22: Dire Wolf Attack

As my thoughts shifted, the dragon scale in my palm grew larger then smaller, transformed into a pocket, then a ring, and even other objects of various forms like bracelets, crowns, cloaks, gems, fruits, and weapons.

However, no matter what it turned into, it had no weight; it offered no warmth as clothing and no attack power as a weapon.

It was as if it were merely a pure ray of light.

Finally, I molded it into a ring and wore it on the little finger of my left hand.

After adjusting its shape, color, and texture to be identical to my skin, I chose to make it invisible.

It seemed only I could sense the silver-white vortex of the system space entrance projecting from the joint of my little finger.

As my consciousness delved deeper, a conical space appeared within the vortex, which was surprisingly identical to the Wizard Shack I had built.

Just as I was about to try placing something inside, the system prompted me that the space was unavailable and issued my third task.

"Task Three: Defend the Stronghold

The host and the familiar must jointly resist potential enemies and protect the Wizard Shack from destruction.

Within three hours of the Wizard Shack's completion, the system's energy will gradually assimilate the Wizard Shack.

Task Reward: Sphere Professor

Task Countdown: 2 hours 54 minutes"

What is a Sphere Professor? Never mind, I'll find out once I get it.

I silently gave the Dragon King an order in my mind, and it immediately understood.

We went outside the Wizard Shack together; the Dragon King circled the faintly glowing Wizard Shack, responsible for guarding and defending, while I began setting traps around it.

More than an hour passed, and everything was safe and sound.

But my stomach began to rumble.

I took out the midday meat strips, lit a bonfire in front of the Wizard Shack's door, and began to roast the meat.

The foolish me only remembered that at night, bonfires scare away and drive off many animals; but they also attract another portion of nocturnal beasts.

Before the meat was even cooked, four Dire Wolves appeared in the distance.

They were enormous, far larger than ordinary wolves on the Blue Planet; when on all fours, their shoulders were significantly taller than my current height.

On their massive heads, eyes gleamed with a eerie light, revealing strong aggression and wildness.

Their bodies were strong and powerful, their limbs long and muscular, their gray fur rough and dense, and a long, thin tail trailed behind them.

The Dragon King was the first to spot them and immediately informed me of the four Dire Wolves' positions via telepathy.

"Damn it!" I cursed under my breath, quickly extinguished the bonfire, and threw the roasted meat in my hand into a wooden box in the supply pile.

But it was already too late.

"Roar--"

Accompanied by a low roar, the four Dire Wolves continued to rush towards our direction.

The Dire Wolves accelerated when they saw me looking at them.

It seems these are beasts with sufficiently high intelligence.

I don't know what their weaknesses are.

In my quiver, I still had 2 Explosive Arrows, 4 Flame Arrows, and 5 Acid Arrows.

I still had 6 magic scrolls.

There weren't many identified magical items brought out of the cave, and even fewer with offensive capabilities.

How should I deal with this?

Facing these unfamiliar and strong beasts, I was sweating nervously, but my mind was rapidly thinking of countermeasures.

As the Dire Wolves entered range, I decisively shot an Explosive Arrow at them.

The moment the Explosive Arrow left the string, the four Dire Wolves suddenly accelerated and scattered, charging at me like lightning.

"Boom…"

A towering blaze lit up the forest, startling countless birds resting in the tree canopies into flight.

The shockwave of the Explosive Arrow severely injured the two largest Dire Wolves.

The other two, having scattered beforehand, were not affected.

I secretly sighed in regret, while simultaneously issuing an order to the Dragon King to first deal with the two injured Dire Wolves.

Then I took out the only Tier 3 spell scroll from my waist.

[Sand Wall]

Spell Level: Third Ring

Spell School: Evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Casting Range: 90 feet

Spell Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a handful of sand, material components are waived when casting with a scroll)

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

The caster conjures a wall of swirling sand at a point on the ground within range that they can see.

The caster can create a wall up to 30 feet long, 10 feet high, and 10 feet thick. It disappears when the spell ends.

It blocks line of sight but does not block movement.

Creatures in the wall's space are blinded, and when moving through it, every 1 foot of movement costs 3 feet of movement speed.

I chanted the incantation and began casting the spell towards the Dire Wolf running at the front.

Just as it entered the 90-foot range from me, I finished casting the spell.

As the Dire Wolf's front paws landed, a point on the ground in front of it suddenly erupted like a geyser.

The Dire Wolf had no time to dodge and plunged headfirst into the surging sand spring.

It continued to struggle forward, but more sand caught up to it, enveloping it.

Soon, around this Dire Wolf, I built a five-sided sand wall cage of swirling sand to enclose it.

Four sand walls over a meter thick and a ceiling of the same thickness on top, like a cover, continuously moved with this Dire Wolf.

The Dire Wolf, whose speed had clearly slowed, now saw only flowing yellow sand no matter which direction it looked.

Even if it struggled to charge forward, it could only stumble slowly through the undergrowth, completely unable to find any trace of me.

Having temporarily trapped this one, the other uninjured Dire Wolf had already surpassed its companions and was less than 20 meters from me.

At this moment, I should be grateful to myself for having developed the ability to multitask before transmigrating.

In the past, whether it was listening to music while doing things or browsing my phone while studying, I gradually developed the bad habit of finding it difficult to focus without multitasking.

While maintaining the sand wall with part of my attention, I took out another spell scroll from my waist.

[Cause Fear]

Spell Level: First Ring

Spell School: Necromancy

Casting Time: 1 action

Casting Range: 60 feet

Spell Components: Verbal

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

The caster awakens the mortality within a creature within range that you can see.

This spell has no effect on constructs or Undead Creatures.

The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for the duration.

A frightened creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can target one additional creature for each slot level above 1st. The creatures you target must be within 30 feet of each other.

After a brief incantation, this Dire Wolf, less than ten meters from me, also fell victim.

It scurried frantically in all directions on the spot.

...

Meanwhile, the Dragon King's flight speed was far superior to that of the Dire Wolves.

Like a meteor, it shot like lightning towards the two already injured Dire Wolves, leaving a slender white afterimage in the night sky.