CHAPTER 67: GRAVITY LEAF

To Leon, cutting through bone felt like slicing tofu with a blade — effortless.

The wolf howled in agony, stumbling toward the cave’s exit.

That’s when Leon noticed something — the wolf’s hind leg was already injured. He remembered the wound. He had struck it during the earlier fight near the hole, when it was with two other wolves.

So it was you.

Now he knew this was the wolf whose trail he had followed here. The paw prints in the snow had been faint, almost lost to the wind — but one of them had a faint trace of blood. Without that, he might never have found this cave so easily.

I’ll be merciful enough to grant you a quick death.

In the next second, the wolf’s head hit the ground, its eyes wide with disbelief, tongue hanging limply from its mouth as its last breath left its body.

Phew! That leaves me with only three troublesome wolves to deal with.

He charged another wolf at full speed, but before his strike could land, the Gray Alpha darted in, shoving it aside and taking the attack’s focus onto itself.

The alpha snarled at the wolf it had saved — an order to flee. But the wolf hesitated, glancing back at the alpha with clear worry in its eyes.

Everything happened fast. As expected, before Leon’s strike could connect, the ice wall erupted from the ground once more, tossing him away.

Leon got up, his expression frozen in surprise.

The wolf didn’t protect the others. It just stood and watched me kill them... but this one, it saved. There’s something different about it.

Could they be lovers? Ugh... wolves. They must be mates. That’s it — she’s the sub-alpha.

If that was true, Leon knew exactly how to use it. There was no way the alpha would let him kill her.

’Wolf Hunter’ title... activate.

He could have ended this quickly if he wanted. But he wanted to savor his new weapon, to play a little — there was no fun if all his prey died in just one strike.

Now, though, it was time to end it.

The only real challenge was the Gray Alpha. The battle suppression in the woods would weaken it, but that damned ice wall was another matter entirely.

Leon was convinced the ice wall wasn’t the alpha’s skill at all, but a defensive mechanism of the cave itself. If it were its own ability, it would have used it in their first fight — it wouldn’t have needed to lure him to the hole.

’Let the plan begin.’

With a vicious smile on his face, Leon headed straight for the last beta standing.

He swiped his clawed weapon through the air, and in one clean motion, it sliced across the wolf’s neck — the beast was dead in an instant.

Without pausing, he chased after the Alpha’s mate. She had been hesitant to run, but the instant she saw him coming, she bolted at full speed.

The Gray Alpha, upon seeing Leon pursue its mate, gave chase with all its strength. It didn’t care anymore! Leon could kill it for all it cared — just let its mate live.

It already knew Leon’s plan.

Leon’s plan wasn’t complicated; it was brutally simple. Since the Alpha loved its mate dearly, that mate would become its death. He would chase her with lethal intent, forcing the Alpha to follow... and in doing so, lure it out of the cave.

Once it stepped outside, there would be no more ice wall to protect it.

He also noticed the falling icicles had stopped. He already knew the Alpha had control over the cave and its traps — so it was the Alpha who halted the icicles, ensuring its mate had a clear escape route.

The speed and strength of both the wolf and its mate had already dropped drastically — the effect of [Wolf Hunter] in play.

Leon quickened his pace, closing the gap between himself and the Alpha’s mate. He had to stay close; if he didn’t, the Gray Alpha would rain icicles down on him.

If he remained in the cave when she escaped, the Alpha would no doubt trigger the trap again, unleashing icicles at full speed, making escape nearly impossible. That’s why Leon made sure to keep within striking range.

The Gray Alpha, realizing its secret ploy had failed, let out an enraged snarl.

It didn’t take long before the Alpha’s mate was within Leon’s killing range. With her battle prowess suppressed by 20 percent, catching up was almost too easy.

The exact moment he reached her was the instant they broke free of the cave’s mouth. Leon’s claws struck without mercy — cold steel rending through flesh.

The Gray Alpha, only a few strides behind, was forced to watch the blood-curdling sight of its mate being cut down before its eyes.

It wanted to howl in pain and frustration. Never before had it felt so weak, so powerless. Its mind — usually its greatest weapon — was clouded in confusion.

It was the weakest of the dungeon’s Alphas in raw strength, yet the most cunning, the unspoken ruler of these icy halls. In a world where strength reigned supreme, it had still clawed its way to the top through wit alone.

And now, the one thing it cherished most had been slaughtered right before it — and it could do nothing.

Hatred boiled in its chest, pure and consuming. Its last wish became singular: to see Leon dead by its own fangs, no matter what happened afterward.

Its eyes flared blood red as rage consumed it.

It watched as its mate’s killer turned toward it, a sharp grin carved across his face. That grin only drove the Alpha deeper into fury. Its body swelled, muscles bulging, veins throbbing beneath its fur.

Leon, far from intimidated, smiled even wider — deliberately provoking it.

┏━━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━━┓

Gray Alpha has entered Berserk Mode.

Physical Stats: Enhanced.

Intelligence Stats: Reduced.

┗━━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━━┛

Leon saw the notification and his grin sharpened. Without hesitation, he charged the Gray Alpha — intent on ending this fight and ascending to the next dungeon.

The Alpha could feel the raw power coursing through its body. It relished the intoxicating strength, but knew it wouldn’t last. It too wanted this fight finished quickly.

They clashed relentlessly, claws and steel ringing in the frozen air. For Leon, with two non-combat Supreme Thief skills and a combat title backing him, the battle was manageable — but the Alpha’s resilience surprised him.

Even suppressed by 20 percent, it could still match him blow for blow. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of facing it without that suppression.

They fought on, each exchange leaving the berserk wolf more battered. Leon’s superiority became undeniable.

Soon, the Alpha was on its last breath, still trying — still refusing to accept its fate. It wanted vengeance, but its strength was spent. It could do nothing to harm Leon.

Its life faded with eyes full of regret... regret for ever crossing paths with him. In its next life, it prayed never to meet Leon again.

Moments later, its body dissolved into shimmering pixels, scattering into the cold air.

Leon’s gaze remained cold as he watched it fade. There was a hint of disappointment in his expression. The Gray Alpha, despite being the weakest, had been the hardest to kill — a worthy opponent.

He waited for the drop. Nothing came. Not even a single coin.

"What was I expecting? Wise people are so stingy!" Leon groaned, clearly displeased.

"What was I expecting! Wise people are so stingy!!!" Leon groaned in disappointment.

’I didn’t even level up from it... I guess it’s because I bullied him. Even in its berserk state, it still couldn’t defeat me. I’m way too strong for it to even lay a scratch on me.’

’It feels so good to be powerful... to be strong.’

’And that gravity leaf... it’s great. I want to have it.’ Leon recalled its effect and instantly knew how useful it could be, especially if he used it against enemies.

’You can take whatever you deem useful from the cave, as you are now its owner,’ the crystal’s voice echoed, sensing his thoughts.

Leon returned to the cave, searching until he found twenty-five gravity leaves scattered across the floor.

These leaves had been placed in such unsuspicious spots that, if one wasn’t extremely careful, they would accidentally step on one.

But Leon didn’t pick them up immediately. He hesitated, wondering if the gravity leaf would affect him upon touch.

Sensing his thoughts, the crystal cleared his doubts. ’You can pick them. Each one contains a weak soul spirit. Their owner — the Gray Will — is dead. Once you touch them, they will form a mental connection with you... you won’t be affected.’

Hearing this, Leon exhaled in relief before excitement lit up his eyes. Without wasting another second, he rushed forward and began gathering the leaves.

They were green in color but as thick and stiff as the stem of a strong tree.

┏━━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━━┓

Gravity Leaf 001 has formed a connection with you.

┗━━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━━┛

┏━━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━━┓

Gravity Leaf 002 has formed a connection with you.

┗━━━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━━┛