Emmalia’s dagger struck the monkey’s shoulder, causing it to cry out in pain and distracting it long enough for Athilana’s [Water Bolt] and Aira’s Imbued arrow to reach it as well. The three attacks combined proved too much for the creature to handle all at once as it lost its grip on the branch it was holding and started toppling back off the branch it was perched atop of. Aira cheered internally, though her elation was short lived as the monkey recovered a second later, catching itself with its tail by sticking it into the stem of the tree for stability. The two other monkeys leaped towards them, screeching a horrendous cacophony of dissonant sounds as they fell. Aira’s vision swam and her head screamed in agony from the stunning sounds, though she wasn’t debilitated to the point where she couldn’t recognize the sounds as coming from the monkey’s signature [Sonic Scream] Skill. Despite her discombobulation she knew what to do, and instantly dropped her bow to be able to reach up and cover her ears the moment she recognized what the sound was. The scream was the monkey’s deadliest Skill, but she also knew they couldn’t utilize it for very long or it would leave them too drained to continue fighting. The fact that the Skill was so costly and had such a glaring weakness was one of the reasons that these monsters so rarely reached beyond Tier 1; their primary offensive weapon was easily at least partially blocked by something as simple as blocking ones’ ears, and they couldn’t utilize it for very long. Granted most other forest dwellers didn’t have hands they could use to block their ears, and even with them she would still take some damage from the Skill. Plus it did force her to drop her weapon, so it wasn’t even close to a useless ability. Just not one that could instantly win the monkey’s a fight, even in a fight uneven in terms of levels.

The sound ended as the pair of falling monkeys landed, and as one they charged towards Emmalia, who’d been more affected by the Skill and still seemed somewhat out of it. Aira was a bit shocked at that considering the woman was higher level than them but didn’t let her confusion stop her from raising her hands and firing a normal [Arcane Bolt] towards the larger monkey. It wouldn’t be as damaging as one of her enhanced arrows, but she didn’t want to waste time picking up her bow right now.

The bolt bit into the monkey’s already wounded shoulder, causing it to flinch backwards momentarily but Aira could tell the hit hadn’t caused much actual damage. But she hadn’t been going for damage. She had been going for distraction, and the Skill had managed that well enough. It caused the pair’s attacks to be slightly out of sync, which meant Emmalia could throw herself to the side to avoid the brunt of the damage from one while avoiding the other in its entirety. The woman still cried out in pain as the claws tore open her outer thigh, but at least she wasn’t out of the fight. The pain also seemed to pull her mind from the daze caused by the [Sonic Scream], as she a reached out with her second dagger and pierced the now overextended monkey in the throat. It gurgled and stumbled backward for a few steps, before falling over dead. Aira felt a momentary thrill as the experience began to surge through her. At the same time she a second [Water Bolt] flew from somewhere beside her towards the monkey still in the trees from the corner of her eye. Good, her friend had recovered from the scream as well.

They could do this. Despite the level disparity, they could win this fight.

A screech from behind caused her blood to run cold. Then a second one seemed to freeze it solid in her veins.

There wasn’t just three of them.

She instinctively held her hands up to shield her ears while spinning around where she stood, to see a fourth and fifth monkey emerge from the stems of the trees behind them. Then she saw a sixth.

She gulped and backed up a few steps, putting her back together with Athilana so they could cover each other’s blind spots, just like they had done in training. Only then they hadn’t fought eyeless monsters that still somehow knew where you were and could pass through wood as if it wasn’t there.

Their only saving grace was that the pack seemed to have gotten more careful now that one of their numbers had died. None of the three newly appeared creatures leaped down from their positions in the trees directly at them, choosing instead to drop down further away and close the distance gradually. Even the one that had charged Emmalia had backed off, it and the wounded one joining the rest of their packmates in slowly encircling them, but without advancing forward too far.

“This is why I told you to run.” Emmalia grunted from behind Aira. There was a soft squelching sound followed by quick footsteps as the third woman joined their formation. “These things never fight an even numbered fight. When you see one there’s always another hiding nearby.”

“What do we do?” Athilana asked as she fired off another [Water Bolt] towards one of the creatures.

“Go on the offensive, try to break the encirclement in a coordinated strike.” Emmalia said. “If we let them come at us from all directions one is bound to get a good hit in. And they might not be fast, but their claws still hurt. Once we’re running I’ll draw their attention towards me. You run and don’t stop running until you’re back at the outpost. Got it? Good. On my mark charge towards the injured one. Go!”

Aira barely had time to recognize the previous words before Emmalia had moved on to the next one, but she instinctively spun and started running the moment the redhead finished speaking. As she spun she readied an [Arcane Bolt], but held it within her hand until she could identify which of the monkeys she was supposed to target. The one they had all attacked during their initial barrage.

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There.

Water and Arcane fired off in quick succession once again and the two magical Skills flew in coordination towards the already weakened of the two monkeys. It cried out in pain and stumbled, falling to one knee as the trio started running. Emmalia instantly veered off to the side towards the remaining monkey, throwing her second dagger and withdrawing a third. Aira slowed for half a step, her instinct telling her to help with the fight, before a tug on her arm from Athilana made her mind start working properly and she sprinted past the injured monkey out into the woods. Emmalia could handle herself. She would only be in the way.

“Don’t stop running!” Emmalia called from somewhere behind. “I will be fine; these things can’t kill me. I’ll catch up with you along the way!”

“You better be fine!” Athilana called back. “If you’re dead when we get back I’ll kill you myself!”

Aira followed after Athilana as they zigzagged through the trees, keenly aware of the snarling and occasional yelp of a monkey in pain that was coming from behind. She hoped Emmalia would be safe. That she wasn’t just leaving this woman to die. She should never have agreed to come on this mission. No matter how bored she was. She was under-leveled for the area. Someone that had to get special approval to be allowed to even leave the base, and even with that she couldn’t go without a chaperone. A liability. She cursed her own uselessness as she ran but was forcefully pulled out of her tumbling mind by the screech of a monkey coming from right behind her. She hurled herself to the side and raised her hands up to cover her ears at the same time. The combination allowed her to dodge the incoming claw, but also made her tumble stomach first into a tree, causing her to lose her breath and stumble backwards in a daze.

“Aira!” She heard Athilana’s voice from up ahead, then felt more than heard the [Water Bolt] pass right by her face and strike the monkey with a smack. She caught her breath as she stumbled forwards, firing off an [Arcane Bolt] blindly behind her as her steps sped up into a run. Ahead of her, Athilana had stopped and stood staring back at her with frightened eyes. Aira tried to project confidence as she ran, but seeing the look on her friends face turn made it feel like a pit had opened up inside her stomach. She instinctively dropped to the ground, but still cried out in agony as the claws from the monkey ripped open her back. Her vision blurred at the edges as she spun in the air, readying and firing off another [Arcane Bolt] right into the face of her attacker. It stumbled backwards slightly, but wasn’t injured enough to prevent its follow up attack. She held up her arms to shield her torso, and couldn’t even cry out as she felt them nearly sever as the claw carved deep cuts into her bone. She felt a sickening quelch as something else pierced her stomach, but thankfully that part didn’t increase the pain she was in. In fact it did quite the opposite, instead lessening the intense inferno and turning it into a more comfortable coldness.

She vaguely heard Athilana’s panicked voice from somewhere overhead. Was she coming closer?

No, stay away. Get to safety. She thought as blackness threatened to overwhelm her mind.

She kept it at bay, refusing her body’s desire to black out and embrace the safety of the void. She couldn’t leave her friend to fight alone.

But no matter how she thought she couldn’t make the injury lessen, nor could she make the blackness retreat completely. She felt helpless. The sound of the fighting overhead becoming fainter and more muddled.

Then blissful panacea rushed through her body. She gasped, then choked as the liquid from the potion got caught in her throat. Her vision cleared, and she sat up straight to find Athilana’s face staring down at her with a panicked expression.

“You’re alive!” the elf exclaimed in pure relief. Aira blinked in confusion. Where was the monster? What was the sound of fighting she’d heard? …No, that she was still hearing. As her focus and reason returned, she turned her gaze to the side to find salvation standing there, a dagger in each hand.

Emmalia stabbed forward with each hand in rapid succession, each attack scoring a hit, and each of them hitting a vulnerable part of the monkey’s body. It screeched and swung its claws in desperation, causing it to stumble slightly. The Rogue seized the opportunity, instantly piercing forward with both daggers into the creature’s throat. It gurgled once, then toppled over backwards. Aira stared in stunned silence as the experience from the kill flowed through her.

She beat it so easily. She thought. Now that she didn’t have to waste so much energy watching out for us.

The Rogue walked over and looked down at her with a concerned furrow in her brow.

“You alive?” she asked. Aira nodded and tried to stand, but stumbled slightly as her legs still didn’t quite feel like they belonged to her. Athilana caught her arm and held her upright, causing Aira to flinch back from the touch as she remembered the tearing of the monkey’s claws. But to her surprise her arm didn’t hurt. She stared dumbly at her torn clothes, and the unblemished skin underneath.

“Tier 2 Health potion.” Emmalia said. “Thought it would be a good idea to stock up after my last Challenge. Seems like I was right.”

“Th…” Aira began, then coughed. “Thanks.”

Emmalia shrugged. “Don’t mention it.”

“Is it over?” Athilana said.

“No.” Emmalia said. Aira looked around with a start, trying to find the remaining monsters.

“The monkeys are either dead or gave up the chase.” Emmalia continued. “But they aren’t the only thing we have to worry about out here. And while they aren’t that strong in actual fights, they have excellent stealth and escape tools due to their ability to merge into trees. Which means that they don’t have to worry about how loud they are.”

Aira paled as she realized what that meant.

“Their screams draw in something bigger and scarier.” Athilana said, echoing Aira’s own thoughts. Emmalia nodded.

“Exactly.” She said. A roar echoed through the forest from behind them, towards where the monkeys had been, followed by the screech of several monkeys. This time Aira thought it sounded fearful rather than angry.

“Speak ill of the Cursed, and they will surely hear it…” Emmalia sighed. She grabbed Aira’s other arm and helped keep her upright.

“Let’s go. There’s still quite some distance between us and the outpost. The monkeys won’t keep that thing busy for long.”