Chapter 216 - Dire Wolf

"What do you want?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing, I just came to check on you since I saw the trails you left behind," Alissa replied after landing and returning to her human form. "Although I gave you several days of advantage, you still are here, huh."

"I don't think that is the case," Ryan said. "Maybe you are lonely because your lackeys aren't around to offer you praise."

"Don't talk as if they are members of some weird cult," Alissa said.

"It looks like their behavior has been giving you some problems. As expected, the bosses are probably sapient beings who are controlling the skeletons from inside the dungeon."

As much as it was annoying to have his mind being read, at least it saved Ryan from explaining. Although if he had the chance, he would rather avoid explaining anything. Regardless, soon after Alissa appeared, some new guests appeared as well. The dire wolves came in packs to play with the skeletons, but they didn't bring enough numbers to become a threat to the skeletons as expected. The knights focusing on blocking their path, and the archers and wizards attacked them from a safe position.

Dire Wolf- Lv 60

Health: 1.700/1.700

Mana: 500/500

Stamina: 800/800

Strength: 700

Dexterity: 450

Speed: 450

Intelligence: 250

Endurance: 350

Control: 100

Mentality: 350

Luck: 100

Recovery: 400 

Willpower: 350     

Coins: --

Status: --

Skill List

Offensive Physical Skills: Dash Lv 70

Passive Physical Skills: Iron Skin Lv 40, Rage Lv 40,

Spells: Ice Arrow Lv 50, Howl Lv 50, 

Support Skills: Cold Resistance Lv 100, Pain Resistance Lv 50

"I give up on trying to understand what is going on… their levels are even higher than the skeletons. That doesn't make any sense…" 

"Now that is surprising," Alissa frowned. "How come those creatures can come all this way when their bosses are facing dragons in the North?"

That was one of the many things Ryan wanted to know. Regardless, he had more pressing matters at the moment with the skeletons. Although Ryan wanted some peace of mind to think about what he should do during the day, Alissa wasn't leaving. As expected, even though she wasn't uncomfortable talking with Orgar, she still misses other humans' presence. Maybe now that she was training some humans, she had become less cold.

"I am going to give you a hand since I am interested in the identity of the bosses," Alissa declared. "Although I don't plan on going for other planets anytime soon, but having a good idea what I might find on the other side of this dungeon might give me some insight for the future."

"I don't need your help," Ryan said. "Besides, you can always learn about this later once I clear this area. Even though you say that you don't read my mind, you can always ask Orgar."

"Don't flatter yourself," Alissa said. "I don't have any reason to ask Orgar about the things of what you think, and he certainly doesn't talk about the thoughts of other humans."

"That might be true, but I would bet that you can gain some intel by facing the Fenrirs up north," Ryan said. "That is a pretty famous beast, after all. Even if it can't speak, you probably can find something by reading the monsters' memories."

"We can argue about this all day, but I won't change my mind," Alissa said.

Ryan sighed… in the end, Alissa's help would solve the problem of time. However, Ryan's pride was getting in the way as usual. In the end, he decided not to argue. Dungeons have to be cleared as fast as possible, even more so when there are two hundred of them in the country. Considering that Ryan had to work three days to clear a dungeon that broke three times and spawned salamanders, things might get really messy if a third dungeon break happens in some places that spawn things like golems, skeletons, or even demons.

"It looks like you already gave up," Alissa said. "So, what should we do?"

"Why are you asking me?" Ryan frowned.

"Did you get used to receiving orders?" Alissa asked. "Before, I could give the calls since I was in command, at least you considered that, but now things are different."

She had a point, even though it was weird for Alissa to say that. Still, Ryan didn't have much experience strategizing while working with others. He would never say it out loud, but things weren't so bad before when he worked with Alissa. She would give the orders and how things would proceed, and everything he had to worry about was to fire as many arrows as possible.

"… Let's just surprise the skeletons and whoever is controlling them instead of using any fancy strategy," Ryan said. "I will draw their attention and make some of them approach this place. Meanwhile, you will stay hidden, but then you attack with everything you got when they show up. Don't show your draconic form, though. We can't let them understand your power so quickly."

"I guess that is fine. My crossbows can't reach them from this distance," Alissa said while furrowing her eyebrows and looking at the dungeon. "I will need to buy some more powerful ones, I guess."

As expected, even Alissa had to deal with the limitations of some equipment. Although her crossbows probably could destroy the skeletons in a single shot, such a thing wouldn't happen that frequently. Since the creatures were being controlled, eventually, they would fall back to the dungeon where their numbers would be protected, and the fight would get more complicated.

Regardless, Ryan took out all the potions from his backpack because he would need to go all out in order to make as many skeletons as possible head toward them and because he didn't want to let Alissa monopolize all those sweet, sweet coins for herself. Hopefully, after clearing the dungeon, Ryan will be able to buy some even more impressive tomes, or at the very least, he will be able to buy two elemental transformation tomes.