A great harvest

Despite being surrounded by wolves, Hex felt at ease. The wolves were at the Demon stage but it didn't matter.

Clang. 

The wolves attacked using their claws and their fangs. It was impossible to block each attack but he never intended to do so. 

The cloak shielded him from the attacks, leaving him to focus on killing the stronger ones in the pack first.

The lair of the wolves was indeed hidden as Althea had said. It lay in a narrow valley between two high mountain walls. The caves inside the walls served as their nesting ground. 

The entrance of the valley was hidden behind bushes. The bushes were easy to navigate but worked well to conceal the surroundings.

Hex was focusing on controlling the energy he used to kill wolves. He tried to adjust it with each strike. His rapid rise in power levels caused his control over energy expenditure to decrease. 

'Some of the sword strikes cut the wolves into two. Unless I intend to package meat, I don't need to use so much strength.'

The only technique the baron allowed Hex to train in was the bearhanded sword, which emphasized control above everything else.

The sword in Hex's hand never stopped. It swung left and right. Tens of wolves were killed. Now and then Hex would sneak toward the front. 

The fight between the Fiend and Althea was destructive. The valley shook as thunderous sounds echoed through it, every time Althea struck her spear out.

Althea wouldn't be able to defeat the Fiend-stage beast. On the other hand, the beast was having an equally hard time trying to sink its fangs into the agile girl.

She was fast, precise, and deadly. Hex could already tell that she had become one with her weapon. It seemed like an extension of hers. 

Hex quickened the speed of killing. After a half hour of killing, he finally slashed the head of the last wolf standing between him and the other battle.

The alpha noticed him too. It tried to circumvent Althea and jump onto him. But Hex didn't let it.

He moved quickly to decrease the distance between him and Althea as he barred the path out of the valley. The alpha was cornered.

"Be careful," Hex cautioned her. "A cornered beast is more dangerous."

They stepped closer towards the wolf, who was crouching. It bared its fangs at the humans. 

"It's preparing to attack!" Hex shouted and reduced the distance between him and the alpha. Right then, the beast jumped.

Thanks to Hex's quick reaction, it jumped over him. Althea was ready. She attacked with lightning strikes. Her spear blurred as she struck in quick succession.

Due to its failed jump, the wolf couldn't block Althea completely. It struck in rapid succession, trying to snap the girl in two.

Behind it, Hex had already gathered his cloak into his fist. He jumped and swung his sword at the Fiend. 

The sword connected and cut deep into its neck.

The wolf howled loudly. 

Before Hex could put more into his attack, the beast swung its claws at him. Hex was a tad too slow. The claw hit him square in his chest. 

The strike was quick but powerful. Hex was thrown against the wall, this time without his shield. 

"Urg," Hex groaned as he felt the pain of his bones making creaking sounds. None broke, yet the pain was immense. 

Hex didn't have time to tend his wounds though. He hurried to his feet. The wolf was getting restless. Even Althea had trouble keeping up with it. Hex saw some of the claw strikes landing on her. The blood smears on her armor increased with each moment.

'Time to go all out.' 

Hex gritted his teeth and focused on gathering his energy cloak towards his fists. The difficulty lay in making it flow towards his sword. 

'A little bit more.' Slowly he managed to cloak his sword with his energy. 

"Hold it down!"

He shouted at Althea as he ran up a few rocks lying around. He was building momentum. Luckily Althea understood him rather quickly. 

She moved around the wolf, attracting all its fury. Hex's focus was stretched to its limit. Maintaining long-term control over his energy proved to be challenging. 

He ran higher and higher. When he reached half the wall, only then did he turn.

"Get away!"

With a shout, he jumped.

'Control and swing.'

He dived towards the wolf. It sensed him coming and looked up. 

'Now!'

Hex swung his sword toward the stunned Fiend. He could feel the energy draining from his body as it gathered on the tip of his sword.

BAM!

The sword hit the wolf squarely on its maw, exploding it. Pieces of it flew around.

"AAA!" Hex cried out in pain. His entire focus had been on unleashing the energy at the right time. He didn't control his fall. This time he did break his leg and a few ribs. 

He tried to ignore the pain and looked at the wolf. Its maw was shattered, and its eyes were destroyed. But it survived.

It was still breathing. It was struggling to stand up.

"Thunderstrike!"

Althea had not stopped moving. As soon as she got out of Hex's way, she climbed the rocks too. And then dove down. 

Thunder rumbled through the valley, causing the ground to tremble.

The strike hit the Fiend, piercing through it. The Fiend was cut in two.

Unlike Hex, Althea landed beautifully on the floor. Her grace stunned Hex. 

'Fuck. Must be nice to be made of spring.' Hex cursed inwardly as he compared her and his strike. 

Hex sometimes forgot he didn't train in combat for six years. And he didn't know that Althea trained since she could close her fists. 

"Are you alright?" Althea asked in a tone that seemed calm. Whether she really cared if he was injured or not, Hex didn't know. 

He groaned and pulled a small vial out of his pouch. He had taken some of the healing potions Oron had brought along… just in case. 

The potion worked quickly, but he still needed an hour of agonizing recovery. Althea used the time to harvest the crystals around them. Hex was amazed that she wasn't even a bit slower than him. 

'She is experienced and quick with her knife. I wonder how she trains to be so good at many things.'

A person's time and energy was limited. It was rare for someone to excel in multiple fields. He could understand being good in a few related fields but she did well in every field he could imagine.

Based on his observation, Hex realized that the long-legged beauty was more dangerous than he had assumed. She was a triple Blessed, adept at using her spear, and could somehow use a technique that allowed her to fuse her element.

The last part was something he had only known Knights to be able to do. 

'One more thing I need to check with the baron. I wonder if he can at least teach me to do that.' Hex couldn't help but grumble at the thought of the neglect he experienced from his master. 

After the required one hour, he could already move. He stood up and moved up and down, checking if there were lasting damages.

He wasn't ready for battle yet, but it was enough to help with the harvesting and scouring of the caves. They found many valuable herbs in the crevices and corners. They even found a bush full of blood pears.

According to the pamphlet each fruit was worth a hundred points and they got eleven. They split it five to six. Althea had taken the Fiend crystal, thus she let him have the extra apple. 

When they were done, it proved to be the best harvest either of them had as far as points went. 

"What now?" Althea asked with a meaningful look at him. They both knew what was next. 

With a dark expression on his face, Hex stood up. He still remembered Vitor's unwilling and pained eyes. He could still hear Aran's deranged laughter as he fell into darkness.

"Now we will trample the worms into the ground!"