"Not to sound ungrateful," I remark dryly as I pull myself up to my feet after not sensing any hostile intent, "But what are you doing here, Olrica?"

"Asshole and his friend ambushed me and my babysitter a little while ago, ended up stealing something he got from a quest," the assassin shrugs, "Speaking of which, I'm going to go kill that other one. The Dire Wolves are your problem though, once I've gotten what I came for I'm gone."

I'll take what I can get. Not waiting for my response, she turns and sprints towards the other group. I consider doing the same, but Windy's starting to struggle against her Beta and the Skirmisher woman has regained the attention of the other one. Shaking off the fatigue built up from the tense confrontation, I run to help Windy out after finishing off the last of the small fry on this side.

At present, her shield-covered arm is shoved into it's slobbering maw, and she seems to be engaged in a contest of strength with the oversized dog as to who gets possession of it. It's evident that she's struggling, however, and is being dragged this way and that by it's superior strength. While it's certainly true that she's highly durable for her Level with an abundance of Resilience, she's still somewhat lacking in other areas if she wants to make for a good tank in her archetype. I'll bring it up with her once we're done here.

Conventional wisdom from my time is that prioritising a certain amount of Strength, Dexterity and Willpower trumps Resilience in most instances, but lack it's general effectiveness. After all, with enough Strength, one can push back and more comfortably counter-attacks, with enough Dexterity it's easier to parry, riposte and respond to quick strikes, and low Willpower is the bane of melee classes since the further you go in the game the more likely you are to encounter Psychic damage and debuffs; And although Resilience can help with the latter, it's still not as good in those situations point for point by value.

Moreover, there are frequently cases where a damage sponge that - ironically - hits like a wet one is detrimental for mechanics in dungeons, most notably enrage timers like the soft-versions used by The Scavenger and The Beak, whereby a single percent of damage lost to a poorly built party member is the difference between a clear and a team wipe.

Of course, that's just for the long-term. When we're this low level, having someone that just doesn't really die is plenty enough to justify a Resilience forward build in the short-term, particularly if the person in question is a novice or the like.

I'm getting distracted.

Still, now that the ambush by Giovanni and whoever the other guy is has been thwarted and the Dire Wolf situation has stabilised, I can afford to relax a degree. A quick glance behind me reveals that although there appears to be a few casualties, the second Beta is on it's last legs and Olrica is close to finishing off her other target.

Likewise, the Beta on this side is moderately wounded as well with my participation, and I estimate it'll be dead in less than a minute at this pace.

A howl, not too distant, interrupts my settling calm as the Beta in front of me falls to the ground with a crossbow bolt through it's skull. Groaning, I turn in the direction of the noise, "When it rains, it damn well pours..."

Loping closer with great speed is a huge Dire Wolf covered in scars and missing clumps of fur, with forelegs as thick as I am wide and a maw that could swallow Red Riding Hood whole without her touching the sides.

"The hell is that, boss?!" The breathy, fatigued voice of Windy asks, shocked.

"Aberrant," I curse inwardly, "Must've jinxed myself earlier."

"A what?" She quickly opens her visor to chug some water then gets ready to run it.

"Explain later, think of it as a miniboss. Go help the others, I'll hold it off," I run forward to meet the ugly creature in battle.

I've heard of this creature before, and if I'm not mistaken it should be a 'Pack Exile'. However, that's all I can recall. What Level it is, what behaviours it has, I have no idea. Going by the general trend of Aberrants and my own experiences with that class of monster, I'd guess that this is the lowest possible tier, an 'Earthly Defier'. They've gained a tiny amount of real sentience (Bosses can also exhibit similar qualities, but aren't necessarily Aberrants) and their combat abilities are a cut above ordinary Elites of the same type. The more an Aberrant deviates from its mould, the more dangerous it is - but more curiously, the highest tier are functionally under the same umbrella as The Ignorant, and some can even break away from the monster classification entirely to actually become part of The Ignorant.

As is the case with a number of people in The Panoplast Confederacy. To hear some people talk, that actually is what the mainstream Panoplast species like Wyvernbloods are descended from. Of course, most people who bring that up are likely to be racist dickheads, so while it's plausible on some level, it's not something you bring up in polite conversation, to put it mildly.

When I judge the distance between us to be close enough, I activate Bull Rush to intercept the hulking beast before it can reach our surviving teammates, aiming for the back of it's foreleg with a stalled Brutal Strike. I don't expect I'll be able to hamstring it, but it's limbs will likely be more vulnerable than it's torso and I don't want to get too close to it's head if I can help it seeing the size of those teeth, especially while the damage vulnerability debuff portion of Bull Rush is still active.

-485

Even with Momentum and Brutal Strike applied, it's musculature proves incredibly tough, more akin to try to chop my way through a block of pure ice with a blunt butter knife. But it gets the Aberrant's attention, sure enough.

Conscious of it's retaliation, I follow my momentum through and keep running forward towards it's hindquarters. Standing in front of this thing for too long is a guaranteed death sentence with my limited toolset and lacking attributes. Whereas by exploiting it's body-type I can keep myself out of serious danger, depending on how fast it can move and how quickly it's able to learn - that being the main threat when fighting any Aberrant. Even the weakest, lowest tier one is capable of growing mid-combat, and even advancing to a higher tier isn't unheard of. Even putting aside the potential for good loot, by the end of the first year of play, the playerbase learns to not only fear the appearance of an Aberrant but the need to kill it as quickly as possible.

Left to their own devices for long enough, an Aberrant will eventually become powerful enough to threaten even a 1-Star City, but such occurrences are rare - since the Merrowan natives also understand the danger they pose and move to suppress them when they appear as well. The possibility of them shedding their monster classification to join civilisation as a respectable individual isn't worth the risk they pose, even excluding the inherent racial biases.

Staying close to it's back legs as we both circle around in place, it's snapping teeth are just barely out of reach even as it strains itself to catch me. Each time it does, it has to pause, which gives me a free hit against it's leg that combos nicely with Momentum every other attack. However, as the seconds go by, it's speed increases and it's teeth get closer until I can practically feel the heat of it's breath. This tactic is losing effectiveness quickly, I realise, but there's not much else I can do without exhausting myself at a faster rate. My Stamina is not far from bottoming out between the walk, the ambush and this.

After another 7 seconds go by, I have to take a sudden leap forward, the beast finally swinging it's hindquarters around and taking a massive swipe with it's oversized forepaw, a hint of a glow to it's claws.

"Shit, it's got a Skill," I curse under my breath, sidestepping a follow-up bite and ducking under the sweep of it's head. The other foreleg comes out at a perfect angle, taking advantage of my lowered stance. Raising my sword to meet it, I'm thrown a few steps away, my feet skid across the loose, dry soil as I land.

While Skills aren't exactly exclusive to The Ignorant, Beast-type monsters tend to rely on physiological advantages instead - Bortosi can spit a superheated corrosive substance, but it's not the same as a Skill, as an example. And if it has one, there's a chance it'll have more.

"This just got a good deal more complicated," I grunt, dodging back, "WINDY! HURRY IT UP!"

I can see her and the Skirmisher jogging over, alongside a few of the ranged contingent out the corner of my eye. With that in mind, I should try to meet them half-way.

Compared to the Pack Exile, my speed is nothing to write home about, particularly in short bursts, and I was only able to get away with fighting it for as long as I have been by exploiting it's body-type and relative stupidity. In a full sprint, it'll catch up to me in seconds without Bull Rush. Even from a standstill, it's lunge along will probably cross 20 metres in a half-second.

"Damn it," recognising that, I can only wait for them to arrive. Turning tail to run isn't an option.

Mindful of my dwindling HP and Stamina, I focus all my efforts on defence, not bothering to fight back at all, using any space in it's assault to put further distance between us. Rather than the expected arrival of Windy via Interceptor, the first person to arrive is the Skirmisher, her Agility evidently higher than Windy's.

"Holy shit that was more'n half my health! What is this thing?!" she questions after being batted aside like a ragdoll, the aggro still firmly on myself.

"Miniboss, very strong, watch out for it's claws, it has at least one Skill!" I reply, sidestepping closer to the tanks, "Windy, you're main tank, be prepared to switch out!"

Inwardly I pray that it's ego hasn't developed to a point where aggro manipulation skills lose effectiveness on it.

"On it, boss!" Windy confirms, resolute.

With backup from the group, this should be manageable, if only just. Ideally, we'd have gone into battle fresh and with all our combatants both...well, alive, and in level-appropriate gear. But so long as the tank is able to stand toe-to-paw with it, we can pull through if we kill it faster than it's able to adapt.

---

 

Winfrey

I jump between Silver and the biggest, ugliest dog I've ever seen, then use the last of my free Stamina to execute Reprisal after blocking it's swift claw swipe, taking a not inconsiderable amount of damage in the process myself. Oof. Feels like I got punched by a heavyweight boxer juiced up on anabolic steroids.

Fortunately, I still have plenty to spare. So long as I don't fuck up, I think I can take this thing on, so long as my healer bros can catch up. They run like a geriatric turtle.

Problem is, though, the Big Boy - that's what I'm going with because my tired brain can't come up with anything better - doesn't seem to give a flying fuck about me even after slapping it in the face a few times with my sword. I thought Vanguard's Advance was supposed to make things angry at me.

Instead, it just keeps trying to get to Silver, completely ignoring me and my erstwhile partner in tanking, Linnette. I don't think that he did so much damage that it can ignore two tanks trying to get aggro, did he? I mean, I know he hits real hard, but something doesn't feel right.

When I spare a glance towards it's eyes after Silver manages to dodge a bite by the skin of his own teeth, I think I figured out what it is. Hatred. Pure, black animosity. In contrast to the Beta I was fighting before, it feels...

Like a person, almost.

Weird.

He called it an Aberrant, right? I guess this is what he was talking about. It's not like the other monsters, even accounting for it's size.

Well, in that case, I just need to make myself even more obnoxious. If it wants Silver, it'll have to go through me, one way or another.

"Come over here, Fido, I've got a nice treat for you called a sword in the eye!" I taunt, aiming for the right timing when it misses a bite.

Critical Hit!

-207

Success! Feels fucking gross, but it damn near screeches in pain with a high-pitched whine. Oh yeah, that got it's attention.

"Come on!" I clang my sword against my shield, mocking it, "Here, boy! Come on! Come to momma..."

Growling, it lunges at me without any care for it's own safety, bowling me over and pinning me to the ground with it's massive paw, gnashing at my head with it's teeth, desperate to crush it between it's jaws like it's a fruit gusher. It weighs a fucking tonne, and with how big it is compared to me, it's difficult to shift out the way of it's frenzied attacks, globs of blood flecking from it's wounded eyesocket and plastering the ground as well as me.

"May have....over...done....it...." I wheeze, struggling with all my might to push it off me, my health bar ticking back up with some support from the healers. The best I do is free up my sword arm to stave it off, but although wary of it, it doesn't back off in the slightest. The bombardment from Jade and the others doesn't even make it flinch, and even Linnette hacking away at it doesn't so much as budge it an inch.

Silver, I can't see from down here very well, but he looks to be catching his breath, and honestly I don't blame him. Definitely did a better job than..

"Fuck!" It's claws start digging through the thick metal shield on my arm, a pale glow flashing through them. Looks like it's taken the hint and stopped trying to bite my head off. Instead, it looks to be trying to crush me under it's weight, pressure bearing down so hard I can feel the very tips of it's claws through the metal, probably drawing blood.

It's getting harder and harder to breathe. Even if it can't crack through my armour, just the pressure alone will be enough to choke the air from my lungs if it keeps up.

"Hhhhelp," I wheeze, "Ca-can't...breathe..."

The weight on my arm and chest increases drastically all of a sudden, forcing what air is left out of my body.

"Get! Off!" Silver's voice growls from somewhere above Big Boy, the wolf howling in agony, swaying violently until it can't help but take it's paw off me. Sweet release! Air!

Coughing as oxygen comes back into my bloodstream, Big Boy growls and whines, shaking it's way around, trying it's damnedest to shake off Silver from it's back as he rides it rodeo style with his large sword rammed a quarter of the way into it's back. He puts up a valiant effort, but gets swung off, sent tumbling across the ground with a groan, the blade still stuck in Big Boy's back.

"Heeeey...boss...weather's nice down here ain't it," I joke, rolling over and pushing myself feebly up.

"Not now, Windy," He grunts, "Damn it, lost my sword."

"Wish I had a hammer for that nail," I remark blandly, going back into the fray.

"You and me both," Linnette calls out, trying not to get smacked in the midst of Big Boy's wild thrashing. I can't imagine how it feels to have an itch you can't scratch like that on your back, and I don't wanna.

Narrowing my eyes, I duck under it's tail, "This is one tough sunnovabitch."

Surprisingly, after it takes a few more volleys of ranged attacks it turns tail and starts to run.

"Wait," I run after it, "It's trying to escape!"

"Don't let it get away!" Silver roars. Probably mourning the loss of his weapon.

A gust of wind blows past me, the boss man himself running with his movement speed buff at full pelt to catch up to the wolf, making a familiar leap near the end of its duration and managing to just barely latch on to the blade of his sword, still stuck in Big Boy like a handle. Grasping the hilt with one hand and the blade's ricasso with the other, Silver rams it down even further, Big Boy howls one last time.

"FALL!"

And so he does, tripping mid-stride and launching Silver off as inertia kicks in.

Congratulations, your party has defeated a Pack Exile(Earthly Defier, Aberrant)!

Awarding 22120 experience.

---

 

Reluctant to get up after being repeatedly tossed around like a sack of potatoes as I am, I still force myself to do so, even though my Stamina has dropped to a measly twelve. A brassy 'bong' echoes outwards from the corpse of the Pack Exile, and three motes of light from it's body turn into a crossbow, a ring and a dagger.

If there's an upside to the appearance of an Aberrant, it's that it's almost guaranteed to drop something good. From the nature of the appearance event, it seems to be all bronze equipment at most, but that's not unexpected.

"What'd we get?" Windy and the Skirmisher arrive, out of breath from the exertion.

"Something worth the trouble," I quip, taking off my helmet and replacing it with The Failed Mage's Monocle.

 

 

 

 

"Not bad," I murmur, dropping to the ground and crossing my legs. They all come with a buff to damage against Beast-type monsters, which is certainly going to have a fair amount of value while fighting in Ujax Forest, and Bane weaponry isn't very common. The star of the show, in my opinion, has to be the ring, though. And I'm not saying that because I plan on keeping it for myself, but because accessories are rarer and it doesn't interfere with my set bonus nor do I need to make any hard decisions about having an extra 12 Strength.

Thinking back, giving it to Windy is also not a terrible idea. It would definitely help her out a lot in fights like this...

Hm. I'll ask first, in the interests of fairness.

"Windy, do you want this ring?" I proffer it to her.

"Uhh, you sure you want to give it to me, boss? Looks like damage dealer equipment to me," She hesitates.

"It will probably be more valuable to you in the short-term until you put some more points into Strength yourself," I reason, "When you're able to hold your ground without being tossed around as much, I can take it back."

"Sounds reasonable I guess," Windy nods, taking her own helmet off and smiling at the approaching remainder of our party, "Let's go with that."

"Is it over?" Jupiter whines.

"It seems that way," the Restorationist comments.

"Fuckin' better be. I don't think I can handle another one," Jade huffs, looking a bit more bloodied than the rest.

A sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with, "When feeling returns to my legs, we should head back to The Clearing to rest in relative safety before we try heading back to the city again. Any objections?"

Naturally, there are no arguments.