Level Up

White Branch Village was not that big, but it still had a considerable size. Most houses were simple, tiny, and made of wood.

People there worked with animals and farms. So, the outskirts of the village were basically huge plantations.

The look of concern was evident on everyone's faces. Wolves were constantly attacking their sheep, cows, and all animals they could find.

Damon and his party walked through a muddy road, leading to a forest just outside the village. That was the place where the wolves lived.

They weren't alone, as other parties and solo players were leaving the village, looking to complete the same quest they had.

It was total chaos, and even Damon knew that the best thing to do was rush and leave that area as quickly as possible.

After walking for some time, they reached the forest, but before they went in, Damon asked for his party to wait.

"I'll cast a buff on us that lasts 10 minutes, so we can grind more easily."

"Whoa, that's my bro. Buffing us while being only level 1, a true god."

Damon cast the Weak Protection buff, increasing their armor rates by 5 + FTH. He had 6 points in FTH, so his skill was increasing everyone's armor rate by 11.

Speaking of armor, Damon only had a basic cleric robe, boots, an iron dagger, and a talisman.

Usually, Damon would not attack using his dagger. The talisman was his main weapon and the one he needed to cast his spells.

Henry was wearing a shirt, trousers, and a pair of boots. He also had an iron sword and a small shield.

Rebecca also wore a robe, but it was slightly different from the one Damon wore. She carried a scepter as well, which was used to cast her spells. Shawn had similar clothing to Henry's and had two daggers hanging on his waist.

"Before we go in, let's set our formation. Henry goes in the front, me and Rebecca behind. Shawn can circle the enemies and attack from behind."

Without everyone noticing, Damon was starting to become their leader. And, after blessing them with a buff, everyone had a good impression of him.

Healers were, after all, rare. Parties tried their best to take care of the support.

Shawn pointed at the forest, and said, "Alright. Let's go and kill these monsters!" They went inside the forest, following the formation Damon set moments ago. It took them less than 3 minutes to find the first wolf.

[Blue Furred Wolf]

[Level: 1]

The wolf looked similar to a normal wolf all of them knew, except for the blue fur and the red eyes.

Henry was the tank, so he was the one calling out to the wolf to taunt him.

The wolf roared and pounced on Henry as soon as it entered its attack range. Henry was expecting that, so he raised his shield, blocking the upcoming attack.

Damon took a quick glance at the party menu and saw that Henry only lost 5 HP after that. That was because of the block skill he used.

A healing spell was not necessary yet, so Damon only focused his attention on coordinating the party.

"Rebecca cast your spell now. Shawn, take that opportunity to strike from behind and kill the wolf." Damon was experienced when it came to leading others. He had, after all, an army of demons. It was all in the past, but Damon still knew how to command others.

They did not know why, but they trusted Damon's judgment. They had just met, but still, he talked with so much confidence it was hard to believe his decision was not the right one.

Rebecca cast a spell everyone knew and loved, the old fireball. A small ball of flame flew toward the wolf, hitting him.

[20 DMG]

After the wolf got hit for the first time, it was now possible to see his health bar. The wolf only had 35 points of HP, which was not that high.

Shawn was already circling the enemy, making sure to use the trees and the bushes as cover.

The fireball impact made the wolf fall, and Shawn took that chance to attack from behind and kill the wolf for good.

[Critical Damage]

[40 DMG]

The wolf was dead, and all members of the party got the same notification.

[+2 EXP]

"Good job guys," Damon said.

The others gazed at him, smiling. Henry even went and hugged him again.

"Bro, I just met you, yet you're so cool. Please be our leader, as we are not that good when using our brains." \

"Humph. Speak for yourself, Henry. I'm not dumb." Rebecca shrugged her shoulders.

Shawn laughed watching that, but he also felt Damon was good as a leader.

"Let's go find more of these wolves guys."

The forest quickly turned into a battlefield, and lots of parties hunted the wolves.

After the first successful fight, Damon and his friends decided to try and take more than one wolf at a time.

Henry blocked the first attack, just like before, but it was not possible for him to block the next, as the skill had a few seconds of cooldown.

[-13 HP]

The second wolf bit him on the leg, chunking away 13 points of his health bar.

Damon was right behind, and quickly cast his healing spell, restoring 16 points of Henry's HP.

It meant that as long as Henry blocked one attack, and Damon had enough mana, they could take on two wolves with ease.

They kept doing the same strategy as before, with Rebecca using her spells from afar, and Shawn attacking from behind to finish the wolves.

It was harder for Shawn with two wolves, but he still did his job flawlessly.

[+2 EXP]

[+2 EXP]

Henry sat on the ground, and said, "That was intense. Hey, Damon, thanks for the healing."

"You're welcome."

Damon thought about taking on three wolves at the same time, but it was not possible for them just yet. Not that Henry wouldn't be able to tank the wolves, but Damon and Rebecca would probably run out of mana.

They stuck with two at a time, and rest between fights to restore their HP and MP.

Time passed quickly, and they spent one hour and a half killing all the 50 wolves needed for the quest.

[Level UP]

All of them turned level 2, and Damon was almost sure they were the first in White Branch Village.

The quest was over, so they all went back to the village.

Little did they know that someone was already spying on them…