10

Chapter 10: The Alpha

The Forest Fang Alpha moved again.

Subin barely saw it.

One moment the enormous wolf was standing several meters away, and the next it was already in front of him.

Subin raised his sword.

CLANG!

The impact traveled through his arms.

His feet slid backward across the soil, leaving two shallow marks.

The Alpha didn't give him time to recover.

Its claws swept toward his chest.

Subin twisted his body.

The claws passed through the space where he had been standing a moment earlier.

He countered immediately.

His sword cut toward the wolf's exposed side.

The Alpha reacted faster than expected.

It turned its body, reducing the depth of the strike.

The blade still cut through its fur and opened a shallow wound.

The wolf landed several meters away.

Blood dripped from its side.

Subin looked at the wound.

"So even your defense changes depending on the angle."

The system appeared.

[Sword Comprehension Analysis: 11%]

Subin's eyes remained fixed on the Alpha.

The creature was different from every monster he had fought before.

Ordinary wolves relied heavily on speed and numbers.

The Alpha possessed speed, strength, intelligence, and combat instincts.

It wasn't simply stronger.

It understood battle.

The wolf growled.

Subin adjusted his grip.

"Come."

The Alpha charged.

This time, Subin didn't wait.

He moved forward.

The distance between them disappeared.

The wolf opened its jaws.

Subin lowered his body.

Its teeth passed over his head.

He thrust upward.

The sword struck beneath the wolf's jaw.

The Alpha twisted violently.

Subin's sword only grazed its neck.

The monster's hind legs kicked backward.

Subin jumped away just before the claws reached him.

He landed and immediately turned.

The Alpha was already coming again.

Subin's mind accelerated.

[Analysis: 18%]

The creature's movement became clearer.

Shoulder movement.

Weight distribution.

Leg positioning.

Head angle.

Subin began recognizing the small signs that appeared before each attack.

When the Alpha lowered its right shoulder, it usually attacked with its left claw.

When it shifted its rear leg, it was preparing to leap.

When its head moved slightly downward, it was preparing to bite.

The information wasn't appearing as words.

It was becoming instinct.

Subin could almost feel what the creature would do before it did it.

The Alpha attacked.

Subin dodged.

It attacked again.

He blocked.

A third attack came from the opposite direction.

Subin stepped inside.

His sword struck.

Blood appeared.

[Analysis: 29%]

The Alpha roared.

Its entire body tensed.

Subin immediately recognized the movement.

It was going to accelerate.

He moved backward.

The Alpha launched forward.

The speed was incredible.

Subin raised his sword.

The claws struck.

His body was thrown several meters.

He rolled across the ground and quickly got back onto his feet.

Pain traveled through his shoulder.

He looked at the Alpha.

"That one would have broken my ribs."

The wolf growled.

Subin smiled.

"Good."

He wasn't enjoying the pain.

He was enjoying the lesson.

Every attack was teaching him something.

Every mistake showed him another weakness.

The Alpha charged again.

This time, Subin didn't focus on its entire body.

He focused on its feet.

The left front paw.

The right rear leg.

The shifting center of gravity.

He understood.

The Alpha always placed more weight on its right rear leg before accelerating from a stationary position.

Subin waited.

The wolf lowered its body.

Right rear leg.

Now.

Subin stepped diagonally.

The Alpha lunged past him.

Its claws missed.

Subin turned with the movement.

Basic Sword Flow activated naturally.

His sword followed the rotation of his body.

Slash.

The blade cut deeply into the Alpha's side.

The wolf roared.

Subin continued moving.

He didn't stop after one attack.

His first slash became a second.

The second became a thrust.

The thrust became a retreating cut.

Every movement flowed into the next.

[Basic Sword Flow proficiency increased.]

[23% → 27%]

The Alpha stumbled.

Subin's eyes sharpened.

He had finally found the rhythm.

The wolf turned toward him.

Its breathing had become heavier.

Blood covered part of its fur.

But it wasn't finished.

The Alpha suddenly lifted its head and released a powerful howl.

AWOOOOOO!

The sound spread throughout the forest.

Subin looked around.

The forest responded.

Growls came from the distance.

One.

Two.

Then several more.

Subin's expression changed.

"You're calling the pack."

The Alpha stared at him.

Subin understood the situation immediately.

The battle had changed.

If the surrounding wolves arrived, fighting the Alpha would become considerably more difficult.

He couldn't allow that.

Subin tightened his grip.

"I'm ending this now."

The Alpha charged.

Subin moved.

Neither held anything back.

The wolf's claws came from the left.

Subin ducked.

The right claw followed.

He blocked with the flat of his sword.

The impact pushed him sideways.

The Alpha opened its jaws.

Subin stepped forward.

Instead of retreating from the bite, he entered its range.

His sword moved upward.

The blade struck beneath the jaw.

The Alpha's head snapped back.

Subin continued the movement.

His foot rotated.

His body turned.

His sword completed the arc.

The blade struck the same wounded section of the wolf's neck.

The Alpha staggered.

Subin saw the opening.

He stepped forward.

One final strike.

The sword passed through the wolf's neck.

The enormous creature froze.

For a moment, it remained standing.

Then its body collapsed heavily onto the forest floor.

Silence returned.

Subin stood motionless.

Blood dripped from his sword.

Then the system appeared.

[Forest Fang Alpha defeated.]

[Level Up.]

[Level 6 → Level 7]

[Level Up.]

[Level 7 → Level 8]

Subin stared at the notifications.

"Two levels?"

The experience from the Alpha had been enormous.

His body warmed again as the energy from the level increases spread through him.

He opened his status.

[Name: Subin Vans]

[Level: 8]

[Class: Sword God]

[Strength: 22]

[Agility: 21]

[Vitality: 15]

[Intelligence: 16]

[Mana: 15]

[Unassigned Attribute Points: 20]

Subin was about to examine the new points when another notification appeared.

[Sword Comprehension analysis complete.]

[Forest Fang Alpha combat pattern successfully analyzed.]

[New Technique acquired.]

Subin's attention immediately shifted.

[Fang Step]

Type: Movement Technique

Description: A movement technique derived from the hunting patterns of the Forest Fang Alpha. Allows the user to rapidly change direction while maintaining offensive momentum.

Subin's eyes brightened.

"A movement technique."

He immediately understood why.

The Alpha's greatest advantage hadn't been its strength.

It was its ability to accelerate, stop, and change direction without losing balance.

Subin had unconsciously copied part of that movement.

He stepped forward.

Then sideways.

Then diagonally backward.

His body moved differently.

Faster.

Smoother.

He repeated the sequence.

The technique wasn't perfect yet.

But it had potential.

[Fang Step proficiency: 1%]

Subin smiled.

"So the class doesn't just teach me sword techniques."

He looked at his sword.

"It can turn what I learn from opponents into something useful."

That realization was more valuable than the experience.

---

The surrounding wolves began approaching.

Subin could hear them moving between the trees.

He looked at the Alpha's body.

There was no reason to waste the materials.

He retrieved the mana stone from the monster.

It was considerably larger than the ordinary stones.

[Alpha Mana Stone]

[Quality: Low-Medium]

[Purity: 29%]

[Mana Content: 96]

Subin stared at it.

Almost a hundred units of mana.

He placed it carefully into his pouch.

Then he began collecting the useful materials.

Alpha hide.

Claws.

Fangs.

Blood samples.

Even the bones looked different from ordinary wolves.

He didn't know exactly what they were worth, but the Association had taught Awakeners to collect valuable monster materials whenever possible.

Subin finished quickly.

The growls around him had become louder.

He looked toward the trees.

Several pairs of eyes appeared.

The remaining wolves watched him.

Subin didn't attack them.

The Alpha was dead.

The territory had changed hands.

He didn't know whether the wolves would attack him or retreat.

One Level 7 wolf stepped forward.

Subin placed his hand on his sword.

The wolf stopped.

After several seconds, it turned around.

The others followed.

They disappeared into the forest.

Subin watched them leave.

He hadn't expected that.

"Even monsters have their own hierarchy."

He looked at the corpse of the Alpha.

The dungeon was teaching him more than combat.

It was teaching him how this world worked.

---

Subin spent the next few hours exploring.

The deeper he went, the stronger the monsters became.

He encountered Level 7 wolves, Level 8 wolves, and several Level 9 creatures.

None posed the same challenge as the Alpha.

But Subin didn't become careless.

He fought each battle seriously.

He practiced Fang Step.

At first, his movements were awkward.

The technique required him to accelerate and change direction without losing balance.

Several times, he nearly tripped.

But Sword Comprehension was constantly helping him.

By the tenth attempt, his movements were much smoother.

[Fang Step proficiency: 1% → 18%]

Subin continued.

By the time he reached the sixth floor of the dungeon, the technique had reached 31%.

He stopped near a small stream.

The water was unusually clear.

Several glowing plants grew beside it.

Subin crouched down.

[Moonleaf Herb]

[Grade: Common]

[Effect: Mild mana recovery when properly processed.]

He collected several.

Then he noticed something else.

A small stone structure stood beyond the stream.

It wasn't natural.

Subin approached it carefully.

The structure appeared to be an old shrine made from stone.

There was no writing.

No treasure.

No monster.

Just a simple stone platform surrounded by glowing plants.

Subin examined it.

Nothing happened.

He wasn't interested in forcing himself to find meaning where there wasn't any.

The dungeon was still an unexplored environment.

Not everything needed an explanation.

He collected a few more herbs and continued forward.

---

By the time Subin reached the dungeon's seventh floor, his status had changed significantly.

His body felt stronger.

His swordsmanship had improved.

His new movement technique was becoming increasingly natural.

More importantly, he had learned something fundamental.

Being stronger wasn't enough.

A true swordsman needed to understand movement, timing, distance, balance, pressure, and the opponent.

Subin sat beneath a large tree and looked at his sword.

He still had twenty unassigned attribute points.

He considered putting them into Strength and Agility.

But this time, he hesitated.

His battle with the Alpha had revealed a weakness.

His body was becoming stronger quickly, but his endurance hadn't increased at the same pace.

If he encountered an opponent capable of fighting him for a long time, that could become a problem.

Subin allocated the points.

Vitality +8

Strength +6

Agility +6

His status changed.

[Strength: 28]

[Agility: 27]

[Vitality: 23]

He stood.

The difference was immediate.

His body felt more stable.

His muscles responded more strongly.

His breathing was calmer.

Subin nodded.

"Better."

Then he looked toward the deeper section of the dungeon.

The trees there were much larger.

The mana was noticeably denser.

The system displayed another warning.

[Warning.]

[High-level monster territory detected.]

[Recommended level: 10+]

Subin looked at his status.

Level 8.

He could continue.

But the system was clearly warning him.

Subin thought for a moment.

Then he smiled.

He wasn't going to retreat simply because the recommended level was higher.

But he wasn't going to rush blindly either.

He would observe first.

If the monsters were too strong, he would leave.

If they were manageable, he would fight.

That was how he wanted to grow.

Not recklessly.

Not slowly.

Efficiently.

Subin stood and began walking toward the deeper forest.

His sword rested naturally in his hand.

His footsteps became lighter.

His newly acquired Fang Step activated unconsciously.

One step.

Another.

Then another.

Subin disappeared between the trees.

Far ahead, something enormous moved through the darkness.

Subin stopped.

His eyes narrowed.

A new monster appeared on the system.

[Forest Fang King — Level 12]

Subin stared at the notification.

Then he looked at the sword in his hand.

His expression didn't show fear.

Only anticipation.

"Level twelve..."

He took another step forward.

"Let's see what you can teach me."