As I ran, I started weaving together an invisible force spell. Despite my haste I almost didn’t make it to the battle in time.

As the combatants came into view, I spotted a man with a strange spear about to be mauled by one monster as he gracefully leapt out of reach of another’s claws. There was no time to think or examine the situation any further. I unleashed the full might of my spell directly down onto the beast’s head.

Taking full advantage of the opening, the agile spearman jumped over the fallen monster while lashing out at another monster with his spear. He moved with incredible grace and power that would have certainly been impossible without the magic flowing around his body.

As I wove together another spell, I observed the other combatants. At the front of the group, a man with pale hair held a giant knife made of gray metal in one hand and a large wooden object in the other. Mana flowed through both of his armaments, letting him attack and defend even against beasts nearly three times his size.

Another two warriors fought with metallic axes, holding back the monsters as a gigantic man lifted a strange wooden contraption behind them. I had no idea what the thing was until a small spear shot forwards, piercing deep into the skull of an attacking monster.

In the middle of the group, a slender man sat in a ring of runes hastily carved into the ground. Even from a distance, I could easily sense the dense mana of the barrier around him.

Mana flowed around each of the pale skinned warriors, showing an astonishing mastery of magic even in the heat of combat. By the time I finished weaving my next spell, I had felt at least a half dozen more magical effects bloom into existence around the group.

Holding my spell ready, I stuck to the dense foliage as much as I could. If these warriors could hold the pack’s attention, I wouldn’t have to place myself in as much danger.

I figured the half dozen remaining beasts were all that was left of the pack until a massive figure striding through the trees soon proved me wrong. This final beast was over twice the size of its lesser kin with dark purple fur and glowing eyes.

As the pack leader lifted a claw, I felt a massive amount of mana gathering. Many of the mana forms taking shape were familiar to me, as they closely matched those of my invisible force spells.

Rather than immediately lash out with my spell, I waited until the moment just before the beast’s magic finished forming. As the monster tried to release its devastating spell, my invisible force slammed into one of its eyes.

The beast let out a deafening roar, unleashing its magic with fouled aim. Next to one of the ax wielding warriors, the trunk of an ancient tree exploded into splinters. There was no question as to what would have happened if someone had been hit with such a destructive burst of invisible force.

Before I could ready another spell, the giant with the strange projectile weapon unleashed another spear. With perfect accuracy, the projectile struck the beast in its remaining eye.

Stolen novel; please report.

Despite being blinded, the beast charged forwards. Standing in the pack leader’s path, the warrior with the long knife readied his wooden defense. Mana surged around the man’s body as the pack leader tried to trample him. Rather than being flattened, the stalwart warrior held his ground, tripping the massive beast.

The spearman distracted the remaining beasts with flourished maneuvers, drawing them away from his companions. The pair with axes both struck the downed beast’s neck from the side.

As the beast tried to stand, I cast my phantom flame spell. The beast failed to regain its footing as pain coursed through its body.

The warriors took full advantage of the beast’s moment of vulnerability. Their gray metal weapons cut deep with each strike, weakening the monster further.

Pulling the mana in the area into a frantic spell, the monster unleashed a wave of invisible force, knocking back the fighters. The pack leader lashed out blindly with its claws as it shook off the after effects of my spell.

I was quite sure the massive claws would tear through the trio of pale warriors. To my surprise, the knife wielder once more held back the monster’s attacks. It was difficult to tell, but I was fairly sure he was using two different spells simultaneously. There was a brief surge of mana each time he blocked an attack, as though he were stealing mana to fuel his own defenses.

The other two warriors were obviously familiar with their companion’s abilities. They carefully timed their attacks to best capitalize on the beast’s failed strikes.

Deciding that these three could hold their own for the moment, I turned my attention back to the spearman holding off the remaining four smaller beasts. He was evading quite well, but the onslaught of slashing claws and gnashing teeth left him no room to counter attack.

The huge man with the projectile launching weapon was doing what he could to help. Several of the monsters had already fallen to the warrior’s deadly accuracy.

Effective though the weapon was, it was slow to use. The moments spent readying another shot were moments that the spearman had to struggle for his life.

These people may have been strangers to me, but the look of intense concentration on the warrior’s face was easy to read. The look of surprised relief as my phantom fire spell brought one of his attackers to its knees was similarly easy to decipher.

As a projectile felled another of the beasts, the spearman was temporarily left with only two opponents. It took him only a moment to completely change the momentum of his battle. Each fluid motion of his spear opened a new wound on one of the monsters.

The pair of beasts looked slow and cumbersome compared to the spearman’s nimble movements. Before long, a fatal gash opened on the neck of one of the beasts. The other didn’t last much longer.

With a final thrust through the eye of the beast still stunned by phantom fire, the spearman was free to join his companions against the pack leader. The giant and I readied our attacks as well.

As the warriors charged the massive beast and I wove my spell, the beast struggled to retaliate. Every blow was blocked by the wooden wall on the arm of the knife wielder. The beast couldn’t weave any more mana as there was always an ax or two ready to foil the monster’s spell casting.

A projectile from the giant’s weapon flew alongside the spearman’s weapon as both sank into the creature’s wounded eye. A sharp burst of invisible force to the back of the spear turned the already grievous blow into a fatal one.

The pack leader shuddered for a moment after my spell, before collapsing.

That wasn’t quite how I imagined my first meeting with these strangers would begin, but at least it made for a memorable first impression.