Chapter 1706: The Hero and the Alpha A vortex of flames erupted from Gary’s fist as he made contact. His entire arm, from the fur to his claws, looked like it was turning into a bright orange heat, appearing as if his hand itself had become a falling meteorite. The strike dug deep into Jack’s stomach, and for the first time, Gary felt himself break through that invisible wall of Qi that had been protecting the hero. The power of the impact was so great that Jack’s massive body was lifted clean off the ground. He went flying across the space, crashing violently into the cavern wall with a sickening thud. The force of the collision caused large parts of rock to shake loose from the ceiling. Lupus was quick to react, seeing the debris about to crush the other captives. He unleashed his own energy claw strikes, shredding the falling boulders into dust before they could land on anyone. Meanwhile, Gary stood there in disbelief, staring down at his own hand. It was still glowing with a dull orange light, but the intensity was already starting to fade back into his normal Shadow Ash form. ‘What was that though?’ Gary thought, his heart hammering in his chest. ‘Did the system really just say I made a new skill?’ He was trying to process how it had even happened. He hadn’t been following a specific prompt or a set of instructions; he was simply desperate to find a way to penetrate Jack’s defense. He had focused every bit of Qi he could muster into his fist while maintaining the Shadow Ash Lycan form. In his mind, he had been thinking of the destructive power of his strongest attack, the Volcanic Burst. Somehow, he had managed to channel that same explosive effect into a single punch. The sheer amount of power behind that strike was unlike anything he had felt before. Although Gary had learned how to use Qi to some extent before coming to this time, he had mostly used it as a tool to draw out the full power of his beast weapon. He knew how to use it to increase the impact of a strike or his speed, but never to a level where it could create a brand-new system-recognized skill. Being stuck in this dangerous era was already forcing him to grow in ways he hadn’t expected. However, as the adrenaline began to settle, he noticed a major drawback. Maintaining this level of Qi control, especially while stacked with his other forms, was eating into his energy pool at an alarming rate. Thankfully, he had a massive energy pool to draw from, and the fact that he was fighting at night gave him an inherent boost, but it was still something he had to be extremely cautious about. At the rate he was going, there was a very real chance his energy would run out even before his HP did. If that happened, he would be a sitting duck. In the middle of these calculations, the sound of shifting stone caught his attention. He looked up to see Jack pulling himself out of the crater in the wall. Blood was dripping from the corner of the hero’s mouth, and a visible scorch mark was burned into his chest where the Volcanic Fist had landed. Despite the damage, Jack still looked like a hulking beast ready to fight at any moment. He didn’t look discouraged; if anything, he looked more feral. He let out a low growl and lunged forward again, his speed not having dropped a bit. As Jack came towards him, Gary started to swing his hands, firing off a series of Claw Strikes that were mixed with his ash-flames. The glowing arcs of energy flew through the air and hit Jack’s body, but just like before, they didn’t seem to do much. Jack just pushed through them. Gary realized that while he could put more Qi into his ranged attacks, they wouldn’t do significant damage unless he got close enough to use his new skill. The problem was, he wasn’t sure if he could land another clean hit with the Volcanic Fist now that Jack was on guard. When Jack reached him, he swung a massive arm, trying to claw Gary’s head off. Gary ducked just in time, feeling the wind from the strike pass over him. The attack missed and slammed into the cavern wall behind him, shaking the entire place again. Gary countered with a quick punch filled with Qi, hitting Jack right in the stomach, but at the same moment, Jack’s other arm came across and bashed Gary across the face. Before Gary knew it, he was once again locked in a full-out brawl. The two of them were standing toe-to-toe, hitting each other with rapid-fire blows. Neither of them was blocking anymore; they were both just trying to deal as much damage as possible to end the fight. ‘I’m not going to lose this,’ Gary thought, his vision swimming from the impact of Jack’s fists. ‘I have Last Stand if things get bad, but with how much damage each of these hits is doing, I’m going to have to use it way earlier than I wanted!’ As another strike from Jack was headed straight for Gary’s face, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed Jack’s wrist. At the same time, another fist came out from the shadows and hit Jack squarely in the face. Before Jack could react to the new threat, a powerful kick landed in his stomach, followed by a flurry of claw strikes that erupted like a whirlwind around the hero’s body. “Lupus...” Gary said, breathing heavily as he saw the other werewolf standing by his side. “Don’t worry, I dealt with the others,” Lupus said, his voice calm despite the chaos. “I’ve secured the exits, so there’s no need to worry about them escaping for now. If they manage to get back up and try to head out, well, we can deal with that later. Right now, this guy is a bit more important.” Lupus looked at Gary, a slight smile on his face. “Gary... I realized while I was watching you that we’re more similar than I thought. But I guess the main thing I learned today is that we’re not alone anymore. We can do this together.” Lupus suddenly bent his knees, and Gary could see the Qi rising from his body. It was a massive amount, covering him from head to toe. In that moment, Lupus felt just as intimidating as Jack. The sheer volume of energy surrounding him was proof of why he was considered a top-tier fighter. Seeing his friend ready to go all out, Gary smiled. He focused his own Qi back into his fist, and the embers started to revolve around it again, spinning faster as the heat built up. They could both see Jack charging at them again, his mouth wide open in a silent roar. He was coming at them with everything he had left. Both Lupus and Gary stepped forward at the same time, throwing their fists out with everything they had. They were ready to hit Jack with a combined force, no matter what the hero threw at them. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖 **** **** For updates on MWS and future works, follow me on my social media below. Instagram: jksmanga P.a.t.r.e.o.n: jksmanga When news drops about My Vampire System, My Werewolf System, or any other series, you’ll hear it there first. Feel free to reach out, if I’m not too busy, I tend to reply.