Chapter 18: Frozen Rift(2)

"Don't worry, we just need to use the formation I showed you," Henry calmed the group to prevent panic and to prepare for battle.

"Alright, how about we first see where they are?" Excited, Henry took the lead.

After moving a few inches away from the group, Henry gripped his sword and delivered a powerful slash. The weapon transformed from a normal size to a giant one, creating a strong gust of wind and causing the wolves to reveal themselves from their hiding spots.

"Good, there's our prey. Let's go."

Following the order, Axel, the axe-wielder, and Marak, the spear-wielder, charged at the wolves.

Martyn, on his part, secretly drew his dagger, ready for any threat, while his companion beside him drew a light sword.

The beasts wasted no time and attacked as well. Unlike the wolf Martyn had fought in Valhalla, these stood out for their great speed.

"Varek, archer!" Henry defended against one of the beasts as the archer named Yeon-woo got into position.

She quickly nocked an arrow and began to channel mana into it, aiming at her target.

"Artemis's Arrow!"

With that shout, the girl's arrow vanished from her hand, turning into a beam of light that pierced through the wolf. "Your turn, barbarian."

Immediately after, Axel, with both axes, struck directly at the beast's neck, staining the wolf's white fur with a reddish hue.

"Alright, one down, four to go." The spear-wielding boy quickly accelerated and thrust at one of the beasts, which, in its defense, slid underneath the attack.

"Watch out, it's going to counterattack!" Martyn shouted to the man.

"Don't worry, impure, watch and learn." Mark, with a confident smile, quickly channeled mana into his weapon.

"Lunar Flare!"

A great wheel of purple fire was expelled from the man's spear, burning the wolf underneath.

"One less."

("Well, I must admit they know what they're doing.") Martyn, on the other hand, kept his distance. He really wanted to fight, but it wasn't convenient.

He had been able to do so in the hunter test since no one knew he was an impure, but now that his group knew, he couldn't show too much strength or there might be rumors he wanted to avoid.

[Warning]

Due to the system message, he quickly turned to the side and saw a beast heading towards Roy, who was distracted watching Henry and the others.

"!!Grrr!!"

"What the hell!"

The beast lunged at the girl, who, in a delayed response, tried to raise her sword in defense.

[Precise Cuts]

Without wasting time, Martyn awaited the beast's attack to counter.

[You have defeated a monster]

[You have gained 40 experience points]

[EXP: 100/130]

[Due to your participation, you have just unlocked a zone trial.]

"Eh...? Wait... what just happened...?" Due to the speed of the scene, Roy could barely process it.

Right next to her was a completely defeated wolf by an impure, something hard to believe.

"Hey, you, who the hell...?"

"Alright, we've defeated them all!" Before the girl could say anything, she was interrupted by Henry's victory shout. It seemed they had defeated the other wolves.

"Well, looks like you took down one, Roy. I didn't know that sword was so good."

After seeing the wolf beside the girl and Martyn, Henry thought it made more sense for Roy to have defeated it rather than Martyn.

"Ehh..." The girl looked directly into Martyn's eyes before responding. "Yeah... hehe, it's high quality." It seemed she chose to lie.

"Good, now we have the pelts. With these, we can make clothes for the cold. Can you make them, Varek?" The girl with the bow asked the mage, who immediately got to work.

After a few minutes, everyone had coats for the cold, making it easier to move around.

"Great, now with the meat, we'll make dinner," said Axel, patting his stomach.

"Let's make a campfire here and spend the night." Henry smiled. Things were going well for now.

"Hey, why did you lie?" Martyn asked Roy. He thought he would be exposed immediately.

"Ehh, you... do you have help from dark gods?" The girl asked, looking at Martyn with fear.

("I see, so that's what it was. This is better.") Martyn simply didn't respond and went to help with the campfire. It would be easier to explain that than to say he was chosen by gods who had abandoned humanity.

***

"Yes, that's why my sword can change size. It's all thanks to the blessing Cernunnos gave me."

"Oh, I see. In my case, the blessing was given by Horus."

Night had fallen and the group was chatting among themselves. Meanwhile, Martyn was sitting away from the conversation.

Thanks to having killed the wolves, they wouldn't have to worry about attacks from other beasts. After all, it's rare for other beasts to come to places where there might be predators.

"I'm going for a walk, I'll be back later," said Martyn, getting up from the rock he was sitting on.

"Hey, it's dangerous, better..." Varek tried to stop Martyn, but was stopped by Henry. Martyn, on his part, continued on his way.

"It's better if that guy dies. We're wasting resources and energy on him. What's an impure doing being a hunter anyway?"

Roy tried to say something, but didn't want trouble with Martyn.

Martyn heard Henry's words from a distance, but didn't care. He knew that sooner or later such thoughts would come out.

"Alright, I'm far enough now," Martyn said, opening his system window. There was something he needed to check.

[Zone Trial: Frost Destruction]

After defeating the wolf, he had received a special trial.

"Let's see what this is about." Without wasting time, Martyn decided to check the details.

[You must eliminate all monsters with frost magic in the area:]

[Forest Monsters: 1/10]

[Cave Monsters: 0/50]

[Snow Monsters: 0/3]

[Rewards: Skill: Summon, Frozen Rune, Heroic Rank Weapon, Defensive Hood, 100 stats points.]

"Wow, this mission is complicated but, 100 stats points!?"