The party bunched together far more tightly than usual, the four warriors and monk positioned around the rest on guard. Gray furred wolves circled around them, the vicious low snarls and starving eyes putting the party on edge. They seemed little different from the animals they were familiar with, but a quick identify revealed them as Lesser Peasant common tier, meaning they were at least as dangerous as goblins. A worrying truth as there were no less than ten wolves in the pack eyeing them down as food, the largest group of monsters the party had faced so far.
The party kept silent as the wolves continued to circle around them as they had been for the past minute, as if trying to find weakness. Beads of sweat dripped down some faces, more out of fear than exhaustion. With a sharp growl, one of the wolves lunged at the monk without warning. A swift kick knocked it away without issue but it let loose the restraint of the others.
Chaos broke out in an instant. Most wolves were blocked or knocked away. One lunged into the longsword of a warrior and fell still with muffled yelps. Milton cast a fireball at one which had been knocked to the ground, burning it to a crisp in mere moments. Jeter shot arrow after arrow, but he was moderately helpful at best, save for one lucky shot between the eyes.
The flash of fighting had lasted less than half a minute but the pack of ten had been reduced to four, and some of them injured. A second staredown lasted mere seconds before one of the wolves turned tail and fled and the rest quickly followed, one with a broken leg, falling behind with its limped stride. The party remained in formation out of caution until they were reasonable sure they were alone again.
“Fuck! Shit’s getting harder. Should we really keep going this way?” Mendez cursed.
“If you know the safe direction then point it out.” Aisha, the rogue woman, curtly shot back to the shield and sword warrior who clicked his teeth in response.
“Healer.” The monk walked up to Shin, blood stains on his right thigh. A claw must have caught him when he kicked, Shin guessed.
“Shin.” The enigmatic boy replied though he immediately began healing him. The monk started to open his mouth, but closed it without saying anything.
Half a minute rolled by and the wound closed up. The monk nodded at him before headed over to Barnes.
[Treat Wounds has reached lvl. 7.]
By the location of the sun and the dimming light, there was less than two hours into nightfall. The party had been on the move for about ten hours now, with their exhaustion and the level of Shin’s healing skill to show for it. Monsters seemed to appear more frequently than they had at the start though the majority were still inferior tier. The wolf pack was something of an anomaly in their journey, and not a welcome one.
Shin spared the time for an Identify on one of the dead wolves. When used on a live target, it only showed the race and rank, but the dead gave up their full status. It was useful information Shin could use to compare.
[Wolf (common) - Lesser Peasant]
Strength - 23
Agility - 36
Constitution - 24
Vitality - 27
Dexterity - 30
Perception - 35
Force - 19
Spirit - 21
Control - 24
Willpower - 18
Skills:
Gnaw, Scratch, Pounce,
Traits:
Good Nose (uncommon), Petty Disease Resistance (common),
Faster than goblins and his angel, as reflected in Agility, its skills were quite mundane. The wolves had been like most monsters they encountered, without any wondrous magic, but it wasn’t like monsters had no such abilities. Even disregarding the two summons the party had at their disposal, they had encountered a horned rabbit like monster called an Almiraj which could concentrate a visible coating of mana over its horn that allowed it to pierce through a shield. Fortunately for the shield warrior, it had not damaged the bones in his forearm as even now it didn’t seem like Treat Wounds could fix something that serious.
Shin glanced over to the shield warrior, who had gravitated over to Barnes’ inner circle, which seemed to be in the middle of deliberating their next move. Rather than inner circle, it would be more accurate to say that Shin was the sole outcast of the group, Grace reluctant to leave his side, Milton simply too unconfident to insert himself into the discussion and the Longsword Warrior relegated to standing guard for the casters.
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“Are you alright? You’ve had to heal a lot…” Grace asked. Casters knew better than anyone that spending mana comes with mental strain, though Shin had to take her word for it since he had not personally felt it. Nothing even close to the strain his eyes had put on him, though he did not reveal that.
“Yeah. You?”
“I’m fine.” She replied, not chock full of confidence.
“You had to cast twice just now.”
“Ah, it’s alright. I have enough to summon.”
Barnes had told them to always keep enough in the reserve to use their summons in an emergency, though that was not Shin’s concern. Grace looked quite clearly fatigued, both physically and mentally.
“That’s not good enough! We got a couple hours at best.” The discussion was heating up and it didn’t seem like they were reaching a consensus. Barnes stood quietly with his arms crossed, listening to the others in silence.
“We’ll go in the direction the wolves just ran.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“They’re still animals. They need to sleep and the pack wouldn’t stay somewhere they weren’t at least somewhat safe.”
“They’re monsters, you don’t know if they need to sleep or not.”
“You got a better idea?” Barnes was met with silence. “We’re running out of daylight and we need to sleep. Finding their den is our best bet.”
He looked over to Shin and the rest. “Up. No telling how far that den is. We need to find it soon.”
The Longsword Warrior rose to his feet on command, though Grace and Milton did so with drained expressions and a slower speed that Shin mimicked. He placed his hand on her shoulder, putting no weight on it as he had done so all this time.
“Hey! Can’t you see the lady is tired. Walk on your own.” The other mage snapped at Shin.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. He’s taking advantage of your kindness!”
Grace’s expression started to shift, fatigue loosening her restraints towards the man’s frequent pestering.
“Is there a problem there?!” The leader shouted to bring things under control and Milton fell silent and his eyes shifted to the ground.
“No.” Grace responded for them.
“Then get into formation. There’s no more breaks until we find somewhere to set up camp.”
---
Dusk threatened to usurp the day and the wolf den was nowhere in sight. The party moved briskly but fatigue had made the formation sloppy, a shell of its former sharpness. The day had taken its toll. The two casters had it the worst. Those who had taken melee classes certainly had superior physical stats to begin with and they doubtless spent their initial points reinforcing that gap.
Milton was clearly the least fit of them all at a glance, drenched in sweat and gasping for air as he willed his legs forward in sporadic stride, but Grace was not much better off, her own breathing labored, sparing no energy to stay vigilant of her surroundings, merely following the person ahead thoughtlessly. Shin made his body sweat to match his peers but paid no effort to make a show of breathing heavily. No one was paying that much attention.
“Pick it up.” Mendez snapped at the unathletic mage who started to fall behind. Milton glared back but picked up the pace without a word, his lack of snide response a testament to his exhaustion.
The rogue woman jumped out of the brush near Barnes though she didn’t seem to be in any sort of panic. “There’s a cave just up ahead. But four goblins are standing in front of it.”
“And?”
“Identify doesn’t work.” Barnes fell into silent thought at the information she brought.
“Hey, you’re not thinking of changing up the plan now, right? We’re out of time, it’s just four green bitches.” The large dark skinned bald warrior of the vanguard spoke.
“They’re higher ranked.”
“So’s the kid, and he still ain’t shit.” He gestured at Shin. “Fuck it.”
The big warrior marched in the direction the rogue came from, greataxe at the ready.
“Hey, it’s too risky!” She warned.
“On me. Get ready to fight.” Barnes ordered the party, following after. Aisha scowled but followed along cautiously as did the rest of the party.
Over the brush and through a thin wall of trees, they spotted the goblins through the clearing. 100 yards away, sitting on a rock surface not far from the cave opening Aisha had found. It was on the smaller side, but looked large enough for a grown man to walk through and wide enough to fight in. Most seemed relieved they would soon be done with their endless trek but some, Shin included, focused on the monsters.
Physically these goblins looked similar to the ones they had faced before but their equipment was much better. Metal and leather armor with weapons not too unlike what the party’s warriors carried, iron by the dull gray sheen. Rusted, dented, and broken in some places they may be but iron was iron, a clear upgrade to the wooden and stone weapons of their lesser counterparts. Shin also took note of their slightly thicker, more muscular builds, and more importantly, the sharper look in their eyes.
[Goblin Warrior - Intermediate Peasant]
A type, maybe the monster equivalent of a class, Shin thought. This was a first and more concerning than their rank. Shin turned his focus inward to sense the amount of mana he had. Three quarters of his max, maybe a little more, about 32 mana, he assessed. Enough to summon two angels. This wasn’t the time to gamble on a spirit so he paid it no mind. Shin looked around at the exhausted party.
“Shields up in front. Jeter and Aisha take point as soon as it starts. Casters look for an opening as soon as you can. Everyone else on me, we surround them as soon as they charge Mendez you- Hey.” Avon walked off before Barnes made the call.
“Shut up… Talking too damn much when we just need to kill ‘em.” The goblins perked up at warrior’s appearance and took to their feet, weapons drawn. Rather than blindly charge, they seemed to be wary of the enemy that just revealed himself.
One of the goblin warriors shoved another forward, who reluctantly set out to meet him in combat. It wielded a hand axe, more of a hatchet, and was the only one of the four wearing leather instead of iron. Avon towered over the goblin, a mass of muscles, like a giant facing down a man.
He raised his axe with a roar, and in a flash of green, the goblin warrior cut off his leg. The giant collapsed to the ground, face in shock as he looked at the severed half of his leg, warm blood spurting out of the other, and screamed. The largest warrior of the party who once looked so formidable now flailed on the ground, clutching the remaining half of his leg and wailing in pain.
The goblin warrior who had been so apprehensive before, stared in a daze at the big human for a few moments before its face twisted into a malicious sneer of glee. It lunged and sunk its hatchet into Avon’s face, ending his screams, and then again and again and again, until the warrior’s face was a bloody mash of bone and pulp.
A shrill howl of victory culminated its gory revelries, sending chills down the spines of the party frozen in shock, and then it turned towards them, with the other three bearing down with the same twisted sneers.