Evolution was a funny thing. For all the myriad paths that life can take, it still followed standard patterns. I guess if something worked well; it did so because that form and the abilities from that form were at the top of an evolutionary bestiary chain that translated across planets.

Trees were trees, no matter what planet you visited. The pack were insects and were something we instinctively understood because of creatures similar to our worlds. They weren't the same. Their size for one, but more importantly they were gifted with skills that made them more effective in combat. [Bulwark] increased the defense of their chitin bodies, but it was the [Bite] and [Rend] skill they possessed that was the real danger. But an insect was an insect no matter the size or abilities that might come with it.

The creatures that entered the area we had selected for battle looked like wolves. Four legs instead of the six that would be found on Talahm, but wolves, nonetheless. That is if a beetle could be crossed with a wolf. They didn't have the segmented bodies you'd expect of bugs, but the chitin carapace, legs that ended in claws and pads, giving them the ability to attack as well as climb. Their carapace gave them a natural camouflage having adapted to mimic the greens and browns of the area we found ourselves in.

They lost some of the agility and maneuverability real wolves were capable of, but they maintained the pack fighting structure, cycling in and out of range, supporting each other as they attempted to use numbers to steamroll Thutmose. Their ability to climb afforded them an additional advantage, a few taking to the trees to get to Sieph.

Thutmose was blocking and attacking, working to keep the attention of the bugs focused on him. His shield glowing red each time it was struck, reflecting damage. He had released [Battle] aura, a buff that increased the strength, agility, and hit points of allies while weakening enemies. His attack with the mace was well-timed, cracking carapace and shattering legs with each strike.

Bob had quickly arrived at the fight, targeting one of the insects that was climbing trees, in an effort to reach Sieph. He ignored mandibles and claws alike to engulf the wolf-like insect in his tentacles, before flying higher. Once he was certain no one below would be hit, he released the insect.

I'm sure he expected the bug to splat as it smashed into the earth, but that didn't happen. The creatures were equipped with stunted wings, perhaps not robust enough to fly, but certainly capable of slowing itself during freefall. The drop wasn't immediately deadly, although the creature was seriously injured. The insect's shell had been cracked open, and Bob was able to engage his serrated teeth, tunneling into the beast's flesh before finally killing it.

For Sieph's part, the metal projectiles she was rapid firing were being deflected for the most part. The [Bulwark] skill the insects had activated seemed to be especially suited to mitigate range damage. Her control of the metal cubes did allow her to keep spamming attacks. Those attacks were doing some damage, but they were more effective at controlling distance. The bug simply wasn't able to get any closer, and with Bob taking one out of the equation, Sieph was able to experiment.

She changed the shape of the metal constructs, attempting arrow, spear, clubs, and hooks making note of what did the most damage. She finally settled on a club and hook combo. The club would batter through [Bulwark] to crack the carapace, then the hook would wedge itself in under the cracked shell to peel the bug out of its protection.

Skills and spells worked through shadow, so I was able to spend a few seconds using [Inspect]. Three of the animals were level two, one was level three, and one was level five. Bob had killed the level three, and Sieph was working on one that was level two. That left Thutmose defending against a level five, and the other level two attackers.

Bob's kill had awarded us thirty experience points. I wasn't sure if System was splitting the experience between the four of us and the animals were worth a hundred and twenty experience, or if we were each receiving the full experience possible as long as we were grouped in a party.

It was something we should experiment with, but because we had only come across solo beasts so far, I hadn't put much thought into the experience breakdown. Something to discuss with the group after this engagement.

I waited for Thutmose to use his [Taunt] skill, once each animal was focused on him, I engaged [Shadow Blade]. The weapon was made using the very fabric of shadow, forged from the absence of light and the cold that the absence of light could produce. I had found I could do either piercing or slashing damage, and each attack had a chance to trigger either death or cold debuff.

The death and cold effects would add damage over time [Shade] stacking debuff. The DoT was only doing 2 points of damage per second, but that was at level one with one stack. I hoped as I leveled, the debuff would also do more damage.

I was targeting one of the level two wolves. If I could do enough damage, killing it quickly, that would still place us at less of a disadvantage. Two of the wolves were higher level than we were, but Bob had already defeated one. That left the level five wolf as the largest threat.

Thutmose should have been able to destroy the entire pack by himself, but we had discovered an interesting phenomenon as we fought earlier. Even though Thutmose would be considered an adult and was equivalent in power to a Ranked Commoner just about to ascend to Ranked Knight, the System adjusted his power and abilities so that he was no more powerful than the rest of us.

I wondered if the same parity would happen if we grouped up with higher Ranks. A way for the System to promote grouping but remove any attempts to power-level an individual. I hoped so. It would be nice if that tweak to the System was kept, and the rich and powerful on Talahm, those whose parents' power-leveled them through the Rankings, were stymied in their efforts to circumvent the System. It may be deadly when one of the rich and powerful found that strategy no longer worked.

Leaping out of the shadow, targeting that area between the head and body, I thrust [Shadow Blade], believing that that might be the weak point in the creature's armor. My blade wasn't made of metal, it was Shadow, summoned by magic, and as such, it was able to bypass the carapace easily.

I wasn't sure if this would always be the case; I doubted it. There had to be monsters that had high magic resistance, high enough to withstand a blade crafted of shadow. The animals we were fighting were well protected against physical damage, but either I had attacked a weak point, or they had no resistance to magic. It didn't matter that the [Shade] debuff hadn't triggered this time, because I had killed the wolf with that first attack. I had turned notifications off during battle, so I wasn't sure how I had done it, but I did see a blinking icon, something I would ignore until after this fight was over.

Bob had grasped the last level two wolf in his tentacles. Instead of attacking with his normal method, flying higher and higher until he finally released the wolf that had been struggling and clawing at him the entire time. He was more direct, using the tentacles to tear the limbs from the wolf and his serrated saw-like teeth to begin drilling into the exposed musculature that the missing limbs of his victim exposed.

I turned my attention to the only one left undamaged. Thutmose was doing well to ward off attacks, with Bob and I each killing one we had given him some breathing room. We had stabilized the fight, the outcome a foregone conclusion, as such I decided to experiment with my shape-changing ability. A quick [Shadow Blend] allowed me to enter back into the world of shadows where I activated my Cu-sith form with [Shapeshift].

The experience was disorienting at first, a few seconds of experience the world from two different perspectives. But it didn't take long until I was ready. My Cu-sith form gave me an increased bonus to attack, defense, stamina and hit points. I couldn't cast spells in this form, but I didn't need them. The shadow skills I could call upon made the Cu-sith a formidable opponent.

I leaped through [Shadow Passage], Beag mirroring my actions and began tearing and swiping into the insect. Each time the wolf turned to confront me Beag would draw its attention with a flanking attack, allowing me to [Shadow Passage] and attack from another spot.

I have to admit, this primal way of fighting, the blending of Beag, and my actions into a coherent strategy was exhilarating. I had been taught to fight like an Unseelie, structured discipline, all weapon forms, and martial kata's. This was something else. The shredding of armor, the taste of blood as I bit and used my teeth to savage, was more visceral.

Learning to fight as an Unseelie was more cerebral. Certainly, muscle memory was useful, but a fight with weapons was like a game of chess. Move, countermove, positioning and trying to out-think your opponent until you arrived at victory, loss, or stalemate.

I enjoyed that type of fighting. I was good at it. I wouldn't be the grandson of Teigh if I hadn't had some of the best trainers that he could find. But those skills took hours, weeks, months, and years to perfect. A lifetime of dedication to become a Masterclass swordsman. In my Cu-sith form, my actions were more in tune with nature. The Cu-sith had evolved to be one of the most fearsome animals of any world, in this form I was an apex predator, and I reveled in the freedom fighting in this form allowed.

As a bonus, I got to eat my fill of the blood and flesh of anything I killed while shifted, without the stigma those actions would garner if I did that in my Unseelie form. Insect wolf had no resemblance to the gamey characteristics of a real wolf, the meat had a lobster-like quality and texture to it. It would have been perfect with a side of melted butter.