Eternal Rest

Bones and his entourage headed southeast, leaving the fringes of the Dark Forest and venturing into its depths, where encounters with Wolfmen grew more frequent. By the end of a hunting-filled day, Bones leveled up in his race and saw numerous skill improvements. The number of fangs he collected equaled three completed contracts, yet he wasn't ready to stop. Over the following days, he continued his hunt, eliminating pack after pack, and noticed the Wolfmen began avoiding him until they were nowhere to be found. Fear had gripped them, overshadowing their insatiable thirst for blood.

Bones considered moving toward the heart of the forest to focus on subduing Werewolves. After studying the area's map, he realized it would take a significant amount of time to reach the center, and more importantly, a new route would divert him from his gradual path toward the town of Valencia. Bones faced a dilemma, forcing him to weigh the time needed to complete the Werewolf contract against his scheduled meeting with the scout in a month and a half. If he traveled at night and hunted without pause, he would have extra time for the meeting. However, he had to consider the challenges posed by the werewolves and his weakened state, which would likely take at least two weeks to improve. After thorough deliberation, Bones resolved to confront the werewolves now rather than later, confident in the advantages his undead status afforded him.

A week passed before Bones entered Werewolf territory, during which the rain lessened and finally ceased, allowing the forest floor to dry and ease his movements. His arrival didn't go unnoticed. Distant and beyond Bones' senses, a crouched Werewolf Scout on a rising slope watched his every action. After confirming Bones' direction, the Werewolf snarled, then leapt off the slope, vanishing below the tree line.

Approximately five kilometers away, the Werewolf emerged in a clearing. His head swiveled, taking in empty beds made of foliage and scattered bones, before announcing, "I'm back," in between growls. Five shapes slowly emerged from behind the trees, revealing more Werewolves. One of them, with fur a shade darker, growled, "Have you found us prey to hunt?"

"Yes, leader. Team. Four-man. Adventurers, probably," the scout replied, pausing between words.

"Humans…" The leader grinned, baring a set of menacing, sharp fangs.

"Let's move before the others notice," he ordered, and the pack vanished from the clearing in a blur. They moved in formation, their steel-like claws leaving imprints in tree trunks as they traversed the distance to their prey.

Bones halted, noticing birds flocking over the trees ahead. Observing for a moment, he murmured, "Already?" He couldn't sense the approaching figures, but he felt the predators' eyes locking onto him.

Bones remained still, waiting, until a figure pounced at him from a tree trunk. At the last moment, he stepped back, unleashing a Mana Blast to propel himself further backward behind his golems, already prepared to engage. The pouncing Werewolf swiped at the air, missing but leaving three claw marks where Bones had just stood.

"A nimble one," the pouncing Werewolf, the leader, remarked. Bones, astonished, replied, "You can talk?"

The leader shook his head briskly, shaking off the effect of the Mana Blast while giving a sinister chuckle, accompanied by growls from all directions. Bones detected five Werewolves clinging to towering trees. Their muscular forms pressed against the rough bark with an eerie, predatory stillness. The Werewolves' claws, long and sharp as daggers, were sunk deep into the tree trunks, holding their weight effortlessly several feet above the ground. The creatures' sinewy arms bulged with restrained power, each muscle tense and ready to spring.

"This is a bit much for a mere welcome…" Bones wryly commented, noting the hind legs of the assailant in front of him coiled like a spring, ready to pounce. No other words were exchanged; only the hum of a breeze caressing his clothes could be heard before all hell broke loose. Murdok intervened, stopping the leader's charge with his silver greatsword but not without being pushed back, while Skully brandished his silver spear threateningly, deciding on his next move. Harmony acted on her own, bewildering Bones as she passed him while retreating. The incoming attack jolted him from his thoughts, forcing him to focus and narrowly avoid a flesh-tearing swipe by dodge-rolling to the side.

Bones continued to run while two Werewolves chased and quickly overtook him, forcing him to change directions and continue running while desperately trying to shake off his pursuers. The last Werewolf focused on retreating Harmony and was the first to fall moments later. The sudden death of their fallen comrade made the leader pause, giving Murdok an opportunity to counterattack. The golem charged his attack, imbuing the silver blade with mana to deliver a strike capable of cleaving his target in half, but the leader easily sidestepped and swiftly arrived at the scene of the fallen Werewolf. Rage quickly consumed him, the intelligence displayed earlier forgotten, and a howl pierced the battlefield.

A silver-tipped arrow pierced his lateral leg muscles, abruptly silencing the howl. The leader whipped his head around and roared at Harmony, then moved with a speed surpassing Skully's. His rage was solely fixed on her. The other Werewolves were less affected but still hesitated, giving Bones a brief respite to strategize on dealing with his pursuers, and Skully the chance to disable his target by severing its tendons, leaving it to bleed out.

Bones coordinated with Skully and devised a plan to eliminate one of his pursuers. Bone spikes erupted beneath his feet as he leapt forward and rolled. The pursuing Werewolf vaulted over the spikes, only to meet Skully midair, who struck with an imbued spear, leaving a gaping wound in the Werewolf's chest. Skully then engaged the other pursuer while Bones exhaled in relief, only to be swept off his feet the next moment by a Werewolf Scout ambushing him from the side. Bones chastised himself for not counting the Werewolves while struggling to free himself from its jaws clamping around his neck.

The scout pinned Bones down with its heavy body and tightened its grip, leaving no room for movement. Bones locked eyes with the beast, his gaze piercing through, gripping its soul. The hold on his neck loosened, and Bones was suddenly dragged beneath the beast, only to find himself being pulled by the leg by another creature. The bleeding Werewolf Skully had left unfinished had regenerated enough to move and was now preying on Bones. The Werewolf dragged him for a few meters until its head snapped back with a crunch, separating from its body. The beast collapsed, releasing its hold on Bones' leg completely, its lifeless eyes staring blankly at the sky.

Bones sprang to his feet, his eyes scanning the chaotic battlefield frantically. Murdok loomed over the fallen Werewolf, then broke into a run and executed a leaping slam at the Werewolf Scout who remained motionless after suffering soul damage. The silver blade pierced the beast's back and embedded itself deep into the ground. The Werewolf thrashed momentarily, its pained yelps fading as it took its final breath, its injuries too severe to heal from. Skully also wrapped up his business; this time eliminating his target without fail. Bones nodded in approval, then turned his head in the direction he sensed Harmony approaching quickly, spotting his golem in tattered clothing, covered in deep claw marks.

Harmony abruptly stopped in front of him, then turned back in the direction she came from. Bones noticed the electric current running along the strands of her hair but didn't comment. He followed her gaze and saw the Werewolf leader approaching them. His steps were heavy, accompanied by low growls, his fur singed and stained with blood, occasional lightning still arcing across his body. Harmony's repeated zapping had brought the Werewolf back to his senses.

"Y-you…" The leader began, choking on his words after witnessing the brutal elimination of the rest of his pack. "Why won't you die? Why!" His amber eyes gleamed with determination, a low growl vibrating in his throat. Bones expected the leader to burst into uncontrolled rage, but the Werewolf remained silent, focused, and in control.

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be. I promise to end it quickly," Bones offered, but who would willingly give up his life, be it human or monster? The leader scoffed in response and vowed to rip Bones' head off before lunging at Harmony. Fueled by revenge, only Skully managed to react in time to his speed. However, before reaching Harmony, the leader feigned an attack, then switched targets and pounced at Murdok. With a vertical swipe, Murdok's arm holding the silver greatsword detached from his body as if severed by a sharp blade. With his other arm, the leader swiped sideways, clawing Murdok's chest and knocking him to the ground.

"One down…" the Werewolf snarled, dropping to all fours to dodge a silver-tipped arrow before springing up to avoid Skully's thrust. His claws sunk into a nearby tree trunk, from where he intently watched the fallen Murdok.

"You're not human!" the leader realized, noticing the bare bones exposed through the deep gashes in Murdok's armor. "No wonder we failed! My brethren…" His voice trailed off, and the fierce look in his eyes diminished. Bones tilted his head, curious about the leader's intentions, and took the chance to Identify this formidable enemy.

Werewolf Alpha, level 60

While Bones was absorbed in the system message, the now-identified alpha leapt from the tree trunk, hopping from one tree to another until he vanished from sight and soon out of Bones' sensory range.

"He escaped…" Bones murmured, astonished. Although he understood the alpha's decision to retreat was a wise one, he hadn't anticipated such calculated behavior from the beast.

“The information on Werewolves seems inaccurate. When led by an alpha, they didn't display the uncontrollable bloodlust I've seen in Wolfmen, except for the brief moment the alpha went berserk,” Bones remarked, turning to Skully.

"Fangs, if you will." With those simple instructions, Skully set to work extracting fangs while Bones went to check on Murdok. Harmony's injuries were mostly superficial, but Murdok had borne the full brunt of the leader's fury, and his wounds were severe. Approaching the now-standing orc, Bones saw that the metal fused to his chest had protected him from being cleaved in half. However, his severed arm would need extra attention, so Bones decided to tend to Harmony first, as it required less effort.

"Harmony, let's get you patched up first."

Skully returned a few minutes later, having found the extraction process more challenging than previous ones. Unlike the Wolfmen contract, which required twenty-five fangs from bipedal canines below the second tier, the Werewolf contract demanded only ten for the same number of merits. The difference between the two contracts and the disparity between the targets was notable.

Bones shifted his focus from Harmony to the fangs in Skully's hands without pausing his work and nodded in approval. Collecting enough merits to exchange for the skill seemed like an easy task, Bones thought briefly, but quickly dismissed the notion as foolish while caressing the deep wounds on his neck. If he were alive, the bite would have killed him; Murdok and Harmony would have succumbed to their injuries as well. Skully wouldn't have been able to escape either, as the leader had proven to be faster. A normal adventurer party would have been wiped out by the pack!

After making a quick adjustment to Harmony, Bones relocated, eventually coming across the werewolves' campsite. The scattered remains, gnawed down to the bone, were primarily animals, but Bones identified human bones among them. He used the newly discovered bones to fully restore the orc's skeleton to its original state, which lasted until the end of the day. After storing his golems, allowing them and the equipment to recover over time, Bones climbed to the top of a tree, where he searched for a suitable spot to tend to his own injuries. Perched on a branch, Bones absentmindedly worked on himself, using bone shaping to cover the wounds and restore his neck to its original appearance. He finished within an hour, leveling up his shaping skill in the process. Hours later, after confirming that the escaped alpha wouldn't be returning with reinforcements, Bones jumped down, landing softly in a crouch while summoning three golem cores, which he tossed in an arc before him.

Skully, Murdok, and Harmony appeared, their equipment mostly restored, though accumulated damage prevented full recovery. Bones glanced at Murdok's reattached arm, confirming everything seemed to be in order and his golems were ready to face new adversaries. The new day had just begun, and Bones was determined to prevent the mishaps of the previous day from happening again.