Chapter 14
#14. The Time of Dogs and Wolves
[Shepherd Girl's Request - Wolf Pack]
Description : Shepherds who lead animals in the middle of the grasslands have long been the subject of many superstitions.
Holding a staff in one hand, blowing a horn, and freely directing a great many sheep sometimes made them look like shamans.
There were even rumors that if you met a shepherd while traveling, you could receive the earth spirit's blessing and avoid misfortune.
There were also rumors that a shepherd was actually a demon in disguise, sealing a traveler's soul inside a sheep.
But this shepherd girl is just a frail child. She only has a small knack for driving wolves away.
And that knack will not work on the newly appeared king of the wolves. The girl will no longer be able to protect the sheep by herself.
Of course, protecting herself would be impossible as well. That is why the girl has asked you for help.
[Quest Objectives]
1. Protect the girl.
2. Protect the girl's dog (Optional).
3. Protect the flock (Optional).
4. Defeat the king of the wolf pack (Optional).
The quest's contents were similar to what was known on the open community, but there were also many differences.
Originally, the quest given by the shepherd girl NPC was called [Wolf Extermination], a hunting quest that spanned five stages in total.
But what I was given was some kind of escort quest. On top of that, the quest description's format was a little different from the usual.
I had thought only major campaign quests came with descriptions this long. So that wasn't the case?
The quest objectives were full of things that bothered me.
It had three optional objectives. In quests like this, the more optional goals you complete, the bigger the reward should be.
Even the [Wolf Extermination] quest you can normally get from the shepherd has pretty good rewards, so how much better are they planning to make this one?
And the last optional objective—defeating the king of the wolf pack—does that mean the field boss [Wolf King Robo]?
I heard that, aside from the boss of the second-floor labyrinth area, it was the strongest single monster there, and now they want me to kill it out of nowhere.
For a quest you can pick up right at the entrance to the second floor, the estimated difficulty is way too high.
Every sign pointed to this quest offering massive rewards. There was no reason to turn it down.
“I accept.”
Even if the difficulty was high, considering my level and stats, it wouldn't be that hard.
If push came to shove, I could give up the optional objectives and just take the base reward without losing out.
Once I accepted the quest, the quest window that had appeared before me vanished, and a new notification window appeared.
[All the wolves in the field have begun watching you.]
It was a red interface instead of the usual blue.
[All wolf-type monsters enter a 'Frenzy' state. Their attack and defense increase.]
[All wolf-type monsters will pursue you. They will be treated as having the initiative.]
[The King of Wolves will pursue you. The field boss will be able to move beyond the designated field.]
This seems to be a much bigger quest than I thought.
**
So from now until we reach the village, the field boss is going to chase us himself?
Now I understood why there were so many optional objectives. In a situation like this, completing them all would be incredibly hard.
Maybe a large party could handle it, but could I really protect the shepherd girl NPC, the dog, and the sheep all by myself?
“It’s a relief that you’ll help, adventurer... I’ll definitely repay you for this once we get back to the village.”
“Don’t relax—let’s hurry.”
“Ah, yes, of course... I’ll bring the sheep over. Come on, Flanders, let’s go.”
The shepherd girl led the black dog with her staff in hand, trotting off in quick little steps before coming back with the sheep.
There were fourteen sheep in total. Fewer than I expected, but not exactly few if I had to protect them alone.
The village was quite far away too. If I ran flat out, I'd be there in no time, but once I had to move while herding a flock, the perceived distance ballooned.
Now that I was actually doing the quest, there were plenty of irritating points. That said, I still had no intention of giving up.
“The village is that way.”
For now, I quietly followed the shepherd girl's lead and set off in the direction of the village.
After walking for who knew how long, only a few minutes passed before a pack of wolves charged at us.
I stopped the sheep that were trailing behind the shepherd girl and ran out to meet them with my weapon drawn.
-Grrrr!
The same two types of field wolves appeared again. The only difference from before was the number.
From a distance, they looked like five or six each, but there were about two or three packs of a similar size, spaced a little apart.
All together, maybe twenty. No matter how many trash mobs there are, they aren't much of a threat—but the problem is that I'm not alone.
“Come at me, all of you!”
Hoping for a taunt effect, I shouted loudly and charged at the wolves first.
I had to get as deep into the pack as possible and fight there, so the wolves couldn't slip past me and target the shepherd.
-Crack!
I smacked the wolf leading the pack with my shield and sent it flying, then launched myself like a rock star stage-diving into the audience.
I then rode straight up onto the back of a large wolf and stabbed its back with my dagger, just like I had done to the Goblin Lord.
The dagger's damage was weak, but since wolves weren't especially sturdy, I was able to take one down quickly.
-Awooo!
Was it reacting to the blood of its kin? Or was it because of that 'Frenzy' effect I saw earlier?
Fortunately, the wolves didn't look away and charged straight at me. After that, everything went like clockwork.
Swinging my sword and shield wildly in a chaotic scrap, I cut down every last wolf—more than twenty of them.
“Eek! Adventurer!”
At that moment, the shepherd girl screamed from behind. I stepped over the wolf corpses and hurried back.
A wolf with ash-gray fur, different from the ones I'd taken down earlier, was facing off against the sheepdog.
“Hup!”
After roughly gauging the distance to the wolf, I hurled the shield hanging from my left arm like a Frisbee.
-Thwack!
The wolf hit by the shield collapsed on the spot, but another pack of wolves appeared and rushed in right after.
I recovered the shield I'd thrown and charged the pack once more.
**
Fuck, there's no way I can clear this quest.
“Huff, huff... fucking mutts.”
There was no way I could stop cursing. The quest design was basically telling me not to do this solo.
Once I drove off one pack of wolves, another pack would burst out from the opposite side as if it had been waiting for the chance.
If I ran so hard it felt like my feet were on fire and took those ones down, another pack would appear from the other side and go after the sheep.
I don't even know how many times I've repeated this shit already. Even dog-training hell couldn't be this much of a shitshow.
If my agility stat were even a few levels lower, I would have already lost all the sheep and then some.
The most fucked-up part is that, after repeating this bullshit over and over, there's no way I can even reach the village.
“A-Adventurer... should we rest for a bit?”
“Hah... fine, let's keep moving.”
The shepherd girl fidgeted and suggested we rest, watching my expression, but I refused and quickened my pace.
If I sat down and rested now, I might end up giving up the quest altogether. I'm the kind of person who shouldn't be taking breaks.
I don't trust myself. Laziness, once shed, was never really gone. Lose your momentum, and it's over.
And besides, I couldn't afford to rest for long in the first place. If I stopped now, who would protect the sheep? That black dog?
“J-just hang in there a little longer. There's a good place to hide the sheep over there.”
If I remembered correctly, that was true. There should be a safe spot in the second-floor field area a little farther ahead. If we were going to rest, it had to be there.
As I dragged my exhausted body onward, a blue notification window suddenly popped up before my eyes.
[Passive Skill: Combat Endurance Lv.1 acquired.]
“Huh?”
What is this all of a sudden?
**
After a long forced march, we finally reached the safe zone in the field area.
“If we put the sheep in between these rocks, even the wolves won’t be able to do anything.”
The shepherd girl herded the sheep into the gap between the rocks with her dog and said as much. Well, that seemed about right.
I sat on a nearby rock, opened my status window, and checked the passive skill I had just obtained under the skill tab.
[Combat Awakening Lv.1]
[Combat Endurance Lv.1]
The [Combat Endurance] skill was lined up beside [Combat Awakening], which I had learned in the fight against the Goblin Lord.
Even when I fiddled with the interface, I couldn't find any explanation of its effects.
I opened the Open Community and searched for the skill name. Unexpectedly, several info posts came up.
“Improved concentration... and increased stamina?”
The skills of the same name that other challengers had came with proper descriptions, unlike mine.
Even the source of the skill was clear. No one seemed to have obtained it the way I did—just having it fall into my lap out of nowhere.
It didn't show up numerically on the status window, but it was clearly a skill with an actual effect.
“What on earth is this?”
There just wasn't enough information to figure it out through search. At times like this, it's better to ask directly.
If there were rankers who camped out in the Tower of Trials, they'd know something about it.
I opened the Open Community and started writing a question post for the first time in a long while. Then it happened.
[The Time of Wolves has come.]
Once again, a notification window glowing red appeared before my eyes.