HP 2000
System Message
Do you wish to power up your next attack?
I decline.
System Message
Then would you like to boost your endurance by sacrificing your magic for today?
This is the final offer for Player Wolf.
YES.
Suddenly my endurance bar surges. Not only does it refill, it expands. I can now unleash at least eleven Wolf Strikes in a row. I plan to.
A shadow figure lunges at me. This time I do not dodge. I grab its arm, twist, and rip it free. Then I kick the remnant away with full force.
Where is the General? I look up. He is above me, descending at speed. I dodge just in time, but a tendril of shadow wraps my arm. I growl, grab it with my free hand, and yank. The General comes straight toward me.
Wolf Strike. A clean hit. The tendril releases me.
Good, I mutter, breathing hard. I have to get closer.
I dash and keep punching. Again and again. The General dodges, counters with brutal precision. Then he slips. I land a lucky strike just enough to stagger him. Two seconds of vulnerability. My chance.
I jump into the air.
System Message
Do you want to combine eight Wolf Strikes into one attack?
Yes.
Midair my hand transforms into a clawed weapon of pure energy. An aura of blazing force wraps my arm. I strike.
Boom. An explosion tears through the room. Stone and dust rain down. The tower begins to collapse. Heat, wind, and the taste of iron fill my mouth. I feel myself buried under rubble. Vision fades.
System Messages
1
Wolf Strike has evolved. Each Wolf Strike is now eight times stronger than before. Congratulations Player Wolf.
2
You have defeated the S Rank Shadow General. Well done. But remember this, he was considered a weak S Rank.
I wake under the rubble. I push stones aside. Kad crawls out nearby. He survived. He calls, Mikeee you did it but—
Then the world breaks open. Glus is gone.
I am speechless. Everything feels heavy and wrong. Kad says something, but I cannot hear it. This is my fault, I scream in my head. This is all my fault.
No it is not, says Giel. He has Lasa beside him.
Everyone is there except Glus. He was lost in the tower and did not come back.
We go to Glus's car, go through the exit portal, and return to Mike's apartment. We sit in silence.
As far as I know, Glus had no family left, someone says. He was a great man. I liked him, says Giel.
I do not answer. I stand alone, not crying, but the guilt is a weight I cannot lift. If only I had caught the spear.
System Message
Accept quest?
Description: The Last Dragon
What? I look at the group and feel the urge to scream. Still, I am ready. I press yes.
Level 20 Trainer
HP 4000
Strength 130
Endurance 150
Magic 0 Will be available again soon
Boss
Kill the Last Dragon
0 of 1
For a second nothing happens. No arena, no teleport. Then the ground trembles. An earthquake rips through the city. Lasa screams Mikeee. I turn to the news feed on my phone and my blood runs cold.
A shadow dragon moves across the city. It breathes not fire but darkness. Shadow arms lash buildings. The city melts into chaos. This is a catastrophe. I roll up my sleeves and say aloud, I have to make this right.
I run until my lungs burn. I sprint across cracked streets, leap over cars and broken glass. People flee in waves. I see a child being grabbed by a shadow beam at a playground. Wolf Strike. The beam shatters. The girl looks up, crying, then nods. Thank you, she says. I ask where her mother lives and she points toward an apartment.
My heart drops. The dragon smashed into that block. I run toward the building, find a woman screaming My daughter my daughter. They embrace. The mother kneels, weeping, looking at me like I am a miracle.
I promise the little girl, I will defeat the dragon for you, and run again.
The dragon circles above, battling S Rank Sals. I leap onto a rooftop and chase. It slams a wind gust that throws me off balance. I fall from a skyscraper. I am not dead because I plan ahead. I drink a Fall Slow potion that negates fall damage and a Damage Boost potion on the way down. I land, roll, and keep chasing.
The dragon fights like a storm. Six shadow minions appear and rush me. I throw them aside, kick two off the roof, then sprint after the beast. It swings a massive wing and knocks me back, but I hang on. I tackle the dragon, pull at its tail, slam it into the ground, and drive Wolf Strike into its eye. Blood sprays over my face.
Who is that kid? one of the S Rank warriors shouts. What is he doing? How is he so strong?
The dragon goes berserk. It flails, tries to fly. I hold on, bury its wing in concrete. I climb its back and scream with everything I have.
Wolf Strike!
The final strike connects. The dragon collapses and the system pings.
Dragon defeated 1 of 1
Well done Wolf. That was a strong enemy.
Level 24 reached
System Message
Aura unlock quest at level 25 Keep ready
Inventory Check
You have obtained Dragon Fang, Dragon Scale, Dragon Heart Rare Items
I stand amid the smoking ruin and feel something shift. The city sirens wail, but people begin to whisper my name. I am on the news. I am a hero.
Giel bursts into my room shouting, Mike. We have good news. In two months we move to a new base. The island is huge, really huge. There will be S Ranks and classes. We are class 1. The top class is only for S Ranks.
They hug me. I tell them about the child and the mother. Lasa kisses my cheek and casually says, We are dating by the way. Giel Kad and Has all laugh. We kind of figured, they tease.
Giel grabs my arm, laughing. I laugh too.
Later I go to my room and call up the system.
Weapons
Craft
...….