>[Ding! Quest Received!]
Title: Territorial Threat Annihilation.
Description: A hostile pack of Dire Wolves has been spotted near the borders of your territory. They pose a danger to future development and safe habitation. Eliminate them to secure the area.
Objective: Exterminate the Dire Wolf Pack (including the leader).
Reward: +3 Attribute Points, +50 Karma Points, +100 Experience Points
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Elias grinned as the glowing system screen hovered in front of him.
"Perfect," he muttered under his breath.
He tilted his head slightly and locked eyes with Vael. No words were needed. A silent command passed between them.
The undead assassin gave a small nod and vanished instantly. It was as if he had disappeared from thin air. One moment he stood behind Elias, and the next, he was a blur rushing across the open field toward the pack of Dire Wolves gathered just outside the dome's barrier.
His target: the alpha at the rear.
The moment Vael released his killing intent, the alpha's head snapped up. Its intelligent amber eyes locked onto the fast-approaching threat. The fur along its back stood on end. It could feel it deep in its instincts—this enemy was strong.
Awooo!
The alpha released a sharp howl, signaling the other wolves to stop Vael before he reached it.
The pack instantly obeyed. They shifted and lunged forward, growling as they moved to intercept the threat. Snapping jaws, slashing claws, and angry howls filled the air.
But it was all useless.
Vael, now just a streak of motion, didn't slow down. He moved like a ghost, too fast for the eye to follow. The wolves tried everything—biting, clawing, lunging—but none of their attacks landed. They only felt a blast of wind as he passed them, causing their fur to ripple and their balance to shake.
As an assassin, Vael was built for speed and quick eliminations. His highest stat was Agility, and with the Phantomstep Footgear activated, his speed had been boosted by 200%. The wolves couldn't even track him properly. To them, he was just a flash of shadow and wind.
He dashed straight through their formation, ignoring all attempts to stop him. Not a single claw or tooth came close to touching him.
The alpha narrowed its eyes.
Unlike the average beast, it had higher intelligence. It quickly realized the pack was useless against this kind of speed. Even it couldn't outrun this human. Escaping wasn't an option.
So, it did the only thing it could—it attacked.
AWOOOO!!
This time, the howl was different. Louder. Stronger. It wasn't a command—it was an attack.
A shockwave of sound burst from its open jaws. The air trembled as a wave of raw sonic force rippled outward with a deep, powerful hum. The ground vibrated under the pressure, and even the nearby trees shook.
It was a high-level sonic attack meant to stop anything in its path.
Vael's eyes widened for just a moment.
But he didn't panic.
In the middle of his sprint, he twisted his body and shifted to the side with perfect control. The sound wave roared past him, missing him by mere inches.
But while Vael had dodged the sound wave, the same couldn't be said for the five wolves chasing behind him.
The wave struck them head-on.
Their bodies were shredded by the force of the compressed sound. Blood sprayed into the air as torn pieces of flesh flew in all directions. The shockwave didn't stop there—it continued forward and slammed into the transparent dome that protected Elias's territory. The surface of the barrier rippled, shimmering like disturbed water.
Elias flinched from inside the dome, his eyes wide as he stared at the trembling ripple.
"Woah… That was powerful."
He took a deep breath, his heart thudding inside his chest.
"That would've vaporized me without any problem," he admitted, still shaken.
The dome barrier was made from the very essence of his territory. It was incredibly strong—attacking it was like punching a mountain. For the alpha's attack to actually make it ripple like that…
It meant that beast wasn't ordinary.
It had to be a boss-level threat.
Right on cue, a system notification appeared before his eyes:
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> ✅ [Your summon has killed a 3-Star ★, Level 5 Dire Wolf.]
> [You have received half the reward: +5 Extraction Points (EP), +50 EXP, +10 Karma Points (KP)]
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Elias's eyes lit up as he read the message.
"Called it," he said with a small grin.
In this world, monsters weren't just ranked by level—they were also rated by Stars.
A 1-Star beast was your basic threat—tough hide, decent strength.
A 2-Star beast was stronger, with harder defenses and sometimes even a unique ability.
But a 3-Star beast was where things started to get serious. These were called Boss Monsters—beasts with not just stronger bodies and unique abilities, but also a level of intelligence far above normal monsters.
Just like this alpha wolf.
Boss monsters usually ruled over territories, commanding other beasts beneath them. That's why they were called bosses—they were leaders. Their strength exceeded that of others at the same level, and their intelligence made them cunning and harder to kill.
Elias remembered back on Earth, in his past life, that the strongest boss ever seen was a 4-Star beast guarding an ancient ruin. Even top-level teams had avoided it.
And even then, no one knew how high the star system could go. Was there a 5-Star? A 6-Star? Maybe even more?
Back then, Elias never gave it much thought. His territory hadn't faced any boss-level threats, so he didn't really understand how dangerous they could be.
But now, after witnessing the power of just a 3-Star boss for the first time—he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
That soundwave alone could've killed him in an instant had he been the one in Vaels place.
He shuddered and quickly shook the thought away.
Thankfully he had Vael.
Even so, Vael had only survived because of the Phantomstep Boots. Without them...
Elias didn't even want to imagine what would've happened.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Vael stood calmly over the corpse of the alpha wolf.
Its massive body lay still, dark blood spreading slowly beneath it. The dagger in Vael's hand barely had any blood on it, just a faint smear near the edge. His cold eyes stared silently at the fallen beast.
He hadn't even used his full power.
Aside from the alpha's sonic attack, the rest of the battle didn't pose any real threat to him. Elias had told him to preserve the corpse as much as possible, so Vael held back. Even so, one clean slash across the alpha's neck had been more than enough to bring it down.
The rest of the pack froze as they stared at their dead leader.
Then—
Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!
They howled. Mourning. Rage. Vengeance.
Their alpha was dead, and the killer stood right next to its body. Every surviving Dire Wolf turned its burning gaze on Vael, eyes full of hatred.
And behind the barrier, Elias took a single step forward.
The smile that stretched across his face was far from friendly.
"It's my turn."