Chapter 17: The Alpha’s Submission
The wolves came like a crimson tide.
The moment the Alpha charged, the others split up.
Not randomly.
Their formation was perfect.
Three to the left, two circling from the back, the rest came directly at the hunting slimes.
Tanaka’s heart pounded.
They’re cooperating...
"Scatter!"
He couldn’t shout, but his body responded nonetheless.
The slimes understood.
The hunting slimes instantly took the formation they practiced for the past few days.
The impact was tremendous.
The stone cracked under the wolves’ claws.
Slimes flew, wolves rolled on the ground from the impact.
Neither side was yielding.
The Alpha ignored the others completely.
Its golden eyes locked on Tanaka.
It understood.
The strongest should fight the strongest.
Tanaka agreed.
He used Leap.
The Alpha vanished.
Too fast.
Tanaka barely evaded the next attack.
Three slashes carved their way across his chest.
His eyes widened in pain.
Tanaka rolled away from the Alpha’s following attacks.
Fast...
Much faster than the rabbits...
The Alpha didn’t stop.
Its attacks came one after another.
A claw, a bite, another claw.
Tanaka took the mana reinforcement from each strike, but the physical impact sent him reeling across the chamber.
His wounds healed instantly, only to be opened again.
Meanwhile...
The slime hunters were having trouble.
The wolves were too experienced.
They feinted, they worked together, they took care of each other.
Several slimes were sent flying before they could get close enough.
The lead hunting slime let out a pulse of mana.
The formation instantly changed.
Instead of chasing the wolves, they took up a defensive position.
A charging wolf found itself surrounded by four slimes.
Boom!
It was sent tumbling backwards.
Another wolf tried to bite a small slime, only for the little guy to ram into its side.
Boing!
The wolf’s jaws snapped shut on empty air.
More slimes appeared pushing the wolf letting him hit the wall.
The wolf yelped as it rolled across the floor.
The battle raged on.
Neither side was holding back.
However...
There were no fatalities yet.
Tanaka dove under the alpha wolf’s strike.
The Alpha twisted its body in mid-air with unbelievable agility.
Its tail snapped against his temple.
Tanaka slammed into the cavern wall.
Rock exploded around him.
The Alpha charged again.
Tanaka held his ground.
Come on...
Closer...
Closer...
The wolf opened its jaws.
Its fangs glowed crimson.
Mana flared.
So it has a skill!
The Alpha’s bite sank into his shoulder.
Instead of pushing away, Tanaka let the attack consume him.
Devourer awakened.
The mana flowing from the Alpha’s fangs went directly into the endless void within him.
The wolf’s eyes widened.
Its fangs lost their glow.
Tanaka’s Soul Record shimmered.
[Skill acquired:
Sharp Claws Lv.1]
The Alpha jumped back, clearly confused.
Its strongest attack didn’t work.
Tanaka was smiling.
Got one.
The battle continued.
The Alpha was more careful now.
It didn’t waste its strength on wide slashes.
It made fast, precise strikes.
Tanaka noticed something else.
Every time the Alpha moved...
The other wolves automatically adjusted their positions.
As if...
They were connected somehow...
Another notification appeared.
[Skill acquired:
Pack Instinct Lv.1
Allows improved coordination with allies.]
Tanaka’s mind raced.
His perception of the battle changed.
His thoughts were faster.
He could almost predict the enemy’s next move.
A slime needed help.
Before he realized it, Tanaka was already charging.
Earth Impact!
The attacking wolf was sent flying.
Another slime took advantage of the opening.
The wolves were losing ground.
The Alpha growled.
It circled Tanaka twice.
Then vanished again.
Faster than before.
Tanaka closed his eyes.
Think.
Don’t chase.
Predict.
Everything became eerily quiet.
Every sound, every vibration, every movement.
His thoughts accelerated.
The charging Alpha was... slow.
Not that it suddenly became slower.
Tanaka’s mind simply became unbelievably fast.
He could see everything.
The angle, the timing, the opening.
The world snapped back to normal.
Tanaka jumped.
Their attacks collided.
BOOOOM!!
Both monsters were thrown back.
Tanaka landed first.
The Alpha slid across the stone floor.
Another notification appeared.
[Skill acquired:
Thought Acceleration Lv.1
Greatly increases mental processing speed.]
Tanaka blinked.
...No wonder.
Everything made sense now.
The battle wasn’t confusing anymore.
He could read it.
Predict it.
Adapt to it.
The Alpha made one last charge.
Tanaka didn’t move back.
He met it head-on.
Devourer dulled the mana reinforcement from the claws.
Thought Acceleration calculated the perfect angle to dodge.
Leap closed the distance.
Earth Impact exploded point-blank.
The Alpha slammed into a stone pillar.
The pillar collapsed.
Dust and debris filled the chamber.
Silence.
Then...
The Alpha pulled itself off the ground.
Its body was bruised, bleeding, and broken.
It stared at Tanaka for a long moment.
Then...
It lowered its head.
Every wolf stiffened.
The slimes did the same.
The Alpha kept its head down.
One by one...
The rest of the wolves followed its example.
Tanaka blinked.
...What?
The little slime bounced over to the Alpha.
Tanaka’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
Wait!
Instead of attacking, the little slime gently butted its head against the Alpha’s.
Boing.
The Alpha blinked.
Then...
It lightly pushed the little slime back.
A tiny, playful gesture.
Tanaka shocked.
...Did...
Did we just become friends?
A warm feeling flooded through his body, courtesy of Pack Instinct.
The wolves no longer saw the slimes as food.
They had accepted a superior being.
The little slime bounced back to Tanaka’s side, proud of itself.
Tanaka looked at the groaning slimes.
Then at the battered wolves.
Finally...
He looked around the chamber.
Two different races.
Standing together.