PenguinKills
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Chapter 160 - Wearing Patience
🕑 Added 2024-10-21 20:48:24 +0000 UTC"Chris, the wolves are circling again," Abigail said as she approached the stump I was sitting on.
As we pushed on toward the first marker in the chain we had set, we were beset by a number of things hindering our travel. The snow and weather the least among them.
Animals and beasts roaming the area had gotten increasingly cumbersome to get through and it only got worse as the days went on.
Coyotes and felines were the more opportunistic predators. They only attacked smaller groups, but others who were more aggressive tried to attack the main caravan.
Wolves and bears being the worst of them.
Wolves roamed in large packs and they didn't fear our numbers as much as the more solo predators while bears just didn't care. They took our intrusion into their territory personally and it didn't matter how many people were with us.
They only ran off if there was a person of sufficient strength to bully them off, otherwise, they would fight against the numbers even if they faced certain defeat.
Wolves, on the other hand, were just plain annoying. They circled and looked for weaknesses, attacked when they felt an opening and hit softer parts in the caravan where the levels were lower or there were fewer people.
They were smarter, which was the worst kind of foe.
The pack stalking us now was the largest yet and it seemed they ranged in the area of the lake we were approaching. They didn't take our presence in their hunting grounds lightly. Over a hundred of them were out and about, circling us and getting a reading.
The alpha had yet to make its presence known but it was only a matter of time before they attacked. A day or two at most before they found their opportunity.
As we stopped for the night and began to set up camp, nerves began to fray. The constant of being on edge wore on people and it only worsened as the sun descended and the darkness set in.
Extra precaution was taken when setting up camp, extra defenses and a few extra traps were laid just in case of attack, but its reassurance was little to the people on watch.
My patience was quickly wearing out.
"I'm sick of this. I will not sit here and wait for them to attack." I said voicing my frustration and making for my hammer.
"We've been over this, Chris. If you go out and kill everything, the guards won't get the experience they need." Abigail said for not the first time.
Some of the caravan who were more... violence-inclined, had taken up the guard position and had taken to it well. They stood watch at night, patrolled around the caravan on horses while we moved, and did much the same as a caravan guard would.
I had spoken to a few to feel out if they liked the position and if they would be willing to be city guards once we stopped, but it was still too soon for most. They filled the role out of necessity rather than desire.
Some did have the protection bone, as you could say, similar to Jonathan and I felt a City Guard role would suit them but I had yet to approach most. Opting to wait and observe for longer before asking them.
While Austin, Hal, Rachel, and I could take care of most of the things we had come across during our journey, we refrained from doing so. It was in an effort to train people and for them to be self-reliant, rather than dependent on us.
We let them handle the odd beast or monster and only helped when there was a real threat they would face. Training was fine, but deaths were not.
We kept that approach for most of the trip, only stepping in when needed and I had mostly gotten used to it. Letting others fight for me was still grating to sit through, but this was different.
The wolves were a real threat, more than I thought they could handle. Nearly the entire pack that had been identified were well above E-rank and speculation ran wild.
Some said all were E-rank and the alpha was nearing level 100. The outlandish tales only got worse as the anticipation rose. Even when it was nearly impossible for some of it to be true, people's minds took things far when the wolves acted like ghosts in the night, circling only when it got dark and waiting us out.
A pressure that I hadn't known I missed was back and I did not like having to sit and wait. The pressure of a challenge. Wherever the alpha was, I knew it was strong.
Gabriel knew more, but I had a sense of my own. One built through waves of battle and it knew what was out there qualified. That it was a worthy foe.
It was usually at this point that I would sigh and sit back down. Agreeing with her that the guards needed this rather than me doing everything for them, but not this time.
This was different.
"I tire of this, the guards will have other chances to gain experience. Depriving them of this one won't do much." I said as I continued gearing up.
My armor was never far from hand and my hammer stayed with me. It was second nature at this point to prepare for battle.
Abigail didn't try to stop me a second time, she knew I wouldn't be deterred so she shifted her focus, "At least take Austin and Jon with you, there are a lot of them out there."
I would have thought she knew me better by now.
"No, I will handle it alone."
She didn't get to say more before I was striding out of camp.
Toward where I felt the challenge lay.
~~
Elliot
His time since the return had been quite lackluster. He thought gaining magical powers would make his life more interesting but the mundane seemed to follow him.
Sure, he could now conjure metal out of thin air, but the last few months felt too normal to him compared to the insanity he had expected. The orderly traveling of caravan life hadn't been the excitement he had thought he would return to.
When the tutorial started, he didn't despair or fight against it like he had seen others, he had welcomed it. While he didn't live the best life before, it was sure to be exciting now, right?
Except the thrilling escapades of fighting for his life and saving the world were nowhere to be seen. He was only living through the motions as he had done previously. Only this time, with a touch of magic flair thrown in.
Novels and games had lied to him. Perfect storylines specifically curated for one person to be the center of the universe were false, who knew? Still, he had expected more than this.
Canada had been his home long before the System changed it and he loved the small town he grew up in, only for it to be demolished upon his return.
He didn't know what to do after that but the town came together and there was a genuine sense of comradery, one he hadn't felt before. Some tried to rebuild but someone in town had knowledge of what they called 'pylons' and without it, they wouldn't be able to rebuild.
They had gotten by in the beginning, but it only got harder. The threats increased and they began to lose people. Arguments started about what to do after that.
Some left, braving the wilds over staying put. He was about to do the same before a new group of people arrived. They came with horses and wagons, seeking to find a place to settle.
It was a perfect compromise. He got to stay near his home and they had the 'pylon' required to create what they were missing.
All of his town that stayed agreed and joined up with the caravan headed North. There wasn't a reason not to. Their town was in ruins and it held little else besides sentimental value.
Hearing they were going further North caused some hesitation but it wasn't that hard to work through. They were used to the cold, a little more wouldn't hurt. Especially with their new strength.
After joining, they mingled and integrated with the group and heard more of their story. Finding out they had come thousands of miles North all the way from Ohio had been starling.
Who would do that?
Still, Elliot did what he could. He knew he wasn't the most powerful but he had the most levels of his town. He was one of the few who came back E-rank and led his town during the change.
After joining, his sense of strength was thoroughly washed away. What little growth of his ego was shattered after learning how many of the caravan were stronger than him.
Going from the strongest, to not even in the top 20 was a blow.
But it was one he tried to work through. He killed what he could and trained the best he could. He didn't need to be the strongest but he refused to be average any longer.
He had lived enough of an average life.
It was in that vain of thought that he worked as one of the guards. He stood watch and participated in patrols. It let him fight and gain experience rather than only being along for the ride.
It was for that reason he now sat up on watch as the wolves howled and shuffled around in the dark. Now was one of the few times he regretted his decision.
He managed to [Identify] one of the wolves when they came near and he found out that they were so far above him, that all it returned was question marks. He wasn't high enough level to be even given a number.
Some of the others had more perception or more powerful skills and were able to get numbers, but that did little to assuage their worries. What they did get were levels in the 60s and 70s.
If that was the common level of the pack, what of the strongest? How high was it if that was the common fodder?
"It's got to be close to level 100! Look how large the pack is, it takes power to keep it all together!" Samuel whispered from next to him.
Samuel was from the same town as him and they frequently were on watch together. Their skills complemented each other and his new... leaders?- the people running the caravan didn't see a reason to break them up.
"No way it's that high! It's only been half a year and we're barely above level 50!" Elliot whispered back.
Their speculation didn't end at the pack leader's level, "What do you think they will do about it?" Samuel said.
After learning the strength of the pack, that was the question on most people's minds. Elliot and Samuel had only recently joined and they had no idea what the people in charge would do about it.
Even some of the people who had been with the caravan for longer didn't know. They had said the caravan leader only took action a handful of times and it had never been more than a light skirmish for him.
There were whispers that the man was powerful but no one knew the extent of it. He had never needed to show everything and it was only speculated on.
The leader was a bit... standoffish. Elliot knew the man's name but little else besides that. And the fact he used a hammer, that bit was clear. Christopher, as the man did not like strangers calling him Chris, usually kept to his inner circle.
Members of his family or close friends were the only ones he usually spoke to. He talked with others occasionally but it was little more than small talk. What surprised Elliot was the man knew his name.
There were over two hundred people in the caravan and the man knew his name. Well, he knew the names of all of the guards but the fact he knew was nice.
It was this seldom communication that made Elliot do a double take when he saw the man walking toward him. He walked with a purpose and his bearing carried him right at Elliot.
He traded in his usual furs for metal armor and his hammer which was usually strapped to his back carried in his hands.
He looked ready for war, as insane as that thought sounded.
It wasn't only the armor and weapon that made Elliot think that, but the expression on his face and the way he walked. A confidant gait with a matching hardened face.
For a brief second, everything Elliot had done since joining flitted through his head as if trying to come up with a reason the man was headed toward him with that expression but it came up with nothing.
Elliot couldn't fathom why he was walking toward him and he sat completely still as the man neared, scared to move a muscle. Something about him made his instincts scream.
Elliot wasn't the best fighter, but he had done enough in the tutorial to know when a fight was unwinnable. Everything his instincts were telling him was that if he fought this man, he would lose.
Samuel matched his stock still position and it was silent as the man approached. Only his footfalls and the crackling of the campfire were audible.
He walked to the edge of the campfire and stopped.
"Where was the nearest sighting?" Was all he asked. Nothing besides a direction.
Not trusting his voice, Elliot pointed off into the distance where he last heard the wolves. Samuel didn't even do anything except stare blankly at the man.
Content with that answer, Christopher walked in the direction Elliot had indicated without another word.
As his back grew smaller, the dread Elliot felt faded with it. It was the first time he had experienced something like that and it left his back sweaty and hands shaky.
The man could be scary when he wanted to.
"You don't think he's going out there alone, do you?" Samuel said after he had recovered.
Somehow, that thought hadn't occurred to him.
What was the man going to do, fight them all alone? That was absurd.
Comments
Alexander C Hyde
It was in that (vein)vain of thought that he worked as one of the guards. He stood watch and participated in patrols. It let him fight and gain experience rather than only being along for the ride.
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter π It's funny to see the others react to chris' aura. He's a walker disaster and if he wants everyone can feel it hehe
Lauri
I just hope that the first place they find is good one. Sometimes you just get lucky and I hope to see things starting to get done.
Lucien Jay
Great chapter. I know it's tough balancing multiple perspectives, but for the record, seeing our protagonist through the eyes of others have constituted some of my favorite passages so far.
Buck
That is EXACTLY what he is going to do! π
Jason Smith
Tyftc! More interested in seeing Christopher let loose again... the bit with Gabriel was nice in the dungeon but this a proper appetizer coming up.
James Faulkner
Canβt wait for the next chappie, hopefully we get to see his reaction lol
