As the sun sank, he found the tracks of an animal he didn’t recognize. The prints indicated a long four-legged creature, long-clawed, and possibly a reptile. Using his tracking ability, he set after it.
After passing through no more than a mile, the tracks seemed to become reckless, tearing at the earth. After the erratic tracks, there were two sets of tracks belonging to two other beasts that slammed the earth beside the first creature's prints. Large and seemingly, the two-legged animals had to be large, maybe even the size of a man.
Leading towards a dense thicket, a hissing came menacingly. Moving closer Ren felt the energy building up inside him, the same power that energized his first shot against the wolf. It drove him forward as he moved effortlessly from shadow to shadow in the thickly covered floor of the forest.
As he crept closer, he saw two large birds corning a large lizard. The reptile’s length had to be nearly four feet. The two avians stood nearly as tall as Ren himself. Their large bodies were likely much frailer than the giant wolf.
Analyzing the three animals he observed their levels.
Ax Beaked Runner lvl. 3
Ax Beaked Runner lvl. 4
Young Rot Fang Lizard lvl. 2
Rot Fang? That might be some good loot. Ren smirked thinking of the murder rabbit toxin that helped greatly in killing off the crimson eyed deer.
Getting into position behind the cover of a down log covered in thick moss he looked down at the iron sight of the revolver.
Boom. An empowered sneak attack ran out in the forest. The shot punched straight through the body of one of the two massive birds. Beginning to line up a second shot the lizard pounced on the flightless bird as its blood spouted outwards. The little guy is vicious, shame to kill ‘em. He turned his shot instead to come straight for the second bird. A great ax-like beak swung down at the lizard just as he squeezed the trigger.
With a fluttering of flightless wings, the bird jumped back, unable to understand what was happening. A loud shrieking rang out from the bird as the lizard turned toward it. He was about to fire his third shot, then hesitate. Holding back his shot he watched the lizard as it tackled the bird in its distress, having been shot in the abdomen it wasn't in its right pea-brained mind. Go little guy go!
Slowly approaching, Ren held the revolver forward. As the lizard was occupied by turning the bird’s neck into a meal, he felt a sneak attack powering up. The bird tried to kick and slash its massive beak at the lizard but was pinned down, the feather-brainned critter was entirely helpless.
The predator had become prey.
Thundering footsteps came from the distance, Ren turned quickly, and a pack of the birds ran squawking towards the lizard. Slowly backing up Ren painfully watched as the birds tore apart the much shorter lizard.
Backstepping while watching the birds, his leg hit a branch jutting out from the fallen log he’d used for cover. Tumbling backward, he rolled down the slope of a small ditch. Snapping the branch, a loud crack sounded out in the forest.
The squawking and sounds of tearing flesh stopped. Shit. Pushing himself upwards he looked to see seven of the Ax Beaks staring right at him. They all stood unmoving, slowly he moved to turn and ran up the slope behind him. With two bullets left in the revolver, he was shit out of luck. Throwing himself up the small incline he rushed to find something, anything to get him out of this situation.
Ahead were the same massive trees and underbrush. In the distance, he saw a large thicket. Running for it, the birds slowly began catching up after struggling through the ditch that had spelled his doom. Feeling them gaining on him, the thunder of their steps only got louder as small branches and deadwood were smashed under their powerful legs.
Before the thicket in the distance, one of the massive ten-foot-wide trees had fallen, turning right he pushed himself towards it, straining himself with every ounce of stamina he possessed. Jumping down he rolled under its massive fallen trunk, the birds struggled to lower themselves underneath it, four of them running to go around the side of the giant log. Pushing himself up Ren dashed towards the thicket in the distance, he peered back at the first bird pushing itself under the log. Quickly he fired off a shot at it. A bullet striking its cramped form, the Ax Beak recoiled and panicked, kicking around and jamming itself sideways. Firing again he saw the four birds turn from the side of the giant fallen tree. With one dead, and two stuck behind it, he had nearly halved the number.
What in the goddamn seven circles of hell kind of road runners are these?
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Unable to conjure enough focus he couldn’t use his mana to generate more ammo in his quiver. Nearing the thicket, he looked at a spot underneath that was barren. It was a small game trail from animals using it to hide from large predators incapable of getting down under the thorny top.
The closer he began gaining on the safety of the thicket, the closer the Ax Beaks became to shredding him. Pushing himself harder than ever before in his unremembered life, he ran into a dive before slamming into the dirt and rolling into the clear game trail running under a mass of thorns and briars.
Gasping, he had no time to catch his breath, on his hands and knees he tried to crawl further into the thicket when a slashing pain came tearing across his back. Undaunted he crawled deeper in, the tight confines of the thorns all around him caused him to turn and look back. Three Ax Beaks stood behind him, blocked by the safety net of natural protection. However, one bird stood tangled and torn, bleeding as it thrashed in the thorns. The ax-like beak of the avian beast was covered in his blood. Laying back on his bloodied wound, he tried to focus and generate bullets.
With all of his mana, he generated three. Not fully regenerated from before, his mana reserves were now completely depleted. Three stood at the edge of the thorns, unable to reach him, dark brown feathers ruffled as they shrieked their calls for blood. The fourth bird was slowly getting closer to him, though hurt by the thorns there wasn’t anything but surface damage. Thorns no longer than an inch had difficulty pressing through the thick coverage of feathers and penetrating deeply enough to cause substantial damage.
He fired his first shot into the neck of the thrashing bird. Thrashing even harder for a moment it tore closer to him, nearly in range to slice at him. It’s beak slicing through the thorns like a machete in a jungle. Quickly its fighting slowed as it began sinking, half supported by the weight of the thorns.
His trail back out was now a mess, mostly destroyed by the thrashing bird. The important part was that his life was still intact. Whatever that life may be now, he didn’t know.
With his knife, he sliced at nearby thorns as the chaos of screaming continued beyond the dead bird blocking his sight. As the thorny branches began to give way under his knife he looked upon the birds through a haze of thorny branches. He pulled out his revolver when he wondered, if I can’t see them, they can’t see me.
Activating his stealth skill, he hid behind the mass of the dead bird, slowly he felt an intensity build. As it began to strengthen the birds started to quiet their loud jabbering. Is my stealth affecting them?
As their loud shrieks began to lessen, he moved to the cut thorns he had been working on. Through the thickets of thorns, he saw the head of an Ax Beak retracting from its place peering into his thorny mess of a hiding spot. At that moment he released a sneak attack directly into its eye socket.
With a great boom, the shot rang out pulverizing the face of the bird. Its companions began their tireless shrieking as the two lost Ax beaks found their way over to the remaining two in the group hounding him.
Releasing two quick shots he silenced one of the birds. Three left. He began waiting for his mana to regenerate.
After trying to meditate on ignoring the birds, he had the mana for two more shots. Killing off a beast now, or hiding for two sneak attacks.
In the time required for two sneak attacks, he may have enough mana for another shot. The sun was beginning to set and mental fatigue was dogging him down.
A sneak attack built up, with a swift shot another bird was killed off, this one, a body shot, leaving the bird bleed out. Repeating the same trick, he found himself utterly exhausted. Waiting for the sneak attack felt like forever. The energy building up seemed weaker and unable to reach its previous strength. He waited longer, but the energy began to drain, realizing he might lose the sneak attack entirely, he fired his last bullet. The attack hit the bird in the abdomen. The shot was not able to kill off the bird.
Looking at his mana reserves he realized it had only ticketed up by a single point. Not enough for a bullet let alone for a fire for the night. As the sun swung down the horizon, he began slicing through thorns to get closer to the birds.
I’m going to get myself killed. What am I doing?
Hesitantly, he moved close enough for the injured bird to strike out at him. Baiting the beast in he quickly moved back as it swung at him. Again, he baited the bird’s strike. Then a third time, until finally its anger caused it to thrash at him, getting its neck stuck in the thorns. Another unharmed bird began pushing itself up against the now-trapped one, jamming it in further. Their shrieking was maddening, he lashed out at the bird as it tried retracting its neck. Slicing into it, crimson poured forth ending its life.
Ren’s body ached, and his back was still bleeding well enough to keep draining him. He needed rest, yet one remained.
Pushing past the body of its companion, it threw itself at him. The ax-like beak slammed into his shoulder ending its slash at his collarbone. He wouldn’t die, not quite yet, for it wasn’t his neck severed.
Arm going limp he dropped his unloaded revolver, driving his blade into the thin bone behind the beast’s eye. His blade met the tiny brain of the Ax Beak, it twitched before going limp, falling with his knife inside its skull.
Blood welled from him, not only his back but now a deep gash down to his collarbone. Slowly he mentally prompted the menu to appear.
Name: Ren
Race: Human
Alignment: N/N
Class: Rouge level 2 Tier 0
Skill: N/A
Marks: Gate-Walker
HP:4/30 SP:8/40 MP:2/30
Attributes:
Str: 6
Vit: 6
End: 8
Dex: 11
Wil: 6
Int: 6
Free Points: 0
HP:3/30 … HP: 2/30… HP:1/30…
Overtaken by a great shadow, his mind went blank as he slid down to the earth. Unable to find a way to stop it, he just watched as his health slowly drained. As the great shadow became all-consuming his pain faded. He remembered the thing beyond shadows, and beyond all others into the void, I will not look upon it again.