As soon as they were well and truly outside of the bounds of the safe zone, TJ activated Divine Transformation. The boost to his attributes was secondary to the ability to sense the pukwudgies' heat signatures, and they'd long learned to leverage every ability that they could to ensure their hunt was successful and safe. Stanton and he exchanged looks before Stanton signaled to the rest that they hadn't found any trace of their enemies just yet. Connor and Sarah still stood on both sides of Rebekkah, their shields hoisted high. The pukwudgies knew who were the most vulnerable humans to ambush, and they didn't hesitate to exploit that. A dead Disciple, the Participants had learned, led to many more casualties very quickly.
Stanton walked beside TJ, trusting the Neophyte's senses and control of Wind Manipulation to keep him from suffering any mortal wounds. That and his own senses honed by his Druid Occupation and his boosted Perception gave Stanton enough confidence to walk alongside TJ with minimal fear. Charlie, on the other hand, was in his hulking form. As he'd gained more levels in Neophyte and his Occupation, his attributes had grown enough that his Divine Transformation made him appear like a poor imitation of the Incredible Hulk.
The two more vulnerable members of the hunting party were covered, and they would complete their hunt. TJ wasn't the only one near that fifteenth level in his Class, with Stanton hoping to hit the level on this outing as well. Now that they were in the forest, though, they remained quiet. If there wasn't any need to draw additional monster attention, then they wouldn't. After the ten days they'd spent in the Tutorial thus far, nobody had learned if the pukwudgies only communicated through speaking and their birdlike chirps, or if they also had some magical way of communicating. After all, nobody had heard them speaking to each other except for TJ.
While he slithered forward, TJ checked his Status for any afflictions. Nothing appeared. Since the encounter with the Chindi, everyone had learned to check their afflictions regularly. That didn't change a whole lot about what they did to everyone, but that knowledge sapped some of the terror that the unknown brought. The party had agreed not to stray too deep into the forest, as there was simply too much that could go wrong too far from civilization, but there weren't any monsters close enough for them to easily pick them off to gain experience.
As patiently as he could, TJ continued walking. There was no way to say if they'd be able to find enough to get him that level, but he was convinced that once he got it, the benefits would be huge. Then, when they'd begun to worry that there wouldn't be any monsters to hunt, TJ tasted the warmth of a creature nearby.
"Stanton, there's something that way." He gestured with his head. "I think it's just one creature. Not too sure though."
The cowboy nodded to let TJ know he'd heard, then began gesturing to the others about what TJ'd found. They quickly settled into battle positions, Connor to leave his protector position and transfer to the front lines while Stanton stood beside Sarah and Rebekkah. Charlie stayed on the side, ready to intercept any ambushers, and TJ mirrored the position. Ready to make their approach, they walked forward while maintaining their formation. The source of warmth TJ had sensed was growing colder the closer they got, but he couldn't say why. Once they turned the corner, it was obvious what it was, and that they'd been drawn into a trap.
A woman TJ recognized but whose name he forgot laid dying, sprawled across a pine tree's roots. Her breaths came in shallow gasps, and blood pooled on her lips as the dying woman fought to survive. Three pukwudgie spears were buried deep in her chest, her own crimson blood staining her clothes. Rebekkah rushed to step forward, to save a life, but Stanton stopped her. Taking the hint from Stanton, Sarah raised her shield and just in time.
Their planned ambush thwarted, the pukwudgies sent a hail of javelins towards the hunting party's backline. Sarah grunted as the weapons punched through the front of the shield, but held tight even when one javelin's point scratched her forehead, drawing blood. TJ had no idea how they'd fooled his senses, but as soon as they appeared, he couldn't worry about that any more. He felt his anger surge as he saw one of the javelins lodge in the suffering woman's eye, killing her instantly.
With his heightened Fixation and Intelligence, TJ could commit to using more of his MP in the beginning of a fight than before, and he quickly sent a volley of spears of his own towards their attackers. Though he spent 70 MP, roughly one tenth of his total, on the attack, only two spears hit home. The pukwudgies had prepared for the way he could sense them, and were ready for his returning attack. As the single goblin was struck from the tree, Stanton's gun cracked three times. Each shot left a pukwudgie body falling from the treetops, but their silhouettes faded to full invisibility before either side could kill any more.
"Every time." Sarah grunted as she dismissed her shield and resummoned it a second later. Her complaints, as well as everyone else's, would have to wait, though. A wave of javelinas approached, the first TJ had seen in a day or so.
"More of these bastards." Stanton cursed. "I can't do much to 'em but I'll trip them up."
A quick Appraisal let TJ know that there was one leader type javelina in the middle of the pack while the rest were still stuck at level 9. He didn't need to tell anyone else how important it was to eliminate the leader quickly, as they had some sort of a boost that they granted to the rest of their piglike companions. Stanton jumped into action as a thick brown root burst from the ground and coiled around the leader like a snake. The rest of the javelinas continued their charge, though they were weakened the leader left their midst. Whatever the aura was it granted the others, it primarily assisted them when the creatures charged all at once. That combined with the charging attack they'd gained once the javelinas became Ironhide made for a deadly combination.
TJ rushed forward, spending over 100 MP before sending the resulting long blade at the javelina's legs to cripple the front line. There were only a dozen or so of them, so he knew this opening attack could cripple or kill at least half. Again, just like the pukwudgies, they knew what was coming and lowered their heads and allowed the attack to strike their much less vulnerable curling tusks. As his winds were rebuffed again and again, TJ hissed a challenge at the dumb beasts. Why wouldn't they just roll over and accept death? Why would they make this more difficult?
As he'd gained levels, TJ continued to grow longer and thicker as a coatl, now nearly 40 feet long and over a foot thick. Though he'd be severely wounded if he threw himself to be trampled by the beasts, with just a small amount of care, he'd be able to wreak havoc among the simpleminded creatures. He sat coiled in front of the creatures, and just as soon as they drew near, he threw himself into the air. Once he'd landed atop the javelinas, there wasn't much they could do to him.
The charging creatures split like the damned Red Sea underneath him. TJ was largely ignored and the monsters and they charged Charlie and Connor. TJ whirled to support the rest of his hunting party, but he wouldn't be able to stop the charge. Sarah used her Guard Skill and effectively teleported away from guarding Rebekkah before appearing in front of the javelinas. A massive spectral shield spread in front of the front line, and though the javelinas smashed through it, the sacrifice of the Skill slowed their charge from deadly to merely inconvenient.
Even so, TJ rushed to try to support the others. His presence would be immensely beneficial,and with his Strength being over 100 as a coatl, he shredded through the javelinas' flanks with his nearly draconic fangs. Blood splattered and flew through the air as TJ put his Shredding Bite to good use. The javelinas squealed in pain as their ambush was thwarted. TJ, Connor, Charlie, and Sarah shredded through the javelinas in no time at all, TJ taking care to dispatch the level 10. That was the moment when the true ambush made itself manifest.
Rebekkah screamed in terror and agony as another volley of javelins pierced her. She nearly died with that salvo, but was able to heal herself enough to stagger to her feet. The Disciple's MP was almost certainly drained after that, and then, TJ saw the telltale signs that sent a shiver down his back.
His breath clouded in front of his face and TJ shouted the warning, "Wendigo!"
The entire hunting party knew what that would mean for them, so they gathered around Rebekkah to carry her away to survival. With a mortally wounded Disciple, it would be beyond foolish to fight a wendigo. Its cultists, however, made their appearance before the harried humans could retreat. Another volley of spears, this time both from above as from their flanks, appeared. TJ exhaled as strongly as he could, blowing the attack away at the cost of 150 of his MP, taking him down to 376/710.
Though none of the thrown javelins found their marks, the pukwudgies were unfazed. They closed in, keeping the hunting party from making a clean getaway. Stanton's gun coughed again and again, the goblins dropping like so many leaves from trees in the fall. It wasn't enough, as the ambush had been prepared to deadly success. More pukwudgies closed in while attacking more and more, no sense of self-preservation apparent among them.
Sarah struck out again and again with her hatchet, limbs and heads flying free with every swing. Connor roared a challenge that forced attention to come to him before stomping and shaking the ground in a 30 foot radius. The stumbling monsters made for perfect targets for Charlie. He'd hefted a hundred-pound stone in each hand, and smashed them into whatever enemy entered his reach. The blood and viscera coating his body didn't seem to phase him, and the Neophyte smashed his way through every enemy that appeared. Though dozens of pukwudgies lay dead at their feet, the cultists remained at a distance while the wendigo approached.
"Pull back! Just a couple feet!" Stanton commanded and the rest listened. He leaned Rebekkah against the large tree the other woman had just died against before pulling the tree's vitality into Rebekkah. She steadied herself at that, ready to actively participate in an escape.
"It's too late, at least for now." Sarah whispered. "There's too many of them, and it's here."
At least another twenty pukwudgies still stood and pressed the attack on the beleaguered hunters, but behind them, stood the most terrifying thing TJ had ever seen.
The wendigo that stood there was at least seven feet tall, and hunched. Its skeletal head no longer resembled that of a cow. Instead, it was entirely alien, an extra pair of horns growing from just above the eyes, complementing those that curled around where its ears would be. The curved fangs that filled its mouth were all filed to points, and the bone was stained red with the blood of an untellable number of creatures.
Worse, the emaciated body of the wendigo sported spines that grew from every bone, the hooked protrusions wickedly shining in the dimming light of the forest. A thick but sparse fur sprouted from its spine and it cackled with a manic glee as it approached. Saliva dripped from between every tooth in its mouth as it spoke.
"Finally. I find my brothers' killer. You shall give me your strength."
Most chilling of all, however, was the result of the Appraisal that TJ habitually conducted on the monster.
Wendigo, 12
Though he was convinced he would die for it, this creature needed to be destroyed. TJ didn't need to look at his companions to see that they agreed, and his focus shifted from gaining a level to protecting every human in the Tutorial.