As we approached the exit, a bright light emerged from the floor and ceiling in front of it. The lights stretched and tapered into a stalagmite and stalactite with a sphere of light hanging between them.
[Analyzing performance…] The UIP announced.
The sphere began rotating, the rest of the construct became light once more and was dragged into the rotating sphere. It stopped rotating then stretched and morphed into a rectangular shape as it floated gently to the floor. The light shone brightly for a second forcing us to close our eyes to the blinding light. When we opened them again a chest sat in its place. With a soft click, the lid opened as we made our way to it.
Three magnificent items were neatly displayed in the chest. Without hesitation, I reached for the gear - a set of bracers. They were made of the Lizardman’s leather overlayed with three sections of scales reminiscent of the Armored Lizard’s. As I slipped them on, I could almost feel my constitution increase. A message popped up showing the name and enchantment attached to them.
[Thunder Gauntlets - Boosts agility and strength by 10% of the total of both combined.]
Next, Etu’s shield caught my eye as he picked it up. It was like a much larger replica of the one we had made from the Armored Lizard’s skull. The horn and scales, however, seemed to be made of some type of rough orange and black obsidian. The shield we had made covered him from shoulder to hip, this one covered from shoulder to knee. The back was lined with the boss’ tough hide and the strap was made of the same material. Although I was not holding it the information showed as I admired it.
[Magma Shield - Boosts endurance and constitution by 10% of total health.]
Beside me, Neytiri’s voice broke the silence. “Beautiful,” she said, grabbing a set of short-swords with leather-wrapped handles. The blades were horns sharpened into long curving daggers, the bottom half of which were coated in small sharp scales. The handles were wrapped in strips of the Komodo’s tough leather. The blades alone were at least a foot long and the handles half that size.
[Arcane Shorts-words - Boosts dexterity and wisdom by 10% of total arcanum.]
Neytiri’s eyes widened as she surveyed the weapons in front of her. “Is it just me,” she asked, “or are these weapons exactly what we needed? They seem…overpowered too."
I chuckled, “Well if you consider that the variant was probably stronger than a regular lizardman, and our roles during the quest…” I let my words trail off, knowing that she understood the implications. But then I couldn’t resist adding, “And besides, we started this whole thing with a hundred people. Maybe that was also taken into consideration?”
They both nodded quietly lost in thought.
***
As we emerged from the miscellany, a small cluster of buildings caught our attention in the distance. Beyond that, we could make out what appeared to be a city.
“Where the fuck are we?” cursed Etu, his frustration evident.
“Do any of you live near a rainforest?” I asked. “No,” they replied. “Me neither. I’m from Philadelphia,” I offered.
“Los Angeles,” added Neytiri.
“Atlanta,” said Etu.
“We should head towards those buildings and see if we can find out where we are,” suggested Neytiri.
The truth was, our location didn’t matter much. We were all far from home, and it was unlikely that we could simply hop in a car or a plane and return with monsters running around. As I looked around, it became clear that this was not the world we knew. Trees seemed larger than usual, and in the distance, I could see what looked like floating islands. The Earth had changed dramatically when this UIP established itself.
***
As we embarked on our journey, our nerves were on edge. The unknown lay before us, and we were uncertain of what was to come. The first sound we heard after leaving was a familiar one.
“Ko-kee, Ko-kee!”
We immediately took a fighting formation unsure of where the noise was coming from. Seconds later a regular Coqui hopped off a plant a couple feet in front of us.
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I tried to hold it in but couldn’t, “AHhahahahaha!” I busted out in raucous laughter and the others followed, “Guess we’re a bit tense, we should probably relax a little.” It was embarrassing really, my instincts were usually pretty good about feeling out danger. But they had been on overdrive since we entered the miscellany leaving me numb to the feeling. I would usually get a feeling in the pit of my stomach if I were in danger. That feeling in the pit had been with me since I woke up in the miscellany causing me to push the sense aside, thus I didn’t even notice its absence now that we were outside.
We walked for a half hour admiring how the rainforest seemed to be teaming with life. There were birds of all kinds, amphibians, reptiles, insects. I began to wonder if there were any monsters outside of the miscellany. How much did the world outside really change if not?
No sooner than I had that thought the rainforest went still and my instincts screamed at me of danger lurking. I signaled for the others to stop and get down, a few seconds later a huge shadow moved over the rainforest at a blinding speed. Something reached into the canopy not far from us, quickly flapped its magnificent wings, and flew away.
It was a giant bird of prey, I couldn’t tell which or if it was a regular bird of prey. But I could tell that it was the size of a large plane, and it carried away a snake the length of three city buses. It was hard to make out the specifics of either animal; the flap of its wings caused a torrent of wind to kick up dirt and debris forcing us to close our eyes.
“Well, that answers the question of monsters in the outside world, I guess,” said Etu with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I was starting to doubt it myself,” added Neytiri.
I nodded quietly wondering what new horrors awaited us in this new world. Surely, giant and humanoid animals weren’t the only things out here. Above all, I knew that the real monsters had always existed and a world such as this was ripe with opportunity for such people. Humans were bound to be much more dangerous now than any monster.
After another hour of travel, we finally reached the buildings. We had stumbled upon a trail that led us in the right direction, making our journey easier. However, I couldn’t help but warn my companions about the dangers that may lie ahead, “Before we get too close to the buildings, I feel I should point out the dangers this kind of environment brings when approaching other humans. Also, that area gives me a bad feeling. There is likely something bad happening, or will happen soon in there.”
“Did you get a new skill?” Asked Neytiri with a furrowed brow.
“No,” I shook my head. “My instincts are just usually pretty good when it comes to these things.”
“No offense Achak but you’re sounding paranoid,” Etu said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.
I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about their nonchalant attitude towards the situation. But in the end, I couldn’t bear the thought of them walking into a potentially dangerous situation alone. “You have been warned,” I reluctantly agreed.
Etu looked in the direction of the buildings smiling nervously, “Geez don’t make it sound so ominous bro.”
In my mind, their optimism was foolish. Life had taught me that no one does anything for free and if there were people here they might seek an absorbitant price for taking us in, even for a night. There is always a cost, whether it’s upfront or hidden. And given the new state of things I was prepared for the worst. Also, the fact that the buildings were conveniently located just as we emerged from the miscellany seemed too much of a coincidence to me.
We approached the cluster of buildings and the path we had taken turned into a road cutting through them. As we approached, figures lining the sides of the road came into view. Four men on the right, four others on the left. Their tense stances and hushed conversations indicated a brewing conflict.
I signaled to Neytiri, urging her to activate her barriers, and fell back to tap Etu on the shoulder. My gesture directed him to take the lead. The closer we came, the more evident the tension between the two groups became.
On the right side, a woman, likely in her twenties, cowered at the door of one of the buildings. Her disheveled appearance and tear-stained face suggested she was in distress. The four men on the same side of the street wore handguns on their thighs, bulletproof vests, and various other fireweapons in their hands.
Meanwhile, two men and two women on the left side of the road stood with guarded expressions. One woman appeared to be in her late teens, the other in her thirties. It was obvious to me what was happening here, the body language spoke volumes. However, I chose to stay silent and let the others handle the situation while I observed, for now.
Neytiri stepped forward, addressing the woman on the right. “Hello, is everything okay here?” A weaselly-looking man with light skin stepped in front of her holding an automatic rifle, blocking the view to the other woman. A grimy smile crept across his face. “Of course, why wouldn’t it be? We were just discussing the price for passing through and staying in our little spot here, is all.”
The other three men with him were equally slimy, their leering gazes stripping Neytiri bare. But she didn’t flinch. She simply stepped around the thug and put her hands on the pommels of her new weapons. “Miss, are you okay? Do you need help?” she asked the woman once more. The woman gave a barely perceptible nod while looking back and forth between the thugs and the other group, that, was all the confirmation I needed.
The time for waiting and observing was over. I slowly walked up to the man next to Neytiri, he seemed unworried as his thugs pointed their weapons at me hollering to get back. I dashed the rest of the way faster than they could follow and punched the man in his chest with Strike activated. He landed on his back, sliding several feet before coming to a stop in front of one of his thugs. His chest had been blown open, the skin around the blast area charred.
Gunshots blared as they took aim at us and began firing, fear clear in their eyes. It seemed my warnings had not fallen on deaf ears. Etu screamed at the other group, clearly not with these assholes, to get down as he turned. A bullet struck the barrier and shattered it, another two hit his shield as he fired a Barrage followed by two Fireballs at the assailant. The man was engulfed in flames and fell to the floor in a blaze with a horrid scream on his lips.
Neytiri dashed towards the closest enemy and sliced at his throat while ducking his weapons fire. We hadn’t realized how sharp her new short-swords were until this moment. She aimed for the throat but the weapon sliced through the entire neck like butter decapitating the man.
Three thugs had been taken out too fast for anyone to follow. I was already next to the last one ready to strike when he threw down his weapon and begged for mercy. I put down my fist and glared at him.
Across the way, the other group stood from their hiding spot hands raised, showing no aggression toward us. I turned to them and demanded an explanation. A weathered woman who stood at the front began to speak, her voice trembling with both fear and anger. “These assholes had us trapped here against our will,” she gestured to the woman across the street. “They took her while we slept,” her head hung in shame. “We didn’t notice till this morning and when we came looking for her they demanded we also leave her behind,” She pointed at the younger woman behind her, “As thanks for passing through their territory. - Thanks for the help.”
The woman in the building stood up and screamed, “They fucking raped me! Kill that son of a bitch!” Tears in her eyes and trembling from the rage she grabbed one of the daggers strapped to Neytiri’s back and charged him. The woman who spoke aimed to stop her but I stood in her way and shook my head.
The other woman reached the man and began stabbing and screaming, fueled by humiliation, pain, and anger. Neytiri approached her, her voice gentle and soothing. “It’s okay now. He’s gone. You’re safe.” The woman dropped the dagger, sobbing and spitting at the lifeless body. Neytiri guided her back to the building she had come from, offering comfort and assistance.