26. How Am I Gonna Survive?!

'Rush!'

A human-shaped blur brushes past some bushes. The leaves of the bush shake for a little while as the wind caused by the blur settles down. A squirrel-type creature pops its head out of the bush and looks around. It looks almost like a unicorn with a single horn on its head and a long puffy tail. It doesn't see anything so it goes back to munching on some berries it found.

Thu-Umph!

Suddenly the ground begins to shake. The squirrel stops eating the berries and jumps back into the bush. The ground continues to shake around it, getting stronger as time slowly passes.

Thu-Umph! Thu-Umph! Thu-Umph!

Loud stomping noises get ever closer, and the ground begins quaking. The tiny Squirrel fell from the bush and lands on the ground as a giant paw nearly crushes it. The ground shook fiercely, then as quickly as it hit the ground, the paw lifted into the air and started going out of sight. The tiny squirrel was shaking like a tree in a hurricane, more so than the bush earlier. Without moving from where it fell, the poor squirrel watched the creature slowly leave its vision. As it Watched the creature fade in the distance, the squirrel jumps up to its feet, and very shakily, walks back to the bush. It tried to go back to eating the berries, but its paws shaking makes it hard for the poor guy to hold the berries and it keeps dropping them back to the ground.

*

'Rush!'

Lance wasn't giving up, he was gonna make it to the city, one way or another. 'How much further?' With whatever beast it was that was following him, he planned on getting out alive. But even he knew that Sharna was holding him back.

'Just a little over fifteen kilometers left.' Vixen was growing worried. His speed was increasing slightly, but the monster behind them was still gaining. 'Lance, If you drop Sharna, maybe we'll have a chance while that monster....'

'NOT HAPPENING! We make it together, or not at all.' Lance wasn't gonna leave Sharna behind. Not because of the reward, but because he knew he couldn't live with himself if he let her die.

*Trling*

The familiar sound of the system echoed in Lance's head.

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Skill Mastered!

Mastery of Rush Active Skill.

Rush has evolved to Dash.

- Dash (1/5) Cost: 5 Stamina

- Increase movement speed by 30%. Target an enemy dealing 75% damage, and ignore the target's Armor Rating.

____________________

With Rush evolving, Lance's speed increased dramatically. Before he could cover under thirty meters with each use, now he's covering just over fifty every time he activated his new skill.

'We are gaining ground!' Vixen was so relieved as she watched the big shadow slowly fading into the night behind them. 'We'll make it.' She let out a sigh of relief. She fell to her ass as she let out a breath she seemed to be holding since they first heard the howl.

Sharna was slung over Lance's back, her head buried deep in his neck. "Are we safe yet?" She has her eyes squeezed tightly shut. She was shaking from the fear that they could be eaten at any moment.

"Hoooowwwwllll"

The howling was further away, but it still made Sharna shake even more violently.

"It'll be ok" Lance spoke with no emotions. He was singularly focused on getting away from the beast.

'A little more than 12 kilometers left.' Vixen kept focused as well. Getting out alive was her only concern.

'Dash!' 'Dash!' 'Dash!'

Lance was trying to increase the distance between them and the wolf following behind them.

"HOOOWWWWLL!"

The howling shook the party. It was much louder than any they heard before. Suddenly a huge black figure bolted past them. Knocking them off their path and throwing them a few feet away. In the direction of the blur, a huge wolf creature turned and skidded to a stop. Breaking trees in its way as the wolf came to a complete stop. It took one step forward and stomped the ground.

"Hooowwwlll! Grrrrrrrrrrr".

It watched the group as they slowly got to their feet. Lance was the first to get up and grabbed his swords, ready to fight. "Sharna, Run. Don't look back and don't stop!" Even if he couldn't save her himself, He would at least buy her some time.

"No! I'm not gonna..."

"Just leave! Now!" Lance's sudden surge of anger shocked Sharna she turned. and began running away. 'Good! Now, what are you?' Lance stared down the beast before him. The wolf stood at least five meters tall. It had red and brown fur covering its body. It had the telltale Saber Teeth protruding from its snout. But it only had the two. Unlike the other Alpha, he fought that had six of varying sizes.

*Trling*

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Boss: Beta Female Saber Tooth Wolf

Level: 15

Health Points: 2,489

Energy Points: 377

Stamina Points: 656

Armour Rating: 130

Attack Damage: 56 - 70

Skills:

- Dreaded Bite

- Tear the flesh from your prey with a sharp Bite. +65% to Attack

- Quick Claws

- Rip your prey to shreds with your claws. Does 6 to 8 attacks at 85% attack.

- Thick Fur

- Turn your fur into a tough leather-type hide. Adds 40 Armor Rating for 35 Stamina/second

- Howl

- Howl to cause fear in your prey. A strength check is required to cause fear.

- Call Of The Beta

- Howl into the sky to call and summon your pack from the shadows.

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"If this is a numbers game, I have a slight advantage. But this is gonna be a tough fight. Vix, I'm gonna need your help here." Lance focused. He expended over half his Stamina and he had no potions to recover it. He was far from leveling up, and to top it off, it was a Beta. The type of beast Elandra told him to run from.

"I'll watch for any stray monsters. You keep your focus here. You can count on me!" Their teamwork was progressing nicely. Even though Vixen couldn't attack, She could still keep an eye around them, and possibly help in other ways.

"Good, Then let's start! 'Dash!'" Lance launched himself at the Boss with blinding speed. 'Flurry!' He hacked away at the legs of the monster, Hoping to drop it down and get a few free hits.

"Hooowwlll" Although its legs were being assaulted, it didn't flinch. It swung its claw at Lance and sent him flying back. Then the big girl charged and bit at him. He barely had enough time to block with his swords because of the blinding speed of the beast. But blocking didn't even save him, the sheer force sent him flying again.

"Now I see why she said to run." Lance wasn't taking much damage, But he also wasn't dealing much. 'Dash!' Unrelenting he charged again and this time aimed for the weak spot he found with its kin. But before he could even reach the old girl, she swatted him away by spinning around and hitting him with her tail, sending him flying and slamming him into a tree.

"Fuck! She's tough. Did you find any weakness?" Lance was grasping for anything at this point. With this monster's speed and strength, he needed anything and everything he could find.

"She has really tough skin, Her fur is almost like it's made of steel. She's quick and agile. And on top of that, she seems to be learning. I can't find anything." Vixen was visibly upset with herself. If she can't find anything to help Lance, what good is she, or so she thought. Vixen continued to scan the old girl and find anything that could help.

"Then trial and error, And mix things up a bit." Lance ran at the Beta. As he approached, she lunged and tried to bite him again. He waited till the last possible second, 'Dash!' Leapt up and slashed the back of her neck.

'Weak point!'

'Critical!'

Lance was ecstatic, it wasn't a low number either. 'Flurry!' he continued his attacks. Stringing Flurry and dash together. Waiting each time to avoid the poor girl from being able to counter. But he forgot The Beta learns.

The big girl spins around in a circle and knocked Lance away. Smashing him into more trees.

"Hoooowwwwwllll!"

The Beta howled into the sky. Lance expected it to be the fear howl, but he wasn't afraid "Is my strength too high?" He stumbled back to his feet and got ready to charge her again.

"Hoowwwll!"

That's when he heard it, multiple wolf cries coming from the surrounding forest. , "The bitch called her friends!" Lance was gonna be outnumbered very soon. He was only able to chip away less than a quarter of her health. With the new pack on its way, he was sure to fall. "Well then, maybe now would be a good time to run!"