Bring the Fight to Them!

Boy began following the trail with deliberate silence as he was both listening, feeling, and smelling for any other scents as he tracked deeper into the forest.

'System, status.'

[Name: N/A

Species: Shadow Hyena

Level: 4 

Experience: 360/1000

Rank: F Class 

Aether: 430/430

Base Stats:

- Strength: 11

- Agility: 15

- Endurance: 16

- Intelligence: 14

Unused Points: 10

Traits:

@#$%&*!@$^ (?)[Locked]Aetheric Sensitivity (F)Shadow Affinity (D)Pack Instinct (E)

Skills:

Spirit Dash (F): Short burst of speed for evasion or closing distance, granting temporary invulnerability. Range- 10m. (20AP) (19%)Shadow Bite (F): Basic melee attack infused with shadow energy. Small chance to weaken enemy defense temporarily. (30AP) (14%)Shadows of the Pack (E): Summon a shadowy duplicate to confuse enemies for 10 seconds. (100AP) (0%)

Evolution Path Progression:

- Current Form: Shadow Hyena

- Next Evolution: Not Decided]

'I finally entered F rank,' he thought as a smile stretched across his lips. 

'System, what give me details of both my trait and skill rewards.'

[Pack Instinct (E):

The Strength of the Pack is what makes hyenas formidable hunters. In unity, they find their true power, making their hunts far more efficient and successful. A lone hyena may be quick, but it is the pack that ensures victory.

Grant 10% more agility and improved awareness when near allies or shadow clones.

Shadows of the Pack (E):

Summons a shadow clone of yourself that you can manipulate and control for 10 seconds. The clone contains 20% of your overall strength and all experience gained by the clone will be transferred to you upon reaching the time limit. Skill cannot be used again while active.

(Uses 100AP) ]

'Sweet… That's going to be fun to use…' he thought as he began to consider the different ways in which he could use this ability, 'I will definitely be better off now against groups.'

The fields had faded behind him into the distance and he soon found himself surrounded by a cluster of trees that loomed like silent sentinels. The air grew cooler, carrying the earthly aroma of moss and pine, as shadows began to lengthen under the setting sun.

'This place feels alive…' he thought as he made his way through. The forest here was similar to the forest in Aegaryn in the species and colours of the trees and grass but there was one stark difference.

The forest was a lot more lively than the forest in Aegaryn as his keen senses constantly were picking up on the rustling of small animals and the occasional snap of a twig. It was a stark contrast from the quieter forest where summons were afraid to bump into one another as it might mean death and their only concerns were to look for summoning circles that would spawn.

Here, it was as if everything lived how they wanted, no real objective and no summoning circle to have to scramble and fight for.

A white rabbit suddenly appear from the bushes to his right with a rustle. Turning his head, he locked eyes with that rabbit and in that instant, the rabbit fled.

'I've never had that kind of life before…' Boy pondered with slight jealousy.

Yet his focus remained sharp. Following the acrid scent of blood and musk on that wolf fur, his nose guided him forward. 

The trees thickened as he got even deeper, the gnarled branches twisting like claws that stretched towards the sky, forming an oppressive canopy. Silver rays of moonlight flickered through the gaps, casting streaks of silver across the ground.

'I think I'm getting closer,' he thought as the pungent strench of decay also joined the fray of scents. And even better, it was coming in the same direction as the scent of the blood and the wolf fur. 

In front of Boy lay a fallen log, its surface slick with dew, and in that moment, he knew he had found it.

Behind the log, the hole could be seen going down into the ground, revealing a dark narrow tunnel burrowed deep into the ground. 

Tufts of fur and scattered bones surrounded the entrance, revealing to him that he had found it. Reinforcing it was that the air here was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the musky scent of predators.

[Ding! Progress made!

"Bring The Fight To Them!"

Find clues in the sheep enclosure (Completed)

Follow the scent found on the wolf hair into the forest (Completed)

Complete "Summoner's Request" (Not Completed)

Reward: Skill Upgrade]

'Okay, now I just have to complete the rest,' Boy thought as he read through the mission beofre his eyes narrowed as he crouched low, scanning the perimeter.

The tunnel itself was wide enough for a few wolves to enter side by side but he could not see inside the den as it was perfectly covered by the canopy of trees. Nevertheless, a lively stinky musk could be smelled emanating from the hole alongside the scent of blood.

'This is their lair…' he thought and he began to strategise. 

As he crept forward, his mind raced with possibilities.

There are definitely wolves inside… He could tell as his ears were able to pick up on small sounds coming out from deep inside the den, 'Charging forward and attacking would be stupid… There are fifteen of them… How do I do this?'

A plan began to form in his head as he crawled up to the entrance of the cave.

'I have ten seconds… I need to use myself first…' he formulated, 'Okay, let's go.'

"Hya-hy-hya!"

He let out a hallowing laughter as he stood at the entrance of the den, immediately alerting all the wolves at the entrance and almost instantly, he heard a number of footsteps rapidly approaching and in that instant, he activated his new skill.

Shadows of the Pack!

A luminescent black smoke began to escape from his body and collected on his side and another hyena, an exact carbon copy of him appeared next to him. He spent a split moment to watch in awe as shadowy forms took life, the eyes, hollow and glimmering with faint light, mirroring his predatory gaze as it took over and began making noise.

As soon as it appeared, he retreated right behind the log while the clone remained there laughing hysterically.

Hearing the suddenl hysterical laughter of an animal that they had never heard before, all the wolves immediately were alerted and the stronger wolves immediately began to rush out to their den's entrance, ready to face the intruder.

As the wolves made their way out of the den, the clone immediately dashed away, in the opposite direction of where the original was hiding. 

'Sweet,' he commented in his head as he heard the wolves rush out of the den, only to give chase to the hyena.

Seeing this, he rushed forward from his hiding place and slipped into the den. And as soon as he entered, the tunnel narrowed immediately as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

As he made it in, he heard the sound of growls coming from all around his front and in about two seconds later, he was able to see the outline of multiple wolves.

Time was ticking so he did not give himself any time to admire the sight in front of him as his clone would be undone soon.

Spirit Dash!

Immediately, his marks sparked purple as a dash of light could be seen in the darkness. And the first wolf was given no chance as two rows of glowing purple teeth appeared suddenly in front of it before it lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

Shadow Bite!

[Ding! Killed a Wolf. 10 exp gained.]

Having killed one, Boy did not stop and kept going, using his two skills constantly as he killed another three in the next five seconds.

[Ding! Killed a Wolf. 10 exp gained.]

[Ding! Killed a Wolf. 10 exp gained.]

[Ding! Killed a Wolf. 10 exp gained.]

'They must be their young or old, judging from how they are unable to react to my attacks… I've only got a second more before my clone disappears and the other wolves come back to the den… I need to move fast…'

At this point, the remaining wolves began to realise that they were losing numbers very quickly and they began to huddle together.

This time, Boy charged forward but as he was about to attack, he felt a surge of memories as his clone reached its time limit and disappeared. 

The shadow clone had held the attention of the stronger defender wolves. It moved with deceptive agility as it led the predators away in a chaotic dance of leaps and lunges. 

It did look back once in time and saw that there were five wolves chasing it. They were silver-furred screatures with eyes that gleamed like hungry coals with lips that curled back in a snarl that revealed their yellowed fangs dripping with saliva.

In this small instance of distraction, one of the wolves had charged forward and managed to get a clean bite at Boy's shoulder. 

A shot of pain immediately brought Boy back to reality. In that instant, he bit the wolf that had a clean grip on his shoulder and was tugging it hard as if trying to rip it off.

[Ding! Killed a Wolf. 10 exp gained.]

'Tch' he clicked his tongue in annoyance as he realised that he would have to step it up or else it would not look good for him.

'I am not going to give up like this anymore… I am going to get stronger!'