Chapter 45: Stampede
Tyler stared down the three beasts. Their sharp fangs were fully exposed as they snarled and growled, slowly and methodically closing the distance between them.
*It's alright. Come on. You've trained for this*, Tyler thought to himself, adjusting his grip on the silver spear. I'm stronger. Way stronger than I ever was.
Suddenly, the Level 30 Gloomfang sprang forward, immediately followed by the other two. James launched himself directly toward the leader in the middle, his silver sword raised.
Tyler saw the other two wolves break off and charge straight toward him. He immediately raised his arm and threw his spear with brutal force right at the Level 14.
Before the beast could even attempt to dodge, the silver spearhead pierced cleanly through the creature's right shoulder and tore out the other side.
The Gloomfang let out a high, painful howl, its momentum crashing it into the dirt as it died instantly.
Meanwhile, James swung his sword in a heavy, horizontal arc to the left. The Level 30 wolf managed to dig its claws into the dirt, stopping its momentum just enough to dodge the strike. It backed away quickly, the sharp tip of James's sword missing its eye by a mere inch. It let out a cowardly yelp.
But the Level 22 saw an opening. It lunged straight for James's exposed leg.
Instantly, the silver spear vanished from the corpse of the Level 14 beast and materialized directly back into Tyler's hand.
"James, move!" Tyler shouted, launching the spear again.
James quickly dodged to his left. The heavy silver spear whistled past his side and sank violently into the Gloomfang's eye, the metal tip protruding out the side of its neck. A thick spray of dark blood spilled from the creature as its body went completely limp, dying instantly.
Seeing its pack completely decimated in a matter of seconds, the Level 30 turned on its heels and sprinted away into the thick brush.
"It's running away!" Tyler yelled.
He sprinted forward, rushing past James. The spear materialized instantly back into Tyler's hand, vanishing from the skull of the dead wolf. He locked his eyes on the Level 30 as it stretched the distance between them.
He stopped his sprint and raised his arm back, his new muscles bulging tight beneath his skin as he gathered every ounce of his strength. His eyes flared with a faint, sudden blue light for a split second. With a heavy grunt, he hurled the spear.
The weapon whistled metallically through the air. The wolf heard the sharp sound cutting through the wind, but it was far too late for it to react. The spearhead sank deep into the wolf's back, tearing out the front of its neck and burying itself completely into the ground.
The wolf's momentum stopped abruptly, its lifeless body pinned violently to the damp earth.
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
The translucent System panel flashed brightly in front of Tyler. He exhaled a deep breath as a soft, warm green glow suddenly emanated from his skin.
As James was jogging over to catch up with Tyler, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening as he watched Tyler's skin glow with the faint green light.
Tyler inhaled deeply, feeling the tense muscles in his body instantly relax. Even though he wasn't physically tired yet, he felt his internal energy completely replenish itself. A second later, the green glow vanished into his pores.
"Leveled up twice," Tyler muttered, a small grin spreading across his face.
"What the hell was that?" James asked, staring at him.
Tyler looked over. "I just leveled up. I told you I heal every time, remember?"
"So every single time you level up, you just... regenerate?"
"Yeah," Tyler responded.
James shook his head.* Right. He told me this when we first met. But actually seeing it with my own eyes... it looks completely bizarre.*
Tyler walked over to the pinned Level 30 wolf. Dark blood pooled across the small green patch of grass. He held out his hand. The spear vanished from the creature's back and materialized into his palm.
He stared at the weapon. "Ugh, it's bloody," Tyler muttered. The polished silver of the spear was completely stained thick with the blood of the wolves he had just killed. "What do I wipe this with?"
Meanwhile, James was still reeling from witnessing the green glow. Seeing Tyler's regeneration confirm itself right in front of him just piled onto the impossibility of the kid. James knew Tyler had massive advantages because of his System, but the sheer convenience of it was becoming staggering.
He walked up to Tyler's side.
Tyler looked down at the dead Gloomfang. "Extract!"
Suddenly, the creature's thick blue hide shimmered with a faint blue light and completely disappeared, instantly sent into his inventory. Only the raw, bloody muscle and bone were left behind on display.
James’s eyebrow shot up. "So that's how you use that skill, huh?"
"Yeah," Tyler said. He turned and pointed back toward the river where they had left the other two bodies. "I need to extract the other two."
"Right," James said.
As Tyler walked back to the other dead wolves, a thought crossed his mind. *Now that I think about it, I've just been ignoring those countless feathers sitting in my inventory. I still don't know what I can even use them for.*
He stood over the remaining two wolves and commanded, "Extract."
The hides shimmered faint blue and vanished into his spatial storage.
*Great. I have Gloomfang hides now. That means there's only one more ingredient left for the Assassin leggings.*
Watching him, James let out a quiet sigh. With this, Tyler will be able to finish quests incredibly fast. Unlike the rest of us, who have to spend an hour physically carving out the hide with a skinning dagger.
Tyler and James continued their trek, the rushing sound of the river growing louder until they finally reached the muddy banks. They stepped carefully over the wet, slippery rocks, crossing the shallow parts of the rushing water.
As Tyler’s boots hit the mud on the opposite bank, James held his hand out. "Be on guard. This side of the river is much more dangerous. It's filled with deadlier monsters."
"Got it," Tyler said.
As he stepped forward into the deeper, darker part of the forest, a heavy chill washed over him. I haven't been back here since the day I met him.
The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood up. I almost died here.
He vividly remembered the night the Shadowclaws had hunted him down and brought him to the absolute brink of death. He remembered the sheer, blinding pain, and the suffocating despair he had felt running through this exact forest entirely alone.
He shook his head violently, exhaling a sharp breath to clear his mind. It's okay. I'm stronger now.
"This way," James said, making a sharp right turn between two towering, moss-covered trees.
"Is that the way to the territory?"
"Yes," James said. "It's a little bit further in. Plus, I'm just trying to avoid the other territories on the way."
Tyler frowned. "You said you'd teach me about the territories, but you haven't yet. We've just been avoiding them."
"Don't worry, I will," James promised. "It's a bit complicated. While we're out here in the monster zones, I don't think I'll have the time or the focus to properly teach you when a monster could ambush us at any second."
"Yeah, that makes sense," Tyler agreed. He looked around the dense woods. "So what territory did we just pass?"
"Do you remember that bird-like monster that hypnotized you?"
"The Pixel? How could I forget?" Tyler asked, his face turning entirely serious.
"We just avoided their territory. It's the one nearest to the river. They like the water," James explained.
Tyler shivered slightly. Well, they kind of look like flamingos and a peacock at the same time. Like some kind of mutant crossbreed.
"Stop," James hissed sharply, throwing his arm out.
Tyler froze instantly, his heart ramming against his chest. "What?" he whispered.
"I heard something."
Tyler snapped his gaze forward.
Immediately, a thick, cream-white, completely scaleless Slither shot out from the dark bushes directly in front of them. It let out a vicious, wet hiss as its muscular body slithered violently fast across the dirt, launching itself straight toward Tyler.
Tyler’s entire body tensed. Reacting purely on instinct, he violently thrust the silver spear forward.
The heavy spearhead struck the Slither dead in the center of its smooth, eyeless head, pinning it to the dirt.
The creature shrieked, its long, white, fleshy body writhing and thrashing in absolute agony around the shaft of the spear. Its erratic, sickening movements made Tyler's skin actively crawl.
The System panel materialized just above the thrashing monster:
[SLITHER LEVEL 7]
After a few more violent twitches, the monster finally died, though its long body still moved slowly from residual muscle spasms.
With a thought, the spear disappeared from the corpse and materialized cleanly back into Tyler's hand.
"Ugh, I hate this thing," Tyler said, physically shuddering as he looked down at the pale, twitching body.
James looked at him in surprise. "Have you seen it before?"
Tyler nodded, grimacing. "This exact thing almost bit me when I was climbing down a tree once."
"You're incredibly lucky it didn't," James said grimly. "This thing is highly poisonous. You wouldn't want it touching you at all."
"I wouldn't want it touching me even if it wasn't," Tyler muttered in disgust.
James chuckled lightly as he stepped widely around the dead creature. "You must really hate it."
"It's not that I hate it specifically," Tyler defended himself. "I just don't like anything that slithers like that. It makes my skin crawl."
"Well, just pray that you don't run into the boss monster."
Tyler’s stride instantly slowed. "Boss monster?"
"Yes," James said, keeping his eyes on the path ahead. "Oh, I didn't teach you about this yet."
Tyler began to walk slower, his mind racing. "Yeah, but it's not the first I've heard of it. The System said something about a Boss Monster this morning. But what is it, exactly? Is it just a stronger monster?"
"It is," James said. "But it's a bit more complicated than that."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... how do I put this?" James paused, searching for the right words. "When monsters eat other monsters, they naturally grow stronger. And if they reach a certain rank or level threshold, they physically evolve, becoming a Boss Monster. But it differs entirely from monster to monster."
"Huh?" Tyler asked, thoroughly confused.
"Okay, take that Slither, for example," James said, pointing his sword back toward the dead creature. "It evolves into a Boss Monster, becoming what we call a Whitefang, when it reaches Level 80. That pushes it into the B-Rank tier. But those Gloomfang wolves we just fought back there? If one of them kills and eats a lot of humans or other monsters, it evolves into an Alpha, a Boss Monster Gloomfang.when it hits C-Rank, usually around Level 60."
James looked over his shoulder. "Once it evolves, it becomes the absolute Boss of its territory. That's where the name comes from."
"So... a Boss Monster is just a much stronger, evolved version of a regular monster."
"Yeah," James said. "But its physical characteristics completely change, too. The Slither, as you can see, has absolutely no eyes and no scales. But when it evolves into a Whitefang, it grows pitch-black eyes and thick white scales that can actively shift by themselves over its body. Its poison doubles in effect, becoming instantly lethal, even if it was already deadly to begin with."
"Whoa," Tyler breathed out. "They sound incredibly dangerous."
"They are," James said firmly. He focused his eyes on the dark road ahead. "Keep your guard up. We're getting close."
Tyler looked forward, gripping the smooth metal shaft of his silver spear tightly with both hands.
*The System said I have to kill a Boss Monster within two days, Tyler thought, panic warring with his new confidence. That means I'll have to actively go out and find one. But I don't want to tell James about the quest... he's just going to be worried about me all over again.*
A sharp, guttural shriek tore through the air, startling them both. The violent sound came from somewhere directly in front of them, hidden deep within the dense forest.
Both Tyler and James instantly recognized the noise. It was the distinct, aggressive call of a Hexhorn.
"Keep your head low," James whispered, immediately dropping his stance and moving silently behind the cover of a thick bush.
Tyler crouched low beside him, gripping the cool metal shaft of his spear tightly with both hands.
Through the thick canopy of leaves, they peered into a small clearing. In the distance, two Hexhorns were violently ramming against each other in the middle of a brutal brawl. Their heavy, thick hides slammed together with sickening thuds.
Surprisingly, the much larger Hexhorn, a Level 36 was actively getting pushed back by the smaller Level 25. The Level 36 dug its hooves into the dirt as it was shoved sideways. It suddenly planted its feet, twisting its massive neck, and slammed the heavy, plated side of its head violently into the smaller beast.
Taking advantage of the stagger, the Level 36 charged forward, ramming its horns directly into the Level 25's exposed flank, causing the smaller monster to crash heavily onto its side in the dirt.
*They're fighting each other?* Tyler thought, completely confused.
"They're distracted," James whispered, his eyes narrowing.
James stepped out from behind the brush. In one fluid, explosive motion, he swung his silver sword violently upward in a vertical arc.
Instantly, the translucent System panel materialized in front of Tyler's eyes:
[JAMES GRONE HAS ACTIVATED SKILL: SLASH]
A translucent, curved blade of pressurized air shot from the edge of James's sword. The invisible slash tore across the clearing and struck the Level 25 dead in the center as it struggled to stand, ccutting the beast into two separate pieces.
The heavy, bloody halves of its body flopped lifelessly against the dirt.
"Whoa," Tyler muttered, his eyes wide in absolute amazement at the sheer power of the skill.
But before Tyler could even react, James was already launching himself forward across the clearing. The massive Level 36 Hexhorn snapped its head around, its terrifying eyes locking onto James.
Tyler stood up straight, his spear ready, as the System panel flashed again:
[LEVEL 36 HEXHORN ACTIVATED: CHARGE.]
The Hexhorn shrieked, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt as it charged directly at James. Its speed drastically and unnaturally increased, closing the distance in a terrifying blur.
Tyler immediately sprinted forward into the clearing. He pulled his arm back, preparing to hurl his silver spear at the charging beast to save James.
But as he aimed, he noticed the shiny edge of James's sword. The air around the silver blade was violently distorting and rippling, exactly like the intense heat waves rising off a paved highway in the summer.
*Is he about to use his skill again?* Tyler thought, stopping mid-throw.
James planted his boots into the dirt and swung his sword in a brutal, horizontal slash.
The rippling, invisible wave shot from the edge of his blade. It was much longer this time, expanding into a wide horizontal crescent. It tore straight across the grass, aiming directly for the charging Hexhorn's legs.
The invisible blade sliced effortlessly through the monster's thick forelegs.
The Hexhorn shrieked in absolute agony as its front legs were instantly severed. Its massive body crashed down face-first into the dirt. Its terrifying momentum carried it forward, its heavy body tearing a deep trench through the earth until it slid to a violent halt right at James's feet.
Meanwhile, the horizontal slash attack continued unabated behind the beast, cleanly cutting through the thick trunks of four massive trees simultaneously before finally vanishing into the air.
"You killed it," Tyler said, his voice filled with awe as he walked toward James, stepping over the deep trench in the dirt.
"Not yet," James said, his chest heaving as he looked down at the limbless Hexhorn. The massive creature was still alive, helplessly breathing ragged, wet breaths near the tips of his boots.
James lifted his silver sword and drove it straight down, thrusting the blade directly between the thick plates on the monster's head. The steel sank deep into its skull. The Hexhorn shrieked one last time, its large body violently vibrating against the dirt until it finally went completely still.
James exhaled a long, heavy breath, pulling his sword free.
Suddenly, his breath hitched. He froze, his eyes widening in pure shock as he stared at nothing.
"What happened?" Tyler asked.
Before James could even open his mouth to answer, the glowing System panel materialized directly above James's head.
[JAMES: LEVEL 49 -> 50]
James looked at his gloved hand, squeezing it into a fist, and said, "I think I leveled up."
"Yeah," Tyler said, his words almost breathless from the surprise. "You're a Level 50 now." Tyler paused, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Wait, doesn't that mean that you're a C-Rank?"
"Yes," James said, but his voice lacked any real enthusiasm.
He grabbed the leather hilt of his sword, braced himself, and pulled the blade free from the dead beast's head with a wet squelch. He looked over at Tyler. "Can you use your extraction ability?"
Tyler hesitated. "Wait, James, what's wrong? I mean, I thought you'd be happy. You just became a C-Rank, didn't you?"
James smiled, but it looked incredibly forced. "I am happy." Yet, for some reason, his voice sounded heavy and almost disappointed.
*Extract*, Tyler thought.
The Level 36 Hexhorn in front of them shimmered with a faint blue light. Its tusks and thick hide instantly disappeared into Tyler's inventory, leaving the bloody carcass behind.
James walked around the remains, his boots crunching on the dirt. He looked over at the Level 25 Hexhorn that had been cleanly split in two across the clearing. "This one must have been an E-Rank. We don't need it."
However, the bisected beast suddenly shimmered faint blue as well, and its hide and horns vanished into Tyler's spatial storage.
Tyler looked at James and shrugged. "I'll take it. I need it for something."
"Okay," James said, his grip tightening on his sword. "Be on guard. Those monsters made a lot of noise. Some of them could be heading this way."
"Yeah," Tyler said hesitantly, raising his spear into a ready stance. He looked at James out of the corner of his eye. *Why isn't he excited about reaching C-Rank? He's stronger now. Plus, didn't he awaken a new skill since he ranked up?*
"Uh... James?" Tyler started.
He was suddenly interrupted by multiple harsh, overlapping shrieking noises tearing through the forest from their left.
They both snapped their heads toward the source. To their absolute horror, five Hexhorns were tearing through the dense brush, heading straight their way.
Tyler's eyes widened, and he swallowed hard. In the distance, above the charging herd, he could clearly see all of their levels hovering in the air. There was a huge one in the front, leading the group, a Level 52. Behind it ran a Level 34 and a Level 35, flanked by a Level 46. Trailing slightly behind the rest was the smallest of the pack, a Level 12.
*Five of them?* Tyler thought, his instincts forcing him to take a slow step backward.
"Get ready," James ordered, gripping his sword hilt tightly with both hands.
As the Hexhorns neared the clearing, a cascade of translucent System panels suddenly stacked rapidly in front of Tyler's vision:
[HEXHORN ACTIVATED SKILL: CHARGE]
[HEXHORN ACTIVATED SKILL: CHARGE]
[HEXHORN ACTIVATED SKILL: CHARGE]
[HEXHORN ACTIVATED SKILL: CHARGE]
The herd's speed drastically increased, turning into a terrifying blur of muscle and armored plates. The heavy thud of their hooves stomping against the dirt grew deafeningly loud. The ground beneath Tyler's feet started to violently vibrate. He saw the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees shaking from the sheer kinetic force of the stampede.
"James, shouldn't we get out of here?" Tyler yelled over the rumbling earth.
"No. We can't outrun them," James shouted back, his expression deadly serious as he lowered his center of gravity.
Tyler looked ahead at the wall of charging monsters, his heart ramming frantically against his ribs.
*It—it's fine*, he thought, forcing himself to breathe as he tightened his grip on the silver spear. *I'll just use the Seven Strikes skill here. If that doesn't work... I'll even use the hand cannon if I have to.*