Cloaked in [Phantom Shroud], I crept as close as I can to the pack of beasts that are supping on my dinner before I could Identify them
[Feral Prowler - Lvl 11]
[Feral Prowler - Lvl 12]
[Feral Prowler - Lvl 12]
[Feral Prowler - Lvl 16]
Damn, four of them. This might be a bit too risky. Though they are far away, they could probably reach me before I could get them all.
I inspected them closely. The four legged beasts look slender with long powerful legs. I bet they could reach me in a couple seconds if spotted. Three of the beasts are tearing into the Gnormite bodies while the lowest leveled one seems to be on the lookout. With its ears standing upright, it stood guard, currently facing the other way.
Rather than take the risky fight on even ground, I chose to better my odds with something I picked up from the recent encounter.
With a rudimentary plan in mind, I moved sideways till I found a tree that has a curved trunk with a good vantage point to the target. Picking up a fist sized stone, I climbed using the ruggedness of the trunk as footholds till I reached a branch wide and sturdy enough to my liking about fifteen feet from ground.
I started to see the flaws in my plan already. The Phantom Whisper is on the larger side of a longbow size scale and to shoot without any leaves rustling, I need to shoot with it in a horizontal position which I have never tried yet. I crouched slightly, adjusting my position to gain a clear line of sight to my target.
I bit down on the stone and took aim. While going for the highest level one first was a tempting option, I decided not to.
With an arrow nocked in the bow, I took the stone into my right hand and estimating the strength needed, swung upwards, launching it in a high arc with a pretty steep angle. Instantly grasping the bow back to the firing form, I fired the [Silent Arrow] right into the head of the lookout feral prowler. The arrow hit its stationary mark with precision and it took the beast falling to its side for the rest of the feasting pack to realize what had happened.
The second arrow followed it shortly after, catching the second one right above its forelegs. At this steep angle, I can't risk going for the head and missing the shot entirely. That should atleast disable it for a while
The larger one seems to have noticed the movement of me firing as it growled and leaped towards my direction. A muffled thud came from the area behind the shrub as the rock has reached the end of its arc and landed in the intended direction from the pack. The beasts instinctively reacted and snapped their heads towards the disturbance behind them.
The pack leader which was about to leap when the rock landed, realized the ploy within a second. And a second too late it is, as it turned its head just in time to catch the arrow on its back. Damn, missed the head
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
It yowled in pain, enraged, and leapt in rapid zigzag patterns as it charged forward. If I thought aiming from a steep angle in an awkward crouch was hard mode, the beast was intent on taking it to the nightmare difficulty.
The beast is cunning enough to not approach in a predictable pattern with it mixing short bursts and long leaps; enough that my aim with the bow always trailed behind the beast by a fraction of second. I would have probably gotten it by now with a dexterity build
"Fine, if that’s how you wanna play, let’s play!" I stopped attempting to hit the prowler. I activated the Hunter’s Sigil Ring and felt the newfound strength coursing through me. The bow which always had a steady weight, for an instant felt lighter and then it didn’t. The Phantom Whisper darkened just a shade, its ends curving ever so slightly and faint etchings on the wood glowing lightly. I started channeling the [Charged Shot of Phantom Whisper]. I was expecting the beast to reach the tree trunk but it surprised me a little by leaping straight at me when it was about ten feet away.
With my heart pounding louder every second, my whole body felt like it would explode with a mix of fear and excitement. I couldn't help myself and was grinning ear to ear by the time the beast had risen high and close enough that I could see the manic glint of blue glowering eyes reflected in its pupils
My hands and chest trembled and the bow felt ready to explode. The arrowtip started sparking orange streaks and making a low hum, too eager and excited that it couldn’t even stay on the bow shelf. It matters not. I have glimpsed its fate and find it wanting; so I shall be the will that snuffs it out
As its front claws were about to make purchase, with a slight backward leap that barely lifted my feet off the ground, I let loose the cannon right between its eyes.
I caught a fleeting glimpse of its head exploding as the recoil blasted me off backwards, away from the still advancing claws of the now-dead beast. I hit the trunk of the tree behind and quickly rolled forward into a crouching position, an arrow already drawn out from the quiver as I opened my eyes. I did a quick 360 rotation on one kneeling leg, aligning the next arrow as I scanned the close vicinity of bushes and treetops, expecting a pounce from the final Feral Prowler that never came.
I stood and saw the last one had turned tail mid-stride when its pack leader’s head exploded. I scoped in on the fleeing beast, right arm fully drawn back on the string hesitating for just a moment—only for a moment—before releasing the arrow, which arced straight into the nape of its neck. Sorry, can’t let you have a revenge arc before I do
My head throbbed as if strained with mental exhaustion and I felt my nose bleed a little. I could sense that I couldn’t use any of the abilities right now. Must be out of mana
I restrained myself from assigning available points to Wisdom stat, as I craved to ease off the strain. Let’s see how long it takes
To boot, my back started to sting again, the Gnormbite claw wounds reopening after hitting the tree trunk. Two tree trunk hits in a day. No Backbreaker title for that?
Realizing that the second Feral Prowler hasn’t perished yet, I found it lying on its side with the arrow protruding out. With a struggle, I planted the bow into the ground, leaning on it as I nocked an arrow and put it out of its misery.
A handful of notifications are waiting to pop out but it has to wait. My body ached as all the torment it endured in the day finally caught up and threatened to collapse. My head pulsed and ached as I tried to gather my thoughts.
Not yet! Hold on a little longer before I…