CHAPTER 7- Going deep
There we go, ready as we can be, going deeper into the city. We still are in no way close to the city center for now, but at the end of the day I plan on being at least nearing it's perimeter.
We leave our little hideout and start making our way into more populated areas where I am betting that my sister ran to. We tread carefully as we explore. I go first trying to scout to the best of my abilities while Maria and Sera keep watch on the surroundings, mostly on the places we already pass but could still pose a threat if something came that way.
It doesn't take much time to find our first monster of the day, this time it is one of those giant moles with sharp claws, but this time it is alone. It seems a little bit lost as he is moving kind of unsure I would say. This could be a good time to see what these guys are made of. I decide to test the monster to see how powerful the species is and take a new weapon for myself for later use. I am definitely taking with me that long and sharp claws for myself, I have an idea on how I will be able to use them later on.
First things first, I need to kill it, preferably while getting as much information as I can on the process. Information is power, even more now that there are a whole bunch of unknown species going rampant all around. I bet any kind of information will sell well in our situation, I can’t imagine anyone fighting all these monsters for the sole purpose of extracting information anytime soon. So I decide to test his eyesight, which I am more curious about. I leave my hiding spot as we are by no measure close to it and see what he does.
Nothing, the guy is looking in the other direction and doesn't seem to see me or perceive me in any way. I am still curious as to how they move on the surface so I start to approach slowly from behind without making a sound to see if he has any other way of knowing my location. I get closer and closer and even when I get past the 25 meters and the thing turns around to watch my way it doesn’t seem as I was seen. It’s more like the guy just decided it was time to look in my direction. Just as I thought, my point is proven as the thing doesn’t seem in any way concerned with my existence. I try to move in his direction while the guy still looks my way to see its response.
To my surprise the thing stays still. Even now when I am just about 10 meters away from it, which seems super suspicious if I say so myself. It is as it knows I am there, but still isn’t too sure about my exact position and everytime I move it tries to pinpoint me. ‘So maybe it has a way to make out its prey's overall location?’
I move to my right and then left in a similar fashion and the guy just follows my movements. Then I do the same but with wide and fast movements and it is then that the giant mole charges at me in a straight line. ‘ So it is like that, probably some kind of movement perception? Maybe just another way of seeing?’
No idea, but we can probably play around that. I am pretty sure we could use one person as bait to make the thing focus on them and while all its attention is on trying to make sense of whatever dubious information it’s getting, have another stab it on the back or something.
For now though, I need to take care of the one that is charging at me planning to either slash or stab me with its claws. ‘Let’s see what you are capable of.’
I dodge his charge to my right and instead of attacking the thing I keep myself out of its claws range to see how fast its reaction speed is compared to mine. The giant mole does swing its claws, but not before facing my direction and in the process wasting a lot of time. It charges again and I mirror my dodge from before, however this time I do attack the guy with my knife aimed at this jugular. The monster, tries to face me before moving just as before but this time it doesn’t get any time to do so. The fur covering it is strong and tough, but nothing crazy like the orcs or the other lone guy I faced before so my knife goes deep enough to bleed it to death before another charge comes my way. ‘Deadly, but only if you get ambushed by it or if you are not nimble enough.’
It is a hard match up to face for sure, but if you are armed and prepared not so much. I am pretty sure any able guy with a little bit of training and the will to do it could take it on, just as with the rats, but just a lot more dangerous with its claws. I tell my two companions to join me and keep watch while I dismantle this thing of everything useful. The moment the get to me and I start doing my thing I start hearing some weird noise.
*rumble* rumble*
With little to no delay whatsoever I nearly panic as two new monsters the same as the one before jump out of the soil below. Wait, soil? Oh fuck, we are in a park, not in the pavement. These cunning little shits…
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I don’t get time to do anything after my realization that we fucked up as both of the new arrivals are out for blood, probably infuriated or pissed off in some way by the death of his companion. I push one of them away from one of the girls with a fast quick to the ribs and dodge the slash that the other one tries to land on my back.
“Run, hide somewhere safe! And don’t move!”
I assume they will be fine as long as they don’t move too much knowing the way these guys locate us. Moreover, both of the new foes seem to be focused on me now that I mess up their first attempt of vengeance. One of them charges at me like the one I killed before was doing, but this time the second one attacks me just after dodging the first one and I need to jump back to not get impaled. Their perception range is probably the same so I bait one of them to charge at me and lure him a few meters away from his ally.
The first one that charges at me falls for the trap and doesnt stop chasing me till I stop in place and roll to the side to avoid getting hit. It doesn’t have enough time to stop before running into a car parked on the street smashing into it. It doesn't take any damage and even manages to free itself from most of the momentum thanks to its quick reflexes, however just as before, the guy tries to face me before attacking and that sentences it. I stab his nape with my weapons as deep as I can and the knife sinks deep enough to stop the monster from moving anymore. The second one slash at my back, seemingly having arrived while I dispatched the other one. I avoid the slash but it still tries to bite my arm and nearly gets a chunk out of it. ‘Not so fast buddy.’
I get myself out of his range after pushing me against it with a strong quick to its chest, somehow managing to land properly and after I recover my breath I dash at him in a straight line to what he unsurprisingly decides to counter with a vertical slash, leaving me free reign to slash or stab hit whenever I want. I do just that, I just change my direction a little bit to not get hit and then stab its head from the side using my hip to rotate and get as much strength as I can in my swing. ‘Done.’
After getting rid of them I wait one moment to see if I can feel any movement underneath the earth, but nothing I can sense at least. Still feeling their threat of being ambushed at any time I slice both wrists of the nearest monster and I grab the both as I signal my two companions to leave this new type of mine field. I need to take care of where we are standing in the near future, any of those moles while predictable are pretty much deadly.
I don’t dare to feel reassured or make any sudden movements till we leave the sight of dirt on the park we were before.
“Let’s enter one of these buildings so that I can rest and get these claws ready to use.” I tell them the truth, but I am pretty sure they are feeling better knowing we are gonna get a moment of respite after getting surprised by the new tactics that those things employ. I should have thought about them being able to set up ambushes underground or at least calling for reinforcement in that manner. I was carried away probing them for new possible abilities and blinded by my discoveries. ‘Nothing to regret though! We got all the info we needed and some loot in the process, I would take it as a win.’
I finally get the claws detached and I try to get the feeling of throwing them. I throw them a few times and all of them end up on the floor in what feels like a poor attempt to show off. I decide that I will need to make some adjustments to them before trying to use them in an actual fight. They may not be useful against the armored panthers or the orcs due to their tough armor or durable hide, but I don’t despair. With a wooden or metal handle to give them weight and some practice I am sure they will be a good choice against enemies who rely on numbers to try and cull them a bit before engaging. Well, maybe a metal handle is overkill in a lot of ways, whoever I will keep them safe for later use, I will try to get better at throwing them at the very least, it will probably come in handy.
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Five hours later
After our fight at the park we continued the search, but while we didn’t find anything useful, we managed to avoid any threat. We did take some departures from the standard route, but nothing crazy. We took our time resting in between too, like after some tense moments of stealthy passing through a street full of monsters of various kinds.
We pushed through and got to the perimeter of the city center somehow and I decided to take the more optimal way of searching.
“Listen to me. You should stand guard here in this area from a safe place and monitor what goes on in the street from a high place.”
“Are you gonna go on your own then?” Sera, the decisive one of the pair, quickly catches on my plan.
“Yes, it's better for me to go search on my own from here on. I will return before it's time to sleep.” I was planning on making it sound like a suggestion, but they need to know who is dependent on who either way so it's fine by me.
“Fine, we will do as you say. Just don’t die and make sure you don’t forget to come back for us even if you find your sister.”
“You have my word, I will come back, just keep an eye out for any girl that fits the description that I told you before.”
I have no intention of leaving behind anyone for a good reason either way, while I may not care, my words still need to matter if I ever want to have someone working for me.
They don’t voice any other problem and I leave again after eating something and securing a safe spot for them in an abandoned apartment. At this point I am starting to get concerned about all these houses devoid of life, let's pray that it isn’t anything related to the theories I have in mind or we are done for.
“Take care.” I say as I start the second part of the search. Hoping for it to be the last.