“Alright, so we know this dungeon to be large enough that the bigwigs thought we would need backup.” James began, gesturing to the Ten Thousand Eyes’ team sitting in a semicircle beside them. “The information we have leads me to think that clumping together as we work through the dungeon would be pretty wasteful. We should split up during most of the hunt and then regroup for the night. Depending on the conditions, we might have to retreat or even camp out in the wilderness.”
James would very much prefer not having to sleep outside, but if the wolf dungeon was truly as close to spilling as the reports said, they might end up being the last straw if they were followed coming out of it.
“I don’t think we should be here much longer than a couple of days if we put in the hours. We might be able to spend just one night out here.” Tea added, trying to hype up her teammates, who looked quite depressed at the idea of being out in the wilds for so long.
After some more cajoling by their team leader, the Ten Thousand Eyes team eventually nodded in agreement, their faces a blend of determination and unease. The idea of camping in the forest, especially in a wolf dungeon of this magnitude, for their first G-rank dive, was not appealing, but they understood the necessity.
“I don’t think either of our teams should attempt to fight the Boss by ourselves.” The purple-haired woman added, leafing through some papers. “There is at least one solitary mini-boss, but this kind of setting makes me think the Boss will have a lot of support. If we try our luck, we might have an ugly surprise.”
It was to be expected that a team coming from a Guild so focused on information gathering would have at least as much knowledge as Team 0 did, but James was still shocked to see that their data package was at least twice as big as theirs.
“What else could you have in there, considering that no one actually went much deeper than a mile in?” He asked, curious despite his usual need not to show weakness.
Tea smiled foxily. “Mmm, I usually wouldn’t share this info for free, but I’ll make an exception just for you, handsome.”
James rolled his eyes, having caught on to the fact that she employed her flirting as a disarming tactic. He gestured for her to go ahead, receiving a pout when he didn’t react.
“Alright, ruin my fun, will you? It’s mostly more in-depth readings of the ambient mana, as well as some initial assessments done by the experts in our Guild.” She revealed.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Having enough money and personnel, large organizations like the Ten Thousand Eyes could afford to have dedicated people go through every report and maybe even compile possible strategies.
That would be nice, but it’s not worth selling your soul to the devil.
Seeing that neither Tea or her teammates were interested in sharing more, James shrugged and went back to checking everything was in order.
The forest loomed before them, dark and foreboding. The air was thick with a sense of impending danger, and the faint howls echoing from within made the exchange worried looks.
James turned to his team, his expression serious. “Let’s remember our training. Stay alert, communicate constantly, and don't take unnecessary risks. This is our first G-rank dungeon, but we're prepared for this. It shouldn’t be too different from Saratoga, and as long as we avoid getting swarmed, we will be good.”
Tea’s team said their farewells after deciding to meet back toward the eastern side of the dungeon, where the forest was a bit sparser and they’d be able to see the monsters coming more easily.
The interior of the dungeon was as daunting as its exterior suggested. The narrow, winding path they took was bordered by dense, twisted vegetation, creating a claustrophobic atmosphere. The dim light filtering through the canopy above cast eerie shadows, and the occasional distant howl added to the tension.
James, as always, took the lead, scanning the thick forest with Thakinetic Awareness. It was dense, with the occasional large clearing where the fauna seemed to have been entirely displaced by the dungeon’s monstrous inhabitants. These areas were eerily quiet, devoid of the usual forest sounds, adding to the ominous feeling of the place. It somewhat reminded James of the spider dungeon, which didn’t bode well.
As they ventured deeper, James's senses picked up movement ahead. "Pack approaching.” He whispered, signaling to prepare for combat.
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The wolves that emerged from the underbrush were massive, their fur a mottled green that allowed them to blend seamlessly into the foliage. Their eyes glowed with an unnatural light, and they moved with a predatory grace that spoke of enhanced abilities. These creatures were all stronger than even the Stallions in Saratoga, and their large numbers made Team 0 take pause.
James stepped forward, his fists glowing with mana. He engaged the closest of the wolves, quickly closing the distance, his blows enhanced by his Talent, but the creature was incredibly resilient. He hadn’t used more than a dozen points, wanting to test the water, but the fact that the wolf only needed to shrug to return to the fight made him grit his teeth.
Daniel moved to his side, his shield steady as he bashed and blocked two other monsters, creating openings for the others and defending James from possible ambushes.
Maria unleashed her fire, the flames taking on complex and controlled forms thanks to her increased skill, which allowed her to take part in the fighting even inside a forest full of flammable plants. She created barriers of fire to hem the wolves in and focused streams of flame to target individual creatures.
Ezekiel was a constant source of support, his white magic bolstering their defenses and occasionally debuffing the wolves, making them slower or less coordinated, which was quite useful, as it prevented the beasts from maneuvering around them.
Lauren, swift and silent, darted around the edges of the fight, her daggers finding the weak spots in the wolves' defenses. Her attacks were precise, aimed at disabling or distracting the creatures so her teammates could land more powerful blows.
At one point, one of the monsters howled, making the earth rumble and shift so much that it became difficult to keep the proper footing. The wolves had no difficulty in gracefully jumping from stone to tree, keeping up their assault and retreating when needed, forcing team 0 to expend more mana than they would have liked.
Still, despite their size and terrain advantage, the pack was slowly being whittled down. James finally got a good hit in, explosive mana leaving his gloved fist and breaking a skull. Daniel’s bashes kept the wolves from exacting revenge, and Maria’s fireballs claimed two more. A third was done in by Lauren, who stepped between the dancing shadows with glee.
Ezekiel managed to get a kill, too, having concentrated his debuffs on two specific wolves. He buried his knife in one, and James dispatched the second before it could turn on the White Mage, who had left his side unprotected, trusting his companions to defend him.
The fight was intense and demanding. Despite their improved abilities, the wolves' sheer numbers and the advantage of their camouflage made it a challenging encounter. They managed to fend off the pack, but it ended up being more difficult than any of them would have liked.
A few of the wolves managed to retreat, their howls echoing through the forest, a warning of more to come. Regrouping, the team assessed their situation. "They are not like anything we've faced before.” James noted, catching his breath. "They're smarter, more coordinated, and their ability to shift the ground so much makes it difficult to mount a direct assault. It’s probably better to focus on herding them in for Maria to kill.”
Ezekiel nodded, his face grim. "We should be careful about engaging too many at once. Our best bet is hit-and-run tactics. Injure, disrupt, and move on. We can't afford to get bogged down in prolonged fights with larger packs. Already, I’m at a third of my mana. I should recover before the next fight, but it makes me think this will be a slog.”
“The fact that we haven’t been able to finish that pack off is not a good sign.” Lauren brooded while cutting into one of her preys.
Together with Tea’s team, they decided that they would only focus on recovering the mana stones and that everything else could wait. Hacking through the massive wolves’ bodies while in the middle of the forest and bringing them around like a giant target sign didn’t seem wise.
Less than half an hour after they were done with the clean-up, James sensed another group of monsters approaching fast. “Wolves.” He hissed, trying to count how many monsters were attacking. “At least a dozen.”
No sooner had he spoken than the ground beneath them began to tremble. It was subtle at first, like the distant rumble of thunder, but quickly grew more intense.
James sprang into action, his Empowerment flaring to life. "Form up! They're coming from multiple directions!”
The team scrambled to their feet, forming a defensive circle. The wolves emerged from the forest's depths, their eyes glowing ominously. This time, they moved with a different strategy, coordinating their attacks with the tremors that shook the ground.
James, standing firm, focused his senses, tracking the wolves' movements despite the vibrations. "Left flank, three incoming!" he shouted, and Maria was ready, unleashing a burst of flame in that direction.
Daniel braced himself, his shield absorbing the impact of the first wolf that leaped at them the moment the ground stopped shaking and was forced to turn, avoiding the fire but still delivering a blow, its claws scraping against the metal. The Tank countered with a mighty shield bash, knocking the creature back.
The seismic tremors restarted, disorienting and unnerving, but Team 0 held their ground. Ezekiel was instrumental, reinforcing their stability by buffing their AGI and thus negating some of the effects of the shaking ground.
Agile and swift, Lauren danced around the edges of the fight, her daggers a blur as she struck at the wolves, exploiting the increased speed from Ezekiel's spell. James moved with a deliberate grace, his fists landing precise, decisive blows. Each hit was augmented with his willpower, sending the large beasts flying back into the forest, giving his teammates some space to reorient themselves.
The battle was a cacophony of growls, shouts, and the clash of combat. The team fought with desperate ferocity, aware that any slip could be disastrous.
Despite the wolves' cunning use of their seismic abilities, Team 0's resilience and adaptability shone through. James's leadership and keen senses allowed them to effectively anticipate and counter the wolves' attacks, as he called out whenever a new wave was coming.
Still, when they tried to push the advantage, having finally managed to gather themselves in a good position, they found the monsters quickly retreating in different directions, which made it impossible to completely clear the pack.
Finally, as the last of the wolves retreated, the forest fell silent once more, the tremors ceasing as suddenly as they had begun.
Panting and alert, the team regrouped, checking for injuries and assessing their situation. "That was pretty intense.” Maria breathed out, her eyes still scanning the forest.
“They are testing us.” Daniel observed, checking over his shield, which was still untouched, having been repaired after the Radiant Operation.
“They are smarter than I’d like.” James agreed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the next pack we find has a different tactic they will try.”
Grimly, they all went to clean up the bodies they had managed to earn, James keeping vigil with Awareness, even as distant howls made them all worry about the coming fights.