Inside a large forest filled with massive trees, there stands a large group of people wearing military uniforms.
Leo, as well as the other trainees, had arrived at the forest moments ago. They had exited their carriages and were waiting for the rankers to finish discussing how everyone would spread out through the forest.
After a discussion between the rankers and their guides, a decision was made. The rankers would head out in 5 different directions while the other trainees would wait an hour before following.
This arrangement allowed the rankers the first opportunity to find and hunt monsters, as well as minimize the danger for the other trainees.
If a strong monster appeared, then the rankers would be the ones to run into it. They have the best chance of surviving an encounter with a stronger monster and so this was the main reason for this arrangement.
Leo and his group, now including Nila, were currently walking through the forest in search of something to hunt.
Nila wanted to walk at the front of the group in case something surprised them and Leo wasn't concerned about where he stood. Using Aura, Leo could sense anything that came near them before it reached the group.
Due to this, Leo opted to stand at the center of the group. This was everyone's first time hunting a monster and so they were extremely nervous. Nobody spoke for over an hour as they walked through the forest while keeping their eyes open for any movement in the bush.
After searching for so long and finding nothing, Leo couldn't take it anymore and spoke up "Everyone stop." Leo voiced out loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone stopped and turned to face Leo "What is it?" Nila asked with a concerned look. She thought he had spotted a monster nearby.
"Walking around aimlessly is pointless. I have a way to find out the location of the monsters and I'm going to use it now." Leo declared. He didn't give anyone a say in this matter because in his mind it didn't make any sense for him to let things stay this way.
Leo closed his eyes and used Pulse. A wave of blue energy spread through Leo's legs, along the ground and away from the group in every direction.
The guide that had come with them was standing about 50 meters behind the group. Leo could sense that he was there because of Aura but otherwise they were completely silent and unseen.
The others had never seen Leo do this before and other than Nila, everyone knew Leo could sense movement around him. Nila was concerned for a moment when the energy spread along the ground, but since no one else seemed worried she was able to stay calm.
After a moment Leo opened his eyes and turned a bit to the right of where they had been going previously.
"I've found one." Leo said as he started walking in the direction of the monster he sensed. The others followed behind Leo and with him becoming the person in front of the group, Nila moved to the center.
After another 10 minutes of walking, Leo stopped moving and gestured for the others to stop next to him.
"The monster is just up ahead." Leo stated while pointing in the direction he was referring to.
"Alright, you guys can just leave this to me!" Cain exclaimed while charging forwards.
"Don't be stupid, Cain!" Clay shouted out, but it was pointless. Cain charged through the bushes in front of him and could immediately see the monster in a clearing ahead of him.
The monster looked like a large wolf that was about 1.2 meters tall. Its legs were shaped like that of a bear rather than a wolf and its head looked like a ram with horns on its head.
Cain charged forwards at the creature who was currently facing away from him. He pulled out his hammers and lightened them and himself while he jumped into the air.
As he reached the height he deemed right, Cain increased the weight of himself and the hammers and fell towards the monster with his hammers swinging down at its head.
'I've got you now!' Cain shouted internally as his hammers were about to make contact. Just then, the monster turned towards Cain and jumped. It had moved so fast that Cain didn't have time to react.
The monster slammed its head into Cains's chest and sent him flying backward and into a nearby tree. Cain wheezed as he was hit and blood burst out of his mouth.
The monster landed on the ground and let out something of a mixture between a roar and a high-pitched squeal. The rest of the group arrived in the clearing the monster was standing in and could see Cain landing on the ground near the tree he slammed into.
"Cain!" Clay shouted out with concern as he ran towards Cain who was no longer moving. Leo reached out and grabbed Clay on the shoulder. "Wait, we need you in this fight."
Ding*
(Sudden quest: Kill the uncommon tier Monster)
Leo saw the message and immediately went into action preparing the group to fight.
"Rene, do what you can to heal Cain." Leo ordered and Rene immediately took off running towards Cain.
"John, while Nila, Clay and I are fighting this thing, I want you to use your barriers to protect Rene and Cain if it gets passed us." Leo said.
"Alright, I'll do my best!" John replied as he followed after Rene.
Leo looked at the monster and spoke "The three of us will handle the monster until the others can join the fight, if we can defeat it ourselves then that's what we'll do."
Clay and Nila nodded in response. Leo and Clay then charged the monster, with Leo going to its left and Clay it's right. Nila stayed where she was and shot a beam of red energy at the monster.
Leo and Clay were at the sides of the monster now and both rushed forwards to attack. The red beam slammed into the monster's head and pushed it back slightly.
Clay increased the size of his right arm and threw a punch forwards at its side as the beam finished colliding with its head.
Bam!
Clay's fist slammed into the monster hard and pushed it to the opposite side and away from himself. Leo channeled his energy into his fist and threw his punch towards the side that's opposite what Clay had just hit.
The monster saw Leo coming and turned its head towards the side, allowing Leo's fist to slam into the front of its head.
Bam!
Just like with Cain an impacting noise was heard and the creature was pushed away from Leo.
Leo and Clay both backed up a little to see how the monster would react to their attacks. The monster stamped its front legs on the ground and roared again.
"Kreeeeeggghhhh!! "
The three who had just attacked could see the damage they had done to the creature and it was underwhelming. The only attack that seemed to deal any damage was the punch from Clay.
"This is going to be harder than I thought." Leo said with a surprised and worried look on his face.