Assimilate All Talents

With that, Sol and Amber turned and left the guild, stepping out into the cool evening air.

The sky had begun to shift into a reddish hue, casting long shadows over the quiet town. Few people remained on the streets—the looming threat of a beast attack at any moment kept most behind closed doors.

Sol glanced at Amber. "Ready?"

Amber nodded, her hand resting on the four unique daggers strapped to her waist. "Yes."

"Then let's go."

Without another word, they vanished into the fading light, sprinting through the town and heading toward the forest where the Thunder Wolf Kings lurked.

...

The wind howled softly through the treetops as Sol and Amber raced through the dense woodland, their forms mere blurs weaving between towering trees. Shadows stretched long over the forest floor, and the once lively woods were eerily silent. There were no rustling animals in the underbrush, no distant calls of birds—just the whisper of leaves stirring in the breeze.

As they neared the first reported location of the Thunder Wolf King, Sol and Amber slowed their pace. Sol's sharp eyes scanned the area, noting the unnatural stillness.

"It's too quiet." he muttered under his breath.

Amber's gaze swept the empty woods, her expression unreadable. "No beasts or monsters."

Sol nodded. "Makes sense. They must have noticed the arrival of the Thunder Wolf Kings. They're far more sensitive to this sort of thing, having lived in the wild their whole lives. They must have fled long ago, but that means we're close."

His eyes narrowed as he activated his skill, [Wild Hunt].

The world around him sharpened, highlighting subtle disturbances in the soil, snapped branches, and faint claw marks on nearby trees. They glowed faintly in his vision, forming a clear trail.

"This way." Sol whispered, motioning for Amber to follow.

Moving swiftly yet silently, they melted into the shadows. After a few minutes of navigating the terrain, they stumbled upon a gruesome scene.

A pack of Dire Wolves, their coarse black fur bristling, feasted hungrily on the carcasses of several large boars. Towering over the pack was a Thunder Wolf King, its massive frame covered in rough silver fur. Sparks crackled faintly along its body as it tore into the largest boar, ripping through flesh and bone with ease.

Sol and Amber crouched behind a fallen log, their presences masked by their stealth skills.

Name: Test No.32

Race: Thunder Wolf Kingn/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Talents: [Natural Leader], [Lightning Affinity], [Agile Predator]

Level: 61

HP: 650

MP: 550

Str: 80

Vit: 65

Agi: 95 (+20)

Int: 25

Wis: 40 (+15)

Talent Skill:

[Group Enrage] Lv 5, [Thunder Blast] Lv 9, [Predator's Aura] Lv 1

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Passive Skills:

[Pack Leader] Lv 5, [Leadership] Lv 5, [Thick Hide] Lv 5, [Lightning Resistance] Lv 5, [Agility Up] Lv 4, [Wisdom Up] Lv 3, [Stalking] Lv 4

Active Skills:

[Ground Shrink] Lv 5, [Concussive Blow] Lv 3, [Claw Attack] Lv 9, [Jaw Crunch] Lv 1, [Blurry Steps] Lv 2

Sol analyzed the status page and murmured, "It's similar to the original Thunder Wolf Kings I fought, but it has a name, Test No.32."

The name alone was enough to confirm that these creatures were artificially created, and this was just one of many experiments.

After observing them for a moment, Sol whispered to Amber, "Aside from the fact that they aren't attacking each other and are claiming specific territories around town, they don't seem too special. Let's take care of this one quickly and move on."

Amber nodded, drawing one of her daggers and slashing the air in front of her. Instantly, a large gash appeared across the Thunder Wolf King's neck, decapitating it in an instant.

"...Well. I did say quickly." Sol blinked, momentarily at a loss for words. He thought he would get the first strike in but her efficiency was terrifying as always. In terms of pure speed, even he couldn't have landed an attack that fast. She had distorted the distance between her blade and the beast's neck to zero, while it would take him time to either run or send a projectile to his target. It was impressive as it was now but he knew that would only become deadlier once it developed into a true law technique.

Before leaving, Sol used [Siphon] from a distance, unwilling to miss the opportunity to gain and level a good talent skill that all the Thunder Wolf Kings would likely share.

[Attempting to siphon [Thunder Blast]...]

[7%... 43%... 89%...]

[Assimilating talent skill. (Note: This may hurt)]

[Learned [Thunder Blast] Lv 8!]

With his skill successfully absorbed, they left the scene without delay.

The Dire Wolves, now panicked at the sight of their leader's sudden demise, were left alone. Now that they were Leaderless, they would either disband or one of the remaining wolves would take charge. Regardless of the outcome, they were only level 20 beasts, they were of little harm to the town and shouldn't be completely wiped out as they were an essential part of the local ecosystem.

Sol didn't bother hunting them for their skills; they only possessed a handful of low-level abilities, which wouldn't significantly enhance his own. Killing them would only further disrupt the already fragile balance of the forest. Their time was better spent eliminating the real threats, the anomalies.

And that's exactly what they did.

One after another, the two adventurers systematically eliminated the Thunder Wolf Kings, making no unnecessary stops along the way. In just under an hour, they had cleared 45 of the 53 reported locations provided by Guildmaster William.

When they arrived at the next location, they found a Thunder Wolf King locked in a fierce battle with a massive Blacksteel Bear. Surrounding the two beasts were the corpses of tens of Dire Wolves and a few smaller Blacksteel Bears. Normally, the two such beasts would never intrude upon each other's territories, as they were both level 50 creatures. However, with the anomalous Thunder Wolf King's B-Rank strength, it was overwhelming the bear.

Amber readied her dagger, preparing to end the battle swiftly, but Sol stopped her with a raised hand.

"Wait. Now that we've killed most of them, let's find out who's behind this."