The wolves growled at Amos, who stood in a guarded stance. He was a little tense—it was his first real fight against beasts.
"It's time to see if I can handle them without the Void king."
There were five glassy-eyed wolves, each one identical. Amos could feel their energy—it was average, nothing too alarming. He took a deep breath, then launched himself directly at the wolves, both swords raised high. The wolves reacted instantly, dodging his strike, which cracked the ground on impact.
Amos pulled his sword from the ground, a smile spreading across his face.
"I need to tone my strikes down a little."
As soon as he yanked his blade free, all five wolves leapt at him at once. But Amos didn't flinch. He spun in place, aiming to strike all of them in one sweep, leaving behind a dark trail that formed a vortex. All of the wolves were hit—one of them shattered from the blow, while the other four stumbled back, cracks spreading across their bodies.
Amos gave a small smile, excitement rising inside him.
"I don't think this is going to be too difficult."
The wolves, visibly unsettled after seeing their companion shatter into a thousand pieces, hesitated to continue attacking.
Amos, his eyes gleaming with amusement, didn't hesitate—he charged at them.
"Let's see if you can handle this."
While running, he made the swords in his hands vanish, lifted both hands, and conjured a massive fireball towards the wolves. They didn't have time to react—all of them were disintegrated instantly, except for one that narrowly dodged the blast.
Amos stretched his back, thinking the fight was over, then noticed the lone survivor and blinked in surprise.
"Oh, looks like this one's pretty tough."
He approached it, his expression more neutral than before. The wolf trembled from head to toe as Amos came closer; the sound of its glass-like innards clinking together echoed as it shivered. Amos stood before it, noticing the wolf's expression.
He hesitated, unsure if he should finish it off.
After a moment, he crouched down to the wolf's level.
The wolf, frozen with fear, couldn't move as Amos neared.
Slowly, Amos reached out a hand towards its head. The wolf tensed, wary as Amos's hand got closer. But Amos meant no harm—he could feel the wolf's fear, its powerlessness, something he knew all too well.
"I couldn't protect them either."
He gently petted the wolf's head. The wolf sensed that Amos meant no harm and relaxed. As he stroked its glassy fur, Amos noticed the wolf's tail start to wag.
Smiling at the sight, he caressed it more affectionately, moving his hand to the spots it seemed to enjoy most.
"You like that, huh?"
The wolf gave Amos a joyful bark, clearly enjoying the affection.
Amos chuckled while petting it, but a thought crossed his mind.
"You look a lot like the other wolves… I should find a way to tell you apart."
The wolf tilted its head at Amos's comment; it was hard to tell whether it understood him or not.
Amos tried to come up with an idea. After a long moment of thinking, something came to him.
"This might work."
He raised a hand towards the wolf, hesitating for a second. The wolf's expression darkened with concern, recalling what had happened the last time Amos had raised his hand like that.
Amos let out a small laugh when he noticed the wolf's wary look.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."
The wolf nodded but still seemed nervous.
Amos's expression shifted to curiosity as he noticed the wolf responding to him with head gestures.
Am I imagining things, or does it understand me? Never mind—I need to focus.
He took a deep breath, then released Void energy from his hand, shaping it into a collar around the wolf's neck — he was using Materializing Void.
Eyes closed, Amos concentrated on making the result as clean as possible.
The wolf looked at the collar, a little surprised, but allowed Amos to continue.
Eventually, the collar finished forming. Amos sat down on the ground and let out a long sigh, not having expected such a simple shape to take that much time and energy.
"I can easily materialize a sword with the Void, but I struggle with something as simple as a collar…"
The wolf approached Amos and licked his face affectionately.
Amos chuckled at the gesture, pushing it back with his hand.
"Cut it out—you're covering me in slobber."
Then something crossed his mind.
Normally, when I materialize something, I can feel it. I have to constantly fuel it with psychic energy to keep it stable…
So why does it feel like this collar is independent from me? I don't even sense it draining any energy.
Intrigued by the strange phenomenon, Amos placed a hand on his chin, trying to find a logical explanation.
Eventually, he gave up and stood back up.
"Alright, no time for this. I should go find Lucas."
He turned and began walking.
"Come on, follow me…"
He stopped, realizing he hadn't given the wolf a name.
"A crystal-skinned wolf… Criskin, how about that?"
Amos turned toward the wolf, who seemed to like the name—its tail wagged enthusiastically.
"Looks like you like it, Criskin. And whether you're male or female, it works."
Amos set off, Criskin walking by his side.
The two of them traversed the winding corridors of the cave, Amos searching for a way out and Criskin following close.
They wandered the tunnels over and over, but nothing changed—the layout kept repeating itself, long crystal formations adorning the cave's corridors.
Eventually, Amos stopped, irritated by walking in circles.
"Hey, Criskin, do you know where the… what did Stellar call it again… oh yeah, the Nest Master's chamber is?"
Criskin barked in confirmation and began walking in a direction, sniffing the ground. Amos followed behind, thoughts churning in his mind.
He was sure of it now—Criskin understood him, which surprised him greatly.
I wonder how Criskin can understand me…
They walked for a long while through the crystalline tunnels until Criskin finally stopped. They had arrived at a large open entrance leading to an immense, isolated chamber.
At the far end, a gigantic glass wolf lay sleeping.
"Looks like no one's here… I thought Lucas would've made it here by now.
And where are the hunters?"
Amos tried to think of possible places they could be when a thought struck him.
His gaze drifted toward the sleeping wolf at the end of the chamber, surely the Nest Master.
I could try taking it down on my own…
He slapped himself across the face.
No. Nothing guarantees I can win—and I don't even know what'll happen if I manage to kill it.
Confused and uncertain, Amos tried to come up with a solution—but distant footsteps echoed from afar. Many footsteps.
Amos could easily tell they were human, but just to be cautious, he got into an attack stance, a wary expression on his face.
Criskin growled in the same direction after noticing Amos's tension.
Soon, the footsteps were accompanied by voices, but Amos didn't lower his guard.
When the source of the noise entered his line of sight, he immediately recognized someone—it was Lucas, accompanied by the hunters they had followed into the cave.
Amos straightened up and sighed with relief at the sight of Lucas, who also noticed him.
"Amos!"
Lucas approached him with the five hunters. As they drew closer, Amos could sense their energy.
They're pretty strong… but nothing compared to Madam Nike or Cloak.
Lucas stopped in front of Amos, the hunters standing by his side.
"After we got separated, I ran into them—they protected me, and they even agreed to help me find you."
The one who seemed to be the leader of the group—and the strongest—spoke, a smile on his face.
"Your friend told us you'd been following us. It can be dangerous going into a dungeon alone, you know."
Amos scratched the back of his head, shooting Lucas a sharp glare that clearly said, "Why did you tell them?"
Lucas glanced away, pretending not to notice Amos, which annoyed him—but he quickly composed himself and looked back at the group.
"We apologize. We were just… curious, that's all."
The hunter sighed, then Criskin—who had gone unnoticed so far—barked warily at the hunters.
They were all surprised at first, and one of them approached Criskin, drawing a sword from his back.
"Looks like we've got one here."
Criskin immediately retreated behind Amos, who tried to sound convincing as he passively blocked the hunter from advancing.
"Don't worry. This one's docile."
The hunter shoved Amos roughly aside, his voice cold and impassive.
"Don't talk nonsense, kid."
He raised his sword, Criskin dropped into a defensive stance, and the hunter charged his blade with fire—he was probably a Life user.
He swung at Criskin.
But his sword shattered in two—Amos stood between him and Criskin, his arm, wrapped in Void, having stopped the attack. His eyes were empty, black veins surrounding them—he had activated the Void King.
"I thought I made myself clear earlier."
His voice was cold, his aura oppressing the entire room, sending chills through all the hunters.
Lucas, meanwhile, knew very well what would happen if the hunters decided to engage him in that form.
The hunter who had tried to attack Criskin stepped back, paralyzed by fear.
"H-he's a Void user…"
His voice trembled as much as his body, pointing shakily at Amos.
Amos turned his gaze away, sensing another energy aside from Lucas and the hunters—the Nest Master had awoken and was approaching them, each heavy step echoing through the cave.
It had surely been stirred by the massive wave of psychic energy released when Amos activated the Void King.
The others noticed it too. The leader of the group stepped toward the Nest Master.
"Enough of this. Let's deal with him if we want to survive."
The others agreed. Amos did too, deactivating the Void King.
Let's see what I can do without that form against a truly strong opponent.
They all advanced toward the Nest Master, keeping a safe distance.
The Nest Master stopped and got into a guarded stance, more cautious upon seeing their numbers.
The leader summoned a crossbow and aimed it at the beast—he was using War.
The hunter who had attacked Criskin drew a new sword and ignited it with flames—he was a Life user.
Another began enchanting her body with a surrounding energy—likely Grace.
Lucas reinforced his body with Strength.
Amos, with Criskin by his side, wrapped his fists in Void flames, his gaze impatient for the fight to start.
He knocked his fists together, sending black sparks scattering.
Let's see how I do in close combat.
End of Chapter 19