Level Up!

You have reached Level 10.

“I did it! Whoo! Look at that! Level 10!” Noir grinned widely at the blue status screen as he slashed his sword through another mountain cat. “I am on fire!

“No offense, Ash, but your brother is insane,” Tom whispered quietly to the archer at his back.

“Look, he’s not actually crazy. I mean, a little bit, but that’s just because Dad’s been telling him stories about his companion snake since Noir was in Mom’s belly. Literally. And then he went and named Noir after that snake! It’s no wonder he’s a little… you know.” Ash gave Tom an understanding look as he lined up another arrow. “It’s not his fault.”

“Can we please focus on the target here,” Penelope asked as she threw another fireball at the advancing wave of cat monsters. “Your brother hates me enough for having fire magic. If I accidentally scorch a tree he’ll have my hide for dinner.”

Noir let out a loud belly laugh and launched himself at the waves of monsters with his sword held high, not paying one bit of attention to the flames being thrown around him.

“No, you idiot!” Trixie, their healer, shouted after the errant swordsman. “You don’t have the right gear for that! Damnit, he’s not a tank.” Her hands quickly flew to adjust a shield spell around Noir so the wild cats wouldn’t tear up his legs as he waved his sword around. “Tom, can’t you support him?”

The other swordsman shook his head, using his shield to block while striking at a cat going after Ash’s heal. “He’s just as likely to hit me as a cat, so no.”

The group of five were well used to using their skills individually, but this was the first time they were tackling the challenge of a group fight. The guild had put them together based on age, skill level, and talent. The town simply didn’t have a standard adventurer group any longer. When monster waves like this one needed handled, the guild would recruit from their members and assign them together. The only two who fought together regularly were Ash and Noir.

The guildmaster thought this was a well-balanced group, and on paper it seemed well enough. They had ranged and melee attackers, a healer, and a mix of magic users and physical fighters. That combination covered a broad range of opponents.

First in the group was Noir. He was the vanguard and ultimate melee fighter, charging ahead while blasting enemies. He encompassed the definition of the word ‘melee’ - everywhere his sword fell was a wild skirmish of confused close-combat blades, fur, and teeth. With black hair, brown eyes, and the bulky muscles closer to a barbarian than a human, Noir was made for pounding.

Opposite to Noir was his brother Ash. They had similar black hair, but Ash’s eyes were green and he was so much smaller he looked like a twig next to his giant brother. The lighter build worked for his specialties, though, since he was much better at shooting than smashing. Ash always covered his brother’s back no matter how difficult the shot. Somehow (and there were quite a few rumors as to this) he was able to aim into that crazed skirmish his brother created and always hit monster flesh, never once even grazing his brother. It was either remarkable talent - by one brother or both - or godly luck.

Next to the plate was Tom. He was another swordsman, but his approach was much calmer than Noir’s. Tom carried both a sword and a shield, and was most comfortable in the middle of the pack. He was also a close combat physical fighter even though his style was completely different. Noir seemed like he would one day grow into an aggressively forward attack style, charging into the enemy ranks. Tom was closer to a fortress on legs. He planted himself in one place and let the monsters come to him. His main skill might be tracking down a target, but when confronted with an enemy the brunette preferred staring down his prey with a deadly patience.

Last in the group were the two magic users. Penelope had attack magic skills that allowed her to do ranged damage. Her blond hair and blue eyes might look saintly, but her most frequent spell was “fireball” because of the damage it inflicted on monsters with the chance for potential burn effect. She was also able to cast wind cutter if she had a wide enough space; her control over the spell was still a bit shaky. Her thin-as-a-stick figure was on par with Ash’s; she looked like she’d be bowled over by a stray breeze.

Trixie had a bit more to her, but she’d dyed her hair a brilliant blue to match her eyes and it stood out in the forest. She was the shortest of the group, and their main healer. Her magic also aligned with defense. Her “shield” blocked most physical attacks, and her “heal” spell worked for most minor injuries and stabilizing more serious concerns. Her powers were far below a priest or a saint, and she was very strict about limiting her healing to first aide.

Possibly because more serious wounds made her faint. Even when cleaning up monster corpses her face would be pale and she’d sometimes get light headed.

The cat monsters they fought were known as “Mountain Cat”s. They were slightly bigger than housecats, and had purple fur with a long tufted tail. Generally only one or two could be seen on a forest path each day unless there was a “Puma” leading the group. Then mountain cats were trouble. They were lower in level than mountain lions, panthers, and other monsters, but they made up for their smaller size and smaller power with vicious protection of their territory. A den without a puma had at least 10-20 mountain cats working together; with a puma that number could quickly climb to 50.

Mountain cats were also very good at fighting in groups. Noir, Ash, Tom, Penelope, and Trixie were all new at coordinated fighting. That put the five of them at the disadvantage.

“I’m running low on magic, guys!” Trixie warned as she tried to shield both herself and Noir. The dual casting didn’t leave her free to cast any healing spells, and it was difficult to concentrate on the others. She’d lost track of where Tom and Ash were standing, and Penelope was too far away for her to reach without wading through claws and teeth.

Which meant Penelope, Ash, and Tom were vulnerable to attacks from any that slipped through. Trixie was too distracted to notice, much less heal them.

Noir slashed through even more of the knee-high, fur-covered bodies. “Cozy little four-leggers think you can swarm my forest? Bring it on! Your nutrients will feed our evolution!”

“He’s insane,” Penelope hissed as she fired at three cats standing close together. Two went down and stayed on the ground while the third bounced off with barely a singed tail.

“Noir! We need to retreat!” Ash called out as he fired an arrow at a cat that was about to pounce on his brother from a tree branch.

“I can keep going for hours!” Noir laughed in denial, raising his sword high. It wasn’t a particularly good sword either; Noir didn’t care so long as it defeated his enemies.

“I’m almost out of arrows!” Ash shouted back.

And as crazy as Noir seemed, he wasn’t actually stupid. He also cared about his little brother and took the responsibility of caring for him very seriously. Noir scowled and made his retreat, making sure to swipe any cat that got within sword range, and planted himself next to the archer facing outwards. “I only made it to level ten,” he complained. “I wanted to level up again.”

With his brother there, the shield spread to include both brothers and Tom. That was when Noir actually noticed it was protecting him. Ash lowered his bow and flexed his hands. They were sore from the constant pull of the bow, and his wrists ached something fierce. In his quiver there was only one arrow left. “You aren’t going to level up twice in one day,” Ash reminded his older brother. “After level ten it gets harder, remember? Even Dad only made it to level 50.”

Noir frowned. “Yeah, but-“

“You have time,” Ash reminded him. “And we can’t help each other if we’re all over the place. How’s Trixie supposed to keep track of everyone? You’re in the way of Penny’s wind cutter, and I only have one arrow left!” The cats were backing away from the trio, less interested in battle now that the enemy wasn’t fighting. If they could manage to edge out of the cat territory they could regroup without getting hurt.

Noir sighed and smacked his sword against the ground in warning when a cat moved close to the shield. “We can gather the arrows up again once the cats leave,” he said grumpily, sheathing his sword with a small pout. Slowly, Penelope made her way close enough the shield protected her.

Once all four were grouped together again, Trixie felt her mind relax. The strain of her magic was easier to handle with one group of stationary targets rather than multiple moving ones. “We definitely need to have a chat before we do this again,” she scolded as she approached the group. The cats were staying outside the shield, occasionally swiping at the magic barrier but mostly slipping away into the bushes. “Haven’t any of you read Master Eli’s Group Fight Theory and Execution? How are we supposed to work together as a team when everyone wants to go separate ways? We haven’t even found the puma yet!”