The humans stood their ground with tense bodies, unable to understand what was happening.

  The suffocating aura surrounding them made them tremble with fear, especially the three E-Rank, who could barely breathe.

  As for their leader, Beaumont the Tank, and the young mage, Amaya—both being D-Rank—they managed to maintain some of their composure.

  The silence lasted for several seconds, broken only by the sound of Beaumont drawing his Greatsword and raising his massive, thick steel shield. He regained his calm completely and issued orders to his companions in a cold tone.

  "Get a grip on yourselves. Don't let fear control you. It's clear this monster attacked us with some kind of mental skill."

  His coarse, powerful voice snapped the others out of their daze and restored some of their calm, especially Amaya. She wore a resentful expression as she raised her magic staff toward Arthur, replying with annoyance.

  "Listen well. Usually, monsters with great mental power are physically weak. Let's get rid of this annoying wolf quickly.

  We can't let those two slaves escape. Besides, we've lost too many Houndrax; if we return empty-handed, Count Ravenhurst will kill us."

  The dogs that both Arthur and Amaryllis had killed were expensive pet monsters called Houndrax, which are difficult to obtain. Consequently, only nobles and very wealthy merchants could afford them.

  Beaumont nodded in agreement, then commanded sternly,

  "I will attack. Amaya, cover me. The rest of you, stay back until you recover from his attack. He’s just a lame wolf; taking him down won't be difficult."

  "Alright."

  The three E-Rank humans quickly stepped back, while Amaya channeled mana into her magic staff. The blue gem at its tip glowed, and she began whispering several mysterious words.

  Bang!

  Beaumont took several steps forward, then struck his sword against his shield, activating his class-specific skill, “Taunt.”

  As soon as its effects appeared, Arthur, standing at a distance, felt a strange mental force pulling all his senses and focus toward Beaumont alone.

  'Mental attack?' He furrowed his brow, then a sarcastic smile appeared on his face. 'Too bad for you… something like this won’t work on me.’

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Calmly, he activated his "Unbreakable Will" skill, nullifying the pull effect. In his mind, he thought,

  'Humans aren’t like monsters that follow a fixed pattern in combat. I need to handle them more carefully and expect the unexpected. For now, it’s better to play along and lower their expectations of me.'

  He took a deep breath, and instead of standing still pretending to be strong, he displayed a fierce expression, focusing all his attention on Beaumont.

  He growled loudly, then limped forward and pounced on him with brutal force.

  However, just as he closed the distance to three meters, Amaya finished her incantation and shouted strange words he couldn’t understand.

  He felt the mana around him tremble, and before he could determine exactly where the attack would come from, several spears—or more precisely, extremely sharp plant roots—erupted from the ground beneath him, targeting his abdomen.

  "Damn it!" His eyes widened, and he quickly jumped aside. However, one of the roots still managed to strike his waist, gashing him deeply.

  At the same time, Beaumont took a step forward and swung his massive, heavy sword with immense force, aiming to cut him in two.

  A flurry of thoughts raced through Arthur's head, and he automatically activated the "Immortal Body" skill to defend himself. His body hardened as a mana barrier surrounded him.

  Bang!

  The moment the sword struck, sparks and dust flew; the blade vibrated and recoiled violently, pushing both of them several steps back.

  Beaumont's jaw dropped in shock, unable to process what had just happened. He wasn't the only one—all the other humans couldn't believe their eyes. His attack wasn't just a regular swing; it was a skill in itself called "Brutal Slash."

  'Damn, this bastard's attack consumed 500 HP of the total damage the "Immortal Body" skill can tank. This is a problem. It looks like I'll have to fight with the intent to kill. If I hold back, I'm the one who'll end up dead.'

  Arthur made his decision and stopped hiding his strength. He deactivated "Immortal Body" and triggered the effect of "Predator's Eyes" along with the "Regeneration" skill to heal himself. Then, he pounced toward Amaya with all his strength.

  Amaya snapped out of her daze and waved her staff quickly. Dozens of sharp roots burst from beneath and in front of him, but this time Arthur was ready.

  He leaped aside with incredible agility, dodging them all with ease.

  The roots continued to burst from the ground, lunging at him like spears, while he kept dodging with swift, fluid movements.

  Some roots acted like snakes, twisting and following him, attempting to stab him from every direction.

  Rocks and dust flew everywhere, and he sustained several scratches across his body.

  As he drew near Amaya, Beaumont struck his sword against his shield and activated the "Taunt" skill.

  At that moment, Arthur felt that strange mental force seizing his attention again. Just like before, he broke free from it instantly. Without showing any outward reaction, he continued his charge toward Amaya.

  "Ah!" Amaya screamed in panic, frantically trying to build a barrier of roots around herself.

  Naturally, Arthur wasn't about to let her do that so easily.

  He directed his overwhelming aura toward her, causing her to freeze in place from sheer terror, effectively canceling her incantation.

  "This is impossible! Stop!" When Beaumont saw his most reliable skill fail so easily, he felt a deep shock.

  However, he had no time to process it; his comrade was in imminent danger, and he had to do something to save her.

  Without hesitation, he gripped his sword tightly and threw it with immense force.

  The air shrieked as the massive sword spun brutally like a fan, flying toward Arthur at high speed.

  Not only that, but even the E-Rank humans in the back didn't stay still; two of them launched transparent energy blades, while the other fired three arrows simultaneously.

  Then, they all charged toward him, their eyes filled with killing intent.

  Despite all this, Arthur didn't flinch, nor did he show any intention of retreating or stopping.

  He scanned his surroundings quickly, and through the effects of "Predator's Eyes," he immediately identified the best way to evade the attacks.

  With agility, he leaped aside. The broadsword passed right in front of his face, continuing its flight and shattering dozens of trees.

  The moment Arthur's paws touched the ground, he lunged toward Amaya. On his way, he ducked and rolled across the earth, dodging the two energy blades.

  As for the arrows, one missed him entirely, he allowed another to strike his shoulder, and he simply tilted his head slightly to dodge the third with ease.

  "Aaaah!"

  Finally, he pounced on the terrified Amaya, swinging his sharp claws and tearing a wide gash that stretched from her chest to her waist.

  Without stopping, he planted his back legs on her stomach, using her as a foothold to kick himself backward with immense force.

  The impact sent her flying into a tree behind her; blood sprayed from her mouth and wound before she collapsed face-down on the ground.