Rise of the Apex Predator: A LitRPG Adventure

Chapter 26 – Alpha

Aenon woke up to a bright light directly cast on his face, piercing his eyelids. With unsteady moves, he tried getting up but couldn’t since something heavy was pressing down on his legs. He rubbed his eyes to clear off the hard muck that covered his eyelids, noticing that it was a mix of blood and grime. The bright light was the sun directly beaming onto his face as he lay there on the forest floor. The events from last night started coming to the forefront of his scattered brain as the exhaustion started setting in. He groped around and found that the behemoth was lying on him in an awkward position which had trapped his leg. The alpha was still breathing though, and looked quite peaceful, except for the sharp canines poking at the edges of its mouth.

Aenon pushed the beast off his trapped leg and immediately groaned as the blood circulation resumed to his leg. Most of their wounds had passively healed through the night but the pins and needles made it difficult for him to stand. So, he just sat up to look around, only to find 7 sets of eyes staring at him intently. But he detected no aggression from any of them.

When feeling finally returned to his legs, he gingerly stood up, expecting a retaliatory attack from the pack. But instead, all 7 dire wolves bowed down in a submissive posture. He had seen this behavior from wolves back on Earth, when they were in the presence of their alpha. Perplexed, he cast a look behind him and used identify on the sleeping dire wolf.

Bewildered at this turn of events, he was about to try approaching one of the wolves when a new System notification popped up along with a separate exclamation mark in the corner of his vision.

System Notification

You have bested an Alpha variant of an apex predator in single combat, without weapons or armor, in a display of utter savagery. In doing so, you have earned the respect of the alpha’s pack, who now acknowledge you as their new Alpha. Going forward no dire wolf, except other Alphas, will dare attack you. Subdue more predator species to further enhance your status.

Good Luck Little Predator!

The notification threw him off guard, especially the last line. Was the System addressing him directly? He suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that he was forgetting something. He got flashes of golden hair but couldn’t recall anything else. Before he could dwell on it, he heard a rustle behind as the former alpha, rose to its full height. It shook its body vigorously, tossing dirt all over the clearing, before sitting on its haunches and bowing its head slightly.

“This one greets the Alpha.”

Aenon heard the deep voice in his head. Not knowing how to respond he merely nodded his head in silence before looking at the overwhelming scene before him. 7 dire wolves were on the ground completely, while the beta was sitting with its head bowed.

“I didn’t know you all could talk”, he said while addressing the beta dire wolf.

“My pack still can’t. But I, being a former alpha, was on the verge of sapience. But now, we are all sapient. That battle yesterday gave both of something in return. My intelligence and awareness are enhanced, while you… I would rather leave it for you go through yourself. Suffice to say, our strength is at your disposal. Our strengths and fates are tied to yours now. We can never surpass you, but it also allows us to reach heights that were previously beyond our reach.”

“Aren’t you a System designated monster?”, Aenon asked, realizing too late how it could be offensive to say. But the wolf gave no reaction whatsoever as it responded simply.

“We were. You might not be aware of this, but System designated monsters do not have a soul space. I have one now, thanks to my link to you.”

Aenon digested these facts for a while before asking, “How do you know all this, if you just attained sapience? In fact, how do you even know about the System?”

“The System seeds us with the basics of the world when we attain sapience. That is all I know.”

“Well, I am still not sure I like it. You literally tore my throat out last night, while I shattered your ribs. How can I trust you now that you have attained sapience”, Aenon asked with some doubt.

“It is not a question of sapience. It is our nature as wolves. We are pack hunters, and we stay subservient to our Alpha, no matter the cost. We didn’t acknowledge you as our Alpha just because you beat me. If that were the case, wolf packs would have submitted to the more enlightened races regularly. No. We have submitted to you because there is something in your soul that resonates with ours.”

“My soul?”, Aenon asked in confusion.

“Yes. Souls are more complex than you realize. Let me ask you this, Alpha. Why did you challenge me to single combat yesterday? That too without all the advantages that you have as a human. Humans have no fangs or claws, yet you stowed away your weapons. Your skin is not as resilient as our fur, yet you removed your armor”, the beta countered his question with a question.

Aenon went deep in thought at that. Why had he done that? He had not even attempted to use the active of his mask, merely having a clash of wills using passives. He quickly used the ability of his Rebirth Title to detect any soul attacks or manipulation but came up empty. Observing his silence and confusion the alpha went on.

“It’s because you sense a kindred spirit in us. You are a pack hunter without a pack”, the beta said with finality.

Aenon couldn’t refute the claim, for it deeply resonated with him. He had given up on human society because he never truly fit in. Humans were too fickle minded, weighing their personal gains against the common betterment of the whole. His immediate family was his pack, but that was snatched away from him for mere financial gains. The beta let him sort out his thoughts in silence, for no more words were needed.

He stood up and climbed a nearby boulder, gazing straight up towards the sky. All the dire wolves, including the beta, assembled in front of it.

Thump

Aenon felt his heartbeat get louder. As he stared at the multiple planets in the alien sky, it grew louder, till it could be heard by anyone who stood within the clearing.

Thump Thump

He could feel it. The restlessness of the pack, while his own soul vibrated with a longing. Even the dormant shard within his soul space started humming. Finally, the tension reached a peak before all sound cut off, like someone had pressed mute on the world. Aenon took a deep breath, inflating his lungs as far as he could, before unleashing a loud roar of defiance.

The sound reverberated all over the jungle for hundreds of miles, making animals run for cover in fear. The roar was followed by a synchronized howl of 8 dire wolves, declaring their allegiance to their new Alpha.

………………..

Vincent

Vincent’s eyebrow twitched as he stared at the mess that was laid out on his former bed. The events of yesterday had scared them senseless and thus they had spent the entire night cleaning the kitchen and mansion like their life depended on it. They had finished right before dawn and the only room they had left to clean was the guest room their guest was supposed to have occupied. They had spent hours trying to find the room that man had mentioned before leaving. Every room looked abandoned, until they finally entered Vincent’s room. Blake stood to the side, with his lips pursed together, trying his best to suppress a laugh.

Vincent was a clean freak, and anyone who knew him was aware of it. He had never let Blake enter his room unattended before because he knew how much of a slob he was. And now, looking at his pristine room get wrecked, with no way of retaliation, irked him. Vicent had basically been verbally whipping the former guild head all night to finish the cleaning, threatening him with dire consequences if he didn’t appease the masked man for his earlier offense. And now that it was Vincent’s turn to face the music, his friend was shamelessly enjoying it.

“Well, he is an honorable guest after all. Someone way above our station, who could annihilate us with ease if it took his fancy. Surely, such a person should be taking the master bedroom of the mansion”, Blake said with a scrunched-up expression as he tried to keep a straight face.

“Of course”, Vincent responded with gritted teeth.

“Considering the fact that he was here just a few minutes at best, and the current state of the bed, do you think the entire room will soon be in this condition?”, Blake egged him on before bursting into laughter.

Vincent ignored the grown-up baby and went to the closet door. Now it made sense why the masked man had said the door was jammed. The closet was keyed to him, and only he could enter it. He quickly entered and started clearing out all his belongings with a heavy heart. The sacrifice of the room was bearable compared to the work he had ahead of him. The task of meticulously cleaning out the room he moved to. It had taken him weeks to get this room up to his standard, and that was with the help of dozens of maids and butlers.

Within 20 minutes, he had deposited all his belongings in a spatial ring and stepped out. Only to find Blake sitting casually at his writing desk with a bottle of his fine wine, the same ones he was unable to find earlier. The moron even responded to his death stare with an innocent smile.

“What? It’s not like you are going to live here anymore”, he goaded while guzzling, and spilling, the drink from the bottle.

“Listen here, you…” Vincent had started to speak when a thunderous roar echoed in the room. The roar was so visceral he felt it in his very bones. Blake spit out the full drink right in his face. But neither man was in a state to respond normally.

They both ran for shelter towards a hidden panic room built behind a painting. As they collapsed inside, he felt the cold sweat running down his back. He was shivering uncontrollably, and so was his friend. The roar was followed by wolf howls, but it lacked the same impact. Vincent knew what this feeling was. Some beasts had unleashed its presence to declare dominance to the surrounding areas.

He had heard and felt such presences in the past. It often happened when the status quo of power shifted, when a new power rose by uprooting the previous one. But never had he felt such primal fear from being exposed to one. Even his more combat inclined friend was shaking like a meek mouse in the presence of a predator.

Whatever had declared the forest as its domain, he just hoped it never set its eyes on his tiny village. For there was no way they could face it and live to tell the tale.

………………..

Aenon

Aenon sat on a rock with his elbows resting on his knees. The dire wolves were tearing into the carcass of the bear with gusto, already devouring half its carcass. It was endearing to watch earlier when they waited for his go ahead before they tore into their meal. The beta was the first to eat his fill before the others dug in. Aenon munched on his meat skewers from earlier as he sat with the beta to his side. The beta was silent since Aenon was engrossed in reviewing his notifications.

Title achieved: Alpha (1)

Title achieved: Soul Forge (1)

Title achieved: Domain Walker (partial)

Alpha (1): Earn the loyalty of an apex predator in its domain

+50 all stats

+30% physical stats when in presence of your pack

Soul Forge (1): Ignite the dormant soul space of a near sapient creature

+80 all stats

Domain Walker (partial): Claim a domain of your own.

Rewards withheld

The first two titles were straightforward and the explanation by the beta addressed them. But the last Title was weird. As he was focusing on it to figure out what it was, another notification popped up.

System Notification

You have attempted to release your Soul Presence to establish your domain. However, only 1 Alpha has submitted to you, and you are in reach of a System established settlement. To completely claim this area as your own,

1. Defeat or gain allegiance from all Alphas (Progress: 1/5)

2. Gain approval from the settlement head (Progress: 0/1)

Aenon nodded in understanding. This notification meant there were 4 other beasts who claimed this forest as their own, and to claim it he would have to beat them all. Before turning to the beta, he glossed over the final notification with a broad smile. His very first level up.

Level Up

Void Stalker (0) to Void Stalker (2)

Stats gained: +8 INT, +20 WIL, +8 PER

Abyssal Warden (0) to Abyssal Warden (1)

Stats gained: +8 INT, +10 WIL

He was in a very good mood. Finally, after about 4 months on this planet he finally had a level up. His mood was soured the next moment though, with the appearance of another notification with a lot of snark.

System Notification

Title achieved: (Really) Late Bloomer

(Really) Late Bloomer: Be the last person on your integrated world to level up. This Title CANNOT be hidden from anyone, no matter the method. Its visibility though, will be decided by a concerned third party who was getting tired of your shenanigans in leveling up. The Title will show no description to others.

+1% gain to stats from Titles

Aenon frowned at the description. He was officially being stalked, again. And yet again he had no clue who it was. Why was his luck so bad when it came to psychotic stalkers. He sighed in frustration, unable to do anything about it and decided to divert his mind. He turned to the beta who sat up immediately.

“You need a name. I can’t keep calling you beta or wolf. Do you have a name preference?”, he asked the wolf.

“Giving names is a foreign concept to me. You may bestow me with any name you wish, Alpha.”

“So, you would be ok with a name like Berry?”, Aenon asked with a straight face. He saw the wolf’s ears droop while his tail lay flat on the ground. The wolf obviously wanted to say something but was hesitant. After watching him squirm for a minute Aenon burst out laughing.

“Relax. I am not going to name such a formidable ally that casually”, the wolf’s ears perked up at that. “Let’s see. You are strong, fast, and a good leader. And in my absence, you are essentially the pack leader. The way you took down that bear was a sight to behold. So, I think I am going to call you, Bane. For you will be the bane of anything that crosses our path.”

The dire wolf sat up straight with pride at his new name. He barked once towards the seven other wolves who immediately stopped what they were doing and assembled in a semi-circle. Bane stood tall as he announced his new name.

“From this day forth, I shall be called Bane.”

Something happened then that no one was expecting. Aenon felt the shard in his soul space thrum to life, while at the same time, all the wolves started glowing with a blinding light. Aenon felt his body seize up as pure white tendrils flew out from his chest towards each wolf. Unbeknownst to Aenon, a transparent dome covered the entire clearing, cutting them off from the outside world.

After about five minutes of the light show, Aenon could move his body again. He was in the same clearing thankfully. But standing in front of him were beasts unlike anything he had ever seen before. Eight hulking quadrupeds, with black smoke rising from their bodies, which completely obscured their form. It reminded him of his Abyssal armor set. He reflexively cast identify at the biggest form that stood beside him.

Aenon put a hand on his chest, for he could feel not one, but 9 heartbeats from it, all in sync. He put on his Abyssal armor set with a smirk and walked up to Bane. His mask allowed him to see what lay behind the smoke. If ever someone managed to dispel the smoke, they would regret it. The smoke made them look lethal, but what lay hidden was even more terrifying. Aenon stared in awe at the jet-black fur of his new pack. Their glowing gray eyes matched his own, and their fangs were replaced with maws lined with thousands of razor-sharp teeth.

Aenon placed his hand on Bane’s snout and a chill ran down his spine. He could tell that if anyone else tried touching the wolf, it would end very poorly for them. The wolf closed its eyes and enjoyed the touch of its Alpha before taking two steps back and bowing again. All 8 Abyssal wolves howled at once.

And with their howl, all light disappeared from a 100-meter-wide area, plunging the world into utter darkness. A darkness through which no light could pass. For a distant observer it would look like a dome of pure darkness.

And within the dome nine pairs of eyes glowed an eerie grey, promising carnage to anyone foolish enough to enter.