The Eternal Winter - Book 1 - Chapter 36 - The Chase (Patreon)

                                                                                              Alexander North

I sprint as quickly as possible before sending a glance behind me, just for a notice to pop up after the large wolf turns the corner to continue its chase.

/ Notice \

Exterior energy source above threshold located.
Energy source identified as a Frozen One with an energy level of 1.58.

\End of Notice/

Yeah, I know ter- wait a second. Is it just me, or does it have a higher energy level now than it had before?

I put that realization to the back of my head as I continue running until eventually coming across a door and looking back once more. This time, I see the wolves that were with the large one following behind it, along with Cynthia who quickly makes her way across the intersection with a nod in my direction.

So far so good.

I slam the door in front of me open before closing it again and rushing to the back of the room. The room itself is full of dozens of different workout machines, along with more workout equipment and even some obstacle courses in the back, which are what I’m currently making a beeline for.

But before I can reach it, I hear the door smashing open again, followed by a large tremor going throughout the entire room as I’m assuming the large wolf slams into the wall in order to break it down and fit through. The first tremor is then followed by a second one just seconds later, along with a crashing sound which I can only assume is the wall collapsing.

I keep myself from looking back though as I leap much higher than would’ve been possible before turning into a frost infused onto the middle portion of one of the obstacle courses. This portion is a large tower that people are meant to climb up, but I just skipped most of the climb and immediately went to a spot about three fourths of the way up before finishing the climb and looking back down to see the wolves rushing over and coming to a stop at the base of the tower while growling.

The large wolf slows down as it approaches the tower, of which the other wolves are just circling. So I let out a faint sight of relief.

Just for the large one to raise its head and howl, following which a puff of white mist leaves its mouth.

Uh… that doesn’t look like a good si-

A jet of icy mist shoots out of the wolf’s mouth straight towards me, making me stumble backwards before it goes right over my head to freeze the top of the obstacle I’m standing on solid. But it doesn’t stop there, as despite it being frozen already, the mist continues hitting it until I begin hearing cracks, followed by the metal making up the ceiling of the obstacle shattering and falling down.

That’s just unfair.

I can’t help but think this as I’m rolling around to avoid all of the sharp bits of metal falling from above.

The large wolf doesn’t seem to care about my plight though when it jumps forwards and slams its body into the obstacle, making a ripping sound occur before the entire tower begins to tilt slightly. But by the time all of the shards are done falling and I’ve regained my balance, the tower is already back to standing straight again. So I approach the edge of it to look out at the monsters, just to see the large wolf rearing up to charge at it again.

I narrow my eyes before grabbing a throwing knife and tossing it straight at the large wolf before it begins its charge, striking it directly in the shoulder and making it let out a short yelp. Despite that though, it continues on with the charge and rushes at the tower.

This time the tower leans over further, exposing the damage where the wolf apparently ripped it off of the floor somehow right before I find myself gripping to the tower again. Fortunately for me, the tower still doesn’t lean far enough and lands back down. On one of the small wolves.

I can’t help but gape at the splatter of blood from down below.

The wolf’s death isn’t what surprises me. It’s that the wolf literally jumped in at the last second as if wanting to die.

But one thing I can tell is that the tower seems a little lopsided now even know it’s not wobbling.

Was that it’s goal? Suicide so that it can help the large one knock down the tower?

If I remember correctly, these training towers are made of much sturdier and more balanced stuff than the interior walls strictly because they’re used so much. It’s to make sure they last a long time and to make sure that they never fall over or anything. Which explains why the large wolf can break through a wall but not this tower.

The large wolf begins to back up again, but this time with the two remaining smaller wolves. They then all begin to tense up, as if all three of them are about to charge the tower at once this time.

Oh shit.

I quickly grab my other knife and ready myself to throw it, only for the wolves to burst into a sprint towards the tower, making it too late.

So I jump from the tower to the next obstacle of the course, which is high up in the air hanging by a couple of thin, and seemingly rusty chains. Why they’re rusty now when they weren’t the last time I was here, I’m not sure. Two possibilities do come to mind though.

The chains on the swinging platform squeak after my landing, but the noise is completely drowned out when the tower that I had just jumped from falls and smashes into the ground, crushing some of the other obstacles in that direction.

I wince at the noise before looking back at the wolves to find them slightly disoriented – likely from slamming into a thick metal tower. The large wolf does manage to recover quickly enough, and I can’t help but notice that the knife that was in its shoulder isn’t there anymore and that its wound is healing.

Are you kidding me? Of course, this one would be a regenerative one.

I purse my lips at the large wolf, who also raises its head to stare at me.

Just how am I going to deal with you?

After a few seconds, my gaze turns to the chains on the platform I’m standing on.

Maybe that’ll work?