The three were hidden behind a tree with their stat mode on. They were just outside the village watching a small group of 4 level 30 rotted deer wander about, grazing.
Their fur had turned a dark black, almost charred in appearance and their eyes, like Neya's, were red. They weren't mutated like her, so aside from their fur and eyes, they appeared to be normal, not growing extra limbs like Neya had on her head.
The group knew better though.
"They're only doing this out of habit. If they see us, they will attack," Viktor warned Mana as he studied them from afar. He wasn't worried about himself, they were over 40 levels below him, but he needed her to get the fighting experience.
Viktor turned his head to look at her to be sure she was ready; Fluffy in her backpack. His eyes were quickly drawn to her wrists, "I see you finally figured it out."
"How did you know?" Mana whispered back, "and why didn't you tell me!?" she snapped, quietly.
"Well, I thought you were just showing off, honestly. How else do you think melee attackers sheath their weapon? If they had to go around wearing weapons 24/7 do you really think it would be a popular weapon choice?" He gave her a nearly condescending look. Mana clinked her bracelets together, causing them to nearly instantaneously turn back into her knuckles.
"Mock me again, I dare you," she warned, only half-jokingly. He brushed her off nervously. She was so much lower than himself, but mytho tier is scary no matter what level it was; especially being handled by someone who didn't even know how to sheath them.
"I'll help you with the bare minimum, but you need to kill them," he told her before turning to Fluffy, "take care of her?"
"Roorf," he barked in a mono toned voice while looking Viktor in the eyes with a look of boredom.
He may only be a cat, but it was obvious he had been on quite a few adventures himself; he was level 30.
Animals didn't typically level unless they turned rotted and gained 10, but gifted creatures did.
Mana straightened herself up, readying her weapons. As she tried to calm her nerves, she began to feel a strange power being added to her. It wasn't evil; it was empowering her.
"Is this you, Fluffy?"
"You really thought my bark was just for show?" He hissed. "If you've already forgotten, each meoh I do, gives a burst of healing, but reduces my magika greatly; otherwise, it's a steady heal. My bark does the same, but with attack power." He licked his paw, "and you're supposed to be a heroine? Maybe I was mistaken."
Mana rolled her eyes, "thanks," she simply said before darting out from behind the tree to face the demonic-looking deer, nearly giving Fluffy whiplash.
The 4 rotted beasts looked at her simultaneously, licking their lips in ravaging desire for a juicy meal. She had to be quick, rotted prey turned predator was still prey to others.
"Don't forget the heart," Fluffy reminded her, as he infused his front paws with a bit of his magika. He then painlessly attached himself to her to send direct links of healing and power to her instead of as an aura, and to keep himself from falling.
She took a small breath, before taking off towards them, her agility amplified by her weapons; her body was numb to limitations as she closed the couple meter distance to the first one in less than a second.
She raised her right fist as she charged, stopping at its side, immediately sending a fist through its shoulders. The other deer looked on in disbelief, trying to register what had just happened before running a few feet away to process the danger.
"Fuck yeah," she whispered to herself as she gained 4,590 XP. Only 47,910 XP left, she read with her stat mode. If she was going to be forced to fight to keep people from experiencing a life like hers, she might as well relish in the satisfaction of 1 less rotted creature.
3 to go.
She removed her hand from the deer's shoulders, tearing out its heart in the process, before destroying it with a powerful squeeze, popping it like a bag, as blood squirted out haphazardly.
Then it hit her. This was the first kill she was able think about of what just happened. She wasn't fighting for her life this time, and she felt cool practicing, but her stomach was not.
She hunched over quickly and began to vomit. Fluffy, now facing one of the deer, started to panic as the creatures took advantage of her situation and charged at her full speed.
The ravenous deer began to let off a howl like sound as they charged, and Fluffy meowed to switch to heals anticipating the next attack.
As one of them leaped towards her, she peered at it out of the corner of her eye, unable to protect herself.
The chain of Viktor's flail emitted a high-pitched sound that pierced through the howls of the monsters. It wrapped around the deer's neck mid-air, halting it immediately before causing it to crash to the ground with a hard thud. 646 damage. He walked over to it as it lay on the ground reading its stats with his enhanced stat mode from his emblem's effect. It had a stun debuff; it wasn't going to move for a moment. The other deer were, despite being rotted, staying back. They still recognized the danger.
"I'm not going to let you die," Viktor said, yanking his weapon back, causing the deer's neck to detach, killing it instantly. "Now it can rest," he remarked as he shook the blood from his weapon. "Now you have two. That's all you."
Mana wiped her mouth with the back of her arm. "Alright," she choked out through dry heaves, "thanks." Viktor stepped away again, almost like a referee as he watched on, prepared to step in if needed. "You ready, Fluffy?"
"I've been ready, I should be asking Mana that question," Fluffy snapped; he was annoyed with her, and he was not afraid to show it.