Kase propped up the Insect Shell with one hand, swinging the Catapult with his other arm.

Flames danced in the air, gathering in Colin’s hands.

As he launched a ranged attack with [Flaming Arrow], he carefully sized up the approaching giant Jackal Wolfman.

The space in the doorway wasn’t large; only this giant Jackal Wolfman could fit through to attack on its own.

Most of the creature’s Armor was concentrated around its waist. Its legs were very similar to a canine’s—the typical legs of a digitigrade animal, only much more muscular.

The Cleaver in its hand was riddled with nicks and covered in black filth. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The Cleaver was so wide and thick that it would be impossible to swing in the narrow doorway.

To put it simply, Colin and Kase’s earlier decision not to rush out had been a wise one.

The [Flaming Arrow] and the stone flew out at the same time.

Both attacks struck the giant Jackal Wolfman. The Flame and the stone were deflected by its Leather Armor, the assault only causing the massive creature to pause for a moment.

After using Magic against so many creatures, Colin had a good sense of his spells’ effects. To him, the [Flaming Arrow] seemed to have about the same impact on the giant Jackal Wolfman as it did on the Carrion Insects he’d fought before.

This realization helped him relax considerably.

At least the enemy before him wasn’t as invincible as it looked.

"No more time to waste. You ready, human boy?" Kase tossed aside his Catapult.

Colin took a deep breath. "Of course."

In the instant they spoke, the giant Jackal Wolfman gripped its Cleaver by the hilt with one hand and the back of the blade with the other, bringing it smashing down on the shell propped on the ground.

The two men hiding behind it dodged to either side.

The hard shell was smashed to the ground with a loud CLANG.

Just as Colin was about to repay the favor, the Jackal Wolfman snapped its head to the side and glared at him.

’This thing is going to bite me!’

The enemy couldn’t maneuver in this tight space, but he had nowhere to dodge either.

Colin quickly cast [Blade Ward], using the motion of the Casting to raise his Wrist Guard into the path of the snapping wolf-like maw.

Things went just as he expected.

The hyena-like head, full of sharp fangs, lunged forward and bit down.

In that instant, Colin clearly saw the pale yellow light on his wrist tremble, and the Jackal Wolfman’s bite visibly slowed.

Teeth crunched against the leather Wrist Guard.

Even though the Wrist Guard and his Cotton Armor absorbed most of the force, the excruciating pain that shot through his wrist nearly made Colin cry out.

Gritting his teeth, he viciously stabbed the hyena-like head with his Short Sword.

Beside him, Kase jabbed his Javelin into the Jackal Wolfman’s shoulder. He roared, trying to pin the monster against the wall, but the trembling in his hands proved his strength was completely spent.

The blow forced the giant Jackal Wolfman to release its bite.

It reversed its grip on the Cleaver and pressed it against the Half-Orc’s chest, bracing its other leg against the wall to shove its opponent away.

The nicks on the Cleaver tore at Kase’s chest, and crimson blood seeped from the wound. At the same time, the Javelin dug into the Jackal Wolfman’s shoulder, draining the lifeblood from the behemoth.

The two massive creatures, both over two meters tall, were wrestling right before his eyes.

Perhaps before, Colin would have hesitated to advance, but after several life-or-death battles, he was no longer the person he had been.

He saw that Kase was about to be overpowered by his even larger opponent.

Colin tightened his grip on his weapon with both hands.

He raised the Orc Short Sword high. The weapon whistled through the air as he brought it down, sinking more than half the blade deep into the Jackal Wolfman’s calf. It had probably struck bone.

The behemoth let out a terrifying shriek of pain.

The sound was so intense it made Colin feel a phantom pain of his own. It was then that he realized just how much that single point of Power had strengthened him.

Kase, who had only been able to hold his ground against the Jackal Wolfman, seized the opportunity. With a sudden burst of effort, he forced his opponent to its knees. The unstable legs of a digitigrade creature buckled, and he slammed the giant Jackal Wolfman to the ground.

He shouted, "Finish it!"

In its agony, the giant Jackal Wolfman was powerless to resist. It even slowly lowered the Cleaver it had pressed against the Half-Orc.

Colin began Casting his Curse without hesitation.

His Specialty-enhanced [Emerald Flame Sword] was his only choice now.

He gripped the flame-wreathed blade and swung it directly at his opponent’s throat. If all went well, this blow would be enough to make the giant Jackal Wolfman deader than dead.

The hyena-like head before him let out a low growl.

Driven by its survival instinct, the creature forced itself to grip its Cleaver and block.

Colin could see its movement.

’But the arrow’s already on the string—it has to be fired!’

The Orc Short Sword and the Jackal Wolfman’s Cleaver collided in mid-air. The magical Flame blossomed into a brilliant flower of fire. With a sharp CLANG, Colin felt his hand go numb, and then a stream of heat streaked across his face.

The Flame dissipated.

The giant Jackal Wolfman’s face was now covered in a dense pattern of bloody holes. Its entire face, half its shoulder, and even its neck were a mess of torn flesh, with shimmering metal fragments visible in the wounds.

Colin glanced down. Only the hilt and half a blade of his Orc Short Sword remained in his hand.

He touched the trace left by the hot streak on his cheek and his hand came away covered in blood.

’Must have been the flying metal fragments.’

’Looks like I put too much into that one. The blade couldn’t take it.’

Colin felt dizzy; the explosion had dazed him.

CRACK!

The sound of splintering wood came from behind him.

The handle of the Axe propped against the door had been shattered by the force of the constant impacts. Kase cursed, leaping to the doorway to hold the door shut with all his might.

Whatever was outside continued to slam against the door.

Kase’s entire body was shaking. He had no choice but to bet everything on holding back whatever was outside.

Just as Colin was about to go help him, that chilling, cackling laughter echoed from behind him again.

Several Jackal Wolfmen were climbing over the corpse of the giant one. The monsters held weapons, but their eyes, filled with hunger and bloodlust, made Colin feel as if he were facing a Wolf Pack that had been starving for centuries, not a group of intelligent, weapon-wielding creatures.

The good news was that the already narrow entrance was now mostly blocked by the giant Jackal Wolfman’s corpse, meaning the Jackal Wolfmen could only come at him two at a time at most.

And the bad news... he decided not to think about it. There was too much.

Seeing the Jackal Wolfmen in front charge at him, Colin cast [Blade Ward] on himself and charged forward, weathering the thrust of an opponent’s Short Spear to shove his Broken Sword into its throat.

He snatched the Short Spear from the Jackal Wolfman’s hand, cast [Emerald Flame Sword], and stabbed another Jackal Wolfman in the chest, blasting its torso into a mess of torn flesh. The resulting sparks flew backward and struck another unlucky foe.

But the poorly maintained Short Spear also exploded from the force of the spell.

Before he could even catch his breath, two more Jackal Wolfmen clambered forward.

Colin threw himself at them, fighting the two monsters viciously.

Between the high-intensity spell Casting and the aftereffects of the weapon exploding, his head was spinning. It was hard to think clearly.

Now, he only wanted to survive.

Weapons, fists, Magic... even his teeth.

Colin was surprisingly calm now.

While counterattacking, he managed to focus on constantly reapplying [Blade Ward] to himself. Beyond that, all he could do was pray that his enemies wouldn’t hit a vital spot.

Attack after attack, enemy after enemy fell.

His vision was a blur of blood; his hands were slick with it.

He couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, couldn’t do anything but fight back with all his might... Suddenly, Colin felt his weapon slip from his grasp, his hand slick with sticky blood.

And then, he too began to fall.

Falling into an endless darkness...