Awakening of the Classless War Sovereign

She carried a bow slung over her shoulder and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back. "Wanna team up? You at least seem like a level-headed guy. The rest are either losing their minds or already formed teams."

Noah hesitated for a moment, but as his gaze landed on the other quickly forming teams, he nodded his head. "Sure. I was thinking the same thing."

She extended a hand. "Leah."

"Noah," he replied, shaking her hand firmly.

Two more people approached them. One was a broad-shouldered man with blond hair wielding a sword and a shield, his face calm and thoughtful. "Mind if I join? Name's Victor. I don't wanna die alone in the wild."

The other was a thin, lean man with brown hair and a set of throwing knives strapped across his chest. He had an easygoing smile but sharp, observant eyes. "Do you guys mind if I join in as well? Name's Daniel. I'm quite good with knives if I say so myself."

Noah raised an eyebrow at Daniel. "Oh? Were you an athlete back on Earth?"

Daniel smiled and shrugged, "Nah, nothing like that. But I was quite good at throwing cards, so I'm pretty confident in my ability."

Noah and the other two's lips quivered as they heard his words, but none of them decided to mention it as Noah exchanged glances with Leah before nodding. "Alright, that makes four of us. We just need one more."

As they looked around, a petite woman with long black hair and a bow stepped forward cautiously. "I-I can help in treatment," she said softly. "At least, I think I can. I've always been good at first aid back on Earth. Maybe it will come in handy here."

Emma gave her a calm smile. "Medic, eh? You're in. What's your name?"

"Emma," the woman said, her voice becoming a bit more confident.

"Welcome to the team, Emma," Noah said. He turned to the group. "Alright, we're five now. Let's stick together and figure out what to do after this."

Garrick watched as the group of five approached him. He raised an eyebrow and nodded approvingly. "Good. At least some of you have sense. You'll last longer as a team."

He gestured toward the village gate. "Out there, you'll find Soul Beasts. Stick to the outskirts at first. The closer you get to the forest's heart, the stronger the beasts will be. Don't get cocky, and don't bite off more than you can chew."

"Understood," Noah and the group replied, their voices resolute despite the burning anxiety clawing at their hearts.

The group of five exited the village together. Noah raised an eyebrow as he saw the wooden fortifications outside the village.

"Looks like the Soul Beasts are more dangerous than we thought," Leah said softly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the village defenses.

Daniel yawned, "Well, there are Soul Beasts in this world; I doubt the nights will be peaceful."

Victor nodded his head, "Yes, we know next to nothing about this world. Maybe we should first ask the villagers for the details of the beasts."

Noah shook his head, "It wouldn't be helpful, as Garrick had said, we don't have enough time. We might die in a few days to a few hours due to the Soul Poisoning. We need to hunt some beasts first."

They continued chatting while moving towards the open plains some distance away from the village. There, they met the other humans who had gone out to hunt as well.

But none of them interacted as everyone was either occupied looking for beasts or nervously walking around.

"There, you see that forest?" Leah said, pointing towards the dense forest in the distance.

Noah and the others turned their heads and looked at where she was pointing. "Ohh, a forest. Perfect! There should be a lot of beasts inside."

Daniel nodded his head, "That's indeed quite a good place, but we need to make sure some beast doesn't sneak up on us."

Emma nervously said, "Th-there can be poisonous animals there as well. W-we need to be prepared."

Noah glanced at his group, "Then we should proceed with caution, but we need to head inside anyway. We can't find beasts to hunt in these plains."

The group discussed for a bit before walking towards the forest. There, they saw the bearded man who went solo heading into the forest.

"Quite the reckless guy, I would say," Daniel commented with an amused smile on his face.

"Leave him be; we can't help those who don't want to be helped." Victor shook his head while adjusting his shield. "I will take care of the front; you guys cover the back."

Noah and the others nodded their heads as they got into position. Leah went to the back of the group while taking out her bow. Daniel, Noah, and Emma stood in the center.

"Let's flank Emma. She can't fight much with her weak body, and we can keep her safe for emergencies like that." Noah said while walking towards the left of Emma.

Daniel nodded as he shared similar views to Noah.

"Wh-I-N-" Emma couldn't form words as she saw the two of them flanking her to keep her protected.

Noah's lips curled into a gentle smile as he said, "No need to fret over it. We will need your help later if someone among us gets injured."

Emma tightly clutched her hand and nodded her head hard.

Leah and Victor smiled, seeing the scene, and the group soon started to advance through the dense forest.

The terrain was rough, with overgrown roots jutting out of the ground and vines dropping down from the trees.

"Stay alert," Victor said, his shield raised as he led the group. "We don't know what might jump out of the forest at us."

Leah walked at the rear, her bow half-drawn and an arrow nocked, her calm eyes scanned their surroundings. Noah, Daniel, and Emma stayed in the middle, looking for any possible ambush.

A low growl suddenly echoed through the forest, freezing the group in their tracks. The sound was low and guttural, sending a chill down their spines.

It seemed to come from ahead, growing louder with each passing second. Each member of the group exchanged nervous glances, their hot breaths visible in the cold air.

"There…" Leah whispered, her voice trembling as she pointed a shaky finger at a shadow moving between the trees.

The leaves rustled, parting to reveal a massive wolf stepping out of the darkness. Its glowing red eyes stared at them, filled with malice. The beast's fur was so black it seemed to swallow the light around it, and its sharp fangs gleamed as it snarled.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, why the hell is this beast so big??" Victor said with a panicked voice, his grip on his sword and shield tightening to the point his knuckles turned white.