The wolves' coordinated attacks had pushed me to my limit. Time to change tactics. I accessed my status screen mid-dodge, dumping my remaining stat points into Intelligence. Power surged through me as my mana reserves expanded.
Ice crystals formed around my claws as I studied their movements. They were fast, but their attack patterns followed a rhythm. Each Wind Blade required a brief pause to gather magic.
"Ice Spike!" I shot a barrage of smaller crystals at their paws instead of aiming for killing blows. One wolf yelped as ice pierced its leg, disrupting their formation.
The injured wolf snarled and leaped at me, thinking I'd left myself open. Fatal mistake. I gathered mana for a concentrated Ice Spear, timing it perfectly. The crystalline shaft burst through its chest mid-jump, pinning it to a tree trunk.
"Brother!" Another wolf's howl cut short as I unleashed a point-blank Ice Spike into its throat. Blood sprayed across my fur as it collapsed.
The last Rank 1 wolf's eyes blazed with fury. It gathered wind magic around its form, muscles bunching for a desperate attack. I waited, letting it come.
It lunged for my throat, wind magic howling around its fangs. I ducked under its strike and surged upward, my own fangs finding their mark. Bone crunched between my jaws as I ripped through its throat.
The wolf's body hit the ground with a dull thud. Three Rank 1 corpses joined the unranked ones scattered across the clearing. Blood dripped from my muzzle as I turned to face my final opponent.
The Alpha hadn't moved during the entire exchange. Her yellow eyes held mine, unblinking.
The Alpha's growl vibrated through my bones, deeper than any sound I'd heard before. My fur stood on end as her mana signature flared, raw power radiating off her form.
"You killed my warriors. My mate." Her voice carried none of the rage I expected. Just cold, deadly purpose. "Allow me to show you the difference between us."
She vanished.
My Danger Sense screamed a split-second warning. I threw myself sideways as claws tore through the space where my head had been. The Alpha's speed defied belief - one moment twenty feet away, the next right on top of me.
Pain blazed across my ribs as her strike caught me mid-dodge. Blood sprayed from the wound, my legs nearly buckling from the force behind her attack. That single glancing blow felt like being hit by a boulder.
I stumbled backward, chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. The wounds from the other wolves throbbed, but they felt like scratches compared to this new gash. The Alpha's yellow eyes tracked my movement, calculating her next strike.
"Do you understand now, little tiger?" She circled me with fluid grace, wind magic crackling around her form. "You're barely more than a cub playing at being strong. I've killed creatures ten times your size."
My legs trembled as I backed away. The gap between Rank 1 and Rank 2 wasn't just about numbers - it was an entirely different league of power. One direct hit from those claws would tear me in half.
The Alpha's claws flashed again, impossibly fast. I threw up an Ice Wall, but she shattered it with a single strike, fragments of ice exploding around us. My legs shook as I stumbled backward, blood dripping from a dozen wounds.
"Wind Rush!"
The forest blurred. Pain exploded across my side as she slammed into me, sending me tumbling across the ground. I barely rolled to my feet before she was on me again, her attacks coming from every direction.
My ice magic sparked weakly as I tried to counter. The mana drain from the earlier fights left me running on fumes. Each spell came slower, weaker. The Alpha didn't even bother dodging anymore - my attacks simply bounced off her wind-shrouded form.
"Pathetic." She batted aside another Ice Spear like it was nothing. "Is this all the power you gained from killing my mate?"
I launched myself backward, desperate to create distance. Too slow. Her jaws clamped down on my shoulder, teeth crushing through muscle and bone. A roar of agony tore from my throat as she shook me like a rag doll.
Blood poured from the wound when she finally released me. My left leg barely supported my weight anymore. Panic clawed at my chest as I realized how outmatched I truly was.
"Ice Wall!" I poured what little mana I had left into creating a barrier between us. The crystalline structure rose from the ground, thick and layered.
The Alpha's laugh sent chills down my spine. She reared back, wind magic swirling around her form.
"Wind Blade!"
My Ice Wall - my strongest defense - shattered like glass. The Alpha stepped through the falling shards, her yellow eyes fixed on my throat.
My legs trembled as I faced the Alpha, blood dripping from my wounds. I couldn't win this fight - not head-on. The cliff edge behind me offered one desperate chance.
The Alpha's muscles bunched, wind magic crackling around her form. "Die!"
She launched forward, claws extended for my throat. I threw myself sideways, but my injured leg buckled. The ground crumbled beneath my paws as I slipped toward the edge.
The Alpha's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. Her momentum carried her straight toward me. I twisted just enough to avoid her strike, my body already falling backward into open air.
Her jaws snapped inches from my face as we both tumbled over the cliff. The river rushed below us, a silver ribbon in the moonlight. The Alpha's claws found purchase on an outcropping, her body slamming against the rock face.
Time seemed to slow. My body spun in the air as I gathered my last scraps of mana. Ice crystals formed, condensing into a single deadly spike.
"This is for your mate." The ice spike shot forward, punching through the back of her skull. Her yellow eyes went dim as blood sprayed from the wound.
The Alpha's corpse plummeted past me as I continued falling. Wind whipped through my fur. The river's surface rushed up to meet me, dark and unforgiving.
I hit the water like a stone wall. The impact drove the air from my lungs as cold wrapped around me. My vision blurred, darkness creeping in at the edges as the current dragged me under.
The river's icy grip dragged me deeper, my limbs too heavy to fight against the current. Blood clouded the water around me, my wounds pulsing with each desperate heartbeat. The last of my mana flickered and died, leaving me defenseless against the river's raw power.
Rocks scraped against my side as the current slammed me into the riverbed. My lungs burned for air, but I couldn't tell which way was up anymore. The water spun me like a leaf in a storm, my battered body tumbling end over end.
The cold seeped into my bones, numbing the pain from my wounds. Maybe this was karma - I'd survived the Alpha's attack only to drown in the aftermath. Black spots danced across my vision as my body screamed for oxygen.
My thoughts grew sluggish, memories blurring together. The office job in my past life, the plane crash, waking up in this world - it all felt like a distant dream. The current pulled me deeper, and I lacked the strength to resist.
The darkness crept in from the edges of my vision, promising peace. My consciousness slipped away like water through my claws. The last thing I felt was the river carrying my limp body down the stream.