Few hours earlier...
Gently placing a hand on the ground, his fingers brushing against the blades of grass, Felix closed his eyes as he subconsciously activated an Attribute.
[Flora Echo has been activated.]
Upon hearing the soft, monotone whisper of the system’s notification, a stream of information suddenly flowed into his mind, enabling him to not just see, but also feel as the roots beneath the ground spread seamlessly like an underground network, relaying information to one another like some sort of hivemind.
Permeating through the roots, the subtle vibrations above the ground spread through them, creating the illusory image of a black-and-white world around him. A sight that always left him in awe whenever he activated the Attribute.
The monochromatic view stretched further and wider than the eye was capable of seeing, enabling him to ‘see’ far beyond normal limits.
Focusing his mind forward and passing through the long stretch of dense forest ahead, he found that there wasn’t anything posing a significant threat in the direction they were headed.
“It’s clear.”
Nodding upon hearing Felix’s report, Hans casually replied while staring at the dense forest before them.
“Good. Then we’re good to go for now. We can check again later, so you don’t need to exhaust yourself too much.”
Adhering to Hans’s advice, Felix withdrew the Attribute, his perception returning to normal as he did.
Upon returning his awareness to their surroundings, he picked up on a subtle movement behind them.
“Hmm?”
Noticing his confused expression, Hans inquired.
“What’s wrong?”
Not replying immediately, Felix focused his mind in the direction of the disturbance instead.
The movement was so subtle that it was barely noticeable, something he wouldn’t have spotted with his eyes alone.
However, with the Attribute active, it was impossible to miss.
Some distance behind them, two tall plants stood motionless.
At a glance, they looked like regular overgrown shrubs.
However, something distinct about them stood out to Felix.
‘They’re alive!’
Contrary to the monochromatic stream of information surrounding him, the ‘shrubs’ stood out distinctly. A reddish hue gleamed subtly at their cores in his perception, a trait unique only to living creatures within the Attribute. Plants glowed green instead, indicating that they were alive, yet mostly dormant.
The red glow signified hostility.
“We’ve got company.”
Finally replying to Hans after confirming his suspicions, Felix spoke.
Frowning slightly upon hearing this, Hans asked,
“Could you describe what they look like?”
Listening to Hans’s question, Felix described them, mentioning the thorn-like branch horns with leaves protruding from them, alongside their other distinct features.
Hans’s frown deepened slightly at the description.
“Judging by your description, they’re most likely Thorn Howler scouts. Individually, they’re nothing more than weak Grade-10 or Grade-9 Monsters at best. But due to them often travelling in large packs, and the possibility of there being an Alpha among them, their threat level is usually raised significantly higher.”
Recalling the ranking system upon hearing Hans’s explanation, Felix remembered that a Grade-10 Monster roughly possessed the strength of an F+ Rank, while Grade-9 and Grade-8 Monsters were around E-Rank and D+ Rank respectively.
Inquiring upon hearing Hans, one of the others in the group asked.
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we just kill them now and get it over with before they relay our position to the rest of their pack?”
Shaking his head at the suggestion, Hans replied.
“Bad idea. Thorn Howlers are incredibly intelligent Monsters. So it’s highly unlikely the rest of their pack doesn’t already know about our existence. The scouts are more of a way to assess our overall strength and determine who among us is the strongest. Once they do, they’ll isolate that person from the rest of the group while slaughtering everyone else one by one, saving the strongest for last before overwhelming them with sheer numbers.”
Cold sweat washed over the group upon hearing this.
Meanwhile, Felix, realising how oddly specific Hans’s description of their hunting methods was, wondered how he had come by such information. Whether it was through the guild, or...
Interrupting Felix’s train of thought, Hans added after noticing the group had become visibly uneasy from his description.
“But don’t worry. Though they might be smart, and fighting them head-on usually isn’t an option due to how coordinated they are, especially under an Alpha’s leadership, if we can disrupt their flow by luring them into a trap and limiting their escape routes, the threat they pose should lessen significantly if executed properly.”
A smile appeared on his face as a sudden thought crossed his mind. His eyes briefly glanced toward Felix, then toward the Vice-Leader standing some distance away from the group, seemingly uninterested in their discussion.
“And I might have just the right plan for the job.”
.....
Trapped between the approaching figures of Hans and the Vice-Leader, the Thorn Howlers found themselves cornered with their backs against the trees.
Noticing this through his still-active Attribute, Felix detected a subtle shift in the Thorn Howlers’ demeanor.
Upon realising they were cornered, Felix could’ve sworn he saw smiles appear across their jagged faces, their parched lips curling upward within his perception. But the change was so sudden, and so unnatural, that before anyone could react, the remaining Thorn Howlers all arched their backs, their heads hurled toward the moon.
What followed was an ear-piercing howl that caused the entire forest to tremble ever so slightly.
Silence returned soon after the Thorn Howlers stopped howling, but it didn’t last long.
Feeling the ground trembling more violently than before, while also noticing the drastic change in the Thorn Howlers’ demeanor, which had shifted from a defensive stance to a more aggressive one, Hans had a foreboding feeling as he shouted toward Felix.
“Hey, kid! Looks like we might have to go for Plan B!”
Upon hearing Hans’s words, cold sweat trickled down Felix’s spine.
Plan B was arguably the worst-case scenario should Plan A fail to finish the job. Which meant the Thorn Howlers were being coordinated by an Alpha.
Which also suggested that the pack’s size far exceeded what they had initially anticipated.
And judging by the absurd number of Thorn Howlers now surrounding them, well over forty and counting, Felix realised this was most likely the case.
Snapping his eyes open as he cancelled his Attribute, Felix quickly took a defensive stance alongside the rest of the group, who had now risen from their feigned sleeping positions as well.
Preparing to face the overwhelming number of Monsters surrounding them, a single thought echoed through Felix’s mind at the sight before him.
‘Shit!’