4 "Offering Assistance"
Nearby Grey Wolves, hearing a distant kin's howl, arrived on the scene of Zeno's first fight. They found the corpse of the Grey Wolf shortly after Zeno had left. Alarmed, they now begun creating groups to patrol the area.
One such group had traveled near Zeno's vicinity. In front of Zeno were 3 Grey Wolves. They all had their heads up high, vigilant while studying their surroundings.
"Analyze."
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[Grey Wolf]
Classification : Beast
Rank : F
Health : 100/100
Elemental Affinity : N/A
[Skills]
Bloodlust (Passive)
Sixth Sense (Passive)
[Locked]
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His [Analyze] skill strength wasn't high enough to fully see through his potential enemies though. There was a skill that the Grey Wolves had that he wasn't able to analyze.
"Let's take a smarter approach this time."
Recalling the previous fight, Grey Wolves would only enter the [Bloodlust] state when they get injured. Even the tiniest of nicks would trigger this. Therefore, he decided that killing blows were the only strikes he would dish out.
"Skill Information - Void Assault."
[Void Assault (Beginner/Active)]
Skill Level : Stage 1/9 (8/10)
Classification: Dark / Offensive
Teleport through the Dark Elemental particles in the air to appear behind your target. Target must be within 5 meters, and the location must contain Dark Elements. A successful attack on the back of the target will deal 50% more damage as Dark Elemental damage.
Mana Cost: 15
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Void Assault was a perfect way to enter his opponent's weak spots and make a fatal cut or stab. It was his bread and butter skill, as long as he was in combat. "Status!" Zeno's mind filled with a table of information.
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[Status]
Name : Zeno Tross
Title : [None]
Race : Human
Class : [None]
Health : 92/100
Mana : 81/100
Strength : F+ (26/100)
Vitality : E- (176/1000)
Agility : E (572/1000)
Intelligence : F+ (46/100)
Spirit: F+ (2/1000)
[Skills]
Dual Dagger Mastery (Beginner/Passive) : Stage 3/9 (460/1000)
Analyze (Beginner/Active) : Stage 2/3 (79/100)
Stealth (Beginner/Active) : Stage 4/5 (205/10000)
Acrobatics Mastery (Intermediate/Passive) : Stage 1/9 (2/10)
Void Assault (Beginner/Active) : Stage 1/9 (8/10)
Tailwind (Beginner/Active) : Stage 1/9 (6/10)
[Elemental Affinity]
Fire : F-
Water : F-
Wind : S
Lightning : E-
Earth : F-
Light : F-
Dark : S+
Time : F-
Space: D
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'Hmm, my stats increased a tiny bit. And I'm pretty much recovered now, so let's get the show started.' Zeno quickly calculated a plan of attack.
The three Grey Wolves were in a triangle formation.
*swish*
One of the wolves tilted its head when a movement was heard in the brush nearby. It separated from the pack to investigate. However, as soon as it entered the brush, a figure dropped from above. The wolf's [Sixth Sense] kicked in.
Zeno, anticipating the claw swipe, parried the blow with his left arm, while driving his right-handed dagger into the throat of the Grey Wolf. It was a clean kill, and he collected its core before continuing with his plan.
Zeno repositioned himself to the top of a tree branch and then made a leap, aiming for the spot between the two remaining wolves.
The two wolves were restless as their comrade had not returned from its investigation. Unfortunately for them, they were too vigilant of their surroundings, and while standing back to back, they failed to check the space between themselves.
"Void Assault."
Zeno teleported in mid-air between the backs of the two wolves, and with a high velocity spin, two steel daggers met two furry necks. It was a clean slash and a painless killing. Traces of Dark Elemental energy were present at the wound area. With a ghastly expression on his face, Zeno quickly collected the cores, ignoring the feeling of his stomach churning at the smell of blood.
It wasn't his first kill, but it definitely was the brutalist pair of strikes he had ever performed on a living being.
...
Zeno was sitting near a lake, staring at his reflection in the blue water. It had been nearly 4 hours since his departure, and he managed to kill 8 more wolves after his initial 4. That was 12/15 for the quest's goal.
He spent the most time recovering his mana and regaining his psyche. He drank some water from his canteen and ate some of the rations he had prepared.
At this point, lone wolves were impossible to find. He also had to look for situations where wolves were either in trios or duos while waiting for the cooldowns of [Tailwind], [Stealth], and [Void Assault] to end. Furthermore, he was avoiding other beasts and animals that were not worthy of his time.
The sun was setting soon, so he needed to make those last 3 kills soon if he wanted to complete the mission within the day.
He splashed some water into his face and then dipped his sword into the water to wipe off the caked dirt and blood.
As he was getting ready, he heard several howls from within the forest. Zeno scrunched his eyebrows as he readied himself. The howls were getting closer to his location.
Zeno jumped onto a branch for a better view of the situation and saw a party in the distance, he could see them talk, but couldn't hear what was being said.
At a nearby clearing, 4 people around Zeno's age were running from the source of the howls.
"Felix, they're coming this way!" A nearby archer reported to a man holding a 2 handed claymore.
"Right Harry, these wolves are persistent. Something must have enraged them!" The swordsman named Felix looked at the party with a solemn look. "Guys, whenever we get the chance, we just have to run."
The party was in apparent disarray. The other 3 members didn't seem to hopeful.
A young female mage, hair tied in a bun, spoke up, "Felix, we're in no condition to fight. I've only have enough mana for one more skill. Hey, there's a river we can cross ahead. Maybe the wolves dislike water."
The party advanced a bit further whilst in their discussion.
"Alright Jenna -" Felix stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a brown haired individual sitting on a branch up on a tree.
"Hey! You in the tree. Could you please offer some assistance? We're getting chased by some wolves." Felix yelled with begging look. Inwardly though, he already made his decision. 'We have to use this guy as bait while we all run away!' Zeno noticed Fenix looking back at his party members, but at the time, Zeno thought he was focusing on the wolves behind them.
What Felix hadn't told Zeno - and even his own party - was the fact that during a trip to empty his bladder, he failed to slay a Grey Wolf pup. It seemed like such an easy kill, and Felix's party also needed the wolf cores to complete their own quest. He took a swing with his claymore, but had missed because the pup's [Sixth Sense] activated.
It quickly dodged and escaped, all while crying out to his parents. When Felix returned to his party, he acted as if nothing had happened. A few minutes later though, a pack of 5 Grey Wolves had tracked his location through his urine.
The 5 same wolves came dashing over. The one wolf leading the group already entered the [Bloodlust] state, as an arrow shaft was stuck near its front collarbone. Blood was flowing from the wound.
'With 3 other people, you still need help? You all really need help?' Zeno thought while looking disdainfully at the group. Zeno weighed the pros and cons of helping out. Zeno himself could take out 3 wolves. With 4 extra teammates and only 2 extra enemies, Zeno felt this battle would be a cakewalk.
Furthermore, everyone in Felix's party were around his age. It was easier trusting them than a group of adults, whose figures would resemble his own imagination of his father...
The calculation was still bit naive, but the thought process seemed logical in Zeno's mind.
"Sure, I'll help. But I want three of the wolf cores."
Felix's agreed quickly. "Of course, of course. We really are in need of your -"
Graaaa!
Interrupted by the wolf's growl, Felix quickly turned around and equipped his claymore. The wolves gave the 5 no time to continue their discussion.
"Distract them for me, and I'll secure the kills." Zeno instructed. Felix quickly nodded, and turned around to confront the wolves.
"Get in position!" he instructed his party members. The first clashes began.
Zeno shook his head and scrunched his eyebrows watching the battle unfold. He watched from the tree branch as the four adventurers scrambled into formation. They had Fenix in front, Jenna and Allison, a cleric, in the middle, and the archer named Harry in the back.
The lead wolf and another regular Grey Wolf were attacking Felix from the front, while the other 3 had flanked from the sides.
Felix seemed to handle the two wolves well, utilizing his claymore's range to keep a distance away. Jenna was waiting to cast a spell, while Harry was busy distracting the other wolves with his arrows. Fortunately, Harry had been missing his arrows, and Zeno was unsure if he was doing it on purpose, or if he was just a bad archer.
"Harry, land a shot please! I can't hold these guys for longer!" Felix felt the pressure increase. His claymore would sometimes get wrapped up under the [Bloodlust] strengthened fur, causing him to feel cold sweat drip down his neck as he panicked to pull his sword back. With some backpedaling, Felix repositioned himself to get back into the fight.
From what he saw, Zeno concluded that this team was an utter failure. They didn't focus on a single target, and this attacking strategy would only be a disadvantage, especially since their opponents had [Bloodlust]. It seemed as if they did not have a good understanding of the Grey Wolves' capabilities.
In the long run, they would soon be overrun by the enraged wolves. Unfortunately, it was too late for Zeno to make any corrections; he just had to play his part.
"[Tailwind]." Zeno began to prepare his entrance to the battle. He noticed that Jenna was about to throw a spell.
"Fireball!" A giant, watermelon sized flame ball generated above Jenna's wand, and she launched the attack at the two enraged wolves. Fenix side-stepped, and the two Grey Wolves had no chance to react. The [Fireball] exploded in the wolves' faces.
Disoriented from the explosion, the wolves' [Sixth Sense] ability was most likely severely hindered. However, now both wolves were in their [Bloodlust] state.
Zeno made his move after seeing this opening. He jumped from the branch and, utilizing gravity, was preparing two stabs at the two stunned wolves below.
Felix immediately made a run for it. With a hand signal, he told the rest of his party to start running as well.
"HUA!"
Zeno skillfully connected his two stabs, fully piercing through the resistant layer of fur on the enraged Grey Wolves' necks.
In response, of the three remaining wolves, one had sprung up at him, fangs bared. Zeno, using the flat side of his dagger's blade, parried its strike and rolled in the opposite direction. However, the wolf did not let up easily. It leapt back at him and swiped with its right paw.
Zeno quickly dodged towards his left, using the opening provided to strike with his left dagger. The wolf decided to attack as well, an eye for an eye, using its remaining left paw to attempt another swipe. It's claws this time grew a couple inches in length.
Almost immediately, Zeno halted his attack and leapt backwards. His eyes widened as he realized the claw enlargement was the [Locked] skill from before.
But the wolf left him with no breathing room, it immediately charged in again, claws ready to strip away at his vitals. Zeno, seeing a tree behind him, backpedalled and jumped into it, and then did a front flip forward off the bark, leaping just over the attack range of the wolf. The wolf turned quickly and swung with both paws, but Zeno anticipated this.
"[Void Assault]."
A purple light enveloped a figure directly behind the wolf. Two cold blades slashed out mercilessly. The fight ended briefly, and Zeno was heavily breathing. A set of dilated pupils could be seen in the eyes of the deceased wolf; it had no idea how Zeno had made his attack.
Originally on its fours, the wolf let out a dying whimper before falling to the grass, lifeless. Zeno's [Tailwind] coincidentally dissipated as well.
Looking around, he was hoping that Felix would control the rest of the wolves. The plan was for Zeno to reposition himself for another leaping strike after he dealt with this one in front of him.
However, Zeno felt something was wrong as he looked over. Felix and the rest of the party were nowhere to be seen.
It seemed the remaining two wolves went in pursuit of the party when they ran, but an unusually large Grey Wolf had just entered the clearing. It was over 6 feet tall and had a little pup sitting on its back. Unusual green stripes of fur segmented across its skin like a tattoo.
Its nostrils flared as it looked at its three dead kin. Scanning the clearing, it saw a human wielding 2 bloody steel daggers. Red pupils met purple pupils, and it let out a furious roar.
"Analyze!!!"
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[Alpha Grey Wolf]
Classification : Beast King
Rank : E-
Health : 1000/1000
Elemental Affinity : Wind
[Skills]
Enhanced Bloodlust (Passive)
Sixth Sense (Passive)
Claw Enlargement (Active)
[Locked]
[Locked]
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Zeno's mind raced. 'His locked skills must be related to the wind element.' Checking his mana, he had enough to use [Stealth] to run, but if he was too slow, there was no point in running. The wolf had definitely locked onto his scent. Stealth only covered his looks, and because the wolf knew what to smell for, it was a useless attempt.
'[Void Assault] and [Tailwind] are in cooldown... I guess I'll have to hold out until they get back up.' He had quickly collected the core of the deceased wolf next to him. This enraged the alpha wolf even further, but Zeno didn't mind.
He laughed bitterly in his heart. Was his first day as an adventurer also his last? It would be Heaven's cruelest joke.
Human and beast sized each other up. Zeno flicked his daggers, removing any loose dirt and blood off the blade. The alpha wolf noticed the purple pupil in his opponents eyes glow brightly.
In response, the alpha wolf's claw began to grow, and its green fur began to glow brightly. An aura of green elemental particles began to slowly surround its body. It placed down the cub on the grass beside it and focused its full attention on the boy in front.
The boy moved first.
Zeno held both daggers in regular grip, and he angled his body low. Beads of sweat poured from his head, and the adrenaline coursing through his veins kept him focused.
Everything in Zeno's vision seemed turned to purple. He was surprised, but he had no time analyze what was happening at the given moment. He charged forward, his speed surpassing velocities he had never reached in practice.
Just steps away from the alpha wolf, Zeno barely dodged the beast's two swipes and rolled underneath its belly. Stabbing as hard as he could he blades had stopped before even touching the wolf's skin he realized his attacks couldn't penetrate the wind aura surrounding his opponent.
Rolling to the side, Zeno avoided another attack and quickly got up to his feet.
"HUA!"
Zeno charged in once more. A roar was heard around the forest. It was impossible to tell if it was a human's or a beast's.
