Chapter 19: Bronze 5 vs. Steel 1, Part 2

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Bronze 5 vs. Steel 1, Part 2"Let us begin the second round?" The Shadow Wolf simply stared at the human, whose aura was becoming increasingly threatening. With a swift motion, Patrick drove his staff into the ground, and the air around him crackled with energy, like a storm gathering strength before its unleashment. "Taste this," he murmured to himself. A surge of wind, sharper and more powerful than any prior attack, erupted from the staff like a tempest set free. The airflow roared toward the monster at a maddening speed. Swoosh! Sensing the incoming attack, the beast attempted to sidestep, aiming to dodge the gust, but a portion of it struck regardless. The wind was razor-sharp, tearing into the monster’s flesh in multiple places. Black blood sprayed everywhere as the creature evaded the rest of the assault. Fortunately for the wolf, it had dodged enough to avoid grievous injury. "What do you think of that?" Patrick asked with a questioning look. The runes on his staff pulsed rapidly, making it clear that the Mage’s attack had been amplified by his artifact. The beast let out a roar of pain that shattered the air. It staggered but did not fall. Its eyes narrowed, its fury swelling to an overwhelming degree. Patrick could not fight indefinitely. He was, after all, only a Bronze 5 Mage. His mana reserves did not allow him to cast such potent spells endlessly. The artifact he wielded merely enhanced his spells by one tier, making them deadlier, but the cost was evident: greater mana consumption, stamina, and focus. With a sudden leap, the Shadow Wolf lunged forward, ignoring its wounds, its claws poised to rend the human’s body. Patrick gripped the staff, using it as a melee weapon. Every Mage trained in close combat, so facing a direct fight was not an issue. --- Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the humans were dispatching the monsters with ease. The clash between Patrick and the Steel-rank Shadow Wolf was obscured from their view by the thick fog that had formed during the beasts’ assault. Only a few wolves remained—the strongest ones. Sera and Lian had taken care of the weaker monsters, with Sera in particular resembling a fire-spitting war machine. Lian, on the other hand, had used his magic only twice: once to "assist" Dax and once against a group of four Iron 2 monsters that had nearly pounced on him. Overall, the battle had not been difficult, but they had to remain vigilant to avoid being caught off guard by the cunning assaults of the stronger beasts. There were four Iron 5 wolves in total. Dax, with Lian’s help, had slain one, while the other three were defeated through the seamless teamwork of the Grimreach Knights. Individually, they moved with precision, dodging attacks effortlessly, but their true strength shone in formation. Their coordination was impeccable. They dispatched the three Iron 5 monsters with grace and speed, never allowing the beasts to gain the upper hand. Only a few scratches marred their armor, which was far more resilient than that of the Dustwall Knights. Aside from Dax, the other two Dustwall Knights had performed mediocrely, managing to kill one Iron 4 and a few lesser monsters. "This is the last one!" shouted the captain of the Grimreach Knights, pointing to a frightened beast amidst the corpses of its pack. Its weak roars and the wounds on its body spoke of its tenacity, but it had been for naught. Lian wanted to approach, but the pain in his ankle flared, limiting his mobility. Sera had no intention of wasting time finishing it off. She turned toward Patrick’s direction. "Is he fighting the Steel-rank monster? This fog is so damn thick!" she muttered, heading toward where the Mage had disappeared earlier. Lian wanted to follow, but the pain was intense. He could not walk. "Damn it, I want to see him fight!" he said with a determined look, ready to crawl through the dirt to reach that area. But before he could, a hand grabbed him from behind. "Hey, kid! Do not embarrass yourself," Dax’s voice came from behind. "You are a Mage—act like one. Let me help you. I am curious to see the power of a Mage of that level, too." The Grimreach Knight captain, seeing that no one was willing to deliver the final blow to the defenseless beast, approached and drove his sword into the wolf’s head. "Well, our work here is done!" Turning, he noticed that no one, except his own men, was paying attention. Sera had vanished into the fog, while Dax and Lian were heading toward the Mage. After all, the success of this Raid depended on Patrick. If he fell, no one would leave alive. Of course, the Mage’s death was unthinkable, but that was the point: survival in a Raid hinged on the strongest prevailing. --- The Shadow Wolf was breaking through Patrick’s defenses relentlessly. "Damn it," he hissed, gripping the staff tightly as his smile faded. "You are tougher than most, huh..." he said, preparing his next attack. Stepping back, Patrick stored the staff in his spatial ring, freeing his hands. Then, clasping them together, he unleashed another wave of wind. He did not aim to harm the monster, only to push it back. Using the recoil of the attack and the wind as his ally, Patrick gained several steps of distance from the beast. A flash of light appeared before him, and the staff reappeared in his hands. "With this, I would say we can conclude!" he murmured, unleashing one of his most devastating attacks. After all, he had an audience. Three wind blades formed above him, launching one after another toward the monster, which was slowed by the previous attack. But the Shadow Wolf, sensing the threat, moved with remarkable agility. It dodged the first blade with a step to the right, then sharply veered left to avoid the second, its movements a blur of instinct and survival. The Mage hurled the blades with surgical precision. The wolf’s sharp turn reopened the wounds on its flank, causing intense pain and slowing it slightly. That was all the opening needed for the third air blade to strike true. With incredible speed, the blade surged toward the beast, which barely managed to twist its body, avoiding a direct hit to the face. The blade sliced effortlessly through the monster’s leg, severing it cleanly and eliciting a howl of agony, a cry that echoed through the fog. Lian and Dax arrived just in time to witness the wind blade sink into the monster before dissipating like air. Sera, who had reached the scene moments earlier, had sparkling eyes. "Damn fine attack!" she said, wondering if she could have dodged it. Simply put, she could not. "Damn, that is incredible!" Lian exclaimed, watching the mighty beast skewered like a piece of meat. Patrick smiled faintly, his breathing slightly labored. That attack was not his strongest, but it was his fastest, a strike honed for precision over raw power. Now that the monster was crippled, he could hit it with one of his less-mastered spells, one that required a chant. Holding the staff in one hand, Patrick raised his other arm in front of him. He began to channel mana from his dantian to his two arms. "Ventus Surge," he intoned, visualizing the attack’s form. The wind gathered on his open palm, the shape of a huge pole slowly forming. "Zefiro..." he continued to say, as on the side of the staff, a large blade of wind was taking shape. The edges were becoming sharper, more pointed, as more and more wind gathered. The alpha, watching the wind gather with power, had no time to dwell on the pain of its severed leg. With a powerful roar, it used its hind legs to propel itself forward, charging toward Patrick, its rage an unstoppable force. But the Mage was not intimidated. He had timed it perfectly. Though the monster’s speed remained, it had reacted too late. "Hasta!" he declared, thrusting his arms forward, his bare arm holding the pole, while the sharp blade was gathered on its staff. It was a spear. Now fully formed, the spear flew with insane speed toward the beast, striking it squarely in the face. Swoosh! A sharp sound of something being cleaved rang out. Splat! The lance erupted into a torrent of air that swept through the area, dispersing the thick fog, revealing the battlefield in stark clarity. Thump! With a heavy thud, the beast, its head split in two, collapsed lifelessly to the ground. It was dead. More than dead—utterly annihilated, its reign as the forest’s sovereign ended in a single, devastating blow. --- Author’s Note! Okay, that fight was incredibly intense, do you not think so? The power of a Mage seems formidable, but this is merely a Bronze 5, nothing compared to the true monsters of magic. As for the wolf... it did not shine much, did it? Write in the comments if you enjoyed the fight!