And now, for something completely different.

The trio of hunters had been inside the forest for a few hours now. John was learning how to approach different animals by himself now and his level was steadily rising, already up to level 8, and with the amount of creatures they were targeting, it was showing no sign of stopping. While he did fuck up now and then, he was clearly learning and improving in real time. After John managed to kill a rather toothy swine by himself without alerting it, Arnold told him that he was ready for his next lesson.

“John, you are starting to get passable as a fledgeling hunter. And you didn’t even die yet today!” the older man joked, causing John to cough in embarrassment. “You seem to be able to grasp the basics of hunting. You are far away from being a good hunter, or a mediocre one, but you at least manage to improve at a good speed. It’s for that reason that I will now show you something else. John, get your pets out.”

John nodded, and with a mumbling of Summon Pet, a yawning leopard and a beady eyed pangolin appeared on the ground next to them. They looked up at the trio, smelling the air, and the excitement showed on their little faces.

“I think it’s best that I show you one way of using your pets first. Not all pets are created equal, and what works for me might not work for you. But I want you to watch how me and Marco work together. After that, we will find an easy prey and you will show me what you came up with to take advantage of your own pets’ special characteristics.” John nodded as Arnold gestured for him and Cynthia to follow.

Cynthia whispered into John’s ear as she picked up Toph, “I am so jealous of you, you know. I’ve been trying to get one of the pets to bond with me for years, and one week in, you have two. How about we, ehm, make a deal and you give your next pet token to me, hm?” she winked seductively, placing Toph on her shoulder as her hand cupped John’s groin.

Just as John wanted to respond, a loud, “Ahem,” startled both of them. “Cynthia, follow, you can play with John’s toy later, hunting first,” Arnold’s gruff voice commanded. Cynthia pouted but sighed.

“Wind, me, light as can be, there is a place I’d much rather be,” she mumbled to herself, jumping forward as a gust of wind picked her up and helped her reach a low hanging branch, Toph holding on to her collar in fright.

John activated Wildrun and followed behind the father daughter combo too. Arnold led them to a nearby wild path. The plants were flattened and various hoof tracks showed that this was a place frequented by many kinds of animals. Arnold pressed his finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet, then his eyes flashed purple, Marco circling above the forest, showing the man what he saw.

When they found what they were looking for, Arnold’s eyes closed; when they reopened they showed a cold light. Arnold jumped backwards and his fingers flashed across the pouches on his arms.

It was at this point that John heard multiple howls from nearby. He realized that this forest was home to many, many wolves. In the distance a wounded moose was running from a trio of wolves. The moose was looking haggard, as if it had been running for quite a while. The wolves were snapping at its heels as they came closer and closer. Just as the foremost wolf got ready to pounce, a flash of purple shot through the foliage. Marco’s talons clawed at the wolf’s eyes, blood oozing out of the popped balls.

The other wolves, seeing the predicament their companion was in, snarled at Marco, raising their heads to howl in anger. Before a single sound could be heard, however, two long feathers appeared, one in each of their foreheads. The wolves looked stunned, they were still alive, but the quick attack had done some damage to their brains. Marco used this opportunity to spread his wings, shocks flowing from them to the feathers drilled into the two wolves’ heads, frying their brains as his talons and beak penetrated the final wolf’s skull.

All of this happened in a flash. As John looked away from the bloody wolves and tried to find the moose, he saw that Arnold had already ended its misery; its throat had been slit by a feather that was sticking out of the nearby tree, blood slowly dripping from it in a macabre sight.

Arnold appeared next to the corpse of the moose, closing its eyes as he took a kukri from his belt, taking his trophy as Marco used his talons to sever a paw from each of the wolves.

When the older man looked up at the place John and Cynthia were located, the cold light from before was gone, his normal jovial look returning. When Marco brought him the paws, Arnold tossed him a piece of meat which the bird greedily gobbled up.

“So John, what did you learn from seeing me and Marco in action?” Arnold asked, scratching Marco underneath its beak, the thunderbird cooing at him affectionately. The older man was clearly not bothered by the blood sticking to its feathers.

John looked at the mess the older hunter had made, then at Marco and Arnold. “Well. At first you used Marco to scout for suitable prey, something with a good reward, seeing as you managed to take out both the predators and the prey. Then you used Marco as a distraction while you killed the moose, keeping the attention of the wolves until you were ready to deal with them. Even using their shifted focus as an opportunity to set up the third way you used Marco,” John showed his decent analytical skills. “You ended with using Marco as a combat companion. You hit the wolves, Marco finished them off, even killing one of them by himself. From start to finish you never showed yourself and never gave them the opportunity to make a peep,” John finished his report.

“Very good, very good indeed. Do you think you can work with your pets to do something similar, John?” Arnold asked him as he looked at Toph nuzzled into Cynthia’s cheek and Jack curled around John’s feet.

“If you give me a few minutes to think, I think I can, yes,” John said honestly. With his growing experience as a hunter and his old experience as a gamer, he was starting to find it easier to formulate plans, thinking ahead, trying to incorporate his pets’ special abilities in a rough plan he could tweak depending on the situation.