A Level Zero's Struggle (part 18)
When the leader shouted, the monster seemed to be amused to see its prey panicking. It did not attack immediately, observing us calmly from its position above.
The team members became panicked when they looked at the monster. They felt strange as they understood that they had become from hunters to hunted. What was the monster going to do?
By looking at the monster's pose, it was apparent that it was clearly aware of their presence from the start.
This specific monster was called Dragon Tail and not only was it extremely fast, but it had better intellect than most monsters.
Unlike other level one monsters, it was able to accurately control its body and move at great speeds. Its attacks were also extremely swift.
It resembled a giant dragon's tail.
"Move back," they all screamed together. How were they supposed to attack when the monster was right over their heads?
The level one chasers and the team leader all moved swiftly as they scattered in every direction. They had no other choice as they had been caught surprised.
Qiao also chose a direction and ran, taking Linwin along with him. What the hunters feared most about this monster was its level two agility. It was probably already on the first threshold of the level two technique- agility. Not only did monster level up like humans, but they also gained abilities and techniques that can also level up.
Usually a hunter was able to learn agility at level two peak. The skill agility allowed a hunter to react fast in certain situations. For example if a hunter sensed a quick attack coming his way, it could quickly react by twisting his body to avoid it.
Very few monsters had any semblance of intellect and they were able learn whatever they found necessary first. There was no restriction for monsters to learn a certain skill at any level while humans were bound by their levels.
This monster because of its unique body shape was able to learn agility first and now it was using it against these chasers. It could finally fend off its enemies.
The chasers were in big trouble. They had not imagined that they would find trouble again right on the next day too.
In the chaos, the team leader ran in the wrong direction, right where the monster has built its sleeping place. So, the monster left others and followed this chaser who was running towards its den.
What a pity, team leader had no idea that he has chosen the wrong direction. He was only blindly running, hoping that he could survive the monster's scary maw. But he was only running towards the danger as the monster had made him its target.
The other chasers quickly noticed the situation, unable to think how to act. But Qiao chose a different direction as he knew that there was no use to run back at the monster. The chasers were not thinking of attacking the monster and they were scared so they would not be able to save anyone in this situation.
Qiao first readied himself and took position and then rushed at the monster hoping to get its attention. He gripped his weapon hard and moved back. Someone had to assume an attacking position right now, otherwise they would only panic around, allowing the monster to hunt them down one-by-one. But together they would have a chance to hunt it down instead.
Once he had calmed down initially, Qiao quickly realized that it was only a level one monster. Since it was only level one and skilled in agility, its defense should not be too high. Even a normal level one weapon would hurt it, if it were to connect to its hide. The monster was only trying to scare them by approaching first.
Perhaps the reception man took pity on them and suggested this hunt of a level one monster. It would be more difficult if they were to face a level two monster.
Qiao was running really fast as he was already near level one. Coupled with his fast thinking and observation ability, he avoided obstacles and was soon almost near it. The monster had not pounced to kill the team leader yet and was just following him, making sure no matter where the leader went it was just behind him. It was making sure to make its prey scared to the point that it lost its spirit to fight back.
Qiao was soon near to where the monster was prancing around, chasing the leader. He held his shapeless weapon tightly as he rushed forward.
In the environment where all the chasers were screaming in fear and running around hopelessly, Qiao tried his best to focus and calculate his movements before he struck out to attack. But it was real chaos and he could not maintain focus perfectly. He slashed with his weapon as he ran past the monster, but he could not get a good hit. It only scratched it.
At that moment. the monster was little baffled. It never anticipated that someone among the chasers would attack it, someone actually not at level one.
Qiao regretted that his attack did not go well, while the also stopped chasing team leader. It roared out loud.
The weapon had scratched it long, and its skin right now was bleeding from it.
Team leader heaved a sigh and hurriedly examined the surroundings. He saw that the monster was now eyeing the one who attacked it,
"Hurry, give him cover," he yelled at his men to provide a cover to Qiao.
There was not much distance between newbie and the monster. The leader had run forward without realizing when Qiao attacked which was why he had pulled some distance.
The monster snarled as it slowed down and looked at the new prey. The other headless chasers now grasped the situation and hurriedly rushed forward. A chance had appeared and they had participated in many hunts now so they quickly started to regroup.
While this scene played out, Linwin also tried his best to be of some help. Earlier when Qiao had turned around to attack the monster Linwin had also followed him. But he wasn't fast enough to keep track and was soon left behind. But he continued forward.
As he saw the monster now targeting his friend, Linwin tried his best to reach in time. His weapon was an old rustic sword, and its level was not clear. It seemed as if it would snap on the first attack.
"Worry not brother, I am here," he came jumping but he was still slow. The chasers that had been making distance from the monster until now had came to make a wall before Qiao, a cover to not let the monster harm him directly.
They positioned themselves to react for any attack. The monster could not make a direct attack now. Finally, the situation was normal as the monster had stopped jumping and chasing them.
The leader saw the monster distracted by this sudden turn and formation, and took the opportunity to attack.