November 2, 2022
Day 13
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While Maya and Charlie kept the crocodile occupied with an incessant barrage of arrows and fireballs, Rahul took a breather and did some thinking.
He looked back to the moment he noticed that the crocodile was getting ready to jump. The more he considered the situation, the more certain he grew that the reason he was caught by the crocodile's attack was that he underestimated its jumping distance.
Because of that, he had started running too late and had been left with no choice but to run backwards.
If he had turned around on time and made a proper run for it, he'd either have gotten away, or at least the crocodile would have taken longer to catch up to him. Long enough for Charlie to put more than three arrows in it, and for Maya to have started with her fireballs.
Now that he knew the crocodile's capabilities, Rahul could think of a viable strategy that was guaranteed to work assuming the crocodile did not have any more surprises up its sleeve.
A simple tactic came to his mind. Increase the distance from the crocodile and switch to ranged weapons.
The alpha had barely defended itself against attacks from two sides when Maya and Charlie were firing at it indiscriminately. Attacks from four sides would certainly kill it.
Based on what Rahul had observed so far, the crocodile wouldn't just sit and wait for its inevitable death. It'll throw caution to the wind and target one of them instead of protecting itself, hoping to do some damage and even the odds.
But Rahul knew that the alpha had vulnerabilities. In particular, it had to block attacks to its head at all costs, and doing that slowed it down.
Given that fact, Rahul was confident the four of them could outrun and kill the alpha without taking any mortal injuries.
It was a solid and risk-free plan, but Rahul shook his head and pitched a riskier plan to his team instead.
"I'm sure we have all arrived at the same conclusion. With its tail and its rapid jump, the alpha is a two-trick pony. Its head is as vulnerable as the rest of the crocodiles, and just one headshot getting past its tail will kill it instantly. That tail is its only defense and our only threat. As long as we stay out of reach, we will eventually win. If Matt and I can switch to bows and join you two, I'm sure we can overwhelm the defenses and make quick work of this alpha."
Rahul spoke to the group, interrupted only by the loud whipcracks. Everyone nodded, Charlie and Maya never ceasing their attacks, while Rahul continued.
"But if we do that, we would come out of this fight none the stronger. Sure, we may get some XP, but no real combat experience, unless I count getting flung in the air and thrown fifteen feet."
Rahul flinched as he recalled the snapping sound of bones breaking in his shoulder. His team needed to be strong enough to defend themselves in such a situation.
He voiced his crazy idea.
"This is only the first of the four alphas. And given the way Martin has talked about the world after the tutorial, I'm afraid the future will involve fights with much worse odds. The way I see it, this situation is identical to our earlier melee training with the lured crocodiles. We have all simply outgrown the level 9 crocodiles, and this alpha is the next challenge."
Matt's face grew apprehensive as he understood what Rahul was saying. But then he nodded and spoke.
"The level ten power boost was insane for us, but it seems even more overpowered for the crocodiles. Even if it's an alpha and an outlier, I'm certain this isn't the last time we are getting into a fight where the opponent is strong enough to defeat us and death is a real possibility. I agree with Rahul. We are in a relatively safe fight since Maya and Charlie can always help if things get out of hand. It's a good opportunity to gain the skills needed to survive life and death situations."
Rahul nodded, but Maya spoke up, breathing heavily due to the strain of talking while keeping the alpha at bay.
"This is an unnecessary risk. Remember what Daniel told us right before we left? We don't need to get the maximum dungeon points. We don't need to kill all the alphas. We can leave the moment we kill this one. He entrusted the safety of the team to you, Rahul. You have a responsibility to evaluate the danger properly and make decisions. Instead, you are being reckless."
Rahul pushed back his impatience and replied calmly.
"I have seen and felt the speed and power of the crocodile's tail. I'm confident that Matt and I have enough dexterity to dodge it, we just lack the training. You two are around to suppress the crocodile with your attacks should we get hurt. You saved me once, you can do it again. We have health potions too. By taking the easy way out and not making the most out of this opportunity, we might be sentencing ourselves to certain death in the future when we are against a stronger opponent, and picking our fights is no longer an option."
Rahul paused and took a deep breath.
"Daniel left me in charge, and it's my decision to make. I've heard your objection, but please don't argue any further about this."
Maya was clearly not convinced but to Rahul's relief, she chose to stay silent. He glanced at Charlie to confirm he was on board with the idea and received a nod.
Rahul had hoped for a unanimous agreement but decided he could settle for a majority.
After all, three 'strong accept' and one 'weak reject' was exactly the verdict he had received between his four rounds of interviews when he had applied to this company. They had hired him, and if three out of four was good enough for a trillion-dollar tech company, it was good enough for him.
Rahul shook himself free from the irrelevant tangent and raised his hand to signal a ceasefire.
The attacks being hurled at the crocodile stopped abruptly, and it looked around relieved and confused in equal measures.
Then Rahul equipped his sword in a two-handed grip and slowly inched closer to the bewildered crocodile, while Matt approached from the opposite direction.
The alpha's expression turned to glee as Rahul closed the distance and stood tantalizingly close to its tail's maximum reach, barely a few inches out of it.
Rahul smiled back at the crocodile, his eyes matching and reflecting the alpha's glee.
He remembered the impact of the tail. It was strong, incredibly strong, but Rahul was no pushover either. The crocodile's effective strength might beat his 43, but not by a lot. Undefended and unprepared, the reptile's strikes had easily broken his bones. But if Rahul had braced for impact and raised his sword in the right direction, he wouldn't have been flung into the air. Fallen to his side, perhaps, but not thrown fifteen feet away.
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Rahul knew he would fail many times before he would succeed, but before this night was over, he would move fast enough to intercept the crocodile's whipping tail with his sword, and stand his ground with enough fortitude that he won't topple over from the impact.
And he would make sure Matt could do the same.
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The alpha made the first move.
Rahul noticed the crocodile's tail tense and move slightly toward the left before it immediately changed direction and flung at him from the right.
He saw the blow coming and ducked.
Crack!
The whipcrack was deafening as usual, but Rahul was prepared for it and paid it no heed as he kept his eyes glued to the tail the entire time, even when it passed right above his head.
That is why he saw exactly what the alpha was trying to do when the tail came back at him again, this time from the left.
Rahul's instinct told him that the crocodile was up to something, and decided to wait longer before he ducked.
His patience was rewarded as he noticed the reptile's tail suddenly drop. The trajectory shifted from his head to his thighs. If he had ducked, the tail would have smashed his head.
Rahul jumped, but the crocodile responded just as fast, shifting its tail upwards.
Crack!
That last-moment trajectory change only raised the tail a few inches higher, but that was enough for it to brush against Rahul's toes while he was in the air, causing him to land unevenly and fall face-first on the ground.
That was when Rahul lost sight of the tail for the first time in the entire exchange, and panicked.
Now effectively blind, he had to decide at random which way to roll. He covered his head with his hands and rolled right, hoping for the best. He heard Matt's shout to go left too late, and felt the full weight of the reptile's tail as it crashed against his entire upper body.
Crack!
Rahul moaned in pain as he felt the skin on his back tear open. He rolled aside but was pitifully slow. The reptile's tail had no difficulty following him.
Crack!
Rahul took this blow belly up and his ribs cracked from the impact. His palms were torn open trying to protect his face, but the leftover impact still broke his nose. The small part of Rahul that was still able to think through the pain decided it was better to take the blows on his back and rolled again. There was blessed peace for just a second or two before the next whip descended on him.
Crack!
Rahul's entire back throbbed with pain, the skin had been torn open completely and the muscles lay exposed. His palms had buffeted the blows and kept the worst of it away from his skull, but his skin was in tatters and the muscles were shredded, leaving only the thin bones behind.
At this point, Rahul was in too much pain to get up, move, or do anything at all. His thoughts grew vague and Rahul closed his eyes, drifting away from consciousness, sure of his impending death.
Then he heard a gut-wrenching scream.
For a few seconds, everything was silent, and then the fourth blow came.
Boom!
Rahul felt hot and weightless.
This isn't the way the whiptail is supposed to hurt. A part of Rahul's brain protested but the protest went unheard.
Boom!
Boom!
A fifth and a sixth attack followed. Then an impact and Rahul lost consciousness.
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Matt stood well out of the alpha's reach, behind its tail, while Rahul faced it head-on, looking into the reptile's eyes and challenging it.
Matt was all for practicing against the crocodile, but he wanted to do it at a slow pace. What Rahul was doing was a far cry from their measured approach against the lured-in crocodiles.
This is too reckless, Matt thought to himself as he saw the alpha respond to Rahul's challenge by whipping its tail and attacking him.
The tail was not as blurred as it had been earlier, but Matt couldn't see it perfectly either.
What Matt could unmistakably and clearly see was Rahul effortlessly and clinically dodging the attack. Matt noticed how Rahul had kept its eyes on the tail the whole time and tried to do the same. It helped, and the tail movements became clearer in his vision. Now blessed with better sight, Matt looked on with horror as the tail instantly reversed direction and came back at Rahul for a faster second strike.
Like a regular slap followed by an unexpected back-handed slap.
Matt's horror grew as he realized Rahul wasn't moving. Surely, if Matt could see the tail, he could too. Rahul's eyes were certainly fixed on the incoming tail.
Matt was about to shout for Rahul to duck when he saw the tail's trajectory shift downward.
Rahul jumped.
Matt breathed out a sigh of relief, until he saw Rahul land unsteadily on his feet, trip, and fall.
The reptile's tail immediately drew back in preparation for a powerful blow, and Matt sheathed his sword and slung his bow, all without taking his eyes off the tail.
Matt had hoped to buy a few precious moments for Rahul by attacking the reptile, but never got the chance as he saw the tail descend on the rolling Rahul.
The reptile did not repeat its previous mistake. Instead of attacking the spot where Rahul was, it attacked the spot where Rahul was going.
The moment Matt realized that the alpha's descending tail and Rahul's rolling body were both headed to the same place, he shouted.
"LEFT".
He was too late. The tail hit Rahul's back with a crunch.
Matt tried to ignore Rahul's pained screams and shouted for Charlie and Maya to attack the crocodile with everything they had. Every second counted.
He ran toward Rahul himself, keeping an uncorked health potion in hand and taking a wide berth around the crocodile.
He couldn't afford to be careless. If Matt too fell, they would all die.
As he ran, he saw the alpha take one arrow after another at its torso, deflecting only the shots it deemed fatal. As far as Maya's fireballs were concerned, it opted to take the damage, even when the fireballs exploded at its face.
Within a few seconds, Matt had circled more than halfway around the crocodile and was about to reach Rahul.
The alpha, now resembling a porcupine with all the arrows sticking out of its body and the grey burnt scales, had still managed to find two more opportunities to attack Rahul.
Just as Matt wondered if the alpha had accepted its fate and wanted to kill Rahul before it died, something changed.
One of the arrows Charlie had aimed at the reptile's head found its mark, and the alpha screamed.
It screamed a terrible terrible scream that shook the whole island.
The screaming stopped abruptly as the alpha's entire body slacked and its tail fell limply on the ground.
And it started to heal.
Matt watched with horror as the alpha's injuries rapidly healed right in front of his eyes, arrows falling out and scales turning green.
Then, the alpha rose, looking right at Matt and baring its teeth. It raised its tail slowly, relishing the moment before he delivered the final blow to Rahul.
At that same moment, Matt felt the ground below his feet vibrate. He heard and then saw the entire forest shake around him.
Matt stood frozen, unsure of what to do, when a fireball flew by him and exploded right next to Rahul. That brought him back to his senses, and Matt noticed that the fireball had launched Rahul into the air.
Away from the reptile.
A low heat and high radius explosion, Matt observed as he drew his sword.
The reptile adjusted its tail and readied to strike at the flying target, but Maya fired again, hitting the ground just below Rahul and flinging him higher into the air and further from the reptile.
Seeing Rahul getting away, the alpha decided to give chase. Charlie had started firing arrows at it by now, slowing the alpha down, but Matt knew it won't be enough.
Rahul was immobile, and Maya couldn't keep throwing him about with her fireballs forever. Every explosion that propelled him away from the alpha was hurting him too.
Matt gripped his sword tightly in a two-handed grip and ran toward the reptile, calling out challenges.
The alpha looked at Matt with fury in its eyes, irritated by their incessant attempts to keep it from its prey.
Matt shouted urgently.
"Maya, go save Rahul. Pour the health potion down his throat if you have to, but save him. I'll deal with the alpha."
Maya tried to refuse, but Matt had no time to argue as the reptile rushed toward him. He would be engaged in battle soon. So he shouted with all the authority he could muster.
"GO".
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Maya run toward Rahul and fire another fireball below him, trying to cushion his fall. Unfortunately, the fireball just launched Rahul higher in the air. Maya did not try that again, and when Rahul finally fell, it was rough. Even if he had somehow managed to stay conscious through this entire ordeal, he certainly was knocked out cold now.
That was all the attention he could pay to that situation, and Matt left Rahul to Maya as the alpha finally came to a stop in front of him.
He had a job to do. Try to survive against the alpha, in perfect health and visibly seething.
Matt looked in the eyes of his foe, one that far outmatched him in every aspect, but didn't shiver or tremble.
He held his weapon confidently. He didn't have the luxury to doubt himself.
Matt would save Rahul's life, and the life of all his friends, no matter the cost. They had all helped him one way or another in the last six months without expecting anything in return. Rahul, someone Matt had judged the very first time they met, had risked his own life and literally jumped off a roof to save him.
Matt would repay his debts with the same commitment. He would give his life if he had to.
There were no doubts and insecurities in his mind as Matt fought the alpha.
He felt no fear, he felt no hatred, he felt no bloodlust. He felt only one emotion.
Gratitude.
No one noticed the translucent figure slowly manifesting on Matt's shoulders.