Canine-like beasts rushed through the thickets with sharp claws and hind legs rapidly splashing at the puddles below. They were almost three feet tall, and had bare-skin, revealing feral muscle that oozed with savagery.
These couldn't even be compared to wolves in Arcadia. They were practically twice in size and looked entirely different.
The squad had finally passed the line in the Tower where their reality no longer felt ordinary.
Brita rapped her wooden staff to the wet dirt, summoning missiles made from pure light, then shot her spell towards the oncoming beasts.
The first wave of the feral monsters tumbled over, having their bodies pierced through by the devastating spell into a gush of dark blood.
Jace tried to suppress his envy for the mage.
'She must have obtained another Skill. I also wish to obliterate any monster with a single move, too.'
But for the others, they evaded around their fallen pack, and lunged forward with snarling fangs.
Klav stomped to the front, bashing his shoulder into one, flipping over the beast and succumbing it to the fate of being cleaved. Then, he loudly bellowed:
"Finally! Experience! I'm finally gaining experience!"
Heather's body was burning again, watching the droplets of rain completely dry just as they touched him. He slashed with his flaming sigil sword, cutting through any monster that came in his path, and dazed others with bullets of fire.
He, as well, shared that same sense of delight of finally facing adversaries of their Level.
And Erin loaded arrow after arrow, shooting any beasts that stumbled away from the pack before they had the chance to recover. Her arrows, however, looked to be far from typical.
The arrows tore into the flesh of the beasts, despite its short iron head, and hindered their erratic movements. It was fascinating to see that type of power stored in the convenience of her quiver.
'At least everyone has some type of gimmick now. That just leaves me.'
As Jace steadily watched the ongoing fight in front of him, he knew it felt too easy. His squad was effortlessly clearing the encounter without any real trouble. Even if the beasts fought so recklessly, it shouldn't have been this simple.
They were facing the Tower. The same forces that aimed to drive humanity to extinction.
Erin suddenly turned around, facing another layer of thicket, frozen with the same face that caught the first wave of monsters.
But Jace noticed it first. He pulled his sword into another unorthodox stance, different from how he normally stood.
They weren't fighting humans, after all.
Then another wave of canine beasts rushed through, lunging at the other exposed half of the squad.
Erin turned her attention to the flank, drawing her bow again, and yelled to the squad:
"Behind us! There's more!"
Klav understood the assignment, switching his barbaric tendencies to the second wave of monsters. While that looked to fend them off, giving them an open package of bulky meat, the front began to lack firepower.
Without their main shield for attacks, their formation could not suffice.
Heather struggled, his guard staggered behind from the force of the carnivorous beasts. He lodged his sword between the fangs of one, drifting back as another shifty one pounced from the side.
Jace jumped forward, summoning all the strength in his right leg, and drove his silver sword into that shifty beast.
As much as he hoped, the Soul did not echo in his ears neither did the monster dissolve.
'Dammit!'
He pulled away his bloodied silver sword, narrowly dodging the beast's clamping maw and swung again.
[Skill Activate: Wide Slash]
The slash gashed across its face as it sharply whined in a wince of pain. Though, this only seemed to agitate the beast further.
Jace felt his back crash into the floor, like hundred pounds of pure terror had slammed into him.
The beast had pounced, immediately shaking off the injury, and clawed violently at the pinned human.
Jace felt each jagged claw, ripping and hooking into his arms as he tried to fend its attacks from his face and neck. He couldn't throw off the mass of a beast like this, neither was there any room to swing his silver sword.
He was completely at the mercy of the Tower.
Then the beast lunged its mouth, deciding that mincing the human was inefficient.
In that split second, Jace crossed his silver sword against its salivating fangs before they would latch into his head.
He stared into the slitted eyes of the beast. A being that knew nothing but brutality, made entirely by the Tower.
The beast jerked its jaw, snarling with blood-thirsting ferocity, and didn't care if the silver blade was cutting its cheeks. What only mattered was the definite meal under it.
Jace suppressed his cries of pain, feeling his arms strain under its gnawing pressure. As its jaw snapped closer, its claws began tearing into his leather cuirass, slowly digging to his flesh.
Either it was to be ripped apart or chewed alive, one way or another, his death wouldn't be pleasant.
Then a missile made from pure light pierced through its head, jolting both of them still.
The monster toppled over, spilling blood along Jace's stunned face and mud.
The Soul echoed in his ears, assuring its death.
[Youhave slain Jackal. You have gained experience.]
Jace quickly flipped over, gaining his ground again after that horrifying experience. He glanced at Brita and subtly nodded for the kind gesture.
Brita nodded back, in a concerned face, and resumed her cast of monster-slaying spells.
The Soul echoed in his ears again.
[Congratulations, Climber Jace! You have leveled up!]
[You have 1 Soul Point remaining.]
'Wait, doesn't that mean—'
[Congratulations, Climber Jace! You have obtained a Skill!]
Before he could grasp the changes of his Soul, Erin's voice shouted at him from behind.
Jace turned, instinctively raising his silver sword in defense.
Another Jackal lunged too fast for him to react, closing its jaws on his left forearm.
Even if his leather bracers protected him from the Jackal's fangs by a few centimeters, it didn't hurt any less.
Jace gritted his teeth, shoving his silver blade into the throat of the rabid monster.
A monster was still an animal, any attack towards its vitals would cause serious damage.
But the Jackal continued to bite down only deeper, shaking him around violently, and thrashing its prey before death.
Then it sharply whimpered, releasing its deathly grip on his arm and growled back, trying to find the new source of pain.
Another arrow whistled, inflicting another unnatural wound by its iron point.
The Jackal reeled back, losing its strength and mental capacity to identify the danger.
[STR: 4 > 5]
Jace dashed towards the monster, raising his only intact arm in the air.
[Your Soul strengthens…]
He flashed his silver sword.
[Skill Activate: Wide Slash]
Jace drifted with his momentum before slipping on the mud. He spun around and watched the Jackal collapse, dissolving into the golden mist like he remembered.
[You have slain Jackal. You have gained experience.]
The remaining Jackals cowered back, seeing their pack had failed to dominate the squadron of Climbers.
Erin hurried over and crouched beside Jace, studying his injuries before turning her attention back at the strange behavior of Jackals.
Even the other members of the squad looked in question as well, wondering in their minds if these monsters were really sentient enough to know retreat.
Heather shouted at them, full of confidence and ego, flourishing his blazing sigil sword.
"Come on, beasts, is that all you have?! I'm starving for more experience!"
Klav did the same, resting his great-axe on his shoulder, and shouted insults that Jace refused to translate.
Then the Jackals combined their howl, a loud and eerie call for all of the wildlife of Verdant Maw to listen.
Jace admitted it was more than unnerving, hearing their voices distort and twist at random like a horrifying chorus.
A few seconds later, the Jackals dispersed, leaving the fallen pack to dissolve into the Void. After that, the Verdant Maw became quiet with only their panting voices and small rain.
Erin slung her grimy bow around her shoulder and crouched next to Jace. Her voice was expectedly worried.
"Jace, you're—I thought you were dead."
Jace pushed himself up with his elbow, sitting over just enough to avoid her eyes. He said back:
"It could have been worse."
"I thought I could stay with you, but these Jackals pushed me apart."
He weakly pulled his torn left arm into view, as if he was presenting a trophy.
"No kidding, look at this—"
"Oh, gods! Brita! Come over here!"
'Crap. Maybe I shouldn't have shown her.'
The squad came over to Erin's voice, and of course, found Jace with the only major injuries in the squad.
Heather had a few, but it was only for him to scoff about how his Soul would repair them on its own.
Klav had more, seeing he was a walking target of meat for Jackals. Though, it wasn't anything too alarming for a potion to fix. Knowing his STR and END stat were continuously receiving Soul Points, a scratch felt pedestrian to him.
'Now that I think about it, maybe investing that Soul Point into STR felt too desperate. I guess I really wanted that kill.'
Erin and Brita were fine, protected by the real competent Climbers of their squad.
Before Brita could kneel beside Jace and administer her healing spell, Heather pulled her away. He scolded her directly:
"Were you trying to heal Jace, really? What's the point of using my expenses for potions if you're just going to spend your spells like that?"
But Brita pulled back her arm and said back angrily, catching the squad by surprise:
"Look at him! Do you really think a potion could fix that?"
The squad stared at Jace and his mangled left arm. Jace waved it again, like he was puppeteering a pitiful show for his members.
Heather smacked his lips, burning with more frustration. He argued back:
"That's the whole point of it! Potions are engineered to fix HP within the Soul! Don't waste your damn mana on him!"
"I have enough mana, Heather, let me do my job in the squad, isn't that what I'm here for?"
"You're here to help us, not him."