Redo: Grimoire System in the Apocalypse

His Corruption Blast, two massive fireballs, and multiple arrows assaulted the small Direwolf pack. Four different types of damage over time spells took root in the creatures.

"Hooowwooooooo!!"

Even though they were taken by surprise, the wolves still managed to howl for their pack. Unfortunately for them, an illusion barrier was cast behind them, preventing any aid from hearing their cries. 

Geth glanced towards the sleeping giant in the center. It looked like the illusion was strong enough to prevent its senses at this distance.

The three Direwolves soon noticed that something was wrong. Even though they were animals, Geth swore that he saw fear in their expressions at the realization that help wasn't coming.

Zolis swiftly reached the closest creature, forcefully swinging her massive axe into the neck of the beast. It wasn't enough to slice clean through, but a deep gash appeared, and the wolf was thrown to the ground.

Geth wasted no time in casting his Curse ability on the fallen wolf. With Curse active, the creature's movements became sluggish and predictable.

The melee fighters piled onto the Direwolf that was struggling to move. Without being able to dodge, it didn't last long.

The other two wolves had tried to intervene, but their paths were blocked by Sindri and Geth. Arrows and spells repeatedly fired at the beast that Sindri was holding back.

Things went as smoothly as planned, but Geth knew that this was the easy part. His eyes continually drifted to the sleeping wolf that looked like a small hill blocking the Dungeon entrance.

He glanced at the wolf that he was currently containing. Fear and hate were evident in its eyes.

Every claw swipe or hurried bite showed like an obscured shadow through Geth's Foresight. He dodged or parried all of the attacks that were coming towards him.

When the first Direwolf fell... The shadows stopped. The Direwolf in front of Geth stopped attacking and glared at him.

Geth wasn't sure why the creature stopped attacking. The slightly injured wolf turned on its heels and sprinted towards the Dungeon.

"Shit!"

He hadn't expected this. The Direwolve's pride should have forced it to stay and fight until it fell.

Running for help? That was entirely out of character! 

Geth didn't have much time. His Mana poured out, reaching the ground in front of the fleeing wolf in an instant.

A massive mud puddle emerged on the ground before it. After bubbling for a moment, the hastily crafted soil surged like a small tidal wave. 

The wave warped and twisted until it formed a giant hand that reached out of the earth. The wolf skidded to a halt, its movements paralyzed momentarily by the hand that appeared between it and the edge of the illusion.

Geth cast Curse on the wolf as he manipulated the hand to smash down like it was crushing a bug. The wolf tried to dodge, but the Curse kept it from moving full speed.

The hand slapped down, hardening just before the crash and crushing the wolf's back legs. A loud crunch resounded from the impact as hundreds of bones were shattered.

'That was close,' Geth thought as he allowed the fist to disperse back into the dirt.

The Direwolf lay whimpering on the ground. Blood poured from its crushed lower body, where many bones could be seen protruding from its fur.

"Filthy!" Geth called.

The man jogged over after firing another arrow at the last struggling beast. Geth pointed toward the injured beast on the ground.

"Please put it out of its misery."

Filthy nodded and pulled back his bow, walking carefully to the beast's head. Geth studied the attack while Filthy poured Mana into the arrow's tip.

Air gathered around the arrow until it seemed to distort by the pressure. When the distortions began, Filthy released his bowstring.

The arrow easily penetrated the Direwolf's skull. Geth monitored the Mana and found that the built-up wind burst outward just after its impact.

He raised his eyebrows, "Remind me not to piss you off."

The wind from the arrow had exploded in the creature's head, turning everything inside to paste. Blood poured from all of its orifices, and its eyes had flown from its skull.

Filthy shrugged and gestured toward the back half of its body, "It would have only felt a brief moment of pain from my attack."

Geth scratched the back of his head. The two of them turned and watched the rest of the group finish up their own fight.

"It's really something," Filthy muttered.

Geth glanced at him, "These wolves were the first real challenge we faced after meeting."

"Yeah. It's impressive to see how much Humans have improved in such a short time."

The first time they had faced the wolves, only Geth's cheap trick got them out alive. He pulled out his Direwolf card and looked at the young pup.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him while he looked at the realistic image. He glanced at the mountainous wolf behind the illusion and sighed.

"You think that wolf's going to attack as soon as the wall comes down, don't you?" Filthy interrupted his thoughts.

Geth just nodded.

"Can you handle it?"

"I'm confident."

A cool breeze blew in from the open plain. The men watched as Blaze burnt the bodies of the two recently slain wolves.

Rift ran over to where Geth and Filthy were standing. His face turned a slight shade of green as he noticed the condition of the wolf that Geth had been fighting.

Geth patted the young man on the shoulder, "You'll have to get used to scenes like that eventually."

The young man nodded and steeled his resolve. Geth could hear his stomach churning, but the young man still managed to burn the body without releasing his dinner.

None of the wolves had dropped a Skill card this time. Geth stored the three cores they dropped and looked around at the rest of the party.

"You guys think you can handle the last two groups on your own?" He questioned.

Everyone looked at him in surprise. Blaze was the first to realize what he was implying.

"I can't believe I didn't notice. This entire plain is a Formation, isn't it?" Blaze's head whipped toward each of the three boulders as he drew a glowing image in the air.

The image was of a half-finished Formation with three different points of focus. He scrunched his eyes and looked over at Geth.

"You're fighting that wolf alone?"

Sindri gasped, "You can't! Look at the size of that thing!"

Zolis patted the younger woman on the back and chuckled lightly.

"Don't you worry about a thing," She turned her head towards Geth. "You sure that you can handle it?"

Geth nodded, "I doubt I can kill it, but I could hold it in a stalemate for hours if need be."

Zolis nodded, "Then don't worry about us. I won't hold back on these minions."

Blaze interrupted, "It'll be more than just the ones that you see."

He continued drawing in the glowing circle in the air. The Formation was already almost complete.

Geth was surprised at his friend's talent in this area. He assumed that it must come from his computer coding skills that he prided back in the day.

"As soon as the Sub-Boss is awakened, this Formation will alert three different pockets of wolves in the Dungeon below us.

The three stones are connected by Mana to three more stones located somewhere underground. 

As soon as the Sub-Boss' Mana stops feeding the center, the stones in the Dungeon will release a signal. If I'm right, that signal will alert three more Sub-Bosses, along with multiple of their lackeys."

Blaze finished his explanation and turned his head to Geth.

"Are you sure that you want to do this? We can just walk away. We'll still have to contend with the minions chasing us."

Geth shook his head and pointed toward a location in the distance. No one else would notice, but Blaze could probably see it.

Rift spoke up first, surprising Geth, "Is the Mana warping over there?"

Blaze shook his head, "No, the Mana has completely disintegrated that section of the Formation."

His hand went up to his chin in thought, "As soon as the Sub-Boss stops releasing Mana, the entire Formation will be disrupted.

Even the Boss at the end will be able to run free. I didn't even notice it."

"I didn't have time to warn you all before the illusion was cast. By then, it was already too late," Geth shook his head.

Even if they hadn't stepped out of the woodline, the Sub-Boss would have noticed after the illusion disappeared. It wouldn't take much movement for the Formation to crumble.

"If we don't proceed, this entire Dungeon will break. These creatures will roam free, and I doubt that we can outrun them all."

Swole spoke up, "Man, who gives a shit! We came here to kill some wolves, and I plan to kill some wolves, damnit!"

Everyone chuckled and their moods began to lighten.

Peter grinned, "Yeah, I'm having roasted wolf for dinner tonight!"

"We aren't scared! Let us at 'em!" Jack yelled.

Geth chuckled and looked around at his party members, "Alright then."

He turned to Felix, who was sweating near the woodline.

"Felix, how long can you keep up the illusion?"

"I can keep it up for another hour, but I'll be completely out of Mana for the battle."

Geth nodded, "Just give me ten minutes."

He turned and faced the others, "Alright, here's the plan...."