The bear roared, lowering everyone's agility by 100. Luke felt a bit sluggish now, but he didn't give up. He started barking out orders, just as the bear unleashed its pound cake attack. -500 HP for everyone.
Luke and Elora's HP had gotten dangerously low, so Luke had to think fast. "Jay, you're our tank now. Illana hit him with everything you can. Elora, heal yourself, and I'll do the same."
The healing spell came somewhat naturally to Luke. He chanted it several times with Elora while Jay used his strongest attacks to draw the bear towards him. Electric arrow. ElectroBall. Flamethrower. Flame Blast. Light heal to Luke, giving him 120 HP. His sword lit up and delivered a critical attack. Elora, finally healed, delivered a Leaf Blow.
The bear growled in frustration as its HP dwindled to 610/2000. Luke was glad Jay had joined their team. It would be easy to kill bosses and level up now.
But the grizzly wouldn't give up, preparing a claw attack. Jay used his electric web to freeze it for three seconds. He also used his electric wall to recover himself back to his full HP. Finally, Illana delivered the fatal attack. The bear dissipated into thin air.
Notification after notification rang through Luke's mind. It was deafening.
System: You have defeated the forest boss and its minions. Reward: 1250 XP.
System: Level up.
System: You have learned Slice N' Dice and Full Thruster. Illana has learned Flame Boosters. Elora has learned Plant Enhancement and Plant Shields. Jay has learned Electric Clone.
Luke grinned, wondering if he could use his Ring of Destiny to double the XP. It didn't work. Maybe he'd waited too long; he wasn't sure. Still, 1250 XP was a lot to work with, and he was grateful for it.
"That was fun," said Jay, knocking Luke in the back of the head. "We need to go now."
Luke stumbled. Somehow, that simple knock had taken half of his HP. Elora was quick to take his hands in hers and heal him, but Luke glared at Jay.
Jay shrugged. "I didn't know that would happen. I'm sorry." But he chuckled as he turned away and began to continue the journey. Luke thought he heard Jay mutter something about weaklings, but he wasn't sure.
Luke kept walking anyway, keeping his eyes fixed on his surroundings and his ears alert to any sound other than his own feet on the path.
"Luke," said Illana. "What's wrong?"
"There's supposed to be more monsters here," said Luke. "The forest was famous for leveling up once the players got to level 20. We haven't seen anything other than those grizzlies."
"That makes us lucky, I guess," said Elora. "Come on. Let's just keep going."
Elora was right. They needed to keep moving, especially since Bane was probably still looking for them. They needed to take advantage of the head start King Liam had given them.
"We have a lot of ground to cover, but I think there's a resting place up ahead," said Luke. "There's beds there and such. It's called the Crimson Village, I think."
Illana and Elora glanced at each other, but didn't question Luke. They kept walking, eyes peeled for anything that dared accost them on their way.
Hours passed. The forest never changed. Trees followed trees and more trees followed them. When darkness fell, the group set up camp. Jay had killed some rabbits, so a fire was built to cook them.
"So Jay," said Luke as they settled next to the fire with their roast rabbit, "tell us about yourself."
Jay shrugged. "I've been on my own for a long time. I became a missionary to make ends meet. Kept up with my training and whatnot."
Luke still had his doubts. He'd never seen this character in all his hours of gameplay. Nevertheless, Jay's strength held the team together. Luke tried not to say anything that would get himself in trouble.
Suddenly, laughter echoed through the night shadows.
Luke grabbed his sword and leapt to his feet. Illana, Elora, and Jay did the same. Three werewolves prowled around the camp, murmuring to themselves. "We hope you're enjoying the silence we've made for you," a dark voice said. "The last silence you'll ever see." Undaunted, Luke used his Insight ability:
Name: Bing
Race: Werewolf
Level: 40
Name: Rake and Lank
Race: Werewolf
Level: 30
Luke trembled. He'd never tried to fight a level 40 boss along with his level 30 minions before. Fortunately, his nerves disappeared when he saw electricity begin to crackle around Jay. He'd keep them safe.
The moon was full, boosting the wolves' stats. They'd disappeared completely into the darkness of the woods. Elora gave a small gasp, inching closer to her sister. "What do we do?" she whispered.
Luke smiled. He was the light savior. The darkness where he worked best.
He'd faced the three wolves before. Sunlight was their weakness, he knew. That was why they'd waited until nightfall to make their attack. A plan was being formed.
"What do we do?" Illana asked.
"This should be easy," said Luke. "Don't worry about it."
"What do you mean, easy?" Jay demanded, glaring at Luke. "Those werewolves probably have thousands of HP between them. It'll take a miracle to bring them down."
"Just trust me," said Luke. "Jay, I need you to electrify my sword. I'm going to shine some light from it, that'll amplify it. Elora, Illana, attack them with everything you've got. When you're done, try to give us some buffs."
The girls nodded, backing up a bit from Jay and Luke. Jay used electricity to attack Luke's sword, sending a searing light into the forest that made even Luke close his eyes. The wolves howled in pain from their hiding places.
System: You have blinded the werewolves for the duration of the battle.
Luke smiled. He'd known the blinding attack would work, though he hadn’t known the effect would last for the whole battle. This should be a breeze. Everyone threw their various attacks at the werewolves. Blind and confused, the wolves' attacks fell on hapless trees or empty space, never once hurting one of the heroes.
Before long, the werewolves were dead.
Jay wiped his brow. "I've been in lots of parties," he said, "so I mean it when I tell you, Luke, that I've never seen anyone know the monsters' weaknesses like this before."
System: You have defeated the three werewolf assassins. Reward: 2000 XP.
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