Party vs Pack

Yin bolted for the nearest tree, covering the distance in an instant, and was up the tree in a second or two.

At the same time, the once peaceful woods exploded with movement and barking. Wolves, nearly a dozen of them, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and it wasn't just from having snuck upon them, the blurs of movement began tens of feet away but they were practically on top of the players almost as soon as they appeared. Loran managed to analyze one just as it entered his range but didn't have time to even glance at the display before needing to evade the oncoming attacks.

Loran and Soze had just barely enough time to dodge as multiple wolves lunged at them from all angles. Even still, they felt a pull as sharp claws slashed across their leather armor. Alexx, despite only being able to see blurs, instinctually reacted to the incoming attacks, sidestepping a few of them and catching one in the jaw with a backhanded strike, easily killing it.

Yang swung out her shield and bashed one in the snout, but two more closed in on her legs, one slashed at her shin and the other clamped its jaws around her ankle. The slash tore through her armor, and her ankle wasn't protected. She felt a shock of pain as the claws left their mark and the wolf sank its teeth into her soft flesh. It wasn't as soft as the wolf expected though, thanks to the EXP from the Spined Deer Yang was able to raise [STALWART] to Lv. 10, giving her a total damage reduction of 10%. Between the damage reduction and her impressive HP, a bite that should've snapped a normal human's foot clean off could only sink halfway into Yang's flesh. Although her injuries weren't severe she nearly stumbled as she felt the wolf try to pull her to the ground; but she held her ground long enough to bring her shield down on its head, making it retreat.

The wolves backed off for a moment, Alexx instantly killing one of the wolves caused the rest of the pack to cease attacking out of fear and confusion. While this allowed the party a moment to breathe and reassess the situation, they also got their first clear look at their attackers. Just like every other animal they had seen so far, the wolves looked like modified versions of their real-life counterparts; but while the Spined Deer had been a shocking discovery, these wolves were downright terrifying.

The largest was well over three feet tall at the shoulder, the shoulders themselves were far larger and wider than real wolves, and their fur was green with random patterns of gray, almost looking like battle scars. Their forward legs were thick with muscles bulging just under the fur. They had huge, four-toed paws that looked like they belonged on a tiger more than a canine, and between each of their toes extended razor-sharp inch-long claws. Finally having a moment to think, Loran looked at the display.

[NAME]: N/A

[SPECIES]: N/A

[LEVEL]: 6

[STATUS]

{HP}: 90/90

{SP}: 90/90

[END]: 9

[STR]: 17

[AGI]: 20

[DEX]: 9

[PER]: 15

[DESCRIPTION]

The _ _ _ is a deadly pack hunter that utilizes speed, power, and intelligence. Its jaws can snap bones like twigs. It possesses a dual set of retractable and non-retractable claws on its forward paws, one for increased traction and the other for slashing attacks. _ _ _'s never move without their packs….[EXPAND]

"Loran?" Soze asked for a summary of the analysis.

"No Skills, high STR, higher AGI." He checked a few more. "Average HP is about 90."

After considering the information for a moment, Soze said "Okay, the plan doesn't change. Stay close, and don't get hit. NOW!"

"COME AND GET ME!" Yang roared.

At that moment, one of the wolves lurched forward to swipe at Loran, and he responded with his Spined Pick. The two attacks collided with each other, leaving the wolf's paw impaled on the spike. As the wolf let out a yelp of pain the others moved in to attack, the battle began in full.

Having latched onto the wolf in front of him, Loran attempted to pull it back towards him for another attack. The weight and STR difference between the two should have been too much for Loran, but the wolf moved in to bite at him at just the right time. Swinging his second pick sideways, the spike pierced the side of the wolf's skull, immediately giving it the [DAMAGED BRAIN] debuff.

'That's one dow-shit!' Another wolf slashed at him from the left, easily cutting through his light hide armor and leaving a long gash along his hip. Wincing from the pain, Loran attempted to bring his left pick down on the wolf's head, but it jumped back and the attack hit nothing but air. A blur of motion made Loran glance to the right, where he saw a wolf falling backward, having been knocked away by Yang. Just as the beast hit the ground, his pick tears through the wolf's shoulder leaving a deep crimson gash in the green fur. To Loran's surprise, the fur around the wound changed color from green to gray, and the gash began closing. 'What the hell, Analyse didn't say anything about this.'

A loud bark from his left makes chills run down his spine. Turning his attention away from the other wolf, even for a second, was a mistake. He looked back expecting to see it lunging at him, Loran is just able to recognize the wolf's claws inches away from his face before something forces the predator to the ground.

Soze had noticed the wolf mid-leap and was able to intercept it with his stone knives, stabbing it a few extra times with lightning speed when it hit the ground.

The two made eye contact before Loran saw another wolf trying to pass Alexx to attack Soze from behind. Loran took a step to intercept the beast, but before he could do anything Alexx's leg lashed out sideways.

It couldn't be considered a proper kick, he was basically just shaking his leg, but thanks to his monstrous STR it still carried enough force to knock the wolf back. It quickly scrambled to its feet when an arrow flew in from above, burying itself deep in the side of the wolf's chest. The beast's legs shook for a moment before it collapsed back to the ground, dead.

'Those two have way too much killing power.' Loran tried not to feel jealous, but it was hard in the face of Alexx's explosive power and Yin's accurate shots. Even though he knew that they were able to do these things from their real-life training, it couldn't stop him from wanting his own trump card or specialty. 'At least Soze and Yang aren't as OP as….wait, YANG!'

With the suddenness of the battle, he had forgotten that Yang could only use a shield right now, and was already heavily injured. He quickly turned to check on her, hoping she wasn't dead, but all he saw was yet another wolf lunging at him. Time seemed to slow as he felt the wolf's claws sink into his arms and shoulder, Loran could see its fangs going for his jugular. 'I know you guys are wolves, but do you have to keep going for the throat?'

Suddenly, Yang's shield smashed against the wolf, knocking it away.

"Pay attention, idiot," Yang barked without looking at him.

Though not dead as Loran had feared, Yang's injuries were insane. Most of her armor had been torn away, and while her shield was holding it looked heavily damaged. She had numerous cuts and bite marks all over her body, but her legs got the worst of it. There were too many cuts to count, the ground beneath her was stained red and there was even a small amount of bone visible on her shins.

Shocked, Loran checked her status.

[NAME]: Yang

[SPECIES]: Human

[LEVEL]: 4

[EXP]: 50/500

[STATUS]

[ARMOR]: 25

{HP}: 46.3/236.3

{SP}: 213.8/213.8

[END]: 15(+7.5)

[STR]: 12

[AGI]: 10

[DEX]: 10

[PER]: 10

[REMAINING ABILITY POINTS]: 2

[SKILLS]

[HP BOOSTER] Lv.1

[STALWART] Lv.10

[TENACIOUS] Lv.10

[DEBUFFS]

[BLEEDING]

Remaining Duration: 5 Seconds

Lose 2 HP per Second

[SEVERE BLEEDING]

Remaining Duration: 2 Seconds

Lose 5 HP per Second

[SHREDDED FLESH]

Remaining Duration: 1 Day, 23 Hours, 55 Minutes, 13 Seconds

Taking damage to the afflicted areas will impose a [BLEEDING] debuff

There was no way Yang could survive another minute of this, that [SHREDDED FLESH] debuff alone could probably kill her even after the fight. 'Damnit, we need to end this now!' He quickly scanned the area, looking for another wolf that could be killed quickly. The one he saw was moving to claw at Yang's legs, intelligent enough to knowingly provoke her injuries.

Yang also saw the wolf, but another one was harassing her from the front, so she ignored the other one, hoping that Alexx would take it out. Unfortunately, the wolf was attacking while Alexx was focused on another, allowing it to slip past.

"Move."

"What the-"

Loran activated [SPRINT] and quickly stepped past Yang to get at the attacking wolf, swinging both picks like he was swinging for a home run. The wolf was surprised but maneuvered its claws to slash at him as well as Yang. The razor-sharp claws just missed his arms but tore three deep cuts along Loran's side. Ignoring the pain, Loran followed through with his attack and landed two hits to the wolf's chest. Keeping his momentum, Loran flipped the wolf in mid-air, tossing it back slightly and stopping it from reaching Yang. The wolf was quickly back on its feet, now attacking Loran, and at the same time, the wolf focusing on Yang also launched an attack.

"Yang, switch" Loran moved to attack the wolf Yang was dealing with.

Hearing this, Yang immediately understood his plan, and swung her shield at the other wolf, just barely scraping it against Loran's head as the two moved past each other.

Loran's pick buried itself in the wolf's chest and combined with the damage from Yang's countless shield bashes, the wolf fell dead. Yang's shield slammed heavily against the side of the other wolf knocking back. The wolf quickly got back up and was about to continue its attack, but an arrow came down from Yin, easily piercing the wolf and burying itself into the ground beneath it. The wolf died in an instant.

Loran immediately began looking for another, making eye contact with one that was knocked over by something and was scrambling to its feet. Before either could take action though, a shadow appeared over the wolf, and Loran could almost make out the instinctual fear that appeared in its eyes. Alexx's foot stomped down on the wolf's back, killing it instantly as blood rushed out of its mouth from the impact.

Stunned by the gory death, Loran was forced to take a moment to breathe and realized the area had gone quiet. The entire wolf pack had been defeated.