No matter how fast he tried to move, certain things acted as restrictions. The slippery rocks ran away beneath his fingers, and the bag around his waist scraped the tunnel's walls.
Ding
|Continental Announcement:
Congratulations to Player X. They stole the worship object of the Gnolls inhabiting the Hole of Darkness, Silver Lane. Praise their criminal achievements! Vocalize their feat!|
The AI sang once in its voice, deprived of obvious characteristics, but Midnight had no time to think or assimilate the message. His back felt cold, and he sensed the murderous intent. The Gnolls were creeping closer.
Ping
|You are the Gnolls' mortal enemy! Every single Gnoll wants to rip you into pieces!|
"Oh man, you don't say... Please shut up, and leave me be!"
He swiped away the warning window and yelled toward the air. His muscles tensed and his temporal vein pulsated, visible beneath the skin. The last thing he needed now was a distracting, flashing window in his face. One that pointed out something so obvious that he felt it with every fiber in his body. Even a blind person could read the atmosphere better than this shitty AI.
One of the worms, an agile youth, was the first to reach the wall. It clung to it and stretched its upper half. Extended to its limits, It rushed forward and bit into the slightly dangling foot.
Snap
Midnight sucked a breath.
The sudden burning pain choked him. It was so intense that he couldn't even scream. The air froze inside his throat and he felt his consciousness blink and slip away. Tears burst out of his glazed eyeballs and wet his cheeks, but the shock prevented him from noticing that he was crying.
There was no time. With his leftover self-awareness, he swung his neck and slammed his head into the nearest protruding rock. Blood spurted out and soaked his hair, and his attention was divided between two painful spots. Thankfully, this different stimulation balanced out the scales and somehow dulled the prior shock. He snapped awake and used every drop of strength to pull his leg inside the tunnel.
That damn monster gnawed off half of my toes! Without the pain reduction, I'd have blacked out...
Despite the stuffy air in the tunnel, he felt extremely cold. A chill began from his now slowly numbing, rigid limb, and shot upward through his spine. He shivered.
Behind him, the Gnolls cried a wild roar and trashed their bodies. They were stimulated by the scent of blood and crawled even faster.
The smarter ones used the bodies of their brethren to reach the hole and slam themselves inside. Some gave up on the idea and began to crush the rocks and dig out other tunnels. Midnight's passage was too narrow to fit two monsters side by side. Therefore, the Gnolls could only form a line on a first come first served basis, or burrow through the granite and intercept him.
Whirrr...
The luckiest one followed right behind him. It was barely a step or two away. Its mighty jaws activated, and the teeth rotated and collided.
Fuck off you wriggly slimy bastard!
"P..pro venti..." Still breathless by the pain, he stuttered out a spell.
While crawling further in, he wasn't idle. Not even an idiot would think they could win against an outraged worm in a crawling competition. These passageways were their home ground. Thus, he used the respite worthy of 2 or 3 seconds before the worms reached him, to string a bunch of symbols, and duplicate the structure in his brain.
The physical phenomenon descended, and he felt an enormous gale emerging at his feet. He shot forward like a bullet in a barrel; the goo, acting as the perfect grease.
"Pro venti!"
"Pro venti!"
"Pro venti!"
Through his gritted teeth, he hissed the spell, releasing the copies of the gale structure. Again and again. Then, one more time. He expelled the duplicates one by one and accelerated even more. The wind substituted for the gunpowder in this make-shift rifle, propelling him forward.
Bam
He hit a rock and felt warm blood trickle down his forehead. It soaked his eyeballs and stung them like a tiny needle, forcing him to blink. Yet, compared to his former wounds, this pain was negligent. He couldn't care less and used another blast of wind to sustain his movement speed.
The only problem was that Klein hadn't burrowed straightforwardly. Perhaps, by nature, or its nasty character, it often took detours. The passage had too many twists and turns. Every corner, every junction, every divergence in the tunnel's shape or size, ate at Midnight's speed and loaded him with wounds. With every second, his bumps, bruises, cuts, and hematomas only grew in number. His shoulder hurt, his back was scraped, and he felt a clavicle and rib snap from the collisions.
But, even so, the Gnolls couldn't catch up to his speed. Gradually the bloodlust and their presence dimmed.
"Pro venti!"
Not good. I have to get out of here faster. Not all Gnolls are-
"Pro venti!"
Not all Gnolls are in the treasure room. There should be plenty in the granite. There are Gnolls in the cafeteria as well. If they-
"Pro venti!"
If they catch me in this narrow space, if they intercept me from the front, the game is over.
"Pro venti!"
He brought his map's translucent window, and guided by the markings left on coming, reversed his prior steps.
With the currents' aid, the back trip couldn't be compared. It was disturbingly short and in the nick of time, he traversed the tunnel. However, nothing came for free. Every coin had two sides.
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Plop
Bang
The same helpful wind prevented him from stopping promptly. He shot out of the exit, glided through the cavern, and slammed against the wall. The impact forced the air out of his lungs again, and for a second, he was physically speechless. He lost control of the structures in his mind and the chains broke down. The magical symbols and labels scattered and vanished in the air.
Bad. I reached the cave too fast...This is their cafeteria... They are here!
The instant his battered body hit the rock, his mana sensitivity gave a clear warning. His hair stood on end and he felt the creatures encroaching on him.
Without the chance to catch his breath, half-dazed and half-desperate, he slid down and used his healthy leg to bounce toward the safest possible location. Simultaneously, he pulled a potion bottle, ripped the cork away, and nearly inhaled the liquid. He would have loved to do so while in the tunnel, but he couldn't reach his bag! Only, now he had the chance.
Thud
Behind him, two Gnolls trashed violently. One broke the ground, and the other struck the wall. Greenish gunk and granite fragments splattered everywhere.
Lunging forward, Midnight ignored his still screaming flesh and bones and rolled around, evading deadly blows. Sharp teeth here, tail swipes there, a headbutt to the side.
The medicine's effects kicked off, but he didn't have the time to take in the efforts of his healing wounds. Instead, he concentrated on spell crafting and, forlornly, gathered symbols, numerics, and labels with his will. These creatures were resistant to direct magical damage, but in the end, magic was imagination. The effects depended on the application.
Gugugu
His left foot touched the ground, and he felt a bout of panic. This was his mana sensitivity. His heart accelerated, and he spat two words, "Petra oriris."
The floor rock cracked, his leg sank deeper, and a pair of pulverizing jaws emerged. They were about to gnaw his leg again.
Thud
A slanted solid block of granite broke out of its brethren and shot toward the caster. It slammed him sideways and broke his arm, while, at the same time, it pushed him out of danger. With a dangling limp appendage, Midnight used the force to somersault toward the nearest support. It happened to be the wall beside him. Stretching out his right leg, he stepped on it and thrust himself toward the cavern's exit.
From above!
Crack Crash
The ceiling crumbled, and a Gnoll emerged. While falling, it used its rear end to whip the mage and send him flying once again. Through a stroke of sheer luck, the direction was correct. Midnight stumbled, fell, and rolled two meters. He barely regained his breath and dashed away.
Somewhen through the whole ordeal, he had pulled another potion, biting at its lid.
As his teeth sank deeper, he jerked his head, spat the cork, and took a sip of greenish liquid. His broken arm began to mend, and he felt a bit of stamina return. Even with Sage and Nightwatcher active in the darkness, the intense physical activity and mental strain were large.
He could only use the help of potions to barely persevere a passable agility. However, he couldn't gulp two bottles at the same time. To cope with wounds, he could only postpone ingesting mana potions. His pool was bordering a danger zone.
He ran in a zig-zag, reached inside his bag, and tightly grasped two items. One was a bottle filled with bluish fluid and the other was a tiny murky cristal.
Sidestepping yet another Gnoll, he found a breach in the encirclement, dropped lower to the ground, and used his fastest speed to roll forward.
"Infundere ultra." A few symbols rolled from the tip of his tongue and slipped between his lips. At some point in time, the murky crystal had fallen from his hand somewhere in the middle of the pack of creatures. Like a magnet, catalyzed by an intangible fluctuation, the crystal greedily devoured his mana pool.
Snap
Midnight staggered and bit the opened bottle. The liquid slid down his throat and nourished him, but his spirituality didn't swell at all. It was as if the potion had expired.
One is not enought. Damn it.
He took another bottle and sucked the medicine inside.
The crystal trembled and finally exploded in an eccentric bout of colors. Blue, yellow, green, orange, violet, and red. The colors meshed together in a vortex of chaotic high-dimension energies and caused a mana storm.
Thud Grunt Groan~
Midnight and the worms were instantly affected.
They felt their inwards churn and form a knot. Their brains hummed and swelled, pounding in their heads.
Midnight, who was a couple of steps away from the center of the vortex, was the least affected. Unlike the bunch of Gnolls who writhed in their places, he only stumbled, fell forward, and broke his nose. A moment later, he recovered, jumped back to his feet, and ran for dear life.
Even his heavy bag now felt much lighter. The adrenaline of life-death battles had spectacular effects. It was even more miraculous than magic.
With his map, he followed winding corridors and chugged on potions. He carefully evaded the occasional Gnolls emerging from the floor, the ceiling, or the walls. After he escaped the main body of the swarm, dealing with these individuals felt like a happy sunny Sunday stroll. He even had the time to think in paragraphs instead of lonely sentences of random words.
To think the AI called these bastards docile! To think that I named them and felt a sense of friendship. Fuck you, Klein. Go to hell, Gertrude! May you choke on a random rock, Benjamin... Oh, wait, Benjamin was already eaten by the mushrooms. Great! If only I could bait all Gnolls to that infested cavern. But, if I do, I'd likely die as well...
Phew, thankfully, my last option somehow worked. If I couldn't stall the swarm back there I'd be dead by now. Damn it, it's ridiculous to expect so much physical activity from me. I am a person who is half-dead and barfing after thirty seconds of cardio in real life! This is like expecting a pro wrestler to solve the Millennium Prize Problems!
But, indeed, overloading mana ore with mana will lead to utter chaos. It saved me but this isn't something good. I should definitely note it down. Someday I may need to use the ore in craftings. If I make a mistake in handling it, I won't end up with a simple headache. It's a neat and bloodless suicide...
He propped against a column and took a heavy breath. From all the running, his lungs were already on fire and his muscles spasmed. He even wondered if there was a glaring problem with his skills. Every single time he fought a monster, he escaped half-dead after wasting precious findings. The end result was bitter-sweet, with the prevalence of the former. He couldn't describe it as a victory.
Sensing the encroaching presences that were rather far away, he slapped his chest and warned himself.
Half a minute. I can't recuperate for longer. Although the Gnolls seem territorial, I stole their treasure. It is something that they worship. They will absolutely come and ask me for an explanation. And our chat will include a lot of blood, screams, and torn-out limbs! My limbs!
Fuck, inside the Hole of Darkness, there is no safe place. I need to get the heck out. However, the outside isn't definitely safe. That fucking AI just had to yap and, oh so kindly, revealed my location to every single soul around...
Is this what they call to be between a rock and a hard place? Why does it have to be so literally true?! I can't even laugh at it!
He had his fill of oxygen and his spasming muscles and thumping heart relaxed. He used his hand to push his tired body further from the column, staggered, barely keeping up his balance, and dashed toward the exit. If it wasn't for the rage he felt toward the AI, he wouldn't have the fuel to preserve. The previous battle was short but too intense. Its repercussions were slowly creeping closer and he felt the weakness whisper in his ears.
....
After night fell Lesotte's weather changed. The bright sky illuminated by the early summer sun was now cast in thick, impenetrable clouds. A heavy wind emerged and raindrops pitter-patterned to the ground, tattletaling of the coming storm.
In a well-lit room, two streets away from Merriment and Luck, Popo sipped a glass of milk and watched his mouse working in the corner.
Ro stood before two smaller mice and squeaked out orders in a peremptory manner.
The two innocent creatures tried their best to follow, but there was confusion in their eyes. They lifted their paws or swung their tails accordingly. Sometimes running to the table and bringing certain foods. Whenever a mistake was made, they inevitably felt Ro's wrath, bowed their heads, and speechlessly listened to its shouting.
Now that Ro has subordinates, it seems to be living up its dream. It is good that it is finally proactive, with a purpose different than just eating, but it worries me how full of itself it will get. No, lol, it had always been full of itself. I doubt it can get any worse than this...
Ding
|Continental Announcement:
Congratulations to Player X. They stole the worship object of the Gnolls inhabiting the Hole of Darkness, Silver Lane. Praise their criminal achievements! Vocalize their feat!|
The voice startled him and he dropped the cup, spilling milk and shattered fragments. Uncaring, his eyes enlarged and he shouted in excitement, "Player X. The Hole of Darkness. Silver Lane. That's Midnight!!! So that's what he was doing in that cave!"