Awakening: I Ascend Alone-Chapter 35: Massacre

What Melvin thought was a big mistake... was not really a mistake.

At least not a big one.

To an outsider watching the battle unfold, nothing seemed wrong. The wolves were still bare to dying, and Melvin was well-prepared to make sure it came to pass.

It was just that things didn’t go according to how he had planned it.

His entire strategy had been simple. His reason for distracting a part of the wolf pack had been to gain himself a fast pass to personally deal with the stronger ones. And when he meant the stronger ones among the wolves, he meant the set that had been lunging uphill in a frenzy.

Earlier, when he first observed the wolves, he noticed something interesting.

Some of them were ordinary beasts with scarred bodies, ragged fur, and hungry eyes, while there were those that were different from others and had horns.

Their bodies were larger than the rest, the stomp they created on the snow land was heavier, and their presence was far more oppressive.

Melvin had immediately assumed that the sets that had horns were of higher ranks... and he was certainly aware that killing them alone was naturally going to give him greater rewards.

That was the whole reason he had set his expectations.

The horned wolves—the ones he had wanted to fight—were now charging uphill toward Aurex.

Meanwhile, Melvin himself had appeared behind the weaker wolves that remained in the valley.

He clicked his tongue inwardly.

’What a waste.’

Aurex was currently seated cross-legged at the crest of the hill, as if he needed time for himself. As if he currently needed space for a weird kind of concentration.

From Melvin’s perspective, though, the boy looked almost... vulnerable. Weak, even.

And now, the stronger wolves were heading straight toward him while Melvin was stuck here with the leftovers.

But these thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

While still in his reverie, one of the wolves had already noticed him.

The creature had jagged scars running across its fur like stripes carved by old battles. The moment its glowing eyes locked onto Melvin, it launched an attack with immediate alacrity.

With claws stretched and jaws wide open, it leapt forward with absolute confidence filling its movement. If the wolf was given thoughts, it would have celebrated its massacre against its prey beforehand.

But Melvin had already seen it.

The [Hollow] had somehow granted him an eerie clarity of mind. His thoughts were cold and undisturbed, his senses sharpened beyond normal perception.

The wolf’s approach—fast as it was—appeared almost obvious to him.

Calmly, Melvin shifted his stance, moving his body slightly with just a small step to the side.

The wolf’s head passed exactly through the space where he had been standing.

At that exact moment, Melvin’s whip moved.

The weapon magically and instantly shortened in length, an ability he had discovered about the whip during training. The whip snapped forward with terrifying precision and wrapped briefly around the wolf’s neck.

The strike was precise and subtle, as if he had never performed it.

CLICK.

The tip of the whip made a clicking contact with the rest of its length and unfolded almost immediately.

For a moment... nothing happened.

Then the wolf’s head slid cleanly off its body. Painlessly, the severed head of the wolf landed softly on the snow... followed seconds later by its body, which collapsed beside it.

[You have slain an Evolved Creature: Glacier Wolf.]

[You have gained 10 Fragments.]

[Fragments]: 24/5000

Only after the corpse touched the ground did crimson blood begin spilling out, staining the white snow beneath it.

Silence lingered for a brief moment.

Then the rest of the wolves noticed as their glowing eyes turned toward Melvin.

That particular action of his was going to trigger a reaction among the other wolves around, and it certainly did. They had seen their brethren fall, and to hell with those free meats... they now had a far better target before them.

As juicy as it appeared, he was a living one.

Several wolves began shifting their stance, preparing to rush him. But, before even the closest one could move, the silver-haired boy had taken the initiative.

The length of his whip stretched longer through the air like a living serpent. With a swift downward swing, it lashed toward the nearest wolf’s legs.

CLICK.

Another clicking sound, making it look like the whip had wrapped around the wolf’s legs. But that was not the case.

Thanks to the attributes of the Aftertick, it went right through them in sincere cuts, leaving the creature to collapse immediately, its limbs severed cleanly as it crashed into the snow.

It wasn’t dead yet, but it was as good as such with no way to react. It was totally helpless.

For a brief moment, Melvin stared down at the writhing beast.

Whatever had driven him to act in this way was... well, not exactly identifiable.

Perhaps it was the influence of the [Hollow] mark, stripping away hesitation and emotion from him.

Perhaps he was irritated that his plan had failed. The fact he had made what to him was a big mistake.

Or perhaps, he simply believed these wild creatures deserved to return in solace to the land of their ancestors.

Or maybe—

Melvin sighed lightly.

"You bunch of ungrateful fools," he muttered, and his body vanished in that instant.

...the fact that even wolves weren’t grateful after receiving good deeds from him. This was how they chose to repay him.

In the blink of an eye, Melvin had reappeared beside the helpless wolf.

[You have used 0.2 Fragments.]

He didn’t pay attention to the runes as he immediately ended the wolf’s life with a peaceful snap of his whip.

[You have slain...]

What followed was nothing short of a massacre.

Melvin moved through the wolves like a phantom, using his ability seamlessly, appearing and disappearing beside the wolves at ease, his silver hair flashing through the cold air as his whip cracked again and again.

Each movement was precise.

Each strike was deliberate.

As he discarded positions, necks were severed and limbs were torn apart.

Bodies collapsed one after another as Melvin orchestrated the slaughter with almost artistic control.

The snow-covered valley quickly turned red.

’Bloodshed,’ Melvin thought satisfiably as he came to a halt with a drifting glide on the snow.

***

Meanwhile, at the crest of the hill, Aurex remained seated cross-legged.

From afar, it looked like he had been too frightened to move. But the truth was that he was currently watching something unbelievable.

His eyes were wide and his jaw dropped as he watched below in the valley as Melvin finished another wolf.

With a smooth motion, he spun his whip in a circular flourish, shaking off the crimson blood that clung to its surface.

Then he steadied himself on the snow.

Slowly, his purple eyes lifted toward the hill.

Toward Aurex.

And toward the horned wolves that were—

"How the fuck is he doing that?"

Just as Aurex had watched him, Melvin also discerned an unbelievable sight above.

Aurex, who seemed to have been afraid of facing these wolves, was still seated with crossed legs on the hill crest. But the crazy part was that this young man was currently enjoying a raw play.