The next day, Lan woke to the first sounds of movement. Looking around, he could see the others were already gearing up. He got up and was pulling on his helmet when Locke walked over and grabbed his tag. For a moment, Lan thought he was going to take it, but before he had time to react, the Team Leader retrieved his own tag from his shirt and linked the two. Lan blinked and stepped back as his sight filled with seven small flames.
[Party Link]
Locke – Strider - Team leader – Level 25
Sir Drevin Stone – Guardian – Level 27
Olivia Renly – Mage - Level 26
Sora – Rogue – Level - 22
Vasha – Archer – Level - 22
Vulk Shatterstone – Warrior – Level 25
Cassandra – Berserker – Level - 27
‘If somehow you are still standing and those fires go out, then you should run.’ Lan just stood speechless as Locke left. This was a party link. The other flames were the seven members of Locke’s team. With this, Lan would be able to know where they were at any time, and how close to death each of them was. And it meant that if he was able to help in a kill, he would gain some experience.
Did he have a change of heart, or was this a way to show Lan just how far in over his head he was, Lan thought, believing there really weren’t many other options? When he hadn’t even gained a single point of experience by the end of the day, would Locke use that to get him to leave? Lan picked up his spear.
Even before the sun had climbed clear of the horizon, it was clear that the wave of Razorwolves the day before had only been a fraction of the true number. Accounts coming in from the scouts reported wolves approaching from every direction.
Despite the news, none of the adventurers seemed in much of a rush. More than a few were not even geared up yet, and some were eating. Which Lan guessed was fine as Locke, and the other team leaders were huddled around the Guild master, and they looked almost as relaxed as the rest as they discussed something. Lan couldn’t hear where he and the rest of Locke's team were, but the occasional nodding told him that it didn’t seem too urgent.
‘Are you wondering why we aren’t doing anything even though we are surrounded?’ The Boy, who Lan now knew was named Sora, asked. Lan looked over and saw the boy grinning at him.
‘I am.’ He answered, even if he was just baiting him, any information was better than nothing.
‘Razorwolves are just smart enough to avoid a fight they don’t think they can win. The last thing we want is to have a large horde like this breaking into smaller ones and terrorizing the villages. So we give them a big juicy target filled with enough levels and experience that they can’t help but take the bait. But that is only the start of it. Once the fighting starts, the bloodlust will kick in. The Razorwolves will lose all sense and fight until either the last wolf falls or none of us is left. Which means, at this point, there isn’t anywhere for you to run.’ The boy patted Lan on the back. ‘So you better start praying that we are stronger than them.’
Lan nodded. He knew that the whole guild wouldn’t be taken down here. Even the idea was out of the question. Lan knew this based on how they were all acting. Locke’s team, on the other hand, was not so secure. Not that he thought they were weak, just as he first thought they looked strong. But a team falling to a horde seemed more likely than the whole guild, as he was currently a part of this group. It was the only one he needed to worry about. He would stay out of their way and try to get kills if he saw a chance.
The boy tsked and walked away.
‘Say what you want. At least he seems to have a good gambler's face.’ The tan-skinned archer Vasha said as she expertly checked the string on her bow.
‘That or he is an idiot.’ The dwarf warrior Vulk chimed in, getting a few nods, some from those not even in the team.
‘Oh, I don’t know. It could always be both.’ The Mage Olivia said in an almost sweet tone as if trying to placate both sides and getting a round of laughs for her effort. Lan barely noticed as he watched the guild master and the others. From the looks of it, they had finished, and Locke's expression was once again unreadable.
‘The teams that got to sit out the fight yesterday will be on the outside of the formation today.’ Locke explained as he returned to his team, who took in the information without reaction aside from short nods. ‘The scouts say that the weakest wolves are around level ten, so nothing we can’t handle if we keep our heads on straight. We need the wolves to think that there is a chance of them killing us, so we will be fighting in our usual formation until the frenzy starts, and then we will re-join the larger formation. Which means until then, we are on our own.’ Locke looked at Lan.
This time, Lan knew what he was saying. Lan had said he would fight alone if he had to. Now that he had no choice but to work with Locke and the others, the team leader wanted to see if Lan would live up to his words. Squeezing the haft of his spear, Lan nodded.
By the time the scouts returned with news that the Razorwolves had almost reached the campsite, all the camping gear had been cleared away, and the once-relaxed atmosphere had been replaced with a cold focus and determination, and Lan found himself being swept up in the energy. So by the time the first wolves broke through the trees. Lan felt like he had been dropped into a frozen lake.
Moreso a rolling tide of jaws and piercing yellow eyes than individual beasts. With dark grey fur with a red line down their backs, The Razorwolves looked little like the animals that they were named after, aside from the fact they ran on four legs. Even then, they were much bulkier around the shoulders with larger, wider heads and a mouth full of wide, interlocking teeth that sealed with the sound of steel sliding on steel. Along with that, the Razorwolves had long muscular whip-like tails.
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‘Get your head on straight,’ Locke looked back at Lan. ‘If you freeze up now, you’ll get left behind.’ Even before the Wolves had shown, Locke and the others had fallen into their formation, with Drevin at the head of the formation, Locke and Vulk to either side, while Cassandra, Olivia, Vasha and Sora seemed to be in a looser formation behind the team's Guardian, or they would be if Lan hadn’t been shoved directly behind Drevin and close to Cassandra, who was now fully dressed in her armour.
When she saw him looking, the odd woman nodded and then turned to face the first wolf that broke through the trees on their left. Faster than Lan could physically see, Cassandra turned and brought her great sword down on a wolf, bisecting it even before her blade hit the ground. When it did, the ground exploded from the impact and sent chunks of earth and the two halves of the wolf into the air. When she turned back, she now had a splash of blood on her cheek.
Two wolves leapt out at them before crumbling to the ground as they landed, one with an arrow and the other with a throwing knife in their heads. Three wolves managed to get past the main group and charged from the right, not even making it halfway before a fireball blasted them away. Lan looked back and saw smoke rising from Olivia’s hand, subconsciously realising that it was the first time he had seen real magic. Lan turned back just as the horde crashed into the main formation as a smaller wave broke off and headed right for Lan and the others.
Before the wave could reach them. Locke shot forward, raising his sword in the air and bringing it down. As the blade fell, the air seemed to catch on it before gathering into a cyclone that ripped through the ten or more wolves as easily as it ripped through the ground. Even still, the wolves behind them charged over their fallen pack mates.
But Lan couldn’t focus on that as a wolf attacking one of the other bait groups broke off and charged straight for him. Once again, Lan felt the icy feeling crawl into his spine. It was one thing seeing the monsters. It was another knowing that it saw you. And the odd, unsettling understanding in its eyes, more than he thought any animal was capable of. Even as he had the thought, the ice seizing his body shattered as Lan raised his spear.
But before Lan learned if his spear could even hurt the Wolf. Vulk planted a forward kick in its side and followed up with his hammer as he barked out a booming laugh that almost sounded like rolling thunder.
Suddenly Drevin lifted his shield and darted past Lan faster than anyone of his size should have been able to move, let alone with a shield like he was swinging around. Leaving Lan with a clear view of what was left of the wave that had been coming for them. Most had been taken out with arrows, knives and slashes, with only a few much larger wolves left. Locke and Vulk seemed to be holding them back, While Sora and Vasha stuck together, the Rogue and the archer watching each other's backs as they picked off targets.
It was only then realisation dawned on Lan as to what the team's tank moving anywhere meant. Turning, he saw another wave coming from behind them. Only to run into Drevin’s shield as he lifted the mid-casting mage behind him. Before digging his feet into the ground, the guardian braced as a shockwave pulsed from his shield, blasting the wolves back. Seemingly not even noticing she had been moved. Olivia closed her hand over the rune circle she had been casting. A heartbeat later, dark clouds formed above the stunned wolves before lances of ice rained down on them.
‘Rookie!’ Lan turned his head to the sound of Locke's voice only to find a large open mouth of razor-sharp teeth that only grew closer as the wolf bore down on him. Lan tried to raise his spear, but he already knew that he wouldn’t turn his body in time. As the monster's jaws closed in, Lan remembered what Sora had said about it cutting him in two before an axe was buried in its head, and Drevin moved to stand in front of him again.
‘What? I’m the party’s shield. It's my job to keep everyone safe, even you.’ The Large man smiled. Lan just blinked at the man before they heard a howl ring through the clearing.
One howl was joined by another and another until the sound started to resonate with Lan’s body. He didn’t need anyone to tell him this was the frenzy they had been waiting for. But the result was not what he expected.
Although many wolf corpses now carpeted the ground. Those remaining were larger, and as the howl sounded, the wolves seemed to get bigger, their fur bristling as a red mist rose from them.
‘Everyone, fall back into the formation.’ The guild master commanded, and though a few of the bait groups managed to make it back. Lan and the others didn’t move. Instead, Locke and the others fell back into formation as the wolves moved to cut them off from the others. Looking around, Lan found that they weren’t the only ones, as a few others had also been caught out. For being frenzied, the wolves looked even calmer than before.
‘Oh look, it seems that we are cut off,’ Vulk laughed. ‘Seems we have no choice but to fight on our own.’
As the frenzied wolves charged. They seemed to be aiming for Drevin’s shield. Even when Locke and Cassandra slashed at them, they were single-minded in attacking the wall that kept getting in their way. Vasha and Sora were still picking wolves off, but the wolves kept coming, some from the trees, some from the horde surrounding the main formation and from behind them. Lan scanned the battle looking for where he could do anything.
Without even knowing it, he had fallen into a rhythm with Drevin moving so as to not get in the way of the larger man to the point that he did it without thinking but aside from that. There wasn’t much that he could do that wouldn’t get in the way. There was Olivia. If nothing else, he could buy the mage a moment more casting as a wolf chewed on his ribs. But he couldn’t risk getting in the way of Vasha. He could try to cover her, but the way she and Sora were moving, just trying to do so, would no doubt be a hindrance.
Cassandra was nowhere to be seen, and as Lan turned to check on Vulk, a shadow crested over him. Lan looked up just to see Vulk.
The dwarf had somehow leapt high enough to clear over the rest of them, with lightning arching from his Warhammer, as the laughing dwarf landed in the middle of the wolves in front of them. He brought his hammer down, a bolt of lightning, drawing a line in the air, slamming onto the ground the moment Vulk’s hammer did. A blast of white light and arching lightning hunted the wolves. Ability or magic, Lan wasn’t sure what he had just seen. But he couldn’t focus on it for long as he saw something moving from the corner of his eye.
The moment Vulk had moved, a wolf that had been attacking the bait team next to them had immediately broken off and charged them as if waiting for that moment. Lan thought it was coming for him. But once again, it was Drevin. The Guardian could block it, but he was focused on the wolves that had survived, and Locke had moved to cover the Dwarf.
Lan thought about calling to the Guardian, but as the wolf closed in, his body moved on its own. Digging in his heels, Lan threw his weight into his spear and caught the wolf in the shoulder, although it felt like he had struck a boulder. Even still, the razer wolf stopped and looked at him a moment before Drevin did. Then Lan felt this chest plate crumble as the wolf lashed its tail.
As Lan flew through the air, he saw Drevin bring his axe down on the wolf, turning to look at Lan with horror on his face as Lan slammed into a tree.
Pain lanced through Lan, his sight flashing before watching as his life flame grew smaller.
[Hp 10 – 9 – 8]
It was fine. He had watched his health drop many times before.
[Hp 8 – 7 – 6 – 5]
It was fine. He was fine. Even this much, he was used to by now.
[Hp 5 – 4 – 3]
He was okay, he was okay, Lan thought as he felt his mind fraying as he watched the flame get ever smaller, the small voice in the back of his head taking the chance to creep into the forefront of his mind. He was…
[Hp 3 – 2 – 1…]