"Before we go find the Wolf King," I said.
"We need a detailed plan."
All members gathered around.
Sat in a circle in the clearing.
"Last time we were completely suppressed."
"Had no power to fight back."
"This time we must rely on tactics."
Everyone nodded.
Last battle.
All members remembered.
That helpless feeling of being crushed.
The Wolf King just stood there.
And we couldn't move.
Then were easily defeated.
If I hadn't broken through with Spatial Dodge.
Could have been total annihilation.
I looked at Spike and Shell.
Opened their panels.
Spike: Level 23/25.
Shell: Level 22/30.
"You two are also close to your limit," I said.
"Must evolve first."
"Otherwise combat power isn't enough."
Spike froze.
"I'm close to my limit?"
"Yes." I nodded.
"Get a bit stronger and you can evolve."
Shell: "Me too?"
"Yes, you too."
Other members all looked at them.
"Should we wait?" Shadow asked.
"Won't take too long," I said.
"I'll take them hunting."
"You stay at the base."
Spike: "How long do we hunt?"
"Not too long."
"You'll reach your limit quickly."
Spike and Shell stood up.
Ready to depart.
"Be careful," Waspy said.
"We will."
Brownie: "Need us to come along?"
"No." I shook my head.
"Too many people would be inconvenient."
"And someone needs to guard here."
Brownie nodded.
"Then come back quickly."
The three of us left the base.
Walked into the forest.
Sunlight filtered through leaves.
Forming mottled light and shadow on the ground.
I used spatial perception to probe the surroundings.
Searching for suitable prey.
Couldn't be too strong.
Spike and Shell's current strength wasn't enough yet.
Couldn't be too weak either.
Too weak meant too little experience.
Needed medium strength.
Walked for about ten minutes.
I sensed a group of magic beasts.
Spike-Tail Rabbits.
About five or six.
Levels between 8-12.
Very suitable.
"Over there." I pointed in a direction.
The three of us quietly approached.
The Spike-Tail Rabbits were foraging in the grass.
Hadn't discovered us.
"Spike, you're fast, flank from the left."
"Shell, attract attention from the front."
"I'll go right."
Both nodded.
Moved to the positions I indicated.
Once all in position.
I said quietly: "Attack!"
Shell charged out.
Directly rammed into the rabbit group.
"Bang!"
One Spike-Tail Rabbit was sent flying.
Other Spike-Tail Rabbits scattered in terror.
Their reaction was fast.
Immediately fled in different directions.
Spike pounced from the side.
Incredibly fast.
Caught up to a Spike-Tail Rabbit.
Bit its neck in one go.
The Spike-Tail Rabbit struggled a few times.
Went still.
I used Spatial Teleport.
Appeared ahead of another Spike-Tail Rabbit.
Blocking its path.
"Dimensional Rift."
The rift swept across.
The Spike-Tail Rabbit split in two.
[Killed Spike-Tail Rabbit]
[Multi-kill detected, experience distributed evenly]
[Gained 35 experience]
Spike and Shell also each killed one.
Three Spike-Tail Rabbits escaped.
I didn't chase.
Enough.
Three was enough.
"How do you feel?" I asked.
Spike: "Seems I got a bit stronger."
"But haven't reached the limit yet."
I checked its panel.
Level 24/25.
Still needed one more level.
Shell was still level 22.
Needed to continue.
"Let's go, keep searching," I said.
We continued searching through the forest.
Walked a bit further.
Found several Claw Moles.
They were digging holes.
We quietly approached.
Then suddenly launched an attack.
The Claw Moles reacted quickly.
Immediately counterattacked.
But our coordination was seamless.
Quickly killed them.
[Killed Claw Mole] ×3
Spike finally reached level 25.
"Spike, you can evolve now."
"But wait for Shell first."
Shell was now level 24.
Still needed a few more levels.
We continued hunting.
Encountered a Vine Serpent.
It was disguised in vines.
Wanted to ambush us.
But was discovered by my spatial perception.
We surrounded it instead.
Killed it.
Shell level 25.
But hadn't reached the cap yet.
Its cap was 30.
Still needed to continue.
We found more magic beasts.
Vine Serpents, Claw Moles, Spike-Tail Rabbits.
Killed them one by one.
Experience slowly accumulating.
Shell's level rising.
Level 26.
27.
28.
29.
Finally—
After killing the last Claw Mole.
I checked the panel.
Level 30/30.
Maxed out.
"That's it," I said.
"Let's go back."
We returned to the base.
Other members were all waiting.
Seeing us return.
Immediately gathered around.
"How'd it go?" Horn asked.
"Both reached their limit," I said.
"Can evolve now."
Spike and Shell were both excited.
They were going to evolve too.
Going to become stronger too.
I looked at Spike first.
Opened its evolution panel.
Several directions appeared.
Pure speed type.
Attack type.
And pierce type.
I looked carefully.
Spike's combat style was rapid approach.
Then continuous attacks.
Needed speed and explosive power.
"Choose this one," I said.
"Gale Assassin."
"Suits your combat style."
Spike nodded.
"Okay."
I looked at Shell.
Opened its evolution panel.
Also had several directions.
Heavy armor type, counter type, shield type.
Shell had always been the damage-taker role.
Defense was its advantage.
"You choose Iron Knight," I said.
"Defense will be stronger."
"And can counterattack."
"Enemies who attack you will also take damage."
Shell: "Got it."
Both confirmed their directions.
Found a quiet spot.
Sat down.
Closed their eyes.
Both began glowing.
Spike was cyan light.
Shell was gray light.
The glow grew brighter.
Illuminating the clearing.
"Have to wait a few more hours," Shadow said.
We guarded nearby.
Waspy and Brownie sat together.
Shadow flew to a tree to rest.
Horn and Venom also found their own places.
I sat at the entrance.
Used spatial perception to watch the surroundings.
Time passed bit by bit.
The glow continued.
Two magic forces surging.
Reorganizing.
Ascending.
About three hours later.
The glow began receding.
Spike's light vanished first.
Its body size increased somewhat.
Fur became cyan-gray.
Limbs more slender.
Claws sharper.
Overall looked very agile.
Full of speed.
Then Shell.
Light dissipated.
Its body size grew much larger.
Armor became thicker.
Gleaming with metallic luster.
Like made of iron.
Gave off a heavy oppressive feeling.
Both completed evolution.
I immediately checked panels.
[Gale Assassin] [Spike]
[Level: 1/50]
[Experience: 0/100]
[HP: 290/290]
[MP: 270/270]
[Strength: 38]
[Defense: 22]
[Speed: 58]
[Luck: 26]
[Weasel-type magic beast that commands gale force, extremely fast, excels at consecutive piercing strikes and rapid assassination]
[Traits: Gale Constitution, Combo Mastery, Fatal Strike]
[Skills: Gale Pierce, Chain Strike, Wind Blade, Dodge (Skilled), Rend (Skilled)]
Speed 58.
Fastest among all members.
Much higher than my 37.
And had Combo Mastery and Fatal Strike.
Explosive power would be very strong.
Suitable for rapid kills.
I looked at Shell's panel.
[Iron Knight] [Shell]
[Level: 1/50]
[Experience: 0/100]
[HP: 450/450]
[MP: 150/150]
[Strength: 42]
[Defense: 52]
[Speed: 20]
[Luck: 14]
[Armadillo-type magic beast covered in iron armor, incredible defense, can curl into a ball for rolling attacks]
[Traits: Iron Shell, Defense Stance, Counter Damage]
[Skills: Iron Ball Charge, Shell Hardening, Counterattack, Defense Curl (Skilled), Heavy Strike (Skilled)]
Defense 52.
HP 450.
Pure defense type.
And had counter damage.
Enemies who attacked it would also take damage.
Very suitable as a tank.
Drawing enemy attacks.
All members had completed evolution.
Seven higher-tier magic beasts.
I mentally assessed our combat power.
Me: Dimension Walker, 2/50.
Waspy, Brownie: 6/50.
Shadow, Horn, Venom, Spike, Shell: 1/50.
Though levels weren't high.
Species strength was all high.
And each had unique characteristics.
Working together.
Should be able to handle the Wolf King.
"Now we can formulate tactics," I said.
Everyone formed a circle again.
All members looked at me.
"Listen carefully."
"This time's tactics."
All members listened attentively.
"First, Shadow handles reconnaissance."
"Use Shadow Escape to approach the Wolf King."
"Observe its position and movements."
"Don't get discovered."
"After confirming the Wolf King's position."
"Signal us."
Shadow nodded.
"Understood."
"Horn, Shell." I continued.
"You attract attention from the front."
"Use Iron Horn Charge and Iron Ball Charge."
"Don't aim to kill, just hold it down."
"Shell, your defense is strongest, take the main attacks."
"Horn, coordinate with piercing strikes."
"Deal damage to the Wolf King."
Both nodded.
"Leave it to us," Shell said.
"Venom."
Venom looked at me.
"Find opportunities to release poison mist."
"Don't need to hit the Wolf King directly."
"Just limit its movement range."
"Make it hard to breathe."
"Weaken its combat power."
"The wider the poison mist range, the better."
Venom: "Understood."
"I'll do my best."
"Spike."
Spike perked up its ears.
"You and I handle damage output."
"I'll use Spatial Teleport and Dimensional Rift."
"You use Gale Pierce."
"Find the Wolf King's openings."
"Focus attacks on the same spot."
"Preferably vital points."
"Neck, eyes, abdomen."
Spike: "Got it."
"Waspy, Brownie."
Both looked at me.
"Waspy, use Mind Control."
"Disrupt the Wolf King's judgment."
"Make its attacks miss."
"Brownie use Forest Bind."
"Limit its movement."
"Create opportunities for us."
Both nodded.
"No problem."
I paused.
Looked at all members.
"Most importantly."
"The Wolf King has a special ability."
"Makes us unable to move."
"Last time it was because of this."
"We couldn't act at all."
All members remembered that time.
That feeling of being suppressed.
"This time we must spread out," I said.
"Don't gather together."
"Reduce that ability's impact."
"Keep distance."
"At least ten meters apart from each other."
Everyone nodded.
"Got it."
"Also."
"If we can't win."
"I'll retreat immediately."
"Everyone enters the space."
"Then I use Spatial Teleport to leave."
"Don't fight to the death."
"Survival first."
Waspy: "Agreed."
"We're not trying to die."
"But to win."
I nodded.
"Everyone understand?"
All members nodded.
"Understood."
Tactical deployment complete.
Each member knew their task.
"Then rest up."
"Recover to optimal condition."
Everyone began resting.
I sat at the entrance.
Closed my eyes.
Began recovering magic.
[My MP: 180/260]
Still needed to recover some.
I used spatial perception to maintain vigilance.
While recovering magic.
Magic slowly increasing.
About an hour later.
[My MP: 260/260]
Full.
I opened my eyes.
Looked at my teammates.
Everyone had recovered.
Condition very good.
I stood up.
"Let's go."
All members stood up.
Eyes resolute.
This time.
We would win.