Four wolves charged at full speed through the snow, growling low and fast like storm winds. Luke activated Identify.

[Mist Wolf – Lvl 8]

[Mist Wolf – Lvl 7]

[Mist Wolf – Lvl 7]

“Monsters,” he muttered, tightening his grip on a kukri.

Princess Charlie stood at his side, holding the other blade, waiting without fear.

Luke didn’t hesitate. He hurled his kukri.

It split mid-air. Two blades. One strike.

The lead wolf was hit before it could even close the distance.

The others kept coming.

One launched toward him. Luke activated Dark Dash, blinking sideways in a blur of shadow. As he landed, he flung a throwing knife mid-spin, striking another wolf mid-leap.

The blade sank deep. The creature yelped and skidded backward, bleeding profusely from its wound.

Bleeding?

That had to be the effect of his upgraded skill—Profane Knife Throwing.

The pack regrouped and began circling.

Princess Charlie moved in from behind, slashing with her kukri, but the wolf dodged, bounding aside with uncanny speed.

The wolves stormed into the cave from different angles.

One leapt toward Charlie, trying to pin her. The rest surged at Luke.

He raised a kukri in one hand, a throwing knife in the other. He threw, then dashed. His blade caught the nearest wolf mid-charge, sending it tumbling in the snow.

Charlie, now towering and heavier than before, yanked one wolf back by the tail, pulling it off balance. Two others closed in on her, trying to flank from both sides.

Luke leapt onto a wolf’s back before it could pounce, but the creature twisted violently, throwing him off.

Charlie wasn’t idle. She grabbed another that lunged at her, slammed it into the cave wall, and dragged it across the stone, bashing its skull. One wolf pounced onto her back, clawing wildly.

She staggered, but triggered Charge, surging forward with explosive momentum. She smashed the wolf against the wall like a living battering ram.

Luke spotted Charlie’s kukri buried in the ribs of a fallen wolf as she turned to bare-knuckle the others trying to overwhelm her.

He rolled to his feet and summoned both kukris back into his hands. Sprinting forward, he drove both blades into the next wolf, pinning it to the ground as it tried to flee.

Dead.

The last two came at once.

Luke hurled his kukris. They duplicated again—four blades in the air. The first wolf dropped with a gurgling snarl.

The second leapt directly at him. He dived backward, crashing outside the cave. The wolf followed, jaws snapping.

Luke brought one kukri up just in time and stabbed it into the beast’s mouth.

The wolf thrashed, trying to bite down, but a skeletal hand grabbed it by the throat.

Princess Charlie tore it off him, charged forward, and slammed the wolf’s skull into the cave wall with brutal force. The cracking echo rang out like thunder.

[Princess Charlie has slain a Mist Wolf – Lvl 7]

*The [Warrior] class of Princess Charlie has reached Level 5! (Class Bonus Points Acquired)*

[Princess Charlie has unlocked a new Class Skill]

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Luke stood, panting, blades ready. But there were no more enemies.

He stepped to the cave entrance. The blizzard had arrived. Whiteout conditions. Nothing but swirling snow and cold wind.

No sign of more wolves.

Still, one question stuck in his head.

Were these wolves living here… or were they tracking me?

Because the cave had shown no signs of recent use. No bones. No fur. No scent. Just empty.

Until now.

“Good job,” Luke said, letting out a breath.

Princess Charlie raised her hand. A skeleton high five.

Luke blinked.

“Alright… just this once,” he muttered, and slapped her bony palm.

She rattled happily in response.

Wasting no time, Luke pulled the branches she’d been storing inside her ribcage and tossed them into a pile on the floor. Then he dragged the dead wolves, one by one, into a rough circle around the fire pit.

He didn’t care about the blood. Not anymore. The cold was so merciless it stripped away hesitation.

He slumped down, leaning against one of the corpses, using its thick fur to block the wind. Then, channeling mana into his ring, he ignited the fire.

Heat. Immediate. Glorious.

He almost melted into the moment but stayed alert.

“Keep watch,” he said softly.

Charlie was already at the cave’s entrance, kukri in hand, scanning the whiteout beyond. The cold didn’t bother her. She didn’t need to rest.

Luke’s eyes drifted to the wolves. Their fur was thick and coarse but dense—perfect for insulation.

“I need gear,” he whispered to himself.

He ran his fingers through the pelt of the closest one. It was soft beneath the outer layer. Warm.

I could make my own coat.

He filed that away for later. For now, warmth was the priority. He pulled the wolves closer around him, turning the corpse circle into a nest of heat. Blood slicked his arms, but he didn’t care.

Then he glanced at Princess Charlie again.

Her combat style still didn’t quite fit the kukris. She fought with power, not finesse. The kukris were short and fast—meant for agile users. Charlie’s size, especially in her new form, was made for heavier, longer weapons.

He pulled up her system window.

[New Class Skill Available – Select One]

Five options.

Luke scrolled through the first.

[Quick Dodge (Common)]: The warrior uses agility to evade incoming attacks with a swift sidestep. Effectiveness depends on the user’s ability to read the opponent’s movement. May fail against unpredictable or high-speed strikes.

He paused. That could be useful for Charlie. She was strong now, sure, but still fragile in some ways. A good evasion tool could save her when brute force didn’t.

He kept reading.

[Quick Slash (Common)]: The warrior performs a fast strike, aiming to pressure enemies with rapid movements. Though less powerful than a heavy blow, it’s ideal for keeping up mobility and controlling the pace of battle.

Luke shook his head.

“Not now. She doesn’t have a proper weapon.”

Her current weapon was a kukri—barely a match for her towering skeletal frame. A proper sword or greatsword would make a difference.

Then came the third skill.

[Double Strike (Uncommon)]: A fluid combo of two rapid attacks, each targeting vulnerable spots. Though each hit does reduced damage, the rapid sequence increases pressure on the enemy and makes defense more difficult.

This skill seemed like a better version of the previous one, and its rarity was higher. He remembered that when he reached level 5 in the assassin class, he had also been offered options with higher rarity skills, like in the case of the Assassin’s Dash.

[Weak Taunt (Uncommon)]: The warrior lets out a loud, intimidating shout that draws nearby enemies, forcing them to focus on the user. Effective for protecting allies, but may fail against higher-level foes.

Luke tilted his head. He couldn’t imagine Princess Charlie yelling. Not really. But still, it was a useful skill—perfect for moments like the one with the wolves. Drawing aggro to protect others.

The problem was…

“She’s still too fragile,” he murmured.

The skill relied on Charlie being able to take hits—and right now, she couldn’t. Even with her new body, they needed offense or survivability, not reckless tanking. That one was out.

The earlier two—Quick Slash and Double Strike—also relied too much on weapon synergy. And Charlie still didn’t have a proper weapon.

That only left one more skill.

Luke tapped it and blinked.

[Iron Fist (Uncommon)]: The warrior channels stamina into their fists to deliver strikes of raw, brutal force. A single charged blow can shatter wood or crack stone—devastating against unsuspecting enemies.

Luke read through the skill, then glanced at Charlie. It would be perfect for her—especially since she didn’t use weapons.

“What do you think, Charlie? Should I pick the last skill?”

Princess Charlie nodded enthusiastically.

“Alright, Princess. You’re not unarmed anymore. Now you can use those fists.”

[Princess Charlie has learned: Iron Fist]

She stared at her hands for a moment, then clenched her fists. They began to glow—dull silver, gleaming like steel. Her skeletal hands transformed, briefly taking on a full metallic sheen.

“Literal iron fists,” Luke muttered. “Well, that’s… direct.”

The glow faded, her hands returning to bone—but the potential was still there.

Charlie looked at him, visibly pleased, and pointed at his gloves—the skeletal-styled, metallic pair he’d looted from the dungeon. Then she pointed at herself. Then at him.

Luke chuckled.

“Yeah. We match now.”

Suddenly, the wind stopped. No warning. No slow fade. Just silence.

The howling of the storm was gone, replaced by stillness.

Luke stepped toward the cave’s mouth, cautious. He peered into the clearing ahead.

Moonlight spilled across the frozen terrain. Everything shimmered.

The icy world around them—just moments ago a deadly hell—now looked like artwork, painted in strokes of silver and white.

He turned his gaze toward the Whitewood Forest.

And froze.

Bathed in moonlight, its towering trees of pale bark and glacial-blue leaves stood like silent sentinels. But it wasn’t the trees that caught his eye.

It was what he saw on one of them.

On the trunk of one—something.

His breath caught for a second. His eyes locked. His body went rigid.

In that moment, Luke knew he was in trouble.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep