November 2, 2022
Day 13
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Rahul led his team to a slightly elevated spot with a clear line of sight to a small float of crocodiles. After making sure they were all ready, he instructed everyone to start shooting at the crocodiles at random. The rain of arrows resulted in about a dozen easy kills within a few minutes, but that was not their objective.
The moment the crocodiles started giving chase, the group started a slow retreat.
The true goal was to lure and isolate a single crocodile for real combat practice, albeit in a controlled environment.
The group's retreat was a slow and steady one, involving walking backward while continuing to fire. They let the crocodiles close the distance, but not too fast. Seeing the humans retreat, many crocodiles lost interest and gave up the chase right away, but many more followed. The continuous barrage of arrows that accompanied the retreating humans steadily persuaded many more reptiles to give up.
The combination of desertion and attrition caused the crocodile numbers to dwindle and before long, only one of the crocodiles remained alive. At this point, the group halted their retreat and stopped firing.
As the four humans circled the reptile, they noticed how close they stood to the location they had spawned at many hours ago.
When they had faced a lone crocodile earlier today, the crocodile was the predator, lying in wait to ambush them.
This time, they were the predators and the crocodile was the prey that had fallen into their trap.
The complete reversal of fortunes wasn't lost on them. Rahul's plan had worked perfectly. They had managed to lure a single crocodile and surrounded it.
What's more, it had been surprisingly easy. Once the group had overcome their initial fear of the crocodiles, showering them with arrows was barely a challenge, and each one of them had several kills to their names. As Charlie had theorized, their stamina-charged arrows were probably as strong as hunting rifle shots, and Rahul supposed what they were doing wasn't much different from big-game hunting in the pre-integration world.
As long as they attacked from a distance, the crocodiles just didn't look quite as menacing.
It felt too easy, effortless even.
That's not to say it wasn't exciting. Isolating that single crocodile and then surrounding it had filled Rahul with adrenaline. As the four former engineers in tattered techie t-shirts awkwardly circled the anxious reptile in what must have looked like a ridiculous parody scene pulled right out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Rahul felt everything fall into place.
The only thing that was left to do was for Rahul to strike the crocodile with his sword and see if he could manage to penetrate its scales, to confirm if their stabbing techniques would work on an opponent which wasn't quite as cooperative as the corpse they practiced on.
Rahul felt more than ready.
Ten minutes later, Rahul's excitement had all but evaporated as his heart's thumping continued to get louder in his chest and he dodged the crocodile's lunge one more time.
Executing the last step of his plan turned out to be a lot harder than Rahul had anticipated.
Rahul and Matt had taken turns trying to fight the crocodile in melee, but all they could do was dodge. Rahul wouldn't have minded that at all, had the crocodile been leagues above them in strength or speed or any other attribute, but it wasn't the case.
The crocodile lunged at Rahul again, unnaturally fast for its size, certainly faster than any pre-integration crocodile. But Rahul wasn't his former self either and dodged easily, the crocodile failing to get even within two feet of, well, Rahul's feet.
Rahul had invested a lot of points in dexterity, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call his movements superhuman. Minutes of effortless dodging and watching the crocodile fail to get anywhere near him should have filled Rahul with confidence. And on some level, it had.
But that knowledge or confidence didn't seem to make any difference, and every time Rahul moved to avoid the crocodile's lunge, he did so as if his life depended on it. He would dodge as far as he could, and way further than was by any means necessary.
Granted, the crocodile looked terrifying up close, but Rahul had killed many of its brethren with his arrows, and even tested his blade against a corpse. Things were different in melee, but his conscious brain knew he was surrounded by three friends who could kill the reptile in an instant. He knew he wasn't really at any risk of mortal injury.
But his primal brain simply won't listen to reason. Rahul's instinct had not kept pace with his growth since the integration of the planet, and it shouted at Rahul to run for his life. No matter how hard he tried, his conscious brain simply could not override the impulse to flee.
In the vain hope to gain a bit more confidence, Rahul looked at his stats, for the tenth time in as many minutes.
Character Overview Name Rahul Sharma Race Human (F) Class N/A Level 9 HP 220/220 MP 270/270 Stamina 248/270 Strength 28 Endurance 27 Dexterity 27 Vitality 22 Intelligence 27
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Rahul had saved the 10 free points from his last two level-ups, and as per Martin's instruction, he had invested them just before he entered the dungeon, dividing them equally between strength and dexterity. Rahul was still getting used to what it meant to have 28 strength and didn't really know how much stronger he was compared to two weeks ago when he had started with 7 strength. But the little he understood was enough to tell him that he could get out of any deadly situation involving the crocodile in front of him. He likely couldn't pry the crocodile's mouth open if it caught hold of his leg, not without killing it first, Rahul conceded, but he could get out of any other situation.
Moreover, he had friends around to help, and could rely on his high dexterity to ensure he won't get into such a bad spot in the first place. And in contrast to his strength, Rahul actually had got a chance to experiment with his dexterity in the last ten minutes. He was sure he could strike the crocodile while avoiding getting anything more than a glancing blow in return.
Rahul kept staring at his stats. He knew all that to be true. At least his conscious mind did. But even as these thoughts went through the back of his mind, his instincts made him evade another attack by the crocodile.
Rahul was no expert swordsman. He had never held a sword in his life before Captain Seki taught him. But once he acquired the Basic one handed Sword I skill, his body acquired muscle memory that let him swing and cut like someone with years of training. That same skill also gave him instincts on when and where to hit his opponents and enemies.
And when the crocodile lunged at him recklessly, that skill-induced instinct screamed at him, telling him the crocodile was wide open for a counterattack.
But even that scream was completely drowned out by the deafening roar of his survival instinct, and as the crocodile lunged at Rahul, once more every logical thought and every other instinct was abandoned in a needless scramble to preserve Rahul's life. A life that wasn't in any real danger at all in the first place, as Rahul comfortably sidestepped the charge and turned around to face the reptile again.
His mind unclouded and he immediately knew that the quick sidestep had bought him enough time to close in on the crocodile from behind and stab it. The crocodile's tail was strong, but Rahul knew he would survive taking even a full-strength blow from it, not that it would come to that, as he could easily dodge.
He knew all that, but Rahul's hands still didn't move an inch, and he continued to hold the sword limply.
Rahul's thoughts were interrupted again, not by the crocodile, but by Matt walking in his direction to speak. He too had tried to go against the crocodile for a few minutes but to the same effect.
"This isn't working. Neither of us is quite ready to accept the fact that we can take such a dangerous predator on in a straight melee fight using nothing but a steel sword. And I can't blame us for not being able to shed instincts that humanity has acquired over countless millennia. We need to ease ourselves into it. Let's surround it and try to find risk-free openings. We can start with shallow and grazing cuts, and we'll pick up the tempo as we get comfortable. "
Rahul thought only for a second before nodding, and the two took diametrically opposite positions around the crocodile.
The crocodile first eyed the two humans warily, then suddenly lunged at Rahul, who was more than ready to dodge. As the crocodile moved in Rahul's direction, Matt took an experimental stab at its tail. The sword clanked lightly against the steely scale and bounced off without doing any damage. The reptile thrashed its tail in response, but Matt was already far out of reach.
The reptile turned to face Rahul again, who had dodged to his left, and Matt accordingly adjusted his position to chase the reptile's tail again. As the crocodile lunged at Rahul, Matt stabbed one more time, this time with more intensity, but still lacking commitment. His body was leaning away from the stab, in an awkward stance meant to allow him to quickly fall back. In fact, Matt was already retreating when the tiny pinching pain of the stab registered in the crocodile's brain. By the time the reptile lashed its tail at Matt, he had not only pulled back but also taken a few extra steps back for good measure.
The dance between the two humans and the frenzied crocodile continued and Matt took three more stabs at the crocodile, each time failing to do any real damage. At the same time, the crocodile's tail had been a far cry from hitting even Matt's shadow, nor was his jaw ever close to threatening Rahul's legs.
But when Matt stabbed the reptile the sixth time, confidently committing to the attack, the stalemate ended.
Matt's sword encountered the reptile's scales with a loud clang, but this time he continued to push. Instead of getting deflected, the blade slid on until it encountered the gap between the scales and slid into the reptile's muscles. The reptile's living muscles were harder to pierce than that of his dead relative, but that only meant the blade did not pierce quite as deep as it could have. It had still cut enough, and that triggered a spinal reflex in the crocodile as it instantly thrashed its tail.
Matt had not expected such an immediate and violent reaction and lost the grip of his sword as it was flung into the air, landing 20 feet away. But Matt's body was just out of the tail's reach, and he suffered no real injury beyond a slightly aching wrist.
He carefully created some distance between himself and the crocodile, counting on Rahul to hold it back, and then ran to pick up his sword. And as he picked up his blade, he was smiling.
The tip of the sword was red. He had managed to draw blood.
As he rejoined the fight, he was greeted with the full attention of a furious crocodile that had switched targets. No problem at all, Matt thought, as he took a defensive stance.
This just meant it was Rahul's turn to take a stab at the problem.
But as Matt looked at the sun, he realized they had at most two hours before it set. That wiped a bit of the smile from his face, until the crocodile lunged at him and he refocused his attention on the fight at hand.
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"That was the last one", Daniel said, putting down his bow and taking a swig from his water canteen.
Ivan sat on the ground right where he stood, with a loud thump, and took out his own canteen and some dry meat. Everyone crowded around him, giving him a chance to catch his breath and drink some water. Not for too long though, as Alex spoke, motioning to the dead crocodiles all around him.
"We could all use a rest, but let's sit somewhere else. "
Ivan looked around, as if noticing the bloodshed and corpses around him for the first time, and grudgingly got up.
They walked a small distance away from the site of the battle, and everyone looked around for a nice place to sit. Ivan just swung his axe and cut off a tree. Then he swung again and cut off a large portion of the trunk. He then lifted it and placed it in front of the stump of the tree. As he sat on the stump, the others sat on the log.
Helena whistled appreciatively.
"Try it yourself, you should be able to lift it too. ", Ivan told her.
Daniel and Alex got up and let Helena try to lift the log. The look on her face was priceless when she realized she could lift it effortlessly. That prompted Daniel and Alex to try as well, and they were equally surprised. Daniel spoke.
"I have noticed my muscles, all our muscles really, getting more prominent and visibly toned over the last two weeks. But none of us are hulking beasts by any means. Where is all this strength coming from? "
Ivan replied.
"Definitely not just from the muscles. Each of us can easily lift more than the strongest and bulkiest powerlifters of all time ever could. If our muscles grew in proportion to our strength, we would all start looking like a grotesque mix between humans and elephants by the time we have 100 strength. Even at 15 strength, I believe we would have started looking like gorillas more than humans. I think the power comes from some kind of magic. "
Daniel shrugged.
"You're right, it can't be the muscles. Well, it doesn't really matter at this moment, does it? We can always ask Martin when we meet him tomorrow. For now, let's rest and recover our stamina. "
After a pause, he continued.
"The moment we are recovered, we'll cross the swamps. Thanks to the roots, we won't need to walk through the water, mud and sludge, but those roots would restrict our movement too, and retreat would be slow. We have cleared this area of reptiles, but crocodiles from afar might still decide to target us while we're vulnerable in their natural habitat. We will shoot them, but if any get close, you're our last line of defense".
Daniel looked at Ivan as he spoke the last line, and Ivan nodded sincerely.
Then they all sat quietly, checked their windfall of experience, ate the rations, and recovered their energy for the impending eastward march in search of a defensible position.
They had made good time clearing the remaining eastern crocodile floats, and now had an hour or two before sunset. They could probably afford the rest, and they most certainly could use it, saving the stamina potions for later.