so fast that it left only an afterimage.
Taesan couldn’t react to that speed. He moved preemptively, relying on conceptual skills and instincts.
As the wolf charged, Taesan gripped his dual swords and lunged forward.
[You have activated Acceleration.]
He accelerated, spreading his Fairy Wings, charging forward at a speed unmatched by anything so far.
The wolf’s fangs sank deep into Taesan’s back just as his sword pierced deep into the wolf’s throat.
[You take 16444 damage.]
[You deal 4532 damage to the Fragment of the Wolf That Destroyed the World.]
[Ugh!]
The wolf momentarily stopped breathing.
Taesan channeled all his spiritual force into the deeply embedded sword. Tremendous power began to gather along the blade.
And he unleashed it.
The full force of the Apostle’s spiritual energy exploded inside the wolf through the sword.
[You deal 23042 damage to the Fragment of the Wolf That Destroyed the World.]
[Growl, growl!]
The wolf howled in pain and slammed its claws down. With the sword lodged deep inside, Taesan couldn’t escape.
But Taesan had no intention of escaping.
[You take 13232 damage.]
[Your Endurance skill has activated. The fatal attack has been nullified. All damage is reduced to 0 for 1 second.]
He had gained only 1 second.
But that was enough. Taesan pushed the sword in deeper and pulled.
A tearing sound accompanied by the sensation of ripping flesh filled the air.
Taesan put all his strength into it.
The wolf’s entire jaw split open.
[You deal 6432 damage to the Fragment of the Wolf That Destroyed the World.]
[Grr! Grr!]
The wolf’s howl, with its jaw split in half, was interrupted.
Before the Endurance skill’s duration ended, Taesan accomplished his goal and distanced himself.
He took out a potion. The wolf was too preoccupied with its pain to pay him any attention.
The gamble had succeeded.
Now it was time to reap the rewards of his success.
Taesan charged at the wolf. The wolf fiercely swung its front paw in resistance, but the attack was far clumsier than before. Dodging the attack, he thrust his sword into the split jaw again.
[Graaaargh!]
The wolf howled.
A howl filled with pain reverberated through the entire village. Taesan, who was right next to it, couldn’t endure either, and blood flowed from his ears.
But he didn’t care and continued to drive the sword in.
The wolf began to thrash wildly. Taesan didn’t let go of the sword embedded deep in its throat.
This was essentially the last chance. If he didn’t bring it down now while the wolf was going berserk, he wouldn’t win.
Crunch.
Clinging tightly to the wolf’s body as it thrashed wildly, Taesan pushed the sword in even deeper.
Soon, the wolf’s throat opened up.
Taesan shoved himself inside.
[Ugh, ugh!]
The wolf tried to vomit Taesan out, but nothing came out.
[Graaaargh!]
The wolf thrashed in agony. Something began to stir inside the wolf.
[Grumble…]
And finally, the wolf collapsed.
As its faint breath slowly faded, the wolf’s belly began to tear open from the inside.
“Whew.”
Taesan, covered in the wolf’s blood, emerged.
[You have defeated the Fragment of the Wolf That Destroyed the World.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[The Desire for Victory has activated. Your Health has permanently increased by 1543, Strength by 143, and Agility by 111.]
[Your Spiritual Force Growth has activated. Your Health has permanently increased by 3443, Strength by 283, and Agility by 252.]
[Your Spiritual Force Growth has activated. You have acquired a special active skill: [Ember of Catastrophe].]
[Your Skill Proficiency has increased by 3%.]
[You have defeated a beast imbued with the Will of the World. You have acquired the special passive skill [Opposer of Great Will].]
[You have fought in extreme heat. You have acquired the special passive skill [Burn Resistance].]
[You have gained the Will of Destruction.]
[You have devoured the True Blood of the Wolf That Destroyed the World. You have acquired the special active skill [Wolf’s Kin].]