I kicked the night wight corpse twice for jumping out and scaring the shit out of me. The head rolled away, thudding against a nearby tree. The blood seeping from it tainted the mud.
This was the fourth day that I headed towards the tree on my own and the fourth night wight I had encountered. It almost seemed too much of a coincidence. The only difference was that the ambushes were never in the same place or at the same time. If they had, I would have guessed the stupid things respawned.
Grabbing the single, massive branch from the ground, I groaned. Why the hell couldn't I increase my strength any higher without having to learn a profession or class. It was ridiculous! According to Agga, learning a profession would double the maximum of my attributes, as would gaining a class.
Placing the branch across my shoulder I used both right arms to hold it in place. I had the ax in my left, a gift from Agga to keep me safe, while my lower left arm was holding a wooden ball. It was a Seepwood tree wooden ball, light and grey, and slightly sticky.
Stomping through a few beams of sunlight that somehow managed to penetrate the thick canopy above, all of the bird sounds silenced. Without any hesitation, I dropped the branch on the ground, stuffed the ball inside the partially open pouch that hung from my new leather belt, and gripped the ax with both hands.
Turning around slowly, I tried searching for whatever had scared the animals. Probably another night wight. Two in one trip, great.
A plant swayed in the corner of my eye, and I spun towards it. Padding came from behind me, and my hair rose. There was more than one! Turning around again, I saw a blur move into a dense area of undergrowth. I had barely seen what it was, but it reminded me of a wolf. You had to be kidding me!
Growling came from all around me. As I turned in circles, the ax raised in front of me, I shivered. Should I run? Preposterous. I could never outrun a wolf or dog or whatever it was. Besides, I'd drop dead from exhaustion in ten minutes.
Something rushed out of the undergrowth behind me, and I whirled around, automatically slicing with the ax. A grey, gangly dog-like thing with a flat snout and big red eyes dodged around the ax head and rushed back into the undergrowth. More rustling came from behind, and I whirled the ax in a wide circle, managing to scare them off. This time they didn't hide but began prowling around me. Three, four, six, seven. Fuck, I was dead!
Spinning my head around, trying to keep my eye on all of them, as soon as I got back to one, it jumped forward. I jumped forward, and I felt the airflow behind my ankle as the teeth snapped closed. Cursing, I knew there was nothing I could do, which left only one path. I charged forward, at the closest wolf thing. It yelped and dodged back as I swung the ax down, missing it by a handsbreadth. The padded feet behind me told me that the others were coming my way. I jumped aside, turning as I did, and used all four arms to swing the ax around.
With a solid thud, it landed against the side of the head of a wolf thing. Landing on my ass, I backpeddled as fast I could until my back was against a tree. I immediately knew I'd made a mistake when a tingling sensation spread from my back. Stepping away from the tree, I prayed it wasn't lethal or paralytic. Looking around, I saw the wolf thing I'd hit lie unmoving on the ground. The remaining six were moving around just behind it, staring and snarling at me. Taking a few deep breaths, I roared at them, hoping they might be afraid after one of them died. They did jump back, but more startled than afraid. Then one of them stared at me and howl-roared back. The sound made the hairs on my limbs stand on end, and I shivered.
"There they are!"
I heard a muted cry from far away in the woods. The wolf things began moving around, yapping at each other. A few moments later, the sound of running came from the distance. With a final snarl, the canines turned and ran into the dark woods. Within moments I couldn't see them or even hear them. Putting the ax on the ground, I leaned on it, breathing deep.
A racket came from the side, and three similarly clothed figures burst out from the undergrowth. Each held one or more swords and wore dark leather armor with a tunic with a red dagger on it. One of them, wielding two swords and two daggers, reminded me of the Grablon that had saved me from the night wight almost a week earlier.
Apparently, he recognized me too, as he lowered his weapons and shook his head in disgust. Then he noticed the dead canine, and his eyes narrowed.
"How many were there?" He asked, his voice rough and flat.
"Seven."
"And you had no help?"
I shook my head, seeing a glimmer of surprise in his eyes. Then he turned to the other two.
"They ran deeper into the woods. We will chase them for another few hours and hope they don't come back."
He got two nods, and then he turned to me again. "Surviving an attack by a Wirg pack, even killing one without having a class is impressive. We are always looking for more mercenaries to join us. If you are interested, you should try the trial. It will be in a week."
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He turned before I could respond, as I was distracted by a ping. I was pretty sure that was knowledge and not something I'd wanted to know. Although, knowing those ugly scruffy things were called Wirgs might help explain to Agga why I was late.
Staring at the body, steaming on the ground, I wondered if I could get it back.
In the end I managed by binding it to the branch with my new belt and dragging them across the ground. It was late night when I returned to the wall, and Agga was waiting for me behind the gate. Pacing and muttering, she shook her head when she saw me. The look of utter relief on it made me all warm inside.
"Foolish boy, what has gotten into you, staying in the woods so late?"
Realizing she couldn't see the thing I was dragging, I pulled it through the open door, nodding at Hans, who just spat on the ground. When the body of the Wirg entered the circle of light, Agga gasped, and Hans began cursing.
Agga stepped close, her eyes scanning me before she sighed. "You are alright," she said, and I could see the relief in her eyes.
"Well, I did touch a tree with my back…" I said, turning around so she could see my incredibly itchy back.
I felt a hand on my back, poking and scratching before she made a clicking sound with her tongue. "It will be fine with a night's rest and some lotion. Don't worry. Now drag those things along, and let's go to sleep."
Wondering if there was any food, I followed her.
--
Two days after my encounter with the Wirgs, I was sitting in the woods, staring at the branch beside the tree without really seeing it. I was finally wearing leather pants, artfully crafted by Agga from the Wirg I had brought back. My torso was still bare, but it didn't matter anymore.
I had been here a week, and I knew what that meant. Staying inside a game for a few days was fine, but a week was a barrier. Any longer and the police would come and take you to the hospital. Your parents would be called, and officials would show up—a whole lot of hassle I didn't need. I had hoped to unlock wood crafting, level up some more, and go beyond the town. But there was no more time left. I'd talked with Egilla the archer a few times, asking her about what was beyond the town's borders, and it wasn't hopeful.
On one side, the forest stretched all the way to the other side of the continent and was so dangerous not even an army would dare cross it. The roads leading through were too far, and even then, to get there would take weeks. The hills on the other side took days to cross and lead into the kingdom of Fastris, a warrior ruled nation that didn't allow free travel in its borders. Going north would lead deeper into Har, the kingdom Sart was part of. There was a city two days travel from here, but then what? I had no idea where to find Sandra, and what would I even do if I found her? Was she even playing? Perhaps she had died, found the AI was just some scam, and the first time you left the game was by dying?
Taking a deep breath, I made up my mind. It was time to die and find out what was true and what was not.
I turned and stared into the dark woods. A few days ago, a warning had been spread that the pack of Wirgs was still roaming the woods and had made a den somewhere in that area. The Daggers of Doom had been trying to find them, but unsuccessfully. Then again, I'd not seen a single one here, and I wondered if they had even come and looked.
Grasping the ax, I grinned. If I was going to die, I'd at least have fun! Perhaps I would just wake up, learn from Sandra that I was a fool, and we could both log in next weekend to play together.
The further I moved through the forest, the more muted the sounds became. The light grew dimmer, and eventually, it was too dark to see more than shadowy grey outlines. I'd been walking for an hour when I heard soft barking in the distance. Taking a deep breath, I tried walking as soft as I could as I snuck forward.
The undergrowth wasn't as thick anymore, but the trees stood close together, in some places almost touching. I stepped between two when a soft pawing sound made me stop. Lowering myself to the ground, I crawled forward. Around another tree, I saw a small open area. Three trees had been almost ripped from the ground by something, now lying in a heap. It had probably happened years ago because the wood was old and rotten, and not a single needle was left. Where the roots of two rose from the ground, a cave of sorts had formed, and inside lay three of the Wirgs. Another lay atop the tree, it's eyes closed.
That left one. Scanning around, I didn't see it anywhere. But did it really matter? With a shrug, I clasped the ax in my two right hands. The headache was almost non-existent now, having practiced using them every day while walking to and fro.
I couldn't sneak up any closer; they would see me right away or smell me. It was a miracle they hadn't already. Taking a deep breath, I rushed forward, my first target the three in the hollow. As soon as I moved, the Wirg on the tree surged up and growled loudly. The other three rose, and their red eyes focused on me. By that time, I was already across the small open area, and when they jumped forward, trying to get out of the small muddy cave, I jumped inside. I'd decided to take them out one at a time and ignore the others.
I struck at the middle one, aiming at its head. It tried to dodge back and aside but slammed into the other one, and my ax struck it right between the eyes. It yelped before dropping. Seeing it shiver and hearing it groan, I knew it wasn't dead yet. I jumped across it with my momentum. The other two Wirgs ran past and out. I'd heard that when they are attacked by something stronger than them, wolves don't usually fight. I also knew that these weren't wolves, and they would probably charge any second.
Slamming my ax down in the neck of the downed Wirg, I looked up to see three blurry grey shapes rush me. Stepping forward, I roared and slashed the ax around. I hit one of them, but the other two slammed into me, knocking me down. The green bar representing my hit points popped up and dropped by ten percent. Raising my two left arms in front of my face, a Wirg bit down into it, and the bar lowered another ten percent. I tried slashing with my ax, but the Wirg dragged me aside, and something bit into my leg. The green bar dropped even more, and I panicked. The fact that I was trying to get myself killed had left my mind, and I struggled as if I'd die at any moment. I managed to block one of the Wirgs with the ax, and a faint ping came from my status.
Instinctively I tried slashing with the ax at whatever bit my leg, but something yanked the ax from my grip.
The next thing I saw were a Wirg's blinking teeth as it shot down to my neck. The hitpoint bar emptied to a blinking red stripe. Then there was pain, a flurry of movement, and darkness.