A runt in the pack was the first to move. It leaped at James, teeth bared and claws at the ready. James stepped to the side, bringing his staff up under the animal. The animal yelped as the staff bruised its ribs.
Another beast from behind tried to use the opportunity to claw James in the back. A quick twirl of the staff stopped the attack short, giving James some time to reset.
He used the moment to analyze the animals’ formation. They had set up in a circle, equidistant from each other with an instinctual awareness. When one moved forward, the others stood at the ready, moving to counterattack once James committed.
Breaking the circle wouldn’t be difficult, a piece of rubble to the side would allow him cover and protection. The issue was the pack leader. They hadn’t joined the circle, choosing instead to sit on the sidelines, their shrewd gaze boring into James.
Well, he could either take a risk and possibly take injury, or play it safe and definitely get hurt. James opted for the former.
He jumped to the side in a burst of speed, making a beeline for the nearby rubble. The animals barked and gave chase, two moving in to snap at his heels. James warded them off with a swipe of his staff, shifting where it seemed his hands sat in the process while sending out intent. The animals yelped as they failed to dodge, the staff striking both on the head in quick succession.
Two more dogs jumped at James’s wrist in an attempt to tear it asunder, but the cultivator’s powers had both animals missing. They landed with only water in their mouths, the confusion on their faces evident. James used the moment to slap both with the staff.
He’d almost reached the piece of rubble when the pack leader acted. With a single bark, the animal commanded the entire circle to close in. The animals leaped as one, ready to dogpile James.
James delved into the metastate, using his focus to bring his staff up in a whirlwind. Water dripped down the sides of the weapon, splattering across the ground as it pushed most of the dogs to the side. A few made it through the attack, their teeth ready to chomp down on James.
Thinking quickly, James dropped his staff and dove, tackling the nearest dog and pulling it into a lock. A rolling spin across the ground brought the animal over his head, blocked the incoming attacks. His makeshift shield yelped in betrayal as his packmates bit him.
James jumped out of the roll, tossing the wounded animal into another group of incoming dogs. He pulled another staff out in the reprieve, bringing it to bear against another jumping animal.
He ran forward, using the staff as a pole vault to avoid the next group of attackers. He thumbed the latch as he released the staff, securing it to the ground and surprising one of the beasts. As he sailed through the air, James grabbed another staff and swung it around him to ward off any new attackers.
His eyes landed on the pack leader, the animal still shrewdly staring at James. The cultivator realized this wouldn’t end until the animal went down.
In the metastate, James could see how his every movement interacted with the world, and he was starting to understand a bit how his movements could be linked together for something greater. This wasn’t the same as chaining together a combo with his martial art, but a more fundamental understanding of how one action led to the next.
He could see that if he charged toward the pack leader, the animal would bury him in their pack and take James down through numbers. But if James ran, he would get stuck in a game of chase where the pack nipped at his heels until the brought him down. He needed a third option.
A flimsy piece of metal, suspended by a single bar stuck into the building above, swayed in the wind and caught James’s eye. A protruding piece of nearby rebar called to him as well, and James started to get an idea in his head.
If he couldn’t beat the pack leader first, perhaps he could reduce enough of the pack through a surprise attack of some kind.
James secured his staff to the ground and leaned back on it, avoiding another incoming bite even as he pulled a new staff from his pack. He sprang back with force, using the momentum to charge at the pack leader. Intent eminated from him, declaring a thousand ways for him to move at the pack leader and a thousand more for him to move away.
The pack leader, shrewd as they were, still had a self-preservation streak a mile wide. Despite knowing there might be a trap, the leader still didn’t want to risk the chance of getting hurt by James. They barked, recalling a number of dogs from the circle to form a wall in front.
James slammed his staff into the ground, securing it and running up it before leaping off toward the protruding rebar. A few of the dogs tried grabbing him, but James had taken them all by surprise. The bites sailed below his feet as he swung himself up the rebar.
The pack leader growled at the sight, directing his pack to surround the bar. Other dogs were commanded to run up the rubble and dive at James in the hope of knocking him down.
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But James was already on the move. He threw two staffs down, thumbing the switch to secure them on the ground as they landed. He leapfrogged across, using the staffs for footing as he traveled toward the swinging piece of metal above. He did his best to mask the intent, sending signals that screamed retreat.
The pack leader bought it, thinking the fake toward their person was a ruse for retreat. They sent the dogs in chase, moving behind them with the commanding presence of a general. James barely avoided two bites with his refraction powers before he was able to use another staff to climb the wall holding the metal block.
It turned out the metal was in fact an older viewscreen, one built for durability by the look of it. The frame, despite its age, stood straight and unrusted as it swayed in the breeze. James smiled, it seemed he would be able to use this after all.
The dogs barked below him, many of them scrambling up the sides of rubble to leap toward his person. James grabbed the small bar holding the hanging piece of metal and used it as a handhold while he batted the animals away with his staff. He tried his best to look harried, as if he had expected them to stop chasing after his climb.
The dogs bought the act, barking more excitedly at James’s false panic. They tightened the circle, cutting off all avenues of escape as others started to climb.
James waited one more second before he acted. With a grunt, he yanked at the support holding the metal viewscreen. His muscles bulged as he pushed against the wall with all his might. The metal support creaked, the new strain making the forces against it too much to bear.
With a snap, the support came free of the wall, sending the viewscreen plummeting down into the crowd of dogs below. James helped it along, using his focus in the metastate to speed the viewscreen’s descent.
It crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and knocking most of the pack to the ground. Yelps of pain and surprise rang out across the broken buildings as the group’s fighting strength halved.
James burst out of the dust, using the commotion to make a beeline for the pack leader. The animal noticed, and tried to bring support to bear, but the dogs were still disoriented from the falling debris. James reached the leader before help could arrive.
That wasn’t to say the pack leader was helpless. There was a reason the animal stood at the pinnacle of its peers. As James bore his staff toward it, the animal dashed forward, grabbing it in its mouth and yanking. James found his hold weaken and his staff torn from him. He resisted the urge to hold on, instead using the change to move in closer.
The pack leader spun, kicking out with hind legs and surprising James with the blow. He hadn’t seen any indication of the movement. His eyes narrowed as he reeled from the blow. It seemed this beast had some knowledge of cultivation.
The pack leader followed up by spitting out the staff and turning to bite James’s hand. He quickly used his refractive armor to distort his hand’s location. The pack leader’s bite missed, but only just.
James capitalized, moving forward and grabbing the leader’s neck. He quickly found the windpipe and squeezed, refusing to let go even as the animal thrashed. He bore down atop it with his weight, choking the animal out as he held on for dear life.
Eventually, the thrashing slowed, then ceased completely. The pack leader tumbled to the ground, their body no longer able to support themselves without oxygen. James sighed in relief, then quickly looked around warily. However, he needn’t have worried, his victory over the pack leader had sent the other animals running.
Sighing, James released his hold on the animal and took a moment to collect himself. The fight had been closer than he’d wanted. He felt that with his newfound core, he should have had the ability to overpower all of these animals. After all, he’d been able to easily hold them at bay.
He’d ask Nadia about it later, but for now, James had to decide what to do with the pack leader.
The beast wasn’t dead. Not yet, at least. He’d knocked it unconscious with the choke, but now that James had released his hold he could see the animal’s shallow breathing.
He had no clue if this animal was worth anything to cultivators. For all James knew, this beast’s bones were a legendary cultivation material that built nodes of ancient power. He shook his head, that was unlikely considering how weak the animal had been. Surely a legendary resource would take more effort to acquire.
A groaning noise took James out of his thoughts. He turned, head whipping around in a quick scan to find the source of the noise.
An animal stood in the distance. It was catlike, with a dour, almost weeping face. Dark fur flew off it in patches, staining the world around it in blackness. Tendrils, almost sickly in appearance, writhed around the animal as if they had a mind of their own. Periodically, they would pick up pieces of the ground and inspect them before placing them back down.
James felt his hair stand on end. This animal was dangerous. He could tell almost instinctively.
The way it moved, as if it owned the world around it, spoke loads to James. He knew that this was a creature he could not face, and that if he tried he would lose his life.
Warily, James crawled back from the pack leader, leaving it as an offering for the animal in the hopes that it would leave him alone. It acknowledged James’s movement, but otherwise was content to stand around letting its tendrils inspect the world.
Eventually, James found its focus leaving him and centering on the unconscious beast. The beast tilted its head curiously, as if wondering why an easy meal would prevent itself like this. It stayed like that for some time, James unwilling to move lest it choose to chase him.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the predator leaned in toward the dog and stabbed down with its tendrils. There was a sucking sound as James turned and ran, the noise bringing unbidden images to James’s mind. He only stopped running when he no longer felt his hair stand on end, and even then he made sure to sequester himself in a small hole for security.
He took steady breaths, meditating to keep his mentality under control as night came. When he was sure it was safe to do so, James entered his mind, practically sprinting to Nadia.
“What in all scrap was that?” he asked when he saw her.
“Something I did not expect to see this far outside of the skyscraper,” Nadia said. “That, disciple, is what we call an undertaker. It is half beast, half servitor, used to hunt down stray immortals. I can only speculate as to why it is so far away from its usual haunt.”
“By all means, speculate away,” James said.
“My first suspicions would fall on a wayward immortal,” Nadia said. “It is the most likely outcome. Otherwise, someone or something has noticed you and believes you to be a runaway from the skyscraper.”