The group of three made their way through the forest, tracking the horde's movements, which was not a hard endeavor seeing as they left a mess of toppled trees and scattered animal carcasses in their wake. They were already two days into their prolonged hunt, despite that. They had not seen a single shrieker until this morning when Ren had burst from their ranks flying towards a metallic glint that he saw in the tree line. He came across the mangled corpse of a shrieker that had large claw marks gouging through its torso. Chio and Nevala quickly caught up. Covering her mouth as Nevala gasped. Blood covered the nearby trees and pooled beneath the lifeless creature.
“What do you think caused that?” Chio asked.
“Only thing I have seen with that big of claws would be some bears that live in the heart of the woods. Unless it's kind turned on it.” Ren answered.
“Can that even happen?” Nevala asked.
“Who knows,” Ren said while kicking the dead creature. “This just means that we are getting close now. Let's keep moving before the trail grows cold again.”
Chio and Nevala both agreed, and the trio began moving through the trees again. It did not take long before a cold sweat trickled down Chio’s neck as the shrieker’s horrible howl filled the air.
They veered off quietly, making their way towards one of the lone howls. A small clearing came into view where the wolf-like creature sat chewing on what appeared to be the severed dear leg. Not being one for stealth, Ren let out a ferocious war cry and charged the creature with his axe drawn. Nevala quickly drew back an arrow and aimed it at their quarry as soon as the charge started. She and Chio had been fighting alongside Ren for weeks now and had already grown used to his battle tactics, or lack thereof. She waited for Ren to contact the beast before losing the arrow aimed at its head.
“Piercing shot.” She roared while infusing the arrow with her archer skill.
It flew true, hitting the distracted beast in its left eye and exploding out of the back of its skull, causing a spray of black blood to coat the trees behind it. The beast weakly tried to fend off Ren’s next attack in vain as he dodged around the creature's strike and activated his signature skill Off with Their Heads. His axe, assisted by his monstrous strength and the power of the skill, cleanly glided through the creature's neck like it was not even there, causing its mangled head to fly into the air. Its body fell to the ground as the fight ended before it even started.
“See, we can take on more than two of these weaklings, wouldn't you say Chio?” Ren asked while wiping the black ichor off of his axe blade. Chio sat stunned, his jaw hanging down before he composed himself again.
“Y-Yeah.” He answered.
He couldn't believe how easily they killed one of the beasts that almost took his life.
“That xp gain is amazing. I gained another level after that,” Nevala said, putting a hand on Chio’s shoulder.
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“Let's keep going, and make sure you get a hit on the next one so you don't fall behind, yeah.”
She said, slapping him on the back.
“S-Sure,” Chio responded.
They moved towards the next shrieker’s location, this time aiming for what they thought was a group of two. They spotted them walking through the tree line, following the direction that the main horde had gone. With reckless abandon, Ren charged again. This time Chio quickly followed behind him, determined to take part in this fight. As they charged, another power shot ripped through the air and struck its target, ripping a large hole in its chest. A pained screech emanated from the creature as it fell to its knees. Within seconds of the shot hitting its mark, Chio was upon it. With a mighty roar, he activated the skill he had received at level 15 and cleaved the creature in half. From overhead, a second shot slammed into the creature, fighting Ren, disrupting its balance, which allowed Ren to deliver the killing blow. The trio continued like this, tracking down groups of the beasts and wiping them out. It only took around another half day before all of them reached level 20 and received their threshold quest.
Quests
Incarnate threshold level two
Requirements for compilation
Upgrade-
Warning: A special event has caused the requirements to change.
Requirements for compilation Kill one [Redacted] leader 0/1
Warning: The [Redacted] leader will be alerted to your location in 10 minutes
Rewards
Second threshold title
Access to levels 21-30
Special: Automata slayer title
Additional rewards based on performance
“Oh, shit! That can’t be good.” Chio said.
Two miles from where Chio, Ren, and Nevala received their quests, an enormous creature stirred awake, opening its eight shining red eyes. It was currently surrounded by a small legion of its un-evolved siblings it had ordered to keep watch while it recharged, but that would now have to wait. For it seemed like three flies had just wandered into its web, and what kind of host would it be if it did not greet them personally?
Quests
Challenge quest
Requirements for compilation
Defeat those who challenge you 0/3
You will learn of your target’s location in 10 minutes
Rewards
Human slayer title upgraded to level 2
Additional rewards based on performance
It had been so long since its last hunt. Following its humiliating defeat by the monstrous man, the horde leader relegated it to the back ranks, but this no longer mattered. The prey had come to it and it would not let this chance pass it by. For who knew when it would next get a chance to taste human flesh again?