Chapter 9

The caravan suffered a tense standoff as wolves patiently circled the periphery. Exill was exhausted but couldn't stop shaking as adrenaline surged through his body. He wasn't the only one. Everyone was tired and ready to drop, they didn't have the energy to stand hours on end against an unyielding predator.

Verill rubbed shoulders with Exill, spear braced with one hand. A tired whisper floated over to him, "Hey, form a party with me."

Fumbling with his spear, Exill hastily accepted Verill's handshake. A prompt appeared in his mind,

[Would you like to form a party?] Y/N

Exill confirmed the selection and was greeted with a familiar sensation. He didn't need to look to know where Verill was. He could also feel the surface emotion from him, a fatigued, steely resolve.

'If I could feel his emotions, he should be able to feel mine in return…' He was taken aback by the sudden revelation. What kind of cowardly emotions would Verill sense from him? Reinforcing himself through the Hunter's courage, Exill tried to emulate his steely resolve, succeeding to some extent.

A hint of warm pride suffused through their link as Verill recognised his effort. Despite how tired he was, Exill drew strength from the indirect encouragement. He was quickly shaken out of his thoughts as a voice sternly called out,

"Alright lads, this looks like it will take a while. When you feel a tap on your shoulder, slowly retreat backwards, and take a rest for an hour. We will rotate duties."

Exill waited for what seemed to be forever, but no one tapped his shoulder. He resigned himself to his duties and faced off against the wolves.

***

It was in the early hours of the morning. Exill was on the frontlines after having rotated twice throughout the night. To keep himself awake, he experimented with the new party system, surprised to find that if he concentrated, Verill's Card could be viewed in his mind's eye.

[Verill of Draughton / Age 24 / Race: Human / Hunter lvl 38 / Forager lvl 27]

He was surprised to find that partying with a human imparted minor racial bonus to Vitality [HP] for all members. Furthermore, he was thrilled to find that party member's jobs could be reassigned remotely, which he quickly undid in case Verill noticed.

Exill was lost in thought when the first wolf leapt into attack.

"Attaaack!" Someone to his flank yelled. Defenders around the periphery were caught off guard as the wolves charged without warning. Exill was frozen in shock to find a vicious snarling wolf manoeuvring between the stakes to attack him!

He instinctively lunged forward, managing to graze the shoulder of the wolf, causing it to yelp away in pain. Verill could be sensed to his left, repeatedly lunging with one arm to keep his opponent at bay.

Only a few seconds had passed but he felt relief as others leapt up from their rest schedule and joined the ranks, bolstering the defensive line. They managed to pressure the wolves away and the two sides entered an uneasy deadlock.

No one knew exactly how long this stalemate held, but it was broken when horns could be heard from the military depot and the sound of beating hooves in the distance. The wolves hesitated before turning tail, fleeing deep into the forest.

Exill, Verill and everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The area around them wasn't safe but their limbs were too weak from adrenaline fuelled strain for hours on end.

"You did well, little brother." Verill clapped him weakly on the back, his arm feeble from wielding the spear single handedly. Exill grunted in response, collapsing on his rear due to exhaustion. He stared at the patch of dirt near his feet dumbly. They had survived another night.