Oddly enough, there was a beneficial connection between Claude in his Shark form and wood-weaving. The transformation of segments of bone to cartilage gave him the ability to bend in ways he never could. Which allowed for movements and maneuvers through the undead cave that were unorthodox to the point of being impossible to follow.
He was a shark out of water. Deadly all the same.
He swam through the woodlands he created, flipping and diving through the bark skinned hoops and tangled structures to rip through the Undead in his path. Thankfully he had the strength and mind to restrain himself. The Vampires didn't need to see everything he could do.
Maris wasn't so fortunate. She had to use every skill. Every cutting combo. Every Aura technique as she slashed and weaved through batches of Undead.
Rupont stayed close. Claude could hear him giving her pointers as he teleported all around her. He was so fast the Undead seemed to simply be dying next to him instead of being hacked down by his sword.
The WereWolves stayed close. They fought almost like one mind sharing three bodies. Still not perfect. He and Ursula had times of better syncing. But they made it work. Sloane's Hexes helped tremendously. It made the cave a minefield. Randomly Undead would explode, or electrify into liquids, or burst into flame, while others joints twisted in reverse and made them sitting ducks.
After ten minutes of war, the cave was full of wood and vines covered in ice and arrowheads. And it was still crawling with Undead.
"We don't have time for this!" Claude snarled as he ran his spears through the chest of an undead and ripped it in half. Three more stumbled through the woodland behind him to reach him. A torrent of ice flew across the bark surface and beheaded them in the midst of their climb.
[+100 EXP]
[+2 Stat Points]
[+2 Stat Points]
A cloud of red and purple smoke filled with bats flew next to him, solidifying into Rupont's human form.
"Do you have something to speed up the process?" Rupont smiled. No fangs. But his sword was covered in Undead muck. Somehow his suit was spotless.
"[Time for another seed blast I presume?]" Arne mumbled.
"Everybody get out!" Claude yelled as his Shark form faded, leaving his partially transformed state remaining.
"You heard the Lupine! We are fleeing!" Rupont danced through the madness like they were in a ballroom as his Vampires erupted into smoke and headed for the exit into stale light.
He grabbed Maris and dragged her with him. Claude wood weaved a platform into existence that Cassidy used to vault over the Undead horde. Ursula tackled her way through leaving a trail of jagged ice and busted limbs.
Claude picked up the flanks not far behind the WereWolves. The Horde was closing in on them— seemingly uninterested in the others outside the ca—
"ACK!"
One of the Sloane's pack mates tripped.
Claude exploded forward in a single bound, bringing a spike of wood with him that ripped through a trail of Undead.
PSHKSPSHKPSHK!
[+400 EXP]
He grabbed the WereWolf despite his snarls and bright yellow eyes and threw him out of the cave.
Sloane shoulder checked him as she grabbed her other Packmate and threw him out herself.
"I can take care of my people!" Sloane snapped before firing her autobow into the face of three Undead without looking at them.
"What level are you?" Claude stabbed into the others closing in.
The question must've caught her off guard. She went tight lipped. "That's none of your business."
"It is when you're putting our escape at risk. You haven't used your element the entire time you've been here. Either you're new and don't know how— ERAGH!" Claude picked up a larger Undead and threw it into a section of the horde knocking them all over, "Or there's some weird pack path thing I'm missing. Pick one."
He was still learning how to speak with fellow Alphas. Commands and forward actions didn't seem to work unless you wanted friction. Her silence was annoying.
"FUCK!" Gil exploded out of his chest with a torrent of green flames that grew spikes on the frozen woodland surface.
"Can you give me a Hex that makes me stronger!?"
"Yes. I can." Sloane said as she ripped through the attackers. Backing away as a wave seemed to come straight out of nowhere, crawling over the dead. Cassidy's arrow shots hit home where they mattered all the while.
"I need that as soon as I step out." Claude snapped and began moving. Sloane stayed ahead of him, flipping and bounding through the complex maze of icy wood and vines.
After a while he could feel her movements. Predict them. It didn't matter since they reached the exi—
She slipped on an icy branch. Claude reached out, catching her foot and throwing her out.
She landed outside in a roll and immediately twisted a hex into existence with her magical strings and sling shot it at the floor.
Claude flipped out into the stale sunlight, landing on the Hex.
DING!
[Hex of Empowerment Activated: +10 to Physical and Magical Strength]
A green burst of energy erupted from the Hex, like a gust of wind, causing his cloak to flutter and his hair to rise.
Claude slammed his fist into the mouth of the closest Undead.
The rest was history.
After a few seconds silence fell. The cave was impossible to peer into the forest jammed into it. Members of the Undead still creaked and groaned inside. But they were locked in the forested prison.
[+2000 EXP]
[+2 Stat Points]
[+2 Stat Points]
[+2 Stat Points]
DING!
[You have Leveled Up! You are now Level 57]
[15 Stat Points Available]
[New Skill Unlocked: (Killer Instinct Lv1]
DING
[Skill Merge Recognized: (Killer Instinct Lv1) + (Combat Focus Lv2) —> (Killer Focus/Instinct Lv1)]
"Holy hell what a boon." Cassidy mumbled.
"Yea no kidding." Claude was interested in the stacking potential of his new skill. In theory it had the combined might of three skills…. For the magical price of one.
"Don't think I need to wonder what Anger Absorption does." Ursula mumbled.
"Well. That was fun. But now, we're back to business. Welcome to the Isles of Indus, everyone."
Claude turned away from the cave entrance.
They occupied an island. No larger than a mile across. No sand. Just packed cold earth. Footsteps— shoeless, occupied the floor like a desolate and depressing decoration. A few trees stood taller than natural. No leaves. No life. Just now, flowers bloomed around his bare feet. Struggling to live off his magic.
And that was repeated in various forms across the hundreds of small islands they were connected to like a chain of unclaimed land.
In the distance he could barely see a city. Barren. Quiet. Surrounded by the jagged remains of a land assaulted by explosive warfare. Godly warfare.
Yo! Got a lil world building to run alongside Maris’ little vampire field trip! Lmk what ya think and thanks for reading!