- ALTgray: "Where'd you even find this one?" Needing no response the suit continued. "You got some crazy ass RNG. Wouldn't get priority for this otherwise..."

  The pair were currently referring to the mission Leek obtained.

  'Something Is Occurring With The Population Of Wolves, For Whatever Reason They Have Gotten Stronger And Denser In Number |Explore The Wolves Den Above Faerilm|'

  The guild board, where most people source their missions, has a filter to match players with a balanced quest. This is intended to keep higher-level players from inhaling every low-risk-okay-reward one for themselves.

  Community opinion on the system is roughly split, with the newer players voicing a preference to it

  - Leek: "Actually!" His head went back. Raising his chin to an uncomfortable degree, followed by his index finger pointing somewhere in the sky. "It was a conversion from some basic slaying quest."

  He intended to revel in this moment, where he could correct his grass-fearing friend.

  - Leek: "Plus, my luck is at 7."

  [LUCK: 7 ](+5)

  It was easy for him to overlook his character's stat, but to best answer his friend's answer he mentioned it.

  - ALTgray: Without a doubt, Gray knew that no such baseline existed for players in FAO, though it would clearly fit in a more RPG-centric title: the original game, FAo. "Ugh. Okay." That is all he said.

  Then, in little time the pair found themselves atop the city of Faerilm. Standing opposite from the forest Leek previously fought in.

  There was a couple of people in the plain area, some partied together, gathering resources and/or fending off the rabid wolves trying to take them as their meal.

  - ALTgray: He surveyed the area, taking a metal note of its current state. "Let's get going. Before any respawn timer's are up."

  Mob density at the moment is lower than typical, caused likely by some hard-farming.

  - Leek: He jumped around in place, trying to get his blood flowing. "Time to run this shit back."

  Barely managing to squeak out a win his last time Leek was getting in the headspace to demolish the pests, taking it as a round two of an eight round bout; anticipating nothing but a decisive KO/TKO win.

  The den they were looking for was hidden deep in the forest section.

  So they continued forth.

  ...

  As they progressed it became harder to not come to head with the rabid animals. They grew in number and strength.

  *Grrrrr-huff*

  One of the wolves Leek had come to murder attempted a retreat, running on just fumes of HP.

  Its paw was lifted, trying to keep it weight on the other three as it was in pain. The deep breath it took did not recuperate enough strength to lose its pursuer.

  - Leek: "Hey. Where you going!" His words came out with an audible sense of urgency, yet he moved at only a mildly brisk pace. "Ughh."

  Despite barely having moved from his inital location the boy chose to not follow the beast any further, deciding to lazily throw three kunai.

  *Arrff*

  Its life ended in that moment, dying with only a pitiful whimper.

  - ALTgray: "Stop messing around. They're not even worth the EXP. The strong ones are deeperrr..." The end of his sentence slurred, as he turned to look even deeper in the forest.

  Roughly two hand-fulls of the beasts have challenged the pair, but not one was anything to note. They came for a challenge, just to reconsider when their foe's called bluff.

  -Leek: "Where'd the rest go-" He put his arm up to flex his bicep, gripping it with his other hand. "Guess I'm just too scary." A cheesy grin was the only reaction he got out either of them.

  Trying to keep his friend close and under control Leek followed his lead.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  .

  ..

  ...

  - Leek: "Uhh. Where's the rest of them?" It'd been a couple of minutes of blindly wandering, at least that's how it felt to him. They had seemingly been dodging every wolf since the last one. "We were just getting started..." His head hung low momentarily, trying to savor the fading taste of a 'thrilling' battle again.

  - ALTgray: "Ughrrrr. Where. Are. They." Gray was hunched over, like a living suit of armor held together with waining magic. His sword, no different from the standard blade issued at the start of any fantasy game/story, was being dragged tip-down into the ground. "Im getting. Impatient..."

  With another grunt Gray took his sword and swung haphazardly at one of the many trees planted near him, doing so with only an inkling of proper form.

  Throwing only his hand that gripped the sword and his shoulder.

  It sunk into the tree's bark but stopped around thirty percent of the way. Its thickness was on the thinner side, and with his character's known strength, it should have been a clean cut.

  - Leek: "Dude. Chilll!" It was just outside of his personality to get this worked up over some server issue. "The timer is probably just buggin ou-"

  - ALTgray: "Shut the fuck up. And use your 'Cold Feeling' skill." His metal head turned just enough to look at Leek through its peripheral. "It could help."

  - Leek: Taken aback by this comment, he swallowed the ballooning anger in his throat. "Are you... I.. whatever dude."

  His instinct, when partnered with the conscious attempt at activating [Coldening Feeling] took over.

  Any noise he once filtered out, crickets, chirping, flexing bark, etc. came to the foreground all at once.

  Simple spacial awareness of anything other than himself melted away.

  Energy was something every being sentient or not, emitted.

  Feeding the cycle of this sculpted world that many did not contribute to.

  Instead they were taking everything possible, feeding an endless desire.

  No different from a clump of cancerous cells.

  A disgusting parasite; He felt it, where his eyes couldn't see.

  They tried to hide in the dark but it was clear, their blood lust, their beastly nature.

  He touched nirvana for less than a moment before shifting violently back to perspective.

  Two.

  Five..

  Ten...

  Twelve....

  It came back to him. His eyelids opened, the balls following shortly after.

  - ALTgray: "...EY"

  Leek fell to one knee, with one hand gripping his face tightly.

  His eyes began throwing themselves around in every direction.

  - ALTgray: "Oka... what's th.... oblem"

  The masses grew closer, trying to keep still and conceal themselves.

  - ALTgray: "Leek! What's wrong!?"

  It would be best if you focused on those. Unless you want me to die.

  "What..."

  Though dying wouldn't be the worst: Hakeem.

  "Leek?"

  You're pathetic; Block

  An immediate lunge sent the selfish construct barreling at a speed Gray couldn't react to, still not drawing his attention as he attempted to understand his friend's current strife.

  His mind did not clear itself, but his body moved irregardless.

  Each of the [Gauntlet Pair (Pristine)]'s equipped into his hands, forcing his glaive back into his inventory.

  *GGG-uu-RRAGhhgGG*

  Gray rotated his head to try and follow his friend's sudden moments, though still lagging behind by a few moments.

  Another wolf from the den they currently sought was no more than an inch away from taking his head off his shoulders, rows of teeth just gnawing to make him its snack.

  Leek's covered hands were the only thing that kept him from taking this attack 'head-on.'

  - ALTgray: "holy." How had he let his awareness get so bad? Just looking at it, you could see liters of saliva coating its mouth, drooling immensely in anticipation. "Thanks."

  He thanked his compatriot before his leisure time ran out, spending no time in moving past the question he posed

  His right hand lifted and released his frustration directly into the beast's face.

  Letting fly a red beam that could be compared to zipping lightning with its speed and arching nature.

  [C. Dirus (20)]

  This monster was of a different species to the others, clearly pointed out by the name change and its increased size.

  While the previous ones had sections of fur spotted in white, primarily behind the ear, this one was a solid gray throughout, getting slightly darker at the scruff.

  Gray's attack threw it back but mostly affected its immediate senses.

  -ALTgray: "Would've been a clean kill earlier." He moved to follow up the shot with a sword to the leg, aiming for the tendon. "Whatever."

  Due to the attack, Leek no longer had a grip on the [C. Dirus (20)].

  His eyes did not miss a beat, darting sporadically at the surrounding trees and concealed foes.

  *Ugrrrgh.*

  A painful grunt slipped from his mouth.

  - Leek: "Come for me." His deep breaths took on a growling rage, the notion of strategy being replaced with his need to direct violence.

  In a moment Leek under came the effects of both his [Coldening Feeling] & [Cut Throat] skills. The latter resulting in a 'frenzied' state, with the former accounting for his tunnel-vision focus.

  ___

  Status Page: Leek (17)

  [ Skill Points: 5 ]

  HP 20 (+2)

  SPD 8 (+2)

  VIT 14 (+0)

  TEQ 3 (+3)

  EVN 5 (+4)

  SSK 3

  [ LUCK: 7 ](+5)

  Inventory: (1)Elixir: Vitality/Basic, Coin Pouch: 97, (6)Angora Tails: Rotten, (7)Angora Tails: Fresh, (1)Drawstring Bag: Basic, (9)Shuriken, (12)Kunai, Gauntlet Pair(Great), (6)Potion: Speed/Normal, (3)Elixir: Health/Normal, (3)Elixir: Mana/Higher, (6)Scroll: Transcribe/Superior, Glaive(Great), Clothing (Pristine), Shoes (Great),(+47)Toad Legs: Common/Material, (+7)Toad Tongue: Common/Material, (+12)Scales: Common/Material, (+3)Oral Glands: Uncommon/Venomous, (6)Potion: Health/Lower,

  ___

  Strength Of The Weak: |Increases Morale To Subordinate, And Or Lower-Level Companions When Associated With The Abilities User | + To Select AC or HP, Increases Loyalty By (1) With Every (1/2) Difference In Level.

  Coldening Feeling:|When Active The User Gains Increased Perception To Nearby Characters/Mobs | Paranoia (1)Stacks With Each Character/Mob In Vicinity While Active, Increasing Hyper-Fixation. Decreases Vitality With Every (2)Stack.

  Cut Throat: |Increases The Chances To Land Critical Hits For As Long As Bloodlust (3)Stacks Have Been Placed On The User | Reduces Accuracy And Evasion, The User Becomes Frenzied.

  ___

  Gray would deal with the most tasking mob while Leek kept the others off of him, splitting the workload according to their level and expertise.

  This was the same tactic they took in the dungeon to fend off Jourmandier's horde.