“K13, you know an aggro technique that has a big AOE?” Infamous Biscuit asked, tilting his head to the side. He sounded unconvinced, but Freya suspected it was just from hearing K13 talk than doubting him. The quiet player rarely said anything unprompted.

The berserker nodded, but instead of explaining further, he pulled something out of his inventory.

“With this.”

K13 held a small golden, curved horn out for them to inspect.

[Hunter’s Horn]

[Item Class: Rare]

[A single bugle call can attract nearby enemies! The range depends on your lungs and musical talent!]

“Oh!” Freya said, recognizing the instrument. “Didn’t you get this from that professor for recording the loneswell bird call?”

K13 nodded, “I’ve practiced. The range is big now.”

“Wow! That’s awesome!” Nightscythe said, clapping K13 on the shoulder. “That will save us a lot of time!”

“But we should also be careful,” Infamous Biscuit said, bringing down Nightscythe’s excitement. “Everything around here seems low level, but we shouldn’t be reckless. Let’s move to a better spot with more free room and get ready.”

~~~

“Do you have any summons that aren’t creepy?” Heilong asked, sneering down at Scrimmancer.

The marksman had climbed onto one of the taller buildings for a higher vantage point. They had decided on a large open square with only a statue in the middle to host their upcoming battle. Everyone was busy with their own preparations, including Scrimmancer, who had summoned a spirit to assist him in the fight.

“His name is John, and he’s a good boy,” Scrimmancer said, patting the summoned spirit’s head.

Ssss

[John]

[Lvl 6 Summoned Belanor Snake]

The snake spirit flicked his tongue in and out. Freya didn’t have any animal phobias but seeing a snake three times as long as she was tall made her a little uncomfortable. Also, unlike most spirits, John was much denser and real-looking. His tan and brown scales gleamed under the sunlight. The spirit was even visible to those with low perception. Scrimmancer explained that “battle-type” summons that could interact with the physical realm were more likely to be visible.

“And Betty isn’t creepy either. She’s cute,” Scrimmancer said, referring to his gigantic spider spirit they saw previously. “Betty is actually a stronger spirit, but I thought I should start with summoning John.”

Heilong took out her bow and quiver, “I think we have a different definition of ‘cute.’ Hamra’s summoned spirit is much cuter.”

“Maybe stronger, but I don’t know about cuter,” Scrimmancer said, standing up straighter and giving John another pat.

Freya glanced over at Hamra’s spirit. The necromancer had summoned a large bear spirit. 

[Poppy]

[Lvl 17 Summoned Black Glacier Bear]

Despite its high level, the bear was small. Large for a dog, but not abnormally large for a bear. It had a squished-in face, a large nose, and massive paws compared to its stout body. Overall, Freya was inclined to agree with Heilong. But before she had time to say anything, Infamous Biscuit called everyone’s attention.

“Okay, is everyone ready?”

Shouts of agreement came from all around.

“All right, remember the plan,” Infamous Biscuit said, then nodded to K13.

The berserker lifted the horn to his lips. Freya perked her ears in anticipation. She still remembered hearing him play the violin when they first met. The music he created was enchanting. She wondered how this Hunter’s Horn would sound.

bbbBRRRAAAAAAAEEEE

Freya clamped her hands over her ears. The short blast rang in her head. Grimacing, she thought to herself, yikes, that was not what I was picturing.

But before she had time to brood over it, Heilong was already calling out a warning.

“Pack of five wolves coming in hot from the northwest. Some kind of smaller animals mobbing together in the east.”

Freya moved together with K13 towards their upper left. She appreciated that Infamous Biscuit had pointed out the cardinal directions to her before the fight. Despite having a map in her head, she tended to forget to look at it in the heat of battle. Knowing from the start which way was north made everything easier.

As soon as the wolves came into sight, K13 sounded the horn again, but much quieter this time.

The first loud Hunter’s Horn call had aggroed all enemies to this area, but not to K13 in particular, which worked to their advantage in this case since they could split up incoming demons.

Energy bubbling inside, Freya immediately struck with her Shockwave. Her punch resounded through the wolf, immediately halving its HP.

She moved onto another wolf, leaving the incapacitated wolf for Nightscythe to finish off. 

Punch! Punch!

Staying away from K13’s ax swings, she wove punches and kicks between the different wolves. Soon enough, two demon wolves were gone, and the remaining three were severely wounded.

On the other side of the square, she heard a loud, Roar! Followed by Infamous Biscuit shouting, “Tangling vines!” 

Glancing at the other fight, a bunch of fast shapes surrounded Hamra’s bear spirit. An arrow from Heilong flew into the fray but hit nothing.

“Damn rats!” the marksman cursed. “These things are worse than wolves.”