Nope. The wolves find them

This building wasn't just built next to the mountain as John first presumed, it was actually built into the mountain, with most of the building making up a whole plateau in the middle of the mountain. While the both of them slowly went through the old and partially crumbling structure, both of them could see the general layout of their school reflected. Doors at roughly the same places, rooms with very similar layouts even if used for other things like bedrooms, and a general similarity in the way the building was built. There were differences, though: the middle of the school was missing, replaced by a giant courtyard, overgrown with giant trees and various plants, giving it a vibrant feeling of serenity.

John was not sure if that meant that that garden would have been 'built' like that when there were 'people' around or afterward. This whole thing seemingly reflected a scenario which John assumed to never have happened. But he wasn't sure about it, so he asked Kim, "Say, these Barriers, are they fake? It says that I am creating them, but does that really mean that nothing has happened here before? That it didn't even exist before I created it?"

Kim put on a thoughtful face at that, "Honestly, I'm not quite sure... I know that there are Barriers out there that have existed for thousands of years and have created their own small ecosystem, but from what I can see here, this Barrier is not real. One indicator for that is one aspect I have described before: the stability. When a Barrier is very stable, that means it is either very new or very powerful, and honestly, I'm sure we would have felt that kind of power. So I will assume that we are in a simulated world here and that everything around us is created by your ability. This goes against every instinct I have for a late bloomer like you, but the alternative would be even more unthinkable: That there has been a 'hidden' Barrier with the power to sustain itself at the school that no one has spotted until you came along."

Was that alternative saying that she didn't believe in him finding such a Barrier, or was she too sure in her own abilities that it would have never slipped her? No matter really, he still got praise for his abilities. "So, where are these wolves anyway? We've been going around for close to five minutes now, and we have seen nothing... are you certain that this Barrier is populated?"

By now, John wasn't that sure himself, "I think so? I doubt the objective would have said that we have to hunt 5 wolves for the boss to appear. It wouldn't make sense if there are no mobs around?"

Kim looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Boss? Mobs? Is this some kind of gaming lingo, or are you actually describing a wolf mafia?" The thought made John laugh out loud, he had to imagine a pack of wolves all dressed in 20s gangster outfits talking in a fake Italian accent.

"No, no... Although that would be hilarious, they are indeed terms used in the world of gaming, online gaming to be exact. Mobs are smaller enemies that are mostly there to fill the landscape and use up some of the characters' resources, while the boss is the big leader or the final enemy in the dungeons. He is the biggest guy doing the most damage and taking the most time, and sometimes you need to kill either a certain amount of mobs for him to appear or all of the mobs. Thankfully, we're doing the 'some of the mobs' variant here, I guess."

That laugh might've not been the best idea because suddenly they both heard a growling behind them. Looking back, they could see two wolves standing there, one in a bright red color, the other one white as snow, and both of them at least as high as John and Kim. These were no ordinary wolves for sure...

Okay, these things sounded so cool! But also pretty damn dangerous... Slowly walking forward, the wolves started to generate their respective energies, fire for the red one and frost for the white one. Readying his spear, John quickly explained the wolves' gimmick to Kim, "They apparently generate the energy corresponding to the color of their fur. Which one would you rather take? Frost or fire?" Without even giving him an answer, she sprinted towards them, jumped into the air before them, and before both of the wolves could react, guillotine-kicked the frost one into the ground, shattering that in the progress.

John didn't want to be left behind though, so he ran after her readying his spear, preparing to strike the second wolf. Mid-run, John got an idea that he wanted to try, so he took after Kim's image, jumped into the air in front of the enemy using his spear as a vaulting pole to get more air, and then he used the momentum of his run, the jump, and the gravity pulling him down again to put even more power into his strike than he could do with Charge and to great effect as it seemed when he struck for the head of the thing, but the wolf was too quick and dogded most of the attack, getting hit in the leg instead.

Vault applied! 2x Damage
Critical Hit! 2x Damage
Physical Damage Multiplier: x4
76 DMG + 15 DMG (Light) + 8 DMG (Vault) + 48 DMG when pulling out

Enemy crippled, damage automatically increased by 1.5, movement reduced by 25%

New Skill: Vault, Lv.1, 10 MP
Use your polearm to further increase your momentum by using gravity. Can only be cast after using Charge or dropping from a comparable height. Increase damage by total damage multiplier x [Skill Level]+1. Also increases the damage multiplier further by 1 every 3 Skill Levels

New Quest: Learn to Fight
Aquire 5 different active combat skills: 2/5
Rewards:
+200 XP
+2 Skill Levels in Melee
3x+1 Level in three combat skills
Unlock Fighting style

Holy Shit! That was a beast of a hit! Against that warrior spider, that would've almost been more than the half of its health. His new spear also totally rocked, even if the elemental damage wasn't multiplied like his physical damage. But all in all, he was just getting better and better at fighting! Pulling out his spear, and dealing the rest of the damage to the wolf, he jumped back to gain some distance between him and the wolf and prepared to strike the wolf once it was attacking.

The crippled wolf howled in agony before pouncing on John, seemingly encasing itself in flames. Thankfully he could dodge that pounce, and while dodging, he brought up the head of his spear again and slashed the wolf with it.

Crippled! 1.5x Damage
Counter! Bonus Damage added
Physical Damage Multiplier: 1.5x
26 DMG + 15 DMG (Light) + 13 DMG (Counter)

New Skill: Counter, Lv.1, 5 MP
After a successful dodge or block, you have a narrow frame of time to strike against the attacking enemy. Counter cannot be combined with other combat skills, but magic skills can be applied. Attack will deal half of the physical damage (after multiplying) as additional damage. MP will not be refunded on unsuccessful Counter

Quest Progress: Learn to fight (3/5)

Okay, that one was a reasonable amount of damage for the fact that it was simply him countering the attack of the wolf, that by now was standing behind him, panting heavily from the 'blood loss', except there was no blood on the ground, only... fire... shit these things actually bled their element.

John got to learn that fact close hand as some of the blood had gotten onto him, and dealt a marginal amount of damage before dwindling out of existence.

-3 HP
-3 HP
-3 HP

Taking advantage of the position the wolf was in, John quickly jabbed it in the back.

Backstab! Critical Hit! 2x Damage
Crippled! 1.5x Damage
Physical Damage Multiplier: x3
33 DMG + 15 DMG(Light) + 36 DMG when pulling out

Before he could even pull out his spear did the wolf collapse on the floor, leaving behind a flaming orb and some fur. Looking over at Kim, she looked like she studied his performance, seemingly having killed her enemy in a single hit... Wow, that was some serious power... Sadly, they did not have much time to rest, as they heard a pained howl at the end of the hallway.

Now that both of the wolves were down, that was seemingly the trigger for the next round of wolves to show up, this time three of them, one black, one blue and one yellow.

Hopefully, this would be just as easy as these ones were... Though now that John understood how these things worked, maybe he could Bond with one of them if he played his cards right.