8. Vilehounds (I)
Mr. Grimble’s face blanched. “[Vilehounds]! Those are definitely [Vilehounds]! Students, we must leave. Staying in this room is like offering them a five-course meal free of charge. This building won’t be able to hold them at bay.” He paced in stutter-step. “Okay, everyone form groups of three! If we can get to the gates and close them behind us, it may give us enough time for the village guard to get here. Okay! That’s definitely the plan! Find two other students and flee for the gates!”
The kids quickly found their friends and made a mad dash for the courtyard.
“Verminta!” Raziel called out. “What are you doing? Let’s go!”
The girl stood beside Timiny Topplesmith. He was completely petrified in his wheelchair.
“We can’t leave him!” she cried.
“That’s what I’m saying. Let’s go!” Raziel got behind Timiny’s wheelchair and pushed it as hard as he could. The wheelchair nearly toppled over as they rushed around the corner of the door.
“R-R-Raziel?” said Timiny in a very faint voice.
“I gotcha, buddy.”
Against all odds, they had traversed half the courtyard unnoticed by any [Vilehounds].
Then, suddenly, a [Vilehound] ran towards the cluster of students in front of them. Olster and the other two True Family kids were in this group. But when the [Vilehound] got close enough, it had a strange reaction. Freezing in place, it wrinkled its snout as if smelling something unbearable, then backed away and fled in the opposite direction.
Terrified, Olster didn’t even have the heart to brag about how he had personally scared the beast away.
Raziel took note of what had happened, filing it away for further examination.
The courtyard was in total chaos. Though Raziel had always possessed keen senses, after awakening his soul and gaining the [Hyper-Vigilance] specialization, it felt like he was living in an entirely new world. The world unfolded in startling clarity, each heartbeat, each rustle distinct in the chaos. It was almost too much sensory information.
The truly unique thing was that his specialization drew emphasis on anything it thought he might be interested in. The [Vilehound] paw prints in the mud drew his attention like a magnetic force. There was a moment when Raziel’s heightened hearing saved them from collision with a panicked student, their footsteps booming like a warning drum. Just in time, Raziel swerved the wheelchair out of the student’s trajectory before they could topple over each other.
The beasts had now broken into the school buildings. The [Vilehounds] were more like bears than wolves. Bears with fangs and fur dripping in acid and poison. Raziel’s advanced hearing heard the doors desperately being slammed and the claws raking through said doors like butter.
Raziel knew he had to help them. He was a [Hunter] now, and probably one of the strongest individuals in the area.
As much as he hated Bramblebog and everyone inside of it, he couldn’t just let children die.
He’d never ignore someone when they were in trouble again.
He wouldn’t be like the rest of the villagers who only thought of themselves!
He gave the wheelchair handles to Verminta. “Get him to the gates,” was all he said before running back across the courtyard and into one of the school buildings. A roiling mass of green fur and fangs snapped and snarled.
[Vilehound] [Vilehound] [Vilehound] [Vilehound] [Vilehound].
The wooden door was half-melted, only a few blackened planks keeping the pack at bay. A swarm of terrified six year olds watched the barrier between them and the beasts quickly disappear.
Raziel’s knees trembled at the sheer killing intent pouring off the beasts. Individually, each [Vilehound] was weaker than the [Galefury Jackalope]. But together? The [Galefury Jackalope] was no match!
Raziel hurled the base of a lamp at the pack. It hit one [Vilehound] on the head. The beast jerked its head up in surprise, its snout sniffing the air.
“I’m right here!” he called.
The [Vilehound] leaped out from the sea of its brethren, veering toward him. Its snout bunched up, acid splashing from its teeth.
Raziel scrambled up to the second story of the school. His palms were slick with sweat.
[Vilehounds] possessed a type of hive mind. When the rest of the pack noticed their brother chasing after a free meal, they abandoned the small kids to pursue Raziel together. So what if they’d been moments away from scarfing down a dozen humans? A hunt was a hunt. And the foolish eleven year old actually had a tastier, awakened soul.
Their pack mentality drove them even more than their hunger.
Raziel didn’t need [Hyper-Vigilance] to hear the pack scraping their way up the stairs. There wasn’t much on the second floor besides dusty, abandoned rooms used for storage. He entered one of them, slamming the door shut just in time for a fanged maw to crash into it. The door jumped violently on its hinges.
Raziel scanned the room for a weapon.
His eyes landed on a bow in the back corner. The bowstring was frayed. After picking up the weapon and the scattered arrows, he tested the frayed bowstring, hoping it wouldn’t snap the moment he used it.
He didn’t have much experience with bows.
With a mean grin Raziel narrowed his eyes and took aim.
Crash! The door shattered. Barreling its way forward, the [Vilehound] blindly moved towards the scent of flesh and fear. Its yellow gaze looked up to see an arrow hurtling straight at its eyes. Snarling, the beast tried to bite at the incoming object. It was too late. The arrow pierced the hound’s right eye.
> [Hunter’s Pursuit Activated (+1 Strength, +3 Dexterity)]
Raziel’s body sang as the new strength and dexterity flooded him. His body felt like it was made of quicksilver, liquid and light as a feather.
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A distressed howl shook dust from the walls. The hound struggled to keep balance as it vigorously tried to shake the arrow from its head. Revitalized by their brother’s pain, the rest of the pack hurried to disentangle themselves from the narrow staircase.
“Again,” whispered Raziel fervently. His last shot had been too shallow. He needed to pull his arrow back further.
Flecks of the hound’s acid-green blood hit the floor, sizzling holes into the wood. Gathering all of his might, he grit his teeth and set loose another arrow. The same eye was pierced once more. This time it sank deep.
The beast flopped onto its side. It died in front of the door, nothing more than a foul, green-furred lump.
Just in time.
The rest of the pack had finally arrived but were blocked by the corpse. Raziel’s shoulders were shaking after slinging just two arrows. Four more [Vilehounds]. Using the crook of his elbow to wipe the sweat from his brow, he aimed once more, and put the exhaustion out of his mind. He was a [Hunter]! If he didn’t want to hunt, then what good was he? He might as well have taken the [Child] class.
This was what he’d signed up for.
One arrow flew after another. Acid and poison hissed as the beasts fell. The last [Vilehound] clambered up the pile of bodies in front of the door, but its slowness left it vulnerable. Its wolfish head peeked above the bodies. Unfortunately, Raziel’s arrow was already en route, and the beast flew backwards from the force of the arrow.
His soulpane popped up.
> +1 Strength
> ATTRIBUTES
>
> Strength: 4/10 -> 5/10 (+1)
>
> Dexterity: 5/10 (+3)
>
> Body: 2/10
>
> Soul Power: 5/20
>
> Magic Power: 3/10
>
> Cognition: 5/10
>
> Insight: 5/10
Fifteen seconds of silence went by before Raziel dared to drop his bow.
A light draft blew across his sweat-slick body, giving him a nice chill. His arms felt like jelly. The tips of his fingers were torn and bloody from forcing arrows back. Six arrows in total, five dogs killed.
Though the beasts were dead, their skin continued to sizzle and pop. The smell of burnt fur filled the air.
While an individual [Vilehound] couldn’t compare to the [Galefury Jackalope], Raziel still unsheathed his knife and went to work, searching for their Beast Cards. He didn’t have any expectations. The drop rate for a [Galefury Jackalope] Beast Card was one in a thousand, so he doubted -
Seriously?
Raziel slumped against the floor, holding two [Level 1 - Vilehound] Beast Cards in his hand. They were [Common] and even just touching them felt like they were uncomfortably pricking his fingers.
Abilities: [Acid Bite] [Mind Sense]
A scream rang out from the courtyard.
His eyes widened.
Verminta!
Rushing to the window he saw a [Vilehound] bigger than all the rest. Hulking, liquid muscles which oozed and dripped and reformed into shape. Bone spikes shot out of its back. The beast hunched over two legs and roared.
[Alpha Vilehound]
Verminta ran clutching her arm. A long green gash slit her forearm and the blood pouring out was sick-yellow. Horrified, Raziel watched her HP drop continuously: 86/100 - 84/100 - 82/100. She lost life with every step she took.
The young girl opened the school shed and closed herself within.
A chorus of other voices within yelled for help. Compared to the [Alpha Vilehound], the shed might as well have been crafted from twigs and spit. A single swipe from the beast would punch a hole through the structure.
What was Verminta doing here? Why wasn’t she with Timiny?
“Close the gates! Quick!” someone yelled. “The village guard is on their way!”
“Wait for me!” called Mr. Grimble.
Raziel’s eyes widened with horror.
Closing the gates would buy the village guard a few extra minutes, but it would trap everyone else still inside with the [Alpha Vilehound].
The teachers knew there were students in the shed, but they had already mentally written them off as dead meat.
Raziel panted against the wall. He was tired beyond all reason.
He closed his eyes. He doubted he even had the strength left to pick up his bow one last time…
The shrieks of the students in the shed pierced his mind, deafening in volume because of his [Hyper-Vigilance].
His eyes flashed open, burning red. The dust in the room seemed to be caught mid-air, shining in the sunlight. A pressure quickly filled the room.
As though Raziel would ever give up!
Impossible situations only emboldened him to try even harder. When it came to a fight, Raziel had never backed down once in his entire life. How could he sit down, catching his breath while others screamed for their lives?
He was tired - but so what?
His body was trying to convince him to preserve his life, but how could he possibly live after knowing he was the reason why so many of his peers had died? He needed to fight. This was his responsibility as someone with a combat-class.
The world seemed to slow down.
Raziel opened his soulpane, and selected the Card Repository. He looked at his five spell slots for the very first time. Something about one of the spell slots shocked him, but he decided to ignore it for now, knowing there was limited time. The two [Level 1 - Vilehound] cards floated towards his soulpane, disappearing.
He clutched his chest, feeling a burning sensation. The cards were physically in his core now.
> [Vilehound]
>
> > Add/Discard Ability
>
> > Upgrade Ability
>
> > Change Path [Currently Toxin Path]
>
> > View Evolution Tree
>
> > Upgrade to Level 2 [Locked]
He pushed that stuff away.
> [Vilehound]
>
> Level 1 Beast
>
> XP: 0/5000
>
> —------
>
> Species: Basic Hound
>
> Specialization: Toxin
>
> HP: 100/100
>
> Mana: 100/100
>
> —---------
>
> ABILITIES
>
> [Acid Bite] - Rank I
>
> [Mind Sense] - Rank II
Irritated, he quickly gestured the information aside.
Raziel wasn’t sure if he was supposed to let the [Vilehounds] settle before unleashing them, but he couldn’t wait.
“Come out, [Vilehounds],” he grunted, grabbing his throbbing chest. “I’m summoning you!”
He was confident those weren’t the proper words to summon his beasts, but they worked.
Two [Vilehounds] formed in the air and leapt through the window. They growled and snapped at each other’s throats but continued to charge at the [Alpha Vilehound]. Raziel grabbed his bow and followed. With a grunt, he landed on the ground, shocks of pain traveling up his ankles.
Somehow, the [Alpha Vilehound] was even larger up close.
The giant beast opened its mouth and sprayed clear green fluid onto Raziel’s two beast summons and the shed. His [Vilehounds] screamed in pain and backed up, tails between their legs.
Then, in the furnace of the [Alpha Vilehound]’s throat, a flame began to charge up.