Wolf Pack

Midnight.

Specks of starlight sprinkled down, a gentle breeze blew, and amidst the swaying shadows of the trees, a blurry figure flickered in and out of sight.

A gust of wind swept through, scattering the leaves that obscured the figure. Beneath the dense foliage, a person leaned against a tree trunk, sitting cross-legged. Though the posture wasn't perfectly upright, one could sense his concentration.

If one hadn't known beforehand, no one would have imagined that someone would be meditating here among the tree trunks in the dense forest.

The quiet surroundings gradually became noisy, and upon closer listening, the sound of chewing could be heard. Amidst this clamor, the figure's expression worsened.

Rhode, who was meditating, was not having a good time. His previously peaceful state of mind had been disturbed again for some unknown reason.

The effect of Meditation waned, replaced by a sense of irritation. No matter how hard Rhode tried, his thoughts remained unsettled. Realizing that the current state was unsuitable for Meditation, Rhode opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, his senses, which had been blocked by Meditation, assaulted him. Rhode's gaze sharpened, and he looked in the direction his senses had warned him.

In the darkness, pairs of hungry eyes emitted a ghastly green glow. Rhode looked closely and saw that it was a pack of wolves.

It turned out that while Rhode was Meditating, the scent of blood emanating from the Ghouls and the apprentice's corpse had attracted predators from the forest – the wolves before him.

Rhode looked down. The wolves, now driven by hunger, were gnawing on the remains of the Ghouls. Normally, wolves rarely ate carrion, and only in extreme hunger would they resort to gnawing on the cold, hard Ghouls.

While observing, Rhode noticed something unusual. Compared to the rotting Ghouls, only one wolf was near the apprentice's corpse, which had more succulent flesh. The other wolves, while fighting over a piece of rotten Ghoul meat, dared not encroach upon the wolf before him.

As his observation deepened, Rhode also discovered the abnormality of this wolf. Other wolves devoured the rotten Ghoul meat with large bites, oblivious to their surroundings. Only this wolf, while eating, constantly scanned its surroundings, remaining vigilant. Moreover, this wolf was significantly larger in size.

Rhode knew that this wolf was the Wolf King of this pack.

Rhode, observing from above, counted the wolves. There were about ten in the pack. Considering his own strength, Rhode frowned.

Unlike Undead Creatures, which had high Health but poor skill and Speed, making them susceptible to Rhode's swordsmanship, the Wolf Pack was different. Wolf Packs excelled at ambushing, especially a single target. Although wolves were not as physically robust as the previous Undead Creatures, they were faster, which caused Rhode some trouble.

Once surrounded by a coordinated Wolf Pack, he would be in a very passive situation. If even one wolf managed to get close and bite his leg, he would lose some mobility. The other wolves would quickly follow, tearing at him, and then there was the Wolf King...

Rhode knew that with beasts like these, once they broke through their original rank, they would possess a certain ability to use Magic. More threatening than these ordinary wolves was this Wolf King.

Should he assassinate it like he did the apprentice? Rhode hesitated.

Recalling the scene of assassinating the apprentice, Rhode decisively shook his head.

When he leaped out to assassinate the apprentice, the apprentice had clearly sensed him and looked back. However, due to his poor physical condition and lack of close-combat skills, the apprentice couldn't dodge.

The Wolf King was different. A beast's instinct for danger would allow it to detect him the moment he made a move, and its powerful physique would enable it to dodge quickly.

Assassinating the Wolf King was impossible. If he were to fight the Wolf Pack head-on, the outcome would be uncertain. Even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory, exhausting all his attribute and skill points and leaving him severely wounded.

Looking at the pack of wolves before him, Rhode couldn't think of a good solution for the moment.

He carefully recalled all the situations he had experienced so far. Suddenly, as if realizing something, a sharp glint flashed in Rhode's eyes. He had found a way to achieve victory.

To execute this method, Rhode needed some preparation.

Rhode stood up, moved up the tree trunk to a spot where the moonlight could shine directly, and then checked his system log.

"..."

"Meditation ended."

"Based on your performance during Meditation, your maximum Mana has increased by 8 points. Current Mana: 14/14."

"Shallow Meditation does not yield special feedback."

His Mana was sufficient.

Realizing this, Rhode quickly infused Mana into the Space Ring in his hand.

In the status panel, his Mana slowly decreased. When his Mana dropped to 10/14, the Space Ring stopped absorbing Mana.

At the same time, Rhode felt a subtle connection established between him and the Space Ring in his hand. With just a thought, his consciousness could enter it and retrieve its contents.

Rhode sent his consciousness into the Space Ring. The ring contained a space of two to three cubic meters. The first thing that entered Rhode's perception was a large pile of gold coins, like a sand dune, estimated to be around two thousand.

Stacked above the gold coins were two books and several scrolls. Beside them lay two Iron Swords and an Iron Shield, identical to those used by the Skeleton Warrior earlier. In a corner were rations and a waterskin, and next to them were some clothes. A badge was placed on top of the clothes.

Seeing the items he needed, Rhode took out the books and scrolls and began examining them under the moonlight.

One book's cover read Basic Pathfinding. The other book had no text on its cover, only some mysterious patterns of unknown meaning. Rhode identified the patterns drawn on the scrolls: one was Lightning Strike, one was Magic Arrow, and two were healing spells.

Upon seeing the second book, Rhode put the remaining items back into the Space Ring, keeping only that one in his hand.

When putting back the scrolls, out of habit from his previous life, Rhode deliberately placed them in different positions so that he could retrieve the scrolls he needed at the first opportunity. He then began reading the unknown book.

He quickly flipped through the book in his hand. After browsing a few pages, Rhode confirmed his suspicion: this book was Alot's Spellbook.

A Spellbook is an important tool for a Mage when learning Spells. Human memory is not perfect, and as time passes and knowledge increases, the possibility of errors in memory grows. Thus, a Spellbook is needed to help record.

A Spellbook allows a Mage to record key knowledge they have learned. Simultaneously, to cast Spells accurately, Mages also need to copy the Spells into their Spellbook.

Since Mages spend most of their gold on learning Knowledge and Spells, a Spellbook containing all the knowledge a Mage has learned is considered extremely precious by them, far exceeding ordinary Treasure.

While flipping through the Spellbook, Rhode used 1 Skill Point to learn Basic Wisdom Spell.

(Basic Wisdom Spell: By studying knowledge related to Spells, your erudition has increased. At the same time, your thinking has expanded. Various formulas appear in your mind, and you begin to slightly understand the principles contained within the Spells. You can learn Tier 1 Spells.)