How he could double his size in a mana desert area was a mystery I lacked time to solve. Alpha lunged with shocking speed and smashed me down into the stone floor so hard a couple ribs cracked. My Crash Test Dummy jacket had gotten so shredded, it barely offered any protection and my other layers weren't as good against blunt force damage.

Alpha loomed over me, mouth gaping to finally rip off my head. I couldn't trigger any spells and couldn't dodge in time. So I shoved my arm down his throat and summoned a donut and a piece of Tasty Cake mushroom into that hand.

His jaws slammed shut with brutal force and pulverized my arm, despite my high Constitution and my excellent armor. My layers of eel-hide under armor blocked his teeth from punching through and totally ripping off my arm, but they couldn't block the pure crushing force. The bite basically ground my arm to pulp.

I howled with pain and anger and plunged the silver claws of my other hand into the side of his head. He felt that and his entire body stiffened.

Then his jaw went slack and he reared back, eyes half closing as the Tasty Cake kicked in. His entire body quivered with ecstasy and he made a very un-wolflike moan of pleasure. I'd lacked time to sprinkle just a bit of mushroom onto the donut and that chunk I'd shoved into his mouth along with my poor hand had to be 100 doses worth.

He swayed, muzzle pointing straight up, mind transported to a happy werewolf paradise for a second. So I reached up and slapped the Guillotine Garrote around his neck. The slender, golden chain wrapped his throat in an instant. Then I waited, Guillotine Trigger in hand until he recovered.

Alpha looked down and I met his crimson, hate-filled gaze. In my best Sean Connery voice, I said, "There Can Be Only One."

I jammed down the button. With a faint shhk sound, his head fell free, eyes widening in shock and horror.

I caught his head and dumped it into my inventory. Then I shoved his body off. It fell to the stones, legs scrabbling, body convulsing. The insanely powerful Alpha didn't die immediately, but the gushing river of blood slowed and a new head actually started to regrow.

"What the Handel?" I swore. That was insane.

Then again, he and I had both regenerated from getting pulped and wrecked, so I shouldn't be so surprised. I was in the process of restoring a mashed arm, after all. But hell, he'd lost his freaking head!

"Not this time."

I slashed open his belly with my Wolvering claws and shoved in an acid grenade. Then I sat next to his twitching body as he melted on the inside, letting Energy Ward drain more and more of his energy reserves. After I rested and all my pools topped off, I rose and read a scroll of Firestorm.

A blizzard of intense flames roared to life, filling the entire sector. I triggered Loot and Soul Feed on the fallen trolls and watched Alpha's body as he burned. Only when his corpse was reduced to bits of ash did I turn off the spell and trigger Loot and Soul Feed. Only thin streams of life force hadn't already been drained by Energy Ward, but I took it all. Then I finally got the long-awaited achievement.

"Congratulations, Lucas! You have defeated Alpha, level 58 stage-2 boss. Bonus experience gained for defeating a higher-level enemy."

"Congratulations, Lucas! You have completed part 1 of the stage-2 victory quest. Bonus experience gained for solo-killing the first boss. You earn a diamond Terminator loot box."

"Congratulations, Lucas. You have reached level 29!"

"Yes!" I jumped in victory, pumping my hands high, Wolverine claws still coated in Alpha's blood pointing at the ceiling as I howled long and loud.

My wolf howl sounded like an actual wolf's. A lingering benefit of my night as a werewolf, I guessed. It felt right as the sound echoed back and forth across the mostly-destroyed cavern.

"That was a fight to remember." I sighed and triggered a Laundry Day potion. After savoring the wonderful cleansing experience, I pulled a comfortable chair from my inventory and plopped into it.

"Well done, Lucas," Cyrus chimed in as I downed a flask of water. My health and mana were topped off, but I still felt parched. I ate a couple donuts in celebration, then leaned back to savor a huge BLT sandwich.

"Thanks. That didn't go as easily as I'd planned, but I'm glad it's over."

"Even better than planned, I'd say. Great job using the dungeon monsters against Alpha."

"Weirdest dungeon dive I've ever heard of."

"Using the famous line from Highlander was an elegant touch."

It had been the catch phrase I'd settled on before heading out for the fight, after all. It felt right.

"Glad you appreciated it. Sean Connery might not have been the ultimate hero of the movie, but he was one of my favorite characters, and I couldn't do the other guy's accent." What was the main character's name again? I was too tired to remember.

"It worked. No need to apologize. You won your battle with flair again."

My battle. That reminded me. The rest of the teams had been fighting the rest of the pack in the fog. I opened my chat and relaxed when I saw a couple texts from Ruby. They'd captured and healed a dozen humans who had been turned by Alpha, including the three stooges from team Shackleford. I hadn't even realized those idiots had gotten turned by Alpha.

Unfortunately, other humans had been turned for more than 24 hours or had already killed since getting turned, so not even Ruby could help them. More than 2 dozen other werewolves had been killed. Overall, a super successful ambush, although she worried I might need help.

Lucas: "I'm okay. Alpha's dead. Had to fight through 3 levels of the dungeon before I managed to finish him off."

Ruby: "Yay! I knew you'd be okay. Most of the teams are preparing to head back to town. Our full dungeon run team plans to wait for you. Steve picked up your warhammer."

Lucas: "Thanks. Is everyone okay?"

Ruby: "Yes. We had minimal casualties. The trap went as well as could be hoped with the fog. Lots of injuries, but everyone is healed up now. Most of us earned at least 1 level. Nigel is an absolute terror. I'm glad he's on our side."

Lucas: "He grew a lot fighting those giants. I'll be out soon. Just need to make sure the dungeon is totally clear."

Ruby: "Be careful."

My arm felt almost back to normal, but I felt weird. Not nostalgic, but almost deflated. Defeating Alpha had been such a huge goal, now that it was over, the fading bloodlust still churning through me had nowhere to go. For some reason, I thought of Indigo Montoya.

"Now that Alpha is dead, I don't know what to do with the rest of, ah, the next 5 minutes."

Cyrus sighed loudly. "The Princess Bride. Perfect choice until you butchered the quote."

"Says the guy who can't get Earth idioms right."

"I offer improved alternatives for consideration."

"Right," I chuckled and shook off the weird feeling. Best way to feel better was to review my loot.

So I did. I got 12 crude troll weapons, none of which were worth keeping, along with 42 rolls of troll hide that apparently could be made into armor with excellent protective properties. Not bad.

From Alpha I got 20 tier-6 mana crystals, which would have seemed insane before the stupidly rich Lord Ashkaroth. I also got 1 roll of epic-tiered wolf leather with strong defensive properties that could also double regeneration speed. I might have to find a use for that.

Not a bad loot haul, but not fantastic either. Hopefully I had some other good achievement loot boxes in addition to the one I got for completing the first part of the level quest. I scanned my notices and found a few good ones.

"Congratulations, Lucas! For planning the successful ambush of the werewolf pack by a large company of Earth's elite warriors, you receive a platinum William Wallace loot box."

"Congratulations, Lucas! For tricking an enemy boss into helping you clear out 3 levels of the deadly Grindstone Dungeon, you receive a platinum Loki loot box."

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"Congratulations, Lucas! For using a still-living troll to swat down a boss monster several times, you receive a gold Hulk loot box."

"That made you think of Loki getting that epic beat-down too?"

Cyrus chuckled. "I was thinking of when Hulk slammed Thor in the arena the same way in Ragnarok. Loki's reaction was perfect."

"Yeah. Did you know that moment in Ragnarok when Thor first saw Hulk come smashing his way into the arena and said, 'He's a friend from work' was suggested by a kid visiting the set?"

"I did not. I love learning new trivia. Anyone who stops learning is dead."

"Isn't the quote 'anyone who stops learning is old'?"

"Not on this planet."

"Good thing I've been learning a lot." And a good reminder to stay focused. I returned to my loot boxes.

"Congratulations, Lucas! For winning a claw-to-claw melee fight with the stage-2 boss Alpha, you receive a diamond Rocky loot box."

Not as many high-tiered loot boxes as I'd hoped, but I still felt a surge of eager anticipation as I rubbed my gloved hands together and willed the loot boxes to appear and open. The line of 1 gold, 2 platinum, and 2 diamond loot boxes still looked awesome glittering with inner lights as they hovered in the air.

Inside the gold Hulk loot box, I received a scroll and what looked like a woven friendship bracelet, like all the girls used to make back in middle school.

"Slippery Fingers bracelet. Uncommon. Once every 5 minutes, if you lose your grip on your weapon, it will bounce back into your hand."

"Are you suggesting I lose too many weapons?" I asked as I wrapped the bracelet around my right wrist. The ends sealed together and it flattened against my skin like a pale tattoo.

"Not at all," Cyrus responded. "Your penchant for rotating through lots of weapons is one of many selling points your fans love."

"I aim to please." I wasn't about to volunteer to toss weapons away in the middle of a battle just to make vague viewers smile. Hopefully soon all those clues would make sense.

"And we all appreciate it."

The scroll I got in the loot box unlocked a new ability.

"Ability scroll. You gain the new level-2 ability Heavy Weapons."

"Heavy Weapons. Ability. Common. Add 20% extra damage per level when wielding an ax, warhammer, maul, or similar heavy weapon."

Nice. The platinum William Wallace loot box for planning the ambush revealed a tiny painted wooden figurine of a Scotsman, complete with patterned kilt, holding aloft a big sword. William Wallace himself, maybe?

"Indomitable Will. Figurine. Rare. If ever you are restrained and in mortal danger, simply shout, 'Freedom' in your best Scottish accent and this single-use item will break your bonds."

"Thanks. That's pretty cool. Wish I'd had this when I was stuck in the Ironwood Colossus's head."

"If you had, you never would have pushed your Mana Strings ability forward and made a vital breakthrough."

True, but breakthroughs on the verge of painful death weren't my favorite approach to life. The platinum Loki loot box for luring Alpha into the dungeon and letting him do most of the killing contained a pack of 5 identical potions.

"Stone Swimmer potion. Uncommon. Fly through a barrier of stone in a single direction as an incorporeal entity until you emerge into the next open space."

"This is so cool!" Thinking back to when the Ironwood Colossus smashed me into the mountain, I wish I'd had these potions then. I probably would have died if I hadn't sailed into that lake of lava, but now I had a trump card for if I got stuck like that again.

The diamond Rocky loot box for defeating Alpha hand-to-hand gave me three scrolls.

"Upgrade scroll. Upgrade Hand-to-hand fighting ability. For every punch landed in each fight, add 3% to blunt force resistance and 5% to skin toughness."

"Upgrade Scroll. Plus 2 levels in Hand-to-hand fighting ability.

Plus 1 to Wolf Blood."

"Upgrade Scroll. Upgrade class spell Elemental Harmony to level 2."

"Those are great upgrades." I'd probably landed 50 hits on Alpha during our insane fight. If I'd had that first upgrade, I would have increased my blunt force resistance by 150% and my toughness by 250%.

I tended to use blades more than my fists, but my Wolverine claws gave me a great option for getting up close and personal. Tony couldn't know how much they'd help when he made them for me. And now again, an upgrade seemed specifically designed to push me to more close-in fighting.

The emerald Terminator loot box for solo-killing a stage-2 boss contained 3 items. The first, a small metal pin shaped like a half-moon charm, looked kind of familiar.

"Fyrvaldir Gorget of the Survivor. Rare. Part 2 of 5. Attach to your Embersteel Battle Helm shard to add 50% greater overall protection and extend that protection down the neck until it fuses with the collar of any armor. Collect more pieces of the Fyrvaldir set to unlock greater set bonuses."

Somehow I remembered that a gorget was what they called the neck armor knights used. Random Intelligence benefit for the win.

"Why didn't the description on the Embersteel Battle Helm pin say it was part of a set?"

"You have to win a second piece to unlock the set potential. Keep an eye out for more because the set bonuses will grow better with each piece."

Very cool. I hadn't seen any set-based items before, nor had I heard anyone else mention them. Hopefully we'd see more moving forward. It sounded like they worked kind of similar to sets from Earth games I'd played, whose benefits could grow exponentially. Already the set had upgraded from the initial Uncommon rank to Rare. I doubted it would keep upgrading tiers so fast, but leveling up items could be a huge advantage.

The next two items were scrolls.

"Upgrade scroll. Plus 10 to Luck. Plus 10 to CHA."

I'd always take more Luck. I ignored the stupid CHA stat until Cyrus gave me a way to unlock Charisma. The next scroll made me gasp, though.

"Title scroll. New title: Alpha. By defeating the werewolf pack alpha, you have proven yourself the strongest of all. Since you too have run the night as a werewolf, you qualify to gain the coveted Alpha title."

"You rule the pack. All werewolves on stage 2 now accept you as the new Alpha and will obey all verbal or mental commands."

"Alpha perks: Plus 5% to Strength, Constitution, and Agility per pack member. Adjusts realtime. Current member total: 45."

"Pack Bond. Gain access to the senses of each pack member when focusing on them. It is your domain, so you should know everything happening."

"Lunar Dominance. Plus 10% to Constitution, Strength, and Agility at night."

A torrent of strength thundered into me, staggering me so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. Then it made it impossible to sit still. Laughing with an overwhelming sense of life, I launched into a wild acrobatic somersaulting tumble all the way across the giant room, kicking off troll-sized furniture, walls, and pillars alike. Moving felt better than effortless as I jumped, tumbled, rolled, and tucked into innumerable front flips, back flips, and more flips I couldn't even name.

"What the Handel?" I laughed when I returned to my starting chair by finishing an 18-somersault flip routine and perfectly sticking the landing. My body seemed to swell with the enormous influx of strength and health. It felt like every particle inside of me grew stronger, from my very cells to my bones, sinews, muscles, and brain.

With 45 wolves in the pack, I'd just gained another 225% to those base attributes, which radiated out to several of my secondary attributes. On top of that, it was still night, so I got the extra 10 percent in each of those base stats as well.

I checked my status screen and whistled softly in wonder. A new column called Follower Boost had appeared next to my normal stats. The green column showed my boosted numbers. My normal base Strength of 54 was already impressive, but I was getting an insane extra 127 points in boosted points in Strength too! Power coursed through me, so intense it was a wonder my muscles didn't swell so big they interfered with any movement.

"This is . . . Wow! I never expected anything like this." I felt like I could juggle trolls. No wonder Alpha had eclipsed my strength. At the beginning of the fight, he'd been empowered by about 65 werewolves. It was a miracle I'd survived that first clash.

During the recent long fight, Alpha had demonstrated power way beyond what a level 59 boss should have. I could wade through a horde of monsters around that level, but Alpha had pushed me to my limits. Now it made sense. Even with my tier-1 stats limited to 40% effectiveness, all the levels I'd gained in recent days had pushed me to roughly the equivalent of a level 112 tier-0 person or monster.

Well, maybe not that many. At every milestone level, their power jumped dramatically. Level 50 monsters were way tougher than level 49, and Ashkaroth had proven that the level 75 jump was even bigger. Still, even without the Alpha title boost, if I had to face Ashkaroth again, I bet I could hold my own.

It seemed impossible I could gained so much power. The tier-1 evolution experiment was finally starting to pay off. If I could keep leveling this fast, I might be able to deal with even Queen Marisara once we hit stage 4. I was making a lot of progress, but thinking of the queen's power I'd glimpsed in those videos, I had a long way still to go.

Too bad I wouldn't get to keep the enormous Alpha boost from all the pack members until then. We had to kill them all, or at minimum leave them behind on stage 2, so this title's perks, as amazing as they felt now, would be short-lived.

I couldn't feel bad about that, though. The current boosts were totally insane. My Agility stat was even more off the charts than my Strength, growing to a crazy 416 from my already-huge base of 177. Even with those numbers getting cut by 60%, that Alpha title boosted me into totally uncharted territory.

Cyrus interrupted my thoughts. "Few other humans could win the title. Those turned by Alpha would never rise against him, and those cleansed by Ruby lose all ties with the pack."

As soon as I thought of the pack, a new corner of my mind expanded and a link snapped into place. I sensed each and every werewolf. Only a handful remained near the dungeon, and all of them were fleeing down the mountain. The rest lurked in the forest around Midmount Vale.

I sensed their confusion and worry, but also a ripple of respect for my strength. This was a lot to take in, but I couldn't help grinning. Me, Alpha? Ha!

For now, I needed to finish clearing the dungeon and reunite with my team. Then I'd figure out what to do with the pack. So I willed my intent to the entire pack to retreat deeper into the forest to the pack den.

And they obeyed. Fantastic!

I raised both fists into the air again and bellowed with victory. Alpha had been one of the most difficult enemies to put down, and I'd faced him claw to claw. Losing myself in a battle frenzy like that might not have been wise, but it worked, so I wasn't going to browbeat myself too much.

"Next time, keep your head," was all I muttered as I scanned the area for any other threats.

I'd defeated Alpha and beat the troll level of the dungeon. The loot from Alpha was mind-blowing, but the prizes from the dungeon had been pretty lame so far. That meant the final boss still waited.

I considered my options for a moment. Part of me wanted to return to my team and join everyone celebrating back in Sam's tavern. I couldn't turn my back on the promise of more loot, though. Not after completing most of the dungeon already. So I turned toward the spiraling stairs winding up the central pillar.

Besides, I might have exceeded the minimum level requirements to climb from stage 2 to stage 3, but that didn't mean I could slack off. I doubted I'd get another full level from killing the dungeon boss, but it might get me close.

I wanted to see what the boss looked like too. Couldn't be as bad as Alpha, and with my boosted stats, how could they pose a true threat? I bet I could pick up the Ironwood Colossus if I met him again. A dungeon boss should be easy.

So I swapped out my shredded Crash Test Dummy jacket for one of my Mammoth leather jackets. I paused just long enough to finish that king-sized Kitkat Cyrus had gifted me a few days back. It did not give me another glimpse of runes everywhere this time, unfortunately. Savoring the sugar rush, I took a deep breath and focused on the next challenge.

With a feeling of absolute confidence, I set a tether point at the distant top of the stair, triggered Tether Slide, and shot up toward whatever unfortunate boss monster lurked in the next cave above.

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