The air was thick with the scent of fear and desperation as the party sprinted through the dark, twisted corridors. Mia's heart pounded in her ears like a war drum, her legs aching from the relentless pursuit. Every step beneath their feet seemed to echo throughout the buildings, drawing the monstrous creatures ever closer.
"Keep moving!" shouted Hector, his voice strained with urgency.
Mia kept her eyes peeled forward, all her attention focused on running and not falling down on the treacherous terrain. She glanced behind her for a split second, catching a glimpse of the grotesque monsters closing in on them. Their misshapen forms were barely visible in the dim light, but the sound of their guttural growls and gnashing teeth was enough to send shivers down her spine. They seemed to be in a frenzy.
"I wish I had something to slow these things down!" Frank said, the sound vanishing in the chaos of their escape.
"Left!" Hector commanded, sharply turning the group toward a narrow path between a pile of debris and a wall. As they darted through the opening, Diana quickly cast a slowing rune hoping to create a barrier, difficult to pass, for the group of monsters chasing them.
"Nice one," Mia panted, as she clutched her spear tightly. "That should buy us some time."
With Diana's rune creating a momentary barricade behind them, the group pressed on through the labyrinthine corridors. Their breaths came in ragged gasps, and the dimly lit passages seemed to stretch on forever.
Hector, his broad shoulders leading the way, guided the group through a series of turns and twists. Their surroundings shifted from narrow hallways to expansive chambers, each more eerie than the last. The air grew colder, and distant, haunting echoes reverberated through the darkness.
"I think we lost them," Hector said without breath. Mia was feeling queasy, running after eating was not the best idea.
Diana straight up vomited on the floor. "Damn, sorry," she said, obviously not comfortable.
"It's fine we get it." Frank gasped leaning against the wall. Not two minutes had passed and they heard the monsters again.
"Shit! Run!" Mia ordered and took off, away from the sounds of monsters.
The pattern of losing the monsters and being chased again repeated two more times.
"We can't shake them. Something is different. We need to find a way back to our place and barricade inside," Mia declared between heavy breaths, casting a glance back to ensure the pursuing horrors remained at bay.
"And I'll take a side of fries with that, huh?" Frank quipped.
"Don't talk about food." Diana cast an angry glare at Frank.
Mia ignored Frank, just as many times before, but the gravity of their situation was not so easy to forget. Escape seemed like an elusive dream. The monsters seemed to be able to track them. They kept running towards the grand hall.
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Diana felt the weight of weariness settling deep in her bones, threatening to overpower her will to continue. The relentless pursuit of the monstrous horde behind them seemed to intensify with every passing moment, their growls and snarls echoing through her fatigue-addled mind. She stumbled, barely able to catch her breath, her body screaming for respite. In that moment, her vision started to blur, casting doubts on her ability to press forward.
"Move, move, move!" Hector's voice echoed desperately, trying to rally the faltering spirits.
"Almost there," Diana thought, her chest tightening with every ragged breath. Her pulse thundered in her ears, drowning out everything but the singular need for safety.
"Look! There's the entrance to the hall!" Mia cried out, pointing to the double door.
"Let's get inside!" Hector ordered, his voice hoarse from shouting and exertion.
As they stumbled into the relative safety of their home base, Hector used the key and the heavy stone door slammed shut behind them, muffling the enraged cries of the monsters they had left outside. Half a second after the light shone in the crack between the door the monsters slammed into the barrier, and the party could feel the tremor through the floor. Fortunately the door, only glowed a bit brighter but remained unmoved.
"Is everyone okay?" Mia asked, concern etched on her face as she scanned her friends' weary expressions.
"Never been better," Frank quipped weakly, despite his labored breathing. "But let's not do that again anytime soon."
Diana just collapsed to the floor in a heap. Simply glad she didn't have to run any more.
"Agreed," Hector said, his voice heavy with fatigue. "But we made it. We're all still alive."
Diana waited, her heart rate beginning to slow as the adrenaline drained from her system. It took a while before she felt strong enough to sit up as she did her head spun but she managed to take a look around their hideout, it was safe for now.
"Home sweet home," Diana murmured , still sitting on the floor, the taste of vomit in her mouth. "What the fuck happened, how did they keep finding us?"
"Don't know. First, we rest. Then we deal with level ups, then we will think," Hector said firmly, siting down right where he stood. "But for now, let's just catch our breaths."
Diana didn't answer, allowing herself a bit of rest as she closed her eyes and hugged her knees, her body trembling with exhaustion.
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"Did anyone else notice how many of those things there were?" Frank asked, his voice tight with worry. "I've never seen such a large pack before."
"Me neither, not that any of us has much experience" Diana agreed, her expression darkening as she rubbed her temples in thought. "Something must have attracted them to us. But what?"
Mia's gaze swept across their surroundings, taking in the bloodstains on their clothes. Her eyes widened with realization. "What if it was the smell of blood or cooked meat that drew them?" she suggested, her thoughts racing.
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"Could be," Hector mused, his brow furrowing in concern. "We did take down one of them earlier, and then we cooked right there. The scent could have traveled far."
"Great. So now we're basically wearing monster perfume." Frank groaned.
"We need to be more careful from now on," Mia insisted, her voice firm. "We need to think more. We can't afford to attract any more monsters here than we already have. The door held this time."
"Agreed." Hector nodded, his jaw set with determination.
"Guess we should also check if magic lures them," Diana added, her fingers absentmindedly tracing her staff.
"Right." Frank twirled his dagger, "And let's not forget about all the noise we make when we fight. That probably didn't help our case either."
"Everything we do has consequences in this world," Mia thought, fear and resolve intermingling within her. "If we want to survive, we need to be cautious and calculated with every step we take."
"Look, we've learned our lesson," Frank said, his voice weary yet resolute. "Let's just make sure not to repeat the same mistakes. Let's get to the sweet gains," his eyes unfocused as he went through his status.
"Alright, let me see here," Hector muttered, swiping through his screen.
YOUR SKILL COMBAT PROWESS REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILL HARD TRAINING REACHED LEVEL 2 !
"I guess it makes sense, considering I was tanking it and i guess sprinting away from a group of monsters is Hard Training"
"Nice one, Hector," Frank said, clapping him on the back. Then opening his own messages.
YOUR SKILL SHADOW DANCE REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILL PRECISE STRIKES REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILL ACROBATICS REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILL ACROBATICS REACHED LEVEL 3 !
"The monster was focused on you, so I got to sneak around and riding its back is pretty acrobatic apparently". Frank joked.
"Those will definitely come in handy," Mia commented, looking through her sheet. "As for me, my 'Tracking' is the only one I leveled up, I really feel damn useless."
"Tracking allowed us to find it, Mia," Diana said, her voice surprisingly warm. "I'm glad those skills are getting stronger."
"Thanks," Mia replied. Wanting to change the subject she asked. "What about you, Diana?"
"Ah, well..." Diana hesitated, her cheeks flushing, as she raised her fist.
YOUR SKILL SLOWING RUNE REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILL EXPLOSIVE RUNE REACHED LEVEL 2 !
YOUR SKILL EXPLOSIVE RUNE REACHED LEVEL 3 !
"Did you guys notice after it rolled on the side the holes my explosive runes made to its stomach? With the explosion confined between the monster and the stone floor it must have done a lot of damage"
"You're taking my spotlight." Frank mused.
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They decided to call it a day and start a fire, it was time for rest. The flickering light of their makeshift campfire cast eerie shadows on the walls of the grand hall as Mia and her friends sat in a tight circle, poring over their character sheets. The air was thick with tension, each of them acutely aware of the danger that lurked just beyond the cave's entrance.
"Have any of you noticed," Diana began hesitantly, "that our skills didn't level at the same pace?"
"Yeah I was thinking about that," Frank said. "It's not like in most games where you share exp equally, it feels like you get experience for skills that you actually use. It's not just participation."
"That would explain Diana's two levels in Explosive Rune, what about your Acrobatics? And why did Shadow Dance level up during combat, you were using it a lot even before, seems like it's not a coincidence" Mia said.
"Interesting," Hector mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, I noticed my Hard Training leveled when we were running from those monsters. Even though exploring these ruins was overall way more effort."
"What are you suggesting?" Diana asked.
"I think we get more experience if we're in a more dangerous situation," Frank said.
Mia frowned at her own character sheet, scanning the list of recently improved skills. "It makes sense, I suppose. When we're in dangerous situations, we're forced to push ourselves to our limits. That could accelerate our progress. I got the level in Tracking after the combat started."
"But what does that mean for us?" Hector asked, eagerness clean in his voice. "Do we actively seek out dangerous situations to become stronger?”
The group fell silent, considering the implications of this revelation. Mia felt a knot forming in her stomach as she pondered the risks and rewards of such a strategy.
"Maybe we should look for opportunities to challenge ourselves without diving headfirst into danger," Mia suggested cautiously. "We'll still be able to grow and adapt, but we won't be risking our lives unnecessarily."
“Damn, I thought there would be more work for my mace,” Hector said and it made Mia roll her eyes, of course he just cared about smashing things.
"There will be enough of that too," Diana shook her head. "But for now It's just a theory we need to confirm before we do anything dangerous willingly."
"Right," Mia said, "Our goal is to survive and find a way back home. We need to become stronger, but it's just the means."
"Exactly," Frank affirmed, happy that they won't be doing anything stupid in the near future.
The conversation died for a while after that. It turned out Frank managed to grab some meat before they started running from the monsters. The team ate their dinner in silence, everyone deep in their own thoughts. With a heavy sigh, Mia glanced around the dimly-lit room that served as their makeshift home. The flickering light of the fire made their faces have harder lines. They were here for days and it took its toll on them. Their clothes torn in many places, their faces gaunt, showing the stress of the last days. But the biggest difference was the eyes. Open wide even when eating, glancing around for possible dangers even in a supposedly safe space.
"Is it just me," Mia began hesitantly, "or is this place becoming less and less...livable? We're practically drinking from a monster-infested water source, and we haven't found any decent food besides those creatures. I wonder how they survive."
Frank grunted in agreement, his brow furrowed. "Yeah, and the fact that we're no closer to finding a way back makes everything seem even less fun."
“Come on now, smashing that monster to pieces was fun,” Hector said. It looked to Mia as if he already forgot they almost died multiple times.
"There is nothing fun here, I hate feeling like we're trapped in this nightmare, constantly fighting for our lives," she clenched her fists, her frustration rising.
"Anger doesn't solve anything," Diana admonished, her gaze meeting Mia's. "We need to find a better solution for our basic needs. It's hard to focus on getting stronger, or escaping, when we're struggling just to survive."
"True," Frank chimed in. "Maybe we should spend more time scouting for safer resources. Specifically water, maybe we could find a source just for us. And we should wash our clothes from the blood, it's not like we took spares."
Mia looked at Hector's jacket she was wearing, it was covered in blood and starting to fray. "A new set of clothes would be nice, ours won't last us forever."
"Washing will have to do for now, we could make bone needles and sew the rags we find in the ruins together but that is for the future." Diana said.
Mia contemplated their situation, her mind racing with possibilities. As much as they needed to focus on improving their skills and finding a way back, they couldn't ignore the reality of their current living conditions. She nodded in agreement, will to act replaced her earlier despair.
"Alright, let's start by searching for a safer water source tomorrow. And while we're at it, we'll keep an eye out for any edible plants or wildlife. We may not have found any yet, but that doesn't mean they don't exist."
"Sounds like a plan," Diana said, her eyes calm. "If we can secure better resources, it'll give us the energy and focus we need to tackle the bigger challenges ahead."
"Exactly," Hector added, a sense of purpose creeping into his voice. "We'll face this world head-on, and we'll do it on our own terms. "
"Here's to a better tomorrow," Mia declared, raising an imaginary glass.
"Cheers to that," Diana, Frank and Hector chimed in unison, their voices echoing through the cave as they prepared to face another day in the unforgiving world they found themselves in.