The wind picked up, blowing sand and dust into my face, as I stared at the venomwraith unblinking.

If I die and get eaten. There is no coming back.

I stood my ground, feeling the changes my new stats had wrought on my body. It was surreal, I felt lighter yet more solid and capable. My senses were sharp and clear, my muscles flexed and taut, and my skin tingled with anticipation.

But none of that was going to stop this beast.

It was huge.

And it was pissed off.

I clutched the dagger in my hand, my heart racing, as the venomwraith loomed before me, a grotesque amalgamation of giant scorpion corpses.

The venomwraith moved.

I had only a second to react.

A deadly volley of venomous stingers flew towards me.

I darted left, right, and back, the projectiles narrowly missing me. A few stingers landed on the ground, sizzling and emitting an acrid odor as their venom ate away at the earth.

It's just testing me, assessing my speed and agility.

I dodged another volley of venomous stingers, and with lightning speed, I sprinted toward the monster's side, lunging forward with my dagger aimed at its chitinous flank.

It reared back, narrowly avoiding my attack.

The ugly bastard is afraid of me! It’s probably wondering how I killed a hundred of its kind.

It watched me for a moment, its multifaceted eyes, calculating and unblinking. I wondered what it saw when it looked at me? My clothes were torn, my body covered in dried blood, but not a single scratch marred my skin.

I could almost feel the venomwraith's mind trying to work out how I had survived against such odds.

I shifted my stance, and wiped the sweat from my brow. The venomwraith chose that moment to lunge at me. It moved with astonishing agility for its size, its pincers snapping shut like steel traps.

I leaped over a pincer, twisting in midair to avoid the rear stinger that threatened to impale me.

The stinger struck the ground with a sickening thud, sinking into the earth and sending shockwaves through the ground.

Now is my chance.

I lunged forward with my dagger, driving it deep into the exposed, vulnerable flesh of the tail. I hacked away at it like a lumberjack chopping down a tree, severing several segments of the deadly appendage.

The venomwraith let out a spine-chilling screech of agony, and sinister light began to glow from the segments between its carapace.

I backed away as a shrill hiss filled the air like a bomb ready to explode.

I barely had time to react before a wave of venom erupted from the monster in a cataclysmic burst of searing light.

I raised my hand and [Sky Shield] materialized in front of me, deflecting most of the blast. The venom scorched my skin, the pain boring into my muscles.

Another one of those attacks and I'd be dead. I mentally checked my [Sky Shield] spell card, sensing that it had a ten-second cooldown before I could cast it again.

I drew my dagger and charged towards the venomwraith, hacking madly at its legs. It shrieked in pain, but I kept fighting. Its legs folded beneath it, and it fell to the ground, its body writhing in agony.

I needed to end the fight quickly.

"Nine seconds," I counted off silently.

I ran forward, dodging a pincer as it came crashing down towards me. The second pincer struck and could feel it graze my clothing as I rolled away, narrowly escaping its deadly grip.

I leapt onto its back as it thrashed about, stabbing repeatedly at its head.

"Five."

This isn't working.

I hacked at it, but each time I stabbed it, only a few segments of its carapace broke free.

Twin pincers swung towards me with deadly force.

Two, one.

I jumped, casting [Sky Shield] above me. As it shimmered into existence, I caught it with my fingertips, hanging from it as the pincers swung inches beneath me.

I scrambled onto the shield hovering above the creature's head.

An idea spawned from years of watching cartoons came to mind.

"Rootbound Bison!" I yelled as I summoned the creature.

A huge bison, half the size of the venomwraith, appeared in midair in front of me and fell, like a descending piano. It landed on the venomwraith pinning it to the ground with its massive weight.

I’m not dying this time, you freaky bugger.

The bison held on for dear life, the venomwraith bucking and kicking as it struggled against the summoned creature’s weight.

I felt the shield waver and disappear beneath me, and I fell, hitting the ground hard.

I looked up to see the bison being knocked off, the venomwraith rising back up.

Dammit, why do cartoons make it look so easy?

My dagger had fallen from my hands, and I scrambled to find it.

The venomwraith spotted me, its many eyes burning with malice.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I'm going to die.

The venomwraith let out another shrill hiss, and I felt my skin begin to burn as the nova grew out of its body and enveloped me in a haze of toxic light.

I felt my muscles lock up, my vision fading to black.

Hell no! Not like this, I'm not going to be eaten and shat out by some giant arachnid.

I popped my [Etherix] and the effect was immediate.

My injuries healed and a burst of energy rushed through my body.

I felt the venom dissipate, and I was able to move again. I grabbed my dagger, and ran towards the venomwraith.

"Let's dance, you creepy-crawly," I growled, feeling my blood boiling.

It lunged, and I leapt onto its back, my dagger digging deep into its neck.

"You won't kill me!" I yelled as I stabbed again and again.

I kept up the assault using every drop of my newfound strength until its monstrous form convulsed, twitched and fell to the ground.

Dead.

[Your Rank is Now Bronze-1]

[Deck Size Increased to 6]

[Unspent Points 3]

I laid on the ground and stared up at the writing in the sky, panting and sweating. My energy was spent, and I could feel my heart pounding in my ears.

I felt an overwhelming joy wash over me, "I survived, you son of a bitch!" I yelled at the crumpled corpse.

I began to laugh, I couldn't stop myself. It wasn't until I started to cough that I realized how ridiculous I must look.

With a thought, I opened my status screen. I’d really made it to Bronze-1.

I couldn’t believe it.

With a broad grin on my face I slowly read through my stats pausing on each one to think about them.

I put a single point into [power] pushing the stat to fifteen and waited expectantly, thinking I’d unlock another [Etherix].

Nothing happened.

How much [power] do I need to unlock another [Etherix]?

The resource was incredible, I was still buzzing from the one I’d consumed during the battle. I put two more points into [speed]. One of the biggest problems as a dagger wielder was how close you had to be to the target. What I really needed was more speed, so I could get in and out without taking any hits.

I closed my status screen just as a message appeared in front of me.

[Achievement Completed: Revenge of the Fallen]

[Reward: 30 card essence]

I smiled like an idiot as the essence pooled into my hands.

It was only then that I realized how much pain I was in. My clothes had absorbed most of the poison, and it was slowly spreading all over my body.

I tossed away the tattered remnants of my shirt, leaving myself naked except for my leather trousers, my backpack and boots.

I stood over the dead monster, watching as a green ball of energy, pulsing with life, rose above the corpse and hovered inches above its chest.

"You're not going anywhere," I muttered, grabbing hold of it.

But it wasn't card essence.

I smiled, as an uncommon card materialized inside my hand.

I checked my status and read the title of my new card.

[Toxic Barrage: Death Affinity]

***

I looked over at the [Rootbound Bison] and grinned. It was massive with horns that looked like the branches of a tree with roots and vines interwoven in its fur.

It snorted as I approached, its hooves thudding on the ground in alarm. I could imagine it was afraid, I'd just summoned it from who knows where. For all I knew, it could have been sitting in a meadow with its family a minute earlier before being hurled out of the sky to land on a scorpion monster.

I reached out and stroked the beast's neck. "It's okay, boy, I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now."

The beast shook itself, then turned and stared at me. Its large, brown eyes were unfocused as it tried to make sense of my words.

I could feel a connection with the creature, I sensed its fear and confusion, but also its determination to follow whatever orders I gave it.

"Don't be afraid," I said, grabbing hold of a vine growing between its fur.

I pulled myself up and eased myself onto the beast's back. The bison raised its head, and I felt my legs being pressed against its side. I could feel it getting ready to charge.

"Homewards," I said.

The beast raised its head and started to run.

Flint's mind is going to explode when he sees this.

***

The bison ran for hours without rest, covering the distance in a fraction of the time it took me on foot. I rested my hands on the beast's shoulders and let it carry me.

At times, the spell's duration ran out, and I was forced to walk while I waited for it to go off cooldown, at which point I immediately summoned the bison again.

My body grew heavy and sore by the end of the journey, but I didn't care. I was in heaven, riding my very own magical beast through the blight ridden lands.

After a day, as the sun began to set behind us, Misty Hollow came into view. The bison slowed as we neared the village, and I leaned forward and petted the beast's scraggly neck, thanking it for its service.

I felt like I was walking through a dream, the village looked the same but different. There was no sign of life or movement anywhere. I dismissed the beast and looked around. I had been gone for a week, maybe longer, I'd lost time in the desert.

There was nobody around, and I could hear dogs barking in the distance.

"What the hell happened here?"

There was no tingling sensation as I entered town.

The barrier was down.

Something had to be wrong with the Protectors, there was no other reason for the barriers' absence.

Panic surged as I thought of my mother, was she still alive? I needed to get home and find out.

I walked at first, and then I began to jog, and finally I broke into a sprint. I passed the old bakery, sparing it a glance as I ran past. There was nobody inside. I kept running until I reached Flint's street.

I pounded on his door, trying to wake him, but there was no answer. The door was unlocked, and it swung open easily.

The stench of death hung thick in the air.

I stood in the doorway, my hand covering my mouth as I looked around. I stumbled through the house, and found Flint's father lying dead on the floor.

"No," I whispered.

I'd never liked the man, but seeing his body like this was disturbing.

Flies swarmed around him, it looked like he had died some time ago. His face was pale, his skin a sickening shade of yellow.

I knelt down next to him, putting my shaking hands on his neck. He was cold, colder than anyone should ever be, but there were no signs of wounds on his body.

"Flint!" I shouted once more, looking around frantically.

There was no response.

I staggered out of the house, feeling sick and retching on the cobblestone streets outside.

I needed to find my mother.

I rounded a corner and stopped in shock. A group of blight dogs were gathered around something in the street, growling at each other.

"Shoo!" I yelled, waving my arms, trying to get their attention.

They turned to face me, their teeth snapping at the air.

I raised my arm, selecting [Toxic Barrage] in my mind.

A swirling, noxious aura surrounded my fist. I unclenched my fist, and venomous orbs materialized above my fingertips.

I swung my arm and the orbs shot forth like neon fireflies, seeking the dogs and striking them with deadly accuracy.

On impact, each orb exploded, releasing a choking green mist and the dogs howled in agony, falling to the ground, writhing in pain. I ended their agony with swift stabs to their exposed necks.

Lying on the ground was a body. It was an old woman, with dark skin and long black hair.

"Heather," I whispered as I knelt down beside her corpse.

She’d worked at the tailor’s shop since before I was born. Each year I’d go to her for a new outfit. She was always so kind and gentle, but she was always so busy that we never really talked.

Who did this?

Why has her body been left in the dirt?

My tears fell freely as my eyes scanned her body, searching for a clue as to what had done this to her. Apart from a few bite marks on her skin, there was no sign of what had killed her.

"Why?" I breathed. "Why would someone do this to you?"

The smell of smoke wafted on the breeze, and as I looked up and saw a thin trail of black smoke rising from the village square.

If there were answers, I’d find them there.

"Rest in peace," I whispered, closing Heather's eyes. "I'll be back to bury you soon."

***