The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 35

“What is this…?”

Jade muttered, completely forgetting that Ian was by his side. Ian would likely assume Jade was muttering at the Shadow Wolves, not the system window.

[ >> ! Warning ! << ]

[ >> ! Warning ! << ]

The system window continued to flash its alerts. The red warning text blinked incessantly, looking even more menacing than before.

His feet were frozen. He had to run. His instincts were screaming at him to do so. Jade slowly lowered the sack. Then, pointing the axe forward, he tightly gripped Ian’s forearm with his other hand. Given the gravity of the situation, Ian didn’t shove Jade’s hand away.

[ ※ ‘Shadow Wolf.’ Afraid of the dark and highly intelligent. ]

The system window displayed a description of the Shadow Wolf. Even in a crisis like this, it was just a one-line explanation. It was incredibly unhelpful. How much better would it have been if it told him a weakness or an escape route?

Jade knew a little bit about Shadow Wolves. They were one of the monsters that appeared in the northern forest, a species notorious for being difficult to attack because of their blurry forms. To make matters worse, they traveled in packs, making them hard to handle.

In the game, they weren’t actually very significant monsters. They were relatively easy opponents encountered during the early stages of a route toward the final level. But that was only the case when looking at them through a screen.

“Grrrrr…”

The Shadow Wolf at the very front tensed its hind legs. It lowered its body, bared its teeth, and growled. It looked ready to pounce on Jade and Ian at any moment.

Judging by the drool dripping from its mouth, it seemed starved. Monsters that began their activity in the spring usually started hunting to fill stomachs that had been empty all winter. And it looked like Ian and Jade had become their spring prey.

“Stand behind me.”

“But…!”

Jade moved Ian behind his back. Since they were surrounded by Shadow Wolves on all sides, there was no truly safe spot, but at least there was a tree behind him to shield Ian’s body.

Jade took a deep breath and gripped the hand axe tight. This was his only weapon.

“Krr-aaaah!”

One of the lead Shadow Wolves leaped toward them. Its mist-like, blurry body wavered as it flew through the air like an arrow. While its body was faint, the sharp fangs revealed between its parted jaws gleamed clearly.

“Aaaah!”

Jade swung the axe at the pouncing Shadow Wolf. The axe grazed the wolf’s flank. However, it didn’t feel like he had actually landed a hit. It felt as if he were cutting through water. The Shadow Wolf’s body merely distorted and scattered like mist for a moment before clumping back together.

“Grrrr.”

“Awoooo—!”

The other Shadow Wolves nearby began to growl and howl. Simultaneously, another one lunged from the side. Jade’s axe struck the Shadow Wolf accurately again, but the wolf simply twisted its body as it landed on the ground. It seemed completely unharmed.

‘I can’t even hit them.’

Physical attacks weren’t working. If this continued, the end was obvious. An exhausted Jade and Ian would end up as food for the Shadow Wolves.

Actually, it wasn’t that there was no way to beat Shadow Wolves. Players used to deal with them using skills that blocked out light, as they were afraid of the dark. The problem was that Jade’s current skills were nowhere near enough for that. It’s not like he could block out the sun.

‘There must be another way…!’

Jade’s mind raced. Meanwhile, the wolf that had been grazed by Jade’s axe earlier leaped high.

“Watch out!”

Ian pushed Jade. Reflexively curling his body, Jade felt the wolf’s claws graze the top of his head.

“Ugh…”

The back of the hand he had used to cover his head was torn open, and blood began to flow. Even though it had only grazed him, it had sliced deep into the skin. Red blood dripped onto the snow. If it hadn’t been for Ian, it would have been his head, not his hand, that got torn open.

“Wh-what should…”

He could feel that Ian was startled. This was bad. In times like this, they had to respond calmly to survive. Jade quickly stood up and gripped the axe harder. There was no time to look at the wound. He couldn’t afford a moment’s distraction.

Jade kept an eye on the approaching wolves, scanning his surroundings. He felt the perimeter of Shadow Wolves closing in tighter than before. It seemed they had attacked one by one just for this purpose.

Soon, they would swarm him. When that happened, there would be no way out.

‘The sun…’

Unlike regular wolves that were nocturnal, Shadow Wolves were monsters that were mainly active during the morning and day. True to their name, they were shadow-like beings, so when light disappeared, they were absorbed into the darkness and lost their form. Since they were such minor monsters, not much information came to mind, but he remembered this specific setting because it was so unique.

“Stay close to me,” Jade whispered.

He had to break through the circle the Shadow Wolves had formed, even if it meant taking a risk. Sweat soaked the palm of the hand holding the axe.

Jade locked his eyes on the smallest wolf in the pack surrounding them. That wolf was standing to Jade’s right, and a tree shadow happened to be draped behind it.

“Aaaaah!”

“Grrrr—!”

Jade gave a loud shout and threw the axe. The axe spun through the air, scattering the form of the Shadow Wolf before hitting the ground. A direct hit.

The circular formation wavered for a moment. Jade didn’t miss the chance. Holding Ian’s hand with one hand and the sack with the other, he sprinted toward the shadow.

“Huff, huff.”

He took advantage of the gap before the Shadow Wolf could reform, aiming only for the dark spaces as he ran. The Shadow Wolves gave chase all at once.

“Hurry…!”

Fortunately, the wolves couldn’t step into the shadows. However, the shadows were too narrow and weren’t continuous.

As Jade and Ian fled by stepping only on the shadows, the wolves pursued them by stepping on the sunlit patches. They couldn’t stay in the shadows forever, either. Because the shadows were narrow, a wolf could simply lung in and snatch them back into the light.

“Ack!”

To make matters worse, his boot slipped on the snow. He had carved grooves to prevent slipping, but the wooden soles weren’t suited for running on a snowfield. He tried to regain his balance, but he tripped over a protruding rock and went down with a thud.

“Kraaa! Kraack!”

The howling from behind grew steadily closer. That sound, so different from a regular wolf, was so eerily bizarre that his knees went weak instinctively. Jade sprang up like a coil and started running again.

But how long could he keep running like this? Perhaps because of the fall, his ankle and knee were throbbing. He couldn’t outrun the wolves at this speed.

“Huff, huff… the pumpkins!”

As they ran, Ian shouted through his heavy breathing.

“What?”

“When you threw the axe earlier, the wolf’s body scattered. If you keep throwing them…!”

“Ah!”

Just as Ian said, the Shadow Wolves couldn’t move the moment their bodies were scattered. Wasn’t that how they were able to escape just now?

The axe was already gone, thrown away. But the pumpkins he had dug up earlier would be enough to attack the Shadow Wolves.

There were four Shadow Wolves following them, and he had three pumpkins. He might be able to lose them.

However, to throw the pumpkins, he had to let go of Ian’s hand. Since Ian was much smaller than Jade and had a shorter stride, he couldn’t help but worry.

“Huff, huff. If I let go for a second, can you keep up?”

“Yes,” Ian replied firmly.

At times like this, Ian seemed more like an adult than Jade, which strangely brought him a sense of relief.

Besides, there were no other options right now. He had to try everything he could. As Jade continued to run, he reached into the sack, pulled out an Old Snow Pumpkin, and threw it.

“Grrr…!”

The pumpkin flew in an arc and struck the lead wolf. The wolf bared its teeth as it scattered. Simultaneously, the howling of the wolves behind them grew even more intense. It was a fierce howl, as if they couldn’t afford to lose the prey they had finally found.

Jade immediately threw the next pumpkin. This one hit two wolves at once. As the three wolves lost their forms and scattered, he saw the wolf at the very back wavering in confusion.

“Over there!”

Ian, who was sprinting desperately at Jade’s side, pointed somewhere. A cave. Miraculously, a cave was visible in the distance.

Jade scooped Ian up in his arms. The exhausted Ian’s speed was flagging. It was only natural for him to have less stamina than Jade, an adult.

“Jade, wa-wait a minute!”

“In this situation, there is no such thing as a minute!”

Holding Ian and with the sack slung over his back, Jade sprinted toward the cave. There was a slight uphill slope leading to it. He almost tripped again but managed to hold on by grabbing onto a rock.

His lungs felt like they were going to burst from running without a break, and his legs felt like lead from carrying Ian and the sack. But he couldn’t stop. The scattered wolves were regaining their forms and were in hot pursuit. The sound of their breathing felt like it was nipping at the back of his neck.

“Aaaaah!”

Jade used the last of his strength to throw himself into the cave. Jade, Ian, and the sack all tumbled inside.