n

n

nAfter a moment of silence, Eldrian asked,

"When is it supposed to appear?

" He felt just waiting until then was a bad call.

nJohn turned to him, seeing the impatience he felt like sighing. It was a clear error in most newbies, where they would overestimate themselves and those around them. John did not want to try and explain this to Eldrian, but he remembered he never asked for his name.

n

"What is your name friend?

"

n

"Ah, Haru...

" Eldrian answered, thrown due to the sharp change in conversation.

n

"Just wait Haru, you do not understand how tough the fight will be.

"

nEldrian complied as he did not want to force the issue. He did understand being fresh for the fight would be far better, but he already felt fresh. He did not like sitting back while so many others fought to the death. The entire situation irked him.

nA few seconds later the Archers joined the fray, most of them directly charging into the melee. Going to support those who were having a hard time, while the others split to try and kill the lone beasts.

nA few of the archers stayed back, coming towards Eldrian, John, and Vivian. Confused Eldrian looked at them, unsure why they did not just charge into the fight.

n

"John, why are you waiting?

" One of the archers stepped out and asked. He was wearing what looked like classic leather armor thieves would always use in games. His brown hair fit well with the dark brown leather.

nHe had no bow or quiver on him, since they had all dropped it before they had come over. But on his back, he had a longsword, while two daggers were on his sides.

n'Smart, a long reach weapon for when you have space, and the daggers for when you don't.' Eldrian thought as he saw the guy's layout. Adding the bow then it was very near to what Eldrian was planning on.

n

"Ah, Jack nice to see you. We are waiting for an Alpha to join the fight.

" John replied.

nHearing the reply the Jack guy frowned.

"How strong a group?

" Jack asked.

n

"From the report around 16 Betas are with the Alpha. Naturally, its normal underlings will also be there.

"

n

"We'll stay to help, I feel like you are going to need it.

"

n

"Do you have any arrows left?

"

n

"No, but I should be able to get a few. My sword skills aren't too bad either.

"

n

"Well I am glad you offered, it will help,

" John said as he indicated to Vivian and Eldrian.

n

"Ah, was that your plan. How desperate are you?

"

n

"Wait, what?

" Eldrian asked, confused why it was desperation. He had thought it would be an easy time.

nAt this time a new group of monsters arrived, charging towards the formation. The group of beasts charging was around 200, all of them Direwolves. Seeing these monsters charge them Eldrian gulped, 'Can this just stop happening...'

nThe appearance of the new group made Eldrian's question simply disappear. But he also did not care anymore.

nLooking at the group he saw 14 Betas, or rather there were 14 beasts just a bit bigger than the one they had faced. Leading these beasts was a massive black beast.

nLooking at it Eldrian immediately knew it was the Alpha. The Alpha was so tall that its head would reach Eldrian's, making it possible to look it straight in the eyes even when it was standing on its four legs. It looked more like a bear than a wolf. But its body was still shaped like a wolf's, giving its massive form a strange agile look.

nThe other interesting characteristic Eldrian saw was its fur. Most of it was yet black, but blue streaks resembling lighting flowed over its body. These lines all came together at its nose, making it look very different while strangely fitting well with the Alpha's look.

nSeeing its appearance and the way it moved Eldrian felt like the task just became insanely difficult. Losing all the confidence he had. While the Betas were still in the manageable range this Alpha just looked so much more imposing.

n

"So, it is a water element user. We got lucky.

" John said, snapping Eldrian out of his stupor.

n

"We did yes,

" Jack commented. He was currently walking around and picking up the nearby arrows, wanting to get as many as possible. He struck the arrows into the fitting of his armor, where his chest piece connected to the back. Giving him a comical appearance.

nConfused Eldrian asked,

"Water element?

"

n

"Yeah, it has the talent to use water magic,

" John replied.

n

"Why is this a good thing?

" Eldrian asked in confusion, finding the fact that a monster can use magic as a bad thing. Very bad actually.

n

"Since it means this Alpha does not specialize in offensive magic.

"

nAgain Eldrian asked in confusion,

"Huh?

" Realizing that this sentence seemed to say all Alphas can use magic.

n

"Generally low Tier monsters can't actively use magic. It would be more like a passive skill or aura rather. And water elemental users generally help those near it regenerate, as well as itself.

"

n

"That sounds worse than good,

" Eldrian said, not feeling like they would be able to kill it quickly, and this skill seemed to cater to long fights.

n

"It is better than the other. Normally low-tier beasts like the wolf variants would only have wind, fire, water, or earth elements available to them. And believe me, water is the best one to fight against.

"

nStill confused Eldrian turned to look at the Alpha again. It was approaching quickly and will likely join the fight in under a minute.

nDuring the time they had waited for its arrival two of the other Betas had been killed. So if these two groups meet then it would result in 22 Betas who regenerated.

nEldrian grimaced when he realized this factor. It sounded like a terrible option to him.

nSeeing Eldrian's grimace Jack added some more info,

"It truly is the best element we could have come against. Fire would give every beast around a boost in strength, wind a boost in speed and earth a boost in armor.

"

n

"In truth, the earth would have been the worst, as more than half the soldiers would then be unable to even harm the normal direwolves. Just high-tiered weapons would be able to hurt the Betas, but with water, they just regenerate slowly. So we can still fight.

"

n

"Fire would have been bad since most of the soldiers are tired, and end up taking hits more often than is normal. The added strength would result in quicker losses, but wind might be even worse than both earth and fire. It would liven all the beasts while making them faster, so they would quickly be able to defeat us in the melee.

" John added, not letting his eyes of the Alpha.

nHe was just waiting for it to join the melee. But it was approaching slower as it neared the fighting. It first started looked around, searching for other areas it might be able to capitalize, while still putting mental pressure on all the nearby soldiers.

nThey all knew what the Alpha represented. Which resulted in many soldiers starting to lose morale and hope. While they remained steady, the extra pressure added onto their problems, leading to them often making mistakes.

nJohn wanted to rush forward, but going so far out would be suicidal. He wasn't a captain and wouldn't be able to duel an Alpha alone, he needed help. The only help who would survive with him would be Jack, the others would quickly die from being surrounded. They would then quickly follow.

nFinally, the Alpha charged and joined the fray. Its reason was simple, another Beta was about to be killed. This was a severe loss to the pack and thus it moved forward. Joining its charge the Betas also charged. Followed by the rest of the Direwolves who had not yet gone forward.

n

"Well, **.

" Eldrian said as he saw the start of the end. Hoping for some good news he asked Vivian to use observe on it. The results he got just left him even more demoralized.

nThe results he got from Vivian were,

"Alpha, Tier 1, Level 5, Constitution of 230 and damage of 187.

"

nThe simple damage number left him feeling numb. While he knew that it was greatly less when translated to actual attack damage, he did not know how this conversion worked. He only knew of it due to the difference in observation between NPCs and players.

nComparing it to the Beta they had fought Eldrian felt even more at a loss. The Beta at level 3 had had 84 damage and 150 constitution. Remembering these stats Eldrian realized that the Alpha will likely be twice as strong as a Beta. Which threw away his hope of John being able to keep it busy.

nHe knew that when something was twice as strong as you, then it meant you couldn't do a thing against it. It would simply overwhelm you.

nEven so, he kept following John, who was quickly heading to the Alpha. Seemingly not caring for anything other than it.

nThe reason for John's narrow focus was simple and very important. He did not want to allow the Alpha to use his skill without being under pressure. If left alone then a few Betas could simply protect it while the rest of its pack basically got the buff.

nLuckily Jack had joined their charge, giving them a bit more men. Eldrian hoped it would be enough to turn the tide in their favor.

nSoon they reach its position, but before they could pick a fight a couple of Betas split from the rest. Wanting to block their path.

n