The team of four finally snapped into action. Skyler watched as they formed elemental spells and attacked the wolves. Their coordination was almost impeccable, and unlike his attacks, their strikes killed the wolves almost instantly, as if the 2-star fire wolves were nothing to them.
Max engaged the alpha wolf, wielding the earth and fire elements and a heavy sword.
Jenny brandished a whip made of water element, while Elena wielded a weird rifle. Skyler narrowed his eyes as he noticed her craft the bullets with darkness element.
He glanced at the bow and arrows in his hand. The bow was ordinary, but the arrow tips were infused with elemental power.
"No wonder my attacks were so effective. Just yesterday, I had to risk my life to take down a 2-star wolf. Is this the reason I can harm the monsters so easily now?"
He clicked his tongue and fired another arrow, then another. His aim was flawless, filling him with exhilaration. For a moment, he even thought he might have been born to be an archer! However, his excitement died as his arrows ran out, and he could only stand at a distance and watch.
They took down all the wolves in just a few minutes. Max gave everyone a thumbs up.
"Great teamwork!"
Skyler stepped forward and examined the lifeless bodies of the monsters.
None of them had any elemental stones outside their bodies, which made him sigh.
After all, the tiny elemental crystals in the monsters' hearts dissipate upon death.
Suddenly, Austin shook his shoulder.
"Damn, you can wield a bow fantastically! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Skyler pursed his lips. He wasn't sure if he should tell him that it was actually his first time wielding a real bow. He had only done so in the past in games.
"En.."
505 suddenly warned him about a 1-star insect monster approaching from the side.
He reached out and snatched the javelin from Austin's hand, leaving him astonished at how easily he took it. Then, right in front of the man, he threw it at the large spider that had stepped out from the trees.
The javelin soared through the air and struck the spider's stomach, causing it to let out a piercing screech of agony.
Max, Elena, and Jenny, who had also been alerted by the system like Skyler and were about to attack the spider, halted. They had their backs turned to the duo, so they didn't see who threw the javelin, prompting Elena to shoot an annoyed glance at Austin.
"I wanted to kill it."
Austin's jaw dropped. He pointed at Sky's nose and shouted that he did it, but Elena just scoffed at him. The way the weapon was thrown was very professional.
"No need to lie."
Ultimately, Austin could only glare at the culprit, who was himself in a daze. Skyler stared at his hands.
"It's not hard, just like using a bow."
Hearing this, Austin nearly fainted. How could it not be hard?? Using a bow was different from throwing a javelin!
He had worked for years to master it! And this kid just did it in one go!
How did he even balance the weight on both sides for a perfect throw!?
Austin wanted to refute Sky's words, but suddenly the ground beneath them and the surrounding trees began to shake subtly.
Instantly, the distant roars of countless monsters filled the air, accompanied by the heavy thuds of trees crashing down and the thunderous stomps of their footsteps.
A warning flashed in front of Skyler.
("The first monster wave is passing through the forest. Evacuate the area; if you cannot, seek shelter or fight to survive.")
His eyes widened. The others received the same warning. Max shouted.
"Run! We can't fight! A monster wave always has too many monsters, and the strongest are at the front!"
Instantly, everyone jolted back to reality, turned, and began sprinting in the opposite direction. Skyler cursed his system.
"505! Why didn't you inform me of this sooner?!"
But he got no response, no matter how much he called out to it. The damn system went eerily silent and abandoned him!
Another group of people ran past them. They were not human and had pointed ears, indicating their identity as elves. They were all harnessing the wind element to enhance their speed as they vanished from sight.
Skyler noticed that both Jenny and Elena could also use the wind element.
He knew his older sister had awakened as a dual elementalist, but it seemed her entire team could wield multiple elements.
Soon, he found himself falling behind the others, being the slowest in the group.
This was to be expected, given his low agility resulting from his 0-star strength.
Suddenly, a massive spear made of darkness element pierced the tree beside him, shattering it and sending him flying from the force. Dust and debris rose, and a towering dark boar with a pair of curved horns, radiating a powerful aura, emerged from the wreckage, its pitch-black eyes locking onto his groaning figure.
Skyler's face lost all color, and he froze. Jenny's loud voice, telling him to stand up and run, snapped him out of his daze.
Max and Elena halted in their tracks and began attacking the massive boar from a distance to draw its attention.
Skyler scrambled to his feet. Only then did he notice the sensation of blood trickling down his thigh where a tree branch had impaled him when the tree exploded.
With trembling hands, he gripped the branch and yanked it out of his skin. The pain caused him to let out a silent scream in his head as he clenched his jaw.
The tiny drones floating above them displayed everything in the outside world, revealing countless people running through the forest to save themselves.
He stumbled forward toward the others, doing his best to run. Austin, who could have healed his wound, had already gone far ahead, so he could only endure.
The boar that was attacked by Max and Elena and lost its prey let out a roar that shook the air. Instantly, six more boars emerged from the surrounding trees. Max's eyes widened as he realized they were all 5-star! Some of them could even harness the wind element to boost their speed!
All the boars charged toward them. The ground beneath them cracked under their weight, and the darkness element spread from their bodies, enveloping everything around them in dark shadows.
The air trembled from their power, and Skyler's legs gave out under the pressure. He was still far away from the others, so he could only try to drag his body toward them.
Jenny unleashed her whip, her eyes trembling, ready to go save him. But Elena held her arm and shouted at Skyler.
"Hide in the gap between the cluster of trees on your left! We wll distract them. In your condition, you won't be able to reach us and run!"