The Leader growled as it caught a strange scent on the wind, looking up at the ridge as the figures appeared, the one at the front dressed in shining gold and red, reminding the wolf of someone it hated. It barked out orders to its pack, the other wolves responding immediately, a small group of ten breaking off to charge the four humanoids. They had barely gotten halfway up the hill when the column of flame suddenly engulfed them, making the wolves howl in pain, before they were silenced.
The Leader snarled again as it stood, barking at the rest of the pack, riling them up as it started to charge the assailants itself. The flames roared into life around it, startling the wolf as it skidded to a stop, looking around as the other wolves scattered, the Leader snapping and snarling at them. Its message was clear, kill the attackers, or die trying.
The other wolves followed its orders, continuing the mass charge as the three other figures knelt down, launching sticks into the air with strange, curved branches, the Leader smirking to itself as it wondered what good that would do them. The first of the sticks hit the ground, then exploded, throwing dirt and fire into the air, as well as several of the Leader’s pack. After the first volley came another, more explosions killing off more of their numbers, before a third saw the wolves almost upon the group. With a shout, three of the figures fled back over the hill, the gold and red one staying as it pulled something from its hip, hefting a large shiny stone on the end of a stick.
The Leader watched in annoyance as the gold and red figure fought off its pack, that annoyance quickly turning to anger as it watched more and more of its numbers be cut down by near invisible blades, or consumed by the fire the figure threw from its other hand. It felt its rage build even more as the figure slammed its shiny rock-on-a-stick down on injured wolves, killing them before they’d even had a chance to fight back. The anger built and built, until the Leader let out an almighty howl, waves of energy erupting from its body as the flames around it turned black and died.
The gold and red figure stumbled at the sound, allowing several of the wolves to tackle it to the ground, the Leader stalking towards it, barking and snarling at the others to keep it still so they could do the honors of giving it a slow and painful death. Pain suddenly erupted in the Leader’s side, followed by a further burning sensation as it looked at the strange object embedded in its skin. With a snarl, it yanked the shiny stick out of itself with its jaws, looking around for the source.
It found it quickly, another figure, this one smaller and weaker, running away as it looked over its shoulder at the Leader. The Leader gave chase, deciding it could kill this one quickly, then go back for the gold and red one. It dove into the ground, traveling along the hidden shadows in the cracks of the earth, easily catching up to the running figure and leaping out as it screamed.
Then the Leader was flying back, a large piece of bark having struck it in the face, the object being held by yet another figure. Flipping in the air, the Leader landed deftly, snarling at the two as they turned to face it, before it realized that there were even more, the group surrounding the Leader on all sides. A familiar sound reached its ears, the Leader turning to look at the detestable golden coat of its brother, the weaker wolf snarling and snapping at it as one of the figures held it back.
“Chris said it was a Variant!” the sounds meant nothing to the Leader, but the small figure that had hit it with the shiny stick continued, “It has some kind of magic! Be careful!”
The Leader just snorted, taking in a deep breath as its annoyance once again turned to anger, gathering the anger in its chest and releasing it with an almighty howl. Waves of energy washed over the figures, making them shiver and shake, many stepping back as another tried to order them forward. The Leader grinned to itself, knowing full well that nothing could stand against the strength of its howl.
The sound echoed through the air, the Leader blinking in surprise as the figures suddenly stopped shaking, regripping their shiny sticks and long branches. With a snarl, it turned to see its brother, its own flesh and blood, howling. The sound was so unlike its own, dark and dangerous. Instead, it sounded of light and victory, strength and hope, and it was painful to the Leader’s ears. With a snarl, the Leader leapt at its brother, deciding that since the group it had sent to kill him had failed, it would do the job itself.
“Aurum!” the word meant nothing to the Leader, “Speak! Magic Up!”
Its brother howled again, the force of the sound somehow even greater than before, making the Leader stagger back as it let loose its own howl again, its head starting to ache with the effort. The two sounds clashed in the air, waves of golden light and dark shadows colliding and exploding, filling the air with shockwaves and dirt. The two howls ended at the same time, the Leader staggering slightly as mental exhaustion weighed on it, yet its brother seemed fine, the figure beside it pressing its furless paws to his side, a light shining from under them.
“Brother!” the Leader snarled in their tongue, “What is this? You have fallen so low as to seek refuge with these pathetic creatures?”
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“No,” its brother replied, “I fight with my new pack.”
“New pack?” the Leader laughed, “So you lead these furless monstrosities?”
“No,” its brother said again, “I follow the path of my new Master. And her wish is to see you fall!”
“Aurum!” the creature beside him shouted, “Go! Speed Up! Attack Up!”
The Leader blinked as its brother shot towards it far faster than he should have been able to, biting down in its throat far harder than it remembered him being capable of. The Leader was thrown to the ground almost immediately, the smaller wolf towering over it as he tore at its throat with all his might.
The Leader wasn’t about to go down without a fight, though, using its larger size and strength to throw its brother from itself, leaping back to its feet as it dashed towards the golden furred traitor. It snapped and bit, yet its jaws found only air, its brother somehow able to avoid every attack. Then he darted in, biting down and tearing off the Leader’s ear, making it snarl in pain.
The two wolves continued to fight, the Leader quickly realizing that its brother wasn’t going to back down, and that it was getting tired, while he seemed to be just as strong as when they’d started. Looking around, it spotted the small figure that had been shouting something before, now looking like it was about to fall over as it stared at the other wolf. That was his secret, and the Leader would destroy it and the rest, then take back its pack and rule these lands once again!
“You’re distracted,” the words reached its ears just as the jaws closed over its throat once again, the Leader gasping as it was lifted into the air, then slammed hard against the ground, coughing as it felt its windpipe be crushed in the powerful bite, struggling against the pin as darkness started to fill the edges of its vision.
“Brother!” it wheezed, “Why? Why betray us?!”
“Because,” the other wolf replied as it bit down harder, “My Master was the first to show me true kindness in all my life. I now belong to her.”
“Kind…ness?” the Leader gasped, looking up at its brother as the darkness closed in, swallowing it whole.
“Goodbye, sister,” Aurum said as he released her throat, the black wolf lying motionless as he suddenly felt weak, looking up in worry at his master, the girl having collapsed to the ground.
He bolted over, licking her face anxiously as she laughed, holding her head like she was in pain.
“It’s okay, Aurum,” she said as she petted him weakly, “Just a little headache, it’ll go away after I’ve slept a bit.”
------
“How is she?” Chris asked as he looked around the camp, currently set up around the door to the next floor.
“Sleeping,” Elizabeth replied as she left the tent, “Aurum is stuck to her side keeping her warm, not that she needs it with Alan’s cloak as a blanket.”
“We’ll have to wait for her to wake up before we can move on,” he nodded, “She did well.”
“That was a crazy plan,” Elizabeth sighed, “How’d you know that Aurum could beat the Boss on his own?”
“I didn’t,” the man shrugged, “I just thought that he would be able to weaken it enough for the rest of you to take it out after.”
“Well, he did more than that,” the girl laughed, shaking her head, “He absolutely annihilated it. Hey, have you checked the Boss chest yet? What was in it?”
“I can’t,” Chris chuckled, drawing a confused look from his sister, “Only the people directly involved in the fight seem to be able to open the Boss chest. So basically, just you and Jess.”
“What about Alan? He helped a bit when he blocked the Boss’s first attack?”
“Huh, maybe?” Chris nodded, “Where is he? Let’s see if you’re right.”
The two quickly found the man, who was standing guard at the edge of the camp, watching in case any of the Snow Wolves that had fled after the Boss was killed returned.
“Hey Alan,” Chris said, the man nodding to him, “We think you might be able to open the Boss chest, think you could step away for a moment to try?”
“Huh?” the Defender blinked, “I mean, yeah, I guess? Hey Randy, can you take over my watch for ten minutes?”
“Gotta piss?” the other man laughed as he strolled up, saluting to Chris quickly, “Sure man, take your time.”
“Thanks,” Alan nodded, turning back to Chris and Elizabeth, “Right, let’s go.”
The three approached the large golden chest, Alan stepping forwards as they neared it.
“I’m kind of nervous,” he chuckled, “Never opened one of these before. I wonder if it’ll have anything good in it.”
“Hopefully a knife or some armor for me,” Elizabeth grinned, adjusting her gear again, “I love my dad, but this vest is really uncomfortable.”
“Right,” the two men laughed, Chris nodding to Alan as he turned back to the chest, touching it gingerly.
It let out a loud click, before the lid swung open on its own.
“Huh, seems you could open it,” Chris nodded, “So I guess as long as someone takes part in the fight, they can open the chest.”
“And get Experience,” Alan nodded, “I got a bunch when the Boss was beaten. Bumped me up a full level.”
“Oh, same!” Elizabeth grinned, looking at her brother proudly, “What about you? Have you managed to level up yet?”
“Not quite,” Chris sighed, “I’m still about a thousand Experience away, which means it’ll take a while.”
“Why?” Alan asked, “The wolves on this floor give like a hundred Experience each, don’t they? And you could easily take out a pack on your own, so you should be able to level up quickly, even in a group.”
“It’s not that easy for me,” Chris sighed, looking away as the man stared at him curiously, “Anyway, what’s in the chest?”
“Oh,” Alan said, looking into the box, “Huh, weird.”
------
“It’s been over a week since they entered the Dungeon,” The Major said over the video call, “Any news on their progress?”
“No Ma’am,” Ryan shook his head, “Unfortunately, when someone enters a Dungeon, there really is no way to contact them until they leave.”
“Of course,” the woman nodded, “Well, things are going well on our side, at least. The government are on board with the plan for the most part, though we do have several points of opposition.”
“There’s always opposition to new things, Ma’am,” Ryan nodded, “If you don’t mind me asking, what was the purpose of this call? I’m sure you didn’t want to talk to me just for a status report.”
“Of course,” the Major chuckled, “Tell me, Sergeant, how would you like a job?”
