Chapter 13

It had been a while since Caleb had challenged himself. Truly challenged himself. Like his Inheritance said that he should.

Time to change that.

He stood at the base of the yellow mountain, cold wind whipping against his face, the night air sharp with frost. Stars burned overhead, their light glinting off the craggy stone before him, sparkling off the pure snow.

One arm raised, he held the yellow gemstone tight in his grip. Then willed his aether into it. It blazed like a lighthouse, drowning out the starlight with shades of gold, turning the snow to fire, its glow mirroring the shine that now crowned the mountain’s peak. Not because he needed to locate the mountain, he just wanted his enemies to know he was coming.

Glowing eyes stared back at him, blinking open. Two. Four. Ten. Dozens of them. All of the wolves in Fenryr’s pack.

During his travel to the yellow mountain, he’d leveled one more time, putting him at Aether Level 19. Still five levels below the boss. He’d placed one more point into Presence and one into Resilience, leaving him with still two more points for emergency use. Resisting Fenryr’s Presence and being able to take a hit or two seemed like the best strategy if he wanted to win.

He shrugged. It would have to be good enough.

Once he started this fight, there was no going back. He’d already run once and didn’t plan on doing that again. After his first step up the mountain, he was either going to reach the top, or die. That was the only way for him, living on that edge, dangling over the side of an impossible drop. If he lost his life in the pursuit of the one thing that made him truly feel alive, was that really a loss? If there was no risk of failure, was it really worth doing?

Caleb grinned, summoning his spirit self. Two additional arms grew from his shoulders, shining with a molten light, flexing their spectral muscles. He cracked his knuckles – both pairs of them, even though the spectral ones didn’t need it. Then, he took his first step, beginning his ascension.

A symphony of howls broke through the silent night, cascading around him. He probably should’ve felt fear, most people would. But all he felt was elation, excitement. His eyes went wide, palms slick with sweat on his clenched palms, teeth bared in a feral snarl. Motion blurred the mountainside, the wolves’ eyes leaving pale yellow streaks as they darted toward him on soft paws.

Direwolf
Aether Level 13

Direwolf
Aether Level 11

Direwolf
Aether Level 14

And over a dozen more.

They were upon him in moments.

Let’s do this.

Caleb lifted a fist, cloaking it within his spectral arm like a gauntlet, poured his aether into it, and punched. An explosion lit up the side of the mountain. Snow erupted into the air, melting in an instant and raining down as steaming water. Rock cracked and broke. Wolves died, their bodies ripped to shreds by the concussive force of Bonebreaker.

His body was learning to handle the skill better, resist the recoil that had ravaged him the first few times he used it. It still wasn’t enough to just rattle the skill off willy-nilly whenever he pleased, but it–

Skill Level Up!
Bonebreaker I → Bonebreaker II

Aether surged into his veins from the kills, flooding his system with that euphoric feeling. His mind was primed to fight. More. I want more. He wasn’t about to go easy, that wasn’t how he did things. If the wolves wanted to kill him, they’d have to face the full weight of his power from the very start.

He’d killed five wolves in a single strike, but the battle was still far from over. Very far. More charged, howling as they rushed down the mountainside, and he could see yet more pairs of eyes appearing on the mountain.

A wolf leapt from the snow to his left. Caleb twisted, letting its claws rake over his back as he shot a fist into its gut. Another came from the right but he intercepted with a spiritual arm, cracking it across the face and sending it tumbling behind him in a broken heap.

The wolves descended upon him, claws slicing, teeth snapping. And Caleb felt alive. For every claw that pierced his flesh, two more monsters were slain. A wolf was sent into the air with one fist, then crashing back down with another, grabbed by its hind leg and swung into its kin. He was like a wildfire through dry grass, wading through the wolves, cutting, crunching, and culling them as he pressed forward, up the mountain.

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One shining claw flicked forward in a lethal arc. Caleb dodged it, then another, took one across the calf, then lashed out with a spectral arm, extending it like a spear and puncturing the skull of a wolf.

He ignored his body’s warnings. The pain was fuel. The exhaustion, a whetstone. Every blow made him faster, every heartbeat heavier with power.

The world dissolved into movement – fangs, blood, snow. He lost count of the kills, only aware that the mountain itself seemed to pulse with his rhythm.

The wolves weren’t smart – not like humans, but they still learned. They grew wary of him, only jumping in when he was distracted with another, nipping at a heel, trying to bleed him slowly.