As John emerged from the dense vegetation, he found himself standing atop a grassy hill overlooking an open ground below, and from this vantage point, he had a great view of the vast area that lay before him.
It was a plain that spread out like a sprawling tapestry, stretching far and wide in every direction. It gently sloped downward, but was surrounded by the impenetrable walls of vegetation from everywhere but far ahead, forming a natural arena that seemed to cradle the land.
The plain teemed with life. Tens of thousands of creatures of all sizes roamed the expanse, their forms ranging from diminutive figures to hulking behemoths. Some moved with an innate grace and purpose, weaving through the grass and others crushed everything under their colossal bulk as they patrolled a small territory they designated as their own.
On the far horizon, about twelve miles ahead, rose a majestic hill that transitioned into a mountain. Its peak disappeared into a batch of clouds that seemed to cling to the hill and form a protective layer to hide the peak from unworthy observers. As John looked at the terrain before him, the hill stood out like a beacon, hinting at the potential trials and treasures that could await those who would dare to venture close.
Looking to the sides, his keen eyes also picked out several groups of people making their way through the herds of creatures. Like nails of resilience pushed into the wall of creatures, these fellow survivors pressed forward, battling their way through and collecting kills left and right.
Finishing his survey of the scene before him, he was filled with a mixture of awe, excitement, and caution. The sheer magnitude of the plain, the multitude of creatures, and the distant struggles of fellow explorers painted a vivid picture of the upcoming challenges and opportunities that lay ahead.
Wait, why is that small hill moving?
He stared into a distant corner of the plain until it hit him. It was not a small hill… it was a colossal creature with a massive shell on its back. Shaking his head to regain his focus, he put that monstrosity out of his mind and carefully descended downhill.
Well, let's see what we are working with.
It was less than half a minute later when his path got blocked by a pack of nine knee-high monsters covered in greasy fur and looking like overgrown and extremely obese rats.
[Blubbersnout]
Huh, a fitting name for such an ugly creature.
Identifying the slightly bigger one hanging in the back of the pack, he got an expected notification.
[Blubbersnout Alpha ⋆]
It was a pack of common monsters, and from the way they all collectively froze and lifted their snouts into the air, he knew the conflict with them was imminent.
"Bad choice, little fuckers," he chucked and commanded all three of his minions to engage.
The fight was as short as it was brutal, leaving the entire pack lying in their pools of blood in less than thirty seconds and earning him ten piles of white ash.
"That's more like it," he smiled, appreciating the open space around him. Right now, open plains or urban environments suited his style of battle far more than the thick jungle filled with hidden dangers and predators waiting to ambush their unwitting prey.
The density of enemies before him was also significantly higher than he experienced in both the jungle and the maze, reminding him of the hordes of zombies surrounding the edges of his city.
Sure, it wasn't as dense as the unending throngs of undead he was used to, but there were enough enemies moving around to let him farm ash with barely any downtime. Unfortunately, where zombies remained mostly static, the creatures around here were behaving more similarly to Rothounds. They were moving around the plains in packs and looking for easy opportunities to strike.
If I start pushing through, the corpses of monsters behind me will lure other monsters and close any path of retreat… Hmm, this could turn really ugly.
Making another quick survey of the location around him, he noticed another important piece of information, the entrance to the maze has already closed behind him.
Ok, so every group of survivors has to face their own guardian… which means… there will be more people arriving over the following hours.
"Well, I guess I'll keep to the edge and wait for more people to get here."
There were already two packs of common monsters japing at each other as they gnawed on the corpses of the blubbersnouts that were left there.
[Flatjaw grasshopper ⋆]
Huh, no Alpha but all six of them are common with a small star in their name.
They looked like waist-high velociraptors and were currently guarding six of the nine corpses and aggressively growling at the members of the second pack who dared to draw close.
[Juvenile Shimmerfang]
The other pack consisted of eight knee-high reptilian creatures covered in iridescent scales that shifted colors as they moved, creating a mesmerizing display of prismatic light.
"Woah, that's trippy," he exclaimed in surprise as he watched three of them suddenly gang up on one of the Flatjaws and use their strange physique combined with extreme bursts of speed to bring it down in mere seconds. It almost felt like…
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"What!?"
Either his eyes played tricks on him or those little buggers could teleport short distances because there was no way they should have been able to tear their enemy down that easily.
The other Flatjaws hopped forward on their powerful legs, fully intending to help their injured packmate, but before they were able to reach it another three Shimmerfangs jumped out from the grass and viciously attacked the one furthest away.
Damn, those guys are nasty.
John remained crouched in the luscious grass, keeping a safe distance, and observed the Shimmerfangs tear the entire pack of Flatjaws down without a single casualty.
His eyes suddenly shifted further to the right as he noticed the grass there lean down in a strange pattern, and it took him a moment to realize that another creature was slowly advancing toward them. It was mostly invisible, showing only a bare outline of its see-through form.
[Adolescent Shimmerfang]
The creature uncloaked as it reached the rest of its pack and he was finally able to make out its actual form.
It had a streamlined head with a narrow snout filled with rows of sharp teeth that it used to tear through the corpse of the closest Flatjaw. Its slender body was clearly designed for swift movement and lightning-fast strikes that would cripple and bleed their enemies out instead of outright killing them.
They almost look like massive ferrets with their body shape and the way they move.
It seemed that the show was over because no other creature dared to come close after seeing the waist-high Shimmerfang proudly overlooking its juveniles gorging on the corpses of their fallen enemies.
Damn, it feels like a shame to kill such beautiful creatures.
He waited for a couple more minutes overlooking them and debating whether or not to attack, but just as he made up his mind he noticed two new creatures shift their path in the distance and move in a flanking position toward the pack eating in the blood-soaked grass.
[Sunfire Dreadclaw ★]
They were large feline predators with bright-orange fur and shining amber eyes which were focusing on their unsuspecting prey.
The moment the Adolescent Shimmerfang noticed the left one's presence, it yipped twice in quick succession and its whole pack attempted to escape through the right side. Unfortunately for them, the second Dreadclaw was already in a position to block their path and was advancing toward them in steady steps, keeping its speed slow so its partner could catch up.
Well, I guess now's the perfect time to join in.
John rushed down the hill and headed toward the Dreadclaw on the left, cutting its path off and preventing it from teaming up. Timing his javelin to impact at the same time as the lightning bolt and his stiletto created a powerful opening move that pulled the beast's attention toward him. It yowled and momentarily lost its footing under the unexpected onslaught, but due to its big size the wounds proved mere inconvenience and it pushed off the grass with its powerful legs and charged.
The beast's head was roughly chest-high and as it rushed toward him, he could notice a gleam in its eyes as it prepared to pounce on its little prey.
"Oh no, you don't!" He commanded his wraith to envelop the area before him in a sandstorm and recalled his javelin back into his hand. The beast was fast, but he trusted in his reflexes, and stabbed the flat end of his weapon into the ground to anchor it, lowered the tip to face the cloud of swirling sand, braced behind his shield, and lightly tapped into his power to manipulate Fate.
Let this work out!
He had barely a moment to feel the sudden ache deep inside his chest when the massive form burst out from the cloud with its jaw wide open.
It was almost comical, watching its eyes go wide in terror as its quick stride brought it into the collision course with his weapon. It tried to jerk to the side, but John adjusted the angle and by the time it leaned to the left, the sharp tip already entered its maw and was stabbing into the roof of its mouth.
A thunderous roar of pain and surprise escaped from its wounded form as its own weight propelled it deeper into the prepared weapon.
John's shield held firm against the impact, absorbing the force and protecting him from its mad charge, but the creature's weight overwhelmed his center of balance and threw him on his back.
The pain and horrific injury drove it to madness and it thrashed around with its powerful paws and bled steaming orange liquid all over John's chest.
Luckily, keeping his shield firmly between them saved him from most of its desperate struggle and the only pain he felt was due to the blood that poured all over his chest and making it feel like he was covered in boiling oil.
The Dreadclaw's fierce roars diminished into weak gurgles as its life force drained away, and it slowly collapsed to the ground, powerless to do anything but feebly twitch with its bushy tail.
Crawling from under its warm body, John pushed himself up, but before he had any time to celebrate his victory he noticed another problem. The second Dreadclaw was running toward him in a strange limping gait.
Oh for fucks sake!
Trying to react to the new threat, he resummoned his javelin and willed for his minions to buy as much time as possible.
Not the best situation but I should manage, he thought after he felt a ball of blue ash hit his chest.
Pushing his chainmail slightly off his chest, he winced as he felt burnt skin tear from the shirt under it. Meanwhile, Storm wisp hit the beast with its lightning to the top of its head and as he watched the feline creature stumble, another bolt of green energy impacted its side.
"What the…" John gawked at the sudden appearance of the Adolescent Shimmerfang on the back of the Dreadclaw, which it immediately followed with a powerful bite of its jaws to the top of the feline's neck.
Its previous injuries combined with the bolt of lightning and the sudden bite resulted in another stumble that put too much weight into its injured leg and made it collapse.
Unwilling to waste such an opportunity, John rushed forward with gritted teeth and stabbed his javelin deep into its back, pinning its prone body to the ground. Remembering that he also had Becky's spear in the fourth slot of his bag, he let the javelin stick up like a flagpole, lifted the spear above his head, and stabbed right next to the javelin, putting another stake through its mangled body.
That proved too much and mere moments later he became an owner of another chunk of blue ash.
"Now, what do I do with you?" He asked, staring at the crystalline eyes of the Shimmerfang.
It stared back in defiance and very slowly lifted its front leg, placing it over the Dreadclaw's head as if to say: 'That one is mine!'.
I… sure, whatever.
Trying to look as unthreatening as possible, he recalled his minions, stashed his javelin, and slowly leaned to the corpse, placing his palm over the spear to also let it disappear into his bag.
"Good luck, buddy."
After saying that, John backed up the hill, keeping an eye on the the Shimmerfang which called the rest of its pack, and they started to tear through the bright-orange fur and devour the tasty meat underneath. Sadly, only five of the eight little guys made it through their struggle alive.