The things had crawled from the forest and walked directly toward the fringes of the safe zone.

  "Vorrak." Tress's mutter came with a rush that ran down my spine.

  They moved on all fours as they exited the forest, but as they got closer, they stood tall on only two feet.

  Their bodies were muscular, their fur black, their paws pointed and sharp, and their hands ended in long claws. If Tress hadn’t named the creatures, I’d just call them werewolves.

  I couldn’t think of a better description for their immense bodies and wolf-like faces. Their eyes were yellow and shone in the light. The moon didn’t shine on them, but they emitted something of their own.

  There were three of them, all identical, all with bright yellow eyes.

  They opened their mouths wide—wider than any wolf or man could—and light erupted from within.

  Even from several feet away, I could see the blackness of their mouths turning pink with a glow burning from the depths of their stomachs, then shifting to something between yellow and white.

  A beam of energy shot toward the safe zone, but the invisible curtain drained its power. The light was still strong enough to illuminate the surroundings.

  They walked closer. The one in the middle outstretched its hand to touch the barrier, and the moment it did, it was hurled away as if struck by a massive wave.

  The other two looked toward their fallen companion, then stepped back to help it to its feet.

  Intelligent and empathetic.

  I rose to my feet and walked toward the creatures. I wasn’t planning to pass through the curtain—just to get a better look at them.

  The others followed me as I strode.

  “Vorrak? Is that what they are? They are helping each other, are they like other race from your planet who’s also here and the system didn’t told us?” I asked, not realizing I was asking too many questions at the same time.

  “They’re not people,” Tress didn’t have hate in her voice, but that was the closest I saw her getting to it. “They’re cursed by the Faceless, condemned to be in this form. We don’t know if they were myriads before, but they always existed and they always hated us. They can think to an extent and help each other to achieve a goal, but they’re normally savage and destructive towards their own.”

  “And these are the day five monsters,” Mary muttered, “this shit is getting harder way too fast.”

  “They want to separate the strong from the weak before the city stones are available,” I offered and no one protested, the system was clearly pushing the limits with these new monsters.

  “What else do we need to know?” Elk asked.

  “They can’t move during the day, it’s their curse. They have this light power that hits like a boulder and can create a hole on you, but it’s taxing for them to use. I’ve never seen the same Vorrak use this more than once.

  The one that wounded shoved a second one and blood flew from the injury. They growled to each other, but the sound didn’t reach me. The third one moved back and the one who had been hurled away got up alone.

  It moved towards us, first slowly, and then it was in all fours stopping one inch away from the curtain.

  Their eyes were gigantic, their fangs even more and they looked as sharp as a dagger.

  We exchanged a stare as it growled, drool escaping their mouths.

  "Is this their alpha?" I asked, only to realize the word probably meant nothing to myriads. They didn’t have Greek words in their culture, and the term was too specific to be translated—the same way the monster in front of me wasn’t simply a werewolf when she spoke. "I mean, is this their leader?"

  "They’re always in odd numbers, usually three, five, or seven. And yes, they have a leader—it’s probably the one with the killing gaze. They have to show dominance, or they’re replaced."

  "Feels like home," Elk added. "But we actually choose to be evil to each other. These are more like animals."

  Tress nodded and got back to the subject. "They’re afraid of fire, but they’ll figure out illusions quickly. Our best chance is to wait until morning. They always leave when the sun comes up."

  "So sit and wait until morning? That doesn’t sound terrible. I’d take that over fighting these monsters." Mary walked back—the creatures scared the shit out of her, and I couldn’t blame her.

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  We’d seen some weird shit, and these monsters were nothing compared to the drake, but their sheer size—and the way their monstrosity struck something already rooted in our Earthling minds—made them look like a nightmare.

  Suddenly, our party had ended, and we were inside a horror movie. I actually liked werewolf movies. I read Cycle of the Werewolf a hundred times after finding a copy in the trash when I was twelve, but I had to wait years to find out who the wolf actually was since the last fifty pages were missing. Only when I watched Silver Bullet did I finally uncover the mystery.

  I’d have preferred if werewolves had stayed in my imagination, but seeing them this close made it all seem too real—nothing like an '80s movie.

  "So we wait until morning, and then what? Another bigger monster will be waiting for us? Let me check." I opened my minimap, sure the others were doing the same. "Max just stepped out of his safe zone and is moving. We have about four hours ahead of him. It’ll be at least six until morning. I don’t think staying put is an option."

  "Let's go, then." Mary shrugged. "I'm shitting myself, but I don’t want that prick to reach it before us." She said it nonchalantly, making me remember how unsure she’d been on day one. She was still afraid but had become way better at swallowing it and facing what lay ahead. For that, I was proud.

  "We move alongside the barrier as much as we can, then exit already attacking. Save your mana spell for an emergency, Elk." He nodded, probably already thinking about how to cover for us while we ran toward the city stone. "This is day five now. Tomorrow will be way harder, so we run as much as possible and hope to find another safe zone. If we don’t, Tress will be assigned to find a safe resting place."

  "Good, boss!" Mary stood up, giving a military salute that was particularly cute considering she was five feet tall and looked like a uni freshman.

  I chuckled but quickly got back to business. "Remember, the way toward the city stone is uphill, so it’ll be a climb—it won’t be easy."

  Everyone nodded, and we started moving. We had nothing to pack and no reason to extinguish the fire at the center of the safe zone.

  We took a few steps back, hoping the monsters would lose interest and look for another prey, but they kept walking at the same pace as us, circling the invisible wall that separated security from danger.

  When we reached the spot where we needed to exit, the monsters halted, waiting. The fuckers were clever.

  "I'll distract them, and you do the rest. Stay behind Mary if needed," I told them, preparing a [Lightning Momentum] beneath my feet.

  I shot above the creatures and watched as they turned toward me immediately, the alpha twisting its waist at an angle that made no natural sense—but let it track me the whole way through the sky.

  When I landed a few feet away, the monster was already closing in.

  And my idea to weaken it with some lightning bolts went to shit.

  The monster dashed on all fours, my entire focus locked onto it. The others behind me were an afterthought—I was sure they could handle their two monsters. I just needed to deal with this one.

  It rushed to tackle me. I activated [Lightning Aura] but still aimed to dodge.

  Even so, its left arm caught my shoulder, knocking me to the ground. I rolled as it landed on all fours a few feet away.

  I got up as fast as I could, taking advantage of the distance to shoot three lightning bolts at it. The third hit, and the monster roared—a mix of pain and rage—its body twitching as I halted its second advance.

  The fourth bolt missed, but I was ready. The monster wasn’t expecting my dagger since I’d kept it in my inventory the whole time.

  I let it come for me, only lifting my left arm to neck height in case it aimed for my throat. Just as I predicted, its fangs sank into my forearm the moment my closed fist struck its chest.

  The creature instantly released my arm, stepping back with one hand on its chest.

  I’d missed the heart, but its fur bristled. It had been electrified by my aura, and the wound on my limb wasn’t as deep as I’d expected. My combination of skills was working better than I’d hoped.

  Maybe if I get close enough, with the blood flowing, the shock will hit harder. I thought, but my feet were already moving.

  A [Lightning Momentum] later, I was tackling the monster.

  Its long nails tried to claw my back, but my armor held strong.

  I could feel my electrified aura stunning it, each punch weakening its response.

  Raising my dagger to pierce the monster’s heart—I was hurled away.

  In the fray, I didn’t catch the second figure coming my way. I only realized it when I was flying through the air.

  The monster had grabbed me by the collar of my armor and hurled me toward my friends, who had already dealt with their two werewolves—the duo burning on the ground.

  I landed hard, my eyes frantically searching for my assailant.

  Another Vorrak stood over the one I’d nearly killed, but this one was taller, its fur completely white. It looked at me, blood matting its coat, its mouth agape, teeth filled with torn flesh.

  It was another alpha—a bigger one.

  It rose onto two feet and walked toward us on its hind legs. From the shadows of the trees behind it, at least ten more werewolves emerged—dark-furred like the previous ones but not as tall as their leader.

  What happened to three to seven? I wondered, stepping back toward my companions.

  We could retreat to the safe zone—hell, that was probably our only option. There was no way we’d kill eleven of these things without losing someone.

  "It’s not working! We can’t get back inside!" Mary shouted as she saw me backing away.

  The monsters were fully visible now—eleven in total, with the alpha standing at the center. He was a towering beast, at least eight feet tall, while the others stood between six and six and a half feet.

  We’re fucked. I thought, already trying to figure out what the hell we were going to do.

  But as I scrambled for a plan, something cracked in the air to my left.

  Then, as if one of Elk’s illusions had fallen like a curtain, nine figures stood before us.

  At their head, a woman held a torch in one hand and a sword in the other.

  "Attack!" she bellowed as a mix of elves and humans rushed toward the werewolves.

  Mila, who I hadn't seen since Max tried to kill me, had just commanded the charge.

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