Chapter 41: Final Strike

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I avoid the snow-howlers attacks without all that many issues, but the problem is fitting in my own offensive attacks.

Now that it has started acting more cautiously about attacking however, I should be able to do something.

That is when it steps back and flings dirt at me. Before I have time to think through anything, I dig my toes into the ground and turn my back towards the incoming danger, but when I hear the sound of the giant wolf doing the same, and pouncing at me, all I can do is dive to the side and roll.

I succeed in dodging and end up past its reach, and taking my sword in both hands, I strike its stomach. The slash lands, cutting a long and deep gash from which blood starts to pour out of, making the white fur appear red.

After receiving the possibly fatal injury, the snow-howler jumps back, and after letting out a loud howl, it takes off, towards Grim and Linda.

"Watch out!" I call out in fear when I realize.

"Don't worry boy!" Grim replies with a grin and his axe above his head.

With one strike, the beast's head is severed in two.

"Did I fail?.." I ask unsurely when I walk up to them. I failed to kill it and instead put others in danger. This can't be good for my test.

"Fail!?" He lets out a laugh and Linda smiles suspiciously. "That was some serious skill you displayed! Not just anyone can do what you did over there. Both attacking and dodging at the same time? It isn't often you see people who can concentrate hard enough for that."

"Don't worry. For this monster you passed. You did deal a fatal wound, and even if Grim had not stopped it, the monster would not have gotten far. All that final strike did was to save us time confirming the kill." Linda states.

I breathe out. That's a relief.

"Still. This is the second C-ranked monster spotted here in just two days. The guild really should be notified about this." Grim looks up toward the mountains seriously.

Linda giggles at Grim's comment. "You're forgetting that a guild representative is standing right here. The moment we get back I'll write a fully detailed report. What I'm really curious to see is the situations at the other monster spots."

"Oh.. I hadn't thought of that." Grim crosses his arms thoughtfully.

"Wait.. So if something in the mountains is driving down the stronger monsters, what will the more difficult monster spots look like?" I ask, concerned. "We were going to a C-ranked monster spot next, right?.. This was a D-ranked spot and there were C-ranked monsters.. So could there be B-ranked monsters in the next location?.."

Linda laughs and taps her finger on the two long knives hung by her belt. "I sure hope not! Then me and Grim will have to do all the fighting! I think after your display against the snow-howler, I have enough to rank you up, but we should still check out the next spot just in case something is off. So would you mind joining us there?"

"Not at all. After all, it's not often a testee gets to send their instructors into battle." I grin at them and get chuckles back.

"Then let us not linger." Grim states. "The sooner we get there the better."

...

Sure enough, shortly after arriving at the master spot, we sight a wyvern resting atop the corpses of a couple of slain adventurers, who were likely caught by surprise over meeting such a formidable foe.

"We need to do something about that." Linda tells Grim.

"I agree, if we don't there will be other victims as well. Although if it takes to the sky there will be little to nothing that I can do about it." Grim seems concerned, and rightly so. While similar to the extinct dragons in many aspects, unlike dragons, wyverns can't breath fire, but they still can take to the skies and use it to their advantage, either by diving on their prey, or by dropping large boulders.

"Then we won't let it." Linda starts forming a plan, which I am completely excluded from. "It won't likely leave the ground if it doesn't feel threatened enough, so as long as it feels like we are easy prey, it won't run."

"So let it beat down on us and not fight back?" He tilts his head in a confused manner.

"No. For this, your weapon is most suited, but don't strike until you get the opportunity to swipe its head clean off. You think you can do that?"

"Yes. I should be able to do it no problem, as long as the right opportunity is presented."

"Then let's go, I go from the left, and you take it from the right. I will only feint attacks, and won't do any actual damage. You focus on taking it down. And you Kade, if you get in the crossfire somehow.. Just use your reflexes to dodge."

At that, both of them start to slowly circle around the monster. 

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