The Echelon Tower

Chapter 7 - Second Challenge

...

The large wolf in the stack of leaves produced a loud growl, obviously angered by the appearance of the group of humans.

This growl seemed to carry a special power, instilling fear onto the humans.

The legs of Stephanie and the other kids started shaking so hard that they looked like they would dislocate at any moment.

Although Jonathan wasn't at that point, his still stopped breathing for a few seconds and a feeling of strong fear was instilled into him. He felt his legs wanting to turn around and run away as far as possible, but he resisted.

Considering that he was afraid of almost nothing, this was shocking. Even the wolves from the previous attack could not cause him to react so intensively.

Furthermore, it wasn't the same type of fear. The other wolves would make him feel like "his life is in danger," but the wolf made him feel like "the devil is here, run."

Even the grip on his spear was loosened due to his hands shaking.

Surprisingly, the teachers looked a bit more composed than him. He wouldn't be surprised if it was only the science teacher in this state, but all three looked like they didn't have much to fear.

The large wolf also seemed to notice this, so it walked slowly towards the teachers, whose expressions still did not change.

"As far as I can see, that wolf isn't normal. They are five while we are eight, so outrunning them and escaping is out of question. Even if you are not the first one that gets bitten, they won't stop their chase since this is their territory." The science teacher calmly said to the whole group.

Jonathan had no plans on running away, so this information didn't faze him. For the other kids, however, it only made them even more scared.

"Hehe, it looks like we have to brawl with these beasts." Alex also commented, although he seemed happy of the situation.

Rana also silently acknowledged this choice and got her wooden spear ready for attack.

This ignited Jonathan's battle spirit, helping him stop the shaking and stabilizing his steps. For now, there were only three wolves heading towards them. With eight people, it shouldn't be too hard to take them down.

Right?

However, Jeremy seemed to have heard nothing of what the others had said, or at least it didn't affect him. He was still standing ahead of the group, but he wasn't moving.

His legs were shaking even harder than those of the other kids, and Jonathan saw a large brown stain at his buttocks.

'He definitely won't be able to fight. And the other kids have no real battle experience or aptitude for battle. They each count as half a fighter at most ... so it's a five versus three...' Jonathan quickly analyzed the situation, deciding to not put any hope into the kids in his group.

"Jeremy gets back or throw your spear at it!" Guillaume screamed at Jeremy, but the latter seemed to have heard nothing, as still stayed there like a pole.

Seeing an easy target, the large wolf at the back suddenly ran towards Jeremy. Although it's body was bigger, at was at least twice as fast as the wolves Jonathan had faced.

Even in imminent danger, Jeremy still stayed put like a statue. Nobody did anything to save him, as if everyone was too shocked to move.

Although that was true for the kids, the adults simply didn't want to waste their weapons, as a spear throw was the only way to save Jeremy now.