Staring down at the army of komos filling the valley below, Nick continued to ponder his unlikely allies, the colony of giant spiders who had saved his life the day before.
The beasts in the tutorial must have quests and events that they are forced to contend with. Some kind of survival scenario and advancement system, although I doubt that they are subject to the same set of rules that apply to human contestants. The spiders’ behavior must be a consequence of one of those conditions. If there was an open portal up there, the colony would have already left. If there was a giant monster, it would have made more sense to hide on the hillside and leave the komos and crunchers alone. Let the aggressive species climb the hill and wear the boss down before engaging it themselves.
Instead, the colony chose to thin out the predatory beasts trapped within the valley while leaving a friendly force unmolested. The conditions on the summit must create a situation where the tribe and the colony can cooperate with one another. Or at least one where we’re not forced to fight it out. They also left the acid frogs alone. There must be enough room for several species on the summit, but not enough space for everyone.
That was as far down the tracks as his train of thought could travel before it was derailed. Because that was the moment when he realized that the ground beneath his feet was rumbling. The same sensation that Nick had felt just before the ocean rose to devour the woodlands.
He raised his gaze to the waterline, where great, frothing waves were rising as the ocean churned. While this was more or less what he had been expecting, he hoped that the flooding would be gradual, giving enough time for the tribe to finish their battle with the komos before they were forced to race the sea up the mountainside.
“Get ready! It’s happening.” Nick raised his sword and pointed to the lemurs standing beside him. “The komos will attack at any moment.” This time, the tribe seemed to get the message because they tightened their formation immediately while calling out to their brethren resting on the hilltop.
As the cries of the furry primates filled the air, lemurs came running to reinforce the line. Most grabbed spears to bolster the wall, while the rest armed themselves with rocks and clubs. Nick saw the Elder arrive in the periphery of his vision, just before the writhing sea began pouring into the valley below. This time, it was easy to tell that the island was sinking rather than the ocean rising, although that was the only thing that had made sense from the start.
The army of komos hissed when the first river of seawater entered the valley, as if the tide was an intruder that they could frighten off with a show of force. But the lizards quickly realized that the water wasn’t going to stop, and they started scampering their way up the hillside. In their confusion, thirty of the reptiles ran in the wrong direction, moving toward the hilltop held by the acid-swilling frogs. But most of the komos were smart enough to head for the weaker lemur forces. Nick took in the sight of a band of carnivorous reptiles roughly twice the size of the tribe, although fortunately, this bunch was not led by an alpha.
The earth swayed beneath his boots, and he had to fight to remain on his feet. As the island gave way, the water rose higher. Faster and then faster still. Judging by the rate of the flow, he estimated that it would take approximately half an hour for the ocean to reach the level of the hilltop.
This time, Nick didn’t expect the process to stop. The gates would open, and the beasts on the hills would race against the rising sea. Heading up the mountainside toward whatever awaited them on the summit.
Well before that happened, the komos would hit the lemurs’ line. And this time, the lizards would hold nothing back. Both species had been left with a single, stark choice. Fight or die. Neither was willing to share the narrow mountain passes. There simply wasn’t enough room up there, even if the beasts had been willing to tolerate each other’s presence to begin with.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
As it happened, the decisive battle was fated to occur even sooner than Nick had expected. The instant the final lemurs fell into formation, a trio of komos decided to swim over from the frog hill, a dozen more only a short stretch behind them. They began crossing the shallow bay to rejoin the main body of lizards that was climbing up to where Nick stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the lemur spearmen.
That was the moment when he caught sight of dozens of triangular fins cutting through the turbulent waters. Much to the surprise of the komos swimming across what had been the valley floor only moments before, the sharks had decided to join the battle for the highlands. The frantically paddling reptiles had just enough time to scream before the killer fish struck, reducing the komos to bloody froth upon the waves. A few more were picked off before the other terrified lizards either completed the crossing or hastily abandoned the attempt, deciding that fighting to the death against the solvent-spewing amphibians was the better bet after all.
The cold air and the flooding of the valley had disoriented the komos, but the apex predators hunting in the rising waters had shocked them back to their senses. The swarming sharks jumpstarted the pride’s survival instincts, breaking their daze and sending them scrambling for higher ground. Thus, with no hesitation whatsoever, every komo in the valley charged straight up the hillside. The first wave came crashing into the lemurs’ line twenty seconds later.
If the komos had been led by an alpha or hadn’t been divided by their tumultuous circumstances, they would have overwhelmed the tribe or inflicted mass casualties during the melee that ensued. Instead, this battle was the polar opposite of the last. Instead of being tactical, prolonged, and full of surprises, the melee was a brief, brutal exchange of force, with a progression as straight as the flight of an arrow. Spear met scale, claw tore at flesh, both sides racking up wounds until the final lizard tumbled back down the slope and into the rising waters. Much to the sharks’ delight.
With his injuries, Nick wasn’t able to wield his sword effectively. He took up a spear instead, fighting with Bandit at his side. His furry friend had been going out of his way to watch out for Nick ever since the hyena had chomped his leg. They took out four of the giant lizards between them, guarding each other’s backs. Although it was blessedly brief, the battle was exhausting. Every impact made his bruises ache, but he gritted his teeth and soldiered on.
The moment that the last lizard died, the lemurs dropped their spears and started heading for the gate, following the Elder’s lead. Apparently, she understood the situation even better than Nick had thought, as many of the lemurs instead took up clubs—weapons that were better suited to fighting in small groups. He supposed that the beasts were receiving prompts from the System as well—likely in a form more direct than Nick’s interface with the obelisk. With no time to ponder the matter further, he slipped a few of the sturdier spears into his pack. He followed the tribe across the bridge to stand in front of the gate, looking up at the mountain looming before him.
He was not looking forward to navigating the treacherous mountain pass, especially in his battered condition, but he hadn’t been offered much of a choice. He left his sword in his pack, as it would only get in the way while climbing. Nick would have to rely on his dagger if he was forced into a fight—an occurrence that he judged as falling somewhere between likely and guaranteed based on what he could see of the trail above. By now, the ocean was almost level with the hilltop. It would reach the crest sometime within the next five minutes. Just as he was certain that the gate wouldn’t open in time, the structure started to move.
Instead of opening from the middle like Nick had been expecting, the entire gate began sinking into the ground, as if it were mounted onto a hydraulic lift. The articulation was smooth as butter despite the incessant shaking of the island. Before the top of the gate disappeared into the earth, the tribe’s Dexterity-based warriors began leaping over, rushing to secure the perimeter before the other lemurs joined them on the far side.
To his immense relief, there wasn’t another fight waiting for them around the corner, at least not yet. For now, the only danger in sight was the rising tide.
With no time to waste, Nick and the tribe began hiking up the mountain, Bandit never more than a few paces from his side.