He slowly went back inside the corridor while still keeping a watchful eye on the creatures.

(Damn it! What to do now? Wait until they are gone or try to sneak to the nearest corridor?)

*KSHHhhh*

A different kind of sound now came from the chamber and made Blake peek out again.

(Great. Now what?)

Small, bright explosions now filled the air above the monsters. Blake blinked a few times, not understanding what was happening. After continuing to stare blankly he noticed that they formed small spheres in or near their mouths and flung them in the air where they exploded in quite a beautiful way. Blake’s brow creased.

(What are they doing? I don’t see the point.)

He laid down on the floor to attract less attention and crawled a bit more forward to get a better view. A minute passed but the beings just continued flinging the orbs in the air, jumping around and watching the bright explosions.

(Maybe a ritual? Or a game?)

He continued to wonder while marveling in the spectacle that was before him.

-Lava orb ability gained-

A ring interrupted Blake and he inspected the window that appeared in front of him.

(Oh right, my class. The ability is quite beautiful but purely cosmetic, eh?)

He stopped and took a look at the beings.

(Actually this might just be what I need.)

He scanned the nearest corridor entrance and saw that two of the beings were a few steps away from it, also playing with orbs. Blake brushed the sweat off his forehead and slowly started crawling along the path to the corridor entrance.

(I don’t think I can come any nearer. Now to the second part.)

A whisper came from his lips.

‘’...lava orb..’’

A beautiful orb of fire appeared in his hand. It’s borders were changing and small flame tongues sometimes appeared but it always returned to the spherical shape. It was nearly weightless and just gave off a warm and relaxing feeling in Blake’s hand as he inspected it.

(Fascinating… But I have no time to be dazed right now!)

He raised the orb high and flung it across the chamber as hard as he could.

(Now!)

The orb exploded somewhere in the middle of the chamber, but Blake did not see it. Right after the throw he started running as fast as he could towards the entrance. The beings that were near it looked at the spot where the orb exploded giving Blake the few moments he was desperately hoping for.

(Yes!)

He was now just a few steps away from the entrance.

*KrhKLhKrhklhkgh*

The ground abruptly started shaking and caused Blake to lose balance and stumble.

(What is this now?!)

He looked up from the floor and saw that all of the creatures were looking at him and closing in with big hops.

(Their jumping caused this?!)

He turned towards the entrance again but saw that the nearby creatures already cut off his path and sprayed the nearby floor with lava while doing it.

Now that they were out Blake used the chance to get a better look of them. They were beings that walked around on four sturdy legs and paws that had claws the size of Blake’s hand. Their stature reminded him of bear but their torso was covered by thick black spikes that had streaks of yellow over them and pure red bases. The whole body was just a combination of black and red. It was as if they wore some kind of infernal battle armor. Another thing that was different from bears was their face. It was much pointier in shape and didn’t have the usual wideness.

-Gar’rac-

Blake slowly got up and desperately looked for a way out.

(Damn they are faster than I thought with those massive bodies. What now?!)

His heart raced while he tried to go back but the Gar’rac were closing in on him from every direction in big strides. The one nearest to him that was next to the entrance also got closer but it didn’t seem like it was trying to attack.

Blake’s thoughts were jumbled but the strange actions caught his attention.

(It could have reached me thrice in this time. What’s up with that hopping? )

The unreal situation of hopping fire monsters was both amusing and scary. He felt helpless as he waited for them to do something.

(Well I might as well try the only thing I can do…)

‘’Lava orb!’’

The Gar’rac that were now all around him started hopping even more lively left and right causing tremors and spraying lava around themselves and near Blake. The latter was again wobbly on his knees and shot backwards to evade the drops.

‘’Dammit, just get it over with!’’

He threw the orb out of frustration in the face of the nearest monster, but it just happily flung it into the air with its snout and watched the following explosion. The other Gar’rac got closer to the explosion too and jumped around as the sparks came down.

Blake watched blankly at what happened, not comprehending what is going on.

(Wait… They still just want to play around? With me, an intruder? What the…)

‘’Lava orb!’’

He conjured another fiery red orb in his hand and flung it towards the Gar’rac. The same happened as last time but some of the other ones also created orbs and flung them in the air so a series of explosions followed.

(Huh, they really just want to fool around for some reason. Well that’s better than being killed, I’ll play along for the time being.)

Blake started creating lava orb after lava orb and hurling them in the air. As he did that he moved slowly forward on the path and cautiously evaded lava pools that the hopping created.

(I just hope the nearby entrance goes to another corridor. I really don’t want to stay until they decide that it’s enough.)

He continued hurling lava orb after lava orb and the creatures just continued playing. After a few minutes of this he finally found himself in front of the entrance and turned around ready to run. A pair of big eerily yellow eyes greeted him.

A Gar’rac thrice the size of the previous ones stood in front of Blake.

Blake remained rooted on the spot and chills spread through his whole body. He summoned another Lava orb.

‘’Uh,um… want to play?’’

The Gar’rac huffed and let out a wave of hellishly hot air that blew the orb out of Blake’s hand and made him retreat a few steps.

Blake’s heart pounded wildly and he ran back, trying to reach another entrance through which he could flee.

*KrhKLhKrhklhkgh*

The smaller Gar’rac noticed Blake’s running and started going around again and making the floor tremble. They were closing in on Blake and probably thought that he was also playing around with his running.

Blake was getting desperate as he saw all of his attempts to flee not working.

‘’This really isn’t my day…’’

The big Gar’rac followed after Blake causing slight tremors with its steps. The latter just turned towards it, past the phase of even caring.

‘’Sigh... I give up, do what you want to do!’’

(Maybe I should just exit the game and enter again so I get back to my spawn point…)

GOOOA

The huge monster let out a low roar that suddenly made the other Gar’rac stop and go elsewhere.

Blake looked at everything with an expression of intrigue.

‘’What now?’’

The big beast made a few forward motions towards Blake with its snout.

‘’Um, go ahead? Are you letting me go?’’

He made a few test steps forward but it didn’t seem like his guess was correct. The Gar’rac followed right behind him.

‘’What then?’’

The monster made again the same kind of motion. Blake cocked his head.

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“So going forward is correct I guess?”

He continued walking, waiting for some kind of roar from behind, but that never happened. The monster followed without a sound and stared at him intently.

Intrigue gripped Blake’s heart.

(It looks like it is leading me somewhere. What is happening?)

After a few minutes of silent marching Blake came to a room that had streams of lava flowing on the sides, but nothing else of note. He looked around but didn’t detect anything so he turned towards the big Gar’rac.

‘’I can’t go any further. Why did you bring me here?”

The beast did not stop this time behind him but pushed him forward. Blake stumbled and continued walking while grumbling.

‘’There is nothing here! What do you… oh.’’

He noticed that the empty room had a round indentation that he missed. It was about two meters deep and with a radius of at least four meters. Blake stood right on the edge and stared at the indentation.

( I have a really bad feeling.)

The monster gave Blake another push and he fell inside.

“Gah, a please would have gotten just as much done.”

Blake looked around in the pool shaped hole but it seemed to be completely empty, meanwhile the Gar’rac was just standing in a menacing manner and seemed to do some weird paw movements. Blake turned to the monster and followed the movements with more than a little nervousness.

(Normal games would just kill you. Sadistic games would toy with you. Alteration makes you die of old age I guess… And what in the world is this thing doing?!)

The monster slowly started circling the hole while carving the stone out with its right paw and making lines that go along the edge.

The screeching noise made Blake cringe but it turned into a crushing sound as the Gar’rac started circling it faster and faster, now using its claws interchangeably. As he inspected the lines that were carved and got more and more detailed he noticed that a bright light suddenly flew through the carvings. The whole circle soon started glowing and red dust seeped from the Gar’rac’s spikes into the pool with an increasing speed.

(Fascinating…)

He reached out for the dust but nothing remained when he pulled back except a tingling sensation. It continued to move constantly around in wavelike, chaotic patterns.

(What is this? A ritual circle?)

His train of thought was interrupted by the noise getting even louder. The monster seemed to go as fast as possible. Flame tongues sometimes shot out from its back and it’s ragged breathing made the heat rise higher than it had been before.

The crimson dust that reached Blake’s hips was now much faster, with sparks appearing here and there making it seem like an infernal  thunderstorm. Drips of lava flew around from the Gar’rac’s lava coat, contributing to the demonic atmosphere.

The sheer force of it was also nothing to scoff at. The swirling dust clouds audibly crashed with the edges of the pool and the crackling of small electricity bolts was heard every so often. It was actually so strong that Blake had to do his best just not to fall and the sudden cramps from random bolts did nothing to help him.

(This is the most beautiful and terrifying thing I ever saw… But what is it doing? This is a guest account so no harm can be done anyway I GHH…)

A particularly strong bolt zapped him square in the right thigh and toppled him right into the dust. The impact and constant hits from random directions kept him pinned to the ground and the increasing number of bolts proceeded to make his whole body cramp and go numb.

He continued spasming seemingly for a small eternity. His mind went blank from the pain and he just focused on one second at a time to continue breathing.

He stopped feeling the flow of time and just noticed that the pain slowly went away and the red dust settled.

“Ughh…”

He unsteadily lifted himself up and started brushing the dust off his face and hair.

(The pain setting… what the hell…)

He wobbled around scanning the room.

(Where’s that beast? What was the point of this?)

After climbing out of the hole he noticed that the carvings around it were perfectly black and still giving off heat. Blake had trouble comprehending what was happening but he decided that the Gar’rac holds the solutions. His search didn’t last long, the circle cravings were broken off at one point and went across the room to a corner where the beast crashed in.

He wobbled off to the corner where the motionless monster laid. He noticed big pools of blood that slowly spread under its paws and upper body.

Blake went left and right but he couldn’t decide what to do.

(Is it dead? Why? Am I supposed to loot now? Ew, is it done manually? But I need answers…)

He stood right next to it and shook it lightly. The monster cried out weakly but remained motionless. Blake started rummaging through his pouch with a troubled expression.

(I hope the starter edition has some…)

Moments later a potion appeared in his hands that he quickly opened and poured out partly on the monster’s wounds and in its mouth that he had to yank open. The row of saber teeth did nothing to encourage him but he quickly emptied the bottle out and waited.

(Come on, I want some explanations!)

The big Gar’rac slightly trembled after a few seconds and the spreading pool of blood looked like it had slowed down but the potion didn’t seem to have a major impact on the wounds. They were still open and the monster returned to its stillness.

Blake bit down on his lip and closed his hands behind his head.

(This won’t do any good, what now? It’s just dying as is… maybe I can get some clues about the ritual from my status? )

He quickly skimmed through the status window but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, all numbers were the same as if he just entered the game a moment ago.

“Sigh…”

(Plainly killing it would just mean that the passed time really was wasted…)

He threw another glance at the immobile Gar’rac and took his goggles off.

***

Blake put the goggles and headset away while taking a mobile phone out of his pocket.

He grimaced as he turned it on and quickly swiped through various applications.

(Thank God she whined so much about the auctions that even I had to step in and get the app... Now for the password.)

He bit his lip as he typed a combination of words and numbers, afterwards staring at the authentication screen. Suddenly the screen flashed green and loaded up an interface.

A smile spread on Blake’s lips as he quickly tapped and swiped.

(Done, the potions are sent! Now quickly!)

He threw the phone on the table and hurriedly put on the goggles and headset.

***

As soon the game loaded up Blake started looking around and nearly tripped in his disorientation. He caught himself soon enough and went to the place the monster crashed into. His steps got slower and slower as he approached until he stood right at the spot with wide eyes and a puzzled expression.

(Gone?)

******

I forgot to mention, I always post the last 1-2 sentences of the last chapter in the next one as they are really just a continuation. That way, ideally, you can get right back into the story flow.

For info about the releases check out the author's note in the first chapter. In case you want to ask questions first check the tags and the synopsis. I'm just mentioning this due to past experiences