The hierarchy structure of Howlers isn't too complicated.

  The inner area is where all the Alphas live with their packs. This is also the area where Howlers breed and reproduce.

  After the new Howlers are born, the pack takes care of them until maturity, and then they eventually have to leave.

  These loose Howlers come to the outer region of the territory and form their own packs.

  As they get stronger, they move to the middle region until someone in the pack advances to level 4, becoming an Alpha and finally leading the whole pack back to the inner region.

  “Are you sure?” After experiencing the power of their gifts, Joon and Anon didn't have much qualms about entering the inner region to hunt bigger Howler packs.

  “It's not a problem. Although every pack leader is an Elite Monster, with our current strength it shouldn't be too difficult.”

  Zhen didn't know much about Elite Monsters, but he felt that with their current strength, an Elite Monster shouldn't pose too much of a threat.

  “Elite monsters…are very…strong, I don't think…we can fight…one.” Kenji protested.

  His encounter with the Elite Kobolds was still vivid in his head. That overwhelming aura wasn't something that they could handle.

  “You worry too much. Amber Party was able to kill an Elite Monster with just their leader being at level 3.” Zhen said to relax Kenji and clear any doubt that Anon and Joon might have.

  The story of the Amber Party killing an Elite Boar was very famous in Aqua City, as no party had done it before.

  Even Cross and Blade parties were only able to hunt an Elite Monster when they had at least four Level 3 members.

  Meanwhile, Zhen had three Level 3 warriors in a single team, and Kenji's combat power wasn't weak either.

  So how could he not be confident about killing an Elite Monster?

  “Including Kenji's [Ki Blade], we all have Level 3 combat power. We can surely kill an Elite Monster.”

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  “I still haven't tested the limits of my gift. I wonder how many arrows I can produce in a minute.”

  “Feel free to leave if you don't wanna come.” Zhen said sarcastically.

  Since Anon and Joon were already onboard, he didn't need to persuade Kenji.

  “I will…come.” With no other choice, Kenji followed the other three deeper into the Howlers' territory.

  Some time later, they came across a small pack with the leader having the [Transparent] talent.

  But Zhen took care of it, and the rest of the pack was already fish on the chopping board for Anon, Joon, and Kenji.

  After taking care of the pack of 12 Howlers, Kenji and the team kept going deeper.

  “Do you feel something strange?” The moment they stepped into the inner region of the Howlers' territory, Anon had a strange feeling.

  “The air here feels more…refreshing.” For some unknown reason, Joon felt comfortable marching into dangerous territory.

  “It’s Ki… The Ki concentration here is very high.” Kenji was the first to notice the reason behind the unusual environment.

  Unlike the others, he had spent countless hours breathing Ki, so he was extremely familiar with the particles present in the air.

  The Ki concentration in the inner region of the Howlers' territory was at least two or three times stronger than in the city.

  “Are you sure?” Zhen was filled with joy the moment he heard that the concentration of Ki was higher in the inner region.

  Unlike herbs, which hardly survived the clutches of monsters, there were other precious things in the wild, Ki Wells.

  There were countless places in the Ancient World engraved with runes that gathered Ki and condensed it into Ki Liquid, a precious resource.

  “Look around, maybe we can find a Ki Well.” Zhen’s voice couldn’t contain his eexcitement.

  Ki Liquid sold for a lot of money because a single drop could restore all lost Ki.

  Finding Ki Wells wasn’t difficult, wherever there was a high concentration of Ki, one could expect a Ki Well nearby.

  For major parties, after acquiring Healing Potions, the next thing on their list is always Ki Liquid.

  “There’s nothing here.”

  “Same. Aside from grass and a strange fruit tree, I found nothing.” Anon and Joon returned empty-handed.

  The same was true for Zhen and Kenji. They too didn’t find any trace of a Ki Well.

  “The concentration of Ki up ahead… is even higher.” As Kenji pointed forward, the others instantly recalled a crucial piece of information.

  Until now, humans had three Ki Wells under their control, and all of them were taken from monsters after clearing entire territories.

  “Hey, Zhen, if we can get control of the Well, how many gold coins do you think we can earn daily?”

  Even though he knew that gaining control of a Ki Well meant killing every single Howler in the territory, Anon still couldn’t help but dream.

  “The accumulated Ki Liquid alone could sell for thousands of gold coins, and the daily production wouldn’t be low either… For now, let’s focus on these Howlers.” As he spoke, Zhen sensed a pack of Howlers heading their way.

  Before long, a large pack of at least twenty-three Howlers came into view.

  Taking his position, Joon formed an arrow and fired at the incoming Howler.

  “They have a defensive talent!” The arrow failed to deal any damage, and Joon quickly warned the others.

  Since his last arrow hadn’t worked, Joon took a little longer to create a more powerful one.

  “This will do the trick.” Seeing the stronger arrow take shape, Joon loaded it into his bow and fired again.

  Confident in his defensive talent, the Howler didn’t even try to ddodge.

  But unlike before, the arrow pierced through his back, forcing out a pained howl.

  Ignoring the injury, the wounded Howler transformed and continued charging at the humans. It didn’t get far before another arrow streaked through the air and ended its life.

  Having figured out the exact amount of Ki needed to form the perfect arrow, Joon killed three more Howlers with ease.

  By now, the Alpha had noticed the lethality of Joon’s arrows and commanded his followers to stay alert.

  That single order drastically reduced Joon’s accuracy.

  Many of his arrows began to miss as the Howlers zigzagged and leapt unpredictably. Even so, Joon remained calm, continuously drawing in Ki and releasing arrow after arrow.

  By the time the Howlers reached Kenji and the others, they had already lost five members.

  “Howl!”

  With a commanding roar, the Alpha signaled the pack to ignore the archer and focus on the frontline. Then, without hesitation, it lunged straight at Anon.

  __________

  Author’s Note:

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