"The rapid shift in animal behaviors with the advent of the System is the cause of much debate among scholars, the almost complete disappearance of pack animals being the most noticeable change, with most scholars agreeing that the reason for such is the vastly reduced EXP gain from such large groups, as even the non-combat methods for animals to gain EXP seem reduced when in large groups. This assumption is backed by the fact that packs of animals reemerged within a few months of the System, now lead by animals with the [Alpha] subrace that reduced the group penalty for EXP, though the interim did cause some animals that were previously pack animals to stay solitary while some previously solitary animals started packs."
- Loremaster Squibb, teaching a class on the System
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"We can talk about that later! For now we need to plan how to fight them, not the intricacies of their mental state!"(Roxy)
"I mean, are we going to fight them at all? We don't know their levels, their species, or even have anything beyond a level 1 skill to tell us their numbers, plus if they are in a pack, they'll probably be used to fighting with one another and we aren't."(Mason)
"Yeah, I mean, while I'm all for fighting as much as we can to gain EXP, it's not like we are unable to find anything to fight or anything, so why risk fighting a group of predators."(Arnold)
"We should at least check their levels, considering the increased aggression from prey animals, I'd bet that predators are even more aggressive, meaning that they might be a higher level than the other animals in the area."(Jordan)
Seemingly surprised by our lack of enthusiasm for her find, Roxy floundered before a second before responding.
"But, aren't you curious what they might have in their den? In the tutorial there was always at least an uncommon in things like that."(Roxy)
"Yeah but the tutorial was made to reward us for challenging ourselves, now there's no guarantee that risk is equal to reward, and I don't think we'll find anything in a random animal den, plus if they are higher level than us it might be a better idea to leave this area entirely to avoid them."(Arnold)
With Arnold switching to the confident tone that only ever appeared when talking about fighting or the System, Roxy's enthusiasm quickly died as she realized the error in her thinking, Amy just as impassive as she had been since she sat down.
"Either way, we should still find out their levels, and possible threat, since it would be a good fight to practice our teamwork if they are lower levelled, and we should leave as soon as possible if they are higher level than us."(Jordan)
Everyone agreeing with the necessity of at least scoping them out, it was decided that the next day we would all try to catch the group as they left their den to see their strength, all five of us going just in case a fight broke out. Judging from the fact that the den was empty when Amy found it, they were likely diurnal, so they would likely leave their den around sunrise and return at sunset, and since none of us had any kind of alarm clock or anything to ensure we woke up before sunrise, the only real option was to catch them as they returned for the night, so without the ability to make any solid plans other than just trying to stay hidden, we cooked the rabbits that Jordan, Arnold and I had hunted before going to bed, most of us having various improvised sleeping bags made out of hide, only Arnold having an actual pillow, though it was somewhat poorly made. The next morning we arose with the sun and decided to start hunting once more, not wanting to waste the day just waiting at the den, but now that we knew there was a pack of predators prowling, we didn't feel safe enough to split up into two groups, so the five of us set off together and went in a different direction than the den, which was directly deeper in the forest.
Similarly to the previous day, our large group made most animals flee before I was even able to send my hawk to provoke them, only managing to get some EXP when Amy managed to track animals back to their dens or burrows, where they were unable to run away. Thanks to Amy's help, we managed to get 200 EXP before it got late enough that we started to make out way to the den to wait, the den still being empty by the time we arrived, a barely visible hole that led under a tree that I would've missed had it not been pointed out to me. Since we just wanted to see their levels and not actually fight them, we looked around the area for possible hiding places, an idea coming to mind when I looked at the trees, whose branches didn't start for at least 20 feet.
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"Hey, how long do your crystal walls last?"(Mason)
"Only an hour or so, why?"(Roxy)
Slightly surprised at the relatively short duration of her crystals in comparison th mine, which lasted for two or three hours even without putting any focus on duration when I created them, I continued.
"I was thinking about the possibility of climbing the trees and making a crystal platform to wait on, since making one big and strong enough to hold all of us that'll last long enough be safe would pretty much drain me, since even if they did find us when we were up there I don't think they'd be living in a den if they could clime."(Mason)
Hearing my idea caused the others to look at a nearby tree as they thought about the viability of my idea, it was Jordan who spoke up first.
"That's not a bad idea in theory, but I'd rather not risk the chance that they can climb and fight them with you unable to fight, plus getting up in the tree in the first place wouldn't be easy and if any of us fall we might make enough noise to alert them even if we don't get injured, not to mention getting back down afterwards."(Jordan)
Hearing Jordan's points, my idea was quickly discarded as too risky, so we ended up settling on being behind a few trees upwind of the den, covering ourselves with leaves and twigs to cover our scent further and add some camouflage, only Amy actually looking at the den while the rest of us made sure that they wouldn't sneak up on us, since she was the one with the [Judge Threat] skill. Without any conversation to pass the time, as we were trying to be as quiet as possible, the time stretched on and on, everyone's head darting to every rustled bush or disturbed branch, but it wasn't until the surroundings had started to darken to the point it started to hinder our vision that Jordan nudged everyone and drew our attention to his direction, where we saw a group of four large canines with mostly brown fur, each one being tall enough for their heads to reach my chest while still on four legs, and I would've thought them to be wolves had the system not told me otherwise.
Coyote - Level 12 Coyote - Level 10 Coyote - Level 11 Coyote - Level 12 Coyote - Level 13
Seeing all but one of them being higher than level 10, I felt the tension rise as they stalked back to their den, dragging a deer significantly larger than even the head coyote who was level 13 and noticeably larger than his compatriots, but luckily they didn't seem to notice us, dragging their quarry into the den without even looking in our direction. Even after they disappeared from sight, none of us moved for at least half an hour before we finally worked up the courage to slowly and carefully make out way back to our camp, the bloodlust that radiated from the coyotes far more intimidating than even the bear that I had fought.
By the time that we got back, the last remnants of daylight had long since faded, barely managing to find our way back with the moonlight as our guide before hastily setting up Roxy's stakes and trying to sleep, all of us except Jordan, who had first watch, tossing and turning as we struggled to actually fall asleep. The next morning, as we all sat around the fire and cooked the previous days harvest, which had thankfully not been taken by scavengers since we had left it behind before going to the den, the conversation naturally moved to what we should do about the coyote pack now that we knew their levels.
"First things first, what did your skill say about their relative power?"(Roxy)
"All of them were pretty even except the level 13 one, the others gave off more threat than anything else in this forest, and gave the feeling that they were stronger than me, but not unwinnable against, whereas the last one gave of way more threat that made me feel like I would definitely die if I fought it alone, but keep in mind that this is their threat to me, and neither of my classes are focused on direct combat."(Amy)
"How do they compare to the other things we've fought in the forest?"(Roxy)
"Most of the level 10's register as about even with me, if a bit below."(Amy)
"And how do we rate?"(Jordan)
"You and Arnold are about even, maybe slightly above, the regular coyotes but below the strongest one, while Roxy and Mason are just below it."(Amy)
"Hmm, that probably means that it has the equivalent of two rare classes, since me and Jordan only have a rare and an uncommon, the extra difference from the two levels."(Arnold)
"Makes sense, but we still haven't decided what to do about them, they aren't strong enough that we need to run away as soon as possible, but they aren't weak enough to comfortably fight."(Mason)
"As much as I want to level, and the huge amount that we'd get from winning, I think it's too dangerous, Amy's skill only works on an individual level, and one plus one doesn't equal two in a group fight, it's not worth the risk."(Jordan)
"But at the current rate, we won't level for another month, and just killing them is worth multiple days of regular levelling."(Roxy)
"Rather be level 11 and alive than 12 and dead."(Jordan)
"Well, it's not like we have to fight them head on, three of us have solid ranged capabilities and if we manage to ambush them we could do some serious damage and tilt things in our favor."(Arnold)
After talking about the potential risks and rewards for fighting the coyotes, Arnold and Roxy eventually managing to get Jordan to agree so long as we ambushed them and did all that we could to make sure to capitalize on it as much as possible to reduce the danger of the fight, with me and Amy having been on the fence to begin with. Once we decided that a fight was happening, we quickly moved on to planning how we would set it up to do as much damage as possible before they could react, mainly any kind of traps or anything we could set up beforehand. Naturally, we decided to ambush them at their den as they were coming back, hopefully catching them while they were tired from a hunt, but since none of us had any way to set up traps or otherwise prepare the battlefield, all we could really do was pick out a location somewhat far away from the den that had a clear line of sight to attack them from, though I did make a pair of crystal spears for Arnold and Jordan to throw, even if it was unlikely that they would manage to hit anything without any training or system aid.
The planning itself took less than an hour, but we still decided against doing any hunting as we wanted to be as fresh as possible for the fight to come, passing the hours left until sunset further refining plans and battle strategies, or trying to unwind and lower our stress through various activities such as meditation or fiddling with various items, eagerly anticipating the setting sun and the fight that it would bring with it.