The shadows started lengthening and the forest became even more unwelcoming as the sun began its descent.
Team 0 had just managed to defeat the fifth wolf pack, sending its remnants running for their lives, and was in the process of cleaning up the bodies, when James sighed. “Alright, guys. I think we need to start moving toward the meeting point.”
Lauren looked up at the sky and grunted in acknowledgment. “Might as well, these guys are too annoying anyway.”
“They keep running away the moment we get the upper hand, and since they move in completely different directions, we cannot even pursue.” Ezekiel complained too, trying to clean his knives on a wolf’s pelt.
With the sun continuing its downward journey, casting a crimson hue over the treetops, Team 0 regrouped. James scanned his teammates' faces, noting the fatigue etched into their features. The battles with the wolf packs had taken their toll, and the urgency to reach the meeting point was palpable.
It wasn’t so much that the monsters were too strong. While they had better stats than the horses in Saratoga, Team 0 had grown a lot since then, and they could easily handle wave after wave. The problem was that the wolves showed a level of coordination unmatched before.
They kept trying out new tactics, and after the third attack, Daniel realized why and shared it with the rest of the team. “I saw one was already bloodied before they even reached us. I think the ones running away are rejoining new packs and informing them of what their fight with us was like, somehow.” He had said, and while it seemed strange for monsters to communicate, James knew it would become increasingly common as the ranks went up.
"Let's keep our guard up.” James advised, his eyes scanning the dense undergrowth that bordered their path. "The forest is tricky and I don’t want us to get ambushed by a Treant, if there are any.”
Lauren, sheathing her daggers in a fluid motion, nodded in agreement. Despite her nonchalant demeanor, the tension in her grip on the handles betrayed her wariness. Ezekiel, on the other hand, seemed more irritated than tired as he tried to brush off some dirt from his battle suit.
The team moved forward, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpet of leaves beneath them. The forest around them was eerily silent, as the vast majority of the natural fauna had been driven away by the monstrous wolves.
A weird tension hung in the air as they navigated through the thinner trees of the eastern dungeon area. The sparse forest canopy allowed glimpses of the darkening sky, making them more visible to any potential threats lurking in the shadows. With James’ Thakinetic Awareness, it would be difficult for them to get ambushed, but it was never impossible. Carelessness, tiredness and bad matchups meant they should not lower their guard, just in case.
"We're close.” James whispered, pointing to a clearing up ahead. The area was bathed in the last vestiges of daylight, offering a brief respite from the enclosing darkness of the forest.
Upon reaching the clearing, they found Tea and her team already waiting. The purple haired woman seemed busy setting up her rations and gave them a nod of recognition when they became visible. Her team stood alert, surveying the surroundings with practiced caution.
"We were starting to worry.” Tea said, her voice low. "The dungeon has been quite annoying.”
James waved tiredly. “We kept getting ambushed, and cutting into the beasts afterward took a lot of time.”
If we had been able to just leave the corpses behind like in Saratoga, we would have been much faster, but in an unstable dungeon like this, it’s not a good idea to add more sources of wild mana.
Joe, the bald guy with the red sash, rumbled "We need to decide whether to camp here for the night or risk heading out. There's a chance we might be followed, and we can't risk leading the monsters to more populated areas.”
The two teams huddled together, weighing their options. The risk of staying was high, as they would be open to attacks in the middle of the night, but so was the danger of leaving. It would be a slaughter if they led the wolves to one of the quaint little towns nearby. Now cloaked in darkness, the forest seemed to press in on them, a silent witness to their dilemma.
After a brief, intense discussion, the decision was made. "We stay.” James announced. "We set up camp here and fortify our position. We can't risk being followed out of the dungeon. We can’t allow any monster to spill.”
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“It’s the reason why we were sent here in the first place.” Tea agreed. The teams sprang into action, working together to establish a secure camp. Watches were set, with members of both teams taking turns to ensure constant vigilance.
Despite Maria’s offer of setting up a fire pit, they decided not to, both James and Tea agreeing that the less they were noticed, the better they would be. A small, purpose-made camp light was turned on, giving a feeble luminescence that was enough for them all to move without trouble, thanks to their enhanced SENSE.
They all sat in a circle, not yet tired enough to sleep even after the long day of hunting wolves, and started discussing possible theories about the dungeon’s functioning and the tactics they had employed against the ambushing packs.
As the hours passed, the forest seemed to settle into a grudging peace, the sounds of the night becoming a backdrop to the quiet vigil kept by the two teams.
But even as they rested, their minds were alert, constantly aware of the shadows that danced just beyond the reach of their light, of the eyes that might be watching from the darkness, waiting for a chance to strike.
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Midnight had just passed, and James felt the first stirrings of something coming closer. The beast, and he was certain it was just a singular one, was massive, bigger than even the Stallions.
Despite that, it moved without disturbing the environment. No sound escaped where it passed, and if he hadn’t been able to follow it because of its focused mind, he would have never known it was there.
Waking up the others without alerting it turned out a bit more complex than he would have liked, but luckily, after a couple of tries, they stirred. As he nudged his team members awake, his eyes never left the dark perimeter of their camp. Lauren, Ezekiel and the others started, confusion quickly giving way to alertness as they grasped the situation.
Jean, the healer, had been awake, sharing his same shift, and busied herself with alerting her own companions after he gave her the signal that something was approaching.
I would have preferred keeping most of my skills to myself, but Tea already knew I had a sensory one, since I let it slip that I could feel the others during the G-rank test.
James was tense, his senses heightened to their utmost. The forest was eerily silent, as if holding its breath in anticipation. He knew they were up against something formidable, given the structured, powerful mind he could feel approaching.
The air around them seemed to thicken, a tangible sense of danger permeating the clearing. Then, without warning, the forest erupted into chaos.
A massive white wolf, its fur glowing faintly in the moonlight, emerged from the shadows. It was an awe-inspiring creature, larger than any wolf they had encountered before, with eyes that gleamed with sharp intelligence.
Before anyone could react, the wolf howled, a sound that reverberated through the forest. The trees around them began to shift and twist, branches moving as if alive. Vines snaked across the ground, turning the clearing into a treacherous maze as the vegetation grew at incredible speeds, obscuring their sight.
Team 0 and Tea's team scrambled to their feet, drawing weapons and forming a defensive circle.
James yelled out orders, trying to keep his team focused. "Stay together! Watch for the vines!”
Maria let loose a torrent of flames, aiming at opening a path, but the plants that caught on fire were quickly left to their fate, while others, green and fresh, took their place.
James, alongside Mark and Joe, tried to charge forward, crashing through the foliage like angry bulls and aiming to quickly get to the monster, but their efforts were stifled by the constantly changing forest.
Joe’s fists ignited into flames, and he tried to use them to smash through any impeding plant, but the wolf kept up its assault from all sides, making it impossible to focus entirely on the offensive.
The elite wolf seemed everywhere at once, a white blur that struck with precision and ferocity. Its howls continued, each mutating the forest further. Trees bent and groaned, roots breaking through the soil to create barriers, while vines lashed out like whips.
Amidst the chaos, as they were beset from all sides, Ezekiel and Jean continuously cast healing spells and buffs, allowing them to keep trying without fear of getting seriously injured.
James, realizing they needed a new strategy, called out to Tea. "We need to break its concentration! Distract it!”
Tea nodded, understanding immediately. She signaled to her team, who began to fan out, moving with purpose. They started to attack the vegetation, cutting down vines and hacking at roots from all different sides, ensuring the wolf focused entirely on repairing its maze.
The white beast snarled in response, mind frazzled momentarily by the constant assault. That's when James saw his opening.
He leaped forward, energy filling his limbs, ready to put the monster down, and sensed Lauren follow him.
But the creature was cunning. It anticipated their move, and with a powerful jump, it positioned itself between them and the rest of their teams, effectively cutting them off as the vegetation formed another wall.
The forest seemed to close in around them, the moonlight dimming as if smothered by an unnatural force. James and Lauren faced the wolf, their backs to the unknown darkness of the dungeon.
In this moment of isolation, the wolf's eyes locked onto James, a glimmer of recognition - or amusement? - in its gaze. It was as if it understood the stakes, relishing the challenge.
As James pushed as much mana as he could into his fists, creating two dense barriers, he sensed his remaining teammates working hard to get to him. The white wolf clashed with James, its massive form a blur of speed and power. Fueled by adrenaline and the need to protect his team, James unleashed powerful waves of mana, each strike aimed with lethal intent. His reinforced gloves met the wolf's fangs in a clash of steel against nature's fury.
Each explosion took a lot out of him, especially since the monster was agile enough to avoid most of their damaging power. Still, the effort allowed Lauren to bury her knives into its back the moment its attention was wholly focused on James.
At the same time, the roar of a fireball disturbed the night, and the wall of vegetation finally gave out, Joe and Maria charging forward into the breach they had created.
Tea quickly overtook them and closed the distance, her staff letting out a vacuum blade that cut into the monster, making it howl in pain.
It turned around, trying to catch the purple-haired woman with its fangs, but it exposed its back to Lauren and James, who took full advantage of it, injuring it further.
The wolf let out a piercing, desperate howl, different from any sound it had made before. At that moment, the ground beneath them began to tremble violently. The trees swayed as if caught in a storm, and the air crackled with an unseen energy.
James had just the time to share a look with Tea, on the other side of the wolf, that the earth exploded.