Jade lunged for the nearest ladder, climbing with all the speed she could muster. On the other side of the room the monster growled, bounding towards her, dodging around various pieces of industrial machinery as it closed in. The climb wasn't far, only about 10 feet up to a narrow catwalk that ran alongside one of the conveyers. Even so, she barely made it to the top before the beast was right below her. It leapt, snapping its sharp fangs up at her. They caught only empty air as it fell back to the ground, landing in a crouch. It gazed up at her with red eyes, tail swishing back and forth like a viper waiting to strike. A globule of liquid dripped from its barbed stinger, sizzling when it hit the floor.
Jade didn't hesitate, there were plenty of ramps in the form of other conveyer belts leading up to her. She was not about to wait for this creature to find another way to get to her. On the far side of the catwalk was another ladder, this one leading up to the second level of the assembly line. She navigated the catwalk as quickly as she dared. To her left a conveyer moved pieces of partially assembled components through a gauntlet of whirring and buzzing machines, and to her right was a 10 foot drop to the concrete floor and a waiting monster. The catwalk was only 3 feet wide, but Jade's skills from her days as a gymnast allowed her to dart along its length at a speed most would've found frightening. Glancing up, she gauged the distance to the Sanctuary door. It was on the topmost of the 5 levels of equipment, 4 above where she stood at level 1. She could see a path along various catwalks and up a few other ladders that would take her there, she just had to-
Wham!
The ground shook violently beneath her causing Jade to lose her footing, sending her teetering dangerously close to the righthand edge of the catwalk. Below, the hyena monster fell back to the ground from another leap, having slammed its long stinger into the floor beneath Jade's feet. Before she plunged to a horrible death, the gymnast threw herself in the other direction. She tumbled onto the conveyer belt, sprawling atop one of the strange metal components ferried along its length and banging her head against something hard. Stars burst across her vision and everything blurred, clearing just in time for Jade to see a large robotic drill bearing down on her.
"Shit!"
She rolled to the side and narrowly avoided being disemboweled by the machine as the whirring drill bored into a metal plate beside her. The conveyer jolted to a stop as the machines continued to work on this piece, the metal arm of the drill pressing tightly against her stomach and pinning her against the jagged metal surface. She managed to wiggle free after a few frantic moments, regaining her feet just as the belt jolted into motion again. Jade turned just in time to duck under a steel girder that nearly clotheslined her. She crouched on the conveyer, panting and covered in sweat, sweeping her gaze in every direction as she sought to identify further dangers. Finding herself safe for the moment, she searched for the monster that had nearly smashed her off the catwalk.
It really is smart. Dangerously smart. She thought, frantically searching for it amidst the dimly lit assembly line. She needed to get to that damn door.
There! It had found a route to clamber up to her level and was making its way across the various assembly lines towards her, hopping gaps and ducking around obstacles. It was time to go. Jade hopped off the conveyer back onto the catwalk just as it ferried her past another ladder, this one leading up to the third level of the factory. Sparks flew down from above as she clambered up as quickly as she could with her injured ankle, which had been throbbing painfully this entire time. Adrenaline kept the worst of it at bay for the moment, but that wouldn't last long. She'd seen the X-Rays, and knew her foot could only handle so much abuse.
"I'll never complain about you again." She panted, hauling herself onto the next catwalk. "Just a little further!"
Even amidst the chaos of this deadly chase, the gymnast recognized the weirdness of talking to her foot. That was strange, even for her. Probably a coping mechanism, she rationalized, to the absurdity of what was happening to her. It was better than panicking, at least she hoped it was. Jade hopped onto a conveyer, then jumped across a small gap to another walkway as she made her way towards another ladder. She was close now, just a little more! She-
She wasn't fast enough.
With a mighty leap, the monster soared up from the level beneath Jade and landed heavily on the belt in front of her, snarling and snapping. Jade hopped backward, landing on a conveyer that was travelling away from the ladder she'd been aiming for. The beast stalked after her, stepping onto the belt and leaping atop a chunk of partially assembled machinery as it leered at her. Only about 10 feet separated them, the space filled with similar industrial parts. She searched frantically for an escape, backing away as the belt paused. But there wasn't one, not another way up that she could get to from here. She'd been so close! Gritting her teeth, Jade reached down and grabbed a jagged piece of metal from the assembly line, clutching it before her like a baseball bat.
"Get out of my way!" She yelled at the monster, setting her feet and raising the makeshift weapon as menacingly as she could manage. "You don't want to try me!"
Jade doubted whatever the hell this was would be so easily intimidated, but she found she didn't care. Someone or something had pulled her out of her home, away from her friends and family, and thrust her into this mess. The fear, anxiety, and frustration that had been mixing inside her transformed, combining into fiery fury. This thing was standing between her and safety? Fine. If she had to, she'd just go straight through it.
The beast leaped for her, bounding over the obstacles between them with frightening speed as it pounced. Jade swung her makeshift weapon with a solid, two handed grip, slamming it into the hyena-monster's shoulder and knocking its lunge off course. She leaped out of the way, its wicked fangs snapping shut just to her side as it stumbled into her, knocking her off balance. Both of them fell, Jade onto the catwalk beside the belt and the beast back onto the conveyer itself. She found her feet quickly, spinning to face her foe as it rolled into a group of swinging mechanical arms. One of them slammed into the side of its head with a loud crack before it righted itself, leaping free of the hazard. It roared, blood pouring from a jagged head wound. The injury wasn't enough to deter its attack, though, as it charged back towards her with reckless abandon. There was nowhere to go, to Jade's right was open air, and to her left was machinery filled with deadly implements.
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In desperation the gymnast leaped off the catwalk and seized a long chain hanging from the ceiling. Her momentum carried her away from the beast, which spun to swipe its barbed tail at her as she swung away, dangling dozens of feet above the ground. It missed by inches, wind whipping against Jade's face from the force of the blow. Years of acrobatics training helped her judge her distance and momentum, allowing her to let go at just the right moment to drop down onto another platform. It was a landing she could have easily stuck in her younger years, but her body failed her. Burdened by her backpack and improvised weapon she landed hard, her injured ankle screaming with sudden, piercing pain that sent an electric jolt through her entire leg. It finally had taken too much punishment, giving way under the pressure of the impact and sending her sprawling onto the hard metal. Jade cried out as she fell, gritting her teeth and using the club as a crutch to haul herself upright once more. She was about 15 feet away from the monster now, separated by a 3 story drop. The platform she stood upon was larger than the catwalks, a 10 foot square filled with various panels that held a wide array of levers and buttons. There was no time to investigate their functions, the monster was already crouched, preparing to leap the gap.
Stumbling away at the fastest pace her injury would allow, Jade beelined for the nearest ladder. She had finally caught a lucky break, this one would take her to the topmost level not far from the glowing door. A pulsing arrow appeared on it, as if urging her towards safety. The ground shook beneath her as the monster continued its pursuit, landing heavily behind Jade and stalking after her. She hesitated upon reaching the ladder, knowing that she’d be vulnerable while climbing. With the current state of her ankle there was no way she could clamber up to the top level quickly enough.
Frustrated, Jade looked around for another path, edging slowly away from the monster. It was content to keep its distance for the moment, prowling towards her with its stinger raised. This new catwalk took her near a different belt system. Here, scrap metal was ferried to a large industrial presser that stamped down with tremendous force, crushing the metal into flat sheets. An idea formed in Jade's mind. A stupid, crazy idea.
"Go big or go home." She murmured to herself. The mantra that had propelled her athletic career into the national spotlight. The mindset that had led to her crashing and burning.
Before she could think about the absurdity of what she was doing, she stepped onto the assembly line again. Its momentum carried her away from the beast, which followed suit, both of them approaching the large stamper that continued to thump away behind her. She risked a quick glance at it as her foe slowly approached, counting the number of scrap heaps between her and the device. Three more to go.
She was counting on the beast being as reckless as she was. So far it had acted without much regard for its own safety, relentlessly pursuing her into this deathtrap of a factory. Jade didn't know what malignant force drove this being, but it was something more than basic predatory instincts. Of that, she was certain.
Thud.
It was close now. Jade took a step backwards, up onto one of the metal piles. The vantage allowed her to look down on the beast as it approached. Its stinger twitched, another globule of something clear and sizzling spattering to the floor. The fear began to return, and she swallowed.
Thud.
The belt shook with the impact of the machine. She was almost there, just another few seconds. A pneumatic hiss filled her ears, the sound of a large machine in motion. A rush of air blew past her from behind, rippling across her hair and clothes. She clenched her fists around her weapon.
Now!
Jade pretended to stumble and the monster pounced. Immediately, the gymnast threw herself backwards. She leapt free of the pile of metal and hurled herself as far as she could down the belt. The gnashing teeth missed her once more, slashing nothing but air. Unfortunately, that wasn't the beast's only weapon. Its scorpion stinger slammed into her chest, barbed tip plunging deep. The impact sent her flying further than she'd meant, and Jade crashed to the moving belt in a heap, screaming at the burning pain that seared through her left side.
Thud.
In its single minded pursuit of her, the monster had lunged under the machinery just as Jade had gotten out of the way. The press slammed down again, crushing it in an instant. Its stinger flopped to the ground, severed, the only piece of the beast that had avoided being turned to paste. Jade lay back, relieved, clutching at the wound in her chest. It throbbed painfully, blood blossoming across her shirt. She rolled onto her side, gasping, raising her shirt to check how bad it was. A small but jagged hole had been punched into the right side of her chest, and Jade felt faint at the sight. Blood, her blood, was flowing freely from the wound. Far more of it than she was comfortable with. Taking a steadying breath, Jade steeled herself and rose to a crouch. Sharp jolts of pain arced through her shoulder and chest, enough to make her cry out again, but she was able to do it. The wound hurt, but it wasn't debilitating. Not yet, at least.
A new notification appeared in front of her.
* Quest Failed: Fight or Flight.
* You have been seriously injured by a Labyrinth monster.
More notifications appeared, the same as before.
* System Note
* Failed quests count against your number of completed quests for the purposes of completing your Labyrinth Trial.
* System Note
* Since your number of completed quests cannot fall below 0, this quest will not count against your progress in your Labyrinth Trial.
She regained her focus as they flashed by, one after the other. This was no dream. Somehow, all of this was real. Jade didn't understand how this had happened, but now she knew for certain. What was a 'Labyrinth Trial'? And what was with the 'quests'? It was like something out of a video game.
Another window popped up in front of her, minimizing the others.
* New Quest: Survival of the Fittest
* Next time, try not to fight something you're woefully underprepared for.
* Objective: You have been grievously wounded. Find and enter a Sanctuary before it's too late.
* Reward: Race and Class selection.
* Reward: Access to the introductory tutorial.
* Reward: If you make it in time, you might survive!
* No, seriously, hurry.
Eyeing the ominous last line of the message, Jade rose to her feet. She surveyed the crushed remains of the monster as the conveyer belt ferried it past where she'd landed on the catwalk. 'Remains' was being generous, the only identifiable part of the creature left was its dismembered stinger. Everything else had been reduced to a foul smelling red goo. She covered her mouth and nose at the stench, turning away.
Have to get to that sanctuary…
She stumbled back to the ladder, favoring her good leg. Her abused ankle ached nearly as much as the stab wound did. Somehow, Jade managed to haul herself up to the highest level of the factory. A final arrow appeared, pointing directly at the glowing wooden door. It had an iron knocker and simple latch, looking completely out of place amidst the factory equipment surrounding her. She stumbled towards the door, missing the latch on her first attempt to open it. Jade's limbs felt heavy, and a chill was starting to creep through her body. She shook her head, which had suddenly begun to grow cloudy. What was happening to her?
Poison… Stinger…
She managed to unlatch the door, practically falling across the threshold. Something soft cushioned her landing. Grass? That didn't make any sense… She blinked, looking around. She was in a forest clearing, sunlight filtering in through a canopy of leafy trees.
How…?
It didn't make any sense, where had the factory gone?
* Quest Complete: Survival of the Fittest.
* Find and enter a sanctuary.
* See your sanctuary attendant for quest rewards.
Before this latest message could fade, a shadow fell across her. Someone was standing over her, extending a hand towards her. Jade's vision was going blurry, strength fading from her limbs. She looked up, seeing a well dressed older man in a tailored suit.
"You are in quite a state, young Lady." He spoke with a refined accent, reminiscent of a British butler. "Do not fear, I am here to help."