6: Chapter 6 Rift Wolf

The low growl still echoed through the ruins, and a well-rested Lin Yan had already lowered his body, creeping toward the direction where the sound came from.

He was not impulsive; although his HP had exceeded 1200 and he was wearing the newly acquired iron bone breastplate, this did not mean he could act without restraint in the middle-level area.

The gap between a Level 2 monster and a Level 1 monster was not a simple matter of addition or subtraction, but a comprehensive attribute suppression.

The instructor had said in class that the number of novice Awakened who died in the mouths of Rift Wolves each year was three times higher than those who died under the claws of Rift Rats.

It was not because Rift Wolves were that strong, but because many people underestimated their speed and coordination.

Lin Yan would not make such a mistake.

He advanced slowly along the edge of the ruins, stopping every ten meters or so to listen to the movements around him.

The broken walls in the middle-level area were denser, with twisted steel bars protruding from concrete blocks like the skeleton of some giant creature.

The smell of blood in the air was thicker, and scattered bone fragments began to appear on the ground, some already gnawed beyond recognition, making it impossible to distinguish whether they were the remains of humans or monsters.

The cruelty of the Dungeon was gradually baring its true fangs.

After walking for about five minutes, Lin Yan stopped in front of the wreckage of a collapsed viaduct.

Through the gaps between the concrete fragments, he saw his target.

Two Rift Wolves.

Their appearance was more ferocious than Lin Yan had imagined; they were about the size of an adult wolfdog, but their skeletons were thicker, and the muscle lines of their limbs were like twisted steel cables.

Their fur was dark gray, with irregular rift-like patterns on their backs, which was also the origin of their name.

Most striking were their fangs, which were twice as long as those of a Rift Rat, with tips gleaming with a pale yellow cold light; saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths onto the ground, making a faint corrosive sound.

[Monster: Rift Wolf]

[Level: 2]

[HP: 350]

[Physical Attack: 25]

[Physical Defense: 10]

[Magic Defense: 8]

[Type: Common Mob, No Skills, Melee Bite Attack, Has a degree of social behavior, will flank and hunt in packs]

Lin Yan recalled the Rift Wolf's stats in his mind while quickly calculating the damage data.

He was currently Level 1, and the Rift Wolf was Level 2, a level difference of 1.

According to the experience rules, the base experience gained from killing one Rift Wolf was 20 points, which became 22 points after the level correction.

Two would be 44 points. His current experience bar was 90/200; after finishing these two, he would still be 66 points short of the 200 needed to level up, requiring at least three more.

Looking at the combat data again, the Rift Wolf's physical attack was 25, and his physical defense was 30. Plugging it into the damage formula: (25 - 30 * 0.5) = 10 points.

Without considering damage reduction and various buffs, each bite from a Rift Wolf could cause about 10 points of actual damage.

He currently had 1235 HP and could theoretically tank over a hundred attacks, but this was on the premise of one-on-one combat without critical hits or vital strikes.

As for his output, Heartsteel's weak point damage was 124 points of true damage, plus 15 points from the standard issue dagger's basic attack, totaling about 139 points.

The Rift Wolf had 350 HP; after the first Heartsteel strike, 211 remained, and it would be killed exactly after three Heartsteel strikes.

He was very familiar with this rhythm.

But if two Rift Wolves attacked at the same time, the situation would be different.

Rift Wolves were much faster than Rift Rats; they could flank, pincer, and attack from blind spots.

Dealing with two at the same time meant he needed to find weak points between the attack intervals of two targets, and the margin for error would be greatly reduced.

Lin Yan took a deep breath and made a decision.

Fight.

He hunched over and bypassed the wreckage of the broken bridge, approaching the location of the two Rift Wolves from the flank.

The two wolves were currently standing on a patch of gravel, one on the left and one on the right, about five meters apart, both with their heads down, gnawing on something.

Judging from the shape of the remaining bones, it should be the remains left behind by some unlucky novice Awakened from before.

Lin Yan found a suitable position, a corner of a broken wall, with a half-section of concrete cover on the left and a narrow passage on the right, the terrain was cramped and could only accommodate one person passing through.

If he could lure the two wolves over and hold his position at the entrance of the passage, he could deal with them one by one, avoiding being pincered simultaneously.

With the plan set, Lin Yan picked up a fist-sized piece of rubble from the ground, aimed at the closer Rift Wolf, and threw it with force.

Thwack!

The stone smashed into the Rift Wolf's back, making a crisp sound.

That Rift Wolf suddenly raised its head, its dark yellow pupils instantly locking onto the direction where Lin Yan was.

It let out a low, threatening growl in its throat, its body crouched slightly, and its front claws scraped the ground.

The other Rift Wolf also stopped eating and turned vigilantly toward this side.

Lin Yan did not move; he stood at the entrance of the passage, holding his standard issue dagger, his eyes staring intently at the movements of the two wolves, while quietly activating the Heartsteel mark.

An invisible force landed on the two Rift Wolves, and the three-second countdown began.

The Rift Wolf that had been hit was the first to move; it lunged forward violently, the muscles in its limbs contracting intensely as it ran, and the ten-meter distance was compressed to zero in almost two seconds, its speed nearly double that of a Rift Rat!

But Lin Yan was already prepared.

Three seconds were up.

On the side of the Rift Wolf's neck, a pale red light spot suddenly appeared.

Lin Yan shifted his feet, turned his body slightly, and his standard issue dagger traced a short, sharp arc, accurately stabbing toward that weak point.

"Steel!"

The crisp sound of steel exploded in his mind, accompanied by a sharp pain several times stronger than that from a Rift Rat, as the Rift Wolf's fangs bit into his left arm at the same instant.

It did not miss like the Rift Rat; instead, it launched a counterattack at the same moment it was struck.

[Ding! Successfully hit the Heartsteel weak point, dealing 10% of your own maximum HP as 124 points of true damage to the Rift Wolf, plus an additional 15 points of basic attack damage from the standard issue dagger!]

[Rift Wolf HP remaining: 211 points!]

[Heartsteel effect: Permanently increase maximum HP by 20% of this damage amount; currently increasing by 25 points, maximum HP increased to 1260 points!]

[Received Rift Wolf attack, lost 10 HP, current remaining: 825/1260!]

Lin Yan's eyes sharpened; he exerted force to shake off the Rift Wolf's bite while stepping back half a step.

10 points of damage was certainly not much; in the face of 1200+ HP, it was just a superficial wound.

But the key issue was that the other Rift Wolf had already circled to his right and was attempting to pass through the side gap of the narrow passage.

Lin Yan immediately adjusted his stance, his back pressed against the broken concrete wall, his dagger held horizontally in front of him, using his body to block the entrance of the passage.

This position could only accommodate one Rift Wolf attacking head-on; even if the other one circled around, it would have no attack angle and could only wait idly behind its companion.

"Come on."

Lin Yan said in a low voice, his eyes becoming increasingly focused.

The first Rift Wolf was significantly more agitated after being injured; it did not retreat, but instead lunged up again.

This time, Lin Yan did not choose to tank it head-on, but sidestepped to dodge the bite.

Next was the 30-second cooldown waiting period. Lin Yan used the terrain advantage to constantly reposition; every time the Rift Wolf lunged, he dodged with minimal movement, while ensuring his stance did not expose any gaps for the second wolf to squeeze in.

In the games he played in his past life, he liked this kind of kiting and attrition playstyle the most—not greedy for strikes, not rash, grinding the opponent down to low health one strike at a time.

Now, it had simply changed from keyboard and mouse to a real life-and-death struggle.

30 seconds were up.

The Heartsteel mark locked on again, and three seconds later, the pale red weak point appeared once more.

"Steel!"

[Ding! Successfully hit the Heartsteel weak point, damage 126+15 points, Rift Wolf HP remaining: 70 points!]

[Heartsteel effect: Maximum HP increased to 1285 points!]

Another 30 seconds passed, and the third Heartsteel strike landed.

"Steel!"

[Heartsteel effect: Maximum HP increased to 1311 points!]

[Ding! Successfully killed a Level 2 Rift Wolf, experience gained: 22 points!]

[Current experience: 112/200!]

The first Rift Wolf howled, its body crashing to the ground and turning into a twisted wolf corpse.

Lin Yan did not give it time for pity.

Almost the same second the corpse fell, the second Rift Wolf had already crossed over its companion's remains, lunging up with its bloody maw wide open.

Lin Yan had expected this; instead of retreating, he advanced, directly pressing into the Rift Wolf's inner circle, holding the dagger with a reverse grip, and slamming the hilt hard against its lower jaw.

The Rift Wolf felt the pain, and its movements paused slightly.

Lin Yan took the opportunity to pull back half a body length, and the Heartsteel mark had already silently landed on it.

The same rhythm, the same tactics. Mark, wait three seconds, strike the weak point, reposition/kite, cooldown, and strike again.

The second Rift Wolf was more agitated than the first, and its biting frequency was significantly higher.

Lin Yan was grazed three times in the middle, losing about 30 HP, but it was far from the point where he needed to take medicine.

He simply gave up on dodging those low-damage basic attacks, focusing his energy on ensuring that every weak point attack could hit accurately.

After three sounds of "Steel," the second Rift Wolf also fell to the ground.

[Ding! Successfully killed a Level 2 Rift Wolf, experience gained: 22 points!]

[Current experience: 134/200!]